Fût encore au rosier, Still on the rose-tree gay,
Et que le rosier même And that the fated rose-tree
Fût dans la mer jeté. Deep in the ocean lay.
Lui ya longtemps que je t'aime, I 've loved thee long and dearly,
Jamais je ne t'oublierai. I 'll love thee, sweet, for aye.
_À la Claire Fontaine_ has been claimed for Franche-Comté, Brittany,
and Normandy, but the best authorities have come to the conclusion,
from a comparison of the different versions, that it is Norman. In
_Malbrouck s'en va-t-en-guerre_, we have a song which was sung in the
time of the _Grand Monarque_. Of its popularity with the French
Canadians, we have an example in General Strange's reply to the 65th, a
French Canadian regiment, during the second Northwest rebellion. One
morning, after weeks of tedious and toilsome marching, just as the men
were about to fall in, the General {454} overhead the remark--"Ah! when
will we get home?" "Ah, mes garçons," laughed the General--
"Malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre
Mais quand reviendra-t-il?"
"Malbrouck has gone a-fighting,
But when will he return?"
and with their characteristic light-heartedness the men caught up the
famous old air and the march was resumed without a murmur.
These _chansons populaires_ of French Canada afford some evidence of
the tenacity with which the people cling to the customs, traditions,
and associations of the land of their origin. Indeed, a love for Old
France lies still deep in the hearts of the people, and both young and
old study her best literature, and find their greatest pride in her
recognition of their poets and writers. But while there exists among
the more influential and cultured class a sentimental attachment to Old
France, there is a still deeper feeling, strengthened by the political
freedom and material progress of the past forty years, that the
connection with the British Empire gives the best guaranty for the
preservation of their liberties and rights. This feeling has found
frequent expression in the forcible utterances of Sir Wilfrid, the late
Premier of the Dominion. No doubt the influence of the Roman Catholic
priesthood has had much to do with perpetuating the connexion with
England. They feel that it is {455} not by a connexion with France or
the United States that their religious and civil institutions can be
best conserved.
All classes now agree as to the necessity of preserving the federal
system in its entirety, since it ensures better than any other system
of government the rights and interests of the French Canadian
population in all those matters most deeply affecting a people speaking
a language, professing a religion, and retaining certain institutions
different from those of the majority of the people of the Dominion.
[Illustration: A characteristic snapshot of Sir Robert Borden at the
Peace Conference, 1919.]
No French Canadian writer or politician of weight in the country now
urges so impossible or suicidal a scheme as the foundation of an
independent French nationality on the banks of the St. Lawrence. The
history of the fifty years that have elapsed since the dark days of
Canada, when Papineau wished to establish a "Nation Canadienne," goes
to show that the governing classes of the English and French
nationalities have ceased to feel towards each other that intense
spirit of jealousy which was likely at one time to develop itself into
a dangerous hatred. The spirit of conciliation and justice, which has
happily influenced the action of leading English and French Canadian
statesmen in the administration of public affairs, has been so far
successful in repressing the spirit of passion and demagogism which has
exhibited itself at certain political crises, and in bringing the two
nationalities into harmony with each other. As long as the same wise
counsels continue to prevail in Canada that {456} have heretofore
governed her, and carried her successfully through critical periods,
the integrity of the confederation is assured, and the two races will
ever work harmoniously together, united by the ties of a common
interest,--always the strongest bond of union--and a common allegiance
to the Empire to whose fostering care they already owe so much.
[1] The illustration represents the ancient church which was built in
1658, but was taken down a few years ago on account of its dangerous
condition, and rebuilt on the old site near the basilica, in exactly
the original form with the same materials.
[2] _Songs of Old Canada_. Translated by W. McLennan.
{457}
XXX
RECENT DEVELOPMENT OF CANADA.
In the ordinary course of events this history of the Dominion should
have closed with an account of the old French Province of Quebec, its
people, their characteristics and their progress. But so much has
happened in the second decade of the twentieth century that the impress
of France is slowly being obliterated by a Canadianism which is
peculiar to itself. Of course this does not mean that the French
language is disappearing or that all the customs of the old régime are
giving way to new. But _autres temps, autres moeurs_. For this the
Great War has been largely responsible. Previous to it, the average
French Canadian had been too prone to dwell on the ties which bound him
to La Belle France. But a part in the world-conflict convinced him
that in the hundred and fifty years he had been disassociated from the
country of his birthright, he had worked out his destiny along lines
essentially Canadian. This view is likewise affecting and influencing
the standpoint of those who have settled in the Great Northwest. The
result is a stronger feeling of Canadian nationality in that
association {458} of nations which we are pleased to term the British
Empire.
[Illustration: Silver mines at Cobalt, Ontario.]
After the tragic death of Sir John Thompson in 1892 Canada struggled
along politically under several Conservative Premiers which undoubtedly
prepared the way for Sir Wilfrid Laurier's great victory four years
afterwards. Then, surrounded by the men who had been so many years in
opposition with him, he evolved those practical principles of
Liberalism which kept his party firmly in power until he advocated free
trade in 1911. Since that time both Liberals and Conservatives have
come to the conclusion that a protective policy is the one best suited
for Canada's growing needs and future prospects. It is interesting to
recall, however, that in the dying days of Conservative rule, Nicholas
Flood Davin, a prominent member on the Government benches, introduced a
Bill for Woman's Suffrage, a reform which was not realised in the
Dominion until 1917. As for Quebec it has adhered steadily to manhood
franchise, although there is a decided possibility that women will
receive the vote in 1922. Some three years afterwards, or, to be
exact, September 29, 1898, a Prohibition plebiscite was carried in
Canada, but it was fully twenty years before it was put into effect by
the various provinces, always with the same exception--that of Quebec,
It will therefore be seen that in some respects the old province of
Lower Canada does not adopt innovations lightly, or, at least, until
they have been first tried and found to be worthy of some measure of
support.
When the outbreak of the Boers startled Canada and roused in her the
dormant desire to respond {460} to the call of the Motherland, it was
Sir Wilfrid Laurier who took up the challenge of non-intervention or
neutrality.
We acted in the full independence of our sovereign power. What we did
we did of our own free will. . . . If it should be the will of the
people of Canada at any future stage to take part in any war of
England, the people of Canada will have to have their way. . . . The
work of union and harmony between the chief races of this country is
not yet complete. . . . But there is no bond of union so strong as the
bond created by common dangers faced in common.[1]
What a prophecy. How well was it realised fourteen years afterwards.
But at the time the Canadians, believing that war would not pass their
way again, erected monuments in all the leading cities to commemorate
their losses, little thinking that the courage and traditions achieved
would be perpetuated at the second battle of Ypres, Vimy Ridge, and the
Somme.
The general election of 1900 sustained Sir Wilfrid, and from that time
until 1911 he gave to his country a vision and a courage worthy of the
great statesman who had preceded him in the premiership during many
years. Possibly the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York the
following year also opened up new vistas to him of the Empire upon
which the sun never sets. At any rate life flowed on evenly enough for
him and the Canadian people until there came one of those imperial acts
of negotiation which sorely, perhaps unwarrantably, tried the loyalty
and patience of everyone in the Dominion, irrespective of race, party,
or creed. As a result of it {461} any future Dominion Government would
be very brave indeed if it agreed to an arbitration affecting common
Canadian and American interests where the negotiators were not of
themselves. However, if the Alaska Boundary Award 1903 gave the United
States command of the ports leading to the Klondike it also gave to the
Canadians a very clear lead as to what they should do when treaties
affecting their own interests came up for consideration. Happily both
Motherland and Dominion now see eye to eye in this regard, and no
greater evidence of the solidarity resulting can be seen than in the
signing of the recent Treaty of Versailles by the Overseas delegates.
Deep as was the chagrin at the time, internal expansion and growing
wants diverted the attention of most of the settlers to the new problem
being worked out in the West. Immigrants were pouring in ceaselessly.
A charter for a Grand Trunk Pacific Railway had just been given by the
Dominion House. Everyone was ambitious. All these reasons created a
desire upon the part of the people for full provincial organisation
instead of the territorial system which could not possibly satisfy the
demands of a virile Northwest. The Autonomy Bills of Saskatchewan and
Alberta were soon presented by the Dominion Government, and on
September 1, 1905 two provinces were formally constituted from the old
territories.
There were many in the Eastern Provinces who viewed these evidences of
expansion not without certain misgivings. Most of the newly arrived
settlers were intelligent Americans of considerable {462} means. They
had brought their household furniture, agricultural implements, and
herds of horses and cattle with them. All this, however, was desirable
and praiseworthy. But what worried the older settlers of the west and
particularly the residents in the east was, did they intend to
disseminate their previous Republican ideas? In justice to them it
must be affirmed that they did not. On the contrary, they settled down
as resident Canadians, loyally supporting existing institutions and the
Crown. Many of them, however, were Canadians by birth, returning to
their native land, or the children of Canadians. But whether Canadian
by parentage or naturalisation they are a splendid asset to the west.
And their knowledge of modern farming methods is by no means the least
important of their accomplishments. In their train, there has also
arrived a large number of skilled and unskilled European labourers.
When the House of Commons on May 22, 1919, adopted a recommendation of
an address to the King not to grant further titles to Canadians, it was
asserted by some that it was primarily caused by this western invasion.
But it can be rightly maintained that such action was caused by
conditions existing at the time entirely independent of this influence.
It may be that in the future the resolution will be withdrawn.
Resolutions in Canada are not as fixed as the ancient laws of the Medes
and the Persians.
Side by side with this agricultural expansion there has been an era of
discovery in the Dominion unequalled even by the golden age of '49.
Alexander {463} Macdonald, a Scotchman from New Brunswick, found a
fortune in the great Klondike rush of 1894-8 and other Canadians did
the same at Cobalt, Ontario, in 1903, where a member of a railway
construction gang picked up a silver nugget by accident, thereby
disclosing to an eager continent the famous Cobalt silver fields.
Canada has, as a result, one of the greatest gold and silver-mining
centres in the world.
As if to keep pace with this unexpected development, Dr. Charles E.
Saunders, of the Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, announced his
successful evolution of Marquis wheat. The Doctor had been
experimenting with mid-European Red Fife and Red Calcutta ever since
1903. By successfully crossing the two, an early ripening, hard red
spring wheat with excellent milling and baking qualities was evolved.
Marquis wheat, as it was named, is now the dominant spring wheat
throughout America. Over three hundred million bushels are produced
annually, and it was largely owing to Canadian Marquis that the Allies
were able to overcome the food crisis in 1918. The wealth of the world
has thus been increased enormously by it.
In 1911 Sir Wilfrid, who had been attending the Imperial Conference in
London during May and June of that year, returned home determined to
place himself again in the hands of the electorate. Unfortunately he
had either not profited by the lesson of 1891 or he now believed that
the Dominion was ripe for reciprocity with the United States. The
contest resulted in the overwhelming defeat of his ministry. For
fifteen years he had enjoyed the same confidence of the people as was
extended to {464} Sir John A. Macdonald, and the story of his
premiership was practically the political history of Canada for that
period.
The Hon. Sir Robert Borden, who had led the Conservative party after
Sir Charles Tupper had resigned in 1901, now succeeded, and a new era
opened in Canadian politics. Throughout the ten years of his two terms
of office he invariably viewed the questions and problems before him
from a judicial standpoint. At the end of his term of office he
carried into his semi-retirement the respect and honour of the Canadian
people. If he lacked the personality and the fire of Sir John A. and
Sir Wilfrid, on the hustings and in the House, he made up for it by a
mind well balanced in statesmanship. Never was this seen to greater
advantage than on those occasions when he participated in the Imperial
Conferences and at the Peace negotiations ir Versailles.
Early in the winter of 1913, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, an Icelander from
Manitoba, set out on one of his explorations of the Arctic regions of
Canada. Public opinion had been so roused and excited over Admiral
Peary reaching the North Pole on April 6, 1909, that the Canadian
Government felt that they owed it to the Empire to make some attempt at
charting the northern regions for the Dominion. Under Government
organisation and supervision the enterprise lasted for five years.
Thousands of square miles were added to Canadian territory within the
Arctic Circle, many of which, contrary to popular conception, are green
and habitable. The geography of certain lands and seas was amplified
and corrected, interesting and useful {465} scientific material was
obtained, and much light thrown on general conditions prevailing in
those latitudes which had escaped the observation of Roald Amundsen
when he accomplished the navigation of the Northwest Passage during
1903-6.
The opening years of the second decade of the twentieth century,
however, had not been without their toll of the Empire makers in
Canada. Just before the Great War broke on an unsuspecting Dominion,
Lord Strathcona passed away in his 94th year. From an apprentice clerk
in Hudson's Bay Company he had passed from honour to honour until his
death, when he was High Commissioner for Canada in London. Not many
months later he was followed by the last surviving Father of
Confederation, Sir Charles Tupper, who had preceded him in the office.
Both of these pioneers in Canadian life wielded an influence very far
reaching in the interests of the British Empire.
At the outbreak of the war similar losses in Canadian public life
passed without much notice in the stress and strain of the struggle to
which Canada was to devote herself during the ensuing years.
The prompt action of Sir Sam Hughes, the Minister of Militia, the
sending of 400,000 men overseas to fight the great fight, the seemingly
never-ending battles of Ypres, St. Julien, Festubert, Givenchy, St.
Eloi, Sanctuary Wood, Vimy Ridge, Loos, Hill 70, Courcelette,
Passchendaele, and the Somme, under General Lord Byng and General Sir
Arthur Currie, appear too vivid in the mind as yet to be regarded as
history.
{466}
Something of the spirit of the Canadians in sharing the common
sacrifice is reflected in the beautiful though poignant lines of
Colonel Macrae of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, who himself made the
supreme sacrifice in one of the early engagements of 1915:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Beneath the crosses, row on row
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly,
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you, from falling hands, we throw
The torch. Be yours to lift it high!
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies blow
In Flanders fields.
As for those at home, now that the war has passed into the ages-long
annals of the Empire, no words can express their thoughts better than
those of Laurence Binyon at the entrance of the British Museum in
London, England:
They shall grow not old
As we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them
Nor the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember them.
But the years 1914-20 were constructive ones for Canada. Hitherto she
had been content to be {467} regarded as a Dominion with a definite
place in the Empire, proud of her position in that Association of
Nations but not unmindful of her shortcomings. The world-conflict,
however, caused her to realise her own constructive ability and
possibilities only limited by population. Under the Imperial Munitions
Board factories were converted into munition works, old plants were
enlarged, and new machinery installed, so that the country is
industrially equipped to supply a population considerably larger than
it is to-day. Not only was wooden ship building revived, but also
steel ship building plants were laid down. As a result there is a
Government Merchant Marine arranged in conjunction with the Government
railways, sailing the high seas to wherever Canadian produce can find a
market. Closer international relationships are being fostered instead
of considered as outside of the Dominion's power and her desire. These
cords of commerce will undoubtedly strengthen British hegemony in the
years to come.
The General Election of December 1917, passed quietly, making no change
in the political situation, although there was a strong feeling in
Quebec against conscription, which was the dominant issue in that
province. On that question the Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King supported Sir
Wilfrid Laurier in his opposition to compulsory service, being one of
the few English Canadian Liberals to do so. In fact several of them
had already joined Sir Robert Borden so that a Coalition Government
could be formed. It was largely owing to Mr. King's support of Sir
Wilfrid on this issue that the former was chosen to {468} succeed the
latter as leader of the Liberal Party in the Convention held at Ottawa
August 5-7, 1919. The country, however, was too intent on the struggle
before it to worry about politics. If it did anything it placed Sir
Robert Borden more firmly in power to carry on the task before him,
especially endorsing the Military Service Act (Conscription) which had
been passed on August 29, previously.
It is true that the people were stunned by the disasters which occurred
in 1916 and 1917 when the Parliament Building at Ottawa was burned and
Halifax was almost razed to the ground by the explosion resulting from
the ramming of an ammunition ship. But outside of the great toll of
life these losses could be repaired and were speedily made up in the
erection of new Parliament Buildings and the creation of a more modern
city of Halifax to dominate the entrance of the great highway from the
East.
Early in the autumn of 1914, the Bank of England, realizing that it
would be impossible for American firms to ship gold to London in
payment of maturing indebtedness there, announced that deposits of gold
by such firms with the Receiver-General at Ottawa would be regarded as
if received by the Bank at London. Under this arrangement many million
dollars of the precious metal were shipped to the Dominion Capital,
where a Branch of the Royal Mint had already been established in
January, 1908. The amount in the vaults at Ottawa during the war
became almost twice the total amount held by British financial
institutions in 1913. As part of it was raw gold, the Ottawa Branch of
the Royal Mint {469} had to construct a new refinery in 1917 which had
a refining capacity of one million ounces of fine gold per month. The
Branch Mint had thus a larger capacity than any other Mint or gold
refinery in the world. Shilling blanks were also produced for the
Royal Mint in London as well as silver and bronze pieces for
Newfoundland and nickel-copper pieces for Jamaica.
Later on the gold was returned to the United States when the British
exchange became unfavourable owing to the huge purchases made in that
country. Many Canadian business men at this time advocated a
moratorium, but the Government steadfastly resisted such a suggestion
until ultimately it was found unnecessary.
Financially, the Canadian people from 1915 to 1919 were not unmindful
of their national obligations. Six domestic loans were issued during
the war period amounting to 2,203 million dollars, while War Savings
Certificates accounted for another 12 1/2 millions.
On the announcement of the Armistice in November, 1918, the Government
with the same energy and foresight which characterised their entrance
into the conflict, began to demobilise the army which they had sent
overseas. Within six months the bulk of the men were back in their
homes. The opportunity was then taken of offering to the returned men
land grants and loans for the purchase of farming implements. Up to
the end of 1920, over 3 1/2 million acres had been disposed of in this
way. In the Western Provinces alone about one million acres of it are
under cultivation {470} by returned men. As a result of this action,
new careers have been provided for men whose love of outdoor life was
stimulated by their military experience. It has at the same time
opened up from virgin soil fresh tracts of rich, arable land. As for
pensions, up to February, 1921, the Dominion has paid out 82 million
dollars and her annual pension bill now represents over 33 million
dollars. Truly Canada is a country "fit for heroes to live in."
All this, however, has been accomplished not without some internal
difficulty. At Winnipeg in May, 1919, some thousands of workmen came
out on strike for more pay, shorter hours, and the principle of
collective bargaining. Rioting took place among some of the more
disorderly elements. But after negotiation by the Hon. Arthur Meighen
and a fellow minister, aided by strong measures on the part of the
Mayor and ex-Service men, the rioters returned to work.
[Illustration: New Parliament Buildings, Ottawa.]