Review oj Reiiews, IjOjlS. 



LEADING ARTICLES. 



711 



great tradition of disinterestedness and 

 trusteeship upon which our Empire has 

 been based throughout the nineteenth 

 century — in fact, ever since the success- 

 ful rebellion of the American colonics. 

 It is a constitutional principle which has 

 played so important a part in the build- 

 ing up and strengthening of the Enijoire 

 that it is worth thousands of times more 

 than the paltry ;^2, 250,000 involved in 

 this case. It is worth while examining 

 the transaction a little more closely. 



NOT A " GIFT " AT ALL. 



In the first place, it is a travesty of the 

 facts to talk of this battleshi]) as a 

 " gift " from the Malay States, or from 

 the Malay people to the Imperial Gov- 

 ernment. Even if the Malay rulers had 

 given this sum out of their own private 

 resources, their position is one of such 

 dependence upon their British advisers, 

 and upon their British nominated Coun- 

 cils, that the " gift " must altogether lack 

 spontaneity. But not even this sem- 

 blance of spontaneity is to be found 

 here. The offer came, not from the 

 Malay rulers in their theoretical capacity 

 as independent sovereigns, but from the 

 Federal Council of the Federated Mala\- 

 States, of which every member besides 

 themselves has been appointed by the 

 Imperial Government, and over which 

 the British High Commissioner presides. 

 It is true that the resolution embodying 

 the offer of a battleship was moved by 

 His Highress the Sultan of Perak, and 

 that in his speech he declared that he 

 made this proposal in order to show 

 his loyalty and his gratitude for the pro- 

 tection given by Great Britain to the 

 Federated Malay States, and for the 

 prosperity which they had thereby at- 

 tained. We rejoice to think that these 

 compliments were merited, but that can- 

 not blind us to the fact that the proposal 

 did not originate with the Sultan. The 

 High Commissioner himself, in his 

 speech, stated that the British advisers 

 had taken the initiative. It would be too 

 great a strain on the ordinary imagina- 

 tion to believe that the Malay rulers 

 should suddenly, of their own initiative, 

 have grasped the whole problem of Im- 

 perial defence, should have known 

 exactly what was wanted, and what 



form the "gift" should take, even the 

 very type of ship that was required. 

 How different from Canada ! No pro- 

 longed conferences with the Admiralty ; 

 no memorandum and subsequent corre- 

 spondence with Mr. Churchill ; no pro- 

 longed Parliamentary debate as to the 

 form of the gift — it is all over in a 

 few minutes! The Sultan of Perak 

 strolls into the Council and moves a re- 

 solution, and that is the end of the 

 matter ! 



TAXPAYERS NOT CONSULTED. 



The taxpayers of the Malay States 

 have never been consulted, either directly 

 or through any representatives. This 

 battleship is, therefore, in no sense of the 

 word a "gift" by a grateful people or 

 State. The true \ersion of the transac- 

 tion is that the Imperial Protector has 

 dipped his hands into the Exchequer of 

 his protege, and has helped himself to 

 the price of a battleshi]). It may be that 

 he had good and sufficient reason for 

 doing so, but that is for the moment 

 beside the question, which is whether this 

 transaction is a "gift" or an "appro- 

 priation." 



This action destroys at a blow^ the 

 peculiar and delicate relationshi]i be- 

 tween the Imi:)erial Government and 

 those Colonies or States which are sub- 

 ject to its influence, but are not self- 

 governing. Hitherto, it has been our 

 pride and boast and our strength that 

 the Imperial Government stood in a 

 fiduciary relationship towards them. It 

 did not simph' exploit them for its own 

 tenefit. It was this that distinguished 

 the British Em]:)ire from almost an>' 

 Empire which had i^receded it. This 

 was the rock upon which was based the 

 prestige of the Empire among the 

 myriad races who were subject to its 

 authority. That has now been rudel\- 

 disturbed. 



A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT. 



A new precedent has been created of 

 a kind which is apt to l^eget successors. 

 The path of the trustee is straight and 

 narrow, but we have entered upon a 

 broad path whose slojie is easy and 

 downwards. This battleship must now 

 be regarded as an essential part of our 



