politics into active practice by granting tariff concessions on British
imports. The act was hailed by free-trade England as a tribute of
statesmanship. Laurier and Fielding were recognized as men of the
hour. The next step was to carry out the promises of reciprocity with
the United States. One can imagine Sir John Macdonald, the old
chieftain of the high-tariff Conservatives, turning over in his grave
with a sardonic grin--"Not so fast, my Little Sirs!" When twitted on
the floor of the House over a high tariff oppressing farmers and
favoring factories, Sir John had always disclaimed being a high-tariff
man. He would have a low tariff for the United States, if the United
States would grant Canada a low tariff--he had answered; but the United
States would not grant Canada any tariff concessions. And the grand
old guard of Whigs had jeered back that he was "a compromiser" and "a
trimmer," who tacked to every breeze and never met an issue squarely in
his life.

If the Liberals had not been absolutely sincere men, they would not
have ridden to such a hard and unexpected fall. They would, like Sir
John, have trimmed to the wind; but they believed in free trade as they
believed in righteousness; and they furthermore believed all they had
to do was to ask for it to get it. Blake had retired from Canadian
politics. George Brown of the _Globe_ was dead; Alexander MacKenzie
had long since passed away; but the old guard rallied to the
reciprocity cry. International negotiations opened at Quebec. They
were not a failure. They were worse than a failure. They were a joke.
High tariff was at its zenith in the United States. Every one of the
American commissioners was a dyed-in-the-wool high-tariff man. It
would be an even wager that not one man among them had ever heard of
the Cobden-Bright Manchester School of Free Trade, by which the Laurier
government swore as by an unerring Gospel. They had heard of McKinley