people of England, but when the bells of rejoicing were rung in the churches on the St. Lawrence, in Canada, a large number of Her Majesty's subjects left the churches with a feeling of disloyalty, And what was the reason? It was that this country had not made up its mind to accord to the great Colonies of the Empire that priceless possession, the right to responsible self-government. Her Majesty has been privileged to witness the development of the principle of responsible government throughout her Empire, and it is largely, if not entirely, owing to that that we see spread from Canada to Australia, and from Australia to the Cape, a united, loyal, and devoted people, all of whom enjoy every franchise and every liberty which Englishmen at home possess. We see the British Empire of to-day, as it were some vast Venice, whose parts are united and not separated by the waters which flow between them. Those waterways are guarded by a fleet which is the admiration and the envy of the nations, and I congratulate my noble friend Lord Charles Beresford, and others who take great interest in the fleet, that the maintenance of our navy is one of the very few subjects which, thank God, have been raised above the level of party politics. It now only remains for Englishmen to see that the traditions which have founded this great Empire are maintained and continued. There are some who say that the British race is in its decadence; I cannot understand the man who can listen with patience to such a statement. We may not have the opportunity of distinguishing ourselves in the way we did when we were face to face with the whole continent of Europe, but I venture to say that so long as there are feats of arms performed by our army and navy such as those which have been done at Rorke's Drift, at Chitral, and last, but not least, the magnificent exemplification of British discipline on board the "Warren Hastings," there is no fear that the British race has in any way degenerated. We have possessed ourselves of the fairest portion of the earth, and the problem which remains is that we should keep it. If we join with the British Empire that portion of the world which is occupied by our cousins in America, we may, with the American poet, say that the Anglo-Saxon race is at this moment:

Lords of an Empire wide as Shakespeare's soul,
Sublime as Milton's immemorial theme,

Rich as Chaucer's speech, and fair as Spenser's dream.

Sir ALFRED MILNER, K.C.B.: At this late stage of our proceedings, I am glad that the toast intrusted to me is one which requires

R

few words of mine-few words of any man's-to submit to your approval. It is the toast of "Our Chairman, Mr. Chamberlain." My feeling, and I believe that of every one present, is that, if Mr. Chamberlain, instead of being a man who has occupied a foremost place in public life for nearly twenty years, had been an unknown man, the words he has spoken to-night would have been sufficient to command for him an enthusiastic welcome from the Royal Colonial Institute. It has never been my good fortune to listen to a speech compressed into so brief a space which contained so much that was true, so much that was sagacious, and so much that was inspiring with respect to our Colonial Empire. I do not desire to mar the effect of that speech by any feeble appendices or commentaries of my own; but I think we cannot ignore on this occasion the immense difference which has been created in the relations between the Colonies and Great Britain, in the position of what I perhaps may be allowed to call the great Imperial question, by the comparatively short period which has elapsed since Mr. Chamberlain has occupied the office he now holds, and which we hope he may occupy for a long time to come. It is within my recollection -within your recollection-perhaps it is a delicate matter to touch upon-that at the time when Mr. Chamberlain accepted the office of Colonial Secretary some surprise was expressed in certain quarters that a statesman of his rank should fill that position. It was certainly an odd idea, for I should have thought that, if there was one position in the world which any Englishman, however great, would have been proud to fill, it was the position in which he would have unequalled opportunities of assisting the growth of Great into Greater Britain. But the idea had a certain prevalence. I venture to say that the events which have occurred since then and the spirit with which Mr. Chamberlain has thrown himself into the duties of his office have made such an idea for ever impossible in the future; and that the position of Colonial Secretary will ever afterwards be one of those which it will be the highest ambition of the most distinguished statesmen to occupy. In drinking this toast we shall be filled with a feeling of gratitude to Mr. Chamberlain for the speech which he has delivered to-night and for the policy which it has embodied. We shall express our gratitude to him for the services which he has already rendered to the Empire. But we shall be animated still more by the feeling of confidence and hope in the services which he is yet destined to render. No doubt the Imperial idea has made enormous progress of late years. But it is impossible for us to shut our eyes to the fact that there is a great deal of ground

still to be covered before that idea can attain anything like complete realisation. The years before us will be critical years; they may be decisive years. It is a great source of satisfaction and comfort to those who believe intensely in the ideas which Mr. Chamberlain has expressed to-night that he himself is among us and with us to aid in their realisation.

Mr. CHAMBERLAIN: I am grateful to you for your cordial reception of this toast, and to Sir Alfred Milner for the most generous and graceful way in which he has proposed it. We all know that Sir Alfred Milner is of a forgiving nature. I have been privileged to recommend him for perhaps the most difficult post in the Empire. He has heaped coals of fire upon my head by proposing my health in return. If he were the reverse of forgiving, if he were revengeful, I should say he might find some consolation in the afflictions of my own task. Among the afflictions and sorrows -and they are many-which a Minister of the Crown has to endure, I do not know any really greater than the fact that he is never able to accept the hospitality which is so generously tendered to him without being called upon to make a speech. That in itself would be little indeed in the presence of so friendly an audience as this, if I were certain that my voice would not be heard beyond the four walls of this room. But I know that I am constantly in the presence of a great multitude of critics, not all too friendly, both at home and abroad, some of whom at any rate appear to be under the impression that nobody but a foreigner has a right to be a patriot. In your presence and with your approval I gain courage to pursue the course I have laid out for myself, from which I do not think it possible that I shall be turned by the unfriendly criticism to which I am subjected. It was my earnest-I may say almost that it was my only-ambition when I took the office to which the Queen appointed me that I might during its term be able to do something to render more close the bonds of union between the Colonies and ourselves, because I have faith that upon this alliance between the nations of the British race the future of this country and of the Empire must entirely depend.

244

SIXTH ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING.

THE Sixth Ordinary General Meeting of the Session was held at the Whitehall Rooms, Hôtel Métropole, on Tuesday, April 13, 1897, when a Paper on "Western Canada-Before and Since Confederation," by the Hon. Sir Donald A. Smith, G.C.M.G., was read, in the absence of the Author, by Mr. J. G. Colmer, C.M.G.

Sir Frederick Young, K.C.M.G., a Vice-President of the Institute, presided.

The Minutes of the last Ordinary General Meeting were read and confirmed, and it was announced that since that Meeting 47 Fellows had been elected, viz. 11 Resident and 36 Non-Resident.

Resident Fellows:

John Forsyth Burstall, Capt. Lord Charles Beresford, R.N., C.B., Andrew L. Cross, Albert Golden, Norman W. Grieve, Peter W. Holden, Alfred G. Levy, M.D., Sir James L. Mackay, K.C.I.E., Frederic C. Mathieson, Charles H. Ommanney, Jasper Young.

Non-Resident Fellows:

William H. Bennett (Cyprus), Edward Burnie (Hong Kong), Thomas F. Carden (Transvaal), John Cleugh (Sierra Leone), J. W. Colenbrander (Matabeleland), A. W. Dawson (Matabeleland), E. Jerome Dyer (Victoria), J. P. Finnie (Matabeleland), Frederick C. Furse (Matabeleland), F. G. Glossop (Cyprus), Harry Goddard (Transvaal), Henry J. Greenslade (New Zealand), Capt. H. Barry de Hamel (Gold Coast Colony), Major John Hanbury-Williams (Cape Colony), Christopher L. Hankin (Matabeleland), Herbert Harris (Barrister-at-Law, New South Wales), Chief Justice Sir Joseph T. Hutchinson (Grenada), Frank Jordison (Matabeleland), Thomas H. Lance (New Zealand), Charles Lipp, J.P. (Cape Colony), Herbert T. Longden (Matabeleland), G. A. Lucas (Natal), W. Ballard Lucas (Cape Colony), John Meeson (Barrister-atLaw, New Zealand), Philip S. Myers (Natal), Henry S. Newland, M.B. (South Australia), His Excellency Sir George T. M. O'Brien, K.C.M.G. (Governor of Fiji) William M. Philip (Transvaal), Rufus H. Pope, M.P. (Canada), Hon. Wm. P. Schreiner, Q.C., C.M.G., M.L.A. (Cape Colony), David Symon (Western Australia), Major J. D. Tennant (Mashonaland), J. D. Thomson (Cape Colony), Joseph C. Verey (Matabeleland), J. Acheson Wilkin, L.R.C.S.E., L.R.C.P. (Gold Coast Colony), A. J. Wilson (Matabeleland).

It was also announced that donations to the Library of Books, Maps, &c., had been received from the various Governments of the Colonies and India, Societies, and public bodies both in the United Kingdom and the Colonies, and from Fellows of the Institute and others.

The CHAIRMAN: In taking the chair this evening, I have to express an apology, a regret, and a pleasure. I have first to apologise for the absence of the author of the Paper, Sir Donald Smith, who was unexpectedly required to make a short visit to Canada. Sir Donald fully expected to be back in time to read his Paper, but he has unfortunately been delayed, and he has sent his Paper home from Canada. I am sure everyone present will join in the regret which I personally feel that the distinguished High Commissioner, after preparing such an interesting and valuable Paper as you will presently hear, is unable to be with us this evening. At the same time, we shall all feel pleasure that Sir Donald Smith has found so excellent a substitute as Mr. Colmer, who himself occupies a distinguished position in connection with the office of the High Commissioner, and who is well known to us here as an admirable representative of the office when for any reason the High Commissioner happens to be away. Mr. Colmer is also distinguished in many other ways, and I may be allowed once more to congratulate him on being the author of the very successful essay published last year by the Statist. With many thanks to him for having volunteered to come forward on this occasion, I will now ask him to read the Paper.

Mr. J. G. COLMER, C.M.G.: I am afraid that in the circumstances I shall be a poor substitute for Sir Donald Smith, but I can only promise to do the best I can. Sir Donald, I know, greatly appreciates the honour, that was recently done him, of being elected a member of the Council of this Institute; and when, shortly after, he was asked to read a paper on some Canadian subject, he gladly consented to do so, first, because it would give him the opportunity, for the first time, of being present in his official capacity, and secondly, because he desired to express his appreciation of the valuable work done by the Royal Colonial Institute in making the Colonies better known throughout the world. When Sir Donald Smith selected the day on which he would read the Paper, he did so with the certainty almost that he would be able to attend in person; but some of you know that official life has its disappointments sometimes, and I can assure you it is a great disappointment to Sir Donald not to be able to be present to-night. It was only at the last moment when he found he could not be back in time, and when it was then too late even to postpone the Paper, that Sir Donald telegraphed to ask me to express his great disappointment and to request me to read the Paper for him, which I now proceed to do.