Part 32

The leadership of the Coalition Government which was elected in 1917 passed to the Hon. Arthur Meighen, who was Minister of the Interior in the Borden administration.

A year afterwards, having completed the full tenure of office, His Excellency the Governor-General, the Duke of Devonshire, returned to England, and was succeeded by General Lord Byng of Vimy, the hero of the Canadian soldiers in the war.

When the Annual Imperial Conference was called in July, 1921, the acting Premier, the Hon. Mr. Meighen, repaired to London to gain some insight into the many intricate problems which came before the Council. On his return home he decided that the political situation demanded a general election. In this, no doubt, he was influenced by the rise of a Progressive Party, or as it is better known, the United Farmers' Organisation.

Starting as a purely agrarian movement the U.F.O. became a co-operative society, finally growing into a strong political party in provincial and federal politics. Ontario and Alberta soon fell to their prowess, and it was thought that the same result would happen in the Dominion arena. The ideas advocated by the new third party were a more modified protection to home industries as opposed to the decidedly protectionist policy of the Coalition Government; opposition to the return of the Government controlled railways to {475} private ownership; stimulation of immigration along definite lines; and the creation of means whereby capital for production could be supplied to settlers on safe and sound lines.

Whether the Progressive party will continue to be a factor in Canadian politics is for the future to decide. The net result of the general election of 1921 was the almost complete disappearance of the Coalition party and the meagre election of the out and out Liberals under the Hon. William Lyon Mackenzie King, who had been a minister in Sir Wilfrid's cabinet some ten years previously. The number of Progressives elected did not come up to the general expectation, but they represent a considerable number, in fact being second in strength to the party called upon to form the Government. Their leader, the Hon. T. A. Crerar, who had resigned from the Coalition Cabinet of Sir Robert Borden two years previously, is a leader of some force and ability. But Mr. King has surrounded himself with a cabinet of considerable Parliamentary experience, so there is every reason to expect that the Liberal Party will be in power for the usual life of a Parliamentary term.

Perhaps the most outstanding event of the year in which Canada was interested, was the Disarmament Conference at Washington, where she was represented by Sir Robert Borden. If it did anything, it certainly paved the way for saving billions of dollars by restricting the construction of capital ships, and in this Canada was no mean factor.

But before all, it is domestic problems which concern the Dominion particularly. No country {476} realises better than she does that it is coal and comfort which will attract settlers from the Motherland to till her fields, build up her factories and engage in the trade which makes a nation truly great. As Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba have no coal mines, "white coal" is a vital necessity. Not long ago the Dominion Water Power Branch took a census, and found that Canada has available nineteen million horse-power. Of this practically 90 per cent. of the Central Station power is derived from water power, 95 per cent. being in the above-named provinces, which have to import their coal supplies from other provinces and the United States. As far back as 1911 the Province of Ontario realised this, and began to arrange for the building of the Chippawa-Queenston Power Canal and plant, which represents an investment of almost a hundred million dollars. The plant will have a capacity of 650,000 horse-power, which will be distributed throughout Canada and possibly the neighbouring States, and will be an important addition to the Ontario Hydro-Electric Power Transmission System which was inaugurated at Kitchener, Ontario, in October, 1911.

Elsewhere in the Dominion the fuel problem is being met by fresh discoveries. In the Mackenzie River district gushers of oil have been struck, in one case producing a flow at the rate of 1,000 barrels a day. Already several large companies are operating in that district.

As for comfort, not only Canada but also the world realises that the day of hand power is past. Without agricultural implement machinery driven {477} by motor force, it would be impossible for the great Northwest to yield the harvests which she does without a labour to which new settlers would be unaccustomed. By means of the hydro-electric commission homes are warmed in winter, lighted all the year round, as indeed are the cities, towns and villages, and cooking for the family accomplished with a modicum of trouble. Electric railways connect communities and settlements. The telephone is in almost everyone's home. So that with the pianola, the gramophone, and other means of diversion, the winter nights are not what they were to the people in the years of the nineteenth century.

In railroad facilities Canada, if anything, is fifty years ahead of her time, so well are they developed. The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, from Monckton, New Brunswick to Winnipeg and thence to Prince Rupert, B.C., which was commenced in 1905, and finished in 1915, was leased on its completion to the Grand Trunk Railway Company for fifty years. Owing to the war, and the financial difficulties in which the constructing company found itself, the system of 22,000 miles of line was taken over by the Government in 1921, after an arbitration which excited much comment on both sides of the Atlantic. The decision regarding it was given by the Canadian Grand Trunk Arbitration Board at Montreal, headed by Sir Walter Cassels, and one of the members of the Board was no less a person than ex-President Taft, now Chief Justice of the United States. As a conspicuous result of political action the {478} construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway is still more the subject of politics than of history, and it is quite likely to remain in that phase for some time.

The year 1921 will also be memorable for the work of the joint American-Canadian Commission appointed to investigate the possibility of the proposed Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Waterways. It was estimated that the initial cost of canalising the St. Lawrence River, constructing six dams in the rapids and improving the St. Claire and Detroit Rivers will be 253 million dollars, the up-keep requiring 2 1/2 million dollars annually. Fortunately considerable revenue can be made through the sale of the five million horse-power obtained from the dams which will pay a large part of the carrying charges. The great value of such a public work is in the relief from congestion on the railways, particularly the American, at crop-moving time. One of the most important results will be that Port Arthur, Ontario will virtually become a seaport.

In all this work of expansion and progress the women of Canada have taken their place. This was recognised when the War Committee of the Borden Cabinet called a Conference of representatives of women's organisations in February, 1918. The initiative was rewarded by a closer co-operation on the part of these societies with the Government, especially in connection with the conservation of food, the compilation of a National Register and the increased production in industrial occupations. Later in 1918, an Act was passed by which Canadian {479} women received the Federal electoral vote on the same basis as men. In addition to electing a woman as member of the provincial legislature, the British Columbia Assembly had the honour first of choosing one of the fair sex for Speaker which, however, was declined, Mrs. Mary E. Smith, the Labour candidate-elect, maintaining that she could be more useful as a private member than either as Speaker or a member in the Government. When Mrs. Irene Parlby was similarly successful in Lacombe, Alberta, she was not so modest when Premier Greenfield offered her a position without portfolio in the United Farmers' Cabinet. To those who have the feminine movement at heart, these instances will certainly be a source of much encouragement.

But, perhaps, the west of Canada is more willing to depart from the established order than the east. Then, again, the conditions are different. The maritime provinces have been living in peace and amity with their neighbours for many years. The immigration problem, carrying with it different races, conflicting ideas and unsatisfied ambitions, does not present itself in the same way. Halifax and Quebec, where immigration is concerned, are mainly ports of entrance, and intending settlers are generally Europeans.

It is not the same at Victoria and Vancouver. This was recognised in 1907, when the Hon. Rodolphe Lemieux was sent by the Dominion Government to Tokio to make representations to the Japanese Government regarding the restriction of its nationals from emigrating to Canada which was resulting in {480} racial riots. The Nippon Cabinet received the demarche in the right spirit, and so any cause for misunderstanding was removed. That was why the Dominion of Canada adhered to the Anglo-Japanese Treaty when it was renewed in 1913, and why the Japanese battleship Asama, after grounding on the coast of Lower California, was refitted at Esquimault. At that naval station in 1914 Canada had only one small cruiser of 3,600 tons, the Rainbow, used more for revenue purposes than for any idea of defence or offence. The new Canadian Air Board, by the introduction of aircraft on the Pacific Coast to assist in preventing opium smuggling, has almost removed the reason for retaining even that vessel. But it is still equipped as a training ship for the Royal Canadian Navy which, after the close of the war, was strengthened by the addition of three cruisers, the Aurora, Patriot and Patricia.

Fortunately the naval treaty between the British Empire, the United States and Japan, signed in February, 1922, will at least remove any doubt about Canada's pacific intentions in her developments of the west. By that agreement the above nations will respect the status quo in regard to fortifications and naval bases on their coast territories. No new ones are to be established. Moreover, no measures shall be taken to increase the existing naval facilities for the repair or maintenance of naval forces.

Thus with prosperity at home, and peace with those abroad, people of the land of the Maple Leaf and the Beaver will look upon the twentieth century {481} as peculiarly their own. But in doing so it will not be without a wrench to see old institutions alter and in some cases pass away. One of these is the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, which in November, 1919, became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provision being made for the absorption of the Dominion Police which during the Great War acted as a secret service to counteract enemy plots against the country. Recently the force has been bitterly opposed by Labour, on the ground that its real purpose is to break strikes, an objection originating in the force's very efficient action during the Winnipeg riots. Otherwise there would be no grounds for its disbandonment except economy, before which even history and tradition must bow.

The growth of labour organisations in Canada, however, ranks pari passu with that of the large cities. To gauge the extent one has only to mention that in 1911 there were 133,132 members in the labour unions, but in 1920 there were 373,842, or almost three times as many. Of the definite groups the railway employees stand first, representing 23.45 per cent. This explains why the railway situation in Canada is always a matter of no small interest to the people. As most of the organised workers are members of international unions, which cover the whole of the United States and Canada, their electoral power may be readily estimated. In justice to them, it must be said that labour, as compared with that in other countries, is remarkably safe and sane. During the war, trade union restrictions were subordinated to the country's {482} need, and now that it is over the one desire in the ranks is to keep industry on its feet, so that there may be a busy and contented Dominion. If at times there is a louder outcry against immigration, it is largely owing to the idea that the new-comers cannot be assimilated under existing conditions. But every Canadian, irrespective of class or calling, recognises that if the premier Dominion is to maintain its position and prestige in the Empire--and for that matter in the world--there must be more population.

In these days some people are inclined to speak of the near disappearance of free land in Canada. If by free land it is meant that there is no longer the liberty to settle at random without any qualifications for so doing, then there is truth in such a statement. But the history of Canada during the past two decades proves that if the Dominion is to prosper, there must be settlers who either have the necessary farming knowledge or the ability to acquire it. In either case the Government or the Railways will grant land as near free land as it can be made.

To train young farmers in the science and practice of agriculture, colleges and experimental farms have been established, and both Canadians and new-comers have taken advantage of them. For instance, in 1874 there were twenty-eight students at the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph. To-day the total enrolment is about 2,400. It can be seen, then, that there is a real desire upon the part of the rising generation for a scientific knowledge of farming, without which even virgin {483} soil cannot yield indefinitely. It is admitted that there may be more comfortable conditions in other countries, but Canada still remains the land of opportunity towards which the people always extend a beckoning hand.

When the grain is on the stalk, and the fields of wheat extend as far as the eye can see, the glowing red sun sinks beneath a golden horizon at the end of a summer's day. But, like young Canada, it rises again the next to breathe life on the land and destiny of the Empire's Great Dominion.

Speech, House of Commons, March 13, 1900.

{484}

INDEX.

Abbott, Sir J. J. C., 415 Abenakis, 114; allies of French, 212 Abercromby, General, defeated by Montcalm, 245 Acadia, meaning; of, 5; its modern divisions, 5; occupied by De Monts, 50-54; history of, as French possession, 92-109, 203, 206-208; ceded to England; 208; French inhabitants of, 218; their unhappy fate, 231-236 Acadians, expulsion of, 231-236 Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of, 219 A la clair fontaine, French Canadian ballad, 452 Alaska, discovery of gold in, 430 Alaskan boundary award, 430, 461 Alcide and Lys, French frigates, captured by English, 229 Alexander, Sir W. (Lord Stirling), receives rights in Acadia, and names Nova Scotia, 89 Alfonce, Captain Jehan, French pilot, 47 Algonquin Indians, 114; tribal divisions of, 114, 115; customs of, 123-128; illustration of, 111 Alverstone, Lord, Chief Justice of England, 430 American Canadian Waterways Commission, 478 American Revolution, War of, attitude of French Canadians during, 282; Canada invaded, 283, 284; Montreal taken, 283; Quebec besieged, 285-287; death of Montgomery, 285; American troops retire from Canada, 286, 287; defeat of Cornwallis, 288; peace, ib. Amherst, General, 242, 245 Amundsen, Roald, 465 Andastes, 82, 83 Anglo-Japanese Treaty, 480 Annapolis (Port Royal), valley of, 51, 52; old capital of Nova Scotia, 206. See Port Royal Anse-an-Foulon (Wolfe's Cove), Wolfe ascends Quebec heights from, 254-256; Montgomery's march from, 285 Antillia, 21 Archibald, Adams, first Governor of Manitoba, 392 Arctic Exploration, 464 Argall, Samuel, destroys St. Sauveur and Port Royal in Acadia, 64, 65 Arms of the Dominion. See cover of this volume [Transcriber's note: missing from book] Armistice, 469 Arnold, General Benedict, his expedition against Quebec, 284-286; raises siege, 286 Arthur, Sir George, Canadian Governor, 355 Ashburton Treaty, 375 Assembly, Legislative, first at Halifax, 302; at Quebec, 306; in other provinces, 302, 303. See Legislatures, House of Commons Assiniboia. See Red River Association of Nations, 457, 467 Astrolabe, lost by Champlain, 79 Atlantis, island of, 12 Ayleswurth, Mr. A. B., 430 Autonomy Bills, 461

Baie Verte, Fort at, 229, 230 Baldwin, Robert, Canadian reformer, 342, 350, 364; portrait of, 365 Ballads of French Canada, 450-453 Bank of England, 468 Barre, La, Canadian Governor, 195 Batoche, fight at (in 1885), 397 Battles, 460, 465 Beaujeu, Captain de, defeats Braddock, 230 Beausejour, Fort, 229; captured by English, 230 Bedard, French Canadian journalist, 313, 314 Bering Sea question, 324 Biard, Father, Jesuit missionary, 61, 64 Biencourt, son of Baron de Poutrincourt, 60; his Acadian career, 60-65, 94; death of, 94 Bienville, father of Louisiana, 225 Big Bear, Indian chief, 395, 398 Bigot, Canadian Intendant, his crimes, 249; punishment of, 267 Binyon, Laurence, 466 Bishop's Palace, 305, 307 Borden, Sir Robert, 464, 468, 473, 475 Boston, City of, founded, 100 Bougainville, siege of Quebec, 253, 254, 256; his later career, 253 Boundaries of Canada under Quebec Act, 266, 277; treaty of peace of 1783, 289; in 1842 (Ashburton treaty), 375; in 1856 (Oregon), 375; after confederation in 1867, 380; in 1896, 4, 5 Bourgeoys, Margaret, founder of Congregation de Notre-Dame in Canada, 136 Bourgoyne, General, defeated at Saratoga, 288 Bourlamaque, General, 248, 254 Bowell, Mackenzie, Canadian premier, 394, 415 Braddock, General, defeated at Monongahela, 230 Brant, Joseph ("Thayendanegea"), Mohawk chief, 298-300; autograph and portrait of, 299 Brantford, named after Indian chief, 300. See Brant Brebeuf, Jean de, Jesuit Missionary, 86; his heroism and death, 142; relic of, 143 Bressani, Jesuit Missionary, 138 Brion, Seigneur de, French Admiral, 32 British Columbia, scenery of, 16, 17; history of, 404, 405; enters Canadian confederation, 406; Indians of, 402 British North America Act of 1867, unites Canadian provinces, 374, 428 British troops and warships withdrawn, 433 Brock, Major-General, during war of 1812; defeats Hull, 322; dies at battle of Queenston Heights, ib.; portrait of, 323; monument to, 336 Brockville, city of, 324 Brodeur, Hon. Mr. L. P., 433 Brown, George, Canadian journalist and statesman, 372; political career, 372, 406-408; his part in confederation, 372, 410, 412; autograph and portrait of, 409; monument to, 413 Bruce, John, at Red River (1869), 388 Brule, Etienne, Indian interpreter, 81, 84, 85 Bullion, Madam de, founder of Montreal Hotel de Dieu, 134 Byng, Lord, 465, 474

Cabot, John, discovers North American Continent, 21-23 Caleche in French Canada, 443 Callieres, Canadian governor, 204; makes peace with Iroquois, ib. Campbell, Sir Colin, Governor of Nova Scotia, 362 Campbell, W. Wilfred, Canadian poet, 181 Canada, divisions of, 1-18; name of, 7; discovery of, 34, 35; river of, 35; Quebec, ancient capital of, 70; government of, under France, 156-167; ceded to England, 263; military regime of, 268; political state from 1763-1867, 338-379; confederation of, 370-374, 391, 392, 404; railway building, 416; canals and waterways, 418; growth of manufacturing industries, 419, 420; bounty system, 419; population of, in 1908, 424, 425; French population of, 425; intellectual progress of, 425-429; revenue and expenditure, 425; government of, 426-429, relations with England, 428-429; awakening of national consciousness, 432; treaty-making power still withheld from, 433; map of (1643), 44; (1745), 221; (1896), opposite p. 1. See French Canadians Canadian Air Board, 480 Canadian Manufacturers' Association, 422 Canadian Pacific Railway, 392, 396, 414, 417 Canals of Canada, 358 Cape Breton, Island of; discovered, 23-26; named Ile Royale, 210; ceded to England, 215; restored to France, 219; ceded again to England, 264; government of, under France, 210, 211; part of Nova Scotia, 303. See Louisbourg Card money of French Canada, 162 Carignan-Salieres regiment, 152, 166 Carleton, General (Sir Guy), at siege of Quebec, 250; Canadian Governor, 277; saves Canada, 280, 283-287; becomes Lord Dorchester and again Governor, 301 Caroline, burning of steamer, 354 Caron, Sir Adolphe, 396 Cartier, Jacques, his voyages, 30-46; autograph and portrait of, 31; discovers Canada, 34; first map of his discoveries, 44; death of, 46 Cartier, Sir George, Canadian statesman, 372; his character and services to Canada, 408-412; autograph and portrait of, 411; monument to, 413 Cartwright, Sir Richard, Canadian statesman, 298 Cascade Mountains, 17 Cataraqui (Kingston), 184 Cayngas, division of Iroquois Confederacy, 118. See Iroquois Celeron, in the Ohio Valley, 223 Chaleur, Bay of, discovered, 32 Champlain, Helen, wife of Samuel Champlain, 77 Champlain, Lake, name of, 73 Champlain, Samuel, 48; first autograph and portrait of, 69; founds Quebec, 70; battles with the Iroquois, 72-75, 81-85; first visit to the Ottawa region, 78-80: his lost astrolabe, 79; discovers Lake Huron (mer douce), 82; surrenders Quebec to Kirk, 88; returns to Canada, 89; death of, 90; his services to Canada, 91; visit to Canada, 149 Chansons of French Canada. See Ballads Charlottetown, city of, founded, 311 Chartres, Fort, on the Illinois, 224 Chateau St. Louis, history of, destroyed by fire, see frontispiece Chateauguay, battle of, 328; monument of, 337 Cheveux Releves, 116 Chippawa-Queenston Canal, 476 Chrystler's Farm, battle of. See War of 1812 Clergy Reserves, 346; settled, 367 Coal, 423, 424 Coalition Government, 467, 475 Cobalt, 463 Colbert, French Minister of State, 152-156 Colborne, Sir John, Commander-in-Chief during Canadian rebellion of 1838-39, 352-357 Commons. See House of Commons Compagnie des Cents Associes, 86; charter revoked, 152 Confederation of Canada, 370-374, 380, 391, 392, 404, 406 Congregation de Notre Dame, founded, 136 Conscription, 467 Constitutional Act of 1791, 303-305; operation of, 309-315, 338-358 Constitution of Dominion of Canada, 426-429 Constitution of Provinces of Canada, 426, 427 Convents in Canada, founded, 130 et seq. Cortereal, Caspar and Miguel, Portuguese voyagers, 24 Cosa, Juan de la, Spanish pilot, his map of 1500, 23, 25 Costabelle, M. de, first governor of Cape Breton, 210 Cotes, 166 Coudres, Isle de, named, 35 Courcelles, M. de, Canadian governor, 153 Coureurs-de-bois, 170-176 Craig, Sir James, Canadian governor, 312-314 Crerar, Hon. T. A., 475 Crevecour, Fort, on the Illinois, 186 Crowfoot, Indian chief, 397 Carrie, General Sir Arthur, 465 Cut-Knife Creek, fight at (in 1885), 397

Dairying, 423 Daniel, Father, Jesuit missionary and martyr, 142 D'Anville, Duke, 217, 218 D'Aunay, Chevalier, 98; his feud with Charles de la Tour, 99-105; death of, 105; marriage of his widow, 106 Dauphin map (1543), 44 D'Avaugour, Baron, Canadian governor, 160 Davin, Nicholas F., 458 Dawson, Dr. G. M., Canadian scientist, 401 "Decouverte, La Nouvelle," by Father Hennepin, 187 Demobilization, 469 Demons, Isle of, 46 Denonville, Marquis de, Canadian governor, 195 Denys, Nicholas, in Acadia, 97, 106 Deserts, Isle of, 54, 64 Detroit, history of, 207, 223, 270-272, 274 Devonshire, Duke of, 474 Diamond, Cape, 44 Diamond Jubilee, 423 Dieskau, Baron, defeated by Johnson, 231 Dingley Act, 431 Disarmament Conference, 475 Dollard, Sieur des Ormeaux, his heroism, 151 Dominion Police, 481 Dominion of Canada. See Canada. Donnacona, Indian King of Stadacona, 36, 42, 43 Dorchester. See Carleton Doukhobors, 425 Druilletes, Gabriel, Jesuit missionary, 139, 140 Drummond, General, wins battle of Lundy's Lane, 331 Dufferin, Lord, Canadian governor, 380, 394 Duhaut, La Salle's murderer, 190 Duluth, Daniel Greysolon, 176, 187 Dumont, Gabriel, half-breed leader in second Red River Rebellion, 395, 397 Duquesne, Canadian governor, 223 Duquesne, Fort, 224, 226 Durham, Lord, Canadian governor, 355; his report on Canadian affairs, 340, 356, 361

Earthquake of 1663 in Canada, 151 Eboulements, Les, 151 Education in Canada, 358, 359, 368, 425-428 Edward (Lyman), Fort, 222 Elections, 1900, 1911, 1917, 1921, 460, 463, 467, 475 Elgin, Lord, Canadian Governor, 363 England and Canada, relations between, 428-429 Eries ("Racoons"), 117 Etchemins ("Canoemen"), 114