furnished contingents in recent British compaigns; by the establishment of the Kingston Military College, which has turned out excellent British officers; by the encouragement of rifle-shooting; and last, but not least, by taking over from the Home Government the maintenance and defence of the important posts of Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and Esquimalt, on the Pacific.

What has been agreed to, as the result of the Conference, is in addition to the above.

Occasionally it has been said that no special credit is due to Canada, in the sense of a contribution to military defence, for the construction of railways' from ocean to ocean, because these were commercial undertakings for commercial purposes, but the facts remain that their strategic importance had been clearly foreseen. Sir John Macdonald, in proposing the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, said:

"I recommend this great undertaking, not on financial grounds-though I believe its future financial success is assured-but for high reasons of State policy, because the railway, when completed, will join together the west and the east of the Dominion of Canada, will secure a predominant share of the trade with China and Japan, and will provide a safe passage for British troops should the Mediterranean route ever become blocked by the enemies of Great Britain." 2

1 One only, the Canadian Pacific, is yet in full operation; but another, the Grand Trunk Pacific, will probably be so next year (1911); and a third, the Canadian Northern, is under construction (see Chapter VI.).

2 Imperial Outposts, by Colonel (now Major-General) A. M. Murray, (1907, p. 156).

Probably in no other way could the money, from a military point of view, have been as profitably expended; and, owing to the commercial prosperity and emigration to Canada which have followed upon the measure, the defensive resources of the Dominion have been materially increased.

In any case, it cannot be otherwise than a subject of congratulation to-day, from a military standpoint, that it was decided to devote the money to this purpose, instead of to the construction of battleships, which would probably be now on the scrap-heap, or fortifications in Canada, which time would have since rendered partially obsolete.

The main objects for which the sea and land forces of Canada exist may be said to be two:

One is to maintain the unity of the Empire, for which the United Empire Loyalists, the first settlers of Upper Canada, fought in 1775-83.

The other is to secure the Canadian frontier from aggression, so that Canadian soil may never be occupied by an enemy, the lives of the Canadian people protected, and Canadian property preserved from spoliation.

In the Imperial co-partnership each of these objects is of extreme importance both to Great Britain and Canada, but it is desirable to keep them distinct in the mind; for the fact that there is, and must be, a distinction between them, occasionally overlooked, has been in the past at the root of some divergent views between the Mother-Country and the Dominion as to what is requisite for Canadian defence.

To secure, if possible, the second object as well as the first is of much consequence to Canada, for upon her and her people must fall the brunt of any hostile occupation of her territory. In one sense, indeed, it appeals more widely-i.e., to all classes and shades of opinion than the first; for there are in Canada, as in England, some to whom ideas of Empire have little attraction, while to all the advantage of security for life and property is apparent.

It is true, and has been proved true, that Canada might be, in parts and temporarily, overrun and occupied in war, her richest districts harried, her cities and towns, if they opposed the invaders, destroyed; and yet that, through the final triumph of the Imperial arms, she would be preserved to the Empire. Still, it is but human nature that those tax-payers living in Canada, by whom is meant not only French and British Canadians, but immigrant settlers from the British Isles, from the continent of Europe, and also from the United States of America (of whom there are very many thousands),1 will look coldly at defensive proposals which, although they may make it more difficult to permanently conquer Canada, include nothing approaching to a guarantee against the successful invasion of her frontier.

This the Dominion Government and Dominion politicians must take into account.

It is to be received with satisfaction upon many

1 The Annual Report on Emigration recently (1910) presented to the American Senate shows that 453,834 emigrants from the United States have crossed the border to Canada since 1901-i.e., an average of about 50,000 a year.

grounds that Canada has determined to commence the formation of her own navy, and retain in her hands its control, with the appropriation of the moneys voted by the Dominion Government for naval defence.

The Dominion of New Zealand may have been wise in adopting a different course, but New Zealand is not Canada, and there is no analogy between their situations.

It has been objected that the vessels now building as the nucleus of a Canadian Navy would be at the mercy of any first-class battleship or cruiser, and no doubt for some time to come Canada must be dependent upon the battleships of the British fleet for her protection against the more powerful ships of war of any hostile nation; but there must be a beginning to everything.

This dependence, however, exists, and points fairly to its being reasonable, as many in Canada have urged, that the Dominion, until she has firstclass battleships of her own, should, in addition to forming a Canadian Navy, assist to some extent the heavily-burdened taxpayer of the United Kingdom to pay for the British fleet.

The Hon. G. E. Foster, Member for North Toronto in the Dominion House of Commons, thus spoke in the debate upon naval defence1 with regard to the preference, felt by himself and others, for the building up of a Canadian Navy, over a “contribution ”—meaning by this a contribution in other forms.

1 House of Commons Debates, Ottawa, March 29, 1909.

"The interest that we take in a contribution is not the interest that I desire for Canada. I want to see something grafted on the soil of Canada's nationhood, which takes root, and grows, and develops, until it incites the spirit of defence in this country.. The first Canadian-owned vessel built and equipped in Great Britain,1 and sent out to defend our coasts, would become the nucleus and the training-ground of Canadian stokers, Canadian sailors, and Canadian officers, and byand-by perhaps of a Canadian Admiral on the Canadian coast."

Lord Charles Beresford, in speaking before the Imperial Press Conference, and alluding to the self-governing dominions, says (June 26, 1909):

"I believe the right plan would be for you to begin by having your own fleets, under your own control, and under your own management, as long as there is a standardization in every ship you have in the whole of the five nations."

And in a leading article upon a "Navy for Canada" on April 16, 1909, the Standard of Empire, published in London, has the following remarks:

"The Canadian battleships and cruisers will not be capable of being put down, without deduction, to the credit side of the British Admiralty accounts, and that seems to us a particular advantage. A British Prime Minister will not be able to substitute a Canadian or Australian unit for one which would have to come out of the British taxpayers'

1 It has since been determined to build in Canada as far as possible, which should prove a great stimulus to shipbuilding and mechanical industry in the Dominion.