Some time ago the British Empire League passed a series
of resolutions urging the establishment of a permanent Imperial Council in London, on which India and the Colonies should be represented, and which should act as an advisory body on Imperial questions, and have under it an efficient bureau of Imperial intelligence. A copy of these resolutions was sent to Mr. John X. Merriman, the well-known Bond leader, and the Times of Monday published his comments in reply. Mr. Merriman would hardly call himself an Imperialist in the common sense, but he is a man of great ability, and his criticisms are well worth our consideration. Some of his objections do not seem to us insuperable, such as that the word " Empire " should not be applied to self-govern- ing communities, that the representation of India would introduce an irrelevant element, and that the representation of a Colony by means of a politician in office is unsatis- factory, since it leaves the other political elements without a spokesman.
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