YOUNG NATIONS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 370, 17 June 1911, Page 3

YOUNG NATIONS.

THEIR POWER AND PERIL. HON. DS. FINDLAYS' AMERICAN IMPRESSIONS. The Hon. Dr Findlay, AttorneyGeneral and Minister of Justice who is accompanying the Prime Minister on his English visit, was able to renew his acquaintance with Canada and the States during the journey to England, and he has given the benefit of his impressions to his colleague, the Hon. George Fowlds. From his exceedingly interesting letter, we have been able to make extracts which deal vividly with subjects of world-wide importance. A DOZEN TONGUES. "You will observe that we are crossing the Atlantic in the R.M.S. Lusitania, thirty-two thousand tons register, and something over sixtyeight thousand horse-power," writes Dr Findlay. "I take the lift in the morning from my cabin deck to deck A, and the climb is what you encounter in a large hotel when rising to the top floor. This is the fourth day of our voyage and we have maintained an averge speed of thirty land miles an hour all the way. What strikes me most is the strange congeries of nationalities on board. There seem to be about a dozen foreign tongues spoken almost as much a3 one's own. These people, however, but merely represent modern America— fortynine different tongues are now spoken in New York. One of my friends who came down to see me off brought with him as a curiosity twelve daily papers, published there that morning all in a different tongue. We are apt to forget how much America is ceasing to be an Anglo-American country. I have, as you know, visited the United States four times in the last eighteen years, and it is impossible to escape noticing how increasingly the foreign element in the population obtrudes itself. My steward at the breakfast told me that ninety per cent of all our vast array are Americans. So they are in the sense that they are resident in U.S.A.; but when I look at the names on the list one is almost startled to notice how the Americans have passed away from being an AngloSaxon race. You are aware that in 1840 the population was practically wholly of British origin—more than seven-eighths of it at least came from the United Kingdom. Now more than fifty per cent, of the population of the whole country from east to west is either foreign born or the off-spring of foreigners. Ir, the north the foreign proportion is much larger than this because the south has not been affected to any extent by this foreign invasion, although there they have from eight to nine million negroes. What do you think of the fact that eighty per cent, of the people of New York are foreign born or of foreign extraction? While, if you take thirtyeight of the other great cities of the union, the foreign element is sixtysix per cent. Almost every nation in Europe has contributed largely to this congeries of nationalities. Five and a half million Germans have come in, nearly all during the last fifty years.

THE FOREIGN INFLUX.] "America still accepts whatever likes to come so long as it has a few dollars in its pocket and cannot be regarded as physically or mentally defective. The influx still goes on, and the best estimate made by experts looking in to the future make it clear that within forty years more than seventy-five per cent, of the whole population of the United States wil either be foreign born or of foreign extraction. Of course it is impossible to predict what effect this is going 10 have in producing a new type but that it must profoundly modify the Anglo-Saxon type is perfectly clear. It has as I have observed, already done so. Its chief significance for us is that it impairs that racial smypathy with the Anglo-Saxon nation, which we are disposed to attribute in too great a degree to America of to-day. One of the questions which every British subject feels to be a vital one is what is the national attitude, as regards friendliness, of America to our Empire? No question is harder to answer; and on some of my visits to the States when I have met members and descendants of o ( ld families, like the late H. D. Lloyd, I have been disposed to think that there was a living and spontaneous friendliness on the part of the American people for those of our nation.

SENTIMENT TOWARDS BRITAIN. "It is the view of the better class that is most frequently expressed in the leading journals; but the true measure of a nation's feelings on such a matter as this is not what the best class think, but what is the regard of the bulk of the people—the general attitude of the man-in-the-street ? Now it cannot for a moment be denied that the feelings of America have grown more friendly towards us. When I recall the bitterness I saw there eighteen years ago there was abundant room for some such change; but I am satisfied that we in New Zealand over-estimate the friendliness of the great bulk of the American people towards the Empire. We think too much of the fact that the two nations speak the same tongue. We talk loosely of their inheriting the same tradition*, overlooking the fact that a considerable majority of the whole population throughout the country, and a very large majority in all the centres, have not our traditions either from their language or their history, but on the contrary have to a large extent inherited national dislikes and racial antipathies to the British nation.

'HAS TWELE O'CLOCK STRUCK?' "Of course it is impossible to deny even in this year o£ the Christian era that national hatred throughout the world is commoner than national affection and national jealousy is commoner than either. America's regard for us has improved largely because her

jealousy has decreased—she as already twice the population of the United Kingdom, and she has outstripped us in many directions in which we deemed ourselves matchless. Everywhere one hears in the United States a selfcomplacent tone of pitying superiority towards our Motherland. 1 was told < y several shrewd men, who are moic than usually friendly to our Empire, that the British had struck their "Twelve O'clock" and that America must leave her far in the rear as a progressive and manufacturing nation There seems to be a general opinion that Germany, too, is rapidly outstripping us. One of the New York lawyers pointed out to me that in the last twenty years Germany's manufactures had increased eighty-three millions sterling, while those in England had increased only sixty million; that in 1894 Germany was losing by emigration twenty-six out of every ten thousand of her population, while since 907 she has been losing only four. On the other hand in 1894 England was losing only nine out of every ten thousand and is now losing forty out of every ten thousand; and that to-day the population of both Germany and the United States is increasing at the rate of over a million a year.while for seventeen years the population of the United Kingdom has increased only six and a hall million. I mention these figures to show you the kind of tests that are being applied to England's place into the world. And one cannot escape feeling that the reduced bitterness on the part of a large portion of the people of the States is rather a diminished jealousy than any increase in genuine friendliness. While all this is so, the best minds in America are everywhere striving to improve the relationship between the two nations. The present President is a sagacious man with a level-headed desire to place the horror of war between the States and ourselves outside the region of human possibility, and I believe we will find that at least by 1914, when one hundred years of peace shall have continued between these two great Deoples English-speaking, an arbitration treaty will be agreed upon referring all questions, including even those of national honour, to some tribunal based upon the Hague principle. I think that beyond this it is but dreaming to hope for any alliance between the two nations for either defensive or offensive purposes —I mean, of course, within the horizon of any man now living.

IMPRESSIONS OF THE JOURNEY. "I have drifted into this topic from what is going on around me just now on board the Lusitania, let me return to our journey. We reached Vancouver on April 2nd, three days before our timetable time, and pushed on, spending same six consecutive nights in the train to Toronto. We stepped off, however, at Winnipeg for the day and there I met one or two of the master minds of Canada. Among these I was greatly impressed by Dr R. E. Macdonald, editor-in-chief of the "Toronto Globe,' which probably has the largest journalistic influence of any paper in Canada. He spoke at a meeting of the Canadian Club at which Sir Joseph Ward and I were present, and delivered one of the finest speeches I have ever heard. In force, fire and figure he much resembles our dear old friend, the late Dr McGregor once, you will remember, one of my professors. For nearly an hour McDonald dealt with the true ideals of Canada, with her duty and with her destiny. Macdonald is an intimate friend both of President Taft our Ambassador Bryce and Sir Wilfrid Laurier, and has, I know.; done much to improve the friendly and commercial relations between Canada and the States. Macdonald combines in himself many various and important qualifications. First, he is a distinguished scholar, a Canadian by birth and descended from five previous generations of Canadians —a man who has been studying for years the policies and social relations tendencies of both is own country and of its great neigbour. Above all he posessea a strong, clear fearless mind. Considering these qualifications, I was much impressed by what he tpjd us.

THE RECIPROCITY TREATY. "You will remember that, reciprocity between the States and Canada is just now the question of the hour. Upon it the people of Canada are greatly divided, although there seems to be little doubt that both countries will adopt the proposed treaty. This aims at ultimately establishing free trade for the principal raw products, and some of the manufactures of each country. Macdonald is ardently in favour of the treaty and gave some striking illustrations of the absurdity of the existing tariffs. Residents on each side of the border line—each producing what the other wants and able to supply it far cheaper than it could be got elsewhere—being prevented by a tariff wall from seeking their mutual advantage. Behind the proposed reciprocity tariff many Canadians have raised the bogey of annexation or, at least, of the merger of Canada into her great neighbour. Macdonald strenuously ridicules this bogey. Speaking from America's interests, he seemed t° me tP m sH e out a con.:: I elusive case against either annexa? tion or merger. First, he emphasised the fact that the traditional policy of the States was against further territorial extension. The Ameri can people entered upon the Spanish war of 1898 with no idea whatever of extending their territories. You perhaps are aware —at least . Macdonald made it perfectly clear that the taking of the Phillipines and Puerto-Rico was really no matter of choice, but of national compulsion. However, I will not weary you with the proofs Macdonald adduced of the sincerity of this, policy. He was even more interesting when he dealt with America's permanent interests. What both Canada and the States fear is not trouble on the Eastern but on the Western coast. There is a genuine and growing apprehension of trouble with Japan and China. There are already one hundred and forty thousand Japanese and eighty thousand Chinamen in the

States, and a very large number of both nationalities in Canada

THE CLOUD IN THE WEST. "You are aware that the States have, partly by legislation and partly by treaty arrangement, shut out both Chinese and Japanese immigration. But with the growth of Japan's sea power and with the possible combinatio:. of China and' Japan, there is in the minds of many of the leading men both in Canada and America a genuine apprehension of trouble with the East. It is felt by many of the leading Americans that in View of this peril it is in the highest degree desirable that a British Dominion, like that of Canada, should be united with the States in strong protective action against this possible invasion. I think Macdonali was voicing—when he repeated the words of one whom he called a great American—the opi. ion of President Taft himself. This was: 'We Americans deem it essential to our best protection against Eastern trouble that we should have united with us in a common defence a strong growing independent British Dominionlike that of Canada, and that it is therefore almost treason to his country for any Ameircan to suggest the annexation of Canada.' A closer alliance between Canada and the States in the proposed reciprocal treaty would, he maintained, help to bring America and England closer together. Canada, the greatest daughter of the Empire, should become the closer friend of America and so help to bring—perhaps only in the far future—the great Western English-speaking peoples into one union with ourselves to secure the peace of the world. CANADA'S OUTLOOK.

"The Canadian future is difficult to foretell. She has trodden in the footsteps of her great neighbour. A continuous and immense volume of foreign imimgration is now pouring into Canada. Mo doubt a large factor of her present immigration is British, but the foreign element is larger still. Canada opens her gates even more widely than the States to this element. Already in her large cities a great foreign element is found. In Winnipeg there is in one quarter of this centre forty thousand foreigners ; and, as you are aware, the foreign element in Montreal is larger still. It seems to me that Canada, too, will one day—and that not a very distant one—have less Anglo-Saxon than foreign stock within her borders. The influence of this stock upon Imperial solidarity and loyalty may already be seen in the French element of Canada to-day. I have travelled Canada from east to west and have stayed in various centres since the Boer war, and one cannot help questioning whether the loyalty of Canada to the Motherland has the same strong genuine spontaneousnes3 which marks the loyalty of New Zealand. The Canadians are proud of our Empire and of their association with, it, but they are certainly not British people in the full degree to which New Zealanders are. So sagacious a man as Bryce, the British Ambassador, declares" that within the limit of existing lives America may have three hundred millions of people. Canada may have one hundred millions, and if the two nations, totalling four hundred million souls, stand together with all the power their wealth, intelligence and vigour imply, their ability to promote and secure some means of universal arbitration in place of war wiU be incalculable. One thing is clear that the Americans are, and. wiU be, wholly on the side of They hate the aggressive military spirit of the Germans and believe that Europe stands of peace. But this is along way from feeling inclined to join us in any stuggle to maintain peace." — N.Z. Times.