the Colonial Governments before signature, are instances of the new principle in our administration. All such developments are just and wise, because they proceed naturally from our present practice, and involve no crude departure. As I have said, if we are to retain the merits of an elastic constitution, we must introduce formal changes only when the reality has become adequate to the forms. The time may come for a clear break with the past, but it is not yet; all we need for the present is a development to correspond with new requirements, and capable in itself of a further extension; 'The vice of the phrase "Imperial Federation,"' in Mr. Haldane's words, 'is that it ignores and contradicts the working hypothesis of the Imperial constitution. It is not to some new kind of written constitution, with a new description of common Parliament, that we have to look, but to gradual and cautious changes in the modes in which the Sovereign takes advice.'
It is tolerably clear, then, what any experiment towards constitutional unity must not do. It must involve no break with the past, no new constitutional doctrine, but must adapt the existing theory, which is more than adequate, if properly applied, to cover all the material we are likely to get for a generation. A brand-new Imperial constitution, disregarding the long-descended and delicate organism which we already possess, would be like a harsh chemical suddenly introduced into the system, and would prove a most potent means of dissolution. Nor must we disregard the elements of union we have ready to our hand. Because federation implies home rule, we must not begin by decreeing autonomy to localities which do not need it. To disjoin in order to unite may be metaphysically justifiable, but it is apt to be politically ruinous. It is also fairly clear what we must aim at. Our practice must be squared with our constitutional creed, and the Crown, which is the Imperial Executive, must be given such advisory assistance and such an extension of the area of its delegation as will increase its practical
