up the diverse and conflicting strivings of an earlier England.
The present volume is intended to give, within the compass of a single book, the current views of representative men and women, upon those special departments of Imperial development with which they are severally qualified to deal. Its purpose is to give an authoritative account of the Empire, as it appeared to contemporaries at this particular moment of its history. It is in no sense a propagandist work. Full liberty has been given to every writer, and it is to be regarded as a collection of expert opinion rather than as a methodical treatise. Though the majority of the contributors are in favour of Mr. Chamberlain's policy, several are not, and there is the same divergence of views on non-Imperial questions. The one link of connection is that all are believers in constructive Imperialism. In their view of the Empire they represent the revolt from the old unfruitful attitude of apathy, ignorance, and vague sentimentality. They desire to see a self-conscious community rather than a collection of indeterminate atoms. They believe that the doctrine of laissez-faire, while it may be valuable as a conscious and reasoned policy, is extremely dangerous and futile as a temperamental attitude. They believe that the administration of an Empire is as much a science as any other branch of politics, and therefore demands exact knowledge and serious reflection.
The point of time is important, both to the future historian and to the present generation of British citizens, because it is recognised on all hands that we have reached a critical period of Imperial evolution. In the self-governing Colonies the work of the past century has been that of foundation-laying. This preliminary work may be said to have been formally closed in Canada by
