"That this House has learned with still greater regret that the condition of things there existing has resulted in intolerable oppression and has produced great and dangerous excitement among several classes of Her Majesty's subjects in Her South African possessions.
"That this House, representing a people which has largely succeeded, by the adoption of the principle of conceding equal political rights to every portion of the population, in harmonizing estrangements and in producing general content with the existing system of government, desires to express its sympathy with the efforts of Her Majesty's Imperial authorities to obtain for the subjects of Her Majesty who have taken up their abode in the Transvaal such measure of justice and political recognition as may be found necessary to secure them in the full possession of equal rights and liberties."
Popular Enthusiasm
The members, after passing the motion, sprang to their feet and sang "God Save the Queen" amid a scene of striking enthusiasm which was duplicated a little later in the Senate. Following this expression of feeling Colonel Hughes endeavored, upon his own responsibility, to raise a regiment for foreign service and in doing so naturally came into collision with the head of the Militia—Major-General E. T. H. Hutton. The result of this enthusiastic rashness was, of course, failure in the attempt though at the same time, he was able to afford a distinct indication of the general feeling in favour of something being done should war break out. Leading papers took up the subject and favoured the sending of a force in case of necessity and, on October 2d, a few days before the war began, a large and representative meeting of Militia officers was held in Toronto and the following Resolution passed with unanimity and enthusiasm on motion of Lieutenant-Colonels George T. Denison and James Mason: "That the members of the Canadian Military Institute, feeling that it is a clear and definite duty for all British possessions to show their willingness to contribute in the common defence in case of need, express the hope that, in view of impending hostilities in South Africa, the Government of Canada will promptly offer a contingent of Canadian Militia to assist in supporting the interests of our Empire in that country." On the following day the Prime Minister was interviewed at Ottawa, and expressed the opinion that it would be unconstitutional for the Militia, or a portion of it, to be sent out of Canada without the permission of Parliament, and that it would take some weeks to call that body together. Sir Wilfrid Laurier declared[[1]] that "there is no doubt as to the attitude of the Government on all questions that mean menace to British interests, but in this present case our limitations are very clearly defined. And so it is that we have not offered a Canadian Contingent to the Home authorities." Meantime, however, the matter had been under consideration, all the independent offers to serve from individuals or regiments had been duly forwarded to the Colonial Office, and each had received the stereotyped reply that while negotiations were in progress no further troops were required.
[[1]] Toronto Globe, October 4, 1899.
Forces Sent with Great Enthusiasm
Public sentiment soon proved too strong for what might have been in other circumstances a legitimate constitutional delay. On September 27th Sir Charles Tupper, in a speech at Halifax, offered the Government the fullest support of the Conservative Opposition in the sending of a Contingent, and on October 6th telegraphed the Premier to the same effect. The British Empire League in Canada passed a Resolution declaring that the time had come when all parts of the Queen's dominions should share in the defence of British interests, and the St. John Telegraph—a strong Liberal paper—declared on September 30th that "Canada should not only send a force to the Transvaal, but should maintain it in the field." The Montreal Star sought and received telegrams from the Mayor of nearly every town in the Dominion endorsing the proposal to dispatch military assistance to fellow-subjects in South Africa. Mr. J. W. Johnston, Mayor of Belleville, represented the general tone of these multitudinous messages in the words: "It is felt that the Dominion, being a partner in the Empire, should bear Imperial responsibilities as well as share in Imperial honors and protection." The Toronto Globe—the leading Ontario Liberal paper—also supported the proposal, and soon the country from Halifax to Vancouver was stirred as it had not been since the North-west Rebellion of 1885—perhaps as it has never been in the sense of covering the entire Dominion.
The Opposition Which Occurred
There was, inevitably, some opposition, and it was largely voiced by the Hon. J. Israel Tarte, Minister of Public Works in the Dominion Government. It was not a note of disloyalty; it was simply the expression of a lack of enthusiasm and the magnifying of constitutional dangers or difficulties. No one in Canada expected the French Canadians, amongst whom Mr. Tarte was a party leader, to look upon the matter with just the same warmth of feeling as actuated English Canadians; and very few believed that the absence of this enthusiasm indicated any sentiment of disloyalty to the Crown or to the country. The people of Quebec had not yet been educated up to the point of participation in British wars and Imperial defence; they were, as a matter of fact, in much the same position that the people of Ontario had been in ten or fifteen years before. The influences making for closer Empire unity could never in their case include a racial link or evolve from a common language and literature. The most and best that could be expected was a passive and not distinctly unfriendly acquiescence in the new and important departure from precedent and practice which was evidenced by the announcement, on October 12th, that a Canadian Contingent had been accepted by the Imperial Government and was to be dispatched to South Africa. There was no active opposition to the proposal except from a section of the French-Canadian press edited by Frenchmen from Paris, and from a Member of Parliament who resigned his seat as a protest and was afterwards re-elected by acclamation—both parties deeming it wisest to treat the matter as of no importance. Mr. Tarte eventually fell into line with his colleagues, but with the public announcement that he did not approve the principle of sending troops abroad without Parliamentary sanction; that he had obtained the Government's approval to an official statement that this action was not to be considered as a precedent; and that he thought the only way to adequately meet similar situations in future was by definite and permanent arrangement with the Imperial authorities and representation in Imperial Councils. Upon the subject as a whole his attitude was certainly logical and loyal, but in effect it was untimely, unpopular and unnecessary. And the continued utterances of his paper—La Patrie, of Montreal—were of a nature calculated to irritate loyal sentiment and arouse serious misapprehension amongst French Canadians.
However, the feeling of the country generally was too fervent to permit of this obstacle having anything more than an ephemeral and passing influence. And any opposition which might exist amongst French Canadians assumed an essentially passive character. Toward the end of October an already announced pledge from an anonymous friend of Sir Charles Tupper's to insure the life of each member of the Contingent to the extent of $1,000, was redeemed, and on October 24th the following message was received through the Secretary of State for the Colonies: "Her Majesty the Queen desires to thank the people of her Dominion of Canada for their striking manifestation of loyalty and patriotism in their voluntary offer to send troops to co-operate with Her Majesty's Imperial forces in maintaining her position and the rights of British subjects in South Africa. She wishes the troops Godspeed and a safe return." The first Contingent of one thousand men steamed down the St. Lawrence from Quebec on October 30th, after farewell banquets to the officers and an ovation from immense crowds in the gaily decorated streets of the "Ancient Capital." For weeks before this date little divisions of 50, or 100, or 125 men had been leaving their respective local centres amidst excitement such as Canada had never witnessed before. St. John and Halifax, on the Atlantic coast, were met by Victoria and Vancouver, on the shores of the Pacific, in a wild outburst of patriotic enthusiasm. Toronto and Winnipeg responded for the centre of the Dominion, and at the Quebec "send-off" there were delegations and individual representatives from all parts of the country. Every village which contributed a soldier to the Contingent also added to the wave of popular feeling by marking his departure as an event of serious import, while Patriotic Funds of every kind were started and well maintained throughout the country. It was, indeed, a manifestation of the military and Imperial spirit such as Canadians had never dreamed of seeing, and for many months the words upon every lip were those of the popular air, "Soldiers of the Queen." To quote the Hon. F. W. Borden, Minister of Militia and Defence, at the Quebec Banquet on October 29th: "This was a people's movement, not that of any Government or party; it emanated from the whole people of Canada, and it is being endorsed by them as shown by the words and deeds of the people at all points where the troops started from." The Earl of Minto, as Governor-General, in bidding official farewell to the troops on the succeeding day, expressed the same idea, and added, in words of serious importance when coming from the Queen's Representative and bearing indirectly upon the much-discussed question of alleged Government hesitancy in making the first offer of military aid, that: