Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1902-11-06

would seek annexation. That policy had
mot with utter failure. And the persist
cnt refusal of the United States to grant
Il fair measure of trade reciprocity had
only dccpcncd the feeling of Canadians
that. after all, their true policy was to
get along without the American market
and seek closer commercial relations
abroad. while STRENGTHENING their already
existing tond with Great Britain.
Not the least interesting statement made
by this person was that the intellectual
and literary influence of the United States
upon Canada Is now much less than it was
even 50 years ago-and il should be said
that no one in CANADA is better able &c
speak on this phase of the question than
he. The sources Of Canada's intellectual
life, he declared, are increasingly British
and even European rather than American.
owing to the untavorable British postal
charges American magazines do much
better in Canada than the British maya
Zines. and there is moro or less cutlery
among the moro imperialistic Canadians
because that Is so. But only of tho maya
zines can this be said. The influence of
British books is certainly paramount in
the Dominion. Then, too, the Canada n
literary workers who have gone to the
States have in late years transmitted back
home, with more and more force, the idea
that there ought to be on this continent
some system of government besides the
NV Flls anu lllhl lllt'ib h'C'l - ~
survive as = political entity distinct from
tho republican giant to the south.
Finally, this Canadian scholar, student
and observer was asked how he %rcconclled
n growing spirit of scparatism between TN
United states and Canada with the vast
amount of talk in England and America
concerning Anrlo-SaXon unity. and the re-
union, in sentiment at least, of Great Brit
ain and the republic. For Canada is a
Part of the British empire. and there is
an obvious contradiction between an An
Slo-American love feast and a GOODNESS
lot Wcen the noighhors on this continent.
This question brought ont the immediate
answer that Guardians take no stock in
the alleged growing friendship between
| England and the United States. They re-
gard the tplk of thu past few years of an
Anglo-An'cricnn reunion as nonsense 1t
may 10 stated right here. moreover, that
in another quarter your correspondent
was told frankly that to the most imper-
ialistic of COMMUNICATIONS who have been
more English than the Gin these many
Nears-th" whole 81, ctncle oil the 'coquet-
ting with America by the British press
and by I'ritish statesmen has been very
distastoful They hold that the United
States is implacably anti-British at heart,
and will remain so. aud therefore. they
arc piJu"d-somcwhat after the manner
of the elder brother in the Bible parable
OF tho prodigal son-hy any exhibition Of
warmth bet Wocn the United states and
the country that is really the Common an
cestor of both Massachusetts and Ontario.
Absurd as this feeling may he-and it Is
not here asserted that 1t exists outside 4
rather select and limited Circle-the feel
inc is still a form of evidence tending &c
SHOW that the relations between the Uni
ted states and arada arc not what they
should be. ON the one hand. there are
americans who let their pr"judices against
tho I3citiSb ernnira Cp1pr and in flpDrp al
their ideas of the attitude which the Uni
ted states should maintain toward eXclu-
SiVelv Canadian questions: on the other
arc these ultra-Rritish Canadians who
would discourage any tendency of Eng.
laud and America to draw nearer to-
gcthcr.
rho feeling here in certain quarters
against closer relations with the United
states is so strong that a Canadian bust
ness man told mo that he was opposed tc
reciprocity not because 1t might iniure his
business. but because it might lead to pc
litical union. And this candle avowal from
n Canadi, N conservative was indeed al
illumination of the situation, in so far as
the situation is controlled by the strongly
imperialistic portion of the population
md it WIS an avowal that made the ole
time policy Of the American anneXationist
who hoped to compel Canada to seek pc
litical union by excluding her from tht
American market, appear ridiculous.
Such. in q general way. is the public
feeling of Canada at the present day. The
liberals, who have always been favorable
to commercial freedom between the two
ueiGhloriuG countries. are largely without
hone. Mr.. Tarte's bold advocacy OF q
high and oven rotaliatory tariff on Ameri
can MANUFACTURED may at least be regard
ed as u sion of the rising public opinion
against America. Not !" per cent of Cana
dians. says a keen obsorlc or, now muct
care whether they have closer trade rela
'iors or not. The liberals themselves fee
strongly that they can now get alonl
without any faVors from Washington; anC
they are sure that they will not ask fol
any more.
The present tendency. then. hetweer
these adjoining countries Is one Of diver
pence To those who peer into the futur,
tho conditions cannot be satisfactory fol
Canada is sure to grow in size and power
and the people Of the United States ar
not unlikely to become jealous of a grow,
ing noighhor on their northern frontier a:
soon as they wake M to tho fact that tn
vast potentialitV of the Dominion is ne
ginning to he realized in her actual de
"olopmont. Then beware of international
rIarrels and even wars. Golden once
wrote to a friend that 1.-THE only scriou!
danger of a quarrel betwoen the United
states and Canada arose from the Conne
lion Of Canad to England. But the con
ditions have changed since Cobdcn's day
The only serious danger of a quarrel
between the United States and Englan'
bow arises from England's tie to Canada
Clearly we are passing through a crisi
in the relations betWcen the two countries
and every effort should he made to insur,
n future in which Canada and the United
States will exist side by side in the fullcs
amity and pence.