CANADA 



1128 



CANADA 



putes by the formation of a Joint High Com- 

 mission. Such a commission was appointed in 

 1898, the Canadian representatives being Sir 

 Wilfrid Laurier, Sir Louis H. Davies and Sir 

 Richard Cartwright. The negotiations, unfor- 

 tunately, were broken off by a sharp dis- 

 agreement over the Alaska boundary (see 

 ALASKA, subhead History) ; this dispute was not 

 settled until 1903. Also in 1903 the many 

 questions arising from the joint use of the 

 Great Lakes and other boundary waters led 

 to the appointment of a commission to arbi- 

 trate these disputes, and in 1908 the two coun- 

 tries reached an agreement on an accurate 

 system of marking the international boundary. 

 At the same time the fisheries question was 

 being arbitrated by the Hague Tribunal, which 

 upheld the claims of Canada and Newfound- 

 land on all important points. 



Another step of great importance was the 

 negotiation of a commercial treaty with France 

 in 1907. The negotiations were conducted by 

 two Canadians and the treaty was ratified by 

 the Dominion. Equally striking was the free 

 hand given to Canada to negotiate with Japan 

 in the same year. The result was an agreement 

 that Japan would restrict emigration to Can- 

 ada, and the Dominion government would pro- 

 tect the Japanese in Canada from violence and 

 aggression. 



Reciprocity and Liberal Defeat. For many 

 years the tariff relations between the Dominion 

 and the United States have been unsatisfac- 

 tory, and attempts have been made from time 

 to time to readjust them. In 1910 an American 

 delegation visited Canada to urge reciprocity 

 (which see), and in 1911 a treaty was formally 

 presented for approval. The treaty was 

 promptly ratified by Congress, but in the 

 Dominion Parliament it met bitter opposi- 

 tion. The debate in Parliament continued 

 from January to May, 1911, and after an inter- 

 val, for ten days in July. Parliament was 

 suddenly dissolved on July 29, and the issue 

 presented to the country. The general election 

 on September 21 gave the Conservatives a 

 large majority in the House of Commons. The 

 Laurier Ministry promptly resigned, and on 

 October 10 Robert L. Borden (now Sir Robert) 

 formed a new Ministry. 



The Borden Ministry. One of the first 

 measures introduced and carried by the new 

 Ministry greatly extended the boundaries of 

 Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. Of more vital 

 importance, however, was the change, or at- 

 tempted change, in the naval policy. Several 



months after a conference in London, in June, 

 1912, between Canadian and British ministers, 

 the Conservative government decided to pre- 

 sent to the Dominion Parliament certain emer- 

 gency proposals in regard to the navy. The 

 Borden policy, in brief, provided for the imme- 

 diate construction of three dreadnaughts, to 



ROYAL MINT, OTTAWA 



Established by royal decree, but supported by 

 the Dominion. Here all Canadian money is pro- 

 duced, and also some of the gold sovereigns of the 

 mother country. Each of the latter so coined 

 bears on the reverse side a small C. The mint 

 was opened in 1909, and is in charge of a deputy 

 mint master from London. 



be built in Great Britain at a cost of $35,000,000, 

 to form a part of the British navy and to be 

 under the control of the British admiralty. In 

 spite of the Premier's repeated statements that 

 this was an emergency policy, formulated in 

 the face of grave danger, the Liberals insisted 

 that the principle of a strictly Canadian navy 

 should not be departed from. Both sides 

 agreed as to the necessity for a naval contribu- 

 tion, but differed as to the method by which 

 this was to be accomplished. The govern- 

 ment's proposals, though carried in the Com- 

 mons, were defeated in the Senate. 



Minor Questions of Policy. The debates on 

 the naval policy overshadowed all other issues 

 during 1912 and 1913. Early in 1914 Premier 

 Borden announced a plan for the addition of 

 nine Senators and the redistribution of seats 

 in the House of Commons. The budget for 

 1914-1915, in spite of the strenuous efforts of 

 the Liberals to secure the reduction or aboli- 

 tion of the duties on foodstuffs, failed to pro- 

 vide any downward revision of the tariff. An- 

 other problem which threatened serious conse- 

 quences concerned the granting of financial aid 

 to the Canadian railways, none of which could 

 have been built without the assistance of the 

 government. The Liberals, under Sir Wilfrid 

 Laurier's leadership, opposed the continuance 

 of such aid, and particularly objected to a new 

 arrangement, made with the Canadian North- 



