suredly be not less onerous. In the future direction of the British Commonwealth the Dominions will undoubtedly exercise a material, and, I believe, a beneficial influence. To us in Canada it seems that the vision of Downing Street has been turned too much upon Europe and the Near East, too little upon the vast possessions comprised within our Empire. There is danger that these possessions may become unwieldy; there is urgent need that we develop what we have. Perhaps with less we might in the end accomplish more. It would not be amiss to take sober account of the Empire's responsibilities and commitments.

Of those who took part in the Peace Conference at Paris some at least returned to this continent with a sense of depression. The fierce antagonisms, the ancient hatreds, and the bitter jealousies of European nationals there assembled were not inspiring. Neither in its methods nor in its results can the highest success be claimed for the Peace Conference. The creation or recognition of numerous small states, whose populations are wholly untrained in self-government, can hardly assist in preventing war. That every race should clothe itself in the garment of self-determination is in theory wholly unwise and in practice wholly unworkable. Races are and they always will be inextricably intermingled. But even if it were otherwise, human progress is not advanced by the segregation of races, or by any influence which

tends to perpetuate racial antagonism. Lord Acton has pointed out 40 that the true ideal lies in the union of different races in one state, to the service of which each brings its own peculiar qualities. In the past such unions have been too often attended by the dominance of one race and the oppression of others. The highest hope is in their consummation under the happier and more stable conditions that justice, liberty, and autonomy will create. On this continent two nations speaking the same language constitute in effect one community in social and business aspects and relations. Each has its own laws and institutions, each is jealous of its rights and privileges, each has its own intense national spirit. At times there are strong differences, but there is no bitterness and no hatred. Therein is a vivid contrast to what may be observed in continental Europe. Yet we cannot separate ourselves from world-wide conditions. No Monroe Doctrine or self-denying ordinance can roll back the tide of events that surges through the years. Every nation has become the neighbour of every other. The people of other continents sit at our threshold.

Whatever the imperfections of the League of Nations, its purpose must command the effort of mankind if our present civilization is to endure. Wars of by-gone centuries between rival kings with professional armies were mere comedies compared with that through which we have just passed. In the war of yesterday all the forces of the nations

were arrayed, and neutrals as well as belligerents fell under its malign and devastating influence. A world war of the future would be more deadly and more terrible to a degree that we are unable as yet to realize. On what can we rest an assurance that our present civilization may not hasten to its downfall through fullness of material growth and barrenness of spiritual life? Before we venture an answer let us remember that over the destructive energies of nature man has gained a command far exceeding the control which he has acquired over his own primeval instincts and passions; consider the result if there should be unrestrained use of those forces in future war between the nations that regard themselves as most highly civilized. The world lies within the shadow of this menace. In her own armoury may be found the weapon by which civilization may perish. Is there not, then, supreme and compelling need for every effort and safeguard to preserve the peace among nations, as securely as in organized communities? Never did there rest upon any people a more vital responsibility than that which the present conditions of the world impose upon the British and American Commonwealths. In their united hands rests world peace; above their disunion hovers the shadow of world destruction. By their sense and acceptance of that responsibility these democracies will be sternly, and perhaps finally, tested. As they meet the test, so shall their worth be measured in the ultimate judgment of history.

NOTES

FIRST LECTURE

1 "The student of government finds in the organization of the British Empire an astonishing confusion of varied systems. To govern such an Empire at all is as great an undertaking as history has ever known. In administering the affairs of your great Republic, vast and complex problems continually make themselves manifest. May I ask a moment's consideration of those involved in the governance of the British Dominions? A territory more than three times greater than that of the United States, scattered over all the continents and through all the oceans; a total population four times as great as yours; a white population little more than one-half your own, of which three-fourths reside within the relatively inconsiderable area of the British Islands; an almost infinite variety and divergence of race and creed; discordant ideals and social conditions; conflicting economic interests; five self-governing nations, two in the Northern and three in the Southern hemisphere, all rapidly developing in power and influence; a great dependency with a population of three hundred millions embracing a dozen races with bewildering differences of creed, caste, tradition, custom, and language; protectorates imposing responsibility for the development of great territories and the protection and welfare of large populations; a score of fiscal systems under which each unit of the Empire levies customs duties against the remainder; the safeguarding of territories which in some part of the world touch those of every other great power; the securing of the ocean pathways without which necessary inter-communication could not be assured; the necessity of considering all these heterogeneous and sometimes conflicting interests and conditions in determining questions touching foreign relations; a varied and seemingly confused medley of statutes, charters, orders in council, conventions, traditions, and understandings for the governance of all these widespread possessions; consider this very imperfect summary of the conditions and problems which confront those called upon to administer the affairs of our vast Commonwealth. A hasty judgment would determine that any structure so apparently unstable must crumble at the first great shock. It shall