The Commonwealth & empire review

HE; EMPIRE

REVIEW

AND

JOURNAL OF BRITISH TRADE

EDITED BY

SIR CLEMENT KINLOCH-COOKE

VOLUME XXX11

LONDON

MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
1919

CONTENTS

PAGE

RECENT REFERENDUM IN AUSTRALIA. By the Hon.
C. Or. WADK, K.C. (Agent-General for Neio South Wales)

THE GENERAL ELECTION IN CANADA. By D. A. E. VEAL .. 9

THE WEST INDIES : A POEM. By E. G 15

STORIES OF INDIAN ART. By PERCY BROWN 16

A PLEA FOR COMPULSORY PHYSICAL CULTURE. By CAPT.
E. M. CORNER, FJl.C.S., R.A.M.C. (T.)

SUGAR BEET. By G. BASIL BARHAM, C.E 29

A SERIES OF ESSAYS. Reviewed by NANCY BELL 33

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES. BY OVERSEA CORRESPONDENTS 37, 89, 125, 16f>,

214, 245, 285, 327, 365, 404, 451, 475

PEACE FALLACIES. By H. DOUGLAS GREGORY 44,80

CANADIAN WAR ITEMS. By MAPLE LEAF 48,96,135

WAR AND FINANCE. By Sir EDWARD HOLDEN, Bart. (Chairman

of London City and Midland Bank, Limited) .. ,. .. .. 49

INDUSTRIAL UNREST IN AUSTRALIA. BY F. A. W. GISBORNE

(Tasmania) 64, 110

GERMAN EXPLOITATION OF INDIAN TRADE. By ARTHUR

GORDON (United Provinces) .. .. .. .. .. .. 71

THE TWO EMPIRES. By D. A. E. VEAL 74

NEWFOUNDLAND : A POEM. By E. G .. 87

MY VISIT TO THE FRONT : ON THE EVE OF THE GREAT OFFENSIVE.

By THE EDITOR 97

THE FUTURE OF THE GERMAN COLONIES. IMPERIAL WAR

CABINET TO DECIDE. By D. A. E. VEAL .. .. .. .. 118

THE SONG OF PEACE: A POEM. By M. FORREST (Queensland) .. 122

FOOD PRODUCTION IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE AFTER THE
WAR. By the Right Hon. Lord MORRIS, K.C.M.G. (late Prime
Minister of Newfoundland) .. .. .. .. .. ..137

LORD MILNER: AN EMPIRE STATESMAN. By the EDITOR .. .. 146

THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN INDIA. Communicated by the

INDO-BRITISH ASSOCIATION .. .. .. .. .. .. 150

THE BUDGET FROM THE LADIES' GALLERY. By Lady

KlNLOCH-CoOKE .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 154

SIDELIGHTS ON FARMING IN CANADA. By MAPLE LEAF 156, 199,

241, 813, 355, 400

Contents iii

PAGE

IRELAND : THE FEDERAL ISSUE. BY FREDERICK J. HIGGINBOTTOM 162

LIFE IN CANADA UNDER THE OLD REGIME. By the Right

Hon. Sir GILBERT PARKER, Bart., M.P. .. .. .. .. .. 177

THE SUGAR CANE INDUSTRY. By GEORGE MARTINEAU, C.B. .. 185
THE BRITISH SOUTH AFRICAN COMPANY. By D. A. E. VKAL 195

THE FUTURE OF THE BRITISH WEST INDIES. By G. B.
MASON, R.A.M.C., D.Ph. Cambridge (Late District Medical Officer
in the West Indies) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 204

A SONG FOR THE AMERICAN ARMY. By JOHN JOHNSTON .. 212

THE DOMINIONS AND THE COLONIAL OFFICE. By the Hon.

Sir CHARLES G. WADE, K.C. (Agent-General for New South Wales) 259

AUSTRALIA MUST HAVE EMIGRANTS. By the Hon. J. D.

CONNOLLY (Agent-General for Western Australia) .. .. .. 226

THE CALL. By CHARLOTTE PIDJEON 230

BRITISH TIMBER SUPPLIES. By M. C. DUCHESNE (Hon. Secretary
of the Royal English Arboricultural Society, and of the English
Forestry Association) .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 231

SIR OWEN PHILIPPS ON SHIPPING PROBLEMS 2^37

WAR ITEMS FROM OVERSEA - .. ..250

THE ORGANISATION OF INDUSTRY. By the Right Hon. W. M.

HUGHES (Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia) .. 253

THE WAR AND AFTER. By the Right Hon. W. F. MASSEY (Prime

Minister of the Dominion of New Zealand) . . . . . . . . 262

REFOEM IN INDIA. DIARCHY AND DISRUPTION. BY FAUJDAR .. 268
A LEAGUE OF SOVEREIGN STATES. By D. A. E. VEAL .. .. 275
SIDELIGHTS ON THE WAR 282

AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC. By the Right Hon. W. M. HUGHES

(Prime Minis ter of the Commonwealth of Australia) .. .. .. 293

SOME PHASES OF IMPERIAL PREFERENCE. By the Right
Hon. W. F. MASSEY (Prime Minister of the Dominion of New
Zealand) 296

FUNDAMENTAL CONDITIONS OF PEACE. By F. A. W. GISBORNE 300

INDIAN MUHAMMADANS AND HOME RULE. HINDU-MUHAM-

MADAN ANTAGONISM. Communicated by the INDO-BRITISH ASSOCIATION 309

IDYLL OF A YORKSHIRE MILLSTREAM. By ADA B. TEETGEN.. 317

THE SMALL VEGETABLE GARDEN. SUGGESTIONS BY THE UNITED

STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE .... .. .. .. .. 324

AUSTRALIA AND EMPIRE DEVELOPMENT. By the Right Hon.

Sir JOSEPH COOK, P.C., G.C.M.G. (Minister for the Australian Navy) 335

THE PRINCIPLE OF BANK AMALGAMATIONS. By Sir EDWARD
HOLDEN, Bart. (Chairman of the London City and Midland Banl;,
Ltd.) 342

THE TRADE SITUATION IN SOUTH AFRICA. By the Hon. HUGH

CRAWFORD (Chairman of the National Bank of South Africa, Ltd.) 358

ARE WE PREPARED FOR PEACE ? By the Right Hon. W. M.

HUGHES (Prime Minister of the Commomuealth of Australia) .. 373

iv Contents

PAGE

A PRAYER: A POEM. By Captain Sir HAROLD BOULTON, Bart.,

C.V.O., C.B.E 378

THE COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES OF AEROPLANES. By

F. HANDLEY PAGE ., .. 379

A NEW FORCE IN INDUSTRIAL LEGISLATION. By Sir VINCENT

CAILLARD .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 383

POLITICAL RECONSTRUCTION IN INDIA. By T. M. NAIR, M.D.

(Late Member of the Madras Legislative Council) .. .. .. 887

THE TERMS OF PEACE. By the Right Hon. W. M. HUGHES

(Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia) .. .. .. 415

COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES OF THE CHANNEL TUNNEL.

By Sir ARTHUR FELL, M.P. 423

MIGRATION AFTER THE WAR. By Major-General the Hon. Sir

NEWTON MOORE, K.C.M.G., M.P 429

TRADING PROSPECTS IN THE FAR EAST. By F. KINGDON

WARD 431

TRADE OF NEW ZEALAND. By R. W. DALTON (H.M. Trade Com-

missioncr in the Dominion of New Zealand) .. .. .. .. 436

EMPIRE FEDERATION OR A LEAGUE OF NATIONS. By

D. A. E. VEAL 444

AN IMPERIAL CABINET AT LAST. By THE EDITOR .. ..457

AUSTRALIA AND OVERSEA COMMERCE. By the Right Hon.

W. M. HUGHES (Prime Minister of the Commomvealth af Australia) 462

THE COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES OF AIRCRAFT. By J. A.

WHITEHEAD .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 466

THE COINAGE QUESTION. By W. WRIGHT HARDWICKE, M.D. .. 470

J.ONDOK : PRIHTRD BY WM. CLOWES AND SONS, LTD., DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, ,S.E. 1.

THb, EMPIRE
REVIEW

AND

JOURNAL OF BRITISH TRADE

VOL XXXII. FEBRUARY, .918 No 205.

THE RECENT REFERENDUM IN
AUSTRALIA

FOB the second time in the space of a little more than twelve
months Australia has been plunged in the maelstrom of con-
scription. Again, the Commonwealth has pronounced against
the issue, and on this occasion the negative vote has been
substantially increased. The size of the adverse majority is
surprising. To the Government it must have been an intense
disappointment, for it can scarcely be supposed that the
Ministry would have embarked on another campaign unless
they were fortified with reasonable prospects of a favourable
result. If it is to be interpreted as a pronouncement that the
Commonwealth is war-weary, it is a deep humiliation to every
Australian as well as every well wisher of that young country.

Again, this announcement came at a juncture when the
Entente Powers were suffering from the effect of the military
stagnation of the Russians, and had not yet recovered from the
unfortunate recent developments in Italy. The news n,ay well
have been a cause of irritation to the British Government. If
sharp criticism had been directed against the Commonwealth,
Australians could hardly have complained ; but little has been
said by the press or public men. Everybody regrets the circum-
stances, but nothing savouring of reproach or bitterness has been
heard ; and I, in common with many other Australians, feel the
deepest gratitude to the people in this country for the generous
manner in which they have viewed the recurrence of this,
unpleasant episode in our national life.

In January last I ventured in the " Nineteenth Century and
After " to analyse the voting at the first referendum. I pointed
out that certain emotional factors had intervened in the
VOL. XXXII. -No. 205. B

2 The Empire Review

campaign which frustrated the desire of the Government to
obtain a thoughtful judgment on the real issue before the people.
I took an active part in that controversy and had direct know-
ledge of the motives that influenced the electors. On this
occasion I cannot speak with the same authority, but I am
convinced that the educational results of the previous referendum
were negligible. I fear, indeed, that a referendum under any
circumstances is a most unreliable method for ascertaining the
sober judgment of the community upon such a complex question
as conscription ; and I am satisfied that the same disturbing
influences were present, and the adverse majority is just as untrue
a reflex of the honest opinion of Australia as was the vote in the
previous campaign.

When the question was submitted to the people in October,
1916, the result was an adverse majority of 60,000 votes. The
issue was carried in three States, viz., Victoria, Western Australia
and Tasmania, but the majority secured in those territories was
more than absorbed by the heavy adverse vote in New South
Wales alone. The proposal did not raise a novel or revolutionary
issue. For thirteen years the law had declared that for purposes
of Home Defence, if the Commonwealth was threatened with an
invasion, every man within the specified military ages must take
his place in the firing line. The original bill created no unusual
discussion. There were no protests lodged and certainly no
organised opposition was attempted.

The referendum, however, which proposed to extend the
principle of compulsory service for Home Defence to service over-
seas and was limited to the period of the war, met with intense
resistance. A bitter campaign ensued throughout Australia,
political parties were radically divided, and a deep schism created
among the people. Misleading influences were appealed to—
sentiment, class prejudice and selfishness— yet so effectual was
the attempt that every influential section of voters more or less
stampeded.

The rural voters were warned that compulsory service meant
denuding the country districts of the already limited supply of
labour that was so essential to successful farming ; that if crops
could not be harvested the farmers would be ruined ; that it was
far more patriotic to maintain the farming industry and grow
food for the support of Great Britain and the Allies, but that
under compulsory service such a thing was impossible. The
city worker on the other hand was induced to believe that labour
would be withdrawn from the factories ; that the output of the
Commonwealth, whether in primary products or manufactured
goods, would be correspondingly reduced ; that consequent
scarcity would ensue with the accompaniment of higher prices,

The Recent Referendum in Australia 3

and an increased cost of living. They were further threatened
by an argument not quite consistent with the bogey of the high
cost of living, that the places of the workers who had gone to
the war would be filled by cheap coolie labour ; and all the
hard pioneering work of the trades unions in the past to better
the lot of the working man would be entirely lost.

The women again were carried away in very many instances
by their emotions. Countless women had calmly submitted to
the wrench of parting with their husbands, brothers and sons of
their own free will, had nobly borne the loss of those who were
near and dear to them, and were prepared to make even greater
sacrifices in the cause for which they were all united ; but these
same women could not be induced to give a vote which would
compel their neighbours to send their sons to fight against their
will. They were told, forsooth, that by voting " Yes " the blood
of conscript soldiers who fell by the way would be on their heads.
This appeal was generally irresistible.

Again, the members of the Australian Forces adopted an
unexpected attitude, and fully half the number who had enlisted
gave a negative vote. -At first sight one would think they would
be the most qualified to judge of the necessity for support by a
constant flow in a substantial stream of reinforcements. The
various Australian Divisions had learned by bitter experience in
continuous and lengthy service in the firing line how great was
the saving in mental and physical power afforded by the presence
of reserves. Yet these wiry lads who had won fame for them-
selves and their country from time to time where courage and
resourcefulness and endurance were needed, whilst taking a
natural pride in the consciousness that they had volunteered in
this great service, expressed a deep contempt for the man who
only came under compulsion ; and they preferred to continue to
bear the hardships and the suffering with reduced numbers rather
than be supported or relieved by men who were officially to be
stamped as conscripts.

Underlying the whole movement was the all-pervading
inability to realise the gravity of the crisis, the gigantic nature
of the military task, the probable length of the struggle or the
intense wastage of human life.

In 1917 the campaign was launched under different conditions,
which should have turned the scale in favour of an affirmative
vote. The pressure and urgency for recruits had become more
serious whilst the terms of the referendum had been greatly
liberalised. In the early part of 1917 all military action on the
Russian front was overwhelmed by the outbreak of the Revolution.
During the greater part of that year hostilities on the part of the
Russians were suspended; and the kaleidoscopic changes in

B 2

4 The Empire Review

control, civil and military, the persistent and widespread intrigue
of the Central Powers, and the scarcity of food produced a
condition of internal chaos and military insubordination and
inefficiency, and it is extremely doubtful whether the Eussian
army can be regarded as a fighting factor of any value for a very
considerable time. The result has been that Germany and
Austria have been enabled temporarily and perhaps permanently
to release from active service on the eastern front a mass of
fighting men not far short of 1,000,000 who are now available
on the western. Further, the serious setback to the Italian
armies resulted in the loss through capture of great numbers of
men as well as of guns. In pursuance of the policy of mutual
help substantial numbers of French and English troops were
detached from the west in order to support our Allies, and to a
corresponding extent the forces of the Entente armies in France
were weakened. The American nation had not yet come in, and
although preparations are being made on an unprecedented scale
it would not be wise to expect any great measure of practical
assistance before the spring is well advanced. At the same
time, voluntary recruiting was gradually failing in Australia,
and every endeavour to galvanise eligibles into a sense of
duty produced continually lessening results. Those in authority
realised that the stream of reinforcements must be stimulated
or the unpleasant alternative, must be faced of breaking up one
or more of the existing divisions at the front (each of which
during the last two years had covered itself with glory).

Influenced by these considerations the Commonwealth Govern-
ment determined (although twelve months had not yet passed
since the last vote) to again make an appeal to the people. On
this occasion the terms were radically modified, to such an extent
indeed that if the reduced rate of voluntary recruiting was still
maintained, the volume of compulsion would be small. The
Government decided in the first instance that the method of
voluntary enlistment was to continue. Further, the minimum
of reinforcements required per month was to be reduced to 7,000 ;
and whilst voluntary recruiting was still to be pursued compulsory
reinforcements were to be made use of only to the extent to which
voluntary enlistment failed to supply the minimum number. It
was expected that these changes would remove the sentimental
objections that had been voiced in so many quarters against
submitting the voluntary soldier to the alleged indignity of fighting
alongside a conscript who had been compelled by force of law to
do his duty.

Another great concession was secured by limiting compulsion
to single men only .between the ages of twenty and forty-four. la
this category would be included widowers and divorcees without

The Recent Referendum in Australia 5

children dependent upon them. In this way it was hoped to
overcome the reluctance on the part of women to enforce service
on married men.

A further difficulty, the result of the voluntary system which
had created much feeling during the previous campaign, was the
inequality of service. Some families were not represented at the
front, others had offered all their male eligibles, others again had
one left at home on whom the family were dependent, and he
would be marked out by censorious critics as not being alive to
his duty. It was now promised that " where a family is or has
been represented in the Australian Imperial Force by the father
or a son or by a brother, one eligible son or brother as the case
may be shall be exempt from service ; and further, eligible males
of a family which are already or have been represented at the
front should not be balloted for until after eligible males in
families not so represented had been called up." Provision was
made that " all ballots should be so conducted that families should
contribute as nearly as possible pro rata, and in no case was the
sole remaining eligible member of a family which is or has been
so represented to be called up for service." In addition to these
liberal concessions the Government undertook to maintain the
industries which ^were essential to the prosecution of the war and
the national welfare of Australia, and a sub-tribunal was to be
appointed to determine the amount of labour necessary for their
effective operation. Lastly, all persons employed in any particular
industry so declared by a proper authority to be necessary for the
supply of food and material essential for the war were absolutely
exempt from compulsory service.

Under such circumstances the referendum in 1917 was in-
augurated. The whole military outlook had in the course of the
year undergone an unfortunate change, the urgency for men had
become greater whilst the supply from Australia had diminished,
and the question was whether the electors could now be induced
to reverse the vote of the previous year and support the mild
instalment of compulsion. Nothing was wanting in the energy
applied to the campaign ; the Commonwealth Ministry were
active workers also leading members of the various State
Governments, and numbers of private citizens, organisation was
effectively carried out ; and to give a full and added gravity to
the issue Mr. Hughes, the Prime Minister, had staked the life of
his Government upon the result. In this ballot only two States
out of six recorded an affirmative vote ; Western Australia and
Tasmania were true to their previous effort, but on this occasion
there was a small adverse vote in Victoria, and the adverse
majority for the whole Commonwealth was greatly increased.

Under all these circumstances it would appear on the surface

6 The Empire Review

that Australia had been afforded an opportunity for a calm and
deliberate vote upon the merits of the question, and had recorded
its reluctance to make any further effort for the effective prose-
cution of the war. Can such a charge be laid against them ?

I do not presume to suggest that everybody in Australia is
consumed with a whole-souled desire to see that victory shall
crown the efforts of the Allies; there are black sheep in every
flock, and I have no doubt there are disloyalists who made them-
selves felt in this campaign as they have on other occasions when
the welfare of the nation has been at stake. I have no doubt
that they have made every endeavour to give the maximum
weight to their opinions and evil influence; but I am convinced
they are few in number, that their influence was negligible, and
that if the great heart of the people is examined separately and
impartially a vast majority would be just as firm in the convic-
tion that this is a righteous war and that it must be pursued
until the principles for which we first took up arms have been
achieved. Unfortunately, owing to the intrusion of irrelevant
issues which for the time being deflected the electors' better
judgment, sufficient votes were influenced to produce a result
tbat does not misrepresent the honest opinion of this great
Commonwealth. ,

In offering an explanation I write subject to the disability of
being absent from the scene of activities, but I feel confident
that the chief reason for this adverse vote is owing to the fact
that the gravity of the situation has not yet been properly
appreciated. Australia, be it remembered, is more than 12,000
miles distant from the scene of hostilities, and nowadays is
almost entirely dependent for its news of current events upon the
cable service. The irregularity of steamer communication, the
limitations upon shipping space and the restriction of travelling
have greatly curtailed the usual opportunities for information
obtained from newspapers, magazines, correspondence and per-
sonal contact with travellers. At all times distance is a great
impediment to sympathetic appreciation of great occurrences. I
happened to be passing through America last March when the
great change in public opinion was developing which led to the
United States taking up arms against the Germans. At that
time the western States of America had a very limited knowledge
of the main events of the war, but a still more vague appreciation
of the purposes for which the Allies were fighting. Even in the
eastern States (only 3,000 miles away from Flanders) news at that
time was hard to obtain, and interest was difficult to rouse.

Every mile of ocean was another obstacle to the adequate
appreciation in Australia of the European situation. Such news,
indeed, as came through the cables was subject to censorship

The Recent Referendum in Australia 7

which was sometimes unnecessarily severe. I am informed that
Mr. Holman, Premier of New South Wales, made a speech on
his return to Sydney and therein disclosed information which
was more or less common talk in Great Britain, but which was
received with astonishment by his audience who then heard it for
the first time. Were not joybells ringing throughout the Com-
monwealth at the glorious victory at Cambrai within two weeks
of polling day ! and I make bold to say the inner history of that
episode is not even to-day known in that country. In the
face of these facts platform appeals were seriously discounted.
Australia again, thanks to the British Government, is enjoying
gent rally a period of prosperity in so far as her primary producers
and war workers are concerned. It cannot be denied that the
Commonwealth as a whole has never been so flourishing from
the economic point of view as in the last two years. It is hard
for people who have not felt in a tangible manner the pinch of
hardship or the horrors of territorial devastation, to grasp the
gravity of the situation as rapidly as those who are undergoing
the actual experience.

Another contributing factor which came back upon the
Government like a boomerang was the determination of the
Prime Minister to stake the existence of his Government upon
the result of the vote. On the one hand he was impelled to take
this course to give an added tone of seriousness to the campaign,
but eventually it was made use of to pile up votes in favour of
" No " by persons who were not necessarily opposed to conscrip-
tion, but who had some personal antagonism against Mr. Hughes
or some grievance against the administration of the Common-
wealth.

Many men in the ranks and civilians who belonged to the old
Labour Party, which was led by Mr. Hughes, had not forgiven
him for his alleged desertion when, subsequently to the first
referendum, he joined and became the leader of the new National
Party. Personal bitterness was exhibited ; no term of abuse
was too strong. Many pursued him with a thirst for revenge.
The knowledge that a defeat over conscription might mean his
removal from power induced them to work hard for the " Noes,"
irrespective of the greater issues that should have dominated the
campaign. In this way many persons who were not averse to
conscription voted " No " as an effective way of punishing him
for the great betrayal. Moreover, on all occasions when a
government decides to launch a referendum, there is a tendency
to identify the ministry with that issue, petty grievances against
the administration are ventilated and the opportunity is seized of
voting in the opposite way to the desire of the government as a
protest against the individual's complaint, or in the hope of

8 The Empire Review

unseating the ministry. I gather these motives were in
operation in Australia from the public speeches and leaflets that
have come to my hand. I can speak with certainty of their
operation on this side from actual intercourse with Australian
soldiers. As an instance typical of this attitude, a soldier, who
had just been discharged from one of the Australian hospitals,
endeavoured to obtain some money from the authorities for the
purpose of enjoying furlough. The amount he received was
small and far less than he considered that he was entitled to.
He reported his experience in indignant terms to his comrades
in the hospital, and all the inmates of his ward, some thirty in
number, voted against conscription in consequence !

The soldiers, again, as a body were very much divided on the
subject. The old arguments again largely prevailed, and many
men openly stated that whilst they were prepared to submit to
the hardships, privations and horrors they had undergone of
their own free will, they would never be parties to forcing any
man to submit to the same experiences against his will. Such
sentiments do credit to the heart but are entirely irrelevant to
the merit of conscription. A few well-directed sentences when
opportunity was offered usually produced a change of view ; but
fortunately or unfortunately, all educational work for or against
conscription amongst the soldiers was prohibited by the
Commonwealth, and the more men were cut off from association
with the general public the more popular were these quixotic
ideas. Amongst the hospitals where patients came in contact
with their friends and members of the public generally, I noticed
a strong tendency to vote "Yes." Amongst the men in France
the majority pronounced against conscription. In short, after
the experience of two referenda in Australia, one is prompted to
ask the question, " Would such a complex and emotional issue
as conscription be ever carried on a popular vote? If the
referendum had been invoked, would we have compulsory service
to-day in Great Britain or Canada ? "

In conclusion, it will be generally admitted Australia has
rendered great service to the Allies' cause ; with a population
of less than 5,000,000 she has enlisted 400,000 men there, they
have equipped 5£ divisions, and up to the present maintained
them at full strength. It was a laudable undertaking, but
perhaps too ambitious for a protracted war. Canada with a
population of nearly 8,000,000 has enlisted the same number of
men and has been contented with 4 divisions in the field. The
Commonwealth is not contemplating withdrawing from the front
or relaxing her efforts. Australia may be hotheaded, they are
not cold footed.

C. G. WADE
(Agent-General for New South Wales).

The General Election in Canada

THE GENERAL ELECTION IN CANADA

ITS SIGNIFICANCE AND EFFECT

IN every contest there comes a, critical period if that contest
lasts for any length of time. It comes when enthusiasm begins
to cool, and the strain imposed by great and continuous effort
commences to tell. It comes when the combatant becomes
sensible that he has drawn heavily on his stock of energy, when
vigour and freshness have given place to lassitude and weariness.
At the moment when he is most in need of strength he becomes
conscious of the desertion of that mysterious quality which
quickens the pulse, warms the blood, gives wings to the feet and
is superior to pain and weariness, even danger and death. Un-
less he has a reserve of the more solid qualities, steady persist-
ence, dogged perseverance, patient endurance and unconquerable
spirit he will now slacken effort, give ground, perhaps make
ignominious and disastrous surrender.

This stage of the Great War has now been reached. The
first ardour of battle has cooled, and under the unprecedented
strain imposed on the belligerent nations one of them, Russia,
has already given way, another, Italy, on one occasion, nearly
collapsed. As the war lengthens the strain will increase pro-
portionately— to hold out any hopes of its diminishing would be
misleading. All the time in every land the pacifist element will
be gaining in strength. The worst part of the way lies ahead of
us. While the resistance of the enemy without our gates will
show no sign of weakening, the opposition of the enemy within
will continue to increase, interfering with and impairing our
power to strike.

It is well to face facts however unpleasant. It is not being
pessimistic, and does not imply that we despair of or even doubt
our ultimate victory. The cause is not advanced by letting
wishes determine thoughts, by keeping up courage artificially
by delusive hopes that the way is shorter and freer of obstacles,
and that the object can be attained at the cost of less effort and
pain than there is any reasonable ground for supposing. This
species of self-deception leads later on to disappointment and

10 The Empire Review

undue depression, when the hopes that have been artificially
forced on, exposed to an atmosphere whose influences are wholly
unfavourable, shrivel up and die. Their demise is followed by a
fit of extreme despondency that may, perhaps, induce a disastrous
submission.

It does not follow because pacifism increases that it will
ever become sufficiently powerful to influence the policy of
the nation, that the great body of the people will not remain
sound at heart and endure to the end till victory is won. To-
wards the close of the Napoleonic War, we are told, quite half
the nation was sick of the war and would have welcomed peace
at any price. But although a considerable portion of the nation
collapsed under the strain of a quarter of a century of war and
turmoil, a sufficient portion kept up till the desired end was
attained. It is but to be expected that the spirit of a people, like
everything else, after it has been sorely tried in the fires of
affliction and has undergone much usage may appear in parts
thin and worn away and show other signs of wear and tear, but
that need give rise to no apprehension that it will not last as long
as it is needed and prove equal to the completion of the task in
hand.

At this critical stage of the struggle two events happened, and
their occurrence at such a time is bound to add considerably to
their moral effect, the General Election in Canada and the
Australian Referendum. The issue of each was awaited with
some hope by our enemies, with some fear by ourselves and our
Allies, that the war was putting the unity of the Empire to a
more severe test than it could stand. The result of the Canadian
Election especially was awaited with anxiety. For it took place
first, so might be expected to give a lead to the sister Dominion.
Australia had already negatived her Government's conscription
proposals once ; if Canada expressed disapproval of a similar
measure, it was most probable, nearly certain, that Australia
would reject it again. This she has since done even after the
example of Canada should have inspired her to do otherwise.

Germany would naturally interpret these events as evidences
that the resolution of the Dominions was faltering. They had
joined in the war eagerly enough at first and been prodigal in
offers of assistance ; but in those days they only very imperfectly
realised the nature of the undertaking before them. They were
now beginning to understand that it was a "long, long way to
victory ; " they had acquired some knowledge of its difficulties
and perils, and their hearts were beginning to fail them. They
shrank from going the whole length of the road as it now
appeared to them, and the effect was to make them hesitate and
slacken speed. Perhaps in the end it might lead them to turn

The General Election in Canada 11

back. Germany would take care that the British people
observed these signs of weakening moral. To this end she
would employ all her arts, and they are legion. It would be
pressed home that even our own great self-governing Dominions
had now come to the conclusion that it was useless to proceed
with the war. We should never win, and sacrifice more blood
and treasure all to no purpose. We should be forced to sue for
peace in the end, and should obtain no better, perhaps even
worse, terms than we could obtain now. Why, therefore, con-
tinue this useless and destructive strife and go on sacrificing our
children to glut the ravening maw of this bloodthirsty, insatiable
monster, war? On many people, in their present state of mind
and mood of despondency and war-weariness, the effect of such
reasoning when enforced by the examples of the two most
important Dominions in our empire may be imagined. Un-
doubtedly the pacifists would have received a great accession of
strength. They might even have become sufficiently powerful
to determine the policy of the nation and to compel her to
conclude a dishonourable and disastrous peace.

There are moments in the lives of both individuals and
nations when they are lifted out of themselves and seem to
surrender themselves entirely to lofty and disinterested impulses,
performing acts of heroism and self-sacrifice of which they would
not be capable in less exalted moments. We cannot take up our
permanent abode on these mountains of transfiguration, although
there may come the desire to do so. The air is too pure and
rarefied for ordinary mortal lungs to breathe for long, and we are
soon compelled to descend to the less interesting and less lovely
levels of everyday life ; but our after-lives are the better for the
moments passed on the heights. Such a moment in the life of
the British nation was that in which the Government of .the day,
urged by no selfish considerations, neither by love of power,
desire for territory, greed of gain nor passion for slory ; but
influenced solely by regard for law and justice, truth and freedom,
the sanctity of treaties and what are the only conditions of a real
and durable peace, took the fateful decision to declare war on
Germany. They may not have fully realised the magnitude of
the task to which they were setting their hands. But this much
they knew, that their action would involve the death of thousands,
if not millions, of their fellow-countrymen, the permanent dis-
ablement and mutilation of thousands more, would cause general
anxiety, extreme sorrow in many cases, bring impoverishment
and ruin to not a few.

They could not have been altogether ignorant of the risk
they ran in challenging the most military nation on the con-
tinent, when the smallness of our forces, inadequacy of our

12 The Empire Review

supplies of munitions, deficiency in appliances for producing the
same, and uncertainty as to the response the nation would make
to the call to sacrifice are taken into consideration. There was
the terrible possibility that the army might be annihilated, the
navy defeated. To gain no selfish or material advantage for the
nation the men in charge of her destinies staked everything, took
a bigger risk than any other set of men have ever been in a
position to take, hazarded the fate of the greatest empire the
world has ever seen. That a whole people should even for a
moment rise to such a height of heroism and self-sacrifice is little
short of a miracle, and, whatever happens in the future, nothing
can rob Great Britain of the glory of this fact, which is among
the things that are past, and therefore well stored and out of the
power of fortune.

Like mother, like daughter. Canada's choice, when in her
turn the moment came for her to decide, in the strife of truth
with falsehood for the good or evil side, has been worthy of the
nation whose offspring she is. The tide of patriotic sentiment
at its flood bore her people upwards on the breasts of its water
and deposited them on a higher level. The issue to be decided
was whether Canadians would or would not have conscription.
If the Unionist party were returned to office the Act which the
late Government had passed would be put into force without
delay. Sir Wilfrid Laurier did not promise, in the event of his
return, to repeal the Act, but to submit it to a referendum. But
the return of bis party to power would have signified that
Canadians were only half-hearted in the prosecution of the war.
The fact that Sir Eobert Borden obtained a majority of over
sixty shows that, in the words of the Times, " the Canadian
people are for the war, with that iron resolution which looks
forward to the last sacrifice without thought of turning back."

Satisfaction at the election result is increased on closer
examination, affording, as it does, gratifying proof of the loyalty
of British Canadians. The election seems to have been fought
almost entirely on racial lines. Quebec's opposition to conscrip-
tion was significant of her attitude in general to the war,
which in its turn was the outcome of her indifference to the
British connection. Eacial instinct was keenly sensitive to the
implied challenge, and every true Briton — and the majority of
Canadians have proved themselves to be true Britons — took it up
and replied to it by going into the Borden camp. Sir Wilfrid
Laurier did not carry half a dozen seats in constituencies in
which French and Germans were not influential. Before the
votes of the soldiers had been counted, out of the 82 members
returned for Ontario no fewer than 74 were conscriptionists, out
of the 15 for Manitoba 13, all 16 for Saskatchewan, while Alberta

The General Election in Canada 13

only elected one and British Columbia only two Opposition
candidates.

The Times considered it probable that after the votes of the
soldiers had been counted Sir Wilfrid Laurier would not have
one supporter from the four western provinces and only five in
Ontario. The result is characteristic of the last-named province,
a considerable number of whose citizens are of loyalist ancestry.
Ever since the United Empire Loyalists gave up all in the great
American Revolution for honour and loyalty — choosing the
wilderness with all its privations and hardships, rather than
enjoy the fleshpots of the States at the price of loyalty to King
and Motherland — and in the course of time handed on their
principles and ideals to their descendants, there has been a
sufficient loyalist leaven in the province to leaven the whole.

A matter for greater surprise has been the almost unanimous
verdict in favour of conscription given by the Western Provinces,
which of late years have been preponderately Liberal. It was
on their vote that the issue hung. For it was known that
the French Canadians — and out of Canada's total population
of 8,000,000 the French number no fewer than 2,500,000—
would vote en bloc for Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who could count
also on the support of large numbers of Canadians of alien
birth. In such circumstances to enable Sir Robert Borden
to obtain a working majority, it was not enough for Canadian
Conservatives to vote for him ; it was necessary that British
Canadians, whatever their political faith might be, should
accord him as solid support as the French were according to
their leader, it was essential that British Liberals should
submit to complete submersion by the great tidal wave of
patriotism, offering no obstruction to its obliteration of family
traditions, uprooting of old and deeply-rooted prejudices, and
crushing of lifelong ties and attachments under the weight of
its waters. The comprehension that could grasp the largeness
of the issue, the discernment that could distinguish what was
of most consequence, and the courage, self-sacrifice, and mag-
nanimity that could act on that knowledge seemed too much to
expect of ordinary human beings.

The result of the Canadian General Election is a fine example
of the display of the spirit of self-sacrifice by a whole people.
Among those who voted for conscription were many who knew
that it would necessitate the breaking up of their homes, perhaps
occasion their financial ruin ; large numbers who were fully
aware that it would lead to the transportation of themselves or
their nearest and dearest overseas to endure unprecedented
privations and hardships, perhaps to suffer greatly, in many cases
to die. Canadians who voted for conscription could have been

14 The Empire Review

under no illusion ; the war had been proceeding for a sufficient
length of time for them not to realise the sacrifices the result of
their vote would entail.

Although Canada is not alone, not by any means, in the
display of self-sacrifice in this war, there are some things that
call for special remark in her case. Other nations, Great Britain
and New Zealand for instance, have allowed the chain of con-
scription to be imposed upon them, while Australia has resisted
two attempts to load her with it ; but Canada is the only nation
that has fastened it on herself. We may believe, as we do, and
our belief may amount almost to a certainty, that Great Britain
and New Zealand would have done the same had they been given
an opportunity of pronouncing judgment on the measure. But a
belief, even one that amounts almost to a certainty, differs from
an event that has actually occurred by the chance that it might
not have occurred. We know for a fact that a majority of
Canadians have voted for conscription, while we only believe that
a majority of English and New Zealanders would have done the
same. Her remoteness is another circumstance that brings
Canada's loyalty into stronger relief. The menace of German
domination is no less real to the Dominions than it is to the
Mother Country, but distance obscures this fact.

The significance and effect of the result of the Canadian
General Election is greatly enhanced by the time of its occurrence,
during this critical stage of the Great War, when the first glow
of enthusiasm has cooled, and the depression and languor that
follows from extraordinary exertion has begun to make itself felt.
After the first battle of Ypres had been proceeding some days,
and when the British troops were worn out with repulsing the
repeated assaults of an enemy greatly their superior in numbers
and were becoming dispirited with the seeming hopelessness of
it — for as fast as they drove back one wave of assaulting foes
fresh masses swarmed forward to the attack — the line wavered
and gave way. It was the most critical moment in what future
historians will reckon one of the decisive battles of the world.
The Germans were at last on the point of attaining their object,
of forcing the British to retreat and abandon Calais to its fate.
It was then the Worcesters charged and took Gbeluvelt, and by
their unconquerable spirit changed the issue of the day, and
changed what was about to become a defeat into a victory. And
so the advance of the enemy was stayed at Ypres ; as in ancient
days that of the Persians was stayed at Marathon, which "kept
Asia out of Europe, — Asia with its antiquities and organic slavery,
— from corrupting the hope and new morning of the West " ;
as in a later day the advance of the Saracens was stayed at
Tours.

The General Election in Canada 15

The decision of Canada, like the charge of the Worcester, is
a call to advance, it brings to the reinforcement of the war-worn
battalions a spirit as fresh, vigorous, resolute, and undaunted as
that of a fresh comer on the field.

D. A. E. VEAL.

THE WEST INDIES

WHILE yet the world was young,

Before the world was fair,

God looked down upon a sea

That sparkled everywhere,

And round about it soft winds clung,

Kissing here and there.

But there were lacking in those days

Islands full of little bays,

And golden sand with palm trees hung

The smaller waves to play among.

So God chose out some pearls with care
And set them in a necklace there.

Wings that wearied of long flights
Bested there through silent nights,
And such a wealth of fruit and flowers
Grew up in the golden hours.

And God looked down upon it all
And saw that it was beautiful.

E. G.

16 The Empire Review

STORIES OF INDIAN ART

THE general conditions under which the artistic productions
of the bazaars of India are prepared are now comparatively well
known. The " caste system," the " trades guilds " and the
" village community " of that country have been so frequently
described that the design and manufacture of indigenous Indian
art is no longer a mystery. Museums, filled with the spoil of the
East, have also done much to make people familiar with the
more sumptuous industries, while examples of the cheaper and
more common art crafts are to be frequently observed decorating
the English homes of rich and poor alike. And in the latter
instance, no doubt, the proud owner of these possessions can tell
that the embossed brass bowl came from Benares, or the carved
ivory tusk from Delhi, because of the knowledge all classes are
rapidly acquiring of the Empire beyond the Seas.

To many of these collectors of the Indian workman's
handicraft, a certain pleasing glamour of romance surrounds
these objects from the bazaars of Lucknow or Lahore which
gives them an added value in the owner's eyes. Whether due to
the clash of arms, the luxuriance of art, and those " bright gods "
of the Aryan invasion of the pre-historic days, or the fascinating
period of the Moghul Emperors when the country revelled in
gold and glitter, they are invested with a charm which is
indefinable. Even at the present time, when railways drive their
unswerving ways through ancient forts and palaces, and the
tombs of one age are utilised as Christian churches or official
residences in a later one, the atmosphere of world-old traditions
still clings to the Indian artisan and his arts and crafts. A closer
intercourse with the country has tended to bring this individual
somewhat more into focus, and has also led to an increased
respect for his remarkable and ingenious methods and processes,
now that these are becoming better understood. In view of this
it is believed that a few lesser known incidents — sidelights
thrown on various aspects of Indian art — may add to the interest
that has already been taken in this subject.

It is usual to preface any account of an Indian art with tb*»

Stories of Indian Art 17

observation that its origin is shrouded in the mists of antiquity.
This in many cases, as proved by careful investigations, is
moderately correct, but in one or two notable instances is not.
As an example it is extremely doubtful whether what is now
termed the " oriental carpet " was known in India until a few
years before England became first acquainted with the country.
There is no little evidence to show that the Emperor Akbar in
the sixteenth century A.D. introduced carpet-weaving as a new
manufacture, and brought over designs and weavers from Persia
in order to get the trade started in India. The Great Moghul's
efforts were not entirely successful, and after flourishing for a
time under the royal patronage, it considerably declined until it
was revived by a very recent demand.

To those who possess Indian embroideries it may interest
them to know that most of these are not, as one would ordinarily
assume, produced by the women of the country, but by " needle-
men," a special caste of male embroiderers who have been solely
identified with this trade for generations. Exceptions, which
will be referred to later, occur in different parts of the country,
but this essentially feminine occupation is mainly undertaken by
the male sex. In the native States of Kathiawar, where the
most minute stitch is to be found, embroidery is done by both
sexes, but the work of the men is even locally recognised as the
best that the district can produce. The fine needlework of
Kashmir, modern examples of which are now so frequently seen
in English houses, is entirely the production of Kashmir Mussul-
mans, whose deft fingers have for centuries produced the most
intricate woven and embroidered fabrics. As for the women of
Kashmir, whose beauty has been extolled in prose and verse,
the art of needlework is so foreign to their sex, that it is quite a
rare thing to find one who can even thread a needle. This may
be, however, in some manner due to religious prejudices, as in
many quarters the art of the embroiderer is regarded as an
impure one. This attitude, however, has not been satisfactorily
accounted for, except by one authority who states that it may be
due to the supposed unclean habit that some needlemen have of
moistening the thread with the tongue, and the custom of others
of twisting this article with the toes.

One of the principal exceptions, however, to embroidery in
India being regarded as belonging entirely to man's sphere, is
the "phulkari" or "flowering" work of the Punjab. The word
" industry " barely applies to this production as it represents the
home occupation of the women of the agricultural classes, and
cannot be referred to as a trade in the ordinary sense of the
word. Fabrics of Indian red cotton heavily embroidered with
geometrical patterns in white or yellow floss silk, used to Jbe
VOL. XXXII.— No. 205. c

18 The Empire Review

frequently seen as furniture draperies or piano covers in modern
drawing-rooms, where their happy colouring, like all true Indian
schemes, harmonised with the occidental surroundings. It is a
far cry from the English room, which the phulkari has decorated,
to the little mud hut in " the Land of the Five Eivers," where
the wife of Tulsi Das, the Jat labourer, lovingly prepared it
during the long winter evenings by the light of a flickering
"cherag." The heavy household work for the day having been
done, seated on a low string chair — raised only a few inches from
the ground — with her little brown baby scrambling about at her
feet, she puts in daily a few golden yellow stitches. The correct
position of these in the design is located by. laboriously counting
each woven thread of the coarse cotton ground fabric, and
inserting the needle each time according to this elaborate calcula-
tion. Slowly the pattern progresses ; the embroiderer, working
from the back or wrong side of the cotton ground, has not the
small pleasure of observing the design develop under her fingers,
but this matters little to a mind that has been nourished on
patience for many generations. Then one eventful day a small
portion only remains unfinished— one little square or fragment of
a border. And the worker completes the pattern, but not, as
one would expect, with the yellow colour which is the sole note
of the main design ; but, changing her thread, she purposely fills
in this small space with a blot of glaring purple or crimson,
screaming out by itself from the golden gloss of the general
scheme. This, often mistaken by the uninitiated for an accident
or oversight, will be observed in all true " phulkaries," and is
done to avert the curse of the Evil Eye, for it is not permitted to
mankind to produce a flawless thing ; some fault or defect must
exist ; the work of God only is perfect.

One of the most inexplicable art processes carried on in India
— one of the many extraordinary methods which have in the
course of time been evolved by the artisan in his desire for
decoration, is that known as " tie-dyeing." It is a style of
ornamentation usually applied to cotton fabrics, and represents a
pattern dyed on this material in a series of small dots or circles.
One would naturally assume that a design worked out in this
manner would not be capable of much elaboration — that the
workman would be confined to comparatively simple scrolls and
similar forms. But the reverse is often the case, as many of the
examples depict elephants and cavaliers, chariots and horses,
musicians and dancing girls, all drawn in outlines formed of
innumerable small circles. However, the method adopted by the
dyer to secure this effect is the most astonishing part of this
industry, as each minute dot is obtained by the cloth being tied
up into a knot by means of a thread. When this part of the

Stories of Indian Art 19

process is complete — that is, the fabric being tied up into some
thousands of knots — it is put into the dye-pot. The knots bound
up tightly with the thread resist the action of the dye, and
ultimately, when the colouring process is complete, this thread is
removed, revealing a small undyed white spot, the thousands of
which are so arranged as to produce the desired pattern. No
description, however, can do justice to this process, which,
regarded in any light, is possibly one of the most remarkable on
record. The trade is not a small one, and flourishes in many
parts of India, particularly in Eajputana. The story of this art
has an interesting sequel. It has been explained that the article
is .a cotton cloth and the pattern appears as white spots on a red
ground. The association of this garment— for it forms an article
of clothing worn by the Hindu working classes— with a machine-
made production in England — the special property of the British
workman — may seem somewhat remote, but, nevertheless, it
exists. What is referred to is the red and white spotted hand-
kerchief seen in the bands of the English labourer and navvy —
the "bandana." Years ago a number of Eajputana coolies
emigrated to Jamaica, taking with them their tie-dyed shawls
and turbans. Examples of these eventually found their way to
England, where, owing to a demand, these spotted patterns were
reproduced in the mills of Manchester. Later the same style of
design with certain modifications was introduced by the Man-
chester manufacturers into common articles for local use, hence
the " bandana " handkerchief, from the Hindustani word
" bandna," to tie.

The religious objections on the part of the orthodox Mussul-
man to representations of any living thing are well known,
although many notable instances are forthcoming of this restric-
tion being treated with scant ceremony when the real artistic
passion asserted itself. The Emperor Jahangir's encouragement
of miniature portraiture is one of these, but it may be argued his
general character was not exactly orthodox. That this scruple is
still in evidence the following incident will prove. On the door-
way to a small mosque in the Punjab was carved in wood a
common Indian border — a repeating pattern of a spiral of foliage
alternating with a figure of a bird. The execution indicated that
the work was comparatively new — the building having been
recently restored — but a close observation of the carving revealed
that the head of each bird had been removed by a blow of the
chisel. An old greybeard standing by readily explained this
curious mutilation. The carving was the handiwork of the village
carpenter, who happened to be a Hindu, and naturally confined
himself to his traditional design. On the completion of the
commission, an inspection of the work by the elders of the mosque

c 2

20 The Empire Review

followed. All was approved, with the exception of the birds,
which, representing living things, were interdicted by the law of
the Koran. A long and profound discussion then ensued.
Finally, a brilliant way out of the difficulty was suggested by one
of the priests, and at once put into effect to the satisfaction of all
concerned — with the exception no doubt of the Hindu carpenter.
Each bird was neatly decapitated, and the disfigured design
remains to testify that the word of the man who started life as a
poor shepherd in Arabia fourteen centuries ago still guides the
arts of the present day.

Of the simple and rudimentary tools used by the Indian
artisan to produce the most intricate and elaborate works much
might be written. Many have no doubt admired the fine ivory
carving procurable in Delhi, but probably very few know that the
minute detail so characteristic of this work is obtained by the
carver employing sharpened pieces of wire from the frames of old
umbrellas, the hollow ribs of which, so the workman considers,
make up into most excellent gouges. The miniature painters of
the same place, to obtain their finest touches, use paint brushes
made from the fluffy hairs on the tails of young squirrels. To
procure these, they trap the animal, cut off its tail, and then
release the maimed creature, as their religion does not permit the
sacrifice of life in any form. The pigments used by these painters
were, until recently, entirely prepared by the individuals them-
selves, as was the custom in Europe in the medieval days. Time
of course was no object, and as an example of this, to obtain a
particular green, much favoured by the early artists, pieces of
copper were buried underground with lime for six months, after
which period the colour was extracted from the deposit of verdigris
on the metal. To the miniature painters of Kashmir is due the credit
of making their art famous by the introduction of a very tender
tint of light brown observable on the background of their pictures.
It is used in portraiture as a light wash of colour to throw up the
features, and is known as " abrung " or colour of water. The
artists of the present day affirm that this inexpressibly delicate
effect was obtained by allowing clean water to stand in a vessel
until it had evaporated, and then using as a pigment the trace of
sediment which remained when the water had disappeared.

Apart from the primitive nature of the tools used in the
ivory carving of India, this industry has other interesting features,
one of these being of no little importance on account of its
economic as well as its artistic aspect. It is usual to associate
the lordly elephant and his gleaming white tusks with the Indian
Empire, this animal, the Bengal tiger, the cobra, and the lotus
flower being the emblems, so to speak, of India in her different
moods. It is strange, therefore, to find that practically all the

Stories of Indian Art 21

ivory used in India for decorative purpose is obtained from Africa.
The explanation of this is that the African ivory is closer in the
grain and not so liable to turn yellow as the Indian. We have,
therefore, the spectacle of the wild elephant roaming the jungles,
and the tamed specimen used in many capacities, yet the distant
countries of Mozambique and Zanzibar supply the Indian carvers
with their most prized ivory.

The fineness of the work that the artist in this material can
execute is one of the most astonishing parts of this craft. For
example, a group will be produced of a camel with driver barely
half an inch high, the rope being a fibre of ivory not thicker than
a human hair. Large mats, woven in fine strips of ivory, are not
uncommon and frequently observed among the possessions of the
wealthy, as they have the reputation of being deliciously cool to
sleep upon. At one time I visited annually a distant town where
ivory carving was carried on, and was regularly interviewed by an
old artist who was a past-master of his craft. This individual
always produced his masterpiece of the year, and it was usual to
fully discuss the merits of this carefully finished example of his
labours. Elaborately carved deities, caparisoned elephants with
swinging ropes and tassels, caskets perforated like lace, were each
brought up for inspection, until one year the old man, with a
subdued look of triumph that he could hardly conceal, presented
himself with a small box little more than an inch square. Open-
ing this a piece of thread projected from the cotton wool with
which it was filled. Carefully drawing this forth he laid it in the
palm of my hand, and by means of a magnifying glass it was
possible to discern that attached to this thread was a minute
chain composed of ten perfectly formed links, each not larger
than the eye of a fine needle, all carved out of one piece of ivory.
This work, more wonderful than artistic, was the man's chef
d'ceuvre for the year.

In the production of the well-known lac-ware, a trade com-
mercially identified with shellac and sealing-wax, which is carried
on all over India, the principal tool used is a blunt piece of fibre
from the stem of the palm leaf, and with this apparently clumsy
instrument the most artistic results are obtained. This industry
is second only to the tie-dyeing handicraft in the interest of its
process, which defies description. The word " lac " is the same
as the numerical " lakh " — meaning a hundred thousand — closely
associated with the monetary system of India, and is derived
from the small insect which in countless numbers deposits
the lac in the form of a resinous incrustation on the twigs
of trees.

The great intrinsic value of some of the most historic
specimens of Indian art is now so well known as to cause no

22 The Empire Review

astonishment, as, for example, the Peacock Throne at Delhi,
which Tavernier, an expert, appraised at over seven million
pounds, but the " Pearl Carpet " of Baroda, which has escaped
the fate of the throne, is not often referred to. This wonderful
production is not a carpet but a canopy, is a comparatively
modern piece of work, and according to an official report is
believed to have cost four hundred thousand pounds sterling. It
was made to the order of Kunde Bao, one of the rulers of Baroda,
a Hindu who contemplated a secession to Mahomedanism, and
was intended as a present to the tomb of the Prophet at Medina.
During the manufacture of this canopy, it was reported to the
royal donor that the priests in charge of the shrine were engaged
in a quarrel over the division of this gift, which, it was rumoured,
they had decided to share among themselves. The probability is
that this story was concocted and circulated with the object of
retaining the article in the country, and it certainly effected this
purpose, for it was never despatched to its intended destination.
The design of this embroidery is an elaborate one, myriads of
seed pearls forming the field of the pattern, which is worked out
in a combination of diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, freely dis-
persed. To place on the four corners of the " carpet " are four
large weights in solid gold, thickly set with diamonds. The
general effect, however, is not strikingly artistic, its tawdriness
giving it the appearance of a somewhat common-place bead mat.
On very special occasions it is lent for exhibition purposes, when
it is accompanied by the greater part of a local regiment of
sepoys as a bodyguard.

Of articles of lesser value, but nevertheless of considerable
artistic as well as intrinsic worth, mention may be made of
" kinkhobs," or cloths of gold. Threads of silk and gold are
woven together to form these fabrics, and the surprising weight
of some of them indicates approximately the amount of precious
metal they contain. Owing to the Europeanization of the
country, these do not fetch the price they used to years ago, and
the writer was able to rescue recently one of a pair, a dream of
oriental colouring, the fellow to it having been deliberately burnt
by the owner — not by any means an uncommon practice — for the
purpose of extracting the very appreciable quantity of gold which
it contained.

With regard to the status, social and otherwise, of the Indian
artist, accounts appear to differ. Historic records indicate that
in the early ages, when the inhabitants of India were being
sifted into their different castes and communities, the craftsman
occupied a very inferior position, being classed with the lower
servants and even with the order corresponding to the " hetaera "
of ancient Greece. An almost similar state of affairs, however,

Stories of Indian Art

was observed in England when the term "actor" and "vagabond"
were regarded as synonymous. But in later times the artist in
India is generally accepted not only as a superior member of the
community but as a being endowed with gifts which place him
much above ordinary men. The Emperor Akbar is said to have
made the following very sympathetic observation with reference
to the painter of pictures: — "It appears to me as if a painter
had quite peculiar means of recognising God; for in sketching
anything that has life, and in devising its limbs one after the
other, he must come to feel that he cannot bestow individuality
upon his work, and is forced to think of God, the only giver of
life, and will thus increase his knowledge."

It is only natural that any good art craftsman is looked upon
with considerable pride by the community with which he lives.
Kipling notes that, " in some districts, when a carpenter has
made a certain chaukut for a door or window, he takes a holiday
to exhibit it, and, spreading a sheet on the ground, lays it down
in front of the house it is to adorn, and sits there to receive the
congratulations and gifts of his admiring townsmen." This
individual is nearly always an artist to the finger-tips, and
acquainted with the observances of the universal art brotherhood.
One afternoon, years ago, I stopped to see one of these artisans
carrying on his occupation before a much impressed group of
neighbours in the village street. He was engaged in inscribing,
in a remarkably facile manner, a pattern of scrollwork on some
pottery, and generations of forbears in the same line had given the
man an ancestrally transmitted skill, in the reflected glory from
which the countryside was wont to revel. One of the company,
seeing my interest, asked somewhat boastfully if I had ever seen
such cleverness before. Slightly nettled by this — and their
attitude generally — I asked if I might try my hand at the work.
The craftsman gravely handed me the article and tool, silencing
with a scowl the titter aroused from the bystanders at my un-
expected request. The art was not difficult to one accustomed
to the use of all drawing appliances, and this, combined possibly
with a certain amount of hereditary dexterity, enabled me to
manipulate easily the rude metal style in working out the
indigenous patterns, and to introduce a few specially designed
scrolls and details of my own. When I had finished, the con-
fused and puzzled look of my audience made me deeply regret my
impulse, but the old workman courteously salaamed, the light in
his eyes was that of pleasure and interest ; I had given him the
masonic sign of the craft, and he saw in me a brother artist.
The village grumbler murmured something to the effect that " if
the ' Saheb logue ' can do these things, what is the prospect for
these poor ones ? " but he was speedily silenced, and we sat

24 The Empire Review

there, the craftsman and I, drawing and comparing scrolls and
patterns, until night closed in.

It is customary to refer to the degradation of Indian art
owing to the influence of the Occident. That a change in the
nature of the indigenous decoration is taking place is evident,
but it is believed that much of this is due to the fact that the
country is passing through one of its periods of transition. A
brief reference to some of these stages of change, culled from the
nation's history, may serve to illustrate this view. Immediately
previous to the opening of the Christian Era, the trace of the
influence of the Classical art on the work of the Indian craftsmen
is readily observed. The extent of this Hellenism, and the
ultimate effect it had on the designs of the country, opens up a
large field of discussion. But that at this age not only the arts
but many other aspects of the country were undergoing a
metamorphosis, there is little doubt. With the advent of the
Moghuls at a much later date, India was swept from end to end
by a wave of Mahomedanism, which has left an indelible mark
on almost everything connected with the life of its people. In
the art of the country at this particular period of transition some
most interesting results of the change are observable. The
conquerors employed the local Hindu craftsmen to erect their
mosques and tombs, and had to divert their ideas to comply with
the accepted Mahomedan observances. A trace of the difficulties
that this presented may be noticed in connection with the
Classical period previously referred to, when Indian craftsmen
were employed to copy Greek names and titles on the coins put
into currency by the invaders. As the shackles holding together
the two countries gradually slackened, so these inscriptions
became more degraded, until they were finally undecipherable.
Again, a small figure of Buddha nestling among the acanthus
foliage of a Corinthian capital is an example frequently brought
to light in the vicinity of Peshawar, and indicates the manner in
which the Oriental impinged itself on to the Occidental more
than two thousand years ago. It may be remarked that this
obvious precedent does not appear to have had a deleterious effect
on the subsequent art of the country ; but if at the present time
an Indian artist dares to copy a Gothic capital and introduce into
this a figure of " Krishna " — a modern parallelism to the example
above alluded to — he is ridiculed, and the usual wail goes up
regarding the present-day decadence of Indian art.

With the Islamization of the country in the Middle Ages a
similar state of affairs is discernible, and some of the early steps
leading to this transition of style are illuminating. As a case in
point it was customary for the Hindu carver to introduce in a
niche above the lintel of a door a small representation of the

Stories of Indian Art 25

elephant god " Ganesh," his deity of good luck. This of course
was dead against the tenets of the followers of the Prophet, and
it is possible to see in certain old Mahomedan buildings, erected
during these years of transition, the general idea permitted to
remain, but Ganesh converted into some innocuous foliage, while
his curling trunk by means of an extra twist is made into a
convenient scroll. In the same way the Hindu goddess " Kali "
has also been transformed, in some early Mahomedan decorative
schemes, into a conventional pattern of leaves, the difficulty of
the traditional position of the dancing legs being overcome by
representing these as elongated seed-pods.

The arrival of European traders at a somewhat later date led
to the introduction of many foreign elements into Indian designs,
which in the process of time have become Indianised, and, no
questions being asked, are now accepted as genuine indigenous
patterns. Sir George Birdwood truly observes : " The assimilative
power of the Hindus is as remarkable as their receptive power,
and in the hands of their hereditary craftsmen everything they
copy in time assumes the distinctive expression of Indian art."
With regard to the present it is of course a shock to discover the
gold-brocade weaver of to-day, whose art pedigree is traceable
without a break from the time of ancient Babylon, laboriously
copying in his precious materials and world-old process English
kitchen wall papers at 2^df. a yard, but this has had its precedent
a dozen times during the country's history, and it can hardly be
proved that the result in any of these instances has led to what is
frequently alluded to as a decay of art.

PEECY BROWN.

CANADA AT THE FRONT

WHAT the New Brunswick infantrymen have done in the
war is recorded in " The Glorious Story of the Fighting 26th."
The authors are E. W. Gould and S. K. Smith. The description
of the scenes attending the departure of the battalion from
St. John is vivid and realistic and could have been written only
by one who was through it all. The fighting is graphically
described in these letters from the front, and the tale is completed
by a thrilling account of the storming of Passchendaele. The
book contains a wealth of illustrations and is issued by J. and
A. McMillan, St. John, New Brunswick.

26 The Empire Review

A PLEA FOR COMPULSORY PHYSICAL
CULTURE

WHEN it has been desired to study the conditions of our
fellow-men, and especially the results of measures taken for their
betterment, the survey as a rule has been partial and the view-
point biassed. Lord Derby's scheme provided an exceptional
opportunity for obtaining this information, and in a thorough and
impartial manner.

The recruits under that scheme may fairly be taken as types
of the physical development -of the masses. Practically all men
under forty, other than those already in the army, came up for
examination. On the whole their physical development was
good, but something was always lacking, and the want showed
chiefly in height and weight, a singular if not remarkable
coincidence, seeing that in so many cases the work of the recruits
involved physical labour which might be expected to yield good
physique. But the tale was unvarying : men who had the height
had not the weight, men who had the weight had not the height,
a number being deficient in both. On the other hand, physical
blemishes and deformities were extraordinarily few. Inefficiency
due to disease was more frequent ; the men falling into this class
had obviously received a full birthright of physical efficiency and
had come into the world perfectly formed ; it was the development
and growth of the originally physically fit that were defective.
Here then we have a definite problem to solve.

The experience of all who have tried to assist the masses is
the same; offers left to voluntary acceptance are neglected by
many, and reformers are discouraged by the lack of appreciation
on the part of the persons they had hoped to benefit. This
should not be, but so it is ; voluntary work fails through lack of a
general response. By compulsion alone can uniformity and
success be obtained. The too-ready recognition of " conscientious
objectors " has wrecked many excellent schemes or rendered them
only parrially successful. All laws press on different people with
varying degrees of severity, but it is far better that a few should
suffer than a noisy minority be allowed to make void a law
enacted for the good of the majority. Nothing is more foolish

A Plea for Compulsory Physical Culture '^7

than to permit a minority to remain a danger to the rest of the
population.

Education — that is, education of the mind — was made com-
pulsory, but as soon as school days are over there is no further
exercise of authority. The evil results of this absence of authority
were clearly shown in the examination of Lord Derby's recruits.

Everyone who has studied our industrial system from within
comes to the same conclusion : men wear out too soon. In many
vocations by the time a man reaches his fortieth year, often
before, he is an old man. This premature, and for the most
part unnecessary, ageing is a national economic loss. By im-
proving a man's physique and assisting him to form healthy
habits, not only will ten or fifteen years be added to his industrial
efficiency but a substantial contribution will be made to the
wealth and prosperity of the country.

Men of the working classes wear out earlier than men of other
classes, not because they are worse men but mainly because they
have no break or variation in their work, no rest, no change,
from the day they leave school to take up a trade till the day they
cease working for good and all. It is not effort but continuous
monotonous labour which ages a man. Constant work in a rut,
with little or no outlook or general view, tends more than anything
else to narrowness of sympathy and bitterness of heart, and leads
»to unrest which in different circumstances might be largely
averted. What is wanted is a period of compulsory physical
education after the mental education or school life is finished.
This is the only way of rejuvenising and morally cleansing the
nation. We must have a system of compulsory drill and physical
culture, and this system should be extended to women as well as
to men.

Physical service is no political party cry, nor does it need any
pressure from without as, for instance, do the necessities of war.
It is a matter not of foreign but of domestic policy. But it
involves one great change in our administration, it involves the
establishment of a Ministry of Health. Existing departments of
the State cannot undertake the work necessary to secure the
physical culture of every man and woman in the nation. Mr.
Stephen Paget has well said : " Here is no question of Germany,
where brutality is allowed to masquerade as discipline : we are
thinking of our happier country."

The lives of animals are spent in periods of sleep, pleasure
and prowling for food, times of recreation and exercise. Man
has evolved further, and for that advance he has to pay the
penalty. To a great extent his survival and supremacy depends
on his fitness and versatility. As compared with the lower
animals his organs are worked more incessantly, and perhaps

The Empire Review

harder, and in consequence they suffer more from wear and tear.
Mankind is a prey to many complaints practically unknown
amongst wild animals ; examples of these are diabetes, neur-
asthenia, insanity, Bright's disease, Graves' disease, heart and
blood-vessel diseases. Thus there is a very real need, not
pressing on animals, for humans to maintain themselves fit by
bodily exercises.

Again, in our social system man is not allowed to express and
translate his feelings and impulses in action, he has had to develop
control, to sit on his own safety-valve. But at what price ?
Instead of relieving his feelings by action he suffers from pent-up
emotion which, with his everlasting watchfulness, expresses itself
in the wearing out of the organism. For recreation he has
recourse either to rest or to exercise, the one if he is past the
meridian of life, the other if he is not. It would be far better if
by means of physical culture it were possible to forestall and
prevent these lapses.

The majority of people do not work because they like it but
because circumstances compel them to do so. Work, at any rate
continuous work, is distasteful to most people, who only do it
because they must or feel they must. Why was it necessary to
make mental education compulsory ? Because parents would not
send their children to school, although the worldly advantages
which education gave to its possessor were fully recognised.
Similarly, games had to be made compulsory in the class-schools
because certain boys declined to exercise their bodies unless
compelled.

Finally, it is only by combination that a national aim can be
attained. The success of a team depends upon its members
striving together in harmony, leaders and led alike. The effective
working of a team is jeopardised if it contains an unduly brilliant
or an unduly dull worker. A team is, like a chain, as strong as
its weakest link. When a person exercises alone, he alone
benefits. Let the exercise be taken in conjunction with others,
and ideas of the negation of self for the benefit of the group
appear and are inculcated.

Physical culture embraces both the development of the
individual and of groups of individuals ; by merely increasing the
size of the groups physical culture becomes national work. It is
only by compulsion that a body of persons can be taught team
work and so be made fit to carry to a successful issue any enter-
prise in public or private life. Both team work and compulsion
therefore are essential to the successful carrying out of auy large
measure of physical culture for the general benefit of mankind.

EDBED M. COENEE
(Captain, B.A.M.C. (T.) ).

Sugar Beet 29

SUGAR BEET

A LARGE area, comparatively speaking, was under sugar beet
in England in 1917, and it is evident that this year the root will
be cultivated on a much larger scale. The growing of sugar beet
has now passed out of the experimental stage, and a number of
growers, including Lord Selborne, have proved that, given correct
treatment, crops can be grown in this country that are quite as
heavy, and with roots with as high a sugar content, as any grown
on the Continent or in the United States. As a matter of fact
the results this season have exceeded the expectations of the
most sanguine.

Many English farmers who have not studied the subject
closely are under the impression that the sugar beet can only be
grown to advantage in light sandy soils ; and that it is almost
hopeless to expect good results when the seed is sown on heavy
loam or clay. This impression probably arose during the fairly
successful attempts that were made in 1868 to grow Silesian beet
in the vicinity of Lavenham, Suffolk. The soil in that neighbour-
hood is light, and as the crops obtained were good, the two things
were connected. Sugar beet is subject to the disease known as
brown penetration, which is generally caused by lack of sufficient
oxygen in the soil, or by repeated sowing on the same land. Bad
drainage is also largely responsible for the pest, which consequently
occurs more frequently in clayey than in sandy soil. Exceedingly
heavy crops of sugar beet have been raised on heavy soils when
the land has been brought into a fine friable condition by good
drainage and correct cultivation. On the other hand, many light
sandy soils are deficient in plant food, and unless considerable
attention is paid to the manuring and working of such soils, good
results cannot be obtained.

It may be taken, therefore, that the cultivation of the soil for
sugar beet growing is far more important than the actual quality
of the soil itself. Some lands, for instance, will require ploughing
deeply in the autumn, and leaving in rough ridges in the winter
months, and light harrowing only is necessary before the seed is
sown. Other soils may only need to be lightly ploughed ; some

30 The Empire Review

require subsoiling, and others are thoroughly suitable in them-
selves and only require light manuring.

The question is therefore of importance in beet growing.
Some soils are lacking in necessary ingredients, which must be
supplied by means of fertilisers. Nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric
acid are frequently found wanting. Other soils require ploughing
under green crops, and some need a dissolvent in order that the
plant food they contain may be made available. There must also
be a sufficient depth of fertile soil ; at least sixteen inches are
required for the sugar beet, whicb grows almost entirely under-
ground, unlike the mangold, and so cannot be raised in shallow
soil. Lime is a necessary ingredient in the soil, as if it is absent
the roots are liable to fork.

With regard to farmyard manure, whilst a certain amount is
often necessary, it should be used as sparingly as possible, and
should be applied during the autumn or early winter, and on no
account should heavy dressings be applied. The effect of an
excess of farmyard manure is that big watery roots, with an
abundance of leaves, are produced, and the roots are not only
poor in sugar contents, but contain certain compounds into
which nitrogen enters, which render it more difficult to extract
the sugar.

Salt dressing should be avoided as far as possible, and should
not exceed 2 cwt. to the acre, as the juice of beets grown on soil
manured with salt is of a saline nature, and the cost of extracting
sugar from juice containing even a slight trace of salt is very
heavy. Nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia may be used, but
care must be taken not to apply either of these too heavily.
Indeed, if the land is in good condition and contains a sufficient
proportion of nitrogen the latter fertiliser should not be used.
Guano is seldom advisable, but if the soil is very poor a mixture
of about 2 cwt. of sulphate of ammonia and 2 cwt. of super-
phosphate of lime per acre may be used during the autumn with
good effect ; followed by a further application of 2 cwt. of super-
phosphate of lime per acre drilled in with the seed during the
spring sowing.

Practical experience seems to demonstrate that superphosphate
of lime and bone dust are the most generally useful manure for
best cultivation. Any phosphatic manures may be used with
advantage, as they have no injurious effect on the juice of the
beet, as have those fertilisers which contain a high percentage of
ammonia. Potash is often wanting in light soils, but the salts of
potash, when applied, should always be used together with bone
dust or superphosphate of lime.

It must be remembered that when beet sugar is manufactured
commercially in this country, economic consideration? will

Sugar Beet 31

determine the situation of the factories. It is not at all probable
that any individual or company will be prepared to lay down and
equip a factory merely on the ground that the soil in the district
is suitable for beet cultivation. The position of the works will
be selected with a view to cheap labour, cheap power and fuel,
and quick and inexpensive distribution of the finished product.

It will be for the farmer to face the problem of the soil, and
he must study the question of beet cultivation from a scientific
standpoint, or neither grower nor manufacturer will be able to
carry on business against the competition of foreign sugar, and
the industry which promises to do so much for British industry
when it is once firmly established will be strangled in its infancy.
The prospective beet grower should choose the best land he has
for his first crop, and, whilst that is growing, should be giving all
his attention to bringing his poorer soil into proper condition.

It may be pointed out that no ordinary crop is so expensive
to grow as sugar beet. An estimate of the cost for growing and
harvesting roots under ordinary conditions is £6 5s. per acre,
whilst if irrigation is necessary the cost will be increased to about
£8 10s. per acre. From six to eight tons of beet will therefore
be required per acre to pay the expenses of cultivation, and at
least another ton per acre must be allowed for rent and rates.
In order, therefore, to get good returns from the land, it will be
necessary to grow heavy crops, and in order that a good price
may be obtained for the roots they must be of a good quality,
with a high percentage of purity, and rich in sugar content.

The sugar content of the Lavenham crops mentioned worked
out at an average of about 10 per cent., whilst roots grown in
Norfolk, Bedford and Bucks about the same time had a sugar
content varying from 9 to 11 per cent. At the present time there
are many factories in the United States working with roots
containing an average of 19 per cent, sugar, and with a coefficient
of purity of about 84 or 85. Even on comparatively poor and
uncultivated soil many American farmers grow beet containing
from 10 to 13 per cent, of sugar.

In the United States the average yield of beet per acre is from
ten to eleven tons. In Germany the average crop from an acre
of ground is about thirteen tons. The American farmer is,
however, working to a large extent on virgin or comparatively
virgin soil, whilst the German is raising his crops on highly
cultivated land. Further, the German farmer follows strictly
scientific methods with regard to the rotation of crops and
manuring. He works throughout on a systematised plan, and
the same is true to a considerable extent of all other European
beet growers. The French farmer, however, on the average
raises 15 per cent, fewer beet per acre than his German com-

32 The Empire Review

petitor, and it requires 160 Ibs. more of French than German
grown beet to produce 100 Ibs. of sugar.

It was made clear many years ago that the soil and climate of
England were quite suitable for beet cultivation, aud Dr. Voelcker
showed that beet could be grown in certain parts of Ireland and
Scotland that would contain as high a proportion of sugar as any
raised on the Continent. It has been held, however, that the
British farmer would require too high a price from the factory for
his roots, and that it would pay him better in the long run to use
the land for other purposes. That is, however, a matter into
which the cost of carriage to the factory, the cost of the factory
equipment and labour, and the market price of sugar enter so
largely as to preclude any discussion here.

It must be acknowledged that on the Continent, and the
United States, good profits were made out of sugar beet cultiva-
tion, and if the industry be firmly established in this country
there is little doubt that the agriculturist would not only find a
ready market for his produce, but would find that prices so
adjusted themselves as to render the cultivation of beet for sugar-
making purposes a most profitable occupation.

G. BASIL BAEHAM, C.E.

SOUTH AFRICAN DIAMOND INDUSTRY

AN increase of £5,328,581 in the output of diamonds as com-
pared with the previous year, the respective totals being £399,810
and £5,728,391, is a feature of the report of the Government
Mining Engineer for 1916, just issued. Washing operations had
been resumed on the principal mines early in the year, followed in
some cases by the recommencement of actual mining. With
regard to De Beers Company, the Bultfontein and Wesselton
Mines started washing on a very restricted scale in the beginning
of January. Subsequently the demand was found to justify a
gradual increase of production, culminating in the resumption of
underground work, hauling from the mines named being restarted
towards the end of May. In that month washing was extended
to the Dutoitspan floors, but underground work there had not
been resumed at the date of the report, nor was there any develop-
ment work on any of the mines during the year reviewed, owing
chiefly, the report states, to scarcity of miners and skilled labour.
The report records a great deficiency of skilled white labour,
especially miners and mechanics, during the year (owing pre-
sumably to the great drain on personnel occasioned by the war).
The supply of native labour, as usual on the diamond fields,
proved ample for all requirements.

A Series of Essays 33

A SERIES OF ESSAYS*

AT a time when it is more literally true than it has been within
living memory, that in the midst of life we are in death, the
appearance of this volume in which five representative thinkers set
forth the evidence for the immortality of the soul is peculiarly
opportune.

The introduction by Canon Streeter is headed by an appro-
priate quotation from the speech of one of the wise men present
at the Witan at which the Saxon King Edwin announced his
intention of becoming a Christian in fulfilment of his promise to
St. Paulinus, a quotation which would, however, have been more
effective if it had been made direct from the ancient chronicle
relating the event, in which it is the life of men, not the soul,
which is likened to a sparrow flitting through the Hall of Assembly
to vanish none knew whither. The very aim of the present
publication is indeed to prove that the human soul is no " tran-
sient thing," but an abiding reality which nothing can destroy.

Canon Streeter explains that he and his colleagues have
endeavoured " to get right away from the old bickerings between
science and religion, reason and revelation, and to bring together
the ascertained results of different branches of scientific, philo-
sophical, critical and historical study, in such a way as to inter-
penetrate and illuminate one another in the light of the values
derivable from religion, ethics and art." He adds that this is
only a beginning which it is hoped will lead others to go further
forward, and expresses a conviction " that such light as men now
see is only the twilight which precedes the dawn."

One and all of the authors of these essays recognise the univer-
sality of the persistent belief of all the races of mankind in their
own deathlessness, which the famous hero Yudhisthura, of the
great Hindu epic of the Mahabbarata, declared to be " the most
wonderful thing in the world." The human ego is indeed unable
to conceive its own annihilation, although very early in its career
in this world it has incontrovertible proof of the impermanency of

* ' Immortality : an Essay in Discovery, Co-Ordinating Scientific, Psychical and
Biblical Research.' By Burnett H. Streeter, A. Glutton-Brock, i^,, Hadfield, and
the Author of ' Pro Christo et Ecclesia.' London : Macmillan &.CoV""-'10s. Gd. net.

VOL. XXXII. —No. 205. D

34 The Empire Review

the body in which that ego dwells. Intellectual and scientific
arguments beat in vain against the rock of conviction that there
is within the perishable corporeal frame a deathless self, an
imperishable individual essence, which nothing can destroy.

Long ages before the birth of Christ, the sacred books of India
gave eloquent expression to the innate conviction of the Hindus
that the A'tman, the real inner self of man, is indestructible,
unchanging, having neither birth nor death ; whilst many centuries
later Socrates voiced the belief of many of his fellow countrymen
when he said, " The invisible soul goes after death to dwell in the
unseen world with the good and wise God .... where that soul
is released from error, folly, fear, fierce passions, and all the other
eviis that fall to the lot of men, and is happy, and for the rest of
time lives in very truth with the gods."

Mr. Glutton-Brock clears the ground for the consideration of
the problems to be discussed by a summary of the Pre-supposi-
tions and Pre-judgments concerning the unseen world which
must be given up if the truth is to be discovered. In his opinion
one of the most vital elements of that truth is the recognition of
the equality of all men before God. " It is no accident," he says,
" that the exultation of Christian faith in a future life was com-
bined with the assertion that all men were equal in the sight of
God. The Christain faith," he adds, "went with the renunciation of
all status." That renunciation, not in words only but in deeds, in
the innermost recesses of the mind was a necessary antecedent to
the Christian happiness, and once achieved, "then we may leave
our faith to grow of itself through our works."

In another article from the same pen, " A Dream of Heaven,"
the writer reveals how truly in touch he is with the spirit which
has inspired thousands not only of the noblest men of the day
but of the weak and erring who have found salvation through
self-sacrifice, facing the loss of all earthly joy and looking upon
death itself as but a passing incident of service to be continued in
the other world. To Mr. Glutton- Brock and to those who
think with him, death is but the gate of a new life in which the
soul will escape from the tyranny of the past and, free from the
limitations of the body, go on from strength to strength till the
desire of Christ is realised, and all who followed Him on earth
are one with Him and His Father in Heaven.

Canon Streeter's Essays on the Besurrection of the Dead,
and the Life of the World to Come, will probably appeal more
strongly than any others in the book to those who retain an
earnest belief in Christianity with a loyal devotion to its Founder,
yet rebel against the rigid dogma which would limit the power of
God Himself, and who recognise that freedom of growth is as
essential in religion as in every other branch of knowledge.

A Series of Essays 35

The Canon points out how our Lord in His teaching endorsed
the conviction latent in the mind of all believers in one supreme
God, of the personality of that God, a fa :t on which emphasis is
laid in the Apostles' Creed. He goes further than the prede-
cessors who have asserted that conservation of energy must be a
principle of the universe by claiming that augmentation of value
is equally inevitable, and he recognises the suggestion in many of
the parables of Christ of a gradually ascending hierarchy of
values in the scale of life, beginning with the vegetable and
passing up through the animal world to man made in the image
of God.

On the great questions of the Resurrection of the Body and
the Day of Judgment this exceptionally liberally-minded divine
has much to say which will probably rouse the antagonism of the
strictly orthodox, but to those who have long since abandoned
the literal interpretation of the references to both in the Bible,
his descriptions of what he conceives the next world to be will be
found of the most absorbing interest. He hazards the suggestion
that the spiritual body, which will replace the material one left
behind, will fully express the real character of its owner, all
disguises gone, and that this will be its condemnation or its
reward, "for that new body will automatically bring to light the
hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the
heart either for glory or for shame." Truly a terrible thought
were it not that this self-realisation is to be the first step towards
reformation and to the entry into the path which will lead to
eventual participation in a higher, nobler life than was possible on
earth. " The life of those in heaven," says Canon Streeter, " must
be thought of as a participation in the divine life as full as is com-
patible with their still remaining finite human beings," and most
beautiful are the pictures he calls up of the kingdom of heaven,
of which he thinks the most conspicuous characteristic will be
the intense quality of the active love which is a counterpart of
that of God Himself.

Dr. Emmett, in his able article on " The Bible and Hell,"
differs in certain minor respects from Canon Streeter, yet the
ideal he holds up is in the main the same, differing veiy greatly
from that of the teachers who appeal to fear of punishment
rather than love of God as a motive of conduct. He, too,
believes that the strongest proof of immortality is the conviction
innate in human nature of the infinite love of God, and he points
out that recent research has eliminated alike from the Old and
New Testament the doctrine of hell, which is altogether incom-
patible with revelation in Christ of the infinite goodness of the
Father and Creator of Man.

The " Essay on the Mind and Brain," by Dr. J. A. Hadfield,

D 2

36 The Empire Review

discussing immortality from the standpoint of science, with its
references to shell-shock, neurasthenia, and other bodily ills,
strikes a somewhat discordant note in a volume of which spiritual
aspiration is the dominant characteristic ; but it, too, concludes
with the expression of a belief that the world soul from which we
are derived came from and will return to God. The concluding
chapters, too, by the versatile Lily Dougall, on Spiritualism and
Psychic Eesearch, interesting though they are, do not rise to the
high level reached by Canon Streeter, Dr. Emmett, and the Eev.
Glutton- Brock, but they give completeness to a publication
which will take high rank as a notable elucidation of a subject
which will ever transcend every other in its importance to the
human race.

NANCY BELL.

BOOKS OF REFERENCE

' WHO'S WHO ' * may now be said to have reached first place
among books of reference. Year by year the number of biographies
has increased, and the additions for 1918 include a considerable
number of men who have received military distinctions. The
volume, as usual, is full of interest and information, and the fact
that it appears well up to time reflects the greatest credit on both
editor and publisher. The get-up is excellent. Accuracy in
detail is a special feature of ' Who's Who,' which contains
everything one wants to know, no more and no less. It is
indispensable to everyone who takes a part in public or professional
life, and as a gift no present could be more acceptable.

'WHITAKER'S ALMANACK'! for 1918 is the fiftieth annual
issue of this publication. It contains several new features. The
astronomical section has received careful revision, and the lists of
orders are made complete with the addition of the new order of
the British Empire. The growth of Government departments
has necessitated increased space being allotted to this section, and
among other subjects receiving special attention may be men-
tioned " Housing of the Working Classes," " The Redistribution
Proposals," and "Proportional Representation." Included in the
text is an account of the Naval operations of the last twelve
months, while the " Diary of the War " records the essential
features in each field of hostilities to the end of October 1917.
It is not possible to enumerate all the improvements, it is sufficient
to say that as a book of reference ' Whitaker's Almanack ' is
second to none.

* ' Who's Who,' 1918. An Annual Biographical Directory. Seventeenth year
of issue. Price 21s. net. A. & C. Black, Limited, Soho Square, London, W.

t An Almanack for 1918, by Joseph Whitaker, F.S.A. Price (bound) 3s. 6d. net.
12, Warwick Lane, London.

Empire Trade Notes 37

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES

CANADA

THE first comprehensive and authoritative directory of Canada's
natural resources is about to be published by the Canadian
Commission of Conservation. Inventories of the various sections
of the country will be arranged and published geographically,
provinces having similar resources being grouped together. One
division, for instance, will cover the Maritime Provinces, another
Ontario, and so on. The information will be of the utmost
importance in the solution of after-the-war problems and in the
future development of Canada.

THE postal census of the manufacturers of Canada, taken in
1916, just issued, shows a general expansion in the' manufac-
turing business of the Dominion. The number of establishments
in operation was 21,306, representing an invested capital of
J6398,820,654 and employing 52,613 persons on salaries and
462,200 persons on wages, and producing goods to the value of
£281,427,428 from raw materials valued at £160,427,132. There
were in Canada during the year covered by the statistics 65
establishments employing 500 hands, 25 employing over 1,000,
nine employing over 2,000, five employing over 3,000, and three
employing over 4,000. Of these three establishments two
employed over 5,000 hands.

CANADA possesses the largest forests in the British Empire.
This fact emphasises Canada's strategic position. What part
Canada's forests will play in British trade after the war is
problematical, but there is no lack of evidence to show that every
square mile of growing timber will double its value under the
strain of post-bellum demand from the devastated districts of
Europe. Meanwhile, those responsible in Canada are taking
full advantage of increasing timber values by thorough fire
protection and scientific control of wasteful lumbering.

UNDER the Union Government, Canada is entering upon a
vigorous policy for the construction of ships. The Minister of
Marine and Fisheries announces that the Government has de-
cided to utilise the existing shipyards to their utmost capacity in
the production of modern cargo steamers. It is estimated that
the yards can turn out from 250,000 to 300,000 tons annually.

38 The Empire Review

The Govenrnent is negotiating for the erection in Canada of mills
for rolling steel plates and shapes to provide the maximum re-
quirements. The construction of three different types of ship is
under consideration. One type comprises vessels of approximately
3,000 tons ; another, vessels of from 5.000 to 7,000 tons ; and the
third, vessels of from 8,000 to 10,000 tons. During the continu-
ance of the war the construction of steel ships in Canadian yarda
for foreign registry will not be permitted. The Minister promises
a more definite statement in the near future.

FARMERS are not proverbially good book-keepers, though in
no line of life is accurate accountancy more necessary. The
Saskatchewan Department of Agriculture is fully alive to the
importance of a good system of farm book-keeping, and the
matter has been brought to the attention of farmers in a variety
of ways. For several years cash prizes have been offered for
competition amongst fanners, who were invited to submit their
accounts to the judgment of the Provincial Auditor. Intricate
synoptic systems have been devised from time to time for farmers
and placed on the market, but little improvement has been made
in farm accounting generally, for the reason that even if the farmer
starts such a system he seldom has the time or the inclination to
keep it up, although he may clearly recognise its value. The
Department has therefore in the past confined itself to an effort
to induce farmers to adopt a very simple form of annual in-
ventory, which is easily kept up, and will at all events show
the progress, or otherwise, made from year to year — a sort of
financial barometer. If- he wishes, the farmer can at the same
time keep more detailed accounts, but from the use of the
inventory alone he will derive many a useful lesson, and find it a
valuable guide in his future activities. The Department has in
operation at the present time a farmers' book-keeping manual,
which, while it goes a little further, still preserves as its main
feature this simple inventory, and at the same time recognises
that the most simple and least complicated system of keeping
accounts is not only what the farmer wants, but is the only
system with which he is likely to persevere.

THE Canadian Naval Department has made arrangements
with the Department of Eaiiways and Canals whereby a fort-
nightly service will be run up to the end of February on the
new Hudson Bay Eailway in order to transport the fish caught
in the lakes of Northern Manitoba. A serious situation faced
the fishermen operating in these lakes owing to the decision of
the contractor for the new railroad not to operate it this winter.
The railway is still in the hands of the contractor, and its
operation is subject to his decision. However, the Naval Depart-
ment has undertaken to guarantee the Department of Railways
against loss in the operation of the road, and the service will be
given. A large quantity of fish will be saved to the country by
this winter railway service.

INTERESTING displays of Canadian-made cloth were shown at
the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. The Canadian

Empire Trade Notes 39

textile trade has undergone many changes as a result of the
war, and materials that were formerly imported now go through
the complete process of manufacture — from the fleece to the
finished product — in Canada. In addition to producing khaki
army cloth and installing looms necessary in the process of the
manufacture of blankets, an attractive range of velour, cashmeres,
tweeds, etc., in plain colours, has been placed on the market,
all of Canadian manufacture and Canadian origin.

A DEPOSIT of extremely valuable fossils of early marine life
has been discovered on Mount Field, British Columbia, overlooking
Emerald Lake Chalet and the beautiful Yoho Valley in the
Canadian portion of the Eocky Mountains. Professor Walcott,
who made the discovery, has been securing some wonderful
specimens of pre-historic sea life. These are of the period when
life was just emerging from the jelly fish stage into an era where
a bony structure was becoming apparent. Dying, these were
deposited in the mud of the ocean bottom. The strata of fossil-
bearing rock discovered by Professor Walcott is of much earlier
age than any in the surrounding mountains, and has, he states,
been forced up over the newer formations for a distance of over
twenty-five miles. The fossils were discovered by him while
travelling over Burgess Pass, a peculiar formation in a piece of
shale attracting his attention. Following up the shale slide
almost to the top of Mount Field, he finally located its source, far
above the timber line. The workings are very peculiar because
of their height, and are probably the only ones of their kind in
the world. Some of the specimens taken out are said to be
exceptionally perfect.

ONE of the problems which confronts the irrigators of the
Cypress Hills district, Saskatchewan, is the fact that although
there is a heavy spring flow of water in the streams which come
from the hills, this flow has largely disappeared by the time it is
required for irrigation purposes. The only means of coping
with this situation is the creation of reservoirs which will hold
the surplus water back until such time as it may be required.
The Commissioner of Irrigation of the Canadian Department
of the Interior has prepared an interesting paper on this subject.
His department has already made exhaustive surveys of the
Cypress Hills watershed, and he is able to present estimates of
the cost of reservoirs that would materially increase the supply
of water available. It is not proposed that this work shall be
proceeded with immediately, as there is a general recognition on
the part of the government that many necessary developments
must wait until after the war, but the surveys which have been
made and the estimates which have been presented will doubtless
constitute the basis of extensive enterprises within the next
few years.

A MODEL town will be built upon the Upper Ottawa. A
splendid site overlooking Lake Temiskaming has been laid out
according to modern principles of town planning by the Com-
mission of Conservation. Building operations will be commenced

40 The Empire Review

shortly by a local pulp and paper company, who are to erect a
large sulphite mill and paper plant, and for the accommodation
of whose employees the town is intended. Areas are being set
aside for open spaces, social centres, churches, schools, etc., in
advance. The main approach to the town will be by means of a
street, eighty feet wide, passing through a square on which the
stores and public buildings will be erected. It is proposed to
make the town a model of its kind, as it is recognised by the
promoters that healthy and agreeable housing and social conditions
are of vital importance in securing the efficiency of the workers.

THE exportation from Canada of silver spruce has been pro-
hibited to all destinations abroad other than the United Kingdom,
possessions and protectorates, except under licence. Owing to
the large number of aeroplanes that are being manufactured in
Great Britain and Canada, the demand is great for a suitable
supply of spruce wood.

THE operation of sawmills and the logging industry show con-
siderable improvement in British Columbia. In the northern
part of the province new enterprises are rapidly springing up along
the route of the Grand Trunk Pacific, and the railway company
is stated to anticipate more than a daily train of lumber for the
prairies. In the Prince Rupert district excellent progress is being
made in the construction of the Seal Cove mill controlled by a
local company, who started a logging camp a few miles from the
port, and who will have a raft of more than 500,000 feet ready for
towing to the mill as soon as the plant is ready to receive it. The
mills and camps on the Queen Charlotte Islands are also active.
Regular shipments are being made of spruce which will be used
in the manufacture of aeroplanes.

NEGOTIATIONS are being conducted between the Canadian
Nufuel Company, of Regina, and the Regina City Commissioners
for the manufacture of the new fuel " Oakole " from that city's
garbage and refuse. The patentee of this new fuel is an American
chemist, and a citizen of Regina has secured the selling and
manufacturing rights for Canada and Newfoundland. At the
present time this new fuel is being manufactured at San Antonio
and Austin, Texas, and a large plant, having a capacity of 250
tons of fuel a day, has been opened at Pueblo, Arizona. It is
proposed to erect a plant having a capacity of 150 tons a day at
Regina.

REPOETS of yet another gold discovery in the district of
Abitibi have reached Cobalt, Ontario. A prospector who has
returned from the scene of the discovery states that a vein, in
which occurs a considerable amount of free gold, has been un-
covered, and that the prospective area in the vicinity is a large
one. Reports of new discoveries are becoming so common of late
that interest in the information seems to be waning, although a
number of excellent showings were uncovered during the past
summer and warrant further investigation.

LOSSES of sailing vessels in Newfoundland trade through
storms and other causes since the commencement of the war

Empire Trade Notes 41

have been more than made up by building within the Colony
and purchase abroad. The Newfoundland sailing fleet now
numbers 125 vessels, and 17 others are on the stocks, the total
of 142 making the largest locally owned fleet for a great many
years. This is exclusive of boats used only in the island trade.
The fleet, made up of schooners ranging from 100 to 400 tons,
has a capacity which will enable the Colony to take to foreign
markets in Newfoundland bottoms the entire catch of cod in
inland waters.

NEWFOUNDLAND'S potato crop will exceed 2,500,000 bushels,
according to a report received at Ottawa by the Department of
Trade and Commerce from the Canadian Trade Commissioner at
St. John's, Newfoundland. This is equal to a supply per head
per year of twice as much as is ordinarily consumed, so that
there will be a very considerable amount available for seed
purposes and export to Europe.

PREPARATIONS to handle 4,000,000 bushels of grain per month
have been completed by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company at
St. John, New Brunswick. In addition to the immense grain traffic,
an enormous quantity of other goods is arranged for transportation
through this port, and only the number of ships available will
limit the traffic.

THE Grand Trunk has received delivery of six Mikado type
locomotives from the Canadian Locomotive Company at Kings-
ton, Ontario. These giant engines have been placed in service
on the Canadian lines of the railway. Nine additional loco-
motives are on order, five of these being for Western lines.
Including tender these Mikados weigh 441,800 Ibs., and can haul
a train of 6,000 tons. They cost approximately $50,000 each,
an advance of 50 per cent, over pre-war prices.

EXTENSIVE plans for the enlargement of Toronto's Harbour
have met with the approval of the Board of Control, which has
recommended to the City Council that authority be given the
Harbour Commissioners to raise $2,000,000 for reclamation work.
In addition to continuing improvements on Ashbridge's Bay, the
Commission will extend its plans east of Bathurst Street, and it
points out that the land reclaimed will accommodate many factory
sites, both during and after the war. It is stated that the sum
to be authorised, together with $500,000 on hand, will last the
Commission to the end of 1919.

THE collieries in the Crow's Nest Pass district of British
Columbia, which are now operated under Government control,
are producing 23,000 tons of coal per day, the greatest output in
the history of the Province. Everything is running smoothly at
the collieries.

APPROXIMATELY 250,000 sheep are owned by the members of
the Southern Alberta Wool Growers' Association. During the
first ten months of last year over 30,000 sheep were brought into
Canada from Montana, U.S.A.

42 The Empire Review

THE whole consignment of wood shipped under the Sas-
katchewan Government's co-operative wool marketing project
has now been disposed of at a satisfactory figure. The prices
realised ranged from 68 cents per Ib. for the best down to 58
cents for the lowest of the standard grades, while the " seedy "
or rejected grade brought 55 cents. Small quantities of washed
wool were sold for 75 cents, and tub-washed wool went for
80 cents. All told, the average price was 66 cents per Ib. The
wool went direct to the manufacturing establishments, thus
eliminating dealers' profits. It is believed that these prices are
the highest ever obtained for wool in Western Canada.

AN increase of approximately £54,600,000 for the first seven
months of the fiscal year ending October 1917, as compared with
a similar period in the previous year, is shown in the Canadian
trade statement just issued. For the seven months the trade
in the Dominion totalled £317,323,251 as compared with
£262,636,670 in 1916. For the month of October alone Canada's
trade amounted to £47,766,854.

THE ambitious project of an international live stock exhi-
bition for Hamilton, Ontario, which has been a feature of the
programme of the Board of Trade for some time, is nearer an
accomplished fact now than at any time in the past. At a
meeting held at Hamilton it was ascertained that the live stock
breeders of the province are in favour of, and feel the necessity
for an annual exhibition international in its scope. A site of
fifteen acres is available in the city, and Hamilton, as regards
transportation, has ample facilities for such. The necessity for
an exhibition of this nature was urged by the Dairy Com-
missioner at Ottawa and numerous other well-known experts and
stock raisers. A resolution was passed in favour of the organisa-
tion of an association representative of all branches of the live
stock industry and the holding of an international live stock
exhibition.

ALBEETA was represented at the International Exhibition
held at Chicago by the fine herd of Hereford cattle belonging to
a Calgary firm. Their prize steer, which won the grand
championship of Canada and first place in every class for bulls,
took third prize at Chicago. Alberta is an ideal province for
the cattle-raising industry, as comparatively little oats or corn is
required for feed, the natural shelters on the ranges making it
possible for the cattle to pasture out all winter and obtain the
feed necessary for market purposes.
•

THE Assistant General Manager of the Canadian Pacific
Railway Western Lines has interviewed a number of fruit
shippers at Okauagan aid Vernon, Bntish Columbia, and
discussed with them the matter of improved shipping and storage
facilities. There was an increase of from 30 to 40 per cent, in
the fruit production in British Columbia in 1917, and a larger
number of refrigerator cars will be required in future if the
production continues to increase as is expected. The matter of

Empire Trade Notes 43

improved railway facilities was also discussed. More trackage
work in the big shipping districts will probably be carried out at
an early date.

SLIGHTLY over $11,000 was realised at the annual sale of
high-class stock held at the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph.
The sale was one of the most successful ever held in the province,
and the quality of the stock offered, as well as the prices obtained,
were easily ahead of any previous sale held.

IN a leading article The New York Times pays a high tribute
to the sagacity of the railroad policy outlined by Lord Shaugh-
nessy, President of the Canadian Pacific Kailway; and while
intimating that the United States has accepted his advice
regarding the control of shippers, expresses gratification at the
ready manner in which the shipping interests are following the
new regulations laid down.

SOUTH AFRICA

AT a meeting of the Transvaal Agricultural Union, Mr.
Challis, dairy expert, said the Transvaal produced in 1916 half a
million pounds of cheese, there being 16 factories and 167 small
cheeseries, thus doubling the output of 1915. In addition, " we
met our own requirements for butter, and this year (1917) we
have exported 2,000,000 Ibs."

A RECENT meeting of the Industries Board held in Johannes-
burg discussed the cotton production in the Transvaal, and
reported very favourably on the extension of the industry. Twice
the area is under cotton cultivation this year as was the case
twelve months ago, the total Transvaal area being about 4,000
acres. The Kusteuburg, Waterberg and Zoutpansberg areas are
the principal ones, though some cotton is raised in Zululand.
A committee of the Board will probably visit the Rustenburg
district shortly, and interview farmers there on the prospects
of an extension of cotton growing in the near future.

THE last cotton crop was the largest yet produced in the
Union. Most of it has been sold to local buyers for manufacturing
purposes in the Union. The crop amounted to 360,000 Ib. seed
cotton, of which 210,000 represents lint, the price obtained for
seed cotton being 2Jd. to 3%d. per Ib. and for lint dd. to Is. per Jb.,
as against Qd. and Sd. in previous years. The value of the crop
is estimated at £9,625 for lint and £1,225 for seed.

THE gold output for the Transvaal for October has been
declared at 751,290 oz., representing in value £3,191,279, an
increase on the September return of 13,059 oz., and in value
£55,472. There were two more working days in October than
in September, and the output would have been correspondingly
increased but for the decreased unskilled labour forces. The
number of natives working on the gold mines on the last day of
October was 170,531, a decrease of 803 compared with the
previous return. *

OVERSEA CORRESPONDENTS.

44 The Empire Review

PEACE FALLACIES

As the war has advanced Germany has made increasing efforts
to break through the net which envelopes her. Her energies are
two-fold— first, military ; secondly, political. As the prospect of
a military decision recedes she redoubles her insidious attempts
at political propaganda, and carries on a campaign of intrigue
for the attainment of her purpose amongst the peoples allied
against her.

This campaign first received public notice through the so-
called German " offer " of December 1916 ; it reached further
stages with the Eeichstag resolution of July 1917, and the reply
to the Papal note ; it sustained a temporary check in the failure of
the Stockholm project. The principal danger, however, from this
source lies not in these public manoeuvres, but in the continual
subterranean efforts made by enemy agents. Of these we have
had striking revelations in France, whilst in Eussia and in Italy
actual disaster has occurred from this cause. Germany has
laboured and is labouring incessantly to create a peace atmosphere,
to sow distrust amongst the Allies, to cause depression of spirit,
and so either to entrap her enemies collectively into a false peace,
or to split up the confederation, and break the members singly.
Meanwhile she carefully abstains from declaring her war aims.

Now this enemy plot requires very careful watching. There
is no particular danger from the small and insignficant pacifist
section in this country; their views are known and discounted
at their proper value. The danger lies rather in two quarters :
firstly, from people thoroughly convinced of the justice of the
Allied cause, but who under the prolonged strain of this terrible
conflict have lost heart, and seeing no hope of a decision are
inclined towards a peace by compromise ; secondly, from people
who admit the necessity of decisive victory, but are animated by
an idealism which, unless restrained and carefully defined, may
prove a menace to future progress and security. Germany is
continually striving to foster Allied opinion in both these directions
by means of her propaganda. *

We have a fairly clear insight into Germany's aspiration in

Peace Fallacies 45

the negotiations now taking place at Brest Litovsk. She is
apparently prepared to withdraw her troops from France and
Belgium, but whether absolute independence — politically, eco-
nomically and commercially — will be restored to Belgium is left
in doubt. No reparation is to be made for the damage inflicted,
and Germany is thus at liberty to retain the whole of her plunder.
As for such questions as Alsace-Lorraine, these "cannot be regu-
lated as between States, but must be solved by every State with
its peoples independently in a constitutional manner " — in plain
English, no concessions.

But this does not represent the full programme. Germany will
evacuate the occupied Russian Provinces after Bussia has de-
mobilised. Further, Poland, Lithuania, and the Baltic Provinces
have already declared their desire for independence, and of this
Bussia is requested to " take note." Bussia must abandon these
territories, and although Germany of course does not bluntly
announce her purpose it is sufficiently plain that the German
occupation will be permanent, and that, under some specious
form o| autonomy, these Provinces will become German territory,
whilst the fate reserved for Bussia herself is sufficiently indicated
by the German anxiety to obtain an economic agreement.
Finally her colonies must be restored to Germany.

What prospect of a lasting peace can be found on these lines ?
Is it not obvious that on such terms Germany would have won
the war, and that the militarist clique would emerge with
heightened prestige, and with a stronger hold than ever on the
government of the country ? They would be able to point
triumphantly to the fact that under their guidance Germany
had successfully resisted a ring of enemies, and preserved her
territory from invasion, whilst in the course of the struggle she
had established an iron ascendency over Austria, Turkey, and the
Balkans. Germany could look forward to a Central European
Empire, and a supreme position in Asia Minor, a political
predominance in the Baltic and an economic hold over Bussia.
Further, her territory having escaped the ravages of war and the
territory of her Continental rivals having been ruthlessly
devastated, the formula " no indemnities " (in other words, " no
restitution ") would enable her to keep her ill-gotten gains and to
run her factories at full power, since " the freedom of the seas "
and " no economic war " would give her all the raw materials
she required, and allow her to flood the markets of the world with
her goods. Thus she might even satisfy all our demands in the
West, and she would yet have won the war. In these circum-
stances the German people would be confirmed in their belief
that militarism pays, and be quite willing to surrender their
consciences for a further term to the War Lords, so that after a

46 The Empire Review

fresh period of preparation they might make the final spring and
establish a world dominion.

No doubt the Hohenzollerns would readily give pledges
and join a League of Nations, but in view of the experiences of
this war what value would attach to any treaty they might sign ?

These considerations seem sufficiently obvious, but they do
not appear to be recognised in some quarters. Thus we find
Mr. Henderson, referring to Sir Edward Carson's statement that
Austria and Turkey were anxious for peace, inquiring "why this
course was not taken, especially with regard to Turkey ? Did we
prefer to take Jerusalem by force? Was a military success in
one quarter necessary as a set-off against the stagnation in
another ? Though Sir Edward says that Turkey does not want
to go on, we continue extending our lines of communication in
the country, and I want to ask in all seriousness : Is it surprising
that with such a policy in the field in neutral countries, in Bnssia
and even in America, Britain should be suspected of imperialist
and annexationist designs?" In the first place, Austria and
Turkey are not free agents. However much they may^ desire
peace, they cannot negotiate without Prussian consent. Secondly,
we do not want a patchwork peace. To be permanent and
Btatesman-like, peace when it comes must be general, and the
problem of international adjustment must be regarded as a whole.

But Mr. Henderson's most serious delusion lies in his con-
tinued advocacy of the Stockholm project. "Have we not
reached a stage when we are entitled to say that a wise and
discriminating use should be made of moral and political factors ?
Is it not our clear duty to ascertain how far it has become
possible to substitute reason for force and international co-
operation for national aggression ? Surely such an inquiry made
through a working-class international conference might enable us
to see how much nearer we were to an honourable and demo-
cratic peace." The avowed pacifist could hardly improve on
this. The futility of parley with the enemy under present con-
ditions has been abundantly shown in the negotiations at Brest-
Litovsk. A conference with tame German Socialists — the agents
of the Prussian Government — would yield no better result. No
abiding peace is possible with the present German administration
and their representatives and dupes, because they are not honest.
We merely paralyse our military arm and afford an opening for
enemy propaganda by so doing.

Half-hearted admissions and conferences with " our German
friends " are out of the question if civilisation is to be saved.
Rather our att'tude must be that shown by President Wilson :
" This intolerable thing of which the masters of Germany have
shown us the ugly face, this menace of combined intrigue and

Peace Fallacies 47

force which we now see so clearly as the German power, a thing
without conscience or honour or capacity for covenanted peace,
must be crushed, and if it be not utterly brought to an end, at
least shut out from the friendly intercourse of the nations."

We have no intention of annexing territory occupied by
German-speaking races ; we do not wish to deprive the German
people of liberty ; nor do we seek to impose upon them a foreign
constitution, but the war must continue until militarism has been
renounced and surrendered, until Germany will restore the fullest
political, economic, and commercial independence to the peoples
whom she has terrorised, until she will make restitution and
reparation, so far as is possible, for the ravages she has com-
mitted, and until she can offer us for her good behaviour in the
future a security and a bond which we can respect. Nothing
short of this will vindicate and re-establish civilisation, and to
attain these ends we must continue unremittingly to wage the
military campaign with the utmost vigour. No parley can be
held until the enemy is prepared freely to confess himself
vanquished, and to submit to terms. That stage has not yet
been reached, and before it is reached there are probably many
weary months of conflict ahead, many heavy sacrifices to be
endured.

But we must hold firm. The enemy leaders even to-day
realise that their doom is sealed, unless they can obtain a com-
promise— hence these continual intrigues, these offers, and
rumours of offers. The German front is not yet pierced, but in
spito of the many grievous disappointments of the past twelve
months, we can see the eventual triumph of our cause. The
Allied resources are enormously superior to those of Germany,
and they are now being controlled and developed with a purpose
and an energy which will ultimately bring to bear a deadly and
overwhelming pressure on the enemy ranks. To pause when
our task is well-nigh achieved, to grant Germany the respite she
BO sorely needs, would be a great betrayal of those who have
fallen in the fight, an act of perfidy which would render their
sacrifice meaningless, and ultimately bring down upon us a fate
which our cowardice would richly have deserved.

H. DOUGLAS GEEGOBY.

The Empire Review

CANADIAN WAR ITEMS

THEOUGH the efforts of Lord Shaughnessy, of the Canadian
Pacific Railway Company, who undertook to cover the heavy
expense of transport, the English Government consented to send
one of the tanks to Montreal to take part in a great parade for
the Victory Loan. In consequence of the urgent need for this
tank elsewhere, its stay in Canada was necessarily a short one, so
that Montreal was the only city in the Dominion privileged to
see this weapon of war. It was manned by a crew of gunners all
of whom had been wounded in Tank Service at the front. While
in Montreal it was guarded night and day by its own crew,
assisted by Canadian Pacific Kailway police.

NEGOTIATIONS conducted by the Imperial Munitions Board
at Washington have resulted in the placing of a large order for
shells to be produced in Canada for the United States Govern-
ment. It is stated that from six to seven and a half million
shells will, under this arrangement, be produced in Canada
during the first seven months of 1918. The Imperial Munitions
Board will act for the United States Authorities in placing the
contract and supervising the production of these shells in Canada.
The United States Ordnance Department will supply the steel
and component parts, while the Canadian manufacturer will
forge the steel and machinery and assemble the shells. The
Canadian Government, which has co-operated in the negotiations,
will, through the Department of Customs, facilitate the entry of
steel and components into Canada, and their re-shipment, in the
form of shells, to the United States.

CANADIAN Indians are forwarding petitions to the Dominion
Government asking that they be relieved from the Compulsory
Military Service Act on the ground that they have been willing
to go to war voluntarily. The lengthy preamble sets forth that
" According to the population of Indians in Canada we did more
than any other nation." The treaty made by the British in 1794,
pledging the Indians protection " as long as rivers flow, the grass
grows and sun shines, because the Indians have done a great
deal for the British Crown," is quoted, and in conclusion the
document sets forth " All the Indian nations of Canada defended
the British Crown; that shows we fulfil" our agreements; we
remain as a loyal body of Indians."

OWING to the great need of further developing plans for the
training of disabled Canadian soldiers, the Military Hospitals
Commission has launched an industrial survey of the principal
cities of Canada with the hope of securing as many officers as
possible who have technical training and practical experience in
some branch of industry. An effort is also being made to secure
officers having a broad acquaintance with general industrial
conditions. So great is the need for instructors of this class that
the help of all agencies likely to be in touch with returned officers
is being sought. MAPLE LEAF.

REVIEW

AND

JOURNAL OF BRITISH TRADE

VOL. XXXII. MARCH, 1918. No. 206.

WAR AND FINANCE

AMERICAN AND BRITISH SYSTEMS

EEPEAL OF 1844 ACT SUGGESTED

No one speaks with greater authority on war finance than
Sir Edward Holden, Chairman of the London City and Midland
Bank, and his address at the annual meeting of shareholders is
always looked forward to with considerable interest and expecta-
tion. This year he paid special attention to the financial
system on which America is proceeding and offered some timely
observations on the position here. He also gave much in-
formation with regard to German banking operations, concluding
a masterly exposition of the financial methods pursued in the
three countries, with some useful remarks on banking facilities
to industrial enterprise, the changes made by the war in our
home and foreign trade, exchange rates, and the operations of
the Bank over whose fortunes he so ably and successfully presides.

After emphasising how important it is that we on this side
of the Atlantic should know exactly the financial position as it
exists in the United States, and paying a well-deserved tribute
to the Federal Board and the Bankers of America for creating
and building up a banking system " which surpasses in strength
and in excellence any other banking system in the world,"
Sir Edward went on to examine the condition of the new
Federal Keserve Banks.

The Act, providing for the establishment of twelve Federal
Eeserve Banks, which really made up one bank, was passed in
December 1913, on the lines that the share capital should be
VOL. XXXII. -No. 206. B

50 The Empire Review

taken up compulsorily by all national banks and voluntarily by
State banks and trust companies, but it was not until
November 1914 that the Reserve Banks opened for business.
The profits of these banks are allocated thus : (1) A cumulative
dividend of 6 per cent, to the shareholders ; (2) One-half of the
surplus to a reserve fund, until that fund amounts to 40 per
cent, of the paid-up capital ; (3) The balance to the United
States Government to be used to supplement the gold reserve
against outstanding United States notes or to reduce the
National Debt. Their balance sheets show that the combined
capital has increased from 3£ millions in December 1914 to
nearly 14 millions in December 1917, that the deposits have
risen from 51 millions to 294 millions, and that the notes issued
have increased from 3 millions to over 222 millions. Adding to-
gether the deposits and the notes issued, which are the liabilities
to the public, they have risen from 54 millions to 516 millions.
On the other side the gold has risen from 48 millions in 1914 to
147 millions in December 1916, and to 326 millions in December
last, while in addition the legal tenders have increased from
5 millions in 1914 to 10 millions in 1917. The figures show
that the Keserve Banks held a percentage of gold to liabilities of
88 '1 per cent, in December 1914, 79 '0 per cent, in December
1916, and 63 -2 per cent, in December 1917.

Let us now see how much further the banks can extend
their loans and create credits on their present cash reserves.
The law requires the notes to be covered by a minimum of
40 per cent, in gold, and the deposits by at least 35 per cent.
in gold or lawful money. By reducing the present ratios to the
legal minima of 40 per cent, and 35 per cent, respectively, the
Beserve Banks would be able to create additional loans for
member banks to the extent of about 400 millions. These
additional credits of 400 millions would form the base for the
creation of additional loans and credits by the member banks of
over 3,000 millions, thus placing them in the position of being
able to assist to a marvellous extent in the financing of the
industries and any future war loans.

The increase in the deposits and the gold holdings of the
Reserve Banks since December 1916 is due principally to
amendments to the Federal Reserve Act, which were passed in
June 1917. Before the reserve system was established,
national banks in New York, Chicago and St. Louis were
required to maintain a minimum ratio of cash to liabilities of
25 per cent., but under the new system the minimum was
reduced to 18 per cent., and in June 1917 by an amendment
to the Federal Reserve Act the required ratio was further reduced
to 13 per cent. It was also provided that this minimum legal

War and Finance 51

reserve of 13 per cent, should be held as a deposit in the Federal
Eeserve Bank, as against 7 per cent, formerly, and that cash in
the hands of national banks in these cities should no longer
rank as legal reserve for the purpose of calculating the ratio.
Eeductions were made in the case of the national banks in
reserve cities and of the country banks. In addition to these
measures, which very considerably increased the deposits and
gold reserves of the Eeserve Banks, the Federal Eeserve Board
offered inducements to the State banks and trust companies,
which had not become members, to hold portions of their
reserves in the Eeserve Banks and secured the passage of certain
laws enabling them to do so. Just as the Germans foresaw the
alterations that were necessary in their banking law, and
proceeded to make them without hesitation when war broke
out, so the Americans have not hesitated to make alterations
in their banking law since they joined the Allies in the war.

No one can fail to recognise how fortunate the American
Government has been in having established this institution, and
in having raised it to such a powerful position before they
entered the war.

The paper money in the United States before the war (July
1914) and on November 1st, 1917, was respectively : £534,323,000
and £781,831,000, and the stock of money in gold, silver and
subsidiary silver on the same dates £527,765,000 and £763,937,000.

Having considered the facilities offered by the Federal
Eeserve Banks for the creation of credit, we will now turn to
the financing of the American War Loans and examine the
methods they have adopted in making their issues. In this
connection we must recognise the wise discretion of the
Government, Mr. McAdoo and his colleagues on the Federal
Eeserve Board, in guarding against the impairment of the
liquidity of the Joint Stock Banks in order to keep them free
to finance the trade of the country, both during and especially
after the war.

The borrowings of the Government have had a two-fold
object, the first being to find resources for the Allies, and the
second being to find resources for their own requirements.
Under the Act of April the 24th, 1917, the Secretary of '.the
Treasury was empowered to issue £1,000,000,000 in long-dated
war loan bonds at a maximum rate of 3£ per cent., but he
only availed himself of this authority to the extent of £400,000,000
when he offered his first liberty loan in May last year. The
loan was issued at 3£ per cent., and proved very popular, being
over-subscribed by about £207,000,000, a result largely due to
the fact that the bonds were issued free of income tax.

The arrangements made for the payment of the war loan

B 2

52 The Empire Review

applications and the generous rediscounting facilities granted
by the Reserve Banks, show that Mr. McAdoo and the Federal
Reserve Banks had made up their minds to maintain the
liquidity of the banks. Further, Mr. McAdoo decided to allot
bonds to the extent of £400,000,000 only, out of the total
subscriptions, and he did this by reducing the applications of
the larger investors to the extent of £207,000,000. As a result
of this reduction, subscriptions in excess of £50,000 were
cancelled to the extent of from 70 to 80 per cent., and con-
sequently the subscriptions of the banks of the country were
very considerably reduced.

In the case of the national banks, the total subscriptions on
their own account amounted to about 68 millions sterling, but
they were allotted £36,100,000 only, and this sum was still
further reduced as the banks were able to dispose of 18£
millions within a few weeks of the allotment, thus reducing
their aggregate holdings of war loan on July 23rd to only
£17,600,000. This sum was held by national- banks in the
three central reserve cities of New York, Chicago and St.
Louis to the extent of only £1,400,000, by national banks in
the fifty-four reserve cities- to the extent of £3,400,000, and by
country banks to the extent of £12,800,000.

Turning to the second loan. Under the Act of September
24th, 1917, which repealed the right to issue further bonds under
the first Act, the Secretary was authorised to issue £1,507,000,000
in bonds at 4 per cent, or more, and he accordingly put out his
second liberty loan in October. The loan was issued at 4 per
cent., and was subject to estate and inheritance taxes, as in the
case of the first loan, and in addition to super tax, excess profits
and war profits taxes, that is to say, the income from the
amount invested would be credited to the profit and loss account
of all persons, firms and corporations taking the loan and would
be subject to the above-mentioned taxes in the same way as any
other profit, but would not be subject to income tax. It was,
however, provided that investments of £1,000 and under should
be exempt from taxation with the exception of the estate and
inheritance taxes.

The loan was issued at the beginning of October for a
minimum amount of £600,000,000, but the secretary stipulated
that he would accept up to 50 per cent, of any over-subscription.
The lists were closed on the 27th of October, and the result of
the issue was a total subscription of about £923,000,000, or an
over-subscription of £323,000,000. In accordance with his
stipulation the secretary acpepted 50 per cent, of the over-
subscription, i.e., £161,000,000, thus making the total allotment
£761,000,000.

War and Finance 53

The loan was issued subject to the conditions : That 2 per
cent, be paid on application ; that the first instalment of 18
per cent, be paid on November the 15th, when applicants also
had the privilege of paying up in full ; that the second instal-
ment of 40 per cent, be paid on December the 15th ; and that
the third and last instalment of 40 per cent, be paid on January
the 15th, 1918.

A large number of the subscribers availed themselves of the
privilege to pay up in full, and out of the total allotment of 761
millions, 557 millions were paid up by November 15th. In the
meantime, between the issue of the first and second loans, the
secretary had required funds to make payments to the Allies
and to meet his own engagements, and had raised the money
required for these payments by selling certificates of indebtedness
(or short-dated treasury bills) maturing on November 15th,
November 22nd, November 30th, and December 15th, with the
condition that all these treasury bills could be used to meet
payments on account of war loan due on November 15th. The
total of the treasury bills so issued amounted to 464 millions,
so that, instead of having to find this amount in cash on
November 15th, the banks were in the position of being able
to use these treasury bills in payment of the war loan. In
consequence, although 557 millions were paid up for war loan
by November 15th, there was very little effect made on the
money market. The Secretary of the Treasury about this time
put out an additional issue of six months' treasury bills for 138
millions.

The remaining 204 millions of war loan had to be paid
between November 15th and January 15th, 1918, and the
payments made by December 15th would be most probably at
least one-half that amount or 102 millions, so that including the
payments for treasury bills, the banks would be in the position
of having to find by December 15th at least 240 millions, and
it appears to have been the finding of this money, in addition
to other demands, which caused the rate to go to 6 per cent.

When the first loan was issued, the subscribers were given
the privilege of converting into any future loan bearing a higher
rate of interest which might be issued during the war. Sub-
scribers to the second loan also have the right of converting into
subsequent loans which may be issued at a higher rate during
the war, -but it is provided that they must convert within six
months of the issue of the next succeeding loan issued at a
better rate, otherwise they lose altogether the right of conversion
into future loans. In the case of the second loan, therefore, if
the privilege of conversion once arises and is not exercised, it
lapses entirely.

54 The Empire Review

Out of the two war loans already issued, the United States
Treasury arranged between April and December 31st, 1917, the
following loans for the Allies : to Great Britain, £409,000,000 ;
France, £257,000,000 ; Italy, £100,000,000 ; Kussia, £65,000,000 ;
Belgium, £15,480,000; Servia, £800,000; making a total of
£847,280,000.

From June 1917 to June 1918 it is estimated that the
total outgoings from the United States Treasury will amount to
about 3,800 millions, including 1,400 millions for loans to the
Allies. America has already borrowed 1,161 millions on her first
two war loans, and she expects to receive 800 millions from
revenue and 400 millions from the sale of War Savings
Certificates. These items amount together to 2,361 millions,
thus leaving a balance of expenditure of about 1,440 millions to
be found by treasury bills and war loan.

Sir Edward then proceeded to discuss the position in this
country : —

Germany at the beginning of the war altered her Bank
Act, and America during the war has altered hers. We in this
country took power to suspend the Act of 1844 under which we
work. This, in my opinion, did not go far enough. If the Act
had been repealed, I believe that we might have got through the
crisis without a moratorium. This Act has been notorious for
increasing our troubles. It has had to be suspended on four
occasions. The time has now come, even while the war is on,
when we should do as we believe the Americans would do in
similar circumstances, namely, repeal the Act. I say emphati-
cally we should repeal the Act of 1844.

When Sir Eobert Peel passed it seventy-four years ago and
divided the Bank and the Bank's statement into two parts, the
Issue Department and the Banking Department, he had three
objects in view : (1) to curtail the notes issued by the private and
joint stock bankers ; (2) to restrict the unlimited issue of notes by
the Bank of England ; (3) by these means to curtail speculation.

The figures of the last balance sheet published before
the passing of the Act showed approximately: — Liabilities,
£51,000,000; assets, £51,000,000. Up to that time there had
been no legal restriction on the issue of notes and no system of
notes being issued against gold.- Sir Robert passed this Act in
the belief that, if gold were taken out of the Bank, the notes in
circulation would diminish. He did not understand at that time
that, under the new Act, when gold was exported or when it was
taken out of the Bank for any other reason, the demand for
notes to take out the gold would fall on the reserve of the

War and Finance 6 5

banking department and not on the circulation. That it would
fall on the circulation was one of his principal arguments, but
experience has shown that the demand for notes has fallen with
few exceptions on to the reserve of the Bank in the banking
department, and not on the circulation, the circulation being the
notes outside the Bank.

If he had retained the form of balance sheet which had been
used up to that time, and stipulated that the gold in the Bank
should never be less than one-third of the notes issued, except in
special circumstances when a tax might be levied on the excess
issue, he would have fallen into line with the principles which
are generally adopted by the State Banks of other countries.
But he was no banker and could not foresee the effect of dividing
the Bank and the Bank's statement into two parts. The mere
fact of using the ordinary form of balance sheet in the place of
Peel's form gives, in the case of the statement of the Bank for
January 16th, 1918, and taking gold alone, a percentage to
liabilities of 28 '2 against Peel's 19-6. If we take the gold and
the Government debt as forming our cash balance, the per-
centage would be 33*5 against 19 f 6. In the case of the new
Federal Keserve Bank in America the ratio of one-third, or
33|- per cent., of gold to notes issued is slightly exceeded, and the
Bank is required to hold 40 per cent, in gold against their notes, but
it is able to reduce the percentage below 40 by paying a tax on the
excess circulation.

Instead of following such lines, Sir Eobert divided the Bank
of England into two separate departments, the issue department
and the banking department, and at the same time began to
issue the balance sheet in two sections. He stipulated that
notes should be issued by the issue department against a Govern-
ment debt of 11 millions and other securities of 3 millions, with
the further stipulation that, as the issues of the Joint Stock and
private banks ceased, the Bank could increase its issue on other
securities to the extent of two-thirds of the lapsed issues, and
that, beyond these issues, notes could only be issued against a
deposit of an equivalent amount of gold in the issue depart-
ment. It will be observed that under the Act the issue of
notes bears no relation whatever to the amount of discounts or
advances.

It follows therefore that, if no gold can be deposited in the
issue department, no further notes can come out however much
they are required. When there is an extraordinary demand for
bank notes, that demand falls on the reserve in the banking
department, and, when that reserve is unduly depleted, trouble
may occur. Such was the danger when the war broke out.

There was a great demand on the reserve of the Bank for

56 The Empire Review

notes, and as there was no gold to go into the issue department,
no notes could be got out. The only notes which the Bank had
in its possession on Wednesday, July 29th, 1914, to meet the
excessive demand, were 25 millions in its reserve in the banking
department. Between Wednesday, July 29th, and Saturday
morning, August 1st, £9,400,000 was withdrawn from the Bank,
leaving the reserve at £17,400,000 on the latter date. As it was
expected that this amount would be reduced to £11,000,000 at
the close of the day, a letter was written to the Treasury to the
effect that unless the Act were broken accommodation must be
curtailed.

If accommodation had been curtailed, a much more serious
crisis would have ensued. The Treasury replied on the same
date that the Act could be broken if the rate were put up to
10 per cent. The rate was thereupon raised to 10 per cent, on
the Saturday. Sunday, Monday (August Bank Holiday), and
three specially appointed holidays followed, bringing us to Friday,
August 7th, but in the meantime, on the Thursday the Currency
and Bank Notes Act had been passed authorising the violation of
the Act of 1844 on receipt of authority from the TCreasury. A
letter of authority under this Act was received, for on the Friday
and Saturday following, notes were over-issued to the extent of
3 millions, presumably against approved securities. This was
the fourth time during its existence that this Act had been
broken, and we are to-day again working under it.

In criticising this Act, I wish it to be distinctly understood
that I have nothing but appreciation for the action of the
Directors of the Bank of England. They have been working
under a law which is bad, and could take no other course than
that which they have taken. My observations, therefore, are in
criticism of the. Act.

Great fears of financial difficulties were caused by Peel's Act,
and I believe, if there had been no Act of 1844, the issue of the
currency notes and the assistance given by the Bank of England
and the Government would have made it much more possible to
get through without a moratorium.

We will take the Bank of England statements, before and
after the crisis, and will reconstruct them, and these will show
that, if the Bank had been working on the same principles
as other national banks of issue, there would have been little
ground for anxiety. These principles are : (1) One bank of issue
and not divided into departments. (2) Notes are created and
issued on the security of bills of exchange and on the cash
balance, so that a relation is established between notes issued
and the discounts. (3) The notes issued are controlled by a fixed
ratio of gold to notes or of the cash balance to notes. (4) This

War and Finance 57

fixed ratio may be lowered on payment of a tax. (5) The notes
should not exceed three times the gold or the cash balance.

This country is peculiarly adapted to the working of these
principles, because under ordinary circumstances the necessity
for notes is only small, as payments are largely made by cheques.
In 1913 the cheques passing through the London Clearing
House amounted to £16,436,000,000, in 1916 they amounted to
£15,275,000,000, and in 1917 £19,121,000,000, while in 1913 the
Bank of England notes in circulation were £29,000,000, in 1916
they were £39,000,000, and in 1917 £46,000,000. Circumstances
at the present time are, of course, extraordinary, and there is a
steady demand for Bank of England notes. These notes are a
part of the structure of the Bank of England in a way currency
notes cannot be, and further, denominations of notes larger than
£1 and 10s. are required for business purposes.

At the present time the demand for the Bank of England
note is on the increase, and as the note can only be obtained out
of the reserve of the banking department, when no gold is going
into the issue department, it follows the reserve must be a
diminishing quantity so long as the circulation is increasing. In
other cases, notes may come out of the issue department and go
into circulation through the reserve. For example, in 1916 notes
were issued against gold to the extent on balance of £1,500,000.
These notes went into circulation through the reserve, but in
addition £2,900,000 left the reserve for the circulation, making
an increase in the latter of £4,400,000. In 1917 notes were
issued against gold to the extent on balance of £4,300,000.
These notes passed into circulation through the reserve, but in
addition £2,000,000 left the reserve for the circulation, making
an increase in the latter of £6,300,000. During the whole period
of the war, notes to the extent of £20,400,000 have been issued,
of which £4,100,000 have been left in the reserve and £16,300,000
have gone into circulation.

Let us now examine the Bank's statement for July 22nd,
1914, the last published before the crisis, and the statement for
August 5th, 1914, and reconstruct them on the supposition that
the Bank was not restricted by the operation of the Act of 1844,
or in other words that it was working on the same lines as
other State banks. The Government debt of £11,015,000 and
other securities of £7,435,000 are used under Peel's Act as a basis
for the issue of notes, but we will treat the Government debt only
as a part of the cash balance of the reconstructed statement.*

The Bank statement, July 22nd, 1914, before the crisis in the
issue department, showed the ratio of gold to notes issued to be
67*6 per cent., and in the banking department the ratio of cash
* To economise space we have omitted details of these statements [ED.].

58 The Empire Review

balance to liabilities 52 • 4 per cent. The reconstructed balance
sheet of the Bank, July 22nd, 1914, before the crisis, showed the
ratio of gold to notes to be 137 per cent., and the ratio of cash
balance to liabilities 60 '0 per cent. It will be seen, therefore,
that the reconstructed balance sheet shows a greater ratio of gold
to notes by 69 '4 per cent., and a greater ratio of cash balance to
liabilities by 7 • 6 per cent.

Coming to the statement for August 5th, 1914, which shows
the extent of the transactions during the crisis, the balance sheet
of the Bank under Peel's Act for that date shows in the issue
department the ratio of gold to notes issued to be 58' 5 per cent.,
and in the banking department the ratio of cash balance to
liabilities 14 • 6 per cent. The reconstructed balance sheet of the
Bank, August 5th, 1914, showed the ratio of gold to notes to be
76 -5 per cent., and the ratio of cash balance to liabilities 37 per
cent. The reconstructed balance sheet, therefore, shows a greater
ratio of gold to notes by 18 per cent., and a greater ratio of cash
balance to liabilities by 22 • 4 per cent.

Comparing the first two statements with the last two we see
the operations between July 22nd and August 5th, 1914, which
caused the Act to be broken. These were an increase in the
bills discounted of £31,720,000, an increase in the deposits of
£12,329,000, and a decrease in the notes in the reserve of the
banking department of £19,311,000, which notes were used to
withdraw gold from the issue department to the extent of
£12,523,000, the balance of £6,788,000 going into circulation.

Looking at the figures, what can be said in support of the Act
when we see that, because an extra demand for discounts had
been made to the extent of 31 millions, and 19 millions in notes
had been withdrawn, the whole machine was thrown out of
working order and the Act was broken ? On the other hand, if
we had adopted a proper system and worked on a ratio of 33^ per
cent., taking the gold only, we could have discounted an additional
47 million of bills and allowed the whole amount to be drawn off
in notes, and if we had used the Government debt as a portion of
our cash balance, we could have discounted an additional
80 millions of bills and allowed the whole amount to be drawn off
in notes, and still have shown a ratio of cash balance to liabilities
of 20*9 per cent, against 14 '6 per cent, under Peel's Act.

As a final comparison we will take the Bank statement of the
16th of January, 1918, drawn up under Peel's Act, and then
reconstruct it, substituting currency notes for the Government
debt.* The Bank statement, January 16th, 1918, shows in the
issue department the ratio of gold to notes issued to be 75 • 7 per
cent., and in the banking department the ratio of cash balance to

* Details are again omitted [En.].

War and Finance 59

liabilities 19*6 per cent. The reconstructed balance sheet of the
bank, January 16th, 1918, shows the ratio of gold to notes to be
129 '7 per cent., and the cash balance to liabilities 33 '5 per cent.
The reconstructed balance sheet therefore shows a ratio of gold to
notes of 129-7 per cent, against 75 '7 per cent, under Peel's Act,
or an increase of 54 per cent., and that the ratio of the cash
balance to liabilities under the reconstructed balance sheet is
33 '5 per cent, against 19*6 per cent, under Peel's Act, or an
improvement of 13 '9 per cent.

I conclude my observations by respectfully asking the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer to appoint a committee, consisting of
six of the most experienced bankers in the United Kingdom, to
take into consideration the question of repealing the Act of 1844
as soon as possible in order to prevent a repetition of the breaking
of the Act and the consequences that follow, or the issuing of
millions of currency notes to take the place of bank notes.

Referring to the London City and Midland Bank Sir Edward
Holden went on to say :—

Although our profits may be considered good, profits are
not our first consideration. Our first consideration is to keep
our Bank as liquid as possible, and if, after maintaining this
liquidity, our profits are good, then we are quite satisfied.

We have heard a 'great deal about the merits of German
banking as compared with English banking. We all know that
German banks are not worked on the same lines as English
banks. German banks work with large paid-up capitals leaving
no capital unpaid, and large reserve funds, while the English
banks keep down their paid-up capital and have large uncalled
capital. The paid-up capital of the three largest German banks
amounts to 42 millions, the reserve funds to 21 millions, and the
deposits to about 440 millions, while the paid-up capital of the
three largest English joint stock banks amounts to 14 millions,
the reserve funds to 13 millions, the uncalled capital to 58 millions,
and the deposits to about 535 millions.

We bankers are severely criticised because it is alleged that
we do not afford the same assistance to our industries as the
Germans do to theirs, and consequently, it is said, their traders
have greater advantages than our traders. It is the duty of
bankers to seriously consider this position as affecting the future.
If assistance be required for the establishment of new industries,
or greater assistance after the war for industries already estab-
lished, it ought, in my opinion, to be seriously considered. But
the question arises, by what means should this be done ? If the
extension of our industries is to be carried out with the assistance

60 The Empire Review

of the bankers in the same way as in Germany, it will be neces-
sary to increase the capitals of the banks, as it cannot be done by
using depositors' money, which is repayable on demand. By the
purchase of the shares of the Belfast Bank, we have increased
our capital this year by £408,047 10s., raising it from
£4,780,792 10s. to £5,188,840, and we have increased our re-
serve fund from £4,000,000 to £4,342,826. Our deposits on
December 31 last amounted to £220,552,000 against £174,621,000
in December 1916, £147,751,000 in December 1915, and
£125,733,000 in December, 1914. These deposits have in-
creased in consequence of the war and in different ways.

The nature of the ordinary trade of the country has changed.
A large amount of trade has been curtailed, and some has even
been stopped altogether, and the resources engaged have been
placed to a considerable extent in the banks. Some trades have
been taken over by the Government, and in these cases also the
resources, which were employed to hold stock and to give credit,
have been transferred to the banks. The Excess Profits Duty,
which amounts to 80 per cent., has to be paid to the Government
from time to time, and in the meantime the provisions for this
purpose have been accumulating in the banks. Some of these
profits are now being placed in National War Bonds, as the
bonds will be accepted in payment of the tax. Prices have risen
to such heights that large profits are being made, and are being
accumulated in the banks until the war is at an end, when they
will be required to re-stock concerns, to purchase new machinery
and to build new factories.

Our foreign trade situation has also changed. The total
imports into this country since the beginning of the war are
larger than the exports by 1,300 millions sterling. When
commodities are sold to this country by any foreign country,
sterling bills are drawn by the foreign exporter on this country.
Those bills are offered for sale in the foreign country, and the
purchasers of those bills are principally the firms and persons
who have taken exports from this country. If the sellers of the
bills have a larger amount to offer than buyers can purchase,
then the ordinary law of supply and demand comes into force
and the £ sterling falls in value.

Take, for example, Sweden. The imports into this country
from Sweden, during the first three years of the war, amounted
to 53 millions, and the exports from this country to Sweden to
25 millions, thus leaving a balance of trade against us of 28
millions sterling. Speaking generally, there would be bills
drawn on London in excess of purchasers to the extent of
28 millions, and this would bring down the sterling exchange.
At the present time the sterling- exchange, as measured in

War and Finance 61

Swedish currency, has fallen about 23 per cent. For the same
reasons, our exchange has been at a discount of 20 per cent, in
Norway, 16 per cent, in Denmark, and 9' 5 per cent, in Holland.
Take Spain, for another example. Our imports from Spain have
been 62 millions and our exports 24 millions, leaving a balance
of imports of 38 millions. Our exchange with Spain has been at
a discount of about 22 per cent.

These exchanges will rise after the declaration of peace,
because our exports, both visible and invisible, will have a
tendency to increase, thus creating more buyers of sterling bills.
But, during the war, holders of sterling bills in these countries
have sent them here for collection, and the proceeds have been
allowed to remain here at interest. Those buying bills abroad
at a discount and remitting them here would make a very
handsome profit out of the exchange and the high rate of
interest, for when the war is over they may be able to take
their money back at an improved rate of exchange. We have
participated in the resources which have accumulated in this
Way.

What I have said, however, does not apply in every case.
For example, Spain imported from America during the first
three years of the war commodities to the value of 33 millions,
and exported to America 16 millions, leaving a balance of trade
in America's favour of 17 millions. It would thus appear that
Spain should have paid the balance of 17 millions to America in
gold, instead of which America has been exporting to Spain
gold in large amounts. This requires some explanation, which
is, that the sterling bills drawn in Spain against the commodities
sent to this country have been sold in America for dollars, and
the dollars have been used to send gold to Spain. The gold
holdings of the Bank of Spain have increased from 22 millions
in July 1914 to 79 millions at the present time. As the trade
balances in favour of Spain have been large, and as they have
been settled largely through New York, there have been more
sellers of dollars than buyers, and consequently the dollar has
fallen to a discount. Spain is not the only country which has
sold sterling bills in America and taken gold, and in consequence
the American Government issued a decree in September 1917
prohibiting the export of gold from America, except under
licence and in settlement of legitimate trade balances.

I think it will be wise to caution our friends in this country
that just as prices have risen in consequence of the depreciation
in exchange, the greatly increased charges for freight, insurance
and commission, an increased amount of money and credit, the
increased cost of production, and the lack of competition as
between belligerent countries and neutrals, so the moment

62 The Empire Review

negotiations for peace assume definite shape, we ought to see
an improvement in the exchanges (with the possible exception
of America), a reduction in insurance charges, a gradual reduction
in freight charges due to the increase in shipping and the transfer
of ships from naval and military work to the carriage of com-
modities, a decrease in the amount of credit and money in
circulation, and a decrease in the cost of production. The
tendency will then b.e for prices to fall, and there might be
danger of serious losses being incurred.

On the other hand, unless measures are taken to protect
the American exchange for some time after the war, we should
expect that exchange to fall. It may therefore be in a different
position from the other exchanges, but it is hoped that we shall
find our imports decreasing and our exports increasing. Having
sold so many of our American securities, the buyers of exchange,
in respect of the interest to be brought home, will not be so
numerous as formerly, but, on the contrary, the probability is
that the interest which we shall have to pay, will be in excess of
the interest to be received.

One important point will have to be taken into serious
consideration, and that is the question of the currency notes.
When credit is re-established between the consumer and the
shopkeeper, the shopkeeper and the merchant, the merchant and
the manufacturer, and the manufacturer and the seller of raw
material, currency notes will gradually find their way into the
banks, and, as the reserves of the banks will thereby be largely
increased, they will be placed to the credit of the banks in the
Bank of England and to the debit of the Government. If they
go into the reserve of the Bank of England the effect would be
to cheapen money to such an extent as to place our gold in
jeopardy. This is an important reason why the Act of 1844
should be abolished and why the Bank of England Note should
enter more largely into our transactions, thus relieving the
continued increase in the issue of currency notes, for under new
conditions, when the Bank of England Note was paid into the
Bank of England, the Note would go to the credit of the bank
paying it in and to the debit of note account and would thereby
be cancelled.

We pay in dividend £672,950 ; this includes the dividend
which we have paid for a portion of the year on the shares we
issued to the shareholders of the Belfast Bank. We have
transferred £500,000 to our inside funds for contingencies.
During a war of this character, no one can foresee what we
shall have to face before it is over, and no one can foresee the
difficulties which will arise after it is over. We desire to exercise
the greatest care, and we do this for the protection of our

War and Finance 63

shareholders and to give the greatest confidence to those who
place their money in our charge. We therefore have refrained
from paying an increased dividend, believing that there will be
greater confidence in our institution if we reserve our surplus
profits to meet the unknown and unforeseen contingencies of the
future. We trust our shareholders will approve of the caution
with which we are working. If the income tax be raised further,
such action will depreciate all our securities, not only those
which belong to us but also those which are deposited with us
by our customers to secure advances. But we must remember
that we are in the greatest war the world has ever seen, and in
these circumstances we have decided to carry forward no less a
sum than £733,785.

After paying a high tribute to the 3,600 ladies on the staff,
Sir Edward concluded a most valuable contribution to the
financial history of the war by referring to the fact that the
demands of the Navy and Army had withdrawn from the active
service of the Bank since the beginning of the war. nearly 3,700
men, of whom 320 have been killed, in addition to those wounded
or missing. " The distinctions which have been won by many
of our men for acts of bravery and devotion to duty prove that
they carry with them to the battlefield that loyalty and zeal
which inspired them in the performance of their peace-time
occupations. We are proud of them."

64 The Empire Review

INDUSTRIAL UNREST IN AUSTRALIA

IN the course of an address delivered at the last annual
meeting of the Central Council of Employers of Australia the
President, Senator Fairbairn, used some seasonable words of
warning in regard to the rapid spread of the strike plague in the
Commonwealth during recent years. Kecognising that com-
parisons are not unfrequently instructive, he drew attention to
the fact that, while in Canada only 200 strikes occurred within
the three years that ended on the 31st of December 1915, no
fewer than 903 disturbed the peace of Australia during the same
period, and this among a much smaller body of workers.

In the Dominion the annual number of strikes fell from 113
in 1912 to forty-three in 1915, while in the Commonwealth there
was a steady increase both in the number and the intensity of
industrial disputes. The year immediately following the triennial
period selected for comparison was marked in Australia by a
record of no fewer than 508 strikes. Industrial turbulence has
become chronic, and even national peril fails to exercise any
restraining influence over large bodies of Australian working
men. Very naturally, the official head of the organised em-
ployers of the Commonwealth deplored the insensate strife that
has long prevailed between the two great classes of wealth-
producers, whose real' interests are entirely identical ; and urged
the immediate application of remedial measures. His remark,
after quoting the comparative figures before given, that com-
pulsory arbitration did not exist in Canada sufficiently indicated
one of these. Later experience of judicial impotence in preventing
industrial strife in Australia has very considerably strengthened
the implied recommendation. Arbitration in Australia has just
been subjected to a crucial test, and found wanting.

Since the close of 1916 relations between employers and
employees have gone from bad to worse, and at the beginning of
last August matters reached a climax. Seizing as an excuse a
trifling departmental reform, introduced with a view to the
improvement of economy and efficiency by the Commissioners
into the State railway service in New South Wales, the leading

Industrial Unrest in Australia 65

labour agitators, who had long been seeking such a pretext,
rather precipitately proclaimed a general strike. The gravity of
the wrongs alleged may be judged by the fact that, out of over
37,000 men employed on New South Wales railways and tram-
ways, 15,604 refused to leave their work, and some 9,000 men,
who at first reluctantly obeyed the order to strike, returned to
their former employment within a few days. Only about 5,000
irreconcilables maintained an uncompromising attitude of resist-
ance until the strike was officially declared " off." Unlike the
Sydney wharf labourers who, some months before, had slavishly
obeyed, en masse, an order to strike -issued by a packed meeting >
of 150 hooligans supposed to represent the union, the majority of
the railwaymen, to their credit, refused to allow themselves to be
tricked into rebellion to suit the interests of a handful of con-
spirators. Undoubtedly the prestige of these latter suffered
severely through the spirit of independence shown by the
majority of the men, as a protest against whose intolerable
oppression the strike was ostensibly declared.

Extraordinary and rather whimsical results followed the
declaration of industrial war. While the disillusioned railwaymen
were hurrying back to work, seamen, wharf-labourers, engineers,
carters, miners and others trooped out merrily into the streets
and parks to show their sympathy with their ill-used comrades.
The usual public demonstrations followed. With one notable
exception, that of the powerful labour organisation known as the
Australian Workers' Union, every important Union in Australia
became infected with the prevailing disease, to the great loss and
inconvenience of the public. But, on the whole, the long-feared
general strike, when it at last eventuated, proved but a sorry
affair. Met by a strong Government, it collapsed ignominiously,
and brought only derision on its authors.

To the wise and firm action of the New South Wales State
Ministry, supported by the Federal authorities, the victory over
the forces of disorder was mainly due. Certainly, the ring-leaders
blundered badly. They lacked the resources of intelligence.
Evidently, before proclaiming a strike, they did not take the
trouble to obtain accurate knowledge concerning the real feelings
and opinions of the body of men whose alleged ill-treatment was
pleaded as its justification. They also over-estimated their ability
to control thousands of workers following many different occupa-
tions who, without any personal grievances of their own, were
suddenly called on to face destitution in token of sympathy with
certain of their fellows who, most ungratefully, had refused to
accept with becoming indignation the grievances carefully manu-
factured for them by their leaders. Demos, intoxicated with
resentment, levity or delusion, will stagger away from his work
VOL. XXXII.— No. 206. F

66 The Empire Review

readily enough, if promised holidays first and increased pay
afterwards. When sobered by reflection, want, and — in some
cases — conjugal reproach, he becomes eager to return to it.
And, in the particular case now under notice, the element of
the grotesque was so perceptible in his position that he soon
became tired of being an object of universal ridicule rather than
sympathy.

Teutonic clumsiness, then, characterised the original choice
of the required casus belli ; and the New South Wales Eailway
Commissioners and Government proved far less long-suffering
in their attitude than did the rulers of ill-fated Serbia on a
historic occasion more tban three years ago. When the Govern-
ment promised protection to loyalists, gave formal notice to the
strikers that neglect to return to work speedily would mean the
forfeiture of their positions, and finally called on volunteers to
fill the places of those who proved obdurate, it effectually
deprived the latter of all hopes of success. Soon thousands of
sturdy countrymen and others responded to the appeal. Work
on the wharves and in the mines was carried on by means of free
labour, while crowds of sulky and rather shame-faced strikers
looked on ; vessels put to sea manned entirely by retired master-
mariners ; university students worked as firemen ; and, with
Australian versatility, bushmen and business men quickly proved
themselves capable of giving useful assistance in many occupa-
tions with which, up to that time, they had been entirely
unfamiliar. Finding themselves beaten, the original aggressors
endeavoured to organise sympathy, but with no great success.
The public was invited to pity the miseries of men who, although
they had enjoyed very high wages for years, found themselves,
after a few weeks' unemployment, deprived of their daily beer.
The recital of these afflictions drew tears only from one venerable
cleric. The foolish dupes had to submit to the loss of many of
the special privileges that had before, unjustly, been enjoyed by
them; and not a few are likely to suffer the real hardships of
unemployment for a considerable time to come.

The whole eruption was correctly described by the Minister
of Defence as " not a strike, but a mutiny." The precise objects
at which the ringleaders aimed have not yet been revealed.
According to information which, the Acting Premier of New
South Wales has declared, his Government obtained some time
before the trouble began, a band of Labour extremists officially
connected with the trade-unions had intended to declare a
general strike several months later than the declaration was
actually made. Some impulsive firebrands seem to have forced
the hands of their more cautious colleagues and, by their pre-
cipitancy, caused the failure of the whole design. No doubt

Industrial Unrest in Australia 67

hostility to conscription was one of the moving influences. Com-
pulsory military service was naturally feared by a class of men
who invariably prefer to live on their country than to die for it.
Revenge, also, was sought for the overthrow suffered by the
Labour party at recent Federal and State Parliamentary elec-
tions. More sinister motives, no doubt, actuated some of the
plotters. It is well known that members of the Industrial
Workers of the World took a leading part in supporting the
strike. There are both Girondins and Jacobins in the industrial
world, and the latter, in troubled times, usually gain temporary
ascendency. To the syndicalist and the advocate of "direct"
action mere political propaganda has never appealed. Indeed, in
some parts of Australia, particularly in New South Wales^ civil
war is now raging in the ranks of the Labour party itself, the
industrialists endeavouring to destroy the power of the Parlia-
mentarians, and reduce them to political helotry.

The aggressive faction's policy is simple and drastic. It aims
at the expropriation of all owners of property, and the division of
the spoils. Mines are to be transferred to miners, ships to sea-
men, factories to operatives, and so on, until for private enter-
prise is substituted a system of industrial communism which, the
prophets of the movement declare, will abolish poverty and
ensure universal happiness. Whether anarchy followed by theft
can lead to these beneficent results is a question on which,
perhaps, the moralist would differ from certain political philo-
sophers. Waiving the moral point involved, indeed, the latter
might with some justice adduce the results that followed the
wholesale confiscation of private land in France in the course of
the great revolution. In defiance of the teaching of the familiar
proverb, dishonesty — in the strictly ethical sense — proved then
the best policy. The new proprietors became the devoted sup-
porters of the spoliators, and firmly upheld the new order of
things. But in France, it is needless to add, there were ex-
tenuating— or rather justifying — circumstances at that time
which have never existed in Australia. Land in Australia is
abundant, and opportunities are boundless. Trade-unionists to-
day are the noblesse of the Commonwealth. The average
Australian working man is fully sensible of the unique advantages
he now enjoys, and he is sufficiently intelligent to appreciate the
fact that confiscation is a double-edged weapon, only to be used
in rare and exceptional emergencies. Granting due vigilance
and determination on the part of both Government and people,
the syndicalist will never succeed in Australia ; but, since his
mischievous activities, if permitted, may cause much social dis-
order, it is to be hoped that the full fruits of the recent victory
will be reaped, and that the enemy, beaten in the field, will not

F 2

68 The Empire Review

be allowed to mature fresh nefarious designs undisturbed in his
subterranean retreats.

The late general strike in Australia was based on absurd
grievances, and was accompanied by ludicrous incidents. It
resembled those ferocious combats that occurred so often during
the Middle Agesibetween armies of mercenaries in Italy, where
large bodies of well-equipped men contended desperately for hours
with the result that rarely, and quite by accident, one or even two
luckless warriors perished through falling from their horses and
being suffocated in their armour. But comedies sometimes
darken into tragedies, as the Italian mercenary found when the
Swiss and fhe German invaded the land, and showed a most
distasteful preference for real to mock warfare. Those responsible
for the support of law and order in the Commonwealth would do
well to consider carefully the causes of the late upheaval, even
though 'it proved but a matter pour rire, so as to prevent its
recurrence in a far more serious form. Social as well as physical
diseases gain strength through neglect; and the destruction of
the microbes from which they originate, and by which they are
spread, should be the first care of the social and legislative
hygienist.

Unfortunately, in most democratic communities there is a
tendency to allow evils to develop until they become a source of
public danger, and then attempt to hide rather than suppress
them. The mentally unsound man is allowed to acquire and
cherish dangerous delusions, and only placed under partial
restraint when, in some particularly violent paroxysm, he has
throttled one or two of his neighbours. Cure is but feebly
attempted, prevention neglected, and palliatives are mainly
resorted to. A brief inquiry into the causes of industrial unrest
in Australia will now be attempted, and a few suggestions offered
as to the methods by which a more wholesome spirit could be
infused into the minds of the general mass of the workers.

Unquestionably, among the direct causes of the prevailing
unrest political and judicial interference in industrial matters
must be placed first. The supremacy of organised labour in both
the State and Federal legislatures in Australia for the greater
portion of the period that has elapsed since the Commonwealth
came into existence has been attended by a long series of one-
sided and ill-contrived enactments intended for the benefit of the
" workers " — in the political sense — but really opposed to their
true and abiding interests. Foreign labour, white as well as
coloured, has been excluded to maintain the monopoly of employ-
ment conferred by a peculiarly foolish measure on Australian
trade unionists. Quite recently the Federal Government forbade
the landing of some hundreds of Maltese emigrants, who wished

Industrial Unrest in Australia 69

to settle in Australia. These men belonged to an industrious,
inoffensive class, and were white British subjects, many of whose
countrymen were then, as they are now, bravely fighting for the
defence, among others, of the churlish country that denied them
hospitality.

Preference to unionists has destroyed freedom of industrial
opportunity, penalised independence and ability, and greatly lowered
the general standard of industrial efficiency in the Commonwealth.
At the same time it has enormously increased the political power
of organised labour, and enabled its leaders to use the Statute
book as an instrument for the coercion of employers and the
spoliation of the public. At the end of the year 1016, according
to the official figures, there were 705 unions in the Commonwealth
with an aggregate membership of 546,556. A noticeable and by
no means reassuring feature of the latest returns is the steadily
increasing numerical strength of the average union. Each year
there are fewer unions, but more unionists ; and the strong move-
ment now in progress in Australia for the amalgamation of all the
unions into one great organisation controlled by a single executive,
unless thwarted, must end either in a grinding industrial tyranny
or civil war.

From Parliaments, enslaved by class influences, no effectual
preventive measures can be expected. A reform of the electorate
is a condition essential to an improvement of the legislative per-
sonnel. To avert the grave calamities with which the country is
threatened in the not distant future it is necessary that the lovers
of freedom and justice in Australia should use every effort to
check the expansion of the cities, and encourage the growth of
the rural population. The farmer is the chief bulwark of order ;
and with the progress of agricultural settlement in the Common-
wealth the rural vote will gradually acquire predominance over
the urban, and exercise a purifying influence over the legislature.
That the schemers and demagogues will fight hard to resist this
tendency may be taken for granted. They know perfectly well
that human beings, like sheep, are more easily driven in flocks
than singly. By increasing the already high duties on various
manufactured commodities under the specious pretext of en-
couraging home industries, and providing employment for the
worker; and by the lavish expenditure in the urban areas of
public money, they will strive to draw men from the country to
the city, rather than impel them from the workshop to the field.
The economic loss already brought on Australia by the extrava-
gancies of the extreme protectionist is great indeed, but the moral
loss has been yet greater. Excessive protection has created the
parasitic industry; the latter has given birth to the predatory
labour organisation ; and the joint product has been the servile

70 The Empire Review

Caucus-ridden legislature. The Australian tariff with its fantastic
anomalies has done much to injure the industrial atmosphere in
the Commonwealth, and to weaken the virile qualities of inde-
pendence, thrift, industry and self-reliance among the workers.

F. A. W. GISBOENE.
TASMANIA.

(To be continued.)

CANADA'S SOLDIER SETTLEMENTS

THE Ontario Government, in carrying out its soldier . settle-
ment plan for Northern Ontario, has provided for the building up
of a big pulp and paper industry in the Kapuskasing District,
right in the heart of the townships now being opened for the
soldiers. A contract made with a Toronto firm gives the right
to cut pulpwood and timber upon the Kapuskasing pulp and
paper limit. The Company will be required to erect a pulp mill
costing, with machinery and equipment, not less than one million
dollars, to so operate it that the daily output shall be not less
than 100 tons of pulp, and to employ an average of 200 hands
for ten months of the year. The Company will also be required
to erect a paper mill with a daily capacity of seventy-five tons a
day whenever directed by the Government. The purpose of the
Government in selling the pulpwood on the Kapuskasing limit is
to provide a market not only for the soldier settler's pulpwood,
but also for his farm and garden produce. The limit comprises
some 1,700 square miles of country, and the townships composing
it surround those set aside for the soldiers along the Trans-
continental Eailway. The fact that the Company is required to
employ at least 200 men a day for ten months in the year, and
that this number is bound to increase considerably as the industry
grows, indicates the extent of the market the settlers will have
for their surplus crops right at their own doors.

German Exploitation of Indian Trade 71

GERMAN EXPLOITATION OF INDIAN
TRADE

A FAE more real and serious danger to Imperial interests in
the East than the inducements offered or the help afforded to
Indian seditionists by the Secret Service agents of Germany is the
manner in which trade with India, and the development of local
industries in that country, have been successfully exploited in
recent years for the benefit of the enemy.

For two decades the stream of commercial prosperity has
been steadily diverted from Great Britain to Germany and
Austria-Hungary. True, the wholesale trade in cotton, jute, and
sugar, as well as agricultural industries such as tea, indigo, and
coffee, still remain, for the most part, under British control, but
at the outbreak of war numerous branches of retail trade had
long ago passed into the hands of foreign firms. Even now a
well-known Greek firm is handling the bulk of the wheat trade,
while another firm Teutonic in origin, if names are a guide in
such matters, act as agents for the oldest group of paper mills in
India.

Beyond doubt German merchants were, as a rule, better
served by their agents in India than most of their British
competitors ; hence the capture by Germany of so many Indian
markets both in respect to export and import trade. Visit, for
instance, any religious fair up-country — gatherings attended by
vast crowds of from one to five hundred thousand Indians — and
examine the wares exposed for sale on the long lines of booths
erected on these occasions, and you will find that seven-tenths
(taking a moderate estimate) of this collection of merchandise —
glass and brass ware, cutlery, pencils and stationery, cheap
blankets and cheap umbrellas, gaudy coats and caps — have been
made in Germany or Austria. The commercial policy of small
profits with quick returns and a large turn-over of sales, has
been well observed by German traders who think, and very
wisely so, that it is more profitable to sell a score of articles of
inferior quality at a low price than to dispose of a dozen goods of
higher standard in a land where the great majority of customers

The Empire Review

do not possess much ready cash. Another point is that in their
dealings with retail Indian firms longer credit was conceded by
the German than by the British importer, so preference was
bestowed very naturally on the obliging Teuton ; nor did he run
much risk of ultimate loss, because the Indian shopkeeper-class
usually behave with most commendable honesty towards a
creditor, though accounts may be settled by slow degrees and at
long intervals.

A third matter in which agents and commercial travellers
from the Fatherland excelled their British rivals was in attention
to details, seemingly unimportant but in reality exercising no
little influence over the mind of potential Indian buyers. The
wily German soon perceived the colour, shape, and nature of
materials that found most favour in popular opinion, and in-
structed his manufacturers accordingly. It did not affect him
that, judged by an European standard, the Indian taste in such
matters was faulty; his business was to meet the wishes of
buyers, the selling of goods was his primary object. British
conservatism acted otherwise, and consequently the British
trader experienced more difficulty in discovering purchasers for
goods not strictly adapted to the wants and prejudices of Indian
purchasers.

Trade in the Presidency cities of Calcutta, Bombay, and
Madras, is for the most part retained by British merchants partly
on account of the long-established reputation of British firms in
these cities, and partly because the articles dealt in are imported
mainly for the use of English housekeepers and the European
community. If we except the very small section of Hindus
and Mahomedans who imitate European ways of living and
those ruling chiefs who may have " gone West " and prefer a
higher scale of comfort in their menage than was in vogue in
the time of their ancestors, these firms have very few Indian
customers. That any post-war attempts on the part of the
enemy to recover the ground now lost to him and his wares will
be successfully defeated I do not doubt, but this can only be
provided adherence to obsolete ideas and antiquated methods
be abandoned and British firms, more especially their travelling
agents in India, do not disdain to adopt the methods employed by
German manufacturers and their representatives abroad in pre-
war days.

The substantial gains bound to follow the capture of trade
supremacy in India were speedily recognised by German mer-
chants, and German Consuls and other representatives of
Germany were ever ready to assist their manufacturers and big
export firms striving for this coveted goal. The smallest detail
of information likely to prove useful in dealings with India and

German Exploitation of Indian Trade 73

the Indians was collected and submitted to headquarters in
Europe. As showing the thoroughness of German plan and
purpose one might instance the fact that a chart was prepared
giving the natural products of various localities all over India,
the railway freights from the interior to the port of embarkation,
the shipping charges from India to Hamburg or Bremen, and, in
the case of a manufacturing industry, the rate of wages, amount
of raw material to be procured, and the conditions of the local
labour supply. All financial details were stated both in German
and Indian coinage. Few, if any, British firms have been so
ably assisted by their agents where Indian trade is concerned.

I sincerely hope that a departure from the old ruts of in-
difference and antiquated methods may be made as quickly as
possible, and that home merchants and manufacturers will realise
the urgency of placing British trade in India on a better and
more modern basis. Men seated in an office in a seaport town
have only second-hand knowledge of the markets up-country
whence German traders derive the majority of their customers.
Intelligent British travellers should be deputed to map the vast
area to be covered into circles of convenient size, to submit
frequent reports to headquarters in the Presidency towns, and to
get thoroughly in touch with Indian buyers.

In this article I have confined my remarks to retail trade, but
hope later to treat of the even more important problem of local
manufactures, their initiation and successful development. It
should never be forgotten that labour in India is procurable in
abundance and at infinitely less cost than in any other part of
the Empire, that the stock of natural wealth in raw material of
every kind required by the manufacturing world is practically
inexhaustible. Indeed, everything needed to establish a most
lucrative branch of commerce for the British mercantile public
only awaits development. All that is required is a combination
of British energy and supervision and British and Indian capital.

ARTHUR GORDON.

UNITED PROVINCES.

74 The Empire Review

THE TWO EMPIRES

" So decided is the drift of our destiny towards the occupation
of the New World," wrote Seeley, " that after we had created one
empire and lost it, a second grew up almost in our own despite."
That we still possess, although there was a time when the belief
was general that the day would inevitably come when the colonies,
like ripe fruit, would certainly drop from the parent stem. An
inquiry into the circumstances in which the two empires were
founded, and an examination of the policies pursued in regard to
each, show these to be so widely different as to afford no grounds
for assuming that their outcome must be the same in both cases.

Seeley's statement limited our first empire to the colonies in
that part of North America that is now the United States. But
there were territories in other quarters of the globe — in India and
the Indies — that in a sense belonged to it, for they had been
acquired within the same period and under the same conditions,
and that yet in another sense belong to the second empire, of
which they remained to form a part.

The history of one part of the American continent was deter-
mined by the course of events in England. Our first colonies
were planted at a time when the political horizon was black with
gathering storrnclouds portending the impending religious and
political strife. The birth throes of the first empire were war and
revolution, oppression and persecution ; and the Pilgrim Fathers,
who founded our first colonies in North America, were fugitives
from " crown'd and rnitr'd tyranny." The influence of the times
was seen in the character of the immigrants, who were for the
most part religious and political refugees, sometimes political
offenders who had been transported, (as were many victims of the
brutal Judge Jeffreys) ; who changed with the government at
home, being those out of favour with the party in power, and
consisting mainly of Boyalists during the Commonwealth, of
Puritans after the Restoration. A number of the early settlers in
North America and the Indies were men who had been trans-
ported for criminal offences, the Indies especially were the Botany
Bay of the seventeenth century.

Cromwell, in the Navigation Act of 1651, was the initiator of

The Two Empires 75

the colonial policy of the seventeenth century, and which
Charles II., who reversed the Protector's policy in so many other
particulars, continued. Colonial policy in those days was based
on the principle of commercial monopoly, which runs through no
fewer than twenty-nine Acts of Parliament in the period from
1660 to 1764. It was the current opinion that colonies existed
solely for the benefit and enrichment of the mother country, to
supply her with raw materials, and furnish markets for her manu-
factures. " You named the ports and nations to whom alone our
merchandise should be carried, and with whom alone we should
trade," stated the Address of Congress to the people of Great
Britain, September 5th, 1774. Colonial products had first to be
brought to the home market, whence they were re-exported to
foreign countries. Not only were the colonies prohibited from
importing goods from any country but England, but they were
discouraged from starting manufactures of their own, " if uncom-
pensated, a condition of as rigorous servitude as men can be
subject to," declared Burke.

But the system of monopoly was not without its compensa-
tions. British capital was thereby attracted to America ; and by
its means the colonies were enabled to proceed with " their
fisheries, their agriculture, and their ship-building (and their trade
too within certain limits) in such a manner as got far the start of
the slow languid operations of unassisted nature." Their progress
was truly amazing. On minds like Burke's, to whom the rapid
development of young countries was a new phenomenon, of which
as yet there had been few examples, it made an impression which
it is impossible for us to realise. A sufficient evidence of the
rapid and wonderful growth of British trade with America was
the fact, that in sixty-five years, within a single lifetime, it had
attained the same volume as our trade with the whole world in
seventeen centuries.

For this and other reasons the English colonies submitted to
the system of monopoly. But the moment the British Govern-
ment made the experiment of imposing taxation they set a match
to a hidden explosive, and there was an unexpected and terrifying
conflagration. It was felt that " to join together the restraints of
an universal internal and external monopoly, with an universal
internal and external taxation," was " perfect uncompensated
slavery." There was no knowing where this fresh encroachment
of "the Imperial authorities would end, and the colonies had a
nightmare in which they saw their liberties vanishing under
successive Imperial invasions, like land under the oncoming tide.
Burke brings to our notice the fact that "liberty always adheres
in some sensible object," how in the case of the English the
criterion of liberty had always been possession of the power of

76 The Empire Review

granting their own money, and how in this the colonists were
true to their origin. " Liberty might be safe or might be en-
dangered in twenty other particulars, without their being much
pleased or alarmed. Here they felt its pulse ; and as they found
that beat, they thought themselves sick or sound." The course
of policy and action on which the Home Government had
embarked in 1764, and which they had since pursued, directly
threatened liberty at the very point where all Englishmen hold
her to be most vulnerable. This undue interference with their
liberties on the part of the Mother Country was the cause of the
revolt and secession of our first colonies in North America.

A great empire had been thrust, because unsought by them,
upon the Anglo-Saxon race, and they had failed in the trust com-
mitted to their care. Blunders and tactlessness had driven from
out the mother's nest the young eagle of the west " to forage for
herself alone." But Fate was kind, and gave England a second
opportunity, and a very much greater one. The glory of the
empire that we had lost was to the new heritage, into the posses-
sion of which we now entered, as the " dim borrow'd beams " of
moon and stars, " those nightly tapers," to the full and dazzling
brilliance of " the day's bright lord." We who had proved
unfaithful in a few things now found ourselves made rulers over
many things.

History affords no parallel to the expansion of England within
the comparatively short period of a hundred years. In 1787 the
Empire, shorn of the American colonies, consisted of merely a few
West Indian Islands, the eastern provinces of Canada, and Bengal,
with one or two other stations in India. Since that date there
has been added to it a whole continent which had not then a
single European settler, and of whose very existence many people
were ignorant. It was not until after the loss of the colonies in
1788 that the British Government, whom the report of Captain
Cook in 1770 had acquainted with some of the possibilities of
Australia, dispatched thither the first regular colonising expedition
under one Captain Phillip. Her remoteness marked her out as a
suitable spot for convict settlements. There undesirable members
of society would be removed to a safe distance, and with the
chains of old association riven, would have the opportunity of
turning over a new leaf. Who could have foreseen that from
such corrupt stock good fruit would spring, that a century and a
quarter later the colony would send to the aid of her mother
country, in the greatest war in history, a larger expeditionary
force than Britain herself had raised for any former war.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century nothing wag
known of the vast interior of Africa. Knowledge was limited to
a narrow fringe of country round the coast. The English

77

characteristically played a prominent part in the discovery of the
Dark Continent, no inconsiderable portion of which fell to their
share as the result of successive partitions. Some of the most
considerable of oar possessions in Africa are in the north, Egypt
and the Soudan, in the east, British East Africa and Uganda, in
the west, Nigeria. But our most extensive domain lies in the
south of the continent, consisting of Bhodesia and the territories
included in the Union. Some idea of the vastness of Britain's
empire in Africa may be gathered from the fact that Rhodesia
alone is equal in extent,to all Europe outside Russia.

The process of extending old proceeded simultaneously with
the acquiring of new territories, and while dominions were being
founded in Australia and Africa those already established in India
and Canada were being extended until the Union Jack waved
from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal, from Newfoundland
to Vancouver Island. The outcome of this rapid and wonderful
expansion is an empire on which the sun never sets, which has
vast dominions in four out of the five continents, being wider in
extent than any other built by man.

We have already remarked how the character and destinies of
a colony are affected by the course of events in the Mother-
country. Religious and political refugees took' no part in the
foundation of our second empire. They had ceased with the
conditions which had produced them. Of the new epoch on
which Britain had entered the chief event was the Napoleonic
war, and one of its after effects was to supply the colonies with
a new class of immigrants, numbers of retired officers and
disbanded soldiers. A conspicuous economic feature of the times
was the rapid growth of population in England,

For see, for hear, how race is trampling race
Where'er the white man's temper'd breezes blow.

The more adventurous and ambitious were impelled to emigrate
to lands where there was more elbow-room, less competition,
where existence was not such a hard struggle, where wealth
ceased to be only a dream and came within the bounds of possi-
bility. The great Anglo-Saxon exodus of the nineteenth century
was not a government enterprise, it did not even receive inspira-
tion or encouragement from that quarter. Greater Britain was
not the creation of kings and statesmen but of the people, of
individual enterprise ; it is the achievement of a number of men,
each of whom has done his bit independent of others in response
to the requirements of his circumstances and in obedience to
certain impulses which were generally but vaguely understood.
It attracted little notice from the Government, and less from the
people. So it grew up of itself, and was left to itself to develop

78 The Empire Review

in whatsoever manner it pleased. At length, when the process
of expansion was nearly completed, the British public suddenly
awoke to the fact of its result, as one who has fallen asleep on
the sea-shore when the tide was far out, opens his eyes some
hours later to discover the waters washing his feet.

The British public on awakening found itself confronted with
a momentous question, that of the destiny of the second empire
which has been created by the colonising genius of the race.
Seeley pointed out the two alternatives before us; one, the
secession of the self-governing States from the Empire ; the
other, their federal union ; and he declared that the question
which referred to the choice between them was incomparably
the greatest question which we could discuss.

Unfortunately the public still fail to realise the gravity of the
issue before them. Their minds have not been quite cleared of
the errors, prejudices, false notions and reasoning of the Man-
chester School. The early and mid- Victorians in their attitude
to the Empire made a terrible and tragic blunder, one that
appears criminal in the light of its effects. The colonists were
regarded not as fellow-citizens but as aliens and strangers.
Failure in the first attempt to found an empire had begotten
discouragement and despair of success in a similar enterprise.
It was taken for granted that the colonists would wish to dissolve
the imperial connection as soon as they were strong enough to
stand by themselves ; in the meanwhile they might enjoy the
protection which a generous Mother Country provided for them,
as a humane government maintains pauper children till they are
of an age to maintain themselves ; and relief from the responsi-
bility was desired no less eagerly in the one case than in the
other. We were more ignorant of the Colonies, their products
and their possibilities, than of many alien countries ; and as we
looked upon them as the property of strangers with which our
connection was merely temporary, there was no strong induce-
ment to acquire fuller information. Our colonial policy, or, to
speak more accurately, want of a colonial policy, was the natural
outcome of this attitude of mind. Since the colonies were no
more to us than foreign countries, it was a matter of indifference
whither emigrants went and with whom we traded. There had
come to the land from the invention of machinery, combined
with vast mineral resources, a degree of prosperity unprecedented
in the history of mankind, and this had produced "swelled
heads." England was sufficient for herself and had no use for
colonies.

A great change for the better is noticeable in the public
attitude to the Empire. Dissolution is a consummation not to
be desired but to be avoided at all costs. In the Mother Country

The Two Empires 79

time -has strengthened the sense of relationship to the Colonies
that once seemed too feeble to long withstand its wear and tear.
We now take a parental interest in them ; their progress and
splendid promise fill us with pride, and our hearts grow warm in
response to their loyalty and devotion. We are conscious of the
closer bond that unites Britain to the oversea dominions than to
any alien State. From the inner spiritual holy of holies in which
we dwell together all the rest of mankind are excluded.

But we still fail to fully appreciate the closeness of our
relations to the Colonies. One Canadian city, on the occasion of
the visit of the Duke of Connaught, greeted the Governor-General
with the words : " The Empire is our country, and Canada is our
home." It is this conception to which so many fail to rise.
They cannot grasp the fact that not the British Isles alone, but
the British Empire, is their country, all whose citizens are their
fellow-countrymen.

So this question of the future of the Empire, although it has
been promoted from the back seat it once occupied in our con-
sideration, does not now take the place with us to which it is
entitled. In "piping times of peace," such questions as Welsh
Disestablishment, Home Eule, Land Keform, religious education
are more discussed and are regarded as of more practical interest
and importance. In after-the-war discussions Imperial Federa-
tion is a little more conspicuous. It is enough to admit its
advisability. Whether it will come to-morrow or a hundred
years hence is considered of no consequence. There is no
pressing need to take the matter in hand.

But this question in reality dwarfs all others in significance
and importance. On the maintenance of the union of the Empire
depends our recovery after the war, and nothing less than the
continuance of our national greatness. Seeley put vividly before
his readers what separation would signify — the reduction of
England to the level of the States nearest to us on the Continent,
populous, but less so than Germany and scarcely equal to France,
to one far inferior to Eussia and the United States in population
and resources. " Our trade, too," he wen,t on to say, " would be
exposed to wholly new risks." Another writer has stated that
separation would make of England a second Holland. We shall
more vividly realise the fate to which in that case we should be
constantly exposed if for Holland we substituted Belgium.

D. A. E. VEAL.

80 The Empire Review

PEACE FALLACIES

A DECISIVE military victory is an essential preliminary to a
firm and abiding peace, but everything depends upon the actual
terms of settlement. The Allies have rightly declared against a
Treaty dictated by revengeful or Imperialistic motives, but there
is a danger of our running to the other extreme, and transacting
the negotiations from such an idealistic standpoint that the
permanence and stability of the new order will be seriously
threatened.

The basis of territorial readjustment must be nationality, but
the actual application of this principle is of some difficulty. There
are six main areas involved in Europe : — Alsace-Lorraine, Luxem-
bourg, Poland, Transylvania, Trentino and Trieste, and the
Balkans. The Socialists of the Allied countries have declared
in favour of the peoples of these territories deciding their destinies
for themselves by plebiscite. There is much to be said for such
a proposal provided a free vote can be assured. But a vote
conducted under the supervision of the present governing
authorities would be a farce. Probably the only sound method
of solving the problem would be in the first instance to delimit
the areas by a Boundary Commission, and then to require the
evacuation of the territories by both parties interested pending
the decision.

The question will, however, be a complex one — particularly in
the Balkans and amonggt the races constituting Austria-Hungary.
In this connection it is of interest to note President Wilson's
declaration in his Address to Congress last December : — " The
peace we make . . . must also deliver the peoples of Austria -
Hungary, the peoples of the Balkans, and the peoples of Turkey,
alike in Europe and in Asia, from the impudent and alien do-
minion of the Prussian military and commercial autocracy. We
owe it, however, to ourselves to say that we do not wish in any
way to impair or to re-arrange the Austro- Hungarian Empire. It
is no affair of ours what they do with their own life, either
industrially or politically. We do not purpose or desire to dictate

Peace Fallacies 81

to them in any way. We only desire to see that their affairs are
left in their own hands in all matters, great or small. We shall
hope to secure for the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula and for
the people of the Tuikish Empire the right and opportunity to
make their own lives safe, their own fortunes se ure, against
oppression or injustice, and from the dictation of foreign courts
or parties." *

Now turn to Mr. Lloyd George's declaration on the same
subject : — " Though we agree with President Wilson that the
break up of Austria-Hungary is no part of our war aims, we feel
that, unless genuine self-government on true democratic principles
is granted to those Austro-Hungarian nationalities who have long
desired it, it is impossible to hope for the removal of those causes
of unrest in that part of Europe which have so long threatened
its general peace.

" On the same grounds we regard as vital the satisfaction of
the legitimate claims of the Italians for union with those of their
own race and tongue. We also mean to press that justice be
done to men of Kumanian blood and speech in their legitimate
aspirations. If these conditions are fulfilled Austria-Hungary
would become a Power whose strength would conduce to the
permanent peace and freedom of Europe, instead of being merely
an instrument to the pernicious military autocracy of Prussia
that uses the resources of its allies for the furtherance of its own
sinister purposes." f

There is a lack of clarity of thought about both these state-
ments. If " the legitimate claims of the Italians " be satisfied,
if "justice be done to men of Rumanian blood and speech," and
if " genuine self-government on true democratic principles is
granted to those Austro-Hungarian nationalities who have long
desired it," the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is
inevitable. If Transylvania, Trentino and Trieste be ceded, and
independence be conferred on Bohemia and on the Slav provinces,
then Austria-Hungary will have been so radically transformed as
virtually to cease to exist. This process is essential if peace in
South-Eastern Europe is to be permanently secured, and it is as
well boldly to face the fact, and not to seek to conceal it by such
phrases as the ones quoted.

This territorial revision is vital to the future of European
peace, and it will necessarily be in many respects drastic. We
must, however, see that such changes are genuinely desired by
the peoples affected, and we must guard against a repetition of
the dynastic annexations of the past. Consequently, in spite of
the difficulties involved in the proposal, the Socialist suggestion
of " self-determination," subject to satisfactory guarantees, appears
* The Times, 5 December, 1917. t The Times, 7 January, 1918.

VOL. XXXII.— No. 206. cr

82 The Empire Review

to offer the most favourable prospect of a just settlement in this
respect.

Problems almost equally important, however, arise in Asia
and Africa, and several proposals have been made as to the
solution which should be adopted. The official Allied view as to
Turkey has been stated by Mr. Lloyd George : — " While we do
not challenge the maintenance of the Turkish Empire in the
homelands of the Turkish race with its capital at Constantinople
—the passage between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea
being internationalised and neutralised — Arabia, Armenia, Meso-
potamia, Syria and Palestine, are in our judgment entitled to a
recognition of their separate national conditions."

These terms can be cordially supported, although the applica-
tion of the principle of " self-determination " is more difficult
than in the case of Europe. Indeed, amongst the primitive
races concerned, a plebiscite is altogether out of the question,
but the conditions of the Treaty might be devised after consulta-
tion with the Sheikhs and other native leaders of these peoples.

Such a solution apparently, however, does not meet with the
full approval of the Labour Party. In the joint Memorandum
on War Aims it was proposed that Armenia, Mesopotamia, and
Arabia should be adm nistered by an international commission
under the League of Nations. This would be a very cumbersome
and inefficient system of control, calculated to produce continual
friction and jealousy. Many of these territories are too weak to
maintain their own independence without assistance, and probably,
after consulting with the native leaders, it will be found necessary
to assign these provinces as Protectorates to separate members
of the Alliance. Provided the wishes and interests of the natives,
as far as they can be ascertained, are respected, there is nothing
Imperialistic in such a solution. These countries have been
blighted by Turk misrule, and clearly they cannot revert to the
same evil dominion. There is, however, no practical half-Way
house between such a course and the establishment of a
Protectorate in each case as suggested.

The same considerations apply to the German African colonies.
Mr. Lloyd George has clearly enunciated the Allied policy on this
subj- ct : — " With regard to the German colonies, I have repeatedly
declared that ihey are held at the disposal of a Conference whose
i-isioii must have primary regard to the wishes and interest* of
the ative inhabitants of s-uch c-'lonie^. None of th< se territories
are inhabited by Europeans. The governing consideration, there-
t' re, in ;ill these cases must be that the inhabitants should be
l»la<-f<i ':nd r the control of an administration acceptable to
themselves, one of whose main purposes will be to prevent their
* The Times, 7 January, 1918.

Peace Fallacies 83

exploitation for the benefit of European capitalists or govern-
ments. The natives live in their various tribal organisations
under chiefs and councils who are competent to consult and
speak for their tribes and members, and thus to represent their
wishes and interests in regard to their disposal." *

This is an entirely statesmanlike proposal, and is clearly the
policy which should be followed. The Labour suggestion that
the European colonies in tropical Africa should be transferred to
the control of the League of Nations, and be permanently
neutralised is quite impracticable for reasons already stated, and
cannot be enforced.

Similarly, the Labour proposal that the principle of " self-
determination " should be accepted for India and the other
dependencies of the British Empire cannot be regarded as
feasible. The peoples of India and Egypt have not yet attained
a political civilisation fitting them for self-government, and the
problem in the former case is rendered more complex by the
acute racial differences which exist. The improbability of peace-
ful co-operation between Hindu and Mahomedan, once British
control is withdrawn, has been strikingly illustrated by the anti-
Moslem riots which occurred in Behar last September. Until
the various races and sects in India have learnt to tolerate each
other not even the most elementary requirement of self-
government has been reached.

The fundamental consideration here is that Egypt and India
have not the strength and capacity to maintain their inde-
pendence, and even the Labour Party admit that " the record of
British government gives little occasion for reproach." Accord-
ingly our true policy is to administer our dependencies in a
liberal spirit ; to promote the moral and material well-being of
their peoples ; and cautiously and gradually to introduce a
measure of self-government in local affairs. Democracy in in-
experienced hands means anarchy, and therefore the truest
progress i^ to be found not in revolution, but in evolution.

Such is the nature of the territorial settlement which is
essential if the root causes of the present war are to be finally
removed. But there are economic questions of equal importance
which will require solution in any treaty which may be arranged.
This subject has attracted much attention, and there appears
some danger that we shall allow ourselves to be talked into a
thoroughly unsound agreement. Socialist, Labour, and Badical
circles are agitating for an understanding on the following
lines : —

(1) No indemnities; a common international fund for the
compensation of war damage ;

* The Times, 7 January. 1918.

G 2

84 The Empire Review

(2) No economic war after the war ;

(3) Systematic arrangements on an international basis for

meeting the world-wide deficiency of food and materials
after the war.

This programme is based upon a fundamental misconception,
i.e., that a clear distinction can be drawn between the German
Government and the German people. But the German people
have consistently supported their Government in the excesses of
this war ; in many of the atrocities they have openly gloried,
whilst the essential barbarism of the modern German character
is nowhere more thoroughly revealed than in the disgusting and
brutal behaviour of German civilians to wounded prisoners.
Under such circumstances it is a mere pretence to differentiate
between the German people and their rulers. They have become
willing instruments in the hands of the military caste.

The German nation has condoned the policy of their Govern-
ment, and they must therefore be held responsible for that policy.
Allied territory has been ruthlessly and wantonly devastated, and
the most elementary principles of justice demand that such
damage, as far as possible, shall be repaired by its authors.
Allied property has been looted in wholesale fashion; compensa-
tion must be paid. To absolve Germany from this liability, and
to establish an international fund for the settlement of such
claims, would be to tolerate these enormities, and to encourage
such practices for the future. Consequently, an indemnity by
way of reparation is in every respect justifiable.

Similarly there is every reason to support a policy of restric-
tion against Germany. It is, indeed, a necessary measure of
defence. We now know the grip which before the war Germany
had gained on international industry ; her command of essential
manufactures; her insidious and far-reaching system of "peaceful
penetration." Free economic intercourse means a return to this
state of affairs, for the overthrow of the military autocracy will
not involve the immediate destruction of the vicious Commercial
spirit of the country.

Such unrestrained intercourse would, moreover, be particu-
larly unfair to our Continental Allies, inasmuch as Germany
has wantonly and of set purpose crippled their manufacturing
capacity by a widespread appropriation and destruction of much
of their most valuable machinery, and by the enslavement of
many of their most skilful workmen — an enslavement terminating
either in death or in physical breakdown. The German com-
mercial leaders would, therefore, by free trade profit through the
wickedness of their rulers, and would be in a particularly favour-
able position to resume their former practice on an even larger
scale and with even greater prospects of success.

Peace Fallacies 85

Reconstruction in the devastated areas will be necessary upon
an unexampled scale. There will be an unprecedented demand
for raw materials, and obviously in common fairness the Allies
are entitled to the first call upon those materials. Germany has
only herself to thank if she finds herself after the war severely
rationed. She has by her actions deliberately created a world
shortage, and it is intolerable that the victims of this conduct
should be called upon to share their scanty resources equally with
the aggressors.

Radicals and Socialists, apparently, are prepared to allow
Germany to retain her mercantile marine, and to sail the seas
without let or hindrance. But is no compensation to be paid for
the indiscriminate murders of the submarine, and for the Allied
and neutral shipping sunk contrary to all international law and
all humanity ? Nay, is Germany to be allowed to make an
actual gain from these outrages ? She has decimated the
shipping of the world, and apparently her own shipping block-
aded in her own harbours is to be retained by her, whilst the
shipping commandeered by the Allies and that laid up in neutral
ports is to be restored. Then she may earn rich profits out of
the distress she has wilfully created. Such a proposal is un-
thinkable.

Now, for these reasons, a policy of no indemnities and no
economic restrictions is thoroughly unsound. Even the Labour
Party in their joint Memorandum on War Aims admit the right
of each nation to defend its own economic interests, and to
conserve sufficient foodstuffs and raw materials for its own
purposes. Again, President Wilson has declared that if the
German people after the war still remain " under ambitious and
intriguing masters interested to disturb the peace of the world . . .
it might be impossible in such untoward circumstances to admit
Germany to the free economic intercourse which must inevitably
spring out of the partnership of a real peace."

But, as before remarked, when the military autocracy has
been overthrown there will still remain an industrial and com-
mercial order in Germany attached to the old, treacherous
principles, and which cannot therefore be trusted. A measure of
defence against these leaders who will remain in control of
German industry will be necessary.

It will be essential for the Allies to take energetic steps to
prevent a return to the policy of " peaceful penetration." Thus
no firm, wholly or partially German or Austrian, should for a
term of years be allowed to run business establishments in Allied
territory, and all existing German or Austrian businesses should
be confiscated. The funds thus available should be employed to
compensate Allied business losses in Germany. Allied naturalisa-

86 The Empire Review

tion laws should be made very much more stringent, and interned
Austrians and Germans, whether native or naturalised, should be
deported to their own countries.

The Allies should co-operate for a fair distribution of food-
stuffs and raw materials. Germany can only expect to receive
supplies after Allied requirements have been satisfied.

Finally, a commercial agreement should be drawn up between
the Allies on a preferential basis, and to prevent a return of the
German monopoly in vital industries a prohibitive tariff should
be levied on such German imports. A tariff, above the pre-
ferential scale, should be imposed on other German goods, so as
effectually to frustrate any profit on the part of Germany from
her wilful destruction of Allied industry during the war.

These are the economic restrictions which are necessary, and
which receive abundant justification on the score of self-defence,
and as a penalty for German outrages.

The question of indemnity is more difficult. As a result of
the war the Central Empires will probably be bankrupt and
consequently . an immediate monetary contribution cannot be
expected. But there are two directions in which reparation can
appropriately be made in kind. The German mercantile marine
should most certainly be forfeit as a return for the illegal losses
inflicted upon the Allies and neutrals at sea. Again, the approxi-
mate value of the machinery looted and destroyed by the enemy
can be ascertained, and Germany should be required to surrender
from her factories suitable machinery of equal value. Reparation
is a foremost demand amongst the Allied war aims, and these are
obviously two classes of outrage where it is most important that
complete reparation should be made. A restitution in kind under
the circumstances is the fairest and most immediate form which
compensation can take. In addition a cash indemnity should be
imposed as some reparation for the numberless other atrocities
which have disgraced the German arms, and should be levied
gradually by an annual contribution from German revenue. We
imposed a Boxer indemnity upon China in 1900 which is still
current. The case for such an indemnity from Germany to-day
is a thousandfold stronger, and, as in the instance of China, we
can afford to wait — we can raise this contribution gradually over
a long course of years.

The crimes of this war cry aloud for punishment, and only
through punishment can we obtain effectual guarantees against
a repetition of such outrages by future belligerents. We have
to make an example of the present offenders. This is not
vengeance; it is merely justice — justice essential as a deterrent
against future atrocities.

H. DOUGLAS GREGOKY,

Newfoundland 87

NEWFOUNDLAND

«

THEBE lies a land in the West and North
Whither the bravest men went forth,
And daunted not by fog nor ice
They reached at last to a Paradise,
Full two thousand miles it lay
Washed by a sea of English grey,
And they called it Newfoundland at sight,
It's rather the Land of Heart's Delight.

I have seen the Mediterranean's blue
Lazily lapping the Southern shores,
And groves where the golden orange grew,
And the cypress shading Cathedral doors ;
All I have seen and known.
But I love the Cliffs of a Rugged Land
With hardly a hold for foot or hand ;
Lakes that nestle between the hills,
A brook that runs wherever it wills ;
Here the wildfowl finds his home,
Here the bear and the beaver roam —
This I have loved and known.

I have seen the Tiber, the Thames, the Rhine,

And stately palaces o'er them shine,

And lights like stars on the river's breast

At night, for the rivers know no rest ;

All I have seen and known.

But I love the brooks of a land far North

Which out of an unknown hill flow forth,

And sing on their way to the tall spruce trees

The song that the hills have sent to the seas,

And I know the swirls where the big fish lay

And the runs in the rocks where the small fish play-

This I have loved and known.

88 The Empire Review

I have seen the inoon in the desert space

Flooding the Pyramid's stony face,

And guarding the banks of the Sacred Nile,

Pharaohs, carved in an ancient style ;

All I have seen and known.

But on moonlight eights in the land I love

I have slept with the trees and the sky above,

By burning logs that splutter and weep

And a ritfer that sobs itself to sleep,

And perhaps with frightened eyes that blink ,

The timid deer comes down to drink —

This I have loved and known.

I have seen sweet places in foreign lands
And gardens tended by cunning hands,
Houses old as the hills in fame,
Bearing the weight of a foreign name ;
All I have seen and known.
But Nature gardens the land I choose
And gives her names such as lovers use —
FORTUNE BAY — Was the Fortune Love?
CONCEPTION — borrowed from Heaven above.
BREAKHEART POINT — What a world of woe !
A maiden watching her lover go !
HEART'S CONTENT — Here they came at last
When the toil and grief of their life was "past—
These I have loved and known.

There lies a land in the West and North
Whither the bravest men went forth,
And daunted not by fog nor ice
They reached at last to a Paradise :
A land to be won by men who durst,
No wonder the English chose it first,
And they named it Newfoundland at sight,
It's rather the Land of Heart's. Delight.

E. G.

Empire Trade Notes 89

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES

CANADA

CANADIAN Bank clearings for 1917 show substantial increases,
those of Montreal being more than 465 million dollars in excess
of the previous year's total. The figures for Toronto revealed a
gain of over 433 million dollars and Winnipeg's Bank clearings
increased by more than 561 million dollars. The nineteen cities
reporting all show substantial increase. Canadian exports of
dairy produce in 1917 reached a total value of two million^
sterling, exceeding the record of any previous year. The value
of the agricultural products of the Canadian prairie provinces
last year showed an increase of ^615,400,000 over the figures
for 1916.

THE total value of the Canadian fisheries output for last year
has established the record of $39,208,378, or $344,767 over 1916.
The output by provinces was : — British Columbia $14,637,346,
New Brunswick $5,656,859, Ontario $2,658.993, Saskatchewan
$281,941, The Yukon $60,210, Nova Scotia $10,092,902, Quebec
$2,991,624, Manitoba $1,344,179, Alberta $144,317. As usual
the salmon catch was more valuable than any oth^r, amounting
to $10,882,431. Lobsters had a value of $5,508,054, cod
$5,449,964, herring $3,050,421 and halibut $2,263,573.

DUBING the past twelve months 7,500,000 Ibs. of creamery
butter were produced in Manitoba, an increase over the 1916
output of 951,846 Ibs. The production of cheese increased by
213,159 Ibs., the total for J917 being 1,093,887 Ibs. The total
returns from butter and cheese exceeded $4,700,000, and ninety
carloads were exported as against an importation into the
province in 1912 of fifty-five carloads.

A STATEMENT issued by the forest branch of the British
Columbia Lands Department compares the number of logs
scaled during the first ten months of 1917 with the figures for
the whole of 1915 and 1916. From a total of 1,017,683,000 feet
board measurement of lumber cut in the year 1915 there was
an accompanying sales revenue of $9,307,408; in 1916 the cut
advanced to 1,280,263,000 feet, and the revenue derived for the
manufactured commodity amounted to $15,012,050. Up till
the end of October last the amount of logs scaled showed an
increase over the preceding twelve months of 24,462,000 feet
board measurement. While the best year for Vancouver Island
lumber was 1916, with two months of the present year yet

90 The Empire Review

to go, the comparative figures are : 1916, twelve months,
145,952,000 ; 1917, ten months, 167,300,000. The report shows
an increase of over five and three-quarter million dollars in the
sales of manufactured lumber during 1917 over those of the
preceding twelve months. Detailed reports for the month of
November show that British Columbian mills experienced their
record that month. Nearly 60,000,000 feet is the total, or
approximately 20,000,000 feet increase over the same period of
1916. The major part of this increase is accounted for by the
demand from the prairies, while the shipbuilding activity within
the province has naturally taken its share. It is felt in lumber
circles that providing the labour situation can be effectively
handled and the logs secured, the next few months should see
still greater increases.

IN spite of various conditions expected to militate against
the movement of grain from Port Arthur to Fort William, the
season of 1917 proved to be the second best in the history of the
twin ports. In this season a grand total of 207,721,403 bushels
was shipped. The record year was in 1916 with a total of
253,969,500 bushels. The total in 1915 was 201,793,915. From
September 1st to December 14th, the official close of navigation
last year, grain shipped in Canadian vessels totalled 44,378,021
bushels, and in United States vessels 54,319,405, a grand total
for the end-season period of 98,697,426 bushels. For the
entire season of 1917 Canadian vessels carried from these ports
102,314,652, and American vessels 105,406,751 bushels, a total
of 207,721,403 bushels. Eeceipts for the crop year ending
August 31st, 1917, which practically represents the 1916 crop,
were 224,438,196 bushels. The above figures do not include a
small amount of off grade and screenings shipped.

OFFICIAL figures just issued show that the total value of the
products of British Columbia's farms last year reached the record
figure of $32,182,915, compared with $31,127,801 in the preceding
year. While the value of home production is increasing, im-
portations are decreasing. Last year's imports, many of them
articles which could be produced in British Columbia, were
valued at $17,199,662, being slightly in excess of the previous
year, but showing a large decline when compared with the figure
of $25,199,125 for 1914.

ADVICES from Nova Scotia state that the returns of the
principal products for last year are as follows : — Coal $23,600,000,
coke and by-products $5,000,000, gold and other minerals
$250,000, gypsum, limestone, etc., $1,250,000, building materials
and clay products $450,000, iron and steel products $20,000,000,
fisheries $10,092,000, manufactures, ships and freights $47,750,000,
products of the farm $36,117,203, products of the forest $4,500,000,
game and furs $500,000, total $149,509,203.

WESTEKN CANADA is steadily building up a reputation as a
wool producing country. The opportunities it affords for the
profitable breeding and rearing of sheep are unsurpassed. An
abundance of suitable fodder of all kinds is available, while

Empire Trade Notes 91

climatic and other conditions are favourable. That the farmer
is more and more alive to the value of a flock of sheep on his
farm is shown by the increasing number of participants in the
co-operative wool sales each year. Throughout the West this
has been noticed at practically all the sales. The prices now
being obtained for wool have opened the eyes of the farmers all
over the West to its possibilities.

HONEY is one of the products of the Canadian farm that is
playing an important part just now. It is taking the place of
syrup in baking and confectionery establishments. Its economic
value is becoming more generally recognised every year, and the
increasing demand is attracting the attention of residents of
Canadian |rural districts, who are so situated that bee-keeping
offers them a sure and reasonably easy means of revenue. Bees
owned by a farmer and operated on his own farm will yield him,
in addition to the honey crop, the benefit of increased fertilisation
of some of his most important crops. No fruit grower who is
in any considerable way of business should be without a few
colonies of bees for the sake of the benefit to his orchards at
blossom time. Another good reason is that no one is better
situated to effect a satisfactory distribution of the products of
the bee than the man who has had experience in disposing of a
crop of fruit.

BAPID strides were made in the rearing of sheep throughout
the West of Canada during last year, particularly in Southern
Alberta. One of the largest cattlemen in Canada, whose head-
quarters are at Eaymond, Alberta, owns over 50,000 head of
sheep himself. Approximately 250,000 sheep are owned by the
members of the Southern Alberta Wool Growers' Association.
Some idea of the progress that has been made recently in this
direction may be gathered from the fact that during the first
ten months of this year 30,000 sheep have crossed into Canada
from Montana via Coutts. Greater attention is also being paid
to the raising of milch goats, particularly in British Columbia.
At a recent cattle, sheep and swine sale in Calgary $13,629
worth of animals changed hands, of which $10,266 was for
sheep. An Oxford ram was sold for $250, and five Oxford ewes
brought $28.50 each. Eleven Suffolk rams were sold for $849,
an average of $77 per head, one bringing $112. A new record
was created at the Alberta stockyards when a small bunch of
breedy black faces fetched $20 per head. This is the highest
price ever paid for stock sheep at any central market in Western
Canada and equals the best figure obtained on any open market
on the continent.

THE Commissioner of Northern Manitoba, in his report on
the mineral resources of that territory, states that Northern
Manitoba unquestionably has mining resources that only await
development to yield immense returns. The known mining area
is in the region of a chain or series of lakes and rivers stretching
easterly from Lakes Athapapuskow, Schist and Flin Flon, near
Manitoba's western boundary to Herb or Wekusko Lake, a
distance of approximately ninety miles. The former is reached

92 The Empire Review

from The Pas, via the Saskatchewan Eiver, through Cumberland
and Sturgeon Lakes, and the latter is eleven miles from the
Hudson Bay Railway. In the former district immense deposits
of copper sulphide ore have been discovered, and in the latter,
veins of gold-bearing quartz, which have produced remarkai le
assays and are now beginning to yield good returns. In order
to facilitate the development of the mining district, the Manitoba
Government early in the autumn of 1916 let a contract for
cutting out and clearing a roadway across the portage between
Sturgeon Lake and Lake Atbapapuskow. This runs for a
distance of seventeen miles. While the road was not completed,
sufficient work was done to allow it being used as a winter road,
and about 120 teams were employed on it during the winter
months taking out ore and hauling in supplies, in addition to
taking out fish from Lake Athapapuskow.

THE Medicine Hat, Alberta, linseed oil mills have shipped
several carloads of linseed oil to Australia which is the first oil
ever shipped from Canada to that country. This is the beginning
of what may turn out to be a very important development.
Formerly the oil used in Australia was obtained from England.

MB. F. B. HAANEL, of the Department of Mines, Ottawa,
in an interesting paper entitled " The Utilisation of Canadian
Peat Resources," emphasises the fact that the supply of coal
from the United States, on which the provinces of Quebec,
Ontario and Manitoba depend, is not inexhaustible, and urges
the importance of preparing to substitute peat for coal. Mr.
Haanel says Canada's peat bogs are chiefly situated in Quebec
and Ontario, and he urges that the people should be educated to
realise the necessity of utilising their own resources.

THE Government farm tractors to be operated on the farms
of Ontario this year will be worked by returned soldiers trained
in the vocational centres of the Military Hospitals Commission.
The Ontario Department of Agriculture has turned over to the
Commission about sixty tractor ploughs used during last
summer. These require a certain amount of overhauling, and
have been sent to the institutions at London, Guelph, Whitby
and Kingston, where they will be examined by the experts
employed there in training returned soldiers in machinery. The
department has informed the Commission that soldiers who
learn how to operate and take care of the tractors will be
employed as operators in preference to others. Expert tractor
operators are well paid, and this year it is proposed to give the
men a bonus according to the acreage ploughed.

THE fruit grower of the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia,
has received highly satisfactory returns this season, despite the
drawbacks of increased cost of material, high wages and
inexperienced help. The industry hns made a decided advance
as regards marketing facilities. While many problems still
remain unsolved, it may be said that the position of the
orchardist has been considerably improved and the genera
outlook for the industry is more hopeful than for some time

Empire Trade Notes 93

past. Prices obtained show the following advances over those
secured in 1916 : Apricots, 30 per cent. ; peaches and plums,
25 per cent. ; prunes, 15 per cent. ; crabs, 20 per cent. ; apples,
15 to 20 per cent., and for vegetables the advance in some
instances was as high as 80 per cent. A shipment of 28,000
boxes of British Columbia apples was recently made on one
steamer from Vancouver to Australia.

As a result of a recommendation of the Fish Committee of
the Canadian Food Controller's Office and negotiations which
are now in progress, it is hoped that varieties of edible Pacific
fish which are now little utilised may be made available to
consumers as far as Winnipeg, at reasonable prices. An order-
in-council became effective a few days ago transferring the
Dominion Government's subsidy of one-third of the express
charges on fresh fish from Pacific coast points to points as far
east as the eastern boundary of Manitoba, from halibut and
salmon to a subsidy of two-thirds of the transportation charges
on other Pacific fish, including fresh, frozen or smoked grey, red
and ling cod, gray fish, flounders, and other flat fish, except
halibut. The War Office is now taking a million pounds weight
of Canadian fish weekly for British troops in English camps, and
it is hoped now to extend the purchase for the British troops in
France. The British Food Controller is being approached to
buy Canadian fish to replace bacon, which is now becoming
scarce for civilian consumption. This development is possible
chiefly through the enterprise of Sir William Reed, whose cold
storage plant at St. John's will hold twenty million pounds of
fish when completed this year.

IT is estimated that the total: " stand " of timber in British
Columbia to-day, regardless of present commercial value, is
approximately three hundred and fifty billion feet. The com-
mercially valuable timbered area of about eleven million acres is
estimated to bear a stand of two hundred billion feet.

THE telephone is as essential on the Canadian farm as is the
motor car. Every well-to-do farmer has both. In fact as soon
as he can afford them these are two of the earliest investments
he makes. The Rural Telephone Branch of the Saskatchewan
Department of Telephones has compiled an interesting summary
of last session's work, which shows that g^od progress was again
made during last summer. On May 1st, 1916, there were 18,150
subscribers to rural telephone companies ; by May 1st, 1917,
these had been increased by 5,663, and by October 13th, 1917, a
period of only five and a half months, a further 6,089, making
426 more subscribers last season as compared with the previous
year. The total number of subscribers for the province now
stands at 29,902.

A NEWLY discovered process — that of utilising flax straw,
which is at present destroyed to the extent of thousands of tons
a year in Western Canada — may solve the question of binder
twine supply. This new process makes excellent samples of
binder twine, cord and rope, which are said to be much stronger
than the ordinary material and cheaper. In addition to the

94 The Empire Review

saving effected by the cheaper and better product, the western
farmer will have the advantage of finding a market for a product
which has hitherto been wasted. Binder twine is one of the
articles for which the British Government has fixed the price.

THE Saskatchewan Government has evolved a scheme for
encouraging increased hog production. In addition to the general
appeal to farmers who have sows to retain and breed them, the
provincial department of agriculture will place a buyer on the
Winnipeg market, and if necessary also at Calgary and Edmonton
markets, with instructions to purchase young sows suitable for
breeding purposes, and to ship these to concentration camps at
suitable points in the province.

SOUTH AFRICA

AN experiment, the results of which are awaited with interest,
has recently been initiated by the Union Government. Two
hermetically-sealed tins, each containing twenty ostrich eggs in
liquid form, have been shipped to London, where the contents
will be examined and reported upon by one of the largest firms in
the United Kingdom interested in dairy and allied products.
The idea of using ostrich eggs in connection with the manufacture
of confectionery and biscuits is no new one so far as South Africa
is concerned. Some confectioners have for a long time past used
the eggs, mixed with hens' eggs in equal proportions, with results
which are said to be quite satisfactory.

THE recovery of arsenic is being undertaken locally, and with
the contribution which Ehodesia is expected to make shortly,
South Africa should in the near future be largely independent of
outside sources for its supplies of arsenite of soda and other
arsenical compounds.

THE total output from the diamond mines of South Africa
for the year 1916 was 1,403,514 carats, valued at £3,393,311.
This total is exclusive of the results of debris washing, which
accounted for 8,362 carats, representing a value of £10,341.
The average value of the diamonds was £2 8s. 4d. per carat.
Taking the average price realised per carat for the first
quarter of the year against that realised in the last, we find an
increase from £1 18s. IQd. to £2 14s. 9d., equivalent to a rise of
41 per cent. The average price per carat of both mine and
alluvial stones in 1916 was the highest since Union, a striking
fact, and one bearing conclusive testimony to the practical success
of the sound policy of control exercised during the disturbing
influences of the war.

With regard to the alluvial diggings, the output for 1916 was
98,879-75 carats, of a total declared value of £654,276. The
great increase on 1915 is apparent when it is stated that the
previous year's production was 61, 933 '25 carats, representing
an aggregate value of £259,212. The average price realised
per carat for the alluvial product for the year 1916 was 132s. 4d.
as against 83s. 8d. for 1915. The 1916 average transcends all
records — in recent years at least — the highest previous figures

Empire Trade Notes 95

being 120s. Qd. in 1912. Taking the last quarter of 1916 by
itself, the average price realised was 140s.

WAX, for some time past, has formed one of the by-products
of the sugar industry in Natal, and its manufacture is now making
very active progress. The process (which is patented) is some-
what intricate, but the treatment applied to an otherwise waste
product (filter press cake from the sugar factories) results in the
production of a very fine, hard, vegetable wax, practically equal in
value to Carnauba and beeswax, with which latter it is, chemically,
almost identical. The wax has a high melting-point, and takes a
very high polish. After the extraction of the wax the large
residue forms a fertiliser which is used entirely by the sugar
estates forwarding their filter press cake for treatment. A com-
pany has also equipped a refining plant for treating crude wax for
export and for supplying an apparently general demand by manu-
facturers of furniture and boot polishes in the Union. About
250 tons of this wax have been shipped to London during the past
two years, and the demand appears to be unlimited.

IN the course of inquiries in connection with the production of
liquorice in the Union of South Africa, the department of
Industries has been furnished with some interesting particulars of
the history of this plant in the Oudtshoorn district. The plant
was originally introduced into the district many years ago by a
gentleman named Dr. Pawle, who, knowing its commercial value,
distributed roots to farmers Why the cultivation of the plant
was not continued, if ever properly begun, does not appear, but
the fact is that it came to be looked upon by the farmers as a pest,
since, when once it is established, it is very difficult to eradicate.
Certain enterprising people in the district have now, however,
" rediscovered " the fact that the plant possesses some commercial
value ; and whereas there was a time not long ago when farmers
would have given the root to anyone who undertook to clear their
land for them, there is now none of the root available, so the
department is advised, it having all been bought up by local firms.
The price usually paid is one penny per Ib. The acting magistrate
at Oudtshoorn states that he knows of a bijwoner who made about
£60 out of this plant during 1916.

THE manufacture of Wattle Extract in Natal has now entered
upon a definitely progressive stage. Two or three companies are
in process of formation, and much more would have been accom-
plished in the way of production but for the difficulties in obtaining
the necessary plant. One company, however, has managed to
surmount these obstacles, and during the last six months has been
producing extract which has met with much acceptance on the
world's market. The enterprise of this Maritzhurg firm has not
been overlooked by the users of tanning extract in other parts of
the world, and it is satisfactory to know that an order on behalf
of the Indian Government has just been placed for 100 tons of
extract for army purposes. The order has been placed through
the Department of Industries, and a first instalment of the
consignment has already been shipped.

OVERSEA CORRESPONDENTS.

96 The Empire Review

CANADIAN WAR ITEMS

THE first war order that has gone to Vancouver since the
floating of the Victory Loan, was, by a peculiar coincidence, for
$7,254,000, which was almost exactly the city's subscription to
the loan. The contract was from the Imperial Munitions Board
to one of the shipyards.

THE pupils of the rural schools of the Province of Ontario
have collected about £500 on " tag " days held at the Eural
School Fairs during last autumn. With the money in hand the
Department of Agriculture, acting for the school children, has
purchased a motor omnibus, which will be presented to the
Military Hospitals Commission for use in connection with the
hospitals in Toronto. The omnibus will cost about £360 and
the balance will be used for patriotic purposes through the
Soldiers' Aid Commission.

THE Canadian Government at Ottawa is receiving a consider-
able Dumber of inquiries indicating a desire on the part of
returned soldiers to take advantage of the legislation recently
passed to assist soldiers in settling upon the land. The Act
provided for the appointment of a Soldier Settlement Board and
the lending of money to soldier settlers to an amount not
exceeding $2,500. The organisation of the Board has been
delayed by the Canadian general election, but is progressing.

THE British Columbia Land Settlement Board has secured
the option on 40,000 acres of first-class land in the Kispiox,
Bulkley, Nechaco and Stewart Lake districts. The lands will be
thrown open to development.

THE Canadian Pacific Railway Company is re-naming some
of its stations after the places which have been made famous in
the annals of Canada by her soldiers. Already, it is announced,
the name of Milleta has been changed to that of Virny; and
Enterprise, in the Belleville division of Ontario, has been re-
named Lens. It is intended by tbe officials of the company that
every field on which the soldiers of Canada have won renown
shall be commemorated by the re-naming of stations along the
line of the Canadian Pacific. It is regarded as an excellent
principle that the historic interest that is now associated with
these names should be pt-rpetuated, in order that, when this
great war is but a memory, Canadian children may learn from
the names that have been transplanted from France and Flanders
to Canada what glorious deeds were accomplished by their fore-
fathers.

In addition to large sums for all branches of War work, the
Government of Ontario has given $5,100,000 lor Bed Cross
purposes during the War.

MAPLE

.1

THE EMPIRE
REVIEW

AND

JOURNAL OF BRITISH TRADE

VOL.. XXXII. APRIL, 1918. No. 207.

MY VISIT TO THE FRONT

ON THE EVE OF THE GREAT OFFENSIVE

I FOBMED one of a party of five Members of Parliament
invited by the War Office to visit the British Front in the
Western theatre of war. Our stay on the other side was limited
to five days, including the day of arrival and the day of departure,
but notwithstanding the short time at our disposal we had a
most interesting and informing experience.

We were entertained at headquarters and lodged in a chateau
leased to the British Government for the period of the war.
Accompanied by a Staff Officer we made daily expeditions by
motor to some of our more advanced positions and had many
opportunities of gaining an insight into the daily round, the
common task of our troops in Flanders and Northern France,
while ever before us was the terrible havoc and devastation
caused by enemy action. Incidentally we saw something of the
work behind the lines, the railway and motor transport, schools
of military training and the arrangements made for the wounded
both by the E.A.M.C. and the British Bed Cross Society.

Before giving my impressions, I would remind my readers
that in these times many preliminaries have to be gone through
before you can cross the Channel. In the first place you have
to get a passport, and although in our case this was easily
obtained, the most minute particulars were asked and had to be
answered. Then, the passport has to be vised by the French
Consul, and, as we were visiting the zone of the British Armies,
we were required to supply ourselves with what is called a
White Pass. At the moment I paid little attention to this
VOL. XXXII. -No. 207. H

98 The Empire Review

document, but soon found it a most useful and invaluable
possession. It was in constant requisition, especially when
approaching the Front, and carefully scrutinised on every
occasion. So necessary was it to carry this pass about with
you that in the hall of the chateau a notice was posted up
inscribed with the^vords, " Have you got your White Pass ? "

Now a few words about the journey. The scene on the
departure platform was very different to what the traveller was
accustomed to see in pre-war days. Although the train was
very crowded there was no hustle. No porters rushing about
with luggage, no peering into carriages to find a seat. Everyone
seemed to have his appointed place. Nearly all the passengers
were in uniform, and the uniforms were representative of both
services and many nationalities. With the exception of a few
nurses and other ladies engaged in war work, the passengers
were confined to the male sex. There was a distinct feeling of
subdued excitement, and one readily shared the anxiety of
relatives bidding what might perhaps be a last good-bye.

At the port of embarkation our passports were inspected as
we passed on board the boat and it was not long before we were
out in the Channel. Meanwhile everyone had put on the
regulation life-saving apparatus. The convoying destroyers
quickly picked us up, and after a rapid passage during which we
watched the mine-sweepers and patrols passing to and fro, we
reached the French shore. Before leaving the boat our passports
were again examined, this time by the French authorities.
That formality over we proceeded to the station buffet where
tea was awaiting us and butter unrestricted, a joy, however,
destined to be short-lived, as before making the return journey
an order had been issued prohibiting the sale of butter in French
restaurants.

After a long motor drive we reached our destination and
having written our letters which had to be left open for the
censor to read, we unpacked our bags and got ready for dinner.
It was a simple, but well-cooked meal, and for my own part I
was not sorry to find that, within the zone of the British Armies,
the soldiers' appetites are not curtailed by food restrictions.
Apparently there is no shortage of meat in France to judge
from the quantities of beef, mutton, veal and pork displayed for
sale in the butchers' shops. A few guests from neighbouring
units had been invited to meet us, and we spent a very pleasant
and instructive evening discussing the campaign on the Western
Front and the programme drawn up for our visit.

The interior of the chateau wore a somewhat different aspect
to the days when it was in possession of its owner. Most of the
pictures and the more decorative portions of the furniture had

My Visit to the Front 99

been removed and the living apartments re-arranged to meet the
requirements of the Staff in residence. In the room where we
usually assembled, maps, showing the areas occupied by the Allied
and enemy troops, were pinned on the walls, and the literature on
the tables, if we except the daily papers, consisted of propaganda
leaflets. An adjoining room, set apart as a museum, contained
an interesting collection of German arms and ammunition, while
a third room was transformed into a small theatre where each
evening cinema pictures were shown representing various scenes
in the Great War.

Next morning we breakfasted at eight o'clock, and an hour
later started for the Flanders Front. We had a long drive before
us, and although the weather was fine the wind was keen and the
air chilly in the extreme. We carried with us helmets and gas-
masks. On the way we passed the headquarters of several British
regiments, and came across a detachment of Indian cavalry,
looking very smart and workmanlike. The traffic along the roads,
which are constantly being repaired and for the most part in
good condition, was heavy and continuous. Lorries containing
supplies of every kind were ever going and coming, ammunition
waggons, guns and ambulances following one another in quick
succession.

It must not, however, be supposed that all this traffic is
allowed to pass to and fro unregulated. That, of course, would
mean chaos and confusion. Soldiers specially told off for the
purpose, and wearing on their right arm a red band marked
" traffic," are stationed at intervals along the main roads, and at
the corners of the streets that pass through the towns. These men
perform their duties politely and well, and, as with the policemen
in London, the holding up of the hand, in which they carry a small
red flag, is sufficient to stop the fastest car or the largest lorry.

Miles away from the Front line we saw the piteous results of
enemy shells. Not only houses and cottages but whole streets
had been demolished. Even now the inhabitants never know
when a bombardment may take place, or when they will be
bombed from the air. Yet they go about their daily work with
complete indifference. Nearing a market town I was struck with
a procession of women and girls carrying baskets filled with
butter, eggs, poultry and vegetables, which they disposed of at
small stalls in the open market square. Jlere much damage had
been done by shell-fire. In one day the Boche had sent over
125 high explosive shells. Nearly every woman we met wore
mourning, and most of the children were similarly attired.
Ploughing was in progress, but in most cases this and other
agricultural work was performed by women. Now and then one
saw a poilu, on leave, walking with his wife and children, but

H 2

100 The Empire Review

with this exception a Frenchman of military age, whether in the
towns or in the fields, was a rare sight.

The part of the Front we first visited was in charge
of the Australians, so we made a halt at their headquarters and
had a look round the camp. Everything was in perfect order,
everyone in the best of spirits. Neither shelling nor bombing
have any effect on Australian troops. All that concerns them is
the winning of the war. For that purpose they have come
12,000 miles, and they are not thinking of home till the war
has been won. The General was a splendid officer. He knew
every detail of his work, every disposition of his men. If any
one man could inspire confidence more than any other man it was
that Australian General.

As we were about to enter the gas zone the gas expert put us
through a mask drill, a very necessary precaution, for to a novice
the adjustment of the mask is no very easy matter. Six seconds
is the time allowed to put it on after the alarm is given, some
men perform the operation in four seconds. The great thing is
that the mask should fit and the wearer not to be flurried. It is
carried in a canvas bag which hangs from the shoulders, the top
of the bag being left open so that the mask can easily and quickly
be pulled out, but in order to prevent tearing it has to be caught
hold of in a particular way. Having freed the mask you put your
chin in first, then get the indiarubber plate between your teeth
and adjust the nose-piece which closes the nostrils, for you must
only breathe through your mouth.

The important part played by the gas-mask in present-day
operations cannot be over-estimated, and the men have become
very proficient in its use, so much so that when they are very
tired they sleep in their masks. In the Somme battle our
gunners worked their guns several hours at a stretch in gas-
masks, and the infantry, in places, had their masks on for a
period of eight hours. The British mask is the most perfect
thing of its kind made, far in advance of the German mask, which
also suffers from the substitution of leather for rubber in its
essential parts. And so it is with gas. Our gas is much more
deadly than German gas, that is why the German Military
Command is so anxious to see the use of gas abandoned.

In spite of their forward position our hosts were able to
provide us with a capital lunch, and after thanking them for their
hospitality we continued our journey. But the scene was no
longer the same. Fewer people were to be seen about, scarcely
a dwelling remained intact. We were rapidly nearing the land
of desolation. A few miles further brought us to what was once
a wood, but not a tree was standing. Much desperate fighting
had taken place here and in the immediate vicinity, and hundreds

My Visit to the Front 101

of men were trying to restore order out of chaos, regardless of
weather and occasional shelling.

No one over here has any conception of the work done by
these Labour Battalions. Their work is incessant and often
carried on under difficult and trying circumstances, while the
men not unfrequently have to take much the same risks as the
fighting forces. It is a large army numbering at least twice as
many men as composed the entire Expeditionary Force that went
out to France in August 1914, including British, Australians,
Canadians, New Zealanders, East Indians, British West Indians,
South African natives, Fijians, French, Belgians and Chinese.

German prisoners are also employed on non-combatant duties
as well as on land work. The men possessing technical skill,
and there are many, are utilised to the best advantage, and I was
told often get good remuneration. The arrangement come to
with Germany that no prisoner shall be employed within a certain
distance of the Front is strictly kept on our side, although from
what I heard a strong suspicion prevails among our men that the
same careful observance of the understanding is not carried out
by the enemy. I may perhaps add that the few German prisoners
I saw seemed very contented. They get their food regularly and
are never molested. How different is their lot to that of British
prisoners of war in Germany !

We now left the cars and proceeded on foot. The mud was
awful. At every step you lost sight of your boot. What a place

to spend a winter in ! A short walk brought us to , where, for

the first time, we heard the British guns thundering away.
Having put on our helmets and carrying our gas-masks, we dived
into the bowels of the earth to see some dug-outs. In some
places one could walk upright, in others it was necessary to
proceed in a stooping position. Once more we passed out into
the daylight and into the mud. In front was a road, leading so
far as one could tell, nowhere. Around us thousands of shell
holes filled with water and with mud. But for the duck-board,
coated with wire to prevent slipping, we could hardly have
covered the ground. As it was we had to go slowly and in single
file. On the way we saw many disused dug-outs, canvas-bagged
huts and other signs of a former occupation, while near-by were
the ruins of what was once a fine and well-known chateau. The
officer, who accompanied us, recalled for our benefit the struggles
that had taken place in this region during the advance of 1917.
Even now the place is often shelled by the Germans, but on the
afternoon of our visit their guns were quiet. Winding in and
out amongst the shell holes was a little railway line along which
men were pushing trollies containing supplies and ammunition.

After a long and tedious walk we reached the communication

102 The Empire Review

trench leading up to an underground apartment that will long be
remembered by our troops. Beyond, the trench continued its
zig-zag course up the rising ground. Fortunately for us the
duck-board rested on piles, for there was a good deal of water
below. One's thoughts went back to the days when such ac-
cessories were unknown and all ranks were compelled to walk
and stand waist deep in water. On reaching the large crater,
formed by the explosion of a "British mine, the Commanding
Officer, who had joined us at the entrance to the trench, called a
halt. Had we proceeded further we should have been open to
enemy observation and the consequences might have proved
awkward. From this advanced position we had a good view of
the surrounding country. The German lines lay before us and
Warneton Tower was plainly visible.

On the return journey we were able to make a closer inspec-
tion of the trench, and a few of us descended into the dug-out
that for a time formed the residence of Bairnsfather, of " Better
'Ole " fame. The living rooms were deep down, and one had to
stoop low in manipulating the flight of steps cut into the earth.
From the occupants of this dug-out I learnt much information
concerning trench life, and was especially interested in hearing
about the means adopted to spot the position of the enemy's
artillery and the sounding apparatus by which it is possible to
tell when the enemy is tunnelling.

A story told me on this occasion is worth repeating. It
brings home very vividly the loyalty and devotion of one
Australian soldier to another. A gallant officer, much beloved
by his men, had been killed in the attack on this position, and
although the men were tired out with fighting incessantly for
five days, they insisted on carrying away his body to be buried
in Ypres Cemetery. They had a long distance to travel, and
the going was both difficult and dangerous, but by the help of
relays of volunteers the objective was reached and, in due course,
the remains of this officer were laid to rest by the side of his
comrades who, like him, had sacrificed their lives in the cause of
liberty and freedom.

After traversing again the area of shell holes we were detained
for a short time in a dug-out owing to a slight mishap to one of
our party who had tripped up in the dark and required the
attention of the doctor. Resuming our journey we passed
another chateau in ruins. Our last place of call was reached
just as the men were parading for " tea and tucker." Each man
had a smile on his face as he filed past the steaming cauldrons
and produced his pannikin, into which was placed a goodly
portion of meat and potatoes. This he took away with him to
eat with his comrades in his own hut. Each hut held about

My Visit to the Front 103

twenty men, and chairs and tables were provided. In one a
number of Australian N.C.O.'s, a fine set of men, were having
their evening meal. Everyone of them, we were told, was
destined to become a commissioned omcer.

Before concluding this little account of our first day's tour I
ought, I think, to mention that during the afternoon an oppor-
tunity was afforded us of seeing the howitzers fire, and watching
the shells as they sped their way towards the German lines.

Oar next expedition was to the district of the Somme.
Starting early, this time in better weather, our first stop was at
the headquarters of the Physical and Bayonet Training School,
where a number of officers and N.C.O.'s, including Americans,
were going through a course of training with the object of
qualifying as instructors to their different units. Some were
wrestling, others boxing (under the tuition of Jimmy Driscoll),
others dancing reels, doing Swedish drill and learning Jujitzu.
I was especially interested in watching the bayonet and dagger
work. In the bayonet section the instructor, holding firmly in
his two hands an iron rod, moved it quickly into various
positions. At each end rings were fastened and through
these his pupils, in turn, were endeavouring to thrust their
bayonets, several achieving considerable success. The object, I
took it, was to induce steady aim and promote quickness of sight.
So rapid, indeed, were the movements that it seemed any moment
an accident must occur, but nothing of the kind happened.

Other exercises were even more warlike in character. For
instance, an imaginary struggle was in progress between a
British and a supposed German soldier. In reality it was a
contest between bayonet and dagger. Let me try and explain.
A surprise attack was being made on an enemy outpost by a
British soldier. Eealising his danger, the supposed German
rushed out from his position with bayonet fixed and went
straight for the Britisla soldier who attacked with the dagger.
Thrusting the bayonet aside, he slid his weapon rapidly down
the blade, and as his opponent stumbled or fell, due to the
force of impact, he plunged his dagger into the man's loins.
In this way the instructor had accounted for many Germans.

Manoeuvres, requiring larger space, were being carried on a
short distance away. Here attacks, first without, then with
gas-masks, were being made on a series of improvised trenches,
the attacking party consisting of a dozen men being armed with
bayonets and rifles loaded with ball cartridge. Shouting as they
ran from one trench to the other the men fired volley after
volley in quick succession. By means of simple machinery,
what seemed to be small iron plates painted white representing
the enemy, were made to appear at the top of each trench, and

104 The Empire Review

the manoeuvres over, an N.C.O. went round and took a note of
the number of hits.

From here a run of some miles brought us to Arras, or rather
what was left of the once chief town of the Department of the
Pas de Calais. The road we travelled along was in excellent
condition due to the constant attention of Labour Battalions
assisted by steam rollers. Except for the scenes around us we
might have been on the Thames Embankment. All the while
a never-ending stream of guns and lorries was passing and
repassing, while troops and their accessories were in evidence
on all sides. Mont St. Eloi and Vimy Eidge, distant about
four miles from the new front, were clearly visible. It was from
Vimy we were told that the King viewed the enemy position in
this part of the line.

We entered Arras by the arched gateway which, I believe,
formed a portion of the old ramparts and were at once faced
with the results of the German shelling. Everywhere houses,
and in some places whole streets, lay in ruins. But the most
pathetic sight of all was the cathedral and its immediate
surroundings. The flight of steps leading to what used to be
the main entrance are badly scarred and only portions of the
walls remain standing, the interior is practically gone, shelled
out of all recognition. Altars and transepts are little more than
a heap of stones and rubble. Piled up on what is left of one of
the altars in a side chapel were a number of flat pieces of stone
collected and placed there by soldiers who had written their
names thereon. Near the place where the high altar once
stood, and on either side, were two figures untouched resting on
their pedestals and facing one another, one of the Virgin, the
other of Joseph and the Child. In another part I noticed a cross
intact, but with these exceptions there was little to tell that
you were wandering about in a sacred building, much less in
one that, but a few years ago, was a beautiful cathedral.
Climbing over the ruins we passed through what, I think, were
the cloisters and into tfce Bishop's palace, now merely a heap of
bricks and mortar.

The Hotel de Ville was another striking ruin. Part of the
Gothic ifagade had escaped the fury of the Hun, but that was all
that was to be seen of a building said to be one of the finest in
Northern France. Here, as also on the walls of the cathedral, a
notice was posted up stating that the ruins are being "preserved
as a war memorial," the idea being, at least so I was informed,
to collect funds after the war for the restoration of these
historical places.

The Petite and Grande Places, under which run extensive
subterranean passages and cellars, where the inhabitants took

My Visit to the Front 105

refuge during the bombardment, were practically deserted. In
the Grande Place, however, we came across a small detachment
of troops coming out of the baths, and gave them a few words of
encouragement which they seemed very glad to receive. Such
shops as had escaped injury were open and doing business, but
all the life had gone out of the town. The war was brought
further home to us by the sound of the guns firing at the front
about six miles away. "We lunched at the new Officers' Club, a
building constructed on the hutted principle. It is run by the
Army and much frequented. Moderate prices are charged, and
there was no lack of food or wine. On leaving I met an officer
covered with dry mud, who had arrived by motor car and was
walking up the garden. I asked him where he had come from ;
he replied, just as though he were sauntering down Piccadilly,
" From the front line," and passed on to his lunch.

From Arras we proceeded to Bapaume, a route formerly
studded with picturesque villages. Now every cottage, every
house has been razed to the ground. Nothing that would call to
mind the former state of high civilisation remains. All is bare
and desolate. We stopped awhile at the cemetery, which con-
tains a number of British graves. One bearing the date,
November 25, 1917, attracted my attention. It contained the
remains of two N.C.O.'s and two privates. On a small wooden
cross at the head of the grave was inscribed the names of the
men and the words, " Killed in action." Near at hand stood a
large memorial cross erected in memory of the German dead who
fell in 1914 ; on its face was a large medallion of the Kaiser.
The town itself is only eight miles from the German lines, and is
still shelled.

The destruction of Bapaume by the Germans is one of the
greatest outrages of the war ; it was carried out on a preconceived
plan, the town being divided into sections and each section blown
up by high explosives. Both the cathedral and nunnery are a
mass of ruins, as also is the town hall, blown up ten days after
our troops entered the town, two deputies and several other
persons being killed by the explosion. After ploughing our way
through the deep mud we climbed up the side of the old fort
which dominates the entire area. It was alongside this fort that
the Australians made their entry into the town.

Motoring on to Albert we caught a glimpse of the windmill
at Pozieres and La Boiselle, where the British Army kicked off
on July 1st, 1916. Further on we passed the largest crater we
saw in France. It was protected by barbed wire, and around it
lay several unexploded shells, carefully marked for salvage by the
French authorities. Near at hand we noticed some tanks moving
in single file across the desert land. Stopping the officer in

10G The Empire Review

charge we asked if we might have a ride; he readily consented,
and we had the interesting experience of a short trip inside a
moving tank. The one into which I climbed, after gracefully
descending the steep bank, crossed the road and mounted the
bank on the other side, passing on into the wilderness over
every kind of obstacle including a disused trench.

Arrived at Albert, an industrial town on the river Ancre,
we made our way to the church to see the much discussed figure
of the Virgin leaning head downwards from the top of the high
tower and now fixed in position by means of wire. Singer's
factory, which covers a large extent of ground and gave
employment to many people, was a total wreck. A novel sight
here was a number of horse-drawn waggons driven and attended
to by Indians wearing their native headgear. They seemed
thoroughly to understand the work entrusted to them and were
doing it remarkably well. Indeed, the Indian is a most useful
person.

On the way back we stopped at the famous Butte, a prominent
hill near the roadside, one of the landmarks in the battle of the
Somme. The base and sides, in fact the whole of the surrounding
ground, was thick with shell holes and covered with spent
ammunition of every kind. Here and there one saw a dud and
a few half open boxes containing unused grenades and cartridges.
These told their own tale. The Butte was taken and re-taken
several times in 1916. From the summit an extensive view is
obtained of the surrounding country, and it was no doubt this
fact that made its possession so important a matter. Standing a
little way apart on the top were three wooden crosses. One bore
the inscription " In memory of officers, N.C.O.'s, and men of the
First South African Infantry, who fell fighting for the Butte,
October 1916. Erected by their companions." Another was
set up to the memory of the 2nd South African Infantry, and the
third, bearing date November 1916, was a memorial to " The
gallant officers, N.C.O.'s and men of the 6th, 8th and 9th
Battalions of the Durham Light Infantry."

For our third expedition it had been decided we should pay
another visit to the Flanders Front, this time to a different
sector. Our first objective was Ypres, and for the greater part
of the journey the route was the same as on the former occasion.
One sight, however, was new. There had been a raid in the
early morning, and we met a motor going at a rapid rate in the
direction from which we had come. The motor contained three
German prisoners including one N.C.O.

Arrived at Ypres we put on our helmets, and placing our gas-
masks in position sallied forth. There was no entering the town
because there was no town to enter. Only two days before our

My Visit to the Front 107

arrival there had been a long and severe bombardment. In the
mass of wreckage that everywhere met the eye one found it
difficult to trace the former capital of Western Flanders. The
Cloth Hall, restored only a few years ago, with its early Gothic
facades and open hall, some twenty feet wide, supported by
columns, was one of the show places of Belgium. Another
structure of great interest was the former Cathedral of St. Martin.
Both these historic buildings have been shelled out of all recogni-
tion. A portion of the side wall of the Cloth Hall was still
standing, but it was expected to fall at any moment. From
the tower, or rather from its base, for the tower itself is destroyed,
we looked out upon a veritable " no man's land," so barren of
life and civilisation is the country around.

No attempt has been made to restore the houses, but the main
streets are kept, as far as possible, open and in repair, and we
found the cars awaiting us in the wide Rue de Lille opposite the
Cloth Hall. Our way now lay along the Menin Road which we
traversed as far as Hooge, surrounded at one time by a beautiful
wood, now a mass of shell holes and mud. Here we were
very near the German lines and the shells were coming over
pretty fast to the right of us. Any moment we expected to have
to scatter, but again nothing came our way. Our aeroplanes were
flying about, no doubt observing the movements of the enemy,
and the German anti-aircraft guns were busy. Once I thought a
shell had found its mark, but the machine righted itself and
continued its survey as if nothing out of the ordinary had
happened. Returning to Ypres we had lunch, but where I must
leave to the imagination. All I will say that the food was
excellent but we did not eat it above ground. A number of
officers had assembled to meet us and we were a very cheery
party. The conversation turned on shells, and the officers next
me remarked : " If you had been here last week you would have
seen a German dud come over, it stuck in the mud opposite.
Had it exploded we should not be here to-day to greet you."
Such is life at Ypres to-day.

From Ypres we went to a spot which I learned afterwards the
King had also visited. Not very far ahead was Messines Ridge,
so getting out of the cars we proceeded up the hill on foot. The
going was extremely bad, the wind piercingly cold. We found
sentries posted at intervals along the road, and on nearing the
ridge were challenged by the guard. A parley with the Staff
Officer who accompanied us met the case and we passed on. At
this moment a battery of our artillery opened fire. I asked
whether the enemy was likely to reply, and was somewhat re-
lieved on being told that was not his custom. " The Boche like
ourselves," said my informant, "has his own time for shelling,

108 The Empire Review

and he will give us plenty of it when that time conies. This
morning our fellows over there," pointing to the direction* of
Passchendaele, " have had a pretty good dose."

Arrived at the Ridge we were marshalled in a shell hole, and
under cover of a mound looked down on the territory in the
occupation of the enemy. We were now not more than a couple
of miles from the German lines, the church at Commines, where
the railway branches off to Lille and Armentieres in France, being
well within view. A German observation balloon was up but it
was soon pulled down ; it seems that this is a favourite occupa-
tion of the Boche. One of the sentries had just been explaining
where the enemy shells had fallen a day or so ago ; the places were
not far from where he stood, so I ventured to suggest that he was
in rather a hot corner. " Not at all," he replied, " if I don't get
a worse place than this I shan't mind."

The spirit of the Army is splendid and it is the same in all
ranks. Shells, weather, mud, nothing makes any difference.
Everywhere we found the same optimism. It would do the grousers
here good to spend a few days in France or Flanders. There
you never hear any grumbling, the winning of the war is the
one thing talked about, the one thing thought about. Everyone
concentrates his mind on that and on that alone.

Before leaving the neighbourhood we inspected a bomb-
proof dressing station where first-aid is given and gassed men
attended to before being sent to the rear. This I think was
our most interesting as it was our most exciting expedition, and
one was loth to leave a region so full of historical incident.
But time was passing and we had a long drive before us, so
bidding our friends good-luck and good-bye we concluded a visit
to the Western Front which none of us are likely soon to
forget.

The fifth day had now arived and we were due back by the
afternoon boat, but in order that we might see something of the
arrangements at the base, we made a long detour on the return
journey. Time did not allow of us visiting the hospitals, but
we motored slowly past the one-story buildings set up side by
side with a wide space between. We had already seen the
Eed Cross canal boats which bring down the more severe cases
to the hospitals, an arrangement which has probably saved
many lives. At the cemetery, prettily situated by the side of the
water, several burials were taking place, each coffin, covered by
the Union Jack, being borne reverently by two soldiers on a
separate bier to the graveside. Every grave has its own cross
and inscription, alas the number is many, very many.

Other places of interest on the route were the W.A.A.C.
camp, outside which a notice was posted forbidding entry to

My Visit to the Front 109

strangers ; everyone we met was loud in praise of the
W.A.A.C., the camp where the dogs are trained to carry
messages to the trenches, the pigeon houses, the convalescent
camps for horses as well as the stables, beautifully kept, in which
are stalled the reserve horses, and a variety of other war settle-
ments too numerous to mention.

I cannot close this account without expressing my gratitude
to the staff officers at the chateau for all they did to make our
visit a success ; and in these few words of thanks perhaps I may
be allowed to include the generals and other officers who wel-
comed us everywhere we went, and did all in their power to
assist us with information and knowledge.

CLEMENT KINLOCH-COOKE.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRES IN CANADA

THE vocational training centres of the Military Hospitals
Commission are turning out a .new type of homesteader, who
may be expected to advance the development of the Western
provinces of Canada fully fifty years in the next decade. Eeturned
soldiers, who, because of their inability to follow their pre-war
trades are taking up farming as a vocation, are entering the
agricultural business with an enthusiasm and thoroughness that
insures not only their own success but that of Canada. Scientific
training is robbing pioneering of its picturesqueness, but with
the passing of the man with the hoe comes the man with the
motor and a new impetus for agriculture. Introducing big
business methods on the farm has attracted the interest of the
soldiers. The world-wide call for production has brought the
importance of the farmer into prominence, and agriculture as a
profession is attracting some of the finest and most able of the
returned soldiers to its standard, especially in the West. In the
well-known Institute of Technology at Calgary and the University
of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon there are large classes of con-
valescent soldiers absorbed in the art of tilling the soil. The
fields are the class rooms in many of the courses, and to see a big
threshing machine or traction engine halted midfield and sur-
rounded by an intent body of soldier students is a familiar sight.
A course in motor mechanics is invaluable to the future farmer
who will do most of his field work with motor power, and
therefore must be able to handle all parts of the machine. He
will do his own repairs, and run a tractor economically as a result
and save much valuable time in harvesting as well as money.

110 The Empire Review

INDUSTRIAL UNREST IN AUSTRALIA

(Continued)

AMONG the many monstrosities produced by legislative bodies
which, though called representative and responsible, are really
neither, the various measures constituting industrial tribunals to
settle labour disputes may claim pre-eminence. The Federal
Arbitration Court may be regarded as typical of these. Its
powers are the most ample, and its jurisdiction the most
extended.

During the late disturbances its efficacy as a safeguard against
industrial strife was subjected to a crucial test, and the result was
complete failure. It looked on in abject impotence while strike
after strike was declared in defiance of its awards, and did
absolutely nothing to allay the prevailing industrial turbulence.
Applications were made to it on behalf of several bodies of
employers for the de-registration of the mutinous unions, and the
cancellation of the provision which granted preference of em-
ployment to the members of some of these bodies. These
applications were either directly refused, or disingenuous pretexts
found for postponing a decision. At last Federal intervention
became necessary to ensure even the loading of transports ; and
by exercise of the powers conveyed by the War Precautions Act
the blockade of the wharves maintained for some time by the
waterside workers on strike was ended by the granting of
permission to ship-owners to employ free labour.

In contrast with this sorry exhibition on the part of the
Federal Court of Arbitration, the State Industrial tribunals in
New South Wales did their duty manfully. The rebellious
unions were promptly de-registered, and the men guilty in time
of war of the heinous offence of deliberately inciting internal
strife were rebuked in the severest terms. Unfortunately the
limited powers possessed by the judges did not allow them to
inflict adequate punishment on the offenders. It is useless to
fine men, who will either refuse to pay, or will abstract the
amounts of the penalties from the union coffers. Moreover, past
experience has shown that the payment of fines inflicted on

Industrial Unrest in Australia 111

unionists in such cases is very seldom indeed enforced by the
Government. The occasion called for the appointment of a
special tribunal armed with special powers ; and the men guilty
of what the Minister of Defence correctly described as " mutiny "
should have been treated as mutineers. But Australia must still
wait for the appearance of a ruler, or body of rulers, capable of
acting with resolution, and not afraid to adopt measures of wise
severity at a grave crisis.

That one or two learned and dignified gentlemen in wigs should
sit in state in courts of justice, and solemnly issue edicts pre-
scribing the conditions under which the skilled managers of •
hundreds of highly complex industries carried on throughout anj
entire continent should conduct their business is somewhat |
suggestive of comic opera. The spectacle might provide an I
inviting subject for a master of burlesque. But laughter and I
tears often spring from the same source, and certainly the 1
activities of the Federal Court of Arbitration have furnished
reason for both. By a long series of extraordinary awards this
astonishing tribunal has contrived within the last ten years to
turn the industrial edifice in Australia into a Tower of Babel.
Employers, employees, and lawyers have been continually en-
gaged in violent disputations, and the confusion of industries has
attended the confusion of tongues.

The " living wage " doctrine judicially promulgated soon after
the first constitution of the Court has painfully revealed to the
industrial world tbe secret of eternal motion. And the movement
has necessarily always been in an upward direction. Since every
workman, whether young or old, married or single, good, bad, or
indifferent, had to receive remuneration sufficient to maintain
himself and a wife and three children, existent or non-existent,
in a condition of " reasonable " comfort, it followed, when the
doctrine was first applied, that the men engaged in a large
number of different occupations were entitled to large increases
of wages. These necessarily increased the cost of production of
many commodities, and thus decreased the purchasing power of
the wages received by better paid men following other trades.
Consequently they applied to the Court for compensation, and, in
receiving it, penalised their fellow workmen and the general
public by increasing yet more the cost of living.

Soon a general stampede began. The representatives of union
after union defiled in endless rotation before the judgment seat of
the judicial autocrat who proved, vicariously, so liberal a pay-
master ; the first of the suitors re-appearing as soon as the last
had made his exit. The moment the gratified tinker passed out,
the tailor rushed in. Then followed in tumultuous procession
miners, seamen, wharf labourers, carpenters, engineers, and many

112 The Empire Review

more. In these circumstances the "living" wage showed mar-
vellously expansive properties. Its application to the Federal
Civil Service alone has increased the burdens of the tax-payer to
the extent of £300,000 within the last three years ; and modest
claims aggregating another £200,000 per annum are now being
made on behalf of the same body of State employees, the sole
reason given being the increase in the cost of living due to
the war.

Apparently these unselfish citizens think it quite proper that
retired business or professional men, and widows with large
families and small incomes, should not only have to put up with
the same hardships, but have them intensified in order to benefit
a favoured class of persons in the employment of the State already
much better off than themselves. To the pastoralists of Australia
Mr. Justice Higgins lately made the quite unsolicited present of
an award affecting wages and other conditions which, leading
representatives of the industry affirm, will increase the cost of
wool production in the Commonwealth by more than 10 per cent.
This achievement was exceeded in the case of another great
primary industry by a Queensland industrial tribunal in August
1916, whose award, which fixed 17s. as the daily remuneration of
cane-cutters, had the immediate effect of increasing the price of
Australian sugar by £3 a ton.

Mine-owners have suffered even more grievously of late years ;
while the benefits bestowed on the wharf-labourer have become
so profuse that soon these gentlemen toilers will be able to drive
from their country villas to the wharves in motor cars. The
men employed in the manufacture of felt hats in Australia have
just been judicially awarded an all-round increase of wages to the
extent of 9s. a week on the sole grounds of increased cost of
living. Soon, at this rate, the frugal citizen will find it expedient
to go about bare-headed. That in the Northern territory the
" living " wage has become frankly a " drinking " wage seems to
have been admitted by the Judge responsible for the latest award
prescribing rates of wages there, an award so preposterous that it
called forth a protest even from the Administrator of the territory
himself. In a recent interview, as reported, the judicial function-
ary referred to stated that over 25 per cent, of the wages received
by the working men in Darwin was spent on spirituous comforts
at the State hotels. That under these conditions what is eu-
phemistically called " industrial unrest," instead of disappearing
should become more and more prevalent, can easily be under-
stood.

The competition of rapacity among the workers becomes
keener with the issue of each award, and the raging plague of
covetousness spreads more and more. The result, however, can

Industrial Unrest in Australia 1 1 3

easily be foreseen. So long as it be limited in its action to
secondary industries, wbich can be artificially propped up, to the
public loss, by high duties and bounties, the " living wage,"
though stupid and mischievous, can be maintained. When
applied to a vital primary industry, such as agriculture, which
cannot receive artificial support, but must face foreign competition,
political economy will bring about its overthrow. The ultimate
collapse of an edifice built on the rotten foundation of economic
fallacy is likely to break some heads.

Considerations of space forbid any attempt to discuss fully
the various legislative remedies proposed for the prevailing disease.
Strikes have been declared to be illegal. They are still of daily
occurrence. Awards announced to be binding for terms of three
or five years are varied, always to the employer's detriment, in
one or two. As fast as one sore is plastered another breaks out ;
for nothing effective is done to remove the impurities from the
blood. For this deplorable state of things the miserable weakness
shown by a long succession of Australian governments is mainly
responsible. They have never courageously faced trouble, nor
enforced respect for the law, but, on the contrary, have rewarded
rather than punished peace-disturbers. Only the most derisory
penalties have been inflicted on impudent law-breakers, while the
employer who inadvertently infringed, in the most trifling degree,
any one of the innumerable harassing regulations imposed on him
was heavily fined. Australian administrators have hitherto con-
sistently acted like a man who, threatened by a rattlesnake about
to strike, instead of promptly crushing the head containing the
venomous fangs, contents himself with aiming feeble and pro-
vocative blows at the tail, from which the noise proceeds.

To arrest and fine a noisy demagogue here and there is pure
fatuity. The Bolshevik of the industrial world lurks, as a rule, in
the background ; and he, not his ignorant dupes, should be hunted
down and receive the severest punishment. As to his followers,
the rank and file of the rebels, disfranchisement for a term of not
less than five years, so as to render them powerless at the next
General Election, would be an effective way of rendering them
harmless. Their political friends would soon forget them, once
they were deprived of their votes ; and the temporary banishment
from Parliament of their special delegates would be a distinct
public benefit.

The political evils attendant on trade-union domination are, of
course, rooted in universal suffrage and the practice, now unfor-
tunately general in Australia, of paying legislators for their
services. The first provides the political schemer with a never-
failing supply of raw material in the way of popular ignorance and
credulity, by means of which laws may be manufactured to suit his
VOL. XXXII.— No. 207. i

114 The Empire Review

personal interests. Real representative government, which implies
the equal representation of classes and interests, not individuals,
perishes when the section of the community that is numerically
by far the strongest, though intellectually the weakest, becomes
practically the sole repository of power. The system of payment
of members attracts to the political arena men of the kind that
make the most useful instruments for carrying out the designs of
the junta controlling the vote of organised labour. The unpaid
member of Parliament is necessarily of a less docile disposition
than the member whose living depends on the favour of those to
whom he owes his election. Independent means connote inde-
pendent minds, and these are not desired by party managers.

The so-called " discipline " that prevails in the Australian
Labour party is really based on motives of a most sordid and
ignoble kind ; it is but organised servility prompted by self-
interest. It is usual to designate those members of Parliament
who, in order to gain their seats and the emoluments attached to
them, voluntarily submit to a most degrading bondage, renouncing
freedom both of judgment and conscience, "professional" politi-
cians. Having received no training for their arduous duties, and
usually lacking the educational qualifications necessary to perform
them rightly, such members should rather be called habitual
politicians. This class has become the bane of public life in
Australia ; they are the turnspits in the kitchen of King Demos,
as grasping as the unfortunate sinecurist who, on a memorable
occasion, provoked the ponderous irony of Burke, and yet more
obstructive and stupid. A really representative Parliament, com-
posed of free men with free minds, is the crying need of Australia
to-day. The trade-union placeman has become an actual menace
to the public safety.

A final word may be said on the moral influences at work in
the industrial world of the Commonwealth. These are, of course,
of vital and fundamental importance. Honest and conscientious
elected legislators are only possible when the electors are honest
and conscientious. The moral tone prevailing in a popular repre-
sentative legislature necessarily reflects the moral tone prevailing
among the mass of the people. Where this is healthy, errors
may indeed be made through lack of knowledge and experience,
but they will be excusable errors ; and when their results are
perceived measures will at once be taken to undo the harm done.
Of course, though, it were best that sound morals should be
accompanied by sound knowledge. This suggests the highly
important subject of popular education. Each youthful citizen
of a State in which popular representative institutions prevail
should receive particularly careful instruction in the subjects of
history and political economy.

Industrial Unrest in Australia 115

Unfortunately, admirable as they are in many respects, the
systems of primary public education in Australia do not by any
means satisfy all requirements. History, as a rule, is greatly
neglected, and a quite unnecessary amount of attention is paid
in many schools to the comparative trivialities of Australian
exploration and settlement ; the wranglings of local parties and
politicians ; gold-digging episodes and the like ; while the
knowledge of past events in the history of Great Britain, the
British Empire and the world in general imparted to the pupils
is ludicrously inadequate. Many Australian boys are better
informed as to the deeds of Ned Kelly than those of Robert
Clive. The text-books dealing with the subject, also, are far
too often those compiled by historians of that anaemic, cosmo-
politan and sentimental school whose exponents regard, or affect
to regard, the heroic achievements of Englishmen in past times
as matters to be recalled with shame rather than pride ; and
whose sour and narrow intelligences are utterly unable to
appreciate the inestimable services to humanity rendered by the
British people. Such books are libels on the illustrious dead,
and are the source of infinite mischief among the living by
weakening the sentiment of patriotism. It were well if it could
be brought home to the minds of historians of this class that
those citizens only are ashamed of their country of whom their
country has most reason to feel ashamed. A judicious censor-
ship over the choice of historical text-books for use in Australian,
primary schools seems to be much needed. .

There is a distinct and yet more serious weakness in regard
to the formation of character. However able and devoted the
teacher in a primary school may be, he cannot create among his
scholars the wholesome and vivifying influences which pervade
the atmosphere of the great secondary establishments in England,
and Australia also. He is the victim of a paralysing uniformity,
and is usually greatly over-taxed. Save in extreme cases, he is
deprived of the power of summary expulsion necessary to
maintain a satisfactory moral tone among a large number of
children of all classes and both sexes, his departmental and
political superiors apparently cherishing the complacent belief
that the morally unsound in a school will not infect the morally
sound. It were as rational to turn a man suffering from small-
pox loose among healthy people to be cured, by association
with them, of his malady. Depraved children, when detected,
every experienced schoolmaster well knows, should at once be
segregated, for even one or two of them will cause endless
mischief in a school. The lack of suitable playgrounds attached
to Australian primary schools, too, is a very common fault ; for,
in regard to moral training and the building up of character, the

I 2

116 The Empire Review

playground exercises a greater influence over the boy than
the class-room. Subjected to the wholesome discipline of
pastimes, not only does he benefit physically, but he acquires
habits of prompt obedience, self-command and unselfish co-
operation with his fellows which are of the greatest value in
preparing him for civic life. In the secondary schools of
Australia these truths are fully recognised ; they have not yet,
unfortunately, received full recognition at the hands of the
authorities there controlling the systems of national education.

These matters have been briefly touched on seeing that,
according to the old and true adage, the boy is father of the
man. In the over-crowded State school with its miserable little
prison yard of a playground adjacent is born and trained too
often the future labour agitator or industrial demagogue. He is
there educated out of respect for his fellows and himself, and
into chronic discontent with his condition, and envy of those
who, by the exercise of virtues which he entirely despises, have
achieved success. The State has bestowed on him free education ;
he therefore thinks it bound to supply him with free maintenance
also. He joins a trade union, and at once begins to preach his
peculiar gospel of social reformation to his fellow workmen.
Having many words and few scruples he soon becomes a
leading official in the organisation, and in conjunction with a
small group of faithful disciples, sets himself to work to promote
strikes and other disturbances. "Down with capitalism," is his
war-cry — an attractive one seeing that it is accompanied by a
promise of the equal division among the workers of the
capitalists' possessions. A trade union dominated by men _of
this type becomes little better than a band of robbers. Ethically
there is no difference between the conduct of associations of men
who elect legislators pledged to transfer other people's money to
their pockets by Act of Parliament, and that of highwaymen
who waylay and plunder travellers. Only the former method is
the safer ; and the victims of extortionate class taxation suffer
without hope of redress what Burke rightly called the worst
kind of tyranny — the tyranny of unjust laws.

" The worker is greater than his work." This piece of
wretched clap-trap is much in favour among Australian socialistic
orators. The dignity of the labourer, these false prophets
declare, far exceeds the dignity of labour. Honest work, they
affirm, is to be regarded as entirely subordinate to personal
comfort. The working-man is urged to do as little as he can in
return for as much as he can get ; and the fact that to extort in
the form of excessive wages payment for services not performed
is mere theft is studiously concealed. " The gods," said an old
Greek moralist, quoted with approval by the wisest of the ancient

Industrial Unrest in Australia 117

philosophers, " sell us all good things at the price of toil." The
Australian working-man of a too common type has been taught
to expect such benefits in return for his vote. Self-seeking
political craft has consistently aimed at his demoralisation.

Against the foul and pernicious teachings of the pseudo-
humanitarian industrial reformer both reason and morality
protest. It is the work that ennobles the worker ; not the
worker the work. The builders of those majestic edifices of the
old world, which are petrified history or religion, were inspired
by far higher ideals. To them work was truly worship ; they
found in creative and constructive effort a happiness which far
exceeded any that could arise from material reward. They took
comfort in the hardships they often endured from the reflection
that future ages would admire the fruits of their toil and honour
them as benefactors of the human race. Had that spirit not
animated the designers and builders of the Taj Mahal, the
Alhambra, and the Cathedral of Milan, which is the glory of
Italy, those masterpieces of architecture, and many others, would
never have won the reverential admiration of the world. Had
Shakespeare and Milton accepted the debasing creed preached
by some of our prophets of labour to-day, neither the " Paradise
Lost " nor " Hamlet " would adorn the world's literature. What
applies to the artistic applies as much to the useful. Workers
"greater" than their work would never have completed a
Panama Canal, or turned Egyptian and Indian wastes into fruit-
ful fields by the construction of masterpieces of the irrigation art.
The Australian working-man has himself accomplished no
mean achievements ; and if the corrosive poison which now
threatens to eat away his virility and his sense of duty be expelled,
his future triumphs will far exceed his past. Happily there is
reason to hope that the antidote will soon be applied. Each
soldier who returns from the distant battlefield equipped with a
fuller knowledge of the essential things of life, disciplined by
danger and suffering, and bound by the ties of comradeship to
his fellows, will be a social healer. He will teach the higher
patriotism to men temporarily led astray by fanatics, degenerates
or traitors ; and, it may be hoped, compel timid rulers to deal
with these domestic enemies according to their deserts. And,
ultimately, by his example and memory, he may bring home to
the consciousness of even the humblest, or the most factious
member of the industrial army the truth that due obedience to
authority, faithful service, and consideration for the rights of
others, not only entail no surrender whatever of the inherent
prerogatives of manhood, but are vital and indispensable elements
in the true dignity of labour. F. A. W. GISBORNE.

TASMANIA.

118 The Empire Review

THE FUTURE OF THE GERMAN COLONIES

IMPERIAL WAR CABINET TO DECIDE

THE destiny of the conquered German colonies in Africa and
elsewhere will probably figure largely at the approaching meeting
of the Imperial War Cabinet ; for it is easy to see that to make
their views on this question known is one of the chief, if not the
chief, motives of the Dominion statesmen in attending. Fears
respecting our intentions have been naturally awakened by the
recent proposal of the Labour Party, that all the European
colonies in tropical Africa should be put under the superintendence
of an international commission. It is an amazing suggestion and
virtually amounts to this, that the other European Powers should
surrender their territorial possessions in that region in order to
induce Germany to acquiesce in the loss of hers. Those who
make it are consciously or unconsciously playing Germany's
game. Our experience of German cunning and talent for
intrigue is sufficient to convince us under whose influence the
proposed international commission would fall, and that it would
eventually turn out that the Allies had not only failed to gain a
share in the management of the German colonies, but had also
lost all power over their own ; and that diplomacy had thrown
away the fruits of the victory which arms had won.

The authors of the proposal have completely ignored the
views, sentiments and desires of British subjects in the vicinity
of the conquered German territories. Meetings of protest against
the return of the German colonies have been held at Johannes-
burg and other places in South Africa. Sir Thomas Sinartt,
leader of the Unionist Party in the Union Parliament, in one of
his speeches gave it as his opinion that it was unthinkable that
the Allies would agree to these countries being handed back to
the power which has shown its incompetence to govern them.
He was convinced that the voice of the loyal inhabitants of South
Africa would receive due consideration. The changed attitude
of Australia in regard to the Imperial War Cabinet may be
attributed chiefly, if not wholly, to their uneasiness on this

The Future of the German Colonies 119

subject. Last year Australia was too absorbed in domestic
politics to spare one leading statesman to represent her ; but it
has been already definitely stated that Mr. Hughes, and at least
one other, are to attend this year's conference. Sir Joseph Ward,
the New Zealand Finance Minister, has been more frank, and
openly expressed what was in the minds of the others, when he
said it was the imperative duty of the colonial representatives to
attend the Conference. He was evidently giving the reason
uppermost in his mind when he went on to say that the reversion
of the Pacific Islands to Germany must be prevented and the
Dominion representatives must help to prevent it.

The fact that colonial representatives are to have a voice in
the settlement of colonial questions arising out of the War is
very important. It is an entirely new departure. In the past
when decisions involving colonial questions were taken, not
only were the views of the colonials themselves never consulted,
but their interests in the matter received little if any consideration.
The concerns of the United Kingdom nearly filled up the minds
of the statesmen who shaped the policy of the Empire, and only
a very small space was reserved for those relating to its distant
parts. British statesmen were generally very ignorant on
colonial subjects, and, since they also took little interest in
them, lacked the motive for seeking fuller information. The
consequence has been that they have often given up rights and
territories of whose value they had no conception at the time,
adding considerably to the embarrassments and difficulties of
future generations.

One instance of this was the neglect of the British statesmen
who agreed to the Peace of Paris in 1763 to settle the Fisheries
Question. The Minister chiefly responsible was Lord Bute, but
he was acting as the tool of the King, whose aim was to strike a
blow at the influence of Pitt, which every month of the War
seemed to increase. To this end the British Government at the
instigation of the King decided to make peace as quickly as might
be. They were in too great a hurry to properly consider what
would be the after-effects of many of the conditions to which they
agreed. One, the recognition of France's claims in respect of
the Newfoundland and St. Lawrence Fisheries, has been the
cause of friction and dispute right down to our own day. Pitt
would have insisted on the entire and exclusive fishery for our
country and so settled the question for all time ; for the enemy
with her fleet entirely destroyed, her armies on the Continent
beaten back, and her exchequer completely drained dry, had
been reduced to such a plight as to have no alternative but to
accept whatever terms we chose to impose.

In the next war in which colonial issues were involved, the

120 The Empire Review

American War of Independence, the defects of our policy were
more strikingly exhibited and had worse consequences. Both in
the conduct of the war itself and the dispute of which it was the
outcome the home authorities displayed a colossal ignorance of
colonial affairs, of which, owing to a thorough contempt for all
things colonial, they had no desire to improve their knowledge ;
and a fatal lack of imagination resulting in inability to see oversea
problems from the oversea point of view, and depriving them of
the power to sympathise with it. When the game had been
played and lost, in concluding peace they betrayed lack of
knowledge, of foresight, and of interest. North America, in the
eyes of British statesmen, was a strip of eastern seaboard, the
great lakes were but dimly understood, the continent beyond
the Mississippi was ignored. So to gain her end, which was to
secure the lives and property of the American loyalists, Britain
blundered into sacrifices which were altogether needless, giving
much more than she needed to have given both in east and west.

The policy pursued in the next century showed little if any
improvement in these respects. Our treatment of the Dutch in
South Africa came in for some severe strictures in Froude's
' Oceana ' ; always arrogant, unsympathetic, and tactless, some-
times even faithless, it engendered an ill-feeling which was the
fruitful mother of difficulties, disputes and wars, and which at
one time threatened the very existence of our dominion in that
quarter of the globe.

What most strikes the careful student of the story of the
acquisition of the vast territories in South Africa over which the
Union Jack now flies, is the very small share which British
governments had in the enterprise. These gains were not made
in carrying out a government policy. They were the outcome of
no deliberate and settled scheme. Downing Street not only neither
originated nor inspired the expansion, but was often ignorant of
what was going on, and on more than one occasion hampered
movements that were brought to its knowledge. Appeals for
help rarely met with a sympathetic response from a quarter where
the difficulties that confronted the colonists and the perils that
beset them were little understood and appreciated. So the latter
learnt to rely on themselves, and to take measures for safe-
guarding their interests and establishing their position on their
own responsibility. Not the least of their anxieties generally was
uncertainty as to how the Imperial authorities would act when
they learnt the steps the colonists had taken, for on more than
one occasion British governments gave up territories over which
traders, explorers, and missionaries had established their sway,
and surrendered hardly won rights and privileges.

The root cause of the defects of British colonial policy in the

The Future of the German Colonies. 121

past has been the absence of colonial representatives from the
council which decided on and shaped it. It was inevitable that
oversea questions would not receive their proper share of attention
until this deficiency had been supplied. The men who had the
destiny of Greater Britain in their sole keeping had been elected
by the electors of the United Kingdom alone, depended on their
favour for continuance in office, and would sooner or later have
to give them an account of their stewardship. It followed as a
matter of course that they allowed the affairs of the United
Kingdom to monopolise their time and attention to the exclusion
of those of the colonies, about which their constituents generally
knew little and cared less. In ' Oceana ' Froude gives more than
one illustration of the ignorance which prevailed in Downing
Street regarding colonial questions. In one place he tells us how
Lord Cardwell, who had been himself Colonial Minister, told
Froude himself that he believed, as late as 1875, that all the
Dutch in South Africa had migrated to the Free States, and that
the colony was entirely English.

Even when British ministers have the wish to be better
informed, it is impossible for them to possess as full a knowledge
of oversea questions as oversea Britons themselves. What is still
more important, however richly endowed with imagination they
may be, they cannot look at them in quite the same light. The
man who lives at a distance cannot view a danger with the same
eyes as one who lives on the spot. " I can contemplate, without
dread, a royal or a national tiger on the borders of Pegu," said
Burke, " but if, by habeas corpus or otherwise, he was to come
into the lobby of the House of Commons whilst your door was
open, any of you would be more stout than wise who would not
gladly make your escape out of tfye back windows." So we in
England may be able to contemplate without dread the presence
of the Germans in what was German East or South-West Africa ;
but with our kinsmen in the South African Union it is otherwise.
Their feelings in the matter correspond with our own in regard
to the presence of the Germans in Belgium.

The presence of oversea representatives at the Imperial War
Cabinet ensures not only that the colonial point of view will be
forcibly presented, but should other considerations weigh more
than those which appear paramount to the Dominion statesmen,
they can object, and if their protests fail to obtain a hearing
within the council chamber, they can carry them without and
lay their case before the British public.

D. A. E. VEAL.

122 The Empire Review

THE SONG OF PEACE

DEEP within mothers' hearts the pillars stand,
And its arched roof is open to the stars ;

And through its windows glow on either hand
The cold reflections of the sunset's bars.

And every wall is made of Honour boards

Whereon are blazoned names that cannot die ;

While from the unseen organ come the chords
That make a stair of music to the sky.

And always in that temple of the dead

There sounds an antiphon that will not cease,

But echoes to the white throne overhead
The song of those whose blood has bought us Peace.

Each one is crowned with laurel as he goes,
Proving his name upon that glorious page,

Though this bear on his breast youth's crimson rose,
And that insignia of a graver age.

They died to bring us Peace ... we must adore
The radiant record of each soul's release,

Which through the aisles of ages evermore

Gives to the world the Empire's song of Peace.

" We came from long Australian seas :

From ridge, and scrub, and plain ;
We came from barren ridge, and leas,

And downs of waving grain.
And from New Zealand's gale-lashed shore
Towards Old England yet we bore.

The Song of Peace 128

" We came from packed Canadian snows :

From Egypt ^and from Africa ;
From land of olive and of rosej

From humming city and bazaar;
From icy sleet, from Southern isle ;
From many a lonely desert mile.

" We came because the Empire cried

On her far sons for succouring;
Though hills were deep and seas were wide,

We had our loyalty to bring :
How could we stand unmoved, apart,
When foemen struck at Britain's heart?

" We came — who had not seen before

The grey of European skies :
Our arms were bars across the door

A million bloody Huns would prise.
We came — we strove — and, at the last,
We gave our lives to make it fast !

" And now in this great Honour hall

We move by right, who bought for you

Your freedom from the whips that fall,
To break strong pride and honour through,

We stood between — and we made free

Those who were marked for slavery.

" See — where my bosom shows the blade !

See — these were lips a mother kiss't !
See— this young body, it is laid

On far off fields of mud and mist !
I, who was bred 'neath Austral blue,
Died — in the bitter storm — for you ! "

" And I," another cries, " was born

In Melbourne by the Yarra side,
Where I have wandered many a morn

With her — who was my love and pride :
To spur my men to nobler deeds,
I left her — to a widow's weeds."

The Empire Review

" And I was torn by shrapnel's hell —

Lay dying, hours in the rain ;
My blood upon the blossoms fell,

Till God looked down — and healed my pain —
I died — my torture found release
That I might shape the Song of Peace !

" Eemember that we died for you —

That blood alone brought forth this end :

Forgotten that ignoble crew
Who had no honour to defend,

Who wander now outside the door

Of this vast building evermore.

" 0, Peace cannot be bought by gold,

Nor promises, nor yielded lands :
We paid for it in days of old

With lives we carried in our hands :
We sated War's titanic lust
With God-like bodies turned to dust.

" We sated it with women's love —

That we put by — with children's smiles ;
We left the dear home sky above

For strange and terror-haunted miles :
We kissed with bleeding lips the sod
To seal the Peace of Man and God.

" Out of the grief our song has come —

Out of a great Gethsemane:
And thus the fair white dove came. home,

Sprung from a vast red agony.
We gave our loves — our joys — our ease;
And God leaned down — and gave you — Peace ! "

M. FORREST.
BBISBANE, QUEENSLAND.

Empire Trade Notes 125

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES

CANADA

THAT the Canadian farmer is among the most prosperous men
at the present time is shown by the activity of the automobile
trade. The firms in this business report that in the rural districts
farm mortgages, which have been standing for years, are being
paid off, and the farmers are buying automobiles in large numbers,
and many farmers in the West are prospective purchasers in the
early spring. Prices to the farmer for his crops promise to con-
tinue high during 1918, and since crops have been large, and will
be still larger next year, it may be expected that the farmer will
continue to prosper, increase his stock of animals and implements,
improve his holding, and, when he can afford it, invest in a
motor car for purposes both of business and pleasure.

ONE hundred and fifty thousand farmers in Ontario will, this
year, have before them daily suggestions upon farm work. The
Ontaria Department of Agriculture is now issuing an unique
calendar to every bond fide farmer who can be reached. Upon
every page there are a number of timely suggestions and reminders
that will keep the farmer from forgetting things that are often over-
looked. Every meeting of interest to the farming community is
noted, and a separate full-length sheet gives the farmer data of the
most valuable nature in regard to live stock breeding, seed pre-
paration, and other important phases of farm work. It gives also
the name of every Government official connected with the agri-
cultural services, and advice to the farmer as to the best way to
obtain any information which he may need.

CITIES in Canada with a population of over 10,000 each last
year cultivated nearly 1,600 acres in all of vacant lots and back
gardens in the production of vegetables. Calgary was the leader,
having 220 acres of land under cultivation, and producing, in
addition to other crops, 15,500 bushels of potatoes. Toronto was
second as regards acreage. Victoria (British Columbia) cultivated
125 acres of land, while Ottawa, with 100 acres of land in use,
produced nearly 12,000 bushels of potatoes. Guelph (Ontario),
which produced half of its supply of potatoes by the utilisation of
back gardens and vacant lots, was first in both membership and
number of gardens cultivated. Brantford, Port Arthur, Gait and
Windsor stand out prominently in the places mentioned.

126 The Empire Review

IN spite of various conditions which were expected to militate
against the movement of grain from Port Arthur and Fort William,
the season of 1917 proved to be the second best in the total ship-
ments from the twin ports. The total shipped was 207,721,403
bushels, which is only slightly less than in the record year of 1916.
Notwithstanding the cold weather in Western Canada the roads
are still in good condition, and much wheat is being marketed.

IN order to encourage the raising of war wheat and to release
for export such quantities as would otherwise be- consumed by the
farmers, the St. John Board of Trade has decided to purchase a
quantity of the best grade of spring wheat to be distributed free
to farmers of St. John County, New Brunswick, whose ground is
adapted to its cultivation, and who will undertake to sow it next
season. It is expected that an arrangement will be made whereby
each farmer's wheat will be ground separately, in order that he
may be able to use, in his own household, flour of his own
producing.

BECENTLY compiled statistics regarding the acreage under
cultivation and the number of farms in Alberta have revealed the
fact that during the past four years the number of farms in that
province has increased by 10*53 per cent. The average farm in
1911 comprised 288' 6 acres, while at present the average is
339-3 acres. Both Alberta and Saskatchewan report a larger
acreage of fall ploughing done this year than last season. In the
latter province, had it not been for the early frosts, there would
have been a record acreage of fall ploughing accomplished this
season. A mild spell early in November enabled ploughing to be
resumed in both provinces. Earlier reports regarding damage to
the potato crop in Manitoba by early frosts prove to have been
considerably exaggerated. Alberta potatoes are beginning to
move eastwards in large quantities to relieve the shortage in
Quebec and Ontario.

THE Provincial Secretary and Minister of Finance of British
Columbia are making a tour over a considerable portion of the
Pacific Great Eastern Eailway, with the intention of getting
into touch with conditions along the line of the railway, and to
study the physical condition of the roadbed. The Provincial
Government, it is understood, will, at an early date, consider the
possibility of continuing the work on the road. The pressing
needs of some sections, incidental to further agricultural produc-
tion, are concerned directly with railway development, and it will
be this phase of the question into which the two ministers will
make inquiries during their tour. Upon their report to the
provincial executive will depend in some measure the prospects of
an early resumption of the work on the incomplete portions of
the railway.

DEALING with the general prosperity of Western Canada, an
American newspaper says : — " Wholesale firms in the Canadian
West report unprecedented sales, excellent collections, and the

Empire Trade Notes 127

promise of big business. In every section of the prairie provinces
bank deposits are assuming record proportions. Immigration
from the United States is heavy, and promises to be heavier still.
While Western Canada's prosperity is due to splendid agricultural
results, it must not be overlooked that Eastern Canada is also
receiving its share of trade expansion.

A BILL is to be introduced into the Quebec Legislature to
empower the Quebec and Atlantic Railway Company to build a
new road from Quebec to Chicoutimi and St. Charles on the
Labrador coast, the company to be capitalised at $1,000,000.
The new railway will connect with the National Trans-continental
Kailway.

AN additional industry, that will give employment to about
2,500 men, has been secured for the City of Toronto. Arrange-
ments have been completed for leasing a large site onHhe water
front within the harbour, which contains about 15£ acres, and
upon which will be constructed buildings, slips and dry docks.
Preliminary work will be commenced at an early date. The
acquisition of this industry for Toronto is one of the achievements
of a select committee of business men who are quietly preparing
to meet after- war conditions. There is every possibility of the
Port of Toronto becoming one of the largest shipbuilding centres
on the Great Lakes.

MB. WHITE, Consulting Engineer of the Canadian Conserva-
tion Commission, urges the development of Canada's coal
resources, and gives the extent and position of the supplies.
Nova Scotia has over ten and a half billion tons of bituminous
coal, New Brunswick 161,000,000 tons. Ontario has a small
quantity of lignite. The Western Provinces have many billion
tons of lignite, and Alberta has, in addition to lignite, 645,000,000
tons of semi-anthracite, 218,000,000,000 tons of bituminous, and
nearly a thousand billion tons of sub-bituminous. British
Columbia has nearly eighty billion tons of bituminous coal. In
addition to lignite and sub-bituminous coal, there are reserves in
Canada of 313 billion tons of bituminous, and 845,900,000 semi-
anthracite coal, although a small part of this, lying in remote
and frigid regions, may not be available. The peat bogs of
Canada are estimated to produce twenty-eight billion tons, equal
in fuel properties, to sixteen billion tons of good coal.

ST. JOHN, New Brunswick, has entered into the shipbuilding
programme in earnest, and very satisfactory results are antici-
pated. Forty years ago it was one of the largest ship-owning
ports in the world. There are at present three shipbuilding
yards either in active operation or in process of being established
in the city. One firm has laid the keel for a large wooden steamer
with a carrying capacity of 3,000 tons, and about 200 men are
rushing the work of construction. The keel, which is composed
of British Columbia fir, is about 250 feet long. Native timber
will be largely used in the building of this steamer. A second
one will be put on the stocks immediately upon her completion.

128 The Empire Review

The laying of its keel was considered an event of sufficient
importance to justify a simple ceremony. It was participated in
by the Mayor and the President and Council of the Board of
Trade, the Mayor driving the preliminary spikes in the keel.
Another firm is making preparations for the building of a number
of wooden sailing craft, and anticipates steel shipbuilding when
the time is opportune. Still another company, which numbers
among its directors some of the most influential men of Eastern
Canada, propose building ships of both wood and steel.

THE Grand Trunk Pacific Kailway Company proposes to
spend $250,000 at Prince Rupert, British Columbia, this year,
on the railway station, machine shops and round house at
Cameron Cove, and a 1,000-feet wharf . The Company has closed
a contract for hauling 4,000 carloads of spruce lumber during the
coming summer.

A TORONTO firm has undertaken to solve the problem of
extracting, on a commercially practical scale, from common
Ontario feldspar, its contents of potash, the supply of which
Germany has had the monopoly for about fifty years. The
United States Government, it is stated, has placed orders with the
firm for two tons of potash per day for the next two years, to be
used for making a powerful disinfectant.

A STIRRING- chapter in the unending story of a pioneer life in
Canada is being written in the operations of the Canadian
Northern Railway in the rich but sparsely-settled portion of
Ontario, north of Lake Superior. Five hundred men are em-
ployed in the mill and woods surrounding Foleyet, the centre of
Canadian Northern Railway activities in the clay belt. There
are being taken out 20,000 cords of pulpwood this year, but the
objective is 100,000 cords for 12 months' work, and this, it is
expected, will be attained within the next few years. Of railway
ties 400,000 have been cut, and it is anticipated that in two or
three years 1,000,000 per year will be produced. The idea is to
introduce as many men as possible into the district, who, while
earning good wages in the mill or woods, will gain an adequate
idea of the possibilities of the country, and take up farms ad-
joining the railway line. Many intending settlers are already on
the ground awaiting the opening of the districts.

EIGHT million Ibs. of fish will be available for the use of the
people of Ontario this year, the Ontario Government having
decided to give them first claim upon Ontario's great fish re-
sources, at a price that will promote the conservation of the beef
and bacon reserves of the province. This end will be attained
by requiring every fisherman, as a condition to his licence being
granted, to place one-fifth of his catch at the disposal of the
Government, the new condition to be inserted in the licence is as
follows :—"This licence is issued subject to the condition, which
the licencee agrees to fulfil, that he will deliver to the Sales
Branch of the Ontario Provincial Department of Game and

Empire Trade Notes 129

Fisheries if and when required any portion not exceeding 20 per
cent, of his catch, all fish to be of first quality, at a price not
exceeding 8 cents per Ib. for white fish, trout or pickerel dore, or
at a price not exceeding 6 cents per Ib. for herring, pike or other
coarse fish, and not exceeding 9 cents for cat fish, skinned and
dressed. Price to be fixed by department. This licence to be
subject to cancellation for non-performance of above condition."

TWENTY per cent, of the annual catch of fish in Ontaria will,
it is expected, more than meet the demand for the coming year.
Last year the catch of all commercial fish was 34,892,000 Ibs.,
and if it is as large during 1918 the Government Fisheries will
be entitled to call upon the fishermen for any supply up to
6,543,000 Ibs. Added to this supply will be at least 1,500,000 Ibs.
that will be caught by the fishermen operating in Lakes Nipigon
and Nipissing under Government contracts. This supply of
8,000,000 Ibs. leaves room for a tremendous expansion in the
sale of "price-controlled" Government fish. A report comes
from Sydney, Nova Scotia, of an unprecedented catch of 22,000
cod in three days.

THE wider market available in the United States and Canada
this year for Newfoundland herring, in consequence of the great
reduction in the importations from Scotland and Holland, has
stimulated the industry in Newfoundland. The winter fisheries
are working off the west coast and better catches than usual are
being made. The packers have largely adopted the Scotch
curing method, instead of shipping herrings salted in bulk as
heretofore, owing to the greater demand and higher prices which
prevail for the Scotch cured fish.

ONE of the smelting and mining companies which operates a
smelter at Trail, British Columbia, produced during 1917, 10,000
tons of pure zinc, valued at £600,000. The Company's refined
lead production increased from 2,000 to 22,000 tons.

ALBERTA possesses four of the highest-priced Hereford bulls
in North America. They are : Beau Perfection 48th, which has
been bred and raised at Langdon, Alberta; Gay Lad 40th, which
was bought for £2,340 ; Martin Fairfax, purchased by its present
owner for £3,400, and Gay Lad 16th, purchased for £4,000. In
addition to these high-priced males, there are many valuable
females in Alberta. Beau Perfection created a name for himself
by winning the first prize at the Calgary Summer Fair in
competition with all the high-priced animals in the province.
This bull has been entered for the championship of the world at
the International Live Stock Exhibition at Chicago.

ARRANGEMENTS have been made to spend $1,800,000 on an
important addition to the plant of the Ontario Power Company
to provide 50,000 additional horse power from Niagara Falls
before the end of 1918, 15,000 to 20,000 horse power of which
will be available for use by next August.
VOL. XXXII.— No. 207. K

130 The Empire Review

LAST year was a record one for fur production in British
Columbia. The catches of 947 of the 1,161 licensed trappers
who have reported show a total well over £60,000 in value,
exclusive of £20,000 realised from coyotes, which do not figure
in the trappers' returns, being classed as vermin. Taking into
consideration the value of the furs caught by the numerous
unlicensed Indian trappers it is stated that £400,000 is a safe
estimate of the value of fur production for the season just ended.
Beaver and lynx have been less plentiful than usual ; other furs
have been up to normal and realised very good prices.

THE total wool clip of the Province of Alberta last season was
2,086,633 Ibs., and its value £236,336. It is probable that next
season's crop will considerably exceed this, as a very considerable
number of sheep have been imported since last season and of
course the clip will be proportionately increased.

THE external trade of Canada during the ten months ended
January 31at reached a total of more than 2,000 million dollars,
an increase of 351 million dollars over the corresponding period
of 1916. The value of Canadian exports was over 1,000 million
dollars as compared with the total for the same ten months of
1916 of 960 million dollars.

CUBING 1917, for the first time, a classification was begun of
the Crown lands belonging to the Province of New Brunswick.
About 10,000 square miles were covered, the surveyors having
gone sufficiently far to show that the province, under reasonable
conditions, might expect some thirteen billion feet of sawn
timber on the Crown land area, the harvesting and marketing of
which, at present prices, would yield more than 40 millions
sterling, and give a revenue to the province of at least £3,200,000.
When the reconstruction period after the war begins, this
estimate will no doubt be largely exceeded. The commercial
species of lumber included in the region under survey are black
spruce, white spruce, white pine, balsam, fir, white birch, poplar,
yellow birch, hemlock, white cedar, beech and maple.

THE Saskatchewan Farm Loans Board has received about
2,600 applications for loans under the Rural Credits Act of the
province, the requests totalling approximately £1,080,000. The
Board has passed on practically 900 applications totalling about
£250,000, of which the greater part is now in the hands of the
farmers.

ABOUT 9 million acres out of a total of 210 million acres in
Quebec Province are under agricultural development. The chief
crop of the remaining 200 million acres is and will always be
timber for the reason that the soil is unfitted for tillage. While
Canada spends about 4 millions yearly in studying agricultural
problems, only a trifling sum has been spent thus far on the study
of forest problems. More than two- thirds of the whole of Canada
is better adapted for tree growing than anything else and will pay
profits according to the scientific care bestowed on it.

Empire Trade Notes 131

^REFORESTATION of denuded lands in Quebec continues to
make progress. So far practically all the forest planting has
been done on privately-owned lands, but the Provincial Govern-
ment has now under consideration the question of systematic
reforestation of Crown lands.

AN Eastern molybdenite company has secured an option on
200 acres in Conrnee township, three miles from Kakabeka Falls,
and one and a half miles from a railway siding. The vein has
been proved to a depth of 50 feet, and a cross cut shows it to be
at least 16 feet wide, which measurement is a record for a
molybdenite vein on the Continent of North America. The ore
will grade over 1 per cent, or about 20 Ibs. to the ton.

PRINCE EDWARD Island is experiencing greater prosperity
than at any time in its history. It is hoped that there will soon
be legislation passed authorising the opening up of all roads on
the island for automobile travel, thus giving the people of the
rest of Canada a better opportunity to become familiar with the
beauties and the possibilities of the " Garden of the Gulf." The
islanders are also hopefully anticipating the day when they can
have further improved traffic connection with the mainland for
the better disposal of their various articles of farm produce.

THE Canadian Car and Foundry Company has been awarded
a contract for the construction of steel ships at Fort "William,
Ontario, for the United States. The cost of the vessels is to be
$10,500,000, and the work will give employment for 1,000 men in
addition to the 1,500 men now working on the railway car
contracts being carried out by the Company. The Great Lakes
Dredging Company is now engaged also at Fort William in
building wooden freight steamers.

SOUTH AFRICA

THE total production of gold from the Union of South Africa
(states the annual report of the Government Mining Engineer,
just issued) since 1868, when gold was first discovered, amounts
to approximately £514,963,000 up to the end of 1916, and this
was practically all won in the Transvaal.

REGULATIONS providing for the inspection and grading of
eggs intended for export oversea have now been gazetted under
the Agricultural Produce Export Act, 1917. At Capetown eggs
will be examined by the Egg Inspector, and in the case of other
ports inspection will be arranged by the Department of Agri-
culture on hearing from intending exporters. The eggs, which
must be fresh, preferably infertile, and clean (but not washed),
must be packed in cases of thirty dozen, after having been graded
by the exporter according to weight. Two grades are provided
for : First, consisting of eggs weighing 15 Ib. and over per long
hundred (120), with a minimum weight of 1| oz. for individual
eggs ; and second, comprising eggs weighing 13£ Ib. and over per
long hundred, with a minimum individual weight of If oz. The

K 2

132 The Empire Review

export of eggs deficient in size, but approved in respect of quality,
will be permitted, such eggs being classed "below grade." The
packing of white and coloured eggs in the same case is permitted
provided the eggs are uniformly mixed. When passed by the
inspector cases will be branded and an export certificate will be
issued provided approved cool chamber steamer accommodation
has been engaged by the exporter. These regulations came into
effect on the 1st October.

THE cotton plants on the Springbok Flats, which were propa-
gated during last season, are looking well. During the coming
summer it is hoped that the plants will bring forth large quantities
of bolls. It appears that though the Government expert was
originally of the opinion that the sowing of cotton seed would
have to be done annually, he now thinks that a plant can remain
in Waterberg soil with profit to the farmer for a term of three
years.

The South African Maize Breeders', Growers' and Judges'
Association are endeavouring to raise a gift of 10,000 bags of
maize for the South African War Market, and have circularised
the members asking for donations in maize or other farm crops,
or in cash.

A GOOD deal of interest attaches to the discovery in the vicinity
of Grahamstown of a large deposit of phosphatic rock. At first
believed to be coal, it is now proved that the substance is a
mineral containing a large quantity of combined phosphoric acid,
the phosphate in the rock being placed on analysis at about
10 per cent. At present the information is too meagre to arrive
at any definite conclusion upon the value of the discovery, and
it will be necessary to await further details as to whether, in
addition to the phosphate, the mineral contains other constituents
suitable for fertiliser purposes. The event, however, warrants
considerable attention, and developments will be eagerly awaited
in view of the shortage of fertilisers in South Africa and the
insufficiency of phosphates in the soil of many districts.

A VEEY successful beginning has been made in the matter of
meat preserving and meat extract manufacture. Samples of
these commodities produced on the southern borders of Natal
were submitted to the Trades Commissioner in London, who
forwarded to the Government a most favourable report thereon,
and pointed out that, on the basis of the quality as supplied, both
extract and meat would find a ready market in the United
Kingdom. The factory has been running for the past couple of
years, and has been supplying quite a respectable market.

THE Department of Industries, South Africa, has received a
specimen of a bottle envelope made from palmiet rush at the
Porter Beformatory at Tokai. The envelope is well made and
should form a very suitable substitute for the straw envelope in
general use. The specimen was one of a number supplied to
the Government Wine Farm at Groot Coustantia and sufficiently

Empire Trade Notes 133

demonstrated that palmiet rush can be satisfactorily used for the
purpose, a fact which may be of value to firms interested in this
industry.

WHAT is considered to be an important discovery has been
made at Maritzburg, Natal, by an old-established dyer, who
claims to have made a dye from wattle bark which will largely
solve the question of the shortage of dyes in South Africa. It is
stated that the discovery was made several years ago by accident,
and that subsequently experiments have revealed that twenty-
seven different shades of colour can be obtained by treating the
wattle bark. The predominant colour is said to resemble closely
that obtainable from logwood.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

THE manner in which the tropical resources of the Empire
have been neglected in the past is well illustrated by the case of
Western Australia. Here there are large areas of land in the
tropical zone, and experiments have proved that rubber, cotton,
tobacco, rice, and innumerable other valuable products can be
successfully grown. But there has been practically no effort
made to turn the opportunity that exists here to commercial
purposes. Apart from the world-wide market that exists for
these lines of everyday use, the State alone imports well over a
million pounds worth of tropical products annually, and of course
the Eastern States of Australia import proportionately greater
quantities. So there is a local as well, as a world market for
everything that can be grown.

CAPITALISTS willing to take up pioneering work in this territory
should be as well recompensed as have been the early exploiters
of rubber and other goods in the tropical lands. From the
Gascoyne Kiver at Carnarvon to the Ord Eiver in the far north,
more than twenty rivers drain the rich stretch of country of the
heavy summer rains. Unlimited supplies of artesian and natural
spring water are obtainable. This vast area of land, with the
exception of a few gardens for homestead purposes, is entirely
devoted to pastoral purposes. Land has been surveyed and
thrown open for selection at remarkably low prices to anyone
willing to undertake the cultivation of tropical products. Cotton
and tobacco have been tried in several areas, and there is really
no doubt that both could be grown on a commercial basis. The
Commonwealth Government offers bounties for the production of
many of the leading tropical plants of industrial worth.

THE State Agricultural Bank of Western Australia is generally
considered the most liberal institution of its kind in the world,
and it has been largely responsible for settling on the land
thousands of men with exceedingly limited capital. The basis of
the system is that the settler is kept supplied with all the money
he needs during the early years of his tenancy at a very low rate
of interest, the amounts being handed over to him on the com-

134 The Empire Review

pletion of each new improvement. The State, of course, retains
a lien on the land, and sees that the pioneering operations are
carried out in practical fashion, so that no loss will be involved
in the event of the settler failing to "make good." This
naturally happens at times, even though the land be good, for
human nature is such that a proportion of failures is inevitable.
Under normal conditions, however, there are very few failures in
Western Australia, for the climate is steady and the rainfall in
the agricultural belt regular and sufficient. The State is pre-
paring for a large influx of population, with the restoration of
peace, and it is hoped that the shipping position will be such
that no great difficulties will be encountered in that direction.

DISCHARGED soldiers can obtain free homestead farms in
Western Australia, up to 160 acres, on condition that they
undertake to reside on the land for six months in each of the
first five years and expend from 4s. to 6s. per acre each year in
improvements.

THE Western Australian Government, recognising the im-
portance of obtaining a supply of pure milk for hospitals and
other institutions, some time ago established a State dairy. The
primary object of the scheme has been achieved according to
reliable medical authority, and the Minister in charge is now
able to announce that the enterprise is paying interest Sinking
Fund and a fair rate of profit.

IT is announced in the Press that a new seam of coal has been
discovered at the Westralia Colliery near Collie. The seam has
already opened up to a width of 9£ feet, and the coal is said to
be the best for locomotive purposes yet found in the State. The
Collie coalfields are already supplying a considerable proportion
of the State railway requirements and a fair amount for ships'
bunkering.

THE announcement that the Federal Government will have
a dozen ships under construction in the immediate future is of
great importance at the present juncture and directs attention to
the fact that the Commonwealth has vast and hitherto untapped
resources of raw material suitable for ship building. There are
few finer timbers for the purpose than the Western Australian
jarrah and karri, which have been used extensively in the
building of luggers and have withstood every test for strength
and durability. Western Australia also has suitable ports for
ship building in proximity to its great wooded areas. The
Minister for Forests has expressed the hope that the State may
be able to do something substantial in supplying the most vital
need of the Allies while the war lasts.

EDUCATION in Western Australia from primary to university
is free. All the professions are open to the smart boy or girl, no
matter how situated financially. In Western Australia the
advantages of the State Agricultural Bank will be extended to
British soldiers taking up land during or after the war.

OVERSEA CORRESPONDENTS.

Canadian War Items 135

CANADIAN WAR ITEMS

AMONG the fifty-four returned soldiers attending the classes
conducted in Ottawa by the education committee of the Great
War Veterans are a father and son. They have both seen service
in France, and are seated side by side. The subjects taught at
the classes, which are held in Kent school, include arithmetic,
geography, history, composition, writing, etc. The prime motive
is to prepare the men for Civil Service examinations. Some of
the soldiers have only gone to school for a year, others have had
six to ten years' education, while one veteran graduated at
Oxford.

MRS. A. D. MclNTOSH, an old lady of Cornwall, Ontario
claims to be the champion of all veteran knitters. She is ninety
years of age and has knitted 230 pairs of socks for the men at the
front. She is still keeping up the work.

LIEUT. -CoL. McL. BROWN, European Manager of the Canadian
Pacific Railway, invested £500,000 in National War Bonds at
the Trafalgar Square Tank on behalf of that undertaking, bring-
ing the company's investments in loans and guarantees to the
Allied Nations to over £16,500,000.

THE factories operated in Eastern Canada by the Imperial
Munitions Board for the manufacture of aeroplanes have now a
very creditable record. The spruce used in making the aeroplanes
s cut in British Columbia, and a market for a considerable
quantity of coast spruce— which otherwise might not have been
utilised for commercial purposes — has now been found.

THE Canadian Branch of the British Empire Fund, formed
to render first aid in the restoration of agriculture on farms in
the devastated regions of France, Belgium, Serbia, Rumania
and Italy, is receiving enthusiastic support. The Governor-
General, who was a member of the Executive Committee in
England, is patron of the Canadian branch, and has invited the
Lieutenant-Governor of each province to become patron of a
committee for his area. The general plan is for each provincial
committee to invite the co-operation of existing organisations of
farmers, such as farmers' institutes, women's institutes, farmers'
clubs, the United Farmers, the Grain Growers' Association and
similar bodies, to arrange for their officers in each place to
become a local committee to disseminate information, to receive
contributions, and to forward them to the provincial hon. secre-
tary-treasurer for the province.

THE Ontario Government has decided to give practical
assistance to the training of aviators in Canada by setting aside
£6,440 for the purchase of aeroplanes for training use in the
Dominion. The gift includes two machines for training men in
flying and one battleplane for training men in air-fighting. All

136 The Empire Review

»

three machines will be named "Ontario" and distinguished by
numerals.

THE Canadian " Service Flag " has been devised by the
Prisoners of War Committee of the Ottawa Women's Canadian
Club. The flag measures 18 inches by 12 inches, has a red
background with a white centre on which is a blue maple leaf,
indicating that one member of thej3ossessor's family is on active
service. Maple leaves are added according to the number in the
family on active service. The idea is to hang the flag in a
prominent position in a window, and already many of these are
to be seen displayed throughout the residential sections of Ottawa
and other Canadian cities.

THERE are now thirty-nine different vocations being taught
in the training centres of the Military Hospitals Commission
which are linked all over Canada. This number wTill be increased
indefinitely if necessary to include the whole category of in-
dustries in Canada, when the present plans of the Commission
to place men to whom it is necessary to teach new trades (in
consequence of their injuries) in the factories, have been put into
operation. The co-operation of the Canadian Manufacturers'
Association has made it possible for the Commission to offer the
men the great advantage of working under actual industrial
conditions in learning their new trades.

IN connection with the appeal which has been made all over
Canada for greater production in foodstuffs for 1918, plans have
been made at Ottawa to start a campaign for the enlistment
of 25,000 boys, who, working as " Soldiers of the soil," will,
under the direction of the provincial authorities, use every effort
to assist the farmers throughout the Dominion to a greater
production of food. While the movement is a national one
extending from coast to coast, the plan is to fit in with the
arrangements being made with the departments of education.
In return for the season's work recognition of the boys' services
will take the form of a bronze service badge to be issued by the
Canadian Government.

DECLARING that Canada cannot do too much for the veterans
of the war, the chairman of the Military Hospitals Commission
made an eloquent public appeal in Ottawa for the sympathy of
the community in an effort to assist the returned men in finding
congenial employment. "Anything we can do in this line to
compensate the men who have fought for us is due to them," he
added. "Nothing the Canadian Parliament can do, nothing the
Canadian people can do, will adequately compensate these heroes,
but we will do the best we can."

THE Provincial Treasurer has promised the Great War
Veterans 50,000 dollars for the year, to be used for the purposes
of the Ontario Associations. The money will be paid in four
quarterly instalments. The Ontario body has forty-five branches
established, and another twenty-one are being organised.

MAPLE LEAF.

THE EMPIRE
REVIEW

AND

JOURNAL OF BRITISH TRADE

VOL. XXXII. MAY, 1918. No. 208.

FOOD PRODUCTION IN THE BRITISH
EMPIRE AFTER THE WAR

NEWFOUNDLAND'S CONTRIBUTION

FOK many years after the cessation of hostilities foodstuffs
will be scarce and dear within the British Empire. It is im-
portant, therefore, to look ahead and to consider how so serious
a situation may be minimised. Luxuries may be left out of
sight, we need only deal with foods which are the staff of life —
the food of the great mass of the people, the working-classes —
upon whose cheap living depends not alone their home comforts,
but very largely the cost of production of those manufactures
which compete with foreign-made goods. And here let me say
that in finding a solution of the problem we cannot expect
much relief from our Allies or friendly neutrals, for they them-
selves are afflicted with the same troubles that beset us.

What then can we do to assist the wheat crops and other
land products as well as the great marine fields, in order to
ensure as early as possible a reduction in the price of food?
Each part of the Empire must view the question from its own
local surroundings, by so doing the best results will be pro-
duced.

Newfoundland is first and foremost a fishing country, although
in recent years it has become a considerable exporter of pulp
and paper and irorr ore, its factories for rope, clothes, boots and
shoes are also considerable. Nor is it backward in the output
of farm products. In the matter of potatoes and other root
crops it is producing more than the requirements of its population,
VOL. XXXII.— No. 208. L

138 The Empire Review

but for its contribution to cheap food after the war we must look
mainly to its marine fields, its great waters, teeming with fish. In
Newfoundland waters we have an unlimited supply of cod and
herring, there are also other fish such as lobster, halibut, flat fish,
hake, turbot, haddock, salmon, trout, caplin and eels. In fact
Newfoundland possesses great potential value in its fisheries if
developed along modern lines.

The shore cod fishery, that is the fishery carried on along the
coast, commences in the month of May and continues until
December. The Bank fishery on the Grand Banks off the coast
starts about February and goes on until December. The fishery
along the Labrador coast begins in June and terminates in
October. What is known as the winter cod fishery prosecuted
on the south coast, opens in December and ends in May. The
principal herring fishery, the produce of which goes largely to
the United States, lasts from October to January, and is confined
to Bay of Islands and Bonne Bay on the west coast of the
island, and Notre Dame Bay in the north, but it is believed that
with proper modern appliances large quantities of herring can be
obtained off the coast of Newfoundland all the year round.
Hitherto, the only means used by the fishermen are the ordinary
nets set along the shore into which the herring mesh.

The salmon fishery, commencing in June, is generally over by
September. Hitherto the lobster fishery has been conducted
between April and August. With the exception of the lobster
fishery, the produce of which is not marketed fresh but is canned
and finds a ready sale largely in Germany, small quantities of
salmon sent to the United States and Canada, being kept fresh
by ice, and a portion of the winter herring fishery, taken by the
United States fishermen in their schooners, frozen for the
American market, all our fish is salted down to suit the markets
of Brazil, the Mediterranean, the West Indies and other countries
to which they are exported. In other words the whole of our
cod fishery, the annual catch of which averages 1£ million
quintals of 112 pounds to the quintal, is treated with what is
known as the " salt hard cure," that is salted, dried and cured
according to the market to which the fish is to be exported. It
is only in the present year that an attempt has been made to
cold-store the fish or market it in an iced condition. Now, how-
ever, that a thoroughly up to date system of cold-storage has
been organised and equipped for the purpose of freezing fresh fish
on the coast at points where the cod and other fish are taken in
large quantities, there is nothing to prevent the fish being caught
all the year round and profitably marketed.

There is no question of the prolific character of our fisheries.
Dr. Hugh Smith, Commissioner of Fisheries at Washington and

Food Production in the British Empire 139

a great authority on the fisheries of Western North Atlantic,
writing to a friend of mine on the subject in 1911, said :

" The fishing grounds on the coasts of Newfoundland and
Labrador and those of Greenland and Iceland, constitute the
most productive waters for certain kinds of fish on the
western side of the Atlantic Ocean, and the supply is more
or less constant. Each important species is, of course, not
obtainable throughout the year, but there is no month in
which some kind of commercial fish may not be obtained in
large quantities. In addition to cod, which is the staple fish
of this region, and halibut, which is caught chiefly by
American fishermen, there is an enormous supply of herring
and a fairly good supply of salmon, trout, and lobster,
together with caplin and squid, which are in big demand for
bait. There are also various kinds of flat fish which are not
now utilised to any large extent, together with cusk, hake,
and other deep-sea fishes. The tuna, or horse-mackerel, is
also present in considerable numbers, and ought to meet
with ready sale in the large markets, although the New-
foundland fishermen at the present time do not make any
use of this species. I would call particular attention to the
abundance of halibut on the west coast of Newfoundland,
where the Americans have been carrying on a profitable
fishery for many years in in-shore waters. The enormous
bodies of herring which resort to the bays on the west coast
in winter support a large fishery that is conducted primarily
by Canadian and American vessels. These fish are taken in
a frozen and salted condition to the home port and meet
a ready demand."

No halibut has yet been caught for export by the Newfound-
land fishermen. And here it is important to point out what the
probable effect on the fisheries of Newfoundland would be if a
fast transport service from some port in Newfoundland to a
convenient port in Great Britain were established. Let me give
the opinion in this respect of the head of a great fish industry in
Scotland, written on December 17th, 1913 : — " At the present
time in Newfoundland, so far as food fishing is concerned, over
89 per cent, in value of the total catch consists of cod, which is
salted and cured, and after considerable delay exported to distant
foreign markets. The quantity of cod thus cured in Newfound-
land during 1912 was 69,405 tons, valued at £1,644,700. All
other fish taken in 1912 was valued at £186,000. Without rapid
transport and quicker dispatch to the great markets of the world
no improvement need be expected. All authorities declare that
the ocean around Newfoundland is teeming with fish ; and with
improved facilities there is every reason to believe that the other
fisheries of Newfoundland, which continue at present in a
languishing condition, would in time rival and even surpass the

L 2

140 The Empire Review

cod fisheries. In Scotland during the year 1912 the trade in
salted and cured codfish amounted to 9,047 tons, valued at
£214,300 . The other fish landed in Scotland was valued at
£3,442,178.

" The herring fishing of Newfoundland in 1912 was valued at
£79,963. The herring fishing of Scotland for the same year
reached a value of £1,910,533. There seems no reason why
Newfoundland should not supply not only the American markets
with herrings, but also the European markets, as she does with
her codfish. The herring fisheries of Newfoundland are prac-
tically untapped, and they possess unlimited possibilities. The
same may be said of the halibut, the salmon, and other fisheries ;
but, as I have already said, further progress is impossible without
rapid transport facilities. The consumption of fish as an article
of diet is increasing year by year, and already Canadian halibut
is beginning to find its way to the British market. Brought
within easy reach of the British, the Canadian, and the United
States markets, the fisheries of Newfoundland, worked in large
measure on the fresh fish principle, as in Scotland, and with
suitable fishing vessels and careful attention in handling the fish,
would in my opinion soon reach a point of prosperity hitherto
undreamt of."

In Newfoundland we have fisheries that up to the present
have not attracted any attention. Take, for example, the caplin
— a small fish about six inches long ; it comes in to spawn on the
sandy beaches ; the cod-fish come in to the shore after these little
fish, and every cod-fish you catch in the month of June is simply
full of caplin that have been swallowed whole. The coasts of
the country are black with caplin. It is a delicious and
appetising fish ; I have never tasted anything anywhere that can
compare with it as an edible fish ; Americans, Canadians, and
Englishmen who have been in Newfoundland have said that you
would be able to get any price for them. These fish are there in
millions of tons all around the beaches. They are so plentiful
that our people use them as a fertiliser ; .all you have to do is to
go down and shovel them up; you can hardly row a boat
through them they are so thick. You could make a contract for
them to-day and buy them at the low price of 2s. Qd. a barrel,
that is to say, about three hundred pounds of fresh fish for
2s. Qd., and it is only a question of either canning the fish or
putting it into cold storage and getting it over here. The same
is true of dog-fish, squid, halibut, haddock, and numerous kinds
of flat and other fish.

The total value of our cod fishery this year will be about
£3,200,000. The herring fishery will amount to £80,000— it has
never reached a higher point yet. Mr. Duff, an experienced

Food Production in the British Empire 141

inspector of fisheries of thirty-five years' standing, sent out three
years ago by the Scottish Fishery Board to report on the New-
foundland fishery, writes that properly handled the Newfound-
land herring fishery could be made as valuable as the cod fishery.
If this be correct, and I have no doubt on the matter, we have an
industry worth £3,200,000 which could be handed over for
development to 32,000 returned soldiers, who could settle in
Newfoundland, earn £100 each in six months of the year, have a
farm, free fuel and no municipal taxation of any kind, besides
providing a cheap, wholesome food for the Empire. The values
I have given are what the fishermen receive, and do not include
the cost of marketing, storage, insuring, or freight.

So far the herring fishery has been prosecuted simply by
setting the nets on the coast and allowing the herrings to
mesh in the ordinary way. It may be asked, why have not the
merchants and the Island fishermen developed the herring
fishery along modern lines ? The principal reason is the cod
fishery has overshadowed all other industries. A Newfoundland
fisherman can always make in four or five months on the
Labrador Coast, in seven months, at the Shore fishery, and in
eight months at the Bank fishery, sufficient money to support
him for the year. Then there is the seal fishery which
takes place in the winter. In his spare days he occupies himself
in getting out wood for his house and his buildings, and his flakes
upon which to dry his fish, and often does some mining work to
supplement his earnings. The Newfoundland merchant has his
capital invested in certain grooves, and there is not sufficient
inducement to tempt him to develop the fisheries along new
lines, or introduce new methods, as long as he is doing fairly
well with the old methods.

The Scotch herring fishery in 1913 was worth £3,000,000,
that is, the fish brought into Scotland caught in English, Scotch
and Irish waters; some 61,000 persons were engaged in the
industry. Something like 1,500,000 barrels were taken in 1913.
To show how proper prosecution, curing, barrelling, salting,
packing, and branding has developed the fishery one may
mention that the total catch in 1809 was only 34,701 barrels, or
just half that obtained in Newfoundland in 1913.

The market for all this fish is in the Empire, and if the
Empire does not need it, why; then, the demand is outside in the
United States and in Eussia, and should the days of stress ever
come upon us again, we shall have at hand a constant food
supply. As Mr. Duff has very truly said, the herring fishery of
Newfoundland is practically untapped and possesses the greatest
possibilities.

For years before the war there was a serious shortage of beef

142

The Empire Review

cattle in the world, and the situation has become worse as a
result of the war's demands. Authorities now pronounce the
situation as daily growing more serious and acute, and that it is
aggravated by the slaughter of breeding cattle. The solution of
the beef cattle situation is one of the most important problems
before the American people. This is something which concerns
every man, woman and child in the United States. For the first
time in the history of modern civilisation people there are facing
what appears to be a meat famine. It has been gradually
approaching since l£)07. The rapid increase in the population,
involving a much heavier demand for meat, has caused prices
to rise so high that many farmers have been tempted to sell their
breeding herds as well as the normal increase. The result has
been, a marked increase in demand and a noticeable falling off in
supply.

A shortage at home would not be so serious a matter from the
consumers' standpoint if there were an abundant supply in other
countries. But is that the case ? Fairly reliable figures can be
obtained concerning the increases or decreases in the number of
both cattle and people in practically all the leading meat-
producing and consuming countries of the world since 1900.
These figures show conclusively that, except in Australia and
France, the increase in cattle production has not kept pace with
the increase in population. Taking the countries set out in the
Table below it will be found that the average increase in popula-
tion is 19*9 per cent., and of cattle about 2 '18 per cent.

Cattle.

Population •

Country.

Increase
per cent, since
1900.

Increase
per cent, since

Decrease
per cent, since

1900.

1900.

France ....

2

2

^_

Germany.

16

4

—

United Kingdom

10

4

—

Austria-Hungary

10

2

—

European Russia

14

—

12

Canada ....

35

20

—

Brazil ....

20

—

20

Argentine

40

—

6

Australia.

18

40

—

New Zealand

30

16

—

United States .

24

—

30

Without doubt the beef cattle industry of the United States
is in a most precarious condition. Between January, 1907, and

Food Production in the British Empire 143

January, 1913, the number of beef cattle in the United States
decreased by 15,970,000 head, or about 32 per cent. During
the same time the population increased about 10,000,000, and
conditions will be worse in the next two or three years. A study
of any of the stock yards' markets will convince the most
optimistic person that too many cows, heifers and calves are
being rushed to market for the future good of the cattle
business. It is a pitiful sight, in face of the present marked
shortage of cattle, to look over the receipts of the southern and
western markets and to find that between 15 to 40 per cent, of
the animals offered for sale are either cows, heifers or calves,
just the animals that are needed for breeding purposes on the
farms. This condition of affairs, if continued, can mean
but one thing, namely, fewer and fewer cattle in the years
to come.

Mr. James B. Poole, one of the best authorities on live stock
in America, in an article entitled, " A Livestock Survey, 1916-
1917," contributed to the Farmer's Magazine for February,
states : —

" There exists a world- wide shortage of both meats and
breadstuffs. Nature has apparently determined to put the
civilised world on a semi-famine basis. Every country of
surplus food production in both northern and southern
hemispheres is delinquent. Argentina has been in the
throes of drouth, Australia has been eliminated by the same
agency as a contributor to the world's larder and here in
North America drouth and depletion have exerted production-
repression influence. Internecine feud has put Mexico
out of the cattle business, grain-raising has been the chief
factor of depletion in Canada and in the United States,
cattle breeding has been materially contracted and the wool
and mutton industry depleted until it has no footing east
of the Missouri Biver. Even in the pastoral region west
of the 100th meridian liquidation is still in progress. Only
in pork production has there been decided increase recently
and but for that development North America would have
been meat-hungry long before this.

The deduction from these facts is that high prices for beef
will obtain for a .long time, and that spells the day of great
opportunity in the production of fish, a much cheaper and equally
as nourishing a food, and one that is gathered from the sea with-
out the expense attendant upon the raising of cattle or the
growing of grain.

When peace is declared and the cost of the war has to be
paid in taxation the question of the cost of living will be all-
important, and it will be an actual and imperative necessity to

144 The Empire Review

get wholesome foodstuffs at the lowest possible cost. The average
housewife will then have to give the most careful thought to
provide her table, and she will be compelled by the force of
circumstances to use more and more fish. In doing so she will
not only conserve her pocket-book, but provide a palatable and
nourishing food equally as rich in protein values as animal food.
Proteins are the nitrogenous materials which build up and repair
the body. The following Table of the protein values of the
important fish obtained in Newfoundland, compared with animal
foods, is instructive :—

Fish. Proteins. Animal Foods. Proteins.

Per cent.

Cod Steak, Ib. . . . 17
Salmon 15

Per cent.

Beef Side, Ib. . . .14-8
Mutton „ . . .13
Pork 8-3

Halibut „ . . . 15-3

Lobster in can ... 18 ! Chicken „ . . .13*7

Herring, Ib. . . .11-2 Turkey „ . . . 16 '1

Haddock „ . . .8-4

From these figures it will be seen that cod (the principal catch
of Newfoundland) contains more proteins than any of the animal
foods.

As to whether frozen fish is as good and palatable as the same
fish out of the water the testimony is overwhelming. Fresh fish
if properly! frozen shortly after being caught, and if kept con-
tinuously in a frozen condition until it reaches the store of the
fishmonger, and then properly thawed in cold water is just as
good in every respect as the ordinary fresh fish. Let me cite the
views of a few authorities on this point taken from the report of
the Canadian Board of Inquiry into the cost of living, 1915.

The Cold Storage Investigating Committee of the Chicago
Association of Commerce point out : "If fish are promptly
frozen, they will keep for a year and even two years remarkably
well. They do not dry out in storage as readily as poultry. Fish
should be delivered to the consumer iced or frozen in all seasons.
Fish that are right when they go into storage will come out
good. If they are handled properly by the retailer the consumer
cannot tell the difference between fresh and storage fish when it
comes upon his table. There seems to be greater risk of getting
poor fish by ordering fresh fish than there is when ordering a
frozen fish." Dr. Gies (Columbia University) tells us : " Fish in
cold storage for a year — blue fish, for example, and fluke— when
allowed to thaw in my office on an ordinary table at room
temperature, after twenty-four hours (that is, after the fish has
softened), or after they had softened, appeared to be practically
identical with fresh fish of the same kind." Mr. Snow (director
of the Provincetown Cold Storage Company), says : " No change

Food Production in the British Empire 145

takes place in fish, fresh caught and stored immediately, during a
year's storage." And Mr. Pankard (representing the New York
Wholesale Fish Dealers' Association) adds : " Fish can be kept
cold stored in a perfectly wholesome condition for at least a
year." Professor J. Gust Richert (President of the Swedish
Cold Storage Association and member of the Royal Swedish
Academy of Sciences) bears witness to the fact that fish shipped
in refrigerator cars from Lulea to Paris, a distance of 3,000 kilo-
metres, requiring seven days' time in transit, and to a great
extent over the blistering hot plains of Central Europe, arrived in
excellent shape, showing no bad effects from the trip. And a
report furnished by Dr. Wiley (chief of the Bureau of Chemistry,
United States Government, Washington) shows that " the
freezing of fish would not cause it in any way to suffer any
ill effects."

With these facts and opinions before us all we want in New-
foundland to develop our fisheries, and at the same time to
promote a large storehouse of food for the British Empire after
the war, is capital.

MOREIS.

AUSTRALIA AFTER THE WAR

AUSTRALIA'S part in the great war has cost her dearly, and
many millions sterling will yet have to be poured out before the
troopships carry her brave army home again. For a small
population the liability would look almost overwhelming were it
not for the knowledge that the untapped resources of the
Commonwealth represent almost untold wealth, and that the
deeds of the Australian soldiers have turned the eyes of the world
in her direction. Looking to the future, two things may be
regarded as well-nigh certain — first, there will be an enormous
inflow of immigrants from the Motherland and from the
countries of our Allies in the period immediately following the
war ; secondly, this new population will be largely the cream of
the fighting forces, men who have proved themselves physically
and mentally strong, and who will be fired with the same ambition
to conquer the pioneering difficulties as were the forefathers of
the present generation of Australians. It is, therefore, reasonable
to expect with confidence a great forward move in all Australian
industries — agriculture, fruit-growing, cattle and sheep raising,
dairying, mining, and in the handling of the various by-products
of these and many other industries.

146 The Empire Review

LORD MILNER

AN EMPIRE STATESMAN

NOT always can it be said that public and private opinion are
in accord with regard to Ministerial appointments, but in the
selection of Lord Milner as Secretary of State for War this very
satisfactory combination has happily been reached. And I do
not write at random. For, as a publicist, it has fallen to my
lot on several occasions to express the people's view of the manner
in which Lord Milner has carried out the missions in which from
time to time he has been engaged, and since his recent appoint-
ment was announced I have made it my business to ascertain in
various quarters the opinions entertained as to the Prime Minister's
choice by men of all shades of political thought. From my own
observation then as well as from information gained from others
well qualified to form a judgment I can affirm, with confidence,
that Lord Milner is the right man in the right place.

During the last eighteen years in the pages of this REVIEW I
have been endeavouring to impress on my fellow countrymen the
urgency of looking at national effort from an Imperial — using the
word in its wider sense, that of Empire — rather than from an
insular standpoint. Accordingly for this reason alone I rejoice to
know that we have in the conduct of the war a parliamentary
head who has every claim to be styled an Empire Statesman.
Lord Milner brings to his new office not only a keen intellect
and a well trained mind but a reputation for thoroughness, for
grasp of detail and for power of co-ordination that few Ministers
can equal and certainly none can surpass. But above and beyond
even these high qualifications would I place his breadth of vision
and strong determination to carry things through to the end.
Once he has satisfied himself that the policy framed is in the best
and truest interests of the nation and the Empire there is
no looking back. Irrespective of whether it is yet in sight
the goal is ever before him, and provided it is humanly possible
he may be depended upon to reach it and without undue
delay.

Few except the men who have been associated with him in

Lord Milncr 147

the War Cabinet know the assistance he has given to the councils
of State in connection with the prosecution of the war, assistance
not confined to the deliberations at Downing Street but extending
to a far wider sphere of operations. He has been the Prime
Minister's trusted representative in the Conferences that have
taken place between the Allied Governments, and as a Member of
the Supreme War Council has spent much time at Versailles.
He is in close touch with French and Italian Ministers, and his
popularity both with the British and the Allied Armies is an asset
which, in his new position, cannot be too strongly emphasised.
No greater calumny was ever launched against him than when
his detractors described his methods as akin to Prussianism. The
very reverse is the case. He is intensely human, and although
his firmness is acknowledged and appreciated he has a kindly
nature and a sympathetic disposition. Particularly mindful is he
of the claims and aspirations of labour, and no member of the
Cabinet is more keenly alive to the welfare and interests of the
working classes.

In the past he has done not a little to help bring home to the
British public the economic advantages to this country and the
Empire of making a change in our fiscal system, and together
with the late Lord Eoberts was an ardent supporter of the
National Service League, pressing forward the principle of
personal service, the military training of every able-bodied
man, as the basis of a permanent system of national defence.
Referring to that campaign and to the necessity which sub-
sequently arose of applying compulsory military service to this
country, he pointed out in the pages of this KEVIEW (Sep-
tember 1915) that the demand was for the introduction of
compulsory service for the duration of the war and as the
only means of winning the war, and had nothing to do with
the question of the permanent system to be adopted when the
war is over. It was natural that those who had always
believed in National Service should support that demand, but
the point of importance was that the demand had not originated
with them but with others, who, before the experience of
the war had taught them differently, were not supporters of
National Service, and who, for all that he knew, might not
be advocates of it as a permanent system even in the altered
circumstances.

" The question of the abstract merits of the voluntary system
as opposed to the principle of universal military service, which
prevails in Continental countries," he observed, "has nothing
to do with the present case. Men may take different views about
the most desirable military system — our system or the German
system or the Swiss system — and yet agree upon the best course

148 The Empire Review

to pursue as a matter of immediate necessity in view of the
problem with which we are at this moment faced. It is im-
possible for anyone to have right vision on this subject unless he
can clear his mind absolutely of these old controversies no less
than of all party prejudice, and concentrate it entirely upon the
instant problem — how we are to insure victory in this war. In
that great struggle it becomes increasingly evident that this
country has henceforward to bear the heaviest burden, and that
she needs every ounce of her strength to carry it. The power
of Eussia is for the time being broken, and France has all along
strained every nerve. We alone have large unused reserves of
men, and the only question is, shall we employ the power of the
State to call them up ? To the practical mind, unclouded by old
controversies and party cries and shibboleths, there seems to be
only one answer." I venture to commend these views and these
conclusions to the consideration of the Irish Nationalists.

As an administrator Lord Milner has proved his capacity in
many fields, and since the war has conducted several inquiries
into various economic and social problems that have presented
themselves for solution in our daily life. In each and every case
he has always looked well ahead, and no one will, I think, deny
that as an organiser he is in the first rank. Unfortunately for
himself, as High Commissioner in South Africa he did not
remain long enough in the saddle to see the fruit of his labours,
but that the result has been far in excess, even of his own
expectations, has been shown in a variety of ways. I recall,
for example, a tribute paid to his administrative genius by the
deputation of Dutch farmers who visited this country before the
war. No one can say that these farmers favoured Lord Milner's
programme at the time he was introducing his reforms, yet at a
dinner given in their honour in London the spokesman of the
deputation did not hesitate to express the gratitude of the Dutch
community for what he had done to promote the cause of
agriculture in South Africa.

But it is not only as an administrator and an adviser in
critical times that Lord Milner has proved his value, in matters
of finance he occupies a prominent position. After serving an
apprenticeship as private secretary to the late Lord Goschen, then
Chancellor of the Exchequer, he undertook to assist in the
organisation of Egyptian finance, and having successfully per-
formed that task he returned home to take up the post of
Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue. Some of us could
have wished that he had been associated with the War Office or
with the Ministry of Munitions in a financial capacity during the
early days of the war. Had this been the case the country might
have been saved much unnecessary expenditure. In any event

Lord Milner 149

it is satisfactory to know that so long as he remains Secretary of
State for War we shall have a guardian of the public purse who
will make it his business to see that while no money is spared
that is properly and legitimately required for the success of the
war, an end will be put to an era of extravagance that has
irritated the tax-payer and shocked the economist.

If you want strength of character coupled with high-minded
ideals you have them in Lord Milner. Too long was he allowed
to wander in the wilderness, although I am bound to say to a
certain extent this was of his own choosing, he could not bring
himself to subscribe to a party programme. He wanted to
absorb the best of all parties, to see the country governed upon a
national basis. Hence it was that his undeniable claims to office
remained so long unrecognised, that his splendid abilities were
allowed to dissipate themselves in affairs outside the political
arena. Fortunately for the country and for the Empire his time
arrived, and, at a critical juncture of affairs, Mr. Lloyd George
found in him a colleague on whose judgment he could rely with
a certainty that his one thought would be directed to the winning
of the war.

Not only is Lord Milner possessed of great intellectual equip-
ment, he has the special faculty of getting things done, and done
with the least amount of friction and local disturbance. At the
same time he cannot and will- not tolerate mediocrity. With him
efficiency is the forerunner of success ; the best man for the job
may be said to be his motto. A great worker himself, he has no
use for the sluggard-or the idler — every man must pull his oar in
the boat. It has often been said, probably without justification,
that influence has on occasions played a part in War Office
appointments. Be that as it may, of one thing we may be
certain that nothing of that kind is likely to happen during Lord
Milner's regime. True as he is known to be to his friends, he is
the last man to give a friend a post for which he does not judge
him to be the man best qualified ; the only points likely to
weigh with him are merit, capacity and suitability. Favouritism
with Lord Milner is anathema.

THE EDITOR.

150 The Empire Review

THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN INDIA

the reports which have appeared in the Press it is clear
that a demand for complete Home Rule has been raised in India.
The movement, representing Mrs. Annie Besant's latest evangel,
is supported by the Indian National Congress, and by the
advanced section of the All-India Moslem League, which, for the
time being, has embraced the Congress programme in return for
an undertaking by the Hindu element to support the Moham-
medan stipulation for separate communal representation.

This demand for special representation on all public boards,
bodies and councils, constitutes clear proof that, even between
educated Moslems and Hindus, there exists profound mutual
distrust. The past history of the Congress-League Alliance for
political purposes shows that Mohammedans of extreme views
were unprepared to join the Hindu movement for Home Rule in
India without first receiving a definite assurance that the interests
of their own community would be safeguarded by separate
electorates and separate representation. While prepared to join
the more rabid Hindu politicians in an attack upon the British
administration in India, they realised the danger to the Moslem
community of permitting the Hindus to obtain a large majority,
as they could easily do, in a Home Rule administration or Home
Rule parliament in India.

Having joined forces, the National Congress and All-India
Moslem League have for some time been agitating with consider-
able violence for Home Rule in India, including inter alia the
complete fiscal autonomy of India, the disappearance of the
existing civil government, the constitution of elected legislatures
in command of the purse and in control of executive authority,
control of the Indian army, control of Indian commerce and
trade, and the alteration of the status of the Secretary of State
for India to correspond with that of the Secretary of State for the
Colonies. Those Hindus and Mohammedans who hold saner
ideals have been ostracised by the Home Rule party, which is

The Political Situation in India 151

composed of Brahmans, lawyers, and upper-caste Hindus, with a
handful of adherents from the Mohammedan camp. Although
this party, compared with the bulk of the population of India, is
little more than a political clique, it makes up for lack of numbers
by the volume of its clamour on the platform and in the
vernacular press, and by virulent and frequently mendacious
attacks upon the present political and economic administration of
India.

The violent language of the Home Kule party and the
extravagance of its demands have not, however, been allowed to
pass unchallenged by the non-Brahman and working-classes of
India. The latter, who represent the millions of India in contra-
distinction to the little Home Bule oligarchy, have clearly realised
the nature and objects of the Home Bule movement, and in grave
apprehension lest the British Parliament, as a result of Mr.
Montagu's personal visit to India, should, in a spirit of ignorant
generosity, concede all or some of the demands of the Congress
and League, they have, through the media of communal con-
ferences and addresses to the Secretary of State, declared their
opposition to the Home Bule creed and propaganda, and their
belief in the vital necessity for the future welfare of India of
maintaining British authority unimpaired.

The extracts given below from addresses presented to the
Viceroy and Mr. Montagu in December last by the Madras
Dravidian Association, the Mohammedans of the Bombay Pre-
sidency, the South Indian Mohammedan League, and the Deccan
Byots* (agriculturists) Association, as also an extract from the
speech of the Maharaja of Burdwan at the conference of Bengal
Zamindars (landholders) in the same month, will give some idea
of the antipathy with which the masses of India regard any
proposal designed, as the Home Bule movement is, to concentrate
all power Jn the hands of the Brahmans and upper-class
Hindus.

(a) The Madras Dravidian Association : —

" Our improvement in the social and economic scale began
with and is due to the British Government. The Britishers
in India — Government officers, merchants, and missionaries
—love us and we love them in return. We need not say
that we are strongly opposed to Home Bule. We shall fight
to the last drop of our blood any attempt to transfer the seat
of authority in this country from British hands to so-called
high-caste Hindus, who have ill-treated us in the past, and
who would do so again but for the protection of British
laws."

(b) The Mohammedans of the Bombay Presidency.

"In view of the complicated political conditions obtain-
ing in this country it is impossible for the Mohammedan

152 The Empire Review

community to commit themselves to any particular form of
self-government. We are opposed to any readjustment
calculated to weaken the British character of the adminis-
tration or its. ultimate guiding and controlling power."

(c) The South India Mohammedan League.

" Nothing should be done which will weaken British
authority in any manner whatsoever, and hand over the
destinies of the Moslem community to classes which have no
regard for their interests and no respect for their sentiments.
It is one thing to co-operate with other classes under the
presiding care of the British Government with power to
enforce its will, and quite another to be at the mercy of these
classes with the British Government, stripped of its powers,
standing by and looking on helpless and unable to act."

(d) The Deccan Ryots' Association.

"The higher castes are determined to maintain intact
their social predominance founded on religious theories and
supported by the superstition of the dark ages. On the other
hand, awakened by the spread of Western ideas in this
country, the lower classes have begun to chafe at the irritat-
ing distinctions of caste, under which they are condemned to
perpetual inferiority. In this respect our society stands to-
day where European society stood on the eve of the
Renaissance and the Reformation, In such a state of society
the introduction of purely democratic forms of government is
bound to concentrate all power in the hands of the more
advanced castes, while the lower castes would be placed at a
great disadvantage."

(e) The Maharaja of Burdwan : —

" For these encouragements have led many of us to ignore
many of the good things in our own system, and have been in
no small measure responsible for awakening in the bosom of
many an aspiration for 'Home Rule,' not of the kind that
would be of real assistance to us, but of a nature foreign and
alien and fraught with the distinct danger that if not
properly safeguarded it will lead to a general conflagration
of all the combustible elements in the land. It is therefore
essential and vital that we, the landed class, should realise
this danger and should combine to combat it and preach the
gospel that our goal must be a slow but steady process of
elevation through the British Government, a Government
which with all its shortcomings is the best we have ever
had, and has been a real God-send to India."

Further evidence of the kind given in these extracts is avail-
able in the statements of individual Indians and in the reports of
public conferences held by various sects and communities in
India. The most poignant cry of all for British protection
emanates from those millions of depressed people, whom the
Brahman has for centuries past styled, and treated as, " Pariahs "

The Political Situation in India 153

in the Madras Presidency and " Untouchables " in other provinces.
Before the question of the future government of India is decided,
it is essential that Parliament and the British public should
realise that tens of millions of non-Brahmans, agriculturists,
industrial workers, and depressed classes base all their hopes of
future social advancement and political security upon the
unimpaired supremacy of the British administration in India,
and are profoundly alarmed by the prospect of any innovation
which will subject them to the rule of a privileged minority
mainly composed of their traditional oppressors.

[Communicated by the IHDO-BBITISH ASSOCIATION]

SOLDIERS AND LAND SETTLEMENT

THE Western Australia scheme for the settlement of ex-
soldiers on the land is a remarkably generous one and is applicable
alike to men who have served in either the Australian or British
forces. The Returned Soldiers' Settlement Board consists of
experts, and there is also a qualification board, on which the
soldiers are directly represented, charged with the special duty of
inquiring into the applicants' personal abilities, experience and
capacity. The basis of the scheme is the establishment of con-
ditions under which the soldiers can farm on sound commercial
lines, for it is recognised that the placing of unsuitable men on
the land is merely to court failure and create dissatisfaction.
Another object aimed at is the enabling of soldiers without capital
to become farmers, orchardists, dairymen, stock raisers and poultry
producers. The Commonwealth Government has agreed to raise
the necessary loans for financing the various State enterprises for
the benefit of soldiers, and the Western Australian Agricultural
Bank will make the necessary advances to the settlers, using the
existing machinery which has already contributed so greatly to
agricultural development. The interest on money advanced is
limited to 5^ per cent, for the first year, rising each year by £ per
cent, until the normal bank rate is reached. Wheat farms will
be allotted in areas of not less than 640 acres of good land adjacent
to railway stations, and lesser areas will be provided for other
forms of farming and intense culture. Money is to be advanced
for water supplies, clearing, fencing, drainage, buildings, stock,
machinery, seed, fertiliser — in fact for all legitimate purposes for
the sowing, harvesting and marketing of crops, and the period
for repayments extend from eight to thirty years. It is proposed
to concentrate settlers as far as possible, in order to provide some
measure of co-operative enterprise, such as the establishment of
bacon and butter factories.

VOL. XXXII.— No. 208. M

154 The Empire Review

THE BUDGET FROM THE LADIES'
GALLERY

LUXURY TAXES

THEEE was quite a flutter in the Ladies' Gallery when the
Budget was introduced, for it had been rumoured, and rumoured
correctly, that this year it was to have a special, not to say costly
interest for ladies. A " luxury tax " was in contemplation — I
don't know whether the husbands below were experiencing any
anxiety on the subject. If they were they showed no signs of it.
The only occasions upon which a distinct tremor ran through the
assembly, and members displayed some agitation was when the
rather staggering increase on the beer and spirits tax was an-
nounced and in a lesser degree when the subject of tobacco was
on the tapis.

We waited long for our turn to come, and in the meantime
speculation was rife as to where, in the matter of frocks and
hats, "necessity" would leave off and "luxury" begin. It is
indeed a point upon which opinions differ very widely. We
calculated, rather confusedly no doubt, for there was no clear
masculine brain at hand to help us, as to how a 10 per cent, tax
would work out on such and such a garment. And by degrees
the modest outlay we had promised ourselves when the spring
weather should burst upon us seemed to be receding into the
distance. For do not the chiffons our souls love best come from
Paris where a 10 per cent, tax is already in force ? It began to
dawn upon us that we should have to pay the tax twice over.

It was not till the very end of the speech that the " luxury
tax" was reached — and then it was certainly not dealt with as
fully as we had expected. The Chancellor spoke of a " luxury
tax" without specifying any particular luxuries, but we knew in
our hearts that he had " us " in his mind — that floating before
his mental vision was a riot of hats, frocks, furs and pearl
necklaces, one and all representing so much hard cash for the
exchequer. Yet all the information he vouchsafed, rather apolo-
getically it is true, was that the tax would be Id. in the shilling.

The Budget from the Ladies' Gallery 155

And that set our brains working again, for it was even more
complicated than the 10 per cent, basis. Twopences have a way,
too, of mounting up, as we know to our cost when we take
" luxury " drives in taxis. We gave up our calculations in
despair and fell to wondering who would form the Committee
which we were told was to be set up to decide the knotty point
as to what was a luxury and what was not. Will there be any
women on it, and, if not, then surely it should be composed of
married men who may at least take counsel with their wives
before venturing an opinion upon the problems which will
confront them.

It certainly seemed at first sight that the plan, which the
Chancellor told us had been adopted by the French Government,
has much to recommend it. A Commission was appointed con-
sisting of Government officials and representatives of trades.
The Government officials might not be experts on the subject,
but neither would members of Parliament. Traders, however,
would know what they were talking about, and it cannot be
denied that the " luxury tax " touches them very nearly, as
nearly as it does the customers upon whom it is imposed. For
it means restriction of sales and consequently loss of business.
The result of the tax is already to be seen in Paris, where dress-
making businesses are closing down and hundreds of employees
are being discharged. Surely it is not wise to restrict buying to
too great an extent, for it must result in loss of income tax and
excess profits which would otherwise be paid by the firms.

However, no doubt the Chancellor in his wisdom knows best.
Though anxious we were not disposed to criticise. His speech
came to an end when he had successfully dealt with what I
consider were our affairs, for what do mere men want with
" luxuries." We accepted his decree without a murmur, but we
could not escape the feeling that we were bearing on our willing
shoulders (rather literally as it happens) our full share of the
burdens of the Budget of 1918.

FLOBENCE KINLOCH-COOKE.

M 2

156 The Empire Review

SIDELIGHTS ON FARMING IN CANADA

INCREASED PRODUCTION AND STATE ENTERPRISE

SEVEBAL thousand returned Canadian soldiers have made
inquiries concerning the terms of land settlement in the Dominion.
As these are most generous, the result should be a fair number of
additional settlers on Canada's farm lands. Details of the scheme
are expected to be issued soon. On the farm there is a whole-
someness of environment that makes not only stronger bodies,
clearer minds, and sounder characters than are bred in a large
number of city children, but gives to the young man and woman
a resourcefulness and grim determination to succeed. If the
present crisis does nothing more than emphasise the value of good
farm-bred fibre in the people, it will have taught a lesson of con-
siderable and lasting importance.

AN important decision has been reached by the Ontario Agri-
cultural Department, with a view of increasing the provincial
revenue, and the utilisation of hitherto untouched lands. Follow-
ing upon the Government's decision to set aside certain acres for
returned soldiers, it has been resolved to survey land suitable for
ranching in the northern and north-eastern parts of the Province,
and parties will shortly leave for these districts to undertake this
work. In order to carry out Ontario's agricultural policy, it is
estimated that over $1,000,000 dollars will be required. Five
million dollars are to be appropriated by the Provincial Govern-
ment for development work in the northern district, and for pro-
viding assistance to settlers in dairying, cheese-making, and other
agricultural pursuits. As a result of an arrangement made by the
Ontario Department of Agriculture and the Dominion Seed Com-
missioner, 50,000 bushels of seed wheat are to be sold to the
farmers of Ontario at cost, to be followed by further supplies if
necessary. This is one of the steps taken to increase production.
Meanwhile the Bureau of Industries has issued the most satis-
factory report in the history of the Province. The acreage under
cultivation, the yield and the prices show large increases over
former years. The acreage devoted to beans is more than double
that of last year. One million and a half bushels of beans is the
estimate, and the farmers will get from $5 to $6 a bushel. As an
example of the value of the wheat crop an instance is cited of a

Sidelights on Farming in Canada 157

Woodstock farmer who received $2,700 for 1,200 bushels of wheat,
or more than the value of the land itself. Eeferring to the
possibilities of Ontario, Sir William Hearst observes : " We have
under cultivation to-day in Ontario 300,000 more acres of land
than we had during the years immediately preceding the war.
Last year we were fortunate in having field crops much above the
average, and in some instances new records were established.
Our reports indicate that the income of the farmers last year from
these sources will be at least $50,000,000 better than in an
ordinary year."

ADDRESSING the Annual Convention of the Western Canada
Irrigation Association at Kamloops, British Columbia, Mr. Dawson,
Chief Engineer of the Department of Natural Eesources of the
Canadian Pacific Railway, expressed his faith in the irrigation
prospects for which Western Canada is becoming famous. These
schemes he considered to be one of the farmer's greatest assets.
The benefits of irrigation show their results in better farms,
improved living conditions, improved social conditions, and better
citizenship. If conducted along proper lines it improves agricul-
ture, saves the soil, inculcates industry, and produces prosperity.
Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, once famous as a ranching centre,
is the centre of the irrigation enterprises of that province. A
large number of streams flow down from the Cypress Hills, and
the ranchers used to divert the water from the streams for hay
and pasture purposes. From these beginnings an irrigation
district with 190 schemes has been developed. The irrigation is
employed mainly for pasture and for growing crops of hay and
other fodder. Irrigation and dry farming are practised side by
side, and the crop marketed at Maple Cfreek in 1916 had a valuation
of £500,000. The aim of the irrigator and dry farmer is the same,
namely, providing moisture for the crops, and the ideal farm is
one partly irrigated and partly non-irrigated. On the irrigated
section can be raised pasture, crops, hay, clover, alfalfa, root
crops, small fruits, trees and gardens, and on the non-irrigated
section with dry farming methods grain crops. This is the
condition which exists throughout a large part of the irrigated
areas of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta. The history
of certain districts of Australia seems likely to repeat itself in
Southern Alberta. In Australia, arid areas have been made
profitable by means of irrigation from copious wells. Irrigation
has already done much for Southern Alberta, and it is now
reported that water has been discovered in the dry belt of that
province, a most important asset to the ranching country between
the South Saskatchewan River and the International Boundary.
In one well, sunk to a depth of 600 feet, a flow of 4,000 gallons
per day has been struck, in another, 602 feet deep, a daily flow of
9,000 gallons has been secured.

IN consequence of the great demand for short course schools
at rural points in Manitoba, the Agricultural Extension Service
has already commenced operations. To each school a full carload
oi equipment, consisting of machinery and other supplies, has

158 The Empire Review

been sent. For the live stock instruction there have been made a
number of enlarged plates of prize-winning types, which will be
used for the class-room lectures, while the best herds in the
district will be used for practical work in judging. For field
husbandry work, a supply of all the grains grown in Manitoba is
provided, together with mounted specimens of diseased plants.
A power grain-cleaner is included in the field husbandry equip-
ment. This will be operated by one of the demonstrators on gas
engines, thus providing a practical application of the instruction
given. Farmers who wish to do so may bring in all their seed
grain and have it cleaned and ready for the spring. For the gas
engine work the various engine companies in Winnipeg have
generously contributed over £4,000 worth of equipment, including
engines, magnetos, coils, etc. In the new country between Lakes
Winnipeg and Manitoba, where many thousands of homesteaders
have settled during the past few years, a special line of work will
be carried on, and the instruction here will be confined to four
branches — dairying, live stock work, bee-keeping, and home
economics.

THE Dominion Commissioner of Immigration, who has been
on an extensive tour through the West to ascertain the acreage
likely to be under cultivation this year, tells us that the amount
of land in the three Prairie Provinces which is prepared for the
coming crop is twenty per cent, greater than last year. Not only
will there be an increase in the amount of land under cultivation,
but it has all been prepared in a much better way than in pre-
ceding years. Wheat that will produce 80 bushels to the acre is
now regarded as one of the possibilities of the Canadian West.
An experimental planting produced at that rate last season on a
farm at Gleichen, Alberta. The wheat is a new variety, and is a
cross between Preston, Marquis and Bed Fife. There is keen
competition among the grain shippers along the line of the Grand
Trunk Pacific in Western Canada for the honour of handling the
record single carload of wheat. This distinction was claimed by
Mr. Aykroyd, who shipped a carload of No. 1 Northern from his
farm a few miles north of Wainwright, Alberta, which brought
&3,571, after allowing for the deduction of freight charges. But
the record did not stand long, another shipper having a carload
which brought $3,903. Even this figure has now been surpassed,
a Canadian Government car from Irma, Alberta, on the Grand
Trunk Pacific line, having carried 2,063 bushels of No. 2 wheat,
amounting in value to $4,195 — a truly remarkable result.

A WEEK has been set aside to be known as a farm implements
inspection and repair week throughout Canada. An effort will
be made to have every farmer inspect his machinery during this
period, and immediately to place his orders for repairs and extra
parts. Newspapers will be asked to open a farm implement
exchange section in their advertisement columns as a means of
making available second-hand machinery and other equipment.
The University of Saskatchewan has probably one of the
largest, if not the largest, collection of farm implements for

Sidelights on Farming in Canada 159

demonstration purposes on the North American Continent. This
collection has been assembled in four years, and consists of
practically every implement that is on sale in Western Canada.
Exclusive of tractors and small engines, the value of the exhibits
exceeds £7,000. The machines are replaced from time to time
with newer and more up-to-date models, so that the farmer can
compare all the latest makes of farm machinery. Many farmers
are now buying larger machinery in order to increase their
production, and before buying they go to the University to look
over the different makes, and to learn the principles on which
the machines work, and the points to be observed in adjusting
and operating them. The men who take the short courses in the
study of gas engines also get a training in farm machinery, this
being an essential part in farming with gas engines. One of the
chief benefits afforded by the demonstration of these machines is
the help it gives to new settlers who know little about the imple-
ments used in Western Canada. By obtaining information on
the different implements they can often avoid mistakes and save
time and money.

THE recent development in the agricultural resources of
Quebec presents a marked contrast to the slow progress thirty
years ago. Dairy exports have increased, the co-operation idea
has advanced, especially with the cheese makers and the tobacco
growers, fowl fattening stations have been established, school
trains inaugurated, and a great increase has taken place in
farmers' clubs and agricultural societies. The gain in the number
of farm animals is a sure indication of prosperity. The last
census showed a total of 2,937,299, made up of horses, milch
cows, sheep, swine and other cattle. The value of farm animals
for the whole of Canada is estimated at $798,544,000, as compared
with $746,246,000 in 1915, an increase of over $42,000,000.

A COMPEEHENSIVE plan has been prepared to increase grain
and live stock production in Western Canada by the utilisation
of the large productive areas within the Indian reserves and the
labour of the Indians. Owing to the instruction which the
Indian tribes have received along agricultural lines, a consider-
able degree of success has already attended their farming efforts,
and rations are no longer needed for able-bodied Indians. L'ast
season the Indians on the various reserves harvested 654,644
bushels of grain, while their live stock amounted to 22,362 head.
Only a small portion of the land on Indian reserves is under
cultivation. There have been many instances of men getting into
farming in Western Canada on a " shoe string," but one of the most
interesting of these strokes of fortune has just been reported to
the colonisation department of the Grand Trunk Pacific Kailway.
The information is to the effect that Charles Myer last spring
succeeded in buying a section of improved land at Zeneta,
Saskatchewan, with outfit complete, for $35 an acre, on credit,
the owner being willing to take a chance on the buyer's
experience as a farmer and his reputation as a worker. The
greater part of the land was ready for seeding, and Myer put in

160 The Empire Review

550 acres of wheat. The crop turned out well, producing
12,000 bushels of No. 1 Northern quality. The grain will bring
$25,000 at the fixed price, which is sufficient to pay for the farm
and leave a surplus to pay running expenses. In addition to the
wheat, Myer grew sufficient grain to feed his stock, so that he has
practically made a small fortune in six months.

SASKATCHEWAN will have over 5,000,000 bushels of potatoes
this year according to the estimate of the Provincial Department
of Agriculture, which places the acreage under crop as 49,244 and
the average yield at 102 '4 bushels. The chairman of the fruit
and vegetable committee of the Canadian Food Controller's Office
at Ottawa has been investigating the potato situation in Western
Canada, and advises that all weighing under 3 oz. should be
retained by the producer for local use and for seed and that the
others should be stored for winter and spring.

MAEKED developments are taking place in the sheep industry
of Saskatchewan. Inquiries from intending purchasers are being
received daily by the Department of Agriculture, and the demand
is not confined to any particular section, as farmers from all over
the province, attracted probably by high prices of both wool and
mutton, are anxious to engage in the industry. Two thousand
head purchased under the Live Stock Purchase and Sales Act of
the province have been placed, and orders for many more are
already on hand and increasing rapidly. With a view to keeping
as many sheep as possible in the province, a circular letter has
been sent to all sheep owners asking them to advise the depart-
ment of any sheep they may have for sale.

AT the present time the securing of a good wool clip ia of
unusual importance in consequence of the heavy demand for
woollen goods for soldiers' wear. In order that the rapidly
increasing amount of wool now produced in Manitoba may be
marketed in the best possible condition during 1917, the Dominion
Live Stock Branch and the Manitoba Department of Agriculture
are putting forth a concerted effort that is expected to have good
results. The Manitoba Department of Agriculture will again
this year sell on the co-operative basis all wool consigned to it.
The Dominion Government is supporting the movement by
placing an expert in the field for the next two or three months.
This gentleman is at present personally visiting sheep owners in
Manitoba and promoting co-operative wool marketing and the
better care of the fleeces. When he has finished his work he
will have practically a complete census of the sheep of Manitoba.

THE live stock industry of Northern Alberta has received
considerable impetus by the numerous sales of cattle which have
recently taken place. A short time ago a shipment of twenty-
two cars was made from Edmonton to the United States, the
approximate value of this shipment being £10,000. More recently
a still larger shipment was made when twenty-nine cars containing
626 head of cattle, valued at £13,600, left Edmonton for St. Paul,
Minnesota. These cattle were purchased from owners in various

Sidelights on Farming in Canada 161

parts of Northern Alberta and testified to the high standard of
animal bred by the Alberta farmer. A feature of the consignment
was a herd of 100 head from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. The
future of the live stock industry in Northern Alberta is highly
promising.

POTATO growing by the Ontario Government on a large scale
on the provincial farms at Fort William and Burwash, to secure
high-class seed for distribution among Northern farmers as a
foundation for a great seed potato industry ; the distribution to
1,000 farmers in older Ontario of seed grown in New Brunswick,
Northern Ontario and older Ontario for experimental purposes ;
and co-operation with a staff of inspectors to ensure production
only of seed potatoes free from disease ; these are the salient
features of a comprehensive policy to be put into effect under the
direction of the Department of Agriculture, in order to bring the
province of Ontario into the front rank as a potato producer.
The development of a seed potato industry in the north is con-
sidered to be essential, not only for the value of the undertaking,
but because northern seed is necessary to potato growers else-
where. Northern Ontario presents ideal conditions for seed
potato growing, and therefore it has been decided to make the
north the seed granary for older Ontario, and to carry out at the
same time the long-delayed standardisation of Ontario potatoes.

THE raising of hogs has for many years been one of the most
profitable branches of the farming industry in Western Canada.
At the present time the returns from hogs are greater than ever,
while the growing shortage of meat all over the world ensures a
safe and profitable market for years to come. Nowhere are the
returns greater or more safe than in Western Canada, where the
land is cheap, where feed crops can be raised in abundance, and
where the climatic conditions are such as to reduce the risk of
disease to a minimum. The principal hog foods of Western
Canada are alfalfa, oats, barley and wheat. Alfalfa is grown
successfully throughout the West, especially in the irrigated areas
of Southern Alberta. Hog raising to the small farmer is indis-
pensable, affording him a steady income. Prices are rising.

THE Director of the British Columbia Bee Keepers' Associa-
tion reports that the honey crop of the province this year eclipses
the output of any previous season. Honey prices are very much
higher, and British Columbia producers are receiving better
prices than those obtained last year.

MAPLE LEAF.

162 The Empire Review

IRELAND: THE FEDERAL ISSUE

SINCE the report of the Irish Convention was presented to
Parliament, several new and important points of controversy
have arisen. The Report itself is a considerable advance upon
any previous collective pronouncement on Irish government from
any body of Irishmen ; but it is qualified, on the one hand, by
the dissent of the Ulster Unionist representatives, and on the
other by the introduction of a new demand by the Nationalists
in the Convention that the Irish Parliament should have a veto
upon compulsory military service. Each of these demands is
incompatible with a scheme that shall be acceptable to the
Parliament of the United Kingdom, which has already passed a
measure of self-government that is applicable to the whole of
Ireland, and one that reserves all questions of Imperial defence
to the Imperial Parliament. It is clear, therefore, that any
further measure for applying the Home Rule Act must reconcile
the discordant objections that* are now asserting themselves.

While the Government is considering the shape which the
proposed supplementary measure shall take, a further point has
been developed. The time that has elapsed since the Home
Rule Act was passed has brought us nearer to the solution of the
further and greater issue of the federation of the Parliaments of
the whole Empire — a solution that must be arrived at in any
case as soon as the war is over. It is contended, and fairly, that
while we are dealing with an amendment of the Home Rule Act
we should not make a patchwork scheme that in a year or two,
or perhaps in a few months, may have to be pulled about again
in order to fit it into the larger Federal plan that is already
overdue. While taking into account the impatience of the
Nationalists at the delay in implementing the Home Rule Act,
it is quite a practicable thing to exhibit the Federal idea upon
the body of that Act, and thus to lay a more lasting framework
of Irish government than the old expedient could now be expected
to provide. The several reports compiled respectively by
the majority of the Nationalist and Labour Parties in the

Ireland: the Federal Issue 163

Convention have avoided the Federal topic, presumably from the
fear that its introduction would delay the realisation of the local
scheme of Home Kule; but the Ulster Unionists base their
objections to the Eeport of the majority to (among other reasons)
the fact that the adoption of the scheme therein foreshadowed
" would make the future application of Federalism to the United
Kingdom impossible."

Both these points of view are exaggerated. Lord Dunraven
alone sees the matter in its true perspective. He claims, in his
Note on the Report, that "Federalism is the best principle upon
which to base a Union that will give Ireland the fullest measure
of self-government, that will enable the new Irish Constitution to
fit into complete federation of the United Kingdom when the
appropriate time comes." With this opinion the advocates of
Imperial Federation will generally agree. It is supported by the
further expressed conviction by the noble earl that the decisions
of the Convention arrived at in the majority Report "are not
incompatible with a Federal system : they mark reconciliation
between hitherto antagonistic bodies of public opinion; they
indicate the lines which legislation should follow," and for these
reasons Lord Dunraven accepts them " without further reserva-
tion." He echoes in this opinion the considered judgment of
Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, uttered thirty-two years ago, that under
a system of federation, Ireland might " really remain an integral
portion of the Empire."

It is contended on behalf of the Government that, whatever
means of overcoming the present impasse is adopted, we must
take that which will carry us by the shortest road to the winning
of the war. That contention is admitted ; but it does not prove
that the shaping of a Federalised scheme is not the shortest way
to reconcile Ireland to the shouldering of its proportionate burden
of responsibility for providing the man-power necessary to rein-
force the Imperial forces in the field. We want men from
Ireland, and we must have them ; but surely they will become
the more efficient soldiers the more we can restore confidence in
the minds of the Irish people that their claims shall be dealt
with on the broadest possible basis of self-determination. A
Federal system is bound in the end to be adopted for the whole
kingdom. Why not speed up the process of forming it by
adapting the Act of Parliament to that system ? It is neither an
impossibility nor, necessarily, a process of delay. The principle
being accepted, it remains to trim up the Home Rule Act so as
the better to agree with the ultimate application of the principle
to the United Kingdom and to provide at the same time the
proper machinery for accommodating the claims of Unionist
Ulster, whether by setting up, as Lord Dunraven suggests, " a

164 The Empire Review

Grand Committee composed of Ulster representatives in the new
Irish Parliament, who would be empowered to supervise legis-
lative and administrative action seriously affecting the interests
of that province," or otherwise.

The problem of assimilation is not insoluble. There is reason
for believing, indeed, that by broadening the issue and thus
giving a greater dignity to the question of Ireland's future
government the germs of a reconciliation of divergent Irish
interests revealed in the Report of the Convention would be
brought to development and fruition in accomplishing in this
way the restoration of Irish confidence in the sincerity of British
statesmanship.

FBEDEKICK J. HIGGINBOTTOM.

WHEAT POSSIBILITIES IN CANADA

THE wheat production of Spain, France, the British Isles,
Switzerland, Canada, the United States, India, Japan and Algeria is
1,665,448,000 bushels. This accomplishment, great as it is, sinks
into insignificance when compared with possibilities. For instance,
Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta could produce three times
that amount. In these provinces the areas suitable for agricul-
tural purposes are : Manitoba 74,216,000 acres, Saskatchewan
93,459,000, Alberta 105,217,000, a total of 272,892,000 acres. For
the last ten years the average wheat crop has been : Manitoba,
18 • 20 bushels per acre ; Alberta, 20 • 19 ; Saskatchewan, 18 • 44 ;
an average of practically 19 bushels per acre. Multiplying the
available acreage by 19 it will be found that these provinces, if
entirely cultivated, are capable of producing in an average year
5,184,948,000 bushels of wheat. In fact, the province of Alberta
alone could produce as much wheat as the whole of the countries
above named and have more left over than was grown in 1917
in all Canada. It is not possible, however, to put every arable
acre of land, in any county, under wheat, but if, by way of
illustration, one-third of the arable land in these provinces is
summer- fallowed, one-third sown to coarse grains or pasture, and
one-third to wheat, the proportion sown to wheat will produce a
greater crop than that grown by all the countries referred to.

Empire Trade Notes 165

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES

CANADA

WITH a view of bringing about closer relations between
Canada and the United States, and between the United States
and Great Britain, it is suggested in Montreal that a careful
revision of the school histories of the three countries be made in
order to eliminate passages which might create or perpetuate
antagonism. It is proposed that the work be undertaken by an
international committee, and to this end the Fortnightly Club
has appointed Messrs. J. Penrose Anglin and J. Armitage Ewing
to outline a scheme to be presented to the various universities of
the countries concerned.

LUMBER from the northern part of Canada will move through
Edmonton this summer on its way to the prairie markets. In
the Grande Prairie district alone some four or five sawmills will
be operating this season, and the total output is estimated at over
4,000,000 feet. One lumber company alone will have a cut of
about 1,500,000 feet and the remaining portion will be made up
by a number of other operators. The northern woods produce
good lumber, and while a large part of the output will be used
locally, some of it will be shipped vid Edmonton to compete
with other stock in the Western markets. The majority of the
mills are cutting both spruce and pine, running sometimes into
large sizes, with the quality uniformly good. It is anticipated
that the lumber industry in the north will assume considerable
proportions. About 25,000,000 feet of Northern Alberta spruce
lumber were sawn last summer, most of the output being sent to
the prairies south and east of Edmonton. It is expected that
a total cut of nearly 40,000,000 feet will be got out for this
season's milling. These logs will begin to move towards
Edmonton as soon as the mills are ready for operations again.
In the meantime, machinery is being overhauled, and everything
put in readiness for the record cut which is anticipated.

PROVIDED the question of power can be satisfactorily settled,
another pulp mill will shortly be erected just outside the northern
limits of Port Arthur, Ontario. It will have an initial capacity
of 100 tons of newsprint a day, this in the second year being
increased to double that capacity.

166 The Empire Review

AN American chemical company is establishing the neces-
sary machinery for the manufacture of potash from kelp on
Queen Charlotte Island. In addition to the manufacture of

Eotash, the Company proposes to extract oil from non-edible
sh, and also to make fertilisers from the residue after the
process of oil extraction. All edible fish caught by the Company's
boats will be placed in its cold storage plant and sent in weekly
shipments to Prince Kupert for packing. The Company is stated
to be the possessor of licences from the British Columbia
Government on what are said to be the most extensive kelp
beds on the Pacific coast. They are situated in Cumshewa Inlet,
Moresby Island, and cover about ten square miles. The plant
will have facilities for handling 1,000 tons of wet kelp per day.

ANNOUNCEMENT has been made in British Columbia of a
railway mining and power development programme involving
the early expenditure of over £1,200,000 in the Southern
Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. The Kettle Valley Kailway
Company, which now owns and operates the section of the
Coast-Kootenay line between Midway and Hope, will build a
branch from Penticton to Copper Mountain through fourteen
miles of mountainous country. This is in order to provide ore
freight facilities for the Canada Copper Company. Three
hundred miners are now at work and a large number of carpenters
are rushing the erection of buildings. The Kootenay Power
Company will expend a large sum in building a high-tension
power line from Greenwood, west as far as Copper Mountain,
and will extend a line to Penticton for industrial purposes.

EEPOETS from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, state that the
fishing fleet of that port has had the most prosperous year in its
history. The total catch amounted to 256,215 quintals, the
largest on record. The average per vessel was 2,696 quintals
and the price realised was $10 per quintal. The share of the
crews worked out at $800 to $1,000 per man.

IT is understood that the Food Controller of Canada will not
interfere with the lobster pack of this year. This is in conse-
quence of representations made by the packers, who recently met
to consider the situation caused by a notice that the Food Con-
troller was of the opinion that the men engaged in the business
could be employed in food production of greater value.

A WELL-KNOWN Vancouver business man has been appointed
vice-president of the new whaling consolidation which has placed
under one management the Victoria Whaling Company, the
American Whaling Company and the North Pacific Sea Products
Company. The amalgamation also places under one ownership
eighteen vessels and six whaling stations. Last year the Victoria
Company killed 379 whales and obtained 10,000 barrels of oil.
The North Pacific fleet secured 285 whales and 18,000 barrels
of oil and the American Pacific killed 209 whales and got 5,700
barrels of oil.

Empire Trade Notes 167

To increase Canadian sugar production it is proposed to tap
the maple shade trees on the streets of some of the Eastern
towns. Instead of making a trip to the corner grocery the
housewife can take a bucketful of the saccharine liquid from the
" bush " in front of the house and " boil down " enough sugar for
the breakfast coffee.

EEPRESENTATIVES of all shipbuilding companies operating
yards between Port Arthur and the Atlantic Coast, as well as of
all trades engaged in the construction of ships, will attend a
conference to be called shortly by the Minister of Labour. The
object of the conference is to reach an arrangement in respect to
wages and working conditions with men, in order that the
Government's programme of construction will not be hampered
by labour disputes.

THEEE was an increase of 2,800 acres under flax in the
Middlesex and Lambton Counties of Ontario last year, the crop
being valued at $693,000.

THE policy adopted by the Ontario Government during the
past year of placing on the Ontario markets supplies of native
fish, thus assisting both to reduce the cost of living to consumers
and to conserve meat supplies for Great Britain and her Allies, is
to be further developed by the attachment of conditions to fishing
licences now being issued for the current year. These conditions
require the fisherman, if called upon, to furnish to the government
a proportion of their catch, not exceeding 20 per cent., at prices
not to exceed 8 cents per pound for whitefish, trout and pickeral,
dore, 6 cents for herring, pike and similar coarse fish, and 9 cents
for catfish skinned and dressed.

No province in Canada is more thoroughly identified with
forest industries than New Brunswick. This province, with its
relatively sparse population of 351,000, presents the interesting
characteristic of multiple employment, where the majority of the
male residents outside the larger towns draw part of their income
more or less directly from lumbering operations. The winter
wages in the lumber camps for men and teams and the thousands
of pounds disbursed by the mills account in no small degree for
the happy average of prosperity which has characterised the
province for a great many years.

A VALUABLE peat bog six acres in extent has been discovered
in Southward Township, near St. Thomas, Ontario. The peat is
of excellent quality. The Government intend to investigate the
possibilities of peat as a fuel, and is asking the Provincial
legislature to vote 100,000 dollars for the purpose.

THE Canadian Commission of Conservation hopes to under-
take a survey, in the near future, of the forest resources of
Ontario similar to the investigations it has already carried out in
British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Only fragmentary data
respecting the forests of Ontario are now available, although

168 The Empire Review

there is a vast amount of detailed information in the possession
of timber owners, government officers and railways which could
be secured and tabulated. The Commission is handicapped in
undertaking such an investigation by the scarcity of competent
foresters. At present Ontario has the largest forest fire protection
organisation on the continent. Last year at the height of the

fire season its staff consisted of about 1,000 men.

«>

INFOEMATION has been received by the Canada Food Board
that the Poster Advertising Association, representing nearly all
the bill posting trades in Canada, has decided that in future no
member of the association shall use wheat flour for the manu-
facture of bill posters' paste. As a substitute for wheat flour the
posting men will use a low grade of starch. By this action it is
expected to save a very considerable amount of the low-grade of
wheat flour.

CANADA will undoubtedly become one of the world's greatest
sources for the supply of pulp and paper. This industry has
grown by leaps and bounds during recent years, and further
large developments are pending, both in the east and west. This
will mean a constantly increasing strain on the forest resources
of the Dominion, and must lead to careful consideration as to
whether large areas, in which the heaviest cutting is being done
or is to be done, are not in danger of depletion. The Commission
of Conservation has entered on an inquiry of these problems.
This investigation will have for its objects the determination of
the extent to which cut-over pulp wood lands are reproducing
valuable species in commercial quantities, the effect of fire on
reproduction, and the rate of growth of the reproduction. The
answer to these questions should go far in determining what
additional measures are necessary to place the business of pulp
wood production on a thoroughly solid basis.

MANITOBA butter achieved a notable victory at the Central
Canada Exhibition at Ottawa, when the first prize for creamery
butter in competition open to the whole of Canada was awarded
to the entry of the Crescent Creamery Company, of Winnipeg,
which won with a total of 98*2 points out of a possible 100.

THE assembling of materials for the first of the fleet of
merchantmen to be built by the Canadian Government has been
commenced, and a similar work for two other vessels will shortly
be undertaken. The first ship, a steel steamer of 4,350 tons
burden, will be laid down at Montreal. A second, of 8,200 tons,
will follow, and it is expected that a contract for a third ship of
3,800 tons will soon be made. It is hoped to have the first two
ships in commission in record time. The Government's ship-
building programme contemplates the laying down of the keels of
some forty ships to June, 1919. Of these, four of 5,000 tons and
six of 8,200 tons, are to be built on the Pacific coast. All the
vessels, however, are intended to relieve the shortage on the
Atlantic.

Empire Trade Notes 169

SEAL meat is the latest table delicacy being considered as a
substitute for ordinary butcher meat in Canada. It is said that
it would be quite easy to secure annually 20 million pounds of
seal meat. It could be frozen and stored at various points. The
meat is palatable and possesses high nutritive value. Annually
large quantities of this meat is thrown to the fishes, only the
skins, as a rule, being utilised.

ACCORDING to the figures for 1917, compiled by the Mines
Branch of the Department of Public Works, the total output of
Alberta Mines for the year was 4,863,414 tons, with 283 mines
in operation. One copper mine was opened up on the main line
of the Canadian Pacific Eailway west of Banff and two shale
mines are in operation at Bed Cliff, near Medicine Hat. The
total output of lignite coal for the year was 2,637,829 tons ; of
bituminous, 2,206,868 tons ; anthracite, 118,718 tons ; and bri-
quettes, 93,818 tons. The total number of men employed in
Alberta in the lignite field during the year 1917 was 5,779 as
compared with 5,060 in 1916 ; in bituminous, 3,746 as compared
with 3,234 in 1916, and in the anthracite, 287 in 1917 and 305 in
1916. The total number of men employed for the year was
9,812 in 1917 and 8,599 in 1916.

ANNOUNCEMENT is made of a railway, mining and power
development programme involving the early expenditure of over
6 million dollars in the Southern Okanagan and Similkameen
Valleys, British Columbia. The Kettle Valley Railway Company
are to build a branch line from Princeton to Copper Mountain to
provide ore freight facilities for the Canada Copper Company
(British Columbian Copper). This line, 12 or 15 miles in
length, will run through rough, mountainous country, and will
involve the expenditure of approximately 1 million dollars. The
Canada Copper Company is entering upon a $2,500,000 programme
in connection with its Copper Mountain project, which includes
the erection of a smelter at Princeton, while the Kootenay Power
Company is about to start upon an important extension scheme
linked up with railway and copper company development, at a
cost of $2,500,000.

CANADA STEAMSHIP LINES, LIMITED

THE annual meeting of this company was held in Montreal
on March 5 last. Referring to the operations during 1917, Mr.
James Carruthers, President of the company, after stating that
the First Mortgage Bonds outstanding had been reduced by about
$900,000 since the last Report, added that the Directors had sold
and bought a number of vessels during the year, their object being
(and they had been successful so far) to re-establish the fleet on a
more modern basis to meet changing conditions. Referring to
future prospects, he pointed out that the enormous losses in ocean
tonnage suffered by all nations would take a long time to replace.
In these circumstances he felt warranted in saying that in all

VOL. XXXII. —No. 208. N

170 The Empire Review

probability present rates would continue until the available ton-
nage became sufficient to meet at least normal conditions, which,
in his opinion, so far as the shipping trade is concerned, would
not ^e turn for years.

There was every reason to expect a large increase in the
acreage of grain in the Canadian north-west during the coming
season. The enormous shortage of food-stuffs the world over,
and the knowledge that, even if peace were declared within six
months, the urgent requirements would continue, should lead to
the continuance of high prices for all kinds of grain for some time
to come, so that the farmer has a special incentive to put as many
acres as possible under cultivation. With the large grain-carrying
fleet which this company has on the Upper Lakes, shareholders
will understand the difference it makes to the company if crops in
the Canadian north-west be large or small. Mr. J. W. Norcross,
Vice-President and Managing Director, mentioned that some of
the older and more obsolete ships had been sold and replaced by
modern tonnage ; and although a number of smaller vessels of the
company had been taken from the Great Lakes for the ocean
service, the lake fleet has been augmented by larger ships, which
can be more easily and cheaply operated. The ocean fleet has
been increased, and is being utilised successfully in different parts
of the world. All losses were fully covered by insurance to the
extent of replacement values.

The annual report to December 31, 1917, shows a total revenue
of $13,533,816, an increase of $1,411,688, or 11-7 per cent, in
comparison with 1916 ; the net earnings are $4,023,864, as com-
pared with $4,059,545 in 1916 and $1,732,057 in 1915. The
enormous increase in the cost of everything bearing upon the
operating charges is responsible for an advance in the ratio of
working expenses to gross revenue from 66 • 5 per cent, in 1916 to
70 '2 per cent, in 1917, as compared with 77*7 per cent, in 1915.
After deducting mortgage, debenture, and other interest (reduced
from $543,060 in 1915 and $458,363 in 1916 to $398,026 in 1917),
and after increasing the provision for depreciation from $805,309
to $1,061,563, and deducting bonus to employees, reserve for
doubtful debts, $300,000 for war profits tax, etc., there remains a
net profit for 1917 of $2,178,401, compared with $2,391,027 for
1916 and $682,151 for 1915.

Adding the balance brought in from 1916 and deducting the
arrears of dividend paid on the Preference Stock to December 31,

1916, and the full dividend of 7 per cent, paid on that stock for

1917, besides $114,585 written off organisation expenses, etc., the
sum of $2,374,754 has been carried forward, as compared with
$1,848,225 at the end of 1916. The surplus for 1917 equals over
19f per cent, on the Common Stock. It has been decided to
resume the quarterly payments of dividends on the Preference
Stock. All the company's properties have been thoroughly main-
tained, and the fleet is in a better state of efficiency than at any
previous time. The directors and managers are convinced that
the company has a promising field for development and expansion
on the high seas.

Empire Trade Notes 171

SOUTH AFRICA

No South African industry gives cause for greater satisfaction
than does that of cheese making, which has gone ahead by leaps
and bounds since the war began. Fourteen new factories have
been opened in Natal and East Griqualand, while many of the
old-established factories have extended their operations. The
output to-day practically fulfils the whole of South Africa's
requirements. With the view of gaining an idea as to the
prospects of exporting, one of the manufacturers in East Griqua-
land recently sent a trial shipment to this country for which he
secured the high figure of Is. 8d. per Ib. That, of course, can
scarcely be taken as a criterion, for it was of exceptional quality,
and at the time of its arrival cheese was not too plentiful on the
home market. From the report issued respecting the shipment,
however, there is every reason to anticipate an excellent market
in this country for any surplus, and the market will probably not
revert to its pre-war condition in this generation.

THE War in Europe has given a great impetus to industrial
development in the Union. Among the industries showing
notable expansion, not the least is the factory dairy industry.
Pre-war creameries and cheese-factories are increasing the scope
of their undertakings, while new factories are springing into
existence at a satisfactory rate. There is a greater demand for
trained factory dairy assistants than can be supplied. In order
to meet the ever-growing need for competent assistants, the
Special Dairy Course at Grootfontein was instituted in January,
1917. This course should not be confounded with other courses
in dairying and cheese-making which are held from time to time
at the various Schools of Agriculture, and which also play their
part in meeting the requirements of the industry. It is a move-
ment by itself f is of about eight months' duration, and consists
of lectures and practical demonstration and work in dairying,
book-keeping, bacteriology, engineering, animal husbandry and
chemistry, all of which subjects are, of course, treated from the
dairying standpoint. Grootfontein is particularly suited for such
a course, because the Grootfontein dairy is a factory dairy —
small, it is true, but nevertheless replete with every convenience
and equipment of a modern factory dairy, including a bacterio-
logical laboratory and a cold storage. At the end of the first
course examinations were conducted by the staff of the school in
collaboration with the Chief and Assistant Chief of the Dairy
Division. The results of the examinations were very satisfactory,
and all the men who took the examination were either satis-
factorily placed in factory dairies or took up factory dairy work on
their own account.

GONG GONG, eight miles from Barkly West, and one of the
oldest camps on the River Diggings, which has always been a
surprise packet in the way of rich patches, has again turned up
trumps. On this occasion fortune has smiled on a few diggers.
Quite recently they have unearthed between them diamonds to the

N 2

172 The Empire Review

value of nearly £10,000, several stones of over 70-carat being found.
The patch is very small, being in extent only about twelve claims.
The ground is ordinary surface red gravel, from two to three feet
deep, with a little overburden of sand. The amount of ground
worked up to the present is hardly more than about two claims, so
by the time the ground is finished they hope to be the possessors of
" something tangible." One of the local chickens in the vicinity,
when killed, had in its crop a half-carat diamond of good quality.

KEGABDING the shortage of glycerine, which recently
threatened a disastrous falling off in supplies of explosives for
the mines, it is officially stated that representatives of the
Government and Chamber of Mines have reported favourably
upon a scheme to extract glycerine from mafurra seed in Portu-
guese territory, which will form the basis of an additional supply
of 150 tons of explosives per month. In the meantime there
have been successful experiments on the mines with gun-cotton
cartridges, which will shortly be put into use extensively.

A VEEY great advance has been made by the poultry in-
dustry during the past few years in South Africa. A short while
ago eggs to the value of £70,000 annually were being imported ;
that position has now been entirely reversed, and when the
recent conference took place in Cape Town a certain ship was
loaded with 8,000 cases of eggs for export valued at £38,000.
Altogether there were eggs to the value of £38,000 in that con-
signment alone on the basis given.

OWING to the abnormal price of eggs in this country, a sub-
committee of the Personal Service Association in Port Elizabeth
has been formed to collect eggs and forward them to South
African hospitals in England for their invalid soldiers. It is felt
that an appeal to the country districts in South Africa to send
eggs to one centre where the packing and forwarding can be done
should meet with a generous response. The eggs will be
preserved with a coating of gum arabic, and will then be placed
in cardboard sections and packed in petrol cases. This work will
be done at the Young Men's Christian Association building.
Any amount of eggs can be dealt with at once, as, by the method
of preserving them, they will keep fresh for months. Freight
has been promised in the first homeward-bound boat, and it is
hoped that the first consignment will shortly be on the way.

NATAL industrialists are seriously considering the further
exploitation of the iron ore occurrences in the vicinity of Pieter-
maritzburg. A small blast furnace has been in existence for
some years past at Sweetwaters, and the experience gained in the
treatment of these ores should serve a useful purpose now that a
revival of interest in the iron industry has taken place.

A TEIAL consignment of five tons of prunes was recently sent
to England from Wellington, Cape Province. This resulted in
an order for fifty tons (4,000 boxes), in respect of which a most

Empire Trade Notes 173

satisfactory report has been received. Since then three other
shipments of dried fruit have been made — in all about 6,000
boxes — two at least of these shipments have been sold with
highly satisfactory results.

THAT opportunities for Canadian wheat, flour, fish, butter,
cheese, biscuits and other products exist in South Africa which
should be cultivated by Canadian manufacturers, is the gist of a
report received by the Canadian Department of Trade and Com-
merce from Commissioner W. J. Egan, of Cape Town. Mr. Egan
reports that owing to systematic demonstration during the past
year, Canadian flour is now in demand by bakers who did not use it
previously, and has gained in reputation. If it is possible for
Canadian mills to make up parcels for household consumption, an
increased trade is sure to follow, as a demand exists for smaller
parcels weighing five to ten pounds, and with twenty and forty
parcels to each sack. As regards wheat, Mr. Egan states that
there will always be a good demand for Canadian wheat in South
Africa owing to its special value as a blender with the lighter
South African and other imported wheats. Exports of Canadian
fish to South Africa are increasing, but the shipments have for
the greater part come through the agency of British or American
firms. Such Canadian butter as has been marketed in South
Africa was well received, and with Canadian cold storage steamers
sailing every month from Montreal or St. John direct to South
African ports, the facilities for export are available. Trade in
Canadian cheese has made progress, exports to South Africa
having doubled in the last four years. As regards Canadian
bacon, the opinion is expressed that a good business can be
worked up in Canadian brands if attention is paid to the
packing.

A NEW diamond patch, which promises to be rich, has been
struck on Rosalind, Eickett's Prospect, about eight miles from
Barkly West. Several good stones have already been found, one
a particularly nice diamond weighing 84| carats. Pegging is
proceeding in a brisk manner. The " wash " is very similar to
that of the famous Mayer's Prospect.

THE increased demand for coal in South Africa after the war,
which appears to be anticipated by those who have studied coal
movements for some time past, together with the possibilities
of an oversea trade of considerable dimensions as the result of the
disorganisation of the trade in Europe during the last three years,
has led to the display of considerable activity in the Transvaal coal
area. To a certain extent the open market for South African
railway orders and the transfer of capital from less favourable
mining centres has helped to increase the enterprise that has
developed in this part of the Union. Among the latest areas
to lay claim to consideration as sources of coal supply is that
lying between the Springs and Bethal districts. The existence
of coal measures there has, of course, been a matter of common

174 The Empire Review

knowledge for many years, but the former inaccessibility of the
field and the somewhat indifferent results obtained in shallow
boreholes, even after the railway had encouraged the commence-
ment of exploratory work, combined to retard the opening up of
an area which was otherwise well situated.

MOEE recently, however, some of these boreholes have been
deepened, with results that are very gratifying. Near Leslie
station, on the Johannesburg-Bethal-Breyten line, two boreholes
have been put down to depths between 300 and 400 feet. One of
these has struck an upper seam of coal at a depth of 315 feet,
with a thickness of three feet ; a second seam, six feet thick, was
found at a depth of about 391 feet. The hole was continued for
another eight feet three inches, and remained in coal measures,
and it is considered not unlikely that a third seam may be
discovered in depth. The main coal is of excellent quality
throughout, without shale bands, so that the operation of sorting
would be reduced to a minimum, while the thickness of the seam
would allow of very economical working. It is said that the
shales and sandstones which overlie the coal are of a kind that
is not found in the Witbank, Oogies and other coal working
districts, and for this reason it is supposed that the boreholes are
located in a higher horizon of the coal measures than that which
prevails generally in the Transvaal coalfield. Several farms have
been taken up for exploratory purposes in this neighbourhood,
which is about sixty miles due East of Johannesburg, and
midway between the Pretoria-Delagoa Bay and Johannesburg -
Durban main lines of railway.

ONE of the many urgent problems which have arisen in South
Africa since the outbreak of the war has been the discovery of a
suitable disinfecting and oxidizing agent to take the place of
permanganate of potash, which, owing to the cutting off of
supplies of potash salts from Germany, is now only obtainable in
very small quantities at prohibitive prices. It is noted with
satisfaction, therefore, that a well-known South African firm of
chemical manufacturers recently erected a plant for the production
of chloride of lime, the demand for which is proving so insistent
that the firm in question, in order to meet the situation, has taken
steps temporarily to utilise their gold chlorination plant for the
purpose. By this means the company has succeeded in supplying
the most pressing needs of clients, pending the erection of the
special plant necessary for the production of the article on a
larger scale. The new plant has been designed to supply the
whole of the estimated requirements of South Africa, and the
successful production of this important commodity from materials
obtained wholly within the Union marks a further step in the
industrial development of the country.

THE NATIONAL BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA

THE Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders will be held in
the Board Room of the Bank Buildings, Pretoria, Transvaal, on

Empire Trade Notes 175

Friday, the 21st June, 1918, at 12 o'clock noon : — To receive
and consider the balance sheet of the Bank's operations for the
year ended 31st March, 1918. To receive the Report of the
Directors and Auditors. To confirm the appointment by the
Board of Mr. J. B. Taylor as a Director. To elect three Directors
in the place of J. Emrys Evans, Esq., C.M.G., P. Duncan, Esq.,
C.M.G., M.L.A., and H. O'K Webber, Esq., who retire in terms
of the Trust Deed, but are eligible and offer themselves for
re-election. To fix the remuneration of the Auditors for the past
audit, and to appoint Auditors for the ensuing year. Eobert
Baikie, Esq., I. A., and John Dougall, Esq., I.A., the present
Auditors, offer themselves for re-election. Transaction of General
Business.

The Head Office (South Africa) and the London Share Transfer
Eegisters of the Bank will be closed from the 15th to the
25th June inclusive, for the purposes of this meeting and for any
dividend that may be declared thereat. Holders of Share Warrants
to Bearer are entitled to vote by proxy. Shareholders desiring to
be present or represented at the meeting must deposit their Share
Warrants at the Head Office of the Bank, in Pretoria, at least
three days before the day fixed for the meeting. At any of the
branches of the Bank in South Africa at least eight days before
the meeting. At the London Office of the Bank, Circus Place,
London Wall, E.G. 2, at the Credit Mobilier Fran$ais, 30 and 32,
Rue Taitbout, Paris, at the Rotterdamsche Bankvereeniging,
Amsterdam, at least thirty days before the meeting. At the
New York Agency of the Bank, 10, Wall Street, New York,
at least forty days before the meeting. The instrument
appointing a proxy must be deposited at the office in Pretoria
not less than forty-eight hours before the time fixed for the
meeting at which the person named in such instrument proposes
to vote.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

JUST as the war record stands unrivalled in the gigantic effort
of the Dominions, so it is hoped that in the hardly less Important
work of reconstruction, of rebuilding the world and making it a
fit place for peaceful men and women to live in, Western Australia
may play a part second to none. It is fortunate that at this
critical juncture, when breadth of view and an accurate sense of
perspective are so much needed, the State has in Mr. Robinson
a Minister of Industries of exceptional soundness and enterprise.
Quite recently he has put forward a scheme for the creation of a
Council of Industrial Development, and secured the approval of
his Cabinet for the proposal. This Council will advise the
Government upon new projects for industrial development,
inquire into the technical problems involved in such industries
and the possibilities of employment and commercial success.
The Council will have the assistance of trained business and
technical experts, and it should be of great value to capitalists
and others who contemplate exploiting the resources of the State,

176 The Empire Review

and feel the need of reliable advice. One of its main functions
will be the tendering of advice to the Government with regard to
projects seeking the financial backing of the State, and it will
naturally work hand in hand with the Federal Council for the
development of science and industry.

THE Commonwealth Government proposes soon to establish
a forest products laboratory, and in view of the extensive un-
explored forest wealth of Western Australia the Minister for
Woods and Forests of that State is urging that the laboratory
should be in his territory.

THE Edna May gold mine, at Westonia, Western Australia,
has paid £289,000 in dividends, equal to £6 15s. per share which
cost the original shareholders 4s. 3d. each. The ore treated,
143,137 tons, has yielded gold worth over £518,000, and the
reserves in sight are estimated at 50,000 tons, worth £3 4s. 4d.
per ton. The company has a lease of 40 acres, and is pursuing
a vigorous prospecting policy, hampered somewhat by water
difficulties. A £20,000 pearl, said to have been found at Broome,
has recently been on exhibition in Melbourne.

MORE than one gold mine has been saved by the tributer.
Where the highly-trained and scientific mining engineer fails to
locate pay ore, the experienced prospector will occasionally root
around and pick up a bit of a leader which followed to its source
reveals the gold-bearing ore in profitable deposits. Or it may be
that the reef is well known, but of insufficient value to warrant
exploitation on a scale commensurate with the company's
capitalisation. But a party of half-a-dozen tributers, with no
overhead expenses, can make " tucker " to start with and if their
luck is in may strike it rich. Such a party has been working on
the Iron Duke lease at Kalgoorlie, the property of the Associated
Northern Company, and each member has lately been drawing
the nice little dividend of £100 per month. They estimate they
have some 40.000 tons of ore now in sight of highly profitable
values.

AT the Stock Exchange, Perth, shares previously held by alien
enemies were offered for sale by auction. The shares were largely
of the gilt-edged variety, covering sound investments in local
mines and industrial enterprises, and found a ready sale.

OVERSEA CORRESPONDENTS.

•fi

THE EMPIRE
REVIEW

AND

JOURNAL OF BRITISH TRADE

VOL XXXII. JUNE, 1918. No. 209.

LIFE IN CANADA UNDER THE OLD
REGIME

THROUGH the warp and woof of the old regime, with its
sombre background, there are woven the blithe annals of a
happy people. From Normandy, Brittany, and Perche they
came, these simple folk of the St. Lawrence, to brave the dangers
of an unknown world, and wrestle with primeval nature for a
livelihood. Their hands were empty, but their hearts were
full, and although they were set in the midst of many and
great dangers, a Gallic optimism and a child-like faith in their
patron saints carried them through almost incredible adversity,
with a prayer or a song upon their lips. The savage Indian
with his reeking tomahawk might bFeak through and steal,
the moth and rust of corrupt administration might wear away
the fortunes of New France, but the habitant found joy in
labour and made light of hard circumstance.

In every language there is a pensive attraction in the
words, " the good old days." Even to-day the phrase brings
a tear to the eye of the French-Canadian as his mind dwells
on the time before the Conquest. He realises duly his present
ampler freedom and his more abounding prosperity, but of these
comparative blessings the sentiment of tradition is apt to take
no account. The ghost of the ancien regime still haunts the
dreamy fire-sides of Quebec, and yet is not a weakening factor in
the lives of these Britons by adoption and by force of arms.

When Wolfe came the flight of a century and a half

had transformed Champlain's ' Abitation ' and its clustering

huts into the strongest and fairest city of the New World.

Churches, convents, and schools huddled together, a picturesque

VOL. XXXII. -No. 209. o

178 The Empire Review

melange of architecture, upon the uneven summit of a towering
rock ; black cannon thrust their towering muzzles through the
girdling walls of stone; and, highest of all, rose the bastioned
citadel, commanding the river, the city, and the graceful country
rolling inland from high Cape Diamond.

The sunshine gleaming upon the spires and towers of the
town made a hopeful beacon for the peasant as he laboured on
the seigneurie leagues and leagues away. Far down the Cote
de Beaupre beyond the Monte Ste. Anne, from the verdant
farms of Orleans, and across on the Levi shore, the glistening
sunlight on ttye roofs, and the twinkling candles in the windows
of Quebec were the cloudy and the fiery pillar to these children
in the wilderness. Twice in the early days, so their folk-lore
told them, miraculous intervention had saved their city from
the invader: but now, was she not impregnable? And, as he
gazed happily across the uplands towards his Mecca, the habitant
could conceive of no power which might prevail against those
stony ramparts.

Once or twice a week, according to the season and his distance
from the city, the peasant made his way to Quebec, to take up
his stand on the market-place, and sell his produce to the towns-
people. . The practice survives to this day, and on a Saturday
one may still see half the women of Upper Town bargaining
with the habitants just outside St. John's Gate, while at the
river's brink Champlain Market presents a similar scene.

In olden years when the seigneur came to town, it was with
sword upon his thigh, and in his smartest toilet of peruke, velvet,
and lace. The chateau upon the cliff was Versailles, and hither
came the quality of tr^ district to pay their court and attend
the receptions of the Governor. The seigneur's wife was gowned,
to her latest intelligence from Paris, with coiffe poudr6e, court-
plaster, ribbons, and fan. She could curtsey with fine grace, and
dance the stately minuet ; and her sprightly conversation was the
amazement of those visitors who have recorded their impressions
of Quebec. La Potherie, in 1698, and Charlevoix, in 1720, both
remarked upon the purity of the French language as spoken in
these salons of the far distant West.

The first ball in Canada was given at Fort St. Louis as early
as 1646 (under the anathema of the priests), and from that time
forward social life at Quebec steadily progressed. The arrival
of the Marquis de Tracy with his suite of nobles and the regiment
of Carignan-Salieres gave an unprecedented brilliancy to the
rugged court ; and the establishment of a Canadian nobility,
a few years later, made the chateau on the St. Lawrence a
glittering oasis in the dreary New World.

One has only to read of Madame de Vaudreuil's reception

Life in Canada under the Old Regime 179

at Versailles in 1709, or the Due de Saint Simon's comment
upon that lady's wit and deportment, to find a high certificate
of the savoir vivre of the old fortress town. The letters of the
Marquis de Montcalm, keen connoisseur of social arts, indicate
that the drawing-rooms of the Rue du Parloir were far from
uncongenial ; while the fascinating Angelique de Meloises was
something more than the heroine of Mr. Kirby's novel. Frangois
Bigot, the last Intendant, was a favourite of La Pompadour,
and under his baneful rule society at Quebec reached at once its
zenith 'of luxury and revel, and its lowest ebb of degradation.

Towards the close of the French period Quebec had a popula-
tion of about seven thousand, of whom more than half lived in
the Lower Town. Here, on the narrow strand beneath the
cliff, the tenements grouped themselves irregularly, and narrow
winding streets ran in and out to give them access. Up the hill,
too, these tortuous pathways ran, changing, now and then, to
breakneck stairs where the declivity was too steep. The graded
slope of Mountain Street zigzagged from the harbour up to the
Castle, while on the St. Charles side the ascent was commonly
made by way of Palace Hill. The Upper Town was chiefly
occupied by public buildings, the Chateau, the cathedral,
churches, schools, and convents. Here also the streets followed
no definite plan, but ambled hither and thither along the uneven
summit. Out through the city gates ran the roads of St. Louis
and St. John, highways to the straggling suburbs, which yet
hung close to the protecting ramparts.

The houses, built of wood or of grey stone, were nearly always
one storey in height, and surmounted by a tall, steep roof, through
which the tiny dormer windows peeped in picturesque disorder.
Inside, a slight partition divided the dwelling into two chambers.
In the end of the living-room stood a large open fire-place,
equipped with an iron crane, upon which was swung the
household cooking-pots. A sturdy table occupied the centre of
the floor, and round the walls benches or blocks of wood were
ranged as chairs. The inevitable cradle, consecrated to the
service of two, three, or four generations, maybe pounded
monotonously to and fro over the rough-worn floor, and by the
low-set window the thrifty housewife wove her flaxen homespun
in the shuttles of an awkward loom. Pictures of the Saints, in
fervid tints, looked down from the low unplastered walls, and
from the rafters of the ceiling were suspended the weapons of
the family arsenal — flint-lock muskets and hilted hunting-knives,
but sometimes including also an ancestral sword or bayonet.

This description applies only to the dwellings of the common
people, whether in town or country. The houses of the better
classes, although they differed but slightly in style of archi-

o 2

180 The Empire Review

tecture, being also for the most part low, one-storey buildings,
were usually constructed of stone, contained many spacious
. rooms, and were filled with luxurious furniture imported from
France. The polished floors were strewn with beaver rugs or
robes of bear-skin, while Parisian damask or Indian beaded work
made artistic draperies.

Likewise in the matter of dress, social distinctions were
punctiliously regarded. The gentilhomme was as careful as his
wife to be apprised of the latest vogue at Versailles. He wore
his hair curled, powdered, and tied in a queue, and the head-gear
of certmony was the three-cornered cocked hat. A stately frock-
coat of colour, an embroidered waistcoat, knee-breeches, silk
stockings, and high-heeled buckled shoes completed the pic-
turesque apparel of the Canadian seigneur.

His tenantry enjoyed an equal complacency in coarse grey
homespuns, girt at the waist with brilliant woollen scarfs of red,
blue, or green, buckskin leggings, moccasins or wooden sabots
according to the weather. The wife of the censitaire disported
herself in a home-made woollen gown, relieved at the waist and
neck by gaily-tinted belt and kerchief.

In winter, rich and poor alike wrapped themselves in home-
spun blanket paletots, whose vivid colours made a charming
picture, as the wayfarers trudged over the deep white covefields
on their buoyant snow-shoes. In the clear and bracing day-time
they coasted swiftly over the ice-fields on their keen toboggans,
and in the evening they flocked to a chosen rendezvous where a
home-bred violinist tuned them through gay quadrilles; and
anon the lonely violin would be drowned in the vibrant voices
of the dancers, who suited a folk-song to their steps and sang :

" Malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre,
Mironton, mironton, mirontaine ;
Malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre,
Ne salt quand reviendra.
II reviendra z-& Paques
Ou a la Trinit^.
La Trinite se passe,

Malbrouck ne revient pas."

Also the winter, being the idle half of the year, was the choice
time of social visits, and in these courtesies the habitants were
assiduous. Between Christmas and Ash Wednesday they strove,
it would seem, to fill themselves with gaiety against the grey
season of Lent. Without invitation, a procession of visitors
drove to a selected house, and almost made bankrupt its larder in
an effort to do full justice to the boundless hospitality. Sheer
bankruptcy would indeed have been the housewife's portion, if
she had not lived in happy expectation of this social invasion.

Life in Canada under the Old Regime 181

Cooked meats and pies stood ready upon her pantry shelves, and
croquegnoles and sweet pasties needed only a few moments in the
oven before the meal was ready. Thus they went gaily from
homestead to homestead during the days of snow, without pre-
judice victimising each other in turn with these "surprise parties."
La haute noblesse also found the winter the liveliest social season,
and casual entertainments lacked the studied formality of official
functions. Their quaint carrioles sped jingling over the snow
from one manor-house to another ; here a dinner-party, there a
dance, and everywhere a frugal happiness.

De Gasp6, in ' Les Anciens Canadiens,' interestingly portrays
the life of this seigneurial class to which he belonged. The
country manor-house was usually a long, low, stone-built
structure, surmounted by overhanging gables and a lofty roof.
Sometimes the manor had increased its size by the addition of
a wing at right angles, and always a group of strongly-built out-
houses, stables and sheds clustered near by. A stone mill where
the censitaires brought their grain to be ground, stood in the
midst like a tower of refuge — most likely this last had been one
of its chief functions in the troublous times of Iroquois pillage.
If the seigneur was empowered to execute high, middle, and low
justice, a gallows and a pillory might be found within the pre-
cincts; but towards the close of the Old K6gime these crude
implements of punishment had happily fallen into disuse. The
parish church was not far off, for at all times the seigneur was
the patron of the presbytere, and the potent bulwark of the feudal
village springing up within sight of his manor-house.

The furnishings of these country mansions were much the
same as those to be found in the town houses of Quebec, and the
manner of living was almost identical within and without the city
walls. The gentilhomme and his family breakfasted at eight
o'clock on rolls, white wine, and coffee ; dinner was served at
noon, and supper at seven in the evening. The dining-room of
a fashionable household was tastefully arranged. One end of the
room was completely occupied by the massive side-board, filled
with ancestral silver and china. Upon a shelf apart stood cut-
glass decanters for the table service, and as a coup d'appStit
cordials were handed round in the drawing-room. On coming
into the dining-room the guest might, if he chose, rinse his hands
in a blue and white -porcelain water-basin which stood upon a
pedestal in one corner of the room. At the table he found his
convert to consist of a napkin, plate, silver goblet, fork and spoon
—and was expected to supply his own knife. Men usually
carried their knives in their pockets, but the ladies wore them in
a leathern, silken, or birch-bark sheath. This peculiar custom
considerably embarrassed those English officers who, after the

182 The Empire Review

capture of the city, found themselves billeted in French
houses.*

At the end of Lent the habitants found their first gaiety in
the woods, making maple sugar. Huge caldrons of sap hung on
poles over the roaring fires, round which the children gathered,
to taste the syrup, and salute with songs of welcome the
coming of jocund spring. Soon May-day came round, also " the
maddest merriest day " in the calendar of the Canadian. In
the early morning he hurried off to the seigneurie to assist in the
erection of the May-pole. Almost every one he knew, man,
woman, or child, had already arrived with similar intent. Pre-
sently the tall fir-tree, stripped of its bark, was firmly planted in
the farmyard, and a deputation waited upon the seigneur to beg
his acceptance of this homage. Then followed a fusillade of
blank musket shots, until the May-pole was thoroughly blackened.
This done, the doors of the manor-house were thrown wide open
in welcome ; and the rest of the day was one long banquet
for the habitants. The Beigneur's tables groaned beneath their
burden of roasted veal, mutton, and pork, huge bowls of stew,
pies, and cakes, and croquegnoles beyond the dreams of appetite,
to which was added white whiskey and tobacco. Songs, stories,
and homely wit sped the banqueters until both the spirit and the
flesh were weak.

Among themselves, the habitants made baptisms, betrothals
and weddings the occasion of feasts ; and it was only with great
difficulty that the long-suffering seigneur escaped standing god-
father to every child born within seven leagues of the manor.

Behind all the gaiety of French-Canada stood the grey back-
ground of the Church Militant ; and, even in her lightest
moments, Quebec never strained far on her sacred leash.
From its foundation as a mission trading-post to its consecration
as an episcopal see, the rock city never once lost its religious
complexion. Its early governors, Champlain, D'Aillebout, and
Montmagny, were monks military, dividing their services equally
between France and the faith. First the Kecollets, then the
Jesuits, came into spiritual possession ; and the constant aim of
the latter was to convert New France into a northern Paraguay.
The intractability of the Indians wrecked this pious design, and
a small army of courageous priests were swept away in an
appalling deluge of battle, murder and sudden death.

Hard on the footsteps of Loyola's disciples came the episcopacy,
and in spite of the secular struggles of D'Argenson, D'Avangour
and Frontenac, Quebec was held fast under a firm ecclesiastical
dominion.

Alternating penance with persuasion, the priests imposed their

* Capt. Knox's ' Journal of the Siege.'

Life in Canada under the Old Regime 183

will upon the people. Absence from church and confession
brought its sufficient penalty ; and the calendar was filled with
special days for prayer and purification. Priests, monks, and
nuns crowded the city, in numbers always out of proportion with
the lay population. Quebec was filled with the incense of a
constant worship, and the very atmosphere was heavy with piety.
From the unrestrained hands of the early governors, the adminis-
tration of justice passed to the Conseil Suptrieur, composed
of the governor, the bishop, the intendant, and a varying number
of councillors. Under the code, offences were mostly quasi-
religious, and the bishop was careful to see to their proper
expiation. The pillory, the stocks, and a certain wooden horse
with a sharp spine, were the commonest instruments of correc-
tion. Proclamations were made either from the pulpit or read
at the church-door after Mass. Royal edicts and ordinances
enacted by the Conseil Superieur prescribed the duties of citizens,
and hinted without vagueness at the penalties which would over-
take law-breakers.

Each householder was responsible for the street before his
property, to keep it clean of snow and refuse. Inn-keepers were
licensed, and made to obey due instructions. Cattle, pigs and
sheep were impounded, if found straying in the streets, and the
intendant strictly regulated the possession of live-stock.

When the introduction of the horse threatened the common
use of the snowshoe, an ordinance forbade any habitant to possess
mere than two mares and one colt. In riding away from service
on Sunday the horseman was forbidden to break into a canter
until he had travelled ten arpents from the church. The private
baptism of children was strictly forbidden except in cases of
absolute necessity. The order in which the personages of Quebec
should receive the sacrament was precisely established. Roads,
bridges and churches were built by forced labour. The con-
struction of houses, both as to material and design, was regulated
by law. Builders were required to conform to a line and face
their houses on the highway. Certain personages, however,
claimed exemption from this rule, and to these was accorded the
right — d'avoir pignon sur rue — to have the gable on the street,
the purpose being to secure a certain degree of privacy by means
of an entrance away from the public highway.

The law of inheritance required the testator to divide his
estate fairly among all his children, the title and the largest share
going to the eldest son. In the country the result of this legisla-
tion, which affected seigneur and censitaire alike, was a ceaseless
subdivision of the ribbon-like farms, which possessed narrow
frontages on the river and ran back long distances into the
country. This attenuated appearance of the rural holdings

184 The Empire Review

strikes the stranger forcibly as he travels through the province
of Quebec even at this day. The reason for the system, how-
ever, lay in the necessity which each peasant felt of having access
to the St. Lawrence, the most convenient, and, for nearly a
hundred years, the only highway to the city of Quebec. Further-
more it enabled the settlers to build their houses close together,
so to protect themselves against the Indian raids which constantly
threatened. Even now the river St. Lawrence looks like a
gigantic street bordered by a long row of quaint white-washed
cottages.

Examples of the quaint laws and customs of the old regime
might be multiplied indefinitely ; but sufficient has been written
to show the paternalism of the legal system and the medievalism
of the social life. Before the Conquest the French-Canadian
had nothing whatever to do with the making of his own laws ;
and so far from struggling to obtain this right, he preferred to be
without it. The Cure knew all about the laws, and he was ready
to leave the matter with the Cure.

And, except under the wicked exactions of the Intendant
Bigot and his confederates, Quebec was happily governed. From
generation to generation the light-hearted habitant cheerfully
paid his dime to the church, his cens et rente to the seigneur,
and rendered his military service to the Governor. If the call
came for a raid upon New England, he took down his musket
and his powder-horn, and set out blithely upon his snow-shoes
for the rendezvous of war ; if for a rally to the defence of Quebec,
he was equally rqady to bury his chattels and take his place upon
the city ramparts, or to resist valorously a landing on the
Beauport shore.

So sped life upon the broad St. Lawrence, within and beyond
Quebec. So flew the days of the old regime ; some sunshine,
some shadow, and always an honest fearless people who served
G-od, honoured the King, and stood ready to die for New France
and the golden lilies.

GILBERT PARKER.

The Sugar Cane Industry 185

THE SUGAR CANE INDUSTRY*

POSSIBILITIES AND PROBABILITIES

BEFORE making any observations or dealing with nay own
experiences, it may perhaps be opportune if I give a brief sketch
of the early history of cane sugar taken in the main from that
excellent work by Dr. Prinsen Geerligs entitled ' The World's
Cane Sugar Industry.' In this book the author goes back to
Hindu mythology. A certain famous hermit, he tells us, was
desired by an Indian prince to procure for him permission to be
translated to heaven during his lifetime. The request was
refused, but the hermit kindly furnished him with a temporary
paradise on earth, which seems to have included, among its many
delights, the sugar cane. After the destruction of this paradise,
the sugar cane was spread all over the world as a memorial of the
famous hermit. So runs the legend.

Emerging from these prehistoric times we again meet with
real sugar, for the first time in India, where it went by the name
of "gur," and in the seventh century a Chinese Emperor sent
people to India to learn the art of sugar manufacture. The
natives in India at the present time are contented to produce
" gur," the name by which sugar is still known, by boiling down
the juice from the cane till it solidifies. But long ago the Arabs
learned to purify the raw sugar by re-crystallisation and produced
a great variety of sweetmeats. In the thirteenth century travellers
reported the existence of many sugar factories in China. Then
we hear of the Arabs taking the sugar cane to Sicily, and thence
to Africa. Thus it spread all round the coasts and islands of the
Mediterranean. Even in the twelfth century the sugar industry
flourished in Spain. From China the sugar cane found its way
to the Indian Ocean, to Siam, the Philippines, Formosa, and
Japan. But in those days it was only in China and the countries
round the Mediterranean that a real sugar industry existed. The

* The text of a paper read before the Society of Arts and, with their permission,
revised and remodelled by the author as an article for The Empire Review.

1 86 The Empire Review

Crusaders took a great interest in the cultivation of the sugar
cane, and founded many important centres of the industry.

When these early industries produced more than they consumed,
a trade in sugar sprang up. The Crusaders, when they returned
home, began to import it, and a brisk trade started between the
Italian ports and Northern Europe. It is curious to note that in -
these early days the traffic was in refined, not raw sugar. This
is easily explained by the fact that the art of sugar-refining had
not yet reached to Northern Europe. It was actually loaf sugar
that the Crusaders and others imported from the Mediterranean
ports. We hear of Damascus and Tripoli becoming great sugar-
refining centres in the fourteenth century.

In the fifteenth century the Turks began to overrun these
countries, and the sugar industry had a bad time ; in fact, as
Dr. Geerligs says, " the once flourishing sugar industry of the
Mediterranean was condemned to extinction." But, in the
meantime, the Portuguese had taken the sugar cane to Madeira,
the Azores, the Cape de Verde Islands, and the Gulf of Guinea-
Spain colonised the Canary Islands. In all these places a new
sugar industry sprang up and flourished, especially with the help
of slave labour. Then came America. Spain, Portugal, Holland,
Great Britain and France colonised a vast territory, and sugar,
instead of being a fancy luxury, became an article of common
consumption. Fertile land, a favourable climate, and cheap labour
formed the basis of the great sugar industries of the West. First
Brazil, then the West India Islands, English, French, Spanish,
and Dutch, then other countries on the mainland of America,
Surinam, Demerara, Berbice, and finally Peru, Argentina, Chile,
Mexico, and Louisiana. The competition from these new
countries extinguished the little industry in Madeira, the Cape de
Verde, and the Canary Isles.

France introduced sugar cane into Mauritius and Reunion,
which soon began to export sugar to Europe. Early in the
eighteenth century the Dutch East India Company, which had
been importing sugar from Formosa, Bengal, and Siam, introduced
the sugar cane into their island of Java; but the wonderful
success of that most remarkable of all cane-sugar industries did
not take place till long afterwards. At the birth of the nineteenth
century came the great war between France and Great Britain.
Naval engagements in West Indian waters, the sinking of sugar
cargoes, the capture of merchant ships, not only from the West
but also from the East, and other blows dealt by France at
British trade, did not conduce to the development of the cane-
sugar industry. Finally arrived Napoleon's " continental system."

So much for the early history of cane sugar. I pass on to
deal with the subject from 1856 to the present day, during which

The Sugar Cane Industry 187

period I may claim to have followed very closely the various
changes that have taken place in the industry itself and to have
had some personal experience of its ups and downs.

In 1856 sugar-refining as a British industry was in a flourishing
state. Practically all the loaf sugar consumed in this country
was produced in the East End of London, where about twenty
refineries, each doing a few hundred tons a week, were very busy,
giving work and wages to the surrounding neighbourhood, and
keeping the London Docks fully occupied with the thousands of
hogsheads of West India sugar annually imported. That was
the sugar we principally used, helped out with sugar from
Mauritius, British India, the foreign West Indies, and the
foreign East Indies. The total, in 1856, was 384,000 tons of
raw cane sugar, and to this must be added 9,000 tons of foreign
refined sugar and 4,000 tons of raw beetroot sugar, a total
consumption of 397,000 tons. The remarkable point is that of
the 384,000 tons of raw cane sugar 285,000 tons, 70 per cent.,
came from our sugar-producing British Possessions, East and
West, but especially West. Those were good days, not only for
British sugar-refining but also for the British West Indian
Colonies and Mauritius. It will be interesting, for a moment, to
look at the kind of sugar which the world produced in those days,
and especially at our largest contributors, the British West Indies.
The British West Indian sugar of sixty years ago was an
excellent class of raw sugar, so good, in fact, that a considerable
portion of it was pure enough to go direct into consumption, and
it is with regret that those who were intimately acquainted with
it view its impending abolition. It was well made, with great
skill and care, a skill which has probably by this time nearly died
out. It was a primitive process, but much superior to other
primitive processes of those days, some of which, unfortunately,
still survive. It was called " muscovado sugar," and was produced
by a simple process, giving a good result when well done, but
very different to present requirements.

At the date with which I am now dealing the world produced
about 1,200,000 tons of cane sugar and 250,000 tons of European
beetroot sugar, a total of 1,450,000 tons. The cane-sugar pro-
ducing countries of those days, mentioned in the order of their
importance, were Cuba, Java, Mauritius, the British West Indies
(including British Guiana), Brazil, Porto Eico, Manilla (the
name in those days for sugar from the Philippine Islands),
Reunion, Louisiana, and the French West Indian Islands of
Martinique and Guadaloupe. The finest raw sugar came from
Java, Mauritius, the French West Indies, Reunion, and Louisiana.
Cuba made a semi-refined raw sugar called Havana, but the bulk
of its production was a muscovado sugar, very inferior to the

188 The Empire Review

British variety. Porto Eico, on the contrary, produced a very
fine muscovado sugar, quite fit for direct consumption. The
sugars from Brazil, Manilla, and British India, were very low
brown impure varieties, requiring a great deal of refining. The
British refiners were experts with that class of sugar, while the
foreign refiners, in France and Holland, preferred the easier
work — mere child's play — with a raw material of a much higher
grade, in fact, almost pure.

The British sugar-refining industry in 1856 was not confined
to London, though London produced practically the whole of the
loaf sugar which we consumed. Bristol was a very old-established
centre of the industry. The great house of Finzel, then the
largest refinery in the country, was celebrated for its large
grained crystallised sugar, and was the first to use the newly
invented centrifugal machine. Liverpool also was a large con-
tributor to our refined-sugar production. Ships from Brazil were
constantly arriving in the Mersey and bringing, among other
things, the low brown sugar from that country. In the Clyde
also a new and flourishing industry of sugar-refining was
springing up. It increased with great rapidity, having discovered
a new way of producing yellow sugar of very superior colour and
quality, a kind popular with the buyers of the cheapest article.
The history of the rise and progress of this industry is interesting,
as an indication of the vicissitudes through which the sugar-
refining industry of this country had to pass between 1887
and 1903.

In 1854 the sugar-refiners of Greenock (and Glasgow) imported
50,000 tons of raw sugar. In 1865 they imported 136,000 tons,
and the figure went on increasing rapidly until, for the five years,
1877-81, the average yearly importation was 248,429 tons. This
figure held till 1887, when a fall, as rapid as the rise, set in.
For the five years, 1887-91, the average yearly imports had fallen
to 228,733 tons, for the following five years to 170,373 tons, and
for the five years, 1897-1900, to 124,874 tons, a lower figure than
that from which the refiners started in 1865. The cause of this
collapse was the enormous importation of foreign refined beetroot
sugar, at prices with which the unstimulated producer could not
compete. For many years nearly a million tons were imported
every year, the sugar being landed at every little port around our
coasts. The Brussels Convention came into force in 1903, and
the Clyde industry, which can work as cheaply as any refining
industry in the world, revived. In 1913, the last year before the
war, the Clyde refiners melted 231,333 tons, nearly as much as at
the height of their remarkable prosperity in 1877-1886.

A distinguished — shall I say economist ? — has recently pro-
claimed that " the millions should not be deprived of cheap sugar

The Sugar Cane Industry 189

even if it be dumped." To this most attractive exclamation there
are three conclusive contradictions, founded on facts derived
from the history of sugar during the last forty years. Those
facts prove — first, that the fleeting pleasure of buying a com-
modity below cost price is disastrous to the consumer, because it
is bound to be followed by reduced production and higher prices.
Secondly, that under such circumstances the stimulated industry
again takes the lead, increases its production, forces down prices
once more, and gets one step further on the road to monopoly.
That is exactly what happened with sugar. Thirdly, it is a fact
that the millions have never been deprived of cheap sugar except
when there happened to be a bad beetroot crop, which is a
periodical occurrence. Then prices go up. The dumped sugar,
in which the consumer revelled, has made him more and more
dependent on the beetroot crop for his supply ; when that fails he
has to pay the penalty. When the war broke out, away went the
whole of his dumped supply— and now, he is on rations.

The last year of the nineteenth century, 1900, was a record
year in the history of sugar. The consumption in this country
rose to 1,624,000 tons, yet only 129,000 tons was produced from
sugar cane. And even that small quantity would not have come
to us had it not been for two facts — (1) Our own colony,
Demerara, produced a very choice kind of yellow crystallised
sugar which a few intelligent connoisseurs insisted upon having ;
(2) that two of our sugar-refining firms stuck to cane sugar,
hoping to obtain a fancy price for their refined sugar. Taking
the world's production in 1900 (not including the imaginary
figure for British India, which now confuses our statistics) we
find it had reached the gigantic total of 8,291,800 tons. Of this
quantity, only 2,880,900 tons was the product of the sugar cane
— less than 35 per cent. ; in other words, nearly two-thirds of the
world's production of sugar came from the beetroot fields of
Northern Europe and, to a small extent, from the beetroot fields
of the United States.

I do not propose to go into the history of the origin of beet-
root sugar here ; suffice it to say that Napoleon Bonaparte had
something to do with it, as also had the King of Prussia. I
have mentioned that in 1856 Europe produced about 250,000
tons of beetroot sugar. That was doubled in ten years, and in
five years more the production exceeded a million tons. Another
ten years raised the figure to two millions. This brought cane
and beet neck and neck in the race ; then beetroot shot ahead to
three, four, five and six million tons. Two causes were respon-
sible for this. Energy, ability, efficiency, and, more than all,
persistent research, constituted the first and best cause, the other
being the stimulus given to producers. Capitalists do not care

190 The Empire Review

to risk their money unless they can see very clearly that there
is some security for their investment. That is exactly what the
European beetroot-sugar industry enjoyed ; all except France,
she had to languish till 1884. France gave the research most
liberally, but she lacked the stimulus.

It was Germany that hit upon the right kind of stimulus. It
was a brilliant idea and one carried out with great judgment.
The sugar duty was levied— not upon the sugar produced, but
upon the roots. This at once stimulated the farmer to produce
the richest possible quality of root, and the manufacturer to
extract from the root the largest possible quantity of sugar.
Great pains were taken to breed an improved variety of sugar-
beet. This great research lasted for years, and still goes on.
Its success was astounding — incredible. At the beginning the
sugar-beet contained less than 6 per cent, of sugar. In France
it continued to contain less than 6 per cent, of sugar until the
stimulus was applied in 1884 to save the life of the industry.
But in Germany the roots went on, year after year, increasing in
richness until, in 1908, the average quantity of sugar actually
extracted from the roots for the whole of Germany was 17 • 63 per
cent. I have used the word "incredible," it is the only word to
use. The natural quantity of sugar contained in the sugar-beet
had been multiplied by three. For the ten years, 1899-1908, the
average yield for the whole of Germany was 15 '49 per cent.
This shows what can be done by giving a rational and very
moderate stimulus. That this wonderful result was caused by
the stimulus— plus, of course, great efficiency— is proved by the
lamentable fact that poor France, who received no stimulus till
1884, was at that date getting a yield of less than 6 per cent, of
sugar, while Germany at the same time was producing 11 per.
cent, of sugar from the roots as the average for the whole
country. France hastened to adopt the German system, but
never succeeded in catching it up in the race. The average yield
for the ten years, 1899-1908, which, as I have said, was 15 '49
per cent, for Germany, was only 12 '84 per cent, for France.
This is the worst of being " too late." In industry, as in war,
it is fatal. Austria, with a system similar to that of Germany,
secured a yield of over 15 per cent, for those ten years.

Research was still rampant, and the breeding of the rich roots
led to the invention of the diffusion process — another result of the
stimulus. This process, now brought to great perfection, prac-
tically extracts the whole of the juice, and in a very pure state.
In my book on sugar I gave the results of a good German factory
in 1908, from which it will be seen that the average quantity of
sugar contained in the roots worked by that factory throughout
the season was 17 '10 per cent., and that the quantity actually

The Sugar Cane Industry 191

extracted was 16 • 64 per cent. These figures show what can be
done when efficiency reigns supreme, and they are also a good
illustration of the perfection to which chemical control of a sugar
factory can be brought. Everything that happens is known,
down to the second place in decimals. France, so long as she
worked roots containing less than 6 per cent, of sugar, could not
attempt the diffusion process.

Another instance of the valuable results of research is the
multiple evaporator, called by the French the " Triple Effet."
The French had a considerable share in bringing this invention
to a practical success. It has enabled the sugar factory to per-
form the most important and expensive part of its process — that
of evaporating the thin juice till it is thick enough to crystallise
in the vacuum pan — with the lowest possible expenditure of fuel.
Research is still going on with regard to this part of the process,
and has not yet said its last word.

Greatest of all the results was the gradual development of the
new method of purifying the juice, called the double carbonata-
tion process. I have not space to describe processes, but can
safely assert that this must be regarded as one of the greatest of
all the results of the researches of the last fifty years in the world
of beetroot sugar. It has now found its way to Java, where by
its means fine white sugar is produced in large quantities. But
here again there is no finality, and it is quite possible that a still
better process, giving equally good results at less expense and trouble,
may eventually take its place. Research is still busy with it.

The great cane-sugar industries of the world did not adopt
a laissez-faire attitude. They at once adopted the multiple
evaporator, and now every modern factory has one, or perhaps
several. The diffusion process was tried, but found to have too
many drawbacks when applied to cane-sugar production ; but
they were determined to try to extract if possible nearly the whole
of the juice in the cane. Instead of having only one three-roller
mill, which squeezes the cane twice, they now have four, placed
tandem fashion with travelling bands between, and thus give the
cane eight squeezes. They also place two rollers with rough
surfaces at the entrance to the first mill, which crack the hard
crust of the cane before it enters the mill. With these improve-
ments and " maceration " of the " megass " (the crushed cane) in
its transit from mill to mill, they now extract 95 per cent, of the
juice, and are ready to fight the beetroot industry. Instead of
hundreds of tons, they are turning out thousands from each
factory, and thus reducing cost of production. They have, how-
ever, their own special difficulties to surmount. Labour is one of
the greatest. Here Java is in a favoured position. She has also
good soil and climate, great efficiency in management, and a fairly

192 The Empire Review

good system of irrigation. The necessity of supplying the cane
with sufficient water is vital, and is not always attainable.

The cost of production depends, to a great extent, on the
quantity of canes per acre which can be produced. Java produces
more than forty tons as an average for the whole of the island,
and can therefore produce sugar at a very low cost, all the factory
arrangements being thoroughly efficient. Half of Java's crop of
about 1,500,000 tons (rapidly increasing) is now produced in the
form of white granulated sugar of high quality, which goes to
British India for the benefit of the upper classes. Mauritius is
doing the same, and deserves to succeed after all the cruel troubles
she has gone through. White sugar direct from the beetroot juice
has been produced for a long time. I can recollect seeing one
beetroot factory in Germany, as long ago as 1871, turning out
good loaf sugar ; and at a later date I saw Eugen Langen, the
inventor of the cube-sugar process, producing very fine cubes at
his factory at Elsdorf direct from the beetroot juice.

This great effort of the cane-sugar industry to compete with
beetroot brings us to another striking result of giving industry a
stimulus. I have shown how the German stimulus, rationally
applied, led to greater efficiency, profound research, and most
astounding results. I have compared it with the sadly backward
state of the same industry in France, so long as it received no
stimulus. And yet I find, if I consult a recent utterance of the
Council of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, that industries
receiving such a stimulus are bound to become " apathetic and
inefficient." Very well, I have given facts of practical experience
in flat contradiction to this doctrine — a doctrine, by the way,
which the members, as distinguished from the Council, of the
Manchester Chamber have now, I am glad to see, repudiated
most emphatically.

I will now give more facts of practical experience, this time
from the cane-sugar industry, which again will prove conclusively
that this doctrine, so glibly repeated as if it were an axiom, is an
absolute delusion. The United States of America give pre-
ferential treatment in their own markets to sugar produced in
their own States, territories and dependencies. They also gave a
slight preference — rather more than half a farthing a pound — to
their prottgt, Cuba. Let us see what has been the result of this
preference — absolutely inappreciable to the consumer. Cuba,
before the Spanish-American War, just succeeded in producing
a million tons of sugar per annum in the years 1894 and 1895.
After the American occupation in 1898, and when the unfortunate
industry had succeeded in recovering from the devastation of the
war, the stimulus of the small preference began to tell. In 1903
Cuba got back to the million ton figure. In 1913 it produced

The Sugar Cane Industry 193

2,500,000 tons, and last year it would have produced 3,500,000
tons ; but, unfortunately, when the sugar was badly wanted, an
insurrection broke out in the eastern part of the island, and the
actual production was reduced to 3,000,000 tons. This enormous
increase was the result of the security capitalists found in the
small American preference. Large factories were erected, railways
connecting them with the shipping ports were constructed,
everything was done in the most up-to-date style, and the only
trouble was to get the sugar sold and shipped as soon as possible.
The United States markets were glutted during the thickest
part of the crop time, and prices went down sometimes more
than £2 per ton below the European level. The American
consumer actually gained by the preference.

In Cuba at the present time there are many factories turning
out from 10,000 to 20,000 tons of sugar per annum. About the
same number manufacture from 20,000 to 40,000 tons. Eight
from 40,000 to 60,000 tons, and three from 60,000 to 80,000 tons.
One producing between 80,000 and 100,000 tons, and another
more than 100,000 tons per annum. This is the " apathy and
inefficiency " created by giving a preference !

The greatest research now going on in the cane-sugar industry
is the breeding of new varieties of cane which shall give more
sugar, resist disease, and be suitable for various soils and climates.

I will give one more instance of the results of preferential
treatment in the home market. We know from recent experience
how comfortable it would be if we could produce enough sugar
for our own consumption without going to foreign countries for
it. The United States are in that happy position. Since the
preference was granted Louisiana has increased her production
from 95,000 to 414,000 tons; domestic beetroot from 1,000 to
779,000 tons; Hawaii (the Sandwich Islands) from 12,000 to
602,000 tons; Porto Kico from 50,000 to 400,000 tons; the
Philippine Islands from 92,000 to 300,000 tons ; and, finally,
Cuba from 1,000,000 to 3,500,000 tons. If America had not
created this great increase in production by giving a preference to
her own family and friends we should at the present moment be
suffering — and so would America — from, a real sugar famine.
Instead of that what do we see when we turn to American
statistics for 1915 ? In that year the consumption of sugar in
the United States amounted to the large figure of 4,257,713 tons,
every ounce of which/ with the purely accidental exception of
23,000 tons, came from her own States, territories and protec-
torates. This striking fact is entirely the result of giving a
preference. The United States, so far as sugar is concerned, is
now independent of the outside world, and is even able to spare
us a million tons from Cuba whenever we are short of supplies.
VOL. XXXII.— No. 209. p

194 The Empire Review

The history of sugar during the last sixty years proves the
truth of three propositions : (1) that nascent industries can be
encouraged, research stimulated and efficiency created by a
rational, well regulated but moderate stimulus. (2) That
preferential treatment in home markets is the best, perhaps the
only way to give real confidence to capital ; with that confidence,
coupled with favourable national conditions, British industries
will flourish, and may even become capable of providing for the
whole consumption of the Empire. (3) That the dumping of
commodities below cost price is a fatal injury to the consumer.

GEOEGE MAETINEAU.

OVERSEA PLANS FOR RETURNED SOLDIERS

SOME time ago the Civil Service Association of Western
Australia tried the experiment of providing free education for
returned soldiers, enlisting the active support of a number of
honorary teachers with expert 'knowledge of commercial subjects.
The soldiers took advantage of the scheme to such an extent that
it h?s now been found necessary to arrange a regular staff of
salaried teachers. The Government is now Co-operating in the
scheme, the cost of which is being paid out of the Disabled
Soldiers' Fund. Western Australia is redeeming in full its
promises to the men when asking them to enlist ; they are being
provided with land for settlement, money to carry them over
the early and unproductive years of farming, vocational training
and free education in general commercial and technical subjects.
For soldiers who may wish to try the cattle-ranching in the
backwoods of Australia, Western Australia proposes to provide
opportunities on the great cattle stations of the north west.

A CONFEEENCE has been held at Ottawa between the traffic
managers, managers of railways and the Chairman of the Soldiers'
Land Settlement Board, with a view to securing reduced trans-
portation for returned men desiring to settle on the land or work
with farmers. A satisfactory arrangement was arrived at, and
particulars will be given when the details are worked out.

THEEE is a considerable demand from milliners and decorators
of interiors for the fabrics woven by the soldiers on their hand
looms in the hospitals of Montreal, and the men are earning
substantial sums through their occupation. Hand- wrought
materials are rare in this twentieth century, and upholsterers and
others are eager to obtain the materials which the returned men
are creating on their bed-looms. Cabinet makers can restore the
woodwork of old treasures, but to replace the old upholstery is a
more difficult problem. This affords an opening for the returned
soldiers. Some of the fabrics which the soldiers have woven
under the instruction of the Military Hospitals Commission have
realised as much as £2 per yard.

The British South African Company 195

THE question of the ownership of seventy-two million acres of
land in Southern Ehodesia, in the possession of the British South
African Company, is now before the Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council. The circumstances which led the Company to
undertake the stewardship of this vast tract of territory have a
very special interest at the present time, connected, as they are,
with the German attempt to obtain the supremacy in South
Africa, an attempt which is now seen to have been one phase, and
that not an unimportant one, of the G-erman struggle for world-
power.

It was about 1880 that Germany joined in the scramble for
territory in Africa ; and that in this matter she could rely on the
cordial co-operation of the Dutch soon became apparent. The
alliance constituted a menace to the future of British South
Africa, to which men at home were for the most part blind ; but
fortunately we had one or two men on the spot possessed of
greater discernment, and who penetrated the German and Dutch
designs respecting the Hinterland. A scheme was on foot to
prevent the fulfilment of any dreams which the Cape colonists
might entertain of expansion in a northerly direction, and to
confine them for all time within their own borders. With this
object in view the Germans established themselves in what came
to be known as German South- West and German East Africa
respectively, the intention being that those in the west should
spread eastwards, and those in the east, in conjunction with the
Dutch, should -spread westwards till they joined hands and
formed a barrier across the path of the British. The ultimate
consequences of such a consummation might have been serious
indeed — nothing less than the loss of our South African dominion,
inclusive of the Cape, and the imperilling of our hold on India.
The following year the Germans and Dutch made the first move
in the game. Numbers of Boers began to overrun the frontier of
the Transvaal into the territory known as Griqualand West.

P 2

196 The Empire Review

Ostensibly freebooters, these men were secretly in league with
Kruger, who, in permitting their unlawful acts, was himself
violating the recently concluded treaty which had limited the
expansion of the Transvaal in this direction.

The menace which the -action of these Transvaal Boers con-
stituted to the trade routes between the Cape and the Zambesi
was quickly grasped by Cecil Rhodes, who had just entered the
Cape House of Assembly. And but for his far-sightedness,
promptitude, and courage Germany would have possessed herself
of all the territory which Britain now holds in South Africa.
Cecil Rhodes deserves to be known to posterity as the man who
saved South Africa for the British. Realisation of this fact alone
enables us to do justice to the memory of a man of whom, in his
lifetime, many of his countrymen were only too ready to believe
evil.

It was characteristic of Rhodes that he lost no time in
visiting and interviewing the Boer freebooters, to whom, in their-
disregard of treaties and lack of respect for boundaries, belongs
the distinction of being some of the earliest disciples of modern
kultur. Such was the hold which the power of Rhodes'
personality and the forcefulness of his speech obtained over these
lawless men that they consented to submit to be governed by the
Cape Legislature. But opposition now encountered him in
another quarter. The Cape Assembly, which was at that time
dominated by the Afrikander Bond, was more hostile than
sympathetic to the schemes of British Imperialists, and refused
to accept the territory with which Rhodes wished to present
them. Hopeless of overcoming their opposition and of persuading
them to reconsider their decision, yet at the same time too
persevering to be thus easily discouraged and turned aside from
his purpose, Rhodes appealed to a higher authority, the Imperial
Government. With them he was so far successful that they
consented to take over the new territory, but only on condition
that the Cape Colony shared the expenses of its administration.
This, however, the colonial authorities, when approached on the
matter, flatly refused to do.

Just when no chance seemed to remain of the realisation of
Rhodes' plan, fortune intervened on his behalf. An event
occurred which somewhat opened the eyes of the British Govern-
ment as to whither affairs in South Africa were tending. This
was the annexation by Germany in 1884 of the territory round
Walfish Bay, which afterwards came to be known as German
South- West Africa. The alarm aroused by this event accom-
plished what Rhodes had failed to do, and moved the British
Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, to declare Bechuanaland up to
the 22nd parallel a British Protectorate. The Dutch on the

The British South African Company 197

whole realised better than the British what they had lost and
their rival gained. Bechuanaland, as an old Dutchman after-
wards frankly confessed to Cecil Rhodes, was nothing less than
the key of South Africa. Their attempts to recover it were not
surprising, but were unsuccessful. A rising which took place in
Stellaland was soon quelled, thanks to the resolution and audacity
of Rhodes ; and although the other at Rooigrond was more
serious, the arrival of Sir Charles Warren and 4000 men soon
brought Kruger and Leyds to' reason, and induced them to come
to terms with England at the historic meeting at Fourteen
Streams.

But the Germans and Dutch, although they had been checked,
had not yet been checkmated. It had been reserved for Rhodes
himself to originate the move that was to effect this and to attain
the distinction attaching thereto. There still remained open to
the Boers a way of outflanking the British and intercepting the
trade route from the Cape to the Zambesi. To the north of the
district recently annexed by Britain and lying between it and the
great central African river stretched another, a vast region three-
quarters of a million square miles in extent, "fertile, well-watered,
well-timbered, endowed with a pleasant and healthful sub-tropical
climate, immense stretches of which are highly mineralised," the
home of the barbarous Mashona and cruel Matabele to which no
European power had yet established a claim. If the Dutch and
Germans could obtain possession of this they would render barren
the success which the British had achieved by the annexation of
Bechuanaland and ensure the ultimate triumph of their own
plans. '

It was not long before events occurred which indicated at
what the Germans and Dutch were aiming. In 1887 Count
Pfeil undertook a mission in the German interest to Lobengula,
Chief of the Matabele. About the same time President Kruger
also sent emissaries to obtain a treaty with him. It was his
perception of the danger which menaced British South Africa
which led Cecil Rhodes and those associated with him in the
undertaking to found the British South African Company.
Hopeless of persuading the British Government to act in the
matter, they conceived the idea of frustrating the design of the
Dutch and Germans by the instrumentality of private enterprise,
a chartered company.

Institutions of this kind had already played no small part in
the expansion of England, and had acquired among other things
our great Indian Empire. But a chartered company could not
be founded in a minute, and there was no time to be lost if the
German scheme was to be frustrated. To provide against Britain
being forestalled in Matabeleland Rhodes induced the British

198 The Empire Review

High Commissioner to obtain a promise from Lobengula that
the first offer of a civilised Protectorate of his country, if he should
ever desire one, should be made to Britain. He was only just
in time to invalidate a later agreement entered into with the
Transvaal.

Having taken the above precaution, Ehodes took the measures
necessary for founding the British South African Company. He
first obtained from Lobengula a concession to work minerals in
his territory, by which the prospective company would obtain
complete and exclusive charge over all metals and minerals.
This was the basis on which he founded the company, with a
capital of £1,000,000. He obtained a charter from the British
Government in October 1889, and three years later secured for
a hundred years the sole right of dealing with land in the
territories of the Matabele Chief.

The foundation of the British South African Company was
the move which defeated German and Dutch designs in South
Africa. The Germans and Dutch have been compared to two
hands ; the one in the west, the other in the east, reaching out
across Africa to clasp one another. What Ehodes did was to
force them apart. The knowledge we now possess of German
character, aims and methods enables us to imagine the feelings of
disappointment with which the Pan-Germans must have beheld
the frustration of their schemes. When a few years later Cecil
Rhodes made the great mistake of his life in instigating the
ill-fated Jameson Raid, the Kaiser, by despatching his famous
congratulatory telegram to Kruger, took what revenge lay in his
power,

D. A. E. VEAL.

THE High Commissioner for New Zealand has a long roll of
officers and men from New Zealand who are serving in various
branches of the British Navy and Army, but there are doubtless
many whose names are not yet on that roll. He would, therefore,
be glad if New Zealanders in the Imperial Forces who have not
already notified him of their unit, and of the names and addresses
of their next-of-kin in New Zealand, would kindly send such
information to the Secretary, New Zealand Offices, 415, Strand,
London, W.C. 2. Such notification is not required from members
of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.

FUETHEE accommodation for soldiers is to be provided in
London by the Ontario Government. The Grosvenor Gardens
Club is to be extended by taking over the adjoining house. The
new quarters will necessitate an annual expense of about $10,000
for the duration of the war, and the cost of equipping the Club
will amount to $25,000.

Farming in Canada 199

FARMING IN CANADA

THE agricultural activities of a country may, to a large extent,
be gauged by the speed with which its farm lands are being
disposed of. Sales of Western Canadian lands have continued
with little abatement throughout the winter months, and already
some large transactions have been closed this year, one of the
largest being that of a 5,000-acre ranch in the neighbourhood of
Magrath, Alberta.

A GENERAL basis for co-operation between the Canadian
Department of Agriculture and the Canada Food Board on the
one hand, and the Departments of Agriculture of Ontario, Quebec,
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, in an
extensive and intensive campaign for greater production in 1918,
was agreed upon at a recent conference of provincial Ministers of
Agriculture at Ottawa. Definite plans of organisation are now in
process of completion and application. Ontario has set for itself
an objective of 1,000,000 additional acres of cereals and other
cultivated crops, and also the greatest possible production per
acre on all cultivated land. Quebec will do her utmost to pass
her objective of 600,000 additional acres. The three maritime
provinces are depended upon for increased crops to the extent
of 400,000 acres, or an increase of five acres per farm on the
average.

A DOMINION-WIDE " vacant lot and home garden " cultivation
movement has been inaugurated by the Canada Food Board. Its
organisation has been placed in the hands of the same gentleman
who was chairman of the Vacant Lots Committee in Montreal,
where, it is estimated, produce exceeding £20,000 in value was
grown last summer. It is the desire of the Board to extend this
movement in places where an organisation exists and to create
new ones in unorganised districts. Only the growth of vegetables
high in food value will be encouraged, such as potatoes, beans,
peas, beets, carrots, lettuce, onions, parsnips, etc.

As a result of the Canadian Order-in-Council, placing mill-
feed stuffs under embargo for export, except under licence from
the Food Controller, many thousand tons of bran and shorts
intended for export have been diverted for the use of Canadian
farmers.

The Empire Review

THE Ontario Government is making plans for the erection of
an Agricultural High School and Demonstration Farm at New
Liskeard in Northern Ontario. The school will be in the hands
of the local School Board, and the demonstration farm will be
financed and managed through the Northern Development branch
of the Lands, Forests and Mines Department. There will be
established a herd of Ayrshire cattle of strong rugged type,
suitable to conditions in that section of Ontario. A pavilion will
be erected near the Agricultural High School for the judging of
seed and live stock. Practical courses in Agriculture and Domestic
Science wii] be held for adults. A considerable amount of crop
experimental work will be done on the farm, but the work in the
main will be devoted to demonstrating the best methods of
handling Temiskaming soils and the best crops and varieties to
grow. A survey of farms in representative townships in various
parts of the province is to be undertaken by the Ontario Depart-
ment of Agriculture in order to determine under what conditions
the best results are secured. Under the plan devised, a survey
will be made of practically all the farms in a designated town-
ship. The profits of the farmer, the help employed, the class of
stock carried and the crops grown, will all be noted. The invest-
ment in farm stock and equipment will be considered and an
estimate made of what the farmer is getting as a return for his
own labour. The survey will be of value in showing the farmer
that up-to-date methods and good stock secure substantial
returns.

WHEN Saskatchewan was created a province in 1905 it
possessed one mile of railway for every 161 inhabitants. To-day
there exists one mile of railroad for every 106, so that while the
population grew enormously and almost trebled itself, the rail-
way mileage more than kept pace and increased fourfold in the
same length of time. The question of railroad development in
Saskatchewan has always been one of paramount importance.
The rapid development of the province has continuously im-
pressed the need of railways, without which much of the develop-
ment of the agricultural industry, the basic industry of the
province, would have been checked, if not rendered impossible.
The population agriculturally employed is concerned in securing
two things — markets and transportation facilities to bring to-
gether producers and consumers. The return to the farmer for
his work is largely determined by the facility and cost with
which his produce can be placed on the market. In addition to
the construction of the railway lines, careful consideration has
been given by the Department of Eailways to the question of
equipment.

THE first shipment of tractors purchased through the Canadian
Provincial and Dominion Departments of Agriculture has been
sent to those farmers who ordered early. There were 75 in the
shipment. The same shops are at work upon tractors for Western
Canada, and orders now being sent in to the Ontario Department
of Agriculture cannot be filled until the West is supplied.

Farming in Canada 201

So anxious are the farmers of Northern Alberta to overcome
the difficulties occasioned by the shortage of labour that they are
buying up tractors as fast as they can get them. One firm alone
has sold in this district no fewer than two hundred of these
machines, for which the farmers in every instance paid cash in
advance in order to ensure early delivery. This enterprise on the
part of the farmers is not only helping to solve the labour
difficulty, but it is also resulting in a gratifying increase in the
acreage of farm land under cultivation. In its plans for the
mobilisation of labour to make possible increased production of
food this year, the Canadian Food Board is appealing to Canadian
Old Boys' Associations to assist in seeing that their home counties
do not suffer for lack of labour during the seeding and harvest
periods. The Old Boys' Associations, of which there are many
in the larger cities of Canada, take a keen interest in all matters
affecting their home counties, and the Canadian Food Board
believes that they could give service of inestimable value in
organising their members and other Old Boys for the farm
production " drive " in their home localities.

THAT Alberta women are not to be outdone by their cousins
in the old country when it comes to farming is shown by the
experience of Mrs. Baird, of Calgary. Mrs. Baird took up land
near Pine Lake, in the Eed Deer Penhoid district, and last season
made a record for herself as an agriculturist. She took some
samples of oats and barley into Calgary market, and when these
were shown to the elevator superintendent of the United Grain
Growers, he unhesitatingly declared both the oats and the barley
the best he had ever seen. Mrs. Baird has also raised some
remarkable potatoes. Fifteen average specimens weighed IS^lbs.,
and out of twenty lots there was no variation. In addition to
these accomplishments, all in her first year at the work, Mrs.
Baird is pioneering as well, for her farm is just twenty-five miles
from town, and she hauled her seed and supplies, and is marketing
the fruit of her labours over the prairie trail by team and wagon.

A FARMER of the Pincher Creek district of Southern Alberta
has received a cheque for £1,580 for timothy seed grown by him
last year, and, in addition, has sold his threshed hay for £1,000.
A high standard for timothy seed has been set by the farmers of
this district, with the result that there is an eager demand for it
among buyers. This year the whole of the crop of the district,
amounting to some 400 tons, was sold to one firm — probably the
largest individual purchase of timothy seed ever made.

THE value of the combined fruit and vegetable crop of the
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, will this season exceed
£400,000. Last year more than 1,400,000 boxes of fruit were
shipped to prairie points from that district, in addition to.large
quantities sent to Australia and England.

UNDER the auspices of the British Columbia Provincial
Department of Agriculture, classes have been held at Victoria
at which eighty women and girls have made themselves proficient

202 The Empire Review

in the art of packing apples. Many able packers will therefore
be available for the summer's work in the apple-growing districts.
These in their tarn will educate others, and thus benefit the
industry all over the fruit areas of the Dominion.

THE farmers of Middlesex, Huron, Perth, Lambton, and
adjacent counties in Western Ontario have had considerable
success in the growing of flax for fibre, and during the past two
years some of them have conducted successful experiments in
hemp growing. Of late, certain mills in the United States have
been spinning from a mixture of flax and hemp fibre. Further-
more, hemp fibre can be used for the making of binder twine.
Western Ontario farmers therefore propose to engage more
extensively in hemp-growing, and in consequence are anxious for
the removal of customs duties. The seed is largely grown in
China and acclimatised in Kentucky.

IT is expected that fully 4,000,000 Ibs. of wool will be graded
at the Government warehouse in Toronto next season, the larger
portion being obtained from Alberta. One sheep farmer has
predicted that Alberta will have 1,000,000 head of sheep within
the next two years, and his prophecy shows every sign of fulfil-
ment. This is not due to any " flash-in-the-pan " campaign, but
is a steady, healthy development due to the financial position of
the Canadian farmers and to the great possibilities which exist
for successful sheep farming. At a National Conference of wool
growers, representing every province of Canada held at Toronto,
the following resolution was adopted unanimously : " The sheep
raisers of Canada desire to place themselves on record as desirous
of supporting their country and the war by stimulating the
production of more sheep and more wool, and that if the Canadian
Government has urgent need of Canadian wool for war purposes
the sheep raisers freely and willingly offer their 1918 clips to the
Government for control on the basis of 1917 (for war purposes)
market prices gained in co-operative sales in 1917, through the
Dominion wool warehouse, Toronto, and for manufacture for
these purposes required by the Government and for which
different lengths and qualities of Canadian wool are most
specifically adapted in manufacture."

THE Dairy Branch" of the Saskatchewan Board of Agriculture
has taken a step which, without increasing the retail price of
milk, should have a great effect in encouraging producers and
also in protecting consumers. Farmers who are shipping milk
to the Dominion Dairy at Begina will have a chance to earn a
bonus on their produce by complying with certain conditions.
The grading or classification of produce and a monetary return
on the basis of service rendered as reflected in the quality of the
goods has long been the policy of the Dairy Branch, for the
reason that improvement can be effected more rapidly and
permanently by giving tangible encouragement in this form.
The classification of milk as now proposed offers a premium at
the end of the season to any farmer who will furnish the Dairy

Farming in Canada 203

Commissioner with a certificate from a qualified veterinarian
showing that the herd had been tested for tuberculosis and that
there were no reactors, and a further premium to those who,
according to the city inspection score card, show a score of
seventy-five points or over, the latter award to be made on the
basis of the city inspection, as reported to the Dairy Branch.
Farmers who comply with these conditions will be paid 5 cents
extra on each pound of butter fat supplied during the season.
The introduction of this form of classification of milk will, as
conditions warrant, lead to modification or enlargement, as the
case may be, and also afford additional evidence upon which to
base the selection of permanent shippers.

THE total production of creamery butter in 1916 in Canada,
according to a bulletin issued by the Canadian Census and
Statistics Onice, was 82,564,130 Ibs., valued at £5,391,071. The
production was slightly less than in 1915, when 83,991,453 Ibs.
represented the output of the Dominion. The value of the 1915
production, in consequence of the lower range of prices then
prevailing, was considerably less, being placed at £4,873,010.
Ontario and Quebec together produced about 70 per cent, of the
creamery butter of Canada, their joint production being to the
value of approximately 4 millions sterling. The total production
of factory cheese in 1916 was 192,968,597 Ibs., of the value of
£7,102,524. During the previous year 183,887,837 Ibs., valued at
£5,419,435, were produced. Ontario was the leading province in
cheese production, with a total quantity in 1916 of 126,015,870 Ibs.,
of the value of £4,662,587, Quebec being second with 61,908, 750 Ibs.,
valued at £2,249,020. These two provinces together account for
98 per cent, of the total production of factory cheese. During
the twelve months ending October 31st, 1917, 187,000 Ibs. of
butter were made at the creamery at Lanigan, Saskatchewan,
cream being received from 760 farmers. The creamery system
is regarded in Canada as the most effective and profitable way of
dealing with the dairy produce of the farms.

IT was decided at a conference of vegetable growers and
experts at Toronto, that " Irish Cobbler " will become the
standard early potato in Ontario, with possibly " Green Moun-
tain " as the standard late variety. The conference, which had
for chairman the Provincial Commissioner of Agriculture, met
for the purpose of deciding upon the best varieties of potatoes to
put forward as standards and to discuss potato diseases. It is
understood that the Department of Agriculture will take steps to
make effective the recommendations of the conference in regard
to standard varieties. Educational propaganda will be carried on
and probably arrangements made to secure a supply of seed at
cost price for farmers who desire to grow these standard varieties.
Sir William Hearst, who addressed the conference, emphasised
the importance of the potato industry and assured the growers of
the readiness of the Department of Agriculture to do everything
possible to put the industry on an improved basis,

MAPLE LEAF.

204 The Empire Review

THE FUTURE OF THE BRITISH WEST

INDIES

ADVANTAGES OF FEDERATION

SINCE June 1912, -when last I wrote on this subject in The
Empire Review, two significant steps towards the closer union of
these colonies have been taken, the formation of the Associated
Chambers of Commerce of the West Indies, with headquarters in
Trinidad, and that of the West Indian Federation League, with
headquarters in St. Lucia. Several conferences on various
questions, such as cable communication and shipping, have also
been held in Trinidad, but the advantages of union have never
been more definitely brought home to the West Indians than
during the war, through the formation of the British West Indies
Eegiment, which has done splendid service wherever it has been
employed.

While there is no evidence of a desire in the West Indies for
political union with Canada, there is undoubtedly a strong desire
for closer union under the British flag. West Indians want to be
masters in their own house, to control their own destinies, and
this can best be done by a federal union under the Crown. It is
doubtful if representative government would be practicable for
many years ; certainly not until the electors are better educated
than is the case to-day.

One of the. great advantages of federation would be, that
money would be available for the education and housing of the
working classes, and for looking after their health. The cause
for such a report as that recently made by the Colonial Surgeon
of St. Vincent, pointing out the great increase of tuberculosis in
the Colony, should never have arisen. With proper housing and
sanitation, and in the pure air and bright sunlight of the West
Indies, tuberculosis should be unknown. It is a disease of
poverty and ignorance, overcrowding, and lack of proper food,
and can only be dealt with satisfactorily by the wise expenditure
of money by the State in the hygienic education and segregation
in farm colonies of those infected, the strict inspection of the
milk and meat supply, and the establishment of dispensaries and

The Future of the British West Indies 205

health visitors. It should not have been left to the Rockfeller
Institute of America to finance the campaign against hook-worm
disease in the West Indies. The money should have come out of
the colonial revenue.

With federation it should be possible to create a liberally
paid West Indian Medical Service with adequate pensions. At
present each colony has its own medical service in watertight
compartments. The medical officers are underpaid in small
colonies, tbey have no pension, and they are not transferable to
larger and wealthier colonies. Consequently, practically all the
medical officers who have died in the Leeward Islands in recent
years have left their families in very^ poor circumstances. No
study leave is granted, no quarters are provided for district
medical officers, travelling allowances vary considerably, and no
government ambulances are available to take sick persons to
hospital, where they can receive the best care and treatment.
When it is realised that the health of the workers is of more
importance than the wealth of the colony, or the building of
roads, that a good medical service is like an insurance premium,
and money well spent, perhaps conditions will be improved, and
the high death rate and high infantile mortality will be lowered.
Government creches and communal kitchens would also help.

Another advantage of federation is the possibility it might
afford of distributing, through labour exchanges, the labourers in
settlements in those colonies where population is needed, like
British Guiana and British Honduras, partly as peasant proprietors
and partly as estate labourers. This would be preferable to
allowing them to go to the Putumayo. By means of co-operative
building societies, and agricultural banks and credit societies,
much could be done by a Federal Government to develop the
colonies they control, and to help the labourers. Planters should
be encouraged to feed and house their labourers, and give them
an interest in the profits of the estate by a bonus at the end of
the crop. This policy has been found to pay in Antigua, where it
has been tried by an enterprising firm. A Federal Government
could also provide the money for training suitable pupils of the
elementary schools in agriculture and technical crafts, such as
mason work and carpentry, so as to improve the standard of their
work, and therefore of their money-earning capacity. The
development of the fisheries, oil, and mineral wealth of the West
Indies would be much facilitated with federation, and would offer
remunerative fields of employment to the labouring population.

The main factors to be borne in rnind in any federal scheme
are — the race question and the varying stages of development of
the colonies concerned. In the West Indies, besides imported
East Indian coolies, and a few Chinese, Portuguese and Spaniards

206 The Empire Review

from the Canary Islands, there are two races, black and white,
and these are slowly blending. They are good friends and under-
stand each other, and both know that under the British flag
there is justice for all. The negroes are but two generations
removed from slavery ; they still depend on the help and sympathy
of the white people, and regard the Government as their foster-
parent. Many of them have no ambition except to get enough to
eat and drink and clothe themselves, and are quite ready to do as
little work as they can. Others are most industrious, and profit
accordingly, as they deserve to do. All aim at owning land where
they can get it. The most promising young white people emigrate
to Canada or the United States, because they see little prospect
of a career in their native colony. So do the negroes. White
people who are not landowners °o into agriculture, or business,
or the professions, and a very few into the poorly paid Government
service.

In the limited franchise system of Barbados the voters consist
largely of coloured people who own property of some sort or other,
and they wisely send to the Assembly the best educated men they
can get to represent them, irrespective of colour. In the West
Indian Civil Service can be found some able and devoted white,
black and coloured officials. Under federation these men could
be much better paid than they are at present. So could the
schoolmasters, who do some of the best work in the West Indies
on inadequate pay. As regards th& varying conditions of the
colonies, some are fully developed like Barbados, with no land
available for settlement, some are partly developed like St. Lucia,
with considerable Crown land available, and some are hardly
touched, like British Guiana and British Honduras.

The system of government varies from representative, but not
responsible, government in Barbados and the Bahamas, to pure
Crown colony in British Honduras. The federal scheme drawn
up by Mr. Gideon Murray, Administrator of St. Lucia, seems to
afford a sound basis for discussion, although there may be a
difference of opinion as to details. It is certain that if West
Indians want to improve their prospects in life they must com-
bine and pull all together to develop the resources of their native
land, by means of a central government under the Crown. The
"vis a tergo " for this must come from within and not from
without the Colonies.

When a definite federal plan is agreed on by the people of the
West Indies, it is not likely to meet with opposition either in
Downing Street or at Westminster, but West Ii.dians must agree
first, and be clear as to what they want. Conferences cannot
take the place of the continuity of policy which a strong Federal
Government would ensure. They could have no executive

The Future of the British West Indies 207

powers, and are only advisory. They failed to secure union in
Australia. A Federal Government would have no difficulty in
raising Government loans or guarantees. In colonies acquired
by settlement like Barbados, the Crown cannot legislate by
Order in Council, nor can Orders in Council be enforced when
once representative institutions have been granted to a colony.
But the Barbados House of Assembly can, of their own free will,
authorise a Federal Council to legislate in certain specified federal
matters, as the four self-governing Australian colonies did in the
Australian Federal Council Act of 1885. No Order in Council is
necessary in this case. No scheme of federation can succeed
which does not respect the constitutions of Barbados and the
Bahamas.

According to the figures given in the Colonial Office List for
1917, the distribution of the population per square mile is in the
following order — Barbados, 1087-4; Bermuda, 999' 7; Windward
Islands, 328*4; Trinidad and Tobago, 190' 6; Leeward Islands,
187 ' 4 ; Jamaica, 186 • 8 ; Turks and Caicos, 33 • 2 ; Bahamas,
13'2; British Honduras, 4'9; and British Guiana, 3 '4. The
large naval and military population of Bermuda, and the numerous
American visitors, account for the large number per square mile
and the high figure of trade per head of the population. Barbados
is the most thickly populated, and British Guiana and British
Honduras are the least thickly populated. Trinidad and Tobago
have the biggest trade, £9,808,386, nearly double that of New-
foundland. Jamaica has the largest population, exceeding that
of Trinidad, Tobago and British Guiana taken together.

The area of the United West Indies is greater than that of
both Newfoundland and New Zealand. The population is over
two millions, nearly nine times that of Newfoundland, and more
than twice that of New Zealand. The total trade has risen from
£21,765,337 in 1911, to £27,169,049 in 1916. In Barbados alone,
the total trade has risen from £2,452,140 in 1916 to £4,058,311
in 1917.

The total trade of the United West Indies, including Bermuda,
is more than five times that of Newfoundland, and more than
half that of New Zealand. • The revenue is nearly three and a
half millions, six times that of Newfoundland, and more than
that of New Zealand. Newfoundland and New Zealand are
independent dominions, and were represented at the last Imperial
Conference, but the United West Indies were not. If the islands
had been federated they might have sent a representative. For
purposes of comparison, the United West Indies can be divided
into the Jamaica group of colonies and the Trinidad group of
colonies — Bermuda is included in the former, though it is
geographically distinct from the West Indies.

208 The Empire Review

The total trade of the Jamaica group of colonies is about
one-third that of the Trinidad group. Hitherto Jamaica has
not been willing to be included in any scheme of federation, but
there is nothing to prevent the Trinidad group linking up with
one another if they wish to do so. Perhaps, at a later date, the
Jamaica people might find it to their interest to come in.

In the future, for private and commercial purposes as well as
for naval defence, seaplanes will be largely used for communication
between the Islands. The West India Committee have published
a scheme giving the capital required for a seaplane service, and
the route to be followed from Florida to British Guiana. Mails and
passengers will probably also be taken from England to the West
Indies by airship, via the Azores and Bermuda. For this reason
it is advisable for Great Britain and the United States between
them to obtain control of the Azores, and the Madeira, Canary
and Cape Verde Islands, by arrangement with Spain and Portugal
after the war. The Germans have placed minefields round the
Azores, because, they say, the Americans are using them as a
base. A German professor recently said that Portugal must be
the first to be made to pay Germany's war expenses, and suggested
that the Portuguese colonies should be taken over. This would
include the Azores. A New York paper recently suggested that
the United States should purchase the Dutch possessions in the
West Indies to save future trouble, and asserted that the Dutch
were willing to sell them. This is a far-sighted and sensible
proposal, and should be carried out. The late Admiral Mahan,
in his book ' The Interest of America in Sea Power,' tells us :
" The Caribbean Sea, like the Ked Sea, will become a great
thoroughfare of shipping when the Panama Canal is opened, and
will attract the interest and ambition of maritime nations. Every
position in that sea will have enhanced commercial and military
value, and the Canal itself will become a strategic centre of the
most vital importance. The Caribbean Archipelago is the very
domain of sea power and one of the greatest of the nerve centres
of the whole body of European civilisation. The Windward
Passage, between Cuba and Haiti, is the strategic centre of the
Gulf and the Caribbean." And he very pertinently asks: "Is
the United States prepared to allow Germany to acquire the
Dutch stronghold of Cura9oa, with its fine harbour fronting the
Atlantic outlet and both the proposed canals of Panama and
Nicaragua, which may be made impregnable ? Is she prepared
to acquiesce in any foreign Power purchasing from Haiti a
naval station on the Windward Passage, through which pass
the American steamer routes to the Isthmus ? "

The same distinguished authority reminds us that : " When
the Clay ton-Bui wer Treaty was signed on April 19th, 1850, by

The Future of the British West Indies 209

which both nations bound themselves to acquire no territory in
Central America, and to guarantee the neutrality of the contem-
plated Canal, and any other which might be constructed, Great
Britain was found to be in possession of certain continental
positions, and of some outlying islands, which would contribute
to the military control of the Isthmus. These positions depended
upon the possession of Jamaica, which is, from a military stand-
point, the most decisive of all the positions in the Caribbean Sea
for the control of the Isthmus. Jamaica commands the Yucatan
Channel and the Mona and Windward passages. A superior
navy, resting on Jamaica, could prevent access of the United
States to the Isthmus."

The United States now control Cuba, the Mole, St. Nicholas
and Samana Bay in Haiti, Porto Eico and St. Thomas, and thus
all the four passages leading to the Panama Canal, which are the
Yucatan Channel between Yucatan and Cuba, the Windward
Passage between Cuba and Haiti, the Mona Passage between
Haiti and Porto Eico, and the Anegada Passage, which lies east
of Porto Eico and St. Thomas, between the Islands of Anegada
and Anguilla. The traffic between North and South America
and Panama and Europe cross practically at St. Thomas, which
is, geographically, one of the Virgin Islands group. In Drakes
Bay, in the Virgin Islands, Great Britain possesses a harbour,
surrounded by islands like the Orkneys, but the anchorage is bad.
There is no harbour to compare with St. Thomas in that neigh-
bourhood. It might be possible to develop a coaling station at
Crocus Bay, Anguilla, by building a mole, and putting a light-
house on Dog Island.

Anguilla lies away to the east of St. Thomas opposite to
Sombrero Lighthouse. Most of the traffic to Europe passes
between Sombrero and Anguilla, where there is deep water all
round, and no shoals like those of Anegada. After the war there
Will be guns, submarines, torpedo-boat destroyers', airships and
aeroplanes, in every West Indian colony, manned by West
Indians, trained during the war, also strong local defence forces.
Trinidad, St. Lucia and Jamaica are sure to be strongly fortified
by the British, and Guadeloupe and Martinique by the French.
The Americans already have strong naval bases in Cuba, St.
Domingo, Porto Eico, and St. Thomas.

In discussing the economic future of the British West Indies,
the main factors that have to be considered are the nature of the
exports and the possibility of their developments, the markets to
which these exports go, and possible new markets. The exports
of the West Indies are mainly agricultural food products, sugar,
cocoa, coffee and fruit. Cotton, rubber, timber and oil do not at
present bulk largely in the exports, though very valuable products,
VOL. XXXII,— No. 209. Q

210 The Empire Review

and likely to increase. Beef and mutton and fish are untouched,
though there are possibilities of cattle ranching in the interior of
British Guiana, and of a canned flying fish industry in Barbados.
The manufacture of marmalade and jam from local fruit is also
quite feasible. The mineral resources of these colonies have not
yet been examined and reported on by a Government geologist,
except in Trinidad, British Guiana, and Barbados. It should not
be forgotten that everything which can be grown in the British
West Indies can be grown equally well, in much larger quantities,
in other West Indian Islands not under the British flag, in South
America, Mexico, the Central American States, and Africa, all
countries more or less round the West Indies. Therefore, as
these countries develop, the competition the West Indies will
have to face will be greater than in the past, and prices will
tend to keep low as the supply of produce increases.

The markets for West Indian produce at present are the
United States, Canada, and Great Britain. The two first-
named are the natural geographical markets, the last the most
valuable. Markets for tropical produce as a rule are found in
temperate climes. There does not appear to be much chance of
any other markets being available for a long time, owing to the
present war. The position in the home market is uncertain in
the future. If the British Government decide to allow fair play
to its dominions overseas after the war, by penalising all dumped
articles, such as bounty-fed sugar, subsidised by other Govern-
ments, and giving a preference to goods of British colonial origin,
with special terms to allied nations, then the West Indies will go
ahead.

The final Eeport of Lord Balfour of Burleigh's Committee,
on after war trade problems supports a strong anti-dumping
policy, but rejects a tariff on manufactured articles, and recom-
mends protection of key and nascent industries. In other words,
an in-and-out^)olicy is recommended, and discrimination in the
use of tariffs is advised, not an all-round preference. Nothing is
said about protecting British overseas produce, such as a food
like sugar, from unfair competition. There is no doubt that any
return to the free imports policy of pre-war days would be a fatal
and short-sighted move, both as regards Imperial development
and the closer union of the Empire.

After the war there will probably be a large production of
beet sugar in the United Kingdom, especially in Ireland, and the
consumption of sugar will increase, for it is such an excellent
food. Dr. Murphy, in the American Sugar Bulletin, compares
the action of sugar in ihe body to that of coal in a furnace.
Both are immediately available sources of lieat ; and one pound
of sugar gives 1810 calories, or heat units, nearly twice as much
as beef steak, which gives only 1000 calories.

The Future of the British West Indies 211

Perhaps in conclusion one may express the hope that when
they examine the problem the new electorate of Great Britain,
rather than conscript capital to pay for the war, will find it
preferable to develop the resources of the Empire.

G. B. MASON, Capt. E.A.M.C., D.P.H., Cambridge
(late District Medical Officer in the West Indies).

CANADIAN WAR ITEMS

VOLUNTAKY enlistments in the Overseas Forces of Canada
from the outbreak of the war to October 31st last totalled 439,807.
The numbers from the various provinces were as follows :—
Ontario, 191,632 ; Quebec, 48,934 ; Nova Scotia and Prince
Edward Island, 23,436; New Brunswick, 18,022; Manitoba,
52,784; Saskatchewan, 26,111; Alberta, 36,279 ; British Columbia
and the Yukon, 42,609. Canadian-born recruits numbered 198,473 ;
those born in Great Britain, 215,769 ; other nationalities, 25,564.

A CANADIAN flag, to be hung in the Hotel de Ville of Verdun,
France, together with the standards of all the Allies, is being
presented by the Association of French War Veterans in Montreal,
and will be forwarded to the Mayor of Verdun.

IN two weeks Canadian soldiers at the front subscribed £300,000
to the Victory Loan of Canada. There was no propaganda or
persuasion of any kind, and in view of the high cost of living,
conditions of pay and necessity for enlarged expenditure sur-
rounding the men away from home, real sacrifice was involved.
The loan was put before the men through the efforts of the
General Officers Commanding. The comparative standing of
the subscriptions of the various units was published daily in
orders, and a healthy competitive spirit awakened which quickened
the energy of all branches of the service.

THE city authorities of Simcoe, Ontario, have decided to
issue certificates of honour to all citizens who return from the
front. The next-of-kin of all fallen heroes, and those who were
citizens when they enlisted but have since removed, will also
receive certificates.

IN view of the position in Belgium, where there are at present
thousands of orphans to be cared for by charitable organisations,
the Belgian Relief Fund Committee in Canada has decided to
establish a Canadian bureau in Brussels, from which help will be
given in the name of Canada. In this way the Canadian donations
will maintain identity. The sum of £2,000 per month has been
guaranteed for the establishment of this bureau.

BEFORE being allowed to wear gold braid on their sleeves to
signify they have been wounded, returned officers and men must
secure a certificate from the military district headquarters. An
order to this effect has just been issued, and it is further announced
that if it is desired to wear the gold braid on civilian clothes a
certificate must also be procured.

0 2

212 The Empire Review

A SONG FOR THE AMERICAN ARMY

To THE TUNE OP " WE ARE COMING, FATHER ABRAHAM."

WE are coming now at Freedom's call,

Ten hundred thousand more,
From Mississippi's winding stream,

And from New England's shore,
From city and from prairie,

From mountain and from plain ;
We come that tortured peoples may

Be free and glad again.
The love of Freedom's in our blood

As in the days of yore ;
We are coming now at Freedom's call,

Ten hundred thousand more.

We are coming, we are coming,
As. our fathers came before.

We are coming now at Freedom's call,
Ten hundred thousand more.

We leave our homes, our friends, our work,

Our city street or farm ;
Our nearest and our dearest

We leave at war's alarm.
We're gathering here to cross the seas

To meet a foreign foe ;\
The slogan of our country sounds ;

Its honour bids us go.
We'll rally to our battle flag,

All steadfast to the core ;
We are coming now at Freedom's call,

Ten hundred thousand more.

We are coming, etc.

A Song for the American Army 213

We'll join those bravely fighting

'Gainst tyranny and wrong,
That justice may be done on earth

To weak as well as strong.
We'll take our stand for freedom,

For honour and for right,
For human deeds to fellow men ;

For these we come to fight.
Together we will stand or fall

Till the final fight is o'er.
We are coming now at Freedom's call,

Ten hundred thousand more.

We are coming, etc.

JOHN JOHNSTON.

PROGRESS IN SOUTH AFRICA

IN the course of an address to the members of the Agricultural
Congress at Capetown, during discussion on a motion urging the
adoption by the Government of a vigorous industrial development
policy, the Secretary for Mines and Industries said that remark-
able progress had been made in the tin industry, and the wants
of the Union are now being met without having to depend on
overseas sources. Another industry which was being developed
considerably was asbestos. Enormous deposits have been dis-
covered. Certain difficulties have now been overcome, and South
African asbestos is admitted by users in Europe to be of a very
good quality. A product of growing importance was coke, many
ovens have been established in Natal. The coke was as good as
the coke used in Europe. Until last year no arsenic was being
produced commercially. A satisfactory arsenic was now being
produced. Sulphur also held out promise, but much spade work
would be necessary before the production could be on a large
scale. Immense quantities of lime existed in the country. The*se
deposits would be particularly valuable for agricultural purposes.
Surveys and analyses were now being made. In regard to the
iron industry he said that there was now an electrical furnace in
Johannesburg, which was paying its way. Immense strides had
been made in establishing the development of our ores. Valuable
deposits had been discovered, and the future was encouraging.

214 The Empire Review

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES

CANADA

FIGURES quoted by the Provincial Treasurer of Manitoba in
introducing his budget for the coming year demonstrated the
rapidity with which the province is developing and the prosperity
of its people, and are also an indication of the progress of the
whole of Western Canada, where conditions are similar. In
1913 Manitoba's bank clearings amounted to £233,400,000 ; last
year they amounted to £530,600,000, an increase of approximately
300 millions sterling. In 1915, the banner year of Western
Canada, Manitoba's production was valued at 52 millions sterling,
its total production in 1917 was valued at £61,600,000. The
value of butter and cheese produced in Manitoba rose from
£300,000 in 1913 to £1,200,000 in 1917. Last year £120,000
worth of breaking was done and buildings to the value of £525,800
were erected by Manitoba farmers. The bank deposits of the
province increased by one million sterling since 1913.

3,178,900 Ibs. of fish were caught in Alberta waters in the
season of 1916-1917. This represents a value of nearly £29,000.
The fish caught were trout, whitefish, pickerel, pike, sturgeon
and mixed fish. Whitefish from the Northern lakes had first
place on the list, with 2,145,200 Ibs., pike came next with
48,920 Ibs.

IN consequence of the increase in the number of hives, the
Manitoba honey crop for 1917 was over 1,000,000 Ibs. The high
quality of Manitoba honey is creating a market in preference to
imported honey, purchasers being willing to pay a higher price
for the home product. The outlook for increased production in
Manitoba is bright, as many are becoming interested in this
profitable industry, and a ready market at the bee-keepers' door
is always available.

THE Canadian Minister of Railways and Canals has made
arrangements with one of the large iron and steel companies of
Canada to roll 100,000 tons of 85-lb. rail during the next four
months. This step has been taken by the Minister in order to
meet the rail scarcity. This, it is said, will provide from 800
to 1,000 miles of trackage.

IT is estimated that Calgary will have, this year, a fur pro-
duction amounting to between two millions and three millions
sterling. This is a vast increase over previous years, and the
production this season is developing an export business undreamed

Empire Trade Notes 215

of a few years ago. It is estimated that 50,000 coyote pelts alone
will have been shipped put of Alberta before the summer, and
1,500,000 rat hides. A great percentage of the rat skins will be
sent to England to be used in lining coats for men in the Army.

THE remarkable progress made by Canada in building a
merchant marine was detailed in the House of Commons at
Ottawa by the Minister of Marine and Fisheries. The Minister
declared that " the time was opportune for Canada to embark
on the building of steel ships as a national permanent policy."
After giving the matter careful consideration for some time, he
continued, and working out a comprehensive programme on good,
sound business lines, it was decided by the Cabinet that after the
Imperial Munitions Board contracts expired, all the berths in
the shipyards now turning out steel ships would be utilised to
the full in building steel ships for the Canadian Government.
The Minister announced that at the present time two steel ships,
one of 8,100 tons, and the other of 4,350 tons, are nearing com-
pletion in one yard. It was the first time in the history of the
Dominion, he added, that sea-going vessels of such great dimen-
sions were built in Canada by Canadian money and owned by
the Canadian Government. A Canadian firm is under contract
to turn out twelve trawlers for the French Government before
the close of navigation. Most of the steel for their construction
has been assembled at the works, and the building in which they
will be constructed is nearly completed.

AUSTRALIA

THE total area sown with wheat in 1917-18 was approxi-
mately 3,833,200 acres, or 665,000 acres less than in the previous
season, the decrease in area being due in part to the very dry
autumn, which rendered ploughing operations difficult. The
number of holdings on which wheat was sown during 1917 was
only 18,910, as compared with 21,047 for 1916, a decrease of over
6 per cent. It is assumed that the grain contents of the bag will
be 3 bushels for 1917-18, as compared with about 2f bushels for
1916-17. On this basis the returns tabulated show that 3,280,600
acres have been harvested for 43,557,000 bushels, or an average
yield of 13j bushels per acre, as compared with 3,521,300 acres
which yielded 36,600,000 bushels, representing 10 • 4 bushels per
acre in 1916-17.

THE prohibitionists are seeking to prevent the completion of
arrangements which will allow Australian wine merchants to
export 500 tons of wine to England where the British Cabinet
has permitted importation for this year in a quantity equal to
that of 1916 ; but the wine growers, who have at heart the
interest of the wine industry, are fighting for their cause, and it
is unlikely that the prohibitionists' opposition will prevail.

ACCOEDING to the official report the total loss to the com-
munity through the recent strike was between £3,400,000 and
£9,000,000. The Government paid £20,000 for the relief of

The Empire Review

strike distress, and among other items were wages, amusements,
and bonuses in connection with the voluntary workers' camps
amounting to £17,938.

THE State Government has adopted a proposal to extend the
Condobolin-Broken Hill Kailway to the South Australian border.
This is on condition that the Federal Government continues its
railway at Port Augusta to link it up. There is also a proposal
to connect the New South Wales system at Kyogle with a
4 feet 8£ inch gauge from Brisbane. The combined scheme
provides for a through line of uniform gauge from Perth to
Brisbane.

WHEN the last mail left Sydney £7 10s. per ton was being
quoted by cargo steamers from the East to the Commonwealth.
The pre-war rates were £2 10s. per ton. Eates of freight
between Japan and Europe, and also America, have been
materially increased.

THE Western Australian system of national free education
has no superior within the Empire. Its advantages are brought
to the door of every home, even those away out on the mining
fields, in the thinly populated agricultural districts, or in the
timber camps situated in the heart of the bush. Becently district
high schools have been established, and the younger generation
in the principal country towns can obtain the immeasurable boon
of free secondary education. To meet boarding expenses, scholar-
ships have been instituted, consequently even poor bush boys or
girls may win their way to educational distinction if they possess
the necessary mental equipment.

A ROYAL Commission has strongly represented increased
facilities for the study of agriculture in all the Government schools
of Western Australia. Hitherto the subject has been mainly
taught in country schools. It is now suggested to extend the
most complete facilities to all city boys whose studies have
hitherto been confined mainly to commercial subjects. In the
words of a leading educational authority, these city schools are
in danger of becoming " commercial incubators." To counteract
this tendency it is proposed that agriculture should be included
in the curriculum of all primary schools, that teachers should go
through special courses of training, that scholarships should be
provided, that the existing agricultural high schools be extended,
and that an agricultural college be established.

THERE is too much meat in Western Australia, and the
Pastoralists' Association are exercised as to what shall be done
with the surplus. Last year there were roughly six and a-half
million head of sheep, and the vast cattle herds of the North
West were increasing and accumulating fat to an extent quite out
of proportion to the export shipping facilities.

THE Agricultural Commission has recommended that the
maximum price for first class land thrown open for settlement
should not exceed 15s. per acre, and that for other lands a

Empire Trade Notes 217

maximum of 10s. per acre be fixed. The Commission also
suggests that certain lands in the State unsuitable for general
agriculture but of use for grazing and other purposes, should be
given to settlers entirely free of cost. It has always been the
policy to parcel out homestead farms free of cost, but the com-
mission now desires a considerable extension of the system.

SOUTH AFRICA

THE diamond production for the Union of South Africa for
the year 1917 was 2,902,416-51 carats, value £7,713,810. The
total sales amounted to 2, 416,209 '61 carats, representing in cash
£6,170,906. The production was an increase on that of 1916
of 556,086 carats and sales 124,253 carats. In 1915 mining
operations were suspended, and the total production of the Union
was only 103,385 carats, which realised £399,810. In 1914 the
production was 2,801,016 carats, and in 1913 high-water mark
was reached with a production of 5,163,546 carats, valued at
£11,389,807. The Transvaal's output in 1917 was 981,524 carats,
valued at £1,667,299 ; the Cape's 1,650,897 carats representing
£5,109,928, of which 1,573,681 carats were produced in Kimberley;
and the Free State registered 269,994 carats, valued at £936,583.

A DEMONSTEATION of the use of some products of the baobab
tree has been given at Capetown. One of the most important
of these is the fibre, which, under a process which has been
patented locally, can be utilised as a substitute for cotton in the
manufacture of explosives. Cartridges filled with the new cordite
were fired over the range at the police camp at Maitland, and it
was afterwards stated that the ballistic qualities of the new
material compared well with the ordinary military propellant now
in use. The proceedings terminated with an explosion of some
of the cotton in a confined space and buried in the soil. The
effect of this is described as having been very much like that
shown by photographs of shells exploding on the western front.

.A STATEMENT of the gold production for the year 1917 issued
by the Chamber of Mines shows the following decreases as com-
pared with 1916 :— Tons milled, 1,312,617 ; stamps, 257 ; output,
£1,161,013 ; working profit, £395,011 ; profit per ton, 8d. ;
dividends declared, £552,985 ; while the following increases are
shown : Tube mills, 11 ; value per ton milled, 6d. ; total working
costs, £307,019; working costs per ton, Is. Id. The grand totals
for 1917 and 1916 are :— Tons milled, 1917, 27,862,851; 1916,
29,175,468; stamps, 1917,9,470; 1916, 9,727; tube mills, 1917,
332 ; 1916, 321 ; total output, 1917, £38,323,921 ; 1916,
£39,484,934; value per ton milled, 1917, 27s. 3d. ; 1916, 26s. 9d. ;
total working costs, 1917, £26,857,837; 1916, £26,550,818 ; costs
per ton, 1917, 19s. 4d.; 1916, 18s. 3d. ; total working profit, 1917,
£10,486,283 ; 1916, £11,881,294 ; profit per ton, 1917, 7s. M. ;
1916, 8s. 2d. ; dividends declared, 1917, £6,718,604 ; 1916,
£7,271,589.

218 The Empire Review

THE official mining statistics for December recently issued,
complete the totals for 1917. They are in values : Gold,
£38,397,675 ; silver, £122,951 ; diamonds, £7,736,371 ; coal,
£3,355,659; copper, £1,106,085; tin, £375,615; other base
minerals, £298,011 ; total, £51,292,367. The total value for 1916
was £49,465,555, the appreciation being entirely accounted for by
the diamond output, which showed an increase in 1917 of
£2,153,395, and coal of £540,346. The official return of the gold
output, which varies slightly from the record of the Chamber of
Mines, shows a decrease last year compared with 1916 of
£1,182,099. The coal output for December was 780,262 tons of
the value of £235,825, a decrease on November of 118,642 tons,
and in value £42,853. The totals for the year are : Transvaal,
6,641,229 tons, an increase compared with 1916 of 504,316 tons.
Cape, 8,300, a decrease of 33,452. Free State, 843,095, an
increase of 81,519. Natal, 2,889,999, a decrease of 176,262. In
December, 2,072 tons of copper were shipped from the Transvaal,
and 114 tons from the Cape, the total value being £122,132. The
tin output was 116 tons, valued at £22,283. Both were decreases.
The labour returns show 31,705 whites and 256,304 coloured
employed in mining throughout the Union. The former is a
decrease of 75, and the latter of 2,117. The number of natives
employed in March was 286,130, and since then the figure has
gradually decreased.

THERE is the making of a very promising industry in the
marble quarries at Karibib, in the South-West Protectorate.
Some very beautiful coloured marbles are being quarried there.
The marbles are of nearly all colours. They are beautifully
grained and take a high degree of polish. The quarries have
been worked for some time, but the products do not appear to
have been imported into the Union. Considerable quantities have
from time to time been exported to Germany, but since the war
very little appears to have been done at the quarries. Recently
the eyes of the heads of the furniture industry have been turned
in the direction of Karibib. It is practically impossible to
obtain marble from oversea. Here is an article quite as good
apparently as the European marble. For indoor purposes and
for ornamental work these coloured marbles from the Protectorate
would be excellent, and it is not surprising that a strong demand
for them has arisen.

OVERSEA CORRESPONDENTS.

DOD'S Parliamentary Companion for 1918 is the ninety-
fourth issue of this excellent book of reference. For accuracy
and conciseness it stands alone. The biographies contain
exactly what the inquirer wants to know and no more. To
members of parliament " Dod " is indispensable, while as an
official record it is invaluable. The new volume contains all the
features of its predecessor and the printing and get-up show
commendable care and attention. The publishers are Sir Isaac
Pitman and Sons, Limited, and the price is 6s. net.

THE EMPIRE
REVIEW

AND

VOL. XXXII. JULY, 1918. No. 210.

THE DOMINIONS AND THE COLONIAL

OFFICE

ONE of the many lessons impressed upon us as the result of
the war is the dangerous extent to which the United Kingdom is
dependent upon other nations for manufactures and raw materials,
and even the necessaries of life. This position is attributable to
the practice of past generations, based on the continuance of
peaceful conditions.

The two guiding stars in policy of this country during last
century were buying in the cheapest markets and reposing a
blind confidence in the integrity of all our neighbours. In this
way we, as a Nation, had allowed our agricultural production to
fall below the demands of the population; we had ceased to
manufacture many articles in daily demand — some of which
indeed were proved to be vital to the prosecution of the war—
because it was said they could be procured elsewhere at less cost
and more conveniently than in Britain ; and it was owing largely
to the foresight of the Government of the day in bottling up the
enemy fleet, and the traditional courage of our Navy, that we
have been able to preserve our sea routes with comparatively
small losses. It may fairly be claimed that the Dominions and
the Allies were able to save Great Britain from military and
commercial paralysis.

When we look around the Dominions we find in them the
means of supplying the Empire with practically every product
necessary for commerce, yet these opportunities have not been
properly developed through want of encouragement. Overseas
traders have frequently, without success, sought for markets in

VOL. XXXII. -No. 210. B

220 The Empire Review

the United Kingdom, and whilst these overtures met with
inadequate support, the old country was unconsciously pursuing
a policy that was fraught with the utmost danger to the people
on the outbreak of war. Let U£ take Australia as a typical
object lesson. I select the Commonwealth as being the country
about which I am most competent to express an opinion, although
I freely admit that the other Dominions have claims for equal
consideration.

Australia embraces an immense territory, in area exceeding
the United States of America, and richly endowed by Nature with
mineral wealth and a soil that will supply all forms of primary
produce. The Broken Hill Silver Lead Mines are one of the
largest, if not the largest of its kind in the world. The parent
company has paid dividends approaching ten millions of money
in the course of its operations. Tasmania possesses one of the
largest tin mines in the world. The Burrinjuck Reservoir in
New South Wales is undoubtedly the largest storage work in the
southern hemisphere, impounding as much water as is contained
in Sydney Harbour, and capable of supporting, on the areas which
it supplies with water, a population of many thousands. I
mention these matters, not by way of boasting, but as an evidence
of the magnitude of the resources of this young continent.

Yet, through the policy of unsuspecting confidence, the
Commonwealth at the outbreak of war found themselves in the
hands of German Companies for the treatment of zinc and lead
concentrates. The Mining Companies were bound by the terms
of the bond to renew the contract for smelting on the termination
of the war with the German people, and to supply them with the
necessary raw material for munitions of war. The Federal
Government appealed to the Parliament of the United Kingdom
to release the Commonwealth from this burden and the Empire
from this menace, believing that the British Government was
the proper authority to move in such a matter. For reasons that
have never been understood, or satisfactorily explained, the
Government found themselves unequal to the task. Had
Australia been contented with this attitude of non possumus the
consequences might have been grave to all the Allies. The
Commonwealth, however, realised this danger and resolved to
create a new precedent ; they assumed the responsibility them-
selves and terminated this iniquitous arrangement.

In respect of wool again ; in quality and quantity Australia is
amongst the leading nations of the world. In that country the
growth of the finer quality merino wool is carried to its highest
perfection. In 1913 the British Empire produced more than one-
half of the world's output of wool, and of that quantity no less
than 25 per cent, found its destination in Germany and Austria.

The Dominions and the Colonial Office 221

Australia's production for that year of wool of all kinds was
633,000,000 Ibs., 28 per cent, of which was diverted to Germany
and Austria ; and a substantial quantity of the United Kingdom
wool clip (small as it is in comparison with the wants of the
nation) was sent across the channel to our enemies.

There is another metal, viz., woolfram, a discovery of recent
years, which is obtained in very large quantities within the
Empire, and which plays a most important part in the hardening
of tools for engineering and factory purposes. Yet by the
methods of peaceful penetration the Germans had obtained such
a firm footing in the markets of the United Kingdom that when
at last the British -Government awakened to the importance of
being self-supporting and manufacturing their own machine- (
tools, the enemy made a successful attempt to render the project
unprofitable by severe undercutting of prices.

A serious note of alarm was sounded last year at the prospect
of a general" food shortage and of the insufficiency of wheat
supplies, yet the possibilities of wheat production in Australia
are unlimited. There are vast virgin territories still ready for
cultivation, awaiting only the arrival of the settler and com-
munication with the export markets. r Research work has now
produced a wheat seed that is more prolific and has greater
powers of resisting drought than in past years. These dis-
coveries, with . improved methods of cultivation, have led to
the occupation and profitable use of vast areas, which a
comparatively few years ago were considered as being beyond
the margin of productive agriculture.

This huge territory, alas, is held by a mere handful of people,
If every man, woman and child therein joined hands they could
not reach round the coast of Australia. Yet small as are the
number, great have been their achievements. For more than a
century they have been occupied with the arduous task of
pioneering work. Remote from the complications of European
politics and undisturbed by the clash of hostile arms within her
boundaries, her people have been content to pursue the paths
of peaceful progress. Yet with no reputation for military
activities, their wondrous rally to the cry that freedom was in
danger was a surprise to the enemy and an inspiration to the
people of the Allied countries. This great army, hastily raised
by voluntary effort, won their spurs on that grey morning in
April, 1915, when they faced an unknown foe at Anzac Cove ;
they have gained fresh laurels on many a field of battle since
that day, and they have proved themselves worthy to stand
alongside of the best troops of the Empire. They have been
forced to participate in European diplomacy and have made
good a claim, at least for consultation in the consideration of

R 2

The Empire Review

those matters of policy, which might result in the shedding of
the best blood of the sons of the Commonwealth. They are a
nation worthy of the stock from which they sprang.

Are then the ties to be drawn closer, or shall these young
nations in the various Dominions be allowed to aimlessly drift
away ? Is the crimson thread to be snapped, or shall it be
woven into the fabric of an elastic and enduring union ? Is the
exchange of commodities to be encouraged on lines of mutual
concession and common benefit, or is the narrow objective of
pure commercialism again to drive the trade to the highest
bidder? Is more frequent intercourse and the exchange of
thought to be stimulated? Is the Britisher who desires to
migrate to be retained within the Empire, or through the want
of sympathy to be driven to shelter himself beneath a foreign
flag ? These are vital questions. In a sympathetic audience
but one answer would be expected. It would be difficult to find
a gathering which would be irresponsive, but there is much
diversity of opinion as to the best methods and the machinery
for closer union.

We have been invited to subscribe to the early acceptance of
a definite constitution in the form of Imperial Federation. No
doubt the privilege of consultation and representation logically
carries with it the corresponding responsibility of taxation.
But however anxious the Dominions may be, and however
justifiable the claim for a voice in the Cabinet Councils of the
Empire, I fear that Imperial Federation at the present time is
premature. Distance is the first lion in the path. Until the
voyage to Australia is greatly reduced in time, until cable rates
are much cheaper and news distributed in greater detail, her
representatives would be unable to perform the double duty of
serving their own Dominion at home and sitting in the Cabinet
in London. One duty or the other must be inadequately
performed. Moreover, if representation is to be based on
population the Dominions are unlikely to surrender themselves
to the vote of a Parliament in which the combined vote of all
the self-governing Dominions would be less than that of the
United Kingdom. On the other hand, Great Britain would be
justified in resisting any suggestion that the policy of this
country in respect of foreign relations should be determined by
a Parliament in which she might be out-voted by the Dominions.

Time will bring an increase in population and a conquering of
distance. Unsatisfactory as is a loose union, bonds prematurely
applied are more than dangerous, and however attractive the idea
of Imperial Federation may be the wise policy is to hasten slowly.
In the near future different portions of His Majesty's Dominions
may be endowed with wider powers of self-government. Possibly

The Dominions and the Colonial Office 223

those enjoying the, status of responsible Government may be
incorporated in wider federal areas. It is wise to wait and see.
Much can be done in the meantime to establish a better mutual
understanding, a closer union of sentiment and interest ; and on
these foundations, if truly and carefully laid, may be erected a
grander superstructure in years to come by the process of gradual
evolution.

I plead for two things — a wider knowledge and a closer
sympathy. Before the war the mutual ignorance of the various
portions of the Empire was lamentable ; although the war has
acted as an educational agency, still there are vast gaps of
knowledge to be filled ; we are all conscious of each others short-
comings. Australia, being one of the youngest and the most
distant outpost of the Empire, is the least known, and I am afraid
is at times not understood. This situation may be the result of,
at all events it is reflected in, the old Colonial Office policy.
Under our system of representative Government the grievances
and aspirations of a constituency are ventilated through the local
member and the Minister whose department is affected. Close
contact and quick access and personal meetings give a power and
vigour to representations which distance, unfortunately, destroys,
and the local representative carries the responsibility of loss of
prestige if he fails to adequately voice the wishes of his con-
stituents. At all events a hearing is secured, and a reason must
be advanced in support of a refusal.

To some extent the relationship of the Overseas Colonies to
the Colonial Office was similar to that between the individual
electorate and its member in the British Parliament. The
parallel may not be complete, yet it is a fact that the only
channel for representation that was available to residents in the
Colonies during last century, and to a large extent at the present
moment, was through the Secretary of State for the Colonies ;
thus it happened that distance weakened the force of the
representation, and through its want of knowledge of Colonial
conditions and of the individuals concerned the official mind was
necessarily unable to acquire the necessary note of sympathy.
Colonial grievances received short shrift ; the Colonies themselves
indeed were regarded as an expensive encumbrance, and whilst
petitions, which were deemed by the Colonist to be meritorious,
were pigeon-holed, the bonds of union were being undermined by
the cold indifference of British administration. Those defects
have to some extent been removed in recent years, but the
extraordinary and rapid changes brought about by the war in the
relations of the Dominions with the Mother Country demand
further changes and progressive administration to continually
keep abreast of these new developments.

224 The Empire Review

I wish to guard against any suggestion that the present
Secretary of State for the Colonies, or his staff, are wanting in
sympathy toward the Dominions. I freely recognise that Mr.
Long does his best to meet the aspirations and desires of all
sections of the Empire self-governing and Crown Colonies, but,
unfortunately, he is working with machinery that is obsolete, and
he cannot be expected to achieve what, under present conditions, .
is almost impossible. The very name of " Colonial Office " is now
out of date, and resurrects associations and recollections which in
old days stood for want of sympathy and indifference. Why
should the Minister who presides over the self-governing portions
of the Empire be incumbered with the administration of the
Crown Colonies ? The necessary changes are a matter of policy
for the Government rather than for the individual Minister,
and it is to them that I make the appeal to recognise the
great pace at which constitutional history is being made to-day
to scrap the old machinery and replace it with what is
up-to-date.

I venture to suggest, as one who has had experience of the
working of the Colonial Office, both in this country and in
Australia, that the officers of the Dominions Department in the
future should have served their apprenticeship in the Dominions,
not in the Commonwealth of Australia alone, but they should
devote a reasonable period of time to each of these great outposts
of Empire, in order to qualify themselves for the better under-
standing of them all on their return in London. They should
learn the physical geography, and become acquainted with the
resources of each country. They should study on the spot the
operations of all those Liberal institutions and social experiments
and the working of the democratic mind of these young com-
munities. An attitude of sympathy with the aspirations of these
free people should be encouraged, and their minds should be
receptive to the progressive ideas that are continually being
promulgated in these new countries.

No business house which desires to achieve success would
venture to send to a foreign country a traveller who could not
speak the language and did not understand the habits and the
idiosyncrasies of his customers. How much more necessary is
this personal experience in the field of Empire building and the
cultivation of the bonds of sentiment. As a matter of mutual
education I consider it equally important that the more capable
officials in the various Dominion Governments should undergo a
period of probation and training under the Secretary of State in
this country. Statistics in themselves are of value. Individual
officers may be replete with knowledge acquired by reading, but
it is the actual experience and the sympath}r gained by personal

The Dominions and the Colonial Office 225

acquaintance which breathes the breath of life into the dry bones
of mere official erudition.

I take this opportunity of expressing the appreciation of
Australia (and I assume it is supported by the other Dominions)
of the useful work that is performed by the Royal Colonial
Institute in this respect. For many years they have been the
rallying point for visitors overseas, and the traveller from the
Dominions always relies upon a warm welcome at the hands of
the Council of the Institute. They have done much to spread
knowledge of the people and the resources of the Empire. They
have endeavoured to encourage the flow of migration from this
country to the Dominions and to build up the strength of the
British Empire and help to populate the vast and empty spaces.
Much as they have done there is a large field still before them of
useful work, and their patriotic example may well be followed by
organisations and individuals who have at heart the cementing of
the bonds of union.

At present Great Britain and the Dominions constitute a
loosely-knit association of nations bound together by the bonds
of common ancestry, common traditions and common language ;
these can be strengthened by the cultivation and appreciation of
a common sentiment. In past ages the idea of Empire has
always been associated with that of despotism, but it is the
glory of the British Empire that the term has for many years
been associated with and has been synonymous with political
liberty. It is our belief that an unswerving respect for the
political rights of the people is the strongest bond of unity and
loyalty. Great Britain has much to be proud of. Her people
are not too proud to adapt themselves to new conditions. As in
the past, England has been the nursing mother of representative
institutions. We hope that the verdict of history will be that
the British Empire is the most perfect type and example of the
federation of free peoples in the great Commonwealth of Nations
and the most effective power for good the world has ever seen.

CHARLES G. WADE
(Agent-General for New South Wales,)

226 The Empire Review

AUSTRALIA MUST HAVE EMIGRANTS

SHALL THEY BE BRITISH OR ALIEN?

SHALL the vacant spaces of the Dominions be handed over
to the foreigner ? That is the real question behind the demand
for immigrants that rises insistently in the Empire overseas.

Australia is an undeveloped continent. It should have a
population as great as the United States of America, but it has
two million less people than London. The position is untenable,
and we cannot reasonably expect it to continue. There is too
much logic behind the doctrine of "effective occupation" to
permit of its being brushed aside as unworthy of serious con-
sideration. Just as any landowner who fails to develop his
estate is clogging the wheels of his country's progress, so an
Empire which holds a continent in idleness is standing in the
way of the development of the world's riches.

Hitherto, the Australian States have sought only to secure
immigrants from the United Kingdom. We have strictly
followed the ideal of maintaining the community " more British
than the British," with the result that only 3 per cent, of our
people are of alien birth. That is a proud record, and we
want to perpetuate it, but the unsympathetic attitude towards
emigration which seems to be growing here is likely to defeat
our ends.

I desire to see the ties holding together the Dominions and
the Motherland hold fast for all time, but I do not agree with
some of our enthusiastic Imperialists who believe that because
our troops have fought so magnificently 'together in the present
war the result must necessarily be the strengthening of those
ties. There is no mistaking the fact that an entirely new spirit
has sprung up among the people of the Dominions as the result
of the prowess of their fighting sons. The deeds of the Australian
soldiers have brought into existence a spirit of national pride
and independence not generally existing prior to 1914. Should
we find it necessary to introduce numbers of settlers not
of British birth in order to develop our industries and help

Australia must have Emigrants 227

to create a defensive army, it can easily be seen that such a
population would militate against the homogeneity of the Empire.
Perhaps for another ten or twenty years there may be nothing
to fear in this connection, but the wise policy of both the
Motherland and the Commonwealth is to ensure that a steady
stream of British emigration is kept up. By this means and
by this means only will it be possible to maintain Australia as a
country worthy to retain her place side by side with the other
Dominions as an integral part of the Empire.

The report of the Empire Settlement Committee, presided
over by Lord Tennyson, and including in its personnel men
possessing experience and knowledge of the whole question of
emigration, is worthy of close perusal. After stating that as a
result of the lack of method in handling the emigration question
in the past, " millions of men of British birth or parentage have
become citizens of other lands," the report proceeds to remind
us that " since the outbreak of war, from every part of the Empire
the children or grandchildren of those whose enterprise or needs
caused them to leave the United Kingdom in past years have
rallied to the support of the Empire in this day of decision and
struggle for existence. They have risked their fortunes with
those of the Mother Country. They have shed their blood with
her blood. They have shown that, though seas separate the
Empire, and, in some respects, the interests of one part may
differ from those of another, it is still one and indivisible ; that
together we stand, or together we fall. In short, it has come to
be understood that the man or woman who leaves Britain is not
lost to the Empire, but has gone to be its stay and strength in
other Britains overseas. The only risk of losing such an one is
when the new home is shadowed by some other flag."

Following in the same strain the Report continues : " Hence-
forward no part of the Empire must consider emigration strictly
from the point of view of its own interests and needs. The
Mother Country may not wish to lose its men and women ; it
will naturally prefer to retain them, if it can provide them with
suitable means of livelihood. But, if the men and women wish
to go, and if opportunities are lacking at home, the Home
Government should help, not hinder, them on their way to other
parts of the Empire. So, too, the Dominions should not desire
to pursue a policy calculated to denude the Mother Country of
the population which she needs. But they will welcome those
whom she is able to spare, and give them every chance of success
in a new and wider life. Particularly, we are sure, will they
rejoice to receive the men who have fought the Empire's battles
in this war, who are the best of the British race. No settlers
could be more desirable, both as regards themselves and their

The Eippire Review

progeny, which may well be of priceless worth in the now
unpeopled districts of the Empire overseas. It has seemed to us,
then, that a new departure in our emigration system is needed, if
it is to be looked at, as it ought to be, from the standpoint of the
Empire as a whole. Individual interests must be subordinated,
and co-operative action is needed."

With these conclusions few will disagree, but there is another
aspect to the question to which I think insufficient attention has
been paid, namely, the desires of the British soldiers. Personally,.
I cannot help feeling that of greater importance even than the
interests of the Motherland or the Dominions, is the obligation
which we shall owe to the men who, when peace is signed, will
have saved the Empire for us. Therefore, I suggest that early
and definite steps should be taken to ascertain the true feeling of
the British soldiers with regard to settlement in the Dominions.
It has been found possible, and not extraordinarily difficult, to
take more than one referendum of the Australian soldiers on the
question of conscription, and, therefore, it should be possible to
ascertain the will of the soldiers as to their future careers. I
have no shadow of doubt that hundreds of thousands of them
have already made up their minds that they will go to the
Dominions if shipping facilities make it possible for them to do
so, and I say that no selfish trading or other interests should
stand between them and the reward which they have so well
earned.

Before I left Western Australia the Imperial Government
asked the Government, of which I was a member, how many
ex-service men we would be prepared to absorb, and the reply
was given that we would take 25,000 per annum. The settlement
and financing of such a large number of men would naturally
present great difficulties, but I am confident that the resources of
the State would prove equal to the strain. Of course, we under-
stood that the British Government would be prepared to supply
free passages to ex-soldiers wishing to settle in Western Australia.
I do not think it is too much to expect that free passages should
be provided to any one of the Dominions, but instead of free
passages we are threatened with enormously high steamer fares.
Before the war we used to pay £12 to £16 per head to the
Shipping Companies, and now the Shipping Controller has fixed
an arbitrary rate of about £30 per head for each third-class passage.
Of course, no State in the Commonwealth would dream of trying
to carry on an immigration policy under such a burdensome impost.
However, I am not without hope that the termination of the war
and the release of great numbers of ships now used for trans-
porting troops and war materials may ease this situation.

Another interesting proposal is that in the event of free

Australia must have Emigrants 229

•

passages not being provided an arrangement should be made for
the establishment of a flat rate for emigrants to all Dominions.
It is suggested, in order to solve one of the great disadvantages
of far-distant countries like Australia and New Zealand, that this
flat rate should be paid by the Dominions, and that the Imperial
Government should make up the difference in cost to the
Shipping Companies.

I believe there is every justification for the contention that
the immigrant becomes a greater asset to the Empire when he
settles in one or other of the Dominions. He certainly can earn
more wages and produce goods of greater value, and even from
the purely materialistic point of view of the British manufacturer,
he must not be written off as a dead loss, for he will continue to
buy a high proportion of British goods. The United Kingdom
has already 75 per cent, of the white population of the Empire
occupying a territory which only amounts to 1 per cent, of the
total area of the Empire. The remaining 99 per cent, of our
lands carries only 25 per cent, of the white population. Surely,
therefore, there is no justification for the contention that any
encouragement of emigration is unwarranted and likely to prove
harmful to the Motherland.

It is worth bearing in mind that during the four years of the
war the normal flow of emigration has been almost entirely
stopped. Hundreds of thousands of British men, women, and
children, who would by now have been settled in Canada,
Australia, or under a foreign flag, remain in the Country. This
means a direct saving of population which will counterbalance
the heavy losses resulting directly from the war.

The Emigration Bill now before the House of Commons is
to my mind unsatisfactory, and the proposed limitation of the
expenditure to £50,000 per annum shows a most regrettable
failure on the part of members of the House of Commons to
realise the tremendous importance of the subject. My own
state of Western Australia, with a total population numbering
less than many of the provincial cities in this Country, has spent
as much as £150,000 in a single year for the encouragement of
emigration. If it is really intended to meet the wishes of the
soldiers, and I contend that we are under a sacred obligation
to consider favourably their every desire, then it is not a question
of thinking in thousands of pounds, but of tackling the subject
in a big way and of allocating to the authority controlling
emigration a sum of money equivalent to, say, the cost of the
war for a week.

J. D. CONNOLLY

(Agent-General for Western Australia.)

230 The Empire Review

THE CALL

LAST night across the valley's mist

Thou cam'st, dear heart, to me,
And gave one blissful hour of love •

From thine eternity.
Closer than e'en in times of old

My soul was knit with thine,
And all our days of joy were dim

Beside that hour divine.

Straight from the blood-stained field of strife

Thou earnest blithe and gay ;
Flooding my dreams with rapture sweet,

Turning my night to day.
"Dear love of mine," thy spirit breathed,

"Thy task is still to do;
Thy country needs each loyal heart.

Kise ! cast aside thy rue."

And so I cast aside my grief —

Mine is my country's will.
His life was given for her dear sake,

His spirit helps her still.
For Freedom and for Motherland

That life so freely spent,
Must ever be a living force,

An endless sacrament.

CHABLOTTE PIDGEON.

British Timber Supplies 231

BRITISH TIMBER SUPPLIES

As the question of timber supplies is so vital to the United
Kingdom, it is important to consider our position. The war has
revealed in the plainest possible manner that to meet any future
crisis an adequate reserve supply will be essential. In a national
emergency there must be no risk of collapse through a dearth of
this all-important raw material. Let us see, then, how we stand,
and upon what countries we have depended hitherto for our
supplies.

An analysis of the imports of coniferous timber and pitwood
for the year immediately preceding the war shows that fifty per
cent, of our supply came from Russia. If we include the
"Baltic" supplies generally, comprising Russia, Finland, and
Scandinavia, and excluding Germany, this one source represented
seventy per cent, of the total quantity imported. Nervousness
may be felt in some quarters as to the future of Russia and to
what extent local politics or enemy influence may prejudice the
cost or the facilities for obtaining her supplies in the immediate
or distant future. The position in Russia at the moment is most
obscure, and only the future can disclose under what form of
government, or if as an empire or as separate States, the new
Russia will eventually settle down. Neither have we any idea as
to what her future fiscal policy may be, or what encouragement
— or the reverse — may be extended to enterprise and capital and
the development of her forests. In any case, I fear that recent
events will be reflected for a considerable time in financial
quarters, and may prejudice that development in Russia which we
all desire and in which we wished to participate. That develop-
ment of forest resources in Russia and Finland will take place
sooner or later I do not doubt. But, apart from other reasons
and from how far this development will be controlled by us or
influenced to our advantage, the geographical position of Russia
is in an emergency most unfortunate, as we have learned to our
cost. The one narrow entrance to the Baltic does not add to our
feeling of security as to what changes or developments the future
may have in store. I do not suggest that the Baltic supplies will
fail, or that they should necessarily be discouraged, but I do say

232 The Empire Review

that seventy per cent, of our total timber supply from one source
is too large a proportion for us to rely on either immediately after
the war or permanently.

The necessity for ensuring supplies is vital to our national
existence. We must not risk being dependent upon uncertain
sources, or being forced to negotiate at an unfavourable moment
by the sacrifice of some other raw material which forms part of
our national wealth. Let us hope that the lesson we have had in
this direction of timber supplies from the Baltic during the war
will be taken to heart. The exact future as to Baltic timber
supplies is all uncertainty, but whatever may happen there are
several facts affecting our immediate supply which we cannot
afford to overlook. To enumerate some of the most important :—

(1) The Baltic supplies of timber are in close proximity to
the countries where the war has been waged.

(2) There will be an enormous demand for timber in the
devastated areas for the work of reconstruction, and these
countries will have the first claim.

(3) The flow of supplies to this country has been stopped
by the war. Unsettled conditions severely handicap the-
recovery of an industry, and in any case a considerable time
must elapse before the former timber trade can be brought
back to its normal condition.

(4) The availability and cost of transport from forest to
port, in addition to shipping, is the deciding factor in the
arrival and price of supplies.

(5) Transport facilities of all kinds and accommodation at
railway stations and docks will be needed for an immense
variety of other freight. Timber, owing to its bulky
dimensions and comparatively low value, is handicapped as
freight in competition with other goods.

(6) The cost of labour in countries like Eussia, which
also largely influences the price of converted timber, will
scarcely be so low in the future as in the past.

Other considerations must also tend to increased costs, at
least for the near future, but particularly the unprecedented
demand in the war areas for timber from the Baltic.

In the past we have been all too prone to assume that
because supplies have flowed readily and unrestrictedly this will
always be the case. Let me give an extract from a recent article
in the International Institute of Agriculture's Bulletin written
by the head of the Swedish Statistical Office : "A branch of the
timber industry," the writer tells us, " which has recently inspired
a certain nervousness, is the exportation of mine props, as it is
feared, not without reason, that this may depopulate the forests.
The felling of wood for such props would have no harmful effect
if only trees of medium value, which might be considered as

British Timber Supplies 233

useless for the rational preservation of the forest, were used ; on
the other hand it becomes very serious when, as often happens,
whole young plantations are felled. . . . These props are exported
almost exclusively to England." These remarks refer to our main
pre-war supply of pitwood.

All these facts speak for themselves. They demand that the
whole problem shall be investigated fully and carefully, while the
vital importance of the matter imperatively forbids delay in
handling it. How can this best be done?

In July, 1916, a Sub-Committee of the Eeconstruction Com-
mittee was appointed " To consider and report upon the best
means of conserving and developing the woodland forestry re-
sources of the United Kingdom, having regard to the experience
gained during the war." The Final Eeport of this Sub-Committee
was issued recently, and proves to be one of the most valuable
and interesting " blue books " we have had for many years. The
Eeport, as a whole, gives a very able review of the position. It
embodies a scheme for the encouragement of British forestry and
the creation of State forests, the main purpose for which the Sub-
Committee was appointed. The larger question of the whole
timber supply of the country had, however, become so urgent
during the war that the Sub- Committee found itself forced to
refer also to this. And I cannot emphasise too strongly that the
two questions should never be divorced in the future. The timber
supply of the country and afforestation should be dovetailed into
a broad, generous, Imperial scheme.

I propose now to outline briefly a scheme which in my opinion
will secure for this country ample supplies of suitable timber for
our national and local needs, as well as reserves of timber by
afforestation here to meet any future emergency. The establish-
ment of an organised scheme on broad lines is required, and it
will be a necessary precaution to place our future dependence for
this vital raw material upon a portion of the British Empire
rather than upon a foreign country.

As the whole position is altered by the war, let me refer to
what happened in similar circumstances after our last great wars.
" During and after the Napoleonic wars, partly because of the
disorganisation of the Baltic trade and as much from the desire
to encourage Colonial commerce and help pay the battle bill, the
timber trade between Canada and the United Kingdom grew until
Britain in 1820 imported 335,556 loads (a load equals 50 cubic
feet) of timber from British North America, and 166,600 loads
from European countries. This was a most advantageous change
from seventeen years earlier, when only 12,133 loads were pro-
vided by Canada and 280,550 from European countries." *

* Canadian Forestry Journal.

234 The Empire Review

Let us now consider the position of Canada— and with Canada
I include Newfoundland. In 1913 Canada sent us only ten per
cent, of our imports of coniferous timber and pitwood. That
country has the largest reserves of probably the finest timber in
the world and of the varieties most suitable for our requirements.
Is there any reason, apart from the matter of transport, why in
the future the ten per cent, should not be increased enormously ?
In the past the cost of transport from the Baltic was low in com-
parison with that from Canada, partly on account of return freights
and other special facilities. Given cheap freights and special
exchange of trade with Canada after the war, this comparison
might not stand in the future. I have not space to discuss the
important problem of transport after the war, but I can foresee an
era of extremely low freights after the first avalanche of cargoes.
Putting such a premium as exists at present on the world pro-
duction of shipping must, in my opinion, bring eventually the
inevitable slump in shipping freights. Provided the transport
difficulty can be met great benefits can be assured to Canada and
to this country by a large imperial scheme for utilising Canadian
supplies of mature timber and combining forestry in Canada with
forestry in Great Britain. It is unnecessary for me to dilate upon
the desirability of developing the British Empire. This is
admirably dealt with in the Final Keport of the Dominions Eoyal
Commission.

I have already mentioned that timber supplies and forestry
cannot be treated as if they were in water-tight compartments.
The whole policy of forestry in this country in the future must be
the creation of reserves of timber to meet any emergency, as an
insurance against the stoppage of imported supplies from any
cause.

Let me enumerate some of the advantages of organising
British and Canadian forestry on broad lines, looking to Canada
for mature timber while creating reserves by afforestation in
Great Britain. And in doing so I would lay special stress on three
points : (1) The geographical position of Canada and its distance
from the war area. (2) That lumbering is one of the principal
industries of Canada and can be extended promptly and in-
definitely. (3) That Canada possesses exceptional natural facilities
relating to water transport and other advantages. Now as to
mutual advantages. Canada has unlimited supplies of Douglas
Fir, the " Oregon Pine " of commerce, pre-eminently suitable for
constructional work and many other important purposes, as has
been abundantly proved in its wo'rld-wide markets. Canada
possesses also unlimited resources of other species of timber,
particularly varieties of spruce, the " White Deal " of commerce.
The timber of spruce is used in great quantities in this country,

British Timber Supplies 235

and selected parcels of Canada's Sitka spruce are in large demand
for the construction of aeroplanes. Canada has also the Thuya,
plicata (known in British Columbia as "Western Bed Cedar"),
one of the most durable trees in the world, as well as Weymouth
pine (the " White Pine " of commerce), and other important trees,
including various hardwoods. Our annual bill for woodpulp for
paper-making totals five million pounds. This material can be
supplied in conjunction with pitwood from the forests of Canada,
and the manufacture of pulp is one of the most flourishing
industries of Canada. So much for timber supplies. I pass on
to forestry.

Douglas fir, Sitka spruce, and other timbers which Canada
will send us and which our markets require are the very trees we
should plant here on a large scale for afforestation. Spruce is the
most suitable tree for much of our waste hill land, and Canada's
Sitka spruce is advocated for planting on a large scale. Spruce
timber has unlimited uses here, and is the best wood for pulp as
well as for pitwood. For the valleys or the better soils Douglas
fir is the most promising tree to plant. There are many other
Canadian trees that may usefully be cultivated here. Canada
can teach us many useful lessons, particularly in organisation, the
commercial utilisation and marketing of forest produce, and the
technology and uses of wood. Great Britain can give Canada
facilities for studying the commercial utilisation of timber in this
country, so as to develop the markets here for Canadian timbers.
Canada has mature forests of Douglas fir and other timbers which
we desire to produce in this country, and therefore wish to study.
We shall require also quantities of tree seeds of the best types
from the forests of Canada. Great Britain has old scientific
societies and unique facilities for scientific research, and is also in
close touch with Continental centres and facilities for practical
and theoretical forestry education.

Having lived for two years amongst the magnificent forests of
the Pacific Slope, I can personally testify as to the great value of
Canadian timber to this country. Having been in touch for a
long time with Canadian forestry and literature, and a member of
their Forestry Association, I can vouch for the great benefits
which we should ourselves derive from a mutual scheme of
forestry training here and in Canada. This training, I believe,
would be more valuable to us in the future than the much-
advertised pre-war German forestry training, although we owe
much to the latter.

The Canadian authorities appreciate the enormous importance

of conserving their timber resources and encouraging live interest

in forestry development. We desire, farther, to encourage a

similar interest in this country and also, I hope, in the Empire.

VOL. XXXII.— No. 210. s

236 The Empire Review

Our interests are one. A joint scheme cannot fail to be of mutual
benefit. We are the largest importers of timber of any nation,
therefore we are most dependent upon forests abroad and the
most interested in the conservation of forests. We should make
amends for our past indifference and start a national campaign to
encourage forestry, not only in Great Britain, but throughout the
British Empire.

M. C. DUCHESNE

(Honorary Secretary of the Royal English
Arboricultural Society and of the English
Fores try A ssociation) .

FACTORIES IN SOUTH AFRICA

MR. MALAN, Minister of Mines, recently addressed a largely-
attended meeting on establishing factories in South Africa. The
question has been brought more and more before the attention
of other countries, which, as a result of transport difficulties,
have been forced to consider whether they could not produce
the articles needed themselves. Mr. Malan pointed out that
South Africa was already doing a great deal in the agricultural
and mining industries. The 'Government had prepared a return
of the products of these and other industries. The return dated
back to 1916, and even since then many new industries had been
started. The value of articles produced from raw materials, with
the exception of mining and agriculture, was 40 millions, the
number of factories 4,050, employing 99,000 people. It was
realised that there was need of a law dealing with factories, and
he hoped such a law would be put through Parliament this year.
The Minister mentioned factories in various parts of the country,
stating inter alia that there were 69 tanneries, employing 799
people, producing leather to the value of between £500,000 and
£600,000, using almost exclusively South African raw materials
to the value of £399,000. The advantages of factories were two-
fold. They employed people, and also resulted in money which
used to be sent away being kept in the country, but much more
could be done than at present.

Sir Owen Philipps on Shipping Problems 237

SIR OWEN PHILIPPS ON SHIPPING
PROBLEMS

PBESIDING the other day at the Annual General Meeting of
the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, Sir Owen Philipps made
a timely contribution towards the solution of some of the shipping
problems that have arisen out of the war.

After pointing out that notwithstanding the depredations of
enemy submarines, the tonnage directly owned by the company
had only diminished, during three and a half years of war, by
about 12 per cent, or less than 4 per cent, per annum, he went
on to show that even this small reduction would not have
occurred, and the company would have had a considerably
larger fleet now than at the commencement of the war, had it
not been for the action of the British Government in deciding
that standard ships should be built and paid for by the Govern-
ment, instead of allowing the great companies to take up their
fair proportion of new tonnage, and thus help to relieve the
strain on the Treasury at a time when we all are urged, and
rightly urged, to save every pound to put into National War
Bonds to enable the Empire to finance the war. It has been
suggested, he continued, that the Government should take ad-
vantage of the present high prices of vessels to sell some or all of
the standard ships they have recently built, or which are in
course of construction, to British shipowners, in order that they
may make good in some measure the gaps which war losses have
caused in their fleets. That policy he regarded " well worthy of
serious consideration."

Touching on the West Indian services of the company he very
pertinently observed : " There are many signs that favourable
developments are possible in the commercial outlook of the
British West Indian Colonies, as the war is bringing home to our
people the importance of making the British Empire self-
supporting in the matter of sugar production. The fact that the
West Indies are situated on the new sea routes brought into
being by the opening of the Panama Canal should also tend to
stimulate West Indian trade. As soon as circumstances permit,

s 2

238 The Empire Review

our Government may possibly consider it advisable to go still
further in the direction of recognising the growing importance of
the British West Indian Colonies by arranging to pay an adequate
subsidy for the maintenance of a suitable mail service between
this country and the West Indies. The increasing close co-
operation between Canada and the British West Indies in
business matters has also an important bearing upon the com-
mercial future of the islands."

Turning to shipbuilding, he said : — " It seems clear that we
are holding the submarine campaign in check with increasing
success, but we are not yet within measurable distance of its
complete elimination as a serious menace. It therefore behoves
us to look in the direction of a greater out-turn from the ship-
building yards in this country, the U.S.A. and Canada, in order
to reach the point where production will balance losses, and we
may begin to make good the losses of the past year. I have
emphasised repeatedly during the war the seriousness of the
position of this country as regards the need for more mercantile
ships. This is now intensified by the demands upon shipping to
transport the American Army and its equipment across the
Atlantic, and to feed and maintain it in France. By dint of
much perseverance, the Government have at last been prevailed
upon to publish fuller particulars concerning the tonnage of
vessels lost ; but, seeing that the main object of publishing a
more complete statement of the facts was to administer a stimulus
to the national effort for the production of mercantile ships, I
cannot help feeling that shorter intervals in issuing the tonnage
losses would have a very stimulating effect on the production of
new vessels. In the matter of shipbuilding, the country is to be
congratulated upon having secured the services of Lord Pirrie as
Controller-General of Mercantile Shipbuilding. I believe that
the influence of his practical experience and great energy has
already made itself felt in the right direction, whilst I feel certain
that under his guidance the next half-year will reveal satisfactory
progress in the national output of mercantile vessels. In this
connection, I hope before long to see in operation a system of
much greater publicity for the results of shipbuilding effort, such
as I have advocated on many occasions both in Parliament and
outside. I see the idea has been taken up in America, where, by
means of graphic charts, the workers can see at a glance what
each yard is producing. By encouraging friendly competition
between yard and yard, river and river, district and district, effort
is stimulated and the best and speediest results obtained."

Passing to the question of Government control he admitted
that at the end of the war there will be for a time a great demand
for ships, and exceedingly keen competition for their services,

Sir Owen Philipps on Shipping Problems 239

and that no doubt a certain amount of Government control over
shipping may be necessary for a very brief period in order to
ensure essential supplies. But he added: "It is much to be
hoped that, as foreshadowed recently by Dr. Addison, the Minister
of Reconstruction, this Government control may be relaxed at
the earliest possible moment after the conclusion of peace.
Many highly important overseas trades have had to be temporarily
abandoned by British shipping companies owing to the exigencies
of war. It is essential in the national interests that these regular
steamship services should be resumed as promptly as possible, if
we are to hold our own in the future as a maritime power. The
sphere of Government control should be limited to enforcing
proper rules and regulations in regard to the construction of
ships, their seaworthiness, equipment, manning, etc., and to
securing, as far as practicable, fair-play for British shipping in
competition with foreign nations — more especially where foreign
shipping is, either directly or indirectly, State-aided."

In his opinion, no British industry was less adapted to State
ownership than shipping. "It has been created and built up by
successive generations of strenuous and enterprising men, and it
is difficult to conceive that the world-wide ramifications of our
maritime trade could possibly be upheld and expanded by Govern-
ment officials, however able and efficient in their own sphere.
At the end of this war the British Mercantile Marine, which has
proved its absolute indispensability to the nation in these days of
peril, will be faced with an unprecedented position. Its tonnage
has been depleted, and what remains will require considerable
overhaul after the strain of running under pressure of war
conditions. British shipping companies have had to meet
exceedingly heavy taxation, and all working costs have increased
enormously. On the other hand, in amount of tonnage and in
financial resources, foreign shipping will be equipped as never
before to contest our former supremacy as the world's ocean
carrier. Internal industrial undertakings, such as railways, coal,
gas and electrical companies, which, from their nature, are
practical monopolies, may be suitable for State or Municipal
ownership. In the case of an industry so highly specialised as
shipping, however, with such wide-spread ramifications and
interests all over the world, open to universal competition, I am
convinced that by taking it out of the hands of those who have
won for it the high position it has occupied hitherto, and placing
it in the hands of a government department, the nation would be
running a grave risk of losing that maritime supremacy which,
whether in war or peace, is essential to the maintenance of our
position as a world power."

Concluding a most instructive and helpful' speech Sir Owen

240 The Empire Review

did not hesitate to say that nothing was more difficult under
normal circumstances than intelligently to forecast the outlook
for the British shipping trade, but never at any period in our
history had it been more difficult to do so than now. Un-
doubtedly high freights would continue for a time after the war,
but for himself he saw no grounds to warrant what appeared to
be a very general belief, " that the conclusion of peace will be
followed by many years of great prosperity for British shipping."

CANADIAN TRADE EXPANSION

THE trade returns for the fiscal year just ended, issued by
the Census and Statistics Office at Ottawa, show that the volume
of the external, trade of Canada is now greater than at any
previous period in the history of the Dominion. For the year
ended March 31st the grand total of the imports for consumption
and exports of Canadian merchandise — taking no account of the
movement of coin and bullion — was over two billions and a half
of dollars. Imports for consumption were greater by 56 per cent,
than for the year prior to the war. Under the stimulus of war
orders, the export trade shows a still greater development, exports
of Canadian goods exceeding in value similar exports in 1914 by
256 per cent. The total trade of Canada for the last fiscal year
reached $2,502,549,635, against $1,050,045,583 for the fiscal year
1914, being an increase in four years of $1,452,504,052, more
than the whole trade in 1916. The imports of merchandise for
1918 were valued at $962,521,847 and in 1914 at $618,457,144, an
increase of $344,064,703, whilst the exports of Canadian mer-
chandise amounted to $1,540,027,788 and $431,588,439 respec-
tively, an increase of $1,108,439,349. During the same period
the exports of the mine increased from $59,039,054 to $73,760,502 ;
the fisheries from $20,623,560 to $32,602,151; the forest from
$42,792,137 to $51,899,704; animals and their produce from
$53,349,119 to $172,743,081; agricultural products from
$198,220,029 to $567,713,584; manufactured goods from
$57,443,452 to $636,602,516. The Customs revenue for 1918
amounted to $161,588,465; in 1914 it was $107,180,578, an
increase of $54,407,887, or about 51 per cent.

Farming in Canada 241

FARMING IN CANADA

THE result of the appeal for boy recruits for work upon the
Canadian farms this spring and summer has already exceeded'
expectations. From reports available the provincial organisation
announces the enlistment of between 18,000 and 19,000 boys who
are ready to undertake patriotic work in helping production.
Ontario's objective was 15,000. Judging from the reports
received from the other provinces the Dominion objective of
25,000 will be easily attained. British Columbia reported
870 boys enlisted, with assurances that the complete enlistment
would be about 1,500. Alberta already has 634 of an objective of
1,200, and Saskatchewan has 676. In some schools the response
to the appeal for help was nothing short of marvellous. In the
Toronto schools it is estimated that about 80 per cent, offered to
go on the farms, but in the high schools in the smaller towns the
boys volunteered en masse. These soldiers of the soil recruited
from the cities will find themselves brigaded with lads of their
own age who are veterans in this rustic warfare. The town boys
will learn something from comrades of their own age who are
quite accustomed to strenuous vocations running far into the
school period before and after.

IN the annual report of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange the
president gives some interesting details as to the history and
progress of that institution. Six years ago the organisation
occupied a building which cost £100,000 while to-day premises
are occupied costing £400,000 ; six years ago there were 700
employees, to-day there are 1,500. Every Canadian realises that
only the fringe of possibilities has been touched in this great
granary of the Empire, and the Winnipeg Grain Exchange has
played, and will continue to play, a great part in its develop-
ment. According to an announcement made by the secretary,
120,000,000 bushels of wheat were inspected at Winnipeg between
September 1st and February 8th, out of 208,581,000 bushels, the
estimate of last season's crop.

IT is estimated that Alberta had at least an average of 15 to
20 per cent, increase in acreage available for seeding this year
over that of 1917. In view of the large amount of summer
fallow prepared under favourable conditions in the .past season,
at least 20 per cent, more grain should, it is believed, be produced
in Alberta this year than last. This is considered by experts to
be a conservative estimate.

242 The Empire Review

THE Central Dominion Experimental Farm at Saskatchewan
has produced another new variety of wheat, "Kuby." This
possesses characteristics in ripening and other qualities similar to
those possessed by "Marquis" and "Prelude," which were also
produced at the Central Dominion Experimental Farm. It is
beardless, with hard red kernels, gives a fair yield and makes
flour of the highest quality in regard to colour and strength.
This wheat is the result of a cross between "Downy Riga" and
"Red Fife." "Ruby" is, however, recommended only where
" Marquis " will not ripen.

ONE of the most successful schemes organised in order to
increase the production of food in urban areas this year is the
"Win the War Gardens " plan in which the school children of
Toronto are co-operating. Special inducements have been offered
to encourage the young gardeners to grow vegetables, and the
plan, which has the approval of the Board of Education and is
under the auspices of the organisation of Resources Committee,
includes provision for autumn fairs to be held in all schools in
September when prizes will be given for the best products;
38,000 envelopes were distributed throughout the public schools,
and these were filled with the seed required by the juvenile
gardeners, who secured their seeds through the schools at a
reduced price. Simple directions and instructions for cultivation
accompanied each collection of seeds.

THE Indian population of Canada, according to the annual
report of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, is 102,294, an
increase of 437 over the population shown in the previous annual
report. According to the report, the Indian population is slowly
but steadily increasing, and it is noted that the farming Indians
of the country are responding generously to the call for increased
production. Their progress towards industrial independence is
shown by the fact that last year the crops raised by Indians were
valued at £470,361, while their total income from farming,
trapping, etc., was £1,460,597. The Indian Department's
statistics show that the average per capita value of real and
personal property held by the Indians is now about £124.

THE Ontario Provincial Government has passed an Order-in-
Council extending the close season for quail, Hungarian partridge
and pheasants of every description for two years from October
31st next. These game birds have not increased to the extent
anticipated and further protection is necessary. Black and grey
squirrels are also to be given more protection. The Government
has decided that in the counties of York and Waterloo, where
the little animals are becoming scarce, no squirrel of this descrip-
tion may be " hunted, taken or killed " for a period of two years
from October 31st, 1918.

THE sale of automobiles in Western Canada, especially to
farmers, continues to increase. During the first six weeks of the
present year 5,000 licences were issued in Saskatchewan. This

Farming in Canada 243

is an increase of approximately 1,500 over the corresponding
period of last year.

BEFOBE the outbreak of war the Province of British Columbia
had evolved a plan for a Provincial University at Vancouver,
with a College of Agriculture in affiliation. Two hundred and
fifty acres were purchased on Point Grey, and 190 acres were
added a little later on. The reinforced concrete framework of
the first building had only just been erected when the war came
and construction work ceased. Clearing, however, still continued,
and this year 130 acres will be under cultivation, most of this
being devoted to experimental, educatio'nal and demonstration
work. One of the most interesting of the educational features is
a section in which it is intended to reproduce all the plants and
trees native to British Columbia. There are 800 varieties,
embracing 25,000 specimens, in this section now.

THE newer fruit section of the Niagara Peninsula extending
from St. Catherines to Niagara by way of the Ontario Lake front,
has come into prominence within the past few years on account
of its heavy production of tender fruits. The great strides made
in this industry are largely due to the entrance of the electric
railway line from St. Catherines. Previous to 1911 the fruit
farmers in the district were dependent on the Niagara boat service
or shipment by rail from St. Catherines for disposal of their pro-
duce, and shipment by either of these routes entailed a long
waggon haul ; so the more tender and small fruits were not grown
to any great extent, though the possibilities of the land in the
section were more or less recognised. In earlier days a consider-
able acreage had been planted to apples, and this crop, together
with tomatoes for the factory and mixed farming provided
occupation for the then somewhat scattered population. With
the coming of the electric railway, however, business in fruit pro-
duction increased by leaps and bounds, and within a few years the
whole country practically was planted to peaches, with small fruits
as an inter-crop, some farmers going so far as to uproot their
established vineries in order to plant peach trees. The old settlers
made quite a remunerative business of the division of their farms
into 10 to 25-acre lots, and selling the same to newcomers whose
only idea was the growing of fruit and vegetables, and these nearly
all prospered in spite of their large initial outlay. The war has had
a certain amount of adverse effect on the amount of fruit production
in this new section, but there is a great future before it.

As showing the appreciation extended to the work of
creameries in Canada, at the first annual meeting of the
Saskatchewan Co-operative Creamery held recently in North
Battleford, the Mayor, Mr. H. B. Thomas, presented under the
seal of the city a formal resolution of the Council, wherein the
city presented a clear title of possession of the property in North
Battleford now being used by the Saskatchewan Co-operative
Creamery for its plant. The Creamery last year had a successful
season, and a cold storage plant is in process of construction at a
total cost of £7,000.

The Empire Review

THE Quebec Provincial Government has voted a sum of
£2,000 to the Quebec Provincial Exhibition for the encourage-
ment of agricultural exhibits. The exhibition this year will be
held from August 29th to September 7th, and its motto will be
" The Year of National Awakening." With the vital need of
extra production agriculture will receive a great deal of attention
at the exhibition this year.

A MEMBER of the Canadian Department of the Interior has
returned from the Peace River to Ottawa. He states that that
part of Alberta is one of the most fertile regions of the Canadian
west, and its outstanding attraction is its grain-growing resources.
He was in the north last summer, and on that and previous
occasions saw the wealth of the Peace Eiver country, which he is
now recommending to returned soldiers and others. £200,000
worth of gold has been extracted from the sands, and there were
traces of salt and gypsum as well as abundant stores of coal
and oil.

THE considerable number of farm land sales in all parts of the
prairie provinces is indicative of the movement for greater produc-
tion and of the demand for the fertile lands of Western Canada
for this purpose. The following are some of the sales which have
been completed privately lately : farm near Virden, Manitoba,
£10,000 cash; farm near Regina, Saskatchewan, £3,584; farm
near Mountain View, Manitoba, £2,400. Similar reports come
from all over the farming districts of the Dominion.

DURING the year 1917, 200 cars of creamery butter were
exported from Alberta. That province was the first in Western
Canada to grade its butter and cream, and to the dairy commis-
sioner of Alberta belongs the credit of starting a movement which
has become general in the west, and which has had the effect of
creating a standard of creamery butter that is not excelled
anywhere.

ACCORDING to the estimates of the Canadian census and
statistics bureau, compiled on the basis of reports received from
correspondents in every part of the province, the amount of
autumn ploughing accomplished in Saskatchewan in 1917 is
placed at 50 per cent, more than in 1916. The amount of
summer fallow prepared in 1917 for the 1918 crop is also shown
to be considerably in excess of that of the previous year. The
total area of land prepared in Saskatchewan during 1917 for the
1918 crop is conservatively estimated at 6,134,609 acres.

THE Food Control Board has ordered all local storage houses
to put on the market immediately all apples " of all varieties that
will not keep for a longer period." It was discovered that
approximately 26,000 boxes were being held in storage. Ac-
cording to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture for the province of
British Columbia, the prospects for a record apple crop in that
province during the present year are excellent. It is proposed to
begin a campaign to induce householders to use apple products
in place of others where conservation is necessary.

MAPLE LEAF.

Empire Trade Notes 245

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES

CANADA

THE tapping of the rnaple trees in Ontario has commenced.
Maple sugar will have wider uses than ever before, and farmers
are endeavouring to provide a double quantity of both syrup and
sugar this year, which will be a great factor in the conservation
of sugar.

DUEING the year 1916 the sum of $4,431,750 was distributed
as dividends to the shareholders of gold mining companies, and
$5,519,257.64 to the shareholders of silver mining companies, or
$9,951,007.64 in all. From the beginning of the modern period
of remunerative metal mining in Ontario the dividends paid by
gold companies have amounted to $9,786,625 and by silver
companies $65,290,170.34, a total of $75,076,795.34. The gold
mines at Porcupine were opened in 1910, and the silver mines of
Cobalt in 1904.

THE mineral production of the Province of Quebec for the
year 1917 is the highest ever recorded. The result is all the
more gratifying seeing that the increase is wholly attributable
to the products of the mines proper, such as asbestos, copper,
cromite, magnesite, molybdenite, zinc and lead. The shortage
of labour in the mines has resulted in a notable rise in the average
wages. The total mineral production of Ontario in 1917 had a
value of $71,000,000, or an increase of $6,000,000 over that of
1916. This marks the high- water point in the mining industry
of the Province. During the past year, the total yield of gold in
Ontario amounted to a value of $42,000,000. Since the discovery
of silver at Cobalt in 1903, shipments of this product have been
made to the value of $151,960,000.

THE electrical power resources of Ontario are to be pooled in
order to ensure an adequate supply of electrical energy for
munition works and essential industries. The authorities will
distribute power among such industries without regard to existing
contracts, and compel the development of power by all existing
steam plants. They will also revise existing power rates generally
to absorb the extra cost of production that would result from
steam-power development. The new order will at one stroke
give the munition plants and industries working on Government
orders the power they require. The power development available
for the province will be considered as a whole, and each producing

246 The Empire Review

company must contribute its share to the industries with the
prior claim whether it has hitherto been serving them or no.

A NICKEL refining company, which has been negotiating for
some time for a site on which to erect a refining plant, has
decided on the Hull side of the Ottawa River as suitable for the
purpose, and plant will be erected at a cost of £200,000. The
Company will employ at least 150 hands.

CANADA now has a total of ninety pulp and paper mills, many
of which are large and of modern design. Expert figures show
that pulp-wood, woodpulp and paper produced have increased in
value to nearly $50,000,000, or about half of the total export
value of forest products, with the exception of the small propor-
tion of specially manufactured articles. One third of these mills
are situated in the Province of Quebec. During the last five
years this Province has more than doubled its pulp produce. In
fact it has risen from 312,522 tons to 636,604, while the value of
the wood used increased from $2,516,683.00 to $6,840,489.00,
and the price per cord from $6.45 to $7.40.

THE Minister of Lands, Forests and Mines for Ontario has
introduced a Bill to carry out an extensive programme for the
development of the fuel reserves of the Province. A fuel con-
troller or a commission willHBe appointed to conduct an investiga-
tion, and to take charge of these resources. Under the Bill the
Government will have authority to carry out the programme for
the development of the peat bogs, for which $100,000 has been
set aside in the estimates.

AUTHOEITY has been granted under the Saskatchewan Com-
panies Act for the organisation and operation of a Company with
a capitalisation of £200,000 for the purpose of manufacturing
binder twine, commercial twine and general cordage from flax
straw in Saskatchewan under the new process by which it is
estimated that from a ton of flax straw 270 Ibs. of twine can be
manufactured. A large local and export trade is anticipated.

AUSTRALIA

The total figures of the State Savings Banks of Australia for
February show an increase in depositors' balances during that
month of £1,027,003, additional accounts opened numbered
10.859, the month closed with 2,260,095 depositors on the books,
and the total amount standing to their credit was £99,044,121.

THE Government of New South Wales has under consideration
the question of completing cross-country lines to link up the main
arteries so as to expedite settlement on those lands that have long
been awaiting railway facilities. The Forbes-Stokinbingal line
recently opened links up the Southern and Western lines. With
the completion of the Binnaway-Werris Creek section, the whole
of the existing main railway systems will be connected by cross-
country lines ; and with the consummation of the proposed

Empire Trade Notes 247

junction between the Northern line and the North Coast line,
traffic will be possible between all the outlying country districts
of the State without having to pass through Sydney. This will
mean an immense saving in time and money to stockowners and
producers.

THE number of manufactories and works in the State during
1916-17 was 5,333, an increase of 123 during the year, but a
decrease of 13 since 1913. Increases included clothing and
textile fabrics establishments, vehicle, saddlery and harness,
drugs, chemicals, metal works, and machinery. The principal
decreases during the year were in the heat, light and power
establishments, treating raw materials, jewellery, time-pieces,
and plated ware. The total number of persons, of whom 88,698
were males, employed was 117,732. The males showed an
increase of 974 over the previous year, and the females an
increase of 357, the total increase being 1,331, or lfl per cent.
Salaries paid during the year were £14,196,607, or £782,762 more
than in 1915-16, the increase being 5*8 per cent. The value of
the plant and machinery used was £19,372,430, or £1,161,326
greater than in 1915-16, and £2,505,448 greater than in 1914-15.
The largest increases were shown in the following classes :—
Metal works, machinery, ship and boat building and repairing,
and food and drink. The land and buildings used in connection
with the factories were valued at £12,293,567, being £1,523,050,
or 8* 6 per cent, more than in 1915-16, and £2,449,869 more than
in 1914-15.

A SCHEME for the development of the flax industry in New
South Wales is being organised on the lines recommended by
the Federal Advisory Council of Science and Industry. The
farmers will be guaranteed not less than £5 per ton for green flax
averaging 30 inches long and pro rata prices for other lengths.
Producers are being urged to extend the area under flax.

IN the seven months to 31st January, Sydney imported from
oversea 638,933 tons of goods valued at £17,346,957 — a decrease
of 204,481 tons and £3,836,376 in value compared with the same
period in 1916-1917. The imports from other States increased
in value by £464,254, though showing a decrease of 5,305 in
tonnage.

THE population of Sydney at the end of last year was 773,300,
an increase over the previous year of 12,700. The birth rate was
the lowest since 1909, and the death rate the lowest recorded in
the metropolis.

WHAT is claimed to be the finest drop-shaped pearl yet raised
in Australian waters was recently found on the north-west coast
of Western Australia. It has been exhibited in Melbourne, and
has created extraordinary interest amongst connoisseurs. It
weighs 100 grains, or rather twice as much as the famous Mayer
gem stolen in transit between Paris and London, which sold for
£14,000. The pearl, which is the size of a sparrow's egg, has

248 The Empire Review

been named " Star of the West." It is remarkable for its
perfect shape and colouring. The skin is of a beautiful iridescent
lustre, diffused with a pinkish glow. The discovery of this pearl
has given an impetus to the pearl-fishing industry on Western
Australia.

THROUGHOUT Western Australia there are extensive tracts of
land covered with trees known locally as " blackbpys," because
the trunks are perfectly black, and on the top there is a grass-like
growth not unlike the head-dress of certain untamed savages —
not Australian aborigines, by-the-way. The wood consists of
fibrous layers, and it is used to some extent for kindling fires, for
it burns like kerosene-soaked waste. The reason for this is that
the blackboy has many constituent properties of a highly in-
flammable nature, and chemists have already extracted from it
resin, petrol, tar, and a variety of other products of commercial
value. The city analyst of Perth has for long been trying to
arouse the practical interest of business men with a view to
establishing a big treatment plant and exploiting the trade
possibilities of the blackboy. That he has not so far succeeded
to any great extent is due mainly to the fact that there are so
many other attractive openings for capital in Western Australia.
But sooner or later someone is going to get rich quickly out of
the blackboy. It is so plentiful as to be a nuisance to the farmers,
it contains high values of products required the world over for
daily use, and all that is needed is a cheap process of extraction.
Herein is a great chance for the scientist to come to the help of
trade.

DISCUSSING post-war problems the Agent-General for Western
Australia in London said : — " Everything depends upon ships,
and we must join in a gigantic Australian effort to produce locally
all that the States of the Commonwealth need. We have all the
raw material necessary, and most of it in practically unlimited
quantities and right alongside protected waters eminently suited
to the construction of shipbuilding yards. The skilled labour is
already in Australia or can easily be attracted there by the uni-
versally high standard of wages and working conditions. The
success of nearly all our great industries is bound up with this
question of securing tonnage, and certainly the development of a
vigorous immigration policy depends entirely upon our capacity
to provide shipping berths. With India, the Far East and
America, our opportunities for trading simply have no limitations,
while of course the whole of the European markets are always
ready and anxious to take wool, wheat, timber, fruit, metals and
other products."

A PARTICULARLY live department in Western Australia is
doing much to assist private enterprise in exploiting the un-
developed resources of the State. Hitherto the local pottery
works have been largely dependent upon clay imported from
Victoria, but consequent upon an appeal issued by the department
samples of silky clay have been submitted which experts believe
will completely supplant the imported article.

Empire Trade Notes 249

SOUTH AFRICA

SLATE pencils, tailors' chalk, bianco, toilet powders, cloth balls
for cleansing purposes, and billiard chalk are now being manu-
factured from talc mined in the Barberton District. The variety
of purposes to which this material can be put appear to be endless.
Very large quantities of the powdered talc are used in motor
garages for the inside of tyres, for soap and paint manufacture,
for dressing of leather, and lasting of boots and shoes. Practically
the whole of the Union requirements in many of these lines are
now being supplied from local sources, while only the scarcity of
shipping freight prevents a fairly large export trade.

THE attention of the Department of Industries has been called
to the increasing difficulty in obtaining supplies of ammonia for
refrigerating purposes. While the consumption of this article. is
not at present large, there is every possibility, if animal and dairy
industries continue to expand, that the demand will be much
increased. In this connection it is interesting to learn that a
Johannesburg company has succeeded in producing Liq. Am-
monia Fort, (specific gravity 0 ' 88) and states that it will be in a
position to supply the total wants of the Transvaal, whilst
arrangements could be made to supply the other Provinces also.
It may be added that all the raw materials employed are South
African products.

EXTENSIVE trials have been carried out on a large scale by the
Imperial Institute, of South African wattle bark, which have
proved most satisfactory, and demonstrated that wattle bark can
on a commercial scale be converted into excellent brown paper.
It is considered the results indicate important developments for
this industry. Paper manufacturers are most optimistic of
success.

APART from gold, the Barberton district in more recent years
has revealed extensive deposits of magnesite, some of which are
in process of commercial exploitation, and talc has recently been
added to the list of mineral deposits coming within the industrial
sphere of operations. Cassiterite has so far been mined in the
Forbes Beef area only, though more extensive prospecting based
on the distribution of the granite, more specially on the southern
side of the Mountain Land, is worth serious consideration.

EXPERIMENTS as to the suitability of yellow wood for wine
casks are being undertaken in Capetown. At one time local
timber was to some extent used for this purpose, but the im-
portation of cheaper varieties led to the practice being discon-
tinued. The economic conditions have again made it possible
to manufacture from local wood, and the results of the present
experiments will be watched with interest.

OVERSEA CORRESPONDENTS.

250 The Empire Review

WAR ITEMS FROM OVERSEA

BRUCE LINDSAY, a Canadian miner, has enlisted in the
Dominions Overseas Army through the British Canadian
Recruiting Mission at Seattle, after completing a 6,000-mile
journey from a platinum mining camp in Siberia. Lindsay told
the recruiting officer that he was one of the survivors of a party
of twenty- three which left the settlement on January 6th last
in order to enlist. Several of his companions were killed by
Russian bandits before they reached the west Siberian coast,
while others met their death through exposure while crossing
the Behring Sea to Alaska on the ice.

A STRIKING instance of the unity of the two great English-
speaking nations on the American continent was evidenced at
the annual decoration of the monuments erected to the memory
of Canadians who fell in former wars. For the first time,
veterans of the American Civil War joined with the remnants
of the old Canadian units in this act, while representatives of the
Army of the Republic placed wreaths on the monument of
Queen Victoria.

FORT WILLIAM has just celebrated " Father and Son " Week,
in common with many other cities across Canada. This was
followed by " Father and Son " Sunday, fathers and sons being
asked to attend church together on that day. " Father and
Son " Week had for its purpose the challenging of boys and
men to come together in closer fellowship in their common
service to the country and the awakening of parents and
communities to the importance of boy life.

A CANADIAN Order-in-Conncil provides that every male person
in Canada shall be regularly engaged in some useful occupation,
with the exception of those under 16 years and over 60 years
of age or physically unfit, or a student or temporarily unemployed.
Violation of the provisions renders liability to a penalty not
exceeding £%0, or in default, to imprisonment with hard labour
not exceeding six months.

THE honorary treasurer of the Canadian Aviation Fund
announces that Mr. Patrick Burns, of Calgary, Alberta, has
contributed £3,000 to this fund for the purchase of an aeroplane
for the Royal Air Force.

REMARKABLE advances have taken place in freight charges,
in many instances the impost on goods being more than the first

War Items from Oversea 251

cost. Before the war, freight from San Francisco to Sydney was
12s. 6d. ; to-day it is ill. Freight from the Straits Settlements
in 1914 was 20s. net ; now it is anything up to 100s. net. Eates
from Japan have increased from 25s. to 250s. per ton. Passage
money for agricultural labourers travelling between Madras and
Burma is now twenty-five times what it used to be.

THE campaign in New South Wales on behalf of Ked Cross
Day yielded £54,887. Numberless functions for the fund are
being organised throughout the State. In two years and nine
months the New South Wales Division has expended £417,000
on clothing, medical appliances, motor ambulances, convalescent
homes, industries and creature comforts for wounded soldiers.

AT the Conference convened by the Governor-General the
following resolution was carried unanimously : — " That this
Conference, meeting at a time of unparalleled emergency, resolves
to make all possible efforts to avert defeat at the hands of German
militarism ; and urges the people of Australia to join in a whole-
hearted effort to secure the necessary reinforcements under the
voluntary system."

ALREADY 860 cottages have been secured in New South Wales
for the dependents of soldiers ; educational facilities are being
granted returned [men desirous of learning crafts and skilled
trades, and school buildings are being placed at the disposal of
the repatriation department. One thousand blocks of land on
the Murrumbidgee irrigation area have been set aside for allot-
ment to returned soldiers. Of the land made available for ordinary
settlement (394,177 acres) in the March quarter, 41,428 acres
have been set apart to provide thirteen holdings for soldiers.

WESTEBN AUSTRALIA having twice voted by large majorities
for conscription is backing up its stand on the question of
continuing to supply the largest percentage of recruits of any
State in the Commonwealth.

IF the suggestion of Mr. Palmer, of Chernainus, is adopted,
the forest service of British Columbia will conduct its coast fire
protection and the detection of conflagrations by the use of
aeroplanes next year. Mr. Palmer contends that there are
large numbers of machines discarded as being no longer of use
for active warfare which might be secured at a nominal cost.
Eeturned aviators would also be available for duty as forest
rangers on the coast.

THE United Farmers of Alberta and the Grain Growers'
Association of Saskatchewan intend to secure returned soldiers
for work on the farms of those two provinces during the present
year. As regards the men themselves those who contemplate
taking up land, but who hitherto have known nothing of agri-
culture, will thus gain an insight into that industry. Any man
who is capable of driving a team of horses will be able to earn
good wages and* his board. The farmers of both provinces are
anxious to interest the returned soldiers in the gathering of the
VOL. XXXII. -No. 210. T

252 The Empire Review

harvest ; they point out that the men will be well paid and can
learn the rudiments of agriculture which should prove beneficial
to those who have determined to take up land.

TWELVE hundred fire rangers — all over military age, married
men or returned soldiers — have been engaged by the Department
of Lands, Forests and Mines for protection work in the forests
during the summer. In past years the majority of men employed
in this capacity have been university students, but this season
the Minister of Lands and Mines is working on the principle that
a young man able to do fire ranging is able also to work upon
the farm. He has therefore refused to employ either exempted
students or young men of military age.

M. ALPHONSE MATHEY, a leading French authority on the
production of wines, is responsible for the interesting suggestion
that Australian soldiers should take advantage of any spare time
to study the methods of the French vigneron, acquired during
1,500 years of experience. M. Mathey has recently been visiting
Western Australia, and compares the climate of that country
with Algiers, where for long years many difficulties were
experienced in turning out a good vintage. Extensive experiments
resulted in the discovery of a new system of fermentation, and
the distinguished French authority believes that the adoption of
this method would lead to the production in Western Australia
of a really good light claret particularly suited to the climate.
He suggests that Western Australian soldiers possessing some
knowledge of wine growing should, perhaps, when temporarily
unfit for fighting, be sent to Algiers to study the whole process
on the spot. In view of the fact that a French commercial and
military mission is about to start for Australia, this suggestion of
M. Mathey will no doubt be seriously discussed.

THE Canadian Order in Council making reservations of
Dominion lands for returned soldiers under the Soldiers' Settle-
ment Act has been approved by Council, pursuant to the return
of the Minister of the Interior. It is of interest to all returned
soldiers throughout the Dominion who desire to go on the land,
and provides that all vacant and available Dominion lands within
approximately fifteen miles on either side of a railway in the
districts where there are sufficient available lands to warrant
reservation shall be reserved for the purposes of the Soldiers'
Settlement Act. Soldier entries under the Soldiers' Settlement
Act will be allowed as soon as the regulations under that Act
have been completed and passed by Council.

FBENCH-CANADIANS in Quebec are enlisting in hundreds, and
reports state that this "new spirit" is dominating the whole
Province, due certainly to a better understanding between the
two principal elements. Indeed, if the spirit now manifested
is continued, it is quite possible that a full brigade will speedily
be raised.

THE EMPIRE
REVIEW

AND

JOURNAL OF BRITISH TRADE

VOL XXXII. AUGUST, 1918. No. 211.

THE ORGANISATION OF INDUSTRY

WANTED— AN EMPIRE POLICY

I AM convinced that the future of the people of Britain and of
the Empire depends upon the adoption of a policy whose greatness
shall be worthy of that Empire, worthy of our race, and the
cause for which we are fighting. The time for action is at hand.
Inexorable circumstances, no less than self-interest, point out
and almost force us along the road we ought to travel. If we
continue to spend our time in meandering about, in listening to
the talk of doctrinaires, and well-meaning men whose counsels
of inaction have already wrought such great harm, then, indeed,
we shall prove ourselves degenerate and be undone.

If we win this war, and we shall win, and are not organised
so that our interests, national and economic, are firmly safe-
guarded, we shall clasp nothing in our hands but the empty
husks. Political independence and the trappings of greatness
will remain for a season but the kernel of economic greatness
will have passed from our grasp. These are strong words but
they do not set out the case too strongly. For upon what does,
or can, the material welfare of the people of this country or the
Empire ultimately depend, but upon flourishing and progressive
economic conditions ? How is this mighty Empire to be held
together save by a numerous and virile population united by ties
of self-interest as well as by those of race and of common ideals ?
And how can this end be ensured or even hoped for unless our
economic conditions are such as to guarantee economic prosperity ?
Agriculture, manufacture, trade — by these things we live. As
VOL. XXXII. -No. 211. u

254 The Empire Review

they flourish or decay, so does the welfare of the nation grow, its
political power wax or wane. Upon conditions that will ensure
profitable investment for capital, plentiful and regular employment
for labour, at good wages and under good industrial conditions,
upon the development of the land and other primary resources,
the greatness, nay, the very existence, of the Empire and every
part of it absolutely rest.

Before the war Britain's economic policy, so far as that
policy was nationally expressed, was one of negation. In this
matter of life and death to the nation Britain let things take
their own course. And of all the great nations of the earth, she
was the only one who acted in this way. It is contended by
some earnest, sincere, and patriotic men, and some others who
are much in earnest but doubtfully patriotic— that is to say,
patriotic to Britain — that this negative policy was, and is, the
best. By what process of reasoning they arrive at this conclusion
I am unable to say. Certainly the facts do not help them much,
and after all, every system, economic or other, must be judged by
results ; and these tell their own story. Germany's share in the
world's trade, which in 1870 was three milliards of marks, had
increased in 1890 to eight milliards, and in 1910 to eighteen
milliards. Fifty years ago Great Britain produced roughly five
times as much iron and two and a quarter times as much steel
as Germany ; in 1913 Germany produced almost twice as much
iron, and two and a half times as much steel as Great Britain.
But the comparison of Britain and Germany as shown by these
figures is not a true test of the relative progress of the two
countries. Before the war many of the best rooms in Britain's
— and in the Empire's — industrial and commercial mansions
were occupied by Germans. It is true that in many cases they
did not parade their nationality, they preferred to keep themselves
in the background— acting through British agents or by the
cruder practice of discarding their own names and adopting
those of British origin. To judge, then, the two policies — I mean
those of Germany and Britain — by their fruits, one must not
only compare figures, we must also remember that it was under
our policy of laissez fa-ire that Germany, by her policy of peaceful
penetration, was able to honeycomb the commercial and industrial
life of Britain, so that Britain traded and manufactured not
entirely for her own advantage and profit, but also for the
advantage and profit of Germany.

Herr Zimmerman has said, " Germany's rise depended essen-
tially upon the English policy of the open door. We were
sojourners in England's house, paying guests of the Anglo-Saxon.
The secret of our success lies apart from our organisation and
the training of our working classes, in the fact that England and

The Organisation of Industry 255

the countries which are the great producers of raw materials
granted us an open door, allowed us to draw on their vast
reservoirs of raw materials. If this permission is withdrawn, we
shall be at one stroke once more the Germany of 1880." I agree
with Herr Zimmerman absolutely. But I cannot understand
the attitude of those Britons who want to continue the open
door policy ! Some of us think that Britain's policy made
modern Germany. Be that, however, as it may, without that
policy the admirable organisation and training of which Zimmer-
man speaks would have availed little or nothing. Without
certain raw materials no nation can hope to build up great
industries, or indeed hold her own in the world. The Empire
has these raw materials. The question I put to the people of
Britain is — for whose benefit shall we use them, for our own or
for that of our enemy ?

Now let me state some of the problems that will inevitably
confront us when peace comes, in order that it may be clearly
understood what the economic question connotes, and how inti-
mately it affects the every-day lives and happiness of the people
as well as the welfare and greatness of the Empire.

Other things being equal, the people of that country is best
off where labour is most effectively employed ; and labour can
produce most in those countries — subject, of course, to limitations
imposed by natural resources, climatic and geographical con-
ditions—where organisation of industry, machinery, and the
resources of science and mechanical invention generally are most
highly developed and utilised. Before, however, labour, the
creator of all wealth, can be used effectively, capital must be
available and in sufficient amount to meet the most up-to-date
requirements. But war is destruction, and capital, like man
power, has been and is being destroyed daily. So that capital,
which is now more essential than ever to enable labour to
produce its maximum, is becoming scarcer every day. Again,
since men no longer make only what they themselves consume,
but by specialising in one branch of production very materially
increase their output, it is necessary that openings should be
secured first in the home markets and then in those oversea, for
commodities produced in excess of home consumption. Now
in order that employment may be ensured for the workers, that
markets, home and foreign, once secured may be maintained and
national safety made certain, it is vital that an ample and con-
tinuous supply of raw materials should be arranged for, that
efficient control should be exercised over the sources from which
they come, and the channels through which they flow into this
country. High wages and good industrial conditions are as
clearly dependent upon these things as is the profitable employ-

u 2

256 The Empire Review

nient of capital. Indeed more so, since capital may more easily
find investment oversea than workmen can leave their country
and obtain employment abroad.

The conditions I have referred to exist independent of war ;
they existed before the war, and all but those whose credulity is
pachydermatous must surely admit that the status quo policy was
not altogether a brilliant success for Britain. For Germany
nothing better could have been devised. But the days and
conditions that were are gone. We live in a new world. The
iron necessities of war have plunged us into an inferno which
will not cool down for many long years if at all. It is upon a
stage heated by the dreadful fires of war that we and nearly all
mankind must play our part. And even if it be contended that
for pre-war conditions laissez faire was the best policy for Britain
— I certainly do not admit that it was — that would not in any
way support the contention that the same policy was suited to
the conditions that must exist after the war. In our new
economic environment we must be suitably equipped or we shall
surely perish. Upon an ample supply of raw materials and the
organisation and development of industry our future depends.
But how can laissez faire do these things or anything ? Action,
not inaction, must be our watchword.

Let me set out briefly some of the heavy handicaps imposed
by war upon our efforts in the economic sphere. First there are
the heavy financial burdens. What these will ultimately amount
to no man can say. Mr. Bonar Law told us the other day that
Britain's war indebtedness had already reached nearly 8,000
millions sterling. And as the war is going on this appalling
pyramid of debt is being carried higher and higher daily. Add to
the interest on this stupendous debt our pre-war liabilities, the
millions a year for pensions, and huge sums needed for repatriation,
avocational education of the disabled, and the many other financial
responsibilities arising out of the war, and one begins to realise
that we are in for a pretty bad time. These obligations have to be
paid for mainly, if not entirely, out of wealth produced after the
war. Obviously, therefore, we must produce very much more per
unit of labour and per pound of capital invested in any industry
than ever we did before. But we have already lost many of our
wealth-producers, and, as I have said, capital is scarcer, so that
just when more men and more capital are needed there will be
less of each. Is it not clear we must put both to the best possible
use? Then there is another point to bear in mind. The workers
who have fought and bled for their country — if for no other
reason — deserve and will demand higher wages and better in-
dustrial conditions than before the war. Remember all these
things, I say, and we find ourselves confronted with a problem

The Organisation of Industry 257

which neither eloquent words nor resolutions, whether by
conferences of capital or of labour, will solve.

The more you regard this problem the more difficult,
indeed appalling, it appears. It frightens you. You want to
forget all about it, to believe that somehow you can still " muddle
through." But at the back of your mind you know that this is a
problem which cannot be side-stepped ; it has to be faced, and
when you do face it fairly, and look at it from every point of view,
national, imperial, individual, labour, capital, you are forced to
the inevitable conclusion that there is no way by which you can
bear the burdens imposed by war, hold your own as a great
economic power, deal effectively with the industrial question,
provide employment for your returned soWiers, in short, deal with
all phases of the question except by resort to such means as will
enable each individual unit to produce very much more than
before the war. It can be done by organisation — of that I am
convinced, but in no other way. And organisation is impossible
under a policy of laissez faire. Germany is perfecting her
organisation. She has concluded an ironclad economic treaty
with Austria, and her effective industrial methods will be intro-
duced into the. dual monarchy. Other nations are organising.
What are we doing ? I am glad to believe that something is
being done by some people in certain industries, but that is not
enough ; the danger is too general, the front is too wide, to be
dealt with by unsystematised organisation. There must be
organisation throughout the whole economic sphere, there must
be co-ordination amongst its infinitely complex and delicate parts.
Every industry must be organised throughout. It must know
itself thoroughly, its strength, its weakness, its opportunities and
how to avail itself of them. In short, in order that an effective
remedy may be applied the industrial diagnosis must be complete.
Every industry, as Mr. Benn has pointed out in his admirable
book, must be organised as a separate entity, yet all must fit into
each other like the cogs of a machine and form part of the great
national organisation. In this great organisation, of course, the
co-operation of organised labour is absolutely essential.

We are in great danger. The people may not realise it ; they
probably do not ; they' think as all goes well for the moment all
will continue to go well after peace. But peace will be their
industrial death-knell unless the nation is prepared for the change.
We ought not to mistake the exhilaration of drugs for the steady
pulse beat of sound health. The people of Britain now are like
a patient in a fever. They are living upon their capital ; many
of them are getting higher wages than ever before ; they believe
it will go on after the war ; they do not understand that when the
war ends their industrial house of cards will fall down and they

258 The Empire Review

themselves be cast out into industrial darkness. Do the advocates
of a do nothing policy — for that in effect is the position they take
up — do they expect us to believe they can deal with after the war
problems without organisation, or that the organisation necessary
can be improvised when peace comes ? Do they imagine that
you can demobilise many millions of men and women, and that
by some happy intervention of the gods or the pulling of a lever
the energies of a nation now concentrated upon war will each
fall smoothly and at once into their new place in the scheme of
things ? Do the workers of this country believe that they can
obtain high wages and good industrial conditions ; do they think
they can avoid industrial disaster unless a scheme of organisation
is created at least as effective for our economic welfare as is the
organisation for war which has enabled the nation to put forth
her great strength in this mighty straggle ?

We must produce more wealth ; that is the fundamental fact
imposed upon us by this war. The only way to do it is by
organisation on a great, national, business-like basis. Conference
resolutions will not help ; even political power will not help.
This is not a party or class matter, but a national concern . "We
must produce more wealth. From that consequence of war we
cannot escape. By what other means do our critics or those who
pass by on the other side, or any one, think Britain and the
Empire can be saved from economic disaster except by recourse
to the very plan by which she has in the face of nearly all these
critics, and after loss of much precious time, adopted to save her
from national disaster ? If they know of any other means why
do they not declare it ?

Some of these critics are pacifists who talk a good deal of
holding out the right hand of fellowship to Germany after the
war. The spirits of the brotherhood of man is strong within
their generous hearts. They want to go back to those delightful
days when they clasped their German brother by the hand or
kissed him on the cheek, and talked, and talked, and talked, about
the coming rapprochement between Germany and England, about
internationalism, of the class war that was to end war, in which
the German socialist was to play a glorious part, standing at the
right hand of his British brother. And though their dear brother
has become the pliant instrument of the Kaiser, though his hands
are red with the blood of the innocents, and stained by foul
crimes, they still urge us not to shut him out from amongst us.
They want once more to clasp him by the hand. They believe
in the open door as they call it. So do the Germans ; but it is
the " open door " for Germany, not for Britain or the Empire.

That Germany fully realises that without economic power
after the war military victory will be a barren thing, is quite

The Organisation of Industry 259

evident. The Brest Litovsk treaty sheds an illuminating light
upon her hopes, fears and aims. It proves completely that what
she is really aiming at is economic domination of the world.
Under the Brest Litovsk treaty Germany prohibits Eussia from
imposing duties or preventing the export of minerals and timber.
But of course Eussia is to allow German goods in under the
favoured nation treatment. She goes even further. Knowing
her trade, her greatness as an empire, in the past has depended
solely upon the generosity or short-sightedness of the Allied
nations, she is determined, while she has the power, to maintain
the conditions which made her great. So Clause 9 of the
Appendix reads : " The contracting parties agree that, on the
conclusion of peace, the state of war shall likewise terminate in
the commercial and financial spheres. They undertake not to
participate, directly or indirectly, in any measures aiming at the
continuation: of hostilities in such spheres, and to oppose such
measures within their own dominions by all means at their
disposal."

It is surely remarkable that there are men in Britain to-day
advocating the same policy for the Empire as was thrust upon
defeated and humiliated Eussia. If the application of that policy
by force of arms is the German interpretation of triumphant
victory, in what light shall we regard it ? As something to be
desired? To Germany it means victory. What, then, can it
mean to Britain ? I am more than a little tired of this sickening
cant about renewing normal trade relations with Germany after
the war. The economic war is right when Germany wages it along
with Austria against us, and compels Eussia at the point of the
bayonet to admit German goods on favourable terms and compels
her to send from Eussia raw materials which Germany wants ;
in short, it is right that' they should slam their door upon us,
burst open the doors of Eussia by force, sneak in under one guise
or another into the very heart of our citadel ; that is good, very
good. On this matter the pacifists are as quiet as mice, or at
worst squeak very softly ; but when we dare to think of ourselves
and act as the instincts of national and industrial self-preserva-
tion dictate, they hold up their hands in horror. I, too, am a
lover of peace. I am against all war, war on the battlefield as
well as war in the economic sphere, but I am also one who takes
pride in this great Empire of ours. We did not provoke war,
international or economic, but being attacked I hope we shall not
hesitate to take whatever steps are necessary to protect our
interests.

In the same old quarter criticism is still being directed against
a tariff which it is said will vastly* increase the cost of living to
the worker, lower his effective wages, and ruin many industries.

260 The Empire Review

Frankly I think this is just nonsense, a lantern in a turnip to
frighten the foolish and timid. Precisely what fearful example
the opponents of a tariff have in their minds when they make
such blood-curdling statements as these I do not know. I can
only speak authoritatively of one country, Australia ; there most
certainly the lugubrious prophecies of these patriots find no
support. The Australian worker is, I think, better off than any
other in the world. He has a bigger margin over the cost of
living, which is the only true standard of wages. In any case
such criticism leaves me unscathed, for I believe in protecting
the interests of the consumer as well as those of the producer.
And I am not now preaching a tariff, but organisation.

It is true that organisation of the kind and on the scale that
is necessary involves or may involve duties ; it also just as
certainly involves bonuses, financial assistance, and resort to
many other means by which the industries of Britain and the
Empire may be enabled to hold their own, and the nation be able
to bear the heavy burdens of war. Most emphatically organisa-
tion does not begin and end in a tariff. Every case, every industry,
and every phase of an industry must be considered and dealt with
as its circumstances demand. If a duty is necessary, why not put
it on ? It may be, however, that what an industry really wants
most is better methods of production, or financial assistance.
Why not deal with this great question without prejudice and
on its merits ? It is a national, imperial, non-party question,
above all it is a business question and ought to be dealt with
as such. It arises out of the war ; it is a phase of the war itself.
What I am suggesting is that the business of the Empire should
be treated in a business-like way by men who understand what is
necessary, and are not afraid to do it in order that the Empire
may hold her place amongst the great nations of the earth.

We regard the war as non-party, and that mighty war
organisation which has been built up during these last four years,
which has made the Empire One of the greatest military powers
the world has ever seen, as the fruits of national as distinguished
from party effort. By organisation we have been enabled to
double and quadruple output in certain directions. Well, if we
are to live at all in decent comfort after the war we must increase
our peace output in like degree. And this is to be done not by
making men and women work harder, but by making their labour
more effective, by resorting to better methods of production.
In Australia we have created an organisation which now embraces
and acts for the greater part of the primary products of the
Commonwealth. This organisation, last year, handled through
my office alone products valued at ^£114,000,000 sterling, and we
have now greatly strengthened and widened its scope ; it has

The Organisation of Industry 261

•

the support of the primary producers and manufacturers ; it is
national in scope, and it rests upon a sound business basis. The
British Government has already the nuclei of a complementary
organisation here, so far as it relates to an adequate supply of
raw materials for British manufacturers. What is wanted for
the co-ordination of these nuclei and for the organisation of
industry generally, is an immediate declaration of economic
policy and the appointment of- some one clothed with the
necessary authority to begin without a moment's delay to
organise the nation for peace.

Let us then organise for peace, which must and will come
to us if we but stand firm to the end, through the gates of
decisive victory. The resources of this mighty Empire are
almost illimitable ; let us set to work without delay to place
them on a basis which will leave to each part perfect freedom
of individual action, while at the same time enabling each part to
dovetail into the other, making a great imperial whole.

W. M. HUGHES
(Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia).

262 The Empire Review

THE WAR AND AFTER

SOME OF THE PROBLEMS OF PEACE

DURING the last four years the Dominions, collectively, have
sent into the Imperial Army no fewer than 1,000,000 men. Up
to the present 120,000 men have enlisted in New Zealand out of
a population of under 1,200,000, and of these over 100,000 trained
soldiers are to-day taking part in the war. We have in the
Dominion a Compulsory Act, called the Military Service Act. It
was introduced and passed into law in 1916, and it will give my
readers some idea of the opinion of the New Zealand Parliament
with regard to military service when I say that in a House of
eighty members only five voted against it. We made certain
arrangements in th« early days of the war for sending monthly
drafts of reinforcements, and so far as those reinforcements are
concerned we are not behindhand by a single man. When the
call came for additional men we were able to send to the Imperial
Government a reply satisfactory to ourselves and, as the Imperial
Government said, particularly satisfactory to them.

But more is required than soldiers in a war. We fitted
out in New Zealand two hospital ships ; we sent over 500 fully-
trained nurses ; to Egypt we have sent 12,000 horses, and, so
far as the cost of our war effort is concerned, amounting to
.£46,000,000, we have ourselves provided every penny of it. The
Imperial taxpayer has not been called upon to pay anything in
connection with our expenditure upon our army, and unless the
war lasts for a long time — and no one is able to predict when it
will end — although the outlook to-day is better than it has been
for a long time — I do not think that the taxpayers of this country
will ever be asked for a shilling in connection with the New
Zealand Army.

Whether we shall be able to continue to meet our own
expenditure remains to be seen. It largely depends on the
Shipping Controller. If he gives us the ships to carry our
products (I am not finding fault, because I know what is
happening) I guarantee that we shall find every penny for

The War and After 263

financing our share in the war. To-day there are over 5,000,000
carcases in our frozen stores waiting for ships to carry them to
this side ; we have hundreds of thousands of boxes of butter ;
scores of thousands of crates of cheese ; and other things in
proportion, all waiting for ships to bring them over to you. You
want them here, and we should be glad to send them to-morrow
if the ships were available. They will reach this country
in due time, and it will be a satisfactory transaction for both
communities. As to the trade of New Zealand per head of the
population, I believe that it comes out at the highest figure of
any population in the world. Our exports for the past five years
have not been under £30,000,000 per annum, and, although I
cannot give the exact figure, I can say with every confidence
that our trade per head is over £50. Later, when the war is
over and the much-talked-of migration comes about of British
citizens, I hope many of them will go to New Zealand. We
will give them a hearty welcome, and I feel sure they will never
regret it. It is sometimes spoken of as the Britain of the
South, and I think there is every reason for that, because we
have a purely British population, and I believe that in years to
come New Zealand will do for the southern hemisphere what I
am glad to think the United Kingdom has done for the northern
hemisphere. New Zealanders will be a maritime people. They
will be farmers, traders, and sailors, and New Zealand will in
future do what you have been doing here for hundreds of years,
and, I hope, with equal success.

One mistake which is frequently made by persons who are not
citizens of the British Empire is this : they think that the
German Empire and the British Empire are very much on the
same lines. As a matter of fact, the policy and ideals of the
two empires are quite separate, and almost completely opposed to
one another. The German Empire stands for oppression, un-
scrupulousness, cruelty, for the wiping out of small nations, and
the domination of the world by Germany ; and if ever that should
be brought about, the result would be to put back the clock
of civilisation for a thousand years. Those are not the ideals
of our Empire. Our ideals and policy are to do everything
for the welfare and the uplifting of humanity ; it is a policy of
liberty, freedom, peace, and righteousness, and, so far as the
smaller nations are concerned, to support and protect them in
every possible way. The policy and the ideals of Britain are
founded on the doctrines of Calvary ; those of Germany are
founded on the old religion of Odin and Thor, and those gods
who were worshipped in the German forests thousands of years
ago. That is the difference between the two. The British
Empire entered this war, not for aggrandisement or to obtain

264 The Empire Review

additional territory, but to uphold its national honour and to
discharge a duty. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been
sacrificed, and so far as our own Dominion is concerned, we have
had our full share of casualties. There is hardly a home in New
Zealand to-day where there is not a vacant chair. And just
because these sacrifices have been made, we feel that in justice
to the men who are gone there is nothing that we can do to
bring about victory that should be left undone, so that victory
and peace come together.

After the war will come the problems of peace. There will be
many details to think out, but the main question for us to con-
sider, and consider now, is how best to reconstruct and reorganise
the Empire so as to make it self-contained and self-supporting.
The opportunity is afforded us of building up an Empire which
will last for all time, which will be a blessing to humanity and in
which enemy aliens will not be allowed to occupy the positions
either commercially, socially or politically that many of them
occupied in pre-war days.

Other nations have had similar difficulties to deal with such
as those facing us now. Take, for example, America after
the Civil War, the worst of all wars. What did America do ?
She took up the policy of development, starting on a basis
of free trade between the States, fostered her own industries
wherever possible, using up her own raw materials, encouraged
migration from Europe, especially from the United Kingdom,
while barring the criminal and the waster, the physically and
mentally unfit, paid the highest wages for thoroughly skilled
labour, and produced her own requirements by her own labour.
The result of this policy was that in a few years America was not
only stronger than she had ever been before but stood in the
front rank of nations as a great industrial and commercial power.
Now when the world is being menaced by a disaster such as we
thought had only been dreamt of in bygone ages and such as
most people thought would never be heard of again, America is
able to put a great army in the field backed up by all the wealth
of 100,000,000 of the most industrious, energetic and enterprising
community in the world. In what Americans have done and are
doing there is a lesson for us that should not be neglected. Our
resources are unequalled, our people are industrious, the possi-
bilities of the Empire, if properly handled, tremendous ; the
responsibility is ours to see that this opportunity-floes not pass
without being taken advantage of.

A matter to which British citizens in the Pacific are looking
forward with a great deal of hope is the future of the islands
formerly in the occupation of Germany. Especially is this the
case with regard to Samoa and German New Guinea. New

The War and After 265

Zealand is particularly interested in the former, which is looked
upon as the key to the Pacific and which, on account of its
position and fertility, has been a bone of contention for nearly
forty years. In 1883 the natives of Samoa, becoming alarmed
at the expressed intention of Germany to annex the group,
petitioned Queen Victoria, through the Governor of Fiji, to
either take over the islands or establish a British Protectorate.
Nothing, however, was done, the British Government declining
to increase its responsibilities in the Southern hemisphere.

America in the meantime was watching the trend of events
very closely, and in 1889 seven warships met at Apia, three of
them German, three American, and one British. Just then came
one of those tropical hurricanes which are not unknown to many
of the Pacific Islands. The German and American ships all
came to grief, the only vessel to escape being the British ship —
a second-class cruiser — H.M.S. Calliope. It is interesting now,
when British and American troops are fighting side by side
against the common enemy, to recall the fact that as H.M.S.
Calliope fought her way inch by inch in the teeth of the hurri-
cane towards the open sea, the sailors on an American ship
which had gone ashore, and who were themselves in serious
danger, manned the yards and heartily cheered the British cruiser
as she steamed past. Kipling thus refers to the incident in one

of his poems : —

Last of the shattered squadron,

Under a shrieking sky,
Dipping between the rollers

The English flag goes by.

The natives looked upon the incident as providential and that
it indicated British control, but the British Government was
adamant, and eventually Germany was allowed to take possession
of the greater part of the group, one island — Pago Pago — with a
very good harbour going to the United States. The Germans
established trading stations on many of the Pacific Islands with
headquarters at Samoa. They sent powerful warships into the
Pacific and generally let it be understood in their own inimitable
fashion that they were there and had come to stay.

This was the position when war broke out in 1914. Early in
August the New Zealand Government was authorised to take
possession of German Samoa, and ten days after the declaration
of war two transports sailed from Wellington with 2,000 soldiers
bound for the harbour of Apia, which they reached on the 29th
of August, having been escorted for the latter part of the voyage
by the battle cruiser H.M.A.S. Australia and the French cruiser
Montcalm. The Germans resident there raised no opposition;
the German flag was hauled down and the British flag took its

266 The Empire Review

place. May it stay there permanently is the sincere and earnest
wish of every Briton in the Southern hemisphere. If for any
reason these islands are handed back to Germany, there will be
the most extreme disappointment in Australia and New Zealand,
and it will be felt that our war efforts have been largely wasted.
I am confident, however, that British statesmen are convinced
that it would be simple madness to allow the enemy to occupy
important positions from which they could dominate the greater
part of the Pacific. Germany must be given to understand that,
so far as they are concerned, our policy is " hands off the
Pacific."

I will conclude with a word or two about Imperial Preference.
A change has taken place in the opinion of many people since
the war broke out with regard to fiscal matters. For myself,
I have become a strong believer in Imperial Preference. I
believe it will do more for building up and consolidating our
Empire and making it self-contained and self-supporting than
any other policy can possibly do. The trade of Britain with the
oversea Dominions is £525,000,000 a year according to the
statistics of 1915, and with a proper, reasonable, and well-thought-
out policy of Imperial Preference, that figure should be doubled
within a generation.

And here let me say, that imperial preference, as I under-
stand it, does not stop with customs duties. It should apply to
British ships trading between British ports. In stating this,
I wish it to be understood that in any changes which may take
place, we have to consider our loyal and gallant Allies and treat
them not only with justice but generosity. With these exceptions,
however, we should insist on the principle that within the
Empire there should be preference for British people. The
British Government are, wherever possible, purchasing the
food supplies and clothing material for the Army from British
countries. The result is that the Dominions are better able to
finance their war efforts than if the greater part of that expenditure
had gone to neutral countries. The benefits are obvious and
require no argument to support them.

People often speak of the British fiscal system as free trade.
I think the term is wrong. If there is trade being carried on
between two countries and one allows the goods of the other
to be admitted duty free while the other charges customs duty
on the goods of the first, that can hardly be said to be free trade
in the proper sense of the term. On the one side, it is a system
of free imports. That is the system which Britain has been
following for many years. On the other, it is undoubtedly a
system of protection and the arrangement is too one-sided to be
fair, especially when, as in the case of Britain and Germany,

The War and After 267

the latter's imports from Britain and British countries were
mostly raw materials, while Britain's imports from Germany
were mostly manufactured goods, for the production of which
British workmen should have had the opportunity instead of
allowing the privilege and payments for them to pass to German
mechanics and artisans. That is what has been happening.
Is it any wonder that under such circumstances German
industries progressed many more times more rapidly than
British ?

Surely the American system is better — all possible commercial
and fiscal privileges as between the States, but protection against
outside countries. I know the position of countries of the
British Empire is not parallel with the States of the Bepublic.
Situated as they are, free trade is easy as between themselves,
but free trade would be much more difficult as between the
countries of the Empire. We can, however, have a system of
preference within the Empire without any difficulty whatever,
and that is what we should aim at and initiate without any
unnecessary delay. People who call themselves free traders
sometimes speak of imperial preference as another form of
protection, but that depends upon its application. If we reduce
customs duties as between the different countries of the Empire,
and that is what I think we ought to do wherever circumstances
permit, that is surely getting nearer to free trade within the
Empire than we were before.

But I advocate and believe in imperial preference because I
believe it will do more to build up the Empire, or assist in
building it up, than any other system can possibly do. It will
bring us closer together than ever we were before, and it will
make us dependent for our requirements on ourselves, that is
to say, on countries within the Empire, and consequently
independent of other countries. Since the war broke out we
have experienced the evils and drawbacks of having relied on
other countries, afterwards enemy countries, for a number of
the commodities we require and cannot do without either in
peace or war, and I hope we shall never get into that position
again.

W. F. MASSEY
(Prime Minister of the Dominion of New Zealand).

2G8 The Empire Review

REFORM IN INDIA

DIARCHY AND DISRUPTION

" To imagine that Indian unrest has been a sudden growth
because its outward manifestations have assumed new and
startling forms, is a dangerous delusion ; and no less misleading
is the assumption that it is merely the outcome of Western
education or the echo of Western democratic aspirations, because
it occasionally, and chiefly for purposes of political expediency,
adopts the language of Western demagogues. Whatever its
modes of expression, its mainspring is a deep-rooted antagonism
to all the principles upon which Western society, especially in
a democratic country like England, has been built up." These
are the words used by Sir Valentine Chirol in his careful study of
unrest in India, published eight years ago, and possessing as I do
a practical and personal knowledge of India and the Indian
people, I say without hesitation that the view then expressed is
equally true to-day.

The attempt, therefore, of Mr. Montagu, whose personal
knowledge of India is not exhaustive, and of Lord Chelmsford,
who has shown more readiness than most of his predecessors in
the high office of Viceroy to defer to the clamour of professed
agitators, to saddle India with democratic institutions, based in
Western countries upon the ballot-box and a homogeneous elec-
torate, must be regarded as a profoundly dangerous and ill-
conceived experiment. If we admit for the sake of argument
that there exists "a core of earnest men" desirous of political
advance on Western lines, the fact yet remains that the majority
of the "intelligentsia" are hostile to the social and political
principles of Western civilisation, while the heterogeneous masses
of the people, .who know nothing of the franchise and care
nothing for it, are perfectly satisfied with the integrity, efficiency
and impartiality which are the salient features of the superior
administrative organisation in India. So long as "deep-rooted
antagonism" to Western ideals exists, so long as eighty or eighty-
five per cent, of the population are sunk in illiteracy and abysmal
ignorance, it is questionable whether an attempt to evolve a

Reform in India 269

democratic system of government and administration should for
the present aim at anything more than the complete transference
to popular control of local and municipal government and the
wide extension of primary and technical education.

Throughout the report of Mr. Montagu and the Viceroy there
are clear indications of a disposition to shelve, if not altogether
to jettison, English expert opinion on the problems of India.
Their scheme is based upon the provision and constitution of
electorates, which at present do not exist ; and to frame these,
both for the Provinces and for the Government of India Assembly,
they propose the appointment of a committee, of which the
chairman shall be an individual ignorant of India. It is true
that he is to be associated with two Indians, who must neces-
sarily belong to the privileged upper and educated classes, and
with two officials, in addition to one Indian and one official co-
opted from each province for the settlement of the franchise of
their respective provinces. But it is obvious that with the
dominant position in the committee held by one whose eligibility
for the position depends upon his being totally ignorant of Indian
affairs, there is very great danger that the interests of the
illiterate and depressed masses may be overlooked or sacrificed
to the selfish schemes of the vocal and privileged minority.
Again, in that portion of the scheme of dual control, which
concerns the conduct of Indian affairs in England, it is clearly
laid down that no member of the House of Lords shall be
appointed to the Select Committee which is to deal with " trans-
ferred subjects " in Parliament. In other words, Mr. Montagu
and the Viceroy deliberately exclude from a body, designed to
exercise a very potent influence upon the administration of India,
the very few men in England who have any first-hand knowledge
of that country or have acquired any practical experience of its
governance.

Why should this be so ? Is the proposal intended to please
the former prejudices of a democratic Premier ; or do Mr.
Montagu and the obedient Viceroy really hold that individual
peers, like Lord Curzon, Lord Harris, Lord Sydenham, Lord
Ampthill and Lord Lamington, are less capable of deciding the
problems of Indian domestic government than Mr. Kamsay
Macdonald, Mr. Fisher, or Mr. Henderson?

The same tendency towards the muzzling of expert English
opinion is apparent in that portion of the dual provincial execu-
tive which is to deal with " transferred " subjects, and in the
proposal that the official members of the Provincial Legislative
Council should be debarred from voting on subjects dealt with by
Indian " ministers." In the former case the Governor is to have
the power to strengthen his Native cabinet, dealing with " trans-
VOL. XXXII.—: No. 211. x

270 The Empire Review

ferred " subjects, by the addition of one or more senior officials of
experience. But the latter are to have no portfolio and are
merely present for advisory purposes. In other words, the
officials are expected to give the fruits of years of training and
experience to a Native Minister who is at complete liberty to
disregard their advice and knowledge as lightly as one would
reject a strong but rather tight garment. The position of the
experienced official in the provincial legislative council will be
equally intolerable. He may take part in a discussion on a
transferred subject, but he is not to be allowed to vote, and is to
leave the decision of the question to the non-official members of
the Council. He may listen to, and may even try and refute,
those perversions of fact which form the stock-in-trade of the
Indian politician, but he will have no power to prevent a decision,
based on inadequate assimilation or perversion of facts, which
may vitally affect the interests of thousands.

The most amazing feature of the proposals is the duality of
control which is established both in Whitehall and in India. At
home there will be a Secretary of State dealing with reserved
subjects and a House of Commons Committee to deal with
transferred subjects, and in the provinces in India a dual
executive, one of which will deal eventually with law and order
and police, and the other with the remaining functions of
Government. This artificial division of the function of Govern-
ment into two parts cannot but lead to jealousy, friction and
misunderstanding, and is quite as open to condemnation as a
recent proposal in England to establish two cabinets to deal
respectively with war and domestic questions.

The Government of India, which is to be rendered solvent by
funds taken in very unfair proportions from the provinces, and
the provincial governors with their dual executive and their
elected Legislative Councils will be in the position of having to
serve two masters, and of acting as shuttlecocks to the two battle-
dores in Whitehall. Administration in India will be barely
possible by keeping one eye on the Secretary of State and his
reformed Council and the other on the House of Commons
Committee which, composed as it will be largely of men ignorant
of India, will be very prone to degenerate into a focus of Indian
intrigue. Every conflict which takes place in India between the
Governor-General in Council and the Legislative Assembly in the
sphere of legislation, or between the provincial governor and his
Legislative Council, or in the provincial diarchies, will be reflected
and perhaps renewed in Westminster ; while in India, which calls
aloud for unity of control and finality of orders in the Government
to which it is subordinate, every little difference of opinion — every
struggle between the archpriests of the reserved and the arch-

Reform in India 271

priests of the transferred — will be reflected down the line of the
administration to the humblest offices of the Taluka or Tehsil.

The arrangements for legislation in the Government of India
and for provincial administration help to strengthen the conviction
that concession to extremist agitation is the real touchstone of
the Montagu- Chelmsford scheme. The Legislative Assembly of
India is so constituted that the Governor-General in Council will
never be able to pass any Bill or Act which he may consider
necessary for the purposes of "law, order and good govern-
ment." People like Messrs. Tilak, Jinnah, Das, and Bepin
Chandra Pal, will form the elected majority and will pass and
reject what they please. The control of the Governor-General
disappears, and British authority is rendered nugatory.

To counteract this abrogation of control the cumbrous
mechanism of a Council of State is introduced, with the object
of placing some check upon the wholesale abandonment of
authority arising from the composition and powers of the
Legislative Assembly. Thus if the Assembly objects to a
Government Bill, attempts are first to be made to carry it in a
joint session of both the Assembly and the State Council. In
special cases the Governor-General in Council may carry the Bill
direct to the State Council, after first declaring that the Bill is
necessary for certain express reasons. This system offers every
opportunity for interminable delay as well as for friction,
antagonism and intrigue, and the same remarks apply to the
powers given to the Governor-General in the case of a refusal by
the Assembly to introduce a Bill required by the Government of
India or in the case of legislation urgently required, e.g. the
Defence of India Act. With a strong Viceroy, intent upon
carrying through contentions Bills — and most Bills for the
welfare of the masses will be contentious — friction and odium
are certain to accompany his employment of the State Council
bludgeon, while with a weak Viceroy the bludgeon will prove
futile. On the other hand the Legislative Assembly with the
bludgeon hanging over it will be in permanent opposition to
the Governor-General in Council and his State Council, and the
antagonism which has been witnessed in England between the
Lords and Commons will be reproduced without the safeguards
arising from sentiments of a common nationality and patriotism
and British ideals of fair-play.

The position of a provincial governor under these amazing
proposals will be even more disastrous. His diarchical council,
founded obviously on the theories of a gentleman who spent a
few months in India and claims on that account to have solved
the whole problem of Indian government, may be likened to two
wives, each in charge of a separate portion of the household

x 2

'272 The Empire Review

economy, but the younger of whom has every inducement to
render her husband's existence odious and the management of
the home impossible by means of constant interference, obstruction
and intrigue. Their work is bound at many points to overlap and
is in any case interdependent, and the husband's scant leisure
will be occupied in arbitrating between the two. When the
annual Budget is under preparation Executive A will perhaps
set aside one lakh of rupees for extra police in a disorderly district
of the Presidency. Executive B will insist upon utilising that
sum for the creation of scholarships in Ayurvedic medicine. The
Legislative Council with its elected majority may, and probably
will, refuse to accept the grant for police purposes and will support
Executive B. The governor is then obliged to state in writing
that the grant is essential for peace and order and may then insist
upon a retransfer of the grant.

The only practical result of this system will be that the
governor will be thoroughly disliked, and, if he insists upon
retaining the grant for police, will be opposed out of sheer malice
on every other point. In the case of every recurring annual
Budget there is bound to be a conflict between the reserved and
transferred interests, which, if carried on long enough and with
increasing acrimony, will end in what Mrs. Besant has openly
advocated, viz., deadlock.

In the legislative sphere the odium of the governor's position
is enhanced by a statutory inability to obtain the final passing of
laws in pursuance of his own or his executive council's policy.
In the matter of reserved subjects, if the legislative council is
recalcitrant, as it almost certainly will be, he has first to certify
that a Bill is necessary in the interests of peace and order and
publish it in the official Gazette. In spite of this, the Bill has
again to go " for discussion " to the Legislative Council, and is
then referred to a Grand Committee. But even if the Grand
Committee passes the Bill, the authority of the Governor in
Council is still in the balance ; for the Legislative Council can
then insist upon the Bill being referred to the Government of
India who will decide whether the Governor in Council or his
Legislative Assembly is in the right. This hopeless system can
only result in belittling the authority of the Governor in Council
and in carrying opposition to authority a step further in more
complicated form. But the tale of check and counter-check is
not yet complete. Even if the Government of India supports
the view of the Governor in Council, the recalcitrant Legislative
Council has still a card to play. It may record its objections to
the principle and details of the Bill, and that record must then
be sent for final orders with the Bill to the Governor-General in
Council and the Secretary of State.

Reform in India 273

Under such a system how can government be carried on, how
can law and order be maintained, and where does final authority
lie ? Faced with a Provincial Government that has no power to
carry out its own wishes and contemplating the struggles of a
gagged executive against the delay inseparable from references to
a procrastinating Grand Committee, the Government of India,
and the Secretary of State, the ordinary man in the street must
despair of finding any single authority capable of giving early
legislative sanction to a policy which perhaps vitally affects the
welfare of himself and millions of his compatriots. The system
is purposely designed to render the position of a strong executive
intolerable, while per contra it leaves several loopholes for a weak
executive to abrogate its responsibilities towards the mass of the
people. The masses of India, who desire above all things a
strong central government capable of adjudicating without undue
delay and of giving final orders upon all questions connected with
the general administration of the country, will find little satisfac-
tion in a system which both in Whitehall and the Indian
provinces cuts the administration into two parts, which in lieu
of the Sirkar that they have learnt to trust offers a plurality of
authorities, and which expects them " to shoulder their responsi-
bilities " by supporting the hideous superstructure of a dual
administration in which final responsibility rests with no person
or no body of persons and in which the maintenance of British
authority is dependent upon checks which can only result in
friction and deadlock and are largely illusory.

The diarchical principle is clearly borrowed from the academic
theories of Mr. Lionel Curtis, while the checks imposed
upon the provincial government and upon the Government of
India as well as the reduction of the Indian civil servant's
position and prospects to a degree which must hereafter infallibly
prevent the best products of English public schools and univer-
sities from choosing an Indian career, are obviously concessions
to that school of Indian politics which demands the speedy
destruction of British authority in India. Under the guise of
Western democratic institutions Mr. Montagu and Lord Chelms-
ford are offering to Indians a new form of government which,
astutely handled, will enable the antagonists of Western prin-
ciples and Western ideals, mentioned by Sir Valentine Chirol,
gradually to render British administration impossible and, aided
by such weakness and timidity as for the last two or three years
have characterised the supreme government in India, to concen-
trate all power in their own hands.

It is, perhaps, not surprising to find certain organs of the
English press offering, in advance of publication, unqualified
support to proposals which jeopardise the orderly administration

274 The Empire Review

of India ; bat the spectacle of retired members of the Indian
Civil Service advocating the acceptance of a scheme which inter
alia sounds the death knell of that service and of the integrity,
efficiency and impartiality which have been its salient character-
istics cannot but evoke amazement. If, to quote the words of
the Report, it is "the faith that is in us" which has led the
Secretary of State and the Viceroy to formulate this dangerous
and unworkable scheme, we can only express regret that they did
not approach their task with less faith and far more practical
experience.

FAUJDAE.

WHAT DOES THE SOLDIER SAY?

IN all the discussion that has gone on about the future of the
British soldier, the only person whose view has not been really
sought is the soldier himself. That seems to me a great mistake.
To rny mind no mere consideration of trading interest should be
permitted to stand in the way of meeting the soldiers' wishes. It
is all very fine to say, " We want this man back in his old job,
and that man should go on the land in England." It will probably
be found in practice that a high percentage of the men who have
been fighting and risking their lives want a say in the settling of
their future careers, and if they have mapped out for themselves
a free life in the wide spaces of the Empire, who is going to say
them nay '? If they look longingly towards the Dominions, and
every day the evidence that they do so look accumulates, then to
the Dominions they must go. And they should be given free
passages, too. If the British Government can arrange, say, with
Australia to take thousands of soldiers after the war, shouldering
every responsibility but that of paying the steamer fares, then it
will have made a good bargain — good for all concerned, but
especially good for the only people who should really count in the
matter — the soldiers.

J. D. CONNOLLY
(Agent-General for Western Australia).

A League of Sovereign States

A LEAGUE OF SOVEREIGN STATES

FORMER LEAGUES: VIEWS OF THE FEDERALISTS

THE project of a League of Nations is one that makes an
especially strong appeal to people at the present time, when the
evils of war are being demonstrated on a larger scale than ever
before in the history of mankind, and science seems to be making
it impossible for war and civilisation to exist together in the
world. So the conviction is taking hold of men that some way
other than war of settling international disputes must and shall
be discovered. The project of a League of Nations is the offspring
of this conviction.

Light is thrown on some of the salient features of the proposed
league by the resolutions agreed to at the Inter-Allied Labour and
Socialist Conference held in London in February. Machinery for
arbitrating in disputes between nations is to be provided in the
shape of an international High Court of Justice which shall settle
disputes, prevent acts of violence, injustice, revenge, and reprisal,
and to whose arbitration and awards every member must pledge
itself to submit. Since the present war has proved the utter
futility of a body like the Hague Tribunal that cannot enforce its
regulations, the proposed court is to be empowered to employ
force against disobedient members. Against such their fellow-
members will be pledged to make common cause and to furnish
troops for their coercion. Lord Grey's recently published pam-
phlet on this subject also emphasises the necessity of the nations
using combined force, economic, military, and naval, against any
one or more of their number who shall take up arms until it has
had recourse to every other means of settling the dispute in which
it has become involved. And President Wilson, too, seems to
think that the economic pressure which such a league could exert
would be considerable.

If these suggestions when carried out prove workable it is
quite likely they might effect the object in view, the prevention
of future wars ; but the question is whether or not they would
work. It is often the case that theories which will work out
beautifully on paper when we put them into practice lead to very

276 The Empire Review

different results. Kecent events in Bussia are a forcible reminder
of the misery, disaster, and even ruin that ensues when men let
theories carry them off their feet and disregard the perhaps less
agreeable but sounder and wiser counsel of experience. And
experience has something to say on this matter, for a league of
the kind proposed would not be unprecedented. Quite modern
history affords one example, that formed by the states of North
America on their secession from Great Britain. And the American
constitutional writers of that time themselves remind us of many
ancient and modern examples of a league of sovereign states.

Mr. F. S. Oliver shows clearly, in his Life of Alexander
Hamilton, how throughout the whole period of the War of
Independence and for seven years afterwards the states were
"not a nation but merely a loose and jealous confederacy."
Before the war sovereignty for what it was worth had resided in
King George, and with the assumption of independence the
prevalent opinion was that sovereignty having departed out' of
King George III. and the British Parliament had entered into
the individual legislatures of the thirteen states. No federal
power existed, only a congress of the states, assembled in a great
emergency to take counsel together, which was not a government
and lacked both the authority and any precedent for creating one.
" Congress had no subjects," says Mr. Oliver. " It was merely
the council of an alliance. It could requisition supplies and
money and men, but if a state chose to fill its ears with wax and
pay no heed, the central authority was without any remedy but
patience. Over the individual citizens of the states it had no
jurisdiction whatsoever. With the various legislatures its re-
lations were those of a diplomatist." Its history calls to mind a
mechanical toy which is wound up and set in motion for a period
at the close of which its movements become feebler and spasmodic
till it finally stops altogether. The federal authority had no means
of coercing states which failed to furnish their quotas, the inevit-
able consequence was that their example was soon followed by
others, the defection of some supplying the pretext for that of
others, who not unnaturally asked why they should do more in
proportion than those who were embarked with them in the same
political voyage, and consent to bear more than their proper share
of the common burden. Each state, yielding to the persuasive
voice of immediate interest or convenience, successively withdrew
its support, till, as Hamilton expressed it, the frail and tottering
edifice seemed ready to fall upon their heads, and to crush them
beneath its ruins.

The failure of the old system, especially in regard to the
economic activities of the nation, ultimately led to the establish-
ment of a convention, the Convention of Philadelphia, for the

A League of Sovereign States 277

sole and express purpose of making such alterations in the
constitution of the league as should render it adequate to the
exigencies of the Union. In the series of papers in which
the authors of the new constitution explained and recommended
it to their fellow-countrymen, and which have been published
under the title of the "Federalist," much light is thrown on
ancient and modern leagues, their constitutions and the manner
in which they worked. The examples adduced are the Amphic-
tyonic Council and the Achaean League in Ancient Greece, the
mediaeval German Empire, Poland, the Swiss Confederation, and
the United Netherlands.

We are surprised and impressed, even a little startled, by the
close resemblance which these bear in many respects to the
projected League of Nations. The submitting of disputes to
arbitration was insisted on in -the cases of the Amphictyonic
Council, Swiss Confederation, and United Netherlands, the first
of which had authority to settle all disputes in the last resort ;
the second deputed that function to a sort of emergency tribunal
elected from the neutral cantons by the parties to the dispute ;
while the third conferred it on the Stadtholder. To do injustice
to one another and to afford retreat to the disturbers of the public
peace was to sin against the laws of the German Empire. These
former leagues generally had the power of inflicting punishment
on disobedient members, sometimes by means of a fine, as in the
case of the Amphictyonic Council, sometimes by the degradation
of the guilty state, depriving it of its sovereign rights and con-
fiscating its possessions, as in the case of the German Empire.
The employment of armed force if the occasion demanded it was
not only permitted but insisted on by the constitutions of the
Amphictyonic Council, German Empire, Swiss Confederation,
and United Netherlands ; and the members of each were under
an obligation to furnish quotas of men and money for that
purpose. Both the German Empire and United Netherlands
exercised some sort of control over the fiscal policies of the states
which composed them. Members of the former were expressly
restricted from imposing tolls or duties on their mutual inter-
course without the consent of the emperor and diet ; while the
provinces of the latter union were restrained, unless with the
general consent, from establishing imposts injurious to others, or
charging their neighbours with higher duties than their own
subjects.

The powers possessed by the federal bodies referred to seem
quite sufficient in theory for the purposes they were designed to
serve, but proved utterly inadequate in practice. In the consti -
tution of each there was a fatal flaw which paralysed the aim of
the federal power. Theoretically the degree of power which

278 The Empire Review

that authority possessed differed in different cases, practically it
amounted to nothing in every case. The federal authority had
no control over the members, who furnished their quotas or
not as they list, committed acts of injustice or aggression and
engaged in retaliatory wars regardless of its regulations. As the
• sword was the only means by which it could enforce its will upon
disobedient states, the league, instead of proving, as was intended
and hoped, a means of averting wars between its members was
often itself the cause of wars.

This is the moral which the history of leagues that have
actually existed always seems to point. One long and bitter
feud, that between Athens and Sparta, both members of the
Amphictyonic League, was one of the outstanding events of
Ancient Greek history, and culminating, as it did, in the Pelo-
ponesian War, eventually caused the ruin of Athens. Another,
occasioned by Phocia's violation of one of the cherished rules
of the confederacy, led to the interference of Macedon in the
internal politics and quarrels of the Greeks, an interference that
ultimately proved fatal to the freedom of Greece. And the
history of the Amphictyonic Council repeats itself in that of the
Achaean League, a record of internal dissensions and suicidal
alliance with foreign powers. Nor has the institution of a league
of sovereign states where it has been tried in more modern times
proved more workable. Hamilton and Madison summarise the
history of the mediaeval German Empire as, "A history of wars
between the emperor and the princes and states ; of wars among
the princes and states themselves ; of the licentiousness of the
strong, and the oppression of the weak ; of foreign intrusion and
foreign intrigue ; of requisitions of men and money disregarded
or partially complied with ; of attempts to enforce them, alto-
gether abortive, or attended with slaughter and desolation, in-
volving the innocent with the guilty; of general imbecility,
confusion, and misery.

The ineffectiveness of the Swiss tribunal for arbitration may
be inferred from a clause in the treaty made in 1685 with Victor
Amadeus of Savoy, in which the latter obliged himself to interpose
as mediator in disputes between the cantons, and to employ force,
if necessary, against the contumacious party. It was only fear of
a common foe, Austria, that kept together the provinces of the
United Netherlands. As the federal authority was powerless to
make the states furnish their quotas, it generally happened that
in war necessity compelled the consenting states to furnish theirs
without waiting for the others, trusting to obtain reimbursement
afterwards, but since it generally turned out that this had to be
collected at the point of the bayonet, it becomes evident that the
weakness of the league bred wars. So the American Federalists

A League of Sovereign States 279

were compelled, both by their own experience and that of others
of whom they had read, to come to the conclusion which has
been clearly, succinctly, and emphatically stated in the following
passage:: "A sovereignty over sovereigns, a government over
governments, a legislation for communities, as contradistinguished
from individuals, as it is a solecism in theory, so in practice it is
subversive of the order and ends of civil polity, by substituting
violence in place of law, or the destructive coercion of the sword
in place of the mild and salutary coercion of the magistracy."

The weakness of these leagues in every case was attributed
by the Federalists to the same cause, a defect common to them
all, the fact that the central authority could only legislate upon
the states in their collective capacities, and could not extend its
laws to the individual citizens. Consequently to raise an army
or a revenue recourse was had to the system of quotas or re-
quisitions. The quotas of men and money which each state was
required to furnish were specified, but it was left free to raise
them in what manner it pleased. Too of ten what appears to have
pleased many best was not to raise them at all ; and then the
federal authority had only two courses open to it ; either to employ
coercion against the defaulter or defaulters, or to leave it alone.
It is hard to determine which of these two alternatives is the
more disastrous to the government which has recourse to it.
The first involves war, since there is but one method of applying
coercion to a whole community, and that is by the sword. To
adopt the second, to ignore deliberate breach of faith and dis-
obedience, implies that a government has become impotent and
ceased to exist for all practical purposes, like the confederacy
which the Americans formed while the War of Independence
was in progress.

The remedy was suggested by the malady. To make the
power of the federal authority a reality its laws must be extended
to the individual citizens, and the practice of legislating upon the
states in their collective capacities must be abandoned. But such
a change would be fundamental, and .would signify nothing less
than the transformation of a number of independent sovereign
states into one organic nation.

The decision to which the Americans came is familiar to every
one. They took it reluctantly, because the individual states were
overweeningly proud and not a little jealous of the position of
sovereignty which they were called upon to abdicate ; but the
abdication was forced on them by the disadvantages and even
perils of their situation. So the Americans solved their problem,
and the experiment, although at one time, that of the war between
North and South, it narrowly escaped disaster, survived the severe
test to which it was then put, and has since been attended with

280 The Empire Review

a success that must have far exceeded even the most sanguine
expectations of those who embarked on the venture.

The causes of weakness which were present in former leagues
would not be absent from that now projected, for it must be
assumed that legislation will be upon the states in their collective
capacities. That the raising of troops and revenue is to be left
to the states themselves may be inferred from the resolution
agreed to at the Inter-Allied Socialist Conference and which
runs : " The nations being armed solely for self-defence and
for such action as the League of Nations may ask them to take
in defence of international right will be left free, under inter-
national control, either to create a voluntarily recruited force or
to organise the nations for self-defence without professional
armies for long terms of military service." This implies the
establishment of the system of quotas and requisitions with
which we have become familiar in the cases already cited.

And to go further than this is clearly impossible. The next
step would be to extend the federal laws to the individual citizens
of the various states, and this would signify their combining to
form one organic nation, as did the North American States.
There is no half-way house between the alternatives of a simple
league of the kind that has been often tried, and that of one
organic nation. Even the most visionary and Utopian among
the advocates of a League of Nations do not seem to have ever
ventured to contemplate the second alternative.

For our case the American precedent supplies no guide. The
Americans had many circumstances in their favour which would
be absent here. The greater number of them had sprung from
the same stock, spoke the same tongue, had inherited the same
traditions and ideals. What is perhaps the most important
consideration, the position to which they were accustomed was
one of dependence and subordination. For over a century
and a half before their revolt the American colonists had been
subject to a higher authority ; and so, when in 1787 the states,
each for itself, renounced their claims to sovereignty in favour
of the larger state which they had agreed to form, they were but
transfering their allegiance from the sovereignty of Great Britain
to that of the United States.

Between the nations of whom the projected league is to
consist on the other hand, there exists almost every point of
difference, race, religion, laws, government, ideals, degree of
civilisation. Europe alone contains Celts, Teutons, Slavs, Tartars,
Christians and Mohammedans, absolute despotisms, partial
despotisms and republics. And even wider differences exist
between some European and non-European states. The drearn
of their union in one organic nation is too wild for even the

A League of Sovereign States 281

most unpractical visionary and hare-brained enthusiast to
harbour.

The alternative scheme of a loose federation is approved not
only by theorists and visionaries but by some of the most eminent
statesmen in the world at the present time, men possessed of
both wide and profound knowledge and practical experience like
President Wilson, Mr. Balfour, Lord Curzon and General Smuts,
whose speeches have shown that they believe it capable of
realisation. And of course every one must feel in warmest
sympathy with the object which they have at heart. Even the
feeblest imagination, without the aid of Mr. H. G. Wells, can
conjure up a sufficiently terrifying picture of the next war and
the part played in it by air and underwater craft €r> make its
possessor recoil in horror. But where desire is so intense there
is a temptation to overlook and underrate the obstacles in the
way of achievement. The historical examples here quoted point
out what some of those difficulties are likely to be, and warn us
that failure to attach due importance to them may retard rather
than advance the cause of peace.

The experiment of a league of sovereign states does not seem
to have generally proved a success where it has been tried ; but
necessity is the mother of invention, and dread of the horrors
of war in the future may quicken man's inventive faculty and
lead to the discovery of a way of ensuring the peace of the
world. The fact that so many men of knowledge, experience,
and wisdom seem to cherish this hope is an encouraging sign.

D. A. E. VEAL.

GOOD SEASON IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

THE prospects in Western Australia for the coming season are
extremely good. The wheat-grower is guaranteed 4s. a bushel
for his product, so is certain of a profitable return for everything
he can grow. During the past year there has been a marked
increase in the number of cattle in the State, and the sheep flock
have increased to the extent of 50,000. It is intended to erect
freezing works at Fremantle, and the pastoralists in the Northern
areas are proposing to commence co-operative freezing works at
Carnarvon to deal with the surplus sheep in the Gascoyne and
Ashburton districts.

282 The Empire Review

SIDE-LIGHTS ON THE WAR

THE Ontario Government has put into force the only plan
in actual ottpation in Canada for placing returned soldiers on the
land. A substantial settlement of returned heroes, happy and
contented, are already making homes for themselves at Kapus-
kasing, Northern Ontario, and their number is steadily increasing.
Each man is given 100 acres of land, ten acres of which are
cleared, with a house erected on it. All this is a free gift from
the Ontario Government, who have already spent over £60,000
on the scheme, and have apportioned £250,000 if required.
Before going on his own land, the settler receives a practical
training on the Government's training farm, and while there
receives his usual military pay, and, if married, his wife receives
separation allowance, just the same as when he was in the
Army. When he goes on his own land, the soldier-settler
receives a loan of £100 to start his farm. Expert farm instructors
are in charge on the settlement, co-operative methods are in
force, and goods and equipment are supplied by the Ontario
Government at cost. The scheme is open to all suitable dis-
charged soldiers and sailors, both Canadian and Imperial, and
will no doubt be one of the most important in Canada after
the war.

PBOSPECTING for gold is an alluring and ofttimes profitable
occupation, provided one knows where the chances are favourable
and can tell gold from gravel. There are a score of fields in
Western Australia where at least a living may be made, with
always the chance thrown in of sudden fortune. That is why
many men stick to prospecting, even though fighting against
runs of bad luck, throughout the best years of their lives. There
is excitement in every shovelful of earth thrown up, in every
drive of the pick, and there is exaltation in the sight of these
tiny streaks of yellow that collect in the edge of the dish or the
" dolly-pot." There is something of the fierce joy of the successful
gambler when the battery -plates commence to look good and
when the final clean-up proves that the ore is rich enough to
pay dividends.

GOLD-MINING and prospecting make an irresistible appeal to
the adventurous, and therefore the Western Australian Govern-
ment is to be congratulated upon its decision to anticipate the
wishes of men who have been engaged in the greatest adventure

Side-Lights on the War 283

of all and who may like to take a chance in the lottery of the
underground. That there are tons of gold lying under the earth
in the Western State no one who knows the auriferous belt
ever dreams of doubting. The Government will place at the
disposal of the soldier-prospector the most expert advice available ;
advice which, if it does not always lead them to the pay-ore,
will certainly save them from wasting time on valueless territory.
The State will also provide the necessary equipment, while the
Repatriation Board will supply sustenance to prospectors, their
wives and children. The scheme has been favourably received
by mining organisations in Western Australia and by the returned
soldiers.

SPHAGNUM moss is one of Canada's natural resources, one
great value of which has been brought to light by the war. So
great has become the demand that Great Britain is no longer
able to cope with it, and Canada and the United States are now
being actively exploited for this valuable dressing. The first
effective work in Canada was initiated by Professor Porter, of
McGill University, who secured samples of various qualities of
moss from the British authorities early in 1916 and then explored
Nova Scotia until he located supplies of material which the
same authorities accepted as "perfect." The first sphagnum
dressings sent overseas were made up from this moss in the
autumn of 1916 by the Junior Bed Cross of Guysboro', Nova
Scotia. Since then the industry has developed steadily. The
McGill University Women's Union established a sphagnum
department in a large laboratory very generously placed at their
disposal by the University Medical School in the autumn of
1916, and from then until now has been preparing moss and
shipping dressings. During the last two or three months
developments have been very rapid. The demand for dressings
has increased to such an extent that the Canadian Red Cross
Society has decided to start production on a large scale, and the
Americans are organising an immense output for their own and
the French hospitals.

DUKING the progress of the survey of the boundary between
Alberta and British Columbia, a region containing some of the
loftiest peaks in Canada was encountered not far north of the
United States boundary. A number of these peaks have been
named by the Geographical Board after Canadian and Allied
soldiers of distinction, and travellers through the Eockies may
now try to climb such heights as Mount Currie, Mount Turner,
Mount Morrison, Mount Mercer, Mount Watson and Mount
Bishop. The genius of Sir Douglas Haig is commemorated in a
peak 11,000 feet high, and the names of Generals Foch, Joffre
and Petain are given to peaks of almost equal elevation. King
Albert and Queen Elizabeth of Belgium are also remembered, as
is General Leman, the gallant defender of Liege.

WITH the assistance of some hundreds of girls, the fruit crop
of British Columbia last summer was very well saved. This year
the National Council of the Y.W.C.A. has organised a movement

284 The Empire Review

to recruit the necessary pickers, and will look after the girls'
interests while away from home. On the Niagara Peninsula last
season not only did the girls do the picking, but also the more
arduous tasks, such as hoeing, ploughing and cultivating. This
year it is intended to apply for provincial aid for the erection of
suitable buildings for recreation and to carry out plans for a good
food supply for the workers. The Saskatchewan Board of Trade
has passed the following resolution : — " That as a number of
women of the province have displayed a wish to relieve the farm
labour situation, it is recommended that they be encouraged to
register for duties such as street car conductors, elevator operators,
mail carriers, etc., with a view to relieving the men so engaged
for harvesting work on farms, the men relieved to be guaranteed
their positions when they return." Already the suggestion has
been largely carried into operation.

THE Canadian Government has passed further regulations
dealing with the exportation of silver spruce, whereby it is pro-
vided that no railway or other transportation company shall
accept any silver spruce unless the bill of lading covering such
shipment is accompanied by a certificate of a well-known lumber
inspection bureau association, approved by the Minister of
Customs, that such shipment contains no silver spruce suitable
for use in the manufacture of aeroplanes. Provision is also made
that the new regulation shall not apply to shipments consigned
to the Imperial Munitions Board. Failure to comply with the
regulations on the part of the transportation company will render
that company liable to a fine of £100.

THE Eoyal North-West Mounted Police is to furnish a
squadron of cavalry for the Canadian Corps in France, and
others of this police force will go overseas as general reinforcements
to cavalry units. In anticipation of overseas service, recruiting
was started some time ago, for 675 more have enlisted. Ever
since the outbreak of war the Royal North- West Mounted
Police have been anxious to get overseas, and their wish is now
to be gratified. There are already many former members of the
police in the overseas forces, some of whom joined up immediately
their service with the police expired, while fifty-three secured
their discharge in order to get to the front.

A VOTE of $2,900,000 for advances to soldiers settling on
the land, and the cost of the administration of the Soldiers'
Settlement Act has been passed in the Dominion Parliament.
Mr. Meighen explained that this was the first vote under the
Act which provided for money being advanced to soldiers settling
on the land, in order that they may buy seeds, etc. The intention
of the Government is to work toward co-operative arrangements
with the various provinces in regard to settlement upon the
land by soldiers.

THE number of Canadian pensions awarded from the beginning
of the war up to May 31st last was 34,879, according to figures
made public by the Board of Pension Commissioners. The
number of gratuities granted totalled 3,013.

Empire Trade Notes 285

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES

CANADA

THE Manitoba Department of Agriculture conceived the idea
of commissioning a number of men experienced in farming, who
would give personal encouragement and help to individual farmers
in all parts of the province, with a view to increasing the number
of acres broken this season. The men have all been sent to
districts with which they were well acquainted, mostly working
in their own localities. Their work in relation to production is
not so much to exhort in any public way as it is to ascertain the
exact conditions upon individual farms, and if it is found to be
possible through co-operation or in any other way to facilitate
production, to see that it is done. In a number of cases farmers
have been assisted in obtaining better seed supplies than they
possessed, and returns indicate that through the presentation of
the needs of the Allies and through the personal encouragement
of the representatives to individual farmers to break up new land,
production will be increased appreciably, especially during the
year 1919.

ARRANGEMENTS have been completed whereby shipbuilding
on a large scale will be undertaken at Halifax. The dry dock,
which was slightly damaged by the explosion, has been acquired
by the Government, and will be put into first-class condition.
The property adjoining the dry dock, known as the Acadia Sugar
Eefinery, has been acquired by the interests behind the enterprise.
It is proposed to- construct ships of approximately 10,000 tons.
The undertaking will involve an initial expenditure of between
three and four million dollars and when it is running at full
capacity will employ nearly 4,000 men. That British Columbia's
shipbuilding activity will continue for a considerable period is
assured by the large quantities of timber available for construction
purposes, which are existent in the province. A well-known
ship designer of Victoria has been entrusted with the designs
for two types of sailing vessels, one of 3,000 tons and the other
of 3,500 tons register, both of which are for Buenos Aires.

GENERAL trade conditions throughout Western Canada con-
tinue satisfactory, with retail merchants reporting sales as being
in excess of those last spring. Wholesalers report that orders
are increasing steadily in volume and that collections are con-
VOL. XXXII.— No. 211. Y

286 The Empire Review

tinning very satisfactory. The retail merchants and their clerks
at Calgary have come to an agreement as to working hours.
This provides for the stores closing at 6 p.m. the whole year
round and at one o'clock on Saturdays during June, July and
August. The clerks have agreed to abandon the Wednesday
half-holiday in return for Saturday afternoon during the three
summer months and no night work with the exception of the
three evenings before Christmas, when the stores will remain
open till 10 p.m.

AN amendment to the Game Act has been moved in the
British Columbia Legislature, providing for a £5 licence for all
non-resident hunters and fishermen who shoot or fish within
British Columbia, and, in addition, £5 for each grizzly bear,
moose, wapiti and caribou shot, £3 for each black or brown bear,
and £1 for each goat or each species of deer shot. As big game
hunting in British Columbia has for many years drawn the
world's best sportsmen from all quarters of the globe, the bags
have been numerous and large. Under such a tax as that
suggested, big game hunting in British Columbia would result
in a tremendous increase in the revenue and at the same time
indiscriminate destruction would be controlled.

CHAINS of lakes and rivers hitherto unknown were traversed
in the interior of Labrador by exploring parties of representatives
of the National Geographic Society and the Carnegie Museum,
Pittsburg, which started from St. John's, Newfoundland. The
journey covered about 750 miles l over a route never before
travelled by white men, and was made more difficult by the fact
that the five Indians who were taken along as guides proved to
be unfamiliar with the country. The party included the curator
of ornithology in the Carnegie Museum, and the curator of
mammals in the same institution. They left Seven Islands Bay
on the north side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, about the end of
May, 1917, and travelled north by canoe and portages, reaching
Fort Chimo, near Urgava Bay, August 22nd. In addition to
mapping the country they studied the natural history. The
curator of the Carnegie Museum stated that the existing maps
were found to be very inaccurate, and altogether misleading,
having been made from information supplied by Indians.

THE number of settlers in Western Canada in one month
this year was 200 more than for the same month in 1917. Forty
carloads of settlers' effects entered through North Portal. These
were from the State of Illinois, and were going to Saskatchewan
and Alberta. The demand for land has been heavy. The
Canadian Pacific Railway is selling land, including ready-made
farms, throughout the West, chiefly in Alberta, at the rate of
80,000 acres per month. The Hudson Bay Company is selling
land at the rate of 40,000 acres per month, which has been the
average since August last year. An evidence of the way in which
tractors are reaching the country is instanced by the fact that
one company took in thirteen carloads of tractors worth £2,800
in one week.

Empire Trade Notes 287

THAT the Canadian Food Control Department is producing
results beneficial to the Allies is shown in a statement regarding
Canadian trade in lake fish in the three prairie provinces. The
United States imported 1,960,000 Ibs. of lake fish, and the
Canadian prairie provinces consumed 1,900,000 Ibs., all from the
lake catches. Last year 85 per cent, of the lake catch was
exported to the United States, but this year 50 per cent, of the
catch was consumed in Canada. The result of this has been
that the people in the prairie provinces have used 35 per cent,
more fish in one week than they did last year during the same
period, which means that there has been less meat consumed,
thus leaving it available for export to the Allies.

ARRANGEMENTS are being made for the opening of a fish
canning industry at Edmonton, Alberta, the fish to be utilised
being the jackfish and pickerel which are taken from the northern
lakes. It is proposed to deal with all these fish caught by the
fishermen who now work the lakes, and, in addition, to establish
special fisheries for these particular species. The lakes from
which it is hoped to derive the immediate supply are the Slave
Lake, Lac la Biche, Egg Lake, Wabamun and others. The
capital investment in establishing the factory is quoted at
£30,000, and it is hoped to turn out 1,500,000 Ibs. of canned
fish the first year.

THE first official crop report of Manitoba for this year has
just been issued. It is indicated in the report that the crops are
clearly six days ahead of the normal schedule in the places which
have forwarded data. " In the heavier districts," the report
states, " the information of the correspondents indicates that the
prospects to-day are equal to the record year of 1915, when the
banner crop was carried." Fifty per cent, more land under
cultivation is the objective which the farmers of New Brunswick
are asked to attain this season. This is an average of five acres
more per farmer, the amount of land under cultivation in the
province being lower than in other parts of Canada, owing to the
lack of grain-growing on a large scale, and the large proportion
of farming land used for dairying purposes.

ONTARIO farmers are devoting additional acreage to flax.
Reports received show there is every likelihood of flax production
in this province being increased from 4,000 acres in pre-war
times to 10,000 acres this year. The Government, for experi-
mental purposes, has secured a considerable acreage of suitable
land near Toronto, on which to grow flax. A careful record of
results will be kept wi£h the object of extending operations next
year. There are now forty flax mills in Ontario, and while a
large part of the Canadian flax crop is grown for seed, a consider-
able portion of the fibre will be available for British aeroplanes.

THE Canadian Minister of Agriculture, in reply to some
criticism of the Order allowing the importation and manufacture
of oleo margarine as a butter substitute, stated that the dairy
exports of Canada in cheese, butter and condensed milk had

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288 The Empire Review

grown so enormously in four years that a butter substitute
became an absolute necessity. The exports of these commodities
in pounds last year compared with those of four years ago
were: cheese, 1913, 155,216,000 Ibs., 1917, 180,733,426 Ibs. ;
butter, 1913, 828,623 Ibs., 1917, 7,990,000 Ibs. ; condensed milk,
1913, 335,845 Ibs., 1917, 15,858,000 Ibs. The Minister of Agri-
culture sees in these figures great possibilities for Quebec and
Ontario securing much of the dairy trade of the world, while the
Maritime Provinces, in addition to sharing in the markets of the
old country, should be able to command an ever-increasing trade
with the Eastern States in butter and cheese.

THE Canadian Northern Eailway Company are spending
£300,000 on improvements to the road bed between Port Arthur
and Rainy River, two divisions, a distance of 286 miles. It is
understood that the money has been appropriated and the work
approved. Two hundred miles of new heavy steel rails will be
laid, and new ballasting will be carried out over the two divisions,
and the road bed put into good order. The divisions affected are
Port Arthur to Atikokan, 143 miles, and Atikokan to Rainy River,
which is the same distance. The Canadian Minister of Railways
has promised that steel will be laid on the Hudson Bay Railway
this season connecting The Pas with Tidewater at Port Nelson.
Steel will also be laid for a distance of approximately twenty-five
miles westward from Preeceville on the Thunderhill branch of
the Canadian Northern Railway. The British Columbia Pro-
vincial Government engineer is hopeful of having the Pacific
Great Eastern Railway constructed to William Lake and even
120 miles farther to Soda Creek this year. If it is possible to
push construction to Soda Creek it will mean that water and
rail transportation will be opened between Fort George and
Vancouver.

PROMINENT farmers of Saskatchewan, men who have won
highest honours at international dry farming shows, are formulat-
ing plans for the organisation of a co-operative selling agency
through which pure varieties of registered grains will be distributed
to the farmers of the province. The head office of the organisation
will probably be established in Regina or Saskatoon, and the
agency will be under the supervision of the Canadian Seed
Growers' Association.

CANADIAN mines have been working to capacity furnishing
metal for export, etc. To the United Kingdom alone the exports
of copper in 1917 totalled 144,613 cwt., worth £216,026, as com-
pared with only 53,855 cwt., worth £80,771, in 1913; 124,000
cwt. of nickel, worth £372,559, was exported to the United
Kingdom, as compared with 48,267 cwt., valued at £143,629, in
the year before the war. In 1917 the Dominion sent 50 per cent,
more spruce and other deals to the United Kingdom than in
1913, but the price had increased to such an extent that the
value of this form of export nearly doubled, being £1,718,960, as
compared with £936,764.

Empire Trade Notes 289

ONE of the largest deposits of nickel and copper ore so far
found in the district has been discovered in the Upper Notch of
the Eardley Mountains, three miles from Luskville, Quebec.
The discovery was made some time ago by a veteran prospector
who is over seventy years of age, but it was only recently that he
mentioned it, and he then took another man with him and they
dug down about five feet in several parts of the property. Every-
where they found ore rich in nickel and copper and no trace
of rock.

So great is the demand for automobiles in Canada that
besides carrying on a large manufacturing industry, she is also
a large importer. According to the Canadian Department of
Customs report for the fiscal year 1917, the total importations of
automobiles for the fiscal year 1917 included 12,037 cars, valued
at nearly £1,600,000. The value of the importation of parts was
almost as large, but these were chiefly for the manufacture of
new automobiles in Canada.

As far as climate is concerned, apples can be grown commer-
cially in any part of old Ontario. There are commercial orchards
producing fruit at a profit considerably further north than Parry
Sound. The idea has grown that commercial apple orchards are
necessarily confined to the milder parts of the province and to
the lake districts, but it is a fact that Ontario possesses several
varieties of apples suitable for commercial culture in every county
of old Ontario. The winter hardiness of the many varieties
grown throughout Ontario is now well established, and it is
possible to select varieties which will be sufficiently hardy for
any district.

DR. ISSA TANIMUBA, who has been commissioned by the
Japanese Government to study agricultural methods in Canada
with a view to applying them in the Orient, states that although
much commercial trade is carried on between Canada and Japan,
little is known among the average Japanese of what Canada is
like or what she is doing. He attributes this to the fact that the
business of the two countries has, in the past, been transacted
through intermediate channels. Canada, he feels, would profit
by closer commercial contact with the Orient.

THE annual report from the buffalo park at Wainwright shows
a satisfactory increase in the number of animals during the year.
There are 537 more buffalo in the park than a year ago, making a
total of 2,928 buffalo and 3,441 wild animals of all kinds. The
authorities carry on farming operations to a certain extent, which
includes the raising of crops and cutting of natural hay for their
own use. About 5,000 visitors from all parts of the world
registered during the year at the office in the park.

THE Secretary of the Ontario Sheep Breeders' Association
anticipates that the amount of wool to be graded at the Guelph
Winter Fair Buildings during the next couple of months will be
double the amount graded last year, which was 200,000 Ibs. He
has made elaborate arrangements for handling the wool. On its

290 The Empire Review

arrival at Guelph, the wool is weighed, checked and graded by
graders furnished by the Department of Agriculture, and placed
in sacks ready for shipment. To those who require the money,
part payment is made at once, the remaining portion when the
wool is sold.

THE home production farm, under the direction of the
Canadian Department of Indian affairs, is progressing rapidly.
Six tractors were shipped from Eegina to points close at hand.
Living rooms and cook houses have been constructed at these
points. Indians at the Assiniboia reserve sent a delegation to
wait upon the Commissioner, and arrangements were made by
them for the purchase of three tractors. The Indians are paying
for everything themselves, and making all their own arrangements
for operating the machines.

ME. WILLIAM COOL, of Victoria, British Columbia, aged
100 years, has signed a registration card signifying his willingness
to go on the land to help in the production of foodstuffs in this
time of crisis. The centenarian stated that he wanted to do his
bit to feed the Allies and defeat the Hun. He is hale and hearty,
and is ready to start work the moment the Government needs
him. Mr. Cool went to the Pacific Coast from Quebec in 1848,
and was placed in charge of the Hudson Bay Company farms
there.

THE Alberta Department of Agriculture has arranged to hold
two-day short course schools at various points throughout the
province. The subjects to be discussed include soil cultivation,
selection of seed, weed control, suitable varieties of wheat, oats
and barley, the silo alfalfa, grasses and fodder crops. Illustrated
lectures will be given on live stock and on weed identification.
The most experienced speakers in the province will take part in
the programme.

AT the present time the United States are importing from
Canada about 275,000 horse-power of electrical energy. In round
figures and taking cognizance of some special factors, the electrical
power now imported by the United States would be the equivalent
of probably not less than 3,000,000 tons of coal — it may be a
quantity substantial!}' greater.

NOEWEGIAN capitalists attracted by the recent efforts to
popularise the use of whale meat as food in the United States,
have made arrangements to revive the whaling industry in New-
foundland waters. In addition to shipping the meat to the
United States and possibly elsewhere, they propose to convert
the fat into margarine as is now done extensively in Norway.

ALL the flour mills of Western Canada are now grinding
white corn flower and oat flour, following arrangements com-
pleted with the Canadian Food Board. The Board has also
arranged for the distribution of these flours throughout the West
at fixed prices.

Empire Trade Notes 291

SOUTH AFRICA

IN his address at the annual meeting of the Johannesburg
Chamber of Commerce, the outgoing President closely analysed
the trade of the Union for the past year from every point of
view. He showed that the earnings from the coal traffic increased
from £2,815,244 in 1916 to £3,209,944 last year— an addition of
£394,700. As a matter of fact, the large increases in earnings
have been due mainly to the considerable volume of coal and
maize carried. The coal traffic alone increased from 6,985,832
tons in 1913 to 7,982,624 tons in 1917— a rise of 996,772 tons,
or 14'3 per cent. In September, 1916, the railway rates on
bunker coal were increased by 6s. per ton, because the cost of
this was exceedingly low compared with the high prices ruling
at the various ports throughout the world ; and the Kail way
Board felt that advantage might be taken to augment the railway
revenue, more especially since it could be done without unduly
raising the price of coal, or of jeopardising new trade. In
December last a further increase of 4s. per ton was imposed,
and it is estimated that this will realise a fuller revenue of not
less than £400,000 per annum.

THE war caused a greatly increased demand in the United
Kingdom for leather for army purposes, and at the same time
seriously reduced the supplies of available tanning materials
previously obtained from the Continent. This shortage of tanning
materials afforded a good opportunity of calling the attention of
British tanners to wattle bark, an excellent tanning material
which is produced on a large scale in South Africa, but had
previously, owing to lack of demand in Great Britain, been
exported principally to Germany. A circular was accordingly
prepared by the Imperial Institute giving information as to the
quantities of wattle bark which could be supplied by British
countries, the value of the bark as a tanning material, and the
average price of the bark. This circular was widely distributed
to tanners in the United Kingdom, and also to merchants and
brokers dealing in tanning materials. As a result of this action
a large number of inquiries were received from firms in the
United Kingdom, who were given further information on the
subject and put into communication with producers of the bark
in South Africa, with the result that the consumption of wattle
bark has greatly increased in the United Kingdom, and there is
a prospect that this country will in future be able to take most
of the South African output either in the form of bark or extract.

IT is well known that the bulk of the world's supply of paper
is made from spruce "and other soft woods, the supplies of which
are steadily diminishing. The quantities of soft woods available
within the Empire are comparatively small, and so it has come
about that the Empire is largely dependent on foreign countries,
especially Scandinavia, for its supplies of paper or the wood pulp

292 The Empire Review

from which it is made, the chief sources of supply within the
Empire being Newfoundland and Canada. The Imperial Institute
has therefore given special attention to the possible substitutes
for wood, which are to be found in the grasses growing in tropical
and sub-tropical countries. Among these is the tambookie grass
of South Africa. This, on examination at the Imperial Institute,
was found to give a yield of about 33 per cent, of paper of excellent
quality, and the prospects of a paper industry in South Africa
based on this material are now being carefully considered. Tam-
bookie grass is by no means the only paper-making material
obtainable in South Africa, and from the information available
at the Imperial Institute it seems likely that the range of
materials available will enable several classes of paper to be made.

IN the course of a report recently presented to the Executive
Council of the Imperial Institute summarising the results of
investigations by the Institute in connection with the develop-
ment of Empire industry and trade, it is stated that a considerable
amount of attention has been given in recent years to the recovery
of wax from the waste produced in the extraction of sugar from
the sugar-cane. The report proceeds : " It is satisfactory to find
that this industry has now been started on a small scale in Natal.
Samples of the first consignment of Natal sugar-cane wax shipped
to this country have been examined at the Imperial Institute and
found to be of good quality, quite equal to that of the first trial
samples made and examined. Sugar-cane wax is now becoming
better known on the market, and could be used as a substitute
for the better known carnauba wax in the manufacture of
gramophone records, polishes, candles, etc."

THE Department of Industries of the Union of South Africa
is advised that owing to the scarcity of pig-iron and scrap metal,
and in order to avoid the necessity of closing down its works, one
of the principal iron-working firms in Durban has decided to
proceed with the erection of the necessary furnace for iron
smelting from local ores. Plans for this undertaking are well
advanced. This is the third enterprise of the kind to be in-
augurated in the Union within the last six months.

AT Congella a building is being erected capable of holding a
shipload of beef, and abattoirs and freezing works to deal with
200 head per day are contemplated. It is expected that a start
will be made with the building of an abattoir and cold-storage
premises at Harrismith shortly, also at East London and other
centres. A tannery has also been secured at Sutherlands, where
about 600 hides are treated each month.

OVEESEA COEEESPONDENTS.

THE EMPIRE
REVIEW

AND

VOL. XXXII. SEPTEMBER, 1918. No. 212.
AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC

MONROB DOCTRINE A NECESSITY

IN this article — a very brief one — I propose to deal with only
one phase of the great Pacific question, which involves not alone
the destiny of Australasia and of the Empire, but is destined to
play an important part in the world events of the future.

My purpose is to set out the position in which Australia finds
itself in regard to those islands in the Pacific Ocean which before
the war were held by Germany, and which have now passed
from her possession. The policy of Australia, shortly stated, is
that it dare not assent to these islands being handed back after
the war. The reasons underlying this policy are not desire for
territorial aggrandisement, for in our wide and fertile land we
have an heritage capable of maintaining a population twenty times
that of its present dimensions. We do not want more territory,
but what we have we intend to hold. And it is because of this,
because of Germany's ambition, because of her lust of world-
power, which threatens us alike with the rest of the civilised
world, that Australian soldiers are fighting, and that 47,000 have
already laid down their lives."

Let me make the position clear. Australia is a great island.
All our commercial pathways lie along the mighty deep. The
freedom of those pathways is essential to our safety and our
welfare. In peace through them we are accessible, in war we
may be isolated. Along the northern and eastern shores of our
country are three belts of islands, stretching like a barrier across
the routes to other lands. The Power in possession of, or
exercising the dominating influence over, these islands, commands
these routes, and the Power commanding these routes commands
Australia. There are hundreds of islands, and the territory they

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204 The Empire Review

aggregate is considerable. Germany had secured a footing in
these belts of islands ; at German New Guinea and New Britain ;
at the Caroline and Marshall islands and at Samoa. And it so
happens that of a total population estimated at 1,500,000 for the
whole of the Pacific islands those before the war in the possession
of Germany are set down as containing *more than 800,000.
Moreover these former German possessions have not a few but
many fine harbours ; they also have great potentialities of trade.
Following the policy of " peaceful penetration," which in other
spheres proved so successful, Germany had sown the seeds of a
great empire in the Pacific. She had established naval bases and
wireless stations; had succeeded in almost monopolising the
island trade ; and when war broke out was extending her influence
in every direction. I have not the slightest doubt that a few
more years would not only have seen the Germans in control
of the Pacific, but would have seen that control supported and
maintained by a huge German navy.

In order that Australians may hold Australia, in order that
this young democracy may develop the great heritage which its
soldiers are now so valiantly defending, it is necessary that the
islands stretching along our shores should not come under the
rule of a predatory power. In other words, we stand committed
to a policy of an Australian Monroe Doctrine in the Southern
Pacific. What Calais and Boulogne are to this country, New
Guinea and the other islands are to Australia. In the hands of a
strong predatory power they are daggers pointed at our heart.

New Guinea is by far the largest of the Pacific Islands, and
is separated only by a narrow strip of water from the mainland
of Australia. It is, indeed, much nearer Australia than Tasmania,
the island State of the Commonwealth. In itself New Guinea
is a valuable possession. It has an area of 330,000 square miles-
three times that of the United Kingdom, and far greater than
that of France or Germany. The island is rich and fertile and
capable of great development. But it is more than that. It is
the very gateway into Australia, so that Germany, with her
military power unbroken, her lust for Empire unchecked and
still possessing her great territory in New Guinea, would command
the entrance to our country. In pre-war days Germany was
using New Guinea as a naval base. Within a month after war
was declared Australian troops took it from the enemy, and we
should be lacking in our duty to them if we handed it back when
peace is declared. It is essential to our national integrity that
the Pacific Islands should not be in the hands of a predatory
power. To place Germany once again in control of the Pacific
is to give her control of Australia.

But there is a deeper question still to consider. The Pacific,

Australia and the Pacific 295

in the future, will be the scene of many international complica-
tions and many racial problems. Unless people with great ideals,
with a love of freedom, and a due regard for civilisation, become
at once responsible for its administration, it may yet lead to a
greater war than that which now rages. These qualities are
only found in democratic nations. They are not found in
Germany, constituted as she now is, and until Germany becomes
democratised she must not be permitted to cast the shadow of
her despotic rule over the lands whose development depends
essentially upon freedom. Hands off the Australian Pacific is
the doctrine to which by inexorable circumstances we are com-
mitted. And against all predatory nations we shall strive to give
this doctrine effect to the last ounce of effort at our disposal. As
I have said, we do not desire territory, all we want is security.
And BO we rejoice that our great Ally, France, has interests in
the Southern Pacific, and that Holland, as long as she does not
become the agent of Germany, is our neighbour in Java and
New Guinea.

I know the policy I have outlined carries with it great and
grave responsibilities, it definitely puts aside all considerations
of an inconclusive peace, it means we must fight on to victory.
Well, we in Australia are prepared, I may say determined, to
fight on till victory is attained. For only through the gate of
decisive victory can we enter into the pastures of a lasting
and abiding peace.

W. M. HUGHES

(Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia) .

VOLUNTARY RECRUITING IN IRELAND AND AUSTRALIA

A COMPARISON

I HEAR from many correspondents in Ireland that voluntary
recruiting is merely a farce. How great a farce is shown by the
anxiety of the Dublin corresponent of the Times to telegraph to
his journal the news that two Sein Feiners, after being ordered
six and three months' imprisonment respectively, expressed a
desire to join the Army. Accordingly they were taken to the
recruiting office where they enlisted, not in the infantry, where
their services are so much required, but in the mechanical trans-
port corps. The ceremony over, they received their first day's
pay, and were given leave for a few days to visit their friends.
Compare this incident with the information which reaches me
from Australia, where, in one district, Koseville, Sydney, few
eligibles are left, while of the fifty men enlisted from Kockvale in
the Armidale district in the same State all have been wounded.
Such is the difference between voluntary recruiting in Ireland
and voluntary recruiting in Australia. PATRIOT

296 The Empire Review

SOME PHASES OF IMPERIAL
PREFERENCE

THERE appears to be some confusion in the public mind with
regard to what took place at the Imperial War Conference with
regard to Imperial Preference. It is quite correct to say that the
subject was not discussed at the recent Conference or at this
year's Imperial War Cabinet. It was, however, dealt with last
year at both Conference and Cabinet. And on my motion the
following resolution was unanimously agreed to, first by the
Imperial War Cabinet and afterwards by the Imperial War
Conference: —

" The time has arrived when all possible encouragement
should be given to the development of Imperial resources
and especially to making the Empire independent of other
countries in respect of food supplies, raw materials and
essential industries. With these objects in view, this
Conference expresses itself in favour of : — (1) The principle
that each part of the Empire, having due regard to the
interests of our Allies, shall give specially-favourable treat-
ment and facilities to the produce and manufactures of other
parts of the Empire ; (2) Arrangements by which intending
emigrants from the United Kingdom may be induced to
settle in countries under the British flag."

The second part of the resolution is intended, in view of the
very heavy financial responsibilities resulting from the war which
every country in the Empire has taken up, to encourage develop-
ment wherever it is feasible, and the filling up of unoccupied
territory suitable for settlement purposes with enterprising and
industrious British citizens. The first part deals with Imperial
Preference, which has now been accepted in principle by the
British Government.

I have no wish to interfere in what may be regarded as
domestic politics, because each country has the right to deal with
its fiscal policy in its own way, but Imperial Preference is a much
wider question than that of Customs duties only, and I trust that
the Parliament of the United Kingdom will give the Overseas
Dominions and Dependencies a lead worthy of the occasion and

Some Phases of Imperial Preference 297

worthy of the Imperial sentiment by which the great mass of
British citizens are at present actuated. The present is an
opportunity such as has never happened previously for a great
Imperial policy, an opportunity that certainly should not be lost.
Perhaps I may remind my readers that the Dominions have in
each case given substantial preference by way of Customs duties
to British goods, and as time goes on I have no doubt they will
do more in the same direction. For instance, the New Zealand
Parliament has provided that by Order in Council Customs duties
on goods from present enemy countries may be increased by
50 per cent, as compared with the duties in existence before the
war. And this provision almost certainly will be put into opera-
tion when the war comes to an end. No citizen of the Empire
can ever forget that Germany paid for part of her war pre-
parations, though perhaps only a comparatively small part, from
profits made by trading with British countries.

I have often heard people here express regret that prior to the
outbreak of war the law allowed present enemy aliens to land
goods in British ports on exactly the same terms and conditions
as operated in the case of citizens of the Overseas Dominions. I
hope that nothing of the kind will ever again be tolerated, but there
is another matter to which I should like to call attention. When
the war is over there is nothing to prevent ships belonging to
Germany trading between British ports without let or hindrance
just as they did prior to 1914. Surely the Governments and
Parliaments and the Empire will take the necessary steps to put
an end once and for all to this privilege. After the piratical
warfare carried on by enemy submarines, and the splendid work
done by officers and men of the Mercantile Marine, such an idea
is unthinkable ; but the possibility is there. Do not lose sight of
this. A well thought-out scheme of Imperial Preference would
certainly give an advantage to British ships in British waters and
between British ports. We have the right to do it, and in justice
to ourselves it should be done.

But even this is only part of a much larger question. The
British Empire consists of a number of countries separated from
each other or connected with each other — just as we choose to
express it — by thousands of miles of ocean. The sea is our
national highway, it is our duty to make the best and the most
of it. Just as it is our business to see that our railways and
roads are adequate for the traffic they have to carry, so we should
see that the shipping on our main trade routes, especially between
Britain and the Dominions, is adequate for the business required
to be done. After the war satisfactory communication and
transportation will be more than ever necessary to the future
welfare of the Empire. I believe a scheme can be worked out

298 The Empire Review

by which British ships and British seamen will have preference
and encouragement, and the services be more satisfactory than
ever they have been previously. I know what I am suggesting
requires thorough and complete organisation. In some cases it
may mean subsidies, but even if it does, the people will not object
so long as they are getting value for their money. The old order
changeth giving place to the new, and in a matter so vitally
important to the prosperity and welfare of British citizens,
wherever they may be domiciled, we must endeavour to progress
and improve on past conditions.

Then in connection with the development of our Imperial
resources, is it not possible to devise a scheme by which the
investment of capital within the Empire for development purposes
would be encouraged by a lower rate of income-tax being charged
on the income from such investments? The system of double
income-tax which is at present in operation has exactly the
opposite effect. That system will, I hope, disappear with the
war, but I commend the idea to the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
who is a supporter of and believer in the principle of Imperial
Preference.

An objection often raised to a system of Preference is that it
is a return to Protection, but let me remind critics on this score
that Imperial Preference will bring us nearer to Free Trade
within the Empire than ever we have been before. Again, I have
heard it said that before the war a large trade was done between
Britain and British countries and Germany, but if the statistics
are examined it will be seen that the exports from British
countries consisted, to a great extent, of raw materials, while the
imports to British countries were mostly manufactured goods, in
the production of which the British worker took no part, all the
benefits accruing from production went directly to the artisans
and labourers of Germany. One of the questions we shall have
to see to very carefully when we get back to normal conditions is
the using of our raw material and the consequent employment of
our own people. For some time before the war, Germany had
been importing quantities of oleaginous products, non-ferrous
metals and even iron ore from British countries. I have not the
slightest doubt that much of that material was fired back at our
troops and those of our Allies in the form of explosives and shot
and shell. If we don't learn by what has happened in this and
other respects during the war, and avoid such folly in the future,
we shall deserve all that may happen to us.

Now is our opportunity. Let us take advantage of it, and so
increase production both in Britain and the Dominions, the
Overseas countries producing most of the foodstuffs required in
Britain, and British workshops providing most of the manu-

Some Phases of Imperial Preference 299

factured goods required in the Dominions, each country working
for its own good, and all working for the common weal. Thus,
while maintaining the friendly relations that exist between our
Allies and ourselves, and by the development of our almost
unlimited resources, we shall build up a strong, self-reliant,
independent Empire — a blessing and a benefit to those both
within and without its boundaries.

W. F. MASSE Y
(Prime Minister of the Dominion of New Zealand).

WAR ACTIVITIES IN ONTARIO

BEGAEDING the war activities of Ontario, the Prime Minister
of the province writes : — " Ontario has enlisted for the Overseas
forces 200,000 fighting men, or about eight per cent, of its
population. A tax of one mill in the dollar has been levied by
the Legislature on all assessed property, for war purposes, and
yields about two million dollars per annum. Out of this fund
the Province has expended $6,754,047. There have also been
public and individual contributions of $15,250,000 to the Patriotic
Fund. Altogether the aggregate war expenditure of the Province
has exceeded thirty millions of dollars. In addition there is a
contingent liability arising out of municipal insurance on the lives
of enlisted men. Toronto alone, on this account, had expended,
up to the end of March $2,970,000. The last Victory Loan effort
secured in Ontario subscriptions to the extent of $203,823,500.
The Province has spent nearly a million dollars in stimulating
food production, purchasing tractors and organising its resources.
It has also laid out over $327,000 in preparations for the settle-
ment of returned soldiers and sailors. The Soldiers' Settlement
Board has established a Loan Advisory Board, and all applications
for loans under the Act will be dealt with by the Board. A
number of returned soldiers who had land before enlisting have
already applied for loans, others, without previous experience of
farming, are taking advantage of the privilege to acquire farms.
It has been decided to open a special Training-School at Guelph
to act as a sort of university for convalescent soldiers. Accom-
modation will be provided at this institution for about 550 men.
The regular school subjects will be in charge of certified teachers
of standing. For the other courses highly-trained technical college
graduates and skilled workmen who held directive positions in the
industries will be selected. They will bring to their work a first
hand knowledge of industrial conditions, and will be qualified to
give instruction that is reliable, practical, and abreast of .the
times.

300 The Empire Review

FUNDAMENTAL CONDITIONS OF PEACE

PUNISHMENT, REPARATION AND RESTRAINT

" THERE is no security in any land without certainty of
punishment. There is no protection for life, property or money
in a State where the criminal is more powerful than the law. . . .
There have been many times in the history of the world criminal
States. We are dealing with one of them now. And there will
always be criminal States until the reward of international crime
becomes too precarious to make it profitable, and the punishment
of international crime becomes too sure to make it attractive."
These words are borrowed from one of the finest of the many
illuminating speeches delivered by Mr. Lloyd George within the
last three tempestuous years. They deserve particular attention
at the present time, foreshadowing as they do perils of the
gravest character that will have to be guarded against when the
representatives of the victorious Allied Nations meet those of the
Central Powers at the council table to dictate terms of peace.

The importance of that conference can hardly be overestimated.
As the Prime Minister has reminded us a new world will un-
doubtedly emerge after the present deluge of war has subsided.
Happily, we may feel assured at least that it will not be the old
world " with the heart out of it " ; but, failing the exercise of
wise prevision and statesmanship on the part of the conquerors,
it will be a world still afflicted with potentialities of future strife.
It is scarcely too much to say that, in certain circumstances,
British peacemakers might prove- more formidable enemies to the
Empire than the warriors of Germany. Ships have been wrecked
in port. Too often British diplomacy has annulled and sterilised
the achievements of British valour. Three great historic ex-
amples have occurred within the last -two centuries. If, yet once
more, expediency, or sentimentalism, were to override the
considerations of prudence and justice, and a pacification
accepted leaving a " criminal nation " unpunished, and not
materially weakened, future generations would execrate the
memories of those responsible for so deplorable a result.

Peace-making is always a difficult and complex art. In

Fundamental Conditions of Peace 301

imposing conditions on a vanquished foe the via media between
undue severity and unwise leniency is never easy to find. Too
much of the latter suggests fear, and therefore provokes contempt ;
too much of the former excites unquenchable hatred and a
passionate thirst for revenge. Much, of course, depends on the
temper and national character of the vanquished. In settling
accounts with a i chivalrous foe generosity is usually the best
policy. South Africa afforded a shining example of the virtues
of clemency. But in dealing with a nation like Germany, whose
rulers have deliberately adopted the maxim, " Evil be thou my
good," as a fundamental rule of State policy generosity would be
mere madness. Indeed, some of the guests at the peace banquet
will have to be provided with very long spoons. No doubt
the prostrate assassin will make loud professions of penitence,
while he gropes for his knife. But these must be taken at their
true value. The first business of the officers of international law
must be to confiscate his weapon, and then to take effective
measures to prevent his forging another.

A peace without punishment would be an outrage on justice,
a peace unaccompanied by effective checks on the maleficent
activities of German militarism hereafter an affront to common
prudence, a peace without reparation the condonation of the
most hideous crimes ever committed by a nation calling itself
civilised, and imply the consecration of wrong. It is singular
still to find some who prate of forgiveness, magnanimity and the
like ; and who seem to think that the more gigantic the crime
the stronger the claims of its authors to compassion. Such
persons are public enemies, they really encourage wrong-doing.
Forgiveness, like all other virtues, has its limits in respect of
morals as well as policy. There are wrongs which, not only
cannot, but should not be forgiven. The American historian,
Motley, has recorded how, during one of the ferocious combats
between the Dutch and the Spaniards in the course of the
prolonged struggle which ended in the establishment of the
Dutch Republic, a Dutch soldier, having slain a Spaniard, tore
the heart out of his dying victim's breast, plunged his teeth into
it, and then flung it away, exclaiming — " It is too bitter ! " A
Belgian, remembering the tragedies of Louvain and Dinant,
might almost be excused for dealing similarly with one of the
slaughterers of his own countrymen. To ask children who have
seen their parents murdered or enslaved, or parents who have
witnessed the slaughter of their families and the destruction of
their homes to forgive and forget were mere mockery. While
they live they can never forget, and while they remember they
can never forgive. Nevertheless nations, like individuals, may
be implacable without being cruel, far less unjust; and the

302 The Empire Review

application of stern disciplinary measures to those who have
most deeply sinned, for the ultimate benefit of the transgressors
themselves, need not be accompanied by the full rigours of the
law of retaliation.

Apart from the risk of the peace negotiations being influenced
by a vicious sentimentalism, there is another dangerous error to
be guarded against in dealing with the world's arch-enemy. Too
many people, even now, in apportioning responsibility for the
horrors which have disgraced the German name, in spite of the
most convincing evidence to the contrary, are inclined to dis-
sociate entirely the German rulers from the German people, and
to lay on the former only the full burden of guilt. No such
discrimination can be made. The German Army and the German
Nation, as the Kaiser once truly declared, are one. Granting
that the so-called policy of " frightfulness " has been deliberately
encouraged by the military party in Germany, conclusive proof
exists to show that it was actively and practically unanimously
supported by all leaders of public opinion in the German Empire,
including professors, journalists, captains of industry, and repre-
sentatives of all parties, including the Socialists, in the Beichstag,
and ministers of religion. A writer in a leading Eeview, under
the ironical title of " The Guiltless German Nation," some
months ago exposed in the clearest possible manner the fallacy
indicated by the heading under which he wrote. The gospel of
hate preached again and again by many prominent and influential
German divines would have won the entire approval of the zealots
of primitive Islam. In the elementary school and the university,
the street and the palace, the tavern and the church, the Hymn
of Hate has been sung with equal fervour.

Even if we accepted the contention urged by some democratic
humanitarians, and admitted that every crime committed by
German soldiers, sailors and airmen was in obedience to explicit
orders, the doers of such deeds would not be exculpated. He who
obeys an order to commit murder is in every way as guilty as he
who gave the order. The mere fact that the military and naval
chiefs could always find willing instruments among their sub-
ordinates to carry out their atrocious designs shows clearly enough
that the lust for slaughter and destruction was universal. The
" hell-hounds of savage war," to borrow a too apt expression from
Chatham's memorable outburst, were worthy of their masters.
From the fiends who tortured helpless captives, or jeered at
innocent seafarers struggling in the waves ; and the gentle
nurses who spat in the faces of wounded British soldiers, to the
cultured, callous barbarians of Potsdam, the stain of blood-
guiltiness rests on the whole German nation : not by the acts
of its rulers, but by the vast sum of human misery caused by

Fundamental Conditions of Peace 303

the deeds of German citizens in arms, must that nation be
judged.

The recognition of the collective guilt, of the German people
is a primary condition to the imposition of satisfactory terms of
peace. On this point too much stress can scarcely be laid. It
is only right, when the day of reckoning with the world's enemies
comes, that a few of the worst malefactors in high places should
be singled out for particular punishment, on them the capital
sentence might well be pronounced. The precedent established
at the close of the great civil war in America when a Confederate
officer, who had, treated Northern prisoners of war confined in a
camp under his control with barbarous cruelty, was tried for his
conduct and hanged, might be applied in dealing with certain
German officers at Wittenberg and elsewhere, who have similarly
disgraced themselves. Men, whether in uniform or not, who
wilfully transgress the ordinary laws of humanity have no right
to impunity. But, most certainly, punishment should not be
limited to the arch-offenders. It should be extended, though of
course in a milder degree, to all who were, actively or passively,
the accomplices of the leading transgressors.

A supposed specific for healing the moral leprosy with which
the German nation is now afflicted, and one much favoured by
one class of political moralists, is what is rather clumsily termed
" democratisation." It is seriously asserted by some stout demo-
crats that the immediate moral cure of the German people could
be effected by simply requiring them to adopt American or British
methods of government. It is difficult to reason with people
obsessed by these strange notions. As, however, an ounce of
fact is better than a pound of theory, the example now afforded
by the Bolshevists in Eussia does not speak much for the healing
virtues of popular government in all circumstances. And Jacobin
rule in France more than a century ago did not inaugurate an
age of peace and prosperity. To depose the lion and promote in
his stead a pack of wolves seems scarcely a fitting way of ensuring
just and orderly government in the human menagerie. That
political revolutions do not necessarily imply moral revolutions
is a mere truism. To expect the ethos of a people to be trans-
formed by the simple process of substituting the rule of a
democratic legislature for that of a monarch, or oligarchy, were
as rational as to expect a burglar to be converted into an honest
citizen by being compelled to wear a black coat ; or a headache
to be cured by putting on a wig. It is the people who make the
government, not the government the people. History, moreover,
has shown again and again the folly of any attempt on the part
of the victors after a desperate war to compel the vanquished
nation to alter its political institutions. Such interference is

304 The Empire Review

justly regarded by the citizens of the defeated State as the
cruellest of insults. France soon rid herself of the Bourbons, in
spite of the provisions of the Treaty of Paris. A German
Parliament elected at the points of the Allied bayonets would be
about as much respected by its nominal constituents as was the
Drunken Parliament by the English people a year or two after
the Stuart [Restoration. How Germany may desire to govern
herself in future is solely Germany's affair. The concern of the
Allies is simply that precautions shall be taken to prevent her
again running amok through the world.

We need not waste time over the absurd formula, " no annexa-
tions, no indemnities." No sensible person has ever taken it
seriously. There is only one way of ensuring future good
behaviour on the part of an ambitious and treacherous enemy,
and that is to deprive him, until restored to complete moral
health, of the power to do mischief. Nations sometimes, as
Sydney Smith once remarked, need strait-waistcoats as well as
individuals. For a considerable period after the present terrible
eruption has subsided a glowing torrent of memories of wrong
will separate the nations now arrayed in arms, and until this has
cooled friendly intercourse between their peoples will be impos-
sible. To hasten the process of congelation it' is essential that
the apprehension of a fresh outbreak shall, so far as possible, be
allayed ; for friendship cannot co-exist with fear. And Germany
will only cease to be feared when she has been rendered impotent.

Various methods have been suggested for achieving this object.
Some authorities favour territorial re-arrangements of a rather
drastic kind. In compensation for the provinces which, it is
taken for granted, Austria and Hungary will be required to cede
to Italy, Rouniania and, perhaps, Poland and Russia, the in-
genious proposal has been put forward that Bavaria and Silesia
shall be detached from the German Empire and restored to the
Hapsburgs — that the future kingdom, or republic, of Poland
shall include a strip of territory embracing the lower valley of the
Vistula and the flourishing port of Dantzig, now incorporated
with Prussia ; and that, in addition to the provinces she lost in
1871, France shall acquire the remainder of Lorraine, and recover
her historic frontier, the Rhine. The claim of Denmark, also, to
the restoration of her stolen possessions might be recognised.
This scheme, from the Allies point of view, unquestionably offers
many attractions. It would require a robber State to disgorge its
plunder. It would raise a barrier of hatred between Prussia and
her principal accomplice in the present sanguinary adventure, by
enriching the latter at the expense of the former. More important
still, not only would the man-power at the disposal of the rulers
of the future German Empire be greatly reduced, but that Empire

Fundamental Conditions of Peace 305

would be deprived of all its richest coal and iron producing
districts. This would be a fatal blow to militarism ; for evidently
a policy of blood and iron could not be pursued, if supplies of the
metal necessary for the shedding of blood were wanting. The
Prussian sword would be broken, and the Kaiser would soon find
that a naked fist shaken in the face of the world would but excite
derision. A Germany thus mutilated and enfeebled would, it
might reasonably be supposed, cease to be a menace to the world's
peace, and become a nation of inoffensive traders and industrialists,
like Holland or Belgium. In theory, all this seems very satis-
factory, but there are obvious difficulties in the way of realising
the desires of those who wish to deal with the German Empire as
Samuel dealt with Agag. In the first place, the proposed victim
might object to the treatment, and find powerful sympathisers.
In the second, a revivified Austria might prove 'eventually as
dangerous a member of the European family as her former
confederate. A vast empire, whose territories were almost com-
pletely land-locked, would eagerly respond to the call of the sea,
and threaten the independence of the nations that stood in its
path.

Setting aside the proposed scheme of wholesale dismember-
ment, which seems neither wise nor feasible, and also disregarding
the highly fanciful " League of Nations " idea, the realisation of
which certainly seems an impossibility under present conditions,
another method of impressing on the German mind the conviction
that crime does not pay seems to be available. And it is one
which, being in the main based on a precedent established by
Prussia herself nearly fifty years ago, when dealing with a van-
quished enemy after a conflict she had herself deliberately provoked,
would involve no harsh application of the lex talionis. By the
Treaty of Frankfurt, as is well known, France was required to
pay some £200,000,000, not in reparation for outrages committed
by her own troops — even Prussian cynicism could not rise to the
height of audacity such a claim would have demanded — but to
cover, and far more than cover, the conqueror's war expenses.
She was wantonly attacked, knocked down, and then compelled
to pay her assailant a handsome fee to compensate him for the
labour of the assault. To secure the payment in full of the huge
indemnity imposed on the prostrate country Prussian troops
occupied certain portions of French territory, gradually evacuating
them as the successive instalments of the ransom were paid.
When the last franc had been handed over, the last Prussian
soldier left French soil. These rigorous conditions were exacted
by the rulers of a nation whose armies had committed extensive
depredations in a neighbouring country, and whose own territories
had entirely escaped invasion. The war, in fact, was but

* 306 The Empire Review

brigandage on a vast scale, and the brigands were only too
successful.

Take Germany's case to-day. Conclusive evidence has come
to light that the attack on Belgium, France and Eussia was
premeditated ; that on England, if, fortunately, Teutonic calcula-
tions had not been upset, would only have been deferred till the
first convenient opportunity later. By a sudden and entirely
unprovoked onslaught she almost succeeded in overwhelming two
neighbouring nations, from neither of whom had she received
the least provocation. Of the horrors which accompanied the
irruption of the German armies into Belgium and France, it is
unnecessary to speak. A fouler record has never before disgraced
a people calling itself civilised in the world's history. Compensa-
tion, so far as compensation for such enormities is possible, should
most certainly be exacted. Careful calculations as to the amount
of material damage done to dwellings, public edifices, farms,
factories, etc., should be made, and the computed value of the
property destroyed, together with a sum representing fair com-
pensation to the multitudes of innocent civilians who had suffered
outrages, or have lost breadwinners, at the hands of the invaders,
should be imposed as an indemnity on the guilty nations. The
claims of Poland, Italy and Serbia would be dealt with similarly,
Austria-Hungary, of course, being held chiefly accountable for
the injuries suffered by the two last-mentioned countries.

In addition, compensation for the damage done by aircraft
and submarines would be required. So far as possible the rule,
"ton for ton," should be strictly enforced; and not only should
the whole of Germany's mercantile fleet be confiscated to make
good the losses barbarously and illegally inflicted on the shipping
of belligerent and neutral countries, but the offending nation
should be required to build and hand over to the victims of her
piratical enterprises vessels of a stipulated tonnage each year,
until full restitution had been made. The claims of the de-
pendants of the seamen and passengers on board trading vessels
murdered on the high seas would, of course, be included among
those of similar sufferers on land. In view of the fact certified to
by Mr. Thomas Curtin, and other late residents in Germany, that
the shipyards of the country throughout the war period have been
busily engaged in building new vessels with a view to the capture
of the world's maritime trade by German shipowners on the
conclusion of the war, when, by the nefarious activities of the
German submarines, the commercial fleets of all other nations
have been greatly reduced, it would be folly to allow the nation
guilty of wholesale murder and destruction at sea to profit by its
crimes. To prevent the repetition of such foul deeds ample
satisfaction must be exacted. In this connection, it would seem

Fundamental Conditions of Peace 307

but fair that the claims of neutral nations, Norway in particular,
should be satisfied first.

It might also be suggested that, to repair the wanton
devastation committed by German soldiers in Belgium and
France, Germany should be required to provide and pay a fixed
number of skilled workmen for a certain period to be employed
under ~the direction of the French and Belgian Governments in
making good damage which, in the opinion of an impartial
commission composed of neutrals, was entirely unjustified by the
exigencies of war. Work compulsorily performed by the victims
of the slave raids carried out by the German authorities in France
and Belgium should be repaid in a similar way.

Necessarily, the condition of impoverishment and exhaustion
to which Germany will have been reduced at the conclusion of
the war will make it an impossibility for her to pay at once more
than a minute fraction of the gigantic sum required to compensate,
even in a most moderate degree, the victims of her immoral
practices. Payment, therefore, will have to be distributed over
a period of, say, twenty years, to allow time for recuperation.
Seeing, however, that it would be madness to accept any
promises made by the German Government, the Allies should
insist on guarantees analogous to those extorted by Germany
from France in 1871. In the first place, complete disarmament
should be enforced. All the chief seaports and strategic points
in the German Empire should be occupied by Allied troops, for
whose maintenance during the period of occupation Germany
would be wholly responsible. Considering how remorselessly
millions of German soldiers have preyed on the unhappy
inhabitants of Belgium, France and Poland during the last three
years, it were but just that Germany should afford free hospitality
in return to her armed guests. Essen and other Westphalian
munition-making towns should be occupied, and, of course, every-
where the manufacture of explosives and instruments of war, and
the training of men for military service, should be prohibited.
A fixed proportion of the Customs duties collected at the seaports
might be reserved by the representatives of the Allied Governments
as part of the annual instalment of the indemnity.

Measures such as those just outlined, while, in a degree,
satisfying the ordinary demands of justice, and meeting all pre-
cautionary requirements would, mildly administered, be distinctly
beneficial to the German people themselves. Profitable industries
would be stimulated by the diversion to them of labour now, and
for many years past, wasted in unprofitable employments. Such
great establishments as that of Krupps would manufacture the
implements of trade and industry rather than those of war, to the
general advantage. The militarist habit would weaken, if not die,
VOL. XXXII.— No. 212. 2 A

308 The Empire Review

when the youth and manhood of the country found profitable
employment in the field and the workshop, instead of wasting
precious time and energy in the barracks and drill-yard. Com-
pulsory disarmament would, indeed, be the greatest blessing that
the victors could bestow on their late foes ; for, both morally and
materially, it would assist the latter in working out their redemp-
tion. Possibly, even, the example might be voluntarily followed
by other nations, and a humbled €rermany might, by the irony of
fate, prove the herald of universal peace.

Curative treatment of the kind suggested should eradicate at
least that curse of Hohenzollern rule, megalomania. Whether
the German people would be content that the rule of that sinister
dynasty should continue, or decide to change their sovereigns, or
form of government, would be their own affair. The tradition of
Prussian invincibility at all events would be shattered for ever.
And the discipline of self-sacrifice which a people who had out-
raged the laws of humanity in a mad outburst of bestial ferocity
would justly be required to undergo would lead to a general moral
reformation. Taught by the most convincing proofs that war
does not pay, the German taxpayer would refuse, after the period
of duresse and atonement, to furnish money for unprofitable
armaments ; and, emulating his brethren in Holland and Denmark,
seek only the peaceful triumphs of commerce and industry. A
contented and prosperous Germany would do much to ensure a
peaceful Europe, and the present night of convulsion and horror
would be succeeded by a tranquil day.

But, let it again be emphasised, punishment, not vindictive
but just and salutary, must first be inflicted on the guilty nation
that has brought such woes on humanity. On this point the
opinion of every citizen of the British Empire, who upholds the
supremacy of right, and desires that peace and happiness shall
prevail hereafter among the inhabitants of the world, must coincide
with that expressed by the Prime Minister. The facile forgiveness
of cruel and unprovoked wrongs so often urged by a feeble and
mischievous sentimentalism were, if extended to Germany, an
aggravation of those wrongs in the present, and a direct incentive
to their repetition in the future. The three fundamental condi-
tions of a real and lasting peace with a nation infected with
blood-lust and mad ambition are punishment, reparation and
restraint. If these be ignored at the Peace Conference posterity
will hereafter lament the misuse of a unique opportunity to vindi-
cate the supremacy of the moral law among nations ; and, ere the
last witness of the present tragedy shall have passed away, the
world -may have to undergo a second, and yet more dreadful,
baptism of blood and tears.

F. A. W. GlSBOENE.

Indian Muhammadans and Home Rule 309

INDIAN MUHAMMADANS AND HOME RULE

HINDU-MUHAMMADAN ANTAGONISM

THE small clique of Brahmans and Indian lawyers engaged in
agitating for the grant of "Home Rule" to India constantly
relies upon the fallacious statement that the Muhammadans of
India are in favour of the Congress and Moslem League
programme and that, linked by close ties of sentiment with the
Hindus, they are striving jointly with the latter to bring about
self-government and the abolition of British authority in the
political and economic administration of India.

Mr. Das, an extreme Bengali advocate of Mrs. Besant's
dangerous propaganda, remarked in a speech at Calcutta that " we
(the Hindus) embrace the Muhammadans as brothers," while
Mr. Mahomedali Jinnah, a Khoja lawyer from Bombay City, in
an article contributed by him to the Manchester Guardian of
March 28 last, said : — " I may point out here that in December,
1916, the Congress and All-India Moslem League adopted a
scheme of reforms jointly. Thus we solved the greatest internal
problem which India had, because it clearly indicates that the
people at large, both Hindus and Musalmans, demanded the
reforms which were adumbrated and jointly adopted by their two
great organisations at Lucknow in 1916." Strangers to India
would naturally infer from these statements — as, indeed, Mr. Das
and Mr. Jinnah apparently intend they should — that the Hindus
and Muhammadans now stand united by the strongest ties of
common sentiment, mutual sympathy and joint political objective,
that the Muhammadans of India recognise and accept the
All-India Moslem League as representing their aims and interests
that the Muhammadans as a body desire Home Rule. Weigh
the statements ever so lightly, and their misrepresentation of the
situation is at once made manifest.

In regard to the first matter, the history of India is replete
with instances of violent religious and communal antagonism
between the Hindus and the Muhammadans, and this antagonism
still exists in its most bitter and abiding form. The annual

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310 The Empire Review

recurrence of the Bakri Id, at which, in commemoration of
Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac, the Muhammadans are accustomed
to slaughter cattle, sheep and goats, is fraught with danger to
the public peace in several parts of India, owing to the hatred of
the festival evinced by the Hindus and their never-ending
attempts to interfere with the free celebration of this Musalman
holiday. Similarly the great festival of the Muharram, or
mourning for Hassan and Hussein, has frequently served both
to emphasise and aggravate the mutual distrust and hostility
of Muhammadan and Hindu. Were it not for the impartial
authority of the British Government the disturbances arising
from their antagonism would be even more serious than they
have been. No province of India has been wholly free from
outbursts of religious fanaticism, and the rioting which has taken
place on the occasion of the Bakri Id in Bengal is based upon
the same inveterate hostility which provoked the grave Hindu-
Muhammadan riots of 1893 in Bombay, when British troops had
to be quartered for ten days in the city, and 'the Muhammadans,
exasperated beyond all control by the behaviour of the Hindus,
broke into the temples of the latter and publicly dqfiled their
idols. Other and similar outbursts of ill-feeling have occurred
since that date, and are bound to continue as long as the Hindus
endeavour to close all avenues of political and economic progress
to outsiders, and aggravate religious differences by studied
disregard of Muhammadan views and interests in every-day life.

As recently as last autumn, at the very moment when the
lawyers of the Congress and the Moslem League were loudly
proclaiming the brotherhood of Hindu and Muhammadan, the
Hindus of the province of Behar and Orissa were committing the
most shocking outrages upon inoffensive Muhammadan villagers.
The judgment of the Court of Commissioners of the special
tribunal of Arrah, delivered in December, emphasises the fact
that "These disturbances were the result of a deliberately planned
and widely extended conspiracy in the district to loot, terrorise,
and crush the Muhammadan minority. The outrageous treat-
ment to which the unfortunate Muhammadan women were
exposed by mobs of men, of whom the highest Hindu castes
formed a large proportion, has left indelible disgrace both on
those who engineered these disturbances and on those who took
part in them. ... It is quite clear that the mobs, who were
led by men of position in the neighbourhood, such as Patwaris,
Tehsildars and petty Zemindars, committed almost the most
serious crimes that such mobs could commit short of actual
murder."

In the Shahabad district alone more than one hundred villages
were looted. Over large areas Hindus of every class, from leading

Indian Muhammadans and Home Rule 311

Zemindars down to sweepers, " combined in thousands " (to quote
the judgment of the Special Court) to attack Moslem villages or
the Moslem houses in the mixed villages. Before troops could
be brought to the scene by Government, murder, arson, and the
pillage and destruction of entire villages were perpetrated in such
fashion as to lead an eye-witness to declare that the worst
excesses of the Germans in Belgium were equalled, if not
surpassed. In spite of the Viceroy's appeal to " recognised
leaders " of the Hindus to lend their influence to prevent a
recurrence of these outbursts of barbarism, not a single expression
of repugnance and horror was uttered by those leaders of the
Congress who unceasingly proclaim a Hindu-Muhammadan
entente, and demand the subversion of British authority in
India !

In regard to the second point, it may be stated at once that
the All-India Moslem League does not in any way represent the ;
views of 66£ millions of Indian Muhammedans, but merely those
of a small body of Muhammadan lawyers and their satellites, who
belong largely to the Shia sect. Under the aegis of Mrs. Besant,
Mr. Tilak, Mr. Jinnah, Mr. Das, and other political agitators of
extreme views, have for some time been engaged in endeavouring
to manufacture public opinion by such methods as were recently
disclosed in the Times. But the bulk of the Muhammadan
population, from the Nizam down to the lowliest Muhammadan
villager in Bengal, cherishes conservative instincts, and is
unquestionably loyal to the British Government in India. This
contention can be amply proved from the memorials and addresses
presented to Mr. Montagu by various Muhammadan Associations,
and from the proceedings of mass-meetings of Muhammadans
held in various parts of India at the close of 1917.

With regard to the third assertion that the Muhammadans of
India desire Home Eule or Self -Government, as " adumbrated "
by the Congress and Moslem League, one has only to peruse the
addresses presented to the Secretary of State to be assured of
the falsity of the claim. The keynote of the Muhammadan
memorials from Bengal, the United Provinces, the Panjab,
Bombay, Madras, Behar, and Sind is the vital need for Muham-
madan welfare of preserving intact the existing British element
in the administration of India. Even the small clique of
"advanced" Muhammadan lawyers of the All-India Moslem
League, who in 1915-16 identified themselves with the Hindus
of the Congress in a joint scheme of self-government, have already
shown some uneasiness of the obvious intention of the Congress
to establish an upper-class Hindu oligarchy. No one knows better
than the intelligent Muhammadan that if a Home Bule Bill were
passed and self-government were now granted to India, the

312 The Empire Review

Muhammadans as a class would be condemned for all time to
play an inferior and humiliating role in the public and religious
life of India. The very insistent demand by the lawyers of the
Moslem League for separate communal representation on all
Councils and Boards indicates how deeply they distrust the
Hindu majority.

An experienced Muhammadan administrator gives the views
of the masses in the following words : — " The political agitators
are taking advantage of the present crisis to push their hobby of
' Home Rule.' As a native of India, with thirty-five years'
experience in many capacities, I can realise the true effects of
this artificial agitation of a few hundred persons. The so-called
Moslem League, a mere creature of the Congress, does not repre-
sent real Muhammadan opinion. The same is the case with the
Congress. The masses are quite indifferent to political agitation.
They are quite happy if the rains be timely and sufficient to secure
good crops, and if they have a good Talati (native revenue official),
an honest Mamlatdar (superior native magistrate and revenue
official), and a just Faujdar (native superintendent of police)."
These views are strengthened by the public pronouncements of
Muhammadan associations and leagues in all parts of India.

In view of the evidence given above, it is clearly impossible to
accept the statements of the Home Eule party as affording a
correct or trustworthy view of Muhammadan feeling in India.
It is obviously most important that the British Parliament and
public should not alienate true and loyal Muhammadan sentiment
by weak concessions to the selfish demands of a small group of
political agitators. The Muhammadans of India have a great
historical past behind them ; they have always shown deep
loyalty to the British Government, even at a time when senti-
mental attachment to the Sultan of Turkey as " Amir-ul-Momenin ' '
might have alienated their sympathy with Imperial needs.
Muhammadans of the very classes, whose opinions and protests
have been quoted above, have furnished some of the bravest
soldiers and ablest civil police officers in the service of the British
Government in India: The whole social teaching of the Koran,
which is to the Musalman what the Bible is to the Christian, is
directly opposed to the social code of the Brahman, with its
naked glorification of caste-superiority and caste-privilege. That
fact, coupled with the constant attempts of the Hindus to obstruct
the social and educational advancement of the Muhammadans, is
reponsible for the bitter antagonism existing between the two
communities, and for the repeated prayers of the Muhammadan
millions that the British administration in India may be preserved
intact and unshaken.

[Communicated by the Indo-British Association.']

Farm Notes from Canada 313

FARM NOTES FROM CANADA

THE Manitoba Department of Agriculture has arranged plans
which are expected to increase the wheat production of that
province in 1919 by 5,000,000 bushels. Agents have been ap-
pointed, one in every provincial riding, to encourage the farmers
of these constituencies to break as much land as possible this
summer. An average increase in wheat acreage of at least five
acres per farm is the objective. The Quebec Provincial Bureau
of Statistics has issued official figures indicating an increase over
last year of 22 per cent, in the wheat acreage of the province, the
acreage this year being 338,000. The oat acreage is given as
1,582,000, or an increase of 2 per cent. There is less hay land
under cultivation, but more of other kinds of produce. The
potato acreage is 240,000 and beans 67,300.

Tnfi preliminary estimate of the yield per acre of autumn
wheat for Canada is 15£ bushels, against 21£ in the past two
years, a total yield of 5,275,700 bushels compared with 15,363,450
in 1917, and 17,590,000 in 1916. In Ontario, where the greater
part of the autumn wheat crop is grown, the total yield for the
current year is estimated to be 4,435,200 bushels from 277,200
acres, 'compared with last year's estimate of 14,114,800 bushels
from 656,500 acres. The yield of hay and clover is given at
10,064,100 tons from 8,015,250 acres compared with 13,684,700
tons from 8,225,034 acres in 1917.

IT is interesting to note to what extent Canada's Indian
population is contributing to the food supply of the allies. In
Alberta there are less than 9,000 Indians — not quite one-third as
many as there are in Ontario, which has the largest Indian
population of any province. The best Indian farmers in Alberta,
and probably in the whole west, are the Blood, Peigan and
Blackfoot bands. The Blood Indians during the season of 1916,
by their own efforts and without any financial aid from the
Government of Canada, produced 65,150 bushels of wheat on
2,606 acres, and 26,980 bushels of oats on 768 acres. They grew
approximately 7,150 bushels of table vegetables, harvested approxi-
mately 6,700 tons of hay and green fodder, and prepared 2,320
acres of summer fallow and new breaking for the 1917 seeding.
The sale of the grain not used on the reserve realised approxi-
mately £25,000. The Blackfoot Indians started farming in 1912.
They have now 4,875 acres of well farmed land. They have

314 The Empire Review

purchased 250 farmwork horses of good grade, some of which
cost over £100 a team, from their farm earnings, and they take
good care of them. During the season of 1916, 74 of these Indian
produced over 68,000 bushels of wheat and 33,000 bushels of oats.
They sold wheat to the value of £18,400, retaining more than
sufficient seed for the spring 1917. All these operations cost the
Government nothing. The Peigan Indians produced 33,880
bushels of wheat and 18,615 bushels of oats. They sold 1,215
tons of hay and had 300 tons left for their own use.

So anxious are the farmers of Northern Alberta to overcome
the difficulties occasioned by the shortage of labour, that they
are buying up tractors in every direction. One firm alone has
sold no fewer than 200 machines in that district, for which the
farmers in every instance paid cash in advance to ensure early
delivery. This enterprise on the part of the Canadian farmers is
not only helping to solve the labour difficulty, but is also resulting
in a gratifying increase in the acreage of farm land under
cultivation.

UNDER the direction of the United States employment service,
thousands of wheat harvesters are preparing to cross the border
into Western Canada, and if the weather conditions are favourable
the vanguard of the army will in two or three weeks be helping to
gather in the crops on Canadian farms. The men, who are now
working in the central and western States, have progressed as far
north as Dakota and Minnesota, and will continue to cut their
way through the wheat fields regardless of the international
boundary line until Western Canada's crops are all in, and its
quota ready for shipment overseas for the benefit of the allied
peoples there. The harvesters are all skilled farm workers,
and the help of our southern ally is greatly appreciated in Canada
owing to the shortage of labour caused by the war. Great efforts
in the same direction are also being made in Ontario, where civil
servants will be granted five weeks' holiday, with full pay, if they
engage in agricultural work for that period. Six thousand high
school boys have volunteered their services for the harvesting
operations. Women are also helping with this work and with
the preservation of vegetables and fruits, a large proportion of
which are sent to England as a gift from the Ontario Government
to soldiers and sailors in hospitals and camps in this country and
abroad.

As a result of a conference between the representatives of
grain, milling and banking interests and Sir Thomas White,
the Minister of Finance has undertaken negotiations with the
Imperial authorities and the Bankers' Association with a view
to financing the movement of this year's Canadian crop. It is
possible that in order to give financial commercial stability to
the grain situation the Government will guarantee a fixed price
for the whole of the new crop.

A CONSIDERABLE increase in farm land sales all over Alberta
is indicated by the amount of business passing through the Land

Farm Notes from Canada 315

Titles Offices in Edmonton and Calgary and reported to the
Provincial Government. The figures show that there has been
this year an activity in this direction unequalled since the
" boom " days of 1913.

WITH wool at its present high price and a demand for far
more of it than is now available, the importance of proper
shearing of sheep, and the promotion of their thrift through
ridding them of all insect pests, becomes very important.
Labour, however, is short, and the average Canadian small sheep
owner is not an expert shearer. The Manitoba Department of
Agriculture has entered on a new line of work which will help
some of the owners. An automobile has been arranged to carry
a sheep shearing machine and dipping outfit, and two experienced
shearers spent part of May and June moving about through the
province and shearing and dipping the flocks. A charge of
25 cents per head was made for both shearing and dipping. The
shearing and dipping were done on the owner's farm so far as
possible, the outfit being able to handle 160 to 200 head per day,
depending upon the distance to travel between farms. Lambs
were dipped free of charge.

A DOMINION Government official at Lethbridge, Alberta, who
has been superintending the grading of the wool in that district,
computes the clip of the Southern Alberta Wool Growers'
Association to be about 1,500,000 Ibs. This is an increase for the
Association of 25 per cent, over last year. Although the figures
have not yet been completed of the increase throughout the
whole of the Canadian prairie west, it is not anticipated that the
average increase will be less than that of the Southern Alberta
Wool Growers' Association. The growth of the sheep industry
among the farmers of Western Canada during the last few years
has been remarkable.

MAPLE LEAF.

RURAL INDUSTRIES IN NEW SOUTH WALES

DEALING with rural interests in New South Wales a corre-
spondent writes: "A co-operative butter factory is to be
established at Oberon, 136 miles west from Sydney. Potatoes
of extra special quality are being raised in the Orange district.
One farm this season averaged over 12 tons per acre. Under
irrigation at Yanco and Hay, Sudan grass gave a prolific growth
of soft, succulent foliage, suitable for hay. In one case seven
tons per acre of green fodder were obtained in two cuts, only four
months separating the sowing and the second mowing. There
has been considerable development of the poultry industry in the
Blacktown district, and much progress has been made in the
soldiers' settlement there.

" The Murrumbidgee Co-operative Milling Company has con-
structed a silo of 40,000 bags capacity between its mills and the
railway yards at Wagga. By this means the company expects to

316 The Empire Review

effect a saving of £1,000 per year in the handling costs of wheat.
The silo is built of concrete (900 cubic yards river gravel and
4,500 bags cement), reinforced with 40 tons steel. Napier's
fodder, or elephant grass, is being successfully grown at the
Hawkesbury College farm. In appearance it is most unpro-
mising, but there is no doubt about its palatability, nutritive
qualities, and quickness of growth for coastal districts. This
grass was obtained from Africa four years agp. It is a fodder of
great value, available in a green form the greater part of the
year, and thriving in a considerable variety of soils. Analysis
prove it richer in nutrients than green maize. It can be used as
green feed during the summer, and can be converted into ensilage.
It gives a yield ranging from 12 to 20 tons to the acre, and is
easily grown. The producers of New South Wales, by the pro-
duction of butter of a higher standard, are just now benefiting to
the extent of 3s. per cwt. as compared with the other States of
Australia, but still have to suffer a loss of at least 3s. per cwt.
owing to the remissness of the other States in the matter of
uniform grading.

" A discovery has been made in Sydney of a new process for
treating wheat seed to prevent smut. The process, which is
regarded as of the greatest importance to the wheat-growing
industry, is the result of five years' experiments by two officers
of the Government Department of Agriculture. The new process
takes the place of bluestone as a preventive cd smut, and it is
said will not damage the seed and affect germination. The suit-
ability of the Murrumbidgee irrigation areas for dairying has
been further emphasised by the butter-fat tests of cows at the
recent Leeton show compared with cows shown at other centres.
The best milking cow at this show gave a butter-fat test of
2 • 67 Ibs. for the day. This is a better result than that given by
the winning cow at two of the leading agricultural shows on the
north and south coast, and also compares very favourably with
the cows receiving first and second prizes for butter-fat at the
last Sydney exhibition."

LAND IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

WHILE half Europe is lying in ruins, while her teeming
millions will have to face the enormous problems of reconstruction,
our far-flung lands will remain hope for the future greatness of
the British Empire. If it be found possible to maintain the
policy of the open door to the reputable white races, excluding
those which have proved unworthy of a place amongst civilised
people, we shall have the land and the resources to build anew on
a foundation of liberty and prosperity such as the world has not
hitherto known. In Western Australia alone there is nearly a
million square miles of undeveloped pastoral country, 60,000
square miles of agricultural land awaiting the settler's plough,
and 12,000,000 acres of forest lands.

Idyll of a Yorkshire Mill-Stream 317

IDYLL OF A YORKSHIRE MILL-STREAM

EARLY in September there was an autumnal chill, refreshing
and invigorating, in the early morning air, although the evenings
were still mild. The sun sank behind the purple line of the
distant moors by seven o'clock. One week and the fields were
golden with the serried ranks of shocks now beginning to be
carried home ; another, and the bare stubble, winter tidy, gave a
presage of the "fall." Everywhere the steep banks of the mill-
stream were strewn with the white blossoms of the grass of
Parnassus.

The summer pageant of the valley was over; rose bay, the
fragrant water mints, the star-like alisma, flowering rush and
figwort, were all replaced down there on the edges of the reaches
above and below the " salmon jump " by the last gold of the year,
bright ragwort and the tawny tansy. When the moon rose across
the beck, emerging mistily and redly from a bank of haze above
the horizon of the dim indeterminate land, it was scarcely
discernible in the wan gloaming. It mounted slowly, growing
clearer. It moved in a sharp slant to the right, passing behind
the slight trunk of a tree, upon which, indeed, it seemed to hang
for a few moments like an enormous signal lamp — onwards and
upwards as the night waxed brighter and deeper and more serene.
The breeze rippled over the surface of the river, loudly sonorous
just above the weir. The last notes of the birds had long since
died away ; occasionally a pigeon gurgled in its sleep under the
gable of the mill. There was a phantom flit of bats' wings across
the water.

The year drew on.

Evening and rain, a cloudy sky and the tossing branches of
bare trees. The lamp in the Mill House kitchen was not yet lit,
but there was the incense of wood and the home-light of a soft
burning fire. The beck outside had risen and was roaring down,
an amber flood, from the wintry moors above, creaming and
foaming over the weir. The rain slanted across the dark haw-
thorn bush on the opposite bank ; a white hen or two, not yet
shut up for the night, were pecking about on the vivid green, like

318 The Empire Review

the pictures in a child's story book. More hens just under the
window paddled about in the mud, their toes inturned, their
feathers ruffled and bedraggled. An old pony sheltered behind a
huddle of grey stone farm buildings on the rise beyond the stream.
There was no sound but the soughing of the rising night wind
and the ever-present rushing of the river; Within the quiet
room a grandfather clock deliberately ticked.

Footsteps outside, a broom flung across the yard, the inter-
ference of a dog, and a loud undignified scrimmage among the
cocks and hens, announced their being shut up for the night, and
the end of the miller's day.

He came in slowly, an old gnarled weary man, dusted white
from head to foot, and sat down in the " house place." * He has
had a long .single-handed season of it, and the new regulations
which are beginning to beset his work give him puzzle enough
over his evening's pipe. He has been busy now since the harvest
" back-end " of summer, and both he and the old wheel are nearly
done. But needs be that the old, too, do their "bit," and John
Throxenby has no thought of taking his rest yet, but simply of
taking his time. He has a smoke or two now, a doze until supper
is ready; afterwards he winds up the clock his father and his
grandfather wound before him, and so betakes himself to bed.
He sits down in his accustomed chair; his heavy Yorkshire
" clogs " are exchanged for slippers ; his pipe, intimate and silent
friend, is less often in his mouth than affectionately held upon
his knee in his curiously-shapen toil-worn hand.

There is the whole science and story of a forgotten craft in
Throxenby's hand. One shrewd in the ways and callings of
the country, and in inference, would tell the master craftsman at
a glance. That queer turn of the wrist and those over-developed
muscles of the thumb are due to a lifetime of expert mill-stone
dressing with the chisel and the miller's mallet. Old Throxenby
is the last — alas ! — of the hand-stone dressers in this part of the
county. No man has set up milling on the streams hereabouts
for twenty miles round but who must needs call him in when
their stones require to be lifted. They drive long distances over
the bleak moor, often in savage winter weather, when the roads
are sheeted in water flowing everyway under a storm-racked sky,
or rendered in places impassable for snow, to try and induce the
old man to accompany them abroad and exercise his skill upon
their blunted grindstones. But he is loath now to face the dense
harsh hail, and to risk being weather-bound away from home.
He seldom stirs from the mill. He has no cognisance that it is
an art which will be lost at his death.

The art must go, as the old wheel itself will be gone a year or

* Yorkshire for " by the hearth."

Idyll of a Yorkshire Mill-Stream 319

two hence. Anyone who took on the place then, a stranger to
its century of tradition, would pull out the wheel and replace it
with machinery. A couple of Yorkshire " lads " there had been,
born some twenty years ago, in the room above the mill-house
kitchen, as good craftsmen as " the master," * but neither he nor
the stream, nor the mill, would ever see them home again. A
few more months of understanding work together, a few more
harvests perhaps, a few more stone of corn — if indeed the courage
remained to grind it — a few more revolutions in the cavernous
dripping darkness under the mill floor, a few more tons of moor-
land water over the weir, and the story of a hundred years came
to an end. The old man lies back in his chair, heedless of the
talk of the khaki-clad men crowded round the supper-table (for
soldiers are billeted upon him, and a woman in black attends to
their wants), listening only to the roaring, outside, of the beck in
spate.

There are the things that last, the things which are always
the same — the things to be relied upon when all else changes and
fails. The old mill, the river, the lovely but familiar procession
of the year in this sheltered and homely spot are things that
remain and endure. There is a solace in them — for those
perceptive of it — like the solace of rest after toil, calm after
storm, silence after clamour, peace after war.

The mill itself stands directly on the stream, just below the
weir. It is a two-storied building of hewn stone, every one of
which bears the marks of the mason's tools. It has a couple of
square Dutch windows, each with sixteen panes of bulging glass,
a red-tiled roof haunted by a colony of pigeons, and a loft to the
rear, whence the sacks of flour are lowered to the cart waiting
below. The miller's cottage stands cprnerwise to the mill,
fronting the low stone wall which at this point contains the
river, but recessed from it a space to allow for the farm traffic to
and fro. A garden shoulders up so steeply behind the two
buildings to the road above that a few steps up the path lead
one to a higher level than the roofs. So tucked away are these
under the steep escarpment of the valley, the turn it takes just
here in its winding course to the sea, and the trees that line it,
that little can be perceived of cot or mill except from the bridge
to the left which spans the river just before it reaches them.
This garden is full of leeks and sprouts and onions, the latter
crisp and green untouched by the frost. In autumn it was a
blaze of big yellow daisies, michaelmas daisies, and red Virginian
creeper smothering the backs of all sorts of nondescript premises
appropriated to hens, and a pig, and the pony.

The river is not so small, either, that it should be called a

* Yorkshire for husband and father.

320 The Empire Review

" beck." Sixty feet wide, indeed, by the mill it has all sorts of«
deeps in it where a man might drown. It leaps in terraces over
a series of falls and sweeps in a wide bend towards its last broken
rocky reach to the sea, a mile or two distant. The last of these
foaming terraces is the "salmon jump," where the great fish
come up in the autumn, making a gallant fight for it, to spawn
in the spacious basins above. The river is full, too, of trout,
which on still summer evenings come to the surface pricking
great circles everywhere, to feed upon the myriad dancing flies.

The valley, a deep fold in wolds wide and billowy as southern
downs, is almost rugged in its varied beauty. Sunlight strikes
redly on the ochre-coloured earth where the fields are fractured
along its brink. On a bitter winter day when the sky is darker
than the earth with the presage of heavy snow not yet fallen,
black frost petrifies the river in its bed, and the whole scene is
blanched like a drawing in chalk upon grey paper, with the
peculiar thin whiteness of frozen sleet — so different to the soft
prodigality of smothering snow — etched upon the bleak hills, and
the ever-receding angles and buttresses of the valley in its course.
The beck is almost lifeless. Only at one extremity of the weir
water still flowing under the ice cascades over the silent falls.
Then, another day, the whole scene is muffled in snow — such a
Christmas picture as only the illustrated annuals would dare to
present. All the bleakness has disappeared, and all the stark
darkness is transformed into a fairyland of incomparable, still
purity. Once, again, in the delicious speech of the countrified
and the weather wise, there will come quite suddenly a " green
morning," with every vestige of December gone, and the mildest
of spring at hand.

The valley and the beck were never more beautiful than in
the tender days of February when the fleeting sunshine of a
capricious morning had given place to the grey of the lengthening
afternoon. The heavens were a monotone of dove grey, and the
earth darkly brown or purple, or freshly green, with moisture.
Clear bird calls resounded from every brake and hedgerow.
Primroses peeped. Minute buds opened at the nodes of the bare
elderberry branches. Larks trilled in the mild air, and every-
where underfoot the seedlings of last autumn's sowing touched
the banks and the meadow verges with emerald. The beck
foamed down over the salmon jump, flinging a riotous white
flood of irresistible merry churning water over the boards where
in less exuberant seasons the fishermen would take their stand
to whip the stream, as though it would defy the most ardent of
anglers ever to venture out upon their crazy foothold again.
After a week of fine and sunny weather, however, the river
would sink, and tufts of pertinacious grass be seen to flourish

Idyll of a Yorkshire Mill-Stream 321

again on the top of the water-logged boarding of the fall. Eyots
of sodden rushes, or the brown tangle of last year's iris beds
reappeared above the water, and old John Throxenby seized the
opportunity to clamber over the wall by the corner of the mill
where the iron chain gave a fixing for his ladder, and do a few
repairs to his outer clough.*

All the winter he had been busy " grinding," and the season
was not yet done. Twice during the last six months had he
lifted one or the other of his pair of upper stones and put in a
patient week re-graving their grinding surfaces. An old disused
stone with a hole in its centre lay now as a threshold to the
mill. Twice perhaps in the lifetime of a man will a millstone
wear out and find another use as paving. There are three or
four of these magnificent old blocks of grey serpentine about
Throxenby's place which at one time or another were in use in
the mill. But when by dint of endless grinding these things-
durable, one would suppose, as the eternal hills — at last wore so
thin that no more adjustments of the old machinery and tackle
would get a fine, even, impalpable flour from them more, they
were lifted for the last time and sunk into the ground here and
there to pave a threshold or mend a worn spot in the yard.

The mill door usually stood open all day long, the ground
outside of it patterned in the mud or dust by the feet of the
poultry like a homely replica of the golden diaper of an old-time
illumination. A faint wholesome aroma as of flour, or barm,
fresh peeled potatoes, or of coarse fragrant roots, floated out
pleasantly upon the air. Within, three sets of mill-stones,
close-grouped, in wooden frames low and circular like huge vats
of cheese, surmounted by gaping hoppers piled high with
yellow grain, were smothered like the beams above, the ropes,
and all the floor space about them with a dust like mellow snow.
A few bits of old machinery such as a couple of cogwheels, a
connecting rod or two, and here and there a chain, sufficed for
all the purposes of the mill, while a single lever served to turn
the flood upon the wheel below, hidden in the dark amphibious
bowels of the place, and set the whole in rhythmic motion.

A rough ladder-like staircase, with worn and crazy treads,
led to the upper floor through valves in which a pulley hauled
up sacks of grain from below and emptied them into slides
conducting to the hoppers over the stones. Here, too, was the
storeroom, well lined with hard packed sacks of flour, but
cluttered up into the bargain with the discarded gear and tackle
of a hundred years of toil. For the mill had at one time been
a " spinning jenny " whence great bolts of Yorkshire cloth had
issued, and parts of the old loom were still stowed in the loft.

* The external sluice through which the water flows on to the mill wheel.

322 The Empire Review

Later, jet had been polished here beside the beck at a period when
Whitby was the centre of an English industry whose name and
fame has long died out, and the tools of the jet workers were all
there, forgotten amid the lumber. A child's swing, tossed ov£r a
beam encrusted with cobweb and flour dust like the precious
bottle of some ancient wine, attested to the antiquity of every
relic in the place. Generations had passed since that swing was
used ; one broken knotted rope still dangled in the light air
floating through the doorway or rioted erratically to and fro as a
trio of kittens sported with it. Apples lay on straw in a corner,
onions in another. Sunshine still made shift to struggle in at the
encrusted panes of the old window, and the sweet air, the flour
dust upon the age-long whitewash, and the tidy rows of sacks
with their little attendant truck, combined to give the place a
cleanly seemly look, in spite of its age and decaj7.

Far down below in the river the mill race flung a mad tangle
of torn lace upon the dark water, and sent the whole volume of
it throbbing down the bend to the falls next in its course.

John Throxenby kept his ledgers in the mill, and would often
light up a fire on the hearth there of a cold day and put in the
odd half-hours during his work reckoning up accounts at an old
desk under one of the windows. Among the rusty nails, tools,
string, stumps of candle, and other oddments in that desk were
the remains of an antiquated local map showing the course of
the beck from its source as an overflow from one of the noblest of
Yorkshire rivers to the sea. It changed its name once or twice,
and even received a little tributary here and there from the brows
of the moors — the " nabs " of the Yorkshire landscape — on either
hand. The old mill was marked, long before the bridge had been
built, and any one of the scattered farms or lonely manors
standing at that date might have been the mise en sckne of a
Bronte drama.

But the history of the beck went farther back than this. Its
history, written with nature's own materials, was plain to see by
those who could read the record of the hills themselves. Once
upon a time a river flowed here whose prehistoric course was
arrested by nothing less than the glacial epoch itself. When at
last the ice retired from this portion of the east Yorkshire coast
it left a vast irregular sheet of " drift " and alluvial deposit over
a great part of the county. Many of the pre-existing water-
courses were obliterated, and temporary lakes were formed inland.
The Derwent valley was completely dammed by a mass of drift
forced up against the eastern nabs. The river overflowed, forming
a vast lake, which later cut a way for itself to the sea, not by the
old channel through the drift, but through a narrow rocky gorge
— now beautifully wooded — called Forge Valley.

Idyll of a Yorkshire Mill-Stream 323

[The famous " Forge Valley," near Scarborough, answers to
the geological tests for a post-glacial origin. It is only 4-500
yards wide as compared with the width of the Derwent valley
above, 1,100 yards, and it shows no traces of glacial drift. Its
name is derived from a forge whereat the monks of a bygone day
used to work their iron.]

The Derwent was thus completely turned aside, and instead of
flowing to the sea took a southerly course inland until its con-
fluence with the Ouse. Aeons later the farming folk along the
old course of the Derwent still found their pastures and their
roadways liable to inundation from the swollen river, Forge
Valley failing to carry off sufficient water at certain periods of
spate, so a cut was made much along the old original course to
the sea, and a couple of lock gates thrown across the Derwent.
The trout and salmon beck foaming past the old mill flows many
feet over the bed of the pre-glacial river, but finds its way out
among the rocks in its last reach, and to the flat wet sands of the
seashore, through a vastly older channel than that which leads
down to the Hurnber.

Little recked John Throxenby of the geological vicissitudes of
the beck. But he loved it all the same, and every herb that grew
in its beflowered course. He busied himself from morning until
eve about the mill, seeking — unconsciously perhaps — something
more than consolation, something other than resignation in this
unduly protracted labour of an entire lifetime. In Throxenby 's
silent and bereaved old age, the ever flowing stream bore perhaps
some message of that comfort which the immemorial — the eternal
— must ever have for the transitory and ephemeral disasters of
any brief human span. The obedient wheel, the golden burden
of harvest, the blithe promise of spring, were with him still, and
there remained a work of peace to be done by hands worn,
gnarled and weary perhaps, but infinitely loyal and patient, since
the young men were gone and would return no more. There was
an output here of lowly toil on the part of man and servant, to
both of whom rest was long overdue, about which Bronte herself
would have perceived not merely the tissue for a Yorkshire tale,
adorned with all the loveliness of wold and scaur and fell, not
even with the halo of a simpler patriotism, but indeed with that
of a noble and sufficient philosophy of life — and death.

ADA B. TEETOEN.

VOL. XXXII.— No. 212. 2 B

324 The Empire Review

THE SMALL VEGETABLE GARDEN

BY the exercise of care and forethought in planning the
succession and rotation of crops, and by the utilization of every
foot of available space, it is possible to grow considerable
quantities of vegetables on limited areas, and so supplement the
family food supply. The primary needs for successful vegetable
gardening, on a small scale are the same as those for market
gardening on a large scale. On limited plots, however, more
attention must be paid to intensive culture, and to carefully
arranged rotation of crops in order to produce the maximum
yield. A great deal also depends upon the care the gardener
bestows on his plot.

The soil of every garden should be of a relatively open texture,
in order that the rootlets of the vegetables may readily extend
themselves in the search for the plant food stored in the soil. To
maintain this open condition, a high proportion in the soil of
humus — that is to say, rotted vegetable material — is most
desirable, since it not only produces an open texture, but adds
nitrogenous plant food, and also ensures the presence of beneficial
bacteria, and increases the moisture retaining properties of the
soil. About 50 per cent, of ordinary earth is not soil at all, but
consists of air and water. Water dissolves the iplant food that is
present in the soil, and thus renders it available for use by the
plant, while the air in the soil tends to bacterial development,
and facilitates chemical action on the mineral constituents
necessary to plant growth.

With a little forethought a comparatively small tract of land
may be made to supply the average family with fresh vegetables
throughout the year. Most owners of small gardens are content
to raise a single crop at a time on their plot of land. It is quite
possible, however, to grow two or three crops of some vegetables
on the same bit of ground, if these are properly selected. It will
pay the small gardener to grow certain specialties of which he
may be particularly fond, and which it may be troublesome or

The Small Vegetable Garden 325

expensive at times to purchase. Small beds of parsley, thyme
and other pot herbs take up very little room, and are always most
welcome to the housekeeper.

Every available foot of the small garden plot ought to be
made to produce continuously. It is well, therefore, carefully to
plan the lay-out for the garden in advance. No more space
should be allotted to each crop than is needed to furnish the
sufficient quantity of the vegetable desired for consumption. It
is well to remember also that many kinds of vegetables may be
interplanted, but plants which make a high growth and cause
heavy shade should not be planted to interfere with small sun-
loving plants. In this connection it must be remembered that if
a successful garden is to be maintained, the greater portion of the
plot must have at least five or six hours of sunlight a day. As a
rule, crops which are grown for their leaves, such as lettuce and
cabbage, do fairly well in partial shade, but even these need
several hours of sunshine a day. Plants which are grown for
their fruit, such as tomatoes and egg-plants, should have a
plentiful supply of sunlight.

The most practical device for use by the small gardener for
starting his vegetables is a flat seed-box. Any sort of wooden
box [filled with good soil answers the purpose, but a good
size is one of 3 or 4 inches deep, 12 or 14 inches broad, and 20 to
24 inches long. A layer of about 1 inch of gravel should be
placed on the bottom of the box, which should then be nearly
filled with rich, fine soil. It is very desirable to protect seeds
sown from the depredations of ants. For this purpose it is well
to add four legs to the box, and to place under each leg an empty
butter-tin partly filled with water to which about a tablespoonful
of kerosene oil has been added. When the young seedlings are
from 1 to 1£ inches high they should be thinned to 1 or 2 inches
apart, so as to give them space enough to make a strong, stocky
growth. If it is desired to keep the plants which are thinned
out, they may be set 2 inches apart each way in boxes similar to
the seed-box. A good watering should be given just before the
plants are taken out of the box for transplanting, so that a ball of
earth should stick to the roots of each one. Transplanting, if
properly done, instead of injuring them, seems to help the plants
to develop a strong root system. In planting out the plant
should be lifted with a trowel, keeping as much soil as possible
on the roots, a hole opened in the ground, the earth-encased roots
of the plant inserted, the soil drawn up to the stalk, and then
pressed down with the hand. When all the plants are set, the
surface round each plant should be carefully raked.

Since a number of vegetables continue to mature almost
throughout the year, it is possible to utilize the same space for

2 B 2

326 The Empire Review

successful plantings of the same vegetables, or for rotation
planting of different ones. For successive planting the gardener
should not sow all his seed at once, but should make successive
plantings at intervals of about two weeks. In this way it is
possible to grow almost continuous crops of such things as
radishes and lettuce. In planting rotations of crops, it is well
that in type and character of growth the succeeding crop should
differ as widely as possible from the crop which it follows. It is
well to divide the plants grown in a vegetable garden into root
crops, such as beets and carrots ; fruit crops, such as tomatoes
and egg-plants ; and leaf crops, such as cabbages and spinach.

The importance of continual and careful cultivation after the
plants have been set out cannot be too strongly emphasised.
The gardener should never permit the surface of the soil to
become baked, or even to form an appreciable crust. The rake
is perhaps the gardener's most valuable tool in cultivation, but
where the ground has become compacted beneath the immediate
surface, other tools must supplement the rake. Close chopping
with a garden hoe will break up such hardened soil satisfactorily,
and put it in good condition, the finishing touches being given
to the surface with a rake. Care must be taken, however, not to
cultivate when the soil is too moist, although, on the other hand,
to prevent a crust forming, the ground should be stirred as soon
as the moisture from rain has soaked in or partially evaporated.

THE campaign of the Quebec section of the Navy League has
been closed. President James Carruthers announces that the
workers succeeded in enrolling 22,250 new members, and
additional returns are yet to come. Nearly 19,000 is the total
furnished by this city. The objective set was 25,000 members.
The number of men reporting for service in Montreal is so
great that it is difficult to meet the demand for uniforms, blankets,
and other equipment. The men are cheerful, of good physique,
with an excellent moral. Large employers of labour are with-
drawing claims for exemption of their workmen from military
service. Many University students have volunteered for the
Tank Corps.

IN New South Wales, up to 30th April, 544,630 acres of
Crown lands had been set apart for returned soldier settlers ;
169,384 acres had been purchased for £746,806; 47,301 acres
were in course of acquisition for £237,773 ; and fourteen estates,
totalling 10,569 acres, has been acquired under the Crown Lands
Acts at a cost of £104,708.

Empire Trade Notes 327

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES

CANADA

OWING to the large number of aeroplanes that are being manu-
factured in Great Britain and Canada, the demand for silver
spruce has been prohibited to all destinations abroad other than
the United Kingdom, Possessions and Protectorates, except under
license. The supply of silver spruce has greatly decreased in.
the United States and Europe, and, owing to the havoc caused to
the forests by the war, it is certain that the stands of this tree
will greatly diminish in area and volume, so that the Province of
Quebec, which still has 80,000,000 acres of spruce and balsam-fir
forests, will be called upon to contribute extensively towards
making-up for the denudation of the European forests.

IN addition to a large number of small schooners, ocean vessels,
with an aggregate capacity of 450,000 tons, will be constructed in
Canada during the present year. Included in the estimate are
59 steel ships having a total capacity of 290,000 tons, and 53
wooden ships with a total of 160,000 tons. The Atlantic coast
ports are now building 17 steel vessels and 14 wooden vessels ; the
Great Lakes shipyards, 27 steel vessels and 4 wooden vessels ;
and the Pacific Coast yards, 15 steel vessels and 35 wooden vessels,
with another order for 32 wooden vessels of 3,400 tons each. The
G-overnment shipbuilding programme contemplates a total expen-
diture of some £12,000,000 to the end of the fiscal year. The large
steel ship-building plant to be established at Halifax, Nova Scotia,
will shortly be commenced, and it is anticipated that within three
months the keels of three 10,000-ton steamers will be laid on the
building berths. The site has a wate]| frontage of 2,500 feet, and
the shipyard when completed will be one of the finest on the
American continent, and capable of constructing vessels of
18,000 tons. Between three and four million dollars will be
expended and 3,500 hands employed.

SOME time ago the Director of the Canadian Mines Branch at
Ottawa was authorised to make an investigation into the question
of electric smelting. The investigation was conducted in a
thoroughly scientific manner, and its results were published in a
report which has become a standard. At the time when this
investigation was made, the opinion prevailed that the investiga-
tion was interesting but that the time was distant when electric
smelting would be in practical operation. It is, therefore, worthy

328 The Empire Review

of notice that the fruition of the efforts made in connection with
that investigation has arrived, and that electric smelting is now
in full operation in Canada.

As a consequence of the adoption of the Canadian Order in
Council restricting the importation of luxuries, a further Order in
Council has been issued, regulating the prices of manufactures of
gold and silver, electro-plated ware and gilt ware and sterling or
other silver ware. It is also provided that the current prices at
which these articles were sold in the ordinary course of business
by dealers at the date of the order shall not be increased without
the permission of the Minister of Trade and Commerce, to be
granted upon the recommendation of the War Trade Board. Any
person found guilty of violating the above regulations is liable to
a penalty not exceeding £100, or to three months' imprisonment,
or to both fine and imprisonment.

WITH the season barely started, the Ontario fisheries are
already approaching the maximum distribution fixed under the
arrangement with the fishermen, giving the Government the
right to requisition 20 per cent, of the annual catch. In one
week, nearly 1,000 boxes of fish were sold through the Sales
Branch, or approximately 100,000 Ibs. This means a distribution
at the rate of 5,200,000 Ibs. a year. The estimates prepared
when the scheme was organised indicated a supply of something
over 8,000,000 Ibs. of fish, providing one-fifth of the total catch
in Ontario was taken. Most of the fish received are coming from
Lakes Nipigon and Nipissing. The total value of sea-fish landed
in Eastern Canada for one month was $736,567. The total value
of the various kinds of fish on both the Atlantic and the Pacific
coasts for six months was $19,325,547. The catches from the
Gulf of St. Lawrence are exported all over the world, and the
superiority of the fish taken from the shores of Eastern Canada
is undoubted. Quebec's cod-fishery alone showed an increased
turnover of nearly £70,000. People are beginning to realise,
having now to part with their coupons for meat, the real value of
fish as a food.

WEST St. John, New Brunswick, is about to secure its first
sardine packing plant. This is being erected by a Chicago firm,
who already have other plants in Canada along the Atlantic coast.
The plant will cost £15,000 and will have a capacity of 100 hogs"-
heads of fish per day. The fish supply will probably be obtained
from harbour weirs and from the weirs in the Bay of Fundy east
of Point Lepreau. The presence of a factory at St. John may
also lead to the erection of weirs farther up the bay. The sardine
industry of the Bay of .Fundy dates back a little over thirty
years.

THE Grand Trunk Railway is receiving delivery from the
American Locomotive Company of ten Mikado type locomotives
for use in freight service. These powerful engines can handle
a freight train of 6,000 tons. Ten locomotives of similar type
have recently been received by the Grand Trunk from the

Empire Trade Notes 329

Canadian Locomotive Company at Kingston. There are now
more than 100 of these powerful locomotives in use on Grand
Trunk lines. Other motive power is under order for the Grand
Trunk, including twenty-five switch engines from the Montreal
shops of the Company. New steel rail is also being received by
the Grand Trunk Eailway system under the plan of the Dominion
Government for setting aside part of the production of the rolling
mills for apportionment among the railroads of Canada. The
Grand Trunk will receive during the season new steel for about
'200 miles of track.

THE Asbestos Mines of Quebec have been extremely active
throughout the year. Shipments have amounted to 133,339 tons,
valued at $5,182,905. The market could have absorbed much
more asbestos than was offered, but the output was limited by the
shortage of labour. As the demand was greater than the offer,
the prices rose accordingly, more especially for the higher grades.
As a result of this, although the tonnage shipped shows an
advance of only 18 per cent, the value increased 46 per cent.
This is reflected in the average price per ton, which was $38.87,
$31.33, and $26.96 respectively for the past three years.

WHAT is stated to be the largest boom of logs ever handled in
British Columbia has arrived at Howe Sound. The boom con-
sists of 1,600,000 feet of logs, and is consigned to Mill Creek,
where the timber will be ground into pulp. The logs were in two
rafts, one from the Queen Charlotte Islands and the other from
Swanson Bay, tind constructed on what is known as the Davis
system. Logs are piled on logs and securely lashed until a large
proportion of the boom is under water. In this case one raft was
drawing 40 feet of water and the other 30 feet.

THE Forests Products Laboratories in Montreal were warned
of the serious shortage of pine oil used in the oil flotation process
of ore extraction, and the possibility of having to close some of
their reduction plants was in contemplation. The problem set
them was one of producing a Canadian pine oil or, failing that, a
substitute. No time was lost, and very soon it was announced
that a pine oil had been produced from red and yellow Canadian
pine stumps, and that, better still, a much cheaper and more
plentiful oil had been discovered which would do the work of ore
extraction quite as well as the pine oil. This substitute is a
creosote oil, a by-product of wood alcohol, produced in great
quantities every day by the wood distillation industries of Canada,
and up to the time of this discovery considered almost a waste
product.

THE Province of Quebec has placed at the disposal of the
military authorities for returned Canadian soldiers the whole of
the canton of Mongay situated in Abitibi on the Bell Kiver and
within two miles of the Transcontinental Kailway. The Abitibi
district has an area of about 30,000,000 acres, and of this more
than half is suitable f-or agriculture. It is well watered by lakes
and rivers. Mining prospects are good in many sections, and the

330 The Empire Review

large forests at the head of the many rivers will supply the lumber
industry for years to come.

WITH the brisk demand prevailing for all forms of manu-
factured products many new industries continue to be attracted
to Eastern Canada. Along the railway lines the increase in the
number of industrial plants has been very marked. More than
40 large concerns have located on the Grand Trunk Bailway in
Ontario and Quebec during the past 12 months. These new
plants represent a capital investment of nearly $11,000,000 and
will employ 6,000 hands. Extensive additions have also been
made to existing plants. These extensions, at twelve represen-
tative points along the Grand Trunk, have called for an increase
in the capital investment amounting to several millions of dollars
and the employment of some thousands of extra hands. The
Commissioner of Industries for the Grand Trunk Eailway System
states that the demand for new sidings and additions to existing
sidings to take care of the increased industrial effort has been
continuous. While co-operating in every way possible with the
Boards of Trade and committees and individuals interested in
industrial development, the railroad has done all in its power to
promote increased production of farm products. A special train
carrying exhibits of grain, roots, grasses, poultry and model dairy
apparatus visited a large number of farming communities where
lectures on better farming were delivered by agricultural experts.

AUSTRALIA

THE estimated yield of wheat by the Commonwealth of
Australia for the past season is 121,000,000 bushels, or 31,000,000
less than in 1916-17, and 58,000,000 less than in 1915-16. New
South Wales, with 43,557,000 bushels, fared better than in
1916-17, because that year was deficient in quality and quantity.
But in the other States there. was material curtailment. The
yield per acre was 14 -34 bushels in 1915-16; 13-22 in 1916-17,
and 12 -40 in 1917-18.

EEPOBTS from the front invariably speak of the Australian
military horse in general as being at least the equal of the
remount supplied by any other part of the world. The Defence
Department has reports from Egypt which go to show that the
hardships of desert travelling have proved that the Australian
horse stands out superior to the horse of any other country.

BETUBNS issued by the Commonwealth statistician in regard
to forty-six commodities show that their aggregate cost increased
in i May over the cost in April in all the States excepting New
South Wales and Western Australia. Compared with May in
1917, the cost in New South Wales was 3 per cent, higher, in
Victoria 5 • 1 per cent, higher, Queensland 3 per cent, higher, South
Australia 8 • 5 per cent, higher, and Tasmania 9 • 6 per cent, higher.
In Western Australia there was a decrease of 3 • 1 per cent. For
Australia as a whole the increase was 4*5 per cent.

Empire Trade Notes 331

THE Commonwealth's purchase of the Queensland sugar crop
for the present and 1919-20 seasons involves an expenditure of
over £16,000,000. The price agreed to (£21 10s. per ton) will
permit the Federal authorities to continue in force the order
under which 1A sugar is sold at not more than 3^d. per Ib. retail
in the capital cities. This is the cheapest rate in force for white
crystals throughout the world. The present season's crop is a
record one.

A BREEDERS' Association for bloodstock has been formed in
New South Wales. The objects in view are to make recom-
mendations, if thought advisable, to the Government and bodies
controlling horse-racing, and to take such action generally as may
be deemed expedient in the interests of the thoroughbred and its
breeders ; to regulate the days of selling, order of sale, and
procedure in connection with the Sydney annual yearling sales,
and to secure arbitration upon any disagreement relative thereto
between two selling agents.

FOB the storage of the large quantities of wool to be handled
in the carry-over of the present and future clips in connection
with the purchase by the Imperial Government, accommodation
for 450,000 bales is being provided on a reserve of fifteen acres
granted by the New South Wales Government, while six acres
of the Sydney military reserve have also been secured. In order
to reduce the space for storage the wool is subjected in suitable
appliances to hydraulic pressure. The system of double dumping
saves storage space in the sheds, and permits of great economy
in vessels and better storage. Since the outbreak of war the
improvements effected in dumping wool for oversea transport
have resulted in a saving of fully 20 per cent, in steamer space,
representing on this season's clip an equivalent of 350,000 bales
of wool.

INCLUDED in the list of 3,110 voided leases issued by
Mr. Hudson, Minister for Mines in Western Australia, I notice
the names of many of the famous old gold mines, some only
exploited to a few hundred feet below the surface. For instance,
the wonderful Merton's Beward group is now lying idle, and
open to any prospector who cares to put in the pegs. From this
group over 60,000 ounces of fine gold has been extracted, and it
is difficult to believe that where the surface ore was so rich there
is nothing worth further testing at depth. Other abandoned
properties include leases of the Westralia and East Extension
Mines, Ltd., at Coolgardie, which have yielded 116,895 ounces ;
Premier Kumanalling, 46,930 ounces ; Lady Loch, 20,061 ounces ;
Queen Margaret, Bulong, 64,703 ounces ; South Gippsland,
Kanowna, 30,054 ounces ; Queensland Menzies, 76,928 ounces,
and others, which in their day have yielded gold and paid hand-
some dividends. The history of the cancelled leases, and the
reasons of their abandonment may be obtained on application to
the Mines Department of the State.

TRIALS are being made at the Lithgow Valley, New South
Wales, brick works with the view to establishing a tile-making

332 The Empire Review

industry. Tiles are at a premium, and roofing iron is almost
unprocurable. A deposit of molybdenite, said to be the best
show seen in Australia, was found in the bed of a creek near
Tenterfield. Samples show 75 per cent, metal. The Mackay
Prospecting Syndicate, Melbourne, has taken over the option of
the mine.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA has tackled the problem of establishing
the shipbuilding industry in a wise and practical manner. The
scheme drawn up by the Minister for Industries in collaboration
with the company which is putting up the necessary capital,
provides for starting operations in small yards capable of un-
limited development, on a modest programme of half-a-dozen
wooden ships of 2,300 tons each. The Commonwealth Govern-
ment has offered a contract for these vessels which will cost
£60,000 each. They will be of the five- mast schooner type,
built on straight lines, and will have auxiliary engines capable of
developing a speed of seven knots. It is anticipated that nearly
all the necessary materials will be obtained locally, while the
engines will be built in the Eastern States. The forests of
Western Australia contain an inexhaustible supply of timbers
suitable for shipbuilding — timbers which have been tested over a
long period of years in pearling luggers and other small craft
used in coastal waters.

THE Western Australian Government is pushing forward
with a scheme for helping in the construction of ships in Australia.
The State has an unlimited quantity of valuable timber, and
should be able to do a great deal in the direction of 'supplying raw
material.

THE Bank of New South Wales had a profit of £397,972 for
the last half' year, and paid 10 per cent, dividend.

SOUTH AFRICA

IT would be difficult to say which of the local industries has
been most stimulated by the war, but it is safe to say that the
engineering trade has made enormous strides during the last few
years. Among the first British industries to be affected in their
normal operations ', were those concerned with the production
of brass and its alloys, iron and steel, and the manufacture of
machinery. The restrictions placed upon these industries soon
came to be felt, and in one line after another, the position that had
to be faced was : Do without, or manufacture locally. Wherever
local manufacture has been feasible this has been undertaken,
and some really good work has been done in at least one or two of
the Port Elizabeth engineering workshops. One firm interested,
for example, in certain well-known English ploughs, when 'parts
such as spares became difficult or impossible to obtain, rose to the
occasion by commencing to manufacture these spares. The process
is expensive, but without these parts, users of the particular ploughs
in question might have found themselves in an unenviable plight.
Another branch of engineering which is becoming established

Empire Trade Notes 333

is the renovating of old steam-engines which, before the war, would
have been scrapped. In every way possible where existing
material in the country can be used, local requirements are being
met, and in some cases the resources and energies of the engineers
have been heavily taxed to meet the demands of the public.

AT the recent conference of tobacco growers held in Capetown
the following estimates were made of the South African tobacco
crop for 1918 : — Eustenburg, 4,000,000 Ibs. ; Piet Eetief,
1,000,000 Ibs. ; Stockenstroom, 200,000 Ibs. ; Ehodesia, 1,000,000
Ibs. ; Vredefort, 1,000,000 Ibs. ; Swaziland, 100,000 Ibs.; Nyasa-
land, 1,000,000 Ibs. Total, 8,300,000 Ibs. These figures are
better than last year's, but are not abnormal. The Eustenburg
figures are below normal.

THE development of the frozen meat trade has been engaging
the attention of shippers in the Union for some months. To-
wards June of 1917 the country suddenly found itself able to
provide large quantities of meat for export, which necessitated
the provision of large cool storage accommodation in various
parts of Natal. An association was formed for tne purpose of
expanding and improving the industry, and it was decided to send
representatives to other exporting countries to inquire into the
methods usually adopted in those centres. A member of the
association recently arrived in Melbourne, and has been visiting
the various meat works and cool stores connected with the
industry in Victoria. It is understood that similar visits will be
made to the other principal meat-producing States in Australia.

FURTHER consignments of food have been recently shipped to
Britain from Durban under the Food for Britain scheme. A
consignment of 626 quarters of beef and 50 cases of butter have
just been dispatched, and they will be followed by 470 quarters of
beef and 100 cases of butter. A letter has been recently received
from Cathcart, Cape, intimating that it desired to start a similar
movement there.

IT is not possible to state the aggregate output of butter in the
Union during the year 1917, for there are no reliable statistics of
production ; but there can be no question that it far exceeded all
previous records, and gave proof of the enormous strides which the
industry is making in the country. The quantity produced was
sufficient to meet the requirements of the whole community and
to leave a surplus of about 3,000,000 pounds for export. New
creameries and factories are being opened up and the high prices
ruling have tended to induce overlapping and overkeen competition,
When it is remembered that so late as four years ago large quantities
of butter were being imported into South Africa for consumption,
the export last year of three million pounds is all the more remark-
able. It is hoped that the Dairy Industry Bill, which has been
introduced into Parliament during the present session, will become
law, and do much to improve the quality of South African butter
generally, as well as the conditions under which the industry as a
whole is being conducted.

334 The Empire Review

IT has now been decided to proceed with the third Government
Mines Training School, a site having been obtained on the Far
East Band. Buildings costing £20,000 will be erected, and will
accommodate one hundred boarders. The accommodation at the
two existing schools is 155. The scheme is ultimately to have
six of these schools for training about 600 apprentices. Returned
soldierr are being offered special conditions to learn mining.

FAEMEES throughout the Union are doing splendidly in the
sale of their produce. Fruit especially is booming, and the dried
fruit trade seems to be progressing as it has never done before. A
great improvement is taking place, too, in methods of packing and
preparation for the market. As an example of the prices being
realised, we may mention the case of a farmer here, who a few
days ago sold thirteen small sacks of sultana raisins for £92, and
eight small sacks of prunes for £46. These are the results of
co-operation among the farmers, and the fixing of their own
prices.

IN the first census of manufactures, covering the calendar
year 1915 (or the business year ending not later than June, 1916),
returns were tabulated in respect of 3,998 businesses. It is
anticipated that the returns for the present census will number
between 5,000 and 6,000, and there is every probability that the
total amount under every heading will be considerably in excess
of that given in the returns for the first census.

IN the course of its inquiry, the Select Committee appointed
by the Union Government on Railways and Harbours took
evidence on the subject of the agreement between the Govern-
ment and the Union Steel Corporation in so far as it affects the
interests of the Railways and Harbours Administration. Though
not within the scope of its reference, yet in view of the impor-
tance of the development of the iron ores of the country, the
Committee call special attention to the provisions of the clause
in the agreement dealing with this subject. The development of
iron ores is receiving the attention of the Union Steel Corpora-
tion, and to this end the Corporation hope to produce 300 tons of
pig iron from local ores early in 1918. If the process, which is
in the nature of an experiment, is successful, it is confidently
hoped to supply the whole of South Africa's requirements in pig
iron in a comparatively short period thereafter.

THE prospects for the Natal sugar season, which is now just
opening, are regarded as distinctly good. Several mills have
already started crushing, and the refineries recommenced work
at the end of last week, so that ample supplies should be avail-
able very shortly. It is stated by qualified judges that the
condition of the crops on the north coast is exceedingly good,
and it is anticipated that with normal importations from Mozam-
bique, there should be ample supplies for the Union of South
Africa during the coming year, possibly even more than is
required. It is at any rate thought in trade circles that the
maximum price fixed by the Government, at which the great
bulk of sugar has been selling for some time past, will not be
maintained throughout the coming season.

OVEESEA COREESPONDENTS.

THE EMPIRE
REVIEW

AND

JOURNAL OF BRITISH TRADE
VOL. XXXII. OCTOBER, 1918. No. 213.

AUSTRALIA AND EMPIRE DEVELOPMENT

THEEE is a tendency to forget in these times of war that the
normal life of a people is a life of peace. "War efficiency is the
vital demand of the present day, and it is a commonplace to say
that this demand must be satisfied before all else.

But even in these days it is a mistake to forget entirely the
powers and resources of a nation in relation to the ordinary needs
of mankind in times of peace. These powers and resources are
now estimated and valued in terms of war. The time is rapidly
approaching, we have every reason to hope, when a new standard
of values will be adopted and applied. This standard will not be
the same as that which satisfied us before the war. The war has
heightened the demands upon our efficiency not only now but
also in the strenuous days to come after peace has been declared.
It is recognised, as never before, that there is a vital community
of interest between the different parts of the Empire, and that the
well-being of each part intimately concerns the interests of all
other parts.

I do not propose to advocate any cut-and-dried economic
scheme operating either by tariffs, Government control, or other
methods. Probably different solutions of the problem correspond-
ing to the local needs of the Mother Country, the Dominions,
India and the Crown Colonies will be required. Each part of the
Empire must solve the problem for itself, but each part must and
will remember that the problem is not local but imperial in
character, and that the local solution must be conceived and
administered in such a manner as to meet imperial needs. If the
problem is handled upon these lines the true interests of every part
will be best secured.

Full and accurate knowledge of the relevant facts is necessary
VOL. XXXII.— No. 213. 2 c

336 The Empire Review

before so gigantic a problem can be successfully handled. The
peoples of the Empire really do not know their strength. They
do not know, for example, how great the resources of the
Dominions are, and how substantial the contribution of the
Dominions to the common well-being may be if the proper steps
are taken to translate potentialities into actualities. This is
particularly the case with regard to Australia. The distance of
Australia from Great Britain has, I venture to think, militated
against an adequate idea of what Australia can do for the Empire.
Our fighting men have come overseas. The people of Great
Britain know them, and I do not suggest for one moment that
their powers and capacities have been under-rated in the Mother
Country. The people of Great Britain are, it appears to me, as
proud of them as Australia is. But it is naturally difficult in a
time of great stress to appreciate the other elements to which I
have referred — the economic and industrial resources. I propose,
therefore, to submit some facts about Australia which will, I have
no doubt, be of interest to all who are concerned in the develop-
ment of the Empire.

One of the many lessons of the war is the recognition of the
extent to which not only the United Kingdom but also the British
Empire as a whole is dependent upon the products, primary and
secondary, of foreign countries. This dependence is found not
only in the case of raw materials but also in the case of manu-
factured articles of great importance. Some of these materials
and articles are either. not produced at all within the Empire, or
are produced in quantities lamentably insufficient to meet our
requirements. The war has shown us that it is a condition of
national existence that the Empire should be capable in an
emergency of self-dependence in respect of essential commodities.

Australia is a new country, capable of almost indefinite further
development. Australia cannot successfully compete in foreign
countries with the manufactured products of countries employing
cheap labour or of other countries where large-scale production
so reduces cost as to give great advantages to the manufacturer.
Accordingly it is recognised that for many articles which are
manufactured in Australia only the local market is at present
available. The great increase of population which Australia
needs, and which we hope will accrue, will go far to help to
remove this limitation upon our economic activity. The case is
different with regard to primary products, for which there is an
increasing world- wide demand. After the war Australia will have
no difficulty in selling her wheat, wool, meat, metals, etc., to
foreign countries, but she would prefer to make the sale of these
products a contribution to the general well-being of the Empire.

The demands of war have upset the normal course of industry

Australia and Empire Development 337

in Australia, as in every other country. The amount of pro-
duction has naturally decreased owing to the diminution of man-
power, though the general rise in prices tends to obscure this
fact from the casual reader of statistics. Nevertheless the volume
of Australian staple products for the year 1916 (the last year for
which complete figures are available) was large ; for example, the
wool clip was valued at £30,000,000, the dairying industry pro-
duced £21,000,000, the production of minerals was £23,000,000,
and the agricultural production reached £74,000,000, of which
amount wheat comprised £40,500,000, and hay £14,500,000. It
must be remembered in considering the figures of export trade
from Australia that the severe shipping limitations, in accordance
with which many vessels have been removed from the Australia
trade, have greatly reduced the exports from the Commonwealth.

Australian wool is known and highly appreciated all over the
world. The Commonwealth clips constitute about 20 per cent,
of the total production of the world, and half the production of
the whole British Empire. The quality of the Australian wool
is such that without it many woollen articles of common use
cannot be successfully made. The importance of the Australian
wool clip must therefore be rated at much higher than the 20 per
cent, which measures its actual proportion in the world's output.

The annual wheat production of the Commonwealth is about
153 million bushels. This quantity is produced from a relatively
small area of the land suitable for wheat growing. Varieties of
drought-resistant wheat are now being produced which will greatly
extend the cultivable margin of our wheat areas by pushing it
forward into the drier regions of the continent. At the present
time a quantity approximating to 6 million tons of wheat is
stored in the Commonwealth. Much of this belongs to the
Imperial Government, but shipping difficulties have hitherto
prevented its transport. It is sincerely to be hoped that means
will be discovered of relieving the situation in this respect.

The Australian frozen meat trade is capable of indefinite
expansion. Australia supplies not more than 20 per cent, of the
requirements of the United Kingdom in beef, and about 70
per cent, in mutton. The rolling grass plains of Queensland
and the Northern Territory, however, could carry millions
more cattle. Provision is being made, I am glad to say, for a
great increase in the frozen meat trade. Eecently I had the
pleasure of inspecting in London a new cold storage establishment
with a capacity of 4 million carcases. The building is nearly
completed and is intended to be used for the Australian and New
Zealand frozen meat trade after the war. Further storage pro-
vision is also being made in the meat-producing districts of
Australia.

2 c 2

338 The Empire Review

In 1917 the Dominions Royal Commission after an investiga-
tion of some of the leading industries of Australia reported in the
following terms :—

"The agricultural arid pastoral industries of the self-
governing portions of the Empire are but in their infancy.
This seems to us to be particularly true of the vast island
continent of Australia. For instance, it has been roughly
computed that the land suitable to the production of wheat in
that country is about 200,000,000 acres, out of which about
12,500,000 acres are now producing this cereal. Of cattle,
sheep, horses and pigs, the same could be said ; their number
might be multiplied many times. Again, were the labour avail-
able, Queensland could produce an enormous quantity of sugar
in comparison to its actual output. The agricultural and
pastoral resources of the vast and semi-tropical Northern
Territory, also, are as yet exploited to only an infinitesimal
degree." (Final Report of Dominions Royal Commission,
Cd. 8462, page 32.)

In order to utilise to the full the possibilities to which I
have alluded and many others which I have not mentioned, it is
important that when British capital is seeking investment abroad,
it should flow towards a Dominion rather than towards a country
under a foreign flag. It is also important that the investment of
capital should be made attractive and that unnecessary disabilities
upon investments should be removed. I earnestly hope that the
obstacle now existing in the shape of a double income tax, which
for many investors means a triple tax, may soon be removed.

Australians of all classes now recognise that the successful
holding of our island continent will require a great increase in
population. This increase is required not only in the interests
of defence but in the interests of the economic and industrial
development of the country. In the United Kingdom there are
about 379 persons to the square mile, whereas in Australia the
figures are one and two-thirds to the square mile. It should be
unnecessary to elaborate the obvious point that when emigrants
are proposing to leave the Mother Country it is of the first
importance that every effort should be made to induce them to
settle in one of the Dominions, rather than in a foreign country.
Great good may be done by a wise policy which directs surplus
population of the United Kingdom to the oversea Dominions,
thereby at once adding to the material prosperity and the health
of the people and strengthening the foundation of the Empire
in all its parts.

Linked up with the questions of capital and population is the
great problem of transport — the establishment and maintenance
of trade routes and lines of communication between the Dominions
and the markets of the world, particularly the markets in

Australia and Empire Development 339

other parts of the Empire. The Commonwealth Government
has already realised the urgent character of this problem, and
everything possible has been done to minimise the loss sustained
by the trade of Australia in consequence of the depletion of
tonnage by enemy action. In the first place, the Government
purchased fifteen cargo vessels for the purpose of carrying wheat
and other produce. Nineteen German vessels were seized in
Australian ports upon the outbreak of war, and these are also
being used in carrying produce and, to some extent, troops. The
losses by submarine warfare have, I am glad to say, been slight.
Contracts are now in process of execution for the construction
on the Pacific Coast of the United States of fourteen wooden
steamers, the first of which has already made her maiden voyage.
Steel vessels and wooden vessels are being built in Australia,
and the most recent reports of their progress are highly en-
couraging. When existing contracts are completed, there will
be a fleet of eighty-seven vessels with a tonnage of about 400,000
tons engaged in the carriage of Australian produce. There is
ample employment for the whole of these vessels in addition to
the vessels which are run to Australia by shipping companies.
It will thus be seen that the Commonwealth Government is
fully alive to the necessity for providing for the great trade
improvement which is confidently anticipated upon the restoration
of peace.

There are also certain internal factors which are of more
than merely local importance. Among these may be mentioned
land settlement, irrigation, agricultural research and education,
and transport facilities within the Commonwealth. These subjects
are being dealt with gradually and from day to day. They
constitute a large portion of the governmental activity of both the
Commonwealth and the States. A consideration of the size of
Australia shows that much patient and painstaking work will
be required during a long period, in order to arrive at a satisfactory
solution of the problems which present themselves. The area
of the Commonwealth is nearly 3,000,000 square miles — slightly
larger than the United States of America, three-fourths the size
of Europe, and twenty-four times the size of the United
Kingdom. Another method of comparison will perhaps bring
out more effectively the point which it is important to make.
The area of the whole of the British Empire is more than
12,000,000 square miles, with an estimated population of
400,000,000. The area of Australia is 3,000,000 square miles,
with a population of 5,000,000. That is to say, Australia com-
prises one-fourth of the British Empire in area, with but one-
eightieth of the population. This sparsity of population is not
due to lack of opportunities or natural resources. It is to a

340 The Empire Review

great extent the result of Australian isolation from centres of
large population and of a want of knowledge of the resources
of the continent. There is room for a population of at least
100,000,000, and many millions of acres still await the hand of
man to produce the materials which are so much needed in the
markets of the world.

There has been established in the Commonwealth an Advisory
Council of Science and Industry, the object of which is to
conduct scientific researches in connection with the promotion
of primary and secondary industries in the Commonwealth. As
regards the primary industries, the committee deals with inquiries
into such matters as the control and eradication of pests and
diseases of stock and crops such as the tick pest, worm nodules
in cattle, tuberculosis in stock and bitter pit in apples. The loss
caused, directly or indirectly, to the agricultural and pastoral
industries by the attacks of pests, parasites and organisms causing
disease amounts to millions of pounds per annum. The cultiva-
tion of new or improved crops, and the breeding and selection
of fodder plants suitable for rotation crops in dry areas are
receiving special attention.

One of the chief obstacles to the development of the back
areas in Australia is the lack of transport facilities and stock
routes. The length of railway lines in Australia is 20,738 miles,
and the construction of new lines is being continuously carried
on. But in the consideration of this aspect of the question it
must be borne in mind that Australia is a land of vast areas and
long distances. The coastline of the continent extends for
12,210 miles, with a distance from north to south of 2,000 miles
and east to west of 2,400 miles. Full development is not
possible without railways, and, in a country like Australia, the
problem of transportation is the problem of progress. The great
trans- Continental line has been completed quite recently — the
connecting link between the west and the east. The extension
of the railway systems to tap the resources of the north is a
matter of urgent necessity. At present the centre and the north
of Australia are isolated. The transport of stock can be effec-
tively carried out only by a railway. Schemes are under con-
sideration and proposals are being put forward, and it is hoped
that before long a line from the northern States will connect up
with the other railway systems.

The responsibility for internal development rests primarily, it
is fully recognised, upon the people of Australia. It is clear,
however, that internal development cannot be considered or dealt
with apart frorn the external factors to which I have referred.
What I want to emphasise is this : the whole Empire is inti-
mately concerned in the development of every part. Such develop-

Australia and Empire Development 341

ment means, locally, greater production and therefore greater
wealth. It means also greater population, and therefore more
shoulders to bear the national burdens. From the point of view
of the Empire, development of the Dominions means that the
Empire becomes more self-reliant and therefore has greater
security for safety and progress in the future.

in particular it should be remembered that the trade of Great
Britain depends upon a ready and reliable supply of raw materials,
and that without such a supply it will be impossible to deal with
the problems of reconstruction which will arise during and after
the period of demobilisation of troops. It will be impossible to
provide full employment for discharged soldiers unless raw
materials are available for them to work upon. This is a matter
of the gravest urgency and importance. We cannot afford to
neglect it. We shall be failing in our duty if we do not face it.
The Dominions can supply substantial help towards the solution
for which we all seek, and they are ready, eager, and anxious
to help not only the Empire as a whole but also our Allies. The
leaders of our nation will be failing in their duty if they do not
realise and translate into a great imperial fact the magnificent
opportunities which lie to their hand within the bounds of our
own Empire.

JOSEPH COOK
(Minister for the Australian Navy).

MR. WATT, acting Prime Minister, has compared the position
of Australia with that of England. Australia's per capita taxa-
tion in 1917-18 was £6 15s. 3d., while the public debt represented
£129 9s. IQd. per head. The respective figures for the United
Kingdom were £13 6s. 6d. and £127 3s. 5d. The public debt
per head for the Commonwealth and the States in 1913-14 was
£69 13s. 5d., and for 1917-18 £123 9s. 10d., an increase of
£53 16s. 5d.

CONSTRUCTION work has practically ceased at Canberra, the
Federal capital site. The expenditure during the last two years
was £149,000, including £10,000 for railways and £14,400 for
general administration. Present expenditure is in clearing the
land and planting trees. Some 60,000 plants of Californian
redwood have been planted in one of the nurseries, and will be
distributed on the East Lake parkland area. In another quarter
about 300 acres of trees have been planted out.

342 The Empire Review

THE PRINCIPLE OF BANK
AMALGAMATIONS

ADVANTAGES TO INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE

[Observations made by the Chairman, Sir Edward Holden, Bart., at the general
meeting of shareholders convened for the purpose of approving the scheme
for the amalgamation of the London Joint Stock Bank with the London
City and Midland Bank.]

THERE has been a series of amalgamations during the last
nine months between large banks, and the question is naturally
asked : why have the banks within such a short time effected
such important amalgamations ? The London City and Midland
Bank have consistently pursued the policy of amalgamation since
the year 1888, for us it is only a continuation of our policy to
seek to obtain a union with the London Joint Stock Bank. But,
as regards the general question, several important reasons may
be advanced.

In the first place, bankers are confronted with the problem of
restoring the industries of the country after the war to the
condition which they previously occupied. The concerns which
have been converted from peace production into munition factories
will have to be reconverted to their original condition. In the
case of a number of those branches of industry which have
continued in their pre-war occupation, such as those producing
for home consumption and for export, the plant and machinery
have been allowed to run down, and it will be necessary to
renovate them and bring them up-to-date, and even to a better
condition than before the war. Large sums of money will have
to be, found for the purchase of raw material, and large sums will
also be required to improve the trade position generally. It is
estimated that no less than 300 millions sterling will be required
for these purposes, and credit will in some way have to be created
for that amount. How this credit can be created I will deal with
later, but large and powerful banks are indispensable for the
purpose.

The second reason why these amalgamations have taken place
is that every effort should be made to retain London as the
financial centre of the world. One of our principal competitors

The Principle of Bank Amalgamations 343

in the future will be Germany, and just as the Germans made
great preparations for the war by increasing their armies and
supplying themselves with large amounts of gold and munitions
of war, so they are at the present time making their preparations
for after- war trade. These preparations take the form not only
of a continuation of the Darlehnskassen, but also of enlarging
and strengthening their joint stock banks J>y amalgamations
and by the opening of new branches. As a result of their
amalgamations it is estimated that the Deutsche Bank at the
present time has over 300 millions sterling of deposits, the
Disconto-Gesellschaft over 200 millions, and the Dresdner over
170 millions, in addition to which it must be remembered that
each of these three banks is affiliated with a number of smaller
banks over which they exercise direct control, and also a number
of banks with which they are indirectly connected. For example,
the Deutsche Bank is at the head of, and directly controls, a
banking group consisting of twenty-five banks with total deposits
of about 450 millions, while the group of the Disconto-Gesellschaft
is made up of fourteen banks with total deposits of over
300 millions. The Dresdner Bank also have a number of
affiliations.

These are the three principal German banks with which we
shall have to compete, and to do so successfully we must meet
them on a fair equality of size. By the amalgamations which
have taken place in this country our banks have grown at the
present time, excluding affiliations, to a magnitude measured by
300 millions of deposits in the case of our own bank when this
arrangement is completed, 243 millions for Lloyds Bank, 230
millions for the London County and Westminster and Parr's
Bank, 212 millions for Barclays, and 176 millions for the
National Provincial and Union Bank of England. It has of
course been alleged that we entered into this war without having
made sufficient preparation, but the bankers have been determined,
notwithstanding strenuous opposition, that it should not be alleged
against them that they have not made full preparations for meeting
the international trade competition which will arise after the war,
and that they have not done everything in their power to retain
London as the financial centre of the world.

Criticism has been directed against the way in which the
joint stock banks do their business through their system of
branches, and it is further alleged that the industries do not get
as much assistance as was given by the private banks in the old
days. Criticism of this kind cannot be adequately met except by
going somewhat in detail into the history of the development of
the banking system of this country from the year 1800 to the
present time. I shall endeavour to show, and I think the facts

344 The Empire Review

of history will support me, that, notwithstanding the great
difficulties through which we have passed, the banks have been
able to meet the industrial and commercial demands upon them,
and their ability to do so has been, in a great measure, owing to
the system of amalgamation. I shall show, further, that every
development of amalgamation has rendered the banks themselves
more stable, and, that our recent immunity from the distresses
consequent on bank failures has been due to the strengthening of
the banks by amalgamation.

I begin at the year 1800, and I take the foreign trade of this
country, which in that year amounted to about £68,000,000. The
industry relative to that trade was financed principally by the
private bankers.

During the twenty years from 1800 to 1820 the foreign trade
increased to £81,000,000, and was still financed by the private
bankers. Without going into the details of the operations of
these banks at that time and their numerous failures, I will
content myselfiwith saying that the industry of the country was
growing so rapidly that it demanded more banking accommodation
than could be given by the private bankers, and in consequence
an Act was passed in 1826 which enabled joint stock banks to be
established in the provinces. The joint stock banks, together
with the private banks, financed our foreign trade, which by 1840
had risen to £184,000,000. Between 1826 and 1840 113 joint
stock banks were established.

More new banks were established between 1840 and 1860.
The existing banks were developing by the opening of branches
and some few amalgamations took place. The industries were
supported during this period (1840-1860) to such an extent that
our foreign trade was enabled to grow from £184,000,000 to
£375,000,000.

It must be noted, however, that the banks were still so weak
•that in 1847 there was a financial crisis, the Bank Act was
suspended, the industries of the country were disorganised, and
numerous bank failures took place, including the Royal Bank of
Liverpool, the Newcastle Union Bank, and banks in Manchester,
Salisbury, and other parts of the country. Ten years later, in
1857, there was another crisis. The Bank Act was again
suspended and a large number of banks failed, including the
Borough Bank of Liverpool, the Western Bank of Scotland, the
City of Glasgow Bank (which was reconstructed and finally
failed in 1878), the Northumberland and Durham District Bank,
and many other banks. The failures in these two years were
caused by conditions brought on by the failure of the harvest,
by speculations in railway securities and in wheat, and finally
because some of the industries had demanded and had received

The Principle of Bank Amalgamations 345

greater accommodation from the banks than the banks were
justified in giving, having regard to the amount of their
deposits.

Coming to the period from 1860 to 1880, our foreign trade
increased from £375,000,000 to £697,000,000, and it is during
this period that we see the real beginning of the amalgamation
movement. Bankers were just learning how to take over the
weak banks by way of amalgamation. The smaller banks,
finding difficulty in gathering sufficient deposits, merged them-
selves with larger and stronger institutions, which by this time
had established about eight hundred branches.

During this period there were two more crises, one in 1866
and another in 1878, and a large number of bank failures again
occurred. In 1866 the Bank Act was suspended for the third
time, and the principal failures which occurred were Barneds
Banking Company of Liverpool, Overend Gurney and Company
of London, the English Joint Stock Bank, the Imperial Mer-
cantile Credit, the Consolidated Bank, the Birmingham Banking
Company, and Agra and Masterman's Bank. In 1878 failures
included the City of Glasgow Bank and the West of England
and South Wales Bank.

Notwithstanding these banking vicissitudes, our foreign trade
increased during the years 1880 to 1900 from £697,000,000 to
£877,000,000, and it was during this period that, with the object
of avoiding further failures, the system of amalgamation was
widely extended. In these twenty years no less than 165 amal-
gamations took place, and failures among the smaller institutions
were prevented. Nevertheless, a few small banks failed during
this period. The Baring crisis occurred in 1890, but the situation
was prevented from developing by the assistance given to that
institution by the Bank of England and the joint stock banks,
which by this time had become stronger than they had been
hitherto. The fact that the joint stock banks had become
sufficiently powerful, by reason of their amalgamations, to assist
in the Baring crisis must be regarded as an advantage of the first
importance to the industrial and mercantile community.

Passing on from 1900 to 1913, our foreign trade increased
during this period from £877,000,000 to £1,403,000,000. No
bank failures of importance now occurred. Although the South
African War, which broke out in 1899, caused serious deprecia-
tion in all gilt-edged securities, no evidence of weakness was
shown except in the case of a number of the smaller banks,
which found relief in amalgamation. The depreciation of
securities has continued up to the present time, but the larger
banks of to-day are in a much better position to make provision
to meet the depreciation than were the smaller banks of the past.

346 The Empire Review

During the thirteen years I am now reviewing, seventy amal-
gamations took place with the effect of making the surviving
banks larger and more powerful. The banks continued to pursue
the policy of opening new branches all over the country, thereby
gathering new resources, and by the end of 1913 the branches of
the joint stock banks in England and Wales were more than
6,000 in number, and all of them were assisting the commerce
and industry of the country. But for the amalgamations the
banks could not possibly have given adequate assistance to our
enormously increased trade.

No one examining the effect of these amalgamations can come
to any other conclusion than that the banking system was
strengthened by them, and was the more able to support the
commerce and industry of the country.

I pause here for a moment to summarise the facts and figures
which I have recited. The first eighty years of last century
showed a development of our external trade from £68,000,000 to
£697,000,000. During this period we had a very large number
of 'bank failures with periodic financial crises which brought
widespread ruin in their train. In the next thirty-three years our
external trade grew from £697,000,000 to £1,403,000,000, a much
larger addition to the volume of our trade than was made in the
whole of the preceding eighty years. This increase was possible
only because the banks were able to give the necessary financial
facilities. It was during these thirty-three years that the system
of bank amalgamation became fully established. In- the first
twenty of these thirty-three years there were still, it is true,
some failures on the part of small banks, but these were not to
be compared in number or importance with those which had
taken place in the preceding twenty-year periods. In the last
thirteen of the thirty-three years there were practically no bank
failures at all. This record justifies me in saying that the system
of bank amalgamation has proved of the greatest advantage to
the whole of our industry and commerce.

I now come to the present time, and I direct my view forward
to the future. There has never been a parallel to the present
position in the world. Eef erring to the domestic side of the
question, if this country is to restore and gradually improve her
financial and industrial position, it can only be done by increasing
her exports to a larger amount than they have ever been before.
But just as we must put forward every exertion to bring this
about, we must not be unmindful that other countries will
endeavour to do the same. We shall live in a world of keen
competition for export trade. We shall only be in a position to
win in the struggle and to increase our trade if our banks are not
less big and powerful than those of our trade rivals.

The Principle of Bank Amalgamations 347

Earlier in my observations I stated that I would deal later
with the means to be adopted for creating the credit which will
be required for the purposes of our domestic and foreign after-
war trade. If we can import gold and use that gold as the basis
on which credit can be created, our difficulties will not be so
great ; but, as most other countries will be in a position similar
to ours, it follows that they may also require to use gold for the
same purpose. At the present time America, Holland, Japan
and Spain have really more gold than they require, and it is
conceivable that some of their gold may gradually flow away to
our country and to countries in a position like ours. In addition
to the gold in foreign countries, which we might hope to draw
upon, we have, of course, the gold coming from the South
African mines, amounting last year to about 38 millions, and the
gold from other parts of the Empire amounting in 1917 to about
18 millions. The total gold production of the world in 1917
amounted to 89 millions, against 94 millions in 1916, nearly
97 millions in 1915, 92£ millions in 1914, 94J millions in 1913,
and 96 millions in 1912.

There will undoubtedly be a great demand for gold after the
war, and when the South African gold is again offered for sale
in London we should at all costs retain it in this country and
not allow other countries to take it from us as was done before
the war. I repeat that if gold can be obtained matters may be
arranged without much difficulty, but we must not overlook the
fact that the output of gold is diminishing in consequence of the
increased cost of production, and we may be called upon to adopt
some measures to assist production and maintain the output at
a high level. If gold cannot be obtained the currency note, the
Bank of England note and the Bank of England balance will
have to be used to take the place of gold, that is to say, large
advances will have to be made by the banks, such advances will
create credits, and the cash balances, which will have to be
used as reserves for those credits, will not be gold but will be
the currency note, the Bank of England note and the Bank of
England balance.

Let us look at what is happening elsewhere. Other countries
have created separate institutions which will be used to assist in
meeting after-war difficulties by creating credit, such as the
Darlehnskassen of Germany and the War Finance Corporation
of the United States. The capital of the latter institution,
amounting to 100 millions sterling, will be held by the Govern-
ment, and the reserve to commence with will be an amount
corresponding to the paid-up capital, in addition to which they
are proposing to create loans and consequently credits to the
extent of 600 millions sterling. This institution has been created

348 The Empire Review

for the purpose of providing credit to assist in war finance, but
if it should be necessary to extend its life for the purpose of
assisting trade after the war, no doubt this will be done.

In our country we shall be faced with the proposition of a
Government bank being established or of relying exclusively on
the large joint stock banks to carry through after-war operations.
It seems to me that, if the joint stock bankers will take a broad
view of this question by making liberal advances to those firms
which are managed with ability and honesty and which produce
good balance sheets, we might be able to carry our industries
through the difficult times without the establishment of any
Government institution. But we must not overlook the fact
that the balance sheets of firms and companies and their profit
and loss accounts will have to be carefully examined in the future,
because there will be a great danger that a fall in the price of
commodities may lead to the profit and loss accounts being in
debit instead of in credit. In many of these cases excess profits
duty will have been paid on profits that were really due to high
prices, and proper consideration should be given to them if prices
fall and profit and loss accounts begin to show debit.

At our annual meetings, before the outbreak of war, we
called attention from time to time to the financial preparations
which Germany was making and to the manner in which she
was accumulating gold. Now we call attention to the fact that
the Germans are putting their banks together in order to enable
them to begin a financial war when the actual fighting ceases.
We bankers see what they are doing, and it has been a question
whether we should continue in the position which we held
before the war or whether we likewise should begin to make
preparations similar to the preparations which Germany has
made.

There is a difference of opinion among English bankers on
the question of foreign banking. One class of bank believes that
the proper course is to open abroad branches of their own bank,
in which case they will compete with the foreign banks in their
own country. Another class believes that the better policy is to
work from London in conjunction with the foreign banker, and •
not to go into direct competition with him. In the former case,
i.e., opening branches abroad, it might mean that the deposits
of our English depositors might be used to aid particular trades
abroad which are in competition with our own people, and,
further, it is particularly questionable whether it is advisable
at the present moment to open foreign branches which may be
called upon to assist in the reconstruction of the countries in
which they are situated, at a time when we all know that all
our resources will be required at home to reconstruct our own

The Principle of Bank Amalgamations 349

industries and manufactures. Which policy is the better for
retaining London as the financial centre ?

Let me explain again what we mean by London being the
financial centre of the world. Traders of different countries have
gradually come to the conclusion that the trade of the world can
be most economically financed by a kind of unwritten agreement
that if they sell goods in any other country those goods should
be paid for at one centre, that is to say, as bills of exchange are
drawn against goods all those bills of exchange should be made
payable at that agreed centre. Consequently you have the sellers
of the goods in different countries receiving payment at the
central point, and the buyers of the goods making payment at
that point. London has been chosen as the centre, and the
settlements are made, on the one hand, by the sellers drawing
bills on London, and, on the other hand, by the buyers of goods
buying bills on London. Consequently wherever the sellers of
goods abroad require to sell bills there are always, except in
extreme cases, buyers for these bills to be found. I would like
to say here, that all the arrangements involved in these transactions
are made by the foreign bankers and the bankers of London,
and our fear is that we may make the foreign bankers unfriendly
towards us by opening branches in their own couutries in com-
petition with them, and that we may drive their business to
Germany or New York. If this should ultimately happen, the
opening of branches abroad by English banks will have acted
prejudicially against London retaining her position as the
financial centre.

Now let me take an example of one of these arrangements.

The foreign banker arranges with the English banker that

either he himself or his customer may draw to an agreed extent

on the London banker for the purpose of financing the imports

into his country. The foreign banker, who has made the

arrangement with the London banker, enters into an undertaking

that before such bill becomes due he will provide the Dondon

banker with the means to pay the bill. He will probably do

this by buying bills drawn on London. These bills may be

drawn in respect of the exports of his own country to London,

or drawn against goods exported to any other country, but

payable in London. Thus the transaction is completed. Of

course merchants abroad may sell goods to traders in another

country and obtain payment by drawing a bill on the buyer

without the intervention of a bank, but, in order that the bills

may become more easily negotiable, the trader in the purchasing

country usually arranges with his banker to open a credit with

a London banker against whom bills may be drawn. The seller

of the goods thereupon draws on the London banker, sells the

VOL. XXXII.— No. 213. 2 D

350 The Empire Review

bills to his own banker, and thus obtains the purchase price of
the goods. The London banker accepts and pays the bill at
maturity on the undertaking that the banker to whom he has
granted the credit will hold himself liable for the amount.

I give this illustration to show the extent to which London is
used as the financial centre, and to show how London is supported
in that position by the foreign banker, and how necessary it is to
cultivate and maintain the good feeling of foreign bankers towards
this country. I ask the question : if the bankers of this country
open branches in foreign countries in competition with the foreign
bankers, will that procedure tend to retain London as the financial
centre of the world, or will it tend to damage London's position ?
Further, if we retain the friendliness of these foreign bankers,
they will show a greater interest in their clients dealing with
traders in this country than they would show in case we became
unfriendly by going into competition with them.

We must remember that in retaining London as the financial
centre we must be prepared after the war to meet any extra
demands for the purposes of trade which may be made on us by
the foreign bankers, and that is one of the most important reasons
for seeking to make our banks much larger than they were before
the war. The feeling that it is necessary to increase the size of
the banks is growing in all countries. Amalgamations, as I have
said, are taking place in all parts of the world, notably in Germany,
America, Sweden, Canada, and Australia. The cry in all countries
is " make the banks larger and stronger." This can only be done
as it has been done in our country, by amalgamations. The
Press, bankers and business men of Germany regard the amal-
gamations which have been going on in the banking and
commercial world of this country with disfavour, for the reason
that they see, as some of their papers admit, that the bankers are
shaking off their conservatism and drawing lessons from the
experiences of the war, and the Germans fear that the additional
strength obtained by these amalgamations will enable our banks
to build up British industries and make them more formidable
competitors in the markets of the world than hitherto.

I come now to the domestic side of this question. The
Chambers of Commerce have been afraid that under the system
of amalgamation manufacturers and merchants would not get
the same assistance from the amalgamated bank that they got
previously from the two separate institutions. We must re-
member that banks have to make profits in the same way as any
other business, and that the deposits of two banks which are
amalgamating cannot be absolutely locked up. They must be
lent, otherwise the bank will not make a profit, and in my
opinion the one bank, which has been made up of two banks,

The Principle of Bank Amalgamations 351

will be able to lend quite as much or even more money than the
two banks lent individually. If the loans are continued by the
joint bank to the extent that they were made by the separate
banks before the amalgamation there can be no cause for
complaint by the industries, but we are hoping that the industries
will get even better accommodation, if their demands are legiti-
mate. Experience has shown this to be the case. Taking the
case of our own amalgamations, we have not had a single
instance in which the accommodation given by a bank taken
over by us has not been much greater after amalgamation than
it was before the bank was taken over. The deposits have also
increased to a much larger extent than would have been the case
if the bank which we have taken over had continued as a small
and separate institution, and consequently we have been able to
give more accommodation.

The industries have derived a much greater benefit from our
amalgamations than they would have enjoyed if we had not
adopted the policy of amalgamation, and therefore it is incom-
prehensible to me that business men should have opposed our
proposed amalgamation with the London Joint Stock Bank.
There is no bank in this country which is established to the
same extent among the industries as the London City and
Midland, and there is no bank which has given greater accommo-
dation to the industries. We know that at the present time
restrictions are placed upon our manufactures and exports, and
therefore we should have expected to see the amount of the
accommodation given to the industries decrease, but such has not
been the case. While our advances have run down in many
instances, and have even changed into credit balances, yet we
have succeeded in so enlarging our business that instead of loans
being reduced they have been increased in amount. Before the
war our advances, including the figures of the Metropolitan Bank,
were £61,000,000 ; at the present time, excluding advances for
the purchase of War Loan, they are £77,000,000. On the other
side of the balance sheet our deposits before the war were
105 millions, and at the present time they amount to 242
millions, or an increase of no less than 137 millions, or 130*5
per cent.

It has been alleged very strenuously that amalgamations cause
competition among the banks to become weaker. Any such
statement is false, and without any foundation whatever. To
prove this I say that already there are very few districts, if any,
in which other banks have not taken steps to establish new
branches where the number of banks has been recently reduced
by two banks going together, and I would venture to say that,
instead of competition being weakened, competition between

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352 The Empire Review

the banks in future will be much more severe. There is no
cause whatsoever for opposition to amalgamations on this
account.

Following on the cry of decreased competition we have had
the cry of interlocking directorates. America has been pointed
out as a country where interlocking directorates have proved
injurious, and the conclusion has been drawn that interlocking
directorates will be created here and prove equally injurious.
America is a great country. To develop it she has had to
establish industries. She could not build up her industries
without establishing many new banks. She had not sufficient
men who understood banking, and therefore these new banks
had to be directed and managed by men engaged in the banks
already established. In this way men became directors of several
different institutions ; but such is not the case here. We are a
small country, and we are an old country, and we can find
gentlemen sufficiently qualified to be directors without taking
the directors of any other bank. When, under the Act of 1826,
some 120 banks were established in the course of a few years, we
had not sufficient banking experts, and the managers came
largely from Scotland, but the directors did not come from
Scotland. They were found in our own country, and were not
directors of other banks. Even under these conditions we did
not have interlocking directorates.

As to the dangers of a money trust, what precisely is meant
by the term " Money Trust " ? Presumably, as applied to
banking, it is the concentration of deposits in the hands of one
bank, and the inference is that the directors of that bank will
misuse the money which their depositors leave with them. This
is a very serious statement to make. The directors of this bank
will never go into any rings, and they will never misuse the
funds which are entrusted to them. Of course, we are expected
to make some profit from our trading ; 77 millions of our advances
are lent to our industries, and those who complain of the danger
of a money trust will acknowledge that this money is properly
lent. We hold nearly 40 millions in investments in Government
securities. Is this indicative of a money trust ? Further, we
are lending an additional 50 millions to the Government through
the Bank of England or otherwise. Is this lending indicative of
a money trust? There is nothing in the nature of a money
trust in our establishment and there never will be. Our business
is legitimate business, and the cry of " money trust" as applied
to "our ^institution or to the other banks is absolute nonsense.
We cannot have interlocking directorates in this country because
it is against the practice of the banks for a director of one English
bank to be a director of another English bank. The banks are

The Principle of Bank Amalgamations 353

against rings. This bank particularly is against rings, and in no
circumstances would we be induced to go into one.

Will the opponents of amalgamation raise the question that
it is against the interest of the country to have a concentration
of resources ? We must remember that we are a small country,
and that we derive our deposits from a population of 47 millions.
America has 105 millions, Germany has a population of 70
millions, and consequently they have a larger amount of deposits.
The deposits of this country can be more effectively lent if they
are concentrated than if they are scattered. By being concen-
trated they can be transferred more readily from those parts of
the country where they are not wanted to those parts where they
are required. It would be impossible to make these transfers if
the deposits were not concentrated. Take the case of our own
bank. We have 1,100 branches, and these 1,100 branches gather
deposits from different parts of the country, and, if the bank has
deposits in one part of the country which cannot be lent, they
are easily transferred to another part of the country where they
are required. I say the gentlemen who write and talk against
concentration of resources do not understand the conditions of
banking in this country, and their observations do more harm
than good.

With regard to the statement that the recent amalgamations
will cause a reduction of banking accommodation, I should like
to point out that this bank will open branches in the Eastern and
South-Western Counties in every town where two banks have
gone together. This will mean that the towns will not, and
cannot, suffer from a curtailment of banking accommodation.
The new branch will have to make a business, and in order to
make that business competition will be greater than it was before.
The arguments that amalgamation results in reduced accommoda-
tion are wrong, and, in fact, no argument has been used against
these amalgamations which, if sifted and examined, will not prove
to be false. These amalgamations will not be prejudicial and
will, on the contrary, be beneficial to the community in the
future just as they admittedly have been in the past. I can speak
in reference to our bank, and we say that the fear of a reduction
of banking accommodation, the danger of a money trust, and the
possibilities of interlocking directorates and of the weakening of
competition are all absurd. There will be no money trust, no
interlocking directorates, and competition will be as severe as it
always has been. The result will be that the industries will not
get less accommodation, but the probability is that they will get
considerably more.

Before closing I should like to deal with another objection
which has been urged against these amalgamations, namely, that

354 The Empire Review

the small man does not receive considerate treatment at the hands
of the big joint stock bank. What is the position of this bank
with regard to the small man ? We have on our books over
40,000 customers who have come to us and secured accommoda-
tion in amounts of £500 and under ; between 20,000 and 25,000
are borrowing on an average less than £50 each, and the total of
our advances to these customers amounts to about six millions
sterling. We ask anyone who alleges that we do not treat the
small man considerately to bring us examples. As I have said,
we have 40,000 of these small men on our books, and we are
quite willing to increase that number to 140,000 or more if the
demands they make upon us are legitimate.

AUSTRALIA'S RETURNED SOLDIERS

THE Commonwealth repatriation scheme for the settlement
of returned soldiers in Australia has already involved the expendi-
ture of close on £3,000,000. Since 1915 nearly 60,000 men have
come back, and the machinery dealing with the problem of
restoring them to useful and satisfactory employment is reported
to be working smoothly in all the States. Already 50,000 situa-
tions for returned men have been provided by the department.
Settlers on the land are allowed £500 as working capital, and
men receive advances for the acquisition of businesses, while
totally incapacitated soldiers, or the widows of soldiers, are
given rent allowance up to 12s. 6d. a week. The amended regu-
lations provide that loans by the State Boards shall not cover a
longer period than ten years ; and in the case of a grantee being
unable to repay the amount, the whole or any portion of it may
be written off, except in cases where the amount due exceeds
£100, which will be dealt with by the Minister. Soldiers with
dependents who, after discharge, are under treatment in hospital
or special institutions, may be granted sustenance allowance
ranging from £2 2s. to £3 2s. Qd. weekly, according to the
number of dependents. Soldiers who, after discharge, are
receiving treatment in hospital by direction of an approved
medical officer, will have the fees and charges paid by the
Repatriation Department.

Farm Notes from Canada 355

FARM NOTES FROM CANADA

DK. CKEELMAN, President of the Ontario Agricultural College,
is now visiting Great Britain and France for the purpose of
studying agriculture under War conditions, and to assist in the
work of the Khaki University, established for the training of
Canadian soldiers desiring to equip themselves for some particular
work after the War. In view of the importance of the settlement
of ex-soldiers on the land, Dr. Creelman has been asked by the
Prime Minister to inquire closely into what has been done in this
country in that direction. Ontario's Land Settlement Scheme has
already achieved great success, and the exchange of views between
the Ontario and British Agricultural authorities cannot fail to be
mutually beneficial.

THE danger that some of Canada's returned soldiers may be
settled on lands wholly unsuited for agricultural communities is
engaging more and more public attention. In the case of certain
provinces, only lands of proved agricultural possibilities are being
opened to soldier settlers. The importance of land classification
by agricultural and forestry experts is recognised and practised in
these provinces to a degree that promises well for the land settle-
ment policies of the future. In Ontario, for example, only the
agricultural soils of the clay belt are being opened to the soldier
communities. All future settlement will be similarly safeguarded
as far as organised colonies are concerned.

EVEBY effort will be made to perfect the scheme for the
re-education of the disabled men. Skilled workmen must be
employed for this purpose, and in every instance the returned
soldier will be given the preference. Classes will be conducted by
experts in dairy farming, truck-gardening, poultry-keep ng, agri-
culture, shoe-repairing, machinists' trade, cabinet work, wood-
finishing, bed-manufacturing, and the manufacture of hospital
equipment. In addition to these classes it will be possible for
men to take a complete course in commercial accounting, modern
industrial cost accounting and stores-keeping.

THE New Westminster (British Columbia) District Co-
operative Agricultural Association has been formed for the
purpose of organising the agricultural and horticultural industries
of the Fraser Valley and to provide co-operative marketing
facilities. One of the main features is a provision for the

356 The Empire Review

establishment of a cold storage plant in connection with the city
market at New Westminster where the farmers of the Fraser
Valley may store their produce and thus take advantage of the
best market prices. Government assistance in the establishment
of a cold storage plant will be asked for. A deputation from the
New Westminster City Council and a representative of the Co-
operative Association are going to Washington at an early date
in order to investigate cold storage plants and co-operative
marketing there.

THE diversified nature of Western Canada's farm industries is
becoming wider every year. In contemplating the possibilities of
the country in grain growing and live stock raising sight is often
lost of many of the smaller branches of farming which are being
successfully carried out, if not on a large scale, yet sufficiently so
to demonstrate their possibilities. Bee keeping is one of these
industries. Manitoba is producing an increasing quantity of
honey every year. Last year the output of the* province reached
1,000,000 Ibs. Farmers in Alberta who have kept bees consider
the country very favourable for them. This is due to the
numerous and prolific sources of honey supply in the province.
One farmer obtained 1,400 Ibs. of honey from twenty colonies.
Others have obtained 600 Ibs. and over, and have found bee
keeping adds materially to their income.

MANITOBA was the first of the western provinces to pledge the
credit of the provincial Government in enabling co-operative
groups of farmers to purchase cows for breeding purposes. Mani-
toba started in this way two years ago, and the Winnipeg Free
Press reports that the venture has proved wholly successful.
About 3,500 cows have been supplied to nearly 1,000 settlers, and
over 3,000 applications are now on band to be dealt with later.
During the autumn of 1917 the first payments became due on the
cows supplied during the previous year, and the fact that prac-
tically every payment was met when due, shows that the cows
were delivered to the right class of settlers, were a good invest-
ment, and had proved profitable. A fact also worth noting, is
that the creamery companies of Winnipeg report a large increase
of milk supplies from the districts where cows have been delivered
by the Government. In Alberta, where a similar system of
Government aid was inaugurated about the same time, the
venture has proved equally successful.

MANITOBA expects to export butter to the value of over
j£200,000 this year. When it is remembered that up to a very few
years ago it was necessary for this province to import butter for
its home consumption, the growth of the dairy industry there is
remarkable. In 1916, 58 cars of butter were exported. Last
year the number was increased to 96 cars. Up to June 1st this
year, with the grass season only well begun, 56 cars of butter had
been sent out of the province. This number compares with 25
cars in the corresponding period of last year. The butter is made
up in 56-lb. solids, and 400 boxes make up a car load, so that, at
present prices, each car-load is worth JG2.000. There is every

Farm Notes from Canada 357

indication that the present rate of export will be maintained, if
not accelerated, during the year. All the exported butter from
Manitoba is being sent to Montreal for shipment to the Allied
nations in Europe.

THE Department of Agriculture officially announces that
Saskatchewan's wheat and oat crops each improved at least
50 per cent, during the past month. Reports received from field
representatives stationed in all parts of the Province show that
the improvement is marvellous. The conditions of both crops are
increasingly better, particularly in the north, where the damage
by frost is not nearly so extensive as was at first reported. In the
Prince Albert and Melfort Districts as far south as Cudworth the
crops are reported to be magnificent.

THE President of the Lethbridge (Alberta) Board of Trade
estimates that the flax area now under crop in that district is not
less than 2,500,000 acres, and is probably more. The area seeded
to flax exceeds that of 1917 by 500,000 acres. Much of this has
been planted in the new breaking. So numerous were applica-
tions from farmers in Western Canada for a share of the 10,000
bushels of fibre flax seed distributed in the Western Provinces
that the supply was practically exhausted in one day. The seed
was obtained from Serbia, Vladivostock, Japan and Vancouver.

SOME of the barley fields in Ontario will yield as high as 65
bushels to the acre this year, according to the weekly report issued
by the Department of Agriculture. The best average return in
one county of the Province last year was 40 bushels, while the
average for the whole of Ontario in the banner year of 1915 was
36 bushels. Oats will also be a bumper crop, Essex and Kent
counties reporting that some fields run from 80 to 90 bushels to
the acre. The average last year for the whole of the Province
was about 40 bushels to the acre.

THE Souris branch of the Merchants' Bank of Canada has
announced the organisation of a boys' and girls' pig club, and is
prepared to lend sufficient money to any child between the ages
of eight and ten years to purchase two pigs — one to be raised for
meat purposes, and the other to be retained in order that a litter
of pigs be raised the following year. The bank states that one of
its principal objects in forming this club is to assist in increasing
pork production. Special prizes will be offered to the members.

THE Saskatchewan Co-operative Elevator Company will erect
eleven new elevators in Saskatchewan during this summer ac-
cording to present plans. These will cost about £28,000, and
have a combined storage capacity of 385,000 bushels.

THE tobacco crop outlook in Ontario is very satisfactory to
both grower and manufacturer. The crop was planted on an
average two weeks earlier than last year, and the weather con-
ditions have been very favourable. The acreage set has been
much increased, and very little disease of any kind has been
noted.

MAPLE LEAF.

358 The Empire Review

THE TRADE SITUATION IN SOUTH
AFRICA

[Being an extract from the speech of the Chairman, the Hon. Hugh Crawford,
at the General Meeting of Shareholders of the National Bank of South
Africa, Ltd., held at Pretoria in July.]

WE in South Africa have much to be thankful for, more I
feel than we realise. Up to the present we suffer none of the
privations and hardships which our fellow-members of the Empire
and its Allies in Europe have to endure. We continue to enjoy
much the same ease and comfort and to obtain the necessaries
and even many of the luxuries of life as in pre-war days. The
deposits with the South African Banks amounted at December,
1917, to nearly £65,000,000, as compared with £55,000,000 at
the end of 1916. This is probably the best reflex of the prosperity
of the country which could be had, particularly when there are
taken into account the loan floated by the Union Government
and the sums which have been invested in British War Loans.

While many of our industries are in process of development,
the gold mining industry continues to be our backbone. The
production of gold in the Union alone during 1917 was valued
at £38,307,675, as against £39,489,774 the previous year. It is
of course to be regretted, particularly in these times, that there
should have been any diminution in production. Increased
costs consequent upon the higher prices of all commodities used
on the mines, and the additional cost of labour, affect the lower
grade mines severely, and to carry on has been a problem for
some of them where the margin between profit and loss is
particularly fine. We cannot hope for any amelioration of these
conditions while the war lasts ; indeed, it may be necessary to
close down — temporarily we hope — a few of the lower grade
propositions. The new areas now being developed will before
long join the producers. We have been inclined in the past to
talk a little glibly of the gold mines as a wasting asset, which
definition, although perhaps literally true, can easily be over-
emphasised. We should keep in mind that there are very large
expanses still to be opened up and that the mines now producing

The Trade Situation in South Africa 359

and those nearing the producing stage are likely to keep the
output at a high level until it is reinforced from areas as yet
untouched. I am so convinced of this that I believe our grand-
children will enjoy the benefits from the industry in a not much
lesser degree than we do to-day. The policy of the Government
of giving out new areas on lease has been continued. The
benefits to be derived by the country from the introduction of
the new capital necessary to work these undertakings, which is
estimated at £6,650,000, will be great, and should compensate
for the cessation of operations on the part of some of the older
mines.

At the outbreak of war it was assumed that diamond mining
would be adversely affected, but the course of events aptly
illustrates how unsafe it is to prophesy. The industry has
probably never been on a sounder basis than it is to-day,
diamonds having been produced to a value of £7,713,810, as
against £5,725,391 in 1916. Tin production remains a more or
less stationary quantity, the value of the output in 1917 having
been £375,615, as against £356,447 the year before. A pleasing
example of enterprise promoted by war conditions is to be found
in the action of the Zaaiplaats Tin Mining Company, Limited,
in smelting and selling its product in this country. The output
of copper in value was practically the same as in 1916, the
respective figures being £1,106,085 and £1,132,140. At the
moment I regret to say it appears as if production of the metal
is likely to show a serious diminution this year. Coal statistics
show an improvement over 1916, the respective values being
£3,255,659 and £2,715,313. Freight scarcity makes it awkward
for some of the collieries which cater for the shipping and bunker
trade. By-products of coal are receiving enhanced attention, and
we look forward to the time when this industry will become one
of great importance. It appears to me that with our vast coal
beds the possibilities of such enterprise must be very great. As
an instance I would mention the Natal Ammonium, Limited.
This company is successfully producing sulphate of ammonia,
which as a fertiliser should be in great demand by our farmers.

We can only hope that in time the demand for this article
of luxury will be revived. Excessive rains in some parts of the
country militated against the success of the maize crop, and
the latest estimate is that in the Union as a whole production
will be three-quarters of the normal, which means that the
surplus above our ordinary requirements may be about 2,000,000
bags. Under the Wheat Conservation Act, however, 17 per cent,
of maize or other grain flour has to be mixed with wheat flour.
It is thus calculated that of the estimated maize surplus of
2,000,000 bags 500,000 bags may be required for additional

360 The Empire Review

local consumption under the Act to which I have referred-—
leaving 1,500,000 bags for export. Shipping difficulties may set
a serious problem in regard to the marketing of this surplus
crop, but it is still too early to predict what arrangements will be
made. In 1917 maize was exported to the value of £1,500,000,
as against £877,368 in 1916. The wattle bark industry is, I am
pleased to say, still prosecuted with keen enterprise. Ocean
freight, however, is again the obstacle, particularly as concerns
those producers who neither own presses nor are in a position to
have their bark pressed. Plant for the extraction of tannin is in
operation in Natal and is likely to be increased, so that freight
disabilities may after all prove to be a blessing in disguise. I
understand that after extraction of the tannin the residue is now
used with fair results in the manufacture of the coarser grades
of paper — a striking illustration of the uses to which products,
long discarded as virtually worthless, can be turned with scientific
treatment.

I should like to make allusion here to the important
subject of afforestation and to urge upon our landowners the
desirability of tree planting on the largest possible scale. This
enterprise, while perhaps slower to bring its reward than many
of the activities connected with farming, is by no means to be
despised. Afforestation is an important factor in the much
desired conservation of moisture, and of course there is immense
wealth in timber, as witness the Baltic Provinces and Canada,
to mention only two examples. As concerns fruit farming, this
industry, until the resumption of adequate shipping facilities,
must be severely handicapped, but that there is a great future
ahead must be patent to all. In the meantime more might be
done by way of developing the canning and drying trade. It is
interesting to note the greater development of pineapple growing
on a large scale, to be coupled in one case with the erection of
a canning factory on the estate. The prospects of sugar planting
are excellent and the industry was surely never on a more
favourable basis than it is to-day. The 1916-17 crop was
114,500 short tons, and it has been estimated that the 1917-18
season will yield 106,000 tons. We have, it is true, to lament
the losses sustained by many of the planters through floods, but
severe as these losses have been the abnormal rainfall experienced
is certain to exert a beneficial influence for some few years to
come. It is therefore reasonable to hope that compensation
will be forthcoming for the disappointments encountered. We
expect excellent developments from the enterprises connected
with the by-products of sugar. These are as yet merely in their
initial stages, but we may, I think, look forward with confidence
to the time when they will fill an important part in our economic

The Trade Situation in South Africa 361

life. In the meantime we have hopeful indications in the
accomplished manufacture of such commodities as natalite and
glucose.

The meat export trade has so far fulfilled our expectations,
but we hope that our farmers will strive to improve their herds.
When we consider the immense tracts of suitable ranching land
available, there is every encouragement to believe that the
industry will in time become one of first-rate importance. Even
when war conditions are over, it should not be difficult to take
full advantage of our initial success, the position being that
animal life has for a considerable time barely kept pace with
the increasing requirements of the world. While on the subject
of stock farming, I should like to refer to the cultivation of new
grasses, which must have an important bearing on our future as
a stock-raising country. I would in particular direct attention
to the well-known " Kikuyu " grass (Pennisetum longistylum) ,
the feeding value of which is the highest known in the sub-
continent. This grass answers splendidly to our climatic con-
ditions, and its free introduction should tremendously increase
the stock carrying capacity of our farms. Before passing from
farming topics, we should pay tribute to the Land Bank for the
assistance it renders to the agricultural industry. The existence
of the various co-operative societies has also, on the whole,
been beneficial and the tendency of the movement will no doubt
be to spread. Several of our co-operative societies and most of
our creameries are splendid examples and have helped and are
helping the farmer in a most material way. Of course, there
have been disappointments consequent upon inexperienced
management, but we should profit by the mistakes. The principle
of co-ordination is not only good but its adoption is almost
imperative for the proper development of our huge agricultural
assets. Speaking generally, I think these societies would do
better if they were to leave retail trading alone and concentrate
on realising the products of their members to the best advantage.
Did space permit I might further dwell in detail upon our
industries, making special reference to the new enterprises which
are springing up in various parts of the country. Many of these
have now successfully passed the experimental stage, and in a
number of cases it is found that one new industry suggests the
initiation of another; as for example our tanneries and their
corollary, the boot and shoe manufacturing trade. I am informed
that the capital involved in industries (excluding mines, railways
and agriculture) is estimated at about £46,500,000, and in these
undertakings nearly 100,000 people are employed — earning wages
amounting to about £9,000,000 per annum. The value of the
articles produced, according to the latest statistics, is nearly

362 The Empire Review

£40,000,000 yearly. It would perhaps be a .little invidious to
refer particularly to any of what may be termed our younger
industries when it is impossible to make complete allusion to
even the more important of them. We must, however, view with
satisfaction their ever-increasing range. We have, in addition to
those to which passing reference has been made, cement factories,
iron smelting enterprise, soap and candle factories, creameries,
bacon and ham factories, furniture factories, and very many other
undertakings of all types. It is difficult in the absence of reliable
figures to form an idea of the value of our agricultural and pastoral
products, but, I believe, it has been roughly estimated that this
must be £60-70,000,000 per annum. It would certainly appear
that we have more thoroughly set out to develop our industrial
resources than ever before, and that increased attention is being
paid to the exploitation of the illimitable wealth lying dormant.
Millions of acres of good land, however, remain untilled repre-
senting millions of pounds of idle, unproductive capital, and yet
we hear to-day that inconvenience may be caused to consumers
because of difficulties in the way of importing such a staple
commodity as wheat. It is an economic axiom that' the real
basis of a country's credit is the excess of production over con-
sumption, and if we judge the Union of South Africa by that
standard we find cause for hope and satisfaction. During 1917
we imported goods to a value of £38,365,580, or nearly £3,000,000
less than in 1916. Exports were valued at £28,647,604 exclusive
of native gold, the output of which was valued at £38,307,675.
This export trade, leaving raw gold out of consideration, marks
an increase of nearly 4| millions sterling over 1916, and the
items mainly responsible for this increase were wool and articles
of food and drink. I doubt whether all of us realise the sound
financial position of this Union of South Africa. The public
debt as at 31st March, 1918, stood at £160,000,000, of which all
but £45,000,000 is represented by fully reproductive assets.
£105,000,000 is invested in railways and harbours, nearly
£4,000,000 in telegraphs and telephones, £7,000,000 in public
works and buildings, £5,800,000 in irrigation and agriculture,
£1,200,000 in school and college loans, £4,490,000 is land bank
capital, £2,180,000 represents loans to Provincial Administration,
while there is a sinking fund of £9,340,000 for redemption of
debt.

Gratitude is due to our Government for the assistance it
renders to industries and trade. Too often perhaps we take this
help for granted, failing, for example, to realise the good work
done by the department of agriculture and the stimulus it gives
to the farming industry. We think, I am afraid, even less of
what we owe to the Railway Administration, which in times of

The Trade Situation in South Africa 363

great difficulty is carrying on in a most praiseworthy manner.
When we consider the perplexities due to inability to replace
plant and rolling stock under war conditions, we cannot but be
surprised that railway facilities have been so slightly disturbed.
We hope that our already great system, with its mileage of 9,522
miles, will after the war be further extended in order to tap
districts still unserved but which promise a rich harvest.

Producers continue to enjoy wonderful prosperity. The main
difficulty, and it has been a very real one, is the scarcity of
freight. Commerce in South Africa is peculiarly dependent upon
shipping. It would, for instance, be of no avail for farmers to
produce on any extensive scale if the country were deprived of
means of communication with the markets oversea, and to bear
this in mind is to realise what a serious matter it would be if
freight opportunities were to be much more drastically curtailed.
It is useless to conceal from ourselves that still further restrictions
of shipping may be necessary, and that in consequence it may be
even more difficult than it is now to obtain freight for our products
and for those articles which we still require to import. This is a
factor which those concerned with the financing of the country's
trade have continually to keep before them. On the other hand,
South Africa is fortunate in that it can produce commodities vitally
necessary to the Empire and its Allies, and it seems likely that
many of these necessities will remain in their present demand for
some time after peace is restored. For the present our producers
and merchants are enjoying an era of unique prosperity, a good
deal of which, it should be admitted, is due to the abnormal
conditions of the times. Without shedding one iota of confidence
in our ultimate future, I would enjoin upon those people the
desirability of conserving their extraordinary profits and of hus-
banding their resources in order that they may have a reserve to
tide over leaner years which may intervene between the resump-
tion of more normal conditions and the fuller development of the
country. I will not, I think, lay myself open to a charge of
pessimism if I express the fear that those who do not make
preparation against this reaction may have disappointments to
meet. We have only to take a retrospective survey to realise
how largely dependent we have been in the past upon the influx
of capital from overseas, but we must now in a larger measure
rely upon our internal resources. In a developing country such
as ours is we are sorry that for some time to come we cannot, on
account of the war, hope to get capital as in the past from oversea.
It was, therefore, pleasing to observe the response to the Union
Government 5 per cent, loan of 1916 and 1917, which was
subscribed to the extent of over £10,000,000.

To lift the veil which conceals the future is at all times a

364 The Empire Review

difficult task, but with the abnormal conditions which prevail
to-day it surely is one humanly impossible. All we can do is to
equip ourselves to meet such eventualities as may be in store for
us, knowing that with properly directed effort and co-operation
we have little to fear. Efficient education will be of greater
value than ever in the days that lie before us, and my hope is
that those responsible for the training of the rising generation
will realise this more and more fully. Much time is devoted to
instruction in dead languages and other impractical subjects
which could be better utilised in the study of live languages and
subjects of scientific and vital import. If, for example, the time
now given to study of languages no longer spoken were devoted
to the pursuit of science, our youth would be equipped with a
substratum of knowledge which would enable it to pass in its
mature years to deeper scientific research and the production of
mechanical appliances. As a sequel the process of perfecting so
many of our by-products which in the past has been more or less
the secret of other nations, would eventually be attended to in
this country.

On several occasions I have made reference to our monetary
system and the apparent desirability of boldly embarking upon
the adoption of the decimal coinage and the metric system for
weights and measures. I gather that the Imperial Govern-
ment is in sympathy with such a change, and I am hopeful that
when the war is over the question will be taken up definitely. I
trust that before long the Union Government will move for its
adoption. There is another respect in which our efficiency might
be increased. I often wish that party politics could be relegated
to a secondary position and that the energies of the community
might, as a result, be more fully devoted to the development of
our economic resources. I am convinced that progress would be
much accelerated, and this not only without loss but with gain in
mutual respect and esteem among all sections of the community.
To sum up, South Africa has immense resources with which to
supply her internal needs and to play a large part in meeting the
world's hunger for raw material, but without the properly directed
activity of man this natural wealth will avail her little.

THREE Kimberley children had a lucky find a few weeks ago.
They were playing on some land in the vicinity of the old convict
station, where some excavations have recently taken place in
connection with the laying of tramlines, when they came upon a
yellow diamond. This was immediately reported to the au-
thorities, and it was found that the stone weighed over ninety
carats, and was of the value of about £900. The children have
received the customary reward.

Empire Trade Notes 365

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES

CANADA

SINCE the outbreak of war gold coin and gold bullion to the
value of 1,300 million dollars have been received in Ottawa by
the Department of Finance as trustees for the Imperial Govern-
ment and the Bank of England. The heavy demand on the gold
refinery at the Government mint led to the construction of a
second plant with a monthly output of 1,000,000 oz. of fine gold,
and through this extension the refinery has developed until it has
now the largest capacity of any gold refinery in the world. As
the war made it impossible for the Newfoundland Government to
get supplies of coin from England, the coinage for that colony
is now being manufactured at the Canadian mint.

RECOMMENDATIONS will be made by the Canadian Industrial
Reconstruction Association to the various Canadian Universities
to establish facilities for industrial and scientific research. The
executive committee of the Association suggested this at a meeting
of the parent body, and it was accepted. The executive committee
also decided that a system of exchange scholarships between the
English Universities outside Quebec and the Universities in
Quebec, should be established. The desirability of getting into
touch with the natural resources of their districts, with a view to
the establishment of industrial plants there, was also approved.
The University of Toronto has established a department for
the training of teachers for vocational work among the returned
soldiers. The department will be under the faculty of applied
science and engineering.

THE summary of the fishing results in Canada, published by
the Dominion Government, shows that the marketed value of
British Columbia fish in 1917 was £1,600,000 more than in 1916.
This increase, although partly due to higher prices, is not entirely
so, for a greater quantity of fish has been produced, in spite of the
fact that the usual big run of sockeye salmon in the Fraser River
district, which was due in 1917, did not materialise, so that the
pack of this grade of salmon fell far below expectations. Other
grades, however, were packed in greater quantities.

THE salmon canning season has commenced on the
River. It is expected that about seventy-eight salmon canneries
will be operated on the British Columbia coast, fifteen of which
will be on the Skeena River, seven on the Naas, nine on Rivers
Inlet, twenty-nine on Vancouver Island and outlying points, and
VOL. XXXII.— No. 213. 54 E

366 The Empire Review

eighteen on the Fraser River. Negotiations are being concluded
for building and equipping a CD-operative Salmon Cannery Com-
pany on the Pacific coast to be owned and run by returned
soldiers. The plans for the enterprise were worked out by
Mr. Pyke, Secretary of the British Columbia Returned Soldiers'
Commission, and Mr. Sherman has agreed to handle the project
for the men. It is proposed that the industry be financed by
Mr. Sherman, who retains a substantial block of stock for
running the concern, which will be incorporated with a capitalisa-
tion of $150,000. Every employee of the undertaking, to be
called the Veterans' Co-operative Canning Company, must be a
returned soldier. Soldiers will hold all the stock not held by
Mr. Sherman, who agrees to give them the option of buying his
shares at a reasonable figure within a time to be decided upon.
Mr. Pyke declares that the solution to the returned soldiers'
problem is to allow the men access to the abundant undeveloped
natural resources of the province. The first canning plant for fish
caught in the lakes of Alberta has commenced operations at
Edmonton. The output of the plant at first will be about 500
cases containing forty-eight 1-lb. tins daily. Pike, mullet, pickerel,
and, to some extent, whitefish, will be handled.

IN most of the cities of Western Canada a considerable
revival of city building activity is noted. This is chiefly in
connection with the building of houses, the prosperity of the
surrounding country having caused such a growth that in many
of the cities there has not been sufficient houses to meet the
demand. This is especially true of Lethbridge, Alberta. The
value of building permits issued in June was nearly six times as
great as in June last year, and greater than in any month since
the war commenced. In Calgary, also, more building permits
were issued than have been issued since 1914. The value of the
building permits issued at Saskatoon, since the beginning of 1918,
is reported to be 150 times greater than those issued during the
corresponding period of 1917.

DURING the first four months of this year the output of coal
from British Columbia mines increased by 77,172 tons. The
total output for the same period amounted to 898,036 tons against
820,864 tons in 1917. Domestic coal mined in Alberta during the
first quarter of the year totalled 810,972 tons compared with
744,700 in 1917. For the first quarter of this year 712,313 tons
of bituminous and 39,409 tons of anthracite were mined against
660,319 tons of bituminous and 37,817 tons of anthracite during
the corresponding three months of the preceding year. 98,195
tons of domestic coal was sent from Alberta to Manitoba during
the first three months of 1918 compared with 33,003 tons during
the same period in 1917.

*• NATURAL gas has heretofore been, and still is, the mainstay of
Medicine Hat, but much attention is now being given to the
development of coal deposits in the district. Arrangements have
been made with an American syndicate to develop the Ainsley
Mine — a good lignite coal area located five miles from the city—

Empire Trade Notes 367

on the understanding that the plant will be operating by the
1st of February, 1919, with a capacity of 1,000 tons per day. To
protect the manufacturers and other large users of natural gas, it
was further agreed that, should the gas fail, slack coal is to be
supplied by the mine owners at a fixed price. As a further
precaution, a sinking fund to provide for possible loss by the
exhaustion of the natural gas has been inaugurated, to which
£8,000 will be allocated this year.

ARRANGEMENTS have been made by the Fuel and Eailway
Administration at Washington for the shipment of 28,000,000
tons of coal to the north-western States and portions of Canada
via the great lakes. Approximately 4,000,000 tons of this will
go to Canada, and will materially improve the fuel situation.

RECEIPTS at the stockyards at Edmonton, Alberta, for the
month of May, nearly doubled those of last year. One hundred
and eighty-five cars were received as compared with eighty-eight
for the corresponding month of last year. These cars contained
1,793 cattle, 808 calves, 3,258 hogs, 119 sheep and 76 horses, as
compared with 1,042 cattle, 501 calves, 1,569 hogs, 9 sheep and
67 horses. The growth of business at the Edmonton stockyards
is an indication of the growth of mixed farming in the country
tributary to that city.

WORK is progressing rapidly on the power line of the West
Kootenay Power Company to Copper Mountains, and the con-
struction of the Kettle Valley railway branch is also going ahead.
The Canada Copper Company is also progressing well with the
construction of its concentrating mill, the idea being to have it
ready for operation as soon as power and transportation are ready.
It is expected that the mill will receive from 2,000 to 3,000 tons
of ore per day, and a ten years' supply of ore is stated to be
available. This will provide for the production of about 40 tons
of copper per day in addition to the gold and silver products.

LUMBER manufacturers on the Pacific coast are urging prairie
consumers to obtain their stores of lumber as quickly as possible,
as once the crop starts to move there will be no cars available for
shipping lumber from British Columbia mills. The increased
demand for cars to carry coal from the Alberta mines is also
making it difficult to obtain cars for the lumber trade.

A NEW flour mill is being erected in Calgary, Alberta, which
will be one of the largest in Canada and one of the most up-to-
date mills on the American continent. Plans have been laid for
a remarkable output of flour in the mills and storage of grain in
the elevators. The mill itself will be built in two units, one for
the preparation of export flour and the other for flour to be used
on the local market. The capacity of the mill will be from 6,000
to 7,000 barrels of flour daily, and that of the elevator will be a
million bushels. It is estimated that from 300 to 400 men will
be regularly employed in the mill and elevator when completed.
The cost of construction will be about £200,000. Situated as it
is, right in the heart of a country where the best hard spring

2 E 2

368 The Empire Review

wheat is grown and having favourable marketing facilities,
Calgary is an excellent site for such a mill.

THE Canadian Pacific Eailway Company has opened an
exhibition at Montreal. A considerable part of this represents
the Quebec exhibit, consisting of samples of the resources of the
Province — lumber, asbestos and other minerals, grain, maple
sugar, fur-bearing animals, such as ermine, martin, minx, fox
and beaver, and fish and game birds. The exhibition has been
gathered from the entire dominion. A splendid display of grains
produced in the fertile fields of Western Canada is a special
feature. Supplementing this is a large collection of f raits,
forestry products and minerals. A number of coloured trans-
parencies show the methods used in developing the forest
resources of Canada, from the primary state to the finished
production, such as wooden ships, etc. Complete and recent
statistics of all the country's resources add conviction to the
display.

THE consumption of pulp wood in Canada has increased from
482,777 cords, worth 2,901,653 dollars, to 1,764,912 cords, worth
13,104,458 dollars. Spruce and balsam fir are the trees prin-
cipally used. A natural and healthy expansion of the paper and
pulp industry is taking place throughout the province of Quebec.
There is abundant water power, excellent timber resources,
sufficient labour and shipping facilities and every obher factor
making for economic manufacture of pulp and paper. The
cutting off of supplies from Germany, Norway, Sweden and other
countries, buyers have turned to Quebec to supply their needs.

DETAILS as to the discovery of the deposit of potash, sodium
sulphate and Epsom salts 30 miles north of Maple Creek show
that the deposit was discovered on the dried-up bed of an old
lake, and that there will be no difficulty in getting it out. The
whole of the lake bed, which is 2£ miles long and 1 mile
wide, has been staked and filed, and work will commence 'imme-
diately. The claims are filed by Saskatchewan men, who will
retain control. Professor McLaren, of Saskatchewan University,
has examined the minerals and reported favourably. It is
suggested that a railway brjpch be run from Maple Creek to
the works.

A EEPOBT received by the Department of Trade and Com-
merce at Ottawa from the Canadian Trade Commissioner at
Yokohama, states that until recently the Island of Hawaii
received most of its coal supplies from Japan, with some ship-
ments from Australia. Owing to shortage of cargo space Japan
and Australia in 1917 failed to maintain their coal trade with the
islands. For the same reason the United States was unable to
ship any coal to Hawaii. "As a result of this famine," the
report continues, " the Hawaiian Islands turned to Canada for a
supply of coal and were able to buy about 50,000 tons." It is
reported that nearly all the coal used in the island now is of
Canadian origin.

Empire Trade Notes 369

THE secret process for manufacturing " high-speed " steel
which the United States has acquired by commandeering the
German Becker Steel Company will be very useful to the Allies.
"High-speed" steel, which is alloy containing chromium and
tungsten, is in great demand for certain tools essential to the
production of munitions, and during the war its cost has been
greatly cheapened by the provision of tungsten from wolfram
ores. Over 100 tons of Quebec molybdenite, which is also used
in the production of "high-speed" tools, has recently been
delivered in London at the rate of ^61,000 per ton.

THE establishment of a Province-wide system of employment
bureau is planned by the Ontario Government. Offices will be
established at Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, London, Fort William,
Sudbury, Saults Ste. Marie, with sub-bureaux in smaller cities
including Brantford, St. Thomas and Kitchener. The offices in
the smaller cities will be linked up with the Department of
Agriculture.

CONSIDEEABLE staking of gold mine claims has taken place
in the north-western part of the Province of Quebec, a few miles
east of the inter-provincial boundary. The stakings include, in
addition, a considerable strip of mainland and several islands
in a lake about 10 miles south of Lake Abitibi, and are easily
accessible by canoe from Lowbush, Nipissing. The canoe trip
necessitates the crossing of both the Lower and Upper Abitibi
Lakes — a water trip of about 60 miles.

AN inspection of the Annapolis Valley shows that the apple
crop will apparently be considerably larger than was at first
thought possible. It is estimated there will be over a quarter of
a million barrels of fruit.

AUSTRALIA

ALTHOUGH Western Australian timber industry is considerably
affected owing to the shortage of shipping, it is hoped that as soon
as normal conditions return to the State large exports of hardwood
will be resumed. For massive office fittings or furniture the
Western Australian jarrah is of unparalleled beauty and durability,
while for the more prosaic purposes of wood-blocking and railway
building its fame is world-wide.

THE vast flocks and herds in Western Australia are for ever on
the increase. The latest returns show that another million sheep
were added last year, and the total wool production amounted to
39,000,000 pounds. Few industries offer more certain returns to
the investor than wool-growing. The demand for good wool is
well-nigh unlimited. The clothing of the Australian army by the
comparatively small local manufacturers has been little short of a
triumph, and has opened the eyes of the people to the folly of
sending their wool to the old world to be made up and re-imported
in the finished article. Millions of acres of sheepland are available
for leasing at almost " peppercorn " rents in Western Australia.

370 The Empire Review

THE Annual Show of the New South Wales Sheep Breeders'
Association held in Sydney drew the largest attendance ever
seen at any sheep show. Interest centred chiefly in the awarding
of the grand championships in the Merino and Border Leicester
classes, the British breeds making the finest display yet seen in
Sydney. At the sales in connection with the show high prices
were realised for good rams, one of the famous Bundemar strain
realising 3,000 guineas, a new world's record.

HUGE deposits of silica quartzite have been discovered in
parts of the sea coast near Ulladulla in the Milton district, New
South Wales. An Illawarra Company and a Sydney syndicate
are interested in the matter, and are preparing to develop the
deposits. Considerable areas have been taken up. The material
is said to be for the manufacture of a firebrick used in the making
of steel. Quantities of the material have been already ordered
for the Lithgow works, and also for Newcastle. Analyses showed
the stone to be of high grade.

IN the Glen Innes district there is a boom in tin-mining.
Leases of all available land have been taken, and men are
reported to be making from £12 to £15 per week.

DUKING the half-year ended 30th June, 236,325 acres of
Crown land were selected under the Crown Lands Acts and
Closer Settlement Acts. In addition, seventy-four returned
soldiers were settled on original holdings, totalling 88,567 acres,
and eight received additional areas, covering 1,231 acres. The
New South Wales Government has acquired the Tuppal Estate,
near Finley, and has decided to make it at once available for
soldier settlement. The land, which is eminently suitable for
mixed farming, will be subdivided into forty blocks, averaging
587 acres, having an average capital value of £4 5s. per acre.

SOUTH AFRICA

SINCE the outbreak of war many new industries have been
established in the Union, and goods which formerly had to be
obtained from abroad are now being manufactured locall}'. The
Department of Industries desires to make its record of such new
industries as complete as possible, in order to satisfy inquiries
which are constantly being received regarding new sources of
supplies. Manufacturers are invited to notify the Department of
the establishment of any new industries or developments of
existing ones. Approval has been granted by the Capetown City
Council for the erection of factories for the production of glue,
starch, glucose, dextrine, margarine, fat reduction and fertiliser
mixing.

Two thousand tons of iron ore have been extracted from the
big deposit on the farm Boodeport, near Ermelo, and at the
present time are in process of being railed to Vereeniging for
smelting. The deposit has been known for many years, and has
recently been visited by Dr. Mellor and the heads of the Geological

Empire Trade Notes 371

Survey and others connected with the Mines Department. It is
a bedded deposit of magnetite with a northerly dip and a thickness
varying from 3 feet to 5 feet. Reports describe the ore as equal
to the best Swedish deposits, but owing to the lack of shipping
freight there is no prospect of any finding its way to Europe at
present. A similar valuable iron ore deposit exists some twenty
miles south-east of Ernielo, along the Piet Retief line near
Sheepmoor.

THE fruit industry of the Cape Western Province has expanded
considerably during the past three years, the increase approximat-
ing 30 per cent. Last season 26,000 tons of fresh fruit from that
district were carried over the South African Eailways, and this
season the estimated quantity to be handled is upwards of 30,000
tons. The fruit is despatched from stations and sidings between
De Dooms and Capetown on the main line of railways, and also
from the Stellenbosch Fransch, Hoek, Ceres, Simonstown, and
Caledon branch railways. Last season upwards of 7,000 tons
fresh fruit, chiefly grapes, were despatched from Western Province
stations to the Transvaal, 1,500 tons to the Orange Free State,
1,500 tons to the Midland and Eastern Provinces of the Cape,
1,200 tons to Kirnberley and Bhodesia, 1,000 tons to Natal,
200 tons to South-west Africa, 10,000 tons to Capetown and
suburbs, and 3,500 tons to the local jam factories, fruit-drying
companies, etc.

REVISED estimates of this season's cotton crop for the Union
indicate a production of upwards of 5,000,000 Ibs. of seed cotton.
This will give, approximately, 1,700,000 Ibs. of lint. A portion
of this supply is expected to be purchased locally for textile
purposes, but by far the greater proportion will have to be disposed
of oversea. In order to facilitate transport, the Cotton Division
is now making inquiries as to quantities available for export. A
splendid crop of 100 acres grown at Melalene has just been picked,
and proves conclusively the suitability of this part of the low veld
for the growing of cotton.

A COMPANY is being formed at Cape Town with the object of
erecting works for the manufacture of starch, laundry blue,
dextrine, glucose, corn flour, corn syrup, maize oil, maizena, oil
oake, industrial spirit, and gin. It is anticipated that the pro-
posed works will be capable of dealing annually with 25,000 bags
of maize which, it is expected, will produce 3,000,000 Ibs. of
starch, whilst the by-products to be expected from the manufac-
ture of this quantity of starch are estimated as follows : Maize oil,
192,000 Ibs. ; oil cake, 480,000 Ibs. ; liquid cattle food, 960,000 Ibs.

A BACON-CUEING factory on a large scale is about to be
established at Cradock (Cape Province). The factory will also
deal with other classes of meat, poultry included, and an attempt
will be made to secure a share in the export trade.

OVERSEA CORRESPONDENTS.

The Empire Review

FARROW'S BANK; ANNUAL MEETING

DEALING with the question of bank amalgamations, Mr. Farrow,
who presided, was of opinion that the powerful combines now
formed, with Governmental sanction, would prove effective in
adequately financing home and overseas industries, and would
render powerless the tentacles of the German octopus. There
was still need, however, for such institutions as Farrow's, dealing
as they did with particular classes of business and individuals
who might find it difficult to obtain reasonable credit facilities
elsewhere.

Concerning the report and balance sheet, the net profit, in-
cluding the balance of £6,026 19s. 8d. from last account,
amounted to £43,145 Is. Sd. The directors had again added
£15,000 to the reserve fund, had paid an interim dividend for the
half year ended December 31, 1917, amounting to £10,825 2*. 5d. ;
they now recommended the payment of a dividend for the year
of 6 per cent, less income tax, which would absorb the sum of
£10,830, and they carried forward £6,189 19s. 3d. undivided
profit to the next financial year. Comparing figures, Mr. Farrow
remarked that current and other accounts On June 30, 1917,
amounted to £763,046 4s. 3d., and on June 30, 1918, they
amounted to £892,222 Is. 5d., an increase of about £130,000.
In 1917 the deposit accounts amounted to £1,270,373 16s. 2d.,
and in 1918 they amounted to £1,625,582 14s. 4d., an increase of
£355,209.

The English branches had shown a great increase of business ;
in the Midlands and the North the progress had been of a record
character, both deposit and current account figures proving that
they had enjoyed a considerable share of the commercial prosperity
of the great industrial centres. With regard to Scotland, the
progress which had been reported to shareholders at every annual
meeting had been amply sustained during the year. As to Ireland,
notwithstanding the unrest which had been a marked political
feature on the other side of St. George's Channel, there progress
had not been impeded ; indeed, the past year had been a record
in the history of the Irish branches in many respects. He was
satisfied that the success of the fourteenth year which they were
celebrating that day would be as nothing as compared with the
years to come.

THE Sydney subscriptions towards the sixth issue of the
Australian War Loan (£40,000,000), at the date of mailing, stood
at £12,861,160, and those of Melbourne at £11,475,720. The
tank, which toured the Southern district in charge of the Lord
Mayor of Sydney, collected upwards of £90,000, and the greater
part of this money is represented by bonds of small denominations.

THE EMPIRE
REVIEW

AND

JOURNAL OF BRITISH TRADE

Voi. XXXII. NOVEMBER, 1918. No. 214.

ARE WE PREPARED FOR PEACE?

THE world is indeed weary of war, and longs with a great
longing for peace. But it is a peace that will endure for which
we long and not a brief period of rest in which our sleep will be
ever filled with feverish dreams of another and still more awful
war when Germany is again ready to strike. To secure an
abiding peace and to hasten its coming, we must gird up our
loins, and with unfaltering purpose press resolutely on. In
this way, and in this way only will come the peace we want,
and which we are resolved to have.

The day of peace. What glorious visions this conjures up
in the minds of war-worn soldiers and of the peoples of the
world. Yet unless we are better prepared for peace than we
were for war, our last state will be worse than the first. I have
referred many times to those great and complex problems that
will most certainly confront us when this war is over, and have
urged very strongly that we should make preparations to deal
with them. Again and again I have pointed out that if we
waited until peace came before we had created such machinery
as would enable this country and the Empire to find remunerative
employment for its people and markets for its goods, to secure
an ample supply of raw materials for its manufacturers and
safeguard the interests of its mercantile marine, in short before
we had set our economic, industrial and financial house in order,
the most serious consequences would inevitably follow. And I
now ask what have we done ? Are we prepared for peace when
it comes ? Who can say that we are ? Have we rooted out
the German cancer in our midst ? Are we organised on a
great national basis to grapple with any of those great problems,
Imperial in their nature, affecting the whole Empire and upon the
VOL. XXXII.— No. 214. 2 F

374 The Empire Review

satisfactory solution of which the very existence of the Empire
as such will depend ? Yet upon the prosperity o^ Britain, the
well-being of her people, the future of the whole Empire as an
Empire rests. Is Britain to be one of the main markets for the
raw materials produced within the Empire ? If she secures the
raw materials, can she use them profitably ? Her ability to
absorb those raw materials depends upon an organisation which
will make certain the control of markets, home and oversea, in
which to sell her manufactured goods, maintain and enlarge the
volume of her trade, secure the well-being of her mercantile
marine by carrying those raw materials to Britain and goods to
oversea markets. Only upon these foundations is the defence
and so the existence of the Empire possible.

The decisions of the Peace Conference are going to have a
profound influence on the future of this Empire. Have we a
clear concept of the conditions necessary for the safety of the
Empire and the economic and general welfare of its citizens ?
What is our policy ? Let our ideals be as lofty as the stars, but
let our feet tread the firm earth, let us decide towards what
quarter of the compass we will steer, not drift at the mercy of
the winds and tides. There rests upon us all a tremendous
responsibility. We owe a sacred duty to the brave men who
have fought and bled, and suffered for us, to the memory of
those who have died for us, and we owe also a sacred duty to
our Allies. We must do justice to all men, to our enemies, to
our Allies, to ourselves. We have no right — indeed it would be
criminal to do so — to make concessions to Germany either at
the expense of our Allies, or at the expense of the British
Empire. Germany is entitled to justice — nothing more.

The other day Dr. Solf, who understands very well how
matters stand with Germany, who knows her strength and her
weakness, made a speech in which he dealt in detail with
Germany's economic dependence upon certain raw materials
which were not produced in Germany. He said :—

" The regaining of our colonies is a task of national
importance, which is not eclipsed by any other. The
present substitute materials cannot suffice for peace. For
the wool alone, Germany would have to keep 50,000,000
sheep, which is practically impossible. The supply of raw
materials, which will be much more difficult in the future, is
the weakest point of our world economy. Without colonies
of our own we must remain dependent. An open door for
trade will be one of the most important demands at the
conclusion of peace. The Imperial Government adheres
firmly to its demand for the return of our African and South
Sea possessions, as well as a fresh partition of Africa such as
to consolidate our scattered possessions."

Are we Prepared for Peace ? 375

In this frank speech there is food for much thought. It opens
up a field for discussion far too wide to be even surveyed here,
but there are one or two points upon which I should like to
touch.

Dr. Solf recognises that one of the great questions when peace
does come will be the economic question, and in particular the
supply of raw materials. Evidently he has come to the conclu
sion that this is the chink in Germany's shining armour ; he says
it is the weakest point in her world economy. She is dependent
upon the outside world for raw materials. He demands the
return of the German colonies and the open door for trade. He
says the Imperial Government adheres firmly to its demand for
these things, and this will be one of the most important demands
at the conclusion of peace. That is Germany's position. The
question is what is ours ?

As to restoring the German colonies, I do not intend to repeat
what I have already said in other places. So far as the Pacific is
concerned, the safety of Australia imperatively demands our
retention of these islands. That is our position. It is quite clear
and needs no further demonstration. Nor do I intend now to
deal with the economic question generally. I have been some-
what severely censured in certain quarters because I have ventured
to point out that the foundations of Britain's future depend very
largely upon an adequate supply of raw material and her ability to
find markets for her manufactured goods. I have urged over and
over again that she could not do these things effectively without
organisation. But let us leave Britain aside for the moment, and
consider the position, not of Britain but that of her Allies, and in
particular that of France, Belgium and Italy. Assume peace to
have come, the kind of peace we mean to have ; a dictated peace.
Let us imagine that Germany, shedding crocodile tears, repenting
in sackcloth and ashes, is sitting at the peace table asking, as she
most certainly will, to be admitted into the League of Nations
upon equal terms, and to share in the raw materials of the world,
as Herr Erzberger has modestly suggested, upon the basis of 1913.
Her representatives will coo like sucking-doves, they will tell a
most piteous and plausible tale. Assume that she has disgorged
her ill-gotten gains, that stye has evacuated all Allied territories.
Are we going to give her what she wants ? I hope most earnestly
we shall not do so. For to give Germany what she wants would
be to inflict a cruel and lasting injury upon France and Belgium,
and handicap Italy severely. Germany, as I have said, is entitled
to justice, but what a monstrous perversion of justice it would be
if the crimes committed by Germany in France and Belgium and
the other Allied countries are to be the factors which, by removing
her competitors, make for her own1 economic greatness !

376 The Empire Review

There is a great deal of loose talk from doctrinaires and arm-
chair economists, as well as propaganda emanating from interested
quarters as to the kind of treatment Germany is to receive after
the war. We are to open our arms and clasp her to our bosom
and resume those friendly relations with our dear but erring
brother, Cain, that existed before the war. To men who are
neither visionaries, doctrinaires, nor pro-Germans, with vision
clouded by fantastic or obsolete doctrines, or warped by self-
interest — practical men desirous of doing only that which is just
as well as necessary — such talk is like the crackling of thorns
under a pot. What is the actual position to-day in France and
Belgium? What would be the effect of treating Germany on
equal terms so far as raw materials are concerned ? It would
most certainly handicap France and Belgium out of the race
for their fair share of the world's trade ; it would give
Germany an unfair advantage over the Allied nations who
have fought, bled, and made fearful sacrifices for a great and
noble cause.

Before war broke out France and Belgium were great manufac-
turing countries ; they had by patient industry, by great technical
skill, by the expenditure of huge amounts of capital, built up
certain industries in which they held first place in the world, and
others in which they were formidable competitors with Germany.
For over four years Germany has been in possession of all save
a mere corner of Belgium and a great part of Northern France.
She found a smiling land, a hive of industry, great factories, rich
coal and iron mines. To-day it is a ruined and blackened waste.
From that dark day on which her innumerable legions swept on
to the fulfilment of that vile purpose for which they had been so
long preparing until now, Germany has deliberately pursued a
policy of studied frightfulness, of carefully planned destruction.
At this very moment, while Prince Max speaks with a forked
tongue about peace, the legions of the Hun, falling back before
the victorious Allies, are destroying by fire and explosives the
great factories and machinery without which the French and
Belgians are economically lost.

Germany of all the belligerent nations is by far the best
1 prepared — save in possession of raw materials — to resume normal
economic operations. She is as well prepared for peace as for
war. For years after the war France and Belgium will be
economically crippled. That is the purpose which Germany set
out to achieve. German towns and factories have escaped the
furious blasts of war. That vast, complex, and most wonderfully
efficient organisation which before the war enabled her to
penetrate successfully into all the markets of the world remains
intact, nay, is better fitted than ever to resume its pre-war

Are we Prepared for Peace ? 377

activities. Germany provoked this war to secure economic as
well as national domination of the earth. She pursued this
purpose relentlessly. Germany has failed to conquer the world
by the sword. She has failed to crush France, Belgium and
Italy, to say nothing of Britain. But conquest of the world by
the sword was only a short cut to economic domination of the
world. We intervened to save Belgium and to save France.
We shall wrest the sword from Germany's hand, but if we place
in her hands the means to utterly crush France and Belgium
economically, Germany, though defeated in the field, will have
been the real victor in this great war, and all our efforts and
sacrifice will have been in vain.

This is no time to speak with bated breath, but to say plainly
what we think. We ought not to talk about receiving Germany
into the family of nations and sharing on equal terms those raw
materials of which owing to shortage of tonnage there will not
be enough to go round. Germany has crippled France and
Belgium. She now asks for her share of raw materials. Well,
let her have her share, when, but not until, she has put France
and Belgium and Italy and all the Allied nations in a position to
compete on terms of equality with her ; let her rebuild France
and Belgium's ruined cities and factories, let her replace that
machinery and plant which she has wantonly destroyed or stolen,
let her hand back those patterns and trade secrets which she has
stolen, let her compensate the French and Belgian manufacturers
and workmen. Then, but not before, is she entitled to an equal
or any share of our raw material. She has sunk by her infamous
and ruthless submarine warfare millions of tons of allied shipping ;
the available supply of raw materials necessary for us and our
Allies will be severely limited by the scarcity of available tonnage.
Let her make good these losses — ship for ship. Germany has
crippled the economic activities of the whole world, yet she talks
about her right to all the raw materials she needs. With the
limitation imposed upon the supply of raw materials by the
shortage of tonnage brought about by her piratical submarine
campaign, and by the exigencies of demobilisation, all the world
is in danger of a shortage of raw materials. In the circumstances
there will not be enough to go round. Yet we are asked to rob
our Allies and denude ourselves of that which all need in order
that the nation, through whose crimes the world is to-day a
shambles, shall not only escape the penalty of her crimes,
but actually be placed in a better position than any of her
victims.

We hear much of a league of nations to preserve the world's
peace in the future. The time is ripe for a league of nations of
the right kind, but it will be an empty name unless it marks its

378 The Empire Review

establishment by imposing upon Germany, who brought this war
upon the world, a penalt}r so drastic as to deter her and all other
nations from again committing such an awful crime.

W. M. HUGHES
(Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia).

A PRAYER

HEARTS whose grief no tongue can tell,
Hearts that shake 'neath terror's spell,
Hearts that murmur and rebel,

Wait a little longer.
Hearts that never faltered yet,
Hearts whose hopes are forward set
Towards the goal which cowards forget,

Stronger beat and stronger.

Eyes with light of battle grim,
Lips that sang a battle hymn,
Bodies sundered limb from limb,

In the great endeavour —
Shall we fail to think of these
In the spacious days of ease,
When the storms of battle cease ?

Never, brothers, never.

Through the world's Gethsemane,
Tears and blood, and agony,
Till an Eastertide we see

Quit of cant and Kaiser.
Lord of all mankind, we pray,
In the light of dawning day,
From this mass of quivering clay

Mould a world grown wiser.

HAROLD BOULTON.

The Commercial Possibilities of Aeroplanes 379>

THE COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES OF
AEROPLANES

THE aeroplane has proved such a startling success for the
particular purposes for which it has been developed that the
view is generally accepted that it will prove equally useful for
commercial purposes. While this view is probably a true one, it
is often expressed without a very clear conception as to what the
r61e of the aeroplane in peace will .he.

In the first place it must be clearly recognised that the
aeroplanes existing to-day are purely service machines, and it
would be as unreasonable to expect them to perform commercial
duties with equal success as it would be to expect a destroyer to
compete commercially with an ocean liner or a tank with a motor
lorry.

The modern (service) aeroplane, in each of its several distinct
types, is a development of the pre-war machine which had already
established the general principles of design but embodied them in
a very crude construction. The chief object of designers before
the war was to produce a machine that would fly continuously
and with reliability. The use to which it was to be put was a
secondary consideration. The utility part o£ the modern aeroplane
is therefore purely military, if the arm of the Eoyal Air Force
may be so described.

In considering the aeroplane from a commercial point of view
it must be regarded as a vehicle, and the question is whether it
will be able to " earn its keep " in competition with the other
existing forms. The fact that it can rise up into the air is of
great military use for observation purposes but will be unim-
portant from the commercial standpoint. The duty of a vehicle
is to convey its load from one point to another. The ship travels
through the sea, the train and car travel over the land and the
aeroplane travels through the air. The ship and train compete
only between certain points ; the aeroplane must compete
successfully with both if it is to find a living.

The aeroplane has important advantages over all other means
of travel. It can attain by far the greatest speed, and it is to a

380 The Empire Review

very great extent independent of the nature of the ground over
which it passes. On the other hand it possesses two limitations
— it can carry only comparatively small loads and its running
costs are high. The purposes for which the aeroplane is adopted
after the war depends solely on the relative importance in each
case of these four considerations.

The speed of the aeroplane was not the direct cause of its
first adaptation for war purposes, although the achievement of
the very high speeds, of 140 miles per hour and upwards, that
have since been attained have been due to military requirements.
The aeroplane was adopted as a scout for infantry and spotter for
artillery. The machines that can reach these enormous speeds
have been produced to chase and destroy the enemies' scouts and
spotters, just as destroyers were produced to clear the sea of
correspondingly objectionable craft. But speed will be the main
asset of the commercial aeroplane.

A glance back at the several forms of transport that have in
succession been adopted by man shows that the goal has ever
been speed. A machine that can travel at twice the speed of any
other has therefore a prima facie right to expect consideration.

Coupled as an asset with this question of speed is the power
of an aeroplane to proceed direct from point to point over ground
that may be utterly impassable to any other vehicle owing to the
high cost of providing a road or railway across it or of dredging
or cutting a waterway through it. It must not be supposed that
it is unsafe to fly across country of this description owing to the
presumably unfortunate position of the machine's occupants in
case of a forced landing. The large Handley-Page bombing
aeroplanes, purely land machines, have flown across stretches of
400 miles of open sea in the ordinary course of military journeys
and their doing so did not constitute a risk. The machine that
was announced in the press as having flown from England to
Egypt is a case in point. Such is faith in the reliability of
modern machines.

It must not be supposed that aeroplanes can reasonably be
expected to fly over any ground impassable below. Technically
they can, but where the barrier is a mountain chain it may often
be found that the cost of running a special climbing machine to
cross it will be a bar to its use. Flying is also difficult among
mountain peaks. The Alps have been crossed on military
machines, but it does not follow that their passage by aeroplane
will become regular or even frequent on a commercial basis,
although in this particular case people might be prepared to pay
a fancy and remunerative price for the experience.

There will doubtless be a certain amount of highly-priced
joy-riding over routes affording exceptional scenery or offering

The Commercial Possibilities of Aeroplanes 381

exceptional thrills, but the aeroplane will be able to undertake
far more useful and important work.

The fact that a machine can travel faster than any other and
can reach otherwise inaccessible places are only of commercial
interest if that machine can carry sufficient load to pay for the
cost of the trip.

It has been stated above that one of the disadvantages of the
aeroplane is its limited load. This requires explanation.

Before an aeroplane can take on any revenue earning load at
all it must be able to lift (1) itself ; (2) the men to operate it ;
(3) the fuel for the journey to the first re-filling station. Reduction
of the weight of the machine itself and its engines has now
become a fine art, aim everything possible is done in this direction,
as each pound saved means a pound more load — at present of
bombs or ammunition. Each machine must have at least one
pilot, and every passenger-carrying machine at the service of the
public ought to have two pilots in case of sickness of the one
actually in charge. The fuel is a very big item. Since the main
asset of the aeroplane is speed it must not be hampered by
delays for re-filling tanks or too many stops en route and, taking
everything into consideration, it would appear that it ought to
carry petrol and oil for about 400 miles run. All this unremunera-
tive load constitutes a very large proportion of the total lift of
the machine, and as it naturally requires very considerably more
power to maintain a ton in the air than to. drag a ton on the
ground (the ratio is of the order of 10 to 1), it follows that the
amount of revenue-earning load carried per horse-power is many
times less. As power is paid for in fuel, it makes the running
cost per unit of revenue-earning load very much higher.

This may sound very unpromising from the aeroplane's point
of view but, on the other hand, an aeroplane service does not
call for one tithe of the capital outlay needed for a railway or to
maintain a steamship service. The aeroplane only needs aero-
dromes at the stations or points to be served, and an aerodrome
is after all only a fair-sized field with hangars, canvas- covered
sheds, in which to house the machines. The maintenance work-
shops required need only be comparatively small and do not call
for elaborate plant. Nothing comparable to a permanent way
with its tunnels, cuttings, embankments and bridges, or to docks,
harbours or quays are needed.

The overall result is that a service of aeroplanes can be
maintained and operated at a profit on freight charges corres-
ponding to about l^d. per pound per 100 miles for goods and
about 3d. per mile for passengers.

To achieve these figures however the type of machine must
be carefully chosen. They cannot be approached on a machine

The Empire Review

designed and engined for a very high speed — as aeroplanes go-
fer in such, load must be sacrificed. The machine that can
compete commercially — at these charges — will be a large machine
of medium speed, capable of carrying several pounds of useful
load at a " medium " speed of, probably, about eighty miles per
hour in all weathers.

Such machines exist in the long-distance weight-carrying
night-bombers used by the Independent Force. These service
machines will, with some necessary internal re-arrangements,
make useful commercial vehicles for the conveyance of goods and
passengers, the latter travelling, six or seven together, in a roomy,
totally enclosed cabin.

Such machines will be able to distribute the world's mails in
hours where it now takes days. They will travel from country to
country, and continent to continent, seeking their objectives in
direct lines, ignoring the enfeebled barriers of hills and water,
eliminating distances, and bringing to our shores the very outposts
of our Empire. In machines of this size no part of the Old World
is inaccessible, and before long the anticipated conquest of the
Atlantic will bring the territories of the Americas within their
reach.

Trade will be facilitated and accelerated. Journeys to Africa,
the East, and Australia, which are now matter for long considera-
tion, will be undertaken by the busy man and performed at the
expense of a few days' time. Principal and agent will meet where
they now correspond, and augmented knowledge of market
requirements will result in the production of goods more readily
acceptable. Planters will bring or place their samples in London
and Liverpool within two or three days of plucking in India, and
manufacturers will be able to grant the short time necessary to
inspect their raw materials at the source. ^

Isolated, up-country stations will no longer remain separated
from railhead by many weary days of slow road travel, but will be
linked with the centres of population by a short swift flight
through the air.

No longer will it be necessary to limit leave from India and
our overseas Dominions to one spell every few years. The
Englishman abroad will be able to benefit from frequent short
trips to his native country, and the enervating effects of the
eastern climate will be stayed.

All this will be made possible by the commercial aeroplane,
and if the public arouses to the possibilities it offers them, world-
wide services should be matters of no distant date.

F. HANDLE Y PAGE.

A New Force in Industrial Legislation 383

A NEW FORCE IN INDUSTRIAL
LEGISLATION

To say that the period of reconstruction after the war must
find us organised is the veriest truism, which, like all truisms,
has become wearisome by .repetition and yet is worthy of being
repeated. The war found us unprepared — and complacent, for
we had become accustomed to being unprepared, and seemed
perversely to find some merit in our habit of " muddling
through." But we cannot always rely on the good fortune that
has hitherto attended us ; certainly we cannot depend on
muddling through in order to achieve national salvation after
the war.

Our insular position, which gave us a breathing space in
1914-15 to organise the forces of war, will be of no avail when
we come to face the scarcely less vital problems of peace. Loyal
as our Allies may be, and will be, to the Paris Resolutions, we
shall have to depend on ourselves — our own resources and our
own preparedness — to rebuild our economic edifice and to regain
our commercial position, with the knowledge that it is threatened,
as never before, by neutral States, while, at least in America, the
tremendous industrial efforts evoked by the war have made her a
most formidable competitor in spheres in which we had an almost
undisputed supremacy. To rebuild what has been shattered, to
regain what has been lost, to call into being new activities to
restore the disordered balance — these objects must be achieved
if the Empire is to stand, and cannot be achieved on the policy
of Mr. Micawber.

The war, if it has done nothing else, has forced this con-
viction on the people. Shuddering at the narrowness of their
escape from destruction, they have set themselves to the whole-
some, though disagreeable, task of introspection. And the result
has been to discredit for ever the comfortable doctrine of laissez
faire. Industry has looked into its conditions and found much
that needs amendment. Alike in production and distribution the
heads of the great industries have proclaimed that there is lack
of co-ordination and co-operation. The sturdy individualism,
VOL. XXXII— No. 214. 2 a

384 The Empire Review

which in former and simpler conditions was a prime factor in the
industrial and commercial development of Great Britain, is no
longer suitable to the more complex conditions of the present.
On the commercial side, too, the same tale is told. The sale of
British goods, undisputed as their excellence may be, is handi-
capped by lack of adaptability, method, and organisation. British
industry was menaced by the American because he knew how to
organise, by the German because he knew how to sell. So the
British manufacturer is applying* himself more seriously than
ever before to the task of meeting his competitors with their own
weapons.

The same process has been going on in wider spheres.
Numerous federations and associations have been formed, all
having for their object to combine industry and trade for various
purposes. It is not always easy to draw sharp lines of demarca-
tion between these purposes, blending into one another as they
do like the colours of a prism. Some of them, doubtless, will in
time disappear, absorbed in others of greater scope and vitality,
having played their useful part.

All these activities cannot fail to make for good, but they
will be shorn of much of their value if they stop short of
Parliament. The internal organisation of industry and trade is
essential to success, the adequate presentation of their views
and desires is a necessary element of success, but the latter
may be ignored and the former sterilised by the action of a
legislature in which trade and industry have no adequate repre-
sentation.

In present conditions they are threatened with this danger.
Not for years have Industry and Commerce had an influence in
Parliament at all commensurate with their importance. There
has been a growing tendency — from which even agriculture, the
greatest industry of all and the best represented, has not been
free — for the representation of the constituencies to fall into the
hands of men, highly gifted no doubt, but without that direct
knowledge of industrial and commercial conditions which, always
desirable, has now become of vital necessity when the nation
depends on those great interests for its restoration. But it is not
only necessary that there should be more business men in Parlia-
ment ; it is even more essential that they should be there as men
of business. Apart from the interests of industry and commerce
themselves, the interests of the nation demand the service of men
with first-hand knowledge applying it without regard to any
secondary considerations. There is no useful place in the period
of reconstruction for the man who goes to Westminster as he
might go to his club, who regards the Lobby as an avenue to
preferment, who places his volition in the hands of his party

A New Force in Industrial Legislation 385

Whip, and who looks at every question through spectacles tinged
with his party colours.

From this conviction, which has burned itself into the minds
of business men, has sprung the British Commonwealth Union.
To quote the words of its founders, it has for one of its main
objects, " that on national questions relating to industry and
commerce as great and as varied support as possible should be
secured in Parliament, irrespective of party, and amongst all
interests concerned." But it goes further still in seeking to
co-ordinate that support. In the former days of go-as-you-please
it happened not seldom that when business questions were con-
sidered on their merits they were approached from the standpoint
of individual interests without due regard to their influence upon
business as a whole. Even when the futility of such haphazard
methods came to be apparent, the organisations formed for
dealing with commercial, labour or financial questions, followed
the same particularist line, ignoring the fact that industry and
finance, production and distribution, capital and labour, are
mutually interdependent, and that the balance of this inter-
dependence is fine and cannot be unduly disturbed without
disastrous results. While, therefore, the Union perceives that
without adequate representation in Parliament the organisation of
business must lose much of its value, such representation to be
truly effectual must reflect, not sectional, but general interests
and opinions. With such aims before it, it follows that the Union
opens its doors to all of British nationality, irrespective of political
creed, who share its views.

Narrowness of definition being incompatible with catholicity
of purpose, the Union, though its policy is clear-cut, has moulded
its objects on broad lines. The attainment of a just and lasting
peace ; preferential relations inside the Empire, and adhesion to
the conclusions of the Paris Conference ; complete power of tariff
bargaining ; the establishment and maintenance of essential key
industries under wholly British control ; restriction of imports
of manufactured articles from enemy countries for such a period
as may be desirable; strict naturalisation laws; the encourage-
ment of scientific research by State assistance, direct or indirect ;
an efficient diplomatic and consular service ; the development of
Home resources, including agricultural, in every legitimate way,
with specific measures to ensure that loans raised in the United
Kingdom for industrial purposes should be conditional on the use
of British manufactures ; these are the outlines of its general
programme to be filled in by co-ordinate consultation. The
industrial policy of the Union is conceived in a similarly broad
spirit. In linking up jvrages with housing, health and education,
and making all four dependent on industrial prosperity, which is

2 G 2

386 The Empire Review

itself dependent on increased production, the Union takes up a
statesmanlike position in which it will have the support of the
more reflective elements of labour.

It is, however, less the policy which it asserts than the means
by which it would enforce it which makes the advent of the
British Commonwealth Union on the political scene of capital
importance. There is in the policy itself little to differentiate the
British Commonwealth Union from many other kindred organ-
isations ; what lends it particular force and interest is that it is
executive rather than propagandist in its mission. Specifically
renouncing any desire to invade the domestic activities of organisa-
tions connected with industry and commerce, it proposes to be
their complement, not their rival, co-ordinating where necessary
their interests, and acting as the striking force when legislation
threatens them or becomes desirable for their promotion.

Here then is a new figure in British politics ; not a party, for
its founders have wisely resisted the temptation to come out as a
faction, but a force which may be destined to become a great,
perhaps a dominant, factor in the political life of the nation. It
possesses great elements of success in that it is based on hard
facts, not artificially created, but the direct outcome of the con-
vulsion of the war, that it shakes itself free of shibboleths and
dogmas, and that it sets forth unhampered by class consciousness.

V. CAILLAED.

BRITISH INDUSTRIES FAIR, 1919

FOR next year's British Industries Fair the Board of Trade
have again been able to secure from the Port of London Authority
the great warehouses in Pennington Street which proved so highly
satisfactory for the Fair held at the beginning of this year. The
Fair will open on February 24th and remain open until March 7th.
In order not to interfere with the production of munitions, the
Fair will again be restricted to the same trades which have
participated in the last three Fairs, namely, Glass and Pottery,
Paper, Printing and Stationery, Fancy Goods and Toys. Invita-
tions to visitors to the Fair will be issued by the Board of Trade,
and admittance will be restricted to bona fide buyers interested in
the above trades. Over 2,000 forms of application for space have
already been issued to manufacturers, and it is expected that the
number of firms desiring to participate will be considerably in
advance of last year when orders to the value of over a million
and a half were placed.

Political Reconstruction in India 387

POLITICAL RECONSTRUCTION IN INDIA

IT is natural that when States and Empires are in the
melting-pot, thoughts of politicians should turn to political
reconstruction. But it would be unfortunate if the preoccupa-
tion of the popular mind with thoughts of how to win the war
were to be availed of, to smuggle through any particular scheme
of political reconstruction.

When the Secretary of State for India announced in the
House of Commons on the 20th of August, 1917, that the
"increasing association of Indians in every branch of the ad-
ministration, and the gradual development of self-governing
institutions with a view to the progressive realisation of respon-
sible government in India as an integral part of the British
Empire " was the policy of the British Government towards
India, he denned a policy which every Englishman could under-
stand and appreciate. But the crucial test of the methods by
which that policy is to be applied to India is whether they are
calculated to secure the welfare of the people of India as a
whole.

It was a wise reservation that the British Government and
the Government of India must be the judges of the time and
measure of each advance, for in the present condition of India
none but her British rulers are able to hold the scales even
between creed and class and develop that sense of unity and
national solidarity without which India will continue to be a
congeries of mutually exclusive and warring groups, without a
common purpose and a common patriotism. There is a good
deal in the conditions of the Indian problem that craves wary
walking. And when the Viceroy and the Secretary of State said
that " we have in fact created a limited intelligentsia who desire
advance ; and we cannot stay their progress entirely until educa-
tion has been extended to the masses," they fell into the first
trap from which, as far as I can make out, they have not yet got
out. How friendly some of the leaders of the Indian intelli-
gentsia are to British rule, your readers must find out for them-
selves by studying the Kowlatt Commission report, whenever

388 The Empire Review

that document is published in this country. In the meantime, I
will cite two statements showing the attitude' of some of the
Indian leaders towards British rule.

A highly educated Indian gentleman who has held the
responsible position of a Judge — and for a time acting Chief
Justice of the Madras High Court, now retired and in the enjoy-
ment of a pension, and who styles himself the Honorary
President of the Home Eule League in India, addressed a letter
to President Wilson of the United States on the 24th of June,
1917. The letter is too long for reproduction here, but I must
draw attention to the following paragraph : —

" Permit me to add that you and the other leaders have
been kept in ignorance of the full measure of misrule and
oppression in India. Officials of an alien nation speaking a
foreign tongue, force their will upon us ; they grant them-
selves exorbitant salaries and large allowances ; they refuse
us education ; they sap us of our wealth ; they impose
crushing taxes without our consent ; they cast thousands of
our people into prison for uttering patriotic sentiments —
prisons so filthy that often the inmates die from loathsome
diseases."

second statement is also from the speech of an Indian
ex-High Court Judge, who presided over the Special Session of
the Indian National Congress held at Bombay last August, to
consider the Montagu-Chelmsford report. Here is what Mr.
Hassan Imam then said about the British : —

" To deny that India feels the yoke of the stranger is to
shut one's eyes to fundamental facts. The apologists of
British rule in India have asserted that the presence of the
British in this land has been due to humane motives ; that
British object has been to save people from themselves, to
raise their moral standard, to bring them material prosperity,
to confer on them the civilising influences of Europe, and so
forth and so on. There are hypocrisies common to most
apologists. The fact is that the East India Company was
not conceived for the benefit of India but to take away her
wealth for the benefit of Britain. The greed of wealth that
characterised its doings was accompanied by greed for terri-
torial possession, and when the transference of rule from the
Company to the Crown took place, the greed of wealth and
lust of power abated not one jot in the inheritors, the only
difference being that tyranny became systematised and
plunder became scientific. The people know it, they feel
it, and they are asking for a reparation for the incidents of
the past."

The statements of both these gentlemen are more remarkable
for bitterness of feeling than for accuracy. And yet both of

Political Reconstruction in India ,389

them have been High Court Judges. It is on the invitation of
such leaders of educated Indians, among others, that the
Montagu-Chelmsford proposals for reform have been framed.
And what are their proposals ?

The authors of the report say that there are three levels at
which it is possible to commence responsible government, namely,
in the sphere of local self-government, in the provinces and in
the Government of India. In a country like India where, till
now, no experiment in the shape of beginning responsible govern-
ment has yet been tried, one would have expected that the
framers of a new constitution would have begun by giving
responsible government in the sphere of local bodies. Local
self-government in India practically commenced during the vice-
royalty of Lord Kipon. The Acts which govern the municipal
and local bodies in India at the present time are still the Acts of
1884. It is true that some advance has been made in the shape
of appointing non-official chairmen to some of these local bodies,
but these appointments have not in any way conferred full
responsibility on these bodies. The budgets of municipal bodies
have- to receive government sanction even now ; in other words,
these bodies cannot impose a penny of taxation or incur an
expenditure of a single- penny without government sanction.

If municipal bodies which have been in existence for thirty-
four years are still without any responsibility but are controlled
by the leading strings of government, it will be rather a risky
experiment to confer responsibility, even though in a portion of
the sphere of provincial government, to Indians who have not
been tested in a smaller sphere with responsible government.
The reply which the authors of the report have to give to this
objection is that the Indian popular demand will never be
satisfied with only reforms in local self-government. The reply
is not convincing. If the aim be to satisfy the demands of the
educated classes in India, violent and catastrophic changes will
have to be introduced in the constitution of the government of
India* The wiser and more statesmanlike policy will be to
consider what reforms will be safe and practicable and to«oncede
them. I cannot help thinking that the attempt to satisfy the
political agitators, irrespective of the safety or soundness of the
proposed changes, is fraught with considerable danger. It would
have been wiser first to have given complete responsible govern-
ment in the sphere of local bodies, to have watched their working
and then to have proceeded to the higher stages of provincial
government. However, the Secretary of State and the Viceroy
propose to begin at the stage of provincial government and to
leave the further development of municipal institutions to the
autonomous provinces.

390 The Empire Review

It is admitted on all hands that the initial step in any reform
of the government of India is complete decentralisation. Over-
centralisation has been the bane of the Indian system of govern-
ment. Provincial autonomy, especially so far as finances are
concerned, is the first step in Indian reform. The authors of the
report give their proposals on this subject with a fair amount of
minuteness of detail. These details must be carefully scrutinised
by experts ; the principle of the reform itself will meet with
general approval. But it is when they come to the reform of
the provincial executive and the provincial legislative councils
that we find some startling proposals. The proposals now put
forward are that in each province the executive government
should consist of two parts ; one, the official, and the other, the
popular. The governor of the province with two members
appointed by the Crown will be the official side of the executive,
and one or more ministers selected from among the elected
members of the legislative councils, who will be in charge of
portfolios of departments transferred to the popular control, will
constitute the popular side of the government. The official
members will be called the members of the Executive Council
and the others will be designated Ministers. The members of
the Executive Council will be in charge of the reserved powers,
while the Ministers will be in charge of transferred powers.
The governor of the province will thus have two sets of
colleagues ; the official colleagues who are responsible to him,
and the Ministerial colleagues who are responsible to the legislative
council, and yet the governor will be responsible for the whole
government to the Viceroy and the Secretary of State.

It is rather difficult to realise the exact relations between the
governor and the ministry. The authors of the report say :
" We do not contemplate that from the outset the governor
should occupy the position of a purely constitutional governor
who is bound to accept the decision of his ministers. Our hope
and intention is that the ministers would gladly avail themselves
of the governor's trained advice upon administrative questions,
while O£ his part he would be willing to meet their wishes to
the furthest possible extent in cases where he realises that they
have the support of popular opinion. We reserve to him a power
of control because we regard him as generally responsible for
his administration, but we should expect him to refuse assent
to the proposals of his ministers when the consequences of
acquiescence would clearly be serious. • Also we do not think
that he should accept without hesitation and discussion, pro-
posals which are clearly seen to be the result of inexperience."
These sentiments appear to be excellent on paper, but when
such a heterogeneous collection of individuals are expected to

Political Reconstruction in India 391

discharge their duties as one government, practical difficulties
will begin.

In the transitional stage, the ministers are in an extra-
ordinarily strong position. They cannot be removed from office
by the governor. They cannot be removed from office by an
adverse vote of the legislative council. Their salaries are not
placed on the annual estimates of the transferred departments,
so that the legislative council can, when necessary, move for the
reduction of their salaries. They can only be got out of their
office if they are unseated at the next election. This is not
responsible government, because under responsible government
the popular representatives will have the power of compelling
the ministers to resign on an adverse' vote in the legislature.
Under the present proposals we only succeed in creating a govern-
ment which contains more than one kind of elements which are
not entirely under the control of the governor. How a govern-
ment like that will work in practice, especially in a country like
India, we will have to wait and see.

From the executive of the provincial governments, let us
proceed to consider the constitution of the provincial legislative
councils. In these councils there is to be a majority of elected
members. The elections are to be on a territorial basis, the
franchise being based on a property qualification. The communal
basis of electorate is disapproved, although there is a large volume
of weighty opinion that no other method is feasible in India,
and in spite of the fact that communal electorates have already
been conceded to the Mahomedans in India under the Minto-
Morley Beforms. The chief objections which the authors of
the report have to the recognition of communal electorates are
that they are opposed to the teaching of history, that they
perpetuate class division and that they stereotype existing
relations. We are not told whether history records any instance
of class and race divisions as complicated and as sharp as they
exist in India. The authors of the report themselves admit
that there is no parallel in the world to the manner in which
India is split up and parcelled out and sub-divided by the
inveterate antagonism of different races and religions. If there
is no parallel in the world to the conditions existing in India,
how can the teachings of history of what has happened under
entirely different conditions be applied to the present case ?

The only examples to be found anywhere which at all
approach the Indian conditions are to be found in Austria, in
some of the smaller German States and Cyprus, and the authors
of the report summarily dismiss these instances as irrelevant
and unconvincing. Communal representation cannot so easily
be dismissed merely on theoretical grounds. In India, we have

392 The Empire Review

not as yet developed any common interest, and it is only possible
to develop it by slow degrees. The communal interest in India,
at present, at all events, appears to be the strongest, and it is by
developing this strong interest that we oan expect ultimately
to develop a common national interest. The feeling between
Mahomedans and Hindoos has not become more estranged
since the communal representation has been granted to the
Mahomedans. If anything at all, the Hindoo-Mahomedan
relations have undergone slight improvement since the Maho-
medans got their separate electorates, and what is of practical
importance is that no other safeguard is available to prevent
one community tyrannising over another.

Excepting the small class of Brahmin agitators, practically
everybody else in India is united in demanding communal represen-
tation, and the authors of the report themselves show that communal
representation is inevitable by retaining such representation as
the Mahomedans have already secured and even extending the
principle to the Sikhs. It has not been claimed by anyone that
an electorate made up on the communal basis is an ideal one, but
none of the proposals made by the authors of the report can be
called ideal. They admit that all their proposals bear on their
faces their transitional character. " Hybrid executives, limited
responsibility, assemblies partly elected and partly nominated,
divisions of functions, reservations, general or particular," are all
accepted as good enough for a transitional state. Communal
electorates. are not worse nor more impracticable than many of
the proposals made by the authors of the report, and they have a
great advantage that, whatever may be said against them from a
theoretical point of view, they will make the proposals more
acceptable to the very large mass of the people of India.

When one studies the distribution of poverty in India, one
finds that certain classes and castes generally speaking are poorer
than others. Under such a state of affairs, when franchise is
distributed on a property basis, whole classes and castes and
communities will be found to be without the franchise. It is
under such conditions that communal representation will become
a valuable instrument for correcting unfair distribution of repre-
sentation. It must also be noted that as a large mass of the
people in India ai£ poor and pay no taxes, a franchise based on a
property qualification, however low, will only reach a very small
fraction of the people and a legislative council constituted under
the proposals of the authors of the report can only be representa-
tive of a microscopical minority of the population. To obviate
this difficulty, the authors of the report have suggested that
certain powers of nomination should be vested in the governor.
Again, we are coming back to the system of nominations, and

Political Reconstruction in India 393

the newly constituted council will present an anomalous condition
of containing a majority of elected members representing a small
minority of the population, while containing a minority of
nominated members intended to represent a large majority of
the population.

Under the Minto-Morley constitution it has been found from
practical experience that the greatest source of irritation was the
power vested in the governor of disallowing interpellations and
resolutions. Under the proposed arrangement those powers are
still to continue. Under altered conditions the non-official
member of the legislative council will be capable of a more
vigorous protest than he was under the Minto-Morley constitu-
tion, and apparently he will have plenty of opportunities of
exercising his powers of protest as the governor is still to have
the power of overruling interpellations and resolutions. The
effect of resolutions which are passed by a majority of the
legislative council has been another source of trouble under the
existing conditions. This source of trouble is also to continue.

There are two proposals made by the authors of the report in
this connection which I cannot help noticing. One is that " if a
member of the legislative council wishes the government to be
constrained to take action in a particular direction, it will often
be open to him to bring in a Bill to effect his purpose." The
result of this suggestion will be that the legislative council of the
future will be inundated with private members' Bills. Considering
that most of the non-official members belong to the legal profession,
and also considering that if a Bill is passed the government are
compelled to put it into force, whereas a resolution they are not,
the lawyers will be quite in their element in drafting Bills instead
of resolutions as they have to do at present. The other suggestion
is that " when ministers become, as we intend they should, ac-
countable to the legislative council, the council will have full
means of controlling their administration by refusing them
supplies or by means of votes of censure the carrying of which
may, in accordance with established constitutional practice,
involve their quitting office." That is all very well so far as
ministers are concerned, but for a long time to come the legis-
lative council will have to deal with the members of the executive
council and the reserved powers, and we are sure that the authors
of the report do not intend either of the two remedies of stopping
the supplies or passing votes of censure to be applied to the case
of reserved powers or the official members of the government.

But the most extraordinary proposal of all is in connection
with securing the affirmative power of legislation. No govern-
ment can carry on its work unless it can control legislation, but
here the provincial governments in India are to be provided with

394 The Empire Review

legislative councils which contain always an elected majority
over which the government have no control. In order that
government may pass through the legislative council such
legislation as they consider to be absolutely necessary, proposals
are made which I am afraid will turn out to be absolutely im-
practicable in their working. It is proposed that the governor
should have power to certify that a Bill dealing with a reserved
subject is absolutely essential for him to carry on the government.
The effect of such a certificate will be to secure for the Bill a
special procedure. There will be a general discussion of the Bill
in the legislative council, but there will be no division on it.
After discussion, the Bill will be referred to a grand committee
and will, after passing through the grand committee, be reported
to the council again, but the council will not be able to amend it
or to reject it.

When the Bill is referred to the grand committee, the majority
in the legislative council has a right to appeal to the Viceroy for
a decision as to whether the Bill refers to a reserved subject. If
the Viceroy decides that it does refer to a reserved subject, the
legislative council can do nothing more against the Bill. The
grand committee that is proposed is so constituted that there is
no certainty that any government Bill will be passed. The
report says : " In a grand committee of forty members there
could be fourteen officials, and we consider that no great harm
will ensue if government defers legislative projects which are
opposed by the. whole elected element and for which it cannot
secure the support of six out of the seven members whom the
governor has it in his power to select from the whole body of the
non-official members in the council." There are situations which
might arise, especially in connection with the preservation of law
and order, where the governor may not be able to get the support
of the necessary number of non-official members for the passing
of a particular Bill through the grand committee. If, on that
account, he cannot have a Bill which he considers to be absolutely
necessary to carry on his government through the grand com-
mittee, the government of the country will become absolutely
impossible.

The Provincial Budget procedure under the " unprecedented "
system that is proposed, promises to be the most complicated of
all. The Budget is to be framed by the executive as a whole—
the governor, official executive council members and ministers.
" The first charge on provincial revenues will be the contribution
to the government of India ; and after that, the supply for the
reserved subjects will have priority. The allocation of supply for
the transferred subjects will be decided by the ministers." If the
revenues are insufficient to meet the increased and increasing

Political Reconstruction in India 395

expenditure, the transferred subjects, as the residuary legatees,
will be the ones to suffer. In such an event, the responsibility
of suggesting additional taxation will rest with the ministers.
This is the soundest of all the proposals, for if there is one thing
which the Indian voters are keen on finding out, it is as to who
proposed any additional taxation. And if they find out the
individual who is responsible for suggesting additional taxation,
they are absolutely certain to vote against him at the next
opportunity they have for doing so. I shall be very much
surprised if any Indian minister will be found bold enough to
propose additional taxation.

The usual procedure adopted by the Indian legislative coun-
cillor on budget discussions is to propose a transfer of a large
sum of money from the budget head of the object of his pet
aversion to that of his favourite subject. From my experience,
I find that the pet aversion of the average councillor is the police.
And under the proposed constitution, unless efficient safeguards
are introduced, after a budget discussion in the Provincial Legis-
lative Council, there will be nothing left under the head " Police."
What is proposed is something like this : when the budget is
introduced, one non-official member moves that a sum of 100,000
rupees be added under the head of primary education and a
corresponding reduction be made under "Police." Under exist-
ing conditions the resolution is voted down. But under the new
conditions, when the official bloc has disappeared, and an elected
majority reigns in its place, the resolution will be carried. But
then, after the meeting is over, the governor puts the 100,000
rupees back again under the head of " Police," with a certificate
that the expenditure of this sum is essential for the maintenance
of law and order in the country, and in the interests of efficient
government, or words to that effect, which the secretariat will
very soon reduce to a familiar formula.

If the Indian Home Kulers prefer this to the old method of
being voted down, that is their business. But the responsibilities
heaped on the poor provincial governor are enough to crush any
man. He has to decide in cases of dispute where reserved
functions trespass on transferred ones, on vice versa; he has to
certify Bills which are to be sent through the grand committee
instead of through the legislative councils; on every such Bill
he has to find a number of non-officials who will serve on the
grand committee and vote steadily for the Bill; he has to put
back to their original places sums of money which the majority
in the legislative council have voted out of the police or some
other equally important service ; and above all, he has to manage
his government, consisting of officials and ministers, by the appli-
cation of ''mutual forbearance and a strong common purpose."

396 The Empire Review

Far from reducing the occasions for friction and attacks on
the governor and the official members of the government, the
new proposals are brimful of them. Indian newspapers will
have to enlarge their size, and take on their staff some
experts like the young man who applied to Lord Morley for a
place on the staff of a newspaper, claiming as his speciality
" invectives."

The new reforms are kinder to the Government of India than
to the provincial governments. And yet there also considerable
inroads are made into the powers of the Government of India.
The Imperial Legislative Council is to be reformed beyond recog-
nition. It also is to have an elected majority. But there the
" certificate " is riot requisitioned to retain the necessary control
over legislation. A second chamber is introduced instead, called
the Council of State. In the Council of State the government
may ordinarily expect a majority of eight, whereas in the grand
committees of provincial legislatures the normal majority is one.
But in these progressive days when even nominated aristocrats,
under pressure from Home Rulers, muster enough courage to
vote against the government, to risk the whole of the legislative
powers of the Government of India on the chance of four
nominated non-officials not turning round and voting against the
government is to risk the safety of the British Empire in India
at the gambling tables of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms.

These amazing attempts at political reconstruction had their
origin in the belief — the wrong belief — that the Minto-Morley
reforms had failed and were not capable of expansion or improve-
ment. " The old structure does not admit of development,"
says the report, and so its authors proceeded to construct a new
structure of extraordinary design and doubtful stability. The
Morley-Minto reforms were excellent in their way, but were not
without their defects. Some of these defects have been noticed
by Mr. Montagu and Lord Chelmsford. " There was no general
advance in local bodies ; no setting free of provincial finance ;
and, in spite of some progress, no widespread admissions of
Indians in greater numbers into the public services," says the
report. These are all notable defects which are not beyond
correction. But even greater than these defects was the failure
of the Morley-Minto reforms to secure real representation of the
Indian people. The Montagu-Chelmsford report notices ".the
large percentage of members of the legal profession who succeeded
at elections," and goes on to observe that " so great a political
predominance of men of one calling is clearly not in the interests
of the general community." If a similar analysis of the different
castes that succeeded at elections were made, it will be still
more surprising to note the high percentage of Brahmins that

Political Reconstruction in India 397

succeeded at elections. The restricted application of communal
electorates was the greatest defect of the Morley-Minto reforms.

The Indo-British association has recently put forward sugges-
tions to remedy all these defects in the Minto-Morley reforms.
In the first place, the Indo-British association propose the
transfer of all municipal and local government to Indian hands,
subject only to such control as is exercised by the Local Govern-
ment Board in this country. This is a necessary step in the
development of responsible government in India. In the past,
governments in India have not done all that was in their power
to develop local self-government. These institutions have not
been worked in the spirit in which Lord Eipon inaugurated
them. Unnecessary interference in the details of the adminis-
tration of local bodies on the part of the government has had
a twofold depressing defect on the development of municipal
institutions in India. It kept away from municipal bodies
capable and leading public men ; and it deprived local bodies of
that sense of responsibility and power of initiative, the develop-
ment of which alone would help the successful evolution of
municipal government.

Next to the development of local self-government comes the
necessity for decentralisation. Under this head the Indo-British
association proposes the following reforms : —

1. Readjustment of the responsibilities of the Secretary
of State in Council and the Viceroy in Council, in order
to put an end to the meticulous interference in financial
matters, which is injurious to the interests of India, while
retaining the control of Parliament over general policy. (It
is announced that a committee is to be set up to consider
this question.)

2. Reconstruction of the India Office, not only with a
view to remedying patent defects in office machinery long
obsolete, but to secure greater and more recent knowledge
of the conditions and affairs of India.

3. Decentralisation of the excessive powers wielded by
the Government of India, so as to confer full authority upon
provincial governments in all their domestic affairs, and to
transform the most centralised government in the world
into a federal system. This change was advocated in the
Delhi Durbar despatch of 1911 ; but nothing has been done,
and reform is long overdue.* The general progress of
India has been checked for years by crass centralisation.
Incidentally, the federal principle would automatically give
greater force to Indian opinion in every province. (It is
stated that another committee is to be set up to deal with
this question.)

The necessity and expediency of these reforms are admitted

398 The Empire Review

on all hands and they must form a necessary prelude to any
reform of the legislative councils in India.

On the reconstitution of the legislative councils themselves,
the Indo-British association rightly lays stress on the supreme
importance of reconstructing the electorates on a broader basis,
adopting communal electorates wherever necessary and practicable.
" If real Indian opinion is to find a voice in these councils," says
the Indo-British association, " the communal principle must be
adopted, and all large communities must be represented by their
own members."

In the bustle of so much talk about political progress and
political reconstruction in India, hardly anyone seems to have
realised that unless education penetrates the masses of Indian
people, there cannot be political, social or economic progress.
The government are profuse in their expressions of sympathy
and have inaugurated a policy of extending primary education,
but the pace at which they are progressing will take several
centuries before illiteracy can be abolished in India. The
educated Indians on the other hand clamour for the extension
of education, even primary education, and regularly recite from
political platforms the parrot cry of " free and compulsory
education," but in practical working they take good care that
the demands of higher and university education are first satisfied
before the claims of elementary education are considered. The
question of primary education ought no longer to be kicked about
from pillar to post ; making satisfactory provision for the abolition
of illiteracy in India ought to be the first item in any programme
of Indian reforms.

The proposal to introduce responsible government into India
without altering the existing provincial divisions, appears to me
to be very unsound. The Indian provinces, some of them with
populations of over 40 millions, are too big and unwieldy to form
units for self-government. It is only possible to devise a satis-
factory scheme of self-government for India on the basis of
Federal Home Eule. Most modern countries have developed
on a federal system. America with a population of 110 millions
has forty-nine governments, national and provincial ; Germany
with 68 millions has over thirty governments ; Canada with
8 millions has nine ; Australia with 5 millions has seven ; and
South Africa with 6 millions' has five. Thus it is seen that the
units formed for self-government are comparatively small. In
India where the introduction of responsible government is in the
nature of an experiment, it is essential that the units of self-
government should be of easily manageable proportions. It is
therefore to be greatly regretted that in the proposed reforms,
the old and existing geographical divisions of Indian provinces

Political Reconstruction in India 399

are 'adhered to. It makes the experiment more risky and its
result more doubtful.

As I am writing, comes the news of attempts made in Austria
to introduce a federal constitution. Old conglomerate empires
must sooner or later revert to the federal system of government,
some by peaceful reforms, others by violent revolutions. There
are some in India who still cling to what they call " Asoka's
unitary system of government." But Asoka's system of govern-
ment is as antiquated as Asoka himself. The sentimental
Bengalee who still persists in his demand for one government
for all the Bengalee speaking population of India must sooner
or later realise that sentiment is not the surest foundation for
practical politics. It is unfortunate that the Viceroy and the
Secretary of State for India have been led away from sound and
safe lines of statesmanship in their desire to placate the more
noisy section of the Indian population. The policy enunciated
in the pronouncement of August 20th, 1917, can only be achieved
by successive stages. Even the first stage has not been reached,
and yet one would think from the actions and utterances of
responsible public men that the last stage has been passed and
the final goal of British rule in India attained.

In paragraph 101 of the Montagu-Chelmsford report, the
authors quote with approval the following comment.

" We must make up our minds either to rule ourselves or
to let the people rule ; there is no halfway house, except, of
course, on the highway of deliberate transition. At present
we are doing neither. We are trying to govern by con-
cessions, and each successive concession has the air of being
wrung from us. We keep public business going by bargaining
and negotiating, not, however, the healthy bargaining of the
market-place, but a steady yielding to assaults which always
leave some bitterness behind on both sides."

And when it is remembered that the bargaining is generally with
men of the stamp of the two Indian leaders whom I have quoted
in the beginning of this article, your readers can have an idea of
where such bargaining and concessions will lead to. There is
enough in the Indian political situation to arouse the keenest
interest and the deepest anxiety of the British elector. But if
he remains indifferent and things go wrong, he will only have
himself to blame.

T. M. NAIB.

VOL. XXXII. -No. 214. 2 H

400 The Empire Review

SIDELIGHTS ON FARMING IN CANADA

A WHEAT crop of from 150,000,000 to 160,000,000 bushels is
estimated by Mr. Hinton, Vice-President and General Manager
of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway.

THE report of the Ontario Department of Agriculture, issued
at harvest end, is the most satisfactory of all the reports sent
out by the Department during the present season of production.
Barley yields are running as high as 65 bushels to the acre, and
oats up to 90, and the average for the Province will be above
even that of the bumper year of 1915. The Province appears to
be assured of one of the best seasons in its history, so far as field
crops are concerned. "When to this is added the fact that live
stock and dairy products are making record prices, it may be
taken as certain that 1918 will prove one of the most prosperous
years ever enjoyed by the farmers of Ontario.

ARRANGEMENTS have been made by the Ontario Department
of Agriculture to secure 50,000 bushels of autumn wheat seed in
New York State to be used as a reserve supply in Ontario. The
wheat will be available to farmers at distributing points at a fixed
price. The variety of the seed is that known in New York State
as No. 6, and is a white wheat, very similar in quality and yield
to Dawson's Golden Chaff, which is well known and grown
generally in Ontario. The millers of the province will co-operate
with the department in the distribution of the seed. In addition
to this, the department is now organising the distribution of
autumn wheat seed procurable in Ontario. The department will
not purchase any seed, but fifteen wheat experts have been
appointed, and they have been working in the counties where the
largest quantities of autumn wheat seed are available. They
inspect the quality of the wheat and co-operate with the district
agricultural representatives who ascertain the requirements of '
their localities. The results of the experiments of growing spring
wheat in Ontario show that the yield is about 25 bushels to the
acre, and the crop of 600,000 bushels of spring wheat from
Government supply seed is sufficient to furnish bread for every
Ontario man in the fighting line for seven months.

THE Canadian Pacific Railway gives figures of an interesting
record in the phenomenal productive energy of Manitoba this
year. Fully 20,000,000 bushels of foodstuffs were grown in

Sidelights on Farming in Canada 401

excess of past records, which means that the farmers have an
additional 40 million dollars over the amount they received last
year. There will be 51,000,000 bushels of wheat valued at
105 million dollars as compared with last year's record of
$87,500,000. The three crops of barley, wheat and oats amount
in money to some 200 million dollars, with other crops corre-
spondingly successful.

UNDER a scheme of the Manitoba Government, farmers in
that province with grazing and feeding facilities, but without the
means with which to buy cattle, are enabled to stock their farms
with high-class animals, feed them all summer and sell them in
the winter. This scheme, which is known as the " stockers' and
feeders' plan," is very simple in its method of operation. The
farmers buy a number of cattle which have been approved by the
agricultural representative of the Department of Agriculture.
The Government pays for the animals, and, as a security, takes a
lien note from the farmer. The note, which bears interest at six
per cent., does not mature until the following October. By
means of this plan, which was instituted last summer, nearly
2,000 head of prime cattle were kept in the province last year
until they were fit for food purposes, whereas had the plan not
been in existence, many would have been sold for slaughter in a
light and unfattened condition.

FARMERS in Saskatchewan, although they have less help than
in previous years and have devoted every possible acre to crops,
are not neglecting their cows, but are actually doing better for
them and with them, than in the past, as is shown by the
business done by the Saskatchewan Creamery at Moose Jaw.
Up to the 1st of May this year 50 per cent, more butter was
made than in any past year, while during the month of May the
increase over that month in any previous year was 100 per cent.
The output during June was also a very satisfactory one. The
manager of the creamery attributes the increase to greater
interest on the part of the farmers, better cows, more attention
to feeding, better care of milk and cream.

THE seed department of the Dominion Government has
selected British Columbia as a suitable province in which to
foster and encourage the growing of seed vegetables. A sum of
money is reported to have been appropriated by the Government
for this purpose. Details of the scheme are now being worked
out by the seed department at Ottawa, and when completed they
will be bulletined to the farmers.

SEVERAL large tracts of land have been sold in Western
Canada to communities desirous of forming settlements of their
own. In central Saskatchewan the Christian Community of
Universal Brotherhood have purchased 10,163 acres of fertile
land at £5 an acre. Another tract in Saskatchewan that has
just been purchased for settlement comprises 15,000 acres. This
land is specially suited for dairying and diversified farming, and

2 H 2

402 The Empire Review

it is understood that farmers of Minnesota, Wisconsin and
Illinois are interested in it. Near Lethbridge, Alberta, a 1,700-
acre farm has just been sold to a small party of Mennonite
farmers for £20,000.

THE Provincial Minister of Agriculture for British Columbia
has outlined a plan for immediately opening a settlement area of
50,000 acres of new land in the Bulkley and Nechaco Valleys
along the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. It is expected that the
land will be thrown open on November 1st. Special induce-
ments in the way of reduced prices will, it is stated, be offered to
returned soldiers.

SOME valuable cars of flax have lately been disposed of by
farmers of Western Canada. The honour of having shipped the
most valuable car was claimed for Champion, Alberta, when a
consignment from that point was sold at Winnipeg for over
£1,125. This car contained 1,466 bushels or 82,096 Ibs. of flax.
It appears, however, that the price received for the contents of
this car was by no means a record one for Western Canada.
From Lethbridge, Alberta, recently a car was shipped on which
the sender received £1,145 after payment of freight and handling
charges. The contents of another car — from Harris, Sas-
katchewan— have probably been sold for the highest price, the
amount realised on this car being £1,295.

IN order to assist farmers in providing themselves with cattle,
the live stock branch of the Department of Agriculture of
Saskatchewan will have a number of pure bred -bulls and grade
heifers on show and for sale at the various exhibitions to be held
at towns throughout the province. These animals will be sold
at cost to farmers who satisfy the provincial authorities that they
are capable of taking care of them. An initial payment of one-
third cash is required on the heifers, and one-quarter cash on
the bulls.

FOE many months the prices ruling for hogs at Calgary,
Alberta, have almost invariably been higher than those ruling at
the leading markets of the United States. This means that the
farmer in Alberta has a greater margin of profit in hog raising
than his neighbour to the south. Not only is he obtaining more
for his hogs, but his cost of production is considerably less. He
is raising equally large crops of the most satisfactory hog foods-
oats, barley, alfalfa, etc. — on land which represents an investment
of a comparatively small sum. Moreover, losses from disease
are almost unknown. Notwithstanding the increased number
of hogs now available for marketing as a result of the campaign
for greater production conducted last year very high prices are
being obtained.

THE granting of permits for grazing privileges for reindeer
on an area of approximately 76,000 square miles in the northern
part of Manitoba and a part of the north-west territories, is
under consideration by the Government of Canada. The northern

Sidelights on Farming in Canada 403

areas of the North -West Territories, it is considered, are very
suitable for reindeer, and it is pointed out that in addition to
increasing Canada's meat supply, the reindeer herds would pro-
vide a means of transportation which would tend to effective
exploration of inaccessible parts of the country.

THE Dominion Sugar Company have embarked on a scheme
which, in the course of a year or two will, it is expected, provide
the company with all the seed used in the growing of the
thousands of acres of sugar beets required yearly for the Chat-
ham, Wallaceburg and Kitchener plants. Seed formerly came
from Germany, Austria-Hungary and Eussia. The home-grown
seed appears to be superior to the imported stock.

CHEESE is the only real substitute for meat. The two prin-
cipal dairying provinces of Canada are Quebec and Ontario, the
former leading in the production of creamery butter and the
latter in the production of factory cheese. There are 3,446
creameries and cheese factories in Canada, and the number of
dairy farmers supplying milk and cream is 221,192.

. THE general fruit conditions throughout the province of
British Columbia are very encouraging, and a crop equal to, or a
little better than last year's is promised, according to a report
issued by the horticultural branch of the Provincial Government.
Prices are ranging much higher than usual, and everything
points to good financial returns to the growers.

MAPLE LEAF.

TIMBER IN CYPRUS

IN ancient days Cyprus was known to be rich in timber, and
its mountain districts were clothed with trees. In 1878, when
Cyprus passed under British control, the condition of the so-called
forests had become deplorable under centuries of Turkish misrule.
Steps were at once taken to appoint Government Forest Officers
with scientific knowledge in order to remedy this condition, and
to stop further destruction of the forests remaining. The forest
areas were gradually delimited and settled. They now extend to
some 700 square miles. Owing to the fact that very small sums
were for some years voted annually to the Department of Forestry, t
the work of protection was the only course opened to the officers,
and no progress in artificial re-afforestation was made for nearly
thirty years after the British occupation of the island. Since
1907, however, special tree planting has made considerable pro-
gress, and there is no doubt that the forests of Cyprus are now on
the high road to recovery, and are likely to become an added
source of beauty and prosperity to the island.

404 The Empire Review

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES

AUSTRALIA

ALTHOUGH for purposes of reference the Eeport of the Trade
of Australia for 1917, compiled by Mr. Milne, H.M. Trade
Commissioner in the Commonwealth, is a most useful document
for practical business purposes, much of the matter is obviously
out of date, and would be more so were it not for the war, seeing
that it was put together as far back as January. Much has
happened since then in Australia and elsewhere, and if these
Beports are to be utilised to the best advantage their publication
must not be delayed for nine months. All the same the informa-
tion given is interesting and instructive and shows the wide scope
of the undertaking as well as the thoroughness of Mr. Milne's
work.

As to live stock we learn that flocks and herds are steadily
recovering from the serious depletion which they suffered owing
to the great drought which affected the country in 1914, although
as regards sheep, in particular, the flocks are probably fewer by
over ten million head than they were as recently as 1911.
Favourable seasons in conjunction with a decrease in the numbers
being slaughtered for the freezing works are, however, enabling
the flocks to be rapidly built up. Concerning cattle it may be a
matter of surprise to some to learn that at the end of 1916 there
were fewer cattle in the whole of Australia than there were in
the United Kingdom at the same time. There has been a con-
siderable decline in the number of cattle killed for export in
Queensland, the total being over 100,000 less last year than in
1914. As regards sheep slaughtered for export, the figures for
Queensland were 737,535 in 1914, and only 253,179 in 1917.
Stockmen appear to be alive to the need of conserving breeding
stock, and it is owing to this that the number of calves
slaughtered at Sydney has steadily declined during the past five
years. Frozen rabbits now figure as an article of export more
largely than formerly.

A EEVIEW of the pastoral and agricultural production of the
Commonwealth during the last ten years reveals the striking
advance which has been made in the development of agriculture.
Kegarded broadly, the pastoral industry is relatively at a stand-
still as compared with the agricultural industry, when one
considers the number of sheep and cattle now in the country in

Empire Trade Notes 405

comparison with numbers in former years, and the great in-
crease which has taken place in the acreage under crop. The
official figures available show that over 18£ million acres were
under crop of various kinds during 1915-16, probably two-thirds
of this representing acreage under wheat. This acreage is
practically double that of ten years previously. As showing the
vast areas as yet virgin, it may be mentioned that the 18£ million
acres referred to represent less than 1 per cent, of the total area
of the Island Continent. The agricultural development referred
to, although common to all the States, is most marked in
Western Australia. Ten years prior to 1915-16 there were only
about 365,000 acres in Western Australia under crop, while in
the latter year there were nearly 2,190,000 acres.

RELATIVELY to its area, agricultural development in Victoria
is greater than in any other State, about 10£ per cent, of its total
area being under cultivation. -Both pastoral and agricultural
production are subject to weather conditions, as well as to other
modifying factors, but the trend of rural activities in recent years
has been in the direction of increased agricultural, rather than of
pastoral, production. The difficulty of shipping wheat in war
time is, however, now causing a feeling of doubt whether the
interests of the country would not be better served by devoting
more attention to stock raising and to crops, such as hay, used as
feed for stock, than to wheat growing, and interest aroused in
the matter has found expression in conferences representative of
the pastoral and agricultural industries. The predominant feeling
appears to be in favour of the extension of wheat growing, as the
difficulties affecting the industry are regarded as being temporary
in character.

A SUPERVISOE of ship construction appointed by the Federal
Government has arrived from the United Kingdom, and in the
early part of 1918 was actively engaged in making arrangements
for the immediate construction of several steamers. Six of these
vessels are to be constructed by the New South Wales Govern-
ment at their dockyard at Walsh Island, Newcastle, and others
at the State shipbuilding yards at Williamstown, Victoria, which
have now been taken over by the Federal Government. Ship-
building in connection with the Federal Government's programme
is also proposed to be carried out at Devonport, Tasmania. Ar-
rangements have been made for the supply of some of the
necessary ship plate from the United States, but the steel works
at Newcastle, New South Wales, are now, it is understood, in a
position to roll a certain quantity of ship plate. It is also under-
stood that, when arrangements have been concluded with the
various trade unions, a start with the actual construction of the
vessels will be made immediately. As far as possible Australian
materials and labour will be employed in the construction of the
vessels, and the engines will be built locally.

THE actual quantity of wool purchased by the Imperial
Government during the 1916-17 season was 1,128,288 bales, in
addition to bags, the total weight being 358,059,021 Ibs., of which

406 The Empire Review

nine-tenths were greasy, and the remainder scoured. The total
value of the Commonwealth wool controlled and brought under
the scheme amounted to £25,340,540. The total oversea ship-
ments of wool from July 1, 1916, to June 30, 1917, amounted to
1,263,136 bales. As showing the extent of the appreciation of
the value of wool it may be mentioned that the average value per
bale of the 1916-17 season's clip of 2,216,518 bales was £20 11s. 8df.,
which is by far the highest price recorded. The figures for the
previous year were £16 10s. IQd. While this method of dealing
with one of Australia's most important products has been loyally
accepted by those identified with the industry as necessary in the
present abnormal circumstances, they do not hesitate to express
the hope that, when normal conditions again obtain, the trade
will resume its ordinary channels. Practically the whole of the
1916-17 clip has been shipped, so that the position with regard
to wool is immeasurably more favourable in this respect than
that with regard to wheat, which, as well as frozen meat and
butter, is controlled by the Federal Government. The Imperial
Government has secured the Australian clip for 1917-18 at the
same price as that paid for last season's clip, and the Central
Wool Committee is continuing its work on practically the same
lines as those adopted in the previous season. The value in
round numbers of the wheat, wool, metals, sugar, butter, hides,
and other commodities sold, handled or controlled by the Federal
Government during last year exceeded £105,000,000.

ACCOEDING- to data published by the Commonwealth statistician,
the cost of food and groceries has increased, on an average, 29*3
per cent, between July 1914 and January of the current year.
This calculation is based on retail prices index-numbers for each
of thirty towns for specified months, with weighted average for
the six State capitals in 1911, the basic year. In some States the
increase is more marked than in others, e.g., in New South Wales
it is 33 '4 per cent., in Western Australia only 11 '3. These
variations are to some extent explained by the fact that in July,
1914, the weighted average in Western Australia, for example,
was already considerably higher than in any of the other States.
In each of the capital cities, other than Hobart, house rents have
declined slightly since the outbreak of war. With regard to the
purchasing power of money, what would have cost on the average
£1 in 1911, the basic year, in the capitals regarded as a whole,
cost £1 9s. lOd. in the fourth quarter of last year. According to
the Tables published by the Bureau of Census and Statistics, the
purchasing power of money for groceries and food has been
considerably less during last year in Sydney than in Melbourne.

LOCAL importers declare that all the silks of Nippon have
greatly improved since the beginning of the war, and that the
demand is on the increase, especially in the matter of silk under-
wear due to the soaring prices for cotton. The value of the soft
goods imported to Australia from Japan in 1913 was £436,083.
In 1916-17 the total value increased to £1,560,889. Figures for
1917-18 are not available, but it is known that the value of

Empire Trade Notes 407

importations in one department alone increased to the extent of
over £1,000,000.

As showing the enormous increase in the importations from
Japan of toys and fancy goods, it may be mentioned that, while
in 1913 these amounted to less than £14,000, in 1916-17 they
reached nearly £114,000. Japan has captured the lion's share
of this one time essentially German trade. Many of the hundred
and one articles of Japanese make usually spoken of as fancy
goods are copied from German samples. They are low priced,
often attractive in appearance, and in some instances represent
real value; in others, this cannot be said of them. Their metal
toys, in general, are rubbishy, but some improvement has been
noted in the heads of their dolls. During the last season a
celluloid doll known as "kewpie" made in various sizes had an
immense vogue, so much so indeed that the market was over-
stocked. Ladies' handbags in leather and leatherboard, as well
as in gilt and silver chain mesh, are sold in large numbers.
American goods of this description, as well as other fancy goods,
are also entering the market more extensively than formerly.

SOON we may expect to see woollen mills established in
Western Australia. Experts consider that the local demand
alone would support more than one factory, and there is no limit
to the products for woollen goods in the Far East, India, and
the Eastern States of the Commonwealth. Mr. Vicars, head
of the firm which owns the Marickville Mills in Sydney, is to
advise as to the steps necessary to get the industry going, and
the Minister for Defence has promised the help of the experts
attached to the Government mills in Victoria. These mills have
done excellent work in clothing the Australian Army, producing
a grade of khaki perhaps superior to that worn by any other
soldiers amongst the Allies. ^With a plentiful supply of wool
grown in the State, and the most modern of plants, the West
Australian woollen mills should soon develop into a thriving
industry. The Federal Government will certainly see to it that
the enterprise is given all the tariff protection necessary.

THE mineral production of New South Wales last year reached
a value of £12,952,719, an increase of £1,976,977 on the preceding
year, the main factor being the greatly enhanced prices ruling for
the various industrial metals. The aggregate value of the mineral
production of the State at the close of 1917 was £286,106,803,
coal leading with an output valued at £87,779,613. The tin
mining industry is reported to be in full swing at Ardlothan,
Southern district. Owing to the high price and the consistency
of the yield of some of the best mines the output from the field
for the half-year has been £40,000. The most sensational recent
crushing was sixty tons from Stackpool's lease, yielding tin
valued at over £1,000.

SAMPLES of petroleum from a number of seepages in the
Casino district (New South Wales) show crude petroleum with a
paraffin base, others show also a volatile oil, and cover an area of

408 The Empire Review

over a mile. Oil experts now in Australia are to be invited to go
over the field. Crude petroleum is oozing from rocks near the
Kichmond Kiver, one and a half miles from Casino.

THE butter factory at Murrumbidgee, which is being worked
on the co-operative principle by the Government of New South
Wales put out 201 tons of butter during the year ended 30th
June, and paid cream suppliers £26,472. The cheese factory
also had a successful year. This factory produced 85 tons of
cheese, and the pay to the milk suppliers was £5,000.

THE Chairman of the Federal Alkali Committee is visiting
Western Australia, inquiring into the possibilities of establishing
an alkali factory in the State. It is proposed to expend from
half a million to a million of money in the industry, and there
are many subsidiary industries which would naturally follow in
its trail.

THE movement for industrial self-reliance is gaining ground
in every State of Australia. The Colonial Secretary in Western
Australia, replying to a labour deputation asking that books for
the State schools should be compiled and printed in the State,
has promised that as the advantages of local production are so
numerous and important, if the difference in cost be not too great,
he will recommend the Government to undertake the work.

SOUTH AFRICA

DUEING the past twelve months the following new industries
have been initiated in South Africa, and in many cases production
has begun. Manufacture of calcium carbide, manufacture of
chloride of lime, iron smelting, manufacture of alcohol motor fuel,
wattle bark extraction, toy-making, manufacture of sauces and
other condiments, glass bottle manufacture, manufacture of shoe
and floor polishes, manufacture of sulphate of ammonium, detin-
ning of scrap tin, asbestos manufacture, tin smelting, production
of arsenic, manufacture of steel shoes and dies, manufacture of
starch from maize, antimony smelting, meat canning, manufacture
of lead shot and pellets, manufacture of paints and distempers
from local materials, chicory production and preparation, manu-
facture of glue and size, manufacture of raw wax from by-products
of sugar-cane. __

IN addition, new canneries and boot factories have been
started, butter, cheese and bacon factories have been opened, a
cement factory capable of manufacturing 720,000 bags, of 188 Ibs.
each, has commenced production near Mafeking, and box-making
(card and wood) has been very largely extended both at the coast
and in the inland provinces. For many years local fibres have
been used on a small scale in rope-making, and arrangements are
understood to be under consideration for the extension of existing
operations. A promising fish-curing industry has also been started
at Jeffreys Bay, in the Cape Province. At this point on the coast
most descriptions of fish abound all the year round. The fish,

Empire Trade Notes 409

after being smoked or cured, is chiefly disposed of on the Bloem-
fontein and Johannesburg markets. There is every likelihood of
a new industry being established in Natal for the purpose of
extracting oil from cloves brought down from Zanzibar and other
East African ports. This list by no means exhausts the number
of industries which have either come into being or have received
additional impetus as a result of the abnormal conditions created
by the war, but they sufficiently testify to the fact that the Union
has definitely entered upon a period of manufacturing activity.

PIG IRON will shortly be produced at Vereeniging and
Pretoria, and in a few years it is anticipated that no part of a
mine battery will be imported. The ore from which the pig will
be produced at Vereeniging comes from Kromdraai, and the
Pretoria furnace is using ore from the extensive, if low-grade,
deposits on the Pretoria town lands. Four essentials are com-
monly said to go to the making of an iron industry — ore, flux,
fuel and a market. In the case of Vereeniging and Pretoria
these factors are, up to a point, all present. South Africa is full
of iron ores — the laboratory at Vereeniging has already had over
800 specimens from different deposits submitted to it from all
over the country. Fluxes and fuel are available in abundance,
the Vereeniging works having contracted for the supply of an
excellent coke from the Vryheid district. The market is naturally
limited during the war, but is big enough to support a fair-sized
industry. The Pretoria iron works aim to deal mainly with the
town lands deposits, but the Vereeniging people have adopted a
different policy. Their decision to instal a blast furnace at
Vereeniging was based largely on the fact that an industrial
atmosphere had already been created by the Vaal ; and with
cheap coal and water available, a beginning might there be most
suitably made. Ores from all over the country will be tested ;
and it is the intention, when ore suitable both in quality and
quantity is discovered, to erect the larger and more permanent
works in the immediate neighbourhood of that deposit, wherever
it may be.

THE improvement in the farming of woolled sheep continues,
and is further stimulated by the high prices prevailing for wool
and mutton. Large sales of stud sheep have taken place, and
high prices being realised both for imported and home-bred sheep.
The price of wool has reached a figure never before realised in
this country, and the import of mutton, which amounted to
3,463,899 Ibs. in 1911 — the year after Union — has now practically
ceased.

SPEAKING at the opening of the Agricultural Show at Grey-
town, General Botha remarked upon the need of local shows in
building up the central shows in larger centres. He pointed out
that the present time necessitated study in scientific farming, and
felt that the policy of sending students from South Africa to
other countries to study their methods was sound, and would
produce grand results in South Africa. Eegarding the progress
made by South Africa, the Prime Minister said the figures for

410 The Empire Review

1913 of agricultural products exported showed a clear balance
in the Union's favour of £6,000,000. In 1917 we exported
70,000,000 pounds in weight of wool less than in 1913, but, in
spite of this smaller amount, we received in value in 1917
£3,000,000 over and above 1913. Excluding gold, diamonds and
ostrich feathers, the general figures showed that in 1913 our
exports amounted to £11,500,000, and in 1917 to £19,500,000.
Foodstuffs increased in export in the same period from £3,490,000
to £4,000,000, but while they had achieved much they had not
gone far enough yet. He was very anxious to see South Africa,
with its brilliant sunshine, dotted with industries from the
Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

IN the first four months of the present year, South Africa
imported and exported more than was the case in the corre-
sponding period of 1917, the figures being: 1918, imports,
£13,598,071 ; exports, £10,217,607 ; 1917, imports, £10,994,913 ;
exports, £8,261,199. The bulk of the increase of the exports is
due to the greater value of articles of food and drink exported,
which has risen from £1,066,023 to £1,987,126 for the four
months. Some other notable advances have been made, chiefly
the ostrich feather industry. Quantities of ostrich feathers are
being bought, sorted and packed in Oudtshoorn. Huge packing
cases leave the town each week for the ports, to await shipment
until times become normal and restrictions are removed.

OVER 250 tons of sulphate of ammonia per month are now
being manufactured at Vryheid, and it is expected to increase the
output to at least 350 tons by the end of the current year.
Anthracite coal is being used, consequently there are no tar
products of any importance. The coal is treated in Mond Pro-
ducers, and is entirely gasified. The ammonia is washed out of
the gas, which, with the exception of a portion used for boiler
firing, is blown to waste. It is proposed to take steps to utilise
this surplus gas as soon as conditions permit of the importation
of the necessary plant.

THEEE is still an ample supply of reserve coal at the Bluff, as
the result of the policy initiated by the Kailway Administration
last year of depositing coal at convenient sites on the Bluff. This
has largely achieved the objects aimed at, of minimising the
detention of steamers at this port, and also of obviating the holding
up of trucks loaded with shipment coal, «£ or as soon as the coal is
deposited in the reserve areas the trucks are at once released for
return to the collieries. Another important aspect of the case is
that ships can freely come to Durban, feeling assured that the
requirements in the way of coal will be fully met, as there is
ample ground for depositing sites at the Bluff, on which there can
be accumulated a sufficiency of reserve coal to meet any sudden
or abnormal shipping requirements which may arise from time
to time.

THE quantity of coke manufactured in Natal during 1917 is
reported to have reached nearly 20,000 tons. The local article is

Empire Trade Notes 411

rapidly superseding imported coke, which, during 1917, had fallen
to 6,700 tons, as compared with 23,000 tons the previous year.

THE farm " Spitzkop," near Graaff Reinet, has recently been
purchased, and one of the objects of the new owners is to exploit
the possibilities of obtaining potash in commercial quantities from
the dense thickets of prickly-pear which exist there. This enter-
prise, new to South Africa, will doubtless be watched with intense
interest by those who hold faithfully to the belief that prickly-
pear may yet be turned into a source of wealth for our country.

THE need for new sources for the supply of beef is growing
daily. The tremendous demands on America and the Argentine
and the depletion of the European herds are bound to result in a
strong demand, after the war, for meat from other centres capable
of producing it. Thus there is every hope that the South African
beef export trade will increase and become a valuable factor in the
country's growing prosperity.

IN connection with the work of development and restoration
which is being undertaken in Palestine by both British and
American Commissions, important orders for South African cement
are expected to be placed.

CANADA

IN order to stimulate construction and to pave the way for
increasing shipbuilding after the war, the Dominion Government
have granted permission for the export of ships to be constructed
in both the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards. The conditions on
which permits are given are that during the war they should not
engage in enemy trade, and that no demand be made on Great
Britain for materials, machinery or labour to build them. When
one considers that the individual Provinces are lending every
assistance, and that the Municipality of Three Kivers in Quebec
Province is offering actual free sites, exemption from taxation
and other inducements, there seems every possibility of a Canadian
shipbuilding boom as soon as peace is proclaimed.

CONTRACTS have been placed with a shipbuilding company at
Victoria (British Columbia), for the construction of twenty
wooden vessels. The provincial government has granted an
option on a site suitable for the purpose. The north end of the
city of Halifax, and the devastated section, is an immense human
beehive of industry. The new gigantic shipyards, which, when
completed, will employ between 3,000 and 4,000 men, and the
initial rebuilding work, which commenced recently, will cause a
great «ehange. Already the contractors have a full complement
of steam shovels, engines, cars, compressors and 300 men at
work excavating for three immense building berths in which
any vessel from 100 tons to an ocean liner or battle-cruiser can
be built. The excavating contractors expect soon to have at
least 600 men at work in order to hurry the building berths to
completion. Particulars are to hand of the contract which the

412 The Empire Review

St. John Drydock and Shipbuilding Company have secured from
the Department of Public Works for the construction of a dry
dock and ship repairing plant at Courtney Bay. The contract,
which involves an expenditure of two millions sterling, calls for the
construction of the largest dry dock on that side of the Atlantic,
and the work will probably be completed in three years.

IT is estimated that the fish waste in Canada is about 46 per
cent, of the catch. In the lobster packing industry the waste is
about 75 per cent. On the great lakes 44 per cent, of the total
annual catch is waste. It is believed that much of this is
economically collectable and convertible into fertiliser, stock food,
oils, etc. At Port Dover, on Lake Erie, an experimental plant
was established in the autumn of 1916 for the treatment of fish
waste brought in by the local fishermen. Although this plant
was a comparatively small one, and the results therefrom incon-
clusive as to what might be accomplished by larger plants with
adequate machinery, it demonstrated the feasibility of manufac-
turing profitably stock foods and other necessary and valuable by-
products of the fish waste. Further experiments as to the food
values of the fish meal manufactured at the experimental plant at
Port Dover are now being carried out at the central experimental
farm at Ottawa.

AT a meeting of the Eraser Biver Canners' Association the
opening prices for salmon were set. The fishermen are planning
to preserve more than ever this year. An effort will be made to
establish a run of pink salmon in the Fraser Eiver each year.
Heretofore this fish has only appeared in the river every other
year. Eggs will be collected from northern streams this autumn
and transferred to Fraser Eiver hatcheries and the young liberated
in that watershed.

DUEING the first three months of 1918 there were treated at
Southern Ontario refineries 1,242 tons of ore and concentrates
and 1,483 tons of residues from cobalt and outlying silver camps.
Silver bullion recovered was 1,610,989 ounces, worth $1,394,599.
In addition, arsenic cobalt and nickel oxides and sulphates, nickel
carbonate, metallic nickel and metallic cobalt were produced. Of
the latter, 22,752 pounds were used in the manufacture of
" stellite," which is a cobalt alloy used as a high speed cutting-
tool. A feature of note is the great increase, 100 per cent., in the
value of cobalt metal and oxide due to the increasing uses and
demand for these products.

A " Lignite Utilisation Board " has been appointed at
Ottawa to deal with problems concerned with the further
development and use of deposits of lignite coal in Western Canada.
The appointment of this Board is the result of negotiations which
took place some time ago between the Governments of Sas-
katchewan and Manitoba and the Federal authorities. The
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Depart-
ment of Mines have for a long time been closely investigating the
possibilities of carbonizing and briquetting lignite coal to make it

Empire Trade Notes 418

more suitable for household use, as well as the possibility of pro-
ducing by-products such as oil, pitch, ammonia, sulphate,
and gas.

A DISCOVERY of molybdenite and iron in large quantities in
the Laurential hills near Quyon, Province of Quebec, has resulted
in a boom in the mining industry in that locality. Molybdenum
steel is used for rifle barrels, propeller shafts, large guns, wire,
and particularly for the manufacture of high speed tools. Molyb-
denum high speed steel contains from eight to ten per cent,
molybdenum. When the other elements exist in the right pro-
portion a steel is obtained of great hardness, with the peculiar
property of retaining its temper when heated to a high degree,
differing in this respect from all carbon steels.

RAPID progress is being made with the installation of a
platinum refining equipment at the assay office at Vancouver, and
this institution will soon be ready to operate. This plant will be
a great boon to mining men, and will give an impetus to the
production of platinum. Heretofore, miners of this mineral have
had to market it in the United States.

PIG iron is now being cast from an electrically operated furnace
in British Columbia, and is proving to be a great success. Con-
tracte for 2,000 tons of pig iron have been obtained, a portion of
these being orders for Japan.

British Columbia has at New Westminster what is said to be
the largest vegetable drying plant on the North American Continent.
It has a daily capacity of over 100 tons, and was working day and
night during the whole of last winter. At other points in the
Eraser Valley and elsewhere a number of plants were established
where war orders were placed. The evaporating process promises
to become one of permanent importance to the agriculture of the
Province of British Columbia.

THE Saskatchewan Co-operative Elevator Company is going
ahead rapidly with work on new elevators in the province. Seven
elevators have already been erected this season, and work is pro-
ceeding on four others. One new elevator has been purchased at
Surbiton. The elevators completed this year by the construction
department of the Company are situated at Glidden, Scott, Drake,
Lawson, Plenty, Kinley, Melfort and Senate.

THE work of the Toronto Board of Harbour Commissioners
for this year is confined solely to revenue-producing land in
Ashbridge's Bay industrial area and the inner water front. Of
the 257 acres which have been reclaimed in Ashbridge's Bay,
160 acres are now under lease, the land being valued at from $2,000
to $3,000 per acre. This year the Commission intend to reclaim
about 150 additional acres, so that an asset worth at least
$3,000,000 will be produced by a portion of the $2,000,000 pro-
posed to be expended. The Commissioners are looking forward
to being in a position to provide a large number of sites for
industries which will require locations at the end of the war.

414 The Empire Review

A £20,000 abattoir and packing-plant has been erected at
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. It will handle 100 head of cattle a
day and 100 hogs an hour. The progress of the cattle industry at
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, has necessitated an extension of the
packing-plant there. Work has been started upon this, and is to
be rushed to completion with all possible speed. It will involve
an expenditure of £14,000.

THE Ontario Hydro-Electric Commission is spending five
millions sterling on the development of Chippewa Creek, Niagara
Falls. On the site of the new canal the largest mechanical] shovels
in the world are now in operation, and about 1,000 hands are
employed. One of the shovels has a 90-feet boom, picks up four
waggon loads of earth at each operation, and deposits its contents
on railway cars 45 feet above its own level.

A successful test of telephone communication between a
train dispatcher's office and a moving train has been made by the
Canadian Government. The device embodies features that -are
said to make it usable in a practical way. The track is used as
the conductor, and the electrical current reaches the moving train
through its wheels. The test was made between Moncton and
Humphrey's station, New Brunswick, on the Canadian Govern-
ment Eailway.

THE Canadian Northern Bailway Company intend to spend
about £400,000 on improvements and the construction of new
branch lines. The majority of this work will be carried on
west of Port Arthur, and a considerable amount in Alberta and
Saskatchewan.

THE high price of elephants has affected the timber trade pf
Burmah to such an extent that an official has been visiting
Canada with the object of securing mechanical tractors. He
inspected timber limits at St. Pacome, Quebec, and other localities
where log hauling machinery is successfully employed.

BANK clearings at twenty-one Canadian cities for one week
recently aggregated $232,367,544, an increase of over $31,615,230.
The eastern cities showed increases, Montreal leading with
$91,750,074 against $74,969,187 in the same period last year, an
increase of nearly $17,000,000.

OVBESEA CO-RESPONDENTS,

THE EMPIRE
REVIEW

AND

JOURNAL OF BRITISH TRADE
VOL. XXXII. DECEMBER, 1918. No. 215.

THE TERMS OF PEACE

VIEWS OF AUSTRALIA

Now that we have achieved victory complete and over-
whelming we have to consider what we are to do with it, what
this peace means to us. We went into the struggle to attain
definite objects. We fought for Eight against Might, for
Liberty against Military Despotism— to secure our national
safety and our political and economic independence. Had the
peace been a compromise, had Germany stood at the Conference
table as a formidable power, had she been able to say, " Thus
far shall you go and no further," then it would be for us not to
lay down terms but to consider the minimum we could accept
and how far the power at our disposal would enable us to enforce
that minimum. But we are not in that position. We are able
to dictate terms of peace.

I agree with President Wilson that at the peace conference we
should not be actuated by feelings of revenge and should not dictate
humiliating terms merely because they are so, we should establish
the new world upon such a sure foundation that it will live through-
out all the ages. But we ought at least to make certain of the
objects for which we fought. Australia was moved to fight
because she was the freest of all nations — her people have the
greatest voice in the government of their country — and no
argument caused the Australians to rally to the standard more
than the feeling that £he privileges they possessed as free men
to make whatever laws they pleased were in danger. We have
the right, therefore, now that the victory has been won, to stand
in the future, in so far as our rights of self-government are
concerned, where we stood before the war commenced. And
this applies to our material safety. Our privileges and national

VOL. XXXII.— No. 215. 2 i

416 The Empire Review

safety should never be in doubt for one moment, and all those
things necessary to safeguard them should be guaranteed for
the present and the years to come. There should be in the terms
of peace such safeguards as will put the matter beyond the
realms of doubt.

We have a right to demand that we shall not live for ever
under the menace of impending disaster — that we shall not
have to keep a great army and navy to uphold the integrity of
our great island home. This means that we should be given the
control of those islands upon which the national safety of Australia
depends in the same way as France has been given the provinces
torn from her by the Franco-Prussian treaty of 1871.

The Dominions have put into the field close upon a million
troops — amongst the finest troops that have ever fought in this
or any war. Of their valour and their achievements it is not
necessary for me to speak; they are engraved not only in the
hearts and minds of their own people but on the hearts and
minds of their kinsmen in these islands. Because of this it
was recognised, long ago, that although we were not consulted
as to our entry into this war, we had earned the right to be
consulted as to the terms of peace.

It would perhaps be well for me to set out what were the
avowed intentions of the British Government in this connection.
A despatch dated January 21st, 1915, addressed by the Secretary
of State for the Colonies to the Governor-General of the Common-
wealth stated that : — " It is the intention of His Majesty's
Government to consult the Prime Minister most fully and, if
possible, personally when the time arrives to discuss possible
terms of peace." In reply to a question in the House of Commons
on the 14th of April following, the Secretary of State for the
Colonies, after quoting the above, added : — " I need hardly add
that His Majesty's Government intend to observe the spirit as
well as the letter of this declaration."

Nor are these isolated statements ; they express an intention
referred to in many speeches and declarations both in the House
of Commons and outside by His Majesty's ministers. It is clear,
therefore, that with regard to peace terms we were to be consulted
at the time, and beforehand.

Now I come to the main point. The terms of peace have
been settled. About that there is no possible doubt. Let me
give an extract from the Times which specifies what was agreed
to, after discussion in the Versailles Council, by the Allied
Governments and communicated to the Government of the
United States : —

" The Allied Governments have given careful considera-
tion to the correspondence which has passed between the

The Terms of Peace 417

President of the United States and the German Government
subject to the qualifications which follow, they declare their
willingness to make peace with the Government of Germany
on the terms of peace laid down in the President's Address
to Congress of January 8th, 1918, and the principles of
settlement enunciated in his subsequent addresses."

" They must' point out, however, that Clause 2 relating
to what is usually described as the Freedom of the Seas, is
open to various interpretations, some of which they could
not accept. They must therefore reserve to themselves
complete freedom on this subject when they enter the
peace conference.

" Further, in the conditions of peace laid down in his
Address to Congress of January 8th, 1918, the President
declared that invaded territories must be restored as well as
evacuated and freed. The Allied Governments feel that no
doubt ought to be allowed to exist as to what this provision
implies. By it they understand that compensation will be
made by Germany for all damage caused to the civil
population of the Allies and their property by the aggression
of Germany, by land, by sea, and from the air."

Here, then, is the position. It is so clear as to make misunder-
standing impossible. Two qualifications and two only are made
to President Wilson's terms. Subject to these the Allied
Governments declare their willingness to make peace with the
Government of Germany on the terms of peace laid down in the
President's Address to Congress and the principles of settlement
enunciated in his subsequent addresses.

There can be no question, therefore, that the terms of peace
have been agreed upon. Let me emphasise this conclusion.
Germany sought the intervention of President Wilson in order
to make peace. President Wilson put forward his terms, and
asked Germany if she were prepared to accept them. After
prolonged negotiation, Germany did so. The Allies were then
asked if they were prepared to make peace on these terms, and
they agreed to do so subject to two qualifications. That the two
qualifications were made shows conclusively that the Allies
recognised that as they would be bound by the terms agreed
upon they must make their position on those two points clear.
They reserved complete freedom with regard to the clause dealing
with " Freedom of the Seas," and on that they are not bound by
President Wilson's fourteen points. And they made perfectly
clear that the clause relating to " evacuation and restoration "
must cover certain things. Subject to these qualifications they
definitely accepted the President's terms of peace.

Why were the qualifications made ? They were made because

418 The Empire Review

the clauses in question were open to interpretations which the
Allies could not accept. The assumption, therefore, is that no
other point is open to any interpretation but that which they can
accept. Here are terms of a contract which one party accepts.
The other party is approached by an arbitrator and says he will
accept them subject to two qualifications which are made. Does
anyone doubt that this is a solemn and binding agreement, that
subject to the two qualifications the Allies have definitely accepted
the President's terms of peace ? On all other points they are
bound.

We have now to consider whether the Dominions were con-
sulted, as promised, beforehand when the time came to discuss
terms of peace. Speaking for Australia I can say most definitely
that they were not. But were the circumstances such as to
preclude consultation? Again I say definitely they were not.
The discussion of President Wilson's terms began on October 29
and did not conclude until November 4. And as» I was in this
country I could have been consulted by letter, telegram or
personally ; the representatives of the other Dominions might
have been consulted by cable. They could have been asked,
" Do you accept these terms subject to the two qualifications, if
not, what are your objections ? "

It is obvious, therefore, that the assurance given to us in the
Secretary of State's dispatch has not been fulfilled either in the
spirit or the letter.

I come now to the contentions set out in the statement issued
by the Government through the Press Bureau. (1) That the
terms of peace have not been settled. (2) That the terms agreed
upon are not inconsistent with those agreed on by the Dominions
in 1917-18. (3) That there was no time to consult the
Dominions. (4) That the British Government would not agree
to the German Colonies being handed back to Germany — and
that Clause 3 relating to economic equality and limiting the
right of the Dominions to differentiate by their tariff between one
country and another meant nothing, and would not in any way
limit those rights of self-government we enjoyed before the war
and to preserve which we fought.

It is a little difficult to reconcile these conflicting statements,
but let me deal with them as they stand. As to (1), it is sufficient
to read the plain unambiguous and most definite terms of the
message from the Allies to President Wilson " that they declare
their willingness to make peace with the Government of Germany
on the terms of peace laid down, etc." If these words do not
mean anything words have surely lost their meaning. But no
one can doubt for a moment that they mean what they say — they
are the terms of peace and we are limited by them. I do not say

The Terms of Peace 419

that the Peace Conference may not, inside those terms, do some-
thing ; but it is perfectly clear the Allied Governments realised
that those terms limited their scope of action, because they state
that they cannot accept the clause relating to " Freedom of the
Seas," and that the interpretation of the clause referring to
" reparation and restoration " must be such as they decide.

Do the terms guarantee to Australia that to which she is
entitled? They do not. I call attention to Clause 8 : "All
French territory should be freed and the invaded portions restored,
and the wrong done to France by Prussia in 1871 in the matter
of Alsace and Lorraine, which has unsettled the peace of the
world for nearly fifty years, should be righted in order that peace
may once more be made secure in the interests of all." I ask my
readers to contrast the position of France in relation to Alsace
Lorraine thus definitely secured in the bond and the position of
Australia in regard to the islands in the Pacific and to her
economic rights under Clause 3.

That is now definitely settled. The Peace Conference can do
nothing at all in regard to it. Alsace and Lorraine are now in
the possession of France. The terms of peace provide that they
are to remain in her possession. Contrast that with our position
in regard to the islands in the Pacific, covered by Clause 5 of the
agreement which states that there is to be " a free, open minded,
and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based
upon a strict observance of the principle that in determining all
such questions of sovereignty the interests of the populations
concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of
the Government whose title is to be determined."

Is there any mention in Clause 8 of such reservations ? Is
there any room for such doubt as is implied in Clause 5. Is there
any mention of a plebiscite in the case of Alsace and Lorraine ;
of "a free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment"?
Not at all. It is expressly stated that Alsace and Lorraine shall
pass to France. The assurance which the British Government
makes, and which I accept with the utmost satisfaction, that
they will support our claims to the possession of these islands
stands on an altogether different footing to that which governs
the position of France to-day in regard to Alsace and Lorraine,
and of Britain in regard to "freedom of the seas." In the one
case the matter is definitely settled by the peace terms, in the
other there is absolute freedom. But we are bound by Clause 5.
And when " equitable claims of the Government " are referred to,
which government is meant ? The Government of Germany, of
the Commonwealth or what? What population is meant? Is
a plebiscite to be taken? We do not know. But we do know
that where there should be certainty, the air is full of doubt ; that

420 The Empire Review

we Australians who have helped bind a victorious peace, and
earned a right to the safety which the possession of these islands
will ensure, have no guarantee that safety will he given to us.

I pass on to Point 2, that the terms are not inconsistent with
the terms agreed upon by the Dominions. First let me say that
this contention is not relevant to the issue, which is that the
Dominions were promised that they should " be consulted on the
terms of peace at the time, and beforehand." The fact that
discussions took place in 1917, when war was raging, when peace
was a distant and to some an unattainable ideal, when it seemed
that stalemate was even probable, is not to be regarded as a
substitute for that consultation definitely promised when the
time came for the discussion of the actual terms of peace.

Consider 1917 and the circumstances under which the dis-
cussion took place. America had come in, but had not marshalled
its resources. The sky was covered with black menacing clouds.
The year which began with the collapse of Russia ended with the
debacle of Italy and with Passchendaele, one of the most tragic
and bloody efforts of the Allies to secure victory. In the spring of
this year what was our position ? Who would have said in the
latter days of March or the early days of April that we were able
to dictate peace ? Who would have said even in' August, when
the Imperial Cabinet was discussing the situation, that in No-
vember the war would be over and we should have won an over-
whelming victory? Whatever was done in 1917 or early this
year is sutterly beside the question, for the terms of peace naturally
vary as the military situation varies.

We went to war for national safety and economic indepen-
dence ; and as the military situation shifted so we drew nearer to
or receded from the attainment of our objectives. The terms of
peace, the attainment of the objects for which we went to war,
depended upon military victory. And when victory was won, orr
in the terms of the Secretary of State's despatch, beforehand, and
at the actual time of making peace, we should have been con-
sulted as to what terms we desired.

But let me deal with the contention that nothing that has been
done has been inconsistent. It is inconsistent with the decisions
of 1917-18. Even if the Government's contention were correct it
would not touch the point. But in any case it is opposed to the
facts. Clause 3, by which the Allies are now bound, insists upon
" The removal as far as possible of all economic barriers and the
establishment of an equality of trade conditions among all the
nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its
maintenance."

We have been told by some people that this does not mean
anything. This is surely a grave reflection upon a great man

The Terms of Peace 421

who has played a great part in this war — President Wilson, for
he has set out what he considers the terms of peace ought to be
in words that admit of no ambiguity. To contend that Point 3
means nothing is absurd. President Wilson has aimed at a
definite object, and being asked on the eve of an election if that
object involved the abolition of all tariffs, he said it did not, but
that any tariff should be applied equally to all foreign nations.
That is then the meaning of Point 3. After full reflection he says
that we cannot differentiate in our tariffs between one nation and
another, that is to say, whatever tariff applies to France or
America must apply to every and any other nation. He says
that " The weapons of economic discipline and punishment should
be left to the joint action of all nations for the purpose of punish-
ing those who will not submit to the general programme of justice
and equality." In this he refers to the League of Nations. The
right of each individual nation is then taken away, and whatever
is to be done is to be done, not by the will of Britain, of
Australia, or of Canada, but by the will of the " League of
Nations."

Now it is said this is not inconsistent with what was agreed
upon in 1917. Let me tell my readers what was agreed upon then,
in order that they may compare the decisions. Amongst othei
things it was decided " that at least one of the principles under*
lying the Paris Resolutions, namely, that of securing economic
freedom for the Allied countries, and resisting attempts on the part
of the Enemy Powers to obtain for themselves what is known as
the most-favoured-nation treatment from any of the Allies, is
entirely to be commended ... it is out of the question that the
British Empire should allow itself to be bound in the terms of
peace to accord such treatment to our present enemies." That is
to say, the Dominions when consulted in 1917 declared that they
would not grant favoured-nation treatment to our enemies. Under
Clause 3 they are now compelled to do so. How then can it be
said that the terms of peace are consistent with the decisions of
1917-18.

Let me deal with another question — that of indemnities. In
1917 it was felt that while we were unable to make any precise
recommendations as to the extent and nature of the indemnity,
our demands must take account of the then existing conditions of
the enemy countries, the state of their resources, and their ability
to pay any indemnity whether in money or kind. It was felt
that all that was possible at that time was to indicate the most
desirable form of indemnity, and to select among the many com-
peting claims for reparation on the part of the allied nations those
entitled to priority of consideration.

These facts disclose that there was plain talk of indemnities —

422 The Empire Review

both in money and in kind. But the peace terms do not
provide for indemnities, as distinguished from reparation for
damage done. There are other points in violent conflict with the
statement which has been made, but I do not propose to refer to
them. Nothing can be clearer than that the terms agreed upon
in 1917 and reaffirmed in 1918 are quite inconsistent with the
terms of peace now laid down. These terms do not provide for
indemnities as distinguished from compensation. They give to
Belgium and France what they want ; they give to Australia
nothing. We have spent nearly 300 millions sterling on the
war; our annual obligations for pensions and repatriation will
amount to millions more, and we will get nothing. We have
sacrificed our young men ; the number of our dead is appalling.
We have poured out blood and treasure. But there is no pro-
vision here for lightening that staggering burden of debt which
we have a right to ask shall be exacted from the aggressor by one
of his victims. We went out to fight for liberty. Liberty is
triumphant. Australia has helped materially to achieve this
triumph. Is she not entitled to demand that Germany shall bear
the burden of her war debt? Is the criminal to escape all
consequences of his crime ?

But to return to clause 3. Let me show that clause 3 does
limit our right to make tariffs in our own way. The Daily Mail
of the 12th instant reports Mr. Lloyd George as having said :
"As to Free Trade, President Wilson's 3 precludes any idea of
economic war." It is evident from this as well as from the
President's own explanation that clause 3, so far from meaning
nothing, means what it says. I will not refer to the circum-
stances of Australia and of the reasons why we shall insist upon
the rights to make such tariff distinctions between one nation
and another as we think proper. But I say unhesitatingly that
the people of Australia will never willingly surrender that right.
Our circumstances make it imperative that for our industrial and
national welfare we shall retain it.

It may be that out of the Peace Conference we shall get some
of the things we want. But to have bound ourselves — we who
are conquerors, we who have suffered so much. Not to have
set out in the bond that the islands shall be ours, that our right
to make economic treaties should remain, that indemnities should
be exacted, is to me inexplicable. Australia stands, after four
years of dreadful war, her interests not guaranteed, her rights
of self-government menaced, and with no provision made for
indemnities. That is the situation, and it can hardly be regarded
as satisfactory.

W. M. HUGHES

(Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia) .

Commercial Advantages of the Channel Tunnel 423

COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGES OF THE
CHANNEL TUNNEL

THE subject of the Channel Tunnel may he viewed from many
standpoints, but in this article I propose to confine my arguments
to the commercial and peaceful side of the question, omitting all
reference to its military and strategic considerations.

The tunnel has for its object the linking up of the railroad
system of Great Britain with that of the Continent of Europe.
Prior to the introduction of railroads the disadvantage of the
limited means of communication between these countries had
constantly been recognised, and more than 100 years ago pro-
posals were put forward for the construction of a tunnel between
France and England to provide a road for the diligences and stage
coaches of the period and for the wagons in which merchandise
was then transported. Napoleon viewed the project with favour,
but hislpreoccupation in the wars of the period prevented anything
being done. Moreover, notwithstanding the- skill of the engineers of
that day in road-building, it is extremely doubtful whether they could
have built the tunnel or have ventilated it adequately afterwards.

In the middle of the last century the great railroad systems of
England and of France were constructed, and the disadvantage of
the transhipment of goods for the voyage across the Channel was
then still more acutely realised. The project was revived in 1870
and in 1880, trial headings or tunnels were driven under the sea
from each side of the Straits for a distance of about 2,000 metres.
Authority to make a submarine railway was granted in France,
and Bills were introduced in the British Parliament to obtain the
necessary powers. The undertaking was considered by a joint
committee of both Houses, presided over by Lord Lansdowne.
The committee reported that the scheme was feasible, that a
large proportion of the passenger traffic between England and
the Continent would pass through the tunnel, and that lighter
merchandise would use it, but that coal and heavy goods would
continue to be transported by sea. The military authorities,
however, opposed the suggestion, and the committee having by
six votes to four decided that it was inexpedient that Parliamentary

424 The Empire Review

sanction should be given to a submarine communication between
this country and France, the idea was for the time abandoned.

Thirty-five years have since passed. The wealth of Great
Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and all the other
Powers has increased many fold. Love of travel has extended
through all classes of the people. The demand for foreign goods
has increased enormously in all countries. Railroad travelling in
respect alike of speed and comfort has improved out of all
knowledge. Sleeping cars and dining cars enable long journeys
to be made without fatigue, but England is still cut off from the
Continent by a strip of twenty-five miles of sea — an exposed sea,
at times, it is true, calm as a mill pond, but at others, for days at
a time, so stormy and foggy that the passage is only made with
extreme difficulty and danger. And this sea passage cannot
apparently, in existing circumstances, be improved. The harbours
on either side the Channel only admit of small steamers being
used. The tides are so strong in the Straits and their rise and
fall so great that the proposal for a ferry to take trains across
has never received any substantial support; and I am afraid
there would always be a feeling, if any large expenditure were
suggested at the Channel ports for a ferry, that it would be
money thrown away, for it would be of no use when the tunnel
had been built, as of course it will be sooner or later.

While the British are not deterred by the crossing because
they have to endure it whenever they wish to travel, it is other-
wise with the inhabitants of France, of Belgium, of Spain and of
Italy. They can select the health resort or foreign scene they
wish to visit and go there direct by train, but the suggestion that
they should take the short sea voyage to England is sufficient to
deter nine-tenths of the Continental travellers from coming to
our shores. England thus remains a sealed book to the vast
majority of French people. The greatest city in the world — the
scenery of Wales, the lochs and moors of Scotland, our bracing
and beautiful seaside and inland resorts — the cathedrals, are
never visited because of the Channel crossing. Only 200,000
persons from the Continent visited this country in 1914, that is,
from all the European nations and by all routes, and the greater
majority of these came on business.

The effect of the sea voyage on the goods traffic between
Great Britain and France and the Continent generally is probably
even more serious than the effect on passenger travel. The
expenses in breaking bulk and in re-handling cargo are well
known to business men. The goods from the Continent to this
country have to be packed for a sea voyage, and the journey from
le Havre to Southampton or London requires substantially the
same packing as for a voyage to New York or Australia, and

Commercial Advantages of the Channel Tunnel 425

the freight charges are often less to New York than across the
Channel. While the cost of this voyage and double transhipment
of goods is fully understood, the fact that certain goods cannot
be sent to this country at all is perhaps sometimes forgotten.
For instance, many of the delicate wines of France, Spain and
Italy cannot be sent to this country at all, and others which do
come have for the same reason to be fortified with spirits and
lose much of their charm and delicacy. In this connection it
may be recorded that in the seven years preceding the war, trade
between England and France increased by thirty per cent., while
trade between France and Germany increased by something like
sixty per cent. To my mind the greater increase in the case of
France and Germany was due to the existence of the railway
facilities between those two countries.

Consider for a moment the vast commercial advantages which
would follow if the tunnel were in existence. It has been stated
officially that before the war Manchester goods took something
like from five to seven days to reach their destination in France
by grande vitesse, and from fourteen to twenty-one days by petite
Vitesse. If we had a railway right through goods could be
"placed on the trains " in Manchester and go right through to
their destination abroad by train. I invite my readers to con-
sider what that means to the future of the Allies' trade. Then,
again, we should have a reduction in the amount of damage
which often occurs to goods, and consequently in the claims that
follow upon such damage.

Again, perishable goods must suffer on a voyage. At present
there are six handlings. The goods are first placed by the
consignor in the carrier's road van and taken to the train. They
are next put on railway trucks. From there they are taken to
the steamer, and from the steamer they are loaded on trucks
again, and afterwards they are taken from the trucks and put in
the road van for delivery. If we had a railway right through,
two, if not three, of these handlings would be saved. We have a
very large trade in fruit from France. Before the war this fruit
had to leave Paris in the morning in order to be sold on the
following morning in our market in London. If we had a
through service the fruit would leave Paris in the afternoon, and
be sold in London next morning ; the empties could be returned
the same evening, and be ready to be filled with fruit to be sent
back to London next day. The same applies to the trade with
Italy in fruit and vegetables and flowers, in which great increase
is looked for after the war.

The most conservative figures of the tonnage of goods and
merchandise which would pass through the tunnel in both direc-
tions were prepared in the year before the war. They show that
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426 The Empire Review

in that year 13,987,000 tons were transported by ship between
England and France. Of these, it is claimed that 5 ' 9 per cent,
would have gone by train through the tunnel. Goods traffic
with Belgium was 5,194,523 tons, and l-66 of this is claimed for
the tunnel, while from the traffic with Holland only 0*63 per
cent, was claimed for the tunnel. This gave a total volume of
merchandise through the tunnel estimated at 944,000 tons for a
year of pre-war trade, estimated to yield £640,000 in receipts.

Kegarding the passenger traffic, the latest figures published
are for the year 1912. In that year the traffic in both directions
between England and the Continent reached a total of 1,800,000
persons, and the yearly increase over the last three years was at
the rate of 100,000. At that rate of increase the total number of
passengers in 1918 would have reached 2,400,000. We cannot,
even if extremely conservative, compute at less than 65 per cent,
the percentage of passengers who would take the tunnel in
preference to the sea routes. At 10s. per head 1,560,000
passengers would yield receipts amounting to £780,000, to which
must be added : for luggage, £78,000 ; for postal service (at
least), £40,000; for goods traffic (say), £640,000— a total of
£1,538,000.

The cost of working a line which is only a connecting link
between two great routes, and has no terminals, is very small ; it
would not exceed 25 per cent., leaving something like £1,118,000
profit on the tunnel company's capital of £16,000,000, or over
7 per cent. But I am firmly convinced — and this conviction is
shared by every railway expert who has applied his mind seriously
to the question — that the figure of 1,560,000 passengers is quite
under-estimated, and that if the tunnel were constructed, the
present number of passengers would be doubled or even trebled,
which would mean a great increase of profit for the enterprise.

Let me now give the latest proposals for the construction of
the tunnel which I have summarised from the statement of Sir
Francis Fox, the Consulting Engineer of the tunnel company.

The white chalk cliffs of England and France in the neigh-
bourhood of Cap Grisnez rest upon a lower bed of grey chalk—
" the cenomanian," some 200 feet in thickness, and this lies upon
a solid bed of gault. Both beds are very suitable for tunnel con-
struction, being almost, if not wholly, impervious to water, the
mixed material of which they are constituted bearing a close
analogy to that employed in the manufacture of Portland cement.
In deciding upon the actual route of the Channel tunnel, the one
great precaution which has to be taken is to keep the work well
within the thickness of the grey chalk ; but as the line may, near
the two coasts, have for a short distance to run out of this bed,
it is so arranged as there to enter the gault, which is another

Commercial Advantages of the Channel Tunnel 427

equally good and water-tight material. In the Channel above
the sea-bed the maximum depth of water would be from 160 to
180 feet, and as we shall be asked to leave undisturbed such a
" cover " of chalk over the roof of the structure as will guard
effectually against any possible attack by mine, this solid pro-
tection has been fixed at a minimum of 100 feet.

The tunnel would consist of two parallel tubes, as in the case
of the great Simplon Tunnel (12£ miles in length) in the Alps.
The reasons for adopting twin tunnels are numerous. They
include better facilities for ventilation, drainage, repairs to the
structure and permanent way when required during traffic, as
well as greatly increased safety in case of derailment. It is
proposed that the work of excavation shall be performed by
revolving cutters, fixed in Greathead shields, by which system
a rapid rate of advance will be attained, the debris being removed
from the "face" by high-speed endless belts. These will be so
arranged as to deliver their load direct! into wagons without the
necessity of shovelling or of manual labour. All the work will
be carried on by electrically driven machinery, by which the
volume of air required for ventilation will be greatly reduced,
and arrangements will be made so that excavation and other
operations can be carried on simultaneously at many points, thus
shortening the period required for construction.

The diameter of each tunnel will be 18 feet, so as to
accommodate the great European express trains. At intervals
of 200 yards along the entire length oblique cross tunnels will
be formed, both to enable empty wagons to be brought in by
one line, full wagons despatched on the other, and also to permit
a perfect system of ventilation to be installed. The tunnel would
be worked, ventilated and pumped by electricity supplied from a
power-station in Kent, possibly ten miles inland. The problem
of ventilation when regular traffic is running will consequently
be comparatively simple, no combustion of coal on the railway
being necessary. It is suggested that the tunnel shall be
maintained under the authority of the War Office, and a dip in
the level of the rails — forming a "water lock" by which the
tunnel could, in case of emergency, be filled with water from floor
to roof for a length of a mile — would similarly be under the
control of the Commandants of Dover Castle and the neighbouring
forts.

The gauges of the English and French main line railways are
almost similar, as is proved by the fact that at the present time
hundreds of the largest English locomotives with thousands of
trucks are running on French railways. Trains would be run
direct from London to Paris in less than six hours, and these
could, if required, travel at intervals of not more than five or ten

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428 The Empire Review

minutes. So soon as they can pass under the channel they will
be able to traverse France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Germany,
Austria and Turkey as far as Constantinople without any difficulty
of change of gauge. Through sleeping and dining cars would
run direct from London over the Great European express routes,
and the rolling stock required would be specially built by the
railway companies engaged in the traffic.

The tunnel would, without pressure, be able to transport in
each direction 30,000 passengers, as well as 30,000 tons of goods
in twenty hours, leaving four hours each day for repairs and
renewals. In the day trains endeavours will be made to secure
breakfast, lunch, tea or dinner, according to the hour, during
the passage through the tunnel in the dining cars which would
be brilliantly lighted and with special means of deadening the
sound. The passage through the tunnel will be scarcely noticed,
and passengers will find themselves rolling along through the
sand dunes of Etaples and in the Valley of the Somme without
having realised that they have passed under a stormy, tide-swept,
and foggy sea.

It is considered that the tunnel can be completed, by the im-
proved methods of construction, in about five years, but I may add
that firms in the United States claim to have new plans for tunnel-
building by which an enormously increased speed of driving the
headings is attained.

I think I may claim to have established three points : (1) That
the Channel Tunnel is badly needed. (2) That it can be con-
structed by the engineers. (3) That it should from the outset
give a fair return on the cost, with every prospect of a very great
increase in the future. Not only is it my firm belief that the con-
struction of the Channel Tunnel will create a vast increase in the
trade of the Western nations of Europe, but that it will be
probably the most important factor in helping these nations to
recover the enormous losses which have been occasioned by
the war.

AETHUE FELL.

Migration after the War 429

MIGRATION AFTER THE WAR

A PROBLEM IN RECONSTRUCTION

THE important question of migration after the war is one that
calls for the serious and immediate consideration of the authorities.
It is abundantly clear that very large numbers of ex-service men
will desire to migrate to one or other of the Dominions after their
release from military duties. This fact is borne out by the many
inquiries for particulars of Land Settlement Schemes which the
High Commissioners and Agents-General for the Dominions are
receiving from the men at the front, interned prisoners, and those
in training in the Home camps. The military authorities are
alive to the eagerness of the men to acquire information on the
subject, and various plans have been formulated for the purpose
of giving as much information as possible with a view to fit them
for their return to civil life.

The reason for this desire to migrate is no doubt due to the
association of the British soldier with his comrades who have come
over from beyond the seas ; and also in some measure to the fact
that service-life has given a stimulating desire to follow some
open-air occupation. It can be safely assumed that many men
who, previous to joining up, were engaged in sedentary callings,
will be reluctant to go back to their old jobs. Then, again, it
will be no easy matter to displace the women who have come
forward during the war to perform work previously done by men.
Having experienced the independence arising from earning their
own living many of these women will endeavour to keep their
posts, and in some classes of work they have undoubtedly per-
formed their tasks as efficiently as they were performed by men.
These are facts that must be faced, and it is obviously the duty of
the Imperial Government to give every facility to those men
anxious to migrate so as to enable them to make their homes
within the British Empire.

This war has indisputably proved that even when the
Britisher migrates to the farthest outposts of the Empire he still
retains his unquenchable love of the Homeland. When the call
came among the first to respond in Australia, New Zealand, and

430 The Empire Review

other parts of the Dominions, were migrants from the Mother-
land, and their imperishable deeds as fighting men have thrown a
mantle of glory over the country of their adoption. It must not
be forgotten that these young countries have given the best of
their manhood in this fight for civilisation; they have also
pledged their children's children with a huge debt for war
materials and equipment. In the case of Australia, over 60,000
of her sons have laid down their lives in the cause of Empire,
and their loss is incalculable in a country where every man is
needed in the primary industries, in order to increase production
to meet the heavy indebtedness incurred.

For this reason, if for no other, the Imperial Government
must not only take a sympathetic view in regard to post-war
migration, but co-operate with the Dominion Governments in
giving financial assistance to enable the transport of these men
and their wives to those parts of the British Empire where they
may wish to settle down. Unfortunately there is a feeling
among the Dominion representatives that the Imperial authorities
are not sympathetic in regard to the question of emigration ; they
believe that with the increase of industrial activities after the
cessation of hostilities every man will be needed in this country.
However correct this view may be, it cannot be gainsaid that
thousands of Englishmen who during their military life have
been living and fighting side by side with their comrades from all
parts of the Empire are determined .to migrate, and unless
facilities are given them to settle in one or other of the
Dominions there is grave fear to believe they will go to countries
outside the Empire.

As regards Australia, I think it may be fairly said that the
sacrifices she has made give her the right to ask the British
Government to assist her in every possible way to increase her
population in order to develop her primary industries to such an
extent as will enable her to lift the enormous burden of debt
voluntarily incurred in this war from the shoulders of future
generations.

NEWTON J. MOOEE.

Trading Prospects in the Far East 431

TRADING PROSPECTS IN THE FAR EAST

AND ALONG THE NORTH-BAST FRONTIER OF INDIA

A SUBJECT which is being everywhere discussed only less
universally than the war itself is the question of empire trade
after the war, trade which will need to be carried on even more
vigorously during the reconstructive period than it has been
during the destructive period. The arrival of peace will signify
no relaxation of effort, only our efforts will be diverted into other
channels.

Nowhere are the problems opened up by these considerations
of greater interest than along the north-east frontier of the
Indian Empire. In this connection the eminent position of
Japan in the Far East, the opening up of China, particularly by
American capital and enterprise (for instance, the dredging of the
Grand Canal and the newly promised railways in central and
western China), the recent expansion of British administration in
far northern Burma, and the friendly attitude of Tibet, appear to
be but remotely related events ; yet they are, from our point of
view, in reality closely connected factors in any consideration of
trade prospects in the Far East and along the Indian frontier.
In the native bazaars of Burma cheap Japanese goods have
already replaced those of Germany. In China, Japan is pushing
ahead, ousting all competitors. She is also making headway in
India. European labour cannot compete with Japanese. In the
event of the political domination of Japan over a large part of
China — say the northern maritime provinces and the Yangtze
valley — British trade will be severely handicapped, and, what
still more closely concerns us, access to the great and growing
markets of Western China, by the Yangtze, will be rendered far
more difficult. It is clear, then, that an alternative route to the
markets of the Far East must be found, if our industries are to
be maintained and expanded.

As old ideas have been revived in this war, with modifications
to suit the conditions, witness the use of armour and grenades
(the wheel having revolved full circle), so will they in peace, and
one such resurrection clearly indicated is a revival of overland

432 The Empire Review

trade, more particularly in Asia. It is, of course, almost super-
fluous to point out that there is a vast volume of overland trade
— by which I mean caravan trade, not merely trans-frontier
trade — in Asia to-day. Well-defined routes are followed by pack
caravans just as they were in the days before Marco Polo.
Becent discoveries in central Asia have shown that certain trade
routes, once extensively used, having become obliterated or use-
less hand in hand with the desiccation of central Asia, have had
to be abandoned. Yet, owing to the great increase of population
in China, there is probably a greater volume of overland trade
now than at any previous time. The sea-route and the Trans-
Siberian railway do not touch central Asian trade — instance the
routes from Peking to Koko-Nor and thence to Lhasa ; the
Janglam, as it is called, from Chengtu, the wealthy capital of the
fabulously rich province of Ssuchuan, to Lhasa ; the road from
Bhamo, in Upper Burma, to the capital of Yunnan province ;
and the route from N.W. India via the Karakoram pass into
Turkestan, and thence eastwards to Kansu and the Yellow river.

Not many years ago the Yunnan government made a most
determined effort, short of actual fighting, to extend her already
vast dominion west of the Salween into the basin of the upper
Irrawaddy. The movement was made in conjunction with the
Chinese troops who had carried their arms to Lhasa, and there
appeared every prospect of its success. Not far from the sources
of the western branch of the Irrawaddy, in the centre of the
Kachin hill tracts, is a large plain where paddy is grown, and
there is grazing for cattle, and it' was this plain, together with
certain other selected spots, that the Chinese coveted.

In the old days, the down-trodden and degraded Shans of this
island plain set in the midst of the jungle hills, had paid tribute
to the Burmese kings, and the law of the frontier is the law of
inheritance ; the conquering race assumes all the liabilities of the
conquered, whether these liabilities lie on this side of the frontier
or in the hinterland. In other words, when the British raj
replaced the Burmese kings, those who previously paid tribute
to the old dynasty now paid it to the British. The change of
government did not affect them unless they could compass their
own release. As a matter of fact the Shans of the Hkamti plain
asked to be allowed to remain under the British raj and to pay
tribute ; it was their one chance of preservation, and they
knew it.

For a long time the country remained unadministered. The
people gave no trouble, and were left entirely to themselves, till
at last another power, swelling in the east and encroaching
westwards, cast envious eyes on the little plain, and extending
its tentacles, touched it, nay, all but seized it. From that

Trading Prospects in the Far East 433

moment the hand of the Indian Government was forced. Ifc
would have preferred to have left so remote and inaccessible a
spot alone to work out its own salvation, but it could not do so
in the face of this new offensive. It must act, or the plain was
lost, and with it the future of the N.E. frontier. Columns were
sent up into this inhospitable territory, there was a collision with
the Chinese expedition, the plain was occupied, and the machinery
of direct government set up.

Why has the Indian Government determined that, whatever
the cost, no one else must occupy the Hkamti plain ? It is
remote from the populous parts of Burma, it is not fertile, though
paddy can be grown there, the population is scanty with small
hope of accessions from the Burma side, it is feverish, and the
climate is vile. Nor, so far as is known at present, is there any
source of wealth in the surrounding jungles or mountains. The
Chinese could colonise the plain. Why, then, should we not let
them have the district, since to us it seems to be but a burden,
and an expensive burden ? The answer to this is not very simple,
since it is the answer to the N.E. frontier problem, which problem
is, briefly put, to secure the frontier from attack and at the same
time introduce prosperity amongst the people.

The position of Hkamti is a dominating one, strategically. It
is the key to the N.E. frontier, and though in itself not of much
importance at present, there can be no question of its value in
the future for the opening up of the difficult N.E. frontier region.
This, of course, implies defining the best possible frontier, having
regard to our special interests in this direction, for though our
administrative frontier has been pushed over two hundred miles
north by the occupation of Hkamti, the actual frontier, where far
northern Burma, Tibet, and China meet, is still undelimited.

Hkamti Loong is the key to this frontier. It ;is true that it is
even more difficult to reach Hkamti from the east — the China
side, than from Burma in the south, and that consequently with
the Chinese in occupation, no grave fears of an attack on Burma
from this direction need have been entertained, considering the
only line of communications open to them. Still the Chinese
have in the past performed miraculous feats of arms, and it is as
well to be alert to possibilities.

Both Burma and Assam are wedges thrust up into Tibet, and
it is of the utmost importance for their protection that they
should be able mutually to support one another in the event of
attack. For this, good communications between the two are
necessary. At present there are no communications at all,
Burma and Assam, though in juxtaposition, being completely
severed from each other by high ranges of impenetrable, unin-
habited jungle hills, so that all the advantages of acting on

434 The Empire Review

internal lines are lost. However there are possibilities of com-
munication both in the north and west ; tracks over the mountains
do exist, and indeed at the beginning of the nineteenth century
the Burmese marched an army across to Assam, and defeated the
Ahoms. However, the much discussed Assam-Burma railway is
still a long way from realisation by either of the proposed routes
(that via Chittagong or that via the Hukong valley), and at
present the two provinces are cut off from one another, and the
problem of defence doubled where it might be halved. For the
defence of both is one problem, and Burma in particular offers
gaps in the north-east that it is important to keep closed.

For these reasons alone it was impossible to allow the Chinese
a jumping off place in the heart of northern Burma, where in
time they might colonise the whole plain, some four hundred
square miles in area, and, intriguing with the savage hill tribes
all round them, be in a position to strike at Burma or Assam.
However, we have to consider not only what the Chinese in
possession might conceivably do, but rather what we ourselves
should thereby be prevented from doing.

Now southern and south-eastern Tibet, comprising the valleys
of the Tsanpo east of Lhasa, the Salween and other rivers, not
merely conflicts with the popular idea of Tibet as a barren,
treeless land, frozen and uninhabited ; it is in reality comparatively
fertile, enjoys a magnificent climate, and is fairly thickly populated
— far more so than the jungles of the N.E. frontier for instance.
The Himalayan ranges, though a very formidable barrier, con-
stituting a magnificent defence to India, are not impassable, as
we showed in 1905 ; moreover there are gaps, as the population
and history of India testify. It is the northern plateaux of central
Tibet which constitute the real protection to India, and from a
strategical point of view the Tsanpo valley and S.B. Tibet are
part of the Indian Empire. It is impossible to consider the
defence of that Empire without considering at the same time the
defence of the Tsanpo, and it is manifest the Indian government
can never contemplate with equanimity the occupation of that
valley in force by any other power. So that it is probably only a
question of time before we pass from " spheres of influence " to
occupation, in order to forestall other likely candidates.

Consider what this means. The Tsanpo valley is in com-
munication with the populous parts of >China. The route is
neither easy nor short, but it has been used for centuries. It was
traversed a few years ago by the Chinese armies which went to
Lhasa, and is traversed every year and all the year round by
caravans passing to and fro. It is in fast the greatest of the
three great trade routes between China and Tibet. The trade
between India and Tibet, on the other hand, is less, and is almost

Trading Prospects in the Far East 435

entirely confined to western Tibet. Yet it would not be difficult
to open up communications between S.E. Tibet and Hkamti
Loong or Assam. The route is far shorter than the present route
into China ; there are fewer passes to cross, and the prospects for
road-building are greatly in favour of the Burma- Assam routes.
In the second place, this way, and this way only, lies the means
of obtaining new and likely markets for our trade, so seriously
challenged by Japan and America in the Yangtze valley.

With the maritime and central provinces of China largely
under foreign direction, or at least obligation, forging further and
further ahead industrially, and the rebel-spirited western provinces
falling deeper and deeper into the slough of neglect, with their
own problems heavy on their hands, the necessity of working out
their own salvation will be seriously impressed on them, and in
the end China will split asunder as naturally as a ripe seed capsule.
Then the mountainous western provinces must gravitate towards
their geographical affinities, of which they are in many respects a
part, Burma and Tibet, and it would be a pity to be unprepared
for what is coming.

It is not to be maintained that Yunnanfu and Chengtu, the
two greatest cities of western China, can be more easily reached
from the west. The first-named is on the French railway con-
nected with the seaport of Haiphong, while the Yangtze, in spite
of difficulties of navigation, is far too fine a river to belittle as a
highway into the heart of Ssuchuan province. But all south-
west China from Tatsienlu and Talifu onwards, an area, highly
mountainous as it is, comprising many large cities and fertile
plains, with almost limitless prospects,- can be reached from
Burma, even under present conditions, far more easily than from
any other direction; while S.E. Tibet, the latent wealth of which
as a stock-raising, timber, and probably mining country, few
people realise, is, so to speak, only just round the corner.

It is not possible, in the limits of an article, to do more than
indicate the prospects and the steps that might be taken to secure
what is necessary for the safety and prosperity of ourselves and
those under our charge. It is enough to say that, with the future
of mechanical transport clearly indicated, the wisdom of building
good roads where railways are out of the question for a very long
time to come is plain. Where such roads might advantageously
be built, or extended, with reference to Burma, Assam and
Tibet, and the results which might he expected to follow I have
sufficiently suggested.

F. KINGDON WABD.

436 The Empire Review

TRADE OF NEW ZEALAND

VIEWS OF H.M. TRADE COMMISSIONER

IN his introductory remarks to what is certainly a most
informing report for the year 1917, Mr. Dalton, H.M. Trade
Commissioner in New Zealand, observes that the prosperity
which New Zealand has experienced since the commencement
of the war continued during the year. The immediate future,
however, must depend to a great extent on the supply of shipping,
while the distant future will depend on the course of the markets
after the war. On the whole, however, but particularly as
regards after-war conditions, there does not seem to be much
cause for anxiety. One cannot travel throughout New Zealand
without realising what a remarkable country it is, both as a
producing and an importing country, in relation to the size of
its population, which only slightly exceeds 1,000,000. The scope
for further development is enormous, and there seems no reason
whatever to doubt that this development will come. The war
has undoubtedly advanced New Zealand's possibilities, and with
the whole country ready to press forward any sound scheme of
development which may be advanced, the years immediately
following the war will probably show very rapid progress. At
present the market may seem relatively small, but it would be
unwise of British traders, investors, and companies not to give
it the most careful thought and investigation, having regard to
its possible future.

Discussing the question of the import trade of the Dominion,
Mr. Dalton tells us that the share of the United Kingdom in the
total trade in competitive imports has gradually declined from
67-1 per cent, in 1914 to 53 '3 per cent, in 1917. In the same
period the share of the United States, the leading competing
country, has increased from 11-2 per cent, to 21 '3 per cent.,
and the share of Japan from 1-0 per cent, to 4-0 per cent.
Australia's share "'has increased from 4*6 per cent, to 9'0 per
cent., and Canada's from 2'6 per cent, to 4' 7 per cent. The
position as disclosed by the statistics of the past year is more

Trade of New Zealand 437

disquieting than it has previously been. It is undoubtedly true,
however, that British manufacturers may anticipate the immediate
recovery of some of the trade which has been lost just as soon as
they are again in a position to supply. A good deal of this
recovery will probably come without any particular effort on the
part of manufacturers to secure it, for the reason that some of
the goods which have been purchased from foreign countries
since the war have been purchased there only because they could
not be obtained at home. It would be unwise, however, for our
manufacturers to imagine that the whole of the trade will revert
to them as soon as the war is over, or to think that because this
Dominion forms part of the British Empire less strenuous
attempts than those made in foreign countries will be effective.

It would seem that the chief point to be considered in facing
our after-war problems in this Dominion is not how much trade
has passed into foreign hands in the aggregate, but to what
extent that increased trade is due to organisation of foreign
selling campaigns in New Zealand rather than to the promiscuous
purchasing of buyers. " In those trades in which buying has
been voluntary on the part of the firms here, one may reasonably
look, in the majority of cases, for greater chances of recovery,
but in those trades in which overseas firms have come here
themselves and organised their selling methods throughout the
Dominion, the struggle will certainly be hard." To these words
of warning Mr. Dalton adds : " One gets little encouragement
to believe either that the information sent home is taken to heart
or that manufacturers appreciate in detail the problems which
will confront them. Unless these problems are appreciated, the
position after the war will grow worse rather than better, for
the reason that, now competition has entered on such an
important scale, methods which might have been quite satis-
factory in the past will be totally inadequate in the future, and
their continuance will only result in gradual diminution of our
share of some important trades which we held before." Trades
in which effort, after the war, will be particularly necessary,
are those in motor cars and tyres, motor bicycles, agricultural
machinery, dairy machinery, electrical machinery, fancy goods
and toys, glass and glassware, hosiery, shelf goods in the hard-
ware trade, tools, photographic and cinematograph appliances
and accessories, and toilet and medicinal preparations.

Passing to soft goods we learn that in the matter of wearing
apparel in 1914 the United Kingdom held 79*4 per cent, of the
trade, and in 1915, 81 per cent. Japan's share has increased from
I'l per cent, in 1914 to 6*2 per cent, in 1917, and that of the
United States from 3*7 per cent, in 1914 to 7-8 per cent, in 1917.
It should be noted, too, that the greater parts of these increases

438 The Empire Review

are scattered over very few lines. In the case of Japan, out of a
total increase in this class of about £120,000 (or nearly 450 per
cent.) between the years 1914 and 1917, £43,000 was in apparel
and ready-made clothing (chiefly underwear), and about £33,000
in hats and caps. There were important increases in other
headings, as for instance, haberdashery, gloves and hosiery, but
these did not compare in any way with those quoted. In the
case of the United States, out of a total increase between the
years 1914 and 1917 of about £88,000, or nearly 100 per cent.,
£33,000 was in hosiery, and about £35,000 in boots and shoes.

In both cases a good deal of the trade which these two countries
have secured has been secured as a result of difficulty on the
part of British firms in supplying, but it does not follow that
when British manufacturers are again ready to supply, they will
find this trade in all cases ready to their hands. The hosiery
imported from the United States consists largely of ladies' silk
and lisle hose, for which there is now a considerable demand in
New Zealand, and it must be admitted that in many ways this
American hosiery is superior in both quality and fashioning to
that of many British makes. The United States have also done a
considerable business in boots and shoes, much of which will
revert to British hands after the war, but, as far as ladies' long
boots are concerned, a large business has been done which will
remain in American hands if the fashion continues and unless firms
at home make more stylish boots of this class than they have
hitherto made. Japan's trade in hats is largely in imitation
Panamas and in cheap felt hats, while that of the United States
(which has increased from £896 in 1914 to £7,254 in 1917) is
chiefly in the highest quality of felt hats to sell in New Zealand
at from 30s. upwards. In gloves, imports from Japan have
increased from nothing to £4,699 ; these gloves are chiefly fabric
gloves, which, though not so good as the original German lines,
are meeting an extensive demand.

As to textiles, the share of the United Kingdom in 1914 was
80*4 per cent., as compared with 77 '3 per cent, in 1917. The
share of the United States has increased from 2 • 5 per cent, in
1914 to 4*6 per cent, in 1917, and that of Japan from 3'6 per
cent, in 1914 to 9*5 per cent, in 1917. In this class, as in the
former class, it must be noted that the increases which have taken
place in American and Japanese trade are rather concentrated on
particular lines than scattered amongst all the items in the class.
In the case of Japan, total imports in the class rose from £86,765
in 1914 to £279,897 in 1917, an increase of about £193,000. Of
this increase, no less than about £120,000 was in silks, satins,
velvets and plushes, pure or mixed, and about £45,000 in cotton
piece goods. The silk trade of the Dominion has increased from

Trade of New Zealand 439

£140,261 in 1914 to £277,962 in 1917, partly owing to tke pros-
perity of the country and partly owing to the high price of wool ;
the trade of the United Kingdom under this heading, though
small, has remained almost at its pre-war level, and it is probable
that the increased trade from Japan is due, to a large extent, to
abnormal conditions. The increase from Japan under the heading
of cotton piece goods is probably in grey calicoes. It is not im-
probable that British firms will be able to recover the trade in
cotton piece goods without much difficulty, but the United States
have established a fairly strong position in certain printed piece
goods which it will not be easy to oust from the market. These
goods are chiefly casement cloths and furnishing fabrics ; the
designs and colours are good and they have a ready sale. The
United States have increased their trade in carpets from £93 in
1914 to £7,150 in 1917, but, though American firms have struggled
hard to introduce their goods into New Zealand, the trade which
they have is almost solely the result of difficulties in getting goods
from home and of the giving of trial orders to the United States ;
the goods supplied have not been considered competitive with
corresponding British carpets.

This is the first year in which the imports of machinery from
the United States have exceeded those from the United Kingdom.
Since 1914 the share of the United States in the total trade in
this class has advanced from 24 '6 per cent, to 41 '2 per cent.,
while in the same time the share of the United Kingdom has
declined from 59*0 per cent, to 39 '9 per cent. If one Could
regard the future in this trade with satisfaction the position would
not be as disquieting as it seems, but, as a matter of fact, it
will probably be in the trades covered by this class that British
manufacturers will be hardest put to it to recover lost ground.
Our position is particularly weak in certain branches, and in others
we do practically no business at all even in normal times.

In some cases the reason is that our firms have not attempted
to make certain machines on a competitive basis, but in others it
seems only too true that our agency systems and pioneering work
are not as thoughtfully planned, or as energetically carried out, as
they should be. After the war there will be a considerable oppor-
tunity here for the sale of machinery and plant, in connection
both with the development of industries, whether primary or
secondary, and with the execution of public works which are
admitted to be urgently necessary. It is not safe to imagine that
because this is a British Dominion our trade here must necessarily
be safe. American firms have not only secured some of their
most valuable trade since the war in British Dominions, but,
apparently, they have also designed and organised to do so. It is
hoped that firms and associations at home will realise this and

440 The Empire Review

take steps to see that, as soon as the war is over, if not before,
expert investigations are made and plans laid to go more
energetically into this branch of trade in New Zealand.

" When the war is over the recovery of lost trade will be vital
to our interests, and my experience in New Zealand has shown
that if we are to recover quickly, and to the full, the trade which
has been passing out of our hands, it is essential that preparation
should be made now as far as war emergencies will permit. The
main fault in our trading with New Zealand is lack of proper
organisation and careful investigation, preceding the establishment
of trading relations. If firms at home are combining or co-
operating with a view to the development of export trade, the
need for care in making arrangements overseas becomes greater.
So far as New Zealand is concerned, I am not at all sure that
firms at home have taken all the care they might to understand
conditions or to ascertain the degree of efficiency of the channels
through which their trade is passing. If the same haphazard
methods were to be adopted by the combinations as have been so
often adopted by individual firms in establishing their trading
organisations, the detrimental results which would follow would
be even of greater importance than they have been. From
indications I have had in one or two cases I have reason to believe
that sufficient investigation is not being made."

There are a great many reasons why these investigations should
be made. The market is a small one in the majority of lines, but
in some lines it is considerable and, at times, out of all proportion
to the size of the population. An arrangement which would be
perfectly satisfactory for some goods will, therefore, obviously be
unsatisfactory for others ; and yet it will be found that a firm
supplying articles for which there is a large and scattered demand
will attempt to operate on this market exactly in the same way
as a firm supplying goods, the trade in which is small and con-
centrated. Such results are the natural outcome of lack of
investigation, of appointment of a firm as agents, merely because
that firm applies for the agency, of a lack of understanding of the
degree of importance of the various trading centres, and of the
firms in them, and so on.

The number of direct importers is out of all proportion to the
size of the population. While there may be a loss of efficiency
caused by supplying to so many marks, it seems clear that, if the
trade of the Dominion is to be covered, firms at home must be
prepared to supply to these various marks, unless a closer organisa-
tion of trading interests in New Zealand should make this course
unnecessary. The trading interests of the Dominion are un-
doubtedly complex for so small a market, and, to get the best
out of the market, firms at home should examine these interests

Trade of New Zealand 441

and understand exactly what they are doing ; otherwise they run
the risk of irritating important customers and losing business.

To defer negotiations until after the war, when negotiations
with good firms are possible now, is a mistake. In this connec-
tion Mr. Dal ton refers chiefly to negotiations with agents.
Numerous cases have been brought to his notice in which firms
at home have expressed themselves as determined to develop
trade, or to open up trade in New Zealand after the war, but
have stated that they were not prepared to negotiate at present.
In many cases the firms with whom immediate negotiation was
suggested have been firms of outstanding position and ability in
their own trades. Two considerations seem to him to make it
desirable that firms should not lose these opportunities. The
first is that the New Zealand market is a long way from home,
and mails are now taking anything from six to ten weeks to
reach New Zealand. The second is even more important.
Many good firms are anxious to complete their agencies with
one or two new lines ; they realise that they must be ready with
these lines when the war is over. If they find, after writing to
one firm, that that firm is not prepared to negotiate until after
the war, they try in other directions. " So long as they eventually
make arrangements with British firms I am not concerned, but
it is my experience- that, not infrequently, they make arrange-
ments with foreign firms. Good agents are not so numerous
here that we can afford to lose their services in the interests of
United Kingdom manufacturers. I have tried to understand the
point of view of British firms in taking up this attitude, and it
seems to me that their fear is that they may be swamped with
orders at once which they cannot execute. If they can deliver,
so much the better, but it is generally understood here that in
many lines firms cannot deliver, and in the majority of cases
agents here who show a desire to negotiate are thinking of after-
war trade and not of the present."

Many firms at home seem to regard agents overseas, even
when they have appointed them, as impersonal and not alto-
gether desirable adjuncts to their business, instead of as human
beings whose zeal in the sale of their principals' goods can be
diminished or increased by discouragement or encouragement.
Agents in New Zealand quite frequently compare to me the
treatment which they receive from American and British prin-
cipals. They may exaggerate to some extent, but, on sifting
their remarks, there seems to be a considerable amount of truth
in their comparison. The war has added vastly to the difficulties
of agents, as it has added to those of the principals. Perhaps
one should not expect too much from principals when they in
turn are getting little out of this market, but it is, at any rate,
VOL. XXXII.— No. 215. 2 L

442 The Empire Review

open to question whether it would not be maintaining good will
and effecting an insurance for recovery of trade to be more liberal
with agents than is at present the case in many instances. It
seems to me that some firms at home should get more into the
habit of regarding their agents as employees, whose interests are
the interests of the firm. They might then realise that past
service is worth its reward and that present loyalty, when very
lucrative offers are being made by outside firms, will mean
eventual profit. " I do not suggest that such treatment is neces-
sary or desirable for all agents, but when the agent has been
carefully appointed, is well known to the principal, and has in
the past proved his value, he should certainly be worth considera-
tion, if only as an assurance for the future when his services in
full will again be required."

"A great many new lines are now being produced in the United
Kingdom, or for whose production definite plans have been laid,
entirely unknown, or almost entirely unknown, to buyers in New
Zealand. Firms in the Dominion are wondering to what extent
United Kingdom firms are really going to develop business after
the war, or whether they are in fact going to develop it at all.
I have recently made experiments to ascertain to what extent
the knowledge of the existence of new lines would interest large
buyers here. These experiments have been in the direction of
advising firms here by circular of the existence of certain new
lines about ,which I have received information. The results of
these experiments show a very wide interest, almost all the firms
to whom circular letters have been sent having either asked me
for further details or informed me that they were writing direct
to the United Kingdom for such details."

" Experiments which have been made confirm my already
strong opinion that firms at home should take very active steps
immediately to bring to the knowledge of buyers in New Zealand
new lines which they have produced since the war, or which they
are prepared to produce after the war. If the collection of a
range of samples of new lines could be made, it could be exhibited
throughout New Zealand and would arouse very great interest.
Meanwhile, there is no doubt that firms here would be glad to
have any information. It is already understood in New Zealand
by this time that there are many lines of which delivery cannot
be hoped for until after the war. There is a natural anxiety,
however, to know what has happened since the war and what is
likely to happen after the war in British manufacturing industries.
More important than this, however, is the desire to know in
what direction to look for supplies when things become more
normal."

The most popular and the most convenient method of

Trade of New Zealand 443

journeying to the United Kingdom for business men is to the
United States, thence overland calling at industrial and trading
centres and thence to England across the Atlantic. In such a
journey it is obvious that there is great danger of buyers here
committing themselves to their full requirements, or nearly to
their full requirements, in the United States and before ever they
reach England. In the times of business stress which will
follow the war, if they are not certain that they are going to get
what they want in the United Kingdom in new lines, they will
do their business in the country in which they first find those
lines. On the other hand, if they know before they leave New
Zealand that there are certain lines which are procurable in the
United Kingdom, they are much more likely to refrain from
committing themselves for such lines in other countries.

One has not space to traverse the whole of this interesting
document, but no epitome would be complete which did not
give Mr. Dalton's excellent views on advertising.

" Several firms have shown a disposition to cease advertising
during the war. It is questionable whether this policy is a sound
one. The effects of foreign competition have been more seriously
felt in the past year than during the first years of the war, and I
am disposed to think that advertising in explanation of reasons
for being unable to deliver at present would have a beneficial and,
incidentally, profitable effect in keeping British sentiment alive.
I am aware that it is asking a good deal to suggest that firms
should spend money in a market in which little, and often no,
business is possible, and when orders are being received in larger
volume than, can be executed. Nevertheless, we should not lose
sight of the fact that much of what we are unable to supply is
being supplied by firms previously unknown to the market, and
that it may be worth advertising merely to keep name and good-
will alive against the encroachment of new interests. I have
done whatever I could in a general way to bring home to people
in New Zealand the fact that it is the war and the war alone
which prevents us from maintaining our trade. This explanation
is one that appeals to the New Zealand public, but, as I say, it
can only be advanced by me in general terms, and it must be for
firms themselves to protect their own interests."

2 L 2

444 The Empire Review

EMPIRE FEDERATION OR A LEAGUE OF

NATIONS

To believe at the same time that the Golden Age is past and
has still to come is to hold opinions logically irreconcilable, yet
mankind has generally shown itself thus inconsistent. The ideas
expressed and illustrated in the Biblical story of the Garden of
Eden and the fall and degeneracy of man have prevailed among
many peoples. In classical writers there are references to one
tradition, and in old English chroniclers to another of a time
when what we regard as an ideal state of society actually existed,
unmarred by war or poverty or crime, and when men were both
more virtuous and happier than they are now.

Utterly contradictory to this view of the degeneracy of man is
the equally common belief in the evolution and progression of the
human race, and in the advent of a better time at some future
date. At the back of the mind of nearly every one is a con-
ception, vague and hardly defined, perhaps, but one which has
possession of him, which may be figuratively described as a
conception of the human race as a host of men journeying
towards a New Jerusalem, where God will wipe away all tears
from their eyes and there will be no more death neither sorrow
nor weeping, neither shall there be any more pain. Attached to
this conception is the conviction that however much appearances
may seem to indicate the contrary, each succeeding age carries
this great company a stage farther on their journey.

Men count peace to be among the blessings of that happy
day. In the prophet Isaiah's vision men had beaten their swords
into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and
Tennyson dreamed of a time when the war-drum

Throbb'd no longer, and the battle-flags were furl'd

In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world.

And it is this aspect of the Golden Age to come, that at
the present time after the terrible events of the last four
years, makes such a powerful appeal. The day when wars
shall cease in all the world like the day of judgment knoweth

Empire Federation or a League of Nations 445

no man. That lies with a Higher Power, and formerly men
were content to have it so, and patiently and submissively
awaited the slow grinding of the mills of God. But a new spirit
is abroad and has begotten in many quarters a determination to
make an end of war ; and the way in which it is hoped to effect
this is by a League of Nations.

If man is ever to reach that " infinite depth of love and sweet-
ness," a dim perception of which he has occasionally caught
glimpses in visions and for which his soul yearns, he must keep
to the King's Highways, refrain from diverging ever so slightly
from the paths that have been laid out for him. These often
appear unnecessarily long and arduous, and the by-paths that at
frequent intervals branch off from the main tracks not only
shorter but invitingly level and shady. But man has been
forbidden to walk therein, and those who succumb to the
temptation to do so will not find them short cuts in the end but
injurious and even dangerous. These trespassers will find them-
selves taken far out of their course, perhaps never recover it and
be lost eternally. Gambling is a short cut to wealth that ruins
the character, cramming a short cut to knowledge that ruins the
intellect, magic a short cut to intercourse with the supernatural
that ruins the soul.

The Divinity that shapes our ends seems to have appointed
for the human race the way of the nation. He has thus limited
the sphere within which it is lawful in a psychological sense for
man to move. Frederick Dennison Morrice, in one of a series
of sermons which he preached at Lincoln's Inn Chapel on
patriarchs and lawgivers of the Old Testament, interprets the
text in Genesis which speaks of the sons of Noah as being
divided " after their families, after their tongues, in their lands,
after their nations," as signifying that national distinctions are
" a part of the original divine order." In the Tower of Babel he
sees an attempt to frustrate it, and in the call of Abram " a step
in the unfolding of that social order, which is the order intended
for human beings as such." And what divine revelation has
declared history forcibly suggests.

The reason of the division of mankind into nations is hidden
from us. It is one of the mysteries of human life in this world
that up till now has proved unfathomable. The use of national
distinctions is not always quite clear. This is a case that calls
for faith, and which requires us to trust to the superior sagacity
and virtue of the Power which ordained them. The reason why
things often appear imperfect to men is that they are only enabled
to look at them through the medium of their own imperfect
understandings. It is not the thing seen that is at fault, but the
glass through which it is viewed. And to those of little faith who

446 The Empire Review

cannot believe in the existence of any good which they cannot
themselves see and comprehend the way of the nation appears
unnecessarily long and full of obstructions. Their cry is for a
shorter, easier and more direct way, and in internationalism they
think they have found one. National distinctions to these people
are merely so many obstructions to human progress, the cause of
trade rivalries and wars in which much wealth, energy and in-
dustry are squandered and of other kinds of wars infinitely more
costly. Their ideal is a world State in which national distinctions
shall have become obliterated. A League of Nations recommends
itself to them as a step towards the realisation of their dream.

It is often overlooked that the desirability of an event «s
largely relative. What is desirable at one time in one set of
circumstances would often have been very undesirable at a
former time in another set of circumstances, like a child that is
brought to the birth before the time has come for its mother to
be delivered. A world State may become a reality at some future
period when mankind has become ripe for it, and it can be born
naturally out of the circumstances of the time and has not to be
forced into premature existence. But that time is not yet ; and
it is questionable whether a League of Nations is the means, and
whether it is not one of those illegitimate and injurious short cuts
already referred to. In an article that appeared in the August
number of The Empire Review I endeavoured to show how a
league of sovereign States in those cases in which it has been
tried has proved a snare to its members, and how their having
become involved in it has caused their ruin and brought them
not the peace they hoped for but the sword it was their intention
to avoid. For it is an institution containing too many irrecon-
cilable elements to work, requiring a subject to serve two
sovereigns which is as impossible as serving two masters. A
league of sovereign States is therefore born with the seeds of its
future disintegration already in its system like the inheritor of
some incurable and fatal malady.

The course mapped out for us seems to be to direct our
endeavours towards the federation of our own Empire, a project
less ambitious than a League of Nations, and one that probably on
this account has less attraction for certain minds. But if in one
case the league — for, as the Prime Minister recently reminded us,
the British Empire is in fact already a League of Nations — would
be on a smaller scale, its greater strength and solidarity would
more than compensate for its limited scope. Moreover in present
conditions it would be quite impossible to form any but a very
loose league of sovereign , States, such as has often been formed
but never answered where it has been tried. It would be other-
wise with the nations of the British Empire. Their federation

Empire Federation or a League of Nations 447

is a task presenting fewer difficulties than that of the world or
even Europe. It has not to be begun, for the organic union of
the Empire is already in process of being evolved. Coleridge
remarked soinewhete that it is identity in language, religion,
laws, government, blood that make men to be of one country,
and the Mother Country and the self-governing Dominions have
all these in common. They are bound to one another by closer
ties than to the rest of mankind. They themselves take this for
granted and would receive a rude shock if it were contested.
And if their consciousness of spiritual unity is as yet vague and
barely defined like those mists and vapours out of which this
earth was originally evolved, it too will condense in time and
form something more concrete. Imperial unity is already in
process of becoming a spiritual reality, it only remains to give it
outward form and make it a constitutional reality.

It is sometimes maintained that in the aims relating to a
League of Nations and Empire Federation respectively there is
nothing logically inconsistent, and that the pursuit of the one
need in no way interfere with or retard the realisation of the
other. But experience convinces us that practically it is not
possible to keep enthusiasm for both objects afc a high temperature
at the same time. A writer in the Hibbert Journal for July,
Sir Koland Wilson, pointed out that the schemes are usually
treated independently of each other, that those who are most
enthusiastic about a League of Nations are apt to be lukewarm
about Imperialism, and that they are really incompatible ; and
we shall find that the results of our own observation will
corroborate Sir Roland Wilson's opinion in this instance,
although his other views are some of them very erroneous,
outrageous in fact, so outrageous that they ought not to be so
much as breathed among us, far less put into print. As a
matter of fact our next objective is Empire Federation. A
League of Nations may be the next after that. We do not know,
but that the union of the nations of the British Empire will
prove the stepping-stone to a wider and more comprehensive
union is the hope and belief of some, and has been finely
expressed in the following beautiful lines : —

Here let the Daughter Nations, East and West and North

and South, take counsel and discern
How fair their mighty Mother is, and yearn
With love renewed, content awhile to rest
Safe on her fostering breast.

Till drawn together nearer, they shall bind
Closer bonds of love for all of British blood,
Then, our broad subject realms in brotherhood,

Then, our great alien kinsmen heart and mind

Then, if Heaven will, mankind.

448 The Empire Review

But it is not possible to take the second stage of a journey
before the first. There is not even any practical utility in
considering the second until the first has been achieved. To
attempt to realise a League of Nations before Empire Federation
is to attempt to skip part of the road which it has been ordained
we shall tread, to take one of the short cuts already referred to
which not only will not lead us to the place which is our goal
but will land us in many and great difficulties and perils.

The God Who created individual man, created also corporate
man, the State. Our country is something more than that
portion of the earth's surface which represents her on the map,
or than the sum of human beings which make up her population.
These are but the outward and visible signs of an inward and
spiritual existence. The nation has a psychic as well as a
material part. " The State," said Burke, " ought not to be
considered as nothing better than a partnership agreement in a
trade of pepper or coffee, calico or tobacco, or some such other
low concern, to be taken up for a little temporary interest and to
be dissolved by the fancy of the parties." This psychic part of
the State exists not only in the imaginations of patriotic poets
and idealists but is a reality. Out of the union of personalities
which forms the nation is born another and a totally new
personality quite distinct from any of them, that of the State
itself, as another and a totally new personality, that of the child,
is begotten of the union of man and wife. This fact once
grasped our country, and the sentiment we have for her, acquire
for us a totally new and infinitely deeper significance, the mystical
significance which they had for Burke, Coleridge and others, and
the writer who, in one issue of the ' Varsity,' defined patriotism
as "the highest form of love for a created person." Similarly
Dr. E. T. Powell, in a lecture which he delivered at the Bristol
Colonial Institute a year or two ago, said of the British Empire
in particular that it was a " gigantic single organism, not a
heap of individuals and territories scattered throughout the
world. ... It stands a thousand-wintered tree, clad with —

Prodigious leaves, whose veinings bear the fresh
Impressions of the finger-prints of God.

" We jind the Oversea Dominions, and the rest of British
territory, are not the Empire, but only the outward and visible
evidences of its existence. The Empire is something beyond
population, territorial expansion and commercial prosperity.
There was a psychic entity developing behind the Imperial
organism in the same way as personality was united with the
physical organism." In the divine scheme of things each nation
has its part to play, for which it has been specially endowed, in

Empire Federation or a League of Nations 449

some cases more highly than in others ; for the nations, like the
stars, differ from one another in glory. They are instruments
which God has fashioned to be used in working out His purposes.
By the Jews He imparted to mankind the one true faith, by the
Greeks art and beauty, by the Eomans law and order. Similarly
it may be by the instrumentality of some chosen nation that He
will one day send the world the blessing of perpetual peace. The
history and character of the English-speaking race suggest that
this may be their function.

Whatever their faults, and they are many, the Anglo-Saxon
race are unusually free from the love of power and greed of
territory which in the past have been the most fruitful causes of
wars. A deliberate and settled policy of Imperial aggrandisement
has never been adopted by the government of Great Britain,
whether represented by the King or any other ruler or body of
rulers. This is not to say that no government nor individual
Briton has ever been tempted by political ambition or commercial
gain to engage in a war of aggression. To say so would be to
grossly misrepresent British history. But when they erred they
were conscious of the fact. Their lapse from virtue was the
result of weakness and not of a perverted understanding, to
which evil appears as good and to which a dream of world-power
appears, as it did to Philip II., Louis XIV., Napoleon Bonaparte,
and as it does to William II., a legitimate and even righteous
object of ambition. Again, the Anglo-Saxon is naturally of a
peace-loving disposition to which war is repugnant. He regards
war as one of the greatest of evils, to be avoided at the cost of
almost everything but honour, liberty and national existence,
although when compelled to draw the sword no one can use it
more effectively. A war of pure aggression would never be
tolerated by the British people. The moment their eyes were
opened to its character " the wild mob's million feet " would kick
from place the men responsible for it. We judge others by
ourselves. Himself harbouring no hostile designs against his
neighbours the Anglo-Saxon credits them with like innocent
intentions, and, believing war-like preparations to be quite un-
necessary, has not unfrequently neglected to take the necessary
precautionary measures, with the result that more than once
there have broken out hostilities for which John Bull the
Unready has been quite unprepared.

A citizen of the United Kingdom has but to refer to his own
experience, to the views and sentiments which he has heard his
compatriots repeatedly express in the intercourse of everyday
life, to assure himself that this is a true description of their
attitude to war. And if he requires further proof he has only to
turn to the speeches of British politicians of whatever political

450 The Empire Review

complexion, and to articles in the British press, and to note what
sort of ideals they reflect. And on the other side of the Atlantic,
in the United States of America, this attitude is if possible even
more pronounced. Our enemies, however loudly they may profess
the contrary, are at heart aware of it. It was the consciousness
of their pacific disposition that led Napoleon to taunt the English
with being a nation of shopkeepers, and forced an eminent
German, who not long before the outbreak of the present war
was asked what was the strongest force for peace in the world,
to reluctantly admit the British Navy. Their history proves not
only that the British can be trusted not to abuse power them-
selves, but also that as . far as in them lies they will prevent its
abuse by others. They have been in modern times the self-
constituted champions of the weak against the strong and
punishers of their oppressors.

We may, then, seek to promote peace in one of two ways,
either by the creation of a loose league of the nations of the
world in general, or by strengthening the league of the nations /
of the British Empire in particular. The success of the first
scheme would depend on the loyal co-operation of a number of
sovereign States, that of the second on the good intentions of a
single dominant State ; it is therefore natural that the first should
appeal most strongly to extreme democrats.

But it seems that it is only on paper that a League of
Nations can be made to work, for whenever an attempt has been
made to carry it out in practice it has never answered. Experi-
ence of the power of Great Britain, on the other hand, shows it
to have been generally exerted in the interests of peace. It
follows that the greater the power of Britain the more likelihood
of peace. The present war occurred because Britain was not
strong enough to prevent it. The most effectual way of strength-
ening the power of Britain is to federate the Empire.

D. A. E. VEAL.

Empire Trade Notes 451

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES

CANADA

DURING the present season more colonists have gone into
Central British Columbia, along the line of the Grand Trunk
Pacific, than has been the case for a number of years back. The
settlers going into this country are stable, and are taking up sub-
stantial areas of land, mostly for mixed farming, and many are
coming in from the United States. It is expected that two land
settlement areas, situated close to the railway line, will be opened
up by the Provincial Government, and settlers will have the
privilege of purchasing land within these areas at a small cost
per acre.

THE Department of Colonisation and Development of the
Canadian Pacific Railway Company announces its intention to
award a silver cup, valued at £100, for the best bushel of hard
spring wheat exhibited at the International Soil Products Exposi-
tion at Kansas City, Missouri. The railway company hopes in
this way to encourage production of the best varieties and at the
same time to draw attention to the immense food producing
possibilities of Western Canada. Canadian farmers have been
winners of many competitions at the International Soil Products
Exposition, and the winning of this cup by one of their number
would be an appropriate climax to a series of triumphs.

THE construction of seventy miles of railway into the. rich
copper district of The Pas is announced. War requirements of
copper are held to make this expansion desirable, and a sum of
£400,000 will probably be allotted for expenditure in the construc-
tion. A further attempt to locate oil in Manitoba is to be made
north of Selkirk, where a well will shortly be sunk. Enormous
deposits of potash, sodium and sulphate, have been discovered
some thirty miles north of Maple Creek. The mine is situated in
a dried up lake bed two-and-a-half miles long by one mile in width,
and the minerals are almost on the surface. A branch line of
railway will probably be run from Maple Creek.

VANCOUVER is enjoying a period of considerable industrial
prosperity. Every week since the beginning of the year an
increase in the bank clearing returns has been noted. The
announcement has been made of another addition to the industries
of the city in the shape of a large iron foundry. Construction
work has been commenced, and when completed it is anticipated
that about 100 men will be permanently employed at the foundry

452 The Empire Review

for a start. North Vancouver has secured contracts for eight
1,500-ton twin-screw steamers to be built for the French Govern-
ment. These boats form a part of the unit of twenty boats
allotted to British Columbia, the allotment being North Van-
couver 8, Western Canada Shipyard 5, New Westminster Con-
struction Company 5, and Coquitlam Construction Company 2.

THE revival of interest in the cultivation of flax has attracted
a great deal of attention in Ontario this j^ear. One of the most
interesting features at the Toronto Exhibition in August and
September took the form of a flax exhibit, demonstrating the
entire process, from the planting of the seed to the manufacture
into fine linens. At the present time the best fibre is used for
aeroplanes. During the past summer 3,000 acres of flax were
grown in Ontario and harvested with the assistance of women
workers. At one time flax was raised largely by Ontario farmers.
The industry dwindled, but has again been brought into promi-
nence since the outbreak of war. The Province of Ontario is
particularly suited for the cultivation of flax for fibre purposes as
contrasted with that grown for oils, meals and foods.

THE output of silver from Ontario, chiefly during the first
half of the current year, averages $1,377,937 per month. With
the price of silver now at over one dollar to the ounce, compared
with 88 cents at the beginning of the war, the last half of 1918
promises to be a record even higher than the first half. There is
reasonable assurance, therefore, that the output for the year will
have a value of over $16,000,000. Only once before in the fifteen
years' history of Cobalt Camp has such a record been achieved.
That was in 1912, when slightly over $17,400,000 worth of silver
was produced.

THE International Nickel Company of Canada began operations
in July. From the Creighton mine ore is being raised at the rate
of over 100,000 tons per month. During the half-year 804,640
tons of ore were raised from the operating nickel-copper mines.
Ore smelted was 719,119 tons, producing 40,178 tons of nickel-
copper matte.

THE Anthracite Committee of the United States Fuel Adminis-
tration has allotted 3,602,000 gross tons of domestic-size anthracite
to Canada for the coal year 1918-19. Of this amount the Canadian
Fuel Controller has assigned 274,977 gross tons to North-Western
Canada, 20,500 tons of which are to be reserved for railway
requirements. The anthracite committee prohibits the shipment
of hard coal into North-Western Canada by any producer or
distributor other than those designated by the committee.

SOUTH AFRICA

SPEAKING at the recent annual meeting of the Johannesburg
Chamber of Commerce, Mr. C. H. Leake said that the total
earnings of the South African Railways last year amounted to
£14,262,087— an increase of £1,005,020 over 1916, and no less
than £1,873,332 more than the year 1913, before the war com-

Empire Trade Notes 453

menced. The expenditure — including depreciation, relaying, etc.
— amounted to £10,262,658 last year, thus resulting in a gross
profit of £3,999,429. After allowing for interest payable on
capital — amounting to £3,201,499 — there was a net profit of
£333,212. The percentage of gross profit on capital amounted
to £3 16s. Qd. as compared with £4 12s. Gd. in 1916, and £4 2s. 3d.
in 1913. The passenger earnings increased from £3,859,737 to
£4,078,278. Twenty-seven new locomotives were placed in the
service at a cost of £220,624, and twenty-eight new coaches and
194 new wagons and vans were provided at a cost of £170,397.
The earnings from goods rose from £5,808,660 to £5,864,545, and
the tonnage conveyed in 1917 was 5,814,815 as compared with
5,816,320 in 1916.

IN spite of the many initial difficulties and disappointments,
cotton growing in the Union continues to make satisfactory
progress. Kevised estimates of this season's cotton crop indicate
a production of upwards of 5,000,000 Ibs. of seed-cotton. This
will give, approximately, 1,700,000 Ibs. of lint. A portion of this
supply is expected to be purchased locally for textile purposes,
but by far the greater portion will go oversea.

THE wattle extract industry, according to the report of the
Durban Chamber of Commerce for 1917, has made considerable
progress. The Maritzburg factory has increased its product to
approximately 200 tons monthly, and a new factory at Durban
has now entered the producing stage. The process of extraction
adopted by the last-mentioned company is a new one as regards
the treatment of bark, and considerable success has already been
achieved. The extract has been used by South African tanners,
and has also been shipped to England with very satisfactory
results both as to analysis and prices realised. Two other
factories for the production of wattle extract are being established
in the Province, one at Dalton and another at Verulam. These
are understood to be bra(§bhes of the Maritzburg factory. The
trial consignment of fifty tons of Natal wattle extract sent to
India a few months ago has been reported upon favourably, and
inquiries respecting a further shipment of 150 tons are now being
made.

A LOCAL demand for South African arsenic is steadily de-
veloping. Rhodesia is now supplying quantities to Union buyers ;
and among Union producers the Stavoren Tin Mine (Pietersburg
District) is turning out from one to two tons of crude arsenic per
month, and building material for a new furnace has been ordered.

AN interesting experiment carried out with wattle wood is told
by the Department of Industries. Two casks have been made in
Durban from this material, and have so far stood the most severe
tests as to durability. One of the casks was filled some two
years ago with treacle and has been exposed to the weather
during this period without showing the least sign of leakage. It
is stated that for this purpose treacle proves a more severe test
than spirit. It is also noteworthy that .the wood used in the

454 The Empire Review

above experiment was neither specially selected nor seasoned.
The subject is one worthy of further investigation in view of the
revived interest which is at present taking place in the coopering
industry.

RAPID progress continues to be made in the production of
butter and cheese. As recently as 1915 South Africa imported
butter to the value of £121,994, and cheese to the value of
£155,466 ; last year the imports were reduced to £18,516 and
£96,170 respectively, in addition butter to the value of £109,918,
and cheese £1,560 were exported. It is estimated that the total
production of butter last year amounted to 16,013,557 Ibs., and of
cheese 1,975,483 Ibs., against 13,407,140 Ibs., and 1,098,184 Ibs.
respectively the year before. The butter sent to England was
very favourably reported on, and realised as much as the best
Canadian and New Zealand butter.

THE establishment in the Transvaal of a paper industry has
been decided upon, and operations are expected to commence early
in the new year. The work will, in the first instance, be limited
to the production of cardboard, for which there is a large demand
in the Union, but it is intended, as the industry progresses, to
manufacture brown paper, beaver boards, and other cognate
commodities. The plant is being manufactured locally. Waste-
paper, rags, sacking, and twine will, at first, be used as raw
material, but it is intended, as time goes on, to include a greater
proportion of natural products such as fibre and spent wattle
bark. The proposed enterprise is all the more interesting from
the fact that it is probably the first real attempt in the Union on
a commercial scale to produce this class of article.

AN attempt is being made to start a condensed milk factory
in the Malmesbury District of the Western Province. Production
on a small scale has already commenced under the supervision of
a gentleman who has had experience <A this industry in Europe,
and, providing the necessary capital can be raised, there is every
possibility of manufacture on a fairly large scale being undertaken .
It is reported that a small condensed milk factory has been opened
at Howick, Natal, and is producing from fifteen to twenty cases
per diem. It is the intention of the directors to open branches of
the factory in the Union as opportunity offers.

THE iron smelting works which are being erected west of
Pretoria are nearing completion, and smelting operations are
expected to be commenced within the next few weeks. Great
activity prevails in the locality. The Railway Administration is
constructing a branch line of some 1| miles long from the
Pretoria North line to the works. The earthworks are almost
complete and the rails will be laid to synchronise as near as
possible with the opening of the iron works which comprise a
50-foot blast furnace, lined with fire-bricks from the Olifantsfontein
works, capable of producing between 10 and 15 tons of pig-iron
per diem : a substantial block of brick buildings, including engine-
house, storage bins for lime, coke, and graded ores ; business

Empire Trade Notes 455

offices and a well equipped laboratory. Quarrying has been in
progress for some time past, and a stack of ore of several thousand
tons is already awaiting treatment near the works.

AUSTRALIA

THE circulation of Australian silver and copper coins has
largely increased since the war outbreak. For the five years
before the war the silver coins issued totalled in value £1,150,750
and for the four years since ££,077,375 representing 41,280,500
coins, of total weight 231 tons. The position in regard to bronze
is much the same. For the five years prior to the war coin to
the value of £48,030 was issued, while for the four years since the
outbreak £84,790 worth has been put into circulation. The
number of coins in Lthe latter period was 26,181,600, over 200
tons weight. Large quantities of the coins have been taken
away from Australia by soldiers.

THE Bullot Meat Process Company recently conducted trials
at Inverell, of their meat-preserving process in the presence of
the Advisory Meat Board's officers. At a banquet given by the
company as a practical demonstration of the process, it was
stated that the Federal authorities had deputed the chief
veterinary officer and the chief inspector to conduct the tests,
and the reports by these officers were so favourable that the
Commonwealth Government had consented to a small company
being formed to acquire the rights. Mr. Bullot stated that the
cost of trucking 100,000 sheep from Inverell alive was over
£15,000 : the loss by shrinkage 4 Ib. per head, over £6,000. The
cost of slaughtering under the present ' conditions brought the
total cost up to £25,000. Under the Bullot scheme the cost of
slaughtering, treatment and railage to Sydney would be only
£8,130 or a saving of £16,500. It was urged that the process
would help to break down centralisation, as well as do away with
the cruelty inflicted on live stock on the railways.

THE purchases of wool by the Imperial Government last
season amounted to 1,627,360 bales greasy and 197,246 bales
scoured, of the appraised value of £39,576,420. New stores are
to be built at the principal capital ports for the storage of Imperial
Government wool, and will have a total capacity of two and a
half million bales of dumped wool. The Australian Federal
Cabinet, after examining the probable effect of the latest proposals
made by the companies engaged in the manufacture of wool tops,
determined to adhere to the Government's former decision that
wool tops could be manufactured by the companies on a basis of
12£ per cent, profits on invested capital, which is equivalent to
16 per cent, on the shareholders' capital in the companies.

THE directors of, the Federal bureaux of science and industry,
brought into existence for the joint purposes of scientific research
and the application of the results to industry, have recently
visited Western Australia, where it is expected that a forest
laboratory will be established. The Western State of the

456 The Empire Review

Commonwealth has great forest wealth, hitherto exploited on
a comparatively small scale. Scarcity of shipping has hit the
industry rather badly, but the ending of war is certain to mark
the beginning of a new era of prosperity.

IN other fields of industry Western Australia provides a rich
field for scientific research. The most important problem is that
of the treatment of low-grade gold-bearing ores on a commercial
basis. Of such ores there are unlimited quantities, and the
advance of science justifies the hope that at no distant date many
of the old mines, now just below the profit- earning standard,
may be re-opened and successfully developed. Then there is the
" blackboy " problem. The blackboy is a small black tree sur-
mounted by a bunch of fern-like fronds, and it has yielded in the
laboratory a great variety of commercially valuable products,
including petrol, tar and resin.

DECREASING shipping facilities have thrown the Australian
States more and more upon their own local resources for the
production of everyday articles of use. In some respects this is
proving distinctly advantageous and is leading to the establish-
ment of many new industries. In Western Australia the manu-
facture of railway telephone instruments at the State workshops
has proved quite a success, and Professor Payne of the Melbourne
University has recently looked into the methods adopted with a
view to employing returned soldiers upon the work. '

. THE New South Wales Lime Company has acquired a lease of
what are believed to be valuable lime deposits and proposes to
register a local company and work the deposits in a fairly
extensive way. The Australian Glass Manufacturers, Ltd., of
Victoria, which has factories in several States is about to extend
its operations to Western Australia, and will employ a considerable
number of workers in the making of bottles of various kinds.

BUT perhaps the most important industrial development at
present under way is the extension of the ceramic industry to
the West. A model pottery kiln has been built and scientific
tests are now being made of the local day deposits. These tests
are being carried out in co-operation with the Government
Geological Department. In this work a limited number of
objects are being kept in view, the chief of which are domestic
china, glazed (monotone) tiles, roofing tiles, fire-bricks and fire-
lumps, and vitrified ware. The outlook is said to be distinctly
promising.

GOODS imported and transhipped at Sydney during the year
ended June 30th totalled 3,447,653 tons, as against 4,045,884 tons
for the previous year. Oversea goods amounted to 1,075,963 tons,
or 261,298 tons less than in 1917 ; inter-State to 754,292 tons, an
increase of 13,969 tons ; and State to 1,617,398 tons, or 350,902
tons less. Although last year's tonnage in inter- State trade
exceeded 1917 by only 13,969 the Customs value was £16,489,068
as against £14,298,449.

OVEBSEA COEEESPONDENTS.

THE EMPIRE
REVIEW

AND

JOURNAL OF BRITISH TRADE

VOL. XXXII. JANUARY, 1919. No. 216.

AN IMPERIAL CABINET AT LAST

PRIME MINISTER'S PRONOUNCEMENT

" No lesson," as the Prime Minister very truly says, " that
the war has taught us is more striking than the lesson of the
reality of the power of the British Empire." Equally true is it
that as regards the changes in political thought brought about by
the war, none compare in significance, from the standpoint of
Empire, with the clearer understanding gained by all sections of
British subjects as to the real meaning of the Imperial idea.
The war has unified the component parts of the King's
Dominions in a manner and with a solidarity nothing else could
have accomplished. In the words of Mr. Hughes, "before the
war Empire was a thing vague and almost lifeless, in the hour of
trial it assumed a new and inspiring shape, that which was dead
became gloriously alive."

With the coming of peace has arrived the period of demo-
bilisation, and men who have shared the same hardships and
faced the same perils are returning to their homes in different
parts of the Empire. Will these men who have fought for the
same common ideals remain content to live on under the old
political limitations? I think not. A new era will arise de-
manding the reconstruction of our Imperial Constitution, using
the word Imperial in its true sense, that of Empire. Our fellow-
subjects, merely because they happen to reside outside the
confines of the United Kingdom, will no longer be satisfied to be
without a voice in the foreign policy of the Empire or in the
waging of wars in which they may again be called upon to
take their part. They will want, and rightly want, to share
these responsibilities with the Motherland, and gladly will they
assume the corresponding liabilities of Empire Government.
VOL. XXXII.— No. 216. '2 M

458 The Empire Review

They will expect, and rightly expect, that issues, affecting the
Empire as a whole, shall no longer remain for solution in the
hands of statesmen elected solely by the votes of persons in the
United Kingdom. They will insist, and very properly so, upon
these issues being decided by a tribunal in the councils of which
representatives from all parts of the Empire meet on equal terms
and possess equal authority.

It was, I think, John Stuart Mill who expressed the opinion
that "countries separated by half the globe do not present the
natural conditions for being under one Government or even
members of one federation." But much water has flowed under
the bridge since those lines were written, and had John Stuart
Mill been alive to-day I have no doubt whatever that his opinion
would have advanced with the times. Adam Smith took a wider
and more correct view when he told us that " the assembly which
deliberates and decides concerning the affairs of every part of the
Empire, in order to be properly informed, ought certainly to
have representatives from every part of it." And that great
Imperialist, Lord Beaconsfield, speaking nearly half a century
ago, has left on record these memorable words : " No Minister in
this country will do his duty who neglects any and every oppor-
tunity of reconstructing as much as possible our Colonial Empire,
and of responding to those distant sympathies which may become
the source of incalculable strength and happiness in this land."
Federation has been the mutual result of free institutions in
Canada, Australia, and South Africa. It rests with the present
generation to extend the principle of federal unity throughout the
length and breadth of the British Empire.

Had the self-governing communities been given a voice in
matters of foreign policy long ago, many mistakes and misunder-
standings would have been avoided. Australian feeling would
not have been outraged by the laisser faire attitude shown in the
matter of New Guinea and the protests with regard to the sur-
render of the New Hebrides would never have occurred. New
Zealand would not have been menaced by enemy annexations in
the Pacific, Samoa would not have become a German naval base,
and the valuable trade of this group and the adjacent islands
would not have passed from British control into the hands of
Germany, nor do I think would the arrangement which gave
Heligoland to Germany ever have been allowed. There would
have been no sacrificing of Canadian interests to meet the
demands of the United States of America, the fisheries of
Newfoundland would not have remained' for so long a period
subject to the handicap of foreign interference, nor the prosperity
of the West Indies been jeopardised by the unfair competition of
European bounties. And this is not all. Millions of citizens

An Imperial Cabinet at Last 459

have been lost to the Empire by the absence of an Imperial
migration policy. For generations the Dominions have been
crying aloud for people of British stqck to till their lands and
develop their resources. But Downing Street has paid no heed
to the supplication. Apathy and inaction in Imperial policy has
been the besetting sin of successive Ministries at Westminster.
Cabinets, Liberal and Conservative, have been content to look
on while the population of this country passed outward to the
United States of America, instead of remaining, as in altered
circumstances might have been the case, citizens of the British
Empire. Eesolution after resolution has been passed dealing
with the subject, but nothing has eventuated, and nothing will
eventuate until the Dominions are given a permanent share in
the supreme council of State.

In an article contributed by me to the Fortnightly Review
last month I dealt at length with the various suggestions put
forward from time to time for federating the Empire, and I
concluded my analysis with the proposal of an Imperial Cabinet.
Long ago it was suggested that to combine the Cabinets of the
Empire would be a convenient as well as an effective form of
Imperial federation. The suggestion, however, fell on deaf ears.
•Years afterwards the conscience of Downing Street awakened
and a step in the direction indicated was taken by the creation
of the Imperial Conference. But it had required a war, and the
greatest of all wars, to give the original suggestion practical
shape. This was done when the Prime Ministers of the
Dominions were included in the Imperial War Cabinet, and the
principle was extended by the addition of representatives from
India and the setting up of committees within the Imperial War
Cabinet. Over one of these the Secretary of State for the
Colonies presided, and in this way representation was given to
those Colonies and Protectorates not possessing responsible
government.

In the Imperial War Cabinet we have an Imperial body
possessing executive powers, an end not attained by any other
of i the propositions advanced :for the federation of the Empire,
except that of a new Imperial Parliament, as to the feasibility
of which considerable difference of opinion prevails both in this
country and in the Dominions. Full representation is also
given to all parts of the Empire. It appears, therefore, that in
the Imperial War Cabinet we have reached a stage in Empire
Government which removes those limitations that so long
blocked the way of Imperial progress. The Dominions have at
last assumed the position of partners. Now that hostilities have
ceased the question arises as to whether we are to go back to
the status quo. All that the Kesolutions passed by the Imperial

2 M 2

460 The Empire Review

War Cabinet on July 30th provided is : " That in order to secure
continuity in the work of the Imperial War Cabinet and a
permanent means of consultation during the war (the italics are
my own) on the more important questions of common interest,
the Prime Minister of each Dominion has the right to nominate
a Cabinet Minister either as a resident or visitor in London, to
represent him at meetings of the Imperial War Cabinet to be
held regularly between the plenary sessions." Nothing was said
about what is to happen after the war.

The suggestion I ventured to make in the Fortnightly Revieio
was that, pending the inauguration of a more complete form of
federation, the Imperial War Cabinet should continue as a
permanent body to be styled the Imperial Cabinet. All that is
necessary to bring this about is for the Dominions to appoint
Ministers of Cabinet rank to reside in London for a term of years
and endow them with plenipotentiary powers, except in such
matters and on such occasions where time permits for consultation
with the Dominion Cabinets, while obviously all questions of
Imperial Finance would have to be decided by the local Parlia-
ments. It may be said that the Imperial Cabinet will conflict
with the duties now performed by the Governors-General. Very
likely that will be the case. But their powers must be amended
to suit the new situation, just as to meet present requirements it
was decreed that the Prime Ministers of the Dominions, as
members of the Imperial Cabinet, have the right of direct com-
munication with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
and vice versa, instead of passing all correspondence through the
Secretary of State for the Colonies as hitherto has been the rule.
Again, a dividing line, and a very strict line, will have to be
drawn between Imperial and domestic policy. But after all,
these are details. The essential fact to bear in mind is, that by
continuing the Imperial War Cabinet with its changed significance
we shall secure an Imperial Executive in which all parts of the
Empire have an equal voice and an equal vote, a bodj7 actuated
by one purpose and one purpose alone, the recognition, and the
fullest recognition, of the vital principle of Empire.

Since my article appeared the Prime Minister has made an
important pronouncement. Speaking on December 7 of the
changes introduced by him during his Administration, he said
"we had for the first time an Imperial War Cabinet where you
had representation of the whole Empire. The great Dominions
and the great Empire of India all sat round the same table to
concert together as to the means of victory. That was a new
experiment, but it is going to last " (the italics are my own). If
that be the Prime Minister's intention, and I am sure it is, my
suggestion has been answered in the affirmative.

An Imperial Cabinet at Last 461

But, and I am sure Mr. Lloyd George will excuse me, if I say
a mere statement of this kind in a speech is not sufficient. We
must have something more definite, and we must have it now, if
possible before the Peace Conference opens. At any rate as soon
as the new Parliament assembles an Order in Council should be
promulgated setting the necessary official seal on the new form of
Empire Government. We cannot and we must not begin debating
questions affecting the reconstruction of the Empire until the
reform in the governance of the Empire which the Prime Minister
has foreshadowed is an accepted fact.

THE EDITOR.

. BRITISH TRADE IN TRINIDAD

THE appointment of an Imperial Trade Commissioner for the
West Indies, to reside in Trinidad, should materially assist the
re-introduction of British trade, which has gradually lost ground
in favour of trade with the United States of America. The
decrease of business with the United Kingdom was inevitable owing
to the earlier restriction of exports from the home country, and
the greater delay and irregularity in executing orders on account
of transport difficulties. Other causes, however, have contributed
to the transference of trade, a striking instance being that of the
motor car industry. Motor transport was introduced into the
Colony in 1914, and although among the first half dozen cars
one or two were of British make not one of the succeeding cars,
numbering about 150, is of British manufacture. The value of
the trade last year was £12,699. The greater degree of
standardisation and the readiness with which renewals and spare
parts can be obtained are factors favouring the American trade.
Some part of the transferred trade should revert to the United
Kingdom after the war is over. It has to be borne in mind,
however, that it is more difficult to recover a trade' that has been
lost than to keep it, and that steamship communication with the
United States of America is speedier and more frequent. It
appears evident that a further reduction in cable rates, and
improvement of the steamship services to and from the United
Kingdom, may have to be considered in any endeavour to
re-establish the trade.

462 The Empire Review

AUSTRALIA AND OVERSEA COMMERCE

OPPORTUNITIES FOR MANUFACTURERS

VESSELS are few, freights show no sign of decline, space is
difficult to secure, and serious inroads upon the world's shipping
continue to be made. With these facts before us, it is obvious
that the British manufacturer seeking to extend his 'oversea trade
has very serious transport problems to face, problems that are not
likely to be solved for some years to come.

One way of easing the situation is to establish subsidiary
factories in the more distant countries, and in this respect
Australia, which bought largely of British manufacturers before
the war, offers an exceptional field for commercial enterprise.
The country is rich in raw materials, and there are opportunities
for business expansion to an unlimited extent. Moreover it is
illogical that shipping space to the extent of millions of tons
should be absorbed in carrying raw material 13,000 miles to be
made up and returned to its original location. Yet this is what
occurs in the case of Australian wool, leather, tin and copper.
British manufacturers are apt to meet the suggestion that they
should establish factories in Australia with the retort that wages
are so high there that it is cheaper to bring the raw material to
England to be treated. That argument might have held good in
particular instances before the war, but skilled artisans in England
at the present time are being paid wages in excess of those paid
for similar work in Australia, and wages will in no case revert
again to the scale which ruled in 1914. Even prior to 1914 a
number of subsidiary factories were established in Australia,
and the work carried on with marked success. Australia is strongly
in favour of protection, and not only assists manufacturers by
imposing duties on imported goods, but stimulates them to
further efforts by liberal bounties, based upon output.

Electric, water and steam power are available in all the States ;
iron and coal deposits are practically unlimited, and we have a
good network of railways, particularly in the eastern territories.
Let me quote statistics relating to some Australian industries in

Australia and Oversea Commerce 463

order that an idea may be gained of the possibilities for future
expansion. In the case of iron and steel, bounties are paid upon
pig iron made from Australian ore and steel made from Australian
pig iron, the sum in each case being 12s. per ton. In 1908 there
were 729 engineering works, ironworks and foundries in the
Commonwealth, whose total output amounted to £4,568,000. In
1913 this number had increased to 919 and the value of the output
to £8,315,000. This shows a substantial increase, but there is
still a large field open to the ironmaster, for, in 1913, in addition
to the Australian output, iron and steel to the value of £7,462,000
was imported. In the case of matches, in 1913 three factories
produced £85,000 worth, while in the same year the importations
were valued at £225,000.

In a country where wine is an important product and all
varieties of grain are grown, the amount of potable spirits
distilled from the raw material is lamentably small. In 1913
spirits were consumed ^in the Commonwealth to the extent of
3,983,000 gallons, and of this amount only 597,000 gallons were
locally produced. In studying the statistics relating to woollen
piece goods, blankets and .rugs, one is surprised at the meagre
quantity made up in Australia. It would generally be thought
that a country producing such enormous quantities of high grade
wool would also possess a large number of mills for turning the
raw material into cloth. Such is far from being the case. In
1913 Australia imported £2,903,000 worth of woollen piece goods,
blankets and rugs, for local consumption, the value of Australian
made goods consumed in that period being only £925,000. There
are extensive forests in the Commonwealth unsuitable for saw
milling, but which, if worked, would provide an immense quantity
of wood pulp and cellulose. Only a small quantity is being made
at the present time, but the Government is giving encouragement
to the industry by a bounty of 15 per cent.

Every variety of mineral is found in Australia. There are
huge deposits of tin, zinc and copper, yet, when the figures
relating to electro plate ware are examined it is found that while
the value of the output in 1913 was only £84,000, goods to the
value of £250,000 were brought into the country. Mines of every
kind — gold mines, silver mines, tin mines, copper mines and coal
mines are scattered over the whole continent, and in the extensive
operations of these concerns vast quantities of explosives are used.
In 1913, mining explosives (embracing dynamite, blasting gelatine,
gelatine dynamite and gelignite) to the value of £301,200 were
absorbed. At present only one company is making this class of
explosives — the Australian Explosives and Chemical Co. of Deer
Park, Melbourne. This concern, which has a very small output—
in 1913 only 200,000 Ibs. out of a total consumption of 6,000,000

464 1 he Empire Review

or 7,000,000 Ibs. — is dominated by the Nobels Dynamite Trust
Company, Ltd.1

In the particular instances given I have not touched on the
fringe of the vast field of manufacture available for development
in Australia. Possessing as it does immense quantities of the
raw material necessary for almost any industry, it offers oppor-
tunities for every manufacturer. That the establishment of
factories is a paying proposition may be gauged from the fact that
the 12,853 factories in operation in 1908 extended to 15,536 in
1913, the value of the output expanding from £99,529,631 to
£161,560,763 in the same period, an increase of 62 per cent. The
cost of raw material, wages, fuel and light was £83,018,819 in
1908 and £133,254,465 in 1913 which, it will be seen, gave in
1913, £11,795,486 to the manufacturers. Imports in 1908 and
1913 were £57,693,000 and £91,100,000 respectively.

In the tariff investigation report of the Australian Inter-state
Commission presented to Parliament in April 1915, the Commis-
sioners say — " Generally speaking, the manufacturers have pros-
pered in recent years, and the wide extension of industry amply
demonstrates that those who have in vested capital in increasing their
enterprises have had confidence in the prospects of satisfactory
returns." In a special report upon the establishment of new
industries the Commissioners state : " The iron and steel industry
promises an expansion in activity exceeding by far anything which
may be anticipated from any other source. The local market is
capable of absorbing additional material to the value of several
millions of pounds sterling." Attention is also drawn to the
following matters, for which a large local demand exists — copper
wire, rods, tubes and sheet made from the copper we produce in
abundance ; tops, yarn and the weaving of woollen fabrics from
our own raw material, which is equal, if not superior, to that
obtainable elsewhere ; improvement in the tanning and prepara-
tion of leather for foreign markets in preference to sending away
the hides ; the profitable production of alkalis from the natural
salt deposits of South and Western Australia ; the economic
production of wood pulp from the fibre of the forest trees ; the
production of alum and potash from the local deposits of alunite,
one of which, in the county of Gloucester, New South Wales, is
described as "one of the most remarkable in the world " ; the
manufacture of tin plate from our own raw material ; the
utilisation of cheap water power for the manufacture of calcium
carbide ; the cultivation of better qualities of tobacco ; the local
manufacture of margarine, for which there is an immense
market abroad ; and the growing of flax for fibre and linseed.

While the figures given show that there is ample scope for
the manufacturer in the local market, the additional fact must

Australia and Oversea Commerce 465

not be overlooked that there are vast possibilities of developing
an export trade. At present, Australia carries on a large
export business with what is called in England, the Far East,
and with the west coasts of North and South America. This
trade is mostly in agricultural and pastoral products, but
Australian fanning machinery is sent in large quantities to the
Argentine Kepublic, and mining machinery made in the Com-
monwealth is used on many of the tin concessions in the Malay
Archipelago. For business enterprise Australia may be regarded
practically as virgin soil. It is a country which the manufac-
turer cannot afford to overlook.

In conclusion, let me say that the Commonwealth Govern-
ment intends to give every encouragement to the establishment
of new industries. Definite proposals are invited from manu-
facturers and others interested, both in Great Britain and
Australia, and I can assume then that prompt and sympathetic
consideration will be given to any request they may put forward
in this direction. Two or three large companies in Britain have
entered into negotiations with my Government, who have pro-
mised to give all the assistance necessary ; indeed, in some cases
representatives have already left for Australia to complete the
necessary arrangements. We are sparing no effort to attract
capital to Australia, and hopes are entertained that by so doing
we shall not only provide profitable sources of investment for
capital within the Empire, but stimulate production under
British control, place the industries of the Empire — both raw
materials and manufactures — on a sound footing, and develop to
the utmost the resources of the Empire independent of German
capital.

W. M. HUGHES

(Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia) .

BRITISH SOLOMON ISLANDS

ACCORDING to the annual report of the British Solomon
Islands for 1917-18 the trade has been good. With increased
shipping it is believed a large business will be built up. The
chief industry is the production of copra. Many plantations are
now coming into bearing, so that a considerable advance may be
expected in the near future. The influx of Chinese has led to
much native trade passing to their hands. Most of the Chinese
reside on Tulagi, where the majority of time-expired indentured
labourers are paid-off. A paper currency has recently been issued,
but little gold is in circulation, the chief medium of exchange
being Commonwealth Bank notes. In the remoter parts of the
islands native money is largely used.

4G6 The Empire Review

THE COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES
OF AIRCRAFT

EVERY practical business man has already weighed up the
possibilities of commercial aircraft so far as they concern his
personal affairs. We are used, as a nation, to looking ahead and
preparing for sweeping changes in national, social or economic
life. To this we owe our greatness : to this we owe our far-flung
dominions and power : to this we owe the peace which we are
just celebrating, which is so closely associated with that aerial
supremacy which shortened the war.

The business man knows what strides have taken place in the
air since the Expeditionary Force crossed the Channel. He
knows that, previous to the outbreak of hostilities, only a. few
people were building machines, and that practically no aircraft
industry existed in this country. He has seen the small
Expeditionary Force turned into squadrons, has seen a small
workshop grow into acres of buildings capable of turning out
thousands of machines. He has seen one of the largest
aerodromes laid down and a river buried beneath it so that there
could be no hindrance to aircraft in the future, and he knows
that these are the signs which show that the possibilities of
aircraft are illimitable. He is, therefore, making arrangements
which will enable him to develop his business which has been
restricted during the years which the locust has eaten — the lean
years of war. The country is ready for the leap which we are
about to make from the foundations that the aircraft workers and
the public who have helped them during the war have been
laying down . There will be no cessation of work in the factories ;
on the contrary, as a matter of fact, we shall never be able to
construct a sufficient number of aeroplanes for all the commercial
men who will require them.

The plans for the establishment of the Whitehead air-lines
are already well organised, and before long we shall be in a
position to girdle the world with both passenger and traffic-
conveying liners, to open up the vast tracts of the undeveloped
world and to gain a supremacy in the air which will make this

The Commercial Possibilities of Aircraft 467

Empire on which the sun never sets greater and mightier than
all the civilisations which have gone before. Whitehead Park,
from which these lines will radiate is admirably situated for the
work, by reason of its close proximity to London and its own
natural advantages. Linked up, as it will be, with the great
railway systems in the country, it will work in conjunction with
them, so that it will be possible to journey from any part of these
islands without the loss of time, the discomfort, and the other
disadvantages of interchange at present ruling, and step into an
aeroplane for whatever part of the world one wishes to visit.

It will be possible within a short space of time to step into a
passenger aeroplane in the morning, to transact business in Paris,
lunch there and be back in London for afternoon tea, or even go
to Paris and back before lunch if necessary. Many business
men who have urgent affairs to transact will use the aeroplane
just as Mr. Bonar Law, Sir Albert Stanley, Mr. Winston
Churchill, and other cabinet ministers chose the aerial route for
Paris when the affairs of State demanded their presence in the
French capital, although the railway systems of both countries
could easily have been used to facilitate their journey. The
question of speed influenced their choice, and as in the affairs of
State, so in the business world, the man who wishes to get there
first will have recourse to the air-line as the quickest and the
easiest route.

The great cities of the world will be brought nearer by many
hours to the travelling public, and in the meanwhile plans that
have been in abeyance during the war for dealing with the
conveyance of mails and goods will be put into operation. The
transit of goods is largely a matter of construction and design,
and by no means has it been neglected by those who were
restricted to the building of war machines during these last three
years.

In building and designing bombing-machines our aim was to
produce the craft which would fly the maximum distance carrying
the maximum load of bombs. Everybody knows that we have
made great strides jn this direction, and that we are still able to
accomplish much more than we have done. All what we have
to do therefore is to substitute the goods of the merchant for the
munitions of war, and you have the beginning of the aerial
merchant fleets which will carry our wares into the aerodromes
of the markets of the world. The merchant vessel of the air will
undoubtedly be built under the eye of the Government inspector,
will be captained by merchant skippers who have undergone a
highly technical training, who will know every trade route and
every wind of heaven, and in whose hands our goods and our lives
will be safe. Flying in an aerial taxi to Paris or Brussels, to
VOL. XXXII.— No. 216. 2 N

468 The Empire Review

Shepherds at Cairo for the week end or to the Cape for a business
deal in a Cape Liner, will be no more strange to the public than
the journey from the Bank to Shepherd's Bush is to the young
man from the provinces who hitherto has travelled on the steam-
driven train. When the first dirigible flew over Eltham en route
for London, it passed over the house of a centenarian farmer who
helped George Stephenson to dig his railway between Stockton
and Darlington. If, during the process of digging, you had told
that man he would live to see flight, he might have laughed at
the idea. But his experience shows the wonders which can take
place in one generation.

Most of us have seen the gradual development of electrical
appliances, the inception of wireless telegraphy, the discovery of
the X-rays, the telephone by which the actual handwriting can
be reproduced at the other end of the wire, the half-tone process,
and many other discoveries that a hundred years ago few would
have believed to be possible. We shall see yet more wonderful
discoveries in the world of flight.

In the development of distant parts of the world the aeroplane
will be one of the greatest boons that the City man could find.
Let us suppose, for instance, that news is received that the
discovery of some mineral of great commercial value has been
made in some part of South Africa. At present an engineer
would have to spend the better part of two or three months
travelling by train, passenger liner and bullock wagon to his
destination. An aeroplane would take him the same distance in
less than a week. It is an asset in business to know, and to
know quickly, what a country does or does not possess. Know-
ledge gained quickly and cheaply means great saving, for time is
money.

The successful business man is generally the one who gets
ahead of his rivals, and bearing this in mind it will be seen that
the fullest advantage will be taken of the aeroplane for the transit
of express letters and samples. When the time of the journey
from Tokio is three days, when the Atlantic can be crossed in a
day and a half, the merchant who has goods or samples to put
quickly on the market will avail himself of the shorter route or
be outdistanced by his rivals. He will have no choice in the
matter. The establishment of postal facilities will be pushed on
rapidly. Whitehead Park will have its own /office connected by
pneumatic tube with St. Martins le Grand, so that a reply to a
letter mailed in the morning from the City will bring a reply the
same day. Business cannot always be done by telephone or
telegraph. You cannot wire specifications or legal documents,
so that the aerial post will become one of the integral parts of
our commercial and national life.

The Commercial Possibilities of Aircraft 469

In order to further the schemes which will be put into
operation and to maintain our commercial supremacy, aerodromes
will be laid down not only all over this country but in every part
of the world. The air-lines belonging to the different companies
which are already registered will have landing rights at fixed
charges in the same way as the railway companies have the
right to run their rolling stock over the lines of other companies.
This is necessary for the maintenance of our supremacy, as the
question of landing stages is one of the most important in
connection with our national schemes.

One of the factors which will make for success in the
construction of commercial aircraft is the experience of our
designers, our pilots and our workers. The aircraft worker is a
creation of the age of the air. He or she may be looked upon as
the master craftsman which Morris and Ruskin and Carlisle
taught us to strive to create. With the super-worker or master
craftsman at work, whether controlling the passenger lines,
whether in charge of the transit of goods or in the workshop
building the craft for pleasure trips to Boulogne, the business
taxi to Eome or the sea-going liner to Boston, to New York or
Cape Town, all things are possible in the commercial world of
to-day and to-morrow.

J. A. WHITEHEAD.

THE CEYLON RUBBER INDUSTRY

THE rubber industry in Ceylon continues to thrive and the
exports to increase. The area under Hevea rubber is now ap-
proximately 251,500 acres, and planting continues to take place.
There is a growing tendency amongst small owners to plant
rubber on lands formerly used for growing food products,
especially in districts well suited by soil and climate for rubber
cultivation. Rubber is gradually displacing cinnamon in parts
of the Western Province. In the Kalutara District even paddy
lands are gradually being converted into rubber estates — a
tendency which is, on the whole, to be deprecated. It results
in a diminished production of food-stuffs ; the rubber is often
badly planted and easily becomes diseased, causing these small
blocks to be a danger to their neighbours, and the planting of
rubber in this way is usually found to be followed by increased
idleness and crime on the part of the cultivators. In the Matara
District large areas formerly under citronella are now being
planted with rubber.

2 N 2

470 The Empire Review

THE .COINAGE QUESTION

»

IT need hardly be said that all of us who advocate a decimal
coinage welcome the Royal Commission appointed to consider
and report as to the advisability of placing our currency on a
decimal basis, and as to whether the scheme formulated in the
Bill promoted by the Association of Chambers of Commerce in
conjunction with the Institute of Bankers and the Decimal
Association and recently introduced by Lord Southwark in the
House of Lords, or some other scheme, should be adopted.

Lord Southwark's Bill, if he will allow me to say so, was in
some respects imperfect. Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the Coinage
Act, 1870, which had special reference to the coins of the old
notation, as set out with their weights and least current weights,
in the First Schedule to that Act, were left unrepealed. These
sections should, together with the schedule, have been re-enacted
in accordance with the new notation. In addition, the Bill
proposed to introduce into circulation five coins below the value
of ten mils or 2£d. ; yet no direct provision was made for the
exchange value of money, by which the adjustment of statutory
fares, tolls, prices and charges, based upon the old penny, with
the notation of the new coinage, could be made without appeal
to the Board of Tra'de. As to the large number of coins of low
value, it has been decided by the promoters of the Bill to drop
the 3-mil coin from the list of bronze coins, limiting these to
15 2 and 4 mils, and that the last should be temporary only.

The subdivision of the pound sterling or sovereign into
1,000 mils, and the use of this money value as the unit requiring
the use of three decimal places for] the fraction, would be
intolerable in practice. Fortunately this need not occur, for the
florin, being the decimal submultiple of the pound, offers a useful
unit for commercial purposes, necessitating the use of two
decimal places only, and without the possibility of losing sight
of the sovereign in large amounts. In any sum in florins, that
denomination can be recognised at once, without the assistance
of any complicated arithmetic, by simply moving the point one
place to the left; thus, fl. 326 '25 becomes £32-625, or £32 plus

The Coinage Question 471

fl. 6 '25. Reading the sum in its separate denominations, we
have 3 imperials, 2 pounds, 6 florins, 2 dice, and 5 mils. So
that, by the use of florins and mils in the ordinary transactions
of daily life, the inconvenience of three decimal places is at once
overcome. Sums like 7s. 6d. and 15s. 9d. would be expressed as
fl. 3 '25 and fl. 7*87. Until accustomed to reckoning by the new
notation, the rule to be remembered is : Qd. is a quarter florin
(25 mils) ; Is. half a florin (50 mils) ; Is. Gd. three quarters of a
florin (75 mils) ; odd pence are 4 mils to .the penny. By the
observance of this rule the value of the new money can be
guaged without difficulty.

The florin would consist of 100 fractions or mils, and the
coinage and notes be represented as follows : Notes. — Imperial
of 10 pounds or 100 florins ; 50 florins ; 10 florins ; 5 florins.
Silver. — Crown of 2 fl. 50 (or, if preferred, the double-florin) ;
florin of 100 mils (I'OO) ; shilling of 50 mils (50 '00) ; tester (old
name for sixpenny piece) of 15 mils ('25). Nickel. — Dice of
10 mils ('10) (the term " dice " is preferred to " dime " in order
to distinguish it from the American coin which is of different
value); 5 mils ('05). Bronze. — 4 mils (*04); 2 mils ('02); and
mil (-01). The silver coins would undergo no change in value;
and the threepenny bit would be withdrawn from circulation.

To carry out this scheme it would be necessary to repeal and
re-enact Sections 3, 4 and 6, together with the First Schedule of
the Coinage Act, 1870, and to repeal Section 2 and the Schedule
of the Coinage Act, 1891. And to meet the changes I suggest,
the following amendments would have to be made in Lord
SouthwTark's Bill.

Section 2. For the existing coinage of silver and bronze,
there shall be substituted a coinage of silver, nickel, and
bronze, based on a decimal system; that is to say, each
coin shall be a hundredth part or the multiple of a hundredth
part in value of a florin or tenth part of a sovereign, and
such part of a florin shall be and is hereinafter in this Act
called a mil.

Section 3. The new coinage shall be of the denominations
specified in the First Schedule to this Act, and the only
lawful coins of account shall be the sovereign, the florin, and
the mil.

Section 4. Re-enactment of Section 3 of the Act of 1870.

Section 5. Re-enactment of Section 4 of the Act of 1870,
with the following changes and additions : —

In the case of gold coins, for a payment of any amount ;

In the case of silver coins, for a payment of an amount
not exceeding twenty florins ;

In the case of nickel coins, for a payment of an amount
not exceeding five florins ;

\

472 The Empire Review

In the case of bronze coins, for a payment of an amount
not exceeding fifty mils.

Nothing in this Act shall prevent any paper currency
which, under any Act or otherwise, is a legal tender from
being a legal tender.

Section 6. He-enactment of Section 6 of Act of 1870.

Section 7. With respect to the exchange value of the
silver coins of the old issue, they shall take their value as
hitherto, as proportionate parts of a sovereign, that is to say,
a shilling shall be equivalent to fifty mils.

With respect to the exchange value of the bronze coins
of the old issue, sixpence, whether in silver or bronze coins,
shall for all purposes whatsoever be equivalent to twenty-
five mils, but fractions of sixpence in any amount shall be
reckoned as, and at the rate of, four mils to a penny of the
old issue; that is to say, five pence shall be equivalent to
twenty mils, and seven pence shall be equivalent to twenty-
nine mils.

The provisions in this section shall apply to all contracts,
agreements, bills, notes, and statutory undertakings, in
existence before the commencement of this Act.

Section 8. Eecapitulation of Section 3 of Lord South-
wark's Bill.

With regard to the value of the penny, this coin has under-
gone so many changes during the war that the slight difference
in its value would be a matter of little, if any, importance.
What is 4 per cent, less, or 20 per cent, more, compared with
100 and 200 per cent, to which the value of the penny has gone
down lately ? The value in goods for 4 or 5 mils can be given
equally well as for a penny. Prices adapt themselves to the pre-
vailing coinage.

As regards stamps : these rise by halfpence up to 3d., and
afterwards by pence to Wd. They can, by the provision suggested
in Section 7 above, be easily adjusted by rising by 2 up to 12 mils,
and afterwards by 4 mils up to 5d. ; 6d. becoming 25 mils, after
which again rising by 4 mils up to IQd. ; a shilling stamp
becoming 50 mils.

In order to save the expense of new bronze coins, a Proclama-
tion might be issued to the effect that —

On and after the day of 19 : —

Notwithstanding any name or value which may be im-
pressed upon the face of the following coins of the old issue :

(1) The farthing, halfpenny, and penny shall represent in
value the one-hundredth, the one-fiftieth, and the one-
twenty-fifth of a florin respectively, or one mil, two mils, and
four mils respectively.

(2) The silver tester, hitherto representing sixpence, shall
not now represent such value, but shall represent one-fourth
of a florin, or twenty-five mils.

The Coinage Question 473

Just before the dissolution of the late Parliament, and since
the appointment of the Eoyal Commission, a second Bill was
introduced by Lord Leverhulme, himself a member of the Royal
Commission, advocating a coin equivalent to 4s. Id. (or one
hundred halfpence) in value, as the unit. This unit is not,
however, .to be called a dollar, but a royal, thus reviving an old
English name, which disposes at once of any prejudice which
might exist against the term dollar. The following is the list of
the denominations taken from the Bill : — Gold or Note : Guinea
or 5 royals (R.5'00) ; Sovereign (R.4'80) ; Silver : Royal (R.I -00) ;
Florin (R.0'50) ; Shilling (R.O- 25) ; Halfpenny (R.0'01) ; Farthing
(R.0-005).

By this scheme the royal (or dollar) would become the chief
coin of account. The bronze coins would be untouched in value,
the importance of which cannot be over-estimated ; and the half-
penny would be merely another and more familiar name for the
cent or hundredth of the unit. The sixpenny and threepenny
pieces would be withdrawn, and be replaced by two nickel coins of
10 and 5 halfpence.

If this scheme finds favour, I would suggest that the farthing
be withdrawn altogether, as being an unnecessary money value,
complicating change, and offering the opportunity to tradesmen
of playing off the three farthing trick upon the public ; and that a
Treasury note representing 10 royals be added. I suggest " im-
perial " as a name for this value."

Of the two schemes Lord Leverhulrne's would appear to be
the preferable one, as the penny would be untouched in value. It
is possible, however, that the Institute of Bankers would raise
objections owing to the sovereign not being in decimal sequence,
and thus ceasing to be a coin of account. But this would be of
little consequence, as the sovereign would still remain the essential
standard of money. It is not the particular weight in grains or
grams of the sovereign, but to the world- wide confidence in the
purity of the metallic alloy that we may attribute the regard
attached in financial circles to this money value. As to the
public, the slight increase in the value of the silver coins and
notes would only affect the educated classes, who would have no
difficulty in adapting themselves to the new face values. New
silver coins would be ultimately required, but by the issue of a
Proclamation similar to that proposed in the previous scheme, the
expense need not be undertaken immediately. The Proclamation
might run thus : —

Notwithstanding any name or value which may be im-
pressed upon the face of any of the following silver coins of
the old issue, on and after the day of 19 , the

royal or double-florin, the florin, and the shilling, shall be

474 The Empire Review

current and legal tender as and for one hundred, fifty, and
twenty-five halfpence respectively.

Lord Leverhulme's scheme also possesses the advantage of
closely assimilating our coinage with practically that of the
whole Western Hemisphere.

As regards the change, the eminent engineer, Sir Guilford
Molesworth, who was intimately connected with the decimalisation
of the coinage in Ceylon many years ago, tells us that within a
fortnight of its introduction the natives and others had completely
mastered the details, and the position in Ceylon was further
complicated by the fact that two currencies were in use at the
time the change was made. It may, I think, be assumed that
the British public are not behind their Indian fellow-subjects in
intelligence.

Early in the day, Germany saw the advantages of a decimal
coinage and adopted it, with the result that Germany captured a
considerable portion of the world's trade. We alone of the great
nations have neglected this important and much desired reform.
Whatever scheme, therefore, the Commissioners may decide to
adopt let it be speedily put into effect, so that the change may be
completed as soon after peace is declared as possible, and before
the Germans are in a position to compete again for our foreign
trade.

W. WEIGHT HAKDWICKE, M.D.

A ZANZIBAR INDUSTRY

THE cloves industry in Zanzibar dates from 1818 to 1860 and
an output of about 7,000,000 Ibs. had been attained. In 1872
the plantations in Zanzibar were devastated by a hurricane, and
consequently most of the trees in the island date from that time.
Pemba, however, escaped, and the large plantations there are
therefore much older, varying from sixty to ninety years. It is
estimated that there are in both islands about 52,000 acres under
clove cultivation, and about 4,700,000 trees in bearing. The
large plantations are chiefly owned by Arabs, a few being held by
Indians. Many natives possess small plantations. The output
varies considerably, the trees bearing heavy crops periodically
every three to five years. The average output of recent years
has been about 14,000,000 Ibs. The largest crop was that of the
season 1911-1912, yielding 28,000,000 Ibs., of which Pemba
contributed 20,000,000 Ibs. The smallest crop recorded of recent
years was in the season 1912-1913 when only 4,750,000 Ibs. were
harvested, of which Pemba contributed rather more than
3,500,000 Ibs. The average yield per annum from a plantation
of about 3,000 trees of about sixty years old owned and managed
by Europeans is 8 Ibs. per tree.

Empire Trade Notes 475

EMPIRE TRADE NOTES

CANADA

PEOMPT action is being taken by the Canadian Government
to keep the wheels of industry turning in Canada during the
period of transition from war to peace conditions. Already
orders have been placed for 200,000 gross tons of 85-lb. steel
rails, which will be used for the betterment and extension of
Canadian Kailways. The Dominion Steel Corporation at Sydney
has been given an order for 125,000 tons. The rolling of the
rails will be commenced in a few days and deliveries will be made
at the rate of 20,000 tons a month. The price to be paid will be
determined later on by cost of production. These orders will be
followed by others to be given to various steel manufacturing
companies for further equipment to the extent of 65,000 tons.

DESPITE the remarkable development of the dairy industry in
the prairie provinces of Canada during the last three or four years,
it is still capable of considerably greater expansion. The immense
possibilities of this industry are only beginning to be realised by
the farmers of Western Canada. To further encourage it and to
lead to the adoption of the most modern and economical methods
on the dairy farm, the efforts of the provincial governments are
constantly devoted. The Saskatchewan government has just
announced a series of competitions open to those engaged in the
dairy industry in that province. Probably the most important
competition is the one open to all farmers of the province who
milk at least five cows. This competition has been arranged with
a view to increasing production among the herds of the province.
Prizes will be awarded to the farmers whose herds show the
largest proportionate output of butter fat. This competition will
be open to the patrons of the creameries, who number about
30,000. The records of all herds since November of last year will
be taken and tabulated for the year ended October 30th, 1918.
In the " Ideal Creamery Competition " prizes will be awarded to
creamery managers for the creameries with the best kept sur-
roundings. This is the only competition of the kind held in
Canada, and is to be arranged with a view to encouraging
managers in the planting of trees, shrubs, etc., and beautifying
the surroundings of their creameries.

47 G The Empire Review

SASKATOON is rapidly becoming a notable centre for the dairy
industry. The weather conditions of the past season have been
almost ideal over the greater portion of Northern and Central
Saskatchewan,- with the result that the various creameries, both
private and co-operative, have shown a greatly increased output
of butter. The local units of the Saskatchewan Co-operative
Creameries in the northern part of the Province report outputs
of butter as large for the past six months of 1918 as for the whole
of 1917. Frequent and heavy showers with warm growing
periods have stimulated production, and the food prices prevailing,
with an increasing number of settlers, and more stable farming
conditions are the chief factors in rendering Central and Northern
Saskatchewan one of the great dairy farming areas of Western
Canada.

A MEMORANDUM issued by the Canadian Naval Service
Department states that evidence of the most satisfactory results
from the fish cultural operations of the department is apparent.
The catch of white fish per net in Lake Winnipeg was never
better than during the current season. The white fish fishery in
Lake Erie, the largest producing area in Canada, was more
prosperous than it has ever been, and Lake Ontario is rapidly
returning to the prosperous condition in which it was formerly.
The salmon streams of Ontario and Quebec were never in better
condition. The spawning areas are covered with salmon, which
are forcing their way into the highest tributaries of the various
streams. The fish cultural operations of the department are
confined almost entirely to the propagation of commercial food
fishes, such as Atlantic salmon in the maritime provinces, white
fish, lake herring, salmon trout and pickerel in Ontario and the
prairie provinces and Pacific salmon in British Columbia. From
the thirty-six fresh water hatcheries at present operated by the
department fish were distributed during the 1918 season to the
number of 924,640,180, of which over 500,000,000 were white
fish.

AT one time the great fish-canning concerns of the Fraser
River simply turned the hose on the floors of the buildings and
washed all offal into the river. The commercial value of the offal
has become known, and a plant erected on a small island a few
miles from the mouth of the Fraser River and close to the canning
factories, but out in the open. To-day this plant is one of the
most essential on the river, and not only clears offal from every
cannery every twenty-four hours, but ships out oil of great im-
portance to the manufacturers of munitions and quantities of
valuable guano. The plant receives on an average 60 tons per day
of raw material when the canneries are operating, and ships out
to New York in a year 30,000 gallons of oil, which is rendered in
retorts. The residue becomes guano, and is dried out and shipped
to California, where it realises a good price on account of its value
as a fertiliser for fruit trees. Last year 300 tons of this guano
left the plant. The Company employs two tugs and thirty-five
scows in the collection of the raw material, and every cannery is

Empire Trade Notes" 477

fitted with a hopper, which is emptied every twenty-four hours,
for which the canneries pay a bonus based on the season's pack.

EARLY this year Canada will probably have Government-
owned and operated freight vessels on the Atlantic. Two snips,
to be named the Canadian Pioneer and the Canadian Voijageur,
of 8,100 and 4,350 tons respectively, will shortly be completed.
About twenty-two ships are under construction or contract for
the Government at a cost of about five millions sterling, and
next year the number will be even larger. Canadian steel ship-
yards are now engaged chiefly on Government ships. The third
Coughlan steel steamer, the 8,800-ton War Charger has completed
her test run on the Pacific. The vessel was ready for launching
when fire swept the shipyard and her whole port side had to be
practically rebuilt. A four-masted full-rigged wooden schooner
has been built at Quebec. It was commenced in the latter part
of August and is built of British Columbia fir and Canadian
spruce, oak and birch.

ACCOBDING to estimates prepared by experts there is enough
soft coal in the four Western Provinces of Canada to supply the
world for a couple of centuries. The mines of Saskatchewan,
Alberta and British Columbia have scarcely been tapped, but have
produced a total in one year of 6,000,000 tons, to the value of over
five millions sterling. The Alberta and Saskatchewan coal fields,
it is said, can supply the demand of the prairie provinces for
centuries. The coal is of a very good grade, and is equally
serviceable for steam purposes and household heating. Steps
have also been taken to generate cheap electrical power by
establishing power plants at the mouths of certain mines. Pro-
gress of this kind has been delayed on account of the financial
situation caused by the war, but there is no doubt that in the
future the power problem of the prairie provinces will be largely
settled by the inexhaustible supply of coal available in these pro-
vinces. The Canadian Dominion geological survey has estimated
that the coal beds of these provinces, with eastern British Columbia,
contain a total of 143,490,000,000 tons, covering an area of 87,000
square miles.

A CANADIAN Order-in-Council has been passed authorising the
Hydro Commission to develop the power at Nipigon Falls.
Engineers are already busy preparing specifications, and tenders
will shortly be called for. Reports state that about £600,000 will
be spent on the project and 100,000 horse-power developed. The
development of this power will act as a great incentive in the
location and development of industries at the head of the lakes.
The water-power of British Columbia which offer natural high
heads are at present developed to the extent of 230,000 horse-
power. It is estimated that there is 750,000 horse-power still
undeveloped within reasonable distance of the cities of Vancouver
and Victoria, and outside of this area another estimate has been
made, roughly, of the water-power possibilities which would bring
the figures for the province up to 3,000,000 horse-power.

478 The Empire Review

THE war has imparted new interest to the molybdenum
deposits of Ontario. Before the war they were not worked
commercially, but being an article used as an alloy for hardening
steel, it is now in greater demand, and considerable progress has
been made in the development of Ontario properties. Much of
the output is being shipped direct to France. Production is on
an increasing scale. Ferromolybdenum is also being manufac-
tured in the province, and further concentrating mills are being
established.

THE report for the year 1916-17 by the chief of the Provincial
Forestry Service states that the consumption of pulp-wood in
Canada continues to increase owing to the exceptional prosperity
that industry has experienced since the outbreak of war. The
absence of competition from the Scandinavian and German
countries has favoured Canadian manufacturers to a marked
degree, while the continual decrease of supplies of pulp-wood in
the United States has compelled American pulp and paper manu-
facturers to purchase a considerable portion of their wood or
pulp in Quebec, or to transform their mills for the manufacture
of other products. The high prices paid for pulp and paper have
had an immediate effect on that of pulp-wood, which has sold at
almost fabulous prices, exceeding the highest on record. Some
idea of the scarcity of wood may be obtained from the fact that
buyers came from Wisconsin, and had to transport the wood they
bought over 800 miles. The consumption of pulp-wood of
Canadian mills has increased from 482,777 cords, worth £586,330,
in 1908 to 1,764,912 cords, worth £2,620,891, in 1916. During
the latter year the Customs returns showed an exportation of
1,068,207 cords, worth £1,573,333. It is only since 1913 that the
home consumption has exceeded the exports of pulp-wood.

EFFORTS are being made by the newsprint manufacturers of
the Dominion to improve the quality of their product, and also
to secure a greater uniformity. During the past year plans have
been put into action by which Canadian-made newsprint will be
steadily improved in quality so as to command a special price in
foreign markets. It is realised that quality of newsprint will
bring a preferential price in future. Five of the big mills are
now pooling all their data bearing on production. The day of
trade secrets has been declared over. Another advance of much
significance was the success of a Quebec newsprint mill recently
in using 10 per cent, of birch with its usual mixture of spruce
and balsam pulp. No Canadian mills have thus far used any
hardwoods which are so prolific in Quebec that they are regarded
as " weed trees " and left to waste. The mill in question is now
using birch wood regularly, and other mills may be expected to
follow its example. This means an enormous saving of the
limited stock of spruce.

GOOD results attended the campaign for greater production in
the Indian Beserves of Canada — a campaign inaugurated last
spring by the Department of the Interior. In 1917 the Indians
had under cultivation 70,688 acres, while this year the acreage

Empire Trade Notes 479

has been increased to 82,421. The total yield in grain on the
reserves is over 1,000,000 bushels, representing an increase of
upwards of 70,000 bushels.

THE commercial activity of the farmers is a big factor in the
business of Western Canada. Through their co-operative institu-
tions they operate 606 elevators in Alberta, Saskatchewan and
Manitoba ; two large public terminals ; two large private ter-
minals ; and are marketing about one-third of the crop of these
three grain-producing provinces. Before the war one of these
institutions was classed among the largest wheat exporting firms
on the continent, and this branch of its organisation is now in
the service of the Allied Governments. Two of the farmers'
organisations distribute commodities used on the farm, and a
business of over £1,400,000 is annually transacted. In addition
the farmers "have £50,000 invested in a printing and publishing
plant, employing 153 people. They are owners of coal sheds and
flour warehouses, several large machinery warehouses and an
immense timber limit on the Pacific coast. The assets of the
farmers' companies are now over £2,400,000.

WHAT a combination of good seed, fertile soil, plenty of
moisture and the right climate will do, was illustrated during
harvest operations in Western Canada. A sample of wheat
received at Edmonton, Alberta, from a farm about 20 miles
north-east of that city was 4 feet long. It was sown on May 9th
and cut on July 15th. It therefore made a growth of 48 inches
in sixty-seven days.

FOE the convenience of the farmers and seedsmen of Manitoba
and Saskatchewan, the seed branch of the Department of Agri-
culture has opened a seed laboratory and seed control station in
Winnipeg. Grain and other kinds of seed will be tested at the
Winnipeg laboratory for seedsmen, grain dealers and farmers
who have seed for sale. Twenty-five samples will be tested free
for any one firm or individual each year.

A MEMBEE of the Canadian Department of Agriculture, who is
an expert on potato diseases, has inspected and passed for shipment
over 6,000 bags of No. 1 grade seed potatoes from the district of
Fort William, Ontario. He has been at work there for some
time, first inspecting the potato vines for disease, and now that
the crop is lifted, for disease in tubers. By introducing clean
seed of vigorous varieties from this district it is hoped to extend
Eastern Ontario's production. All the seed potatoes shipped
from Fort William are being handled by the Department of
Agriculture. Every bag is labelled, stating the variety, grower's
name and district. The 6,000 bushels already shipped represent
only a small portion of the seed expected to be obtained there.
This year's potato crop from Dorion East to Rainy River West
in the Thunder Bay district has been of remarkably high quality,
and this distribution of picked seed is expected to reveal to the
farmers of Eastern Canada the great opportunities for agriculture
awaiting development.

480 The Empire Review

THE value of forest products in British Columbia in 1917 is
given as £9,782,631, an increase of 38 per cent, over the output
of 1916 ; the manufacture of paper and pulp increased by 85 per
cent. The forest wealth provides for about a quarter of the
revenue of the province. Agricultural production is valued at
£7,532,570, an increase of 17 per cent, over 1916, notwithstanding
the large number of agriculturists serving their country in the
field. As to fishery production the province is credited with
40 per cent, of that of the entire Dominion, valued at £3,062,390,
being three-quarters of a million more than that of 1916. The
total pack amounted to 1,557,485 cases. Keturns from the mines
is also very satisfactory. The output for 1917 was £7,436,400.
British Columbia is also a manufacturing and trading centre for
the world's exploitation in many fields of industry.

ARRANGEMENTS have been made at Guelph, Ontario, for the
establishment of a flax-spinning concern. Employment will be
given for a start to between eighty and one hundred persons.
Guelph is now the centre of a flax-growing district, and the
business is on a staple basis in Canada to-day.

AN idea of the importance of the cattle industry to the districts
around Calgary, Alberta, may be gathered from the fact that
during the last eighteen months 100,000,000 Ibs. of beef have been
shipped overseas by the local packing-plant.

THE executive of the Vancouver Chamber of Mines has
arranged for a great international mining convention to be held
there in January. It is proposed to do everything possible to
render the convention, one of the most important ever held on
the North American Continent.

THE fourth great Canadian Government lock, the largest in
the world, has been practically completed. This connects the
upper and lower levels of Lakes Superior and Huron. There
remains the installation of 1,100-ton steel gates to be completed.
The foundations of {the lock are built into the solid rock floor of
St. Mary's River Falls. The installation of the huge gates to
span the 80 feet width of the lock chamber will commence at
once. These gates will permit the lowering or raising of steamers
from the level of one lake to that of the other, a height of 20 feet.
Excavations for ths new lock, the construction of which will cost
£700,000, were commenced in 1912.

LATEST statistics furnished through the Canadian Dominion
Parks Branch of the Department of the Interior show that there
are over 3,500 buffalo now in the park at "Wainwright, Alberta.
In addition there are nearly 100 elk, about 200 moose, a few
antelope, approximately 400 mule deer and 19 cattalo. The
buffalo had at one time nearly disappeared. There are now
several herds of them in the Dominion. In the Canadian National
Parks all animals have sanctuary.

THE latest Canadian Fruit Crop Keport places the Nova
Scotia apple yield at 400,000 barrels. The embargo on apple

Empire Trade Notes 481

exports to Great Britain, the report states, is discouraging to
Nova Scotia growers, but the orchards are being kept in good
condition in view of the after-the-war possibilities, and local sales
are being effectively encouraged.

A TRANSACTION which will probably have more far-reaching
results, both from a manufacturing and financial standpoint,
than any other recent event in Canadian motor circles, has just
been consummated by the amalgamation of four of the largest
motor car companies in Canada. One of the primary objects is
to increase the manufacturing facilities in Canada in order that
the cost of production may be materially lowered. All the branch
houses and distributing stations in Canada will continue to be
operated as before, and in addition engines, which have formerly
.been imported, will be manufactured in Canada, together with
axles, transmissions and all other important parts. With this in
view a site has been purchased at Walkerville, Ontario, consisting
of 38 acres, where these manufacturing operations will be con-
ducted as soon as material can be obtained and buildings erected.

OFFICERS of the Canadian Koyal North- West Mounted Police
at Herschell Island and Fort McPherson report that white foxes
were plentiful along the coast last winter, and large numbers of
pelts have been taken by the natives. In the vicinity of Fort
McPherson "foxes and marten were caught in quantities. Com-
petition by American traders has enhanced the prices of furs.
Caribou have been plentiful, thus providing food for the natives.
Traders from Fort Yukon and elsewhere bought furs last winter
for cash, paying big prices. A large quantity of fur was taken by
them to the United States.

SOUTH AFRICA

AT the Miners' Phthisis Commission the Director of the
Institute of Medical Kesearch said the' bureau was provided with
the largest and most complete X-ray equipment in the world. I
have been told, he adds, by American medical friends who have
visited the bureau, and also by medical visitors from England,
that there was nothing in the world to compare with it in
equipment and organisation for dealing with industrial diseases.

A DOORNFONTEIN firm — having started by making concrete
tiles — succeeded, after many experiments, in turning out what
appears a good class article to take the place of corrugated iron.
This tile is made of a composition of concrete and asbestos-waste,
which is placed in great tubs, beaten by long-flanged rollers
similar to those used in bread-making, and then laid in moulds
that turn out a tile a foot square. The tiles are then covered
with canvas mats, subjected to a pressure of 60 Ib. to the square
inch, left to dry partially for twenty-four hours, and then plunged
into water for some hours longer. They then undergo a further
drying process for almost a fortnight, when they are ready for
sale, though the makers allege they improve as they get older.

482 The Empire Review

The cost per square of 100 feet is considerably less than that of
corrugated iron or the ordinary clay tile, on account, mainly, of
the much lighter framework required. The firm now gives a
two years' guarantee ; and the claim that this tile is not only
fireproof, but wet-proof, is borne out by a specimen roof put up
some months ago on the firm's own premises, which has come
safely through some of the big rainstorms that took place earlier
in the year. In appearance the tile looks neat and quite artistic.

A FACTORY for the manufacture of Hume concrete pipes has
been established at Germiston. Sixteen acres of land has been
acquired and substantial buildings will be erected, also a private
railway siding. Pipes of 4-inch diameter and upwards will be
made, as well as open gutterings, tiles, tanks, and silos. It is
understood that orders amounting to £47,000 from the Band
Water Board have already been received.

A REPORT has been received from the Trades Commissioner
for the Union of South Africa on a consignment of twenty cases
of South African honey which was recently shipped to the United
Kingdom. The firm which handled the consignment states that
the honey was quite up to the sample against which it was bought,
adding that it was of a fair manufacturing quality, somewhat dark
in colour, and pronounced in taste and smell, characteristics which
rendered it more suitable for manufacturing purposes than for
table use. The Trades Commissioner remarks that there is a big
market for this type of honey in the United Kingdom.

THE Industrial Census of 1916-17 shows that the number of
factories engaged in the treatment of raw materials the product
of agricultural and pastoral pursuits (excluding tanning), was
Cape 63, Natal 15, Transvaal 10, Orange Free State 2 ; and of
those engaged in the preparation, treatment, and preserving of
foods, drinks, condiments, and tobacco : — Cape 798, Natal 221,
Transvaal 407, Orange Free State 144, the respective Union totals
being 90 and 1,570. The Mines Department reports that during
the calendar year 1917 15,194 ounces of fine gold were produced
by the alluvial diggers at Knysna, while 289,390 represented the
production of a small mine in Zululand.

THE Union Government is taking steps to obtain the services
of a consulting engineer of special qualifications in terms of the
recommendations of the Grain Elevators Committee. This
gentleman 'will be iasked to advise the Government as to the
number, capacity and construction of the elevators required and
also to furnish plans and specifications.

THE diamond haul at the Kameelfontein diggings during June
was 1,615 carats, valued at £3,504, and during July 1,849 carats,
valued at £6,152. The number of European diggers working
there in June was 112, and there were 500 natives. During July
the European workers numbered 112 and natives 674. A nice
18^ carat was found on the Barkly West Commonage recently by
an old digger. The stone is of good quality. Specification of

Empire Trade Notes 483

rough and uncut diamonds registered at the office of the Magis-
trate, Jagersfontein, Orange Free State, during the month of
August, 1918 : Carats, 13,440, value £57,123 3s. 9d.

THE bacon industry in South Africa has made exceedingly
rapid progress during the last five years, and has never been in a
more flourishing state than at the present time. Numerous
bacon factories are to be found throughout the Union,
particularly in the Natal and Cape Provinces. Some of them
are handling about 200 to 250 pigs per week, while one company
is reported to be increasing the size of its plant so as to
accommodate from three to four times that number. Very
satisfactory progress is being made in the butter and cheese
industry. The 1917 figures of production show the following
output :— Cheese, 4,266,048 Ibs. ; butter, 19,411,571 Ibs. The
1916 production was as follows :— Cheese, 1,975,487 Ibs. ; butter,
16,013,557 Ibs.

THE Minister of Industries, speaking at the Printers' Exhibition
in Johannesburg, expressed the belief that South Africa was at
the beginning of an industrial development which was going to
have a far-reaching effect. As to raw material for the printing
industry, the Government had been sending samples of all kinds
of fibre to the Imperial Institute for testing, and had received
excellent reports, especially of the tambookie grass and wattle
bark fibres.

SAMPLES of corundum and muscovite mica, from the O'okiep
District, have been forwarded to the Trades Commissioner,
London, by the Department of Industries, in connection with the
demand which at present exists in the United Kingdom for these
materials.

THE Grain Elevators Commission has sent in a report which,
it is understood, will follow the almost unanimous trend of
evidence in recommending the introduction of the elevator
system. If the scheme is adopted it will probably involve a
main installation at Durban, with subsidiaries at Cape Town
and possibly East London, and numerous feeders at the inland
centres. A leading engineer expert will probably be brought
from oversea.

AN interim dividend at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum
(6s. per share) less British Income Tax, has been declared by the
National Bank of South Africa for six months ended September 30,
1918, payable to all shareholders registered on November 16, 1918.
Dividend warrants were posted on November 26fch. The rate of
British Income Tax to be deducted, namely, 4s. 8-46d. in the £,
is arrived at as follows : — Full standard rate of British Income
Tax 6s. in the £, less — relief Is. 3'54d. This relief for the year
ending April 5, 1919, has been authorised by the Commissioners
of Inland Revenue in respect of Colonial Income Tax.

THE production of Turkish tobacco from the crop now growing
in the Union of South Africa is estimated at 250,000 to 300,000 Ibs.
VOL. XXXII.— No. 216. 2 o

484 The Empire Review

AUSTRALIA

THE value of the fish, crustaceans and oysters sold at the
metropolitan and country markets during last year was £272,328,
and the industry supported 3,126 fishermen with their 1,658 boats.
At the end of 1917 there were 3,181 oyster leases in existence,
and the total area under operation aggregated 969,883 yards of
foreshore, and about 376 acres of deep water areas. The revenue
to the Government from oyster leases was £7,260. The re-
stocking of trout streams has been well attended to, no fewer
than 86,700 trout fry were liberated in country centres during
the year.

THE New South Wales Minister for Kailways, Mr. Ball, is
urging the construction of the remaining sections of the Condobolin
to Broken Hill railway, and the building of connecting links with
the Trans-Australian line at Port Augusta on one side and
between Kyogle and Brisbane on the other. The connection of
Brisbane and Perth through the centre of New South Wales will
shorten the journey from Sydney to the West Australian capital
by some 400 miles, open up some particularly fine grazing country,
provide transportation from Broken Hill to the eastern seaboard,
and in addition prove of great strategical importance. The
Queensland Government has promised to build a 4 ft. 8£ in. gauge
line from Brisbane to connect up with the proposed railway in
this State from Kyogle to the border, in order to have a uniform
gauge right through from Brisbane to Perth. The sum of £64,000
for the Condobolin-Broken Hill line, including Matakana to Mount
Hope, is set down in the Loan Estimates for 1918-19.

THE Lands Department of Western Australia has reserved
some thousands of blocks for the settlement of soldiers 'within
reasonable distance of railways, and discharged soldiers wanting
land will find it ready for their occupation. In no part of the
world is more generous financial provision made for new settlers
than in Western Australia. The climate is delightful, the living
and social conditions good, the cost of foodstuffs perhaps lower
than in any other country at the present moment, the system of
education for children free and modern.

SOME time ago the Government of Western Australia initiated
a scheme for placing boys on farms within the State, in order
that they might have the most practical kind of training in
the years before they are ready to take up land for themselves.
The farmers showed considerable eagerness in securing the
services of the boys, and last year the Government had applica-
tions for 600 ; of this number only 339 could be supplied. The
Government, who keep in close touch with the boys, have
received many letters showing that both boys and farmers are
pleased with the scheme.

A KE PEE SENT ATI VE of Japan recently inspected the Govern-
ment experimenting farms at Trangle and Nygan with the view
of ascertaining whether the soil and climate are favourable to rice

Empire Trade Notes 485

and tobacco cultivation, and was much impressed with the possi-
bilities of the district in this regard. The Minister for Lands
estimates that during this and next year he will be able to settle
from 150 to 200 returned soldiers in the Lismore-Tweed districts
in the culture of bananas and other tropical fruits.

THE State-aided shipbuilding yards for Western Australia are
to be established at Freemantle, the first Australian port of call
for the mail steamers and the western terminus of the great
railway line which runs through Perth and Kalgoorlie, and
thence across the continent to the Eastern States. The Govern-
ment has arranged to advance the capital cost of the shipyards
and to provide a site at a nominal rental for the first twenty-one
years.

THEEE are 190,044,160 acres in New South Wales, and on
June 30 last settlement had reached the following dimensions : —
Fully alienated 41,561,731 acres, or 20 per cent, of the total
acreage ; alienation in progress 18,681,035 acres, or 9*5 per cent. ;
leased 116,171,750 acres, or 58 '6 per cent. ; reserves, roads, water
and vacant, 21,629,644 or 10*9 per cent. This State has about
16^ per cent, of the area of the Commonwealth. But it has
36 per cent, of the fully alienated land, 33 per cent, of the land
in process of alienation, and 13 '1 per cent, of the leased land,
but only about 2 per cent, of the unoccupied area ; while her
land revenue is equal to that of all the other States put together.

A FEW years ago the Dalwallinu area of Western Australia
was just a wilderness with no living thing upon it other than
native animals and birds. Now, thanks to the progressive policy
of the State Government, it is regarded as one of the finest
agricultural districts in the great wheat belt. A former Minister
of Lands, after a recent visit, said : " There is no doubt that this
is a magnificent stretch of country. The development in a few
years speaks volumes for the enterprise and the belief of the
settlers in the country. The crops are magnificent, and I have
never seen better food in my life, which at present is going to
waste for want of stock."

THERE are over 4,000 miles of Government-owned railways
in Western Australia, nearly all built for the express purpose
of opening up the agricultural and mining industries. The
State has produced over 32,000,000 ounces of gold, valued at
£134,000,000, and has paid dividends amounting to £27,000,000.
Many of its rich old mines are now available for re-pegging.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA produces at least two-thirds of the good
pearl-shell of the world, and now that the war is over there should
be a great revival in this industry. The Federal Government has
been considering the establishment of a pearl-shell pool and the
fixation of prices. Pearling is an industry in which men of small
capital can engage, and though it involves hardships and risks, it
is peculiarly fascinating, and yields rich prizes to those favoured
of fate.

2 o 2

486 The Empire Review

CROWN COLONIES

IN Ceylon the area planted with tea approximates to 400,000
acres, mainly planted during the past thirty years, and ranges
from sea level to elevations of nearly 7,000 feet. The estates
vary in size from 100 acres to about 2,500 acres, and are chiefly
under European supervision, and worked with Tamil labour from
Southern India. There are small areas in various localities which
are cultivated by the permanent population, leaf being sold to
estate factories in their vicinity. The average outturn for Ceylon
tea ranges between 400 to 500 Ibs. of made tea per acre, but well-
cultivated estates yield more heavily. The quality of the trees
varies according to the situation of the estates and to the methods
of cultivation and manufacture.

THE discovery of new sources of raw material, or the further
development of old sources, is the only means of overtaking the
large and ever-growing demand for vegetable oil. Any informa-
tion of a new source of vegetable oil is welcome, more especially
if such be a natural forest product, and not a cultivated one. The
Forestry Officer in the Department of Lands and Mines, British
Guiana, draws attention to the possibilities as an oil producer of
the Kpkerit palm (Maximiliana regia), which is widely distributed
throughout easily accessible forest areas of that colony.

AN interesting feature to West Indian planters is the experi-
mental trial in India of the Anderson Oil Expeller, a type of oil-
extractor recently erected in St. Vincent, and found to give
excellent results in the manufacture of cotton-seed "oil in that
colony. Trials with the Anderson Expeller in Mysore in 1915
gave a yield of 44 '3 per cent, with seed containing 47 '2 per cent,
of oil, the residual cake containing 5 '05 per cent, oil, which is
considerably less than with other types of presses.

OVEESEA COEEESPONDENTS

Some Articles and Contributors 487

«

SOME ARTICLES AND CONTRIBUTORS,

1901-1919

Back Numbers containing- these Articles can be obtained from the Publishers,
price One Shilling each (post free). Where several Articles are grouped
under the same heading they are not necessarily in the same number.

THE BRITISH EMPIRE. By the late Duke of Devonshire, K.G.

CHURCH AND THE EMPIRE. By Bishop Welldon, D.D., Dean of

Durham (late Metropolitan of India and Ceylon).

IMPERIAL RESERVES. By the late Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Dilke, Bart.
SETTLEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA. By The Earl of Plymouth, G.C.B.E.
VICTORIA AS I LEFT IT. By The late Earl Brassey, G.C.B.

CITY IMPERIAL VOLUNTEERS ON ACTIVE SERVICE. By Lieut. -
General Sir W. H. Mackinnon, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., Commander-in- Chief
Western District (late Col. Commanding City of London Imperial Volunteers).

OUR NAVAL STRENGTH. By Admiral Fitzgerald.

CROWN COLONY GOVERNMENT. By the late Sir Hubert Jerningham,

K.C.M.G. (Governor of Mauritius and Trinidad),
REMINISCENCES OF THE AMIR. By the late Sir Lepel Grifhn,

K.C.S.1. (Chief Political Officer in Afglianistari).

THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA.

Powers of States. By His Grace the late Duke of Argyll, K.T., G.C.M.G.
Attitude of New Zealand. By The Hon. W. P. Reeves (late High
Commissioner for the Dominion of New Zealand).

QUEEN VICTORIA'S REIGN IN THE COLONIES (1837-1901).

Canada. By the late Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal, G.C.M.G. (High
Commissioner for the Dominion of Canada), and The late Hon. Sir
Charles Tupper, G.C.M.G. (formerly Premier of the Dominion).

Australia. By the late Hon. Henry Copeland (formerly Agent-General for
New South Wales), the late Hon. Sir Horace Tozer, K.C.M.G.
(formerly Agent-Oeneral for Queensland), and The Hon. Sir John Cock-
burn, K.C.M.G. (formerly Agent-Qeneral for South Australia).

New Zealand. By The Hon. W. P. Reeves.

Cape Colony. By the late Hon. Sir David Tennant, K.C.M.G. (Agent-
General for Cape Colony).

THE BRITISH EMPIRE: From a French Point of View. By Yves Guyot.
INDIA'S POWER OF SELF-DEFENCE. By Lt-CoL A. C. Yate.

TRUE CAUSES OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR. By The Hon.

A. Wilmot.

IMPERIAL TELEGRAPH ROUTES. By Commander Carlyon Bellairs,
R.N., M.P.

ARMY AND EMPIRE. By Col. The Hon. J. J. Byron (late E.A.A.).
AMERICA AND WEST INDIES. By the late Sir Nevile Lubbock, K.C.M.G.
WOMAN IN AUSTRALIA. By Mary Gaunt

BRITISH ADMINISTRATION IN EGYPT. By SirW. Mi6ville, K.C.M.G.
ROYAL COLONIAL TOUR. By Sir Clement Kinloch-Cooke, M.P.
THE COMMAND-IN-CHIEF. By the late Rt Hon. Sir Charles Dilke, Bart.
MR BRODRICK'S IMPERIAL YEOMANRY. By The Earl of Scarbrough.

EBB AND FLOW IN NATIONAL LITERATURE. By the Rev. J. P.
Mahafiy, D.D., D.C.L., C.V.O. (Senior Fellow of Trin. Coll., Dublin).
NEW FRONTIER PROVINCE. By the late Sir Lepel Griffin, K.C.S.I.

COLONIAL OFFICE FROM WITHIN. By the late Sir John Bramston,
G.C.M.G. (late Assistant Under- Secretary of State for tlie Colonies).

488 The Empire Review

NATIVE PROBLEMS IN SOUTH AFRICA. By the Rev. John S.
Moffat, C.M.G. (formerly Native Commissioner in Matabeleland, Bechuana-
land, Basutoland, and the Transvaal).

COLONIAL MARRIAGES. By The Hon. Sir John A. Cockburn, K.C.M.G.
SPORT IN NEWFOUNDLAND. By John B. Karslake.
BRITAIN'S DUTY TO BRITISH LABOUR. By Edward Rae Davson.
STORY OF MALARIA. By the late Sir Michael Foster, K.C.B., F.R.S.
IMPERIAL COPYRIGHT. By the late Lord Thring, K.C.B.

AUSTRALIA'S FIRST FEDERAL PARLIAMENT. By The Hon. Sir
John A. Cockburn, K. C.M.G.

EVOLUTION OF MOUNTED INFANTRY. By Major-General

Sir E. T. H. Hutton, K.C.B., K. C.M.G. (late Commanding Military Forces
of the Commonwealth of Australia).

PROSPECTS OF THE MERCHANT SERVICE. By Captain H. Acton
Blake (an Elder Brother of Trinity House and Commander Royal Naval
Eeseroe).

OLD AGE PENSIONS IN NEW SOUTH WALES AND VICTORIA.
By The Hon. W. P. Reeves.

ARMY MEDICAL ORGANISATION.

By William Hill Climo, M.D. (Brigade Surgeon-Lieut.-Colonel) (retired

Army Medical Staff).
By Edward A. Birch, M.D. (Brigade Surgeon-Lieut.-Colonel) (retired

Indian Medical Service).

HOUSE OF LORDS. By The Hon. Sir Edward P. Thesiger, K.C.B.

(Clerk- Assistant of the Parliaments),

SHOULD BOYS HAVE A MILITARY TRAINING? By the late Major-
General the Viscount De Montmorency Frankfort, K.C.B.

CRICKET REFORM. By the late Hon. Alfred Lyttelton, K.C., M.P.
(President of the Marylebone Cricket Club), the late A. G. Steel, K.C.
(President of the M.C.C.), W. E. Denison (President of the M.C.C.),
Major P. F. Warner, C. I. Thornton, and the late R. A. H. Mitchell.

AUSTRALIA'S LOCAL FORCES. By Colonel E. G. H. Bingham, R.A.

(late Staff Officer and Instructor of Artilleryr- Victoria).

THE BRITISH NAVY. By The £arl Brassey, G.C.B.
POSTAL CABLE DEVELOPMENT. By the late Sir Sandford Fleming,
K.C.M.G.

A BOER REFUGEE CAMP IN NATAL. By H. S. Caldecott (late
Civil Commandant Boer Refugee Camp, Howick).

THE MILITIA. By Lt-Col. A. B. Williams (1th Battalion, Rifle Brigade).

SHOPS AND SHOPPING LAWS IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW
ZEALAND. By The Hon. W. P. Reeves.

CANADIAN VOYAGEURS. By Claude Bryan.

FOREIGN OFFICE FROM WITHIN. By Sir Walter F. MieVille, K.C.M.G.

UNITY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE : ITS HELPS AND
HINDRANCES. By The late Hon. David Mills, K.C. (Judge of
the Supreme Court of Canada).

ORIGIN OF DUTCH HOSTILITY IN SOUTH AFRICA. By C. de Thierry.

TRADING CENTRES OF THE EMPIRE, (i) Belfast. By T. R. Fisher
(Editor of the " Northern Whig"), (ii) Bristol. By G. Falconer King, F.I.J.
(iii) Glasgow. By Benjamin Taylor.

SLAVE TRADE IN NORTHERN NIGERIA. ByT. J. Tonkin (late Medical
Officer and Naturalist in the Hausa Association's Central Sudan Expedition).

NORTH-WEST CANADA. With Railway Map and Section Plan.

Professor Mavor's Report to the Board of Trade. By Sir Clement
Kinlcch-Cooke, M.P.

ALLEVIATION OF INDIAN FAMINES. By Lieut - Colonel F. N.
Maude (late B.E.).

Some Articles and Contributors 489

LANGUAGE QUESTION IN SOUTH AFRICA. By the Rev.

William Greswell (late Professor of Classics and English Literature in the

University of the Cape Colony).
OUR NATIONAL BIBLE. By the late Sir William Muir, K.C.S.I., D.C.L.

(late Vice-Chancellor and Principal of Edinburgh University).
IMPERIAL COURT OF FINAL APPEAL. By Sir Charles A. Roe

(late Chief Judge of the Chief Court of the Punjaub).
THE LOYALIST OF SOUTH AFRICA. By C. de Thierry.

POST OFFICE FROM WITHIN. By V. Hussey Walsh (Private Secretary

to the then Postmaster-General).
OUR FUTURE ARMY HORSE SUPPLY. By Thomas Dykes (Original

Secretary and Editor Clydesdale Horse Stud Book, and late Secretary

London Cart-Horse Parade Society).

COTTON MILLS IN EGYPT. By the late Edward Dicey, C.B.
BRITAIN'S TRADE WITH CHINA. By H. Kopsch (late Commissioner

and Statistical Secretary of Imperial Chinese Maritime Customs).
HOW WE RELIEVED KUMASSI : THE BLACK SOLDIER. By

Brigadier-General Sir James Willcocks, K.C.B., K.C.S.I., G.C.M.G.

(Commanding the Expedition, and now Commanding a Division, India).
ROYAL VISITS TO CANADA. By the late Sir John G. Bourinot,

K.C.M.G., LL.D. (late Chief Clerk of the Canadian House of Commons).
WANTED— WOMEN. A CRY FROM THE FAR WEST. By Elizabeth

Lewthwaite.
MOBILITY OF MODERN FIELD ARTILLERY. By Lieut. -Colonel

Edward S. May, R.A.
OUR POSITION ON THE NORTH-WEST FRONTIER OF INDIA.

(i) By the late Lieut -General Sir Edwin Collen, G.C. I.E., C.B. (late Military

Member of the Council of the Governor-General of India), (ii) ByLt-Col.

A. C. Yate (Twenty-two years' Resident on the Frontier).
MONROE DOCTRINE AND INTER-OCEANIC CANAL. By The late

Hon. David Mills, K.C. (late Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada).
A WHITE AUSTRALIA. By the late Hon. Sir Horace Tozer, K.C.M.G.

TRANSVAAL LABOUR QUESTION. By The late Hon. John Tudhope

(Colonial Secretary, Cape Colony).
BRITISH AND BOER REFUGEES IN SOUTH AFRICA. By Violet

Markham.
THE ARMY OF INDIA: ITS PLACE IN IMPERIAL DEFENCE.

By the late Major-General Sir Edwin Collen, G.C.I.E., C.B. (late Military

Member of the Council of the Governor- General of India).

NOMENCLATURE OF SOUTH AFRICA. By J. B. Frith.

INDIA AND THE CORONATION : MAJOR GENERAL SIR PRATAP

SINGH, G.C.V.O., G.C.S.I., K.C.B.
RAILWAY RACE TO THE PERSIAN GULF. With a Map.

(i) By Lt-Col. A. C. Yate. (ii) By Canon Charles H. Robinson.
SKETCHES IN NORTH-WEST CANADA. By Elizabeth Lewthwaite.
BRITAIN'S MEAT SUPPLY. By Sir Edward Montague Nelson, K.C.M.G.

EVOLUTION OF THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO. By Archibald
Campbell (Perak Civil Service).

KANAKAS AT WORK AND PLAY, (i) By Rev. A. Perkins (Melbourne).
(ii) By Ethel M. Nail (Brisbane).

REMINISCENCES OF SPORT IN WEST AFRICA. By Brigadier-
General Sir James Willcocks, K.C.B., K. C.S.I., G.C.M.G. (late Com-
manding the Troops in West Africa, now Commanding a Division, India).

RIGHTS AND WRONGS OF THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURER.
By the late Sir Edmund Verney, Bart.

LAND QUESTION IN INDIA. By S. S. Thorburn (late Financial
Commissioner of the Punjaub).

OPENINGS FOR YOUNG WOMEN IN SOUTH AFRICA. By
the Viscountess Harrington.

WITH "THORNEYCROFT'S": Leaves from a Trooper's Diary. By B.
Garland Matthews (late Trooper, Thorneycroft'a Mounted Infantry).

490 The Empire Review

COLOURED RACES IN AUSTRALIA. By the late Hon. Sir H. Tozer,

K.C.M.G.
ARTESIAN WATERS OF AUSTRALIA. By W. Gibbons Cox, C.E.

FORTY YEARS OF SUGAR BOUNTIES; AND AFTER. By the
late Lord Pirbright (President of the International Conference on Sugar
Bounties, 1888, and British Plenipotentiary).

REMOUNT DEPARTMENT FROM WITHIN. By Colonel St
Quintin (late Assistant-Inspector of Remounts).

CENTRAL AUTHORITY FOR SOUTH AFRICA. By W. B. Worsfold.

TASMANIA AS A MANUFACTURING CENTRE. By Russell E.
Macnaghten (of Hobart).

CECIL RHODES, (i) As a Man and a Friend; The Story* of the Indaba.
By Dr. Hans Sauer, M.D. (ii) His Place in History. By C. de
Thierry, (iii) The "View of the World." By G. Seymour Fort,
(iv) Memories of. By Ethel Neumann Thomas, (v) Burial A Poem by
Theodore Watts-Dunton.

ARMY OF INDIA: ITS PLACE IN IMPERIAL DEFENCE. By
the late Lieut. -General Sir Edwin Collen, G.C.I.E., C.B.

AN IMPERIAL ALLIANCE. By Watson Griffin (of Toronto, Canada).

STEPPING STONES TO CLOSER UNION. By the late Lord Strathcona
and Mount Royal, G.C.M.G.

CANADA UNDER THE OLD REGIME. By the Rt. Hon. Sir Gilbert Parker,
Bart, M.P.

ST. VINCENT AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. By Major Pelham F. Warner.

CORONATION CONFERENCE. (i) Points for Discussion. By Sir
C. Kinloch-Cooke, M.P. (ii) A Plea for Consolidation. By Lieut -Colonel
J. Sanderson Lyster (Assistant Adjutant-General and Chief Staff Officer to the
Queensland Land Forces), (iii) The Defence Question. By C. de Thierry.

CHARACTER SKETCH OF H.H. MAHARAJA SCINDIA OF
GWALIOR. By J. W. D. Johnstone (late tutor to His Highness).

GOLD COAST "COMPANIES." By Lindsay W. Bristowe (Asristant-
Colonial Secretary, Gold Coast Colony).

YOUNG MAORI PARTY. By O. T. J. Alpers (New Zealand).
SUBSIDIES TO SHIPPING. By The late Earl Brassey, G.C.B.
COLONIAL NATIONALISM. By Richard Jebb.
MILITARY EDUCATION OF OFFICERS. By the late Lord Monkswell.

FIRST YEARS OF BRITISH RULE IN CANADA. By the Rt Hon.
Sir Gilbert Parker, Bart, M.P.

CONSULAR SERVICE FROM WITHIN. By Frederic Bernal, C.M.G.

(late H.M.'s Consul-General at Havre),

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NAVY. By Lieutenant L. H. Hordern, R.N.
ETHICS OF TEST MATCHES. By Major Pelham F. Warner.

AUSTRALIAN ARMY REORGANISATION. By Frank Wilkinson (late
War Correspondent, " Sydney Daily Telegraph ").

WEST INDIES : A WARNING AND A WAY. By N. Lament

WHY COLONIALS ARE NOT FREE TRADERS. By C. de Thierry.

REGENERATION OF IRELAND. By Colonel J. T. Barrington.

PHASES OF OVER-SEA LIFE. Colonising in New Zealand—How I
Gained My Experience — A Sheep Station in New Zealand — Dairy
Farming in South Africa — Teaching in Manitoba — Coffee Planting
in Southern India — Concerning West Africa — Farming in South Africa —
Farming in New Brunswick — Farming in Egypt By Old Students
of the Colonial College.

AN ARMY HORSE LEAGUE. By Major-General T. B. Tyler (Inspector,

General of Artillery in India).

SOLOMON ISLANDS. By A. W. Mahaffy (late Magistrate Western Solomons).
AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS. By Major Pelham F. Warner.

Some Articles and Contributors 491

THE TITANIC DISASTER AND WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. By
Charles Bright, F.R.S.E., M.InstC.E.

CONSOLIDATION OF THE BRITISH WEST INDIES. By G. B.
Mason (St Vincent).

LONDON TO AUSTRALIA IN 1854. The Log of an Old Settler.

INDUSTRIAL LEGISLATION IN AUSTRALIA AND ITS LESSONS.
By F. A. W. Gisborne.

NEW CHINA ASSERTING HERSELF. By J. F. Scheltema, M.A.
NEW HOME FOR ENGLISHMEN. By a Rhodesian.
THE LURE OF NEW BRUNSWICK. By Lincoln Wilbar.
BRITISH EAST AFRICA AND UGANDA. By Imperialist.

THE IMPERIAL SERVICES OF THE SALVATION ARMY. By
Sir Charles Bruce, G.C.M.G.

THE CANADIAN CONSERVATION MOVEMENT. By M. J. Patton

(Assistant Secretary to tlie Commission of Conservation).

CITY CONGESTION IN AUSTRALIA. By F. A. W. Gisborne.

THE FLORA OF MASHONALAND. By E. B. Baker.

THE ADVANCE OF TROPICAL MEDICINE. By Edward Halford Ross.

PROBLEMS OF LONDON GOVERNMENT. By Captain H. M.
Jessel, M.P. (Chairman of Council of the London Miinicipal Society).

NATIVE CUSTOMS IN MASHONALAND. By E. B. Baker.

THE INDIAN COTTON EXCISE. By S. M. Johnson (Vice President
(formerly President) of the Upper India Chamber of Commerce).

URBAN CONGESTION IN AUSTRALIA. By F. A. W. Gisborne.
TARIFF REFORM A NECESSITY. By J. Christian Simpson.

THE CANADIAN DEMAND FOR AN IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.
By H. K. S. Hemming.

PLANTING AND VILLAGE-MAKING IN SIERRA LEONE. By H.
Osman Newland.

IMPERIAL DECIMAL CURRENCY. By W. W. Hardwicke.

MR. REDMOND'S INFLUENCE ON GOVERNMENT POLICY. By
Sir Clement Kinloch-Cooke, M.P.

FINANCIAL BURDEN OF THE COMMONWEALTH. By F. A. W.
Gisborne.

SOUTH AFRICAN FARMING IN THE FUTURE By W. P. Taylor.

INDIA AND EDUCATION. By the Right Hon. Lord Sydenham, G.C.S.L,
G.C.M.G., G.C.I.E., F.R.S. (late Governor of Bombay).

IMPORTANCE OF NATIONAL SERVICE. By the Right Hon. Lord
Ampthill, G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., F.R.S.

TRADING COMPANIES AS EMPIRE BUILDERS. By Dorothy Veal.
THE NILGIRIS. By E. A. Helps.

THE LAND QUESTION. By Rt. Hon. E. G. Pretyman, M.P. (President
of the Land Union).

SPECIAL ENTRY OF NAVAL CADETS. By Sir J. Alfred Ewing,
K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S. (Director of Naval Education).

LOCAL REGIMENTS FOR INDIA. By Arthur N. Gordon.

OLD FRENCH CANADA. By Lady Jephson.

AUSTRALIAN TRADE UNIONISM ON THE WAR-PATH. By

F. A. W. Gisborne.
AGRICULTURAL TRAINING FOR BRITISH LADS OVERSEA.

By Ernest E. Carleton.

THE INDIAN IN SOUTH AFRICA. By Spencer Tryon.
COMMONWEALTH NAVIGATION ACT. By F. A. W. Gisborne.

492 The Empire Review

AUSTRALIA FOR BOYS. By H. S. Gullett.
CANADIAN LOYALTY. By Dorothy Veal.

JUVENILE EMIGRANTS IN CANADA. By G. Bogue Smart (Ckiel
Inspector of British Immigrant Children and Receiving Homes in Canada).

LABOUR PARTY AND SOCIALISM. By J. Christian Simpson.
FEDERATION OF UNITED KINGDOM. By Dorothy Veal.
RELIGIOUS OUTLOOK IN CHINA. By W. Arthur Cornaby.

THE CHANNEL TUNNEL : MILITARY ASPECT. By Lord Sydenham,
G.C.S.I., G.C.M.G., G.C.I.E., F.R.S.

AN INDUSTRIAL DICTATORSHIP. By F. A. W. Gisborne.
THE INDIAN OVERSEA. By G. H. Lepper.

TRADE OF CANADA. By C. Hamilton Wickes (H.M. Trade Commissioner
for Canada).

AN AMERICA FOR THE HINDU. By G. H. Lepper.

A RHODESIAN CHRISTMAS. By Madeline Conyers Alston.

ASIA AND THE WAR. By A. E. Duchesne.

CHINESE IN MALAY PENINSULA. By J. A. Shearwood (Advocate and
Solicitor of the Straits Settlements).

TARIFF REFORM : A NATIONAL POLICY. By J. Christian Simpson.

ESSENTIAL FACTORS IN RECRUITING. By Sir Clement Kinloch-
Cooke, M.P.

MEN OF THE EMPIRE: SIR JOHN JACKSON, C.V.O. By X.

AUSTRALIAN WAR CONTINGENT. By General Sir Newton J. Moore,
K.C.M.G.

THE EMPIRE IN ARMS. By Donald Macmaster, K.C., M.P.

CANADA'S PLACE IN THE WAR. By J. Obed Smith, F.R.G.S.

(Assistant Superintendent of Emigration for the Dominion of Canada).

ADMIRALTY COURTS- MARTIAL. By The Right Hon. the Earl of
Selborne, K.G.

THE BATTLE OF THE FALKLANDS (with Diagrams). By W. R. C.
Steele (Naval Officer on H.M.S. "Invincible").

BELGIAN REFUGEES AND FOOD PROBLEMS IN ENGLAND.
By Christopher Turner (President of the National Food Fund).

FROM BAGDAD TO ALEXANDRIA BY CARAVAN. By Arthur
Whitley (Chief of Staff of Sir John Jackson, Ltd., Bagdad).

THE ANILINE DYE INDUSTRY. By Sir William Pearce, M.P.

SOUTH AFRICA'S GOLD RESOURCES AND THE EMPIRE. By
W. P. Taylor.

CANADA'S PLACE IN BRITISH FICTION. By Marianne Grey Otty.

ENGINEERING PROBLEMS OF MESOPOTAMIA AND EUPHRA-
TES VALLEY. By Sir John Jackson, C.V.O.

"SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE." A Poem. By Lady Kinloch-Cooke.
WOMEN FARMERS IN RHODESIA. v By Madeline Conyers Alston.

THE NEED FOR NATIONAL SERVICE. By the Right Hon. the Viscount
Milner, G.C.B., G.C.M.G.

DEMOCRACY AND THE WAR. By H. Douglas Gregory.

SUGAR BEET AS A HOME INDUSTRY. By Sir Clement Kinloch-
Cooke, M.P.

Some Articles and Contributors 493

BRITISH TRADE AND THE NEW CHINA. By Francis Aldridge.

ENGLAND AND THE PERSIAN GULF. By Edward E. Long (Editor,

Indian Daily Telegraph).

GLIMPSES AT MALAYA. By T. A. Shearwood (of the Straits Settlements).

SOME FURTHER NOTES ON NATIONAL SERVICE. By the Right
Hon. the Viscount Milner, G.C.B., G.C.M.G.

A NEW ZEALAND SKETCH. Our Township in War-Time. By R.
W. Reid.

THE MERGUI ARCHIPELAGO. By Edward E. Long (Editor, Indian
Daily Telegraph).

THE VALUE OF SOUTH-WEST AFRICA. By the Rev. William
Eveleigh (of Kimberley).

THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS. By R. J. Wilkinson, C.M.G. (Colonial
Secretary.)

PROBLEMS OF THE PACIFIC. By G. H. Lepper.

THE WAR AND THE PRIMARY INDUSTRIES OF AUSTRALIA.
By F. A. W. Gisborne.

STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY IN SOUTH AFRICA. By D. A. E.
Veal. N

THE FEDERATION OF THE EMPIRE. By Granville C. Cuningham.

MIGRATION WITHIN THE EMPIRE. By Sir Clement Kinloch Cooke,
M.P.

BRITISH INDUSTRIES AND HOW TO EXTEND THEM. By E.
C. Abbott*

THE VOICE OF THE EMPIRE. MR. HUGHES AND HIS
SPEECHES. By Sir Clement Kinloch-Cooke, M.P.

GERMAN METHODS AND GERMAN INFLUENCE. By A. E.
Duchesne.

THE COMMERCIAL WAR. By A. E. Duchesne.

BRITISH TRADE POLICY AFTER THE WAR. By H. Douglas
Gregory.

THE DOMINIONS AND IMPERIAL PREFERENCE. By D. A. E.
Veal.

CANADA AND THE CANADIANS. By Harold Hamilton.
AUSTRALIA AND CONSCRIPTION. By F. A. W. Gisborne.
TRADE AFTER THE WAR. By E. R. Bartley Denniss, M.P.
WHALE HUNTING IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC. By Ford Fairford.
TRADE AFTER THE WAR. By Edward R. Davson.
SEAL HUNTING IN NEWFOUNDLAND. By Ford Fairford.

THE WAR AND THE EMPIRE. By Albert Clayton Palmer, M.P.

(Commonwealth Parliament).

CONDITIONS OF BUSH LIFE IN AUSTRALIA. By Charles A. G.
Lillingston.

THE ROMANCE OF LOGWOOD. By T. H. MacDermot.

THE COMMONWEALTH CONSTITUTION OF AUSTRALIA. By
the Hon. P. M'M Glynn, K.C., M.P. (Commonwealth Parliament).

THE WEST INDIAN SUGAR INDUSTRY. By D. A. E. Veal.

COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY AFTER THE WAR. By J. P.
Donovan (lat» Postal Commissioner, Chinese Postal Service).

THE EMPIRE OUTSIDE THE NARROW SEAS. By the Hon. P.

McM. Glynn, K.C., M.P. (Commonwealth Parliament of Australia).

DECLINE OF GERMAN COMMERCIAL DOMINANCE IN THE
SIXTEENTH CENTURY. By D. A. E. Veal.

* A Series of Articles.

494 The Empire Review

EMPIRE RECONSTRUCTION AFTER THE WAR. (i) By the Rt.
Hon. Sir Joseph G. Ward. Bart, M.P., K.C.M.G., LL.D. (late Prime
Minister of New Zealand), (ii) By Arthur H. W. R. Steel-Maitland,
M.P. (Under- Secretary of State for the Colonies).

NAVAL AND MILITARY DEFENCE. By the Lord Sydenham, G.C.S.I.,
G.C.M.G., G.C.I.E., F.R.S.

EMPIRE RESOURCES AND EMPIRE FINANCE. By Moreton
Frewen (Member of the Empire Resources Development Committee).

AN EMPIRE MIGRATION POLICY. By Sir Clement Kinloch-Cooke,
M.P.

TO THE WOMEN OF CANADA. By Lady Kinloch-Cooke.

THE FUTURE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (With Maps and
Diagrams). By A British Resident in Mesopotamia.

DOUBLE INCOME-TAX WITHIN THE EMPIRE. By the Hon. John
G. Jenkins (late Agent- General for South Australia). By Frederick
Dutton (Cliairman of the Protest Association).

THE HINDU THEORY OF GOVERNMENT. By A. M. T. Jackson

(Indian Civil Service).

TRADE WITHIN THE EMPIRE. By T. B. Macaulay (President of the
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada).

AN AUSTRALIAN'S VIEW OF FRANCE AND THE FRENCH
NATION. By Hon. W. A. Holman, M.L.A. (Prime Minister of New
South Wales).

A STUDY OF CANADIAN FEDERATION. By D. A. E. Veal.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR SALMON FISHERIES. By J.
Arthur Hutton.

COTTON-GROWING RESOURCES OF THE EMPIRE. By J. Arthur
Hutton (Chairman of the Council of tlie British Cotton-Growing Association).

THE BRITISH WEST INDIES AND THEIR FUTURE. By T. H.
Macdermot (Editor of "The Jamaica Times").

THE MIGRATED BOY— DEFENDER OF BRITISH LIBERTY. By
G. Bogue Smart (Chief Inspector British Immigrant Children and Receiving
Homes tn Canada).

SELF-GOVERNMENT AND INDIAN REFORM. By Colonel F. S.
Bow ring, R.E. (Retired) (Formerly Chief Engineer, Military Works, Bengal).

THE PROBLEM OF THE DEMOBILISED SOLDIERS. By the Hon.
C. G. Wade, K.C. (Agent-General for New South Wales).

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EMPIRE'S RESOURCES- By H.
Wilson Fox, M.P.

EMPIRE LAND SETTLEMENT. By the Hon. Sir John McCal!, M.D.,
LL.D. (Agent- General for Tasmania).

THE RECENT REFERENDUM IN AUSTRALIA. By the Hon. C. G.
Wade, K.C. (Agent-General for New South Wales).

A PLEA FOR COMPULSORY PHYSICAL CULTURE. By Capt.
E. M. Corner, F.R.C.S., R.A.M.C. (T).

SUGAR BEET. By G. Basil Barham, C.E.

WAR AND FINANCE. By Sir Edward Holden, Bart. (Chairman of London
City and Midland Bank, Ltd.).

INDUSTRIAL UNREST IN AUSTRALIA. By F. A. W. Gisborne.

GERMAN EXPLOITATION OF INDIAN TRADE. By Arthur Gordon

(United Provinces).

MY VISIT TO THE FRONT. By Sir Clement Kinloch-Cooke.

THE FUTURE OF THE GERMAN COLONIES. By D. A. E. Veal.

FOOD PRODUCTION IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE AFTER THE
WAR. By the Rt. Hon. Lord Morris, K.C.M.G. (Late Prime Minister
of Newfoundland).

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