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32X

THE ACTIVE MILITIA OF CANADA,

Lecture deiiverei on the 24th February i8q2, before the Military

Institute at Toronto

LT.-COL. O'BRIEN, M. P.,

COMMANDINO THE 35TH BXiTALION OF ACTIVE MlI.ITIA.

The first part of Col. O'Hricn's lecture is Historical, and points to
the sources from which the various races comprising the population of
Canada derived those warlike instincts which manifested themselves
at so many subsequent periods in their history. It refers to the Pioneers
of New France, and to the Colonists in the British Provinces, and
especially those of New England ; and to the circumstances in the con.
dilion of these early settlers, which fostered and encouraged a military
spirit ; to the revolutionary war which drove into Canada the U.E.
Loyalists, and the powerful influence exercised by them in the further
development of that spirit ; and then traces through the subsequent
history of the country the effect which the spirit so developed had
upon many important occasions.

The second part of the lecture relates to the military spirit now
prevailing in the country, as manifested in the formation of the existing
militia force. In describing that, Col. O'Brien said : —

In 1855 began the formation of the force which has grown to be
a truly national one — the Active Militia — Her Majesty's Army in
Canada. No country has any right to claim the attribute of nr.tionality
which is not prepared, out of its own resources, to maintain order
within its borders, and to resist aggression from without. In 1855 the
jhen Province of Canada took the first step in that direction, and the
movement, being the voluntary action of the people, was proof of the
steady growth of the military spir I'hen came the Trent afTair, when

02.

the people with one voice declared that, though the quarrel was an
Imperial, one, and for which they .were in no. sense responsibl.e^_they
were willinj;, as part of the Empire, to assume their share of Imperial
defence. The Fenian raids followed, directed iigainst Canada, not
because the Canadians had done any wrong to Ireland, but because
Canada, a portion of the British Empire, was most vulnerable to attack.
This was an important e|)och in our history. For the first time a
purely Canadian force, equipped with Canadian money, drilled and com-
manded by Canadian officers, took the field, for self-defence it is true,
but in an Imperial quarrel. The Trent affair and the Fenian raids
made two things clear : first, the alacrity with which, in case of need,
Canada would spiing to arms; secondly, the promptitude with which
Great Britain both could and would send forces to her aid. Shortly
after the Fenian raid the active force was organized nearly upon its pre*
sent footing, and with Confederation it was extended over the whole
Dominion. But before the Dominion had arrived at the years of man-
hood the Norlh-West rebellion gave a practical test of the spirit
of the people, and of the capacity of its force. The events of that
'period are too fresh in our recollection to require any special notice at
my hands. That it was from first to last a military achievement of
which neither the Government, the people, nor those engaged need be
ashamed, is, I think, generally admitted. It gave proof, at any rate, if
proof were needed, that the warlike spirit of the C inadians had kept
pace with their progress in other respects — that the shades of Wolfe and
Montcalm, of Brock and De Salaberry, of our U. E. Loyalist ancestors,
and of all the unnamed heroes of our earlier days, might look down
with pride upon the Canada of 1885, and rejoice to think that it was
wortny of its sires.

But it seems to me that the most satisfactory evidence of the
existence and steady growth of the military spirit of Canada is to
be found in the fact that such a force as we have now in this
country is, under existing conditions, maintained at all. Neither
to the officers nor men who compose it doej< it afford anything
of profit or advantage, either social, political or jiecuniary. In every
kind of business or industrial pursuit membership in it is a drawback.
To officers in particular it involves a loss of time and money, as well as

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a considerate amount of labour. The Government recognize the force
as a necessary element in our pohtical existence, but grudge it the
starvation allowance which Parliament willingly votes. Employers of
labour give it no encouragement— too often do their best to hinder it.
Yet, under such conditions it exists, and it flourishes. Why ? Simply
because in the hearts of the people there is an ingrained military spirit
which will find means of development. Because there is in them the
spirit of their forefathers — the spirit whose growth in the foregoing
re narks I have endeavoured to trace, whose manifestations at various
periods in our history I have tried to point out — the spirit which first
led to the settlement of America, and which was fed and nourished
by the very conditions of the existence of the early pioneers. We see
it displayed in the fierce contests for the sovereignty of North America.
It animated the captors of Louisburg, and it is raged in the breasts of
those engaged in the death struggle on the Plains of Abraham. It
nerved the U. E. Loyal'sts in the heroic sacrifice which drove them
from every enjoyment of life to exile, hardship and oenury. It led the
militia of i8)[ 2 to victory at Queenston, Lundy's I/me and Chateau-
gaay. It caused them to rise in fury in 1866 to repel the insensate
Fenian invasion, and to struggle for places in the ranks of those who
were sent to face the probable danger of the North-West rising. And,
more than all, its steady glow keeps alive, despite the drawbacks I have
mentioned, the force to which we are all i>roud to belong.

From the existence of the Active P'orce under present conditions
I draw another conclusion of great practical moment. I believe that
as at present constituted it is eminently suited to the country. It is so
iricxpensive, the whole cost being less than 25 cents per annum upon
each of the poi)ulation, that the most severe economist cannot find
fault on that score. Being a purely voluntary force, and chiefly support-
ed by the independent yeomanry of the c )untry, it involves no serious
burden upon our industrial resources, and affects only those who will-
ingly ass'ime the task. The headquarters of e.ich corps being local,
it enlists in its support a variety of local interests, and the people of
the locality take a pride and interest in the efficiency of the corps, and
willingly aid in its support. By simplv increasing the number of men
per company its numerical strength can .)e doubled without any

additional cost for officers or staff, and that strength cou'd be kef)t up
by regular recruiting at the various company and regimental head-
quarters. To increase its efficiency in drill all that is necessary is to
call it out, for it has its own instructors always ready for use, and of
the aptitude of the men for learning all the duties of a soldier I need
say nothmg. Experience has shown that it can be rapidly assembled,
and rapidly mobilized. While democratic in theory, as regards the
social status of its oCficxTs, the men have a wholesome sense of discip-
line which checks too much familiarity between them and their officers,
even when the latter may be socially on the same level with themselves ;
and, as far as my observation goes, ihey most respect those oflicers who
most respect themselves, and have a proper idea of what is due, if not
to themselves, at least to the commission \vhi(.h they hold. But, say
our critics, the force is com[)osed of such shifting material that the
men drilled one year are gone the next, and therefore the money spent
upon them is wasted. To some extent this may be true, but, on the
other h \nd, the very weak point of the system has its advantages. It
keeps th^^ military spirit constantly fermenting. It diffuses a knowl-
edge of soldiering, however slight, through a lar;4e part of the adult
population, and there is always a nucleus of drilled men existing in
every corps who cling to it f.-om [Hire love of it, who set an example, and
give a pattern to the recruit, teach him his duties, instil into him a
proper sense oi esprit du corps, and impart an air of soldierly bearing.
In every regiment there are enough of such men competent lor the
position of non-commissioned officers, and frequently for that of commis-
sioned officers; enough also to take up and discharge all duties when the
regiment is called out, while the recruits are being instructed. And
the result is, taking the rural corps as a whole, that the ri giment can be
moved from one place to another, can hi put into a train and taken
out of it, marched into camp, mount its guards and pickets, pitch its
tents, issue and cook its rations, maintain the strictest discipline, and
all the time go on with its instruction in drill in a |)urpose-like and
business fashion, and making progress in every military dufy in a
manner tl^at astonishes the officer of the regular army. Now, can anyone
suggest a system better suited to the h.ibits and ideas of the people, or
one that will bring about as good results from the same expenditure either

of money or industry? What possible system of a small regular force,
such as is suggested by some, could equal it for effective results in case
of any serious difticulty ? Having rc.id the endless suggestions and
criticisms which arc from lime to time poured forth through the press, and
having, what few of the critics have, a pretty thorough knowledge of the
present system, its weak as well as its strong |)oints, of its very apparent
deficiencies, and of its real capacity— the former much more plain to
the eye than the latter — I have no hesitation in saying that the present
force, mainly created and developed by the military spirit of the coun-
try, and mainly dependent upon it for support, has, by the very fact of its
existence at the present, proved itself well suited to the country, and to
the resources at its command. And I am conservative enough to
believe that we shall do better to imjjrove and develop a system which
has served us well in the past, and is serving us better in the present,
than in troubling ourselves with the speculations of those who are too
proud to enter the present force, and who spend their military spirit in
pointing out the deficiencies which we in the ranks are steadily striving
to overcome.

I have spoken of the difficulties under which this force is maintained,
which bear so hardly upon those engaged in it. Certainly the country,
which has such a force upon such easy terms, has no right to complain.
We, however, who have so long borne the burden, have the right to
ask that it be made less severe, as easily it might be. The best methods
of accom[)Iishing this could not properly be discussed in connection with
the subject now under consideration, but thus much may be said, that
the military spirit of which we have been speaking would sustain the
Government in any reasonaijle expenditure recjuired to meet existing
deficiencies, especially when that expenditure would go directly to the
im[)rovement of the rank and file, and not to those accessories which,
however useful, are not of absolute necessity.

But it will be asked, and the question is a pertinent one, and
must be answered— admitting your contention to be correct, and the
existence and growth ot this warlike spirit to be proved, of what value
is it — what are you going to make of it? A political necessity, the
conditions of which m ly change at any time, compels us now to spend
a certain sum upon military preparations, and in the spending of that

money a few enthusiastic perion* like to employ themselves in playing at
soldiering. It amuses them, and it does not hurt the country; hut, after all,
what is it but mere pastime? The only |H>ssibility of war is one in whi(h
we should be powerless. Any attempt at resistance would be useless. We
should be as a child in the hands of a giant, and immediate submission
would be our inevitable lot. Now, I will not attempt to answer this
question from a military point of view, though seve Uy-five thousand of
such men as in foriy-eight hours the Minister of Militia could put in
the field simply by doui)ling the strength of existing companies, would,
backed by the sea and land forces which ten days would bring to our
assistance,be no despicable force. But as upon the answer largelydepends
the future of this country, I will answer it in the spirit in which it was
answered by Sir Isaac Brock just eighty years ago, when, with as heavy
odds agiinst him as we could have to meet to-day, he undertook the
defence of the Canadian frontier — a defence which but for his untimely
death would have been more si.ccessful and glorious than it was. He
did not sit down to consider whether with ten thousand men he could
meet him that came agaist him with twenty thousand. He simpi) told
the people of Canada that the country was theirs, and that it was their
plain duty, when wrongfully attacked, to take up arms in its defence.
And ill a similar spirit should we answer the cjuestion to-day. If we are
not prepared to defend our country and keep it ours, we should not
have undertaken to make it. We should not assume national respon-
sibilities unless we are prepared to accept the conditions with which
they are connected, and by which alone they can be maintained. And
till human nature is reformed, and Christianity really governs the
world, preparation for self defence, and the readiness to endure all that
it may impose, is the first of national necessities. We have gone
too far upon the path of national progress no.v to draw back from the
fulfilment of this obvious duty. We cannot shrink from it unless we
are prepared to abandon the work in which we have been engaged — to
show ourselves false to every sentiment of manhood and patriotism —
unworthy of our name and race, and of all the glorious traditions of the
past. There is then a legitimate field for the exercise of the warlike
spirit of our people, and an absolute necessity for its careful develop-
ment ; and while the work is one in which all should bear a part,

yet mainly upon those who, in no idle spirit o( display, but with an
earnest desire to fit themselves for the sttrn duties of the field, have
undertaken the task of foriuin;^ our Militia into an efficient military
force, will rest the burden of showing that the growih of a military
spirit in Canada is no idle dream— that it is a real, living element in
our national life and our national progress, and as essential to its com-
plete development as any of those which it is the duty of govern-
ment to foster and encourage. Acting upon such a conviction we
should go manfully and steadfastly on with our work, satisfied that
while engaged in a task suited to our tastes and capacities, we are
also fulfilling a duty second to none in its importance and value to the
country — as much of benefit to it as of credit to ourselves.

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