WORK IN CANADA IN 1901
I reported to the Executive Committee the details of my work in England, and in the Annual Report for 1901 the Executive Committee strongly supported the suggestion, which I had made at the banquet, that an Imperial Conference should be held during 1901, to consider many important matters affecting the safety and welfare of the Empire. The Report went on to say:
The time was never so opportune. The public mind is full of these Imperial questions. Australia is now in a position to act as a unit. Canada has long been ready. The people of England have at last awakened to the vastness, the importance, and future possibilities of their great outside Empire, and posterity would never forgive the statesmen of to-day if so favourable a chance to carry out a great work was lost. Your Committee consider that an Imperial Consultative Council should be established, and that immediate steps should be taken to thoroughly organise and combine the military and naval power of the Empire.
During the year 1901 I was consulting with the Executive Committee, and with individual members of it from time to time, and expressed the view that we had accomplished our work in Canada, that Commercial Union had been killed, the desire for reciprocity with the States had died out, that both political parties had become alive to the importance of mutual Imperial preferential trade, and that the Canadian Government had given a preference to Great Britain and the West Indies, that penny postage had been established, Canadian contingents had been sent to fight in an Imperial quarrel, that the Pacific cable was being constructed principally through the determined action of Canada, and that I felt the whole movement in favour of Imperial Unification in the future would have to be fought out in Great Britain.
My experience in Chelmsford had convinced me that there was a strong undercurrent of feeling in Great Britain in favour of tariff reform, but that nearly everyone seemed afraid to “bell the cat” or to face the tremendous influence of the bogey of Free Trade. I found many people quite willing to admit privately the necessity of some change, but no one ready to come out and boldly advocate tariff reform, or any kind of protection. I said that if a few Canadians, good platform speakers, would go over to England, and make a campaign through the cities and towns, pleading with the people to unite with the colonies to consolidate and strengthen the Empire, the support they would receive would be very great, and might lead to securing the assistance of some prominent political leaders.
I was, and always have been, convinced that so many influences of every kind were working in our direction that in time our policy would necessarily be successful.
This was discussed from time to time, and it was finally decided that a deputation should go to England before the Imperial Conference, which we knew would be held at the time of the coronation in 1902, and that the deputation should advocate a concise and definite policy, easily understood, which would contain the substance of the trade system that we felt to be so necessary for the stability of the Empire. This was crystallised into the following resolution:
That a special duty of five or ten per cent. should be imposed at every port in the British possessions on all foreign goods; the proceeds to be devoted to Imperial defence, by which each part would not only be doing its duty toward the common defence, but at the same time be receiving a preference over the foreigner in the markets of the Empire.
Having decided upon this point, it was considered advisable that before we went to England we should first test feeling in different centres in Canada, to make sure that the policy we were advocating was one that Canadians generally would approve. I decided to go to New Brunswick and lay the question before a public meeting in St. John and discuss the matter with prominent men, and in that way test public opinion. I had a very successful meeting in St. John on the 28th November, 1901, where one senator and four members of the Commons and of the local legislature spoke approvingly of the resolution, which was carried unanimously. The Press in New Brunswick was very favourable. The St. John Sun, in its leading article the next day, said:
We have no hesitation in endorsing the policy propounded by the President of the British Empire League, and supported at last night’s meeting by all the speakers on both sides of politics and the unanimous vote of the audience.
The article concluded in the following words:
Nor is it out of place to say that Colonel Denison’s manner of presenting the proposition was worthy of the great theme. He is himself intensely impressed with the solemn dignity of the subject, which touches the destiny of our Empire, and this grave interest was borne in on the audience, and pervaded the other speeches, even those in which a lighter tone prevailed. For this reason, perhaps because most men speak better when they speak strongly, the speeches following the address of the evening were, like Colonel Denison’s itself, in tone and quality distinctly superior to those which one usually hears on public occasions.
The Morning Post, of London, and the Naval and Military Record both had long articles commenting upon this meeting and approving of the spirit shown, but not speaking hopefully of the possibilities of Great Britain accepting the principle of preferential duties.
From St. John I went to Montreal, where I addressed a successful meeting on the same subject on the 30th November, 1901. On the 24th January, 1902, I addressed a large meeting in London, Ontario, the Bishop of Huron in the chair. The same resolution was carried unanimously, and the three newspapers—the Conservative, the Liberal, and the Independent—all united in warm approval of the policy, as did the other speakers, who were chosen equally from both sides of politics.
Some time later a meeting was organised at Owen Sound, which was addressed by Mr. Alexander McNeill, Vice-President of the League, advocating the same policy, which was unanimously endorsed.
The seventh Annual Meeting of the League at Ottawa, at which this policy was also endorsed, took place on the 20th February, 1902.
By this time the Executive Committee had become confident that they had the mass of the Canadian people behind them in their proposed policy, and steps were taken to have a deputation proceed to England to endeavour, by public meetings and otherwise, to bring the matter before the attention of the people, and if possible to inaugurate public discussion of the policy.
The following resolution was carried by the Executive Committee:
The Executive Committee of the British Empire League in Canada, having regard to the rapid growth of national sentiment in the greater colonies and the strong and vigorous Imperial sentiment throughout the Empire, is of opinion that it is most important that advantage should be taken of the coming Imperial Conference in London to secure some definite and forward action towards the accomplishment of the objects of the British Empire League as a whole.
The Executive Committee, with this view, requests the President of the League in Canada to visit England soon, if possible, and advocate the already expressed opinions of the Canadian branch by addressing public meetings, and otherwise, as he may find expedient and proper, in order to assist in influencing public opinion in favour of these objects.
That he also be empowered and requested to advocate that a special duty of 5 to 10 per cent. should be imposed at every port in the British possessions on all foreign goods, in order to provide a fund for Imperial Defence, which fund should be administered by a Committee or Council in which the colonies should have representation.
The Executive Committee also expresses the hope that the Hon. George E. Foster, the Hon. George W. Ross, and Dr. George R. Parkin, C.M.G., if they may be able to visit England this year, will assist in this work, and give their valuable aid to the cause.
A copy of this resolution was sent to the head office in England, with a request that I should have an opportunity of addressing the Council of the League in April. A favourable reply was received.