NU RES

believe that a very large part of Ontario considers that Quehee has been badly treated and badly led, and that its heart is sound. It never was worse led than when its favoured and gifted son at Ottawa took his present stand.

Pray convey my greetings to M: ... (25) and with renewed thanks for your pamphlet believe me

Yours very sincerely, GEORGE M. WRroNG.

Du SUPÉRIEUR D'UN COLLÈGE CLASSIQUE DE CETTE PROVINCE

Vous avez accompli un grand devoir. Soyez en heureux. Votre brochure force au calme et à la réflexion. J'ai l'impression qu'elle ne produira que du bien. Cordiales félicitations.

A" B:,:ptre:

débat et donne à l'attitude du successeur de. M. Blake un sens qu’elle ne me paraît pas avoir, du moins à ce degré de rigueur. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, tout en combattant le projet de loi de la conscription n’a pas dit qu'il fallait cesser d'envoyer de l’aide aux troupes qui sont en France ; n'est-il pas clair au contraire, à la lecture de ses discours, que, chef du gouvernement demain, il s'empresserait d’y envoyer des renforts? Le débat entre lui et M. Borden ne porte donc, à mon sens, que sur le moyen à prendre pour lever de nouvelles troupes. Et si la conscription est le seul mode efficace de recrutement ? Alors, on sait la dernière démarche du M. Laurier : ne vient-il pas de se déclarer satisfait du vœu exprimé par la Convention de Winnipeg et qui est de poursuivre la guerre et de maintenir telle quelle notre participation par tous les moyens hécessaires ? Et M. Laurier n'a pas attendu ce vœu de l’Ouest pour demander à ses compatriotes de respecter la loi votée, cette même loi de conscription dont il a combattu le projet. Tout cela est très significat'f; et Je cro's devoir l'indiquer, non pas pour venir au secours de M. Laurier — dont il serait plaisant, après ce que j'ai écrit et ce que je réimprime sans y rien changer, de me constituer le défenseur — mais parce que dans cette phrase : ‘* 1 know that you feel as 1 do about this”, M. Wrong fait entendre que, pour moi aussi, M. Borden est héraut de l'honneur national et M. Laurier sonneur de la retraite. Puisque tel n’est pas mon sentiment, sur le rôle respectif que jouent M. Borden et M. Laurier, il devenait nécessaire de le dire.

(25) Ici, le nom d’un magistrat qui m'avait suggéré d'adresser à son ami M. Wrong un exemplaire de mon ouvrage.

TS © D'un CANADIEN-Écossais, (26)

, list August, 1917.

Dear Mr. Roy,

Ï have just come back from a short holiday and find your most interesting pamphlet on the question of Conscription. It was very good indeed of you to think of sending me a copy and it has given me great pleasure to read your admirable expression of this thorny question.

I think that one great bar to the understanding of the French Canadian point of view by the English Canadian is the failure of the latter to realize how deeply nationalism enters into the life of the French Canadian. The idea of nationalism does not enter into the education of the English people at all in Canada I think. I have never heard of any English Canadian boy being told that he must keep ‘his national characteristics. The whole question of the preservation of the national existence is treated with indifference.

The result is that it is extremely difficult for an English Canadian to realize the feelings of a French Canadian on the question of nationalism and I believe this the cause of the many misunderstandings that so aften come up on the subject. If the English Canadian could realize how profoundly nationalism enters into the life of the French Canadian and what it means to him, he would probably be more tolerant, — but the feelings of the French Canadians are not realized.

In any case there 1s no use discussing this point. The main thing is that in this present juncture we are confronted with the possibility of a revival of the feeling that arose many years ago and which resulted in practically dividing the country into two hostile camps—could anything be more deplorable(?

(26) L'auteur de cette lettre, quoique très connu, tient à ne pas sortir de la réserve qui lui est habituelle. Il est très représentatif du plus influent et du meilleur élément anglais dans notre province. Il n’est pas du tout politicien. Né en Ecosse, il habite le Canada depuis quelque vingt-cinq ans. Son fils est au front.

Alter the War, if the 400,000 or 500,000, soldiers who have been at the Front should be repatriated they may possibly come back with all sorts of feelings about the men who have not gone, and while there are endless English Canadians who have not gone to the Front, their slackness will be forgotten and the great brunt of the criticism will be directed at the French Canadians. This is partly due to the fact that the English Canadians who have not gone have not said anything about it and have not argued against the advisability of going. They have merely not gone. In the case of prominent French Canadians who assume to themselves the right to represent the feelings of their countrymen on this vexed question, e. g. Bourassa and Lavergne, not only have they refused to go but they have made their refusal as conspicuons as possible.

The result is that 1 think it is largely not so much what the French Canadian has done, as what his self-appointed representatives have said that has been the cause of the feeling which has been aroused in the English Canadian mind. No doubt some peaceful means will be found out of the diffculty that exists, but it does not look pleasant at the moment.

I don't think that many English speaking Canadians realize how badly the French Canadians have been treated in connection with the War, in fact until I read your ‘“ Persécution anglaise ”, [1 did not quite realize how much there was to be said for the French Canadian’s point of view and it grieved me to realize how keenly the people of this Province must have felt. On the other hand it seems to me that you are quite right in saying that in the present crisis it is useless to argue what should have been done two or three years ago. The only thing now to do is to do what is best to win the War.

For me it is impossible to find out what people think outside my own limited circle and it is very difficult to know what the general feeling is. One can only hope that the common sense of our people will reassert itself and that some modus vivendi will be discovered by which we shall be spared a re-opening of the old sores between the races.

In any case Ï want again to thank you for your pamphlet.

Lu RTE

It is an admirable contribution to a great question, and such contributions as this help people to really consider and discuss the question.

With kindest regards, Yours sincerely,