Report of the Demonstration in Honour of the Fortieth Anniversary of Sir John A. Macdonald's Entrance Into Public Life
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LP F 5012 fl/6 : 1184=4 1884 IRIEIPOie/T OF THE DEMONSTRATION IN HONOUR OF THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD'S ENTRANCE INTO PUBLIC LIFE. PROCEEDINGS AT TOEONTO AND MONTREAL. COMPLETE LIST OF DELEGATES APPOINTED TO ATTEND TORONTO CONVENTION. COMPILED BY FREDERIC NICHOLLS and A. W. WRIGHT. TORONTO Printed by the Canadian Manufacturer Publishing Co. (Limited). 1885. i : 1S4=4 1884= IRIEIPOIR/r OF THE DEMONSTRATION IN HONOUR OF THE FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD'S ENTRANCE INTO PUBLIC LIFE. PROCEEDINGS AT TORONTO AND MONTREAL. COMPLETE LIST OF DELEGATES APPOINTED TO ATTEND TORONTO CONVENTION. COMPILED BY FREDERIC NICHOLLS and A. W. WRIGHT. TORONTO Printed by the Canadian Manufacturer Publishing Co. (Limited). 1885. CONTENTS PAGE '. ...... Sir John A.' mIkAo^^ ...... '. 3 THE CONVENTION-FIRST DAY. Local Committees 5 Nominating the Chairman 8 The Chairman's Speech 8 The Secretaries 10 Moving the Address 10 Handing in the Addresses 11 Sir John's Arrival 15 The Address to the Premier 15 Speech of Sir John Macdonald 18 The Proposed Liberal-Conservative Association 37 The Resolutions 38 SECOND DAY. Speech of Hon. Alex. Morris 38 Speech of Hon. J. A. Chapleau , 40 The Manitoban Tribute 40 Address from Assiniboia 42 The Premier's Reply 43 Speech of Hon. Mr. Norquay 44 The Conservative Union 45 Speech of Mr. Robillard, M.P.P 45 Speech of Mr. Solomon White, M.P.P 46 Speech of Mr. J. J. Hawkins 46 Draft of Resolutions * 46 Election of Officers 47 The Boundary Question Mr. G. T. Blackstock 47 The Alleged Conspiracy Mr. N. A. Coste 48 The National Policy Mr. R. McKechnie 49 The Canadian Pacific Railway Mr. Thomas Cowan 50 Frontenac's Splendid Tribute . 52 Fidelity to the Empire 53 Speech of Sir Leonard Tilley 54 Speech of Sir Hector Langevin 63 Speech of Sir D. L. Macpherson 64 Speech of Hon. Mr. Caron 65 Speech of Hon. Mr. Blanchet .' 66 Thanks to Mr. Manning (36 Thanks to the Chairman 67 1.9771 IV. THE BANQUET. PAGE Descriptive 69 Reading Letters and Telegrams 70 TOASTS AND REPLIES. The Queen 71 The Governor-General and Lieutenant-Governor 72 The Army and Navy : Speech of Hon. Mr. Caron 72 The Toast of the Evening 75 Speech of Sir John Macdonald 76 The Ministry : Speech of Sir Hector Langevin 85 " Sir D. L. Macpherson 86 The Senate : Speech of Sir Alex. Campbell , 86 The House of Commons : Speech of Hon. J. A. Chapleau 87 Mr. Thomas White, M.P 91 The Legislative Assemblies : Speech of Mr. Patterson, M.P.P 93 " Hon. Mr. Norquay 93 " Hon. Mr. Blanchet 94 The Manufacturing Industries : Speech of Mr. Thomas Cowan 95 Trade and Commerce : Speech of Mr. Robert Henry 96 The Ladies : Speech of Senator Turner 97 Mr. W. R. Meredith, Q.C., M.P.P 97 The Press : Speech of Mr. Creighton, M.P.P 98 THE MONTREAL BANQUET; Descriptive 99 Speech of Sir John Macdonald 99 Speech of Sir Leonard Tilley 106 Extracts from a Speech of Hon. Joihn Carlino 100 APPENDIX. List of Delegates appointed to attend Toronto Convention (oinUJnti.gii«*t?y a-' ever, 'diousmid names.) PREFACE The following report of the proceedings at the late Liberal-Conservative Con- vention and of the Banquet to the Right Honourable Sir John Macdonald, G.C.B., although of much interest at the present time, will, the compilers think, be looked upon in years to come as a volume of historic interest, as it contains not alone a full report of the proceedings of the greatest and most enthusiastic political convention ever held in the Dominion of Canada, but a valuable collection of able and instruc- tive speeches, delivered by some of the most prominent leaders of the Liberal-Con- servative party, which deal comprehensively with the past, present and, to some extent, the future of the Dominion. The original intention was to confine the scope of this pamphlet to chronicling the proceedings at the Toronto demonstration, but the importance of the Banquet at the Windsor Hotel, Montreal, tendered Sir John by the Junior Conservative Club of that city, could not be overlooked, and accordingly the speeches of Sir John Mac- donald and Sir Leonard Tilley, delivered on that occasion, have been reproduced in these pages. It would have been a pleasure to the compilers, and of profit to the subscribers to this work, had it been possible to give the admirable speeches of the other leaders which were delivered at the Montreal Banquet, but the magnitude of the undertaking has already exceeded our estimate, and we have had, though reluctantly, to omit them. That part of the speech delivered by the Honourable John Carling before a meeting of bis constituents, which deals with the progress of Canada during the past decade haa been appended, as the tabulated statements will prove a valuable, record for future reference. The list of delegates appointed to attend the Toronto Convention from every electoral district in Ontario, is very full and complete, containing upwards of ten thousand names. This long list testifies in a mute but eloquent manner of the wide- spread desire to do honour to the Chieftain, on the celebration of the fortieth anni- versary of his entrance into public life. The compilation of this work has not been unattended with difficulties and drawbacks, but it has been prosecuted with as much haste as was compatible with proper revision, and is now presented to the public with the assurance that any delay in its publication will be readily excused. Our tffanks are due to Mr. F. D. Barwick, the Secretary of the Convention, to Mr. W. Baillie, Assistant Secretary, and to the Toronto Mail,—to the two former for their willingness to afford us every assistance and for permission to examine the records in their possession, and to the latter for the use made of the excellent reports which appeared in that paper. FREDERIC NIOHOLLS, Toronto, February 1st, 1885. A. W. WRIGHT. SIR JOHN MACDONALD, ZP.O-, GkO IB_ 3 Etc. To attempt here to give a complete or at all extended review of Sir John Mac- donald's remarkable career would be to unduly extend the limits of this volume. Yet in a history of the honours paid by his countrymen to a statesman who had just completed forty years of arduous and faithful public service, something in the way of a reference to his public career may naturally be expected. Scarcely in the pages of history will there be found another whose name is so intimately interwoven with the records of his country. When Mr. John A. Macdonald first entered public life as the member for Kingston, the history of Canada—the constitutional history at least—had scarcely begun, and while it would be invidious and unfair to claim for him the entire honour of the building of the constitutional edifice which has since been erected, to the ignoring of the services of others— services which he never denied or sought to belittle—yet it may fairly be said that he assisted in placing in position almost every stone and beam "from turret to foundation stone." While devoting himself to the service of Canada he has never forgotten that services rendered the whole empire are services rendered to the Dominion, and the honours which have been showered thickly and ungrudgingly upon him by Her Majesty, whether her advisers at the time being belonged to one or other of Britain's great parties, testify eloquently of the high estimation in which his imperial services are held. The biography of the Conservative chief since his arrival here at the tender age of five years, on through his student days, through his brief but brilliant career at the bar, and through his parliamentary and ministerial history would read almost like a romance, so full would it be of thrilling incident and of the record of great purposes wisely formed and faithfully and tenaciously carried out. It is not ours in this place to attempt to trace this career, nor is it necessary ; not only in Canada, but by British and American writers it has been sketched on a more or less preten- tious scale and always in an appreciative tone indicative of the enviable position he has achieved in the esteem of every intelligent person who speaks the English tongue. Wherever that tongue is spoken his power as a debator, his ability as a man of affairs, and the grasp and wisdom of his statesmanship are recognized. True he has not escaped the attacks of his enemies ; the shafts of malice and envy have fallen thickly around him. If no one has ever been so loved and admired by the great majority of Canadians; if no colonial statesman has ever been so highly and deservedly honoured by the sovereign—no one has ever been so bitterly, so savagely assailed by faction. If he has found that the sunshine of his country's love and trust, and of his sovereign's favour falls on him in his high position undimmed u and unobstructed he has also experienced the truth of the proverb, high winds blow on high hills." But the attacks and the calumnies of his enemies —it would be a misnomer to call them opponents— only serve as a background to bring out in more vivid relief the attachment and regard of his friends. It would be unfair to say that all who oppose or have opposed the policy by which Sir John has raised the Dominion to its present high position, and which if carried out will achieve for it yet greater eminence, are the enemies of Canada; but it is a fact that all who decry, and by spoken and printed words seek to injure her, are numbered among his political antagonists.