CANADA AND EMPIRE.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 112, 13 May 1924, Page 4

CANADA AND EMPIRE.

The opinion expressed by Sir James Allen that there is a possibility of the I secession of Canada from the Empire partnership as a consequence of the rejection of the Imperial Conference proposals will be generally regarded as a very serious indiscretion on tho part of the New Zealand High Commissioner. It is an accepted principle that officials should refrain from public statements affecting the internal affairs or policy of any other member of the Union. But apart from Sir James Allen's action in this matter it is interesting to review the tendencies manifested of late years in the great Dominion which support the view that with Canada the Imperial bond is weaker than with other partners of the Empire, with possibly ; the exception of South Africa, There j have appeared in Canada from time to | time sporadic advocates of secession, but | they have been neither numerous nor 1 influential, though much has been made | of such utterances by the American ' Press as evidence of a disposition on the part of their northern neighbour to ! throw in their lot with the United States. Canada, however, is at present in possession of a form of government which affords her all the advantages of independence without any of its disadvantages. For the disadvantages of independence in the case of a Dominion like Canada are numerous and serious. 1 With a powerful neighbour at her doors, the question of defence would be an important one. A large army and navy would be required to repel foreign aggression, and even this would be of little ; avail if the aggressive party were the United States. She would be required { to maintain her own foreign diplomatic and consular service in all parts of the world, and this would involve no small expense to a country of some eight mil-1 lion inhabitants. At present Canada, in 1 common with tho other British Do- j minions, enjoys all the benefits of the ; Britieh diplomatic and consular service j free of charge, though, it may be noted, ! she has recently been discussing, the; question of appointing "ambassadors" to ! foreign countries, and last year nego-' tiated direct a treaty with the government at Washington. An important problem in Canada when independence is under consideration is the racial question. Nearly a third of the population consists of the French-speaking "habitants," who are increasing in : numbers at a faster rate than. the Anglo-Saxon element. To an inde- ' pendent Canada this foreign element might easily prove a menace analogous to that of the Boers and Afrikanders in South Africa, So long as Canada remains under the British flae, the Frenchspeaking element need cause the Dominion no concern. They are obviously loyal to the Home government, though they show a disinclination to . become involved in Imperial wars. During the war of American Independence, the French-Canadians, though recently conquered from France, were steadfast in their loyalty to the British government. , Independence, however, would tend to antagonise the two sections which have hitherto lived in amity; freed from the control of the Home government, the French Canadians would feel called upon to work out their own destiny. It would be interesting to know what would happen if the French-Canadians, following tie example of an independent Canada, seceded from secession, as Ulster seceded from Ireland. In such an event. Anglo-Saxon Canada would be cut off from the Atlantic seaboard, for Montreal, the largest city of Canada, lies in the French area, as does also Quebec and the whole of the lower St. Lawrence, her natural outlet to the Atlantic. Of course, there remains the alternative that secession might be a step to admission to the United States, as in the case of Texas, which first seceded from Mexico. So far, however, as can be judged from the reports which have reached us, such a contingency does not enter into even the ideas of those who talk of Canada's withdrawal from the Empire. Yet it most be evident tr» all

-. careful observers that an independent I Canada must eventually gravitate towards the political orbit of the United States. It is said that Canadians read American papers more than they do their own. The American Press, though it may not have a high educational value, is an influential factor in the daily life and habits of those who read it; it moulds their opinions, viewing : everything from the American standi point and making its power felt socially and commercially. Under British rule Canada has been comparatively free ■ from that political corruption and del fective administration of justice which I have made America a byword among I the nations of the world. For the present the threat of Canadian secession is not to be taken seriously, but, as Sir •James Allen inadvisedly said, it must at least be considered among future political possibilities.

A serious accident befel the six-year-I old son of Mr. J. Beddic, of Kopuarahi, lon Sunday last. He discovered some dc- ; tonators that were supposed to be safely : hidden in the rafters of a shed, and I while lie was handling them an explosion 1 occurred. The boy received the charge in the forehead, and it seemed likely that he would lose one eye, but after an X-ray photograph had been taken and ,an operation had been performed, it appeared possible that the eye might be ,saved. I In connection with the flood on the , night of April 3 last, when the OhineI muri River overflowed its banks and caused considerable damage, especially jto four residences on the southern end ;of the Waihi Road, Paeroa, in the j vicinity of the Convent; a letter has ' been received by Mr. E. M. Porritt, president of the Paeroa Chamber of ! Commerce, from the Engineer-in-Chief, : Public Works Department, Wellington, 1 stating that the Department could not ' recognise liability for compensation in j respect to these losses. They were due entirely to the exceptional rainfall and the specially rapid rate of run-off from the catchment area of the Ohinemuri I River. Aβ a result of letters to the Minister ;of Internal Affairs, the Christchurch ' R.S.A. (states an exchange) has been sucj cessful in getting the work of erecting permanent headstones to soldiers' graves in Christchurch commenced. Originally it was decided to complete the work in ( the North Island first, but work has now ! been commenced at the Sydenham cemetery. The official headstone of New 1 Zealand granite is being erected on each grave, and a concrete kerbins; completes the work. There are no fewer than 2000 soldiers' graves contained in 490 c-cincteries situated in all parts of the Dominion, and extending from within a few miles of the North Cape to the Bluff. Some of these little cemeteries are in very isolated spots, but every soldier's grave will eventually bear the permanent granite headstone. Considerable time was spent by the New Lynn Town Board last evening in considering plans for the subdivision of a number of. blocks of land in the township. A knotty point seems to be that of what frontage to a road shall be asked for in giving access to back country. A large number of these subdivisions are four to five-acre blocks, and it invariably happens that one section must take one to two acres of land, most of this area being at the back. The board had previously asked that such a section shall possess 66ft frontage, but in view of the fact that the unimproved value was now in vogue members were divided on this point. As there appeared to be no possibility of the board arriving at a unanimous decision in this matter it was ultimately decided to call a special meeting for .Monday next to consider the question ;of subdivision in view of the altered i conditions of rating. I "It just looked as though the district had been thrown back to the state in ' which it was thirty years ago." That Jis the manner in which Mr. Gubb, a i farmer of Hotco, in a letter to a relative at Mt. Albert, describee the damage wrought hi his particular district, by ' the recent floods. The writer said that looking at the country after the water had gone, it appeared as though the district had suffered from an earthquake. Mr. Gubb himself suffered considerable loss. A large slip came down on to his shearing shed and sheep pens, and smashed them to pieces. He was milkj ing 150 cows at the time of the trouble, and then, on top of that, came the strike, which meant that there was no communication by rail with Helensville, nnd the cream had to be carted to Warkworth, ten miles away. The writer estimated that it would be two or three years before he recovered the loss effected by the floods. One of London's most interested visitors, says the "London Daily Mir- ! ror" of March 15, is Mr. Charles ! Reed, a trader between New Zealand and I the Pacific Islands, who has arrived as a ! representative of the New Zealand Govi eminent to erect a Samoan "fale," or I native dwelling, at the British Empire . Exhibition. Mr. Reed will be assisted in I his task by his Samoan wife. The struci ture, which covers 1700 square feet, was I originally built by a native chief named J Mataafa at Apia, his subjects doing the 1 work voluntarily as their contribution to the exhibition. No nails are used, the binding being carried out by means of native "cinnet," which is manufacI tured from the husks of cocoanuts. The ] roof consists of dried leaves of sugar 1 canes. I Quite a sensation was caused in j Courtenay Place, Wellington, near the : tram shelter, just after mid-day on Saturday, when a woman had a remarkable ! escape from being killed. She was crossing the tram-line in front of an Island Bay car, and the motorman slowed down to enable her to get safely away. Instead of doing that she stopped in the middle of the track, was knocked over, and was dragged right underneath the car. She was got out after considerable difficulty and taken to Mr. L. McKenzie's chemist shop, where it was ascertained I that beyond the shock and a few bruises no harm ha-d been done to her. An amusing incident occurred when I the Prince of Wales was leaving Victoria Station on April 4, for his holiday at Biarritz (writes our London correspondent). An old lady, who was atI tempting to change her carriage, went to the entrance of the Prince's saloon, and in her hurry to reach her new quarters she pushed him aside before discovering who he was and that she was getting into the wrong coach. She was very much confused and moved away, the Prince smiling with his usual kindly good nature. The Prince was travelling as the Earl of Chester. '; Two little girls, about 12 years of age, had a narrow escape in Palmerston North (states the local 'Times"). They were riding a bicycle in the "double banking" method of progression on the wrong side of the road, when a motor car struck them and passed completely 1 over girls and bicycle. The driver of the 1 car was the most perturbed of the trio, ■' for the girls were extricated from, be- ; lam& the vehicle suite nnhaxt» .. w -.