380 THE BRITISH APPROACH TO POLITICS

The object of policy cannot, therefore, be to draft a world consti-
tution, as if peoples of all nations could be regarded as the same;
it is, rather, to start from the present world of Sovereign States,
to draw their attention to the matters on which common action
is essential and advantageous, and to frame the rules of such
common action. In this process, there must be some sacrifice
of State Sovereignty, and thus the way is paved for closer union.

THE POSITION OF BRITAIN.

Great Britain has a particular interest in this project. Her
population cannot support itself except by trade with other
countries; the income earned by British shipping and finance,
and all the people these occupations employ, depend on the
preservation of world peace. If the world as a whole is uneasy,
and each nation, distrusting its neighbour, maintains expensive
armaments, Britain has a similar burden imposed on herself.
Nor is it possible for Britain, even with her Dominions and
Colonies, to wittolraw from the world as a self-contained unit.
Vast as the combined resources of Commonwealth and Empire are,
they do not supply all the needs of the inhabitants. The Dominions
can direct their trade as they wish, and it is not part of their
policy to confine it solely to British lands. The Empire, apart
from the Dominions, is far from being economically self-sufficient.
Even if Imperial resources made it possible to sever relations
with the outside world, and live in isolation, such a policy would
lead to war rather than peace. The blocking of trade between
British lands and foreign countries would deprive the latter of
irfarkets and supplies to such an extent, that the continued
existence of Commonwealth and Empire would be an injury to
them. Further, inter-Imperial trade must be sea-borne, and an
isolated Britain could only feel secure if her navy were sufficient
to defeat any possible combination against her. Such a navy,
however, would confer not only power to protect British interests
but power to block the trade of other nations; the latter would
strengthen their navies to meet the danger. Britain might protest