o be doubtful whether
the Victorian Government would renew their offer later on. The truth
is the Victorians are _plus royalistes que le roi_. Indeed I cannot
help thinking they would feel much less respect for the "British
Constitution" if they had a nearer view of some of the proceedings
at Westminster. But they are human and can scarcely submit with
patience to the repeated snubs they have had from the Home
Government. The inconceivable bungling about New Guinea especially
rankles in their breasts. No one is now so unpopular here as Mr.
Gladstone and Lord Derby. Moreover, as a late Minister in South
Australia said to me--Why should we send out our tradesmen, our
artisans, our clerks, as volunteers, while you send out regular
soldiers? We deplete the colony for what is in reality only a
handful of men, while it means much to us. If we wish to assist the
mother country we can do it better by taking care of our own
defences, and by subscribing money, if necessary, to send to
England. But this view, of course, leaves out of sight the immense
moral effect which has, in fact, been produced by this display of
attachment to the mother country. Such things will do more to bring
about Imperial federation than any number of articles in newspapers
and reviews discussing the merits of various schemes. If the true
spirit is there--the desire for federation--it will put itself into
practice in some form or other. The preliminary step is federation
among the colonies. This is at present much hindered by their mutual
jealousies. "The proper way," said to me a prominent statesman here
who has been twice a Minister of the Crown, "is for England to take
the initiative. Let her send out some leading man who would not be
regarded as the representative of a party--such as Lord
Dufferin--and let him make proposals to the various colonies in
which they might acquiesce, without one seeming to lead the others."
Anyhow here, "as at home" (as England is always called), there is a
widespread notion that federation in some form is a necessity for
the future, if England is to continue to hold her own by the side of
such immense states as Russia and the United States. Providence
seems now to be on the side of the "big nations." I am confident
that even now, people in England fail to realise the importance of
these homes beyond the sea. They enjoy a lovely climate, have
boundless capacities for expansion, and are inhabited by Englishmen
who differ f