Canada has been making strides in shipping, and is quite in a position to appreciate the fact that the navy is a national insurance, essential to the safety and welfare of the whole Empire.[1]
Again, we may reject as meaningless and insincere the statement that anything Canada could contribute would appear so infinitesimal alongside of the expenditure of the Mother-land that it would be hardly worth while to offer it.
In seeking to discover the real explanation of a phenomenon which certainly attracts attention and excites surprise in England, especially in view of Canada's loud protestations of affectionate loyalty, the following points seem worthy of some consideration:
(a) Notwithstanding the flourishing condition of the country, it contains, as yet, comparatively little realized wealth. It is potentially rich, but borrowed capital figures largely in the existing business situation. Moreover, it has not been accustomed to high taxation, which in new communities tends to check initiative and to retard industrial exploitation.
(b) Nor is it unfair to remind Canada's critics that the Dominion has been doing a great deal for the Empire in helping to build transcontinental railways, and to develop a good canal system. Considering that his ancestors started in the wilderness without capital only about a hundred years ago (with the exception of the Laurentian valley and one or two smaller districts) the average Canadian thinks that they, and he, have done a good deal to improve an important part of the British possessions.[2]
- ↑ A recent calculation shows that our naval expenditure involves an outlay of £3 2s. 6d. for every ton of mercantile marine. We are spending less for the safeguarding of our mercantile shipping than any other nation except Japan, the figures being: Japan, £2 4s. 4d.; British Empire, £3 2s. 6d.; Germany, £4 18s.; Russia, £18 3s. 10d.; United States, £19 10s. 2d.
- ↑ This view derives some support from a passage in Burke's speech on "Conciliation with the Colonies": "But to clear up my
