iewpoint Our West will be vitalized only in as much as
the Catholics in Western Canada, thoroughly patriotic in their
aspirations and thoroughly Catholic in their ideas and feelings, will
bring their influence to bear on our national life. Their example and
their influence will lead to the silent and "pacific penetration" of
the Society in which they live. And the Catholics throughout Canada
cannot stand aloof, disinterested in the upbuilding of the Western
Provinces, where the Canada of to-morrow is being created. There
indeed the clash of ideals is more marked, the fermentation of thought
is stronger, issues are more vital. Our national life, to a great
extent, will depend on how these conflicting elements are absorbed into
the blood and sinews of the Country.

The problems on which we dwell are, in our humble estimation, of
paramount importance and should arrest the attention and elicit the
co-operation of every Catholic alive to their seriousness. No doubt we
have been sleeping at our posts. Red lights spot the darkness of the
future and speak of danger ahead if the problems upon which we dwell
are not pressed home with constancy and energy, if some concerted
action is not agreed upon. Behind these problems lurk mighty issues.
They strike at the very foundations of Christianity and Christian
civilization, and cannot be disposed of by Parliament-Laws or
Orders-in-Council.

We are a minority, some may say, and without influence. Yes, we are a
minority, but were we a militant minority, our ideas would make their
way. "Small as the Catholic body was in England," said H. Belloc, "it
knew what it thought; it had a determined position. That was of
enormous importance. A minority which was logical, reasonable, and
united was a very much stronger thing than its mere numbers would
suggest." Did not the ideas of a few Oxford men revolutionize the
Church of England and bring on a movement the results of which we still
witness throughout the English-speaking world. The men who see clear
and far, who feel keenly and deeply will necessarily be leaders. The
hand that leads is always governed by a warm heart and a clear eye.
"Devotion is the child of conviction," said Lord Haldane.

The non-Catholic may be inclined to look upon our exposition of these
Western Problems as a merely sectarian viewpoint, and therefore, of no
value to him. He may even look upon our work as an open challenge. I
would answer in Newman's