to come it will come of itself, brought about
by circumstances and silent impulses working continuously through many
years unseen and unspoken of. It is conceivable that Great Britain and
her scattered offspring, under the pressure of danger from without, or
impelled by some general purpose, might agree to place themselves for a
time under a single administrative head. It is conceivable that out of a
combination so formed, if it led to a successful immediate result, some
union of a closer kind might eventually emerge. It is not only
conceivable, but it is entirely certain, that attempts made when no such
occasion has arisen, by politicians ambitious of distinguishing
themselves, will fail, and in failing will make the object that is aimed
at more confessedly unattainable than it is now.

The present relation between the mother country and her self-governed
colonies is partly that of parent and children who have grown to
maturity and are taking care of themselves, partly of independent
nations in friendly alliance, partly as common subjects of the same
sovereign, whose authority is exercised in each by ministers of its own.
Neither of these analogies is exact, for the position alters from year
to year. So much the better. The relation which now exists cannot be
more than provisional; let us not try to shape it artificially, after a
closet-made pattern. The threads of interest and kindred must be left to
spin themselves in their own way. Meanwhile we can work together
heartily and with good will where we need each other's co-operation.
Difficulties will rise, perhaps, from time to time, but we can meet them
as they come, and we need not anticipate them. If we are to be
politically one, the organic fibres which connect us are as yet too
immature to bear a strain. All that we can do, and all that at present
we ought to try, is to act generously whenever our assistance can be of
use. The disposition of English statesmen to draw closer to the colonies
is of recent growth. They cannot tell, and we cannot tell, how far it
indicates a real change of attitude or is merely a passing mood. One
thing, however, we ought to bear in mind, that the colonies sympathise
one with another, and that wrong or neglect in any part of the Empire
does not escape notice. The larger colonies desire to know what the
recent professions of interest are worth, and they look keenly at our
treatment of their younger brothers who are still in our power. Th