Splendid as had been the response of Canada's youth, the fact had now to be faced, in the beginning of the fourth year of the war, that the need for men at the front exceeded the supply available through the volunteer system. Needs considered, there remained only the last resort—conscription.
This was a decision which the Government faced with extreme reluctance. Already conscription had become the subject of a great deal of heated discussion, in legislative halls as well as in the daily press. Temperamentally the Canadian people could accept the idea only with the greatest of reluctance. It was contrary to the individualistic sentiment of the nation. But it was the only remaining alternative to a still greater evil—a German victory.
CHAPTER V
THE CONSCRIPTION ACT
The question of conscription came to a final issue on May 18, 1917, when the premier returned from England, where he had been in conference with his colleagues on the Imperial War Board. It was then that he announced that it would be necessary to introduce a conscription measure in the near future.
"A great struggle lies before us," he said, "and I cannot put that before you more forcibly than by stating that at the commencement of this spring's campaign Germany put in the field one million more men than she put in the field last spring.... Hitherto we have depended on voluntary enlistment. I, myself, stated to Parliament that nothing but voluntary enlistment was proposed by the Government. But I return to Canada impressed at once with the extreme gravity of the situation and with a sense of responsibility for our further effort at the most critical period of the war. It is apparent to me that the voluntary system will not yield further substantial results."
Only a little over fifty thousand men more were needed to supply the need at the front, and to complete Canada's full quota, but they were needed most imperatively. That this need was strongly impressed on the public mind became apparent during the month which intervened between these utterances by the premier and the first presentation of the Conscription Bill in Parliament. As a matter of fact, Australia and South Africa were the only belligerent countries besides Canada, at this time, which had not been compelled to adopt the principle of forcible enlistment.
On June 11 the bill was presented to Parliament, with a speech by the premier explaining all its provisions. Administration was placed under the Department of Justice, and the term was for the duration of the war, including demobilization. All male British subjects in Canada were included, from the ages of twenty to forty-five. Those eligible were divided into six classes, according to their marital conditions and ages, and each class was to be called in succession. An amendment presented by the leader of the opposition would have submitted the bill to a referendum vote of the electorate, but this was rejected by a vote of 111 against 62. The bill finally passed the third reading by a vote of 102 against 44.
At the end of the year 404,395 eligible men had registered. The number of men eventually drafted under this law amounted to 83,000, making the total number of enlistments up to the end of the war 611,741.
The army thus raised was eventually represented in infantry and cavalry battalions, exclusive of engineers, forestry, railway construction, pioneer, and cyclist corps, or the Siberian expeditionary force of 4,000 men. The following list was issued by the Government at the close of the war: