HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1908-10-15, Page 3u
R AND THE LARGER CANADA SUPPLEMENT TO
BRUSSELS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15th, x908
1112, NEWCANADIAN ERA
BEGINS WITH LAU : IER
The Twelve Years During Which IIe Has Held the Pre-
miership Mark an Epoch in Our History—His
Work Will Always Live.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier may be fairly described as the first statesman
of the new Canadian era. Much of the lifework of his predecessors'
had been done before Confederation. At Confederation Laurier was
a young man, just beginning his practice at the bar, and it was four
years after Confederation when he began his public career as a mom-
ber of the Quebec Legislature. Three years later he made his first
appearance in the House of Commons. Por many years lie Was known
as a graeeful orator, little interested in the ordinary political strife,
but always commanding attention by the dignity and grave courtesy
of his bearing, and the distinction of his style.
Prom. the time that he was elected leader of the Opposition in
1887 he steadily grew in public esteem. It was gradually realized
that he possessed not only eloquence of speech and urbanity of man-
ner, but strength, in an uneon'imon degree, simplicity, directness, and
the power to make decisions quickly. He could rise to an oce:ision,
and the greater the occasion the better. This characteristic was gen-
erally remarked in the various meetings that have been held in Eng-
land for the discussion of Imperial affairs. I•iis tact, judgment; and
firmness gave him a high position among the leading representatives
of the Empire. He is at his very best in deliberation upon affairs of
national importance, upon Imperial questions and international ques-
tions. •
The twelve years during which he has held the premiership have
marked an epoch in Canadian history. Not since Confederation- has
there been such a •vital change in the position of Canada, and in the
Canadian outlook. For many years Canada has been a land of pro-
mise. It has become a land of fulfillment. Doubt, misgiving, dis-
appointment have vanished; the hopes of the founders of Confedera-
tion, long deferred, have been realized, or assured of realization.
Canada has become, in fact if not in name, a nation, with national
aspirations, ready to do a nation's work in the world. The golden
West, long unpeopleci, is being rapidly turned into a country of homes.
Religious and racial strife have vanished, and all the diverse elements
of our population are working together to build up here a free and
strong commonwealth.
With this splendid era the name of Sir Wilfrid Laurier will
always be associated.
OUR PRIME
LEADS
And Is Stronger Now Than He
Was Six Years Ago—An
Early Riser. '
Four years ago when the last
general election campaign was held
the Primo Minister was a sick
Iran. Yet, in the face of this
physical handicap, he was here, there;
and everywhere in the fight, encourag-
ing hie own following and ready at
all times to meet his opponents face
to face, But in the years that have
intervened, his-renearlcable vitality has
given him vietory over the tortures of
indigestion. Sir Wilfrid is a much
MINISTEf
SIMPLE LIFE
stronger man at sixty -xis than lie was
at sixty, end in every, wayequal to
the exertions }Vlilch his campaign of
the next five weeks will involve.
Whether as Prime Minister, or as
the country editor and lawyer, helms
throughout his career followed the
simple lite, and it is o'onderftii in-
deedto those, who have known hint
hrom UOyhood to goo how little his
hhbits of }lving have changed,' On the
mornings when everyone else is sleep-
ing in atter a particularly late sittillg
of the ISouse of Commons, sir Wit_
frid is up as usual, shaves himself,
and is finished with his simple but sub-
stantial breakfast m time to get down
to business as early as the earliest clerk,
His private secretary is on hand at that
hour, With the over -night mail, and an
hour, or an hour and a half, is enough
as a rule to dispose of the coresspon-
dence. • •. • . •
".,OU1 HEAR') IS IN THE FUTURE." '
Ill the 1st' but the est
"Trio different hationallties were separated p 1
Is forgotten. Our heart le in the funn'e, In unity, harmony, peace, and
concord for our be -teens"! Canacla."-'-from a 51)00ch of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.
SIR WILFRID
44 I AMTRUE
TO ENGLAND'
Sir Wilfricl Laurier, While in Op-
position, (Described Himself
as an English Liberal.
TRUE TO. CAUSE OF
LIBERTY AND JUSTICE
Said He Belonged to the School of
Hampden, Pym, and
Burke.
G. - W. ROSS' APT DESCRIPTION
Referred to the Dominion Premier
as a "Picture Gallery All
by Himself,"
In the Liberal press Anel on the
hustings throughout Canada the ap-
peal 1s made by Liberal speakori
the present campaign that Sir Wilfrid
Laurier should be allowed to finish itis
work, referring to the construction of
the new Transcontinental Railway,
which is to open to settlement the
great hinterland of Canada. Bet, per-
haps,, after all, It May not he through
this great conception of the future
destiny of the Dominion that his name
Will go dOWn In history, sn much as it
will. be through k1, work 110 a eonell1-
ator in aiand Where the gt'etttest •need
1s peace,
"French by birth, but British by
citizenship," has been his boast alike
In french and In English-speaking
Canada, and happily, before his Pub.
lie .career has closed, to S)r Wilfrid
Laurier as Prime Minister has Peen
given the privilege of witnessing' the
lasting reconciliation of the EOgileill
and Pren011 races in Canada,
.An English Liberal,
In one of the notable speeches of his
Opposition days, he made profession of
Ills principles In the following tering:
"I am. true to my race, I nm true to
Canada, I'am true to England, and I
ant, above a11, true to the cause of lib-
erty and justice. Sir, 1 ant of French
origin, and T have the pride et my
race; but In politics I am tut ISngltsh
Liberal, The principles which T pro-
fess, Such es they ate, are the out-
growth 0f study anti reflection, They
diel not come to me from the land of
(Continued on Page Two,)
THE PERSONAL MAGN 7TJSM
OF SIR WILFRID THE MAN
The Ties Which Bind Him to the
People and Give Him His
Hold on Them.
HIS IMPRESSIVE SINCERITY
Nothing of the Hypocrite About
the Chieftain—The Premier
in Action.
The secrete of Sir Wilfrid's hold
uyon the Public are manifold. Some of
them have to '4u with the man 1n the
silk topl,er, the imposing figure of a
world -e etesman who is also a (lana-
dian, But there la another tie which
hinds hi, Teeple to him. It is the set -
tied en101) 1100 that the man In the
aid soft hat, the Sir Wilfrid ofthe lei-
sure hoot.. is ,xacrty the 'lame Sir Wil-
frid as the coan who steps upon the
platform with his data carefully en -
et aimed in the silk topper upturned en
the table btside him. it is all summed
tp 1n tree 'spontaneous expression of
410 loyal patriot who watehect him
at one of Lis recent 1ltoettngc.
"Say. bcee." ,m soliloquized. "T think
,i',n1 man's str)tght. and lie meant
straight 11 "min, thl,t„ more than pub-
lic life. Ile tneunt that the Chieftain Is
sirmere; no hy'pot:rltr. If he had seen
the Premier lounging In hie ear In the,
beloved comfort of en old felt hat, Ise'
would possibly have remarked that the
felt het life of the man and the .eine
hat life of the loader are, pretty much
in accord, and that neither has been
besmirched,
His Favorite Gesture.
Offhand, an ch=crier would proballiy
A CAMPAIGN INCIDENT.
Even the Most bitterest Of
triale have their humorous side,
A supporter once telegraphed
to ale WUfrid from a remote
ccrstituency: 'Report in elrcU-
latton here that yuur antagon-
ism to religion 1s se strong that
you have never had any of your
children baptized. Very damag-
ing to party. Telegraph me if
untrue." Sir WIlfrld's reply was
ehareteristic: 'Statement is-un-
icrtunately quite true. 1 never,
had a child to baptize."
say that the eloquent French-Cana-
dion is a man of many gestures, Ile.
is, But there are two or three which
he uses again and again. and of these,
one, which is his favorite and his best,
Sir Wilfrid of the outstretched arms,
palms to the people, baring his breast.
as it were, as one who would say, "1
leave You to judge of it all'—this is
the Chieftain convincing, the Premier
with a record welch he is mot. ashamed
to own. Other aids to eloquence he
has which are strong and free. The
clinched hands held almostat a level
with the face defy the criticism of
tate foe. The open deft, with the
right fist pounded into it: this is the
clincher, of the finished- argument..
Many, it must be remembered,' at the
recent open-air meetings held In On-
tario. where vaster concourses came
together than could be reached by a
human voice, knew nothing of, the
leader's discourse save what they.
gathered from this handplay, with -a
were occasionally wafted on the fickle
breeze, 'Yet they laughed with Sir
Wilfrid's hands: became earnest with
Sir Wilfrid's hands; mockedhis ions
by 5lr Wilfrid's hands; most of all.
were convinced by Sir Wilfrid's open -
armed surrender of himself and his
record to their judgment and their wi1L
FIFTY THOUSAND HEARD HIM,
TRIUMPHANT ONTARIO TOUR
i:otbing of the Glad -Hand Artist
About Sir Wilfrid—His Is
Quiet 'Dignity.
Ar-"tltte^ the very merest estimates
of sttendance, ft to conceded that over
3O,e00 1enpie went to hear Sir Wilfrid
inthe triumphant nurse of his ,.even
meetings 1h West.'rn Ontario. Many
of three walked miles. others
drove more miles. others went
by train still more miles, 11081W saw
LAURIER, OANAI3A'S GREATEST STATESMAN. aim. not one-half heard him: but the
,_.
.1iattpetisln of the, man 11018 then all.
'Fore than thf•, c•f course, there was
^^•1 .. ... (li 1, � y i y 'tlte realization that the figure before
Ct�.I�' t� T� ��r'� LAND
• ' LOVES SCOTTISH' SONGS. • ' AO' ' them was a world -figure, that no ut-
terance of this mall 101110. bb more im-
portant than tris achievements. They
raw in Sir Wilfrid the man who had
done. things. That, after an, was their
best guarantee that he would do things
still.
The [,a Ir100 pa rin,^,a were not
"tldl. Liberal: ntbtaar will the Laur-
1 1O`0 ho,
'r C; ;'r;•:.i i e'tsar n glad-hand
Sir Wilfrid hes always hard a
warm nornerin his hear, for the
Scotch, and he always enjoys a
meeting among then), Deeply i)
bedded In his sensitive -nature
are '.he roots of a love for Sent-
OF FULFILLMENT
?as
Always Been a Land of Pro -
1 tab loyalty ancl.5tottish tnt.'r- mile, But Now I$ Some-
•n,rn, width came to him 0x71,)
h;fl to It --t '' es' a boy a it:h n `•1thin* More. , fa,;ll.e• taut=.! rlsta•,
111111-•:I
1 r h t 1• r'r r
leu:: ri•:, :1 eu.tt:e ,:
1.,111' ti's, I.0
;lie tied(.. ll. ' }'.11 t :e •• • ."-."
.40;'. rented' Slr Wilfrid. 'tl1 '•• 1,, ' 1
ore no songs teat - emelt 1t r} wC,..., t. J' Lartanished It v,%oul l
be _'l.,.n ci, Jo Now Credit
5hau1t1 bo Given,
-01,art like tic Scctell."
a;Ivll of these 0)100,0. rl•nple lav ; 't
Suo!land, 10.1 1(111 et h' ht.•i
tot.;;e.1 eft a 11,11 it .he , to's et
.;L hn,l ,tel.•, ,'011 b11011 •
1'
an '-n hl ,_11 tae •e1i •s i•
1 r
h.,
TWO ELECTION STORIES
THAT HIT RIGHT HOI` E
h1 alter
11: •i- 1 1 t • , 1"'l 1 0 r•.ar q,'1ay year :11x1 e
P..'
1 • •1)1 '1 t,.t , l . . , the la: ;w 1'e
t .,.1, :•a:ac' 11 land 't) :111:.
111.11001
,1,,110 0111:10t as tl 1i he 1vt01Lt towhi;11
!tell roux:t is -due to the nets of the
present _Administration, If the country
were 1n the midst of •deep ,?npresslon,
if the hulestries were l:entulshing, It
ito farmers were unable - to find a
10)0rket in' the'r Produce, if t:1' West
n l 0111,'.1 to n.c:•t.l et stream of 11:'
icranf• dee:: 0 t:.' mea 41 1119 son, -e.
belied', (111,'. tin:?e r e iami;ira would not
.bo :Ia./11ntt to the l.lbere.l C,oernmentt
ill 0110 ,1':•'" ;10,'0 111111 115:11.,1111 the
lora, r'r:edea 'SrIt4 fn'- e•"
• •v 1nrrlvtrs t5:11)
:'0I1314 10 '1 lir Yfl•
At the ?inssoy 17•+11 mer11'r '•S
Moldier; told two rtnrIPS that hit p
tieal na110 On the, hnetle. One of 111-m
he. told. "cif the hat" in reply 10 a ri.
mark from t:o meouo In the audience,
One illustrated -1 his remark that "If wt,
have given you a 1100,000,011 budget, wt•
have also given you a $100,00D,OD) conn.
try," In this particular tunnelwasn
train, as trains have a habit of being.
anti In the train Wes a-ya1111" court", n"
young eoupl"y 11dve a l+".bit of beteg„
As the !rain emerged end tit, •Irl tv:i'
adjusting her ve11, "Ceor5e," ale re.
marked, "do you 1rne11 that th1s tun -
net cost ,Plutons et dollars?" 'Einem,"
he said, smacking lots. Iips, 'I don't Bare
a darn If It did; it was worth it all,
and more too."
Speaking 0f tunnels 111r. Fielding sees
reminded that lir, 11'oster, who to so
opposed to election promises e1 public
worke, has boon tittering .Prhleo T7d-
ward Island a tunnel if the Conserve -
tires aro returned to Power,.•
"He Is sato 1n doing that b0u(ed
0011)001%0, atild vont% o laughter.,
les,agreed Air. Fielding, ...That
reminttIl ole,'—and ho proceeded at
.8006 lvttlt a talo or the man who )vent
to a grocery Stora to bey florin ,It's
$600," said rho grocer, But I want t0
Jones and asked him what hie pries
was, and he said ;L10." Then why
delft you buy from 500587" Well,"
confessed ih0 customer, "yon See leas,
is out of flour;'
The story hit straight home.
A Clean Campaign.
In (he Leerier campaign no effort 'is
being Puede to stampede the vole, the
addresses are logical, blatancy ant)
scandalsnOngerhlg are eschewed,
•:he". rntnertt 1. b11 aufalnate,l 10
the grand IndtOtnm001(tlt ilia' ftbohad rglned
the inc}ustt'}os-af the (011111(5, htrn0d a
garden into a desert, discouraged the
people and sent them abroad into
0Orrign hinds 0.c! ":ten their tires(, Tho
11act.Jaiat GOvet•nnl0nt catty (10111111.95b;: the use '.f swell argument and by
110,00 Other.. its '11)1)0111 is 110)5 fud:r
11011111'', uy' ' .u'I c'.,OoVa, tlnd
kl11:19 l":.0 L"^n . U!i;e•,1, ^a
\\nn!al 1„1 ,i L':..al• f1i:' j'.1')' 111:r,'Inl,t-
I11011 110.010 11 ltbt 11l ie L1:ri', :'itll'LI
Pet bard limos, ..13(i 0,t 10.5 et t te ered't
for such abundant pr. pc rity and
amazing ptogre,s as Canada has en-
joyed durtrg the last twelve years,
Thera was a short season of prosperity
after the Introduction of the National
Policy. and Conservatives never felled
to take the credit to themselves,, one
of thein went so fat' as to say that rho
N. P. caused 11)8 ne,as to lay larger
055x.
SIP WILFRID VIGORCU5
doing through Cem[aien With Abun-
• dare,: of Meath.
Sir 1171100111 hhns(lf 18 going throtu0it
this campaign with an abundance of
Physical' as well as ,oflanentat vigor.
Beck of those steady eyes of 111% the
lamp of thought seems burning eons
tfnualiy Tie h, n-
tut face of Ins, Maleirthwhosc5nve privaticlnge a0100nd.
Puhilc )fib 1a 11nht?gmlrr'h0d, Not an
apology has he to make. With the con-
fidence of a: siatesmall who bas dune
his best, end that nobly, he recce his
people unafraid and undfstilay.d,
cto
9610For Sir
ilfri
Lauri -r,
rote -juggler, nor a hurrah artist: There
have been statesmen lvho have bluffed.
voters into camp by an affected' bon-
homf0,' by getting "down with: the
boys,” by a shrieking Assumption of.
patriotism and waving of the flag.. Of
this type Sir Wilfrid Laurier is not.
He docs not lose poise even when he
gains enthusiasm. His 18 the quiet
dignity 0f oonsclous power, I•Xis hand-
shake thrills, but it thrills because It
is sincere. Hundreds have shaken
hands with him, andifone thing
bas been noticeable more than
another it has been that they •lava
been of the type of thinking men, ra-
ther than of the "gushers" who rush
forward to clasp hands and. yell "Hurn,
reo, .13111."
As for the demonstrations accorded
the Premier, there earl beno, discount-
ing the real regard with which they
throbbed, Non-partisan addresses hail-
ed the First IvIInlater as a maxi of ideal
private and of zealous Public life. The
Canadians and Americans at Niagara,
the Scotch at Strathroy, the. French at
Tilbury. the Germans at Berlin, men'.
and Women oftheseand other nations.
at Clinton, North Bay, and..Ta0keon's:
Point—all have united In a tribute of
unsurpassed solidity to the man whet
has matte Canadians prouder of Can-
ada than ever Canadians have been be-
fore. ..
11 OH, YE OF LITTLE FAITH." 17 1;; lti(if'iw r'p
"'late wont to provide another ra,lway to 1luclson's nay. Ther!,n'ill th(S
be tb0, eretteat route and lite Nucleon's 130,5 setae; and the man '1'110 raises
wheat and entIle will ;)eve two outlets' for his emanation, "01(10 have been told*
';'ire you net going to hurt the (00110 of .the St. Lltwi'enr0 10 yell do that?' 'Ont
ye et little fajlll,'' the trnrle of coulee.. is leo great 'even for these two outlets,
T'roln speech of sin Wilfrid Laurier: