Part 6
“I was born a Catholic,” he declared, “and I will die, of course, in that faith,” and when I replied that he had had a pretty hard row to hoe in his lifetime with certain priests and prelates, he replied: “Yes, that is true, but others of the same cloth have shown me much kindness that it sweetens the bitterness of the pill which a few of them have administered. Here,” he added, in the most earnest tones and expression, “is the whole situation. Without taking as gospel everything that a curé may say, or even a bishop, I firmly believe in the principles of the Roman Catholic Church, and, as I have stated, I will die in the faith. In reply to your remark as to the difficulties which have from time to time beset me during the past thirty-five years, I may say that there are a good many people who have tried to drive me out of the Catholic Church, and the means which they have used have not at all times been fair and above board, but, thank God, they have not succeeded up to the present time, and they will have quite as little success in the future as in the past.”
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“I have no hesitation in saying that if the day should come when the supremacy of Britain on the high seas should be challenged it will be the duty of all the daughter nations to close around the old Motherland, and to make a rampart about her to ward off any attack. I hope that day will never come, but should it come, I would deem it my duty to devote what might be left of my life and energy to stump the country and endeavor to impress upon my fellow-countrymen, especially my compatriots in the Province of Quebec, the conviction that the salvation of England is the salvation of our own country, and therein lies the guaranty of our civil and religious freedom and everything we value in life. These are the sentiments which animate the Government on this occasion.”
“This session has been called for the purpose of giving the authority of Parliament and the sanction of law to such measures as have already been taken by the Government, and any further measures that may be needed, to insure the defence of Canada and to give what aid may be in our power to the Mother Country in the stupendous struggle which now confronts us. Speaking for those who sit around me, speaking for the wide constituency which we represent in this House, I hasten to say that to all these measures we are prepared to give immediate assent. If in what has been done or in what remains to be done there may be anything which in our judgment should not be done or should be differently done, we raise no question, we take no exception, we offer no criticism, and we shall offer no criticism so long as there is danger at the front. It is our duty, more pressing upon us than all other duties, at once, on this first day of this extraordinary session of the Canadian Parliament, to let Great Britain know, and to let the friends and foes of Great Britain know, that there is in Canada but one mind and one heart, and that all Canadians stand behind the Mother Country, conscious and proud that she has engaged in this war, not from any selfish motive, for any purpose of aggrandizement, but to maintain untarnished the honour of her name, to fulfil her obligation to her Allies, to maintain her treaty obligations and to save civilization from the unbridled lust of conquest and power.
“We are British subjects, and to-day we are face to face with the consequences which are involved in that proud fact. Long have we enjoyed the benefit of our British citizenship; to-day it is our duty to accept its responsibilities and its sacrifices.
“If my word can be heard beyond the walls of this House in the Province from which I come; among the men whose blood flows in my own veins, I should like them to remember that in taking their place to-day in the ranks of the Canadian army to fight for the cause of the Allied nations, a double honour rests upon them. The very cause for which they are called upon to fight is to them doubly sacred.”
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Sir Wilfrid Laurier was one of the chief speakers at the great musical festival given by the American residents of Toronto under the auspices of the American Aid Society, on Thursday, September 10th., 1914. The concert was held in the Arena, and the entire receipts were donated to the Canadian Patriotic Fund. The Liberal leader said:
“Some few weeks ago Canada deliberated upon the situation, the stupendous struggle in which Britain is engaged, and the part which Canada bears. All vestiges of political differences were eliminated. We found in comparing our views that we stood exactly upon the same platform. Without a dissenting voice it was the unanimous opinion of the Canadian Parliament that the war in which England is engaged to-day is a sacred war, and that Canada must help to its last man and its last dollar.
“We must face the situation as it is, and as Lord Kitchener told us some few days ago, we must have more men. There is a difference between the British nation and the nations of the continent. The nations of the continent get their soldiers by law; by conscription, and the enforcement of authority; the British nation get their soldiers not by law, but by appealing to the patriotism of men. Lord Kitchener tells us he wants more soldiers. If he wants more soldiers from Canada let him say the word and we will respond to meet him. We are behind the Mother Country, and let us send them a message that this war must be fought to a finish, and that arms must not be laid down until the principle which it has been fought for is vindicated, and until the day has come when right takes the place of might.”
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From Laurier’s great speech in the Academy of Music, Quebec, June 26, 1877, in which he declared himself a Liberal of the English school, and an opponent of clerical intimidation:
“The constitution of the country rests on the freely expressed wish of each election. It intends that each elector shall cast his vote freely and willingly as he deems best. If the greatest number of the electors of a country are actually of an opinion, and that, owing to the influence exercised upon them by one or more men, or owing to words they have heard or writings they have read, their opinion changes, there is nothing in the circumstance but what is perfectly legitimate. Although the opinion they express is different from the one they have expressed without such intervention, still it is the one they desire to express conscientiously, and the constitution meets with the entire application. If, however, notwithstanding all reasoning, the opinion of the electors remains the same, but that, by intimidation or fraud, they are forced to vote differently, the opinion which they express is not their opinion, and the constitution is violated. As I have already said, the constitution intends that each one’s opinion shall be freely expressed as he understands it at the moment of expression, and the collective reunion of the individual opinions freely expressed, forms the government of the country.
“I am amongst you to-day, not as a politician, but only as a Canadian, and, I may add, as a French-Canadian, as a Canadian of my race, and when I go to the English Provinces I am quite as proud to call myself as such. I am here to tell you all that we owe to England and to France. What we want before everything is equal rights for everyone, the rights for which England and France have fought, the respect of minorities and the respect of justice and loyalty, so shamefully outraged by Germany.
“Do not forget that the fact that Britain was at war constituted for Canada a new condition of things, which imposed new duties upon the Government, upon the Opposition and upon the whole Canadian people. The moment that Great Britain was at war, Canada was at war. This is a truth which, while we were in office, we had not only to proclaim, but for which we had to provide in a manner consonant with the new condition, a new situation created by the development of Canada, not as a colony, but as a nation within the British Empire.
“These truths were not accepted by all. It was the occasion of a great deal of misrepresentation; it contributed very much towards the defeat which we suffered in 1911, but for my part let me say here that I have no regrets. Better be it ten times over and more that we should stand here defeated for having had the courage of presenting to the Canadian people new duties which have had effects, rather than to still be in office by having shirked the duty which was incumbent upon the administration.
“But at that time it was easy to appeal to prejudices, but the truth that when Britain is at war, Canada is at war also, came in only too concrete a manner, for, after the declaration of war, right here in the city of Montreal you had your harbour full of ships loaded with the produce of the land ready to take to the sea, still remaining here owing to the war, because if they had taken to the sea they would have been liable to seizure by the enemy. They did not and could not take to the seas until the ocean had been swept by the British Navy, and until the British Navy was ready to escort them, until the duty was forthcoming by the British Navy, which, in my conviction, it behooved the Canadian people to do themselves.
“We are a free people, absolutely free. The charter under which we live has put it in our power to say whether we should take part in such a war or not. It is for the Canadian people, the Canadian Parliament and the Canadian Government alone to decide. This freedom is at once the glory and honour of Britain, which granted it, and of Canada, which used it to assist Britain. Freedom is the keynote of all British institutions. There is no compulsion upon those dependencies of Great Britain which have reached the stature of Dominions such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and such Crown Dependencies as India. They are all free to take part or not as they think best. That is the British freedom which much to the surprise of the world, and greatly to the dismay of the German Emperor, German professors, and German diplomats caused the rush from all parts of the British Empire to assist the Mother Country in this stupendous struggle. Freedom breeds loyalty. Coercion always was the mother of rebellion.
“I was asked by someone why should I support the Government in their policy of sending men to the front. Why should not the Liberal party have remained quiet and passive and let all the worries be left to the Government? My answer was, ‘I have no particular love for the Government, but I love my country, I love the land of my ancestors, France. I love the land of liberty, above all, England, and rather than that I in my position of leader of the Liberal party, should remain passive and quiescent, I would rather go out of public life, and life altogether.’
“When the Prime Minister announced his intention of placing all available forces at the disposal of the British Government, what was the policy of the Liberal party? There were three currents of opinion at the time. There was first of all the Imperialist who would have Canada take part in all the wars of the Empire. There was the Nationalist who would not have Canada take part in any war of the Empire at all, and there was the Liberal position. What was our position? We stood for Canadian autonomy. We upheld the sovereignty of Canada. I have several times on the floor of the House sustained that position. I claimed for the Parliament of Canada, the right which John Bright claimed in the Imperial Parliament in the Crimean War. Time has shown that he was right. It has been established that the Crimean War was without result and had no cause. So I claimed for the Parliament of Canada the same right that John Bright claimed for the Imperial Parliament. And I should add that by doing so I scandalized both the Imperialists and the Nationalists.
“Neither of them challenged the position. No one denied that the Canadian Parliament had the right of pronouncement on the question of participation or non-participation. But the Imperialist wanted Parliament to close its eyes and to fight in any war. The Nationalist wanted Parliament to close its eyes and to fight in no wars. We Liberals asked for nothing more than the liberty which had been guaranteed to us.
“If I state our position now, it is not because I wish to raise a discussion on these questions. So long as the war continues, so long as the soil of Belgium is occupied, so long as the last German has not been kicked out of France, so long is this not the time to discuss these questions. All our attention should be directed to the prosecution of the war and to the bringing about of that final victory which we hope to secure. But when the war is over we shall have to take up these questions again. And the people of Canada will be called upon to decide between the opposing parties. If I mention the questions now it is merely because I wish to indicate the motives of our actions.
“I have given you the reasons which made me take the attitude I took in this war, and though I am free to admit that I preferred to fight rather than support the Government in a case of this kind all other considerations should disappear. To complete my thoughts, so that no one may misunderstand me, I will declare that had I been in power I should have followed the same policy myself, though in details of administration I should have tried to do better. Had we been in power we should not be reproached with faults, errors and the friends which now hang everywhere. But I will not talk of that in this discussion. I did not come here to-night for that reason. It is not the time to discuss these questions; they will be discussed later, do not fear.
“What are the rights and duties of the Liberal party? In my opinion, the party should stand for one thing alone, for public good and general interest; its spirit should be such that it can approve or condemn accordingly as the public good and general interest demand condemnation or approbation.
“We maintained that spirit in power, and we maintain it now. When we lost, we were beaten, but we were not subdued.”
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From a speech before the Quadrennial Conference of the Methodist Church of Canada, at Ottawa, Sept. 23, 1914:
“The sword will not be put back in the scabbard,” he said, “until this Imperial bully has been taught that this ‘scrap of paper’ is a solemn obligation, and that solemn obligations between nations, as between individuals must be observed. There can be no peace until heroic Belgium has had her rights and her lands restored, and her wrongs repaired. There can be no peace until the world knows that it is to be governed, not by brute force, but by truth, liberty and justice, for which the British flag stands.”
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As for his own record as statesman, British and Canadian, he remarked only a few weeks before his death:
“Well, I think that when all facts are reviewed in their right perspective, history will not deal unkindly with me, I am content to leave my record to the judgment of men’s thoughts, and to future generations of Canadians.”
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Fifty-five years ago he graduated at law, and on that occasion said: “Two races share to-day the soil of Canada. The French and English races have not always been friends; but I hasten to say it, and I say it to our glory, that race hatreds are finished on Canadian soil. It matters not the language the people speak or the altars at which they kneel.”
The advice he gave the young men of a Liberal Club in Montreal reveals his philosophic temperament: “Let me give you a word of good counsel. During your career you will have to suffer many things which will appear to you as supreme injustice. Let me say to you that you should never allow your religious convictions to be affected by anything which appears to you an injustice. Let me ask of you never to allow your religious convictions to be affected by the acts of men. Your convictions are immortal; your convictions are not only immortal, but their base is eternal. Let your convictions be always calm, serene, and superior to the inevitable trials of life, and show to the world that Catholicism is compatible with the exercise of liberty in its highest acceptation.”
In a speech which he delivered in Quebec in 1894, he gave expression to his religious ideals in the following passage:
“In religion I belong to the school of Montalembert and Lacordaire, of the men who were the greatest perhaps of their age in loftiness of character and ability of thought. I know of no grander spectacle than that of Montalembert and Lacordaire, two adolescents, two children almost, undertaking to conquer in France freedom of education, and succeeding in their object after many years of struggle. I know of no finer spectacle than that furnished by Montalembert confronting the French bourgeoisie, impregnated, as they were, with that dissolving materialism, the Voltairean skepticism of the eighteenth century, and exclaiming: ‘We are the sons of the Crusaders and shall not retreat before the sons of Voltaire.’ I know of no greater or more beautiful spectacle than that of Lacordaire proclaiming from the pulpit of Notre Dame the truths of Christianity to the incredulous crowd, and teaching them that life is a sacrifice and is only rendered worthy by duty accomplished.”
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Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s last appearance in London was at the Imperial Conference in 1911, and it was at this gathering that he made the notable statement,
“I represent a country which has no grievances.”
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All his hopes and aspirations are contained in his inspiring message to the Acadians of Nova Scotia:
“Thank Providence,” he said, “that we live in a country of absolute freedom and liberty. Let us always bear in mind our duties, for duty is always inherent in right. Our fathers had to labour to secure these rights. Now let us fulfil our part. Three years ago, when visiting England at the Queen’s Jubilee, I had the privilege of visiting one of the marvels of Gothic architecture which the hand of genius, guided by an unerring faith, had made a harmonious whole, in which granite, marble, oak and other materials were blended. This cathedral is an image of the nations I hope to see Canada become. As long as I live, as long as I have the power to labour in the service of my country, I shall always repel the idea of changing the nature of its different elements. I want the marble to remain the marble; I want the granite to remain the granite; I want the oak to remain the oak; I want the sturdy Scotchman to remain the Scotchman; I want the brainy Englishman to remain the Englishman; I want the warm-hearted Irishman to remain the Irishman; I want to take all these elements and build a nation that will be foremost among the great powers of the world.”
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Sir Wilfrid Laurier’s message to the students of the University of Toronto in 1913 is recalled as one of the most inspiring utterances of his long career. On that occasion he said:
“My young friends, go out into the world to service. Make the highest thought of service your inspiration. Problems there are—big problems. To-morrow and the day after to-morrow, it will be your turn to grapple with them. Serve God and your country. Be firm in the right, as God gives you to see the right. You may not always succeed. Progress is often punctuated with reverses. You may meet reverse—but the following day stand up again and renew the conflict for truth and justice shall triumph in the end.”
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When a man becomes satisfied he becomes a Tory. The life of a Liberal is one of unceasing effort towards progress and encouraging development in all that makes for the betterment of mankind. It is easy to read articles of appreciation upon a man when he is gone, but if anyone is so poor in reflection as to overlook the fact that Laurier worked hard all his life he does an injustice to himself and to the record of Sir Wilfrid. Before he became leader of the Liberal Party about 32 years ago, Sir Wilfrid had visited many portions of the Dominion in support of his leaders, Mackenzie and Blake, upon all occasions advocating the Liberal cause, not only in Quebec, but in the Maritime Provinces and in Ontario. His first election as leader was in 1891, and he all but carried the country, for in the previous three years he addressed many meetings. In 1893, after the National Liberal Convention he toured Ontario for months. In 1894 he took a series of meetings in Ontario before going West right through to the Pacific Coast, addressing over 60 meetings and taking part in numerous smaller gatherings. The effect of this tour was that whereas he had but one supporter in 1894 west of the Great Lakes, he in 1896 carried the West by a majority of three. In the fall of 1895 Laurier spent nearly two months in Ontario, and addressed 56 large gatherings besides taking part in smaller assemblies and receptions. The effect of all this was that in the session of 1896 Laurier had a commanding knowledge of the conditions of the country, and the people not only admired him but trusted him. In 1896 he carried 48 seats in Ontario, and the average number of seats he carried in 1896, 1900, 1904 and 1908 was 40. As the years stole over him he could not carry on with his former vigour, but he had to carry on without the support that should have been accorded him by those who sat in Cabinet with him. In 1910 Laurier took a grand tour of the four Western Provinces, and in all general elections never spared himself. The efforts in this regard in 1917 were the wonder and admiration of supporters and opponents alike.
In 1918-19 he took up the task of supervising the Liberal reorganization in Ontario and of urging the Liberals in all the other provinces also to get together. He died in the midst of this work.
These outward manifestations of Laurier in action are mentioned to remind each and all who may desire a place in the galaxy of Liberal leaders that they cannot lead merely by praising the dead and wishing to be hailed as being born to something for which they never laboured to qualify. Volumes will be written on Laurier’s mental and other qualifications, but the author should not forget to record his struggle to give to the people the benefit of his endowment enlarged by practical application and consultation with them.
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The first and most wise step was the selection by Sir Wilfrid Laurier of the strongest possible colleagues to form his Cabinet. No abler body of men ever presided over the destinies of Canada—a fact admitted, even by opponents. It was truly a great combination which instilled much needed confidence in the people. To form it Sir Wilfrid had to go outside the ranks of the men who had fought the battles of the party in Opposition in the Dominion House, and who no doubt expected preferment. But the wisdom of his choice has never been questioned, and the record of his Government is the most ample justification of it.