"CANADA AS IT IS."

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12548, 11 July 1905, Page 2

"CANADA AS IT IS."

We have just received from Messrs. H. I. Jones and Son a copy of Mr. John Foster Fnaser's latest book, "Canada As It Is." Like his "America At Work." Mr Eraser's story of Canada is written in so lively and rattling a style that something good is to l>a found on every page. A few typical extracts are subjoined:— DEMONSTRATIVE TORONTO. There are two reasons why Toronto is so excessively British. First, most of its resident* claim descent from the loyalists who were driven from the banks of tho Hudson in the uprising which Englishmen call the American rebellion, and citizens of tine United Stats call the Americans evolution, and who, in turn, fought and bravely resisted the Americans when they aibtemp'ted to seize* Canada dn 1812. The second and more cogent reason is that Toronto As sufficiently near tho United States for folks on either side the boundary cordially to dislike each other. One fine morning Canada had the grim satisfaction of seeing the birth of an agitation in the States for reciprocity with Canada. But all. that was British in the composition of Jake Ca■nuloa bristled. # . "Noton your lifo, siree," was tho retort of the polite palaver of Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam continued the most amiable of suitors. "Isn't it very foolish we should fight one another with tariffs? Wouldn't it be much nicer if we reciprocated?" "Not on your life,"-re-plied Jake again.' Jake knew. Reciprocity to him now meant that the big manufacturers of the State would "snow under" the Canadian nmnufacturerr., and the Dominion would become littlo ■other than an annex© of America. "Not on your life." This commercial enmity stirred latent British patriotism. A band of Ontario loyalists took the children in hand. The Union Jack fluttered from the top of the sohoolhouses. The youngsters were taught patriotism ias they were taught to spell. On days famous in tihe history of the empire th-aro were special addresses. There wer© prizes for essays on patriotism. Six years ago th© outbreak of the South African war synchronised with many of the boys reaching manhood. The instruction in patriotism bare fruit. The young men of Ontario had war in their nostrils. They wanted to fight for the empire. The Laurier Government and the French in t'bo province of Quebec held back. What had Canada to do with England's quarrel in South Africa? "Do you think you'll keep us back," shouted young Ontario; "not on your life." And there was such a blaze of British patriotism throughout Ontario—spreading like a prairie fire into the NorthWest Territories —that the Laurier Government made a virtue of necessity, and the Canadian contingents crossed the teeas, and did their work as soldiers on tho,veldt. These mingled causes make the capital of Ontario the most demonstratively patriotic 'city in the empire. READY WITH STATISTICS. The Toronto man .bristles with facts. There are 206 ichurches in Toronto, he tails you, with the glowing satisfaction of &' cattle breeder -whiO had taken 206 "firsts." He possibly doesn't go to any of 'the churches himself, but" the fact there are so many he counts as proof that Toronto is <a great city. He flings at you the information that the citizens of Toronto use over 11,000 telephones, asks how many talephones are used in Sheffield, amd is openly astonished at your ignorance. He puts his thumbs in tlhe airm holes of his waistcoat, tilts back his chair, and tells you there aire exactly . twiantysseven law ■coujrts in *he cityff He informs ■are* 116 miles of railway line within the municipal limit, and that 100 passenger 'trains come land go each day. Knowing that you write for the newspapers he asks now many have you seen of the six daily papers, forty-nine weeklies, twenty fwtmightly, ssventy-tsix monthly, and eight quarterlies in Toronto. He booms at you that the assessment value •of buildings in Toronto as over £12,000,----000; and that new buildings to the value of £750,000 went up last year! He tasks you what you think of it all? A SMART MAGISTRATE. I had a seat on the bench one morning alongside Colonel. Dsnison, the magistrate. He is a good typo of the breezy, unconventional Canadian soldier. .He called out the names of the prisoners himself, and administered th© oaith him. self to save time. With some acquaintance of the slow formality of an English court, I was a little breathless at the slap-dash manner in which he disposed of forty cases in exactly forty minutes. There was .ho wed tapa. Th© colonel asked a question here and a question there, and "You'll go to prison for sixty days; send William Flannagan," he wound up. This was an assault case. A lavvyer asked for a remand. "Do you say the prisoner didn't commit the assault?" "Noj your honour; I don't say that, but- " "Well, ha can go to gaol for - fourteen days. Send up James Sandford." At the end of forty minutes I presumed to congratulate the colonel en his expedition. "But," I asked, "you you d<m't go as fast when you nave a point of law raised?" "I never allow a point of law to be raised. This is a court of justice, not a ooiart of law. Not so long ago a young attorney wanted to quote law against my sending his man down for six weeks. He wanted to quote Matthews, I think. 'Well,' said I, Matthews may be a great authority 'on law, but I guess he hasn't got as much, authority as I have in this court. Ybur man go-as down for six weeks!" "POLITICAL INFLUENCE." In Great Britain the tendency is for by-elections to go against the Government of the day. In Canada, the Government candidate is invariably returned at a by-election. The reason of the Canadian electors cs logical. If a supporter of the Opposition is oleoted, he will have mo "pull" on the Government to secure special advantages for his constituency. A supporter of the Government gets material aid from the "powers that be" in the way of grants for public buildings, bridges, roads, post offices, and a dozen things for the benefit of the local community. Thus the Government candidate has a double support — that of the electors who hopo for advantages, and the moneyed support of t'ho contractors, who expect him to use his influence getting Government jobs with a considerable morgin of profit. The local member has more personal influence with his Government that the representative of any British constituency, for the constituents have elected him, not because of a largo patriotism, but because of direct material gain, and the Government makes grants for improvements, knowing that is the best way to prepare for the general election, when tho member can point to deeds in proof that he has looked after the in. terests of his constituents. Thus the Government in power is difficult to turn out. Tho constituency has been "salted" with improvements. Money from tho big contractors is ihmg into the party war chest by tho million dollars; tho contractors benefit; the member often "stands in" with the contractor to get a share of the plunder, and the locality hn,s reaped advantage at the public expense. It is not a high grade of polities. Though the better type of Cnn-.-adian bemoans what takes place, ilia practice is ono which £.atlsfys the majority. LAX POLITICS. Only a short time ago the- case of the Minnie M. was revealed. This \v;is a vessel hired by tho Liberal party in Ontario, and carried a crowd of imported Americans. On th© election day the Minnio M. cruised in the Georgian Bay, |

where there wwe hundreds of lumbermen. Caro was taken, to plant the polling booths a long way from the lumber camps. The Minnie M. arrived at a place whore there was a polling booth. The hired Americans were then Canadian lumbermen who Had come along from particular camps to iiooord their votes. They all voted one way and ilnder names that ware given to them. They were taken on to another booth, and voted again under other ialia.sos. This took place half a dozen times, and the supporter of the liberal administration was returned. He has ftinoa been unseated. But the case, though extreme, is an indication of the laxity of morality in Canadian politics. To suggest, however, that every man in Canadian politics haa dirty hands is to do an injustice to a number of honourable men. It has been my fortune to meet politicians of ©very sliade of imputation, from Sir Wilfred Laurier down 'to; the member who has been prosscutcd for cattle-thieving. Though the ■majority. o'T politicians are of a lower status thian we have in England, I had the pleasure of making the acquaint/ant>9 of men with as clean records aany who ever sought the suffrages if a British constituency—men with lofty aims, Who will have nothing to do witn the bribery so prevalent in the Dominion. ' .

Many Government appointments wero vacant, and had been vacant for months "It is a wonder the Liberals didn't fill them with their friends before the dissolution," said I to a departmental head in Ottawa. He smiled at my British innooance. "My dear sir," said he. "they.have 'be^an left vacant purposely. There'are ten men after each appointment, and they will each work hard for the return of tho party, excepting the vacant office will be their reward. If the vacancies had been filled, one man would have been satisfied; but the party would -not have got the > support of the nine disappointed men."