GREAT BRITAIN AND COLONIES. The develop ments of the last quarter of the nineteenth cen tury indicate a tendency toward a closer union of the various members of the British Empire. For several years prior to that time the tendency had been rather in the opposite direction, and many persons, both in the mother country and in the colonies, had come to look upon complete separation as the desirable and probable result. But in recent years the idea of a Greater Britain —an Imperial nation—has become popular. The mutual interest existing between the colonies and the mother land is based not only upon their racial and cultural kinship, but upon such prac tical matters as trade and defense. According to the recent propaganda the mutual welfare of the Empire should not be so completely dependent upon the mere existence of a 'moral federation.' One of the first important steps taken in the movement was the conference held at London in 1884 by the Imperial Federation League. Reso lutions were then passed in favor of some form of close and permanent federation. A second important event was the holding of the Colonial Conference at London in 1887, in the proceedings of which the question of levying a small import duty upon foreign goods was given special atten tion, and treaties made by Great Britain with Germany and Belgium limiting the trade priv ileges of parts of the Empire were denounced. In 1894 a colonial trade conference was held at Ottawa, Can., and the strengthening of Impe rial cooperation was again advocated. The de mand was also made that trade should be placed on a more favorable basis than that carried on with foreign countries. The Imperial Federa tion League was dissolved in 1894, but in the following year the British Empire League was constituted. This organization continues the agitation of the permanent unity of the Empire, and advocates the establishment of periodical conferences for the discussion of the common welfare. The Imperial Federation League of Canada a-as never dissolved, but be came a branch of the British Empire League, under the title of the British Empire League of Canada.
On the occasion of Queen Victoria's Jubilee in 1897 the common welfare of the colonies was in formally discussed by the premiers of the self governing colonies. An offer of aid to the British navy was made then by Cape Colony and Aus tralia, an offer of preferential trade duties by Canada, and the above-mentioned treaties were again denounced. Mr. Chamberlain suggested at
that time the creation of a Council of Empire, which might slowly grow into a Federal Council; but the resolutions passed admitted that "the present political relations between the United Kingdom and the self-governing colonies are gen erally satisfactory under the existing condition of things," but that "it would be desirable to hold periodic conferences of representatives of the colonies and Great Britain for the discussion of matters of common interest." The concern manifested by the colonies in British success in the South African War, and their cooperation to that end, aroused much enthusiasm in favor of a more definite Imperial union ; but the meeting of the premiers on the occasion of the King's coronation in 1902 did not appear to result in any advance ground being taken. The colonies are loath to burden themselves with the addi tional taxation, or to surrender any measure of their independence, which would result from the entrance to the British Kriegsverein (War Union) ; and Great Britain, on her part, is not ready to establish preferential' import duties in favor of the colonies. The question of universal Imperial free trade as a basis of union seems to be altogether beyond the range of practicability. Canada is willing to make concessions, and in deed, in 1897, immediately upon the termination of the above-mentioned British treaties with Ger many and Belgium, a preferential tariff of 25 per cent. went into effect in Canada. It was in creased in 1900 to 33 per cent. Australia, on the contrary, seems to be further removed than ever from any probable trade concessions. However, steps are being taken, such as the establishment and improvement of steamship lines, the con struction of cables, and the introduction of the penny postal system, which are calculated to foster in a practical way the relations between the members of the Empire. For a statement of the varying methods of the Government pre vailing in the colonies, see the article Berrisn EMPIRE, and the articles on the different colonies. See DEFENSE in this article; also the general article on NAVIES.