6 MARCH 1926, Page 14

Mr. Mackenzie King, the Prime Minister of Canada, who was

defeated in his own constituency of North York, Ontario, last October, has returned to' Ottawa by the somewhat circuitous route of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. In the last Parliament the Liberal Party held 117 seats, the Progressives 66 and the Conservatives 50. In the present Parliament the Conservatives are the strongest party, with 117 seats, the Progressives have 28 and the Liberals 100. The decline of the Progressive movement is the -feature of Canadian politics to-day. How long Mr. Mackenzie King will remain Prime Minister is impossible to say, for he has no bed of roses to lie on. The mere fact that he has entered upon his second Premiership is a tribute to his abilities. I first met the Canadian Premier twenty years ago when he held some minor office, Deputy-Minister of Labour I think it was. I was sitting in Lord Grey's study at Rideau Hall, Ottawa. When Mr. Mackenzie King was announced Lord Grey exclaimed : " I will now introduce you to the future Prime Minister of Canada." How rarely do political prophecies of this kind come true !

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