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TROPICAL COLONIZATION
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TROPICAL
COLONIZATION
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
OF THE SUBJECT
ALLEYNE IRELNDJJ
AUTHOR Or m DM3ARIAMAu: SUV, crI, cAL
AmP vonarras*
Nels No*h
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., L.
1899
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& IL Cam a o0. DurlWk @ Om
Nlrwoo MaN. U.A.
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PREFACE
A FEW words of explanation are required in
regard to this little volume. During the past
twelve years most of my time has been spent in
the British Colonies and Dependencies. I visited
India, Ceylon, Australia, and spent nearly seven
years in the West Indies and South America.
Shortly after I arrived in the United States
war was declared against Spain, with results which
are within the knowledge of every one. The
annexation of Hawaii and the cession of Puerto
Rico and the Philippine Islands have placed the
United States under the necessity of undertaking
the government of tropical dependencies, a seri-
ous task for a country which has never held a
dependency, using the term in its strict sense, and
has never faced the problem of administration in
the tropics.
The American people have never been inter-
ested in tropical colonization, because they have
never had any reason to be interested in it; and
consequently, apart from the magazine and news-
V
PREFACE
paper articles which have appeared during the
past year, the greater number of which have shown
a grotesque ignorance of the subject, no American
literature of tropical colonization exists, unless one
so regards a few works, such as Professor Worces
ter's admirable book on the Philippines, which dea
with a single point in the tropics and with a single
set of phenomena.
If we turn to the English libraries, we find at
immense number of books relating to every pat
of the tropics; but although there are excellent:
histories of India, of Ceylon, of Barbados, of J*
maica, and so forth, there does not exist, as fa
as I am aware, a single volume in the English
language which, from the sum of European expe.
rience in the tropics, seeks to lay down the gei.-
eral facts of tropical colonization, or which attempt
to discuss tropical problems as divorced from th t
affairs of any particular colony or dependency.
In the present volume such an attempt is made.
and it is therefore proper that I should give the
reader my reasons for treating the subject in juw:
the manner I have adopted.
In the first place, then, it would have been ia
comparatively easy task, having at my hand thi
large amount of material which I have collect I
during the past twelve years, to have written se-
PREFACE
eral bulky volumes on tropical colonization. I
have refrained from inflicting such a book on the
public for several reasons. First, as the American
appetite for tropical colonization is a very new
one, it appeared to me unwise to risk surfeiting
it with heavy food. Secondly, the interest in the
subject is not yet sufficiently strong to overcome
the natural repugnance for a very big book on
a very unfamiliar subject. Thirdly, after thinking
over the subject of tropical colonization for a num-
ber of years, it has become clear to me that it is
one well adapted to a division into its essential
and its incidental features; the former, omitting,
as far as possible, controversial matters, being
capable of treatment in a comparatively short work.
The essential questions in regard to tropical
colonization appear to me to be these:-
(i) How to govern a tropical colony.
(2) How to obtain the reliable labor absolutely
necessary for the successful development of a
tropical colony.
(3) What does the possession of tropical colonies
amount to from the standpoint of the sovereign
state ?
The first chapter of this work may be considered
as introductory; in the remaining six the ques-
tions which I have stated are examined.
PREFACE
I have been to .no small extent encouraged dur-
ing the writing of this volume by the interest
which has been shown by the public in some short
magazine articles of mine published during the
past year. The first of these was "European Ex-
perience with Tropical Colonies," in the Atlantic
Monthly for December, 1898. The second was
"The Labor Problem in the Tropics," in Apple-
ton's Popular Science Monthly for February, x899.
And the third was "The Growth of the British
Colonial Conception," in the Atlantic Monthly for
April, I899.
Following the publication of each of these I
received a number of inquiries from all over the
country for further information; and several lead-
ing professors in the Universities have asked me
if I could write a work on tropical colonization
which could be used as a text-book. Conscious
as I am of the many shortcomings of this little
volume, I venture to hope that, in the absence of
any work of a similar nature, it may prove of use
to those who wish to make a study of tropical
colonization.
I am indebted to Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin, and
Company of Boston for their courteous permission
to use in the first chapter of this volume (pp. 5-35)
an article on "The Growth of the British Colo-
PREFACE
nial Conception" which appeared in the Atlantic
Monthly for April, 1899.
ALLEYNE IRELAND.
THM Lros CLUD,
Nzw Yonl Crry.
The following is a list of the more important
works, other than government publications, which
I have consulted during the course of my work.
Where I have quoted an author, and I have de-
signedly availed myself to a considerable extent
of the support of other students of my subject, I
have made specific acknowledgment of my indebt-
edness in the text.
J. R. SEELm r .. The Expansion of England.
JAMES ANTHoxN FROUDE The English in the West Indies.
Short Studies on Great Subjects.
C. P. LucAs . Historical Geography of the British Colo-
nies (5 vols.)
Sm GEoRox C. LzEWI On the Government of Dependencies.
A. BILARD. .. Politique et Organisation Coloniales
(Princpes Gdndraux).
JULES LEcLRQ .Un Sdjour dans 'le de Java.
SIR STAMFORD RAFFLrE History of Java.
A. R. WALLACz. .. The Malay Archipelago.
J. W. B. MONmY Java, or, How to manage a Colony.
HENRY SCOTT BOYs Some Notes on Java and its Administra-
tion by the butch.
J. L. D LA SAMI L'Expansion Coloniale de la France.
Louis VINON . L'Expansion de la France.
JoHN FBRGUSON Ceylo in in893.
PREFACE
A. H. L. HEzREN A Manual of the History of the Political
System of Europe and its Colonisa
KARL BRAUN Die Kolonizations-Bestrebungen Ade mno-
dernen europaischen Vjlker undS'taten.
R. STEGEMANN .. Deutschlands Koloniale Politik.
H. E. EGERTON A Short History of British Colonill Policy.
JAMES RODWAY The West Indies and the Spanish Wbitn.
History of British Guiana.
BRYAN EDWARDS The History, Civil and CommerciAof the
British Colonies in the West Indiua.
PAuL LzRoY-BRAULzB Colonisation chez lea Peuples MX0Odrnem.
CONTENTS
PAG
*. S 0 0 V
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY .
FoRMs OF GOVERN
* I
CHAPTER II
INT M TROPICAL COLONIES 37
CHAPTER III
TRADE AND THE FLA 84
CHAPTER IV
THE EARLIER ASPECTS OF THE LABOR PROBLEM D THE
TROPICS 128
CHAPTER V
THE INDENTURED LABOR SYSTEM M THE
BRITISH COLONIx
CHAPTER VI
THE SOLTnION OF THE LABOR PROBLEM BY THE DUTCH
xi
i 9o
195
PREFACE .
xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER VII
THE COLONIAL PROBLEM OF THE UNITED STATES ..
APPENDIX
BIBLIOGRAPHY .
INDEX TO AUTHORS' NAMES GIVEN IN APPENDIX
GENERAL INDEX .
227
S 261
*. 267
IPA=
*217
LIST OF DIAGRAMS
Diagram I, facing page 96, relates to value and origin of Imports of the
United Kingdom, 1856 to 1895.
Diagram 2, facing page 98, relates to value and direction of Exports
of British Colonies and Possessions, 1856 to 1895.
Diagram 3, facing page ioo, relates to value and direction of Exports
of United Kingdom, i856 to x895.
Diagram 4, facing page iot, relates to value and origin of Imports of
British Colonies and Possessions, 1856 to 1895.
Diagram 5, facing page o02, relates to Imports of United Kingdom
from the United States, i859 to 1898.
Diagram 6, facing page 0o3, relates to Exports of United Kingdom
to the United States, 1859 to 1898.
Diagram 7, facing page ix6, relates to the value and origin of the Im-
ports and to the value and direction of the Exports of France,
1877 to 1896.
Diagram 8, facing page 123, relates to the trade of Jamaica with Eng-
land and France respectively, 1878 to 1897.
Diagram 9, facing page t24, relates to the trade of Mauritius with
England and France respectively, 1878 to 1897.
Summary of Diagrams, facing page 127.
xiii
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
THE word "colony" has been employed in a dif-
ferent sense by different writers. Originally the
term was applied to any band of persons of com-
mon nationality who left their country and settled
in a new territory where they constituted them-
selves a distinct political community. It was
not necessary that the emigrants should continue
to yield their allegiance to the government of
the country from whence they came; the idea
involved merely the emigration of some members
(not the whole) of the home population to a land
in which they maintained themselves as a separate
community, either in the absence of other in-
habitants, or by the forcible retention of such
portions of the country as they required.
Sir George Cornewall Lewis in his work "On
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
the Government of Dependencies," says: If an
entire political community changes its country
for a time and moves elsewhere, it does uot found
a colony: thus a roving tribe of Scyt:hians or
Tartars does not found a colony when it settles
in the temporary occupation of a new- district.
So the Athenians, during the Persian invasion of
Attica, when they embarked in their slips and
took refuge in Salamis, were not a colony. Nor
would they have been a colony, even if they had
permanently changed their place of abode; for
when an entire nation changes its seats, and
establishes itself permanently in another country
(as the Franks in France, the Lombards; in Italy,
or the Vandals in Africa), it is not said to found
a colony. Unless persons who abandon their
native country form a separate political com-
munity, they are not colonists. For example, the
French Protestants who fled from Fra.nce after
the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and took
refuge in Germany and England, did not con-
stitute colonies in those countries. The small
body of English Puritans, who first sought in
Holland an asylum against religious persecution,
did not form a colony until they afterward es-
tablished themselves in New England as a dis-
tinct community."
INTRODUCTORY
The idea of a colony was more correctly ex-
pressed by the Greek word dirouctcaU than by
the Latin "colonia" from which the term
colony" is derived. Adam Smith, in his Wealth
of Nations," says: The Latin word signifies sim-
ply a plantation. The Greek word, on the con-
trary, signifies a separation of dwelling, a depart-
ure from home, a going out of the house."
If the original meaning of the word be adopted,
the United States may still be correctly called a
colony of Great Britain. But writers during the
past two centuries have generally used the word
"colony" not as applying to the people of the
mother country, but to the land to which they
emigrated, and have added the idea of depend-
ence-a colony is, in fact, to be considered a
territory situated at some distance from the
sovereign state but subject to the sovereign
authority.
Sir George Lewis, in the work from which I
have just quoted, insists on a distinction being
drawn between a colony and a dependency; the
former term to apply to those outlying parts of
an empire in which the people of the home stock
form the bulk of the proprietors and cultivators
of the soil, and the latter to apply to those parts
of an empire where the natives of the sovereign
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
state reside merely for the purposes of govern-
ment or trade.
Colonial conditions are such to-da as to make
it difficult, if not impossible, to follow Sir George
Lewis's classification. It would be impossible, for
instance, to divide the British West Indian Pos-
sessions into two distinct classes-- colonies and
dependencies. Barbados might be cJled a colony,
and Jamaica a dependency, for in, the former
island the white population forms about twelve
per cent of the whole and owns more than
ninety per cent of the soil, whilst in the latter
the whites constitute but a little mover two per
cent of the whole, and more than seventy thousand
small agricultural holdings are in the hands of
black and colored peasant-proprietor. But the
line of demarkation in the other West Indian
Possessions of England is not so clear, and the
position is further complicated in the case of
Trinidad and British Guiana (whicDh is generally
referred to as a West Indian colony, although it
is on the mainland of South Anerica) by the
presence of thousands of immigrants from the
Indian Empire.
In the present work, therefore, I do not use
the word "colony" in any strict sense, as distinct
from the word "dependency," but give it the wide
INTRODUCTORY
meaning of "any outlying portion of an empire
which, in a greater or less degree, falls under
the authority of the central power."'
I wish now to trace very briefly the growth of
the British colonial conception.
Professor Seeley has pointed out, in his work
on "The Expansion of England," the prevailing
tendency to look upon those conditions which
we observe around us as having always existed,
and to consider them part of a permanent and
necessary order of things. This is strikingly true
of the sentiment regarding colonization. It is
difficult to find in the mass of colonial discussion
which has appeared during the past year in the
United States any indication that the writers
have realized how new a thing is the present
conception of the relationship between a sover-
eign state and its colonies. In England, whose
vast colonial empire affords the best field for the
study of colonization, the prevailing conception of
the value of colonies and of the mutual responsi-
bilities of the mother country and its depend-
encies represents a third stage in the evolution
of a great national idea.
1 The British Indian Empire, which falls within this definition, is
not, however, treated as a colony in this work, except in the chapter
relating to Trade and the Flag.
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
The first stage is perfectly well defined, both
as to the period of its duration and as to the
nature of the public sentiment which found its
expression in the national policy. It began with
the acquisition of colonies by England at the
beginning of the seventeenth century, and closed
with the revolt of the American colonies at the
end of the eighteenth century. The term "the
old colonial system" is very generally used to
label the policy which marked this period. The
old colonial system may be said to have assumed
definite shape under the Commonwealth, and the
Navigation Act of 1651 is the first of that long
series of oppressive restrictions which unwise
statesmen placed on the trade of the colonies.
These commercial restrictions fell under five dif-
ferent heads; restrictions on the exportation of
produce from the colony, on the importation of
goods into the colony, on the carrying trade
to and from the colonies, on the manufacture of
colonial produce in the colonies, and on the im-
portation into England from foreign countries or
colonies of those commodities which the British
colonies produced. Under four of these restric-
tions the colonies suffered, under one of them
the mother country. As Professor Merivale has
put it: "States have feared to encourage their
INTRODUCTORY
colonists to seek their independence, or to range
themselves under the banner of hostile nations.
Hence, as the producers of the mother country
have never been willing to let go their own mo-
nopoly, it has been found necessary to make to
the colonists a compensation at the expense of
the consumers." It will be shown later that the
concessions were made not so much with the in-
tention of keeping the colonies to their allegiance
as with a view to retain their friendship in the
event of their becoming independent. In a word,
the general sentiment in regard to colonies, during
the period of the old colonial system, was, that
they existed merely for the benefit of the sover-
eign state; that they were a national asset which
should be made to yield as much profit as pos-
sible to the mother country.
The old colonial system worked well enough
for a time, and might have continued to do so
for a much longer period in those colonies where
the white population was numerically insignifi-
cant; but the revolt of the American colonies
struck the death knell of the system, and taught
Englishmen a lesson which slowly, but surely,
carried the nation into the second stage of the
colonial idea. The development of the colonial
idea during the second stage was spasmodic.
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
Free trade and parliamentary reform became vital
political issues at home, and in the excitement
attending these changes in the national policy
colonial affairs ceased to attract attention. The
deluge of petitions and reports which poured into
the House of Commons during the period im-
mediately preceding and following the abolition
of slavery in 1838 served, it is true, to keep the
colonies before the government; but the people
at large were too much occupied with their home
concerns to give much attention to the affairs of
outlying dependencies, which were destined, in
the opinion of many, to achieve their indepen-
dence at no distant date. The success of the
revolt of the American colonies was a rude shock
to the national pride; and although the war had
been unpopular amongst the people, it is not
surprising that in the general desire to avoid
humiliation in the future public opinion should
so easily have taken the line of looking on inde-
pendence as the natural sequel to colonization, -
the fact being overlooked that the fault lay not
in the idea of extensive and far-distant dependen-
cies, but in the assumption that such dependen-
cies were to be governed entirely for the benefit
of the sovereign state.
Successive governments in the early part of
INTRODUCTORY
the present century perceived that the colonial
policy of England was destined to undergo im-
portant modifications, and we observe a curious
conflict of ideas amongst those at the head of
affairs, due, doubtless, to the feeling that the time
had not yet come when, on the one hand, the
colonies might be cast off, or, on the other hand,
their rights to self-government under the Crown
might be fully recognized. Thus, we find the Im-
perial government increasing its supervision over
the internal life of the colonies in order to stifle
any incipient attempt at revolt, and at the same
time granting modifications of the commercial
relations in favor of the colonists, and removing
irksome taxes levied in the colonies for the exclu-
sive benefit of the Crown. In 1838, for example,
the Imperial Parliament repealed the act of 1663
imposing an export duty of four and a half per
cent on all agricultural produce of Barbados and
the Leeward Islands, to be paid "to our Sover-
eign Lord the King, his heirs and successors for-
ever," and in 1839 passed the West India Prisons
Act, which transferred the control of the jails in
the West Indies from the local to the Imperial
authorities.
In the meanwhile, public opinion was slowly
moving in the direction of giving up the colonies.
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
In 1776 Adam Smith had written: "After all
the unjust attempts of every country in Europe
to engross to itself the advantages of the trade of
its own colonies, no country has yet been able to
engross to itself anything but the expense of
supporting in time of peace, and defending in
time of war, the oppressive authority which it
assumes over them. The inconveniences resulting
from the possession of its colonies every country
has engrossed to itself completely." These words
were remembered after the War of American In-
dependence; and the Canadian rebellion of 1837
served to foster still further the idea of separa-
tion. The revolt of the Spanish-American colo-
nies, with the consequent collapse of the Spanish
colonial empire, lent additional force to the argu-
ments of those who saw in the American War of
Independence the first act of a tragedy which was
to end in the death of England's larger national-
ity. In fact, we find, during the first eighty years
of the nineteenth century, a considerable body of
sentiment in England in favor of casting off the
colonies. It is true that this sentiment was not
as clearly discernible during some years as during
others, but at no time did it die out, and it was
probably as strong in 1886 as in 1786. I wish
to make this point clear, -that the second stage
INTRODUCTORY
in the development of the colonial idea in England,
the period during which it was uncertain whether
the historians of the nineteenth century would
have to describe a Great Britain or a Greater
Britain, comes -down to within fifteen years of
the present time; and in order to do so, I quote
from various writings and speeches which were
published prior to 1887.
Lord Durham, in his report on the condition
and prospects of Canada, which was laid before
Parliament in 1839, finds it necessary to say, "I
cannot participate in the notion that it is the part
either of prudence or of honor to abandon our
countrymen."
Eleven years later, we find that the ideas from
which Lord Durham expressed his dissent were
still held by a number of men in public life; for
Lord John Russell, speaking in the House of Com-
mons on February 8, x85o, said: I come now to a
question which has been much agitated, and which
has found supporters of very considerable ability,
namely, that we should no longer think it worth
our while to maintain our colonial empire." And
even he could not foresee a Greater Britain, for
he said in the same speech: "I do anticipate with
others that some of the colonies may so grow in
population and wealth that they may say, 'Our
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
strength is sufficient to enable us to be indepen-
dent of England.' ... I do not think that that
time is yet approaching."
Commenting on the speech I have just quoted,
the London Times, in its issue of February i1,
1850, said: "On the most delicate part of the
question [the future colonial policy of England]
Lord John Russell has spoken as plainly as we
could desire. He does not shrink from contem-
plating the eventual independence of our colo-
nies, and proposes to prepare them for it by free
institutions. For our own part, we think it the
merest prudery to blink that inevitable event"
Twenty years later, James Anthony Froude
raised his voice against the colonial policy of the
first administration of Mr. Gladstone. "It is
even argued," he said, in an article in Fraser's
Magazine for January, 1870, "that our colonies
are a burden to us, and that the sooner they are
cut adrift from us the better. They are, or have
been, demonstratively loyal. They are proud of
their origin, conscious of the value to themselves
of being part of a great empire, and willing and
eager to find a home for every industrious family
that we can spare. We answer impatiently that
they are welcome to our people, if our people
choose to go to them; but whether they go to
INTRODUCTORY
them or to America, whether the colonies them-
selves remain under our flag or proclaim their
independence or attach themselves to some other
power, is a matter which concerns themselves
entirely, and to us of profound indifference."
Again, writing in Fraser's Magazine for August,
1870, Mr. Froude expressed his fear that the gov-
ernment contemplated an early dismemberment of
the empire. "But whereas there are two possible
colonial policies," he said, "one to regard them
[the colonies] as integral parts of the empire, .
the other to concentrate ourselves in these islands,
to educate the colonies in self-dependence, that at
the earliest moment they may themselves sever
the links which bind them to us, -of these two
policies, it is believed that the government delib-
erately prefer the second, and nothing that Lord
Granville [Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs]
or any other member of the Cabinet has said
upon the subject leads us to suppose that the
belief is unfounded. A few words would have
sufficed to remove the uneasiness, but those words
have not been spoken."
Between the years 1870 and 1890 many events
occurred which had a profound effect on the
colonial policy of the United Kingdom; and
although I consider that the third stage in the
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
development of the colonial idea was not reached
until 1897, there is abundant evidence that from
about the year i88o onward the separationist sen-
timent in England has been gradually losing
ground. Let us glance for a moment at the
changes which took place between 1870 and 1890,
and endeavor to appreciate their bearing on colo-
nial matters. First, then, in regard to trade and
population. In 1870 the tonnage of steam vessels
belonging to the British Empire was 1,2o3,000; in
1890 it had grown to 5,413,706. During the same
period the trade between the United Kingdom and
the British colonies increased from 6,o44,o28 tons
to 10,467,563 tons, whilst the total trade between
the United Kingdom and the whole world mounted
from 36,64o,182 tons to 74,283,869 tons. In 1870
Great Britain exported to its colonies merchandise
to the value of $276,ooo,ooo and imported from
them colonial products worth $324,000,000; in
1890 the figures had risen to $472,000,000 and
$480,000,000 respectively. This great develop-
ment in trade tended to strengthen the bonds
between Great Britain and her dependencies;
but a more powerful influence was at work.
During the twenty years which we now have
under consideration more than i,250,00o people
emigrated from the British Isles to the British
INTRODUCTORY
colonies, with the result that communication be-
tween the mother country and the dependencies
became more frequent, and the sum of knowledge
about the colonies rapidly increased.
Before passing to the consideration of the politi-
cal changes which took place in Europe after the
Franco-Prussian war, and which powerfully affected
the British colonial policy, it is important to note
another movement of population from the British
Isles, -the emigration to the United States. Mr.
Froude pointed out, in the essays from which I
have quoted, the indifference which appeared to
exist in England at the time he wrote as to whether
English emigrants went to British colonies or to
foreign countries. He said: "During the last
quarter of a century nearly four million British
subjects English, Irish, and Scots have be-
come citizens, more or less prosperous, of the
United States of America. We have no present
quarrel with the Americans; we trust most heartily
that we may never be involved in any quarrel with
them; but undoubtedly, from the day that they
became independent of us, they became our rivals.
. The United States have been made stronger,
the English Empire weaker, to the extent of those
millions and the children growing of them. ...
England at the same time possesses dependencies
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
of her own, not less extensive than the United
States, not less rich in natural resources, not less
able to provide for these expatriated swarms, where
they would remain attached to her crown, where
their well-being would be our well-being, their
brains and arms our brains and arms, every acre
which they could reclaim from the wilderness so
much added to English soil, and themselves and
their families fresh additions to our national sta-
bility."
Between 1870 and 1890 three million more Brit-
ish subjects passed over to the United States.
In the years following the close of the Franco-
Prussian war a great change was observable in
the colonial policy of the Continental Powers, and
the African "scramble" of 1884 showed English
statesmen that whilst they had been debating the
question of throwing off the British colonies, Con-
tinental statesmen were staking the future great-
ness of their respective countries on a policy of
colonial expansion. In the early eighties the
French people became animated with the old
colonial spirit which had made France great in
the seventeenth century; which had produced such
men as Colbert, Dupleix, and Coligny. The news-
papers filled their columns with brilliant predic-
tions for "la Plus Grande France," and in the
INTRODUCTORY
serious literature of the period we find the same
urgent demand for a firm colonial policy. Thus,
the eminent political economist Paul Leroy-Beau-
lieu, writing in 1882, protests against the mistaken
policy of France in recent years. He urges French-
men to turn their attention to the development of
the French colonies. From now on," he says, our
colonial expansion must occupy the first place in
our national consciousness. We must found
a great French Empire in Africa and in Asia;
else of the great rl6e which France has played in
the past there will remain nothing but the memory,
and that dying out as the days pass Coloni-
zation is a question of life or death for France.
Either we must found an African Empire, or in
a hundred years we shall have sunk to the level
of a second-rate power." Louis Vignon, in his
"L'Expansion de la France," writes in the same
strain, and a score of other writers might be
named who supported the views I have quoted.
But it is not in France alone that we find colo-
nial activity in the early eighties; Italy, Belgium,
Portugal, and Germany were vigorously pushing
forward their African schemes at that time, and
were all represented at the Berlin Conference of
1884-85.
In order to show how the British colonial policy
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
was affected by the ambitions of the Continental
Powers in the direction of colonization, it is only
necessary to add to what I have said about France
a few facts in regard to German expansion.
Although German colonial expansion dates actu-
ally from 1884, the idea of a German colonial
empire had existed twenty years earlier. The
German explorer, Karl von der Decken, wrote
from the Juba River in North-East Africa in 1864:
"I am persuaded that in a short time a colony
established here would be most successful, and
after two or three years would be self-support-
ing. It is unfortunate that we Germans
allow such opportunities of acquiring colonies to
slip, especially at a time when it would be of
importance to the navy." Von der Decken also
suggested that Germany should buy Mombasa
from the Sultan. Nothing of importance was
done, however, till after the Franco-Prussian war.
Germany was then placed in a new position.
Distrustful of Russia on the east, of France on
the west; disturbed by the dismemberment of
Poland, and uncertain as to the future of the
Austro-Hungarian Ausgleich, Germany decided
that in the founding of a powerful colonial em-
pire alone lay safety. The idea became popular,
and the publication in 1879 of the theologian
INTRODUCTORY
Fabri's Bedarf Deutschland der Colonien ?" acted
as a powerful stimulant. Bismarck had long
foreseen the time when Germany would enter
the field of colonial enterprise, and had waited
only for the development of public sentiment in
that direction. His day had now come, and be-
tween 1884 and 1886 he was instrumental in
founding the German colonies of Togo, the Came-
roons, German South-West Africa, German East
Africa, in the Old World; and Kaiser Wilhelm's
Land, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon
Islands, and the Marshall Islands, in the New.
Let us return now to the development of the
colonial idea in England. We have seen that
as late as I870 the question of a Greater Britain
still hung in the balance, and I think it may be
shown that it was not until 1887 that the first
indications of the larger idea began to appear.
The Colonial Conference was opened in London,
on April 4, 1887, and at the first meeting Lord
Salisbury made a speech, in which he said: "The
desire for colonial and foreign possessions is in-
creasing among the nations of Europe. The
power of concentrating military and naval forces
is increasing under the influence of scientific
progress. Put all these things together, and you
will see that the colonies have a very real and
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
genuine interest in the shield which their im-
perial connection throws over them, and that
they have a ground for joining us in making the
defences of the empire secure." These remarks
are interesting, because we see a great English
statesman speaking on a great national occasion
to a body of men representing all parts of the
British Empire, and taking the ground that
the colonies are the parties who benefit under
the imperial compact. There is no evidence in
Lord Salisbury's speech that he foresaw the day
when the tables would be turned,- when Eng-
land would hold her high place amongst the
nations because of, not in spite of, her colonies.
The London Times, however, talks no longer
of the prudery of blinking inevitable events. The
cry now is, "The real unity of the empire." In
a leading article on the Colonial Conference, in
the Times of April 4, 1887, we find: "Of all the
events of the Jubilee year, none are likely to be
more interesting and memorable than the ap-
proaching Conference. It is the expression of
some of the best influences of Her Majesty's
reign. It has in it the promise of great things
to come. Her colonial subjects have been quick
to appreciate the advantages of such a Confer-
ence, which touches the pride, raises the hopes,
INTRODUCTORY
and accords with the aspirations of every good
citizen."
On April 21, 1887, the Times, in a leading
article, expresses exactly the idea which I wish
to make clear, "In these communities [the colo-
nies], as we are all beginning to feel, there is a
great reserve of strength for the mother coun-
try." Englishmen then were beginning to feel
in 1887 that in the colonies lay the future great-
ness of England.
It is at this point that I see the birth of the
great national idea which found such extraordi-
nary expression in the occurrences surrounding
the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. But for
the sake of clearness I wish to trace its develop-
ment a little more closely, and also that I may
show how curiously various influences have com-
bined to bring about the unification of the British
Empire. From whatever standpoint we look at
the United Kingdom we see at once that the
conditions are much more favorable for the
growth of a united public sentiment there than in
the United States. Its area is considerably less
than that of the state of California, whilst its
population is more than half that of the whole
f the United States. Taking fourteen states -
ew York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana,
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
Michigan, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, California,
Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia-
for the sake of comparison, we find that their
population in 1890 was about equal to that of
the United Kingdom in 1891, but that it was
spread over an area of 962,000 square miles, whilst
that of the United Kingdom was compressed into
121,000. This circumstance in itself brings the
people of the United Kingdom more closely into
touch with one another. But the limited area
of England produces another factor which power-
fully affects public sentiment. There is no great
diversity of interests between one part of the
country and another, such as one observes in the
United States, and thus the whole country re-
sponds more uniformly to any influence which
may be brought to bear on it than can be the
case in a nation whose shores are washed by the
Pacific on one side and the Atlantic on the other,
and whose territory extends from the Arctic
Circle to the Tropic of Cancer. Owing to the
centralization of the governing power the debates
at Westminster play a much greater part in the
formation of public sentiment than the debates
at Washington; for in the one case the affairs
of the several parts of the kingdom, as well as
of the whole empire, are discussed, and in the
INTRODUCTORY
other there is a distinct line between national and
state interests. In a small country, also, indi-
vidual influence is more easily established than
in a large country, and a speech by Lord Salis-
bury or Mr. Chamberlain may conceivably pro-
duce effects which could not be looked for by
any speaker in the United States, whatever his
ability and strength of character. It has fre-
quently been remarked that in England after-
dinner speeches are extremely popular with "the
man in the street"; and it would be difficult, I
think, to overestimate the influence which such
utterances exert on the public mind. Finally,
although the interest which Englishmen take in
politics is probably less intense than that shown
by Americans, it is of a different kind, and can
be more easily utilized for national purposes than
would be the case if party lines were more rigid
than they are.
Of the hundreds of men in all parts of the
British Empire who, in recent years, by their
writings, speeches, and works, have educated the
English people to a true realization of the value
of the colonies, I would name here five who seem
to me to stand in the front rank of those who
have brought about this national awakening.
They are Professor Sir J. R. Seeley, Mr. Joseph
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
Chamberlain, James Anthony Froude, Mr. Rud-
yard Kipling, and Mr. Cecil Rhodes.
Probably no single book has ever exerted a
more powerful influence in the direction of the
appreciation of English colonial enterprise than
Professor Seeley's "Expansion of England." In
this extraordinary work, the author succeeds in
unravelling from the tangled skein of European
history during the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries the thread of England's development.
Other historians had failed to see any continuous
movement in one direction, because they were
confronted at one time with the spectacle of Prot-
estant Europe in arms against Catholic Europe, at
another time with that of the allied forces of a
Catholic and a Protestant power at war with a
Protestant nation; and because they found the
questions of the Austrian Succession and the
Spanish Succession large enough, when placed
close to the eye, to hide the causes which lay
beyond in the wars incident to these disputes. But
Professor Seeley approached his subject in a new
spirit, and threw a light on English history which
enabled Englishmen to look back over the path
which their ancestors had trod, and to perceive that
among all its windings it tended ever in one gen-
eral direction. Between 1688 and 1815 England
INTRODUCTORY
was engaged in seven wars.1 It was drawn into the
first of these when William of Orange, who as king
of the Netherlands was at war with France and
Spain, became William III. of England. This war
was terminated by the Peace of Utrecht in I7I3,
and the Treaty of Rastadt in 1714. Through this
war England obtained Newfoundland, Nova Scotia,
and the Hudson's Bay Territory from France,
and Gibraltar and Minorca from Spain, together
with the right to supply the Spanish-American
colonies with slaves, and the privilege of sending
one ship a year .to Portobello, on the Isthmus
of Panama. The second war has been called
the War of Jenkins's Ear. It arose through the
pretentions of Spain to control the navigation
of the West Indies and South America, and her
claim to the right of search of all vessels in West
Indian waters. War was declared against Spain
in 1739, and in 1744 France, taking advantage
of the situation, declared war against England.
This war was terminated by the Treaty of Aix-la-
Chapelle in 1748, by the terms of which England
and France mutually restored all conquered
territory. But although peace was declared in
Europe, fighting still went on in other parts of
the world. "The peace which had been con-
SExclusive of the war of 1812.
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
cluded between England and France in 1748,"
wrote Lord Macaulay, "had been no more than
an armistice, and had not even been an armistice
in the other quarters of the globe." Thus,
although the two nations were at peace, we find
Colonel George Washington defeating De Jumon-
ville in the valley of the Ohio, and Clive destroy-
ing French influence in India by the defence of
Arcot and the battle of Plassey. Then followed
the Seven Years' war, in which we see England
and France fighting all over the world, nominally
over the question of who should own Silesia, but
with the great colonial issue in the background.
The war ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris.
It left France in a pitiable condition, -her com-
merce destroyed, her colonial power broken.
The fifth war was with the American colonies
in the beginning, but by the year 1778 France
was again in the fight, joined later by Holland
and Spain. Although this war resulted in the
loss of the American colonies, England had
little reason to complain of its effects elsewhere,
when it is reflected that she was at war with
practically the whole of Europe. The sixth and
seventh wars were also with France. By the
former England obtained Trinidad and Ceylon,
by the latter Mauritius.
INTRODUCTORY
As far as I am aware, Professor Seeley was
the first historian to point out the true signifi-
cance of this continual struggle with France.
He says: "The expansion of England in the
New World and in Asia is the formula which
sums up for England the history of the eigh-
teenth century. I point out now that the great
triple war of the middle of that century is
neither more nor less than the great decisive
duel between England and France for the pos-
session of the New World. It was perhaps
scarcely perceived at the time, as it has been
seldom remarked since; but the explanation of
that second Hundred Years' war between Eng-
land and France which fills the eighteenth cen-
tury is this, that they were rival candidates for the
possession of the New World; and the triple war
which fills the middle of the century is, as it
were, the decisive campaign in that great world-
struggle." But it is not only in this direction
that Professor Seeley's book made the course of
England's development clear to every reader;
from the first page to the last, "The Expansion
of England" is a convincing argument in favor
of England's territorial expansion across the seas.
The quotations which I have made from the
writings of James Anthony Froude render it un-
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
necessary to dilate at any length on the influence
his books exerted on public sentiment in England.
The publication, in 1887, of "The Englist in the
West Indies" served to awaken a considerable
interest in the islands, and resulted in tlhe emi-
gration from England of a number of young men
who wished to try their fortunes in til.ese for-
gotten possessions described so charmingly by
Mr. Froude. The severe but just criticisms of
England's policy toward the West Indian colo-
nies had a much wider effect. Statesnaen were
brought to see that a great injustice hld been
done; and although remedial measures hrv.ve been
slow in coming, they are now being adopteted, fol-
lowing the recommendations of a Royal Commis-
sion of Inquiry.
I turn now to Mr. Joseph Chamberlaia, the
present Secretary of State for the Colonies, We
have it on the authority of the editor of Mr.
Chamberlain's "Foreign and Colonial Sp.eeches"
that, "whether as a youth in the Birm:ingham
and Egbaston Debating Society, in Parliament
or outside, Mr. Chamberlain has given evidence
of his strong sense both of the advantages and
the obligations of empire;" and we hae it on
his own authority that he has "long believed
that the future of the colonies and the luzture of
INTRODUCTORY
this country [England] were interdependent."1
In all his speeches we find this idea, the unity of
the empire, strongly emphasized. Thus, speak-
ing at the annual dinner of the Toronto Board
of Trade in 1887, he said: "It may well be that
the Confederation of Canada may be the lamp to
light our pathway to the Confederation of the
British Empire. That idea may only exist at
present in the imagination of the enthusiast; but
it is a grand idea. It is one to stimulate the
patriotism of every man who loves his country;
and whether or not it should ever prove capable
of practical realization, let us all cherish the senti-
ment which it inspires; let us do all in our power
to promote the closer relations, the kindly feelings,
which ought always to exist between the sons of
England throughout the world and the old folks
at home." Ten years later, March 31, 1897, speak-
ing at the Royal Colonial Institute dinner, he said:
"We have now reached .. the true conception
of our empire. What is that conception? As
regards the self-governing colonies, we no longer
talk of them as dependencies. The sense of pos-
session has given place to the sentiment of kin-
ship. We think and speak of them as part of
1 Speech at the complimentary banquet to Lord Lammington,
Hotel Mdtropole, London, January 21, i896.
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
ourselves, as part of the British Empire, united
to us, although they may be dispersed throughout
the world, by ties of kindred, of religion, of his-
tory, and of language, and joined to us by the
seas that formerly seemed to divide us." It is
not only in his speeches that Mr. Chamberlain
has shown his interest in the colonies. Since he
accepted his present office, in 1895, he has de-
voted all his energies to the advancement of
colonial interests, and it was entirely due to the
firm stand he made in the matter that the West
India Royal Commission was appointed in 1896.
It may be said that no very great results have
followed the report of this commission; but it
must be remembered that a change of policy
concerning a large and important group of
colonies cannot be effected in a day, and that
many conflicting interests have to be consid-
ered before a definite line of action can be de-
termined on.
In writing of the influence which Mr. Cecil
Rhodes has exerted on public opinion in Eng-
land relative to the colonies I refrain from dis-
cussing those events which have occurred during
the past few years in South Africa, and which
are so intimately associated with his name.
Whereas there may be two opinions as to the
INTRODUCTORY
vigorous policy adopted by the Cape Parliament
since Mr. Rhodes became a member of that
body, about sixteen years ago, there can be but
one sentiment in regard to the effect which that
policy has had upon the masses of the people in
England. Ever since the tragedy of Majuba
Hill, in I881, when Sir George Colley was killed
and his small body of English troops almost an-
nihilated by an overwhelming force of Boers,
there has existed a very sore feeling in England
respecting the short-sighted policy adopted by
Mr. Gladstone at that time, and every fresh evi-
dence of Mr. Rhodes's activity in Bechuanaland,
Mashonaland, and Matabeleland has been hailed
with delight by a vast majority of Englishmen.
But a climax was reached when news arrived in
England of the Jameson raid of December 29,
1895. I make no comment on the raid or on
the circumstances which led up to it; my con-
cern at present is with public opinion in Eng-
land. Whatever may have been the judgment of
wise heads on the affair, the people of England
went wild with enthusiasm. Night after night
throughout the whole land the performances at
the theatres had to be interrupted in order that
the audiences might sing songs about the raid;
and scenes of indescribable excitement were to
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
be witnessed wherever a handful of men got
together. Finally, when Mr. Rhodes and Dr.
Jameson returned to England, they were ac-
corded receptions, not officially, but by the peo-
ple, scarcely equalled by that given to Lord
Kitchener on his return from Eggpt after the
battle of Omdurman. The effect of all this was
to enormously stimulate the spirit of empire.
I do not claim for a moment that there was
anything in the Jameson raid or in fIr. Rhodes's
Cape policy which materially altered the facts of
English colonization in such a way as to make
colonial enthusiasm amongst the English people
more reasonable than it would have been pre-
viously; but the purely emotional effect of the
events to which I have referred tencled in no
small degree to bring about a truerr conception
of the vital importance of the colonies to the
future of England.
I pass now to Mr. Kipling; and I am inclined to
think that even if his influence on English thought
in regard to the empire has not been actually
greater than that of the men I have maned above,
it has been of a kind that appeals to a somewhat
higher set of emotions. We see the others awak-
ening the lust of empire, stimulating the admiration
for brave fighting, urging on the spirit tof commer-
INTRODUCTORY
cial enterprise, administering to that love of
adventure which has always characterized the
English people; in Mr. Kipling's work we find
something higher than all this. If I read Mr. Kip-
ling's work, and especially his later work, aright,
there is one dominating idea to be traced in it,-
the capacity, the duty, of the men of the Anglo-
Saxon race to do thoroughly the task laid on
their shoulders, not for love of gain, not for hope
of praise, but for the very joy of the accom-
plished thing. It seems to me that in these
latter years of the century we have become pecul-
iarly sensitive to emotional stimulus, more apt
than ever before to be controlled for good or
evil by sentimental considerations. It is to this
quality in us that Mr. Kipling appeals. It is, of
course, extremely difficult to gauge the influence
which is exerted by such a writer, but my own
experience of Englishmen in many lands and
I can scarcely think it exceptional has shown
me that his books have contributed more than
those of any other writer to bring about a reali-
zation and an appreciation of the magnificent
work which is being done by the silent thou-
sands who are quietly, but earnestly, building up
the British Empire. The creed he would have
us learn is a simple one: -
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
Go to your work and be strong, halting not in your ways,
Balking the end half-won for an instant dole of praise.
Stand to your work and be wise certain of sword and pen,
Who are neither children nor Gods, but men ini a world of men.
We have seen how the sentiment .in regard
to colonization has passed through two distinct
phases in England, and is now in a third. The
first phase was that of the old colonial system; the
second may be called the period off laissez aller;
and the third, which dawned with the Queen's
Jubilee in 1887, may be appropriately named the
era of Greater Britain. As I have shown, many
influences have been at work to produce the
present state of feeling; there remains one which
has intensified all the others, anod marvellously
strengthened the bonds which hold the British
Empire together,-the character a:nd duration of
the reign of Queen Victoria. How great this in-
fluence has been cannot be told; it can only be
felt. Those who attended the Queen's Diamond
Jubilee in 1897, who saw that unparalleled dem-
onstration of June 22, who witnessed the fren-
zied loyalty of four millions of Her Majesty's
subjects gathered from the corners of the world
to do her homage, may understand something of
it; but it is those who have seen her name
honored and loved in the waste places of the
INTRODUCTORY
earth, who have found that same loyalty beneath
the palm and the pine, in the gold-digger's camp
and the shepherd's hut, who may know how
large an element of England's greatness has been
the personal devotion of the people to the
sovereign.
SUMMARY
A colony, according to the ancient meaning of the word, was a
band of persons of common nationality who left their country and
settled down in a new territory, where they constituted themselves
a distinct political community, the term being applicable to such
persons whether or not they continued to yield allegiance to the
government of the country from whence they came. Under this
definition of the word the United States may still be considered
a colony of Great Britain. But the present accepted meaning of
the word "colony" is, any outlying portion of an empire which
is subject in a greater or less degree to the central authority.
In examining the growth of the British colonial conception we
nd that it can be divided into three periods. Firstly, the period
of the old colonial system, during which the prevailing idea in
regard to colonies was that they were a national asset which
should be made to yield as much profit as possible to the sov-
ereign state; secondly, the period of laisses aler, marked by a
strong sentiment in favor of allowing all the colonies to become
independent, a sentiment which had its origin in the success of
he American Revolutionary War, and was further fostered by the
Canadian rebellion of 1837; thirdly, the era of Greater Britain,
rhich may be appropriately described in the words used by Mr.
oseph Chamberlain at the Royal Colonial Institute on March
x, 1897: "We have now reached the true conception of our
empire. What is that conception? As regards the self-govern-
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
ing colonies, we no longer talk of them as depemadencies. The
sense of possession has given place to the sentiment of kinship.
We think and speak of them as part of ourselves,-as part of the
British Empire, united to us, although they mayv be dispersed
throughout the world, by ties of kindred, of religion, of history,
and of language, and joined to us by the sea that formerly
seemed to divide us."
In point of time, the first of these periods comnmenced with
the acquisition of colonies by England at the beginning of the
seventeenth century, and closed with the revolt of' the American
colonies at the end of the eighteenth century. The second
period is not so easily delimited, but it may be: aid that the
beginning of the end was reached in x887, in whi=h year, in the
circumstances surrounding the Queen's Golden Jisbilee, we ob-
serve the birth of the great national idea which found its complete
expression at the time of the Queen's Diamond J]'ibilee in 1897.
It was not until 1897 that the third period of the growth of the
British colonial conception reached its maturity.
Two powerful causes have contributed to the fin.aldevelopment
of the British colonial conception abroad, the growth of colonial
ambitions amongst the great Continental Powers; at home, a two-
fold process of education, appealing on the one hanl to the reason,
on the other hand to the emotions of the British people. Fore-
most amongst those who have educated the Eng~lid public to a
true realization of the value and importance of the lritish colonies
are, in the field of action, the Right Honorable Joseph Chamber-
lain, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State forr he Colonies,
and Mr. Cecil Rhodes; in the field of letters, Su J. R Seeley,
James Anthony Froude, and Mr. Rudyard Kipling.
Finally, under the wise and beneficent rule of Eqmgnd's greatest
monarch, there have developed in the colonies themselves a pas-
sionate love of the mother country and a powerful isese of nation-
ality which afford the strongest assurance of the peemanent unity
of the United States of Great and Greater Britain.
CHAPTER II
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT IN TROPICAL COLONIES
I PROPOSE in this chapter to deal with the forms
of government in force in the British tropical col-
onies, the French tropical colonies, and in the
Dutch colony of Java, a range of inquiry which
embraces all the more efficient types of adminis-
tration to be found to-day in the tropical depend-
encies of European powers.
The British tropical colonies are Labuan, Ceylon,
the Straits Settlements, and Hong Kong, forming
an eastern group; Fiji, and British New Guinea
in the Pacific; Gambia, the Gold Coast, Lagos,
Sierra Leone, and Mauritius, forming an African
group; and the West Indian colonies of Bar-
bados, Jamaica, the Windward Islands (St. Lucia,
St. Vincent, Grenada), the Leeward Islands (An-
tigua, St. Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, the
Virgin Islands, and Dominica), Trinidad, Tobago,
and Turks Islands; with British Guiana and Brit-
ish Honduras on the mainland of the American
continent.
In addition to these there are a number of small
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
islands, such as Pitcairn Island and Redonda,
which are so small that they do not call:for notice,
and a number of territories like those of the
British North Borneo Company, which fall under
the control of the Secretary of State foor Foreign
Affairs and cannot rightly be included i.n a list of
British colonies.
It may be well, before proceeding to an ex-
amination of the forms of government iin force in
the British tropical colonies, to define ina a general
way the functions of a subordinate government
and the limitations involved in subordlination to
a sovereign government.
Sir George Cornewall Lewis in his work "On
the Government of Dependencies" defines a subor-
dinate government as one "which acts by dele-
gated powers, but which possesses powers applicable
to every purpose of government, which its complete
in all its parts, and would be capable of governing
the district subject to it, if the interfere nce of the
supreme government with its proceedings were
altogether withdrawn." He says further: A sub-
ordinate government resembles a sovereign govern-
ment in this: that it is completely organized, and
possesses all the institutions requisite foer the per-
formance of the several functions which are proper
to a government. It differs from a sovereign gov-
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
ernment in this: that it is subordinate to, or, in other
words, in the habit of obeying, the government of
another political body."
It has been pointed out, however, by Mr. C. P.
Lucas, author of "A Historical Geography of the
British Colonies," that this definition is not entirely
satisfactory, inasmuch as the subordinate govern-
ments to which Sir George Lewis referred did not
possess, in fact, all the institutions requisite for the
performance of the several functions which are
proper to a government, for no Foreign Office was
attached to them.
It may be further noted that when Sir George
Lewis published his work complete self-government
had not been granted to the larger colonies, and
that the form of government which these colonies
enjoy to-day would not fall under the definition of a
subordinate government as given above. The Aus-
tralasian governments, for instance, are not in the
habit of obeying the government of another political
body," except in a very narrow and restricted sense,
and they might be more properly termed coordinate
than subordinate governments. The only practical
limits to the complete independence of the great
self-governing colonies of Great Britain are that the
Crown reserves the treaty-making power and the
right of declaring war, and appoints a governor to
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
reside in the colony as the Sovereign's repre-
sentative.
In several respects the self-governing colonies
of Great Britain are more independent of the
Sovereign authority than are the several States of
the American Union of the Federal authority.
For instance, each colony can make its own tariff
regulations, and fill all the local appointments
with the exception of the post of governor.
Again, England could not impose on the self-
governing colonies without the consent of the
local legislatures any tax for the purpose of carry-
ing on a war, whereas, as we have recently seen,
the Federal government can impose such a tax
on the several States of the Union without con-
sulting the State Legislatures.
It is true that each State is represented in
Congress and would therefore have a voice in
the matter, but here again the British colonies
have an advantage, for they enjoy in this respect
a much wider representation. Thus the colony of
Victoria has a population of 1,170,000 and is gov-
erned by a Legislative Council, or Upper House
of Parliament, consisting of forty-eight members,
and a Legislative Assembly, or Lower House, num-
bering ninety-five members. The members of the
Upper House are elected by voters whose quali-
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
fiction is the possession of freehold property rated
at $50 a year, and the members of the Lower
House are elected by universal male suffrage.
It will be seen that in the event of a measure
coming up in the Victorian Parliament for the
imposition of a tax, the people of the colony
would be represented to the extent of one vote
for every 8,ioo of the population. Under simi-
lar circumstances the representation of the people
of Massachusetts in Congress would only reach
one vote for every 50,000 of the population.
And further, no such measure could be passed
in Victoria if the sentiment of the representatives
was against it, whereas it is conceivable that a
measure repugnant to the senators and repre-
sentatives from Massachusetts might be passed
by Congress and be forced on the people of the
State against their will.
The functions of a subordinate government are
limited in two ways; one by the issuance from
the sovereign government of a general power of
subordinate legislation, the other by the grant-
ing of special powers of subordinate legislation.
Thus, in the first case, a subordinate govern-
ment may be presumed to possess the power to
pass laws on all subjects, excepting only those
which are expressly reserved for the consideration
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
of the sovereign government, provided that such
laws do not conflict with laws established by the
supreme legislature of the empire on the same
subject, and made applicable by special reference
to the country governed by the subordinate legis-
lature. It has, however, been recently held that
certain laws of the supreme legislature of Great
Britain apply to the British colonies without the
embodiment in the bill of any special reference
to the colonies. The former Chief Justice of
British Guiana, Sir Edward O'Malley, and the
associate puisne judges, sitting as the Supreme
Court of the colony on January 12, 1897, de-
livered judgment in a case in which the point
was involved whether the Extradition Treaty
between Holland and Great Britain and the Act
of the British Parliament giving effect to the
Treaty applied to the colonies of the high con-
tracting parties. The case was one in which a
postmaster of Paramaribo, in Dutch Guiana, ab-
sconded with funds belonging to the government
of Dutch Guiana and took up his residence in
British Guiana. The man was arrested on appli-
cation from the government of Dutch Guiana,
but entered a motion before the Supreme Court
for a writ of habeas corpus. The writ was is-
sued and the man liberated, on account of certain
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
technical errors which had been committed by
the magistrate who ordered the arrest; but Their
Honors in delivering their decision said: "We
think it right to further say that we have no
manner of doubt whatever as to the application of
both the Treaty and the Act in relation to fugi-
tives from Surinam (Dutch Guiana) to this colony."
Generally speaking, in cases where a law has
not been passed by a local legislature relative to
any particular subject, the law of the sovereign
state covering the same subject is held to apply in
those colonies which were settled by Englishmen,
whilst in those colonies obtained by conquest or ces-
sion from a European power, the law of the state
which formerly legislated for the colony is applica-
ble. Thus, in. Australasia we find the English com-
mon law, in British Guiana the Roman-Dutch law.
Government under a special power of subordi-
nate legislation is limited to the subjects named
in the instrument creating the subordinate gov-
ernment, and to such subjects as may be from
time to time expressly added. According to Sir
George Cornewall Lewis: "A subordinate govern-
ment possesses a power of legislation on every
subject which is not tacitly or expressly excepted
from its powers. A special subordinate legislator
possesses no legislative power which has not been
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
expressly or by clear implication conferred on
him. Consequently, in the latter case, the pre-
sumption of law is against, in the former case it
is in favor of, the existence of any given legis-
lative power."
The British tropical colonies which I have
named at the beginning of this chapter, may be
divided, as regards the form of their government,
into two classes-those which have representa-
tive institutions but not responsible government,
and those which are Crown colonies. None of
England's tropical colonies are self-governing in
the sense that they have representative institu-
tions and responsible government like the Aus-
tralasian colonies, Canada, and the Cape. As
a matter of fact, it is difficult to determine the
exact difference, in practice, between a Crown
colony and a colony with representative institu-
tions but without responsible government, as in
both cases the Crown has the power in the last
resort of controlling legislation without making
any specific change in the constitution of the
colony. The difference, such as it is, will be more
easily understood if I describe in detail the con-
stitution of one of the colonies of the latter class
and compare it with the working of the Crown
colony system.
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
British Guiana is an example of a colony which
possesses representative institutions but not respon-
sible government. The legislature consists of two
houses--the Court of Policy, and the Combined
Court. The executive functions of the government
are exercised by the Governor of the colony and an
Executive Council, nominated by the Crown. The
Court of Policy consists of sixteen members, eight
elected by the people and eight nominated by the
Crown. Of the nominated members five hold their
seats as ex officio members, the Governor, the
Government Secretary, the Attorney-General, the
Auditor-General, and the Immigration Agent-Gen-
eral, -and the remaining three are appointed by
Her Majesty from the ranks of the public officials
in the colony, the custom being to appoint the
Colonial Civil Engineer, the Collector of Customs,
and the Surgeon-General.
For the purpose of the election of the non-offi-
cial members of the Court of Policy the colony is
divided into eight electoral districts. Each male
person in the colony who is over twenty-one years of
age, who labors under no legal incapacity, and who
is a British subject by birth or naturalization may
register as a voter provided he enjoys at the time of
registration and has enjoyed for six months previously
one of the following property qualifications:-
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
(a) Ownership of not less than three acres of
land under cultivation.
(6) Ownership of a house or house and land of
the annual rental or value of not less than $96.
(c) Occupation or tenancy of not less than six
acres of land under cultivation.
(d) Occupation or tenancy of a house or house
and land of the annual rental or value of not less
than $192.
(e) Possession of an annual income or salary of
not less than $480; or has paid during the twelve
months previous to registration direct taxes to the
colonial revenue to the amount of $20 or upward,
license duty of any kind not being included in the
term "direct taxes."
The qualifications for voters who reside in a city
or town are slightly different from those given
above, (a) and (c) being done away with, and the
ownership of a house or house and premises of the
appraised value of not less than $500, and the occu-
pancy or tenancy of a house or house and premises
of the annual rental of not less than $12o, being
substituted.
The large majority of the voters are colored
men, and of the eight elected members of the
Court of Policy as it was constituted in x898 five
were prominent colored citizens.
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
The Court of Policy has the power to legislate
on all matters relating to the internal affairs of
the colony, with the exception of financial affairs,
which are dealt with, as will be shown, by the
Combined Court, and those matters which, by law
or usage, are controlled by the Governor and the
Executive Council. As the Governor of the col-
ony has an original and a casting vote in the Court
of Policy it will be seen that there is, in fact, always
a government majority in that body. It is by no
means unusual for a law to pass or fail of passage
by the Governor's casting vote. The procedure
adopted in the Court of Policy is that of the Brit-
ish Imperial Parliament. Bills may be introduced
either by government or private members. A bill
is read a first time; it is then read a second time;
the Court then goes into committee on the bill,
after which it is reported, read a third time, and
passed or rejected by a call of ayes and noes."
The Governor declares the bill passed or rejected
without an absolute count of votes; but if any
member calls for a count the Governor must ask
each member, through the clerk of the Court,
whether he votes "aye" or "no," and the result
must be recorded in the minutes.
The Combined Court consists of the members
of the Court of Policy and a body of six, called
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
the College of Financial Representatives, sitting
together. The financial representatives are elected
by the people on the same franchise as the mem-
bers of the Court of Policy.
The functions of the Combined Court are limited
to the passing of the annual estimates and the rais-
ing of taxes. In this body the government is in
a minority, and a solid vote of the elected section
of the Court suffices to carry financial measures
in opposition to the government. The Com-
bined Court fixes the tariff of the colony, and no
tax of any kind can be imposed without its con-
sent.
On several occasions in the history of the colony
the administration has been placed in a very awk-
ward position by the refusal of the Combined Court
to vote the salaries of the government officials.
The most noted instance of this occurred in 1848
when supplies were stopped by the Combined
Court as a protest against the admission of slave-
grown sugar into the English market on the same
basis as free-grown colonial sugar. The deadlock
continued for nearly a year, during which time the
public servants continued to perform their duties
without drawing any pay; but all public works
had to be suspended, and great inconvenience en-
sued. Finally. the Imperial government made cer-
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
tain concessions and a settlement was effected.
As, however, the Crown in granting the constitu-
tion of British Guiana retained the right of legislat-
ing by Order-in-Council, less conciliatory methods
of settling the difficulties could easily have been
resorted to. But the home government realized
that it was no time to use harsh measures, as the
colony was suffering severely from the effects of
the abolition of slavery and the equalization of the
sugar duties. In fact, Earl Grey, who was at that
time Secretary of State for the Colonial and
War Department,1 expressed the greatest sympa-
thy with the colonists. In a despatch dated June
18, 1849, addressed to the officer administering
the government of British Guiana, he said, "It is
most melancholy to learn, that while the difficulties
of the planters have continued since the abolition
of slavery to become more and more severe, until
now their ruin appears to be almost complete, and
the depreciation of property, once of such great
value, has reached a point which has involved in
the deepest distress great numbers of persons both
in this country and the colony; at the same time
the negroes, instead of having made a great ad-
vance in civilization as might have been hoped
The Principal Secretaryship of State for the Colonies was not cre-
ated till 1854.
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
during the fifteen years which have elapsed since
their emancipation, have on the contrary, retro-
graded rather than improved, and that they are now
as a body less amenable than they were when that
great change took place, to the restraints of relig-
ion and law, less docile and tractable, and almost
as ignorant and as much subject as ever to the
degrading superstition which their forefathers
brought with them from Africa." I have quoted
this despatch in order to show, what will be fre-
quently noticed by students of British colonial
history, that although the Crown has the power
to act summarily toward the smaller colonies and
thus render vain and empty whatever representa-
tive institutions they may enjoy, the tact of Eng-
lish statesmen and their sympathy with the colonies
has prevented them from using that power, even
in the face of considerable provocation.
In addition to the Court of Policy and the
Combined Court, British Guiana has an Executive
Council nominated by the Crown. This body
consists of six public officers and three civilians
and is presided over by the Governor of the
colony. Its functions are varied. It appoints
members of sanitary. boards, vestries, pilotage
committees, poor-law boards, canal commissions
(permanent bodies which have charge of the
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
irrigation canals of the colony); it also regulates
the local civil service, fixes the polder rate (a
charge made for the maintenance of the gov-
ernment draining canals), considers applications
for grants of Crown lands, and, in fact, keeps
everything in working order.
It may be mentioned that all appointments in
the civil service of the colony are subject to the
approval of the Crown.
The following colonies have constitutions dif-
fering to some extent in form but substantially
the same as that of British Guiana: Mauritius,
Barbados, Jamaica, the Leeward Islands; but it
is to be noted in regard to the three last named
that the Crown has not reserved the power
of legislating by Order-in-Council, but has the
right of veto over all acts of the local legisla-
tures.
All the other British tropical colonies which I
have named at the beginning of this chapter -
Labuan, Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, Hong
Kong, Fiji, British New Guinea, Gambia, the
Gold Coast, Lagos, Sierra Leone, the Wind-
ward Islands, Trinidad, Tobago, Turks Island
and British Honduras may be classed as Crown
colonies.
There is, as I have said above, little practical
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
difference between the colonies having repre-
sentative institutions but not responsible govern-
ment and Crown colonies proper, and on this
point I may quote from "The Government Year
Book": "Crown colonies are those in which the
Crown has an effective control of legislation, and
also of public officers. The term therefore strictly
includes all British colonies except those which
may be described as self-governing colonies, or
colonies with responsible government." It is to
be borne in mind that changes are continually
being made in the constitutions of the smaller
colonies, and that, therefore, any classification
such as I have made is only approximately cor-
rect.
The main point of difference between the first
and the second class of colonies is that in the
former some portion of the legislature is elected
by the people, and in the latter the legislature is
nominated by the Crown. The Governor of a
Crown colony possesses wide powers, and, as he is
responsible to the Colonial Office for the condition
of the country which he governs, his position is
one calling for considerable administrative ability.
The Governor of a Crown colony is largely guided
by the views of his Executive Council, which
generally contains in addition to the official mem-
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
hers several civilians representing different classes
of the community, as the planters and mer-
chants, the white and colored inhabitants. In
some of the Crown colonies certain public bodies
have the right of nominating one or more mem-
bers of the Governor's Council. Thus in Hong
Kong the Justices of the Peace nominate one
member, the Chamber of Commerce, another,
whilst in the Straits Settlements two members
of the Council are nominated by the Chambers
of Commerce of Singapore and Penang.
The Governor of a Crown colony is not bound,
however, to follow the advice of his Council, but
has the power to legislate through his Council
as he may see fit, his acts being subject finally
to the review of the Secretary of State for the
Colonies.
The Civil Service of the British tropical col-
onies is highly organized and highly paid, and
the fact that any one who enters the service has
an assured position for the rest of his working
days (subject to his continued good conduct and
efficiency), with practically no limit in the direc-
tion of promotion, and at the end a handsome
pension, serves to attract the very best class of
men that England has to give.
In order to illustrate the opportunities which
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
are open to English colonial servants, I select
the career of one gentleman from the hundreds
to be found in the Colonial Office List. This
gentleman commenced his colonial service as a
District Magistrate in the island of Dominica in
the West Indies, at a salary of $1,500 a year;
the following year he became Registrar-General
of the island, was promoted two years later to
the Colonial Secretaryship of Bermuda, and six
years later to a similar position at Gibraltar; the
following year he was created a Companion of
the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and
St. George. Five years later he was appointed
Colonial Secretary of British Guiana, and a year
later became acting-Governor of the colony. In
1897 he received the honor of knighthood.
His career presents no extraordinary features;
he is simply an efficient civil servant who has
received the rewards which he has earned by
his good work. Many such records might be
selected from the Colonial Office List.
In the British tropical colonies the ranks of
the higher officials are made somewhat as fol-
lows:-the Governor, a Chief Justice, one or more
Puisne Judges, an Attorney-General, a Colonial
Secretary, a Solicitor-General, a Registrar-General,
a Comptroller of Customs, a Colonial Engineer, a
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
Postmaster-General, a Surgeon-General, a Receiver-
General, an Auditor-General, and an Administrator-
General. There are, of course, local variations,
and in some of the smaller colonies the list of
officials is not so long, but the above list will
convey a general idea of the make-up of a colo-
nial government. The salaries of these officials,
as of all others, are paid by the colony. The
titles of most of these officials explain broadly
the duties connected with the offices. The Colo-
nial Engineer superintends public works, the
Surgeon-General controls the government hos-
pitals, the Receiver-General receives all taxes and
payments due to the government, and the Ad-
ministrator-General has charge of the estates of
minors, insolvents, and others who by law or
custom fall under his care. In those colonies
in which a system of imported indentured labor
is in force a special department exists for the
control of the system and for the protection of
the immigrants. The official at the head of this
department is called the Immigration Agent
General, or the Protector of Immigrants, and is
one of the most highly paid colonial servants.
In the matter of appointments the colored na-
tives of the various colonies are very fairly
treated. I know of no instance of the Governor
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
of a colony being a colored man, but, short of
that, colored men are to be found occupying
good positions in all branches of the colonial
service, as magistrates, medical officers, custom-
house officials, land surveyors, and so forth. A
notable instance of a colored man rising to a
high position in the colonial service is that of
Sir Conrad Reeves, the Chief Justice of Barbados,1
who is universally respected and who was knighted
by Her Majesty in recognition of his distinguished
services to the colony.
On assuming the government of a colony the
Governor is furnished with a copy of Her Majesty's
Commission and Instructions, in which his duties
are laid down. The following general outline of
the powers with which a colonial Governor is in-
vested is taken from the Rules and Regulations
for Her Majesty's Colonial Service, published in
the Colonial Office List for 1899.
The Governor is empowered to grant a pardon
or respite to any criminal convicted in the colo-
nial Courts of Justice.
He may pardon persons imprisoned in colonial
jails under sentence of court-martial; but this
is not to be done without consulting the officer
in command of the forces.
I Barbados contains a white population of about seventeen thousand.
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
He has in general the power of remitting any
fines, penalties, or forfeitures, which may accrue to
the Queen.
The moneys to be expended for the public ser-
vice are issued under his warrant. He has usu-
ally the power of granting licences for marriages,
letters of administration, and probate of wills, un-
less other provision be made by charter of justice
or local law.
He has the power, in the Queen's name, of
issuing writs for the election of representative
assemblies and councils, of convoking and pro-
roguing legislative bodies, and of dissolving those
which are liable to dissolution. He confers ap-
pointments to offices within the colony, either
absolute, where warranted by local laws, or tem-
porary and provisional, until a reference has been
made to Her Majesty's Government.
In colonies possessing responsible government
he has, with his Council, the entire power of sus-
pending or dismissing public servants who hold
during pleasure. In other colonies he has the
power of suspending them from the exercise of
their functions under certain regulations, which
must be strictly observed, and a limited power of
dismissal.
He is empowered to administer the appointed
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
oaths to all persons, in office or not, whenever he
may think fit, and particularly the oath of alle-
giance. He has the power of granting or with-
holding his assent to any Bills which may be passed
by the legislative bodies; but he is required
in various cases to reserve such Bills for the
Royal Assent, or to assent to them only with a
clause suspending their operation until they are
confirmed by the Crown. If anything should
happen which may be for the advantage or secu-
rity of the colony, and is not provided for in the
Governor's Commission and Instructions, he may
take order for the present therein.
He is not to declare or make war against any
foreign State, or against the subjects of any for-
eign State. Aggression he must at all times
repel to the best of his ability; and he is to use
his best endeavors for the suppression of piracy.
His attention is at all times to be directed to
the state of discipline and equipment of militia
and volunteers in the colony, and when either
force may be embodied he should send home
monthly returns, with a particular account of
their arms and accoutrements.
The Governor is on no account to absent
himself from the colony without Her Majesty's
permission.
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
He is prohibited from receiving presents, pecun-
iary or valuable, from the inhabitants of the colony,
or any class of them, during the continuance of
his office, and from giving such presents, and this
rule is to be equally observed on leaving his office.
In cases where money has been' subscribed with
a view of marking public approbation of the Gov-
ernor's conduct, it may be dedicated to objects of
general utility, and connected with the name of
the person who has merited such a proof of the
general esteem.
Governors are not, without special permission,
to forward any articles for presentation to Her
Majesty.
The Rules and Regulations from which the
above extracts are made contain the most elabo-
rate and detailed instructions in regard to Legisla-
tive Councils and Assemblies, Executive Councils,
Appointments to Public Offices, Suspension and
Dismissal from Office, Pensions and Retiring
Allowances, Salaries, Leave of Absence, Prece-
dency, Correspondence, Periodical Returns, and
the publication of the Annual "Blue Book."
It may be interesting to my readers, in view of
the fact that the United States is now forming a
colonial service, to know what salaries are paid
to some of the officials in the British tropical colo-
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
nies. In British Guiana, which contains a popula-
tion of about three hundred thousand, the salaries
of some of the higher officials are: the Gov-
ernor, $24,000; the Chief Justice, $9,700; the
Attorney-General, $7,300; the Colonial Secretary,
$7,300; the Immigration Agent General, $7,300.
In Ceylon the figures are (calculated at three
rupees to the dollar) -the Governor, $27,oo00; the
Chief Justice, $8,300; the Attorney-General, $6,ooo;
the Colonial Secretary, $8,ooo.
It may be thought that these salaries are large;
but it should be remembered that smaller salaries
would fail to attract to the service men of the
high standard so necessary to successful adminis-
tration. Again, although a high salary will not
keep a dishonest man from following his evil in-
clinations, the government is enabled by the offer
of high salaries to secure a wide field of selection
amongst a class of men who are constitutionally
high-minded and honest. But even if the matter
be placed on the lowest possible ground, that of
pure self-interest, it will be readily perceived that
the advantages of belonging to the service are so
great, and the chances of realizing all reasonable
ambitions so good, that few men would be foolish
enough to risk their whole career on the slender
chance of their malpractices remaining undis-
i ___i
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
covered. It is of course needless to add that
instant dismissal from the service follows the de-
tection of any departure from honesty. As a
matter of fact, instances of dishonesty amongst
the members of the colonial service are extremely
rare -amongst the higher officials during the
past twenty years almost unknown. During the
ten years which I spent in the British colonies
only two cases of official dishonesty fell under my
notice, the delinquents being junior clerks in the
West Indian service.
One cannot but be struck, in travelling in the
British colonies, by the absolute confidence placed
by all classes in the honesty of the public servants.
In most of the colonies, and more especially in
those enjoying representative institutions, the acts
of public servants are subjected to the most de-
tailed criticism; but although I have heard occa-
sional accusations of incompetence or laziness I
have never heard even from the most violent crit-
ics any suggestion that a public servant was cor-
rupt. It seems to me that had England achieved
nothing else, she might rest satisfied with having
supplied her dependencies with such a class of
public servants as have bred the belief in the
many races under her flag that the public funds
are devoted to public purposes only, and that the
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
most powerful planter, the wealthiest merchant,
is no more in the eyes of the law than the
humblest coolie, or the meanest peasant.
It is useless, however, for me to attempt to
convey any adequate impression of the excellence
of the British colonial service; only those who
have actually lived in contact with these adminis-
trative systems can appreciate the sterling quali-
ties of the men who are devoting their lives to
the cause of good government.
Before leaving the subject of the government
of the British tropical colonies, it may be well to
point out some of the advantages and disadvan-
tages which are claimed for the two systems
which I have described--the system of represen-
tative institutions without responsible government,
and the Crown colony system.
There are certain advantages and disadvantages
which accrue to a dependency because of its de-
pendence, but which are not, however, to be asso-
ciated with any particular form of dependence.
Such, for instance, are the advantage of the pro-
tection against foreign aggression afforded by the
prestige, and in the last resort by the arms of
the dominant country, and the special and general
advantages in financial matters, the former taking
the shape of loans contracted under Imperial
__
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
guarantee, the latter being manifested in various
directions, such as the assistance afforded by the
dominant country in time of famine and disaster,
and the sense of security felt by investors, even
in the absence of Imperial guarantee, when a col-
ony desires to float a loan. On the other hand,
there are the general disadvantages of a double
government, one local and one Imperial, the
liability of a colony to be involved in wars under-
taken by the dominant country for reasons entirely
unconnected with the welfare of the colonies; and
the very real danger that in matters involving
Imperial legislation the interests of the colony
will be subordinated to those of parties in the
dominant country.
But the advantages and disadvantages con-
nected with the form of government enjoyed by
the dependency concern us more closely, since
those I have mentioned above are involved in
the one circumstance of dependence. One of the
chief objections to the form of government which
includes representative institutions but not respon-
sibility is that a false situation is created. Two
of the greatest authorities on colonization have
left us their opinions on this question. Herman
Merivale, in his twenty-second lecture on colonies
and colonization before the University of Oxford
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
(delivered in 1839, 1840, and 1841), said "A rep-
resentative body having the power of taxation,
is apt to think itself omnipotent in domestic
affairs, and to act on that supposition; and if it
then becomes necessary to control it by force, it
is impossible to intrust it safely any longer with
the powers of taxation." It appears to me that
Professor Merivale's conclusion is true rather in
theory than in practice, for, in the event of co-
ercion being used in such circumstances as he
suggested, many considerations would weigh with
the taxing body--such, for example, as the pos-
sibility of their body being abolished--which
might reasonably be expected to induce them to
take a more moderate view of their powers.
Sir George Lewis, in the work which I have
already quoted, set the matter forth with his
characteristic clearness. It is extremely diffi-
cult," he says, "to reconcile the powers of such a
representative body with the virtual subjection of
the dependency to the dominant country. If the
government of the dominant country substantially
govern the dependency, the representative body
cannot substantially govern it; and conversely,
if the dependency be substantially governed by
the representative body, it cannot be substantially
governed by the government of the dominant
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
country. A self-governing dependency (supposing
the dependency not to be virtually independent)
is a contradiction in terms."
Having lived some years in a colony governed
in just such a way, that is, by means of repre-
sentative institutions without responsibility, I have
been enabled to observe some of the evil effects
which attend such a form of government. In
the colony to which I refer, there occurred a
couple of years ago an incident which illustrates
one of the disadvantages of that form of govern-
ment. The commandant of the local militia had
succeeded in making himself very unpopular
amongst the elected members of the taxing body;
accordingly, when the salary of this official came
up in the annual estimates, the item was struck
out. The Governor had no power to overrule
this decision, but he wrote a despatch on the
subject to the Secretary of State for the Colonies,
resulting in a reply which, when laid before the
taxing body, caused it to promptly vote the
commandant's salary.
What was the result? Not unnaturally the
elected members of the taxing body felt that
they had a grievance. Nominally they had the
power to control the expenditure of the colony,
but in practice they found that the Secretary of
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
State for the Colonies could effectually coerce
them. I heard the sentiment freely expressed at
the time that it would be better to become a
Crown colony outright than to continue the farce
of representative government without responsibility.
Another disadvantage which may arise from this
form of government is that the legislative power
may fall into the hands of a particular class.
Thus, as has sometimes been the case, a majority
of the elective section of the legislative body may
consist of planters, and laws may be passed which
whilst fostering the interests of that particular
class may injure the interests of other sections
of the community. It may be said that the
official side of the legislative body would in such
cases step in and, by using the majority vote
which it always holds, prevent the passage of
such laws. But as a matter of fact the planters
in most colonies form such an important element
in the life of the community that the government
is loath to act adversely in regard to bills intro-
duced by planters, unless they appear to be clearly
unjust in their provisions, which is seldom the
case.
The question of planter legislation has been
much debated in recent years in British Guiana.
It is maintained by the anti-planter party that
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
the gold industry of the colony has been seriously
injured by regulations introduced into the legisla-
ture by planters, and passed by the planter vote,
with the object of making the development of
the gold industry as difficult as possible, the
motive of the planters in passing such regula-
tions being, it is claimed, to keep the labor on
the sugar estates, which would be impossible if
a thriving gold industry existed which would
offer to the laborers better wages than the planters
could afford to pay. The matter is a controversial
one, but I am inclined to think that the power of
the planters to divert labor from the gold fields is
overestimated.
The advantages of a system of representation
even when unaccompanied by responsible govern-
ment may be said to consist chiefly in the oppor-
tunity afforded the people to express to the
Governor and his officials their views on the leg-
islation necessary for the welfare of the colony,
and in the control which the elected body exer-
cises over the methods of taxation. In regard to
the first of these advantages, it is in practice a
very real one, for although the Governor and his
officials constitute a majority in the legislative
body the wishes of the elected section are as a rule
allowed to prevail. The cases in which the elected
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
section consists almost entirely of one class of men,
such as lawyers, planters, or merchants are the ex-
ceptions; and class legislation is infrequent.
Again, although in regard to the voting of the
estimates the elected section of the financial body
may occasionally find itself unable to give effect
to all its intentions, such occasions are very rare;
and in the matter of raising revenue the methods
advocated by the elected members are almost
invariably adopted.
Turning now to the system of Crown colony
government, the chief objection which has been
urged against it is that the Governor, whose large
discretionary powers enable him to exercise a very
rigid control over local affairs, is, broadly speak-
ing, liable to have but a superficial knowledge of the
conditions prevailing in his colony, and that there
is little security in the control of the Secretary of
State for the Colonies, for that official is still less
likely to be accurately informed as to local require-
ments. I am inclined to believe that these dis-
advantages are not very real. In the first place
governors are always trained administrators who
are only appointed, in the vast majority of cases,
after they have had large experience in one capac-
ity or another in the government of colonies; in
the second place, the permanent staff of the
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
Colonial Office is made up of men who have
made a life study of colonization, and are thus
well fitted to advise the Secretary of State for the
Colonies on all matters coming before him from
the Crown colonies. It must be borne in mind
also that governors of Crown colonies are guided
to a considerable extent by the advice of the local
council; and as it is the custom to appoint to
that body men representing the various sections
of the community, the Governor can make himself
thoroughly informed even on those matters which
do not fall within his own observation. The
great advantage of Crown colony government is
that the administration is entirely in the hands
of trained officials, free from local prejudice, abso.
lutely forbidden to engage in any trade or to be
in any way connected with any commercial under-
taking, and unhampered by the constant antago-
nism of local elected assemblies. It may be pointed
out that it is to the manifest interest of the officials
to govern well, for the better they govern the more
likely are they to gain promotion; and the Secre-
tary of State for the Colonies is well informed as to
the work of candidates for promotion in the service,
since the Governor of each colony is required to
send home each year a confidential report on the
work of his officers.
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
I am inclined to agree with the opinion of
Mr. C. P. Lucas, that experience has shown that
for a dependency inhabited by a colored race,
where there is at the same time an influential,
if small, body of European merchants or planters
belonging to the ruling race, this form of gov-
ernment, which unites strong home control with
considerable freedom of, and deference to, local
opinion, is, on the whole, just, wise, and successful."
The French tropical colonies consist of Yanaon,
Mahee, Karikal, Chandernagore, and Pondicherry in
India, with a total area of two hundred and five square
miles; French Indo-China, consisting of Cochin-
China, Tongking, Annam, the Lao Country, and
Cambodia, with a total area of one hundred and
ninety-seven thousand square miles; the French
Congo and Gaboon, Dahomey, the French Ivory
Coast, French Guinea, Senegal, and the French
Soudan in Africa; the Islands of Madagascar
and Reunion in the Indian Ocean; Martinique
and Guadeloupe in the West Indies; French
Guiana in South America; New Caledonia, the
Marquesas Islands, the Society Islands, and Tahiti
in Oceania; and a number of small islands in
the tropical seas which are, however, insignificant.
In regard to their forms of government, the
French tropical colonies may be divided into two
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
classes -those in which the government is carried
out to some extent by the passage of laws, and
those in which all matters are settled by the
simple decree of the Governor. To the first class
belong Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Reunion; to
the second class all the other French tropical
colonies. In the first class of colonies, the prin-
cipal subjects to which the passage of laws is
applicable, are the exercise of political rights, the
regulation of contracts, matters relating to wills,
legacies, and succession, the institution of juries,
criminal procedure, recruiting for naval and mili-
tary forces, the method of electing mayors, munic-
ipal deputies, and councillors, and the organization
of the local Councils-General. In regard to all
other matters of importance all the French tropi-
cal colonies are on the same basis of legislation,
that is, government by decrees issued by the
Governor or the Minister of the Colonies.
The Governor of a French colony has very
wide powers. He is commander of the local land
forces and of such vessels of war as may be
attached to his station, as well as of the local
militia. He can, of his own authority, declare his
colony in a state of siege, and has, at all times,
the power to appoint courts-martial for the trial of
military offenders. In his administrative capacity
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
he has absolute authority to regulate nearly all
the internal affairs of his colony; and he is above
the law, for he cannot be brought before the local
courts for any cause whatever.
The Governor is to some extent guided by the
advice of two bodies, the Privy Council, which is a
nominated body consisting of official and unofficial
members, and the General Council, which is made up
of councillors elected by the votes of all male persons
over twenty-five years of age, who have resided for
more than one year in the colony. Generally speak-
ing, these bodies merely advise, but in regard to a
few matters, such as the fixing of the tariff, the regula-
tion of transfers of property and mortgages, the Gov-
ernor is bound to follow the advice thus given him.
Such, in brief, is the constitution of the French
tropical colonies; but in addition to the Privy
Council and the General Council, some of the
colonies have Local Councils and Conseils d'ar-
rondissements. The exact delimitation of the
functions of these various bodies would involve
an amount of detail which would be out of place
in a volume intended merely as an introduction
to the study of tropical colonization.
The principal officers under the Governor in
the French colonies with which I am dealing are,
the Director of the Interior, the Military Com-
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
mandant, the Chief of the Health Department, the
Permanent Inspector of Finances, the Attorney-
General, and the Judges of the Superior Courts. It
is to be noted that Martinique, Guadeloupe, and
some of the other colonies which I have named,
send representatives to the French Assembly,
usually one senator and two deputies; but it is
difficult to see that the colonies derive any
advantage from this arrangement.
The system which I have just described would
seem to imply a very rigid government control
over the French colonies; but my observation
leads me to suppose that, although such control
does undoubtedly exist in some of the French
colonies, notably in Madagascar and Indo-China,
in others, owing to the weakness of French offi-
cials, and the fear inspired by the aggressive
attitude of the natives, the ignorant masses are
practically in control. In this view I am sup-
ported by no less an authority than Paul Leroy-
Beaulieu, the eminent French economist. In his
work, "De la Colonisation chez les Peuples
Modernes," he says, As regards politics, we have
introduced French liberty into our colonies, we
give them civil governors, we admit their repre-
sentatives into our Parliament. All these
reforms are excellent in themselves. It is unfor-
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
tunately to be feared that they will, in practice,
result in abuses, and that, unless the mother
country is very watchful, those free powers which
she has granted to her colonies will become
powers of oppression. The deputies whom
Martinique and Guadeloupe send to our Parlia-
ment serve only to represent the malice, prejudice,
and ignorance of the blacks. The weak executive
power in France allows itself to be intimidated
by these deputies, and sends out to the colonies
cowardly and incapable governors, whose indecision
of character feeds the more or less barbarous
hopes of the negro majority. It is contem-
plated to pass a jury law in the Antilles
which would place the lives of the whites in the
hands of their enemies. It is also suggested that
the French troops be replaced by a local militia,
which, in a short time would, by force of cir-
cumstance, be composed chiefly of negroes. The
hatred of the negro for the white man is com-
plicated in these islands by the hatred of the
poor for the rich. Great caution is necessary,
for, as things are going, the history of St. Domingo
may easily be repeated; and when the white man
is driven from these islands which he has colo-
nized, and the blacks are left alone, Martinique
and Guadeloupe will relapse into barbarism."
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
The colonial system of Holland, or more cor-
rectly, the system adopted by Holland in the gov-
ernment of Java, is undoubtedly, if measured by
its general results, the most efficient type which
exists. In its general outline it resembles the
English Crown colony system, but in most of its
details it is superior to that system.
The head of the administration in Java is the
Governor-General, whose powers are almost as ex-
tensive as those of an absolute monarch. The
supreme legislative and executive power rests in
his person; he can declare war, and conclude
peace, and negotiate treaties with the native
princes of the Dutch East Indian Possessions;
all offices are within his gift; and he can expel
from his dominions any person who is in his
opinion an enemy of public order. He is presi-
dent of the Indian Council, which consists of a
vice-president and four nominated members. This
body is an advisory one except in regard to a few
matters specified in the laws relating to the col-
ony; but the Governor-General has the power of
acting contrary to the advice of the Council even
on these specified subjects, if he declares that the
public interest demands it. The Governor-Gen-
eral of Java is, in fact, a viceroy. He is responsi-
ble to the Sovereign only for his actions; and
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
the Sovereign can only proceed against him by
impeachment before the Second Chamber of the
States-General.
The central government in Java is conducted,
under the orders of the Governor-General, by five
officials called "directors." They control respec-
tively the departments of the interior, of finances,
of education and trade, of justice, and of public
works. For administrative purposes the island
is divided into twenty-two "residencies," each
under the control of a Dutch resident. Each
residency is divided into several regencies, ad-
ministered by regents, who are usually natives of
high birth.
Before dealing with the organization of the
corps of native officials, a few words may be said
about the qualifications of the European staff.
Nowhere, except perhaps in the British Indian
Civil Service, is as much care taken in the selec-
tion of officials as in the Dutch East Indies. All
appointments to the higher administrative posts
in Java follow a rigid examination in the history,
geography, and ethnology of the Dutch East
Indies, the political and social institutions of the
natives, and in the Malay and Javanese languages.
The officials who are to be charged with the ad-
ministration of justice must hold the degree of
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
Doctor of Laws from one of the Dutch universi-
ties, and in addition pass examinations in Mussul-
man law and local common law. The salaries
of these officials are large, ranging from about
$15,ooo a year for the directors to about $6ooo
for the residents. Admirable as is the European
service in the Dutch East Indies, it is not until
we turn to the organization of the native staff
that we observe in its highest form the coloniz-
ing genius of Holland. When the Dutch occu-
pied Java at the beginning of the seventeenth
century, they found the island divided up into a
number of kingdoms or principalities, each of
them governed by a native ruler who held his
position as being the head of the reigning family.
In dividing the island into twenty-two administra-
tive districts, the Dutch followed as far as possi-
ble the boundaries of the petty native States, and
whilst taking away the substance of authority from
the native rulers allowed them to retain its outward
semblance. Thus the regent who is at the head
of each regency is generally the same man who,
in the event of the Dutch authority never having
been established, would have been the native
prince of that district. But he is a paid servant
of the Dutch government and is really under the
control of the Dutch resident. The natives are
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
not allowed to perceive that such control exists,
for the regent maintains great state, and when
the resident visits the regency he takes care to
show the greatest deference to the regent. The
resident is called the regent's eldest brother, a
title which appeals strongly to one of the most
deeply rooted of the native traditions -that in
the absence of the father the eldest brother is en-
titled to the obedience and respect of the whole
family.
Of course the regent is sufficiently shrewd to
see that it is only for so long as he defers to
the wishes of his "eldest brother" that the Dutch
government will allow him the privileges of his
rank and pay him the handsome salary which is
attached to his post.
All the wishes of the European officials are
transmitted to the natives through the medium
of the regents, and the natives are not, therefore,
made to feel that they are subject to the orders
of foreign intruders. M. Jules Leclercq, in his
charming work Un Sdjour dans L'Ile de Java"
describes the system thus: "The natives are
under the control of the regent, their natural
ruler, while as regards the resident, in whose
hands the power really rests, he does nothing ex-
cept through the regent; but in order to conceal
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
the authority which he exercises over the regent
he is called the latter's 'eldest brother,' and he
gives his orders in the form of recommendations.
This method, which would be considered absurd
amongst us, carries the highest significance
amongst the Javanese, for according to their
notions the eldest brother is, in the absence of
the father, the head of the family, and is re-
spected as such by the younger brothers, although
always looked on as a brother and not as an offi-
cial superior. The regent, although he has
only the semblance of power, makes up for it by
enjoying all those exterior forms which catch the
crowd, for he retains his rank and can surround
himself with all the luxury of an Asiatic court.
He is better paid than the resident and takes
precedence over all European functionaries with
the exception of that official."
Immediately under the regents are a class of
officials called "wedanas." They are natives of
high family and are elected by the people, sub-
ject to the approbation of the regent. Each of
the wedanas is in charge of a district of the
regency. Beneath the wedanas are the mantries,
who are really aides-de-camp. They are ap-
pointed by the wedana from amongst the better
families in his district.
80 TROPICAL COLONIZATION
An important feature of the Dutch rule in
the East Indies is that no attempt has been
made to force the Dutch language on the natives.
All Dutch officials must be proficient in the
native dialects, and justice is administered either
in Malay or Javanese.
If the highest object of government is tc make
a country tranquil and prosperous, then the IDutch
have governed better than any European nation
which has undertaken the management of tropical
dependencies.
SUMMARY
The British tropical colonies (omitting a few small islands
which are unimportant) are Labuan, Ceylon, the Straits Settle-
ments, and Hong Kong, forming an eastern group; IFiji and
New Guinea in the Pacific; Gambia, the Gold Coas, Lagos,
Sierra Leone, and Mauritius, forming an African group; and
the West Indian colonies of Barbados, Jamaica, the Windward
Islands (St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada), the Leeward Islands
(Antigua, St. Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, the Virgi Islands,
and Dominica), Trinidad, Tobago, and Turks Islands; iith Brit-
ish Guiana and British Honduras on the mainland of the Ameri-
can continent.
In regard to their forms of government these colonies may
be divided into two classes: (i) Crown colonies; (2) *Colonies
having representative institutions but not responsible pvern-
ment.
All the above colonies belong to the first class except British
Guiana, Barbados, Jamaica, the Leeward Islands, and Mauritius,
which belong to the second class.
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
In a Crown colony the government is administered by a gov-
ernor appointed from England and a staff of officials appointed
in some cases by the Colonial Office in London, sometimes by
the Governor with the approval of the Colonial Office. The
Governor is assisted by a body called the Executive Council,
which consists of official and non-official members nominated
by the Crown. The Executive Council has merely the power
to advise, and the Governor, whilst usually following its advice,
is not bound to do so. All the acts of the Governor are subject to
the consent of the Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies.
In a colony possessing representative institutions the adminis-
tration is conducted in the following way: -there is an Upper
and Lower House of Legislature, each containing members nomi-
nated by the Crown and members elected by the people. In
the Upper House the government usually has a majority, in the
Lower House elected members outnumber the officials. All matters
relating to finance, such as the raising of taxes, the fixing of the
tariff, and the voting of the annual estimates, require the consent
of the Lower House. This system of representation does not con-
fer self-government on a colony, for all acts of the legislature
require the consent of the Queen-in-Council.
There is little practical difference between a Crown colony
and a colony possessing representative institutions but not re-
sponsible government, for in each case the Crown has the power,
by one method or another, of controlling legislation.
The great advantage of Crown colony government is that the
administration is in the hands of trained officials, free from local
prejudice, absolutely forbidden to engage in any trade or to be
in any way connected with any commercial undertaking, and
unhampered by the constant antagonism of elected assemblies.
The advantage of representative institutions even when unaccom-
panied by responsible government is that the people have a voice
in the legislation and exercise a control over the finances of the
colony. For dependencies inhabited by a colored race, where
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
there is at the same time an influential body of Europoens, the
Crown colony system, which unites strong home control with
considerable deference to local opinion, is, on the whole, the best.
The British Colonial Civil Service is highly organized amd highly
paid. The salary of a colonial Governor varies from 3o,ooo a
year to about $6ooo, and other officials are paid in proportion. -
Appointments in the Colonial Civil Service are permanent, and
carry with them an adequate pension. The outlook fori promo-
tion is excellent The Service attracts men of ability and integ-
rity; and instances of official corruption are almost alknown.
Appointments are filled without regard to the color of tie appli-
cant; and colored men are found throughout the British tropical
colonies occupying well paid positions for which they have com-
peted with white men.
The French tropical colonies consist of Yanaon, Malnee, Kari-
kal, Chandernagore, and Pondicherry in India, with am area of
205 square miles; French Indo-China, made up of Coclin.China,
Tongking, Annam, the Lao Country, and Cambodia, with a total
area of 97,00ooo square miles; the French Congo and Gaboon,
Dahomey, the French Ivory Coast, French Guinea, Senegal, the
French Soudan in Africa; the Islands of Madagascar andl Reunion
in the Indian Ocean; Martinique and Guadeloupe in the West
Indies; French Guiana in South America; New Caledlonia, the
Marquesas Islands, the Society Islands, and Tahiti in Oceania;
and a number of small islands which are insignificant. :In regard
to their forms of government they may be divided into two classes:
(i) those in which laws are passed by a local legislature,, () those
in which the government is conducted by decrees. Too the first
class belong Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Rdunion; to the second
class all the other colonies named. In the colonies of the fist class
the range of subjects on which the local legislature can pass laws
is very narrow. Where a legislature exists it is composed of two
bodies, the Privy Council, the members of which are nominated,
and the General Council, the members of which are elected by
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
the people. Martinique, Guadeloupe, and R6union send repre-
sentatives to the French National Assembly.
The system of administration adopted by the Dutch in Java
has been highly successful. The island is dIivided into twenty-
two administrative districts or "residencies," each of which is
under the control of a Dutch official called the resident. The
Dutch have been careful not to thrust their government on the
people in an aggressive manner, and the plan is adopted of having
a native official nominally governing each of the regencies into
which the residencies are divided. As the districts are mapped
out so as to correspond with the ancient native principalities, it
has been possible to utilize the natives of high rank as regents
in those districts of which, were it not for the Dutch occupation,
they would be the natural native rulers. The power rests with
the resident, the form with the regent. The resident is called
the regent's "eldest brother," a title highly honored amongst the
Javanese; and the orders of the residents are conveyed to the
regents in the form of recommendations, which coming from
the eldest brother are, according to immemorial custom, always
obeyed. The regents surround themselves with a great deal of
form and ceremony, and as their salaries are large and the enjoy-
ment of their rank dependent on the will of the government, they
can be relied on to carry out orders. Under this system the
natives are not made to feel the foreign yoke.
The European officials are carefully chosen and are compelled
to pass severe examinations in the history, geography, law, eth-
nology, and customs of the natives, and in addition must learn
Malay and Javanese, in one or the other of which languages all
intercourse with the natives is carried on. The Governor-General
of Java has very large discretionary powers, and is responsible for
his actions only to the Sovereign of the Netherlands. The higher
administration in Java consists of the Governor-General and a
nominated advisory board of five members. The Governor-Gen-
eral is not bound to follow the advice of this board.
CHAPTER III
tRADE AND THE FLAG
As to whether trade follows the flag,, there is
a great diversity of opinion. As far as I am
aware, however, there has not yet been pub-
lished any analysis of trade returns samficiently
comprehensive to justify any theory im regard
to the question, either affirmative or negative.
It is true that in Sir Rawson W. Rawson's ex-
haustive Report on the "Tariffs and Trade of
the British Empire" there is a very comprehen-
sive analysis of British trade; but great as is the
mass of material presented in the Report, it was
not collected and arranged with the view of deter-
mining the particular point of which I have spoken.
Before proceeding to define the scope of my
inquiry into the question of trade and tlhe flag, I
wish to lay before my readers the opinions of some
well-known authorities in regard to the matter.
"We must carefully distinguish between the
effects of the colony trade and those of the
monopoly of that trade. The former are always
and necessarily beneficial; the latter always and
necessarily hurtful. But the former are so bene-
84
TRADE AND THE FLAG
ficial, that the colony trade, though subject to
a monopoly, and, notwithstanding the hurtful
effects of that monopoly, is still upon the whole
beneficial, and greatly beneficial;- though a good
deal less so than it otherwise would be."1
"The monopoly of the colony trade, therefore,
like all the other mean and malignant expedients
of the mercantile system, depresses the industry
of all other countries, but chiefly that of the
colonies, without in the least increasing, but on
the contrary diminishing, that of the country in
whose favor it is established."'
"A country which founds a colony on the
liberal principle of allowing it to trade freely
with all the world, necessarily possesses consider-
able advantages in its markets from identity of
language, religion, customs, etc. These are natu-
ral and legitimate sources of preference, of which
it cannot be deprived; and these, combined with
equal or greater cheapness of the products suita-
ble for the colonists, will give its merchants the
complete command of the colonial markets."'
"It is perhaps true that, even under a system
SAdam Smith, Wealth of Nations," bk. iv. ch. vii.
3 Ibiddm.
J. R. McCulloch, author of A Dictionary of Commerce," Statis-
tical Account of the British Empire," etc., in a note to an edition of
Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations" published in 1864.
TROPICAL COLONIZATION
of free competition, the mother country will long
retain an advantage in the market of her colony
from the durability of national tastes and habits."'
Plainly expressed the theory amounts to this:
so long as British nationality prevails, andi until
an absolutely new community is created, sc long
there will be a tendency in the colony to buy a
dearer article from England in preferences to a
cheaper article from elsewhere. And when thus
expressed, it seems to me almost to convey its
own refutation. It is not to be denied, indeed,
that such a tendency may exist; but that :it can
exist to such an extent as substantially to con-
trol 'the force and violence of the or-dinary
course of trade,' the simple preference for the
cheapest market, is extremely difficult to believe."'
Community of language, habit, and tradition,
gives, even where colonial commerce is unre-
stricted, a great advantage to the mother co:0mtry
over all other nations. The colonists retain for a
long time the manners and tastes of the mother
country, and they naturally prefer to purchase
from her, for their relations with her arme of a
1 Professor Herman Merivale, in Lecture VII. of a series on Colonies
and Colonization, delivered before the University of Oxford, 180-4i.
Note added by Professor Merivale to the passage pioted im-
mediately above, in an edition of his Lectures," published i. 1861.
TRADE AND THE FLAG
more intimate kind than their relations with other
countries."
The third advantage [which a dominant coun-
try derives from the possession of colonies] is its
trade with the colonies. This advantage partly
exists, partly has disappeared. It exists, in the
sense that if India, or Singapore, or Hong Kong
were owned by another European power, British
trade would no doubt be seriously crippled by
hostile tariffs. On the other hand, it is difficult
to say that Great Britain derives any trade ad-
vantage from her connection with the self-govern-
ing colonies, seeing that those colonies treat her
commerce no better and no worse than that of
foreign nations. It is impossible to prove that
'trade follows the flag.' ""
In order to determine as far as is possible the
relation of trade to the flag, I have prepared
nine diagrams, four of which relate to the trade
of Great Britain and Ireland during the past
forty years, two to the trade of the British Colo-
1 Paul Leroy-Beaulieu in his chapter Du Commerce Colonial et de
son Utilite," in "De la Colonisation chez les Peuples Modernes."
Mr. Lucas wrote before the passage of the Canadian Tariff Act
of 1898, by the terms of which a rebate of 25% was granted to the
United Kingdom.
Mr. C. P. Lucas, author of Historical Geography of the British
Colonies," in his introduction to an edition of Sir George Cornewall
Lewis's Essay on the Government of Dependencies."
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