The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-07-18
THE LIBERAL TRIUMPH IN CAN
ADA.
BY HENRY FORCE LEE.


The discrediting of the Tory min
istry in England through the failure
of the Education bill and it's bung-
ling in foreign affairs, finds a parallel
in Canada where after eighteen years
of power the Conservatives step down
and out and Wilfrid Laurier, a worthy
representative of liberalism, comes
to the front with new program and
new ideas.
. Never before in the history of Can
ada has there been hotter fight or
greater excitement in the country
over an election that in the recent
campaign which has ended in the
complete overthrow of the Conserva-
tive party. The two great issues
placed before the people in this ex-
citing contest were the maintenance
or modification of the protective
policy to which Canada has adhered
for nearly two decades, and the res
toration or refusal to the Catholic
minority in Manitoba of the separate
schools of which they were deprived
by the act of 1890 under the Green
way government.
On these issues party lines were
closely drawn and the crack of the
party whip furnished much of the
music of the campaign. The Con
servatives. under Sir Charles Tupper,
had grown arrogant from their long
lease of power, and their over-confi-
dence combined with the over-step-
ping of clerical province and dignity
on the part of the Catholic hierarchy
in their zeal on behalf of the Conser-
vative government, were great factors
in the Liberal triumph.
AS to the tariff, the enormous and
growing debt of Canada in itself is
sufficient surety that tariff for reve-
nue. will be sufficiently great not to
make much change, temporarily at
least. to the manufacturing class, es-
pecially, in connection with fresh raw
materials which will be consequent
upon the adoption of tariff reform.
For this reason many of the manu-
facturers, dissatisfied on other
grounds with the Conservative gov
ernment of Sir Charles Tupper, voted
for the young, eloquent and magnetic
statesman, Wilfrid Laurier, the new
Premier. The pressure of hard times,
which has affected Canada also as
we'll as other countries, doubtless
had much to do in the reversal of
Canada's traditional tariff policy and
the placing in power of new men
with new ideas. The Canadian farm
er has been struggling under an in
creasing burden of debt and mort
gage, and to such change is always
welcome as holding out at least a
chance of betterment under new
policies.
Mr.. Wilfrid Laurier's demand for
revenue tariff, preferential trade
with England, and reciprocity with
the United States, offered a platform
on which manufacturers and agri-
cultural classes alike found room to
stand, and under the new policy
Canada is now hopefully looking for
a great revival of her Anglo Canadi-
an as we'll as her American trade.
The other great issue, that of Cath
olic domination in Manitoba, exer-
cised perhaps even more influence
upon the great landslide in Canada
than the tariff question. The attempt
of the Tupper government to force
through remedial bill in accordance
with a finding of the Privy Council
in London aroused the people of
Manitoba, who looked upon the at
tempt at re-establishing of the
Catholic schools as coercive meas
ure affecting one of the most preci-
GUS of their rights. The Catholic
hierarchy of Quebec, also, made it.
self distinctly unpopular by its
mandement, read in the churches the
two Sundays preceding the election,
practically commanding all Catho-
lies to vote for the Conservative gov
eminent as upholding the great
Catholic principle in regard to
the public school question in Mani
toba.
But Notwithstanding this attempt
of the Catholic hierarchy to dominate
the judgment of Catholics, the Prov
ince of Quebec, overwhelmingly Ro-
man Catholic, gave Mr.. Laurier a
handsome majority, thereby rebuking
the attempt of the priests to compel
the faithful to vote for the conserva-
tives. The victory is thus a notable
one, as showing that even in Roman
Catholic stronghold the voters resent
AL. ,o..aaflu .nkarforanaa NTH &Lo.-