THE CANADIAN ELECTIONS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17666, 19 December 1917, Page 6

THE CANADIAN ELECTIONS.

Ilf it is true that tho genoral elections in Canada have: resulted in a Unionist victory and that the issue has been decided apart from the soldiers’ votes the sentiment of Canada must have been even sounder than tho publicists supposed. The conditions are admittedly abnormal, but against the stiong patriotic influence) of tho war must bo set the fact that a big proportion of the adult) male population has been sent to Europe. At tho general election of 1911 about 1,300,000 votes woro polled. Of tho total vote 28 p«r cent was French, 7 per cent German and Austrian and over 10 per cent distributed among Scandinavians, Russians and other foreigners. It was estimated that rather more than 700,000 votes were cast by English-speaking electors, and current estimates place tho enlistments from English-speaking provinces its high as 390;000. It is not unreasonable, therefore, to suppose that one-half tho English-speaking electors of 1911 arc out of tho country. In these circumstances the publicists very naturally anticipated that tho elections would turn very largely on tho voting of tha soldiers, but if it ds. possible thus early to make a confident announcement of a Unionist victory tho vindication of the Government must bo regarded as impressively complete. Party warfare has never really been suspended id Canada except in regard Ho war appro-

priations, and when tho conscription movement gathered momentum it stiffened the opposition of the Frenchspeaking electors without splitting the Liberal party at all seriously. Voluntary recruiting had produced something like 400,000 recruits, though tho French population and tho people of alien birth bold aloof, and there was a disposition among thj Liberals, taking their cuo from Sir Wilfrid Laurier, to regard this as satisfactory. However, Canada has come to tho conclusion to which other British countries nave been forced, 'that tho supply of men must be maintained, and as conscription was the definite issue of the* election the conscriptionist Liberals had to break their party ties. We shall bo interested to learn tho actual! results of the voting. Inevitably the expressed opinion of Canada will bo much quoted in Australia, and if 'tQieiro has boon a substantial conscriptionist majority apart from the soldiers' votes the fact wall enormously encourago tho patriots in tho Commonwealth. Tho attitude of tho French-speaking part of the Canadian population has boon one of the incomprehensible facts of tho war, and every true friend of freedom would rejoice if the French Canadians should at length prove their loyalty to their traditions and to tho great Dominion in which they dwell.