Page:The golden book of King Edward VII.djvu/25

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THE GOLDEN BOOK OF


India and the Colonies were, indeed, very near to his heart. He was an unswerving believer, as some one has said, at a time when the Colonies were not "fashionable," in their actual and their possible greatness; he desired to forward them in all respects.

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In every effort to further and develop their material interests—interests which we feel to be inseparably bound up with the prosperity of the Empire, we must remember that, as regards the Colonies, they are the legitimate and natural homes in future, of the most adventurous and energetic portion of the population of these islands. Their progress, and their power of providing all that makes life comfortable and attractive, cannot, therefore, but be a matter of serious concern to us all.

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