January ii, 1917 
LAND & WATER 
II 
nations ; it left no other way in honour tlian to stand 
by her. It is not too much to say that what is now 
rapidly turning thoughtful working men to an en- 
thusiastic but sane Imperialism is the imaginative con- 
ception of the British Empire as a spiritual unity, as a 
step to a league of peace and the federation of mankind. 
But idealism has " its dangers ; a tendency to take 
dreams for realities and to believe in the efficacy of mere 
good intentions. Working men arc only too ready to 
talk of the equality of races, the common interest of 
industrialism, the brotherhood of man, the vision of a 
world-peace. This idealism requires to be balanced 
and sobered by knowledge of the facts such as the colour 
problem in South Africa!, the demand for a White Aus- 
tralia, the racial and religious position of the French 
Canadians, the clash of interests between the Dominions 
and the Mother Country in regard to tariffs and immigra- 
tion and labour. India by itself is a terra incognita to the 
ordinary Briton. He approaches it with a vague pre- 
sumption in fa\our of Indian " self-government," and 
it is a revelation to him to iind that there is no such 
thing as " India," but a complex of races and rehgions 
and stages of social and intellectual development. 
Indeed in the past one of the great causes of colonial 
irritation against Home opinion was that compound oi 
missionary zeal with insular ignorance which got a bad 
name as the Exeter Hall spirit. Another cause still at 
work, is the unconsciously patronising air assumed to- 
wards " Colonials " (" I thought New Zealanders were 
black ") a'nd the correspondingly resentful tone of bluff 
on their part (" vSt. Paul's ? Yes, but you should see 
the Presbyterian Church at Wagga Wagga "). On each 
side too there is a certain parochialism of mind which 
limits itself to the surface of any current questions. 
We did not realize the Australian feeling about New 
Guinea ; they do not realize the complications that en- 
viron Irish Home Rule. 
Create Sound Opinion 
The first thing then required for the creation of that 
sovmd public opinion on which alone can a democratic 
Empire be based, is knowledge. The ordinary working 
man is much more instructable on the Imperial question 
than he is on Foreign Policy where he is hampered by the 
old English prejudice that foreigners are incalculable and 
somewhat ridiculous and, by the abysmal English ignorance 
of foreign geography, international relations and con- 
tinental history. But a great voluntary Commonwealth 
based on the sea as the uniting, not now the estranging 
element, is more within the grasp of the mass of men ; 
it only needs putting before them ; and here a big aim 
is desirable, for, given goodwill and a practical .start, 
the genius of the race will work out the solution. But 
in foreign questions good will to have international- 
peace is not enough ; indeed, by itself is a danger, be- 
cause the good will is not on the other side too; whereas 
in Imperial questions there is the good will, or more, the 
deep detennination, of the Colonies to hold on to their 
Imperial citizenship. 
If the chief need is more knowledge, a number of prac- 
tical steps may be briefly suggested : 
Send out parties of working-class students to the 
Dominions, and from the Dominions to the Home 
Country, freely, regularly, as a recognised branch 
of education. 
Stir up local education authorities to this work and 
many other forms of education in the duties of 
Empire ; I say duties, that they may not dwell too 
much on the commercial side of such instruction. 
Establish a system of exchange professors with the 
Dominions, and especially exchange the teachers 
in working-class centres and tutorial classes. 
Make ample provision of books, books by the thousand, 
cheap, but the best writers and up-to-date ; " Our 
men pick up their authorities from the second- 
hand bookstall, and therefore think of Australia as 
a land of convicts and kangaroos." 
Deal frankly and boldly with the demands of India before 
working-class audiences. 
Let Universities make the Empire a leading feature 
in their Extension Lectures and Tutorial Classes; 
it will be popular. 
Let the Public Schools introduce courses on the Empire i 
it will be popular there too ; one school has already 
led the way. 
Let the same be done for the secondary and the ele- 
mentary schools by the aid of maps and pictures. 
Have Colonial exhibitions in the populous centres, and 
expositions given on the spot. 
Above all, enhst many voluntary helpers in this edu- 
cational work, this Crusade of Empire, helpers who 
must not be too academic, but must be prepared to 
learn as well as to teach, to study the mind and 
heart of the people beforehand. 
This is one of the things which will not wait even in 
war. For the Imperial problem is already upon us ; 
the Imperial conference which we were told could not 
possibly be called in war time, is now to meet " forth- 
with " ; the Imperial sentiment is growing under our 
very eyes, and the need and the opportunity to instruct 
and guide our people in it is urgent upon us. It is too 
late now for the comfortable old dpctrine of political 
laissez-faire, that '' institutions are not made but grow " ; 
for some institutions have got to be made, and made 
forthwith, -to suit the new situation that has arisen, 
and to reconcile the Dominions' new determination to 
be consulted in future on peace and war with their old 
determination, not the least weakened, to guard jealously 
their local independence. 
Our people are not spiritually dead as pessimist ob- 
servers thought before the war ; they are only unawakcned 
as yet. But war is a mighty awakener ; it is making 
even the ordinary Englishman think and think hard, a 
thing almost incredible. And there is plenty to think 
about : the stream of emigration to the Dominions that 
will set in, the vast regiment of superfluous women in 
this country, the claim of Indians to be allowed to settle 
in Africa or Queensland, the possibility of countering 
the alarming tendency of our home population to become 
stationary, the possibility of organized and co-operati\'e 
use of the natural resources of the Empire as a whole, 
the enviable and therefore dangerous position we shall 
occupy after this w,ar holding a large part of the world 
and all tTre oceans. 
This is a mighty trust of which we ha\'e to make 
ourselves worthy, and to help the masses of our popula- 
tion to make themselves worthy. On the potentialities 
of Empire, on its duties, on its dangers we have to 
educate' the people, to "educate our masters." 
Mr. Hartley Withers, Editor of "The Economist" 
will contribute an article to the next issue of 
Land & Water on the neiv War Loan. 
An opportunity for doing a good' turn to our gallant sailors 
has only to be pointed out, for many to be only too glad to 
avail themselves of it. Some little time ago Land & Water 
asked for pianos for certain Ward-room Messes. They were 
at once provided. On this occasion all that is required is a 
gramophone — for the Ward-room Mess of H.M.S. Sable. It 
will cheer many silent hours and give infinite pleasure to 
men who in this wintry, weather are keeping watch over 
England's safety. Anyone who is willing to provide either 
the instrument or the necessary money to purchase a good 
instrument is requested to communicate with the General 
Manager, Land & Water, 5, Chancery Lane. W,C. 
Professor Meinegke, of Freiberg University, the well-known 
historian, has written for the Franljfurler Zeitnng an article 
on the war which contains this remarkable admission : 
" Our first aim was to overthrow France quickly and force 
her to make peace. It is probable that such a peace would 
have been very favourable to France, for it was to oiu- interest 
to reduce the number of our foes. Had this plan succeeded 
we could have turned instantly and adopted the same tactics 
towards Russia with every prospect of success. We could 
then, in favourable conditions, have concluded the final 
peace with England, whose forces would have been left dis- 
armed on the Continent. As, however, we could not hope 
to overcome England's naval supremacy, this peace, like the 
first arranged with France, would have had to be in the nature 
'of a compromise. This entire programme, brilliantly as it 
was begun, collapsed before the gates of Paris at the Battle of 
the Marne, which was by no means a tactical victory but 
Vortainij, a gicat strategic success for the French.' No 
German writer has piexioi'sly made this admission. 
