eriod, for the wealth,
apparent power and prestige of the United States caused many of our
weak-kneed ancestors to lose heart in their own country, and in fits
of disloyal dejection to fancy there could be no progress except in
union with the States. Stout hearts, however, ultimately gained the
day, and we in the twentieth century are reaping the benefits won
for the country by the valor of our great-grandfathers.

The troubled times through which the youthful Dominion passed from
1885 to 1888 constitute one of the greatest crises through which
any nation ever passed successfully. Canada, with her confederated
provinces and large territories loosely held together, with her
scattered population chiefly grouped in Ontario and Quebec, with
her infant manufactures and scarcely-touched mineral resources,
was the home, nevertheless, of as prosperous and promising a young
nation as the world ever saw; and had it not been for the timid
portion of her population just mentioned, a great deal of trouble
might have been saved. But out of evil came good. The Americans for
years had been too careless about receiving upon their shores all
the firebrands and irreconcileables from European cities, and the
consequence was that these undesirable gentry increased in numbers,
and the infection of their opinions spread. American politics were
as corrupt as they could be. Bribery and the robbery of public funds
were unblushingly resorted to. A low moral tone with regard to such
matters, combined with utter recklessness in speculation and a
furious haste to get rich by any means, fair or foul, were, sad to
say, prominent characteristics in the American nation in many other
respects so great. To counteract these evils, which were great
enough to have ruined any European state in a couple of years, there
was, however, the marvellous prodigality of nature--a bounteousness
and richness in the yield of the soil and the depths of the earth
hardly equalled in any other part of the world, and in consequence
princely fortunes were accumulated in an incredibly short space of
time. Millionaires abounded, and monopolists, compared with whom
Croesus was poor, flourished. But bitter poverty and starvation also
flourished, especially in the large cities, bringing in their train
the usual discontent and hatred of the established order of things.
Yet these old-fashioned evils were scarcely noticed in the general
magnificent prosperity of the country. The shor