UN DANGER IMMINENT POUR VOUS, CULTIVATEURS

Une des lubies du vieux Tupper, c'est la Fédération Impériale, La Fédération Im- Périale signifie une alliance plus intime entre l'Angleterre et ses colonies en général et le Canada spécialement.

Une des conditions de cette alliance serait qu'en temps de guerre, le Canada serait appelé à payer sa part des frais en argent et en hommes !

Et comme l'Angleterre est Presque toujours en guerre avec quelqu'un, nous aurions

continuellement à nous taxer Pour trouver l'argent, à tirer au sort pour fournir les hommes!

En retour l'Angleterre créerait ces drôles baronets, chevaliers de ceci, commandeurs de cela.

Mais le peuple resterait chair à canon!

A peine sir Charles Tupper a-t-il été revenu d'Angleterre qu’il a commencé à préparer les voies à la réalisation de son épouvantable projet.

L'Angleterre a été menacée d'une difficulté avec les Etats-Unis à propos de quelques arpents de terrains miniers dont elle réclamait la propriété dans le Vénézuela, à des mille milles de notre Pays, dans l'Amérique Centrale. Vite, sir Charles, pour faire l'officieux, s'empresse d’ordonner l'achat en Angleterre de fusils et de canons, etc., pour UN MILLION HUIT CENT MILLE PIASTRES ($1,800 Consulter les -hambres.

Ce n'était pas assez.

Il lui fallait TROIS MILLIONS! :

M. Foster a proposé le 21 avril 1896 (page 6902 du Hansard) une résolution autorisant un emprunt de TROIS MILLIONS DE PIASTRES Pour payer les achats faits et à faire.

On avait alors commandé 40,000 fusils Lee-Enfield et 23,000 carabines du même nom pour la cavalerie. On avait commandé quatre batteries de six canons, des canons de 12° avec les munitions nécessaires.

Les fusils coûtent $18.00 chaque.

Les carabines pour la cavalerie coûtent en tout QUARANTE .'ILLE PIASTRES (#40,000.00).

Les bayonnettes, les fourreaux coûtent quatre piastres.

. Puis il y a à acheter—

CINQUANTE CANONS “Maxim”.

200 sets de harnais pour chevaux de trait,

400 sets de selles pour cavalerie.

Ca coûtera 8100 le set. :

On peut en avoir pour 840 ici.

Et CINQUANTE-NEUF MILLE PIASTRES, 859,000.00, rien que pour les harnais.

Pourquoi acheter les harnais à l'étranger?

Tout pour les autres, rien pour vous!

Pourquoi le gouvernement Tupper, qui nous vante tant les bienfaits de la Protection pour l'industrie canadienne, a-t-il acheté pour 8165,000 de harnais en Angleterre au lieu de les faire fabriquer par des selliers du Canada?

Pourquoi a-t-il payé ces harnais 8100 le “set” quand il aurait pu les avoir ici pour #40?

Pourquoi tous ces armements si nous ne sommes pas pour avoir de guerre? Et pourquoi se battre pour l'Angleterre?

Les électeurs devront se rappeler que ces gros et grands chefs qui sont toujours anxieux de se montrer plus patriotes que les autres, plus loyaux que les autres, et prêts ‘à nous lancer dans des guerres pour le bénéfice des autres, ne seront Pas ceux qui supporteront le fardeau.

Ces carabines, ces canons, ce sont les électeurs qui les manoeuvreront. On vous considère bons pour faire de la chair à canon. Les Tupper, les Angers, les Taillon seront dans leurs bureaux de ministres, d’où ils nous enverront à la mort, la joie dans le coeur, le verre de champagne à la main. Encore une fois, pourquoi tous ces ‘fusils, ces canons, ces bayonnettes, si ces bons Tupper et Cie ne méditent pas quelque mauvais coup de main.

L'on enverra vos enfants en Afrique, en Asie, d'où ils ne reviendront jamais.

Si vous votez pour les candidats bleus, vous approuvez tous ces préparatifs pour la gucrre. Est-ce que le gouvernement vient à votre secours lorsque vous êtes écrasés par les taxes de toutes sortes, lorsqu'un malheur vous frappe soit par les ravages de l’inondation, ou d'un incendie? Et l’on a dépensé 3 MILLIONS DE PIASTRES pour des fusils.

Votez pour Laurier et ses candidats si vous voulez voir votre Pays jouir de la même tranquillité et ne pas vous exposer à partir un de c«- bons matins pour d’autres pays, laissant en arrièr de vous vos femmes, vos enfants et tout ce qui vous est cher.

Trois ans plus tard, M. Laurier et ses collègues, “chevaliers de ceci, commandeurs de cela”, envoyaient “nos enfants se battre pour l'Angleterre en Afrique” — et l'Electeur, tourné en Soleil, trouvait que c'était très bien... et M. Brodeur, et M. Bruneau, et tous les rouges applaudissaient.

Mémoire du Colonial Defence Committee (:)

(Extraits)

Je n'ai pu retracer cette pièce à Ottawa: elle est sortie des archives. Le texte ci-dessous est celui d’une copie que M. MONK m'avait donnée, au moment de la production du document à la Chambre.

ABOUT six ycars ago the Colonial Defence Committee drew up a Memorandum laying down certain general principles which they considered should be kept in view by the various responsible Governments of Australasia in dealing with questions affecting defence., .

These principles have been generally accepted and Colonies, though at times action i

neous conceptions of the true all quarters of the habitable world, consider that the time has come when unciation of the principles which have endations to the various Departments of

policy of the Empire, miralty, who have accepted the

1) Transmis aux vernements des Colonies en août 1897 ; comm nliles des Communes du Canada en 1912:—Sessionai Papers, 1912, No. 77,

toray raids of hostile cruisers on British ports. The strength of such an attack will vary in the different parts of the w sccording to the strengths of possibly hostile navies, in a fiejumitY Of their bases, and the troops that are or could easily be Drrna nee in anticipation of war. 1t also varies from time to time with changing political comblnaticns. But it is improbable tha’ a raiding attack would be made by more than a ep nor could Ht be of any permanent effect unless troops could be lande In euh arrange entr force (han à few thowsand men be collsstsd and sonveyes wi such arrangements and Preparation as would bring the operations under the category of those dealt with by the navy. Against a raid of the nature indicated jt considered necessary to make secure those places which are essential to the navy coaling, refitting and repairing. Ports for this Purpose have been selected by the miralty, and Imperial resources in men and money available for use abroad have been concentrated on their defence. Many of the Colonies have contributed largely to their own military protection, In Australian waters defence for naval purposes has been provided by the Colony of New South Wales in the protection that has been given to the port of Sydney, while the defence of certain mercantile strategie positions has been undertaken mainly by the Australian Colonies whose commerce they will protect.

3. Apart from the harbours fortified for the navy, there are other ports which. though they do not enter into what may be called the €cneral strategie scheme, are also liable from their commercial importance to predatory raids, and whieh require mea-

ri

places, which, in the opinion of an cnemy, would justify the very considerable risks which a raid on them would Involve, are generally sufficient to admit of the provision of local defence by local means, and where the liability to atteck and the resources to resist attack co-exist, it has been held to be the duty of the Colony te make provision for adequate defence.

In dealing with places of this nature the Committee have advoecated the creation ot sufficient fixed defences to resist occupation by hostile cruisers, but more especially the provision of troops sufficient to deal effectually with such forces as an enemy must pui on shore to enable him to secure any permanent advantage from his attack. Troops without works may defeat an enemy and frustrate his object. Works without troops are useless and delusive. It js necessary to lay stress on this fact, as fortifications give an appearance and feeling of security which is not justified unless they are fully garrisoned by well trained men and sup;orted by mobile forces, and because expenditure on defences involving a heavy outlay at one time and little at another ean be mope easily fitted into the exigencies of fluctuating budgets than expenditure on troops, wbich must be constant tu be effective. When money is made avañable in time of anticipated war, there is a tendency to spend it in increasing fortifications and a sometimes already on an ununecessarily elaborate and extensive scale, while in time of externa)

West Indian Island. The Colonies of Australia should be in a position to afford each other mutual support by combined ofensive or defensive action. An armed police force, prepared to resist the few troops that might be landed from a single cruiser, may suffies to guard the smaller interests of a West Indian Town. Again, the défence of Cansds, with its long land frontier, obviously requires to be treated on a different basis from that of the small island cf St. Helena.

To enable them to deal with these varying conditions on the basis of the genera) scheme for the defence of the whole Empire, the Colonial Defence Committee have re-

utilized to the best advantage for defence, should be submitted arnually for their consideration and remarks. Such Schemes are now regularly received from all the Crows Colonies, and from most of those that are self-governing. The clearer perception of te

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in remedying them. Defence Sechemes are not of mere sendemie interest. If war with great power were to break out tomorrow there would be no new data available on which to draw up such Schemes if they dit not already exist. They would have to be hastily complled, : « sidered and adopted, and would probably be considerably above ot below the requirements of the Case, unnecessar!ly dislocating the civil progress of the country in he former case, and dangerousiy risking its safety in the latter,

fications and armament of the many defended places abroad. The Committee can, of course, only advise, and, for reasons of local policy or expedie: , or for other causes, it has not always been possible for the Colonial Governments to accept the advice that has been given. The failure to do s0 has sometimes involved them in expenditure which to the Committee has not appeared essential, while sometimes they have effected economies which to the Committee have not appeared wise, and thus have in part marred the completeness of the general scheme of national defence to which so much importance is attributed,

Les paragraphes 6 à 15 sont

….. COR

consacrés à des détails techniques.

16. Certain Colonies have provided themselves with local floating defences to supplement the fixed defences of their ports. Since the completion of the latter, the Colonial Defence Committee have attribut:d less importance than formerly to the small

permit local d4fence ships to manocuvre, this objection does not apply. Colonial warships, where maintained, should be kept in a thorougly efficient condition both with regard to personnel and matériel,

17. There are many points in addition to those touched on above concerning which the Colonial Defence Committee have offered advice to the Colonies in the past and are prepared to do so in the future, but which it is obviously unadvisable to deal with in a Memorandum for genera! information. In this connection they would repear a Paragraph from a former Report. “The necessity for preserving secrecy in regard to the position of guns and details of defence was brought before the Colonial Conference in 1887, and has at various times been impressed upon the Colonial Governments. It !s earnestly hoped that these warnings will in future be acted upon.”

18. The Committee would also take this opportunity of pointing out that they can more satisfactorily assist the Colonial Governments in dealing with questions of defence if all general Reports and important proposals of their Military Advisers are referred to the Committee through the Colonial Office as soon as possible after being considered by the governments.

The Committee completely recognize that, for financial and other reasons, possibly of a confidential nature, and of a political rather than of a military character

general military policy of the Colonies, if the recommendations were always communicated to tuem, accompanied, if necessary, by the confidential opinions of the Governments and Governors thereon.

with

Fécently «a «a meeting of Premiers at Syde y. Doubtiess a time will come when the inereasing strength and resources of governing Colonies will enable them to materially assist the mother-country, by plaeing Me mn curPotal for operations in any quarter of the globe bodies of troops Foren eee the excellent material of strong, self-reliant Colonists, bat at present the

PAT OR vost torritories In time of pense, and the offoative sretoution

of DePDY results by the Federal Military Conferences of 1894 and 1890: ans the

in

ne danger of attack on the Colenies. In such a case the offer of assistance from then bat aho ne qua, #8 it has been on more than one occasion, not only for Its reel vas” ait na ie uridenée of that solidarity on which the greatness of the British Emere note

(Signed)