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SPEECHES

HON. ALEXANDER MACKENZIE

DURING HIS RECENT

VISIT TO SCOTLAND,

PRINCIPAL SPEECHES IN CANADA

SINCE THE SESSION OF 1875.

ACCOMPANIED BT PORTRAIT AND SKETCH OP HIS LIPE
AND PUBLIC SERVICES.

The speeches of Mr. Mackenzie, the head of the Canadian Ministry, have the right ring1 about them,
exhibiting not only that hard-headedness and caution wliich are so freely imputed to Scotchmen, but
likewise a dash of that sentiment or poetry which our neighbors ate somewhat more slow in recognising
as part of our national character. Canada would seem for the present to have put the right nian in the
right place, and it is natural the man should magnify tlie place, and tell us, as he does with apparent
truth, how good the disposition, how prosperous the condition, and how magnificent the prospects of
the vast country over which he presides.— The Scotsman, January 17, 1875.

TOEONTO :
JAMES CAMPBELL & SOIST, FEONT STEEET.
1876.

NOTE.
To meet a very general desire to see brought together the
speeches ofthe Premier during his visit to Scotland, the present
volume lias been prepared. Thc task of the Editor has been a
light one, requiring merely the arranging and condensing of
the several reports from the Scottish and English newspapers.
Some editorial comments from the leading North British jour
nals are added.
The opportunity is also availed of to reproduce Mr. Macken
zie's speeches in Canada since the last parliamentary Session,
and tho Sketch* of his Life and Public Services which recently
appeared in the new series of the Weekly Globe.
The accompanying Photograph is by Messrs. Notman &
Eraser, Toronto.
Ottawa, Feb., 1876.

OTTAWA :
Printed by MacLean, Roger & Co., Wellington St.

SKETCH OF MR. MACKENZIE'S
LIFE AND PUBLIC SEEYICES.

(From the " Weekly Globe," Tobonto, January 7, 1876.)
Mr. Mackenzie was born on the 28th of January, 1822, in a.
stone cotlage prettily situated near the confluence of the rivers
Tay and Tummell— one of the most beautiful spots in the
southern Highlands. Within a few miles of the ancient cathe
dral city of Dunkeld on the south, and the famous Pass of
Killiecrankie on the north, a rich cultivation in the broad
valleys contrasts strongly with near mountain scenery, and
renders the spot no less celebrated for natural beauty than it is
for its historic recollections.
Mr. Mackenzie's the third son of the late Mr. Alexander
Mackenzie, of Logierait, Perthshire, Scotland, by Mary, second
daughter of Mr. Donald Fleming, of the same parish. His
paternal grandfather was Mr. Malcolm Mackenzie, of Strath-
tummel. Both families were well known in Athol and Strathtay ;
and although Mr. Mackenzie's family all emigrated to Canada,
they have still many connections among the resident families
of their native district. Mr. Mackenzie, sen., had seven sons
who settled in Canada, all of them successful men and remark
able for ability and force of character. The late Mr. Hope F.
Mackenzie, M.P. for Lambton, and afterwards for North Oxford,
was a man of distinguished capacity, and beloved and respected
by all who knew him. Had he lived, he would have occupied
a very high position in public life.
Mr. Mackenzie was educated at the Public Schools of Moulin,
Dunkeld, and Perth ; and his father having died early in life,
1

6 SKETCH OP MB. MACKENZIE S
he had from the age of fourteen to win bis own way in the
world. Although thus deprived of the advantages of a Uni
versity education, he bas been a hard student all bis Hfe, and
has acquired not only a very wide and intelligent knowledge
of general literature, but an accurate and thorough mastery,
such as few possess of tbe Political, Constitutional, Industrial,
and Social history, and present condition of the prominent
nations of the world. By continued daily study be keeps him
self abreast of the times ; and bis ready command of the facts
and illustrations thus acquired, shows itself frequently in
debate with telling effect.
Mr. Mackenzie in youth learned the business of a Builder
and Architect ; and in the winter of 1842 he emigrated to
Canada, where be soon took up bis residence at Sarnia, then a
rising village on the banks of the beautiful St. Clair, and struck
out for himself as a contractor.
Then were the days of the long and bitter contest between
Lord Metcalfe and his Advisers on the one hand, and the great
mass of the people of Upper and Lower Canada on the other,
in regard to what was termed " Eesponsible Government."
Early in this long and earnest contest for popular rights, Mr.
Mackenzie began bis political career. Beared in the Liberal
School, he took a warm interest in the progress of the popular
cause ; and by his earnest views and able contributions to the
press in the Western District, he did much to create and sustain
those sound sentiments on public affairs that then, and have
ever since, existed there. But the full concession of Eespon
sible Government was regarded by the Eeform party as but a
necessary means to the great end of obtaining a wise and just
administration of public affairs, and the energetic development
of the material resources of the country. Mr. Mackenzie, in
common with all true Canadians, rejoiced in the re-accession to
power of Messrs. Baldwin and Lafontaine on the 10th March,
1848-— as the commencement of a new era in Canadian history,

LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES. 1
in which class interests and personal pretensions would be for
gotten, and the welfare ofthe whole people be alone considered.
And for a while these expectations were realized. Many ad
mirable measures were immediately placed on the Statute-book
by tbe new Administration, and the Departmental business of
the country was despatched in a highly satisfactory manner.
But there were political breakers ahead that needed great
wisdom and firmness on the part of the men at the helm to
pilot the ship of state safely through them — and within a year
ofthe accession to power of Messrs. Lafontaine and Baldwin,
these breakers showed themselves unmistakably. It would
occupy more space than we have at our command to trace the
course of Mr. Mackenzie through the exciting political move
ments from 1850 to 1864 — in all of which he was an active and
earnest participator, and to the successful results of which,
by his admirable speeches and writings, he largely contri
buted. Throughout all the exciting scenes of these years Mr. Mac
kenzie was the firm, fearless advocate of the popular cause.
For some time he was the acknowledged editor of a Liberal
Western newspaper, which immediately commanded general
attention by the force and ability of its editorial articles, and
the sound common sense and earnest patriotism that pervaded
its columns Mr. Mackenzie early became known over the
Province as one of the most earnest and reliable workers in
the Eeform cause ; he became intimately associated with all
the then prominent men of bis party and their movements ;
and contributed very largely to tbe achievement of the long
succession of Constitutional and Administrative reforms for
the practical benefit of the country won from Toryism from
1850 to 1867, and tbat had its crowning triumph in the adop
tion of the present Federal Constitution. History will some
day record the debt of gratitude due by the people of Canada
to Mr. Mackenzie and his compatriots for their many years of
1*

8 SKETCH OF ME MACKENZIE^
persevering, self-denying labour for Eesponsible Government,
for entire separation of Church and State, for reformed Parlia
mentary Eepresentation, for secularization of the Clergy
Eeserves, non-sectarian national education, University reform,
annexation of tbe Hudson Bay and North-west Territories,
free settlement of the wild lands, extension of the Canals,
encouragement of Immigration, reform of the Alien Laws, and
numberless other measures for the advancement of the national
happiness and prosperity.
In June, 1861, Mr. Mackenzie was returned to Parliament
as m,ember for tbe County of Lambton, of which Sarnia is the
County Town — and this constituency be bas held ever since.
From his first appearance in the Legislative ball to the
present moment, he has held a very prominent position in the
debates and legislation of Parliament. He gave a general
support to the first short Administration formed on 26th May,
1862, by Mr. J. Sandfield Macdonald in alliance with Mr.
Sicotte ; and a hearty support to the Macdonald-Dorion
Ministry that succeeded it tbe following year. He strongly
backed the famous Committee of 21 members tbat, in June, 1864,
reported in favour of a Federal Constitution ; and on the defeat
of the Conservative Government by a direct vote of want of
confidence the same evening, he used all bis influence to have
the occasion utilized for the adoption, by consent of all parties,
of a new Constitution based on the Federal principle, and re
medying the grievances from which Upper Canada had so long
suffered. He gave a very reluctant consent to the restricted
coalition that ensued ; much preferring that no member ofthe
Liberal party should enter tho existing Government, but that
all its members should give an outside support to it until a new
Constitution was formulated and carried. He gave, however
a zealous and effective support to all the proceedings that
resulted in the British North America Act of 1865. When
Mr. Brown left the Coalition Cabinet, on account of what he

LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES. 9
deemed the unwise concession offered to the United States
Government for a renewal of the Eeciprocity Treaty, Mr.
Mackenzie was tendered tbe Presidency ofthe Council thereby
made vacant, but declined it on the ground that he could not
be responsible for the proposed concessions.
Tbe Dominion Conservative Government of 1861, found a
strong prop in the Ontario Coalition Cabinet formed in Toronto
at the same time by Mr. Sandfield Macdonald. The system of
Dual Eepresentation enabled a majority of the Provincial Min
isters to bold seats at Ottawa as supporters of the Ministry
there ; and thus the Federal influence appeared to threaten the
independence of tbe Provincial Government and Legislature.
Tbe Ontario General Elections came off in March, 18*71, and
Mr. Mackenzie was urgently pressed to enter the Local Legis
lature and give his aid to overthrow Sandfield Macdonald's
Ministry, which was trembling under the assaults ofthe leader
of the Eeform Opposition, Mr. Blake. He was prevailed upon
to run, and successfully contested West Middlesex, wresting
the seat from a strong Coalitionist. When the House met in
December he rendered valuable service in the memorable and
victorious attack upon the Provincial Ministry. After its fall,
and tbe formation of a new Government under the able leader
ship of Mr. Blake, be was sworn in first as Provincial Secre
tary, and afterwards accepted the more onerous office of Trea
surer of Ontario. His remarkable knowledge of tbe resources
and monetary position of tbe Province rendered his tenure of
the office a great success ; and bis budget speech of 1872 was
a masterly exposition of Provincial finance. In October, 1872,
Mr. Mackenzie and Mr. Blake resigned their seats in tbe On
tario Legislature and their offices in the Administration, to
devote themselves exclusively to federal politics, at Ottawa.
On the assembling in 1867 ofthe first Dominion Parliament,
Mr. Mackenzie became de facto leader ofthe Ontario section of
tbe Liberal party in the House of Commons, and indeed of Her

10 SKETCH OF MR. MACKENZIE S
Majesty's Loyal Opposition in that House. He was not elected
to the position — he did not desire to be elected to it — but be
grew into it. Always well posted; always thoroughly con
versant with the history and merits pro and eon. ofthe question
before the House ; always ready in debate to drive home tbe
right nail to its right place ; always up to tbe mark as a
member of tbe leading Committees ; always alert for the public
interest; always firm and cool in the face of tbe enemy; and
always ready to give younger members the benefit, kindly and
patiently, ofhis longer Parliamentary experience — it gradu
ally and naturally came about tbat Mr. Mackenzie became —
first tacitly, and then by formal election — Leader ofthe Liberal
Party of the Dominion. And when the downfall of Sir John
A. Macdonald and bis colleagues came, there was no one justly
to deny Mr. Mackenzie's title to the Premiership of British
North America — by virtue of the position he already held in
the House of Commons, his capacity as a statesman, his ability
as a speaker, his wide and accurate knowledge of public affairs,
bis ardent devotion to the interests of his adopted country, his
genuine love ofthe Old Sod and all its belongings, bis unspotted
personal character, his intense love of right and hatred of
wrong, and tbe enviable place he has won for himself in the
confidence and respect of his fellow countrymen.
Mr. Mackenzie has been but two years in office, but already
a large number of highly valuable measures have been placed
on the Statute-book, and important Departmental reforms ac
complished. One of the first acts ofthe Mackenzie Adminis
tration was the passing of a complete election law for the
whole Dominion — a measure with which their predecessors
had failed to grapple. The new law included the adoption of
voting by Ballot, the abolition of the property qualification of
Members, and other important reforms in the same direction.
An Act for the Trial of Controverted Elections was, at the
same time, substituted for the defective measure already on the

LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES. 11
Statute-book. The failure of the Canadian Pacific Eailway
policy of the previous Government involved the necessity of
passing a new Act for the construction of that great national
enterprise. Tbe state of the revenue demanded a revision of
the Tariff, and legislation to give effect to the new fiscal ar
rangements. A reform has also been effected in the organiza
tion of tbe Militia Department, and a Bill has been framed
establishing a College to provide young men desirous of enter
ing tbe service as officers with a thorough military education.
The organization of the North-west Territory has been pro
vided for ; a Supreme Court of Appeal for the whole Dominion
established ; a complete and satisfactory Insolvency Law has
been framed ; the law regulating the Postal Service has been
re-enacted, with many important and liberal amendments, in
cluding tbe free delivery of letters in cities, reduction of the
rates of postage on newspapers to a nominal sum, and a highly
advantageous Postal Convention, successfully effected last year
under the auspices of the present Government, with the United
States. Provision has been made by Act of Parliament forthe
effectual Inspection of Produce and of Weights and Measures,
and for the better administration of tbe Penitentiaries; while
the rights of British authors and the interests of Canad in
publishers have been protected by an improved Copyright
Law. A measure bas also been framed enabling the Govern
ment to counteract the injurious effets ofthe monopoly hitherto
enjoyed by certain companies in regard to Ocean Tele
graphy. Immigration bas received great attention, and very
liberal encouragement bas been made in the work of enlarging
the Canadian canals, and tbe surveys for and the construction
of the Canadian Pacific Eailway. The Intercolonial Eailway
has been brought nearly to completion, and the management
of the Government Eailways in operation has undergone-
a thorough scrutiny and reorganization. The increased con
fidence of the British public in the prosperity and financial

12 SKETCH OF MR. MACKENZIE'S
credit of tbe Dominion has been proved by tbe highly advan
tageous terms on which two large loans have been placed upon
the London money market ; vexed questions that disturbed tbe
peace of Manitoba, and agitated public opinion in New Bruns
wick, have been satisfactorily disposed of; a just and concili
atory policy has been framed towards British Columbia, where
irritation arising out of delays in tbe construction of the Pacific
Eailway existed ; and every possible means bas been adopted
by Mr Mackenzie's Government to secure a fair representa
tion of Canadian industry at the forthcoming Centennial Exhi
bition at Philadelphia.
One of tbe most notable incidents in Mr. Mackenzie's career
wag his reception in Britain last summer. Beturning to bis
native land after a long absence, and simply for the purpose
of securing a brief repose from labour and official anxiety, be
had no idea of tbe reception tbat awaited him. He was wel
comed wherever he went, and by persons of all ranks, with
¦ marked distinction and cordiality. His reception at Windsor
Castle by Her Majesty must have been most gratifying to Mr.
Mackenzie ; and the opportunity so fully afforded him of be
coming personally known to the leading statesman ofthe Em
pire could not fail to be highly interesting and agreeable. But
when he went North to bis native hills, the enthusiasm of the
Scots was thoroughly excited, and tbey came out to welcome
their distinguished countryman in true Highland style. The
demonstrations in Mr. Mackenzie's honour at Dunkeld and
Logierait will long be remembered as events in the North ;
and the presentation to him of the freedom ofthe city of Perth
and of the town of Dundee by the magistrates of these places,
with the public receptions at Dundee, Greenock, Perth,
Ayrshire, and elsewhere, were honours of which any subject of
Her Majesty, however high bis position or eminent bis services,
might well be proud. In all the varied and somewhat trying
positions Mr. Mackenzie was thus called upon to occupy, he

LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES. 13
bore himself in a manner at once modest and dignified, and all
his utterances were characterized by sound sense and excellent
taste. In private life Mr. Mackenzie is of the most kindly disposi
tion, without the slightest ostentation or assumption. He is a
thoroughly upright man, a firm friend, a pleasant companion,
and full of fun, anecdote and pleasant banter when he unbends
at his own fire-side or that of a friend. He loves children, and
enjoys immensely a romp with them ; and all children like him.
He is a member of tbe Baptist Church, and holds bis religious
opinion conscientiously and firmly ; but no touch of bigotry or
uncharitable spirit toward others dwells in him.
Mr. Mackenzie bas been twice married. His first wife
was Helen, daughter of the late Wm. Neil, Esq., of Irvine,
Scotland, who died on 2nd January, 1852 ; and the estimable
and much esteemed lady who now presides over his household
is Jane, eldest daughter of the late Eobert Sym, Esq., of Perth
shire, Scotland, to whom Mr. Mackenzie was espoused on 17th
June, 1853. Mr. Mackenzie has only one child, who is wife of
the Eev. Jobn Thompson, Presbyterian Minister of Sarnia.

TOUR AND SPEECHES IN SCOTLAND.

PEESENTATION OF THE FEEEDOM OF THE
BOEOUGH OF DUNDEE.

On the afternoon of July 13 the freedom of Dundee was
presented to the Honourable Alexander Mackenzie, Prime
Minister of the Dominion of Canada. The presentation was
made by Provost Cox, and the ceremony took place in the
Great Hall of the Free Library Buildings, in presence of a
large assemblage of ladies and gentlemen. The hall was
tastefully decorated with flags. On the platform there were :
Sir Archibald Douglas Steuart, Bart, of Murthly ; Mr. E.
Jenkins, M.P. ; Provost Macdonald, Perth ; Bailie Edward,
Bailie Foggie, Bailie Thomson, Bailie Nicoll, Bailie Macdonald,
Dean of Guild Luke, Councillor Kerr, Councillor Henderson,
Councillor Smith, Councillor Mitchell, Councillor M'Lean,
Councillor Ogilvie, Councillor Philip, Councillor J. Eobertson
(Locbee), Councillor Ballingall, Councillor Brownlee, Councillor
Cleghorn, Councillor Moncur, Councillor Allan, Councillor
Haggart, Councillor Gray, Councillor Anderson, Councillor
Jobson, Councillor Drummond, Councillor M'Grady, Mr. Thos.
H. Cox, Mr. Thos. Smith, Mr. Wm. Hay (Town Clerk), Mr.
Jas. Watson, Mr. D. Farquharson, Mr. D. Mackay, Mr.
M'Kelvie, and Mr. J. C. Jameson.
Tbe Provost entered the hall, attired in his official robes,
arm in arm with Mr. Mackenzie. After all were seated, the
Pbovost, who was warmly applauded, said — Honourable Sir,

16 TOUR AND SPEECHES
the Magistrates and Town Council of Dundee have unanim
ously resolved to avail themselves of tbe opportunity of your
revisiting your native country to confer upon you tbe highest
honour which it is in their power to bestow — tbe freedom of
this ancient and Eoyal Burgh. (Applause.) I am well aware
that this distinction possesses no intrinsic worth, and is only
valuable as an expression of public opinion. Yet it is a dis
tinction but rarely conferred, and one which is properly
reserved for those who have rendered important public
services. In our honorary burgess roll are recorded the names
of eminent statesmen, legislators, and men of science. In
bestowing the freedom ofthe burgh upon you, tbe Magistrates
and Council believe that they faithfully represent the senti
ments of this large community, who feel naturally proud ofthe
honourable and successful career of one of their countrymen. It
is not many years since you left the adjoining county of Perth
to push your way in the world without any adventitious aids
to help you on, but possessed of those sterling qualities which
are best fitted to secure success. You had enjoyed thejbenefit
of a Scotch education, and that formed a capital which is easily
carried and is not liable to be stolen. (Laughter.) You selected
as the field of your enterprise one of our most valuable and
important colonies, not less remarkable for its rich and varied
natural resources than for its sturdy and loyal attachment to
tho British Crown. You had not been long settled in Canada
when you found scope for tbe exercise of those talents with
which you are eminently endowed, and you have continued
steadily t,o work your way, not only in business, but in the
respect and esteem of the colonists, by whom you were elected,
first a member of one of tbe Colonial Legislatures, and after
wards ofthe Dominion Parliament. (Applause.) Your shrewd
ness, sagacity, and sound judgment were soon felt and appre
ciated, and thus a way was opened for your advancement to
that higb position in the Government to which you have

IN SCOTLAND. 1*7.
since attained. Gifted with rare powers as a public speaker,
you speedily acquired influence in the deliberations of Parlia
ment, and you have made your mark on much of the recent
legislation in the colony. Eecognised as the leader of the
Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons, it naturally
fell to you to form an Administration when in November, 1873,
Sir John Macdonald had to resign office ; and, from the confi
dence reposed in your high character, you soon succeeded in
accomplishing the task committed to you. Since that time
you have continued to hold the proud position of Prime
Minister of Canada. (Applause.) I am aware that many im
portant measures owe their existence to you. Seeing with a
clear insight into the wants ofthe colony, you had the energy
and integrity to apply the proper remedy. Time would fail
to recount the various legislative measures of internal im
provement in which you have taken a prominent part. I shall
only refer to the general Act for the improvement of municipal
corporations, the enactment of stringent election laws, and
the establishment of vote by ballot, the abolition of the real
estate qualification for members, the erection of a Military
College for the Dominion, the enlargement of tbe canals,
and the establishment of a Supreme Court of Justice in
Canada. These are but a few of the legislative works in
which you have been engaged, and which you have
mainly helped to promote, but they are enough to show
of what stuff you are made, and to account for tbe high
position of honour and influence which you now occupy.
(Applause.) No wonder, then, that your countrymen at home
should feel an honest pride in contemplating your successful
career, and tbat we who were formerly your near neighbours
should gladly embrace an opportunity of marking our appre
ciation of your public character and services by such a tribute
as we this day offer for your acceptance. And now, sir, in
name of myself, tbe Magistrates, and Town Council, I beg to

18 TOUR AND SPEECHES
hand you this casket containing tbe burgess ticket. May you
be long spared to enjoy the privileges it confers on you,
thereafter to be handed down as an heirloom in your family to
those who come after you. I now offer you the right hand of
fellowship, and welcome you as our youngest brother burgess.
(Loud applause.)
Mr. Hay, Town Clerk, then read the following extract
minute of Council : —
At Dundee, the 23rd day of June, 1875, which day the Honourable Alex
ander Mackenzie, Premier of the Dominion of Canada, was, by the Magis
trates and Town Council ofthe Royal Burgh of Dundee, in respect ofhis
eminent position and distinguished public services, duly and lawfully
created and admitted a free burgess of the Royal Burgh of Dundee
of the first class, and all and sundry liberties, privileges, and immunities
thereto belonging were conferred on him, but always conform to and
in terms ofthe Acts of Parliament thereanent ; and an act or record to the
above effect specifying the cause ofthe said admission is written on paper,
duly stamped as use is — which act or record contains a declaration that the
said burgess, by accepting ofhis privileges, becomes solemnly bound to dis
charge every civil duty incumbent by law on a true and faithful burgess
of said burgh of Dundee.
Given at Dundee, the 13th day of July, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and seventy-five.

(Signed) James Cox, Provost.
(Signed) Wm. Hay, Town Clerk.

(Burgh Seal.)

The casket is of solid silver, is richly chased [and ornament.
ed, and in shape is oblong. On the lid are the arms of Dundee
and Canada encircled in wreaths. Surmounting tbe Canadian
arms is the crown, and between the two escutcheons is a figure,
with the word Concordia written underneath. The figure is re
presented with outstretched arms joining Dundee and Canada
in concord and peace. The decorations on the lid are done in
relief, and in every respect Messrs. Marshall, Edinburgh, are
entitled to credit, not only for the promptitude with which
they have executed the commission, but for the taste tbey
have displayed. Engraven on one side of the box is the fol
lowing inscription : —

IN SCOTLAND. 19
THE FREEDOM OF THE ROYAL BURGH OF DUNDEE,
THE CERTIFICATE OF WHIOH IS ENCLOSED IN THIS CASKET,
Was, by the unanimous vote
Of the Provost, Magistrates, and Town Council,
Conferred on
THE HONOURABLE ALEXANDER MACKENZIE,
Premier of the Dominion of Canada,
In respect of his eminent position and
Distinguished Public Services.
Council Chambers, Dundee, 23d June, 1875.
Mr. Mackenzie, who was received with loud applause, said :
— Provost Cox, ladies, and gentlemen — Words fail to express
my feelings in receiving this great kindness from the citizens
and public ofthis great town. I amwell aware that while you
desire to shew kindness to a countryman after a long absence,
you extend this welcome more to the Premier of Canada that
to myself personally. And while I feel for myself very deeply
this expression of your good will, I am quite sure that I
represent the feelings of tbe people of my own country when I
say they will all be equally proud tbat the First Minister of
tbe country bas received this attention at the hands of the peo
ple in this place. (Applause.) It is true, sir, that gentlemen
in political life naturally cause some feelings of irritation occa
sionally to their opponents. I daresay that is the case even in
Dundee. It is certainly tbe case to some extent in Canada, but
for all that there is a general feeling throughout our country, as
in all parts of the British Empire, which enables us to occa
sionally overpower party political feeling, and to act as if we
were not controlled entirely by its influence. I feel, sir,
exceedingly proud of tbe great honour you have done me.
When nearly forty years agb I left Scotland — left the neigh
bouring county, as you have remarked — it was undoubtedly
without the slightest idea that I should ever stand in the
position I do at present, either in Dundee or in Canada. For
tunately, we may be citizens both of Canada and of Scotland.
The two countries are bound together by what I believe to be
indissoluble ties.. In the beautiful casket you have presented
I find the central figure extending a hand on either side — one

20 TOUR AND SPEECHES
over the Arms of the Dominion, the other over the Arms of
Dundee and Great Britain — (applause) — and the word Concordia
is written over both. I am sure that I represent faithfully tbe
feelings of the people of Canada when I say that no act will be
left undone on their part to promote tbe feeling of concord
which at present happily exists between Canada and all parts
of the British Empire. It is true there are some politicians in
the neighbouring Eepublic who imagine that they are destined
to rule tbe entire continent. They proudly place on record in
some of their public documents their determination that there
shall yet be but one system of government upon the continent.
We on tbe northern side of the St. Lawrence and tbe Great
Lakes have chosen another course for ourselves, and it has been
decreed as inevitable by the people of Canada and tbe people
of tbe British Empire that there shall be at least two systems
of political government upon the North American continent.
(Applause.) You have alluded, sir, to my desire to maintain
the present relations between Canada and tbe British Empire,
and in doing tbat you do but justice to tbe entire sentiment of
tbe whole of that great country. (Applause.) I say great,
for though our population is comparatively small, we have
room for more than all the millions which at present inhabit
the British Islands. (Applause.) And yet, sir, it will not
appear a small country when we compare it with some figures
in our own Scottish history and some facts in it. It has a
population of over four millions, which is considerably more
than twice the population of Scotland at the time of tbe union
with England. The l-evenue ofthe Dominion of Canada during
the last year was about $25,000,000, or £5,000,000 sterling-
very nearly twenty-five times the amount of the national
revenue of Scotland immediately before the union. (Applause.)
This gives some idea of the extent of the country, its wealth,
its power, and its resources. And at the present moment tbe
shipping of tho Dominion of Canada exceeds the entire ship-

IN SCOTLAND. 21
ping of England, Scotland and Ireland at tbe time ofthe union
of tbe Crowns of Scotland and England. Canada is able at tbe
present moment to take the fourth rank in the world, or the
third -after Britain proper, in shipping and in commercial and
mercantile enterprise. We have taken great pains in our
interna] improvements to open up a great system of
inland navigation, which enables us even now to take a
sailing vessel, or a steamer of about 600 tons burthen, two
thousand miles into the interior from the ocean. (Ap
plause.) I hope, sir, that when you visit Canada— as I trust
you will do within a few years — we shall be able to take you
to tbe head of Lake Superior in vessels of 1,500 tons burthen,
that being about the capacity of tbe great canals to which you
have alluded as being at present in progress ; and I am sure,
sir, tbat whenever you or any of the inhabitants of this town
shall visit Canada, you will be thoroughly satisfied in other
respects with the prospect which it holds, out of being a
permanent borne for a very large portion ofthe surplus popu
lation of this country. When I tell you, sir, that our prairie
land alone, west of the great lakes, upon which we have but just
entered, extends for a distance of nearly 900 miles, with a
width of at least 300 miles, and tbat there is forest land for
many hundreds of miles to tbe north and west, I give you
some little idea of the vastness of that country which has be
come the heritage of Britain. (Applause.) And it is not,
perhaps, speaking too boastingly as a Minister ofthe Crown in
Canada when I say that I hope in the course of years — perhaps
not in my lifetime, but possibly in the life of my immediate
successors — a larger population will inhabit the British
portions of North America than now inhabit tbe British
isles, and that we shall be able to do our share in tbe work of
evangelization — speaking both in a Christian and commer
cial sense — for, eir, it is tbe mission of the Anglo-Saxon race
to carry the power of Anglo-Saxon civilization over every
2

22 TOUR AND SPEECHES
country in the world. (Applause.) And when we have colo
nized the whole of the vast continent with a flourishing and
industrious population, we shall have brought ourselves very
near indeed to the shores of the great eastern empires, which
teem with a populati6n such as is not to be found in any other
part of the globe. It may not be known to you, sir, tbat when
our great railway is finished we shall be very nearly a thous
and miles nearer to Japan anb. China than at present they
are to San Francisco, in the United States. (Applause.) And
it may not be known to you that we have facilities throughout
the whole ofthe vast territory to carry on a system of railway
improvements by means of enormous coal deposits which are
to be found in the country. Onr coal beds in tbe North- West
ern States are considerably larger than tbe entire area of the
British Isles. And how far north they go I do not know, but
tbey go very far. They have need of much coal in these north
ern regions, as indeed it is somewhat cold there. (Laughter.)
I fear I somewhat digress— (applause) — from the proper kind
of speech to deliver on such an occasion1 as this ; but I hoped
you would not object when I took this opportunity of saying
a few words about tbe country which you have chosen to
hqnour in my own person to-day. (Loud applause.) I need
not assure you or any one here of tbe anxious desire of the
people of Canada to cui tivate the most extensive trade rela
tions with every part of the world, but especially with the
great centres of trade in this country, to which we all belong.
(Applause.) And while we are compelled by the necessity of
revenue to impose a very considerable duty upon goods enter
ing into the country, we shall always feel bound so to distri
bute that taxation as to promote as far as possible the interests
of the trade relations that are existing between civilized'
countries. (Applause.) I am quite aware that at the distance
of three thousand miles from here matters may be done
which may not be understood very well by many people

IN SCOTLAND. 23
in' this country, and perhaps the gentlemen of tbe press
who are present will pardon me if I .say that many of the
representations in the English newspapers are not always
quite as correct as they might be in matters of detail —
(applause) — but, we shall be most happy, either as Can
adian journalists or as Canadian public men, to endeavour to
keep our brethren of the press and our brethren in political life
as right as possible in these matters. I have spoken chiefly
on geographical features and business relations, but I will say
a few words now as to the social condition of the people— the
kind of political and social life that is prevalent in the countl-y.
We have, as you are aware, no difficulties to contend with such
as divide many interests in this country. We have no Estab
lished Church. (Applause.) We have none of those difficulties
that arise from an early system — that it may be impossible in
older countries to get rid of, or that many may not think it de
sirable to get rid of at all. (Applause.) We have, however,
as I have stated, no kind of class legislation — no kind of sund
ering differences. We have a vast system of public free schools.
In the Province of Ontario we have considerably over 5,000
schools, at which every child in the country can obtain a very
good education entirely free. In each county of the Province
there is at least one good grammar school, where any one can
obtain — either free or at a very small, cost — the elements of a
classical education. From these local schools students
matriculate into the University of Toronto— a great national
establisbment, amply endowed and free to every person of every
creed or class or circumstance in life. (Applause.) This in
stitution contains an excellent library and museum, and pos
sesses in its staff of teachers some of the most eminent men
that England and Scotland has produced. (Applause.) We
have in that institution the means afforded for obtaining the
highest possible education, equal to that of any University in
this country, at the smallest possible price that can be named
8*

24 TOUR AND SPEECHES
anywhere in the world. (Applause.) We have throughout
the whole of the country a spirit of toleration of class to class,
and creed to creed, which is exceedingly creditable to tbe peo
ple of a new country. We have, as you are aware, in th^e great
Province of Quebec a vast French population, the numbers of
which are increasing at about tbe same ratio as tbat of the Eng
lish-speaking populationjof that Province." I was delighted to be
able on other occasions to bear my testimony to the wonderful
success of the French people in Canada. They are in the po-,
sition of a people speaking an alien language, but do not con
sider themselves an alien people, and are at this moment as
proud of British law and freedom as any portion of the Can
adian people ; and as Lord Dufferin remarked tbe other day in
London, there is no class or population more thoroughly trained
in Parliamentary practice and life, and to all the rights and
feelings of an independent and proud people. As thoroughly
British as any Englishman, Scotchman, or Irishman, they are
also possessed of a spirit of endurance, a power which is making
itself felt in the country ; and I am glad to be able to say, that
the English people and the French people live together in a
spirit of the utmost harmony, and find no difficulty arising from
the separate nationalities from which they originally sprung.
(Applause.) I find myself on returning to this country some
times a little curiously situated in coming into contact with
existing institutions and social habits which affect political life,
the product of centuries of slow growth and development; not
that I have anything to complain of personally ; but there are,
nevertheless, in a new .country like Canada, habits and feelings
and practices grown out of its very freedom which set at defi
ance the conventional restraints existing here, and engender a
new life-feeling which perhaps comes but slowly to older and
richer communities. But, sir, I am glad to know that the
same glorious spirit that animated the people of this country
in former days animates tho people in Canada. Burns placed

IN SCOTLAND. 25
the following words in the mouth of Eobert Bruce when about
to make a last despairing effort to regain the independence of
bis country: — We shall drain our dearest veins,
% But we shall be free.
(Applause.) Now, sir, we are equally determined in the mat
ter of draining our dearest veins always for freedom, and never,
if we can help it, for anything else. (Applause.) I hope that
the days are far distant when any occasion shall arise which
will compel the people of Canada or the people of Great Britain
to take up arms for any purpose but for the maintenance of
those institutions which Scotchmen in former days did so much
, to promote and perfect, and have bequeathed to the united
¦ nation and to the world. (Applause.) You have alluded, Mr.
Provost, to the advantages which I enjoyed of having a Scot
tish education, and you were pleased to say that it was a com
modity which could not readily be stolen. • Well, I do admit,
and every Scotchman must, the enormous influence which early
' Scotch training in tbe national schools in this country bas had
on the people of tbe( country. (Applause.) We are apt to
speak of John Knox as a great preacher. I think if he excel
led at all, he excelled quite as much as a statesman as be did as
a preacher. (Applause.) I think there is nothing for which we
should revere the memory of Jobn Knox so much as the estab
lishment of the parochial school system of education in Scot
land. (Applause.) And I am sure there is no one who has
gone abroad and has witnessed the influence that this early
school training has had upon the Scottish character and the
Scottish mind but must be satisfied that it was the proudest
day of Scotland's national existence when these schools were
established. (Applause.) I have merely to say, Mr. Provost
in conclusion, that no Scotchman abroad has any reason to be
ashamed of Scotland, and I trust that no Scotchman here in my
own county, or in any other county, or in the colonies, will do

26 " TOUR AND SPEECHES
anything tbat will make Scotland ashamed of him. (Applause.)
While I shall continue to reside for the remaining day^ oi my
life in Canada — I shall continue there of course as a Canadian
— I cannot if I would, and would not if I could, throw off all
allegiance to my own proud nationality of Scotland. (Applause.)*
And, sir, it is not necessary. The children of Israel when they
were taken captive by the great Eastern monarch, were asked
by the Babylonian captors to sing them a song of Zion. They
replied, " How can we sing tbe songs of Zion in a strange land?
May mjT right hand forget its cunning if I forget thee, 0 Je
rusalem ! " We can as Scotchmen sing our national songs —
songs of freedom or affection — whether placed in Canada or
Australia, whether in the Arctic or Antarctic zones, and think
our national anthem as dear to us in one place as in another ;
for the broad banner of British freedom floats equally over
every country of the British dominion. (Loud applause.)
Bailie Edward then moved for three cheers for the youngest
burgess in Dundee, which were very heartily given.

THE BANQUET IN DUNDEE.
On the afternoon of the same day a magnificent banquet was
given by the citizens of Dundee to their youngest burgess, in
the Thistle Hall, which was elaborately decorated for t^ie oc
casion. Provost Cox presided, and on his right hand were — the guest
of the evening the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie ; the Eight Hon.
Lord Kinnaird ; Mr. Jenkins, M.P. ; Sheriff Cheyne ; and Mr.
Williams Thorns ; and on the left— the Eight Hon. the Earl of
Strathmore; Sir Douglas Steuart, of Murthly; Admiral Mait
land Dougall ; Lord Provost Macdonald, Perth ; and Mr. Hay,
Town Clerk. The croupiers were Bailies Edward and Thom
son. Among those present were — Bailie Nicoll, Bailie Foggie,

IN SCOTLAND. 2*7
and Bailie Macdonald, Dean of Guild Luke, Councillor Hender
son. Councillor M'Grady, Councillor Brownlee, Councillor Cleg-
horn^ Councillor Mitchell, Councillor Anderson, Councillor
Ogilvy, Councillor Eobertson (Dundee), Councillor Eobertson
(Lochee), Councillor Philip, Councillor Gray, Councillor Ball-
ingall, Councillor Allan, Councillor Kerr, Councillor Haggart,
Councillor Smith, Councillor Mcncur, Councillor Jobson, and
Councillor Drummond, ex-Bailie Buchan, ex-Dean of Guild
Macnaughtan, Provost Fyfe (Forfar), Bailie Kidd (Broughty
Ferry), Colonel Sandeman, Mr. Thomas H. Cox, Mr. Henry
Cox, Mr. George Cox, Mr. J. H. Luis, Mr. George Mackerzie,
Mr. A. W. Fairweather, Mr. J. F. Low, Mr. Thomas Smith,
Mr. W. Tod, Mr. William Martin, Mr. John Ewan, Mr. James
Edward, Mr. Henry Henderson, Mr. T. M. Black, Mr. A. Hen
dry, Mr. David Easson, Mr. D. C. Pagan, Mr. B. M. Macrae,
Mr. J. P. Kyd, Mr. J. J. Deas. Mr. J. C. Jameson, Mr. James
Watson, Mr. D. Farquharson, Mr. D. Mackay, Mr. W. M'Kelvie,
Mr. Walter Baxter (United States Vice-Consul), &c.
After the removal ofthe cloth, the Provost said he had re
ceived letters of apology from Sir John Ogilvy ; Lord Provost
Falshaw; Mr. Yeaman, M.P. ; Sheriff Heriot ; Dr. M'Gavin;
Bailie Eobestson ; and Mr. Thos. Thornton. He afterwards
gave the toasts of tbe Queen and their Eoyal Highnesses the
Prince and Princess of Wales and the other members of the
Eoyal Family. These toasts having been duly honored, he sub
sequently called for a bumper for the Navy, Army, and Ee-
serve Forces, coupled with Admiral Maitland Dougall and
Colonel Sandeman. (Applause.)
Admiral Dougall replied in a very humorous speech, and
was followed by
Colonel Sandeman, who said he had frequently replied on
behalf of the Eeserve Forces of the country, but never in the
presence ofthe Premier of one ofthe greatest colonies— one

28 TOUR AND SPEECHES
who had given the subject of defence a great deal of study, and
who bad organized a strong force, which was left behind him
to keep Canada all right till be went back again. Ever since
the Franco-German war the subject of reserves bad been anxi
ously considered, but Britain bad done very little. Canada, on
the other hand, had sent over to this country, and had obtained
the services of Colonel Strange, E.A., who was using bis very
best ability tore-organize under Mr. Mackenzie a splendid force
of artillery for Canada. But he hoped that when that point
was arrived at, when all the resources had been utilised, she
would never follow tbe example of her sister, and sever by the
swoi'd of war those ties which bound her to England and her
Queen. Goaded on by what Americans considered vexatious
taxation, their volunteers of a hundred years ago drove them
with their tax gatherers across the Atlantic, after sinking the
cargo of tea which they fain would have forced into their stores,
and kept the custom which tbey would fain have slipped into
their pockets. Were Canada to turn against them with that
cool Perthshire man at the helm he feared they might be served
in the same way. God grant it never might, but tbat under
the sway of a wise Government the cords that bind them might
become stronger, and that instead of sending, as they did a
hundred years ago, German Hessian troops against their kith
and kin, they might send Dundee Hessian bags to convey from
their fertile shores to their beautiful harbors the produce of
that splendid country. Mr. Mackenzie had, however, assured
them tbat this would never happen if Great Britain kept her
own place towards her child. (Cheers.)
The Provost gave the health ofthe Eight Hon. the Earl of
Strathmore. (Applause.)
Tbe Earl of Strathmore, who was cordially received, said
he was specially pleased that night in having the satisfaction
along with his Dundee friends of welcoming their distinguished

IN SCOTLAND. 29
countryman the guest of that evening. They took a deep in
terest in those of their countrymen who went abroad, and
they had reason to be proud of not a few of them. (Applause.)
It was a feeling of this kind which had brought them
together, to congratulate the youngest burgess of the town of
Dundee on the honor he had received. (Applause.) Mr. Mac
kenzie had raised himself to' a very high position in the great
Dominion of Canada, which was one of the proudest jewels in
the crown of the Sovereign of Great Britain. (Applause.)
The Provost next gave "The House of Lords and the Eight
Hon. Lord Kinnaird." (Applause.)
Lord Kinnaird acknowledged the toast, and thanked them
as a Perthshire man for the honour they had done Mr. Mac
kenzie, and he was sure his own county would not be behind
in honoring him. (Applause.)
Tbe Provost afterwards gave " The House of Commons,"
coupled with Mr. Jenkins. (Applause.)
Mr. Jenkins ably replied.
Bailie Macdonald gave the healths of the Sheriffs of the
county, coupled with Sheriff Cheyne, who cordially acknow
ledged the toast.
Tbe Provost rose to propose the toast of the evening, and
was loudly applauded. He said — We have met to do honor to a
distinguished countryman who bas come to revisit the place
ofhis birth and the scenes ofhis youth. (Applause.) He pre
sents to the young- men of Scotland an example worthy of their
study and imitation. It is possible that his successful career
may give fresh courage to some who are entering upon the
great struggle of life, and may convince them that those who
carefully cultivate the talents which God has given them, and
steadily pursue a manly and upright course, seldom fail of
success. Few may reach the eminence which our honorable
guest has attained, but all mry acquire honor and respect by a

30 TOUR AND SPEECHES
faithful and conscientious discbarge of duty. If such shall be
the result ofthe visit of Mr. Mackenzie to his native country,
he will not have come in vain. Let me, then, ask you to dedi
cate a bumper to the health of the Honorable Alexander Mac
kenzie, Prime Minister of Canada, and Burgess of Dundee.
(Loud and hearty applause.)
Mr. Mackenzie, who was received with loud and prolonged
applause, said,— My Lord Provost, my Lords, and gentlemen,
I feel very proud ofthe kindness shown to me by the events of
the previous part of this day, and this entertainment, and by
the kind remarks that you and some other gentlemen have
made regarding my visit to this country. I not only feel
grateful at present, but it will be a green day in my memory
to the last day of my life. I only hope what eome have been
pleased to say may be the case, that improved commercial
intercourse between Canada and this - country may result,
perhaps not from my visit, but from information I may be
able to get. There is much to be said at a meeting of this kind,
bnt I do not think it would be proper to go into any general
discussion about the situation of Canada at the present moment.
The gallant Colonel on my right was pleased to refer to
military matters in connection with this country and in con
nection with Canada, and the relation that Canada bears to the
Empire. I need not say we consider ourselves in Canada to be
quite as much belonging to the Empire as any part of Great
Britain or Ireland. We have, in fact, in Canada ceased to
speak of the possibility of anything else ever taking place than
a continuance of the intimate political relationship which at
present exists. We believe it is quite consistent for England's
greatness and Canada's happiness tbat this relationship should
continue. We believe, as I stated in my remarks to-day in tbe
other hall, that there is room on the American Continent for
two political systems. We have long ago made up our minds
to that, and this relationship will continue, no doubt; and lam

IN SCOTLAND. 31
sure that the same reciprocal feelings will not only be enter
tained but maintained by every person on this side of the
Atlantic. We have had our little trials. The gallant Colonel,
in speaking of the condition of the volunteers in England,
alluded to the necessity that existed in Canada for something
like, an active force. We have a force-of about 45,000 men — a
force which could be turned out in a "short time — and I shall
only mention one fact — in connection with tbe second Fenian
raid in 1870, when the Commander-in-Chief of our Militia,
Colonel Eoss-Eobertson, was able to turn out nearly 20,000
men in 24 hours upon the frontier, and not merely 20,000
men, but 20,000 fairly drilled, equipped and clothed, of all
ai?ms of the service — cavalry, infantry, artillery and rifles.
(Applause). To that efficient organization of our militia
system we undoubtedly owed tbe salvation of tbe country at
tbe time. After tbat one night's business — for I may say that
I was out with the rest of my colleagues - we were secured
from further molestation on the part of the Fenian bands in
the United States, and we also destroyed all hope on the part
of United States politicians that anything like a separation of
the country could be attained by any means whatever in the
power of man, unless it should be a desire on the part of
England to separate from us. (Applause.) We believe in
that country we have the means of building up a great and
powerful nationality; and although all new countries are
perhaps a little inclined to boast and somewhat inclined to
feel a little too proud of their position, we believe we have a
territory to occup ywhich will justify some brilliant hopes. We
have a will to occupy it in all its parts ; and although it is
somewhat difficult for a handful of people such as we are
compared to you — for we are not quite one-eighth part of
your population — to occupy a territory so vast as ours, still we
feel tbat by the natural' increase of the population, and by the
efforts of our emigration agents in Europe, we will be able in

32 TOUR AND SPEECHES
the course of a few years to throw a vast population into the
country so sparsely inhabited at present. (Applause.) ' I may
mention, as an example of the difficulties which we have to
encounter in maintaining law and order in so vast a territory,
that we have between the Eocky Mountains and Lake of the
Woods 1,000 miles of territory from east to west, by 500 miles
from south to north, fit for settlement, almost wholly
unoccupied, excepting some 20,000 or 30,000 people in the
Province of Manitoba. There are some 50,000 Indians.
This country was infested for years by traders from the United
States selling intoxicating liquor to the Indians, and causing
much disturbance in our relations with them by keeping up a
constant irritation on the frontier, and debauchery and war
amongst the Indian tribes. The Government determined to
send a force of Mounted Police, armed as cavalry, to establish
law and order. This force was organized and sent, and you
may imagine what sort of country it is when I tell you that it
took six weeks marching from one end to the other along the
frontier to reach the base of the Eocky Mountains. It accom
plished its mission, however ; order was completely established ;
and I was informed by a resident at Fort Benton, in the upper
part ofthe Missouri country (in the United States), that they
i)3ver knew on the frontier what it was to have order
established till the Canadian troops did so. (Applause.) We
hope in the course of a comparatively short time to begbie to
enter that great territory by means of a railroad now under
construction. It was on^ of the last things I did before leaving
home, as Minister of Public Works, to let out by contract two
or three hundred miles of the road for construction, and
thousands of men are now engaged upon it in the wilderness
north and west of Lake Superior, tracking out a way in which
thousands will follow them — some to settle, some to work upon
the railway, but all to extend the dominion of Canada and the
dominion of Great Britain in those remote countries described

IN SCOTLAND. 33
by Butler as " The Great Lone Land." We hope that the efforts
made by the Canadian Government will result in obtaining for
the country such a population as may be amply sufficient in
tbe course of a short time to develop some of its principal
resources. (Applause.) We believe these resources to be
great, and that if we are favoured at all by fortune, we will
have a most flourishing and industrious population in these
new territories, occupying them to the common advantage of
Canada and of Great Britain. You were pleased to refer, to my
political opinions upon one subject; and while I quite concur
with you that in such a meeting it is perhaps improper to
speak of local politics, still I think in the higher branches of
political life we may refer to political principles. I take the
true meaning of the term free trade to be the complete removal
of all restrictions upon trade so far as that can possibly be
done. I believe myself that the principles of Eichard Cobden,
and the principles of free trade over the world, are the real
principles of civilization ; and I believe that wherever these
principles are interfered with by restrictions on trade by
artificial means, to that extent there is retrogression from the
higher principles of civilization. (Applause.) That, I think,
is the view generally taken by the people of Canada. We have
amongst u's, no doubt, as you have amongst you, people who
have tbe idea tbat tbe true trade principle is to build up a
high stone and lime wall to prevent people coming in or going
out; who say : — "Let us keep the trade to ourselves, and keep
the money in our own country." But we cannot do that — we
can only make money by trading with other nations and
individuals, ancl I quite appreciate your suggestion,
my Lord Provost, that the people of Dundee and
Canada should endeavour to trade a little more in
the future than they have done in the past. (Applause.)
I assure you that nothing will be wanting to that end on the
part of the Canadian Government so long as I have the honour

34 TOUR AND SPEECHES
of being one of its members; and I believe no Canadian
Government, whatever the political party, will attempt to
hinder thc extension of tbe true principle of free trade all over
the world. We believe we will be in a position in the course
of a few years to do a great deal of your business. We believe
we shall be able, by way of tbe Pacific Ocean, to carry your
tea across our railway, and to transport your goods to China
by a much shorter route than at present. If we do that, you
will obtain some advantages in return, for wherever a large
amount of business is transacted there must be a large amount
of profit to somebody. (Laughter and applause.) A parlia
mentary friend of mine was privately discussing this subject
with me. He said, — " The country is going to ruin ; the
balance of trade is against us. How can we continue to go on
in this way many more years ? Our exports last year were so
many millions, and our imports so many millions more, and we
are poorer by the difference between tbe imports and exports."
I said, — " We cannot be poorer, because tbe difference between
the exports and imports represents the profits we have made.
Tou send a cargo of ten thousand barrels of flour to Spain,
which would cost fifty thousand dollars, and you sell it for
ninety thousand ; with this ninety thousand you buy other
products and bring them back to Canada. The balance of
trade would be against you in this case to the extent of forty
thousand dollars, which would also be the exact amount of
profit on the transaction. In this way you account for the
difference of import and export. But do you mean to say you
are poorer?" (Applause.) This is the way advocates of
restriction argue. We say the more trade there is, and the
more the balance of trade seems against us, the more likely
are we to obtain large profits, and the profits again are invested
in loans to other countries, and in forwarding enterprises for
tho general benefit of the country. Everybody now admires
the genius of Eichard Cobden and bis associates ; everyone —

IN SCOTLAND. 35
Conservative or Liberal — understands that it would never do
to go back to the old days of trading, when vessels were
charged with tonnage dues, and when it was necessary to
construct them in a most unshapely fashion for exemption
purposes, so tbat one of these old-time protectionist ships
could only be moved in a harbour by having a tug on both
sides to keep her upright. Now every one builds after bis own
fashion, and the rapidity in ocean transport which now prevails
would never have taken place had this restriction remained.
I am sure tbat in Canada the people appreciate this principle,
and the general intelligence which prevails over that country
is such that I am sure there is no danger of a reactionary
policy ever finding a response in the hearts of any considerable
number of our people. ' (Applause.) I feel obliged to you and
the other gentlemen of Dundee for their kindness in welcoming
me, as they have done, back to my native country. (Applause.)
It is quite true that I am a native of Perthshire, and pretty
far north, and it is equally true that I shall always feel a
sincere affection for Scotland, and Perthshire in particular ; but
I am quite sure of this, that in our great colonies, and I trust
also in England, there is every opportunity for those who desire
to rise in political and social life, and who trust to their own
unaided exertions. There is no royal road in Canada or in any
other colony to any position of eminence, either in University,
political, or commercial success. Everything must be got by
hard labour, and I would be sorry to make an impression upon
any one here or elsewhere that we have not as many difficulties
to contend with there as you have to contend with here ; but
it is satisfactory to know that in the colonies, and I hope in
England as well, there is a fair field and no favour, and every
manly and independent mind will rejoice that there is tbat fair
field and will ask nothing niore. The days of monopolies are
ended ; tbe days of class legislation, when one class was set
over another, are ended ;_,and I am glad to see that exemplified

36 TOUR AND SPEECHES
here to-night in the presence of two members of the most
aristocratic and most powerful House of Parliament that has
ever existed anywhere — the House of Peers of England.
(Loud applause.) I apprehend your member will agree with
me when I say that while the House of Commons does
represent, in consequence of its electoral character, the power
and influence of the kingdom in a sense somewhat different
from the House of Lords, that yet the House of Lords has
maintained its character for ability and power and eloquence
in dealing with all public questions. Whatever may be said of
some of the people of Canada and the other colonies as being
more democratic than it is possible for this country to be, yet
we are not so democratic as to refuse to listen to the voice of
reason. We are not so democratic as to ignore tbe best means
of govering a country, both as British subjects interested in
tbe welfare of her people and as colonists specially interested
in the government of our own country. I believe tbat the
colonies are essential to British supremacy in tbe world. I
don't say so because we are desirous of tbe slightest favour
financially from Great Britain. We are able and willing, God
knows, to bear our full share of all Imperial responsibility
whenever required for tbe common interest. And we are
doing so at the present moment. I believe that the power of
ancient Eome departed when they began to desert the
extremities and when the blood receded to the centre and
produced a gorging that ended in paralysis. And if
Great Britain cuts off her extremities, treats her colonies with
contumely, or treats them in such a way tbat they don't care
to remain, then I believe that a great portion of Great
Britain's glory will have departed. (Applause.) I am as
anxious as it is possible for any British subjfect to be that tbat
glory should be unsullied, that that power should never be
abridged, and that English supremacy shall last till the end of
time, because it means universal freedom, universal liberty,

IN SCOTLAND. 3?
emancipation from everything degrading. If that power is
broken, and other Powers come in and take a share of the
historical supremacy which ^peculiarly belongs to us, then I
believe it will be worse for tbe world, and I am sure worse for
England. H there is one thing Lwould desire to press more
than another upon'a British audience, it is that we are extremely
anxious upon this point, and that we are extremely willing to
do our full share in everything that may be necessary to
maintain the status quo. (Applause.) I have little more to say,
but I thank you, sir, most sincerely, and tbe other gentlemen
present, for the kind words they have spoken. I receive them
not so much for myself as for my friends in the Government
in Canada and for my countrymen in Canada, and I can assure
you that the kind words you have spoken will leave a lasting
impression upon my mind. (Loud and prolonged applause.)
Mr. Moncur gave " The Landed Interest, " to which Sir
Douglas Steuart, Bart., replied.
Hon. Mr. Mackenzie proposed " The Provost, Magistrates, -
and Town Council of Dundee. " The Provost acknowledged
the coast.
Mr. Thos. Smith submitted, in an interesting speech, " The
Town and Trade of Dundee, " and its motto,, " Prudence and
Candour." Mr. Thos. H. Cox, President of the Chamber of
Commerce, responded.
Admiral Dougall gave " Tbe Harbour Board and Shipping
Interest." Mr. William Thoms, whose name was coupled with
the toast, replied.
" Tbe Press," " Tbe Ladies, " " Tbe Chairman, " and several
other toasts were proposed, and the proceedings closed shortly-
after eight o'clock.

38 TOUR AND SPEECHES

ADDEESS FEOM THE WOEKINGMEN OF DUNDEE.

On the evening of July 14 Mr. Mackenzie attended by
invitation a meeting of workingmen, held in tbe Kinnaird
Hall, for the purpose of receiving an address of congratulation.
There was a large audience. Bailie Edward presided ; and
beside him on the platform were — Mr. Mackenzie, Mr. Edward
Jenkins, M.P., Bailie Eobertson, Bailie Nicoll, Bailie M'Laren
(Broughty Ferry), Councillor Henderson, Councillor Allan,
Councillor Gray, Councillor Eobertson (Dundee), Councillor
Jobson, Councillor M'Grady, Councillor Anderson, Councillor
M'Lean, Councillor Drummond, Councillor Philip, Mr. James
Christie, Mr. Wm. Tod, Mr. A. W. Fairweather, Mr. George
Eough, Mr. David Eollo, Mr. Warden, Mr. Jobn Moir, Mr. John
Leng, Mr. Walker, Mr. Chas Scott, Mr. James Shaw, Mi-. D.
Bruce, Mr. M'Glasban, Mr. J. J. Deas, Mr. M'Waters, Mr. Bry-
mer, Mr. Sturrock, &c, &c.
Tbe Chairman said he have received an apology for absence
from Provost Cox. He would not make a speech, but said he
cordially approved of the present address. He thought it
right and proper that tbey should do honour to a man who had
done honour to his country. ' (Applause.)
Mr. James Brtmer read tbe address, which was as follows :
To the Hon. A. Mackenzie, M.P., Prime Minister of Canada :
Sie,— As representing the workingmen of Dundee we gladlv embrace
the opportunity afforded by your visit to Scotland to offer you a cordial
welcome, and to express our gratification at your acceptance ofthe highest
honour it is in the power of our burgh to confer.
In conferring the freedom of the town the Magistrates and Town Coun
cil of Dundee have only expressed the unanimous feeling ofthe citizens at
large. We, as working men, regard the occasion of your visit with peculiar
interest. We understand that it is your pride to have sprung from Scotland,
and from the class to which we belong ; and we cannot but express our

IN SCOTLAND. 39
high appreciation of the energy, industry, and ability which have made
you the responsible director of the affairs of a large and flourishing Domi
nion Pew have risen to such eminence, and we are persuaded few have so
well deserved their success. We are proud of your position, which reflects
honour on Scotland itself and on its working men, while at the same time
it shows us what fields are open in our Colonies to the enterprise and intel
ligence of her children.
We regard your presence amongst us as significant of the closeness of
the ties which bind as as Scotchmen to British communities throughout the
tT° ¦ u /i1* is a Pleasure t0 kaow that when our brethren leave Scotland for
British Colonies, they not only carry with them the abilities which have
gained distinction for Scotland in almost every country, but a loyal devo
tion to the old land and a patriotism which is Imperial in its range.
Our hopes and prayers are that you may. long be spared to fill the
exalted position you now so worthily.occupy, and that under your adminis
tration Canada may continue to prosper.
He afterwards said — It affords me no ordinary gratification
that I have been requested to stand before .this meeting of my
fellow-working men, and in their names welcome the Prime
Minister of one of our most important colonies as a citizen of
the third town in Scotland. (Applause.) I am deeply sensible
of my inability to express in words all tbat may be felt by the
class to which I belong as to the honourable and responsible
position, of one who forty years ago was one of ourselves. 1
am not bere to pour down- upon Mr.' Mackenzie's devoted bead
the insincere adulations with which great men are sometimes
overwhelmed. It is true we have nothing but words to give ;
but tbey are few, and such as an honourable man may accept
while receiving the band of welcome from his countrymen.
(Applause.) We are glad to have Mr. Mackenzie in our midst,
and proud tbat be bas risen from the workman's bench to be
the responsible ruler of a colony nearly as large as the conti
nent of Europe. What a thought for working men ^Alexander
of Eussia, Francis Joseph of Austria, tbe Emperor William,
the hero of tbe Septennate, and the gay gallant of Italy could
all be included within the territory governed by the operative '
stonemason from a country parish in Perthshire. (Applause.)
Unacquainted as I am with tbe history of Mr. Mackenzie's
political acts, it would be affectation to detain you with any
reference to theso. It is enough for us to know that under his
3*

40 TOUR AND SPEECHES
benignant rule Canada will have ample power to develop ber
vast resources, to become a blessing to her population, and a
strong support to the gnarled trunk from which she sprung.
(Applause.) I have now, sir, to ask your acceptance of this
address. Although presented to you by this meeting, I belieye
it to be the sincere expression of tbe community of Dundee.
And when engaged in further plans for peopling the immense
territories under your control, tbe improvement ofthe naviga
tion of the St. Lawrence, and the further utilisation of the
inland seas of North America, may tbe thought that you have
approving friends on the banks of the Tay sustain and comfort
you, and thus we may in some degree at least become contri-
butories to your success. (Loud applause.)
Mr. Sturrook, in seconding the address, said he thought
that they, in uniting to do honour to Mr. Mackenzie, the Pre
mier of Canada, were only in a possibly higher degree doing
honour to themselves. (Applause.) It was a good thing and
a proper thing to give honour to those who occupied high po
sitions, who had titles to their names, and could trace their
descent through a long line of ancient heroes ; but be held it
was far better to honour one who had risen from tbe ranks to
occupy the position which he now held. They could all
remember the sterling words of tbe Scottish Bard :—
The rank is but the guinea stamp.
The man's the gowd for a' that.
(Applause.) It would have been right to have expressed their
admiration of Mr Mackenzie as Prime Minister of Canada if it
had been for nothing more, but it was more appropriate when
they know the sterling worth of the man. (Applause.) He
might say he was not surprised that he was not ashamed of
being a Scotchman, but they would allow him to say the man
who was ashamed of being a Scotchman ought to be ashamed
of himself. (Applause.) He hoped Mr. Mackenzie would long
be spared to guide the destinies of the nation, and that he

IN SCOTLAND. 41
might at the end be able to look back with pleasure to a life
of usefulness, and to think that he had always been upon the
side of honesty and truth. (Loud applause.)
The Chairman then asked the approval of tbe meeting for
the address, which was most heartily given, the audience
standing up and cheering.
Mr. Mackenzie, who was received with loud and continued
applause, said — Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of Dundee, I as
sure you there is nothing that a public man so appreciates as
to find tbat his public acts meet with the reasonable approval
of a large portion of his fellow-citizens. (Applause.) Words
cannot express the feelings of pleasure that pass though my
own mind on receiving so much kindness — first, from the chief
authorities ofthe town of Dundee, and latterly, at this present
meeting, from those whom I perhaps should call more peculiarly
my own associates in social life. (Applause.) Sir, I have
listened with the utmost possible pleasure to tbe eloquent
remarks of the two gentlemen who have moved and seconded
the address which you have just presented, and I have merely
to say that if that is the kind of stuff of which the working
men of Dundee are composed, we could make members of par
liament of a great many of .them if they will only come to us.
(Loud applause.) You know, sir, tbat, generally speaking, we
Scotchmen are slow of speech compared with our Irish fellow-
countrymen. (Laughter.) They can always speak, no matter
on what occasion, with the greatest possible fluency. (Laugh
ter.) We are constantly halting in our speech, and unable
to clothe our ideas in proper garb ; but it seems, sir, that the
Scotchmen of Dundee are peculiarly fitted for occupying the
platform. (Laughter.) I am glad to see that they do so
without the slightest tinge of the peculiarity with which the
Scotch are generally charged, of being clannish to their own
people, for I have beside me my friend Mr. Jenkins — (loud ap-

42 TOUR AND SPEECHES
plause) — who is Agent-General of Canada, and although he is
an Englishman, you elected him to represent you in Parliament.
I think it is Dean Eamsay who tells the story somewhere in
his somewhat famous book, of some Scotchman who was so
particularly careful of the honour of his country that be did
not like the idea of an Englishman presuming to repeat' the
poems of Eobert Burns and such men peculiarly Scotch ; but
one English gentleman got into his neighbourhood, and he
resolved, as he has settled in the country, to make himself as
much a Scotchman as an Englishman could. But this person
did not like the idea at all, and when some one was speaking
in approval ofthe Englishman's course he said : — " Yes, he is
very well ; yet be is an Englishman for all that. He is merely
an improved Englishman." (Loud laughter and applause.)
Now, my friend Mr. Jenkins is at present an improved English
man — (renewed laughter) — but I dare say if you will elect
him again, as I have no doubt you will do, he will become a
pretty thoroughly improved one at the end of the next term.
Well, sir, I have somewhat digressed, but it is merely to point
to a peculiarity, or failing, I may say, characteristic of us as
Scotchmen. We have never been able to bold our own as
public speakers with Irishmen, nor yet with Englishmen, and
we have to trust to something else to make our way in the world
both bere and elsewhere. For when Englishmen invade our
own territory and carry away , the representations of our dis
tricts, you may guess what they can du in the Colonies, where
we are so very few. (Applause.) Sir, I was exceedingly
pleased to hear the expressions of the two gentlemen who
have spoken here to-night, and I have merely to say, with
reference to the part of their speeches which alluded to the
possibility, the practicability, the certainty, of those who are
diligent and energetic rising in the Colonies to occupy political
positions of distinction, that I think workingmen in Britain,
as well as in the Colonies, do not do themselves justice when

IN SCOTLAND. 43
they believe that the highest political positions are shut out
from them by reason of social distinctions. (Loud 'applause.)
For my own part, sir, I never allude to tbe fact that I have
been a workingman as a reason why I should be rejected or
why I should be accepted. (Applause.) I base my entire
claim for public confidence upon tbe expressions of opinion
which I believe command public confidence, and upon the re
sult pf these principles of which I have been an bumble advo
cate for many years. (Applause.) I do not, of course, pre
sume for a moment to speak here upon party political subjects.
So far as British politics are concerned, I am an alien amongst
you. I desire to say nothing which will militate against one
political party in this community or in this country. It would
be unpardonable of me to do so, receiving as I have done kind
ness which I shall never forget from gentlemen of all shades
of political opinion in this country. But at the same time I
may be permitted to say I have always held those political
opinions which point to the universal brotherhood of man, no
matter in what rank of life he may have taken his origin.
(Loud applause.) I have believed, sir, and I now believe, in
the extinction of all class legislation, and of all legislation that
tends to promote any body of men or any class of men from
the mere fact of their belonging to a class of a higher position
than any other class in the community. (Applause.) But, sir,
in our great colonies — while we find no fault with the political
organization in the mother-country — while we find no fault
with the political organization in any other country — we take
the ground simply and completely that every man stands
equal in the eye of the law, and every man has the same op
portunity by exercise of the talent with which God has blessed
him to rise in the world, in the confidence of his fellow-citizens,
the one quite as much as the other. (Applause.) Now, sir, I
am quite sure when I address so enlightened a body of men as
the workingmen of Dundee — who comprise the greater part

44 TOUR AND SPEECHES
of this meeting — I am quite sure I can address them believing
that I shall find a full response in their hearts ofthe opinions
I utter when I press upon them the necessity — the absolute
necessity, as a first measure - as the very foundation of success
in life — that they shall assume an erect and proud position,
that they shall respect their own manhood; and they will
soon compel all other people to respect them. (Applause.)
It is quite true 'that ypu have in this country a class who are
elevated above tbe rest by reason of rank bestowed by the
favour of the Sovereign ; but do not imagine for a moment
that class distinctions are peculiar to this country. Go to the
Eepublic of the United States of America, and you will find
there, I venture to say, more class distinctions created by
wealth than you will find in this country by titular distinctions
connected with the landed property of the country. (Ap
plause.) And it is a matter of moonshine to you or to me
whether the influence which separates the great body of the
people from the few is, as in America, the possession of enor
mous wealth, and the erection of peculiar social barriers which
shut out every one%ut a favoured few ; or whether it is, as in
other countries, the barriers erected by a long process of law
and by the exercise of the Sovereign favour. (Applause.) In
either case you have in this country, as we have in Canada, and
in all tbe British Colonies, and in the Eepublic of the United
States, tbe most perfect field for the operation of your own
intellects and powers to work upon, and it is, the fault of the
individual and not of the political system if he fails to attain
to some reasonable success in life and some comfort in social
existence. (Applause.) I do not know, sir, precisely upon
what subjects I should speak to-night. My address, so far as
it has gone, has been chiefly personal to myself, and I have
referred to some extent to what is mentioned in the address. I
have simply now to say a very few words in reference to mat
ters which perhaps may interest some present concerning my

IN SCOTLAND. 45
own country. (Applause.) As I said yesterday, I count Scot
land my country quite as much perhaps as Canada, but I am
peculiarly interested in Canada. It is my home for the rest of
my life, and my interests are bound up there, and my family
is Canadian. And while I as a Scotchmam will ever regard
with the greatest and tenderest interest everything that affects
my native land ; while I look back to tbe long roll of historic
events connected with Scotland and to the long sfl-uggle for
Scottish independence, which tended to promote English inde
pendence, British independence, and the independence of all
other nations in the world — I believe that nothing can ever
exalt in my mind the feeling that I now have that the interests
of human liberty have been more promoted by this glorious
little nationality than any other spot on God's earth. (Loud
applause.) Sir, almost every spot that one travels over in
this favoured island is a spot that has been drenched with the
martyr and patriot's blood, Every place you visit is alive
with historic lore. When I was looking the other day in one
of the public buildings in Edinburgh on one of the banners
that had been carried by the Scottish army at Flodden Field,
when I thought of tbe disastrous consequences of the field
where the Scotch chivalry, including the king, were stricken
down, yet I felt proud that even by these disasters our honour
at least was not lost. (Applause.) It would be impossible for me,
as it would be unpardonable in me, no matter where situated
for the last of my days, were I to forget all this, and were
I, as a Scotchman, and even though I were not a Scotchman —
though only a citizen of the world, a cosmopolitan, knowing
no country and no home as my own — it would be unpardonable
on my part to forget tbat Scotland has played what may be
called a tragedy of human life. (Applause.) But, sir, as it is,
my interests and personal affections, while not alienated from
Scotland, are transferred in a measure to Canada. I look upon
Canada as a country peculiarly favoured as to climate, as to

46 TOUR AND SPEECHES
locality, as to soil, and as to the feelings of the people, as being
the home of a brave, a generous, and a powerful nation, and
one yet destined to play an important part in tbe history of
the world. I cannot but feel that it is my duty' on this, as on
all other occasions, to say a word or two regarding that great
country. (Applause.) Now, sir, I am aware that many peo
ple emigrate to Canada, and that some return with feelings of
disappointment. They do not think the Eiver St. Lawrence is
as big as has been said. They do not think that the Falls of
Niagara quite as large as has been stated. They do not think
the lakes are so vast as bas been represented to them. They
come back believing that there has been some great delusion,
and a mirage presented to their view which gave a false im
pression to their mind and altogether disappointed their expect
ations. Still, sir, as I said yesterday, neither in Canada nor in
any other country I know is there a Eoyal road to social or
political distinctions ; but I do say that in Canada as in no
other country, possessing as it does enormous tracts of land
and a comparatively sparse population, there must necessarily
be more room for personal and individual effort than there can
be where the people are cramped and confined by walls' and
boundaries of factories and steamships. (Applause.) The
rapidy progress which the world has made during tbe last
quarter of a century, especially in the means of rapid trans
portation and communication between the various countries, has
had a tendency to equalize wages and equalize prices over the
whole world, and as the means of transportation and communi
cation become still more extended we will arrive at the period
when the wages of the workman, and of the clerk, and of all
who are engaged as producers on the world's surface will
become as nearly equalised as possible, and change only by
the cost of transportation from one place to another. Sir,
when I went to America, nearly forty years ago, a three
months' voyage was a very common thing. A six weeks'

IN SCOTLAND. 41
voyage was a rather rare thing. Now, sir, we complain if we
do not make it in ten days, and call it a very bad passage if
we do not make it in thirteen days. The result of all this has
been that people in this country have benefited by the prices
paid on the other side of the water, and now when an evil day
has come over the manufacturing districts of the United States,
and Canada has become infected by reason of the fiscal policy
of our powerful neighbour and its influence upon our trade
and commerce, we find that the wages here are nearly equal
to the wages in America in purchasing power, though nomi
nally smaller in amount ; but in Canada we have this advant
age : Here, for instance, when a large manufactory is shut
up by reason of failures in trade or a great depression in the
sales of the articles that manufactory produces, the whole
army of workmen are thrown idle upon the market. There
is no place to which they can go ; all other manufactories of
any kind of material are already filled up. The agricultural
districts are filled with labour, and they have nothing to do
but to depend upon the accumulations and savings of forcner
years, or the operation of some Trades' Union or Friendly
Society. But in Canada, if he chooses, a mechanic when out of
work can goto the Governments of Quebec, Ontario or the other
Provinces and obtain a free grant of land to settle upon ; and
if trade continues bad, he can always keep at work cultivating
and clearing his land, and it will free him from any possible
danger of starvation. (Applause.) I do not desire to say one
word which would operate as an undue inducement to any
person now before me to leave his native land and settle in
my own country, but I merely point out the peculiar advant
ages that result to those who settle there. I believe that if at
the present moment a large number of Scotch or British
mechanics were to emigrate to the Canadian cities they might
find in some branches some difficulty, in getting profitable
employment. I do not know exactly whether this is true,

48 TOUR AND SPEECHES
but I think it probable. But, sir, mechanics who are there
can get other ways of employing themselves. They can get
abundance of employment of some kind. When I went to
Canada I found trade of every kind very dull. I found wages
very low — not much higher than in this country — and great
difficulty in obtaining employment. I went at once to the
bush, and took my axe and commenced clearing the land. I
found abundance of employment there, and I tell you it would
take all the people here and ten thousand times more to clear
the woods within a reasonable time. (Applause.) I found no
difficulty in finding abundance of work, and so it is at the
present moment ; and those who do not care to go into the
woods and clear farms there have only to go to the North-
West country, where we have prairies with a soil of ten feet
deep, and natural grass that may be cut late in the year'
supplying abundance of forage for all tbe animals you could
possibly have. (Applause.) Last year tbe Government of
Canada sent a large force into the north-west parts to preserve
order in our borders — to prevent an irruption of United States
traders selling whiskey. And I may say in passing that I do
not myself make use of whiskey, and do not believe in it.
(Applause.) I believe it is one of the greatest curses, espe
cially to the workingman, tbat could possibly be named.
(Applause.) And, sir, when enacting a new law for the
government of the Nortb-West territory we took care to pro
vide that in a territory bigger five or six times than the size
of this country not a drop of whiskey, either in shape of
ordinary liquor or in Perry Davis's pain-killer or in anything
else, could find entrance there. (Applause.) And in order to
secure compliance with the rigid terms of this law, we sent a
mounted force of 300 men to keep watch and ward over our
boundary, and to prevent its. introduction from the United
States. I mention this merely in passing to let you know
what you may expect in that country, that those who want

IN SCOTLAND 49
whiskey had better stay away from our prairies. (Applause.)
To say a little now about agriculture. I saw lately in an
English newspaper that it was a great pity we had eight
months of winter and four of summer, and terrible pictures are
drawn of men being frozen to death, and so on. Well,! never
saw anything of tbe kind. (Laughter.) I never felt
any inconvenience — not so much as I have sometimes felt
here — in the winter time there. Well, sir, at Fort Pelly,
where the headquarters of this force were situated, we sent
a party with instructions to get an abundance of hay for the
supply of the cavalry horses during the winter, and it is a
positive fact that in that part, 300 miles west of Red Eiver,*800
miles west of Lake Superior, 2,000 miles west of Quebec, they
got this bay up to the 30th Nov., and stored it for horses' use.
It is quite true, sir, that in that climate there is a considerable
length of winter, but it is equally true that we have a very
much longer summer, and that one month of our summer is
equal to two months of yours in ripening power. (Laughter.)
I do not mean at all to boast of our climate ; I am merely stating
a simple fact. Although we put in our crops a month later than
you, we take them from the ground at least a month earlier
than you. (Applause.) In my own county I have seen ripe
wheat cut as early as the 1st July, and it is very rarely indeed
that it is not all got in before the 1st of August ; and it is tbe
same in the North- Western territories. It is quite true the
frost penetrates into the ground from three to four feet every
winter in many parts of the North- West, but the surface soon
thaws in the spring. The agriculturist is able to plough long
before tbe frost is out below, and get in his seed, and as the
frost retreats from the surface the plants get the benefit of the
capillary attraction from tbe moisture below, and the crops
,grow quite as well there as in any other parts of Canada where
the frost goes very little into the ground. (Applause.) Well,
sir, in that country which I have alluded to— and I did so as it

50 toUr And speeches
was a new country — the Canadian Government provides not
merely free land, but also material assistance in paying part of
the passages in getting there. Tbe wheat there is the heaviest
grown on the American continent, and if there are any -Irish
men here i resent I may tell them that the potatoes grow
bigger there than anywhere else. (Laughter and applause.)
The Canadian Government at the present moment is engaged
in overcoming the initial difficulties that obtain in so vast a
territory. We are at present building a telegraph line from
one side of tbe continent to the other. Every mile of it is
under contract. We will, perhaps, have a third of it con
structed before the end of this year; and wherever wood
occurs, as wood does occur over the prairies, in patches bere
and there, we clear up two chains wide, or 132 feet, build a
telegraph line along this clear plot, and follow with the
surveyors for tbe railroad to prepare a way for operations upon
tbe construction of tbe road. We have from Lake Superior
westward placed under contract about 200 miles of this road in
the place where we have no water navigation; for one of the
peculiarities of Canada is this — that from the time you leave
the ocean and^enter ^the waters of tbe St. Lawrence, you can
go in the same steamer for two thousand miles to the head of
Lake Superior. Then, we have west of Lake Superior, when
we reach tbe height of land, Lac des Mille Lacs, Eainy Lake,
Lake of the Woods, and some other small lakes, reaching
altogether to about 320 miles ; and that brings you close to
Lake Winnipeg, which stretches from north to south about 200
miles, and you are then within a few miles of Lake Manitoba.
This gives us peculiar facilities for opening up the country,
and we are at present proceeding to build our railways on the
spots that connect all these great and small lakes together, so
that we will be able within a very short time to obtain access
to the very hoart ofthe territory, and provide a means of, exit
for tbe productions of this part of Canada when they become

IN SCOTLAND. Si
so great as to require to be exported to Europe for sale.
(Applause.) I mentioned yesterday in my address that in
that country, although the wood was very scarce in many
places, by one of these wise provisions of nature, which
seem never to fail to supply man's necessities in all quarters
of the world, we scarcely ever leave a woody region, or a
region most thickly covered with wood, till we enter upon a
coal district which bas no equal upon the face of tbe earth for
extent. The Saskatchewan Eiver, from the point where it
falls into Lake Winnipeg, except six or seven miles of rapid, is
navigable for a distance of 1,400 miles, and tbe southern
branch of it is navigable for a distance of 800 or 900 miles ;
both branches cut through beds of coal sometimes higher than
the height of this room. This shows the vast resources which
nature has provided in this country, and, in addition, there is
an abundance of that metal which, above all other metals,
enriches a country — iron. (Applause.) Tbe Eocky Mountains
may be described as a great wedge lying in the heart of the
American Continent. As you go south towards Mexico they
rise, and there is a steady depression towards the north. In
the pass where tbe railroad and telegraph lines are being laid,
the utmost elevation is 3,100 feet above the sea level, and this
is attained by a steady and gradual ascent on each side of tbe
mountains. In the Peace Eiver Pass, some 300 miles north of
this, tbe level is nearly 2,000 feet above the sea, and as you
progress towards the Arctic Ocean the great mountain range
of Central America practically disappears, though there may
be hummocky indications of its presence as a mountain range.
The country along the base of tbe Eocky Mountains is
inhabited by the buffalo and the Indian.. I have great
pleasure in saying tbat no British subject need be at all afraid
to encounter tbe Indians anywbere in our territory ; but if a
Yankee goes amongst them, he bas a good chance of being
scalpod the first opportunity. (Applause and laughter.) Wc

52 TOUR AND SPEECHES
have always as a Government, from motives of humane policy
— and, I might say, from motives of selfish policy, if we were
to be guided by selfishness, as I hope we are not — always
preferred to treat with the Indians on proper principles ; and
the Canadian Government never occupy an inch of soil upon
tbe Continent of America till they have first purchased
the right to possess it from the Indians. (Applause.)
We have the Indians as our creditors for the tracts of land ac
quired in the North-West, and we pay them a certain amount
per annum, and a certain amount of interest, and a certain value
in agricultural implements, clothing, &c. They know the
boundaries precisely ; they are laid down on a map which the
chiefs sign ; and those poor people, when tbey met with the
Minister of the Interior and the Governor of Manitoba, last
summer, held a three days' debate regarding the value of the
land ; and I tell those who imagine tbat the red Indian ofthe
West is ignoi-ant, they are mistaken. (Applause.) Those men
know everything passing in the country, and perfectly under
stand the arts of diplomacy. (A laugh.) They are admirable
speakers, and to hear one make a speech you hear at once the
natural orator, and you can appreciate the skill and dexterity
he shows in debate. (Applause.) This country is inhabited
by those Indians, and the feelings which they entertain towards
the Canadian is of the best possible character; but wherever
they find the blue uniform of the United States, or anyone
they know to belong to tbat country, they take the surest
aim possible and dispossess bim of his life. You remem
ber a few years ago the terrible massacre by the Sioux
Indians. In tbe States of Minnesota and Iowa whole districts
were laid waste, and every soul was murdered — man, woman,
and child. But these people although they fled into our border
—-we could not recognize tbe murderers, else we should have
given them up — although they fled into our border, not a child
or even a dog was hurt. They acted with the greatest possible

IN SCOTLAND. 53
propriety, because they knew and believed that the Canadian
Government were determined to do their people justice at all
hazards. (Applause.) I do not suppose any one here would
be afraid to enter upon a settlement in the great north-western
country because of what I have mentioned. I simply mention
these facts to show the policy the Canadian Government have
pursued, and which has entirely sectored intending settlers from
any possible molestation . You are aware that in Canada wo
are a mixed population ; but I think amongst all classes and
nationalities there is a spirit of patriotism which will pre
vent the cropping up of any feeling which would present
national origin or religious belief as a bar to political prefer
ment to either House of Parliament or in the Government
itself. (Applause.) In all new countries such as ours occa
sional difficulties in statesmanship present themselves, because
there is a natural tendency on the part of classes to combine
in order to secure particular interests ; and it is the policy of
the Canadians, as it ought to be the policy of every Govern
ment, to prevent ethnological distinctions exercising any un
due political influence or any undue social influence. , In such
a country as ours the population is necessarily mixed, and wo
are somewhat in the position as races of the people of England
at the time of tbe Norman invasion, when the old Saxons, thc
Normans, and the remnants of the Picts and other tribes in the
north here were all mingled together, and a great diversity of
feeling prevailed, as has been so fully depicted by Sir Walter
Scott in "Ivanhoe" and other works. I hope in our country
we shall never have such difficulties existing as are there de
scribed, and I may tell you an instance of liberality.
(Hear, hear.) Sir Walter Scott tells us in " Ivanhoe " how the
Jews, who then as now possessed a good deal ofthe world's cir
culating medium, were treated. In order to extract money
from them they extracted their teeth, and every time a refusal
was given another tooth was drawn, till at last the Jew yielded.
4

54 TOUR AND SPEECHES
(Laughter.) There is nothing of that kind with us — (laughter
and applause) — and it is to be told to the honour of the French
people of Lower Canada that the French Legislature, long
before the union with Upper Canada in 1840, was the first
Legislature on the face of tho earth in civilized countries that
gave the Jew equal privileges with the Christian in legislation
and in everything else. (Loud applause.) It may be news to
a number of you tbat nearly half a century before Britain
allowed even a Baron Eoth'schild or a Solomon to sit in the
English House of Parliament, the Jew bad tbe liberty of sitting
in the Eoman Catholic French Assembly of Lower Canada.
(Applause.) And those who have beeea privileged to mingle
with my French compatriots there will find amongst them
many men not only of the highest political intelligence, but
ofthe utmost possible liberality which the human mind is ca
pable of enjoying. (Applause.)/ 1 thank you, Mr. Chairman,
very much for the kind words tbat have been spoken by your
self and the two gentlemen that have preceded you. I thank
the workingmen of Dundee for this magnificent meeting and
the kindness with which they have received the few words
which I have spoken. I can only say that this will be a me
morable day in my life as long as I live, and I shall never look
back upon the pleasant three days I have spent in the town of
Dundee except with feelings of tbe utmost possible gratification
and pleasure. (Applause.) And while I can promise no pe
culiar privileges and make no special promises to Scotchmen,
or even to Dundee men, should they come to Canada, I can
promise you this — tbat you shall receive the utmost possible
justice and fair play, and liberality, should you ever think of
visiting tbe Dominion. (Long and prolonged applause.)

IN SCOTLAND. 55

PEESENTATION OF THE FEEEDOM OF THE CITY
OF PEETH.

Mr. Mackenzie was on July 16 presented with the free
dom of Perth, on account of his distinguished services, and of
his being a native of that county. The ceremony took place
in the City Hall at 12 o'clock, in the presence of a large assem
bly, including a number of ladies. Lord-Provost McDonald
presided, and be was accompanied to the platform by the
Eight Hon. Lord Kinnaird, Lord-Lieutenant of the County ;
Bailies Brown, B^eaddie, Eamsay, and Eobertson ; Treasurer
Martin ; Dean of Guild Eobertson ; Councillors Carnegie, Chal
mers, M'Kenzie, Honey, Sime, Frazer, M. Stewart, C. C. Stuart,
M'Arthur, Moir, Walker, Moncrieff, MacLeish, Pinkerton,
Wotherspoon, Deas, and Thomson ; Colonel D. E. Williamson,
of Lawers ; Colonel Campbell, Perth ; Sheriff Barclay, ex-Lord-
Provost Graham, ex-Lord-Provost Sidey, ex-Dean of Guild
Dewar, ex-Bailies Greig, Jamieson, and M'Currach ; Mi-
Thomas Greig of Glencarse, Mr. Charles M'Lean of Glenearn,
Rector Miller, of tbe Perth Academy ; Mr. John M'Donald,
wine-merchant; Eev. Mr. M'Donald, Aberuthven, Eev. Mr.
Cowan, Free St. Leonards ; Mr. John Kippen, solicitor ; Mr. J.
R. Brown-Morison of Finderlie ; and Mr. John Shields, Wallace
Works. The Hon. Mr. Mackenzie, on ascending the platform, met
with a most enthusiastic reception.
The Lord-Provost, in opening the proceedings, requested
Mr. John Thomas, Assistant-Town Clerk, to read the minute
of Council, which was as follows : —
At Perth, and within the Town-Hall thereof, on Monday, fifth day of July,
eighteen hundred and seventy-five years, at ten o'clock forenoon.
On the motion of the Lord-Provost, the Council unanimously approved
of, and adopted, the resolution of the Council in Committee, to present the
freedom of the city to the Honourable Alexander Mackenzie, Prime Minister
of Canada; therefore, the Lord-Provost, Magistrates, and Town Council of
4*

56 TOUR AND SPEECHES
the city of Perth, at a meeting held by them this day, did, and hereby do,
in testimony of the mprited regard they have for the Honourable Alexander
Mackenzie, Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada, a native of Perth
shire, who hus raised himself to his present distinguished position through
his upright energy and unquestionable ability, resolve to present him with
the freedom of the city of Perth, he taking upon him the customary fealty
as a citizen. — Extracted by Wiiliam Greig, Town-Clerk.
The Lord-Provost then said — Ladies and gentlemen, you
have now heard read the minute of Council unanimously con
ferring the freedom of this ancient City and Eoyal Burgh on
tbe Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, the Premier of the Dominion
of Canada— (cheers)— and considering the very large attend
ance now present on a marketday, it indicates to me your
hearty approval of this resolution of your Town Council.
(Cheers.) Mr. Mackenzie left our shores in early life to push
bis fortune in a foreign land. Fortunately for him, and for
the British Empire, he adopted as his future home one of tbe
British colonies, the Dominion of Canada. (Cheers.) His
career in that large and growing country is well known to all
of you through the public prints, and I do not intend to enter
upon it. Sufficiant is it for our present purpose bis being one
of Perthshire's sons — one of ourselves. That is sufficient for
our purpose. (Cheers.) These are the reasons thai; induced
the Town Council1 of Perth, in your name, to offer this to the
Hon. Mr. Mackenzie. I would now ask Mr. Thomas, the Clerk,
to read the burgess ticket to be presented. (Applause.)
Mr. Thomas accordingly took the burgess-ticket from the
casket and read it.
The casket containing the burgess-ticket was of black oak,
taken from a tree found in the bed of the Tay several years
ago, and is 8 inches long and 5 in breadth. At each corner of
the lid is a Scotch thistle, and in the centre the Perth arms,
all done in silver, the latter being surrounded by the following
inscription : —
Burgess-Ticket— Presented to the Honourable Alexander Mackenzie,
Prime Minister of the Dominion Canada, by the Lord-Provost, Magistrates
and Council, ofthe City of Perth. Perth, 16th July, 1875.

IN SCOTLAND. 5*7
The oaskot was provided by Mr. D. Munro, jeweller, Char
lotte Street.
The Lord-Provost then continued — I may mention, before
saying anything further, that it is only on rare occasions that
we offer the treedom ofthe city to any one ; and I would men
tion for Mr. Mackenzie's information a few of the illustrious
names that are entered on our records — (bear, hear) — Lord
Palmerston, the late Marquis of Breadalbane, Lord John Eus-
sell, the Earl of Dalhousie, the Lord sitting at my left here—
Lord Kinnaird— (loud applause)— Sir Hope Grant, Colonel
MeLeod, and many others who have distinguished themselves,
forthe good of their country, either in defending it, or as
statesmen, and otherwise. In proceeding now to discbarge
this duty, in the name of the Town Council and fellow-citizens
of Perth, permit me to say that we are not ignorant, sir, of
your career in Canada as a citizen and statesman. We may
not always give the attention to colonial affairs that we ought ;
but we know this, that your political career, as well as your
private character, has always been marked by integrity, great
ability, and wisdom. (Loud cheers.) We do not speak of
political parties here, nor enter much into politics. It is not
necessary to do so. We may say this, however, no Govern
ment could have survived the disclosures made regarding the
Government of Canada to which you and your Cabinet succeed
ed ; and we do you this honour to-day because we believe that
your accession to power was the accession of integrity and
high principle as well as wise policy. (Hear, hear, and
applause.) Y^ou must permit me to say also, sir, that we are
proud of you as a Scotchman, as one of the foremost of Scotch
men who have manifested in an eminent degree the sound
judgment and caution, uprightness, stainless honour, the
perseverance and patience for which, we hope, Scotchmen will
ever be distinguished all over the world. (Great cheering.)
We are especially proud of you as a Perthshire man, and as a

58 TOUR AND SPEECHES
Highlander. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Whatever schools or
schoolmasters you have had since you left our shores, Perth
shire is the county of your birth, and had put the stamp of its
persevering sons upon you ere you took your departure out
into the great world. (Cheers.) I was gratified, sir, in receiv
ing your first letter to observe by the coat of arms of your seal
that you have not discarded the Gaelic. (Hear, hear, and
laughter.) For the sake of those of you who do not understand
the Gaelic, I must interpret it. The motto is Curdich an righ,
and it means " The King's People " — (cheers) — and I may say
the motto is half-significant of the tried and true loyalty of the
people in whose Council you lead ; and I have no better wish
for our colonies than that they may have only as loyal, faithful
and wise servants as the present Prime Minister of the Domi
nion of Canada. (Cheers.) The country of Canada, su-, is
yours. I hope you will protect both the country and the great
and noble flag of Britain that waves over it. (Cheers.) I am
sure that if you are like the rest of Scotchmen, and tbe High
landers especially — (laughter and cheers) — you will ever
defend the flag of our gracious Sovereign, Queen Victoria.
(Great cheering.) Without occupying any more time, then,
in the name of the Town Council and fellow-citizens
of Perth, I have to present you with this box containing
a free burgess-ticket admitting you as one of our members. I
hope yourself and Mrs. Mackenzie may be long spared to have
this adorning some of your side-tables, and I now give you the
right hand of fellowship as the youngest burgess of this city.
(Great cheering.)
Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, on rising to acknowledge the
honour, was loudly and repeatedly cheered. He said — My
Lord-Provost, ladies, and gentlemen, nothing could be more
gratifying to myself, coming from a Perthshire city and a
Perthshire people, than to have my name placed on that illus
trious roll which you have just read, and which contains the

IN SCOTLAND. 59
names of many of the great statesmen of the country, and
many ofthe prominent citizens of Scotland itself. (Cheers.)
Sir, it is true that I feel quite N as proud of Perthshire
as it is possible Perthshire can feel of any of her own sons —
, (cheers)— and nothing has been looked forward to by myself
with greater longing for many years than once more to be able
to place my foot upon her soil, and tread her heathery hills.
(Cheers.) I have not the good fortune to be familiar with that
language to which you have referred, and which many of the
Highlanders believe was spoken in an eastern country when
mankind were very new. (Laughter.) But I am glad to know
that the family or race or clan to which I belong have always
endeavoured to be " tbe King's people," and to help the King
in every time of need. (Cheers.) I would not promise for
myself, sir, or for them, that we would be advocates of the
divine right of kings, but there can be no possible objection
to the"constitu tional monarchy of Great Britain, and especi
ally in relation to Her present Majesty, Queen Victoria.'
(Cheers.) Perth is represented, I observe, sir, in the guide
books to foreigner as the finest country in Scotland, and Sir
Walter Scott remarks than the natives of every other county in
Scotland say that Perthshire is tbe finest in Scotland next to
theirs. (Laughter.) We, of course, believe it is the best ; and
I am sure tbe position which Perthshire men have taken in
public affairs, on both sides of the .political line which divides
parties in this country, has been such as will give her sons as
great prominence as her bills and valleys have given her scen
ery. (Cheers.) Sir, I represent not merely myself standing
here before you, but I am quite sure you all understand that
in presenting me with the freedom of your city you are ho
nouring not me individually, but that great province — I may
say tbat great nation— which I have the privilege of represent
ing as its Prime Minister — (cheers) — and I am quite sure
that nothing can be more gratifying to the entire Canadian

60 TOUR AND SPEECHES
people than to hear the patriotic utterances of the Lord-Pro
vost of the ancient city of Perth, in connection with tbat per
manent union which be desires, and which we all believe to
bo the inevitable fixed fact between Canada and the Empire
from which it sprung. (Cheers.) Sir, I believe that very few
people appreciate, to the extent that they should do, the im
mense importance to Great Britain of the possession of her
great colonies over the world. It was left to an American
statesman to sayj that tbe British flag could be seen every
where ; and that, from the time you left the citadel of Quebec,
travelling westward and returning back to Quebec, you were
neverout of tbe roll of the drums of British regiments. (Cheers.)
And this is really the case. Great Britain presents the most
marvellous spectacle at the present moment to the civilized
world. Alexander, Napoleon, and other great men in history
—great simply as conquerors — succeeded in establishing an
empire over an immense portion of the world's surface ; but
it was an empire of conquest. The British Empire is not one
of conquest, but one of love and affection— (applause)— and of
those ties that bind together the different families of a great,
and proud, and honourable people. (Cheers.) And, sir, we be
lieve in Canada, as I am sure you believe in Scotland, that it
is our peculiar mission upon the Continent of America to
carry that flag unsullied from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and
down, we hope, through long generations, until political
phases, perhaps not now dreamt of, may arise to cause some
changes which may be in the shape of a grand federation of
all the Anglo-Saxon families of the earth, but which, I believe,
at all i events will be in tbe direction of promoting the hap
piness of mankind, and carrying into distant, and yet compara
tively savage, nations, that civilisation of which the Eed Cross
of England and the Cross of St. Andrew are at once the
symbol and the sign. (Loud cheers.) We have, to be sure, sir,
one great branch of the Anglo-Saxon family alienated from us

IN SCOTLAND. 61
politically in the United States of America ; and w'e have
sometimes reason to complain in Canada, as you have here,
that that branch of the family is not over friendly on parti
cular occasions. Still tttere, is, even in that country, a great
and powerful section of the people who appreciate and admire
the greatness, tbe power, and the generosity of the British
Empire. (Cheers.) They boast, sir, that their flag with its stars
contains an emblem of God's greatness, as representing the
most wonderful works of creation, extending over what Chal
mers calls, "the immensity of space." We, on the other band,
can say tbat our flag represents a still greater work — one that
was absolutely essential to the future and present happiness
of mankind, and we present upon our flag the greatest of all
God's works — the Cross, as the emblem of the redemption of
man. (Loud cheers.) [And, sir, if we continue, as I pray God
we may continue, to live in amity and peace with the other
great portion of our own people and our own blood, the two
nations combined will be able to advance hand-in-hand, sweep
ing before them every vestige of despotism and cruelty and
savage life from off the face ofthe earth. (Cheers, Y, Sir, I
am aware, and every one is aware, of tbe necessity that
there is in this country, and in our country, and in all
parts of the British Empire, for maintaining such a force
as may at once compel tbe imprudent and ambitious amongst
the nations to respect the power, as they must respect
the generosity of the British Empire ; and you will find,
if yon come to Canada at this moment, what I was privi
leged to witness on the North and South Inch yesterday and
to-day, battalions and regiments of our militia putting in
their annual drill, and fitting themselves to take their part, if
required, in tbe defence of their country. (Cheers.) You will
find also that we are at this moment establishing a military
school, which will compare favourably in all its arrangements
and details with tbe very best engineering schools— such as

62 TOUR AND SPEECHES
the West Point School in the United States, the Polytechnic
School at Paris, and the Sandhurst School in England,— in or
der to enable our young men to obtain such an education as
will enable them to occupy the position of gentlemen and of
ficers in our native force. We have, as you are aware, room
in Canada for a still vaster population. I have referred to that
in some of my published speeches, — and the reporters will
excuse me for repeating it, as these published speeches are
rather awkward things, and cannot be repeated elsewhere.
(A laugh.) I have referred to some of those things we are
doing to fit the Dominion of Canada to be the home of a vaster
population than has yet been dreamt of. You are aware — and
pardon me for saying it — that the British Islands are very
small, and there is not room for many more people. One
American humorist, after coming home from Great Britain,
said he was afraid to go to bed at night lest he might fall
into the sea while asleep. (Laughter). Well, that is a great
exaggeration, still the fact remains that the industrial class of
this country do multiply. It is the work of the country that
requires the labours of so many, and we have in our country
the most magnificent prospects as to elbow room that can be
conceived, for you can get to many places and have no one to
disturb you. But we are fast filling up these vast lands in the
West, and few who know the healthiness of our climate, and
the advantages to be derived from it, will hesitate at all in
taking their departure, if they find that their services can be
more profitably employed there, or that they can produce more
to conduce to their comfort than in this country. I do not for
a moment advise any one to leave comfortable positions in this
country ; but we merely say, if you find it convenient and
profitable to leave this country, that we have abundant means
and room to make you comfortable, And we believe in a
comparatively short term of years we shall be able to extend
our settlement from one end of the country to the other. We

IN "SCOTLAND. 63
are at present completing a railway 2,600 miles in length to
connect the east with the west. And, sir, I find that very
enterprising individuals have gone far into the interior already.
Very recently an Englishman went into the Valley of the
Shenandoah, came back for his wife and family, and is now
settled at a distance of 500 miles from Fort Garry. We are
apt, in looking at that great country, to imagine that there
will be serious difficulties, such as had been contended with in
the history of the New England settlements, when the settlers
had continually to fight with the Indians. The progress of
civilisation, however, has put an end to all that ; and while the
Indian may be ready enough — and who can blame him for
defending his own ? — to resent an injury in a more savage
manner than would be done by those longer civilised, yet all
who act fairly with them in the Dominion of Canada will never
find the slightest interruption from their presence. (Cheers.)
It is due to the native tribes to state that, while my official
residence is at Ottawa, my own home is on the shores of Lake
Huron. There is there a native settlement of nearly 400, and
during the time I have been there — since 1847, — there has not
been one single Indian convicted of even petty larceny. (Cheers)
With regard, sir, to our position as a distinct people, I may
freely express, and you may freely state to every one, that
there is no people under the British flag more thoroughly
devoted to the maintenance of British institutions "than are
the Canadian people. (Cheers.) I hope that Lord Kinnaird
will find time to come and visit us, some time or other, before
long. (Cheers.) He will then find that, if our Upper House
is not so dignified a body as the great House of which he is an
ornament, still he will find that our Senate will compare
tolerably well with almost any Legislative body, for dignity
of manner and temper in debate. (Cheers.) And I hope I
may say for that House which I lead myself—the Canadian
House of Commons, — that he will find comparatively little

64 TOUR AND SPEECHES
difference — for I have seen them both — between it and the
English House of Commons. (Cheers.) Sir, when visiting
Paris, a few days ago, I was naturally desirous of visiting the
French National Assembly. I went to Versailles for the pur
pose of visiting that great body in assembly, and I must say
that the French in Canada, so far as conducting a debate is
concerned, will compare very favourably with the National
Assembly in their own country, — for our House of Commons
contains a large number of Frenchmen representing French
constituencies. (Cheers.) Now, my Lord-Provost, I am afraid
I have wandered far too much — (" No, no," and applause) —
from the .proper line of subject on such an occasion. I am
aware, sir, tbat in receiving tbe freedom of the city of Perth,
I am receiving the freedom of a city remarkable in Scottish
history as tbe actual scene, or the vicinity, of some of the
greatest events in our Scottish history. We are all aware, sir,
that while the ba*ttle of freedom against the Southron, as we
called them many years ago, was fought at' Bannockburn, the
battle of freedom against the Northern was fought in the vioi"
nity of Perth, and the ancestors of a noble family in this
neighbourhood were those who led on the Scottish people to
victory. (Cheers.) I am aware that some ofthe most tragical
circumstances in the history of the Scotch royal house took
place in this neighbourhood ; and I am aware that in the
vicinity of this city, — not many miles from its northern front
— one of the great battles was fought in which the Pretenders
to the Crown of Great Britain against the will ofthe people of
this country were defeated. (Cheers.) And I could not help,
the other day in Dundee, repeating the words of the old song'
" The town is weel rid o' that Deil o' Dundee." (Hear, hear,
laughter and cheers.) Although some of the greatest events
in Scottish history have necessarily taken place at Stirling
and Edinburgh, and places on the southern border, we know
that it was in this neighbourhood where some of the great battles

IN SCOTLAND. 65
were fought in which the Eomans sought to obtain universal
dominion in these western isles, and here they were checked.
Our whole county of Perthshire is associated with the arts of
war. But your history, glorious as it is, will not alone sustain a
great reputation. You must now put aside tbe arts of war,
and deal with the arts of peace, — the progress of manufactures.
I was amused to find in Dundee that the manufacturer every
where came uppermost. We are now a great manufacturing
people, and hope now to subdue the world to a great extent by
our trade as well as by our missionaries and philanthropists.
(Cheers.) And I can only express the desire that the " Fair
City '' of Perth may not be fair and beautiful alone because of
its beautiful situation, because of the amphitheatre which sur
rounds it, but also because of its becoming a busy hive of
industry, supplying work to all the people of the country
districts around. (Loud cheers.) I thank you most sincerely,
my Lord-Provost and gentlemen ofthe Council, for the great
honour you have done mo, and I can only say, sir, since you
have been pleased to place my name in that illustrious roll,
that I shall endeavour by my conduct in the future, and by all
that is possible for me to do, to exalt the name of Britain, of
Scotchmen, and of Canadians, and merit the distinction you
have been pleased, so unexpectedly to confer upon me. (The
hon. gentleman resumed his seat amidst great cheering.)
The Lord-Provost then called upon the assembly to give
three cheers for tbe youngest burgess of Perth, and also for the
Queen; and, after these had most heartily been given, the
meeting broke up.

66 TOUR AND SPEECHES

BANQUET IN THE COUNTY HALL, PERTH.

Immediately after the meeting in the City Hall, a banquet
was given in the County-Hall by Lord-Provost M'Donald, in
honour of the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie. To this banquet
all the gentlemen officially connected with the city or county
were invited, and most of them were present, including tho
Magistrates and Town Councillors, the city officials, tbe Water
Commissioners, tbe clergy, Guildry Incorporation Managers
members of Parochial Board, School Board, beads of schools,
&c. ; there being nearly 200 present. The Lord-Provost
occupied the chair ; and he was supported on the right by the
Premier; Sir Alexander Muir Mackenzie, Bart., of Delvine;
Provost Cox, Dundee; Major Wedderbum, Eoyal Perthshire
Eifles ; Mr. Thomas Creig, of Glencarse ; Bailie Eamsay ;
Mr. J. B. Brown Morison of Finderlie ; Mr. C. G. Sidey ; Eector
Miller, Perth Academy ; and Treasurer Martin. On his left,
the Lord-Provost was supported by the Eight Hon. Lord Kin
naird, Lord-Lieutenant of the County ; Sheriff Barclay ; Eev.
Mr. Fleming, St. Paul's ; Eev. M. Cowan, Free St. Leonard's ;
Mi-. Charles Maclean, of Glenearn ; ex-Lord-Provost Graham ;
Colonel D. E. Williamson of Lawers ; Bailie Eobertson, and
Mi-. John Thomas, Sheriff:Clerk, of Perthshire.
On entering the ball, the Lord-Provost and the Premier
were preceded by one of the pipers of the 18th Perthshire
Highland Eifle Volunteers.
The Eev. M. Fleming, St. Paul's, having invoked a blessing,
the company proceeded to discharge the business on the
programme. The Lord- Provost said be had receivod a number of letters
of apology from gentlemen unable to be present, and amongst

IN SCOTLAND. 67
those were Viscount Stormont, Lord Charles Ken-, the Hon.
Arthur Kinnaird, the Lord-Provost of Edinburgh, Major
Malcolm of Glenalmond, &c.
Tbe Lord-Provost proposed " Hor Majesty the Queen ; "
and in doing so, he said — My Lord and gentlemen, the first
toast on the programme is " Tbe Health of Her Majesty the
Queen." (Cheers.) In the presence of the honourable head
of the Canadian Government, I think it is right that be should
go home with the impression that our hearts are loyal, and
entwine round about our Gracious Sovereign the Queen.
(Cheers.) I am sure that all of us wish that she may live
long, and that she may long reign. Without saying anything
more, gentlemen, I would ask you to drink the health of our
gracious sovereign the Queen. (Cheers.)
The splendid band of the Eoyal Perthshire Eifles was
stationed in the lobby, and here played the National Anthem.
The Lord-Provost then gave in succession — " Their Eoyal
Highnesses tbe Prince and Princess of Wales, apd the other
members of the Eoyal Family," and " the Navy, Army, and
Reserve Forces."
Major Wedderburn replied for the Army, and Col. Wil
liamson for tbe Volunteers, the former officer paying a warm
tribute to the Canadian Militia.
The Lord-Provost next proposed ¦ " Her Majesty's Minis
ters " and " the Lord Lieutenant of the County."
Lord Kinnaird, the Lord Lieutenant, replied for the honor
done him.
The Lord-Provost then gave the toast of " the Members
for the City and County," and paid a just tribute to Mr. Kin
naird, M.P.
Lord Kinnaird — As reference has been made to a very near
and a very dear relative of mine, who bas the honour of being

68 TOUR AND SPEECHES
tho representative of Perth in Parliament, I may say that I
fully expected to meet him here to-day. It was only just
before leaving home that I got a message, stating that having
an important engagement on Monday, and as he would have to
return to London again to-morrow, he found that his health
not would permit him to come to Scotland and back, otherwise
he would have been present. His Lordship afterwards read
the following letter, which the Lord-Provost had received
from the Hon. Arthur Kinnaird, and which was read at the
Lord-Provost's request : — 2 Pall Mall, East, July 15, 1875.
My Dbab Provost, — I am very sorry not to be with you in person to take
part in the presentation of the freedom of the city of Perth to Mr. Mac
kenzie, the Prime Minister of Canada. His early connection with us
renders the occasion one of very special interest to me. You are aware of
my long and deep concern in the progress of our colonies, and I sure that
What you will hear from his lips will justify the opinion I have long
expressed that the welfare of our home population is bound up with that
of our Colonial Empire. That Empire stretching round the globe, invites
our overburdened island to send forth her sons and daughters to lay the
foundations of new States enjoying the same liberties that ourselves
possess, and offering to these every prospect of advancement. No limit
can be placed on what anyone endowed with natural abilities and high
principle may reach, and I earnestly hope that the ties which bind us
together will be continually strengthened. Had I been present, I should
have expressed the high sense I entertain of Mr. Mackenzie's abilities, as
well as my own personal regard for him, and may I ask you to convey to
him my best wishes on this happy occasion. — Believe me, my dear Lord- ,
Provost, yours very faithfully, A. Kinnaird.
The Lord-Provost then proposed " The Hon. Alex. Mac
kenzie, Prime Minister of Canada." (Cheers.) He said — Mr.
Mackenzie is a native of Perthshire, and born at the beautiful
little village of Logierait. (Cheers.) I am sure we are all
proud of the lion. Mr. Mackenzie — (cheers) — who left our
shores when a young lad to go to a foreign land. We are glad
to see him return home with the highest honour that the
Dominion of Canada could have conferred upon him. (Cheers.)
We have often conferred tbe freedom of the city of Perth
upon noblemen whom we desired to honour ; but, so far as I
know, this is the first time that we have had the opportunity
of conferring such an honour upon one who was born amongst

IN SCOTLAND. 69
us in humble life, and who, by his own industry, perseverance,
integrity, and good sense, is now at the bead of the Great-
Dominion of Canada. (Cheers.) In addition to that, I know,
of my own personal knowledge, that our honourable friend on
my right, rules that great country on sound principles, and, as
a good man, ruling, knowing that he must rule for the good of
the people. (Cheers.) I do not know, gentlemen, that it is
necessary for me to say anything more. I always feel it
painful to say anything concerning a man in his own presence.
(Hear, hear.) I would much rather say that I weuld like to
say of my honourable guest, behind his back — (hear, hear)
although in general, when people speak behind one's back, it
is nothing very favourable. (Laughter.) While we have this
day conferred the honour of the freedom of the city upon one
of humble parentage, I think that is very creditable to our
honourable guest. (Cheers.) It occurred to me to-day that
there was a strange coincidence in the affair, namely, that our
friend from the Dominion of Canada bas ousted the Macdonald
Government — (great laughter, and cheers) — and when he
comes to his native county, be finds a Macdonald Council.
(Laughter and cheers.) Gentlemen, I feel very proud of
being tbe mouthpiece of the Town Council to-day, and I would
now ask you to drink a full bumper to " Tho health of the
Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, Premier of Canada." (Enthusiastic
cheering.) Hon. Alex. Mackenzie, on rising tb reply, was received
with loud and continued cheering. He said— My Lord-Provost-
my Lord, and gentlemen, I am sure if ever one was over)
powered with kindness, I have been since I came to make this
visit to my native country. I came because I had some
business to do, but I came chiefly in order to obtain some little
repose after two pretty severe years of official labour and par
liamentary work. And, sir, when I left Canada to come to
my native country, I had no idea that yourself, or any other
5

•70 TOUR AND SPEECHES
person here, knew of my coming ; and when I find so many
ofthe prominent gentlemen in this county, and in tbe neigh
bouring county, and in the city of Perth, and in the town of
Dundee, anxious to .extend to me the band of friendship, and
say encouraging words, I feel more than I can express, my
obligations to you all for this kindness. (Cheers.) My friend,
the Provost, has referred to the fact that I had something to
do with the removal of one of his distinguished name from a
particular office — (laughter and cheer) — and I can only hope
tbat my visit to Perth will not have the result of ousting our
worthy host from the Provostship. (Great laughter and
cheering.) My friend beside me, Sir Alexander Muir Mackenzie
of Delvine, suggests to me tbat it is a way the Mackenzies
have of ousting the Macdonalds, as they did long ago on the
ranks ofthe Garry. (Laughter and great cheering.) Well,
sir, I can only atone to the Macdonalds by -saying that my
last official act was to appoint a Macdonald to be Lieutenant-
Governor of tbe great Province of Ontario. (Cheers.) In this
age ofthe world, I daresay that the Macdonalds may differ in
politics, and the Mackenzies may also differ in pontics. I do
not know whether we do or not at this table ; but, at all events,
it is gratifying to know tbat we are now able in Canada, as in
England, to meet socially, and discuss matters in a, friendly
spirit, even if we take different views of the policies adopted
by the different political parties. (Cheers.) And, sir, it is
one of the higbe'st privileges tbat Britons enjoy tbat they are
able to exercise tbat singular power of self-government they
possess, without intruding upon those feelings which are
sacred to every man. (Hear, bear.) Why, sir, if we bad the
fierce discussions sometimes seen in some of the Spanish
Republics in South America, or in .Spain itself, or even in
some of the Continental countries, when we came to any
election contest in Britain or Canada, it would result in the
march of armed forces. The editor of a newspaper would not

IN SCQTLAND. fa
only have to marshal his columns of letters, but would have to
marshal his columns on the plains. We are able to exercise
that self-government, if not always to tbe advantage and the
welfare of tbe people, we know tbat those in power exercise
the government entrusted to them for the welfare of the people.
It may be tbat my political opponents do not always give me
credit for what I do, and it may be that I do not always give
them credit for what they do, — we will not quarrel over
that, but we will always meet each other, political opponents
though we be, without the slightest ill-feeling existing between
us. (Cheers.') Sir Alexander Muir Mackenzie knows — for he has
been in Canada, and indeed might almost become a Canadian —
and if he does so, I think I could promise him a seat in Parliament
— (cheers) — Sir Alexander Muir Mackenzie knows tbat when
in Canada there was a very considerable excitement in the
country on political subjects ; and if ever there was a time
when that political excitement might have led to personal
estrangement it was then; but I am glad to say that the
leaders of tbe Conservative party generally found no difficulty
in meeting their opponents socially after that event — (cheers)
— and thus it is over all the countries where our British Con
stitutional Government prevails. (Cheers.) It would be into
lerable in our countries if we were compelled merely because
of political differences to depart from tbe social custom by
which we can all meet one another on occasions like tbe
present, or at our more domestic tables. (Cheers.) I feel, sir,
in receiving the mark of kindness you have heen pleased to
bestow upon me to-day — and also in Dundee on Tuesday, — .
that you are doing a very considerable amount of that kind of
work which may be called the cementing together of great
eommunities. (Cheers.) Not, sir, tbat I pretend to speak in
a personal sense, — for I feel that you have honoured me for
any little service I myself have performed far too much,; — but
I speak, from tbe position I am in, representing the people of
#5*

72 TOUR AND SPEECHES
Canada, — which I may safely assume to do in all that relates
to tho political exigencies pf the times and the political pros
pects for the future; and I am quite sure that the interchange
of the courtesy betwixt us at the present time will have a
very pleasant effect upon my 'own mind in all time to come,
and upon those with whom I am associated in my own country.
(Cheirs.) You have alluded, Mr. Provost, to the circumstance
tbat I was born in this neighbourhood. I feel as proud of the
neighbourhood as does the Honourable the Lord-Lieutenant
of the county of his official position as the bead of the county.
(Cheers.) As I said, sir, at Dundee, I hope that nothing will
be done by myself, or by any of Perthshire's sons, that will
in any way be of such a nature as to cause a feeling of regret on
the part of any one that we do belong to this county. (Cheers.)
I am glad to hear the sentiments expressed by gentlemen here
and at Dundee in reference to the desire for extended enter
prise both in relation to trade and in relation to social subjects,
which are perhaps too much excluded from our ordinary as
semblies both in this country and the colonies. I sincerely
believe it to be the truth that the possession of the colonies by
Great Britain is essential to Great Britain's length of life
as a nation. (Cheers.) I do not say so merely to express an
empty sentiment, or merely to impress anyone with an idea
of the importance of our colonial possessions. I think, sir,
and I believe that the people of Canada think, that their first
principle and desire is to maintain the integrity of the Empire,
and to extend the ramification of its power and its prestige into
everything. (Cheers.) I do not think there is anything so
satisfactory as to have powerful possessions in all the impor
tant quarters of thfe globe, in relation to tbe military sense as
well as the commercial sense. During a time of great distress
the British took possession of islands on the coast of France,
a prominent peninsula on the coast of Spain, a stronghold in
the Mediterranean, and a great fortress — or rather a site for a

IN SCOTLAND. 73
great fortress— at the entrance to the Eed Sea ; and in this
way extended its power in the military and naval sense, and
ultimately in tbe commercial sense. All these great fortresses
protected her ships and her people in a line all round the globe
— (hear) — and if now — because of the different aspect of
political of affairs on the Continent of Europe— we depend less
upon mere military force and organisation, it is merely be
cause of our possessions, — those powerful dependencies which
are scattered over the globe, and which are presided over by tbe
British ensign. (Cheers.) With the British people united in
Great Britain and in the Colonies,— with the feeling of friend
ship and kindliness between all the different classes of Her
Majesty's subjects, — we may always bid defiance to the organisa*
tion of any Power, or usurpations of any combination of Powers ;
and that union of feeling and sentiment is the safety, I will
not say of the British race merely, but it is'tbe only safeguard
of freedom throughout the whole world. (Cheers.) We have
had, as Britain's noble allies in dangerous circumstances, such
places as Holland, Belgium, and other places on the Continent,
at various times ; but these alliances may occasionally fail,
from circumstances beyond tbe control of enlightened states
men in this country. But the support of these colonies can
never fail, except it be the fault of some of the statesmen that
rule either on the parent side or in the Colonies. One or two
'of the aims of great statesmen are these : In tbe first place,
every statesman is bound, whether in Australia, New Zealand,
Canada, or Great Britain, to watch tbe course of legislation.
He is bound to initiate legislation such as will conduce to the
welfare of the particular portion of the empire over which he
bears rule. So far as I am able I shall faithfully keep watch
and ward over the interest of that portion of it that for the
time being is committed to my care. (Cheers.) Another aim
of every statesman must be tbe initiation or the promotion of
such a policy as will look far into the future, and as will pre^

74 TOUR AND SPEECHES
pare for possible events and contingencies which may over
shadow the country. In the long roll of years, and in the
thousand years that are spoken of in our famous national song,
where " Our flag has braved the battle and the breeze," there
were events that every one can name in the history of our
country which point a moral and indicate a policy which
should always be kept in view in initiating new legislation,
projects which may seriously affect, for centuries to come, the
prosperity of the people over which they rule. (Cheers.) I
am afraid, my Lord-Provost, I have trespassed beyond the pro
per line for such a meeting as this — (" no, no," and cheers) —
in entering upon political philosophy. But, sir, I do it with a
purpose, because I desire it to be understood what Canadian
statesmen look to, and their desire is to enlist the sympathies
of every person in this country, no matter whether Liberal or
Conservative, in favour of those great principles of action
which must control us in carrying forward the political in
terests of the country ; and I am quite sure that bere, as else'
where in Great Britain, there will be a full and hearty re
sponse to the sentiments I, as Canadian, with very little pre
tension to time or occasion, have uttered. (Applause.) I
thank you, my Lord-Provost, very heartily for the kindness
with which you and the Lord-Lieutenant, and every gentleman
present, have been pleased to receive me. I shall never forget
your friendship, and shall .relate to my colleagues in Canada
and the people, when I meet them, the great kindness and
warm feeling I have met with everywhere in Britain. (Loud
cheers.) Sheriff Barclay proposed " The Convener ofthe County."
Lord Kinnaird proposed " The Sheriffs of the County."
Sheriff Barclay had great pleasure in replying on behalf of
his principal, Sheriff Adam, his brother, Mr. Graham of Dun
blane, and himself. He had just been told that for ten years
he had had the privilege of having the Hon. Mr. Mackenzie in

IN SCOTLAND. 75
his jurisdiction, and he would just say that it was highly cre
ditable to the Premier tbat he and the Sheriff did not become
intimately acquainted. (Laughter.)
Hon. Mr. Mackenzie proposed " The Lord-Provost, Ma
gistrates, and Council of Perth." He said — It is many years
since I have seen the city of Perth, but I am pleased to witness
a very considerable improvement in some parts of tbe city ;
and I hope under the reign of the Macdonald regime — (laugh
ter) — it may prosper still more. We have the Provost of
Dundee beside us here. (Cheers.) He presides over a some
what larger and very important town in your neighbourhood ;
but, as your Provost suggested the other day at Dundee, they
may come up the river, and you may go down, and both meet,
in which case the Lord-Provost of Perth would think that bis
order of precedence would give him rule. (Laughter and
cheers.) At'all events, I am quite sure my friend, the Provost
of Dundee, will join heartily in the toast I have now the
honour to propose, viz., " The Lord-Provost, Magistrates, and
Council ofthe City of Perth." (Cheers.)
The Lord-Provost replied.
The Eev. Mr. Cowan proposed " The Dominion of Canada."
In doing so, be said — My name has been put on the card
opposite the Dominion of Canada ; and I have very great
pleasure in proposing that we wish continued and increasing
prosperity to that great and growing colony. (Cheers.) It is
a very large subject, comprising well on to 3^ millions of
square miles — nearly thirty times as large, in fact, as the
British Islands. It affords, I think, about a square mile to
every man, woman, and child of tbe population — contrasting
strikingly with our crowded state here, where we have some
260 to the square mile. It was my privilege to travel in
Canada this time two years ago, and I was much impressed
with tbe beauty, the vast extent, and the resources of the
country. I was delighted with its prosperous cities, and sub-

76 TOUR AND SPEECHES
stantial farmsteads, surrounded by fertile fields, and embosomed
in luxuriant orchards ; besides which, I found everywhere wise
heads, enterprising spirits, and, above all, warm friendships.
I was rthere, too, sir, when a change of Government was in
prospect ; and I shall only say this — that I feel quite sure that
every patriotic citizen in this country, and every friend of
truth and righteousness, whatever his political creed, would, if
he knew all the circumstanceSj have considered that a change
of Government was quite necessary for tbe honour of Canada,
and that honour was secured by the accession to power of the
honoured guest of this banquet. (Cheers.) Sir, we have cause
to wish well to the Dominion of Canada. Many in Scotland,
and in Perthshire, have, like myself, friends and brethren
there — friends and brethren who, by God's blessing, have
prospered there, both in health and wealth, as, to all human
appearance, they could not have done here. The larger por
tion of my own near relatives are in Canada. I ought, per
haps, to except the present moment, for a detachment of no
fewer than ten of them, including a large representation of
young Canada, arrived at Perth station three weeks ago, on a
visit to friends on this side, Canada is destined, I have no
doubt, to be even a greater home for our people in the future
than in tbe past. My impression of it is, that it may go on
filling up for the next hundred years at an ever-increasing
ratio, and it will be still a new country in the end. Taking it
altogether — in its agricultural and commercial —in its social,
political, and, not least, in its religious aspect, — we may well
wish it prosperity and blessing. And I ask you now to join
heartily with me in the expression of the wish in the spirit
of the Psalmist — " For my brethren and companions' sakes, I
will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of
the Lord our God, I will seek thy good." (Cheers.)
Hon. A. Mackenzie, in reply, said— I do not know, sir,
whether I am the only inhabitant of the Dominion of Canada

IN SCOTLAND. 77
here or not, but I beg to thank you for tbe toast which the
rev. gentleman has proposed. It is true what he says, tbat
Canada presents many interesting features to the student of
religious progress. During the last two years great events
have taken place there, and one particularly gratifying, I have
no doubt, to the great body of the people of Scotland. In
Scotland you are still divided to a greater or less extent — I
allude particularly to the Presbyterians as the great body of
the people of Scotland — and these divisions occurred at a
greater or less remote period. Such divisions extended also to
Canada, but during last year arrangements for union were
commenced, and are now completed; for the last paper I
received from Canada contains tho words of the Moderator of
the joint Assemblies of the Presbyterian bodies of North Ame
rica, declaring their union final and complete. (Loud cheers.)
The great Methodist bodies have also effected a union — almost
but not entirely, as complete as that ofthe Presbyterians. Tbe
unions of the great religious bodies in the Dominion will give
increased power to those bodies, and will doubtless result in tbe
accomplishment of much greater good than could have been
obtained from isolated efforts. I am obliged to the rev. gentle
man and to you for tbe kind manner in which be has proposed
and you have received this toast ; and I can only say that the
kind words said respecting the Dominion of Canada will find
a most hearty feeling of thanks on the part of every Canadian.
(Cheers.)
. Dean of Guild Eobertson proposed " The Provost, Magis
trates, and Council of Dundee," to which Provost Cox suitably
replied. Sir Alexander Mitir Mackenzie proposed " Tbe Hon. Mrs.
Mackenzie," which the Premier acknowledged in appropriate
terms. Ex-Lord-Provost Graham proposed " The health of Lord-
Provost M'Donald," and Eev. Dr. Taylor, Canada, proposed

78 TOUR AND SPEECHES
"The health of Lady M'Donald," to both of which his Lord
ship appropriately replied.
The proceedings were then brought to a close by the band
playing the national anthem.
The arrangements in connection with the banquet were most
complete. The tables were tastefully adorned with plants, and
the viands were first-classy while the wines left nothings be
desired. During the Premier's stay in Perth he was the guest of
Lord-Provost M'Donald, who accompanied him to all the placeB-
of interest in the city and neighbourhood. The Premier also
visited Messrs Shields' factory and other public works, and
expressed himself highly delighted with what be saw.

PEESENTATION OF AN ADDEESS AT DUNKELD.

' A public meeting of the inhabitants of Dunkeld and neigh
bourhood was held in the Eoyal Hotel Hall (late Masons'
Hall), July IT, for tbe purpose of presenting the Hon.
Alexander Mackenzie "with an address in recognition of his
distinguished services, and as being a native of the district.
The platform of the hall was handsomely decorated with plants
from Dunkeld Gardens, and flags were suspended from the
windows in honour of the event. There was a very large at
tendance, and during the assembling of the company the
Dunkeld Band (under the leadership of Mr. James Mackintosh)
played a selection of popular airs. The chair was occupied by
Mr. John Conacher, in the absence of his father, Bailie Cona-
cher. The Chairman, in opening the proceedings, said that owing
to indisposition, bis father was denied the great honour and
pleasure of taking the chair on this interesting occasion to wel-

IN SCOTLAND. 79
come the Hon. Mr. Mackenzie back to the home of his youth.
He then read a letter from Mr. Eobertson, Old Blair, factor to
His Grace the Duke of Athole, apologising for his inability
to be present. The chairman concluded by calling upon the
Eev. Mr. M'Pherson, Free Church Minister, who bad been re
quested by tbe Committee to read the address whieh the inha
bitants of Dunkeld and neighbourhood wished to present to the
honourable gentleman.
Eev. Mr. M'Pherson then read the address as follows: —
To the Honourable Alexander Mackenzie, Premier of the Dominion qf Canada. '
Honourable and Honoured Sir, — We, the inhabitants of Dunkeld and
neighbourhood, desire, on the occasion of your revisiting your native land,
to express the sentiments of respecf and admiration we entertain towards
you in your present high position as Premier of the Dominion of Canada.
While we claim an interest in a spot not far distant as that where you first
saw the light of heaven, we are proud to think that in Dunkeld, during your
youth, you received those elements of education in your home amongst us,
in our schools, which, we believe, to a great extent, laid the foundation of
the eminence you have now attained as the head of the Government x>f one
" of the most magnificent of our Colonies, and one that has ever remained
loyal in its attachment to Great Britain:
From the time you left Dunkeld, more than thirty years ago, and soon
thereafter the shores of Scotland, we have marked with deep interest your
steady career, and the development of those powers which God has con
ferred upon you. We have admired your perseverance, — your manly ambi
tion in early aspiring-to place and power m the administration of affairs in
Canada, — the cultivation of mind, and those literary qualities, which you
devoted towards the forming of a healthy opinion, through the public press
— that noble independence of thought and uprightness of character, first as
a re presentative for many years in Parliament, and, latterly, those wise and
well-timed social and constitutional measures that have gone far to conso
lidate and unify the Dominion of Canada ; owing their existence in a great
measure to you. We now assure you, sir, that it is our earnest desire that
you may long be spared, either to preside over or regulate the conduct_ of.
public affairs in that Colony, so closely linked to us, and whose capacities,
in being blessed with a fine climate, a fertile soil, a fair market and an
industrious people, the means of a religious education in church and school,
also of vast development by land and water, are such as belong to few, if
any, of our other Colonies.
In conclusion, sir, while we now give you a most cordial welcome to
Dunkeld, and wish you to know that your fellow-countrymen of all shades
of opinion are proud of your career, we are persuaded that your example
will inevitably stimulate the youth of this country and of Canada to culti
vate and consecrate their gifts for the good of their fellow-men.
In name ofthe inhabitants of Dunkeld and neighbourhood.
James Conachib, Baron Bailie of Dunkeld. '
Dunkeld, 17th July, 1875.
Eev. Mr. M'Pherson continued to say— Overcoming many
difficulties and disadvantages in early life by sheer strength of
will, — by improving his time, his talents, his opportunities, —

80 TOUR AND SPEECHES
our distinguished guest — to whom in doing honour we honour
ourselves — has so commended himself to bis fellow-countrymen
in the land ofhis adoption as to become master of the situation
— (cheers) — and with a masterly hand to steer ,the helm of
Government in that Colony, of which, of all others that own
the sovereign sway of our most noble Queen, we have good
reason, on many grounds affecting both its past and present,
to be proud. (Cheers.) I am sure I express the wish of all
present in simply reiterating that sentiment in the address,
that he may long be spared to take a leading part in the ad
ministration of affairs in the Dominion, guiding and developing
its energies, stamping a Christian character upon its common
wealth, and in doing so cementing still further the tie that
binds that fair and noble country to our own ; while, at the
same time, presenting to the great continent of America, North
and South, a form of government which, perhaps, they might
do well to imitate. (Loud cheers.)
Mi\ Peter MacLagan, Beechwood, said — Mr. Chairman,
ladies, and gentlemen, I have been requested to second the
presentation of the address which has been read by Mr.
M'Pherson ; and perhaps I must explain why I have been fixed
upon to do that, and I may say I do not know any other reason
except it be that I believe I am the oldest schoolfellow that the
Hon. Mr. Mackenzie has. (Loud cheers.) I cannot say that I am
a Dunkeld man, but I am the next thing to it ; and I think
that the Birnam people and the Dunkeld people vie one with
another in doing honour to Mr. Mackenzie. (Cheers.)
The Chairman (to Mr. Mackenzie) — It is now my pleasing
duty, in name of the inhabitants of Dunkeld and neighbour
hood, to present you with tbe address which has just been
read ; and in their name I wish you health and happiness and
every blessing. (Loud cheers.)
Tbe address was the workmanship of Messrs. Waterston &
Son, Edinburgh, and was beautifully illuminated, and enclosed

IN SCOTLAND. 81
in a handsome case. It was surmounted by the Dunkeld arms,
and the initial letter was ornamented with a Scotch thistle, and
a deer's bead, the crest of the Mackenzies.
Hon. Mr. Mackenzie, on rising to reply, was enthusiastically
cheered. He said, — Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I
assure you tbat no one can feel more than I do the kindness
which I have experienced first at Dundee, afterwards at Perth,
and now in the place which I call more peculiarly my native
country — (hear, hear) — because in this place ,1 lived for many
years, and near it are the graves of my kindred, while many
of the associations of my youth are connected with my life in
this place. It is true, sir, tbat nearly forty years have changed
the face of the place materially across the river, and it has
changed the aspect of the faces whom at that time I would
have witnessed gathered in your old Masons' Hall, and I see
but few now whom I can well recollect when I look back upon
that time. I am greatly obliged indeed to you, sir, for the
remarks tbat you made ; and I am greatly obliged to Mr.
MacLagan, who kindly seconded the address, and brought to
my remembrance my old school days. No one can remember
with greater pleasure and more affection than I do the
schoolboy days of Peter MacLagan and myself. (Cheers.) I
can only say, if he is as much respected as a citizen in this
neighbourhood, as he was by us schoolboys in Pitlochry and
Moulin, I am sure be is a very popular man indeed. (Loud
cheers.) Tou, Mr. Chairman, and tbe Eev. Mr. McPherson
have alluded to the position which I occupy as the First
Minister of Her Majesty in British North America. (Cheers.)
Sir, it is purely in tiiat character that I have received this
address to-day ; for while many of my early associates, if they
were here, would be glad to give me a welcome, I am quite
conscious it is to tbe fact that I hold a high official position
that I am received by tbe people of this neighbourhood, who
remembered in their kindness and generosity that I was one of

82 TOUR AND SPEECHES
themselves, brought up among them, and subject to all the
conditions of early Scottish life. (Cheers.) And, sir, I do feel
as proud of tbe position I occupy, and of the country I repre
sent, as it is possible for any human being to feel. (Cheers.)
In that great Dominion which I have the pleasure of repre
senting by tbe will of the Canadian people, we have plenty of
elbow room ; or, as my friend Dr. Taylor remarked in Perth,
it is the Greater Britain, for while your country is great,
while Britain will always continue to be great, still you have
not tbe room tbat we have to extend. This, Mr. Mackenzie
continued, was a reason why both in Britain and in Canada
they should endeavour so to conduct the national affairs of the
respective countries that their union would be indissoluble —
(loud cheers) — and that their interests might be harmonised,
as far as it was possible to harmonise interests presided over
by independent Legislatures. (Cheers.) Tbey were aware
that in Canada their Legislature was as free to enact measures
as was tbe Legislature of Great Britain, tbat tbe Governor-
General occupied relatively tbe same position between people
and Legislature as Her Majesty does ih reference to the
Parliament in London. Tbey bad in Canada the utmost
possible scope for free action. Her Majesty's Ministers there
were responsible' to tbe people in the same way as Her
Majesty's Ministers in London were subject to%the verdict of
the country. They bad always tbe rights both of Britons and
Canadians, for while those in this country could not be y
Canadians and Britons, it was the privilege of those in the
Dominion to use both titles. While in this country they could
not take precisely the same interest in their legislation as they
did in ours, still they would understand tbat all Canadian'
legislation must necessarily be directed, if they were to
continue a faithful and loving child of tbe parent, not merely
to the encouragement of Canadian enterprise and the
maintenance of Canadian institutions, but they must also keep

IN SCOTLAND. 83
looking far into the future towards the accumulative power of
a great and powerful people many generations after all the
present statesmen and the present men shall have passed away.
(Cheers.) He believed that in America tbey were laying the
foundations of a great and powerful nation — not that they used
tbe term "nation " as a distinctive term, but merely because
the poverty of tbe language did not supply them with another
— and they bad many initial difficulties to contend with.
When once these initial difficulties were overcome, and they
had opened up tbe country as tbey would open it, and in such
a manner as would astonish some people bere, then they would
he in a position to increase their invitations to the British
people, and provide homes for everyone of them who could be
spared from here. {Cheers.) Allusion had been made in two
or three speeches to tbe fact tbat men might rise to any
political position in some of our colonies. Well, it was the
theory of our constitutional system tbat in England as well as
in the colonies any man might aspire to any position tbat it
was in her Majesty's power to bestow, or that of the people
to sustain. But in order to realize tbat aspiration every
man must devote himself to tbe cultivation of the intellect
which God had given him. Without this cultivation it was
utterly impossible to make any advance in the world in our
time^-(cheers) — for there was no royal road, as he had
remarked in Dundee, to any position, political or social, in any
of tbe colonies of Great Britain. (Hear, hear.) Nor should
there be in any country. We should depend entirely upon the
exercise of those intellectual gifts which God had granted to
( every man, and which should be cultivated assiduously if any
position is to be gained in this world. (Hear, bear.) He did
not presume to read a lecture to any one present, but be merely
made these remarks to reply to certain letters he had received.
So far as he had observed in the conduct of public business in
Britain as in Canada, every man would have a fair field and no

84 TOUR AND SPEECHES
favour, and be able to conquer with his own bow and spear
that which he sought after. The Eev. Mr. M'Pherson had
alluded in the course of bis remarks to the religious condition
of the people of Canada, and expressed a hope that under the
present and future Governments it might grow up, not merely'
powerful in a physical sense, but powerful also in a moral
and religious sense. He (the Premier) cordially re-echoed the
expression of that hope — (cheers) — because he believed that
tbe pause of Britain and all her colonies depended almost
entirely upon the cultivation of a high Christian sentiment.
(Cheers.) In conclusion he said — We are laying tbe foundations
of a great and powerful people, and I believe tbe feeling of all
political parties in Canada is that we should lay those
foundations deep in great sentiments as well as in the verdant
soil of tbe new world. (Cheers.) Whether we shall do our
duty in that respect, I cannot say ; but I have no doubt tbat,
our prosperity depends upon tbe success of the effort which I
trust will be made, and upon its continuance. (Cheers.) I
am very glad, Mr. Chairman, to have bad the opportunity of
saying a few words to the people of Dunkeld and neighbour
hood ; and I am glad, sir, to be permitted to pass a few days
amongst those hills and vales surrounding this place, for indeed
to-day I almost remember every turn of the road, every rock,
and boulder round the town. I am delighted with the
reminiscences, although sometimes shaded with sadness. Last
year I had the pleasure of spending an evening with the late
Eev. Charles Kingsley, a great traveller, and one of the most
beautiful of English writers ; and while speaking of scenery,
Mr. Kingsley said,—" Of all the places I have ever visited, I
know no place to compare with tbe country and the journey
from Perth to Dunkeld and Blair-Athole." (Loud cheers.)
When we live long in a place, we often do not appreciate those
natural beauties, as men very frequently fail to appreciate the
advantages they enjoy of another kind. It is only travellers

IN SCOTLAND. 85
who come from a distance to see your beautiful country who
understand its superiorly to almost every other place. I have a
few of my kindred still remaining in this neighbourhood, and
I intend to devote a portion of my time to seeing how tbey all
are ; and a portion of my time I shall devote to calling upon
friends wherever I shall meet them. (Cheers.) I have the
greatest possible feeling for your kindness in presenting me
with the address which I have just received, and I assure you
I shall treasure this document, which contains such kind
words, as one of the most pleasant reminiscences of my life.
(Loud cheers.)
The Eev. Dr. Lachlan Taylor, Canada, made a few remarks,
after which three cheers were given for the Premier of Canada
and for Her Majesty; and tbe meeting broke up, the band
playing the National Anthem.

BANQUET AT DUNKELD.

In the evening, at Mr. Fisher's Eoyal Hotel, a numerous and
influential company sat down to an excellent and sumptuous
banquet. The chair was taken by the Eev. Mr. M'Pherson, of
the Free Church, Dunkeld. Mr. T. Jack acted as croupier,
and among those present were tbe guests of the evening, tbe
Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, Prime Minister of Canada, and
Senator Brown, Toronto, Canada ; Provost Cox, of Dundee ;
Messrs. Carpbin, Duff, Dickie (bankers), Maclagan, Leslie,
Thos. Potts, New Brunswick ; A. Nicholson, of The Gael ; P.
Eoss, P. Campbell, New Brunswick; K. Macdonald, Jobn
M'Gregor, John Eobertson, William Harris, John Cameron,
John Conacher, James Conacher, jun., Jobn Scott, Eoderick
Anderson, Eobert Anderson, John Eobertson, Stralocbie ; John
Fisher, Loaning ; Thomas Buchanan, &c.
6

86 TOUR AND SPEECHES
After the usual loyal and patriotic toasts had been disposed of,
The Chairman, in a neat speech, proposed " The health of
the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, Prime Minister of the
Dominion of Canada,"— a gentleman whom be characterised
as having done honour to bis adopted country, to tbe town of
Dunkeld, and to Scotland generally. (Cheers.) No man who
had not rare gifts could attain to such a distinguished position
but it might be said that strong common sensej patience,
perseverance, and tbe strictest honour were the characteristics
which won for Mr. Mackenzie the eminence Which he had
secured. (Cheers.)
Tbe Hon. Mr. Mackenzie, who was received with loud
applause, thanked his friends for such a manifestation of
kindness to him, and said that he felt peculiar pride in being
so kindly welcomed by tbe people of Dunkeld and its vicinity,
when, after an absence of nearly forty years, be returned to
the scenes so dear to him long ago, and so charming still.
(Cheers.) He would never forget the cordial manner of his
reception by the people of his native place, — the most gratify
ing testimony which a public man could receive being the
acknowledgment by those who followed his course through
life that he bad done well. He made a long and eloquent
speech, which was cordially received, and on sitting down the
cheering was loud and well sustained.
The Hon. George Brown, on his health being proposed by
the chairman, was welcomed with ringing cheers. He spoke
at some length, and with warmth and vigor. He referred to the
pleasure it would give the Gaels in the West to see the band-
some manner in which their friends at home had treated the
Premier of their country, and especially would tbe honor done j
to Mr. Mackenzie in Dunkeld and Logierait be a source of
gratification to tbe people of Canada. ]&[r. Brown, on resuming
his seat, was loudly cheered.
Various other toasts were proposed and well received,

IN SCOTLAND. 87
among which were: — "Mrs. Mackenzie and Mr. Mackenzie's
Family," " The Baron Bailie of Dunkeld," " Provost Cox, of
Dundee," "Tbe Croupier," "The Chairman," by the Hon. Mr.
Mackenzie, "Prosperity to the Dominion of Canada," by Mr.
Carpbin, " Tbe Commercial and Agricultural Interests of '
Canada," by Provost Cox.

DEMONSTEATION AT THE PEEMIEE'S NATIVE
VILLAGE OF LOGIEEAIT.

No sooner had it become known that the Hon. Alexander
Mackenzie was on a visit to his nath e country, than the peo
ple of Logierait and neighbourhood made arrangements for a
demonstration in his honor. Logierait, especially, had con
siderable interest in thus doing honor to the leading states
man of one of our greatest colonies, as bere the hon. gentle
man first saw the light of heaven. Tbe Premier, too, is almost
as highly honored in having Logierait for his birthplace as
Logierait is proud of its connection with so important a person
age. The village of Logierait is very pleasantly situated on a
tongue of land between the confluence of the Tay and the
Tummel, and on the southern end of Strathtay. Surrounding
it on every side are some of Scotland's most magnificent hills.
A splendid view is obtained of BenVrackie (The Speckled Eock),
lying a little to the north of Pitlochry ; and right above the
village of Logierait is Craig-a-Cruith (the Cow's Eock), which
derives its name from the fact of its being the cows' grazing
ground, and which commands a magnificent view both of the
vale of Athole and of Strathtay. In the distance westward,
at the upper end of Strathtay, Faragon is seen rising its
head about 3,000 feet from the sea; and in the remote distance
Schiehallion pierces the sky with its enormous peak. On the
6*

88 TOUR AND SPEECHES
south, the village is bounded by tbe Grantully and Kinnaird
• Hills, and tbe valley in which the village nestles appears from
the distance to be completely shut in by Birnam Hill and Craigy-
barns. Two or three miles on the north side of the Tay, the
scene is rendered even more picturesque by a nice view of St.
Colme's, the home-farm of Her Grace the Duchess-Dowager
of Athole, and also of Kinnaird House, the jointure of the
Duchess-Dowager of Athole, and which is tenanted by Mr.
J. Duncan, an American banker. The scene is further enlivened
by a view of the splendidly-situated residence of Mi*. F. N.
Menzies, the energetic secretary of the Highland and Agricul
tural Society. Turning our attention to the village of Logie
rait, which derives its Gaelic nomenclature from the fact of its
being " The Hollow ofthe Fortress," our interest is concentrated
on the house wherein the Premier was born, which was yester
day distinguished by a Union Jack. In this bouse the Premier
spent the first five years of bis life, after which the family
removed south, till the year 1830, when the future Premier,
then eight years old, took up his home at Pitlochry, and re
ceived his education. The house is an ordinary country dwell
ing of two storeys, rather low in the roof, but as comfortable-
looking as any residence of a well-to-do country tradesman.1
The bouse was built by the Hon. Mr. Mackenzie's father, about
60 or 70 years ago. It is noteworthy that the precise locality
on which the house is situated is still called Clais-'n-deoir, or
"The Hollow of Weeping," because through this hollow
prisoners were conveyed from the ancient prison of the Atholes
to Tom-na-croich, or " Gallow's Hill." Tom-na-croich is an emin
ence of considerable interest on many accounts! At one time
it was used as the site Qf a castle as well as the place of execu
tion, and it is now surmounted by a magnificent monument,
in tbe form of a Maltese cross, erected by the inhabitants of
Athole and numerous friends to tbe memory of George Augustus
Frederick John Murray, sixth Duke of Athole, and bearing an

IN SCOTLAND. 89
inscription, both in Gaelic and English, pointing out their
regard and esteem for bis character, and their grief for the
loss the country had sustained by his death. The remains of
a moat as well as of a drawbridge are still visible. In feudal
times the Earls of Athole held Courts of Eegality at Logierait,
and some interesting stories are told of their power. At one
time, a man named Stewart was confined in Logierait prison —
one of the finest in the country, but now unfortunately
demolished — under sentence of death. Great efforts were
made by his friends to obtain a pardon, and a petition was pre
sented to Mr. Forbes of Culloden, then Lord-President of the
Court of Session, praying for a pardon. The Lord-President
was then the guest of the Duke, who remarked that, as Stewart
was rather a clever fellow, be would like to release him. The
Lord-President asked bow the Duke could release Stewart, as
only the King had that power ; but to this the Duke gave a
practical answer by ordering one of bis officers to liberate the
prisoner. This ancient prison-house is also of some historical
interest from the fact of tbe celebrated freebooter, Eob Eoy,
being once confined within its walls, and succeeding in making
his escape. Logierait was also at one time the hunting-ground
of tbe ancient Kings of Scotland, and the names of some of
the places in the neighbourhood show their connection with
. ancient royalty. «
THE banquet.
The banquet took place on July 20, in a large marquee
erected on a field belonging to Mr. Wm. Stewart, ofthe Logie
rait Hotel, and situated directly opposite the bouse where Mr.
Mackenzie was born. The marquee was beautifully decorated
with flowers and flags, a large Union Jack and the flag of the
Dominion being bung at tbe back of the chairman. Sir Alex.
Muir Mackenzie, Bart., of Delvine, presided; and the croupiers

90 TOUR AND SPEECHES
were Mr. John Eobertson, Old Blair ; Mr. John Duff, Banker,
Dunkeld; Mr. P. M'Naughton, Bail'aneas. Tbe general com
pany included Mr. Barbour of Bonskeid ; Mr. Andrew Coates,
Bridgend House, Perth ; Mr. Wallace; Tullymot; Mr. M'Lauch
lan, Tbe Meadows ; Councillors M'Kenzie and Thomson, Perth
Mr. Wm. Eeid, solicitor, Perth ; Captain Harris, Dunkeld-
Eev. Messrs. Grant, Tullymet; M'Lean, Grandtully; Fraser,
Logierait; Norman M'Leod, Blair-A thole ; Fraser, Dalguise
M'Kenzie, Ken more; and Eeid, Ballinluig; Eev. Dr. Lachlan
Taylor, Toronto ; Mr. Angus Nicholson, of The Gael, emigre
tion agent for Canada in tbe Highlands ; Dr. Eeid, Aberfeldy;
Dr. D'oyle, Grange, Pitlochry ; Mr. M'Kerchar, banker, Aber
feldy; Mr. Fisher, Pitlochry; Mr. Peter Maclagan, of Beech-
wood ; Lieutenant Munro ; Mr. Butter, Bleabock ; Mr. Lums-
den, Pitcastle ; Mr. M'Donald, Killiechassie ; Mr. John Kippen,
solicitor, Perth ; Mr. John M'Donald, wine merchant, Perth ;
Mr. Scott, Strathtay ; Mr. C. Stewart, Aberfeldy ; Mr. Cowan,
Toronto, &c.
The proceedings were commenced by tbe Eev. Mr. FraBer,
Logierait, asking the blessing, and after a most substantial re
past — which reflected the greatest credit upon the resources of
the Logierait Hotel — thanks were returned by Ihe Eev. Mr.
Grant. The Chairman afterwards stated that letters of apology had
been received from the Lord-Provost of Perth, Principal
Tulloch, of St. Andrews, and Sheriff Barclay, expressive of
their great regret at being unable to be present.
After the customary preliminary toasts,
The Chairman proposed " The Hon. Alexander Mackenzie,
Prime Minister of Canada." In doing so, he said — I may be
allowed to explain bow so humble an individual as myself has
been entrusted with so important a duty. When I heard that
our honoured guest was to meet with a warm " hame-coming,"

IN SCOTLAND. 91
i
I hoped to be present and officiate in a small degree. The Duke
of Athole was to have been in the honourable position I now
occupy. From what I know of the strong personal sympathy
and interest the Duke has in every one born in Athole, I am
able to say that no one would have been more glad to have
occupied this chair, and do honour to a distinguished native
of Athole. (Cheers.) But as he was prevented by previous
engagements from being present, and as you could get no one
nearer home, you have been pleased to ask me to preside, and
to express to Mr. Mackenzie all the warm feelings that are
now in your hearts. (Cheers.) Mr. Mackenzie has, within
the last few days, received the highest honours that two great
towns in our neighbourhood could pay him. People of all opi
nions and classes have met to testify by their presence how they
desired to do him honour, as the man who has — from, indeed,
a humble, but none tbe less honourable position — raised him
self to the high station we are so proud to see him fill. (Cheers.)
In these demonstrations, speeches baye been made expressive
of the high admiration we have of the manner which our guest
has adopted in controlling the policy of bis country. But I
can imagine that all these manifestations of the high estima
tion in which he is held will touch him less than this expres
sion of hearty, loving, Highland welcome back to his native
place. (Cheers.) This, I conceive, is the spirit in which we
have met to-day, to show Mr. Mackenzie that Logierait has not
forgotten her son, and is proud of the honor he has brought
her. (Cheers.) Scotchmen, and Highlanders especially, have
a strong interest in Canada. Were not the two great waterways,
in the days when all was barrenness and wilderness, named
tbe Fraser and the Mackenzie ? (Cheers.) The capital of one
of the provinces is called after one of our beautiful rivers—the
Garry — (cheers) — and those who knew old Priest Jobn know
how beneficent a rule was exercised in tbe Gaelic-speaking
district of Glengarry. But it bas been left to these latter times

92 TOUR AND SPEECHES
for a Macdonald, and a Mackenzie, to carry out the grand theme
of Federation, by which tbe separate great States will soon
be bound by as strong a tie of common policy as are Scotland
and England of to-day. (Cheers.) We could not wish better to
Mr. Mackenzie than that he should be spared to see this great
consolidation take place, opened up by commerce, and inhabi
ted by recruits from this country, and to take rank as one of
the foremost States ofthe world. (Cheers.) I do not touch
upon Mr. Mackenzie's career, for that may be spoken to by
abler tongues than mine. We praise his energy, his upright
ness, and fidelity to his duty. Here, near to his old home, he
stands an example to his fellow-men what those noble qualities
can achieve. It may not be given to every man to succeed as
Mr. Mackenzie has done, but it is given to every one to try —
(hear, hear) — whether here or in a distant colony, to win the
favour and respect of all. (Cheers.) The chairman went on
to say that he had the pleasure of knowing Canada tolerably
well, having served there with his Eegiment, during which
time he had travelled from Halifax to Eed Eiver. No one in
Britain could conceive the prodigious distances to be traversed
in Canada. He remembered on our occasion when fishing on the
Eestigouche Eiver meeting a man moving his family in a large
canoe. On asking the man if he was leaving that quarter, he
replied, — " Well, yes. There was a new settler come in forty
miles up, and as he always hated being crowded, be guessed
he'd go west out of the way." (Cheers and laughter.) He
hoped all the aspirations of their guest would be amply rea
lized for Canada. Tbe people of Scotland were all delighted
to hear of the prosperity of Canada, for they bad many friends
in that country. After some further remarks, tbe Chairman
called on the company to drink to the health of Mr. Mackenzie
in true Highland fashion (one foot on the chair, and the other
on the table) which was done with great enthusiasm.
The Eev. Mr. Fraser, Logierait, was called upon to read

IN SCOTLAND. 93
the following address, which was afterwards banded to the
Hon. Mr. Mackenzie : —
To the Honourable Alexander Mackenzie, Premier of the Dominion of Canada.
Sir, — So soon as it became known that you had arrived in England, an
earnest wish was expressed by all classes of people in this district that you
should visit your native parish, and afford to the inhabitants there an op
portunity of welcoming to Logierait one of the most distinguished' of her
sons. And now that we have the privilege of giving you a public reception
within a few yards of the house in which you were born, and of the church
near which reposes the dust of rpany of your honoured kindred, we desire
to express the hope that you will not measure, by our inadequate expression
of it, the pleasure which we feel in having you amongst us.
You have already, since you landed on the shores of Britain, received
many public tributes to the eminent abilities and sterling personal worth
which have commanded the homage of our loyal fellow-citizens in the
country of your adoption, and which have placed you in the exalted posi
tion of First Minister ofthe Crown in the great Dominion of Canada. We
cordially and gratefully homologate all that has been said (on more con
spicuous platforms, and in more illustrious assemblies than you expect to
find in your secluded, through romantic, native village) as to the wisdom
. with which you have guided the counsels of the country in which you now
, reside, and as to the beneficial influence which you may be confidently ex
pected to exercise on the progress of religion and the development of com
merce, art, and industry in the Dominion of Canada.
As Athole men and Highlanders, we all feel an honest pride in contem
plating the eminence which you have attained ; we rejoice that you have
found it possible to obey the impulse, which you have doubtless often felt,
" to return to the land of your "fathers and to your kindred ;" and, since
we in " Tir nam Beann, nan Oleann's nan Gaisbeach." dare not hope to
detain you long from your arduous public duties, we can only pray that
the blessing of Almighty God may go with you where you dwell ; — we
cherish the Delief that your illustrious career will be an incentive to our
children to value the blessing of a good education, and, in the battle of life,
to " Trust in God and do the Eight."
Signed on behalf of the inhabitants of the village and parish of
Logierait, by
James Fraser, M. A., Minister of Logierait.
Hon. Mr. Mackenzie was received with great cheering. He
said that of all the pleasant gatherings he had had the pleasure
of attending since bis arrival in Scotland, this was in some
respects the most touching. He was now standing where fifty
years ago he had played as a child, within sight of the house
where he first saw the light. Tender recollections of father,
mother, brethren and friends welled up in his memory, and
almost deprived him of utterance. (Applause.) Within a few
hundred yards was tbe burial place of bis ancestors, which he
had visited to-day, after a long, long absence. Could all the
dear ones of his family who had departed, and whom he bad
known, have met him to-day, tbe gathering would have been

94 TOUR AND SPEECHES
divested of a tinge of sadness which he could not prevent steal
ing over and oppressing his spirit. He recognized few faces
at the table, though the names were familiar, but among them
he. gladly recognized some old friends of his father's, whose
names and faces would never be forgotten. (Cheers.) When
coming up from Dunkeld, and once more entering the heart of
the Highlands, be could not help looking back upon the noble
range of the Grampians, which once afforded a barrier to the
southern intruder. Sir Alexander had referred to their going
south to Delvine to get a chairman, and it occurred to him
(Mr. Mackenzie) that had he not possessed a Highland name,
he could never have gone south of that barrier. (Laughter
and cheers.) They would recollect that many of our people
in days long gone by thought there was no great harm in
taking an occasional -excursion over the Grampians for a
particular purpose, and it was very kind of Sir Walter Scott to
excuse these predatory excursions in bis Lady of the Lake,
when he said : — These fertile plains, that softened dale.
Were once the birthright of the Gael ;
The stranger came with iron hand,
And from our fathers reft the land.
Pent in'this fortress ofthe North,
Think'st thou we will not sally forth,
To spoil the spoiler as we may,
And from the robber rend the prey?
(Cheers.) He was proud tbat one of bis clansmen had
succeeded in wresting so many of these fertile vales from those
intruders, and bringing them back to where they should never
have been taken from. (Laughter and cheers.) He was
delighted to see so many Highland faces present, and he only
regretted he was not able to speak to them in bis own
language. (Laughter.) It was exceedingly pleasant for him
to be bere to-day, and to see so many of those who were the
friends of his youth, and so many gentlemen who knew only
that his father and his father's family were in this parish long

IN SCOTLAND. 95
ago, and were kind enough to come here, like the* chairman,
to say a kind word on the occasion of his visiting his native
land. (Cheers.) He had met many of the Athole people in
all parts of Canada, one being a prominent merchant in New
Brunswick and a member of the Dominion Senate. He
would on this occasion be able to renew the acquaintance
ship which time had nearly blotted out. But it was not
very probable that be would again have the privilege
of meeting many of those now present. The rapid
means of communication now established by sea and
land, did. however, bring us much nearer to each other
than we were when he left Athole thirty-five years ago. He
was forcibly reminded of this by seeing two friends from To
ronto present at this gathering. The ocean crossing was now
but a, ferry; while in Canada, as in Britain, the rush ofthe
ocomotive was everywhere beard. (Cheers.) The Valley of
the Tay and the Pass of Killicrankie are made highways for
railway traffic. The Tay and the Tummell, which he remem
bered as great rivers, are crossed and recrossed at a bound, in
one respect not improving the country, as the romance of old
association is destroyed ; but tbe progress of the country de
manded the change. He felt it a real pleasure to know that
no improvement could remove the everlasting hills which
surrounded them, and lent a beauty to the scene which he con
fessed Canada could hardly yield. (Cheers.) Canada could,
however, do something in presenting tbe beautiful and especi
ally the majestic in nature. All the rivers in Scotland
would not make a St. Lawrence, while tbe largest of the Can
adian lakes was larger than all Scotland. Their great boast
in Canada, however, was tbat it afforded so much to the great
mass of the people of solid comfort. Many thousands of its
farmers were enjoying all the comforts and many of the lux
uries of life, as the inevitable fruit of their own industry —
comforts they could never have been assured of bere. (Cheers.)

96 TOUR AND SPEECHES
There almost every man, however humble, had* a hold on the
soil. They had neither laws of entail nor of primogeniture.
The people elected their own municipal councils in town
and country, and these councils levied the rates for municipal
and school purposes. For many years they had had a splendid
school system in operation, and although their schools had,
perhaps, not been so effective as the parochial schools of Scot
land, yet they were far in advance of anything to be found in
almost any other country. He had alluded elsewhere to the ne
cessity — speaking in tho higher sense of political wisdom, apart
from mere sentiment — of having two political systems on the
continent of Ameriea. In this connexion he might state the
service rendered to human liberty by the existence of a free
Canada, when it was the sole city of refuge for the poor
hunted Negro. (Loud cheers.) Thank God, the era of human
slavery in the United States had now passed away. (Great
applause.) But he could not forget the important part played
by Canada in terminating the slave masters' power. (Hear,
hear.) In Britain they could not very well realize how much
there was in their own proud boast that —
Slaves cannot breathe in England ; if their lungs
Receive our air, that moment they are free ;
They touch our country and their shackles fall.
But in Canada be had often at the frontier met the wretched
slave escaping from his taskmaster, after a perilous journey
of hundreds of miles, with nothing to guide him in his
night journeys but tbe North Star; and there he could
see the power of the Eed Cross flag, tbe sight of which
stopped the pursuit, and proclaimed the Negro fugitive a free
man. (Loud cheers.) The area of human freedom was now
broadened by the size of the United States as to territory,
but still more by the now pure and wholesome moral influence
of a great people being thrown into the scale as against every
kind of oppression. (Applause.), In many other ways the

IN SCOTLAND. 97
British colonies in America had led the van. Their commercial
legislation was of a more enlightened character than that of
the United States, their municipal system much more complete.
Indeed the municipal system of Canada was tbe most complete
in the world, from a scientific point of view. It placed the
entire local taxation in the hands of the ratepayers, both as
regards all ordinary municipal expenditure, such as roads,
bridges, drainage, and public buildings, and school expenditure.
In these and other matters the British in Canada had an advan
tage over the old land. They had the experience of their fore
fathers to guide them. Tbey bad a clean slate on which to lay
down improved systems of arrangements essential to self-gov
ernment. They had swept away the miserable attempts to
create Church establishments dependent on State support, and
declared all churches and religious beliefs equal in the eye of
the law, and therefore equally entitled to its recognition and
protection. (Loud cheers.) Canada was attached to the mo
narchical system, but yet intensely democratic in its internal
system of administration ; as Lord Dufferin had said when
addressing an audience in Chicago, — " more democratic than in
republican America." It was in every sense " the home of
the free," and had on every possible occasion proved itself to
be also "the "land of the brave." (Cheers.) Mr. Mackenzie
then referred briefly to tbe railway enterprises of Canada, and
to the recent letter of Mr. Potter casting discredit on Canadian
undertakings showing that Mr. Potter's statements were either
entirely erroneous or very grossly exaggerated. He especially
referred to a single fact : Mr. Potter had stated the capital
account ofthe Grand Trunk Company to be over £30,000,000,
when the actual expenditure on the construction of tbat road
was less than £15,000,000, of which amount Canada furnished
over £3,000,000 without interest. Canada bad of course many
initial difficulties to contend with, like all new countries, but
these difficulties were being gallantly met by the nation and by

98 TOUR AND SPEECHES
individuals. In conclusion, be thanked his countrymen very
earnestly for their great kindness in meeting him to-day as
they had done in his native parish. He should never cease to
take the warmest interest in the district and tbe country,
although Canada would claim his first attention. (Loud ap
plause.) Later in the day Mr. Mackenzie was called on to reply to
the toast of the Dominion. He said that in replying to this
toast, he would not long detain them. He might in the first
place give some information of a kind which would show the
extent of the country. From the entrance of the Gulf of St.
Lawrence to Montreal, ships of any size or burthen could
navigate our waters a distance of over a thousand miles. From
Montreal to the head of Lake Superior, a distance of over
1600 miles, vessels of 500 tons burthen could penetrate by the
St. Lawrence and great lakes almost to the heart of the con
tinent. From this point it was about 400 miles to Eed Eiver,
a large stream rising in the United States and flowing due
north falling into Lake Winnipeg, about 100 miles north of the
boundary line. This lake was about 250 miles long, with an
average width of about 50 miles. Between this lake and Lake
Superior there was a chain of lakes, the principal of which
were Lake of the Woods and Eainy Lake, each being
larger than all the lakes of Scotland combined. The groat
river of the prairie country, the Saskatchewan, which
takes its rise in the Eocky Mountains, flows from thence east
by north, and falls into Lake Winnipeg, about its centre. Some
idea may be formed of tbe extent of this vast undulating
plain called the prairie country by the fact that the Saskat
chewan can be navigated for twelve or fourteen hundred miles
westward from where, it joins Lake Winnipeg. Tbe South
Saskatchewan rose on the boundary of the United States, in
longitude 115, and joined tbe main ri,ver in longitude 104,
after a somewhat crooked course. This branch was also

IN SCOTLAND. 99
navigable almost its entire length. Between Lake Winnipeg
and tbe South Saskatchewan there were two lakes; Manitoba
and Winnipegosis, each of which measured about one hundred
aud twenty miles in length by twenty or thirty miles in width.
From the Eocky Mountains to Lake Superior and from the
United States boundary to the northern limit of land suitable
for settlement, there was an area of not less than 420,000
square miles. This great country was to a great extent still
in the possession of tbe Indians, though Canada had extin
guished the Indian title by purchase of a very large portion,
and the balance would soon be acquired. The Canadian Gov
ernment had always, as he explained the other day, taken
every precaution to deal fairly by the Indians, by recognizing
their rights in the country, and treating with them, instead of
fighting them ; which policy was the right one from all
points of view, of humanity, justice or pure selfishness. Beyond
the Eocky Mountains lay Columbia, a yast but almost un
known country, having as yet only a small population, but
containing great resources, especially in mines of iron, coal,
gold and other metals, with vast forests of merchantable
timber. Tbe coal fields east of the Eocky Mountains were of
enormous extent, embracing from south to north probably not far
from 2,000 miles, extending from the boundary to the Arctic
Ocean. These statements, made in this rough way, conveyed
something to the mind of the extent of this " Greater Britain,"
without taking into account the extent and resources of the
Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and
Prince Edward Island. These Provinces contained now nearly
four millions of people, and we had room for many more than
could be taken for many years to come. They bad also rich
mineral districts ; especially was this true of Nova Scotia, where
very rich deposits of coal and iron were found in close juxtapo
sition. The climate of Canada was among the best in the world
in point of health, though subject to some drawbacks like

100 TOUR AND SPEECHES
other countries ; but one thing was certain, it was the happy
home of hundreds of thousands, who had left the crowded
towns and country of Britain. The conditions of life were
much tbe same as bere. No Briton could feel from home in
Canada. With these general remarks he begged to thank
them very cordially for tbe " toast ofthe Dominion. He had
no dpubt that the Eev. Dr. Taylor, who was present, and who
was the accredited agent of tbe Dominion, would here and
elsewbere give fuller information than he could give in a short
after-dinner speech. (The hon. gentleman resumed his seat
amidst loud applause.)
Various other toasts followed, including " The Dominion of
Canada," to which the Premier replied, and concluded by
proposing " The Land of Hills, and Glens, and Heroes," which
was acknowledged by Mr. M'Naughton.
Mr. Dotf, banker, Dunkeld, proposed " The health of Mrs.
Mackenzie," to which Mr. Mackenzie replied.
The company then broke up by giving three cheers for the
Queen. The whole proceedings were of the most agreeable and
pleasant description, and tbe various arrangements reflected
tbe greatest credit upon the Committee of Management.
The proceedings were considerably enlivened by tbe playing
of two pipers — Mr. George M'Pherson, piper to the Duchess-
Dowager of Athole, and Mr. John Macdougall, Fuaran. A
band was also present. Each gentleman was presented with a
beautifully-illuminated card, as a memorial of the interesting
gathering.

IN SCOTLAND. 101

ADDEESS FEOM THE GEEENOCK CHAMBEE OF
COMMEECE.

Greenock, August 3. — Hon. Mr. Mackenzie, Prime Minister
of the Canadian Dominion, and who is at present on a visit to his
native country, yesterday reached Greenock, whither he had
been invited by the members ofthe Chamber of Commerce.
The hon. gentleman, under the guidance of Mr. Kinniple,
engineer, proceeded to inspect the harbour and docks. At
three o'clock tbe distinguished visitor met with the members
of the Chamber in tbe Council Hall. There was a good
attendance. Ex-Provost Morton presided.
The Secretary read the following address, which had been
prepared for presentation to Mr. Mackenzie : —
To the Honourable Alexander Mackenzie,— Sir,— The members of the
Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers of Greenock have great pleasure
in bidding you welcome to your native country, and in offering their
congratulations on your visit to this town. As Prime Minister of the
Dominion of Canada, you are aware of the close ties which exist between
this" port and the country over whose political affairs you so worthily
preside. Many of the citizens of Greenock have betaken themselves to
your side of the Atlantic with a view of establishing themselves as
merchants, while a large number have found settlements as proprietors of
land ; and between these temporary and permanent residents in Canada,
and the kindred they have left behind, constant and warm intercourse is
maintained, accompanied by extensive trade, beneficial to both countries.
We rejoice to see in you a friend and promoter of freedom of trade in all
departments. The countenance and support which you extend to all
schemes for increasing the facilities for internal traffic by means of roads,
railways, and canals, sufficiently prove your enlightened zeal for the
prosperity of your adopted country, and we read with satisfaction of the
same encouragement afforded to commerce by the construction of graving
docks for ships and otherwise. In offering this testimony of our considera
tion, we wish to be understood as expressing our respect for your great abilities
and high personal character, and at" the same time our desire to send
through you a message of friendship and goodwill to the people of the
Dominion, and we hope you will be long spared by Divine Providence to
aid by your talents in spreading the blessings of freedom, education, and
material prosperity over the breadth of the land. (Loud applause.)
Mr. Mackenzie, who was received with loud applause, in
reply said— Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen,— Nothing could
be more gratifying than the pleasure you have afforded me in
1

102 TOUR AND SPEECHES
thus meeting with many of those who are i'nterested in the
foreign trade of Great Britain, as well as her colonial
possessions. The welcome which you have given me — partly
for myself, but chiefly because I am the representative of one
of Great Britain's colonies — will be held in grateful remem
brance by myself, my colleagues in tbe Government, and the
people of Canada. (Applause.) I can assure you nothing has
given me greater pleasure than to be able to visit the great
marts of commerce in Great Britain ; and to have visited
Great Britain without visiting the great seaport of the Clyde,
would be an act — I was about to say of madness — as here we
witness, above all other places, one of the great sources of
Britain's greatness — her shipbuilding trade, and her export
business. (Applause.) It is true, as the chairman bas said,
tbat Canada possesses a vast territory; true, some of it is a
little cold, and some of it is very remote ; but we are not
without tbe means of obtaining access even to tbe interior-
parts, which are at present considered very remote from
civilization. A great work which Canada is now prosecuting
will in time, and not a very long time, extend all the blessings
that you enjoy in your favoured islands even to the remotest
districts, and which are at present so far removed from the
usual haunts of commerce. We have, as bas been indicated,
done much in Canada, poor and sparsely peopled as tbe country
is, to poomote the interests of commerce. Canada has
expended., within the last thirty years a sum of about
£10,000,000 sterling in improving tbe navigable waters con
necting tbe great lakes with each other and with tbe waters of
the St. Lawrence, and the policy of the present Government is
, to carry out these improvements to a much greater extent than
was ever contemplated when the works were undertaken. A
very few facts may perhaps be interesting to gentlemen
present respecting these works. When it was proposed, more
than 30 years ago, to improve the then small canals and to

IN SCOTLAND. ,103
build works connecting the interior waters of Canada, the
utmost capacity of the locks was about 500 tons. In other
words, the locks were about 150 feet long by 26 feet wide. In
the course of a few years these means were foxmd to be entirely
inadequate, owing to the increase in the size of the vessels-
sailing ships and steamers— engaged in trading; and at
present a great portion of tbe tonnage on Lake Erie, Lake
Huron, and Lake Superior is composed of vessels of from TOO
to 1,200 tons burthen. We have therefore determined to
increase the capacities of the internal works, so that we will
be able to take a vessel through from the ocean to Lake
Superior of 210 feet long by 44 feet beam. This will admit a
class of vessels which will carry from 1,500 to 1,600 tons,
and enable us to compete successfully with the ordinary
means of communication existing at present through
the United States. It is quite true tbat we have
adopted these measures in a spirit of selfishness ; but a spirit
of selfishness and confidence is one of tbe first considerations
of every British statesman. The people of Canada believe
that tbe same spirit, and tbe same enterprise, and the same
expenditure of money, which have made the Clyde one of the
greatest rivers of the world, will, within the lifetime of the
oldest person now present, make the St. Lawrence the great
highway to the interior of the continent of America — a high
way which cannot possibly liave any rival. (Applause.) You
have also alluded to other improvements being made in Can
ada. I have referred elsewhere to the Pacific Eailway, and
described tbe geographical position which it occupies ; and I
will only call attention to the fact that when our transcon
tinental route is completed we will be 1,000 miles nearer Japan
than tbe port of San Francisco, the United States' great seaport
on the Pacific. Montreal is, on tbe other hand, 400 miles
nearer Greenock than New York is. Seeing that there are
400 miles gain at the one end, and 1,000 at the other, I think
7* .

104 TOUR AND SPEECHES
it may be prophesied that within the lifetime of many before
me a great trade will be done through this new route with
China and Japan — a trade which will be of great advantage to
Canada and other countries. I think a distance of 1,400 miles
in favour of this route ought to be calculated, if distance and
expense are to be regarded ih relation to trade at all. Mr. Mac
kenzie next proceeded to dwell on Canada's position as a great
field for emigration — a subject which he had treated of in his
previous public speeches. Canada, he thought, was a more
favourable home for the emigrant than the United States could
be. He went on to say, — Ido not intend for a moment to dis
parage the power and position ofthe United States. It is a great
country ; its resources are enorrhous, its riches are almost in
calculable ; still disadvantages exist there which do not exist
with us. A very large portion of its territory is almost tropi
cal in its climate, and is therefore not so favourable as our own.
As I said.somewhere else recently, we ofthe northern nations
have always been, I might say, tbe conquerors of the world —
we have been conquerors certainly in commerce ; and I do
hope the people of Canada at all events will possess the mental
and physical vigour which have characterized those ofthis
country, and which will enable them to maintain their own
against all lands, and entitle them to adopt the proud boast
which is inscribed as a motto on some of the United States
newspapers : —
No pent-up Utica contracts our powers,
For the whole boundless continent is ours.
That applies to us more than they,, for we possess a larger share
of the continent. (Applause.) I look forward with great
pleasure to tbe expectation, which I hope will be realized, that
all parts of the British dominions will always be able to main
tain friendly relations and that friendship which become
people who are all speaking the same language, and who are

IN SCOTLAND. 105
all so much indebted to Great Britain and Ireland for the pri
vileges they have. And while fondly entertaining the belief
that these relations will not be easily disturbed, should they
happen to be disturbed, Canada bas 180,000 men whom we are
able to train to arms. (Applause.) Eeference has been made
by tbe chairman to the former condition of a portion of Can
ada, where there was something like an outbreak against Bri
tish authority. Without going into any justification of that
outbreak, and without referring particularly to those outbreaks
which occur nearer home than Canada, I have merely to say
that all rebellions, everywhere, whether in Canada or Ireland,
Scotland or England, have originated in injustice. And while
I delight to know that there is no cause whatever for any dis
content at the present moment in any British colony, I may
say that the cause of discontent on former occasions was sim
ply an attempt to legislate improperly for people thousands of
miles away from the central authority, which central authority
could not possibly understand the mind of the people. You
have been kind enough, gentlemen, to express tbe hope tbat I
might long continue in the position which I now occupy. I
represent a constitutionally-governed country. My con
tinuance in that position depends precisely as in this country —
on how long I can maintain a Parliamentary majority. I can
only say I thank you heartily for your kind wish in that re
gard; but I may say that one can only hold tbe position of
Prime Minister of Canada so long as the national interests are
fairly administered, as I have no doubt they will always be,
whatever political party is in power. (Applause.) Mr.
Mackenzie next proceeded to notice tbe fact tbat nearly our
entire population is engage^ in manufacturing pursuits, only 18
or 19 per cent, being engaged in agriculture, while exactly the
reverse was the case in Canada. There, nearly half the popu
lation was engaged in agriculture, and only a small percentage
followed manufacturing callings. A very large portion of the

106 TOUR AND SPEECHES
population ofthe Dominion, however, was engaged in shipping—
especially was this the case in the maritime provinces. As show
ing the value of that population to Great Britain, he stated that
there Were about 90,000 men engaged as sailors, common sea
men, and fishermen in Canada. And next to Britain, the
United States, and France, Canada was a good deal ahead by
herself of the other shipping Powers of the world. He was
sure that if the Canadian flag was to be distinguished in any
way, tbey would often see it in their port with vessels that had
been built on tbe other side of tbe Atlantic. Tbe bon. gentle
man said that in Canada there was a very large French popu
lation, a considerable German population, and, with the popu
lations from England, Ireland, and Scotland, these constituted
the population of the Dominion ; and there was not a portion
of the British people either in India or the Colonies who were
more devoted subjects of the Queen than were his French fel
low-subjects in Canada. (Applause.) In concluding, Mr.
Mackenzie said,--I hope and except that before long the remain
ing colony of British North America, Newfoundland, may find
a pleasant resting-place within the arms of the Confederation.
I am quite sure tbat that will be best for Newfoundland, as
well as for tbe several parts of Canada. When our transcon
tinental system of communication is fully established and the
Dominion is fairly one continent, I have no doubt Newfound
land will gladly come and assist us to build up a glorious
British empire, which, I believe, will be sufficiently powerful
of itself not merely to be a child of Britain, but to be an ally, a
brother in arms, a brother in peace, a part of a British confed
eration which shall exist wherever tbe sound of the British
drum rolls around tbe globe. (Loud applause.)
Mr. Paul referred to the decline of the sugar trade between
this country and Canada, blamed recent legislation therefor,
and asked what reason the Canadian Government had for
imposing prohibitory tariffs on the sugar trade With Britain.

IN SCOTLAND. 107
Mr. John Neill, jr., also drew attention to the fact that the
trade in crushed sugar had greatly declined.
Mr. Mackenzie said it was a mistake to suppose tbat any
thing like prohibitory rates had been imposed on British
manufactured sugar. There had been no disturbance of the
BUgar duties. The disturbance of tbe trade arose from the
same cause as disturbed the trade between Great Britain and
France. The Government of the United States had followed
the same course as the Government of France, and taxed their
own people in order that other nations might get cheap sugar.
He had no doubt tbat the United States sent sugar to Greenock.
(" Yes.") Tbey could easily imagine that people who were-
able to send sugar to Greenock, which was like sending coal to
Newcastle, could as easily send it to Canada. There was no
real remedy, unless they got the Governments of the United
States and France to adopt the views advanced by those inte
rested in this country. There was no more complicated thing
could be discussed in political economy than tbe sugar duties-
The British Government had laboured to get a common action
agreed upon by the European powers, and tbe Government of
Canada would be delighted to do the same thing for their
country. (Applause.)
Mr. Neill was delighted at Mr. Mackenzie's expression of
opinion, and thought there was some ground for hoping that
tbe United States Government would be brought to adopt
more reasonable views in regard to tbe matter to which he had
referred. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. Mackenzie, in tbe course of some further remarks, said
that Quebec somehow bad always been looked upon by those
engaged in the timber trade as a port of a temporary character.
It was only recently that the place had been raised into the
position of a great seaport^-a great natural outlet, not merely
for timber, but all kinds of merchandise. He hoped the atten-

108 TOUR AND SPEECHES
tion Government had given to the timber interest would Be for
the mutual benefit of Greenock and Quebec. (Applause.)
After a vote of thanks to the Chairman for presiding and
" three cheers for Mr. Mackenzie," the company separated.

PEESENTATION OF THE FEEEDOM OF THE
BOEOUGH OF IEVINE. ,

Irvine, August 11. — Yesterday at noon, the Hon. Alexander
Mackenzie, Prime Minister of Canada, who is at present on a
visit to this country, was entertained by the Town Council of
Irvine, when he was presented with the freedom ofthe burgh.
The ceremony took place in tbe Town Hall, which was com
pletely filled before tbe hour named for tbe presentation. The
company comprised a number of ladies, the members of tbe
Town Council, and Harbour Trust, tbe Magistrates ofthe Town,
the Clergymen of all denominations, the Incorporated Trades,
the Volunteer Officers, and most of the prominent residents.
Provost Paterson occupied tbe chair, and was supported by
the Canadian Premier ; Ex-Provost Brown ; Bailies Goudie,
Wyllie, and Wright; Dean of Guild Henderson; Eevd. J.
Somerville, Parish Minister ; and Messrs. Dickey, D. Gray, and
John Yuille.
The Chairman, in a brief speech, expressed tbe pleasure
they felt in meeting Mr. Mackenzie as their guest, Mr. Mac
kenzie had come among them to visit some old friends, and the
Council had taken advantage of his visit to tender to him the
freedom ofthe town, as a mark of their appreciation of his
public services, as well as from a desire to honor Canada
through her First Minister. Mr. Mackenzie bad by bis perse
verance and ability raised himself to the position of Prime

IN SCOTLAND. 109
Minister ofthe Dominion of Canada, the greatest of British Colo
nies, and he (the Provost) was sure he would be received bere
as he was elsewhere with great enthusiasm. (Applause.) The "
Town Council and Magistrates had unanimously agreed to
confer this honor on Mr. Mackenzie. It was the highest
honor tbey could bestow! He hoped Mr. Mackenzie would be
long spared to promote schemes and measures in Canada that
would perpetuate bis name and hand it down to posterity.
(Cheers.) Mr. Dickie, the Town Clerk, then read the resolution of the
Council and the burgess ticket, and handed to Mr. Mackenzie
the document, enclosed in a handsome case, with a silver plate'
on which the inscription was engraved.
Mr. Mackenzie, on rising to respond, was very warmly
received. He said he bad accepted the invitation of the Coun
cil to be present for the purpose of receiving tbe freedom of
the town with very great pleasure, for personal reasons, and
also because it was an evidence of good feeling to Canada.
Although not a native of Irvine, he had spent some pleasant
days there long ago, and his recollections were more associated
with persons than localities in this quarter. Some of his family
connections were associated with Irvine, and some of his
warmest personal friends were still here, after his absence of
thirty-five years. During that long period many changes had
taken place, and one who was a native of Irvine and stood in
the nearest relationship to him bad passed away ; but her
remaining friends and the place itself would always be
regarded by him with the tenderest interest. (Applause.)
Irvine also possessed much interest to Canadians, and to
himself personally, as being the native place of a very distin
guished Canadian statesman, Sir Alexander T. Gait —(cheers)—
a gentleman who had long served Canada, and whom he had the
honor of classing among his personal friends, though tbey bad
not always acted together politically. (Hear, hear.) Since

110 TOUR AND SPEECHES
coming to Scotland, various public bodies and private gather
ings had been good enough to show him much kindness similar
to that received that day. He believed these demonstrations
evinced the good will which existed between the mother-coun
try and her colonies, of which Canada was in every respeet the
greatest, as nofhing could be more pleasant than the manner in
which the colonies were spoken of in these meetings. (Cheers.)
One of the greatest pleasures a Canadian had in visiting the
the mother country was to know that he was still among his
own kindred by birth and political connection. (Cheers.)
The Briton who had removed to Canada bad notibrfeited his
right to British citizenship — he had not given up his claim to
be a sharer in the glories of the old land ; he had merely gone
abroad to strengthen the family connexion and enlarge tbe
family possessions. (Applause.) Tbe house and estate were
enlarged, and the family increased, but the name was the same,
and the great British roof-tree covered all. (Cheers.) Can
adians and colonists generally, while not possessing many of
the advantages enjoyed by tbe people remaining at home, had
other more valuable privileges which more than compensated
for what could not be obtained. Tbey had a clear field in
which to commence national life, free from many clogs, such
as an Established Church, which was at home a fertile source
of dispute, and in the estimation of many a real in
jury. They had the advantage of the history of the parent
state in moulding the new institutions. In the colonies
the people were apt to think that the march of improve
ment was more rapid than at home. A visit to this
country would perhaps be unfavorable to such an impression.
He had witnessed with the greatest interest the great improve
ments in harbors, railways, and shipping, and in the growth of
cities and manufactories. During his visit to tbe Highlands,
he was surprised to find the most remote and lonely glens
penetrated by the telegraph wires. He contrasted the present

IN SCOTLAND. Ill
method of conveying tidings of joy or danger with that de
scribed so graphically by Scott — where every inhabitant was
bound to carry the Fiery Cross at the top of his speed and
when exhausted to give it to some clansman to speed onward
to the next, until the whole country was roused. Were that
wonderful instrumentality, the electric telegraph, not in ex
istence in modern times, the British colonies would be able
and wilbng to carry the Fiery Cross round the globe to warn
all the members ofthe Empire of impending danger to the
mother-country, and in such case the gathering of colonists
would be no less unanimous and enthusiastic than was the
gathering of the clans round their chieftains in former days.
(Loud applause.) While speaking on this subject, he would
remark that the days when serious danger might happen to
the mother-country were fast drawing to a close. (Cheers.)
The magnifioent and powerful British settlements which were
growing daily stronger with unexampled rapidity in every
quarter of tbe globe, were even now a source of strength in
stead of weakness. (Cheers.) These colonies were gigantic
limbs ofthe parent state through which pulsated the blood
from the heart of tbe Empire. (Applause.) They were not,
as some supposed, isolated fragments which had grown by
chance, and had a precarious, uncertain existence. Tbe enor
mous population which these colonies would very soon possess
would be able in arms to set tbe world at defiance, and in peace
would exercise a moral influence of tbe greatest importance to
the well-being of humanity. (Cheers.) He knew there was a
party in England that believed the future safety of Britain
would lie in detaching the colonies, building walls round her
cities and guarding her coasts with tbe navy. It was from no
selfish motive, as a colonist, tbat be expressed bis dissent
from such a view. He firmly believed tbat the policy of aban
doning tbe colonies and tbe shuttling themselves up like the
Dutch to live on their accumulated earnings would be the aban-

112 TOUR AND SPEECHES
donment of a national prestige which was most beneficial to
other nations, and as a nation committing suicide. (Cheers.)
The colonies required nothing from Britain. Tbey could
maintain themselves, but tbey did want a complete understand
ing, not an accidental policy, as to the future. Tbe possibility
of future wars, and the difficulty of dispersing British forces
all over tbe earth, no doubt actuated the mere shopkeeping
politician, who feared the expense and subjected bis larger po
litical feeling to the pressure of money; but the colonies
generally could attend to their own military work. (Cheers.)
He believed also that with the growth of tbe colonies and
commercerthe probabilities of war would steadily decrease.
(Cheejrs.). Having referred so much to colonial relations,
perhaps be would not be considered as travelling beyond tbe
boundary he should observe if be expressed his deep regret at
the depopulation ofthe rural districts in Scotland. " A brave
peasantry " were peculiarly " tbe country's pride" in Scotland.
(Cheers.) He was pained to witness tbe vast changes that had
taken place in some districts of the Highlands. Where he had
known in his boyhood a busy population engaged in cultivating
these little farms and tending their little flocks of sheep, only
ruined tenements were now found, while the little crofts and
holdings were turned into sheep farms and game preserves."
Places which had given many a noble fellow to tbe British
army could provide no more. The people were driven to the
large cities or compelled to emigrate. He felt thankful tbat
no such changes could take place in Canada, where every one
almost was a proprietor or could become one. (Cheers.) Mr.
Mackenzie then referred to tbe late improvements in educa
tional matters in England, and even in Scotland, where improve
ments were not so much needed as in the south. He said no
Scotchman could help feeling grateful to the wise statesmen who
aided one of the greatest of Scotchmen, John Knox, in estab
lishing tlie parochiabschools which had done so much for the

IN SCOTLAND. 113
country, although modern educationists might, no doubt, im
prove on the system and the text books used. (Cheers.) He
remembered reading in a book of travels in Scotland by Kohl,
a German writer, one passage with reference to tbe Shorter
Catechism. He said tbe most wonderful thing be bad seen in
Scotland was a complete system of divinity sold for a farthing.
(Cheers.) Personally, he did not agree with all the theolo-
gioal views contained in that wonderful little book, but no one
could doubt its great influence as well as its general complete
ness as a summary of truth. In Canada tbe common schools
were entirely free to every child, and free also from any deno
minational bias, though the Bible was read and alL±he schools
were opened and closed with prayer. Every neighbourhood
was also supplied with a high school, where tbe higher branches
of knowledge, including the classics to a certain point, were
taught. From these high schools students could matriculate
into the University. Mr. Mackenzie, after referring to the
various improvements and changes he saw in Irvine, said he
earnestly hoped that tbe prosperity of tbe town would con
tinue. It was in all probability the last time he would see it,
and this was the last public address he would make in Scot
land. He hoped his visit would have some effect in drawing
closer the ties which bound tbe people of Canada and the
mother country together. He embraced this last opportunity
of expressing bis deep gratitude for all tbe kindness he bad ex
perienced from tbe day of his arrival. He should be able to
cany back to his colleagues, bis friends, and tbe people of
Canada, the kind words which had been said of Canada where-
ever he had been. (Mr. Mackenzie was warmly applauded on
resuming his seat.)

[Mr. Mackenzie was also invited by the Town Clerk of Glasgow, on oe*
half of the Lord Provost, Magistrates, and Council, and other leading
citizens, to luncheon in that city, but was compelled on account of his
engagements to decline, as well as an invitation to meet the Chamber of
Commerce of Manchester.]

114 TOUR AND SPEECHES

AETICLES ON THE PEEMIEE'S VISIT, FEOM THE
SCOTTISH PEESS.

(From the Dundee Advertiser, July 14, 1875.)
Dundee has credit in her youngest burgess. In bestowing
tbe freedom ofthe burgh on tbe Hon. Alexander Mackenzie.
the Magistrates and Town Council have not only shown their
appreciation of native worth, but in so honouring the Premier
ofthe Dominion they reflect honour upon tbe city tbey repre-i
sent. Those who saw and beard Mr. Mackenzie yesterday
would have no difficulty in accounting for the success which
bas attended bis career in Canada. He impresses you at once
as, a shrewd, sagacious, far-seeing man — one in whom there is
no room for sham of any kind. In any country Mr. Macken
zie would have, doubtless, made bis mark, but it is more par
ticularly our Colonies which open up careers for such as he.
Native vigour of character, sound judgment, and strong conv
mon sense are qualities which are stamped in his features, and
become at once conspicuous in his utterance. One does not
wonder that on bis taking an active part in politics these qua
lities should have recommended him to bis fellow-Colonists, or
tbat bis native ability should have brought him irresistibly to
the front as tbe leader of one of the great political parties. It
was the stand be took in condemning and exposing the tactics
ofthe Macdonald Ministry in spending large sums of money
for election purposes which first brought Mr. Mackenzie's
name prominently before newspaper readers in this country.
On that occasion Mr. Mackenzie made a manly stand in fa
vour of purity of administration. The conduct of the Mac
donald Ministry in freely spending money for election pur
poses in order to make sure of the return of a working majo
rity, and their subsequent recommendation to grant tbe Pacific
Eailway contracts to an association of capitalists, at tbe head
of whom was a gentleman who bad considerately advanced the
money, naturally roused a feeling of popular indignation. Mr.
Mackenzie, as the leader of the Liberal party, was tbe expo
nent of that indignation, and in tbe beginning of November,
1873, Sir John Macdonald resigned office rather than risk a
division on the vote of censure proposed by Mr. Mackenzie.
In accordance with precedent Mr. Mackenzie succeeded to
the Premiership, and since then Canada bas not been disturbed
with any specially engrossing political controversy.

IN SCOTLAND. 115
Tbe advent of Mr. Mackenzie and his party to power was
somewhat unlooked for. In the early part of tbe year Sir John
Macdonald could command a majority of from sixteen to
thirty. This was after the elections referred to, and in ordinary
course the Liberals might have remained a long time in the
cold shade of Opposition had not the revelations in connection
with the Pacific Eailway scandal destroyed Sir John Mac
donald's influence, and led many members to change sides.
When Mr. Mackenzie took office a disposition was shown in
some quarters to represent the party of which he is the chief
as being inclined towards American institutions, with perhaps
a tendency towards annexation. There has been nothing in
'their conduct to give countenance to the misrepresentation. A
thorough belief in Democratic principles is not incompatible
with adherence to a Constitutional Monarchy ; and tbe em
phatic declaration of Mr. Mackenzie as to the feelings of Can
adians with respect to annexation should go a long way to
dispel any lingering notion regarding tbe American leanings
of the Liberal party in the Dominion. Even in the United
States the party who were wont boastingly to declare tbat
No pent-up Utica contracts our powers,
For the whole boundless continent is ours,
are now seldom beard to say that tbe Stars and Stripes will yet
float on tbe north side ofthe St. Lawrence and the great lakes
at the request of tbe Canadian people. In saying that it " has
been decreed as inevitable by the people of Canada and the
people of the British Empire that there shall be at least two
systems of political government upon tbe Continent," Mr.
Mackenzie, we believe, re-echoes the firm conviction of British
subjects on both sides of tbe Atlantic. Tbat Canada with its
vast tracts of fertile land, its great natural resources, its im
mense metalliferous and mineral wealth, is destined to grow
another, if not a greater Britain, is not to be dismissed as an
idle dream. It has all the elements of vigorous growth in it, '
and when the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards are linked to
gether, as they no doubt will be before long, tbe Dominion
may be expected to go ahead at a pace equal if not greater
than its Southern neighbour. As it progresses, and its wants
increase, it may be expected to continue to develop those edu
cational and other advantages which Mr. Mackenzie with'
just pride referred to yesterday. It may equally be trusted,
unless this country adopt a repellant policy, to remain under
the British flag. In the course of time differences will no doubt
arise ; but so long as Canada entrusts her destinies to shrewd,
sagacious statesmen— men of the same stamp as the youngest
burgess of Dundee— these differences are not likely to lead to
an open rupture.

116 TOUR AND SPEECHES
The party of which Mr. Mackenzie is the acknowledged ,
leader are, as a rule, in favour of free trade. Some of them
may possibly, however, be rather baiting in their zeal. There
is, as in other countries, a protectionist element in Canada,
and under tbe temptation of reciprocity treaties it might de
velop into proportions which would prove a somewhat serious
hindrance to trade. The duties imposed in Canada for reve
nue purposes are already considerable, and tbe attention ofthe
party in power might well be directed towards reducing them
so far as practicable. Mr. Mackenzie, it is clear from his
utterances, is a thorough-going free trader. It is so far in
Canada's favour that she bas at the bead of her Government a
statesman whose views on this question are so matured and sound.
A strict adherence to the principles of free trade is the best
means of developing the resources of a country, and Canadian
politicians would do well to allow themselves to be guided in
this respect by tbe views of their enlightened Premier. Com
merce has unquestionably its work to do as. well as Christia
nity in tbe civilisation of the race, and if the Dominion of,
Canada is to share the glory of carrying our Anglo-Saxon
civilisation over tbe globe — which Mr. Mackenzie considers
to be tbe mission of tbe British people — her sons must be
guided by those maxims which lead to the highest develop
ment of commercial intercourse. In enrolling Mr. Mackenzie .
among her citizens, Dundee recognises not only his personal
worth, the honourable position he has attained, and the im
portant services he bas rendered — she holds out in a manner
the right hand of fellowship and friendship to tbe largest
and most important of the British Colonies. If it lead to the
cultivation of freer and more substantial intercourse— com
mercial and other — between this part of Scotland and the
Dominion of Canada, the gain will be mutual. Whether that
be so of not, Dundee has done well in showing its appreciation,^
of native worth, and in doing honour to one who enjoys the
confidence of the Canadian people.

(From the Perth Advertiser, July 18, 1875.)
, To-day the Premier Statesman df Canada was presented with
the freedom of this city. For reasons which need not be
repeated, the return of Mr. Mackenzie to bis native country is
in strong and striking contrast to bis departure from it.
From tbe hour that he landed at Liverpool to the present his
movements must have brought ineffable pleasure to himself.
Tbey have been conducted in an atmosphere of honour and

IN SCOTLAND. lit
distinction. His position, as assigned to him in political
London, was at once elevated and flattering. The Queen has
smiled upon him, and acknowledged in him one of the leaders
in ber Empire ; and Mr. Disraeli has been happy to praise his
fenius and acknowledge him as a brother statesman of the
ighest rank. ' In Scotland, his native country, tbe " illustrious
stranger" bas been received with something akin to effusion.
His steps are being picked from among those who have crowded
to do him honour. His progress to his native village is beset
by tbe great men of the cities and towns lying in its wake.
Metaphorically his path has been strewn with sweet and pretty
flowers. He has walked on air. Noblemen and gentlemen,
county magnates and city dignitaries, have combined with
one* another in an effort to make his coming back to tbe old
country, for a space, one of proud and memorable circumstance.
The motive for all this parade of semi-imperial adulation is
twofold. It i3 to show, first, that our confidence in the loyalty
and material value of Canada is Unbounded; and secondly, that
Scotland is glad of the opportunity thus afforded to honour a
worthy Hon of her soil. In bestowing that honour, too, all
classes of tbe community are unanimous. Tbe people from
whom he has sprung bail this Premier as one of themselves,
as a living and breathing instance of what may be accom
plished by a man's own unaided courage and adventure. And
the aristocracy, the descendants of a hundred earls, are eager
to welcome one who (to go back to feudal customs for a simile)
bas worked himself up from the lower end of the table, to the
right hand of tbe Baron himself. History contains instances
of individual ascent by laudable means, even in the rudest
times, when, as a rule, men, like Eichard the Third, had no
friend to back their suit —
But the plain devil and dissembling looks.
But these instances are not numerous. Happily, however,
times have changed, and although the competitors for the race
of successful life are now more crowded than ever they were,
yet we are glad to see that more men win by fair running
than by foul. Had Mr. Mackenzie lived in tbe old feudal
days, or later, when Scotch Jemmy reigned, or even later still,
in the "good" old days when George the Third was king, be
would doubtless have found opportunities for rising above the
ruck in which he first beheld the light, and learned to feel
that a large world and a mighty future lay beyond tbe little
village of bis birth. But we must confess his chances in tbe
feudal age, or even in tbe days when James of Scotland was
king, would have been considerably less than they have proved
to be in the Victorian era. The Georgian age was itself not
8

118 TOUR AND SPEECHES
altogether unlike that of "The Barons." It was essentially a
" close " time for unaided ambition ; the nobles were environed
within a stockade of aristocratic exclusiveness, which was as
impregnable almost as the granite walls ofthe Baltic well nigh
proved to be. But the nobles have learned wisdom ; loving the
Empire themselves, they have come to admit the right of the
lowest of its sons to love it also, and to applaud all who, in the
language of the American poet, are —
Leaping higher, higher, higher,
With a desperate desire,
And a resolute endeavour,
Now, now to sit, or never,
By the side ofthe pale-faced moon.
To many a lad, ambitious of fame, dreaming day-dreams within
the puny walls of his little village-home, building castles in the
air, and peopling them with his own, himself the master of all
— to many such lads the titled lords of the soil must seem as
inaccessible in their state as the moon is in hers. But, as we
have said, the flight may be made, and is made, slowly,
laboriously, 'tis true, still it is made, and each arrival *t the
summit of our social Olympus is received with effusion by the
stately dwellers in that world of " sweetness and light." And
thus it is that the Scottish Barons have come out of their
ancient or traditionary exclusiveness, and have given earnest
and hearty welcome to tbe little Logierait lad, whilome mason
of Canada, who for years struggled up the acclivities of the
Dominion, outstripping competitors, and crying only
That one word —
As if his soul in that one word he did outpour—
Excelsior, Excelsior ! So much for the motive which has
brought together this proud array of commoners and peers,
statesmen and provosts, the wise and learned, soldiers, church
men, lawyers, and pompous bailies.
Our readers will peruse Mr. Mackenzie's speeches to-day
with a feeling of admiration both for the man himself and tbe
country of whose political life just now he is the head. People
in what our Canadian correspondent, Mr. Somerville, in his
letter to our columns to-day, calls his beloved and revered,
combative, covenanting, preaching, predestinated, arguing,
effectually called, catechismed, song-singing, poetical, devout,
bag-piping, truthful, old Scotland — people in tbe mother country
are apt to iook upon Canada with a depreciatory spirit simply,
as Mr. Mackenzie remarked, and the Eev. Mr. Cowan more
than hinted to-day — simply because we do not understand the
country. Nay, there are men who go so far in their ignorance

IN SCOTLAND 119
as to say that the Dominion Parliament is the equivalent, not
of the British House of Commons, but of an English or Sccotb
Town Council. The comparison is, however, the graceless
outcome of ignorance. There may be rough talking in the
Canadian Parliament, because many of tbe leaders of Canadian
political thought are like Mr. Mackenzie, men who have risen
from the ranks. But as our Toronto correspondent points out,
the men are not all Mackenzies — not all masons and plough
men : — " If any other stonemason or humble man of worth,
but of moderate education, without the power of money, comes
to Canada expecting to bo Minister of Public Works and
Premier in the Dominion Privy Council, he is likely to be
disappointed. The abundant Canadian schools, classical colleges
and universities are covering the country, and filling the cities
with young men highly and expensively educated, and mostly
inheriting a share of the family property which fathers — once
poor emigrants— have amassed in trade or in agriculture."
Time will soon come when the Canadian Legislature, indeed,
will be tbe equal of the Home Parliament in point of intellec
tual and personal grace ; when Canadian society will have been
strained, as it were, by death, and the leaders, as well as the
rank and file, will be men who have ceased in the practical
sense to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. Doubtless
there will be men shooting forth out ofthe obscurity of immi
gration, and making their way from the " four dollar a day "
class, but these will be the exception of tbe future instead of
the rule, as they have been in the past. Canada is growing with
rapid strides, to us in this slow, peddling Britain, with breath
less strides. Its society is now a great and brilliant fact, the
equal of England in every mental accomplishment and personal
grace. What it lacks is what all our colonies lack in common
with the United States, namely, the softening colour which
can come only of a long, long history, coupled to a' constitution
which is as sacred as Mr. Disraeli's " unwritten law of Parlia
ment," and to institutions sanctified by the breath of centuries.
In all else Canada is our equal, perhaps our superior. Mr.
Mackenzie says as much, and, democrat though he be, he echoes
the patrician sentiments of his Chief. English politics have
become so languid, and in some ways so melancholy, men hope
for so very little from politics, and have become so content if
only there is no misfortune, that a Canadian Viceroy or Premier
who tells them that bis Dominion is occupied by a people who
are " one ofthe most intelligent and happiest ofthe offsets of
the English race ; " a people rapidly developing " into a proud
and great nation ; " a people with a social " atmosphere which
seems impregnated with the exhilarating spirit of enterprise,
contentment, and hope ; " a people which feels that its destinies
8*

120 TOUR AND SPEECHES
are as great as its possessions, and that it is equal to deal with
both, makes society, as the Spectator prettily puts it, raise its
head with a glance of amused, but half-incredulous surprise.
Well, the surprise is natural, but the thing that surprises is no
illusion. There bas been no rise in our recent day like the recent
rise in Canada. Tbe Dominion is an ally within tbe Empire,
a protected State whose protector is but herself again, an actual
portion of the whole body, yet with separate vitality, she
enjoys a condition absolutely unique in history. She can grow
in the middle of the world as the States grew in their isolation.
British journalists understand that much, and, taking Mr.
Mackenzie's bint, they will endeavour to familiarise themselves
thoroughly with the important questions which give additional
muscle and vigour to this healthy and vigorous offspring ofthe
old mother country.
So all things considered — the rise of Canada, and tbe
important part which she is destined to play in the future
social history of the Empire, we can well understand why so
much bas been made of the Canadian Premier, quite apart from
the interest we feel in him as a native of Perthshire. We have
to-day done him honour, enrolled him among the illustrious
worthies of our county, and it is an honour which it has pleased
Mr. Mackenzie as much to receive as it has delighted Perth to
give.

(From the Scotsman, July 17, 1875.)
The speeches of Mr. Mackenzie, tbe head of the Canadian
Ministry, have the right ring about them, exhibiting not only
that hard-headedness and caution which are so freely imputed
to Scotchmen, but likewise a dash of tbat sentiment or poetry
which our neighbours are somewhat more slow in recognising
as part of our national character. Canada would seem for the
present to have put the right man in the right place, and it is
natural that tbe man should magnify the place, and tell us, as
he does with apparent truth, how good the disposition, how
prosperous the condition, and how magnificent the prospects
of the vast country over which he presides.
It is almost news, and exceedingly good news, to be told on
such excellent authority that our Canadian brethren of differ
ent races and religions are at harmony with one another, con*
tended with their political institutions, and almost unanimous
in their attachment to the connection with the British Crown
and people. It was very different not long ago, and the present
happy condition of things has been arrived at through means
which were resisted as certain to bring about tho very opposite

IN SCOTLAND. 121
results. Up till about 1838, the dealings ofthe mother-country
with Canada, as with other colonies, had been to a large
extent both unwise and unkind. Tbe colonists had little or
nothing to say in their own affairs ; there had been, under the
old Tory system, a series of Colonial Ministers incompetent
both from their want of ability and knowledge and from the
unsoundness and obsoleteness of the principles of government
on which they acted; and in many cases, and especially in the
case of Canada, the real power had been intrusted '"to some
little colonial faction or even family. The unsuccessful, and*
therefore unwise, rebellions which broke out in both the Upper
and Lower Provinces in 1837, had an indirect success, inas
much as they forced the attention of the public and public
men in this country to Canadian affairs, and ultimately pro
duced a remedy. The truth is, that we bad for a good many
years before been too much occupied with our own contro
versies to pay sufficient heed to what the colonists were saying
or doing, and the hurry and excitement into which our public
men were plunged in connection with the series of great
changes initiated by the first Eeform Bill, bad prevented them
turning their thoughts much away from things at home. Then
came Lord Durham's Mission, and his once famous Eeport,
the substance of which was, that " responsible government"
should be established in Canada — in other words, lhat Canada
should be governed under representative institutions. There
was an outburst of ridicule and resistance by the Tory party •
at home ; " responsible government" was not only laughed at
as a chimera, but was denounced as the surest mode of bringing
about an immediate separation of the colonies, and especially
a junction of Canada with the United States. But the Mel
bourne Government firmly carried out the new policy ; the
colonial institutions were liberalised; old political offences
were forgiven, even to the extent of admitting men who had
been in arms during the Eebellion to high office under the
'Crown ; and now Mr. Mackenzie tells us, and we have long been
seeing, the result. Canada is not only united, prosperous, and
contented, but feels herself a nation and is cherishing a national
pride, whilst also more proud than ever before that she forms
a part of the British Empire. Forty years ago, tbe class of
Canadian politicians to which Mr. Mackenzie would seem to
belong, looked very much askance on this country, and turned
their eyes towards the United States for sympathy and friend
ship. " Tbe sympathisers" was the name ofthe bodies ofthe
United States citizens who came over the frontier in 1837 to
aid the insurgents. Mark how differently sympathies tend
now, and how different the tone of Canadian politicians. Tbey
not only speak of this country as politically, as well as other-

122 TOUR AND SPEECHES
wise, the house of their friends, and of their political connec:
tion with us as a benefit and a pride to both, but they seem
inclined to speak almost too strongly of tbe United States as
a quarter from which tbey expect rather danger than help,
but a danger against which they are resolved to guard. Tbe
change in the political management and institutions of Canada
may oe said to be an old story now ; it is, however, one of
those stories which ought not to be forgotten, but remembered
on fitting occasions, and especially on occasions like this, not
merely as something to be proud of in the past, but as convey
ing instruction and guidance for tbe future.
There is one matter regarding which the Canadians do not
yet seem to have attained to clearness of view, and upon which
even Mr. Mackenzie gives forth a somewhat uncertain sound.
He says, both for himself and the people of Canada, that Free-
trade is right both in principle and practice ; but he adds,
somewhat ominously, that " the necessity of obtaining a revenue
compels us to impose a very considerable duty on goods entering
into the country." What does not seem to be fully understood
on the St. Lawrence is, that the imposition of duties upon
goods entering into the country is, unless accompanied by a
countervailing duty upon similar goods produced in the country,
a mode not of raising taxes, but, on the contraiy, of disabling
taxpayers. No doubt " the considerable duty " which is levied
upon imports goes into the colonial Treasury, but that duty is
not only paid entirely by the colonists themselves, but is the
cause of making them pay much more, of which not a half
penny is paid to the Government. The chief import-duties in
Canada are levied on clothing, and a tax on clothing is tbe
next most objectionable thing to a tax on food ; but besides
that, tbe duty raises the price not only ofthe clothing imported,
but of the clothing produced, the increased price in the
latter place going to some favoured interest, and not to the
public Exchequer. There is a party in Canada desirous to
promote the growth of colonial manufactures, and the mode
they take is to impose such a duty on imported manufactures
as, added to the natural price of the manufactures produced in
the colony, will enable them to yield a profit. Every man in
Canada is thus made to pay an enhanced price for his shirt and
his coat, and of that enhanced price only a small part goes fo
enlarge the colonial revenue, the rest going to foster an
employment which is not naturally profitable. The fact that
employment is not naturally profitable in Canada is demon
strated by the fact that it cannot exist unless a penalty is laid
upon the use of similar products coming into the ports — in
other words, unless the law enables the colonial producer to
exact a price in excess of the actual value. And the reason

IN SCOTLAND. 1£3
why that employment is not as profitable in Canada as it is in
Lancashire is simply that there are other employments in
Canada which are more profitable f-nd* which absorb the
available capital and labour. Mr. Mackenzie states the facts
on this point very strongly. Canada has, he says, " enormous
tracts of land and a comparatively sparse population ; " in
fact, there is no limit to the amount of agricultural employ
ment — which, in that country, unlike this, leads on to compe
tence and independence. What the Canadian tariff does is to
tax this naturally prosperous industry in order artificially to
grow a naturally unprosperous industry. Tbe Canadians cry
• out for more labourers, and at the same time tax tbe labourers
they have, in tbe hope, and the vain hope, too, of artificially
increasing not the supply, but the demand for labour.
On three points, not of small importance, Mr. Mackenzie
has spoken in a manner to show his candour as well as his good
sense, and to correct some mistaken ideas existing among
many of those whom he addressed. He admits that wages in
Canada are really not much more, if at all, in excess of those
now paid in this country — a fact which we lately sought to
prove from a document designed rather to help the opposite
theory, the Eeport of the Agent sent out to Canada Dy the
English Agricultural Labourers' Association. He warns what
we may call the democracy of this country that they are much
mistaken in thinking that they will find in the United States,
and he might perhaps have included Canada, an absence of
those social distinctions which fret some of us at home, the
differences created by wealth on the other side of the Atlantic
being as great as and even more galling than those created here
" by a long process of law, and by the exercise of the favours
of sovereigns." But most of all, we thank Mr. Mackenzie for
saying — " I never allude to the fact that I am or have been a
working man as a reason why I should be rejected, or why I
should bo accepted." This is far removed from the " pride
which apes humility," and amounts to a sharp rebuke to many
ofthe agitators and to much ofthe cant among ourselves. In
politics, as in other things, a man should be valued not accord
ing to his social rank, least of all should he be more highly
estimated the lower his rank, but only according to his princi
ples and his capacity to give them effect.

(From the Dundee News, July 17, 1875.)
Coming from a man on whose veracity we can confidently
rely, and who speaks with a weight and responsibility that
cannot be ignored, the statements submitted to the people of

124 TOUR AND SPEECHES
Dundee on Tuesday and Wednesday were veiy important. It
will be reassuring to the majority of people in this country to
hear the extraordinarily earnest tone of loyalty in which Mr.
Mackenzie expresses himself. Another man might say more
than he says on the subject of the Canadian connection with
the Crown, and we would set it down as coming from the
tongue of one who knows what is the polite thing to do ; but
Mr. Mackenzie speaks of the determination of the Canadians
to keep up the connection with the Empire with an intensity
and ingenuousness which force from his hearers the conviction
tbat he is truly representing a large, and very likely the great,
bulk of the feeling of the colony on this important matter. On
the equally important economic question of free trade, Mr.
Mackenzie is as emphatic, and as sound. Unlike the major
ity of the leaders of the Great Eepublic on tbe other side of
the St. Lawrence, many of whom show in a too practical
manner their belief in the theoiy of laying violent bold on all
" counters of wealth " passing through their hands, Mr. Mac
kenzie and the members of his party have a vivid idea of the
paradoxical saying, which a very elementary knowledge of
political economy shows to be true, that " when tbe balance of
trade seems to be most against you, it is most upon your side."
Perhaps tbe necessity of securing a revenue may prevent the
present Government from developing their free trade policy to
its, ultimate limits, but it is clear from tbe opinions of Mr.
Mackenzie tbat there is at the bead of tbe Canadian Govern
ment a staunch and intelligent representative of the Cobden
school of politicians.
In other particulars the speeches of Mr. Mackenzie were im
portant. They were so, because tbey brought vividly before
us the wonderful power and vitality of the Anglo-Celtic race.
If we may venture to say so, Mr. Mackenzie is himself perhaps
one of the best representatives tbat could be selected of the
inherent energy and vigour of that race ; and bis history
illustrates in the best possible manner tbe powers and pos
sibilities of the inhabitants of these islands. Whatever Mr.
Mackenzie may say to the contrary, and although be does in
sinuate that the chances of men at home of obtaining positions
of eminence are not much less than in tbe colonies, we venture
to think, with all deference, tbat be looks at us, as is -natural
after such an absence and such success, wbith rose-coloured
spectacles. Had he remained in Scotland, or even gone to
England, we do not think that Mr. Mackenzie would to-day
have been tbe Premier of Great Britain. Tbe reason is not far
to seek. We are an old country, with old ideas ; and all our
inherited prejudices and associations lead us to look upon the
greatest prizes in our national life as reserved for a class at

IN SCOTLAND. 125
least above the third. But it is a sign ofthe native vigour of
the race, that when Britons find themselves in one of our
colonies, breathing the new and freer air, they can so readily
divest themselves of those notions, which perhaps principally
prevent them from advancing at home. There they look upon
all prizes as within their reach, and do not fear to measure
themselves with the very highest. Such a training, when
properly managed, gives us men possessed at once of a quiet
orderliness, and an absolute freedom of spirit such as can
scarcely be acquired elsewhere. The Dominion of Canada
seems, — if Mr. Mackenzie can be taken as a sample of the stuff
she rears — and we think he can, — peculiarly capable of pro
ducing such a race as will combine the best elements of the
Eepublicanism of the United States with tbe best and most
stable parts of our own Monarchy. This was what we felt
when listening to Mr. Mackenzie ; and as he pictured the
vastness of tbat country which England has begun to people ;
when be spoke of tbe navigable watercourses extending into
the country for thousands of miles ; of the coal and iron fields,
covering an area greater than the British isles; ofthe splendid
stretch of prairie and forest land, on which all the inha
bitants of Europe could easily settle, no one could help think
ing what a glorious theatre is here prepared for one of the
proudest scenes that has ever been enacted in the world's
drama. There the race which has reduced these wild islands
into a fruitful territory, which has dug its way into the heart
ofthe earth, has done the best part of the world's industry,
and peopled so many parts of its surface — there the crowds
who are now huddled together in our cities and who find in so
many cases their energies cramped, will be sure yet to seek
room to work ; and tbe result will certainly be tbat the con
tinent will be peopled by a race who will speedily subdue it,
as they have conquered the morasses and forests of this coun
try, perhaps under conditions which will realise to some
extent the dream of the poet —
When wealth no more shall rest in mounded heaps,
But smit with freer light shall slowly melt
In many streams to fatten lower lands.

(From the Perthshire Constitutional, July 19, 1875.)
The honours paid by Dundee and Perth to Mr. Mackenzie,
the Premier of Canada, have a higher value than is usually
( accorded to the common-place presentation ofthe freedom of a
Scotch burgh to some more or less distinguished individual
who is caught in passing, in the hope of extorting a speech

126 TOUR AND SPEECHES
which may reflect some little imaginary radiance on the
getters-up of tbe demonstration. In the ordinary case, the
honour is more on the side of the givers than the recipient of
civic honours. To be the youngest burgess of Dundee and
Perth may carry with it no sense of elevation to a person who
has, by innate good qualities, fought his way to the Premier
ship of the Dominion of Canada; and if that had been all that
was intended to be demonstrated by the double ceremony, it
would certainly have fallen far short of the purpose. Neither-!
were the honours bestowed solely on the personal merits of
Mr. Mackenzie. No one thought of saying with the mother
of Brasidas, the Lacedemonian general, " Sparta has many a
worthier son than be." He was,' indeed, recognized as a worthy
son of Perthshire, who, by dint of qualities which distinguish
Scotsmen, had battled his way to a rare eminence, where his
power for good was infinitely increased ; but it was as a repre
sentative of our most flourishing colony, — and our oldest, — ¦
that Dundee and Perth held out the right hand of fellowship
to him. The presentation of the freedom of the two burghs
of his native land was as much a symbol of friendship and
goodwill to Canada as a token of respect for the personal
qualities ofthe Canadian Premier. Wherever the Scotch element
is to be found in Canada, this unpurchased honour conferred
on Mr. Mackenzie will bo acknowledged with a thrill of
gratitude, and will serve to bind together the Dominion and
the mother-country more than ever. In another column, we
give full reports ofthe proceedings at the presentation and
banquet at Perth, and also of interesting proceedings at'
Dunkeld, and our readers will read with a glow of satisfaction
what he has said in regard to the strong resolution of the
Canadians to preserve tbe monarchical form of government, as
tho only form agreeable to their own political principles and
feelings.

(From the Edinburgh Courant.)
Such hospitality as was shown to the Canadian Premier at
Dundee, and which will be cordially repeated in other Scotch
burghs, strikes a note of fraternity destined to vibrate from the
banks of the St. Lawrence to the antipodes. It is an act of
which not only Mr. Mackenzie's brother Canadians will be
proud, but which Scotch colonists in all quarters of the globe
will accept as a compliment. The prospect of one day being
themselves honoured with a kindred welcome to the land of
their birth and the country of their pride, will stir the soul
of men whose names, though a proverb in some distant territory

IN SCOTLAND. 127
of the Crown, are here hardly known beyond their native
parish. There are Logieraits all over Scotland which can
claim Mackenzies of their own — men who have gone forth
from the old parish school to seek for fame at the ends of the
earth ; and to win new honours for their hardy rac*e. Tbe
greatest success they can attain in the land of their adoption
never slackens tbe current of the Scotch blood in their veins.
Whatever they may become as colonists — whether daring
explorers, or shepherd kings, or millionaire merchants, or
prominent politicians-^their hearts ever look backward to
the brown heath and shaggy woods of boyish days. The per-
fervidum Scotorum is infectious among their surroundings ; it
is invariably hereditary in their offspring. Descendants of
Scotchmen may be met with on the Eed Eiver, or among the
Blue Mountains, who, though they have never been within
thousands of miles of the Grampians, have the Caledonian
type ingrained in them, and their minds imbued with the
patriotism of " Scotts wha ha'e." In entertaining a Scotchman
like the Canadian Premier, the Scotch burghs do honour to a
man whose career has reflected honour upon them, and they
pay a tribute to Canada that will be deeply felt throughout the
length and breadth of the Colonial Empire. Scores of crosses
of the order of St. Michael and St. George could not express
so emphatically to the Canadian people tbe brotherly interest
that Scotland takes in their progress, and the value it sets
upon their continued friendship.

(Dunkeld correspondence of the Dingwall [Ross-Shirel Journal.)
Mr. Mackenzie arrived here from Perth — in which city he
had been splendidly entertained the preceding evening — on
Saturday at eleven o'clock, and at three o'clock was presented
with an address of welcome and congratulation in the Town-
hall, in the presence of a large assemblage. Indeed, the room
was crowded to excess, and many could not get within seeing
or hearing distance of the interesting ceremony. Banners
were flying, evergreens were tastefully used, and a band of
music played during tbe whole course of the presentation in
the grounds of the Eoyal Hotel.
Tbe gentleman who was the object of the demonstration, in
replying to the speeches made on the occasion, spoke in a
quiet, dignified, and sensible manner. He felt gratified at tbe
friendly way in which Mr. Conacher spoke of him, and was
peculiarly pleased to find bis Dunkeld friends expressing so
much kindness and good will towards him. He spoke, in fact,
in that pleasant, judicious way, whioh one would expect from

128 TOUR AND SPEECHES IN SCOTLAND.
a gentleman who owed, under Providence, so much to his own
unaided efforts. He referred so pointedly and kindly to his
friend Dr. Taylor, that the worthy doctor was constrained to
get up and make one of his off-hand speeches — which, by the
way, are ny no means his worst — and he certainly put life and
vigor into what he said, with that combination of earnestness,
enthusiasm, and humor, which are so characteristic of all that
he does. You ought to have heard tbe applause which greeted
Mr. Mackenzie and Dr. Taylor's speeches. The cheering of
the Perthshire men was very spirited, and showed that their?
hearts were in the matter. At the close ofthe proceedings,
three cheers for the Queen, three cheers for Mr. Mackenzie,!
three cheers for Mrs. Mackenzie and Mr. Mackenzie's family,!
three cheers for Dr. Taylor, and a lot more of such " special "l|
votes of thanks were given with enthusiasm — the proposers
being situated at the end of the hall furthest from tbe platform,
Would your readers, who must include a fine sprinkling of
the "Caberfeidb " clan, like to know what like Mr. Mackenzie
is ? He is about five feet eight inches in height, very slim of
build, fair-haired, shaves nothing but the upper lip, bas a fine
forehead, and a good pair of blue eyes, which may manage to
look into one very thoroughly, as much as to say, "I'll tell you
what you are, sir." When speaking, Mr. Mackenzie is calm and
deliberate, rather than fiery and vivacious, and he stands with
his hands behind bis back. He is in a more marked sense a
self-made man than any other man now living.

ADDBESSES OF WELCOME ON EETUENING
TO OTTAWA.

Ottawa, September 1. — It is always a gratifying thing
to pay a hearty tribute to the worth of a man, let him be
either a political or a private individual, and yesterday after
noon men of all shades of political opinions turned out en masse
to welcome back to the scene of his labours tbe Hon. Alexan
der Mackenzie, after his lengthened sojourn in tbe land of his
fathers. During his trip, by the forcible arguments be adduced
in the various speeches he delivered, be probably did more
towards placing Canada in a favourable light before tbe Old
Country people than all the Emigration Agents and Lecturers
that have been sent home, and by placing it before the people
he addressed, in a plain, straightforward way, one so peculiarly
his own, he has paved the way for tbe importation of a most
; useful Class of emigrants. This fact is one tbat has been made
I Manifest, and ergo, all who have the interest of Canada at
|' heart, sinking their political prejudices, joined yesterday, most
heartily in Welcoming the return of the Honourable the Pre-
' mier. There has not been such a demonstration in Ottawa
for many years past, and it is no exaggeration' to say tbe pro-
|oession was at least half a mile long, as it reached from the
gate ofthe St. Lawrence and Ottawa Eailroad Depot to the
Corner of Sussex and Eideau streets, and both thoroughfares
• were lined with persons anxious to catch a glimpse of tbe chief
iMmsman of the Canadian Ship of State. Tbe train was about
an hour late in arriving from Prescott, but from four o'clock
the platform at the depot was thronged— a handsomely decor
ated enclosure, adorned^with evergreens and flags, was erected
for the reception of the distinguished gentleman, and in which

130 ADDRESSES OF WELCOME
the addresses below appended were to bo read and presented
Over the entrance to the temporary apartment, was a scroll
bearing the words, " Welcome Home " A space was kept
clear by some of the members of the City Police Force under
command of Chief Langrel] and Sergeant O'Keefe and the cons
tables did most efficient services in preserving order. The station
yard was crowded with both public and private vehicles, con
taining several members of the Corporation and many leading
citizens. The Dominion flags, with tbe British ensign, floated
over the station, and there was a liberal display of bunting,,
from all the public buildings in tbe city — the Parliament House,
the Eastern and Western Blocks, the new Post Office, the
Eussell House, the Times office, tbe Free Press office, all con
tributed their share to the display, which was a most imposing
one. Among those present were noticed Acting Mayor Waller,
C. T. Bate, D. S. Eastwood, W. H. Walker, Thomas Coffey
(tbe latter representing the Water Commissioners), W. C.
Edwards, J. M. Currier, M.P., T. H. Kirby, W. Fingland, Jas.
Angus, Dr. Sweetland, Aid. Bangs, Aid. J. P. Eobertson, Aid.
Eocque, Aid. Pratt, Aid. Bronson, Aid. Heney, Aid. O'Connor,
J. T. Pennock, Lt.-Col. Bernard, E. Audy, Thos. Eeynolds,;
(Managing Director of the St. Lawrence & Ottawa E. E. ;) J.
W. Peachy, Philip Thompson, J. W. Eussell, Horace Merrill,
Lieut. Col. Macpherson, Dr. Grant, Malcolm Cameron, M.P.,
J. C. Jamieson, Jas. Pennock, the Hon. Mr. Huntington, the
Hon. Mr. Blake, tbe. Hon. Mr. Cartwright, Dr. St. Jean, M.P.,
D. J. O'Donohue, M.P.P., G. Hay, H. T. Bronson, W. Griffin,
etc. On the arrival of tbe train, the advent of which was
announced by tbe explosion of several fog signals, which had
been placed on the rails, the Guards Band, which was sta
tioned on tho enclosure on the platform, as the Premier,
accompanied by Mrs. Mackonzie, disembarked, struck up the ,:
inspirating strains of " Bonnie Dundee."
Dr. Sweetland escorted Mrs. Mackenzie to the dais, when

ON RETURNING TO OTTAWA. 131
she was presented with a bouquet of beautiful flowers. Acting
Mayor Waller than read the following address, which was
beautifully engrossed on vellum by Mr. Chas. Medlow, of
Sparks-street : — "
To the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, Premier of Canada.
' Honourable Sib,— On behalf of the Corporation of the City of Ottawa, on
your return from your viBit to the land of your birth, we beg to tender you
a hearty welcome.
The very cordial and flattering reception which was extended to you by all
classes of people, during your absence, did honor, we are convinced, both
to yourself personally and to your position as First Minister of the Govern
ment of the Dominion.
Tour public addresses — delivered before spme of the most intelligent of
the citizens of the various places which you visited, and which were
published broadcast throughout the whole of Great Britain and Ireland,
giving from so distinguished and reliable a source, the fullest information
as to the great extent, the almost infinite variety of resources, the unex
ampled prosperity, the probable future, brilliant in reliable promise, and the
undoubted loyalty to the Empire, of this its most important colonial
.dependency — cannot but serve to enlighten all who heard and all who read
them, more fully regarding us and our Dominion ; to awaken in them a
deeper interest in their fellow subjects on this side of the Atlantic, and to
rivet more firmly the ties which now bind us to them, and which we trust
will grow stronger with advancing years.
In this we are assured you have rendered signal service to the land of
your adoption, a service lor which we feel we inay well tender you our best
thanks. We venture, sir, to express the hope that the relaxation of the past few,
weeks from severe official labours may have been of great benefit to you,'
and that both yourself and Mr. Mackenzie may be long spared to enjoy the
honours which have been so deservedly accorded you.
Signed on behalf of the Corporation of Ottawa. W. H. .Waller,
Acting Mayor,
E. H. Bronson,
F. McDougall,
C. W. Bangs,
F. X. Groulx,
Members ofthe Reception Committee?
On behalf of the citizens generally, Dr. Sweetland read the
following : —
To the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, Premier of Canada.
Honourable and Respected Sir, — We, the inhabitants of Ottawa and
. surrounding district, desire on this, the occasion of the return of yourself
and Mrs. Mackenzie from a visit to Great Britain, to congratulate you both
on your safe arrival, and to express our pleasure at having you amongst us
again. We have carefully observed the gratifying attention you received in
public places, and have with pleasure read the accounts of the addresses
presented to and honours conferred upon you during your absence from us.
We were especially pleased to note the manly dignity you maintained as a
Canadian, both before the aristocracy and workingmen of Britain, and the
able manner in which you set forth the advantages of Canada, the stability

132 ADDRESSES OF WELCOME
of its institutions, its unlimited resources, and its heartfelt loyalty to the
Queen and Constitution; and are assured that in harmony with our Governor
General your visit has been and will be productive of great and lasting
benefits to Canada, in removing prejudices and improving its position and
credit. Trusting that you and your amiable wife may long be spared to enjoy the
advantages of Canada and the respect of Canadians everywhere, we again
most heartily bid you welcome home.
Signed on behalf of the citizens ofthe city of Ottawa.
John Sweetland, M.D.,
W. Pennock, Secretary.
Mr. Mackenzie, in reply, said :— ^Mr. Mayor, Dr. Sweetland,
ladies and gentlemen, — I am exceedingly gratified by the kind
words you have addressed to me on my return from my native
country, and I assure you the kindness the citizens of Ottawa
have shown me to-day, irrespective of political parties, will never
be forgotten. You have been pleased to approve of tbe course
I pursued when obliged of necessity to speak in public during
my visit to Great Britain. You have done me the honour to
refer to the words I made use of upon such occasions, as those
that became a Canadian. (Cheers.) I can only say tbat every
Canadian who visits Great Britain, no matter whether he
comes in contact with the peer or the peasant, must neces
sarily use the same language, and if be is at all a representa
tive of his countrymen," must manifest that spirit of manly
independence which characterises tbe whole of our people, and
forms the groundwork of our political institutions. (Loud
cheers.) I believed always, and I believe now more firmly
than ever, that it is quite possible to preserve that spirit and
those institutions, and at the same time maintain an attach
ment to the British Empire. (Cheers.) I have the utmost •
pleasure in testifying, too, from the expressions of public opi
nion I had the honour of witnessing, both in public and in
private, during my visit, especially in the great centres of
population, that if ever there was a party in Great Britain
which regarded the continuance of that attachment with disfa
vour, it was numerically insignificant, and indeed no longer
exists. The British people are beginning more fully to conv

ON RETURNING TO OTTAWA. 133
prehend the spirit which animates the Canadian population
and must necessarily animate the Canadian Administration.
(Hear, hear.) I am greatly gratified, I assure you, that men
of all political parties in the city of my residence have been
pleased to express themselves as they have done in regard to
myself upon this occasion. An Administration having in
charge the affairs of a country like Canada ought to command
tbe respect and confidence of men of all parties— that is, as an
Administration simply; although we of course do not expect
that all our measures will receive the approbation of those
politically opposed to us. For my own part, if I should again,
as I probably will be, a member of Her Majesty's Loyal Oppo
sition, while I hope I shall ever be faithful to the interests of
my party, I am certain I shall never forget my duty to my
country and my Queen, nor the fealty I owe to the British
Empire. (Loud cheers.) I regret very much that I was
unable, while on the other side of the Atlantic, to visit two
great centres of population to which I was invited. I refer to
Glasgow and Manchester, in either of which I should have had
the opportunity of addressing larger audiences than I could
elsewhere, on tbe affairs of Canada ; but tbe sentiments I
expressed in other places have, I am glad to think, been pretty
well disseminated through the British press, and the objects
which would have been gained by the visits I was compelled
to decline were probably in this way in some measure attained.
(Hear, bear.) I hope that in future I shall be able, as I have
endeavoured heretofore, to administer tbe affairs ofthis country
in a manner becoming a great people having connection with
Great Britain, and forming a part of the great British Con
federation. (Great cheering.) I shall not further trespass upon
your attention just now, but permit me again to say that I feel
very deeply the kindness you have been pleased to show me,
as well as the kindly references to Mrs. Mackenzie contained
in the addresses you have presented to me. I thank you again
9

134 ADDRESSES OF WELCOME
from my whole heart, and I trust nothing will occur in the
future which will give you cause to regret the opinion you
have seen fit to express of me to-day.
Three cheers were then heartily given for the Queen, three
for the Governor-General, and three for Mr. and Mrs. Mac
kenzie. The carriages then formed a line of procession, headed by
the band, and proceeded along Sussex street, thence to Sparks
street, turning up Bank street to the bon. gentleman's resi
dence, where —
Mr. Mackenzie, who appeared on the balcony, in front of his
residence, in response to appeals from the large congregation
who had escorted him home, said : I thank you again for the
cordial reception accorded me, and the kindness shown me by
the citizens of Ottawa. I hope, for the future, our relations
may be of such a character as will be at once beneficial to the
city, and honourable to myself and to my colleagues. It was a
source of great pleasure to me to hear, as I think it was very
appropriate, the band playing " Home, Sweet Home," for there
is "no place like home," and during the short time of my
residence in Ottawa I have learned to appreciate its people as
Well as the natural beauty of its scenery and its imposing
situation. It was very gratifying to me while in England to
hear expressed on all sides, by gentlemen who had visited this
country, such flattering opinions of the beauty of the situation
of this city, and of the grandeur of our Public Buildings as
compared even with those in London. Seeing that we are able
to rival them in this exterior feature, I hope it will be our
constant endeavour always to rival them in the interior fea
tures of our political life — that nothing we do shall ever be
calculated to bring the slightest stain or reproach upon the
British name and character. (Cheers.) I am glad to think
that in enunciating these sontiments I am but expressing the
opinions of one and all, independent of political parties in this

ON RETURNING TO OTTAWA. 135
city, and indeed in this whole country; and I am equally glad
to know that in respect of tbe desire I have expressed for con
tinuance of existing relations with the mother-country, I am
but re-echoing the feelings entertained by the largest portion
of the public of England, Scotland and Ireland. In conclusion,
permit me to express my thanks to the Eeception Committee,
Dr. Sweetland, and my friend the Acting Mayor, for the way
in which they have carried out the arrangements on behalf of
the citizens. (Cheers.)
The vast assemblage, after giving three cheers for Her
JJajesty, and three hearty ones for Mr. and Mrs. Mackenzie,
dispersed.

9*

EXPOSITION OF POLICY AT SAENIA.

Sarnia, Oct. 11, 1875. — This afternoon the Hon. Alexander
Mackenzie addressed a large and influential meeting of his
constituents from all parts of the county of Lambton in the
Court-house in this town. A triumphal arch was erected at
tbe entrance, and tbe ball was tastefully draped with flags.
The chair was taken soon after one o'clock by Mr. Daniel
Mackenzie, President ofthe Eeform Association, who was sup
ported on one side by the Premier and Hon. Malcolm Cameron,
M.P. for South Ontario, and on the other by the two local
members for this county, Hon. T. B. Pardee, Commissioner of
Crown Lands, and Mr. Peter Graham, M.P.P. Among those
present were Messrs. George Stevenson, Mayor of Sarnia; J.
Lawrie, Warden of Lambton ; J. D. Eccles, ex- Warden ; F. Da
vies, Eev. J. Thompson, Eev. Dr. Ellerby, Eev. Mr. Eoss, Sarnia;
Eev. Mr. Fessant, Point Edward ; J. H. Fairbank, Petrolia ;
Eobt. Eae, Eeeve of Bosanquet ; E. S. Gurd, Sarnia Observer ;
Jonas Cornell, S. D. Pace, U. S. Consul ; Joshua Adams, W. B.
Clark, T. W. Johnston, M.D., E. M. Proctor, Sheriff Flintoff,
P. McGlashan, J. F. Lester, W. Stewart, J. P. Buck, County
Attorney, and G. S. McLean, Sarnia; Jos. Featherstone, J.
McEae, and G. Stewart, Moore ; W. Ireland, Eeeve of Sarnia ;
Jos. Lawrie, Deputy-Eeeve of Sarnia ; John McLean, Eeeve of
Watford; W. A. Wilson, Point Edward; Jas.Beatty, Thorold;
Jno. D. Beatty, Sarnia ; E.W. Lancy, J. B. Barrie, A. C. Clark,
E. S. Chalmers, S. A. Mac Vicar, A. Leys, and Geo. Leys, Sar
nia ; Dr. McLaren, Point Edward ; M. Sullivan and T. Gleeson,
jr., Port Sarnia ; Geo. Johnston, J. P. Moore, E, Watson, Sar
nia Township ; W. Lymington, J.P., Plympton ; Alex. Davidson,

EXPOSITION OF POLICY AT SARNIA. lSY
P. L. S., Arkona; G. K Matheson, and J. Gowans, Sarnia; G.
Blane, Canada Company, and M. Fleming, Sarnia. The fol
lowing ladies occupied seats on tbe left of the platform : — Mrs.
¦ B. Clark and Miss Clark, Mrs. E. S. Gurd, Mrs. J. Thompson,
Mrs. J. Adams, and Mrs. Capt. Symes.
The Chaikman, without preface, introduced Mr. Mackenzie
to the audience amid loud cheers.
Hon. Mr. Mackenzie ?aid — Mr. Chairman, ladies and
gentlemen, — I am very glad again to have an opportunity of
meeting with you. You are all aware that during the fourteen
years I have represented you in Parliament I have always en
deavoured, if possible — and it always was possible until very
lately — to meet you frequently in various parts of the county
for the purpose of explaining public affairs, and especially of
representing my own course as your representative. I -havo
not been able to do that for the last two years to any appreci
able extent. You will remember that very nearly two years
ago I sought a justification from you, when I appealed to you
to return me again after having accepted office on the fall of
the late Government. At tbat time you were pleased to convey
to me the usual expression of confidence without any opponent
being brought forward to dispute your will. Two months later,
after I bad brought on a general election, I again appealed to
you and met with the same favourable response. These two
years have been eventful years in the history of the Liberal
party, and I hope also in the history of Canada, and I am here
to-day to review briefly some of the events which have taken
place during that period, and I hope to justify successful
ly to your minds the part I have felt bound to take in many
public matters of the greatest importance. You are aware I have
always considered tbat no man ought to hold a seat in Parlia
ment unless able to justify his holding of tbat seat by his asser
tion of public principles to which he has given or to which
he is to give effect by legislation. Whenever I cease to

138 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
occupy a position in which I can in this respect, as a
legislator, be useful, I shall cease to ask the suffrages of
the people of Lambton. After expressing his pride in repre
senting Lambton, and pleasure at seeing present Mr. Ca
meron, who had preceded him in its representation, the two
local members, and other exponents of public opinion in the
county, and explaining that public affairs of pressing impor
tance required his departure to-night, and consequently pre
vented him from addressing another meeting in the county as
he had purposed, Mr. Mackenzie proceeded as follows : — At the
time I sought your approval of my public course at the general
election in January, 1874, we had a great work to perform.
The Liberal party had struggled for many years in Opposition,
and you are aware I always took the ground that it was much
better in the interest of public morals we should remain in
Opposition than that we should assume Government with any
compromise of principle. Acting on that principle, it
became necessarily our duty when we did succeed to office to
give effect to our own principles immediately, and that I have
endeavoured to do so, I assert. I will proceed as rapidly aB
possible to pass over the events which occurred at that moment,
and which subsequently took shape in legislation for tbe public.
At the time when we assumed office many public matters of
the greatest possible importance had been before the Govern
ment for some time. The previous Government had been
charged with a grievous dereliction of duty, and with a mani
fest violation of high principle, politically speaking, and we
were charged, as the Opposition Parliament in 1872 and 1873,
with the exposure of that dereliction of duty, and with the task
of seeking to obtain a public verdict of condemnation, first at
the general election in 1872, and afterwards with the House
that was elected hostile to some extent to our views as Liberals.
If we failed at the general election in 1872 in impressing the
public mind of some of the Provinces with our views, we sue-

AT SARNIA. 139
ceeded in 1873 in impressing the mind of the Legislature with
the views that I had announced at public meetings here and
elsewhere in 1872. The Government that preceded us were
charged with a very gross perversion of duty, and were con
victed of it ; and, rather than face a hostile vote of the House
of Commons, tbey resigned in November, 1873. Upon that
resignation I may merely remark that it was a verdict of guilty
against he previous Government of that of which they were
accased, and we assumed office with public affairs very much
deranged. The public mind and the electoral mind had been
debauched by the extraordinary transaction of 1872, and we
were charged to produce at once a higher state of political
existence than that which had prevailed, and to purify the
electoral body from the abuses which made it possible for any
set of men to do that with which we charged our predecessors.
I propose to-day to refer, very briefly, in tbe first place, to sev
eral public matters that had engaged the close attention of the
public men of this country at the time we assumed office.
We assumed office to find that the results of the Washing
ton Treaty were gradually proving very disastrous to the coun
try. We were realizing the fact that the country had been
humiliated by another treaty with the people of tbe United
States . We found tbe North-west Province in great disorder.
Eiel and his associates were still at large ; justice had not been
vindicated, and these people had not been arrested or tried ; a
war of races seemed imminent, and a war of creeds was
based upon the opposition created among the people
by the war of races to which I have alluded. It was
our duty to endeavour to our best ability to reduce these
elements of disordor as speedily as possible. It was our
duty, as I believed, at tbe moment I assumed office to take such
steps as would secure in. the firet place a pure and free Parlia_
ment, and you are aware that many, including some of my
own political friends, thought I should have trusted to the

140 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
representatives who had been elected in 1872, a majority of
whom were convinced that the late Government should resign
although there was no actual vote, and should not have appealed
to the electoral body at all. After my accession to office I had,
however, a painful remembrance of blunders that previous
leaders of the Eeform party had made in this respect, and I
determined at once to give the electoral body an opportunity
of returning a class of men whose opinions would be more
consistent with the views always held by the Liberal party in
previous years. Our first duty was then to obtain the election
of a Eeform Parliament. I had an opinion in November,
1873, after my assumption of office, that it would have been
desirable if possible to have obtained a new Election Law
before appealing to the electoral body, but being satisfied on
reflection that it would be better to take the election with the
election laW which existed, we went to the polls, and succeeded
as is known to every one of you, in having a large majority
returned favourable to the Administration. One of our first
steps after Parliament assembled in 1874 was to submit a
complete Election Law, which was almost precisely similar to
that which was introduced by Mr. Dorion in Quebec in 1864,
and carried in the Lower House, though defeated in the non-
representative body, that is, in the Legislative Council ofthe day.
That Bill provides that all the' elections should henceforth be
held on the samelday, excepting the remote constituencies, where
distance and physical difficulties rendered it impossible that
the elections should be held in a limited time to which tbey
should be bound. In this way we felt bound also to give effect
to the principle before we had the law, and you will remember
that we ordered all the elections in 1874 to be held on the same
day, except in those remote districts. Thus we gave effect to
our own principles as far as possible before Parliament met,
and most thoroughly after Parliament met, in the law which
wo initiated. We had also to face the difficulties which had

AT SARNIA. 141
been encountered in the controverted elections. There was a
law passed chiefly at the instigation and with the entire support
of the Opposition to the previous Government, somewhat
similar to that existing in the Province of Ontario. The law
was, however, incomplete, and it was our duty to make that
law as complete as possible, so tbat no member could bold a
seat if he had been wrongfully elected to it. That law, you
are, aware, has been rigidly carried out — so rigidly, indeed,
that it has become almost impossible for any one to bold a seat
in Parliament if there has been the slighest violation of the
election law in the most minute particular. It is claimed,
indeed, that the law has been too rigid, and that the cases
that have arisen under it have inflicted extreme hardships.
There can be no doubt that it bas inflicted great hardship in
some cases, and that men have been unseated without any
serious violation of tbe law; but, on tbe other band, it is
perhaps in the public interest tbat every case of the kind
Bhould be brought to light at once, so tbat at future elections
there may be the most rigid exercise of carefulness in avoiding
the remotest violation of the law. This will make it clearly
impossible for any one after this to obtain a seat in Parliament
by improper influences, and having the ballot system in opera
tion, every man will be able, if he desires it, to vote without
any one but himself knowing for whom he has voted, thus
securing, as far as human ingenuity can secure it, the most
perfect freedom in voting, consistent with the exercise of one's
own conscientious conviction. Well, sir, we have been told
that this law has operated against ourselves, and that more of
our friends have suffered from its operation than of our political
opponents. I do not myself admit or believe that this has been
the case ; but even if it were tbe case that our own friends
had suffered more than our opponents, tbat would not deter me
from advocating the enactment of any provisions that might
be wanted to give the fullest possible effect to tbe principle I

142 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
have enunciated, as I believe it is in the public interest ultim
ately, whatever parties may be injured by it at the moment,
that electoral purity should prevail, and that no improper
influences should again be suffered to produce the exten
sive wholesale corruption which was witnessed with such
pain at the general election of 1872. (Cheers.) We had to
restore public confidence gonei-ally in our system of govern
ment. I recollect very well that at tbe time of the Pacific
Scandal newspapers in the United States were referring to
articles in our own papers about the electoral conniption that
prevailed in their own country at their electoral contests, and
there was rather a feeling of envious satisfaction expressed in
the public journals of the United States that the Canadians
were, to say the least, no better than their neighbours, and,
some of them believed, a great deal worse, and that under a
system of Monarchical government, such as we have, it was not
only possible but probable that a greater extent of corruption
might prevail than under a Eepublican system of governments
We believe, as Canadians, that we have the freest and, I might
say, the most democratic system of government that prevails
in the world. We have our Ministers in Parliament respon
sible to the people, therein differing from the United States,
whore the Cabinet Ministers are heads of Departments, nomi
nated by the President, and hold office without the will of the
people. Altogether, if we had failed in the contest for the
supremacy of political purity in 1873, we would have, failed
in the contention that our system of political government
guarded more fully the public interest and the public morality
than did the system in the United States. (Hear, hear.) Now
I propose to pass over a few of the matters with which
we had to deal. I stated a moment ago that at the time we
came into office we were beginning to realize more fully than
at any previous time the blunders which had been committed
by the previous Government in regard to our neighbours in

AT SARNIA. 143
the United States. Long ago, when the treaty was about being
negotiated, "when Sir Jobn A. Macdonald was appointed a
Commissioner by Her Majesty to act with other four English
Commissioners, I pointed out in Parliament, as I did in my
public speeches, what ground. I conceived ought to have been
taken. My friend, Mr. Gait, with greater knowledge, I admit,
of those with whom he had to deal, proposed to instruct the
Canadian Commissioner by the Canadian Parliament as to the
course he should take. I objected to that as binding tbe hands
of the Canadian Commissioner in a matter in which he ought
to be left free, as I had no doubt that any Canadian statesman
going to Washington would see that the interests of his own
country and the public honour of his own community would
be sufficiently protected. We found that the result of that
treaty was that while the English Commissioners agreed, and
perhaps rightly, to some extent to reimburse the United States
citizens who lost by the depredations of tbe Alabama let loose
from the English harbours, they disregarded the appeals ofthe
Canadian people to have the Fenian claims paid by the United
States. In one case we had tbe doubtful escape of vessels
from English ports preying upon United States commerce ; in
the other case, a regular army, with infantry, cavalry, and
artillery, organized in United States territory, sent across our
boarder in broad day-light to murder our people and to pillage
our territory; and yet tho Commissioners allowed these claims
to be set aside, and paid tbe United States people for the .
destruction of property by the escaped vessels. I believed
then, I believe now, and I shall always believe, that when a
great and powerful people respect themselves, they can easily
compel their neighbours to respect them also ; and when a
community like ours, a portion of the British Empire, is
humiliated by the disregard of the just claims of Canada, then
we at once occupy nationally an inferior position, and subject
ourselves to further humiliation of the same kind. (Cheers.)

144 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
I make these remarks because I have to touch upon our rela
tions with the United States farther on. We found in the
interpretation of that treaty very serious difficulty in regard
to other matters. You know that we have at the present
moment the fishery clauses of that treaty under consideration,
and that negotiations are pending for carrying out some of its
provisions. I shall not, therefore, discuss that point further
than to remark that it appears impossible under any of the
provisions of that treaty to avoid interpretations which
appear to be prejudicial to» Canadian and British interests. I
pointed out to you a few moments ago that we were not me
rely suffering at that time from diplomatic blunders, but that
we were also suffering from other blunders that had been made
with British Columbia, especially the condition in the terms of
Union that this country — that is, the older Provinces — should
build 2,700 miles of railway, one-half of it at least through the
most impassable wilderness you conceive of, within ten years.
I shall speak in detail of this in a future part of my speech,
where I shall describe the present position of that road ; I now
refer to the diplomatic blunder committed in undertaking
solemn engagements that the entire resources of the Empire
could not possibly implement ; and when I say that ever since
I assumed office we have had 350 men engaged in British
Columbia in surveying, with as many mules and horses, with
trains of provisions, and herds of cattle following them, carry
ing all that is necessary to sustain life, and that up to this
moment we have not been able to locate the line throughout
that Province, you will see how unlikely it was that that road,
with all the power of man, and all the money of Europe, could
have been completed in 1881. (Hear, bear.) Yet this is the
agreement adopted by the previous Government. The seeds of
discord were sown in that Province, and it was all the more re
markable because the people never asked for such an extrava
gant piece of folly as the Government of Canada assented to,

AT SARNIA. 145
All they asked was that a survey of the road should be under
taken within three years, and that after that there should be
an expenditure of not more than a million dollars annually
upon it. That was all they asked in their terms, and even
these terms could have been considerably modified, but the,
Government of Canada, with a fatuity — with a folly which
now seems to me more incomprehensible than ever, the more
I know of the difficulties of the work, undertook to have the
entire road from Lake Nipissing to the Pacific Ocean, and,
after- reaching that, to Victoria on the Island, completed by
1881. This imposed upon us a serious difficulty in that Pro
vince, and the task, not only in endeavouring in some way to
keep faith with the engagements the nation had entered into,
but of reconciling the people of that Province as far as it is
possible to do so with a very serious modification of tbe terms.
We found that in the next Province between British Colum
bia and ourselves a state of irritation had been allowed to grow
up on account of the events that succeeded the insurrection in
that country. We found, although it was not known at that
time, that negotiations bad actually taken place between mem
bers of the Government and the chief instigator of tbe revolt
and his friends, which resulted in procuring a seat for Sir
George Cartier after he was discarded from Montreal, and in
the Government of Canada actually having to pay $3,000 to
Mr. Eiel and his associates for this forbearance of theirs in not
coming forward to oppose Sir George Cartier. We found one
•section of the people there bitterly opposed to any punishment
of those who bad taken part in tbe disgraceful scenes that were
enacted in the country, and on the other band a very large
portion of the population who were impressed with the belief
that the acts complained of were the legitimate acts of a body
of insurgents acting as the de facto governors of the country.
There waB much, no doubt, to be said for that view, and when
we came to find out that after the murder of Scott, and the

146 EXPOSITION OF^POLIGY
events that succeeded, the leaders of that insurrectionary
government were in actual communication with the leaders of
the Government in Canada, had received payments of money
from them, and had been treated as if they had not committed
an offence, it became quite impossible to deal with that subject
in any other way than that in which we did deal with it,
which was simply to require a trial or vindication of the law,
or a proclamation of outlawry to those who did not come
under the operation of the law, and then extend such conside
ration to the, circumstances as they required, and exhibit that
leniency and mercy which tbey were undoubtedly
entitled to after being recognized as legitimately govern
ing the country and exercising all the powers incident
to the government of a free country. I have made
these remarks because I am quite aware that some
of my constituents objected to the course the Government pur
sued in regard to Eiel as being too lenient. Others again in
other Provinces objected equally to the course we pursued as too
severe. This was taking the extreme view from both points ;
some from the West assuming that he was simply a vulgar
common murderer, entitled only to a murderer's fate, while the
others assumed that the act of which he was accused was the
legitimate result of an armed revolt, and that the public
interests committed to bis care at the time required the pubhc '
and military execution of this man. The circumstances were
of extreme difficulty, and its history developes one of the most
remarkable instances of incapacity to be found in the history *
of the Conservative Ministry. After creating the most serious
difficulty in that country that could be conceived, all their
organs and public men have been endeavouring to embarrass
the Government and unsettle this question. I believe, however,
that we were upheld by public opinion through the country,
and that the settlement we effected in both these cases will
commend itself to the attention, the consideration, and the

AT SARNIA. 14^
approval of all who have the interest of the country at heart*
I do not object to a fair criticism. Our measures may not have
been the best ; they may not even have been wise ; but those
who created the difficulties were bound in common honesty
and fairness to devote themselves to the settlement of the
questions, and prepare a substitute for the measures we pro
posed instead of meeting us with a blind opposition to the
policy they were unable themselves to replace. (Cheers.) Some
may say, " You have often remarked yourself that itis not the
business of an Opposition to initiate a policy." That is quite
true, and I do not expect an Opposition to initiate a policy for
a Government ; but bere was a subject upon which an Opposi
tion had a policy— upon which we when in Opposition had a
policy— and they were bound to assist the Government ofthe
day in quelling any disturbance which existed in any part of
the Dominion to the utmost extent that their wisdom and
legislative independence as members not responsible as Minis
ters could suggest to them. (Hear, hear.) Now, sir, there
are two independent points of view from which I desire
to discuss the policy of the Government. In the first
place, I will take what I may call our foreign relations. We
are simply a dependency of Great Britain, and the only country
with which we have any possible foreign relations of an
intimate nature is the United States. Tbe United States
Government have a peculiar policy of their own in regard to
this country. We have a border of thousands of miles along
side theirs. The same boundary extends so far tbat it is
impossible that any policy adopted by the United States Gov
ernment can do otherwise than affect us either prejudicially or
favourably. Tbe consequence is, that many international
difficulties may spring up, and it has been the privilege of the
Canadian Government, by Imperial invitation, to make our
communications direct through the British Minister at
Washington, in relation to minor matters. It has been always

148 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
the policy of the English Government in questions between
Canada and the United States to have them decided by English
diplomatists either sent to the United States or acting in London.
It is the policy of this Government that these questions shall be
dealt with by Canadian statesmen who understand their
business and know tbe people of the United States. (Cheers.)
And our policy, I conceive, is to be carried out, as a matter of
course through the British Government, but purely according
to Canadian ideas of public policy. One of our early struggles
in this country — Mr. Cameron took much more share in it than
I did, because he was long prominent before the public before
I had any share in public affairs — was to let Canadian affairs be
managed by Canadians, and not to have a Colonial Office or a
Colonial Secretary undertaking to dictate through an irrespon
sible Council in Canada what laws should be enacted or what
policy should be adopted. That is all gained, and so far as the
management of our own internal affairs is concerned, there is
nothing left in dispute. I am not to be understood as saying there
is anything in dispute at this moment in regard to the other
important branch ofthe Canadian service, because I have re
presented in the proper quarter, since I have been in office,
the views of the Government, and on one or two occasions,
when we had business to transact at Washington, the Imperial
Government nominated the person named by the Canadian
Government, first, the Hon. Geo. Brown, in negotiating the
treaty last year at Washington ; and secondly, Sir Alexander T.
Gait, who is going as the Commissioner in tbe fisheries
matter. I have no idea tbat any British statesman
will think after this of interfering in these matter so as
to procure treaties with the United States or any other
power we are dealing with,, when a treaty is to be made purely
in Canadian interests. I have no idea tbat Imperial statesmen
will seek for a moment to interpose any objection to those
treaties being considered purely from a Canadian standpoint,

AT SARNIA. 149
and the responsibility of doing it will be technically with the
Imperial Government, but with the Canadian Government will
rest the responsibity to the people of Canada, and the manage
ment of such affairs through Imperial officers. I have suffi
ciently indicated the views of policy that we hold in relation
to this matter. Sir Alexander Gait, who is a very distinguished
public man, belonging to the Conservative party, in a recent
manifesto, I suppose I may call it, refers to the policy of the
country in this respect, and be hopes, or I should rather say
advocates, tbat for the future all legislation and all treaty
obligations shall be entered into by the Canadian Government
from a purely Canadian standpoint. Well, that is precisely
the policy of this Administration — while maintaining the
closest possible relations with Britain, to remember that we
are practically, so far as our relations and business with the
United States are concerned, acting for ourselves, that it does
not concern any other portion of the British public, and tbat
we believe tbat representations made to the British Govern
ment in a matter of that kind will always produce what I desire
and what it is our policy to produce, a feeling on their part
'corresponding to ojirs and reciprocating the views we have
adopted. ,^A.nd I can scarcely conceive how it will be possible
to carry on tbe Government ofthis country in any other way.
We have long ago passed the bounds of an ordinary Colony
of Great Britain ; we have assumed the proportions of a nation ;
we have for the first time in British history a federation of a
large number of important Provinces ; we have a continent to
govern, and the far-seeing statesman must look many years in
the future for tbat policy which is absolutely essential in
maintaining the independence of our own people and the rela
tions with Great Britain, which we all hope, trust, and believe
will never be disturbed by any serious quarrel between thc
Government of this country and that of Great Britain. It bas
been said that in order to avoid difficulties such as I have
10

150 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
alluded to it is desirable to have a complete Confederation of
the whole British Empire. I am myself quite convinced that
the federal system is tbe most convenient one under certain
circumstances, and most of us in public life in 1864 were con
vinced that whilst a legislative union of the Provinces would
be in many respects more beneficial, and would concentrate the
powers of Government more fully, it was impossible to meet
the local circumstances of some of the Provinces without
having a federal system. We have tbat now in operation, and
I have therefore no possible objection to the extension of the
federal system to all tbe other Colonies, and to the . Mother
Country if I believed it were practicable. But I do not think
it is practicable, or that it would result to our advantage or
benefit, or that we could gain very much from its adoption,
while, quite possibly, we might lose a good deal. I believe,
however, tbat the people of Canada are willing to assume their
full share of the responsibilities imposed upon them as an in
tegral portion of the British Empire — (cheers) — and the publio
spirit manifested by Canada on all occasions when the peace
of the Empire was threatened and disturbed in their own
neighbourhood, was such as to manifest to the most careless
observer or prejudiced antagonist in Great Britain that no part"
of the British Empire was more devoted to Imperial interest
than Canada at tbe present moment. (Cheers.) Our policy
will therefore be, in a few words, for the future to do our own
work, but to be the foremost, and I hope the strongest, colonial
ally that Great Britain can possibly have. That position
will be always strengthened by committing to our own
hand everything that relates to Canadian interests. Now
I propose to review as briefly as possible some matters
tbat are deeply involved in the policy of tbe Government on
domestic questions. You are aware that there has been a
great disturbance of trade during tbe last two years and a half.
We all know that for a period of many years there has been

AT SARNIA. 151
unexampled prosperity in" Canada, that our farmers have
prospered tolerably well, that our towns have grown, that
manufactories have sprung up in all directions, and given em
ployment to a very large number of people who have come
from other countries ; that at the present moment the manu
factories are depressed, and that there is an outcry on the part
of many ofthe manufacturers for a system of protection, which
simply means tbat if the system as an abstract principle is
adopted, some other portion of tbe community will pay for
protecting the particular manufacturers against all comers from
the outside. There are two principles of action in relation to
trade which are to be considered and discussed. The one is
absolute free trade, the other absolute protection. You are
aware from former political speeches that I have always as
sumed tbat in this country neither of these principles is pos
sibly applicable to our circumstances, and as I stated in my
speech in 1874, the question is practically removed from the
sphere of political discussion, because no party that I am aware
of, not even the most extreme protectionist, has adopted the
idea that we are to lose all our revenue for the purpose of pre
venting any one coming in here to sell bis wares, as that would
result in a system of direct taxation. Every man, woman and
child of you pay from four to five dollars a year by indirect
taxation. If that system is abolished, you must pay that sum
into the treasury, to ensure the existence of a revenue for the
public service. I have assumed, as a matter of public policy
—and not one public man in Parliament has attacked that
pohcy— what Sir Francis Hincks characterized as "incidental
.protection," a stupid phrase at best, meaning a revenue raised
from the imposition of duties on articles imported into the
country, but also manufactured in the country. We found that
we derived a revenue sufficient for the purposes of the country
for some years from an import duty on certain goods of 15 per
cent. Every dollar's worth of those goods coming into the
10*

' 152 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
country paid fifteen cents to the Government as revenue ; so
every manufacturer who made the goods in the country had
tbe advantage of fifteen per cent, in his favour. I stated in
my speech in 1874 that when we found the revenue of the
country would not be met by the imposition of this duty, it
would become necessary to impose more, and that it was im
possible, if my view of the public obligations which had to be
met was correct, that the fifteen per cent, duty should continue
to suffice. The result of our experience was that within a year
we found it necessary to increase the duty on imports to 17§
per cent., and that is tbe duty at present in existence. We
have therefore given an incidental protection to the extent- of
2f more than had been imposed by tbe previous Administra:
tion. This might be a sufficient answer to those who have been
accusing me of having it in view to inaugurate a free trade
policy — a policy which I say frankly I would inaugurate at once
if the circumstances of the country would admit, and if the
position of our manufacturers would admit of it, because I be
lieve tbat a free interchange of thought, information, and
commodities is the true means of enriching a country or
making a people great, while tbe system of protection as it
exists in tbe United States is altogether evil. I pointed out in
1874 tbat while the wages of mechanics in the United States
had been raised sixty per cent, since 1861, the price ofthe com
modities necessary for their support had risen ninety-two per
cent., showing no less than thirty-two per cent, against their
system of protection. There is another question with
regard to the trade stagnation at this moment. During the war
that prevailed in the United States and the inflation ofthe
money market, an enormous amount of trade was done of a kind
that was not productive, and these goods were so much dearer
than those manufactured in Canada that the Canadians had
not'to compete with any "manufacturers from the United States
in their markets, and were able to send a very large portion of

AT SARNIA. 153
their goods to the United States, and the farmers of the coun
try were able during the last two years of the Eeciprocity
Treaty to sell to tbe people ofthe United States no less than
thirteen millions of dollars worth of agricultural produce and
stock. This reaUy enriched this country for many years, and
a great deal of the prosperity which prevailed from 1864 to
last year was owing to the enormous influx of money and the
export of Canadian goods to the United States during that
period. From the beginning of 1873 it was quite evident that
the United States manufacturers had, to a great extent, regained
their lost position. In 1874, they were able to export great
quantities of cotton goods to this country, and pay our duties.
They were actually enabled to export cotton goods to the
English cotton markets, which are supposed to rule the world.
During tbe last few months they have been able to export
refined sugar to the heart of tbe refining portion of Great Bri
tain, London and tbe Clyde, and between them and tbe French
x they have almost succeeded in driving the British refiners out
of the market. It was almost impossible that Canada could
escape a considerable amount of suffering by this cause. The
complaint of Canadian manufacturers has been that this has
made what is called a sacrifice market for their goods, and no
doubt tbat has been productive of great provocation to our
manufacturers, and injury to tbe trade of Canada. We have
never, however, suffered the United States manufacturers to
introduce their goods into this market at the valuation at
which they were willing to sell them. In the articles of
sewing machines we found tbey were introducing and selling
them under these circumstances at a price sometimes not more
than one half, and sometimes not half what tbey bad been
selling them for two or three years before, but we did not
allow the importation at the price at which they were willing
to sell, but imposed upon them the current price tbey were
Belling for readily in their own country, so that they were not

154 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
allowed to compete unequally with our own manufactures. I
believe there has been an over-production ofgoodsinthis coun
try as well as in the United States, and that to that is due the
stagnation which prevails in the manufacturing districts now.
Protection as a principle will never prevent a stagnation in
trade or a reduction in prices, because in the United States,
the most thoroughly protected manufacturing country in the
world, the manufacturers have not been able to bold their own,
and their manufacturers have for the last year been in the
greatest distress of all. Your manufacturers have suffered
undoubtedly, partly from over production in this country, and
partly from stagnation in the United States, and United States
manufacturers are sending their goods to sell to us far below
their real value. The Government having adopted the policy
which we always held in Opposition, that the revenue of the
country is to be raised by the imposition of import duties,
and heavy duties as far as possible on whiskey and spirits dis
tilled in this country. We cannot depart at present from that
principle. H we find we require, and can collect, a higher
revenue by imposing a duty of more than 17$ per cent, it will
be for tbe Government to consider tho wisdom of doing so,
but there is no difference of opinion between my political op
ponents and myself and tbe Government on this very
important matter, and no difference of opinion has ever
been expressed in Parliament on this subject. A friend
of mine in speaking to me on this subject once said, " the,
only people I know of .who need protection to some extent are
the farmers, and we cannot give them any." Some people in
Parliament have held that it is possible to protect the farmer
and raise the price of wheat by imposing a duty on foreign
wheat, and they actually believe with the member for Centre
Wellington (Mr. Orton), who says, tbat " if we impose a duty
of five cents on wheat coming from the United States it will
increase the price of your wheat five cents also." There never

AT SARNIA. 155
was a greater fallacy than to hold that, because if we produce
more wheat than we consume, it would only prevent any Uni
ted States wheat being carried through Canada or milled in
Canada for transportation to the Old World. But tbe only
article which it would be possible to protect in Canada was
corn, as we do not consume as much of it as we produce. The
argument is used in order to obtain some sympathy from that
large class of the country which forms the real public opinion
of Canada, the farming community, who are the backbone of
the country — (cheers) — without whom a country could not
possibly exist, and without whose prosperity the country itself
cannot enjoy any prosperity as a whole. (Cheers.) Now the
manufacturer of woollen goods, for instance, has a protection
of 17f per cent, against the foreign manufacturer of woollen
goods, but remember that the manufacturer of woollen goods
is allowed to import wool free of duty into this country. You
sell a great deal of your wool to the manufacturers in the
United States, and are met by a heavy duty upon that wool
going in there, to protect their wool markets ; but we have no
duty on wool coming into this country, and the manufacturers
of woollen goods import an enormous amount of wool from
Australia and South America, and some from Spain and ohter
countries. So our tanners import an enormous quantity of
Spanish hides to make into leather in this country, but no one
thinks of imposing a duty on these articles for the protection
of farmers. There is the pretence that a protection on
grain would do you a great deal of good, while it would
do you a positive and actual injury, because it would not
raise the price of your grain one cent, while it would
destroy the trade of the country to a great extent in
injuring the canals and milling, and in many other ways.
Now I have to deal with another matter which is perhaps
ofthe greatest possible importance at the present time in rela
tion to the expenditures of the country. You are aware, as

156 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
Minister of Public Works, I have in my departmental capacity
to control everything relating to the Canadian Pacific Eailway,
and it is affirmed by some public men at present that that
railway policy of the Government had diverged from that
which was announced at the general election in 1874. Now,
my policy as announced then was this : That it was impossible,
in the first place, to carry out the bargain made by the late
Government with British Columbia ; that it was a physical
impossibility, and would be great ruin to tbe country to
attempt to do it. It is quite true there was an obligation there
to do it that made the obligation to which I referred, but it
was equally true we had incurred a previous obligation to pay
the public creditor $120,000,000 as our National Debt, and we
could not allow any obligations to interfere with that obliga
tion to the public creditor, upon which the credit of the coun
try must depend. Tbe Government was bound to consider,
in tbe first place, what modification of tbe policy of tbe late
Government to build the road in ten years could be obtained
with the consent of British Columbia, and with a determina
tion to adhere rigidly to what we have placed solemnly in the
Act of Parliament, that no policy that we should adopt would
be allowed to increase the rate of -taxation beyond that then
existing. (Cheers.) The first feature of our policy was, " We
will arrange with British Columbia if possible. They are en
titled to every consideration we can give them on account of
this bargain, but no matter what the policy may be, it must
be based on the fact that this Government is determined not
to increase the taxation of tbe people for that purpose." ,
(Cheers.) And that we placed in our Act of Parliament last
year, and that principle we have acted upon in our dealings
with the people of Columbia. I know that while the Conser
vative organs in Ontario and the Dominion are endeavouring
systematically to ferment a feeling against the Government in
the Province of Columbia, and while every local politician in

AT SARNIA. 157
Columbia deems it his duty to denounce the Mackenzie Govern
ment, the organs here are endeavouring to excite the public
feeling in two ways. First, by saying that the Government
have behaved scandalously to British Columbia, and in the
next place by saying that tbe Government ought to be defeated
because of their expenditure on the Pacific Eailway. (Cheers
and laughter.) I do not grudge my Conservative friends their
argument. People in distress must resort to any point — (hear,
hear) — and as tbey are in great distress for want of a policy,
they must be allowed to exhibit in their own peculiar way.
(Cheers and laughter.) I am sure if they do not affect the public
by it, it will not much affect my views, opinions, or position.
(Hear, bear) We sat down to consider what we could do for
the people of British Columbia. I wrote them friendly letters
as head of the Government, pointing out to them the impossi-
bility of carrying out this promise, no matter how willing we
were and how rich we might be, but we were willing and poor,
and pointing out also that it was their interest to come to a
reasonable conclusion on this matter. I offered, through Mr.
Edgar, to expend a million and a half a year after the surveys
were completed in British Columbia, and to build a railway
from Esquimalt to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Eecollect
the late Government bound themselves by an Order in
Council — it does not bind us, fortunately it is not tbe law of
the land — and they set down their opinion there that the
terminus of the road should be on Vancouver Island at Esqui
malt, and by that means tbey bound the country to construct
260 miles of railroad that were not necessary to reach the
Pacific Ocean. Our policy was to build as little railway as
possible, consistent with tbe terms, which were simply to reach
the ocean. We can reach it at the head of Bute Inlet, where
they proposed to reach it, but they proposed to go down the
side of tbe Inlet to the Straits 60 or 70 miles, across the Straits
where tbe bridging alone would cost $11,000,000, and then

158 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
down on the Island 160 or 170 miles, and yet Mr. Campbell
and Mr. Aikins, two members of the late Government, actually
voted in the Senate against my proposal to build 65 miles in
order to pacify the people of British Columbia. They had
engaged themselves to build 250 miles tbat were utterly useless,
and to make this a part of the Pacific Eailway to be run by
the Government in perpetuity, and they voted against my pro
posal to build 65 miles in order to satisfy the people. That is
the species of patriotism which we are to expect from these
gentlemen, and which I suppose will commend itself to every
one in this room, no matter of what political views. We failed,
as you know, to satisfy the Columbians with our proposal
through Mr. Edgar, and they appealed to the Imperial Govern
ment to help them in forcing us to fulfil tbe terms to the letter.
The Conservative organs did everything in their power from
Dan to Beersheba, the small and the great, to make it impossi
ble for tbe country generally or for Columbia to agree to even
the modified terms of Mr. Edgar. Lord Carnarvon appealed to
us or offered to us to arbitrate in the matter between us. We
declined to accept any arbitration, but agreed to allow him to
say whether the efforts we had made, the offers we had made,
and the propositions we were willing to entertain were or were
not reasonable, and such as should be accepted. He said he thought
they were reasonable, but he advised, for the sake of peace, and in
order to obtain a settlement, that we should go a little further — in
short, that instead of spending a million and a half a year, we
should spend two millions, that we should finish the road by
1890, and should build the Nanaimo and Esquimalt road.
Well, rather than forego a settlement, we agreed to these
terms proposed by Lord Carnarvon, and in pursuance of that
policy we submitted the Bill I have referred to, to build the
road from Esquimalt to Nanaimo. That Bill was defeated in
the Senate by the votes of the gentlemen who had previously
voted the other proposition I have referred to. It was defeated,

AT SARNIA. 159
at all events, and that imposes on the Government now the
duty of considering what can be done in connection with this
particular part of Lord Carnarvon's recommendation in order
to satisfy tbe people of tbat Province, and I hope we shall be
able to make such a proposition to them as will command the
support of the reasonable men in that Province, and secure a
settlement of this matter which will be permanent. (Hear,
hear.) I may say tbat we declined the limitation of terms to
1890, except from Lake Superior westward, and that we hope
to accomplish that in time without increasing the rate of taxa
tion. If, however, we are unable to accomplish that without
increasing the rate of taxation, we will only go as far as keep
ing within this other obligaiion will enable us to do. I may
say that at the present moment tbe position of the Pacific
Eailway matter is this: We believe it to be desirable
to obtain as speedy an entrance as possible into the
North-West Territories, as from all the information we
have in our hands we believe it is capable of supporting
an enormous population. We believe it is almost impossible for
a population to be thrown in there without means of access to
the outer world. Above all things, we believe in having
a highway in our own territory as soon as possible, and on
that principle we have settled it. We are letting out, with the
approval of Parliament, contracts to connect Lake Superior
with Eainy Lake and Lake of the Woods, and westward with
the Eed Eiver. These contracts are in process of completion,
and I am qnite sure that before the end of next season we will
have in operation, at a cheaper rates than railways were ever
built before, not less than 150 miles between Lake Superior
and Eed Eiver, and we soon hope to be able to bridge over the
distance in such a way as to avoid the humiliation of having
to send our people and our merchandise through the United
States. (Cheers.) You have observed the repeated accusa
tions that the policy of the Government in the North-West

160 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
railway matter was undertaken in the interest and at the
instigation of some parties in the United States. We were build
ing a branch from the main line near Winnipeg to Pembina,
and this it was said was done to carry all the Canadian traffic
through the United States to benefit the United States lines.
Grosser accusations were insinuated in the public press, and I
have invited them, as I do now, to state these in plain terms,
and they will soon find their position in a court of law. What
will be thought of an acousation about building this road for
the benefit ofthe United States people, when it was one ofthe
obligations in the Allan contract that this branch should be
constructed and should be finished by tbe 31st December,
1874? (Hear, hear.) They not only undertook it, but they
bound the contractor to do it within a year from the time they
went out of office.
Hon. Mr. Cameron — And tbey were quite right for once.
Hon. Mr. Mackenzie — Certainly they were, because that
is the only means of getting speedy access into that country. I
may state that part of the steel rails were bought last season in
England, and delivered by the contractor in Montreal for an
average of about $53. We had them carried to Duluth and
Thunder Bay for $5 per ton from Montreal, and from Duluth
westward, we were obliged to pay $15 per ton, to reach our
own territory on the Eed Eiver. We have got a sufficient
number of rails into tbat territory in this way to lay at least
50 or 60 miles ofthe road from Eed Eiver eastward next year,
and after all, by tbe economical action of tbe Government in
this matter, we land the rails at Winnipeg, and down at Lake
Winnipeg, 20 miles below the town, nearly $10 a ton cheaper
than the late Government paid for new rails delivered in New
Brunswick. (Hear, hear.) Now I have no doubt that the
policy which I indicated as that ofthe Government on a former
occasion, and which I now reiterate, will be one acceptable to
the great mass of taxpayers in this Province, who have to bear

AT SARNIA. 161
the great burden of taxation in connection with these public
works. (Hear.) We have enjoyed many advantages- here ;
many of our sons are going to the North-West and many of our
people finding homes there for the future, and we hope
thousands and millions of people from the old land will go to
that country and settle there permanently. I think, there
fore, it is our interest and our duty to open up that country as
speedily as possible for the advantage of the surplus popula
tion from our own parts or coming into the country, but it
would be the height of madness to imperil our credit in the'
English market and increase the taxation of this country, and
make it dear for the emigrant to come to, or the workman to
live in. (Hear, bear.) We believe, however, that we shall be
able to accomplish tbe connection of our western with our
eastern waters by 1890, and we have acquired an immense
amount of knowledge of British Columbia by the long course
of surveys which have been carried on in order to find a feasible
route for this railroad. To show how little we knew of tho
country, I may mention tbat one of Mr. Sandford Fleming's
first maps showed the track of the railway with a short cut
from Tete Jaune Cache to the Fraser Eiver towards Bute Inlet,
supposed at the time to be quite practicable, but we found a
mountain in tbe way 9,400 feet above the level of the sea, and
glaciers on the top. (Laughter.) I have always resisted any
attempt made to force us to adopt a line until we bad that
line brought fairly under survey, and were able to
define exactly tbe grades we could have, the distances
to traverse, and its capacity as a commercial as well as a,
political road. To that determination we shall adhere,
and not a mile will be let until our surveyors are also
to point out and show by evidence what they are able
to accomplish, and that they have chosen the best route.
What was the result of tbe policy adopted respecting the Inter
colonial Eailway, on the North Shore route, which I opposed

162 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
from first to last ? The road now completed, 86 miles from
Eiviere du Loup, for six months cost us $48,000 and earned
only $18,000. From that east to Moncton we have to open
300 miles more, either late this fall or early next year, and on
that part of the road there is less population, and less possibi
lity of the road being remunerative or paying half the expen
diture it requires. It would be an act of consummate folly for
the Government to make such a blunder again, and therefore
it is a part of our policy to have the whole road properly
surveyed before letting a mile of it, and to have it placed so as
to give the best commercial advantages, as well as to fulfil the
political necessities imposed upon us. (Hear, hear.) I may say
that I have examined with a great deal of curiosity the publio
speeches delivered in British Columbia upon his subject, and I
regret exceedingly the tone that prevails with most of the
publio men of that Province, and the ideas they appear to have
of the duties and obligations imposed upon the people who are
to pay the money ; but we must only pursue a wise, judicious,
and consistent course, and trust to a reasonable appreciation
of our efforts by the bulk of the people who are to derive
almost the entire benefit of this road, and I trust, when the
road is finally completed, it will be one that will conduce
largely to tbe public interest of Canada, to the interests ofthe
Empire, and to tbe transmission of a portion of tbe Asiatic
trade across our own territory to take shipping again in our own
waters for the Old Land. Tbat this will be the case I have no
doubt. I pointed out a moment ago that a great portion of the
interest attaching to any Government is in connection with its
public works, especially so in a new country like this, where
we are undertaking enormous public works, hoping they may
be ultimately of some advantage. You are aware that the
lines of railway owned by the Government in the Lower Pro
vinces have not done anything like paying their expenses as
yet. We hope by wise economy, however, to effeot a large

AT SARNIA. 163
saving in that, and the expenditure this last year for running
the roads in those Provinces will probably be something like
$300,000 less than the year before we came into office. (Cheers.)
We hope to make such further improvements as to give further
accommodation on these lines of railway, and also not seriously
affect the public interest. We have derived a revenue from
our canals approaching to half a million of dollars every year,
but the expenses of management have swallowed up most of
this. Tbe Welland Canal would pay a small interest on the
amount invested, but the other canals — tbe St. Lawrence, the
Ottawa, and others — would not nearly meet their working
expenses. Still, with the enlargement now going on, we hope
to carry such a. volume of trade, that we may not only benefit
tbe carrying trade and the milling trade of our own country,
but may be able to transport produce from and to the Western
States through our own waters. With this object in view, we
have been endeavouring, as fast as possible, to get these great
works completed, which will enable you to have a vessel
brought from the ocean 270 feet long by 44 feet beam, and
drawing 14 feet of water. (Cheers.) When completed, I have
no doubt these works will produce a revenue to some extent
giving a little interest on tbe investment, and in the meantime
they are affording employment to a large number of our people.
I desire to say a few words in reference to a treaty for which
I was responsible which did not succeed. You are aware that
last year I invited Mr. Brown to proceed as a British Commis
sioner to Washington to consider if it were possible to obtain
a renewal of the old Eeciprocity Treaty. The answer of
the United States Government was so far favourable tbat he
was formally appointed a commissioner with Sir Edward
Thornton, with powers to treat, and a treaty was ultimately
agreed upon between the United States Government and the
British Commissioners, praictically renewing the treaty of
1854, but inoreasing the number of articles^ more or less

164 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
of an agricultural nature, very largely, and also proposing
to include a large number of manufactured articles. When
the draft treaty was published there was an outcry by
some of our journals, in the interest of the Opposition,
against the introduction of manufactured articles, and a large
number of the manufacturers themselves also exclaimed against
this as ruinous to their interests. I have only to say that
in 1874, when it was known we were to have a new tariff,
we had interviews with many ofthe manufacturers. I had as
many as forty of them in my room at once, and I addressed
them, " Do you mean you are not able to compete on equal
terms with tbe manufacturers of the United States ? Are your
workmen not as good ? Is the price of living not as cheap 1
Is that the ground you take ?" Tbey said, " We don't take
that ground. What we say is : Give us the United States
market, and we want no proteetion. We will be able to
undersell them, because we can manufacture cheaper than they
can." One of them said this. I said, " Do you say so, Mr.
Smith ; you, Mr. Jones ; you Mr. Eobinson ?" and so went
round the whole room, and of the scores of manufacturers who
were with me having an interview, there was only one, Mr.
Eddy, of Ottawa, who makes pails and matches, who said he
could not compete with tbe United States. We endeavoured
to have reciprocity in such articles as would suit the manu
facturing capacity of our people. We succeeded in getting
that, but the United States Government were afraid to take a
test vote in tbe Senate apparently, and it Was resolved in ¦ the
Senate that it was not desirable to have the treaty confirmed
at present, and therefore it became a dead letter. It shows,
however, that there is an advance of opinion in the United
States on proper views of trade, and that fewer people there
are determined to build up a Chinese wall to exclude every
one but their own people, and that they begin to see that it is
possible that they could live cheaper and buy cheaper if they

AT SARNIA. 165
admitted other people to their markets. We have such men
as Mr. David Wells, long Commissioner of the Inland Eevenue
in the United States, taking the strongest ground in their
own interest in favour of a relaxation of the exclusive laws
which prevail in the United States at the present moment.
There are two or three other matters on which I desire to
say a word or two. I. have not at any time taken the ground
that a Government should boast particularly of anything they
may have done. We are the servants of the people. We are
responsible to Parliament. We have a policy to carry out,
and in common honesty we are bound to carry it out to the
best of our judgment. We have had two sessions of Parliament
since tbe present Administration assumed office, and I venture
to say these two sessions will compare favourably with any
sessions ever held in Canada with regard to the expedition of
public business and the number of important measures which
have passed through the House. We have up to this time
promised nothing to the people that we have not literally-
carried into effect. Not one of the measures foreshadowed in
the Queen's Speech has been left to rust or die out. They
have all received practical effect by legislation, and are now
the law of the land. Seeing the impulse given to the postal
system by previous reductions, tbe late Postmaster-General
proposed some further extensions, and we carried through a
new postal law which removes the tax upon newspapers to a
very nominal figure. I daresay the newspaper publishers had
some reason to complain ofthis, because although we removed
the tax upon newspaper postage to the extent of 75 per cent,
it left so small a sum to be added to the price ofthe paper, that
publishers complained that they could not increase the price
to get the postage from the reader. That is a matter which
will be righted gradually, for newspapers must be treated as a
commercial commodity like anything else. You pay so much
for it, and if it becomes worth more by the publisher paying
11

166 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
more, or paying the postage, it will naturally have to be paid
for by those who purchase the article, in the same way as in
the case of the refiner of oil paying the duty instead of the
consumer paying it at the store, that mode being found more
convenient. We believe that the provision by which news
papers can now be carried for such a small sum is a great
convenience to the people. We accomplished another improve-
vement. You can mail a letter for any part of the United States
— Texas, New Mexico, or California— without any U. S. postage
being charged, and so in regard to tbe correspondence which
you receive from the United States, no charge is made by us.
The United States Government are bound by this convention
to carry all our mail matter through their territory, and we
are bound to carry theirs. We oarry their mail from Detroit
to tbe Bridge without any charge, and they carry our mail
from Detroit to California to tbe boats for Vancouver Island,
and also that to Winnipeg by way of Pembina without any
charge. It is entirely reciprocal, and is equally beneficial to
both. The ocean postage is reduced to five cents by either
our own or the United States steamers. The postal charges
are thus reduced to tbe lowest possible figure almost for
which letters can be carried. So great is the increasing
intelligence of the people, and tho increasing correspond
ence taking place under the impulses thus given, that we
have no doubt that in a few years, when the outer
districts got filled up, the postage paid will cover the expenses.
The Insolvency Act you all understand. I was not, as a
matter of policy, in favour of having an Insolvency *Act con
stantly in operation. The commercial men of the country
were, however, of a different opinion, and having decided upon
having an Insolvency Law as one of the statutes not limited
by timo, the Government had to set to work to have it settled
in the best way, and I am bound to say here, as I said in the
House, that we received every possible assistance from the

AT SARNIA. 167
hon. leader ofthe Opposition and his friends in perfecting this
measure and the Supreme Court Act, carrying out in that way
the policy I endeavoured to enforce, of supporting every mea
sure no matter by whom introduced if it were in the interest
ofthe country, and giving assistance to the Government when
my opponents controlled it in perfecting such measures. You
are aware that the Supreme Court Act has also been put in
operation, and the judges already chosen and gazetted for £he
high office created by tbat Act, Chief Justice Eichards being
the Chief Justice, and the five other judges being selected from
the most able men in the other Provinces. I am glad to say
that the appointments have given entire satisfaction in all the
Provinces. This important measure was not initiated by us,
for the late Government had it in their programme for two
sessions, but it was left for us to carry out. We have now a
Court which will save much money to litigants, especially in
Lower Canada, where appeals to England are very frequent
and very expensive. From Ontario, I think there were only
two or three in the last two years, while in Lower Canada
there were something like 30. This imposed an enormous
burden on those who referred to England, and it is to
be hoped that the new Court, under the able adminis
tration of Chief Justice Eichards, will be abundantly
satisfactory to all litigants in obtaining what they have
hitherto incurred so much expense in obtaining — justice,
or if not always justice, at all events law. (Laughter.)
We had another measure to prepare looking to what I hope
is the near future, I mean the establishment of a Government
in the North-West Territories, which extend from the bound
aries of British Columbia eastward for 900 miles, with a width
from the 49th parallel as far north as you like to go, and a
good deal further than most people would care to go.
(Laughter.) Bands of marauders had been invading our ter
ritories, pillaging the Indians and murdering them in cold
11*

168 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
blood. At Cypress Hills, near the boundary, a horde of ruf
fians from the United States murdered in cold blood in one
night thirty Indians, pursuing helpless women and children,
cutting off their beads, and tossing their bodies about the
plains. They were introducing enormous quantities of
liquor to debase tbe inhabitants and ruin them, and it
became necessary to have a stable Government and a strong
force to uphold the majesty of the law, That law bas been
passed, providing not in the way that Manitoba was first estab
lished under a sort of Canadian Imperialism, but by com
mitting to the people of the Territory, tbe duty of governing
themselves as far as it is possible to do so. A Governor will
be appointed by this Act, who will have a Council selected by
the inhabitants. Whenever any neighbourhood reaches a
certain population, it will be entitled to elect a member
to this Council. The other members will be tbe stipendi
ary magistrates, who will act practically as county judges,
and possibly an Indian Commissioner. When the terri
tory becomes filled up the Bill provides for an extension
ofthis system bythe election of representatives bythe people.
In the meantime we had to despatch a force of three hundred
mounted men to capture tbe violators of tbe law, to provide
for the exclusion of all illegitimate trade, and to provide that
there should be no further introduction into that country of
any kind of intoxicating liquors whatever. (Cheers.) We
have succeeded in making at least one teetotal Province in
the Confederation. (Cheers.) Our Commissioner on the
frontier, Col. McLeod, a very able officer, having about a third
of the force under bis command, only about a month after he
got there, seized one quantity of 60 barrels, and another of 40
barrels, knocked in the heads and spilt all the liquor. Some
of the traders were fined $500, and some had six months'
imprisonment, and this bad such a salutary effect upon: the
rost of the roving population that for some months past we

AT SARNIA. 169
have scarcely had an instance of marauders entering the
territory. Some, leading merchants of Benton called at my
office a short time ago to thank tbe Canadian Government for
having at last established law and order in that territory on
both sides of the line. They said they could manage their own
thieves and scoundrels so long as they were kept out ofthe
Canadian territory. This force causes a great expenditure
undoubtedly, but tbe extent of the territory is immense, it is
our own country, and its resources will be enormous in tbe
future. We have protected tbe inhabitants from the thieves
Who stole in one year 40,000 buffalo skins from the Indians
and sold them across tbe border, the principal payments being
made. in tbe bad whiskey introduced. Trade is legalized, and
thousands of dollars of revenue have been collected, since we
have taken these measures, and when we have officers at
Edmonton and Fort Pelly, and where Col. McLeod is, we hope
soon to have that country as well and peaceably governed and
life and property as secure as in any portion of this country,
and to receive the congratulations of Englishmen and citizens
of the United States upon our complete success. There
is one matter of a personal nature about which I desire
to say a word. I am well known as the representative
of the oil district in Parliament, and I am glad to say that in
the oil district I have some of the very warmest political and
personal friends any man ever had, and while tbey would like,
perhaps, that something more could be done to benefit that
interest, they are satisfied tbat I have always done what I
could. But a direct charge was insinuated against me some
time last year in the Mail newspaper that I had connived at
and was a party to the Prince Oil Swindle, as it is called now ; ,
had some interest in it, and failed to do my duty in short.
The charges were somewhat vague, but extremely insinuating.
I immediately brought the matter before tbe House, and
statedjihat my only connection with it was to send a telegram

1*70 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
and a letter to Sir John Eose, asking him to warn English
capitalists against considering this a legitimate enterprise.
The answer I thought was conclusive, but it appears not. I
will relate an incident which occurred while I was in England.
I was invited one evening by a Conservative member of the
House of Commons, Sir John Elliott, one of the members for
Durham, with whom I had some communication on business
matters, to a dinner at his house, where he was kind enough
to bring about a dozen members of the English House of
Commons to meet me. After dinner, he said to me at the
table, " Well, Mr. Mackenzie, I owe you tbe saving of £20,000."
I asked, " How is tbat ?" He said, " I had formed so good an
opinion of the Prince oil well project that I had determined
and agreed to take that amount of stock in it, but your tele
gram to Sir Jobn Eose saved me from doing it, because he
assured me it would not be sent if it bad not been correct."
That was evidence that in England, at least among the cap
italists, who were to suffer by the operation, they understand
perfectly who it was that saved a number of them from invest
ing their means in this transaction. (Cheers.) I dislike having
to refer to any of these personal recriminations. I am quite
aware that in discussing political matters newspapers cannot
always be expected to be as close and exact in their language
as could be desired. I am quite willing to allow a reasonable
license, but whenever a direct charge is made or placed in
such a form that it requires to be attended to I shall attend to
it ; and while I do not for one moment suppose or believe
that any one of my constituents, whether Conservative or
Eeformer, would dream for a moment that I had the slightest
improper interest in these matters, I thought it due to them
and to the public to deal with this particular thing. I
am under many obligations to the people of tbe county of
Lambton. They chose me fourteen years ago to serve them
in Parliament, at a time when I not only had no desire

AT SARNIA. 171
for the position, but wished not to accept it. They have
continued me in it against a very powerful opposition,
and that has enabled me to take the higher position
which I have. It will be the ambition of my life in the
future, as it has been hitherto, to endeavour to conduct the
affairs of the country, now tbey are in my own hands, in such
a way that my constituents in Lambton will not need to feel
ashamed of their representative. (Loud cheers.) I do not
pretend at all to be infallible more than other people. It is
quite possible, quite likely, that in my public career, in public
discussions, I may have taken a wrong course. I only claim
that the course I took was always honestly taken, and if it has
not always resulted to the benefit of the country that may be
a mistake, but cannot be charged as a fault. (Cheers.) I have
only to say further tbat I think it is my duty as a Minister of
the Crown, holding the first position in Canada, to endeavour
in every possible way to exalt the position of Canada in the
eyes of the world, and especially to hold tbe first place, as we
do now, as a British Colony, and in every way that is possible
to maintain the honour of tbe Crown and the honour of our
public men and the glory of our Parliamentary system.
(Cheers.) During my absence recently in Europe I had the
pleasure of visiting on several occasions the English House of
Commons, and also of listening to the debates in the French
Assembly at Versailles, and I was glad to form the opinion,
which I did without difficulty, that tbe speaking capacity and
the ordinary management of business in the Canadian House
of Commons is certainly not inferior to the English House of
Commons, and I think much superior to the French. (Cheers.)
I believe, therefore, that our Parliamentary system bas been a
great success ; tbat our House of Commons and our Senate— I
. speak for tbe House of Commons particularly, knowing it best
—form one of tbe very first deliberative assemblies in tbe
world for the business capacity and fair speaking talent, and

1*72 EXPOSITION OF POLICY
I am glad to know that the eduoational institutions of Canada
are of such a nature and have such extent and capacity that
there is no probability that their power to act on a Parliamen
tary body will ever be decreased, but rather may we expect
that the continuous prosperity of our system will produce
larger and more powerful minds to operate in favour of the
public interests for all the years we may see in our future as a
part of the great,British public. (Cheers.) He concluded by
thanking them for having gathered at such short notice, regret
ting tbe necessity which compelled him to leave to-night,
stating his intention to afford those who bad opposed him the
same measure of justice as those who had supported him, and
by expressing the hope that the Administration of which he
was the head might have tbe pleasure of governing the coun
try according to tbe well understood wishes ofthe people, and
that they might succeed in accomplishing all the work that
might be reasonably demanded of a Eeform Administration.
(The hon. gentleman resumed his seat amid hearty cheers.)
Hon. M. Cameron made a few remarks, in which he tho
roughly endorsed the policy of the Government, with the
exception of their expenditure of five millions on a telegraph
line through Canadian territory.
Mr. Mackenzie said the amount was only one million.
Mr. Cameron admitted his error, but thought we might as
well have used the American lines. He explained tbat he had
voted against the expulsion of Eiel in 1874 simply because the
evidence of his guilt was not then before the House.
Hon. T. B. Pardee briefly addressed the meeting, stating
that the Ontario Government had obtained a large majority in
their favour at the last general election, and expressing a hope
that the Ontario Government in 'settling the back country
between the Ottawa Eiver and the Georgian Bay, and the
Dominion Government in settling the great North-West, might
be equally successful.

AT SARNIA. 1Y3
Mr. Eocles, of Warwick, moved the following resolution : —
"That having heard from the Hon.. A. Mackenzie, Premier
ofthe Dominion, a full and satisfactory statement on public
affairs, we hereby express our confidence in the Government of
which he is the acknowledged bead, and our acquiescence in
their policy ; and further, we take this opportunity of thanking
the Premier for the opportunity afforded us of listening to his
clear, straightforward statements."
Tbe motion was seconded by Mr. Eae, of Bosanquet, and
carried unanimously.
Mr. Mackenzie, in replying, alluded to the telegraph line to
which Mr. Cameron had referred as follows : — Itis to be built
along the line ofthe railway, and a great portion ofthe work
done on that is done really as part of railway construction,
which it would cost us a great deal more to do in the way of
railway expenditure. In addition to this it has become of great
importance to us to have a telegraph system into tbe heart of
the continent. We cannot conduct our survey in the North-
West unless we follow up base lines from tbe east, but with a
telegraph system tbe surveyors are able to ascertain the cor
rect time and their geographical position, latitude, and lon
gitude. Then a short time ago I bad to send a special messen
ger to the Indians close to the Eocky Mountains. That cost
the Government $1,500. With a telegraph line we could have
done it without any expense at all. Now, if we want a party
of surveyors at tbe foot of the Eocky Mountains, we have to
fit out an expedition as extensive as if we wanted to cross the
desert of Sahara. We have been paying the Western Union
Co. $4,000 a year for the privilege of sending messages over
their line and paying for them. The other day I ceased
paying tbat amount, and all our messages were stopped in
consequence. I do not wish to be at the mercy of any United
States Telegraph Company. (Cheers.)
A vote of thanks was then passed to the Chairman, and after
three cheers for the Queen, the meeting dispersed.

TOUR IN THE EASTERN PROVINCES,

BANQUET IN SAINT JOHN, N.B.
Late in October, Mr. Mackenzie made his long-promised trip
over the Intercolonial Eailway, to see for himself the features
of this great undertaking, as well as to inspect other Dominion
works in the Eastern Provinces. It was intended to be purely
a business visit, and was made a very hurried one ; neverthe
less, on its becoming known that the Premier was on his way
to the east, he was pressed to remain to meet the people at
various points on his journey.
On reaching the Carleton Station, on the 29th October, he
was waited upon by a committee of the citizens of Saint John,
who accompanied him to that city, and on his arrival, he was
driven to the Victoria Hotel. Here he was met by many more
ofthe principal citizens, who cordially welcomed him to Saint
John. At eight o'clock, nearly two hundred guests assembled in the
Victoria Hotel parlor to meet the Premier. Many of them
had the honor of an introduction by Mayor Smith. At 8.20
the guests marched to the dining room to the music of the
62nd Band Band, and sat down to a magnificent banquet.
Mayor Smith presided. At its right were Hon. Alex. Mac
kenzie, Premier of Canada; Hon. J. G. Blaine, ex-Speaker of
the House of Eepresentatives ofthe United States ; Hon. W. P.
Howland, ex-Governor of Ontario ; Hon. T. W. Anglin, Speaker
of the House of Commons ; C. J. Brydges, Esq. On his left
were Hon. A. J. Smith, Minister of Marine and Fisheries ;
Gen. D. B. Warner, U.S. Consul ; Hon. Eugene Hale, Member
ofthe U.S. Congress; Hon. A. E. Botsford, Senator; Hon, W.

TOUR IN THE EASTERN PROVINCES. ITS
Wedderburn, Speaker ofthe House of Assembly of New Bruns
wick ; and Hon. John Young, Chairman of the Baie Verte
Canal Commission. At the feet of the respective tables were
seated— Jno. McMillan, Esq., Dr. Bayard, Sheriff Harding,
J. W. Nicholson, Esq., and John Magee, Esq.
The following other gentlemen were present :
E. Shives, D. E. Dunham, W. M. Smith, J. Wilson, J. E.
Whittaker, W. Quinton, Luke Stewart, W. H. Sinnott, Oliver
Stone, C. A. Eobertson, J. I. Fellows, H. F. Perley, John Mc
Millan, Adam Young, Alfred Mills, B. L. Peters, C. Lee, J. N.
Thornton, W. Fleming, G. F. Smith, W. Jack, H. Jack, J.
Tucker, C. W. Weldon, E. C. Scovil, T. Gilbert, D. D. Eobertson,
G. E. Snider, Dr. Bayard, Dr. Botsford, W. Elder, Dr. Travers,
Dr. Harding, T. W. Daniel, A. Allen, G. L. Everett, G. M.
Steves, Joseph Sline, Frank Carr, of East Expr*ss, Boston ;
Mathews Stead, C. W. Wright, James Harris, J. J. Sayre,
George Carvell, Jobn Hall, Geo. F.Harding, Jas. Wilson, Alex.
Duff, Dr. Chas. Inches, F. Braun, (Sec. of Public Works,) W.
Buckingham (Secretary to Premier), A.P. Eolph, J.A. Harding,
Sheriff, W. J. Kerr, S. B. Appleby, M. P., C. Burpee, M. P.;
Wm. Kerr, W. S. Thorno, F. Everett, John M. Taylor, W.
Stephenson, E. C. Thorne, Ed. Everitt, John Gaylor, E. Frost,
Gorham Stevens, Eobert Eobertson, Jas Barbour, J. H. Hard
ing, W. S. Gregory, E. W. Brown, Wm. E. Hale, H. D. Troop,
Eobert A. Gregory, D. McLellan, W. A. Moore, H. A. Austin,
M. P.; W. F. Harrison, D. O. L. Warlock, F. Birch, F. B.
Colman, George L. Allen, Daniel E. Berryman, M. D., Eobert
Marshall, James Hannay, Eev. D. Macrae, J. S. Dunn, J. P. C.
Burpee, John Pickard, M. P. , J. W. Lanergan, Sam. Welch,
H. W. Chisholm, Jas. Notman, Allan McLean, Edwin Fisher,
C. U. Handford, Judge Duff, Lt.-Col. MacShane, Wm. Magee,
Jno. Magee, J. E. Euel, S. F. Matthews, W. Stanley, John E.
Eigby, Stephen E. Stevens, T. Furlong, F. HcLeod, H. D. Mc
Leod, J. Vassie, E. McFeeters, E. J. Eitchey, W. C. Watson,

1Y6 TOUR IN THE
I. Allen Jack, J. L. Stewart, W. F. Harrison, Eobert Eobertson,
Harris H. Allen, Hon. J. McMillan, Norris Best, A. C. 0.
Trentowsky, John Wilson, Andrew J. Armstrong, S. J. King,
Hon. E. Willis, W. H. Olive, Levi H. Young, Alex. Eankine, C.
H. Chandler, D. E. Munro, A. A. Stockton, James Wallace,
M.P., J.W. Nicholson, Thos. Potts, E. Flaherty, Eichard Thomp
son, Eev. Dr. Waters, Jas. Milligan, E. W. Crookshank, S. P.
Osgood. After the several loyal and patriotic toasts had been honored
— that of " His Excellency the Governor-General " being drank
in a bumper, — the Mayor gave in suitable terms — " Our Guest —
Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, Premier of Cjanada." (The toast
was received with great enthusiasm which prevented the
Mayor completing his speech.)
Mr. Mackenzie replied, — Mr.. Mayor and gentlemen : I am
sorry that the eagerness of tbe company to drink my health
has been the means of depriving us of tbe pleasure of hearing
the remainder of the Mayor's speech, but I trust that some time
during the evening we will have an opportunity of listening to
what be intended to say just now. For my own part I can only
say that I am extremely obliged and gratified at the great
kindness shown to me by tbe people of St. Jobn in treating me
to so handsome an entertainment, on so sudden a visit and on
such short notice. I am sure I have a right to feel pleased and
flattered at such a gathering as I see before me to-night, on
such notice as was given of my coming. But I am not vain
enough to recognize this as a mere personal honor, or to re
gard it as a tribute to anything I have done, or may do as a
Canadian public man, but I regard it as rather a tribute of
respect to tbe office which I bold, and to the Government of
the country of which I have tbe honor at this moment to be the
head. (Cheers.) I am glad to see around me to-night many
who, although not my political supporters, I am pleased to
regard as personal friends. (Cheers.) I am rejoiced, that this

EASTERN PROVINCES. 177
demonstration can in no sense be regarded as a political one,
but that men of all parties have combined in it ; and I hope
to see the day when mere political differences will have no
weight to prevent any of us from entertaining tbe highest
feelings of respect and esteem for those whose political views
may not be precisely the same as our own. (Cheers.) I accept
this as a tribute paid to the Government of the country.
Patriotism sometimes requires us in cases of emergency to
support the Government of the country for the time being,
and although I am happy to say there is no present emergency
to demand such a course, I am not the less glad that the pre
sent Government has been able to command your respect, if
not your confidence. I have not the honor of being a native
of New Brunswick, but perhaps I might say of that as was said
by a celebrated politician in the United States, in stumping the
State of Ohio, that although nature had not so far favored him
as to let him be born in Ohio, if he had to be born again he
would not fail to select the State of Ohio as the place of his
birth. (Cheers and laughter.) The United States Consul — I
call him the United States Consul because, claiming to be an
American myself, I do not care to see one nation of this conti
nent monopolize that name — spoke just now of the friendly feel
ing the people of Canada and tbe United States should entertain
towards each other. I was an early friend to the union of
these Provinces, because I regarded their union as necessary
to their proper growth and development ; and I believe that
here we have the germ of a great and powerful nation, and
that we can best serve the cause of liberty and of human pro
gress by being faithful to our union, which I trust will last as
long as freedom and progress live on earth. (Great cheers.) I
am also and always have been a friend of the United States.
During the War I entertained a strong and warm feeling for
the cause of union, because I believed it to be the cause of
liberty, and because I knew that it meant the destruction of

1T8 TOUR IN THE
slavery and the removal of the fetters from the oppressed. I
hope the day will never come when any other than friendly
feelings will prevail between the people of Canada and tho
United States. I believe tbe people of Canada and the United
States, though forming two distinct nations, will in the futuro
be so thoroughly united in sentiment as to be able to carry the
influence of the British race and the principles of British
liberty into all countries. The people of the United States
have a great destiny before them, and although it is not, I
believe, their manifest destiny to be any larger in territory than
they are at present — (great cheering) — I believe my friend, Mr.
Blaine, beside me, will agree with me that it is quite large
enough now, — they and we have a common task, more than
the mere support of a particular Government, or the se
curing of a third term — (laughter) — or the realization of any
of those small political issues which enter more or less into
the domestic politics of nations. We, of course, have to give
some attention to those questions, and to tbe keeping of certain
machinery in running order, but these are the primary ele
ments of statecraft, and are not comparable in point of im
portance to those higher principles which move nations, and
on which Canada and the United States and Britain may
occupy a common ground. The United States have pursued
generally a policy of nOn-intervention in the affairs of other
nations, and Great Britain of late years seems to have largely
adopted this principle. We, of course, shall follow our leader,
as we are bound to do. No doubt, non-intervention is the
proper policy in most cases, and perhaps it is in every case
the easiest policy to pursue, but it may be carried too far, and
may sometimes produce very disastrous results. I do not
think that the doctrine of non-intervention should be pursued
to such an extent as never to permit a nation to lift a hand on
behalf of human liberty, or to grant aid and comfort to the
struggling and oppressed. (Cheers.) On some great ocoasions

EASTERN PROVINCES. 170
it may perhaps be necessary in the future for America and
Britain to send more than a mere word to aid the efforts of an
oppressed ppople ; and should such a necessity occur, it would
surely be a glorious sight to see these English-speaking nations
banded together to aid less fortunate people to obtain tbat
measure of human liberty which they have had tbe happiness
to enjoy for so long a period themselves. As a Canadian, and a
Briton, if I have had an ambition, it has been to have my country
play a part in the liberation of nations from the fetters which
ignorance and bad government have imposed upon them ; and
while desirous always »to see peace on earth and good-will
towards men prevail, I know that these blessings can sometimes
only be maintained at the cannon's mouth. I hope that the
people of the United States and of Great Britain will always
remain true to those great principles on which their institu
tions are founded,, and that their flags may wave together in
beauty and harmony in many a distant land, the one bearing
on it that emblem of the might of the Creator, the starry
heavens which express His infinite power, and the other
emblazoned with the emblem of God's greatest work, the
Eedemption of man. (Great enthusiasm.) I come among you
here a comparative stranger in the Maritime Provinces. When
I was here before I had very little to say, and perhaps it was
just as well, for not being in power, anything I might have
said would probably not have had any great effect on the
actions of those who then held the reins of Government. But
I have now come amongst you as a member of the Government,
because, as such, I felt bound to make myself conversant with
the wants of the Provinces lying at a distance from the seat
of Government. I regret that I bad not an opportunity of
visiting these fine Provinces sooner, but I found it impossible
to do so. But, although I have not been much in this quarter
personally, I hope that I know something of the country, and
I hope also to show that the Administration is actuated by no

180 TOUR IN THE
selfish or sectional principle in administering the affairs of
Canada. Ontario, being large and populous, is very well able to
take care of itself, and I do not know but for this very reason,
some of the other Provinces occasionally come off best, because
Ontario, being great, must be generous also, and show no
grasping spirit. And there is much in these Maritime Provinces
to command the attention and admiration of the people of
Ontario. Our boast is, that Canada now occupies the fourth
place amongst tbe maritime countries of the world ; and I give
my friend, Mr. Blaine, notice that, unless his countrymen are
very active, in ten years time Canada will occupy the third
or perhaps the second place as a maritime country. The naval
power of Canada is too a large extent, or almost entirely, I
might say, in these Provinces by the sea, and the Government
is bound to do all it can to advance the maritime interests of
Canada. No nation can hope to prosper that neglects the
interests of its shipping and of its commerce. The mother
country, with her colonies scattered all over the world, with
her ships upon every sea, derives much of her prestige ,and
power from those offshoots of her strength, which grow 6ut
of her, not to the detriment of her vigor, but to its increase.
And it will be a dark day indeed for Great Britain when she
allows her commerce or her colonies to fall into neglect. It
will fare with her then as it did with ancient Eome. So
long as she maintained her colonies, and made herself power
ful by maintaining powerful dependencies, she remained the
Mistress of the World ; but when her legions were suffered to
retire from Britain and from Gaul and the outlying posts of
her Empire, the blood which, circulating in ber limbs, kept
them vigorous, was forced back on tbe heart, and the great
city itself became a prey to the Northern barbarians, while
the Empire was rent to pieces. I was glad, not long since, to
hear of Sir Stafford Northcote, in a recent speech in England,
giving expression to his own views and thoso ofthe Govern-

EASTERN PROVINCES. 181
ment of which he is a member, with regard to the British Co
lonies. He said that tbe present Government was more favor
able to the Colonies than former ones had been. This is gratify
ing. Not that we in Canada ask anything from anybody. As
I said to them publicly in England, ancl have said many times
here, we are prepared to do our share, not only in these matters
which concern our local affairs chiefly, but also in regard to
Imperial interests. But still, although we have these feelings,
and give expression to them, we desire English statesmen to
have enlightened views with regard to our position Cowards
the mother-country, and to know tbe views and feelings which
actuate a free people. (Cheering.') I am aware that some
namby-pamby politicians in tbe mother-country look upon
Canada and the rest of the British Colonies as a stingy man
might look upon his poor relations. But we are not poor rela
tions. I am glad that it is beginning to be well understood,
both in Great Britain and elsewhere, what our real position is
on thia continent. A morning paper to-day said it was an in
teresting coincidence that Mr. Mackenzie and Mr. Blaine should
meet as guests at the banquet to-night, the one the bead of a
Ministry which initiated negotiations for a Treaty of Eecipro-
city, the other tbe head of a party which laid the Treaty on
the shelf. It was suggested that we might meet and compare
notes, and that perhaps we might be able to settle our account.
Well, for my part, I may say to Mr. Blaine, " I am willing to
trade, but as it requires two to make a bargain, if you are not
willing, I must go somewhere else." The extension of commerce
between nations, especially countries such as Canada and the
United States, I believe would be the means of conferring the
greatest possible benefits on both. No doubt Mr. Blaine thinks
as I do with regard to tbe advantages of an extended com
merce, although we may differ with regard to the terms on
Which such commerce should be carried on. I hope, however,
that before long we shall have such an extended reciprocal
12

182 TOUR IN THE
trade between Canada and the United States as will be satis
factory and materially advantageous to both. If we did not
succeed in obtaining a reciprocity treaty, we bad tbe satisfac
tion of doing something to increase that community of interests
which people so nearly allied and living so near together
should feel for each other. Last year we were able to estab
lish a reciprocal postal arrangement by which, for one rate,
letters might be carried from Canada to any part of the United
States, and vice versa, each country undertaking to convey to
any point within it the letters coming from tbe other. Nothing
conduces more to the spread of information, and, indeed, to
the increase of civilizing influences than a good postal system ;
and so far as postal arrangements are concerned, Canada and
tbe United States are, in fact, one country. The two countries
are now bound together by many links of iron, in the shape of
railways, and where there are rivers flowing between them we
are bridging them over, and so these interlocking iron bands and
this mutual hugging may, after all, not be in vain, but may pro
duce in the end substantial results, and I trust that these iron
highways between one country and tbe other may always have
an abundant commerce to carry. It would not be proper for me
on an occasion such as this, and in such a company as the pre
sent, composed of men differing in political views, to introduce
party politics into my speech. Still, however, it is scarcely
possible to avoid saying something as to tbe current events of
the day. Since the Government of which I am a member came
into power, we have had many perplexing questions before us,
some of which belong to the peculiar domain of no party ; but
which must be regarded rather as general questions affecting
equally the interests of all. I have always felt since I was a
boy, the greatest interest in two or three things connected with
politics. One bas been to get tbe electoral machinery of the
country so adjusted that every man shall be at liberty to vote
for whom be pleases, without the possibility of his being co-

EASTERN PROVINCES. 186
.erced, or intimidated, or bribed by any one else. To effect this
was, I felt, the only way to cut down every species of class
legislation, and to that end I have endeavored to secure to the
voter tbat no undue pressure can be brought to bear upon him
at elections. That end, I think, has been fairly well accom
plished by recent legislation. All tbe churches in this land
stand upon an equal footing ; all the men in this country have
equal rights. These are things that have been long secured to
us — but until lately there was no election law which made it
impossible for a corrupt man to secure a seat in Parliament
and to take a share in the government of the country. The
present Government has fortunately been able to secure a law
which gives protection to the voter and takes power out ofthe
hands of those who would bribe the constituencies and purchase
their way into Parliament. Another part of the platform which
the present Government bas adopted, and which is of equal in
terest to all parties, is to fill up that vast, unknown, fertile land-
our domain of the North West — a land of boundless resources,
where great prairies stretch toward tbe setting sun, the home
of nations yet to be. (Cheers.) To this great land we welcome
the men of all nations, and have an especial welcome for those
from the United States. (Laughter.) Tbe land is rich, and
its wealth is abundant, and there is room enough there for the
millions who we hope soon to see tilling its fertile plains;
and the tide of emigration flows towards it steadily.
I hear the tread of pioneers
Of nations yet to be,
The first lew wash of waves where soon
Shall roll a human sea.
And as the West increases in population, and wealth, and
power, the Maritime Provinces will gain additional importance
as the outlet ofthe millions who shall fill that as yet unpeopled
continent. (Loud and prolonged cheering.) I am anxious,
and all the members of the Government are with me in this,
12*

184 TOUR IN THE
to do everything that tiie Government can fairly do for the
Provinces by the sea. My stay here will be but short, but I
expect to see many people during my brief visit, and I hope to
be able to carry a message from tbe people of the East to those
of the West, and congratulate them tbat tbe Anti-Confederates
have all disappeared from the Maritime Provinces, and that
those who formerly opposed the Union are now as thoroughly
devoted to it as any. I hope and believe that the conduct of
the larger Provinces towards the smaller will always be such
as to inspire confidence in their desire to act justly and honor.
ably towards each other. Many initial differences had to be
met and were to be expected in a country so large, peopled by
persons who at first knew comparatively little of each other, by
men of different races and of different creeds ; but I have always
found that a little forbearance and wisdom will in the end
secure tranquility, and I may fairly call on all here, as I
have called on the men I have addressed in other places, to
lend their aid to remove those little troubles which lie on the
surface, which are after all but ripples on the stream of time.
In conclusion, it only remains for me, for myself and on
behalf of the Government, to return my most hearty and sin
cere thanks for the great kindness I have received in St. John,
and I shall not fail to tell my colleagues when I return how
cordial you were in receiving one of the Western men here to
night, and in doing honor to the position which be holds. (Loud
and prolonged applause.)
Various other toasts were given and responded to by thc
Chairman, Hon. T. W. Anglin, Senator Botsford, Hon. W.
Wedderburn, Sheriff Harding, Hon. Mr. Blaine, Hon. Mr.
Hale, Hon. Mr. Smith, Hon. Mr. Young, Hon. Mr. Howland,
Hon. Mr. Mackenzie, Mr. John Magee, Mr. Brydges, Mr. Peter
Jack, Hon. Mr. Willis, Mr. Thos. Gilbert, Mr. James Milligan,
and others.
After some further interchange of good feeling, the fine

EASTERN PROVINCES. 185
assemblage broke up. While tbe speeches were being deliv
ered, especially those ofthe Premier and Hon. Messrs. Anglin,
Blaine, Hale, etc., all tbe avenues leading to the doors were
crowded with outside auditors.
The dinner was enlivened by music from tbe Band of the
62nd Battalion, which was very much enjoyed.

PEESENTATION OF AN ADDEESS AT AMHEEST.
At Amherst, Oct. 30, Mr. Mackenzie was presented with
an address, which was read by tbe Sheriff of Cumberland
County and signed by tbe leading citizens of both parties.
Mr. Mackenzie made an appropriate reply.

SPEECH AT PUBLIC MEETING IN HALIFAX.

The public meeting of the citizens, called to hear a speech
from the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, took place at Temper
ance Hall on 1st November, and was one of the largest and
best ever held in the city. Before the doors were opened a
large crowd had gathered outside. By half-past seven the
Hall was well filled, and before the time appointed for the
commencement of proceedings there was a perfect jam inside,
and a crowd outside unable# to gain admittance. Hon. Mr.
Mackenzie arrived a few minutes before 8 o'clock, and
promptly at that hour his Worship the Mayor took the chair.
There were on the platform, besides the chairman and the
Premier, Hon. Thomas Coffin, Eeceiver-General ; A. G. Jones,
M. P. for Halifax ; J. W. Carmichael, M. P. for Pictou ; Hon.
P. C. Hill, Provinoial Secretary ; Hon. Stayley Brown, Prov
incial Treasurer ; Hon. Daniel McDonald, Attorney-General ;

186 TOUR IN THE
Hon. Eobert Eobertson, Commissioner of Public Works and
Mines ; Dr. Farrell, M. P. P. for Halifax ; C. J. Brydges,
Aldermen Forsyth, M. J. Power, L. G. Power, Nisbet, and
McPherson ; ' Geo. J. Troop, Warden of Dartmouth ; Wm. J.
Stairs, Peter Lynch, Q. C, J. B. Duffus, Daniel Cronan, John
Taylor, John Gibson, J. Duffus, Wm. Esson, M. Dwyer, Wm.
Chisholm, H. H. Fuller, Alex. Stephen, E. W. Fraser, E. G.
Stayner, and other gentlemen. The audience was a good
representation of the citizens of Halifax of all classes. There
were prominent men in all parts of the hall. Among others
we noticed Mr. Power, M. P. for Halifax, who was unable to
make his way to the platform in consequence the densely-
crowded state of tbe hall.
Mr. Mackenzie prefaced his remarks by expressing the
pleasure he felt at meeting so many Nova Scotians. In the
fight carried on some years ago for Constitutional rights and
privileges, Nova Scotia had borne a foremost part, and did
much through her public men to secure them. He hoped the
days were not past when Nova Scotia's sons would distinguish
themselves, for although some imagined there was little or
nothing to do, he himself thought great- events were yet before
us. Eeforms were yet to be achieved by all the Provinces. He
would not notice tbe attacks made on him, nor would he do
aught else than allude to matters of general interest. It was a
good thing for public men to meet their constituents every
now and then, and it was especially the part of the leader of
the Government to make himself acquainted with'the different
parts of the country, and to see that no section suffered from
maladministration. Nothing should ever prevent him doing
most ample justice to every part of the country. A fear had
been expressed that as the larger Provinces grew in power and
influence, they would be apt to do things which would prove
distasteful to the smaller, but he inclined to the belief that the
opposite would-be tbe case, and tbat greatness would beget

EASTERN PROVINCES. 187
generous dealings. At all events, with him, the rule of political
life would be as it had been — justice to every section, and no
more than justice to each. There were of course difficulties in
governing such a vast country as tbe Dominion of Canada,
' where different races, and creeds, and languages co-existed,
but the Government looked to the patriotism of the people to
assist them to overcome all these obstacles. He referred at
length to tbe causes ofthe depression of trade, which he ascribed
in a great measure to overproduction. It was as absurd to
blame the Government for this as to praise them for the good
crops. He pointed to the United States and Germany, where
the depression is even greater. We could not expect ever to
have an unchecked course of prosperity when entering on
enterprises carrying their own burdens with them. He also
spoke on the Government railway policy, and declared tbat
all the resources qf tbe British Empire could not build the
Canada Pacific in ten years, as had been agreed on by the late
Cabinet. The system of the utilization of the great water
stretches was calculated to promote immigration to tbe North
west, and he pointed out that tbe immigration policy now in
force was a most liberal one. As for dissatisfaction in British
Columbia, he hoped it would yield to tbe common-sense view
of affairs. At present tbe people there wanted the road built
first, and surveyed afterwards. But the surveyors had not yet
been able to locate Ihe railway across the mountains. He
characterized the charge of disloyalty sometimes brought
against Eeformers as simply absurd, and reviewed various
measures of importance carried through by the Government,
alluding particularly to the loan effected by Mr. Cartwright,
which he declared to be a successful financial operation. He
further dwelt on the necessity of establishing a system of
statistics for the Dominion ; on the Gait letter ; and on the
probable effects of English legislation on Canadian shipping.
The hon, gentleman spoke for an hour and a half, and was

188 TOUR IN THE
listened to throughout with deep attention, being frequently
applauded. Mr. A. G. Jones, M. P., moved a vote of thanks, which was
seconded by Hon. P. C. Hill.
The MAyor, in putting the motion, said he was sure all
present would agree with him in thanking the Premier for the
interest and information he had displayed with regard to our
manufacturing and other industries.
The motion was then put and carried unanimously and
enthusiastically. Mr. Mackenzie, in acknowledging the vote of thanks, said —
I am exceedingly obliged, Mr. Mayor, for this generous vote of
thanks and for the complimentary terms in which it has been
proposed by the gentlemen present and submitted by yourself.
I hope I have said nothing to grate harshly upon the views or
feelings of political opponents, of whom there must be many
present. If I do not command their political support, I hope
my conduct will always be such as not to forfeit their personal
esteem. The Mayor then proposed three cheers for the Queen, which
were given, and with cheers for the Premier and the Mayor.
the meeting broke up.

PE ESBNTATION OF ADDEESSES AT DOECHESTEE
AND MONCTON.

Moncton, N. B., Nov. 2. — The Premier has everywhere
received a most cordial welcome from the people of the Mari
time Provinces. Mr. Mackenzie left Halifax at half-past seven
this morning to return by way of Moncton and Quebec, passing
over the new section of the Intercolonial, most of which is to
be opened next week for travel. At Dorchester the party was
met at the station by Hon. A. J. Smith, representative of tha

EASTERN PROVINCES. 189
county, Senator Botsford, the High Sheriff, and other promi
nent gentlemen, and by a large assemblage, who heartily
cheered the Premier on alighting from the train. The town
was gaily decorated with flags. The party were driven to the
residence of the Minister of Marine, where many of the chief
people met them at luncheon, and from thence to the county
buildings, where the Sheriff presented Mr. Mackenzie with an
address, to which he replied at some length, and was followed
by Hon. Mi-. Smith. Both speeches were warmly cheered.
When Moncton was reached a similar reception was accorded
the railway station being thronged with people, and Mr.
Wright, J. P., presenting on their behalf and on behalf of the
Town Council an address of welcome. Mr. Mackenzie replied,
and Mr. Smith also delivered an address, in which he disabused
the minds ofthe people of the notion which the enemies ofthe
Government had endeavoured to instil into them, of the
Premier being an enemy of the Maritime Provinces and their
interests, and assured them that no representative of theso
Provinces had ever gone to him with a just and reasonable
request to meet with refusal. In his speeches, both at Dor
chester and Moncton, Mr. Mackenzie also referred to the same
unjust attacks, which he took occasion to combat, but at the
same time impressed upon bis hearers that he was the guar
dian ofthe interests ofthe Dominion as a whole, and that it
was his duty to deal out an equal measure of justice to each of
the several Provinces, reminding them also that there must be.
everywhere reliance on individual effort. His visit was merely
intended as a hurried business visit, to see for himself into
matters connected with the public works in these Provinces;
nevertheless, it was a great gratification to him to be met by
so many frifends at the various stages of his journey, and
to receive from them so warm and kindly a welcome.

PEESENTATION OF ADDEESSES AT EIMOUSKI.
In accordance with the programme, which bad been admir
ably arranged, the Premier and his party, consisting of Mr. C.
J. Brydges, Mr. Schreiber, Mr. Buckingham, and others, arrived
at Eimouski, on their journey of inspection over the Interco
lonial Eailway, on Thursday evening, November 4, to meet
with a very warm and generous welcome. Before reaching
the station the train was backed down over the newly-con
structed branch railway to the pier. It then drew up to the
station building, were tbe Premier was saluted by a volley of
musketry. Entering carriages, the party were conducted to
the hotel, the houses on the route being in part illuminated.
Later in the evening the illumination was general, Chinese
lanterns being also hung in front of the principal stores, giving
to the streets ofthe place .an appearance of great brilliancy.
At half-past seven a procession was formed at tbe hotel, tbe
Premier riding in a carriage with the Mayor and Dr. Fiset,
M.P., and escorted by the bearers of torch lights. Many people
were in the beautifullly-lighted streets, and guns and rockets
were fired at intervals, as the procession moved onwards to
the station. Here was assembled a vast concourse of the
inhabitants, who thronged tbe waiting room and the approaches
thereto and crowded the platform outside. The waiting room
was handsomely and very profusely decorated with flags of
different nations, with designs in evergreens interspersed. A
carpeted dais had been prepared for the Premier and the other
speakers. Dr. Fiset, then, on behalf of the Mayor and citizens, read
both in English and French, and presented the Premier with
an address.

ADDRESSES AT RIMOUSKI 191
The Premier, who was loudly cheered, replied as follows : —
Mr. Mayor, Dr. Fiset and gentlemen, — I regret very much that
I am not able to respond in your own language, and tbat I can
only say a few words, in appreciation of what has been so
kindly expressed in your address in my own tongue. I am
exceedingly obliged for the warmth of the welcome given by
the Mayor, the member for the county, and the citizens
generally of Eimouski, of which this address and this recep
tion are tbe evidence. (Applause.) I do not at all forget that
in addressing a French Canadian audience in their own
Province, I may say for the first time, I am speaking to those
referred to in this address, as being the descendants of the first
settlers in Canada — the first explorers indeed of the country
which we are privileged now to inhabit in common. (Cheers.)
I have myself travelled over the route, traversed by Pere Mar
quette and his noble companions, many ofthe Jesuit Fathers,
who sought out the shores of Lake Superior and discovered tbe
sources of the Mississippi long before any English foot had tra
versed these wilds, and I cordially, acknowledge that we owe
much to the hardy and patriotic French adventurers of Canada's
early days, from Jacques Cartier down to the descendants of
that highly-distinguished traveller and discoverer. (Cheers.)
And it has always been a source of great pleasure and pride to
myself to be associated in the Legislature with my French
Canadian fellow-countrymen, who have come from such noble
stock, and to enjoy their confidence and friendship in our poli
tical and personal relationships. (Loud cheer*.) It so happens
that at tbe present moment I am the political leader of the
French Liberals and of the English Liberals. (Cheers.) There
was a time when I was simply a follower, among many, of a
French leader— (loud cheers)— and that time may come again,
when, as you know, Dr. Fiset, I shall be as willing to follow as
I am now obliged to lead. (Hear, hear.) For we are all obUged
in Canada, from motives of patriotism, and, I may say, from

192 ADDRESSES
motives of good will and a desire to do our part in our several
stations, to unite heartily together to secure tbe prosperity, the
' commercial and political advancement, the liberal and indepen
dent thought and action of our common country. (Cheers.) I
am particulary happy in having the opportunity afforded^me
of speaking to the people of the County of Eimouski, because
I do not forget that long ago, when a great English leader of
the Liberal party was unable at the general election to obtain a
seat for a constituency in bis own Province, tbe County of Ei
mouski generously gave him a seat in the Province of Quebec.
(Cheers.) It is not perhaps every county in this Province
which would have been so magnanimous, even for Eobert
Baldwin ; but I am glad, for the credit of my own Province, to
be able to add that Mr. Baldwin's Province reciprocated by
giving your French-Canadian Liberal leader, Mr. Lafontaine,
the seat for the County of York. (Cheering.) I dare say my
friend Dr. Fiset woUld not like to be compelled now to go to
to the County of York for a constituency, and he would not
think it convenient for me to come to Eimouski — though I may
come here to ask you to make me your representative, for all
that. (Great cheering and laughter.) And in case I may find
it necessary to follow the course of Mr. Baldwin, I avail myself '
ofthe present favourable opportunity of soliciting your votes
and your influence. (Eenewed cheers and laughter.) Tbe address
just presented to me refers to the geographical position which
Eimouski occupies as a probable seaport for ocean steamers in
the near future. I can assure you that nothing would gratify
my colleagues and myself more than to see a winter harbour
in the St. Lawrence, where our ocean steamers could land their
mails, freights, and passengers on our own shores, instead of
going to the port of Portland, in tbe United States. (Cheers.)
And any Government will as a matter of course be bound to
consider everything that can be said in favour of any place in
furtherance of an object so much to be desired. (Hear, hear.)

AT RIMOUSKI. 193
Meanwhile, it is gratifying to know that by means of the rail
road which now passes your doors, and which will be finished
entirely from end to end in the course of a few months, we will
be able to carry our passengers, our mails and our freight, if
we so desire, from the port of Halifax or of St. Jobn to the
Provinces in the West. (Hear, hear.) I again assure you that
I desire to do everything in my power to advance the prosper
ity of Eimouski and other ports on tbe Lower St. Lawrence.
Indeed, I would not be acting justly to the Province of Quebec,
or to the Dominion as a whole, if I did not devote
my attention as Minister of Public Works to any rea
sonable measure required to extend the interests of commerce
in connection with our great national artery, the St. Law
rence Eiver. (Cheers.) I hope before many years to witness
the fruits of the energy and sacrifice which the Canadian
people have put forth in improving the water courses and
building the canals in the West, in the bringing to the ocean
by our own mighty river a very large proportion of the freight
which now finds its way to New York and other ports on the
Atlantic coast, and I trust that you and tbe other communi
ties who have their homes on the shores of the St. Lawrence
may largely benefit by it. (Cheers.) The railroad now being
constructed, and which is nearly completed, will likewise give
to our friends in Ontario and tbe Western portion ofthe
country easier access to tbe seaside and to the beautiful scenery
in the Metapedia Valley, through which I passed this morn
ing, and which for want of the means of communication has
hitherto been closed against all visitors save those living in the
immediate vicinity. (Hear, hear.) You allude, sir, in this ad
dress to one little cloud as overshadowing our political horizop
— the position of tbe Eoman Catholic population of New
Brunswick in relation to the school question-, and you express
a hope that through the benign influence of Her Majesty the
Queen their position may be ameliorated. I have no doubt,

194 ADDRESSES
for my own part, that in New Brunswick, as well as in every
portion of the Dominion, all reasonable concessions will be
made, so as to enable both the Catholics and the Protestants
to unite cordially and to act harmoniously with each other in
promoting the work they have both so much at heart — the
cause of education. (Cheers.) I am satified that no reasonable
person would for one moment desire that the religious feelings
of any portion of our population should be in the slightest
degree' wounded by the action of the Government or
Legislature of any one of the Provinces. (Cheers.) But
where prejudices may have been aroused and strong
feelings evoked, time is necessary to calm men's minds,
and I have no doubt tbat in New Brunswick this great ame
liorating influence will result in bringing about such a settle
ment as will be reasonably satisfactory to both sides. (Cheers.)
Mr. Mayor, I have often alluded to a fact well known to the
students of history illustrative of the liberality of the French
people of Lower Canada. Long before the Jew had the right
to hold an inch of land even in Great Britain itself — long be
fore tbe Jew was permitted to occupy a seat in the British
Parliament — long before he could as much as voto for a mem
ber of Parliament, the Legislature of our own Province of
Quebec gave to his persecuted race perfect freedom and equa
lity. (Cheers.) And, still more to tbe credit of Lower Canada
be it said, this was before the union of the Provinces, when
there was no outside influence to produce such a result, but
when the fine old French people, pervaded as they always
have been, by tbe feeling to do justly and liberally to all men,
gave to the Jew those privileges in common with the rest of
the community which he was unable till years afterwards of
struggle and agitation to wring even from the English people
themselves. (Cheers.) I hope, sir, that this feeling of liberality
will continue to expand and extend, so that the narrow preju
dices of class and creed may be made to fall back before the

AT RIMOUSKI. 195
liberal views, thoughts and aspirations which must ever guide
and direct the councils of a great and enlightened people.
(Loud applause.) _ I would be glad to address you at much
greater length were I only able to speak in the language
which most of you understand best. Permit me to say in con
clusion that nothing would give me greater pleasure than to
look forward to the possibility of being able to do so at
some future time. I thank you with my whole heart for
the kindness you have shown me to-night. I attribute your
welcome to the true reason of my being at tbe head of
the Government of which my friend, Dr. Fiset, is a
hearty and generous supporter. (Cheers.) On my own
behalf, and on behalf of my colleagues, I thank you. I will
always bear in my heart the remembrance of the generosity
you haye to-night shown me, and it may prove to be a source
of pleasure, should I be spared, in years to come, when perhaps
I may be out of office and out of Parliament, to think that on'
the occasion of my visiting you at this^ time, on a mission of a
purely business and hurried nature, and not irith any hope
whatever of seeing so many of the people, I received in Ei
mouski so hearty, spontaneous and general a welcome. (Loud
and enthusiastic cheering.) Mr. Mackenzie then suggested that
perhaps bis friends would be gratified were Dr. Fiset or some
other gentleman to give the purport ofhis remarks in French.
Dr. Fiset spoke briefly in that language, remarking that
Mr. Mackenzie had made himself well understood, as was
shown by tbe plaudits of his bearers, and concluded by calling
for cheers for tbe Premier, which was responded to with great
enthusiasm. Mr. W. H. Stevenson then advanced and delivered an address,
signed by the employes of tbe railway.
Tbe Minister op Public Works replied :— Mr. Stevenson and
employes of the road, — I thank you cordially for tbe kindness
you have done me in presenting this address from a body of

196 ADDRESSES AT RIMOUSKI.
men who to some extent may be regarded as the representa.
tives of the interests of the working classes. Permit me to
remind you that in this country we are all workingmen.
(Cheers,) There is bere no aristocratic class. In order to
success and prosperity, each one must labour in his own par
ticular sphere, for his own interest and for the common good.
(Cheers.) And no one willing and able to work, need in this
country repine at bis lot, for toil brings to him advantages and
privileges which people in more favoured circumstances —
erroneously so regarded — in many other countries do not en
joy, foremost amongst which is independence through tbe
possession of the land. (Cheers.) As to the position of the
employes on tbe Intercolonial Eailway, you are doubtless
aware that I have taken care, whenever failures have occur
red in giving effect to contracts, tbat the workingman at least
was not deprived of his hardly-earned wages. (Cheers.) I hope
for the future all employes of the Government on this and on
every other public work will be treated in tbe same way, so as
to do full justice to them and secure in return the best possible
service tbey can render the country. (Cheers.) I thank you
again for this address, and I wish those over whom I am
placed as Minister of Public Works abundant prosperity and
happiness. (Loud applause.)
Many gentlemen having been introduced to the Premier, be
was conducted to his carriage and driven to the botel amid
much cheering.

SPEECH AT THE BANQUET IN MONTEEAL.
In rising to respond to tbe toast of " The Ministry of the
Dominion of Canada," at the Banquet to Mr. Frederick Mac
kenzie in Montreal, 15 Nov., 18*75, —
The Premier was received with deafening enthusiasm. He
said,— Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of Montreal : I am sure
the members of the Government present feel highly honoured
by the complimentary terms in which you, sir, have given
the toast now before us, and I feel much more than I can
convey the kind expressions you have used towards myself
personally as well as tbe kind words used by my friend the
late member for Montreal, the guest of the evening. Nothing
has given me greater pleasure than to be able to come here
to-night to join in that well-deserved tribute of praise which
you are paying to your late member, and with the feeling of
regret which every one of his late colleagues in Parliament
must feel at being deprived of bis services, but tbat feeling is
relieved by tbe knowledge that his place is so worthily filled
by the Chairman of this evening. (Applause.) I am well
aware that in giving the toast you have done, and in referring
to the Administration as you have done, it is chiefly on public
grounds that I am called upon as the head of the Administra
tion to respond to the remarks you have made, and the feelings
expressed by this meeting. Now, sir, I have been called on
lately to make a good many speeches, and I observe ubiquitous
reporters are here as everywbet-e else— that class of press
men to whom all public men owe so much for the polishing
off of their speeches, and the making of good grammar out of
their bad. (Laughter). But, on the other hand, there is a
13

198 SPEECH AT THE BANQUET
further side to tbe question ; that we are apt in public speak
ing to repeat ourselves, and they reproduce only too faithfully
everything tbat is said. I shall endeavour, in tbe few remarks
I shall make, to confine myself to subjects not dealt with
specifically in late addresses. (Hear, bear.) I had the pleasure
of visiting some of the remote parts of the Dominion, and of
witnessing the reaction that is taking place in Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick. (Hear, bear, and applause.) On my last
visit, two and a half years ago, I found a pretty strong feeling
prevailed in favour of close union with the Eeformers of the
West. (Applause.) On this occasion I saw a much stronger
feeling than I have witnessed before in favour of tbe same
course — (applause) — and, in fact, in tbe city of St. Johns, the
Opposition Press had about entirely disappeared. And although
I did not attend a political meeting there, but a meeting per
sonally complimentary to myself, still I had the pleasure of
knowing that a very large number of those who at one time
were opposed to myself and to tbe Government, were now
entirely favourable to us, and at this moment the Administra
tion stands stronger there than ever before. (Loud applause.)
I am aware that speeches out of Parliament are sometimes
inconvenient, when indiscreet people like myself have to utter
them — (loud laughter) — but I must endeavour to avoid commit
ting myself to any great extent, upon questions tbat may
have to be discussed in Parliament and have not yet been
discussed in public. (Hear, hear.) To be sure, sir, there have
been several speeches made of late — (laughter)— some very
remarkable speeches made of late — (bear, hear) — some of a
very unsavoury character ; some made with all the recklessness
of despair and with all the bitterness of malice. (Hear, hear.)
I dare say you have all read Hudibras, and you will all
remember a very terse description of character there that
is given of a certain Prince and his daily food, and I could
not but be reminded of the mental pabul im dealt out to their

IN MONTREAL. 199
followers by the Conservative leaders lately, and wondering if
its peculiar character was because of the physical nutriment
which they received. The Hudibras narrative says : —
The Prince of Cambays' daily food
Is asp and basilisk and toad ;
Which gives to him so strong a breath,
He nightly stinks a queen to death.
(Loud and prolonged laughter). If the Conservative leaders
have not yet succeeded in killing their followers in this way,
tbey are more hardened characters than I take them to be.
One of the gentlemen — (laughter) — tbe member-elect for the
Western metropolis — and I regret to say it, for I have been on
terms of personal intercourse with him for years in Parliament ;
I was in Opposition when be was a Minister— I regret to say
he condescended to attack tbe living who are not able to
defend themselves, and the honoured dead that have passed
away. I was shocked beyond measure to find that to serve
political purposes the memory and history of Chancellor Blake
should be dragged in the dirt to wound the feelings of his
living son. (Hear, bear, from all parts ofthe house). I regret
it all the more because I revere the memory of Chancellor
Blake as one of the great leaders ofthe Eeform party in 1847,
working in harmony with Eobert Baldwin and Mr. Lafontaine
— because be was the man of all others who introduced reforms
in legal practice in the West — because, perhaps, be was the
only man in that day fitted to assume the highest judicial
position in Canada West ; and it was a matter of regret to the
leaders of tbe Eeform party, and to the rank and file of that
party, when the leaders felt called upon by public opinion to
urge upon him as they did to accept tbe office, of Chancellor
of the Court of Chancery. In accepting that office, he did so
with great reluctance, as a man in the prime of life must
have done to leave the halls of legislation where he was so
eminently calculated to shine — (hear, hear) — and no one who
has read his great speech on the then burning question of tbe
13*

200 SPEECH AT THE BANQUET
day — the clergy reserves — would doubt but what ho would
have been tbe first man of bis time, if he had remained in
political life. (Hear, hear.) And, sir, tbe Chief Justice of
tbe Province of Quebec was attacked in tbe same manner, after
he bad obtained a seat upon tbe Bench, for getting there in
an unworthy manner. (Shame, shame.) Mr. Mackenzie re
marked tbat on the floor of the House be flattened that scandal,
and continued: He (the Chief Justice) had no intention of
occupying that position until after he left the House. It was
only after the House rose that I felt compelled, greatly against
my will, to press upon him tbe acceptance of the highest
office in the gift of the Crown in his native Province.
(Applause.) And of Mr. Dorion and tbe late Chancellor Blake
we might well repeat the words of the poet : —
A statesman, yet a friend, of sonl sincere,
In action faithful, and in honour clear,
Who btake no promise, served no private end,
Who gained no title, and who lost no friend.
(Loud applause)! When I find public men designating one
of tbe judges as " Sam Blake," I do think it is high time for
the public opinion oi the eountry to interfere — (hear,' hear, and
applause) — and it is all the more so, because there is no jndge
that ever lived in Canada, or ever will live in Canada, who is
more entitled to the undivided respect of the community than
is Vice-Chancellor Blake. (Applause.) I pass over this mat
ter with these remarks, but I felt that I could not dare to
address a public meeting after the production of that speech,
without at least making some reference to what has passed,
and defending those not in a position to defend themselves.
(Hear, hear.) And when political parties, or tho leaders of
political parties, resort to what has been resorted to so
long by the Conservatives, it is strong evidence of the
utter want of any ability to say anything that is worth
hearing. (Hear, hear, and applause.) We have been talked

IN MONTREAL. 201
about as Archy McKellar, ; Geordie Brown, Ned Blake,
and Sandy Mackenzie. (Laughter and applause.) Who ever
heard of any Eeformer speaking of Jack Macdonald and
Charley Tupper ? (Loud laughter.) I think, sir, it is Captain
Marryat who relates an incident that occurred in his presence,
where some one was pluming himself upon being a gentleman,
but at the same time using some strong terms and regretting
that the other person be was talking to was not a gentleman.
The person who was reproached said, "Are you a gentle
man?" "Yes, sir," was the reply, and the rejoinder, "Then
I thank God that I am not one." (Loud and prolonged laugh
ter.) Well, sir, I am not at all surprised — an old politician
like my friend Senator Penny and myself will not be surprised
— at tbe tactics the Tory leaders — (hear, hear) — and the Tory
party have employed ever since our assumption of office. We
were in tbe habit of endeavouring to conduct ourselves at least
in a respectable manner, and of managing the business of the
House, while on the Opposition side, in such a way. (Hear,
hear.) I recollect having been referred to very often by Dr,
Tupper as the distinguished member for Lambton. (Laughter.)
I recollect being thanked forthe assisi ance^I have given J these
gentlemen ; but the moment tbey assume the same position,
there are no terms too* hard to be used, no attack too horrible
to be made by the newspapers they have, no language
too offensive to their opponents. Every action is misrepre
sented ; every bill or measure introduced is misrepresented ;
everything connected with tbe history and political character
ofthe man misrepresented ; private affairs, tbat have no con
nection with State matters, are misrepresented ; and it is the
policy of these men, apparently, to follow such a course as
will drive every respectable man from public life, so that they
can have it all to themselves. (Hear, hear.) Well, sir, I un
derstand their tactics. (Hear, bear, and applause.) I understand
their tactics, I say ; I fought with the beast, not at Ephesus,

202 SPEECH AT THE BANQUET
but at a much nearer place, not .so long" ago — (laughter) —
and I understand the nature of the political party who rejoice
in the name of Liberal Conservatives in Canada. (Hear,
hear.) But at the same time, be it far from me to say anything
disrespectful personally. I allude simply to the general policy.
We recollect how Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Lafontaine were treated;
we recollect how one gentleman, now living in this city, was
denounced to-day as " steeped to the lips in corruption," and
received into the Cabinet confidence to-morrow ; we recollect
always, and will always recollect, that the howl of the want of
loyalty has been raised when everything else fails. I may rejoice
in an exemption in that respect, for I am told I am as loyal as
Sir John A. Macdonald. (Hear, hear.) It is well to have such a
certificate of character from so distinguished a source — (laugh
ter) — and I assure him I give it all the prominence it deserves.
(Eenewed laughter.) /But, sir, to come down to matters that
have been treated of in these speeches. It may be worth while
to notice what tbey are. I have read Dr. Tupper's speech,
as delivered, with much care, and I have failed to find any
thing in it. (Laughter.) He says he opposed this Govern
ment because tbey have no principle. Well, I think tbat the
very reason why Dr. Tupper should support us. (Laughter
and applause.) I consider that a man should always endeavour
to add to his own party such converts as he can get. (Ap
plause.) Then, s\r, he proceeds to discuss various matters with
a want of intelligence and experience which is extraordinary
in a man of such abilities. To be sure, he approaches the ques
tion of free trade and protection very gingerly — (laughter) —
and I defy any one after reading his speech to rise up and say
what be is. I recollect that he and' his friends have endeav
oured to represent us as hostile to Canadian manufactures, but,
sir, there was no one who offered more violent opposition to
tho Government when they imposed the additional 2J per
cent., and he denounced us because he said we were entering

IN MONTREAL. 208
the " thin wedge of protection." (Laughter.) His words are
on record, gentlemen. I have invited Sir John A. Macdonald
and Dr. Tapper, and I invite them again to-night, to tell me
whetber.they are Protectionists or Free Traders. (Applause.)
I have boldly defined myself as a Free Trader in principle, and I
have stated in my public speeches before and after I assumed of
fice that it was impossible for us in Our circumstances, and con
tiguous as we are to tbe United States, to carry out in practice
the views of Free Trade which I have. (Loud applause.)
When they adopt a Free Trade policy on the other side, we
shall be all the better able to adopt it here — (loud applause) —
and our policy is simply at the present time, as it will be at all
times for tbe future, to adopt that course in commercial legis
lation which will best serve tbe interests of our own country.
(Loud and prolonged applause). Now, gentlemen, there was
another subject upon which Dr. Tupper waxed eloquent, and
if I recollect rightly, Mr. Thomas White waxed eloquent on
the same subject when be went to advocate the claims of his
party at Hamilton. (Laughter.) That was- tbe iniquity — the
monstrous iniquity, it was called — of building the Georgian Bay
branch ofthe railway. I had the pleasure of having a deputa
tion visit me on this point from Quebec, and a number of gen
tlemen from*Toronto, and I may have been mistaken, but I
was impressed with the belief that both-deputations went away
satisfied that the Government did the right thing — (applause) —
in that transaction. I am quite aware that at Toronto it may
be well for the demagogues to represent that this road was
being built to benefit Quebec, and it may be possible for simi
lar persons to represent elsewhere tbat because it was built on
Ontario soil it was absolutely an Ontario enterprise. (Laughter).
Tbe truth is simply this,— the Government determined not to
build that part of the line between the west end of Lake Supe
rior and Lake Nipissing, where there was no population — not
one soul — where the difficulties to be overcome were enor-

204 SPEECH AT THE BANSfcUET
mous ; but they did determine to get the road into the western
country as quickly as possible, through the Ottawa Valley, to
place Quebec and the Eastern Provinces in as favourable a
position as Ontario was already in, to go the nearest way they
could to the North West. It may have been a mistake — I
don't think it was — (applause) — and I am prepared to defend
that policy — (hear, hear) — and have defended it ; but there is
one thing quite certain, that the motive I have uttered was
a righteous motive, to do ample and full justice to all sections
ofthe country — (hear, hear) — and I only ask those gentlemen
who made the speeches at Toronto — I invite them to come
here and make tbe same speeches ; and, vice versa, those who
made speeches here to go to Toronto and make them there.
I make speeches on an intelligent policy which is based on
principle. (Applause.) Now, sir, the great accusation — and
it is a fair accusation, if true — the great accusation brought
against the Administration by Sir John A. Macdonald in his
speech delivered somewhat late in the evening, I believe —
(laughter)— was incapacity on the part ofthe Government. Well,
sir, I admit that if tbe charge is proved against the Govern
ment, it is a fair charge upon which to expel them from power.
(Hear, hear.) There may be a wicked Ministry, a useless
Ministry, an incapable Ministry, and incapable Administrations
may sometimes do as much harm to the country as a positively
wicked Administration would do, but when a man in the Oppo
sition ranks charges me with incapacity, he will not object if
we call, as lawyers say, for a bill a particulars. (Hear, hear.)
He has not condescended to do this, except in one or two mat
ters which I will notice hereafter.
A Voice — The Colorado bug.
Mr. Mackenzie — My friend reminds me that Sir John
blamed us for introducing the Colorado bug. Tbat would not
be so much incapacity as wickedness. Whilst I object to that
insect, the assertion was incorrect in an historical point of view,

IN MONTREAL. 205
because the bug came in a year and a half before we came in.
(Laughter). However, I say to you very frankly, if the ques
tion lay between the bug and the retention of Sir John in
power, I should say the people would choose the bug. (Loud
laughter). The only other point of any significance in which
he assailed the Administration is this. He said, " Mr. Mack
enzie is no doubt capable ; he is as loyal as I am ; but he is in
bad company ; he has the Hon. Lucius Seth Huntington with
him. At this tbe audience applauded in the most enthusiastic
manner, and rising with bumpers, drank the health of tbe
hon. the Postmaster-General, and cheered for several minutes.
When the cheering subsided and the audience were seated.
Mr. Mackenzie continued : I don't know what particular
charge they have against the "Hon. Lucius Seth Huntington.
He is not a very ferocious-looking man. (Laughter.) He is of
a kind different from me ; be is of tbe kind that " sleep
well o'nights" — (laughter and applause) — and is not likely to
do any one serious harm. But then Sir John said that be
made a speech, representing that Canada would flourish
better as an independent country. Well sir, I think Sir
John had two or three colleagues in his life time, who took
stronger ground than that, claiming that it would flourish
better as an adjunct to the United States. It is too
trifling, this, gentlemen, — (hear, bear) — and when I find a
leading statesman taking ground that there shall be no specu
lative opinions tolerated, I say it is carrying trifling too far.
(Hear, bear.) Her Gracious Majesty did not hesitate to confer
a title upon a very distinguished Canadian politician, long
after be took the same ground Mr. Huntington did, on one
occasion ; and surely, sir, if Her Majesty can afford to pass by
an expression of opinion on tbat point, the Canadian Govern
ment can afford to follow such a noble and liberal example.
(Applause.) But, sir, the real truth is this, — the poor man bad

206 SPEECH AT THE BANQUET
nothing to say, and had to furbish up something for the motley
crowd he was addressing. (Applause.) I propose now to
deal with the main charge. What was the condition of affairs
when we assumed office ? Was it not a scene of turmoil
from one end of tbe Dominion to tbe other ? Had tbe discon
tent in British Columbia not commenced and commenced some
months before that ? Had not the Government been called
upon for the settlement of their claims before we assumed
office ? Had not the time elapsed for them to commence
building tbe railway ? Had they not a year before — when they
had a majority that could have done anything — had they not
sent one of their politicians, who is to be found anywhere and
everywhere, to Manitoba, with a retinue of their own men to
assume the Government in defiance of the people of the coun
try ? (Hear, hear.) Did they not by mismanagement kindle
the blaze of insurrection — a blaze they were unable to quench ?
When we assumed office we found the Province burning with
discontent— found one man branded as a murderer. We found
that man had obtained $3,000 from Sir John in order to go
away. We found this temporizing with power in every quar
ter, and we were obliged to take the matters in band and settle
them, and this is tbe man who dares charge us with incapacity.
(Loud applause.) Sir, during the time that the scheme of
Confederation was being prepared, they acknowledged that I
lent them all the aid in my power; that I did everything tbey
asked ; that I voted against many warm friends of my own in
order to leave them without excuse ; and yet, sir, that docu
ment was so much bungled tbat it is difficult to say what is
the grammatical reading of many of its provisions. We had
the Separate School difficulty in New Brunswick, under their
management, and we have had to settle tbat. That is another
evidence of our incapacity. I was over the Intercolonial Eail
way the other day. It was of vast importance tbat the best
possible road should be chosen. I opposed the roadjthey'chose.

IN MONTREAL. 20T
I know that Sir John A. Macdonald, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Tilley,
Mr. McDougall and Mr. Howland took the same view that I
did ; but to serve a particular purpose and secure a particular
vote they deliberately set aside their own convictions rather
than break up the Government and go out of office, and as one
of them afterwards, when he quarrelled with tbe others, said,
in a pamphlet be published, " We threw $8,000,000 into the
sea." But then you have this so-called capable Government
and tbe present incapable Government, and we shall see by-
and-bye what the result of their respective policies will be.
(Applause.) Trade and commerce, cannot bo forced — it will
take the shortest channel to its ultimate destination. When I
inform you that a railway company have already built a line
more than half way from Fredericton to Biviere du Loup and
tbat the road pays, you will see, gentlemen, where the incapa
city was. This, sir, we have always sought, and I have taken
ground very strongly in advance of any Ministry, to have
Canadian statesmen do Canadian work for Canadian interests.
(Hear, hear.) You are aware that the present Administration
in Great Britain, composed of Conservative gentlemen — for the
Conservatives in England are not like the Conservatives in
Canada. — (Cries of "No, no") — you are aware that the Conserva
tive Government have endorsed that principle by acting as the
present Government desires in these matters. But, sir, there
was a Canadian at Washington as commissioner some years -
ago. (Laughter.) You know who that was, and you know
what the treaty was. Let us take a few specimens. Why, sir, he
gave away the free navigation ofthe St. Lawrence forever, and
got— what? Liberty to navigate Lake Michigan in the United
States for ten years. But then, you know, he is a very capable
man, this leader of the Opposition. (Laughter.) There is a
great river falling into tbe sea at the north west end of this
continent, the Yukon; and the Stickeen rises in our territory
but passes through Alaska to the sea, at Fort Wrangel. In

208 SPEECH AT THE BANQUET
1825 a convention was entered into by Eussia with Great
Britain guaranteeing fo Great Britain the free navigation of
this river for all time to come. Well, do you know this capa
ble diplomat of ours at Washington actually got this same thing
secured in the Washington Treaty ? (Laughter.) He did not
know we had that forty years ago. (Laughter.) Some time
ago there was a canal built, called tbe St. Clair Flats canal.
We had the evidence of an United States General of Engineers
that it was being made on tbe shoals on our side of the
channel. I know the place better than I do Montreal.
Everyone knows the canal is on our side, but Sir John
A. Macdonald graciously accepted — (ob, oh) — the privi
lege of going through these waters. (Laughter.) He
attacks the tariff of last year very seriously, but as usual
gives in no bill of particulars. He says 2£ per cent, is no use
because we said it was temporary, and no manufacturer would
base operations upon it. I never said it was temporary. (Ap
plause.) Mr. Cartwright never said it was temporary. (Ap
plause.) On the contrary, we took the ground that we thought
it might suffice, but we bad no idea that we could do with any
less for a long time. (Applause.) But I invite Sir John in
his next speech to show where we said anything of the kind.
(Applause.) But then he contends that Mr. Cartwright and
the Ministry show incapacity because they made changes dur
ing the sittings of the House. But with what face can Sir Jobn
speak of the tariff in that way, when we remember tbat three
or four years before they changed their entire tariff between
six and half-past seven — we bad one tariff in the afternoon, and
after dinner another entirely changed — right about face, as it
were. (Laughter.) And we are charged with incapacity
because we allowed full discussion of the subject, and took tbe
sense of the House in making some necessary changes. No
tariff was ever taken through any Parliament without having
to submit to severe discussion and to give rise to deputations,

IN MONTREAL. 209
and the Ministry that would fail to give attention to represen
tations would show not its incapacity but its imbecility. (Ap
plause.) But, sir, of all things in the world, these two gentle
men—Messrs. Tupper and Macdonald — ventured to discuss the
Pacific Eailv^ay, and found fault with the Government plan.
Now, sir, that plan has been much misrepresented. Let us
review for a moment the position in which we found this ques
tion. When British Columbian steued for admission to the Domi
nion, you will remember they asked for assistance to build a
railway ; tbey wanted, in short, to have a waggon road built
within a certain time after the union took place, and, as soon
aB the surveys were made, that $1,000,000 a year should be
spent. These terms were a little extravagant ; but how can
you describe tbe incapacity of the man who said to British Co
lumbia, " You are not asking enough ; we will do more ; we
will build your railway from Lake Nipissing to your waters
on the Pacific ; we will undertake to finish the whole thing,
and it will not cost you one dollar?" I have always been at a
loss to understand bow any Minister came to make such an
engagement. I protested as earnestly as possible against its
wild extravagance, and urged tbe impossibility of carrying out
tbe engagement. Now, sir, who is it tbat showed incapacity ?
Any one introducing such a scheme would show bis incapa
city. They promised to begin work at once, but when we
came in we found the promise was broken ; that the two years
had elapsed, and that the surveys were barely commenced.
Though the Intercolonial was through a settled country, it has
taken eleven years to build; they undertook to build one
across the entire continent, six times as long as the Intercolo
nial, within the time that it has taken to build the Intercolonial.
Any man may ask bow on earth did any one propose such a
scheme ? What was the motive ? One motive may have been,
no doubt, the vast patronage vested in them. I cannot under
stand the reason for such arrangement, and I can only charge

210 SPEECH AT THE BANQUET
it to gross incapacity. (Hear, hear.) Well, sir, we were treated
with a dissertation in that speech on the election law and the
Supreme Court law, and he said "that was my Bill. " It is true
that be introduced a Supreme Court bill twice. He had it in
side and outside the Cabinet. I offered to support it, but he
failed to carry it. In saying the Bill was his, he committed a
slight error, for if you look in the public accounts for 18*70 or
18*71 you will find an item setting forth that a lawyer in To
ronto, for drafting the Supreme Court Bill, was paid $500.
(Oh, oh, and laughter.) I may be incapable, but I never em
ploy a lawyer to draft my Bills — I write them myself. (Ap
plause.) Very material changes were made by Mi-. Founder,
and I may say Sir Jobn did aid tbe Bill through Parliament as
much as any person in his position could do. I have not
waited until now to say that — I said it in my. speech at
Sarnia, and, for that and any other assistance he rendered,
I thank him ; but to say that the Minister of Justice took his
Bill and carried it through, is simply to say he was unable to
carry it, and to prove his incapacity. Mr. Mackenzie adverted
to tbe Insolvency Bill. It was dangling before Parliament
for years. He (Mr. Mackenzie) did not hold tbe same
views as bis colleagues, but when the commercial world of
Canada came forward and asked for it, they took it up and pas
sed it ; therefore, showing our " incapacity." (Laughter.) Mr. M.
continued ; There is another matter dealt with in that speech I
propose to speak of. You have seen the accusation that he
was driven to take Sir Hugb Allan's money " because the Ee-
formers were spending two dollars to their one," and wild accu
sations have been used since about a letter of Mr. Brown's,
from which we learn he collected a small sum of money — be
tween two and three thousand dollars. I said what I had to
say on this subject, in a speech delivered at Sarnia, Nov. 25th,
18*73, which I will read :—
" Sir John said he would be able to prove that I had spent

IN MONTREAL. 211
" enormous sums in aiding my friends in their elections
" throughout the country. I am not aware of any large fund
" got up and used in that direction, I never spent any money in
" the elections, and never received any money to spend in that
" way. Money was contributed to the central fund for the pur-
" pose of defraying miscellaneous legal expenses, and amounted
" to between three and four thousand dollars. This is the entire
" amount which bas been spent by the Liberal party at tbe
" elections. I make this statement on my own responsibility,
" as leader of tbe party ; and I am prepared to challenge con-
" tradiction. I trust that those who have been intimate with
" me from my boyhood in this place, will know sufficient of
" me and my faults^ not to accuse me of having made statements
" that are not correct in fact. Snch, sir, was the position at
" tbe general election. What individual members may have
" spent at their elections, I have nothing to do with. Every
" man strove to secure his election ; and I think it is quite pos-
" sible — in fact, exceedingly probable — tbat members on both
" sides in the excitement of the election spent money impro-
" perly. It would be saying a great, deal for human nature, if
" we were to assert that in no case did any candidate spend
" money improperly. As far as I am concerned, and as far as
"my knowledge extends, the elections were carried on in the
" most upright manner it was possible for a political party to
"act." Now, sir, that is my answer to these wild charges, and I
invite them to make any investigation, so far as I am concerned,
they may please. You referred to-night, Mr. Chairman, very
briefly to the steel rail business— (bear, bear and laughter)—
and the result of it in Montreal was tbat one man who seemed
to deserve it was ridden upon a rail himself. (Laughter.)
Now, sir, I have a word or two to say about that, because I see
that some papers not friendly and some papers that are friendly
have mistaken one portion of my letter. The newspaper

212 SPEECH AT THE BANQUET
charge was that I bought from a firm in Montreal, of which my
brother was a member, 40,000 tons of steel rails. My reply was
that I did not buy rails from any firm in Montreal; that
tenders were publicly advertised for, and contracts were given
out after more than a month's notice. I stated simply in addi
tion, not that it was at all necessary to the other part, tbat
besides this, no brother or relation of mine ever in any way,
directly or indirectly, received or would receive one cent profit
(Hear, hear.) Now, mind you, the charge was tbat I bought
them of a firm in Montreal, and my denial was that I did not
buy them from any firm in Montreal. The course was pressed
upon the Government by Mi-. Sandford Fleming, in conse
quence of the exceedingly low state ofthe market. After consi
dering the matter for some days I acceded, and the quantity
was subsequently increased, owing to the then favourable state
of the market. If ever there was a fair transaction upon this
earth, it was this transaction, and these people know it, and
when I said the statement in the Gazette was " a deliberate false
hood," I said it because Mr. White knew that tenders were on
tbe table of the House of Commons weeks and months before
a single rail was shipped in England or delivered in this coun
try — (loud applause) — and the attempt to make a side assertion
as to whether my brother was legally or illegally a partner,
was a most reckless one. (Hear, bear.) I hold that he had a
perfect right to be a principal of tbe firm who took tbe con
tract ; he had as good a right to contract in bis own name, in
dividually, if he thought proper, as any one in the Dominion,
and I vindicate tbat right, but I said tbat in the communica
tions, as a matter of fact, that he was not interested, not as a
matter that wanted defending. (Hear, hear, and applause.) I
see that it has been stated since that it was a bad transaction.
Well, that is fair criticism. I believe it was a very good trans
action. (Laughter and applause.) " Well," it is said, " tbey
wore bought too soon." I don't think they were. (Applause.)

IN MONTREAL. 213
If we had succeeded in getting the Minnesota people to lay
their portion of tbe boundary, the rails would at this moment
have been laid down to Winnipeg. We will be able next year
to lay 100 miles of these rails between Lake Superior at a
cheaper rate than ever a railway was built on this continent.
(Hear, hear.) Still, I don't object to criticism on the policy
of buying the rails; I admit it is fair criticism, and
I am prepared to meet it on tfie floor of the House of
Commons. (Loud applause.) That I don't object to ; but
I do object to insinuations against a Minister or Administra
tion upon supposition. (Hear, hear.) It was worse than
that, for they knew what they were saying. (Hear, hear.) I
don't pretend to be free from personal ambition any more than
any other man. On the other hand, I foel the greatest pos
sible pride in occupying the highest possible position in this
country. (Cheers.) I have ambition, to continue in that posi
tion, and, at all events, we mean to do it. (Loud cheering.)
But above everything else, I have ambition to be able to vin
dicate my own manhood before the country. (Eenewed
cheering.) Ministers may rise and fall ; I may at tbe next
election be rejected by my own constituency. (A voice : " No
you won't.") I don't intend to be, mind you — (laughter) — and
one Minister may go out and another come in, and the time
come when I pass on to private life. I look to that, and I tell
you, sir, I feel more pride in having — as I believe I have —
the confidence of this country than I have in being its
Prime Minister. (Loud cheering.) I would rather sacrifice
political position to-morrow than do an unworthy act which
would subject me to the just censure of an honest man. (Loud
and prolonged applause.) But L feel, sir, that I have taken up far
too much of your time— (Cries of No, no ; go on)— and I always
regret when I have to say one word personally, yet in this it
is my desire, as far as political discussion is concerned, to
elevate it and keep it free from strong epithets. I have no
14

2.14 BANQUET IN MONTREAL.
desire to indulge in these or ever use any unfair mode in tbe
discussion of public questions. It is not my intention to do
so. We all owe it to the country that is our own. If I am
compelled to characterize the incapacity of those that have
brought charges against me, I hope I shall do it in such a way
that will not leave me open to charges of dealing with gross per
sonalities. (Applause.) I have merely to say that during
times of great depression any Ministry labours under
personal disadvantage. We are told by Sir Jobn A. Macdonald
in his remarkable speech than when he assumed office in 1854
the country passed though a period of unexampled prosperity.
Well, gentleman,I have too vivid a recollection of what I suffered
myself in 185*7 in a small way to take that in. (Laughter.) Those
that were engaged in commercial life, those engaged in busi
ness in Montreal, know that the farmer, and mechanic, mer
chant, and professional man, down to the speculator in city
lots, could tell tbe difference between '5*7 and '75. Mr. Mackenzie
preferred the prosperity of "75 to '5*7. The only point that had
been alleged in this connection was, we did not give sufficient
protection, Well, we have to reply to that, perhaps it is true,
1 but at all events we gave a great deal more than you did.
(Loud applause.) I thank you very kindly indeed for your
kindness to myself personally to-night and on former occasions.
I have had tbe opportunity of meeting gentlemen in this ball
previously, "and I hope I shall do so in tfie future, and whilst I
live I shall never forget the kindness ofthe public of Montreal to
myself and the hearty support they have accorded to me and
the Government, through Mr. Jette — (applause) — Mr. Mac
kenzie and Mr. Workman, and, as they will do in a few days,
through Mr. Devlin— (loud and continued applause) — and I
hope the acts of the Government will be acts capable of prov
ing at once they have administrative capacity. (Loud and pro
longed applause.)

SPEECH AT THE ST. ANDEEW'S DINNEE, OTTAWA.

In acknowledging the toast of " Her Majesty's Ministers " at
the St. Andrew's Banquet, November 30, Mr. Mackenzie said :
— Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen,— I have no doubt
most of the ladies and a considerable proportion of the gentle
men present desire that I should be brief, and as I understand
we are limited to twelve minutes each, I promise you not to
trespass beyond the'prescribed time. As one of Her Majesty's
Ministers for this colony, I am very much obliged for the
manner in which you have received the toast just proposed, and
although I cannot reply for the adviser of our Sovereign in Her
own peculiar home, I still venture to say that that particular
toast will be drunk in every part of tbe British Empire with
as much enthusiasm as that of the Local Ministers. (Hear,
hear.) It is a proud and happy circumstance in this country,
at a meeting like the present, composed chiefly of Scotchmen,
Scotchwomen, and their friends, that we gather, far from the
shores that gave birth to ourselves or our' forefathers, under
the shadow of tbe British flag — -the Union Jack of England,
Scotland, and Ireland — with Her Majesty's Eed Coats upon
every side of us. (Cheers.) A few years ago 'a very insi
gnificant portion of the people of Canada, and I hope as
insignificant a proportion of tbe people on tbe other side
of tbe Atlantic, were looking to the severance of tbe mother- .
country from the colonies, as a matter of course, and only
a matter of time. There has been within the last year or
two, I am happy to say, a great change in public opinion in
England upon tbat subject. I can scarcely call tbe extinction
of the theory of severance in Canada a great change — there
were so few who ever entertained it. (Hear, hear.) We know
that' now the heart of the entire nation is sound upon the

216 ST. ANDREW'S DINNER,
question, and where the doctrine of separation but a short time
ago grew and flourished, there are very few who think of it,
but a great majority are at once in favour of uniting still firmer
the bonds that hold together all the portions of the earth that
own our Sovereign's sway. (Cheers.) I was gratified beyond
measure when, a few days ago, I read, as I have no doubt you
all have read, that excellent speech delivered at Edinburgh by
one of the foremost Liberals of Great Britain — one of Mr.
Gladstone's late colleagues in the British Government — the
Eight Hon. W. E. Forster — in which he referred at length and
with so much force to the Colonial Question. Some members
of tbat school of British politicians to which thc Eight Hon.
gentleman belongs were for some time supposed to look rather
askance upon tbe colonies and colonists, believing it was not in
the interests of the Empire that the connection should be pro
longed indefinitely. The speech to which I have alluded is a
practical renunciation on their behalf, I take it, of their peculiar
views. We know it is not the opinion of Her Majesty's advisers
in Great Britain tbat the colonies should take to themselves a
separate existence. No one desires more earnestly the conti
nuance of that connection than the Eight Hon. the Secretary
of State for the Colonies, and that all his colleagues share very
cordially his views in tbat respect we have no reason to doubt.
(Cheers.) I have already referred to the speech of Mr. Fors
ter, and I may add that it cannot be otherwise than gratifying
to find him, one of the greatest of British statesmen, taking
that high and patriotic and reassuring ground which he took
in his speech at Edinburgh. (Hear, hear.) May we not hope,
sir, that there is no gentloman in public life possessed of any
influence, possessed of any public character, who will give
utterance to or entertain other sentiments than those
expressed by him upon that occasion, and carried into
actual practice by Her Majesty's present Government in
England ? (Hear, bear.) May we not hope, too, that there

OTTAWA. 21V
shall be no doubt as to the intimacy of the relationship to be
maintained between the English-speaking people now forming
the British Empire and the Crown and Person of Her Majesty,
and all Her successors to tbe end of time ? (Loud and prolonged
cheering-.) It is a grand and glorious thing to reflect upon
that these English-speaking people, planted in such numbers
all over the world, can be united by one firm and lasting bond,
at any rate, which will always keep their hopes and aspir
ations in one direction, and that the Sovereign of Great Britain
will continue to preside over, guard and guide their destinies,
even if they are themselves scattered over the entire face of
the globe ; while their very existence will be a guarantee not
only for the peace of nations, but for tbe progress of civili
sation and enlightenment over the whole surface of the earth.
(Cheers.) And, sir, it is the proudest position that Great
Britain could occupy, so far as the relations of men with each
other are concerned, tbat the overshadowing power and influ
ence which she bas long possessed in giving shape to the
destinies and relations of nations, are always exercised with a
view to tbe amelioration of the condition of mankind — that
she has the will as well as the power to maintain in a great
measure the peace of the rest of the world — and that pros
perity, peace and contentment have followed her flag all over
the earth, upon whatever soil it has ever been planted. (Loud
cheers.) May its march of triumph never be interrupted,
until it shall become tbe one absorbing and powerful instru
mentality in the bands of Providence for the prevention
of war, the extension of commerce, and the promotion of
the arts of peace. (Cheers.) I feel very proud to be
able, as a member of Her Majesty's Government in this
country, to assure you that to whatever extent the Adminis
tration of which I have the honour to be a member may have
it in their power, they will contribute to the rearing of this
political cairn— if I may use that Scottish term upon this

218 ST. ANDREW'S DINNER,
occasion— which will be the most conspicuous monument to
the honour of humanity that has ever been erected or ever
can be. (Cheers). As Scotchmen, while ever loyal to tbe
sentiments which tbe memories of our native country engender,
and while at a meeting of this kind craving permission to
speak in terms of eulogy of its excellence as we speak of- no
other, let us never forget tbat in the community in which we
move we form but a small portion of the whole, — a community
which contains within its borders, and all upon equal terms as
the subjects of our Queen, people of almost every nationality
under the sun — but especially the people of England and Ire
land, whose numbers respectively largely exceed our own.
While, therefore, we remember with gratitude the land of our
birth, while our hearts are fired with the warmest patriotism
when its history and its heroes are recalled to our minds, let
us remember that we have greater duties and responsibilities,
not of a sectional but of a national character, and that we
ought to devote ourselves faithfully and honestly to tbe task
of creating and upholding in Canada a Canadian spirit,
Canadian sentiment, and Canadian enthusiasm— in short, a
spirit of nationality always British, but still Canadian. (Loud
cheers.) Anything tbat Her Majesty's present Ministers in
Canada can do to promote these national sentiments' will be
cheerfully and willingly done, and with a zeal and earnestness
which, I hope, canot be excelled by any who may be our sue.
cessors. (Hear, hear.) I sincerely trust that this, one of the
highest duties devolving upon the Government of this country,
and the preservation of harmony with the Imperial authorities,
will be kept steadily in view, and that all other British colonies,
in whatever quarter of the globe situated, will unite with us
in pursuing a policy which will be for the benefit and tbe glory
of the whole. (Cheers.) The patriotism of tbe British people
and Government will always be with us, and we in turn hope
always to reside under the shadow of that grand old flag— at

OTTAWA. 219
onc3 the symbol of power and civilization. Eest assured, sir,
all that can be done by the Imperial Government for the ad
vancement of the colonies, will be done. Of course we have
om- own duties to perform, and our share of responsibility to
bear. The British colonies are' rapidly approaching in popula
tion the number of tbe mother-country, entirely exclusive of
English-speaking residents in India, and the time will probably
soon come when tbey will be tbe more powerful. It is to be
hoped they will always be found ready to do all in their power
for the promotion of the interests of the great nation from
which they sprung and to which tbey ©we allegiance. I oan
scarcely forbear giving utterance to these sentiments because
I know tbey are the expression of the aspirations which
animate the great body — might I not say the whole ? — of
the Canadian people. (Cheers.) They will find — indeed have
found — a ready response in this audience, and in my heart of
hearts, I believe tbat their cultivation would lead to national
consolidation, national power, and national wealth ; that while
benefiting ourselves, we should benefit our fellow-creatures on
other parts of the earth's surface. I had the pleasure of
visiting my native country during the year, and of conversing
personally with Her Majesty tbe Queen, and I can assure you it
was with a feeling of reverence I enjoyed that high privilege,
for of all the Monarchs who have ever reigned either over
this or any other people, none has better deserved that loyalty
and love so heartily manifested by all Her subjects to our good
Queen Victoria. (Cheers.) I am sure we all earnestly wish
that she may long be spared to exert Her beneficent influeace
and the wise supervision she has always exercised over Her
vast empire. (Loud cheers.) I am much obliged, Mr. Presi
dent, for your kindness in drinking to Her Majesty's Ministers,
and I hope they will always be' worthy of the trust reposed
in them. (Loud and prolonged cheering.)