Part 3

"I do not fear to say," he declared, "that Montreal will be recreant to its best interests, and will be the most backward of cities if it neglects the means that is offered it to reclaim a prosperity which is now leaving it. I appeal to the large proprietors, to the small proprietors who make the prosperity of the large ones, and to the industrial and working classes which make the prosperity of both. We have an exceptional chance to attract foreign capital. The city has only to guarantee a bagatelle compared to the enormous debts contracted by the smaller cities of the United States to attract capital which passes through the hands of tradesmen and workingmen, to relieve trade which is languishing. It is an advantage which will be enjoyed even before the work is completed."

Cartier pointed out that New York had contracted a debt of $25,000,000 to provide proper railway facilities, as it had sufficient faith in itself and in the spirit of enterprise of its citizens to discount the future.

"The time has come," said Cartier, addressing the citizens of Montreal, "to belie your reputation as apathetic men without energy and without a spirit of enterprise. Let those terms cease to be applied to the name 'Canadian'. This great meeting is one of the first to be held in a city of the British Provinces to encourage an enterprise of this importance. It is proper that the example should come from Montreal, the commercial head of British America. It should show itself worthy of its position. Let us arouse ourselves, let us agitate."

Cartier had the vision to foresee the great future in store for Montreal, if adequate transportation facilities were provided.

"Montreal," he prophetically declared on the same occasion, "is destined to become the great emporium for the West. Without railways and canals it will be impossible for it to attain the glorious position which will make it one of the principal cities of the continent."

Largely as the result of Cartier's persistent efforts, the Montreal & Portland Railway which for a long time was the only outlet during the winter for Canadian produce, destined for Europe, was completed, and inaugurated in 1851, being subsequently absorbed by the Grand Trunk Railway Company. Before the completion of this road, it must be remembered that there were only some seventy miles of railway in all Canada, the first road, the Laprairie and St. John's having been opened only a few years before, that is to say on July 21st, 1836. When we consider that to-day the total mileage of railways in Canada is 35,000 miles, that last year our combined railways built 1,970 miles of new railway, on which was spent $30,000,000, and that the programme for this year provides for 2,700 miles of new track, costing $41,000,000, some idea may be obtained of the advance that has been made. Cartier deserves the credit of having been one of the first to realize the importance of railway construction in connection with the development of the country and of having been one of the strongest supporters of a forward policy in this respect--a policy to which we owe the three splendid railway systems we have to-day--the Canadian Pacific, the Grand Trunk, and the work of those two great railway men, Sir William Mackenzie and Sir Donald Mann--the Canadian Northern.

One of Cartier's chief claims to honor is that it was he who secured the incorporation of the Grand Trunk Railway Company, which has done so much for the development of Canada in general, and the City of Montreal in particular. Cartier always took the greatest pride in that fact. In a speech delivered in the legislature he declared that he regarded the construction of the Grand Trunk as the greatest benefit that had ever been conferred on the country. "I had charge of the Act which created the Grand Trunk Railway," he added, "and I am prouder of that than of any other action of my life." The Grand Trunk at the outset of its history had many difficulties, financial and otherwise, to encounter, and it was due to Cartier's efforts in a large measure, that the company was able to tide over these difficulties and that its success was assured.

Reviewing his public career at a great banquet given in his honor by the citizens of Montreal, on October 30th, 1866, on the eve of his departure for London as one of the Confederation delegates, Cartier referring to the efforts he had made on behalf of the Grand Trunk said: "In 1852-53, encouraged by the Hincks-Morin Ministry, I asked for the incorporation of the Grand Trunk Railway Company, and I had it voted despite the most furious opposition. I also had the construction of the Victoria Bridge voted. You will recall the prejudices there were against that measure. It was a work which would produce floods in Montreal, it was a means to divert commerce towards Portland. But the prejudice, against these great measures were soon dissipated, it was only a passing tempest. It was so, too, for the Grand Trunk and the Victoria Bridge. The Grand Trunk and the Victoria Bridge have flooded Montreal with an abundance of prosperity. What would Montreal be without the Grand Trunk? It has assured for us the commerce of the West."

Addressing the electors of Montreal-East when seeking re-election in 1867, Cartier, referring to the construction of the Victoria Bridge, said: "You know that there existed considerable jealousy or rivalry between Quebec and Montreal, and that the two cities sought at the same time to secure the possession of a bridge across the river. I will not stop to discuss the advantages of such a bridge. Thanks to my efforts I am proud to be able to say Montreal finally secured it. Montreal has the Victoria Bridge. The results you know. Our city since then has had a considerable development which Confederation, I am certain, will increase."

When we consider the important factor that the Grand Trunk Railway Company has been in the development of Eastern Canada, and what its associate company, the Grand Trunk Pacific, will be in the opening up and development of rich new districts in the West, it will be realized that Cartier in the part he played in the creation and assistance of this great railway system, rendered another most important service to Canada.

St. Lawrence navigation and the advancement of the Port of Montreal found in Cartier a steadfast advocate, and the Allan Line which was the pioneer in ocean navigation via the St. Lawrence, secured from him the heartiest encouragement and support. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly in 1860, in favor of a proposal to increase the mail subsidy to the Allans, Cartier warmly supported means to increase navigation by the St. Lawrence. It was humiliating, he declared, to see nearly all our imports arriving by the steamships, the railways, and the canals of the United States. "Let us rise," he said, "to the height of the changes wrought by progress, for we are at the beginning of a new era which will eclipse anything we have yet seen." The improvement of the harbor and port of Montreal always found in Cartier a zealous advocate, as he fully realized how important it was for Montreal's progress and prosperity.

Cartier persistently advocated the enlargement of the canals, so as to divert the commerce of the West from American ports to this port, and thus benefit the City of Montreal. In a speech on the deepening of Lake St. Peter, delivered in the Parliament of United Canada on May 11th, 1860, he said: "Up to the present all our debt has been contracted for the execution of very important public works--the Welland Canal, the St. Lawrence Canal, the Rideau Canal, the Lachine Canal, etc. But we have not yet attained our object, which is to divert the commerce of the great lakes from the American routes to the St. Lawrence. This commerce continues to pass by New York and Pennsylvania, and all that we see is the traffic destined for Ogdensburg and Oswego. What means should be taken to remedy this condition of affairs? We have come to the conclusion to abolish all tolls on the canals, and to make the St. Lawrence route perfectly free from the ocean to the great lakes."

In reply to a remark by George Brown that the measure seemed to be designed to attract the commerce of the West to Montreal, to the detriment of Upper Canada, Cartier said: "I do not see why it should be apprehended that Montreal will secure so many advantages from this amelioration. This city is at the head of navigation, and is the principal centre of commerce; it is inspired by the spirit of progress, and I believe that in place of jealousy, all should be proud of its success. Whatever they can do, they can never prevent its being the most important city of the country, and from becoming a rival of the great American cities."

Reference has been made to the prominent part that Cartier took in advocating the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway; and in desiring to see the accomplishment of that great undertaking, he had an eye to the interests of Montreal. In a speech to the electors of Montreal-East on August 8th, 1872, he promised that Montreal would be the principal terminus of that great road. "I have," he said, to the citizens of Montreal on that occasion, "devoted all my efforts to further your interests and I have always desired that Montreal should have the lion's share."

The mercantile and business interests always found in Cartier a friend, in fact had he not been a public man, it is likely that his inclinations would have made him a great business man.

"Merchants," he said, speaking at a dinner tendered him by the merchants of Quebec, on December 23rd, 1869, "contribute greatly to the progress of the country. Without the English merchants, England could not have kept its possessions in the world. Like Rome she would have lost her Colonies soon after their conquest. But the English merchant was the means of forming bonds between the new possessions of the Empire. I respect the interests of those here present. Those interests have greatly contributed to render Canada prosperous. Those who devote themselves to commerce form in every country one of the most important classes of society."

Cartier's efforts on behalf of the mercantile interests of Montreal, and his faith in the future of this city never wavered, and he predicted its great expansion in wealth and population.

"Our city," he said, addressing the electors of Montreal-East in 1867, "now counts 150,000 souls. In twenty years under Confederation, I predict that it will have more than 250,000 inhabitants."

How Cartier's faith in Montreal has been justified, we all know. What was at the time he spoke a town of 150,000 people, has become a great metropolis of over 600,000 souls, and it is destined to have before many years a population of over one million people. As Montrealers we are all, as we have a right to be, proud of the great position which the city has attained, and of the still greater future which awaits it. Let us, in its day of greatness not forgot those, like Cartier, who in the days of small things foresaw the great future before Montreal and gave their best efforts to promote its interests.

To the very end of his public career, Cartier's interest in the welfare of Montreal and his efforts to promote its advancement continued. His own words conveyed but the simple truth when he said in one of his last addresses, to his fellow citizens: "I frankly avow that all that my heart inspires, all that my knowledge and experience furnish, have been devoted to the welfare and prosperity of my compatriots in general and of Montreal in particular."

Like many other statesmen, Cartier experienced the vicissitudes, as well as the triumphs, of public life. His last appeal to the electors of Montreal, made when he was practically a dying man, resulted, owing to a combination of circumstances, in his crushing defeat. He was greeted not with bouquets but with stones, from people of a city for which he had worked so hard, and for the advancement of which he had done so much. Another seat was found for him in Provencher, Manitoba, but his public career was over. In an effort to secure the restoration of his health he went to England, but the hope was vain: the incessant labors of a long public career had broken down a naturally robust constitution, and the great statesman passed away in London, England, on May 23rd, 1873. His last thoughts were for his beloved country.

"Say to his friends in Canada," wrote one of his daughters in a touching letter announcing his death to a friend in Montreal, "say to his friends in Canada that he loved his country to the last, that his only desire was to return. Two days before his death he had all the Canadian newspapers read to him. Even his enemies, I hope, will not refuse to admit that before all he loved his country."

The national mourning that followed the announcement of his death, the enconiums pronounced by the newspapers of all shades of opinion, the eulogies delivered in Parliament, the scene of his labors for so many years, and the imposing public funeral that was given his remains in Montreal, all bore eloquent testimony to the fact that the Canadian people, regardless of party, recognized that in his death Canada had indeed lost one who before all had loved his country. His remains rest beneath the soil of Mount Royal, which overlooks the city that he loved so well, and for the interests of which he worked so hard.

Lessons of Cartier's Life

What were the lessons of Cartier's life? They may be summed up in the three words--patriotism, duty, and tolerance. He loved his country and sought to promote its interests, he wore himself out in the discharge of his public duties, he was a man of the broadest views and the utmost tolerance. As Sir Adolphe Routhier has well remarked, to most public men public life is a career, but for Cartier it was an apostolate, a patriotic mission, and to fulfill that mission he sacrificed everything, even the modest fortune of which his family had need.[5]

A French-Canadian and proud of his origin, a Roman Catholic and true to his faith, strong in his convictions, Cartier at the same time was a man of generous sympathies, of broad views, and great tolerance. His charity was broad enough to include men of all races, languages, and creeds. "My policy, and I think it best," he said on one occasion, "is respect for the rights of all." Actuated by that spirit he stood firmly on all occasions where there was justification for the rights of minorities, whether French or English, Catholic or Protestant. At the time of Confederation, for instance, some fear was expressed that the interests of the Protestant minority of Quebec would be jeopardized under the new constitution. Cartier pledged his word that nothing of the kind would happen. "I have already had occasion to proclaim in Parliament," he said, addressing the citizens of Montreal, "that the Protestant minority of Lower Canada have nothing to fear from the Provincial Legislature under Confederation. My word is given, and I repeat that nothing will be done of a nature to injure the principles and the rights of that minority."

Cartier's pledge, it is needless to say, has been sacredly kept.

On the same occasion, Cartier showed his largeness of views by declaring: "You know that I am a Catholic. I love my religion, believing it the best, but whilst proudly declaring myself a Catholic, I believe it my duty as a public man to respect the sincerity and the religious convictions of others. I am also a French-Canadian. I love my race. I of course have for it a predilection which is assuredly only natural, but as a public man and as a citizen, I also love others." Such were Cartier's guiding principles throughout life.

Cartier, like all other human beings, had his faults, as well as his virtues, his public career was not without its mistakes, but nobody ever questioned his ardent love for his country, his absolute sincerity, his high sense of honor, his personal honesty and integrity, his fearless energy, and the firmness with which he always stood for his convictions. His motto "_Franc Et Sans Dol_"--"Frank And Without Deceit," well describes the character of the man.

Did time permit, Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, a great deal more might be said of Cartier and his works. But has not sufficient been said to justify the contention that Cartier was a great Canadian, a nation-builder in the truest sense of that term, one whose memory is entitled to lasting honor from all Canadians? Does not the summary record of his career, which has been given, amply justify the declaration of the great Lord Dufferin that Cartier's name must forever be indissolubly incorporated with the most eventful and most glorious epoch of his country's history, commencing as it did with his entrance into political life and culminating in that consolidation of the Provinces to which his genius, courage and ability so materially contributed.

Macdonald, Cartier, Tupper, Tilley, Brown, Galt, and the other great Fathers of Confederation builded better even than they knew. As the result of their wise statesmanship and patriotic efforts, Canada to-day stands a young giant amongst the peoples of the world. Under Confederation there has been witnessed a marvellous expansion and an unprecedented prosperity. We have to-day, to use the words of one of the most patriotic of our national poets, John Daniel Logan,--we have to-day a land:--

Blessed with youth and strength, with health and peace.

And great as is the position of the Dominion at present, it is insignificant to what it will be if Canadians are only true to the teachings of the Fathers, if they all work together for the common welfare, if they are true to the national interests of the Dominion, and guard their great heritage against all influences of an insidious character.

Honor Cartier's Memory

Canadians do well to honor the memories of those great men who laid broad and deep the foundations of Canadian nationality, and who accomplished great works for the welfare of the Dominion. In the leading cities of Canada, stately monuments attest the recognition of a grateful people of the services of that great Father of Confederation, and that illustrious Canadian statesman, Sir John A. Macdonald. Brown and Tilley, too, have their monuments. Sir Charles Tupper is still happily with us in person, and I am sure that we all trust that his life may long be spared. His name will always be remembered as that of one of the leading Fathers of Confederation and one of our greatest statesmen.

Does not justice demand that fitting honor should be done to that other great Father of Confederation, Sir George Etienne Cartier, by the erection of a memorial in the city which he represented in Parliament for so many years, and for whose interests he strove so zealously?

When in November, 1910, at a meeting held at the St. Jean Baptiste Market Hall in this city, it was proposed by Mr. E. W. Villeneuve, now president of the Cartier Centenary Committee, whom we have with us to-day, that the centenary of Cartier's birth should be appropriately commemorated and that steps should be taken for the erection of a monument to his memory, the proposal was enthusiastically taken up. Since then the movement has assumed not only a national but an Empire scope, and representatives of every portion of the Empire will be present at the commemorative celebration next year. The movement, it may be mentioned is absolutely non-partisan in character, it being recognized that Cartier's memory is a national possession. The Prime Minister of the Dominion, Right Hon. R. L. Borden; the leader of the Liberal Party, Sir Wilfrid Laurier; the Prime Minister of the Province of Quebec, Sir Lomer Gouin; the Prime Ministers of all the Provinces; leading Liberals as well as Conservatives, throughout the Dominion, have united to render homage to the memory of one who did so much for Canada. Thanks to the co-operation and support of the Dominion Government and the Governments of all the Provinces, the erection of a splendid memorial, which will stand on one of the slopes of Mount Royal, and the first stone of which will be laid by His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught, on September 1st next, is now practically assured. The memorial, the work of the eminent Canadian sculptor, Mr. G. W. Hill, will not only serve to honor and perpetuate Cartier's memory, but will also commemorate the establishment of Confederation, in which he played such a conspicuous part. In addition to the imposing statue of Cartier the memorial will bear statues representing every one of the nine provinces of the Dominion, the whole symbolical of that United Canada, which was one of Cartier's cherished dreams.

In connection with the unveiling of the memorial, it is proposed to hold a series of commemorative celebrations, and it is confidently expected that the citizens of Montreal, ever alive as they are to the interests and reputation of the commercial metropolis, will give their hearty support and co-operation in making the celebration worthy not only of the memory of the great statesman, but also of the leading city of the Dominion, with which he was so closely identified.

And when, Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, on the 6th of September of next year, the one hundredth anniversary of Cartier's birth, amidst the plaudits of hundreds of thousands of Canadians of all origins, creeds, and political leanings, the veil shall be removed from the magnificent memorial which shall stand on one of the commanding slopes of Mount Royal, testifying to the grateful recognition of the whole Dominion, justice shall have been done to the memory of one who loved his country, who accomplished great works for its benefit, whose heart was ever stirred by that feeling of ardent devotion to his native land which he himself expressed in those burning words of patriotism:

"_O Canada, Mon Pays, Mes Amours!_"[6]

O CANADA, MY OWN BELOVED LAND![7]

From the French "O CANADA, MON PAYS, MES AMOURS," of Sir George Etienne Cartier.

BY JOHN BOYD

For the Cartier Centenary.

"One's own land is best of all," So an ancient adage says; To sing it is the poet's call, Mine be to sing my fair land's praise. Strangers behold with envious eyes St. Lawrence's tide so swift and grand, But the Canadian proudly cries, O Canada, my own beloved land!

Rivers and streams in myriad maze Meander through our fertile plains, Midst many a lofty mountain's haze, What vast expanse the vision chains! Vales, hills and rapids, forest brakes-- What panorama near so grand! Who doth not love thy limpid lakes, O Canada, my own beloved land!

Each season of the passing year, In turn, attractions hath to bless. Spring like an ardent wooer, dear, Besports fair flowers and verdant dress; Summer anon prepares to wrest The harvest rare with joyful hand; In Fall and Winter, feast and jest. O Canada, my own beloved land!

Canadians, like their sires of old Revel in song and gaily live, Mild, gentle, free, not overbold, Polite and gallant, welcome give. Patriots, to country ever leal, They, foes of slavery, staunchly stand; Their watchword is the peace and weal Of Canada, their beloved land.

Each country vaunts its damsels fair, (I quite agree with truth they boast) But our Canadian girls must share The witching charm of beauty's host, So lovely they and so sincere, With that French charm of magic wand, Coquettish just to make them dear. O Canada, my own beloved land!