and above this, their mere presence in office produced all along our lines the same moral effect as the presence of an incompetent master in a classroom.  Paper pellets, books, and ink began to fly; desks were thumped; dirty pens were jabbed into those trying to work; rats and mice were set free amid squeals of exaggerated fear; and, as usual, the least desirable characters in the forms were loudest to profess noble sentiments, and most eloquent grief at being misjudged.  Still, the English are not happy, and the unrest and slackness increase.

On the other hand, which is to our advantage, the isolation of the unfit in one political party has thrown up the extremists in what the Babu called ‘all their naked cui bono.’  These last are after satisfying the two chief desires of primitive man by the very latest gadgets in scientific legislation.  But how to get free food, and free—­shall we say—­love? within the four corners of an Act of Parliament without giving the game away too grossly, worries them a little.  It is easy enough to laugh at this, but we are all so knit together nowadays that a rot at what is called ‘headquarters’ may spread like bubonic, with every steamer.  I went across to Canada the other day, for a few weeks, mainly to escape the Blight, and also to see what our Eldest Sister was doing.  Have you ever noticed that Canada has to deal in the lump with most of the problems that afflict us others severally?  For example, she has the Double-Language, Double-Law, Double-Politics drawback in a worse form than South Africa, because, unlike our Dutch, her French cannot well marry outside their religion, and they take their orders from Italy—­less central, sometimes, than Pretoria or Stellenbosch.  She has, too, something of Australia’s labour fuss, minus Australia’s isolation, but plus the open and secret influence of ‘Labour’ entrenched, with arms, and high explosives on neighbouring soil.  To complete the parallel, she keeps, tucked away behind mountains, a trifle of land called British Columbia, which resembles New Zealand; and New Zealanders who do not find much scope for young enterprise in their own country are drifting up to British Columbia already.

Canada has in her time known calamity more serious than floods, frost, drought, and fire—­and has macadamized some stretches of her road toward nationhood with the broken hearts of two generations.  That is why one can discuss with Canadians of the old stock matters which an Australian or New Zealander could no more understand than a wealthy child understands death.  Truly we are an odd Family!  Australia and New Zealand (the Maori War not counted) got everything for nothing.  South Africa gave everything and got less than nothing.  Canada has given and taken all along the line for nigh on three hundred years, and in some respects is the wisest, as she should be the happiest, of us all.  She seems to be curiously unconscious of her position in the Empire, perhaps