Speeches of the Right Hon. Sir Robert Laird Borden, G.C.M.G., M.P.

FUTURE OF THE EMPIRE.

At the Canadian Club, Winnipegt on December 29th, 1914.

It is within the bounds of probability that the four free nations of the Overseas Dominions will have put into the fighting line 250,000 men if the war should continue another year. That result, or even the results which have already been obtained, must mark a great epoch in the history of inter-imperial relations. There are those, within sound of my voice, who will see the Oversea Dominions surpass in wealth and population the British Isles. There are children playing in your streets who may see Canada alone attain that eminence. Thus it is impossible to believe that the existing status, so far as concerns the control of foreign policy and extra-imperial relations, can remain as it is to-day. All are conscious of the complexity of the problem thus presented, but no one need despair of a satisfactory solution, and no one can doubt the profound influence which the tremendous events of the past few months and those in the immediate future must exercise upon one of the most interesting and far-reaching questions ever presented for the consideration of statesmen.

RESOURCES OF EMPIRE.

At a meeting of the United Kingdom Branch of the Empire Parliamentary Association, House of Commons, July 13th, 1915.

I appreciate very sincerely, and very warmly as well, what Mr. Bonar Law said with regard to the part which Canada has played in this great contest. There was no doubt in my own mind as to what that part would be, and I took the responsibility four days before the actual declaration of war of sending a message to His Majesty’s Government stating that, if war should unhappily supervene, they might be assured that Canada would regard the quarrel as her own, and would do her part in maintaining the integrity of this Empire and all that this war means to us. We are not a military nation in Canada; we are a peace-loving and peace-pursuing people with great tasks of development within our own Dominions lying before us. Thus, for a struggle such as this, upon so gigantic a scale, we were naturally unprepared. But even so, relatively unprepared as we were, the Minister of Militia and Defence in Canada succeeded in placing upon the Plain of Valcartier, within six weeks of the outbreak of war, a force of 33,000 men, thoroughly armed and equipped in every branch of the Service—artillery, commissariat, Army Service Corps, and all the vast organisation that is necessary in war as carried on in the present day.

We have sent overseas up to the present time nearly 75,000 men, including troops which are doing garrison duty in the West Indies. We have in Canada to-day 75,000 men in training, with organisation being prepared as rapidly as possible for their advent to the front when needed. The response from every province in Canada, indeed, has been so warm, so impressive, so inspiring, that our difficulty has been to secure arms and equipment and material and all that is necessary to enable our men to go to the front. So far as the men were concerned they were there in abundance. So far as the other preparations were concerned we have been very much in the same condition as yourselves, unprepared for war upon so tremendous a scale. In this conflict we are engaged with great nations whose-military preparation has extended over nearly half a century, and whose aim, as far as we can comprehend it, has been world-wide supremacy by force of arms. Naturally in the opening months, and the opening year, of such a struggle we could not accomplish all that might be expected at first, but I take comfort in this thought, that for purposes of war, or for any other purposes, the resources of this Empire are not only abundant, but almost unlimited, and there is yet time for that preparation which perhaps ought to have been made at an earlier day. The day of peril came before our day of preparation had been fully reached.

Looking back on what we had to face and upon what we had to contend with, I venture to think that the condition of affairs to-day is one upon which we should rather congratulate ourselves than otherwise. I have no fear for the future, although the struggle may be a long one and may entail sacrifices which we did not anticipate at first. I think I may bring to you from the people of Canada this message, that in whatever is necessary to bring this war to an honourable and triumphal conclusion, Canada is prepared to take her part. And I am sure that is true of every Dominion of the Empire. Last autumn, in speaking before a Canadian club in the west of Canada, I said that if this war should continue for a year it was reasonably probable that the oversea Dominions would have in the field 250,000 men. I venture to think that to-day, if you estimate what Australia has done and is doing, what New Zealand has done and is doing, what South Africa has done and is doing, and what Canada has done and is doing, the oversea Dominions of this Empire have, either in the field, or in training as organised troops, no less than 350,000 men.

Mr. Bonar Law has spoken of the courage and resourcefulness of the Canadian troops. They went to the front as men taken from civil avocations of life, with no prolonged military training, but with 'the habit of overcoming obstacles, with a certain resourcefulness, with all the traditions of the great races from which they spring, and in such a manner as made us sure that their record would be worthy of the great Dominion which they represented. I would not speak the truth if I did not confess to you that I am proud, very proud indeed, of the part which they have played. I am equally proud of the splendid valour shown by the men of these islands in that great retreat against overwhelming numbers, under difficulties which I think were greater than those which ever attended a great retreat before; and I desire to pay my tribute to the splendid valour and heroism of the British Army at that time, worthy of the highest traditions of the race from which we all spring. It is almost superfluous to speak of the splendid valour which has distinguished the troops of Australia and New Zealand at the Dardanelles. I had the pleasure of sending telegrams to the Governments of these two Commonwealths and of congratulating them upon the part which their men are taking in these very dangerous operations.

What a fantastic picture it was that Prussian militarism made for itself before the outbreak of this war. It pictured Canada, Australia, and New Zealand standing aloof and indifferent, or seeking an opportunity to cut themselves aloof from this Empire. What is the actual picture to-day? They are bound to the Empire by stronger ties than ever before, and are prepared to fight to the death for the maintenance of its integrity and for the preservation of our common civilisatipn throughout the world. What of South Africa? The Prussian picture was that it should flare into rebellion at once, cut itself off from the Empire, and proclaim its independence. What is the actual picture ? The heroic figure of General Louis Botha receiving the surrender of German South-West Africa—territory larger than the German Empire itself.

We have nothing to fear as the outcome of this war. We do not and dare not doubt the success of the cause for which the British Empire and the Allied nations are fighting to-day. It is impossible to believe that the democracies of the British Empire, even though unprepared on so tremendous a scale as our opponents for such a war as this, will not prove their efficiency in this day of peril. They have proved it, and I think they will prove it in the future. In the later days when peace comes to be proclaimed, and after the conclusion of peace, it is beyond question that large matters will come up for consideration by the statesmen of the United Kingdom and the Overseas Dominions. It is not desirable, nor perhaps becoming, that I should dwell upon these considerations to-day. I said what I had to say on the subject with considerable frankness and some emphasis three years ago when I had the pleasure of addressing you. What I said then represents my convictions now. I do not doubt the problems which will be presented, exceedingly difficult and complex as they are, will find a wise and just solution, and in thanking you for the reception which you have accorded me to-day, and for the honour which you have done to the Dominion which I represent as its Prime Minister, let me express the hope and aspiration that in confronting the immense responsibilities which devolve upon those inheriting so great an Empire as ours, and one which must necessarily command so profound an influence on the future of civilisation and the destiny of the world, we shall so bear ourselves, whether in these mother islands or in the Overseas Dominions, that the future shall hold in store no reproach for us for lack of vision, want of courage, or failure of duty.

WORTHY OF THEIR ANCESTORS.

At the Canadian Matinee at the Queen's Theatre, London, July 15th, 1915.

All Canada is thrilled by the part the Canadians have played, and their achievements have brought to Canada a vivid realisation of the meaning of the war. They are worthy of their traditions and their ancestors.

OVERSEAS DOMINIONS’ DESTINY.

At the Guildhall, on being presented zvith the Freedom of the City of London, July 29th, 1915.

I appreciate the honour which has been conferred upon me, coming as it does from a city which may be described as a great Imperial City, in a fashion which is perhaps not known elsewhere throughout the world to-day. Through the march of civilisation across the centuries, the progress and development of London have kept time with the march. That it is a great Imperial City to-day is due to the great achievement of our race. While it may not be fitting that one of our kindred should speak of the British people as a great race, I may be permitted to say that it has wrought great things, and that the greatest of all its achievements is the upbuilding of an Empire bound together by such ties as those which unite ours.

In the beginning, in the founding of the nation within these islands, there was need for orderly government, and that made necessary a strong and autocratic system of government. But, as the years rolled on, there came to the people the right to govern themselves. Orderly government, individual liberty, equal rights before the people—upon these secure foundations the fabric of the national life was erected, and in these later days has come the not less noble ideal of a democracy founded upon equality of opportunity for all the people before the conditions of modern life.

In the Dominions beyond the seas, the same ideals of liberty and of justice have led inevitably to the establishment of self-governing institutions. Their development there has been very much the same as Jvithin your own islands, and those short-sighted ones who believed that the right to govern themselves would drive the far-flung nations of our Empire asunder, have found that that very circumstance, and that free development, have united them by ties stronger than would be possible under any system of autocratic government.

I have listened with the deepest possible appreciation to the words which have been spoken of the action of Canada in this war. That action was due to no Government, to no statesman or group of statesmen. It was due to the spirit of the Canadian people, a spirit which will make the cause for which we are contending victorious, and which will pervade the Dominions to the end. I do not need to tell you of the part that Canada has played and the part she proposes to play. But it might not be amiss for a moment to allude to the remarkable circumstance that four great Overseas Dominions, self-governing Dominions of the Empire, have been actuated by a common impulse at this juncture—

Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada! Why have all these great free nations sent their men from the remotest corners of the earth to fight side by side with you of this island home in this quarrel ? Why in Canada do we see those who are the descendants of those who fought under Wolfe, and of those who fought under Montcalm, standing side by side in the battle-line of the Empire? Why, coming down to later days, do we see the grandson of a Durham, and the grandson of a Papineau, standing shoulder to shoulder beyond the Channel in France or Belgium? When the historian of the future comes to analyse the events which made it possible for the Empire to stand like this, he will see that there must have been some overmastering impulse contributing to this wonderful result.

One such impulse is to be found in the love of liberty, the pursuit of ideals of democracy, and the desire and determination to preserve the spirit of unity founded on those ideals, which make the whole Empire united in aim and single in purpose. But there was, also, in all the Overseas Dominions, the intense conviction that this war was forced upon the Empire—that we could not with honour stand aside and see trampled underfoot the liberties and independence of a weak and unoffending nation whose independence we had guaranteed. And, above and beyond all that, was the realisation of the supreme truth—that the quarrel in which we are engaged transcends even the destinies of our own Empire and involves the future of civilisation and of the world.

We must not forget that in this war we are confronting the power of a military autocracy more highly organised, and more formidable, perhaps than was ever nation before in history. I am sure that the military strength which has been developed by our chief antagonists, has surprised the whole world; and I think that this war will bring to us a very vital question as to the future of democratic institutions. We have always cherished in these islands, and in the Oversea Dominions as well, the ideal of orderly government coupled with that of individual liberty. It remains to be seen, as the war proceeds, whether individual liberty, within the British Isles and the Overseas Dominions, is coupled with so strong a sense of duty and of service to the State—whether in peace or in war—as to make it possible for us to withstand the onslaught of so formidable a foe.

For myself, I have no doubt as to the issue, because I remember that, if we take the British Empire alone, our resources are infinitely greater than those of Germany; and, if we consider the question of population, that of the British Isles and of the Overseas Dominions is almost equal to that of Germany. It is true that we were not prepared, as Germany was prepared, for war on this scale; but I believe the time for preparation is not past, and I feel also that we have every reason to congratulate ourselves upon the splendid preparation which has been made, not only in these islands, but in the Dominions. Yet I would impress upon the people of the Empire that all for which our fathers fought and bled, all our liberties and institutions, all the influences for good which have been sent forth by the activities of the Empire throughout the world, hang in the balance to-day, and therefore we cannot, because we must not, fall in this war.

During the past week I visited France, and 1 have seen some of our forces at the front. It is a very inspiring thing to see a nation under arms. The manhood of France, except those engaged in industrial pursuits, is at the front to-day; and yet I have seen the whole country up to the lines of the trenches, bearing bountiful harvests. The soil was prepared, the seed was planted, and the harvest is now being reaped by old men and women and children. It is my intense conviction that a nation so inspired can never perish or be subdued; and I am glad to remember this great Allied nation is of our own kin, because you in the British Isles look back to Celtic and Norman, as well as to Saxon ancestors; and if this be true of you in Britain it is still more true of us in Canada.

Last week I looked into the keen, intent faces, of 10,000 Canadian soldiers, within sound and range of the German guns. Three days ago I looked into the undaunted eyes of 1,000 Canadian convalescents returned from the valley of the shadow of death. In the eyes, and in the faces of those men, I read only one message—that of resolute and unflinching determination to make our cause triumphant; to preserve our institutions and our liberties, to maintain the unity of our Empire and its influence through the world. That message, which I bring to you from those soldiers, I bring you also from the great Dominion which has sent those men across the sea.

While the awful shadow of this war overhangs our Empire, I shall not pause to speak of what may be evolved in its constitutional relations. Upon what has been built in the past it is possible, in my judgment, that an even nobler and more enduring fabric may be erected. That structure must embody the autonomy of the self-governing Dominions and of the British Isles as well, but it must also embody the majesty and power of an Empire united by ties such as those of which I have spoken, and more thoroughly and effectively organised for the purpose of preserving its own existence. Those who shall be the architects of this monument will have a great part to play, and I do not doubt that they will play it worthily. To those who shall be called to design so splendid a fabric, crowning the labours of the past and embodying all the hopes of the future, we all of us bid God speed in their great task.

A WORLD STRUGGLE.

CANADA’S SHARE.

At a patriotic meeting at the London Opera House, August 4th, 1915.

Considering all the events of the year, there are indeed some matters on which we have the right and privilege to-night of congratulating ourselves to the full. Was the unity of this Empire ever so strikingly made manifest before? Was it ever more clearly demonstrated that the race which inhabits these islands and the Overseas Dominions is not a decadent race ? What has been the result of the call of duty to this Empire? You in these islands debated years ago, and not so long ago for that matter, as to whether in case of necessity you could send abroad an Expeditionary Force of 80,000 or 120,000 or 160,000 men, and if I am not mistaken the most optimistic among you believed that 160,000 men was the limit. What has been the result of the call? You have in part organised, and you are now organising, armies from ten to twenty times greater than those which were the limit you set for yourselves in the past. That is not an indication of a decadent race, and I am glad indeed to know that we in the Overseas Dominions as well are doing our part as best we can.

Indeed, in Canada, and I believe the same is true in all the Overseas Dominions, the difficulty has been with armament and equipment—all that is necessary for the organisation of a great modern army, and not with the provision of men, for the men came faster than we were able to organise the armour to equip them. And so it has been in India as well. I remember having, in the early months of the war, the privilege of reading a debate which took place in the Council of India, a great debate which was worthy of the Mother of Parliaments herself; a debate couched in language of the most intense patriotism; and in that debate the demand of India was that she should be permitted to do her part in this war. The same is true of Egypt and all the Crown Colonies. From East to West, from North to South, throughout the Empire, the response on all hands has been more than we could have ventured to anticipate.

Mr Balfour has referred in the most eloquent and appropriate terms to the work of the great Navy which is under his direction, and which has accomplished its task so wonderfully ever since the war broke out. We of the Overseas Dominions realise as much as you realise, that the pathways of the seas are the veins and arteries of this Empire through which its lifeblood must flow. If these are once stopped or interfered with in any way the Empire cannot continue to exist. We are as conscious as you are conscious of the wonderful vigil in the North Sea and of the patience, endurance, and fortitude of officers and men. We are grateful, as you are grateful, with the most intense appreciation of all they have done for us, and, more than all, the fact that they have rid the seas of the marauders by which our commerce was troubled has enabled us to keep in close contact with you, and keep up that intercourse which is so absolutely necessary for you and for us, not only in war but in peace as well.

I have no military knowledge nor experience—I am going to say a word with regard to military affairs in a moment—but before doing that I would like to express my own appreciation, and I think of all the people in the Dominion which I have the honour to represent, of the splendid work which has been done by the Royal Flying Corps in this war. Knowing the great efforts that have been made by other nations in this particular branch of the military and naval services, we were rather inclined to anticipate and expect that it might not be up to the highest standard of the great nations of the world. I have good reason to knpw, because I have had some intimate accounts of what has transpired at the front —I have good reason to know that the work of our aeroplane service has been equal to the best, and that in initiative, courage, resourcefulness, and fortitude our men have held their place with the best, ever since the outbreak of this war.

It is not necessary to dwell on the valour of our troops, to which eloquent reference has been made by Lord Crewe and Mr. Balfour. I do not believe that in all the splendid traditions of the British Army for centuries past, a more splendid record can be shown than that displayed in the retreat from Mons.

I believe that no retirement was ever conducted successfully under greater difficulties and against more overwhelming odds, and the conduct of officers and men adds glory to the British Army that will not be forgotten as long as our race endures. I may, perhaps, be permitted to say that those who were sent across the sea to France and to the Dardanelles, from Australia, from New Zealand, from Canada, have proved that the old traditions of our race are not forgotten overseas, and that the men there are prepared in any danger, in any peril, to stand side by side with their comrades of these islands. A splendid force ( has been raised in South Africa, and I associate myself with what has been so well said as to the valour of the troops from India, who have fought by the side of our men in France and Belgium.

Mr. Balfour has spoken of our Allies, and with what he has said I may be permitted to associate myself. One cannot forget the courage, the patience, the fortitude of France. We know that the soul of Russia is unconquered and unconquerable. The devotion.and heroism of Belgium and Serbia have moved the admiration of the world. The fine valour of Italy is now in the fighting line with the Allies, and she is doing her appointed task as we expected she would do it. She stands ready, I imagine, for further services in case the emergencies of this war should demand them. I have said before that this is not like the wars of a hundred or two hundred years ago.

This is a war of nations, and not of armies alone. But it is more than that. It is a war of material resources to an extreme degree. The industrial resources of the nations are being organised; all that the knowledge and science of the nations can devise is being brought into play. The command of the forces of nature which in the past centuries, and especially in the past 100 years, we have learned has been brought to bear, and for that reason I have every confidence in the outcome of this struggle, because we have within this Empire resources almost limitless—resources infinitely greater than those of Germany and Austria-Hungary combined, and it merely depends upon our self-denial, and organised capacity and patriotism, as to whether we can and shall organise those resources to the end that our cause shall triumph.

1 do not believe that we shall fail in that. Our race has never failed in time of crisis. Why should it fail now? To fail in doing that would be accounted to us, in the years to come, as dishonour. We will not fail. All that men can do, our men have done at the front, and they will continue to do in the future.

In Canada, we began, as early as possible, to organise our industrial resources for the production of munitions of war. We made our first effort as far back as August 21st. Munitions of war have been the great and growing need of our men at the front. Because it is apparent to us that, so far as it is in the power of this Empire to strain every effort for the purposes of the war, we must not attempt to do with men alone what our enemies are doing with munitions and guns.

As to what we have done in the past, whether in Canada or in these islands or elsewhere, let the dead past bury its dead. This is not the time to speak of the past, but to look at the future. What concerns us, whether in these islands or in any of the Overseas Dominions, is to see that, so far as the future is concerned, there shall be no failure; and I believe there will be no failure.

It may be said that in some respects the twelve months’ war has not been all that we anticipated. I believe I am entirely within the bounds of truth when I state that if there is any disappointment with us, the disappointment of Germany is tenfold greater; and if there has been any disappointment, or if there should be any reverse in the future, that should merely inspire us with a higher resolve and a more inflexible determination to do our duty, and to see that that which concerns the cause of civilisation and humanity shall be carried to the issue which we all desire.

For a hundred years we have not had any wars which threatened the existence of our Empire, and for more than fifty years we have not been involved in any war which might perhaps be called a great one. Under the conditions of modern democracies, here and elsewhere in the Empire, considerations of material prosperity have been urged, and this is especially a danger in a new country like Australia or Canada. The call of the market-place has been sometimes clamorous and insistent, and in days such as these the soul of a nation is more truly tried than it is in war days, for the highest character of an Empire is sometimes formed then—and not in the days of stress and trial—through the consequences of duty and self-sacrifice.

I rejoice greatly that in these islands, and in the Overseas Dominions, men have realised most fully that there is something greater than material prosperity, something greater than life itself. This war cannot fail to influence most profoundly the whole future of the world and of civilisation. It has already most profoundly influenced the people of this Empire. There were great strivings for wealth, everywhere, but no one could deny that the material advancement and prosperity of the Empire has not in itself been a good thing. The standards of life for the people have been raised and comfort increased. It is not the wealth we should rail at. Rome fell, I know, at a time of wealth, but it was because she made wealth her god.

In the early days of the war we were much comforted by the fact that men and women were ready to make sacrifices for this, the greatest cause of all. In Canada, and I am sure elsewhere throughout the Empire, there has been manifest a spirit of co-operation, of mutual helpfulness, of a desire to assist, of self-sacrifice which is most comforting to those who have at heart the welfare of our Empire in years to come. So I am sure it will be in the future. The influence of a spirit of helpfulness and self-sacrifice, which we see everywhere throughout the world, and within our Empire, is one for which I give thanks and am most grateful. .

I have come far across this ocean to see our men within these islands and at the front, and our men in hospital who are wounded. To see them, whether at the front, where they stand almost within the valley of the shadow of death, or wounded 111 the hospitals, is an inspiration in itself. I am glad to say that in visiting the hospitals I have had the opportunity of speaking to many soldiers, officers and men, from these islands, and with them I have found, as among our Canadians, just one spirit—a wonderful spirit of heroism and of patience, a spirit of consecration to the cause we all have at heart. We who come from overseas are touched by all this, perhaps more than you can imagine.

Last night I walked down the Embankment. At my right was the great Abbey, at my left the great Cathedral. The historic river was at my feet. Here came in bygone centuries the Celt, the Saxon, the Dane, the Norman, each in turn, finally all in cooperation, lending their influence to our national life. And how splendid a structure they built; what an influence for good it has carried throughout the world!

Standing thus on what seems to us hallowed ground, we of the Overseas Dominions meditate perhaps more than you do on the wonderful memories of the past, and the great events to which the life of our Empire has moved. Let us never for one moment forget that of all the mighty events in our history, none are greater than those through which we are passing to-day. Is an Empire like ours worth living for? Yes, and worth dying for, too. And it is something greater than it was a year ago. Indeed, it can never be quite the same again. The old order has in some measure passed away. Once for all it has been borne in upon the minds and souls of all of us that the great policies, which touch and control the issues of peace and war, concern more than the peoples of these islands.

And more than that, we shall so bear ourselves in this war, and in the mighty events to which it must lead, that whether in these islands or in the Overseas Dominions, citizenship of this Empire shall be a still greater and more noble possession in the years to come than it has been even in the glorious past. I have spoken to you frankly on some matters of great moment. If I had not done so I should have been unworthy of my position. And now, before I close, let me bring to you this latest message from Canada :—

For those who have fallen in this struggle we shall not cease to mourn; for the cause which they have consecrated their lives we shall not cease to strive. We are supremely confident that that cause will assuredly triumph and for that great purpose we are inspired with an inflexible determination to do our part.

“WE CAN HOLD OUR OWN.”

At the Canada Club, August 6th, 1915*

The fall of Warsaw has been foreshadowed for some time, and it is useless for us to deny the Germans have achieved a success—which they intended to achieve six or nine months ago.

This fall will mean that all will put forth greater efforts and determination. In the early months of the war we failed to estimate the enormous military power of a nation highly disciplined and thoroughly organised for war as well as for peace. The idea of the people of these islands was to send across the Channel an expeditionary force not exceeding 160,000 men.

Do any of you, who have not had the responsibilities of office, realise what it means to provide guns, rifles, ammunition, and equipment for a force ten times as great—with, perhaps, another force in reserve of equal number? I know something of those responsibilities. We in Canada have our difficulties, not in finding men ready to fight for the cause, but because we find it difficult to provide the guns, rifles, ammunition, and equipment.

When you increase your proposed expeditionary force by ten or twenty times, you must realise that for that purpose it is necessary that the whole power of the nation shall be concentrated on the task.

I hold this profound conviction—that, regiment for regiment and man for man, our forces can hold their own, and more than hold their own, with the best and most efficient troops of the enemy.

If we speak of the disappointments we had at the start of the war, let us never forget to realise that the disappointments of the enemy must be ten times greater. And if we are discouraged from time to time, let us remember we have accomplished one great work which outweighs a thousandfold that, and that is the clearness and security of the pathways of the seas. The clearance of the seas means as much to the Allies as to ourselves.