XV.
As has been said there was no thought of a draft in Canada when the war began. The press and the political leaders gave many assurances that compulsion would not be employed. It was assumed that the response to the appeal of the Department of Militia would be adequate. There was a common expectation that the war would not last for twelve months and that at most Canada would provide an army of 50,000 or 100,000. In the first months of war more men offered themselves that we could arm and equip. In the course of ten weeks over 30,000 had embarked at Quebec for England. Among these were many British-born, instant in response to the call to arms, and peculiarly conscious of the danger which threatened the mother country. It was natural that they should predominate in the first Canadian contingent. If there had been immediate danger to Canada, such as that to which the old countries were exposed, the enlistment of Canadians would have exceeded all other elements of the population. But notwithstanding that the causes of the war lay in Europe natives of Canada were numerous in the first oversea regiments. Many of those who enlisted as officers made great sacrifices. Many who enlisted as privates made even greater sacrifices. They abandoned responsible and remunerative positions and the certainty of commissions if they had sought to avoid service in the ranks. All put life at stake. In those heroic battalions East and West, Quebec and Ontario, were represented, and whether English-speaking or French speaking they displayed valor and endurance in the field.