The British Empire and the War
At the beginning of the present war it was confessed that for Britain to fail would mean the going to pieces of the British Empire; and it was feared that there would be such interference as to cause Britain to fail. But the greatest and most interested powers and nearly all others now agree that the fall of the British Empire would be a greater calamity to the world than the surrender of the Boers could possibly be—a calamity for which the world is not ready; therefore they all maintain strict neutrality as between the combatants,—and refrain from harassing Britain or taking advantage of her in other places. For it is altogether questionable whether all that Russia is doing would not be done even if Britain were not engaged at all.