CANADA, THE EMPIRE, AND THE UNITED STATES.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—As an Anglo-Canadian, resident in the Province of Quebec, may I be permitted to correct one or two of the statements made by Mr. Evelyn Wrench in his article on " The English-Speaking World " in last week's issue ? In the first place he is doing the Prime Minister of Canada an injustice when he states that it is believed that Mr. Mackenzie King will lead the extreme autonomists. In this connexion I cannot do better than give the Canadian Prime Minister's standpoint in his own words. In concluding the debate on the much discussed Halibut Treaty on June 27th, when replying to the criticism of Mr. Mcighen, who had stated that he could not understand " this desire to disassociate ourselves from the British Empire," Mr. Mackenzie King said :—
" I tell my right hon. friend that the Government, in the action it was taking, far from being prompted by a desire in any way to estrange Canada from the Empire, believed that its act" was calculated to strengthen the faith of Canadians in the greatness of the Empire, and to increase the respect which all other parts of the Empire and other countries will have for Canada. . . . It is as a part of a league of Britannic nations, as one of a com- munity of sister nations within the British Empire, that we have taken a course which we believe will afford recognition to that particular status. There never has been a time when the assertion of her autonomy by Canada has not been followed by some protest from one quarter or another. We believe that the more self- government is realized in all its phases, the more enduring and permanent will be the basis of the Empire. Let me say, Mr. Speaker, I am one who believes strongly in that community of free nations which comprises the British Empire, and I hope to live to see that community of nations grow stronger from year to year, and as time goes on to mean more and more to our great human society. I believe that in the British Commonwealth to-day we have the greatest example the world has ever known of a community of free nations in the nature of a League of Nations which is an inspiration and a model to the League of Nations itself. As the British Empire endures so will the League of Nations prosper on similar foundations of liberty and freedom, and consultation and co-operation between com- ponent parts. It is because I want to see the British Empire endure, it is because I want to see all its parts work together in closer harmony and co-operation--because I believe it is the greatest agency which the world has ever had for the preservation of freedom, liberty and justice—that I hope that every effort will be made upon the part of each free nation of the British Empire to see that in the matter of self-government it exercises to the full the rights which are conceded to it, as being a component part of the Empire. In that way it will help to illustrate and make for that freedom, justice and co-operation among the nations of the world which we pray all may come to practice and enjoy.
. . We believe that in the exercise of all our rights we will gain more of strength and of influence as a nation ; and, so far as the British Empire is concerned, we believe that its greatness will be proportionately greater as our strength and influence as a country increase."
Mr. Wrench also does the French-Canadian race an injustice when he says that they are at one with the American, Scan- dinavian and Eastern European settlements of the Prairie Provinces in their desire to get outside the Empire. Although the French Canadians are extremely proud of their nation- hood, they are equally as proud of their British connexion, and the prophecy made by Sir Etienne Tache that " the last gun in defence of the British Crown in Canada will be fired by a French Canadian " sums up the position. Those of us who live among the French Canadians know that they value their freedom and their treatment under the British Crown far too highly to exchange it either for a Republic and for incorporation with the United States. As regards the latter, the late President Harding, in a speech made at Vancouver shortly before his death, gave his country's viewpoint :—
" The ancient bugaboo of the United States scheming to annex Canada disappeared from all our minds years ago. Heaven knows we have all we can manage now, and room enough to spare for another hundred millions, before approaching the intensive state of existence of many European States. Let us go our own gaits along parallel routes—you helping us and we helping you. So long as each country maintains its dependence and both recognize their independence, those paths cannot fail to be highways of progress and prosperity."
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