1868.
Ar. 60,

034

LIFE OF COBDEN.

[omar.

great humiliation from America, which never could happen if
the people as a whole controlled the politics of the State.”
“ March 20. (Zo Oolonel Oole.)—The most interesting
debate of the session hitherto has been on Canadian affairs.
This is a subject of increasing interest, and the projected
confederation of the British North American colonies Wil
bring it into great prominence this session. It seems to be
generally accepted here as a desirable change, though I fail
to discover any immediate interest which the British public
have in the matter. There is no proposal to relieve us from
the expense and risk of pretending to defend those colonies
from the United States—a task which, by the way, everybody
 admits to be beyond our power. Then I cannot se
what substantial interest the British people have in the
connexion to compensate them for guaranteeing three OF
four millions of North Americans living in Canada, &c.
against another community of Americans living in their
neighbourhood. We are told indeed of the ‘loyalty’ of the
Canadians ; but this is an ironical term to apply to people
who neither pay our taxes mor obey our laws, nor hold
themselves liable to fight our battles, who would repudiate
our right to the sovereignty over an acre of their territorys
and who claim the right of imposing their own custom$
duties, even to the exclusion of our mannfactures. We are
two peoples to all intents and purposes, and it is a perilous
delusion to both parties to attempt to keep up a sham coBnexion
 and dependence which will snap asunder if it should
ever be put to the strain of stern reality. It is all very
woll for our Cockney newspapers to talk of defending
Canada at all hazards. It would be just as possible for the
United States to sustain Yorkshire in a war with England,
as for us to enable Canada to contend against the United
States. It is simply an impossibility. Nor must we forget
that the only serious danger of a quarrel between those tW0