our great water powers, the cheapest power in the
world. Use our raw material; our manufacturing experience gained in the
war. Develop the home market. Sell more to ourselves and spend our
incomes in countries that do not put up economic barriers against our
products. Without some adequate protection, sir, we are economically as
extinct as the Dodo. There's but one alternative--commercial autonomy
from the United States or commercial annexation. Nobody but a lunatic or
an Agrarian would ever doubt which of these we shall choose--eh, what's
that you say?"

The portrait chuckles. An uplifted hand appears in the unframed picture.

"I said, Sir John--put the repeal of the Underwood tariff under your
Medicine Hat."

In sudden fury Sir John flings the _Round Table_ at the place where the
picture vanished.

This may be a whimsical conclusion to the study of a personality so
perplexing and vagarious as Sir John Willison. But he himself, having a
high sense of humour, will appreciate its psychological justice as much
as he regrets its historical inaccuracy. Sir John has always aimed at
being a big Canadian, and he has usually succeeded. He did his share of
contribution to right thinking about the war, as he did in vicarious
action when he lost one of his two sons in that struggle. He could not
do otherwise, because in spite of his bewildering superficial changes of
coat, when even his detractors almost admired the dignity with which he
changed it, Sir John, the Tory at heart, has always been a loyal servant
of his country. Without him the story of political journalism in Canada
would be a thing of shreds and patches.

He has at various times wielded an immense power usually in the direction
of shrewd, sane thinking about national affairs. No Canadian editor of
his time so thoroughly mastered its intricate problems. He has a faculty
of clear, constructive thinking and a fine style of writing. With no
college education he became a cultured journalist--which is sometimes an
anomaly--though he never showed any zeal for the "humanities" and never
knew much about that peculiar sociological phenomenon called the
proletariat.

Since he drew away from the farm Sir John has never had a desire to
return, even in sympathy. With a fine sense of humour he has never
relished reminiscences of the backwoods and the smoke of the log heaps.
His published "Reminiscences" are a fine contribution to our political
history, but