Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 261, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 November 1911 — CANADA AND HOW IT IS GOVERNED [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CANADA AND HOW IT IS GOVERNED

THE situation in Canadian politics to which the reciprocity treaty gave rise has been for some time engaging worldwide attention. In a half century, almost unnoticed. Canada turn attained a startling growth. It seems only a few years ago that, amid dissension and rebellion, she was struggling for confederation and responsible government. The patriotic fight of the great William Lyon Mackenzie is almost qui> rent history and a great many of those who remember the British North American act of 1867 —the act which gave Canada a federal government—are still hale and. hearty citizens of Britain’s richest colony. The first premier of the great Dominion, Sir John A. Macdonald, is scarcely a figure of the past. He was active in the political life of his country until 20 years ago. The sound of his voice is still fresh In the minds of Canada’s most prominent, presentday statesmen. The rapid rise of the Dominion .of Canada, from a few scattered settlements to & country of wealth and population, has been remarkable. While the twfo great peoples of the American continent, those of the United States and Canada, have waxed strong, under/ the influence of a progressive policy which is peculiar to this hemisphere they have done so along widely diverging lines. The governmental systems of both countries, which at first glance may seem alike and which are founded upon the principle of popular representation, are vastly . different. ' The civic affairs of the United States rest upon three distinct divisions of government, the executive, the legislative and the judicial, while the Canadians, profiting by the deficiencies as well as the good points of thd American constitution, drafted a government of party responsibility In which the three great divisions of their neighbor's civic structure were welded into one. The Canadian political method Is the newest development of con-* Btltutional government and Its origin and success form one of the most interesting chapters of recent history. \ The keynote of the Canadian theory of government is party responsibility. All ctiidc branches are responsible to the party in power and the party in power Is directly responsible to the people. While formally the legislature consists of two bodies — the house of commons and the senate —the country is practically governed by bne assembly, the house at commons, for the senate is a negligible quantity in the practical civic operations of Canada. The governor general, who formally presides over all and who is the representative of the king, theoretically appoints the premier, but, in reality, he always chooses the man whom the parliamentary situation requires. The prfemier must be a member of the house and must be elected to his seat from a regular riding or constituency. In him are united the offices of speaker of the house and majority leader. The members oftbe cabinet must also be members of the commons and they are elected to parliament by the pepple of their own riding. The Canadian ministry consists of the premier and his cabinet and this combination Is popularly known as "the government/’ When a Party Loses. When the Canadian party In power loses its majority In the house, through a split In Its ranks over some political question or through loss of popular confidence at an election, the opposition goes Into power and its official leader Immediately and automatically becomes premier, the governor general always calling on him to, form a new government If the Ciuaadlan system prevailed ih the United States President Taft and the members of his cabinet would have to be members of the bouse of representatives. The Dominion of Canada is governed always by the party in power and the executive and legislative, powers of his party are recognized by the people. For every act or proposal “the government” or party In power is directly responsible to the houee of commons .and to the Canadian people and If, In any of Its acts or proposals It falls to meet with the approval of thp house, or the people. It steps down from pbwer and the opposition takes control as a party. It Is because of this policy that the liberal party went to the people with the reciprocity Issue. 1A the beginning of Canada’s po-

litical life, just previous to the war of 1812, the country was governed under the constitutional act by two distinct councils—executive and legislative. They were Independent of each other and through abuse of privilege began to think themselves independent of the people. The pioneer settlers, whose only thought was for the clearing and taming of the wilderness, cared little for politics. Theirs was a fight against the primal and the wild and they thought of the government only as a help to them in their mighty efforts.

The men in whose hands rested the responsibility of' wielding civic power abused their trust. They gave valuable lands to political friends and spent money corruptly that was intended for the settlers who needed aid. These abuses brought abodt dissatisfaction and distrust and the pioneers began a fight for a better and more competent form of government, a fight which ended ye&rs later in bloodshed and rebellion but which finally obtained for the Canadian people the almost perfect constitution of which they boast today. For years the prejudice existing between the French and English was an obstacle to the great struggle against privilege and injustice. Canada in those days was divided into two provinces, known as Upper and Lower Canada, and while Mackenzie Was fighting for justice in Upper Canada, M. Papineau, was struggling with the corrupt powers of Lower Canada. The latter was defeated in his peaceful fight and, fired by all the passions that liberty inspires, he resorted to rebellion. Thus by means of bloodshed he succeeded in obtaining the suspension of the constitution or Lower Canada. The rebellion spread to Upper Canada, where Mackenzie took up the fight, and although he was defeated and exiled the principles for which he fought won out in the end and the act of Union of I|4o gave Canada its first united and responsible government. The provisions of the act of union were by no means complete and factions and dissatisfactions were the result until 1867 when the North American act gave to the land of the maple leaf a government under which it has grown and prospered.

. Provisional Legislatures. The provisional legislatures of the Dominion of Canada correspond in a great many ways with the state governments of the United States. In every way they resemble the Dominion parliament, having, with the exception of Ontario, a house of commons and a senate. The lieutenant governor of the province stands in the same relation to the provisional legislature as the governor general of the Domidion to the Dominion parliament The premier oi the province is supreme in the provincial parliament, just as the premier of the Dominion is all over. Independent and supreme in its own Dominion the Canadlih parliament,* always loyal to the British crown, stands a separate and distinct body, in no way subservient to the Imperial parliament of England. It has the power of making its own treaties with foreign countries and since the establishment of the Supreme Court of Appeal, in 1875, the Canadian parliament has been practically Independent of the British Privy council. Legislative acts regarding Canada are never passed by the imperial parliament unless they are stamped with the approval of the house of commons at Ottawa

From the days of the northwest rebellion to the recent clash over the reciprocity treaty the Canadian ship of state has weathered some rough seas. Among the many events that stirred parliament to its depths the Manitoba school' question stands out prominently. The credit of its settlement rests w}th Canada’s foremost citlsen, Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Limitations of space prevent the mention of all the storms that roughened the waters of Canada’s political sea, but most important among the many were the Bering sea fishery dispute, the Alaskan boundary question, the Atlantic fisheries question and. most prominent among recent storms, the Canadian naval bill For the last 15 years the Canadian parliament has been remarkable because of its wonderful chief, Btr Wilfrid Laurier. He has grown old in the battle of Canadian betterment and the great deeds of a true life have touched his locks with whiteness.

PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS AT OTTANWK