The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-08-26
GoLDw1N smIrH on CANADA.

Mr.. Goodwin Smith again comes to the
front with the announcement that Canada
is doomed to commercial atrophy, so long
as she maintains her present relations with
the mother country, instead of uniting with
the United States. There is undoubtedly a
good deal Of truth in this, but the difficulty
is to convince the Canadians that they
would benefit by a change.
Forty years ago a movement in favor of
Canadian annexation to the United States
was started in what is now the Province of
Quebec. 1t was led by some of the most
eminent men of the day. among them the
late Sir John Rose, who was stripped of his
silk gown in consequence. But it came to
nothing. Subsequently, in the Province of
Ontario, similar movement was started
under still more promising auspices; some
of the most substantial men in the Province
openly insisted on the severance of the CO.
lonial tie, in order to pave the way for an
nexation. But ii, too, died out before it
had time to become a live political issue.
Later on, some fifteen years ago, before the
building of the Canadian Pacific, the people
of British Columbia were overwhelmingly
in favO Of annexation; the railroad had to
be built to pacify them and keep them in
Allt DOullnlOu. Jun idlCl5 Onl1 luItc VI
four years ago, resolutions faYoring annex
alton to the United States passed the As
sembly Of Nova Scotia, and violent steps
were only averted by the presence of large
British feet in the harbor of Halifax. Yet.
in spite Of all these agtations, spread over
SO long period of time, and evidently per-
meating minds scattered over the whole
breadth Of a continent, it is exceedingly
doubtful whether vote Of the entire Can
adam people to-day would show majority
in favor of separation from Great Britain.
If Professor Goodwin Smith were as good
a politician as he is ripe scholar, he would
realize that men must be taken as they are,
not as they ought to be. To us Canada's
gain by annexation seems so obvious as not
to require demonstration. But if the Can
adams do not see the thing in the same
light. what is the use of talking about il?
1t is the most difficult thing in the world
TO remove national landmarks, except by
the sword. Men grow up with predictions
IN favor OF their home and the institutions
under which they live. and it is next to i'm
possible to change them. Orators and poets
preach what is called patriotism, which is
too often a concentrated form of provincial
ism; the patriot dies in maintaining rooted
abuses rather than admit that there is any,
thing good in his neighbor Twice within
the memory of the present generation
groups of small States have been fused into
powerful nations; but the work was of
such enormous difficulty that il required a
CavCur and a Bismarck to accomplish it,
and they would have failed if accident had.
not placed vast armies in their hand to
crush out opposition in case 1t reared its
head.
Canada, peopled by men of our race, our
Kin. our blood and our bone, inhabiting a re-
glon analogous to our territory and working
out destiny on the same lines as ours, would
almost certainly be more prosperous if it
formed several States of the Union instead
OF contributing colonial dependencies OF a
European power. But the Canadians make
no sign that they think so. They love the
old nag, the old institutions, the titles and
the paraphernalia of Old World life. They
take pride in constituting part-tboppb II
be very subordinate part-of the British
Empire. They cherish their old associa-
tiOns and their old memories of the times
when they bore the brunt Of English wars
And in contrast with this sentimental view
OF the subject the purely commercial view
commands neither respect nor attention.
Mankind is far oftener led by the heart
than by the head. 1t was midsummer mad
ness. from commercial point of view, for
the Southern States to secede, but secede
they did, and fought almost to the last drop
of their blood for secession. 1t is hardly to
be supposed that the Canadians would act
differently and subordinate their feelings to
practical yisw OF their political affiliations.