OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3195, 9 June 1915, Page 81

OUR CANADIAN LETTER.

(Feoji Our Own CoehesponiJent.)

OTTAWA, March 5,

The winter is breaking up. It has not been a hard winter, as we estimate hardness in Canada. Neither in severity of cold nor in the volume of snowfall has it been quite up to normal. This was particularly fortunate in view of the exceptionally large number of people out of employment and living under conditions which would have made a severe winter, with prolonged periods of low temperature, peculiarly trying. February was a mild month, in the comparative sense, with light falls of enow and many thaws. There was considerable rainfall, which under ordinary circumstances we do not look for until March or April. If spring should open up early this year it will help matters very much in the western provinces, where the harvest was not abundant last year, and will make promising the proposition to put an exceptionally large acreage under crop. A full yield of wheat would be one form of assistance to the Allies which might become an important factor in the great European war. At the present time wheat is selling at a very high figure, and the pity is that very little of the larger price has gone to the producer. Canada, however, is not looking forward to the problem of helping in a large way to feed Groat Britain next winter. While she is preparing against any possible emergency in tha,t regard, the conviction is general that the war will be over, long laeforo the snow flies next November. This expectation is based upon a number of factors. It is firmly believed that Germany is fast approaching a state of exhaustion, while, on the other hand, the strength of the Allies is daily increasing! The success of the British and French fleets in the Dardanelles has been received throughout the dominion with the deepest satisfaction. It is felt that the elimination of Turkey from the Add of hostilities will have a mighty- effect on the hesitating Balkan States, as well as on Italy and Greece. The moral influence in Germany itself will be great. With new forces attacking AustriaHungary upon her western boundaries the early subjugation of that country would seem to be inevitable. Germany left alone could not hold cut very long, especially in view of the superiority of the Allies in France and Belgium. ' The threatened blockade of England by German submarines has not thus far had any appreciable effect on Canadian shipping on the Atlantic. Ships are going and coming as usual. Freight rates rule high, not because of German interference, but because of the scarcity of steamers. Not a single vessel operating between Canada and Europe has been sunk by the Germans. One was lost; but she ran upon the French coast during a storm. The sailings have been numerous, particularly of vessels which had not previously been in the Canadian trade; For example, Canada has supplied enormous quantities of hay and oats to the Allies, and most of those commodities have' been shipped direct to France. The work of purchasing and handling this fodder has been. undertaken in large measure by the Canadian Government, and the machinery of the Department of Agriculture has been used for the purpose. Mr J. A. Ruddiok, whom Canada some years ago loaned to New Zealand as an expert instructor in dairying, has had charge of a good deal of this special work. The average shipments for months have been about 5000 tons per week. During the past month the first Canadian contingent was moved from Salisbury Plains to France, and a considerable part of the second contingent was moved across the Atlantic to England. Part of the first contingent has gone to Turkey. It is felt hero that the Canadian and Antipodean contingents arc exceedingly fit, and that they will do big things. It seems to us that better soldiers could not be found, and it is believed the colonials will live up to the best traditions of Britain’s seasoned regulars. Shoulder to shoulder. New Zealanders, Australians, and Canadians will show the world what they are made of. This brings us abruptly up against the stern and cruel realities of war. Practically every day since the first Canadian regiment landed in France our morning papers have informed -us of casualties. Since the primary mobilisation to date the deaths from disease, accident, and at the front considerably exceed 100. The Princess Patricia Regiment has played a' particularly dashing part in France, and has lost a good many officers and men. Major Gault, who organised and equipped the regiment, and went with it to the front, has been wounded. Captain Newton, who had been an exceedingly popular aide at Government House during the term of Lord Minto, was killed on the first night the Princess Pats were in the trenches. Half-a-dozen qthcr officers have lost their lives. The other regiments of the first continbent have only been about a week on the firing line, and their casualty list has not beenlarge to date ; but we must look for sad news daily, now that we have 33,000 men in actual contact with the enemy in _ France and Turkey The sadness will be mitigated, however, by the knowledge that our brave boys are demonstrating, by the final supreme sacrifice, their devotion to the Empire in her hour of need. & Tens of thousands of other Canadians are being rapidly trained for the front. As has been said, some 5000 of the second contingent have already been landed in England, and the remaining 20,000 will be there before this letter reaches you. Twenty-five thousand others are well along in their training, and may go forward in the course of a month or two. At Montreal about 5000 men are under arms, and the same number at Toronto. Smaller units are scattered over the dominion. The western men are a particularly sturdy lot. Two _ or three ■weeks ago a regiment from British Columbia passed through Ottawa (it has since reached England), and it would have made you feel proud to see the type of men of which it was composed—all bright-eyed, intelligent, robust fellows, some of them giants in stature, and all keen to get to the front. Such men will fight with their heads as well as with their bayonets, and it is not saying too much to add that 30 per cent, of them in an emergency would bo quite capable of taking command. Among the units soon to leave is a body of engineers 900 strong, and when they get over I predict that they will I>© the talk of England. They are all picked men, of splendid physique, many of them college graduates, and highly trained for the special work they have to do. Parliament is just now considering wavs and means to provide for the vast_ expehditurc involved in these war preparations. The Minister of Finance brought down his Budget the other day, and_ announced a con- 1 eiderahle addition to existing taxation. The

scale of duties on certain commodities haf) been advanced about 7jr per cent., and beyond that a wide range of special taxation, in the form of stamps upon railwr.y tickets, letters, theatre tickets, receipts, and so on will bo imposed as soon as the stamps have been got ready. It is expected that these new imposts will raise about £9,000,000 over and above ordinary revenue, and will enable Government to meet the extraordinary outlay without adding materially to the, public debt. The whole matter is now before Parliament, and is being considered in a non-partisan spirit. In fact, during this war session, a party truce has been established: and while, with a general election in sight, it is hard to stick to such a bargain, the plan has thus far been adhered to by both sides. The people at large, while not liking the new taxation, preferring that there should bo reductions rather than increases, are accepting with good grace what they regard as unavoidable. What makes the party truce hard to keep are certain ugly facts which have been brought to light with regard to the purchase of equipment for the Canadian troops. Human greed seems unable to resist tire temptation to make money out of a great public need in time of emergency. Some 60,000 pairs of boots, for example, wore required in a great hurry for the first contingent. It has since transpired that few of these boots were made up to the specifications. and as a consequence our soldiers had to be re-equipped in England. There was fraud, and also excessive cost, in the purchase of other "supplies, and, while the Government has proceeded relentlessly against those who have behaved badly in these matters, there is a disposition in Parliament to. make political capital out of the facts. In one case a member of Parliament is accused of having made a considerable sum out of supplies for the Army Medical Corps, and the Opposition is naturally desirous of turning such a circumstance against the Government. In other instances gross favouritism is alleged, and the Minister of Militia is held accountable for all that has happened. However, it .looks just now' as if the general clearing up would be left until the war is over.

The difficulties of Goverfament in meeting the high cost of the war may not be as great as was at one time feared 1 . The business of the country is fast returning to a normal basis, helped' by large orders for supplies from the Allies. In February the public revenue showed a betterment of £200,000 over the corresponding month of last year. This is the first departure from a scries of discouraging monthly statements. It is believed the worst is over, and that with the coming of spring monetary conditions -will justify the resumption of construction activities which were suspended at the outbreak of war. There has not been much disturbance among the established industries of the country, and what was lost in one direction was in large measure made up by new business generated by the war. The principal cause of trouble was uncertainty, which is always a powerful deterrant to enterprise. Confidence in the early and absolute triumph of the Allies has to a large extent overcome the stagnation produced by fear; but the lull tide of prosperity will not be realised until Germany is actually defeated. In other words, the enterprise of the -dominion will not be fully asserted while any element of doubt as to the outcome of the war remains.

As an instance of the volume and character of the war orders which Canada has received, it was announced the other day that the purchase of -shells had already reached £6,000,000. This, was entirely new business. It is doubtful if a single shell for heavy artillery had over before been cast in Canada. Now there is scarcely a foundry in the dominion which is not busy making shrapnel. The harness and saddlery industry has had very large orders, and there is not a woollen mill in the country which has not had all it could do in the way of making blankets, cloth, and articles of clothing for domestic and foreign troops. The sale of hay and oats has been on a scale which has been both helpful and profitable to the farmers. Makers of canned goods have also been very busy. All this has made for big exports; but the general conditions produced by the war have limited imports, and it is imports wdiich produce the public revenue. However, as has been said, there are good grounds for believing that the worst is past, and that February marks the commencement of the up-turn, in imports. Aliens have given us some trouble since my last letter. At Vanceboro, on the boundary between New Brunswick the United States, a German named Werner von Horn made a desperate attempt to blow' up the Canadian Pacific bridge. He was captured on the American side, and is being held pending extradition proceedings. Von Horn is the son of a former War Minister of Bavaria, and at one time held the rank of captain in the German army. He mad© no denial of his intention on being arrested; but stoutly asserted that his offence was political, and therefore he could neither be extradited nor punished during the progress of the war. We shall see. In Toronto a wealthy German named Nerlich, along with his wife, has been tried for treason and conspiracy. Mrs Nerlich was acquitted; but Nerlich w 7 as convicted of the charge of aiding a German officer to escape from Canada. He has appealed against the conviction. The Nerlichs have been in Canada for 27 years, and do not conceal their sympathies with the Fatherland. We have several thousand Germans and Austrians in detention camps at present. The action of Russia in abolishing vodka and the movement in France to suppress the sale of absinthe is having a reflex in Canada. The temperance people are asserting that this is also a favourable time for the dominion to adopt a policy of total prohibition. Several men in high places have lent their influence to the propaganda. Whether or not it will take definite and positive shape it would bo hard to say at this juncture. Thus far it has not made noticeable headway; but the temperance people are both numerous and aggressive, and, what is perhaps more important, they have the backing of a very largo number of every community, who, while unidentified -with anv organisation, are always prepared to strike a blow at the liquor traffic. We should find ourselves in a new world if this unparalleled war should bring about universal peace and universal relief from the curse of a licensed traffic in strong drink. After what Russia has done no one may say what the other nations, awakening to a new life, may do in the way of reform. The Ontario Safety League has carried on a very vigorous campaign during the past year. “ Safety first ” signs have been put up all over the province, and even moving picture films were used in the scheme of education. More than 6000 letters were sent out to motorists, manufacturers, and other users of the public highways. Prizes for essays on the subject of safety were given to school children, and speakers employed by tire league have addressed

many gather<b,«p, It is believed that the resuits will to commensurate with the cost of the propaganda. Meningitis has broken out in the camp ojf the Third Contingent at Toronto, and three deaths have already occurred. It was this disease which caused the greatest number of deaths at Salisbury Plains. Specialists have been employed to combat it. and vfery stringent measures have been adopted lookin

to preveaticfi by sanitation, isolation, and other moans. It has not heretofore been a common disease in Canada.

At almost every session of Parliament some member brings forward a resolution against capital punishment, and this yeai was not an exception. The whole matter was discussed from the usual points of view; but the proposition met the usual fate. It was voted down by a large majority. The estimates tabled in Parliament by the Finance Minister showed appropriations of £39,000,000 apart from tho war vote of £20,000,000. The decrease, as compared with la t year was slightly under £4,000,000. Less money is being asked for immigration purposes, and tho ordinary militia vote has also been reduced.

The annual statements of all the leading chartered banks have boon published, and they show good profits on a normal volume of business. Tho banking situation is regarded as strong. Stocks and securities on the open market have- not. however, picked up appreciably since July last. The annual sale of purebred Shorthorn cattle at Toronto during tho past month was the best attended for .10 years; but, strange to say, tho prices paid were considerably below those of recent years. • Tho reason for this is not apparent, as stockraising continues to bo profitable. Our soldiers, when not. objecting, are all inoculated against typhoid and smallpox. Few object although there are some newspapers and private individuals who are at all times outspoken in their opposition to vaccination of any sort. The Government of Ontario has adopted a scheme for helping the unemployed, by which 32,000 acres of public land will be cleared Men are kept in camps, fed, clothed, and paid a small wage. Many, however, have preferred to remain in the cities and accept charity.

In the town of Renfrew, Ontario, a barless hotel has just paid a dividend of 4 per cent., aftir paying all charges. This hotel was meant to demonstrate that a first class hostelry can be made to pay apart from the sale of liquor. It has succeeded.

Tile warm days and frosty n’gilts of early March warrant, the expectation of an early supply of maple suga- and syrup. These luxuries are always in the nature of a compensation for the long winter