"Ralegh was, though not the first, yet the centre of the whole group which carried out the most persistent attack upon the great colonial question — England's share in the opening-up of the New World. Oxford in our time was right to name its first Empire club after Ralegh, for he was the most conscious and determined of the makers of Empire. To have destined North America for the dominion of English-speaking people can hardly be regarded as the work of one whose career was a failure."