Beaconsfield believed that there would come a time, and that not far
distant, when men would change their ideas. "I believe that a great
revolution is at hand in our system of colonization, and that Europe
will soon recur to the principles of the ancient polity."
This feeling of pride in the growth and expansion of our great
over-seas dominions is comparatively new, and there was a time when
British ministers seriously proposed separation, from what they
considered to be a useless burden.
The ignorance of all that concerned the colonies in the early years
of Victoria's reign was extraordinary, and this accounted, to a great
extent, for the indifference with which the English people regarded
the prospect of drifting apart.
Lord Beaconsfield was a true prophet, for this indifference is now
a thing of the past, and in the year 1875 an Imperial Federation
League was formed, which, together with the celebrations at the
Jubilees in 1887 and 1897, helped to knit this country and the
Dominions together in bonds of friendship and sympathy. The rapid
improvements in communication have brought the different parts of
the Empire closer together; the Imperial Penny Postage and an
all-British cable route to Australia have kept us in constant touch
with our kinsmen in every part of the world where the Union Jack is
flown.
But this did not all come about in a day. Prejudice and dislike are
difficult to conquer, and it was chiefly owing to the efforts of Lord
Beaconsfield that they were eventually overcome.
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