"I've been photographed like this, I've been photographed like that, I've been photographed in falling snow, In a long furry hat."

No doubt these winter photographs do give some of our friends in the old country the belief that it is the normal habit of young Canadian ladies to stand tranquilly in the deep snow, enjoying a temperature of 33 below zero—(laughter);—and it would certainly give a more correct idea of our weather were our Canadian ladies and gentlemen to be represented, not only in bright sunshine, but also amongst our beautiful forest glades in summer, wearing large Panama hats, and protected by mosquito veils; but I suppose there are obstacles in the way, and that even photographers, like other mortals, find it difficult properly to catch the mosquitos. (Renewed laughter.) I think we can show we have good promise, not only of having an excellent local exhibition, but that we may in course of time look forward to the day when there may be a general Art Union in the country; a Royal Academy whose exhibitions may be held each year in one of the capitals of our several Provinces; an academy which may, like that of the old country, be able to insist that each of its members or associates should, on their election, paint for it a diploma picture; an academy which shaft be strong and wealthy enough to offer, as a prize to the most successful students of the year, money sufficient to enable them to pass some time in those European capitals where the masterpieces of ancient Art can be seen and studied. Even now, in the principal centres of population, you have shown that it is perfectly possible to have a beautiful and instructive exhibition; for besides the pictures bequeathed to any city, it may always be attainable that an exhibition of pictures be had on loan, and that there be shown besides the productions in both oil and water-colour of the artists of the year. It may be said that in a country whose population is as yet incommensurate with its extent, people are too busy to toy with Art; but, without alluding to the influence of Art on the mind, which has been so ably expressed in your address, in regard to its elevating and refining power, it would surely be a folly to ignore the value of beauty and design in manufactures; and in other countries blessed with fewer resources than ours, and in times which, comparatively, certainly were barbarous, the works of artists have not only gained for them a livelihood, but have pleased and occupied some of the busiest men of the time, the artists finding in such men the encouragement and support that is necessary. Long ago in Ireland the beautiful arts of illumination and painting were carried on with such signal success that Celtic decoration, as shown in the beautiful knotted and foliated patterns that still grace so many of the tombstones and crosses of Ireland and of the west of Scotland, passed into England, and, more strangely, even into France. The great monarch, Charlemagne, was so enchanted with the designs and miniatures of an Irish monk, that he persuaded him to go to work at Paris, and for nearly two centuries afterwards the brilliant pages of French Bibles, Missals, and Books of Hours showed the influence of the culture, the talent, and the tastes of Erin. Surely here there should be opportunity and scope enough for the production of the works of the painter's hand. The ancient states of Italy, her cities and communities of the Middle Ages, were those who cherished most their native painters, and the names of many of those who covered the glowing canvases of Italy with immortal work are known often from the designation of some obscure township where they were born, and where they found their first generous recognition and support Here in this great Province, full of the institutions and churches founded and built by the piety of past centuries, as well as by the men now living, there should be far more encouragement than in poorer countries of old for the decoration of our buildings, whether sacred or educational The sacred subjects which moved the souls of the Italian, German, Flemish, and Spanish masters are eternal, and certainly have no lesser influence upon the minds and characters of our people. And if legendary and sacred Art be not attempted, what a wealth of subjects is still left you,—if you leave the realm of imagination and go to that of the Nature which you see living and moving around you, what a choice is still presented. The features of brave, able, and distinguished men of your own land, of its fair women; and in the scenery of your country, the magnificent wealth of water of its great streams; in the foaming rush of their cascades, overhung by the mighty pines or branching maples, and skirted with the scented cedar copses; in the fertility of your farms, not only here, but throughout Ontario also; or in the sterile and savage rock scenery of the Saguenay—in such subjects there is ample material, and I doubt not that our artists will in due time benefit this country by making her natural resources and the beauty of her landscapes as well known as are the picturesque districts of Europe, and that we shall have a school here worthy of our dearly loved Dominion. It now only remains for me to declare this gallery open, and to hope that the labours of the gentlemen who have carried out this excellent design will be rewarded by the appreciation of a grateful public.



In June 1879, his first visit was paid to Quebec, and the answer to the Mayor's greeting is given below:—

AU MAIRE ET LA CORPORATION DE LA CIT DE QUBEC:—Messieurs,—C'est avec le plus profond sentiment de plaisir que nous nous trouvons au milieu de la population de Qubec, et que nous entendons, des personnes autorises parler de la part de cette ancienne et fameuse cit, les mots de loyaut et l'assurance de dvouement exprims dans votre adresse, et je vous prie de transmettre aux diffrentes institutions et socits que vous reprsentez ma reconnaissance de la cordiale et bienveillante rception qui nous a t offerte aujourd'hui.

La loyaut est une fleur prcieuse qui ne se fane et ne se fltrit pas facilement, s'il lui est seulement donn de crotre l'air frais de la libert. Elle fleurira ici aussi longtemps que le Canada existera, et sera chrie, comme aux anciens jours, le furent les lis-d'or, pour lesquels tant de vos anctres versrent si noblement leur sang.

Comme reprsentant de la reine, permettez-moi de vous dire que sa majest est assure de la loyaut et du dvouement de ses sujets de la province de Qubec, qu'ils soient issus de pres venant des Iles Britanniques, ou que l'ancienne France les rclame comme soutenant, dans un nouveau monde, l'honneur, le renom, la bravoure et la fidlit au souverain et au pays, qui distingurent leurs anctres.

J'exprime ces sentiments dans ce beau langage qui, dans tant de pays et durant des sicles, fut regard comme le type de l'expression concise et nette et le plus habile interprte de l'esprit et de la pense humaine.

Le monde entier en l'employant, se rappelle avec vous que c'est la langue qui, dans l'eglise, se rpandit avec loquence des lvres de Saint Bernard et de Bossuet; et qui, avec Saint Louis, Du Guesclin et l'hroque Pucelle d'Orlans, rsonna sur les champs de bataille.

Cette place sera toujours identifie avec la race glorieuse qui produisit ces grandes mes; et cette cit, place comme elle l'est, sur un des sites les plus imposants du monde, semble digne de ceux dont le langage est parl dans tout l'ancien Canada, et qui couronnrent de demeures civilises le rocher lev qui est aujourd'hui le Gibraltar de notre puissance.

Bien des changements se sont oprs depuis que la premire flotte europenne jeta l'ancre sur les bords du Saint-Laurent, mais aucun vnement ne souilla jamais les glorieuses annales de cette forteresse, de cette place si chre a l'histoire. Car ne fut-ce pas d'ici que jaillirent ces influences qui changrent en riches habitations de nations puissantes, ces vastes dserts inconnus? Ne fut-ce pas de Qubec que les paroles de foi, les imprissables richesses de la science et de la civilisation se rpandirent travers un nouveau continent? C'est d'ici que les grandes rivires furent dcouvertes, et que les flots, devenant les grandes voies du commerce, furent forcs de partager le travail de l'homme.

Qu'y a-t-il d'tonnant ce que vous chrissiez tant ces souvenirs, et que, de l'avis et avec l'assistance de Lord Dufferin, vous ayez rsolu de faire tout ce qui est en votre pouvoir, non seulement pour conserver ce qui rappelle au voyageur vos jours de gloire, mais encore pour embellir le plus possible la prcieuse relique qui vous a t lgue en votre charmante cit.

Les mesures que vous avez prises au sujet de l'embellissement de votre ville, mises au jour tout rcemment, cres par votre gnrosit, et encourages par l'esprit sympathique de votre dernier gouverneur- gnral, qui aucun effort noble et gnreux ne fit appel en vain, prouvent que vous ne permettrez jamais que l'intrt et la beaut qui attirent tant de milliers de visiteurs, chaque anne, vers votre cit soient dtruits par un utilitairianisme mal entendu; mais que vous tiendrez conserver en son intgrit le seul grand et antique monument de la grandeur du Canada, que ce pays possde.

En conclusion, permettez-moi de vous assurer que nous souhaitons sincrement que vos voeux les plus ardents, quant ce qui regarde l'accroissement du commerce de votre port, se ralisent, et que les eaux de la grande rivire qui coule au pied de votre promontoire puissent constament tre couvertes des vaisseaux, superbes et solidement construits, que vos artisans peuvent produire avec tant d'habilet et en aussi grand nombre.

Personne ne dsire ce rsultat plus sincrement que la princesse, que vous avez si gracieusement acclame et qui se joint moi pour vous exprimer mes sincres remerciements; elle qui en venant ici, doit tre regarde comme la reprsentante personnelle de notre reine issue de cette maison royale, qui reut comme fiance Henriette de France, fille du grand monarque franais, dont une des gloires de son rgne fut l'honneur qu'il rendit au voyageur illustre, l'intrpide Champlain, ce nom jamais identift avec tout ce qui nous entoure.



At Laval University he said:—

Monseigneur et Messieurs,—La rivalit laquelle vous faites allusion dans votre loquente et bien-veillante adresse, et qui, dites vous, existe encore entre les sujets de sa majest au Canada, ne devrait jamais s'teindre surtout quand cette mulation a pour origine le dsir d'obir aux lois dans leur libre et juste application, et les nobles efforts d'un chacun pour placer chaque province au premier rang dans la reprsentation de notre pays et faire ainsi progresser le Canada dans la voie de l'ordre et de la prosprit.

De mme que votre magnifique difice domine votre cit, de mme la pense dominante de votre universit est d'tre le phare sur lequel se dirige le peuple dans l'esprance que cette mulation tendra nous diriger vers de hautes et nobles destines.

Nous entrons avec le plus profond intrt dans ces salles o vous avez entrepris cette tche glorieuse, et nous concourrons de tout coeur dans les souhaits que vous venez d'exprimer, dans le voeu que nous formons pour votre prosprit.

Nous nous sommes rjouis, en dbarquant il y a deux jours, de voir que vos autorits, avec un si grand nombre de population, manifestaient de la manire la plus nergique et avec une noble gnrosit la confiance qu'ils avaient plac dans le reprsentant de leur souveraine.

Soyez persuad que je comprends toute l'importance de cette confiance. Ce n'est pas moi personnellement que ces tmoignages s'adressent, mais au reprsentant d'un gouvernement assurant une libert laquelle on ne songe pas dans d'autre pays, et qui se trouve unie aux anciens usages et l'autorit modre sous laquelle le peuple de notre empire a trouv le bonheur, la puissance et l'union.

Permettez-moi de vous remercier de votre bien-veillante reception, et de vous dire que je dsire avoir ma part de l'approbation que le public accorde vos travaux, en continuant l'octroi des prix inaugur par Lord Dufferin, qui savait si bien apprcier la valeur de votre universit, et qui, en sa qualit de savant, connaissait tout le prix de l'enseignement qu'on y donne.

Ici les lvs placs sous vos soins, reoivent tous les jours une large part des connaissances que vous avez puises des sources prcieuses dans diverses contres du globe; car les voyages sont aussi propres instruire que les livres eux-mmes, et parmi vos professeurs il y en a qui ont parcouru beaucoup de pays et vu beaucoup de peuples diffrents, et qui ont suivi en Amrique la pratique des fondateurs du Christianisme, en apprenant les langues trangres, en voyant l'ancien monde, ses habitants, tout en s'initiant sa littrature immortelle.

Les fondateurs de cette institution ont pourvu aux moyens de faire suivre des cours complets de mdecine, qui jusqu'ici n'avaient t ouverts qu'a un petit nombre de personnes; car dans votre institution la medcine s'enseigne d'aprs une mthode digne de la nation qui a produit Broussais, Bichat, Corvisart et Pinel.

Les sciences naturelles sont enseignes des hommes qui, en prenant part au dveloppement et aux dcouvertes des richesses naturelles de ce vaste continent, continueront l'oeuvre de leurs ancetres, les pionniers du Canada.

Cette partie de la puissance renferme des richesses naturelles encore inconnues et qui n'exigent que l'esprit d'entreprise pour leur exploitation.

C'est aussi un pays o l'or, les marbres prcieux et les serpentines aideront augmenter par leur valeur les revenus de la population qui doit neanmoins compter principalement sur la culture du sol et qui dans l'elevage des bestiaux augmentera sa prosprit en approvisionnant les marches de l'Europe.

Je suis trs honor de votre rception, et mon dsir le plus sincre est que la Divine Providence permette que l'Universit Laval soit toujours le flambeau des arts et des sciences pour la noble et gnereuse population de Qubec.



At Toronto during the same year the Governor-General had occasion to speak as follows:—

Gentlemen,—In rising to return you my heartfelt thanks for the loyal and cordial manner in which you have received the toast of the health of the Queen's representative, I thank my learned and honourable friend on my left for the manner in which he has proposed that toast, and you, gentlemen, for the way in which you have been good enough to receive it. I knew that in a Canadian company that toast would be received with all honours, because I believe there is no nation in this world which has more profound love for its Sovereign than the Canadian people. (Loud cheers.) With reference to the Prince of Wales, to whose visit you have made allusion, I know that he was delighted, as was also the Duke of Connaught, with the visit they paid to Canada, and they have both expressed a confident hope that during my term of office they may revisit Canadian soil. (Loud cheering.) With regard to ourselves personally, I shall accept with gratitude everything that has fallen to-night from your eloquent lips, sir, with regard to the Princess, my wife. (Great cheering.) But as for myself, I must demur to the excessive kindness of some of your expressions; and although it may be a bold opinion for a layman to lay down in the presence of so many distinguished in the law, I believe my learned friend has almost for the first time—and I hope for the last—in his life departed from that attitude of strict impartiality which it is his duty, as well as my own, to maintain. (Great laughter and cheering.) I have a theory on the subject, of which I will let you into the secret. My honourable friend has confided to me that it was his painful duty to make some very severe observations from the Bench to-day. I think that it may be possibly owing to a natural reaction of feeling, that he has found it almost obligatory to make some observations in my favour to-night, almost too kind (Loud laughter.) We have been delighted with the reception we have met with in Toronto, and I must say that it has been a matter of good fortune, in my opinion, that we have been able to visit this great city at a time when its citizens are occupied with the great show which is being held within a short distance of its limits, and which is a most remarkable exhibition to have been set on foot and carried out by any city. (Cheers.) And in a few days we shall not only have had the pleasure of inspecting the exhibits, but of seeing some of the live stock which is now enjoying such favour not only in Canada, but also, luckily for Europe, over the water. That examination will be for me one of peculiar interest. I look forward to that trade developing a new and—as I trust it will be—a permanent source of revenue to this country. (Cheers.) I see you have Landseer's pictures of "Peace" and "War" upon your walls. I know of no more striking contrast that can be seen between peace and war than at Quebec, for instance, where under the frowning guns of that magnificent fortress the air is daily full of the lowing of cattle and bleating of sheep, and vast numbers are to be seen being embarked upon the large and fine vessels of the Allan Line for transport to Europe. (Cheers.) We may congratulate Canada not only that she has begun that trade, but that she has done so in so energetic a fashion, that though the shippers expected there would be but little traffic so late this year, the trade has been carried on with increasing volume throughout the autumn, and depend upon it, it will bring you good return, not only to the farmers already here, but by bringing more people to Canada. These people are the class you want, and I believe that for every few hundred cattle or sheep you send to Liverpool, you have every prospect of getting in exchange a stout English farmer. (Loud cheers.) Gentlemen, I hardly expected that upon this, my first official visit, I should have had the opportunity of expressing my gratitude to the Toronto Club for entertaining me in so friendly a fashion at so pleasant a banquet. In meeting you here to-night, I feel I am in the presence of a representative assembly of those who lead the intellectual and commercial life of this city, one of the greatest already, and at the same time one of the most promising, not only in the Dominion but on the American continent. Before you, then, gentlemen, I wish I could find words warm enough to give you an idea of the manner in which we have been touched by the efforts made in our behalf by the citizens of Toronto. (Loud cheers.) It would not be reasonable to seek any justification of such kind feeling, but, at all events, I can say to you that, if a hearty and earnest interest in every phase of your national life can be taken as any excuse for such welcome, this justification, at all events, exists to the full. (Loud and prolonged cheering.) In one sense, also, I am no stranger to your affairs, for I do not feel that in studying Canada I have embarked on a sea hitherto unknown to me. It is not only since my arrival here that I have watched with unflagging enthusiasm the current of events which is so surely leading this country to the full enjoyment of a great inheritance, for long before we landed on your shores much of your history and of your present condition was well known to me. A brief visit, paid many years ago, could give me but little real insight into your condition, but every man in England who has had anything to do with public life has, since the Confederation of the British North American Provinces, considered his political studies as wholly wanting if a pretty thorough knowledge of your resources and position were not included in his survey of the Empire. (Cheers.) Confederation has had this advantage, that your destinies have been presided over by men who had weight and authority at home, and who were able to put before the English people, in attractive form, the resources of this country. Especially was this the case during the six and a half years Lord Dufferin has been in this country; for his speeches, giving in so poetical a form, and with such mastery of diction and such a grasp of comprehension, an account of your material and political condition, were universally read and universally admired. (Loud cheers.) Perhaps in former days, and before the country had become one, so much attention would not have been given to your affairs, but since Confederation we all know in England—every politician in England knows—that he is not to consider this country as a small group of disconnected Colonies, but as a great and consolidated people, growing in importance not only year by year, but hour by hour. (Great cheering.) You now form a people for whom the Colonial Office and Foreign Office alike are desirous to act with the utmost strength of the Empire in forwarding your interests; and in speaking through the Imperial Foreign Office, it is impossible that you should not remember that it is not only the voice of two, three, or four or five millions, as the case may be, that you speak, but the voice of a nation of over forty millions. (Great cheering.) As I said before, I believe that in former days perhaps the interest was not so lively, although perhaps it would be unjust to say that too strongly, because within the last few months, as well as in past years, we have had striking examples of how willing Great Britain is to undertake warlike expenditure for colonies by no means as united or as important as Canada. (Prolonged cheers.) But the feeling with regard to Canada as a mere congeries of colonies, and Canada as one people and Government, may perhaps be compared to the different feelings that a mother may be supposed to have in the pride with which she may regard a nursery full of small infants, and the far different pride with which she looks upon the career and stature of her grown-up and eldest son. (Laughter and cheers.) To be sure, as it is with all sons and all mothers, little passing and temporary misconceptions may occasionally occur, and which only show how deep in reality is their mutual love. (Laughter.) The mother may sometimes think it sad that her child has forgotten some little teaching learnt on her knee, and that one or two of the son's opinions smack of foreign notions—she may think that some of his doings tend not only to injure her, but himself also and the world at large. (Great laughter.) Perhaps, sometimes, he thinks on his part that it is a pity old people cannot put themselves in the place of younger natures. (Uproarious laughter.) But if such is the tenor of the thought which may sometimes occupy the mother and the child, let no one dream for a moment that their affection has become less deep, or that true loyalty of nature is less felt. (Loud cheering.) They are one in heart and mind; they wish to remain so, and shall remain so; and I should like to see the man who would dare to come between them. (Tremendous cheering.) In saying this, gentlemen, I express what may be regarded as my first impressions of the feelings which animate you, and I believe that when I leave you, my last impressions will be identical. (Loud cheering.) And now, gentlemen, the topics on which a Governor-General may speak without offence are somewhat limited—(laughter)—although he is expected to be the advertiser-general of one of the largest countries in the world—(great laughter and applause)—an empire so large that the study of its proportions is, I think, much more like the study of astronomy than the study of geography. (Laughter and applause.) It is perhaps best that he should speak on generalities; but in making my first appearance among you I may be expected to record other general impressions. I may perhaps be permitted to mention a subject which is generally understood as giving a good opening for conversation and acquaintance, and likely to lead to no serious difference of opinion, namely, the subject of the weather. (Roars of laughter.) I can now speak with some authority upon that momentous topic—(laughter)—because I have now spent a winter, a spring, a summer, and part of an autumn in Canada, and I believe that any one who has had a similar experience with me will agree that the seasons and climate enjoyed here are singularly pleasant and salubrious. (Cheers.) You have, gentlemen, real seasons—there is a real winter and a real summer. (Loud laughter.) You are not troubled with shams in that respect—(laughter)—no shoddy manufactures of that nature are imported over here from Europe, where winter is often like a raw summer and summer like a wet winter. How different has been the reality of your winter, for as an old woman once wrote home to her friends in Scotland, "All the children here may run about in the snow without wetting their feet" (Great laughter and cheers.) We have only to look at that column on which a splendid bunch of peaches is hanging to see a summer trophy which should bring many to our door; but it is only a small sample of a vast crop of a similar nature which you have in Western Ontario, for as I am informed by my honourable friend on my right, Mr. Mackenzie, the peaches are often given to the pigs. (Great laughter.) The pleasant and bracing seasons of Canada can be enjoyed in a country without its equal, for nowhere has the settler a more varied range of choice in the scenery, the locality, the soil which will finally determine him where to found a home. His fortune may be compared to that of a man entering one of those new houses where each may have his own flat—a magnificent abode, where, if he wish not to travel, far, to be easily reached and visited by his friends, he may remain in the rooms of the ground floor—our spacious Maritime Provinces, where he will find himself very near his fishmonger—(cheers and laughter)—close to the old tradesmen with whom he has dealt in Europe, and warmed by a great kitchen well-furnished with a store of Pictou coal. (Laughter and cheers.) If he prefer other apartments he may ascend to those great and most comfortable rooms, our ancient and populous Provinces of Quebec and Ontario—the first-floor rooms of our Canadian mansion, which are so amply provided with the old-fashioned associations which he may love; while, if still more active, he may select accommodation in the vast chambers of the second floor—the wonderful districts of the North-West, which have been so bountifully furnished by beneficent Nature, that he will require but little capital to make his abode exactly according to his own taste. (Loud cheers.) And if he prefers another and still more airy location—(laughter)—he may go on again and inhabit our recently erected and lofty storey of the Rocky Mountain District, near which he would again find an ample supply of coal, nearly as good as that which he found "down below." (Applause.) He will be none the less fortunate when he makes the acquaintance of the master of this modern mansion, when he finds that everything is ruled in order and prosperity by him, and that his name is the Canadian House of Commons. (Loud applause.) And now, dropping all fanciful metaphors, I must speak in more serious terms for a moment, and express my admiration for that I most able House, the excellence of whose debates would be a credit to any assembly. (Cheers.) During its session I have sometimes been reminded of an exclamation of the late Baron Bunsen, the German diplomatist and author, whose residence in London as Prussian Ambassador at the Court of St. James's has caused him to be affectionately remembered in England. Chevalier Bunsen, looking on at the proceedings of the House of Commons, said that to him it was a marvel how an Englishman could ever rest until he had sought to become a member of that Assembly, where the Ministers of the Sovereign, and they who endeavoured to win a share in the government of a powerful people, met face to face as champions of different policies to discuss before the country the principles which should guide a mighty nation. As in England, so here, let no one turn his back on political life as too hard, as bringing too much contention, or as occasioning too much unpleasantness. One of the worst signs of a country's condition is, when they who have leisure, or property, or social influence look upon public life as too dirty for them, and hang back from the honourable rivalry, allowing other hands to have a commanding share in government. (Hear, hear.) I am confident that this will not be the case here, and long may it be before a Canadian prefers his ease, if he may command it, to that noblest labour to which he can be called by the voice of his fellow-citizens, a share in the government of his country, in her Parliament. (Cheers.)

In striving to be a member of the Dominion Parliament, or to have a potent voice in the election of such a one, each man, whatever may be his circumstances, must feel that it is a high and proper ambition to do what in him lies to direct the policy of this Royal Commonwealth, which sees its will expressed by the Cabinet—which is but a Committee of the Parliament elected by the people—carried out loyally and fully by the Executive head of the Government. (Cheers.) To be sure you may say to me, you are speaking in ignorance—the Governor-General is not allowed to be present at the debates of Parliament. (Laughter.) Certainly, gentlemen, I am not allowed to be present and never have been. (Renewed laughter.) I have never even followed the example of my eminent predecessor, who has left me such a heritage of speeches at the Toronto Club. (Laughter and applause.) I have followed his example in making a speech, but I have not followed his example in another case, for I am informed that he has heard debates of the House concealed by the friendly shadows behind the Speaker's chair. (Loud cheers and laughter.) I have never placed myself in that position, and of course my knowledge is entirely derived from reports—of course I do not speak of newspaper reports. (Roars of laughter.) That is quite impossible— (renewed laughter)—because I am fully conscious that we should not put our trust in printers—(great laughter)—but I speak of other reports which are more trustworthy, and for which, of course, my responsible Ministers are responsible. (Laughter.)

I shall mention a particular rumour that has reached my ears, which is to the scarcely credible effect that the current of discussion is often not quite so tranquil as might be assumed by outsiders, looking only at the harmonious outline of the buildings in which the members meet (Great laughter.) Perhaps the reported occasional quickening of the political current, and the hurried words to which it gives rise, occur only because pure panegyric is distasteful, and a wholesome criticism is on the other hand preferred.

Believing this, I shall only venture to express the opinion, that if any spoken words fly too swiftly it is because one bad habit, and one only, exists among the politicians of Canada. It is this—and I am sure you will realise the melancholy significance of the fact to which I am so reluctantly compelled to allude—it is, that Canadian politicians do not bring their wives with them to Ottawa. (Uproarious laughter.) I hope the recently developed doctrines of constitutional duty may still allow a Governor-General to take the initiative in making a suggestion, and my suggestion would be that the ladies should favour us with their presence at Ottawa, for I am certain that an alteration in this practice would soon put a stop to the reports to which I have drawn your attention, which some people may think may detract from the position of our celebrated, and alas! at Ottawa, too often celebate politicians. (Roars of laughter.) And now, gentlemen, I have only to thank you repeatedly and most earnestly for your welcome, and the citizens of Toronto I would thank, through you, at large for the extreme kindness with which they have been pleased to receive us. But I believe, gentlemen, it is not mere kindness that is shown by such demonstrations as those we have recently seen. If it were that only, it would perhaps lose some of its significance. In the display made we have seen the outpouring of the heart of a people whose loyal passion is strong for the unity which binds a great History to a greater Present, and which, under the temperate sceptre of our beloved Queen, is leading Canada and Britain together in freedom to an assured and yet more glorious Future. (Cheers.)



During a visit in 1879 to St. John, a city then suffering from the effects of a disastrous fire, he said:—

Although there may be temporary pressure, and partial failure in trade, not a year elapses that does not indicate progress made in the material welfare of the country as a whole. The Dominion is steadily and surely rising in wealth, in unity of feeling, in all that makes a nation. Our territories are enormous, and no one need travel far in any Province, but he will find new clearings and fresh settlements; while land in abundance and of great excellence, as compared with much in the old country, can be had almost for the asking.

Throughout our greater Britain, and steadily and surely upon these our eastern coasts, the people increase from decade to decade, notwithstanding the great attractions offered by the prairie lands of the interior. No one can look at the district you inhabit without feeling certain that this increase will continue. Impatient, restless, and ignorant of his true interests would that man be, indeed, who, under such circumstances, would not desire to tread in the steps of his fathers, to face, with British pluck and spirit, any difficulties that may arise; and to rejoice that his lot has been cast in that Empire which has withstood every danger, whose might has been moulded by centuries, and whose flag has never waved over any people whose character has not been ennobled by the free institutions it represents.



In reply to an address of the City Corporation, he said:—

To THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COMMONALTY, ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK:-Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen,—The dignified and truthful words in which you recall the trials through which many of your ancestors passed in this country, now the happy home of their descendants, remind me how strong to-day among you is the feeling of the duty of patriotism—a duty, the fulfilment of which I rejoice to think is accompanied by no burden, but brings with it the enjoyment of much political advantage. We have found with pleasure that sufficient time has been at our disposal during this, the first year after our arrival in the Dominion, when there have been necessarily duties which have demanded attention at the capital and journeys to be undertaken in other parts—to allow us to return to those Maritime Provinces where we were first welcomed by a loyal people, and to visit St. John, which must be regarded as the commercial capital of even a wider district than is contained in New Brunswick itself.

Accept our thanks for meeting us here, on behalf of your city, and for the genial reception tendered to us. I should indeed have considered our first survey of our Dominion most incomplete had we been unable to stay awhile among you.

Much we have been unable to see; many places in which we should wish to spend some days, and where we might observe mining and other industries successfully followed, we must hope to visit another year. In St. John we arrive at once at one of the centres of life and activity on these our eastern coasts. We observe with the greatest satisfaction the evidences of the energy you bring to the aid of our common country, and the important place you fill in promoting the welfare of our Federation. The British people and foreign countries alike look upon the Dominion as our Empire's eldest son, in whose life and character the nature which has made the mother country stronger, the older it has grown, is seen and recognised by all. You are entering on a glorious manhood, which will, in future ages, stand forth in the beauty of strength and pride of freedom, to be known in history as asserting a place among the mighty of the earth.

The district is the scene of events wherein widely different actors have played their parts, and interesting, indeed, is the development of the story of which your harbour and town have been the theatre. Two centuries ago the adventurer only knew this place—his company stealing along the coast in small and battered craft, seeking a settlement, obliged to guard against the savages of the forest, yet full of visions of a great future for his new home, and endeavouring, almost in vain, to interest Europe in his schemes. But the years peopled the shores with sturdy colonists, who pushed their way, although held down by difficulties of transport, by distance from other settlements, by wars of race and by mutual jealousies. Now we see a land whose natural loveliness and fertility is turned to the best account, connected with all the life of Europe and America by countless channels of communication, and using the arts of modern civilisation to make the utmost of its political and geographical position.

In expressing to you our gratitude for the welcome you now give us, accept our best wishes for your welfare, and let us utter a fervent hope that the energy here exhibited, which no depression in trade can master, and which even the ruin of fire has only been able, temporarily, to affect, may receive full reward in the future prosperity of your loyal and flourishing city.



During His Excellency's visit to Fredericton, the capital of the Province of New Brunswick, he replied as follows to an address:—

TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FREDERICTON:—Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen,—This is not the first time, as you remind me, that the Queen's children have visited your people, and have received at their hands the proofs of an affection for our Sovereign which animates all Her Majesty's subjects. The Queen has now reigned for a longer period than has been vouchsafed to most of our monarchs, over a prosperous and united nation, whose strength has, during her life, been greatly increased by development and consolidation of this her great Dominion. Her Majesty possesses here the love of a people more numerous than was the English nation when it achieved the glories which the trumpet of fame, moved by Shakespeare's breath, made a household word among all nations.

In Canada, I am able to receive with pride testimonials of respect, reverence, and love for her rule, from men whose Government represents a force, if population and material resources be taken into account, far greater than that possessed of old by England, even in those days which ring with the deeds of her heroes, and have been called the "spacious times of great Elizabeth."

And while we must look upon this country as rapidly becoming one of the moving influences of the world, we cannot forget what an advantageous variety of position and power, within the sphere of the Dominion, is possessed by the various Provinces. Here, in the Province of which this city is the capital, you have the great ocean and highways so near you that your brave and hardy maritime population can furnish your mercantile marine with many of the best sailors in America. In the territory, comprised within your limits, you occupy a central position through which much of the land traffic of this part of the American continent is likely to be conducted, and your climate gives to all who cultivate your soil abundance of agricultural resources in corn and pasture land.

It may not be unappropriate now, when you give us your kindly and hospitable welcome to the capital of your Province, to ask you to receive with our thanks the expression of our hope that the members selected as the representatives of the Province, and who assemble here, may be granted wisdom by the Most High to further the welfare and promote the best interests of a true and loyal people.

During this visit to New Brunswick, he said, in reply to the Warden and Members of the Municipality of Kings County:—

Gentlemen,—The duties connected with the high office with which I am honoured cannot indeed be considered to impose any heavy burdens, when their performance leads me to visit populations so kindly in their sympathies as are those of this Province, where we meet men always glad to testify their affection for the institutions under which they live by their reception of the representatives of the Queen. Perhaps in no other country in the world is it possible for the representative of any sovereign to travel for thousands of miles, and to be everywhere greeted with the same assurances of contentment with political condition and affection for the throne. I thank you, especially on the Princess's behalf, for the words you have spoken in reference to her. She will always associate herself gladly in anything tending to the welfare of the people of this Dominion. In so doing she will fulfil the wish of her father the Prince Consort, whose desire it was that his children should identify themselves with the interests of our Colonial Empire. I hear with gladness the assurance you give of the firm and unswerving loyalty of the people of the county of Kings, and I desire to tender to them my sincere thanks.



The first visit to Toronto took place in 1879. A loyal and kindly address having been read, His Excellency replied:—

Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen,—I remember well that the first time I saw Toronto was when, a good many years ago, the city was pointed out to me, where far off, over the waters its houses were visible from a spot not distant from Niagara. This first gave me an idea of the size and importance of your town. Men who were then with me told me that thirty or forty years before there would not only have been nothing visible at that distance, but only a very small settlement when viewed much nearer. But just as the city can be seen from afar, so is its position now so important that you cannot think of Ontario, wide as are its limits, or indeed of Canada itself, without seeing in the mind Toronto, the capital of our most populous Province. Here are combined things rarely found closely united, namely, great commercial prosperity with great literary activity. If you are proving that you can lead the way in commerce, it is as great a distinction that you can, by the ability of your literary men, do much towards guiding and influencing the thoughts of your fellow-citizens of the Dominion. I thank you for your loyal words in our Queen's name. They express the feeling I expected to find among you, but I must speak my grateful acknowledgments for the cordial manner in which you have given utterance to them. Adhesion to our Empire and love for its Sovereign I knew I should find; but the character of this great reception, the magnificence of your preparations to welcome the representatives of the Sovereign, form a demonstration for which I confess I was not prepared. It has been our fortune to be kindly received by great communities, both in the old world and in the new; but I never returned my thanks with a more heartfelt gratitude than I do now to you, the citizens of Toronto, for the manner, at once so splendid and so sympathetic, in which you have been pleased to receive us. In December last, delegates from many of the towns of Ontario came to Ottawa to give us their greeting. Accompanying the addresses presented to us was an offering which, while it showed a feeling of personal regard, might well, I believe, serve as an emblem of the patriotism of Ontario. It was a wreath of that plant which in the old country loads the air with perfume wherever moss and mountain are most green with moisture. Reared among morasses, it grows only where around its roots the soil is firm; and where it springs, the foot may safely tread and securely stand. It was therefore, in olden days, taken as my clan's badge to signify a firm faith and steady trust, and with this signification I looked upon the wreath of marsh myrtle given to us on the part of so many communities in Ontario last December, as a fit emblem and just expression of that steady, firm, and faithful support which our Queen will ever find wherever a citizen of Ontario lives to assert his rights and freedom in upholding the honour, the dignity, and the power of our united Empire.



To an address in German, presented in 1879 at Berlin, Ontario, the Governor-General answered:—

Meine Herren und Damen!—Die Prinzessin und ich finden es eine unserer angenehmsten Pflichten, Ihnen einen Besuch hier zu machen, um uns von der Fruchtbarkeit, welche Ihre Kolonie charakterisirt, zu berzeugen.

Wir freuen uns um so mehr, da Ihre Zuschrift uns in der lieben deutschen Sprache ein Willkommen sagt, und die Versicherung deutscher Treue aus deutschem Munde kommt.

Wir wissen, da Sie als Zeichen der Gesinnung Ihrer deutschen Bevlkerung in Kanada den Spruch, der seit Jahrhunderten dem Schsischen Hause angehrt:—"Treu und fest," als ihr Motto nehmen knnten.

Obgleich Sie uns in so treuer Weise empfangen, und der Knigin Ihre Ehrerbietung beweisen, bleiben Sie dennoch gute Deutsche, und sind darauf stolz, da Sie Ihre Kinder und Kindeskinder in der krftigen Muttersprache erziehen knnen.

Die Liebe fr das alte, deutsche Vaterland sollte nie aussterben; es verhindert jedoch nicht, da Sie auch die englische Sprache bentzen, die doch so sehr mit der deutschen verwandt ist.

Die schnen Worte, die der Poet Arndt geschrieben hat, find Ihnen wohl alle bekannt und wir knnen sie hier, wo Sie ein anderes Land zu Ihrem Land gemacht haben, wohl gebrauchen:

"Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland? Ist's Preuenland? Ist's Schwabenland? Ist's wo am Rhein die Rebe blht? Ist's wo am Belt die Mve zieht? Doch Nein! Nein! Nein! Sein Vaterland mu grer sein!"

Kann man nicht hier diesen Worten eine weitere Deutung geben?—Knnen Sie nicht als Mitbrger und Grnder einer neuen Nation dieselbe mit allem Edlen, was von dem alten Lande kommt, lenken und strken?

Es ist uns eine wahre Freude, von allen Seiten zu hren, wie man die deutschen Ansiedler achtet und schtzt und sie als einen wichtigen Zusatz zu unseren Krften betrachtet. Ihre Wissenschaft, ihre Liebe fr die gute Erziehung der Jugend, sowohl in hheren Studien, als in den Studien, durch welche die gewerblichen Fortbildungsschulen in Deutschland sich einen so ruhmhaften Namen gemacht haben; ihre Sparsamkeit und ihr Flei, sind Canada viele Tausend Quadratmeilen Landes werth.—Die huslichen Tugenden ihrer Frauen und Tchter sind ein schnes Beispiel fr Alle.

Ich hoffe, da die Zahl deutscher Einwanderer sich mehren wird und werde in meinen Erwartungen dadurch bestrkt, da es bei Ihnen daheim gewi Viele giebt, die berzeugt sind, da das Vaterland nicht geschwcht wird, wenn deutsche Tchter jenseits des atlantischen Meeres gute Mnner finden. Es wird uns sehr angenehm sein, der deutschen kaiserlichen Familie sagen zu knnen, wie Sie in Canada glcklich leben, und als Mnner, die dem Lande Glck bringen, angesehen werden.



In 1880, it was resolved that an Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition, supported by a Federal grant, should each year be held at some city of the Dominion. The first of these central and national meetings took place at Ottawa. It was largely attended, and opened by the Governor-General with these remarks:—

Mr. President and Gentlemen,—I thank you for the address which you have read to me, expressing that deep loyalty to the Queen which, not merely from hearsay, but from observation of the sentiments which animate the people of Canada, whether in the cities or in the country, I know to be real and universal. The Princess joins with me in asking you to accept our gratitude for your recognition of the interest we feel in the great efforts at present made, in various parts of Canada, to display to the best advantage the industrial achievements of our artisans. Some of the handiwork of our two largest Provinces can be seen in this building, while others are not unrepresented; and we have evidence of the skill which graces the strength of a new brother—the young giant of the west. [1] Everywhere proof is given that the Canadian can hold his own in the rivalry that brings Art to bear on the great natural products around us, and this is not surprising when we know that he comes from the races which in Europe have been the most renowned for the taste, the ingenuity, and the solidity of their workmanship. Where so many regions have but recently been peopled, there is, it need hardly be said, much to be done, and it is most satisfactory to see how each city and town is bending itself to the task to prove that there is no laggard in the patriotic competition. I have gladly attended several of these shows, and it is a feature peculiar to this country that the industrial exhibition so generally accompanies the agricultural show. Whether this shall always be the case as in the gathering inaugurated to-day, it will be of course for you to determine by experience of success in your venture in thus combining them. This is, perhaps, the first meeting to which more than a local character has been given. It will be a matter for your consideration, and for all in Canada interested in your endeavours, whether a novel practice be established here in moving to each Province in succession the Central Exhibition, without injury to the local fairs, which will, in any case, be held. If you decide to move the agricultural show from Province to Province in successive years, no new practice would thereby be espoused, for such has been the custom of the national societies of England, Scotland, and Ireland. In the old countries the spaces to be traversed are much smaller, but the need of comparison between the various exhibits is also much less. The local shows are held there in almost every county, but the advantage derived from the annual moving of the national societies has been well expressed in the words of a former and justly beloved Viceroy of Ireland, who said that the experience the National Society had earned for itself had, by its annual movement, been carried through every part of the land, through each Province in turn; and this had tended to ruse together the knowledge of the best specialties of each, whether in tillage or in pasture, in cereals or in green crops, or in the breeding and fattening of cattle. With us in Canada, if a similar practice were followed, we might perhaps add that comparison would benefit the proper employment of the best agricultural machinery, for the manufacture of which our Canadian artisans have won high commendation at the greatest international contests. If you discuss these questions, I am sure you will do so, not with the view of benefiting one city or Province only, but in the spirit which sees in all common efforts a means of uniting our Canadian people, and an instrument to make a national feeling create a national prosperity. We may congratulate our countrymen that in the live stock of all kinds shown to-day, we have a representation of those vast resources which yield so much in excess of our own requirements that we can relieve the wants of older lands; and how great is the difference between the bygone traffic from the new world to enrich Europe and what we now witness! In other days the southern seas were covered with the towering galleons of Spain, bringing the ingots of gold and silver, wrought in the mines of America through the cruel labour of thousands of enslaved Indians. This was the wealth which poured into the treasuries of a nation whose riches reared the colossal palaces of the Escorial, and the wondrous Minster of Seville. The creation of such prosperity meant a short-lived reign of luxury and cruelty—the lifting up of an old country for a time—the abasement of a new land. How different the happy and more lasting wealth with which we are able to endow Europe from Canada, when the parent land and the Dominion alike reap equal fruits from a bounteous harvest. Our treasure fleets are now laden with golden grain, and flocks and herds; with riches wrung from no servitude, but derived from the free and noble toil of a liberty-loving, independent, and self-reliant people. It is to the men who have cleared the tangled forests, or have tilled the prairie lands, that we owe such great shows of agricultural wealth as those we have lately seen, and which prove how rich and inexhaustible are the veins of ore from which we can give enough and to spare.

May the endeavour of such a society as this, assisted as it has been chiefly by individual efforts, but countenanced by the Dominion Government, be to extend for the general good of our country, the experience it earns and whatever success is secured by the co-operation of the citizens.

[1] Manitoba.

[During the delivery of the address the gates had been opened and the people allowed to come in so as to hear His Excellency's reply, and at its close they gave hearty cheering.]



The first Exhibition of the Royal Canadian Academy of Art took place at Ottawa in 1880. The experiment of collecting together the work of artists resident in the country, was a success from the commencement, and the annual meetings since held have fully warranted the formation of a National Society for the Promotion of Art. The Governor-General gave the opening address as follows:—

Ladies and Gentlemen,—It is now my duty to declare this first exhibition of the Canadian Academy to be open to what, I am sure, will be an appreciative public. That this ceremony should take place to-day is characteristic of the energy with which any project likely to benefit our community is pushed in this country, for it is only ten months ago, on the occasion of the opening of the Local Art Gallery at Montreal, that the proposal for the institution of the Canadian Academy of Arts was made. To-day the Academy is to be congratulated not only upon being able to show the pictures and the works of art which you see around you this evening, but upon the favourable reception which the appearance of such an association has received from all classes. I have indeed seen nothing but the kindest criticism. Although I believe some gentlemen have been good enough to propose we should postpone the initiation of this institution for the present, and should wait for the short and moderate space of exactly 100 years, and look forward to its incorporation in the year of grace 1980. It is difficult to meet such gentle criticism, but the Academy may be allowed to suggest that although in the words of the old saying, "art is long-lived," yet that "life is short." Art will, no doubt, be in vigorous life in Canada a century hence, but, on the other hand, we must remember that at that time these gentle critics may have disappeared from the scene, and they will themselves allow that it is for the benefit of the Academy that it should begin its existence while still subject to their own friendly supervision. It is impossible to agree with the remark, that we have no material in Canada for our present purposes, when we see many excellent works on these walls; and if some do not come up to the standard we may set ourselves, what is this but an additional argument for the creation of some association which shall act as an educator in these matters? Now, gentlemen, what are the objects of your present effort? A glance at the constitution of the Society will show your objects are declared to be: the encouragement of industrial Art by the promotion of excellence of design, the support of Schools of Art throughout the country, and the formation of a National Gallery of Art at the seat of Government. The first of these objects, the encouragement of good design, receives an illustration in a room which I hope all present will make it a point to visit—a room on the second floor, where many tasteful and good designs have been exhibited in competition for prizes generously given by several gentlemen, who recognise the good effect such competitions are likely to have upon trade. Many of the best of these designs have been called forth by a prize offered by a member of the Legislature, and it is to be sincerely hoped that in future years his example, and the example of those who have acted in a similar manner, may be more widely and generally followed. English manufacture, as you know, has become famous for its durability; French manufacture for its beauty and workmanship; and here, where we have a people sprung from both races, we should be able to combine these excellences, so that Canadian manufacture may hold a high place in the markets of the world. The next object of the association is to be worked out on the same lines by the support afforded the local schools; and here I must emphatically impress on all who care for the encouragement of Art in Canada, that however popular the Academy exhibitions may become, however much you are able to strengthen its hands in assisting provincial efforts, the assistance it gives to any provincial schools can only supplement, and can never stand in the place of, provincial effort. It is true that the gentlemen belonging to the Academy give half of all they possess—one half of any surplus in all their revenues—in aid of local efforts, but it is by no means likely that that amount will be great. As the exhibitions are to be held each year in a different city, so that each Province may in turn be visited, it will probably be found best that any donation which can be made shall be given to that town in which the yearly exhibition is held. I hope, for instance, that this year it may be possible to give a grant in aid of a local school to be formed at Ottawa. With regard to the third object I have mentioned, the gentlemen who have been appointed academicians have patriotically undertaken, as a guarantee of their interest in the welfare of Art in Canada, that it shall be a condition of their acceptance of the office of academician that they shall give, each of them, a picture which shall become national property, and be placed here in an Art gallery. These works, of which you already have several around you, will be at the disposal of one of the ministers, who may be charged with this trust, and it will be in his option to decide whether they shall be exhibited in other parts of the country, or lent for purposes of Art instruction for a time to local schools. If you are not tired of these subjects, I would ask your attention for one moment to the organisation by which it is proposed to accomplish these purposes. First, there are a certain number of gentlemen who, after the model of similar institutions in other countries, where the plan has been found to work well, have been chosen as academicians. These comprise not only painters, but architects also, and designers, engravers, and sculptors. There are others again, forming a wider circle, and following the same professions, who have been chosen as associates, from whose ranks the academicians in the future will be annually elected. These gentlemen, the academicians, will govern the institution. They have already been supported by very many men in the country who follow other professions, and who will have nothing to do with the governing of the society, but who have been requested to join and give their aid as entertaining a love for Art, and a desire that Art should be enabled to assist in the most practical manner the interests of the country. It is probable that almost every gentleman of note in Canada will be upon this roll. So much, then, for the purposes undertaken, and the machinery by which these are to be accomplished. One word only as to the part which, at the request of several gentlemen, I have ventured temporarily to undertake. It seemed difficult, if not impossible, to get the body as at present constituted elected at the start, for scattered as the artists of the Dominion are, few knew the capabilities of others outside of his own neighbourhood. Following, as we will have to do here therefore, an English precedent, it was thought best that the first list should be a nominated one. However carefully this has been attempted, some omissions and faults have been made, and these will be corrected, for the plan followed at the commencement will not be pursued hereafter, but at a general meeting held during the time of the exhibitions, elections will form part of the business of the assembly. Although it may be for the interests of the Academy that the Governor-General of the day should be the patron of the society, you will find that the more self-governed it is the more healthful will be its prospects. At the outset the position of patron may be somewhat like the position of that useful but ugly instrument with which many of us are perhaps but too familiar, namely, the snow-plough. At the first formation of an artist society he may be expected to charge boldly into mountains of cold opposition, and to get rid of any ice crusts in front of the train, but after the winter of trial and probation, and difficulties of beginning are over, and the summer of success has come, his position, in regard to the artists, must be more like that of a figurehead. I have, however, great faith in the power of artists to make a figure-head useful as well as ornamental, although I do not know that they have shown a proof of this to-day by making their figure-head deliver a speech, which it is well known figure-heads never do, except on the strictest compulsion. You may remember that in old days in Greece, an artist named Pygmalion, carved a figure so beautiful that he himself fell in love with his work and infused his own life into the statue, so that it found breath and movement. I shall not expect the Academy always to be in love with its figure-head, but I believe that you will be able to instil into him so much of your energy and vitality, that if the vessel gets into difficulties you may enable him to come down from his place, and even to give her a shove astern. Let me, at all events, express a hope, in which I believe all present will join, that the Canadian Academy, this fair vessel that we launch to-day, may never get into any trouble, but that from every city, and from every Province of the Dominion, she may receive a favouring breeze whenever and wherever she may show a canvas.



At Quebec, upon the festival of St. Jean Baptiste, on the 24th June 1880, there was a gathering of representatives of the French-Canadian race from many cities of the United States as well as of Canada, and the celebration in honour of their national saint was exceptionally enthusiastic. An opportunity was thus given to the Governor-General to show that appreciation of French Canadians which has been so constantly exhibited by his predecessors in office. He spoke in French and said:—

Gentlemen and Friends of the French-Canadian race from abroad as well as from our own Province,—I rise with the greatest pleasure to thank you for the way in which you have received the toast which has been proposed by the President in drinking the health of the Princess and myself. The Princess has especially desired me to convey to you her gratitude, and I regret that owing to the short duration of the stay of Prince Leopold in this country, she has been unable to remain with me for the imposing celebration which we have witnessed to-day. She is at all times sorry to quit Quebec—a place she loves as much for the moral worth of its people as for the grandeur of its scenery. As for myself, gentlemen, I have obeyed a pleasant call in being amongst you to-day to testify my respect for our French-Canadian fellow-citizens, and my appreciation of the value of the element furnished by its noble and gallant race in influencing for good our young and growing Canadian nationality. I am here to show how much I prize the loyalty evinced by you on all occasions towards Her Majesty the Queen, whose representative I am. At the same time I do not wonder at the devotion shown to so august an embodiment of the principle of Constitutional Rule. The Queen sets the example of a Sovereign, who has at all times given constant proof, that with us the acts of power are the expressions of the will of the people. It is this that gives to her the highest rank amongst rulers in the eyes of the nations who acknowledge her sceptre. It is among you especially that all men will expect that this should be recognised. It was the Normans, who in France watched and guarded the cradle of that liberty at present enjoyed in England— it was the men of Normandy and Brittany who at a later age laid the foundations of the liberty-loving community of Canada. The very usages in the Parliament of Britain survive from the days when they were planted there by our Norman ancestors. I do not know that it has been observed before in Canada, but it has often occurred to me, that in the British Parliament we still use the old words, used by your fathers for the sanction of the Sovereign given to bills, of "la reine le veut," or "la reine remercie ses bons sujets, accepte leur benevolence et ainsi le veut,"—forms which I should like to see used at Ottawa as marking our common origin, instead of the practice which is followed, of translating into modern French and English. In celebrating this fte, all can join in pride in the element predominant amongst us to-day, as it is to your race we owe the liberties of Runnymede and the practices that mark the free discussions of our Parliament. I rejoice to see so many met together, and that we have representatives of our allies the French, as well as of those who have made a home—let us hope a temporary one only—among our friends in the United States. I rejoice to see these members of the race repatriated, if only for a time, and may assure them that our old and our new lands of the West are wide and fertile enough to justify us in detaining them here and in annexing any number who may be willing to be so treated. As they well know, they will always have with us the most perfect guarantees of liberty, the fullest rights of franchise, while they will not suffer so much as now from frequent waves of moral heat incurred by all who have to take part in constant electioneering; nor will they, on the other hand, have to endure the winter and moral cold which may be experienced by all who have to undergo the effects of a Gubernatorial or Presidential veto. Our visitors will see with us to-day the signs of a happy, a loyal, and contented people; they will see us sharing in that revival of trade which I am happy to say is marking the commencement of another decade; they will see us holding in highest esteem those traditions which associate us with the past; they will see you in the fullest enjoyment of your laws, your language, and your institutions; they will see, above all, that you use the strength you thus inherit from your ancestors for no selfish purposes, but as imparting vigour and unison with the powers of other races to our great confederation, and in cementing a patriotism which is willing to bear the burdens as it shares the glory of a great country, the greatest member of the mightiest Empire ever known among mankind.



The following was delivered at the opening of Provincial Fair.

Gentlemen of the Agricultural and Arts Association of Ontario,—Believe me that any service which I can render to your invaluable association will always be at your command, and you may be sure that it is the desire of the Princess always to join me in such endeavours. It must at the same time be remembered that ladies have not that iron constitution which it is necessary that an official should possess, and it is not always possible for them to be present as well in the body as in the spirit. I congratulate you on the great progress visible in the manufactures exhibited, and on having the Provincial Show held this year at Hamilton. In Ontario, where the science of agriculture is beginning to be so thoroughly understood, I fear I can say but little that may be of use to you, but I cannot too pointedly praise that most prudent of all speculations, which has made several of the gentlemen who lead the way in such matters purchase some of the best of British cattle. To be content with raising inferior stock is as unfortunate in economy as is an illiberal and unscientific treatment of the land. Great as are the advantages possessed, in this country by the new soil, which has comparatively recently been broken up, yet the effects of unscientific farming are necessarily to be seen in many places, and it is quite as much an object of our agricultural exhibitions to point out defects of this nature, as it is to display the triumphs of those who, pursuing agriculture upon a wiser plan, can year after year show the superiority of a scientific and liberal culture of the land. I have no doubt that much good will result in the advice given in the report which will be issued of the Agricultural Commission now sitting in this Province. There is much upon which you may be congratulated. The great increase in the numbers of horses raised here is meeting the demand for them—the growth of the cheese manufacture under the factory system— the increased attention given to root growing in connection with cattle feeding—the care bestowed on more general under-draining—the development of fruit and vine culture, and the excellence and cheapness of your agricultural implements, are all features upon which we may dwell with the utmost satisfaction. Your pasture lands are so wide, and the facilities afforded by the country for the raising of stock are so great, that it will be your own fault if you allow any others, be they breeders in the old country or the United States, to take the wind too much out of your sails. It is to be desired that provision be made against bad usage of the meat sent to England, for sufficient care is not taken of it at present after debarkation, and it appears to disadvantage in consequence in the markets. It must be remembered that at the present moment you have advantages with regard to the protection afforded you in the permission given to land your cattle alive in the old country, when it is denied to the States, which cannot be expected to last. It is impossible to urge too strongly the necessity of preparation against a time when American cattle will be again admitted alive into England. Unless you get the very best stock, and produce high graded beasts, you cannot hold your own. The necessary expense attending the purchase of high-bred cattle will now pay you, and if with their produce you can maintain your place in the European markets, you may be assured that the money so spent could never have been spent to better purpose. I am informed that lately at Toronto—and I hope we may see the same feature here in two days—Galloways, Polled Angus, as well as good Shorthorns, were to be seen in the yards. In sheep also, some of the gentlemen who with so much foresight lead the way amongst our agricultural communities, have made purchases this year of Shropshire and other high-class animals. I trust that each year may see a marked improvement with respect to following such leaders, and I have the utmost confidence that with the spirit of enterprise which has made British North America proportionately equal to any area on this continent in population, and in all the arts which can lead to that population's prosperity and happiness, Canada will not be found to be one whit behindhand.



To an address presented at the opening of the Quebec Provincial Fair, held at Montreal, His Excellency, the Governor-General, replied, both in French and English, as follows:—

Gentlemen,—It is a happy augury for our country that the expressions of loyalty to the throne, and confidence in the institutions under which we live, should be emphasised by you, who represent the different races of which our nationality is composed, when we meet to-day under roofs which shelter the products of the industrial and agricultural industry of a wide territory, now enjoying marked and unusual prosperity. It is not only a personal sentiment of reverence toward the august occupant of the throne, the faithful interpreter of our constitutional law, but it is to the perfected fabric of the experience of many centuries,—to the freest form of government on earth, that you declare your devotion. The love for such institutions can therefore be no passing phase dependent upon any single life; but is a love that lives with the life of the nation by whose decrees those institutions exist and abide.

It is my happy duty to represent among you to-day the countenance given yearly by the Federal Government to one of those great provincial fairs, by which our people in each section of the country show the high value they place upon the comparison and competition to be obtained by such exhibitions. Each year Industrial Art is thus aided, and a stimulus is given to the excellency of workmanship, which can alone content a people with its manufactures, and provide for their acceptance abroad. Each year at such re-unions the prospects of fresh enterprise in agriculture are discussed. For instance, we look forward with confidence to the new organisations for the cultivation of the beet-root, to be undertaken under favourable auspices, experiments having already proved that the beet-root grown here possesses a far larger percentage of sugar than can be shown by that of either France or Germany. Again, in the exportation of phosphates, which have proved themselves so excellent as fertilisers that they have arrested the attention of the Agricultural Chambers of Europe, fresh combinations will ensure a large supply from the Valley of the Ottawa. Lastly, the encouragement of the improvement in the breed of cattle, and the solution of the problem how best to export them with profit, engage your minds. It is almost certain that although in some parts of our country the cattle must be fed during winter for a longer period than in others, yet with good management and proper co-operation, wherever good crops can be produced, the winter will form no obstacle to the profitable sale of cattle in the European markets. By contributing last year at Ottawa, and this year at Montreal, to a Provincial exhibition, the government of our Union designates its desire in the interest of the whole country to supplement each year, at a different place, those provincial resources which are so wisely lavished on many branches of education. The grant given on the part of the Union by which this meeting is constituted a Dominion Exhibition, is the contribution made for a special branch of instruction. As by our constitution, education is a provincial matter, such Federal grants, if made, must be given where more than the interests of one Province only are concerned. The object to be attained is to help forward those who, owing to a less favouring fortune, are behindhand, by enabling them to see the results attained by their neighbours. The question must not only be, "Will such an Exhibition pay its expenses?" It must be asked, "Will such an Exhibition spread useful knowledge over wider districts which require it?"

Let me, in concluding these remarks in answer to your address, express on the part of the Princess the gratitude she will feel at your mention of her name; and I shall now fulfil the duty, for the performance of which I have been invited here, in declaring this Exhibition open to the public.



At the laying of the foundation-stone of a new Museum at M'Gill University, Montreal, in 1880, His Excellency spoke as follows:—

Mr. Chancellor, Members of Convocation, Ladies and Gentlemen,—Now that my part in the physical exercises, which I cannot say I have graced, but have accomplished, is over, I have been asked to take also a part in the intellectual exercises of this day by saying a few words to you. When I first came to Canada, and afterwards at the time when Confederation was coming into being, the first political lesson that I learnt with regard to this country was that the Federal Government would have nothing whatever to do with education. The earliest lesson that I learnt, on arriving in Canada fourteen years afterwards, was that the head of the Federal Government was frequently expected to attend on such occasions as that on which we are assembled to-day, which has certainly a great deal to do with education. Perhaps, however, I may flatter myself by supposing that my presence here to-day has been desired more in the capacity of a friend than as an official—(applause) —and I hope that this may be the footing on which you will always allow me to meet you and see what you are doing. I can assure you I will never betray any of your secrets to my Ministers, except under the advice of my honourable friend on my right (the Lieutenant-Governor Robitaille), who is the natural protector and guardian of this University, and of education in this Province. (Laughter.) I share most heartily with you in the joy you must experience at the prospect of possessing so fine a hall for the accommodation of the treasures which are rapidly accumulating in your hands. That the necessity for a large building should have been so promptly met by the sympathetic support and far-seeing generosity of Mr. Redpath, proves that the race of benefactors, illustrated by the names of Molson and M'Gill, has not died out amongst us. (Loud applause.) The removal of the geological collections belonging to the nation from Montreal to Ottawa, which has been determined upon as bringing more immediately under the eye of the Legislature and the knowledge of the Government the labours and results attained by our men of science, necessarily deprives the residents of Montreal, who are students, of the facilities hitherto afforded by the presence in this city of those collections. It is satisfactory to know that this loss will be palliated by such noble gifts as those which have furnished you with other collections, which are now to find at last a proper place for their display. (Applause.) You who have in your Chancellor and members of Convocation such eminent and worthy representatives of judicial attainment, of classical learning, of medical and surgical knowledge, and of scientific research, will well know how to give full value to the last of these subjects, namely, to the culture of the natural sciences. (Applause.) Besides the direct utility of a knowledge of zoology, botany, geology, and chemistry, and of the kindred branches grouped under the designation of natural science, the pleasure to be derived from them is not amongst the least of the advantages of their study. (Hear, hear.) However forbidding the country in which he is placed, however uninteresting the other surroundings of a man's life may be, he need never miss the delights of an engrossing occupation, if the very earth on which he treads, each leaf and insect, and all the phenomena of nature around him, cause him to follow out new lines of study, and give his thought a wider range. This is enough to make a man feel as though in the enjoyment of a never-dying vitality, and I doubt if any one amongst you feels younger than your honoured Principal, although his studies have led him in fancy over every region, and must make him feel as if a perpetual youth had caused him to live through all geological time. (Laughter and applause.) To parallel a saying, spoken of another eminent man, he certainly has learnt all that rocks can teach, except to be hard-hearted. (Renewed laughter.) It seems to me peculiarly appropriate that he who first established the certainty of the "Dawn of Life" amongst the Laurentian rocks of Canada, should here, through his untiring zeal, officiate in launching into the dawn of public recognition the young manhood of his country. (Applause.) It is your great good fortune that in your Principal you have a leader who is an admirable guide, not alone in the fairy realms of science, but also through those sterner, and, to some, less attractive regions which own the harsher rule of the exigencies of the daily life around us. (Hear, hear.) He has traced in the rocks the writing of the Creator, and with the magic light, only to be borne by him who has earned the power through toil of reason and of induction, he has been able to see in the spirit and describe the processes of creation. His knowledge has pierced the dark ages, when through countless aeons the earth was being prepared for man; he has shown how forests—vast as those we see to-day, but with vanished forms of vegetation and of life, grew, decayed, and were preserved in altered condition to give us in these days of colder skies the fuel we need. He has been for his beloved Acadia the historian of the cycles when God formed her under the primal waters, fashioned her in the marshes teeming in His fervent heat, caused His fire to fuse the metal in her rocks, and His ice to scourge the coasts, thereafter to be subjected to yet more stupendous changes, and raised and made fit for the last and highest of His works. (Loud applause.) But Dr. Dawson's great knowledge and wide learning have not led him, as they might lead many, to live apart in fastidious study and in selfish absorption, forgetful of the claims and contemptuous of the merits of others. (Hear, hear.) His wisdom in these difficult studies has not separated him from us; it has only been a fresh cause for us to hail that public spirit which makes him give all he has, whether of strength, of time, or of knowledge, for the benefit of his fellow-citizens. (Applause.) Just as it was not for Acadia alone, but in the interests of science, that his first labour was undertaken; so now it is not for any especial locality, but for the good of the whole of our country, that he is head of this place of learning, whence depart so many to take their lot in the civil life of Canada. Even in his presence it is right that this should be said of him, here on this spot, where you are to raise a new temple of the practical sciences, and now that he, with you, has become the recipient of this gift, which is a tribute from one who has earned success in the hard battle of life, offered to men who, with so much devotion, are training other lives to win their way by knowledge through the difficulties that may lie before them. (Loud applause.)



A fine statue of Colonel de Salaberry, by Mr. Hubert of Montreal, was, in 1880, unveiled at Chambly. A large concourse of people, and representative men from all parts of the Province of Quebec, were present, and after eloquent speeches from Colonel Harwood and other gentlemen, His Excellency said:—

Accept my thanks for your address, which records your patriotic desire to honour in a befitting manner the memory of a patriot. I rejoice to be able to take part with you in this commemoration of a gallant soldier. We are here to unveil a monument dedicated to a man who worthily represented the loyal spirit of his age. That spirit exists to the full to-day. Should need arise, there are many among the Canadian nation who would emulate his example and endeavour to rival his achievements. This statue records a character typical of our countrymen. Content with little for himself, content only with greatness for his country—such was the character of De Salaberry; such is the character of the Canadian to-day. At Chambly, in the Province where he had the good fortune to have the occasion to manifest that valour which was the proud tradition of his race, we place his statue. It is raised in no spirit of idle boasting, but with a hope that the virtues shown of old may, unforgotten, light and guide future generations. These virtues were conspicuous in this distinguished man, whose military talents enabled him to perform his duty with signal advantage to our arms. In rearing this monument to him, let us not forget to pay a passing tribute to his brothers. They, with him, in the hour of danger, took to the profession of arms, we may almost say as a part of their nature. Three of them perished in upholding the honour of that flag which is to-day our symbol of unity and freedom. In this fair region, which was his home, a contrast between our times and those in which he lived comes forcibly before us. Where are now the wide tracts of fertile fields and a country traversed by railways or to be reached by the steamers on our rivers, De Salaberry and his voltigeurs, when they made their gallant defence, saw only scattered clearings among great forests. These, too, often concealed contending armies. While we cherish the recollection of gallant deeds performed, where English and French-speaking Canadians equally distinguished themselves, it is not necessary to dwell on the bitter associations of those times. We are at peace, and live in what we hope will be an abiding friendship and alliance with the great and generous people of the south. They then endeavoured to conquer us, but were in the end only enabled to entertain for the Canadians that respect which is the only true and lasting foundation of friend ship. We must be thankful and rejoice that our rivalries with them are now only in the fruitful fields of commerce. Our resources in these peaceful paths are daily supplying the sinews of strength and the power to us in resources and population which would make any war undertaken against Canada a war that would be a long and a difficult one. They do not desire to invade us. We trust that such a desire will never again arise, for nations do not now so often as of old interfere with their neighbours when no faction invites interference. If in 1812 Canada was dear for her own sake to Canadians, how much more is she so now? Then possessed only of a small population, enjoying liberty under the aegis of a narrow constitution, now we see in her a great and growing people, self-governed at home, proud of the freest form of constitution, and able to use in association with her own representative the diplomatic strength of a great empire for the making of her commercial compacts with other nations. With us there is no party which would invite incursions or change of government. No man has a chance of success in Canadian public life, no one is countenanced by our people, who is not a lover of free institutions. In inviting here the Governor-General you have an officer present, who as the head of the Federal government is nothing but the first and abiding representative of the people. It is, however, not only as an official that I rejoice with you to-day. Personal feelings make it a joyful hour for me when I can visit the cradle of so much worth and valour, surrounded as I am by the members of the family of Monsieur de Salaberry. The Princess and I can never forget the intimate friendship which existed between Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Colonel de Salaberry—a friendship between families which, I may be allowed to hope, will not be confined to the grandfathers. The Princess asked me to express the deep interest she takes in this celebration. She wishes me to convey to you her sorrow that she is not here to-day with us. She yet hopes to be able to see this monument, where for the first time Canadian art has so honourably recorded in sculpture Canadian loyalty, bravery, and genius.



In 1880, at St Thomas in Ontario, over 6000 men of Highland descent were present at a meeting attended by the Governor-General, who spoke as follows in reply to an address delivered in Gaelic and English:—

Highlanders and Friends from the Land of the Gael,—You do not know how much pleasure you give me in coming forward, and in such a touching and eloquent address as that to which I have just listened, giving me the assurance of the unchangeable loyalty which animates your hearts, and of the pride with which you look back upon the country of your forefathers. (Applause.) It is not often that a man gets so many kindly words addressed to him from so great a meeting of his countrymen. Although it is for Canada as a whole that I work in this country, and for her whole population of whatever race that