in the future, requested
suggestions, which were given, for the expenditure, first, of {308} an
equivalent and, second, of a lesser amount on two squadrons.

When the Canadian parliament met in January 1910 Sir Wilfrid Laurier
submitted the Naval Service Bill, which provided for the establishment
of fleets according to the plan finally approved by the Admiralty. The
ships were to be under the control of the Dominion Government, which
might, in case of emergency, place them at the disposal of the
Admiralty, summoning parliament to ratify such action. The bill was
passed in March. In the autumn the cruiser _Niobe_ (11,000 tons) and
the _Rainbow_ (3600 tons), purchased from the Admiralty, reached
Canadian waters, where they were to serve as training-ships.
Recruiting for these ships was begun and, while not speedy, was
reported by the department as satisfactory. The Halifax and Esquimalt
dockyards were taken over. Early in 1911 a Naval College was opened at
Halifax; and in May tenders were received, ranging from eleven to
thirteen millions, from six British and Canadian firms, for the
construction, in Canada, of four Bristol cruisers, one Boadicea
cruiser, and six destroyers. In June (1911), at the Imperial
Conference in London, agreement was reached as to the boundaries {309}
of the Australian and Canadian stations. The naval services of the two
Dominions were to be 'exclusively under control of their respective
governments'; but in time of war any fleet or ships placed at the
disposal of the British Government by the Dominion authorities would
'form an integral part of the British fleet and remain under the
control of the Admiralty during the continuance of the war.' Training
and discipline were to be generally uniform. Dominion ships were to
fly the white ensign at the stern as the symbol of the Crown's
authority and the distinctive flag of the Dominion at the jack-staff.
Then came the reciprocity fight, the blocking of supplies by the
Conservatives, and the general elections of September, all intervening
before any tender had been finally accepted.

Long before this time, however, the issue had given rise to bitter
party controversy. The unanimity of parliament in 1909 had not truly
reflected the diversity of public opinion. Mr Borden was not able to
carry his party with him. In the English-speaking provinces many
Conservatives denounced a Canadian fleet as 'a tinpot navy,' useless,
expensive, and separa