ART. 8.-COMPULSORY MILITARY SERVICE IN ENGLAND - 416 ART. 9.-THOUGHTS ON THE PARLIAMENT OF SCOTLAND 1. The History of Scotland. By John Hill Burton. Second Edition. Vols VII, VIII. Blackwood, 1873. 1. Découverte de la Maison de Campagne d'Horace. Par l'Abbé Capmartin de Chaupy. Three vols. Rome, 2. Nouvelles Promenades Archéologiques-Horace et ART. 13.-THE GRANVILLE CORRESPONDENCE Lord Granville Leveson Gower (First Earl Granville). Private Correspondence, 1781 to 1821. Edited by his Daughter-in-law, Castalia, Countess Granville. Two QUARTERLY REVIEW. No. 446.-JANUARY, 1916. Art. 1.-WHY CANADA IS AT WAR. SOME articles by well-informed writers have appeared in various magazines during the past year on the part Canada is taking in the present war. The purpose of tais paper is not to duplicate what has already been vritten, but rather to deal with a phase of the subject vhich has received little or no consideration, namely, Why does Canada participate in the war? What is the sychological cause of her sacrificing her money and her nen so lavishly in a war which at first sight is only ndirectly hers? British citizens in all parts of the Empire need not be told that Canada took this step of her own free will, n conference with, but under no pressure from, the naval and military authorities in Great Britain. Canada is not part of an imperial military machine, such as we see exemplified in the German system, but a British colony taking her place in the Empire under the triple principle of 'self-government, self-development, and self-defence.' One of the rights of self-government bestowed upon the Canadian people by the Mother-Country is the control of its own military forces. While the command-in-chief is vested in the King, the Dominion Parliament at Ottawa holds the reins of control. If, then, Canadians help to keep the trenches in the battle-fields of Flanders, it is because the Dominion herself voluntarily sends her men thither. And-as the Canadian militia cannot be compelled to serve outside the Dominion-if Canada's sons are giving their lives for Belgium, France, and Britain, it is because they volunteered for that service. Because Vol. 225.-No. 446, B we are. not bound but free, because we are not blindly driven. by the caprices of a military caste, but because as British citizens we enjoy British freedom,' whch confers upon us the privilege of holding most of ur destinies in our own hands-for these reasons, amag others, we Canadians respond by saying that this is t only Britain's war but our own. We cannot, in the second place, point to a bellicoe spirit among the Canadian people which needed only n occasion to be kindled into flame. The Canadians have always been a peaceful people, assuming as their highet task the developing of their great natural resource, and setting up as their highest ideal the attainment & nationhood through a policy of peace with the MotheCountry, their neighbour to the south, and the who world. Canada's part in the American Revolution, i the War of 1812-14, in the Rebellion of 1837-38, in th North-West Rebellions, and in the South African Wal was in each instance only a ripple on the surface of he national life compared with what she is attempting in the present struggle; and in no case was it sufficient to put the military stamp on her people. When the wa broke out in Aug. 1914, she had a navy of two smal discarded British vessels to guard two oceans, and a land force of about 5000 regulars to guard a frontier of 3000 miles. Of compulsory military service for her citizens she knew nothing. Even her militia of some 40,000 men, trained for about a fortnight each summer, was, from a military point of view, a picnic affair, so that Lord Dundonald spoke the bitter truth when he said that Canada was in no position to defend herself even against a small invading force. With no war knocking at her gates for a hundred years, with a neighbour to the south who was also devoted to the arts of peace, with a growing bond of union among all the English-speaking peoples, and finally, with the feeling of security afforded by the protection of the army and navy of Great Britain, Canada developed her farms, mines, forests, and fisheries, with no dread of war and no desire for its glory. Her 'place in the sun' was to be achieved by peace alone. Nor, in the third place, can we point to any racehatred or commercial rivalry between Germany and Canada, as even a remote cause of Canada's part in the war. She was too far removed from Europe to be affected by European suspicions, jealousies, and hatreds, or to be exposed to the periodic nightmares of threatened invasion. On the American continent, on the other hand, she feared no evil. She and her American cousin were living on cordial terms; and, although in the course of a century numerous petty grievances and irritations had arisen, diplomatic relations had never been at the breaking point, and time had wiped out old scores. There was no Alsace-Lorraine to engender a spirit of permanent hatred. In spite of the reciprocity campaign in 1911, there was never, perhaps, a more friendly feeling on both sides of the line than there has been in recent years. If this is true of Canada and the United States, the two countries between which we should naturally look for jealous rivalry, we Canadians can assure the Germans, so far distant from our borders, that, before the war broke out, we had only good-will toward them. Till then we had nothing but admiration for them as a great people. We knew something about their military machine, but we believed it was for defence only. As to the warnings occasionally sounded in the English press and by English public men, to the effect that Germany nourished evil designs against Great Britain, and that a clash between the two empires was inevitable, we Canadians never really believed them. We regarded these occasional alarms as a delusion, by which we refused to be haunted. We were too busy laying broad foundations for the future development of our rapidly growing country, and too friendly with all the peoples of the world to think seriously of war. As we look back, seeing things in their true perspective, we realise that it was but the blissful repose of false security and blind optimism in which Canada slumbered while the Empire was approaching the greatest crisis of its history. Only the Government leaders, who had received confidential information from the Admiralty, believed in a German peril. The masses were indifferent. There was no real cause for anything but a friendly spirit toward the German people. Generation after generation of Canadian children have been taught to regard Germany as England's friend. We have thrown our doors wide open to German citizens and extended to them the same privileges that we gave to our brothers from the British Isles. They enjoyed liberties among us which would not have been granted to Britishers in the Fatherland. And when the breach finally came and we were placed at the parting of the ways, we felt deep reluctance that at this stage of the world's civilisation we should be obliged to draw the sword against an old-time friend. Without the heat of passion, we faced deliberately what we believed to be our duty, the duty of all who honour right above might. We do not hate the German people, but we loathe the faction in Germany that would rule the world with blood and iron,' and has persuaded the nation to believe what they say as to the origin of the war. Ever since Canada entered the war she has had a profound conviction that there can be no peace on earth until the militarism which is the tap-root of the present war is crushed. The week preceding the declaration of war was one of subdued and tense emotion. It gave the Canadian people the necessary breathing-spell in which to take national stock and decide what course Canada would pursue should the worst come. Throughout those days of anxious waiting the country remained stoically calm, no jingoes clamouring for war, no public demonstrations such as preceded the outbreak of hostilities in Italy. The idol of the hour was Sir Edward Grey, who made such strenuous efforts to avert the calamity. And even after Germany had declared war against Russia and France, Canadians persisted in the hope that Great Britain might not be dragged into the struggle. In the meantime, however, the Government took preparatory steps; and public opinion became united in support of Great Britain in anticipation of war. As Parliament was not in session at the time, the outlining of the Dominion's policy fell to the Premier and his Cabinet in consultation with the Governor-General. On Aug. 2, 1914, the following message was sent to Great Britain: 'If unhappily war should ensue, the Canadian people will be united in a common resolve to put forth every effort and to make every sacrifice necessary to ensure the integrity and maintain the honor of our Empire.' |