The Republican journal., 1901-09-05
Royal Visits to Canada.

A hundred and fifty years have passed
since the visit of Prince William, who,
first of the royal family, saw the prov
inces in their formative stage. Then
the future of the country was doubtful
in the extreme. England's empire in
America had been broken by the de-
feat of CORVALLIS at Yorktown, and
not few European statesmen believed
that she was not able to maintain her
dominion for many years in the valley
of the st. Lawrence. The coming of
the Loyalists saved her in North Amer
lea, while the energy and enterprise of
her sons evidently surmOunted what
was only temporary check, and restor-
ed her to imperial greatness.
Now, in the beginning of the twenti-
eth century, another royal prince is
about to come to British North Amer
lea, which has developed in a hundred
year into federation with a terrific
rial domain almost equal to that of the
powerful republican nation which
sprung into existence in 1888. Dur!noa
this period the population of Canada
has increased from 1900 souls to up
ward of 5000, 900, the trade from $1O,-
100000 to s3sO,OOO,OOO; the revenue,
which was practically nothing, to over
$5O,OO0, 900, apart from the revenue of
the respective provinces, which must
largely increase the aggregate of the
public resources. Education of every
grade is ditfused far and wide: railways
span the country in every direction;
canals connect the great West with the
Atlantic seaboard; an elegant order of
architecture illustrates the growing
taste and wealth of the people; culture
is being more widely spread; and the
public legislation shows the capacity of
the public men for self-government
The people of every nationality within
the Dominion of Canada stand on the
same platform of equal rights. 1t is
this happy condition which has made it
possible for Sir Wilfred Laurier-a bril-
liant man of the race which occupied
position of inferiority in the days of
the Duke of Kent and evoked his deep
interest and sympathetic attain, with
the approval of all classes, creeds and
nationalities, the highest office in the
gift of the people, and to give emphatic
expression, in the case of the South
African war, to the determination of
Canadians to maintain the interests of
the Empire at all hazards.
Such questions OF taxation and such
ignorance of colonial conditions as pre-
cipitated an American revolution: such
blunders as aggravated the political
difficulties of Canada previously to the
concession of responsible government
these can never again occur under the
wise colonial system which was adopted
during the Victorian era, and which
gives full expansion to the political
aspirations of a self-governing people.
The relations between Great Britain
and her dependencies are now governed
by just such principles as were first
suggested by the sagacious Loyalist,
Governor Hutchinson, more than a
century ago, but which it took English
statesmen many years to understand
and carry out AS natural sequence
of correct understanding of the rela-
| tions that should exist between an i'm
| perial state and its dependencies,
Canada is now ready, like the colonies
of Australasia, in the hour of imperial
necessities, to contribute from taxes
raised by her own legislature adequate
means for the defence of that connec-
ton which was rudely broken in the
case of the Old Thirteen Colonies
through the failure Of statesmen on
both sides Of the Atlantic to understand
the basis on which colonial self-govern-
| ment should securely rest