What is commonly forgotten, too, in matters of this kind, is that Scotland itself is part of the Empire. A concern with Scottish domestic welfare is just as much an Imperial consideration as preoccupation with the affairs of any other part of the Empire. The welfare of the Empire depends upon the welfare of each of its component parts. Scotsmen may help the Empire best by keeping the heart of it—the source of much that is best in it—sound at home. Surely it cannot be contended that Imperial policy demands the dereliction of Scotland? Will it not serve the Empire best in the future, as it has done in the past, if Scotland can once again become the home of a vigorous and multiplying people from which the Colonies overseas can continue to draw robust settlers? The idea that Scottish Home Rule is at variance with Imperial tendencies and requirements is, in fact, an erroneous and short-sighted one, while the contrary opinion is supported by the recollection of the great part Scotland has played in Imperial affairs in the past—and cannot, assuredly, continue to play if its population is to be decimated, its industries ruined, and its countryside depopulated and thrown out of cultivation. Yet the latter is the effect of the neglect of Scottish affairs which is the settled—and natural—policy of the overwhelmingly English House of Commons. It represents a greater menace to the Empire than any Separatist movement can ever become because it strikes at the very heart of Imperial strength. The present policy of encouraging emigration in regard to Scotland is nothing more or less than a killing by our overseas dominions of the goose which has hitherto laid many of the best clutches of their golden eggs. Let me add here that Scotland is not only the most neglected country in Europe to-day, but the most highly taxed. A vehicular and passenger bridge across the Forth is refused to Scotland by Englishmen, but Scots must contribute towards the £7,000,000 or £8,000,000 granted for a bridge across the Thames. Scotland’s housing is a disgrace to Western civilization, although Scots builders are such efficient workmen that they are welcomed in England and overseas. Scotland has the highest death-rate, the highest sickness-rate, and the highest infant mortality rate in the British Isles, although naturally it is no less healthy than England, Ireland or Wales. Scotland contains 2,000,000 acres of land which are certified as suitable for cultivation and small holdings, although during the last ten years her agricultural population decreased by 15,000. There are fewer small holdings in Scotland now than in 1911, when the Small Landholders Act was passed by the London Parliament. Like facts can be adduced in regard to every other aspect of Scottish affairs. They are the inevitable counterparts of her cultural declinature. Verily “Without the Vision the people perish.” VI