PROBLEMS OF EMPIRE.
have so much at heart, this Congress will end in failure; if, on the other hand, a solution can be found agreeable both to the supporters of the resolution and of the amendment, this Congress will end as it began, with a most important step in the direction of Imperial unity, a desire for which has been so common a feature in our discussions, and a cause to which some of us, at any rate, have devoted and intend to devote the best energies of our lives.
The following address was given at the reception to the Canadian Manufacturers' Association in the Parliament Buildings at Toronto on September 16th, 1903:—
I hope that the members of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association will not judge me too harshly if I discuss the Imperial Trade question from the British rather than the Canadian standpoint, and that I may be allowed to make a few preliminary remarks on the subject of Imperial Federation.
Imperial Federation.It is sixteen years ago since I first became associated with Dr Parkin, in the advocacy of Imperial Federation. After travelling through the length and breadth of the British Empire, I came to the conclusion that the Empire could only remain united by the recognition of two principles—first, that every part of the Empire has a right to manage its own internal affairs; and, second, that each part has the right to a voice in the control of Imperial expenditure and Imperial policy, subject to the condition that it bears its fair share of Imperial burdens.
For some years I have thought that the burden of defending the Empire was becoming too heavy for the taxpayers of the mother country alone. Russia, Ger-
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