ADDRESSES
THE CANADIAN CLUB
OF OTTAWA
/ADDRESSES
DELIVERED BEFORE
THE CANADIAN CLUB
OF OTTAWA
>00V^
1903 — 1909
EDITED BY
GERALD H. _B£OWN,
First V ice-President.
OTTAWA:
THE MORTIMER PRESS 1910
02C3V- K03/0?
Copyrighted, Canada,
GERALD H. BROWN,
ist Vice- President CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
Introductory *. 5
Officers and Executive Committees of the Club 7
List of Guests of the Club, 1903-1909 9
JAN. 18, 1904 — 1st Annual Banquet, guests of honor: — His Excellency Earl Grey, G.C.M.G., Governor General of Canada; Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, P.C., G.C.M.G., Prime Minister of Canada; R. L.
Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition 11
MAY 5, 1905 — 2nd Annual Banquet, guests of honor: — Chas. R. Crane, President, and Walter R. Fisher, Secretary of the Municipal
Voters' League of Chicago 17
FEB. 1, 1906 — 3rd Annual Banquet, guests of honor: — His Excellency Earl Grey, G.C.M.G., Governor General of Canada, Hon. Joseph H. Choate, late U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James, Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, P.C., G.C.M.G., Prime Minister of
Canada; R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition 21
APRIL 1, 1907 — 4th Annual Banquet, guests of honor: — His Excellency the Rt. Hon. James Bryce, British Ambassador at Washington ; Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, P.C., G.C.M.G., Prime Minister of
Canada 27
APRIL 21, 1909 — 5th Annual Banquet, guests of honor: — Surviving Sena- tors and Members of the First Parliament of the Dominion of Canada; His Excellency Earl Grey, G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., Governor General; Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, P.C., G.C.M.G., Prime Min- ister; R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition; Hon. Frank Oliver, Minister of the Interior; Hon. Chas. Murphy, Secretary of State; Hon. J. K. Kerr, Speaker of the Senate; Hon. Chas. Marcil, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons; Hon. R. W. Scott,
late Secretary of State 32
OCT. 9, 1906 — Dinner in honor of the Provincial Premiers of Canada 50
JAN. 15, 1908 — Public Meeting re Reclamation of Quebec Battlefields ad- dressed by His Excellency Earl Grey, G.C.M.G., Governor Gen- eral of Canada; Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, P.C., G.C.M.G., Prime Minister; R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition; Hon. R. Dandurand, Speaker of the Senate; Hon. R. F. Suther- land, Speaker of the House of Commons; Chas. Marcil, M.P., Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons; Major General Lord
Aylmer 58
OCT. 26, 1903— Major General the Earl of Dundonald, C.B., C.V.O., General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada, " The Citizen
and His Military Obligations " 66
DEC. 7, 1903— Hon. Clifford Sifton, Minister of the Interior, "Some_Matters
of National Interest to Canadians " 71*
SEPT. 24, 1904— Sir C. E. Howard Vincent, K.C.M.G., Kt., C.B., M.P., for
Central Sheffield, " Preferential Trade " ' 74
Nov. 14, 1904— Goldwin Smith, D.C.L., of Toronto, "Some Past E vents " 77 APRIL 15, 1905 — H. Rider Haggard, of London, Eng , and Commander
Booth-Tucker of the Salvation Army, " "Rn.p.k to the Land " 81
JAN. 20, 1906— Rt. Hon. Sir Richard Cartwright, G.C.M.G., Minister of
Trade and Commerce, "Some Memories of Confederation " 87
4 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
.rAGE
FEB. 6, 1906 — Dr. Booker T. Washington, Principal of Tuskegee Institute,
Tuskegee, Alabama, "The Negroes of the Southern States " . 95
APRIL 28, 1906 — Andrew Carnegie, " Anglo-American Religions " 97
JUNE 5, 1906— Jas. J. Hill, "TransporTation" . . . ." 100
JAN. 7, 1907— Judge Ben B. Lindsay, of Denver, Col., " The Juvenile
fVmrt" 103
JAN. 25, 1907— Hon. Elihu Root, U.S. Secretary of State, "Relations
between the Unitfj] p*.g.+.pq ^ncl nflntvh " 106
FEB. 23, 1907 — Dr. Chas. W. Eliot, President of Harvard University,
"The Way of Escape from the Competitive Arming of the Nations" 109
MARCH 20, 1907— Gen. Wm. Booth, Commander in Chief of the Salvation
Army, "The Work of the Salvation Army " 113
SEPT. 12, 1907 — Rt. Rev. Dr. A. F. W. Ingram, Bishop of London, " British
Sftfjfl,] PfnKlomg" 116
/ OCT. 21, 1907— Rudyard Kipling, " Canada's Path i to Nationhood" 118
DEC. 4, 1907 — J. S. Ewart, K.C., " the Future of Canada^ 122
OCT. 21, 1908 — Rt. Hon. Viscount Milner, G.C.B.,G.C.M.G., ''South Africa" 128 Nov. 21, 1908— F. W. Hirst, Editor of The Economist, London, Eng.,
"Canada and thp. British Markets " 134
Nov. 28, 1908 — Jas. White, Geographer of Canada, "The Boundaries of
Canada" 137
V-DEC. 11, 1908— Prof. F. P. Walton, LL.D., McGill University, Montreal,
P "Lord Durham a.nrl bis Times" 143
DEC. 21, 190&— k. E. Young, Department of the Interior, "Canada's Fer- tile Northland" 149
_DEC. 30, 1908 — Dr. Gifford Pinchot, Chief of the Forestry Division of the
United States, " rVmpP.rvfl.t,inr» nf Nnfnrnl RPR^^-P.P^" 153
JAN. 2, 1909— Brig. Gen. E. J. E. Swayne, C.B., Governor of British
Honduras, "The East Indian in Canada" 158
JAN. 23, 1909— Professor Stephen B. Leacock, LL.D., McGill University, ^ Montreal, "The Political Achievement of Robert Baldwin" 161
FEB. 13, lOHQ— MflriTn Unrrpll Vf P fnr ValA-f!srihnn R f! " Fruit Grow- ing in British Columbia " 1 65
FEB. 27, 1909— John Z. White, of Chicago, " Public Ownership of Public
Utilities" 167
MARCH 13, 1909 — R. S. Neville, K.C., of Toronto, "British Diplomacy" . . 170
MARCH 27, 1909— Dr. Alex. Graham Bell, of Washington, D.C.. "Recent
Developments in +hf fi/»ipnr»o r>f ^yjafjrm " 181
APRIL 10, 1909— Moreton Frewen, of London, Eng., "The Silver Question in its Relation to European and American Commerce with the Far East" ' 188
APRIL 16, 1909 — Capt. J. E. Bernier, Commander of the Canadian Govern- ment Cruiser, " Arctic, " " Canadian Rights in the Arctic " 190
APRIL 28, 1909 — Sir J. Percy Fitzpatrick, Kt., Member of the Legislative
Council of the Transvaal, " The Causes of the South African War. " 1 93
Nov. 6, 1909— Rt. Hon. Lord Northcnfl'e, "Canada To-day and~o- A morrow " 200
Nov. 27, 1909— R. C. Smith, K.C., of Montreal, "Some Interrogation
Points" 207
• — DEC. 4, 1909— J. A. Macdonald, LL.D., Editor of The Globe, Toronto,
" Lessons from Britain for Life in Canada " 213
DEC. 18, 1909— G. W. Stephens, President of the Board of Harbor' Com- missioners, Montreal, "Canada's National HighwTay" 221
INTRODUCTORY.
The Canadian Club of Ottawa was organized on October 9, 1903, for the purpose of fostering patriotism " by encouraging the study of the insti- tutions, history, arts, literature, and resources of Canada; and by en- deavouring to unite Canadians in such work for the welfare and progress of the Dominion as may be desirable and expedient. "
It was clearly understood at the outset that 'the Club was to be con- ducted on non-partisan and non-sectarian lines, and on the principle of the fullest respect for the opinions of others, that its constitution should be broad enough in its terms to include Canadians of all shades of opinions, and that the only qualification for membership was to be British citizenship either by birth or adoption. Experience has established the wisdom of the determination which was taken by the Club in these res- pects.
Regular meetings have been held since the autumn of 1903. The initial membership of 237 has been increased to upwards of 1,100, and it may fairly be claimed for the Canadian Club of Ottawa that, through its endeavour to cultivate a robust national spirit, an intelligent patriotism and a closer feeling of unity among Canadians of all classes, to encourage the study of Canadian institutions, Canadian history, Canadian arts and literature, and Canadian resources, and to inspire the highest ideals of citizenship, it has won for itself a high position in the public estimation and has become, indeed, one of the recognized institutions of Ottawa.
At the Sixth Annual Meeting of the Club, which was held on April 27, 1909, a resolution was adopted in favour of the publication in book form of the more important addresses delivered before the Club since its organ- ization, and the membership fee was increased from $1.00 to $1.50 per annum to provide funds for this purpose, so that copies of the volume might be placed in the hands of all the members. It is a matter of regret to the Officers and Executive Committee that it has not been possible to include in the present volume all of the addresses delivered before the Club since its organization. Unfortunately, no reports are available of some of the most interesting addresses to which members of the Club have been privileged to listen. Unavoidable limitations of space have, moreover, had to be considered, and have made it necessary to condense the text of the longer addresses wherever this seemed practicable. On account of the fact that the guests of the Club during the past six seasons have been drawn from almost all parts of the world, it has not been possible in all cases, in the preparation of the present volume, to submit the reports for revision to the persons by whom the addresses were delivered. In most instances the reports have been based on stenographic notes, although in some cases the Club has availed itself of the reports published in the press of Ottawa. The present volume contains reports of all the addresses which have been delivered before the Club during the year 1909, and also of a large number of the more important addresses of previous years.
The addresses delivered before the Club have been of such an ex- ceptionally high standard and the subjects discussed of such widespread
6 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
interest that it has seemed to the Officers and Executive most desirable that a report of the same should be issued to the membership yearly, and if funds can be found for the purpose this will doubtless be done.
Meetings have been held as a rule between the months of October and of April and have usually taken the form of luncheons followed by an address from the guest of the occasion. In other instances evening meetings have been held, a number of them in the form of dinners and banquets. In its aims and objects the Club is identical with similar organizations to the number of between fifty and sixty which are to be found in almost every important centre in the Dominion, entirely inde- pendent of one another so far as membership is concerned, but together constituting a potent force for the maintenance of the highest ideals of Canadian citizenship.
Among the company of distinguished men who have honored the Canadian Club of Ottawa with their presence and with addresses in the course of the past six years have been: — His Excellency the Earl of Minto, then Governor General of Canada; His Excellency Earl Grey, the present Governor General; Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister of Canada; the Prime Ministers of all the Provinces of the Dominion as well as a num- ber of the members of the Dominion and Provincial Cabinets; Rt. Hon. Sir Chas. Fitzpatrick, Chief Justice of Canada; R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Canada; the surviving Senators and Members of the First Parliament of Canada; Rear Admiral His Serene Highness Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg; Major General, the Earl of Dundonald, then General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada; His Excellency the Rt. Hon. James Bryce, His Majesty's Am- bassador at Washington; Rt. Hon. Viscount Milner, former British High Commissioner in South Africa; Rt. Hon. Lord Midleton, former Secretary of State for War; Rt. Hon. Lord Northcliffe; Hon. Elihu Root, then Secretary of State of the United States; Hon. Jos. H. Choate, former United States Ambassador at the Court of St. James; Gen. Wm. Booth, Commander in Chief of the Salvation Army; Rudyard Kipling; Rt. Rev. A. F. W. Ingram, Bishop of London; Andrew Carnegie; James J. Hill; Dr. Chas. W. Eliot, then President of Harvard University; Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, President of Columbia University, N. Y.; Dr. Booker T. Washington, Principal of Tuskegee Institute, Alabama; the late Sir C. E. Howard Vincent, M.P. for Centre Sheffield; Dr. Goldwin Smith, Toronto; Chancellor Burwash, of Victoria University, Toronto; Sir Gilbert Parker, M.P., of London, Eng.; Dr. Alex. Graham Bell, of Washington, D.C.; Brigadier-General E. J. E. Swayne, Governor of British Honduras; Judge Ben B. Lindsay, founder of "The Juvenile Court," of Denver, Col.; H. Rider Haggard, of London, Eng. ; Commander Booth-Tucker, of the Sal- vation Army; Dr. Gifford Pinchot, of Washington, D.C., Chief Forester of the United States; Dr. Robert Falconer, President of the University of Toronto; Sir Frederick Pollock, of London, Eng.; the late Dr. W." H. Drummond, of Montreal; Ernest Thompson-Seton; and Sir J. Percy Fitzpatrick, Member of the Legislative Council of the Transvaal.
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES OF THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
1903-04.
President — Lt.-Col. A. P. Sherwood, C.M.G.
First Vice- President — W. L. Mackenzie King.
Second Vice- President — D. Joseph McDougal.
Hon. Secretary— II. P. Hill.
Treasurer — Plunket B. Taylor.
Literary Correspondent — Arthur F. Leggatt.
Committee — John R. Reid, J. W. Woods, J. D. Courtenay, M.D., Frederick
Colson, Rev. Walter M. Loucks, John F. Watters, L.L.D., Stewart
MacClenaghan, Auguste Lemieux.
1904-05.
President — W. L. Mackenzie King.
First V ice-President — Dr. J. D. Courtenay.
Second V ice-President — W. L. Scott.
Hon. Secretary— R. P. Hill.
Treasurer — Plunket B. Taylor.
Literary Correspondent — Gerald H. Brown.
Committee — Lt.-Col. J. Lyons Biggar, W. W. Campbell, John Christie,
W. J. Gerald, Crawford Ross, Benjamin Suite, LL.D., Peter Whelan,
Lt.-Col. A. P. Sherwood, C.M.G.
1905-06.
President — Dr. J. D. Courtenay.
First V ice-President — Plunket B. Taylor.
Second V ice-President — Denis Murphy.
Hon. Secretary— R. P. Hill.
Treasurer — John Hope.
Literary Correspondent — Gerald H. Brown.
Committee — J. B. T. Caron, Robert Masson, Fred Cook, George May,
M.L.A., Otto J. Klotz, LL.D., R. Gordon C. Edwards, Major Chas.
F. Winter, W. L. Mackenzie King, C.M.G.
1906-07.
President— Plunket B. Taylor. First Vice-President— R. P. Hill. Second V ice-President — E. R. Cameron. Hon. Secretary — Gerald H. Brown. Treasurer — Charles H. Thorburn. Literary Correspondent — Cecil H. Bethune.
Committee— Lt.-Col T. de la C. Irwin, D. M. Finnic, R. Girard, E. Stewart, T. G. Rothwell, D'Arcy Scott, Dr. J. D. Courtenay.
8 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
1907-08.
President— H. P. Hill.
First V ice-President — R. Gordon C. Edwards. Second Vice- President — Dr. James F. White. Hon. Secretary — Gerald H. Brown. Treasurer — D. E. Johnson. Literary Correspondent — C. Frederic Hamilton. Committee — George A. Mountain, J. E. Caldwell, J. F. Garland, Wilson M.
Southam, A. A. Taillon, J. A. Ruddick, George Kydd, Plunket B.
Taylor.
1908-09.
President — R. Gordon C. Edwards.
First V ice-President — D'Arcy Scott, Mayor of Ottawa.
Second V ice-President — Col. Fred White, C.M.G.
Hon. Secretary — Gerald H. Brown.
Treasurer — D. E. Johnson.
Literary Correspondent — C. Frederic Hamilton.
Committee — Hon. N. A. Belcourt, Hon. Mr. Justice Duff, T. C. Boville,
J. S. Ewart, K.C., A. W. Ault, F. C. T. O'Hara, H. I. Thomas, H. P.
Hill.
1909-1910.
President— D'Arcy Scott. First V ice-President — Gerald H. Brown. Second V ice-President — R. E. Young. Hon. Secretary — H. I. Thomas. Treasurer — J. E. Macpherson. Literary Correspondent — E. Norman Smith.
Committee— J. B. Hunter, Lt. Col. E. Fiset, D.S.O., Dr. Thos. Gibson, Thos. H. Blair, John Murphy, J. F. Cunningham, R. Gordon C. Edwards.
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
LIST OF GUESTS OF THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA.
1903-04.
His Excellency the Earl of Minto; Right Honorable the Earl of Dun- donald; Right Honorable Sir Wilfrid Laurier; H. B. Ames, M.P., Mon- treal; Hon. Sir F. W. Borden, Ottawa; R. L. Borden, M.P., Ottawa; J. S. Ewart, K.C., Ottawa; Hon. G. E. Foster, M.P., Toronto; Hon. A. B. Morine, Toronto; Lt.-Col. W. H. Ponton, Belleville; Forbes Robertson, London, Eng.; Hon. Clifford Sifton, Ottawa; Benjamin Suite, Ottawa; Prof. Adam Shortt, Kingston; Sir C. E. Howard Vincent, London, England; J. S. Willison, Toronto; Prof. McGregor Young, Toronto.
1904-05.
His Excellency Earl Grey; Rear Admiral H.S.H. Prince Louis Alex- ander of Battenberg; L. S. Amery, London, Eng.; Commander Booth- Tucker, New York; Chancellor Burwash, Toronto; Prof. J. W. Clarke, Toronto; Chas. J. Crane, Chicago; Norman Duncan, New York; Dr. W. H. Drummond, Montreal; J. G. Foster, U.S. Consul General, Ottawa; W. L. Fisher, Chicago; Dr. Thomas Gibson, Ottawa; H. Rider Haggard, London, Eng.; Miss Violet Brooke Hunt, London, Eng.; A. P. Low, Ottawa; Chas. Marcil, M.P., Ottawa; Hon. Frank Oliver, Ottawa; Sir Gilbert Parker, M.P., London, Eng.; Prof. J. W.Robertson, St. Anne de Belle- vue; Dr. Goldwin Smith, Toronto; Byron E. Walker, Toronto.
1905-06.
His Excellency Earl Grey; Hon. Joseph H. Choate, New York; Rt. Hon. Sir Richard Cartwright, Ottawa; Sir Frederick Pollock, London, Eng.; Geoffrey Drage, London, Eng.; Dr. Booker T. Washington, Tus- kegee, Ala.; Professor E. Rutherford, McGill University, Montreal; D. M. Stewart, Montreal; J. K. Macdonald, Toronto; W. P. Archibald, Toronto; Alfred Moseley, London, Eng.; Professor W. G. Miller, Toronto; W. K. George, Toronto.
1906-07.
His Excellency Earl Grey; Rt. Hon. James Bryce, Washington; Hon. Elihu Root; General William Booth; James J. Hill; Andrew Carnegie; Hon. H. R. Emmerson; Dr. Wilfrid Grenfell, Labrador; Hon. Henry B. F. Macfarland, Washington, D.C.; Judge Ben B. Lindsay, Denver, Colorado; Frank E. Hodgins, K.C., Toronto; President Eliot, of Harvard University; J. M. Courtney, Ottawa; Ernest Thompson-Seton; Arthur O. Wheeler, Calgary; Professor Walter A. Wyckoff, of Princeton Uni- versity.
10 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
The following were guests on the occasion of a dinner in honor of the Provincial Premiers of Canada: — Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier; Hon. Sir J. P. Whitney, Premier of Ontario; Hon. Sir Lomer Gouin, Premier of Quebec; Hon. George H. Murray, Premier of Nova Scotia; Hon. L. J. Tweedie, Premier of New Brunswick; Hon. R. P. Roblin, Prem- ier of Manitoba; Hon. Arthur Peters, Premier of Prince Edward Island; Hon. Richard McBride, Premier of British Columbia; Hon. A. C. Ruther- ford, Premier of Alberta; Hon. Walter Scott, Premier of Saskatchewan; Hon. J. J. Foy, Toronto; Hon. Adelard Turgeon, Quebec; Hon. Arthur Drysdale, Halifax; Hon. G. E. Hughes, Charlottetown ; Hon. W. A. Weir, Montreal; Hon. C. H. Campbell, Winnipeg; Hon. James Matheson, Toronto; Hon. C. H. Calder, Regina; Hon. C. Cross, Edmonton; Hamar Greenwood, M.P., London, Eng.
1907-08.
The Rt. Rev. A. F. W. Ingram, Bishop of London; Rudyard Kipling; Rev. Father Waggett; Ben Greet; J. S. Ewart, K.C., Ottawa; Rev. Dr. Robert Falconer, President, University of Toronto; R. F. Stupart, Toronto, Director Meteorological Service of Canada; Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Fitz- patrick. Chief Justice of Canada; Rt. Hon. Viscount Midleton; Dr. James Mills, Board of Railway Commissioners for Canada; Rev. D. Bruce Mac- donald, Principal of St. Andrew's College, Toronto; Hon. R. F. Suther- land, Speaker of the House of Commons; Hon. Rodolphe Lemieux, Post- master-General and Minister of Labor; J. Lincoln Steffens, New York; Ernest Thompson-Seton.
1908-09.
The following were guests on occasion of a banquet in honor of the surviving Senators and Members of the First Parliament of Canada: — His Excellency Earl Grey; Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier; Hon. Sir Mac- kenzie Bowell, Hon. Frank Oliver, Hon. Charles Murphy, R. L. Bor- den, M.P., Hon. J. K. Kerr, Hon. Charles Marcil, M.P., Hon. R. W. Scott, Hon. John Costigan, Hon. William Ross, Hon. William Miller, Hon. G. B. Baker, Sir James Grant, P. B. Benoit, Sheriff Hagar.
The following were guests at other meetings of the Club throughout the year: — Rt. Hon. Viscount Milner; Brig. Gen. E. J. E. Swayne, Gov- ernor of British Honduras; Dr. Gifford Pinchot, Washington, D.C.; Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, Washington, D.C.; H. J. Mackinder, London, Eng.; Francis W. Hirst, London, Eng.; Alleyne Ireland, Boston, Mass.; James White, Ottawa; Dr. F. P. Walton, of McGill University, Montreal; R. E. Young, Ottawa; Prof. S. Leacock, of McGill University, Montreal ; Martin Burrell, M.P.; John Z. White, Chicago; R. S. Neville, K.C., Toronto; Moreton Frewen, London, Eng.
1909.
Capt. Jos. E. Bernier, Commander of the Canadian Government Cruiser "Arctic"; Hon. Sir J. Percy Fitzpatrick, Johannesburg, Transvaal; Brig. Gen. Sir J. Hanbury- Williams, Ottawa; Rt. Hon. Lord North- cliffe, London^ Eng.; R. C. Smith, K.C., Montreal; Geo. W. Stephens, Montreal; Dr. J. A. Macdonald, Toronto.
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 11
FIRST ANNUAL BANQUET
Guests of honor — His Excellency the Earl of Minto, G.C.M.G., Governor General of Canada; Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, P.C., G.C.M.G. Prime Minister; Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition.
The guests of honor at the First Annual Banquet of the Club, on January 18, 1904, were His Excellency the Governor General, the Earl of Minto; Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister, and Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition. The speech of His Excellency on this occasion was one of rare excellence in which he alluded to the great things which the future held in store for the Canadian nation and closed with an appeal to those present that "in all the exuberance of youth and prosperity you should not forget the old folks at home — the parents of us all — possibly a little bit old- fashioned, possibly not catching on to new ideas as quickly as you do, but full of responsibilities, full of the hard-earned experience of many generations and, thank God, as strong as ever still. "
On this occasion the Prime Minister asserted the claim that " the Twentieth Century belongs to Canada. " At another point in his speech the Prime Minister referring to Canada's position in the British Empire said: — " Our present relations with the Mother Country, though very satisfactory and likely to remain so for a long time, cannot always remain as they are. They shall and must improve as time develops but they shall and will be improved after the British manner, gradually, without violence and giving justice to everybody as justice is due to everybody. "
The banquet was held in Harmony Hall, the President, Lt.-Col. A. P. Sherwood, C.M.G., in the chair. On motion of Mr. H. P. Hill, the Honor- ary Secretary of the Club, His Excellency the Earl of Minto, Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier and Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P., were elected the first honorary members of the Club. The toast of The King was proposed by the chair- man and was followed by the toast of His Excellency the Governor General to which the latter replied in person.
His Excellency said: — "I gather, gentlemen, from the rules of your constitution that you hope by encouraging a knowledge of Canadian history and institutions, of Canadian literature and art, to foster that patriotism upon which the future progress of the Dominion must depend. Your object is in fact to establish those ennobling influences which go so far to form the character of a people, the framework, so to speak, upon which may be moulded a high spirited, refined and generous nation. No one wishes you success more than I do. The seeds of what you aim at have long been sown, the day is quickly coming when with your help I hope they may have time to ripen. But, Mr. President, the study of history, of literature and of art, in a new world must be to a great extent the recreation of leisured men, of men for whom in the early days of a rising country there is little room — it is the great soldiers, the fearless explorers, the scientific engineers, the hard-hearted men of business, who in the first place acquire a continent and commence the creation of a nation, — history, literature and
12 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
art follow in their wake to leaven the hardy elements which have won the battle of a rough life. Gentlemen, those who have gone before you have bequeathed to you a splendid inheritance. I always remember that apt saving — I forget just now to what distinguished statesman it is due — He said there are three classes of men in the world: 'Those who write history, those who read it and those who make it.' Canadian men and women have made history and are making it still every day, but the present generation have more time than of old to write and to read it.
"But, gentlemen, I hope that in all the exuberance of youth and prosperity, you will never forget the old folks at home — the parents of us all — possibly a little old-fashioned, possibly not catching on to new ideas as quickly as you do, but full of responsibility, full of the hard-earned experience of many generations, and, thank God, as strong as ever still. I have always been a firm believer in ' esprit de corps, ' the spirit which to a soldier places above all things in the world the honor of his regiment.
" I believe in the man who says his home is the best of all homes, who swears by his own township, his own province, and his own country, I was myself brought up in intensely Scotch surroundings, on the borders of Scotland, in the midst of all the romantic traditions of border raids and forays, believing that a Borderer was better- than any other Scotsman, and that a Scotsman was better than any other man in the world. With such a training, perhaps you will believe me when I say, that if I was a Canadian, I would shout 'Canada for the Canadians' with the best of you.
"Clubs, such as yours, gentlemen, growing, as they are, I believe, throughout Canada, directed as they will be on broad and manly lines, cannot but ensure that Canadian patriotism you so justly value. You have all my good wishes for the future which is before you. Go on making your history; let your wise men write it and your rising generation read it, but be we Canadians or Scotsmen, or from whatever nationality we spring, let us never forget that we are members of a clan — England, Scotland, and Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the Indian Empire and dependencies without end — a clan owning fealty to one chief, our King, working out together the greatest history the world has ever known — the history of the British Empire. "
The toast of Canada was proposed by Mr. W. L. Mackenzie King, First Vice-President of the Club, in a short and eloquent address in which he referred to the early trials of Canada's founders, the difficulties of settlers and missionaries and the indomitable perseverance shown by them. The work of Confederation was, he said, not yet complete but would be com- pleted by the exercise of the unselfish ability and commanding integrity heretofore shown by Canada and which it was a delight to honor.
Sir Wilfrid, in replying to the toast, addressed the company as fellow- members, and said he was not over-presumptuous in doing so after the election which had just taken place, and for which he asked them to receive his hearty thanks. Continuing he said: — "It has been my good fortune to run many elections, but I can assure you that I never ran one which cost me so little effort and gave me greater pleasure and pride than did the present — a pleasure not usually found in elections, because on this occa- sion my friend Mr. Borden and myself, although we do not see eye to eye on many questions, were both candidates, were both elected, and were both perfectly happy. (Laughter and cheers). If we were to run elec-
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 13
tions on any other basis I doubt whether Mr. Borden and myself could hope for the same results. (Laughter). Gentlemen, as I understand, the Cana- dian Club of Ottawa, is a young institution, counting only a few weeks, or at best a few months. Its motto and aim are certainly of the noblest. It is to promote Canadian patriotism, (cheers) . I have noticed that at several points in Canada institutions have sprung up which are similar in aim and purpose. Whether it is the result of any preconceived idea or precon- certed action, or whether it is the result of a spontaneous movement, I do not know, but this I know, and this I am sure of, that the inspiration of this movement was the development of the Canadian idea and the advance- ment of Canadian unity.
" We are proud to call ourselves a nation, and it is a matter for pride that we have more population than many of the nations of Europe who have filled history with their fame and renown. We have more population than Switzerland, than Belgium, than Sweden, than Denmark, than Nor- way. Our population at this moment cannot be very far from six millions, and it is not presumptuous to expect that by the next census it may have reached eight millions. (Hear, hear). We have witnessed the happy phenomenon within recent years of the end of what we used to call the exodus. At all events, I think we can claim that at this moment Cana- dian children are staying on Canadian soil. For more than sixty years a current of population flowed from the north to the south, but now happily that has been stopped. We are not only keeping our own people within the Dominion, but are increasing our population by drawing upon the country to the south. There has been in certain quarters some misap- prehension as to the result of American immigration to Canada. I have, for my part, no such misapprehension at all. Whenever people live under good laws, well administered, and they are prosperous, they never resort to revolution. Whenever people are happy under free institutions, each succeeding decade only makes them more loyal and contented, and I have no doubt for my part that the American citizen who settles in the North- west Territories and becomes a British subject under Canadian laws will in the course of time develop into a good Canadian, and his children turn out still better Canadians than himself. (Cheers). But, sir, while we claim with pride that we are a nation, we claim with equal pride that we are subjects of the British Crown — (hear, hear) — with equal pride, I say, because our colonial status carries no inferiority with it; it is not subjection. (Cheers). We have found that our Canadian independence is quite com- patible with our dependency as a colony. (Hear, hear). The relations which we have with the mother country produce this double result. The present relations, however, though very satisfactory and likely to remain so for a long time, cannot always remain as they are. They shall and must improve as time develops, but they shall and will be improved after the British manner, gradually, without violence, and giving justice to every- body as justice is due to everybody.
" There are two policies before us, There is the policy of concentra- tion, and there is the policy of what we call decentralization, or rather local' autonomy. In England there is a school which has some supporters in this country, which would draw the colonies into the orbit in which the mother country revolves as a European power, and would make us share not only the blessings of its institutions at home, but also the burdens, which natur- ally we would be called upon to share. The prototype of that school, which they often bring before us, is the Roman Empire, but in my conception and
14 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
my reading of history there is no parallel in this respect between the Roman Empire and the British Empire. The Roman Empire was the most com- pact political entity that the world ever saw. Rome first subdued Italy, then Spain, then the northern coast of Africa, and then across Egypt to Asia Minor; in fact, she subdued and brought under her rule all the nations of that day whose territories converged upon the Mediterranean. To those nations she gave the law, and they accepted it from her. Such is not the British Empire. The British Empire has not been formed so much by conquest as by discovery and colonization. Much as Britain owes to her soldiers, I think she owes still more to her sailors, and it is the sailors of Britain who have made the British Empire such as it exists to-day, and the British Empire of to-day covers a vaster surface of the globe than the Roman Empire ever did, for whereas the latter was compact, the former is scattered all over the earth. You have British communities not only in Europe, but in America, in Africa and in Oceania.
"These British communities all have an existence by themselves. And what is the bond of union which has proved the most effective means of attaching these communities to the mother land? Undoubtedly, history is there to affirm it, the bond of union which has proved itself to be the most effective, the most potent, the most powerful to cement the British Empire together has been local autonomy, self-government in all the colonies of Great Britain. (Cheers). Had this principle been understood and ap- plied in the eighteenth century, it is not improbable that the civil war which took place would not then have happened. It is not improbable that the colonies which constituted themselves the United States of America would have remained attached to Britain, and their people would be at this moment subjects of his Majesty King Edward, as we are ourselves. But the principle was not known at that time. It was reserved to Cana- dian statesmen, to the Baldwins and to the Lafontaines, first to claim its application, and the concession of the principle resulted in the binding of the colonies to the parent State as they never had been before in the history of the world. (Cheers). Perhaps, sir, as I said a moment ago, the institu- tions wljich have been sufficient up to the present time may not always remain as they are at the present moment. There may be more local autonomy required.
" For my part I ventured to express a few weeks ago the opinion that the time would come when we would require our own treaty-making power. I know too well the occasion of this gathering to enter into the discussion of such a topic. This is not a political organization, and if I were to dis- cuss such a question I am inclined to think that my friend Mr. Borden would take the counterpart. I do not know that this is his idea upon this matter, but I am sure that we can both agree that we may well reserve the discussion for the House of Commons, which shall meet in a few weeks from to-day. I referred to this matter, however, only to say that it has been asserted somewhere that the concession of the treaty-making power would mean the severance of the colonial tie. It is against that idea that I wish to protest. In my estimation, whenever the granting of power is necessary to such a colony as Canada, as Australia, as New Zealand, or any of the great self-governing colonies of the British Empire, to carry on their own institutions according to their own laws for the development of their own interests, instead of lessening it will simply strengthen the tie which binds us to the parent State. (Applause) . This has been the his- tory of the past; it may be the history of the future. No one could have
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 15
supposed, for instance, in 1837, when there was a rebellion in my own Province of Lower Canada, when there was a rebellion in the Province of Upper Canada, that four years afterwards the same two Provinces would have been entrusted with responsible government; that the motherland would not hesitate to place in the hands of men who had been in rebellion the powers of self-government. So she did, however, and the result was to convert men who had been rebellious into the most loyal subjects of the British Crown. Sir, in the past Canada has been the pioneer in what I deem to be the civilization of the world, which shall be based upon peace. I told you a moment ago what was the difference between the Roman Empire and the British Empire. The difference can be summed up in this statement: — The Roman Empire meant war; the British Empire means peace and harmony amongst all the races which are subject to its rule. (Cheers).
" The more I advance in life — and I am no longer a young man — the more I thank Providence that my birth took place in this fair land of Canada. (Cheers). Canada has been modest in its history, although its history is heroic in many ways. But its history, in my estimation, is only commencing. It is commencing in this century. The nineteenth century was the century of the United States. I think we can claim that it is Canada that shall fill the twentieth century. (Cheers). I cannot hope that I shall see much of the development which the future has in store for my country, but whenever my eyes shall close to the light it is my wish — nay, it is my hope — that they close upon a Canada united in all its elements, united in every particular, every element cherishing the tradition of its past, and all uniting in cherishing still more hope for the future. " (Great cheering) .
Mr. R. L. Borden was cheered to the echo as he arose in turn to respond. He began by expressing his thanks for the honor of election to membership in the Canadian Club, of Ottawa. Such occasions as the present were but too infrequent in the life of public men in Canada, a fact which added to his appreciation of the privilege extended to him. It was also one of the occasions, he added pleasantly, very unusual he must admit in the House of Commons, when he had no amendment to offer to Sir Wilfrid Laurier's remarks. He heartily agreed with the right honorable gentleman's eloquent closing observations. But as to'his allusions to matters of political import, without entering into details respecting them, Mr. Borden could only say for the present that while he realized that the development of self-government in this country had been gradual and was due to the initiative of Canadians themselves, yet so far as the treaty-making power was concerned, it must be remembered that treaties must be made by the King and that the King must act in making them under the advice of responsible ministers. That Canada, he added, should have in the future a greater advice in the making of treaties which deal with Canadian interests, would be an undoubted advantage, but how there could possibly be worked out a scheme whereby Canada could make treaties on her own behalf independently of the rest of the Empire he was unable to see at this time.
But, however that might be, said the Conservative leader, both he and Sir Wilfrid were firmly hopeful of a future toward which both would work, a future of progress for Canada within the Empire. For the rest, of course, everybody knew the opposition had not much to say (laughter) but he must express his pleasure at noticing the rise of such
16 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
clubs, bound together to promote Canadian patriotism. There were many important national societies in this country fulfilling a valuable function but while all might look with pride to the splendid stock from which we are sprung, we should do so concurrently with a pride in Canada and a determination to foster Canadian patriotism. As to the modes of doing this, perhaps the most efficient was to know7 each other better and know our own country better. (Hear, hear). This was a lesson that had been impressed upon himself during his peregrinations 'through Canada in the last year and a half. Formerly he used to avail himself of holiday oppor- tunities to visit foreign lands, but having visited the great Northwest he had returned a better Canadian than ever before. We never could have true national unity until we had a stronger national feeling and realize better than even we now do the splendid heritage \vhich Providence has bestowed upon us. This thought was equally applicable to the develop- ment of stronger imperial ties, and he was one of those who hailed with satisfaction such important factors in strengthening these ties as the Con- gress of Chambers of Commerce of the Empire recently held in Montreal, the members of which certainly returned home with a better realization than they had previously attained to of the resources of Canada and of the extent and opportunities of the Empire. With all our grand heritage, con- tinued Mr. Borden, Canadians needed to cultivate a stronger patriotism if they were to develop it as it ought to be developed, and in this he thought we should take a lesson from the result that had been brought about in the United States by the inculcation of patriotism in the people from youth to manhood. The extent to which this patriotism inspired the people of the United States Mr. Borden humorously illustrated by citing the super- lative effort of the American student who eclipsed his predecessors in after- dinner patriotic oratory by proposing the toast of the United States u bounded on the north by the aurora borealis, on the south by the southern cross, on the east by the procession of the equinoxes and on the west by the day of judgment."
"Looking dimly it may be through the mists I can even now discern the future greatness which I am sure will place this Canada of ours not only in the fore-front of the nations of the Empire, but in the fore-front of the nations of the world. This is our dearest wish, the wish cherished with equal fondness by Sir Wilfrid Laurier and myself with regard to the coun- try which we are proud to assist in developing, and to whose future I am sure every loyal Canadian looks forward as hopefullj' and as devoutly as we do ourselves."
Mr. Borden resumed his seat amid prolonged applause.
Mr. D. Joseph McDougal, Second Vice-President of the Club, proposed the toast of Sister Societies, which was responded to by repre- sentatives of the Canadian Clubs of Toronto and of Hamilton.
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 17
SECOND ANNUAL BANQUET.
Guests of honor— His Excellency Earl Grey, G.C.M.G., Governor General of Canada; Charles R. Crane, President, and Walter L. Fisher, Secre- tary, of the Municipal Voters' League of Chicago.
The Second Annual Banquet of the Club was held- in the Russell House on May 5, 1905. The guests of honor on this occasion were His Excellency Earl Grey, Governor General; Mr. Charles R. Crane, President, and Mr. Walter L. Fisher, Secretary of the Municipal Voters' League of Chicago. The Club was also favored with the company of the following as guests at this banquet; Sir Frederick Borden, Minister of Militia; Hon. Frank Oliver, Minister of the Interior; Hon. Rodolphe Lemieux, Solicitor General; Hon. A. G. Blair, Sir James Grant, Sir Sandford Fleming, Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P.; President Harper, of Chicago University; Rt. Hon. Viscount Bury, A.D.C., Hon. R. F. Sutherland, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons; Col. J. Hanbury- Williams, Military Secretary to His Excellency the Governor General; Mr. Charles Marcil, M.P., Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons; Mr. J. G. Foster, United States Consul General and His Worship, Mayor Laporte, of Montreal. The toast of the King was proposed by Mr. W. L. Mackenzie King, President of the Club. Addresses were delivered by Messrs. Crane and Fisher on the work of the Municipal Voters' League of Chicago on behalf of clean civic government in that city. A vote of thanks was tendered to Messrs. Crane and Fisher on motion of Hon. A. G. Blair, seconded by Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P. His Excellency the Governor General, at the request of the President, also addressed the Club and expressed the very great pleasure which it had afforded him to take part in the banquet .
Mr. Crane, president of the Municipal Voters' League of Chicago, spoke very briefly, leaving the outlining of the work of that organization to be discussed by Mr. Fisher, the secretary. While the people on the other side of the line were inclined to superlatives, yet he would venture the statement that ten years ago the most corrupt municipal government he knew of was that of Chicago. Last year he thought the same munici- pality had perhaps the best local government in the United States, al- though many people would not think so. In bringing about this change the Municipal Voters' League was one of the most important factors.
Referring to Mayor Haskins' administration, Mr. Crane mentioned it as a time in municipal government when some of the most valuable public franchises were given away. The people in the end rebelled against such methods of doing business and after his administration a committee of citizens got together to see if something better could not be done. It was thought the corporation should have more power over its own franchises and public utilities, and the new organization did not waste any time in putting up a fight to show what rights the honest citizen had left.
The outstanding characteristics in the league's work, Mr. Crane con- sidered to be its simplicity of method and the few men employed in carrying on its work. It seemed to be an Anglo-Saxon movement for real self-
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government and the whole explanation of any success it had had was eternal vigilance.
Mr. W. L. Fisher, Secretary of the Municipal Voters' League, dis- cussed the conditions which existed in Chicago when the Municipal Voters' League was formed in 1896. The council consisted of 68 members, repre- senting 38 wards, each elected for two years, half retiring every year. Of this number there were two or three who had gone into the council with a sense of civic duty. They were isolated cases. Public or private plunder was the actuating motive of the others. It was a red letter day when more than ten could be got to stand up for public rights. Public fran- chises were disposed of in the most corrupt manner. There were also v0ry numerous instances of more private corruption. In those days the doctrine of natural monopoly was not adhered to. Competition was the one thing which tfce public relied on for relief and securing these franchises opened up the door for all kinds of civic boodling. On the night of the climax in affairs some six or seven of these were before the council and granting them involved a plethora of openly corrupt acts.
When public opinion was aroused the committee of one hundred was formed. It was first proposed to form a municipal party, but after dis- cussion this was voted down. Then there was much discussion and diver- sity of opinion as to what should be done. At one time it looked hopeless. Finally it Was decided to form not a party but a league with an executive committee of nine men, authorized to appoint sub-committees in each ward to raise money to carry on the work. The campaign was not received with any burst of enthusiasm. The league went about its work on the theory of individual citizens taking an intelligent interest in municipal affairs.
The work of the league at the outset was the remedying of defects in the press and the obtaining of concerted action from the newspapers. To the agency of the press particular credit was due for the work accomplished. It had nobly stood by the league doing valuable service in promoting its work. Nevertheless the editors had confessed that they would not have been able to reach that basis of tacit understanding and concerted action without the backing and influence of the Voters' League. A very simple platform was gotten up on questions of public policy. It declared, for instance, for definite, stated terms of public franchises, with reservations as to the right of municipalities to take over the said franchises in a certain time. Honesty and efficiency in public affairs was the watchword, and a close tab was kept on aldermanic records. Mr. Fisher gave a resume of the history of the street railway franchises in Chicago, going back as far as '58. He showed how companies, having obtained franchises subject to certain stipulations and agreements subsequently went to the legislature, obtaining in simple form legislation extending from 25 to 99 years the street railway franchise. That was in '65. The public finally became indignant, and its opposition resulted in a veto of the measure by the Governor, but the legislature refusing to wait to hear a deputation actually passed the bill over the head of the Governor.
With that steal the trouble began and the beginning of the end of corruption in municipal affairs in Chicago. The original franchise expired in '83, but when application for an extension was made it was limited to twenty years, while in the general state law was inserted a clause limiting all such franchises to a twenty-year term.
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 19
The speaker then recounted the transactions of Mr. Charles T. Yerkes. He had secured a controlling interest in the old street railway. Forming a new company he sold it to the old one for 999 years.
But there was a stumbling block in his way and that was the twenty year limitation.
Plans were laid to have this repealed and to giye the state legislature direct power to pass over the head of the city of Chicago a bill giving the company not a twenty but a fifty-year franchise. Carter Harrison was then mayor and his efforts aided by public opinion resulted in this being defeated. But a bill was enacted giving the city council the power of granting a half century franchise. The storm centre was then transferred to the city council. Mr. Fisher told of how the fight was kept up, how and with what difficulty the grafters were thwarted. Then came the state elections, which resulted in a bare handful of those who had voted for the fifty-year law being returned. One of the first acts of the new legislature was to repeal this legislation.
These immense street railway interests were finally unloaded by Mr. Yerkes upon Mr. J. P. Morgan. The deal was characterized as a colossal gold brick and J. P. Morgan was badly bitten. The real extent of their being done up was not realized by the purchasers till they found out that before selling the city lines Mr. Yerkes had secured control of all suburban ones and still held the key to the situation.
The gas franchise was next briefly dealt with by Mr. Fisher and he told how the work of the Voters' League thwarted the scheme of proposed monopoly. He went into the practical work of the League and told of the close watch it kept upon the aldermen and how it followed closely the ad- ministrative record of each and issued a plain and unvarnished statement of fact with reference to his actions. The League struck out from the shoulder and any alderman who was guilty of corruption would be des- cribed as " a creature and a creator of vice and crime. " The League did not confine itself to condemning those deserving it, but it 'gave praise where praise was due. These reports were always issued and distributed broadcast at election time. The League interested itself in the primaries and its influence had become so great that the big party leaders often con- sulted with it before proposing a man in these nominating preliminaries. Before the primaries the League sent out bulletins. It named the danger- ous ones likely to be nominated and urging the voters to go to the nominating proceedings and weed out the undesirable.
When the campaign proper came on the League got right into the game of politics. It went to work in the wards, formed committees and canvassed, but it drew the line at dishonest methods, never pursuing any tactics of that nature. He evoked much interest in a description of a warm campaign in one of the river wards, telling of particularly clever and organized league work, when Dubreck, a Bohemian, routed O'Brien, one of the notorious gang leaders. This was accomplished by a most system- atic campaign and keeping the very closest watch on the other side. In one Democratic ward regarded in 1900 as hopeless there was now no oppo- sition to the League candidates.
The only section where the organization had an uphill fight was in the lodging house ward. Considerable amusement was created when Mr. Fisher read a sample bulletin respecting the character of certain aspirants for office. He gave an instance where both Republican and Democratic
20 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
nominees being undesirable the League rallied behind an honest Socialist and elected him.
One of the cardinal planks of the platform was that the council should be elected on a strictly non-partisan basis, fitness and integrity being the watchwords. Candidates for office were asked to sign a specific agreement to conform to the League's platform and when elected the League saw that those upholding its ideals got full representation in its committees.
The merit of the organization rested on its fearlessness and frankness and its telling the plain facts to the people. Every bulletin in which a man was described as a thief or a scoundrel or something else was signed and those signing it were financially responsible. The League executive had been sued nine times, but never yet had a case gone to trial. The plaintiff always preferred to drop his case rather than give the League a chance of showing him up in the courts.
His Excellency Earl Grey observed that he had received warnings from both sides of the Atlantic that he should walk delicately in the matter of speech-making. When he came to Canada the papers were good ejiough to give him a cordial welcome, but he was greeted, also, with the warning from the press that though he was Governor General the people of Canada did not wish him to interfere. The other night he had made a speech which had not met with a single protest from the papers, and he was flattering himself that he had got through the task so well when he was greeted with cable rebukes. His Excellency added that if he referred to Chicago in even the least uncomplimentary terms used by the previous speakers he might furnish grounds for international trouble.
The lesson to be learned from the addresses of the two gentlemen from Chicago was what a few men of determination could do, and also that the best way to cure the evils of democracy was to elect a patriotic oligarchy. Mr. Crane and Mr. Fisher were the St. Georges and the Savonarolas of modern times. Aristotle had said that the highest happiness was to be found in the conscious pursuit of a noble purpose. If that was true, Mr. Crane and Mr. Fisher should be the happiest of men because their lives had been devoted to the attainment of a most noble purpose, namely, the winning of a city government from the hands of corrupt men and placing it in the hands of those who thought more of Chicago than they did of themselves.
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 21
THIRD ANNUAL BANQUET.
Guests of honor: — His Excellency Ijjarl Grey, G.C.M.G., Governor General of Canada; Hon. Joseph H. Choate, of New York, former United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James; Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, P.C.; G.C.M.G., Prime Minister; and Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition.
In reply to the toast of his health at the Third Annual Banquet of the Cana- dian Club of Ottawa, on February I, 1906, Hon. Joseph H. Choate, former United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James, in the course of a refer- ence to the growth of good feeling between Great Britain and the United States, said: — "The United States is always for peace with all the world but es- pecially for peace with our mother country, and especially and always an abiding and constant peace with this great nation of Canada, which divides and shares equally with us the continent we call our own. We want this peace cemented so that it will never by any possibility be broken. We must cultivate friendship, for friendship though a tender plant is fust as capable of being cultivated as any other plant that grows, and it is by this means that the growing harmony of opinion between the United States and the other portions of the great British race has been secured. "
The banquet of the Club was held in the Russell House. Dr. J. D. Courtenay, President of the Club, presided and the following toasts were honored: The King, the Governor General, Mr. Choate and the Sister Canadian Clubs.
The toast of Mr. Choate, the principal guest of the evening was pro- posed by the Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who referred in opening to Mr. Choate's brilliant service to his own country and the British Empire as ambassador for many years at the Court of St. James.
" One thing," he said, "in the career of Mr. Choate we can not forget. It was during his stay in London that the last vestige disappeared of the long bitterness which for so many years and generations estranged the United States and Great Britain. We no longer hear of the bickerings which marred the relations of the two countries. The relations are now friendly and cordial. The best evidence is that whenever British and United States sailors meet in foreign ports, they are attracted to each other not only as friends but more as brothers. Among the vast proportion of the American people and the great majority of the people not only in Canada but in every British possession, the idea is that never shall there be war between the two countries. I hope and believe that war between Great Britain and the United States to-day would be a crime against civilization. Much of this better feeling is, I believe largely due to Mr. Choate's modera- tion, tact and good judgment. Therefore I know that with sympathetic hearts you will raise your glasses, drink the toast to Mr. Choate and wish him all the blessings Providence can bestow on mortal man. "
As Mr. Choate rose to reply the audience stood and cheered lustily. In his hands he held a sheet of paper, foolscap size, of which he said in opening: —
22 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
" I beg you not to be alarmed by the notes which I hold in my hands. I have simply jotted down what not to say. ' I have been warned that there are certain subjects upon which the representative of the States appearing before a Canadian audience may as well be silent. I want to keep clear of all these rocks and shoals. Mr. Borden has given me a little story which exactly illustrates my position at this moment. He told me of a pilot upon one of your lakes, of our lakes, a pilot on a steamboat who was asked: ' Do you know all the rocks and shoals in this lake?' ' Why no, ' said he, ' of course I don't. ' ' Well then, how dare you act as a pilot of this steam- boat on this lake?' 'Well,' said he, * because I know where there are no rocks and shoals. '
" There is one subject I am told upon which any man may safely speak in Canada. I am told it has been established by an overwhelming vote which Mr. Borden has moved to make unanimous that the twentieth cen- tury belongs to Canada. Well, now I am heartily of that opinion myself and it gives me a broad subject upon which I can venture to expatiate for the few minutes in which I propose to address you. It is 44 years since I was in Ottawa before and I won't venture to tell you what I found here then. I doubt if much remains of what existed at that day. Certainly there was no Canadian club and I, 44 years ago, was allowed to enter the village of Ottawa and retire in silence and it is the great honor of my life, I need not say, to be received here by this gathering which evidently com- prises the brains, the character and the influence of this Capital city of the Dominion. "
A voice — " Hear, hear. "
" It is delightful to see, gentlemen, " continued Mr. Choate, " what a good opinion you have of yourselves.
" Well now, in my endeavor to find out what I might safely discussjl started the question here at this table: What is the latitude of Ottawa? Well, the gentlemen on the right and on the left were unable to answer me and I think even the Governor General himself was a little at a loss until finally we communicated with the astronomer and I was informed that the latitude was 45.25. That is half way between New York and London and I suppose that anything that may be safely uttered half way between these two cities may safely be spoken of by me.
"I have felt very much honored by what the Governor General has said. It is true that during my residence in England we became very great friends and his invitation to visit him here was extended to me before he left the shores of Great Britain. I know what he sacrificed to come here to serve you and the mother country. I know what is in prospect before him when he has completed the service to which he is now designated. It has been my great pleasure to have a personal acquaintance with several of his illustrious predecessors and what noble gentlemen they were. — Lord Dufferin, Lord Lansdowne, Lord Aberdeen, Lord Minto. What was the consequence of the splendid service each one of them rendered here? Each one of them by his great and exalted service rendered vast benefits to the Empire as well as to Canada and if I am not mistaken, if I do not trespass upon the province of prophecy, I think that the Governor General himself whom you have actually with you, will follow in their footsteps and will do excellent work always for the service of his country.
"Well, now I speak as an ex-ambassador, judging from the glowing compliments which have been heaped upon my unworthy head, by the Prime Minister, but I assure you that however great is the honor of being
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 23
an ambassador it is a delightful privilege to be out of it, and after having my tongue tied to the roof of my mouth for seven years, to be able to speak my mind. I am responsible to nobody but you for what I say and nobody is any longer responsible for me, and I can speak with all the levity of a free man, of a free citizen, and all the garrulity of old age. I am a great advo- cate of the privileges of age. There is no period of life that I have found so delightful as the eighth decade, in which I have already made considerable progress. I advise all my friends like the Governor General to hurry up and get into it as fast as they can. It is a perfectly delightful situation in which to find yourselves. I am sorry to see so few of my contemporaries here. But I am kept in countenance at least by two of them. Our past at least is secured and the future will take care of itself. We have got rid of the responsibility, the labors, the toils of life and are now enjoying its honors, its dignities and its privileges, and the longer we live the more we can lay it to our hearts that we are no longer living at our own expense. I am sure that Sir Sandford Fleming and Sir James Grant will bear me out in the proposition that we are living at the expense of our heirs. I don't know that it needs any explanation, so plain a proposition as this, but it is perfectly manifest that what we spend they cannot have.
" Now I must repudiate at the outset a very large part of the praise which Sir Wilfrid Laurier has put upon my head. It is true that I spent six most delightful years in England. It is true that the two countries during those six years grew to love each other better than, I think, they ever did before, but very little of it was to be imputed to me. There were certain great factors, far greater and more important than any ambassa- dors, which were doing much good during that period in bringing the two countries together. In the first place there were the two illustrious sover- eigns who sat upon the throne while I had the pleasure of representing my country at the British Court. Then there were the two Presidents of the United States whose commission I had the honor to bear in sequence and they were equally and absolutely loyal to the sentiments of friendship — friendship always, between the two countries; and then there were those two great statesmen who directed the affairs of our respective countries. I need not say that I refer to Lord Lansdowne and Mr. Hay. I think it will never be known how completely they joined in cementing the union between the two countries and seeing to it that nothing should disturb the harmony, the growing harmony, that existed between them. And then, again, gentlemen, it was not the act of any man or of individual men, how- ever exalted. The two nations had been growing together steadily during the last ten years, just as the various nations that make up the great British Empire had been growing always more closely together, so the two great branches of the English race have been coming closer, one to another, all the time. It is the union of the people for the sake of the common prin- ciples they represent, for the common cause of liberty, order and progress. This is what has been bringing them closer to each other in the past, and if I am not mistaken for these great principles they must stand together always in the future. Now I do not know how much you can stand —
Voices — " Go on; go on. "
Mr. Choates — "Oh, I haven't the least idea of sitting down yet but I don't know how much you can stand in the way of praise of Canada though I judge from what I have heard and seen that you are equal to a very con- siderable amount. The romantic history, the picturesque history of Canada was always one of the delights of my boyhood. That noble series
24 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
of history, each history reading like a romance, each romance reading like a poem, that Francis Parkman gave to the world, have been the common property of Canada and the United States and we look back upon the great array of discoverers and explorers and settlers and heroes and martyrs whom he devoted his life to depicting as being among the great historic heritage of the race. What sufferings, what hardships, what triumphs, what victories were shown as they bound this great country all the way from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi together for the advancement of the Empire.
"Then there was another very tragic, very romantic period as it seems to me in the history of Canada which appealed very strongly to the senti- ments and feelings of both countries. I refer to the period of our revolu- tionary war when we broke off from the mother country and at the close of that war the United Empire Loyalists came from Massachusetts and New York and all the other colonies, came here into the wilderness leaving all that they held dear and for King and country as they conceived them, came to lay the foundation of several of the Provinces of Canada. Scant justice has been done to them on our side of the line. It was impossible but that it should be so for many generations, but history has at last done them justice and they are recognized as among the great and responsible founders of states. Why, only last Monday I took up the last number of the Harvard Graduates' Magazine and there I saw a list displayed of 200 of these Loyalists who were labelled as the Harvard Loyalists. Just as they would give us a list of the Harvard poets, the Harvard orators, the Harvard heroes, so they held these up as the Harvard Loyalists of whom both nations may unite to be proud. And there were 200 devoted men of the best families in the colonies, men whose ancestral roots were away down back in times of the colonies, men of character and of reputation, heroes, who, as I say, sacrificed all and came here to make the foundations of each state which they and those who have followed them have made so successful. The truth is that our American sunshine — and when I say American sunshine I speak for both sides of the line with one foot in the United States and the other in Canada — our American sunshine, our clear atmosphere, our electric life, are such that the microbes of envy, hatred and malice cannot possibly survive from generation to generation.
"Next week we celebrate throughout the United States, north and south, the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. He will be just as warmly honored south of the Mason and Dixon line as north of it. The blue and the gray will unite to do him honor, and the blue and the gray are abso- lute rivals in loyalty now. You witnessed the spectacle the other day of the President of the United States attending the funeral of a great rebel general and through all parts of our country, no matter on which side they were in the great rebellion, all men are now equally devoted to the flag and to the honor of the nation which was established by the result of that war.
" I think I may now say something about the Twentieth Century. I have referred to the periods of the earlier history of Canada which seem to me to be full of romance, but surely to-day most of all is the magical period of Canada's history. One can hardly believe, we take it almost as Cana- dian romance, when they tell us of the wonderful development and progress of the states of this Dominion during the last ten years — even during the last five years — her boundless resources, her illimitable strength, her agriculture, her manufacturing of every kind, growing up in all parts of
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 25
the land and maintained by wise and beneficial laws. I do not know how much you are going to leave to us. I am told that the farmers of our Western States are pouring over your borders with their families, fifty thousand a year, to become more devoted, more loyal, more sanguine Canadians than even those among whom they come. The Governor General has told me a little story and as I got it from him it is authentic. He told me of a Yankee farmer who took up his quarter section of land in the first place in the State of Ohio. He improved it, built his house upon it, fenced it in and having skinned and skimmed the surface of our virgin soil he sold out and moved to the State of Kansas and there he went through the same operations and having lived in Kansas some four or five years and having exhausted the virgin freshness of that blood-stained soil then he moved on to Oklahoma arid repeated the same experiment. Butjiothing would satisfy him in all the exhausted soil of the United States. He sold out his land in Oklahoma and with a quarter of the proceeds came into your new province of an unpronounceable name, and there he found such soil as he had never dreamed of before, such soil as he supposed it was im- possible should exist upon the earth's surface and so now he is growing to be one of the great nabobs of that unpronounceable territory.
" I congratulate you on the fortunate place that this nation of yours, the Dominion of Canada, occupies in the British Empire of which it is so proud to be a part. Nearly a hundred years ago Walter Scott in one of his charming books invented a very happy phrase. He said that the sun never set upon the Empire of Charles the Fifth. Afterwards our own Daniel Webster, of whom I hope you are quite as proud as we, improved upon that and made that wonderful simile of his of the British drum beats following the sun and keeping pace with the hours, continuing in one unbroken and continuous strain the martial airs of England all around the world. But neither the great novelist nor the great orator knew anything about this Twentieth Century which belongs to Canada. What did they know about steam or electricity? Absolutely nothing. Well now, what do you find here? One united nation with its great railroads from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 3,500 miles in extent. Sixteen cables, I believe it is, connected across the Atlantic, most of them landing on Canadian territory and bind- ing the life of this continent to the old continent. And then when you reach the Occident, connected by new cables extending through all those distant regions of the world. These nerves and arteries of empire which Canada holds in its grasp to-day, these are animating and cultivating the intercourse of the world in a way that could never have been dreamed of by Scott or Webster. They could never have conceived of these nerves and arteries of empire which are in your grasp binding together the whole great nation of which you form a part. And we are not a bit jealous of it either. We are quite contented with our own. I think if you will look at the rivalry between the two countries you will find that each one of them has ex- hibited a remarkable faculty of taking care of itself and if we rightly read the prophecies of the future that are founded upon the immense agricultural* prosperity of Canada, she will not only be able to take care of herself but so far as concerns the food supply which keeps nations alive she will take care of the British Islands as well.
" Now I don't want to detain you any longer but let me say a word about my own country. I must not forget that. If it was reported in my own country that in my enthusiasm for Canada I forgot her, I am afraid there would be no more honorable appointments for me. Now, then, let
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me say that the United States is always for peace with all the world, but especially peace with our mother country, and especially and always an abiding and constant peace with this great nation of Canada, which divides and shares equally with us the continent we call our own, and we want this peace cemented — I believe that is the correct word — and I shall continue to use a great deal of cement on the other side of the line. We want this peace cemented so that it will never by any possibility be broken. We must cultivate friendship, for friendship, though a tender plant, is just as capable of being cultivated as any other plant that grows, and it is by that means that the growing harmony of opinion between the United States and the other portions of the great English race has been secured. Let me refer to the example, the idea of one great man — I mean Mr. Rhodes — an idea now coming to fruition, when he said that he would devote the large portion of his big portion to cultivating a friendly spirit between Great Britain and other nations, especially those nations beyond the seas — yours and ours. He knew the existence of that fearful vice of provincialism which prevails in both countries and especially among the young men of both countries. Why, you could no more persuade — before Mr. Rhodes instituted his great experiment — you could not persuade a young American — excuse me, a young citizen of the United States or a young citizen of Canada — that anything by possibility could be done as well in one of the nations of Europe, even in England itself. The only thing more difficult than that would have been to persuade a young Englishman that anything could be done in Canada or in the United States. Now his experiment is going to solve that difficulty and remove that provincialism so far as one man's influence and power can on both sides, and I for one would like to see the counterpart of Mr. Rhode's scheme tried. That would wholly complete the operation. I want to see some American millionaire — and I don't care whether he lives north of the lakes or south of them — I want to see him lay down an equal fund for the purpose of sustaining in the universities ofkCanada and the United States an equal number of British youths so that they shall come over here and see with their own eyes that some things can be done as well as others; that some things can be done on this side of the Atlantic as well as on the other.
" We have been great rivals in the past, and we are going to be still more vigorous and active and potent rivals in the future. Well I for one, believe that no rivalry, no competition, commercial, industrial or economic, can ever or will ever disturb the peace between us and you. We must meet all such questions, and who will doubt that they will arise, with fairness, forbearance and good humor, and my word for it, that we shall always continue friends and have reason instead of envying, to rejoice always in each other's prosperity. "
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 27
FOURTH ANNUAL BANQUET
Guests of honor: — His Excellency, the Rt. Hon. James Bryce, P.C., Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, P.O., G.C.M.G., Prime Minister.
Mr. Bryce, as the guest of the Club at its Fourth Annual Banquet, on the occasion of his first visit to Canada after being appointed British Ambassador to the United States, took occasion to dwell upon the growth, wealth and power of Canada and the new relationship which was springing up between Canada and its sister Dominions and the British Empire. Mr. Bryce insisted that any closer connection between the mother country and the sister States must be upon the basis of equality and co-partnership. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in proposing the health of the Ambassador made his now famous statement that there would be " no more Canadian Pilgrimages to Washington. "
The banquet was served in the Russell House, among others present being Dr. Neill McPhatter, President of the Canadian Club of New York; Pierre Beullac, President of the Canadian Club of Montreal; Mark H. Irish, President and A. E. Huestis, Secretary, of the Canadian Club of Toronto, and Mr. J. H. Smith, President of the Canadian Club of Hamilton. Mr. P. B. Taylor, President of the Club, was in the chair and the following toasts were honored: the King, the President of the United States, His Excellency the Governor General, His Excellency the Rt. Hon. James Bryce, and the Sister Canadian Clubs.
In proposing the health of Mr. Bryce, Sir Wilfrid Laurier said in part: —
"Mr. Bryce has been on this continent but a few weeks, and it is nothing but the literal truth to say that he has turned a new leaf in the history of the continent of America. We have to realize that John Bull has not always done his full duty to his Canadian son. If we take all the treaties from the treaty of 1783 up to the treaty of 1903 which gave away a large portion of the Alaskan boundary, we Canadians do not feel par- ticularly cheerful with the way we have been treated by the British pleni- potentiaries. But a new leaf has been turned, and it has been turned by our right honorable friend, Mr. Bryce. Mr. Bryce has done something new in connection with British diplomacy in America. He has visited Canada. (Laughter and cheers). This is the first time, as far as I know, that His Majesty's ambassador at Washington has visited Canadian soil. If His Majesty's ambassador has visited this country before it has been as a meteor leaving no trace behind. We want Mr. Bryce to be informed upon the wishes of Canada. He has written a book on the United States, and he has shown that country that he knew that country better than many people living in that country did themselves. I do not despair that some time or other we may have another book from the pen of Mr. Bryce which will reveal to the Canadian people what they are and how they look.
" In the meantime, I may say to Mr. Bryce, we have no quarrel with our neighbors; we have nothing for them but sentiments of admiration.
28 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
At the same time we think that the concessions ought not to be altogether on one side. I have seen, and you have all seen, in an American news- paper published in New York just a few days ago, that we are yearning for repriprocity with the United States. Now I tell you that the editor of that paper is about 25 years behind the times. At that time we would have given our right arm for such a thing, but it is now a thing of the past.
" We have in 1907 a changed condition of things. We are turning our hopes towards the old mother land. (Loud cheers). We have introduced the doctrine and the policy of a preference to Great Britain and towards all the British Empire, and this is the policy by which we stand at the present time. (Renewed cheers) .
" Not for my part that I do not value the American trade, not for my part that I do not value all that we would have to gain if our relations were on a better footing, but this is a matter on which we shall have no more pilgrimages to Washington, and this is simply the message I have to convey to your guest at the present moment. I know he will be a friend of Canada, and if it be a fact that a new leaf be continued in our relations with our neighbors it will be a matter for great congratulation. "
Mr. Bryce, in replying to the toast of his health, said he was deeply touched by the kindness of the reception which had been given to him. He could not have desired to enter on such a difficult and responsible duty as that with which he had been charged under any better aus- pices than to have such a welcome as they had given him in the capital of this Dominion. He did not know that he had any particular secrets to tell them. He was in Canada rather to listen than to speak. The first duty of a diplomatist was to know how to hold his tongue. The very first thing that occurred to him when he had the honor of being asked to take the post of Ambassador to the United States was that, at the earliest possible moment, he would pay a visit to Canada and learn for himself what the wishes, thoughts, and feelings of Canadians were. Mr. Bryce commended the objects of the Canadian Clubs throughout the Dominion and pointed out some of the benefits which were to be derived from their meetings. He recalled his previous visit to the Dominion 37 years ago and said he did not suppose there was any part of the North Ameri- can Continent or any part of the habitable globe which had made such rapid strides in population, in wealth, in prosperity, in the development of agriculture and other industries, as Canada had done during the last 20 years. After referring to the development of the transportation system in Canada, Mr. Bryce expressed wonder that a greater amount of British capital was not flowing into this country. He ventured to say that Canad- ians were a little too modest. They did not let British capitalists and in- vestors know quite sufficiently what were the enormous opportunities for the judicious employment of capital which Canada presents. If these benefits were better known in England, he believed a great deal of the capital there which was obtaining comparatively small returns would flow out and be the means of enabling Canada to develop and still more complete the great resources which it possessed. Referring to Sir Wilfrid's remarks about British diplomacy in the past Mr. Bryce said there was another side to the case against the British Government and if he had time he thought he could put a more favorable complexion upon what the British Govern- ment had done in times past than perhaps they had gathered from Sir Wilfrid's words. But that was a matter for another occasion.
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 29
Proceeding, Mr. Bryce said: "With this growing wealth and power of Canada there has come not only a growing sense among yourselves of your own future, but also a growing recognition by other peoples of the world. Canada fills a different place in the eyes of western and middle Europe than it did 30 years ago and the same thing is true of the United States. There are, of course, those who desire to make as much mischief as they can between two great neighboring peoples and who sometimes take up every false or malicious word that is spoken on either side of the border in order to provoke ill-feeling. These things must always happen. They happened in Europe between ourselves and Germany; they happened between ourselves and France ; I am sorry to say they will always happen ; they are the work of a comparatively small number of persons. But I wish to tell you what has struck me very much during the last two or three visits I have paid to the United States, and that is the increased sentiment not only of friendship but of respect which is felt for Canada by all the higher and wiser minds in the United States. (Applause). I c,an say from personal observation that this is a very wide-spread and growing feeling among the people of the United States and I hope it is a thing of good augury for the future relations of the two peoples. (Applause). But I do not want you to suppose that it is merely because Canada has grown in wealth, in population, that we in England have become more deeply interested in Canada than we seemed to be forty years ago. There are also other causes for it. Our own horizon in Britain has expanded; we have learned to take in the world within our ken which formerly was restricted within a small area around our own shores. We have seen within the days of our lifetime Italy united into a great nation, and Germany's scattered states united into a great nation.
" In feeling the greatness of the British race we are not sensible of any sentiment of aggression. We do not desire to do wrong to any one, whilst I think I may venture to say that we do not desire any accession of terri- tory, and I can say this the more easily because I think we have got more than anybody else, (Laughter) and quite as much as we can well use. We have come to look upon the great colonies no longer with what was suggested by the name of colony. We have come to look upon them as sister states." (Hear, hear).
After recalling the fact that he had been associated with His Excellency the Governor General in the founding of the Imperial Federation League, Mr. Bryce said: — ,
" We were impressed by the importance of making Englishmen realize more their duty and their interest in the colonies and of assuring the colonies more fully than they then knew what the interest and the pride of Englishmen and Scotchmen and Irishmen was. Well, the Imperial Federation League was not able to effect very much. We found great difficulties in the way of attaining the particular objects we set out to accomplish. But at the same time our labor was not in vain because we did succeed in rousing a much greater volume of public opinion in England to the value and importance of the colonies, and to the need for a closer union between us and them, while at the same time we conveyed to them what the wishes and sympathies of Englishmen were.
" But we found one difficulty, and as I know that that difficulty has been felt more or less ever since, I want to speak to you frankly about it. I am not here to speak upon any diplomatic question. This would not be the proper time. I am not here to speak on any British or Canadian
30 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
political question. I should not be the proper person to do so, but I think that I may fairly say to you here what I know to be the general sentiment of Englishmen without any distinction of party, and I may take this op- portunity of conveying to you what our feeling is on the great question of colonial relations.
" Now there are two things that I wish to say. The first is that there is no difference at all between the two great parties in England upon the subject of the colonies. We all desire the same things. We all desire those things with equal warmth and heartiness. We are all united in affection for our colonial brothers. We are all united in prizing our con- nection with them and their connection with us. We all desire that it shall be perpetuated. We are also all united in recognizing to the full that their self-government must be complete. You know your own busi- ness better than we can possibly know it. We know our business better than you can possibly know it, and we do not desire any change in the relations of the mother country to her sister states which would in the smallest degree diminish the responsibility of each state for its own domes- tic concerns or the perfect freedom of every colony to manage its own domestic concerns as it thinks best. (Applause).
" We believe that the British Empire is built upon liberty and self- government — (hear, hear) — and I am sure that the history of Canada is the best proof of the excellence of that principle. Why is it that in Canada two different races, at one time not friendly to one another, speaking different tongues, have so coalesced that you have now a happy and united people in this Dominion? It is because of the gift of liberty and self- government — (applause) — because Britain has the wisdom and the fidelity to her own principles to trust the people and to put their destinies in their own hands. (Hear, hear). Only the other day we saw the same thing in South Africa — I think it is a good omen for the success of what we have done in South Africa that such a speech should be delivered as was de- livered the other day by the Prime Minister of the Transvaal, and that he should now be on his way to England to take part with your Prime Minister in the Conference to be held there this month. (Applause) .
" If there is ever to be, gentlemen, any closer connection between the mother country and the sister states it must be upon the basis of equality and co-partnership. (Hear, hear). We all in England fully realize that and we do not desire that any closer connection should be obtained by the withdrawal of any local power or local liberties in any part of the Empire. Nothing could be imposed from Great Britain, everything must come as much with the will of every sister state as with the will of Britain herself. On that we in England are all agreed. I mention these common objects not by way of exhausting them. I mention only such as the more com- plete arrangement for common defence, better arrangements for the diffu- sion to each part of the Empire of full and accurate information regarding the state of every other and the legislation of every other, in some cases identical legislation upon certain objects upon which it is desired that legislation should be the same, as for instance certain questions connected with commerce, and that I think ought to be done not by taking a common legislative authority but by getting each of the sister states to pass the same legislation if it is convinced it is for the common benefit.
" I had the great good fortune of listening to a most interesting debate on this subject in your House of Commons. I was struck by the wisdom and spirit of fairness and reasonableness with which this question of the
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 31
relations of the mother country with the colonies was discussed, and I felt more than ever that whatever progress is made in that direction must be made very slowly and very cautiously, and it must be made after much more discussion on all the bearings of the question than the question has yet perhaps received. We at any rate in England will be perfectly ready to welcome anything which you, Australia and Cape Colony desire to suggest to us. We will give it the fairest consideration. For my part I should prefer, and I think most Englishmen would prefer, that the proposal should come from you, because then we should feel perfectly sure that it was not we who were trying to impose anything on you but that you were making those suggestions for better arrangements to us. Be that as it may we have at any rate the pleasure of feeling that our relations are now happy. (Hear, hear).
" There is confidence between us, there is no longer the old feeling that the attitude of Downing Street was one of general indifference. (Laughter). Downing Street has now, I can assure you, every possible desire and intention to know all that ought to be known and can be. known about the wishes of the great colonies and as far as possible t© carry out those wishes, and as the Prime Minister of the Dominion has referred to my functions in the United States, I feel almost ashamed to assure you, because it is superfluous, that every possible desire, every possible effort will be made by the Colonial Office and the Foreign Office to ascertain the wishes of Canada, and every possible regard shall be shown to what those wishes and desires are. We have every cause, gentlemen, to rejoice in the present condition of the component parts of the British Empire tow- ards one another.
" When I heard that debate last Wednesday in your House of Com- mons, when I heard your statesmen discussing what proposals should be made by you in London to meet the proposals which are going to be made by Australia in London also, I could not fail to be struck, and indeed I felt my heart glow with pride at the thought, that the statesmen of Canada and Australia were at the same moment discussing with a common aim and a common hope, those high matters of policy which they were com- pelled to settle in conjunction with the statesmen of England beside those ancient walls of the abbey and hall at Westminster which wTere the Cfadle of our common British liberty. The stars that shine upon Australia are not the same as the stars that glitter in your northern frosty skies, but the spirit that stirs in Australian hearts is the same as yours, just as the sun which shines upon you and them and us irradiates us all with the same beams. And, gentlemen, when I think of the splendid and unrivalled phenomenon in history, the great British race as we have it now over the world, I pray that the spirit may be always higher and always wider and always purer, that it may the more thrill our hearts and never our hands when we approach the great mission which Providence has confided to us, of carrying peace and civilization and enlightenment and progress into all the corners of the earth, and that this may be for all time a glory to the British people dispersed throughout the world, that they are united not only by a loyalty to a common Sovereign and a common fla^ but also by a devotion to the same ideals, progress and peace. " (Great cheering).
32 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
FIFTH ANNUAL BANQUET
Guests of honor: — The surviving Senators and Members of the First Par- liament of Canada; His Excellency Earl Grey, G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., Governor General of Canada; Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, P.C., G.C.M.G., Prime Minister; Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition; Hon. Frank Oliver, Minister of the Interior; Hon. Charles Murphy, Secretary of State; Hon. J. K. Kerr, Speaker of the Senate; Hon. Charles Marcil,M. P., Speaker of the House of Commons; and Hon. R. W. Scott, former Secretary of State.
The banquet of the Canadian Club of Ottawa in honor of the surviving Senators and Members of the First Parliament of the Dominion of Canada was held on April 21, 1909, in the Parliamentary Restaurant and proved to be an occasion of much historic interest. Invitations had been addressed to the following survivors of the First Parliament: Rt. Hon. Lord Strathcona, Canadian High Commissioner in London; Rt. Hon. Sir Charles T upper, Bart., former Prime Minister of Canada; Hon. Sir Mackenzie Bowell, former Prime Minister of Canada; Rt. Hon. Sir Richard Cartwright, Minis- ter of Trade and Commerce; Hon. Edward Blake; Hon. Sir C. A. P. Pelletier, Lieutenant Governor of Quebec; Hon. Sir John Carling, of London, Ont.; Hon. John Costigan, of Ottawa; Hon. William Ross, of Halifax; Hon. Wil- liam Miller, of Ottawa; Hon. A. R. McClelan, former Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick; Sir James Grant, of Ottawa; Hon. W. J. Macdonald, of Victoria, B.C.; Hon. W. H. Ray, Clementsport, N.S.; Hon. George B. Baker, of Sweetsburg, Que.; His Honor Judge Savary, of Annapolis Royal, N.S.; Sheriff Hagar, of Prescott County; Mr. L. de V. Chipman, of Kent- ville, N.S.; Mr. F. Hurdon, of Toronto; Mr. Frank Killam, of Yarmouth, N.S.; Hon. James Young, of Gait, Ont.; Dr. Hugh Cameron, 'of Inverness, Cape* Breton; Mr. Basile Benoit, of Chambly, Que.; and Mr. H. Nathan, of London, England.
Of the twenty-four survivors of the First Parliament, eight took part in the banquet as follows: — Hon. Sir Mackenzie Bowell, former Prime Minister of Canada; Hon. John Costigan, former Minister of Marine and Fisheries; Hon. William Ross, of Halifax; Hon. William Miller, of Ottawa; Hon. G. B. Baker, of Sweetsburg, Que.; Sir James Grant, of Ottawa; Sheriff Hagar, of Prescott County; and Mr. Basile Benoit, of Chambly, Que. Letters and messages of regret were also received by the Club and read at the banquet from a number of the survivors of the First Parliament who were unable to attend.
Mr. R. Gordon C. Edwards, president of the Club presided, and about three hundred sat down to the banquet. The toast list was a brief one, and comprised The King, His Excellency Earl Grey, The First Parliament of Canada, The Eleventh Parliament of Canada and the Dominion of Canada. It was a pleasure to note the vigor displayed by the several responders to the toast of the First Parliament of Canada, the ban- queters having no difficulty in hearing every word. The stirring events
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 33
of by-gone days were recounted and many circumstances and anecdotes of interest recalled.
During the evening patriotic songs were rendered by Mr. E. L. Hor- wood and Mr. J. MacCormac Clarke.
The chairman proposed the toast of The King, followed by that of His Excellency the Governor.
Earl Grey: — "Mr. Edwards and Gentlemen, I must thank you sin- cerely for the kind reception you have given this toast. I am always glad to meet the members of the Canadian Clubs of Ottawa and other parts of the country, because they are a distinctly national organization. In my capacity as a representative of the Crown I do not care to associate myself with anything that is not of a distinctively national character. I did not come here to make a speech. I came here from Montreal in order that I might have the pleasure of seeing the actors in one of the most interesting dramas in the history of Canada.
" I am glad to have been able to accept your invitation in order that I might join with you the members of the Canadian Club in doing honor to the distinguished gentlemen who if not the Fathers of Confederation certainly rocked the cradle in which was laid the baby form of your Cana- dian constitution. I came here in order that when I return to England I might have the pleasure of telling my friends at home that I joined in the company of the men who were members of the First Parliament of Con- federation. The moral to be drawn from that will be two fold. It will show first the youthfulness of Canada. I think it was a favorite saying of Lord Beaconsfield that youth is divine. Well I have had enough ex- perience in Canada to realize the youthfulness of Canada and the truth of that saying, and to realize how great is the distance from the time when one had the attributes of divinity. The other moral is the large per- formance that has been made.
"What has Confederation done for Canada? What has Confederation not done for Canada? I might illustrate it by a story that Colonel Dawson once told me. He said that his father who was Canadian born used to talk of England as home. Well now English born Canadians when they pay a visit to the motherland never fail to associate the Dominion with the sacred name of home.
"I may say that when the time comes for me to leave the Dominion and go back to England the kindness which I have received and the many friends I have made will always make me envy the privilege of those who can establish their right to make their permanent home in your beautiful Dominion. Confederation has put a soul into the Dominion, has put a national spirit into the people of Canada whose lustre and growth are at once the hope and glory of the British Empire. You were the first people to apply the principle of Confederation. Australia has followed, and now South Africa is following the trail which you blazed. One of the most interesting visitors at the Quebec Tercentenary celebrations was Sir Henry De Villiers. My belief is that as the result of his visit and the intercourse which he had with Sir Wilfrid Laurier and other Canadian statesmen Canada will leave its impress upon the constitution which is now being formulated for South Africa. We are all watching with the greatest interest and hope, and with the confidence begotten of your experience, the amalgamation of the British and Dutch races in South Africa upon a basis of equal rights to obtain which your Colonel Hughes and other Canadians went to South Africa.
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"It is my hope that the principle of Confederation which has done so much for Canada and for Australia and which I am confident will do much for South Africa will, when extended to an even wider field, bring increased strength, dignity and power to the British Empire of which Canada cannot help being the controlling part. "
Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier proposed the toast of the "First Parlia- ment of Canada. " He said : —
"Your Excellency, Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, I would ask you to fill your glasses to the brim, even to overflowing, and drink to the toast which I am going to propose, the toast of the veterans of the public life of Canada, the Grand Old Men of Canada, a toast if I may so put it, of the 'Young Guard' to the 'Old Guard.' The ancients used to say that 'he who dies young is beloved of the Gods.' We in these modern days do not accept that pessimistic philosophy. We do not say that the happy man is the man who dies young. On the contrary we say that the happy man is he to whom is given long life, and the happiest of all is the man to whom is given not only a long life but who having accomplished the cycle usually allotted to mankind is still vigorous in health, vigorous in mind, and still able to give his heart and soul to his country. I am glad to see that we have several of this kind amongst us to-night. As I have said we do not accept the pessimistic philosophy of the ancients. On the contrary we believe that life is good and from the parliamentary point of view I may say that life is good whether in the cold shades of opposition or basking in the sunny smile of public favor.
"I have told you I was going to propose the toast of the 'Young Guard ' to the 'Old Guard. ' I still keep myself in the 'Young Guard/ and until I reach that year, that month, that day when the end must come I shall continue to speak as one of the 'Young Guard.' When I entered Parliament many years ago, 35 years ago now, the two men who presided over the business of this country were Sir John A. Macdonald, who was Premier and Alexander Mackenzie who occupied the position now occu- pied by my friend Mr. Borden and I am sure that Mr. Borden and I will agree that better models we could not find, even if I took a leaf out of the book of Sir John A. Macdonald and he took a leaf out of the book of Alex- ander Mackenzie. They have left their example to us and we are endeav- oring to carry out their work.
" The more I advance in life the more I realize how much the Canada of to-day owes to the men who accomplished Confederation. The more I advance in life the more I realize how difficult was the task to make Con- federation. We had just a glimpse of it in the letter of Sir John Carling, but it was only a faint glimpse. To have been able as Sir John A. Mac- donald and George Brown — for they were the two leading factors in that work — to have been able to bring together the Provinces by the Sea and the Central Provinces, the Provinces by the Sea being separated from the Central Provinces by what were then almost impassable geographical obstacles and divided by the still deeper cleavage of race, was a feat worthy of the highest praise and admiration.
" It must not be supposed, however, that the work was accomplished when Confederation was placed on the statute book. Everything had yet to be done. Everything had yet to be accomplished. The union was a union on paper. We had yet to make it a union in reality. I cannot hope — yes I can hope — that the work is accomplished, but it remains to make it a union of hearts and we are striving towards that end with a fair
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measure of success. In those days when I entered Parliament Sir John A. Macdonald and Mr. Mackenzie were in their prime.
" The men whom I see before me and who are your guests were also in their prime and it is their health I propose. Let me give as the first name that of my old friend Sir Mackenzie Bo well. It has been my privilege for something like 20 years to sit opposite Sir Mackenzie Bowell. In those 20 years I do not think there were many questions upon which we agreed, but we always agreed to differ. I can say for Sir Mackenzie Bowell that he was a hard hitter and I think my ribs are still sensitive to the blows I received from him, but there never was a fairer hitter and a fairer or more loyal opponent. He was a party man no doubt and so was I. I might describe Sir Mackenzie Bowell as being like the chevalier of old sans peur sans reproche. He was incapable of taking an unfair advantage of anyone, fighting strong he fought fair.
"The next name I have to propose is that of Hon. John Costigan. I knew Mr. Costigan as an opponent and as a friend, but whether as friend or opponent I always knew him as a man.
" The next is my old friend Senator William Ross. He is a son of the Highlands though bom in Cape Breton and he carries with him the smell of the heather.
" The next I have to propose is a name which is honored amongst us, and, I say it with all sincerity, the name of one of the ablest men of his generation, Senator William Miller, at one time Speaker of the Senate.
"The next is the name of an old personal friend of mine, who like myself has the honor to come from the Province of Quebec, Senator Baker, at one time a member of the Government of the Province of Quebec, at one time a member of the House of Commons, and for many years past a member of the Senate. All these qualifications you know, but there is one thing that you do not know, and that is that in Senator Baker Canada had the best stump speaker I have ever heard. I know it well to my cost.
"The next two names are those of men who in 1867 were members of the Canadian House of Commons — Mr. Benoit who represented the County of Chambly, and Mr. Hagar, who represented the county of Prescott, both good men and true.
" And last but not least there is Sir James Grant, whose qualities you all know. To these grand old men of Canada I ask you to drink. "
Sir Mackenzie Bowell. — "Having had some 41 years experience of Parliament I thought I might indulge in some reminiscences but I came to the conclusion that there was so much to say and so little time to say it that it would be better to say nothing. I realize the fact referred to by the Premier, the difficulties which presented themselves to the Fathers of Confederation. There were difficulties which pessimistic men supposed were impossible to overcome. When I had the honor of addressing a number of meetings in Australia when the people of that country were discussing the question of confederation I pointed out what an easy task they had compared with the difficulties which confronted those who took the initiative and accomplished the union of the four provinces in Canada. There was the geographical difficulty. For six months in the year the Maritime Provinces had no intercourse with the rest of Canada except through a foreign country. There was the difficulty, as the Premier has pointed out, of race. There were the prejudices of Quebec against Ontario and of Ontario against Quebec and there were many other difficulties.
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But when such men as Sir John Macdonald, Alexander Mackenzie, George Brown, Charles Tupper, and Sir George E. Cartier met together and came to the conclusion that they must drop their individual prejudices and unite as one man to accomplish a great object they had in view the uniting of the different provinces in order that they might become a great and power- ful people and a strong ally of the British Crown. They sank their indivi- dual opinions. They united and accomplished what we have to-day.
" I will not attempt to indulge in reminiscences, but there were those who had grave doubts of the power of even those great men to accomplish their object. I remember the time when I was a plain soldier, when I had the honor of supporting the dignity of an officer on sixpence a day, during the Civil War in the United States, when the Government of Canada called out the volunteers and placed them at the frontier.
" I remember distinctly Hon. Robert Reid, who then represented the county in which I lived, in the old Legislative Council, writing to me and asking my opinion as to what course he should pursue upon the great question of Confederation. I replied that I had not given the matter sufficient thought to justify me giving him a decided opinion but I said that having every confidence in John A. Macdonald as a statesman and a man and in George E. Cartier, I thought the simplest thing to do would be to follow them no matter what they proposed. And he did follow them and supported the Confederation scheme and I am sure that till the day of his death he had never reason to regret it, nor had I ever reason to regret giving him the advice such as it was.
"I hope the day is not far distant when Newfoundland will join Confederation, but I would like to correct a wrong impression which has been spread throughout the country with reference to the position of the Government of which I was a member. The statement was made by Sir Robert Bond that he believed that if Sir John Thompson had been alive and had formed one of the committee which met to consider the question of union with Newfoundland the object they had in view would have been accomplished. Mr. Morine in addressing the Canadian Club in Toronto has also expressed his regret that we had allowed a few hundred thousand dollars to stand in the way. I wrote to Mr. Morine telling him that if he substituted millions for thousands he would be nearer the mark. The fact is that the terms we offered to Newfoundland were more liberal than those we offered to British Columbia, Manitoba, the North- West Terri- tories, and Prince Edward Island. The Newfoundland delegates proposed a scheme which would have involved the expenditure by Canada of five or six million dollars, and we thought we should have charge of the re- venues. It was on that point that we differed. The representation that we differed on a matter of a few hundred thousand dollars and prevented Newfoundland from coming in is not correct. I am a supporter of union with Newfoundland and I hope the present Government will lose no op- portunity of trying to bring that union about. "
Hon. John Costigan: — "I was one of the few men who fought as an Anti-Confederationist until the last shot was fired for the independence of our province. There was no such thing as Liberalism or Conservatism in our province. We were simply Antis and Confederates. Any man who had opposed Confederation was considered to have no right to seek a seat in the First Parliament. I was asked what right I had to seek a seat and I replied : ' If I was true to my pledges as an Anti I shall be true to your
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 37
constitution. ' I felt as much bound to support the new constitution as if I had given my strongest support to it. I cannot claim any credit for the great success which attended the carrying through of Confederation. But I claim that my opposition to it was just as sincere as my support is sincere now, and I would be sorry to allow any Canadian to claim that he is more loyal to Canada than I am to-day. As you all know Confederation carried the day, but I hope the history of how it was carried out will never be written. It was a case of the end justifying the means. Confederation has accomplished great good but the way in which it was carried in my own province was most discreditable. I hope Newfoundland will come in before long. "
Senator William Ross: — "I was an Anti-Confederate and I am not ashamed to say it. The Province of New Brunswick was well treated but in Nova Scotia Confederation was forced down our throats. I admit, however, that Confederation has proved a blessing to Canada. Next to Sir Mackenzie Bowell I am the oldest man here, and I can claim military honors too. I attended drill for two winters at Halifax and I passed my examination before a board of field officers and have my commission as Lieutenant-Colonel .
" I had the privilege of being eight years in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia and we had as good men there as ever were in the Dominion Parliament. There was Sir Charles Tupper, a very strong fighter, Hon. James H. Johnston, leader of the Conservative party, a man also of won- derful ability; Sir William Young, who was afterwards Chief Justice of the province, a distinguished man and polished speaker, and last though not least Joseph Howe.
" I happened to spend a night with Howe before he left Ottawa to assume the Governorship of Nova Scotia. 'Ross7 he said, 'it is a mistake to say that I was opposed to Confederation because I was in advance of it. My position was that it should not be forced upon the people of Nova Scotia against their will. '
" In the Parliament of Canada when I entered it the great men were Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George E. Cartier whom I knew well. But my great friend was A. A. Dorion, one of the finest men I ever knew. As I have said I was an Anti-Confederate and I still think I was justified in being that at the time. But my desire has been and is to be loyal to the Dominion of Canada. "
Senator Baker: — "I remember well the first time I saw the present Premier. I sized him up at once. He came into the Chamber with the springiness and sprightliness which he has carried with him to the present day. I said to my desk mate 'Who is that?' He replied 'That is the member for Arthabasca. ' I said 'Mark my words. That man will do mischief in the chamber yet, ' and he has been true to the impression he then made upon me. I can tell you there were giants in those days of the First Parliament. There was Blake who towered upon his fellows physically as much as he did mentally, there was Sir Antoine Dorion, who was translated to the bench which he adorned till the day of his death, a man of whom not only his nationality may be proud but every man who is privileged to call himself a Canadian. Opposite him was Alexander Mackenzie, who till the day of his death refused offers of honors that he would have borne with dignity, and whose untiring industry and rugged honesty he carried from his seat in Parliament to the highest office
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of state, and who never lost sight of what he owed to himself. There were others that I might mention on both sides of the House, men of a stature that was positively sublime. They had their differences but they fought them out on the spot with a single eye to serving their country. "
Sir James Grant: — "I entered Parliament by accident. I happened to live with the chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, when the whole question of Confederation was discussed. When I landed here in Ottawa I happened to make a speech upon the subject of Confederation and the desirability of a transcontinental railway. To my surprise Sir John Mac- donald sent for me and said ' You have got to go into Parliament. ' I faced the problem and found myself in Parliament at the commencement of Confederation, and had the satisfaction of being called upon to take charge of the first bill for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. I was told that I was almost a fit subject for a lunatic asylum and that the scheme would scarcely pay for the grease for the wheels, but we have lived to see the great importance to Canada of that great railway. A knowledge of the past encourages the spirit of truth and patriotism and it is a thorough knowledge of the men who have made Canada what it is to-day that will stimulate and inspire the rising generation in our country."
Sheriff Hagar, of Prescott County, speaking briefly to the toast, ob- served that in the days of the First Parliament the greatest optimist could not foretell the wonderful development, the wealth of field, forest, stream and mine; the growing cities and towns, and above all the great pos- sibilities of the future. The lesson for all public men was to be true to themselves and to remember that righteousness alone exalteth a nation.
Mr. P. B. Benoit, of Chambly, Que., in responding to the toast, ob- served that he had been elected to the House of Commons at Confederation for the County of Chambly as a practical farmer, a " habitant, " and con- tinued to represent that constituency in Parliament until 1886 with the exception of the years 1874 and 1875. In the course of a most interesting address Mr. Benoit said : —
" A very solemn and impressive sitting of the House of Commons was on the first day of the session of 1867, when Jos. Howe, one of the most eloquent men of his century, entered the House of Commons with the whole deputation of the Province of Nova Scotia at his back, less Dr. Chas. Tupper. Jos. Howe made a sensational speech, almost theatrical, and his sixteen followers delivered each a speech under the paternal eye of their Chieftain. They all protested with energy against the terms of the Union Act.
"Dr. Chas. Tupper; alone from his Province, replied to Jos. Howe, with his characteristic vim, and was loudly cheered by the Government supporters, but his speech lacking popular support in his Province did not amount to much at that moment.
"But the next session brought us a different aspect of things. Jos. Howe was in the Cabinet and his followers seemed, owing to better terms, well reconciled with the Confederation. Dr. Chas. Tupper occupied a back bench in the House. He looked the happiest man of the whole House.
"The striking lesson to be drawn from the little Province by the sea, is the extraordinary array of talented men composing its representation. It was the banner Province of the Dominion.
"The vitality of the Senators and Members of 1867 for Nova Scotia
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is highly remarkable. There are still surviving six out of nineteen, or one to three, when Ontario gives only one to ten and Quebec one to twenty-one.
"The orators coming from the Province of Quebec, headed by Hon. P. O. Chauveau, distinguished themselves by their polished elocution due to our familiarity with the Greek and Latin as taught in our colleges.
"Near the end of my parliamentary life, a young man, with a pre- destinated name for all distinctions, came on the scene in Ottawa. His speeches always impressive and sometimes masterpieces, used to delight his colleagues. I remember particularly one of them on the North- west, delivered at about two o'clock in the morning. None but members were in the House, no outsiders, a mere family gathering. So charmed were we by his fine diction that, we of the ministerial benches, were tempted to cheer him, that is, Laurier, when he resumed his seat. But according to party discipline, we could not do it.
"You have known the much regretted Alonzo Wright, Member for Ottawa County, the 'King of the Gatineau/ who used his franc parler (free talk) towards the Ministers he did not like. One day a friend of his asked him, why, since he dissented with the Ministers, he did not vote against them. To which Alonzo Wright replied: 'My opinions are mine, but my vote belongs to my party. ' I am inclined to think that the Ministers are now so perfect that there is no more use for such a motto.
"The Ontario representatives were the well known business men of the country and with them we found the learned jurisconsults and the powerful debaters, Sir John Macdonald, W. McDougall, Hilliard and Hector Cameron, Ed. Blake, Dal.ton McCarthy, Alex. Mackenzie, E. B. Wood, Mills, Bowell, Cartwright and others.
"I would like to say a word of our social relations, we, the Members from Quebec, with the Ontario representatives during the first Parliament. The party of the Gentlemen of Upper Canada, as they were popularly called, were most kind to us. It is one of my dearest remembrances.. It was the golden age of Parliamentary life. Unfortunately, religious and national questions provoking heated arguments broke out at the end of the First Parliament, altering to a certain degree our kind relations with our friends and allies.
" In conclusion, let me cite a few traits of character of the leaders of the First Parliament. Anybody knows the motto of Sir George Etienne Cartier, franc et sans dol (frank and without fraud), which fits perfectly well the little fiery Frenchman. He was true to his motto, which gave him the full confidence of his people and also of the Englishmen to a high degree.
"I remember the day when dining at Hillhurst Farm, at Compton, our host, the Honorable Senator Cochrane, having just received his mail, hastened to give us news from the health of Sir George, under treatment in London. The news was bad and in giving it, Mr. Cochrane was moved to tears. The announcement of his death in the House of Commons by Sir John, amidst tears, is still within the memory of us all.
"Only one trait of his fighting spirit. On the polling day in the election of 1872 he was lying on his couch a very sick man, when we flocked to his house to offer him our sympathy for his defeat by Mr. Louis A. Jette. We were around him in deep concern. At last Sir George broke out, with clenched fists: 'I am beaten, but George Brown is beaten also. '
"Of Sir John Macdonald, I will cite only two traits, expounding his feelings. During one sitting Sir John was speaking on the possibilities of
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settlement on the immense fields of the North- West Territories for a vast number of families. He appealed to his people in Canada and to the world at large to come and to take those lands and to build happy homes. His voice grew tender and I have still in the ear the words, "Happy Homes," that he repeated many times with a caressing tone and deep feeling, pressing them, as a father to come and to found a happy home in the boundless prairies that God had reserved to them.
" Another trait of personal character of Sir John that I love to point out, is the following: — When I was Superintendent of the Chambly Canal, Sir John happened to be Minister of Railways and Canals in the interim. As everywhere, some accidents happened occasionally to the laborers on the canal. I asked Sir John what to do when a man was injured on the work. His first question was always, 'Has he a family; has he children?7 On an affirmative answer, he invariably told me in earnest, 'Find the means to pay that man; don't let his children suffer. ' I do not refer here to what Sir John has done in the building of the country, nor to his wonder- ful attainments. I have just found in him a tender heart; his memory is sacred to me forever.
, "In conclusion allow me to offer my best thanks to the Canadian Club of Ottawa for its valuable appreciation of the acts of the public men of the past, as shown by the grand demonstration of to-night. It is a priceless reward for us to be put in such a light before the country. It will brighten our last days and render our people and our friends here, dearer to us, if possible. "
Mr. R. L. Borden proposed "The Eleventh Parliament of the Dom- inion of Canada." He said: — "This is indeed an interesting occasion. It has brought so vividly to the minds of all of us so many homely human touches of the everyday lives of some of the great men of bygone days who were Members of the First Parliament of Canada. We know how great those men were. We realize their courage, their faith, their vision for they are written in undestructable record upon the pages of the history of Canada. And we realize the problems they had to deal with, and how manfully, how strongly, how courageously they dealt with those problems.
"We have been speaking of 1867. We are fortunate indeed to have gathered so many of the great men of that day around this board, and it would have been a pleasure if more could have been with us, if Lord Strathcona, Sir Charles Tupper, Edward Blake and others who have taken a great part in the public life of Canada could have been present. The King is dead. Long live the King. We are now dealing with the Parliament of 1909, and I was almost shocked to-night when in numbering the Parliaments since 1867 I recalled that I have had the honor to be a member of four Parliaments.
"The men of bygone days had great problems to deal with. You have been carried back to 1867, to conditions when this Dominion con- sisted of only four disunited and scattered provinces which the men of that day sought and sought not in vain to mould into one great whole. Theirs was the spirit of which a modern poet has sung: —
Wider still and wider Shall thy bounds be set God who made thee mighty Make thee mightier yet.
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 41
" Speaking of the Parliament of Canada as it is constituted to-day I think it can be said that it is a Parliament of which the people of Canada have every reason to be proud. I believe that the Eleventh Parliament of Canada has received in the new Members on both sides of the House very valuable additions indeed. I venture to think that the Eleventh Parliament is at least equal to any Parliament of which I have had the honor to be a Member. It is a good indication that men of business capacity, of great business interests, men in every respect representative of the business life and national life of Canada should have consecrated themselves to the service of the state and should have come forward to serve the one party or the other.
"I believe that as our parliamentary system in the past, following that of Great Britain has been developed, not according to any scheme planned out and cut and dried in advance, but has sprung into being ac- cording to the necessities and exigencies of the moment, by doing what seemed to be necessary, and practical and patriotic at the moment, so I believe that our relations with the Empire in the future will develop as they have for the most part developed in the past by doing what is neces- sary and practical and patriotic at the moment and not according to any well ordered scheme in advance. If in God's providence the day of stress and trial should come not only to the people of this country but to the people of the Empire, our belief shall be still that firm of heart and strong of purpose as those of bygone days we shall do our duty to that country whose flag flies above us, whose liberties are our heritage and whose tradi- tions are our pride. "
Hon. J. K. Kerr, Speaker of the Senate and Hon. Charles Marcil, Speaker of the House of Commons, replied to the toast.
Hon. R. W. Scott, former Secretary of State, in proposing the toast of "The Dominion of Canada/' spoke as follows: —
"Your Excellency, Mr. Chairman, and Gentlemen: — 'I desire first, to express my thanks to the President and Members of the Canadian Club of Ottawa for an invitation to this historical banquet, in honor of the Senators and Members from the Four Provinces who met together for the first time in November, 1867, to lay the foundation of the new Confedera- tion. Every incident connected with that union is worthy of being trea- sured in our memories, as the event inaugurated an era of prosperity that has made Canada the envy of the world. From my point of view, it is an undeserved reflection on our climate, noted for its health giving properties, that out of the 253 senators and members who were present at the dissolu- tion of the first Parliament in 1872 (less than 37 years ago) so few should be with us this evening. Perhaps the most charitable opinion to express on their premature departure from this planet, is the taxing and strenuous life of a legislator.
"Though taking an active interest in public affairs in 1867, I was not a candidate for the Commons, having accepted a nomination for the Pro- vincial Legislature of Ontario, to which I was elected then and on two occasions subsequently.
" But while I had the honor of taking part with our guests in the birth of the new Confederation, yet, as a member of the Sixth and Seventh Parliaments of the Province of Canada, I had the satisfaction of taking part in the important political problems that were evolved about the year
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1857, the solution of which, finally compelled the opposing parties to join hands, and unite in a Federal Union.
" If my memory is not at fault, the first public utterance in favor of a union, ever delivered in Parliament, was a speech by Alexander Gait, in July, 1858. There were two questions at that time, that would not down; one was the double majority, which involved the government of the day having a majority in both Upper and Lower Canada — the leader of that policy being Sandfield Macdonald; and the other was 'rep by pop,' as it was called, at the head of which was George Brown.
"In June of that year, the Honorable Malcolm Cameron introduced a bill dealing with the representation question, and as an amendment to the proposal, Mr. Gait submitted resolutions in favor of a Federal Union of all the British Provinces, including British Columbia and Newfoundland.
" His speech was an exhaustive one, and in it he took higher ground than the settlement of the two vexed questions of the day. Pointing out that it meant growth and development that could not be obtained in any other way, he quoted figures to show the prosperity that followed the union of Upper and Lower Canada, pointing out that in the year 1841, Upper Canada was in serious financial difficulties, public works at a stand- still, and Lower Canada in a state of, unrest and dissatisfaction.
"It may prove interesting to quote some of Mr. Gait's figures showing the increase of wealth between 1841 and 1857. Those figures will illus- trate also, the marvellous development since Confederation.
"In 1841 Canadian imports amounted to £2,138,000
Exports 20,000
Total £2,158,000
" In 1857 Canadian imports amounted to £9,857,000
Exports 66,000
Total £9,923,000
Revenue £1,070,000
Expenditure 1,274,000
Population 2,500,000
"In proportion to population, the two Provinces down by the Sea had a much larger trade than Canada.
Nova Scotia imports and exports, 1854 £3,038,000
New Brunswick imports and exports, 1854 3,104,000
Canada imports and exports, 1854 ...'. 9,923,000
£16,065,000
"These figures are from Mr. Gait's speech as reported in the Toronto Globe. He simply exhausted the subject, even to defining many of the powers as subsequently laid down in the British North America Act. When it is remembered that the speech was delivered eight years before the terms were finally agreed upon, it must be conceded that Mr. Gait, who was then an independent Member, was entitled to more credit in bringing about Confederation than he has received.
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" At that time Mr. Brown did not favor Confederation, and moved an amendment to Mr. Gait's resolutions setting forth the principle of repres- entation based on population as the only solution for the constitutional problem. Later on in that year, Mr. Gait accepted office in the Govern- ment of Sir John Macdonald, and was one of the three delegates who went to England in the following month of October to confer with the Colonial Secretary on the subject of a Union of all the British Provinces in North America.
"The Sixth Parliament of the Province of Canada embraced a galaxy of public men whose names should live in the memory of this Dominion: Sir John A. Macdonald, George Brown, D'Arcy McGee, Sir John Rose, Cartier, Sir Etienne Tache, William Macdougall, Sandfield Macdonald, Oliver Mowat, William Lyon Mackenzie, Sir Alexander Gait, Malcolm Cameron, John Hillyard Cameron, Philip Van Koughnet, afterwards Chancellor of Upper Canada, Sir Allan MacNab, Sir Alexander Campbell, Sir John Abbott, and others that are worthy of note.
" It was in that Parliament that the question of the seat of Govern- ment was settled. In the first session, the Queen's decision was rejected. Better counsels prevailed, however, in the second session, and Her Majesty's choice was confirmed, but by a majority of only five. To me, it is a pleasant reminiscence to recall my association with the men who sat in that Parliament, they have left honored names behind them and their memories should not soon be forgotten.
"Our trade in the early forties may surprise some of my hearers, but I, myself can recollect when the exports of the Province of Canada consisted of little else than white and red pine, square timber and pearl ash. The progress of Canada, at that time was checked, owing to the difficulties of transportation.
"Perhaps you will more clearly appreciate the then existing condi- tions, if I give you my own personal experience. I have repeatedly made the journey between Montreal and Toronto on wheels or runners in winter, and by land and water in summer. Leaving Montreal at 9 o'clock, taking stage to Lachine, then boat to the Cedars, stage to Coteau du Lac, boat ' The Highlander, ' to Cornwall, arriving there next morning, stage to head of Long Sault Rapids, then a stern wheel flat bottomed boat to Prescott, where a lake steamer carried passengers to Toronto, arriving there on the third day. Immigrants, and those who could not afford the luxury of stages and steamers, travelled by barge and bateau, propelled by poling, and where the current was swift, a farmer in the vicinity, hitched a pair of horses to a rope and with that aid, the boat passed through the current. In winter one stage in 24 hours carried all the passengers. I have made the trip to Toronto with only one other through passenger. Later on, the winter trip was made by crossing the river at Ogdensburg, driving to the nearest station on the New York Central, by rail to Rochester or Niagara, then by Great Western Railway to Toronto. It took Sir Charles Bagot ten days to reach Kingston from New York, and that is only about 70 years ago.
" The construction of the Grand Trunk Railway, and the establishment of the Allan Line of steamers, aided by liberal subsidies, gave the trade of Canada its first impulse, and from that time on, trade began to expand. The increase was not rapid however, until the outside world discovered our rich prairie wheat lands. They are also attracting the population from the older Provinces, impelled by the craze of this age to get rich quick^
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failing to appreciate the substantial advantages offered to industry in all the other parts of the Dominion. Ours is a favored land, with a bracing climate that? gives physical and mental vigor to the race. "
The toast was responded to by Mr. E. E. Howard, President of the Canadian Club of Montreal, and by Colonel Alex P. Graham, President of the Canadian Club of Boston.
Letters of regret were read by Mr. Gerald H. Brown, Honorary Secre- tary of the Club, from a number of the surviving Members of the First Parliament of Canada, who were unable to attend the banquet.
One of these was from the Hon. John Carling, of London, and con- tained a number of most interesting reminiscences of Confederation days in which occurred the following: —
" Looking back to ante-Confederation days recalls an incident which may be of interest, and you will, I know, pardon any personal reference I am forced to make in relating it.
" It was in the early sixties, and the situation in Canada was serious indeed-. Elections had been held, but neither political party was able to secure a working majority. Party feeling rose so high that the two lead- ers— Hon. John A. Macdonald and Hon. George Brown — ceased to be on speaking terms. It was a political crisis, indeed, the end of which no one could foretell. Statesmen and political writers seemed to have given up all hope, for matters were going from bad to worse. 'Whither are we drifting? ' was a standing headline in the newspapers and there was talk in some quarters of throwing in our lot with the neighboring Republic.
" I happened to be on my way to Quebec to attend my parliamentary duties one day, and when the train reached Toronto George Brown, the leader of the Reform party, came into the coach in which I was seated and sat down beside me. We soon got into conversation, the subject natu- rally being the political crisis. Finally Mr. Brown brought his hand down on the arm of the seat with some force and vehemently exclaimed: — ' Carling, John A. has the chance of his life if he will only avail himself of it.7 'What is that?' I asked. 'Let him go in for Confederation/ was the reply. 'Would you support such a movement?' 'Most de- cidedly I would,' he returned. Mr. Brown consented to my making known to the Cabinet at Quebec the attitude of the Reformers on the Confederation question, and on reaching the Ancient Capital I lost no time in telling Hon. John A. Macdonald, the Prime Minister, and his colleagues that 'Brown would support Confederation.' The news was most wel- come to the Cabinet, which had been seriously discussing the question, but hesitated to commit itself fearing the time might not yet be ripe for such a movement. The assurance of the support of Mr. Brown and his followers gave the party in power courage, and the outcome was the opening of negotiations between the party leaders which ultimately led to the consummation of Confederation, in 1867.
"That neither old Canada nor any of the other Provinces now form- ing this great Dominion has cause to regret the action of the statesmen of those days no one need be told. What were then politically separated possessions of Great Britain on this North American continent have been brought together and now form a new nation in this Western Hemisphere which is destined to be one of the greatest the world has known and all the greater because of its connection with the British Empire.
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"Look at what has been accomplished, the vast progress of Canada since Confederation. The first -census taken four years after the formation of the Dominion showed the country with a population of less than three and one-half millions; the last census (1901) gave Canada close in five and one-half millions of people, and I very much mistake if when the next census is taken, two years hence, the population is not found to be eight millions or more. At Confederation Canada had but 2,278 miles of steam railroad; in 1907 the mileage had increased 22,452 miles, and since then several hundred miles have been added. In 1868 our total exports of Canadian products amounted in value to but $48,504,899; in 1906 they had reached $235,483,956, while our imports for consumption which in 1868 were only $71,985,306, increased in 1906 to the enormous sum of $290,360,807. And so it had been in every other respect — progress and growth in all directions. Our canal system has been vastly improved. We have added to the railway systems the Intercolonial, connecting the Eastern Provinces with older Canada; the Canadian Pacific, which spans the continent, all on Canadian territory, from ocean to ocean. At the present time a second great transcontinental railway is being constructed, and there seems reason to believe that it will not be long before another line already in existence will be made to form part of a third transcontinen- tal road. Every part of the Dominion has seen railway development of smaller dimensions but locally of equal importance, and to-day the coun- try from the Atlantic to the Pacific is one vast network of railways. The taking into the Dominion of the great Western country and British Colum- bia has not only added to the area and wealth of Canada, but has placed at our disposal the means of offering homes to the surplus millions of the mother country and continental Europe — aye, and to thousands of people who are dissatisfied with their lot in the neighboring States.
"In no period in the history of Canada has the progress been so marked, particularly in the matter of immigration, as since the opening of this Twentieth Century. The effects are particularly seen in Western Canada, where settlement has gone on at a tremendous pace during the past seven years or so, and the indications are that it will continue for some years to come. That the intending emigrant in the British Isles is beginning to look to Canada rather than the United States for a home is shown by the fact that in 1907 — the last year for which figures are available — the number of arrivals from Great Britain entering Canada was greatly in excess of that landing at United States posts. With the rapid settlement of the Canadian West the transportation necessities have vastly increased, and at the present rate of settlement it is doubtful if even the completion of all the railways now under construction and in contemplation — including the line to Hudson Bay, which is to give a new outlet to the markets of the old world — will prove adequate to the needs of the people. Even now the experiment is being made by western grain- growers of shipping to Great Britain by way of the Pacific, owing to the difficulty at certain seasons of the year of getting produce to the Atlantic seaboard.
"The imperial value of Canada's transcontinental railways cannot be over estimated. It is now possible to send soldiers, sailors, mail matter or merchandise from Liverpool to Halifax over Canadian territory by railway to Vancouver, thence by steamers carrying the British flag to Hong Kong or any of the Antipodean colonies, some of the steamers call- ing at the important Japanese port of Yokohama.
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"Since Confederation many new cities and towns have come into existence, while old ones have increased in size and importance; in in- dustrial lines the advance has been by leaps and bounds; banking institu- tions have multiplied; the savings of the people have been vastly added to; in fact there has been advance in every direction, proving surely that Canada is on the road to great nationhood.
" Personally, I join with those who predict that the Twentieth Century is to be Canada's just as the Nineteenth was the United States. The neighboring Republic found itself at the opening of the last century with a population practically the same as that of Canada at the beginning of the present, and in the ensuing hundred years built up a population of about eighty millions. Canada has this important advantage that whereas in the United States settlement went in advance of the railway, in Canada it is the railway that is the pioneer. Surely, with such an ad- vantage it is not too much to predict that the opening of the next century will find Canada at least equal in population as in every other respect to what the United States is to-day. Canada is at present attracting the attention of the entire civilized world. The Australian and South African colonies, struck with the remarkable progress of Canada, have formed their confederations much after the Canadian pattern, and the neighbor- ing Republic and European countries are reaching out for a share of the Canadian trade, which, as the years roll on, must become more and more important. "
A letter of regret was also read by the Honorary Secretary in the following terms, which had been received from Hon. James Young, of Gait, Ontario, as follows: —
"Gentlemen: — Although circumstances prevent my acceptance of your hospitality on this occasion, please accept my congratulations on the grand, patriotic Canadian spirit which has led your members to tender this magnificent banquet in honor of the surviving Senators and Members of the First Parliament of the Dominion.
"Its opening in Ottawa on November 6th, 1867, was one of the most memorable events in the history of British America. Her Majesty's representative, Lord Monck, in his speech from the Throne, welcomed federated Canada as ' A New Nationality, ' and its First Parliament must forever be distinguished on account of the many eminent Canadian states- men who composed it, conspicuous among whom were : —
"Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir A. Aime Dorion, Hon. Edward Blake, Sir Alexander T. Gait, Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, Sir George Etienne Cartier, Sir Charles Tupper, Hon. Luther E. Holton, Sir John Rose, Sir Albert J. Smith, Hon. William MacDougall, Sir R. J. Cartwright, Sir Samuel L. Tilley, Hon. David Mills, Sir Alexander Campbell, Hon. Joseph Howe, Hon. Timothy Anglin, Hon. L. S. Huntingdon, Hon. J. Hillyard Cameron, and the lamented martyr of Confederation, that gifted orator, the Hon. D'Arcy McGee. The presence of these gentlemen as members would have done honor to the illustrious chambers of Westminster or Washington, let alone our First Confederation Parliament, and I have long been of opinion that for ability, independence, economy and patriotic desire to complete the fabric of Confederation on solid and enduring lines, the Parliament you honor to-night in the persons of its twenty-two sur- viving members, has never been surpassed, if it has ever been equalled, by any of its successors.
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'Though not without mistakes, they did their work nobly and well. Dark clouds then hovered in our political sky, but our First Parliament dispelled them all, and what do we see to-day? The whole of British North America federalized into a giant young nation — population pouring into it from the United States and all parts of the world — three great transcontinental railways, finished or about to be, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean — our foreign commerce increased in round numbers to $650,000,000 per annum, and the surplus savings of our people deposited with our chartered banks and the Government, to no less than $700,000,000.
" With this rapid Dominion expansion, come new responsibilities, and the influx of so many aliens in search of homes, and the re-adjustment of our relations to the Empire in regard to defence, call for supreme judg- ment and caution. But I do not fear the future. Our Canadian states- men are really much abler and better men than they describe each other in Parliament, and I have sufficient faith to believe that our Eleventh Par- liament, like our First, if any necessity arose, would be found quite equal to the dispersal of any clouds which might temporarily threaten our on- ward and upward progress.
"Under these circumstances, I will cut short this necessarily brief and imperfect reference to our beloved Canada, and conclude by recalling the brilliant picture of its future so eloquently portrayed by the Earl of Dufferin nearly forty years ago. His Lordship said: —
" 'It may be doubted whether the inhabitants of the Dominion them- selves are yet fully awake to the magnificent destiny in store for them, or have altogether realized the promise of their young and virile nationality. Like a Virgin Goddess in the primeval world, Canada walks in unconscious beauty among her golden woods and by the margin of her trackless streams, catching but broken glances of her radiant majesty as mirrored on their surface and scarcely recks as yet the glories awaiting her in the Olympus of Nations/
In the course of a brief note in which he expressed his regret at being unable to attend the banquet, Hon. A. R. McClelan, former Lieutenant- Governor of New Brunswick, wrote as follows: —
" My legislative career goes back to 1854. Almost my first vote was in favor of the Treaty of Reciprocity with the United States which proved a boon for my native Province, during its operation. The feeling of loyalty to the Crown recently expressed by the House of Commons with such unanimity pervades all classes.
" As Canada progresses and the population increases the hope is that by wise counsels and by well directed educational efforts, the people may continue to recognize the material as well as the sentimental advantage of our close association with British interests, so that the same old flag may float over Canada for a thousand years to come. "
His Honor Judge Savary of Annapolis Royal, N.S., wrote in part as follows : —
" If there is any public end which I would wish my life further pro- longed to see accomplished, it is as close and intimate a union of the com- ponent parts of the Empire as is consistent with the internal autonomy of the great self governing Dominions. The development of the present Imperial Conference into an Imperial Council enlarged by members elected by the various parliaments or constituencies otherwise planned, empow-
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ered not to enact but to propose to the various Parliaments legislation on subjects in respect to which uniform laws ought to exist throughout the Empire, such, for instance, as the naturalization of aliens, army organiza- tion, and other matters of Imperial concern, would no more derogate from the powers of self government granted to the Colonies than it would from those enjoyed by Great Britain herself, and such a Council would be a stronger bond of unity and present to hostile nations a more imposing evidence of Imperial solidarity than the mere fact that the same Sovereign nominally rules over us all. I humbly hope to see the day when it will no longer be deemed necessary or fitting to meet any suggestion of the Im- perial authorities concerning unity of action in respect to defence or any other matter of common interest with a virtual declaration of indepen- dence, intimating that the proposal would not be considered if it involved any surrender of our powers of self-government, as if we were invited to make any such surrender. I hope to see the day when Canada will have presented a battleship to the British navy, or provided an annual contribu- tion to the imperial exchequer in aid of the navy as unreservedly and un- conditionally as she gave a small sum for the relief of foreign earthquake sufferers, over the expenditure of which she had no pretence of control."
In a letter received from Dr. Hugh Cameron, former Member of Par- liament for Inverness, Nova Scotia, that gentleman stated that he was the baby of the House when he entered it at 1857 as an Independent Conservative. In 1896 he had fallen, he added, "a victim with the Con- servative party to the popular panic in reference to the Manitoba School
Question at the polls During the time the ' bolters ' seceded
from the Bowell Government, in 1896, Sir Mackenzie Bowell tendered me conditionally a seat in his Cabinet which he had nearly completed inde- pendent of the so-called 'bolters.' I assured him that I would gladly accept the honor but that we should exhaust all reasonable means to in- duce the 'bolters' to re-form company first, to which I contributed my share in the struggle which ultimately succeeded. "
A letter was received from Hon. W. J. Macdonald, Senator, of Victoria, B.C., which contained the following observations: —
"I think your Club is carrying out a very considerate, kind and na- tional undertaking in gathering the political veterans who sat in Parliament from 1871. I beg to thank the members of the Club for inviting me to your banquet and regret very much not being able to be present, as I am taking a rest after being fifty years in public life.
"Being a member of the Colonial Legislature of Vancouver Island in 1859, I would much like to be present for the reason that Mr. Miller and myself are the only two Senators living who sat in the Senate in 1872. All the others, about 75 of them, have gone to their long home. They were a splendid lot of men, French Canadian, English, Scotch and Irish — stalwart — of old stalwart stock — of gentlemanly and courteous bearing. Lord Dufferin is known to have said he never saw a finer body of men — he was right.
"I hope our Premier will be with you. I remember him when he first entered Parliament, a stripling like David when he slew Goliath the giant — but he, instead of carrying smooth stones in a sling, carries a smooth tongue with which he foils giants "
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A letter was received from Mr. Frank Killam, former member of Par- liament for Yarmouth, N.S., in which Mr. Killam observed:
" I was the youngest Member of the First Canadian Parliament and of course being the youngest of the twenty-three survivors am least entitled to be heard where perhaps the shades also may be present. But if I am spared, which is hardly likely, to be one day the only survivor, I shall have always felt a deep respect for the memory of those * gone before. ' The Members of that Parliament did their best according to their light to broaden and strengthen the foundations of liberty and of material progress and the Members of the following Parliaments continuing in their steps will make of Canada, an effective member of our great Empire and win for her the respect and admiration of the world. "
In the course of a letter of regret, Hon. Edward Blake, former Prime Minister of Ontario and former Minister of Justice of Canada, said: — "I regret to say that the state of my health will render it impossible for me to accept the invitation to a gathering which will doubtless have great interest for these concerned in the present politics of Canada. In years past it be- came my duty to take a humble part in the politics of those days and were it possible it would give me sincere pleasure to meet once again my fellow colleagues of these days as well as those who still assist in moulding the destinies of our country. "
Letters of regret were also received from Sir C. A. P. Pelletier, Lieuten- ant-Go vernor of the Province of Quebec; Francis Hurdon, of Toronto; and Rt. Hon. Sir Richard Cartwright, Minister of Trade and Commerce.
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BANQUET IN HONOR OF THE PROVINCIAL PREMIERS
Guests of honor:— Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, P.O., G.C.M.G.; Hon. Sir J. P. Whitney, Premier of Ontario; Hon. Sir Lomer Gouin, Premier of Quebec; Hon. George H. Murray, Premier of Nova Scotia; Hon. L. J. Tweedie, Premier of New Brunswick; Hon. R. P. Roblin, Premier of Manitoba; Hon. Arthur Peters, Premier of Prince Edward Island; Hon. Richard McBride, Premier of British Columbia; Hon. A. C. Rutherford, Premier of Alberta; Hon. Walter Scott, Premier of Sas- katchewan; Hon. J. J. Foy, Toronto; Hon. Adelard Turgeon, Quebec; Hon. Arthur Drysdale, Halifax; Hon. G. E. Hughes, Charlottetown; Hon. W. A. Weir, Montreal; Hon. C. H. Campbell, Winnipeg; Hon. James Matheson, Toronto; Hon. C. H. Calder, Regina; Hon. C. Cross, Edmonton; Hamar Greenwood, M.P., London, Eng.
The banquet of the Canadian Club in honor of the Provincial Premiers on October 9, 1906, was held on the occasion of a conference in Ottawa between the Federal Government and representatives of the nine Provinces of Canada with respect to the proposed increase of the Provincial Subsidies. The ban- quet was very largely attended and proved one of the most noteworthy of all those which have been held under the Club's auspices. The speeches of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and of the Provincial Premiers dealt with the growth and the progress of Canada during the forty years which had passed since Confedera- tion. Sir Wilfrid Laurier said: — " We have not yet reached the end of progress in Canada. There is yet a great deal to be accomplished. But I am not at all afraid of the future. I have no misgivings. The way has been prepared for us. Those who laid the foundations of our Dominion in 1867 worked out practical results; and for us also the work is not to insist upon the logical but to carry out the practical."
Mr. Plunket B. Taylor, President of the Club, occupied the chair, and after honor had been done to the toasts of The King and the Governor General, proposed the toast of the Premiers of Canada.
Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who was first called upon to respond to the toast, said in part : —
"As we read the constitution upon which our Confederation is based we cannot but reach the conclusion that some of its dispositions are at variance with the true theory of constitutional government and perhaps also with the federative principle.
" For instance, these subsidies to the Provinces cannot be said to be altogether in accordance with the old doctrine that those who have the responsibility of collecting the revenue shall also have the advantage of expending that revenue. But whatever may be our opinion of the wisdom of this feature of our constitution, the thing itself is a fact. This blemish, if blemish it be, had to be submitted to in order to obtain the assent of the parties to Confederation. It is a fact, I believe, that but for this disposi- tion of the Constitution, the Confederation could not have taken place at all, and though it may not have been strictly in accord with sound theory
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it has had the result of giving us forty years of union and harmony among the different elements of the Canadian nation. (Applause) . And we must remember that without harmony progress is impossible, but with harmony all progress is possible.
" If our country to-day is prosperous I would say that that progress is not altogether due, but I think we may claim that it is to a large extent due, to the fact that harmony has been more sincere and more manifest within the past few years than at any anterior period. Our constitution has been in existence for forty years and not a single amendment has been made to it. In this we have been singularly fortunate — much more so than our neighbors, because, as we know, the constitution of our neighbors to the south of us had scarcely been written, the ink upon it was scarcely dry, when it had to be amended and amended and amended again. And the last amendment was invoked by the spirit of the dread civil war. Fortun- ate we are in Canada to have escaped these troubles.
"But we cannot claim that our Constitution is perfect. If, to-day, we have the pleasure of having with us the Premiers of the various Provinces and their colleagues, it must serve as a reminder to us that the Canadian constitution, good as it is, is not perfect. It is the work of men, and, being the work of men, it is, perhaps susceptible to amendment and im- provement. At all events, I understand this is the reason why our visitors are here in this city of Ottawa. I see about me, the representatives of four Provinces — but how altered. We have here the representatives of the Provinces of the original Confederation, Ontario, Quebec, New Bruns- wick and Nova Scotia; Ontario then and still in the lead; Quebec ad- vancing, a pretty close second; New Brunswick ever faithful; Nova Scotia no longer sullen or discontented, but prosperous and at one with the rest. And Prince Edward Island! What shall I say of Prince Edward Island? I am sorry to have to acknowledge that she did not think much of us in 1867 and so would not come in with us then. I re- member that D'Arcy McGee said at that time: 'Prince Edward Island will have to come in, for if she does not we will tow her into the St. Lawrence.' But she did not wait for that, she came in of her own accord. Then, when we turn our eyes to the West we see what mighty changes have taken place. There are now three provinces — Manitoba and the ' Twins, ' of which you have spoken, Mr. Chairman, with the am- bition of being the Granary of the British Empire, if not, of the world, territory which, at Confederation was a wilderness. Then, there is British Columbia, the largest, and in some respects — I say it, though I come from the Province of Quebec — the finest in the Dominion.
"Gentlemen, we have not reached the end of progress in Canada. There is yet a great deal to be accomplished. But I am not at all afraid of the future — I have no misgivings. The way has been prepared for us. Those who laid the foundations of our Dominion in 1867 worked out prac- tical results; and for us also gentlemen, the work is not to insist upon the logical, but to carry out the practical. Gentlemen, let me thank you for drinking my health, with so much cordiality. It is, I suppose, because, on more than- one occasion, I have had my health drunk at this board, that I feel so well as I do to-night. "
Hon. Sir J. P. Whitney, Premier of Ontario : — " Let the scoffer sneer if he will at what has been done during these forty years save one of the Canadian Confederation, but who ever heard of a family that passed forty
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years of life together without a ripple of dissatisfaction, or without occa- sional little squabbles of difference from time to time. But, when I con- sider the differences that existed between the Provinces when they first came together I say to myself that the wonder is that the harmony has been so great and I say as a Canadian, that I am proud of the record of the Provinces composing this Dominion, for the harmony which they have maintained throughout this long period of forty years. And I confess, Sir, that I am an optimist for the future.
" I have no fear whatever as to the future of this offshoot of British liberty. All that is necessary in order for us to be in the matter of har- mony, an example to the onlooking world, as we should, is to meet one another oftener. If this be done, I venture the opinion that no man will be found bold enough to decry in public at least, the harmony which exists in Canada. "
Hon. Sir Lomer Gouin, Premier of Quebec: — "This banquet you have organized in our honor, the applause with which you greet us is not given to us personally we know, full well, but to the beloved Provinces that we represent, to their old traditions, their fine institutions, their great hopes and their vast ambitions. For this we are all the more grateful to you. But gentlemen, let me tell you at the outset that we are not here as section- alists. Although deeply attached to our Provinces, to the land of our ancestors, we wish to be looked upon 'first of all as Canadians. We have, it is true, many creeds and many nationalities in Canada, but we have only one country. While the Laurentian Hills and valleys of the St. Lawrence and of the Richelieu, the smiling fields of Lake St. John, of the Temiska- ming and the Matapedia Valley and of the Eastern Townships are dearest of all to us, we, nevertheless, like you gentlemen of the Canadian Club, cherish a high hope for the destiny of our country, of our whole country, from ocean to ocean.
" We feel that we should cherish, each of us, his own Province because on its soil our fathers were born, lived and died, loved, prayed, sang, worked, wept, struggled, hoped and suffered, but we cannot forget it is above all our duty to be imbued with the greatness of the role assigned to it, in the work of building up the Canadian nation. We should know what our ancestors have wrought upon our soil, what they have accomplished and what they have left undone.
"We are trying an experiment in federalism that deserves to be studied. Our system of government has been accepted in this country after many struggles and much discussion. If you study the history of the world you will find that the federal states are far less numerous than those of unified structures. At this moment we rank with the German Empire, Switzerland, the United States and the Australian Common- wealth. All these federations have had their disturbances. We have had ours which we have succeeded in settling and we have every reason to hope that, if wisely applied, the British North America Act of 1867 will enable us to attain the great destinies to which we have every right to aspire.
" It has frequently been said that a federal union was the best system of government to be adopted in a country with so vast a territory and a population of such diverse origins. Now, the reasons which, in 1867, led the federal union being preferred to legislative union, make it to-day a still more imperative duty to strive for the maintenance of our present
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institutions. Our territory has been enlarged, the number of the prov- inces has been increased. Our population is still more heterogeneous than when our federal compact was signed. Canada, the common country of which we are all so proud, has, no doubt, developed in a marvellous fashion, but there still remain very great things to be accomplished.
" If we wish to continue and complete our work of building up a nation, our whole system of government must work freely and in unison, without friction and without jarring, more especially the provinces which are the foundation of the national structure, must retain their privileges, fran- chises and autonomy intact and must be able to dispose of all the resources they need for the performances of the duties imposed on them by their constitutional charter.
" It has rightly been said that the strength of the strongest chain is that of its weakest link. The same applies to our Confederation; it will never have more than the strength and solidity of its weakest province, and the development of Canada will be in proportion to the progress and development of the various sections composing it. If we wish our coun- try to advance briskly toward its destinies every citizen in our land must be able to say with satisfaction: I love my village more than any other village; I love my province more than any other province, but I love Canada best of all.
" Such is the patriotic doctrine we are preaching in our own Province of Quebec, a province which we wish to make greater in order that Canada may be greater also. We Canadians are living in a land wonderfully en-- do wed by Providence with resources of the richest and most varied charac- ter, a land in which good principles and good government prevail, a land of peace, tolerance and liberty. It is our desire to make it in all reality the country so well described by a Canadian poet when he said : —
The Northern arch, whose vast proportions
Span the sky from sea to sea, From Atlantic to Pacific,
Home of unborn millions free/ '
Hon. George H. Murray, Premier of Nova Scotia: — "Living under the dome of the Capital as you do, it may perhaps be natural for you to feel that federal affairs are all important, that provincial matters do not amount to much. I simply desire to give you this reminder. If Federal affairs are important, and if Canada is to progress, and become a great nation, she will have to have a great people, and a great people are the result of a clean municipal and provincial government. But after all is said the provincial administrations have still their share of the burden, they have still great questions to deal with, they have great responsibilities. Take, for instance, the question of education, than which there is no more perplexing to be dealt with. If it were to be neglected for a single instant perhaps Canadians could not boast of their citizenship as they do now. And, meanwhile, we all understand that the development of each section means the prosperity and progress of the whole Dominion. If we want prosperity we must all say: 'I love my province more than yours, but I love Canada more than all.' We want to use our utmost endeavors towards peace and prosperity to make Canada greater. It is a land of great possibilities and great is the responsibility of the Government. But with good principles ever uppermost, with a Government that realizes the
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interests placed in its charge, we can make Canada the greatest of all countries. It is my wish, gentlemen, that this may be accomplished; it is my hope that this may be brought to pass. "
Hon. R. P. Roblin, Premier of Manitoba: — "It has been said that we have enjoyed forty years of prosperity and progress. It is less than forty years since our fathers launched the ship of Confederation and much has been accomplished of which we have every reason to be proud. But now, just now only, is the deck cleared for action. And we are only beginning to find out that the possibilities of Canada can scarcely be realized. I1 he future of this country is something which the enthusiastic historian may write about and give us a place second to none. We have all the resources necessary for national greatness. What is needed to develop these resour- ces is that individuality or citizenship which gives energy and enterprise and prosperity, and' which preserves the great interests which have been committed to us as a heritage. Western Canada is interested in the prosperity of the East and in the same measure the East rejoices in the measure of success achieved and in the successful disposition of our duties in the West. The man, however, who is not loyal to his own municipality, to his own district, has not the policy of true citizenship which he should have. We should be actuated by that patriotic impulse which impels us to develop the interests which are common to us. And so, in Manitoba, we want to hold, or advance our position and not to lag behind the other Provinces of the Dominion, so that we may have that permanent, steady progress that makes for national success.
" In our good Province we have youth, energy, and enthusiasm and a determination that the portion of Canada west of Lake Superior shall not be less prosperous in progress or wealth than any other. We have a king- dom there to develop, an area of land which men who are able to judge say reaches 150,000,000 acres of arable land. Cut it in two, if you like, split the estimate in half if you would be certain of being in a position to give a conservative estimate and we have 75,000,000 acres. No one would have the temerity to dispute that estimate. And then take what is now pro- duced by a comparatively few farmers. At the present time there is an area of less than 7,000,000 acres under cultivation and yet there has been produced this year an aggregate crop of 185,000,000 bushels of grain. Think of the possibilities. If the land were well settled there is not the slightest reason why there should not be an annual crop of 2,000,000,000 bushels of grain. This will amply justify the boast we make that Canada will be the Granary of the Empire, will be capable of supplying the needs of the nation for all time. Into that country are coming thousands of civilized people — civilized people coming to parts that are as yet uncivilized.
" We are getting the people of Asia, of Africa and of Europe and of the Islands of the Sea, the Hindu, the Japanese, the Chinese are coming to us. They come without any knowledge of our institutions, of our language, or of the protection which is guaranteed to them under the British flag. And so it is all the more necessary to have such organizations as this Canadian Club. It is their purpose and aim to instil in the minds of all the advan- tages we enjoy under that flag and to make us British subjects in reality as well as in name. I agree heartily with all that has been said as to the harmony which had existed in Canada during the forty years of Confeder- ation. All we want now is to strive to our utmost to make Canada equal in importance and influence to any of the other countries. In my remarks I
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have not referred to British Columbia, with its unbounded forest and mineral wealth, with an area sufficient to provide good homes for from 25,000,000 to 50,000,000 of people with advantages to make them happy, to make them respect the British flag. And as concerning the new-comers to our country, it is our duty to instil the principles of Canadian citizenship at a time when they will appreciate the advantages they may enjoy and the bonds that bind us together, to make them recognize the power and the duty of that great Empire to which we are so proud to belong. "
Hon. Arthur Peters, Premier of Prince Edward Island: — "After the eloquent remarks which have been made by our friend Premier Roblin, I feel that there is little which it is necessary for me to add. It is interesting to observe that I have seated on either hand Conservative Premiers,
Premier McBride : — " You have protection then. "
Premier Peters : — •" It is a coincidence anyway. But seriously, gentle- men, I have every hope that the Conference which brings us to Ottawa will be most fruitful. We are here on business of the greatest importance. We have much to do and my hope is that everything will be done with harmony. We have but one Empire and our greatest efforts should be to strengthen it. I quite agree with' all that has been said as to the de- sirability of strengthening the solidity of the Empire and thank you, gentle- men, for the privilege of being present at this memorable gathering. "
Hon. Richard McBride, Premier of British Columbia: — "In our fair Province of British Columbia, we are as yet but a handful of people. Some day we will be more, but, so far, but a handful and in a particularly peculiar position. To the south we have the United States, to the north we have the United States, to the west the great Pacific, and to the east the mag- nificent Rocky Mountains. Surely you will admit that our surroundings are unusual and our responsibilities accordingly great. We have a great extent of territory to develop, greater perhaps than is readily realized by the average Canadian. For, to see your country, to feel that it is prac- tically without limitation in its wealth of agriculture, fisheries, mines and timber, it is absolutely necessary to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific. And in all this we have still the paramount duty before us of maintaining Canadian citizenship, of showing that we can take care of ourselves and that at the same time we are an important part of the British Empire and growing with each year in importance. I am proud to be able to say, gentlemen, that the people of British Columbia have always had a perfect recognition of their duties and have truly recognized their responsibilities.
"I am willing to join in the expressions of appreciation of the articles of Confederation and to join in the wish that we shall always be as happy and as contented as we are at this moment. What happier condition could be wished for? But after all is said I do not like to believe that the British North America Act is a permanent institution, not susceptible to change or improvement. I for one will never accept the doctrine that it is a fixture, and that it will keep the machinery of government up to the needs of the times. From what I could gather from the observations of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, it is my firm belief that as a result of the deliberations of the present Conference, important things will take place with regard to the British North America Act.
"Canadians will never be stalwart citizens until they have travelled from the Atlantic to the Pacific and have seen the wonderful potentialities
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that the country possesses. One transcontinental railroad has done much for the West as will readily be recognized; what are we to expect when another, perhaps two or more transcontinental railroads are built?
"Premier Roblin has told you that Manitoba can accommodate 25,000,000 people. It would be a pleasant thing for us to find homes for 50,000,000 or 75,000,000 people. British Columbia will not be a whit behind the other Provinces in the great and noble work of building up Canada. And I would take a moment to urge that the present Conference shall take into consideration the peculiar claims that British Columbia has upon it, and to express my appreciation of the fact that the present Con- ference will result in necessary amendments which are demanded by changes of time in the pact of Confederation embodied in the Act which gave Canada to the world as a nation.
"In the meantime, gentlemen, I have every confidence that the claims of the Province which I have the honor of representing will be generously considered in the Conference now being held. "
Hon. A. C. Rutherford, Premier of Alberta: — "I think I may claim that I am more closely identified with the city of Ottawa than any of the other guests of this evening. I claim, gentlemen, the good old County of Carleton as my birthplace. I entered and completed the studies for my profession in the city of Ottawa and so I feel that in coming here I am coming home. A few years ago I wandered out to the great West and to- day I am here as the representative of that splendid Province of Alberta. Alberta, as are the other Provinces in the West, is making great progress. You would scarcely believe that the population has been trebled in the last five years and yet this will indicate to you the progress that is being made.
"We are endeavoring to lay the foundations of Empire in the new Province. It is only one year since we confederated. We are just making a start and we feel the responsibility that we have upon our shoulders in connection with the work of building up our institutions. We have the example before us of the older Provinces. We hope to follow what good measures they have enacted and to profit by the mistakes they have made. Premier Murray has made reference to a very important subject — the matter of education. I believe that in Alberta the universal education of our people is the greatest glory of our Province. We have, since our organization as a Province, organized 140 new school districts in Alberta. This, we think, shows that we have been progressive. And in the building up of our educational system we have taken the good features of those of the older Provinces, having succeeded in taking out there the cream of the teaching staff of Ontario. I am proud to say that we pay our teachers in Alberta a higher average salary than is paid in any other Province. I know of no teacher who is receiving less than $500 per annum. As yet we have not been required to pass legislation which shall compel the paying of a certain minimum salary to teachers. We are most anxious that the very best teachers shall be secured for the education of the children. There is no settlement so remote but what the ratepayers desire that they should have schools established in their midst. We have received tens of thousands of people from every shore and clime, and I am sure that these people will become good Canadian subjects. The common schools, I believe, are the greatest factors in existence for assimilating a mixed population and we will endeavor to make our system of education as good as possible.
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" In the last year or two there has been an enormous influx from the United States and I can tell you that they will make good British subjects. They want to exercise the franchise. I have no sympathy with those who think that by reason of this influx there will be a tendency to disloyalty to our country, and to a desire for annexation to the United States. There has been a large influx as well from the British Isles and the older Pro- vinces of Canada. We are particularly anxious to receive good settlers from the older Provinces such as we are now receiving and we hope that this influx will continue. I am mindful, Mr. Chairman, of your desires, that the addresses this evening should be short and I will not occupy any more of your time. I thank the members of the Canadian Club. "
The Chairman expressed the regret of the Club at the absence of Hon. L. J. Tweedie, Premier of New Brunswick, and that Hon. Walter Scott, Premier of Saskatchewan, was unable through indisposition to take part in the speaking.
Mr. Hamar Greenwood, M.P. for York, England, who was among those present at the banquet was called upon by the Chairman and ex- pressed the great pleasure which it had afforded him to attend and to take part in this inspiring gathering.
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THE TERCENTENARY OF QUEBEC
Speakers: — His Excellency Earl Grey, G.C.M.G., Governor General of Canada; Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, P.O., G.C.M.G., Prime Minister; Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition; Hon. R. Dandur- and, Speaker of the Senate; Hon. R. F. Sutherland, M.P., Speaker of the House of Commons; Mr. Charles Marcil, M.P., Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons; and Major General Lord Aylmer, former Inspector General of the Militia of Canada.
At a mass meeting of citizens in the Russell Theatre, January 15, 1908, which had been convened under the auspices of the Canadian Club of Ottawa, a proposal was made by His Excellency Earl Grey for the reclamation of the historic battlefields of the Plains of Abraham and of Ste. Foy, at Quebec, and for the celebration during the summer of the year 1908 of the Tercentenary of the founding of Quebec. At this meeting the proposal was also endorsed by Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister, and Mr. R. L. Borden, M. P., Leader of the Opposition, and was strongly supported by other public men of distinction, including representatives of most of the Canadian Clubs of the Dominion who had been convened in Ottawa for the purpose of devising ways and means of interesting the people of Canada in a popular subscription to assist in the carrying out of these projects.
The Russell Theatre was completely filled on this occasion by an audience which was thoroughly representative of all classes in Ottawa. Mr. H. P. Hill, President of the Canadian Club of Ottawa, acted as Chair- man and in opening the meeting read communications which pledged support and sympathy from all parts of Canada towards the proposal for a fitting commemoration of the Tercentenary of Quebec and the reclama- tion of the battlefields of the Plains of Abraham and of Ste. Foy and their conversion into a national park.
These included messages from the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the Premier of Nova Scotia, the Lieutenant Governors of Manitoba, Al- berta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island, the Premier of New Brunswick, and Premier Whitney, of Ontario. Mr. Hill read also a resolution which had been passed in the afternoon by the council of the Ottawa Board of Trade and a similar resolution which had been adopted at a meeting in Ottawa of delegates from the Canadian Clubs of the Dominion. Later in the evening a telegram along similar lines was read from the Vancouver Canadian Club.
His Excellency Earl Grey, who was first called on, was given an en- thusiastic ovation, and it was some little time before the applause sub- sided sufficiently to allow him to be heard.
His Excellency said the telegrams received from Halifax to Vancouver were conclusive testimony of the fact that Canada was solidly behind the proposition to celebrate what he had roughly styled the 300th birthday of Canada. Continuing, His Excellency said, in part: —
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"This great meeting, convened by the Canadian Club of Ottawa, rejoices my heart above any other incident that has occurred in Canada since I became Governor General. For what does it mean? It means that the Canadian Clubs, which know no party narrower than the state, represent a latent national force, existing in every part of the Dominion, ready for action whenever the occasion demands, a clear call to the per- formance of duty by the rank and file of the Dominion. I congratulate the officers and members of the Canadian Club of Ottawa on the spirited action they have taken, and thank them and all Canadian clubs, and especially the Canadian Club of Edmonton, for the most welcome assist- ance and support they have given, and are giving, in response to my appeal to celebrate the approaching Champlain Tercentenary by rescuing the famous battlefields of Quebec from their present condition of neglect.
" The present is an occasion on which no party, sectarian or sectional narrowness can mar the harmony of our proceedings, or weaken the unity of our action. We are met here to consider what can be done to celebrate the approaching Tercentenary of Quebec in a manner which shall be worthy of Quebec, Canada, and the Empire.
" It has been agreed, with an unanimity which appears to be as intense as it is widespread, making itself felt in enthusiastic and sympathetic gusts from across the seas, that there can be no better way of doing honor to what may roughly regarded as the 300th birthday of Canada, than by taking the necessary measures to secure the nationalization of the battle- fields of Quebec. The immortal associations which cling round the battle- fields of Quebec are the precious inheritance of Englishmen, Scotchmen, Irishmen, and Frenchmen. They contain enough, and more than enough, to feed and stimulate the national pride of all, no matter whether they be of British or of French descent.
" There is another aspect from which the battlefields of Quebec should be especially dear to you. It was on the battlefields of Quebec that French and British parentage gave birth to the Canadian nation. To-day the inhabitants of the Dominion are neither English nor French. They stand before the world, not as English or French, but as Canadians. It is from the inspiring standpoint of Canadian nationality that the proposal to celebrate the 300th birthday of Canada, by the nationalization of the famous battlefields of Quebec, should win the enthusiastic support of every patriotic Canadian.
" If we regard the question sectionally, I would ask, where is the well- informed Briton to be found, no matter in what part of the Empire he may reside, who has not a personal interest in the Plains of Abraham, where the corner-stone of Greater Britain was laid? I might say the same of every well-informed American. It is known that the battlefield of 1759 was the parchment on which in 1775 the Declaration of Independence was inscribed. If the battle of the Plains decided the fate of North America, it is equally certain that the battle of Ste. Foy won for the French Canadians the secure enjoyment of their language, their religion and their laws.
" The nationalization of the battlefields is thus a consecration of those principles which have enabled the British Crown to win the heartfelt loyalty of all the self-governing Dominions of the British Crown, and which have made the British Empire the most potent force for the spread of freedom and righteousness that the world has ever seen.
" Gentlemen, it is my hope that the result of this meeting may be the creation of an organization which will endeavor to bring before every
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Briton the opportunity of associating himself with the battlefields of Quebec, and the principles they represent, through the medium of a small contribution to the Champlain Tercentenary and Quebec Battlefields fund.
" You are aware that I have proposed that a statue of Peace should be erected at the extreme edge of the Citadel rock of Quebec, where it may be the first object visible to incoming vessels on rounding the point of the Isle of Orleans. I hope that His Majesty's Canadian Government may take the necessary steps to secure that this proposed statue shall be in every sense worthy of its great position, of Canada and of the Crown. The statue of Peace must not be banal or vulgar, with flowing and windy draperies. It must be noble, calm, majestic, reposeful — the arms out- stretched— forward, with the palms slightly downward as though blessing the incoming ships, and the eyes lovingly bent on the people below. On the base of the statue can be represented different phases of Canadian life.
" Gentlemen, I hope every Canadian boy will be taught what a priv- ilege it is to be able, by the payment of a few cents, to associate himself with the battlefields of Quebec, which gave to the French Canadians good government, and a place within the Empire, to the British half a continent on this side of the Atlantic, and an Empire of self-governing Dominions, and to the United States their independence.
" To be able to associate oneself with such events, through the modest medium of a quarter or a nickel, is a privilege which does not often come within the reach of any generation, and my hope is that every public- spirited Briton, wherever he may reside, may not be slow to avail himself of his opportunity. "
The remarks of His Excellency were punctuated with applause, and at the conclusion great enthusiasm was shown.
The Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier was given a very cordial reception, and his address was listened to with marked attention and appreciation. Sir Wilfrid said: —
" I am not here at all to make any lengthy remarks. I am here simply to say that in my humble capacity I give my most cordial support to the idea which has been launched by His Excellency the Governor General, an idea which long ago, nay, generations ago, should have been an accom- plished fact, an idea which now launched with such authority will radiate from the old Citadel of Quebec east and west, over prairies and mountains, hills and dales, until it has reached the two oceans, and that idea, as has just been expressed to you, is that we should dedicate, we should consecrate the ground around the old Citadel of Quebec, and make it a national property, because it has been hallowed by the most heroic blood. Now I think we can claim, and claim truly, that nowhere on earth is ground so consecrated to be found.
" Sir, it is undoubtedly a sad commentary upon human nature that the history of the world, so far back as ours goes, can penetrate, has been a record of sanguinary conflicts between nation and nation. Three-fourths at least of the pages of history are the narration of wars and battles between men and men. Some of these battles have been long ago forgotten, obliter- ated either by oblivion or worse, but some of them are living in the memory of men, and as time increases the enthusiasm which they all at one time inspired is not effaced but increased.
"Sir, if we are to compare our own battlefields of old, and take into consideration alone numbers, we would not perhaps have much to boast of,
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but if we look at the cause which was there defended on these battlefields around the city of Quebec, if we are to look at the character of the men who were then engaged, we may claim that perhaps nowhere in the world greater devotion was ever exhibited than was exhibited on these occasions. We may certainly claim, we of French origin, and of British origin, that nowhere was French dash and British resolution ever shown with greater eclat than at these places. The long duel which was maintained in the summer of 1759 between General Wolfe and General Montcalm is certainly one of the most dramatic incidents recorded in the pages of history. Wolfe ever resolute and active, Montcalm ever vigilant and active, Wolfe trying again and again to plant his army on the walls of Quebec, but meeting at every step Montcalm ready to face him, and baffling his every effort until the day came when the efforts of Wolfe were victorious, and victory crowned his efforts. There is a tradition that in the later stage of this protracted struggle the two armies were looking forth to the river1, knowing that a fleet would come, and both waiting expectant that the fleet would be the fleet of their own nation. At last a sail was signalled, and we know that both armies were there on the cliffs of Quebec looking for what should it be. Should it bring the colors of St. George or the fleur de Us? After days of expectation, when the fleet had at last anchored beneath the Citadel, and hoisted the colors of England, the struggle was over, the French flag recrossed the seas, and England became victorious and omni- potent on the North American continent, omnipotent only for a short time.
" It has been truly said that the battles on the Plains of Abraham were epoch-making, and it is equally true that the result was not at all what had been anticipated. France and England when they reached this con- tinent continued the long career which had long divided them. England was at last victorious, and strange to say from that moment dated the decay of her power on this continent, because the seeds of discord which had long existed in the American colonies at last were let loose, and within twenty years of that date they had proclaimed their severance from the motherland. Is it not a fact which it would have been impossible to sup- pose at the time, that the British authority at that time was saved on this continent by the very men who were defeated on the Plains of Abraham? (Cheers). And may I be permitted on this occasion to remember, British citizen that I am, a British subject as I am, that in my veins flows the blood of the race which saved the British flag at the time it was disgraced by those of Britain's own kith and kin.
"Sir, those battlefields have been altogether too long neglected. No one can go to Quebec and visit the Plains and not feel some shame that the monument which has been erected to the memory of Wolfe is one that is absolutely unworthy of the hero it is intended to recall, and absolutely unworthy of Canada. But there is in the city of Quebec a monument which for my part I never can see but I feel my soul thrill with pride as a Canadian. In a small public garden in the city of Quebec, overlooking the St. Lawrence, perhaps one of the most beautiful panoramas to be found in the world, there is a monument erected, certainly nothing very artistic, simply a modest stone pillar. But I venture to say that the like of that monument is not to be found anywhere in the circuit of the earth. Monu- ments to the victor are not rare in this world, monuments to heroes who have been crowned by victory can be found almost in any country; but a monument to the vanquished is not to be found everywhere. In the city of
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Quebec there is a monument erected to the memory of Wolfe, which was natural; but there is also one erected to the memory of the man who lost, the memory of Montcalm, and erected, I am proud to say, by the British government.
" Well, Sir, I say that whenever anyone of Canadian origin visits the city of Quebec, and there sees that pillar erected to the memory of Wolfe and to the memory of Montcalm by the British government, he cannot but feel proud that he lives under institutions which promote such a breadth of thought and action. (Cheers).
" Now, His Excellency the Governor General, Earl Grey, the successor of Lord Dalhousie, who in 1826 erected this monument to the memory of Wolfe and Montcalm, has conceived the idea that we should erect on the Plains of Abraham another monument. His suggestion is that on these Plains of Abraham which saw the last conflict on this continent between French and English, we should raise a monument not to the God of War, but to the Angel of Peace. (Cheers). Could anything more fitting be accomplished by Canada in order to symbolize the reconciliation of the two races which now make a proud and happy people, and which are to-day at the head of modern civilization? Can we wish a more noble idea than to have on the ground of the last conflict the Angel of Peace raising her wings towards heaven from that famous ground? This is the idea which His Excellency has in mind, and the idea which is now commending itself to the Canadian people. For my part, with all my heart I endorse it, and I hope to see some time in the near future a statue of the Angel of Peace raising its wings towards Heaven, so that the man who comes from abroad, or the Canadian who visits the spot shall have that statue in his mind first and last, so that from the Heights of Abraham we shall see proclaimed the beau- tiful truth to the glory of God of peace and goodwill to all men. " (Cheers).
The next speaker was Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition, who was accorded a reception that was cordial and even enthusiastic. Mr. Borden said : — u I am very glad to be here to-night to say a few words in support of the great movement which has been so happily inaugurated by His Excellency Earl Grey. I am sure His Excellency is to be congratulated upon having begun this movement, too long delayed, and I do not doubt that with his energetic initiative and with the assistance of the Canadian Clubs, who have thrown themselves heart and soul into this movement, it will be a very great success indeed.
" Now, I do not doubt that the assistance of the ladies will be very great indeed in this movement, and I am happy to know that ladies have already associated themselves with the movement, and that is a further guarantee of the success which I am sure it will meet. There has been an eloquent reference made here to-night to the momentous issues which hung upon that battle and upon the various battles which had their issue upon the Plains of Abraham. I do not remember that that battle has been included among those which were numbered by an English author who wrote a great work upon the decisive battles of the world. He refers to Marathon, he describes Hastings, and many other great battles, and he especially describes the battle of Hastings as one upon which the destinies of all English-speaking races in the world were decided, and yet I think that in these latter days one should recognize and accord a part in this world history to the battle of the Plains of Abraham. It may seem to us— it seemed to them at that day — that it was upon the merest accident in the
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world that the issue of that battle was decided. If the Governor of Quebec, overriding the orders of Montcalm, had not withdrawn a regiment from that little post which overlooked what is known as Wolfe's Cove there might have been no battle of the Plains of Abraham, and the destiny and history of the northern half of this continent might have been altogether different.
" A little more than seven centuries after the battle of Hastings it was that the equally great battle of the Plains was fought, and as a new day grew out of the night for the Saxon people out of the battle of Hastings, so a new day grew out of the night for the French-Canadian people after the battle of the Plains, and I venture to think that there are not many men among us to-day who do not realize that under the rule which they now enjoy in Canada they have as great — nay, a greater — measure of civil and religious liberty than could possibly have been theirs if the issue of that battle had been different than it was. This may be said to have been a battle in which the palm went not only to the victors, but to the vanquished, while these two great races to-day have as their heritage the duty of de- veloping, of carrying high among the nations of the world that Canada which is ours and of maintaining that Canada as one of the great nations of the world which owe allegiance to King Edward, the peacemaker, as we are glad to recognize him, and as he has been recognized the world over.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if it is given to all the people, whether of British or French descent, in this country of ours, those who are of French descent have not been unmindful of their duty, because, as Sir Wilfrid Laurier has pointed out, in more than one battle in 1812 they saved Canada for the British Crown, and the name of Chateauguay, where De Salabery and 300 men repelled ten times as many invaders, may well be classed in the history of the future as the Thermopylae of Canada; and I, for my part, would be glad to embrace within this movement the erection of monuments upon some of the other great battlefields of Canada as well, where our countrymen of bygone days have shown that they were not slow to spring to arms at the call of duty in defence of their country. I would mention Chateauguay; besides it there are Chrysler's Farm and Stoney Creek and others, where many of both French and English descent fought valiantly in order that the independence of this country might be main- tained and that it might still remain part of the British Empire.
" And I would suggest, following the words of Sir Wilfrid Laurier here to-night, that when these monuments are erected, if they ever are erected, that monuments should be raised in commemoration of Peace, in commem- oration not only of our countrymen who fought and fell on these fields, but in memory also of those who were then our foes, but who, we are glad to say, have for nearly a hundred years been in friendly relations with the whole of the the Empire, and within Canada as part of that Empire I hope that this may be carried out. I hope that this idea which has been sug- gested by His Excellency will be carried to a successful issue, and I most heartily concur in what His Excellency has said — namely, that the great, the lasting, the enduring success of this movement will depend upon the people of Canada themselves. It must be a great popular movement, not only throughout Canada, but, I trust, throughout the Empire, that it will have that success which I believe His Excellency wishes for it, and that when it does come, when the monument is erected, it shall be erected not only as a lasting and enduring monument to the great memories of the past, but to the still greater hopes of the future. " (Loud cheers).
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Hon. Raoul Dandurand, Speaker of the Senate, said he was glad that the first meeting in connection with the movement was in the Capital, because the foundation of Quebec should be celebrated and commemorated throughout the whole breadth of Canada. Canadians should be enthu- siastic in doing honor to the men who, with Champlain, planted the French flag on the promontory, as had they not done so there would have been no Canada to-day. The monument to be erected should be one of Peace, typifying the true ideal of Canada. We should teach our children to revere the memory of our forefathers who fought these battles, but the children should also be taught that the paramount duty was to bring about the golden rule in the settlement of all international disputes. Hon. Mr. Dandurand suggested that the Inter-Parliamentary Union of Peace might be invited to meet at Quebec for the tercentenary celebration this year. It would, he said, be most fitting that the union should meet in Canada, where there was 3,000 miles of frontier without a single fort.
Hon. R. F. Sutherland, Speaker of the House of Commons, made reference to the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition being of one mind so absolutely and enthusiastically and thought that this significant concord aptly typified the universal approval of the scheme. The recog- nition of the necessity of union between the two great races in Canada wras essential to patriotism and any movement which would more closely and cordially unite the two would make for the future benefit and prosperity of the country. The site proposed for the monument was easily the most suitable that could be found in any part of Canada and the occasion now suggested was timely and inspiring. It had been truly said that the people who took no pride in the achievements of their remote ancestors never did anything that their remote descendants would be proud of. Speaker Sutherland felicitated the Ottawa Canadian Club on the part it was playing in the movement and also referred to the splendid educational effect on imperial statesmen that the various Governors General had had.
Major General Lord Aylmer was called on by Mr. Hill as being the nephew of the Lord Aylmer who was Governor of Canada at the time the present monument to Wolfe was erected in Quebec. His Lordship said he was present partly on account of the associations of his family with Quebec, but more to offer his humble services to forward the movement. He enthusiastically endorsed the proposal which had been made by Earl Grey.
Mr. Charles Marcil, M.P., Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, considered that the present meeting marked an epoch in Canadian national life. In eloquent terms Mr. Marcil referred to the part played by the French whose settlers' cabins, missionaries' chapels, or soldiers' forts had marked all the strategical points from the Atlantic to the Pacific and south to the Gulf of Mexico. The past of Canada was one of which all could be proud, no matter from what stock they were descended or at what altar they worshipped. The struggle between the French and the British had ended in a blaze of glory and immortality. He was proud as a representative in Parliament of the district of Quebec to associate himself with the project, and he congratulated His Excellency on the noble enterprise with which his name would long be remembered after he had left the shores of Canada.
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His Worship Mayor D'Arcy Scott said he was confident that he ex- pressed the sentiment of the people of Ottawa when he invited them to join in the adoption of the following resolution : —
" That this public meeting of citizens of Ottawa expresses its cordial endorsation of the proposal which has been launched by His Excellency Earl Grey for the fitting celebration of the tercentenary of the founding of Quebec and for the preservation of the historic Plains of Abraham and of Ste. Foy, in that city, and pledges its hearty support to and co-operation in this most praiseworthy undertaking. "
The resolution was seconded by Mr. P. B. Taylor, ex-President of the Canadian Club, and was unanimously carried.
66 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
THE CITIZEN AND HIS MILITARY OBLIGATIONS
MAJOR GENERAL THE EARL OF DUNDONALD, C.B., C.V.O. '
The inaugural luncheon of the Canadian Club of Ottawa was held in the Grand Union Hotel, on October 26, 1903, when the Club had as its guest Major General the Earl of Dundonald, C.B., C.V.O. , General Officer Commanding the Militia of Canada, who delivered an address on The Citizen and His Military Obligations. Colonel A. P. Sherwood, C.M.G., President of the Club, was in the chair and the attendance of members of the Club numbered 253, being thoroughly representative of all classes of the citizenry of Ottawa. *
His Lordship, in addressing the Club, spoke as follows: — " You have been kind enough to invite me to make a few remarks to you to-day at this, the first regular meeting of the Canadian Club of Ottawa. I sincerely appreciate the compliment you have paid me and the privilege I enjoy in being the first to make an address to this club. This Club pro- mises to be a most admirable institution, of the greatest value to the men of Ottawa. Not only is it valuable as a social institution, which will bring together those who might otherwise never meet and never learn to under- stand one another, but I believe that its greatest merit lies in the fact that it binds its members together with one common object in view. That object is primarily a patriotic one, an object that gives the members of this Club something to work for, something to take them from the region for the most part of personal matters into the arena with the great and con- stantly varying needs of their country. However wealthy and however prominent men may be, all that concerns them and their own work can be as nothing compared with the great and growing needs of national exist- ence. , (Applause) . One of the most important of these needs to a nation is a force of armed men capable of sustaining its rights whenever and wherever assailed. I have been asked to say a few words to you about the militia. I must necessarily make my words very few, and I purpose to deal only with one particular branch of the subject which depends for its success on the patriotism of the people. I shall entitle my remarks The Citizen and His Military Obligations. There are two or three ways of obtaining an army. One is by conscription, that is, by compulsory service, a method which is distasteful to us. The other is by paying for it, by abstracting men from civil employment and making them professional soldiers. I am personally opposed to large standing armies, and have been all my life, long before I came to Canada. The ideal army is one, in my opinion, which is composed of highly organized citizens temporarily taken from their employment to defend their native land, the permanent or standing force being composed of specialists for the purpose of instruc- tion. (Applause). I consider that a defence force based on this principle is best suited to the requirements of Canada, provided that the departments and organizations and all that cannot be improvised in time of war are thought out and in operation in time of peace.
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" The organization which I consider most suited to the needs of Canada is one that should combine the utmost efficiency as a fighting force with the least possible expense and the least interference with the civil occupations of the people. We need a system which will cost little in money and labor in time of peace, but which can be expanded in time of war to a strength great enough for the adequate defence of the country. It is folly to de- pend on enrolling huge masses of men, when war is declared, however will- ing and keen they may be. Such masses do not constitute an army. Before they can even make their way to the front they need organization, training, arms, equipment, and capable and experienced officers.
"Perfect organization must be prepared in time of peace. Arms, equipment, clothing, stores, ammunition, must be ready. The officers and non-commissioned officers must know their work and be fitted to handle the crowds of willing men who will come forward to be trained and led into the field when the danger comes. All these things cannot be left to be improvised when the time of need arrives. Then it is too late. Only a few days ago the Minister of Militia, Sir Frederick Borden, with a courage which will certainly receive due acknowledgement when history is written, announced a novel departure in the military system of Canada. (Cheers).
" I will now outline these proposals as far as they concern the subject of my address. First and most important of all, there is to be a first line of defence of 100,000 men. It is not proposed to enrol and train all this force in the same way that the present militia is enrolled and trained. It is considered that the country cannot afford the cost of training such num- bers to a like §tate of efficiency. The system on which it is to be managed is what may be called a skeleton one. That is to say, the officers, non- commissioned officers, and part of the privates of every regiment, battalion, and battery will be enrolled and trained as at present for peace and war service. The remainder of the strength of all these units will be made up of men who undertake to turn out in time of war only and to do as much training as they can manage without interfering with their business in time of peace. More especially they are to undertake to become good rifle shots, for it is too late to learn rifle shooting when it is time to go into the field. (Hear! hear!) Arms, equipment, clothing and everything neces- sary for their efficiency in the field will be provided so that in time of need all that they have to do is -to assemble at their headquarters, put on their service kit, and fall in with their companies. It may be asked whether these men, with so little training, can possibly be efficient soldiers. No, they cannot, if they stand alone. They will be a mere mob, however brave they may be individually. You have only to ask your friends who served in South Africa, and I am sure there must be some here, what their regi- ments would have been like if they had had no experienced officers and sergeants, no men who knew their work and could help and guide those who did not.
"It was shown over and over again in South Africa, and it was no new story, that quite raw troops can be made into good and steady soldiers in a wonderfully short time if they have good and experienced leaders and a certain number of trained men in the ranks to steady them and enable them to learn their work by constant example. We propose to make use of these facts in organizing the army of 100,000 men who are to form the first line of defence for Canada. (Applause). It is clear that if the scheme I have outlined is to work well everything will depend on the leaders and the quality of the skeletons of all the different units. The
68 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
responsibility of the leaders and the work of the skeleton framework will be heavier than in the case of fully trained troops. They must therefore be thoroughly educated in the art of war and they must be carefully selected men.
"Accordingly a new system of training for officers and non-commis- sioned officers has been arranged which will secure the necessary efficiency. There will be examinations with simplified courses of instruction at the new central camp of instruction which is to be a prominent feature in the scheme. As the Minister of Militia explained lately in Parliament, a large area of ground is to be obtained at some convenient and central spot, where a permanent camp will be established for the training of troops of all arms in modern conditions of war. At this camp as many as possible of the officers and non-commissioned officers of the first line will be specially trained by the best instructors in the Dominion. They will be able to see and practise operations which have been up to the present time impossible for them. They will gain ideas and capacity in the art of war which they in turn will be able to pass on to the militia of the regiments and districts from whence they come. If the colonel and senior officers of a regiment only know what war is, what precautions to take, and how to lead their men, that regiment will be saved from disaster in war and in a short time military knowledge will be diffused through all ranks sufficient for practical purposes. I could give you names of crack irregular corps in the South African war in which this was so, names of Canadian corps among the num- ber, corps in which you take a pride and a pride which I can assure you is well founded. (Cheers). As I have already explained, the mass of flesh and blood, if I may call them so, of the skeleton units which will form the first line will not be compulsorily required to do any training in time of peace, but they will be invited and enabled to do as much as they are willing. The most important part of their training will be their training in the use of the rifle. They are not compelled to be efficient in drill, but they must be good shots. For this purpose they will be supplied with a liberal allowance of ammunition free and everything is to be done to pro- vide them with convenient rifle ranges where these do not now exist. Such is to be the constitution and training of the first line of defence. (Hear, hear). Behind this first line there is to be a second line. Every regiment will have a third in command, every company, squadron, and battery will have attached to it an officer and two n.c.o's, supernumerary to the strength. They will not have any obligatory responsibilities in time of peace beyond coming out for training with the first line units to which they are attached and enrolling volunteers for the second line, but it is very possible that enthusiasm may cause the second line to put in an actual appearance on parade on occasions with or without military uniforms. In case of war the nucleus of the second line will stay behind at head- quarters and will set about completing the organization and training of the fresh companies, squadrons, and so on, which will have been already en- rolled. By this means it should be possible very shortly after the mobili- zation of the first line to supplement it with a second line of almost equal strength.
" But how is this whole scheme to be made a reality? How is it to be achieved without any powers of compulsion? For you all know that the power of compulsion to military service in time of peace is practically a dead letter in this country. Without these powers how are we to fill up the first and second lines that I have described to you? The answer rests
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with you, gentlemen, and not with me. And here comes in the title of this address — The Citizen and His Military Obligations. All that I can do is to show you that a machinery has been devised to utilize your patriotism for the defence of the country. The patriotism must be supplied by you. (Prolonged appplause). Is it a great deal to ask of men that they should join the reserves of the first line and enrol themselves in the second line and thus be ready when called upon to defend the honor and assure the safety of their country? Their doing so will involve no compulsory work in peace time. I hope to see the reserve companies of the second line doing voluntary training in plain clothes. (Hear, hear). To this class of the defence force I should like to offer a suggestion. Regiments might agree on some color suitable for active service, that is, as invisible as possible. The present service dress color makes a first rate shooting coat, and every officer and man who belonged to the second line might, when they ordered a suit of clothes, order one that could also be worn if the second line was turned out for active service.
, " I may be asked why certain people should come forward to serve in the first line and others in the second line, and why these should sacrifice themselves while others do nothing. My only reply is that in every com- munity there are the sheep and the goats. (Laughter). There are those who are bent on self and self alone, and those who put country and duty before self. My remarks are not meant for those who can be reached only by what appeals to their self-interest or what they think is their self-interest. (Hear, hear). Gentlemen, those who in the future will devote all their time to money making, all their spare time to amusement, who will not snatch a few afternoons a year from the golf field and the hunting field or other amusements to help bear the burden of their country's need for defence will not see their names on the honorable lists of men enrolled in the first and second lines of defence. No decoration from the King for long service as a defender of the Empire will ever appear on their breasts. As they sow, so will they reap ; but let me point out that the comfort and the plenty that surround them will disappear like snow under a July sun if the sources of their wealth were ravaged by war, as it was in Natal where behind a thin line of rifles there was peace and security, outside that line there was war and desolation. So it may be in any country. So it may be, but God forbid, in this country. It is the armed manhood of a nation that secures its possessions. (Loud cheers) .
"You naturally would like to know from me if the reforms and im- provements which are now taking place in the militia will make the force an efficient fighting force. My answer is this: — You have now the clear and definite lines laid down of a great citizen army. Nearly all the organiza- tions and departments that render that force efficient in the field are in pro- cess of rapid development. An efficient intelligence department and sur- vey of Canada are being organized. Facilities for efficient training are to be given. But you, members of the Canadian Club, who represent intelli- gence in this city of Ottawa, may well say: — 'We have gathered all this from the papers and from speeches. What we want to know from you is — will our militia be efficient for war; or will it not ? '
" It would be easy for me to evade this question, to confuse you with words so that only very few would go away dissatisfied. But is there a man worthy of the name of man who, having witnessed the devastation of war, would knowingly humbug his countrymen into a false sense of security?
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" Though, gentlemen, great strides have been made in the right direc- tion and the work that is being done is as far as possible being done on thor- oughly sound lines and will have far-reaching, beneficial results, still there will be important links wanting which money, and money only can supply in order to place the militia in a thoroughly efficient condition, efficient in every detail, thoroughly supplied with all the necessaries of war, and utilizing to the best possible advantage the splendid fighting material of the Dominion of Canada.
"Gentlemen, when brother ceases to fight with brother about the inheritance they receive from a dead father, when injustice and wrong- doing have ceased in the land, when we require no police, when human nature is changed, when that time has arrived, then we may hope for the dealings of nation with nation being conducted on the lines of a just and equitable compromise, and until that day arrives, to command respect in international councils, there must be a knowledge that behind all argument and conciliation, there are the rifles of an armed, an organized, and a patriotic people." (Prolonged applause and cheers).
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 71
SOME MATTERS OF NATIONAL INTEREST TO CANADIANS
HON. CLIFFORD SIFTON, MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR.
Hon. Clifford Sifton, Minister of the Interior, was the guest of the Club at its second meeting on December 7, 1903, and delivered a most interesting address in the course of which he touched upon the subjects of preferential trade, imperial federation, Canada's treaty making power and national defence. The meeting of the, Club on this occasion took the form of a dinner and was very largely attended. Col. A. P. Sherwood, C.M.G., President of the Club, was in the chair.
Mr. Sifton took the ground in regard to preferential trade that, until we knew what sort of a quid pro quo Britain would want in the event of her people approving of that policy, we could not say what we would do. Canada, he declared, wanted no favor from Britain without making an equi- valent in return. It was preposterous, however, to suggest that we should agree not to establish new industries. As to international arbitrations, it was not, he thought, any crime to suggest that Canadians should here- after be appointed to look after Canadian interests. To the kind of imperial federation that involved the administration of any of Canada's affairs by representatives of the United Kingdom or the other British possessions, Mr. Sifton was unalterably opposed. He approved of Canada being placed in the best possible state of defence, and favored every youth in the country being taught the use of the rifle.
The movement that was on foot in the formation of Canadian clubs in various parts of the Dominion was in his judgment a healthy sign. It meant that the young men of Canada were thinking. It was always well for the country that our young men should think, for men of all ages were agreed that the Dominion has arrived at an important stage in its exist- ence.
The discussions at these Clubs should, he said, cover as wide a range as possible. No greater mistake could be made than to refrain from the discussion of subjects simply because they were unpopular. He cited the cases of several British politicians who had lost their seats in Parliament because they had discussed unpopular subjects, but maintained that the country was the better for the discussion.
" I must say, " continued Mr. Sifton, referring to his recent visit to England, " that I was not pleased to see Canada characterized as a squalling infant by some of the newspapers in Great Britain, and pointed to as harp- ing for something she could not get, and described as requiring to be bribed to maintain her loyalty to the Empire.
" I was several times asked to express my opinion on the fiscal policy, but I refrained, as I believed that members of the British Parliament would resent a member of the Canadian Parliament taking part in a question of such importance to them, just as the Canadian politicians would resent or you would resent one of their politicians coming to this country and taking part in a campaign in which they had no business. I could not speak for myself, for, as a member of the Canadian Government, I would
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have been taken as representing the attitude of the Government, but we should see that this discussion is not based on that fallacy that Canada has to be bribed to maintain her loyalty. If we make a trade treaty with Great Britain we must give as much as we get. I for my part will oppose any treaty that is not mutually advantageous to both. "
" We are six million people, as intelligent, man for man, as any other nation in the world, and capable of taking care of ourselves. While we are able to do this, we have no power to deal with foreign countries except through British diplomacy. This sometimes creates the feeling that our interests have been sacrificed. " Mr. Sift on believed that if there was any better way, then it should be discussed, not with bated breath, but as a plain matter of business.
In the case of the Alaska Boundary Commission there were three British Commissioners appointed by the British Government. Two of them were Canadians, Mr. Aylesworth and Sir Louis Jette, but Lord Alverstone held the power of decision and he decided against Canada. Mr. Sifton thoroughly approved of the action of the Canadian Commission- ers in refusing to sign the award and suggested that it would not be at all revolutionary to have three Canadians on similar commissions in future. Canadians would then be satisfied that their business was being done by their own representatives, and would in a large measure be accepting a fuller share of responsibility. This would clear the position and result in less friction.
Touching on the subject of Imperial Federation he asserted that if Imperial Federation meant a federation of Great Britain and her colonies, by which one Parliament would meet in England and control the affairs of all colonies and Great Britain, then he was unalterably opposed to it. We would not have the affairs of this country governed by Australia, nor would Australia have any of our governing. The development and hold- ing together of the British Empire depended on independence of govern- ment in the colonies, and any handing over of our autonomy could not be considered. But if Imperial Federation meant the drawing together by the forming of a confederacy it would give us more strength and more power and that was what we would all look forward to.
In regard to the question of Imperial Defence he said that it had been suggested that we should make a contribution to the British navy. "For my part, " said Mr. Sifton, " I think that this is the greatest fallacy possible. I must say that one of the few times that I have agreed with Sir Charles Tupper was when he said that Great Britain would have to maintain just as big a navy if Canada did not exist. They talk of the navy protecting our exports. It is not the country that sends the exports but the country that buys them that has to protect them. We are as self-contained a country as there is in the world and require no protection from outside, but we require protection by land. When the United States had 29,000,000 population, they had no navy whatever.
" But we should see to it that we have the ability to defend our nation- hood. I take no credit for it from a party standpoint, but we are certainly improving our defences under the guidance of Sir Frederick Borden, so ably assisted by Lord Dundonald, whom I think we are extremely fortunate to have. But suppose 60,000 men are drilled yearly, what is that to a modern army such as Britain had in South Africa. He doubted if Canada had at present 100,000 rifles in the country which were available for use.
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"We mean to promote defence not offence," said Mr. Sifton. "We do not want to offend any one, we do not want to invade any country, but we want to defend our own.
Every boy at school, Mr. Sifton said, should be drilled and trained to shoot with a rifle. There should be a system adopted whereby we should know that every young man at the age of twenty-one years had been com- pletely instructed in the use of the rifle.
" I would like to see the adoption of the Swiss system under which, upon showing proficiency, every young man gets the present of a rifle which he hangs over his bed and produces once a year to show that it is in good order. With a population of ten millions, of whom a million were trained riflemen, we would make it interesting for any people who invaded this country. "
Mr. Sifton said that he had suggested this to Sir Frederick Borden who had said it was a good idea, but that it needed a spontaneous move- ment to carry out.
In conclusion Mr. Sifton said that Canada to-day was what the last two generations had made it. Twenty-five years from now it would be what we would make it. If clubs of the class of the Canadian Club met and discussed these subjects they would educate the young men and generally promote the welfare of the country.
74 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
PREFERENTIAL TRADE WITHIN THE EMPIRE
SIR HOWARD VINCENT, K.C.M.G., KT., C.B., M.P.
Sir Howard Vincent, K.C.M.G., Kt., C.B., M.P. for Central Sheffield, was the guest of the Club at luncheon on September 24, 1904, afterward addressing the Club on the subject of Preferential Trade Within the Em- pire. In the absence of the President, Mr. James W. Woods presided and introduced the guest of the occasion.
Sir Howard Vincent said in opening: —
" I realize that the Canadian Clubs are doing a great work in Canada in creating a world feeling of loyalty to the Empire. I believe it is the guid- ing principle of all loyal sons of Canada that, while always for increasing the prosperity of Canada, whatever fiscal arrangements may be entered into, they are known to be in favor of granting a substantial preference within the Empire. Thirteen years ago this idea was only in its infancy. I am glad to see sitting here Mr. Thomas Macfarlane, whom I met on my last visit, and have known as a veteran in the cause. But now mutual trade within the Empire is the one dominant idea of the whole people.
" Canada is the champion and leader of the movement for preferential trade. Mr. Alex. McNeill first mooted the idea in your Parliament and resolutions were passed by your Parliament. But all the efforts of Sir John Macdonald, Sir J. J. C. Abbott, and Sir John Thompson were of no avail until those foreign treaties with the most favored clause were removed. I tender to Mr. Fisher the thanks of the mother country to Canada, because without Canada's aid all their efforts would have been of no avail. In 1894 the Colonial Premiers' meeting here in conference in Ottawa, sent to the old land their unanimous wish that these favored nation treaties be repealed. In 1897 Sir Wilfrid Laurier and his colleagues took the matter up and secured the repeal of the treaty with Germany. Just one year later — the minute Canada had the power — your Finance Minister, Hon. Mr. Fielding, gave a preference to British goods which has since been in- creased. "
Here the speaker paid an eloquent tribute to Sir Wilfrid Laurier, his clear-sighted statesmanship and his great services in the promotion of unity in the Empire. He continued: —
" Some there are who persist in saying that Canada has made no offer, but we know that Canada has made an absolute and definite offer to retain and maintain the preference. You have done by deeds what others have done by words. (Cheers).
"Now, what is the attitude of the mother country on this subject? This is my third visit to Canada, and I have met all classes, and know that there is no division of opinion on this matter in Canada. There are some who fear — one, I know, who fears you will be taking on additional obliga- tions. But in England there is no thought of interfering in the least degree with the liberty Canada now enjoys. We have there what is called free trade, but the term is a misnomer. We let in free goods from countries which tax our goods to the utmost. Mr. Fisher, you would not allow this.
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Instead of being able to feed ourselves for six months we are dependent on foodstuffs from over the sea. We need yearly 5,000,000 tons of wheat and flour, $150,000,000 worth of dairy produce, 350,000 tons of hay, and $200,- 000,000 worth of dead meat. All this we must get from over the sea, and these are the figures I want to bring before Canadians. You have 350,- 000,000 acres of wheat land still untilled, and your dairy produce can be increased. The policy of Mr. Chamberlain has opened the eyes of the voters of the old country to the possibilities of what can be done within the Empire.
"I have nothing to do with party politics at home, and still less in Canada, yet I want to acknowledge the great services Sir Wilfrid Laurier has performed for the Empire. His splendid speech in Montreal the other night has already been cabled over the sea, and to-day we can read in Cana- dian papers the comments of the London papers on that speech. It was undoubtedly well received by the organs of every political complexion, and especially by the Telegraph and Morning Post.
"It has been asked, why can you not conclude this matter at once? But you must realize how long it takes to educate a people out of the belief of a life time. Then those whose incomes come from vested capital are also opposed to Mr. Chamberlain. There are, too, party politics in the way. I ask you not to be disappointed, but to be assured that the truth will pre- vail and what we seek will be brought about. How long will it be before your preference is reciprocated you may ask. I think not for two or three years. But there is no reason for Canada to feel apprehension on that point. Already the larger sympathy that has been established, especially between Canada and Great Britain, has doubled your trade with Great Britain. There are some who think a treaty with the United States would be preferable, but I am glad Mr. Fisher is not of that opinion. (Cheers). I am glad to know that those who think so are a small minority. After the magnificent speech of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, I will not attempt to describe the market we offer to you — 400 millions of people against 80 millions — to the n^rth, south, east and west — on all continents and in every sea where the flags of Canada, Australia, of the British Empire, rule supreme. " (Cheers).
" I ask you to work and continue to work towards the object which Canada for the past fifteen years has set before her. We cannot shut our eyes to the fact that there is some sloth in some persons in the mother country to reciprocate. Nor can we shut our eyes to the fact that connection with the old land has material advantages for every individual. There is the navy which is the glory of the Empire, and the army which if not the greatest in the world has done a glorious work. To this army during the past five years Canada has contributed in a material degree. If anything served to open the eyes of the most blind it was the desire of Canada to serve the Empire in her time of need. Every man of those con- tingents has given something far more than his personal services to cement Canada to the mother country for all time to come. The capital you need is not being withheld. If further testimony is wanted we might turn to the sturdy class of emigrants who are coming to Canada. Be sure that your lands are being peopled by the most worthy and do not admit to your broad acres men unworthy of Canadian citizenship which would enhance future trouble. I was surprised the other day to read that five or six per- sons who were refused admission to the United States on account of dis-
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eases were allowed to enter Canada. Canada should fill up the vacant land with the best material she can possibly obtain. "
Hon. Sydney A. Fisher, Minister of Agriculture, in moving a vote of thanks to the speaker said he was especially glad it had been shown that Great Britain appreciated the lead Canada had taken. Sir Howard Vincent was the apostle of Imperial Federation, and now followed up that idea in seeking the commercial unity of the Empire.
" In granting the preference to Great Britain, the people of Canada did what they believed to be their duty, and to-day we see other colonies doing what they can to forward the same cause, " said Mr. Fisher. " In the old country we see the question is being discussed to see how far the mother country can go in the same direction. It is not for us to say what she shall do. Let her find out her own way. We are patient and whatever form it may assume, we will take whatever the motherland .will give. (Cheers). We are friendly with the United States, as all parts of the Empire should be, but as we are nationally independent of them, so we are commercially. If Great Britain now looks to the United States for her food supply, let her remember that in a few years the northern half of North America will be able to furnish it, and that she will be getting it from a people who will stick to her through thick and thin and to the death in a way they cannot expect from foreign lands. " (Loud applause).
Mr. N. A. Belcourt, M.P., said it would be useless for Canadians to take part in the discussion of the question in the old country. So far as a treaty with the United States was concerned, he thought not five per cent, of Canadians would think of renewing negotiations for reciprocity while the leader of our government had said the United States must do the whole of the negotiating, if they wanted reciprocity to-day. Canada, he concluded, was now able to hoe her own row.
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SOME FAST EVENTS
GOLDWIN SMITH, D.C.L.
Dr. Goldwin Smith was the guest of the Club at luncheon on November 14, 1904, and in concluding an address full of interest said: —
" You have interesting times before you. Democracy is on its trial. It has pretty well performed the destructive part of its task; the constructive part remains to be performed. Meantime the passions of aggrandizement and war which slumbered for a time have re-awakened. Jingoism tramples on right- eousness and humanity. Religious belief is being shaken by science and criticism and the authority of conscience as it rested on religious belief seems in danger of being impaired. War is raging between capital and labor. Society is threatened with a tyranny of accumulated wealth. If you mean to take an interest in public affairs, as it is the duty of every citizen of a free commonwealth to do, you will have plenty to occupy your minds. I wish I could look in twenty years hence and see how you are getting on. "
In introducing Dr. Goldwin Smith and Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who also attended the luncheon and conveyed the thanks of the Club to Dr. Smith for his visit, Mr. Mackenzie King, President of the Club, said in part: —
" We have the honor to have with us to-day the most distinguished man of letters in Canada and one of the most distinguished in the Empire and the world. (Applause).
"We have, moreover, one of the most distinguished statesmen in Canada, and one of the most distinguished in the Empire and the world. (Renewed applause).
" Permit me to introduce Dr. Goldwin Smith and Sir Wilfrid Laurier. "
Taking as his subject, Some Past Events, Dr. Smith spoke for over an hour, holding the closest attention of his hearers, and evoking frequent applause. The members of the Club seemingly fully realized that they were in the presence of one whose opinions were valued and fruitful sources of discussion on two continents, one who had been in the public eye when events now long recorded in history were actually occurring. The spare figure, surmounted by the intellectual face, framed in thin snow-white locks, focussed all eyes.
At the outstart the distinguished speaker said that being a journalist his tongue was his pen. He could recall Canada at an early date; he was a man much richer in reminiscences than in prospects. He had talked to the man who was Prime Minister of England in 1801, and when at Oxford he had met a man who had talked to Dr. Samuel Johnson. Moreover, he was one of the few Englishmen who were in the United States at the time of the Civil War.
The Civil War in the States, said Dr. Smith, was a national war from the beginning. He denied the charge that Southern prisoners had been maltreated in the camps of the Northerns, stating that visits to the prison camps at Buffalo and Chicago had satisfied him fully to the contrary. The statement was made by the speaker that fully 40,000 Canadians had served in the Northern army.
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"You tell me, "he said/' that war is the noblest of all pursuits, that it is essential to the sustaining of character of nations; then I say go to the field hospitals where the maimed and dying are lying in their hundreds. "
Referring to some of the characters foremost in the Civil War Dr. Smith spoke of General Grant as " a man of the plain people, possessing a rough manner, but a true gentleman at heart. "
Continuing, he said : —
" You may have noted the episode of the Gladstone letter. Gladstone at a time when victory seemed declaring for the South, said that Jeff Davis had made a nation. He might rather have said that Jeff Davis had found a nation, for the Confederacy was from the first a nation in all respects, though born of a sudden disruption. But he was afterwards sorry for what he had said. It offended the North; it grieved the friends of the North in England. Gladstone in a letter to me suggested that if the North chose to let the South go, thus getting rid of slavery, there might thereafter be a union of Canada with the Northern States. I was pro- bably intended but was not instructed to make the contents of the letter known to our friends. I judged it better not to do this, seeing that the letter would not have produced the desired effects and might thereafter have proved embarrassing to the writer. I therefore kept it to myself and it was destroyed with the rest of my private correspondence before I left England. But I have a clear recollection of its contents. Mr. Gladstone, of course, took it for granted that the union, the possibility of which he suggested, would be free. No other thought could possibly have crossed his mind.
" Neither Mr. Gladstone nor any other member of the British Cabinet ever for one moment swerved from the determination to observe an honor- able neutrality. The sinister overtures of the French Emperor were at once repelled. Are Americans sure that had the case been theirs and they had been the nation whose raw materials were cut off, neutrality would have been as faithfully preserved? (Hear, hear). In the whole four trying years one cruiser escaped without a clearance, unarmed, on a pretended trip of pleasure. And though in that case there was negligence it was owing to the sudden illness of the legal adviser of1 the Crown before whom the papers lay. Has no filibustering expedition ever escaped from the ports of the United States? The final severance of the North from the South on which Mr. Gladstone speculated, did not take place. So far as that is concerned, therefore, we have nothing to trouble our minds.
" Knowing what I do of the minds of British statesmen in former days, " said Dr. Smith, " I can hardly hear with patience the jingo cry that they looked upon the colonies with contempt and had mean ideas of British destiny. Their policy was colonial self-government, which most of them probably regarded as training for nationality. That ideal might be mis- taken, but it was not mean. The policy of self-government nobody has yet proposed to reverse. I was intimate with Bright and Cobden, the special objects of this calumny. Neither of them ever uttered a disparag- ing word about the colonies, though they thought the state of dependence overworn." (Applause). The only man who did speak contemptuously of the colonies was the imperialist, Disraeli, whose fancy was Oriental and who cared only for the imperial splendor of Hindostan.
" No doubt, if Gladstone were now alive and were asked whether tha colonies could be allowed to control the foreign policy of Great Britain, or the issues of peace and war which are dependent on it, " continued Dr.
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Smith, " he would answer that they could not. If he were asked, whether it were possible to frame a fiscal system equally suitable to all of a number of states scattered over the globe and differing widely in their commercial circumstances, he would answer that it was not. If he were asked whether England had a divine mission on the strength of her superior civilization to go about destroying all the wild-stocks of humanity, he would answer that she had not. If he were asked whether England in her dealings with the weak was bound to observe the laws of righteousness and humanity, he would answer that she was. If he were asked which he preferred: a nation with a heart and a mind, with destinies and aspirations of its own, or one of those vast and heterogeneous empires which human ambition has constructed and nature has scattered again, he would say that he preferred the nation. But he would not on this account be shewing that he was indifferent to the greatness or the happiness of England. He had spent an illustrious life in promoting both. (Applause).
"The event on which Gladstone speculated did not take place. The free North, if it is rid of slavery, is not rid of the race question or of lynching. The horizon altogether in that quarter is dark. At present jingoism reigns with its 'strenuous life,' its 'big stick,' its swaggering, boastful aggressiveness, its contempt of right. Suppose ex- pansion takes a Southern course and extends to the line of the Panama Canal, taking in a vast alien population, there maybe another disruption; there can hardly fail to be a change of institutions. If you have an empire you must have an emperor. As to our external relations all we can say is, nature will have her way. The action of the great forces is often sus- pended by that of secondary forces, but the great forces prevail. Of this even that Union Jack on which we are told to keep both hands is a symbol. It took long to blend those crosses; but they were blended at last. (Applause) .
" One thing is certain, " said Dr. Smith, referring to Canada, " what- ever your external relations may be, and however dear may be the tie to the mother country, on this continent your destiny is cast. Here is the field of your duty and of your aspirations. Here, not in Europe, or Africa, or Australasia, you have to play your part in the fulfillment of the hopes held out to man by the discovery of the New World, the hopes of a happier state of society, a lessening of the terrible inequalities of the human lot, a government not of force but of reason, answering to the'con- ception of Pym who said ' that is the best form of government which does actuate and inspire every part and member of a state to the common good. ' Those words, gentlemen, are my political philosophy.
"You have interesting times before you," he concluded. "Demo- cracy is on its trial. It has pretty well performed the destructive part of its task; the constructive part remains to be performed. Meantime the passions of aggrandizement and war which slumbered for a time have re- awakened. Jingoism tramples on righteousness and humanity. Religious belief is being shaken by science and criticism and the authority of con- science as it rested on religious belief seems in danger of being impaired. War is raging between capital and labor. Society is threatened with a tyranny of accumulated wealth. If you mean to take an interest in public affairs, as it is the duty of every citizen of a free commonwealth to do, you will have plenty to occupy your minds. I wish I could look in twenty years hence and see how you are getting on. " (Prolonged applause).
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In Acknowledging the hearty applause Dr. Smith said, " I thank you, thank you sincerely. You have shed rays of sympathy and sunshine on the closing days of an old man's life. "
Sir Wilfrid Laurier received an enthusiastic welcome from his fellow citizens when in response to President King's invitation he arose to address the gathering.
" I have been speaking so much of late; " said Sir Wilfrid with a smile, "that I know you will not object if I enter a protest against the President's invitation. Dr. Smith's splendid address has taken me back to early days when I was a young law student in Montreal. I went there in 1861, just when the Civil War had broken out. Having read Uncle Tom's Cabin, I was an anti-slavery man. It is to the credit of the United States that they eventually triumphed and that all traces of that struggle have disappeared, and that now the country is more united even than at the time of Washington. It is a credit to the United States and democratic insti- tutions. I agree with Prof. Smith that democratic institutions are on trial, but they have successfully met every emergency. (Applause) .
" I am not so pessimistic as Dr. Smith regarding the future of the United States, " continued Sir Wilfrid. " I don't think there will be disruption, but if there should be disruption to the South, I do not certainly want it to the North. (Applause).
" I am a great admirer of the American people. Perhaps they have not always been considerate in their international relations, but despite all their faults I admire them still. Though I admire the United States, " said Sir Wilfrid, amid an outburst of applause, "I admire Canada more. The words of sadness Dr. Goldwin Smith uttered at the close I hope shall not prove correct, (hear, hear) we shall hope to hear him again; hope he shall live these coming twenty years to see what we as Canadians have done." (Continued applause).
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BACK TO THE LAND
H. RIDER HAGGARD, OF LONDON, ENG. COMMANDER BOOTH-TUCKER, OF THE SALVATION ARMY.
"Back to the Land" was the keynote of an address of very great interest which was delivered before the Club on April 15, 1905, by Mr. H. Rider Haggard, the English novelist. The address followed a luncheon which was very largely attended. Mr. W. L. Mackenzie King, President, acted as chairman and introduced Mr. Haggard as well as Commander Booth-Tucker, of the Salvation Army, who spoke of the efforts which are being made by the Salvation Army to grapple with the social problems of the mother country and of the larger American cities.
Mr. Haggard said :—
"I began my life as a public servant in Africa, and many wonderful things I saw there. I was at the beginning, so to speak, of all the history we are living through to-day. I was with Sir Theophilus Shepstone when we annexed the Transvaal, as your President says, I had myself the honor of hoisting the flag of England over it. (Applause). Gentlemen, I lived too, to see the flag pulled down and buried. And I tell you this — and you, as colonists as I was, will sympathize with me — it was the bitterest hour of my life. Never can any of you in this room realize the scene I witnessed upon the market square of Newcastle when the news of the surrender after Majuba reached us. It was a strange scene, it was an awful scene. There was a mob of about five thousand men, many of them loyal Boers, many Englishmen soldiers, even, who had broken from the ranks — and they marched up and down raving, yet weeping like children, and swearing that whatever they were they were no longer Englishmen.
"That is what I went through in those days; and I only mention it to tell you how I 'came to leave South Africa. For I argued that it was no longer a place for an Englishman. Still, time goes on, the wheel swings full circle, things change. I remember that after that I wrote a book. It was a history.
" I even went so far as to say — I remember it well, and there it stands in black and white to be read that unless that change occurred, unless more wisdom, more patriotism and a different system altogether prevailed in African affairs, the result would be a war which would tax the entire re- sources of the British Empire. (Applause). Gentlemen, have we not had the war? And at that time what did they say? They laughed at me, an unknown young man. And, years later, when the war was on, they dug up the book and printed these paragraphs and said, ' Dear me, what a remark- able prophecy!' Three men were right; Sir Bartle Frere was right, and they disgraced him; my old chief, Sir Theophilus Shepstone, was right, and .they disgraced him; and even I, humble as I was, was right, and they mocked at me. We know the end.
"Thus my residential and official connection with South Africa came to an end — I would not stop there any longer. I came home and went to
6
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the bar, where I had fair prospects. And then a sad thing happened to me — I wrote a successful book. (Applause and laughter). I remember it well. I had written a book or two; and some book of adventure was very popular at the time — I am talking now of a long time ago — and I read a flaming review of it, I think in the old Saturday Review to which I was for many years a contributor. I got the book and read it. I said, ' I think I can write as good an adventure book as that; I will try.' And I wrote King Solomon's Mines. I wrote it in the evenings; I think it took me six weeks.
" I do not know whether to be sorry or glad. Other things might not have happened; and, after all, as Job the prophet says: What man knoweth his own way? You go as destiny drives you. So it was, gentle- men, I took to fiction. Having begun, I had to go on. And, after all, there is something to be said for it. After all, it is not a bad thing to have given pleasure and amusement to many who are weary or sick, and, per- haps some instruction, also. You might do worse than write a good novel. (Renewed applause and laughter) . Not that I for a moment wish to state that all of mine are good.
" Of course, the time comes to every writer, I suppose, when he has an inspiration and does something which he knows to be better than he ever did before. Perhaps he sees a little higher up into Heaven, perhaps he sees little lower down into — the other depths; and he creates something and knows that that thing which he has created will live, and that it will even go glittering down for generations. He knows, perhaps, that he has cut his name fairly deeply upon the iron leaves of the Book of Time, which are so hard to mark. Perhaps he knows that, and for a little while he is con- tented. Not for long — no artist, I think, is ever contented for long with what he has done. But he thinks : at least I have done something.
" Then, perhaps, he begins to think, and he understands — it comes into his mind — that that was not his real inspiration. Not in these gauds of the imagination, these sparkling things, these plays of fancy or of eloquence or wit, was the real inspiration to be found. He turns and wonders where it is. And he turns, let us say, and looks at the dull masses of misery that pervade the globe, he looks and wonders, and he thinks: Is there nothing that I, humble as I am, can do to help to alleviate that misery, to lift up those who are fallen, to lift them up for their own good and for the good of the world? And then, gentlemen, he knows that that, not the gaudy, exciting work is the real inspiration of his life.
"And, perhaps, he turns and tries to match his own single strength against the prejudices of generations, and tries to get men to think as he does, tries to show them where the evil lies and where, too, lies the remedy. Gentlemen, I have spoken, as it were in allegory. And yet these things have some application, certainly in my humble case they have some applica- tion. I, years ago, saw what I described to you; I saw the evils with which since then, I have attempted to cope, I recognized that it was my duty to cope with them if I could.
" It is a hard task, gentlemen. It is a hard thing, in the first place, to live down the reputation of being a writer of fiction for one thing — (laugh- ter)— to surmount the enormous barrier of prejudice that lies across one's path. And it is not for years, perhaps, that people will begin to listen and' will begin to understand that to most men's minds there are two sides. Still, humbly, imperfectly, I did attempt it. I admit that I have not done much. Yet, I have done something. (Hear, hear). They listen to me
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now a bit. (Loud applause). If they had not listened to me I should not be here in my present position to-day.
"Well, what is it; what is this problem that moved me? I will tell you in a few words. I perceived and realized the enormous change that is coming over the western world; how those who for countless generations dwelt upon the land are deserting the land and crowding into the cities. I studied the reasons for this. For two years I studied them, going through England village by village, county by county, town by town. And I found out what they were. In England the chief cause was lack of pros- pect on the land. We are cramped and coiled in England with the remains of a feudal system which works nothing but ill; and under that system it is so that no man on the land seems to have a chance to rise. The laborer on the land, say at two and twenty, is earning as high a wage as he can ever hope to earn.
" I ask you, gentlemen, how should any of us like to know that at two and twenty we were doing the best we could hope to do in life? That is the lot of the laborer on the land. All that he has to look forward to at the end of his long career of forty of fifty years of toil is probably a place in the workhouse. Is that an attractive prospect? Then, no doubt the spread of education, the facilities of travel, and other things of that kind conduce to the immigration into the cities and this movement goes on with ever-increasing rapidity.
"At the present moment in England, I believe we have but one- seventh of our population living on the land. In the United States, if the figures given me are correct, matters are very little better. And so it is in other countries — everywhere the land dwellers heap themselves in the cities. And what happens to them when they go there? How many succeed? Not one in five, I say. The rest of them, for the most part, get nothing. As sickness strikes a man when he arises from his bed his place is gone. His children grow ill through crowding together in narrow court and unsanitary rooms and become decimated by disease. Bad times come and the workmen are dismissed by the thousands from their employ. Gray hairs, at any rate come at last, and with gray hairs the notice to quit : and so they go down, and they go under and become part of that mass which is known as the submerged tenth — though I imagine there is a good deal more than a tenth. And there they are — miseries to themselves, useless to their country and a burden upon the town that has to support them.
" Gentlemen, if you think I exaggerate ask Commander Booth-Tucker and he will tell you. He will tell you, he who knows as one of the heads of the great organization that is to-day dealing with this class of people. He will tell you how many children they have to feed in the morning in the big cities in order that they may go to school, how many dock laborers they have to feed, and so on. He can tell you tales you will scarcely believe of the suffering, the horrible suffering, the inconceivable misery of these great cities which the foolish peoples of the earth rush into to dwell there.
" Now, that is what is going on in the great city. Let us look at the other side of the question. Let us go to places like Fort Amity where I saw the colony of the Salvation Army. As your President told you, I am not at liberty to in any way forestall my report; but I can say this that there I went to the schools, as I did in other places and saw the children. The parents of these Fort Amity children were taken from a great city,
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the city of Chicago, where mostly they were working as day laborers. They came with nothing, in fact most of them had to have their fares paid. They had no prospects, nothing earned, nothing to hope for. If we could get at the facts, no doubt we should find they lived in one or two rooms and not too well. I went and looked at those children. My daughter photo- graphed them in the schools at Fort Amity. Never did you see a healthier happier, more robust, more promising set of children in your life. And I wondered how these children would have looked had not the Salvation Army had the idea of starting this colony and had they been left to wander about in the streets of Chicago. And I wondered also, gentlemen, how many of these faces, these happy, contented faces would have been want- ing but for the change made in the condition of these children.
" But you may be political economists, some of you, and we all know that political economy is a hard doctrine. And you may say: Well, these people went to the cities of their own accord ; let them expiate their fault in the city; let them welter and let them perish there, dead beats, and the world is well rid of them. Well, I am going to submit, if you will allow me, another side of the argument for your consideration. If you do not want to do anything on the ground of humanitarianism to help the people, I submit to you, gentlemen, and I submit to everyone, that there is another ground on which the thing should be done; and that is the ground of the welfare of the nation.
"I will start out with an axiom. If the western nations allow this sort of thing to go on, allow their population to crowd into the cities, then, I say, the career of the western nations is going to be short. The city folk, those who remain, will never hold their own in the world — not only be- cause of the weakened physique and changed character, but because of another and more final reason. Gentlemen, the children are not bred in the cities. There will come a time when the children bred there are too few — it is coming now. And if the children are not bred, if there is not the supply of healthy children to carry on the nation how can the nation stand? With the people on the land it is different. Self-interest comes into play.
"A large family is a valuable asset to the small holder; in the city it is nothing but a drawback. Let any one of you gentlemen think of himself with a home consisting of a single room in a tenement in New York or a back slum in London, and with six or eight children; and then think of the contrast with those six children upon the land and able to assist in your business of caring for the cattle or carrying on many of the other operations of the farm. We must look at facts. With dwellers on the land self-inter- est comes in; on the land only will the supply of children be available that is necessary to carrying on our white races. And if they are not carried on in sufficient numbers what of it ? Of course, you have all heard of what they call the yellow peril, and many people have laughed at it as a bogey. Is it a bogey? Does Russia, for instance, consider that Japan is a mere nightmare? I think not; I think Russia has very definite and distinct ideas as to the prowess of Japan to-day. Japan is a small nation. Forty years ago the Japanese dressed themselves up in scale armor, like lobsters and fought with bows and arrows. And look at them to-day knocking Russia around the ring.
" Imagine the state of affairs when, not little Japan, but, let us say, great China, with her 400,000,000 people has also made some strides tow- ards civilization, has carried out, for instance, that programme which I
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saw announced in the papers yesterday, in the way of building warships; and imagine these 400,000,000 of stolid, strong, patient, untiring land-bred men having nowhere to live, having no earth upon which to stand, and seeking a home. And imagine them casting their eyes around for worlds to conquer, and seeing an island continent half vacant and other places with a few families scattered over the land and a few millions heaped together in the things these white people call cities.
" And imagine them saying, God — whatever gods there be, whatever Gods we worship — gave us the right to live; we have the right to our share of the earth; here we have not enough of the earth; we will seek the earth; we will take the earth; we will keep the earth. Then imagine the scanty peoples spread thinly over these territories saying: But we will pass a law to keep you out. But they answer: We will come in nevertheless, we will walk through your paper law. And those who hold the ground say: You shall not come in; we will shoot you; we will keep you out with force of arms. And their answer is: Keep us out if you can; we have arms as well as you; we are better men than you; we will come; we will occupy; we will take; we will keep. Is that a bogey, a mere dream of the night?
" I tell you it is nothing of the sort, it is the thing which will happen within one hundred years unless there are very different arrangements made amongst the western nations from those which exist to-day; unless the people are moved from the cities back to the land. Population, gentle- men, is like water; where there is a hollow thither it will flow to fill it. Therefore, it is vital to the nations that they should look into this matter and try to deal with it. I am as sure as that I stand before you that these words are true, that I get at the truth, the essence, the fiber, the marrow of the thing; and that truth, that essence, that fibre, that marrow, is that you must get your people on the land out of the cities, and keep them on the land there to multiply as God commanded them of old.
" Now, gentlemen, how does this apply to the great country in which I am to-day? I say that it applies very closely. I say that very soon there is going to be an enormous competition for immigration, for popula- tion and especially for Anglo-Saxon population; that the time is coming when these people will be bid for, when they will be sought for, when they will be paid for — paid any price to get them. And I venture to say to you : Get them while you can, get them from home, get them from England.
" Now, gentlemen, if I live, within a month or two I hope to be able to show you a plan I have devised and which I hope, which I even dare to think, may show you how you can get a good many of these people. I will say no more of that now, except that I trust you will agree with me when you read it, and that you will let no obstacle stand in your way, but will all put your shoulders to the wheel and for the sake of your country and for the sake of all concerned will try to help to bring into your splendid land Englishmen who will be made available to you, I hope, in many thousands.
"I will only add this: That all the world is mad on trade, all the civilized world, at least, has got the idea that wealth is everything. I con- trovert that statement: I say that wealth is nothing. What is wealth without men and women to use it and spend it? (Applause). I remem- ber once writing a story in which I represented certainmen shut up in a cave and surrounded by all the diamonds and all the gold of a continent. And they were starving. I would like to ask you of what use were those diamonds and that gold to them? In the same way, of what use is wealth unless you have men and women — healthy men and women — these are the
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real wealth of the nation. You remember the old Greek fable of Antaeus, how, whenever he fell to earth he rose refreshed and strong. So it is with us. Do not believe, gentlemen, that wealth is everything. Wealth, I maintain, is nothing compared to flesh and blood, nothing as compared to healthy children; nor is pomp, nor any other thing — these are nothing. The strength of a people, gentlemen, is not to be found in their Wall Streets, it is to be found in the farms and fields and villages. I will only add just this one word — that I do hope that what I have so humbly, so inadequately tried to say before you may perhaps go deep into the minds of some of you and set you thinking. For myself, I can only say that I have tried to carry out this task — not the task of speaking, but the bigger one — with a single heart, because I believe in its necessity, because I belieye that no man can serve his generation better than by trying to point out these things and trying to make the people think. If I have done that, gentlemen, I have not lived in vain. All that I should ask to be said of me when I am gone is this: He did his best. "
COMMANDER BOOTH-TUCKER.
Commander Booth-Tucker, of the Salvation Army, followed Mr. Haggard, dwelling upon the objects of the Salvation Army and the work it is destined to accomplish in the solving of the great problems which are to confront the civilization of the twentieth century. He spoke of the dangers of congestion of population in the large cities of the earth. There was, he said, a continual influx and no corresponding efflux. The peoples of the earth were flocking to the cities, which were becoming more and more crowded, and the solution of the problem lay in the placing of " the landless man on the manless land, " as he himself humorously termed it.
All through the remarks of the Commander could be traced veins of rich humor, which together with his intense earnestness of purpose at once won for him the hearts of his audience.
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MEMORIES OF CONFEDERATION
RIGHT HON. SIR RICHARD CARTWRIGHT, P.C., G.C.M.G.
Sir Richard Cartwright, in as brief a form as possible, gave his own recollections of the state of things in Canada prior to 1863, with some extremely interesting comments on the men who, in his judgment, contributed most to bring about the Confederation of the Dominion of Canada. Sir Richard showed the difficult commercial conditions that prevailed, explained how the famous dead-lock occurred, spoke of the attitude of Sir John A. Macdonald and related some amusing incidents. At the time of his address, Sir Richard was one of the remaining three survivors of the sixty-five Members of Parliament who appeared in Quebec in the session of 1863 to represent Ontario, the other two being Sir John Carling and Sir William Rowland.
The luncheon was held in the Russell House on January 20, 1906, among those who honored the Club with their presence on this occasion being the Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister; Sir Frederick Borden, Minister of Militia and Defence; Hon. Sydney A. Fisher, Minister of Agriculture; and Sir Sandford Fleming, of Ottawa. Dr. J. D. Courtenay, President of the Club, acted as Chairman and conveyed to Sir Richard the Club's thanks for his address. Sir Richard in opening said : —
" There is one point which, perhaps, it is difficult for you, at any rate for the younger members of the Club, to sufficiently appreciate, and that is the extreme state of isolation in which the two Canadas, Ontario and Quebec, stood in 1863, more particularly the Province of Ontario. We had hardly any means of communication with the outer world except through the country to the south of us, through a foreign country, which we knew right well might at any time become actively hostile. In those days there was no Atlantic cable. We could only communicate with the motherland by the slow and tedious process of correspondence which occupied a space of several weeks. I need scarcely tell you that there was no transcontinental railway. Then we had very little means of communi- cation with the Maritime Provinces and what was perhaps, having refer- ence to the future, still more important, there was for us, in 1863, practi- cally no Northwest. There was, we knew, a great lone land, and it is pos- sible that there may have been one or two men on the floor of the House who thought that in the dim and distant future it might become a factor in the development of North America, but for all practical purposes at that time there was no Northwest, as far as we were concerned. Moreover, even in our own territory, and it was a matter not to be disregarded, the state of communication was exceedingly slow and imperfect. Practically, the City of Quebec was almost as far from Toronto in those days during a great part of the year as Ottawa is from Vancouver to-day. I can remem- ber, myself, if I must recall these ancient recollections, on one occasion being on a train which took four days to make its way from Prescott to Ottawa, and that train had on board, besides myself, the then Minister of Finance of Canada and the Manager of the Grand Trunk Railway.
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(Laughter). If the communication was difficult under those circumstan- ces, there were other conditions, too, which confronted us, and which re- quired our most serious consideration. Commercially speaking, the con- dition was alarming enough.
" Our credit at that time was very low indeed. Tcan remember, and it is worth while recalling the fact, that in the years just immediately preced- ing Confederation, the credit of Canada was so low that I have known Canadian five per cents selling at seventy-five cents on the dollar in the English market; in other words, it would have cost us, if we had put a loan on the market at that time, about seven per cent., and my commercial friends will understand what that meant in obtaining funds to carry on the requisite improvements in Canada. We had had a series of huge deficits largely caused by the breakdown, for the time being, of the Grand Trunk Railway. How grave these deficits were you can judge from this simple statement that in proportion to the then revenue of the two Can- adas, the deficits were as great as if we had to-day in proportion to our present revenue a deficit on our annual expenditure of from $20,000,000 to $30,000,000. I need not say to my elder friends that at that particular time the Grand Trunk Railway was in a very desperate position and it was even thought that it might be compelled to close its operations at an hour's notice. More than that, all along our border, one of the greatest civil wars that the world has ever seen was raging, and within a few months of the assembling of the Parliament of 1863, we had had an exceedingly narrow escape, how narrow perhaps very few people know, of being dragged into the vortex. We knew, too, and we had no reason to doubt that the threat would be fulfilled, that the American people were disposed to put an end, as they afterwards actually did, to our Reciprocity Treaty.
"Such was the condition commercially. Politically, we were con- fronted with a deadlock of a most formidable character. While I have nothing to say against the men who effected the legislative union of the two Canadas in 1841, 1 have this to say, that it was emphatically a mariage de convcnance brought about by political exigencies without any particular good will on the part of the contracting parties. We had got along indiffer- ently well for a certain number of years, but it was becoming very clear that there were grave difficulties ahead. In those days we had the extraor- dinary spectacle of a dual premiership. Governments were not govern- ments of Sir John Macdonald or Sir Wilfrid Laurier or Sir Charles Tupper, but governments were governments of Cartier-Macdonald, or Macdonald- Cartier, a kind of reversible arrangement which was supposed to work tolerably well, Brown-Dorion, Sandfield Macdonald-Sicotte, Sandfield Macdonald-Dorion, or Tache'-Macdonald. We had not merely a dual premiership with certain inconveniences attendant upon it, but we had the curious arrangement of a dual capital alternating from Toronto to Quebec and vice versa at great inconvenience and expense to the country, so great that it was at the point of being done away with. We had even an attempt, and it shows how far the feeling had gone on the part of Parliament, for some little time to have what was known as a dual majority, that is to insist that the government of the day should not merely have a decided majority in the House, but should have a majority in each of the two provinces which then formed Canada. I need not say that the ar- rangement did not work very well. I believe that one unfortunate minister was turned out under it, and I remember perfectly well that his successors repudiated the whole arrangement with great promptitude.
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"In addition to these little inconveniences when I first went to the House, we were in the enjoyment of a dissolution once a year. The average life of a ministry was about six months. The Cartier-Macdonald ministry subsisted six months after the election of 1862, the Sandfield Macdonald-Sicotte ministry lasted six months, the Sandfield Macdonald- Dorion ministry, six months and if the project of Confederation had not come to its aid the Tache-Macdonald ministry would have broken the record by an existence of four months. That would have been a dangerous state of affairs if it had been merely a deadlock between two parties in the ordinary sense of the term, but it was much more than a deadlock between two parties; it was a deadlock between two provinces and between two races. Every day it was clear that the chasm between the two was widening. Every day it was more and more manifest to those who be- stowed any thought upon it that the situation of things was becoming intolerable. Both sides, in my judgment, had a good deal to say for them- selves. In the case of Ontario, which contributed the larger share of the public revenue and which possessed the largest population and was in- creasing faster than the other, there was a determined demand for what was called representation in accordance with population. On the other hand in the Province of Quebec they took their stand, I think fairly enough, on the terms of the union of 1841. They pointed to the fact that the Pro- vince of Quebec had submitted for many years to inequalities precisely similar to those of which the Ontario people complained, and they also felt, and not without reason, that their nationality and the privileges that had been solemnly guaranteed to them might be considerably endangered if representation by population became the order of the day. As I have said, all men who paid any attention to public affairs saw that that kind of thing could not last. Under the conditions that "I have depicted stable government was absolutely impossible, every ministry was at the mercy of any two or three knaves or faddists who happened for the time being to support them. Useful legislation had become perfectly impossible, and I do not believe the veriest democrat in Canada, had he been on the floor of Parliament, would not have said that even an autocracy would have been preferable to the chaos that was then subsisting. I remember perfectly well that many of the oldest, the best and wisest of our public men were at that time almost in despair. Many of them expressed their opinion to me quite frankly that under such a state of affairs the dissolution of the union was absolutely inevitable. Under the conditions I have pointed out it was perfectly clear — and I believe there is no sort of. doubt it would have happened — that the dissolution of the union would have been very shortly succeeded by the absorption of Ontario and Quebec in the United States. It was quite well known in inner political circles that many English statesmen of high rank on both sides of politics would have been very glad if Canada had seen fit to ask for independence. It was also the case that the British Cabinet gave private assurances that if the two Canadas agreed they would arrange for the junior provinces, as in fact they did. It was notorious that New Brunswick, which in the first instance voted down the proposal for Confederation at the polls, was re-construc- ted by the direct intervention of the Governor, Sir Arthur Gordon ; while as for Nova Scotia, the home authorities utterly ignored the protests and petitions of the great mass of the population.
"Such being the situation the question naturally arises how it was that the Confederation was effected. Certainly, I am bound to say
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speaking of Ontario and Quebec, that it was not effected by any popular enthusiasm on its behalf. I remember perfectly well, after the project was broached, holding a large number of meetings, as it was my clear duty to do, all over my riding, for the purpose of explaining the situation to my constituents, and I am bound to say that I have no recollection of any measure of even a tenth of its importance being received in such a passive manner as it was by the people of Ontario and I believe by the people of Quebec. You will remember that I do not speak for the Maritime Pro- vinces, where I have understood that there was a very much more lively agitation than that which took place in our province. I recollect per- fectly well, that when I was explaining to my constituents the terms of Confederation and the various reasons that had brought it about, my people accepted my explanations in a very excellent spirit and appeared perfectly disposed to give me a free hand in all points but one, and that point on which they struck was the Governor-General's salary. The pro- posal to raise the salary of the Governor-General of Canada from £7,000 to £10,000, met with the warmest disapprobation and I was heckled re- morselessly for supporting it. Rural economists objected most decidedly to this proposal. They could not be made to understand as they put it ' how it could cost any feller $150 a day to board himself and his family. ' I can assure you that it told very seriously on the result of the elections. I refused point blank to pledge myself to vote for a reduction of His Ex- cellency's salary, and it cost me many hundreds of votes and very nearly lost my election. Nor was that the feeling of my own constituents only, for it is a matter of history, and a very curious little item it is, that the one and only resolution which, in the First Parliament of the Confederated Dominion was passed demanding an amendment of the B. N. A. Act was a resolution passed in spite of the Government of the day, strong as it was, calling for an amendment to reduce the salary of the Governor-General.
"So far as Confederation was the work of anybody it was pretty nearly absolutely the work of a few leaders. I dare say that is true of most unions. It must, therefore, be a matter of great interest to Canadians to know who did the work, to know who it was in particular who took the risks and, in some cases, lost power and place in the attempt to secure this consummation. It so happened that in 1863 and 1864, there were two men in Ontario and Quebec who possessed a predominant if not an almost despotic influence over their respective provinces. One of these men was Mr. George Brown in the Province of Ontario, and the other was Mr., afterwards Sir George Cartier, in Quebec. They were both masterful men. They had been for many years bitterly opposed to each other. Neverthe- less these two gentlemen had one thing in common. They, in their own respective ways, were both large minded, unselfish and patriotic men. Both of them, for various reasons, had a thorough and hearty detestation of anything that promised to lead to absorption in the United States. Sir George Cartier thought that absorption in the United States would mean that the Province of Quebec would lose its nationality, and that it would lead to the creation of a state of things closely resembling that which exists in Louisiana to-day. Mr. Brown, although he was a staunch partisan of the United States in many ways, and although he had supported the North in the war to the uttermost, was equally devoted to maintaining British connection.
"Under the circumstances there was no step possible without the concurrence of these two men; nobody who knows anything as to the state
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of feeling in Ontario at the time but must know that I am strictly within the facts in saying that no project of Confederation could have made any headway in Ontario without the active support of George Brown and of the Globe. No man, I think, will deny that things were very much in the same position in Quebec and that without the active co-operation of Sir George Cartier very little headway could have been made in that direction. Both of these gentlemen were men of experience, men who had been en- gaged in politics for a long time, and both were thoroughly alarmed at the state of things then existing. The difficulty was to bring them together. There is an old monkish proverb which I have seen somewhere or other and which runs something as follows: —
" 'Durum cum duro non facient murum, ' which means ' Besides your bricks or your stones you must have good mortar if you are going to have a good wall. ' Fortunately amongst us there was at that time one man in particular who was eminently qualified to supply the element required. That man was the late Sir Alexander Gait, who, besides being a large minded and brilliant man, was a natural born diplomatist and I speak on that point with all the more authority because I had the honor of being one of those who employed Sir Alexander Gait to conduct the Halifax negotia- tion in regard to the fishery awards, the one negotiation which has ever taken place in my recollection in which Canada and the United States were concerned, in which Canada got decidedly the best of it, and the one negotiation in which the whole conduct of the matter from first to last was left absolutely in the hands of Canadian lawyers and statesmen, no man else interfering. Sir Alexander Gait was fascinated by the project of Confederation. He threw himself into it with all his energy and he suc- ceeded in making a convert of Sir George Cartier — Mr. Brown was red hot already; therefore, I say, without intending or wishing at all to detract from the work done by other able men in this connection that to these three men, for good or evil, must be attributed the initiation of the project of Confederation, and I repeat and with knowledge, that, at that time, at any rate, without their concurrence the Confederation project would have been entirely impossible.
"Sir, I come now to tread on rather delicate ground. I have to speak of the attitude which Sir John Macdonald maintained towards the project in its earlier stages. I desire to be distinctly understood. I do not wish in the slightest degree to underrate the important services which Sir John Macdonald subsequently rendered to Confederation, and I am very far, indeed, from desiring to impugn his sagacity or statesmanship in respect to the attitude he took, but it is a fact, nevertheless, that in the first instance Sir John Macdonald was not by any manner of means enamoured of the project. The fact was that Sir John Macdonald was a cautious and pru- dent man, much more cautious and prudent in regard to political matters than he perhaps always got credit for. Sir John Macdonald thought that we were taking very great risks both as to the future of the country and as regarded the future of the party with which he was more imme- diately connected. He did consent, but he consented under duress, under the severest pressure and not until he had been notified by many of his own supporters in Ontario that they would not, in the event of dissolution, come forward as candidates again, and not until he had been notified publicly in my presence and in the presence of many others by his Quebec allies that if he would not make terms with Mr. Brown, if he refused to enter into a coalition, they would withdraw their support and make terms
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with Mr. Brown for themselves. Not until then did Sir John consent to throw in his lot with us and support Confederation. In judging of this matter, as I have said, I do not impugn Sir John's sagacity or statesman- ship. We must remember that at that time there was no Northwest and no hope of acquiring a Northwest as far as we know. There may have been one or two men, who, as I have said, thought that at some far distant day we might get possession of that country and make something of it, but, as a matter of fact, Confederation was brought about without any thought of or reference to the acquisition of that great territory. It was a perfectly unknown quantity. Without the Northwest, I am bound to say, Sir John's auguries and fears would have been to a very great extent justified. We are now in the full flush of prosperity and in the enjoyment of the success which has been latterly achieved in the settling of the North- west, but it is well for us to recollect that between now and then there was a long and dreary interval.
"As to Sir John's attitude in respect to the probable effect on his party, I remember perfectly well that Sir John did not hesitate to express his conviction that if once the Ontario Grits coalesced with the Bleus in Quebec and made an alliance with them the Conservative party would be doomed to permanent extinction and it might interest this audience to know I have the best reasons for stating that in 1865 Sir George Cartier informed the Conservative Members of Parliament from Ontario that Mr. Brown had been so loyal and efficient an ally that he was not disposed to part with his services if he could help it. Moreover, and this I can state on my own authority and I had it from the highest possible quarter, if Mr. Brown had remained in the Cabinet and had not voluntarily thrown his cards on the table, nothing could have prevented the initiation of Confederation from having been entrusted to Mr. Brown and Sir George Cartier instead of "to Sir John Macdonald. You may ask how it came about that the attitude of the House should be, in this instance, so ex- ceedingly— I will not say subservient — but so exceedingly easy. I remem- ber perfectly well that at the time the House was not exactly divided against itself, but it was divided into two parties; the older men on both sides, I think, were very dubious, while the younger men were decidedly enthusiastic on behalf of Confederation. The situation in some respects reminded me of a poem of Whittier in which he described the effect pro- duced by the introduction of a damsel of unquestionable beauty but of mixed parentage into an old fashioned Puritan congregation: —
Said the old men, gravely doubting, "She is Papist born and bred.' ' Said the young men, " "Tis an Angel, come in Mary Garvin's stead."
" I am bound to say that men who remembered all that had happened in the preceding half dozen years, who remembered how bitter had been the controversy, how fierce and fell the fight between the parties, were excusable when they saw Mr. George Brown and the Globe on one side, and Sir George Cartier and the Quebec hierarchy on the other, making common cause and falling on each other's necks, in considering that it was a spectacle to give pause.
" And that, Mr. Chairman, reminds me of a little incident that goes to show how great at that particular time was the tension on men's minds when Confederation was on the tapis. On that memorable afternoon when Mr. Brown, not without emotion, made his statement to a hushed
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and expectant House and declared that he was about to ally himself with Sir George Cartier and his friends for the purpose of carrying out Confedera- tion, I saw an excitable, elderly little French member rush across the floor, climb up on Mr. Brown, who as you remember, was of a stature approach- ing the gigantic, fling his arms around his neck and hang several seconds there suspended, to the visible consternation of Mr. Brown and to the infinite joy of all beholders, pit, box and gallery included.
"There was another consideration of a more prosaic kind. The House undoubtedly was in a chastened mood. If they refused consent to the proposal a dissolution was certain. Most of the members had gone through two elections in very rapid succession. Elections, even to-day, with a great many modern improvements, are rather troublesome and expensive, but they are not a circumstance to what they were when I first entered Parliament. In those days, elections, instead of being conducted in one day, were spread over several weeks, with results which I will not stop to particularize. Besides this, first of all, we had nomination day, on which, by an unwritten law, the candidate, if a person of any spirit, was expected to entertain his own supporters and to do it well. This was followed by two days of open polling. Then, we had, on an average, only one poll to each township, which caused a great deal of trouble and ex- pense in bringing voters from distant quarters of the township to the poll. Furthermore, we had on top of that, declaration day, when all parties, friends and foes, combined to have a festival at the expense of the fortunate or unfortunate candidate, as the case might be. Briefly, the fact was that in those days, having reference to the relative wealth of the country then and now, I should say that an election was three or four times more expensive than it is to-day, and it is expensive enough. Then, if anybody wanted to appeal against any little irregularities that had taken place on nomination day, or on polling day, or on declaration day, he had the privilege of going before Parliament, which would select five men, two on each side, with a chairman chosen by ballot, who would hear the evidence, and if they got through hearing evidence in three years they would perhaps give him a decision in the fourth, by which time Parlia- ment would dissolve.
" It is true there were the other and larger considerations. All were alive to the situation, all saw the dangers to which I have already alluded, and this goes far to explain how it was that Confederation, a measure of such vast and far-reaching importance, was put through with so little opposition in the Parliament of the two Canadas of those days.
" Had anybody told us in 1863, when we were debating that question, that thirty years would elapse before the people of Canada would add one-third to their existing population, we would have been disposed to handle that prophet of evil very roughly. On the other hand, had any- body told us that within forty years from that time Canada would be possessed of or would be in the act of constructing three, if not four, trans- continental railways from ocean to ocean, we would have been disposed equally to ridicule the prediction.
"Canada is now making progress that I trust will soon compensate for the slow progress we have made before. All that is needed now is a little prudence — a little courage — a little honesty on our part. We need to see that our present good fortune does not turn our heads, that we do not fall into the mistake of supposing that because we have had a few years of unusual prosperity we have thereby acquired a fortunatus purse, which
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can never be exhausted and which will warrant any sort of extravagance we see fit to indulge in.
" It may be that the men of '63 builded better than they knew. The sapling they planted promises to become a mighty tree. The Confedera- tion, of which they laid the foundations, will, I think, soon take its place amongst the foremost nations of the world. But, I would say to the men of to-day, that if they are the heirs of this vast heritage, vaster, richer, more fertile and possessing more abundant resources than any of us even to-day can know, they will do well to recollect it is due in a very large measure to the men who, in 1863, in a time of great storm and stress, had, nevertheless, this great merit, that they did not 'despair and were able at no small sacrifice of their personal feelings and no small sacrifice of their personal interests to carry out the scheme of Confederation which they proposed. Sir, I doubt very much whether what these men did, the cir- cumstances under which they did it and why they did it, have been alto- gether fully and properly appreciated."
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THE NEGRO IN THE SOUTHERN STATES
DR. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, PRINCIPAL OF TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE, TUSKEGEE, ALABAMA.
Dr. Booker T. Washington, Principal of Tuskegee Normal and In- dustrial Institute for colored students, in Tuskegee, Alabama, was the guest of the Club at an evening meeting on February 6, 1906, and delivered an address which from beginning to end was full of interest to all present. The speaker was introduced by Dr. J. D. Courtenay, President of the Club, and who also read a letter from His Excellency Earl Grey expressing regret at his inability to attend the meeting.
" My race, " said the speaker in opening, " remembers with most tender gratitude the generosity and kindness manifested on the part of the people of the Dominion of Canada in the dark days of slavery. I remember as a child hearing my parents and the older slaves speak of Canada with such tenderness and faith for what it would do for our race that I had no definite idea that it had any tangible, visible place. I thought it an invisible ideal." Continuing, Dr. Washington said in part,
" You must not judge a people by their loafers; if I were to judge you by the loafers in this city I. don't believe you would stand much chance of salvation.
"The black man has learned to use the white man's conscience in computing values for taxation purposes.
" My race was the only people urgently pressed to visit this country and not only pressingly invited but having their passage paid. Having been brought here originally at considerable expense, it is only polite and gracious in us to decide to stay here.
"It costs $1.89 to educate a black boy in Louisiana and $20.55 to educate a white boy in New York. How much brighter the black boy must be than his white brother.
" It is not the educated man who becomes the criminal but the ignor- ant and homeless.
"I never yet heard of the white man whose race prejudice forbade him to borrow money from the black man.
"We have learned that we must begin at the bottom and work up as every other nation has done before us.
" Teach the black man economy and industry and with his morals and religion, you will get a Christianity you can bank on seven days in the week.
"The white farmer who found his black neighbor could raise 266 bushels of sweet potatoes where only 49 bushels had been raised before forgot all about the difference of color. He had no prejudice against those sweet potatoes.
" If you adopt the scheme some propose of disposing of the race ques- tion by gathering the colored people together in one territory in the West, you would have to build a wall round it to keep the black man in and five walls to keep the white man out.
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"The man who helps to push another up is the individual who will exert a permanent influence for good in the world.
"Thank God, I have long outgrown the crushing and degrading slavery of race and color prejudice; I no longer hate a man for his race or color.
"I never have any interest in the man who tells me how not to do anything.
" Have you ever noticed that 1 per cent, of black blood makes a negro, but that it takes 100 per cent, of white blood to make an Anglo-Saxon; how much stronger our blood must be than yours.
" You of the white race do not know of the best .that is occurring among my people. A people should be judged by their best, not by their worst. One should see the negro in his industrial and business occupations and especially in his progress in church, school and home life, before judgment is passed. There are two classes among us in all races, the vicious and the virtuous. I can point you to groups of my people in nearly every part of our country that in intelligence and high and unselfish purpose of their school and church life, and in the purity and sweetness of their home life and social intercourse, all compare favorably to the races of the earth.
" You can never lift any large section of people by continually calling attention to their weak point. A race, like an individual, needs encourage- ment as well as chastisement. "
As an instance of what had been done to elevate the race, the speaker remarked that while 30 per cent, of Italians, 60 per cent, of Spanish, 72 per cent, of Russians, and 83 per cent, of native South Americans, were illiterate after centuries of freedom, the American negro, with only 40 years of freedom had but 44 per cent, entirely uneducated. The negro did not want charity, all he needed was teachers and leaders to help him to climb up.
It was frequently asserted that the morals of the colored race were hopelessly bad, that they were even getting worse.
" In refutation of this, " continued Dr. Washington, " I will tell you that you will look in vain in any state penitentiary for a single graduate of the 6,000 who have passed through Tuskegee, and the record of 15 of the largest and oldest of the educational institutions of the South shows less than half a dozen of its pupils who have ever got into prison.
" The masses, " said Dr. Washington, " want education. They know they are down and they want to get up. In the southern part of the United States there are more than eight millions of my race, who, by contact, with the whites, and by education in the home, in school and church, have had their minds awakened and strengthened — have thus had their wants increased and multiplied many times. Hence, instead of a people in idleness, we have in the South a people who are anxious to work because they want education for their children; they want land and houses, and churches, books and papers. Looked at, then, from the most materialistic and selfish point of view, it has paid to awaken the negro's mind, and there should be no limit placed upon the development of that mind. From the most selfish point of view, then, the education of the negro has paid. We are to live in the South and sympathy between the races is vital. We must convince the Southern white people of the value of educating the negro, and this we are doing according to the testimony of the Southern people themselves. "
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ANGLO-AMERICAN RELATIONS
MR. ANDREW CARNEGIE.
Mr. Andrew Carnegie, who was the guest of the Club at a dinner in the Russell House, on April 28, 1906, said of himself: — "I am so much of a composite that I scarcely know what I am at any particular moment. Born a subject of Her Majesty, I am your fellow countryman; made a citizen of the Republic by my father's act, I am a fellow countryman of the Americans, and thus a citizen of both the crowned and the uncrowned republics. I see nothing inconsistent in being loyal to both, wmch in my opinion, are one day to be again one.
"In rising to respond to the kind words of welcome which still ring in my ears, I am impressed by the thought that we are all of the one great family. We are all members of the English-speaking race. We include all who speak that tongue, no matter what other language they may have been born to.
" Nothing is clearer than that our race is rapidly assuming the fore- most place. Consider the contrast between Europe and North America — the former an armed camp, nine millions of men trained and armed, not to protect themselves from foreign foes, but against each other. Pitiable spectacle. Consider our blessed condition upon this continent. America and Canada immune from foreign attack, the world in arms unable ser- iously to assail them; and if our ports were blockaded, we remain a self- sustaining people who would suffer only little inconveniences.
"Humanly speaking, war upon this continent is impossible. Those who fear it should not walk abroad without lightning rods down their backs, the danger of being struck by lightning being greater. Happy continent, free to develop all its resources in peace. Many great services has your Prime Minister rendered the Dominion. I remember when he spoke in Liverpool, upon landing to attend the Jubilee of the late lamented Queen, he said, 'We are asked why Canada does not become a nation. My answer is because we are already a nation.7 There spoke the states- man a great truth, which Kipling afterwards crystallized, ' Daughter in my mother's house, but mistress in mine own.' A greater service the Premier rendered when he proclaimed that come what may Canada would never consent to be swept into the vortex of militarism. The mission of our race here is to give the world for the first time a continent dedicated to peace, soon to be over-whelmingly strong; and then, if not before, I trust our race, inviting the dear old Homeland and France, with which she is so happily allied, to serve joint notice to disturbers of the world's peace that he who draws the sword makes the English-speaking race his foe.
" To banish war from civilized nations, as slavery has been abolished, will become the greatest and most pressing of all duties whenever a league sufficiently powerful can be formed to enforce peace by its mandate. At all events, with or without allies, our own race is to see the day when united it will have the power, and I hope she may have the will, to banish
7
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from the earth its foulest stain, the killing of men by men in battle. There is one advance upon which we can already safely congratulate ourselves. War within the wide boundaries of our race is a thing of the past. Never again are English-speaking men to stand face to face in war. When, if ever, they have to appeal to the barbarous sword, which may the kind fates forbid, they will be found side by side for some noble and all-compel- ling cause.
"For nearly a hundred years many important issues have arisen between the crowned and the uncrowned republics, but all have been amicably settled by arbitration. So overwhelming is the sentiment de- manding peaceful settlement in Britain that although the Government twice refused to arbitrate the Venezuelan dispute it was compelled by public opinion to reverse its decisions. So would it be on our side of the Atlantic should arbitration be refused by our Government. We have abolished internecine war as we have the duel, wherever our race exists.
" Speaking in Toronto, I referred to the treaty which enacted perpetual peace between the two neighbors by banishing warships from our inland seas. What a lesson for Europe, struggling and staggering in what your Prime Minister so happily called 'the vortex of militarism/ into which he was resolved Canada should not be drawn.
" It occurs to me that the lesson to be complete needs extension to the land. We subdue each other to peace through the bonds of race, language, religion, law, liberty, that make all English-speakers friends. Take away the sword and replace it by the pen. I commend this suggestion to the Canadian and American statesmen who are soon to meet, we hope, to settle all unsettled questions between us.
"This coming meeting of The Hague Conference is, we believe, to make decided progress in several departments. For one thing, private property at sea is to be protected as it is now on land. This will mark a great step forward.
"Several progressive ideas may be considered, the most important the creation of a congress of the powers to meet periodically. This is the germ of the coming Parliament of Man, ' when the drum shall beat no longer and the battle flags are furled, in the Parliament of Man, the Federation of the World/ Progress in invention and discovery is startlingly rapid, but not less so the progress marking the higher realms of peace and good will among men. The most notable triumphs of peace in our time are the treaties between Chile and Argentine, also between Sweden and Norway, by which all difference without exception are submitted to The Hague Conference. The two former are now erecting a memorial on a peak of the Andes to the Prince of Peace, to commemorate the event.
" I submit our first duty is to begin at home and do what in us lies to become firm, sympathetic friends — America with Canada and Canada with America. Let us never forget that we are not alien people, but in most part children of the same motherland, heirs to all the glories of Britain, her language, literature, law, religion, and free institutions, and that we stand to-day as she does, for the royalty of man.
" Never in my day have the relations between the old home and the new been so close, warm and cordial. Cheers come from audiences on both sides of the Atlantic whenever the other land is spoken of. Blood has become very much thicker than water. When Mr. Hay, our great Secretary of State, died, His Majesty expressed his grief in terms that touched our people. Had he done so upon the death of a European states-
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man, it would have possessed elements of political and international apprehension. Here it passed as a natural expression of a member of the family. So, when Queen Victoria passed away, the tributes from all parts of America came forth from sharers in the family grief.
"It is many years since I ventured to predict that as the sun once shone upon a united race, so it would one day rise and greet again the British-American Union. I can see no other destiny worthy of my native land than as the mother member surrounded by her children. It is not to Europe that Britain can look for needed enlargement of territory. She is in a sense alien there. She will have to turn her face westward to her children here on this continent, in Republic and Dominion, then several hundreds of millions strong, and there find her fitting position as head of the family.
" Canada, the Scotland of America, is to play the part of Scotland and annex her southern neighbor as Scotland did, and boss it for its good, both in Church and state, as Scotland also did, and — I need not speak here in the past tense — as she still does. Canada would take her somewhat strenuous, perhaps one might say obstreperous, brother by one hand and her mother by the other, put the one in the other and re-unite them. In Lord Grey's recent triumphant progress in the South, he was careful to tell us that there was not the slightest hope of America's ever annexing Canada, but you will all have marked as I did the diplomacy with which he avoided all commitment upon the reverse contingency. His silence here was most significant, a silence so profound that it might be felt. When the fore- cast I have ventured upon is revealed in due course of time, His Excellency will be found unhampered and entirely free to act. This consummate, politic and adroit handling of this somewhat delicate subject marks him out, with your popular, esteemed and sagacious Prime Minister, as the two ideal agents for managing the affair.
"Our immediate duty is to resolve that never by word nor deed of ours shall the coming of that blessed day be impeded. On the contrary, that by word and deed we shall labor to hasten its coming. Between Americans and Canadians as brothers, sons of the one great mother, the most cordial relations should be fostered, mutually rejoicing in the success of each other, and both remembering as occasion serves that they are indeed brothers, sons of the same great mother, and each resolved to play a brother's part.
" I am so much a composite that I scarcely know what I am at any particular moment. Born a subject of Her Majesty, I am your fellow countryman; made a citizen of the Republic by my father's act, I am a fellow countryman of the American, and thus a citizen of both the Crowned and Uncrowned Republics. I see nothing inconsistent in being loyal to both, which, in my opinion, are one day to be again one. The devotion of the loyal son to his revered mother is not impaired, but strengthened, by his love for his guardian angel wife. On the contrary, one reacts on the other and both are purified and exalted. I would go far to serve either. As we recall our common mother, we should remember Burns in the dying words of Mailie to her two lambs — ' And when you think upon your mother, mind and be kind to one another.' "
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TRANSPORTATION
MR. JAMES J. HILL.
Mr. James J. Hill was the guest of the Club at luncheon on June 5, 1906, and afterwards delivered an address on Transportation which was listened to with great interest by a large and representative gathering of the Club membership which included a number of Cabinet Ministers, Senators and Members of the House of Commons. Mr. Plunket B. Taylor, President of the Club, was in the chair. On rising to address the Club Mr. Hill was tendered a most striking tribute of welcome.
Mr. Hill, after remarking that the reception was almost enough to carry him off his feet, continued: —
" I accepted the kind invitation of your Club almost entirely on ac- count of my having been born in Canada. It will be fifty years ago in July since I went to the West. At that time you had no Northwest and there was plenty of room in the States. Now you have nearly all the room there is. Look at all the thousands of Canadians who went to the United States. In Massachussetts there are 200,000. Now, as I say, you have all the room there is. Since I went to the West civilization has spread from about twenty miles west of Chicago to the Pacific Coast. Thirteen new States have been created there. And there will be no difficulty settling your own Northwest. But don't be in too much of a hurry. Select your population. Wherever the sun shines, population without land is a mob and land without population a wilderness. The quality of the soil is of less importance than the quality of the man who lives on it. Your standard of business morality in Canada is such that you need not be ashamed. Keep that record up and choose only good men to live on your new lands. What does it mean ? In the United States last year there was $600,000,- 000 taken from the products of the soil. Still the average yield of that country is only half that of Great Britain, a third of that of Belgium and not half of that of France. We in the United States claim to be ' tarnal smart ' and we are smart in getting rid of our natural resources. Fortun- ately for you, your natural resources outside of agriculture are not so great as to oppress you. They want a growing time. Your mining resources in British Columbia are very great and will support a population of a million people for a long time. But your Northwest will support a popula- tion of 12,000,000 to 15,000,000.
"You are in the habit of saying big things about your Northwest. Be more moderate. The Northwest will be beginning to be crowded when the population goes beyond the point I name. I know a great deal about the Northwest because thirty-five years ago, when you could for the first time buy a ticket from older Canada to Manitoba, I had a line of boats and we carried the freight and passengers part of the way. My connection with the country was such that it resulted in my taking up the question of transportation with Lord Strathcona and afterwards with Lord Mount Stephen and then, being inexperienced and ambitious, we offered the Dom- inion Government to build a Canadian Pacific Railway. The last time
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I was in Ottawa was when we were taking over the North Shore line in the Province of Quebec. So far as the Northwest is concerned, I was there when it was born and I hope to contribute something to its development and progress.
" In the long run the country that has the farmer is the country that succeeds; the population engaged in the tilling of the soil makes a safer population than any other. This is even so if you consider only hard money conditions. There is one example of this that is truly miraculous. In 1820 or thereabouts, shortly after Napoleon was safely housed in St. Helena, Great Britain started on a period of commercial expansion. The ocean steamships came soon and she was enabled to plant her colonies all over the world until the sun never sets upon her flag. But France, torn by internal factions and crushed by debt had ceased to be a colonizing nation. Then the tillers of her soil went to work. The French farmer is among the most intelligent in the world. And where is France now ? In seventy- five years she has become the banking nation of the world and everybody knows it. They could take five millions of Russian bonds and sell us three millions and make a profit on the sale. When the German Emperor talked war, France began to call in her loans and the Kaiser soon found that he had no war chest and quieted down. So I say don't let any man have your lands in the Northwest except the man who is going to live on them. Don't let any man live on them by proxy.
"Now a word as to railways. In building a railway the principal objective is to overcome the law of gravitation. The nearer the level you can get your road the better not only for the builders but for the people who will use the road. Your terminal facilities and your grades are most important if you are going to get a low rate. In British Columbia the mountains are full of low grade ore but that ore must be brought to a place where it can be handled. When we first went into Granby they handled 500 tons of ore a year. Now they are handling 2,509 and will be handling 10,000 in five years. If a railway cannot carry the products of the mine and soil to market, of what use is it? Once a railroad is built the pros- perity of the road and the population must go together.
"The greater part of our road between Fernie and Vancouver is built or building and when it is ready we will be ready for it. There are no bonds so the sheriff can't seize it. But we have got to get from the mountains to Winnipeg now and that is a comparatively short distance.
Winnipeg is the gateway from the West and always will be. What they need out there is an outlet to the market. We promise not to take away any market they have and will try to bring anything shipped on our lines to Winnipeg. We have never kicked because the C.P.R. has 2,100 or 2,200 miles running into our country and it will just even things up if you give us room according to our heft. We don't want to take the shingles off any man's house. We have a poor little lamb for which we want pasture and if we make a good sheep out of it, it will cost you nothing.
" Now touching the Georgian Bay Canal. I don't know how far your people have investigated that question. We ourselves are trying to build a canal, the Panama Canal, that will cost anywhere from $200,000,000 to $250,000,000. Your canal would cost, I am told, $50,000,000 or $55,- 000,000 for twenty feet of water from Lake Huron to Montreal. If that is true, Montreal would be fifteen miles nearer Chicago or Duluth than Buffalo is to-day. A ship drawing fifteen feet of water could carry 400,000 bushels of grain and at three cents a bushel that would yield $12,000..
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That kind of ship would be very remunerative. The building of that canal would carry the dividing lines between the Gulf of Mexico and the St. Lawrence about St. Louis and anything north of that point would go by the St. Lawrence in the open season. Transportation follows the same natural law as does water. It seeks the point of least resistance. Any- thing north of Kansas City would come this way easier than any other.
"The Northwest is no longer dependent on its mother. Let it help itself now. Don't spoon feed it. But keep your land for the homes of those who will live on it and they will make your nation. When the North- west has 12,000,000 population it will be the seat of Empire for you can't hope to do more than double your population in older Canada. Even then you would be crowded.
Mr. Hill made a reference to the good work done by the Ontario Agricultural College and told of how its students had achieved success in all parts of the world. Those were the farmers, he said, who should be taken into the Northwest.
" Keep your old flag flying to the last tatter. Your record is a good one, but it will always be better if you remember that the men who made your country were the men who followed the plow. "
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THE JUVENILE COURT
JUDGE BEN B. LINDSEY, OF DENVER, COLORADO.
Judge Ben. B. Lindsey, of the Juvenile Court of Denver, Colorado, was the guest of the Canadian Club at an evening meeting in the Russell House, on January 7, 1907, and delivered a most interesting address on the work of the Juvenile Court of Denver. Mr. Plunket B. Taylor, President of the Club, acted as Chairman and among those present were His Excellency Earl Grey and a party from Government House. On the conclusion of the address the thanks of the Club were conveyed by His Excellency to the speaker.
It was quite possible, said the Judge in opening, that many of his auditors had never heard of a juvenile court and certainly few had any real idea of what that court had in view since its inception some five years ago in the pretty city of Denver, Colorado, where he had the high honor to hold a seat upon the bench. In reality the court was one of the simplest and yet one of the grandest ideas in the world. It made citizens — not criminals. It made the former, by the active cooperation of those who would in certainty become hardened members of the lowest class of society; the boys helped themselves to higher things.
The first principle of the court, and the principle upon which the very existence of the scheme depended, was probation, not a new idea in itself, but one that was new in its application to what might become a criminal population. The word might better be termed approbation, the chance for a boy to redeem himself, to find some little good in himself and some one to believe in that good streak no matter how small it appeared to be. On this foundation an actual law was now in force, by which the respon- sibility of the State and home was invoked to assist in the making of citizens — not criminals.
The second great principle was that by which unfortunate children of bad heredity and environment were treated as delinquents, morally unfortunate, not dealt with as young members of the criminal class, lost to the world of good.
The third principle was founded upon the first two, and involved the actual responsibility of the home in the uprearing of the child. Picking up a newspaper years ago, in Denver, when he was new on the bench and new to the boy criminal,- his attention had been attracted by a flaring head- line— " Boy Bandit Caught. " Filled with lively curiosity he had gone down to the cells to have a look at this frightful bandit — and saw a little blue-eyed, curly-headed boy of fourteen asleep on the floor of an iron- barred cell. This was the bandit. This was the young man about whom the newspapers had raved in excited headings. This was a sample of the brutal, legal " eye for an eye, and tooth for a tooth" doctrine of the modern criminal court.
"We don't believe in the jail as the saviour of boys like this," said the Judge. "We don't believe in this sort of thing. You people of Ottawa don't know and can't know the tears and wails and degradation of environ-
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ment such as this boy had met, and others like him, whom I've met for seven years from San Francisco to New York — degradation and the vilest infamy.
" I was interested in this boy and his case. I found it only too true that he had rifled a drunken man's pockets — a drunken man — and the boy confessed it and the newspaper wrote it up, and the people read it. He was a ' boy bandit. ' The paper did not say and the people did not know who the boy was, who his father was, who his mother was, or what his neighborhood. This boy had come of a drunken father, who sent little Christopher to a saloon and a vile den of infamy — and the boy saw girls degraded, saw winerooms and all the rest of it. The State should have punished the father and mother and should have sent the boy to a school to save himself and others. "
Continuing, the Judge instanced another case of a messenger boy who corrupted a whole school. The boy's father was dead and his mother had to work and support a big family. The boy mixed with the vilest people and was it his fault, he asked, if he turned out bad ? It was that of the State, and here was where the juvenile court came to the boy's help. It helped him to save himself.
Again, the Judge illustrated, with a story of a red-headed Irish boy, who, with "de gang" robbed a 'box-car. The papers called him a "boy burglar. " As a matter of fact, the boy had broken into a car with " Mic- key " and "Sweedy" and a Jew boy to get watermelons. Once in the car, they had opened a box, not finding melons, and had swallowed a dozen bottles of syrup of figs. They had to be pumped out at the hospital; but were they sent to jail — "Mickey," "Sweedy" and "the gang wit de jigger who copped the perlice?" From their point of view a "jigger" was honorable; they were opposed to the police, and were so taught at home. Speak to the boy's mother and she'd tell you to " go to — well anywhere. " This was the kind of boy that the law said should be looked after by the home, or State, failing the home influence. To-day if little "Sweedy" were "pinched" he would be charged with lack of restraint on the part of his guardians and the saloons, dives and dens would be held responsible, morally. These used to be charged with crime, and brutally made to answer their doings. Now the boy was the thing — not his alleged " crime. " For six years the courts of Denver and Chicago and of fourteen States had dealt out fairness to the boy and justice to his one little streak of possible good.
Seven years ago a gentleman took figures of criminal boys for five years and found 75 per cent, of boys charged with crime and punished, had returned again to the same criminal life and were again up before the bar. In Chicago, under the juvenile law only 40 per cent, had returned; now it was 30 per cent.
" Our own experience, " observed the Judge, "in a smaller city of 200,000 population, was that less than five per cent, of boys and girls returned in five years, and only three and a-half per cent, had to be committed to an institution.
" Four years ago the Governor found, after investigation by a special agent, in the court of Denver, that some $80,000 had been saved in actual money on prison .routine, not to mention the gain in citizenship. No human being could say what that gain was or how deep the good effected. In dollars and cents the juvenile court paid.
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" Instead of charging boys and girls of sixteen or seventeen years of age with crime, in violating a civic or national statute, their life, spent in wandering about the streets, visiting bad places entitled them to considera- tion as moral delinquents, entering on a criminal life. If their environment were helpless to save them the court helped them to save themselves.
" We lose sight of the boy, " exclaimed Judge Lindsey, " and see only what the boy did — and punish him. Let us redeem the child." The Judge illustrated again by a case where two youthful burglars had stolen bicycles. The two, when in the Judge's chambers told (or "snitched' ') on six others, who were in "de gang." They tried not to "snitch" (or tell on the rest of the gang), but eventually the lot were written a letter dictated by the boy " that no kid had snitched and so cut it out. " The " kids " were inter- ested as in a game, and instead of trying, as the police did, to recover six bicycles, six boys were rescued from a hell on earth. "
In a similar way three boys up for " pulling off a trolley " brought in fourteen others. One of the boys had been in jail thirteen times, and when the police said the judge would fail to rescue him the only answer was, " Well, if we fail we are still twelve times ahead of you. " Six out of the seven boys saved were now good citizens, working in a department in Denver. One is in the penitentiary and writes sad letters to the judge. In three years out of the 103 only two had come back.
The new system would justify itself, said the speaker, for it makes possible a scheme of utilizing any personal worth in a boy. One half the regular criminals were under 23 years of age and in all cities the number of boys arrested was appalling. Hundreds of boys were arrested in Mont- real; in Washington, B.C., 1,600 were arrested in one year.
All the business men in Denver were back of the Juvenile Court, and out of the hundreds watched in their public school career, many had better records than the average boy. The strap, the jail, brutality of all sorts were not to be used, and the boys were given a chance to overcome evil with good. The boys liked a word of praise as well as their elders and "approbation" was the keynote. Character formation, self redemption and the forming of real men of worth were the objects of the system.
So much did the system rely upon the boys that they were given money to buy their tickets to the reformatory — and only six in seven years out of 700 had abused this responsibility. A dialogue with a specimen showed the Judge's great insight into juvenile minds. The boys never, practically "threw de jedge" down. To prevent crime, rather than to punish, to protect and to lovingly correct were the ideals.
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RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
HON. ELIHU ROOT, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE.
" The celebration of great victories, the anniversaries of great single events, call together crowds and are the subjects of inspiring addresses. Within eight years from now we shall be able to celebrate the centennial anniversary of a hundred years of peaceful fellowship (Cheers), a hundred years during which no part of the fruits of industry and enterprise have been diverted from the building up of peaceful and happy homes, from the exercise and promotion of religion, from the education of children and the succor of the distressed and unfortunate to be expended on warlike attack by one people upon the other. (Applause).
"In the meantime our people are passing in great numbers across this invisible boundary — Canadians in the East and Americans in the West — and in thousands of homes they and their children are looking back from American to Canadian hillsides and from Canadian farms to an American Fatherland. May that look backwards of loving memory never be turned to the hard gaze of hostility, of fear or of revenge.
"/ as A; you, my friends, to join me in a sentiment — to the Canadian settlers in New England and to the American settlers in the Canadian West — may they ever with loyal memory do honor to the lands of their birth, may they ever with loyal citizenship do God's service to the countries of their adoption. " (Loud and continued applause} .
At a luncheon of the Club, which was held in the Russell House, on January 28, 1907, Hon. Elihu Root, United States Secretary of State, gave eloquent expression to the spirit of good will which he declared prevailed in the United States towards Canada and Canadians.
Mr. Root said: —
" I do not feet at all a stranger here, partly, perhaps, because in your climate blood has to be thicker than water, (laughter and applause) [and partly because in your atmosphere everyone born and bred under the common law of England, and under the principles of justice and liberty that the English-speaking race has carried the world over wherever it has gone, must breathe freely in Canada. It is a full forty years since I paid my first visit to Canada. At brief intervals during all ;that period I have been returning sometimes to one part of the Dominion and some- times to another, but always keeping in touch with the course of your de- velopment, and with the trend of your opinion and spirit.
" During that time what wonderful things we have seen. We have seen the feeble, ill-compacted, separate, dependent colonies growing into the
§reat and vigorous nation. We have seen the two branches of the Cana- ian people, the English-speaking and the French-speaking, putting behind them old resentments, and steadily approaching each other in tightening bonds of sympathy and national fellowship, (applause), a happy augury for the continuance of that entente, which [between two civilized nations on the other side of the Atlantic is making for the peace of the world. (Renewed cheers).
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" We have seen not merely growth in population and in wealth, but we have seen here great examples of that constructive power, examples of that great race of builders, which have made, and are making, the Western World unexampled in the history of mankind. The spirit of the Norse Sea King, the spirit of the great navigators, of Columbus, of Vasco de Gama and of Drake and Frobisher, the spirit of the Spanish conquistadors, the spirit of the men of power and might, who have done the great things of the world, has found its development in this Western Hemisphere in the great builders, and within our lives we have seen in Canada one of the greatest of all groups of the great building men of constructive power and energy. (Applause).
" We have seen and are seeing now the growth of that historic sense, the growth among the people of that appreciation of the great examples of their own past nature which is so esscential to the making of a nation and as you are drawing away through the course of successive generations from that past the great figures of the makers of Canada loom up more, and still more lofty. The courage, the fortitude, the heroism, the self devo- tion of the men of Canada in early times, stand out in historic eminence from which well may flow the deep and unending stream of a great na- tional patriotism. (Applause).
" Above all we see a people trained and training themselves in the art of self-government. In that discussion and consideration of all public questions, not only in the high seats of government, but in the farm house and the shop, that discussion which lies at the basis of modern civilization, that discussion which among the plain people furnishing the basis for poli- tical and social systems differentiates our latter day civilization from all the civilizations of the past, and must give to it, must give to the civilization of our time a perpetuity that nothing of the past has had. (Applause).
"The existence of this Club, the existence of similar Clubs in the great cities throughout your country is an augury, a good omen for the future of Canada. That intelligent discussion and consideration of public questions which enables the men who are not in office to perform their duty as self- governors is a solid foundation for a nation that shall endure. (Applause).
" For all these I profess with sincerity and with feeling my admiration and my sympathy, and I speak the sentiment of millions of my own country- men in saying that we look upon the great material and spiritual progress of Canada with no feelings of jealousy, but with admiration, with hope and with gratification. (Applause). I count myself happy to be one of those who cannot be indifferent to the glories and achievements of the race from which they have sprung. (Applause). And my pride in my own land, the pride that it is part of my inheritance to be entitled to take in England, is added the pride that I feel in this great, hardy, vigorous, self-governing people of Canada, who love justice and liberty. (Applause).
"There have been in the past, and in the nature of things there will be continually arising in the future, matters of difference between the two na- tions. How could it be otherwise, with adjacent sea coasts and more than three thousand miles of boundary upon which we march ? How could it be otherwise in the nature of the races at work. Savage nature is never subdued to the use of men. Empires are never built up, save by men of vigor and power, men intense in the pursuit of their objects, strong in their confidence in their own opinions, engrossed in the pursuit of their ends sometimes and even to the exclusion of thoughtfulness for the interests and feelings of others. But let us school ourselves and teach our children to believe that whatever
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differences arise, different understandings as to the facts on different sides of the boundary line, the effect of different environment, different points of view, rather than intentional or conscious unfairness, are at the basis of the differences. (Applause) .
" After all, as we look back over the records of history, after all in the far view of the future, all the differences of each day and generation are but trifles compared with the great fact nations, two nations are pursuing the same ideals of liberty and justice, are doing their work side by side for the peace and righteousness of the world in peace with each other. (Applause).
"The differences of each generation loom large, when held close to the eye but after all, the fact that for ninety years, under a simple exchange of notes limiting the armament of the two countries on the Great Lakes in terms which have become an antiquated example of naval literature, two single one-hundred-ton boats, with single eighteen pound cannon — -after all, I say, the fact that for ninety years under that simple exchange of notes we have been living on either side of this three thousand miles of boundary in peace, with no more thought or fear of hostilities than if we were the same people, it is a great fact in history and a great fact of potential import for the future.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in proposing a vote of thanks to the guest, said they were all gratified to know that Mr. Root was not unfamiliar with Canada, that he had been familiar with Canada for more than forty years. He had been informed by one very close to Mr. Root that some years ago he was advised by his physician to seek restoration to health in our northern climate and he might remind his hearers that when he (Sir Wilfrid) was himself in poor health, he was advised by his physician as a restorative, to seek a change in the balmy climate of the South. Thus it would be seen that Mr. Root came to Canada for his health, while he, the Premier, had to go to the United States. (Laughter).
" We have not reciprocity in trade, " said Sir Wilfrid, " and I am not sure we can have it for many years, but at any rate we can have reciprocity in invalids. " Proceeding, he said that while the two peoples were divided in allegiance they were united by a tie stronger than allegiance by historical tradition and by blood which was thicker than water. The relations between the two countr es were good, indeed, better than they ever had been before, but they could agree to have their little disagreements occasionally. They do not always see eye to eye, they had their little bickerings on some occa- sions, but when a crisis arose blood proved to be thicker than water. (Cheers).
He could speak feelingly on this subject, because as they knew it was not English blood which was in his veins, but he was born and brought up in a British country among an Anglo-Saxon people, and he had in- herited and shared all the glorious traditions of the race and intended to maintain them. (Cheers). Mr. Root had referred to the entente beween Great Britain and France, and he need not tell them that it was a sentiment dear to his heart for more reasons than one. It had been agreed that never- more would we see war between France and England. Similarly the entente cordiale existed between Great Britain and the United States, it was a condition of nature. (Loud cheers).
" With all our hearts, " said Sir Wilfrid, in conclusion, "we all respond to the noble sentiments expressed by Mr. Root, and we join with him as he joins with us, when I conclude, God bless the King and God bless the Pre- sident. " (Prolonged cheers).
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THE WAY OF ESCAPE FROM THE COMPETITIVE ARMING OF NATIONS
PRESIDENT ELIOT, OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY.
In an address before the Canadian Club of Ottawa, on The Way of Escape from the Competitive Arming of Nations, which was delivered on Feb. 23, 1907, Dr. Charles W. Eliot, President of Harvard University, said: " There is in the history of the United States and Canada a most extraordinary Act, which I believe prophesies a way out of this monstrous evil in the world, the competitive arming of the civilized nations against each other, a convention made between the Government of Great Britain and the Government of the United States to limit the armaments on the Great Lakes for both nations .... Were these not extraordinary conditions to secure by a simple arrangement which does not take twelve lines of printed paper, a perfect peace of ninety years already without once transgressing this low limit of armament upon these Lakes?"
President Eliot was introduced by Mr. Plunkett B. Taylor, President of the Club.
" Your President, " he said, "has been kind enough to allude to the excellent quality of Harvard graduates who here represent Harvard University in the work of their daily lives. That is the kind of fruit a university always desires, the fruit of the men gone out from her walls and doing good work in the world. I have seen a great stream of youth going out from the walls of Harvard — for it is over fifty years since I went there myself — a great stream of youth going out into the work of the world and carrying with them these loves and hopes and aspirations, the love of truth, the love of freedom, and the love of public justice.
"Now, I took a very serious subject for my few moments' talk to you to-day, when I wrote to your secretary that I would like to speak about ' The Way of Escape from the Competitive Arming of Nations'. ' Secretary Root alluded to what is to be my text when he spoke before you a few weeks ago. There is, in the history of the United States and Canada, a most extraordinary act, which, I believe, prophesies a way out of this monstrous evil in the world, the competitive arming of the civilized nations against each other. Secretary Root alluded to it as a convention made between the Government of Great Britain and the Government of the United States to limit the armaments on the Great Lakes for both nations. This was a very extraordinary document in its form. It was not a treaty; it was not a law; it was, as described in the proclamation of James Monroe, President of the United States, an 'arrangement' — that was all. The two countries agreed that they would only maintain on the Great Lakes each one vessel not exceeding one hundred tons with an eighteen- pounder, on Lake Ontario; two other vessels on the ' Upper Lakes, ' as they were described, each of the same size and with the same guns, and one other on Lake Champlain.
"That was to be the absolute limit of the armament of these two nations on the Great Lakes. Now that 'arrangement/ as President
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Monroe called it, was made under very extraordinary circumstances. It was the invention of John Quincy Adams. It was presented by him to our then Secretary of State, James Monroe, who, in the following year, became President. But the person who negotiated it on the past of the United States was only deputy or under-secretary of state — it did not attain even the dignity of an arrangement made by the Secretary of State. It was the simplest possible agreement for an heroic and monumental purpose.
" What was the condition of things on the Great Lakes at the time ? The British Government had vessels mounting over 300 guns in commission on the Lakes at that time and the British Government was building at that moment two seventy-four gun ships on the Lakes — actually building them at the time this arrangement was made. And what was the state of mind between the two nations? They had just come out of a war, and a wafr in which fighting on the Lakes bore a great part? Were not these extraordin- ary conditions to secure by a simple arrangement which does not take twelve lines of printed paper, to secure a perfect peace of ninety years already without once transgressing this extraordinary low limit of armament upon these Lakes on our borders? I say that this prophesies the way of escape from competitive armaments.
" When we consider the means of navigation in those days, the time required for voyages across the Lakes and the dangers on the way, with only wind to propel the vessel, the Atlantic Ocean does not offer greater obstacles in the way of such an arrangement as this than the Lakes did then. (Applause). We cross the Atlantic Ocean in six or seven days with the greatest facility. We mount on what may be called platforms, heavy armaments which are yet capable of proceeding through the very roughest ocean in comparative steadiness. Our means for naval fighting on the instant are very much greater, relatively to the Atlantic Ocean than the means of these two peoples were for fighting on the Lakes in 1817. I say, therefore, that in this act of our two governments there is a prophecy, a hopeful prophecy for the future.
"What is the soul of this regulation? It is simply a self denying ordinance which secures equal force to the two governments on the Lakes and prevents surprise of one power by the other. And that is just what would have to be done on an international scale, Moreover, this little armament on the Lakes on either side is nothing but a police convention. Now, that is exactly what we want all over the world at large. A police convention, a police force, furnished by all the civilized nations combined to maintain a common force.
" What is the difference between the police function and the soldier's or the sailor's function, at war ? I think the main difference is this. Both use force ; and we are a long way from the time when government will not rest on force. At the bottom the most civilized governments need force as the basis of their power and the means of executing their will. But there is a tremendous difference between force and force. A police force is, in the main, a protective force. Now and then, to be sure, it proceeds ener- getically against a criminal, an offender, a disturber of the peace. But the great proportion of the function of the police is protection. It goes quickly to the scene of any catastrophe; it preserves order. On our highways, on our thoroughfares, it maintains the peace. You have a splendid example of the legitimate, the indispensable, the eminently useful police force in Canada — the Northwest Mounted Police. (Loud applause). It is an
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eminently superior force to that of the soldier. Any one of these police offi- cers can arrest— that is a very wholesome power, and it is just what we want between the nations. We want a force that can arrest the disturber. (Applause) . We want that for a bulwark, a police force that can prevent disturbance and deal effectively and finally with the disturber of the peace, whoever he is. He is probably a person temporarily out of his mind. (Laughter and applause). He needs protection from himself and all the rest of us need to be protected from him. That is the true function of a true police force, and that is what this world greatly needs.
" But then you will say, police officers ordinarily are under the direction of a court, if there be an accessible court. It is quite convenient, in the wilderness, to have the police officer himself a magistrate, and that is just what you have done. (Hear, hear). But, as a rule, an effective police acts under the orders of the court. There again, we have, at the Hague, a momentous prophecy of the reorganizaation of the civilized world for purposes of peace, and the protection of order. It is but the shadow, the ghost, you may say, of an effective court as yet — for behind every effective court must lie force — the police force. That is what the international tri- bunal will need and must have to be an effective tribunal.
" Should we shrink from the prospect of such control, from the findings of an international court with force behind it to compel obedience ? We are used to all that in the organization of everyone of our nations, in the struc- ture and development of every one of our nations that process marks civili- zation in any one nation — the habit of obedience to the mandate of a court enforced. And that is what the group of nations, which is to make up the civilized world needs to create — the habit, as a group of nations, of submit- ting to the mandate of an international court enforced.
" Now, we people who have come into this new land, out of the older nations that loved liberty and slowly gained it, always shrink from new sub- missions. But if we look back upon our own past — and that is the only way of looking forward with insight into the future — do we not learn by our own experience that that is the way of peace and good- will? As I look upon the numerous experiments of free government on the earth, the whole ques- tion of success in free government seems to resolve itself into the amount of good-will which can be developed under free government between the governors and the governed, between the classes of men who are forced to live together under one form of government. That is the test of success of free government — the total amount of good-will which it develops. Now, our governments, the United States on one hand, and Canada on the other, have been more successful than any other free governments in the world, so far as I know, in developing just that good-will among men.
" We have great new strifes in both our countries, new strifes which have grown out of the astounding social and industrial changes of the last forty years. I see at this table one whom I am proud to claim as a gra- duate of Harvard University, whose business seems to be, as far as I can understand, to get in between the strivers in industrial contests. Now, these strifes have something to teach concerning international strifes. We have had such at their worst in the United States within the last fifteen years, and you have had them here in very serious form. We are both likely to have them in the future, because not all men yet are men of good- will, not all men on either side of these controversies are men of good- will — and so we are going to encounter this new form of struggle and contention.
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" That is the way out of that. I believe that your House of Commons has been taking some action to-day in the most hopeful way out of these strifes in the world, namely, through publicity, nothing but publicity. In the United States we are in the habit of complaining very much and very often about the publicity which our newspapers give to every fair, and every foul, happening in the United States. But, gentlemen, in that publicity, lies the great hope of the world. It is the guarantee of peace, it is the hope of peace, it is the way we are to find not only industrial peace, but a peace between the civilized nations of the world.
" We are going to see the limitations of armaments, the international court, the international police force and the compelled appeal to public opinion before war. That, as I understand it, is just what you are going to do with regard to industrial strifes — to compel appeal to public opinion before war in industrial concerns. And there I find the promise of a better day in regard to competitive arming. What a hideous waste that is !
"Some eminent authorities maintain that the way to preserve peace is to make yourself formidable for war. Gentlemen, that is not the way of the United States and Canada since the year 1817. And is there a more completely successful example to be found anywhere of the way to escape competitive arming?" (Loud and prolonged cheering).
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THE WORK OF THE SALVATION ARMY
GENERAL WILLIAM BOOTH, COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE SALVATION ARMY.
In a luncheon address before the Club on March 20, 1907, General William Booth told as follows of the origin of the great work of the Salvation Army to which his life has been devoted: — " Nearly forty-two years ago I was a minister of some note. I was brought to the eastern part of the great city of London where I was surrounded by a sea of vice and crime. I heard the blasphemies. I saw the deviltries. I opened the door a little and peeped in. I waited for someone to open the door. No one came. I told the story to my beautiful and now glorified wife. I said, l My darling, I have found my life's work, I have given myself up to this work and you and the children. Then we knelt down and asked God to bless our endeavors and vowed that this people should be our people and that so far as we could influence them our God should be their God. That hour the Salvation Army was born. "
The luncheon in honor of General Booth was held in Harmony Hall, and was very largely attended. Among those present was His Excellency Earl Grey, Governor General of Canada, Mr. Plunket B. Taylor, Presi- dent of the Club, was in the Chair. General Booth spoke as follows: —
"Mr. Chairman, Your Excellency, gentlemen, I thank you. How can I do otherwise for this very kindly reception? The appreciation of a man's life work cannot but be agreeable to him, and when it comes to work which has existed for so many years, during which time it has been my privilege to serve my God and my fellow men, I cannot but take it as a very great stimulus, helping me forward in the direction I have been travelling for so long a time.
"I have come here because I was told to do so, and I have to do as I am told. I am a man under authority. I was told that my com- ing here would have some goodly influence on this rising and important city, and might help the cause of the Salvation Army. So here I am.
"What shall I say to you? The time is so short, and I am so un- accustomed to limitations. However, during the brief time which the chairman informs me is at my disposal, I will do the best I can. I pre- sume I shall be asked to say something about the Salvation Army. I liken myself sometimes to Paganini, who performed on one string only. The boast respecting him was that sometimes he produced more music out of the one string than some people did out of four. If I have played pretty much on one string — the string of divine humanitarianism — I have been able to produce a great deal of music in the hearts, minds and homes of thousands.
"The Salvation Army has come to be a matter of considerable interest. It is commanding great attention in the newspapers. Royalties, Presi- dents, Prime Ministers, Cabinets, Parliaments, all sections of the commun- ity, are interested in the Salvation Army. It is an interesting thing, gentlemen, a very interesting thing. The conditions under which the men
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and women of the Army work are interesting. It seeks to fortify men and women. It strives to rescue them from the swirling sea of vice and shame, from the depths of degradation, harlotry and misery. That is the reason, gentlemen, for the existence of the Salvation Army. People who do not want to be disturbed by it often begrude a little financial assis- tance to the Salvation Army. They object to the beating of the drum and to our noisy methods. These are our weapons in the fight we are waging for the good of the poor and the wretched. We struggle and fight and em- ploy our varied agencies for the accomplishment of our object, the good of our fellows. Look at the teeming thousands in our great cities, men and women in hell already — not born into the world but damned into it. Under the conditions in which they live from their earliest years, it is almost impossible for them to be religious, almost impossible for them to be anything else but thieves and harlots and murderers. Everyone deplores these conditions and this state of affairs, but it exists, gentle- men. This class is the despair of the churches, and the churches have very largely given it up as beyond redemption. It is to help this class and to deal with this ever present problem in a straightforward manner that the Salvation Army devotes itself.
"There is much of romance in the origin of the Salvation Army. She came into being from nothing more or less than the simple, wistful longing and honest desire to benefit the class to which I have referred. Forty-one years ago, nearly forty-two I think, I was a minister of some note, for I had been travelling through England for several years, and had seen tens of thousands of people converted. I was brought to the eastern part of that great city of London. I was surrounded by a sea of vice and crime. I heard the blasphemies. I saw the deviltries. I opened the door a little and peeped in. I waited for some one to open the door. No one came. I went to my home. I told the story to my beautiful and now glorified wife. I said, 'My darling, I have found my life's work. I have given myself to this work, and you and the children.' Then we knelt down and asked God to bless our endeavors, and vowed that this people should be our people, and that so far as we could influence them, our God should be their God. That hour the Salvation Army was born.
" All being well I am now on my road to Japan. I find that unknown to myself and without my consent, my people have launched the work in Corea and Manchuria, and even gone so far as to open an establishment in Pekin. I must follow the flag and do what I can when it is once flying.
"Some people object to the methods we employ. These methods are adapted to the class we endeavor to reach. The usefulness of the Army to the poor is of some interest to Canada. We have been very active in dealing with the unemployed, and I think this problem is likely to be with us in the future. In this regard we have been of some service to Canada. Emigration and colonization plans are my remedy for the want of employ- ment. Bring the people back to the land, and enable them by skilful guidance and modern contrivance to find their living there. The only remedy for the unemployed is to find them employment. They are not able to find it in the cities and towns. Even in the booming prosperity in which the old country is at the present time, there is no room for skilled labour in the cities. Where, then, shall the unemployed go ? I say on to the land. For many years I have preached this doctrine. I have four distinct schemes by which the people can be brought on to the soil. The first is my colony farms. I have at the mouth of the Thames, farms of
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seven or eight thousand acres, on which we put people through various courses of instruction with regard to agriculture. We have sent fifty men from these farms to Canada, and not one of them has broken down or proved unsatisfactory. Then there are our emigration schemes by which we endeavor to select the right kind of people. There are our colon- ization schemes at home and abroad. The idea at home in this way is, get a man five or six acres of land near a city and he will do well. My doctrine is to help them to get on the land and furnish them with the methods and means of doing as well as possible.
" I must say in conclusion that there is, I think, nothing more inter- esting about the Salvation Army than its religion. It will, I am sure, commend itself to every one in this room. It is the religion of love. Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself."
His Excellency Earl Grey in tendering the thanks of the Club to General Booth for his address, said: — "I have had the privilege of having General Booth a guest under my roof. It is a privilege I shall not easily forget. It is a privilege for you both to see and to hear the General, be- cause the General is the greatest living illustration of the truth that nothing is impossible to the man who is in earnest. I hardly know any organization, political, religious or industrial, which has left so deep an impression for good upon the crust of the world's surface. The Salva- tion Army has been instrumental in bringing hope into the lives of thou- sands in all parts of the world, and it stands to-day at its highest pitch of disinterested enthusiasm.
" When I heard that General Booth intended to go to Japan via the United States, I cabled to him, begging him to come by Canada; and here he is. What is the position to-day? The peoples of the world are all appealing to the General — South Africa, Australia, even President Roosevelt. What sort of appeal is Canada making to him? I say it would be a proof of high statesmanship to secure for its development the effective enthusiasm and business methods of the Salvation Army. I do not know if General Booth has made any requests to Sir Wilfrid Laurier or Mr. Whitney. I can say this for the General, he thinks he has done enough if he finds the organization, and should not be asked to go round with the hat. He is doing his share of the work. It now depends upon the people here if they are prepared to finance any colonization scheme which seems good to the General and the officers of the Salvation Army. He does not want a gift, but he is quite prepared to accept an advance of money, which shall be secured on the land settled and every penny of which goes to the development of that land. Many a man secures an advance upon his good looks. I feel there must be some gentleman in Canada who would be willing to make an advance under the arrange- ments of the Salvation Army and on the security of the land so settled by the people sent out by that organization."
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BRITISH SOCIAL PROBLEMS
THE RT. REV. A. F. W. INGRAM, BISHOP OF LONDON.
The Rt. Rev. A. F. W. Ingram, D.D., Bishop of London, England, was the guest of the Club at luncheon on September 13, 1907. Mr. H. P. Hill, President of the Club, occupied the chair.
Bishop Ingram, who was received with great enthusiasm, the large audience rising and giving three lusty cheers, said that although he knew something about welcomes in his own diocese he had to come to Canada to find one more hearty than them all. Alluding also to Canadian loyalty he said, amid laughter, that he never heard the National Anthem sung twice at breakfast until that morning. His lordship said he had been limited to twenty minutes for this address, and as he was accustomed to addressing workingmen from a tub in a gas works during the dinner hour, he could be relied upon not to exceed that time.
Discussing what he should talk about, His Lordship said he believed in the old saying, "A shoemaker should stick to his last/' and consequently he would speak of some of the most pressing problems that the Bishop of London had to contend with.
In the first place, there was the appalling growth of London itself, the advance being at the rate of 100,000 every year. London, too, was like an octopus, swallowing up the country districts. Following on that came the terrible overcrowding, and it cut one to the heart to see the shocking places in which so many of the English people were brought up. It was indeed a common sight to find father, mother and six children living in one room. What, then, under such circum- stances, must be the physique of such children? In one district alone, the death rate was 52 per 1,000, whilst the rate in decent parts was only 18. It was not only the physical side they had to consider, for what must be the effect on the moral calibre of the people ? His Lordship's astonish- ment was that the boys and girls in the slum districts grew up as good and pure as they did. It could only be through the wonderful grace of God.
The next difficulty, he continued, was the spiritual provisions for these overcrowded districts. The Church of England alone built 215 churches in forty years, and they worked hand in hand with other religious denominations. No wonder his hair turned grey before he was fifty. (Laughter) . But what the church prided itself on was that for every extra ten thousand people a church, minister, and school were provided. (Applause). From a physical point of view the church tried to see that plenty of open air spaces were provided, and in one of the most crowded parts of the east end six acres were secured which had been kept " private " for two hundred years. It took 88 public meetings to do it, and His Lord- ship spoke at every one, Lord Meath, who took so much interest in those matters, also rendering help.
There was also a scheme on hand for garden suburbs. At Hamp- stead they had acquired from 80 to 100 acres, and the idea was in future
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that the rich and poor should not live apart so much, taking no interest in each other, but that they should live together in a garden suburb. One of the most growing evils was the divorce between the classes. His Lordship used to give garden parties to workingmen when he was vicar of Bethnal Green. Men came to those parties who had lived almost next door to one another for forty years, and when he introduced them one would say, "Yus, I thinks I've seen this gentleman afore." (Laughter). The result of these gatherings was brotherhood and true sociability one among another.
There was also, said His Lordship, a public morality council in London, composed of members of all denominations and of which he was chairman. They stopped the living statuary business in London within a fortnight, and it was impossible for a bad play or show to live in the city. Then it was a great mistake to suppose that planting a church in a parish was merely an ecclesiastical thing to do. It was the centre of the social life of the district.
What has all this to do with us? some would say, remarked the Bishop. Well, he thought they might be interested in what was going on at home, and they might be of some help. Canada did not want the wasters of England, and England did not mean to send them. Canada, however, might take some of the young fellows and encourage them so that they might have a fresh start in this wonderful country. His Lord- ship said he had had two dozen carefully picked lads sent out to Canada during the last three years, and he had received some delightful letters from some of them. They were now young men doing well and living manly lives instead of a dog's existence at home. A lady named Mrs. Close was taking these lads from the workhouse schools and bringing them straight out to Canada to commence a new life. The experiment showed great promise of success.
" With regard to yourselves, do take warning from the old country," said His Lordship in closing. "As your great cities expand do not make our mistakes. I look to Canada having 100,000,000 population and there is no reason why Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto should not be among the greatest .cities in the world. See, as you extend, that you have parks and open spaces for the population when it comes, and go on as you have begun. After all we are beginning to find out what is to be the religion of the future. The religion of progress is Christianity, and if you are to be, as please God you will be, one of the most progressive nations of the world be Christian before everything." (Loud applause).
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CANADA'S PATH TO NATIONHOOD
s
MR. RUDYARD KIPLING.
Mr. Kipling expressed the opinion that Canada's chiefest problem, a problem that in a measure affected all other interests, was the need for popula- tion. Canada, he said, needed men — millions of men — and he could not understand why there should be in Canada any movement for the exclusion of certain forms of labor. He declared that if Canada developed its state fabric on the line of a close and selfish corporation that glory and leadership which the future seemed to hold for it would pass to some other nation that deserved it better. And with the glory would go the power, and with the power would pass the prosperity, and with the prosperity would pass their freedom.
Mr. Rudyard Kipling, author and imperialist, was the guest of the Club at luncheon in the Railway Committeee Room of the House of Commons, on October 21st, 1907.
In an address before 300 members of the Club he made an earnest plea for men and workers, in order to develop the national destiny of Canada.
Among the distinguished men seated at the table of honor were Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Hon. W. S. Fielding, Hon. S. A. Fisher, Hon. L. P. Brodeur, Mayor Scott and Mr. Foster, United States Consul General.
Mr. Kipling in his introductory sentences stated that he welcomed the ovation as an acknowledgment of men who were not mere writers and talkers, but who had borne a share, each in his place and degree, in the constructive work of the Empire. As a result of his recent trip through the Dominion he rejoiced, he said, at the existence of an assured spirit of nationality, without which the greatest country on the map could only be an ethnological museum. That was an end that all were hoping, working and praying for. Continuing, he said : —
"No one underrates, no one ever underrates the peculiar difficulties that beset Canada on her path to nationhood. The ocean, it is said, can make a people of almost any tribe, but in your case shall I say the antiseptic treatment of an all round salt water bath was denied. You, of course, have the most difficult task of all, to search for your soul within sight and earshot of the crowd. This is not an easy task for the individual ; for the nation it is especially hard. There were days in your progress, anxious days shall I say, but I do not think you realize perhaps how largely Canada bulks, has always bulked in the imagination of the other members of the imperial family. I do not think perhaps you imagine how keenly all over the world men watched in those years to see what part Canada would take among the quicksands and pitfalls prepared and awaiting her, before she set her feet on firm ground. On the one side, as you will remem- ber, there was apathy, not in Canada only; ignorance, not in Canada only; there was poverty, doubt, dissension and ridicule. On the other hand, there was the awakening instinct of a nation in search of its soul, a nation
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perhaps a little wiser than some of its leaders. Between these two forces was born, I believe, we all believe, the spirit of the land. One sees it now by a thousand signs, one sees it now as much by what is not said as by what is said, but we behold its spirit in its own likeness and none other, ready to impress itself on the child that is born within the land and on the stranger who comes through the land. This being the case, we believe, we know it to be the case, one's natural impulse is to take everything else as easy but neither an individual nor a people having once found their soul can keep it except at the price of continuous struggle. I doubt whether unremitting and undeserved prosperity is good for the individual. I have no doubt that even deserved prosperity can be bad for the soul of the nation. "Some time ago I read a statement — I merely quote from memory — a statement to the effect that Canada was one of the places where a man was free from the sins of his fathers. As a matter of doctrine I should be inclined to think that there was but one place where his release can be effected and that would be Heaven, and Heaven only. I should be inclined to restate that proposition in this line, * Canada is one of the several places where, thanks to the valor and wisdom of our forefathers and to the labor and self-denial of our brethren elsewhere, a certain place has been secured in which a man may sit down and grow strong and wise against whatever chances may befall him. ' (Cheers).
"To be strong against any chance of good or evil that may befall, the first need of a nation is its own national spirit; the second is men, not merely hundreds of thousands of men, but millions of men, men to fill up and make strong the land.
" Now, this question of men is the very kernel of the whole thing, and the national feeling may be, or may be used to mean a certain danger. It is only human instinct to desire that our land shall be filled by the increase of our very own flesh and blood, that the multiplying generations shall succeed in filling it without improvement from the outside. But we of the newer generation, we of the younger nation, as I say, we have neither the patience nor the time to wait on these slow methods. The world has filled up, is filling up, and there are in the world a hundred nations that perhaps- do not look upon us with the eyes of awe and reference that we look upon ourselves. I know that many people consider it is wrong, almost wicked, to recognize a fact like that. But the worst use you can make of a fact, gentlemen, is to deny it. But even if it were not so, even if all the nations were to live together wrapped in universal love, even if we could be sure that the just contention of the smallest nation would be always favorably and justly considered by the largest nation, even then we are face to face with a law from which there is no escape, the law that affects occupation, and that law says that if a nation holds territory or resources, which for any cause whatever she does not develop, that territory and those resources will, directly or indirectly, be developed by other nations. The material result of that development may be very splendid, but there is a danger in the process of that development that the original genius, the original ideals of the nation, may be overlaid, distorted, debauched, and in the long run destroyed.
" Wherefore, on all accounts, it seems to me our need is men to develop the land and to develop the resources of the land. Our need is men at this time. There are not enough men in the land now to develop it, even on broader national lines. But most important of all the family life, on
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which the future of the state is based, suffers throughout the Dominion for lack of adequate and honorable domestic help which shall release the mother of the family to her proper work. At every step of my trip through the Dominion I have been struck by the strong persistent cry for more help, more people. At the same time I have been struck by the existence . of certain forces which wish, or seem to wish, to deny that want. Let me give you an instance : When I was on the west coast the other day there came a consignment of Hindoos and I was assured that their presence was not required, and that they would add to the already large mass of unem- ployed in the streets. I did not see that large mass of unemployed, but I made it my business to talk to our fellow subjects and they told me that although they had been only a few hours in port the majority had been already engaged to go to work at unskilled labor which the white man would not handle. There is no need that any white men should handle that type of labor. The white man is wanted, urgently wanted, in posi- tions requiring skilled labor, to fill posts where he would oversee the un- skilled labor for which I am told there are more posts than there are white men to fill them. (Cheers).
"Wherefore, gentlemen, I do not understand, what I am so often given to understand, that the question before this country is the exclusion of certain forms of labor. I do not understand how the Dominion proposes to control the enormous Oriental trade, and, at the same time, hold herself aloof from the Asiatic influx which is the natural concomitant of that trade. Above all, I do not understand why, with all the white immigration of the motherland to draw from, why with all these resources the Dom- inion should fear, or be represented as fearing, the consequences of that influx. As I said before, everywhere I was impressed by the cry for more men, for more people, for more labor. I was also impressed, as you realize I must have been impressed, by the existence of an organization or organi- zations, the evidence of a desire translated into a policy to exclude, or to regulate to the point of exclusion, all labor except what labor was lucky enough to be on the spot at the time. (Hear, hear) .
" This, I take it, is your problem. It is a problem that in a measure affects all the other interests. For myself, and speaking only for myself, I do not see how the existence of that desire to exclude all labor and the desire to regulate all labor to the point of exclusion can, in the long run, lead to anything except to starve the body politic and fetter the mind of the nation. (Hear, hear). Still less do I see how it can in any way help the interests of a nation which ultimately must assume nothing less than the very headship of the Empire as the Dominion eventually must do. (Cheers). Truly as I believe that, deeply as I believe in your future, I cannot see that your destiny is anything lower than this. If for any reason, or at the bidding of any section or subsection of your community, you lay the groundwork, if in the fabric of your state, which is the reflex of your soul, if you develop your state fabric on the line of a close and selfish cor- poration, that glory and that leadership will pass from you to some other nation that deserves it better (applause) ; and with the glory will go the power, and with the power will pass the prosperity, and with the prosperity will pass your freedom. You have now your own national spirit. Your first and last need is men — men of your own stock and ideals to develop and to fill your land that it may stand erect above the shadow of any fear from without or within. (Cheers).
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" You must forgive me if I have spoken perhaps very seriously. But you see I take you very seriously indeed — very seriously — and I think you perhaps do not realize how great Canada bulks in the imagination of the other great communities within the Empire. I am sure that you cannot realize how all that she does, how every act and word is watched, and keenly watched, throughout the Empire. A false step, a hasty word, an ill-considered weakness here, is felt, seen and heard wherever our flag flies — • is watched and discussed by the remotest races and religions that abide under that flag. Now, there are certain things which a man cannot, must not do merely because it is quite possible for him to do them — there are certain things which a man must do precisely because it appears impossible that he should do them. That obligation lies a million-fold heavier on a nation — it is as a nation among nations that you stand to-day, it is as a great nation among great nations that you will be judged. " (Loud and long continued cheering).
Hon. R. F. Sutherland, Speaker of the House of Commons, in moving a vote of thanks, told Mr. Kipling that he could not expect all Canadians to accept his view of the delicate problem of which he had spoken. They were determined, he said, to build up on the northern half of the continent a national life and a national sentiment different to that to the south, and in the doing of that they were determined to preserve the traditions of the great races from which they had sprung.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in seconding the vote of thanks, paid a tribute to Mr. Kipling, who, he said, did not think, speak, act or write as did other men. His words, his thoughts, his acts were all his own and he did not borrow his ideas from any man. In short, he cut a path for himself through the jungle. He had an individuality of his own. He had given expression and accent to the inchoate thoughts which for years had been filling the minds of men the British world over. They all desired that the British Empire should continue in the future as in the past. The chief glory of the many glories which would surround Mr. Kipling's name in the future would be that he had expressed the true conception of the British Empire.
In conclusion Sir Wilfrid took issue with those who had objected to Mr. Kipling's reference -to Canada as " My Lady of the Snows. " If there was, said the Premier, one expression by which he wanted his country to "live in the imagination of the nations it was Mr. Kipling's "Our Lady of the Snows. " The Canadian winter was the glory of Canada. In summer time it had rivals but in winter it stood alone, unexcelled in beauty and magnificence. Canada would always be proud of having deserved the compliment involved in " Our Lady of the Snows. "
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THE FUTURE OF CANADA
MR. J. S. EWART, K.C., OF OTTAWA.
At an evening meeting of the Club on December 4, 1907, an address was delivered by Mr. J. S. Ewart, K.C., of Ottawa, on "The Future of Canada. " On the conclusion of the address the subject was thrown open for discussion by the members of the Club and among those who partici- pated in the discussion were Colonel S. Hughes, M.P., Sir James Grant, Dr. James F. White, Dr. John Francis Watters, Mr. Alexander McNeill, Mr. J. M. Courtney, C.M.G., and Major Henry J. Woodside. A hearty vote of thanks was tendered by the President of the Club, Mr. H. P. Hill, to Mr. Ewart for his address.
In opening, Mr. Ewart observed that although he had accepted the invitation of the Canadian Club Committee to address the Club on the the political future of Canada yet he felt compelled to admit that he did not know what that future was to be. All that he would attempt to do, therefore, was to offer such suggestions as seemed to be of chiefest im- portance in the consideration of this most interesting subject. "Per- haps, " he said, "we may assume as a point of commencement that we shall not indefinitely remain in our present political position. We are a colony — at least a British Dominion beyond the seas, (that is our official title), we are not a nation, we are in a position of subordination to a Government and Parliament in which we have no representation, we have to ask for permission to do many things; our foreign relations are beyond our control. I am not complaining of that situation; I am not even arguing that any present change should be made in it. All that I am saying is that a position of subordination is one that cannot last forever. Canada must some day rise to the dignity of full nationhood, and either alone or in some partner- ship have and exercise the highest powers of government. And the ques- tion we have to consider to-night is not whether Canada shall ever attain to that status, but what shall be her constitution when the change has been consummated.
"Canada's future will most probably be one of the five following: — (1). Union with the United States. (2). An independent Republic. (3). Union with the United Kingdom. (4). An independent monarchy, with a Canadian King. (5). An independent monarchy with the same Sovereign as the United Kingdom. Which of these we do not know, but neverthe- less, as the very enumeration of the possibilities will suggest, we may reason and form some opinion as to their respective probabilities.
" But how are we to reason about Canada's future ? Well there is only one way that I know: You must study the past, and try to comprehend the present. You will thus see in what direction Canada is moving — upon what road she is travelling, and you may be able to form some opinion as to whether she will probably cease to go forward or will probably deflect and go some other way.
"But before commencing our examination of the political road which Canada has thus far travelled let me call attention to the very important
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distinction between the King — our titular head — and the King's Govern- ment— that is, the ministry of the day. Prior to the establishment in England of what we call constitutional government, the King was a sort of German Kaiser — he took an active public part not only in administration but in legislation, and in the House of Commons there were the King's friends and those opposed to the King. Situations of that sort sometimes led not merely to rebellions against the King, but even to his deposition, or decapitation. Now, as you are aware, the King takes no public part in the discussion of political affairs, and opposition is always directed, therefore, not against him, but against the government that represents for the moment the verdict of the last elections. The King holds himself aloof from all discussion. He devotes himself to the good of the people in a hundred other ways, and he is revered by everybody/7
Continuing Mr. Ewart referred briefly to the development of respon- sible government in Canada and to the changes which have taken place in our relationship with the British Government in the course of the past 150 years.
"It is," he said, "a grand story, that of Canada's fight for freedom — for the great British right of self-government, and it is full of interesting and even exciting dramatic incident. All Canadians should know it well. It is the chiefest part of Canadian history. And when we know it we know the political road which Canada has persistently and with the most un- swerving determination pursued from the commencement of her history down to the present day. -
"That road, need I say, is the road which leads to completest self- government. At every stage of that road there have been many of our own people (often some of the best of them) who thought that we had gone far enough and who deprecated any further advance. But Canada as a whole has never faltered and never hesitated. As she grew stronger the feeling, the sentiment (let us note it) has also grown stronger that Canadians, better than anybody else, know what is best for them.
"Observe now that the road of Canada's political development has not led us an inch from the British King, but that it has led us towards completest self-government. What now is our present position? You know it, and I shall not dwell upon it. We are very near the end of the road. Practically, although not theoretically, we enjoy legislative inde- pendence and administrative independence, we make our own tariffs, we tax British manufactures as we please and do not now receive even official remonstrance; we negotiate with foreign states for reciprocity arrangements, and by sending Mr. Lemieux to Japan we have added a long step to our previous advance towards the management of our own foreign affairs.
"We are so very nearly independent that the British Government itself has given us (at the recent Conference) the clearest and most satis- factory acknowledgment of that fact. Take the language of the British Prime Minister: —
" ' We found ourselves, gentlemen, upon freedom and independence
— that is the essence of the Imperial connection — freedom of action
on the part of the individual States, freedom in their relations with
one another and with the Mother Country.'
"The Colonial Secretary (the first of his kind) said that he concurred 'in the principle which the Prime Minister laid down, that is to say, the
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freedom and independence of the different Governments which are part of the British Empire. '
"The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies also spoke to the same effect. After those speeches, gentlemen, let no Canadian be afraid to speak of Canadian independence. It is 'the essence of the Imperial connection.' Not everyone under- stands that, but to those who have studied the question it is now very clear. Sir Wilfrid Laurier has again and again given expression to it. I am not aware that Mr. Borden has done so in precise language but all that he has said has been in hearty accordance with it.
" We are now probably agreed that the road which Canada has been following leads to complete self-government, that is, to independence under the British Sovereign, and that there is no appearance of halting upon that road. Now what precisely in such case would be our position ?
"We should be free from control by anybody but ourselves; we should cease to be subordinate; we should be upon a footing of political equality with the United Kingdom itself; and we should not be a British Dominion Beyond the Seas, but a Canadian Kingdom on this side of the seas in connection with the British Empire beyond the seas. We should be what the fathers of our Federation looked forward to and hoped that we should be. We should have worked out the destiny which they foretold and of which they laid so well the foundations. It was Sir John A. Mac- donald himself who wished for the title 'The Kingdom of Canada,' and who said that he had in view
" 'The' whole object of founding a great British monarchy in con- nection with the British Empire and under the British Queen
recognizing the Sovereign of Great Britain' (not the Colonial Office you will observe) ' as its sole and only head. '
We would be, as the Marquis of Lome somewhat prephetically said to us when leaving Canada: — 'You are not the subjects but the allies of a great country, the country that gave you birth. '
"The language may be unfamiliar but the fact nevertheless is that King Edward is to-day the King of Canada. Shall not the future make us a Kingdom, or shall we always be some sort of an inferiority ?
"Gentlemen, I think we can now see to the end of the present road. Let us consider the chances of deflection from it. "
Mr. Ewart considered briefly the alternative between a kingdom under the British Sovereign and a kingdom under separate sovereignty expressing the belief that in this respect we shall not diverge from the present road of our political development.
" Another possibility is that we may unite with our neighbors to the South. I do not know the future. In some far off year, under some un- forseen circumstances, such may be the destiny of Canada. I do not know. A racial war with the Asiatic millions may throw us into war union with the United States and battle comradeship may lead, as it often does, to political partnership. I am not a prophet. All that I say at present is that the present road does not lead to union with the United States, and I see no tendency to deflect from that road.
"The second possibility — an independent Republic — is a result less probable than the one we have just considered. We may discard it.
" But what of our third possibility — Imperial Federation ? In
1884 the Imperial Federation League was formed, declaring as its main
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assertion 'that in order to secure the permanent unity of the Em- pire, some form of federation is essential. '
" But the League could not suggest any form. It lectured and pub- lished, and finally went to Lord Salisbury (1891) asking him to call a Colonial Conference to consider the question. In reply Lord Salisbury declined to do so until he had some proposal to lay before the Conference : — '"We are almost come 'he said 'to the time when schemes should
be proposed without them, we should not get very far. '
"Not being able to agree upon any scheme the League dissolved in 1893, and no other such League has ever since been formed. The truth was that discussion had proved that Imperial Federation was impracticable. Imagine the reception which would be given in the United Kingdom to any proposal that the Colonies should have pro rata representation in the British Parliament — a . representation that would soon outnumber the British Members! What would they do with us? And more particularly what should we do with them ? Federation is impossible. "
Mr. Chamberlain, at the oustet of his Imperialistic efforts, had recog- nized and admitted the hopelessness of even framing a proposal for Imperial Federation. But what could not be done in the lump, so to speak, Mr. Chamberlain had set himself to accomplish by instalments; only to meet defeat and failure upon every point. He had failed, if for no other reason, because, at the very outset, he told us quite frankly that his object was to " create a new Government for the British Empire — a new Government with large powers of taxation and legislation over countries separated by thousands of miles of sea. " Taxation from thousands of miles across the sea was something which had a rather unpleasant sound in Canadian ears.
As a first instalment of federation, Mr. Chamberlain had endeavoured . to bring about a Commercial Union of the Empire — that is, to provide for some joint control over the making of customs tariffs for the whole Empire. On becoming convinced that protection would not disappear, he had abandoned his Commercial Union proposals and become a strong believer in the Canadian system of protection and preferences. The difference be- tween the two systems was the difference between co-operation and incor- poration. Co-operation, not incorporation, was indeed a short but correct description of Canada's conception of Imperial relations. Another of Mr. Chamberlain's proposals was the institution of an Imperial Council, which did not, however, commend itself to the Colonial Conference of 1907. Still another instalment of federation attempted by Mr. Chamberlain was the establishment of an Imperial Court of Appeal. In his subsequent withdraw- al of this proposal, Mr. Chamberlain had put forward another in favor of the appointment in the colonies of four additional law lords with seats in the House of Lords as well as on the Judicial Committee. Seats in the Lords were not, however a sufficient bait. Contributions from the Over- seas parts of the Empire for the purposes of war an instalment of federation upon which Mr. Chamberlain was specially insistent. In this matter, however, as in all others, the Canadian policy was co-operation rather than incorporation — development of our own forces, military and naval, so that when the time comes we way be ready to co-operate with the other parts of the Empire, in such wars as the Empire may undertake. The last Colonial Conference was remarkable for many things, but for nothing in so great a degree as the conversion not only of Australia but of the Admiralty itself to the Canadian idea.
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"Summarizing what I have said, observe that (1) The road of our poli- tical development has not led us away from monarchy nor from the British Sovereign; (2) it has led us to almost complete independence; (3) The ter- mination of the road is not far off, and it is the Kingdom of Canada un- der the British sovereign; (4) Probably we shall not turn from the road to join the United States; (5) Nor shall we become a republic by our- selves; (6) Imperial Federation, either in the lump or by instalments, is im- practicable and impossible. "
In conclusion, Mr. Ewart observed that although we are near the end of the road there is no general desire to hurry to its termination, and that as Canadians we have little reason to complain of the usual course of our ordinary political life. One feature of our relationship to the Empire was still in a most unsatisfactory position, and ought to be settled before it brings us embarrassment, the fact that Canada has no voice and is not even consulted as to the propriety or necessity of war. The situation in this respect was intolerably unsatisfactory.
' ' I am not arguing "he said, "what Canada would do to-morrow if call- ed upon. My own notion is that as in the Boer war, more men would volun- teer than could be accommodated with places. But I do say that Canada cannot be satisfied with an arrangement which gives her no voice whatever in the matter which is of all others the most important to her.' '
Are we, he asked, ready to agree to engage in war with France, or the United States, or Japan ? Are we ready to send contingents to fight with Germany ? Are we willing — no matter what the cause of the war, even though it be one wholly opposed to Canadian interests? Canada must some day have something to say upon the greatest of all national questions — the question of peace and war. It was impossible that Canada could be kept informed of every step in British foreign negotiations, but there was the usual method of procedure when two nations wished to act together in case of war, and entered into an agreement for that purpose. It was sometimes suggested that Canadian independence would speedily result in enforced engulf ment in the United States. Mr. Ewart did not believe this to be the case but thought instead that Canada would be compelled to place her war relations upon a satisfactory basis. He did not wish to be understood as advocating independence in the present address. He was doing nothing, at the moment, but pointing out the road which we are travelling, and sug- gesting what its termination would be if we did not turn from it.
" I am not going either to pretend," he said, "that independence under the British Crown is a position free from objection. There are indeed examples, but not of the most encouraging character, of two countries with no other organic union than a common King — such as England and Scot- land under the Stuarts, and Great Britain and Hanover under the Georges. The first of these ended in political union, and the second in complete separation. How long the United Kingdom and Canada would continue to acknowledge the same sovereign, no one can venture to say. Some untoward incident might speedily terminate the situation; but if the Canadian schemes of Imperial co-operation are allowed free play a vast increase in sympathy and interest might prolong it indefinitely."
Canada had already converted the Empire, with the sole exception of the United Kingdom, on the subject of preferential trade, and by convert- ing Mr. Chamberlain, had so impressed the sole dissentient that a strong political party in the United Kingdom was now advocating colonial pref- erences. Secondly, there was the Canadian idea of Imperial cables;
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thirdly, there was the Canadian idea of cheap Imperial postage; and fourthly, there was the Canadian idea of an All-Red route of transportation, which was meeting with the usual opposition, but which would ultimately succeed.
The difference between Chamberlain Imperalism and Canadian Im- perialism was quite clear. Canada had successfully opposed all attack upon her powers of self-government. Imperial Federation in the lump had been given up. The instalment plan had also been rejected. Canada had resisted all attempts at political incorporation.
In conclusion, Mr. Ewart said: —
" Gentlemen, I have finished, and my last word must be that if in some proximate or some far off day the future of Canada shall be as I have in- dicated: nationhood; self-control; political equality with the United Kingdom instead of subordination and subserviency to the Colonial Office; the Kingdom of Canada instead of one of many Dominions Beyond the Seas; Imperial co-operation in all matters of mutual advantage; co-operation in war under agreed conditions; co-operation in trade; co-operation in com- munications by cables, by post, and by speediest methods of travel; the increase and advancement by these means of Imperial sympathy and friend- ship and brotherhood — if this be our future, then I say that we shall yet reach the goal aimed at by Sir John A. Macdonald forty years ago ; we shall yet be 'a great British monarchy in connection with the British Empire and under the British Queen — recognizing the Sovereign of Great Britain 'as its sole and only head. ' Gentlemen, that is, I think, a future of which we need neither be afraid nor ashamed. "
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SOUTH AFRICA
THE RT. HON. VISCOUNT MILNER, G.C.B., G.C.M.G.
Lord Milner was the guest of the Club at luncheon on October 31, 1908, and afterwards delivered an address on South Africa in which he spoke of its resources, its present development and of the social and economic problems with which its people are called upon to deal. In this address Lord Milner expressed also the opinion that the political union of the British Colonies in South Africa would shortly be brought about as there was nothing separating them at present but what might be described as artificial lines.
Lord Milner on rising to address the Club was given an ovation. The attendance of members of the Club was only limited by the capacity of the dining room in which the luncheon was served and many who had been unable to obtain admission to the luncheon were afterwards admitted to the address. Among those present at the guests' table were Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, Chief Justice of Canada; Sir James Rennell Rodd, British Ambassador at Rome; Sir Louis Davies, Hon. R. W. Scott, Sir John Hanbury- Williams, Lord Lascelles, A.D.C., Sir Sandford Fleming and Colonel Sam. Hughes, M.P. The guest of the day was introduced by Mr. R. Gordon C. Edwards, President of the Club.
His Lordship said in opening: —
" The first thing to which I would like to call your attention is the fact of a certain general similarity — amid wide and immense differences to which I shall presently refer — in the conditions, for instance, of South Africa and this country. I have often been asked, while here, whether I was not surprised by the enormous distances I had to travel and by the peculiar conditions of travel, I mean by the fact that the places in which one was most interested and which were most important to one another were often separated by hundreds and thousands of miles and by very long journeys. And, in connection with that, it has been impressed upon me by many people that Questions like the question of transportation have an importance in this country out of all proportion to the importance which they possess in older and more thickly settled countries. I admit all that; but it does not take me by surprise, because I have been face to face with similar problems and with a similar state of things during some of the most arduous years of my life. (Applause).
"Putting politics entirely aside, the problems of South Africa are extremely interesting, and, in some respects, very similar to yours. As regards this great question of communication they are almost identical, that is to say the development of South African prosperity, and the con- nection between different parts of South Africa which has resulted, or will very shortly result, in a Confederation such as yours, would have been absolutely impossible without the enterprise of the people who first pushed forward the great lines of transcontinental communication. The first line of rails which connected the end of Lake Superior with the Pacific Ocean is of an importance in the history of this country which is paralleled
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almost exactly by the importance in the history of South Africa of the great enterprise which pushed a little local line of fifty-six miles, as it was twenty or thirty years ago in Cape Colony, first some 700 miles to Kimber- ley, then, in another direction some thousand or more miles to Johannesburg and finally beyond Kimberley something like seventeen hundred miles to the Zambesi, and has since pushed it 500 miles beyond the Zambesi into the very heart of Africa.
" Now, there are a great many lessons Jbo be drawn from the history of that railway, and I hardly know which to select as most important to be mentioned in the time at my disposal. But one lesson certainly is that the great thing is to get through. You can do a great deal of improving afterwards.
" Another thing is the rapidity with which, when you have once got your backbone of a communication system, the ribs grow out of it. With- in my own recollection I have seen an enormous development in the cross lines which connect the main South African lines with one another. Of course, the principal characteristic to which I have been directing your attention is the fact that the whole course of South African development during the last twenty years has been dominated by the progress of these lines of communication ; and I may say that, in the discussions which are taking place at this very moment at the council table at Durban between the representatives of the different South African States, it is the settle- ment of a railway question which is one of the very most important. If an agreement can be arrived at with regard to the divergent interests which have sprung up around the several lines of South African railways, I believe an agreement can be arrived at on any point.
"Another point naturally connected with this, and one on which I think everybody interested in South Africa must seek information, is the question of the possibilities of development within the country which has been so recently knitted up. Many people have said to me: How does South Africa compare with Canada from the point of view of future de- velopment? This is, of course, a question which it is impossible to answer, but there are several aspects of it on which it is easy to throw a certain amount of light. Speaking generally the resources of the two countries at the present time present the greatest imaginable contrast. Both have a certain amount of fertility, both have mineral resources; but, while the main offering of Canada in the market of the world and the main cause of her recent enormous development — the main cause, but not the only one — is her great and growing agricultural wealth, the extent of which is a dis- covery of comparatively recent time, the opposite is almost absolutely true of South Africa.
"The agricultural wealth of South Africa to-day, is comparatively inconsiderable; her economic strength lies in her enormous mineral wealth. Now, I do not think the extent of that mineral wealth is by any means fully realized. Figures appear in newspapers constantly, but they make very little impression on the minds of readers. It comes to this — taking gold alone, and taking the gold mines of the Transvaal alone — I have, within my own time, seen their output grow from a very little over £12,- 000,000 Sterling a year, to something like £24,000,000. And I have no doubt whatever — and I remember being laughed at when I said this five or six years ago — that this production will amount to £30,000,000 Sterling a year, or $150,000,000, taken out of the ground along a narrow reef fifty miles in length, before we are many years older. No one can possibly say
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what more there may be to come. One of the most accepted theories about this marvellous formation of conglomerate, which, as I have said, extends in an irregular line fifty miles and is now mined to a depth of four or five thousand feet in places, is that it disappears into the ground and all trace is lost of it at a certain depth. One of the theories which competent geologists hold, is that this is the edge, as it were of a cup, and that as it descends into' the ground at one place, there is another edge somewhere to be found, they do not know where, but at no very enormous distance, and that you may strike exactly the same gold-bearing reef over a very much greater extent of territory within a circumference of, say, one or two hundred miles. That may or may not be the case, but there is no doubt that there is this great body of gold-bearing conglomerate. It may dis- appear altogether into the ground to a depth to which we cannot follow it, may really be cropping out somewhere else within easily accessible distance though no one has yet hit upon it. Of course, prospectors are always exploring and new finds are always being talked about, but so far nothing has resulted. But the point is this, that, supposing that the portion of this formation which we at present know were all that we are ever to dis- cover, there is reasonable prospect of gold production to the extent of something like £30,000,000 Sterling a year for, at any rate fifty years, and possibly for one hundred years. Now, that is an enormous thing. But that, as I say, is only the Rand. You have, beside, the diamond mines of Kimberley producing diamonds to as large an amount as the world can afford to take. Their difficulty is to keep down the production in order to prevent the prices running away.
"In the diamond mines of Kimberley and in the diamond mines of the Transvaal, you have an annual production now of between £4,000,000 and £5,000,000, to which there seems to be no end for many years to come. In addition to this you have the gold mining in Rhodesia steadily in- creasing and at present amounting to between £2,000,000 and £3,000,000. And it will be strange indeed if this is the end of all things so far as the mineral wealth of South Africa is concerned. But you have there enormous wealth assured for the next fifty or one hundred years. As I say it would be a strange thing, indeed almost impossible, and contrary to all human probability, if other sources of wealth of a similar kind are not discovered long before these are exhausted. But, be that as it may, I have always maintained that the true policy of South African development is to assume that this immense mineral wealth which is certain is the end of all things mineral there, that is, in the way of precious metal. I hold that it is wise to assume that there is nothing to come and to prepare in time for the development of other sources of economic strength, other resources upon which the country can live when these minerals are exhausted. That is, to my mind, the sum and substance of wisdom so far as the economic de- velopment of South Africa is concerned.
"The revenue of the country depends practically, at present, upon its mineral production; directly or indirectly all the governments live upon it. But it is not enough merely to keep the country going, other resources must be built upon which the country can live when the minerals are exhausted. This, I believe, will be more and more recognized as the true policy of South African development. The question is, what is there more. Let me say at once that there is nothing, and there never can be anything at all equal, for instance, from the point of view. of agricultural wealth, to your Western Prairies. I have no doubt about that. There is
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nothing of that size and continuous quality. There are splendid patches of agricultural lands, but not so enormous, not so continuous, not so sure. But there are a great variety of resources at present quite untouched. For instance, the wealth of South Africa in coal is only just beginning to be tapped, and the wealth in iron which, in some parts of the country, es- pecially in the Transvaal, is very great, is quite untouched so far.
" Having regard not only to the quantity of coal and iron, but to their juxtaposition, the closeness in which these deposists lie to one another, there is, I believe, no reasonable doubt that the time must come, sooner or later, when the production of iron and of all those articles into the com- position of which steel and iron enter are about to play a very important part in the country, and that it may very well be the case that the centre of South Africa will be the greatest industrial region of the Southern Hemis- phere.
" Now, as regards the agricultural resources of the country, there is no doubt that a great development is in progress. The old idea of South Africa was that, while the rich coast strip would yield the most valuable products of the southern tropical climate — though that strip is not very large and not very healthful — the healthy high velt which is characteristic of most of South Africa was incapable of being more than a good pastoral or ranching country. But since the matter has been taken scientifically in hand people have begun to discover, in the first place, that a great deal of the country which used to be considered only valuable as pastoral country will really bear rich crops, especially mealies, and again that a great deal of country which it was thought could only bear crops with irrigation can, under more scientific treatment, bear crops of value even without this arti- ficial assistance. One of the most important things about South Africa to- day is the development of her agricultural resources by the means of science. That is of special interest to Canadians for two reasons. One is that this development is a good deal similar to what has happened in your own West, in this respect, that in the West to-day millions of acres are being cultivated with the greatest profit which were dispaired of even by good agricultural judges, ten, or at any rate twenty, years ago.
" This development, which has come within the last few years, is lar- gely a consequence of the fact that, directly after the war, we started, in the two new colonies, the Transvaal and the Orange river colony, very active agricultural departments. The Government took the matter up as it never had been taken up before. Up to that time, the principle of the South African Government had been that which at one time dominated the minds of many people in England, that the development of the resources of a country was not a thing which concerned the government, but that all the government had to do was to keep order, to see fair play between man and man, to pull down any barriers which might stand in the way of communi- cation, and then trust to the enterprise and energy of individuals to do the rest. As a matter of fact, that never answered. I do not think it is a perfect theory for an old country; it never answered in a new one.
"The first thing which was done after the war, and which went on side by side with repairing the damage of the war, was to try to re-start the country, in every respect, but especially with regard to its agricultural development, on a higher plan than that at which the commencement of the war found it. It never seemed to us sufficient merely to reestablish things, to make up for the damage, so to speak; our ambition first was to begin a better system with the new condition, and more especially to bring the
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scientific experience of other countries where agriculture had been taken up with conspicuous success to bear upon South African conditions. We looked around the world to find the men who might be competent to start a thoroughly scientific and energetic agricultural department in both of the new colonies. And we found them all over the world, but we found some of the best of them on this continent, and especially in Canada.
" The question which is being discussed at Durban at this time is the question of the federation of the South African colonies. The result will be, I have not the least doubt, a union in some form or other. The form of that union I would rather not attempt to forecast. Birt there is this great difference between the union of South African states and the union which has taken place here, that there is nothing really separating the states in South Africa to-day except artificial lines. I do not mean to say that there are not deep divisions among the people of South Africa. There are deep divisions, and only time can overcome them and draw the people together into one nation, and perhaps a long time may be required. But these divisions exist inside every one of the states, not absolutely in the same proportion, but in very much the same proportion. It is not a case, for instance, of bringing together a British community and a Dutch com- munity, it is a question of uniting a number of committies in all of which these same elements, in different proportions certainly, but always in con- siderable proportions, already exist. Therefore, so far as the question of race is concerned, great as the difficulties are which it presents, it does not present any special difficulties for union, because whatever problem may arise from the co-existence of nations of different languages and ideas in the body politic already exist in the different states, and they are not going to be increased but rather diminished, or, at any rate modified, by bringing these states together. The difficulty is of another character. It is that one of the states is so much wealthier and more prosperous, at the time being, than the rest, that there may be people within that state who do not wish to share their prosperity with the rest of South Africa, and, on the other hand, there may be people in the other states who are afraid of coming into partnership with such an overwhelming neighbor. I do not believe that these difficulties will cause the thing to break down but that is the nature of the difficulties and not the things which are commonly supposed to cause them.
"And, lastly, there is, I think, a certain amount of misconception in this country and throughout the Empire generally about the question of the native population. People often say to me : Is not the native question in South Africa the greatest danger? Well, the answer to that is: Yes, and No. It is not a danger, in my opinion, in the sense that there is much likelihood in the future of native wars or that native risings, if they do take place, will be formidable. The real difficulty is the economic one, the social one. You have rather over a million whites living in the same country and mixed up with perhaps five or six million people of a lower civilization. The tendency is to make all the lower kinds of work — I will not call them 'lower' kinds of work, but every sort of manual labor — the tendency is to make that devolve upon the black man. And, inas- much as the black man is the manual laborer, this discredits manual labor among the whites, and a white man there will not do things which a white man will do in almost any other country without feeling degraded by them, because he says that is a black man's work. That is the real nature of the difficulty — the fact that, owing to the presence of the black popula-
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tion, the white population is inclined to avoid work which it would be all the better for doing. It is a danger to the healthy development of any community to have a separation of this kind, and it is a danger, in my opinion, to the healthy development of the white community in South Africa itself that forms of work in themselves honorable and necessary should be regarded as unworthy of the white man owing to the presence of the black population which, as a rule undertakes them. That is one of the dangers you are relieved from in this country, and it is a matter of the very greatest social importance. It is one of the dangers which al- ways threatens white civilization — not speaking of British or Dutch, but speaking of all white civilization — this tendency of the whites to become, I will not say indolent, because that would not be a fair expression, but to become an upper class resting, in the last resort, upon the labors of a larger population of an alien race, with the consequent degradation of all the poorest members of that white race, with the tendency to form a class of poor whites, such as, I think, had been known also in certain parts of this continent, and with all the consequent social difficulties and demorali- zation. When you hear of the native difficulty in' South Africa, bear in mind that it is a social and economic difficulty rather than a political and military one."
Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Fitzpatrick: — "I have been asked to express the thanks of the Canadian Club of Ottawa to Lord Milner for having kindly consented to come here to-day to address them. I am quite sure that Lord Milner understands that in your warm reception he has the most eloquent expression of your appreciation. Mr. Chairman, you said that we knew of Lord Milner, and that what we required was to hear something from him. Quite true; we all knew of Lord Milner, every member of the Canadian Club is familiar with the work he performed, not only in South Africa, but in Egypt, and the work which he is performing now at home. We were anxious to hear something from him. He modestly refrained, however, from telling us anything of the important part that he himself took in working out all these problems to which he has referred. I may tell him, however, that his modesty is appreciated, but that our ignorance is not very dense, for we know of his work and are glad to welcome here to-day the man who, in a critical period of our history bore so large a part in the destinies of Empire in South Africa. (Loud applause). I shall not say more on that subject, but I would like to give Lord Milner a mes- sage on your behalf. I would like him to understand, as a representative Britisher, that you are anxious, that we in Canada are anxious, that the great proconsols of Empire should visit the outposts frequently. (Ap- plause) . We are anxious that they should come not only for the purpose of admiring our marvellous rivers, our great lakes, our noble mountains, our unrivalled prairies, our mines and our forests ; we are anxious as well that they should come not only to understand Canada geographically but to understand Canadians — (Hear, hear and applause) — that they may understand that we are blundering along, John Bull fashion, trying to work out our own problems in this country, that we do not pretend to any virtues, and admit many imperfections, but that we are doing our best for our country and for the Empire. " (Great and long continued ap- plause) .
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FREE TRADER'S VIEW OF IMPERIAL FISCAL POLICY
MR. FRANCIS W. HIRST, OF LONDON, ENG., EDITOR OF "THE ECONOMIST. "
In an address before the Club on November 9, 1908, Mr. Francis W. Hirst, editor of the London Economist, outlined clearly the free trader's view of the British tariff reform proposals, touching also on Canada's financial position and borrowings in the English market.
Among the notable company which followed this address were Hon. W. S. Fielding, Finance Minister; Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition; and Mr. J. M. Courtney, for many years Deputy Finance Minister of Canada. The speaker was introduced by the President of the Club, Mr. R. Gordon C. Edwards.
"There are," he said, "two kinds of markets in London in which Canada is interested. The first kind, of course, is the great produce mar- ket. London is by far the greatest emporium in the world for raw ma- terials and provisions. Of course, the reason is that, up to the present time, we have pursued, for something like fifty years, a policy of absolute free trade; we have interposed no barriers of any kind; and, for that reason among others, our markets in produce and raw ' materials are the markets of the world. That is one kind of market in which you are inter- ested.
"The other kind of market in which you are interested is the money market. Of course, there are some difficulties ahead of your country from the point: of view of credit. It would be affectation to pretend that Canada has not been borrowing lately at a rather rapid rate. What I would say is this: that, granted that England maintains a policy of peace and good- will with other countries, and that we are able to mitigate at any rate those terrible race quarrels which have had such a bad effect upon our own "unproductive expenditure and unproductive taxation, granted that we can smooth away some of these financial difficulties — I believe most fer- vently that the present Liberal Government in England will do its level best to smooth them away — and provided that you do not go too far and that you can convince our financiers that your capital expenditure is necessary, is economically applied, well administered and is bestowed upon really productive and reproductive enterprises, I think you will be able to count on the support, the moral and something more than the moral support of the London money market in the years to come. I think you will agree with me that that support is a very important and valuable factor for a country, which, like Canada, has unlimited resources of a natural kind, but has not by any means a sufficient population or a sufficient capital of her own to exploit these resources. At the same time, gentlemen, I would beg you to remember that borrowing is a very easy process — sometimes, as in your case, an almost fatally easy process, because your credit is so high that you can borrow very cheaply. But let us not forget that when we borrow money we have to pay interest upon it, and that that interest will constitute in future years an annual drain upon the resources of Canada.
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"So much for the purely financial aspect. Now I should like to offer a few observations upon questions upon which I shall certainly meet a great deal of opposition in your minds. To my mind, whatever may be the facts about your own tariff, it is all-important for the British Empire within the next few years that the mother country, where there is a very large population with great consuming power and a very large amount of floating capital ready for investment — I say that to my mind it is very im- portant indeed, politically as well as commercially, that the open market in that country should be preserved. If the open market is not preserved not only will the colonies suffer directly, but they will suffer indirectly because Great Britain will almost certainly — I think I may say that Great Britain will certainly — be involved in serious foreign difficulties, dangers and disputes.
" The one thing which, in times of stress and friction, has preserved us from a European war has been the knowledge in the great powers of Europe, which have from time to time felt hostile to us, that, if they went to war with us, they would immediately deprive themselves of their most important trade in this great free market, and would bring about some- thing like internal ruin by the mere act of proclaiming war. I need hardly mention that the trade between Germany and Great Britain amounts to £60,000,000 Sterling— £30,000,000 on one side and £30,000,0000 on the other side — and if they declared war, in addition to the terror of war itself, that trade would stop and hundreds of thousands of working men in Ger- many and England would be immediately thrown out of employment; and not only so, but some of the largest and richest houses in Hamburg, Berlin, London, Manchester, and Hull would be practically ruined. So, you can see there are very strong ties existing in consequence of the com- mercial policy which we have adopted, which help to maintain and pre- serve the peace of the world.
"This is only one aspect of the matter. You might say: 'Never mind the world, never mind foreign countries; what we want is closer relations between the colonies and the Mother Country.' Very good, I will take you up upon that ground as well. The Tariff Reform League is active at the present time. And the Tariff Reform League has already announced — it is quite clear upon the point — that the modus operandi, the way in which things are to start, is the making of a protective tariff against everybody, a fair measure of protection — measures of protection always are 'fair,' you know — a reasonable amount of protection, the amount of protection, which is judged to be necessary at the present time. That is the way we are 'going to start, and that protection is to be against all comers.
" A few of our imperialists — I call them imperialists, but I am going to protest against that use of the word — say that when the protective tariff has been erected, we shall be able to go to the Canadian, the Australian and others, and bargain with them very comfortably; we shall be able to point out to them the damage which our tariff has already inflicted upon them, and they will be forced to make concessions to us, and so we shall be able to come to an amicable and thoroughly imperial agreement. But does anyone really think that that is the way to amicable friendly co-operation of the different parts of this Empire ? I am generally supposed, in my own country, to be a Liberal. But my friends say that I have a strong Conser- vative tendency. When I know we have a good thing, when I know we have a system that binds, not with bands of iron, but with the much strong-
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er cords of affection, the center of the Empire to its important parts, I am a Conservative, for I propose to stand by that institution. I hope you will consider, and consider very carefully whether you will be doing a wise thing from the point of view of Empire and from the point of view of Imperialism and Imperial sentiment — for, after all, it is sentiment that lies at the basis of politics — to seek the unity of the Empire in this course.
" If you are to have a great commonwealth of great nations and com- munities, these nations and communities must be bound together, not by an imperial tariff, not by tinkering, not by bargaining, not by mutual retaliation and preference — they must be bound together by a feeling that it is well that they should subsist side by side and co-operate in free- dom. And I may go further.
"Assuming that the protective theory is the right one, I hold that if protection is good for Great Britain, it must be good not only for Great Britain against Germany, but for Lancashire against Yorkshire; if pro- tection is good for Canada, it should be good also for Quebec against On- tario, for Ontario against Manitoba, for Manitoba against British Columbia. If the thing is so good as we are told it is, it must be good in small parts as well as in large parts. I do not wish to go into a geographical discussion, but I fancy, merely looking at the map, that some of your provinces are as large if not a great deal larger than the whole of the United Kingdom. Then there is an argument which I should like with your permission, and certainly without offence, to apply to Canada at this moment. If you were to reduce your tariff by ten per cent a year for ten years, you would by that time be attracting to this country more capital and more immi- grants than you could under your present system or if you raised your tariff. Your lands would go up in value by leaps and bounds. Well to do American manufacturers, as well as people of small fixed incomes, who cannot afford to live in a dear country, would come pouring into this country, the United States would be drained of its best resources and probably in self-defence the United States tariff would come tumbling down as well.
" I think I have touched upon the main arguments that have occurred to me. But I wonder if it does not sometimes occur to those who are not directly interested in any protected industry, but who are living, let us say, upon a fixed income, upon interest, upon a salary, or upon earnings from one of the great industries of the country such as wheat or cattle raising, lumbering or pulp, or any of those other great industries in which you are able to compete with any nation in the world, that the protected tariff is simply a device for substracting money from their pockets and putting it into the pockets of other people. For, after all, when you come to look at a protective duty, there is no getting out of it that that is what it does. If, when you are buying a piece of cloth, the shopkeeper, instead of asking you, let us say, sixpence a yard, were to say : ' You must pay me four shillings and sixpence a yard for the cloth, and also one shilling and sixpence for either the government or one of our manufacturers, I do not know which, ' I say frankly that I do not believe that if things were done in this fashion — that is, if it were made an open transaction and you were told exactly what the position was — that there is a protective tariff in the world that could stand against the indignation of public opinion that would be aroused. "
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THE BOUNDARIES OF CANADA.
MR. JAMES WHITE, F.R.G.S., DOMINION GEOGRAPHER.
Mr. James White, F.R.G.S., Dominion Geographer, was the guest of the Club at luncheon on November 26, 1908, and delivered an address on "The Boundaries of Canada, " in which he discussed the various boundary questions which have arisen since 1762 and the methods by which each of them was adjusted. The guest was introduced by Mr. D'Arcy Scott, First Vice-President of the Club, who presided in the absence of the President, Mr. R. Gordon C. Edwards.
In opening Mr. White observed that : —
" Someone has said that there is nothing so interesting as 'the study of a nation in the making' and to Canadians there can scarcely be any study of greater interest than that of the boundaries that circumscribe this great Dominion.
"The great date-line in Canada's territorial history, is, of course, the Treaty of Paris, 1783. On September 3, 1783, a treaty was signed by Hartley on the part of Great Britain and by Adams, Franklin and Jay on the part of the United States. The preamble reads ' and that all disputes which might arise in the future on the subject of the boundaries of the said United States might be prevented, it is hereby agreed and declared that the following are, and shall be their boundaries, viz : ' In view of the fact that the disputes respecting the boundaries continued for nearly sixty years and that the San Juan boundary which was indirectly affected by them, was only settled in 1871 — nearly a century later — this preamble can only be called a delicious bit of unconscious irony.
" The first acute dispute was over the so-called Maine boundary and in considering it, it is necessary to, first, summarize negotiations antecedent to the signing of the Provisional Treaty of Peace signed at Paris, November 30, 1782, by Oswald on the part of Great Britain. The preliminary negotiations for peace were initiated by Lord Shelburne, who, as Secretary of State for the Home Department, had charge of colonial affairs. He entrusted them to Richard Oswald, a well-known Scotch merchant in London. According to Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice — Shelburne's bio- grapher and apologist — 'nobody could, in any case, have been more unfit both by character and habits for engaging in a diplomatic intrigue than Oswald, whose simplicity of mind and straightforwardness of character struck all who knew him.' He has also been described as a ' pacifical ' man which in modern parlance probably means ' peace at any price. ' This ' simple' but straightforward man signed a treaty which conceded to the United States an eastern boundary which coincided with the limits of the colony of Massachusetts Bay. From its intersection with the St. Lawrence, near the present town of Cornwall, it followed the middle of the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes to the so-called Long Lake and River, shown on the map used in the negotiations, as the largest stream falling into Lake Superior and therefore to be regarded as the upper portion of the St. Lawrence.
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" Between Nova Scotia, which at that time included the present New Brunswick and the United States the line followed the western boundary of the former, viz., the St. Croix River to its source, thence due north to its intersection with the highlands, the point of intersection being called the north-west angle of Nova Scotia, thence along the said highlands which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the river St. Lawrence from these which fall into the Atlantic Ocean.
"The subsequent dispute hinged upon the identity of the so-called ' north-west angle, ' Great Britain claiming that it was practically at the source of the St. Croix and the United States, that it was about twenty miles from the St. Lawrence. The line contended for by the United States was the line that had been shown on the maps and it might not have occurred to the British Government to raise the question, had not President Madison, in 1802, instructed Rufus King, then United States Minister at London, to negotiate respecting the adjustment of the boundaries. Mr. Madison said that it had been found that the highlands had no existence and sug- gested the appointment of a Commission to fix an arbitrary line. These instructions having been communicated to Congress and thus made a matter of public record, conceded a point which it was never possible to regain. After several fruitless negotiations, a Commission was appointed under the Treaty of Ghent which, however, failed to come to an agreement: One startling result of their surveys, was the discovery that the line that hitherto had been considered the northern boundary of the States of New York and Vermont was about three-quarters of a mile north of the 45th parallel and that this strip which included a new million dollar fort at Rouse Point was, theoretically, British territory.
" As a result of the failure of the Commissioners to come to an agree- ment, it was referred to the arbitration of the King of the Netherlands who in 1831, delivered an award which awarded Great Britain about one-third of the disputed area. Mr. Preble, United States Minister at the Hague, though without instructions, immediately protested the award. The British Government signified its acceptance and President Jackson, who was inclined to accept the award, afterwards, regretted that he had not done so.
"Several propositions for a division of the territory were made by each of the powers but were rejected. In the meantime disputes respect- ing jurisdiction caused both Governments great anxiety. Arrests were made by the authorities of New Brunswick and of Maine and, finally, in 1838, what is known as the 'Restooch War' broke out. A Maine land agent went to arrest British subjects who were cutting timber on the Aroostook, and was arrested with his posse. Maine raised an armed force, and erected fortifications and appropriated $800,000 for military defence. Congress authorized the President to call out the militia and appropriated $10,000,000. General Scott was despatched from Washington, as a me- diator, and arranged a modus vivendi on the basis of occupation by New Brunswick of the Madawaska settlements and by Maine of the country south of the St. John. In 1841 Mr. Webster became Secretary of State. He intimated to the British Minister that he was willing to attempt a settlement, and, in the following year, Lord Ashburton was sent out with full powers to settle the boundary. Maine and Massachusetts sent Com- missioners to Washington to represent their States but their unyielding attitude forced Mr. Webster to abandon written communications and hold personal conferences with Lord Ashburton. In a few days he was in
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a position to communicate to the Maine and Massachusetts Commissioners, the terms that Lord Ashburton was prepared to concede. Under this agreement, later known as the Ashburton Treaty, Great Britain received 5,000 square miles, five-twelfths of the disputed territory and 900 square miles more than awarded by the King of the Netherlands. She surrendered a small area of 36 square miles near the source of the Connecticut and the narrow strip along the northern boundary of New York. To compensate the two States affected, the Government of the United States agreed to pay them $300,000 in equal moieties.
" When the Treaty came before the Senate for ratification, Mr. Webster produced the famous ' Red Line ' map as proof that the United States was getting more than it was entitled to. A few months before the Ashburton Treaty was signed, an American named Sparks discovered among the archives of the French Department of Foreign Affairs, a letter from Frank- lin to the Count Bergennes stating that he was returning his map after having marked the limits of the United States ' with a strong red line. ' As there was no map attached to the letters, he made a search among the 60,000 maps in the archives and found one map of North America with a red line on it apparently indicating the boundaries of the United States. He forwarded the map to Mr. Fletcher who instructed Mr. Everett to ' forbear to press the search in England or elsewhere. ' As the map showed a line which more than favored the British claim, it was produced by Webster during the debate in the United States Senate to prove that the Treaty awarded to the United States more than she was entitled to and thus induce the Maine Commissioners to consent to the ratification of the Treaty. Later, when the injunction of secrecy on the debates was re- moved, Webster was charged with sharp practice and with having over- reached Lord Ashburton. He replied that he did not think it a very urgent duty on his part to go to Lord Ashburton and say that a doubtful bit of evidence had been found in Paris which prejudiced the claim of the United States.
" The best authorities are of the opinion that it is more than doubtful that the map bore any relation to the negotiations of 1782 and 1783, particularly as Franklin's letter does not contain any reference or note by the record keepers respecting any accompanying map. Winsor, in his ' Narrative and Critical History of America ' states that it is the same line as
is shown on Palairet's map of 1759 with the note 'the red line
shows another claim of the French, ' evidently referring to a French claim respecting the boundary of Acadia.
"But there was another 'Red Line' map. Fitzmaurice in his 'Life of Shelburne ' states that there is in the British Museum, a map from the private library of King George III, which shows by a broad red line, the boundary as claimed by the United States, with a note 'boundary as described by Mr. Oswald. ' Winsor says that the note is in the King's own hand and that if this map was not known to the British Government at the time of the mission of Lord Ashburton, there was a convenient ignorance enjoyed by the heads of the administration which was not shared by the under officers, for it was well known, as Lord Brougham acknowledged, in Lord Melbourne's time, when it was removed from the British Museum to the Foreign Office, and traditions are easily transmis- sible in such offices. Ashburton protested that he was kept in ignorance of it, and Peel and Aberdeen professed no knowledge of it to Mr. Everett
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till after the Treaty was signed. When the Treaty was assailed in Parlia- ment, the ministry of Peel brought this map forward to offset the clamor against the Treaty.
"As against the documentary evidence, however, Great Britain had . the best of all claims, viz: effective occupation. In the area awarded to Great Britain by the Ashburton Treaty, France, and later, Great Britain, had exercised jurisdiction and administered justice; eighty years prior to the cession of Canada the French Government had granted the seigneury of Madawaska and, in addition, the territory was traversed by the high- way from St. John to Quebec. To quote the late Lord Salisbury, ' what- ever the primary origin of his rights, the national owner, like the indivi- dual owner, relies usually on effective control by himself or through his predecessor in title for a sufficient length of time. '
"In the portion awarded to the United States, she, likewise, had acquired a title by virtue of possession. That Lord Ashburton was able to make so favorable a settlement was due largely to the alarm of the United States Government lest hostilities should be precipitated by a clash between the local authorities, and, doubtless, to a certain extent, owing to Webster's anxiety lest the British should become aware of the existence of the Paris ' Red Line ' map.
" During the negotiations of 1782, a map of North America known as the Mitchell map of 1755, was used. As it showed a large stream, called Long River, draining the Lake of the Woods and emptying into Lake Superior, and as it was, apparently, the upward continuation of the St. Lawrence the boundary was carried up this stream, through the middle of the Lake of the Woods and thence due west to the Mississippi. The map, particularly in this portion, was grossly inaccurate, inasmuch as the so-called Long River — now known as Pigeon River — rises within about fifty miles of Lake Superior and the drainage of the Lake of the Woods is not to Lake*Superior, but northward via the Winnipeg and Nelson Rivers to Hudson Bay. But for this geographical error, the line would un- doubtedly have followed the St. Louis River which empties into Lake Superior at Duluth. That map was also in error inasmuch as it showed the course of the Mississippi about where Winnipeg is now, whereas we now know that it is due south of the Lake of the Woods. During the negotiations with France subsequent to the Treaty of Utrecht Great Britain claimed the 49th parallel as the boundary between the Hudson's Bay Company's territory on the north and New France and Louisiana on the south. The Commissioners never arrived at any agreement, but this line was shown on all British maps, -and, as a result, there was a general belief that it had actually been agreed on.- In 1803, the United States acquired Louisiana by purchase, and, three years later, a Treaty was con- cluded fixing the 49th parallel as the boundary between the Lake of the Woods and the Rocky Mountains. Thus, reliance on an inaccurate map cost us, at least, north-eastern Minnesota with its immense beds of iron ore and the portion of the valley of the Red River south of latitude 49. The obvious moral is that we should have the most accurate maps possible, particularly during territorial negotiations.
"The Oregon dispute involved the title to the so-called Oregon Terri- tory, with an area of 400,000 square miles, which extended from the south- ern boundary of Russian America, now Alaska, on the north, to California on the south, and from the Pacific to the summit of the Rocky Mountains.
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"The claims of the United States were based on: —
"1. As the successors in title of French by purchase of Louisiana. As the grant of Louisiana was specificalty confined to the area drained by the Mississippi and as no portion of Oregon drained into the Gulf of Mexico, it could not have formed part of Louisiana.
"2. In their own proper right, by virtue of discoveries and of the establishment of Astoria.
"3. As the successors in title of Spain, that power having, in 1819, by the Treaty of Florida, ceded all her rights and claims to territory north of latitude 42. As the discoveries of Lewis and Clarke and Captain Gray were made and Astoria was established before the territory was ceded by Spain; any claims based on these discoveries were in derogation of the title of Spain and, instead of strengthening their case, weakened it.
"The claims of Great Britain were based on: —
"1. Discoveries by Drake, Cook, Vancouver, Mackenzie and others.
" 2. The Nootka Sound Convention with Spain, which conceded to Great Britain the right to trade and settle on the coasts.
"3. Occupation by the North- West and Hudson's Bay Companies.
" It is to be noted that: —
" Great Britain claimed the exclusive sovereignty over a portion only of the territory and in respect to the whole claimed only a right of joint occupancy in common with other States, leaving the right of exclusive dominion to be settled by negotiation or arbitration; whereas the preten- sions of the United States tended to the ejection of Great Britain from all right of settlement in the district claimed by the United States. The pretensions of Great Britain, on the contrary, tended to the mere main- tenance of her own rights, in resistance of the exclusive character of the pretensions of the United States. Great Britain offered to make the Columbia River the boundary between latitude 49 and the Pacific. The United States repeatedly declined to accede to this proposal.
"Great Britain's strongest claims were based on (1) Occupation (2) the Nootka Sound Convention with Spain which recognized her right to trade and settle anywhere north of California. The Convention of 1818 and 1872 had provided for the joint occupancy by Great Britain and the United States of the disputed territory, and, up to 1841, practically the whole population, 400 in number, was British, but, at the date of Treaty, only five years later, the Americans outnumbered them eighteen to one.
" Doubtless fearing that the stream of immigration would Americanize the whole territory, the British Government in 1846, concluded a Treaty which fixed the southern boundary of British Columbia at latitude 49 except that the whole of Vancouver Island was left to Great Britain. That their fears were well grounded was shown when, eleven years later, the Fraser River gold rush brought thousands of American miners into British Columbia.
"Hardly was the ink on the Oregon Treaty dry, before differences arose respecting the identity of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island, Great Britain claiming the eastern channel, Rosario Strait, and the United States the western. Eventually, it was referred to the arbitration of the Emperor of Germany, who gave a decision in favor of the United States. As the Treaty was drawn up very hastily, there can be little doubt that the intent was to follow a line through mid- channel which would have given San Juan to Great Britain and Orcas and Lopeg to the United States.
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" An account of the Oregon Treaty would not be complete without a reference to the story that Lord Aberdeen decided to accept the line of 49 as the boundary as his brother had written him that the country was not
worth a d because the salmon would not rise to a fly. It is quite true
that the Pacific Coast salmon will not rise to a fly, and it is also true that the opinion that the country was of little value was held by many eminent, and otherwise well informed men, in the United States. But that it in any way influenced Lord Aberdeen is, to say the least, very doubtful. It can, probably, be classed with the story that the decision in the Ontario- Manitoba boundary case was given against Manitoba because the judges were anxious to get away for the grouse season. In the first place, it is not very apparent why the decision would go against Manitoba, rather than Ontario, even if the judges did want to get away, and in the second place, the decision was given on July 22nd, and the grouse season does not open till August 12th, three weeks later. Personally, I think that the decision went against Manitoba because they had not a geographer to properly prepare their map evidence.
"Traditionary stories die hard. Probably ninety-nine per cent, of the people of Oregon believe that Oregon was saved to the United States by Whitman's ride to Washington whereas it has been proved that he went east on an errand entirely unconnected with Oregon and its trouble, also that, when in the east, he did not go to Washington and finally that when he left Oregon, there was no crisis in political affairs. There is documentary evidence to prove that George Washington did, occasionally, tell a tarra- diddle and that the cherry tree and hatchet story has no real authority higher than a school book. "
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LORD DURHAM AND HIS TIMES.
F. P. WALTON, LLD., DEAN OF THE FACULTY OF LAW OF McGiLL UNIVER- SITY, MONTREAL.
In an address before the Canadian Club on December 11, 1908, on the subject of Lord Durham and His Times, Dr. F. P. Walton, Dean of the Faculty of Law of McGill University, Montreal, observed that " Obvious as it seems now, very few people in 1837 realized clearly that British Colonial Government had up till then been conducted on a plan which would have to be abandoned forever. Durham, as an experienced British statesman whose life had been spent in the fight for representative government in England, saw at once the hopelessness of trying to preserve the Canadian constitution as it was. In its essence the Lower Canada question was simple enough. It was
whether the British minority or the French majority should rule The
fundamental change which Durham recommended in his report was substan- tially this: — Give Canada home rule or you will lose her. Wha't he did not and could not foresee was that the policy he recommended would be adopted in after years in all parts of the British Empire. "
In the absence of the President, the chair was occupied by Mr. H. P. Hill, ex-President of the Club, and on the conclusion of Dr. Walton's address, the subject was thrown open for discussion.
In opening, the speaker observed that seventy years ago on the first of November, Lord Durham sailed from Quebec for Plymouth on H.M.S. " Inconstant, " a name highly suggestive, as he must have thought, of the Government which appointed him. Three thousand citizens escorted his carriage to the wharf; the Quebec merchants volunteered steamers to tow the frigate into the channel, and crowds of sympathizers on those steamers sang "Auld Lang Syne" when the lines were cast oft7 six miles down the river. Lord Brougham who had been the instrument in causing Durham's resignation had been burnt in effigy a short time before, and Lord Mel- bourne, the Prime Minister, had narrowly escaped the same distinction. Popular sentiment in Canada was strongly in sympathy with Durham when he went home after his short mission, a deeply humiliated man, to die at forty-eight years of age.
Born in 1792, he entered the army in 1809, as a cornet of the 10th Hussars, made a runaway marriage to Gretna Green in 1811, and was elected 'a Member for the County of Durham in 1813, when he had only just attained his majority. In his election speeches he frankly avowed his intention to support Parliamentary reform, and Catholic emancipation. In those days an aristocrat like Lambton who declared himself a radical was regarded by his own order with much suspicion. The memories of the French Revolution were still fresh in men's minds, and the Tory party looked upon themselves as the champions not only of the Monarchy but of civil order and private property.
The period during which he sat in the House of Commons has con- siderable claims to be regarded as the blackest for many centuries in the
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political and social life of England. In 1792, the year of his birth, the national debt of the United Kingdom had been under 240 millions. In 1815 it reached 861 millions. The people had groaned during the long war under a weary load of taxation, and to their dismay, its termination brought no relief. The condition of the laboring class was deplorable in the extreme. The year 1813 in which Durham entered Parliament was said by Brougham to be the worst ever known. Wheat had risen in 1812 to more than three dollars and three quarters a bushel. The ordinary day laborer did not earn more than two or three dollars a week. It was stated in the House of Commons in 1816 that in one parish of Dorsetshire 419 out of 575 inhabitants were in receipt of relief and in a parish in Cambridgeshire every person but one was either a bankrupt or a pauper. In 1816 Durham, then 24 years of age, took, as his second wife Lady Louisa, eldest daughter of Lord Grey. This marriage brought him at once into the inner circle of the Whig party. But the Whig party had a long and hard struggle in the wilderness. In this struggle he took a highly creditable part. He was a strong opponent of the Corn Laws ; he supported Catholic emancipation ; and he was one of the most active and powerful advocates of parliamentary reform.
For a good many years before 1831 the Whigs had realized that the great obstacle to political progress lay in the state of parliamentary re- presentation. * Until that was altered all other reforms would have to wait. The corruption of the Rotten Boroughs, whose patrons sold them in the open market, and the exclusion of the mass of the people from the franchise had become so familiar that the country might have borne with these evils a little longer, but the rise of the large towns reduced the system of parliamentary representation to such an absurdity that no ingenuity could defend it. Old Sarum which returned two Members to Parliament, con- sisted of sixty acres of ploughed land without a house on it. At election it was necessary to put up a tent to shelter the returning officers who received the votes of seven electors. Gatton in Surrey had for centuries never more than half a dozen voters. Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Sheffield, had on the other hand, no members at all.
In the formation of Lord Grey's Government in 1830, Durham was made Privy Seal and in the following year he was one of a committee of four to draft a scheme on parliamentary reform. Lord Durham sat in Lord Grey's Cabinet until 1833 when he resigned partly for reasons of health, and partly because he could not agree with his party. The deaths in rapid succession of his son and of his two daughters by his first wife had broken down a constitution never robust. A contemporary authority goes to show a sad lack of restraint on Durham's part. He was petulant, over-bearing and arrogant. Grey was the soul of honor and genuinely fond of Lambton and for his daughter's sake was willing to put up with more from him than any one else. Durham was impetuous, hot, unable to compromise. It is easy to say that he was in advance of the Whigs in advocating the ballot, triennial elections and household suffrage. In practical politics, unfortunate as it may be, perpetual compromises are necessary and the statesman is the man who can induce a number of men who differ on many points to agree on some practical line of action and follow it out. There is very little evidence that Durham possessed much of this sort of wisdom. He had very little of what Mr. Gladstone called the great virtue of putting one's mind into the common stock.
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On May 9, 1832, Lord Grey's first administration came to an end by the resignation of Ministers. King William the Fourth shrank from the policy of creating as many new peers as would enable the Reform Bill to get through the House of Lords. Instead of that he tried to induce Wellington to form a government. But there was no help for it. The King had to send for Grey again and to give him the necessary assurance about the creation of peers. This strong measure, however, was not needed. Wellington, as some one remarked, said to his supporters in the House of Lords, " My Lords, right about turn, " and the Reform Bill was passed.
In 1834 Lord Grey finally resigned. His Ministry had done many notable things, remodelled the Poor Law, passed the first Factory Act, abolished slavery in the West Indies, and secured the independence of Belgium. For all these Lord Grey deserves honor, but most of all for the Reform Bill, the measure which he had advocated for forty years.
Melbourne who followed him in the Premiership found no place in the Cabinet for Durham. He said to those who were pressing Durham's claims that he knew from experience there would be no peacejin the cabinet of which Durham was a member. Melbourne's first administration lasted only four months and Sir Robert Peel's administration which followed was equally short-lived. The King, much to his chagrin, had to send for Melbourne again. Durham was a second time excluded from the Cabinet. It is well known that he wanted the Foreign Office and urged Lord Grey to press his claims. But apart from Melbourne's belief in Durham's intract- ability, it would be very difficult to supersede Palmerston in the office he had filled for four years. It was felt, however, that Durham's undoubted capacity and influence ought to be placed in a position of usefulness and he was appointed in 1835 Special Ambassador to St. Petersburg, where difficult questions had to be adjusted with the Russian Government. The period of nearly two years which Durham spent in St. Petersburg was, perhaps, all things considered, the most successful part of his career. He acquired the friendship of the Czar Nicholas and his efforts brought about a much better understanding between England and Russia. Within a month of his return to England he was offered another mission of a very different character. This was to proceed to Canada as Lord High Com- missioner with almost dictatorial powers.
The constitution of Lower Canada was to be suspended and Durham was to have the duty of suppressing the rebellion, and of suggesting such constitutional changes as might be necessary. Melbourne earnestly pressed upon him the duty of accepting this very difficult task, and the young Queen herself, whom Durham had known from childhood, expressed her personal desire that he should go. In such circumstances it was im- possible to refuse, but Durham knew well that the situation in Canada was critical in the extreme. He wrote to Melbourne; "I will consent to undertake this most arduous and difficult task, depending on the cordial and energetic support of Her Majesty's Government, and on their putting the most favorable construction on my actions, " — pathetic words in the light of what followed.
Continuing, Dr. Walton said: — "It is impossible in the space at my disposal to trace the history which culminated in the Rebellion of 1837, headed in Lower Canada by Louis Joseph Papineau, and in Upper Canada by William Lyon Mackenzie. From the military -point of view the Rebel- lion was not serious, but the disaffection of which it was a symptom was wide and deep. The storm had been gathering for years, and it had become
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evident that some modus vivendi must be found, if Canada were to remain subject to the British Crown. The sad and sordid struggle which had so long been going on in Canada was essentially a race-struggle. How could it be otherwise? The population of Lower Canada in 1837 was probably about 600,000 persons. Of these 150,000, speaking roughly, were of British or Irish origin. In the Assembly, or elected house, there had been for years a large majority of French-Canadian members, most of them devoted adherents of Papineau. The number of seats had at various times been increased and in the Parliament of 1835, the last Parliament of the old Province of Lower Canada, there were eighty-nine Members. The Legis- lative Council, which had at the same time thirty-four Members, of whom many took little part in the work of the Council, was composed of persons nominated by the Governor, and holding their seats for life. In this body the British element had always predominated. The number of Councillors had been increased shortly before, but the Council was in no sense a body which represented the majority of the people. "
Politics in Lower Canada consisted of a perpetual struggle between the Assembly on the one hand and the Legislative Council, the Executive Council and the Governor on the other. The Assembly was French, Catholic, and strong in the support of three-fourths of the people; its opponents were British, Protestant, and claiming to be protected by the British Government. Both had grievances. The British element had almost all the commerce in its hands and had every reason to complain of the neglect of commercial interests by the Government. The French element complained that the constitution which had been given them was a mockery. The British regarded the French as rebels; the French spoke of the British as foreigners. Things had come to the breaking point. Obvious as it seems now, very few people in 1837 realized clearly that British Colonial Government had, up till then been conducted on a plan which would have to be abandoned forever. Durham, as an experienced British statesman, and more especially, as one whose life had been spent in the fight for representative government in England, saw at once the hopelessness of trying to preserve the Canadian Constitution as it was. In its essence the Lower Canada question was simple enough. It was whether the British minority or the French majority should rule.
In Upper Canada, fortunately, the race difficulty did not arise. The question there was whether the little official clique at Toronto or the ma- jority in the Legislature was to be supreme.
The fundamental change which Durham recommended in his report was substantially this: Give Canada Home Rule or you will lose her. What he did not or could not foresee was that the policy he recommended would be adopted in after years in all parts of the British Empire.
The report which Durham presented on the state of Canada has fre- quently been called the most important state paper in our archives. Nothing could be better than the way in which it pointed out the funda- mental evils in Canada, first, the race animosity, and second, government by the clerks in Downing street. The key-note of the report is contained in the following passage: —
" I expected to find a contest between a government and a people. I found two nations warring in the bosom of a single state. I found a struggle, not of principles, but of races; and I perceived that it would be idle to attempt any amelioration of laws or institutions, until we could first succeed in terminating the deadly animosity that now separates the
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inhabitants of Lower Canada into the hostile divisions of French and English. "
In his report, Durham showed that under the existing system, the main control was exercised really by the permanent officials in Downing Street.
" The Governor, continually embroiled in quarrels with the Assembly, referred all his difficulties to Downing street. The Secretary of State there generally knew little, and, it is to be feared, sometimes cared less about the wranglings of these savage tribes in Canada; he relied upon the advice of the permanent officials, gentlemen for the most part appointed through influence, promoted by virtue of seniority, and nourished on red tape.
"A leading Australian politician, George Higginbottom, afterwards Chief Justice of Victoria, once remarked in the Assembly: — 'It might be said with perfect truth that the million and a half of Englishmen who inhabit these colonies, and who during the last fifteen years have believed they possessed self-government, have been really governed during the whole of that time by a person named Rogers.'
" Durham;s message to England was that this system must go by the board. Canada must be left to manage her own affairs, make her own blunders, and pay for them herself. Durham, like most persons who are called upon to interpose between opposing parties, ended by alienating both of them. The British element looked upon him as having deserted their side, and ranged himself with a party who were in their eyes a band of rebels. The French-Canadians, well disposed to Durham at first, and delighted with him for putting their case with so much force and point, were bitterly disappointed at his making his great recommendation of responsible government conditional upon the union of Upper and Lower Canada into one province. They were most unwilling to be linked with the Ontario Protestants, and they looked upon this as part of a great scheme for annihilating their separate national existence. "
When Durham arrived in Canada, he found a number of the leaders of the Rebellion in prison awaiting trial. Papineau and many others had escaped across the frontier. The problem was how to deal with these rebels. The popular sentiment of the French-Canadians was entirely with them, and if they had been brought to trial in the ordinary way it was certain that a jury would acquit them. To try them by court-martial, or to employ means to get a packed jury, would create a bad impression in the country. Moreover, Durham himself was strongly against dealing out stern justice to these men. They were manifestly guilty of high treason, but they were not without excuse. The very fatuity of their attempt made it seem foolish to treat it too seriously. Many of the English party, though not all, agreed with Durham that leniency was the best policy.
Nothing, however, could have been more unfortunate and nothing, it must be admitted, less judicious than Durham's manner of dealing with the matter. He employed the services of an intermediary who was to interview the prisoners and invite them, in the hope of clemency, to sign a letter, placing themselves at the discretion of the Commissioner. Having, after some negotiation, secured a letter signed by Nelson and the others in sufficiently explicit terms, Durham, on the 28th June, 1838, with the con- sent of his little council of five, issued an ordinance directing Nelson and his fellow prisoners to be transported to Bermuda during Her Majesty's pleasure, and enacting that, if they were found in Lower Canada, they
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should be guilty of high treason. If it had stopped here, the ordinance would have been enough to make any lawyer's hair stand on end, for Dur- ham had no more jurisdiction over the Bermudas than over the moon, and the Governor of these islands reasonably protested that if he restrained the prisoners he would be liable to an action for false imprisonment. More- over, to sentence without trial men charged with a crime like this on the strength of confessions induced by promises express or implied is entirely contrary to English law.
But the unhappy ordinance not only dealt with the birds in the hand in such an extraordinary manner, but went on to deal in a way even more incredible with the birds in the bush. Papineau and fifteen others had escaped into the United States or elsewhere. They, at least, had con- fessed nothing, and the ordinance, without finding them guilty of high 'treason, declared that if they returned to Lower Canada they should suffer death as traitors. When this ordinance reached England Brougham brought it up before the House of Lords, and a full-dress debate took place with regard to its legality.
It was urged that the ordinance was a legislative act, but the answer was that Durham and his Council were not empowered, either by the letter, or the spirit, of the Act under which they held office, to alter the funda- mental principles of the English Criminal law. The legal members of the House exposed its illegality with such unanswerable force that Melbourne and the Government felt it was hopeless to defend it, and the ordinance was disallowed. When Durham heard of this he at once resigned, and went back to. England.
Durham survived his return to England only about eighteen months, and died July 28th, 1840, a broken man. With all his faults he had done much for England and much for Canada.
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CANADA'S FERTILE NORTHLAND
MR. R. E. YOUNG, OF OTTAWA.
Mr. R. E. Young, of Ottawa, Superintendent of the Railway Lands Branch of the Department of the Interior, was the guest of the Club at an evening meeting on December 21, 1908, and delivered an address of very great interest on the undeveloped resources of the Northland of Canada. In opening Mr. Young dwelt upon the wonderful progress which has beer made in the Prairie Provinces during recent years and illustrated that progress by the following facts and figures : —
Railways — November 1st, 1908, 8,582 miles of constructed line. When the speaker first entered the West from Ontario in 1880, he travelled over the only railway then in the country being 66 miles of partly finished line from Emerson to Winnipeg.
Population — All Canada 7,000,000 and in the Prairie Provinces 1,118,876 or nearly one-sixth.
Land situation — figures in millions of acres; total area surveyed, 134; total area which has passed from control of the Crown, 90^; total area homesteaded, 35; total area under cultivation in 1908, 9^; and under wheat, 6.
In contrasting the total area surveyed with the area alienated, and remembering that the residue in the hands of the Government contains probably most of the poor land, Mr. Young pointed out that in the present surveyed area, or " Fertile Belt, " which many people have thought unlimit- ed, the area available, the magnet of free farms would not long continue as an attraction to immigrants — therefore, the importance of showing, if possible, • that in the North Country there are still free grant areas attractive to settlement.
As regards the question of future production in the settled area it had been shown that the average of the three years 1906-7-8 in wheat acreage was 5,333,333 acres and of wheat production 90,000,000 bushels; also that the value of all grains on the 9,500,000 acres under grain cultivation in 1908 was $143,000,000. If .only one-half the surveyed area, or 67,000,- 000 acres, was used to measure future production it would be seen that the ultimate grain value should equal over one billion dollars, and this without considering the value of stock and dairy products. Mr. Young referred to the well known superiority of Prairie Hard Wheat and the advantage of the winter climate in the retention of soil fertility and, as showing the certainty of a ready market observed that the prediction had been made by James J. Hill that the United States would contain 200,000,000 people by 1950 and that long before that time they would require every bushel of Canadian wheat they could get. " $ " wheat and over was practically a certainty of the future.
As an illustration of the rapid growth of settlement in recent years and what it meant, the speaker pointed out that the homesteaded areas in 1906 and 1907 equalled the whole of the Western Peninsula of Ontario, containing twenty-three counties, or one-quarter of the population of
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Canada in 1901, whilst the homestead area in 1908 equalled the whole of the Eastern Townships of Quebec.
Having thus emphasized the rapid growth and future prosperity of the Prairie West, and, therefore, the importance of its northern hinterland, the speaker in developing his subject referred to the erroneous idea fre- quently met with that latitude governed climate and showed from the evidence of Mr. Stupart, Director of the Meteorological Service, that the summer temperature of points on Lake Athabaska and even on the Mac- kenzie River were nearly the same as those of Winnipeg and that the iso- thermal lines trended a long way towards the north as you travelled west- ward across Canada. In the West it was colder in the winter than it was in Ontario and the winters longer but the climate was undoubtedly healthy and in any case, as somebody had observed, "things don't grow in the winter. " Ordinary garden vegetables were grown even as far north as Good Hope, on the Mackenzie River, close to the Arctic Circle, and at a large number of points scattered throughout the North Country wheat had been grown as well as a variety of agricultural products. At Chipe- wyan, on Lake Athabaska, wheat had been grown which took a high award at the Centennial Exhibition, in Philadelphia, in 1876, and at Ver- milion on the Peace there was a settlement where 25,000 bushels had been raised in 1907 and where a modern flour mill was established. Sir Alex- ander Mackenzie, the discoverer of the Mackenzie River, had written of a fur-trader's garden on the Athabaska as long ago as 1792 — "As fine a garden as I have seen in Canada. " Growth in the Far North was almost inconceivably rapid owing to the long summer day and the greater degree of heat than one would expect to find in these latitudes. At Good Hope the leaves on the trees were fully formed after only five or six days growth and at McPherson, inside the Arctic Circle, in three days, whilst at points not so far north the growth although not so rapid as the foregoing was much faster than in Ontario. It reminded one of the story that used to be told in the West about the young Ontario man who had gone into farming at Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and who in a burst of enthusiasm about his new home, said, in writing to his father in Ontario, " Dad, you can grow anything here — except pumpkins and squash, which get all worn out travelling around after the vines. "
The experiments in agriculture thus far, except at one or two points in the Peace River country, had been made under most unfavorable con- ditions and the inhabitants took little interest in grain raising as they were almost entirely flesh eaters. There were, however, various reasons for looking for better results in the future, among them being the acclimatiza- tion of the grain as had been proved in Manitoba, and the hope that the efforts of Dr. Saunders of the Experimental Farm would, as he predicted, before long produce a good hard wheat which would mature ten days or a fortnight earlier than the present varieties. The effect of the absorption of sun heat by the black soil, when any considerable area has been brought under cultivation was another factor, the result of this absorption being radiation of heat at night in August at the critical time for frost. Also it was to be borne in mind that the time of maturing was shorter after the extreme fertility had been taken out of the soil by the cropping of the first years.
The area in the North Country available for agriculture had been estimated by many persons who had travelled through or lived in the country, but some of these estimates the speaker thought rather high.
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There might be, however, at least four or five times the area which was under cultivation on the prairies in 1908.
The development of the country would probably be best along the line of mixed farming. Cattle had been kept at all the northern posts of the Hudson's Bay Company for many years and the presence of the buffalo in immense numbers in the Peace River country and north of it in early days showed that there was good grazing. The grasses of the North Country had been described by Prof. John Macoun, Botanist of the Geological Survey, as the best hay grasses on the prairie. The low altitude — all the country sloping towards the north — and the long day had been, more- over, referred to by Prof. Macoun as fixed conditions which would always remain the same.
Among other sources of wealth were petroleum, of which there were evidences over an immense area; natural gas, salt, coal, gold, copper, iron and gypsum. There was the strongest reason to expect that valuable deposits of copper existed in Northern Saskatchewan and north and northeast of it towards Hudson Bay. Geologically the mineralized area north of the Saskatchewan and extending from the Hudson Bay west- ward, was most promising, but it was almost entirely an unprospected country and the experience of Canada in the mineral development at Dawson, Rossland, Cobalt and many other points showed that we might yet expect great mineral discoveries in our as yet unexplored Northland. There was besides timber in plenty in Northern Alberta for the settler and for the needs of the country. Water powers from which could be developed an immense amount of electric energy existed at many points; also, there was a wonderful system of natural waterways suitable for moderate draft river steamers and requiring only a connecting railway to link them up to the existing railway systems at Edmonton in order to open transportation north to the Arctic Ocean, and west to the Rocky Mountains.
Mr. Young in closing said: — " Before closing I would like to say to you that I would be pleased to think that I had entertained you; I would be better pleased to think that I had converted you into believers in the Northland, and I would say to you : Ask yourselves the question as I have asked it of myself many times; is it to be supposed that the fur traders, explorers, missionaries, and trained scientific observers who have all written about that country for over one hundred years — and it is from the mass of testimony from such men that I have been quoting to you — can they all have been in a conspiracy to paint a rosy picture which cannot be justified? Such a supposition has only to be stated to carry with it its own refutation.
" I have already referred to a question which was asked by a miner at a Rossland political meeting — ' What is there in it for us ? ' It would be unnecessary and a waste of time to endeavor to give any further answer to that question. Would it be a flight of fancy to look forward a few years, when the Member for Portage la Loche, the Member for Vermilion, and the Member for Providence may foregather in the rotunda of the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa, and wonder that anybody should have thought it necessary to ask such a question in the Capital of Canada.?
"Prior to 1886 the representation in the House of Commons was, for Manitoba five Members, and for the North- West Territories none. If the census could only keep up with the population we would have forty-one Members now.
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'What is there in it for us?' I wish I could adequately convey to you what appears to me to be an answer to that question on this occasion. Go into any leading library in Canada and you will find an imposing array of volumes — the ' Makers of Canada ' and they tell of great deeds by great Canadians ; but is Canada made yet ? Who are the ' Makers of Canada ' of the future? Is it not from among the Canadian Clubs that the inspira- tion for the architects of future Canada should come?
" I recalled on a recent occasion in this city an incident of many years ago which I may perhaps repeat now. I spoke then of a young Canadian whom I met on a Canadian Pacific Railway transcontinental train, re- turning after several years spent in Western Australia and who said to me in contrasting the arid or semi-arid conditions in that country with the conditions so different in that respect in Canada and in referring to his satisfaction to be once more in his native land — 'Think of a man who would voluntarily leave such a beautiful country — for any country ! '
" When we think on all these matters, is it any wonder that reflecting Canadians are apprehensive — not as to the wealth, the variety and the abundance of Canada's resources, not because of doubts as to the future material wealth of Canada, but whether the Canadian people can success- fully bear their part in the realization of the magnificent destiny that God Almighty seems to have marked out for us. "
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THE CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
DR. GlFFORD PiNCHOT, OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
Dr. Gifford Pinchot, of Washington, D.C., Chief of the Forestry Service of the United States, was the guest of the Club at luncheon on December 30, 1908, on the occasion of his visit to Ottawa as the bearer of a letter from the Government of the United States to the Government of Canada to join in a conference having for its object the consideration of measures for the conservation of the natural resources of North America. At the luncehon it was announced by His Excellency Earl Grey that the invitation would be accepted. Both the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, and the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P., also spoke briefly in support of the movement for the conservation of natural resources.
The speaker was introduced by the President' of the Club, Mr. R. Gordon C, Edwards.
Dr. Pinchot said : —
"In substance, what I have come to do is to carry a letter from the Government at Washington to the Government at Ottawa inviting the Canadian Government to join with the Government of the United States and with that of Mexico in considering whether or not we may not take joint or concurrent action for the conservation of all the natural resources of the three nations. We south of the line have been thinking about this matter not for very long, but very hard, and I want to say a word about how conservation came to be a national question in the United States and what we think it means both to you and to us. The conservation of natural resources means in substance the care of what we have and the use of it so as to get the most out it both for ourselves and for our children, and its fundamental idea is foresight. Now, a young nation such as yours and ours, is very little apt, deplorably little apt, to think ahead.
"It was out of the forestry question that the idea of foresight with reference to all our natural resources grew. The very essence of forestry means a long look ahead. You cannot deal with a slow growing crop like a forest without taking at least one century into consideration. Although the second crop may come in ten or twenty or thirty years, nevertheless the essence of forestry preservation is to provide in advance for the needs which we are sure we are going to meet. So that when the people of the United States began to look forward in the matter of forestry, they turned very naturally and easily to looking forward in regard to other matters; and they said to themselves, if it is a good thing for us to exercise ordinary common sense and business foresight in dealing with our forests, would it not be equally so in dealing with our minerals, our water powers and all other natural resources.
"The President, in a speech which he made in June, 1907, put to- gether for the first time the various things we have been trying to do in
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the United States — not only the conservation of our forests and water powers, but the reclamation of waste lands by irrigation, the draining of swamp lands, the preservation of our public lands for the home-maker first of all, the protection of our coal and oil supplies. Grouping all these individual movements together in a single bundle, he called it conservation.
"You will perhaps remember that Mark Twain, in his book called Pudd'nhead Wilson, prefaced each chapter with a maxim. One of these was, 'Don't put your eggs in separate baskets; put all your egss in one basket, and then watch that basket.' That is what we are doing with conservation; we are tying to stop putting our eggs into the forestry basket, the waterways basket, the coal basket, the oil basket. We are grouping all that we want to do under the one title, and making one attempt to save what we have.
"The appoinmentt of a Waterways Commission was the first step. The second was the great convention of Governors of States in Washington last May, at which all the States were represented, and at which for the first time the attention of the nation was called to the waste going on. The next step was the meeting of the National Conservation Commission, at which the Governors of half the States were present and delegates from the other States, and at which both the outgoing President and the incoming President attended, and spoke, the latter being the Chairman, and committing the new administration thoroughly and con- fidently to the policy of conservation left by the old administration; so that we know that in the United States, for four years more at least, this attempt to carry over for our children, some of the things we received from our forefathers is going to continue.
"The first piece of work the National Conservation Commission did was to prepare an inventory of the national resources of the country, a somewhat rough and ready one, but so far as I know this is the first time that any nation has toted up its balance sheet and attempted to get an approximate knowledge of its supplies of natural resources.
" We discovered that a preventable waste in our coal supplies amounts to some $300,000,000 every year; that if we go on increasing the use of them at the present rate, they will probably be gone by the middle of the next century — a long time perhaps, and yet not long in the life of a nation; that our iron supplies, which are just as necessary as our coal — the high grade ores — will be gone by the middle of this century; and that our oil and gas supplies will probably be gone by the middle of this century. We found that our lands are being washed into the sea at the rate of 800,000,000 cubic tons per year; that our farmers have been losing over $500,000,000 a year from easily preventable soil erosion ; $130,000,000 a year from injurious animals and two or three times that amount from injurious insects and other forms of preventable waste; that some of our public lands were being disposed of in such ways that the number of homes on the lands were not being increased, which is the real test; that we are cutting our forests three and a half times faster than they are being produced; and that our forests are only growing at the rate of twelve cubic feet per acre per annum when they might easily grow at the rate of forty — which shows the great saving of wood material that might be made but that is not being made. We found that out of every thousand feet of lumber standing in the forests only a little over 300 feet gets into use ; that the waste in logging, in milling, in seasoning, in working up afterwards, used up from the stand-
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ing trees all but about 310 board feet for every thousand board feet stand- ing in the woods ; and that a very large part of that waste is preventable.
" We found that the reasonably available water powers in the country at the present time would move every railroad train, every trolley car, every wheel and every spindle, light every house, and answer every use of power in the country. That is to say, if our vast supplies of coal were burned up, they might easily to a great extent be replaced by the use of our water powers which are at present largely going to waste. We found that our water powers were in process of being monopolized by two or three great companies — that our water powers, east and west, south and north, were being acquired as rapidly as those wise and far seeing men could get hold of them, and were thus in danger of being monopolized when our coal supplies were either exhausted or so depleted as to have greatly risen in price, in the hands of one of the most far reaching and oppressive monopolies that has ever existed on the face of the earth.
"We learned that our navigable streams cover about 26,000 miles. We spend $500,000,000 on our rivers and harbors, about half of that on- our streams, and yet our navigation has declined in spite of this enormous expenditure, and our streams are less navigable than they were fifty years ago because the soil is being washed into the streams faster than the Government is able to dip it out in order to keep the streams in their original condition. How long the present conditions may be expected to continue, and what ought to be done about them is the question we have to consider.
"Then we have gone a step further and have inquired what have been our losses from fires— not forest fires alone, in which last year at the lowest estimate we lost in the United States about $100,000,000 — but fires in cities; and we found that our bill for fire losses and fighting fire, both due to faulty methods of construction, runs to close on $500,000,000 a year. When you realize that we spend only a thousand million dollars a year in construction, the fire loss becomes tremendous.
" Then we inquired what preventable diseases cost the United States, and the figures were huger still. When you realize that a man's life is estimated to be worth $1,700 and a man's work is estimated to be worth $700 a year, and realize that all the time there are about 3,000,000 per- !=[ons seriously ill in the United States, mostly with preventable diseases, and realize that we could prevent three-fourths of all this sickness, we would prevent the yearly money loss of $1,500,000,000 a year, and add enormously to the happiness and well being of the people.
" Now, I have told you enough of this inventory to give you a general idea of what we are trying to do.. We are trying to use business common sense in dealing with the common problems for the common good of the people of the United States.
" We are trying to handle our affairs as a people with the same pru- dence that your affairs would be handled individually by every man in this room — not an unreasonable suggestion — and yet it is curious how slow nations have been to awaken to the fact that principles of that kind applied to national affairs produce exactly the same kind of results as the same principles applied to private affairs. We are trustees for the future people of the United States, the people of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries, and on what we do now with the resources on which they are to depend for their life when they come, will depend the kind of life they live.
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11 If the nations of the North American continent can approach these questions from a common point of view, and each within its own sphere take such action as will lead to the best results for its own citizens, then unquestionably these results will lead to the best good of the whole con- tinent.
" You in Canada are in a vastly better situation to take up conserva- tion than we in the United States. Your reserve of resources per capita is very much greater than ours; you are fortunate in being in time, much more than we are, to take up this question. It is natural, therefore, that we who are under greater pressure of danger in this matter, should have moved first. But I hope we shall not have moved very much before you, and that is why the President has sent me here. "
His Excellency the Governor-General then rose and said: — "Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: — I rise to express my thanks and your thanks to Dr. Pinchot, not only for the letter which he has handed to me from the President of the United States, but for the illuminating, impressive and warning address to which we have just listened. I do not remember that I have ever listened to any address more replete with points of the greatest personal interest to the audience to whom it was addressed. I hope, Dr. Pinchot, that your appeal to us to treat with common sense, common problems for the common good will not be forgotten in Canada. In the letter which Dr. Pinchot has brought to me from the President of the United States of America in a common and joint endeavor to safe guard the interests of posterity and to protect that great inheritance of natural resources with which Providence has so bounteously endowed us, of which we are the trustees and in which we all are so deeply concerned. I may say to Dr. Pinchot that there is no subject in which Canada will more heartily cooperate with the United States of America. The Government and the people of Canada have the fullest sympathy with the President in the characteristically vigorous and earnest manner with which he has addressed himself to the subjects on which Dr. Pinchot has spoken, and we shall be only too glad to lend our hand, as far as we can, knowing that it is a great privilege to be associated with him in any public or dis- interested movement. His Majesty's Canadian Government have under consideration the invitation of the President to designate the representa- tives of the Government to consult with the representatives of the various states and of the various departments of the American Government in the City of Washington on the 18th February. I am happy to be able to inform Dr. Pinchot that that invitation is gladly accepted by His Majesty's Canadian Government, and that it will be my happy privilege to notify the President of the United States at a later date, of the names of the gentle- men who are considered by the Government of Canada to be the best qualified to render efficient assistance to the Government of the United States in a work in which we all have a joint and common concern. (Loud applause) .
Sir Wilfrid Laurier said: — "Mr. Chairman and Your Excellency: I simply rise to say that His Excellency the Governor General has told you of the action that his advisers intend to take. I have nothing further to say, and I am sure that on this occasion the action of His Majesty's Govern- ment will receive the support of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition." (Laughter and applause).
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Mr. R. L. Borden,M.P., followed and said: — " I merely desire to express my very great appreciation of the privilege of listening to Dr. Pinchot to-day; and in reply to what the Prime Minister has said, to state that in a matter of this kind the Opposition, contrary to what may be regarded as ordinary usage, will have no amendment whatever to offer. " (Applause and laughter).
After the Chairman had returned thanks to Dr. Pinchot for his address the meeting dispersed .
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THE EAST INDIAN IN CANADA
BRIGADIER GENERAL E. J. E. SWAYNE, C.B., GOVERNOR •OF BRITISH HONDURAS.
In an address before the Club on January 2, 1909, Brigadier General E. J. E. Swayne, Governor of British Honduras, who has lived for years in India, dealt with East Indian Problems with particular reference to East Indian immigration into British Columbia.
The audience which listened to General Swayne's address was both large and representative including among others Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, Chief Justice of Canada; Hon. Frank Oliver, Minister of the Interior; and Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition. The speaker was introduced by Mr. R. Gordon C. Edwards, President of the Club, and spoke in part as follows : —
" In the older days when the buccaneers gave up raiding the Spaniards on the mainland, they turned their attention to killing the cattle which were numerous on the mainland and islands, canning the beef. After that industry could not be carried on with profit mahogany became the chief industry of British Honduras.
"Mahogany remains the chief industry of British Honduras. The colony has had its agricultural days, but, unfortunately, owing to a law made in the United States for the protection of the orange growers, the orange groves which, formerly existed all over the country, have been abandoned and the oranges now flourish in the bush. Any one going through the bush can pick them. The country produces also cacao, fibre, bananas, cotton, and sugar. It is only the want of an adequate and proper agricultural population that prevents the colony from exporting large quantities of cotton, sugar and other products to Canada.
"The buccaneers, who were Scotchmen, Englishmen and Irishmen, when they gave up their lucrative trade and turned to mahogany, em- ployed negroes from Africa, and these formed the lower part of the popula- tion. Since that these people have elevated themselves by education and hard work, so that, under British rule they have become very serviceable and decent citizens.
"Agriculture has made comparatively little progress. We have been isolated; we have no ports to which to export our fruit. I hope that in the future we shall have a connection with Canada through St. John which will enable us to revive our orange groves. I hope also that we shall be able to send our bananas to the Canadian market, without sending them through any intermediate state. We can send our bananas at thirty cents a bunch to St. John — they are twenty-five cents a bunch in the colony. These bananas, when transported to New Orleans, are sold at $1.25 a bunch, and, as I have said, that is only three days' sail. When we can lay down our bananas at thirty cents a bunch in St. John, I hope we shall be able to start a trade that will be lucrative to Canada and to us. I am sure that the sugar refineries of this country will want our sugar in the long run.
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"It is only the want of an agricultural population that prevents us filling these needs now. I hope to procure that population, and it is on that mission that I came to Canada. We have tried to get natives of India into British Honduras in the same way as British Guiana, Mauritius and other British Colonies have done. These colonies have built themselves up with this class of labor. These are tropical countries and the white man cannot work there. We have found that the East Indian laborer, with his amenity to discipline is the best man for us. British Guiana has imported 300,000 natives of India. These were imported under what is known as the indenture system. The men were brought in under con- dition that they should remain five years. At the end of that time they were entitled to repatriation, the cost being borne either by the Govern- ment or by a fund subscribed by the planters. These East Indians were given the option of remaining for five years more with the condition that at the end of the ten years the}'' were entitled to a grant of land or to the money value of their passage back to India. Out of 300,000 men thus brought to British Guiana, about 150,000 have availed themselves of the grant and have chosen to stay beyond the time when they were entitled to return to India. That shows how much they appreciate the British law and the facilities of the country to which they went, and also how suitable it is as a place for them to remain in.
"Seeing the success of the coolies, we thought we could not do better than bring some of these people to us. We asked that they might be brought under the indenture system, but that system has defects which do not make it advisable that it should be continued. It has worked well in the past, but it is not desired by the Imperial Government that it should continue.
" But we must have labor. If the government cannot get it, we shall probably allow the country to be opened up by private capitalists, who will probably be given grants of land on condition that they develop these land grants with labor; where they get that labor will be their own con- cern; perhaps they will be less hampered in getting it than we shall be as a government. Then, when I found I could not get laborers from East India under the indenture system, it happened that there was talk in the press about the East Indians on the Pacific Coast of Canada. It was expected, judging from the figures of last winter, that during the present winter there could be some 1,500 East Indians out of work and probably destitute on the Pacific Coast. Last winter a very large number even of the white people were destitute on the coast, and still numbers of East Indians were coming in, shipload after shipload, making a condition which caused great anxiety because it was felt that these East Indians would compete against the white people many of whom were already walking the streets. It was thought to be hard enough to provide work for the people already there without ' piling sacks on the mill, ' as we say. But, when I got there, instead of there being people out of work, not only had all the whites got labor, but there had been suc-h a revival of business, consequent, I suppose, on the solution of the financial difficulties in the United States, that the mills had re-started and work had been given to all the East Indians, or practically all, while the remnant who would have been on the streets were provided for by their own community. Thus men who were in employment in that community, were threatened, as they thought, with forcible deportation to another colony. This forcible deportation, of course, was never in the mind of the authorities here or in England. But
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the impression grew, owing to agitation in the local press there, that there would be forcible deportation, and this impression led the well-to-do Hindus and Mohammedans in Vancouver to combine to prevent this de- portation. They thought that the cry of destitute people would be used to get them out of the country, so they provided for these people themselves. That is the case as it stands in British Columbia.
" Returning to the question of the future of British Honduras in the mahogany trade, I may say that mahogany has served us well, but it has not been replanted. It is said that it replants itself, but that is not the case, I believe. It has been gradually cut out, so that the mahogany along the deep rivers is gone, and now we must go back into the dry creeks, and on these the mahogany industry is at present a gamble. When the rain- fall is good, the streams rise and the wood is carried out, but when there is insufficient rain, the wood remains hung up in the bush, the bush worms get at it, and it is either wholly destroyed or so injured that it ruins the man who has undertaken the work. Seeing this, we desire, whilst there is time, to do what we can to develop the country in other directions, and that is why we are so keen on agriculture. We have built railways in British Honduras. The first railway runs for 25 miles and penetrates the best agricultural land and traverses some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in the tropics, where immense ferns meet over the funnel of the locomotive, while wild oranges, the custard apple and wild cacao flourish. It is a most pleasing trip, and I hope to see Canadians visit our country to learn what it is like.
" Perhaps I may say a word with regard to the East Indians on the Pacific Coast, that is as to the main divisions amongst them. They are generally spoken of as Hindus. As a matter of fact, only a few of them are Hindus, while some are Sikhs and some are Mohammedans.
"The Sikhs have a very long and brilliant record. When we fought the Sikhs we had some of the hardest battles to fight in all India, and it was only after internal dissensions amongst themselves that we got the better of them. But after we had conquered them, they were as steadfast for us as they had been against us, they were absolutely true to their engage- ment.
"What I have said as to the Sikhs, will, I am sure, be appreciated by everybody here. I have found everywhere, amongst enlightened people, that there was a strong desire to recognize sympathetically the services these Sikhs had rendered us and to recognize these East Indians on the Pacific coast as British subjects and so as people having quite a different standing from other races who come there and with whom there may have been labor difficulties. Also I have found a keen appreciation of the present difficulties in India and the wish to do nothing which would embarrass the Indian government in its present difficulty.
"Now, as regards these difficulties, speaking as a military man with many years' service in India, I am perfectly certain that we are in a posi- tion to fully cope with any difficulty, provided the army is loyal. And it is loyal, its most loyal portions being the Sikhs. The difficulty is with the agitators of Bengal, the educated portion of India, the people we have educated, whom we have taken so much trouble to educate — these are the people who are agitating against our rule."
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THE POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENT OF ROBERT BALDWIN
PROF. STEPHEN B. LEACOCK, PH. D., OF McGiLL UNIVERSITY, MONTREAL.
Professor Stephen B. Leacock of McGill University, Montreal, was the guest of the Club at luncheon on January 29, 1909, and delivered an address on " The Political Achievement of Robert Baldwin." In the absence from the city of the President, Mr. R. Gordon C. Edwards, the chair was occupied by Mr. D'Arcy Scott, First Vice-President of the Club.
Professor Leacock said: — "When we examine the history of any country, we find that the memory of its great people, although obscured among their immediate descendants and those who come immediately after them, yet begins to rise in perspective as it recedes in distance. And, just as the distant view of the city affords us a more proper estimate of all that is lofty in its structure, so in our political history, as the memory of such a man as Robert Baldwin recedes, we can make a truer estimate of the work done by him in the development of our common country.
"First, let me ask you to observe and properly estimate Baldwin's attitude on the question of responsible goverment; for, I believe there is no phrase, no theory of government that is so much misunderstood in Canada, as 'responsible government/ The emphasis laid upon it at one time has been exchanged for an entirely different emphasis and con- struction which it would never bear as uttered by such men as Baldwin, Hincks, Joseph Howe and others. It was not a name to signify our ex- clusion from the rest of the world or from outside responsibilities, but merely to express a principle of our own internal government. And I want to show you that the Baldwin theory of responsible government, far from carrying with it the negation of imperialism, was the only true and rightful basis upon which an actual theory of imperial relations could be established.
"I think we know well what was the prevailing sentiment of that time. It was a peculiar chapter in British history. It was a time when this new principle of the colonies was apt to be very much misunderstood. We find people in the middle of the Nineteenth Century, on both sides of politics and all sides of general questions, who candidly believe that this new movement was the forerunner of political independence. If I had time, I could amply substantiate that fact ; but will you allow me to quote briefly from one or two authorities so distinguished and occupying so high a place in the world's history that it is almost inconceivable that they could view the Empire and .its colonies in the light they did. Not to speak of Joseph Hume, or Roebuck, or others of the radical school, because they are people so many of whose opinions have been traversed by later wisdom that their opinions would not carry conviction, let me quote from Lord Stanley, who had been Colonial Secretary and whose lofty position and opportunities in life ought to have enabled him, if anybody, to take a wide view of the British future. We find him writing in the London Times, in October, 1864:— 'We know that these countries (British North America and Australia) . . . .must before long be independent states. We have no interest except in their strength and well being.' 11
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"And John Bright, in 1863, before yet the battle of Gettysburg or the battle of Vicksburg had been fought, and when it seemed that the fortunes of the Northern States would go down in disaster, addressing the House of Commons and denying the prophecy of an orator who had spoken of a coming great Southern Republic, said: — 'Sir, the event I see is not disruption of the American States as they have existed, but the creation, at a time not far distant, of one Republic that shall extend in one single sway from the shore of the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico/
" It seems strange that this should form the popular political prophecy of the time. And Lord Blachford, who, under another name, had been Secretary for the Colonies said: 'I had always believed that the destiny of our Colonies is independence, and that in this point of view the function of the Colonial Office is to secure that our connection, while it lasts, shall be as profitable, and our separation, when it comes, as amicable as possible/
"Even Disraeli said: l These wretched Colonies will all be indepen- dent one day, and are meanwhile millstones about our necks."
"And Gladstone's biographer has told us that: 'He always looked upon our connection with the Colonies as a matter of duty rather than of advantage to ourselves/
"And to all this, I will add, in order to carry the refutation of my own class and the humiliation of my own profession along with that of the politicians, I will add the opinion of one of the most distinguished university professors of the middle of the last century, Professor Cairns. Speaking at a large meeting in London, in 1864, at the time when our Confederation was a subject of discussion, he spoke of our forming 'a Confederation the mere magnitude of which must, one would think, effectually unfit the new state for a position of even nominal inde- pendence/
" Now, I have not introduced these opinions as a mere matter of vain historical research. To me, they are full of meaning, because I have read carefully the speeches of Robert Baldwin, as far as we have them preserved, and the speeches of his associates, and have also consulted his correspon- dence, and I do not think that you will find in those speeches or in that correspondence one single word which will enable you to gather that he looked upon the responsible government of the Colonies as the first step I towards anything else than a more complete consolidation of the British Empire.
"When we realize that what Baldwin, Howe and these other men advocated was a means of imperial stability and a method of imperial consolidation, I think we might perhaps at any rate hazard the conjecture that they would not have interpreted responsible government to mean that in all aspects of our world relations, and in the problem of our defence, we were, once and forever, to exclude the thought of co-operation and joint action with the other parts of the Empire. But I would like to leave the deduction to be drawn by others rather than draw them myself. I am speaking simply from the point of view of the humble biographer, and I am anxious only to show the way in which responsible government was inter- preted, and exactly the amount of reservation properly put into it at the time it was established. How far we may depart from the traditions originally laid down, how far we may modify it in the direction of joint action and control is a question I do not feel called upon to touch.
" But I am anxious to have something to say about the other side of Robert Baldwin's work, the side upon which, I think, we will all agree, and
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which, as I said, is to me pregnant with meaning for the constitutional future of this country. I refer to his alliance with Louis Hyppolite Lafontaine. Gentlemen, I say that this was one of the most momentous things in the whole course of Canadian history. Here you have two men,' representative leaders of their respective races, each instinct with pride looking back upon a long line of illustrious racial descent, each full of patriotism, realizing that the only way to guarantee the safety of their country was a real and organic alliance of the two races which they repre- sented. We have grown used to that. Their lead has been followed. We •_ have seen a long series of dual ministries and many acts of harmonious co-operation. It has- become, to some extent, a part of our Canadian public policy that it should be so. But if you would realize the import of the step which Robert Baldwin was taking, look back a little to the attitude of those who immediately preceded him and those who were about him. What was the attitude towards the French people in Canada of those amongst whom he was brought up? So distorted was the view of these people that they were inclined to look upon the French as an unfortunate accident, if you like, an undesirable legacy of the past, something to be got rid of, fled away from, excluded; they seemed to think that British ^1 patriotism was synonymous with an anti-French attitude. If you are \ familiar with the writings of the Family Compact, you will bear, me out when I say that they seemed to be of opinion that to be anti-French in sentiment was synonymous with being a true patriot. Such, I say, was the - point of view. And, if you want to see it reflected, read the report of Lord Durham.
" You have only to consider the view of the Family Compact man to understand the view that would be taken of the alliance that Robert Baldwin was forming when he said to Lafontaine : l Let us unite and govern Canada jointly, not by amalgamation or by making something different from both of us, but by an alliance of our two forces. '
"That is my theory of Canada. I was listening the other night to an ^ eloquent speech made in Montreal by a gentleman whom I highly respect and who, as he is an American citizen, feels free to say things that we do not say and who was advocating, with a passion which I could not but admire, the future independence of Canada. He said to us : What I quarrel with in you Canadians is that you have no fixed ideal in your national life; you have no single theory of your country; you do not know what you mean to make it or what basis you intend to stand upon ; you are stumbling along in the dark. There is too much truth in this.
" We have heard many theories of Canada. There is the older theory, what we may call the outpost theory, which looks upon Canada as an out- post of the Government at London, under which Canada is to be made a mere transcript of British civilization. We have got a long way from that theory. Even those who love the old land best admit that in many ways we do not want to be a mere copy of the civilization of England ; we do not want to take things over ready-made; we want to do something for our- selves; we believe we have a national task of our own and we want to con- front it with our own strength.
"There is another theory, now receding into the past, which I will call the suburban theory. According to this theory, we form a kind of pro- longation of the United States to the north, we are an outlying part, a kind of geographical extremity of the North Atlantic States and the wheatfields of Minnesota and the Dakotas. And this suburban theorv would teach
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us that all we had to do was to fall asleep in the arms of the Fathers of the Constitution, and take over ready-made what they have done. I stand second to none in my admiration of what was accomplished by the Washing- tons, Jeffersons and Madisons. But this theory would teach us to take over the fruits of the hard toil of the founders of the American Republic, it would make us, as it were, only the residuary legatee of that which they have made.
"Then, there is the theory vitally affecting our public policy which I will call the fusion policy. It is based upon the idea that the two great races in Canada are to be mixed together and stirred up until they become one that will be neither British or French. If it went no further, I would not quarrel with it beyond saying that it is not practicable and not happen- ing. But it goes further.
"This fusion theory would open our doors to all kinds of people who will come in. Poles, Hungarians, Bukowinians and any others who will come in to share the heritage which our fathers have won. Out of all these we are to make a kind of mixed race in which is to be the political wisdom of the British, the chivalry of the French, the gall of the Galician, the hungriness of the Hungarian and the dirtiness of the Doukobor.
"That theory I will not accept. To me the true theory is that shown by such men as Robert Baldwin and Lafontaine, the theory of national policy, which tells us that we have had, since our beginning, two races here that ought to be bound together in a joint union based on mutual respect and mutual forbearance and love, who recognize, once and forever, as the basis of our future, the existence of these two races in Canada. I do not say this from the point of view that the French people are here and that we cannot get rid of them, but must make the best of their presence. That miserable view of Canada, as something that has been spoiled in the mak- ing, I repudiate. (Applause). — what I say is that the presence of these two races is our greatest national asset. (Renewed applause). I say that, not in fulsome adulation of one or other of these races, but in view of what the two have meant in the history of the world.
"In one sense of the word, this is not a British country — and I say that advisedly as one who calls himself an Imperialist — but a country which is being built up through the greatness of Britain and the greatness of France.
" When I read the history of some of the men who founded Canada, I cannot but think that their point of view was wiser and nobler than ours. Have we not wandered into the wilderness in our worship of wealth, our blind admiration of material greatness, our too careful count of heads, miles of railways and millions of dollars? Can we not be content to de- velop a little more slowly, to build up a greater and better country, even if the census will not prove it to us quite so quickly ?
"Sir, I think that the life I have described for you, all too simply, con- tains exactly these lessons that I would repeat. I do not put them forward from my own point of view, but I am sure they are to be found in the lives of such men as Baldwin and Lafontaine, men who, living at a time of greater stress and danger than our own, were able to take a wider view, and who held aloft the triple torch, the torch of colonial freedom, the torch of imperial consolidation and the torch of joint organic development of the two great races of Canada. "
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THE FRUIT GROWING INDUSTRY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
MR. MARTIN BURRELL, M.P. FOR YALE-CARIBOO.
Mr. Martin Burrell, M.P. for Yale-Cariboo, was the guest of the Club at luncheon on February 13th, 1909, afterwards delivering an address on Fruit Growing in British Columbia, in which he spoke of the beginnings of this industry, its present development, and the prospects for its future expansion. Mr. D'Arcy Scott, First Vice-President, presided in the ab- sence of the President of the Club.
The first fruit tree planted in British territory west of the Rockies, Mr. Burrell observed, was planted in 1859 by Mr. James Douglas, Chief Faster of the Hudson's Bay Company, and later Governor of the then Crown colony. The difficulty in the early days was in getting the trees into the interior. They had to be carried for 400 or 500 miles on horse- back, and their introduction was, therefore, slow. Ten years after the first orchard was planted, the Indians used to buy the fruit at 25 cents a bucket. In 1891 there were 4,691 acres in orchard, but since that time the possibilities of the industry had been much more fully realized, and at the present time there were no less than 75,000 acres under fruit cul- tivation. The first shipment to outside parts was made in 1897, but in the years that have since elapsed, ready markets had been found in many different quarters — in the Prairie Provinces, in Australia and in Great Britain. Yet it was no more than a beginning that had been made as yet for the area available for fruit culture in Southern British Columbia was not less than 1,000,000 acres.
It has been said by some that British Columbia fruit lacked quality. The speaker's answer to this was that he had himself lived for fifteen years in the Niagara fruit district and ten years in British Columbia, and that from personal experience he was in a position to say that this reflection on the fruit of the Pacific Coast Province was entirely undeserved. It was not only the finest appearing fruit, but it was also of the best quality as well. For six years in succession British Columbia had captured the gold medal of the Royal Horticultural Society in Great Britain. At a recent fruit exhibition in Vancouver, in which fruit growers from Wash- ington, Oregon and Utah took part, the $100 gold medal for the best five boxes of apples was captured by a fruit grower from near Grand Forks in British Columbia. Also, at the first national apple show held in Spo- kane, Washington, British Columbia fruit men had captured $5,500 in prizes, besides a silver cup for the best individual exhibit of apples.
As in mining, so also in fruit growing there was a certain amount of wild catting on the part of speculators, and in some instances tracts of rock had been unloaded on the public as orchard land. In spite of such deceptions, there was a great deal of substantial progress going on in the fruit growing industry of British Columbia.
Throughout the great interior districts of the Province, south of the mainland of the C.P.R., the largest areas existed of lands suitable for com- mercial fruit culture. One of the foremost of these was the well known
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Okanagon valley, stretching from Sicamous to the south end of the Okanagon lake. In this district alone there were some 20,000 acres of orchard. In the Ashcroft, Kamloops, Kootenay and other bound- ary districts, large developments had also been witnessed in recent years. Most of these great areas were in what was known as the semi-arid belt. Irrigation was a necessary feature of the business, and large amounts of money had been invested in the establishment of irrigation plants. Thorough cultivation was practised, and in every respect the commer- cial orchards of these large districts would compare favorably with any fruit growing section on the continent. The fruit industry being a comparatively new one, and the main markets being those of the North- West, growers had found it absolute necessary to thoroughly system- atize their packing and marketing, and with this end in view a number of co-operative associations had been established and a thoroughly business- like system of packing and shipping organized throughout all the large districts of commercial fruit growing.
Though the past ten years had witnessed such giant strides in the growth of the industry, it might fairly be said that the opportunities afforded to the investor were still particularly attractive, and that no part of Canada was as likely to witness in the near future so large and healthy a development as the fruit growing districts of British Columbia.
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PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF PUBLIC UTILITIES
MR. JOHN Z. WHITE, OF CHICAGO, ILL.
In the course of an address before the Club on February 27, 1909, on the subject of Public Ownership of Public Utilities, Mr. John Z. White, of Chicago, declared on the authority of one of the great railway men of the United States that public ownership of the rail- roads of that country would save solicitors' fees of $20,000,000 a year, that it \vould save by giving all freight the shortest route a further amount of $25,000,000 a year, that it would save in passes $20,000,000 a year, that it would save by the consolidation of the accounting staffs, $20,000,000 a year and that it would save in buildings, rent, etc., $30,000,000 a year.
Mr. D'Arcy Scott, First Vice-President of the Club, occupied the Chair and in his introduction of Mr. White, referred to the fact that Ottawa had made good in the public ownership of water and electric light.
Mr. White observed, in opening, that the larger a city grows the more important becomes each of its public utilities. "The greater the population of your country, the greater the importance of your rail- way, telegraph and other public services. As a boy, I used to turn my grandmother's spinning wheel in our old home in central New York. We raised sheep on that little forty-acre farm, washed the wool in the waters of Oneida lake, carded it, spun it, and even wove it upon the farm. To- day, practically every pound of wool that is raised goes over the railroads to the woollen mills and comes over the railroads in the form of cloth. You can see that the right conferred by the exercise of the power of eminent domain to make that highway, that public utility is much more important to-day than under the old regime, for the men who control that right have much more power over the commerce of the section through which the road runs than could be the case when the farfti was, in this sense, self-contained. # * * # # * *jn reiation to the subject of our present talk what we need is simply to get rid of what remains of feudalism in order to make men actually free before the law. To do this we must learn to disregard a decision when that decision is not fair.
" If I possessed the right, or were one of a group of gentlemen known as a railway company who possess the right, to levy tribute — not charge for service, that is a different matter — the possession of that right would be a valuable thing to me. It would be the same kind of value as though I had a device by which I could extract a quarter from the pocket of every individual here. I do not know the statistics of your country, but, in the United States, our railroads, according to Poor's Manual, and according to the Interstate Commerce Commission, are worth over $63,000 per mile on the average. These roads, engineers tell us, can be duplicated for not more than $25,000 per mile on the average. The profit paid on that $25,000 per mile is a profit that is earned by these roads. But the profit on the remainder of the capitalization is money taken by the monopoly power conferred by law to control the highway. Is it fair for the law, under any pretence whatever, to give to one man the power to levy tribute
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upon other men ? Is not that the very essence of feudalism ? (Applause) . Some roads are built for $8,000 a mile — master mechanics have testified under oath before State boards of equalization in reference to taxation that they could and would under contract duplicate certain of our roads for $8,000 per mile. The actual figures were given in the case of one road showing a cost of $10,200 per mile, and that road was capitalized at $53,000 per mile. Thus we see that our modern commerce is enormously affected by this control of the highway given to these railroad corporations. If, for instance, I am manufacturing heavy goods, such as agricultural implements, and my neighbor is engaged in similar manufacture, if I can get railway freights at a charge even slightly less than my neighbor has to pay, I can control the business in the section of country served by the railway. This has become so enormous a power that it is now a feature of every great business in the United States. "
It was sometimes said, Mr. White continued, that if we only elected good men to office these evils would all be set right. But in practise things had not always turned out that way.
"We are told by our opponents that public ownership means the coming of that bugbear Socialism. No, it does not. People who say it does are in one of two mental conditions — either ignorant of the meaning of the term or not wholly honest in their argument. Socialism is the public ownership of private utility as well as public utility
"One more fact: In Hull, England, they turned the crematory, the baths, the gas plant, the street car lines, and the telephone all into public hands. Under public administration all showed a pronounced advantage over private management except the crematory and the baths. Do you see the distinction ? All these concerns rest on right of way except these two. Anyone can put up a plant to burn garbage; anyone can put up a bath-house. So there is the possibility of competition, and where you can have free competition, you can get much better results than under any sort of public management. But, where you have a monopoly, there public ownership may be of advantage, or it may not. If your population is too small, better leave the management to a private concern. As your popu- lation grows larger, you have the power to regulate, or you have the altern- ative of public ownership.
"The trouble with us has been that up to the present we grant a mono- poly power and then declare that to be property. It is not property; it is a public function. When we recognize this fact we shall have the solution of this question. Public ownership may not be necessary, but public con- trol of the thing that emanates from the public sovereignty is absolutely necessary. And you never can have an honest disposition of property rights until this fact be recognized. Regulate your street car companies as you regulate your hack drivers. They are in the same business — they have legal authority to transport persons through the streets for hire. You can put a regulation on your hack service that will drive it off your streets. But you are not foolish enough to do that. You can regulate your street car system so as to drive it off the street. But the people will not al- low that to be done, because they want the service. And the same with every other public "service. But the moment you allow a private company to claim a property right in the legal grant you introduce an element of tyranny, for tyranny consists in the power which enables one man who has not earned to take from another that which he has earned. (Applause).
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And because I would defend the institution of private property to the utmost therefore, I call attention to the fact that in this claim for public ownership there is the very principle that has made our civilization the right of every man to keep that which he has earned. "
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BRITISH DIPLOMACY.
MR. R. S. NEVILLE, K. C., OF TORONTO.
A strong defence of British Diplomacy was made by Mr. R. S. Neville, K. C., of Toronto, in an address which was delivered before the Club on March 13, 1909. In the absence of the President, the chair was taken by Mr. R. L. Borden, M. P., who tendered also to Mr. Neville, the thanks of the Club for his address. Mr. Neville spoke as follows: —
" On the eve of the battle of Arbela, Darius sent envoys to Alexander the Great to sue for peace. Alexander sent back this message: — Tell your sovereign . . . that the world will not permit two suns nor two sovereigns.' The next day he overthrew Darius and made himself the over- lord of the known world. This idea of universal dominion cursed the world from the fall of Babylon to the fall of Napoleon. It had its highest exemplification in the Roman Empire, which turned the world into a vast prison-house, within which resistance meant death, and from which there was no escape, except to the fens and forests beyond the pale of organized society. But the great Empire fell. Slavery destroyed free labor. A false economic system and oppressive taxation ruined the middle classes. The heart was eaten out of the Empire and it became an empty shell, al- ready useless to mankind, before the so-called barbarians invaded and dis- membered it.
"But the idea of universal dominion was not dead. It survived in theory in the Holy Roman Empire. It was aimed at by Charlemagne, by Charles V, by Louis XIV, by Philip of Spain; and certainly it was threatened by Napoleon Bonaparte.
" Now the aggressive imperialism which aims at the establishment of universal dominion upon the ruins of the national liberties of the civilised world is the kind that has made the word 'imperialism' offensive to all freedom loving men. It is always followed by the loss of individual liberty, and is incompatible with human freedom in any form.
"Circumstances, as well as inclination, ordained that the English people should oppose a monopoly of power. England was repeatedly in- vaded and conquered up to the year 1066, and in all cases, except that of the Romans, the conquerers and their kin remained in the country. These experiences taught all that the sea was the most convenient kind of high- way for an invader, and that an enemy must be beaten before he landed, not afterwards. Control of the narrow seas became the cardinal principle of British policy, and, as occasion demanded, this control had to be ex- tended— first to the Mediterranean, and afterwards to the waters of the world, wherever British possessions, British trade or interests, or British subjects, required protection.
" But control of the narrow seas could not be maintained by so small a people against a united Europe or Western Europe. Whenever, there- fore, any one power endeavored to gather into its hands all the resources of Europe or Western Europe, both sympathy for the liberties of others, and a sense of national danger impelled the English to oppose the would be mono-
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polist of power. The struggle was long and often fierce and throughout it all British diplomacy played its great part. Various combinations were formed from time to time as occasion required, and one by one monopolistic forces were checked or destroyed, while the nations were preserved.
" There was gradually built up a doctrine known as the Balance of Power, and after the fall of Napoleon, it came to be recognized by the great powers as the international law of Europe. This new principle of balance prohibits any one power from obtaining political supremacy over a prostrate world, and recognizes the right of every great civilized race or nation to work out its destiny according to its own ideals and genius. On this principle the modern world has been built, and international stability maintained. During the last generation it has been represented on the Continent by the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria, and Italy, on the one side, and the Dual Alliance of France and Russia on the other; while Great Britain has stood outside with one naval arm in the Mediterranean and the other in the North Sea, the arbiter of European balance, and the umpire of the world.
"Yet there are nations which do not willingly assent to the doctrine of balance; only the world has grown larger than in the old days, and no one power is in a position to assert universal sway. So certain powers have sought to apply the principle rather to continents or hemispheres than to the whole world. Thus, since the consolidation of the German Empire, we have seen Germany encouraging Russia to take Asia for her share, and leave the former power to work her will in Western and Southern Europe. Germany has deliberately adopted the policy of dominating the Latin nations, and this policy, if successful, would lead to the control of all Europe west of Russia, and South to the Mediterranean Sea.
" In the end the German Colussus, astride of Europe and the British highway to the East, would be ready to hurl the weight of Western Europe against the British Isles.
" In Asia, Russia marched eastward, adding new dominions to her em- pire yearly, till she held most of Western, Central, and Northern Asia, and placed the Bear's paws on the very walls of China. Then she commenced to establish her great naval and military bases on the Pacific. Once do- minant there, with Japan at her mercy, China would fall. When China was digested, it would be an easy matter for Russia, in possession of the resources of the entire continent north of the Himalayas, to drive the Bri- tish out of India.
" It is the business of statesmen to provide for the future, and Britain looked about for some means of maintaining the Balance of Power in Asia. Japan was the only efficient power, besides England, which had vital interests at stake. At the time of the Boxer troubles, Britain had recogniz- ed the efficiency of the Japanese troops, and she knew the mighty force of Japanese patriotism. She, therefore, entered into an alliance with Japan by which she agreed to keep off the European Powers and give Japan op- portunity to fight Russia alone and save herself from prospective destruc- tion if she could. Japan was victorious, and the Russian advance was checked. Immediately England entered into a new agreement with Japan, by which the two powers jointly guaranteed the integrity of China. Thus the national liberties of the East have been preserved and Great Britain has paid back to Asia the debt of Western Europe which had been owing since, five hundred years before, Tamerlane saved the West from the great Ottoman Turk.
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"Though Germany raised the cry of the Yellow Peril and denounced Great Britain as a traitor to the white races, yet the other great nations of Europe and America having interests in Asia and the Pacific, have one by one followed her diplomatic example and made agreements with Japan. Once more British Diplomacy has triumphed and the Pacific world now promises peaceful progress, international stability, and fair play to all.
" As to modern Europe, when it lay bankrupt and bleeding at the feet of Napoleon, Great Britain gave the broken nations aid in soldiers and subsidies, sailors and ships, revived their spirit, and finally succeeded in restoring their national liberties. Before that she had given aid to Frede- rick the Great, and it is safe to say that no Prussian king would be Emperor of a united Germany to-day had it not been for William Pitt.
" In more recent times Great Britain has prevented Russia from march- ing through Sweden and Norway to an open port on the Atlantic. It has been her policy to maintain these nations, and Denmark, Holland, and Belgium, from aggression on the part of Russia and Germany. Since the Franco-Prussian War she has three times, if not four, saved France from another overthrow at the hands of Germany. Portugal is her ancient ally, and owes her small strip of territory on the Atlantic to British support. Great Britain is now the supporting friend of all South Europe, while Russia is crippled, and is co-operating with the southern nations to maintain stability on the Mediterranean. She favors a confederation of Balkan States into a powerful nation that will be able to secure peace and safety there. She supports resolutely the new constitutional government in Tur- key. She took hold of Egypt less than a generation ago when that country was bankrupt financially, politically, and morally, and in a state of anarchy, and has restored peace, order, and prosperity there. Mummy-land is being modernized, and is now far the most prosperous country in the Levant. She has saved Persia and Afghanistan from the Russ. India had been the prey of different conquerors from time immemorial till Great Britain gave it order and justice and an opportunity to work out a great destiny if its people have the genius.
"With regard to Africa, Great Britain controls the land entrance through Egypt, and by her navy every other gateway into that continent. If any other nation were in her position there would be an effort to create a monopoly of power, but Great Britain invites all the nations of Christendom having interests there to assist in the upbuilding of the African peoples. Instead of the two hundred years of war which distressed America, we see these nations under British leadership advancing arm in arm, developing the resources of Africa, putting down slave trading and other barbarous prac- tices, and introducing law and order and Christian civilization. The Boer War was necessary to remove a system of Government that was an anachro- nism and a stumbling-block to progress, and to-day the defeated Boers are loyal subjects, living under happier conditions than they ever knew under their late Republic, and collaborating with the other colonies in the organ- ization of a united British South Africa.
"From what has been said, it will be seen that every nation in the Eastern Hemisphere owes its political position and national liberties largely to Great Britain.
" Now we turn to America, and we shall find that the Western Hemis- phere has received still greater advantages. Spain acquired title by dis- covery. By the same right Portugal acquired the East. The Pope con- firmed their titles, and divided the non-Christian world between them,
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giving Africa and the East to Portugal, and the Western Hemisphere to Spain. Then Spain took Portugal captive and thus acquired title to both the East and the West. England had no need of colonies in those days. When Henry VII, came to the throne the population was about 2,500,000, and not more than 5,000,000 at the death of Elizabeth, but as the great ex- tent and vast resources of the New World became known, England realized that if it were allowed to remain the possession of one or more European powers she would ultimately be crushed like an eggshell between the hostile continents. In self defence, therefore, she was obliged to combat mono- poly in the Americas. France was, in a less degree, under similar stress, and the three nations came to be the chief competitors for American terri- tory. England was willing to share with the others, but when France and Spain became well established in America, they entered into a secret treaty under which they were to divide the Western Hemisphere between them. One was in possession of the countries on the Gulf of Mexico, the other of the St. Lawrence Valley. France commenced to extend her forts down the Ohio and Mississippi valleys with the view of surrounding the English colonies on the Atlantic coast and crushing them or driving them into the sea. Spain, having a secret understanding with France, became suddenly aggressive and under pretence of enforcing an old treaty that had long been neglected in practice, she seized ships trading with Spanish countries in America, not only in Spanish waters, but upon the high seas. Many of these were colonial vessels, and both British and colonial merchant traders cried aloud for protection. But England was hushed to sleep by Walpole until prolonged clamor woke her up and forced the Government to go to war with Spain in 1739.
"This war was not very glorious, for the army and navy had been ne- glected, and England was ill prepared. But the spirit of the people was aroused. They swept Walpole and his un-English policy away, finally put Pitt in the saddle, and in about twenty years finished the fight for Northern America and India, and placed their country at a height of power never attained before.
" France was not only beaten out of North America, but was humiliated by the terms of the Treaty of Peace. Resentment entered into the hearts of her people, and the spirit or revenge rose to a national passion. It found its embodiment in Beaumarchais, whom the people of the United States scarcely ever mention, but who did more to help that country achieve independence than any other non-military man. With French and Span- ish money he supplied the Americans with 30,000 rifles and over 200 cannon during the early part of the struggle. He sent them vast stores of tents, provisions, and equipment of all kinds, while his French military lieuten- ants were organizing the Colonial army. Without his aid colonial resist- ance would have broken down in the first two years of the war, before France openly espoused the colonial cause. Then Spain followed the lead of France, Holland became a belligerant, the other powers organized the ' Armed Neutrality, ' and England stood alone against the world. It was a European war, and France had her revenge in the independence of the United States just twenty years after the cession of Canada to Great Bri- tain.
" Diplomacy at this point entered a new phase in America, for the boundaries of the new republic had to be defined. The Americans de- manded the cession of Canada, but England refused to desert the Canadians and Loyalists who had stood by her in her hour of trouble, and refused to
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make the cession. The Americans then claimed that their northern bound- ary should shoot off from the St. Lawrence at the point where it is cut by the 45th parallel of north latitude — not far from Cornwall — in a straight line to the south end of Lake Nipissing. This would have given control of the Great Lakes and the richest part of Ontario to the United States, and made a transcontinental British North American dominion impossible. Being vital, it also was refused. But the great question was, How much could England hold. The Americans had warned the Mother Country that there could be no lasting peace unless all Canada was ceded. In the face of this threat the question was most urgent, how much could England hold? She had, say, 70,000 French-Canadian subjects, and a few thousand poverty-stricken Loyalists. The population of the new republic was 3,000,000, most of them energetic colonizers sprung from the greatest of colonizing powers. The odds were enormous, and the continent was empty. Great Britain remembered the fate of France that had been ruined in America by the lure of the Mississippi and Ohio valleys, and by the attempt to hold them with Canada as a base. She knew that she was much less favorably placed than France had been. The mouth of the Mississippi was in hostile hands. Hundreds of miles of wilderness lay between settled Canada and the Ohio country. The waterways were choked by the rapids of the St. Lawrence, and by the falls of Niagara. England was 4,000 miles distant. The Americans lay between, and they had fought for this great interior — it was one of the causes of the war. England might as well have tried to dam Niagara as hold the Americans back from this empty and, to her, inaccessible wilderness. How much can I hold, said she, for my handful of Canadians and Loyalists? She was confronted by the possible and the impossible, and finally decided to take advantage of the Great Lakes and the waterways as natural barriers and try to hold the country on the north. By this arrangement she provided for the inevitable expansion of the United States, and made sure that it should be westward and not northward.
"At the same time she did full justice to her handful of Canadians, for she reserved for their future use a hinterland several times larger than the entire United States, which then extended only to the Mississippi. The arrangement satisfied the national needs of the United States, but not their ambition, and we found these natural barriers our salvation in the war of 1812-14.
" When Napoleon came upon the world's stage and France had taken back from Spain the Louisiana territory, he sought to establish a great Napoleonic Empire in America. But Nelson beat him off the Atlantic, and to save Louisiana from the British he sold it to the United States. This doubled their territory and quadrupled their ambition. The bound- ary had soon to be drawn westward to the Rocky Mountains, but on what basis was it to be fixed? In 1783 neither Government had known where the source of the Mississippi was, and they had guessed at it, only to find later on that they were far astray. This may be fortunate for us, for if it had been as far north as was supposed it is not unlikely that the line would have been drawn straight west from it. As it was, there was room for compromise, and a fair partition. The British north was empty, and British population in its westward march could never keep pace with that of the United States on the south; yet England looked to the future and proposed the 49th parallel. She said to Uncle Sam, ' I will divide fairly. You take the south; I will keep the north. ' It was so settled, and again
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full justice was done to her British subjects, for they had reserved for them a far greater West than that of the United States, which did not then include their great South- West, subsequently acquired.
"But the Oregon country was left open for future agreement. The United States claimed all west of the Rocky Mountains from the 42nd degree of north latitude to 54 degrees 40 minutes, the southern boundary of Alaska. Into it they sent an expedition and settlers, not because their territory was full or overflowing with inhabitants, but for the political purpose of strengthening their claim by possession, and holding it if neces- sary by force on the spot. In the 40's the controversy became acute, and it had to be settled. Again Great Britain said, ' I will divide fairly. ' But this time the United States flatly refused. The spirit of war was aroused, and the country rang with the cry, '54-40 or fight.' But John Bull knew his map. The question was not that of a crooked boundary fence-post or of a barren rock on the Alaskan shore. It was that of a Pacific frontier to a transcontinental dominion. That dominion might then be unformed and empty, but Mr. Bull has foresight and political perspective. No one knows better than John what is worth fighting for, though he has more sense than to exhaust his resources in fighting for trifles. The Pacific front tier was no trifle, and he said, 'No, a fair division is my best proposition.' In the end the 49th line was fixed upon as far as the coast and then the boundary was deflected southward below Vancouver Island, and it is entirely due to firm British statesmanship and diplomacy that Canada has now her splendid Pacific Province and Pacific frontier.
" In the same decade the United States made unjust war upon Mexico and robbed her of 850,000 square miles, including California, Texas, and several other States. Mexico had no powerful Mother Country at her back. That is the difference.
"Now turn to the far North- West. About 1670, if I remember cor- rectly, the Hudson's Bay Company's charter was issued, giving it the trading rights in the country tributary to Hudson Bay, and to the waterways that flow into it. The grant was indefinite, but by no stretch of imagination could it be claimed that it gave title to the Yukon River basin, which was beyond the Rocky Mountains. Along came Mackenzie and traced the river that now bears his name to its mouth in the Arctic Ocean, thus es- tablishing in Great Britain the title to the Mackenzie River basin. Russia was in possession of Alaska. Who, then, owned the Yukon? It used to be the rule that the nation which discovered the mouth of a river in an open continent had a sufficient claim to the whole river valley. On this principle France had been able to claim the Mississippi and St. Lawrence valleys. Then England set up as a counter claim that the nation that owned the coast owned the hinterland. Under this rule, as possessor of the Atlantic coast, England claimed the interior beyond the Alleghany Mountain?. But in the case of Alaska, Russia had title by both rules, for she held both the mouth of the Yukon and the entire coast. By all prin- ciples of international law Russia, therefore, was entitled to the whole Yukon valley or river basin. The range of mountains that divides the Yukon and Mackenzie valleys was the legal, as well as the natural bound- ary between British and Russian territory, but in 1825 British diplomacy out-matched Russian and secured a treaty defining the boundary quite differently. Instead of taking the natural divide between the Mackenzie and Yukon valleys, the line is defined from the south, running northerly from a point on the Pacific coast a short distance, and then turning north-
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westerly and running across 11 degrees of longitude to the 141st meridian, and then north to the Arctic. This gave to Great Britain the upper portion of the Yukon valley out of which we have recently taken over $100,000,000 in gold, and organized our Yukon Empire. How did it happen ? The Russian diplomatists had one central thought, and that was, control of the coast. They wanted it placed out of Great Britain's power to interfere with Russian fishing or trading establshments on the coast or islands ad- jacent. The British diplomatists gratified them with this shell of the Yukon nut in order that Great Britain might get the rich meat of the interior. So the agreement wasjmade, and Russia was conceded a title to a strip along the entire coast to which she had a just claim, while Great Britain was given a title to a large tract of the interior to which her claim was very weak in- deed. There was no misunderstanding, however, about the meaning of the treaty. It conceded to Russia control of the coasts, heads of inlets and all, only giving certain rights of passage to Great Britain. Russian and British maps both showed this intention, and the United States maps fol- lowed the others. But when Canada came to have an interest, and particu- larly after the great gold discoveries in the Yukon, she sought to place a technical construction upon certain words of the treaty and give it a mean- ing no one else had thought of, because she wanted a port of entry into the Yukon country.
"Now British diplomacy had done its work with regard to Alaska in 1825. What remained was merely to find the meaning of the treaty about which there was a question raised by Canada. This was properly the work of a judicial tribunal. When the parties could not agree, arbitration was decided upon. The arbitrators on the British or Canadian side were named and approved by the Canadian Government. The British Govern- ment does not claim the credit for the excellent appointments made, nor had it or British diplomacy any responsibility for the result.
" When the whole evidence was laid before the arbitrators it was found that on the merits the decision must be against Canada on the matter of chief importance, namely, the control of the heads of inlets, and, therefore, of a port of entry into the British Yukon. The decision in some other minor respects was a compromise between the doubtful contentions of the litigants. This is often the case even in the administration of ordinary justice when a court is composed of more than one judge, or where there is a jury. It is always the duty of the courts and juries when they can agree on the main issue, to find a solution of their difficulties, if any exist, on matters of little moment. When judges or juries agree about matters of importance it would be a farce if they split on trifles.
" I only mention these ordinary court practices because you are fam- iliar with them. An international tribunal or arbitration is a judicial body of higher responsibility. It is appointed after diplomacy -has ex- hausted its resources and failed, and from it there is no appeal. It is not merely the court of last resort; it is the last resource of civilization to maintain peace.
" A disputed boundary is one of the most dangerous of international disputes. The attempt to arrest a prisoner, or perform any one of a hun- dred common acts, may bring the police or local officials or citizens of the two nations into collision. Blood may be shed before the governments of either country is aware of it, and when once blood starts to flow it is hard to stop. More than once in the past Canadian and United States troops have confronted each other on our frontiers on account of acts performed
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on disputed territory, the boundaries being unsettled. In the Alaska case the main issue having been decided against us on the merits and some of the minor issues solved in the spirit of compromise, there came a final question of the possession of four islands. The United States claimed that the line should run south of them, giving them to Alaska. Canada claimed that it should run north of them, and that they belonged to her. On this issue the arbitrators were at first equally divided, and a deadlock was threatened, but finally the United States Commissioners offered a com- promise, giving the two large islands next to the continent to Canada, and the two small ones further out to the United States. These were but barren rocks not worth the powder that would set one gun off, and the title to them was doubtful. It was clearly, therefore, a case in which re- fusal to accept the proposal of the United States rather than leave the whole boundary dispute unsettled would have been an act of criminal folly unparalleled in modern international relations. Yet when Lord Alverstone agreed to this settlement a shout of indignation went up from Canada that echoed throughout the civilized world. Surely our people must have misunderstood. I hope they will yet do justice to Lord Alver- stone. History surely will.
"Now' my time is so nearly exhausted that I shall only mention the dispute about the north boundary of Maine, which was settled by the Ashburton Treaty in 1842, before I make a few final remarks upon the Monroe Doctrine. I can the more readily pass lightly over the Maine boundary because I discussed it in the Canadian Courier in the issue of September 12th last (1908). To that article I must refer you for par- ticulars, only mentioning here the conclusion which I arrived at there, namely, that the result of all the diplomatic negotiations between Great Britain and the United States, ending with the Ashburton Treaty, respect- ing the boundary in question, was that Canada got 5,000 square miles of territory to which she had no title. The ' huge wedge ' mentioned in our school books which divides the Province of New Brunswick from the Pro- vince of Quebec, is not the result of any blunder on the part of Lord Ash- burton. That wedge was driven northward by the British when the south was British, and Canada was French. In the middle of the 18th century the British claimed that their territory extended all the way from Florida to the banks of the St. Lawrence. The French disputed this extreme claim at the north. Then Great Britain conquered Canada, and the question ceased to be international and became intercolonial or interpro- vincial. When Great Britain set up her new government at Quebec after the conquest she necessarily defined its jurisdiction, and the boundary was then fixed along the northern highlands that separate the valleys of the St. Lawrence and St. John, running westward from Chaleurs Bay.
" That boundary then settled continued till the American Revolution swept all south of it out of the Empire; It was, therefore, British diplom- acy, culminating in the Ashburton Treaty, that pushed the boundary southward to the St. John River and gave us the intervening 5,000 square miles referred to.
"The Monroe Doctrine is neither American in origin nor in principle, and accords with British policy in other parts of the world.
"The French Revolution gave an impulse to liberty throughout Europe, and after the fall of Napoleon the crowned heads of Austria, Prus- sia, France, and Russia, formed what has been known as the Holy Alliance, for it was an attempt to regulate the government of the world in accord- 12
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ance with the doctrines and practices of the Christian religion as these autocratic sovereigns understood them. As time passed the chief objects of the Alliance were revealed to be the maintenance of monarchial institu- tions in their absolutist form, the quelling of all democratic uprisings, and the protection of their own dynastic interests. The revolutions in Naples and Piedmont were put down, and absolute monarchy was restored in Spain with the aid of a French army 100,000 strong.
" Great Britain was no party to the Alliance, and though a monarchy, had no sympathy with absolutism. She demurred to the proceedings of the Alliance and then protested, but when she found that the Allies, or some of them, planned to interfere on the side of Spain and re-subjugate the revolted Spanish countries in America, she began to act more resolutely.
" Her first step was to lay the whole matter before the United States of America and invite their co-operation. This was the work of Geo. Canning, who had been appointed foreign secretary in 1822. He believed that if Great Britain and the United States would come to an agreement and jointly announce their opposition to the project, it would be aban- doned without war. Mr. Canning, therefore, began negotiations with Mr. Rush, the American Minister at London. 'I am persuaded/ said he, 'there has seldom in the history of the world occurred an opportunity when so small an effort of two friendly governments might produce so unequi- vocal a good and prevent such extensive calamities/ But Mr. Rush had no authority to enter into an agreement and all he could do was to report to Washington, and send over the correspondence that had passed between himself and Mr. Canning and await instructions. But communication was slow in those days, and the President of the United States was some time consulting with his leading statesmen. So many weeks passed with- out any reply. In the meantime the Continental plan became so far ad- vanced that Canning decided not to wait for American co-operation, and on the responsibility of Great Britain alone he gave notice that she would oppose the expedition with all her force. Trafalgar was still fresh in the mind of Europe, and the whole project was at once abandoned.
"Thus was Europe prevented from imposing despotic government upon any American country, or transferring thither its military establish- ments. Thus, were all the nations then existing in the Western Hemisphere preserved from European aggression. This is the Monroe Doctrine prac- tically exemplified, and it was in effective operation while the Washington statesmen were still considering its adoption. When finally they had made up their minds there was nothing practical left for them to do except to make a declaration. They therefore formulated a policy of 'Hands off America ' and President Monroe set it forth in a message to Congress. It was received with enthusiasm, christened after Monroe, and remains to-day the kernel of the foreign policy of the United States.
" One of Jefferson's letters to the President fully acknowledges British leadership. He said that while Europe was laboring to be the domicile of despotism, ' our endeavors should surely be to make our hemisphere that
of freedom One nation most of all could disturb us in this pursuit.
She now offers to lead, aid, and accompany us in it. By acceding to her proposition we detach her from the bonds, bring her mighty weight into the scales of free government, and emancipate a continent at a stroke, which might otherwise linger along in doubt and difficulty.'
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"At the time of Monroe's message (1823) the United States had not yet rounded out its territory, nor grown to a position of great power, and without British support no such defiance of Europe could have then been thought of.
" The objects of the policy were partly common to both nations, but some were purely British. Both were opposed to despotic power and desired none but free nations in America. Both had immense territories in North America, unsettled, or sparsely settled, that would be endangered if European military establishments were placed on their borders. But Great Britain had separate interests. She had fallen heir to Spain's South and Central American trade which she desired to retain and knew that she would lose if these Spanish-American countries fell under the control of European powers; for their trade policy was to exclude for- eigners from their possessions. And, further, Great Britain knew that European military encampments on the borders of the United States would compel that country, in self-defence, to maintain a great army of its own, and this would be as dangerous to British possessions, if not more so than the European armies. Her policy was, therefore, to make it wholly unnecessary for the United States to become a strong military power.
"All these objects have been completely fulfilled. Every nation is free in both the North and the South; the territories of both Great Britain and the United States have been free from attack by any non- American power; Great Britain still retains the trade; and militarism in this hemisphere was scotched in its infancy.
" Great Britain has consistently adhered to the Monroe Doctrine, and every British statesman endorses it to-day. Canning's splendid policy has been justified by results. The co-operation of the two nations has produced, as he foresaw, unequivocal good, and prevented extensive calamities. At first the burden was all on our mother country, but as the United States has grown to power Great Britain has encouraged them to assume more and more of the responsibilities. Yet to this day the United States has never been in a position to enforce the Monroe Doctrine against Europe, and but for Great Britain we should long ago have seen different nations fighting for South America as they long did for North America.
" Now, we have taken scarcely a bird's-eye view of the political world, yet we have surely seen that Great Britain has been, as the British Empire is to-day, the greatest secular force for good that ever existed in the history of the world. In her diplomacy abroad, as in her system of government at home, she has opposed tyranny, befriended freedom, and lighted the paths of progress. Under her international leadership, since the fall of Napoleon and the establishment of the doctrine of the Balance of Power, there has been no general war, though such wars were common before, and the world and every human interest have advanced more in these 100 years than in any 1,000 years of previous history.
"As to Canada, Great Britain conquered it 150 years ago at great cost of blood and treasure, and has made it a free gift to us with all its revenues for all time to come. Gradually she has extended its borders, fenced it about, held it for us, though empty, against all the land-hungry nations of the world, and guarded every vital interest. In 126 years since the Treaty of 1783, we have had 123 years of peace, and to-day we find ourselves in possession of one of the greatest countries ever possessed by a people, with two wide ocean frontiers, the greatest inland waterways in the world, a
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transcontinental chain of organized provinces, and no one thing lacking requisite for our national greatness. History shows no parallel. It could not have been accomplished by any but the Mistress of the Sea, and only by her through broad statesmanship, splendid foresight, and skilful diplom- acy unsurpassed in any age or in any part of the world. "
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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SCIENCE OF AVIATION
DR. ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, OF WASHINGTON, D.C.
In an address before the Canadian Club of Ottawa, Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, of Washington, D.C., the inventor of the telephone said: "It is rather a curious thing to me to see the dispute about where the telephone was invented. It was I who invented the telephone and it was invented wherever I happened to be at the time. Of this you may be sure, the telephone was invented in Canada. It was made in the United States. The first transmission of a human voice over a telephone wire, where the speaker and the listener were miles apart, was in Canada. The first transmission by wire in which conversation was carried on reciprocally over the same line was in the United States. It certainly is the case that the telephone was invented in Canada and that the first actual use of telephone lines was in this country. "
The luncheon of the Club, on March 27, 1909, which was addressed by Dr. Bell was very largely attended, among those at the guests' table being His Excellency Earl Grey, Governor General, and several members of the Dominion Cabinet. Mr. R. Gordon C. Edwards, President of the Club, was in the chair.
Dr. Bell, in opening, thanked those present for the cordial welcome which had been extended to him and went on to say that although he had been an American citizen for the past thirty-five years he had still a warm spot in his heart for Scotland, the land of his birth, and for Canada, the home of his early manhood. In recalling the circumstances above men- tioned in relation to the invention of the telephone Dr. Bell said he could remember well the way in which people used to look at him. — (the speaker tapped his forehead and sympathetically shook his head, causing great laughter and applause) — "just as they looked at me two or three years ago when I talked of a flying machine. The world has long since learned to know the reality of the telephone. And this great audience to-day shows that, thanks to patience of foreign inventors and to your own Douglas McCurdy, you know that the flying machine has passed the experimental stage and is to-day in Canada.
" I shall speak but little of the events of the past, except so far as they have to do with the Aerial Experiment Association which was organized in Halifax on 1st October, 1907, and has already produced four aerodromes, or flying machines, that have successfully flown; has a fifth completed, which is fluttering its wings, but has not yet got into the air; and a sixth partially done.
" When we look back over the history of the subject, we find that it is not new but very old. For hundreds of years men have longed to fly. I have come to the conclusion that the history of aerial locomotion has yet to be written. England was greatly in the front in the first scientific experiments relating to aeronautics, but I see no mention whatever in any work dealing with the subject, of the discussions in the Royal Society of Great Britain between the years 1670 and 1680.
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"In 1670 there had been produced a very remarkable scheme that gave rise to our modern expression l aerial navigation. ' It was the theoretical conception of Delana, who lived a hundred years before ,,the introduction of the idea of the balloon. He proposed to make huge copper vessels, twenty-four feet in diameter, and exhaust the air in them, when he thought they would rise. In the Royal Society was a man, Robert Hooke, who was associated very closely with Boyle, of the air-pump. They knew of the work of Delana, whom you will find mentioned by name in every work which pretends to deal with the subject. The early members of the Royal Society discussed this question very intelligently, and Hooke him- self is credited with having made over thirty plans for men's flying. About these we know nothing. Sir Christopher Wren, the architect of St. PauPs, read a paper on flying before the Royal Society. Sir Isaac Newton also took an interest in the subject. And if you look back at the transactions of the Royal Society, you will be surprised at the discussions which took place. Long before this time — 1670 — attempts were made to fly. The experimenters always had one object in view — it was not the balloon — people had not come to that — the idea was one to which we have come back again — that we should imitate the birds; that the bird should be our model. When Father Delana came along with his proposition of these floating balls — the idea was really aerial navigation — that was the theoret- ical position.
People supposed that the air had a surface like the sea, and, as a light body thrown upon the surface of the sea would float, so it was supposed that something lighter than air would go up and float on the upper surface of the air. It was a very pretty idea. Of course, we know now that it was entirely impracticable. But you can see that that is what gave rise to the term ' aerial navigation, ' which term has persisted to our day. It originated with Delana. The idea was not realized for a hundred years afterwards, when the brothers Montgolfier, through a mistake, invented the balloon. They got a great paper bag made and held it upside down over a bonfire of straw and wool. To their great delight it floated to the top of the room. This proved that the principle was right. So they made a big one and tried it outdoors. It went up and came down in a neigh- boring field. Then they made a much larger one and called the world to witness the first flight of a balloon. This was in 1783. Soon the question was 'could men be carried into the air?' It must have been an exciting day when the first living passengers were sent up. They were, I think, a sheep, a cock and a duck, and when they came down safely, the next question was to carry a man. Two men were sent up in a captive balloon and came down safely, and then they made the first real flight. All this time, while the Montgolfiers were experimenting, scientific men knew that the new gas discovered by Priestly, hydrogen, was lighter than air, and by popular subscription the brothers Charles and Robert constructed the first hydrogen balloon. That was sent up without a man and flew well. The first hydrogen balloon was a great sight. It was found necessary to have soldiers to protect it. It made a great ascent, without a man aboard, and disappeared in the clouds. It came down perhaps twenty kilometers from Paris. Some country people, who had never heard of such a thing, saw this great animal, as they supposed it to be, come down from the sky. It was evidently alive — there was a little wind stirring and the balloon moved from side to side — and it had a tremendous smell about it. The priest came and exorcised. Many villagers came with pitchforks and other
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weapons. They saw that this was a living creature, for it rolled from side to side as if in agony, and they did not dare to approach it. One man had a gun. Rather fortunately, he did not go too close when he fired. He hid behind a tree and shot the monster. Immediately there was a hissing sound and an awful smell. It is dying. You have wounded it. When they attacked it with their weapons, they found that it was only skin. To make sure it was dead, they tied it to a horse and dragged it about for a mile or two and then cut it up — and that was the end of the first hydrogen balloon.
" For a hundred years the balloon led men away from what I believe to be the proper line of invention. It is only within recent years that the balloon, which is necessarily lighter than air, and, therefore, necessarily at the mercy of the air, was made dirigible. They have dirigible balloons — they have their great function — carrying heavy weights into the air. The balloon of Zeppelin carried up something like twenty men the other day, and could make a speed of over thirty miles an hour and go a mile high. Dirigible balloons have features that should make us pause. It is a thought, it seems to me, for the British nation, supreme upon the waters, to con- sider, that a balloon such as that of Zeppelin could float over London and all the British fleet could not prevent it. Of course, we do not know what Great Britain is doing. But the success of such machines as that means more to Great Britain than to any other power, because when these ma- chines are used for purposes of war, sea power becomes secondary to air power. The nation that controls the air will be the foremost nation of the world; so the success of the dirigible balloon, even though to my belief they are on a wrong basis, is of the greatest importance to mankind.
" But men have again gradually returned to the old idea that nature knew what she was about when she manufactured the bird. And not only the bird, but there are a great variety of flying creatures, and all, without exception, are heavier than the air, not lighter — many hundreds of times heavier. The insects are all heavier than the air, and none fly by means of a gas bag. A curious fact is that when you measure these creatures in relation to their sustaining surface, you find that the heavier the creature the less, proportionately, is its sustaining surface. Now I wish to say a 'word with regard to the modern machines that we call aerodromes. People generally speak of these as 'aeroplanes;' but they are not aeroplanes, for they have not a flat surface. ' Our aerodromes in Canada are curved in a particular way and there is not a plane in the whole machine. So I hold the word ' aeroplane ' to be a misnomer as applied to these machines. I prefer the name suggested by Prof. Langley, the Secretary of the Smith- sonian Institute, ' aerodrome. ' It comes from a well-known Greek word which can be found in any dictionary of that language and which covers the idea of traversing the air. An aerodrome is a machine that traverses the air, and is much better than an aeroplane. The first machine of this kind originated in England. It was made by Weston in 1842. In Am- erica, Langley was one of the first to lift up the whole subject of aero- dromics to the scientific plane. Before that time and even later, when people spoke of machines heavier than air, they were liable to hear quoted the words about Darius Green and his flying machine, and it was quoted so often to Langley, whose machine was never tried, that he died of a broken heart over newspaper censure.
" I must not keep you too long with these preliminaries, but must tell you what you are interested in as Canadians, and that is the new organiza-
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tion which has come into the work, second only in importance to the im- proved aerodromes, and that is the new agency of co-operative scientific associations, not for gain but for the love of the art and doing what we can to help one another. As it sprung from my laboratory, it may be well for me to say a few words about it. I was always interested in flying machines. I was one of the spectators of Langley's aerodrome with a fifteen foot spread of wings. I saw it fly and photographed it in the air, and the pho- tographs are the only record of that magnificent flight of a mile and a-half with no man aboard. Any one who saw it as I saw it, must have felt that the age of the flying machine was at hand. At the expense of the American War Department, Prof. Langley tried to build a machine of the same type, but of a size to carry a man. I think that the War Department con- tributed $50,000. He built the machine, but, strange to say, in spite of all that you have heard, it never was tried. They shot it off from the top of a houseboat. The machine had Langley's assistant, Mr. Manley, aboard. But as it went off one of the guy wires of the wings caught in the launching ways and the machine dived into the water. It was no trial of flight, but the newspapermen were glad of the chance to represent it as a failure of Langley's machine. He tried it again, but on the second occasion also, as the machine was going off, something got wrong with one of those miser- able guy wires, which caught on the launching way, and again she was precipitated into the water. Prof. Langley was very much afraid that his assistant, Manley, was injured and took him into the houseboat to make sure that he was all right. In the meantime a tug boat, afraid that the machine would sink, grappled it, and, as they did not know how to grapple it, they broke it in pieces, and this machine which had cost $50,000 was a wreck. But those who have examined the machine know perfectly well that it will float if it is once started in the air — the whole trouble was in launching it. The fact is the machine, as I have said, has never been tried.
" I had been interested in kite-flying-stru'ctures that would lift a man into the air. I was interested in this because of its bearing on the subject of aeronautics. I wished to carry up a man in the air, then add a pro- pellor and see what it would do. My kites differed from other kites in one important respect. Other kites in a gust of wind will dance about, but my kites are perfectly stable in the air, even under circumstances of gusty wind. In aerial machines what we want above all things is automatic stability, and this quality is possessed by these tetrahedronal kites. I wanted to see what could be done with an engine to propel one of these with a man aboard. The first thing was to put up a man.
" I did not feel confidence in putting up a man in one of these structur. s without an opinion from some competent engineer. So I associated with myself two young Canadian engineers just graduated from Toronto University to give me the necessary technical engineering knowledge. One of these young men, Mr. Douglas McCurdy, of Baddeck, is a son of Mr. A. W. McCurdy, now of British Columbia, and a grandson of Hon. David Mc- Curdy, formerly a Legislative Councillor of Nova Scotia. He is a young engineer, full of enthusiasm, brave and fearless. He is the one who has been making the recent flights. He came to me as assistant engineer to help me to design the engineering structure. The other is a young man of pre-eminent ability, Mr. F. W. Baldwin. His father is not living, but he is a grandson of Hon. Robert Baldwin, one of the founders of your country. Mr. F. W. Baldwin is a young man of twenty-nine, one who will be a great
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acquisition wherever he goes. These men afforded the necessary engineering ability to decide whether my structures were built on sound engineering lines. But there was another thing to be done. We did not know about motors; so we tried to find the best man to help us in that respect. I brought to Baddeck a man who, though only twenty-eight years of age, has made a name for himself, Mr. Glen H. Curtis, of Hammondsport, New York. He is now recognized all over America as our foremost motor expert. He came to Baddeck to help in putting in our engine. And we got another helper, whose coming pleased me very greatly. This was a young officer of the United States Army, the late Lt. Self ridge of the War Department. He had made a specialty of flying machines. He was bright enough to know that the time was coming when the United States Army would need such things, and he knew that when that time came the young officer who knew about them would be of great benefit to his coun- try. So he began to make himself an expert, and wanted to see what we were doing in Baddeck in the interest of the United States War Depart- ment. Lt. Self ridge was sent to observe our experiments.
"So there we were living in my house, myself, an elderly man, sur- rounded by brilliant young men, each an expert in his own line. . We became very friendly. My wife had a property that I had nothing to do with, a little corner lot that had been going up in value. She said: ' Why don't you make an association ? I will put up this lot of land as the fund to support the association. ' So this Aerial Experiment Association came into existence with these members — myself, Mr. McCurdy, Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Curtis and Lt. Self ridge, and with the working capital contributed simply for the love of it amounting to $35,000. With the providing of that I had nothing to do; I came in as one of these young men on equal terms. We had similar ideas; they wanted to help me and I wanted to help them. As Lt. Selfridge said: 'All we want is to get into the air. ' All our machines are joint productions, but each one has a machine built on plans approved by him. As I have said, we have five finished. We call them ' dromes ' — we have got past calling them 'aerodromes. ' In fact, we speak of 'droming' from place to place. I do not know whether the word will take or not.
"Now our funds are out, and this Association dissolves by time limitation on the 31st of this month. We have gone a little beyond the experimental stage, having built four dromes that have flown and a fifth that is fluttering its wings, while we have a sixth that is not completed. Our fledglings having proved their ability to fly, we are going to let them fly. I do not care about commercial matters; I will go on with my ex- periments in tetrahedronal structures. Mr. Curtis intends to carry on the manufacture of aerodromes in Hammondsport, N.Y. Mr. McCurdy and Mr. Baldwin are a little different. They say they are Canadians, and they want to go into the practical manufacture of these machines. But they say: 'Cannot we do anything for the Canadian Government?' I told them I did not know, but I would be glad to help. I said: 'I am going up to Ottawa to talk to the Canadian Club, and I believe it probable that I shall have a seat at the same table with His Excellency and Mr. Fielding and other members of the Cabinet; perhaps something will turn up, we can't tell. ' I said to these young men : ' I don't care to go into this thing, myself but what do you want ? ' Their answer was : ' We are Canadians; if we can do anything for the Canadian Government, we want to do it; if not, we want to do it for the British Government; or, if not that, then
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we want to go in for ourselves and treat with any other government, because governments must afford the markets for these machines. ' And now I have come here. I have talked to Mr. Fielding and have put a few ideas into His Excellency's mind; and something may come of it. Though I cannot claim to be a Canadian, except that I have a warm spot in my heart for Canada, I do want Canada to have the benefit of these Canadian boys. I want to have the British Government have the benefit of them; and I would like to see some plan develop to that end. I do not know what that plan shall be; it is in the air. When our Association dissolves on March 31st, I wrant to say to these young men, 'Go ahead on this work for Canada, ' or else ' Go ahead for yourselves. '
His Excellency Earl Grey: —
" President Edwards has asked me to say a few words in my capacity as representative of the Crown. In that capacity, I desire to welcome Dr. Graham Bell among us this afternoon. I may tell Dr. Graham Bell that, thanks to the efforts of the newspaper men, who are determined from the standpoint of Canada to compensate for the injury done in the case of Mr. Langley, every part of the British Empire is watching with interest and hope the experiments in Baddeck Bay. We are all growing conscious of the fact that that nation which has the best airships — the best 'dromes' — will obtain that supremacy in the air which the British Empire to-day possesses, and will, I hope, for all time possess, upon the seas. The question is, ' Who is to have the credit, the honor and the glory to give to the British Empire that machine ? ' Listening to the speech of Dr. Graham Bell this afternoon, I think there is but one hope that anim- ates us in this matter, and that is that Canada will be that country. We have heard that Canada can boast of the honor of having invented the principle of the telephone. Canada can boast of the honor of having been the first country to apply that principle. We also know that it is to the liberality of the Canadian Government that Mr. Marconi owes his being able to continue the experiments as a result of which he has given to the world the advantage of the wireless system of telegraphy. I believe that every single person whose life was saved upon that sinking ship a few days ago owes the enjoyment of his life to the liberality of the Canadian Govern- ment. It only remains for Canada, which gave to the world the telephone and wireless telegraphy, to complete her services to the British Empire and to civilization by giving to the world the best aerodrome, the possession of which will make the nation that is fortunate enough to own it, to quote Dr. Graham Bell, the foremost nation of the world. "
Hon. W. S. Fielding, Minister of Finance: —
"Your Excellency, Mr. Chairman, Dr. Bell and Gentlemen: — Apart from the very interesting topic which has engaged our attention to-day, it is a great pleasure to welcome Dr. Graham Bell to the Capital of Canada. It is my good fortune to have known Dr. Graham Bell for a good many years. I rejoice, though he has ceased to be a Canadian, he has not ceased to have an interest in Canada. For many years he has occupied a very •beautiful home in my own Province of Nova Scotia, where on more than one occasion I have had the great honor of being his guest. I am rejoiced to know, therefore, that he continues his interest in Canada and continues to use here the inventive power that has made his name so famous.
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" What we can do for these young men is the question. I had the pleasure of calling the attention of His Excellency to the achievements of Mr. McCurdy and Mr. Baldwin, and he took a kind interest in the matter and reported to the Imperial authorities their experiments with airships, with a view to calling the attention of the Imperial War Department thereto. Our War Department, though some say it is very costly, has not yet in- dulged in the luxury of an airship. I do not know what may happen. We have made our pious resolves against expenditure, but, after the address that we have heard to-day, I fear that Sir Frederick Borden will have dangerous intentions upon the Finance Department. Other Ministers can sometimes speak rashly with regard to expenditures; the Minister of Finance always speaks under reserve. But I think that the presence of this great gathering is an indication that there will be a new and increasing interest in this work. And if it is found possible for the Government of Canada to do something to help on this movement, something to recognize the work of these two devoted young Canadians and keep their names and fame and services for the Empire, no one will be more pleased than myself. "
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THE SILVER QUESTION IN ITS RELATION TO EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN COMMERCE WITH THE FAR EAST
MR. MORETON FREWEN, OF LONDON, ENG.
In a luncheon address on April 10, 1909, on the subject of "The Silver Question in its Relation to European and American Commerce with the Far East, " Mr. Moreton Frewen, of London, England, asserted that unless something is done by the people of Europe and America to reduce the disproportion of the value between gold and silver to such an extent as to make silver worth at least five shillings an ounce, the Asiatic nations with their eight hundred millions of a population living on a silver standard, unchanged by the fluctuations in the gold ratio, will in time drive the indus- tries of the white men out of business and scoop in the trade of the world in such products as steel and cotton, by producing the goods at prices below the reach of European and American competition.
Mr. Frewen maintained that in the present state of affairs there was a desperate and deep-seated disease which was a menace to Great Britain. The fall which had occurred in exchanges within recent years had already affected trade to a serious extent and unless means were devised of stopping this movement the conditions would continue to grow worse and worse. Of what use would it be for Canada to exclude Asiatics if the commerce of the East was to be constantly stimulated by the variations in exchange. For the Chinaman our gold exchange had already climbed up well nigh out of sight and the result had been that the Orient having lost its power to purchase our goods was being forced to manufacture a hundred articles which formerly she bought from us. Cotton and jute factories had sprung up in incredible numbers all over the Far East, and each fresh fall in ex- change transferred from us to them some fresh industry. By the fall in the rupee exchange last year Hankow commenced to export pig-iron of the highest quality to Portland, Oregon. This year the first Chinese mill to roll steel rails commences at Hankow on a scale of four hundred tons a day.
The past eighteen months had witnessed the greatest fall in silver, that is the greatest fall in Eastern exchange, ever known to history. The Shanghai merchant who, in July, 1907 bought from his banker a bill for 100 sovereigns or 500 dollars, with only 550 of his taels, had in 1909 to give no less than 800 taels for^a similar bill. We have either got to put down the gold price of our goods" fully thirty per cent, to meet the fall in exchange, or we have to lose our Oriental trade; and how can we put down our prices unless we cut wages heavily? And how, can we possibly reduce wages when the prices of all the necessaries of life, bread and meat and woollens, are rising fast ?
Why did silver fall so heavily last year? Only because the demand of one Government — that of India — fell off. The present yield of silver from the world's mines was about one hundred and eighty million ounces, of which the world's silversmiths take ninety million ounces. In 1907, the Government of India bought over eighty million ounces, which it coined into rupees. Last year — because of the failure of the rains in India in 1907
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— the usual exports of India were cut down, and thus our merchants wanted very much fewer rupees to buy these exports. So that in 1908, the Government of India bought no silver. Hence the great fall in exchange with Asia last year.
The remedy which Mr. Frewen proposed for these conditions was what he described as the plan of the late Lord Goschen and which provided for the issue of one pound sterling more per head of fractional currency in the form of small notes, the silver reserve on which these notes were issued being held by the Government to provide for their redemption. If, Mr. Frewen urged, one, or two, or three of the larger Western nations could be persuaded to adopt this plan a new demand would at once be created which in the course of a quarter of a century would go very far toward restoring the old rates of exchange with Asia and would lead to a vast expansion of our commerce with the Eastern World. In England the need for more revenue was almost certain to secure the adoption of this policy by the next administration. The adoption of the Goschen plan would give us for the next twenty-five years at least silver at a dollar an ounce and if at the end of that time the white races allowed the exchanges to slip back into their present condition the Western World would but deserve its fate and the outcome might be that the sceptre of industrial supremacy would cross the Pacific Ocean to remain there and that the Green Dragon Banner of China and the Crescent of the Prophet would triumph over the forces of Christianity.
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CANADIAN RIGHTS IN THE ARCTIC
CAPTAIN JOSEPH E. BERNIER. COMMANDER OF THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT CRUISER Arctic.
Captain Joseph E. Bernier, Commander of the Canadian Government Cruiser Arctic, was the guest of the Club on October 16, 1909, on his return from the Far North and delivered a most interesting address on the work in which he had been engaged for several seasons, of asserting Canadian authority over the archipelago lying to the north of the North American Continent. The Club was honored also on this occasion by the company of Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister, who expressed himself as proud of Captain Bernier and of the manner in which his most important mission had been performed. The Government of Canada was, he said, determined to maintain a patrol of these northern waters and when Captain Bernier again went north he would have all the latitude he desired so that he might carry the British flag as far north as he could and no other in- structions than to guard what is rightfully ours in the Northern Seas.
In the absence from the city of Mr. D'Arcy Scott, President of the Club, Mr. Gerald H. Brown, First Vice-President, acted as Chairman. As Captain Bernier rose to speak he was greeted by ringing cheers and a handkerchief salute in which the Prime Minister led. Captain Bernier said: —
" My mission to the Far North was to secure lands that rightfully belong to us having been given to Canada by Great Britain years ago. My little trip was to confirm what had been done, and I have secured for Canada the whole of the Arctic Archipelago, in detail and wholesale." (Cheers and laughter).
The trip had been undertaken not for reward, but because of the im- portance of taking hold of the land now to save disputes later on. He was sorry that the little Arctic was not on the Coast before the Alaska Bonndary Question was settled. He described the course of the Arctic to its winter quarters at Melville Island and said when he got there and saw the North- west Passage open he went in ten miles. Then when for ten miles behind him and twenty miles in front he saw the passage as open as the St. Lawrence, tears came to his eyes because he was not at liberty to press forward. But he was too old a sailor not to obey orders. He had found the records of Sir Edward Parry which showed that the nine beautiful islands there be- longed to England and England had given them to Canada. With the land went the fishing rights. United States boats were fishing in Canadian waters off Banks Lands and were making lots of money and giving the natives very little in return for their furs. McClure's depot was found despoiled of all except some pieces of canvas and some coal. He could not say, however, whether this had been done by Americans or Eskimos. Canada was entitled to levy a fee on foreign vessels fishing in Canadian waters and he had collected that fee. This was important not because
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Canada wanted to drive the fishermen away but because it was desired to make the control certain so that a close season could be enforced when desired.
Capt. Bernier spoke in an enthusiastic manner of Melville and ad- jacent islands. Melville was, he said, a beautiful low island with an abundance of bears, deer, seals and foxes, and thousands of musk ox and reindeer. There were also a large number of wolves which killed the deer and young musk ox. The climate was wonderfully dry. In April, May, June and July there was an abundance of grass and 36 specimens of flowers were secured. Melville and the other islands were rich in animal life and the ship's crew had taken 24,000 pounds of musk ox, deer and hare. Musk ox meat, the speaker asserted, was better than beef. In a humorous vein he advised his hearers to go there on a hunting trip and said he could take them there and back in a couple of months.
The Captain then told of meeting the Jeannie. When Harry Whitney came on board the Arctic, Capt. Bernier told him that he noticed that the Jeannie had captured some whales and so he had asked Mr. Whitney to pay the Canadian Government license fee, with the result that Mr. Whitney promptly wrote out a check for fifty dollars.
Referring to the trips of Dr. Cook and Commander Peary, Captain Bernier said they had seen new islands but had not claimed any. He knew Dr. Cook well, being a member of the same Arctic Club, and when he had last talked to him he had forbidden him to take possession of any land there. He was pleased that Dr. Cook, though he saw land, did not claim any, leaving it for him, Bernier, to claim it all.
As to the controversy over the North Pole discovery, Capt. Bernier said its discovery served no scientific purpose and its attainment was for honor only. A man could not know the Pole when he got there though if he got within five miles of it he must be given credit of being able to see it. If a man actually reached the Pole to-day and stayed there he would not be there to-morrow as the ice was moving all the time and he would be moved away with it. In closing, he again referred in appreciative terms to the valuable assistance given by Sir Wilfrid Laurier and turning to him said : " May you reap the profit of the few miles of land I have taken for Canada. "
When the applause had subsided Sir Wilfrid Laurier said: —
" I deserve no thanks for being here and would have been very sorry indeed if I did not have that privilege. I am representing the feeling of every Canadian when I say I am proud of Captain Bernier. He bears his laurels modestly and does not blow his own trumpet. What he has done is a most useful work for Canada. He was commissioned to assert Canada's dominion over the northern lands, and he fulfilled his mission to the letter. He says he is sorry he did not have more latitude. Let me say to Capt. Bernier that if he undertakes the task again he will be given all the latitude he desires. We will tell him to take the same good ship, the same good crew and put all the stores aboard he wants to and to carry the British flag as far to the north as he can and to bring back observations of use to science and of glory and profit to the country. May I express the hope that Capt. Bernier will be ready to start early next year. He will have no instructions but to take possession of the lands for the Dominion. The Government is determined to keep a patrol of the northern seas. Islands there that have been thought barren are a wealth for us and our children. Capt. Bernier's mission will be to resume his work and come back when he thinks he has
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accomplished it. He shall not be fettered by this or that. He shall go to the Pole or beyond it if he desires. It is an important mission and I am sure you are agreed it could not be entrusted to safer hands than Capt. Bernier. "
The remarks of the Premier were received with enthusiasm after which the National Anthem was sung.
Capt. Bernier had several very interesting exhibits. One was the record left by Sir Edward Parry. Another was a pole used by Sir John Franklin which was picked up in the far north. He also showed a repro- duction of the copper plate with which he had marked the taking pos- session for Canada of all the islands of the Northern Archipelago. One half of this plate bore a reproduction of the Canadian flag and the steamer Arctic and the other side, which was surmounted by a beaver, bore the inscription : —
"This memorial is erected to-day to commemmorate the taking pos- session for the Dominion of Canada of the whole of the Arctic Archipelago lying to the north of America from longtitude 60 west to 141 degrees west, up to latitude 90 degrees north. Winter Harbor, Melville Island, C. G. S. Arctic, July 1, 1909. J. E. Bernier, Commander."
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THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA.
SIR JAMES PERCY FITZPATRICK, KT., MEMBER OP THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF THE TRANSVAAL.
Sir James Percy Fitzpatrick, Kt., Member of the Legislative Council of the Transvaal, and one of the delegates to the South African Union Conference, in London, Eng., was the guest of the Club at luncheon on October 28, 1909, and afterwards delivered an address on the Union of South Africa. Brigadier-General Sir John Hanbury- Williams, K.C.V.O., C.M.G., Military Secretary to His Excellency the Governor General, was also present and was the recipient of a farewell tribute of goodwill from the membership of the Club on the eve of his departure from Canada to assume the appointment of Brigadier-General and Chief of Staff of His Majesty's Scottish Territorial Forces.
Mr. Gerald H. Brown, First Vice-President of the Club, presided in the absence of the President, Mr. D'Arcy Scott.
Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, in opening, expressed the gratitude of South African Britishers to Canada for the help and the sympathy which had been extended to them throughout the recent war. To him it had been a marvel that people so remote from the scene of the actual con- flict should have grasped the central fact that in its essence the struggle in South Africa was nothing short of an Empire crisis.
" To give a little explanation of facts that you probably even now do not know, the condition which produced the war was not by any means new; it was not caused by President Kruger or by Mr. Cecily Rhodes; it was not due to the Jameson Raid or the annexation of Zululand or any raids of a local character: it had been going on for over 100 years, long before any of us were born : it was a conflict between two utterly irrecon- ciliable ideals. I think you will admit with me that broadly speaking the ideal under the British rule is equality, freedom, self-government. It was not completely so 100 years ago but broadly speaking that is the ideal to-day. The other ideal, the conflicting ideal in South Africa, was a Dutch Republic with racial domination, not equality at all, but a condition under which one race dominated the whole situation and gave to the other what it chose to give as a favor but not as a right. Thus it was the Empire versus the Republic, equality versus domination, and so for 100 years prior to the war this struggle had been going on.
" I am a partisan, of course, but I am not going to take advantage of the position of having your sympathy to put a one-sided picture before you. There is an immense amount to be said in favor of the Dutch. Al- though bitterly opposed to the Dutch I never had the slightest sympathy with those who talked about treachery and rebellion and other things that were tinged with some discreditable intent on the part of the Dutch. There was nothing discreditable in their action, they did a perfectly justi- fiable, manly, patriotic thing, from their point of view. They tried to knock out the British Empire, tried like men and did not succeed. They
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tried to set up a Dutch Republic. They had previously tried to set up against their own East India Company's Government when there were no British there, an independent Republic. They were branded then as rebels. But their ideal was a country in which they would set up the lost domination and Empire of Holland, a Dutch Republic.
"There is no place more appropriate than this — or, it may be no place more inappropriate — for touching on bi-racial, bi-lingual and bi-religious questions. You have such questions near by. I wish to give you some conception of the two ideals to be found in South Africa. When the Dutch had control in South Africa they put the Roman Catholics in Par- kendoff, a slum outside of Capetown, that we pass through as quickly as we can. I am one of those whom they looked on as fit to put where you put your Indians. That was their idea of religious liberty. When the Hugue- not refugees from France came out to join their co-religionists and exercise freedom of religious convictions there, they were allowed to practice their religion but had to practise it in Dutch. The French language was ab- solutely forbidden ; not a sermon, not a prayer, was allowed to be said in French. I am not going to preach to you but it is well for you here to realize the utterly irreconcilable difference between these two ideals, the British ideal and the Dutch ideal as it was then. Peaceful methods were attempted to solve those difficulties. They failed and it is not due en- tirely to the Dutch that they failed. There were vacillations on our side and changes of policy. One Governor would be told to maintain the position and look after the natives. It appeared many times as if the last thing they were told to look after was the white man. And that tendency, mind you, has not entirely disappeared as anyone will notice who reads the debate on our Union in the Imperial Parliament just a couple of months ago. Another Governor would come along with instructions to extend the territories. Still another would be told to hand them back, to throw them off: so that from time to time the Dutch, who lived on the farms, self- governed, found themselves overtaken by British rule or found themselves repudiated by British rule. Time is far too short to enter fully into this complicated question. I do not want to tell you that these Governors were wrong; circumstances beyond their control often compelled these changes of policy. A Boer would get into trouble with a native. There would be a reprisal, a shot, a little raid and the whole countryside would be in a flame, hundreds of farms would be burned and hundreds of settlers killed. Then the British soldier had to come out and fight these troubles and straighten things out. You can understand that this had the most unfortunate effect upon the ignorant Dutch pioneer whose idea was : ' I want to go away and look after myself.' Still it was not possible to blame the British Government for going after him and saying: This turmoil must stop, you must treat people in a certain way and behave in a certain way, you must be subject to certain discipline, South Africa cannot be in an everlasting turmoil.' Even when the Republics were set up peaceful methods were tried.
" Sir George Grey, a very enlightened Governor, nearly sixty years ago made the first proposal for a South African Union. It was not adopted, though, by the British authorities and fell to the ground. Prominent Dutch- men desired union and Sir John Brown and others have taken a large part in this movement for peace. A man whose death I noticed with great regret the other day, Mr. Hoffmeyer, and others, \vere often criticised ; yet these men tried their best according to their lights to bring about a peaceful settle-
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ment. But a peaceful settlement was not possible, it was absolutely im- possible. You have to admit that national ideals which are honorable and legitimate must be upheld, even if we have to fight to uphold them. All my lifetime, all the lifetime of others before me, there had been a shadow over us, the shadow of the strife between the two races. General Joubert told me years ago: There has to be a fight, there is no room for two masters in South Africa.' Others have always known it. When President Kruger got into power as President of the Transvaal Republic, he was an extremely capable leader and he knew quite well that the tide of British immigration due to farming and the development and occupa- tion of large tracts of country and due also to the exploiting of the diamond mines, gold mines and coal mines, was going to swamp his own people. The terms of peace offered him were the preservation of his Dutch Repub- lican flag and the preservation of friendly relations, but he could not afford to do anything that involved an actual and a real peace because it would have been followed by a sense of content in his own people, a very welcome sense of content and rest, and their desire and preparation for war, their grievances would have ceased to exist. Cecil Rhodes tried peaceful means up to the time of the Jameson Raid. Lord Milner, as Sir John Hanbury- Williams knows, better perhaps than any of us, tried, as no man ever tried before, because no man before had combined the knowledge he had with the courage and the sagacity and patriotism of Lord Milner — tried peace- able means but he failed.
"Many of you will remember the war in 1880 and the repression of that trouble. The whole thing was a horrible one. I need not go into it all and tell you the disastrous results to South Africa. The settlement con- ciliated no one, friends were abandoned, opponents were not conciliated, no one was satisfied. Nothing was settled. There was still the old shadow But it gave us one thing, an opportunity for the practical demonstration of the Dutch ideal. We had it in the Transvaal. All the power was con- centrated in one section of one race and they ruled with the remorseless- ness of an absolute autocrat. No one had any power at all. There you had, in the extreme and worst form, the working of the non-British ideal, the Dutch and racial domination ideal. Side by side you had the British ideal in Natal and Cape -Colony where the Dutchman had the same rights, and being a countryman, living on a farm, had really more rights than the Britisher in the industrial communities in the towns. A little stream — you would not chart such a stream in Canada — divided these two sections. On one side you had absolute equality, self-government, fair play; on the other, complete racial domination. Could it go on? It was impossible. Even had it prevailed all through the country it could not have gone on. The day for that kind of thing is past. Civilized beings want their rights as civilized beings, they do not want to be treated like cattle. We all knew it had to come to war; a peaceful settlement was impossible.
"Now what has the war brought us? The first thing it has brought us is mutual respect, absolutely mutual respect. You know the slang, the colloquial phrases, that pass between men. It always used to be a so-and- so Dutchman and a qualified Englishman. That was all you could get. Neither race was ever spoken of by the other without these adjectives. You do not hear that to-day : they have too much respect for each other. It could not be otherwise for they have earned that respect. The Dutch were small in numbers but they had an enormous advantage in that country, as we who live in it know, and if it took 200,000 British troops to beat 70,000 or
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80,000 of them, I tell you, and those who have been in the country know, it was no mean achievement to do it. The Dutch themselves will tell you there is no other nation in the world that could even think of doing it. But out there we do not talk about these things, whether one was beaten or another was beaten. The two races respect one another ana it is one of the miracles which are wrought by our miracle working Empire. They say to you, and it is true to-day, we have got self-government not as we had it before but as we never had it before, more complete than we had ever known. We lived before under an autocracy, under favoritism, under domination. We had no rights, we had no security; to-day we have self-government complete, a clean government too which we did not know before. To-day we have security in life and property as we never had it before. And to-day, for the first time in the history of South Africa, there is peace, absolute peace, between the white races.
" I do not want to lead you to believe that Dutchmen go about South Africa talking in this way. I speak very freely to you about the Dutchmen as I do out there because I am intimately associated with them. I am connected with them socially, by marriage relations and all that, and I have many friends among them, none of whom have I lost either through the war or the raid that preceded it. I do not want you to think that I am speaking freely here in the sense of their not being present; some one in this room will send something of what I say out to South Africa and in three months' time it will reach me there. All I want to say is that if it is at all honestly put I shall be quite ready to meet it there. I do not want you to believe that Dutchmen go about South Africa saying these things. Of course they do not; they are human the same as we are. It has taken them a long time even to admit that there was any injustice — it took me a long time after being six months in gaol under President Kruger to admit any sort of justice. But I say to myself, why should it not take the other man a long time? He is built in the same way as I am. We had ourselves lived through a very hard experience, yet if out of that experience we brought nothing to the common pool for the benefit of our country, except bitterness and vengefulness, we would not be worthy of the great oppor- tunity that was given to us to take a hand in building up our country. We did bring a remembrance of what we had suffered but we brought with it this determination that after the war we will rob you of every legitimate grievance you have got; we will make no mistakes this time; once before you started afresh with grievances and for nineteen years we had that experience. Surely to heaven out of that we must learn it is bad business to leave people with a sense of injustice and with real grievances.
" I wish I could tell you more, for I know it would interest you very much, of what took place in our Union. We had before us, the ideal of the British, freedom and equality. The war settled the question of free- dom; the question of equality it did not. Equality to us meant a pro- vision in the constitution whereby men would get their voting right and having got their voting right would get their proper share of representa- tion on it. That is to say the Parliament of the country should no longer have the right to say that 4,000 or 5,000 votes here should elect one mem- ber and 100,000 or 120,000 there should elect another member. That is not equal rights but that was the condition of South Africa and, of course, majorities are not going to strip themselves of power for the purpose of assisting the well-meaning creatures who only want to turn them out of office. What you have to do is to put temptation out of the way, to
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make the way of well-doing quite easy by putting the right thing in the constitution and having it secure. That is what we have done; we have provided that the constituencies shall contain equal numbers of voters, that the right to vote shall be easily and fairly obtained under the existing laws and that the constitution cannot be altered by Parliament in those particulars. Now we can go on.
"No doubt in the beginning there will be something like a racial division, but I want to know why it should continue. There is no profit in it any more. I do not know why they should keep on, they cannot alter their representation or increase their strength, they cannot add to their rights because they have now full rights, they cannot ask for self- government — it is now more complete than they ever had — they cannot ask more liberty, because their liberty now is greater than they ever enjoyed in their lives. They cannot ask for more security as it is impossible to better their security. Now why should they continue the struggle on racial lines? We have no religious difference there.
"Now I come to the only remaining point, that is the language. I am probably as much responsible as any other individual for advocating the dual language in South Africa. I will acknowledge that responsibility everywhere. I was the first to advocate it, and the strongest to advocate it on the British side. But I want to tell you I am second to nobody in be- lieving that to have two languages in a country is a deplorable condition if you can do without them. If you can have one language in a country it is a thousand times better than having two. Why then should anyone desiring to have only one language advocate two languages? I will tell you why — rob of them of every legitimate grievance was the policy. If you touch a man's language you touch his nationality; when you touch his nationality you put on him the brand of inferiority and touch him where he is most sensitive of all. If you want from him respect for your convictions and your legitimate race pride you must make him feel that you respect him. This doctrine we preached, although we were in the minority.
" I do not wish to refer to the settlement made three years ago because there are matters in it which would not please you. We believe that there are features of it which give the British serious cause for being dissatisfied, but I put that on one side. That is our British party question, and I am not going to trot it out before you here. We were in the minority and being in the minority and knowing and feeling that you are not properly in the minority, that you have a real grievance and are being unjustly treated, you are very liable to take a rather warped view of things and to be moved by a sense of your own suffering, a sense of injustice. Well, we had to face that, we had to realize in 1907 that we were in a minority, although many of our party as individuals made considerable effort and sacrifice for the British cause. Many of us felt that we had been hardly treated and are most indignant at that treatment. We had to realize that notwith- standing that we were the victors and they the vanquished, the appear- ances were that we were underneath. We were being downtrodden. The cause for which we had stood was a British Africa. That cause had tri- umphed, and it was up to us to show a broad-mindedness, a magnanimity and a wise statesmanship that under these conditions was very difficult. If we had not exhibited these qualities, again I say we should have been unworthy of the trust we were sharing as trustees of the British Empire.
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As trustees of the British Empire, we were entrusted with the practical carrying out of an ideal.
"When you see your Mounted Police in Canada, when you see our Mounted Constabulary in South Africa, when you see the frontiersman on the borders of India, prepared to meet any danger or death without a witness, never to swerve from his duty, you know it is because he is a trustee of the British Empire. He rises out of himself to a height almost sublime; he knows that he does not matter, that it is the great trust he must be worthy of. So in the little way that it was left to us we tried to feel. We thought it well over beforehand, we talked it over and we said : — ' Here is the position we have to face. We have claimed equal rights; they are about one-half the population in South Africa; in God's name let them have equal rights as well as ourselves, that is fair play.' I believe that has borne us good fruit.
"If you were to live among us in South Africa now, you would see the most wonderful thing. There is no racial bitterness, there are no racial differences except in the past, and among the people who did not fight, the people who egged others on. They feel very much out of it and they have good ground to feel out of it.
" If I should embark on any other phase of this question my speech would extend far beyond the limits set. We have our union in a different form from yours. In South Africa we have the native question running all through, we have an Asiatic question, we have the language question, with which I have dealt, and which might become a question very easily if it was not wisely handled. These and other questions run right through regardless of provincial boundaries. We studied the history of confedera- tions and unions and we were greatly struck not only with what has been achieved but with what the fathers of the great unions wanted to achieve. We were advocating a Legislative Union, that is to say only one Parliament ; we wanted to abolish all the Provincial Parliaments, make them merely county councils under Parliament, to abolish all the Lieutenant-Go vernors, substituting therefor working officials called administrators and delegating to these councils from Parliament all the local work so that the necessary administrative work should be properly done over a large area. That was our ideal; that is what we aimed at. We were surprised to find that no less an authority than Sir John Macdonald held exactly the same view but that he had not been able to put it into effect because of difficulties with which you are familiar. We were still more surprised to find ample evidence in the correspondence of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton that that was what they were after from the very beginning but that they could not accomplish it owing to strenuous opposition. We found that where the United States had done a marvellous thing, consider- ing the circumstances, and the fact that there were thirteen States, Canada had immensely improved on their position in the establishment of this Dominion. Australia had departed from the model of Canada and gone back more on the United States model. So we had three models and we thought over what Canada had done. She had accomplished a great work and had shown us how the fathers of the Canadian Confederation would have liked to have proceeded had it been possible. Let us try, we said, to do what they would have liked to do. We have tried it. We stuck out hard for it and we have carried it. We have the union complete in South Africa with one Parliament only.
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"Now you will understand that native difficulties, class legislation, language questions, all become much more easy, much less dangerous, when you get the whole country to deal with them, the best of its intelli- gence, the average of its spirit, the average of its judgment. Under other conditions you may have such difficulties as were caused by the Japanese legislation in California which put the whole United States on fire. We cannot have that in South Africa because our provinces cannot act. The average of the judgment, the sober judgment of the other three partners, will come in and tone down the feeling of the province concerned. I think in that way we have more security and better chances of co-operation bet- ween the two races and I think we have before us a prospect which I am sure we never had before, a prospect of complete peace between the two white races in South Africa. "
The Chairman conveyed to Sir Percy Fitzpatrick the Club's most cordial thanks for the address which he had delivered and expressed the hope that the policy of trust which had made it possible to bring about the political union of South Africa would be carried to its full fruition, produc- ing between men of British and of Dutch stock the same results as it had already produced in this country in the complete accord of the French and English races.
Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King, C.M.G., Minister of Labor, extended to Sir John Hanbury- Williams the Club's best wishes for his future success and referred at the same time in terms of high praise to the manner in which he had discharged the important and delicate duties of the position which he had occupied in Canada during the past five years.
Sir John Hanbury- Williams in reply thanked Mr. King for his kind words and the Club for its hospitality. In the course of his remarks he said : — :
" I heard it said the other day that we are all members of this great Empire, and as members of this great Empire we have all a right to be called builders of the Empire. When you have heard, as I have heard, that great National Anthem of ours ring out in the jungles of Burmah, on the hills and plains of India, on the veldt of South Africa, in the deserts of Egypt, and here from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast, you begin to realize the meaning of the word ' Empire ' and to feel the sentiment that there is in it. I am not ashamed to say that it is a pride to feel that one can share in the responsibilities of the Empire and that we can all, every one of us, do something by guarding these great over-seas outposts, not for defiance but for defence. I feel that we are consolidating the Empire by such means and that we are not doing it in the spirit of aggravating mili- tarism. "
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CANADA TO-DAY AND TO-MORROW
RT. HON. LORD NORTHCLIFFE.
Rt. Hon. Lord Northcliffe was the guest of the Club at luncheon on Novembe 6, 1909, and afterwards delivered an address on the subject of Canada To-day and To-morrow. The First Vice-President, Mr. Gerald H. Brown, presided in the absence of the President, Mr. D'Arcy Scott. Hon. W. S. Fielding, Minister of Finance, expressed to Lord Northcliffe the thanks of the Club for his address. Among those who attended the luncheon were the following: — Hon. W. S. Fielding, Minister of Finance; Hon. L. P. Brodeur, Minister of Marine and Fisheries; Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King, C.M.G., Minister of Labor; and Mr. R. L. Borden, M.P., Leader of the Opposition.
His Lordship, said in opening : —
" Your Chairman has said that I would like to say a few words on the subject of Canada To-day and To-morrow. Firstly, perhaps I should explain to you that I am not a prophet. However, my knowledge of Canada is a little greater than that of the average British globe trotter. I have been associated in my travels and my holidays with the eastern part of the Dominion ever since I was first able to take a holiday. I have very long association with, and great affection for the old part of Canada, and I have lately extended my knowledge by a short but most interesting journey to the other end of Canada. I thought to-day that I would give my im- pressions, and of course they are only my impressions, of the kind of type that is forming in this northern part of the North American Continent.
" When I first came to Canada it was a very different Canada ; it was a Canada that had not yet attained to very great faith in the Far West ; that is there were a great many people who had very little idea that the Far West, or the railroad leading to the Far West, would have anything like the prosperity which we have seen. There was, at that time, generally speaking — and I remember many conversations with Canadians — an idea that the future of the Canadian nation was south rather than west. It seems strange to say that to-day, but many of you present will be quite aware that what I say is within your recollections. It seemed that the great pressure of the vast Republic might be too much for the hand- ful of people in what was then a comparatively limited area in wealth and in possibilities. But although the population of Canada was then small, and is to-day comparatively small, it is composed almost entirely of northern peoples, and is, therefore, following all historical precedent, a most independent people. I take it that it is this which has enabled a comparatively small number of people to make itself into a nation, a nation which is able to stand up face to face with the greatest Republic in the world. By your very nature you are an independent people and you have within you the British tradition of independence of the individual and independence of the corporation. That I think has also tended to venable this small handful of people to hold their own against the very
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severe pressure and the natural attraction and the natural imitation of a vast and interesting people like those below the line.
" When I first came to Canada, it seemed to me, although at that time I was only in the East, that there was greater individuality about the Cana- dians than I have seen in the United States, and I am bound to say after my excursion to the West, that with all the amazing unopened opportuni- ties, and the vast present opportunities of that country, it is a little disap- pointing to one who longs to see British independence maintained on this Continent. We know that thefe are immigrating into the United States to-day rather more than 1,000,000 people every year, and those of us who, like myself, have watched the emigration agent at work in South-Eastern Europe know that the kind of people who are being brought into the United States is no longer of the fine old type who made New England, who spread across the Middle West to the Pacific slope, that they are no longer the old New England Yankee, but an entirely different sort of people. They are not people who are leaving South-Eastern Europe and the other places from which they are coming from any desire to escape religious tyranny. They are coming, first of all, because they are not forceful enough and strong enough to maintain the struggle for existence in their own countries. They are not the old pioneers who came to Canada, the old pioneers who made the United States. These people are gathered together at Warsaw, and other places whence they come, by emigration shipping agents, and they come over to this side of the world — not, I am glad to say, at present very largely to Canada — at the rate of something like one million a year. They float — I always compare them to logs floating down stream to a saw- mill— the children float into the American public school and are turned out what are called little Americans, and from one end of the United States to the other, you see before you practically the same person in every city to which you go.
"So far as Canada is concerned, one might think that this does not matter. But it'does matter. The force of example on this Continent is a very remarkable thing. The Americans have probably done the very best thing they could do in setting up their great public school system to, as they say, Americanize the strange mob that is reaching them every year. But that does not seem to me any reason why a purely northern people like the Canadians should allow their children to become more and more like the products of South-Eastern Europe, and that is what I thought they were doing when I was in the West. The people in the West seemed to me to be thinking, reading, speaking, exactly like this new kind of Americans; they seemed to me to have exactly the same kind of accent, the children seemed to look exactly the same and, indeed, in a city like Winnipeg I felt that save for the splendid healthy look of the children, and the flag, one might have been in one of these newly settled cities of the Western United States where they are dumping and importing these peoples, these races, who certainly would never have made either Canada or the United States what it is to-day.
" When I first came to Canada, I remember a great many little Canadian children wore that most delightful of costumes, the French-Canadian dress for children; to-day I do not see much of that, to-day it is most difficult to distinguish the French-Canadian child from the average new American child, and that, I think, is a very great pity.
" I know that numbers of thoughtful Americans are perplexed by this enormous immigration and that many of them have their doubts as to
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whether it is possible for the gigantic maw of Uncle Sam to assimilate this great volume of immigration from the South-East of Europe. If that is so, and it is so, why should the Canadians not make a greater effort to maintain nationality in thought, in reading, in appearance, than apparently they are doing in the West? You may reply that they are too busy. Well, this is the changing time for Canada, this is the time when you are making a nation, this is the time when you are creating the kind of Canadian that is going to become perhaps the most dominant factor in the British Empire.
" I am not one of those who adhere to the exploded theory of those British Imperialists who regard Downing street as the Capital of the British Empire for all time. We have before moved the Capital of the Empire. If you look at English history you will find that the Capital of the Empire was moved several times within Great Britain itself.
" It is more than possible — and here I second the views expressed in higher quarters — that in the perhaps not far distant future, the force of circumstances may cause the centre of the British Empire to come here. If that be so, do we not want on this Continent the British ideal, which, with all its slowness is a very high one, dominant, rather than an ideal which has been marked by an immense immigration of inferior races? I say this because I do think that in the haste of people in the West, in the rush of business, in the enormous development of agriculture and of mining enterprises, there is sometimes not enough attention being given to the making of the individual and there cannot possibly be anything so import- ant to-day in Canada as the making of that individual. We know abso- lutely that it is beyond question that races owe their power and dominance to the strength of the individual unit and the number of individuals in that country.
" But what is the effect of this enormous immigration into the United States? It is this, that they have had, as I said before, to put all these children through the same kind of factory, and produce the same kind of little Americans, so that when you go beyond the New England States and the better part of the Middle West, you encounter people with no thought of their own, eating exactly the same things, reading the same books, singing the same songs, wearing the same kind of clothes, just as they do in China, with no independence whatever. That is what occurs to a person like myself who spends most of his time in countries like France and Eng- land— the destruction of the indivdual in the product of the vast factories called public schools here.
" I say that in England, or in the one city of Paris, one encounters more individualities, than one may encounter in the whole 90,000,000 in the American Republic. That is my impression and I have friends among the very best of them. My impression is that they are, by force of circum- stances trying to level up these vast immigrant hordes, into, the best imita- tion of the American they can. This may be very good for them but I think it is a pity to see an imitation of that lower ideal in this end of the Continent. I speak frankly of the impression I gathered in the West. No one doubts its wealth, its amazing possibilities. But there are also great possibilities in the East. These latter are perhaps being neglected for the moment, but I repeat the East has great wealth, great possibilities. It is in my opinion better suited to the average British immigrant, of highly trained farming knowledge, with capital, than the prairie land. He feels less lonely, he is surrounded by people to whom he is accustomed, the climate is very little different from the North of England and Scotland, he
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is able to bring his children to a settled farm, and to add to their farming knowledge by the admirable colleges which you have in the Eastern Pro- vinces. I have said my say on this question which I think is the most burning question, of the individuality of the Canadians. I am quite aware that there are many people here, some in this room, and many out of it, who have this matter at heart.
"Yesterday I spent part of a most interesting day at one of these places where they are making the character of the Canadians of the next working generation, at Macdonald College. Would that you had a chain of those colleges from Ste. Anne to Vancouver Island. There I saw the most advanced thing in the way of the education of the individual that I have ever seen, even in Germany, which is considered the home of educa- tion. There I saw the little men and women of Canada of the next working generation being brought up to all kinds of splendid ideals and more espe- cially to that which is I think one of the great charms of Canadian character, the love of the out-of-doors, the love of the forest and of the stream. There you see the young Canadian being taught what we are gradually forgetting in these days when children begin to read books and newspapers at seven, that is to observe things in their own country. There you see the women being taught to make the homes of the people comfortable. There I saw the brightest and happiest collection of young people being educated that I have ever seen in my life. That, of course, is only one of many institutions you have in Canada but in that one it seems to me you have an example not only for the whole of your nation but for the whole world. I think it is a splendid thought, a splendid ground of hope for this nation, that you have already, in so young a people, universities that rank with Oxford or Cambridge, Yale or Harvard.
"Surely no nation so small and so young, has ever started so well in the matter of education. I am quite aware that the college I saw yester- day is only one. I have seen two others of your purely agricultural colleges and we know that they are not only an example to Canada but, like a good many things in Canada, an example to the old country which you came from and I have no doubt the example of Macdonald College and your college here will spread to England and do an immense amount of good to that part of the Empire ; we have quite as much to learn from you in many things as you have to learn from us in other things.
" I have no desire to speak to-day about a Canadian navy but several people have written to me to ask me to say something. I do not suppose that I know anything more about navies than the average Canadian. I have happened to be on short pleasure trips on English, French and United States war vessels. I was for a short time an unworthy candidate for Parliament for the great naval city of Portsmouth and I am very glad to say I was not successful because I had not been very long in Portsmouth before I realized that a navy is a very much more complicated piece of business than a newspaper, a railroad, or a grain elevator. I realized that it is a most extraordinary mixture of tradition, scientific skill and dis- cipline, and that however much you think you know your navy, you do not know anything about the other fellow's navy. Yesterday I saw, for example, that Uncle Sam was tooting his horn about his new great battle- ship and thought he had the fastest one in the world. It is pretty fast, but I happen to have been on one that is faster so I knew he was wrong.
" I have no douttt that when you build your Canadian navy, you will make the same mistakes that have been made by all other builders of
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navies. I say that because I happen to come from that part of our Empire where we have, if not the best navy, the one that has practised most often. When you hear of an accident in the British navy you can take it from me that it is because that navy is always being used and worked. Some of the navies which you never hear of as having accidents are never out at sea at all, and when one reads of their extraordinary immunity from disaster and of the deplorable muddle of the British navy, it must be remembered that the British navy is one of the only navies in the world that are practically always at sea, one of the only navies that practise at night on rough seas with lights out. If, with all our knowledge, if with a people none of whom are living more than 100 miles from the sea, we have, all that trouble with our navy, I imagine that despite your two very long sea coasts you will also have your troubles with your navy and, therefore, I would suggest as a man of business who has had some experience of various kinds of organiza- tion that it might be very well to go extremely slow in beginning that navy, to do rather what the Japanese did in building their navy. They are, as far as I am aware, the only new people who have made a successful navy. Every now and then, some of the smaller republics and nations send over to England and buy a lot of magnificent brand new ships. They are the best ships we can build, they are just as good as our own ships, but you never hear any more about them.
" It is quite easy to order a ship, it is quite easy to build ships here, excellent ships, but the peculiar organization that can ran a battleship, or a cruiser, or a destroyer, or a submarine, is quite a different organization from that which is required in running the C.P.R. or a London newspaper, or any of the various complicated organizations of to-day. The Japanese, as you know, have been building a navy, practically since the fifties. They began to think it necessary to arm themselves in modern fashion towards the end of the fifties. They did very little for a long time beyond sending people all over the world, including the late Marquis Ito, seeing what other people were doing and they resolved that the best example they could have was England. So, early in the seventies, they sent their boys over to our sailing schools to try and acquire English discipline, and some knowledge of the new mechanical inventions that were then coming into use in the world's navies. Gradually they learned our system of discipline, gradually they learned how to train their own sailors, gradually they bought here and there in England a small ship, then larger ships, until to-day they are in a position to build and man their own ships and while I do not think they themselves claim that they are developing anything new in the way of warships they have, at the end of forty years, attained to a very fine navy indeed. The Japanese are a particularly intelligent people. After all they have not the traditions you have of sea knowledge and have not the sailors you have and so I suppose you will be able to do it more rapidly than they were. But I do not think you will be able to do it as quickly as some of your newspapers seem to think.
" Some of them seem to think that to order a navy is like ordering a dinner. You send to the head waiter and you get it. My short experience as a candidate for Parliament for Portsmouth was quite sufficient to teach me that when you have a Canadian navy you will have for a long time all the worry you want. On the other hand, my experience of Canadians, and especially of the sailors that I have seen around Newfoundland, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on the other side, convinces me that you have
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got here raw material as good as can be found in the world for the making of these sailors.
"Another thing I am perpetually being asked to speak of; either by one political party or the other — I never know — one never knows where politics come in in Canada — is Canadian loyalty. Personally, I do not talk about Canadian loyalty. I happened to have been at home during the Boer war. What were the facts about that war? For a long time the people of England were about equally divided for and against it. Those in favor of it were hardly more violent than those who were opposed to it. You in Canada were very far removed from the war, the thing was sprung upon you, not as upon us who had been watching the growth of the [trouble for years, but very suddenly, so that it looked as if gigantic England was pouncing on the poor little Dutch Republic and yet despite the fact that one-half of your people, the French people, could hardly be expected to take a deep interest in a war between us and the Boers, many of whom, as you know, were of French descent; despite all your racial and poli- tical difficulties here and despite the fact that the war was very unpo- pular with a great many people at home, you did put into the field for the sake of the Empire, without asking why or wherefore, a splendid body of men. That fact remains. Whether they were sent with the consent of all Canadians matters not ; certainly ours at home were not sent with the consent of all our people. I think it is a very wonderful thing that considering that war was fought 7,000 miles from England, in a part of the world where Canadians are not interested, that any soldiers were sent from Canada at all.
" My argument to those people in Canada who ask me to talk about Canadian loyalty is that if the time ever comes when there is any necessity to show Canadian loyalty, Canadians having taken this part in that very uninteresting war in South Africa, there will be no lack of loyalty in Canada if Canada and the rest of the Empire be attacked. I am not particularly fond of talking about war. War is in the air in Europe; it is always so. Sometimes one would like to think that the age of envy and jealousy and all kinds of crime has vanished, but unfortunately I have come to that time of life when I have begun to think that history is always going to repeat itself; fortunately I have come to that time of life when I have a little leisure for travel and I can see preparations made by various nations, pre- parations that can hardly be made for amusement, preparations that are involving enormous taxation by people who hate spending money anyway, by people who once pounced on their French neighbors without any warn- ing at all. And when I see these things I say as a matter of business: I wonder what you are building all these things for, I know you are shrewd and thrifty, I know you are not building these things for amusement, you have made excellent business out of two other wars and you might be dis- posed to try for the richest country in the world. That may come or it may not. If it does not it is due to the fact that our people at home, in their slow way are slowly awakening and building excellent vessels and because we have at the head of affairs in our country a very estimable man of business, a man of business who is thoroughly aware of the fact that the best business for any country is peace, peace with honor, not peace that you have to pay for all the time, and this man who is working, the hardest for peace, as I think most members of this Club, most Canadians, most members of this great Empire, are aware, is our Edward — the man who succeeded in making that desirable entente cordials with France at a
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time when it was most difficult to make friends with our French friends. The man who has gone throughout Europe unceasingly, as we all know, trying to bring the nations together is at the head of our nation and if we do have peace we owe it just as much to Edward our King, we have to thank him just as warmly as the efforts that are being made by our little country at home to keep up a navy worthy of this Empire and of Canada. "
Hon. W. S. Fielding, Minister of Finance, in returning the thanks of the Club to Lord Northcliffe for his address said, in part: — "Lord North- cliffe has spoken of the great changes which he has observed in Canada since the days of his earlier visits. There is a change and a very gratifying change which I have observed in recent years. Not many years ago the average travelled Englishman, not as numerous then as HOW, who took the trouble to come out to America, landed at New York or Boston, spent a few weeks in the United States and returned to the mother country with the report that he had seen America. A few more venturous spirits did cross the bridge at Niagara and were able to boast with pride that they had been in Canada. All that Sir, is happily changed. No Englishman of any rank or standing, no Englishman travelling for knowledge of the world, would come to America to-day without coming to Canada — and probably coming here first.
"Canada owes much to the English press in recent years, and while I would not like to discriminate between one newspaper and another it is not too much to say that through the splendid enterprise of Lord North- cliffe in connection with The Times and other journals, great service has been done in making the world know more about Canada. I came from Europe a few weeks ago and had the pleasure of being a fellow passenger of Lord Northcliffe. There were three Times people on that ship, I am aware of three others who are in Canada, and so I think it is not too much to say that at this time, apart from ordinary resident correspondents, there are probably half a dozen Times staff men travelling in Canada in order to learn what we are doing and what we hope to do in the future.
"They cannot but be of great help to us. All we ask of them is to state what we are doing and if by their criticisms and warnings they can help us to do better, they will find us to be thankful and willing students.
"I want to thank Lord Northcliffe in the name of this large audience, and I know they will join heartily with me in thanking him for his trouble in coming here. He has large interests in various parts of Canada, and in Newfoundland. May it not be that his common interest in the old colony and in the larger colony may be instrumental in bringing about that understanding between Newfoundland and Canada that will lead to that colony coming into the union, to the accomplishment of that union which we in Canada are at all times desirous of having, which we would welcome at any moment, but which out of regard to our brethren in New- foundland we do not feel we should press for too much. When the moment arrives that they feel that their interests and ours are alike, and they are disposed to come with us they will be heartily welcome and I venture to hope that Lord Northcliffe's interests both in Canada and Newfoundland may be an instrument in bringing about so desirable a result."
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SOME INTERROGATION POINTS
MR. R. C. SMITH, K.C., OF MONTREAL.
Mr. R. C. Smith, K.C., of Montreal, was the guest of the Club at lunch- eon on November 27, 1909, and afterwards delivered an address on " Some Interrogation Points. " Mr. Smith's address was received with the greatest enthusiasm by a very large attendance of the Club membership including the following: — Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister; Hon. Sir Frederick Borden, Hon. W. S. Fielding, Hon. Sydney Fisher, Hon. L. P. Brodeur, Hon. Wm. Templeman, Hon. Chas. Murphy and Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King, C.M.G. On the conclusion of Mr. Smith's address the thanks of the Club were conveyed to him by the President, Mr. D'Arcy Scott.
Mr. Smith said, in opening: —
"When you introduce a dwarf as a giant, you make it very difficult for him to play his role. I have been spoken of in such kind terms by you, Sir, that I do not know really what to say, or where to begin. To be called a great lawyer and an after-dinner speaker at the same time is really too much for one individual. I am very glad that you did not specify what particular kind of after-dinner speaker I was. I read, I think it was the day before yesterday, that some one in New York had been introduced as a star after-dinner speaker. Some one said, 'No, he is a moon after-dinner speaker.' 'Why?' 'The fuller he gets, the brighter he is.' If I really had to account for your kindness in inviting me here to-day, I should find it extremely difficult to do so, unless I should find the reason in your own remark, Sir, that you have had great diplomatists, well known visitors from abroad, and decided that after you had regaled yourselves upon most recherche dishes, prepared with the highest culinary art, it might be, perhaps, a useful thing to get back for once to plain fare and home cooking, and so to-day, in exchange for the wisdom and the eloquence to which you have referred, you have interjected something very matter of fact and commonplace.
" Before I say anything further, will you allow me to express my sincere appreciation of the great kindness of the numerous honorable gentlemen, who have attended this luncheon for their great'kindness in com- ing to meet me. I fear that in inviting me here to-day you have wasted a great opportunity. But what do you think of me having to waste a great opportunity? We have almost the whole Cabinet with us. Just think of the numerous enterprises of great pith and moment which I might per- haps have discussed had I known I was to have such an august auditory here to-day. I believe that under the circumstances perhaps the most useful thing, would be to read a few pages to you from the excellently compiled blue books of the Department of Agriculture, or the Department of the Interior, with which, no doubt, according to the law of contraries, you people in Ottawa are much less familiar than the people further re- moved from the seat of government. But the occasion does not seem to lend itself to statistics. There is a certain optimism that takes possession
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of us after a comfortable meal for which there is no accounting. Some- one of very curiously morbid tastes discovered that no one had ever com- mitted suicide within an hour after dinner, and we never hear of a pessi- mistic after-dinner speech, antl this is not a modern development because we read that long, long, long ago, in the good old Book itself, 'And when they had eaten and were full, then they blessed the Lord. '
" It would accord better with your present feeling, were I to say what I have to say upon the greatness of our national heritage, and it is a subject I love. Our history is so brightened by the display of strength and grit, so mellowed by sacrifice and devotion; our present development speaks of unrivalled enterprise and our present citizenship of constitutional strength and vitality; our vast fertile West, our great transportation facilities — all this great material development points to one thing, and that is that as surely as cause precedes effect, and as surely as natural laws operate, this Canada of ours is destined to become one of the most powerful and influential states, not only of the Western Hemisphere, but of the world. I should like to dwell upon this greatness, this potential greatness of Canada, but the thought of how great we are is one with which we may become too familiar, and in that view I have dared to-day to set down upon a piece of paper a few questions to ask with a view merely of provoking enquiry among you, not of finding fault. I am not in any censorious mood to-day. I assure you, quite the contrary, and I bear in mind an observation which a lady made to me a short time ago. She said, ' an invitation to address a Women's Club is no particular license to say disagreeable things, ' and I assure you that my purpose to-day is not to say disagreeable things. Perhaps it would not be right for me to warn you in advance not to pay any attention to the questions I am going to ask you, but do not pay too much attention to them because you probably know, indeed do know a great deal more about them than I do myself. So if I ask a few questions, examine them and if you think there is anything in them, then possibly what I have said may have been of as much use as if I had read from that blue book.
"To begin with — now don't be offended — if we are going to become so great a people, is it not reasonable and is it not time that we as a people might give a little more attention to what, for want of a better term, I may call our manners. National characteristics become fixed just as personal habits do and it is well for us to inquire whether, in the strenuous New- World conditions in which we find ourselves, we are not grasping the oppor- tunities that present themselves on all sides, and above all whether, in dealing with the far-reaching problems that affect our future, we are not growing a little too indifferent to all that is incidental rather than funda- mental, and let us all ask ourselves the question whether we are not in danger of drifting into manners that are somewhat uncouth, and into colloquial terms that surely mean the deterioration of our language. (Ap- plause). I am glad that you applauded that statement because a gentleman asked me this morning: ' What are you going to ask questions about ? ' I said 'I am going to ask one about manners.' He said: 'Don't do that; you will put your foot in the whole thing if you do. ' But is it not a fact that a serious question too often provokes the answer 'Sure Mike?' that that which is ordinary becomes ' ornary, ' that ' gentlemen ' becomes ' gen'lemen' ? Just to take one particular illustration that is most displeasing to me, we are constantly hearing of people, who are not suffering from any affection whatever of the throat or lungs, being forced to cough.
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" I read the other day a quotation from a speech of Sir Charles Dilke's in which he said, it is the soul of a people that creates its language. It fol- lows its fortunes, it rises or falls with the people. Do not misunderstand me. I should be the last person in the world to advocate stilted formality in manners or in speech; quite the contrary. Our manners in this New- World require affability, approachability, freedom, and our speech re- quires, above all other things, directness. But when we are forming habits which may become characteristic of us as a people, I think it is not too much to say that we ought, all of us, to remember that it is quite possible to be agreeable without adopting all the current slang and that the antithesis of pride is not vulgarity. Much more important than man- ners is the general intelligence of a people. I am going to risk a question as to whether we, and particularly the younger generation, are doing all we might do to realize our possibilities in this regard. An old tutor of mine said to me last week: When I visit young men's rooms I see hockey sticks, golf clubs, snow shoes — everything of that kind, but very few books. I am going to digress a moment now. No one is a greater admirer than I am of our splendid national sports. We want them, we need them, we need all the bone and the sinew and the nerve that we can create, all that we can develop, and God forbid that I should ever say one word against our splendid national sports. But I am going to interject a question rather incidentally now: What is the progress and what is the development of our national sports? Is there not too much professionalism coming into our national sports? You and I can think no doubt — I know I can — of several places where money would be most appropriate at this time, but money is .not appropriate in connection with our national sports, and money will ruin our national sports. I was glad to read — and I will not apologize for referring to it even in the presence of the Prime Minister — of a match last Saturday that it was a splendid contest of skill and muscle and that, when the victory was won, the vanquished came forward and were the first to say: 'We congratulate you on your victory, you were too much for us, we will try and give you a better game next time.' That is the spirit that ought to inspire all our sports, not to win at any cost but to win honorably, and when we are beaten honorably, let us give the other man fair credit and shake his hand. Sh' — I may have been speaking too soon, they are at it again this afternoon. I hope that it will be a repetition of the same strenuous, fair play that it was last Saturday."
Hon. Charles Murphy: — "And the same result. "
Mr. Smith: — "Well, Gentlemen, after saying this much about sports may we not ask ourselves whether we are doing in another department as much as we are doing in sports, whether we are endeavoring to see that in general intelligence and in culture we shall keep apace with our material development.
"Of a people it was said long ago that they were lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, and may we not ask ourselves the question whether we are not devoting to the pursuits of pleasure, honorable and use- ful in themselves, time out of proportion to that which we devote to those things that qualify to higher citizenship and that enrich with finer and brighter quality that great influence for good and ill in all nations that we commonly call public opinion. I do not know whether it was any evidence of general culture or want of culture that when I wanted a translation of the plays of Aristophanes I went to seven of the largest and principal book
14
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sellers in Montreal and every one told me that he could get it from Boston or New York. You people of the Capital will no doubt say that they naturally supposed that the metropolitan population of Montreal could read Aristophanes in the original — there is so much that is Greek to us in Montreal — but I for one could not and so a book which every one ought to read could only be procured for our metropolitan city from New York or Boston. I simply throw out this question. Perhaps I am exaggerating it but I think it is worth our consideration.
".Will you allow me to say a few words about another question com- pletely disconnected with any other question. An old Scotch lady was reading the dictionary very diligently and some one said to her: 'How do you like it?' She said: 'It is vera interesting but it seems very discon- nekit. ' The next question I am going to address to you was suggested by an Alberta man. He said to me, in a very good-humored way: 'It will only be a very few years before we will swing the Eastern Provinces'. Well, I said, let me be sure that I get your meaning, these double or second- ary significations are a nuisance. I said: 'It is said, of course, of a person who commits a capital offence that he may swing for it. Now if you mean that you are going to hang us we would not like it at all; but if you mean, that in your stupendous, your gigantic development, your upward progress, you are going to draw us with you, every one of us in the Eastern Provinces will join in singing a. very old time music hall song " Let the swing go a little bit higher. " But it suggested to me a question whether we are always keeping before us as prominently as we might the idea of the unity of this great Dominion of ours. I do not refer to legislation. Parliament very into gladly granted autonomy to the two new provinces and welcomed them the Confederation, but it requires more than legislation to bring about the fusion of a people. National sentiment is a great force in the world. The people to the south of us realize this and so ought we. We ought to keep ever before ourselves and before our children the idea of something wider than provincial citizenship. Loyalty to Canada does not mean the sacrifice of provincial interests any more than loyalty to the Empire means the sacrifice of interests distinctively Canadian.
" We all have our local interests, we have our East and we have our West and we must have reciprocal respect for local interests wherever they may exist. But while we have that mutual respect for local interests, we must, above all things, have a community of spirit and community of pur- pose if we are to realize the future of this country that we dream of. Pro- vincial citizenship is an excellent thing, a useful thing, a right and a proper thing, but we have to remember that we are the inheritors of half a con- tinent, of immeasurable possibilities that can only be realized by the con- certed policy of a united people. I was a little startled on Monday at hearing a question not from a western man, it was from an eastern man: 'What interest have the Prairie Provinces in a naval program?' How great force there is in a new idea. We ought all to migrate there and set up an inland Utopia where we will enjoy absolute freedom from all the vexatious cares and anxieties that seem inevitably inseparable from living in a world with other nations and we might there establish this Utopia where we would hear as little about international strife and jealousy as we would hear of the sound of the breakers on Gaspe coast. But we will have to modify very greatly all our notions of national greatness or of the mission that Providence has given to this country for the benefit of man- kind, we will have to change all those notions and will have to begin again
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if we are going to attempt anything of that kind. It is perfectly true that there is not much danger of a Dreadnought of any foreign power reaching Regina, but it is equally true — and if the Minister of Public Works were here he would bear me out in it — that we in Montreal could render ourselves absolutely free from the danger of naval invasion by a little judicious dredging from the sides into the channel. But what then? I do not imagine — remember I am not going to say anything about the naval program, I could give you a great many reasons for not doing so, but I will only give you one, because I do not know what it is and I do not know anything about it, so I shall say nothing indiscreet, I shall betray no Cabinet secrets with regard to the naval program. But whatever the naval program is, I do not imagine it is conceived with the narrow purpose merely of protecting the sea coasts on either the Atlantic or the Pacific. I imagine that any naval program, whatever it may be, and I think all political parties seem to be united in this, that there must be some naval program, it will be founded on some wider and higher idea than defending the Island of Anticosti or the City of Victoria. If the coast in the Gulf of St. Lawrence or in British Columbia were to be taken in war I imagine that the unpleasantness created would very soon reach Winnipeg and Regina and Edmonton. No, the idea, it seems to me, must have been founded upon something stronger and better than this mere idea of local protection.
"We hear continually that we are too great to be a colony. They speak of our transcontinental railroads, of our canals free from tolls, of our boundless and prolific West, and they say: We are too great to be a colony. They speak of our mineral wealth, only just touched ; they speak of all these other great interests that mean national power and resources and they say: 'We are far too great to be a colony. Too great to be a colony?' Are we too mean, then, to take some little share of the respon- sibility in order that we may have some share in the glory of Empire? I read, night before last, that the naval program was the product of jingo- ism. Now I may tell you at once that I think that term 'jingoism' has been very badly treated, very badly treated indeed. The very first line of the rhyme that gave birth to that term jingoism was this, ' We don't want to fight. ' But notwithstanding that, jingoism to-day means every thing in the way of braggart demonstration, of irresponsible menace and of a meddlesome and quarrelsome disposition generally. The product of jingoism? No, it was the product of this idea that if we are to aspire to grow out of the colony period or stage, if we aspire to national greatness within the Empire, we must be prepared to assume some of the responsi- bility and it will not do for us to say reason is better than force, therefore reason will be our defence, for the world is not ready to be governed by reason. We must co-operate, moderately if you will, but we must co- operate manfully in the development of those elements of physical force which the nations most highly civilized and of most pacific intent still regard as a necessary reserve equipment for the repression of wrong, for the defence of truth and for the conservation of their national honor.
" It is only the morning of our day — but it is the morning. No dream of our probable destiny can be too roseate if we are true to ourselves and true to each other, and united to promote those principles that exalt a nation. It is only the morning and who shall foretell the brightness of noon ? It is only the morning in the development of our natural resources but even to-day we measure the few years before in this country we shal
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be able to far more than supply the whole Empire. It is only the morning of the development of those other great resources that mean national strength and power. Too great to be a colony if you will, but not too great to be a grand Empire, a grand Dominion in a still grander Empire, that through the long centuries worked out and gave to the world the un- speakable blessing of constitutional freedom, that has generously used her vast colonizing power, first to grant, to teach and to defend the true prin- ciples of self-government, that great nation whose mighty power stands to-day for truth and principle, for righteousness and justice and for the progress of this race towards that higher civilization that is to be. As the American Quaker poet, Whittier, said of the British Reformers :
Still on and up the world shall go;
Th' eternal step of Progress beats To that great anthem, calm and show,
Which God repeats.
Take heart! The Waster builds again —
A charmed life old Goodness hath; The tares may perish, but the grain
Is not for death.
God works in all things; all obey
His first propulsion from the night: Wake thou and watch! — the world is gray
With morning light!"
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LESSONS FROM BRITAIN FOR LIFE IN CANADA
J. A. MACDONALD, LL.D., EDITOR OF THE Globe, TORONTO.
J. A. Macdonald, LL.D., Editor of the Globe, of Toronto, was the guest of the Club at luncheon, on December 4, 1909, and afterwards delivered an address on " Some Lessons from Britain for Life in Canada. " Mr. D'Arcy Scott, President, occupied the Chair and among those present at the luncheon were the following: — Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister; Hon. Sir Frederick Borden, Minister of Militia and Defence; Hon. Sydney A. Fisher, Minister of Agriculture ; Hon. Wm. Templeman, Minister of Inland Revenue; Hon. Charles Murphy, Secretary of State; Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King, C.M.G., Minister of Labour; Hon. Sir Richard Scott, Hon. Sir Louis Davies, and Sir James Grant.
On the conclusion of the address the Chairman conveyed the thanks of the Club to Dr. Macdonald.
Dr. Macdonald said : —
" The subject on which I am to speak has the advantage of being quite within the scope and purpose of the Canadian Club. To improve the quality and the conditions of 'life in Canada' is the main objective of this Club. Affairs in Britain at this moment are full of interest for Canadians, and if we but read the signs aright we shall find in the British situation both warning and encouragement for our life in Canada.
" I do not pretend to any authority in speaking of things in Britain. The problem is too complex, the situation is too critical, for me or for any visitor from Canada to be dogmatic in discussing it. One needs to know not only the facts but the history and the background of those facts before one speaks with confident assurance. Not even the exceptional oppor- tunities enjoyed in connection with the Imperial Press Conference warrants one in disposing of the vexed questions of life in Britain with an easy wave of the hand.
" I am reminded of an incident told me by Mr. Hamar Greenwood at the banquet of the Eighty Club to Mr. Asquith on the evening before I left London. There had been a bye-election in the Peak District that day. Mr. Greenwood had taken part in the campaign. He was speaking in one town when the ubiquitous 'heckler,' that interesting figure in English campaign meetings, persisted in interrupting him. The fellow was par- tially intoxicated and his questions were inconvenient. Another man rose up in the audience and called out in dialect: ' Mister Greenwood, don't you pye any attention to 'im; 'e's no good; 'e let 'is wife go to the wuk'us to-dye. ' The half-drunken heckler pulled himself up and said;' Mister Greenwood, Mister Greenwood, don't you — don't you blime me — till you see — the Missus. ' Now, Sir, it is always important; in forming our judg- ments that we ' see the missus. ' We should know the necessary facts.
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"But, Sir, while the native-born has advantage over the visitor in close personal knowledge of the situation here or there in Britain, famili- arity may dull his senses of the significance of facts which strike and im- press the stranger who comes with fresh eyes and has other experiences and conditions in mind. In what I have to say I shall speak of things as I saw them. I shall try to present some points of instruction and of warning as they impressed me. I select only those that seem to yield lessons for life in Canada.
" First, I set the lesson of the land. The land situation in Britain is full of instruction and of warning for the people of Canada. Broadly, the land is the prime source of the nation's wealth. The land is the basis of the people's prosperity. All our great institutions of civilization have their roots directly or indirectly in the soil. More than on any other one thing the cofrifort and prosperity of a people depend on the uses they make of the land. Land is limited in area and fixed in location. It cannot be •increased. It cannot be transported. You buy a half-dozen motor-cars but your abundance does not prevent your neighbor from having his supply. New motor-cars can be procured. But if you own or control all the land other people must go without, for more land cannot be made to meet the demand.
" In Britain the land situation is made acute by reason of the very large population on a very small land area. Nothing but the utmost wisdom could handle the land of Britain so as to deal justly with the interests of all the people. But instead of economic wisdom we have the utmost of economic folly. I need not tell you the history of the British land situa- tion. You know how a century or more ago when men accumulated great wealth through investment in India, or in America, or elsewhere, they found it necessary, in order to gain a social standing at home, to acquire great estates. The aristocracy of Great Britain was a landed aristocracy. You know too, how great grants of land were made to favorites of the King in return for services in war. It was needful that these landed pro- prietors have a large class of retainers who could be pressed into service when the King went to war. Men of wealth bought the small farms and the farmers became tenants on the large estates. These tenant farmers were able to pay their land rent, partly out of the farms, and partly out of the small home industries which they conducted. In parts of Scotland the land situation was affected by the clan system. When that system broke down after Culloden the chiefs of the clans became the landlords of the estates. We have now great Scottish landlords like the Duke of Sutherland, who owns more than a million and a quarter of land; the Duke of Buccleuch and the Marquis of Bute with their vast domains, and old clan chiefs like Argyll, the head of the Campbells, and Lochiel, the head of the Camerons. In some cases the men who followed their chiefs to the field were, after the clan system broke down, compelled to leave the estates and make new homes for themselves beyond the seas. The land- lords in England and Scotland, as well as in Ireland, when they got control of great estates, and when they were no longer required to provide hun- dreds of men for war, found it to their advantage to clear the glens and the moors of their human tenants and to stock them with deer and rabbits and grouse. It has been shown that eighty per cent, of all the land of Britain is held by three per cent, of the people. Is it any wonder the land problem is fixed and will not down? One-quarter of all the land of Scotland is owned by twelve persons. Is it any wonder, in view of the action of the
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Lords in throwing out the Scottish Land Bills, that the people of Scotland should be keen for the reform of the House of Lords ?
"But another influence was at work bearing on the land question. There came a time when the small tenant farmers were unable to pay their rents because of the failure of their home industries. The great industrial revolution, with its establishment of large factories with their industrial machinery, killed the hand weaving, the cobbling and other small indus- tries. The people were compelled to leave their farms and follow other industries.
" Then came the days of the sporting aristocracy. The great landed proprietor found it more profitable to rent his land for shooting privileges than for agricultural purposes. As the leases fell due deer forests were created and grouse moors and rabbit warrens. To-day great areas of Britain are almost without human habitation. Within a period of five years, including the year 1900, 700,000 acres of moor and bogland in Ger- many were reclaimed for agriculture. During the same five years more than two millions acres in Britain were withdrawn from agriculture and given over to grouse and to deer. Again, I ask, is it any wonder that the land problem in Britain is acute?
" One of the campaign songs in Britain is ' God made the land for the People. ' The sentiment of that refrain needs to be brought home to the people of Canada. Our country is too young to feel the pressure and the pain of the landless people of Britain. But a century of history will make as great a difference in Canada as it has made in England and Scotland. If we squander the resources of land with which this young nation is now so richly dowered a generation will arise whose curses on our heads will be as bitter as those that now fall on Kings and Nobles who alienated from the people the lands in Britain a century or two ago.
" And not the land only but all the great natural resources of the coun- try. God made them for the people too. He who put fertility into the soil put electric energy into the waterfalls, and ore into the rocks, and timber in the woods, and fish in the waters. He made all these for the people. No King, no Parliament, no one generation has the right to alienate from the people's uses for all time these natural resources which God made for the people's good. I am not now talking government ownership, or municipal ownership, or private ownership. I am asserting the principle that whoever may be given control and the right to operate, the objective of it all must be the interests of the many and not of the few. We in Canada to-day are on the eve of unexampled developments. If great corporations and syndicates are allowed to control our resources of land, or water, or mine, or wood, our children, and our children's children will have to bear the curse of monopoly and absentee landlordism that has vexed Britain for many generations. It is for this reason I press home my first point that the land situation in Britain is full of instruction and warn- ing for the people of Canada.
" My second point is this, and it grows out of my first, that the social situation in British cities is a warning to Canada against allowing slum conditions in our Canadian cities. If the same conditions are allowed the same results will be inevitable. In Britain the slum is the outgrowth of the land situation. Just because the people were driven from the land, just because they were compelled to follow their industries to the towns, there were created those conditions which made the slum inevitable. The crowding of people into industrial centres produced unemployment, and
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unemployment produced degeneracy. That forcing of industries in Britain resulted in over-production, for which there was no market, because the people were not on the land. The depopulation of rural Britain destroyed the home market for the British mills and factories. In the United States 37% of those reported as employed in occupation are on the land, producing wealth from the land, and consuming the output of the factories. In Germany 39% of those employed are on the land, in France 44%, but in Britain only 10% of those employed in occupations are on the land. No wonder there is no home market; no wonder over- production in the factories produces congestion at home. No wonder congestion produces unemployment, and by the law of life unemployment leads to degeneracy and the slums.
"That law holds for Canada as well as for Britain. We have the beginnings of slum conditions in every one of our large Canadian cities; all that is required is time. Time and the down grade tendency of life will reproduce in our midst the results deplored in the old land. For this reason the utmost official care should be taken in the planning of towns, in their surveys, the width of their streets, allotments for parks and gardens, and all those considerations for public health and happiness which reason and experience have approved. It will not do to allow the commercial enterprise of land speculators, or the cupidity of great corporations, to determine the physical conditions under which coming generations shall be born and shall live. Some of the larger industrial and commercial centres like Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Fort William and Winnipeg, are not without their social perils. Have you read Ralph Connor's new book, The Foreigner f The situation in the foreign settlement of Winni- peg there described with all its disgusting animalism and vice is true to fact. Change the names and the language of the people and you have what is essential of other communities. And not in foreign settlements alone, but some in which is spoken the English tongue. Congestion, un- employment, drink and vice — these four will convert any district into a slum in two generations. They say in Britain that it is not more than three, or at most, four generations from the health and vigor of the moor and the glens to the recklessness and despair of the city clums.
"And this is a question for you members of the Canadian Club. It concerns every one of you. No man is safe. No class of the community is safe if there is allowed a festering and fevered slum within the radius of your city. The down-town tenement is in daily touch with the uptown villa. Every man of you who cares for the good name and good life of your city is under obligation to have concern for everything that makes for industrial efficiency, social happiness, and a high standard of life. Democracy means that we are all members one of another, and that if one member suffers degeneracy and decay, all the other members suffer with him.
"My third point is this, that the decay of life in rural Britain is a warning to us to have special care for life in rural Canada. No nation is strong that has not strength in its country communities. From the day that the murderous Cain builded the first city until now great centres of population have been artificial and have tended to social and moral decay. Life in the city is being constantly renewed and restored by the incoming from the country, of new blood, new brains, new nerves, new muscles and new morals. For many generations the great cities of Britain, London, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and the rest have been hungry devourers
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of human life. They have been kept back from self-destruction only by the annual recruitment from the moors and the glens. To a surprising degree the management of great enterprises and the leadership in great movements are in the hands of men born in the country homes and educated in country schools. I put it to the great captains of British industry; What would you do if your supply of workmen, and clerks, and managers from the country was cut off? I put it to the heads of the great universi- ties; What would you do if you no longer received into your classes the 'lad o' parts?' I put it to men responsible for the army like General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien at Aldershot; What would you do if there were no more recruits from Devon, or from Yorkshire, or from the heathery hills? Their answer was the same. The nerve of all their enterprises would be cut; the pride of their achievements would be destroyed; the strength of their might would be gone for ever. All the great callings of the nation will suffer irreparable loss if the human breeding places in the country are destroyed and made to give place to the pheasant and the deer. The question for the army was put concretely by Kipling: —
Will the rabbit war with your foemen — the red deer horn them
for hire? Your kept cock-pheasant keep you? — he is master of many a
shire.
" I know quite well that it will be said that rural Britain cannot sustain a large population. A large population may not be needed; what is needed is a good population — good of heart, good of brain, good of blood — and enough for seed. Once there was such a population, but from millions of acres it was swept away. What was left behind too often was the weak- lings of the flock, enough only for ghillies and caddies and beaters for the sports.
" I give one instance of a breeding place of men. It is a glen in the North of Scotland opening into Loch Ness. One side of that glen is a place of human habitation, the other side is wholly given over to game. From the homes of that one side have come generations of men during more than four hundred years who have given lustre and distinction to British arts and to British armies all over the world. When I visited the glen in July last the innkeeper gave voice to the pride of the parish — not in its wealth, or its popularity with the aristocrats of the south country, but in its school. 1 We have 140 children in the school, ' he said, ' we have three M.A.'s on the staff; we prepare the scholars for the university examinations; we are never without our representatives in the great universities of Scotland and England; we had seven firsts in one year.' There's a record for you; there's the glory of the Highlands; 140 children in the school and seven firsts in the universities in one year! And you ask about the spending of so much money on the schooling of the children of the glen. This is what the innkeeper said, 'Of course they leave us; they go to the cities and they go to the towns and they go to Canada, and we are proud of them; the only thing we have to export is educated people. ' Tell me, is not the maintenance of such an industry worth while? You men who are proud of Canada's exports of bacon and barley, and you who demand higher protection for your ' infant industries, ' you who insist on state favors for woollens and breakfast foods, tell me, ought not the rearing of real infants into great men to be encouraged and guarded for the nation's great sake?
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" And if we would indeed guard and encourage what is best in the life of the country we must join hands, all of us, in country and town alike, ta promote those conditions of life which will make country homes and coun- try life attractive and satisfying. Hence transportation. Hence educa- tion. Hence all those gospels of the social life which enrich the mind and encourage the heart. Not only great transcontinental railways and net- works of electric lines, but also that still more important feature, good roads on all the concessions of all the counties. Every encouragement should be given to country schools and to country school teachers. Rural telephone lines and the supply of electric energy wherever it can be ad- vantageously used should be within the scope of Dominion, Provincial, and Municipal Governments. The church too, as well as the school, must be made a centre of light and leading, not only in the towns but in the country districts as well. It is a duty incumbent upon every good citizen, upon every man who cares for the nation's weal, that he take warning from experiences in Britain to do his share in promoting the vitality and happi- ness of country life in Canada.
" One point more and I have done. Certain qualities and character- istics of life in Britain need emphasis in Canada. One of these is the pluck of an Englishman. I have no Saxon blood in my veins, but no one who ad- mires independence of character and determination to succeed can fail to do honor to the quality of pluck, which is typical of the Englishman. I do not mean pluck on the bridge of a man of war or in the front line of battle, but in all stations of life where confidence and independence are required. Take one instance in trade. A few months ago Lord Charles Beresford, in an address to the Canadian Club of Toronto, made great complaint that the shoe industry of England had been destroyed by the competition of American shoe factories. It is true that a half dozen years ago the great shoe factories in Leicester were threatened with foreign competition. The surplus output of the United States was dumped on the English market. Englishmen by the thousand bought American shoes; they preferred the American styles. A great wail went up that the English industry had been killed. Now, what did the Englishman do ? Did he go to the Government and ask that this American competition be excluded from Britain by Parliament? Had he been a German he would have done that, or a Frenchman, or an American, or even a Canadian, but, being an English- man, he said, * By Jove, I'll do it myself, ' and he took that American shoe which found favor in London. He examined its style and quality; he judged his own shoe to be better quality and more comfortable in style, ' but, ' he said, ' it is their feet, and it is their money, and I'll make a shoe to fit their taste. ' He made that shoe on the American last and he imported from the United States the machinery required for the making of that shoe. That machinery he bought at 50% less than his American competitors had to pay for it. With that machinery and with his own skill and the manufacturing advantage he had in England he has not only held his own but has beaten his American competitors in the markets of Britain and of the world. That is what I mean by the pluck of an Englishman and that is the quality which Canada would do well to emulate.
"One other feature of English life deserving of imitation is what I might call honor in business and in public relations. There is in Britain a fine sense of honor in public life. I do not mean that their election cam- paigns are devoid of excesses and absurdities equal to our own. I do not mean that among their public men there are no tricksters. What I do
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mean is that, taken for all in all, public life in Britain has a standard of noiior and of integrity which, so far as I know, is not equalled elsewhere in the world.
" The same is true in matters of trade. Not that there is no shoddy turned out by their factories. There is abundance of shoddy, but it is called shoddy and it is paid for at shoddy prices. I have in mind one in- stance of honor ruling the market which I have told elsewhere and purpose telling again. It was at the great annual wool fair in Inverness. For nearly 100 years that wool fair has been an event in the North of Scotland. Farmers and wool growers of all the Shires and Islands gather at Inverness during the second week of July. They meet there with the buyers and brokers of wool from Glasgow and Alloa and Hawick and Carlisle and other great centres of the wool industry in England. The Highlanders' English may be for you as difficult to understand as the Englishman's English, but between them they strike their bargains for the season's output of wool. These transactions are made and no documents or signed contracts bind the bargains. After having watched that market for a day and a night I asked a man from Dumfries if it was quite safe for him to depend on the Highlanders observing the contract and delivering the wool on time and up to the standard. 'Absolutely safe' he said: 'I can make all our arrangements with our mills and with our customers. The wool will be delivered on time. ' A man from Badenoch, one of the Macpherson Clan, over-hearing my question, asked, partly in dignified disdain, ' What would you be signing for? Have you not the word of the man who sold the wool ? What signed contract would hold if the word of a Highlander would break? For nearly a century that market has been maintained on the foundations of personal honor as between man and man. A man whose word would require a bond was deemed unworthy of a place where honor rules the market.
"And now, Sir, there is conjoined with that experience one^ other that came to me on my return to Canada. Almost the first editorial I wrote after returning to Toronto was on ' Dishonesty in the Canadian Apple Trade. ' That article was based on a report from Britain that the largest fruit merchant in the North of Scotland, with headquarters in Inverness, reported that it was found necessary to empty out completely all barrels of Canadian apples. While there is good fruit at the top and the bottom, windfalls and low grade are in the middle. I know quite well the excellent work that is being done by the officials of the Government in enforcing the Fruit Marks Act. I know quite well the educational work that is being carried on by the Ontario Fruit Growers' Association. But something more, something that goes far deeper, is needed. There needs to be en- grained, not in Government Officials alone, but in the minds and hearts of all the people, such a sense of honor as would make a man ashamed and afraid to look himself in the glass if he were conscious of dishonorable conduct on the market or in trade.
" One of the perils of a new country, one of the special perils of Demo- cracy, is the decay of the moral fibre. Britain's marvellous prestige on all the continents and among all the nations is in no small degree due to that fidelity to trust and sensitiveness of honor which has been so great a characteristic of the race. If we would make Canada worthy of her place in the Empire and worthy of her position in the world we must see to it that in all our relations of life, in business, in politics, in our social institu- tions, honor is made an obligation and an authority from which there is no-
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appeal. The best men in Britain to-day are looking eagerly, almost hope- fully, to this young Dominion. They know that for them and for their descendents in the old land the doors of opportunity and of achievement are neither as many nor as large as in these overseas Dominions of the Empire. Among all the nations under the Crown there is none that has had such a chance, there is none that holds a position so strategic, there is none from whom so much is expected. If Canada would measure up to her opportunity and would meet her responsibility then this generation of Canadians would do well to be warned by the history of Britain and to be encouraged to imitate those things by which Britain was made great and free."
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CANADA'S NATIONAL HIGHWAY
MR. GEORGE W. STEPHENS, PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF HARBOR COMMISSIONERS OF MONTREAL.
Mr. George W. Stephens, President of the Board of Harbor Commis- sioners of Montreal, was the guest of the Club at luncheon on December 18, 1909, and afterwards delivered an address on "Canada's National High- way. " The President, Mr. D'Arcy Scott, was in the Chair and conveyed the thanks of the Club to Mr. Stephens for his address. Among those who attended the luncheon were the following Ministers of the Crown: Hon. L. P. Brodeur, Minister of Marine and Fisheries; Hon. W. S. Fielding, Minister of Finance; Hon. Sir Frederick Borden, Minister of Militia and Defence; and Hon. Charles Murphy, Secretary of State.
Mr. Stephens said: —
"While my story of the great St. Lawrence highway and its relation to Canadian transportation is a plain one, I trust, notwithstanding, to be able, in the few moments at my disposal, to place before you, matters of no inconsiderable interest. It is quite true your ears may not be charmed by the eloquence so often heard within this room, nor your minds be refreshed with things that are new. But, perhaps, no unworthy purpose will be served in recalling the significance of an inheritance, which Canadians are developing into a national asset, the value of which cannot yet be realized.
"I like to look upon the St. Lawrence route as comprising: — (1), the channel which gives access to the head of ocean navigation; (2), the ports which are being created along its banks; (3). the inland waterway which links the sea route with the heart of a great continent; and I like to regard the whole as a great national undertaking into which are going the foresight, the genius and the enterprise of the Canadian people, and out of which are coming year by year privileges and power to the transpor- tation interests of Canada.
"Since the day upon which that intrepid navigator Jacques Cartier turned the prow of his little vessel into the St. Lawrence and christened it after the name of the Saint upon whose birthday he entered its waters, the pages of our history have been filled with the heroic struggle of brave men who had the courage of their convictions and who carried the visions of their imaginations to a practical conclusion.
" Sir Wilfrid Laurier, not very long ago declared, that as the Nineteenth Century had belonged to the people of the United States, so would the Twentieth belong to the people of Canada. What the potential force of this statement truly is only appears upon close examination. Let us therefore for a little dwell on the conditions which make this statement so remarkable. Few realize that at the opening of the Nineteenth Century the population of the United States numbered less than six millions, stretched in a human fringe along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida, their faces turned towards the Atlantic Ocean, their backs to the setting sun upon that great West as yet undiscovered, which was to bring wealth
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and population undreamed of in the opening years of that century. Possess- ing at that time not a single mile of railway, not a single mile of canal, we find them, however, in our day with a population numbering ninety millions of people, a railway system in operation comprising 223,000 miles, and a developed commerce of proportions unparallelled in the history of the world.
"This marvelous progress of one hundred years is due to the faith, perseverance and courage of her people, but most of all to the development of her means of communication. Compare with this the conditions under which the opening years of the Twentieth Century are surrounded with reference to the development of our own country. Canada with her six millions of people starts the Twentieth Century with the same population as the United States did the Nineteenth, but with this difference — not huddled together on the sea coast as was the case with our southern neighbor, but stretched out across the northern half of this continent, in an unbroken line of prosperous provinces from sea to sea, linked together by the steel ribbons of three great transcontinental railways, possessing sea ports on both oceans, twenty-six thousand miles of railway in operation, sixteen hundred miles of interior navigation extending westward to the heart of this great continent through the centre of our own Dominions. How great a possession this becomes is emphasized by the following com- parisons • —
"Project the St. Lawrence ship channel across the map of Europe beginning with the North Sea, and you will give to that Continent a deep waterway tapping the commerce of Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Austria and Russia. Extend this deep water system by adding thereto the Canadian Canals and you will provide Europe with a continuous water- way reaching from the North Sea to the foot of the Ural Mountains in Asia. Give this transportation system to South Africa and you will cut that continent in two at the equator, and join together the South Atlantic with the Indian Ocean. Apply it to South America and the waterway would rival the great Amazon River, stretching from British Guiana on the north to Buenos Ayres on the south. And if the same water route were possessed by our great neighbor to the south of us it would give to the United States the deepest waterway on this continent extending from New York to Salt Lake City.
" But neither Europe, nor South Africa, nor South America, nor the United States, possesses this waterway. It is the inheritance of the Canadian people, by whose enterprise it has been developed, and upon whose shoul- ders rests the responsibility of maintaining its prestige. In the possession of this great national asset, into which has gone the genius, the courage and the money of the Canadian people (in conjunction with the Canadian rail- ways and their connections) Canada unquestionably has within her midst the cheapest and most efficient national trade route on this continent.
"The St. Lawrence River to-day carries to and from the port of Montreal one-third of the country's national trade, equivalent to some- thing over $200,000,000 in value, during seven months of the year. In this enterprise there are just 6,000,000 Canadian shareholders, all equally interested, who have invested in the St. Lawrence ship channel and the port of Montreal $20,000,000, and upon this investment they are doing a busi- ness of $200,000,000 in value per annum and are carrying in weight to and from this country over their national highway over 4,000,000 tons per annum of exports and imports. If the average cost of transporting
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 223
4,000,000 tons by water, 1,000 miles, is 10 cents a ton, the cost to the people of Canada over the Canadian waterway would equal $400,000,00. If on the other hand, the St. Lawrence route were obliterated and the 4,000,000 tons of exports and imports had to travel that 1,000 miles by rail, the Canadian people would be called upon to spend for its transporta- tion $4,000,000, just ten times the rate of to-day, affecting an annual saving of $3,600,000.
"This then is the route which is now attracting the attention of the great shipping companies, because of its wonderful possibilities which are just beginning to be recognized; because it is one of the most popular transatlantic passenger routes between America and Europe; because of its safety, and the shortness of its sea voyage ; because of its beauty and the comfort of the passenger ships sailing its waters.
Captains of ships now declare the St. Lawrence to be the best buoyed and lighted ship channel in the world. In this connection it is a pleasure for me to say that the buoying and lighting of the St. Lawrence ship chan- nel, for which the Honourable the Minister of Marine and Fisheries is responsible, has been the means of adding no less than sixty days to the season of navigation. So much, therefore, for the water approach to a great distributing point at the head of ocean navigation.
" Let us now look at the great inland waterway which links together the five Great Lakes and the Canadian canal system with ocean navigation just described. From the head of ocean navigation at Montreal, west- ward, exist 1,600 miles of interior waterway, 500 miles of which is 14 feet deep, and the balance available for ships drawing 19 feet and the entire 1 ,600 miles of inland waterway is made available by the system of Canadian canals in all 65 miles long. We have 1,600 miles of the deepest inland navi- gation on this continent, containing only 65 miles of canal, whereas the American water route from Buffalo to New York in a distance of 430 miles comprises altogether 306 miles of canal. A short comparison of the two great water outlets from the Great Lakes to the sea, one Canadian and one American, will show what an overwhelming position the Canadian water- way occupies.
" From Buffalo to New York is 430 miles.
" From Buffalo to Montreal is 320 miles.
" Between Buffalo and New York are 306 miles of canal with a maxi- mum draft of 6 feet.
" Between Buffalo and Montreal are 65 miles of canal, with a maximum draft of 14 feet.
" From Buffalo to New York you can carry as a maximum cargo 8,000 bushels of wheat in one boat.
" From Buffalo to Montreal you can carry 80,000 bushels of wheat in one boat.
" Now as the season of navigation is identical in both cases, and as it takes 40 hours more to carry grain by water from Buffalo to New York than it does from Buffalo to Montreal, it is possible for the same boat to make 21 trips more during the season of navigation from Buffalo to Mon- treal than it is for the same boat to do the same work from Buffalo to New York. In the 27 trips made by the largest possible boat over the American waterway from Buffalo to New York, 216,000 bushels of wheat can be -carried, whereas in the 48 trips made from Buffalo to Montreal 3,760,000 bushels can be taken.
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"If the St. Lawrence water route, therefore, to Montreal, is 110 miles shorter, has 242 miles less of canal with 8 feet more draft, upon which one boat can carry as much as it takes 10 boats to carry by the American route, and is 40 hours shorter each trip, how is it, in the face of these overwhelming advantages, possible to ship grain by way of New York instead of by way of Montreal? On its merits the Erie Canal as a competitor with the Canadian canals is dead. It is due, therefore, to the enterprise of the railways who have created at Buffalo sufficient elevator terminal capacity to accommodate all the grain brought from the Western lake ports for export, whereas on the Canadian side elevator storage capacity to any extent has not existed at the terminals. When Canadians create sufficient storage capacity, so that the grain business will not be a, hand to mouth one, so that ships can be sure of their cargoes, then will the true advantages of this water route be made available.
There is another reason and that is, the return cargoes which grain boats receive in going to Buffalo with grain. When this same class of business in return cargoes is developed from Montreal westward it will double the income of the lake freighters and put Canadian vessels into a position where their grain carrying rate will command, not only the Cana- dian grain business, but the export grain business of the United States.
" All the water borne commerce from the ocean and from the lakes is drawn automatically to the point where ocean and inland navigation meet, and that point is the port of Montreal, situated 1,000 miles inland. Ap- proached from the sea by a channel 30 feet in depth and 500 to 750 feet in width; met by the deepest and longest inland system of waterways in the world; accessible to every railway in the country on equal terms; owned by the people of Canada throughout the 16 miles of frontage on either side of the river; without a single vested interest to bar the way, the splendor of her development may proceed under these conditions with the assurance that from prestige of position, Canadians have the opportunity of creating with the smallest capital investment the most efficient sea terminals in North America.
" We see, therefore, that nature has supplied the position and Cana- dians must create the efficiency and economic conditions to take care of the huge business that is silently developing in our own country and also attracting a great share of the business originating in the Western States.
"Every great trade country possesses one or more ports, which by their particular situation, transcend in strategic trade value, sister ports in the same country. There is only one Liverpool, one Hamburg, one Antwerp, one New York and there can only be one Montreal, although many other valuable sea ports naturally grow up. Up to the year 1908 the area of the port of Montreal was almost identical with the developed area of the port of Liverpool, or, in other words, it extends along one side of the river to a distance of about 7 miles. Last year the Dominion Parlia- ment, at the request of the Commissioners, extended this jurisdiction for 16 miles on each side of the St. Lawrence so that to-day the port of Mon- treal controls 32 miles of river front, without a single vested interest to impede the progress of her development. There is no port in North America, and few in the world, that have not had to buy these privileges at a cost of many millions; so we shall make possible an efficient and pro- gressive development of Canada's national port which Twill place us in a, position to compete with her rivals on an eminently satisfactory basis.
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA 225
" A glance at the difficulties overcome by other ports will emphasize these advantages. A little over a century ago Glasgow was an unimport- ant town, having less than 30,000 inhabitants. For twelve miles below the city the River Clyde was fordable, being in many cases but 15 to 18 inches deep. To-day the River Clyde is one of the great navigable high- ways of the world, 22 feet deep at low tide and 33 feet at high. Glasgow herself is now the first commercial city of Scotland, with a population of 800,000. Her motto has been, ' Every consideration for the success of the port and no axes to grind. ' The River Clyde has been made navigable by dredging to the extent of 73,000,000 cubic yards of excavation, and in the 18 miles separating the city from the sea there has been spent upwards of $50,000,000 dollars in her development. Large shipbuilding and indus- trial works now stud her banks, employing thousands of people and mean- ing the investment of huge sums of capital.
" Newcastle-on-Tyne, which is Glasgow's greatest rival in the ship- building trade, and from whose yards within the last three years was launched the great Mauretania, is also situated some 20 miles from the sea on the River Tyne, whose earlier years could boast of no greater depth than 6 feet at the mouth and 4 feet at the city itself at low tide. The mouth of the River Tyne which opens into the North Sea, is protected by sea walls, erected at a cost of $7,500,000 and the dredging of the River Tyne from a depth of 6 feet, half a century ago, to a depth of 35 feet a high tide at the present time, necessitated the taking out of a total of over 120,000,000 tons, raised and towed to sea. Newcastle's development has cost $80,000,000.
"In 1885 the city of Manchester was an inland manufacturing centre, 60 miles from the sea, transacting her business through the port of Liver- pool. The conception of passing by the port of Liverpool, and digging out a canal 35^ miles long, and 28 feet deep involved far sighted business acumen, faith in the future and enormous sacrifice. By the expenditure in fifteen years of $75,000,000 the Manchester Ship Canal was created and Manchester became a sea port. On the site of an historic race course on the outskirts of an inland city has been created, within the limits of Man- chester, a modern port, in twenty years handling an annual sea borne ton- nage of 5,000,000 tons. These three British ports, created at a cost of $80,000,000, $75,000,000 and $50,000,000 are each doing a monthly business less in value than the port of Montreal, created at a cost of $12,000,000.
"The development of the port of Liverpool was described by one of its own directors as the making of, ' a purse out of a sow's ear, ' due to the many natural difficulties in the way of developing a great commercial port. Due to the tidal variations, the port of Liverpool has been constructed on a wet dock principle, that is to say, every ocean ship coming to the port must enter an artificially constructed basin by way of gates just as one of our own boats enters the canal, and there are only four hours out of the 24 when such an operation is possible, in consequence of which unless the arrival of the ship meets favorable tide conditions, the ship must anchor in the fair way, awaiting the next tide. Due to these same tidal variations the main channel must constantly be dredged owing to the silting in of the sands carried by the wash of the tide.
" Montreal, on the other hand, is an open pier development, with no silting sands in the channel, no variation of tide and all her piers accessible to all ships for 24 hours a day. The interchange of cargo may, therefore, be carried out as expeditiously and economically as possible.
15
226 THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA
"Upon her piers are erected the first unit of double deck steel con- crete sheds having a cargo handling capacity of 150,000 tons per week, alongside of which are placed the railways so that from either storey of the sheds, from the hold of the ship, from the floor of the cars, the inter- change may be carried on without unnecessary re-handling. This has meant in one season on through traffic destined to and from all points in Canada a saving of 22£ cents a ton on every ton of through freight handled through the port of Montreal. What this has meant in time, may be realized by the fact that the normal time for loading or unloading 10,000 tons of freight from a steamer in European ports is 14 days. Montreal has unloaded and loaded 13,500 tons in 3 days.
" It will be seen from the foregoing brief description of the St. Law- rence route and its possibility that the transportation problem we have to solve is largely a terminal one. By that I mean that upon the efficiency and capacity at the terminal points where cargo is collected and distri- buted, much depends the growth and progress of this route. While I am not one of those who believe that the import and export business of1 this country can be done through one doorway and while I believe that there will be business enough for all, I cannot help feeling a deep responsibility in connection with the progressive development of the port of Montreal, as a direct national benefit to Canada. Sixty-five per cent, of the total water borne commerce of our country passes by way of Montreal, and with the trade and population of this country increasing as they have done in the past five years, it means that a progressive terminal development must be gone on with, if we wish to take care of the trade that is to come.
"The year 1909 has been an eventful one, in more ways than one for the St. Lawrence route. It has proven by actual experience, that great passenger and cargo ships of upwards of 15,000 tons may use the St. Lawrence channel to Montreal in perfect safety. It means that as soon as the Canadian Pacific and Grand Trunk Pacific Railways complete their lake terminals for grain, that both Montreal and Quebec will become the centres ofjdistribution for a business only limited by the capacity of our great West to produce it. As one-quarter of the grain growing capacity of the West is sufficient to produce annually a crop of 800,000,000 bushels, and as this is a natural possibility within the next ten years it is a reasonable and business like policy to make ready the terminals in the East, to receive and properly handle the output of the West.
This makes in a broad way the national character of the port of Montreal, and is a guarantee that a wise and generous development of her facilities, will give to every citizen of this country a port worthy of the great Dominion of which we are so proud. For this purpose a well de- vised scheme of development of the port of Montreal has been under study for the last three years. Next year will witness the laying down of foundations upon which will be erected a Canadian sea port created at a smaller capital outlay than any other American port, and providing for Canada unsurpassed facilities for handling her business.
This scheme will (1), double the capacity of the port; (2), lessen St. Mary's current so that water porterage from one end of the harbour to the other may be possible, thus making the river frontage in the east end of the city as valuable as the centre now is and reducing the long cartage charges over the whole area; (3), give an all-year-round railway service from Point St. Charles to Bout de 1'Isle, open on equal terms to every railway doing business in Montreal; (4), create manufacturing and ware-
THE CANADIAN CLUB OF OTTAWA i 3 227
housing sites possessing; (a), direct rail connection over all lines with every part of the continent; (b), deep water wharfage available to all ocean lines coming to the port; (c); water access by way of the canal system to Western Canada and the United States; (5), create low priced power for the move- ment of harbour equipment, grain elevators, etc.; (6), reduce the handling charges on every ton of freight coming to the port. When completed Canada will possess a national port having advantages not to be found in any other port in North America.
" This wonderful panorama of development is unfolding itself without our realizing what is going on, and as the lines of our transportation are extending themselves to the outermost corners of this great Dominion, unconsciously is being established a bond of union under the folds of a common flag which has been the symbol of equal rights, justice and freedom to the least of her citizens, since the British Empire began. We may not speak the same tongue nor worship at the same altar, yet as children of a common flag we are bound together by the thread of a common patriotism, over whose strands — like the power of Niagara passing over wires to move in far distant places the wheels of mighty commerce — is passing a force of brotherhood, sympathy and power against which neither the voice of the demagogue nor the roar of hostile cannon can avail. "
F Canadian Club of Ottawa
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