Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-12-16

|
that England is straining her own re-
sources beyond tho safety limit W
maintain her policy OF navy equA'
to those Of any other two powers anu
she must perforce call upon the other
members Of the imperial househoio 10
| assist. A half dozen war ships can
adian built, would relieve the home
| government by so much from the con-
slant drain involved In matching the
dreaded German dreadnoughts
This brings us to tho very nub
long can Great Britain sford that
protection to Canada and India ana
the other great regions tributary TO
the British crown, which she has
vouchsafed in the past? The great
constitutional crisis precipitated by
the House of Lords in connection with
a budget, which proposed to tax ac-
cumulated wealth and the sp'rituous
liquor trades specially TO meet an en-
ormous deficit Is direct outcome
of the Asquith governments expensive
and exhausting naval policy.
| II England has reached the point
Of desperation thus early In her naval
Marathon with Germany. with the
Kaiser's new policy OF naval expan-
sion only fairly launched. how can she
consistently and reasonably expect to
continue the rivalry In naval waste
indefinitely?
II England takes the position that
| the endurance OF her integrity as
power depends absolutely on the main
tenance OF her position as queen Of
the sea. she admits that when the
| palm passes to another nation, then
may come the dissolvins OF the Brit
ish power into Its natural elements.
with the loss OF Canada. Australia and
India which are ready to become
great nations in and of themselves.
| At the present rate. the end of the
| first quarter Of the twentieth century
will see Great Britain distanced by
iermany or practically impoverished
unless Canada and Australia and the
rest of the British dependencies in
turn are willing to enter upon vast
scheme OF naval armament. not for
| their own prestige or defence but for
the maintenance of the British govern
ment as power at frequent odds with
another European power
| The time will surely come when
this unnatural strain will break the
to the British crown The policy of
Canadian ships for Great Britain's
navy, for example. once launched
must go on increasing until the bur-
den becomes as impoverishing for the
Dominion as 1t is at present for the
home government. There is no mid
die ground at which such course.
, can stop. either logically or loyalty
| With this analysis of the situation
we are prepared to understand the
position taken by Goodwin Smith. in
his reply to the speech made recently
before the Canadian club in New York
by Judge Riddle in the course OF
which IT was stated that annexation
| sentiment was dead and that there
of IT, the reference clearly being TO
Professor Smith. In letter from
Toronto to THE Kingston Daily Stan
dard," newspaper which Goodwin
Smith has lately used as n medium in
Canada of expressing his views, DIR.
Smith says
st seems that have been repre-
scented as advocating annexation
Let me assure YOU that have stu
diously avoided the use OF term
which implies submission on the part
| OF Canada to the power OF the United
States. That which I think seems the
dictate Of nature. and likely as such
to come to pass Is the voluntary un-
ion OF the two great English speaking
| communities on this continent for
their mutual benefit and security. So
c!al fusion seems to be already pretty
complete"
With thousands OF Americans mi
grating to the Canadian Northwest and
other thousands Of Canadians coming
from the provinces of Ontario and
Quebec to New England and other
parts of the United States, influences
are plainly at work, creating more
and more a community OF interest he
test against a vast naval burden for
the benefit Of a prestige wholly Euro
pean will become formidable. IL not
overwhe Ginning but are also paving
the way for tho existence Of two
great and friendly nations side
by side. whose interests will eventu-
ally become one. whether the two re-
main separate or coalesce. as predict
tween the two peoples. The forces
thus In operation are not only hasten
ing the time when the Canadian pro-
cd by Goodwin Smith.
Foreign encroachment or tho dan
ger thereof might strike the spark
which would eventually weld indie
pendent Canada and the United States
into ono great people. impregnable In
their magnificent isolation and with
no need OF further armament except
AGAINST an improhable foe from be-