The words of Mr. Chamberlain confirm this. Taunted by Mr. Asquith with 'inconsistency in having at one moment boasted of Britain's glorious isolation and at another advocated an alliance, he replied that England is "gloriously isolated" in her ability to defend her own exclusive interests; but she needs an ally when she is called upon to assist in the promotion of the interests of others.'*

The speech of the new Lord Curzon at the luncheon given in his honor by the directors of the Peninsular and Oriental Steamship Company on the eve of his departure to rule India confirms it.† The occasion was significant,

he was speaking to great commercial men.

'Among the chief advantages of the imperial con

[The The

nection between England and India he included the possibility of the improved development of India. usual flourish of duty and disinterestedness.] chairman had incidentally referred to India in the interests of business men as a field for commercial enterprise. [Transition to the motive of avarice begins.] He could not help thinking, although desirous to avoid prophecy. that there would be great developments in that respect. (Hear, hear.) [Warm commercial response.]... If we could establish in India anything like stability of exchange—a great problem to which any outgoing Viceroy must turn his attention-he believed that confidence would revive, and that British capital would flow more freely to India. It might perhaps be regarded as a counsel of perfection to look at the case from any other point of view than that of expediency and self-interest, but in all matters connected with India he believed the point of view of duty and of obligation was paramount. (Hear, hear.) [Another blast on the trumpet of pharisaism with fine commercial appreciation.]... But here, as business men, they might pardon and sympathize with him if he looked at the matter also from

*Saturday Review, Dec. 10, 1898.

†See the London Chronicle, Dec. 3, 1898.

He found

the sordid point of view of the £ s. d. [Now preliminaries are over and Curzon gets down to business.] Let them look at the trade of India, and compare it with the trade of our colonies. that the total sea-borne trade of India for 1896-7, which was an unprosperous year, almost equalled that of the whole of our Australian colonies, and was much greater than that of our South African and North American colonies combined; indeed, it constituted nearly onetenth of the trade of the whole British Empire, and was more than one-third of the trade of the whole Empire outside of the United Kingdom. (Hear, hear.) These were astounding figures, and if any deduction was to be drawn from them, it was certainly not the conclusion that, even regarded from the point of view of self-interest, India was a matter in which we had little or no concern. On the contrary, India was of vital interest. (Cheers).' [The commercial skeleton of England's civilizing philanthropy is at length completely bared.]

The determination of England to monopolize education in Africa confirms it. Conveying to Kitchener the approval of "Her Majesty's Government" of the Khartoum College project Lord Salisbury said: "The reconciliation of the races which inhabit the Nile Valley to a government which, in its principles and its. methods, must be essentially Western, is a task of the extremest difficulty. It will tax the resources of the present generation, and of those who come after them, for many years before the wall of prejudice can be thrown down which separates the thoughts of the European and the thoughts of the Egpytian and the Soudanese races, and until it is to a considerable extent accomplished we cannot count securely upon their co-operation, either in the duties of government or in the promotion of industrial progress. The only method by which this reconciliation can be attained is to give to the races whom you have conquered access to the literature and knowledge of Europe.

"Your scheme, therefore, for establishing a machinery by which European knowledge can be brought to the inhabitants of the Valley of the Nile is not only in itself most admirable, but it represents the only policy by which the civilizing mission of this country can effectively be accomplished."

The general attitude of the nation is mirrored in the following editorial opinion:

"For this College at Khartoum would be a new departure in Africa. There we have lavished millions in attempts to teach Christianity, with and without material improvements in the condition of the people. In spite of widely circulated annual reports, the political observer can see no great results-none at any rate commensurate with the outlay. And here would be a new line, the only line possible, as the Prime Minister, whose Christianity no one will suspect, has very properly said, by which the civilizing mission of Great Britain can be thoroughly accomplished in the Nile basin."

But

All this seems very innocent and disinterested. about this time France began to talk of assisting in the arduous task of 'reconciling' African with European civilization by founding two colleges in the Nile Valley, one at Khartoum and one at Fashoda. M. Deloncle in a letter to the "Temps" said: "Will you be so kind as to inform your readers that, anxious not to be left behind in this work of education, a French group has in its turn taken the initiative for the foundation of two establishments for native education and instruction-in the first place, 'The French School' at Khartoum, and, later on, The Marchand School' at Fashoda. greater part of the funds required for this double project is already assured by generous donations."

We may presume that England thankfully welcomed this offer to share the burden of civilizing the Soudanese races, a task in Salisbury's words of "extremest difficulty," but she did nothing of the sort. English papers scorned the offer and called it an "amusing pro

ject.” Why amusing? If England's purpose is the good of the Nile people why will she not co-operate gladly with a highly civilized nation like France to educate them? Educators and scientists of all nations of the earth are loyally co-operating to advance science and education irrespective of race and political rivalry. But we can understand very well why England will not cooperate or share if her 'civilization' is domination and supremacy in the Nile region for commercial ends, and the fact that she will not brook assistance in educating and civilizing establishes our contention that her ruling purpose is not civilization at all but commercialism, that she would not be held in Africa or India a day by the good she can do there, and that what holds her is the gain she gets or expects to get.

The New York Tribune, referring to Lord Cromer's announcement to the Soudanese of the civilization that is ahead of them, expressed a great thought very suavely. "Of course," it remarked, "it may be objected that this action of the British is criminal aggression, rank imperialism, et cetera, and that it is a shameful thing to set up a government at Omdurman without a favorable plebiscitum in Dem Bekir. But we doubt whether such considerations will undo or defeat the convention which has been made or will turn back the rising tide of civilization in the Dark Continent." The rising of European commercial rule and the falling tide of African independence, would be true. Call "criminal aggression" by the name of "civilization" and its sins are all forgiven; it is redeemed, purified and ready to enter heaven.

The curious reader will find in the British and Foreign State Papers for the year 1854-5,* the following words: 'In 1854 a grand jury in the Williamsburg district [South Carolina] declared,' "as our unanimous opinion, that the Federal law abolishing the African Slave Trade is a public grievance. We hold this trade has been and

*Page 1156, quoted by W. E. B. Du Bois: "The Suppression of the African Slave Trade in the United States," p. 169.

would be, if re-established, a blessing to the American people, and a benefit to the African himself."

The idea that slavery was a benefit to the African himself was made a corner stone of the institution of slavery. It brought inward consolation to the good man who held slaves or upheld slavery. Now, the enslaving of lower nations is good for the nation that enslaves and a benefit to the nation that is enslaved. The good of our time find peace and perfection in this doctrine.

4. Only Cash-Paying Philanthropy Wanted.

But there are two final forms of proof with which we clinch the foregoing argument. First, England shows no inclination to go adventuring in those countries where there is magnificent opportunity for unselfish philanthropy and little or none for profit. Secondly, English dealing with the subjugated races shows that commerce and profit are primary, and that civilization and upbuilding are desired and fostered just in so far as they promote commerce and profit. Let us give examples. Leonard Courtney in his recent presidential address before the Royal Statistical Society on "An Experiment in Commercial Expansion," gave a study of the Congo Free State. Europe placed the Congo State in the hands of the King of Belgium for "commercial and philanthropic exploitation." The net commercial result was that "the Congo trade represented but little more than 0.7 per cent of the total trade of Belgium." This, said Mr. Courtney, "was sadly disproportionate to the anticipations of the enterprise."

He said that "if we wished to think accurately about such enterprises as the Congo experiment, philanthropy and commerce must be separated from one another in our thoughts. As a philanthropic adventure the Congo had certainly been a very mixed success. An extremely chequered record of war, enforced labor, and exacted tribute might, after long years, effect a certain transfor