Naval Aid Bill
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The ''Naval Aid Bill'' was a bill introduced in the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...
, by
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Sir Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World ...
on December 5, 1912. The bill proposed that the Canadian government spend $35,000,000 to build
battleships A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
or armoured cruisers, which Canada would make available to the British
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
if needed for defence of the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
. Although the bill passed the Canadian House of Commons, where Borden had a majority government, it was defeated in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, which had a Liberal majority.


Background

The 1911 federal election, in which the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
under Borden defeated the Liberal government of
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime min ...
, was fought partly on the question of what role Canada should play in the common defence of the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
. At the time, Britain was engaged in a naval arms race with the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
. While the Liberals and Conservatives both agreed that the best long-term maritime defence policy would be for Canada to acquire its own navy, the Conservatives vehemently objected to the policy of the former Liberal government, set out in the '' Naval Service Act''. That Act, passed in 1911, had called for construction of a Canadian navy to begin immediately. As Opposition Leader, Borden had argued that Laurier’s plan to operate an autonomous fleet of five cruisers and six destroyers was a wholly inadequate response to the Empire's apparently pressing need. What was not yet well known within Britain or Canada was that by 1912 the German government had quietly scaled back its naval ambitions in favour of strengthening its army. The Germans had made this policy change in secret, and in any event the Admiralty strenuously downplayed reports that the Germans might have been giving up on their attempt to surpass the Royal Navy. As the new Prime Minister of Canada, Borden visited the United Kingdom in 1912 to accept the
knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
that was customarily granted at the time to Dominion Prime Ministers. While in the U.K., at the urging of the
First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, Prime Minister Borden agreed to finance the construction of three
dreadnought The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...
battleships or armoured cruisers for $35 million. The Conservative plan was at least three times more costly than the Liberal plan to construct a Canadian-operated fleet, and would reap no benefits to Canadian industries whatsoever.


Debates in Parliament


House of Commons

On December 5, 1912, Borden introduced the Naval Aid Bill in the House of Commons as a one-time contribution to Britain's navy. The bill was short, only five sections long. It authorised the Canadian government to spend up to $35,000,000 for "the construction and equipment of battleships or armoured cruisers of the most modern and powerful type". Once completed, Canada would place them at the disposal of the King, "for the common defence of the Empire", on terms to be concluded between the Government of Canada and the British Government. The debate on the bill in the House of Commons was long and bitter, often extending late into the night, and lasting for twenty-three weeks.Gilbert Norman Tucker, ''The Naval Service of Canada — Its Official History'', Vol. 1: "Origins and Early Years" (Ottawa: Minister of National Defence/King's Printer, 1962)
p. 196.
The debate on
second reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...
occupied ten days, from February 18 to 28, 1913. The Conservative government had a strong majority in the Commons, and passed the bill at second reading, by a vote of 114 to 84. The vote was held at close to 2 o'clock in the morning on February 28, 1913. The bill then progressed to the committee stage, which was in the Committee of the Whole. That format meant that every member of the House of Commons could speak repeatedly on the bill, and the opposition Liberals implemented a long
filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...
. The committee stage began on February 28, 1913, and continued into May. On May 9, 1913, Prime Minister Borden moved closure on the debate, under a new rule of the House of Commons. It was the first time that closure had ever been invoked in the House of Commons. The bill passed the committee stage at 1 o'clock in the morning on May 10, 1913. It then went to third reading, and was passed by the House of Commons on May 15, 1913, by a vote of 101 to 68.


Senate

The bill then moved to the Senate. The Senate of Canada is an appointed body, not elected. Since Laurier had been in power from 1896 until 1911, his government had held the appointing power for fifteen years, and there was a strong Liberal majority in the Senate. On May 20, 1913, the Leader of the Government in the Senate, James Lougheed, introduced the bill on first reading. On May 20, 1913, the bill came on for second reading. Senator Lougheed gave a lengthy speech, repeating the main arguments which the government members had advanced in the House of Commons. The Opposition Leader in the Senate,
George William Ross Sir George William Ross (September 18, 1841 – March 7, 1914) was an educator and politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. He was the fifth premier of Ontario from 1899 to 1905. Early life Born near Nairn, in Middlesex County, Upper Can ...
, then spoke, repeating the positions advanced by the opposition in the House of Commons, and emphasising that both parties agreed on the need to support imperial defence. Ross argued that the ''Naval Service Act'' passed by the Laurier government was sufficient to do so. Ross then moved an amendment to the motion for second reading: "That this House is not justified in giving its assent to this Bill until it is submitted to the judgment of the country." The Senate voted on the amendment, which passed by a vote of 51 to 27. A second vote, on the motion for second reading, was then held, and the bill was defeated on the same numbers.


Aftermath

Had the bill passed the Senate and received
royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
, it is likely the funds would have been used to construct three s, potentially named as ''Acadia'', ''Quebec'' and ''Ontario''. The bill's failure ultimately made little impact on the naval arms race. The
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
commenced about fourteen months after the bill's defeat. At the time, none of the five ''Queen Elizabeth'' class battleships that were ultimately built for the Royal Navy had yet been commissioned. At the start of the war, Britain had 22
dreadnought The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's , had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", ...
s in service compared to Germany's 15, but Britain also had 13 dreadnoughts under construction even without a Canadian contribution, and by then, the Germans were building only five additional dreadnoughts. With the additional naval strength of France in the Atlantic and Japan in the Pacific, later bolstered by the entry of Italy and eventually the United States, Allied control of the high seas was never seriously threatened and Germany was compelled to seek less costly alternatives (submarines in particular) to project a measure of power in the Atlantic sea lanes.


Notes


References

* {{Wikisource, Naval Aid Bill 1913 in Canadian law Canada–United Kingdom relations Proposed laws of Canada History of the Royal Navy Naval history of Canada Abandoned military projects of Canada Aid