the founders of the Imperial Federation League were well put,
in one of his latest speeches, by a grand statesman of the old
country, Mr. W.E. Forster, the first president of the League, who
said:--"The idea of the permanent unity of the realm, the duty of
preserving this union, the blessings which this preservation will
confer, the danger and loss and disaster which will follow from
disunion, are thoughts which possess the minds of Englishmen both here
and over the seas. These thoughts are expressing themselves in deeds;
let this expression continue; at present it helps our cause far more
effectually than any possible scheme." I am not one of those who ever
doubted the loyalty of the colonies to Old England. If any Englishmen
were in doubt as to the feeling of the colonies towards the mother
country, the events of the past week in this noble city of Melbourne
would dispel effectually any uncertainty. On Tuesday last we saw your
militia march past like a wall, to the tune of "The Old Folks at
Home." That may be a somewhat homely melody, but it conveyed a
touching sentiment to the spectator from the old country. On the
following day a ball was given at Government House, an entertainment
the splendour of which could hardly have been exceeded in any capital
in Europe. That entertainment owed its character not merely to the
graceful hospitality of the host and hostess on the occasion, but to
the eager desire of those who were present to seize the occasion for
showing their attachment to the Queen, in whose honour and in whose
name that ball was given. On the following day in your Parliament
Buildings, which, by the beauty of their design and the amplitude of
their proportions express your greatness in the present and anticipate
your growth in the future, a noble hall was dedicated, with a generous
spirit of loyalty, to the name of the Queen. On the evening of the
same day we attended a concert at which thousands of your citizens
were present. On four several and separate occasions the National
Anthem was sung, and on each occasion with increasing fervour. On the
following day 30,000 children were brought together, trained to utter
the sentiments of their parents in that National Anthem which they
sang so well. In journeying in some of the remoter parts of this
colony, it was touching to hear "God Save the Queen" sung at every
opportunity by the little children, who are thus early trained in the
sentiment of loyalty. If we pa