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Speaking at Oxford in 1899, Mr. Smith (then Lord
Strathcona), gave a vivid picture of the conditions as they were when he
first reached Canadian shores, after a stormy voyage of forty days in a
little sailing ship. "No one," he said, "travelling through Ontario and
the other Provinces to-day could imagine the state of things that existed
in 1837. It seems almost incredible. Everything is made so easy for
emigrants now—the travelling is comfortable, the voyage is short, the food
is better than many of them get at home. In 1837 the only incorporated
city in Ontario was Toronto, which, at that time, had a population of from
13,000 to 15,000. In Lower Canada, Quebec at that time was a more
important town in many ways than Montreal. It was at the head of
navigation, as the shallows in Lake St. Peter, on the St. Lawrence, had
not then been dredged, and it was the entrepôt of a greater share of the
St. Lawrence trade than it has now. A few ocean vessels of light draught
went up to Montreal, but much of the merchandise was transhipped at Quebec
into other vessels. The social condition of the people was naturally not
of a high standard. Their work was hard, their mode of living simple,
their houses large log huts, and they had to go long distances to sell
their produce and to buy new supplies. This, of course, refers largely to
the country districts, or backwoods, as they were called in those days. In
the towns and villages there was plenty of intercourse, and judging from
my early experiences, life in the centres of population was pleasant and
attractive, and the Canadians were as generous in their hospitality as
they are known to be to-day."
Such was the Canada of his early days. The picture
is not overdrawn. There can still be found old inhabitants who will
describe their early life in almost exactly the same terms, but fifty
years of this wonder-working age have completely changed the situation.
Canada now has one central Federal Government. The huge territories lying
west of Lake Superior have been brought into the Confederation. Millions
of prosperous people live in the region which up to 1870 was given over to
the Indian and fur-trader. Already three great lines of railway span the
Canadian territories, giving rapid and comfortable transit from Halifax to
Victoria. Large cities with every modern improvement and conveniences are
to be found growing rapidly in those distant parts. The older Provinces
have also changed. Toronto has a population of half a million. Montreal is
even larger, while in Ontario there are a score of towns and cities
exceeding in size and importance the Toronto of 1837. Montreal has become
the head of ocean navigation, while the St. Lawrence has become the
highway for lines of splendid steamships, which carry on our trade with
all the countries of the world. But more important than the physical
development has been the political advance. Canada has passed the stage of
merely parochial politics. With the growth of population, the improvement
in education and the increase in wealth, there has been proceeding the
development of national consciousness. The feeling of dependency indicated
by the term "colonial" has given place to the sense of partnership. The
whole outlook has changed. The horizon has widened. The people of Canada
are feeling the impulse and inspiration of a larger destiny. They are
getting into line with movements of world-wide significance. They feel
that they are to have a vital share in settling the problems which
confront the Empire.
This is the explanation of "Imperialism" and the
imperialistic spirit. In some quarters, it is true, these terms are made
to stand for a cheap, boastful, jingo spirit. But that is not its real
import. The spread of the British Empire during the last hundred years has
been marvellous. And with that expansion have gone the ideals, political,
social and religious, of the Anglo-Saxon race. And it is marvellous to
think that in every quarter of the globe there are to be found those
communities, rapidly rising to the stature of nations, asserting their
independence, jealous of their autonomy, and yet holding as sacred the
bond that links them to the Motherland. They speak her language, they
glory in her literature, they cherish her traditions, they rejoice in her
history and follow her ideals. So vast an Empire with a government so
elastic the world has never seen. Will it maintain itself? Will it not
fall to pieces of its own weight? Is it possible to produce among these
scattered peoples a unit in diversity which will make the British Empire
act as one undivided power in the movements of the world It is this which
constitutes the problem of "Imperialism" in our day and it is this which
draws our statesmen out of the narrow round of local affairs to consider
questions, of world-wide importance. London is the centre of this enormous
development. In London the relationship of the scattered parts—the policy
which shall represent the mind of all—and the methods by which the ends
shall be achieved, are discussed and decided. To facilitate this Imperial
purpose it was necessary that representatives from the various Dominions
should reside in England to serve as a connecting link between the Central
Government and those of the distant parts, and this explains why Canada
has an official representative in London. In a way this had been
recognized many years before, when Sir A. Galt was appointed Canadian
Commissioner, though really he was nothing more than the business agent of
the Dominion. |
