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340 ECONOMIC INQUIRIES AND STUDIES

SPecial Position of British Empire.
Another idea which follows from a consideration of
the same facts, is the necessity laid upon the British
Empire to consolidate and organize itself in view of
the large additions of subject races made to it in the
last century, and especially in the last twenty years of
the century. In a paper whicp I read before the Royal
Colonial Institute two years ago, an attempt was made
to show that the burden imposed on the white races of
the Empire by these recent acquisitions was not ex-
cessive as far as the prospect of internal tumults was
concerned. Relatively to some other powers, especially
France, we had also been gaining internationally in
strength and resources. But whether we had gained
internationally on the whole, looking at the growth of
powers like the United States, Russia, and Germany,
and their greater activity in world-politics, was a differ-
ent question. The problem thus stated remains. It
would be foreign to the scope of an address like this,
which must avoid actual politics, to examine how far
light has been thrown on it by the South African war.
Noone can question at least that the organization of
the Empire must be governed by considerations which
the international statistics suggest, and that no step
can be taken safely and properly unless our public men
fully appreciate the ideas of international strength and
resources as well as other considerations which are
germane to the subject.

Europe and Foreign Food Supplies.
Another idea to which attention may be drawn, ap-
pears tobe the increasing dependence of European
nations upon supplies of food and raw material ob-
tained from abroad. We are familiar with a conception
ofthis kind as regards the United Kingdom. Foryears
past we have drawn increasing supplies from abroad,