The West Indian Bundle of Sticks. 265 



argument of cheapness would make the buying of stolen 

 goods an honest trade, nay, would even justify the steal- 

 ing of the goods as the cheapest way of getting them. 

 If, nevertheless, the Englishman living in England finds 

 it to his interest to tolerate bounties, why should the 

 Englishman living in the West Indies, whose interest it 

 is that sugar shall not be cheap, not have the right 

 allowed him to make profitable arrangements with the 

 United States ? It is not practicable, however, for Sec- 

 retaries of State, in the face of party interests, to risk 

 an adverse vote in the House of Commons, by allowing 

 such a right to be exercised by straggling colonies which 

 cannot themselves fall into line for their common welfare. 

 A Union of any two or more of these islands would 

 not be worth much which was not the result of arrange- 

 ments made by the colonists themselves. Meanwhile, 

 so long as matters are in the state we find them, it may 

 be well to consider how far those who have the power 

 can take steps to pave the way for unification. To all 

 appearance, no policy of assimilating the administra- 

 tion of the islands has hitherto been formulated. Now 

 and again, as in the case of the Law of Quarantine, 

 there has been some common action in legislation, at 

 the instance of the Secretary of State. Such instances 

 are, however, altogether exceptional. Has any one ever 

 heard of any attempt to frame a Code of law for the 

 whole group of colonies, or even of any proposal to have 

 a code of procedure? So far from any system having 

 been observed, the authorities in each colony have been 

 left to follow their own sweet will : and thus it has hap- 

 pened that colonies which have been captured from 

 foreign powers have, or have not, assimilated their laws 



LL 



