IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 .'fflilM IM ilM 111112,2 150 nt |56 I.I 1.25 IM MO 1.4 12.0 1.8 \/j V} <^ /}. '/a o '^W c> o 7 :^*»' /^ ///. Photographic Sciences Corporation # ^\^ N> <> «5 O^ idre page qui comporte une empreinte -.'ir>i.>5 . sion ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, wrt. tn le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film^s en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de chaque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent §tre film^s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour etre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film^ d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauci e d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 p^ /^ryl ' I 1^// TORONTO BRANCH OF THfe IMPERIAL FEDERATION LEAGUE. \k 1 LINKS OF UNION HKTWBKN •/I CANADA AND AUSTRALIA. An Address \ i BY /" J. CASTELL HOPKINS, F.R.C.I., Member of the Council of the Imperial Federation League in Great Britain and Canada. -' ^' I TORONTO : PRINTKD BY C. BlACKRTT liOlUNHON, 5 .loRHAN StRKKT. 1890 H'3s:l it i f LINKS OF UNION BETWEEN CANADA AND AUSTRALIA. _y J THE relations between the great Colonial dependencies of Britain in JSorth America and in the Pacific have in the past been chiefly those of community in allegiance, tradition, history and aspirations, but the iron links of steamers, railways, and telegraph cables are now rapidly bringing them into closer connection, while the golden bonds of commercial and industrial co-operation bid fair in the not far distant future to completely annihilate the effects of distance and weld our two nations into a truly imperial union. Edmund Burke once remarked that "he knew of no more absorbing and instructive occupation for the mind of a thoughtful man than to trace in all their peculiar grandeur the bold and swiftly formed outlined in the history of a young and patriotic people." Though the i»naals of Canada, as of Australia, are •short in the spin of a nation's life, they are not without •records of deep and sometimes thrilling interest. We see the early settlements of the French and the heroic labours of their pioneers ; the romantic episode of the Acadians ; and the unique figure of the Indian battling in vain against his destiny ; the continuous and long sustained con- flict between French and British for the possession of a continent and the final victory of the latter : the unsur- passed patriotism and energy of the United Empire Loyalist in Ontario ; and the pioneer and settler in other sections of the country struggling against the kindred evils of cold and privation for many a long and weary year. A little later in our history and we have the War of 1812, with its gallant deeds and historic memories ; the Rebellion of 1837 j the Fenian Raid of 1866, and the Rebellion of 1885. Through all our records runs tho thread of a steady constitutional development in the direction of free- dom and unity ; the union of 1841 ; the federation of 1867 j the building of the Canadian Pacific, and the growth of a Canadian national sentiment. The history of the Australian colonies presents a very dif- ferent picture. Founded 100 years ago as a penal settlement ; populated for the first half-century of its existence by peo- ple who lived under the dark shadow of this wretched system ; bounding into prosperity at a moment's notice by the discovery of gold ; colonized almost entirely by British immigrants ; without the stain of civil dissension or foreign war upon its records ; and also deprived of the stability and sternness of character which such troubles give to a nation ; attaining self-government in 1856, and attempting a national union in 1890. Such is a brief epitome of Australian history. Another point of marked diflferencs between Canada and Australia is their climate and geography. We have a northern clime — frost and snow and ice ; great rolling prairies, lofty, ice clad mountains, immense rivers and lakes, unbounded supplies of coal and fish ; with enormous potential power in our forests and farms. They have forests of tropical luxuriance, oriental plants, brilliant flowers, wide, parched plains ; but few rivers and lakes ; a climate extremely hot in many parts of the country, and unendurable in others ; great cattle ranches and sheep farms — in short, a land of tropical splendour, and easy natural growth ; where a livelihood is not difficult to obtain, and life may be found extremely pleasant. In material development Australia is in some respects ahead of Canada, in others, far behind her. During the last twenty years we have in this country broadened and improved our commercial facilities until we have one of the most splendid lines of water communication upon the face of the globe. We have connected all the provinces and peoples of the Dominion by lines of railway, which have increased from 2,500 to 12,000 miles in extent; we have developed our industrial enterprises, increased our deposits in banks and other financial institutions from 38 millions to 182 millions, and m** total trade from 130 to 200 millions of dollars. " * we our 1 The moral, the intellectual, the social history of our people has been onward and upward. The growth of the press, the progress of educational facilities, the diffusion of knowledge as to our natural resources, and the develop- ment of a feeling of confidence in our future has been very marked. Turning to Australia we find that 50 years ago there was a population of 143,000, land under cultivation amounting to 181,000 acres, and sheep numbering 3,500, OOO. To-day there is a population of 3| millions, 8 mil- lions acres of land under cultivation, and 96,000,000 sheep in the country. At the former date the exports were valued at $6,500,000, and are now worth $270,000,000, while the imports have risen from 10 to 320 millions of dollars. The deposits in the banks h&ve risen to upwards of 400 millions, and the miles of railway to 9,500. The total amount of gold raised prior to 1887 has been estim- ated at 1,580 millions, while the private wealth of Aus- tralia — aside from the Crown lands — is placed by the Government statist of New South Wales at 6,000 mil- lions of dollars. Such figures demonstrate the immense progress of the country, and enable us to realize how the Australians are able to bear an aggregate national debt of 830 millions without difficulty while we grumble at a debt of less than 300 millions, with a far larger population. The great difficulty in Australia has always been the lack of water, and the internal development of the coun- try, aside from its mines, cannot proceed without a con- stant expenditure upon works of irrigation. When this great problem has been effectually disposed of we may expect to see the Island Continent enter upon a career of, if possible, still greater prosperity. In other ways the progress of the people has been wonderful. The largest newspaper and one of the finest magazines in the world are published in Australia. It is claitued that there are more books in those colonies, com- pared with the population, than in any country in Europe or America. It is also stated that a larger proportion of the people are church members and subscribers to news- papers and magazines than elsewhere. The wool of the country does much towards supplying the wants of the world, while it produces wheat, beef and mutton enough 6 to feed the inhabitants of an empire, and promises to rival France in the production of wine, and Spain in the growth of oranges. While Canadian scenery is grand and ennobling, every- thing being upon the most imposing scale, we find in Aus- ralia chat the vegetation of the tropics lends a peculiar charm to the beauties of nature, especially when aided by the art of man's cultivation. Few objects of interest and beauty either here or in Australia can equal the public gardens at Melbourne, Sydney or Adelaide. They are said to be the loveliest in the world, and no cost is spared in their main- tenance. The flowers which we would cherish as exotics here luxuriate as in their natural home. The oleander towers and spreads in pink, pale glory ; the crimson hib- iscus glows amongst the bananas ; Passion flowers, blue, purple and scarlet, hang in careless festoons among the branches. The air is laden with perfume, while the Nor- folk Island pine towers darkly upwards, and the grand walks wind for miles among continually varying land- scapes, which are framed by the openings in the foliage of the pfc/ fumed shrubs. One of the most remarkable points in Australian pro- gress is the rise of these great cities. " Marvellous " Melbourne, as it is so often called, with its 400,000 of a population, its splendid buildings and great capitalists, its broad streets, and the massive, solid appearance of its architecture is one of the most remarkable instances of urban progress which can anywhere be found. Winn' peg and its rise in fifteen years, from a viJlage to its present proud position, is nowhere in comparison. Then we find Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, the oldest of the Australian cities, with its English appear- ance and magnificent buildings of granite ; Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and the " sweetest city of the hemisphere " as it has been frequently called, and in all of them we see a population which appears to be character- ized by a restless energy, more in keeping with the habits of the denizens of Chicago or San Francisco, than those which one would suppose to be possessed by residents in a hot and tropical clime, such as that of Australia. As an illus- tration of values, I might say that sales of city property have been recently made in Melbourne at ten to fifteen I } thousand dollars a foot — and this in the thirty-seventh year of its history. It will now be my duty to deal briefly with the principal questions affecting the past and future of Australia, and consequently the position which these colonies may bear in time to come towards the Dominion of Canada and the Empire of Great Britain. The position of Australia with regard to outside nations is a peculiar one in many respects. Since the colonies have risen into power and position, they have become actuated by a far-reaching and important aim, nothing less, indeed, than the future complete control of the islands and territories of the Pacific. Many questions have arisen in this connection during recent years, which have shown how impossible it is in these days of steam communication and electric wires, for any nation to isolate itself from the world at large, as we find so often proposed by the advocates of Colonial Independence. For many years the French had been in the habit of exporting their criminals to New Caledonia, an island several hundreds of miles from the Australian shores. The result of laxity in the control exercised over these convicts was that large numbers of them escaped and became a most intolerable nuisance and actual terror to the inhabitants of the main- land. When, therefore, it became known that the French had seized the New Hebrides, and proposed inaugurating a similar system there, a united and powerful protest from all the colonies was wired to England, and after long and wearying negotiations between the British and French Governments, a satisfactory arrangement was finally effected. In the meantime the Colony of Queensland anxious to prevent any foreign power from taking posses- sion of the great Island of New Guinea, which lies near the coast of Australia, sent over a commissioner and hoisted the British flag over a territory nearly as great as its own. The Colonial Office, then under the weak administration of Lord Derby, who has long been the best hated man connected with the island continent, disavowed the act, and proceeded to carry on long, drawn-out negotiations with the German Government which claimed to have a right to certain portions of New Guinea. Ultimately, Germany annexed part of the disputed region, and then England proceeded to take and administer the rest, when 8 she might have obtained the whole. We thus find France and Germany brought into near connection, and very nearly active collision with the Australian colonies. Another grave difficulty, and perhaps future danger, is to be found in the Chinese question. As in the I3"nited States and Canada, so in Australia, strict laws prohibiting the immigration of Chinese have been enacted. Great difficulty has, however, been found in enforcing them. It must always be remembered that the Colonists populate in the main simply a narrow fringe around what is really a great continent, and that many parts of the coast as well as a great portion of the interior are practically uninhabi- ted. This, then, is the crucial point of the question. As the Chinese Empire becomes more civilized ; as its com- merce expands, and the needs of its people enlarge, a great wave of emigration is bound to ensue, and the day may not be far distant when it will require all the friendly intervention and, perhaps, naval power of the British Empire to prevent a vast influx of Chinese from pouring into the uninhabited regions of Australia. Then, again, these colonies have a very great interest in the Suez Canal, the great bulk of their enormous trade with England passing through that commercial highway. Any action by European powers, any great European or Asiatic war, which should in the least degree disturb the safety of this traffic, would react most disastrously upon Australian interests. Another matter of vital import to the Colonies is the maintenance of peace and order in our Indian Empire. A great trade is slowly but surely growing up between Australia and India, and any disturbance in the equili- brium of Indian affairs, not to speak of an attack upon the part of Kussia, would have an exceedingly injurious effect upon Colonial commerce. If, as a result of internal disintegration, the British Empire were to be broken up, and India come under the control of Russia, Australia, then an independent nation, would have the huge Colossus of the East as a next-door neighbour. But, it may be asked, what has all this to do with the joint interests of Australia and Canada 1 Very much ; and I shall now draw attention to the first of the great points in which the two countri<^s have a common interest. 9 up, lia, ■ssus The Dominion has also a foreign policy and neighbours of other nationalities. She has the ever menacing presence of the United States in close proximity, and has keen re- collections of Atlantic fishing disputes, attempts at retal- iation, Behring Sea seisures and tariff threats ; when Newfoundland becomes a part of the union, as it ulti- mately must, seeds of possible disputes with France will oome with it, but whether such should be the case or not, if by any chance we should ever become independent, French ships in the St. Lawrence and Russian cruisers on the Pacific might become too numerous for our peace of mind. This, then, is the point : with all these foreign questions menacing them and with a joint yearly commerce upon the seas of the world amounting to over six hundred millions of dollars, one great common interest of both Canada and Australia is the maintenance of a powerful navy. No need to dwell at length upon this branch of the question, as it must be obvious that if ever the Pacific is to become what the Australian aspiration points to — a British lake, — and if Canada is to hold the powerful posi- tion which, in such an event, her geographical and natural advantages deserve, it will only be by helping to create and maintain a close and intimate union with what will soon be the great Dominion of Australia. In this connection, it may be well to point out that the Australian Colonies have already recognized this all- iraportant necessity, and have agreed, as a result of the Imperial Conference of 1887, to bear the cost of mainten- ance of a squadron consisting of seven war-ships to be built by the Imperial Government at a cost of some four millions, the Colonial Government paying $600,000 a year. The first iron-clad of the squadron was launched the other day in England. Canada has in another way and at an infinitely greater cost laid the foundations for closer union with Australia, as well as with Great Britain, in the building of the Can- adian Pacific Railway. The mention of this great road brings us to the second important point in the considera- tion of our common interests — namely, those connected with the development of steam and telegraph communi- cation between ourselves and the Antipodes. The Cana- dian Pacific Railway, while giving England an alternative 10 route to the East, also gives Australia a safer road to the British markets, and while it enables us to develop our mutual trade, brings us within sight of the time when fast lines of steamers between British Columbia --..id Mel- bourne on the one hand, and Halifax and England on the other, and telegraph cables laid over similar routes will guide the course of trade from the East and the West over Canadian soil, make Victoria a greater shipping port than San Francisco and enable us to successfully encounter American competition in Australian markets. The extension of our trade relations is a most import- ant question, and here it will be necessary to dwell briefly upon the ties of commerce which may in the future bind the two countries together. Little, however, can be done until the communication is freer and less expensive. Re- alizing this, the British Government has already granted a subsidy towards a direct steamship line, Canada has voted $125,000 a year, New Zealand has consented to give $70,- 000 and New South Wales has expressed its willingness to assist. A conference to consider the matter is being arranged. Then, again, we must not overlook the beneficial effect which a recently proposed reform would have upon this branch of the question — namely, the adoption of a system of Imperial Penny Postage. It has been demonstrated beyond a doubt that such a system can be established, and that in all probability a gain, instead of loss, would very shortly accrue to the revenues of the various parts of the Empire as a result of increased correspondence. Such a plan would do much to disseminate knowledge of each other's resources, and develop new avenues of trade between Canada and Australia. What, then, is the present position of our trade ? Canada manufactures large quantities of agricultural imple- ments, furniture, boots and shoes, pianos, carriages of all kinds, hardware and stoves, all of which with many other items the United States exports freely to Australia to the extent of over ten millions of dollars a year, while our exports to those colonies amounted in 1888 to only $448,205. On the other hand we could import from Australia by way of return cargo, and would probably da so, were the trade once started, wool — in any quantity we k 11 1 )le- all iny tlia iar, to lom do I we i might desire — drugs, oranges, wines, gums, preserved fruits, and meats, silk, sugar (unrefined), vanilla, and different varieties of woods. Then, besides our manufactured goods, we might send coal, lumber of many descriptions, flour and fish. It must be remembered, however, that action should be speedy. Already the Americans propose to lay a cable between San Francisco and Australia, and are prepared, so valuable do they consider the trade and its possibilities, to give a heavy subsidy towards the project. Then, again, if the proposed Australian federation should take place it will probably mean the adoption of a common colonial tariff against outside nations, including perhaps England and ourselves. If, however, our statesmen do their duty and make timely arrangements, it will probably be found that a system of preferential duties as between Canada and Australia will be shortly created. This step, with the proper development of inter-communication, will be sufficient to enable us to drive out American competition, and build up a large and prosperous trade with our fellow-citizens of the Pacific. All these questions, however, naval, commercial and national, turn upon the one important point — our joint political relations and national aspirations. Bound together by the ties of a common ancestry, allegiance and flag, the conclusions already reached in this paper have been based upon the supposition that our present union will be permanent, though subject of course to many minor changes and evolutions. Of Canada, it is not necessary here to speak, as we realize the advantages of British connection and intend to perpetuate them, but Australian sentiment upon the subject is not clearly understood in this country and deserves some brief consideration. When the memor- able contingent which afterwards left New South Wales for the Soudan was accepted by the Imperial Government, the enthusiasm was intense ; Victoria had already offered six or seven hundred men, armed and equipped, thousands more volunteered in the mother-colony (as N.S.W. is often styled) than cou'd be accepted ; a "patriotic fund" of £200,- 000 was speedily raised, and the volunters left the colony amid a blnze of enthusiasm and loyalty — unprecedented in Australian history. The Rt. Hon. Wm. Bede Dalley, 12 who was largely instrumental in making the otter and arranging the details of what has been called this epoch- making event, said, a few days atter the departure of the contingent : " We have awakened in the Australian Colonies an enthusiasm of sacrifice, of heroism, of all the nobler qualities which are to the loftier national life what the immortal soul is to the perishable body of humanity. We have shown to the world that we have watched and waited for the moment when we could aid, however humbly, that Empire which, after all, is the depositary and guardian of the noblest form of constitutional freedom that the world has ever seen. Our little band is but the advance guard of a glorious Imperial Federation." The Hon. James Service, when Premier of Victoria, some years ago, wrote to his Agent-General in London, in- structing him to support the Imperial Federation move- ment, adding, in the course of his communication : " That the notion before now openly propounded by Goldwin Smith and others, of separating the colonies from the Empire, has little sympathy from Australians, but that we believe the colonies may be tributaries of strength to the parent state, and that they and it may be mutually reci- pients of numberless advantages." Since theu, however, many things have happened — the success of the so-called Nationalist party in Queensland ; the tirades of a notorious section of the press, and a dis- creditable though small portion of the community in Queensland and New South Wales, have led to a fear, and, in American quarters, triumphal expression of hope, that Australia was soon to declare for national independence. When, however, local federation does take place, this dis- loyal element will find its proper level, and the better classes, the wealthy, educated, far-seeing and enterprising men of Victoria and the larger colonies will come to the surface of political affairs. As in Canada, so in Australia, local union will increase loyalty and destroy bumptious discontent by the growrth of a wider and better national sentiment. The leading man in Australia to-day is, undoubtedly, Sir Henry Parkes, the veteran Premier of New South Wales, and destined to be the Sir John Macdonald of Australian unity. He has recently stated that there are A ) 4- 13 ^k' 1/ ■^ to be found in those colonies " two great political passions. Each is very deep, each is equally susceptible to appeal, and each is a passion of patriotism. One is patriotism for a United Australia, the other is patriotism for the British Empire." This, then, is the task ahead of our Imperial statesmen — to see to it, in the interests of national unity, power, and the peace of the world, that these two senti- ments (and they exist as strongly in Canada as in Aus- tralia) do not clash, that some means shall be found by which they can develop side by side, and add to our union and strength, in place of leading to disintegration and decay. To effect this great end it is only necessary for the statesmen of Great and Greater Britain to live up to the statement of Lord Carrington, Governor of New South Wales, who, when recently speakingat Brisbane, Queensland, in connection with the colony's refusal to pay its promised contribution of £12,000 towards the Colonial Naval De- fence Fund, said : "England herself would pay 12,000 times £12,000 — or, what is a million times more valuable still, would not hesitate to sacrifice 12,000 English lives — before «he would allow any country to annex or occupy one square inch of the thousands of square miles which Queens- land calls her own ; " or the remarks of the Earl of Onslow, Governor of New Zealand, who, when speaking of Austra- lian federation, said that " he was convinced it would make the tie still stronger, and that England would stand by the Australian colonies so i mg as there was eighteen pence in the Imperial treasury ! so long as there was a British blue- jacket or red coat left to fight for the great English-bpeaking Confederation which owes allegiance to the British crown ! " Such views apply as well to Canada as to our sister- colonies, and when enunciated continuously by the best of British statesmen, as they now so frequently are, must prove a sufficient reply to the pessimists of the Manchester school, who claim that England cares nothing for the Empire, or its perpetuation. On the other hand, let the problems of the future be approached in the colonies in tb spirit with which Sir John Macdonald looked forward to vhe Confederation of Canada, when be said, in 1861 : " 1 hope that for ages, for ever, Canada may be united to the mother- country — there will thus be formed an immense 14 confederation of freemen, the greatest confederation of civilized and intelligent men that has ever had an existence upon the face of the globe ; " or, in the language of Sir Henry Parkes, when speaking of the coming Australian Federation at the great centennial banquet, which took place in Sydney two years ago, when the leading men of every type and occupation, from every part of the conti- nent, met to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of Aus- tralian settlement. " If," said Sir Henry, " we are to be part and parcel of the British Empire, we must be prepared to take our fair share of its burdens and dangers. It is in this spirit that I wish to maintain our position in the future as thorough Australians, and, being thorough Australians, most consistent and patriotic Britons." In the face of such language — and it is only one of many utterances by leading Australian statesmen, which might be quoted, did space permit — it is folly to fear that the results of a local federation there can be any different as regardu the loyalty of the people to the Empire, from that which has occurred in Canada. When Local Federa- tion is attained the only organization in those colonies which can be really said to be infected with disloyalty — and that through narrow-minded ignorance alone — the Aus- tralian Natives' Association, will practically cease to exist, and a higher and nobler sentiment will be inculcated in the mindi] of the natives of the country, than that which would regard all not born within its shores as aliens and strangers. Such a party, the "no-nothing party " as it was called, once filled a feeble and flickering place in a long- forgotten page of American history, and is not likely to take a more prominent place in that of Australia. And now in bringing this necessarily slight sketch to a close, I would draw attention to the fact that certain primary national principles are common to both Canada and Aus- tralia. The first is self-confidence. By its means Canada struggled amid many and diverse difficulties and dangers, until she has attained her present high position. By it she built her great national highway from sea to sea and successfully united her distant and sometimes discordant dominions. By it Australia has struggled with the difficulties of settlement and the effects of provincial jealousies, which r^ 15 liave, lio^ever, really worked more good than ill by increas- ing the efforts of the individual colonies through the stern teacher — competition. By it she has passed from a penal colony to a proud position in the freest empire in the world. Again, development of natural resources. In this respect both countries possess a common national necessity. Each has enormous potential power of wealth and pros- perity in land, and mineral resources, the products of the sea and of the forest. Each requires an increase of popu- lation and a diffusion of capital, and to a common centre the policy of both must be directed. For this reason, if for no other, because Great Britain has the men and money which these great wings of the Empire require, the unity of that constitutional structure must be maintained and consolidated, as opportunity offers. The third common interest of the two countries is the extension of our commerce. With the question of its safety I have already dealt, and little more than a passing refer- ence need be made to the obvious fact that for both alike, Oreat Britain is the principal market. It is we)l to remember in this connection that, accord- ing to Mulhall, the trade of the mother country increased from 1870 to 1885 with the Colonies $187,000,000, while it decreased with foreign countries to the figure of $230,- 000,000 ; that Australia does nearly the whole of its out- side trade with Great Britain, and that while Canada now does 42 per cent, of its total trade with the mother country, the time may be coming, as a result of Ameri- can policy, when it will be a matter of life and death to our farmers to create a still wider interchange of trade with Britain and in the interest of all classes of our community to promote closer trade relations with the constantly expanding market which the growing popu- lation and prosperity of Australia will offer to them. Thus as a natural development of all that has gone before in our history and progress we have a more than common interest in bringing about what Sir Charles Gavan Duffy has recently styled the " wise and salutary design of federating the British Empire." I cannot here do more than mention a policy which would develop col- onial resources and increase our national wealth ; encour- ^r^" ^m 16 age immigration, diffuse capital, increase confidence and bring about the time when, as the Toronto Globes with a prophetic insight which it has since, I regret to say, lost, in discussing Mr. Blake's famous Aurora speech in 1875, said, " the only country colonists will recognize as theirs will be the British Empire, and the only national senti- ment they will deem worthy of cherishing will be one that thinks not of * Canada first ' or * Australia first,' but of the grand old British Empire first and of all who love their sovereign, and all who swear by the ' Old Flag ' at first, at last, and in the midst as well." In conclusion, let me say that my reason for selecting this subject was mainly that in order to obtain a recipro- city of advantages from our present union with Australia a reciprocity of knowledge is desirable, and if I have been able to throw the slightest side-light upon the relations which have existed between us in the past and which should be created in the future, I am more than satisfied. Of that future we need not have the remotest fear as long as the people of Great Britain look upon the colonies, in the recent words of the Prince of Wales, " as integral parts of the Empire," and the inhabitants " as brethren, no less dear to us than if they dwelt in Surrey or in Kent." Lot Canadians ever bear in mind those noble and stir- ring words of D'Arcy McGee when he said, just prior to Conf iteration, '* I emphatically deny the preeminence of any other power upon this continent ; we are the leading power on this continent, for we are a part of the greatest empire on earth, the Empire of Britain, whose blood per- meates the world, whose flag is the emblem of power, grandeur and civilization, and as such we brook no peer," and look forward to the time when Canada, Africa, Zealand, Australia, India, Continents, Isles of the sea, Adding your j..wels to Britain's regalia, One with Old England, the home of the free. T