wanted to carry on the honour of
Courcellette. The controversy over titles was no feather in the cap of
the Premier, who made a bad fist of defending a practice the most
glaring instance of which was the creation of hereditary titles in a
democratic country.

Canada's "dark days" were fast coming. The resignation of Hughes was
due before it came. The Premier's patience was scarcely any longer a
virtue in this case, when four months after the declaration of war he
had been compelled to make a diplomatic visit to Toronto's war camp in
order to smooth out the troubles created by his "Chief of Staff."

From that time on to the end of his career we had the spectacle of a
Premier overburdened and weary in his office, bewildered by the
insistent advices of other men and sad over the failure of even
conscription, in the face of such wastage, to get Canada's 5th Division
into the field without weakening the four divisions we had. The Union
Government was too heavy a load for so weary a man to carry. It had
done its work, most of it well, some of it too late. The head of it
was worn out. He was away much for his health, more for service in
Europe, coming back to reconstruct his Cabinet, with the aid of
Meighen, then away again. He had lost Hughes, Rogers, Crerar, Cochrane.

The strong men he had left, except Meighen, White and Foster, were
Union Liberals.

Why did the Premier not himself resign? His work was done. His Union
Government had finished the work which the nation gave it a mandate to
do.

The answer must be in Sir Robert's own conviction that as a Premier of
Canada he still had a great work to do in Europe in the settlement of
peace. That work he did, some of it much more ably than much he had
done at home. We had to read the headlines diligently to see where
next Canada's mobile Premier would be needed in the adjustments of
peace. More of the answer might be found in the doubt as to whether
any man in Canada clearly knew what the Government's work, and
therefore its mandate, would be. It was a time of upheavals when any
nation with a Government carrying on its work constructively according
to programme might have been glad to escape the further upheaval of a
general election. But political parties have usually been profiteers
in the emergency of a nation. Did the Premier fear that his
resignation would force an election before the new party was ready? We
are not told. Under pressure he called a