Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-20
POLITICS In CANADA.
By Frederic ]. Haskin.
X-THE LIBERAL PARTY.

The liberal party in Canada, which has
been continuously in power for fifteen
years. had its origin in the protest OF
Canadians of both English and French
ancestry against the privileged oligarchy
that held undisputed sway in British
North America until the rebellion of 1887
| During the fifteen years 1t has been
| in power the party has been controlled
| largely by considerations of eXpediency,
even to the extent that some of its ideals
may have been obscured. But notwith-
standing the wear and tear of practical
politics. the liberal party in Canada still
represents the democratic conception of
government as opposed to the aristocratic
conception held by the tories. In this re-
spect the Canadian liberals are close akin
to the English party of the same name.
The modern era of politics in the Eng
disappearing world lone might almost
include the entire occident dates from
the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo.
On that June day in 1915 war ceased to
be the chief function of government.
For perhaps a decade after the end of
the Napoleonic wars the western world
devoted itself exclusively to recoupng
its losses Then began a great struggle
between the democracy and the aristoc-
but for the control of the substance of
power. In 1898 the election of Andrew
Jackson as President of the United States
ended once for all the political aristoc-
racy which until that time had dominated
American politics, albeit sometimes in
democratic fashion.
In 1892 an indignant house of commons
forced William " to promise to create a
sufficient number of peers to pass the
reform BILL which eliminated corruption
in parliament and gave the English peo-
pie actual representative government.
The threat was sufficient to pass the
bill.
That democratic movement was felt in
Canada. In the English province of up
per Canada,
Reformers Overthrow now Ontario,
Clergy and Wealthy. r rn c ssoo
ed of wealthy families and the clergy of
the Church of England, dominated affairs
by means of what was known as the
family compact. Citizens who protested
against the rule of political privilege and
the dissenting Protestant churches united
to overthrow the upper Canadian aris-
tocracy. This party at the time took the
name of 'reformers'' and, until this day,
the liberal party in Ontario continues to
employ the terms liberal and re
former Interchangeable. One of the
early reformers boosted that his partisans
would continue to fight in the face of
seemingly overwhelming odds because
they possessed clear grit From this
chance remark the reformers were nick
named by their opponent .'grits.' The
reformers accepted the sobriquet and
therefore it happens that liberals in
Canada are called "grts' as conserva-
tives are called tories
The democratic movement of the second
and third decades Of the nineteenth CEN
fury was not confined to the Anglo-SaXon
world. The American colonies of Spain
threw off the European yoke and in the
twentieS and thirties Latin Europe was
convulsed by revolution after revolution.
This influence was strongly felt in the
French province of Quebec, where there
were two parties, one supporting the If
responsible aristocratic government then
in power and the other clamoring for
autonomy and responsible popular gov
eminent. In Quebec a conservative or
aristocrat partisan was called 'bleu.'
while radical democrat was dubbed a
rouge Thus in Quebec the people were
divided between the blues and the reds.
The democratic agitation In both upper
nifty to display its force at the ballot box.
finally resorted to force. The grits of
upper Canada, under the leadership Of
William Lyon Mackenzie and the reds
Louis Joseph Papineau, in the year 1897
resorted to armed rebellion against the
English crown There was some fighting
but the rebels were soon defeated and
order restored.
But the British authorities realized
Canada was
DyevnA ~ DAono
Is Self-Govenment. the protest Of
the Ontario tories and the Quebec blues.
system of responsible self-government
was devised and put into operation. The
conservatives claimed a compromise which
imposed property qualification upon the
suffrage. with the result that as soon as
government was established the
wealthicr tories who had fought against
il came into power
From the beginning of responsible gov
eminent in the fourth decade of the last
century reformers and reds began to CO.
operate in the interest of manhood suf-
frage. that being their only hope of poe
litical success. we'll as being a cardinal
democratic doctrine. First upper and
lower Canada were united. then a general
union planned and in 1887 the
Dominion of Canada was formed. the fed
Grafton including the four provinces of
Ontario Quebec Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick. British Columbia came i'm
in 1871, Prince Edward Island in 49,; and
tho provinces of Manitoba. Alberta and
Saskatchewan We're long afterward Gre
ated out of territory acquired from tho
Hudson BAY Company.
When federation was actually accom-
plshed. the plan was so largely that of
Sir John Macdonald the leader of the
tories that many liberals were either
opposed or gave only lukewarm support
to the federation, Wrich, by the way.
was accomplished not by a vote of the
people but by an act of the British
parliament, passed in response to a re-
quest of the provincial governments.
In the first election the liberals were