July Canada's celebration of Dominion Day this year marks the seventieth anniversary of the passing of "The British North America Act" which on July 1, 1867 brought the senior Dominion' of the British Empire {into existence. Over a hundred years before then, Canada, by the Peace of Paris 1763, passed into he British company. The partnership has had its Vicissitudes, its triumphs and. disappointments; it has held firm and with very real pride and affection do the Mother Country and the Sister Dominions congratulate the eldest of the family to-day. Canada, no less than her fellows in the British Commonwealth, has an individuality of her own. She is by no means expected to view all world problems within her immediate notice entirely through the eyes of London. For~ tunately that freedom of thought 4s amply provided for in the loose-Knit Constitution of the Empire, As was abundantly proved during! the discussions which led to his present Majesty's Accession—discussions for which Canada was better primed, perhaps, than any other Dominion—this right to differ merely strengthens the solidarity agreement on fundamental issues, Leaving out of account India whose Dominion status, although on the anvil, is not yet completely forged, Canada has a more complex racial composition than any other member of the Commonwealth, When, in 1763, 60,000 French settlers in New France came under the British flay it was expected that they would eventually be merged in the nationality newly assumed by them. To-day, Canada's 11 millions, no less than 3,000,000, 75 per cent: of whom live ju the Province of Quebec, are French-speaking descendants of the sturdy inhabitants of the former French colonies.. Secured in. the exercise of their own religion, thei own language, they still have in Quebec a civil code derived from the pre-revolutionary Coutume de Paris. Not for nothing, in the recess of transfer from French to British rule, did the voyagers give new meaning to the old chanson:
A la claire fontaine Men allant promener Yoi trouvé Feau st belle Que fe my suis baigne Out, it y a tongtemps que fe time Janiais 4e ne toublierst So it has proved. Beside Canadians of French origin, there are 4% per cent. of German descent—relics in the main of Great Britain's former association with Hanover—and, of the 62: per cent, classified as British origin, a good proportion do not regard the present United Kingdom as their Mother Country in. the strict sense of the term, their antecedents making them look, rather to the United States of America or the South of Ireland, Proud as they may be of their British citizenship these Canadians are conscious and no less proud of their different national background, Canadian nationalism—a plant of steady if slow growth—has therefore peculiar characteristics which cannot be appreciated unless these racial origins are taken nto account. The oldest, largest" and most populous Dominion has, in fact, in fis own ability to govern.itselt a confidence derived from long-standing traditions of cultural political and strategic independence, It furnishes an almost paradoxical portent in the closeness of Canadian friendship with the "good neigh-hour" across the Jong. southern, arbitrarily delimitated and. undefended border—to the_ significance of which Dr, Alfred Sze has just ald a notable tribute—tor those relations are fully compatible with a strong fidelity to the ties of the British Commonwealth. The beneficent role played by Canada in maintaining Anglo-American understanding "has " been vividly Hlustrated during the past year by the cordial interchange of visits between the President of the United States of America and the brilliant statesman and author, Lord Tweeds-who represents King George VI at Ottawa. Canada's accepted right to' develop her own policy has therefore a "special importance in British imperial philosophy. It! raises issues of some complexity, for it is inevitable that in a world which at the moment is wont to lake its metaphysical controversies seriously, the Canadian view may differ even more sharply than that fof any other Dominion from the trends discernible in British thought. This is not necessarily inimical to the interests of the Commonwealth a whole for it helps to ensure the tolerance and breadth of vision fon which, Inthe last resort, the cohesion of that Commonwealth must rest, Yet it, would be unfair both to Canada and to the' Empire a whole if the resultant dificulties were. underestimated or Blossed' over. " Fortunately. states-Manship on' both sides. of the Alantic has, shown itself alert in sensing the dangers of such a situation and—what is equally as important-—in turning to good. account the opportunities thus given for broadening the conceptions of British policy. As an influence for peace, for mitigating the evils of economic nationalism, Canada has pulled her full weight, On this her day it is appropriate to salute that imperial service and to wish. well to the vigorous and progressive people whose genius has rendered it.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.