The following is a report of the speech delivered by His Excellency the
Governor-General, after distributing the prizes at the school
entertainment in the Opera House, on Friday last, December 23, 1878.
His Excellency said:—
Ladies and Gentlemen, and my young friends, the pupils of the Public Schools,—Let me express to you the pleasure I feel in being with you to-night, in being able to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year, and in having an opportunity of giving to the successful candidates for honours the prizes which they have so well won in the competitions which have taken place. I congratulate them upon their laurels, and I wish, after handing to them the proof of their success, to say to them how fortunate I consider them to be, in that their lot has been cast in a land where education is so much prized, and where, both in the Public Schools and in the Separate Schools, it is so well known how to give effect to the value set by all the community upon the thorough and universal training of the youth of the country. I have heard men who have come from England and from Scotland say, on learning of the manner in which schools are sown broadcast in Ontario, and on understanding the system of education adopted here, and the nature of the tuition given, "I wish that I in my time had had only the tenth part of the schooling which is given to the boys and girls in Canada." Let me tell you what lately brought home to my mind, in the most striking way, the consideration and care the Canadians bestow upon their schools. At the great Paris Exhibition this year, where the things in which each nation took an especial pride were paraded before the eyes of the world, the space allotted to Canada was largely occupied with the books, the atlases, and the furniture of all kinds used here in the schools, while no other country seemed to have thought of exhibiting anything of the kind. It was remarked how wise it was of this young country to show these things, for it told the world that she does not only invite to her fair and untilled lands the self-reliant and honest among the crowded populations of Europe, but it told how well the sons of the emigrant, as well as of the resident, were cared for, and educated in the Provinces of the Dominion. I am afraid that with many of the books shown at Paris, our young friends are much better acquainted than many of us, their elders, can now pretend to be; and I am sure that many of the clever young Canadians whom you see before you, could give us, whose learning has become rusty, many a bit of knowledge which might still stand us in good stead. The exhibition at Paris from your schools filled up what some said was a blank, namely, the absence of any of the fruits of your wonderful harvests, and of any machinery from Canada. It was said, I remember, that the fruit could not be carried, but perhaps it was owing to a wish not to wound the susceptibilities of the Old World that none of the beautiful products of your orchards were there, and because you did not wish that any of your modest-looking but unapproachable pommes grises, or blushing and splendid Pippin apples, should appear in the character of apples of discord. It may have been owing to the same wish not to excite unduly and unnecessarily the envy of others, that no machinery was exhibited from Canada, and that while other nations were making the great building resound and vibrate to the whirr of wheels driven by steam; you did not, even by so much as a picture, remind the Parisians of your wealth in water power as well as in steam, and there was nothing to show the citizen of London or of Paris, who supposes the Thames or the Seine to be the greatest streams on earth, why he should be ashamed of himself if he could but look upon the Ottawa or the St. Lawrence. But the school display made up for any blank, and under the shadow of the magnificent Canadian lumber trophy which adorned the palace, reaching to the roof, and which demonstrated the wealth of your forests, were the implements you use for the cultivation of your greatest treasure—the ready brains and quick intelligence of your youth. I am glad to meet some of those to-night for whom all that preparation is made; and first, I would say to those who have not this year been among the prize winners, that I shall hope to see some of their names in the opposite category another year. "Better luck next time" is a good saying, but "Never say die" is perhaps a better. Try again, and yet again, and you will succeed. Many a man begins, and has begun in all times of the world, at the first rung of the ladder, who finds himself, if he will only give his own gifts their due, at the top at the end I do not know that I need recommend to you that most delightful book of history, "The Tales of a Grandfather," written by Sir Walter Scott. He describes, as few can, the despair of the Scottish king, who lay, tired to death, and pondering whether he should or should not try again the apparently hopeless task to deliver his country from her strong and terrible enemies; and how a spider, spinning her web in the rafters over his head, was seen by him to fail again and again, and yet again, until eight times she had endeavoured to fix a thread, and eight times she had found the space too great to span; and how he said within himself "If she try again and fail, I too shall deem my task hopeless;" but the ninth time the attempt was made and did not fail, and I need not pursue the story further, or tell you how Scotsmen look back, through more than five centuries, on the resolve then taken by Bruce with feelings of gratitude and pride which can never fade and die. But there are other cases of men who had become famous for their ability to do that which at first seemed impossible. Let me mention one (to come down to our own times) because his name is widely known and honoured as one of the greatest financiers of our day. I allude to Mr. Gladstone, who, as you know, was the last Prime Minister in Great Britain and was acknowledged by both parties in the State to be one of the best Finance Ministers who ever presided over the National Exchequer. When Mr. Gladstone was a young man, and was about to go to the university (as several of you are about now to leave school for college), he told his father that there was one branch of learning in which he must not expect his son to distinguish himself, and that was in mathematics, as he had no turn for figures. He went to the university, and he came out as what is called a "double first," that is, he proved himself to have become as superior to others in mathematics as in the classical studies, and took first honours in both. I; need not tell you here, in this free and happy country, that it is quite unnecessary for any one to have any artificial advantage in getting to the head of a profession. Industry will find a way, here perhaps more easily than in the old country, though there it is open to all to rise to the highest places. I will only cite one other instance of remarkable success, because it is within my knowledge. It is the case of a man who was one of the greatest shipbuilders on the Clyde, and who built, among many other vessels, the splendid war-ship, the Black Prince, which was lately at Halifax, under command of one of the Queen's sons, the Duke of Edinburgh. The builder of that vessel died lately, one of the wealthiest and most successful of Glasgow's great shipbuilders, and had furnished more fine vessels to the mercantile and war marine of Great Britain than perhaps any one in his time, for he lived to a good old age. His fortune was made by his own strong hand, good head and honest heart. His name was Robert Napier, and I cannot wish you a better career than his, or that you should seek your fortune with greater uprightness and courage. I heartily wish continued success to you who have received prizes this evening. Allow me to hint to you that you must not relax your exertions. If I may use the metaphor, you have learned to swim, but many a stroke is necessary before you can hope to reach your goal Determine what your goal shall be, and strike out straight for it. You have a variety of pursuits in this country. Determine to be of use to the land which has given you birth. Determine to be a credit to it. Remember that you are Canadians, and remember what this means. It means that you belong to a people who are loyal to their Queen, whom they reverence as one of the most perfect of women, and as their Sovereign; and who see in her the just ruler under whose impartial sway the various races, creeds, and nationalities of this great Empire are bound together in happiness and unity. But to be loyal means even more than this. It means that you are true to your duties to your fellow-countrymen, and that you will work with and for all, for the common weal in brotherhood and tolerance. It means, finally, that you will be true to your self-respect, that you will do nothing unworthy of the love of your God, who made you in His image, and set you in this fair land I believe that you will each and all of you be loyal and true Canadians, that you will devote your energies throughout your lives for the good of your native province, and for the welfare of this wide Dominion, and I feel in speaking to you that I address those whose children will assuredly be the fathers of a mighty nation.
During a visit to Kingston in 1879, the degree of Doctor of Laws of Queen's College was conferred upon the Governor-General, and an address was presented by the Trustees. His Excellency, in acknowledging the honour conferred, said:—
Mr. Chancellor, Principal Grant and Gentlemen,—Believe me I am deeply sensible of the honour you have conferred upon me by conferring on me the degree of Doctor of Laws at this time and in this place. I say at this time, because it is a time in which we have been sent here to represent her Majesty; and at this place, because here I see represented every section, creed, and class of the great community of Canada. I accept the honour, if you will allow me to do so, not because I myself am worthy of it, for I feel deeply my own unworthiness, but as a recognition of the position which has been conferred upon me by the grace of the Sovereign. (Cheers.) I am glad that it has taken place here, because it has just been pointed out to me we are in front of that building in which formerly met the Parliament of Canada, and which, good building as it is, when compared with the great and handsome Parliament buildings now at Ottawa, gives a just impression of the progress and advancement made in a short while in this great country. The only personal claim I have to represent her Majesty in this country, is that I have had some experience in that great law-making assembly in Great Britain, her House of Commons. But here I occupy a position unknown in the constitution of foreign countries, as a political doctor, because whatever prescriptions I give must be such that they can hardly be visible to or appreciated by the public. (Laughter.) They must be written in invisible ink—(laughter)—and I can only give a prescription at all when I meet with other physicians in consultation; and any remedy given must be given, not by myself, although it may be administered by any others of those whom I meet in consultation. (Great laughter.) This is a peculiar position, and one which is totally incomprehensible to many foreign doctors. (Loud laughter.) But I am glad to see by your presence and by the kindness of your reception to-day, and by the manner in which you are working out your political destinies, that you know the value and importance of such a position. (Applause.) I thank you for the kindliness of your reception, and I assure Mr. Chancellor and Principal, that I shall always look back with pride and pleasure to the day on which I received this academical distinction at the hands of the authorities of Queen's College. (Loud cheering.)
In acknowledging the address he said:—
TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEEN'S COLLEGE:—Gentlemen,—I am much rejoiced at learning from you of the large number of students at present attending the Queen's College, and hail this as a proof that the high tone of the instruction here imparted, and the excellence of all matters connected with the organisation and management of this seat of learning, have challenged the attention and won the entire confidence and approbation of the people of this part of the Province. I don't know whether a general holiday is the best occasion on which to enter an abode of learning. But you will agree with me that it is not only learning which makes a man wise, but that his heart and his affections have also something to do in the promotion of wisdom. To-day your preparation for the future, in the matter of labour in gathering knowledge, is laid aside in order that you may let the heart speak and show gratitude for the blessings you now enjoy, and that your fathers have bequeathed to you in the liberty enjoyed under our gracious Queen, the best interpreter of the best constitution ever perfected by any nation. (Cheers.) We thank you in her name for the welcome accorded to us, and we identify ourselves with you in the satisfaction you must experience in the ceremonial of to-day, for in the achievement of the task of raising so large a sum of money, the inhabitants of Kingston show that they wish their children to follow the loyal, prudent footsteps of those who are proud of the name of this city, and are resolved that the next generation shall receive their instruction from no foreign hands, but at home. (Cheers.) Just as Kingston in former days knew how to defend herself and keep her own, so will you on the field of learning ensure that no ground gained by the genius, the labour and the science of former days be lost, but that, strong in the conquests of the past, your students may be free to undertake fresh work, and that each man for himself may advance on new paths of progress. (Loud cheers.)
Ladies and Gentlemen,—Now that the first stone of the new college has been laid, let me congratulate you who have met here on this auspicious day. My observations will not take much time, and shall be brief, because, with the best voice I can command, I fear it is perfectly impossible for me to make my utterances reach over so large an area and be audible to so great an audience as that I have the honour of seeing before me to-day. Indeed, if it were probable that some of those young men who are here as students would, in after life, have the honour of addressing so great a multitude of their fellow-countrymen, I should certainly advise the authorities of the college to erect a chair for teaching the art of elocution—(applause)—so that the volume of the voice might be increased to reach much further than I am afraid is possible for me to-day. But let me join with you in wishing continued success to the Queen's College University at Kingston—(applause)—to associate myself with you in the hope that this new building will long stand as a monument to the generosity of the townspeople of this generation—(applause)—and to the talent of the architect who has designed so handsome and imposing a structure. (Cheers.) I shall not inflict upon you many observations upon the subject of education, for I know no ears to which such observations would sound more trite than those of the people of Ontario, who have shown by the ample and magnificent provision which they have made for education in this province, how all-important they consider it is, that this growing population, extending as it is so rapidly, and being recruited from almost all quarters of the world, should receive a thorough and well-grounded training, and be well instructed in all learning and knowledge. (Applause.) I trust that this college may be a home of happy memories to all who shall receive their education here and who will go forth to spread its renown far and wide. (Loud cheers.) This place is already comparatively old, and I must consider this town of Kingston, which has already made its mark in the history of this country, as fortunate in possessing a university—for certainly by the possession of such an institution, one of those wants is supplied which is rather too apt to be visible in a new and enterprising country. (Applause.) Where many are rather apt to suppose that sufficient is done by a school education for the practical and rougher life, which is the lot of many here, I am sure that all present value the higher training to be alone obtained in a university. (Applause.) It would be superfluous to dwell upon the value of the completion and of the elaboration of education imparted by such an institution, for large as Canada is, the world is even larger—(applause)—and by such a higher training avenues are opened throughout every profession in England and her great dependencies, for there is no office in this vast Empire which is not open to Canadian talent. (Loud applause.) It is on this ground that I believe we can confidently appeal to the generosity of the wealthy, that generosity which is the mainspring of every institution in a free country. (Cheers.) It was in 1836 that it was said by those who founded the college, that "a deep and wide foundation had been laid, a foundation capable of extension," and I rejoice that now in the lifetime of the generation which has succeeded to that in which those words were spoken, there is so fair a promise of the completion of the work, and that those aspirations will be realised. (Applause) And now let me mention one other bond of union between the students of this college and myself, and another cause of sympathy, for with your honoured and learned Principal I have this bond of fellowship, that we were both friends— and I may almost say pupils—of a great preacher and a very beloved man, not the least of whose merits in your eyes will be that it was owing to his persuasion that your late Principal undertook the charge of this college. (Loud cheers.) And I believe it was also owing to his initiative that your present Principal undertook a charge in Canada, an action which ultimately led up to his present position where he is honoured and revered by you all. I allude to the late Rev. Norman Macleod. (Loud cheers.) And, gentlemen, I have one other cause for feeling a fellowship with you, and that is, that I had the advantage for sometime of being a student at a Scottish university, and in very much I trace points of resemblance between the system of your university and that which obtained at home, and especially in this that, although founded by a Scotchman, this institution of Queen's College is one absolutely free and open to every denomination. (Applause.) Indeed this institution is in its features so much like the great universities at home, the great University of Edinburgh, for example, to whose proportions I hope you will in course of time attain, that I almost expect to see some gentleman make a proposal which will fill the only serious want I detect in your organisation, and that is, that there is no provision here for a Celtic chair for the teaching of the Gaelic language. I am sure that in this opinion all our Irish friends will join, for what is a Highlander but an Irishman? (Laughter and applause.) What is he but a banished Irishman?—(renewed laughter)—speaking a language which I am sure would be pronounced by the ancient Four Masters to be a mutilated form of the old Irish language. (Great laughter and cheers.) And now that I have mentioned Scottish students, I am sure you will not think that I am making any invidious comparison when I allude to the noble example I have seen set by them in the determination and energy with which I have known them prosecute their studies. (Hear, hear.) I have known at St. Andrew's men go up to the university so little able to afford the necessary money for their stay there, that they have apprenticed themselves to resident tradesmen in the town, and have risen at I do not know what hour of night or morning, and have gone through the whole of the manual labour necessary for their temporary profession—(loud applause)—and after this exhausting labour have attended throughout the day at their classes in the university and have managed there to take a high place with their fellow-students. (Loud applause.) I am sure you will not think I mention this because I imagine that anybody is not capable of the same effort, for although wealth is much more evenly divided here than it is in Scotland, I believe you are here animated by the same spirit. (Cheers.) I remember mentioning the example of the Scottish students to a famous and learned professor of Cambridge, the late Professor Whewell, of Trinity, and he thought that an invidious comparison was intended, for he sharply replied to me, "Well, there is nothing to prevent you working here." (Great laughter.) This is not the way in which you will take my little story. I am sure there is not only nothing to prevent you working here, but that there is everything to make you do so, and I am confident the students here will take advantage of their opportunities, and do their best to make the name of a Canadian an honoured designation throughout the world. (Loud and long-continued applause.)
At the Royal Military College, Kingston, the Governor-General attended the distribution of prizes, and, at the close, his Excellency rose and delivered the following speech:—
Gentlemen Cadets of the Royal Military College,—On the Princess's behalf I must first express her pleasure in giving you the prizes awarded for mental worth and also for physical exercises—(applause)— and I cannot say how much satisfaction I have had today in seeing the manoeuvres so well executed during the very pretty little field day you have gone through, and in thoroughly examining into every part of this Institution, and seeing myself the place which, I believe, will hereafter be as famous in Canadian history as the training place of the officers in whom Canada puts her trust as is Woolwich in England, or the Academy at West Point, among our neighbours. (Applause.) In being here I confess I think your lines are cast in pleasant places, and it is well that it should be so, for to judge from my own experience when going through a course of training at Woolwich, it may be possible that in future years you will re-visit this scene of your early labours. It is often the case that after some years' service, students of the military art find that owing to the constant progress made in military science, they have fallen a little behind, have perhaps become a little rusty, and have to go back for a time to drill. This may be the case here as well as in other armies, and if ever I have the pleasure in future years again of visiting Kingston, I may find some of the young and soldier-like body whom I have now the pleasure of addressing, again going through "repository" work as stout captains or as weighty majors—(laughter)—here again for a while to polish off any little rust that may have accumulated in their minds. It is certainly a matter of surprise to find what wonders have been accomplished by this school in a short time, and how under the able, energetic, and genial leadership of Col. Hewitt, and of the instructors, to whom you owe an uncommon debt of gratitude, for their work has been very hard, and like the British Infantry, they are excellent, but they are too few—(applause)—a school of arms has arisen which will bear comparison with some of the oldest of similar institutions in other countries. The good which has been done in this school is evident to all who visit it, and this is recognised by those who have not had that advantage, but who, hearing of your progress, and reposing, with good reason, confidence in the able board of officers who guide your studies, have afforded their support to an experiment which may be already pronounced a great success. It is not only one Province that is represented amongst you, but the Dominion at large, and we may look forward to having many from the gallant Province of Quebec—(applause)—whose famous military annals will, I am confident, should necessity arise, be reproduced in the actions of her sons. (Applause.) The life that you have led in this place and the spirit of comradeship here engendered will be a bond of union for our Canadian Dominion—(applause)—and many of you when you leave this will feel for your Alma Mater that sentiment of affection which Napoleon felt for St. Cyr. May this Kingston Military Academy be a fruitful mother of armed science—(applause)—and a source of confidence and pride to her country. You will go hence after your studies are completed as men well skilled in many of those acquirements which may be looked upon as wont to lead to success in civil life; but above all, you will be officers to whom can be entrusted with confidence the leadership of our Canadian Militia. (Applause.) It will be your duty to command those who are called out for service first of all for the defence of your own homes; but I doubt not that you will always remember that in belonging to the Canadian Militia you belong to an auxiliary force of the Imperial army, whose services are constantly illustrating anew, in distant and various climes, and against every kind of foe, the qualities of the British valour and the virtues which have made Britain what she is. (Applause.) It may never be your fate to have any share in war's convulsions, and you may have no opportunity of doing what the Zulus would call, "Washing your spears." Do not on that account think that your time has been misspent, or regret the preparation which is the best means of preventing any disaster falling upon your country. The training you have here received will certainly not only pay well in giving you those habits of mind and knowledge which will be of advantage to you whatever line in life you pursue, but will help you to become good citizens, and will make you worthy representatives of that home army which is so essential for the defence of the land. It is the proud fortune of those who follow that profession, of which it has been finely said that "it is their trade to die," to know that by their life they not only foster those feelings of manliness and hardihood without which life is not worth having, but that it is also under their protecting arm that every profession pursues its even way, and arts and commerce flourish, and wealth increases in security. (Loud. applause.)
On the 24th May 1879, after an interesting review at Montreal of a militia force, comprising one regiment of American Militia from New York State, a dinner was given at the Windsor Hotel, and, in reply to the toast of his health, the Governor-General rose and said:—