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Title: Sir George Etienne Cartier
       His Work for Canada and His Services to Montreal

Author: John Boyd

Release Date: February 19, 2021 [eBook #64593]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8

Produced by: Sonya Schermann, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SIR GEORGE ETIENNE CARTIER ***

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Sir George Etienne Cartier

His Work for Canada and His Services to Montreal


AN ADDRESS

DELIVERED BEFORE THE CANADIAN CLUB OF MONTREAL

_April 7th, 1913_

BY

JOHN BOYD

Author of The Memorial History of the Life and Times of Sir George
Etienne Cartier

(To be issued in connection with the Cartier Centenary Celebration,
1914)


ISSUED BY THE CARTIER CENTENARY COMMITTEE MONTREAL 1913




THE CARTIER CENTENARY

1814-1914

Under the distinguished patronage of H. R. H. The Duke of Connaught


Executive Committee


Patron:

SIR CHARLES TUPPER, BART.


President:

E. W. VILLENEUVE, ESQ.


Vice-Presidents:

SIR RODOLPHE FORGET
HON. J. J. GUERIN
HON. N. PERODEAU
H. A. EKERS, ESQ.
D. LORNE MCGIBBON, ESQ.


Honorary Treasurers:

HON. J. A. OUIMET
President City & District Savings Bank

H. V. MEREDITH, ESQ.
General Manager, Bank of Montreal


Honorary Secretaries:

JOHN BOYD, ESQ.
C. A. PARISEAULT, ESQ.
F. ARTHUR JACKSON, ESQ.
HORACE J. GAGNE, ESQ.


Secretary:

H. R. OVENDEN, ESQ.


Bankers:

THE BANK OF MONTREAL


Address - - P. O. Box 188




[Illustration: SIR GEORGE ETIENNE CARTIER

Born Sept. 6, 1814     Died May 23, 1873]




The accompanying address has been registered in accordance with the
Copyright Act by JOHN BOYD.




FOREWORD.


The great interest that has been aroused in the Cartier Centenary
movement was shown by the large gathering which assembled at the
Canadian Club luncheon in the Sailors' Institute on Monday, April 7th,
1913, to hear Mr. John Boyd speak on "Sir George Etienne Cartier, His
Work for Canada and His Services to Montreal." The speaker's references
to the work that Cartier had accomplished for Canada, and especially
to the great services that he rendered to the City of Montreal, were
enthusiastically applauded by the large audience of representative
business men.

The accompanying address which includes a summary of Sir George Etienne
Cartier's career and achievements is but a preliminary to the Memorial
History of the Life and Times of Cartier which is now being written
by Mr. John Boyd, and which will deal exhaustively not only with
Cartier's career but also with the whole period covered by that career,
one of the most memorable periods of Canadian history. The work will
be published next year under the auspices of the Cartier Centenary
Committee in connection with the great commemorative celebration of the
one hundredth anniversary of Cartier's birth.




SIR GEORGE ETIENNE CARTIER

His Work for Canada and His Services to Montreal.

(AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BY MR. JOHN BOYD BEFORE THE
CANADIAN CLUB OF MONTREAL, APRIL 7th, 1913.)


Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen:

The subject of the address which I have the privilege of delivering
to-day is "Sir George Etienne Cartier, His Work for Canada and His
Services to Montreal."

Let me at the outset, Mr. Chairman, express my deep appreciation of the
honor the Executive of the Canadian Club has done me in inviting me to
address the members of this important and representative organization.

When, in 1892, through the efforts of Mr. Charles R. McCullough of
Hamilton, the first Canadian Club was organized, a movement was
inaugurated of the utmost importance to the Dominion. Every important
centre throughout the country now has its Canadian Club, and these
organizations, or as they have been well termed, these "universities
of the people" now numbering nearly one hundred, are doing a splendid
work in fostering a spirit of patriotism and in creating that national
sentiment which is so essential to Canada's welfare. The Canadian Club
of Montreal, composed as it is of the most representative citizens of
the commercial metropolis, has ever been foremost in this great work,
and it is indeed a privilege to have the opportunity of addressing such
a gathering.

What more appropriate subject, Mr. Chairman, could be found for an
address before a Canadian Club, than the career of one of our great
nation-builders, of one who helped to lay the foundations of Canadian
nationality and of the Dominion's greatness?

It is not my intention, Mr. Chairman, nor would time permit on this
occasion, to deal exhaustively with the life and achievements of Sir
George Etienne Cartier. That is now engaging my attention in another
form, and when the Memorial History of the Life and Times of George
Etienne Cartier shall appear, it will, I trust be found to be at
least an exhaustive review of a great career and of one of the most
memorable periods of Canadian history. On this occasion, owing to the
limited time at my disposal, I shall content myself with reviewing
succinctly Cartier's public career and achievements, dwelling briefly
on the lessons of his life with special emphasis upon the great work
that he did for Canada in general and the eminent services which he
rendered to the City of Montreal in particular.

I shall take it for granted, Gentleman, that you are all conversant
with the main facts of Cartier's career, from his birth at St. Antoine
on the Richelieu River on September 6th, 1814, until his entrance to
public life at the age of 34 in 1848, from that date until he became
Prime Minister of United Canada in 1858, and from that until his death
in 1873 when he held the portfolio of Minister of Militia and Defence
in the Dominion Government.

Cartier's public career covered a period of some twenty-five years,
that is to say from 1848 to 1873. What fruitful efforts, what
herculanean labors, what great achievements, what struggles, defeats
and triumphs were crowded within the compass of that career! The period
which it covered was one of the most remarkable, if not the most
remarkable, in the whole range of Canadian history. It was a period
which witnessed many great constitutional changes, many transformations
of parties, many fierce political struggles. It saw the beginning and
the end of the Union, it marked the triumph of the long struggle for
responsible government, it witnessed the birth of Confederation. It was
a period fecund of great events and momentous developments, it was also
a period rendered notable by the long succession of great statesmen
whose names must forever be illustrious in Canadian history.

During all of that period Cartier played an active part and at times
occupied a pre-eminent position.

At the beginning of his career, Cartier was a zealous reformer. In his
youth like so many other ardent spirits of the time he came under the
influence of Louis Joseph Papineau, when that great French Canadian
tribune, with his incomparable eloquence, was thundering against those
administrative abuses which were directly responsible for the troubles
of the period. Nor was Papineau alone in his opposition to what Cartier
described as the action of a minority which sought to dominate the
majority and exploit the government in its own interests. Papineau,
it should be remembered had the support of leading English-speaking
Canadians, such as the distinguished Wolfred Nelson, afterwards Mayor
of Montreal; in fact it is a noteworthy historical feature that some
of the leading figures in the struggle for responsible government
in Lower Canada were English-speaking. Cartier's participation in
the rising of 1837 was due to the ardor and impetuosity of youth and
the sincere convictions he held that the prevailing evils called for
drastic measures. His experience convinced him of the folly of an
appeal to arms; he realized that the remedy for existing evils must be
sought, not through armed resistance to the constituted authorities,
but through constitutional agitation and legislative action. He became
a staunch supporter of LaFontaine's policy, and one of his earliest
campaign speeches was made in advocacy of the principle of ministerial
responsibility during the crisis resulting from the resignation of
the LaFontaine-Baldwin Government in 1844. In 1848, when Cartier
first entered Parliament, the struggle for responsible government,
thanks to the efforts of those two great statesmen, Louis Hypolite
LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin, whose names will forever be held in the
highest honor by all Canadians, had been fought and won. When justice
had been secured and existing abuses remedied by the granting of
responsible government, Cartier became, and ever afterwards continued
to be one of the warmest supporters and most zealous champions of
British institutions, a strong advocate of the maintenance of British
connection and a passionate lover of the British flag.

Cartier was the destined successor of LaFontaine in the great work of
reconstruction, pacification, and conciliation, and when LaFontaine
retired in 1851, and was followed a few years later by that other
eminent French-Canadian statesman, Auguste Norbert Morin, Cartier's
path to the leadership of his native province was clear. For years he
was the undisputed leader: his voice, as has been well said, was the
voice of Quebec.

The struggle for responsible government having been won, an era of
marked industrial expansion and development followed under the Union.
It was an era of railway building, of canal construction, of the
establishment of great public works. Cartier, owing to his practical
qualities, his great business abilities, his mastery of details, and
his administrative capacities, was eminently qualified to obtain
a leading position during such a period. He achieved distinction
as a reformer, as an able administrator, as a legislator, and as a
constructive statesman. His name is attached to some of the most
important Acts of a period prolific of important legislation. It
is sufficient to mention in this connection such measures as the
construction of the Montreal and Portland Railway, the decentralization
of the judiciary, the codification of the civil laws and of civil
procedure, the modification of the criminal law, the Municipal Act of
Lower Canada, the Act relating to registration offices, the abolition
of the seigniorial tenure, the choice of Ottawa as the Capital of
Canada, the construction of the Grand Trunk Railway and the Victoria
Bridge, the organization of the educational system of Lower Canada, the
improvement and deepening of the St. Lawrence, the building of canals,
the union of the provinces of British North America, the acquisition
of the North-West Territories, the construction of the Intercolonial
Railway, the establishment of the Province of Manitoba, the admission
of British Columbia into Confederation, the establishment of the
militia system and the initiation of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

It would not be in accordance with that absolute truth which is
demanded of history, to even infer that to Cartier alone is due the
credit for the passage of all of these great measures. Many eminent
men contributed by their efforts to their achievement. But to Cartier
may fairly be adjudged the merit without detracting from the merits
of others, of having taken an active part in the achievement of all
of these important measures, of having devoted his great energies and
abilities to their accomplishment, and of having played a determining
part in the achievement of some of them. Some of these measures
were of material benefit to the progress of the country. The legal
reforms for which Cartier is entitled to the sole credit, constitute
in themselves a monument to his wise statesmanship. Other measures
in which he played a determining part, such as Confederation, were
of an epoch-making character, in connection with Canada's national
development and well-being. As an eminent French-Canadian writer, the
late Senator Tassé, has well remarked, more than one of these measures
would have been sufficient to immortalize Cartier. He was, to use
Senator Tassé's words, at one and the same time a legislator, a founder
of constitutions, a peaceful conqueror.


Cartier and Confederation

The greatest work in which Cartier participated, and in which it
is freely acknowledged he played a determining part, was of course
the establishment of Confederation. The idea of a union of all the
provinces of British North America did not originate with Cartier,
any more than it originated with Macdonald, Tupper, Tilley, Brown or
the other great Fathers of Confederation. Proposals to that effect
had been made long before, and the idea was one that had arisen
in many minds as a desirable consummation and as a remedy for the
chaotic conditions which then prevailed. But the idea was one that was
heartily supported by Cartier from a very early period, and to the
Cartier-Macdonald Government of which he became the head in 1858 as
Prime Minister of United Canada must be given the credit of having
taken the first practical steps to bring about Confederation. One of
the items of that government's programme was the union of the British
North American provinces, and soon after the close of the session
of 1858, a delegation composed of three members of the Government,
Cartier himself, A. T. Galt, and John Rose went to England to press
the matter upon the Imperial Government. A memorandum submitted to the
Imperial authorities and signed by Cartier, Galt and Rose urged the
Imperial Government to take steps to have a meeting of delegates from
all the British North American provinces to consider the question of
Confederation and to report upon it.

Though the steps taken in 1858 had no immediate result, the fact
remains that the Government of which Cartier was the head, was the
first to take up the question of the union of the British North
American provinces, that, as the lamented Thomas D'Arcy McGee remarked
in his great speech during the Confederation debate "the first real
stage of the success of Confederation, the thing that gave importance
to the theory in men's minds, was the memorandum of 1858, signed by
Cartier, Galt and Rose. The recommendation in that memorandum" said
McGee, "laid dormant until revived by the Constitutional Committee
which led to the coalition, which led to the Quebec Conference, which
led to the draft of the Constitution now on our table, and which" added
McGee with assurance "will lead, I am fain to believe, to the union
of all these provinces,"--an assurance, which was not long afterwards
happily fulfilled.

Cartier was the leader of the Quebec wing of the Coalition Ministry.
He was a delegate to the Charlottetown Conference, as well as a member
of the Quebec Conference. He took a leading part in the Confederation
debates, ably defending the measure against the attacks made upon it.
With Macdonald, Brown and Galt he was deputed after the scheme had
been adopted by the Legislature to go to England to confer with Her
Majesty's Government; he was also one of the delegates who sat in
Conference from the 4th to the 24th December, 1866, at the Westminster
Palace Hotel in London, and at which a series of 69 resolutions, based
on those of the Quebec Conference, were finally passed. The sittings
of that famous conference were renewed early in January of 1867, a
series of draft bills were drawn up, and revised by the Imperial law
officers, a bill was submitted to the Imperial Parliament in February,
and on March 29th, under the title of the British North America Act,
it received the royal assent. A royal proclamation issued from Windsor
Castle on May 22nd, 1867, appointed July 1st as the date upon which the
Act should come into force, and the following first of July witnessed
the birth of what the Governor-General, Lord Monck, well designated as
"a new nationality".

The men who assembled at Quebec on October 10th, 1864, to devise means
for bringing about the union of the British North American provinces,
had momentous problems to solve, but they were all men of the most
ardent patriotism, of the broadest views, and with a firm determination
to carry to a successful issue the great work with which they had
been entrusted. How they succeeded in their task we all know. It has
been well remarked by one of the biographers of Sir John A. Macdonald
that there are three men besides Macdonald who in the establishment
of Confederation and in securing the large results which followed
from that epoch-making measure, demand special mention. Those men
were George Etienne Cartier, Charles Tupper, and Leonard Tilley.[1]
Justice demands that George Brown should also be named amongst the
great Fathers of Confederation, for without the co-operation of that
eminent Liberal statesman it is questionable whether Confederation
under the circumstances could have been effected at that time. It
was George Brown who made the proposals which rendered the coalition
ministry possible, and by sinking all party considerations and personal
differences in a grave crisis of his country's history, he performed a
signal act of patriotism, which entitles his name to a high place on
Canada's roll of honor. It was in fact a striking lesson in patriotism
and in devotion to country, to find men like Macdonald and Cartier on
the one hand, and Brown on the other, forgetting all past differences
and even bitter personal animosities, and sitting at the same council
board to devise means by which the public interests might be served
at a most critical juncture. Nor, amongst the leading Fathers of
Confederation must Sir A. T. Galt be forgotten, for that distinguished
statesman was a most zealous advocate of Confederation, holding that
unless a union was effected, the provinces would inevitably drift
into the United States. During the parliamentary session of 1858 he
strongly advocated the federal union of all the British North American
provinces, and as has been justly said, the resolutions which Galt then
moved in favor of such a union, entitle him to a high place amongst the
promoters of Confederation[2].

Of the thirty-two statesmen who assembled at Quebec in 1864 and framed
the Quebec resolutions which formed the basis of Confederation, but one
survives to-day, and the Cartier Centenary movement has the privilege
of having that great statesman whose name will forever be linked with
the names of Macdonald and Cartier, as its patron. Still hale and
hearty in his 92nd year, Sir Charles Tupper enjoys the veneration
and esteem of all Canadians. It has been justly said by Sir John A.
Macdonald's biographer, that in the "reconciliation of Nova Scotia to
Confederation; in carrying out a great expensive and hazardous railway
policy; in the establishment of a national fiscal system; in making
Canadian expansion compatible with complete allegiance to the Empire,
the aid which Macdonald received from Sir Charles Tupper, can scarcely
be exaggerated. In him great natural ability and power as a platform
speaker were united with a splendid optimism about his country, a
courage that feared nothing, and a resoluteness of purpose which
despised any obstacles with which he could be confronted."[3]

It is not minimizing the services of any of the other illustrious
Fathers of Confederation, to say that Cartier played a leading, in
fact a determining part, in the achievement of that measure. His great
colleagues have generously testified to the pre-eminent services which
he rendered at that time.

"Cartier was as bold as a lion. He was just the man I wanted: but for
him Confederation should not have been carried," was the emphatic
declaration made by Sir John A. Macdonald on the day when he unveiled
the statue of his great colleague at Ottawa.

Sir Charles Tupper's tribute is equally eloquent and emphatic. "I have
no hesitation," he says, "in saying that without Cartier there would
have been no Confederation, and therefore Canada owes him a debt that
can never be repaid."

Dr Parkin in his life of Sir John A. Macdonald, in the "Makers of
Canada" series, also pays a just tribute to Cartier for his work in
connection with Confederation when he says: "Without Cartier's loyal
help, it would scarcely have been possible, when the effort for union
came, to allay the anxiety of the French-Canadians lest they should be
swallowed up, and their individuality be lost in the large proposed
confederacy."

Cartier's position at that time, it must be remembered, was an
extremely difficult one, in fact, it is the difficulties which he
then encountered and the manner in which he triumphed over them, that
entitled him to all the more credit. "Never did a French-Canadian
statesman" as an eminent French-Canadian writer has remarked, "have to
face a greater responsibility than that which Cartier assumed the day
when he had the alternative of accepting or refusing Confederation.
Neither Papineau nor LaFontaine had to place in the balance such grave
issues. Their role was reduced to demanding liberty for Canadians.
Cartier had to choose between a problematical future and a recognized
state of affairs, with well defined advantages. Would as many
guarantees be found in the edifice which was to be constructed? By
accepting the confederation of the provinces, was it not leaving the
certain for the uncertain? Such were the questions which agitated minds
anxiously weighed."[4]

There was strong opposition to Confederation in Quebec as well as
in other provinces. Cartier had to face the powerful attacks of
redoubtable and able antagonists who maintained that Confederation
would be detrimental to the interests of the French-Canadians. His
contention was that with general interests entrusted to a central
government and local interests to local legislatures, the rights of
the French-Canadians would be amply safeguarded. Cartier maintained
his position in the face of the most determined opposition and even
against bitter personal attacks. He had his vindication when in the
elections of 1867 the people of Quebec returned him to Parliament with
a triumphant following.

And has not the course of events since Confederation vindicated the
position which Cartier then took? The French-Canadians have not only
enjoyed the fullest freedom in the direction of provincial affairs,
but they have played a large and important part in the public life
of Canada, a French-Canadian has occupied the exalted position of
Prime Minister of the Dominion, and no matter whether they agree
with his policy or not, all fair-minded Canadians must admit that
Sir Wilfrid Laurier personally filled that great office with the
utmost distinction, with credit to himself and to his country. Under
Confederation there has been friction at times due in most cases to
demagogic appeals to popular passion and racial feeling, but the sound
common sense of the mass of the people has always asserted itself,
and the governmental and legislative machinery has been found elastic
enough to meet ever increasing demands.

A notable tribute was recently paid to Cartier and the other great
Fathers of Confederation by that distinguished British statesman,
diplomat, and author, Right Hon. James Bryce, when in addressing this
Club a few weeks ago he said: "Not less remarkable than your material
progress has been the growth of your constitutional government,
although in its early days there were not wanting people to show that
Canada could never be a great nation. Your federal system has worked
on the whole with wonderful success and with little friction. It has
worked perhaps better than anywhere else in the world; I think the
only example of equal success is that of Switzerland. You have had the
great problem of two races living side by side, of peoples different in
race and language, whom the federal system was designed to unite, while
the federation of districts so dissimilar as the province of British
Columbia, the prairies, and the Maritime Provinces shows that as far
as adaptation to local conditions is concerned the federal system has
been an unqualified success. And this success is a tribute to the
capacity of the men who have governed as well as to those who framed
the constitution."

The successful working of the federal system in Canada to which Mr.
Bryce bore testimony, is another striking proof of the wise and
far-sighted statesmanship of Cartier and the other public men who
framed our constitution.


Other Great Measures

Confederation having been accomplished, Cartier's energies were
directed to measures for the strengthening and defence of the national
fabric. He was largely instrumental in determining the route of the
Intercolonial Railway, and in having that road, which it is admitted
has been a most important factor in consolidating the Dominion,
completed. One of the most important measures of Cartier's public
career, was undoubtedly the one which, as Minister of Militia and
Defence, he presented to Parliament on March 31st, 1868, and which
provided for the organization of the Canadian Militia, a measure that
is the basis of our whole militia system.

Confederation, as you know, originally included only the four provinces
of Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It was the desire
of Cartier, as it was that of Macdonald, to see established a united
Canada, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, a great maritime
as well as land power with the furthest east united to the furthest
west by a great transcontinental railway system. When the union of
the four provinces had been accomplished, Cartier was steadfast in
his efforts to secure the accomplishment of the larger idea. He fully
realized the possibilities of the great West and the importance of
securing for the Dominion that vast territory, the development of which
has been the marvel of the past quarter of a century. Largely through
his efforts, the great western territory now forming the Provinces
of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, was secured from the Hudson's
Bay Company on most advantageous terms. When we realize that this
immensely rich territory, the "granary of the Empire" was acquired
for the Dominion for the insignificant sum of $1,500,000, largely
through the negotiations which Cartier conducted in England, some idea
of the importance of the services he rendered in that connection,
may be formed. Cartier also framed the bill creating the Province of
Manitoba, which he presented and had passed at the session of 1871.
Only one thing was needed to round out Confederation, and that was
the admission of British Columbia. In the negotiations which resulted
in the admission of that great Province into the Dominion, Cartier
played a leading part, and it was he, who on November 28th, 1871,
presented the bill to Parliament providing that British Columbia should
become a portion of the Dominion. On that occasion Cartier hailed the
realization of his dream of a united Canada extending from ocean to
ocean, with pardonable pride.

"I cannot close my explanations," he declared, "without impressing
on the honorable members the greatness of the work. This young
Confederation is on the point of extending over the whole northern
portion of the continent, and when we consider that it took our
neighbors sixty years to extend to the Pacific, where will be found
in the history of the world anything comparable to our marvellous
prosperity? I have always maintained that a nation to be great must
have maritime power. We possess maritime power in a high degree. Our
union with the maritime provinces gives us a seaboard on the east, and
now our union with British Columbia will give us a seaboard on the
west."

With the admission of British Columbia to Confederation, the dream
of Cartier and of Macdonald, of a united Canada extending from ocean
to ocean, was realized. But one thing more was required to bind the
scattered provinces firmly together-a great transcontinental railway.
Cartier was one of the strongest advocates of such an undertaking,
and to him belongs the glory of having had passed the first charter
for the Canadian Pacific Railway. One of the terms of the union of
British Columbia with Canada under the Act presented by Cartier, was
the construction of such a road. It is related that the delegates of
British Columbia during the negotiations urged upon Cartier that a
railway should be built across the Prairies to the foot of the Rockies,
and that a colonization road should be laid out from the foot of the
Rockies to the Coast. "No," replied Cartier, "that will not do; ask for
a railway the whole way and you will get it." Some leading public men
of the time thought that Cartier was willing to undertake too great
an obligation, but events have more than justified his optimism. At
the session of 1872, Cartier presented resolutions providing for the
construction of the Canadian Pacific. After a remarkable debate, a
bill based on the resolutions was adopted, and Cartier, springing to
his feet, gave utterance amidst loud cheers to the expression which has
become historic: "All aboard for the West."

It was the last great triumph of his public career. He did not live to
see the realization of his dream, for it was not until thirteen years
afterwards, that is to say, on November 7th, 1885, that the last spike
of the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway was driven by Sir
Donald Smith, now Lord Strathcona, at Craigellachie, a small village
of British Columbia, and on July 24th, 1886, Cartier's great colleague
and fellow-worker for a united Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald personally
reached the Pacific by rail from Ottawa.

Though Cartier did not live to see the completion of the gigantic
undertaking which meant so much for Canada, it is one of his chief
merits that he was one of its initiators and strongest supporters, and
that he foresaw and foretold its great future.

"Before very long", he declared, addressing Parliament, "the English
traveller who lands at Halifax will be able in five or six days to
cover half of the continent inhabited by British subjects."

How Cartier's prophecy has been fulfilled we all know. The traveller
landing to-day at Halifax can reach Victoria by means of the Canadian
Pacific in less than six days. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company has
become one of the greatest corporations in the world, operating not
only a great transcontinental railway, and a chain of palatial hotels,
but also possessing magnificent fleets on the Atlantic and the Pacific,
with its vessels now encircling the globe. It has progressed stage by
stage until under the able direction of its present distinguished head,
Sir Thomas Shaughnessy, it has attained the greatest position in its
history. The company's expansion has in fact been one of the marvels
of history, and with the continued development of the Dominion, its
achievements, great as they have been, will undoubtedly be surpassed
in the future. Cartier, by his strenuous advocacy of the construction
of the road in days when faith in the future was at a discount, gave
another evidence of his great foresight as well as of his faith in the
future of the Dominion which he did so much to establish.


Cartier and Macdonald

No review of Cartier's career, however summary, would be complete
without some reference to the alliance that existed between him and
that other great Canadian statesman, Sir John A. Macdonald, an alliance
which was for a long period a most important factor in the public
life of Canada. In his great painting "The Fathers of Confederation,"
the artist Harris most appropriately places Macdonald and Cartier
conspicuously in the centre of the group, and the names of those two
great statesmen must forever be linked in connection with that epoch
making measure.

Macdonald and Cartier began their public careers within a few years
of each other, Macdonald being first returned to Parliament in 1844,
while Cartier became a member in 1848. The two men first became
closely associated as members of the same Government, the MacNab-Taché
Ministry, formed in 1855, in which ministry Macdonald held the
portfolio of Attorney-General for Upper Canada while Cartier was
Provincial Secretary, the first public office he held. From that time
until the day of Cartier's death, the association between the two
men remained practically unbroken. Their alliance, as has been well
said, was based on equal consideration for the rightful claims of both
nationalities.

Each of the two men had qualities not possessed by the other.
Macdonald had a magnetic personality, he was a consummate tactician,
an incomparable leader of men. He had that genius which enables its
possessor to seize and make the most of an opportunity. He had that
quality so indispensable in a great leader of gaining the loyal and
devoted support of men of widely different characters and temperaments.
Macdonald in short combined the grasp of a statesman with the arts of a
politician. Cartier excelled as an administrator, he was a tireless and
indefatigable worker who never spared himself and who expected others
to follow his example. He studied and analyzed all subjects which he
had to handle to the very bottom, and when he came to discuss them he
had a complete mastery of all the details. He was strong, nay, even
dogmatic, in his convictions; once his mind was made up he pursued
the path he had marked out for himself with persistent determination,
heedless of all obstacles in his way. To his followers his word was
law, and he exacted from them an unswerving obedience. His energy was
prodigious: he deserved the designation given to him by Gladstone when
that great statesman said that Cartier was "_un homme qui semble être
légion_",--a man who was a legion in himself. Cartier's was essentially
a strong and determined character.

It was of course impossible that men of such different temperaments as
Macdonald and Cartier and representing often such divergent interests,
should not have their differences sometimes, but whatever differences
they may have had never interfered with the high personal esteem and
regard they entertained for each other.

At a great banquet given in his honor by the Bar of Toronto on February
8th, 1866, Macdonald took occasion to pay a warm and generous tribute
to his French-Canadian colleague who was one of the guests of honor.

"I wish to say," declared Macdonald, "that Hon. Mr. Cartier has a right
to share in the honors which I am receiving to-night, because I have
never made an appeal to him or to the Lower Canadians in vain. There
is not in the whole of Canada a heart more devoted to his friends. If
I have succeeded in introducing the institutions of Great Britain, it
is due in great part, to my friend, who has never permitted under his
administration that the bonds which attach us to England should be
weakened."

Cartier was equally generous in appreciation of his great colleague.
Speaking at a banquet tendered Macdonald by the citizens of Kingston on
September 6th, 1866, Cartier said:

"Kingston is indeed a favored city, for it has for its representative
a statesman who has never yet been surpassed in Canada, and who
probably never will be in the future. I have had the happiness of being
associated with the member for Kingston in my public career, and of
having formed with him an alliance which has already lasted longer
than all alliances of this kind in Canada. The success which we have
obtained together has been due to the fact that we have repelled all
sectional feelings and sought what might benefit Canada as a whole."

That was the keynote of the Cartier-Macdonald alliance, the
subordination of all sectional and racial feeling to the welfare of
Canada as a whole. Cartier throughout his long public career was
essentially a peacemaker, who always strove to promote a better feeling
between the two races. A striking testimony to the success of his
efforts in that direction was given on one occasion in Parliament when
Mr. Benjamin, a leading Ontario member, declared: "I cannot refrain
from acknowledging that Mr. Cartier has done more to unite the two
races and to re-establish harmony between them, than any other member
of the House."

Well shall it always be for the Dominion, if its public men, no matter
to what political party they may belong, always adhere to the sane
and true principles upon which the Macdonald-Cartier alliance was
based--mutual toleration and good-will, respect for the rights of all,
the co-operation of races, the safeguarding of Canada's autonomy, and
the development of Canadian nationality. The Macdonald-Cartier alliance
in fact symbolized that union which should always exist between
English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians. And why should there
not be union? What matters it whether we speak different languages or
worship at different altars, if we always remember that we are all
Canadians, mutually interested in the welfare and aggrandizement of our
common country. That was the spirit which actuated both Cartier and
Macdonald during their long association, and it will be well if such a
spirit always prevails in the Dominion. It is only, in fact, upon such
a basis that the permanence of Confederation, of which Macdonald and
Cartier were the principal architects, can be assured.


For Canadian Nationality

The aim of Macdonald, Cartier, and the other great Fathers of
Confederation, was to establish broad and deep the foundations of a
Canadian nationality, based on the broadest principles of justice,
tolerance, and equal rights. All their public utterances during
the Confederation negotiations, testify to this fact. Macdonald's
conception was that as the Dominion progressed it would become, to use
his own words, year by year less a case of dependence on our part, and
of overwhelming protection on the part of the Mother Country, and more
a case of healthy and cordial alliance, that instead of looking upon
us as a merely dependent colony, England would have in us a friendly
nation--a subordinate but still a powerful people--to stand by her in
North America in peace or war.

It is given to some men to have a vision that foresees the future
and enables them to provide for momentous developments. Both Cartier
and Macdonald were such men. It is in fact the supreme merit of
Cartier that whilst always standing firmly for the rights of his
French-Canadian compatriots, his vision was not confined to the
Province of Quebec. If any one does, Cartier deserves the distinction
of being known as a great Canadian. There was nothing narrow or
provincial in his views. His idea was a united Canada, stretching
from ocean to ocean, in which men of all races, languages and creeds
should work together as brethren for the welfare and advancement of
their common country. Cartier's desire was that his French-Canadian
compatriots should not confine their attention to the Province of
Quebec, but should take their full share in the life of the Dominion,
that they should above all rejoice in the name "Canadian," be proud of
the great Dominion and work for its welfare in co-operation with their
English-speaking fellow countrymen.

"Objection is made to our project," says Cartier, in his great speech
during the Confederation debates, "because of the words 'a new
nationality'. But if we unite we will form a political nationality
independent of the national origin and religion of individuals. Some
have regretted that we have a distinction of races and have expressed
the hope that in time this diversity will disappear. The idea of a
fusion of all races is utopian, it is an impossibility. Distinctions
of this character will always exist, diversity is the order of the
physical, moral and political worlds. As to the objection that we
cannot form a great nation because Lower Canada is principally French
and Catholic, Upper Canada English and Protestant, and the Maritime
Provinces mixed, it is futile in the extreme.

"Take for example the United Kingdom, inhabited as it is by three great
races. Has the diversity of races been an obstacle to the progress and
the welfare of Great Britain? Have not the three races united by their
combined qualities, their energy and their courage, contributed to the
glory of the Empire, to its laws of wise, to its success on land, on
sea, and in commerce?

"In our Confederation there will be Catholics and Protestants,
English, French, Irish and Scotch, and each by its efforts and success
will add to the prosperity of the Dominion, to the glory of a new
Confederation. We are of different races, not to quarrel, but to work
together for our common welfare. We cannot by law make the differences
of race disappear, but I am convinced that the Anglo-Canadian and the
French-Canadian will appreciate the advantages of their position. Set
side by side like a great family, their contact will produce a happy
spirit of emulation. The diversity of race will in fact, believe me,
contribute to the common prosperity."

What words of wisdom! What a spirit of true patriotism, of justice
and of toleration they breathe! If Cartier in fact had never made any
other utterance than this, it would be sufficient to stamp him as a
true patriot and wise statesman. It will be well for Canada if such are
always the guiding principles of its national life.

While the idea of Macdonald and Cartier and the other great Fathers
of Confederation was, as has been said, to establish a Canadian
nationality, none the less was it their intention to perpetuate British
institutions on the North American continent, to establish, to use
Macdonald's expression, a friendly nation, enjoying, it is true, the
most complete autonomy, but at the same time in alliance with Great
Britain and the other portions of the Empire. No stronger believer
in British institutions as the repository of freedom; no more ardent
admirer of the British flag as the symbol of justice and liberty could
be found than Cartier. In all his utterances during the Confederation,
debates, he took special pains to emphasize that Confederation was
intended not to weaken, but to strengthen, the ties between the
Dominion, Great Britain and the other portions of the Empire.
"Confederation," he said, in one of his speeches on the measure, "has
for its first reason our common affection for British institutions, its
object is to assure by all possible guarantees, their maintenance in
the future."

For the British flag Cartier on all occasions expressed a passionate
devotion.

"The Canadian people," he said at a great banquet given in his honor in
London in 1869, "desires to remain faithful to the old flag of Great
Britain, that flag which waves over all seas, which tyranny has never
been able to overcome, that flag which symbolizes true liberty".

These words expressed Cartier's deep and earnest conviction. During
his several visits to Great Britain, he was deeply impressed by
the greatness of British institutions. On those occasions he was
the recipient of signal marks of honor; he was the personal guest
of Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle for some time, and he received
marked attention from Gladstone, Lord Lytton, and other distinguished
British statesmen. His services in connection with the establishment
of Confederation, as you know, were recognized by the conferring of a
baronetcy upon him by Queen Victoria.


CARTIER'S WORK FOR MONTREAL

Having reviewed the great work which Cartier did for Canada in general,
permit me to emphasize the eminent services which he rendered to
Montreal. It is doubtful whether many Montrealers of the present
generation fully realize the importance of Cartier's services to this
city, and for that reason this portion of his career should be of
special interest to citizens of this great metropolis.

From 1861 until 1872, Cartier was one of the representatives of
Montreal, first in the Parliament of United Canada, and afterwards
in the House of Commons. During a portion of that period, he also
represented Montreal-East in the Quebec Legislature under the system
of dual representation which prevailed for some time following the
establishment of Confederation. Montreal's interests were always dear
to Cartier's heart, and throughout his long public career he zealously
strove to promote the welfare and development of this city.

Reference has already been made to the interest which Cartier showed
from the outset of his career in railway construction. He realized that
in order that Montreal might attain an unrivalled position, it would
be necessary that railway communications should be established, that
the St. Lawrence channel should be deepened, and that canals should be
constructed and improved. One of the earliest of his speeches of which
we have record was delivered at a great mass-meeting of the citizens
of Montreal, held in 1846, on the Champ de Mars, to promote the
construction of the Montreal & Portland Railway to connect Montreal and
Portland. Cartier on that occasion declared that such an undertaking
was a truly national work. Alluding to the fact that property in such
cities as Buffalo, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, which
had become great railway terminals, had as a result greatly increased
in value, he declared that the same thing would happen in the case of
Montreal if adequate railway facilities were established.

"The prosperity of Montreal," he said, "depends upon its position as
the great emporium for the commerce of the West, and we can only assure
that prosperity by better means of transport from the waters of the
West to the Atlantic by our canals and railways."

When he became a member of Parliament Cartier continued his agitation
for adequate railway facilities, and one of the first speeches he
delivered in the legislature of United Canada, February 15th, 1849, was
in advocacy of the completion of the Montreal & Portland Railway.

"There is no time to lose in the completion of the road," said Cartier
on that occasion, "if we wish to assure for ourselves the commerce of
the West. All the cities of the Atlantic Coast are disputing for that
commerce."

Referring to the efforts being made by New York, Philadelphia,
Baltimore, and other American cities to capture this commerce, Cartier
said: "In seeing the efforts that an intelligent population is making,
we cannot doubt the importance of the trade of the lakes which they
covet and the profits which will result. Now, we may secure the greater
part of that trade by constructing this road as soon as possible."

At another great mass meeting of the citizens of Montreal, held at the
Bonsecours Market on July 31st, 1849, at which resolutions were adopted
favoring the completion of the Montreal & Portland Railway, on motion
of Cartier, seconded by John Rose, it was resolved that the city should
take shares in the company. Cartier on that occasion made a fervent
appeal that the interests of Montreal should be considered.

"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!

     O my country, thou art blest,
       Favoured of all the nations now!
     But the stranger's vile behest
       Would the seeds of discord sow.
     May thy brave sons for thy sake
       Join to help thee, hand in hand,
     For thy great day doth e'en now break,
       O Canada, my own beloved land!


FOOTNOTES:

[1] Dr. Parkin--Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

[2] John Lewis, Life of George Brown.

[3] Dr. Parkin--Life of Sir John A. Macdonald.

[4] A. D. DeCelles, Cartier Et Son Temps.

[5] Sir Adolphe Routhier-Conférence sur Sir George Etienne Cartier,
issued by the Cartier Centenary Committee in pamphlet form.

[6] See following pages.

[7] The above which is a faithful translation of the famous
French-Canadian national song, "O Canada Mon Pays, Mes Amours," is
intended simply to give the sense of the original. The song was
composed in 1835 by George Etienne Cartier, then a young man of 21 who
was destined to become one of the most illustrious figures in Canadian
history. Cartier was for some time secretary of the St. Jean Baptiste
Association which was founded by Ludger Duvernay in 1834, and it was
at the first celebration of St. Jean Baptiste day held in Montreal in
1835, that the song was sung for the first time by Cartier himself.

As the result of the indefatigable efforts of the president of the
Cartier Centenary Committee, Mr. E. W. Villeneuve and those associated
with him in this patriotic undertaking, the Centenary of Sir George
Etienne Cartier's birth will be commemorated in 1914 by the unveiling
of a magnificent monument on Mount Royal, and a series of historic
celebrations. A brilliant success is assured for the Centenary
celebration, and the splendid memorial which will stand on one of the
slopes of Mount Royal will forever commemorate the illustrious career
of Cartier and the great work of Canadian Confederation with which he
was prominently identified.

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