UNITED STATES AND CANADA 231 



have great sympathy and a great respect. He has 

 taken under hand two very, what a contractor would 

 call two very big jobs. (Cheers.) One of them is 

 the reform of the House of Lords, and the other is 

 the Federation of the Empire. (Laughter.) Now, 

 the question of the House of Lords is one upon 

 which one might say a good deal, and perhaps one 

 might say something quite as sensible as anything 

 which was said by Lord Rosebery or any of his peers 

 who spoke on that interesting question ; but, if 

 you like, we will leave the House of Lords for some 

 other opportunity. (Laughter.) The question will 

 grow ; but we will pass, if you will allow me, to the 

 question of the Federation of the Empire, and with 

 regard to that I have read a great number of speeches 

 upon it. I always read what people say about that 

 subject, because I am one of those who think the 

 whole scheme or project is impossible, and no 

 better than a dream. (Hear, hear.) Lord Rose- 

 bery, I don't know whether he meant to refer to me, 

 but he spoke of those who treated the question as a 

 dream, and something not at all practical or practi- 

 cable. We will see. Let us go back for a moment 

 to a little over 100 years, the year 1776, when the 

 declaration of American Independence was signed ; 

 or the year 1783, when the treaty between the 

 revolted colonies and this country was signed, and 

 the Independence of America was secured for ever. 

 Let us go back to the time only ten years after that 

 treaty was signed. What was the condition of this 

 country ? We were entering on a war, the greatest 

 war the country was ever engaged in — one that 



