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The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour Atre reproduites en un seul cliche sont filmdes d partir de I'angle supdrieure gauche, de gauche it droite et de haut en bas, en prenant Ie nombre d'images n6cessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la m6thode : 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. (The numbers omitted represent Monographs no longer in print.) 3 — Our Merchant Marine. By David A. Wells. Octavo, cloth i oo 5 & 6— The American Citizen's Manual. Edited by Worthington C. Ford. Part I. — Governments (National, State, and Local), the Electorate, and the Civil Service. Part II. — The Functions of Gov- ernment. Two vols, in one. Cloth . . . . . I 25 9 — The Destructive Influence of the Tariff upon Manufacture and Commerce, and the Figures and Facts Relating Thereto. By J, ScHOENHOF, Octavo, cloth, 75 cents ; paper . . 40 10— Of Work and Wealth. By R. R. Bowker. Octavo, cloth, 75 13 — Public Relief and Private Charity. By Josephine Shaw Lowell. Octavo, cloth, 75 cents ; paper 40 14 — " The Jukes." A Study in Crime, Pauperism, Disease, and Heredity. By R. L. Dugdale. Octavo, cloth I 00 16 — The True Issue. By E. J. Donnell. Octavo, paper . . 25 20— The Progress of the Working Classes in the Last Half Century. By Roirr. Giffen. Octavo, paper ... 25 23 — Social Economy. By J. E. Thorold Rogers, Octavo . . 75 24— The History of the Surplus Revenue of 1837. ^y Edward G. Bourne. Octavo, cloth i 25 25 — The American Caucus System. By George W. Lawton. Octavo, cloth, i.oo ; paper ....... 50 26 — The Science of Business. By R. H. Smith. Octavo, cloth . i 25 28 — The Postulates of English Political Economy. By Walter Bagehot. Octavo, cloth . . . . . . . i 00 30 — The Industrial Situation. By J. Schoenhof. Octavo, cloth, i 00 35— Unwise Laws. By Lewis H. Blair. Octavo, cloth . , i 00 36 — Railway Practice. By E. Porter Alexander. Octavo, cloth, 75 37 — American State Constitutions : A Study of their Growth. By Henry Hitchcock, LL-D. Octavo, cloth .... 75 38 — The Inter-State Commerce Act : An Analysis of its Provisions. By John R. Dos Passos. Octavo, cloth . . . . I 25 39 — Federal Taxation and State Expenses ; or. An Analysis of a County Tax-List. By W. H. Jones, Octavo, cloth . . i 00 T^^-' "^ r QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. 40 — The Margin of Profits. By Edward Atkinson. Together with the Reply of E. M. Chamuerlain, Representing the Labor Union, and Mr. Atkinson's Rejoinder. Cloth, 75 cents ; paper , . 40 42 — Bodyke : A Chapter in the History of Irish Landlordism. By Henry Norman. Octavo, cloth, illustrated • • • 75 43 — Slav or Saxon : A Study of the Growth and Tendencies of Russian Civilization. By Wm. D. Foulke, A.M. Octavo, cloth . I 00 44 — The Present Condition of Economic Science, and the Demand for a Radical Change in its Methods and Aims. By Edward C. LuNT. Octavo, cloth 75 46 — Property in Land. By Henry Winn. Octavo, paper . 25 47— The Tariff History of the United States. By F. \7 Taussig. Octavo, cloth . . . . . . . . . . I ::5 48 — The President's Message, 1887. With annotations by R. R. BowKER. Octavo, paper . . . , ... 25 49— Essays on Practical Politics. By Theodore Roosevelt. Octavo, cloth . . . 75 50 — Friendly Letters to American Farmers and Others. By J. S. Moore. Octavo, paper ....... .25 52 — Tariff Chats. By Henry J. Phii.pott. Octavo, paper . 25 S3 — The Tariff and its Evils ; or, Protection which does riot Protect. By John H. Allen. Octavo, cloth . . . . . i 00 54 — Relation 6f the Tariff to Wages. By David A. Wells. Octavo, paper . . . . . . . . . . . 20 55— True or False Finance. The Issue of 1888. By a Tax-Payer. Octavo, paper .......... 25 56 — Outlines of a New Science. By E. J. Donnell. Octavo, cloth, I 00 57 — The Plantation Negro as a Freeman. By Philip A. Bruce. Octavo, cloth . . . . . , . . ' . I 25 58 — Politics as a Duty and as a Career. By Moorfield Story. Octavo, paper ......... 25 59 — Monopolies and the People. By Chas. W. Baker. Octavo, cloth. I 25 60 — The Public Regulation of Railv^ays. By W. D. Dabnev, Octavo . . . . . • . . . ... I 25 6l— Railway Secrecy and Trusts ; Its Relation to Inter-State Legisla- tion. By John M. Bonham. Octavo . . . , . . 1 00 rfS^i¥mm-i*aMiA'i>: sa!f55apB^wiPWifi""P'P"f^ I ./ p * :!:t_^' K- /t? V, I :f^' l<<^ />'-'/ ^ ^ ^ 2_ "s. ^ 'fk ^- ■■■^^: T CANADIAN INDEPENDENCE Annexation and British Imperial Federation BY JAMES DOUGLAS G P. PUTNAM'S SONS 27 NEW YORK- West Twenty-third Street LONDON 24 Bedford Street, Strand oTbc liniclurbotl .ct ^ttss I8q4 COPYRIGHT, 1894 BV • JAMES DOUGLAS Entered at Stationers' Hnll^ London By G. p. Putnam's Sons Electrotyped, Printed and Bound by Ube ftnicherbocher preee, Dew ]|?orfi G. P. Putnam's Sons PREFACE. The following essay is the amplification of an essay written for Canadian readers by a Canadian long resident in the United States. Annexation implies a transaction to which the two sections concerned must be parties, and therefore is of importance, if not equally momentous, to both. To Americans the annexation, not alone of Canada, but of any further territory and its inhabitants, should be considered in the light of the perilous growth of sectionalism at home. The problem of reconciling local inter- ests and prejudices with the national well- being and will, is presenting itself obsti- nately for solution wherever representative government is on its trial, whether under its most restricted form or its most democratic 111 IV Preface. development. By the Austrian Empire tlie German, Slavonic, and Magyar ele- ments have to be conciliated. In Ger- many the Polish provinces, with their ra- cial and religious divergences from the Teutonic mass of the people, have to be propitiated. In Great Britain the Irish question is the supreme puzzle to each suc- ceeding administration, and keeps the legis- lative halls, if not the country, in a state bordering on revolution; while in the United States one must be blind not to recognize the existence of sectionalism, and as perversely obtuse to the threatening danger as men wert oefore the war, not to be alarmed at the consequences of its growth. Why, therefore, add another story to the political structure ? It is pos- sible to make a constitutional edifice top- heavy, and to crush the strongest founda- tion by piling on it more than the builders designed it to bear. That the freest possible commercial in- tercourse and utmost political and social harmony should exist between the adjacent countries allied in so many ways, no one Preface, v can (question ; but conunercial engagements can be easily modified, close political ties are generally broken only amid rack and ruin. The customs tariffs now under dis- cussion in this country and in Canada in- dicate an approach towards friendlier and more liberal international intercourse. The motion recently made in Congress in favor of international co-operation in opening up navigation between the great lakes and tidal waters points hopefully in the same direction. Only the veriest optimist will assert that the complicated problems involved in rep- resentative government have been solved by any one of the self-governing communi- ties of the world. If so, success will soon- est be attained if the grand experiment be tried by many separate nations (provided each be large enough to make its results conclusive), rather than by huge aggrega- tions of people, unwieldy by their num- bers, and heterogeneous in their interests and habits. It is significant that the present Prime Minister of England, chosen by the Lib- vi Preface. eral j)arty, should be a Peei', a Radical, and a stauncli Imperial Federalist, at one time President of the Imperial Federation League, and that Loi'd Rosebery supports Irish Home Rule, not as a piece of excep- tional legislature, but as the iii'st step tow- ards the creation of a group of separate English-speaking states in both hemi- spheres, controlling without interference their own domestic affairs, but bound to- gether by common constitutional ties and common interests, each working out its own individual destiny, while contributing to the strength, the influence, and the pros- perity of the whole. J. D. New York, April 25, 1894. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. — The Imminence of Political Change IN Canada i II. — Imperial Federation Possible only AS THE Consequence of Indepen- dence . . . . . .II III. — Annexation as an Alternative to Independence . . . .34 IV. — Canada's Slow Progress (Compared with that of australia and the United States) Due to Physical Conditions 46 V. — If the "National " or Protection Policy has Failed to Attract Population to Canada, will Annexation do so ? . . .55 VI. — Probable Effect of Annexation on Canadian Industries and Wages. 65 VII. — Annexation from the Standpoint of Comparative Politics . . 83 VIII. — Annexation from American and Canadian Points of View . . 97 Index iii vii Canadian Independence. CHAPTER I. THE IMMINENCE OF POLITICAL CHANGE IN CANADA. The political future of Canada should and does occupy a foremost place in the thoughts of its people, and is a subject of no inconsiderable importance to her neighbor. It may be true that at present there is no widespread discontent with its existing constitution and relations, but some change in the alliance between Canada and the mother-country must, sooner or later, take place, as inevitably the relations between parent and child alter when childhood passes into boyhood and boyhood merges into manhood. Canadian Independence, i ! The parental-control stage of Canadian history ended in 1842. Since then Canada has been out of leading-strings, managing her own internal affairs, and trying to work out a system of government, based on rep- resentative principles, which would har- monize discordant elements at the centre, and permit of the absorption and develop- ment of territory at tlie periphery of her possible domain. The mother-country has held over her the aegis of her protection, which, happily, has never had to ward off a dart actually thrown. She has been ready to advise her offspring, to lend her money, and in every way assist her during this period of national adolescence. Now that this period has passed, it will be as ignominious to remain dependent and accept support from the parent state, as it is on the part of a full-gr'^wn man to look to his sire, not only I'or counsel, but for assistance. A man is never too old to ask and take advice without derogation to his dignity, but he cannot accept alms without loss of self-esteem. He may enter a partnership penniless and yet contribute in energy and Imtnincjicc of Political CJia^igc, 3 industry more in value than liis partner's wealth. Into some such partnersliip the children of the great British famil) might be incorporated. Some such compact for mutual profit and protection there may arise a statesman endowed with the wisdom to frame and the sagacity and tact to manage. As yet, however, and though every thoughtful Englishman at home and in the colonies know^s that to be the most momentous if not the most urgent question of the day, no feasible plan of Imperial Federation has been formulated. Mean- while the impending crisis, which wdll be created out of some unforeseen complica- tion, approaches. In the case of the colonies in the South- ern Hemisphere no outward pressure or internal convulsion threatens to create ne- cessity for sudden decision and prompt action. As less and less territory remains to be occupied or seized in the Archipelago of the South Pacific by England or her rivals, the most pregnant cause for irritation there is disappearing. Australia's debt is by far the largest per capita of any com- 4 Canadian Indcpendciice, miiuity ia the world. It is !i^230.78 per head, while the national debt per head of this country is only $14.24. As this enormous sura is (bn in greatest part to England, it serves as a balance-wheel to recfulate the relations of the borrower and the lender, and tends to repress hasty action by the one or the other. In South Africa a collision between the British and the Dutch or Poi'tuguese com- munities might hasten disruption of exist- ing relations, but it would probably have the opposite result, for the colonies acting in unison would be stronger than their antago- nists; and political considerations would probably not restrain the parent state from tendering assistance should such a compli- cation arise. But on this continent a grave difference of policy between Canada and its neighbor may arise at any moment, on an economical question affecting, for instance, interna- tional commerce by land or water. Such a dispute might sj)eedily lead to conse- quences Avhicli would pi'oduce distress on one side of the line and irritation on the Imminence of Political CJuinge. 5 other, and endauger good-fellowship and neiiifhborliness. It is certain that the offence would have to be very clearly charo^eable to the United States and would have to assume tlie gravity of an interna- tional affi'ont, before England would em- broil herself in a qu-^rrel on account of Canada. Jn the event of reluctance on the part of England to champion Canada's cause, general discontent would ensue with the existing anomalous relations, which very reasonably deny Canada control of foreign affairs, though they expose her to all the consequences of a quarrel for which she may not be even remotely responsible. Nevertheless every Canadian must in fairness admit that as long as Canada de- pends on England for defence against foreign foes, and neither supports an army and navy of her own, nor contributes to the maintenance of the Imperial forces, she should be denied the power of com- promising the parent state by engaging in independent foreign negotiations. Thus, while we can easily conceive of international complications arising which Canadian Independence. would create a crisis, Canada is at the same time certainly suffering from internal morbid conditions of the body politic, wliicli will call, ere long, for the applica- tion of some remedy. Nowhere in the British Empire are the external and internal incentives to change as imminent and threatening as here, and nowhere are the alternative policies which offer themselves more perplexing. No plan yet proposed meets with even wide approval, for none is free from grave objections. The/ar niente policy would be the best if all Canada's internal forces should slumber ; and all external foes, should she have any, would remain dormant. But, if she indulges in the hallucination that while the world revolves she can stand still, she will certainly find herself in the same sorry plight as the " foolish virgins," with no oil, no light, and no home. As a people Canadians should act with the same prudence and foresight that they bring to bear on their private affairs, make plans for their future guidance, whether Providence Imminence of Political Change. 7 permits tbem to carry them out or not, and face tlie fiitare manfully, determined that they will steer a straight course towards a definite goal, and try and shape their destiny in imitation of some worthy model. Fortunately or uufortunately, circum- stances do not point to any conspicuous goal as that towards which Canada should steer. If we compare Canada's position with that occupied by the old colonies, and the prevalent sentiment of the Dominion with that which the colonists entertained towards the mother-country, we can conceive how much easier it was for them, once a break of existing; relations occurred, to decide upon a course of action than it is for Canada. The Puritan immigrants were Englishmen, it is true, but they left their homes because their opinions and practices were at variance with those of the govern- ment and of the majority of their fellow- countrymen; and ever and anon, during the century and a half which intervened between the date of their landing on Ply- 8 Canadian Indepcndaicc. I I H mouth Rock and the outbreak of hostilities, there were mutteriugs of the hurricane which was brewing. At one time cohmists resented the inter- ference of Parliament because they be- longed to a Crown colony. At another time they protested against the dictation of the Crown, because it trenched upon their liberties as Englishmen. One cannot read the story of the gathering of the storm without feelinsj that thunder and lightning were stored in that sultry atmos- phere, and a tempest was liable at any moment to burst. Not only Samuel Adams, but many another colonist, had made up his mind before the crisis arose that a collision must occur and separation result. The opinions of some at least of the influential colonists were but the fruit of their wishes, and their wishes were the flames which kindled the I'evolution. The case is different with Canada. The sentiment of the great bulk of the people is distinctly and strongly English. The large majority which the Conservative party commands is due primarily to a sus- Im))ii}icncc of Political Chancre. piciou tliJit, under tlie guise of commercial union with the United States, advocated by the Liberal party, are hidden designs for political union ; and from this, which means a severance of those strong, sympa- thetic ties which bind English Canadians to the old country, the hearts of the majority of Canadians I'evolt. So long as England and. Home are synonymous terms in Canadian speech, the sentimental bond attaching the child to the parent will be too strong to yield to merely economical considerations. Canadians have not and never have had a serious grievance against the parent country, for the disaffection of 1837 was far from being shared by the people at large, and it left hardly a trace of bitterness towards the mother-land. The legislative independence, which rewarded not only the rebels, but their foes, long ago obliterated any rancor excited by the event. If, as one result of the almost absolute independence which ensued, the racial alienation between the Canadian French and the Canadian English is growing into lO Canadian Independence. racial auti|)atliy, this antagonism is trace- able to internal causes, and does not oi'iginate in animosity towards England. Thii^, though there may be urgent reasons for changing Canada's constitution and modifying the terms of her alliance to the Empire, these reasons do not spring from discontent with the policy and action of the parent state, and consequently they do not, as in the case of the revolting colonists of last century, indicate the direction in which the change should be made. !lii ! I 'IMi CIIAPTKU ir. IMPERIAL FEDEKATIOX I'OSSlliLE ONLY AS THE CONSEQUENCE OF INDEPENDENCE. In reality there are but two alternatives open, either Annexation or Independence, more or less complete. A third course, that of Imperial Federation, if it be ef- fected, is more likely to follow as a conse- quence of a scheme of independence than to precede it ; for any feasible plan of Im- perial Federation necessarily involves vir- tual independence of the federated States. Were the colonies still colonies, subject, even nominally, to interference by the cen- tral state, arguments coming from her would savor of commands, and suggestions of coercion. No people are so sensitive to slights as little people, and weak persons are most prone to stand on their dignity, as they have generally little else to stand upon. II 12 Canadian Independence, The tliscussiou of a scheme of British Imperial Federation, with a view to its actual realization, would lead to practical results, only if carried on between per- fectly independent autonomous powers. The powers may differ widely in strength and resources, and thus differing, modify their claims in conformity with t) eir real imjiortance, hut it almost follows without argument tliat it would be impossible to reconcile the divergent interests of the many branches of the British family, did not each enter the family council with the fullest rights of independent action. Strong as may be its attachment to the parent state, every community would I'esent the faintest suspicion of pressure, and it is almost certain that were absolute inde- pendence of all the contracting parties not a precedent, pressure v:ould almost inevita- bly follow reluctance on the part of any member of the proposed league to follow the policy which the majority might agree to. Consent wrung by pressure never becomes cordial acquiescence. Canada's Maritime Provinces, lightly or wrongly, I ■i % Imperial Federation. 13 believed themselves cajoled, if not coerced, into the confederation, and thev have never entirely rid themselves of a certain sense of injury. How independence is to be worked out, circumstances will probably indicate. It must not be effected by violent means. The genius of the English race favors the introduction of political and social changes, so great as to be revolutionary in their effects, by slow, constitutional means. But the changes must be seen and recognized to be necessary and salutary, and means must be put in motion to bring them about. Let independence become a distinct issue, not in party politics, but in the national aspirations and aims of all the great groups of the British family, and Independence will come about without clash of arms or severance of sympathetic ties. Participation by right and not merely by courtesy, over its foreign, as well as its do- mestic affairs, must be exercised by every self-governing community. Dependence on themselves, and on their o\s\\ diplomatic skill, as well as, when necessary, on their H Canadia u Independence. own strength, can alone build up a vigorous, self-reliant, national character in any peo- ple ; while, on the other hand, reliance on a foreign power, even though it be a parent state, enfeebles and degrades. Great Britain has recognized in fact the rights of her colonies to participate in all deliberations with foreign powers, when their interests are affected ; but, as in the recent Behring Sea deliberations, the for- eign power is naturally irritated, and the negotiations are embarrassed, by the fact that Canada could not make her side known by direct utterances of her own diplomatic agents, and that Great Britain had more than once to shift her position in deference to the wishes, secretly expressed, of her dependency. How far this was really the case or not, the United States public can- not, of course, know, but the suspicion of its being true did not raise Canada in the estimation of her neighbor, nor smooth the path of British diplomacy. The Constitution of an Imperial Fed- eration will have to be drawn on lines not heretofore laid down for any ship of state. Imperial Fcdo'ation. 15 It is inconceivable, for instance, that such widely separated members of tlie British family as the Canadian, the Australian, the South African, and the West Indian groups, would yield so much of their sovereign rights to any Federal Government, as the States of the Union yield to tLe Govern- ment of the United States, which is not only theoretically, but actually and locally, an embodiment of themselves, nor would they delegate to their representatives to the Federal Parliament, sitting and delib- erating at a distance from home and under the influence of the central powers, with its magical over-weening spell, derived from the prestige of age and parentage, the same control as the people of the Republic en- trust to their representatives in Congi'ess. The impossibility of applying any system similar to the American Constitution, is indicated by the sense of incompatibility which influences the public mind of the people of the United States when the question of annexation of any distant terri- tory is presented. To do so seems like makinir a breach of i6 Canadian Independence . continuity and liomogeneity, for the feder- ated states are all geographically adjacent and all more or less peopled by men of single impulses and intei'ests. So the tie which can bind, without irritating, such scattered communities as we have enumerated, must derive its strength from unanimity of national sentiment, from reverence for a common historical past, and a determina- tion to maintain and live up to the political principles which underlie the self-govern- ment of all Anglo-Saxon communities, how- ever diverse may be the form and fashion of the institutions througli which they see fit to apply these principles. A common selfish interest may be the impelling motive, but it will really in the long run be a more feeble cohesive infiuence than the sympathetic. If we glance back to that most instruc- tive century and a half, between the land- ing of the Pilgrim Fathers, and the Declaration of Independence, we see how much more sensitive the colonies were to parliamentary than to kingly interference. They were willing to recognize a certain Imperial Federation. \ 7 titular sovereignty as residing in the king, but resented any approach to parliamentary meddling. Had their charters conferred somewhat more ample power, and been religiously respected, and had the crisis not been precipitated by the gross stupidity and ignorance of English statesmen, and the perverse obstinacy of an English king, that deeply implanted reverence which all Eng- lishmen feel for the king as the head of the state, and the representative of the people of all classes and all parties, sup- posed to be unswayed by political ambi- tion, and holding the balance between opposing factions, might have been potent enough to restrain the allegiance of the colonies towai-ds the parent state, till broader views of colonial independence had grown up, and a less officious king sat upon the throne. Eeasoning from the past, if the so-called dependencies of Great Britain are to con- tinue to be affiliated to the old countiy, harmony will be maintained only if each is fi-ee to shape its ow^n course in foreign as well as in domestic affairs, except where i8 Canaciia7t Independence, the wider interests of tbe Avliole are con- cerned. Each must in fact be a perfectly independent power, acting in concert, where the interests of trade and commerce and the momentous question of mutual de- fence demand, but bound to the mother- country and the other members of the family politic, not so much by rigid con- stitutional fetters as by the sympathetic ties of common blood, common aims, pride in a glorious past, and aspirations towards a still more glorious future. But such a co-fraternity can be better effected and the institutions by which it is to be made operative and maintained can be better conceived and created, once the idea of dependence has been banished from the thoughts of Englishmen of both the Greater and the Lesser Britain, and the sense of m^e^'-dependence in its highest meaning has permeated the conceptions of all the free independent people of English nationality. They may be widely sepa- rated geographically, and the forms of government may differ widely in details, but all must embody, and all must apply Imperial Fcderatio7i. 19 to their diversified conditions of industrial and social life, the same fundamental prin- ciples of liberty and self-government which Englishmen brought over to Jamestown and to Plymouth, which Englishmen have planted and Frenchmen have adopted in Canada, and which even in the tropics seem to withstand the enervating influence of climate. If Imperial Federation of Britain and her colonies is to be effected, sentiment even more than self-interest must be the federating force. Sentiment will help to solve many a difficulty, and primarily that question as to the personality and function of the head of the Federation. Although no member of the Federation would create a king to preside over her local government, a constitutional monarch might appropri- ately be the head of the Federation. He would I'epresent in his person the traditions of the past, and embody the historical con- tinuity of the race. Powerless to intei-fere arbitrarily, but not, therefore, bereft of influence, the creature of his subjects, though nominally the controller of their fate^ his 20 Canadian Independence, right to avert injustice and enforce fair play, even if never exercis(;d, would exert a restraining power. Such a nominal bead, called by whatever name the llepublican principles of the Federation would allow to be applied, would be a less dangerous and more picturesque chief than an elected president. A far more difficult problem would be to balance the power of the executive, legis- lative, and Judicial branches ; to define the functions of the elective representatives of the Federal Council ; to fairly apportion representation to it ; to decide whether it should be a mere board of arbitration for the settlement of inter-stj^^e disputes and questions affecting trade and commerce, or whether it should be endowed with the higher functions of Parliament, and empow- ered to commit the Federation to defensive and offensive war. All these and a hundred other decisions could only be made by states of complete independent integrity, free from the dictation or the overt influence of a paramount power. In any case, the more restricted the sphere Impcria I Fed era Hon. 21 of Federal interference, and consequently the more complete the right of independent action by each state within its own domain, the less Jealousy md friction there would be. An experiment (for experiment it necessarily will be) at Federation should aim at accomplishing as much as possible with the simjilest possible machinery, leav- ing to the future the development of a more intricate and comprehensive system, if ex- perience should call for it. The most direct step ever taken towards Imperial Federation was when Lord Salis- bury pi'oposed, or rather suggested, a com- mercial Zollverein between the mother- country^ and her friendly children. Unfor- tunately the circumstance which elicited the suggestion was the adverse trade policy of England's oldest and most refractory offspring. When the North American colo- nies wei'e dependencies, one of their griev- ances was the selfish trade and commercial policy of the mother-country. Since then the mother-country has adopted the freest trade policy ever pursued by a great nation, but her old dependencies have not unlearned 22 Canadian Independence. some of the lessons she so emphatically impressed upon them. It is not from ov^ert hostility but from self-interest that not only the great Republic, but most of the British colonies, refuse to follow her example. In the case of tlie United States, her fiscal system dictates that policy, but it has cre- ated a trade rivalry which must necessarily become moi'e and more acute, thougli it need not degenerate into unfriendliness. Half a century ago, when England saw fit to adopt the principles of free-trade, there seemed to be a leaning: in the same direction on the part of the United States. Its government was then controlled by the South. The South produced cotton, of which England was by far the largest pur- chaser. In return for cotton, England offered the South every class of manufac- tures at a less cost than they could be bought at home. But the War of Secession ban- ished all thought of any nearer approach to a common trade policy. A high tariff was im[)eratively forced on the country. It was imposed for purposes of revenue, but it fostered manufactui-es and made i I))ipcrial Fcdc7'ation. 23 many rich. Wlieu the amount yielded by customs grew to be in excess of the require- ments of government, the Democratic party urged reform of the tariff, and curtaibnent of duties. The Mills Bill, framed with this object, was defeated. The following Con- gress was Republican, and passed the Mc- Kinley Tariff Bill, avowedly as a measure of protection, nominally in the interest of the working masses, really in the intei'est of the accumulating classes. The New York Trihune, during the na- tional campaign which followed the pas- sage of the bill, covered the first page of several issues of its weekly edition with a list of the wealthy men of the country, designating by an asterisk those who had been enriched by tariff* legislation. The list was long, but it was very short com- pared with that of the millions who have contributed, in higher cost of living, to the wealth which has made a plutocracy of the few. It might be supposed, moi'e ap- propriately, to be a campaign document of the anti-tariff party. On the contrary, it was a shrewd move to win votes, not from 24 Canadian Independence, the workinixmen, but from tlie averajxe trader and small manufacturer, who, ex- cited by the wealth which had accrued to 80 many, were tempted to .support a system which in a few years might elevate them to the same glorious height, and cause their names to be enrolled in the McKinley peerage of money. But while parties have been using the tariff as a party issue, the cost of govern- ment has been increasing so rapidly that the whole proceeds of even the tariff for protection are being absorbed. The pen- sion list, let who will be responsible for its length, must be paid. A navy must be built. The appropriation for harbor and river improvements must grow greater and greater. The cost of government, already in excess of that of Great Britain, goes rolling on, and I'enders it practically im- possible to reduce the tariff, unless resort be had to direct taxation or higher internal revenue. But if a high tariff is to be main- tained, foreign trade will be shut out, and consequently commercial intercourse Imperial Federation. 25 will dwindle from sheer luck of excliaiii^e. To avoid this inevitable consequence, which all but the extreniest protectionists recog- nize and admit would be a misfortune, Mr. Blaine devised a scheme of reciprocity by which other high-tariit' countries shouh admit certain American products and manufactured articles in return for free admission into the United States of certain of theii* commodities, principally raw ma- terials. When the admission of the foreicrn commodity injures a home industr^y of con- siderable industrial or political importance, the home interest is recompensed by a bounty. Thus Cuban and other sugars enter duty free, and the cost of sugar to the American consumer seems to have cor- respondingly declined. But what the sugar consumer thinks he saves, because he pays his grocer less, he pays into the Treasury as increased taxation, to re- imburse the Louisiana sugar-plan t^' for the protection of which he has been deprived ! The system has not been on trial long enouQ^h to be an assured success or an assured failure, but one thing it has done : 26 Canadian Independence, while it has led to reciprocity treaties be- tween the United States and some high- tariff countries, whose exports are of raw material, it has induced other high-tariff countries, whose exports are only manu- factured goods, and whose trade with the United States was certainly hampered by the McKinley Bill, to combine among themselves for mutual protection and effec- tive recrimination. But England, con- sistent in her free-trade policy, stands alone and powerless. She even allows her sugar dependencies in the West Indies to enter the United States protective league. Canada has treated with her neighbor with the same object in view, but the United States must decline to admit Canadian raw material free, unless Canada will, in her tariff on manufactured articles, discriminate in her favor, which is the gist of a reciprocity treaty, and therefore against Great Britain. If, after a fair trial, the United States finds or thinks it to be to her advantage to persist in this dual policy of high protec- tion at home and preferential discrimina- Imperial Federation, 27 tion in favor of reciprocating communities abroad, and other countries follow her example, it is difficult to see how Great Britain is to defend herself, except by adopting similar tactics. Though the drift of political opinion in the United States has veered towards a free international trade policy, the reverse has been the case in Europe, as evinced by the new German-Russian treaty and the French duty on wheat. There, however, economical conditions are complicated by, if not subordinate to, political motives, which happily do not influence us on this continent. It is inevitable that, be their fiscal policies what they may, England and the United States are certain to be competitors in the world's markets for the sale of the great staples of the manufacturers' skill ; foi*, despite the great growth of population in the United States, the growth of her iron and steel and of her textile-fabric indus- tries is gradually outstripping the demands of her home mai'ket. To divert the inevitable decline in prices 28 Canadian Independence. I I which results from overstocking the home market, every trade has organized under one form or another a trust or combina- tion, whose efforts are directed to checking unbridled competition, and keeping within the limits of consumption the production of protected articles. Of the trusts, those are most easily managed and most success- ful which manipulate the movement of commodities which are the product of a limited region, such as petroleum and anthracite coal, or highly protected articles like iron and steel. But the day inevitably comes when the laws of trade, or the cupidity of the more favored mines or mills, or the necessities of the financially embarrassed, induce some works of large capacity to overstep the nrtificial barrier, to produce in excess of its allowance, and thus to break faith Avith its partners, but not to break the law. Then commences a competitive stampede, in which each large corporation uses its plant and resources to the utmost limit of its capacity and of its credit. This they do, either impelled by ambition to stand at Imperial Federation. 20 the head of the list, as the biggest producer, though every inch of increase means an ell less^ of profit, or from valid economical motives, in the endeavor to reduce the percentage of administi'ation expenses by distributing them over a larger output. Thus, once the control of the manage- ment of a combination is weakened, competition again comes into play, and individual folly, selfishness, or necessity brings about excessive production. That excessive product must be sold at any price, and must therefore of necessity seek a foreign market. The price of the foreign market soon comes to fix the price at home, and then protection ceases to protect. This sequence of events has al- ready follovred in the history of some pro- tected industries in the United States, and if laws against trusts can be enforced it will be the fate of others, unless admission for protected articles be secured to other protected markets, which is the aim of the reciprocity politicians and economists. The natural resources of the Union are so vast, and the enei-gy and ingenuity of its M 30 Canadian Indcpcndeiicc. people so uncontrollable and keen, that production will in any case sooner or later refuse to be restricted to home consumption. Whether, therefore, by shutting out England's manufactures from her own market by a protective tariff, or from other markets by reciprocity temptations, or whether by cheapening the cost of her own goods through a free-trade policy, and entering as a competitor on equal terms the markets of the world, the United States is sure to be Eniiland's antacjonist, not. at any rate for a long time to come, her commercial ally. Looking at the natural resources, still undeveloped and not half discovered, and the growing population of the Republic, occupying half a new continent, and look- ing at the little Island digging deep for its mineral wealth, and teeming with people who jostle one another for mere existence, one can hardly doubt what the issue will be, unless the little Island can gather into a commercial league, oifensive and defen- sive, the scattered members of her family Imperial Federation. 31 from noi'tb and south, and east and west, who still bear to her filial affection! Whether even that will avail, must de- pend upon the course of trade relations the world over. Yet, if the nations of the earth are to be marshalled into hostile commercial camps— as is the indication at present— legislating in their own favors as against all others, it would seem as if England and her colonies could, advan- tageously to its members, compose a power- ful ZoUverein, strong enough to be self- supporting, and to enforce respectful recognition of its rights by others. And should in time the policy of isolation be abandoned by the nations in favor of more cosmopolitan commercial intercourse, out of these close trade relations, which we will suppose have been harmoniously maintained by the British Federation, might grow a political pai-tnership of still wider range, which would realize the highest aspirations of the Federalists. But neither a commercial union of Brit- ain and her colonies alone, nor a political federation of the whole Anglo-Saxon race, ■•v*^^ 32 Canadian Independence. would be durable, if effected at the dicta- tion of one or more supreme powers, or if the suspicion even existed that either was formed to subserve special local interests. Take, for instance, Canadian trade rela- tions to the United States to-day. Reason- able as it is that Canada should not make a reciprocity treaty with the States which would discriminate against British manu- facturers, it is unfortunate that her relations to the mother-country" are such that she could not if she would, without the act being passed upon and possibly vetoed by the supreme power. The moral effect of Canada's refusing to do so, if perfectly free and untrammelled, would be felt appre- ciably on both sides of the Atlantic — as keenly in the United States as in England; whereas a vague sense of degradation of necessity accompanies the refusal in the mind of every Canadian when he feels that he is virtually obliged to consent to a course which fairness and patriotism would impel him to adopt, were he politically independent. It is impossible to weigh the material I I M ' Imperial Federation, 33 advantages which might accrue to Canada from commercial intercourse with the United States, as against those which might result from membership in a gi-eat con- federation of other Anglo-Saxon communi- ties capable of raising all the raw materials and manufactures that are natural to the tropics, the temperate, and the arctic zones ; possessing territory teeming with an abun' dance of mineral wealth, and skill to turn it to account ; and above all, imbued and impelled by the same love of liberty and the same faculty of adapting themselves and their principles to the most diverse conditions of existence. At the same time, this marshalling of industrial communities into hostile armies bears the semblance of a retrograde movement, seeing that for nineteen centuries the gospel of Christian communism has been in men's hands, if not in their hearts. Its fundamental principle, that "God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth " (Acts xvii, 26), is as antago- nistic to dynastic and national as to selfish trade aggrandizement. CHAPTER III. It ANNEXATION AN ALTERNATIVE TO INDE- PENDENCE. We return, therefore, to the proposition with which we set out, that independence or annexation is the alternative offered to the Canadian people, inasmuch as Imperial Federation involves Independence, and is only possible as its consequence ; whereas, Annexation is a very possible sequence to Canada's present dependent position. In coming to a decision, supposing the decision to be reached by mere process of reasoning and feeling, without any outward control- ling pressure, the Canadian people may be expected to be influenced by the same motives as would move an individual Canadian to accept or refuse American citizenship. There are many Canadians and English- men in the United States, engaged in U Annexation. 35 business and owning property, who have not taken out their naturalization papers, and therefore remain aliens in a friendly land. Why do they impose political ostracism on themselves, when, in most cases, they are in hearty sympathy with the I'epublican institutions under which they thrive ? Simply because, unable to throw off their strong attachment to their native land, they will not apply for citizenship. Englishmen feel also that, so long as those sympathies are strong, they would be unable to act as loyal citizens of the United States in case of any quarrel be- tween their adopted country and that of their birth ; for no elderly person can so divest himself of his prejudices (if they be so) and of his affection for, or antipathy towards, the home of his forefathers, as to be a perfectly impartial citizen of another country. Many Englishmen, therefore, think they are truer to the land which has treated them generously, and that they re- lieve themselves from many a perplexing case of conscience, by retaining their alle- giance to Great Britain and depriving them- i 36 Canadian htdcpendence. I , I I il I selves of certain advantages which the hind of their adoption liberally offers. At the same time, living under American institu- tions, an Englishman enjoys the common privileges of the Anglo-Saxon race, and he feels that there is no such incongruity in making the United States his home, and seeing his children settle there and grow up into Americans, as there would be in deciding to end his days and contemplate the education and domestication and nat- uralization of his family in any European state. Another reason which repels English- men from seeking naturalization is the bitterness expressed against England by a section of the American people, and the unfair criticisms levelled against her, and the unjust insinuations, and the imputations of unwarrantable motives with ^vhich Eng- lish affairs and the relations of England to America are discussed in the American press. We know that much of this rhodo- montade is but a dishonest bid for votes, and a contemptible method of increasing the sale of newspapers ; but, nevertheless, Annexation. 37 the votes must be many which respectable l)oliticians will descend to secure by such methods ; and abuse of Great Britain must be grateful to a large number of readers to induce influential journals to print the ri- diculous statements and criticisms which irritate not only Englishmen but intelligent and candid Americans. The Roman Catholic Irish population of the United States is, to a man, violently anti-British, and it is per capita politically the most active, and, therefore, influential, section of the people. The Germans and Scandinavians have no acute antipathy to Great Britain, but they have no sympathy with her, and were an anti-Euijlish crv raised, would readily join in it. The prev- alence of this antipathy jars on the feelings of an Englishman resident in the United States, and deters him from accepting the privileges which citizenship confers. The same feelings, excited by the same causes, undoubtedly animate a large section of the Canadian people against annexation. It may be very foolish on the part of an Englishman to deny himself the advantages 38 Canadian Independence. and the security of property which citizeu- ship confers, and on the part of Canada to allow sentiment to interfere with prosperity (supposing that it does), but the United States would not be the United States were it not that it owes its institutions and racial strength to that very England, whose sons to-day, while admiring it and living under its flag, and working hard to ad- vance its prosperity, yet cling too tena- ciously to the traditions of the old stock to readily disown allegiance to the mother- country ; and Canada would not be Canada were it not for a larsje infusion of the United Empire Loyalists into the popula- tion of Ontario and the Maritime Provinces. The spirit which impelled those fugitives to forsake home and to abandon their property for an idea, and that idea patriotic affection to England, is not dead yet. It is undeniable that in Canada itself there are groups of the population indiffer- ent, if not hostile, to Great Britain. The Celt of Canada is a Celt still, Avitli all his Saxon antipathies, and the French-Canadian is a Frenchman still, with religious princi- Aimexation. 39 pies, racial instincts, traditions, and memo- ries, which tend to keep him from amalga- mating into one people with the English elements of the body politic. But these are only sections of a people which, as a whole, is loyal to England. The attitude of professional politicians towards the Anglophobists on the opposite sides of the line is suggestive. In the United States the anti-English sentiment is expressed or encouraged by pai'ty leaders and by newsi:>apers, in order to weld into more manageable shape, for political pur- poses, certain classes of voters. Some Canadian politicians have tried cautiously, but found it dangerous, to use the same tactics ; for while the bulk of the popula- tion on the one side of the line is loyal to England, the bulk of the population on the other is simply indifferent. But this hostility or indifference per- vades the people of the United States less widely than might be expected, and the feeling of attachment to England is extra- ordinarily strong, considering how dilute and remote the kinship is becoming. r^ 40 Canadian Independence, The colonists who revolted lumbered less than three millions/ and of these the Dutch of New York and the Swedes, Dutch, and Germans of Pennsylvania formed a large contingent. The white po];)ulation had not increased to much above 5,000,000 when the War of 1812 embroiled the kindred peoples in hostility. Since then there have been incorporated by direct immigration three and one half millions of Irish, all cherishing grievances against the land of their expatriation ; six millions of Germans, Scandinavians, and Slavs, who, if they do not harbor dislike, have brought with them from their homes a vague jealousy of Great Britain ; and one and one half millions of French and French-Canadians, with whom aversion to, amounting in some to hatred of, " per- fidious AlV)ion " is an article of faith. And yet this mixed population has assimilated English ideas, has adopted the English language, and is applying in practice the essential doctrines of English political liberty and jurisprudence. ' The census for 1790 gives the white population at 3,172,- 006 and the black at 757,208. Annexation. 41 The universal use of the English lan- guage is a most noteworthy instance of the unifying process now going on in the United States. Wherever English is spoken, it is intelligible English. In England there are dialects so different fi'om literary Eng- lish and so obscui'e that a cultivated native cannot understand them. But the English of America is a language which every Eng- lish-thinking and -speaking person can com- prehend and converse in. There are peculi- arities of intonation and accentuation in the American speech ; and the use of cer- tain peculiar words and phrases distin- guishes different sections, but Americans of the East understand those of the West, and those of the Noi'th understand those of the South, w^hile a Dorsetshire peasant can- not converse with a Yorkshire man. The universal use of the English language and consequent familiarity with English lite.ature, coupled with closer and closer commercial and social intercourse between Old England and New England, in her expansion over the whole continent, is cre- ating an English sentiment, and is oblitera- ting the positively hostile feeling which j" 42 Canadian Independence. was acute in 1812; wliicli was dying out prior to the War of Secession, but which was then revived by England's staunch neu- trality and the undisguised sympathy with the Southern cause of many Canadians. In April last, when the marines and sea- men of the nine fleets which anchored in New York harbor to celebrate the Colum- bian quadro-centennial pas>:.ed through the streets of New York, a heartier and \varmer welcome was shouted to the English con- tingent than even to the French and Rus- sian. The seamen of the American and Enojilsh fleets marched with so distinct a swing and exhibited so expressively the same air of good humor that it was impos- sible not to recognize a brotherhood of race, and inherited sea instincts. This co-frater- nity appealed so irresistibly to the crowds of Americans of diverse origin (not lialf of them of American parentage) ^vhich lined the streets, that it elicited for the British tars almost as hearty cheers as those which greeted the men of the White Squadron. The parade occurred at the very time a court of arbitration was sitting in Paris to Annexation. 43 settle a dispute which, in any other age than this, or if existing between any other nations, would have been settled by force of arras. Were Canadians to become citizens of the United States by their own will and option, there would be little seen and heard, unless they sought offence where none was meant, which would wound their love for their old home ; the influence of their votes on the other hand, and still more of their moral and sentimental influence in favor of England, would add weight and impetus to the existing forces which bind in ever closer and friendlier relations the great Republic to the country which is the mother-land of us all. Although, therefore, patriotic feeling in- fluences, and should influence, Canadians, individually and collectively, it should not be allowed to unduly bias the decision on the question of Annexation. This should be reached dispassionately by considera- tions of the common good, not only finan- cial, but political and social. Were England in a life-and-death strug- r |! 44 Canadian Independence. gle, and did her children desert her from sordid motives, the ignominy of the act would stamp it with the opprobrium which attached to the betrayal of the Master by his perfidious disciple. But there would be nothing base or sordid in a political alliance of one branch of the Anglo-Saxon family with another, whose political insti- tutions, if not identical, are harmonious, even though the prominent impelling mo- tive be financial betterment ; provided the rupture of the old tie be made with the full consent of the old partners. The question therefore arises : assuming that Enc:land would consent to annexa- tion, would Canada annexed be more pros- perous, not than Canada as she now is, but than she might be if by gentle inducement, or by violent shock, she could be galvan- ized into greater activity than she displays to-day ? That Canada as a whole does not pro- gress as rapidly as her neighbor, is a sta- tistical fact, and one of such serious importance that it claims anxious investi- gation. Every Canadian census, till the Annexation. 45 last, has shown a healthy active growth. Now that Canada undoubtedly occupies a more important position among the com- munities of the world, politically, industri- ally, and geographically, than ever before, population ceases to flow in, or, if it flows in, it flows out again in so steady a stream that she barely maintains the normal in- crfase that is natural to a young people with abundance of laud unoccupied, and of resources undeveloped. She exhibited between 1880 and 1890 a power of attracting and absorbing popula- tion equal to only half of that of her neighbor. In this comparison lies the most perj^lexing and disquieting feature of the question: for if the United States con- tinues growing into a giant, while Canada shrinks into a dwarf, with the distorted and unhealthy impulses which affect peo- ple, as well as individuals, of impaired development, the result can be easily fore- cast. CHAPTER IV. Canada's slow progress (compared with THAT OB^ AUSTRALIA AND THE UNITED states) DUE TO PHYSICAL CONDITIONS. The growth of population in Canada has not even reached a high standard of natural increase, and therefore the 800,000 who have entered as immigrants, during the last decennial period, have about compen- sated for an equal number of immigrants, composed in part of those same immigrants, who merely passed through Canada, but principally of Canadians, who left to seek their fortunes elsewhei'e, most, but not all, in the United States. The decennial increase of the following European nations between 1860 and 1870 was calculated by a Commission of French savants, into whose table I insert the per- centage growth of the United States and 46 Canada s Slow Progress. 47 Canada between 1880 and 1890. These figures are in most cases higher than those arrived at by Bodio. United States, between 1880 and 1890. Per cent. Per cent, per Bodio. annum. Russia do Sweden do England «Si Wales do Prussia do Canada do Italy do Spain do France do i860 and 1870. . do do do 1880 and i8go. . i860 and 1870. . do do 24.S or 2.48 13.9 1.39 13.3 12.6 12.6 II. 6 8.3 6.7 3.8 1-33 1.26 1.26 1. 16 .83 .67 .38 I. II 1.24 .98 .71 .35 •35 None of these countries, except the United States and Canada, was notably affected by immigration, though some lost heavily by emigration. Canada thus stands at the foot of the class of nations of healthy growth. Considering the prolific habits of the French Canadian peasantry, she should stand higher from natural increase alone. She should be the compeer of Australia and the United States, for they and Canada for several decades have been the magnetic centres to which the world's surplus popu- lation has been attracted. Of the three, Australia has grown the most rapidly. 48 Canadian Independence. I Comparing the population of her constitu- ent colonies and of New Zealand and Tas- mania in 1871, 1881, and 1891, we find the decennial gain in population to have been as follows : 1871. New Zealand 256,393 Victoria 731,528 South Australia. . . . 185,626 New South Wales. . 503,981 Queensland 120,104 Western Australia. . 25,353 Tasmania ... 101,785 Per cent. Per cent. 1881. gain. 1891. i ;ain. 489.933- .90.9 626,658. .20.8 862,346. .17.8 1,140,405. .32.2 279,865. .50.8 320,430. .18.0 751,468. .49.1 1.132,230. .52.0 213,525. .77.7 393,718. .84.3 29,708. .17.1 49,782. .67.5 115,705. .13-4 146,667. .26.7 I The total population of the above colo- nies was in 1871, 1,924,770, and in 1891, 3,809,890. Their growth in 20 years was 97.9 per cent, or 4.8 per cent, per annum. The colony of Victoria had, in 1891, 12.9 inhabitants per square mile to 20.6 in the United States, and 1.42 in Canada. There is no doubt of the inaccuracy of the results of the United States census for several decades past. Apart from the errors in local enumeration, the Census Bureau itself discredits the reliability of the census of 1870, and wishes to revise the Canada s Slow Progress. 49 totals. Taking the figures as they stand, the population of the United States was in — Decennial. Per cent, gain. i860 31,443,321 1870 38,558,371 •. 22.6 1880 50,155,783 •• 30.0 iSgo 62,622,250 .. 24.8 As revised for 1870, the totals would stand : Decennial. Per cent. gain. i860 31,443,321 1870 39,818,449 .. 26,6 1880 50,155,783 .. 25.9 1890 62,622,250 .. 24.8 The population of Canada during the same period shows the following fluctua- tions : Decennial. Percent, gain. 1861 3,171,418 1871 3,686,596 .. 16.2 1881 4,324.810 .. 17.3 1891 4,829,411 .. II. 6 Australia has, therefore, grown more rapidly than any of the other oifshoots of the Anglo-Saxon stock. Though her total 3 50 Canadian Independence. i|i I population is comparatively small, and the actual increment has been only about 8 per cent, of that of the United States, never- theless her marvellous vitality would seem conclusively to contradict the assumption that her colonial form of government has had a repellent influence on immigration. While the socialistic tendency of Australian legislation may have had an attraction for such intelligent immigrants as have been able to meet the cost of a voyage to the antipodes, the inference nevertheless is that emigrants in general are not prejudiced in favor of one form of representative govern- ment over another, provided there be full liberty of self-government. If this be so, Canada is not deserted because she is a colony, but for other reasons. There are points of resemblance between Australia and the United States, and points of difference between Canada and Australia, which may help to explain the stagnation of immigration into Canada. Climate is a potent factor in determining immigration. Between Southern New Zea- land and Northern Queensland, there is a Cajiadas Slozo Progress. 51 wider range of temperature than between Texas and Maine. Though New Zealand has the mean temperature of Eastern New York, the northern half of Australia is in the ti'opics. In spite of tlie aridity of Australia, the freedom from extreme cold has undoubtedly its effect on the fancy of the immigrant. And no wonder ! for half the energies of the population of Quebec and Manitoba, and no small share of its wealth, ai*e exj^ended in keeping itself warm and battling with snow and ice. Of the direct effect of climate, the United States census gives many an example. For instance its rigorous climate is doubtless the reason why Maine, — Per cent. between i860 and 1870, declined 0.22 between 1870 and 18 So, increased only 3.51 between 1880 and 1890, increased only 1.87 while North" Carolina, with as poor a soil, and but few manufactures, even during the war period, — Per cent. from i860 to 1870, gained i.g from 1870 to 1880, gained 30.6 from 1880 to 1890, gained 15.5 f" J; ■ i I 52 Canadian Independence. Mineral wealth is as potent a factor as climate in determining the current of immi- gration. The tremendous waves of population which flow into a district under the in- fluence of speculative mining nearly doubled the population of Colorado between 1870 and 1880, and more than doubled the population of Montana between 1880 and 1890. Both these States, like California, had other resources than mines, which re- sources those who failed in mining turned their hands to developing, and have thus created communities with permanent and stable industries. Australia, under like physical conditions, has experienced similar accessions to its population. Though the absence of such vast tracts of fertile land as have drawn so much of the surplus population of the world to the prairies of the West, will of necessity limit the number which Australia can ultimately accommodate, her very aridity has facilitated the discovery of minerals, and been the prime mover thither of population. In a barren, treeless region. Canada s Slaiv Progress. 53 where the rocks are exposed, minerals, if they exist, are easily and rapidly dis- covei'ed. The surprising speed with which the mining of precious metals drew the hardiest and most enterprising of the reckless sj^irits of the world to California, after 1848, was almost exceeded during the next decade in the experience of Australia. Of the multitudes who then and have since flocked to both scenes of mining excite- ment, the major part, disappointed in their search for fortune beneath the soil, have, in despair, turned their energies to cattle ranching or agriculture, and created large communities of people, far above the aver- age in intelligence and enterprise. Canada has undoubtedly mineral wealth, but nature has very carefully hidden it, as if to save it for future generations and prevent its reckless exhaustion. The Canadian Rocky Mountains are probably as richly impregnated with gold and silver as the same ranges south of the line, but they are heavily clad with soil and forest. Exploration is therefore difficult, discovery :lf \] \:' ft Jll i I 54 Canadian Independence. is slow, and the enthusiasm of the pro- spector seldom reaches that white heat which precedes and creates a " rush." These reasons may explain why the Eastern Provinces of Canada make no bet- ter progress than Maine, and why British Columbia does not keep pace with Montana. The United States has heretofore won most of her immigrants by offering them high wages in her mines and manufactories, or by presenting them with cheap, rich lands in a temperate zone. Canada has not, and cannot, hold out similar or equal induce- ments, and therefore till wages fall in the United States, and the more desirable lands are absorbed, it is unlikely that Canada will keep pace with her neighbor. < i^ I: CHAPTER V. IP THE " NATIONAL " OR PROTECTION POLICY HAS FAILED TO ATTRACT POPULATION TO CANADA, WILL ANNEXATION DO SO ? Canada cannot attract a large manufac- turing population, because she cannot give it work. The reason why she cannot, is not far to seek. The most palpable cause for the languishing state of certain manu- factures in Canada is the want of a large home market. Applying high duties keeps out foreign goods, and secures the home market to the home manufactures. If the home market be big enough, the policy works admirably for the manufacturer and the operative. Dear goods can aiford to pay costly labor, and all are happy but the consumer, who ha^ to buy the dear goods. If the consumers are numerous enouirh to support extensive industries, and the in- 55 ll I 56 Canadian Independence, dustries by means of trusts and combina- tions restrict their production to the home demand, the manufacturer heaps up wealth, certain groups of the laboring classes are well paid, and people in certain sections are prosperous. The whole train of conse- quences follows the protective policy of the United States, because the home market is so large, and is ever growing. • It did not follow the protective National Policy in Canada, because the market was too restricted to allow of manufacturing: on a scale which would employ enough of her native population to raise wages to any- thing like the standard in the Eastern and Western States. No immigrant was tempted to enter Canada from abroad by the offer of high wages, and no Canadian was re- strained from migrating by the offer of even equal wages at home to those that tempted him in the Eastern and Western States. If, therefore, the National Policy has failed to produce all the results which were anticipated from it, will absolute reciprocity confer the coveted benefit ? If Attraction of Population. 57 mills have not been built, and population has not flowed in to work them, because Canada has only 5,000,000 of people to clothe and house, would her lot be better were she coupled up with her 63,000,000 of neicrhbors ? We doubt it. Maine is within the charmed circle. It has lumber in abundance, and water power runs to waste in a hundred rivers, but the population of Maine by the last census shows an increase of only 1.8 per cent, in 10 years. But Maine is as cold as Quebec, her soil is poor, and the labor of reclaiming it oppressive. At the same time that the higher wages which have prevailed through active manu- facturing: in some sections of the United States have attracted immigrants, the abundance and cheapness of land in a temperate climate has been another temp- tation. Canada also possesses boundless land which is open to occupation, under the Homestead Act, as freely as that in the United States ; but the unoccupied lands of Quebec and Ontario are uninviting, and the prairie lands of the Northwest are 1.1 58 Canadian Independence. repellently cold. The movement of popu- lation in North Dakota exemplifies the aversion of the immigrant to cold, and the risk which it entails. Dakota is Manitoba's neighbor to the south, and the statistical returns from that State are particularly instructive : Between 1880 and 1890 North Dakota grew from 36,909 to 182,719 or 393.05 per cent. ; South Dakota from 98,208 to 328,- 808 or 234.60 percent. ; considered as one, from 135,177 to 511,527 or 278.46 per cent. But in 1885 a territorial census was made. It showed that the Dakotas then contained 415,610 inhabitants, and therefore exhibited growth between 1880 and 1885 of 207.4 per cent., and between 1885 and 1890 of only 26.7 per cent. Evidently, therefore, climatic conditions have disap- pointed the Dakotan farmer as well as the Manitoban. In the old prairie States where land is no lonjT^er obtainable for the mere askins^, rapid growth has of necessity ceased. The following paragraph from the compendium Attraction of Population. 59 of the Eleventlt United States Census, p. xli, is worthy of study : " In Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri, and in Illinois, if the city of Chicago be dropped out of consideration, the rate of increase has declined very decidedly. In Ohio it has fallen from 19.99 to 14.83 per cent. In Indiana from 17.71 to 10.82 per cent. In Iowa from 36.06 to 17.68 percent. In Missouri from 25.97 to 23.56 percent., in spite of the rapid growth of St. Louis and Kansas City ; and in Illinois, dropping Chicago from consideration, from 14.89 to 5.9 per cent. In these States the agricul- tural industry, which is still the prominent one, has begun to decline owing to the sharp competition of western farms." But, despite this sharp competition, we have seen that Dakota, the newest and most vigorous of these western rivals, has ceased growing with phenomenal rapidity, and Kansas, the most powerful, according to the State census, accumulated two thirds of her decennial gain dui'ing the first half of the decade, and during the last year of the decade actually lost 37,818 of her in- 6o Canadian Independence. habitants. The same is true, thougli to a less startling extent, of Minnesota. That rich prairie State, which has not yet begun to feel the impoverishment of its fertile lands, " increased 77.57 per cent, between 1870 and 1880 and G6.74 per cent, between 1880 and 1890, the numerical increase being over half a million in the past decade. The State census taken in 1885 showed that the bulk of this increase occurred between 1880 and 1885. The numerical increase durinoj the first five vears was 337,025 and the rate of increase 43.17 per cent., while during the last half of the decade the numerical increase was 184,028, and the rate of increase 16.46 per cent." (compendium of the Eleventh United States Census, p. xli). The climate of the Canadian Northwest under the shelter of the Rocky Mountains being milder than the United States Territories immediately south of the line, and good arable land in abundance being still open to homesteaders there is a small but steady stream of immisjrants across the border northward. Attraction of Populatiofi. 6i • Returning to the statistical summary given above, the manipulated figures shov^^ a percentage decline in the growth of the United States between 1880 and 1890 of 1.1 per cent, but following the actual returns, the decline was 5.22 per cent. Compared with the previous decennial period, the decline for the corresponding period in Canada was 5.65 per cent. Of course w^ e do not pretend that a percentage decline of equal amount from such differ- ent aggregates as the population of Canada and the United States is equally portentous to both, but a decline in botu cases may mark the turning-point in the movement of population to this continent. Naturally the decline will be more marked in the less favored region, and taken as a whole and all in all, Canada is less favored than the United States. In point of fact the actual volume of immigration to the United States is not rapidly declining. The percentage volume is, however, shrinking, and the quality and destination of the immigrants are changing most notably. From the report on immigration published il r^ i 62 Canadian Indcpc7idcnce. by the Treasury Department of the United States in 1891 we extract the followino; figures which show conclusively the source W'hence future immigration will be chiefly drawn. Arrivals in the Arrivals in the U. S. in 1869. U. S. in iSgo. Austria-Hungary i,495 29,632 Germany 131,042 92,427 Great Britain 43,434 69,790 Ireland 40,786 53,024 Italy 1,489 52,003 Norway 16,068 ii,37o Poland 184 11,073 Russia 343 33,147 Finland o 2,451 Sweden 24,224 29,632 Switzerland 3,650 6,993 Total Europe 3^5,543 443,225 British America 21,117 and in 1885 38,291 The report gives the numbor of immi- grants from British America between 1873 and 1885 at 688,813. Since 1885 the law has made no provisions for taking count of immigrants entering the United States by land. This large influx of Poles, Slavs and Italians settles in the seaboard cities, and in the iron, coal, and coke regions. Italians : Attraction of Population. 63 have largely replaced the Irish as street- sweepers and railroad navvies, and Poles furnish the hands with which the iron and coal magnates have opposed the demands of the native laborers. There has been a decrease in the introduction of skilled labor and good farmei's, and an increase in the number of unskilled immigrants, who can- not and do not combine to maintain a stand- ard of wages. The result, if this state of things continues, will be, not only that the intellectual status of the electorate will be lowered, but the standard of wages paid for unskilled labor will sink and the temp- tation to indiscriminate immigration will be lessened. To sum up, Canada can offer no induce- ment to foreigners to operate her manufac- tories, which were and will be few till her population is large enough to absorb the product of many, or till she seeks a foreign market, for she has a surplus of cheap labor at home. Her wild forest lands are too difficult to reclaim, and too slow in sup- porting the farmer, to be occupied while there is any prairie land unappropriated. 64 Canadian Independc7icc. Her prairie lands lie north of the favored zone, and, as in the case of her neighbor Dakota, are less eagerly coveted, when their ^iraate has been experienced, than lands the south. British Columbia, unfortu- nately, comprises within her bounds so little agricultural land, that were every acre of it occupied, the growth oi population could not be a tithe of that of the State of Wash- ington ; and British Columbia's mineral wealth is so hidden by forest and soil, that though a large contingent of American prospectors are searching for it, discovery is of necessity far slower than in the con- tiguous States of Montana and Idaho. These natural disadvantages attach to her, as they do to Maine and North Dakota. Her po- litical condition or affiliations do not affect them. Canada must, therefore, face the fact that she has serious physical and geographi- cal obstacles to contend against, and be content to make haste slowly. This, after all, is a lesser evil than being overrun by a large horde of ignorant alien immigrants. ii CHAPTER VI. PKOBABLE EFFECT OF ANNEXATION ON CANA- DIAN INDUSTRIES AND WAGES. TiiEEE are good and substantial reasons why Canada's progress in population should be less than that of her neighbor, 'but there is no good reason why it should be so slow as it is. Thei'e is in Canada a latent sus- picion that something is wrong, but instead of seeking for the source of her shortcom- ings at home, in her own habits and busi- ness methods, she is prone to charge them wholly to external causes, and to look for a remedy in political changes. To some minds, and at one time or another to some leaders of almost all the political groups, annexation has been the panacea. Assuming that annexation were effected, whence would result the magical improve- ment in Canada's financial position which 4 65 66 Canadian Independence. i 'I'' ' some anticipate from it ? Canada's public debt was in 1890 much larger (per ca[)ita) tbau that of the United States, being ^07.81 per head as against ^14.24. The difference in the event of annexation would have to be distributed among and borne by the annexed States and added to the expenses of State government, which would not be less than those of supporting the Provincial governments now are. The system of State taxation would, moreover, have to be re- vised, as there would be no contribution by the Federal government for the main- tenance of the States. The more impecuni- ous States would then whine in vain for better terms when in financial straits. It is questionable whether manufacturing in general would be stimulated by annexa- tion. There is a tendency towards segrega- tion in manufacturinij industries directed by influences which it is not always easy to detect. The cotton mills of the United States were first attracted to certain locali- ties in New England by water power, and though they have grown beyond the capacity of the water power, they still Probable Effect of Annexation. 67 remain, because capital lias been invested, and skilled labor lias C()nor w(juld continue to go fi'oni tlie State of Quebec, instead of from the Prov- ince of Quebec, to the States of Maine, Con- necticut, Rhode Island, or Massachusetts. The mills wouhl I'emain where the mills are now, and labor would go to the mills, not the mills to the labor. There are s[)ecial branches of manufac- ture which at first sight it would seem should be carried on in Canada. She pos- sesses far vaster resources in lund>er than the United States. They are now being used as rapidly, perhaps moi'e so than is prudent ; but the lundjer leaves Canada in an unmanufactured shapes A minimum of labor and skill has therefore })een ex[)ended on it. When it reaches its destination across the line, it is converted into special forms for s[)ecial uses. Prosj)erous towns liave grown U[) on the southern shores of the great lakes, wh(we main industry is turning Michigan and Canadian lumber into furnitui"e jind architcictural decorations. Probable hjfccl of Annexation. 69 ]5ut thcst; iiijinufactui'ing centres are nearer tlieir market than any point in Canada would be. Ah it is much clieaper o trans- poi't luni})er in tlie rough tlian furniture, and as s(> little of tlie raw mat(?rial is now wasted, it is very doubtful whether, under any circumstances, tlie furniture manufac- turing trade could be shifted from the con- sumer to the for(!st. Canada's true policy is to turn her fine hard woods into spe- cialized forms for other mai'kets than the Unit(Hl States, and that sne could do to- day as well as im])orted energy would do it for her after annexation. Mining would doubtless be more active under annexation than it is at present, provided the United States protective tariff remains in force, but this is a [)roviso that it is dangerous to count U[)on. The existing duty of 70 cents per ton on coal is surticient to exclude Nova Scotia and Cape Breton coals from the New Knvdand market, and secure the fuel supply to r ^yi ennsvivanni. AV^ere it removed, New England would take vastly more coal from the Maritime Provinces than she did before I'l r- 70 Canadian Independence. the expiration of Lord Elgin's lleci[)r()city Treaty, and would much more than com- pensate for the h)ss of the Ontario market, which wouhl in case of annexation or reci- procity become the perquisite of Pennsyl- vania. But sooner or later tlie duty will be removed from all raw mateiial, and these trade benefits will accrue to Canada without any change in her political status. American capitalists, anticipating this con- tingency, have already invested largely in Mai'itime coal. The same is true of iron ores. Canadian iron manufactui'ing has not prospered. Why ? Because it is said the home market was too small, the English market \vas too cheap, and the United States market was closed. All which is only partly true. The atteni[)t at manufacturing iron on a large scale has been made at Londony ini[>osing a heavier duty on that grain. This imj)osition was not generally popular, and in any revision of the tariif tlu^ duty will probably be reducecL The folhjwing figures, giving the United States and Canadian agi-icultural staples to Great Britain are more conclusive than a volume of arguments. The United States supplied England in 1800 with wheat of the value of $3o,5()8,762 ; Canada supplied her with only $2,250,568. Cleaily the United States w(>ulritain in IHUO })y tlie United States was of tlie value of Ji5.'Uv'»27,221 ; Canada su[)[)lied )5."),742,2r)8. \\\ these three articles of largest agricultural production the United States and Canada pi'oduced largely in excess of their own consum[)tion, and neither is, therefore, a profitable market for the products of the (jther. Tlie foreign market, in which both compete, would con- sume neither more nor less, nor pay a highei' price for the sup[)ly from tlie North American Continent, whether it be [)oliti- cally under one or two governments. What Canada can do is well ex(;mplified in her cheese industry. In 189(1 she shipped to England 5^.9,808,107 worth, equal to $1.92 per liead of the population, whereas the United States shipped only i i 76 Canadian hidcpcndcnce. $10,1 !(),.'' I'"' wortli, equal to only H', cents per lie.'id of liei* [)opulatioii. One would naturally expect that the ])Utter shipment would he in the same [iroportion, but Canada shipped only one fil'tli as much butter, namely Ji>2i)r),774 worth, as was shipped l)y tlie United States, whose; shipments amounted to $l,5()r),701. Wliy should England import over $20,000,000 wortli of butter from Denmark, and only $.'>00,000 worth from Canada? One reason is that Canada's ])utter is so slovenly packed and so unreliable in (piality, that it coidd no- where connnand high [)rices. Throughout the West Indies, South America and South Africa, there is an almost unlimited market for butter, ])acked in tin cans at a fa})ul()U*s price ; Init it must l^e of the finest cpiality. That Initter Canada should, but does not, supply. London is as accessilde a market for Canadian eggs as is New York, yet Eng- land X>i^y^ France $6,000,000 armually for eggs, and her own colonies offer her only $50,000, or not 1 per cent, of wliat she buys from Fi'ance. The wider channel is Probable Effect of A^incxation. "j*] nowadays no greater an ()l)stacl(' to coiii- merce than tlie narrow one. AVHiat the Canadian farniei'H want is not a niai'ket, but energy, skill, and industry with which to compete in the world's niai'ket ^^ ith their moi'e 2)ushiiig neighbors or nioi-e thrifty rivals. Annexation might I'esult in an infusion of energy. It might lead to a transfer of the land from the lethargic to the more industrious. Probably it would leave rnattei's precisely where they are, for New England has been abandoned by her farmer class in the mad rush for the "West, and deserted homesteads by the hundred are waiting to be reoccu2)ied, which are nearer the huge city markets of the coast than any Canadian fai'ms. The fishermen of the Maritime Provinces would profit by reciprocity or annexation, but they do not make the best of the market within their own reach. Lonir after the Intercolonial railroad was opened, the Lower Canadian market Avas supplied with frozen fish, not by Nova Scotia over that road, Imt by the State of Maine over the Grand Ti-nnk. ill' 78 Canadian Indcpcndmcc. Aniu'XJition would [)rc)]);ibly improve tlie fiiKiiicijil status of tin; territory i'(![)i'esente(l l)y C/iuKida, ])ut it would ini[)rov(; the fi- naiicijil condition of the (Canadians them- selves, only if they yielded to the ini[)ulses Avliieh would I'each them I'l'om across the line. These, if they did not push thenwm, would j)ush them 011 f. Hut is ther(; not inherent activity enough in Canada to render such external impulses unnecessar}', and cannot one section react on another as effectually as it is thought American go- aheadativeness would overcome the inertia of sluOTshness which characterizes certain communities in the Dominion? Cannot the Scotch of Ontario infuse into the Scotch of Nova Scotia some of those (piali- ties which have made Ontario the only ])rosperous and contented [)rovince in the Dominion, as wealthy and progressive ns any similarly situated area in the United States ? It is doubtful, therefore, whether Canada would gain by annexation financially more than her own people can win by their own will and wits, if they exert them. The Probahlc Effect of yhincxalion. 79 iiiai'kct of the woi'ld is the urciia in \vlii(;li ]K)tli (•(•iiiimiiiititvs must compete* for tlie sale of tlie same articles vvliicli ])otli now produce in exx-ess, and of wliicli (Janada's resources aic; vast euougli to make lier 2)rosperous, if lier people only make good use of tliem. Tn addition to a better market for the fruit of his toil, which tempts the farmer to try, as a nmiedy, a (ihange of dynasty, better wages are 2)romised the; iaborin^'- man. It is natui-al that the wage (piestion sliould influence the opinion of the bulk of the people. Were it certain that a political change, involving none of the degradation of conquest, would double a man's income, there is very little doubt how his vote would be cast on any political issue involv- ing that consequence. The argument is freely used that annexation or intimate fiscal union with the United States will at once raise the standai'd of wages in Canada to that of the United States. 15ut what is the United States standai'd ? There is in fact none. Wages there, as elsewhere, are determined by the (piantity of the supply «^i5 ' Annexation Viewed from Both Sides, 99 except ice, which Canada can ship in greater abundance and of superior (piality to any made south of its line, Canada wouhl simply swell the bulk of the same articles produced in excess by the Republic. Such being the case, would it not be wiser on the part of the United States to leave Canada to settle her own political and religious ac- counts, rather than to assume them and thus add other sectional issues and local interests to the many which already em- barrass legislation in this country ? The homogeneity of the French Canadian Catholic party will not be destroyed by annexation. Insignificant as the French population of Louisiana and the lower Mis- sissippi was three quarters of a century has not sufficed to absorb it into the body politic. The French market-woman of New Orleans still dresses as a Frenchwoman, sj^eaks French, and thinks French, as un- equivocally as her sister who drives her lit- tle cart filled with vecjetables and flowers from the Beauport flats into the Quebec market on a Saturday morning. Add one and a half millions of French to TOO Canadian Independence. the same niiml)er already in the States, and bring these three millions iuto antago- nism with the other sixty-three millions of the United States, and the three millions would become an even more con- crete unit than they are to-day. It would organize and stand unflinchingly on the defensive to preserve its religious, social, and judicial institutions. Its solid vote would at once become an object of bargain and sale in the American political market. The Roman Catholic Church in the United States, already divided into Liberal and Conservative wings, feels the impossi- bility of resisting the impulse of American ideas, especially on the subject of education and common schools, and the liberal prel- ates, having enlisted the Papal Delegate and the Pope on their side, have advocated and in places carried into practice a nonde- script combination of secular and ecclesi- astical education, which must be an abomination to Cardinal Taschereau and the whole ultramontane Church of Canada. There is as wide a gap between the practical Catholicism of Cardinal Gibbons and that ^ Annexation Vieived from Both Sides. loi of Cardinal TascLereau as between an ex- treme radical and an extieme consei'vative. The radical and tlie conservative in politics agree on the fundamental principles of representative government ; but differ not only as to their scope but also as to the method of applying them. The two Cardinals are ortli(jdox Catholics, so far as orthodoxy consists in assenting to certain theoretical theological dogmas, but the Baltimore churcliman is imbued with the spirit of the nineteenth century, while the Quebec churchman i.s the lineal descendant of Bishop Laval, and the spii'itual inheritor of the traditions of the Middle As^es. The American Cardinal believes the Church can only lead the age by keeping in touch with it ; the Canadian Cardinal believes the age is rotten to the core, and the Church must raise it — not lead it. The American prelate knows that it is impossible to arrest the progress of secular education in his great flock ; the Canadian believes the temporal and eternal salvation of every human soul is best secui'ed by ignorance of the world, its evil ways, and pernicious profane liter- I I 'W^T- 1 I 1 I ■ 'I^H ' |: 1 02 Canadimi Independence. ature. The one professes to see in the social and political impulses of the age^ and especially in this country, forces elevating the race to a higher standard of true liberty ; the other can see in them only the motives of irreligious license. The one approves of even secret societies whose objects are philanthropical, or are organized to give eff'Bct to labor combinations. The other anathematizes all Avho take an oath which imposes secrecy between the individual and his confessor. Both are Catholics, both may be orthodox, but the influence on the political opinions of the millions of subject souls which is exerted by the American Cardinal-Archbishop is widely different from that which the Canadian Cardinal- Archbishop would exert, if they changed Sees. Nor is the wide diver2:ence of views and teaching a matter of merely individual variation. Each prelate but reflects the prevalent temper juid policy of the lai'ge section of the Church over which he pi'e- sides. Other subjects in this country may overshadow in political importance, the claims of the Church to dictate to its ad- Annexation Viezved froin Both Sides, 103 herents, not only what they are to believe, but what they are to do ; but few subjects can in reality be of more vital moment. Therefore, if there are degrees of intoler- ance within the Chui'ch, it is the part of every good citizen to strengthen its liberal "wing by resisting the accession to the ultra- montane party of such an ov^erwhelming force, as would be the addition in bulk of French Canadian Catholicism. Roman Catholic liberals should be even more anxious than Pi'otestants, to prevent so heavy a mass of unyielding intolei'ance being dropped into the scale, already loaded with sufficient home bigotry. The Roman Catholic Church is the most magnificently organized institution on earth. AVith un- bending rigidity of dogma, it has at times exhibited flexibility in accommodating itself to special social and political conditions. It would not be the power it is to-day had it not done so. Were its incalculably great forces directed towards the same object which every true lover of his country has at heart, no one should seriously object if the methods employed are not altogether lil 104 Canadian Independence. in harmony witli his own, provided the end to be attained i." tlie same. Although from the very nature of its claim and pretentions the Church is illiberal, there is a certain section of its clergy in this country which aims at bringing it into closer harmony with modern ideas and aspirations. The efforts of that section should be strens^th- ened. They would be crushed under the dead weight of Canadian Catholi- cism. On the other hand, looking at the ques- tion from a Canadian point of view, the dense population of sections of the United States, the prodigious development of cor- porative industrial enterprises, and the dangerous growth of individual wealth, have in the United States produced an acute phase of the labor problem from which Canada is practically free, and in which Canada, if wise, will hesitate to embroil herself. The problems of life, industrial and social, are much more complicated south than north of the line. The physical advantages of the United States have beeu Annexation Viewed from Both Sides. 105 the chief cause of its inordinately rapid growth in prosperity. As a consequence the rapid accumulation of wealth by cor- 2)orations and individuals is exciting not only an acute phase of the labor question, but is raising social barriers between the rich and the less rich ; is cutting up society into cli(|ues and classes, whose distinguish- ing badge is the possession of so many millions more or less, and has already cre- ated an aristocracy of wealth \vhich has unwritten laws, habits, and modes of speech of its own, as distinct as those which sep- arate the nobility from the commonalty in the old world. This evil is the inevitable result of the accunuilation of wealth, and will bring with it as inevitably its own retribution. The Canadian rich man, like the American rich man, wants to get out of his money all that money can give, not only of luxury but class distinction. Fortunately for Canada and the Canadians, it and they must grow rich more slowly, and some of the evils which accompany rapid inflation may be corrected as they arise, and before they expand to such dangerous proportions i li io6 Canadian Independence. as tliey have already assumed in the Great Republic. Poverty, a severe climate, land which can only be cleared and cultivated by labor, and mineral wealth which nmst be looked for and then won slc\vly by hard toil, are not unmixed evils, and should genei'ate a race of hardy fibre, which may be happier if not richer than their neigh- bors born in a more hospitable clime. If Canada, as a country, is really not to gain much if anything, industrially, by annexation, why should she submit to the shock of the operation ^vhich such a radical political change undoubtedly would pro- duce? What she and the United States would gain by annexation, can be secured by reciprocal trade relations which, if not found to be advantageous, can be modified with much less friction than uncoui>:enial political ties can be severed. This, how- ever, Canada should recollect, that siie is a body politic of 5,000,000 inliabitants, side by side with 63,000,000, and that if she is to remain at peace and harmony with her neighbor she must, as far as is consistent Annexatio7i Viewed from Both Sides. 107 with self-respect and independence, shape her policy in conformity with her neigh- bor's, and strive to avoid needless causes of irritation. In the fishery controversy, in the canal controversy, and in the railroad controversy she has displayed a spirit of bumptiousness in her acts and utterances which, however well fitted to draw down party applause on party leaders, is not so well fitted to propitiate the good will of the 63,000,000 people. In the great family of nations, as in the narrow circle of our home, we should " bear and forbear." In obedience to this rule arbitration is taking the place of war in the settlement of national disputes ; and if Imperial Federation, and later a con- federation of all the Anglo-Saxon com- munities, is ever effected, it will be only because the separate members waive sup- posed rights in deference to the general will and weal. Such a confederation may be to-day but a dream. It depends largely on Canada in her relations with the United States, whether it shall ever become a reality. I { ^ 1 08 Canadian Independence. It is possible for Canada to remain inde- pendent, and yet prove to her neighbor that civility is not servility, and that inde- pendent units of the race may be more helpful to one another, and more stimula- ting to healthy political and commercial rivalry than if organically one. This fact once fully recognized, the practice as well as the principle of international aid and rivalry would expand and spread till it embraced all the English-speaking peoples of both hemispheres, and they would be- come a power on the earth irresistible, through moral strength more than even by numbers. To achieve this it would not be neces- sary, as Mr. Carnegie conceives, that there should be uniformity of political institu- tions. There exists a unity of design in the constitutions of all the Anglo-Saxon communities, but a wide diversity of form. As in the animal and vescetable kincidoms we admire diversity in unity, and i-ecog- nize the advantages and beauty which accrue from the prolific variations from original types, and as in society life would i^.S Annexation Viewed from Both Sides. 1 09 be unendurably monotonous, and progress in all directions slow, if human character did not combine infinite individuality with substantial uniformity, so in such a con- federation of congenial but distinct States there might exist wide divergence of insti- tutions, if only the same spirit and guiding principle animated all. mm INDEX. II pros- American colonies, relation to King and Parliament, S American colonies, relation to the mother country, 7 American colonies, trade restrictions, 21 Annexation and naturalization, 36 Annexation or independence, the immediate alternative. Annexation, effect on mining, 69 Annexation, probable influence on Canadian material perity, 66 Annexation should be decided on by consideration of common good, 43 Annexation would impose on Canada the fiscal policy of the United States, 73 Annexation would increase sectional issues in the United States, 99 Annexation would not transfer established industries from their present centres, 66 Aimexation would raise the provincial debts, 66 Annexation would strengthen English sympathy in the United States, 43 Australia, climate attracts immigrants, 51 Australia, debt a balance wheel, 3 Australia, freedom from external complications, 3 Australia, rapid growth of population, 48 Australia, tendency to communism, 50 Beef exports of the United States and Canada, 74 Behring Sea negotiations, 14 Butter exports of the United States and Canada, 76 Canada's attachment to the mother country, g, 39 Canada's climate repels immigrants, 51 Canada's copper mines worked by foreigners, 72 Canada dependent for defence on Great Britain, 5 III r: "T I 12 Index. \\ < Canada's exports of agricultural products compared with those of tile United States, 74 Canada's free lands less attractive than those oi the United States, 57 Canada's i)liysical disabilities, 63 Canada's production of iron and steel, 70 Canada should compete in the markets of the world, 79 Canada's slow growth in population compared with that of some otiier countries, 47 Canadian annexation or independence the alternative, il, 34 Canatiian conservatism opposed to commercial union, 8 Canadian lumber should be manufactured in Canada for foreign markets, 69 Canadian ])olitical relations, change inevitable with growth, i Canadian rebellion of 1S37, g Cheese exports of the United States and Canada, 75 Climate determines the flow of immigration to sections of the United States, 51 Climate of Dakota is checking immigration, 58 Climate of Maine, its effect on immigration, 51 Commercial friction between Canada and the United States a source iif danger, 4 Competition ultimately defeats protection, 21 Constitution of Canada compared with that of the United States, 84 Control of her foreign relations necessary to Canada, 13 Fishing industry of the Maritime Provinces would benefit by commercial union, 77 Free-trade policy of Great Britain, 21 French-Canadians a political unit, 100 French in Louisiana, 99 Gibbons, Cardinal, Catholic lii)eralism compared with Cardinal Taschereau's ultramontanism, mo Home rule in England, 89 Home rule under States' government in the L'nited States, 90 House of Lords, 85 Immigration, change in character of that to the United States, 62 Immigration into the United States since the devolution, 40 Imperial federation, advantage to Canada, 33 Imjierial federation, its constitution must differ from that of the United States, 15 Index. 113 Imperial federation must rest on racial sympathies, ig Imperial federation only possible among independent states, 12, 18, 20 Independence of British colonies will be effected by constitu- tional methods, 13 India may evolve a special form of representative government, 94 Interdependence of the branches of the English race, 18 Iron imports into Canada, 71 Iron mining and manufacturing in Canada, 70 Manufacturing in Canada limited by its small population, 63 Maritime Provinces resented coercion, 12 Mineral exploration necessarily slow in Canada, 53 Mining attracts immigrants, 53 Mining would be stimulated by annexation, 69 " National Policy " in Canada, why it has been disappointing, 56 Naturalization not always sought by Englishmen, Why? 34 Naval parade in New York while Behring Sea Commission was sitting, 42 Nova Scotian coal mining will be benefited by commercial freedom. 69 Nova Scotian iron resources, 70 Nova Scotian Scotch and the Scotch of Ontario, 78 Political forbearance essential to international harmony, 107 Population, Australian colonies, 48 Population, Canada's slow growth in, 46 Population of prairie States declining, 58 Population of the United States at time of Revolution, 40 Population of the United States, decennial growth, 49 Pork exports of the United States and Canada, 75 Protection and high wages, 55 Protection in the United States, 22 Reciprocity as devised by Mr, Blaine to protect United States protection, 25 Reciprocity between the United States and Canada, 26, 32 Reciprocity, treaties of, by European powers, 26 Reciprocity, will it confer prosperity on Canada ? 56 Religious antagonism in Canada, 97 Representative government, indifference of English colonists to any special system, 93 Representative government, no system yet perfect, 95 .1^ 114 Index. Representative government, will be perfected by the commu- nities of the Anglo-Saxon race working in different direc- tions, g6 Roman Catholicism in the United States compared with Roman Catholicism in Canada, lOO Sectionalism and its growth in the United States, 98 Senate of the United States, 86 South Africa, future of, 4 South African Confederation, 92 Trade relations can be more easily modified than constitutional alliances, 106 Trusts organized to bridle competition, 28 United Empire loyalist spirit still strong in Canada, 38 United States, attachment to England, 43 United States, decennial growth in population, 51 United vStates, England's commercial rival, 30 United States, population at the time of the Revolution, 40 United States, universal use of English language in the, and its effects, 41 Wages and annexation, 79 Wages in Canada itself would probably not be affected by annexation, 79 Wages, no United States standard of, 79 Wealth, its rapid growth and its effects on social L.e in the United States, 105 Wheat exports of the United States and Canada, 74 Zollverein, a measure of commercial self-defence by Great Britain, 30 Zollverein proposed by Lord Salisbury, 21 r ■f^" w QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. 62 — American Farms: Their Condition and Future. By J. R. Elliott. Octavo . . . . . . . . , . . I 25 63 — Want and Wealth. A Discussion of Certain Economic Dangers of tiie Day. An Essay. By Edward J. Shriver, Secretary N. Y. Metal Exchange. Octavo, paper ...'... 25 64 — The Question of Ships. Comprising The Decay of Our Ocean Mercantile Marine ; Its Cause and its Cure. By David A. Wells ; and Shipping Subsidies and Bounties. By John Codman. 25 65 — A Tariff Primer. The Effects of Protection upon the Farmer and Laborer. By Hon. roRTKK»SHERMAN, M.A. Paper . . 25 66 — The Death Penalty. A Consideration of the Objections to Capital Punishment ; with a Chapter on War. By Andrew J. Palm, i 25 67 — The Question of Copyright. Edited by G. H. Putnam . i 50 68 — Parties and Patronage. By Lyon G. Tyler, President William and Mary College . . i 00 69— Money, Silver and Finance. By J. H. Cowperthwait. i 00 70 — The Question of Silver. By Louis R. Ehrich ... 75 71 — Who Pays Your Taxes? By David A. Wells. Thomas G. Sherman, and other-. Edited by Bolton Hall . . . i 25 72 — The Farmer's Tariff Manual. By D. Strange . . . i 25 73 — The Economy of High Wages. By J. Schoenhof, author of " The Industrial Situation," etc., etc. Octavo, cloth . . i 50 74— The Silver Situation in the United States. By Prof. F. W. Taussig. Octavo 75 75 — A Brief History of Panics, and their Periodical Occurrence in the United States. By Clement Juglar. Translated by De CouRCEY W. Thom. Octavo . . . . . . i 25 76 — Industrial Arbitration and Conciliation. By Josephine Shaw Lowell. Paper, 40c. ; cloth , . . . . , 75 77 — Primary Elections. A Study of Methods for Improving the Basis of Party Organization. By DANIEL S. Remsen . . . 75 78— Canadian Independence, Annexation and British Im- perial Federation. By Jamks Douglas .... 75 79— Joint-Metallism. By Anson Phelps Stokes ; cloth . . 75 fb QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. AUTHOR INDEX TO THE "QUESTIONS OF THE DAY" SERITS. Alexander, E. P., No. 36 Allen, J. H., No. 53 Atkinson, E., No. 40 Bagehot, W., No. 28 Baker, C. W., No. 59 Bldr, L. II., No. 35 Bonham, J. M., No 61 Bourne, E. G., No. 24 Bovvker, R. R., No. 10 Bruce, P. A., No. 57 Cleveland, G., No. 48 Codman, J., No, 64 Cowperthwait, J. H., No. 69 Dabney, W. D., No. 60 Donnell, E. J., Nos. 16, 56 Dos Passos, J. R., No. 38 Douglas, J., No. 7S. Dugdale, R. L., No. 14 Ehriclv L. R., No. 70 . Elliott, J. R., No. 62 Ford, W. C, Nos. 5, 6 Foulke, W. D., No. 43 Giffen, R., No. 20 Hall, B., No. 71 Hitchcock, H., No. 37 Jones, W. H., No. 39 Juglar, C, No. 75 Lawton, G. W., No. 25 Lowell, J. S., Nos. 13, 76 Lunt, E. C., No. 44 Moore, J. S., No. 50 Norman, II., No. 42 Palm, A. J., No. 66 Philpott, II. J., No. 52 Putnam, G. H., No. 67 Remsen, D. S., No. 77 Roosevelt, T., No. 49 Schoenhof, J., Nos. 9, 30, 73 Sherman, Hon. P., No. 65 Shriver, E. J., No. 63 Smith. R. H., No. 26 Stokes, A. P., No. 79 Storey, M., No. 58 Strange, D., No. 72 Taussig, F. W., Nos. 47, 74 "Tax-Payer," No. 55 Tyler. L. G., No. 68 Wells, I). A., Nos. 3, 54, 64, 71 Winn, H , No. 46 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS, Publishers. NEW YORK : 27 & 29 West Twenty-third St. LONDON . 24 Bedford Street, Strand.