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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m*thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 > THE Al THE I II WHY TRAI CAKi A] THE A] - 0U£ COHC A WO BEFIJ] FALL MALi 01 THE 1 THE THSI TjSE B0( BEYI - Pisbli ir«4*Mttatoi ^_ TiMTaMMr ua aM tWc T ' t Uka f laditton w« muat neat lur warn.— ii« ■ •' * . '■.m t\i^ '0^% it > ...■. It ;4*I fiS^^W '^wi ii«Hi^. • \,*4, ^, -I V '^^qpWHfh#r *fi**«K *j5*' vi'v^). 'on a new era of political development, and whatever may be the defects of tlieir fedciul system, it must be admitted that it has on the whole come up to the expectations of its founders. Already the Confederation, oiiginally confined to four provinces, embraces all the teriitory between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Within a few years a new province has grown up in tlie vast North- west, whose natural capabilities for the cultivation of cereals are now generally recognized ; whence, in the course of a few decades of years, a considerable proportion of the world's supply of wheat must come. One great railway which had been long vainly desired by the people of Brit- ish North America, was built soon after the consolidation of tlie prov- inces, and the western country connected with the provinces by the sea. A greater work, clearly of imperial as well as colonial interest, absolutely essential to the settlement of the Noithwest and to the unity of the Dominion, has been completed between the Pacific Ocean and the old provinces. Short lines of railway have been built to connect with the three great roads of the Dominion, the Intercolonial, the Canadian Pacific, and the Grand Trunk. The canals have been enlarged so as to give greater facilities for Western traffic, and, if possible, to make the St. liawrence the principal artery for the rich agricultural country which lies around and beyond the Lakes. Man- ufactures have sprung up through the artificial stir I us given to capital and industry by a fiscal policy which, whatever English econo- mists may think of its soundness, and however much it may be antagonistic to those principles of free trade which prevail in Great Britain, seems to have originated in the aspii'ations of a large body of the people to possess a " national policy." Tlie aggregate tmde of the Dominion, that is of the imports and exports, has increased in twenty- five years from $136,000,000 to |<255,000,000, and the revenue has doubled within the same period. The people have now on deposit at interest in the various banks, loan, building, and other companies prob- ably $120,000,000, or $24 for every man, woman, and child in Canada. In addition to ii3 effect upon the material condition of the coun- try, confederation has stimulated the intellectual development of the people. Educational facilities have been improved ; the newspaper CANADA: 1TB POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND DESTINY. 887 press has largely increnxod in influence, and not a few works of his- torical and ct)iistituti<)n5il viilue have been produced by Canadian authors ; while art, Hciontifie, and literary iissociations — especially the Royal Society, founded by tiie Marquis of Lome — have been stimu- lated under the inspimtioii of the more progressive ideas which have been tlie outcome of a political system which has given a wider scope to intellectual action. But the most iniportiint result of confederation has undoubtedly been the more intimate political, social, and commercial relations that the provinces have with each otlier. Previous to 1867, while each province had a government and tariff of its own, little intercourse was possible, but now the Maritime and Western sections are brought neces- sarily into immediate contact with one another, and made to feel that they have a common interest in each other's prosperity. The different races that inhabit Canada have been harmonized to an extent that would hardly have been possible under any other system. The million and a half of people who s{>eak the French language, and still form- a distinct section of the population, are found working earnestly with the English-H peaking majority in promoting the interests of the whole Dominion. Yet half a century ago the French Canadian people were in rebellion. If we find them now happy and contented, it is because they have at last attained that self-government for which they so long contended previous to 1840, and have special guarantees for the preser- vation of tliose institutions to which they are deeply attached. In the same way the Irish are seen working alongside the English and French for the advancement of those interests in which all are equally inter- es^tedi.. / When fmming the constitution of the Dominion, Canadian states- men Iiad before them the invaluable experience of the working of two great systems of government — the one in the parent state, the other in the United States. In considering the best method of consolidating the provinces under a fedeml system they were necessarily guided by the experiences of the great country on their borders. At the same time, while availing themselves of the best features of the American federation, they endeavored to preserve as far as possible those English institutions which are calculated to give stability to their government. The result of their efforts is a constitution which, in the words of the original resolutions of confederation, «^ follows the model of the British constitution, so far as our circumstances will permit." £ The history of the circumstances under which the name " Domin- ion " came to be given to the united provinces shows the desire of the Canadians to give to the confedei-ation, at the very outset, a monarchical likeness in contradistinction to the republican character of the Americftn 888 THE ARENA. federal union. We have it on tlie best authority that in 1866-7 the queHtion .""ose during a conference between the Canadian delegates and the inipe....i authorities what name should be given to the confederation of the provinces, and it was tirat proiMwed tliat it should be called ** the kingdom of Canada"; but it is said that the English ministry thought such a designation inadvisable, chiefly on the ground that it would be probably objectionable to the government of the United States, wliich had 80 recently expressed iU> disa]>probtttion of the attempt of the Emperor Napoleon to establish an imperial European dynasty in Mexico. It is d'ilicult to understand how any {miullel could be fairly drawn between the two cases, and most persons, less sensitive than the English minis- ters, will probably consider tliat it was paying but a poor compliment to the common seme of the Ameiican people to suppose that they could take o£fence, on any reasonable grounds, at the Canadians, the subjects of tlie Queen, calling tlieir confederation by a name which would simply illustrate their attachment to those monarchical institutions under which tUpy hare been living for a hundred and thirty-four years. -Hoir er ef^- the Canadian delegates made due allowance for the delicacy of the senti- ment of the imperial government, and agreed as a compromise to the less ambitious title. Dominion of Canada, a designation recalling t^t old Dominion, named by Ralegh in honor of the virgin Queen. \y^ The Dominion is governed by a central government in accordance with a written constitution known as the British North America Act, while each province still retains such an administrative and legislative machinery as is essential to its provincial existence. The executive government and authonty over Canada are vested in the Queen, but as the sovereign cannot be present in the Dominion to perform those acts of state which the constitution requires at her hands, she is represented by a Governor-General, chosen every five years on the advice of her constitutional advisero. The permanency of the exc.utive is a feature of their government which the Canadians have learned to value by com- parison with the elective system of the United States. The Governor- General of Canada is appointed without the country being excited by a political contest, the issue of which at times is dangerous to the whole body politic. It is-ouly jiecessaiy to consider the crisis through which the American republic has so recently passed, to understand tibe nature oiJiie peril in which the nation finds itself every four years. From such dangers^ Canada is happily free under her constitution, which makes the sovereign the peimanent head of the executive, and removes her representative from the turmoil of political controversy. In the administration of public afifairs, the Governor-General is guided by the advice of responsible advisers, representing the opinions of the majority of the legislature. In Canada, for many years past, the policy of the L CANADA: ITS PUUTICAL DKVIXOi'MENT AND DESTUnr. 880 imperial government has been to refuse to interfere in any way with its domestic affairs, but to leave them entirely in the hunds of tlie Gov- emor and his advisers, who act in such matters in iiecordance with the well-known principles of the Biitish constitutional system. It is oidy with respect to questions immediately affecting inii)eriul interests, es^te- cially the relations of the empii-e with foreign nations, that the Gov- ernor can be said to be thrown to any extent on liLs own resiransibility as an imperial officer. Even in such nmttei-s he will generally find it necessary to consult his colonial advisers, though he may not consider himself bound to adopt tlieir advice. In these ctises he can only follow the instructioQa of the goveniment of which he is the accredited rep- resentative. ^ • As in England, the Canadian miniHtiy is pmctically a committee of the dominant party in parliament. Here again we have evidence how little the public men of Canada are influenced by their intercourse with the United States. A thorough study of the British system, wliich requires ministers to liave seats, and receive the support of the majority, in parliament, has clearly shown to Canada its advantages over the American system. After an experience of over fifty yeare of the working of responsible government, (Canadians have become thor- oughly convinced that the presence in the legislature of a body of men responsible to the Commons and to the country for the administration of public affairs and the conduct of legislation, has decided advantages over a system which gives the whole executive government to the President, and does not allov/ liis ministers to sit or speak in either branch of Congress. Whenever it is necessary to fonn a ministry in Canada, members are summoned by the Governor-General to the Privy Council of Canada ; another illustration of the desire of the Canadians to imitate the old institutions of the parent state, and copy their time- honored names. The Parliament of Canada consists of the Queen, the Senate, and a House of Commons. In the constitution of the upper cliamber or Senate, there has been an attempt to give it a shade of resemblance to the distinguished body of the same name in the United States. In the formation of the Canadian Senate, each province has not the same number of Senators, as is the case with the States of the American republic ; but three geog^phical groups were arranged in the first instance, consisting of Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces, and to each group was allotted a representation of twenty-four members. More recently new provinces have been admitted into the Dominion without reference to this arrangement, and now there ai'e altog^ether eighty-one Senators in Parliament. Between the functions and re- sponsibilities of the Canadian Senate and those of the American body. 890 THB AKENA. there is no analogy whatever. The Senate of the United States haf inti'usted to it under the comjtitution much larger powers than are enjoyed by an upper chamber in the British parliamentary system. Though bills raising revenue can originate in the House of Representa- tives only, yet the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as in other bills; a privilege which the English or Canadian House of Commons will not concede to the Lords or Senate. The American Senate has the right to control the President in his nomination to pub- lic offices, and to review the treaties that he may make ^vith foreign nations. The Canadian Senate, on the other hand, is simply the House of Lords without the prestige or influence that attaches to a body of hereditary legislator. Unde^sueh circmniitttnces. it i& easy to under- 8taHd_tUat-tlie Canadian Senate does not exercise any large irrftaence on theconduet of public affaira, though it must be admitted it contains mapy naen of great ability and experience. It appears to be paying the penalty of being modelled after a House which originated centu- y^ ries ago when parliamentaiy institutions were in course of developjueiit, /^CJ and the House of Commons had not the great power it now possesses. *^ The House of CoDimons, the great governing body of the Domin- ion, has been made, so far as circumstances will permit, a copy of the English House. Not only in the House of Commons at Ottawa, but in all the Assemblies of the large Provinces, a visitor sees the Speaker and Clerk dressed in silk robes, the gilt mace on the table, the sergeantr at-arms in his official costume, the membei-s observing the time-honored rules of debate, and paying that respect to the Chair which has been always a characteiistic of the English House of Commons. In a new country some of these forms may seem antiquated and out of place, but nevertheless they will be interesting evidences to an Englishman of the tenacity with which the people of a great colony adhere to British customs and traditions. The couservatisra of ihe Canaditms-in this pa]licular~i»~th& m€»'e remarkable when we consider that in the patJiament -of ' Ccmarda and the legislature of Quebec there are.ao Joaapy members speaking the French language, who might be expected not to have the same traditional respects fof the ^d forms of the firitislir^ legialAtvH*e. Out of the two hundred and thirteen members who com- pose the Cimadian Commons, a few address the house from time to time in French ; and in their knowledge of parliamentary rules and of the working of parliamentary institutions, these French Canadians are in no way behind the English majority. Of the two hundred andv^ thirteen members of the House of Commons, ninety-two come from the^ great Province of Ontario, sixty- five from Qu^c, and the remainder ;^rpm the maritime and smaller provinces. , tn rearranging the representation after each decennial f CANADA: ITS POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND DESTINY. 891 L census, the Act o| Union provides that "there shall he assigned to each of the other pr6vyinces such a number of members as will bear the same proportion i\o thd^, number of its population (ascertained at such census) as the numljer sixty-five beara to the number of the ^jopulation of Quebec." By this ingenious arrangement, originally contrived in the interest of the French Canadian section, the representation is kept within certain limits, liable to very slight modifications every decade of years. We have in the foregoing paragraphs given a mere summary of the leading features of the government to which is intrusted the work of administration and legislation for the Dominion. This government has the control of all matters affecting trade and commerce, currency and coinage, banking and the issue of paper money, postal affairs, militia and defence, navigation and shipping, fisheries, Indians and Indian lands, the criminal law, patents of invention and discovery, copyrights, natu- ralization of aliens, railways of an international and interprovincial cliaracter ; and, in short, of all matters of a Dominion or national import. It alone can impose and collect duties on imports and regulate the general trade of the Dominion. On the other hand, the provinces legislate separately on matters of a purely municipal and provincial nature, such as direct taxation for provincial puiposes, local works and undertakings, incorporation of companies for provincial objects, property and civil rights, establishment, maintenance and management of hospi- tals, asylums, and charitable institutions generally, excepting marine hospitals. In each province of the Dominion there is a legislature generally composed of a Lieutenant-Governor and an Assembly. It is note- worthy that in all the provinces except Nova Scotia and Quebec the upper house has been abolished, *nd^sa far apparently without any defeiment to the public interesrts. In this respect there is a divergence from the constitutional practice of the United States, where the old British system of two houses has been rigidly preserved in all their legislative bodies ; but there is, it must be remembered, a considerable difference between the functions and responsibilities of a Canadian Legislative Council, and those of even a State Senate. The latter is ejected bj'^ the people, and has powers hardly inferior to those of the lower house, whereas the Legislative Councils are nominated by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, while their legislative functions are a feeble reproduction — even more feeble than those of the Senate — of those of the House of Lords. It may be added here that the necessity for having an upper house to revise and control hasty legislation, and exercise a supervision over the acts of the administration, — the principal uses of an upper chamber under an English parliamentary system, — is superseded to a great extent in the provinces by the fact 892 THE ARENA. / t c to which I shall presently refer, that the LieutenanlrGovemors can reserve, and the Governor-General disallow, any act of a provincial legislature which, after due consideration, has been shown to be uncon- 7y\ stitutional or otherwise antagonistic to the interests of the Dominion./( 'y<{_J The administration of affaii-s in each province, the legislatures of which meet once a year, is placed under a Lieutenant-Governor, appointed and removable by the Governor-General in Council. The principles of responsible government obtain in every province as in the Dominion. The executive council, which advises the Lieutenant-Governor, holds office only whilst it has the confidence and support of the majority in the Assembly, in which the members of the council must always have seats. We come now to consider the division of powers between the central and provincial governments; the most important part of the constitution, involving, as it necessarily does, the unity and security of the Dominion. We have already shown that the general government has jurisdiction over all questions which affect the Dominion, while the provinces have jurisdiction over mattera of a purely provincial, local, and municipal character. In dealing with this important question the Oanadians have endeavored to profit by the experience of their Ameri- can neighbors, and to frame their constitution so as to avoid any danger- ous assertion of " State Rights." Happily for Canada there has been no question of slavery to divide one section from another. No climatic CQuditkma exist in the Dominion, as in the United States, to create those differences of haUt and temperament which make the Southerners practically a distinct people. What diversities of interest exist in the Dominion arise from the geographical situation of the Provinces. We — see on.-th» seaboard a maritime section, where the people are mainly engaged in mining or maritime pursuits ; again, in the West,, a. great prosperous agrioultwral and nianufacturing community. In the arrange- ments of tariffs the peculiar interests of the diverse sections — especially of the Maritime Provinces — have to be carefully considered, and are no doubt at times a cause of considerable perplexity to govemmenta and parliaments ; but this diversity of interests was not a source of em- barrassment at the time of the formation of the constitution. Neither has any crucial difficulty arisen from the existence in one province of a large and growing population, closely united in all matters affecting their language and institutions. On the contrary, the federal constitu- tion is to a large extent based on principles favorable to the existence of the French Canadians as a distinct section of the population of Canada. In perfecting the provisions of the new constitution, the public men of the provinces were able to make such a division of powers between the general and provincial governments as was quite satisfac- - T>*i-i--- . . m' - f '' r:»*«rs:si.a»«r» . CANADA: ITS POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND DESTINY. 893 r tory at the time to all the provinces. Availing themselves of the experience of the United States, they adopted at the outset a principle with respect to the balance of power the very reverse of that which obtains in the constitution of that country. In the Canadian constitu- tion, the powers of the provincial governments are distinctly specified, while those of the general government cover the whole ground of legis- lation not so expressly reserved to the provincial authorities. The Dominion goyemment^ auth or i zed in-express terms "to make law» lor the peace, order, and good government of Canada in relation to all matters not coming within the classes by this Act [the Act of Union] assigned exclusively to the legislatures of the provinces ; " and in addi- tion to this general prdvisio it is enacted that " any matter coming within any of the classes bf subjects enumerated in this section [that is, the section defining the po^rs of the general parliament] sliall not be deemed to come Mrifehin theNilass of mattere of a local or private nature comprised in the enumerati\ > of the classes of subjects assigned exclusively to the legislatures of the' provinces." The object of the foregoing provision can be clearly understood from the language of the astute Premier of Canada, Sir John Macdon- ald, when he explained the details of confederation to the legislature. " We have thus avoided," he said, " that great source of weakness which has been the cause of the disruption of the United States; we have avoided all conflict of jurisdiction and authority." After an experience of thirty years, it must be acknowledged that the constitu- tion has worked exceedingly well as a rule, but at the same time it is evident that the hopes of the Canadian Premier were somewhat too sanguine. In fact, it is obviously impossible, under a written constitu- tion defining the respective powers of separate political authorities, to prevent questions of doubt arising as to where really rests the right of legislation in certain matters. The numerous cases that have already come before the courts of Canada and the Privy Council of England show how difficult it is by mere words to fix the legislative limits of the central and provincial governments. It already takes several vol- umes to comprise all the reports Tiri-y 'J';^:jpf •■ r 894 THE ARENA. tion of such difficulties as are likely to arise from time to time in the working of the federal system. Here again the authors of federation have availed themselves of the experience of their American neighbors, and have established a Supreme Court or geneml Court of Appeal for Canada, who^ highest function is to decide these questions of jurisdic- tion. The decisions of this court are already doing mucli to solve difficulties that impede the successful operation of the constitution. As a rule, cases come before the Supreme Court on appeal from the lower courts, but the law regulating its powers provides that the Gov- ernor in Council may refer any matter to this court on which a ques- tion of constitutional jurisdiction hits been raised. But the Supreme Court of Canada is not the court of lost resort for Canada. The peo- ple have an inherent right, as subjects of the Queen, to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. Several cases, involving constitutional issues of great moment, have already come before that learned body, and on more than one occasion the decisions of the Supreme Court have l)een revei-sed, thm t g li the gencrtt^-^^&ulfe-so far has been to strengthen confdence in the Cairadian -^bumtil. But it is not only by means of the courts that a check is imposed , upon hasty or unconstitutional legislation. The constitution provides that the Governor-General may veto or reserve any bill passed by the two houses of parliament when it conflicts with imperial interests or imperial legislation. The veto, however, has never been exercised in the history of Canada, b«t^it>-was until recejitly the practice to reserve for Her Majesty's assent such bills as ?vfipeared to fall within certain classes of subjects expressly set forth in the royal instructions to the Governor-General. Since confederation, however, the imperial govern- ment has materially modified these instructions, because it has been deemed " inadvisable that th^y should contiiin anything which could be interpreted as limiting or defining the legislative powers conferred in .^1867 on the Dominion Parliament." I It is now understood that the reserved power of disallowance I which Her Majesty's government possesses under the law is sufficient to meet all possible cases. This sovereign power is never exercised except in the case of an act clearly in conflict with an imperial statute or in violation of a treaty affecting a foreign nation. Jn Jti^e 4)X(Mda.ces thet_I^^ifijgJbs®aiifeGo¥cnrorff tA&y also veto ImIIs of iha legislatuiCj. or reserve th«ra for the ^onsidcratioft of the Govemor-GeneTalr in- Council. Itismoteworttty that-during the fii-st years of union in the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, the Lieuten- ant-Governors sometimes withheld their assent, — a power not exewased by, the Crown in England since the days of Queen An»e. In this CANADA: ITS POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND DESTINY. 896 / c aoo thooe - ofllulttlH exercised a power greater than that of the Presi- dent or Goyernors of States, since the legisiatnres cannot, under the Canadian constitution, pass the bin over the veto by a two-thirds m«3 that have so far illustratvcd her constitutional history. 7 *^-7\a/\^ The inquiry now naturally suggests itself, Whalmml be the out- come of the political development of Canada ? what is the destiny in I See Bonrlnot'B " PHrllamentary Procedure and^OTernment,'^ iind ed., pp. 81-07, tor hlctory of dllBcnltles that have arisen from the exercise of this power. 896 THE ARENA. store for a country showing so much energy and enterprise in all ttie pursuits of industiy, and such adniinvble capacity for self-government ? The five millions of people who now inhabit the Dominion must double in number within a decade or two, according as the agricultural and mineral wealth of her new territoides is developed. When many millions of people inhabit a continuous chain of provinces from the Atlantic to the Pacific, will they be satisfied with their present position ? This is a question that must ere long press itself more and more upon the atten- tion of statesmen and publicists interested in the unity of the empire. How slight are the ties that now bind Canada to the parent state is very clearly shown by the fact that she miglit to-morrow become an independent power without any immediate perceptible effect on the prosperity or greatness of Britain. For the moment it would simply mean that Her Majesty's government would have one governor less to appoint in her dominions, that the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council — the supreme court of the empire — would have fewer cases of law to decide, and that the Colonial Office would have fewer despatches to write and receive in future. The regiment that now keeps up a semblance of British rule in Halifax would be removed, while the fleet would no longer be bound to make that port a head- quarters in American waters. As far as the commercial relations of the two countries are concerned, — the important point, probably, in the opinion of many Englishmen, — these would not be affected to any marked degree by the separation of the colony from the parent state, since the Dominion has for years imposed duties on imports without much consideration for British manufacturing interests. Canada would then be able to make her own treaties with foreign nations without any reference to the imperial authorities. On the other hand, Canada would have to increase her expenditures for the purposes of national defence, and of keeping up a little staff of envoys and consuls, besides paying for other privileges inseparable from a national existence. But national aspirations are the natural outcome of the growth and prosperity of a people. The great forces which are silently at work, developing a national character, may become more powerful as the years pass than the strong sentimental feeling which now binds Canada to the parent state. It is quite certain, however, that it would be with very great reluctance — probably from no fault of her own — that Canada would sever the connection to which she has faithfully adhered for a century and more. Should the time ever arrive for inde- pendence, the records of her history will probably show that she had far outgrown a position of mere colonial dependency, and that it was not possible to devise a plan which would enable her to remain in the empire on terms compatible with her dignity and security. ■■** ^^^- CANADA: ITS POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND DESTINY. 897 Of course if Canada should at any future time be diHsatisfied on adequate grounds with the semi-independent position she now occupies, and begin seriously to consider the necessity for a change in her politi- cal position, there is always open to her the alternative of annexation to the great republican power that lies to her south. Some peraons, like Mr. Dana of the New York Sun and his follower in Canada, Pro- fessor Goldwin Smith, think that the natural political and commercial tendency of a country situated like Canada must be toward connection with a people whose rapid development is the most remarkable event of the centuiy. By the time a new century dawns there will be over eighty million people within the bordei-s of the United States, and it would seem difficult — in the opinion of the two annexation leaders I have named — for the Canadian people to resist the powerful hifluences that would attmct them toward the rei)ublic. But there is certainly no evidence whatever before us just now to lead us to such a conclusion. Indeed, we believe t^iat every year Avhich carries Canada further in her career of political and industrial develo])ment, rendei-s annexation less probable. We have already shown that it was different sixty years ago, when Canada was relatively a poor and ill-governed country. Even under the unfavorable conditions of those unhappy days the great mass of the people did not respond to the rebellious appeals of Papineau, Nelson, and MacKenzie, but pieferred to trust to the justice of the imperial government, which soon recognized the mistakes they had committed by being too indifferent to Canadian grievances. The effect of the liberal colonial policy of England since 1840 has been to dispel entirely all feelings of discontent, and to strengthen the attachment of all classes of the people to their own country and its institutions, and to their connection with the parent state. The confed- eration of the provinces, by enlarging the arena of political action and increasing the facilities for trade and commerce, has created a national spirit among the people, a laudable desire, especially among the younger men, to build up a new nationality to the north of the Ameri- can republic, if possible in close connection with Great Britain. Of course it would be very different if Canada were ill-governed, were her trade to diminish, and her great Northwest Territory to become a burthen instead of a source of wealth and population. If during the next twenty years Canadians should see the failure of all their great schemes of internal development, probably a strong annexation party would soon assert itself ; but at present there is every evi- dence to prove that confederation is a success, and that the Canadians are capable of working out their political fortunes apart from the Unite'^ States. The national spirit that exists among the Canadian people — a 898 THE ARENA. sentiment which must increase with the growth of population and wealth — is naturally intensified by the history of the relations between them and the United States during this century.* The history of the War of 1812-15, a conflict remarkable for the patriotism exliibited by all classes of the Canadians ; the raids of ruffians across the frontier after the rebellion of 1837-8 ; the " Ashburton capitulation/* which handed over so large a portion of Brit'.jh territory, which would be now invaluable to Canada, as a result of the indifference of Ashburton and the skilful manipulation of Webster ; the repeal of the Reciprocity Ti-eaty of 1854-65, largely through the belief that it would hasten annexation to the United States, though it had tlie veiy contrary effect ; the shameless Fenian raids which were at first winked at by the Ameri- can authorities, and for which Canada to this hour has never been indemnified; the apparently fixed determination of certain dominant cliques of politicians to prevent anything like a fair measure of reci- procity ; the unjust alien labor laws wliich forbid respectable Canadians from entering the Union and shut out even a superior class of female nurses from attendance on the ill and dying in hospitals and charitable institutions; the insults of men like Dana and Smith to Canada and its institutions ; — all these are among the reasons which naturally tend to show Canadians how little generosity and fairness they can expect from dominant influences among their neighbors, and help to weld more closely together all classes of the Canadian people and strengthen their confederation. Canadians believe, however, that the cultured and most enlightened class of the American people do not sympathize with such illibei-ality as is constantly shown by the words and acts of leading politicians in their dealings with the Dominion, but reciprocate the kindly sentiment which animates its people and leads them to desire the most friendly and the fullest commercial relations with their neighbors as long as they are compatible with their security as a separate national entity and as an integral portion of the British Empire. Unhappily for Canada the gen- erous and just opinions of this intelligent and cultured class of citizens have not always prevailed in the past with the powers that dominate Congress and government at Washington. Throughout Canada as well as Great Britain there is an influential, able body of men, — more conspicuous for their abilities than their number, so far, — who ardently desire "to secure by federation the per- mament unity of the empire." This scheme of federation is " not to interfere with the existing rights of local parliaments as regai-ds local affairs," but to combine "on an equitable basis the resources of the 1 1 hftve already treated these qaestlons at length in the Papers of the American Historical AsgoclRt'on (Washtngpton, 1891), and the qtuxrierJy Rerietc (I-opdon, April, 1891), CANADA: ITS I'OLITICAL DEVELOPMENT AND DESTINY. 899 empire for tht maintenance of common interests and adequately provide for an organized defence '>f common rights." The feJemtion of the empire is a scheme certainly calculated by its imperial Hcope to strike the imagination of the political enthusiast. It is a scheme which has been dreamed of by stitesmen and students since the days of Otis and Burke. Its realization, however, is sur- rounded with the gravest difficulties, which appear insuperable to some practical statesmen, to whom it is yet a novel question brought into prominence within a few years. A federation of the empire, in the broadest sense of the phrase, means the creation of an imperial parlia- ment, which may legislate for the general purposes of the empire, and the establishment or continuance of legislatures in each country or dependency to legislate for local and minor objects. Before this can be realized, England must be convinced of the necessity of reconstructing her constitutional system in vital particulars, of gmnting legislatures to Scotland and Ireland, of establishing a Supreme Court to adjudicate on the questions which would inevitably arise in the legal construction of the written constitution which must bind together the federation. On the other hand, Canada would have to make radical changes in her federal system so as to adapt it to the new order of things. It is quite evident that, while floating through the minds of the advocates of imperial federation there has been a vague idea of the desirability and necessity of imperial unity, no one has yet been able to outline a plan which has a practical basis of action. Sir John Macdonald, the ablest statesman who ever presided over the destinies of Canada, who was a thorough imijeiialist, fiankly confessed that Canada could not in any way lessen or impair her present admirable system of home government. Whilst doubting the practicability of the idea of a feder- ation of the empire, in the wide sense generally given it, he appeared to think that some scheme could be devised to give Canada a higher status in the world, and at the same time enable her to remain associ- ated with the empire for certain common objects, and for defence par- ticularly. This opinion is now generally entertained by many able and influential Englishmen and Canadians. Most important results no doubt must be attained eventually by the frequent holding of such intercolonial conferences as have been already held in London and Ottawa, — notably that at Ottawa, where three years ago there were representatives of all the most important self-gc verning colonies of Great Britain, — conferences which it is now proposed to continue during the present year, when the empire will joyfully celebrate the diamond jubilee of the Queen, during whose reign the dependencies of the crown have made such remarkable progress in wealth and self-government. It will be a happy thing if a solution can 900 THE AKENA. be reached by this meaiiH of tlie problems that now interest all British and Colonial statcsiuLii and thiukei-s, who are anxious for tlie unity and security of the empire at huge. The success which has so far attended the efforts of the Canadian people to develoi) their niatciial resources and place their system of government on a stable fouiulation, leads us to entertain the most san- guine hopes as to the future of their country. For a century they have successfully resistt-il all the iiilluences which might be supposed \) draw them iloser to the I'liitcd States, and, hi tlie face of not a few obstacles, have stendily laltnicd to strengthen their j)osition to the north of the Anieiicaii ic'[)ublic. Step by step they are working their way over the prairies and mountains of the continent towards the Pacific Ocean; building railways and forming new provinces, ere long to be filled up by an industrious and sturdy popidation like that which has achieved such satisfactory results in old Canada and in the provinces by the sea. If they cf)ntinue during a few decades more to be ani- mated by the same i»id)lic s[iirit that has distinguished their efforts since the connnencenient of confederation, Canada will be able to assume a much more consjiicuous ])osition among the free communities of the world, and may prove a formidable rival even of the United States in the great work wliich both have to accomplish on the conti- nent of America. And it is asi^nrodl/ the earnest desire 3f Canadians as well ius Englishmen that if, when that time comes, a large scheme of federation — and many distinguished thinkers still cling to that grand idea — is clearly impracticable, there may exist at least such an alli- ance or connection between Canada and the parent state as will give greater security to both, and afford to the world the interesting spec- tacle of a people who owe to Great Britain their free institutions never forgetting in the fulness of their strength and prosjjerity the land of their origin, but still bound to her by the closest ties of interest, sym- pathy, and affection, and ever ready to lend her material assistance in the hour of need. House of Commons, Ottawa. ^■■i!*— a mo- leai waite of energy and Hie. Pafeit Malt Kxtract, the " Best" Tonic wiU brinff ilccp to yov— you will nettle to slumber ttke a tired child* TalEc a glass Just before going to bed. and in ten minoto you win orowsily go to Slumber- knd. After a weA or so» dsep will come natttrally» and you won't need the Toiric* Health* strength and mental calmness come also to help the weak* the weary and the heavy-laden* for PABST BilALT EXTRACT The Tode. NEVER FAILS TO INSURE SLEEP. My ivife beiBR is a low tt^ ot iMlth haa reociited tafrkad bene- t from Pnbat Malt Eztnust. ^ It never fails to aeonre a niKhta 8)««p for her wb«n she twaa it, from bwing. tireil and narTOjis< J. H. SHERMAN, M. D. Boatdn, Maas., Oct. lOth, 18M PERFECTION i IN BREWING IS I REACHED IN AMERICA •5 ■V, ■ 1 -r.*- ■?*;- f-r - ■; .- ?'^-''3ifm.^i3l^iB^':Ci^i»^^-m^M-''-'^: " .■ '■' '.tMMGttMUBKMyaai^ .■.■.,.»i-'*if lafli ilitt #•<* tt« *?£ ^^ S iSioi TO i«. vw» TO| mftOAKA f AlXt. timm^ riMphw-cw. <««» '•••'^ ^'*'*' srqr^w wvsuw AT mmjmia rAoa nmota tp ten day*. ^ B. MoOtUMi, G#«. EMt Aft. HP't " ¥:r B^j£ j"-^ miB, K> k^^i^gj^i,i»«'ltiu*iwt ipmf^ ^ w !•■' '.^ ■» ^v-' *• *V. J, Ji* ' > lit: I