MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE, G.CM.G

Downing Street, February 24, 1885.

My Lord,

On the 19th instant I briefly acknowledged by telegraph the offers made by Canadien officers, with the sanction of the Dominion Government, to supply troops for military service in Egypt, and I hâve now great pleasure in assuring you that the Qucen was much gratified by thèse loyal proposais, and has comrnanded me to express Her Majesty's high appréciation of the patriotic spirit by which they were prompted.

Her Majesty's Government are well aware that a contingent spccially enrolled from the various local battalions of the Dominion, and comrnanded by such officers as Major Laurie and Colonel Williams, will, should circumstances admit of its employment in the présent opérations, form a very valuable addition to the forces under Lord Wolseley's command ; and although they are not in a position to give directions for its immédiate enrolment, they will inform you as soon as possible whether it will be in their power to avail themselves of a Canadien brigade at a later period of the ycar.

I am well aware that although Canada has fortunately had no occasion, and is not likely to hâve occasion, owing to the friendly feelings of its great neighbour and its distance from the complication of the old world, to use its military resources, a powerful force could rapidly be raised in the various Provinces of the Dominion, and would be cheerfully placed at the disposai of the Queen for service beyond the sea in any exigency. Many thousands of thèse men hâve been well drilled, and excellent provision has been made for the éducation of their officers, and Her Majesty's Government are sensible that the spirited offers which hâve caused so much pleasure to

tins country represent but a small fraction of the assistance which would be readily tendered by the people of Canada if the necessity for it should arise.

I hâve, &c,

(Signed) DERBY.

The Marquis of Lansdownc.

Discours de Sir A. Campbell à Londres (*)

(Extraits)

SIR ALEX AND ER CAMPBELL : In Canada, as everybody knows, we were sepa-

rate Colonies until the year 1867. Of those separate Colonies, Canada proper, Old Canada, consisting of the présent provinces of Québec and Ontario, was by far the most important, its population being larger than that of the rest put together. So that th« responsibility of the position which we were about to take devolved more upon the Canadian Government (of which I was then a member) than upon the Governments of the smaller provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island; and we thought it was very désirable that we should send a deputation to England to confer with the then authorities hère, and to ascertain exactly what was expected of us iD référence to defence, and what we should then submit to the other Colonies with whom we were at the time discussing the subject of fédération. An interview was held hère between members of the then Government of Canada, including Sir John Macdonald (who is the Premier there now) and I believe the then War Office authorities, and I think the Prime Minister, and the Secretary of State for the Colonies for the time being. The resuit was this : — The Impérial Government had previously given us notice of their intention to withdraw from the Colony Her Majesty's troops, and they declared their resolution to carry that out. The Government hère agreed to undertake the naval defence of Canada, the Canadian authorities undertaking the land defence of the Colony. Upon that basis the Confédération of ail the Provinces was formed, viz, : that Her Majesty's treeps were to be withdrawn (the withdrawal was then in course of being carried out), and that the local anthority were only to undertake the land defences. That was kindly done gradually by Her Majesty's Government, in such a way as to create th» least difficulty to us in the Colony. The only soldiers in Her Majesty's pay now in Canada are in the Garrison at Halifax; there is a garrison there maintained for Impérial purposes, more in connection with the North American Squadron and the supply of the dépôts and so on than for any othrr reason, — at ail events, not for any reason connected with the defence of Canada; and no expenditure whatever now takes place by the Crown in Canada beyond that garrison; so that ail burden upon Gréai Britain, ail burden upon the people hère, has long since been discontinued in Canada. -

We hâve not only readily, but I may say cheerfully, endeavoured to live up to the responsibilities which we hâve undertaken with référence to the land defences. Unfortunately our means hâve not always been as great as our disposition was willing, but we hâve done fairly well. We hâve maintained a fair amount of MUitia force, moderately drilled, insufficiently drilled, no doubt, and open to many difficultés in that direction, but still drilled, and ready for service. We hâve spent a very large amount of money upon the military defence of the country.

At the time that I speak of, or shortly afterwards, our authorities hère thought — very wisely — that it was désirable to mention some amount which we would spend yearly in the land defences of Canada. The amount was put down at $1.000,000; that would be 200,000 1. That amount we undertook to expend annually in the land defences of the country; and I désire to show to my brother Colonists, and also to the Impérial Governement, that this amount of money we hâve spent, and more than spent, in the land defences of the country.

I obtained, before I left Canada, the last return of the Department of Militia and Defence, a department which was organized after the conférence of which I hâve spoken with the authorities hère, and after we had undertaken that the confédération should

(1) Proceedings of the Colonial Conférence, 1887, [5091] — Vol. I, page 271 et suiv.

reat upon the basis of our maintainin? the land defence*. The first step that m takcn was to establish a Department of Militia and Defence, which I daresay the other Colonies hâve cstablished also. Wc thought that the first step should be towards organization and we established that Department, and we undertook to expent at least ?1,000,000 in the military defences of the country.

The PRESIDENT ISir Henry HOLLAND. Colonial Secretaryl : — Ineludinfl th. .Mi litia?

SIR ALEXANDER CAMPBELL : — Yes, including the Militia; chiefly the Militia. 1 hâve brought with me the officiai statement of the Department, to show that that has been done; and as I say to my friends from the various Colonies, and to you, Sir Henry, we did it not only readily, but cheerfully; we were very glad to do it. Wc made that stipulation with the authorities, and we désire to carry it out.

This confédération took place in 1867, and there was a good denl of correspondence aud difficulty and delay, so that we did not commence to spend money in carrying out our agreement till the year 1872.

I ought to mention also that Her Majesty's Government very handsomely offered to .us their Ordonnance lands in Canada, which were of considérable area and considérable value, and which I hâve no doubt cost the Crown a great deal more than any value that could be obtaincd for them now

With those lands we embarked in the defence of the country, with the agreement that we were to spend at least a million dollars a year. In 1872, which was the first year that we began to spend money under that head, we spent, in round numbers, #1,670,000; in 1873 we spent $1,406,000; in 1874, $1,121,000; in 1875, $1.194,000; in 1876, $1,136,000; in 1877, for ordinary expenditure, $580,000; for construction and Improvements, $33,000 ; and for maintenance and 'repairs, $12,000. The amount for construction, repairs, and improvements appears in eaoli year. In 1878 we spent $717,000; in 1879, $890,000; in 1880, $782,000; in 1881, $738,000; in 1882, $846,000; in 1883, $824,000; in 1884, $1,189,000; in 1885, which was the year when the expenditure connected with the defence began, we spent $2,826,000; and in 1886 we spent $4,182,000. Those last two years were affected by the rébellion. So that we hâve lived very fully ap to our agreement......

The resuit of that has been that we hâve now in Canada, in addition to an active Militia force of 36,000 men, one troop of cavalry, two batteries of artillery, three companies of infantry and one company of mounted infantry. We hâve a military police force in the northwest, which is now cavalry, but which is being converted inte mounted infantry, consisting of a thousand men, with the officers. For this we hâve spent as follows:— For the year ending 30th June, 1877, $352,749.05; 1878, $334,748.50 ; 1879, $344,823,77; 1880, $332,855,12; 1881, $289,845,23; 1882, $368,456,47; 1883, $477,825,45; 1884, $4S5,983,66; 1885, $564,249,64; 1886, $1,354,694,19; Total, $4,906,231,08

Those are the préparations which I was anxious to state to the Conférence hâve been made in Canada for the purposes of land defence. Those are the military préparations. You ail know also that we bave made what we consider may be used as other préparations. We hâve constructed at enormous expense the Canadian Pacific Railway. By menus of that railway, and by means of the Intercolonial Railway, which was constructed NOM years ago under the management of my friend Mr. Fleming, we hâve extended the possible communication from London to the extrême north-west on the Pacific Océan, and redueed the time occupied in traversing that distance to a period of a fortnight. So that Her Majesty's Government could send reinforcements of men and material to Esquimalt in 12 or 14 days from this place. To construct a railway which can put such a power in the hands of Her Majesty's Government is undoubtedly a great contribution to the defence of the country. (Hear, hear.) Few things can be more valuable to the defence of a country than the power of ready communication. (Hear, hear.) That has ail been done without calling upon the Crown for any money whatever. They hâve given nothing to Canada for the purposc of building the Canadian Pacific Railway. It might hâve been very justly said to Her Majesty's Government : "Hère is a great work which will be of great use to the Empire; you ought to contribua to It." But nothing of that kind was said. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company built the road with a contribution from the Government of Canada of $25,000,000 in money and 25,000,000 acres of land and of 627 miles of railway constructed, or to be constructed by the Government, and costing many millions of dollars more

Thèse contributions which arc augmenting thc wealth of the country, augmenting its resourcc.s in agriculture and in materials of a-Il kinds, and in cvery other way that the strength of the country can Le increased, — thèse contributions to the défensive strength and wealth of the Empire, — hâve becn madc by Canada with a free hand in every way. lu ail that kind of exertion there lias been no want and no stint to the willingness, and not much to thc real cxertions, of the country to occupy the position which ('.an. (Mans feel and gladly acknowlcdge that they ought to occupy in regard to land defences.

In référence to other defences which hâve occupied in a manner so interesting the minds of thc gentlemen from the other Colonies, the naval defences, wc «et ont with that agreement with the Government that they were to undertake the naval defences. It wat not ri that time a very burdensome undertaking upon theni ; I do not think it is so now. They maintain for Impérial purposes, as for other purposes, the North American Squadron, and so long as that Squadron is at our doors, Canada does not need any other naval defence. Since that agrecment was made by Her Majesty's Government, the Colony of British Columbia has been addcd to thc Dominion, and thercfore there is a coast of Canada now on the Pacific Océan. That coast is defended for the présent by Her Majesty's North Pacific Squadron, which goes to Esquimalt once a year, and is more or less there ail the time, as the North American Squadron is more or less at Halifax ail the time.

I think that, although we hâve corne to no uuderstanding, but the rêverie, wc would some years ago hâve been willing to open a Naval iSchool at Halifax. We did try it. Lord Lomé, who was then our Governor-<ieneral, applied and was giVen by the Admiralty authorities a frigate, an old frigate, I call it old not in disparagement, but in truth. Thc naine of this frigate was the "Charybdis". Lord Lorne asked for this frigate, so that we might bave a School of Naval Instruction in Canada. This frigate was given to us at Lord Lorne's request. We sent home an officer of our service, Captain Scott, of Her Majesty's Navy, to see about this vessel, and to bring it out. This was in September or in October. When this officer got home he reported to us that the vessel was in a very indiffèrent state of repair, and that it was not aafe to go to se* in her; and he advised us against our sending her out that au tu nui at ail, but said that he could bring her out in July or August in the following year, but it would be necessary to hâve 136 men to man her, and that it would cost us a great deal of money. However, we had asked for a vessel, and it appeared ungrateful and unmannerly to reject it, and we had it brought out, and it was anchored in St. John, New Brunswick. We sent officers and men on board, and it turned out to bè an impossibility that any thing could be doue with it. It was a large old-fashioned frigate, with the boilers worn out, so that you could not go to sea in her. She could not steam and she could not sail, so that there was no use in trying to do anything with her. That discouraged our efforts completely.

Mr. STANHOPE (Secretary of War) : ...I take note also of the very great expenditure which has been incurred by the Government of Canada. We hâve ail heard, I am sure with the greatest possible interest, the admirable and complète statement which Sir Alexander Campbell has put before us. (Hear, hear.) It wat not a surprise altogether to me, because I have had the opportunity of reading the reports and letters from Sir Frederick Middlcton, to whom Sir Alexander Campbell referred in such kind terms ; and I am aware of the steps that have been taken in Canada with regard to this question, at any rate to a large extent. But I confess that I entirely agrée with Sir Alexander Campbell in saying that it is not possible to exaggerate the advantage from a military point of view which the Empire has gained by the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. (Hear, hear.) As regards the Canadian Militia. I am glad to believe also from the reports which reach us that the wbrds of praise that Sir Alexander Campbell has uttered are no more than justif ied (page 276)

Discours de Sir Charles Tupper, à Winnipeg 0)

(Extraits)

Après un court préambule, l'orateur aborde le sujet de la Fédération impériale et de la contribution des colonies à la flotte et à l'armée impériales : —

I intend for a few moments to draw your attention to the fact of one of the reasons why this subject which is so calculated to seize upon the imagination and fire the patriotism of every British subject whether at home or abroad should not hâve reccived more enthusiastic support aJid considération than the Impérial Fédération Leaguc bas reccived ; and I hâve no hésitation in saying that in my opinion it is the advocacy of that question upon an unrwise basis — a mistaken basis. Somc gentlemen with the utmost désire to promote Impérial unity hâve in my judgment adopted a Une of argument that is most detrimcntal and calculated to produce a resuit the very opposite of that which they would désire. The question of Impérial Fédération has been presented by them as a question in which the masses of the people of England are interested, because as matters now stand, the tax-payers of the United Kingdom are burthened by the colonial connection, and they are told at the samc time that the people in the colonies are not willing to continue to maintain the connection that exists between the colonies and the Crown, but that if they will give the colonies certain advantages by a change of constitution they will no doubt relieve them from a large portion of the burthens that now rest upon them in maintaining the army and navy of England. Now, I challenge the accuracy of thèse statements. I see that in this country you hâve been told by advocates of Impérial Fédération that we occupy a humiliating- position.

You have been told that five million Canadians hâve no voice in the Impérial Parliamcut ; you have been told that they have no voice in the foreign concerns, in the foreign policy of the great Empire to which they belong ; that it is a humiliating position, and that the time has corne when Canadians and colonists in every part of the world are de terminée! that they should become citizens of the Empire ; that they should have the rights and privilèges that arc enjoyed in the heart of the Empire. I can only say to you, gentlemen, that I differ toto coelo with ail thèse statements. I say that the unity of this great Empire must be rested upon a différent basis altogethcr.

I deny that we are a burden to the empire. I say that if to-raorrow Canada was dissevered from the Crown of England, if to-morrow Canada became a portion of that great republic which lies to the south of us, England could not reduce her army by a maii nor her navy by a ship. She would want more soldiers and sailors and ironclada than she has to-day in order to maintain her prestige. I say, if this great continent was oloscd, as closed it would be to the ships of England, under the circumstances I have namrd, if they had no harbour in which to run or a place wherc they can obtain a ton of coal or a spar, instead of England being strengthcned, she would be enormously weakened. Her power in the Pacific, her possessions in India and China would be imperilled, and her perstige as a nation entirely changed. Instead of relieving her from any charge for diplomatie services, or her army or her navy, it would impose gréa ter burdens upon the tax-payers of Great Britain than at présent. I deny that we are a burden. There is not a pound of British money spent in the Dominion of Canada, from end to end, for any Canadian pnrpose.

// parle des énormes responsabilités du gouvernement canadien et des services rendus à l'Empire par BLAKE, MACDONALD, GALT, sir John THOMPSON et lui-même. Et il ajoute :—

But they talk about the question of peace or war ; they say we have no voice ; that England may engage in conflict or war on some question that would be naturally opposed to the voice and sentiments of the people of Canada. Well, I may tell you

(1) Reproduit du Manitoba Free Press, du 22 septembre 1893.

quietly ii^ra from what little expérience I hâve had of Her Majesty's Governments, 1

am not at ail afraid of Her engaging in unnecessary wars To this it is added

that we must get représentation in the Impérial Parliariic'nt in order to hâve a voice in the publii* affairs of the great Empire to which we belong. I hâve no hésitation, and I say it hcre frankly, that after the most careful considération of this question foT many long years I am perfectly satisfied that a more unwisc, a more injudicious thinfl could not possibly occur to Canada than to change her constitution in any radical respect whatevrr. We hâve a constitution that has stood the test of more than a quarter of a century and one that I would not be willing for any représentation in the Impérial Parliament or anything else to change in any material respect. I will say therefore on this question of représentation in the Impérial Parliament that the unity of the Empire must be conscrved without taking away that self government which long ago was conceded to Canada and which has been used wisely and well by Canadians of both parties. We must ever retain the entire, complète, and independent management of

our own affairs

They say that the whole expense of the diplomatie service of England is borne by it and that the colonies contribute nothing, just as they say we contribute nothing to the defences of the Empire. They are entirely mistaken.

// rappelle les diverses circonstances où le Canada a payé les frais des négociations diplomatiques qui l'intéressaient.

You are quite aware that the Government is represented by a foreign Ambassador in a foreign country, and for our Governor gênerai, whosc duties are largely diplomatie, Canada cheerfully pays something like £15,000 per year.

I hâve a word or two more to say with référence to the defence of the empire. They say : Why should Canada, with her enormous mercantile marine, her salis whitening every sea, not contribute from her resources to the defence of the Empire 7 I say she does. I say Canada is discharging that duty nobly and well. No porson holds more strongly than I do the unquestionable duty of every British subject, wherever lie mny be found, to contribute to the support of the defence of this great Empire. If you are going to strengthen a fortification, what would you strengthen ? The strongest or the weakest part ? Of course, the weakest. Wherc is the weakest part ? Is it in England, in the United Kingdom, or Canada, or Australia ? No person ean question that if England was engaged in war with any great power in the world, they would strike, not in its strongest but weakest part, and therefore, if you wish to strengthen the defences of the Empire, to increase the power to resist invasion, the best way to accomplish this, I hâve no hésitation in saying, is by looking after Canada. Those who say that Canada contribute* nothing: to the defence of the Empire mont be very ignorant of facts, at ail events, and I would recommend them to peruse a littîe of that very interesting literature contained in blue-books.

II donne de copieux détails et des chiffres précis sur la construction du chemin de fer Intercolonial et du Pacifique Canadien, sur le développement du Nord-Ouest, la répression des deux insurrections des Métis, la garde et le soin des Indiens, etc.

and ail this work was absolutely and vitally csscntial to the protection of

Canada. Our people hâve expended on thèse services no less than 1180,000,000, and yrt it appears we hâve donc nothing for the strengthening of the Empire 1 The connection by rail from Halifax to Vancouver is vital to the successfu) defence of thia country în case of any emergency, and this work is of as great importance or greater to Gréai Britain than to Canada, because her prestige and power would be struck down when the brightest jewel in her crown could be wrested from her. In a matter so vital, we hâve expended an amount which at four per cent interest would tax the people of thhi country no less than $7,200,000 per annum, and yet we hear of a lack of duty in contributing to the defences of the Empire. But some might answer that this work was not done for that purpose, but for commercial purposes. So much stronger our claiin. The greatest, the most important, the most vital question in connection with the defence of Canada, which means the defence of one of the most important sections of the great

Empire, is to peopie il. Thi» raUway, although a commercial line, opens up tliis magnificent future granary of the world for settlement by stout hearts and strong arms, not only from Great Britain, but by the best men from Scandinavie and Germany and Iceland, to become settlers and as brave defenders of British institutions as native-born Canadiens. (Applause.) If you add to that the expenditure for the militia, and the expense for tbe permanent militia, mounted police, and for the cruisers for protection of the fisheries and our coasts, and for that line of steamers which runs between Vancouver and China and Japan, and which line brings Yokohama a fortnight nearer to London than the route through the Suez Canal ; added to this the new line of steamers now running from Vancouver to Australia, for which I do not hesitate to predict as great and as brilliaut a future as the steamers running to China and the fast Atlantic service, to the others I hâve named, and it will bring the annual expenditure from 17,200,000 up to 910,000,000. Is not this assisting in the defence of the Empire ? There is no way of contributing better to this object than in this practical manner in which we are spending annually $10,000,000 for services of the most vital importance alike to Canada and Great Britain. I do not intend to detain you any longer than to say I am quite sure it was only right for me to seize an opportunity — the only one I hâve had in Canada — to say something upon this question of Impérial fédération, and of pointing out what, in my judgment, is the fallacy and the mistaken policy of those who hâve adopted the line of advocatinjf the unity of the empire upon a basis ealculated, in my judgment, not to promote that unity, but to destroy it."

Attitude des libéraux en 1896

A la dernière session du parelment de 1891-96, le ministère conservateur tenta d'obtenir de la Chambre l'autorisation d'emprunter $3,000,- 000 pour la défense du pays. Cette proposition était encore en suspens lorsque le parlement expira; mais le ministère réussit à faire voter un subside spécial de $1,000,000 pour achat d'armes et de munitions. Ce subside couvrait en partie le prix d'un contrat conclu avec le gouvernement impérial. Les libéraux dénoncèrent violemment l'action des ministres. C'est au cours de ce débat que les déclarations ci-dessous furent faites par trois des principaux partisans de M. Laurier (1). // n'est pas sans intérêt de rappeler que ces trois députés reçurent plus tard les marques les plus signalées de la confiance et de l'estime de M. Laurier. M. Brodeur devint successivement vice-président et président de la Chambre des Communes, ministre du Revenu de l'Intérieur et juge de la Cour Suprême. M. Legris fut fait sénateur et M. Bruneau, juge de la Cour Supérieure. Seul M. Legris est resté fidèle à ses convictions anti-impérialistes.

M. BRODEUR: — 11 est une chose qui me parait singulière, relativement à cette affaire; j'ai toujours entendu dire que si, par impossible, nous avions une guerre au Canada, nous avions le droit de compter sur la protection de l'Angleterre; que la seule raison du maintien du lien colonial était que dans le cas où nous aurions des difficultés internationales, nous pouvions, avec certitude, compter sur l'appui de l'Angleterre.

Eh bien! M. le président, je regrette d'apprendre que dans le cas actuel le gouvernement a acheté ces fusils de l'Angleterre, non pas d'un particulier, non pas d'une compagnie particulière, mais qu'il a acheté ces armes du gouvernement anglais, et que ce gouvernement nous demande de lui en rembourser le coût. Est-ce là la protection pro-

(1) Débats de la Chambre des Communes (Version française), 22 avril 1896. Ix chiffre de la colonne est indiqué après chaque citation.

mise par l'Angleterre au Canada? Est-ce là la position qui nous est faite comme colonie? Je crois que nous aurions raison de nous attendre à toute autre chose de la part de l'Angleterre. D'un autre côté, je ne crois pas que le gouvernement anglais soit si' pressé de nous faire payer cette somme, qu'il faille absolument voter ce montant tout de suite. Je crois, au contraire, qu'il attendra bien encore quelque temps, qu'il atten% dra bien jusqu'au moment où nous aurons l'argent nécessaire pour le payer, sans emprunter pour cela.

Maintenant, je crois que dans les circonstances il n'y a rieu autre chose à faire que de refuser au gouvernement de lui permettre de faire cette dépense de quatre millions de piastres, et pour nia part, je m'y oppose énergiquement

On demande au parlement de dépenser cette somme d'un million de piastres lorsque notre dette s'élève à au-delà de $300,000,000. Je crois que cette dette est suffisamment forte et qu'il nous est inutile de faire de la politique de jingo, [en] augmentant par là même la dette du pays de quelques millions sans pouvoir justifier d'une manière sérieuse cette dépense. Je ne crois pas que cette dépense soit requise dans les circonstances, et pour ma part je suis énergiquement opposé à ce que l'on vote une somme comme celle que l'on nous demande maintenant. — (6172-3)

M. LEGRIS: — Cette dépense d'un million de dollars pour acheter des armes

est tout à fait inopportune. Nous n'en avons pas besoin dans le moment. Nous sommes en paix avec tout le monde, et nous ne sommes pas menacés de guerre d'aucun côté. Au lieu de dépenser cette somme relativement fabuleuse, eu égard à nos besoins et à nos moyens actuels, le gouvernement ferait mieux d'obtenir plus de discipline dans les rangs militaires (6174)

M. BRUNEAU: — M. le président, si je prends la parole, c'est simplement pour. unir mon protêt à ceux qu'ont fait entendre les honorables députés de Rouville( M. Brodeur) et de Maskinongé (M. Legris) relativement aux dépenses que le gouvernement se propose de faire pour notre milice, et qu'il nous demande de voter maintenant. J'approuve les raisons données par les honorables députés de Rouville et de Maskinongé. 11 est maintenant trop tard pour nous demander de voter un montant semblable au moment où le parlement va expirer. Il n'y a pas de doute non plus que cette dépense est tout à fait injuste, vu la dette très élevée qui pèse déjà sur le peuple de ce pays, et vu aussi qu'il n'y a aucune nécessité d'acheter les fusils que le département de la Milice a achetés . Il n'y a aucune nécessité, M. le président, parce que nous sommes une dépendance coloniale, et que l'Angleterre nous a toujours promis son concours actif au cas où nous en aurions besoin. Il n'y a aucune nécessité de faire cette dépense, parce que nous sommes en paix avec tous les pays du monde entier. Il n'y a aucune nécessité de faire une telle dépense, parce que je le déclare avec tout le chauvinisme qui me caractérise, malgré la loyauté qu'entretient le peuple canadien-français pour l'Angleterre, lequel est toujours prêt, à l'avenir comme par le passé, à payer de sa personne et de son argent pour la défense du pays, niais le peuple de notre pays ne veut pas faire dea dépenses pour soutenir les chicanes de la mère-patrie (6175-6)

L'orateur est tellement ému qu'il perd le fil de son discours. Le lendemain, 23 avril — jour de la clôture de la session, -— M. RIN FRET, député libéral de Lotbinière, propose, appuyé par M. LEGRIS: —

Que cette Chambre regrette que le gouvernement ait, sans l'autorisation du parlement, conclu des contrats pour l'achat d'armes et d'équipements au montant de près de $2,000,000.

Toute l'opposition libérale appuie cette motion.

Au cours de la campagne électorale qui aboutit au triomphe des libéraux, le 23 juin 1896, la plupart des candidats de M. Laurier, dans la province de Québec, dénoncèrent cet achat d'armes et, généralement, les tendances impérialistes du parti conservateur. L'article suivant, publié, le 17 juin 1896, dans le principal organe du parti libéral, /'ELECTEUR, de Québec, donne une idée assez juste de la violence de ces dénonciations.

Reproduit le lendemain dans le SOIR, de Montréal, dirigé par M. Brodeur, cet article fut également publié en tract et répandu par tonte la province à plusieurs centaines de mille exemplaires :