372 THE CORAL LANDS OF THE PACIFIC. 



I am fully aware that this is Imperialism, and that of a very 

 gross order, inasmuch as it means an increased trade. How- 

 ever, if an honest recognition of the moral, political, and com- 

 mercial responsibilities and profits arising from the position 

 which the Anglo-Saxon race holds in the world be Imperialism, 

 then I am Imperialist heart and soul. 



To understand these things I hold to be statecraft : to 

 undervalue or despise them is to demonstrate incapacity for 

 its acquirement. 



There is an old adage, ' Trade follows the flag.' Of Coral 

 Lands it may safely be said that if British capital were syste- 

 matically and cautiously introduced into its islands, the flag 

 would, sooner than a great many people think, have to follow 

 the trade. Great Britain spent twenty-seven millions in free- 

 ing the slaves : why should she not do a little, even if it be 

 also a very profitable business, for the people of the Southern 

 Sea? 



These people are looking to us for help, and that help can 

 be handsomely repaid. 



They may not have been the victims of ' Bulgarian atroci- 

 ties,' but what treatment they do occasionally receive the 

 preceding pages should demonstrate to every thoughtful 

 mind. 



What is being done in Fiji can be repeated outside that 

 group. The field is now open, and the harvest is bound to 

 follow. It may seem tall talk, but it is simple folly to shut 

 one's eyes to the manifest destiny of the grand Imperial race 

 to which we belong. Overcrowded Britain needs fresh outlets 

 for the splendid energy of her people. The noblest republic 

 the world has ever seen, that of the United States of America, 

 was created by men with English blood in their veins, and 

 their grandsons have seen the rebellious colonies become a 



