5. To bring about a solution of the questions above indicated on the lines laid down by Lord Rosebery has been, since the formation of the Canadian Branch and up to this time, its constant and anxious care, and many of its members have, at great personal sacrifice, devoted themselves to securing the permanent unity of the Empire, with Canada as an integral part.
6. Much work has been done, but much more remains to be done. The most enthusiastic of our members would be unable to say that the objects of the League have been accomplished, or that the question above referred to especially affecting Canada has as yet been solved.
7. The dissolution of the League in England would therefore be nothing less than the desertion of the Canadian Branch at a critical period in its history, and would further appear necessarily to involve the destruction of the Leagues branches both in Canada and elsewhere. To those at least who are unfriendly to our aims, it will seem that the great cause, of which this branch may without exaggeration be said to be the representative in Canada, has received a heavy blow indeed at the hands of its friends.
8. Under these circumstances the Council of the League in England will, this committee is convinced, appreciate the necessity and propriety of consulting the Canadian Branch of the League, and of duly notifying the members resident in Canada, of the Executive Committee and of the Council of the League in England, before taking any such step as that above referred to, a step to which this committee has seen the first and only reference in the public Press.
Not long afterwards we learned that a small faction, principally those who had managed to destroy the League, had formed a new organisation, had taken over the office, appropriated the records, lists of members, subscription list, &c., and adopted the same trade mark or title cover used for pamphlets. They also assumed the name “Imperial Federation (Defence) Committee,” and began circulating literature, pamphlets, fly-sheets, &c., all pointing out the shortcomings of the Colonies, and demanding cash contributions to the Army and Navy. This was done in a spirit that aroused a good deal of hostile feeling in Canada, and did much more harm than good to the cause they seemed to advocate. Had they desired to destroy the movement in Canada, they could not have taken more effective steps to secure that result.
This intrigue has been the most puzzling circumstance connected with the history of the Imperial Federation movement. I have never been able, even after the most careful inquiry, to reach with confidence the real cause of such peculiar conduct. At one time I thought that as Lord Rosebery had become Premier the existence of the League might have become embarrassing to him, and that he had been in favour of doing away with it, but Dr. Parkin assured me that this could not be, as Lord Rosebery referred to the question some years after when Dr. Parkin was his guest at Mentmore, and asked him why the League was dissolved, and Lord Rosebery said that he regretted its dissolution very much and could never understand it.
My own impression, although it is, of course, not capable of proof, has always been that a few free traders on the committee were alarmed at the progress the Canadian members were making in spreading views in favour of preferential tariffs, and in reference to which Sir Charles Tupper had been rather aggressive.
The destruction of the League would have been useless unless steps were taken to prevent its revival, and to destroy, if possible, the League in Canada. Hence the adoption of the name, address, trade mark, etc., under which to flood Canada with publications tending to arouse great hostility among our people. This was the condition in which I found affairs only about ten months after I had been elected President. The outlook was most discouraging, and caused a great deal of anxious discussion among the stalwarts in Toronto. We decided to summon a meeting of our most influential men to consider the situation, and decide whether we also should dissolve, or whether we would continue the struggle.
The meeting was held on the 3rd January, 1894, and after full discussion it was decided to fight on, and with the assistance of Sir John Lubbock, who had sent a communication to us asking us to co-operate with him, to endeavour to resuscitate the League in England.