To look back now it is hard to call to mind the state of affairs in England at this time. No prominent statesman had said one word, in public, in support of mutual preferential tariffs except Lord Salisbury, and he was discouraged and disheartened by the lack of support, and at that time was in such failing health that no assistance could be expected from him. I felt that I was facing a very hard proposition, and one almost hopeless in its prospects. I was afraid of being ignored or simply sponged out. I was very anxious to be attacked. I knew if I was vehemently assailed it would be a great advantage, for I felt I had the facts and arguments, and could defeat my opponents in discussion. I had been for years studying the question, reading constantly articles pro and con., and had classified, organised, and indexed my material, until I felt every confidence in my cause.
I arrived in London on the 21st April, and on that morning my first stroke of good luck occurred. The papers had just published the announcement of the Morgan combine of the Atlantic Steamship Lines. This had positively startled the British people. It shook them up and alarmed them, and caused them for the first time for many years to be uneasy as to their pre-eminence in mercantile marine. They were in a mood to listen to questions as to their future prospects. I used Morgan’s action in conversation to support my view that Great Britain must follow the advice of the Prince of Wales and “wake up.”
The Daily Express sent a representative to interview me on the Morgan affair, and on the 25th April, 1902, it published an interview of over a column in length. I pointed out the widespread danger of Morgan’s combination if it succeeded, that the Canadian Pacific Railway might be secured, and then no other line of steamships could compete, for if the United States combine controlled the railways, they would control the freights, and so the vessels; and if they dominated the Atlantic and Pacific, the British Empire would be split in twain. I wound up the interview by a plan to checkmate the combine, saying, “The right method is to run a competing line, tax everything the combine vessels bring into this country and let the things that the other line brings come in free.”
On the 1st May the Express had another interview on the same question.
On the 26th April I spoke at the banquet given to the Lacrosse Team at the Hotel Cecil, and touched upon Imperial questions, but the newspapers reported nothing.
On the 28th April Sir Gilbert Parker gave a lunch for me at the Constitutional Club, and invited several editors to meet me. On the 30th April I attended the annual dinner of the Royal Colonial Institute, where I was assigned to respond to the toast of “The United Empire.” This was my first chance of speaking to a large audience, and it was composed of the foremost men in England interested in the Colonial Empire. Sir George Taubman Goldie sat next to me and proposed the toast. It came last. An extra toast to the Houses of Parliament inserted to give Lord Halsbury, the Lord Chancellor, an opportunity to speak, made it very late when my turn came. Sir Taubman Goldie said it was too late and he would not speak. I felt it was too important a chance for me to allow to slip, and I said to him that I must speak for five minutes.
The next morning none of the daily papers had any report of my speech. The Times included it under the words “other toasts followed.” This was the treatment I had been most afraid of. I knew there was no chance of doing anything if I was simply ignored. It was not that my speech was not important, but it was late and I was a stranger. Mr. I. N. Ford, representative of the New York Tribune and the Toronto Globe, was present, and he at one saw the importance of the policy I propounded, and cabled to New York, and all over the States, and to Toronto a report of the dinner. His report, in view of subsequent developments, may be reproduced:
The most interesting episode of the last twenty-four hours has been the breath of fresh air at the Imperial function, the annual banquet of the Royal Colonial Institute in Whitehall Rooms. The speaking began after nine o’clock and was perfunctory for two hours. Lord Grey, as chairman, opened the proceedings quietly, and there was nothing of exceptional interest. The Hon. Henry Copeland, representing New South Wales, suggested that the three sons of the Prince of Wales, should have the titles of Princes of Canada, of Australia and of South Africa, and the daughter Princess of New Zealand. Lieut.-General Leslie Rundle asserted that a good feeling had been brought about between the colonial contingents and the British Army. The Lord Chancellor talked about the utility of Parliament. Lord Grey paid a tribute to the unselfish idealism of Mr. Cecil Rhodes.
It was not until eleven that real interest was created by the response of Colonel Denison to the toast of “The United Empire.” He was only on his feet five minutes, but he carried the representative audience of 240 colonials with him.
He then gave a summary of the speech and concluded: