UNITED STATES AND CANADA 233 



cluster in the South Pacific, the AustraUan colonies, 

 will be willing to bind themselves to the stupid 

 foreign policy of war. (A Voice : " Yes.") Will 

 they be willing to undertake the responsibility of 

 entering into wars the seat of which is 10,000 miles 

 away, and in which they cannot have the slightest 

 interest, and when they may not have been in the 

 least consulted as to the cause of quarrel which this 

 country was rushing into ? In my opinion the 

 colonies will never stand it, and if I were a Canadian, 

 or Victorian, or New South Wales man, or Queens- 

 lander, or New Zealander, I would take good care, 

 as far as I was concerned, that my voice should never 

 go in favour of the policy of the old country as far as 

 that was concerned. It would be much better for 

 humanity and for us that these colonies should be 

 under governments of their own and independent, 

 and should not enter into quarrels in which they 

 were not concerned, but endeavour to maintain 

 their own honour and not take part in the miserable 

 quarrels, contests, and wars which for a long time 

 past have disfigured the history of the kingdom in 

 which we live. (Cheers.) Now, there are in my 

 opinion two things which make what is called the 

 federation quite impossible. First of all, if you go 

 to the Australian colonies, you find the colony of 

 Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, is 

 strongly Protectionist, and they will not deal freely 

 even with the adjoining colony of New South Wales 

 or with the mother country. On the other hand, 

 New South Wales is entirely against Protection and 

 strongly for Free Trade. You know probably that 



