THE VOICE OF THE DOMINIONS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2955, 15 December 1916, Page 26

THE VOICE OF THE DOMINIONS

WAR AND AFTER-WAR. PROBLEMS

KPEPAREBNESS FOR PEACE ESSENTIAL

A BRILLIANT ORATION

Sir George E. Foster, K.C.M.G., is Canadian Minister of Trade and Commerce. Ho was in London some time sfter tho great Economic Conference at Paris,: where all tho Allies discussed after-war trading -questions. He was entertained by the Royal Colonial Institute,' and -, in response to "Our Guest,'.' proposed by v tho Right Hon. Grey, ; who described him as "the foremost'orator of the Empire," Sir George Foster delivered a brilliant Bpeooli. Passing over his complimentary observations customary to such occasions, Sir George reached the heart of his subject and of his hearers in these words: "It is important to call attention to the fact that 'within two years we have, ■as it were, passed from one world into another, and in vital respects a. widely different one. Are we conscious of "this—we who sit round this , table, tlio men in the street, the 1 moil behind business counters; the, men on the farms and in • the factories, scattered through tho wide Dominions under the ■flag of the Empire? " Or is it that we are passing through this war, which has profoundly affected not only the nations engaged but the whole world, and that while we are passing through it too many of us are thinking that some time soon the gates of the war will be closed, and we shall go back to the quiet paths of peace 'and take lip tlie threads of life as we left them? AVe cannot do it, sir. AVe havo, changed. The world las changed. It is impossible to take iip the threads of life as wo left them two years and more ago. We have all changed. Everyone sitting round this board feels it'in himself. Ia hi not the same man I was two years ago; neither are you, if you are thoughtful men. There has beeh a revolution in our minds, in our hearts; in our conceptions. We have learned to value things as we never.valued them.before, to exalt the verities of . life, and to regard trivialities as dross and nothingness. AVS have stripped off from ourselves so muCh of tile old clothing of habit and custom and convention that we scarcely recognise ourselves sometimes when -we. think of the.difference between that time and this. Every man las had personal experiences, and by himself or someone that is dear to him has laid down part of liiuiself_ on the altar of sacrifice—to the . death in many cases, and in all cases to somo appreciable degree of sacrifice and of service. Not orily have we individually changed,, but the nations to which we belong have changed." Tha Position of Canada, ,< In this way.did.this briltiailt Canadian carry the members of the Royal Colonial .institute into a new realm of 'thought, and in Order to give concreteness to his theme Sir George pictured the case of Canada, which .is typical in a lesser degree of New Zealand itself. In two years she has passed through a phase of existence whic,h has chastened her, strengthened her, btifdened her with great responsibilities, but \vhich . has taught her something of the feelings of Gethsemane and soni of the pride of an oxalted and "enfranchised individual personality. AVe nave taken upon ourselves the ' burdens of heavy expenditures—tlie burdens pi heavy responsibility outside j)f financial expenditures. We have made a contribution of between 800,000 and 500,000 of the maiiliood 6F our coufitry. taking them fronl the productive work of the farm, the field, and the factory; and sending thorn tp the front, where they are busily engaged-destroying human life,' and accllmul.ltcd property, if thereby haply they may in the end save freedom and justice and civilisation for the. coming generation. And other Dominions and this Old Country of:' Britain: : have • don'e - the same, millions of the men - of . tlie Em-, pire have been abstracted from; productive;'employment and placed at tho front, "and millions moro have been taken out from productive employment -to "carry on the 'subsidiary services which the arrny at the front, demands. We never can go baek to August, .1914, in these respects.. But there "lias been a change, as regards tlie units of tho Empire-itself:.'Two y&irs have brought about-transformation alid consolidation, have "wiped out' of existence objections and prejudices- and* theories that were held firmly, and by the pressure of outward menace and. by the development of internal forces have made this Empire in its heart and parts, a different thing from wliat it was before. That cannot be taken away from us. We Cannot go back in that respect to 'August 1914. • But. wO? have also changed our relations with regard to outsido countries. Yonder in Central Europe are Powers— formerly our friends," now our encmios —against whom for over two years we have been fiercely fighting. AVe have tried to play the game and fight like men; they have tried, and succeeded, in branding their brows with the eternal infamy of baso action and brutal method that the world , will never forget. AVe never can go back to the conditions of 1914 in respect to those countries, t-nd though "never" is a long word, it will last for tho men of this generation at least.- And with neutral and Allied couiitlies, also our relative positiorts-are different.

Prepare for Peace. "What do we propose to'do when peace comes? "Oh, well," some good friends will say, "just wait til! peaco comes before beginning to talk about these things. The war is on now; do not confuse the issues." The same good people two years ago, four years ago, six years ago, ten years ago, when some minds with vision saw the troubles which were coming, and began to talk about them —tliesfe same people said: "Why talk of war until it comes? Let us go on with;''tile works of peace, and when .war'.comes '.Wo -will see what is to bo <36n0.." ' Listening to such counsels we wore' landed into an unpreparedncss that has cost untold'trdasures of money ■ arid blood, almost brought disaster, already lost over two years of precious time, during which men have had to fight with the naked hand-against the ;.niailed fist; against an enginery of war which for twentyfive years had been sedulously and carefully prepared by an enemy with long vision and most cruel purpose. Kefuso to make lip your mind as to what you will do when .war ends, and, when peace comes, you will be in the same state of unpreparedness with regard to the arts and work of peace as you were m regard to war two years ago. We must adapt ourselves to thp.-phanged circumstances..... . -ij. .'l jhe Objectfofi Empire,;. Alter a survey of what has been accomplished in two years" in preparing tor war, Sir George asked: If it has been worth while for us to organise and mobilise ourselves in order to defend the Empire, is it not far more

necessary and important that, after we have secured its defence and consolidation, we shall mobilise, organise, get together, and work together, in order to develop the Empire, to preserve which we have poured out our blood and treasure? Fighting is the least normal thing a man does. It is the least normal thing that a nation does. It is tlie least normal thing for the world to be engaged at. War is intermittent and occasional, but the ways of Peace are always being trodden and its works always being wrought. That is why you need Peace warriors to organise and mobilise your forces when you have secured the defence of- the Empire. ' And What an Empire! Then comes the greater, the more pressing and more difficult duty of developing the Empire we have won. That is Hie task set us by destiny and to which we should direct our best energies. What an Empire >t >s] One quarter of the territory of this globe owns the flag of the Empire, one quarter or more of its man power is sheltered beneath its fold. It has every variety of climate and production, (ho finest tropical and temperate regions. But there is more. These far-flung parts of the Empire, belting the world, are joined together —not separated—by the seas, and we hold to-day the command of these seas. I have just come back from seeing in the northern parn of tliis country the Grand Fleet and its auxiliaries which make up the great British Sea Power upon which the existence of this Empire has lor two years depended and upon which it depends We hold the power or the seas and thus keep open the highways for intercourse between the different parts of tlie Empire. We have tJie largest commercial marine, and- we are the greatest shipbuilding power in the world. More, we have wealth and intelligence and skill and capacity of power not inferior to any other Empire. Wo combine the virility of younger 1111- | tions with the wisdom and experience of the older—a union of twin powers which, massed and organised; cau do for this Empire what no other power on tho round face of the globe is able to do to-day. ' , What is Trade? Have we not made something of n fetish of trade? Trade is only an incident, li we make it the ultimate end we are on the wrong track.' Trade is simply the handmaid of a. ltoyal Mistress whose lineage goes back.to tho primal days, aud whose stock will not rim out while the world lasts. That Royal Mistress is production. Production and more production should bo the slogan in order that the primary resources or the Empire may be developed. Developed for what purpose? Not'simply that individuals shall make f millions to go to their heirs, not that some firms shall derive immense i/vofits. Profits are good—let them go to those that, deserve thorn in good measure; but the idea to bp kept' in view is that development and production, and trade by which it is brought, about, are all subsidiary to somctiiiiig else, that is the national welfare, tho w>d of the nation. I speak not of an abstract idea. I speak of a great practical concrete thing, the uplifting of the nation. How is it to be Done? 'How are wo going about this Empire task? If we wish, we can organise for peace just as effectively as for war. And the duty is all the greater. The first thing wo should do is to set to work as an Empire and explore, chart, and record all our resources—every one of them. Not that New Zealand, or Canada, or any other unit shall simply chart her own resources and keep them to herself, but that we shall explore And chart the resources of the whole Empire, so that wo shall know what We have. We should chart our needs and requirements, so that we may know how far we may have sup-: plies necessary to meet them. We must note, also, what needs to be conserved, and here you come upon another aspect of business which wo have too little considered. I hold that the skill, and' business ability of this country owes a duty to tho State as well as to itself. Development, production, and trade have a national side as well as ail individual side. Wo cannot ignore the national side, if we are going to do the thing that needs to be done in this country and Empire. State Rights versus individual Rights. Suppose I happen to own all tlie coal in Great Britain, that is mine by indefeasible right. It lies within this Empire. Have I the right, to sell it all, if I could pick it out at once and hand it over, say, to the Hun? That settles the argument. There comes a time when tho State must say: "The children of its future have real claims on the generation of to-day." The Country of to-day has also its claim. Wo must seek a modus operandi by which the men, of to-day shall get their user, but by which tho resources necessary for tho defence and permanence of the Empire . shall be kept in sufficient quantity. Every right-mind-ed man in his heart will recognise that. Then let him bow to that which he recognises, iind let us put our efforts together to conserve the vital things of the Empire for Use in this Empire and for all its people rather than for some individuals. But there is no quick and royal road to success in the keen competition of production and development which will conFront tis when this war ends. You cannot put up tariff walls so high as to protect you against ignoranco and lack of skill. Tho foundation must he deeply and truly laid amongst the people, and they must he educated along practical lines. We must in all ways fit ourselves m this Empire to meet rivals from whatever quarter they come—be as intelligent, skilful; resourceful, rpady in organisation, and as fullv mobilised aa they can be, and, if possible, more so. Even a Higher Purpose.

We havo to conserve and develop these resources for Empire growth, Empire advancement, and Empire permanence, for it is the development, uplift, and permanence of tho civilisation which is embodied in tho flag of Empire that is the one great thing in the future for us to work for. This can best be done by all. its parts cooperating one with the other, by plans weir thought out and pursued in unison, by directing the migration of Empire ppoulation to tho end that British stock shall be retained under the flag and not disseminated among foreign nations, by mobilising tho capital - and skill and experience and commercial marino of the Empire for' Umpire development and transport primarily. AYitliin tiio Empire there ia ample scopo for our best energies and equipment, and before all else wo should develop and populate the vast ui:'l incalculably rich estate that -ve hnld in

trust. Lastly, I would say this. It is high tiuie >ve were defining our attitude in certain rcspccts, and they are these: l<'irsO, tho altitude of the flirts of the Empire to each other and to the Empire as a wnole. Aie we thinking about it? Do wu propose to do anything about is? Bow snail we stand with regard to each other? My own principles are wei l . kcoku. 1 ani not u l<'ree Trader under present circumstances. Speaking personally, I do not hoid out tho least, hope that the Empire can to-day come together on'the basis of Free Trade. 111 the Overseas, we are differently constituted from you, perhaps. Maybe, you are getting gradually into a position which does not greatly differentiate yourselves from us across the seas. It is time the Empire should consolidate itself, and, with reference to trade and commerce and production, should get about it quickly, and hammer out its policy for the future. My plea is, the homely family plea, let the J?mpire treat itself and its units,more favourably than it treats any country which does not belong to its flag. Preference within tho Empire is natural and wise, and I believe necessary. It is also possible and practical. Our Attitude Towards Neutrals. AVe must define our attitude to neutral countries. That is a delicate subject, it is true. But how long is this Empire to attune its ears to every whisper as to possible disadvantage from a- neutral country, if tho Empire dares to arrange its homo affairs as it likes P . . . Those neutral countries are 110 doubt important commercially, hut they have riot spilled an ounce of their blood; they have not spent a dollar 'of their money in all the terrible hell of war which on thousands "oF miles of front has harried the sons of the Empire and left its long trail of fearful consequences to be borno and combatcd by many a generation to come. Neutral countries will be reasonable; they ought to be. One consideration we can urge: "You have not paid in blood, in money; we have. And we who have suffered have now to reconstruct ourselves, and if we reconstruct ourselves we must be allowed to say how. Whilst dealing reasonably with you we must be just to oilr own." Our Duty to Our Allies. What is bringing this war to a successful finish? Gradually, little by little, after long delays, the Allies are able to work in unison. They have pooled their issues; put themselves into it regardless of sacrifices; worked together. But think of the tale of war. Thero lies Belgium torn, bleeding, outraged, looted. Tlieto lies Serbia, a country without a people. There lies Poland, in a vortex of want pitiable- in the extreme. A large part of France has been devastated. Rumania is threatened with disaster. When tho war is over these nations are to be built up, and it is absolutely necessary to the Allies that their trade relations towards each other shall be placed upon a more favoured basis of treatment and co-operation than that of the neutral. Our Attitudo to Oilr Enemy. Does a definition of what our attitudo towards our enemy ought to bo need many, words? Sometimes I think, No; sometimes, Yes. Make no mistake, right in your midst in cherished Britain and in overy outpost of the Empire thore are men, and not a few, who will ineet you with this statement: "When war is over we cannot, ol' course, cherish hatred. The world is, after all, one family. We shall need what Germany can give. Germany must he allowed to recuperate and to rebuild. Let things, when peace coines, go tin as before." There are men, not a few, who are striving for that to-day, and who will strive for it to-morrow. And tou have to be up and wide awake in order to counteract that influence. I am not an apostle of the doctrine of hate. But I have ii. ■ iiieinoi'.y. I propose to keep it. I am' not going to forget what the Germans hare done, in ignoring sacred pacts, in tearing up treaties, in outraging tho humanities, ill wholesale looting, cruel and ghastly barbarity, and in that, worst of all, treachery" to thesacred claims of friendship and hospitality, under covor of which they wrought their infamies. These are things I do not propose to forget. Do you? The revelation that has been made of tho German heart and tlie German plirpo.se in these two yearsof war is my sufficient guaraiHeo for demanding that, for this generation at least, Gernijtn goods, German wares, German partnerships, German businesses, and Germans themselves shall be excluded from tho pale of tile British Empire. Give them a good, long time to repent, but be sure they do repent, and in sackcloth and ashes, before they ask to bo admitted into the community of decent civilisations.- Up to that time justico to ourselves and to our Allies designates our attitude. ' A Stirring Final Word. To win this war we liad to get together, think together, work together, aild fight together. It lias been Worth it all, and is leading to certain success. After peace conies'there will be all the greater necessity for getting together, working together, .thinking together, with one common ideal and ono common j purpose. Let me impress upon you again the burden of tho trust that has come into our hands. We cannot divest ourselves of it. It la a, trust wo hold for British traditions, British history, and British civilisation, which for a thousand years aild more lias been a great uplifting influence in the world. The world is young yet, and there is just as much need of this great civilising influence in tho future as there has been in the past. On our shoulders lies the responsibility. If wc do our duty, the Empire trust will be conserved. If wc fail in duty, tho splendid promise and. needed realisation ..may easily pass away aiiil bo as an idle vision.

Needless to say, a speech of siicli brilliancy, eloquence, and wisdom was

vociferously endorsed by the members of the Royal Colonial Institute. Sir Thomas Mackenzie, the High Commissioner for New Zealand, who was present, rose, .and in proposing a vote of thanks to Sir George Foster, expressed the hope that, far and wide, the speech would be published to its last word. Tf nothing else ever emanated from the Hoyal Colonial Institute, this one speech would justify its existence. The. truths'which Sir George Foster put before them would sink deep into the hearts of the people of this great Empire. Let-us hope that the old country was now roused to the necessity of action in order that wo might consolidate our great inheritance. When the International Conference did como, we should do what we thought was in the interest of our Empire; dealing fairly with others, but remembering what had occurred and how by a mere miraclo we were not enduring the suffering and devastation now being borne by our Continental Allies.