Louis-Georges Desjardins - England, Canada and the Great War

Even since the issue, last year, of my book:"L'Angleterre, Le Canadaet la Grande Guerre""England, Canada and the Great War"a secondedition of which I had to publish, a few weeks later, to meet thepressing demand of numerous readersI have been repeatedly asked byinfluential citizens to publish an English edition of my work.

A delegate from Quebec to the National UnityorWin-the-WarConvention, in Montreal, I had the pleasure of meeting agreat many of the delegates from Toronto and all over the Dominion. Manyof them insisted upon the publication of an English edition.

Having written that book for the express and patriotic purpose ofproving the justice of the cause of the Allies in the Great War, andrefuting Mr. Bourassa's false and dangerous theories, I realized thatthe citizens of Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, who stronglyadvised an English edition to be circulated in all the Provinces,appreciated the good it could make.

I consider it is my imperious duty to dedicate to my English speakingcountrymen this volume containing all the substance matter of my Frenchbook, and the defense a truly loyal French Canadian has made of thesacred cause of Civilization and Liberty for the triumph of which theglorious Allied Nations have been so heroically fighting for the lastfour eventful years.

As I say, in the Introduction to this work, I first intended to writeonly an English resum of my French book. But once at work writing down,the questions to consider were so important, and the replies to theNationalist leader's inconceivable theories so numerous, that I had todouble and more the pages I had thought would be sufficient for mypurpose. I realized that many points, to be fully explained, requiredmore comments and argumentation that I had at first supposed necessary.

Moreover, since writing my French book, most important events have takenplace. To have the present English volume up to date, I had to considerrecent history in its very latest developments, and reply to theNationalist leader's last errors, which by no means were not the least.When once a man has run off the path of reason and sound public sense,he is sure to rush to most dangerous extremes, unless he has the moralcourage to acknowledge that he was sadly mistaken.

I trust that the English speaking readers of this book, will not, for asingle moment, suppose that I am actuated by the least ill-feelingagainst Mr. Bourassa personally, in the severe but just denunciation itwas my plain duty to make of his deplorable Nationalist campaign.

For many years past, I have ever been delighted in welcoming promisingyoung men to the responsibilities of public life. I remember with amixed feeling of pleasure and regret the occasion I first heard Mr.Bourassa, then a youth, addressing a very large public meeting held onthe nomination day of the candidates to a pending bye-election for theHouse of Commons of Canada: Pleasure at the recollection of what Iconsidered a fairly successful beginning of a political career; deepregret at the failure to justify the hopes of his compatriots and hisfriends through an uncontrollable ambition always sure to deter, eventhe best gifted, from the safe line of duty, well understood, andfirmly, but modestly, performed.

Passion, aspiring and unbridled, is always a dangerous counsellor. Mr.Bourassa could have had a useful political life, if he had realized thatpublic good cannot be well served by constant appeals to raceprejudices, and by persevering efforts to achieve success by stirring upfanaticism.

The result of the unpatriotic course he has followed, against the adviceof his best friends, has been to sow in our great and happy Dominion theseed of discord, of hatred, of racial conflicts.

Unfortunately, for the country, for his French Canadian compatriots, andfor himself, he was deluded to the point of believing that the war wouldbe his grand opportunity.

Instead of using his influence to promote the national unity soessential under the trying circumstances with which Canada and the wholeBritish Empire was suddenly confronted, he exerted himself to the utmostto prevail on his French Canadian countrymen to assume a decisivehostile stand to the noble cause which Britain had to fight for, inorder to avenge the crime of the violation of Belgium's territory, toprotect France from German cruel invasion, and to prevent Autocraticpower from enslaving Humanity.

Such a misconception of a truly loyal man's part was most detrimental tothe good of Canada's future, to the destinies of the French Canadians,and to the political standing of the publicist who was its willingvictim.

And to-day he finds himself in this position that he has no other choicebut that of pursuing, at all hazards, his unwholesome campaign againstall things British, or, boldly retracing his steps, to go back on all hehas said and written to support inadmissible views, vain ideas, andpassionate prejudices.

The latter course would certainly be the best to follow in the interestof his country, of his French Canadian countrymen, and of his usefulnessas a public man. But, however much to be regretted, he seems utterlyunable to overcome the prejudices which have taken such deep root in hisheart and mind.

Prejudice, constantly cultured, soon develops into blind fanaticism,closing the intellect to the light of sound logic, to the call of duty,to the clear comprehension of what is best to do to promote the publicgood.

However seriously guilty he may be, the public man, so swayed by afanatical passion, is sure not to rally to the defense of the superiorinterests of his countrymen when they are threatened by a greatmisfortune.

I cannot help deploring that after giving good hopes of a lifepatriotically devoted to the increasing welfare of Canada, by doing hisshare in promoting the best feelings among his countrymen of all races,classes and creeds, one of my kin, really gifted to play a much betterpart, has been so sadly mistaken as to exhaust his activities in forcinghis way to the leadership of a group of malcontents unable to overcometheir racial antipathies and listen to reason, even when their countryand the Empire to which they have sworn allegiance are destructivelymenaced.

He has nobody else to blame but himself for the failure of his politicalcareer, due to his misguided efforts in thwarting the happiness andprosperity which our great Dominion would certainly derive from thepersevering union of all the citizens enjoying the blessings of her freeBritish institutions, to work out her brilliant destinies by theirintelligent labours, their hearted patriotism in peace times, and withtheir undaunted courage and their self-sacrificing devotion in wardays.

After a somewhat prolonged spectacular display in the House of Commons,as member for the electoral division of Labelle, he felt instinctivelythat he had exhausted what he considered his usefulness, and was doomedto a dismal failure. He retired from the Dominion political arena, totry his luck in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec. Nowiser a man by experience, he challenged the Leader of the parliamentarymajority to a truly duellist struggle on the floor of the House. Hethrusted at his opponent with the vigour of a combatant certain toconquer. All those who witnessed this encounter, must remember howcompletely overbearing confidence, proudly asserted, was overcome bycalm and superior argumentative power, sound and clear political sense.True parliamentary eloquence easily brought to reason pedantic andbombastic oratory. The first throw