OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11658, 15 February 1900, Page 6

OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

(Fuom . Otrn Own Coeeespok-dent.) OTTAWA, December 30. At a time when Canadians should be celebrating the anniversary of the advent of the Prince of Peace one hears of nothing but wars and rumours of wars. The martial spirit is strong amongst the Canadian people to-day. It manifests itself by the Sacrifices which man are making in order to take up arms for-Qudcn and .Umpire ; it shows itself in the playground, where tlie small boy can talk only* of guns ami drums and bugles. It even forces itself into our public gatherings, where, on every available occasion, the people rise and s'n.y. -God save the Queen 'or "Rule Britannia." Canada is rigid, in: the nvidst of her preparations for the despatch of a second contingent, to .South Africa. The force now being equipped is entirely dissimilar to that which was sent from Quebec on Monday, October 30. Tlio first body of troops consisted of imantry exehisively, to the number of 1033 officers and men. The. second contingent now being prepared will be composed about equally of mounted rifles and field artillery. Tiiera is lo bo a brigade division of tliree batteries of artillery and four squads of cavalry. Two squadrons are being drawn Iroai tlie cavalry regiments of Ontario and Quebec and the maritime provinces. The other two squadrons will l:s raised on the prairies of Ida gieat Canadian North-West, tiie mounted police furnishing the major portion of this detaeh.me:it, augmented |jy picked rough ricte.'s from the plains. ' It is believed that these Western men will be simply invaluable to the aimy in South Africa :-..s ecoule. They are accustomed to roughing it, to being in tho saddle from "early morn to dewy eve," and can sspol; an object one mile away as readily as a city man could detect it if only ICO yards distant. The command of this irregular cavalry has been accepted by Coioncl Htcele, an officer who has had splendid experience o:i the NorthWest prairies. Colone,' Steele, when quite a young- man, served in the expedition under Lord (then .Sir darnel) Wolsoiey, in lb'/l, which had io go to Manitoba to suppress the rebellion started by the half-breed Louis Kiel. In 1873, upon the organisation of the NorthWest Mounted Police, ho joined that body us troop sergeant-major. Taking part in tho march to the -Rocky Mountains in 1574, he was promoted regimental sergeant-major in 187b, inspector in IS7B, and superintendent in 1855. From June, 1?82, t<» November, 14:05, ho was employed as a magistrate on the line of construction nf the Canadian Pacific railway, except dm- ~j t he three months' interval caused by 11;* North-West rebellion of 18;5. The command of -the cavalry and scouts wa^ given to Colonel Steele, and he was present at sovera; engagements with tlia Indians and the half-breeds. Sinco that time Colonel Steele has !>oen steadily connected with the Mounted Police, his lnsl important post being with the force in the Klondyke district, where he has kept the thousands of foreigners, many of whom were lawless characters, in check, and made the Yukon a? law-abiding as any other part of Canada.

There is a s-uspieion in the minds of many that the i'Yeiich-Cauadiiins are not as loyal to Britain in connection with the present war as one would wish to see. This remark does not apply to all Frei;e>i-Cauadians, as there at a many thoroughly loyal men ainongslthcm. Thero is no gainsaying' the fact, however, of the fealing in favour of the Boers which provajls in tlie provinco of Quebec It has led Air L. 0. David, city clerk of Montreal, a wellknown French-Canadian author, to write letters 10 L.i Presse and La .Monde Canadian,, two Montreal newspapers, deprecating the zeal shown by some of his compatriots in the Boer cause. French-Canadians, he says, have nothing to do with the Hours, and no reason to mix up in their quarrels; yet. since war was declared, they have not only shown proBoer sympathies, but have denounced Great Britain's policy and the character of her statesmen, cee.isioually even indicating- a wish for her defe.it. This course, ho believes, has deeply offended the English-speaking people of Canada, lias done much to estrange them, and if continued may lead to unpleasant consequences in the future. The tone of the papers wliicli Mr David condemns is the more unexpected when one considers the exceptional privileges enjoyed by French-Canadians under the British flag, and the vehemence with which they insist upon them. This anti-British policy is not confined to the newspapers supporting one political party, Conservative papers being; as guilty as Liberal newspaper*. It has led to 'protests from the English newspapers, and the direct intimation that for any large section of the FrenchCanadian press to assail Britain in a trying hour must inevitably arouse feelings among the majority in Canada which must react to destroy English-speaking forbearance regarding French-Canadian sentiments and ideals, and tell severely agains'; harmony and mutual goodwill and justice in this country. When the last mail left the Manitoba elections had just taken place, ai-.d there was every indication that the Giveaway Government, which haa been in -office for eleven years, had been defeated. 'Die revulsion of feeling in Manitoba was simnly remarkable, Mr Hugh .lolm Mncdoiwld, toe Conservative leader, having twenty-three followers, as against seventeen for Mr Green way. When it is considered that in the last House the figures stood: Liberals 33, Conservatives 5, and Independents 2, there must have been influences at work which Mr Groemray did not count upon. I'robably the chief factor which contributed to his defeat was the importation of federal issues into the campaign. -Manitoba gave the present Dominion Government a substantial majority for the House of Commons, and it appears as if the farmer? ■of that great wheat-growing district had only been waiting an opportunity to show their disapprobation of the Liberal policy in failing to carry out pre-election promises.

In connection with Mr Greenway's defeat, a curious condition of affairs! has developed. He is reported to be willing to resign, but he proposes to postpone the ceremony until January 16, when lie will have completed twelve years in office. At that date he will also have completed six weeks of office after the defeat of his Government at the polls. This is twice the length of time which Sir Charles Tupper took to close up the affairs of tho late Government of Canada, it never occurred to the Tupper Government to hold on from June to October in order to complete the term of eighteen years since the party came into power. Still, no ono is likely to quarrel with Mr Greemvay about a matter of a few weeks in office. While holding office, however, it is contended that he should not tender any advice to, the representative of tho Sovereign in regard to public appointments or important matters of provincial policy. This was a question which was greatly in controversy in Canada about three years ago, arising out of what was practically the dismissal of the Tupper Government by Lord Aberdeen. No longer ago than last May the Dominion Premier, Sir Wilfrid Laurier. discussed the course of Lord Aberdeen toward tho Tupper Government after the election,? o[ 1896. Replying to Sir Charles Tuppor, Sir Wilfrid said: "If my hon. friend will reflect, he will know that upon the occasion on which he presumed to tender advice to the late Governor-general, it was he who was altogether at variance with the well understood principles of responsible government. He knows as well as I do, it is a matter which run in the streets that under the British system no Minister nf the Crown has the power to tender advice to the Crown unless that Minister has the confidence of the people. The lion, gentleman had lost the confidence of the people, and therefore had no right to tender any advice to his Excellency. . . . Mr Speaker, having acknowledged defeat.having acknowledged publicly that ho had lost the confidence of the country, had no right to tender advice to the Governor-general; and the Governor-general was even generous towards him when he afterwards accepted even a part of the advice tendered to him."

It happened that Mr Greenway was led in March of this year to discuss the same question in tlin Maniotoba- Legislature. Mi: Greenway did not then expect to be in the position he now occupies, and took tho same view of 'he c-ase as Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He is thus reported:—"After the elections had taken place ... '. Lord Aberdeen refused to ratify a- number of appointments these gentlemen made. That was entirely justifiable, and he believed Lord Aberdeen wns upheld by the Colonial Office. If, when a "oneral election took nlaco, this Government should find themselves in a minority, ho would not presume to ask anything of the kind, and any gentleman representing her Maiesty would be quite justified in refusing to ratify appointments by those who had lost the confidence of the country." The Maniotoba Premier's present position is another case of chickens coining home to roost; Mr Greenway is sorry now that ho ever discussed this question in the Legislature.

Last year thousands of Canadians, resident principally, in the province of Quebec suffered K r6at loss by the failure- of tho Villo Marie Bank. Although carrying- a FrenchCanadian name, and for this reason probably attracting the- business of a. large number of French-Canadians, llio bank: was managed by English-speaking citizens. Under the Federal Banking Act.each bank is required to furnish monthly to the Government, under oath, a statement of the position of the bank, and the business transacted. When tho Ville Marie Bank failed it was obvious that tho returns to the Government must have been " cooked," and a, criminal prosecution was entered against Mr William Weir, the president, as being the responsible party. Mr Weir, who is in his seventy-eighth, was found guilty of falsifying the returns, and sentenced to two years' imprisonment. The trial brought out. evidence of the grossest mismanagement, both on the part of the directors and the officials. Tho total shortaces of tho bank amount to

£250,797 dpi,;. of which . 21,040d01. was stolen from tlie vault, nnd 175,000d0\ is reported as "missing," and 56,757d0l had'been charged up to a false account. Officials and other directors are to be prosecuted, and some further startling revelations are to bo expected. Merchants in the principal cities of Canada say that (he business done in tho week before Christmas was the best known for many years. The people spent freely, and evidently were determined to worthily celebrate Yuletide Business, would have been better in Ottawa had there been the usual downfall of snow in December, but on Christmas Eve: the streets were bare, and not until Christmas Day was there enough of the "beautiful" to give good sleighing. For a section of Canada, where, for about three months, we generally revel in zero weather, this winter has been marvellously open, and tho local newspapers are beginning to joko about this being V the great banana belt " of the Dominion.

This is a trying winter for" the Boukhobors who are Fettled in the north-west. These people, who number in Canada about 7000 souls, and left the Caucasus this year and last, year " for consoiruice' ?alce," are calculated to make good settlers. They are honest and hard-working, but very poor. It has been found necessary to take organised Plops for the purpose of affording thorn relief. * Once the winter is over, and tho Boukhoborfl fet a- Full summer at harvesting, they will 'be ■ibln to fend {or themselves. It is conceded that this year they were not given- a fair start: that they were too late iii getting on the land, and for this reason their crops were not as good as they otherwise would have been.

A few dnys ago the Dominion lost in tho psrsoii of Sir (1 Gorge Kirkpatriek one of itsprominent public men. He represented one eons'.ituntiey in Parliament' for the long period'of 22 years, and dining all that time ho was t'io close friend and confidant of the late Sir John Macdnnald.' Sir Gcorgo might have been in the Cabinet had lip. been so disposed: but Sir John chose him for the Spoaknrship during the parliamentary term 18S2-37, the .dutiw oF which ho performed with toct, skill, and dignity. In 1592 he was ehosnn to bo Lieutenant-governor of Ontario, but had to retire from that position, on account of Hl-hcoith, two years ago. His death is a distinct loss to Canada.

One of the thriving cities of Ontario is Hamilton. It Her, at the head of Lake Ontario, just 40 miles west of Toronto. It is known in newspaper language as the " ambitious city." In the estimation of its own citizens no other- city nan excel Hamilton in point of enterprise, or production. Leaving out of count tho jealous feelings which are manifested by rival cities. Hamilton has a good deal to boast of. The town lias developed a product recently, the quality of which other cities were not aware, until tho editor of the Hamilton Spectator visited the Hamilton market, and then returned to his sanctum. Ho had iust gazed upon the clisnlay of Christmas beef; and his soul was filled with enthusiasm. This is what he wrote:—"Talk about the roast bpcf of Old England. It isn't in it with the Christmas beef displayed in our Hamilton market this morning. Did you ever sflfl suc)i a combination of fat and lean, and all so beautifully distributed? What roasts and steaks these carcases will cut to into! It .makes one's mouth water oven to think of it. If our.boys in South Africa could only have a slice of that beef for their Christmas dinner-it would he such an inspiration that on,e of the Canadian contingent would be equal to'half a'dozen Boers. Turkeys, geese, and other poultry are all well'enough for a tit-bit dinner, but for a genuine, Christmas fare one wants a generous roast of Hamilton Christmas beef. But it must be cooked to :>• turn, so that the rich iucincss will follow the cut of the knife, like a stream of old port wine. Did you over see a real Southern dnrkv tackle .i dish of 'possum and sweet potatoes, baked to a rich brownness? Watch thnt dorky" a? the 'possum disapuears, and notice the smile on his face while the luscious (rravy trickles down the corners oE his mouth. Yum, yum. That picture will be reproduced at many a Hamilton dinner on Christmas T)av, when the juicy roasts of well - fed Canada beef are the point of'attack. . Ah! what a dronm of bliss. It almost lakes away one's appetite to think of it. Well, 'Here's to the health and happiness of all the readers of this great family journal, and may the dinner table in every household be a reality and not a dream.' "

Some of the newspapers published in other cities are mean enough to say that the dinner of tho editor of the Spectator was more of a dream than a reality.

New Zetland's okl-a<re pension scheme is being watched on this Continent, and now it is announced that one of the leading railway systems of the Continent lias r.dopted the system among its employees. Commencing on January 1. the Pennsylvania Railway Company, which has extensive connections with Canada wil! establish a pension denartment for the benefit of aged employees. This new department, the conception of the Board of Directors, is an extension and outgrowth of the Pennsylvania .railroad relief system adopted by the company several years ago, and still in operation. The age limit is some■what high, which will save the company from serious responsibility, and the total amount that may bo paid is" restricted to 300.000d0l a year. The plan provides for the retirement on January 1,. 1900, of all officers and employees who have attained the age of seventy years, and the payment to such employees of a pension equal to 1 per cent, of the average salary for the last ten years for each year .of continuous service.

It also provides for the retirement of all officers and employees between the ages of sixty-five and sixty-nine years, who. having been thirty years in the service of the company, are physically disqualified, and the payment to them of a pension computed on the same basis. All officers and employees not yet seventy years of age will be retired nnd pensioned in tho tame manner on the first clay of the month following their attainment of the maximum age. The plan also provides that nn new employee be taken into the service of the company who is over thirty-five years of age. The allowance of 1 per cent, per year would give, for example, half pay to a man fifty years in the company's service, and quarter pay to anyone who had been employed twenty-five years. The pensions are to be paid monthly, and to terminate with the death of the beneficiary. Tho experiment will be watched with great interest, as it is felt that if, the ri slits of the men are secured by proper legal safeguards, a compulsory provision of this kind may prove decidedly advantageous to the. employees of tho railway.