oyalty or of well-understood interests, but
placed at such a distance from the mother country that England could
without inconvenience, and would without hesitation, concede to it full
national independence when once it was clear that Victoria desired to be
a nation. Victoria, in short, is a land which might at any moment be
independent, but which desires to retain or strengthen the connection
with England. Ireland, on the other hand, is a country lying so near to
the English coast that, according to the views of most statesmen,
England could not with safety tolerate her independence, and also a
country, which, to put the matter in the least exaggerated language,
feels the connection with England so burdensome that the greater part of
her population desire at least the amount of independence conceded to a
self-governing colony. The case of Victoria and the case of Ireland each
constitute, so to speak, the antithesis to the other. There is,
therefore, at any rate no _a priori_ ground for the assumption that the
system which successfully regulates the relation of England to Victoria
is equally adapted for regulating the relation between England and
Ireland. The federalism, again, of America or of Switzerland is the
consequence of the existence of the States which make up the Federation.
The United Kingdom does not consist of States. The world has heard of
the difficulty of forming a republic without republicans: this feat
would appear to be easy of performance in comparison with the
achievement of erecting federation without the States which form its
natural members. In America or in Switzerland federalism has developed
because existing States wished to be combined into some kind of national
unity. Federalism in England would necessarily mean the breaking up of a
nation in order to form a body of States. To the question constantly
raised in one form or another, "Why should not the federalism which
suits the United States suit England?" the true answer is suggested by
the counter-inquiry, "Why should not the constitutionalism of England
suit the United States?" The obvious and conclusive reply to both these
inquiries is, that the circumstances of the two countries are totally
different. There is, in short, no ground in the nature of things to
presume that constitutional arrangements, which are well adapted for the
condition of America, are well adapted for the totally different
condition of the United Kingdom. To say this, b