The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-05-19
Old World Gossip
BY la MARoUIsE DE FoNTENoY.


a LTlIoUGii not strictly speaking
~ members Of the foreign diplo-
matte corps III London there are
no representatives Of other govern
monts that occupy there so influential
a position, or who enjoy so much pres
tirc and favor in the eyes of the pub
lie, as the high commissioners. or picni-
potcntiarics of Canada ana Of Aus
tralia. They loom more largely In the
public eye than any foreign ambaa
sador, and are popularity supposed To
hc included in the innormoSt councils
of the empire. and 20 be initiated i'm all
tho state secrets Of the Cabinet in
Downing Street /; Is no cNaEEcration
TO state that their word carries more
weight with the administration of the
day IN England than that az the envoy
of amy foreign power. Sir George
Reid. the High Commissioner for tho
Commonwealth of Australia and its
representative on the banks og the
Thames. Is one OF the most popular zig
urcs In the United Kingdom, where the
ministers and the people alike lend Il
willing ear TO his views. Lord Strath-
coma. to whom Canada owes so much
of her phenomenal development. died
last winter. and thus far il has been
difficult to discover the right Kind of
man TO act as his SUCCESSOR i'm The
high commissionorShip OF Canada, in
London.
Premier Borden, with whom the
choice rests. is said to have his eyes
on George II. pcrlcy, who. though Il
Canadian citizen, is a native Of the
United states. hallinc from Lebanon. In
New HAMPSHIRE, and who received his
education at -. rstul's School. at Con-
cord, ana at Harvard University An
American, therefore. ny birth and by
training. he has had an extensive eX-
pciicuCc OF public affairs in Canada,
where. since 1910. he has been The
yi,f.f NVhip of hY
the House OF Commons at ottawa He
has been the principal lieutenant OF
rrcmicr Borden. and rs possessed of
large fortune, acquired mainly in the
lumber trade and In Canadian rail
roads. But. while his name is Z, famil-
lar one in the Dominion, and even
on the American side Of the Canadian
border. IL is almost wholly unknown.
IN England. and Will carry but little
weight there OH that account.
Prime Minister Borden might ac-
cordmg 10 English ideas 20 further
and fare worse than by appointing his
greatest political adversary, Sir VII
I frd Laurier. To the post of Canadian
high commissioner. Sir Wilfrid has an
immense reputation throughout the
british empire. particularly In the
! United Kingdom. since the death OF
the late Sir John Macdonald and Of
Lord StrathCoua he has been regard
ed as the most eminent statesman Of
the Dominion. and there is no doubt
but what his name would carry more
weight In the councils OF the govern
mcut in Downing street and White
hall. as well as with the vast masses
of tho English public. than Mr Perley.
or any one else.
The former Liberal Prime Minister Of
the Dominion j. the most commandint,
figure in Canadian politics. in the eyes
az people on tho other side of the At
lRntic and there Is no doubt but that
there is no one who could speak with
so much authority IN London on the
subject Of Cauada's interest. It Is por-
fcctly true that Sir Wilfrid represents
nrd leads a political party which IS
diametrically opposed 10 that of Pre-
micr Borden. hut hc has more than
once expressed his wish for closer in
icrcOursc between ottawa and West
Minister. and his readiness to think ana
act impevially, that IS TO say. with a
due regard to the unity and 10 the
power Of the empire, in connection
with the relations between Canada and
the mother country. If Sir Wilfrid
could rise above considerations of mere
party politics in Canada, and agree to