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 HWPEHlftli FEOEHATIOH" 
 
 fl LiECTUlRE 
 
 Delivered in Victoria Hail, Winnipeg, 
 
 On September 13th. 1889, 
 
 BY REV. G. M. GRANT, D. D., 
 
 PRINCIPAL OF 
 
 QUEEfJ'S UNIVERSITY, KINGSTON. 
 
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"IMPERIAL FEDERATION." 
 
 At a meeting held in Victoria Hall, Winnipeg, on Friday 
 evening, September 13th, 1889, presided over l»y His Honor 
 the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba, the following lecture 
 on Imperial Federation was delivered by Rev. Principal Grant, 
 of Kingston. 
 
 3 
 
 Imperial Federation, from a Canadian point oi' view, means 
 simply the next act in a process of political and historical 
 development that began in 17G8, when Canada— with the 
 consent of all parties concerned — was declareil to be British. 
 From that day, the dovelonment of Canada from the position 
 of a British colony into that of a British nationality has gone 
 on steadily. The colonial condition is one of incomplete po- 
 litical development, and Canada has passed through various 
 stages, each of which marks a greater measure of self-govern- 
 ment than the previous stage. The various Acts in the drama 
 are indicated by successive civil conHicts alwaJ^s ending in 
 constitutional changes that widened our liberties or by strug- 
 gles against external enemies and influences that sought to 
 interfere with our legitimate development. Tlie making of 
 Canada into a nation has been a long process, and the process 
 is not yet ended. But to those wdio complain of tlie length 
 of time, I would ask tliem to give an example of a nation or 
 a tree that has been made in a day. Mushrooms grow in a 
 night, but not cedars of Lebanon. It took Germany and Italy 
 centuries to grow into their present stately strength and unity. 
 The making of France and Britain into nations was in each 
 case a long process. The United kStates of America — with all 
 their immense advantages and with the aid of nineteenth 
 century methods and speed — did not attain to that condition 
 of stable political equilibi-ium which ensures permanence and 
 prosperity till 1805, or nlmost a hundred years after their 
 secession from Britain. With us the process of making Can- 
 ada into a nation must end in one or other of two ways: — 
 either in clothing Canadians witli a legitimate share in the su- 
 preme rights, privileges and responsibilities of the Empire to 
 which they belong, that is, in full citipcenship, or in a Revolu- 
 tion which means the gradual disintegration (jr violent break- 
 ing up of the British Empire. Canada cannot continue long a 
 mere dependency. Clearlj-, that is in)possible. No living 
 organism can continue long in a condition of arrested develop- 
 ment. It must grow to its full stature or petrify. Even 
 dwarfing means death. Besides, who wants to belong to a 
 nation of dwarfs ? 
 
2 
 
 This brief sketch prepares us for a definition. Imperial 
 Federation, then, may be defined as a union between the 
 Mother Country and Canada that would <i:ive to Canada not 
 only the piesent full manaj^jement of its own affairs, but a 
 fair share in the management and responsibilities of common 
 affairs. As British citizens, ought we to ask for more ? As 
 Canadians and full-grown men, ought we to be satisfied ^^nth 
 less ? 
 
 I shall throw to-night's talk into the form of an interview 
 between the audience and myself. It seems, from remarks that 
 I have heard in different places to-da}'', that you would like to 
 put some questions to me. I shall try to answer at least four 
 of them. 
 
 1. " Whj% in your definition, do you confine the proposed 
 federation to the Mother Country and Canada ?" 
 
 Because we are able to look at it from our own point of 
 view better than from any other and because Canada is the 
 only part of the Empire outside the British Islands that is 
 even now ripe for the consideration of the question. If you 
 wish to get to the top of a ladder, take one step at a time, and 
 begin with the step nearest you. Even Australasia — in my 
 opinion — is not yet ripe for Imperial Federation, because it 
 has not yet taken the step of Australian Federation. It is 
 making tentative efforts in that direction. Even the Assembly 
 that has hitherto met at Hobart means nothinrj more than an 
 attempt or experiment. In other words, there are — including 
 New Zealand and Tasmania — seven Australias, but there is 
 no Austialia, The making of Australia into a nation or a 
 political unity is the first step to be taken in the Southern 
 Seas, and that of itself will tax the supreme energies of the 
 people for some years. So far as I could discern during a 
 brief visit there, the only opposition that has any vitality in 
 it to Imperial Federation comes from men who regard it as a 
 red herring drawn across the trail of Australian unity ; and 
 only when Australian unity has been consummated will the 
 noblest minds — the minds that in the long run determine the 
 thinking and action of a great people — be in a position to in- 
 vite themselves and otliers to a far higher point of view. In 
 the same way, South Africa has also to accomplish its own 
 unification. The problems there are altogether dilfei-ent from 
 those in Australasia, but it would take too lono' to indicate 
 even in a hurried way the relations of British, Boer, and 
 Black ; or of Colonial Imperialism and Afrikanderism. This 
 alone is clear to me, that the South African Colonies, Repub- 
 lics, and Protectorates, must accomplish their unification and 
 obtain Home Rule along the lines that Canada and Austialia 
 
3 
 
 have traced and are tracing" uut, as the preliminary step to 
 their becoming full partners in a scheme of Imperial Federa- 
 tion. India, again, is the greatest Crown «lependency. Its 
 j)osition is uni(|ue, and cannot be discussed in a sentence. 
 Enough for us that it will have to I'emain in substantially its 
 present relations to the central power for a long time to come. 
 It is however well to remembi'r, for the sake of those writers 
 who tell us through the press that Imperial Federation means 
 taxing us and taking away our sons to fight in Burmah and 
 Afghanistan, that tlie possession of India has never imposed 
 financial responsibility on the British people, in peace or war; 
 that India pays for its own administration and for the conflicts 
 necessary for its preservation ; that it has warlike races that 
 could supply millions ot soldiers ; and that its possession has 
 brought nothing but benefit to the Mother Country, to itself, 
 and to the world. 
 
 2. " When will the (juestion become one of practical 
 
 When Canada as a whole is ready for it and asks for the 
 change in a constitutional way. We have never obtained 
 an extension of our liberties from the Imperial Parliament 
 until we asked for it. If a thing is worth getting, it is 
 worth asking for. And it takes a long time before several 
 millions of pcoj)lo are convinced that a proposed change 
 is a I'eform, and that the reform is necessary to their well- 
 being. There are always two or more sides to every ques- 
 tion in a free country. Extreme men must be heard on 
 every side; and at last the sober judgment and conscience 
 of the country gets at the kernel involved in the discus- 
 sion, and then lief ore long that is certain to become incor- 
 porated in the Constitution. Look at our own history. Lord 
 Durham's Report on Canada was published in 1889. There, 
 the idea of Provincial Legislatures w^ith local powers, subordi- 
 nated to a central authority, as the best thing for us, was first 
 authoritatively indicated ; although individual writers had 
 referred to it previou.sly. >)Ut, it was not until I860 that the 
 legislature of the old Upper and Lower Canada adopted the 
 idea ; and even then, although the leading statesmen of the 
 Maritime Provinces had long before advocated some scheme 
 of union, the legislatures of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia 
 and Prince Edward rejected the resolutions of the Quebec 
 legislature. In 1807, the Act of Confederation was passed, 
 but so slow is the process of national unification everywhere 
 and at all times that Lord Lansdowne was perfectly justified 
 in saying that the plaster on the walls of our Confederation 
 is scarcely yet dry. It is dry enough however to permit us 
 to live in the house quite comfortably. 
 
In the meanwhile tlie ol)ject ot" the Imperial Federation 
 League is to form branches all over Canada to discuss the 
 ((uestion from every point of view, witli the confident expecta- 
 tion that in due time our Parliament will feel itself warranted 
 by public ojiinion to instruct th(^ Oovernment of the day to 
 enter into negotiations with the British Government on the 
 subject. Then will l)e the time to draw up a scheme. 
 
 Before forming a branch of the League, all that is necessary 
 is that a number of people in the locality should have two 
 piinciples rooted and grounded in them ; (1) that liritian 
 and Canada nmst continue to have one flag, in other words, 
 that the present union must be maintained ; (2) that Cana- 
 dians are prepared for full citizenship, in otiier words, that 
 they are determined to be the peers and not the dependents 
 of their fellow-citizens in the British Islands. As to the 
 particular form in which the- movement may take shape 
 eventualh', we are (juite indifferent. We welcome the 
 production of ])lans antl of criticism on them, but we are 
 conmiitted to no scheme. You may think my summary of 
 principles rather bald. But, Mr. Lincoln went into the 
 greatest war of tlie century with only one principal as his 
 pole-star, — " The union nmst be preserved." He carried that 
 Hag to the end, and gained the victory with it, smiling good- 
 naturedly for years at ela))orate schemes that wise men were 
 pressing on him from every side, because he saw that the 
 country was not rij)e for them. 
 
 If you ask me for my scheme. I answer that I could draw 
 up one or half a dozen, each more excellent than the other, 
 but whj^ should I do your work ? Come and help me. Two 
 heads are wi.ser than one. You would have some reason to 
 complain if I elaborated a plan and then asked you to swallow 
 it. Besides, when the time comes, the weakest of us could 
 draw up a better scheme than he could now. Events are 
 wiser than men. I may add however that moderate and 
 leading statesmen are quite convinced that the idea of Im- 
 perii Federation can be forged into a. workable scheme. 
 Two of these met three or four years ago in a room in 
 London and gave public expression to this conviction. The 
 one was the present leader of the British House of Commons, 
 and no person has ever accused Mr. W. H. Smith of being a 
 dreamer. The other was the Premier of Ontario, and Mr. 
 Mowat is universally considered in Canada to be a practical 
 politician of the best kind. He admitted that there were 
 difficulties in the way, (as theie are in the way of Australian 
 or African Federation or of any proposed legislation or con- 
 stitutional change of importance) but, he added with his 
 
usual pluck and cominon sense ; " What are Statesmen for 
 but to overcome difficulties f " 
 
 If you still press mo for an answer to your second (juestion 
 in this interview, or at any rate for my opinion on the point, 
 I say that I am a Canadian and that I am willing- to wait the 
 time of the Canadian ])e()pl(! an<l to keep step with them. 
 Admittedly the question is not yet one for the mere hand to 
 mouth politician. Its importanee may not be innnediate. It 
 may be for to-morrow rather than for to-day. But, shouM 
 not the statesman think of to-morrow ? Sliould not wise men 
 look ahead ? It may take us a long time to get to a goal, but 
 ought we not to know how to face, and to be sure that we are 
 facing, in the right direction ? When building a nation, we 
 think not of the pockets of this or that man or the immediate 
 convenience of this or that locality. We build for the ay^es. 
 I am well aware that in conceding so much, in admitting 
 that the (juestion may not be of innnediate and pressing im- 
 portance, some people will fancy that I have relegated it to 
 dreamland and that I am simply a harmless hobbyist, or, to 
 use the modern words that amateur writers affect, a crank or 
 faddist. I am not afraid of the words. Cranks turn things. 
 They can lift or turn almost anything. Think again of our 
 own history, of the history in particular of >(>ui' own North- 
 west. For many a long year, was not William McUougall 
 called a hobbyist, because, through the newspaper he controlled, 
 he urged on Upper Canada the ac(iuisition of the Northwest ? 
 He was told that the country was worthless, that it would be 
 simply an intolerable 1)urden on his native Province, that not 
 even an onion or a cabbage covdd grow here, that the frost 
 never came out of the ground, that axes split when men tried 
 to chop wood in winter, and that it was a country intended 
 by the Almighty only for iur bearing animals. I remember 
 reading an article in the Edinhunjh Revieiv less than thirty 
 years ago which not only repeated some of those funny 
 stories on good evidence, but also proved scientitically — and 
 science is infallible — that the geological structure of the 
 Northwest was such that it could not grow cereals ! Now, 
 every one admits that the larger half of the population of 
 Canada will eventually be found to the west of this Red 
 River of the North on whose banks we meet, and that the 
 future of Canada is bound up with the Northwest. 
 
 This thought leads me to say that I consented to speak on 
 Imperial Federation in Winnipeg with peculiar pleasure. To 
 me, as you have already seen, the subject is all important be- 
 cause its aecomplishment means the placing of the copestone 
 on that structure of Canadian nationality which we have 
 been working at so long; and in the making of Canada I have 
 
6 
 
 always regarded this Province of Manitoba as the keystone 
 of the cditico. Tliis position puts on you a great respon- 
 sibility. Remembor that I am not saying this hurriedly or 
 thoughtlessly, or with the idea of giving taffy to an audience. 
 My interest in the Northwest is not of yesterday. It is older 
 than Confederation. It g(ies back to the famine which the 
 settlers on this river suffered from, fully twenty-five years ago, 
 on account of an invasion of grasshoppers that destroyed their 
 crops. An old friend of this country, a warm and true friend, 
 Mr. Sandford Fleming, was then in Halifax where I lived at 
 the time. He called my attention to the fact that fellow-sub- 
 jects of our own in British America were threatened with 
 stnrvation. That was enough. We called a meeting in 
 Halifax, appointed ward collectors, and at once raised a con- 
 siderable sum and had it sent to the proper (juarter for the 
 purchase of flour. Many years after that, in 1(S72, I paid my 
 itirst visit to Winnipeg. I traveled over the piebald and piece- 
 meal Dawson Road, with all its water stretches, simply to find 
 out whether Canada was doomed to end in Lake Huron, or 
 whether there was a country?' for our children hero^ and all the 
 way to the Pacific. One sight of the prairie was enough for 
 me. We got to Point du Chene in the night; wet, wearied, 
 maddened by the mos(|iiitoesof the marshes, and threw our- 
 selves down to sleej) on the floor of an unfinished building 
 that stood some way out on the prairie. In the morning I 
 awaked and, looking out, found myself in Paradise. " A floral 
 garden," as Mr. Macnoun called it, extended far away to the 
 horizon on every side. "Yes," said an enthusiast who had 
 joined our party, "you may stick a plough in here and draw 
 an unbroken furrow to the Rocky Mountains." That was a 
 slight exageration, but on the right side. In the main he was 
 not so far out. The question I had been asking myself was 
 settled. And, every day that I rode deeper into the heart of 
 tins great Northwest, it was settled more absolutely. Beau- 
 tiful was the prairie in those days, but more beautiful has it 
 seemed to me all this week, as I travelled over the four hun- 
 dred miles between this and Moosejaw. The expanding towns 
 and villages, the shack and shanty giving i)lace to the com- 
 fortable house and ample barns, stacks of golden grain out in 
 the fields or flanking the buildings right and left, the reapers 
 and the threshers, the sturdy yeomanry busy as beavers, the 
 abundance everywhere, even in this dry season, for man and 
 beast, filled my heart with gratitude to the bountiful Giver 
 of all. But, even so recently as 1872, few of the men whom 
 I met in Winnipeg had faith in the future of the Northwest. 
 Few uuought of it as a country in which men could enjoy life. 
 Speculators, indeed, hoped to raise "a boom" for their own 
 
7 
 
 bcnetit, but those who professed to know the country declared 
 that there liud never been a fjood crop even in the Red River 
 Valley. JJut three men at least blew the trumpet of the 
 Northwest. These were Adams (i. Archibald, the then Gover- 
 nor, Dr. Sehultz, now Governor of the Province in which he 
 made his home in its dark days, and Consul-General Taylor. 
 All honor to these, and to all men who sec farther ahead than 
 their noses, who have faith in their own country, and who 
 refuse to g-ive heed to the moans of the pessimist ! 
 
 I may say that never had I so much faith in the future of 
 the Northwest as I have now, and not in the coinitr}^ alone 
 but in the ])eople. No country known to mo has ever been 
 peopled by a l)etter stock. The cream of our Older Provinces 
 has come here ; a people resolute, intelligent, calm and re- 
 ligious. Good specimens, too, liave come from other countries, 
 and as a rule from climates almost as cold as your own. That 
 is a good thing. Your winter is grand for everybody but 
 tramps, and when they come tliey are not likely to stay. The 
 deliberate and general verdict of tlie 150,000 people now in 
 Manitoba may therefore be accepted on any subject in which 
 they are sufficiently interested to ensure from them careful 
 study. I for one believe that the sul)ject of Imperial Federa- 
 tion is safe in their hands, and that they may be among the 
 first to [)ress it on the general Government. 
 
 3. " What are the objections to Imperial Federation ?" 
 
 It will not be necessary to dwell on the important objec- 
 tions that have been mentioned in some influential organs of 
 public opinion — such as the alleged fact that the secretary of 
 a local branch parts his hair in the middle, or that several of 
 its advocates part their names somewhat in the same way. It 
 is a serious matter that a man should be called John A. Smith, 
 instead of plain John Smith. Ecpially formidable is the ob- 
 jection that some vigorous writers have called Imperial Fed- 
 eration a fad. I may, however, note other arguments : 
 
 (a) It is said that " Imperial Federation would involve us in 
 foreign relations." We are so involved already, fiom the fact 
 every nation has neighbours, and that we in particular are a 
 that trading people ; only, at present, we are without a voice as 
 regards the control of those relations. " We might be involved 
 in European politics." We are so involved already, from the 
 fact of our being united to Britain, only we cannot now use 
 any constitutional influence to detach the Empire from what 
 is of less im])ortance to what is of greater importance, from 
 the affairs of Europe to the interests of an ever expanding 
 Colonial Empire. 
 
8 
 
 (b) " We might be involverl in war." We may at any day 
 now, without our permission being asked. Ought we not to 
 be in a position to give our voice for peace ? Remember that 
 the democracy now rules in England, that its great interest is 
 peace, and that we ought to reinforce it against any influence 
 that might make for war. Ought we not to contribute our 
 share towards secui'ing the peace of the empii'e and even the 
 peace of the world, instead of being selfishly satisfied that we 
 ourselves are out of reach of war ? 
 
 (c) " There would be expense." T have pointed out that 
 Imperial Federation is simjily the full development of self- 
 government. Now, it is (juite true that every development 
 of self-government has brouglit with it additional expense, 
 but would we on that account have been better ofi* under 
 tutelage or bondage ? A Crown colon}' lias usually little debt. 
 In the old days oi an irresponsible executive the debt of 
 Canada was nominal. Now, our debt has attained to figures 
 that are quite respectable. But, would we therefore go back 
 to the old family compact regime ? The sensible (juestion to 
 put is this : Are there corresponding advantages to the in- 
 ci'case of expense ? As regards the debt of Canada, no doubt 
 mistakes have been made. Governments are not always wise, 
 and Government works are pcrha])S built and managed less 
 economically than works under private management. But on 
 the whole, we believe that we have got our money's worth, 
 and that no greater mistakes have been made in Canada than 
 in other countries. 
 
 (d) " Our interests are different." Against whom, I ask ? 
 Not as aoainst enemies, for two are stron<i;er than one. C^an- 
 ada and Britain must be stronger than either by itself. Not 
 as against each other, for in almost every respect we are com- 
 plementary. The one has what the other has not. This ob- 
 iection reminds me of a conv«jrrr^ion I had with a uentleman 
 on Main street to-day. " Great Britain," he said, " is degener- 
 ating into a money-lending country." That suits Canada 
 admirably, for we are a money-borrowing countr3^ We are 
 likely to be in the same position for some time to come, if we 
 would develope cur mines and our other resoarces, and it is 
 not a bad thing that the money should be found and also kept 
 within the family. My friend's argument went farther : "The 
 fact that Britain has from an a<>ricultuial become a manufao- 
 turing and that from a manufacturing it is rapidly becoming 
 only a money-lending community proves that it is decaying." 
 I dc not agree. Britain is still important agriculturally, and 
 any one who has recently visited her manufacturing centres 
 would see no signs of decay. She certainly lends money. 
 That means that she has money to lend. In other words, she 
 
9 
 
 has prospered ; and though I preach that sweet are the uses 
 of adversity, you, I am sure, wish to prosper in the same way. 
 An increase of your wealtli would not of necessity mean that 
 you were in a condition of decay. Yes, Bi-itain has prospered 
 marvellously, and on that very account a partnership with 
 her need not alarm us ; but her heart and brain were never 
 sounder than to-day. We have heard of " the decay" of the 
 old land for a lojig time, for there are not a few " candid 
 friends" who tell her so, fUn' liov own children consider grum- 
 bling their undoubted privilege ; but somehow there has been 
 about her for centuries a marvellous recuperative power. 
 After stout Oliver went to his everlastino- rest, Encfland did 
 decay. Charles II. and James II. were more than any nation 
 could stand. But under William of Orano-e she revived, and 
 when Marlborough went to the wars it M'^as fouitd how little 
 her decay was worth. She seemed to decay again under the 
 first Georges ; but when did she stand higher than at the 
 Peace of Paris in 1763 ? Next came the fraticidal war, in' 
 which she lost tlie New World that had been called into ex- 
 istence to restore the balance of the Old. Then indeed every 
 one considered that her sun liad set But no ; she retained 
 Cadada, and we are beginning to see what that meant. Her 
 sons braved the long wash of Australasian seas and discovered 
 a fair island-continent, on which already three millions of our 
 fellow-citiwns live, the most restless, vigorous and wealthy 
 populations under the sun. They colonized also the lovely 
 New Zealand group ; seized the Cape and penetrated into 
 South Africa; entered India and gradually attracted or sub- 
 dued its teeming millions of di% erse tongues and races, and 
 gave the Pax Brittanica to all alike. They have taken pos- 
 session of strategic positions and coaling stations all round the 
 world in the connnon interest, in the interest of free and un- 
 fettered trade, and girdled eveiy land and sea with posts that 
 ensure the development and defence of a great oceanic com- 
 monwealth. While all this has becsn done abroad, Britain has 
 developed at home with like stateliness of movement. Free- 
 dom lias 
 
 " broadened slowly down 
 From precedent to pi-ecedent." 
 
 I tell you, almost with regret, that she is alu^ad of us and of 
 J the United States ; that we have still much to learn fi'om her; 
 
 that in no countr}^ in the world is lilterty so truly un<lerstood; 
 that nowhere is it more necessary to a])peal to justice and 
 elevated sentiment if you would carry an audience with you; 
 and though she recognizes, as no other nation does, the un- 
 righteousness of every war that is not necessary, I tell you 
 
10 
 
 that there is strength enough in the old lion to astonish the 
 world yet — notwithstanding her wealth. 
 
 It is only fair to say here that my friend's argument went 
 further than I have indicated. He considered that Britain 
 was bound to decay, because she had responsible government, 
 and he greatly preferred the United States system, where, 
 once a President has been chosen, there is a practically irres- 
 ponsible executive for four years. If there is anything in 
 this, Britain shotdd adopt the United States system. So should 
 Canada. We should at once discard responsible government. 
 I have not heard of any such proposal being made, however. 
 We believe not only in being free once in every four years, 
 but in being free all the time. Our form of o-overnment is a 
 continuous education of the ])eoi)le : and though it has its 
 evils, ])erha])s Macaulay is right when he says, " for the evils 
 of liberty the best cure is more liberty." 
 
 (e) "We would have little influence in the Federation." 
 Well, in the first place, we would have more than we have 
 now. We have none at all now, except that which is indirect 
 and conceded by the generosity of Britain. We deserve to 
 have none, for we liave not shown that we value it, except by 
 newspaper clamor when the inconvenience of our position is 
 felt. It is humiliating to read articles in our papers calling 
 on Britain to send her ships, for instance to Behring's Sea. I 
 do not undertake to say whether ships of war should be sent 
 there from Escpiimault or not; but until we are able to change 
 the pronoun and use the phi-ase ova' ships, we should have the 
 grace to keep silent. Oh, but, you say, think of the expense, 
 if we undertook to bear a share of tiie cost of the Im[)erial 
 nav}'. Certainly, but if we go in i'or Independence, we shall 
 have to build our own ships. Which will be the heavier bur- 
 den, to build them at our own cost or in conjunction with the 
 wealthiest Empire in the world ? Again, if we go in for 
 Annexation, we shall have to pay not ordy our share of the 
 United States fleet, but our share of the pension fund. That 
 of itself would be seven or eight millions a year, as the total 
 is ninety millions— a good deal more, that one item, than our 
 share in a British- Canadian fleet 1 Two or three years ago a 
 Montreal newspaper made out that our connection with the 
 Mother Country was only nominal, but when neighbors began to 
 bully us for protecting our fisheries and to threaten war, the 
 same pai)er pointed out that we were an integral part of the 
 Empire, and that at the first movement in the direction of 
 war the British fleet would destroy all the coast cities of the 
 United States. When the President threatened non-inter- 
 course, the same paper pointed out clearly that he could not 
 discriminate l)etwcen one part of the Empire and another, 
 
11 
 
 and that non -intercourse with us meant connnercial war with 
 Great Britain too. In otljer words, the present union is 
 nominal wlien it suits us, and real when it suits us. We run 
 with the hare and hunt with the hounds. There is not much 
 dignity in such a position. It has hardly the merit of impu- 
 dence. It is simply childisli. Is it too nuich to ask the gen- 
 tlemen of the press who discuss this question to calndy con- 
 sider these two (juestions .; Ought we to ask for the service of 
 a Heet fcjr which we do not pay a cent ? and is it not our right 
 to ask for a share in the direction of the Heet which protects 
 our coasts and our conmierce ? 
 
 As to tlie amount of our influence in Imperial matters, that 
 would depend on our po[)ulation, our contribution to Imperial 
 expenditure, the reasonableness of our arguments and the 
 kind of inen we grow. I think that our own history, the 
 history in particular of my native Province and of this Prov- 
 ince, shows that the weakest mendjer of a political organism 
 may depend on getting in the long run at least its due share 
 of influence. The Anti-Confederates of twenty or thirty 
 years ago in Nova Scotia always asserted that the little Prov- 
 ince down by the sea would have no influence in the Confed- 
 eration, as Ontario and Quebec had ten times its population. 
 Now, the complaint in Ontario is that from the days of 
 Howe and Tupper to the days of Foster and Sir John Tiiomp- 
 son, Nova Scotia has ruled the Dominion , that it gets better 
 terms, local railways, shoi't lines, ship railways, and "verything 
 else it a.sks foi'. Your own history proves that the Dominion 
 Government " cannot check Manitt)ba." British Colundiia has 
 tlie smallest population of any of the Provinces, yet more 
 public money has been spent there than anywhere else. In 
 fact, the only arguinents urged against the larger Confedera- 
 tion are those that every one laughed at when they were used 
 by the Anti-Confederates of the Maritime Provinces against 
 union with Ontario and Quebec. 
 
 (f ) "An ocean separates Canada fi'om Britain." That means, 
 if it means anything more than the declaration of a well- 
 known fact, tliat if there was lan<l instead of water between 
 Canada and Britain, Federation would be practicable. But, 
 though formerly oceans divided, they now unite countries. 
 For trade purposes it is a positive benefit to have the Atlantic. 
 Mr. Moreton Frewen puts this well, not only as between Can- 
 ada and Britain, but with reference to the Empire as a whole, 
 in the following sentences : 
 
 " If I were asked to ideali.se an Empire wliich should in- 
 clude every economic and social advantage, I should take 
 Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and although 
 
12 
 
 the problems connected witli the inchision of India are very 
 coni})lex, still the cash value of India is in proportion. The 
 cost of moving a ton on a railway is about eijual to that of 
 movino- fifteen tons on the water. 'I'herefore a connuunity 
 occupying such ])oints as Boiul)ay, Liverpool, Montrciil, and 
 Melbourne, is connected for trade purposes under circumstances 
 ot great advantage, as compared with a connimuity which oc- 
 cupies New York, Chicago, Kansas City, and St. Louis, with 
 the districts intervening." 
 
 (g) " Manifest Destinj^."' This is the last objection that I 
 care to notice this eveninii-. It is sometimes urged in c(mnec- 
 tion witii Turgot's simile, that the destiny of Colonies is to 
 drop from the Mother Country as of apples to fall from the 
 tree. I hope not, for what becomes of the a])ples ? Again, it 
 is pointed out tliat just as grown-np children go out from 
 under the old roof-tree and build homes for themselves, .so 
 should it bo with Colonics. Certainly, and the one point we 
 always insist on is that — so far as we are concerned — the 
 making of Canada, the formation of a full-bodied, distinctive 
 nationality, is the first step in Imjjerial Federation ; the fir.st, 
 but not the only step. For, if our forefathers have slowly 
 gathered a great inheritance, is it not well that the sons should 
 go into partnership with the parents ? Is it necessary that 
 they should begin life without a share in the connnon inheri- 
 tance ? 
 
 The Manifest Destiny argument is more than a century 
 old, and if worth anything it should have been jnessed home 
 and should have weiu'hed with us lon^ au'o. It was used in 
 1 i 75, backed by CJenerals Arnold and Montoumerv with a 
 considerable force : but Canadian.s — though consisting then 
 almost entirely of the hahitivns of Quebec — refused to listen. 
 It was a'j'ain used in ]<S12-] 5, when everv conceivable effort 
 ^vas put forth to force Canadians to become free, but they 
 would not. The United States called for 100,000 voluntees, to 
 make the argument impiessive, a force eciual to more than a 
 third of our total population then, or the equivalent of two 
 millions now. It was used by Anti-Confederates in ISGT, but 
 in vain. That was the time, if ever, when it sliould iiave tohl. 
 Geograjjhy had vetoed the making of Canada. The proposed 
 Dominion consisted of four geographical divisions that could 
 not be united together by railways, an<l each of which was in- 
 tended by nature to be a mere appendage to a corresponding 
 state or section to the south. There was a measure of truth in 
 thi.s. But the people of Canada woidd not list(>n. Instinc- 
 tively they realized that every nation must be ready to 
 pay a price, must be willing to transcend difficulties, in order 
 to realize itself, to maintain its independence, to secure for it- 
 
i 
 
 13 
 
 self a distinctive future. They said, let us rise up and build. 
 So, they added to their unecjuallcd system of internal naviga- 
 tion from the Straits of Belleisle up into the centre of the 
 continent, an unparallelled railway system along lines where 
 engineers and scientific men had declared that railways could 
 not be built. And now, when the difficulties have been over- 
 come, when every part of our Confederacy is linked together 
 by bands of the best steel, when magnificent 'h-y docks have 
 been built at Halifax and Vancouver, when our coasts and 
 rivers and lakes have been lighted with hundreds of light- 
 houses ; now, when — after incredible toil and expense and 
 faith on the part of, comparatively speaking, a handful of 
 people scattered over half a continent — we liave succeeded in 
 building our nation's house, it is coolly proposed that we 
 .should break it into fragments as if it were a card castle 
 and as if the })utting of it together had been merely a bit of 
 child's phi)' on the part of grown babies ! No, sir ; I for one 
 will not do it. 
 
 The Manifest Destiny argument has been used on every oc- 
 casion on which we have come into contact with our neigh- 
 bors for any purpose whatsoever. Its use shows that they 
 think a good deal of our country and very little of us. Our 
 position has been consistent from first to last. We are a 
 trading people, from our origin, because of our traditions, 
 tastes, and necessities. We desir(> to trade with eveiy one, 
 and most of all with neiuhbors. No novernment could hold 
 office with us for a month that did not recoiiuize this. We 
 have never ))ut an end to a treaty of C(.)nunerce, existing or 
 proposed, with the United States, but we have made a good 
 many offers and invited others. The only absolute condition 
 insisted on by us is that of honor, or the preservation of our 
 own fiscal and political independence. The position that we 
 took a hundred yeai's ago as part of the British Empire we 
 hold still. 
 
 Some men among us occasionally speak of Secession. We 
 have had an impressive lesson taught us in our day of what 
 Secession costs, — what it means to attempt to l)reak up a great 
 nation, even where its links seemed so weak as those tliat 
 bound sovereign States together l)y a Constitution that con- 
 tained no provision disallowing the right to secede. That 
 lesson prevailed twenty years ago in Nova Scotia when the 
 Provhice leturned 17 out of its 18 members for the express 
 purpose of demanding a dissolution of the Confederation. Let 
 it prevail still. Let wise men ponder what it means, when 
 they propose that a country shall change its flag, that a great 
 people shall renounce their citizenship. 
 
 I 
 
14 
 
 4. " What are the advantages of Imperial Federation ? " 
 
 I have left myself little time to speak of these, and I am 
 not sorry. 1 have treated the question from the point of view 
 of duty, or of what is right to ourselves and the Empire, and 
 I have no desire to come down to lov/er ground. It is not the 
 time either to speak of possible commercial and financial ad- 
 vantarjes. That time will come when we have done the duty 
 that lies nearest us. In the meanwhile, sufficient advantage 
 is indicated, when it is seen that by Imperial Federation we 
 would gain full self-government, and with it self-respect, and 
 that only by this method would we gain our rightful place in 
 the history of the world, the place to which all our historical 
 evolution pbints. 
 
 I had a letter recently from your own Principal King, and 
 one or two sentences in it .struck me so nmch that I must be 
 permitted t*^ (juote them. He writes : " The highest elements 
 of character can be developed only where supreme responsi- 
 bilities are felt." Is it so ? Then, what are we in this world 
 for ? Is it to be merely human ants or beavers, each of us 
 gathering about him the greatest possible (juantity of stuff? 
 Or, is it that we may i(;ali;^e for ourselves and our children 
 the highest possible ideals of character ? Can we cultivate 
 these by being false to honor ; by causelessly breaking with 
 the past and all that our fathers have loved and toiled for :' 
 " Where you feel your honour grip, 
 Let that aye be your border," 
 
 is Burns' advice to his young friend. The grip of honor is as 
 binding on nations as on individuals. 
 
 The Empire to which we belong is admittedly the greatest 
 the world has ever seen. In it, the rights of all men are 
 sacred and the riohts of Gfreat men are also sacred. It is 
 world-wide and therefore offers most opportunities for all 
 kinds of noblest service to humanity, tlnough the serving of 
 fellow-citizens in every quarter of the globe. Let Canada ask 
 for some emblem — let it be maple leaf or beaver — to represent 
 it on the flag that represents so marvellous a past and present. 
 Is it to be thought that we would separate from such a flag 
 without cause, still less place our country in a position of an- 
 tagonism to it ? Think what it has always represented — per- 
 .sonal and national freedom ; civil and commercial, intellectual 
 and religious freedom ; righteousness in ])rivate and public 
 afl'airs and the proclamation of eternal life to every son of 
 Adam. 
 
 What keeps us from asking for full citizenship in such an 
 Empire ? Nothing but selfishness. To quote Principal King 
 again : " Selfishness is blindness in all highest interests." Yes, 
 
15 
 
 and he might have added, "and in the long run in all lowest 
 interests too." 
 
 What do I mean by our rightful place in the history' of the 
 world ? This, to 1 »e the link that shall bind into a world-wide 
 brotherhood, into a moral — it may be even a political — unity 
 the mother of nations and all her children, the great daughter 
 to the f<outh of us as well as the youngest born of the fanr!!y. 
 Mark it well, an independent Canada is out of the question. 
 The days of small nations are over forever. Of the few great 
 nations of the future the English-speaking people is destined, 
 if we are only true to ourselves, to be the greatest, simply 
 because it represents most fully the highest political and 
 spiritual life that humanit}' has yet realized. Break up the 
 British Empire, and what ])rospect is there of a worthy place 
 in history for any — even the greatest — of the parts ? Bind 
 the Empire into unity and we shall have solved the problem 
 that Spain and her Colonies could not solve, though two cen- 
 turies ago the future of the world seemed bound up with 
 them. We liave to choose between our rightful place in his- 
 tory or absoibtion, or a position somewhat like that of a South 
 American Republic. Take your choice. 
 
 A vote of thanks to Dr. Grant, which was carried by accla- 
 mation, was moved by Mr. W. B. Scarth, M. P., and seconded 
 by Rev. Dr. King, Principal of Manitoba College. 
 
 Principal King, in seconding the motion of Mr. Scarth, said: 
 " The people of Winnipeg are much indebted to Principal 
 Grant, for his thoughtful and elocjuent presentation of this 
 subject. 'J'he matter is one of great importance, and of great 
 urgency. The pi-esent state of things cannot be permanent. 
 We must either have a different and a closer connection with 
 the Empire, or, we shall be inevitably absorbed by the great 
 natiim to the South. There is, in my humble opinion, no 
 other alternative. Independence in the case of a people situ- 
 ated as wt! are, is not to be thought of. On the other hand 
 it is not possible for us to continue as we are. Five millions 
 of Canadians are not ffoint; to remain for an indefinite time, 
 or mdeed tor a much longer time, subjects of an Empire in 
 tlic highest issues of which they have no voice. The difficul- 
 ties attending a Federation of the Empire are admittedly very 
 great ; but it is to be hoped, alike in the interests of the 
 mother country and of the depencies, they can be surmounted. 
 [ trust a branch of the Feileration League will be formed in 
 Winnipeg, l^r. Grant may be assured that there are not a 
 few in full sympathy with him here in the cause, which he 
 has presented with so much ability."