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MICtOCOPV RESCXUTION TBT CHART 
 
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 ^ APPLIED ItVHGE In, 
 
"Ourselves" 
 
 The H N.Mr. JUSTICE WILLIAM 
 REN WICK RIDIJELL 
 
 of TORONTO (Kings Bench Divn. H. C. J., One.) 
 In Responie to the Toast ut the 
 
 ANNUAL DINNER 
 
 New York State Bar Association 
 
 SYRACUSE, N. Y, JANU.\RY 19, 20, 1911 
 
'Ourselves" 
 
 With the tnmphnicnts of 
 
 Hon. VVii-i.iAM Renwtck RiniiEi.i.. R. A., I.I.. D. 
 
 OF THE 
 
 New York State Bar Association 
 
 SYRACUSE, N. Y., JANXARY 19. 20. 1911 
 
'Ourselves" 
 
 The Hon. Mk. JL'STKH WILLIAM 
 RENVVICK RIDDKLL 
 
 of rORONlO <Km«s Itench Divn. H. C. .1.. Oni.) 
 In Response t(t tlie IV.ast ;il ttle 
 
 ANNUAL DINNER 
 
 OF IHE 
 
 New York State Bar Association 
 
 SYRACUSE, N. Y., JANUARY 19. 20, 1911 
 
OURSKLVHS" 
 
 Mr. ( hairinaii. I atlitr- and linihriii upon \\w llfiuli. 
 . Ill iii> IjU'iliriii of iln' 1 ;iH Sr.iivly nf ilu' Sl:ili' oi N'tw 
 York — and ymi, \i' (;oilili'>.i'- i a|i|>liiii>i' i. uln. ilci^jii tn 
 (jlorify "iir niKM'tiliiit' nni'l^ wiili ilii- Jiariii nf licanilfnl 
 atul ^rai'iciK uonianlitKid, - 
 
 I ventiiri; In hinut lliat llu' i '^ sniiietliiiiK iii a M'al ii|)iiii 
 the Ui-iitli wliiili i« oiiidiuivv ^'nwtli in h^-m^ and virtue. 
 Kur at tlir la.si Mar Dinnir wlndi I liail tho pliasiire uf 
 attending' I litard till' Icarni'd I'liii't Jnstice ul Ontario say 
 that wlirn lie received an invuation to lliat dinner, lie hesi- 
 tated for >]nit time Hhellier he on',dit not rather to stay at 
 hemic and write a jiidnmenl — or pa;l of one — and that it 
 was <]nly after a ■•trii(;j;le tliai he inaile up his mind to eonie 
 out and "have a nielli with the hoys." I use the learned 
 Chief Justice's own terminology ; and I daresay the memiwrs 
 of tins Bar .\ssofialii>n will entirely appreciate what My 
 Lord nies Now. so far as I ani concerncil, when I 
 
 received I - invitation .o attend this liar dinner, I call 
 yuur Secretary, Mr. Wadhaius. to hear witness, that hy the 
 very next mail he received a letter sayinj; that wild horses 
 wouUl not kee|) me away (laughter! — I was absolutely 
 unable to observe the shadow of a shade of anything 
 ren-otely resembling even thj embryo of a strnyyle when 
 I received an invitation to have a dinner with the boys. 
 ( .\pplause. 1 I vent. ire 1" liojie that it is only the learned 
 Chief Ju.stice's hinder years u|)oii the Bench which 
 enables him to rise to that Iicifjht of virtue, and it 
 was only my comparative youth upon the liench which 
 caused me to choose the primriise path an<l insist on being 
 present once more with you. (.\pplause. ) If not. I am 
 
i 
 
 V 
 
 indeed in a parlous state. You all know the story of St. 
 Augustine, doubtless — my friend, Mr. Kelly, who is more 
 of a Patristic scholar than I, will correct ine if I am wrong 
 — but my recollection is that in his unregenerate days he 
 was wont to pray. " O l.ord, make me a better man, but 
 not yet for a while." (Laughter.) Or perhaps I might 
 ,,„ote your own .\braham Lincoln — for it is said in the 
 only lapse into iKjetry of whicli he was ever guilty, he pro- 
 duced this beautiful couplet: 
 
 ■' It is .\l)r;iliiiiu I-iiicoln ln)lds this pen, 
 He will be Riiwd l>iit God knows wlien." 
 There is something, as tlie learned Chief Justice who 
 spoke before me has said, of solidarity among lawyers 
 which causes them to draw together, to associate one with 
 the othar — and you notice.^ I trust, that I still arrogate to 
 myself the title of lawyci. although I know it would 
 be very hard indeed to ctjuvince the members of my own 
 Bar of the fact that I am still a lawyer. (Laughter.) Now, 
 do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the whole Bar; 
 because I know very well that whenever a judgment 
 appears subscribed "William Renwick Riddell, J."— 
 you know that we Judges in Ontario do not hesitate to call 
 ourse'ves J.— although I believe my brethren on the Bench 
 of the State of New York rather apply that title to their 
 colleagues (laughter)- however that may be, whenever a 
 judgment appears subscribed in the manner I have men- 
 tioned, I know there is at least one and sometimes more 
 members of the Bar of the Province of Ontario who are 
 struck with the legal acumen I display, the knowledge of law, 
 the ability to appreciate, to understand and to apply a really 
 sound legal argument. I admit that there is an equal num- 
 ber perhaps more, who shake their heads in sorrow that 
 a nian like that should have received His Majesty's paient, 
 a n-an who doesn't know '.a a when he sees it.and either can't 
 
or \von"t learn. (.)f coiirst-. yoit all know the alternatives 
 a lawyer lias wlien lie lias been " turned ilown " — I tliiiik 
 that is the correct expres^inn — when a lawyer has lieeii 
 "turned down" he has at least two alternatives, one of 
 these is to appeal, the other is to };o across to the 
 tavern and take one or more drniks and damn the Jiidf;e. 
 (Applanse. ) 1 think it was (.on^icvc. the h'.iifjlish poet, 
 who said, " Hell hath no fnry like to lawyers corned." 
 (Laughter. ) If that was ever trne, its truth has not heonie 
 less or stale In the la]ise of time. 
 
 You will grant me. at least provisionally, the title of 
 lawyer and let me ]iroceed with my invesiigation. 
 
 We lawyers are members of a liberal and a learned pro- 
 fession. We are not mere handicraftsmen, base mechan- 
 icals—no donht my friend, the Chancellor of the Uni- 
 versity, who is here, will expect me to use the (ireek term, 
 Banaiisoi, clicirolcchmii — we are not mere bread :md 
 butter workers. Xow, it is true that our profession does 
 furnish us bread and lintler, sometimes very little more; 
 hut while we ilo work for money, which is, indeed, 
 sometimes cast up against us as a reproach, as a sin 
 perhaps, certainlv a weakness, I have not found anybody 
 yet who does work, that does not work for money. Not 
 very long ago 1 had the pleasure of addressing an audience 
 of medical men — and. really. 1 want to tell you. to make the 
 confession here, that you will tind nieilical men fairly 
 intelligent once you understand their terminology. (Laugh- 
 ter. ) 1 was s]icaking to them about this very thing; and I 
 ventured to say diat the farmer is not wholly altruistic — 
 the farmer does not till his soil simply for the benefit of 
 the State. The shopkeeper would close his shop very 
 quickly if his bills were not paid. Our friends on the Press 
 have been known on occasion to bill their services at say 
 
thirty-five cents a line; and the daiigliter of the clergyman 
 who had received a call to another city at a larger salary, 
 when asked whether her father was going to accept, said, 
 " Well, father is in the library praying for guidance, but 
 mother has started packing up." (Laughter.) And we are 
 told about that " chieftain to the highlands bound " who 
 cried : 
 
 " Boatman, do not tarry, 
 
 I will give you a silver pound 
 To row me o'er tile ferry." 
 
 I'lien up and "spoke tliat iliKliland wight. 
 
 'I'll go, my chief, I'm ready. 
 
 It is not for your silver hright. 
 
 But for your winsome lady.' " 
 
 The poet being a Scotsman, and therefore truthful, does 
 not tell you, does not deny that before the boat left the 
 dock that silver pound was safely ensconced in the sailor's 
 sporran. At all events, if the lligltlandnian did omit that 
 trifling formality, he was quite dififerent from his fellow 
 countryman who was spoken of by " Punch " the other day. 
 He was ferrying a number of passengers across the strait 
 and a storm sprang up, and he said, " There is nae saying 
 what may happen, sae Aw'll just tak' your fares noo." 
 (Laughter.) 
 
 Now, it is true that we work tor money, but that is the 
 very least of our objects. Members of a liberal and a 
 learned profession, our object and our desire is the search 
 for truth of law and of fact — the vindication of the rights 
 of the oppressed and the iimocent, the punishment of the 
 oppressor and the criininal, the advancement of what is 
 just and right. The lawyer, too, when he accepts his 
 client's retainer, forgets everything, except the laws of 
 honor, which may conflict with his client's interest. The 
 
weapon which he carries is the sword of tlie warrior and 
 not the dagger of the assassin. ( Applanso. ) But lie must 
 wield that sword in every manner in which an lionorahle 
 warrior may or can. I (e is recruited not for si.xty davs. hut 
 is enhsted for the war. .And is it ncjt that very thing, that 
 laboring and toiling for others while at the same time we 
 labor and toil for ourselves, ( — and is it not part of the gen- 
 eral fitness of tilings that the more one labors and succeeds 
 for his clients the more he labors and succee<ls for bim.self ? ) 
 — and is it. I say. not that very thing, that constant toil 
 and that work and care for another which makes the 
 lawyer the natural born leader of men? I'or it is common 
 knowledge that that cause ( speaking secularly ). that cause 
 is foredoomed to failure which is not headed by a lawyer. 
 I noticed that a couple of months ago von selected 
 as tlie executive head of your State a manufacturer instead 
 of a lawyer: but I also noticed that as soon as he was 
 -sworn in. he immediately selected a private counsel — I take 
 it to keep him siraiglu. ( Laughter. ) It m.-iy be that that 
 manufacturer will be e(|ually effective — as effective as the 
 la\\yer almost certainly would have been. Xcjw. it ill 
 l)ecomes an outsider, even although he is not an alien or a 
 foreigner — and last year those of you who heard me. hearrl 
 me repudiate the idea that I. a Canadian, speaking ICnglish. 
 and under English law. was a foreigner or an alien in a coun- 
 try in which you speak F.uglish and in which the jurispru- 
 dence is based upon the linglish common law. (.\pplause. i 
 If last year I was not an alien or a foreigner when I met you 
 for the first time, how much less this time, when I am one 
 of you? f. Applause.) And I would say also that I am 
 " one of the boys." It would ill become me. however, being 
 an outsider at least, to trespass upon your domestic affairs, 
 rush in like a fool where angels might fear to tread. Any- 
 one who was tempted to do anything of the kind might 
 
8 
 
 remember the story of little Robbie, ten years old. who was 
 playing down at the corner of the street with the neigbljor 
 boys. His mother beard him saying sometbin);, and 
 she said, " Robert. I never expected to bear you swear." 
 " Why," he says, " mother, I wasn't swearing, I wasn't 
 swearing at all. all 1 said w as ' the devil ' ; and that isn't 
 swearing." " Well," she says, " Robert, it may not be 
 swearing, my boy, but it is certaiitly making light of sacred 
 things." (Laughter.) I have .some fear lest I might be 
 thought to be making bg!u of sacred things if I ventured 
 to suggest that some at least of the votes which were 
 switched — liave I the correct terminology? (C. J. 
 Andrews, "Yes.") — some of the votes which were 
 switched to the manufacturer from the lawyer may have 
 been inclined that way by reason of the fact that a not 
 unknown supporter of the lawyer ventured to speak in lan- 
 guage hitherto unknown to the ears of the people of this 
 State, of the members of a dignified tribunal, of a tribunal 
 which is known and admired and revered wherever the 
 English language is spoken. (.Applause. I .\nd far 
 beyond; for wherever law. the invention and gift of the 
 gods, is revered as a science or respected as .in art. the name 
 of the Supreme Court of the United States is at the very 
 ape.x of reverence. ( -Applause. ) 
 
 The lawyer has ever bi i in the forefront of the fight 
 for freedom, whether in I'rance. or in Kngland or the 
 United States. We boast of freedom, you and I. and we 
 say 
 
 " Wc niii.st be free or die who .^pe:ik tlic tongue 
 'tli.-lt Sliakspere spake, tile faith ami morals hoKl 
 
 Th.-it Milton held. Everything wc are spnnii? 
 Of earth's first l)l«)cl, have titles manifold ;" 
 
 but that freedotn which we enjoy is freedoin under the law, 
 and the law is in a large measure the work of lawyers — 
 
and were it not for lawyers, law amid never have liecn. 
 When man first made liis a]i|)carance in histnry, whether 
 by evolution upwards, or dcvoUnirm downwards — that I 
 leave theologians and scientists to determine — lie was 
 little removed from the lirute. As lie developed and 
 showed himself to be a social animal it was necessary that 
 some rule should be laid down tor his government. Obedi- 
 ence to that rule was ri;jlit. disobedience was wroni^, a sin. 
 But two courses could be followed when one's rights were 
 invaded. Either he miglit vindicate liis rights by his own 
 strong right arm, if be could — apply 
 
 Ttic unoil oM rule * * ♦ • 
 
 * * * * the simple plan 
 That thfy should take wiio havr llic pnwtT 
 
 And Ihey fiimulj keep who t.-m 
 
 That is the state of anarchy, the .state tliat is mentioned 
 in the good old book, " In those day s there was no king 
 in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his 
 own eyes." The other course was the submission of rights 
 and wrongs to the arbitrament of a tribunal; and that 
 tribunal, call it by what name you w ill, is a Court : and as 
 Courts advanced and club law went down, so civilization 
 advanced. And these reacted on cacli other because as 
 civilization advanced so club law went down and Courts 
 went up and Courts became stronger and stronger and 
 stronger. The Court Baron gr.- way to the Royal Court, 
 the Royal Court at Westminsti- the power of the Baron 
 ceased and the power of the Judge in the Court became 
 greater; and a great operating cause in the elevation 
 of the Court was the formation of a strong and 
 independent Bar. Because history is the same wherever 
 we look. When one speaks of .Athens one remembers that 
 Athens had probably the strongest Bar which ever existed. 
 
In ancient Rome the jurisconsult was the man alio made 
 the law. and the Judfje was Init tlie tcmiwrary accident of 
 the times. So in Kn);lan<i from the time of tlie early 
 Plantagenets a strong liar began to be formed. That Bar 
 gathered annmd the King's Court; and again action and 
 reaction took place. 'I'he stnjnger the liar the stronger the 
 Bench, the greater tlie Hench ni;cessa''ly the stronger the 
 Bar. 
 
 And as time weni on, then this nation came to be 
 formed. The i)e(>i)le of tliis nation drew, as they believed, 
 the ti'ie principles of government from the Knglish Consti- 
 tution and from the Constitntif)ns of other countries, 
 ancient and modern, according as they believed these con- 
 tained and set out the rules desired. They believed 
 that they introduced the true methods of government, the 
 true principles of legislation, of government, into the 
 immortal Constitution of the United States; and in fact 
 for the first time in the history of any nation and 
 the only time in history so far of any nation, all 
 the po-vers of the people, all the powers of the Legislature, 
 all the powers of the Executive were submitted to the 
 power of the Court ; and that is one of the greatest glories 
 even of this great and glorious nation. (.Applause.) In 
 Canada as in England we have no such constitutional 
 limitations ; but in Canada as in luigland and in e\ cry free 
 country, the freedom we enjoy is freedom mider the 
 law, and what protects us is the power and strength of the 
 Courts : and the Courts remain strong and powerful because 
 they are backed by an independent, learned and able Bar. 
 Thus, as time has gone by, as I have said, so the Courts 
 have become more and inore powerful. 
 
 You all know the story of the Boston streets. How 
 some three centuries ago a calf walked througli the pri- 
 
II 
 
 iiH-val HcKiil, iinil waiiilfrin;; lioiiie, as jjooil calves sliinild. 
 left beliind a Hail askew, a « imliiiK patli. as all calves 
 (III. and ihen llic next day a dof; eanie alunK and la- 
 saw '.his irail ready made thn>n(,di the primeval wimd 
 and he fullnwed the trail, and llie next day came a hell 
 wether with his tlock tnllciwinj; and they, (if conrsc. fol- 
 lowed, and the cows and cattle and the lior.ses came 
 along, and the men walking saw the track ready made, 
 and they followed the track. 'I'lien. when it came to make 
 an ox-cart road, it made not much difference in a primeval 
 wood like that where they chopped down the trees, and 
 they chopped dosvn the trees along that old calf's path, the 
 calf by this time having become a mother, a grandmother 
 anil a great grandmother, and necessarily passed to her 
 fathers — and into the stomachs of the Pnritans. I Laugh- 
 ter. ) Then a village is formed, and the village street 
 follows the old ox road; and the town grows np and 
 brick makes its appearance and the shops and the stores 
 and the blacksniith shop and the chnrch and the school- 
 honse are all hnilt along the old calf path; and the city 
 grows and at last becomes a city of. I hate to say how many 
 hundred thousand inhabitants, for if I exaggerate it will 
 hurt somebody's feelings, 1 if I make it too low there 
 may be somebody here fr. n Boston and I might never 
 hear the end of it. In the long run we have a hundred 
 thousand men every day led by that dead calf along that 
 wa_\'. and they twist and turn and twist about and use lan- 
 guage which I wi)uUl not like to employ in the presence of 
 ladies, and every day a hundred thousand men pass along 
 and they lose a hundred years every day. and all on account 
 of that calf that has been dead three hundred years. 
 
 It was thought that as in olden times trouble between sub- 
 ject and subject, and clan and clan, and nation and nation, 
 
 r 
 
had to be decided by the stronf; riRht arm reinforced by 
 a club, so in international matters it was thought that the 
 old plan was the best plan after all, and until very recent 
 times indeed nobody iniafjined for a single moment that 
 trouble between nations shottlil not be sclllcd by the club. 
 I don't care whether you have flailing guns or whether yon 
 have swords; the sword is just an cvcilution from the Oid 
 club, and the Galling gun is just the modern counte-pait 
 of the stone that our ancestors used to throw at each other. 
 But a better law has sprung up Xow we have gone fur- 
 ther, people liave come to the conclusion that the eternal 
 principles of justice and right are just aa binding upon 
 nations, the members of the great confederacy of nations 
 upon the earth, as they are u|K)n single individuals, the 
 members of a State; that right may not be determined by 
 strength of armament and thai no nation can e.xpect to be 
 an indi.peudent arbitrator in its own cause. Great Britain 
 and the United States, since 1784 to 1910, have had treaty 
 after treaty submitting this (|ucstion and that to the inde- 
 pendent arbitrament of independent tribunals. I have at 
 another time, and before another audience, detailed the 
 various treaties which have taken place between your coun- 
 try and mine. Nineteen separate ipiestions have been 
 referred, and in the case of all but five the reference has been 
 triumphartly successful; and for one hundred years there 
 Ihis been no war between these two nations. For one hun- 
 dred years, or nearly that, there has been no armed ship upon 
 our Great L.".kes. For more than one hundred years we 
 have been using our common sense — for it all comes back 
 lo that — and there is not so much as an earthen fortifica- 
 tion along the four thousand miles of our international 
 boundary. (Applause.) We have in existence two 
 treaties, one which governs all British territories, one which 
 
'3 
 
 is concerni'il with Canada alum-. hIiIi-Ii pmviilc fnr tli» 
 stilHilissiim rif all (|Ui'>tiipii^ in (li>|iiiic t,i indquMiilcnt trll)ii- 
 nals. I liii|H.' ilie iluor ul lliis rnum is i-losnl. I lioiw 
 there is nn re|«irtcr Imi mir .wn — I kmiw I can kill 
 liini if it lie ni'ci ssaiv — I am j;.>inj,' in tell yun a secret. 
 W'l'nld yini ln-li.-vc it? uc 1\mi iialicins liave heen livinj; 
 tiiKelluT for (ivcr twenty years mi a iiimliis -,i:riiiU 
 tl:at everybody thon(;lit had Kone hy the hoard long ago; 
 in iKHS. when a treaty v\as signeil hy liayaril and Cham- 
 berlain, a uuiiliis ; irnidi was entered into hetwcen the con- 
 tracting parties in the expectation tliat the Senate woiilt" 
 confirm the treaty, hut when the Senate failed to confirm 
 the treaty, why, yon and wc jnst went along in the saine 
 way we had arranged for the iiilcriin. and for twenty-three 
 years ve have heen living (jn lliat thing v ch is not agreed 
 in writing or (Jtherwi.'j, hm whicli de|ien(ls upon our 
 own plain common sense. (Wpplausc. i The Senate of 
 the United States may fail to ap])rovc of a treaty, hut they 
 cannot prevent you anil me, your nation and my nation 
 living together in amity and peace. ( .\pplausc. ) 
 
 .\nother treaty is now on the hoards that may l)e ratified. 
 That may lie more far-reaching even than those two treaties 
 which now exist. If so, if it he successful, hy whatever 
 name it he known in history, it ought to have attached to 
 it only two names, one a christian name and the other a 
 family name, and these two names are lilihtt Root. 
 (Applause.) Because it is your President inore than any 
 other man, or any body of men. who is responsible, 
 and ought to \k thanked for that condition of affairs. 
 ( .\pplause. ) 
 
 The lawyer is in power in Mngland : the lawyer has at 
 last attained his proiwr iiositioii at the head of affairs 
 there. It is well that the lawyer is in control in Eng- 
 
»4 
 
 laml. Ill Ottawa, tlic I'miikr n! tlic DiMiiininn aii.l 
 the leader of tlie <.i.|><>siti„ii are l«.lli lawyers. In Wasli^ 
 iiiBton the i:xeciiiive, yciiir I'rcsiilent, is a lawyer of the 
 very liiKhest ty|w. (Applause.) He has siirnmiKled him- 
 self by lawyers of cptal liiKli class, one of whom you heard 
 last eveniiit; and heard a^aiii this evcniiit; with the utmost 
 delight. (Applause. 1 I may lie ipiite wrong, hut it sctnis 
 to me that I can see the providence of (iinl, the -■ i of 
 God hroo<liiiK "Ver this coiiliiient as that spirit l.rooded 
 over the waters of the mighty deep lieforc creation's dawn, 
 when all was chaos, without form and void. I wcjuld not 
 if I could. 1 could not if I would say one word in deroga- 
 tion of that very great .\incrican who was tlie opjionent 
 of William Howard Taft at the last election. William 
 Jennings Bryan must l>e a man of great ability as well as 
 an exceedingly lovable Plan or he coulil not have won die 
 heartfelt devotion of hundreds of thousands of .\nicrican.s 
 whose heads are hard if their hearts are warm. (.Applause. ) 
 Nor may we lawyers arrogate to ourselves all the |)olitical 
 any more than all the moral virtues. This great nation 
 bears in its heart the name of their mighty first President, 
 the land surveyor of \'irginia; and we in Canada will never 
 forget the working njierative stone mason, .\lcxander 
 Mackenzie, our second I'rinie Minister. On this ror.linent 
 one does not break his birth's invidious bar sinipiv because 
 there is no birth's invidious bar to break : nor r!oes one's pa.st 
 occupation prevent him attaining any i.osition; and it 
 might well have l)een that the editor of Lincoln would 
 turn out to be one of your greatest presidents. Hut he 
 had not been tried — there \\a; nothing in his past 
 from which one could judge how he would fill the great 
 office of President of the United States. William Howard 
 Taft had been tried in the fire, he had been weighed in the 
 
balance ami he Imrl imt W-en fciimd Hantiiif,'. (Applause.) 
 The priiiUiit. thi- inrlepemknt districi attorney, llie able, 
 eriulile, careful Jml^e. the firni but s_vni|)allielic and 
 kinilly — oh. hmv kindly, iiiilli.ni, ,,i brcuvn-faccd brethren 
 of the prcsem aj;e do know and of the future will know — 
 the k;ndly governor, the able, ri'liahle .Secretary, all gave 
 bail f jr the honorable, firm, syni] athetic, kindly, honest 
 President, (.\pplause. ) .My breibrcn of the liar .Associa- 
 tion of the Stale of .New Nork, make i,o mistake — notwith- 
 standing the jeer and ),'it)e of the jester ;.nd the paragraplier 
 that old adage still stands true, ".\n honist man is the 
 noblest work of (iod." (.Applause.) 
 
 I, as a I'anadian, .say of William Howanl Taft that 
 lie vas the first of your I'residents who knew Ca.iadians, 
 who bad lived .inujiigst tliem. who apprejiated them, who 
 nnderstood ihei instincts and nnilerstood the desires of 
 their lican. fie knew that Canadians were proud of their 
 British origin and proud of their liritisli institutions, and 
 that they were determined, remaining liritisli, to ma'.c 
 their beautiful land, which, like yours, spreads from 
 the .Atlantic to the Pacific, to make that l)eaiitiful 
 land the leading member of the ISritisli hjiipirc. Know- 
 ing that, he never failed to say the kindly word to or 
 for Canada. He iie\er faile<l to do the kindly act towards 
 or for Canada. He never failed to understand the Cana- 
 dian's point of view ; and w hen he found an opportunity 
 
 as he did not long after his inauguration — to do a kindly 
 act by Canada he did not let that opixjrtunity pass; and I 
 am proud to say we nixjn our side have a man, the most 
 pictures(pie and in my view one of the greatest men in 
 liritish territory to-<lay. who is not l>ehind William Howard 
 Taft in his desire that your jjeople and mine, my brethren, 
 shall live together in jieace and amity — Sir Wilfrid Laurier. 
 lause.) When it was necessary that we should lower 
 
i6 
 
 our (Units ii|Km lliirti'fii >i|>riit\cil arliilcs, animn; them [)er- 
 liiimTv, ill iirili-r lli.it iIiitc -hntM \k iik war r.f mrilT as 
 Ifiwccn your inuiiiry aii>l luiiii-, lie siiil in lii< place in I'ar- 
 liamenl, uuiler his resiwmsilijlit) as Prime Minister u,' the 
 l)in>iniiiu of Canadi, " Nut thirteeii or three huudreil arti- 
 cles, not all the |>erfuinery in Canaila or in the rnite<l States, 
 or in the whole jjlolic. can ln> auKlit hul as the small ilust of 
 the halance coinparcil «illi the friendship of the iKMpIc of 
 the I'nited ."slates." 
 
 Air. Taft, Icmj, has made himself the ajMjstle of |icace, 
 he has made that one of the ^real ohjects of his adniin- 
 istralion. ( .\pplause, ) .Not a month aRo. in Washing- 
 ton, my Canadian and Hritisli heart was rejoiceil to see 
 haiiKiiiK u|)on the wall of a Iwantifnl l>an(|ucti"f; cliamlier 
 there at a l)an(|uet at which the Pre' 'ent o! the I'nited 
 States wa.s the honored nmsl, the .\iiierican flag and the 
 British flag of ecpial size, of the same material, of eipial 
 beauty, united with that most Iwautifiil of all Latin words, 
 " Pax." My heart rejoiced when I saw that; but that was 
 nothing compared with the delight which must have filled 
 the heart of every lover of jieace when he read those 
 magnificent words of the President of the United States, 
 epoch-making words — I have heard in the British House 
 of Commons, Gladstone deliver some of his most mcgnifi- 
 cent addresses, I have heard the great orators not only in 
 the British House of Commons, but in our own — and we 
 have orators — but there are no words which touched my 
 heart, nor I believe the heart of every right thinking man 
 more than these splendid w ords of President Taft : " There 
 is no reason why there should not he submitted to judicial 
 arbitrament every international question whether it refers 
 to mom., or territory or national honor." (.Vpplause.) 
 When the President of the United States can say that, and 
 when the whole British House of Commons can unite with 
 
him in sajiiij; it hIwii these tWD great naliiMi*. the Krcate«l 
 and the ucahhie*! in the world, or tlial the world ever saw. 
 when nations like these can say the^e wonls the day of |ieace 
 is nut far distant, nay, the day is already hrtakinK in the east. 
 And is that to be? .\re these two nations Hhicli Carlyle 
 says are not properly two nations, luit one. insepaiahle hy 
 any human |Knver or iliplomaiy. lainj; already united by 
 heavens act of parliament and naliue anil practical inter- 
 course—are these two nations al...ve whom lloat llaKS 
 which are red because dye.l with the blood of a million 
 heroes, these two nations whose history is a Uadroll of 
 fame, full of deeils of heroism and valor and patriotic self- 
 sacnrice. two nations proud, self reliant, with that chastity 
 of honor which feels a stain like a wound, are these two 
 nations to tliiiK away the sword which they can both wield so 
 well and say. "As for us and our house we will serve the 
 I-ord of Peace '.= If so. the day of in^acc is not coming, 
 but it has already come — and your place and mine, my 
 brethren, in that is writ large. The day of the brute has 
 gone, the d!>y of the soldier is waning toward its '.luse, 
 the day of ..le lawyer is here when you and I see these 
 iwo nations go forth togfiJiiT with peace .n their right 
 hand. I'hat union will he gramler and more glorious and 
 more magnificent than even this Xation of States, great 
 and grand and glorious and niagniticent as it is: and we 
 will cry, using the words of your own poet in larger and 
 fuller and sweeter significance and signification: 
 
 "Sail on. O Ship of Stalt! 
 Sail on. O Union, strong and grt ; ! 
 Humanity, with all its (tars. 
 With all the hopts .-"f future years 
 Is hanging breathless on thy fate. 
 Our hearts, our l,npe«. are all with thee ; 
 Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears. 
 Our faith triumphant o'er our fears 
 Are all with thee — are all with Ihec 1 
 
i8 
 
 O vision, blessed, beatific ! soon may it b^ realized in all its 
 glory and grandeur and sweetness and grace : for in that 
 realization you, my brethren, and you, my sisters, antl we 
 must at length and only then find Ourselves. ( .\pplausc. )