Hughes was also a Canadian nationalist . His relationship with the British was always strained, especially after Field Marshal, the Lord Roberts had fired Sam Hughes from military service in South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902). Lord "Bobs" then systematically 'black-balled' the Canadian Colonel from further service and deserved decorations after that. Hughes had publically and correctly criticized British generalship in that conflict.

Once Minister (1911-1916), Hughes promoted the Ross through-out the Empire trying to convince, for instance, the Russians, the Australians and New Zealanders to buy it . The Aussies even sent a defence department investigator to look at the Canadian factory in the years before the war . Hughes and his predecessor, Sir Fred Borden (Min of M&D, 1896-1911 and the one who initiated the Ross rifle policy as a result of the British reluctance to supply Canada with munitions during the Boer war) also decided to advertise the weopon by winning at the most prestigious rifle matches of the day- at Bisley in the UK. in fact they did so for a half dozen years before 1914. There can be little doubt that the ' campaign' of promotion whether with victory on the shooting fields or handing out free presentation grade rifles alarmed the British small arms makers who may have had visions of their very lucrative Empire monopoly disappearing before the on-rush senior Dominion's Ross competition. The background helps explain the likely 'why" that your very famous relative was sent Canada's national arm so long ago.

Hughes gave copies to such other notables as Winston Churchill, The Lord Haldane, Field Marshal Sir John French and major General Sir Wm Congrieve VC, KCB (methinks he was a direct decendent of the Congrieve whose "rockets" blackened the white House during the War of 1812) and many more. He even tried to give one to every Canadaian MP in our House of commons.