The idea was first formally introduced in a book in 1608. Ninety years later, having mulled it over, Sir Christopher Wren guessed he was for it. In 1854, Gladstone said: "I cannot doubt it would be of immense advantage," but he decided not to make undue haste. In following decades came a select parliamentary committee, a royal commission, a Paris conference, three colonial conferences, and most recently a special committee of inquiry, all primarily devoted to the subject. Last week, after 358 years of careful thought, the British government formally announced its...
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