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Home , British Empire, Dominion, Dominion of Ceylon, Dominion of New Zealand

HEAD OFFICE, , AUGUST 1948

THE OTHER

HE BritishCommonwealth is a worldin itself, head of a central kingdom to which many other T containingpeoples of everycolour, race, creed Dominionsand possessionsbelong, but of a groupof andstage of civilization. equalStates, of whosefree association together he is the common symbol." This "huge, sprawlingfriend and hobgoblinof mankind,"as C. H. Grattancalls it in his book In- The independentfooting of the Dominionshas been troducingAustralia, takes in 26 per centof theworld’s well describedin brief form by R. H. Stewartof landsurface, containing 22 per centof the world’s HarvardUniversity, in his book Relations oJ the people. BritishCommonwealth oJ Nations:"The Parliamentat Westminsterno longerlegislates for the Dominions It is not a despoticstate bound together by ,but exceptat theirrequest and withtheir consent. Nor a naturalgrouping of beingswho are united does the ForeignOffice on DowningStreet conclude by economic,cultural and moralforces. Princess internationalengagements which are bindingupon Elizabeth,receiving the Freedomof the Cityof , the Dominions.Each member of the brushedaside the craftof constitution-makingwhen --the United Kingdomand the Dominionsalike she told her fellow citizens:"Our Commonwealth participatesin treatymaking as an individualentity is not so mucha singleact of statecraftas a miracle and is in no way responsiblefor the international of faith." obligationsundertaken by any othermember." No phraseologyyet inventedseems to describe The BritishCommonwealth and Empireis the prod- accuratelythe collectionof statesto be examinedin uct of a longperiod of experimentand test.It has this Letter.It is a Kingdom,an ,a Common- occasionallypassed into a new stageof development wealth,and a whimsicalmixture of all. The word whilesome people were still worrying themselves over "Commonwealth"seems to havetaken its firstbow in ancientcontroversies. Criticism of it comesmostly printaround 1914. Through the effortsof General fromprejudices, while some of its mostharmful sup- Smutsand Sir RobertBorden it madeits officialap- portersare philosopherswho dream up imaginary pearancein 1917 whena declarationof the Imperial constitutionsfor an imaginarycommonwealth and War Cabinetsaid that intra-imperialrelationships tryto fitthis very real and actualCommonwealth into "shouldbe based upon a full recognitionof the theirmould. Dominionsas autonomousnations of an Imperial Commonwealth."In July 1947 the titleof the British PoliticalTies are Slender DominionsOffice was changed to "Commonwealth RelationsOffice." This Commonwealthis not a politicalunit, with a centralco.ordinator, a federal and the other Whateverthey call themselves, we havein the Com- devicesso commonplaceelsewhere. Between nations monwealtha groupof sovereignstates working togeth- in the Commonwealth,political ties are slender.They er and livingtogether in peaceand in war undera appointHigh Commissionersto one another,and systemthat has enduredthe greateststrains. They they send occasionalgoodwill or trade missions. havedeveloped out of an odd assortmentof , Theyare muchlike members of a largefamily who all dependencies,, mandates, bases and writehome to Mother,but rarelyto one another. whatnot.They are stilldeveloping, because the Com- monwealthis not staticbut dynamic. Thereis not onlya lackof sameness,but thereare positivedifferences. In his bookpublished this year, Free and Equal Partners Experimentin World Order,Paul McGuiredeclares In his coronationday broadcast,the Kingreferred thatthe Britishsystem is an astonishingexample of to the Dominionsas "freeand equalpartners with the the much-neglectedfact that a livingcommunity does ancient Kingdom,"and General Smuts declared: not dependon politicaluniformity. Attempts to im- "The King who is being crownedtoday is not the posefixed forms have failed, as in Americaand . Vitalityis made evidentby changing,and Mr. Of course,the new day will bringnew problems. McGuiresays of the Britishsystem: "It has almost Themultiplication of sovereign states within the circle everyvariety of politicalorganization and social of the BritishSystem will give rise to new puzzlesin experimentexcept . One or otherof constitutionalrelations. The countriesgraduating its parts has pioneeredin every phase of labour intofull nationhood face difficulties, and no better organizationand legislation,in socialservices, co- words can be said to them than those with which operativeenterprises, electoral franchises, free and de Tocquevilleconcludes his classicvolumes on compulsoryeducation, industrial arbitration, and the Democracyin America:"Providence has not created rest. It embracesthe most advancedand the most mankindentirely independent or entirelyfree. It is primitiveof socialmodes and waysof life." truethat around every man a fatalcircle is traced, beyondwhich he cannotpass; but withinthe wide Educationin vergeof thatcircle he is powerfuland free:as it is Therecould be no singlepattern of governmentthat with man, so with communities.The nationsof our wouldsuit all the diversity of peoplein theEmpire and time cannot prevent the conditionsof men from Commonwealth.The Empire of the colonies and becomingequal; but it depends upon themselves dependentdominions stood for a processof education whetherthe principleof equalityis to leadthem to in governmentwhich has given birth to more free servitudeor to freedom,to knowledgeor to barbar- nationsand more freedomand more free ism,to prosperityor to wretchedness." withinthose nations, than any other techniqueof Commonwealth Nations governmentin history. It can be trulysaid that the BritishCommonwealth Personswho havebeen inhalingthe strongincense andEmpire is the closesthumanity has cometo a world of utopiandreams will find it difficultto understand community.It is the greatestassurance humanity has why Britishcolonial officials bother to reportthe squeezedfrom historythat a world order founded progressof thisand that people in suchsmall matters upon freedomand upon internationaldecency can be as villageand districtgovernment, but thatis where setup. educationfor national government starts, at the grass roots.The seedsof freedom,civilization and better Let us takea lookat the nationswhich make up the livingstandards are plantedand patientlynurtured in Commonwealth,and then come back to consideration smallplots, and then transplantedinto carefully- of whatholds them together. preparedground. Sincethis article is about"The Other Dominions" Self-governmentof the Britishparliamentary type, it is not intendedto dealextensively with , but whichis carriedon by meansof a techniqueit has some figuresare givenfor purposesof comparison. takencenturies to develop,may not be suitableor Area3,690,410 square , equal to 28 per centof practicablefor every country. Most certainly, it cannot the total area of the BritishEmpire and Common- be simplydumped into the lap of a novicecountry wealth.Population 13,000,000 (: 1948). withany expectationthat it willwork. The federal Threeprovinces federated as the Dominionof Canada union of BritishNorth Americancolonies in 1867 1867;later extension of settlementcreated six addi- was not a suddensigning of papers,but the outgrowth tionalprovinces and twoterritories. of carefulthought by the bestminds, and it put into Commonwealthof effectthe desiresof the people.That precedent has broadeneddown to providepart of the patternfor the Area 2,974,581square miles. Population (1947) muchmore difficult case of . 7,580,820.Became a Dominion1901. Progressis Constant Australiais the world’schief producer of wool,and sheepfarming is the Commonwealth’smost important A new Empire and Commonwealtharose from the singleindustry. About 55 percent of Australia’stotal beachesof Dunkerque,one which,said Churchill: "armedand guardedby the BritishFleet, would carry ~reais suitableonly for pastoralpursuits, mining on the struggle,until, in God’sgood time, the new ,excepted.Manufacturing has made rapidprogress, world,with all its powerand might, steps forth to the withthe value of industrialoutput increasing threefold rescueand theliberation of the old." between1915 and 1940. Australia’sposition as an outpostof Westerncivil- Another,and stronger voice, of theseunited nations i[zationin an aliensea has a strongeffect on herout- spokeon the day Japanattacked the UnitedStates: llook on worldaffairs. She becamea memberof the "’Withthe full approvalof the nation,and of the lPacificCouncil to co-ordinatethe Alliedwar effort, Empire,"said Churchill, "I pledgedthe wordof Great .,md in 1946her Ministerfor ExternalAffairs foresaw Britain,about a monthago, that shouldthe United ,’the possibilityof a Dominionacting in certain Statesbe involvedin war with Japan,a Britishde- j:egionsor for certainpurposes on behalfof the other clarationof war wouldfollow within the hour." jmembersof the BritishCommonwealth, including the 1UnitedKingdom itself." At the weddingof PrincessElizabeth last year, a crowdedLondon, including representatives from aLl The Australianshave made good headwayon their the Commonwealth,gave evidencethat thesepeople difficultcontinent despite depressing setbacks. Their consideredit was a new day thatwas coming,and not :onfidencewas high at the time of ,and the nightof an Empire. they hopedfor a populationof 20 millionby the half century.Then came the first , in which ,the oldestcolony of GreatBritain, Australiasuffered the irreparableloss of nearly obtainedresponsible government in 1855 and in 70,000dead and twice as many disabledout of a 1911 was recognizedas one of the self-governing populationof 4~ million. Dominions.During the depressionshe fellinto finan- cial difficulties,and asked the UnitedKingdom Today,conservative estimates place the numberof Parliamentto acceptreponsibility for administration. peoplewho can be supportedat currentstandards of Newfoundlandis, therefore,a Dominionwhich at livingat 12 to 15 million.Speaking of standardsof her own requesthas for the time being given up livingreminds us thatAustralia is wellup in thescale. Dominionstatus: "a Dominionon leaveof absence." Australianssend moretelegraphic messages per head everyyear than any other people in theworld; they are Fishingis Newfoundland’sprincipal industry, seventhin densityof telephones,and sixthamong providinga livelihoodfor 40 per centof herpopula- worldnations in radiosets per hundredof population. tion.More than half the islandis forested,andmanu- factureof newsprintis the secondmost important of industry.The pulp and paperindustry employs about Area 103,935 square miles. Population(1945) 15,000with furtherexpansion in sight.There are 1,648,935.Became a Dominion1907. extensivemineral resources, including iron, lead, zincand copperores, limestone and fluorspar.It is New Zealand,made up of two islands,occupies a said in the Stateman’sYear Book that iron ore lonelypost in the SouthPacific, 1,200 miles east of reserveson Bell Islandtotal 31/’~billion tons. Australiaand 6,000 miles west of . The internationalairport at Ganderis usedby half More than 96 per centof her peopleare of British a dozenlines flying the North Atlantic. stock. Republicof #.ire Abouttwo-thirds of New Zealandis suitablefor Area 26,601 square miles. Population(1946) agricultureand grazing,and 20 millionacres of this 2,953,452.Dominion 1921. were under cultivationin 1946. Numerousstreams providea great volume of hydro-electricpower. 1~ire,formerly the IrishFree , is an agrarian Industrialestablishments are small,with localized statethat occupies five-sixths of the island of Ireland. markets,while there is extremespecialization in a Seventyper cent of thepeople are directly or indirectly few exportableagricultural products. dependenton agriculturefor a livelihood,and 80 per centof allexports are livestock and livestock products. Union of South Shannonairport is one of the greatestinternatio- Area 472,494 square miles. Population(1946) nal airports,used by eightmajor , with more 11,258,858.Dominion status 1910. than 100,000passengers in a year passingthrough this,the world’s first customs-free airport. The Unionis the world’sleading producer of , the principalsource of ’swealth and l~ireis a sovereign,independent, democratic state, purchasingpower. Coal, which ranks second in nameda republicin 1945.It is associatedas a matter minerals,provides fuel for the gold-miningindustry, of externalpolicy with the statesof the BritishCom- for generationof electricpower, and for manufactur- monwealth,though the King is excludedfrom parti- ing iron and steel.The Unionis one of the world’s cipationin internalaffairs. By a constitutionof 1937, leadingproducers of diamonds,and in addition claimis laidto thewhole island, but this is deniedby yieldsplatinum, copper, iron ore, manganese, asbestos the six countiesof ,which have their own and chrome.Agriculturally, South Africa is a pastoral Parliamentand electrepresentatives to the United country,with less than 15 percent of itsarea regarded KingdomParliament. as arable.Sheep and cattleraising are the principal occupationsof therural population. Irelandis an ancientcountry. Neolithic lake dwell- ingswere inhabited right up to the dayswhen O’Neill The recentwar developedmanufacturing, and by of Tyronewas fightingthe Britishbefore the settle- 1942 therewere 10,000 factories giving employment mentof Ulsterin the1600’s. The Irish calendar is full to 150,000Europeans and 264,000non-Europeans. of anniversariesof national heroes, and her pastgave her manygreat writers. Gladstone, the Englishstates- Like Canada,the Unionis bilingual,the official man who introducedthe firstHome Rule Bill in 1886, languagesbeing Englishand Afrikaans,and about is saidto haveremarked: "Individually the Irishare 65 per centof the populationover 7 yearsold under- charming,but collectively they are a damnednuisance." standsboth languages. India Newfoundland The Union of India (Dominion).Area 1,050,000 Area 42,734 square miles. Population(1945) square miles. Population295,000,000. 318,177. (Dominion).Area 290,000square miles. Population 70,600,000. The islandof Newfoundlandlies east of Canadaat the mouthof theGulf of St.Lawrence, and its depend- On August15th last year there emerged on the sub- ency, (110,000 square miles) is on the main- continentof Indiatwo sovereignindependent nations land,adjoining . (Unionof India, with a majorityof ,and Pakistan,with a majorityof Moslems)each a self- SouthernRhodesia governingDominion in the Commonwealth. Area 150,333 square miles. Population(1946) Few westernersrealize the antiquityof India’s 1,777,000. people.Before the firstgreat Egyptian pyramid was Locatedon the greatplateau in southcentral Africa, builtthere existed on the westbank of the Indusan SouthernRhodesia is a self-governingmember of the ancientcivilization. Large and prosperouscities Commonwealth.McGuire calls it, in Experimentin flourishedcenturies before the Christian era; students WorldOrder, "A curiosity.It has representativeand flockedfrom all the worldto her universities;the responsiblegovernment and deals with the United greaterpart of her soil was underirrigation, and Kingdomthrough the DominionsOffice. It is in fact culturewas high. a Dominionlike Australia and Canada,but no one has yetthought to elevateit formally."Its external affairs, Indiacan be greatagain. She has all the important and somematters affecting the nativepopulation, are naturalresources except oil. Her , , tea and administeredby the UnitedKingdom. sugarproduction provide for self-sufficiencyand exports.Her manpoweris inexhaustible.Her internal Cattleraising is important,particularly in the marketwould be uniquein the world,if only the southernpart of the country,which is too arid for standardof livingof the massescould be liftedeven crops.The valueof goldproduction normally exceeds a little. thatof all otherminerals combined. Southern Rhode- sia is one of the world’sleading producers of high Britishgovernment took a countrythat had declined gradeasbestos, and it haslarge deposits of coal. sociallyand economically,and triedto providethe materialenvironment (railways, irrigation) and the spiritualincentives (education, law and order)which This Commonwealthhas not just grown, as some wouldencourage a revival. liketo say.Britain’s political genius has beensome- Britishmedical aid in Indiagoes back for three thingto reckonwith ever since QueenElizabeth’s hundredyears; it has wipedout scourgesand prolong- day,and it wasbuilt on principlesthat reach back to ed lifeand cut downinfant mortality. But the people MagnaCarta. did not respondeconomically, and the resulthas been The secretof the successwhich has attendedbuild- a worseningof conditionsgoing hand-in-hand with ing of the Commonwealthseems to lie in retainingthe increasingpopulation. As was remarkedin one of substanceof unitywhile relaxing hold on the legal theseMonthly Letters five years ago: "When ancestors shadow. have beenliving for centurieson handfulsof rice, J. RamsayMacDonald said: "The only possibleor whenpain and privationand deathare fatalisticallydesirableform of Empireis one of self-governing accepted,it cannotbe expectedthat this generation Stateskept togetherby the most flexiblebonds of willsuddenly grasp the opportunityto worksteadily historicalco-operation and of commoninterest." so as to have steakand onions,medical treatment, Beyondnational self-interest there must be beliefin and prolongedlife." certainspiritual values and ideals,or the structure Dominionof Ceylon of the Commonwealthwould not hang together. Symbolof thesehigher values is the Crown,whose Area 25,332 square miles. Population(1946) enduringplace must be takenfor granted. It is theone 6,695,605.Dominion 1948. tangiblelink in the Commonwealth.It draws the Commonwealthtogether in what McGuirecalls "A The islandof Ceylonlies in the IndianOcean, off warm and companionablespirit, a cosy senseof com- thecoast of India.Successive waves of invaderssettled mon comfort." The King and Queen are winning thereand becamethe ancestorsof the presentpopula- ambassadorswho walk in an aura of traditionnot tion,but nevergrew into a unitedpeople. easilyshattered. After150 yearsof Britishrule, Ceylon was offered Theysay therecan be no greatertest of beliefin Dominionstatus a yearago, and on February4th this idealsthan to fightfor them.Does the Commonwealth year,the island,famous in historyand legend, became passthis test? an equal partnerin the BritishCommonwealth. From the fallof Franceto the Germaninvasion of Ceylon’sprosperity depends upon agriculture.Tea Russiathe onlynations standing in armsagainst the and rubber,the main products,are grownlargely on Axis were "membersof the Commonwealth.Five of .When Malaya’s loss deprived the Allies them declaredwar by vote of their own sovereign of theirchief source of naturalrubber, Ceylon was the . largestproducer left. Coconuts are grownon 11/~ millionacres; rice takes nearly a millionacres; rubber This is an impressivefact, heightened by the su- 650,000acres, and tea 550,000acres. premecrisis in which the BritishPrime Minister declaredon one of the darkestdays: "We must not Ceylonhas createdhistory by makinguniversity turnfrom the pathof duty.If the BritishEmpire is educationfree. All schools,from kindergartenup, fatedto passfrom life into history, we musthope it whetherEnglish, bilingual or native,are free. Public will not be by the slow processesof dispersionand healthhas been well advanced,with anti-malarial decay,but in somesupreme exertion for freedom,for researcha special feature. rightand fortruth."

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