Nexus - 1203 - New Times Magazine-pages

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establish an organisation or "moot" (an old English word for program. In the first part, the litany of "imperial problems" was "meeting" or "assembly"), headquartered in England and with to be given widespread exposure, while in the second, once the other branches throughout the empire, to discuss, debate and, it message of a weakened and vulnerable British Empire had sunk was hoped, bring to fruition the goal of "Imperial Union". In in, imperial union or federation was to be presented as the obvious addition, a decision was made to publish a quarterly journal, The and only solution. Round Table, as the movement's propaganda organ. It was at that The primary means by which their propaganda message was point that Milner and his supporters "finally took the plunge and transmitted was through their journal The Round Table. As resolved to launch a political movement" (Watt). The movement historian Walter Nimocks wrote in his study of the movement, quickly spread, with numerous Round Table groups made up of this publication was noteworthy for the "remarkable consistency" local "men of influence" forming in Canada, Australia, New in the content of its articles. This was because nothing the Round Zealand, South Africa and India.""' Table intended for public distribution was released without having This moment also marked the realisation of Rhodes's dream of | been reviewed and debated at the moots and then revised to an empire-spanning political network supporting imperial reflect the consensus position. Issues which eluded agreement, federation. With Round Table groups spread across the British such as trade, were left out. This is clearly evident in the first four Empire, and its members located in parliaments and the press— years of publication, where: including Geoffrey Dawson as editor of the The reader was constantly reminded of Times newspaper—the essential elements of deficiencies in imperial administration which Rhodes's original plan seemed in place. imperilled the future of the Empire. The Could it succeed? irrational organization of the British parlia - ment, the ineffectual nature of Imperial PROPAGANDA MESSAGE: Conferences, and the injustice over the sys - "IMPERIAL PROBLEMS" tem which gave to Britain war-or-peace The Round Table founders hoped to authority over supposedly self-governing achieve the "organic unity" of the British nations were frequently examined... [and] the Empire, but in pursuing this goal they were i whole body of Milnerian criticism, and usu - motivated by three concerns. The first was The mantel) uleelis ally the Milnerian solution, was offered.'” their growing realisation that Britain was in by which their decline; its ability to project power propaganda message In the first issue of The Round Table worldwide was beginning to ebb away. Milner, for example, in the was transmitted was introduction to a collection of his through their journal speeches published in 1913, warned The Round Table. that even though Britain was providing "peace and order" and "civilised conditions" for "2/5ths of the human race", "[s]ooner or later the burden must become too heavy for the unaided strength of that portion of the race which...dwells in the United Kingdom".'” Second, it was maintained that the British Empire in its current form was quite inadequate to the task of providing for the defence of all the dominions and colonies. (November 1910), for example, all these themes, including the threat from Germany, were explored. The preface, written by editor Philip Kerr, intro- duced the new journal with the observa- tion that "times are changing... [and] the methods of yesterday will not serve in the competition of tomorrow". Noting the possibility of "conflict" between Britain and Germany and that there was "no means of marshalling the whole strength and resources of the Empire effectively behind its will", Kerr hinted that there should be "some other means" whereby Britain and the dominions could quickly make the Related to this was the third factor—and according to Quigley, required decision.'® one of the "dominant considerations" behind the founding of the Another article in the same issue, also by Kerr, titled "Foreign Round Table—which was "the fear of Germany, and federation Affairs: Anglo-German Rivalry", asserted that "the central fact in was but one possible way of strengthening imperial defence".'* the international situation today is the antagonism between Amery had best expressed these combined fears in a political England and Germany... [and] the solution of this rivalry...is the speech in 1906, in which he also named the United States as one most difficult problem which the [British] Empire has to face". of Britain's new rivals: Kerr characterised Germany as inherently aggressive and Every year the competition for power among the great world expansionist, as it was dominated by Bismarck's approach to states is getting keener, and unless we can continue to hold our __ world affairs: the relentless use of power. The growth of the own...we shall be starved out, invaded, trampled under foot and | German Navy meant that Britain could no longer protect the utterly ruined. But how can these little islands hold their own dominions. Moreover, Britain could not hope to rely upon an against such great and rich Empires as the United States and alliance with the other European powers, France and Russia; nor Germany are becoming...? How can we...compete against states could it anticipate that an outbreak of "true democracy" would nearly double our size?' overthrow Germany's existing regime, curtailing its push for Believing the British establishment was not sufficiently aware "world domination". There was only "one policy" left: that of of this reality, the Round Table sought to ensure that warnings of shoring up British power to the extent that it would become Britain's inadequate defences and the growing threat from "impossible for Germany to achieve her ambitions except by Germany formed an integral part of the propaganda efforts. These force". The logic was simple: Britain could no longer protect its messages were subsequently incorporated into a two-stage empire under existing defence arrangements.'” The primary means _by which their propaganda message was transmitted was through their journal The Round Table. APRIL — MAY 2005 NEXUS = 41 www.nexusmagazine.com