The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1911. THE CANADIAN ELECTIONS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1231, 13 September 1911, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1911. THE CANADIAN ELECTIONS.

The Canadian general election, which is to bo held on September 21, promises to be by; far the most interesting and exciting since Sir Wilfeid Laueieb began his long term of power in 1896. For the first time ho lias reason to fear that he may be dethroned; his friends are uneasy, and he himself is carrying on a vigorous campaign, whereas in tho past he has hardly considered it necessary to exert himself at all. The dominant issue will be the Reciprocity proposal, but the Government has also to face a "Nationalist" movement, led by Me. Boueassa against the Imperialist idea, so strong that in two by-elections last October the Government lost to the Nationalists two scats that even tho Nationalist leaders considered quite safe ones for the Government. The Prime Minister did not enhance his credit by the arrangements he made for the dissolution. Parliament w;ib dissolved on July 29 without asking for Supply, and without waiting for the completion of the inquiry into tho serious charges against the ..Minister for tho Interior, Mb. Oliyek, who was accused of having

improperly profited to the extent of £14,000 in tho transfer of lands to the Canadian Northern Railway, The dissolution brought this inquiry to an abrupt close. In his election address the Prime Minister practically confined himself to the Reciprocity question, pointing out, properly enough, that for forty years both political parties in Canada had sought for freer exchange with the United States. He ridiculed the suggestion that annexation lay behind tariff reciprocity, and insisted that by opening avenues of trade hitherto closed Reciprocity with the liepublic would improve _ the relations between Canada, Britain, and America. Tho Opposition, which has a very fine leader in Mr. Borden, is passionately opposed to the Reciprocity proposal, which it quite sincerely believes will do much to dissolve the union of Canada with Britain. Mr. Borden welcomes the appeal to the country, for which, indeed,_ he successfully fought, in opposition to the Government's desire to settle the matter without an election. In a statement issued on the day following the dissolution he stressed the grave impropriety of the burking of the Oliver inquiry, and also denounced tho Government's "rushing" of the election in order to avoid the redistribution of seats, r which would have given to the West a greatly increased representation in the Parliament owing to the strong development of tho population in tho Western provinces. The forces that will meet on the battlefield next week are thus summarised by the Toronto correspondent of the London Times: "Upon the one side are the extreme advocates of Canadian autonomy and the champions of American Reciprocity, and upon the other the extreme school of British Independents and the mass of Canadian Protectionists." This is a rather queer arrangement of forces. "From 1896 until the trade agreement with Washington was negotiated Sir Wilfrid Laurier had the sympathy of the great body of Imperialists and the confidence of many Protectionists. He had also the general support of the low-tariff clement, which has been alienated from the Conservative party for a generation. The contest over Reciprocity has driven many' Protectionists back into tho Conservative party, and intensified the allegiance of low-tariff advocates to the Laurier Administration.'.' Mr. Borden has gained enormously in the West, where he has conducted a campaign of groat brilliancy. There opinion is divided between approval of the effect of Reciprocity upon the prices of implements and the disapproval of its effect upon the prices of corn. There is nowhere any willingness on the part of responsible critics to say boldly which party will win, and this in itself is a highly significant fact in view of the hitherto .general belief that the Liberals arc assured of permanency in power. One thing appears to be certain, namely, that if not defeated, the Continuous Ministry will be faced with a perilously strong Opposition. In Canada a party may continue in office for longer than,any party could remain in power in Britain, for the same reason that a party can remain in power in New Zealand longer than in Canada. But the glass turns in time.