IT

Empire

T is said that the difficulty of knowing the real mind of a woman is that she herself does not know it; but what is the depth of a woman's mind compared to that of a nation, Canada and the especially if the nation be racially heterogeneous and scattered over half a continent! No wonder that for a time Canada was but dimly concious of her own deepest thoughts and feelings. Annexation, plausibly disguised as "Manifest Destiny," or "the Continent to which we belong" theory, secession, attractively termed "Independence," commercial union, or a liaison which combined political allegiance to the Queen with trade subjection to rings at Washington, were advocated by seductive voices, all asserting too that the defenders of Imperial unity were quite as revolutionary as themselves. They certainly made as much noise and seemned to have as large a following. But, as in a great assembly, where different motions are submitted with each supported by two or three eloquent speakers, it seems to onlookers in the gallery as if the house were equally divided until the vote is called for, when perhaps half a dozen hands are held up for the amendments and thousands as silently for the main motion, and the strife of tongues at once subsides, so has it been in Canada. The Empire was insolently threatened; its territories were invaded at 48 hours notice; and almost as quickly, in an informal but none the less real way, there was a vote which declared the mind of Greater Britain so unmistakably that there remains now no doubt on the subject. As a people, Canadians reject, for ever, suicide, secession, and liaisons. We abide by our history and our Constitution; our flag, our Queen, and our world-wide Empire with its mission of liberty, justice and peace, each and all so precious that we must be ready to fight for each and all. On this occasion, we have given for the common cause two or three millions of money, and including the Strathcona horse and the Halifax and Esquimalt garisons-about four thousand men. Had there been need we would have given both men and money ten times over. population is as great as England's was in the days of Elizabeth, and far greater than Scotland's in the age of Wallace and Bruce. All the world knows the great things our fathers did then, and their children are not likely to forget. It always "pays," in a far higher than the vulgar sense of the word, to make sacrifices for national life or the honour without which life is not worth living. But what of the attitude of the French-speaking section of our population, it is asked? On the whole, it has French-speaking been admirable; but to understand it, one must unCanadians. derstand them and their position. Put yourself in his place,' is always a righteous demand. Well, suppose that Canada belonged to France and not to Britain; that one Province was British and had been British for two centuries

The attitude of

Our

before French settlers came to the country, and that the other six Provinces were French; would that one Province shout enthusiastically and give its children and its wealth lavishly for the glory of France, were France engaged in a distant war, on the merits of which our own Mother Country and the rest of the world were to say the least-by no means clear? Not a bit of it. No one would expect anything so unreasonable from us. And, if a mob tried to ram the flag of France down our throats, it would not increase our love for that flag to any great extent. In such a case, we would jealously guard every constitutional right we had won. We would be true to the Sovereign to whom we had sworn allegiance, but above all we would be true to the Country which our forefathers had made and in the soil of which their ashes reposed. In time, doubtless, we would fuse with the new and more numerous Canadians and become one people with them; but they would need to have great patience with us and win our affections by legitimate means if they wished to bring about such a consummation. Could we, little more than half a century after we had fought for political rights, be expected to say more than Mr. Monet said the other day?"I am a Canadian; I am not French, I am not English, but I am Canadian, loving this country because it is the land of our forefathers, who were Canadians, and I will defend inch by inch the bulwark of our political freedom?" Would not some of us rise and say with Mr. Bourassa;-"We have a written Constitution, and that Constitution is not only the legal form of our Government, it is also a solemn and sacred compact between the various Provinces of British North America. It may of course need reforms and additions. But when amendment is required, it will be made only by the free and independent action of both the Canadian and the British Parliaments and approved by the people of Canada." And if our Premier happened to be a man who raised every discussion in which he took part to a higher level, and who had given his whole political life to the promotion of unity, harmony and amity between the diverse elements of the country, what would we think of partisans who sought to excite prejudice against him in the other Provinces on the grounds of his being British and Protestant? Is it necessary to point the moral of the parallel which I have attempted to suggest?

Tariff Preference in favour of Britain.

It is well to get at your opponent's point of view, and quite necessary when he is worth converting; but it is difficult to arrive at intellectual sympathy with professed and protectionist lovers of Imperial unity who yet vote against the preferential tariff in favour of Britain. They say that it is a fraud, but how can that be if two is less than three? Both parties declare that as the Canadian manufacturer can not stand on the basis of free trade with Britain, he must have for a time the protection of a fence against all outsiders.

But, say some of our friends, the Government first made the fence higher and then lowered it in favour of Britain. Even if that were so, it proves nothing against the reality of the preference. Suppose they had made it 100 yards high, it was still only 87 against the British manufacturer, then only 75, and hereafter it will be only 663. It would be precisely the same if the fence were 100 miles high. The Canadian manufacturer having been encouraged to go into business has his rights, and the first of these is that the lowering of the fence must be gradual. As all admit that, how can it be said, even by people whose powers of counting are limited to their five fingers, that three and two are the same? What increases the difficulty of appreciating their position is that they contend that a preference in our favour by Britain of even one-fourth as much would be a wonderful boon. In a word, figures mean something on one side of the Atlantic and nothing on the other side. There is no sentiment in trade, says Dr. Montague. Certainly not, echoes Mr. Bourassa, and he stands up and votes with the ex-Cabinet minister. But the Quebecker adds, there should be no sentiment in voting away public money or in sending off our sons to a more distant and sterner fight than that of trade. Canada for Canadians alone, so far as trade is concerned, cries the Ontarian. Canada for Canadians alone, all through the piece, pleads the Quebecker.Neither cry is worth a cent, but there can be no doubt which is consistent. Mr. Fielding is to be congratulated that the state of the revenue enabled him to make the duties on British goods lower; but as the previous lowering had increased the revenue, he should have held his old tone instead of hinting that he is weary in well-doing. "I do not think," he gently hints, "that the advocates of tariff revision would ask us to go, on that class of articles, below the rates we have now named," that is 233 per cent. Will they not? We shall see. But, after all, it was perhaps necessary for him to throw a tub to the whale, and everything depends on what is meant by " a reasonable time in the future." 12 in 1897, and 25 in 1898, and 333 in 1900, and 40 in 1902, would that be "reasonable ?" One point is clear, we are travelling on the only track by which a mutual preference will ever be reached. For, whether there is sentiment in trade or not, there is sentiment, lots of it and the best kind, in John Bull. And it will be wiser for us to trust to it than to worry and disgust the old gentleman by insisting that he shall turn his vast business topsy-turvy on the preposterous pretence of a possible slight increase in the 3 per cent. of it that he does with us. In dealing with a somewhat irascible multi-millionaire, it is at least prudent to press along the line of least resistance, instead of butting against the old stone walls he prides himself on possessing, he alone too of all the nations of the earth.

Our Securities

in the

Trustee List.

The admission of our securities into the rigidly guarded trustee list is a significant proof of the changed attitude of the British mind regarding Canada. We are no longer a Colony. We have taken our stand as a partner. Ever since Imperial Federation was talked of, Australian and Canadian Commissioners have pleaded that trustees should be entitled by law to invest in Colonial securities, but they were always met with a curt "Non possumus." Now, the apparently insurmountable obstacles have vanished, and legislation is to be passed which will put our loans on almost the same footing as British consols. To a country which has to borrow a hundred millions in the course of the next ten years and will have to continue borrowing for an indefinite time, the value of this boon is enormous in itself, and as regards our general credit, while it is gratifying to our national self-respect. It is another illustration of the readiness with which sensible John Bull responds to deeds, and the little heed he pays to words. No doubt, Australia will receive the same priviledge, when the Imperial Act to be passed this year constitutes it "The Commonwealth of Australia," in place of the old "Colonies" of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania. West Australia seems disposed to remain outside for a short time, and New Zealand is strong enough to stand by itself and is in fact a separate Conferation, with a virile life of its own. It is the Great Britain and Australia the Europe of the Southern Seas.

General Hutton

of Militia.

Another General, and this time a man of distinguished ability, obliged to leave the service of Canada, because party and the Minister insisted on extending the spoils system to the Militia, even amid the stern realities of war! It was known for some time that friction existed between the General and his Minister; but in view of the high qualities of the former and his boundless energy, people hoped that they might be able to work together as long as the war lasted. At such a time as this, the British Government might have been spared our domestic quarrels and Canada might have been allowed to retain the best General the Militia has ever had. With us the General holds the same position as the Commander-in-Chief at the War Office in London, and he, though subordinate to the civilian Secretary of State for War and the Cabinet, is responsible for the maintenance of discipline and for all appointments. Here, however, party claims everything, and against that, as a rule neither service nor fitness counts. The General is only an "adviser," and that is interpreted to mean receiving instead of giving advice. If he declines to take advice, which in his judgment is bad, regarding appointments or other matters, and throws the responsibility on the Minister of Militia, he is declared "insubordinate." This system, bad in any Department and shocking where the lives of men are

concerned, has the sanction of the present and past Governments but it has only to be fully shown up to be condemned by every one. A real man, an entity not "a non-entity," is needed for the post of General. Given that, it matters little whether he be English, Scotch, Irish, Australian, Afrikander or Canadian. But, as no man worth his salt will remain in the position when he discovers that he is expected to be only a figure-head and a screen for political log-rolling, the result must be to give us a non-entity, and behind his name and office abominations will go on while everything looks lovely. The present Government did well, in so increasing the salary of the General that they were able to secure a first-class man; but how could they expect such a man to be a slave and a fraud? Let them pass an Order-in-Council defining the sphere of the General, and declaring that party and personal claims shall not extend to our War power, before they ask a self-respecting man to succeed General Hutton. It would be the most popular thing they could do as well as the right thing; for no Government, now we are at war, can retain the confidence of the militia or of the people by adhering to the old system. This is one of the things that must be done, and not merely "taken into consideration."

Three months ago it was said in "Current Events," "far too much has been made of our reverses." It may now be said with equal truth that far too much has been made of our successes. The public always goes from one extreme The War to the other, and the London press has proved itself little better than that of New York or Paris, as a restraining and steadying intellectual force. Because our two greatest Generals with 40,000 men at their command, including a sufficient force of superb cavalry, captured Cronje with his 5000 and entered Bloemfontein, a town on the open veldt incapable of being defended, shouts went up on all sides that the war was practically at an end, and "experts" announced that Roberts would enter Pretoria on May 15th! Last October, it was jauntily prophesied that Buller would eat his Christmas dinner in Pretoria. It is now denied that he ever said so. Next month it will be denied that Wolseley ever fixed on May 15th as the day for Roberts' entry into that city. Everyone wishes and hopes that the war will end soon, but can anything bnt evil come from shutting our eyes to facts as big as the Transvaal, which is a country somewhat bigger than France? Natal is not yet cleared of the enemy; Mafeking is not relieved; the main force of the enemy is intact; the Transvaal has not been entered even from the South, where the approach to it is easiest and by railway; and the burghers are still determined to fight rather than submit to British Sovereignty. In war, the unexpected usually happens and therefore possibly Kruger may wilt at any moment and sur