possible except as a crown of a well-manned merchant service, and it would be well if, instead of denouncing the Australian Commonwealth for a well-meant effort to preserve employment for themselves and for British sailors on the great ocean liners, which at any time may act as auxiliary cruisers, Great Britain were seriously to consider whether it is wise to permit the conclusion to be drawn that the sea is ceasing to provide a career for the sons of the nation that rules the waves.
To no part of the Empire can the phrase Greater Britain be more aptly applied than to Australia. The national type and characteristics are those of the parent race, to which greater opportunities for development have been afforded, just as British flowers and fruit transplanted to Australian virgin soil flourish with unprecedented luxuriance. Physically, the native-born Australians frequently outstrip, both in stature and stalwartness, their parents of European origin. In many sports, such as cricket, they hold their own; and the oarsmen of the Paramatta River are unsurpassed for speed and endurance. Brilliant commanders, such as Lord Dundonald, Sir Edward Hutton, and General Rimington bear ready testimony to the value of the Australian Centaurs in the field. In the realm of art, and especially in vocal music, several Australians have excelled. The average Australian is active, alert, and keenly critical. The public men are bold and enterprising—as, for example, when in despair at the lethargy of the Imperial Government, Queensland hoisted the Union Jack in New Guinea, and secured a province for the Crown.
It is in the achievement of federation that the political initiative and resource of Australia have been most conspicuously displayed. The Commonwealth Act is a piece of constructive statesmanship which has received high encomiums from the most distinguished constitutional authorities. It is the first case in history in which communities have voluntarily, and without outside pressure, surrendered a portion of their autonomy. The
