In this way the leaders of both parties, the men who fill the places which, in a well-organised nation, would be assigned to statesmen, are placed in it position in which statesmanship is almost impossible.  A statesman would be devoted solely to the nation.  He would think first, second, and third of the nation.  Security would be his prime object, and upon that basis he would aim at the elevation of the characters and of the lives of the whole population.  But our leaders cannot possibly think first, second, and third of the nation.  They have to think at least as much of the next election and of the opinions of their supporters.  In this way their attention is diverted from that observation of other nations which is essential for the maintenance of security.  Moreover, they are obliged to dwell on subjects directly intelligible to and appreciable by the voters in the constituencies, and are thereby hindered from giving either the time or the attention which they would like to any of those problems of statesmanship which require close and arduous study for their solution.  The wonder is in these conditions that they do their work so well, and maintain undiminished the reputation of English public men for integrity and ability.

Yet what at the present moment is the principle about which parties are divided?  Is there any measure or any principle at issue which is really vital to Great Britain?  Is there anything in dispute between the parties which would not be abandoned and forgotten at the first shot fired in a war between England and a great continental nation?  I am convinced that that first shot must cause the scales to fall from men’s eyes; that it must make every one realise that our divisions are comparative trifles and that for years we have been wasting time over them.  But if we wait for the shock of war to arouse us to a sense of reality and to estimate our party differences at their true value, it will be too late.  We shall wring our hands in vain over our past blindness and the insight we shall then have obtained will avail us nothing.

The party system has another consequence which will not stand scrutiny in the light of reality; it is dilettantism in the conduct of the nation’s principal business.  Some of the chief branches of the executive work of government are the provinces of special arts and sciences, each of which to master requires the work of a lifetime.  Of such a kind are the art of carrying on war, whether by sea or land, the art of conducting foreign relations, which involves a knowledge of all the other great States and their policies, and the direction of the educational system, which cannot possibly be properly conducted except by an experienced educator.  But the system gives the direction of each of these branches to one of the political leaders forming the Cabinet or governing committee, and the practice is to consider as disqualified from membership of that committee any man who has given