England, Canada and the Great War

No one in the United States ever apprehended, for a single moment, that because the Republic had borrowed enormous sums from Great Britain, she was likely to lose her State independence through the financial influence of the holders of her securities of all sorts.

Such "Nationalist" notions, as above exposed and contradicted, can only create very wrong and deplorable conclusions in the public mind, were they allowed to follow their course without challenge and without the refutation proving their complete absurdity.

CHAPTER XVI.

"Nationalist" Views Condensed

After refuting at length the "Nationalist" theories, I thought proper to condense them in a concrete proposition, and challenge their propagandist to call a public meeting in any city, town, or locality, in the Dominion, – Montreal for instance – and to find a dozen of citizens of standing in the community, to consent to move and second a "Resolution" embodying their doctrines.

This condensed proposition, I translate as follows: —

"Whereas England has unjustly declared war against Germany;

"Whereas Great Britain has done nothing to maintain the peace of the world;

"Considering that His Majesty King George V. had not the right to declare the state of war for Canada without the assent of the Canadian Cabinet;

"Considering that Canada, as an autonomous colony, is a Sovereign State;

"Considering that British Sovereignty over Canada is only a fiction;

"Considering that Canada, interfering in the present war, should have done so as a Nation;

"Whereas Canada should only have fought on her own account, like Belgium, Servia, Italy or Bulgaria.

"Whereas the maintenance of a compact British Empire is the most permanent provocation against the peace of the world;

"Considering that the supremacy of England on the seas is unjust;

"Considering that Great Britain's aspiration, for a long time past, has been universal domination by means of her military naval power;

"Whereas England is unfair against France in using her as a shield against German invasion;

"Considering that England is exercising by all possible means a strong pressure upon the Colonies for her only benefit;

"Considering that all the social leaders have united to demoralize the conscience of the people, to poison their mind, to set their vigilance at sleep, and to represent to them as a national duty what would formerly have been considered as a betrayal of national interests;

"Considering that England is trying to crush Germany, being afraid of her colonial expansion and her maritime and commercial competition;

"Whereas our compatriots of the British races have many faults; that they are ignorant, assuming, arrogant, overbearing and rotten with mercantilism;

"Considering that they have acquired many of the worst vices of the Yankees;

"Considering that Canada should never participate, outside of her own territory, in the wars of the British Empire;

"Considering that the Canadian Cabinet and Parliament are criminally guilty of having ordered the organization of a Canadian army to go and fight against Germany on the French territory, and in authorizing the payment of the cost of this military expedition;

"Be it "Resolved", that this meeting energetically protest against the declaration of war against Germany by His Majesty King George V, without the assent of the Canadian Cabinet, to defend Belgium's territory invaded by Germany violating solemn treaties;

"That this meeting is of opinion that, for the purpose of favouring the restoration of peace as soon as possible, England should notify all the Powers that she abdicates for ever her supremacy on the seas, which supremacy Germany could hereafter safely exercise;

"That this meeting being absolutely convinced that the maintenance of a compact British Empire is the most permanent provocation against the peace of the world, is strongly of opinion that Great Britain should, in order to quiet the fears of the Nations friendly to peace and opposed to militarism, like pacifist Germany, dissolve her Empire, at once acknowledging the immediate independence of India and of all her autonomous Colonies;

"That this meeting's formal opinion is that the Canadian Parliament's imperious duty is to order without delay the dissolution of the British bond of connection, which would be a public benefit, and to proclaim the immediate independence of Canada;

"That a copy of the present "Resolution" be addressed to His Excellency the Governor General, to the Members of the Federal Cabinet, to the Senators and to the Members of the House of Commons."

The italics in the above draft "Resolution" and "Preamble" are quoted from Mr. Bourassa's writings.

The "Preamble" and "Resolution" emphasize, in their true and complete meaning, the "Nationalist" doctrines perseveringly propounded for years past to poison French Canadian mentally. That such teachings can only produce disloyal feelings, stir up national prejudices and hatred of the Mother Country, and be most detrimental to the best interests of the Province of Quebec, of the Dominion of Canada, and of the British Empire as a whole, every one must admit with sadness.

My challenge, which is still maintained, has not been taken up yet. All may rest assured that it will never be. The most ardent "Nationalist" knows that no responsible citizens would move the adoption of such views.

CHAPTER XVII.

Loyal Principles Propounded

To the foregoing "Nationalist" proposition, I opposed one condensing, in a concrete form, the views and principles of the truly loyal Canadian citizens. I also translate it as follows: —

"Whereas, since 1870, the German Empire had been a permanent menace against the peace of the world by her threatening military policy;

"Whereas England, throughout the same period, and more especially during the twenty years previous to 1914, had done her utmost efforts to maintain peace;

"Considering that Great Britain had, in many ways, solicited Germany to agree to the limitation of armaments, especially of the building of war vessels;

"Considering that she had persisted in her attempts with the German Government to save the nations from the ruinous system of excessive armaments, in spite of the latter's refusal to accede to her demands;

"Considering that though in honor bound, like England, by three solemn treaties, to respect Belgium's neutrality, the German Government have, in August 1914, ordered their army to violate Belgian territory in order to more easily invade France to which they had declared war;

"Whereas Great Britain, in honour bound, could not permit the crushing of Belgium by the German Empire;

"Considering, moreover, that Germany, after mutilating and destroying Belgium, by the deprivation of her independence, after triumphing over France which she would have once again dismembered, would have undertaken to beat England to deprive her of sea supremacy, in order to obtain, by this last conquest, her domination over Europe and almost all the world;

"Considering that the defeat of England might very likely have resulted in the cession of Canada to Germany;

"Considering that the world at large is greatly interested in the maintenance of England and France as first class Powers on account of their services in favour of Human Civilization and Liberty;

"Considering that the German armies have accompanied their military operations with untold barbarous acts, by the murder of priests, of peaceful citizens, of wounded soldiers, of religious women, of mothers, of previously criminally outraged young girls, of old men, of young children, with the destruction by fire and otherwise of Cathedrals, Churches, – monuments of the Christian Art, – of libraries – sanctuaries of Science – of historical monuments, the legitimate glory and pride of Human Genius;

"Whereas the German Government is guilty of the murder of thousands of persons, men, women and children, by the sinking of merchant vessels – the Lusitania, for instance – by its submarine ships, without giving the notices required by International Law;

"Whereas from the very beginning of the war, the Allied Nations, England, France and Russia, have jointly agreed, in honour bound, to require, as the essential peace condition, the cessation by all the belligerent Powers of the crushing and ruinous militarism prevailing before the opening of the hostilities, by the fault of Germany's obstination to constantly strengthen her military organization both on land and sea;

"Considering that England and her Allies are struggling for the most venerable and sacred cause: —outraged Justice– ; that, being a British Colony, Canada is justly engaged in the present cruel and deplorable conflict, for the defence of the Right and the true Liberty of Nations; that our Canadian soldiers are valiantly fighting with those of England, France and Belgium for the great cause of sovereign importance – the protection of the world threatened by Germanism;

"Considering that England, to which the political life of Canada is bound, and France, to which the French Canadians owe their national existence, have to fight for sacred interests in a war of endurance requiring the incessant renewal of all the energies of the most ardent patriotism, the victims of which falling on the field of honour have the merit of giving their lives for Justice";

"Considering that, though wishing the restoration of peace as soon as possible, and earnestly praying Divine Providence to favour the world with the blessings of peace, more and more urgently needed after this assault of abominable barbarism against Christian Civilization lasting for the last four years, the Allies are absolutely unable to terminate the war by giving their consent to conditions which would not protect Humanity against the direst consequences of the militarism fastened by the German Empire on the Nations so anxious to bring it to an end;

"Be it "Resolved": —

"That this meeting approves of the free and patriotic decision of the Federal Parliament to have Canada to participate in the so very Just War which England, France, Belgium, the United States and Italy are fighting against the German and Austrian Empires, allied in an effort to dominate the world;

"That this meeting's strong opinion is that, on account of the terrible crisis menacing the British Empire and Civilization, it was the bounden duty of Canada to intervene in the war for the safety of the Mother Country and her own, for the salvation of Liberty and of the sacred cause of outraged Justice;

"That this meeting desires to express her admiration and profound gratitude for the braves who enlist in the grand army which the Canadian Parliament has ordered to be organized for the defence of the cause of the Allies, which is also that of the civilized world;

"That this meeting also concur in the opinion that Canada is in duty bound to continue to participate in the present war until the final victory of the Allies, which will guarantee to the world a lasting peace and put an end to German militarism which has been the direct cause of so much dire misfortunes for Humanity."

The italics of the above draft "Resolution" are quoted from the writings and speeches of leaders of French Canadian Roman Catholics.

There was no need of calling meetings to adopt the preceding "Resolution" with its well defined preamble. It had been approved, in all its bearings, at the outset of the hostilities by the unanimous decision of the Canadian Parliament, by the almost unanimous consent of public opinion, by the religious, social, commercial, industrial and financial leaders of the country. It had been so approved by the four hundred thousand brave Canadians who rallied to the Colours; by the subscribers, by thousands, to the national war loans.

Since writing the above draft "Resolution", its full substance has been almost unanimously approved by the Canadian people in general elections, the two contending political parties entirely agreeing so far as the Justice of the cause of the Allies was concerned, differing only as to the best means for Canada to adopt to achieve final victory.

Without entering into any considerations respecting the divergence of the views of the leaders of political thought, in the still recent electoral campaign, – from which it is more advisable for me to abstain in the interest of the cause I am defending – I may be allowed to remark that only a small remnant of the "Nationalist" element dared to reaffirm his hostility to Canada's intervention in the conflict and to avow his opinion that the country had done enough.

What did those irreconcilable "Nationalists" – so few in numbers as the event ultimately proved – mean by their assertion that Canada had done enough for the war? According to its literal wording, it must have signified that no more sacrifices should have been incurred for the triumph of the Allied cause. If it was so, the conclusion to be drawn from such sayings was that, to put an end to any further Canadian contributions, orders should be given to bring back the Canadian Army from Europe, and to send home all the forces still on Canadian soil. It is plain that even if the new Canadian Parliament had decided not to increase our contribution of man-power, in order to maintain the efficiency of the Canadian divisions at the front, large sacrifices would have had to be made to keep on the theatre of war the forces which were still in the field.

To refuse to participate in the war would have been deserting the flag at the hour of danger, and a total misconception of our plain duty.

Giving up the fight, once engaged in the struggle, before triumphant victory, or irremediable defeat, in the very thick of the battle so heroically carried on by the Allies, would have been sheer cowardice – bolchevikism of the worst kind.

Whether they meant it or not, those few "Nationalists" dared not openly propose the recall of our troops. The solitary "Nationalist" candidate who had the nerve to face the electorate was defeated by a very large majority.

No better proof of the weakness of the hold of the doctrines of "Nationalism," on sound public opinion, is required than the decision of its most outspoken advocate and leader, Mr. Bourassa, to refrain from being a candidate in any constituency, and to advise all his supposed friends to do likewise. No one was deceived, with regard to this decision, by the reasons, or rather excuses, given to explain it.

Evidently, if the "Nationalist" group and their leader had been confident of the support of the large number of electors whose opinion they pretended to represent, they would certainly not have lost the chance to show their strength, and the opportunity to elect many candidates of their persuasion to enter Parliament free from any party allegiance but that of their own element. But any one somewhat posted with the currents of public opinion in the Province of Quebec, knew very well that if pure "Nationalist" candidates had been nominated in all the constituencies of the Province, running between the regular party nominees, – ministerial and opposition – the average number of ballots cast for them would scarcely have reached ten per cent. of the French Canadian votes, less than two per cent. of the whole Canadian electorate.

It was moreover highly probable that, had they tried the game, they would not have even succeeded, in two-thirds of the constituencies, in inducing citizens of sufficient standing to accept their nomination and their political program. Once engaged in such a hopeless electoral contest, they would have had either to humbly retire from the field, or to await the doomed day by nominating men of no weight whatever. Both alternatives would have led them to an equally disastrous defeat.

Unjust "Nationalist" Grievances Against England

At the end of the very first page of Mr. Bourassa's pamphlet, entitled: —What do we owe England? – in French: – Que devons-nous à l'Angleterre?, – The following lines are found: – (Translation.)

British Imperialism, in its concrete and practical form, can be defined in ten words: the active participation by the Colonies in the wars of England. It is almost precisely the definition I gave of it as early as the days of the African war. It is exact. Considered from a larger point of view, from its profound causes and far reaching consequences, British Imperialism calls for a more ample definition. Its object is to have Great Britain dominate the world by means of the organization and concentration of all the Military Forces of the Empire – both Sea and Land Forces – ; it means the gradual annihilation, or at least the enslaving of all the divers nationalities constituting the British Empire, in order to bring about the World's supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon race, of her thoughts, of her language, of her political conceptions, of her commerce and her wealth. Its object is to crush all competitions, all internal and external oppositions. It is the German Ideal; it is the Roman Ideal. It is the Imperialism of all countries, at all times, enlarged to the limits of the monstrous pretensions of Pan-Anglo-Saxonism.

All the propositions of the above quotation do not bear, for one single instant, the light of historical research, of reason, even of common sense.

I challenge Mr. Bourassa, and any one else, to read the speeches and the writings of all those who have studied the great question of the future of the British Empire, and to detect therein one single word to justify the assertion that the organization and concentration of all the Military Forces of the Empire have for their object to help England to dominate the world.

I have already abundantly proved that England never aspired to dominate the world. I answered Mr. Bourassa's unfounded propositions as follows: —

1 – I will surely be allowed to say that for nearly the last fifty years, I have done my best efforts to keep myself well informed with the opinions expressed by the most authorized political men of the Mother Country – of all parties – by the most renowned publicists, by the most distinguished writers of the great English press. I have yet to read one sentence leading me to suppose that the mind of any one of them was haunted by the foolish hope of Great Britain's domination of the world. Many of them have spoken and written to persuade their countrymen of the growing urgency to consider the most effective measures to be adopted to defend the Empire, in view of the efforts of other nations – notably Germany – to strengthen their military organizations. No one advised them to incur the most heavy sacrifices in order to dominate the world. They had too much political sense to believe that such a ridiculous scheme could ever be carried out.

2 – What the "Nationalist" leader calls British Imperialism never had for its objective the gradual suppression, or at least the enslaving of the divers nationalities constituting the British Empire.

Such an assertion is nothing less than a stroke of the imagination which recent history utterly refutes, proving, as it does, the very reverse, as follows: —

A – The creation, by Imperial Charters, of the great autonomous federal Canadian, Australian, South African Dominions.

B – The federal system adopted for the Dominion of Canada purposely for the protection of the French Canadians whose special interests are entrusted to the Legislature of the Province of Quebec.

C – The South African Union Charter is the guarantee of the Boers' control of the future of that vast stretch of country, by means of the two fundamental principles of the British constitutional system: – government by the majority combined with ministerial responsibility.

No Empire in the world grants as large a measure of freedom as the British Empire does, to the various national groups living under the protection of her flag.

3 – British Imperialism, contrary to Mr. Bourassa's assertion, was never deluded by the wild dream of a world wide supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon race, of her thoughts, of her language, of her political conceptions, of her commerce and her wealth.

Surely, I have yet to learn that Great Britain has dreamt, and is dreaming, to impose by Force her "mentality," her language, her political institutions to China, to Japan, to Russia, to France, to all the South American Republics, to Italy, to Spain, to Germany, to Austria-Hungary, to Turkey, &c., which, considered as a whole, represent, any one must admit, a pretty large part of the universe.

4 – Mr. Bourassa's assertion that England aspires to dominate the world, economically, commercially, is most positively contradicted by the history of the last eighty years. Who does not know – and I cannot for a moment suppose that Mr. Bourassa ignores it – that, nearly a century ago, Great Britain, finally rallied in favour of a Free Trade Policy, has opened her market free to the products of all the nations of the world. Is that not a rather strange way of aspiring to an economical domination! And whilst all the countries of the earth, the British colonies as well as foreign nations, can freely sell their goods in the British market, they protect their own markets by high customs duties – in some cases almost prohibitive – against British goods.

National commercial statistics are opened to the "Nationalist" leader's perusal as to any one else. If he had referred to them, he would have learned that the Foreign Trade of Great Britain, in 1913, the year preceding the outbreak of the war, amounted to $7,017,775,335; exports were valued at $3,174,101,630; imports totalized $3,843,673,695, exceeding the exports by the large amount of $669,572,065.

By looking at the figures, Mr. Bourassa would only have had to call upon his common sense to draw the conclusion that England was certainly not moving along an easy road to the commercial domination of the world by maintaining a policy resulting in an import trade larger, by an annual average of nearly twenty per cent., than her exportations.

Before the war, Germany, by rapid strides, had succeeded in attaining the second rank amongst the great trading nations, coming next after Great Britain. In the same year – 1913 – her Foreign Trade totalized $5,351,500,000, divided as follows: – Imports $2,801,675,000; exports $2,549,825,000.

The really wonderful industrial and commercial expansion of Germany, during the last forty years previous to the war, offered another opportunity to Mr. Bourassa to show his spite against Great Britain. He would have been sorry not to make the best of it. Calling into play his fertile imagination, he unhesitatingly charged England with deep rooted jealousy of Germany's trade success and the guilty intent to crush it out of existence.

To this absurd assertion – not using the word offensively, being always determined to be courteous in any discussion I engage – I answered by quoting the figures of the reciprocal relative external British and German trade. In 1913, Great Britain sold to Germany goods to the amount of $203,385,150, and bought German products for a total value of $402,055,285. Great Britain's exports to Germany were then only about fifty per cent of her imports from the same market. It is indeed difficult to detect in such trade relations between two nations any sign of the intent, on the part of the country buying from the other double the value of her sales to her, to dominate her people commercially.

Any one knowing all the circumstances and the causes that imposed upon Great Britain the duty of taking part in the European struggle, cannot help being shocked at Mr. Bourassa's accusation that England has incidentally been brought into the conflict only through the frantic desire of her business men to use it to crush the commercial competition of Germany. No serious men could have entertained such strange notions. And the "Nationalist" leader certainly charged the political leaders and the business community of England with sheer madness.

With all right minded men, the world over, I have long ago reached the sound conclusion that universal economical domination is only a chimerical idea absolutely outside of all possible realization. England does not indulge in any such extravagant dream, being too well aware how vain it would be.