Evening star., 1942-07-12
Rift in Cunudu

The unpleasantly expected has
happened in Canada. On the second
reading OF the bill on total" con-
sc-iption before the House of Com
mons, the French-speaking members
from Quebec bolted their party
almost unanimously and voted
against the measure in defiant iso-
lation from the rest of the House,
which supported the bill regardless
OF party lines. In parliamentary pro-
cedure, the second reading Of bill
is normally its decisive stage. The
third reading is usually mere
formality before the bill is passed
and becomes law. Thus, in this
crucial test, the Province of Quebec
stood solidly against the rest of
Canada
This persistent rift in the political
life of our northern neighbor is the
more noteworthy because of the
solicitude shown by the government
toward Quebec and it's overWhelm-
ingly French-speaking population.
In the last war, when Quebec famed
into virtual rebellion on the same
issue, conscription was tactlessly i'm
posed upon the province by a Con-
servative government representing
English-speaking Canadians. This
time, the Liberal party is in power,
and the French element has tradi-
tionally been among its stanchest
supporters. Prime Minister Mac
kenzie King has consistently tried
to harmonic the two elements. His
policy in the present issue is, as he
himself puts it, mot necessarily
conscription, but conscription if nee
essary" Before even introducing the
measure in Parliament, the govern
ment held nationwide plebiscite
toward the end of April to find out
how voters felt on giving the gov
ernment power to draft men for
overseas duty by executive order if,
In its judgment, the necessity should
arise. The Canadian electorate as a
whole voted "yes" by nearly "a per
cent, whereas Quebec voted mo" by
72 per cent. That meant an enor-
nous Eyes" majority in the English
speaking provinces.
The extent of -conscription
feeling in Quebec disclosed by the
plebiscite apparently took the gov
ernment by surprise. During the
preliminary campaign, several prom
inent French-speaking leaders had
supported the proposal and urged its
acceptance by Quebec voters. Most
of those leaders, however, consid-
cred themselves bound by the verdict
of their constituents and thence
forth opposed it. On the other hand,
the English speaking element of all
parties tended to demand that the
government confirm the national
will, regardless of the Quebec minor
ity. Strong feeling on both SIDES
has been aroused during the past
two months, and delicate handling is
needed to prevent the recurrence of
a situation like that in the last war.
Premier King continues to do
everything possible to avoid so un-
happy contingency. He empha-
sizes the fact that conscription for
overseas duty will probably not be
necessary so long as enough recruits
. are obtained by voluntary enlist
ment. It should be understood that
Canada already has CONSUMPTION for
home service, so there are plenty of
trained men. Fortunately, Quebec
does not object to home-servi con-
scription, and thus far it has fur
nished its proportional quota of re-
cruits for overseas duty.
But the exigencies of war are
making ever sterner demands upon
Canada's manpoWer The Dominion
has total population of less than
$4,000, 900, and already larger pro-
portion of its males are under arms
than in the United States. Indeed,
the government is considering law
similar to that in Britain, whereby
men and women can alike be mobi-
li5ed for whatever form of national
service the government deems them
best fitted, This larger issue of total
conscription unGerlies the present
controversy, coupled with a correla-
tive "conscription of wealth" equally
drastic in character. All this reveals
Canadas hardening resolve to let
nothing stand in the way of its war
effort. Against that stern national
will, no sectional opposition can long
prevail.