ore effective
since the twentieth century began. The permanent militia had been
largely increased; engineer, medical, army-service, and ordnance corps
had been organized or extended; rifle associations and cadet corps had
been encouraged; new artillery armament had been provided; reserves of
ammunition and equipment had been built up; a central training-camp had
{298} been established; the period and discipline of the annual drill
had been increased; the administration had been thoroughly reorganized.
In 1911 over six times as much was spent upon the militia as in 1896.
Though the service was still very far from ideal efficiency, there was
no question that it had been greatly improved.

In Canada as in the other Dominions the problem of bringing the
military forces into relation with the forces of other parts of the
Empire was solved without any sacrifice of the principle of
self-government in command or administration. After 1902 little was
heard of the proposal to give the British War Office control over a
section of the troops of each Dominion. Matters moved rather in the
direction of co-operative action. In 1907 it was arranged that each of
the larger Dominions should organize a General Staff to act in close
touch and to exchange officers with the newly reorganized Imperial
General Staff. It followed that equipment and administration became
largely uniform. In 1909, and again in 1911, further steps were taken
to secure effective co-operation between the General Staffs.

Naval defence proved a harder problem to {299} solve. A beginning was
made. The fishery-cruiser service was extended. In 1905 the Dominion
took over the garrisons at the naval bases of Halifax and Esquimalt.
The minister of Marine, Mr Prefontaine, took some steps towards the
organization of a Naval Reserve, but with his death (1905) the movement
ceased. The belief in Britain's unquestioned supremacy, a reluctance
to enter 'the vortex of European militarism,' the survival of passive
colonialism, kept the vast majority of Canadians indifferent. And,
though a persistent minority of enthusiasts called on the country to
awake, the unwillingness of the British authorities to sanction
Dominion action along national lines blocked the most promising path.

By much effort all the self-governing colonies except Canada had been
induced to send annual cheques to the Admiralty. But the total amount
was negligible, and no permanent results had been ac