He might have explained that Canada has had a system of justice since
1837 never truckled to nor trafficked in, but he knew in his heart that
the loyalty was to a something deeper than that. He knew that many
republics--Switzerland, for instance--have as impartial a system of
justice. He might have descanted on the British North America Act
being to Canada what the Constitution is to the United States, only
more elastic, more susceptible to growth and changing conditions; but
he knew that the Constitution was what it was owing to this other
principle of which law and justice were but the visible formula. He
might easily have dilated on excellent features of the Canadian
parliamentary system different from the United States or Germany. For
instance, no party can hold office one day after it lacks the support
of a majority vote. It must resign reins to the other party, or go to
the country for re-election. Or he might have pointed to the very
excellent feature of Cabinet Ministers sitting in the House and being
directly responsible to Commons and Senate for the management of their
departments to the expenditure of a farthing. A Cabinet member who may
be quizzed to-day, to-morrow, every day in the week except Sunday, on
the management of affairs under him can never take refuge in ambiguous
silence or behind the skirts of his chief, as secretaries delinquent
have frequently taken refuge behind the spotless reputation of a
too-confiding President. But the Canadian explained none of these
things. He knew that these things were only the outward and visible
formula of the principle to which he was loyal.
III
A few years ago the mistake would have been impossible; for there was,
up to 1900, practically no movement of settlers from the British Isles
to Canada; but to-day with an enormous in-rush of British colonists to
the Dominion, a superficial observer might ascribe the loyalty to the
ties of blood--to the fact that between 1900 and 1911, 685,067 British
colonists flocked to Canada. Not counting colossal investments of
British capital, there are to-day easily a million Britishers living on
and drawing their sustenance from the soil of Canada. And yet, however
unpalatable and ungracious the fact may be to Englishmen, the ties of
blood have little to do with the bond that holds Canada to England.
This statement will arouse protest from a certain section of Canadians;
but those same Canadians know there are hundreds--yes, thousands--of
mercantile houses in the Dominion where employers practically put up
the sign--"No Englishman need apply."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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