asteful and unfair at best, had ceased to bring more than six
or seven thousand men a month, chiefly for other than infantry ranks;
and that only by compulsion could Quebec be brought to shoulder her fair
share and the slackers in all the provinces be made to rise to the need.
It was contended, on the other hand, that great as was the need for men,
the need for food, which Canada could best of all countries supply, was
greater still; that voluntary recruiting had yielded over four hundred
thousand men, proportionately equivalent to six million from the United
States, and was slackening only because the reservoir was nearly drained
dry; and that Quebec could be brought into line more effectively by
conciliation than by compulsion.

The issue of conscription brought to an end the political truce which
had been declared in August, 1914. The keener partisans on both
sides had not long been able to abide on the heights of non-political
patriotism which they had occupied in the first generous weeks of the
war. But the public was weary of party cries and called for unity.
Suggestions of a coalition were made at different times, but the party
in power, new to the sweets of office, confident of its capacity,
and backed by a strong majority, gave little heed to the demand. Now,
however, the strong popular opposition offered to the announcement of
conscription led the Prime Minister to propose to Sir Wilfrid Laurier
a coalition Government on a conscription basis. Sir Wilfrid, while
continuing to express his desire to cooperate in any way that would
advance the common cause, declined to enter a coalition to carry out a
programme decided upon without consultation and likely, in his view,
to wreck national unity without securing any compensating increase in
numbers beyond what a vigorous and sympathetic voluntary campaign could
yet obtain.

For months negotiations continued within Parliament and without. The
Military Service Act was passed in August, 1917, with the support of
the majority of the English-speaking members of the Opposition. Then the
Government, which had already secured the passage of an Act providing
for taking the votes of the soldiers overseas, forced through under
closure a measure depriving of the franchise all aliens of enemy birth
or speech who had been admitted to citizenship since 1902, and giving
a vote to every adult woman relative of a soldier on active service.
Victory for the Government now appeared cert