“The Expanding Commonwealth”: A Personal Impression
| Date | 01 September 1959 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070205901400307 |
| Published date | 01 September 1959 |
| Author | Eugene Forsey |
| Subject Matter | Article |
"The
Expanding
Commonwealth":
A
Personal
Impression
EUGENE
FORSEY*
T
oanyone
who
last
took
part
in
a
discussion
of
this
sort
ten
years
ago,
the
most
striking
thing
about
it
is
the
extraordinarily
increased
complexity
of
the
subject.
The
unifying factors
have
grown
fewer
and
weaker,
the
divisive
factors
more
numerous
and
stronger.
Ten
years
ago,
there
was
the
crown:
every
Commonwealth
country
was
a
monarchy under
a
single
king.
Now,
though
the
Queen is
still
"Head of
the
Commonwealth",
she
has
completely
disappeared
from
the
government
of
three
of
the
ten
member-
states:
two
are
republics
and
a
third
is
an
elective
monarchy
under
a
sovereign
of
its
own
choosing.
Three
other
member-
states
have
declared
their
intention
of
becoming
republics.
Only
the
United
Kingdom,
Canada,
Australia
and
New
Zealand
retain
the
old
monarchy as
a
permanent
feature
of
their
government.
Ten
years
ago,
there
was
parliament:
every
Commonwealth
country
had
one. Now
one
of
them
is
a
military
dictatorship
and in
two
others
the
institution
has
been
seriously
eroded.
Ten
years
ago,
there
was
the
rule
of
law: every
Common-
wealth
country
subscribed to
it.
Now
it
has
disappeared in
one,
is
seriously
threatened
in
another
and
is
fighting
for its
life
in
a
third.
Ten
years
ago,
there
was
democracy:
every
Commonwealth
country
at
least
professed
to
believe
in
it.
Now
it
is
gone
from
*
Director
of
Research, Canadian
Congress of
Labour,
Ottawa.
Dr.
Forsey
took
part
in
the
discussions
of
Round
Table
A
on
"The
Expand-
ing
Commonwealth"
at
the
C.I.I.A.
Annual Study Conference
at
Saskatoon.
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