Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-07-22
The War With Canada Grows Warm

lie kTcdL IICd, the Nell-klOWI
and brilliant correspondent of the To.
rOnto NetUs, rises up to O height Ol
wrath which is almost sublime over the
Epquirer's' treatment of the Canadian
question. Here is the gist of his phil
ippic:
hWar with Canada, forsooth! Let me
tell this brawler a couple of plain
truths. We Canadians may quarrel
among ourselves, we may object to Ger.
tain matters In our form of Govern
ment; we may evidently reach after
political manhood and expatriation
from political tutelage; we may ask for
independence from England and the
Imperial Parliament; but when it comes
to question of foreign Intervention, OF
foreign invasion, of foreign aggression,
of foreign bullying, to use plain term,
Canadians are Canadians with all that
the name implies. They talk of grab
bing' Canada as thing to be done some
talked Of subduing the rebel States.
There it was three millions against thir-
ty millions, one man to ten, but if ii
took years of time and an awful expen-
diture of life to accomplish just pur-
pose. Here it would be five millions
against fifty millions, again one to ten,
but ten would have an unholy cause,
and Canada can place in the field 500,-
600 men able to bear arms, yes, and
able to hold their own against any force
that the United States could send
against us. There are in the United
States to-day half million Canadians
who, at such an emergency would stand
up to protect the land that gave them
birth. Gath may be dead sure that
when it comes to trouble with Canada,
it will not be in the Mexican language,
nor will it be after the Mexican fashion
of doing battle. Hard blows she may
expect, blows dealt with a purpose. II
any considerable portion of the Ameri-
can people believe, as the Enquirer says
they believe, they may rest assured of
this, that every foot of land they con-
quer in Canada will not be obtained un-
til after 1t has been soaked sodden with
the hearts blood of the best citizens of
the Republic, and that, too, after their
whole frontier has been laid desolate
and in ashes"
Commenting upon the foregoing, the
Montreal Star, always cool and philo-
sophie, says:
"It is fortunate that this war is con-
fined to the newspaper Offices, and the
great majority Of the people of both
countries can afford to smile. Canada's
friendliness to the United States is evil
denced by the fact that on all great
public occasions in the United States
the Stars and Stripes are given a
V1En
poles, and even in our own celebrations
the American flag often waves side by
side with the tricolor and the Union
Jack. But 'Pica' is quite right in say
ing that if the Dominion were menaced
by foreign foe all our pretty sectional
chickering's would cease, and the people
from the Atlantic to the Pacific would
unite in defense of Canada. But there
is no probability that Canadian patriot
ism will ever be called out in this way.
The Americans annually sell Canadians
about $50, 900, 900 worth of goods, while
Canada sends back about $4,000, 900
worth of goods. The Americans are a
commercial, not martial people, and
it is manifestlv in their interest that
peace between the two countries should
be preserved. Still, there is no harm
in noting that country on the de-
fensive always has the advantage of an
aggressive nation in war, and in many
ways Canada would be in much bet
ter position to wage war than the
Southern States were. We have a
regularly organized Government with
good credit abroad, and could mo doubt,
raise all the money necessary to carry
on a protracted war even without
heavily taxing the people Immediately.
The Southern States were not an inde-
pendent country. They had no
regularly organized customs system for
the raising of revenue, and no natural
defenees. No part of the world is so
we'll provided with natuaal defenses as
Canada. Quebec commands the st.
Lawrence. All the great canals con-
Meeting the great inland lakes are in
Canada, and both the Atlantic and Pa
cific coasts of Canada are admirably
adapted by nature for easy fortification.
Nature has been very kind to Canada
in this respect. The conquest of Canada
would not be an easy undertaking."
There is much in all this that is
amusing. The declaration of the Star,
for example, that "the Americans are a
commercial and not a martial people" }"
and its argument that it was easy to
whip the Southern Confederacy
because it was not an Independent ma.
tion, and had no revenue and no nation.
al defenses. All this is in the nature Of
a sublime joke. No nation that has evel
lived save the United States of America
not even Rome in the greatest power
put such troops in the field and fought
them so grandly as did the "Confeder.
ate States of America" They had
Great Britain and France to back them
They had thousands of millions of mon
ey. Their material forces, their Eu
ropean backing, and their financial sup
plies were as much greater than any
thing which Canada could command as
the Bank of England is greater than an
ordinary faro bank. Canada's yearly
income is less than $4,000, 900. Fol
four years the expenditure of the
Southern Confederacy" was not less
than one thousand millions per annum
and the numeral strength of hel
armies held about the same ratio to any
thing which Canada could put into the
field. And, mind you, the Southern
Confederacy" has passed away. The
North and the South are once more
united, and are in perfect unison against
foreign aggression. 1t is simply ludi'
crous to raise q question of power
against us. The only question to be
considered is that Of right.
|. Nothing in the future of nations is
more certain than that the United
States will absorb Canada; and nothing
is more certain than that she will have
to do some fighting in the process
though the fight will be more against
Great Britain than against the DOmin.