496 THE BEITISH DOMINION IN ASIA

It is doubtful whether Englishmen can adopt a bet- ter conclusion. Continual expansion seems to have become part of their national habits and modes of growth. For good or for ill, England has become what she is in the world by the result of adventurous pio- neering, by seeking her fortunes in the outlying regions of the earth, and by taking a vigorous part in the un- ending struggle out of which the settlement of the political world is evolved, as the material world is shaped out of the jarring forces of nature. It is this incessant opening of new markets, exploration of fur- ther countries, organization of fresh enterprises, the alternate contest with and pacification of rude tribes and unstable rulers, and the necessity of guarding her possessions and staving off her rivals that has caused, and is still causing, the steady enlargement of her borders. Against an advance of this strength and magnitude the Asiatic nations have at present little power of re- sistance. The forces which in earlier times broke up the higher political organizations, and which thrust back the higher religion, no longer exist; neither the fighting power of Asia, nor her fanatic enthusiasm, is now in the least formidable to Europe. Not only is it certain that much of Asia lies at the mercy of the mili- tary power and resources of Europe, but in all the de- partments of thought and action she is still inferior. In these circumstances European progress is never likely to suffer another great repulse at the hands of Oriental reaction; and the English dominion, once