BRITAIN AND THE DOMINIONS
Sul,—Amid all the chaos of conflicting, amorphous and muddled opinion with which the columns of our Press are at present filled, it was quite refreshing to read the letter signed C. C. im Thurn in The Spectator of December 15th headed " Britain and the Dominions," written by a dear-sighted man who at least can see what is going on in the world. In one interrogative sentence he modestly puts his finger on the most important fact in the contemporary world. That sentence is the following question, " Is it not a fact that Britain is
shedding her Imperialism as fast as she can? " Yes, it is emphatically a fact, and the most important fact in the history of today. The process began in Canada about a century ago, thanks to the far-seeing statesmanship of Durham and Buller and Elgin. It has continued with set-backs and hesitancies ever since, strengthened by the wise foresight of Gladstone, Campbell-Bannerman, Asquith and, greatest of all, the as-yet- uncompleted and most daring experiment of extending self- government, free and unhampered, to the huge population of the mass of racially and religiously varied peoples whom we call India. For this all honour to Ramsay MacDonald and Earl Baldwin. Consciously or unconsciously, in their Indian policy, they were treading in the steps of the great Whigs and Liberals of the nineteenth century.
The big reactionary Powers—Germany, Russia, Japan and Italy—are all moving backwards in the old, outworn, Imperialist road. America and France are more in step with England. But this country is moving forward at a greater pace, and taking greater risks, than any other nation. No such gigantic attempt to extend free government has ever before been made in the history of the world. Its success, if it succeeds, will be the greatest triumph ever won for freedom. Hitherto its triumphs have been among white men only. Success in India will mean the possibility, nay the probability, of freedom being extended to the whole human race, whatever their colour or creed. It will be a bigger thirig far than the abolition of slavery, though the natural develop- ment of that grand humanitarian triumph.
Surrounded and puzzled by the stirring events of our time, men's minds do not realise that this experiment is being made with a population as large as that of Russia, Germany, Japan and Italy combined, and larger than the combined population of the remainder of the British Commonwealth, U.S.A. and France. It is a stupendous attempt, dwarfing everything else that is being tried on this planet, and it looks as if it may succeed. It is a curious fact that the Great War of 1914-1918 practically made our Dominions (and Ireland) into free and independent States. It will be more curious still if this War adds the whole sub-continent of India with 35o million inhabitants to the free and independent States of the world.—
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