ht thing wrongly or the wrong thing first. It was a fascinating
topic. Other Premiers had done such things off-hand, almost impromptu
as it seemed, and inspired by merely patriotic sentiment. This was a
notice that the Premier of Canada could speak his mind in advance, or
if he so preferred, wait till the Conference of Premiers opened and
spring a surprise. Meighen lost no time in deciding to prepare for the
N.L.C. party a brief on Imperial relations. Here was a thing out of
which he could make capital--for Canada and the party and the coming
elections. And if ever Meighen had delved for material he did it now.
He was going to the Imperial Conference of Premiers with a mandate--to
help define Canada's position in the great Commonwealth about which Mr.
Lionel Curtis had written two large books and the Round Table had
published forty-four numbers since 1910; when nobody had as yet issued
the one clear call for Canada. Foster, Borden, Rowell--since Laurier
and Macdonald--had all taken a hand in this. But there was some new
way to state the case that would--or might--seem as large and strong
for Canada at the Imperial Conference as the voice of either Borden or
Rowell had been at the Peace Conference or the Geneva Assembly.

The Premier could picture Sir Robert scanning his manifesto to the
British press; Sir George, his old mentor of speechmaking in the House,
comparing it to what he used to say for Joe Chamberlain; more clearly
than all, Mr. Rowell himself, who for two years in the Cabinet had a
monopoly of that great subject to which he had devoted clear thinking,
concise language, and some diplomacy.

The author of "Polly Masson" might have drawn from the new Premier on
this subject some such confessions as are suggested in the following
imaginary, but not improbable interview.

Mr. Meighen, intensely revising his manifesto for the cables looks up
and says:

"Er--what did you remark?"

"That you were about to say----"

"Was I? Oh, yes--about the Round Table. On three legs. Hasn't even
as much stability as the Canada First minority--most of whom are not in
Quebec. These are the negligible but uncomfortable extremists."

"Ah! Then you are of the moderate majority?"

"You mean I used not to be. Well, events move fast. Men change with
them. I have been called a Tory."

"Yes, a tariff Tory."

"A moderately high tariff--sufficient unto the day."

"Quite so. But not a tariffite in sentiment."

"