14 CANADA AND THE EMPIRE.

will deal a blow to the Imperial sentiment. Lofty
and exalted as Canada’s loyalty to the Mother
Country undoubtedly is,—and in the minds of many
Canadians it amounts almost to a kind of religion,
—yet with the generality of Canadians it still ranks
second to love of their own country. Their attitude
was admirably summed up by a Canadian in the
following words : “ We feel that we can best be good
Britons by first being good Canadians.”
Canada dates her rise as a nation from the
passing of the British North America Act, which
gave her autonomy. To that Act she attaches as
much importance as we in this country have ever
attached to any of the great charters of liberty
by which our constitution has been built up.
Businesslike as she is, Canada values the maintenance
 of her liberty and her autonomy infinitely
higher than any commercial gain, nor would she
sacrifice one fraction of the former to achieve the
latter. It is because Britain does not attempt
any infringement of her liberties that her Imperial
loyalty continues unimpaired. Should Britain
ever attempt to restrict her, it must infallibly be
only a question of time before Canada declares
for independence.

ATTITUDE OF PARTIES.

In Canada, with no Established Church, no landlordism,
 no grinding poverty, and a strong enough
Temperance party to keep licensing moderate,
there are no great questions of class and vested