CANADIAN CONDITIONS. 19

is true, but there are a number of Canadians who
look forward to the day when Canada will be in
a position to adopt Free Trade. At the head of
them stands Sir W. Laurier, who has stated that
his ideal for Canada is Free Trade as in England.
This is doubtless an additional reason why he and
his Government will do absolutely nothing to help
destroy thatideal. Should Britain, however, of her
own volition abandon Free Trade, the Canadian
Government is quite prepared to negotiate a com.
mercial treaty, but refuses to see anything Imperial
in such a treaty. It is, to the Liberal party, a
purely commercial matter, in which Britain is
regarded in the light of a friendly foreign power,
and the present Government will not enter into a
commercial treaty unless independence and freedom
 to negotiate elsewhere are guaranteed. How
this attitude can be reconciled with any plan for
an Imperial ring fence tariff remains to be seen,
But whatever may or may not be the advantages
of such reciprocity from a commercial point of
view, it is at least evident that the urgency of the
scheme from an Imperial standpoint cannot be
maintained.
The Liberal party in Canada has at present a
large majority, and, it would seem, a sure place
in the hearts of the electors, Public opinion in
Canada does not fluctuate as rapidly as it does
in England, and the efficiency of administration
and the great and growing prosperity of the
Dominion during the last eight years have endeared
C 2