LAURIER'S REVERSE

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7915, 26 September 1911, Page 1

LAURIER'S REVERSE

RECIPROCITY QUESTION SOME LIGHT ON CANADIAN POLITICS. SIR JOHN FINDLAY’S VIEWS. SPECIAL TO THE "TIMES.” AUCKLAND, September 23. The rout of the Canadian Government at tho ijoll last week was the subject of an interesting interview' which a " Press ’’ representative this morning obtained from Sir John Findlay, who is at present on a visit to Auckland. Sir John said that ho landed in Canada on April 2nd of this year and spent some little time in Victoria and afterwards at Vancouver, Winnipeg, • Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. At all those centres ho met representative men in public life, and at many of tho gatherings which he attended, in company with Sir Joseph Ward, they had tho privilege of listening to speeches from different party points of view. Subsequently, in London, they sat at tho Conference with Sir Wilfrid Laurier and his colleagues. As the result of tho 'observations ho was ablo to make. Sir John lielieved there was a strong feeling of resentment growing, particularly in Western Canada, against tho adoption of the Reciprocity Treaty. This turned upon two distinct grounds. First, tho people recalled with some bitterness the effects of an earlier’ reciprocity arrangement made years ago between the States and Canada, in which tho producer’s and manufacturers were induced to develop their businesses along certain lines, only to find a few yeans later that the States terminated tho agreement when it suited them. In April last, whilo .Sir John was in- the Dominion, the Canadians were freely using it as an argument against the new treaty, that America would repeat the happening of earlier years should it suit to do so. Tho second and broader ground, said Sir John, was tho contention that commercial reciprocity with America would inevitably lead either to a political union with America or to a wide separation between Canada and the Mother Land. Admittedly strong arguments were advanced to refute both these views, but one could not help feeling that this belief was growing in strength and area, and results to hand now show that it apparently dominated tho election last week. Moreover, it was impossible to escape the conclusion that Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s Imperialism had undergone some change. Sir John met Sir Wilfrid Laurier nine years ago in Ontario and London, and heard him speak in both places again this year. In our own great Empire metropolis he heard the Canadian Prime Minister, and at last came to' tho clear conclusion that Sir Wilfrid desired to maintain an attitude of detachment from proposals for closer association between the overseas dominions and the Mother Tho statute recently passed providing for tho creation of' a Canadian navy especially stipulated that the navy must not take part in any Imperial war without the consent of Canada. Sir Wilfrid declared, while in London, that Canada would hold herself free to consider herself at peace should she not approve of any Imperial struggle on which Great Britain had entered. This, among other things, created amongst Canadian public men visiting England some feeling of alarm and some determination to oppose Sir Wilfrid Laurier at the elections which have just terminated. Sir John's impression was that, if tho statesmen of Great Britain would take the present opportunity by the hand, there was a splendid chance now for closely-organised unity between tho United Kingdom and the great Dominion of Canada.- If such organised unity could be brought about it would, he thought, lead to Imperial federation along the lines Sir Joseph Ward had suggested at tho recent Conference in London. lie had met the Premiers of several of the Canadian provinces along his recent tour, and found that they enthusiastically welcomed the proposal for a true Imperial system, whereby not only tho drift towards separation which had been going on in Canada would be arrested, but true Imperial solidity would bo established. "In my opinion,” said Sir John Findlay, " the defeat of tho Laurier Government was mainly duo to the dwindling and weakening Imperialism, of tho party in power. I believe that Canada. like New Zealand, is anxious to maintain a union of Empire, and, if one thing distinguished the Prime Minister of New Zealand from tho Prime Minister of Canada at tho recent Conference, it was the contrast on the question of unity displayed by those two leaders. If, then, the Canadian elections have any lesson for this country, it is this: That the public men and tho party which stands staunchest for Imperial unity will receive the most widespread support of the people. If this test is applied to New Zealand wo need have no doubt as to where Sir Joseph Ward and hit* parlywill bo after tho next election. This matter has been jengaging my very closest attention, and I am publishing a book in London during the next few weeks ui>ou the history and probable outcome of recent Imperialism.”