IMPERIALISM AND AUSTRALIAN CONDITIONS
By THE HON. SIR JOHN A. COCKBURN, K.C.M.G.
The centre of gravity of the inhabited globe varies from time to time, and the focus of interest shifts in conformity with the ever-widening circle of civilization. In the ancient world it was round the shores of the Mediterranean that empire-making conflicts were waged, and the deeds of those days still live as the heroic in history. The Mediterranean is, however, the earth's central sea no longer. But for the fact that it serves as a funnel for the Suez Canal it might, so far as the world-power is concerned, be regarded as an inland lake. It is scarcely even a continental boundary. Its southern shore is not now the limit of Europe; this is being pushed southward to the margin of the Sahara.
The central sea of the modern world—the international arena in which the future rank of nations will be decided—must now be sought in the Pacific. Here is the chessboard which progressive nations are anxiously watching in order to secure any coign of vantage which will increase their prospects of preponderance. The United States definitely adopted a foreign policy by the acquisition of the Philippines. Germany is incessant in activity among the neighbouring islands. The phenomenal advent of Japan among the greatest naval and military powers still further emphasizes the position, and the construction of the Panama Canal will increase its significance.
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