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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clichA, il est filmA A partir da Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ij* ** |t0tefitns^ AT IBS INAUQTIR4L DINNBB, MABCH 10, AS© THE jNAtGURAL MEETING, MABCft 15, 1869. ;W t -- * •m f THE COLONIAL SOCIETY. ^ratn&hp AT THE INAUGURAL DINNER, MARCH 10, AND THE INAUGURAL MEETING, MARCH 15, 1869. LONDON: PUBLISHED AT THE OFFICE OF ' THE EURCx'EAN MAIL ' COLONIAL BUILDINGS, 4U CANNON STREET. 1869. pu^,i LOKDON IKlNTIil) UV SPOTTISWOOUU ASl) <•'.. NKW-MHliET StJCUlF AND l'Altl.lASll;NT STKKtT THE COLONIAL SOCIETY. THE RIGHT HON. PRESIDENT. LORD VISCOUNT liUUY, M.P VICE PRESIDENTS. HIS OKACK THK DUKK OF ARGYLL. HIS GRAOli THK DUKB OF 15UCKINGH.\M A.NI> CHANDOS. HIS GRACE THK DIKK OF MANCHKSTKR. THK MOST NOHLK THK MAiUU'lS OF NORMANHY. THE RIGHT HON. THK KAKL oF CARNARVON. THK RIGHT HON. KARL GRANVILLK, K.G. THE RIGHT HON. THK LORD LVTT(»N. THE RKillT HON. VLSCOUNT MILTON, M.l'. THK RIGHT HON. C. I*. FoRTKSCUK, .M.l'. THE RIGHT HON. SIR STAFFORD NoRTHCOTE. liAin.. M.i'. THK RIGHT HON. C. li. ADDKRLKY, -M.P. THK RIGHT HON. ED\VAR1> CARDWKLL, M.P. TRUSTEES. THO.MAS I'.AKING. Esu., M.P. GKORGK GRKNFKLL GLYN, Ks(>., .M.P. THK HON. ARTIH'R KINNAIRD, M.P. JAMIiS SEARIGHT, Esq. COUNCIL. ARTHUR N. IHRCH, Esd. HENRY RLAINE, E^j. THE RKiHT HoN. STEPHEN CAVE, M.P. THE RIGHT HON. HUGH CHILDERS, M.P. LORD ALFRED CHUIiCHILL. M.UOR-(JKNERAL SIR AVILLIAM DENISON, K.(".P.. JOHN ELDON GOR.sT, ' Esq. LORD WILLIAM HAY. HERMAN MERIVALE, Esq., C.B. THE RIGHT HON. VISCOUNT MONCK. HUGH K. MONTGO.MKRIK. FIsq. SIR CHARLKS NICHOLSON, Hart, MAJOR-GKNKRAL SIR HKNRY RAWLINSON, K.C.B. SIR FRKDKRICK ROGiCRS, Raut. GKORGK VKRDoN, Esq., C.B. WILLIAM WALKKR, Ksq. EDWARD WILSON, Esq. SIR HENHY DRCMMOND WoLFF, K.C.M.G. LEONARD WRAY, Esq. JAMES .v. VOUL, Es.^ THE RIGHT HON. SIR JOHN YOUNG, Baht., G.C.B. [Govehnok-Gexehai. of Canada. TREASURER. SECRETARY. W. C. SARGEALNT, Esq. . A. R. ROCHE. Esq. 2 ft fl^ THE COLONIxVL SOCIETY. -•oJO^'x* 'liiK iNAifiruAi. DiNNKi! of the Society took pliu-o on Wodiicsday t'Vftiiiijr, Miircli 1»», :it Willis's liuoins, Kiii^ Strict, St. .laines's. 'I'lif cliair wag oconiiiod l»y V'i.scount limy, M.l\, the I'l-esiiU'iit of the Society. AI)out 2(10 noblciuon ami gcntloiiion sat down to diniior, among whom wen; his Mxcellency the Hon. Heverdy Johnson (tlio United Stjite.s' Minister), tlie Ui^rlit J[on. W. K. (;iadstono, M.l'. (the Prime Minister ol" (Jreat IJritaiii), his (Jraee the Duke of" ^faIu•1lest(•r, the Mo.st Nol)le the Manpiis of Normanhy, the l{i;i;ht lion. Karl (Inin- ville, K.(;., the Kiu'ht lion, the Karl of AII)cmarlo, the Kight lion. Lord Alfred Churchill, the liight Hon. Sir .lolui Pakington, Bart., M.P., the Right Hon. Hugh Childers, M.P., the Right Hon. Sir Sfatrord Nortluote, Hart., .M.I'., the Right Hon. Chieliester Fortesoue, ^M.R., Sir I'.artle Frero, Sir Charles Nicholson, Hart., Sir (leorge K. C'artier, Bart., Sir Charles Clifford, Sir John C. liccs, the Hon. William Maedougall, C.B., the Hon. George Verdoii, C.B., the Hon. Arthur Kinnaird, M.P., the Hon. Dudley Forte.scue, .M.P., Lieut.-Col. Loyd-Liiulsjiy, M.l'., V.C., the Hon. R. H. Meade, Colonel Maude, 1{..\., C.B., V.C, .Mr. Benjamin Moran (SecreUiry to the American Emliassy), Mr. Molineux, Dr. Lear- month, .Mr. Learmonth, Mr. Henty, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Lcveson, Mr. F. .\. Du Croz, Mr. Charles Mc(iarel, Mr. Charles E. Levey, ^Ir. (ieorgo Macleay, Mr. John Fetcrs, Captain Charles Sturt, Caj)tain Napier Sturt, Mr. James Youl, Mr. J. A. Bernall, Mv, II. (iilbert Smith, Mr. Henry Ingles, Mr. C.eorge Duddell, Mr. Charles liroad, Mr. F. C. Cundy, Mr. Francis Tarry, Mr. A. IMorris, Mr. F. N. (iisborne, C.E., Mr. J. B. Darvall, Mr. W. C. Wentworth, Mr. (i. H. Chambers, Mr. Archibald Keightiey, Mr. Eiiwanl Wilson, Mr. Lachlan Mackinnon, Mr. Lachlan Maekinnon, Juii., Mr. William Killim, Mr. Cliarles Killim, Mr. Edward B. Neill, Mr. Allan Spnwcrs, ^fr. Arthur N. Birch, Mr. F. C. Good- lifTe, Mr. l-\ W. Rae, Mr. A. R. Roche, Mr. John R.'cvo, Mr. R. Brere- li ^IF 2 Pt'orrrdlngfi at ihr ton, Mr. II. niiiinc, Mr. .). T. Dol.son, Mr. J. W. Prnliyn, Mr. T. ('. Wallhriiljro, Mr.K. 0. Ilircli, Mr. C. SaltitiL', Mr. W. ('. .^arpi'amit, Mr. Iicnianl Kodyk, iNIr. McDonald, Mr. licoiiard Wrav, Mr. Lctmard Wray, eliin.. Mr. ("ceil Wray, Mr. C'liUnrd, Mr. It. K. .MontLronicrio, Mr. .lax. Scarif^lif, Lieut. -Col. Manl)y, (!.K., Mr. Cli.irlcM Yoiil, Mr. William Kdinonstono, Mr. OctaviuH Vauplian Mor^jraii, IVfr. .Mfxandcr ('mil, Mr. James Stcvons, Mr. 1{. T. Fin'l>raco, Mr. W . Iliirnlcy Iliinio, iSIr. Thomas i^outlicy, Mr. Jiimcs Coatc s Mr. .1. A. .iDscpli, Mr. Willi.im Wcstjrarth, Mr.K. A. M.acFic, :M.r., Mr. St. r.arlu. Slad.Mi, Mr. Jol.n Morrison, ^Ir. II. A. Edward.s Capt. (iilmorc, ^Ir. E. (1. Ilarr, Mr. II. •J.Arnold, Mr. William Walker, ]\Ir. Cliarles Ihitton (Jrorrory (Prc- gident of tlic Institution of Civil En^'ineers), Mr. A. MacArtliur, Mr. James Kae, :Mr. VVilli.-un Duncan, :Mr. II. Calderott, Mr. J. S. Hill, Mr. Cliarles; Du Croz, Mr. Thomas P>rifrn;s, Mr. F. (Jonnerman D:drilain ; to afford opportunities for reading ])apers, and liir liohling dis(;ussions, upon Colonial sul>jects generally; and toundertako scientific, literary, and statistical investigations in connection Avith the P>ritish Empire. The Ihiles do not permit of any ])aper being read, or discus-sion being held, tending to give to tlie Society a political or ji party character. The dinner was sei'ved in tlie largo Hall, and tlie cloth liaving been removed, the following toasts were dnuik and responded to : — Chainnau.—'My Lords and Gentlemen, I have to ask you to drink a toast wliich in .-dl assemblages of Englishmen is always greeted with the greatest enthusiasm. It is usually projioscd without one word of comment, and I .shall follow the good example ; but I must .say, that if ever there Avere an occasion upon which that good rule .should be broken through, it would be upon this, when from every part, and from every corner of the earth, subjects of Her Majesty are a.ssembled in one room to drink her health. I might say, without fear of contradic- tion, that this assemblage is absolutely unprecedented, and I am quite sure that the toast which I jiroposc, namely, 'The Health of Her Tnau(jHral Dinner. 8 ^rjijcsly tlio Qiiocn,' lias nt^vcr Itaforobcen drunk willi moro emliiiftiaam tliiin it will 1)1' ii'iw. (liimd cheers.) Tho toast witri (Inink with mufh oiithusijistn. ClntiriiKin. — My LoicIm ;u;(1 (fciitlciiicn, I have luiw to propose to you tho .sucoiul fnast upon our list — nanu'ly, 'The litaitli f)f' the I'rinee of Wales, tho Princess of" Wales, and the rest of tho liojal Family.' (Cheers.) The toa.st was drunk amidst cliei'r.-;. C/Ktinnttti. — .My Lords and (h'IiI! jiuen, the next toast which I have to propose to you is 'The I'rosp > ty of the Unitid States' ((•heern), and 1 have the honour of couplitipf with tl it t( ast the name of our distin- guished guest — Mr. Keverdy Johns''!!, ''f'lu'ei-s.) (^f all tho (loloiiisiiig iiatioi!s whieh went forth as soon as \hc New Woidd was discovered, (Ireat llritain, if not tho foremost, at any rate was one of the loi-eniost. She plai!ted a peojile in the West who evei!tii'dly heeanie a great nation. Since the time when the I'ilgrini Fiithers tirsL la!ided in the New World, a nation .second to none u )on tho earth has g!-own up thei-e. (Cheers.) Tiiero hiivo been between that nation anl tho l\Iother-count!*y ([UiineLs, but they wei-o but faniily ipiarn^ls, and wcro alwi!ys suceeedeil by friendship still moro cemetited than Injlcre. (Hear, hear.) In process of time our country sent forth outshoots in otheir directions. Their descendants ai-e gathered ai'ound this tal)ie to- dav. The descendants of (Ji-eat Hritain's youuLn-r sons, greet the l\i.pi-e- sentalive of the eldest boii! ! I give you ' IM-osperity to tlie rniled States of America.' (Loud cheers.) Short speeelie.s are to bo the oi'der of the day, and I think. Gentlemen, that I need not add one single word to make you driiik with tho greatest enthusiasm the toast of 'The I'liited Sl;it(!S.' (Chee!-s.) The toast was warmly received. Ml', lieverdy Johnson rose, and was received with cheers. Mr. Jicri'nli/ Johnson. — My Lords and (icntlemen, lor the toast which my Lord has ollered, and for tho manner in which it has been received by the con;pany, I return you my sinecrest thanks. Tho jioople (if the; United States can never bo indifierent to tho opinion of .such gentlemen as those in the presence of whom I now st;ind, rejjre- senting, as I am tohl, nearly all the Colonies of your kingdom, and having amongst them those who have conducted your Lnperial Government w^ith an ability, wdiich it is 'lelieved, as far as oratory ;it least is concerned, wiis never excelled. The people of tho United StJites will hail with delight the fact that, in the person of their liopre- sentative, you have done honour to them; and I beg you to bo assured thiit, however it may lor a time ajipear that, owing to the natural effervescence of feeling incident to a republic, and owing idso to causes to which I only dare to allude, there may be considerable evidences of unkindness to the ^lother-country, you may be gati.slied that in the ■■ mmmm 4 Prorcedings at the hearts of the sober and roflcctiiig peo])lG of my country, tliero exists a fixed and determined love and adoration for Kngland. (Cheers.) I am not acviuaiiited, my LorJ, as well as I should he, with the colonial system by which your forty or fifty Colonies are govenied, my attention having been called almost exclusively to the duties connected with my profession at home, and to my publi'. duties there as a senator of the United States: but I know this, that it can be a system oidv which recognises the great principles of freedom upon which the structure of the Imperial Government itself rests. (Ciieers.) In that the Colonies, as well as the INIother-country, differ but in name from my own country ; but they all rest upon the same foundation, and I trust in God that thev will continue so to res„ until the end of time, diifusiii": the blessings of liberty throughout the world, and extending other ailvan- tages to as great a perfection as humanity is capable of. (Hear, hear.) We, mj' Lord, have now no Colonies. I Riy ' now.' In the begin- ning of our Government doubts were entertained — not doubt.s, perh;ips — I shoidd rather sjiy si'ttled opinitins were entertained, that imder the Constitution of the United States there was no authority whatever even to enlarge the territorial dominions which tlien belonged to the United States. But those doubts have long since been removed, and now the opinion of all is, that the Government of the United States has the power, either liy con([uest or by treaty, to obtain territory anywhere, whether continuous or not. And, my Lords, it is pos.sible with yom* consent, but not without (God forbid that any attempt of the sort should be made without the consent of both parties!), that some of the Colonies which now ilourish under the dominion of Her ^lajesty, and have so much reason to be proud of that dominion, may in process of time find themselves under the stars and stripes of the flag of the United States, where, if they shall come, they will soon find that there also they will have a coiuitry of which they and all Englishmen may have occasion to lie proud. But that day I trust is liir distant. (Hear, hear.) God forbid that any part of the dt)minions of Her Majesty should be curUuled ! The world lives if the (Jovernment remains as it is: tiie happiness of mankind is that it should remain as it is. Civili- sation, and that highest of all civilisation, Cliri.stian civilisjition, would receive a sad blow, it", by any disjister, God should afilict the world with any injury to the power and glory of England. (Hear, hear.) The United States, my Lord, have passed through a drc;Ml<"ul trial. It gave rise to dilferences of opinion at home and elsewhere ; but these are now at an end. Our (Jovernment is at this moment stronger than it ever was, and, however insiuie the efl'ort was thought to be when it was made in 18(11 to destroy it, it would now be considered even more insiine if the attempt should be made, and no such attempt is to he anticiiiated. We will thcrororc go on pros])ering and to prosper. Hut, in ( rder to be prosi)ering and to prosper, it is in my judgment, ^^ Inaugural Dinner. 5 essential that wo should bo the firm, sincore, and constant friends of (Jreat Britain. (Cheers.) And this is to be the case. With suoh gentlemen as now adorn the Government of Her Majesty, giving to the highest stations which they fill even more honour than those stJitions confer upon them, it is impossible but that they shall see that their (iovernment is as much interested in the continuance of peace as the Government of the United States. (Hear, hear.) And seeing that they will extend the hand of friendship to us, which will be seized with avidity and with sincerity; and in the end (and soon too will tliat end come), all the small clouds which now hang above us will be dis- persed, and nothing will be seen but that glorious sunlight which I trust may ever shine upon the two countries. (Cheers.) Chairman. — INIy Lords and Gentlemen, the next toast wliich I have to propose is ' The Health of the Army, Navy, and Volunteers.' That toast rerou(l, as a citizen of our com- mon country, distant though some jtortions of that country may be; and though seas may roll between the jjlace in which we are now assembled, and the native homes of some who sit around me, yet we all claim Avith Mr. Gladstone a common citizenshij) and a conimon allegiance to our (iueen. (Cheers.) (ientlemen, as the represent^uive of the Executive of our country, as its lirst ollicer, as its chief, and as its head — as a man of whom, whatever our political differences, we are proud, and whom we are delighted to see amongst us — I ask you to drink 'The Health of Iler Ma- jesty's Ministers,' and 1 couple with that toast the name of .Mr. (Jladstone. (Cheers.) — The toast was drimk amidst prolonged applause. Mr. Glad.stone n>8e, and was received with loud cheers. Mr. (I'ludstoiic. — 1 thank you. my Lord, and I thank you, my Lords 8 Pt'oceedhujs at the and GentU'inoi), on my own liclialfand on iliat ol' my colloagiics, tor tbo manniT in wliioh this toast lias been botli given antl reOL'ivcd. At the sjuue tiiiu', while I api)n'ciate that manner, I completely understand the grounds upon which we apjiear hero, and I should be tlie lirst to pro- test, if protest were necessary, against any attempt to fix what we should call a political colour to a company ol" this nature. 1 I'uUy rccngnise that, in drinking thelieallh ol" the Govermuent of tlie day, you pay a token of respect to that executive authority which, ha|)pily, in this country enjoys the respect, as the executive authority, of the entire com- nuinity. (Hear, hear.) My Lords and Gentlemen, I fuid in the mode in which you are enabled to receive such a toast, a most gratilyiiig testi- mony to the fact that, although differences of political opinion are per- manent, and must be permanent, among us, and although at peculiar junctures of the national Ibrtunes they may be wide and deeply marked, yet, so liir as regards the vital article of Colonial Policy, theio has ibr many years past been a happy approximation in the opinions and convictions of public men, of whatever party, which has led us liir, and very far indeed, towards the attainment of a great Imperial object — namely, the removal of the fortimes of the colonists from all the minor and, so to speak, local troubles of the internal affairs of the Mother- country. (Hear, hear.) And we have, my Lords and Gi'iitlemen, the belief that we, having acceded to office with cert^iin professions of opinions and pledges with regard to our conduct, shall do that which every body of English gentlemen will be forward and zealous to do — namely, to redeem those j)ledges, and to act ujion those princii)Ks to the utmost extent to which our powers and opportunities may go. My Lord, having said that for inyself. I am very thankful to you, even if" I feel myself little worthy ofthehonour, for the jiermission which you have given me to propose to this company the toast which signalises the occasion on which we are niet together : I mean '' rr(;sperity to the Colonial Society !" (Cheers.) It is so long, my Lord, since I was per- mitted to plead anv special interest in colonial affairs, that probably the circumstance of my ever having had a title to ])K'ad such an interest has jiassod from the memory of these who ever knew it, and to most of those who sit at this iioard it will be totally unknown. It is thirty-four years .since 1 was first a niendier of the staff of the Colonial Department; it is twenty-three yt'ars since I last held office in that department. If I advert to those dates, it is not for the sake of gratify- ing an anti(|uarian curiosity, nor for the sike of'poiiuing out what I am aliaid is a truism as well as a truth — ii:nnely, that those who once have lieeii young are ;ijit in the course o!' time to grow old. It is for a very different and tor a woiihier ])urposo. Looking (jver those years, no one can fiiil to be struck with the great change (and that change I will ventnre to say has been all iniprovcmfnt ), whieh ha^ in the interval jwissed over the spirit of our Colonial I' diey. in the days when 1 was hmmjiiral Dinner. 9 jiccustonicd to wear out witli my footsteps the stairs of tiio Colonial Oflicc, that o(!icL' was haunted by a di.seinl)odied spirit, which spirit re- ceived a painfid distinction under the title of ' Mr. Mother Country ' ; and while th-.o description conveys no inaccurutc idea of the narrow tra- ditions wliich still hung about the conceptions of English statesmeii, more or less, although they were in process of being discharged at that period, on the other side of the water also, in every I'.ritish Colony, there was a party, which I rejoice to think has since been totally extinguished, under the nauKi of the ' liritisli Party.' (Hear, hear.) 1 believe that I speak within the hearing of those Avho reniend)er the circunistiuices and stiiigg!<>s of those times, and many of us in this country were taught to believe, or at least efforts were made to teach us, that upon this ' Briti>h Piu'tv,' which invariably represented an insigniti<:ant minoritv, depended the whole hi;j)e of maintaining the connection between England and its Colonies, and that if anything were dune to ofl'end that ' British Party,' or to recognise the vast majority of the colonial community as having a claim ui)on our sympathies and our actions, such a policy was certain to be ilital to the Colonial Empire. (Hear, hear.) My Lords and Gentlemen, this was a state of things so strange, that to recall it now seems like bringing back from the grave the si)irits of the dead, so wholly is that state of things without a repre- sentitive in the condition of affairs which now exists. I rejoice, my Lord, that you have succeeded in gathering round this board, to enjoy your hospitality, the representatives of the entire P>ritish family, and that a great branch — possibly the greatest branch, but at any rate one of the greatest branches — of that iiimily is here represented among us by one who, though numerically but an individual, yet has in him a heart which beats warmly with tin: sympathies which belong to the origin from which he derives his name, and the traditions of his country, and who, in a manner inferior to none that have gone belbre liim, is (lualified to represent that spirit of brotherhood which ought to unite throughout the world the whole I'.ritish race. (Cheers.) There is no degree of latitude ann. — My I^ord Bur}', my Lords and (lentlemen, I obey th(! call which you have done me the lionour of making upon mo to respond to the toast of ' The House of Commons ' ; and in fulfilling that duty, I will endeavoiir not to forget his Lordsliip's caution tiiat brevity is the order of the day. (ientlemcii, I regard tliis toast as relating to one of the greatest, and the noblest, and the most peculiar national institutions of this country, rather than to that House of Commons which has recently been elected, and the members of which, having been only recently elected, have scarcely yet entered uj)on the arduous duties which they have inidertaken. But, Gentlemen, I will ven- ture to s;iy thisnuieh for the present House of Commons, although I fear I can hardly approve of the political complexion of that House as some of those gentlemen ;ii)|irove of it whom I have the pleasure of seeing round this table at the ])resent moment; and. Gentlemen, it is with sincerity that I s;iy that I have the pleasure of seeing them, for 1 think that you will agree with me that there never was an occasion when anything like party-ieeling was more out of place than at the present moment. (Hear, hear.) Notwithstanding this fact, I do with confidence express my hope, and my belief, that looking to the constitution of the present House of Commons, and looking at the materials of which it is com- posed, it will honestly discharge those high functions which devolve upon the rej)resentatives of this country in Parliament, in a manner Avhich may not be unworthy of their predecessors in the House of Commons of this great country. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, .simultane- ously widi the rapid increase of wealth and pojmlation and pro.-jperity in this great Emj)irc, which has been so remarkable during the pre- sent century, the labours and duties of members of the House of Com- mons have undergone at least an etpial, if not a greater increase. The public at large are little aware, from what they read in the daily new.s- ]iapt..^; of the enormous amount of business which th.e House of Commons transacts, or of the exertions and the labour which the transjiction of that business retiuires. And I confess that I am one of rho.se (I believe that I am one of not a few) wdio have sometimes l)een disposed to Icel apprehensive lest those who by their education, and by their independent position in life, are well fitted to take part in the councils of the nation, should be deterred by the great increase of the 14 ProceciUnyft at the work wliic'li devolves upon the meinliers of tlic Loprialiitiiro, from seeking the honour of sciils in that Leirislatiire. But I rejoice to Hay liuit, as regards the recent elections, wo have seen nothing to confirm those fears. It is, I think, greatly to the national honour, that not only leading merchants and manufliertii-ors and protessional men, but the higl'.est of our noliility, and the highest and the weMllhie«t and the most distinguishtid of our countrymen, have shown themselves as eager as ever to bear the fiitigues and to share the honours of Parliamentary life. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, long may that spirit continue ; and so long as that spiiit does continue, we may feel assured that, whatever Uiay be our I'arliamentary dillert'ncos, the legislation of England will be conducted in a patriotic; and ;ui honoural)le spirit. ((Cheers.) 1 think I may venture confidently to say, that amongst the high duties which devolve upon the House of Conmions, they have not neglected, and I feel very sure that they will not neglect, to i>ay attention to those (picstions which relate to the welfare of our Colonies — (cheers)— and I hope, and I trust, that the example of that great and distinguished assembly the British House of Parliament (that mother and model, as Mr. Chichester Fortcscue has called us, of Ucpresontativo Institutions), will not be lost upon thdse noble (h-pendencies of the British Crown which are now rising to maturity in all parts of the world. It is with no small jileasvu'O that I have upon this occasion the honour of renew- ing, I may .say, my friendship with many eminent statesmen (i-om the Colonies. I see here Sir George Cartier, I see Sir Charles Nicholson, I see Sir Charles Cliifonl, and other gentlemen, distinguished in their re.'^pec- tive Colonies, and it is delightful to see them upon this occasion. It is to such men that we must mainly trust to imjjress u])on our fellow- countrymen the real value of British institutions; and thus to draw closer those ties of amity and of kind feeling which ought to exist between the members of the Anglo-Saxon race in all jiarts of the world. Gentlemen, I believe that there is nothing which we can bettor do here at home to draw nearer tho.se ties of amity and kind feeling than by the institution of such a Society as we have now inaugu- rated. And in closing these few remarks, let me thank you for the himour which you have done me in asking me to take a jmrt in this Inaugural .Meeting, and let me express my hope that this Society may be productive of every benefit which its promoters can possibly an- ticipate. Sir Gcorrjp Cartier. — My Lord Bury, my Lords and (ientlemen, I must say at the out.set, that it re(|uires from me a certain amount of boldness to address you after the elocpient sjjeeches which have been made, and particularly in the presence of the Premier of England, who stands in this country not merely as the j)remier in the political world, but who also stands as one of the foremo.st in eloquence, and as a .scholar. As a matter of course, if you expect anything elo(|nent .« .n Tnavfinral Dinner. 16 from nio, I tmist tell you at onco that you will bo disappointod. At all (.'vciits, I will ilo my utmoMt, and I am Hurc you will cxcmhi' my short- cniuiiiMrrt. Mv iiamo is comicctod with this toa.st as rclatiiifr to the ('(ildiiiiil I'arliamcnts. I rc^rrot very inurh that the soloi'tion Ml on mo 1o answer ior tlu; representative boilies, as applied and carried out in tlie Colonies which have the happiness to he connected with the British Knipiro — with the Mother-coinitry. (Hear, hear.) With regard to us, when we formed our Conlederation, namely, the Dominion of Canada, we were allowed by the liberality of the English Parliament and the English Govv.nment to set our brains to work, in order to present our own scheme of representation to tho English Parliament for adoption. The Constitution which we enjoy was enacted by us, though it is bv virtue of an Imperial Act. It was not the initiation of the liritish Parliament, or of the British nation; we were allowed by the liberality of England to do it ourselves. (Cheers.) We came before the English (Jovernment — we came before the English Parlia- ment — we presented a system which was of course a representative system ; ami it is a great source, 1 will not say of pride, but a great scnirce of encouragement, to the public men wlio then took jiart in that great scheme, that it was adopted by the English Government and by the British Parliament without, I may say, a word of alteration. (Hear, hear.) We feel grateful for the fi'cedoni of nctiou which was given to us on that occasion. When we had to consider what would bo tho Representative Institutions which ought to rule the great Dominion of Canada, we had, as a matter of course, to look into the past or the present history of nations which had enjoyed, or were enjoying, Ilapre- sentalivc Institutions. We came to tho conclusion that a legislative body, to be useful, onght to represent the sense of rectitude of the nation, but not the passions of the nation. (Hear, hear.) Conse- quently, we ado])ted a system of representative government Avhich allowed to the representatives elected a certain length of Parliamentary life, in onler to achieve great things. "W^e did not like that the Par- liamentary trust should be a more species of power to last for only one session, and then to have another election. We wanted that there should be a trust, in order that the electors themselves should show that they had confidence in those whom they elected ; and then that those who were elected should show, in return, to those who had elected them, the realisjition of their promises, made in honour, that they would legislate according to the interest and the welfare of the community at tho time. Monsieur (luizot, I think, said on one occasion, that ' common sense rules the world in the long run.' It is so, and consequently a Par- liament of small duration, an annual Parliament, or a Parliament of too short duration, can never do any groat work. With regard to us, we do not find fault with our neighl>ours. We are good friends with IB J'l'in't't'ilhiiis lit fill' our neipflibours, nnd nt this fi'stivc hoanl, in tlii> iiicscnrc of ihr illii!'- tritiiis Minister who rcproHciits that fjjrcjif nation (iiciir, Inai-) — I am gliid to liiivc this opportunity oC telling him tliat with regard \o liini, and with rejrard to ourselves, we are as liilly in the exercise f)(' our irt'cdoin as anyone on the earth. (>nr Dominion, our Conlederation, is not formed on the demoinitic principle ; tlie representative element is u j)art of it, but it is ioiuided on a nioiuirchical basis Our iieighlu.urs liavo thoir Confederal ion based entirely on the democratic! jirincijile; they have tried the e.\i)erimt'nt, and it is a great success ; but we have tried our system to some extent, and we expect that its trial will result in this — that so long us England shall l)e Kngland, and so long as England sliall enjoy the freedom and the advantage if a Parliament, our political gravitation and our political afleetii will always be towards the jMother-ciiuntry. (Hear, hear.) l-i ordi ihat we n; • v not lose sight of this fact, that we have foinidcd a great Eiiijiiro whic. ill extend from the Atlantic to the I'acilie Oeean, we intend that all tiat inunen.sc territory shall be well governed, and governed not merely on a selfish princi])le as apjilicd to us, but in enler tn add to the power nnd to the pro.sperity of the Mother-country. (Hear, hear.) I am sure that there will never bo any cause of diflicnlty between Eii_dand and our friendly neighbours on account of our.selves, or on account of England or of themselves. But it matters not; if that unfortunate! day shall over come, we in Canada are ready to accept otn* jiosition. (Hear, liear.) We will accej)! the situation of the moment. liut everyone of VIS who understjmds the natural inclination of our neighbours, as well as of ourselves or of Englishmen, to enjoy peace, is convinced that that tmfortimate day will not come. If", however, it ever should come, we Avill be there. (Loud and continued cheers.) My Lord, I liave heard a great deal this evening with regard to the Anglo-!Nixoi) race. I had the honour to 1)C presented to Her ^lajesfy when she graciously gave mo an invitjition, ten or twelve years ago, to go to Wind.sor, and Her Majesty was kind enough to interrogate me about the French Canadians. The .shortest definition which I could give (bocau.se you must always be brief to lioyalty, and perhaps to this meeting) was, that the French Canadians, as well as myself, were Englishmen si)eaking Frencli. (Cheers). They appreciate the wor'li and the value of Saxon lilood ; and 1 cannot lose sight of the fiict that there is an admixture of Norman blood, with the best blood of England. 1 merely mention this to show that I am not in any way Avoimded by the admission, because I know u little of past history. Witli regard to ourselves on the other side, the two races there are Frenchmen and Hnglishinen; we are Frenchmen, and the Frenchmen in Lower Canada h;ive jiroved (or rather Englishmen speaking French,) that we can carry out Representative In.stitutions. It is said, by our neighbours ()j)pnslle hero, that rejjresentative and free gnvenunent can- Innvqnral T)in)t rr. 17 not bo cfirricil out. Tftlioy lookoil to tliat Kroncli Colony, wliich a lew yoars apo nuiuli(T(',')()(), iiiid wliicli now nuniiiiTH 1,(»()(>,()M(), tluiy would flce that tlu* carrying out of tin; rcpri'H(!Utativ(! sjstt'iu liuH bi'cn a KuccosH. I thank you, jny I^ohIh and (icntlenicn. (Chtiors.) Ji/an/iiis of Xoriiutiih//. — My Lords and (It'utli'nu'ii, I can assure you tliat it is with great satisfiiction tliat I rise in such an asscmhly as this to pi-o[>osc the toast which has lu'cn conunittcil to my charge, and I an« Hurc that in this assiMubly it will need little from nie to rccomnH^nd the toast to your notice. I am aware that there are some persons Avho maintiiin that tliis country derives little benefit from our Coh)nies, and profess anxiety that the connection should (;ease. I am sure that no sentiment such as tliat will find fiivotu- in this moetif.g — (hear, luiar) ■ — anment of their own afTairs, and they can derive little advantage from any separation from this country. This country, on the other hand, has the Colonies as a field for her conuuercial enterprise, and the natural field to which her surplus popu- lation should emigrate. I trust that the Society which we are met together this evening to inaugurate, will tend greatly to dispel that ignorance (for I can call it by no other term), which unfortunately exists in this country as regards her Colonies. This ignorance, however, is not dillicult to account ibr. In young societies it is not the custom to spend much time in writing histories, and I know nothing more difficult, if one is anxious to ol)tain information with regard to any par- ticidar colony with which one is not personally ac(|uainted, than to find the means of obtaining that information. For the purpose of emigra- tion, there is nothing more important than that a person who intends to emigrate should be able to obtain authentic and reliable information, in order that he may decide in which direction to turn his steps. In this country, hennned in as we are on all sides, and unable in any way to ext^.ul our natural l)oundarios, we must look to the ("olonies for the relief of our surplus population, and whether it be a skilled artisan, an agricultural laboiu'cr, or a small capitalist, or a man with larger pos- sessions, they can each and all find ample employment in the various Colouiea. I trust, therefore, that the Society which has now been c 18 Proceedings at the inaugurated will tend to promote and to unite and to cement the love and affection and loyalty of our Colonies. I give the toast of ' The Colonial Empire,' coupling with it my Lord Granville's name. The toast was drunk amidst great applause. Earl Granville. — My Lord Bury, my Lords and Gentlemen, I bpg to thank you for the kindness with which you have received this toast. Lord Bury, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Chichester Fortescue, and Lord Nor- man by have all alluded to the objects which this Society proposes to itself. I cannot h«lp feeling that if those objects were carried out in the manner in which I expect that they will be, although they may not at once lead to that Council of Government Avhich was so gracefully alluded to by the noble Duke on my right, yet they will take away the sting of that witty saying that the Colonies were planets which looked towards the sun and did not think much of one another. I cannot help feeling that in my present position any kindness from an assembly ^ike this, while it makes one feel still more the responsibility of what has been undertaken, is yet a very great encouragement to do one's best. (Hear, hear.) I happened to mention the other night to some friends that I had received another encouragement from a very distin- •iuished friend of mine, who, upon congratulating me upon the office, said that it was one which he always thought re({uired merely a modicum of sense. Now that phrase is somewhat vague, for I fear •that sense is a quality of which we are always apt to attribu^e to our- selves more than our friends are inclined to give to us. But of this one fiict I am certain, that no sense on my part or on the part of Mr. Monscll, whose compulsory absence this evening he regrets so much, will enable us to do without the assistance of the talent and the ability to be found in so remarkable a degree in the permanent staff of the Colonial Department. I am, indeed, rather afraid that the Minister of the Great Kepublic, who has si)okeii with such singular eloquence to-night, will feel that it is a little want of sense on my part, or possibly novelty in my office, which makes me unprepared at this moment to open negotiations with him for ceding the British Colonies to the Great Republic. (Hear, hear.) But I can assure him that I have sufficient sense to appreciate at their just value those powerful expressions of his, going to prove that it would be absolute insiuiity for that great country and ourselves to be ever on any other than the most friendly terms. (Hear, hear.) We have had a great many hints, to use the words ">f a somewhat learned judge to a somewhat prolix coimscl, that time is passing ; and I am certainly not inclined to answer, as that counsel did, * Let it pass, my lord.' But there are two points, I think, of some interest to an assembly like this, so deeply in- terested in colonial matters, which it is possible that you will bear with me if I very shortly allude to. (Hear, hear.) One of the subjects which has m;;essurily occupied my attention since the change of I rvir Inaugural Dinner, 19 history of this coimtry ; Lord Russell gave self-government to our North Ameri- can Colonies ; while Lord (jirey did the same in a great measure to our Australian Colonies, and has left his strong mark upon all the jirincipal questions of Colonial Policy. It will be my humble duty to try to maintain the honourable character which has thus been placed upon this Order, and to confine my recommendations, as long as I have the honour of being connected with the Colonial Office, to those who have done real and grwit service to tiiat Empire ' iipon which,' if 1 may be allowed tt repeat tliat well-woni but grand old Castilian phrase, ' the sun never sets.' (Cheers.) Sir Stoffoi-il Northrnte. — ^ly Lord Bury, my Lords and ( lentlemen, I rise, in obedience to the Chairman's siuinnons, to propose the toast which has been comnuttod to me. But belbre I address myself to that toast, I think you will hardly be surprised if I make a passing allusion to the speech to which I have just had tlu.' pleasure of listen- ing I'rom \\\y noble friend the Secretary iur the Colonics. Lord Granville h;;s told you that he was congratulated upon his accessi()n to that high Inaugural Dinner, 21 office, on possessing what his iriend truly told him was an essential requisite for a Minister, namely, a modicum of sense; and, with that modesty which distinguishes him, he has added that he does not quite know what is meant by that expression. I have had the pleasure ol' the noble lord's friendship for considerably more than twenty yours, and I have seen him tried in various public positions, and I think that I can throw some little light upon the meaning of the gentleman who thus complimented him upon his accession to power. I have heard a definition of common sense, which I think most admirably applies to the character of my noble friend. It was defined by a very great aiUhority as, ' a good intellect acting upon a good hearty' ; and I may sjiy that in all the business which I have seen the noble lord transact, he has fulfilled that condition. I never knew him wound the feelings of any one with whom he had to do. I never knew him wanting in capacity, and I certainly never knew him wanting in intelligence ; and under those circumstances, possessing those qualifications, a man in this country is able, as a public man, to do a great deal. Now cer- tiiinly in this last negotiation he has contrived to bore u.-i a great deal, to put before us proposals which seemed the most luiroasonable, and to call upon us to sacrifice valuable property for, as it appeared to us, very insufficient reasons. And yet the manner in which this was done — the manner in which ho would call upon one after breakfast, or send one a note to come to him after dinner — was most pleasing. lie was equally good in the middle of the day and in the dark hours of the night, lie contrived to put his proposals in such a form that I am prepared to say that, if there is any chance of this matter being brought to a settlement, it will be under his auspices. But, Gentlemen, I must at the present moment say that the matter has not yet been submitted to those with whom the ultimate decision will rest ; and though I respond to the hope of my noble friend, that it will come to a settlement, it is impossible to say how it will be. But, Gentlemen, I do not rise for the purpose of speaking as to the Hudson's Bay Company, — it is the last of tliose mercantile bodies which have done so much for the extension of the power and che name of England ; but I rise rather to speak of an Empire which was founded by another and a yet more distinguished representiitive of that great class of English enterprise, and to propose to you the toast of ' The Empire of India.' (Cheers.) My Lord Bury, tlie Empire of India ia fitly and appropriately associated with the objects which this Society has in view, although the Empire of India is not, properly speaking, in the ordinary sense of the term, a Colony. We are brought into com- munication with men Avho not only are not of the Anglo-Saxon race, but who have not even a drop of Norman blood in their veins, and who cannot be properly described as being as much as Englishmen speaking Ilindostanee. We are brought into relations with ancient 22 Proceedings at the and most illustrious and civilised peoples, of all stocks, I believe, of the human race, comprehending all religions, and comprising men of the most various political, and social, and ethnological tendencies ; and being placed mi relations with those men we are bound to fulfil our diitifis towaris them. Now I wish to observe, in passing, that the relations and duties which England undertakes towards the native rr.oes with whom she is brought into contact in India, are very different fro m the relations and duties which she undertakes Avith regard to her own Colonies. As respects her own Colonies she is dealing with Anglo- Saxons like Englishmen ; and what she is doing is to people the un- inhabited portions of the globe, to place her sons among them, and to maintain them as long as they require her assistance, and when they are able to go alone, to place them in a position of independence and close relationship to herself, such as exists between grown-up children and their parent. But with regard to nations so different to herself as those with whom she is brought into relation in India, her task is a very different and a very delicate one, because we have at once to respect their idiosyncrasies and to respect the Oriental character. I apprehend that we should neither Anglicise India, nor at the same time allow our civilisjition and our enterprise to be overloaded by the peculiarities of the Oriental character. Whar, we have to do is to try to harmonise what is good in the English character with what is good in the Oriental character ; it is no easy task, but it is a task from ■which we should not shrink, and I believe that we are in the right way to accomplish it. I believe that any persons who have seen any- thing of the Indian races, have seen how desirable it is to give a true value to the native character, and at the same time to communicate to the native races of India some portion of our own energy, and some of the advantages which we have derived from our experience in systems of government ; and I most confidently look forward to the time when India will be the great support and the great jewel in the Crown of England — not as a means of benefit to us lor purjwses of our own, but as affording a brilliant example of the power of England to do good to the nations with whom she is brought into contact. (Hear, hear.) It will be in developing Indian enterprise and Indian resources, and in attaining honour to ourselves by making India conscious of the advan- tages of that connection, that we shiUl derive the greatest assistance and l)cnefit from India. My Li)rd, I Avill not detain this company, because I know that our time is short. I could have wished that in proposing this toast, I could have had the privilc^'^o of calling upon the noble Duke who now admi- nisters the affairs of ^ndia in this country to respond to it, because I well know that he is not only one who has paid great attention in past times to Indian .affairs, but that he is now administering that department in a ppirit which promises well for the interest of India. Or I could have !^W Inaugural Dinner. 23 wished, in his absence, that I could have had the privilego of calling upon one who will shortly be in this country returning from his long Bervice in India, whose name will be associated with the proudest and niost brilliant times of Indian history — I allude to Sir John Lawrence. But as neither of those distinguished men can respond to tnis toast, I will call upon one whose name is as well known as either of the others, and as much respected, at all events in Indian circles, as any name can be. I will call upon one who is now a member of the Indian Council, and a friend of my own, and one who has borne a distinguidied part in India — I mean Sir Bartle Frere. The toast was drunk with acclamation. ' Sir Bartle Frere. — My Lord Bury, my Lords and Gentlemen, I feel it no little responsibility to be called upon to return thanks for the great Indian Empire; but if anything could lessen the weight of responsibility which I feel, it would be to know that the toast has been proposed by one who on every occasion, not only in his ofRcial life, but through the whole of his public life, has given clear, consistent, and useful expression to those noble sentiments, and those noble principles, upon which I be- lieve the people of England desire that their great Indian Empire sliould be uniformly governed. (Hear, hear. ) My Lord, it is impossible to look around on those who are present this day, and to hear the sentiment* which have been uttered this evening, without feeling that in the principles upon which you govern your Colonial Empire there sliould be nothing inconsistent with those upon which you govern your Indian Empire, if you wish to retjiin that Empire, as I hope that it will be long retained, aa the most glorious appendage to the British Crown. My Lord, there were two things which have struck me very forcibly in all that we have heard this evening. One is that under whatever form you send forth your children to colonise and create nations, it is impressed strongly upon their minds, and upon your minds, that the best guarantee for the government of those dependencies is that you take it for granted that they know something of what they owe to them- selves. And there is a second great principle, and that is, that when any difference of opinion arises, and that when any difficulties present themselves for adjustment, they are best adjusted, not by imposing your commands upon your dependencies, but by inviting discussion and threshing out the wheat of the truth. I believe, my Lord, that these principles may be usefully acted upon, and that they are the only principles upon which you can act with regard to your Indian Empire. I feel, my Lord, that it is a good augury for these princijjles being carried out that you have this evening not forgotten what a large share of the universjility of England belongs to India, and I trust that this Society will never forget to include India among its objects. (Hear, hear.) It is true, my Lord, that with regsu-d to the Colonies 24 Proceedings at the you liavo fnrnislicd the whole material of which those Colonies arc foni])osed, or, at any rate, the greater portion of it ; but we must not I'orgct tliat in India yon fnrnish the cement which binds together all those components parts to which Sir Stafford Northcote has mide allusion, and that if that cement did not exist, there could be no peace, there could be no i)rosperity, and there could be no civilisation for India. I trust, my Lord, that England will long continue to bear in mind those great principles on which the Colonies have been founded, in administering the Indian Empire. I will not further detain you, but will return you the hearty thanks, which I feel assured will be participated in by all classes in India, when they know that you hare borne them in mind on this occasion upon which you are inaugurating this Society, which I trust will have a very important influence on the future interests both of India and of the Colonies. 3[r. Arthur Kinnaird. — My Lord, it has fallen to my lot to replace one who would have given the toast which I am about to propose Avith ilir greater ability than I can, from his long connection with the Colony, and who is more entitled than myself to propose the toast which has been allotted to me — I mean Viscovmt T^Ionck, whose absence I regret. I was called upon to visit the Canadian Colony in an oflicial capacity, and I look upon it as one of the happiest days of my life when I set foot in that new Dominion of Canada. I will only say, that from the time when I Pet foot in that Colony, till the day when I left it, nothing was more re- freshing or more gratiiying to an Englishman than to see the cordial and hearty welcome from every corner of that Dominion, which hailed every man who came from the ^Mother-country. lam sorry that my excellent friend the American INIinister has left us, because I was going to apolo- gise to him tor giving this toast; but, in fact, no man in this room has a greater admiration for the United Stjites or for the ' Stjirs and Stripes' than I have. I rejoice that my excellent friend gave expression in his own words, Avith so much goodwill, to what is the feeling of that country. The Minister for the Colonies has made two very remarkable revelations to us. I congratukite my honourable friend near me, who has to return thanks for this toast, that Canada is going to sjiread its arms. We shall have one stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and I think that we shall see the day when British Columbia will be in- cIikIihI, and our whole China trade Avill conic in that legitimate course, and not by California. (ientlemen, Avith respect to the restoration of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, I am glad that as Vicount Monck has failed to be ])ifsent on this occasion, it has fallen to my lot t(^)ropose this t^jast on his belialf, he being the first to receive that Order. I beg you to drink lln' toast of Tlie New Dominion and the Colonies in the West.' 'file toast, was drunk amidst cluicrs. Tim lion. W. MucdovjaU. — My Lord Bury, my Lords and Geutlemeu, S 1 J^iaugural Dinner. 35 I feci una])lo to express to yoii the gratification which this meeting haa aflbrded to me as a colonist and as a native of Canada. I think that I see, and that you will see, in this gathering, and in the speeches which have been delivered to-night, great encouragement from those who are around this board. I think that I can see an evidence of the cessjition of that feeling of dissatisfaction which was beginning to show itself in some of our Colonies — a feeling which I am sorry to say is of the worst consequences to .this country, and which for the last three or four years I have discovered to exist to some extent here also — namely, that the connection between the Mother-country and some of the Colonies, at all events, is one which is not of very great value to this country, whatever it may be to them. My Lord, a few years ago, the leading public men of all political Bhades in Canada made up their minds, that if they wished to have the benefit of the Constitutional Government which they derived from this country, and wished to participate in the Government of the country, it was necessary to re-construct that Government. They laid their heads together. Some of them gave up those special projects which political parties sometimes entertain, and they endeavoured to form a union of all the American Colonies as a portion of this Empire. They found on coming to this country, for the purpose of getting an Imperial Act to give them a re-constitution of new Government, that both political parties strongly symj^athised in that Act, and the result has been that it has been passed. And, my Lord, I am happy to state that that Con- Btitution has proved a perfect success. Dissjitisfaction, of course, pre- vailed in some quarters. It is difficult to prevent it in a country like om-s, Avhere every man reads a newspaper, and almost every man thinks that he can write one ; but almost every one has accepted the new Con- stitution with great satisfaction. It has worked successfully ; the Local Governments organised under it have passed a great many Bills, and up to the present time we have been sustained by a very handsome majority. My Lord, there is a circimistance which has attracted some notice in tliis country. One of the Provinces has made some little objection ; but 1 am happy to announce, that the leading man in that movement has become a Member of the Government, and I have no doubt wiU work efjually zealously to carry out the new system of government. ^ly Lord, I feel that after the various suggestions which have been made with regard to brevity, and the lateness of the hour, my task is nearly tinislied ; but Lord Granville's remarks with regard to a very important question, and Sir Stafford Northcote's remarks, will go out to the public. That great territory of British America, which hitherto has been under the control of a commercial company, is about to be transferred to the New Dominion, and upon that, British Columbia will i-casonal)ly ask to bo annexed. Already Newfoundland has passed r(,!i)elutions l)y its Legislature, and by other means, I believe, unaui- 26 Proceedings at the mously asking to be admitted to the Confederacy, bo that in a ahort time we shall have one imited Central Power over the whole oi British North America ; and I would aak you, Gentlemen, to ca:t your eye over the map of British North America, and you will sec '^lat this new Government constitutes one half of the North American ci -iiinent. With reference to the terms which my Lord Granville has proposed, I shall not discuss them here ; but I am afraid that he will have some difficulty in defending them in another place. I must say that in the whole of this difficult and important negotiation, we have experienced every disposition on the part of the Imperial Government to listen to our arguments, although it has not always been convinced by them. And at last a proposition is made which I think is not quite fair to the taxpayers, or the subjects of this country, some of whom I hope will shortly go to that country, where thousands upon thousands of acres are waiting to be cultivated by the poor of England. I think that the terms which have been proiwsed are unfair to the people of Canada, but yet they are not such as to prevent the union of this new country with ours, and they are not so onerous that they cannot be carried out. I shall be satisfied, as having had some share in this negotiation, if the result in a very short time shall be to create in British North America a great power enjoying free institutions as its crowning influence. I shall rejoice if that experiment shall prove a success, and if we, running a race alongside our neighbours, willing to live in peace and good feeling with them, and borrowing everything from them which previous experience has proved to be beneficial, shall enjoy at the same time all those great principles of government, and all those grand ideas which we have derived from you, and shall work out in the New World the principles of the British system of government. I shall only say that the other Colonies of the West are included in this toast. I, of course, as may be readily .supposed, have a very slight knowledge of those Colonies. It was my good fortune two or three years ago to endeavour to establish a better system of trade between North America and our West India Colonies, and the conclusion which I came to was that in those Colonies you have an active, enterprising body of all classes. We found that the universal feeling was in lavour of connection with this country, and their desire to pcq)etuate that connection was as strong as it was in our minds ; and the institutions which they enjoyed under the protection of the Mother-country were those which they wished to enjoy so long as they could. (Hear, hear.) My Lord, we return to you, and to those gentlemen who have been active in the formation of this Society, our sincere thanks for the inauguration of an Institution such as this is likely to be. On all questions of knowledge we have ibund great dilficulty in obtaining information. There is no conunon centre — no place where you can tind maps and iulbrmation, and can consult with reference to matters Inaugural Dinner. 27 of colonial interest ; and I trust that when this Society has established itself, and given itself a local habitation, people will be able in this country to obtain the means of information. (Cheers.) Chairman. — My Lords and Gentlemen, before the next toast is given, I have to make an announcement to you in two words. I would preface it, if you would allow me, by saying, ' Happy is the nation which has no history.' It is curious how, if a hare is started everyone runs after it, and on this occasion I almost regret to say that the con- versjition has mainly turned upon the subject of our North American Colonies. Now, Gentlemen, I am quite conscious that more than half of those who sit at our tjible to-day belong to the Colonies which we have designated as the Colonies in the East — I mean Australia, New Zealand, and the Colonies in that direction. The noble Duke who returned thanks for the House of Lords to-night reminds me that he is a New Zealandor. He is owner of property in New Zealand, and he, I believe, has held it for many years with great advantage to himself, as well as with great advantage to the country. I admit that at the present moment negotiations are in progress with respect to Canada, and no negotiations are in progress with respect to the Austra- lian Colonies. It is for that reason that the Canadian Colonies have been mentioned with a prominence to-night which has somewhat ex- cluded our Australian Colonies. The toast which I am now about to call upon my noble friend Lord Alfred Churchill to propose, was to have been proposed by the late Secretary for the Colonies, his Grace the Duke of Buckingham. I had a telegram from him, stating that his Grace was prevented by circumstances over which he had no con- trol from attending the dinner to-day. I regret it extremely, because, from the very beginning of our Society — when it was first thought of — the Duke of Buckingham was one of our most strenuous supporters. He was the first person to whom we applied for assistance — he was the first who recommended the Society to the various Colonies, and he watched over us with the most fostering care ; and I could have wished that the toast of the Australian Colonies should have come with the ability and authority which he would have carried with it, and that he should have been present to propose it. I therefore wish to announce that it is only the circumstance of the Assize Judges visit- ing the part of the world in which his Grace is now detained, that prevents him from being here to-day. But I am quite sure that in calling ujwn my noble friend Lord Alfred Churchill to propose this toast, I place it in the hands of one who can do it justice, and who will discharge the trust committed to him with that kindness and atfability and eloquence for which he is so distinguished. Lord Alfred Clnirchill. — ]\Iy Lord Bury, my Lords and Gentlemen, I have been called upon very unexpectedly, and at a very short notice, to propose one of the most important toasta of this evening. I thank 28 Proceedinys at the your Lort ..hip for having mentioned tho cause which has occasioned the absence of tho Duke of Buckingham, because it only boars out what I say, namely, that I was totally unprepared to propose this toast. We have heard, I'rom the right hon. gentleman the Prime Minister, tho evil consequences which resulted from the Colonial Policy which existed in former years, and how it was supposed that the interest of tho Mother-country could only be maintained in the (.'olonies by what wjis called the 'English party ' ; but not only has this English party sub- sided, but tho Colonies themselves have started into life, witli a vigour unprecedented in the history of tl"; globe. Wo have now in the Australian dependencies seven Colonies, six of these enjoying sojjarate and distinct Legislative Parliaments. They are engaged with ques- tions deeply affecting tlie interests of tho Colonies, and which we in this country may do well to consider with regard to future legislative action. I trust that we are shortly about to carry out one system in this country which has received its initiation in that country, namely, tliat affecting the purity of elections. Another question which wo may do well to consider, is one alfecting the more easy transfer of Luid. This system has been introduced into nearly the whole of the Colonies, and with great success. The introducer of that question is now in the House of Connuons, and no doubt it will be brought before the Imperial Parliament for discussion. There are also other questions which these Parliaments are discussing among themselves, and if they succeed there, they will also be discussed in this country, with respect to the Legislature of the country. Gentlemen, these are questions of very great importance. Tliere are also other questions, such as Emigration. We are weighted down here by pauperism, which cranqis our energies in every direction. It appears to me to be a most important duty of this Society to discuss these questions, and then we can discuss with the greatest advantage liow we can promote emigra- tion i'rom this country to those Colonies. Gentlemen, I heartily and sincerely congratulate the noble Lord ibr the energy which he lias displayed in promoting this Society, It is one which ibr many years (and I am certain that every colonist in this room will bear me out) there has been a very great desire to possess. We are now inaugurat- ing this Society under the most favourable auspices, and I trust that it may last up to a tinic when its inlluence shall be felt throughout tho wliole country. With these few observations I bog to propose tho toast of ' Australia and the Colonics in the East,' and with that toast I will connect the name of Sir Charles Nicholson. The toast was enthusiastically drunk. t^ir Chdvlcs Nicholson. — My Lords and Gentlemen, at this late hour of the evening, when I see so many of our friends anxious to depart, and when I fear that your attention must have been wearied by the number of speeches to which you have ah-eady listened, I Icel that it Inaugural B'mnnr. fiO will bo impoRsiblo for mc to troapasa at any lonj^th upon your timo in conveying to you my thanks for the tf)ast wliich you have drunk. The Australian Colonics have been placed the last in the prograninio of the evening. This, 1 believe, has been in some measure accidental, and in some mea,surc attributable to the fact that those Colonies are tho youngest of all tho great group of Colonies belonging to tho British Empire. But though tho last brought before your notice, I am sure that it will be admitted by all British subjects that they .are not the least in the estimation of the British public. (Hear, hoar.) I nnist state that I believe that one important object will be achieved by the inauguration of this Society. There is on the part of all colonists, lirth in the Colonies and when they arrive in England, a feeling of disiippointment and jealousy at the indifferonce and ignorance which prevail on the part of English people generally with regard to those Colonies. Those who have lived in the Colonies and have witnes:'-jrer? Inaugural Meetinr/. 35 who formed it ; and that such service alone would be sufficient answer to those who ask us what good objects we propose to ourselves. I need not point out that there is no society, no body of men in existence in England, ujion whom such duties could devolve. The Co- lonial Office is occupied with departmental and in some cases adminis- trative details; it is clearly no part of the duty of that office to enter into controversy on fundamental questifns, such as the advisability of retaining Colonies at all. Parliament will once in a while discuss a Colonial question ; but its Order Book is already overcrowded with questions of immediate concern, which must be settled out of hand, lest they impede the work of practical day-to-day legislation. Parliament clearly has no time to argue on fundamental questions, or to refute docti-ines which, however insidiously they may be possessing them- selves of the public mind and influencing the course of future legisla- tion, are not yet within the matter-of-fact limits which the Legislature rarely overstejis. No existing society, it is obvious, will undertake the duty. The Geographical Society may, and indeed often will, touch Tipon a colonial subject incidentally ; so may the Ethnological, the Statistical, the Antiquarian, and many other learned bodies. But the particular cause which I am at this moment alluding to has hitherto found no champion — no champion, I mean, in any corporate society like our own. Many a gallant knight has put lance 'n rest and run a tilt against the half-knowledge and perverted reasoning upon which the opponents of colonisation rely. But without undervaluing in the least the abilities and the courage which those champions have dis- played, it may be confessed that they have needed the support which an organised body like our own, widely acquainted witli the subject, will, I hope, hencefortli be able to accord. From what I have mentioned above, our visitors (for on such a point I need not insist to the Fellows of our Society) will perceive that while it has been nobody's busineSvS to defend, the writers who attack and would dismember our Empire have grown into a regular school of politicians — keen, ready, and able. It is not one of the least important facts that the doctrines of that school have been enunciated from a pro- fessorial chair in our oldest imiversity — I need hardly say that I speak of Mr. Goldwin Smith. It is impossible to speak with too great admi- ration of the brilliant eloquence, the consummate mastery of his mother tongue, and the reasoning powers of Professor Smith. As specimens of nervous English, in my oj)inion, some passages of Professor Smith's writings are unsurpassed within the range of modern literature; but in proportion as he is brilliant, he is dangerous. The principal charac- teristic of Professor Smith's writings is the use of sarcasm, and a con- .t^tant and, to superficial readers, apparently complete reduction of the principles and arguments of his opponents ad nbfuirdiim. No one who knows the immense eflect exercised upon youthful and clever muids I) 2 . I II vnmvi^mm/mmmii9flfWKn^ 36 Froceedings at the by ridicule skilfully applied, can doubt that Professor Smith's influence' upon his young disciples must have been immense. It is therefore somewhat startling to reflect — and it is a thought which must nerve our Society to exertion — that the intellect of the rising generation of writer thinkers, politicians, lawyers, headworkers in all branches cf pcienct " ' 'en attacked at the founUiin-head, and, so far as the in- fluence oi . ast one great master goes, turned against us. For one man, theretoie, who holds doctrines favourable to the dismemberment of our Empire at the present day, we may expect to find ten at a future time ; and the class of objectors we shall then have to meet will be one especially difficult to encounter. The beneficial results of a great Confedi-ration can never fully be reduced to pajier, catalogued, ticketed, for the refutation of tlu)se who contest theni ; and the disadvantages lie upon the surface, and lend themselves easily to the sarcastic and qnasi-utilitiirian style of the new school. Do we speak of the advan- tjiges (jf unity, the cohesive power of a common loyalty and a common nationality ? What more easy than Vr, urge ihat money down is more than union, that loyalty is but a name, and to demonstrate with lofty scorn that prestuje is but a foreign name for cheating, that the boasted influence of our consolidated Empire is itsilf but a sham and a delu- sion ? The existence of such a school as this would of itself be a suffi- cient reason for the existence of our Society. But we have many others. It will form a centre to which those who come home from the colonies will at once graviUite. The mere advantages of an address to which letters may be sent, and at which appointments can be made, is an incidentid advantage which would equally be afforded by an hotel or club, if siich an establishment existed. But the little ' if in this ca.se is fatal to the supposition. '\\'hile. tlieretbre, wo cannot flatter oiu-- Eelvea that our position as a learned body will be improved by this feature of our Society, it is a matter of satisfaction to us that we shall, from the necessity of the case, become of importance socially to those who, for business or pleasure, leave the shores of outer Britain to find themselves in tin; great desert of London. Registers of the names and addresses, not only of members, but of other inhabiUmts of our Colonies, will be a matter, slight in appearance perhaps, but -if great convenience. As ar) illustration of this point I may be permitted to say, that when it was first proposed last year to constitute this Society, one of the main difficulties which had to be encountered was the insuperable difficulty of discovering the abodes of those who wei'e at that time temporarily so- journing in England. It is obvious that luuler such circunist.jices organisJition for any purjiose whatever was impossil)Ie. A subject which rei|uired the co- operation of all the residents in a particular Colony — and such occasions were of constant occurrence — fell alwavs, and li'om the necessity of the case, into the hands of a small knot of friends wLu happened to lie accjuainted with each other's address. How many Inaugural Meeting. 37 •promising negotiations may have failed from the narrowness of the basis upon which they were thus unavoirlably built we shall never know. We may at least hope that no mischance will arise from such causes in future. The Society will, I trust, permit me now for a short time to address myself more particularly to those who have honoured us with their presence here this evening as visitors, and to those outsi^ie our own circle who may j^erchance be reached by the printed report of our proceedings this evening. I venture to address myself to them be- cause I cannot hope, in speaking of the nature and grandeur of our Empire as a whole, to convey any ideas which are not familiiir to the minds of Fellows of our Society. But to others, whose thoughts have not been directed to the lands which lie outside Elnglish limits but beneath the British sceptre, it may bo that a glance at their nature and extent may convey a new, and perhaps more definite, conception of the Empire which the disciples of dismemberment would abandon. Every one will remember the pretty conceit of the American orator, Daniel Webster, who illustrated the extent of the militaiy power of England by declaring that as the day broke upon each successive meri- dian, the morning drum-beat, following the sun in his rising, girdled the earth with an uninterrupted strain of the martial music of Eng- land. You Avill observe that the statement is literally true. Another great orator, Mr. Gladstone, at the Inaugural Dinner of our Society, reminded us that there was scarcely a degree of longitude or a parallel of latitude that Avas not represented at our Board. Scarcely has the Bun passed our meridian, when it is high noon in Western Africa, where the British flag waves ever the Gold Coast, St. Helena, and the Gambia River. Then follow to the west the solitary waters of the Atlantic. But the land which on the American continent lies lurtheat to the east is British groxmd. Newfoundland is the first to salute the rising sun — thcTi Prince Edward's Island, Nova Scotia, and the West Indies. Then follow in succession the broad and fertile fields and forests of the Canadas, and the large tracts of country watered by the Saskatchewan, a stream which runs, through fitteen degrees of longitude, from the Kocky Mountains to the Great Lakes, and whose boundless I)lains will at no distant day be the gi'anary of the world. Then follow the Kocky Mountains and British Columbia. Next in order are New Zealand, the vast continent of Australia, Ceylon, and British India, witli its deiiendent Stiites. From thence isolated posts, such as Aden, Malta, and Gibraltar, and the important Colonies of Natal and the Cape of Good Hope, bring us back to the point from which we started. It has not been my duty to-night to say one word upon tlie history, the social character, or the jx)litical condition of these coiuitries. I will only remark that these are the lands which it is the object of our Society to bring into closer association ; that they all obey laws based II mi BL^ «. ^TFiimwmfmmmmmwm 88 Proceedings at the upon the same code, and i'ramed immediately or ultimately by the same authority ; that the English flag waves over every Ibrt ; that troops owing allegiance to our Queen, whether they be Imperial or Colonial, garrison every citadel ; that the social conditions of English life are repeated with more or less modification in all ; that the character of our race, stern, self-reliant, obedient to authority, jealous of personal lionour and of personal liberty, has been indelibly stamped upon them ; that, in fact, they are all offshoots from the same parent stem ; that in each and all of them, though seas roll betAveen them, and month-long journeys separate them from these shores, every English-speaking lip in every one of these places, so various, so remote, spea.v of our dear country as * Home ! ' Three nations — the Spaniards, the French, and the English — al- most contemporaneously commenced the work of colonisation as soon as the new continent was discovered. Each of these has branded its own impress on the nations it founded. Neither Spain, France, nor , England holds a foot of the territory it originally possessed. Yet, although there is in each instance a radical difference between one sign- manual and another, in each the mark is indelible. It is easy to see that the national character of the inhabitants of the American continent is oAving to the character of the parent land rather than to other causes. In old nations the foundation of national character must be found in lar-off causes. The geographical position, the mildness or severity of climate, the degree of fertility of the soil, the growth of manners, the development of laws, the accidents of conquest or of defeat, the oc- currences of plagues or famine, physical causes repeated through centuries, have moulded history. But these causes take ages to work. In America and in Australia race is almost the only cause of the national peculiarities. The Mexican or Peruvian is emphatically Spanish ; the English Canadian, the citizen of the United States, or the inhabitant of South Australia, are pure Anglo-Saxon. The French Canadian habitant is still 'n manner and feeling French, as his ancestor was in the days of Montcaini and De Sevi. To undei'stand the emigrant we must study the mother-land, • watch it as it emei'ges liom barl)arism, note its conduct among tlie rude shocks of the fifteenth and sixteentli centuries. We must observe the growth of the haughty and intolerant spirit of Spain, the persever- ing independence of the fishermen and burghers of Holland, the island pride and pluck of the English, and the obstinate adherence of the French to the anticjuated customs of the feudal system. The English Colonies were in no case formed in the sfmie way as those of Spain and France. The Spaniards founded, on the coTmtrie« around the Mexican Gulf, a military colony. They rapidly spread over the mainland. One adventurer conquered IMexico, a second seized Florida, a third overran Peru. The vast territory which they possessed Inaiigural Meeting. 8a. was governed with a rigour which no other nation ever attempted to exercise. The Spaniards admitted no foreigner into tlieir Colonies, oa pain of death. Their commercial policy has been aptly described as a monument of systematic tyranny. The Creoles fared as badly as the native races. All, however, was in the hands of an oligarchy composed exclusively of Castilians, who wielded it with such cruelty that the whole race of American Spaniards, in a few generations, had arrived at the last stage of degeneracy. The haughty coarage of their race died out. The descendants of the Conquistadores forgot the use of arms. The French established on the St. Lawrence a State on the model of their own. Seigneurs, armed with all the authoiity of feudal law, levied droits d'aubaine and droits de moulinage upon the inhabitants of Canadian hamlets, with tlie same unsparing rigour as at home. The settler emigrated at the desire of his feudal lord ; the locality of his home was determined, not by his own choice, but by the exigencies of militJiry service. The nucleus of every village was a stockade. Every seigneury was conceded with a view to its strategic position. The settler's minutest action was superintended by his superiors ; he was drawn for military service by an imsparing conscription. His temper, gay and volatile, submitted easily to this galling yoke. The peasant was content to remain a serf; his seigneur was born a member of a governing caste into which he had no chance of admission. The English adopted a course entirely diilerent from tliis. The rulers of England saw their subjects depart for the New World without interference or guidance. Sometimes they were abitrarily interfered with ; but in the main, they received from the Government that which has been happily called the inestimable boon of its neglect. A few poor emigrants left England for the temperate latitudes of America. They suffered much Irom neglect and hunger ; many died ; some took to pir.;cy; but the remnant estiiblished a foothold in the wilderncsg. Vacancies in their ranks were filled by fugitives fi-om, religious persecution, from political persecution, from justice. Gra- dually they drove back the Indians ; they made farms and hoipesteads. As their niunbers increased, they convoked assemblies and made laws for their own guidance. Occasionally, some great English gentleman or court favourite would obfaiin from his royal master the grant of an im- mense district, to which he transported a few families, wdio became the founders of a new Colony. Anyone was thought good enough for the Plantations ; Avhen honest Imsbandmen were not to be had, persons of loose life, discarded serving-men, and the sweepings of the hulks, were accepted. But the patentee usually got tired of his Itargain, and sold his interest, or withdrew, leaving his people to grow up unassisted. The settlers sjjrang from a race which had struggled too fiercely for liberty at home to relax their hold of it in America ; they grew more self-reliant, more intlependent every year. Their fierce temper ■^^"f" "^'^^^PiiPPiWP^P 40 Proceedings at the I ,, brought them often into coUiaion Avith the Mother-country. When a sect was persecuted, its members took refuge in the Plantations ; thus there was a constant relay of combative men fresh from successive scenes of strife. When Protestants had the ascendant, Catholics were persecuted and fled ; when Catholics were in power, Protestant victims crowded to the sanctuary. As time went on, their ranks were re- cruited from many nations and many creeds. They absorbed Dutch, Swedes, and Germans ; Koman Catholic fugitives, Puritan fugitives, Calvinist fugitives ; loyal men ; traitors ; men flying for conscience' sake; the scum of the gaols and bagnios; men emigrating to avoid the pressure of want ; men kidnapped in the streets of Bristol and Glasgow, and sold for slaves. But the two main branches of the emigrants still preserved their distinguislnug characteristics. The men of Maine re- tained the republican temper of the Puritans, the Colonies of Virginia and Carolina preserved to the last their loyalty to the Crown, Though they by no means forgot their mutual animosity, these fierce exiles ■were ready, at any attempt at interference, to make conmion cause. They became the freest people on earth ; they were brave, self-reliant, turbulent, impatient of authority. The policy of England towards them was to let their internal aflairs alone, and to make as much money as possible out of their trade. They were absolutely unused to control; trifles at which the French or Spanish emigrant Avould have smiled, gricances which would have seemed to the colonists of another nation no grievances at all, roused the Anglo-Sjvxon to madness, and were eagerly seized on as a pretext for revolt. While the American Colonies were growing up into importance under the sway of various European Powers, the Australian continent, though it had been discovered bv a French commander in the sixteenth cen- tury, still showed no signs of life. It was first colonised in 1788, in consequence of the report of Captain Cook. I call upon our Australian friends to remember that this year we celebrate their great centenary. It was in 1709 that Captain Cook, having sailed to the Antipodes for the purpose of observing the transit of Venus, sailed round New Zealand, made the co.ist of New South Wales, and explored the coast about Port Jackson. A few years more, and the loss of the thirteen North American Provinces made it neces- sary to seek a new field for our surplus population. Considerations of humanity, arising out of the well-known cannibal proclivities of the Maoris, forbade at that time the settlement of New Zealand. ' In 1821 free emigration commenced, and ('.e Australian settlements quickened into new life. One by one institutions which we recognise as the foundations of our own national stability, took vigorous root at the Antipodes. Trial by jury, a Legislative Council, embodying some of the elements of the elective principle, were followed, a few years T' Inaugural Meeting. 41 later, by a more distinctly elective Legislative Assembly. In 1855, the year of constitutions, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, entered upon their career of self-taxation and self-govern- ment. But the great year of Australia — the year in which its latent powers burst forth in full energy — was 1851. That was the year of the gold discovery. The one thing needed to develope the resources of the vast untrodden field of enterprise, to draw population to its shores, to provide at once the stimulus and the material for any degree of progress, was found where it was needed. From thenceforth the growth and the advancement of the Australian Colonies have been the marvel of our times. The solitudes of half-a-century — of a tpiarter of a century ago — now throb with the busy life of croAvded cities ; the lately silent waters are ploughed by steamers; the wilderness is traversed by railroads. A still later growth is the settlement of New Zealand. It was first settled by the Church Missionary Society, who established a post in the 15ay of Islands in 1814. The New Zealand Company, in 1837, carried on the work of colonisation, and in 1852 representative government — consisting of a Governor, a Legislative Council, and a House of liepre- sentatives — was finally established. It is not my duty to-night to describe those great and varied posses- sions of our race. It will be enough if I menti on the great extent of territory Avhich will be open to the operations of our Society. The glance which I have cast at them as we made our circle of the globe, will have recalled to the minds of those present their great extent, their power, their social as well as political importance. You will not think me unduly pertinacious if I again and again recur to the main object of this address — the importance of our Society. Each of the de- pendencies I have noted is more or less isolated. They have no com- mon centre, no point of social reunion in this country — no mart, if I may use the expression, to which their members can bring the treasures of their information — no body of associates to whom they can turn for the advantages of counsel or discussion — no Forum to whose consideration a suggestion could be submitted or a crotchet ventilated with the cer- tainty of an appreciative audience ; no place in which a colonial hobby may be made to exhibit his graceful paces with the certamty of ready and at the same time discriminating spectators. Our Society proposes to oflfer such a centre. The cordial response with which its proposals have been met, sufficiently prove the value, I had almost Siiid the grandeur, of the idea. Already, almost belbre our Society is duly constituted, we nvmiber Tipwards of two hundred Fellows. "We have in our Treasurers hands a sum of 700Z. We have a Council, and a body of Vice Presidents, of whom it does not be- come me to speak in terms of fitting eulogy, but of whom I may vea- 42 Proceedings at the ture .it least to say this miicli — tluit the social and acquired position of that body, some of them famous in politics, some in arts, and some in arms, affords at least a guarantee that the great aims with which the Society starts upon its carter, will not be lost sight of, nor will the ma- chinery of the Society be permitted in their hands to subberve merely trifling or insignificant uses. One of the objects which the Society proposes to itself, is to afford an opportunity of reading and discussing at our periodical meetings jwipers by its Fellows on subjects of iiiterost connected with the Colonies. It is probable, if I may judge from the nature and variety of the subjects which are already selected as topics by some of our members, that these papers will embrace subjects the most diverse, and perhaps at first sight the most disconnected. IMany of our Colonies are separated from each other by the semi-circumference of the globe, and that man from each of the places so widely separated, will discourse of what he knows best, and of circumstances which surround him at homo. It will be well, therefore, to keep steadily in view on one hand the connecting links which couple together our scattered Colonies, and on the other tho kind and extent of their divergence. The link will, I think, speaking generally, be found in the unity of i-ace, the cause of divergence in tho difference of fortimeand position which that race has experienced. It will be difficult, nay imj)ossible, to maintain any degree of imity in our proceedings, unless we kc'.'p steadily in view the fact that there is a bond which iniites the members of our scattered family, and makes that which is interesting and useful to one part in some degree interesting to all. One principal point which distinguishes our Society from others, is that its functions may bo Siiid to commence where those of Societies already in operation end. For instance, a geographical discovery is in- teresting to the Society which is especially devoted to the study of that science. An accoimt of the discovery is read at a meeting of the So- ciety, and the subject is dismissed. Now the interest of this Society in such a discovery, supposing it to be made in one of our dependencies, is of a more abiding character. Let us suppose that some explorer discovers a new and practicable pass from the district of the Saskat- chewan over the Kocky IMountiiins to the Pacific. A description of the geographical particulars thus made known, would produce an in- teresting and animated discussion at the Geographical Society. But as soon as the ne\v bione had been added to the cairn of geographical science, immediate interest in the matter would cease. Not so with us. A new highway for trade would have been discovered, which would materially af!ect the advancement and prosperity of two of our Colo- nies. We should watch with interest its gradual development. The increase of traffic, the new facilities offered to emigration, the engineer- ing difficulties offered by the road itself, would be to our Society a con- Inaugural Meeting. 43 tinual source of interest. We slioukl welcome, if not for reading at our meetings, at any rato to be tiled and preserved for future inibrmation, short notices on all these points from Fellows of our Society residing on the spot. In like manner matters touching upon the history or antiquities of our Colonies — their trade, their mines, their finance, the progress towards civili«ition or decay of their aboriginal tribes — all will be to us a source of interest. "We shall store up information against the day of neea upon the progress made among our scattered peoples in the arts and sciences. We sliall chronicle discoveries of new material adapted for the purposes of manufacture, or the apjjlication of those already in ex- istence to new purposes. We shall watch^with interest the experiments now making in pisciculture and in acclimatisation, and we shall keep a special jjigeon-hole for the descriptions of those ingenious inventions which, owing to the stimulus of the stern mother of invention, are so characteristic of young nations and of pioneer settlers in the wilderness. In ship-building, bridge-making, road-building — a thoussind matters which are now consigned to the tomb in the form of paragraphs in back numbers of newspapers — will, we hope, be kept like good weapons, bright and fit for service, instead of being, like old and rusty armour, cast aside as useless. We shall net reject an occasional paper on archeology ; and notices of the fauna and ilora of our Colonies will find a ready welcome. Dis- coveries and additions to the knowledge already acquired of zoology and botany are daily being made in the ever-virgin fields of Australia and New Zealand. In short, no subject, if it only serves to render more complete our knowledge of the history and development of our Colonies, will be unwelcome. If the idea of the original founders of tiiia Society be adetjuately carried out, the historian, the politician, the antiquary, the writer or speaker on Colonial subjects, will find ready to his hand and in good order the special information he re(iuires. I need hardly remind tho Vellows of the Society that an organisjition so complete will demand time to accomplish, cordial and zealous co-operation among oil the members of the Scciety, and lastly, patience, and a moderate supply of the sinews of war. I remember that Turner, the great painter, once said that one of the great secrets of success was to be jiatient of incompleteness. He illustrated his remark by his own art, observing that the man of genius who already saw in his mind's eye the completed picture, even when the first tints were hardly dry upon his canvas, Avas apt, by impatience at the want of harmony observable during its progress, and by imdue haste to realise his ideal, to delay, and even altogether to prevent, its ultimate realisiition. I venture to apply the aphorism to our own case. Let no Fellows of our Society expect too much. The reaUsiitiou of a li 44 Proceedings at the great scheme must be slow. Let none ahimdoTi us beonuse we have not conic up to his ideal, unless ho has first H;itisHe(l himself that tlio incompIotencs.T to which he objoets is not removable by time and labour; and let ur. remember that if the man of genius seems to com- mand success, it is \n nine cases out of ton because by patience and labour ho deserves it. (Great cheering.) Mr. Chichester Foviescue. — Ladies and Gentlemen, in performing in a very few words a most pleasing task, that of moving a vote of thanks to our distinguishiid President for his Inaugural Address to-night, you will allow me first of all to congratulate the Colonial Society on the very important event in its history which has taken place this evening. It so happened that, upon the invitation and suggestion of my noble friend near me (Lord Bury), I saw something of the very earliest days — I may say hours — of the Colonial Society. D g the en- forced absence of my noble friend, it was my tbrtm ' pleasure to give a few rocks as it were to the cradle of this .■:>uciety, which lias to-night arrived, we may safely say, at nifui's estate, because to- night this Society, liaving been making its way for months past by the assiduous labours of many — some of whom are here, and some arc not here — in comparative privacy and obscurity, has at last, I am happy to see, in this spacious hall, imdcr promising and dignified cir- cumstfiDces, emerged, I was going to sjiy into the sunlight, but I ought to say into the full gaslight of other learned Societies ; because wo all know that this is the time of the tAventy-four hours, and this is the light under which all learned Societies conduc: their proceedings. Well, Gentlemen, all the circumstances are propitious. We meet, as ■we have been told by our President, under the favour and hospitality of one of the most distinguished Societies in this coinitry, which certainly would not have extended its hospitality to us if it had not considered us worthy of that kindness even in the earliest days of our existence. Wo have had the advantage of an Inaugural Address which, I venture to say, lias sketched with a rapid and comprehensive hand the whole field of onr Colonial Empire, and of the duties of a Society like the present. You will agree with me, I think, that this sketch which we liave had from my noble friend, is a sufficient proof in itself of the ample work which this Society will have to exist. (Cheers.) It is certainly not the business of the Colonial I)efi!'.rtmerit of the (lovernment, and I doubt whether it is ths business of this Society, to rpiestion tho.se fundamental actions which lie at the very root of our Colonial Empire. It is the business of a Society like this, us it is of the Colonial Ollice, to retiiin ii Inaugural Meeting, 45 tin- Colonics, and bolicving as I do tliat our Colonial Empire will live, and that this Society will live, I am firmly convinced that this Society," will make good use of its existence, and have an anijjle field I'or all its lienefits. (rcntlcmen, it will recjnire but few words of mine to induce yon to give your licarty thanks to my noble friend near mo, not only lor his Address to-nigiit — which is the least part, however eloquent it may be — of what he has done for us. This Society is indebted to him for his energy, and the interest he has taken in it from first to last. It seems to me that my Jioble friuiul, among the public men of this country, is of all others I could mention marked out for an enterprise like the present. (Cheers.) For many reasons, public and private, Avhich I ujed not enlarge upon here, my noble friend has taken a deep interest in the Colonies, and has long formed in the ranks ol' English politics and English society a link between the Mother- country and a very important Colony. It is under those circumstances liis natural influence, his abilities, and his remarkable energy, have marked him out as exactly the man best fitted to start a Society like the present; and I venture to say he has done what we have not always been in the habit of doing, made the best possible use of those opportimities he has had, in the cause of the Colonial Society. I ask you, therefore, with the greatest confidence, auguring as 1 do a happy and useful future for this Society, to retqrn your hearty thanks, not only for to-night's proceedings, lint for the origination and conduct of this Society to this moment, to my noble friend, Lord Bury. (Cheers.) The Marquis of Normunbij. — Ladies and Gentlemen, I can assure you that upon entering this room this evening 1 had not the slightest idea that I should be called upon to address you. At the siune time a vote of thanks having been moved to our noble President, and seeing no one else ready to rise and second that motion, I felt bound to tiike that duty upon myself. I think we must all congratulate ourselves most sincerely upon the promising pros])ects of this Society, I for one entertain a very high opinion of the duties which will attach to the Society, and of the advantages which are to be derived from its institu- tion. There is nothing more difficult in this country than to form a proper estimate of the Colonies. I myself have had some experi- ence of Colonial life, and I know that among Colonists astonishment is often expressed at the little interest which is manifested and the little knowledge obtainable in England as regards the Coknies. But at the same time, if you consider the question candidly, this want of know- ledge is not to be wondereil at. In young societies people are not much given to writing histories; and we also find, on reading accounts of Colonies of whicii we have any local knowledge, that those histories are fre(iuently written to cairy out the particular views and opinions of the writers — (hear, hear); and that, to a great extent, will accoimt for 46 Proceedings at the the ignorance about the Colonies. The "want of interest in them which is s\ii)posed to exist, is, I am sure, more apparent than real. The Colonies are all distant from England. We are all occupied by things which more immediately come under our notice; and though colonists naturally look on this country, as I know they do, as home, and turn their attention with great interest to the things which take place here from day to day, still they can hardly be surprised that, with the variety of Colonies possessed by this country, they are not so particularly individualised by those living in England. I may also be allowed, I think, to say, that the organs >\hich convey by each mail the intelligence of this country to the Colonies, express and give theii information in a manner more attractive than is very often found in some of the Colonial journals. At the same time I am sure that there is a deep interest felt in England as regards the Colonies, and I am su'-3 theve ought to be. There is nothing more important to this country than to find a new field for our surplus population as it largely increases, and who, whil.-t languishing here for want of employment, would be received with open arms by, and confer an inestinuibln benefit upon, those Colonies to which they might go. Now for emi- granta there is nothing so important as that they should be able to obcain accurate information regarding the Colonies *o Avhich they are about to proceed. The Colony which may suit one class of e-.nigrant may be totally imfit for another, and a man who would do well in Australia might find himself at a loss in Canada. There is no descrip- tion of skilled artisa.i, of laboiuor, of f^apitalist, who cannot find employ- ment for his skill, his labour, or his capital, in one or oth'jr of our Colonies, and that is the very thing which is required to complete the prosperity and the importance of those Colonics. I think, therefore, that one of the groat objects to which this Society ought to turn its attention, is by every means in its power to obtain and to classify, in some simple form, this most desirable information. (Hear, hoar.) As my noble friend by me has stated, all this will take time and the sinews of war; but having l)egun thus succoGsf'dly, I hope that the members of the Socioty will j)roceed energetically, and at the same time give their aid liberally, to the succcssliil carrying out of the obj^-ets of this institution. I have much pleasure. Ladies and Gentlemen, in seconding the vote of thanks to our President. (Cheers.) *S'(V Cliarles Nicholson. — Ladies and Gentlemen, I have listened with much phfasure to the able and eloquent Address of our noble Presidenr, and I should have been much gratified to av;iil myself of the opportu- nity of seconding the vote of thanks, had I not been fl"sirous that that task should l)e entrusted to more able hands than mine. I find that I was not wrong, because it has been so exceedingly well perfornu'd hy tlie noble Marquis. You have heard, in the Address of our nobh- Pre- sident, ably and clearly defined, the reasons justilying the Ibrniation ^m^^^^-^^r^r- Inaugural Meeting. 47 of thia Society ; it would be quite puperfluous for me to attempt to rocapitulute them, or to endeavoui to add to them by way of sfcvting further grounds upon whicli our union is formed. I certainly do feel, when I look back, some degree of surprise that it has never occurred — or if it has occurred, at all events, that the idea has never been acted upon — to form an association of this kind. We see people aggregated to- gether — people with kindred sympathies and kindred interests — for every possible objec'. They form combinations, tmions, and societies for car- rying out their designs. We have anticjuarian societies, we have nuisical imions, we have political societies and scientific combinations of every kind ; and yet a class of men, who ought to be imited by the strongest sympathies and the strongest possible interest, have never yet found any common bond of union such as that formed by this Society ; and it is, therefore, a matter of surprise that some su(;h organisation as this has not been hitherto provided. You have already, my Lord, expressed in your Address the many advantages u hi ch an institution of this kind holds out in various ways to the colonist arriving in England for the first time, as well as to the emigrant proceeding to the Colonies, and desiring iuformation with regard to the country to which he is going. You have already told us of the necessity of an institution which will supply the means of disabusing the minds of the people of errors which many persons are insidiously trying to instil into them. AnJ I think we may regard ourselves in some cases, without assuming a political cha- racter, as in all probability likely to become a link between the Colonies and the Imperial Government. (Hear, hear.) I say this without inferring that we are to assume any distinct political character. I Avas very glad to find that our noble Chairr^an, who has just favoured us with such an eloquentAddress, combated t;:'v)se mischievous and dangerous doctrines whicli have been put I'orth b -AAq and clever, and I am afraid somewhat unscrupulous and, notwithstc ndirg all the t^ilent they possess, imthiu.ang writers. I, in common with other colonists here present, repudiate and reject with indignation the doctrine and the inliuences of Avhich that school of writers and thinkers are the cliief exponents. I believe that, happily, they do not meet with much sympathy on the part of the public at large. There are, however, men occupying high political positions who seem carried away by the armiments of Mr. Goldwin Smith and otliers of his way of thinking, i'lieir arguments appear to me so em- pliaticully mischievous, ^>o destitute of all political sound reason, that I can hardly conceive Ik'W any sane person can put them forth, or how any one can listen to and ac'"-ei)t them. If the colonists were factious and discontented, if they sought separation from the Mother-country, and tiiat in order to maintain them in their allegiance the Parent Stiite were subjected to positive loss, tlnvtmigiit be a reason why she should endea- vour to disburden herself of them. Is this the fact ? Why, I venture to say that there is nior" loyalty in the Colonies than in the Parent State. ^|L pjl M> It^wyllflt ^nOMUAMlM*^ »*3«,»tawMa'"M in II 48 Proceedings at tlie 1 hare lived for a quarter of a century in one of the most flourish- ing and not the least important of the British Colonies, and I venture to say that there is less disloyalty towards the Parent State there than is to be found in England or any part of the United Kingdom. I can affirm, after many years' experience of the habits and conduct of the colonists, that a feeling of loyal enthusiasm has been developed amongst them iu every instance where there has been any occasion to call for its exercise. I may appeal for evidence of this to several old friends and colonists. At the conclusion of the Russian war, when the Patriotic Fund was started, when subscriptions to a large amount were being collected everywhere, there was no part of the United Kingdom where the call was responded to so liberally as it was iu Australia. I myself know that in the first instance, in Sydney, they collected as much a3 60,000Z. for that fund — a larger sum than was received in all Ireland. In Tasmania the average collected was H. a-head for every individual in the island. See what that would have amounted to had the same been done in England. You would then have had some 20,000,000/. I can speak, I think, practically as to the generosity and loyalty of every section of the community. I was associated with one of the Judges in making the collection, and in one of those divisions which was can- vassed by myself and ]\Ir. Justice Therry, we got 4,000/. in three days, going from house to house. I do not boast of this. I mention it to show the unshaken loyalty and devotion of these distant Colonies, and the pride they have in the British name, and in the possession of a common British citizenship. It seems to me, in point of fact, that it is but the mere shadow of an argument that is adduced by the writers who advocate the casting-off of the Colonies, when they say that the expense which they entail upon the Mother- country in ma intiiining troops and floets is thrown away, as it does nothing but keep up an unprofitable prsstiye of a great Empire. Well now, with regard to that, I think it is right we should understand that there is a palpable error on that subject. With regard to the militJiry forces which are maintained by England in the Australian Colonies, the Imperial Government has only to say — (there are merely some three or four companies of soldiers in Sydney who receive Imperial pay) — it could no longer pay for them, but the Colony must bear the expense itself It has only to be pro- posed, and it would be done. The whole of these Colonies have a large Volunteer Force as a means of self- protection, and in the event of England being involved in any war, and obliged to with- draw her troops, they could ])e spared. I believe in Mulhourne alone we have had as many as 10,000 Volunteers in the field col- lected on one given occasion ; and the only argument I can see in support of the view of the Colonies being a binden to the Home Government is, that she would have to ])rotect them in the case of war, iu the event of ships going fi'om one port to aiiother. Even Inaugural Meeting. 49 if she had no Colonies, and if a war were to break out, would slie not be obliged to protect her ships on every sea ? It is England that is interested in maintaining her supremacy on the sea. It is she who would benefit, rather than the Colonies, by her connection with them. However, I believe, and I rejoice to believe, that those opi- nions in favour of casting-off the Colonies do not receive much countenance or support either from any former Government or from the present. And this I think is clearly the view of our distin- guished Vice-President, Mr. Chichester Fortescue. I l)elieve the value of the Colonies is only just beginning to be felt. Tlie noble Marquis spoke — I was delighted to hear it — on a question of infinitely more importance to tliis nation than those questions which are now occupy- ing the time and attention of every one — the question of emigration. Emigration of the surplus population Irom our shores, sooner or later, must force itself on this country in a way perfectly irresistible. Look- ing to the enoiTuous population of this country, seeing that it has more than doubled itself during the present century — in the year 1800 it was only eight millions, and it is now twenty millions — I would ask, if the present rate of increase go i, what is to be done with it at the close of this century? Look at Jii union alone; its people are increasing at tho rate of G0,000 every year. What is to be done with them if they go on augmenting in numbers in the same projwrtion as they have hitherto ? Well, I say, if that is the case, tlie question < 'f emigration is a question which must force itself upon the attention of the Imperial Government. There are, especially in New South Wales and Victoria, and also here, agencies aiding and supporting omigration — agencies which, if they cannot do much in the way of pecuniary contributions, yet do their best in stimulating public attention. I am very glad to see certc'n establishments ready to unite — though tlua" iniluence is a mere drop in the ocean— with Government in furtherance of the object. I know and feel that some great and carefully-organisSd means nuist be provided by which the surplus population of these ishrnds — increasing some two or three hundred thousand every year in spite of all the emigration that goes on — may go to those countries where tliey may find happy homes, and, with their own happiness and contentment, increase the power and tlio real happiness and the glory of this the parent country. I feel very great pleasure in having listened to the Address of the noble Lord. The motto of the newly enlarged Order of St. Michael and St. George is ^ausjucium melioi'is cvvi,^ as aft'ecting alike the Colonies juid the Parent State; and applying such a motto to ourselves, I look forward to the inauguration of this Society as a happy omen, be- cause I believe it to bo a Society by which great and importiint results may be achieved. Sir J. C. Lees. — Ladies and Gentlemen, I feel it my duty to express to our noljlo President my thanks ibr giving his time and abilities, not only to the preparation and reading of his Inaugural Address, but to the 'i: r 50 Proceedings at the formation of this Society. Some short time ;igo our noble Cliairman asked us to trot out our colonial hobbies. Sonic years ago, the Colonics having been the great hobby of my life, I became convinced that I ought to go and see them for myself. At that time of day I could not help feeling struck with many very remarkable features in the Colonial Em- pire. One was the Colonies themselves. Nothing more remarkable, I think, than the formation of these communities can be thought of or found in history. That was one of the features that most struck me. The second was that the apparent indifference which has been alluded to, on the part of the British public towards the colonies, is an in- difference which is more apparent than real ; and the third is, that the school of thinkers that seem to be studying the question at all, are a number of very brilliant thinkers — for they are many and even most brilliant — whose whole exertions seem to be employed to show that we are burdened h\ our Colonies. Those three thinps struck me as so re- niarkable, that I felt I could not do justice without going and studying for myself I should say that our noble Chairman need not scruple m using the word grandeur in connection with the objects which this Society has to carry out. Now, this is not the place, I quite agroe, to go into any discussion of the question of the relative positioii of the Colonies and the Crown, or whether they should be kept or thrown away; but 1 will just say one thing, that I know nothing more re- markable than the indifference, the singular coldnes.s, wi^^^h which that speculation has been maintained. What would be the fortune of those Colonies without us, if wo were, as Mr. Goldwm Smith thinks we ought to be, separated from them ? It is a very important thing that we should not fall into the error of undervaluing such a step. 1 am glad our Chairman does not undervalue it. The argument of Mr. Goldwin Smith points to this, that we have cut away every vestigo of political connection Avith the Colonies, and therefore wo had better get rid of alf that is left of the connection. A more extraordmary politic;il fallacy was never put forward. What have we done with the Colonies, and what shall we do as long as tliey are united to us ? In every Colony which has separated itself i'nmi us there has ahvays been the difficulty connected with the election of the E.xecutive. Of that difliculty it deserves to be pointed out at the outset, that no Colony that hus cut itself adrift from the parent stock has over yd lieen able to solve that gigantic difliculty. Let me point out the causeof that tei-rible conflict Avhich I'lstcd so long in America. Ttie whole .question turned in reality on the point of a President's election. If there had not been that last ounce to break the camel's back, the election of President Lincoln— if that difficulty had not been pressed, many of the other difficult questions miglit; have lieon solved without a civil war. And it is even so in connection wifh this, that I cannot help mentioning a most singular story which was told to me at the outset of that war. It is a fact that many of tho most cultivated Anjcricans, in the first anguish of that year, did recur, Inaugural Meeting. 51 with a regret that could liardly have been expected ever to have arisen ill thoir breasts, to the old connection with the British Crown. One of these Americans, Nathaniel Hawthorne, said to a friend of mine, 'Do you think that the British Crown would have us back, if we come to them ? ' Of course it was said in jest, but it certainly does suggest to us, in the very strongest way, that it is highly important that we should remember that as long as the Colonies are connected with us, avc should desire to do good to them, and confer on them a great boon by saving them iroin political confusion, which must be the case if they separate irom us. I speak as one who has seen for himself, and hopes hereafter to say more about the very great work which the English race is doing all over the world, — a work which this Society may greatly aid by iostering the sentiments of love among those communities. I desire to express my personal gratitude to his Lordship for the admirable jiaper which he has been kind enough to read to us this evening. Jlr. Macfie, M.P. — Ladies and Gentlemen, as a Scotchman and a Lancashire man, I have to tender my hearty thanks to his Lordship lor dealing so practically with the question of our Colonies. I feel there is a great deal of truth in what has been sjiid, that the indifTer- eiicc which we are accused of feeling towards our Colonies is only apparent, and arises from a want of a proper understanding between us. In fact, our language wants some words to explain what is the ditFerence between local taxation and imperial taxation. Local taxation is merely the taxation of the United Kingdom, but imperial has a far wider range. Therefore I say Ave Avant better understanding of our relation- ship, and that better understanding may bo brought about by the inl'uence of this Society. When that better understanding is estab- lished, I have no doubt we shall be as willing to share our fortimes as to share our burdins. Lord Alfred Churchill. — I shall trouble you but a very short time in the remarks I have to make. As a new member, I beg to thank our President sincerely for his adiniralile Inaugural Address. My Lord, you have travelled with singular ability over the Avliole range of the Colonies belonging to this country, and, in tracing their history Irom the com- mencement to the present time, perl'ormed a most important service to both. With regard to Canada, it has occurred to me — I think it is in one of Mr. Warburton's books, where he gives the origin of the word 'Canad::.' It appears that a party of Spaniards passed up the Kiver St. Lawrence, and they said, ' Ac(jui nada,' which means, 'There is nothing here.' They left the country. Now, if those Spaniards could have seen the Canada of this day, and the progress it has made up to the present time, and the distinguished part it is playing in America, and its connection with the Crown in this country, they would have thought very diflerent to what they did then. The noble iNIarquis also touched upon the advantages of emigration to our colonies. Now there is one iaiiiortuiit point in connection with that subject which 52 Proceedings at the demands our attention, and that is that we should organise a system of emigration through the whole country. We have had many spas- modic efForta made to encourage emigration. There are certain societies which do most important services, and they are very readily performed, besides which there are the Emigration CommissionerH. They regulate the fitting-out of ships intended for emigrants, and they take care they are properly organised to prevent abuse to the emigrants on their voyage. But although the Colonies have agents who induce people to pass over to them, emigration is not adopted upon a uniform system, such as could be advocated by a Society of this character. Therefore this is an essential element in this Society, and I think we ought all to feel highly indebted to you, my Lord, for having inaugu- rated a Society so much calcidated to benefit the country. Captain Bedford Pirn, E.N. — My Lord, my object in rising is this, to request tha<^ you will vacate the chair, and allow Mr. Chichester For- tescue to take it while the vote of thanks which has been proposed and seconded is put to the meeting. You cannot, as Chaii-man, put it yourself. It is the custom of the Tustitution which meets in this hall, and to which I belong, when a vote of thanks is proposed to the Chair- man, that he should vacate the chair, and another gentleman should take it. [The Chairman then lel't the chair, which was taken by Mr. Chichester Fortescue.] Mr. Chairman, for the paper which his Lord- ship has read, I feel we must all be deeply thankful to him. In it ho has explained to us what this Society is going to do. I believe that, if proj)erly worked out, it will do an immense amount of good. It will direct an enormous flood of surplus population to lands where there is plenty of work and plenty of room for them. I feel most heartily that this Society can do immense good, and I am very, very delighted, that our President has thought it right to hold out the hand of fellowship to the Colonial Society. I am a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and most cordially endorse his action in this matter. Sir, I shall ask you now to put the motion to the meeting. Mr. Thomas JJn'(j(js. — Mr. Chairman, I beg as a Lancashire man to be allowed to say a few words on the subject we have been discuss- ing this evening. I recoj.'nise an old friend in the face of Sir Charles Nicholson. I 'io not think he knows me, Init he onto called me a stump orator — (laughter) — or said I would make a very good one in the Colonics. I wish to point out, my Lord, that there are about u,UOO emigrants who go every week from Liverpool alono. Where do they go to ? They go to America. Why do they not go to our Colo- nies? We want them in the Colonies. I told you. Sir Charles, that if you got them there you would get labour, which is what you want. I was pooh-i)oohod when I pointed this out. That labour would have been so usfflil in Queensland that we might have had by this time two millions of 1 dos of cotton from Queensland, which would have been ttm- tamount to twenty millions more of money than (Queensland is worth Inaugural Meeti7ig. 58 now, even at sixpence per pound, which is one hundred per cent, less than it is selling for now in Liverpool. There were several hundreds of emigrants sent out. I sent fifty families, and I have had letters from a few of them, who speak very highly of their enterprise, and of their having realised their expectations in the way of producing cotton. Mr. Chichester Fortescue. — In my position as Chairman I beg to submit the following motion, which has been duly proposed and se- conded : — ' That the best thanks of this meeting are due to Lord Bury for the Inaugural Address which he has read to-night.' (Cheers.) The motion having been carried unanimously, Lord Bury said. — I have only to thank you, which I do most sin- cerely, for the honour you have done me — for the kind way in which this motion has been proposed, and the manner in which you have taken it. I have been very gratified at hearing the little discussion which my paper has provoked, and I tliink that the more our sentiments are interchanged upon colonial subjects the more the objects of our Society will be fulfilled ; and therefore the discussion which has taken place to-night is the firstfruits, I hope, of many similar discussions which will take place at our future meetings. Our next meeting will be held on April 5. Every speaker who has addressed you — my right hon. friend the noble Marquis, the hon. Member Mr. Macfie, and Sir Charles Nicholson — has given me the credit of the origination of this Society. I simply wish, if you will allow me to do so, to repudiate that. I have taken a very great interest in it, I am sure, but I am not the originator. The originator was sitting here three minutes ago. Though many have taken an active part in tlip fornicition of this Society — and it is, per- hajjs, invidious to single out <>ue more than another — yet the originator, I am bound to say, of the Society is the gentleman who is now our Honorary Secretary, Mr. Eoche. I have to admit that 1:? has had the r.incipal hand in it now ; and when the Society has its ramifications in our Colonies, and perhaps, if Mr. Gregory will allow me to say so, a building, not f o s* ' .ndid, not so convenient a one to meet in, as this, but our own, we diall think of our friend Mr. Roche. When one takes up an idea, others work it out, and I hope we shall all respectively labour and put strength into this undertaking in a way which will prove that we must and will succeed in our object. (Cheers.) J/r. Montgomerie. — Will you allow me one word ? I think it would ill become us to separate without expressing, by a formal vote, our thanks to the Couiicil of the Institution " Civil Engineers, the Presi- dent and members, ibr allowing us the use of this elegant and commo- dious hall. We are much indebted to them, and I think this Society should express its obligation by a vote of thanks, which I beg to move. Air. James A. Youl. — I beg to second the motion that has been pro- posed. I feel that we are deeply indebted to the Institution of Civil Engineers for allowing us the use of this beautiful hall. u Proceedings at the Inatigural Meeting. I f Mr. Chichester ForteacHC. — It would liave been very wrong if we had separated without formally putting such thanks on record. I beg, then, to put the motion. Carried unanimously. Mr. Gregory. — At this late hour I will not trouble you with many jemarks. I am extremely gratified by the Colonial Society in so Wi.rm a manner acknowledging the use ol' this hall, which the Insti- tution of Civil Engineers have been so hapjty to offer. More than filly years ago, my Lord, we were a very nnich more luunble Society than you are, and I will not tell you in how poor a place we had our first meeting. We have now struggled into a jio- fiiiion which we are ])roud of, and I assure you that we feel it to be one ol" our first duties, when we see a Society, which promises so much us( Iness, in want of assistiuice, to do all in our power to help it. You havf seen, and have given us evidence, that we can ourselves derive much advantage by joining your ranks. Captain Pim has shown, in his cordial obsc^rvations to-night, I think, a very proper appre- ciation of your .services. The acconnnodation Avhich we have given has been most willingly offered by my colleagues and myself, and we acknowledge the great courtesy with which it has been received. I wish you, on behalf of my colleagues, every prosperity, and I am sure .Ave shall be pleased whenever you make use of this room, and wo hojit you will be useful to the world in general — a hope which will be largely shared in by the profession to which I have the pleasure to belong. (Cheers.) LONDON: PHINTBD BT HFOTTISWOODIl AND CO., NliW-arUHBT liQUABH XKU VAUUAMilNV tilUliili' f -rm^mt^^f^im^^mt "U I ...'J i. I- '"}