76 THE SHADOW OF THE WORLD’S FUTURE
Such a fact concentrates one’s attention upon the
nature of the right of occupation of territory.
This right of occupation may be regarded from two
points of view, one concerning itself with the legal
aspect merely, the other concerning itself with the
moral aspect, or what may be called the right of the
occupants to hold the territory as against all comers,
and equitably so from an international or world
standpoint. In this connection it is well to bear in
mind that, from the widest standpoint, and also from
the point of view of a people with insufficient territory
for their maintenance and development, the right of
the occupants of all territories tends to be regarded,
at least by those in overcrowded countries, as relative
 rather than absolute. And one of the principal
measures of the relative right will naturally, and
perhaps justly, be conceived to be the effectiveness of
occupation. This, however, has to be broadly understood,
 as we shall see later.
Throughout the world’s history, civilised peoples
have gone into other countries and have replaced
inferior and barbaric peoples. Sturdy, vigorous and
informed races have possessed themselves of territories
occupied by peoples who do not possess such attributes
in the same degree. Recent examples are the United
States, South Africa, and Australia. This is a worldadvantage.

Wherever the population-density is relatively slight,
and that of near countries or regions is relatively great,
the condition exists to bring into sharp prominence
the issue of migration. The impulsion is reinforced
when one of the countries is decidedly over-populated
and the other is as obviously under-populated, and
particularly so when they are near to one another.
Whether such world-conditions are agreeable or not,
this is the fact, and it would be fatuous not to keep it
in view, a matter which will now be considered.