258 THE THRESHOLD OF EVOLUTION 



but, being older, will not be taken so much notice of ; so if 

 the nations are to federate, they must study these propositions 

 of the federations of Government in the past when creating a 

 federation in the present. They would do well not to lose 

 sight of Switzerland and Japan ; the former because isolated 

 nations avoid rashness, and the latter because eastern and 

 southern nations have greater wisdom and genius than the 

 northern and western nations, although they lack the energy 

 and determination of the latter, which is the mainspring that 

 drives the clock of progression. It is because wisdom and 

 energy are the product of travel and a variety of experiences 

 that has caused migratory nations ever to progress more than 

 sedentary ones. If any federation of nations is to succeed, 

 its success must depend not only on the nations but on grant- 

 ing security to and severe restrictions against the insertion of 

 any clause calculated to restrict the liberties of each nation ; 

 and fixing these and setting the narrow limits that will 

 allow the federal community to deal with what little is neces- 

 sary to the central control, and so confine its actions to that 

 of a privy council, as to make them so limited in their 

 actions that they shall not tread on the corns of the individual 

 liberty of other nations, for any power misapplied, like 

 the policy of a " White Australia," " Preference to Unionists," 

 etc., would only intensify wars, or slow progress. 



I may here point out that the great secret of the success 

 of the Government of the Roman Empire lay in the fact that 

 as it conquered other nations it was careful to transplant to 

 some other portion of its mighty empire the military force 

 conquered, leaving the conquering troops to govern the con- 

 quered country that there should be no ties of clan or race to 

 destroy future authority. In a like manner must this police 

 army of the Federated Nations be cosmopolitan. It was in 

 this way Rome did most to advance evolution by making for 

 universal empire, against clans and principalities, and so was 

 able to promote commerce on a larger scale than hitherto, and 

 so evolved the most perfect Government of ancient nations. 



National federation must make the world one interna- 

 tional empire. Now that commerce and invention make a 

 further demand that the boundaries of race and creed shall be 

 still extended or annulled, we will have to resort to similar 

 means of Militarv Government or it will be impossible to pre- 



