The Dominion WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1917. A FATEFUL ELECTION

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 73, 19 December 1917, Page 4

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1917. A FATEFUL ELECTION

It will be somo time before the final returns of tho Canadian elections are available,. but a forecast cabled to-day states that a Unionist victory is certain. This is excellent news as far as it goes, but it leaves big questions open. In the circumstances in which Canada is placed, something moro than a simple victory is needed to give assured standing to the parties which support the Military Servico Act and have sunk their differences for the timo being in the interests of a strong war policy. At best the Government returned to power in this election will be faced by a knotty problem in dealing with somo 2,500,000 French-Canadians—nearly a third of the total population of the Dominion—who will neither recruit voluntarily nor accept conscription. Thero is no hope of healing racial divisions in Canada for a long timo to .come, and the best prospect in sight is that tho loyal section's of tho population may give such proofs of their unity and determination as not only to renew the mandate of the Borden Ministry and strengthen its hands, but to in some degrco modify tho hostility of the FrenchCanadians. Prospects of reaching this state of affairs seem on tho whole to be fairly good. The broad tendoncy of recent political developments in Canada has been to isolate the French-Canadians and to bring sections of tho English-speaking population which _ are divided on ordinary political issues into a common camp so far as war policy i 8 concerned. Even this measure of coalition has been approached slowly in the great northern Dominion. Except in tho case of actual war .appropriations there was until very recently no suspension of party conflict. In the early days of tho war there was no suggestion of union from any sourco or any party. Tho official Liberal leaders, m one commentator pointed out not long ago, had been so wedded to pacifism and so intolerant of any suggestion that war with Germany was conceivable that they were not regarded as material for a war Government. Tho English-speaking Liberals assisted tho Government to pass the Military Servico Act _ in August last, but oven at that period

the prospects of a coalition wore regarded as dubious, and for a time all negotiations with a view to an alliance of parties against tho French-Canadians were abortive. In October last, however, Sir Robert Borden succeeded in forming a Coalition Government, in which portfolios are equally divided between Conservatives and Liberals. It is this Government which has now appealed to the country, and it is noteworthy that one of the few returns in hand at time of writing announces the election of MajorGeneral Mewburn, a Liberal, who holds the portfolio of Defence. His .success is a welcome indication that the rank and filo Liberal voters-ap-prove the action of their leaders in entering a coalition. It speaks volumes for the loyalty and devotion of the English-speak-ing population of Canada, as distinguished from tho French-Cana-dian irreconcilables, that the fate of the elections will be largely determined by the direction in which soldiers cast their votes. Tho Toronto correspondent of the London Times emphasised this fact and others throwing light upon the situation in an article contributed to his paper a few weeks ago:

Unless tho votes of tho soldiers are polled (ho observed) there can ho only ono result. In the Canadian Army probably 390,000 enlisted from tho Englishspeaking communities. In tho general election of 1911, which was ns keenly contested as any political contast since Confederation, 1,307,528 votes wero polled. Twonty-eight per cent, of the voto was French, 7 per cent. German and Austrian, and between 10 and 11 pgr cent, was divided among Scandinavians, Russians, Swedes, Norwegians, and other "foreign" elements. It is estimated that 70G.0G5, of M per cent, of the votes cast in 1911 were of English-speaking peoplo. Thus, nwirly half the English-speaking voters of Canada are in uniform, and at least one J third in tho trenches or in the hospitals. If the soldiers were not enfranchisud the lion-English-speaking elements would constitute a decisive majority of the electors, and It is difficult to believe that a conscriptionist Government could surviye an appeal to tho

country. la the circumstances, the Government has naturally x taken measures to give. the soldiers every opportunity of voting. It is assumed that they will solidly support the Government which stands for an energetic prosecution of the war and for the provision of reinforcements by the only practicable method, but the result of their votes will x not at onco appear. The period of polling, so far as soldiors are ooncerned, will extend over twenty-eight days, and the fate of many constituencies may be in doubt until the results aro reported. Any survey of the outlook in Canada must in ordinary justice take noto of the fact that, in spite of the racial and other differences which have done so much to hamper its efforts, the Dominion has a highly creditable record in tho matter of raising troops. In an attempt to bolster ug a ibad case, some anti-conscription-ists in Australia have lately been asking why Canada, with its greater population, has not dono moro than Australia. Tho Canadian Trade Commissioner in Australia has furnished tho Commonwealth Statistician with official figures which show that: The total enlistments in Canada up lo September SO last were 435,013. TII9 enlistments in Australia on that date/aggregated 380,103. Up to .Tune 20 last Canada had sent oversea 329,943; Australia in tho same period had dispatched 257,778.

It is further estimated by tho Trade Commissioner that from June to Dcccmbdr 50,000 additional men went from Canada, whereas in the same period less than 15,000 were dispatched from Australia. Canada in fact has- dono considerably better than Australia, and her achievement is the moro remarkable when account is taken of the fact that practically the whole of her troops havo been drawn from an English-speaking population of 5,500,000. Tho French-Canadians and other "foreign" olements, who constitute tho remaining portion of her population, have contributed hardly anything to the strength of her divisions in the field. It is now to be determined whether Canada is to develop and expand this honourable record, as seems probablo from tho news to hand to-day, or to fall into a state of political chaos of which the first result would be a weakened and declining effort in the war.