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.

Imperialism too often means ’Jingoism,’—­wild waving of flags and chanting of such melodies as: 

    We don’t want to fight,
      But, by Jingo, if we do,
    We’ve got the ships, we’ve got the men,
      We’ve got the money too.

The true Imperialism is “defence, not defiance.”  Beaconsfield looked back into the past and sought to “resume the thread of our ancient empire.”  For him empire meant no easy burden but a solemn duty, a knitting together of all the varied races and religions in one common cause.  “Peace with honour” was his and England’s watchword.  He believed, in fact, like Shakespeare, in saying

                                   Beware
    Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in,
    Bear’t, that th’ opposed may beware of thee.

He was very particular on the duty of “if necessary, saying rough things kindly, and not kind things roughly,” which was a lesson Lord Palmerston never seemed to be capable of learning.  Another of his maxims was that it was wiser from every point of view to treat semi-barbarous nations with due respect for their customs and feelings.  He preached Confederation and not Annexation.  “By pursuing the policy of Confederation,” he declared, “we bind states together, we consolidate their resources, and we enable them to establish a strong frontier, that is the best security against annexation.”

His whole policy was to foster the growth of independence and build the foundations of a peace which should be enduring.  “Both in the East and in the West our object is to have prosperous, happy, and contented neighbours.”

The object of his imperialism was to progress, at the same time paying due respect to the traditions of the past; he rightly believed that the character of a nation, like that of an individual, is strengthened by responsibility.

“The glory of the Empire and the prosperity of the people” was what he hoped to achieve.

During the anxious times of the Indian Mutiny he alone seemed to grasp the real meaning of this sudden uprising of alien races.  He declared that it was a revolt and not a mutiny; a revolt against the English because of their lack of respect for ancient rights and customs.