sTk %, 4 m ^i m <5> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) LC I.I ^" liiia 'if i > Wm.^d liAURiER, Esq,, M.P., fi ■ ■ ■ ' ■ "■ • On the SCth JUN|;, 1877, IN TOE »8I0 HALL. QUfiBEG, ''LE QLUB CANAI>IBN. yM kU ,Vt " 9-g.i XjEOTTJI?, ■^^^ I poiiTiai irfiiRuisr, DELIVERED P.Y Wilfrid Laurier, Esq., M.P., On the 2GTn JUNE, 1877, fN THE MUSIC HALL. QUEBEC, t'NDER THE AtSPICKS OP "Z^ CLUB CAN AD I en: QUEr.E(!; imii\T>:d at thk "mohmxiJ rHRON-in.K" offick. I'^rr INTRODUCTION. Never since the j]^reat oratorical triumphs of Mr. Papi- neau has such an audience, a public so intellif^ent, cultivat- ed and enlij^htened, greeted an orator coming to speak upon political liberty, and to explain the true theory of constitutional government, the system of successive move- ments of progress matured slowly but surely, logical, iirm and pacific expression of a people's march to higher des- tinies. It is many long years since we heard a public man speak oii>matters, others than those concerning his adversaries, the merits of his party, the crimes of those who opposed him, the thousand small chicaneries that are the stock in trade of declaimers. We missed the theory, the meaning of constitutional principles, the thesis w^hich lays them down, demonstrates and elucidates them. In one day Mr. Laurier has taken the position of a states- man, and has brought us back to the wise and manly ideas, which by their continual development, have made the constitutional system the model of all governments. The audience seemed to have been selected, so many persons of note of every class were hurrying to listen to the hence- forth acknowledged chief of the Canadian liberal party, anticipating the immense importance of his words, and all ready to accept them as the eloquent formula, the clear, precise and luminous code of our institutions. They came from all parts, from ali districts, even from St. Hyacinthe and Montreal to assist at this unique de- monstration, and the spectacle was as imposing as it was instructive. The first men of this country belonging to the Magistracy, the Bar, and all the liberal professions, mer- oHants, ^J,an^fact^^6rs and tradesmen, foy none were wiss» w iiii;' from what was lookod upon as a ••rand national do- in(»iistnilion, crowded to the Hall where Mr. J^aurier was delivering- his lecture, and showed their approbation by loud applauso without distinction of motive or party tendencies or leeling-s. There were over two thousand per- sons assembled in a Hall that can scarcely accommodate twelve hundred on other occasions most sought after by the public. The door keepers overwhelmed by the in- creasing- crowd had given up receiving- tickets ; the num- ber was two large and too impatient, they could not be kept back nor restrained by the ordinary rules. At an early hour they were allowed free ingress, and the doors were thrown open. Even the main entrance which is always closed, even at the most popular performances, and wlich is not less than twenty feet wide had to be left open, and the steps which lead by this to the iloor of the Hall were literally crowded by the audience, who all kept a pro- . found silence, so that they might lose nothing of what they had come to hear. There was something grand in the spectacle of this attentive and enthusiastic audience which would have applauded at Cv'ery sentence, and which refrained from doing so in spite of itself, so as not to lose anything which the orator laid down and demonstrated ; lor Mr. Laurier's speech was a logical discourse as w^ell as a platform oration. It was a striking and vivid exidanation ol what are the true liberal principles, so unknown, so dis- torted, so calumniated, and which it is vainly attempted to compare with the fatal lucrubations of European Liberalism. This speech may be said to have opened a new era in our politics. It frees it from all coteries and from the contemptible meanness which is the daily bread of parties, which quarrel over trilles or for mere transitory satisfac- tion ; liberalism, looked at from this point of view, becomes a grand proliiic thesis which frees it from vexatious ac- cusations and elevates it to the level of a social theory, \ • do- by Th(^ in'ents ol" the 26th June, are, above all, lor us French Canadians, a subjoct of pride and proud encouragement. Till now we were thought unlit lor a parliamentary career and with too good cause, for our education has little in its nature to give us the necessary temperament, so much do.es our conduct, under i)olitical circumstances, disclose this want in our education, while our press is almost solely occupied with frivolous (juarrela or personalities, and seems to ignore this fact. But inexperience must not be con- founded with inaptitude, and French Canadians showed on that evening, ever memorable, the 2Gth June, that they could, as well as their fellow countrymen of English origin, understand the working, and appreciate the importance of representative institutions, when they are explained with the clearness ihe luminous method, in the calm and the eloquent argument, in a word with the exactness which Mr. Laurier displayed throughout his lecture. The lecture was not a simple pleading in favor of a poli- tical party, as might reasonably have been expected. It was a definition of things, long since forgotten but in name, and brought us back by history, by the example of the liberals of Great Britain, and by the description of the progressive march of institutions, to the sense of fundamental principles, these indispensable guides of which we sadly contemplate the shipwreck more and more disastrous in the daily quar- rels of public life. Apart from the striking ovation which his countrymen have tendered to Mr. Laurier, they owe him a debt of gra- titude. They must recognize that he has eased the i^ublic conscience oi the terrible doctrines i^ught to be imposed upon it, and which are a total denial of every constitutional principle ; they are indebted to him for having opened a road and led the way, an unestimable boon for a people lost in doubt, and a prey to every uncertainty ; they are in- debted to him, in a word, for having recalled them to a love I tl I, VI for liboralisin, thr nloi'ious and immorlal fooling which has * been Ihf .salvation of nations, and to which its enemies have rendered homage, in every aye, by carrying out necessary reforms, and by acknowledging popular right?;, against which they long fought, but which arc now inalienable. It is then a sort of inission, of which Mr. Laurier planted the seed on the evening of the 26th June. Ours be it to carefully watch its growth, and in i)roper tim > to reap the harvest. Ours be it, to walk without fear or hesitation, '• with fearless brow," as the liberal orator has said, and with pride in our principles We now know the route we are following ; it does not lead us to reA'olutionary excesses. Liberalism is divested of its savage garb, of its anti-social and anti-religious character, and is si^en in its true colors, the love of lawful and necessary liberty, of i>rogressivc freedom, »\'hich results from the natural conditions of pro- gress and not from sudd(>ji shocks which dangerous spirits would wish to impart to it. Such are the characteristics of Canadian l^iberalism, those which Mr. Laurier has pointed out, and which wc will endeavour in future to retain. m ' CiPEBEj, Juno 10th, 1H77. SIR, I havo tho honour to inlorm you tluvt, " Lo Clnb Canadien lU* Quebec," a Club ibuntlcd I'or tho pur[iOHo of political education, havo decided at one of theii- mot'tings to request you to give a lecture at Quebec, oil political Lil)eralisni. Wi» live in a time when politi>^M are bitterly personal, and tho membors of the Club are of opinion that it is oppertune in the interest of the C<»untry, and of tlio iiibcral Tarty, to invito you to throw a new light on the principles whicii govern that Party, and tho object its Leaders have in view. Hoping to receive a favorable rejily to the reciuest of the Club of which 1 am tho humble spokesman, I havo the honor to bo, Sir, Vour humble and obedient Servant, ACHILLE LARUE, , President "Lo Club Canadien," Quebec. to WILFRID LAURIER, Esq., M.P. Drummond and Arthabaska. Arthabaskavili.e, 14th June, 187t. StR * I have the honour to acknowledge yours of the 10th instant, inviting me in tho name of "Lo Club Canadien " to deliver a public lecture at Quebec, on " Political Liberalism." 1 look upon it as a duty, as well as a pleasure, to accept your invitation, and if the day suits your Club, I will name the 2Cth instant as the date for tlie lecture. 1 have the bono ,o be. Sir, Your obedient Servant, WILFRID LAURIER. To ACHILLE LARUE, Esq., President "Le Club Canadien," Quebec. ^ !, FP "iv^. : V' t LECTURE ON POLITICAL LIBERALISM, DELIVERED BY ^WILT^PIID IL.A.TJS,IEK., ESQ., JsjT.T*^ ' ON THL 26Tn JUNE, 1877, ■ ' UNDEK THE AUSPiCES OF M'l'. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I cannot conceal that it is with a certain feeling' of plea-" sure X have accepted the invitation to come here to explain the doctrines of the liberal party, and what is the exact meaning of the Word " Liberalism," as understood by the Liberals of Quebec. I may soy that it is not without a certain sentiment of pleasure that 1 ha y-e accepted the invitation ; but if I had taken into consideration the difficulties of the task, Iwould, certainly, have refused. Never tht^less, if those difficulties were numsrous and delicate, on the other hand I am so impressed with the importance to the liberal party of clear- ly deiining its position before public opinion in this Pro- vince, that I found that this consideration outweighed with me all the rest ; I do not deceive myself, indeed, as to the standing of the liberal party in the Province of Quebec ; and I, at once, declare, that it occupies a false position in the eyes of public opinion. I know that for a great mariy of my fellow citiwns, the libdiral party is a party composed rr —'2 — of men holding perverse doctrines, with dangerous ten- dencies, and knowingly and deliberately progressing to- wards revolution. I know that in the opinion of a portion of our fellow countrymen, the li])eral party is made up of men of good intentions, perhaps, but not the less dupes and victims of their principles, by which they are unconsciously, but fatally led to revolution I know that for yet another portion, not the least numerous, Liberalism is a new form of evil, in other words a heresy, carrying with it its own condemnation. I know all this, and it is because I do so that I consented to appear before you. I am not presump- taous enough to believe that anything I may say. here, to- night, will have the effect of doing away with any preju- dices which exist against us ; my only object is to make an opening, holding that, when once the same is made, it will be taken advantage of by others, and that the good work now commenced will be completely accomplished. Beyond this mv ambition does not so. This demonstration is neither useless nor untimely. It is never useless nor un- timely to combat prejudices which rise on every side be- tween us and public opinion, and it is neither useless nor untimely to clearly deiine our position such as it is. Tt is quite true that w^e have been now a long time be- fore the bar of public opinion, so that we ought to be known and appreciated. But it is also true that, if like any other political party, we havje had our enemies, we have been assailed more than any other. Some of our enemies have systematically maligned us and knowingly calumniated us. Both have represented us as professing doctrines, of which the eliect foreseen and calculated by some amongst us, unforeseen but deadly to the rest, would be the des- truciion of society and revolution with all its horrors. It is * with the purpose of i ^plying to such accusations and of defining our true position that the demonstration of this evening has been organized by the "Club Canadien." # — 8-- In my opiiiion the most efficacious means, in fact the sole means, of annihilating such charf^es and of defending our ideas and principles, lie in publishing Ihcm to the world. Of this truth I am convinced, that the simple exposition of our principles will be theii best and most eloquent defence. And when we have fully made ourselves known, when we have stated our principles as they stand to day, we shall have effected a double purpose ; the first of which will be to rally to our standard all lovers of lil:)erty, all those, who, before as well as after 1837, worked for respon- sible government or the government of the people by the people, and who, when once this form of government was established, separated themselves from us through appre- hension that we might really be, that which we were re- presented to be, and for fear that the realization of the ideas that were attributed to us should cause the destruction f the government which they had worked so hard to estab- lish. The second result will be to force our real enemies, who are all enemies of liberty, more or loss disguised, to appeal no mere against us to the prejudices or foars of the peoi)le, but to appear openly before them, as we do, and explain their ideas and their acts. And then when the question w^ill be solely fought upon that of principle, when deeds will be considered according to the thoughts that inspired them, and thoughts will be considered accord- ing to their proper value, when there will be no more fear of accepting that which is good and rejecting the evil, lest by so doing a party holding perverse doctrines or having no principles should acquire undue strength, and care little to which Eide victory belongs, then I say that I am indifferent as to whom victory shall belong. I do not mean that I am indifferent as to the result of the struggle. I mean to say this : that if the struggle turn against ourselves, the opinion exju'essed shall be the free opinion of the people, but I ani convinced that a day must come, when our ideas planted in the ml will germinate and bear fruit, if the sowing is thcreor l)0 healthy and just. Yes, I am confident and certain, il'our ideas are just, as I believe them to be, if our ideas e.uanate from eternal and immutable truth, as I believe they do, they shall not perish ; they may bo rejected, cried down and persecuted, but a day shall come, when they shall germinate, rise and g-row, when the sun shall have done his work and prepared the ground to receive them. I have already noticed a few of the charges which have been circulated against ns. I will return to this subject for in it lies the most important point. All charges made against us and objections to our principles can be resumed in the following jiropositions : firstly, liberalism is a new form of error, a heresy already virtually condemned by the head of the church ; and, 2dly, a Catholic cannot be a liberal. This is what is proclaimed by our adversaries. ' ' }■ Mr. Chairman, all those who do me the honor of listen- ing to me, at this moment, will cordially admit that I state the question as it is, without any exaggera- tion. They will do me the justice to say that I repeat exactly the reproaches which are daily addressed to us ; all will admit that the language I use is simply the language of the conservative press. I know that Catholic Liberalism is condeuined bv the head of the church ; and I may be asked what is Catholic Liberalism. At the threshold of the question I refrain. The question is not included in my subject, and, moreover is beyond my power to elucidate. But I may also say that Catholic Liberalism is not Political Liberalism. If it were true that ecclesiastical censure against Catholic Liberalism should ap])ly to Political Liberalism, this fact wou.ld constitute for us, French in origin and Catholic in religion, a state of '.hings the consequence of which would be as strange as sad. The fact is, we French Canadians are a conquered race. This is a sad trnth to tell, but it is nevertheless the truth. But if we are a conquered race, we have also made a con- quest, the conquest of Liberty. We are a free people. — 5 We arc in the minority ; but we have preserved all our rights and privileges. But what is it that guarantees us this li'uerty ? It is the eonstitution that was won for us by our lathers and which we, to day, enjoy. We have a con- stitution that places the Government in the hands of the people. We have a constitution that has been granted to us for our own defence. We have no more rights nor greater privileges, but we have as many rights and privileges as the other races which, with us, constitute the: Canadian family. Again, it must not be forgotten that the other members of the Canadian family slyh divided into two parties, the Liberal and the Conservative. Now, if we who are Catholics had no right of choice, if we had not the right of belonging to the liberal paity, one of two things must occur ; either we would be obliged to completely abstain from taking part in the direction of pub- lic ailairs, and then the constitution, which was granted to us for our protection, would be but a dead letter, or we should have to take part in the idministration oi state affairs under the direction and for the benelit of the con- servative party ; thus, our action being no longer free, the constitution would be a dead letter in our hands, and we would moreover, have to suiter the disgrace of being, for the other raeml>ers of the Canadian family who make up the conservative party, mere tools or supernumeraries. Do not these absurd consequences, but of which no one can deny the strict correctness, show, in the most undoubted manner, how utterly false the assertion is that a Catholic cannot belong to the liberal party ? Since providence has united in this part of the world, populations of diflereut origins and creeds, is it not mani- fest that these dilil-ront people should have interest iden- tical and in common ; and in regard of anything relating to its interest, each is free to belong to the liberal party or to the conservative, according as conscience directs them to follow one or the other. 6 — i As for myself I belong- to the liberal parly. If to be a liberal is a term of reproach, that reproach I accept. Kit is a crime to be a liberal, then I am guilty. One thinf^ only I claim, that is, that we be judged according to our prin- ciples. I would bo ashamed of our principles if we did not dare to avow them. Our cause would not be worth the ellbrts to secure victory, if the best means of doing so were to (conceal its nature. The liberal party have been for twenty-live years in opposition, let it be twenty-live years more if the people be not ready to accept its ideas, but let it march with fearless brow, with its banners unfurled in the face of the country. It behoves, however, before all things to understand the meaning, the value and the bear- ing of the word " Liberal," and of the term " Conservative." I affirm that there is nothing so little understood in this country by those who attack it, as Liberalism. There are several reasons for this. . ,, . ,: We were but yesterday initiated into representative in- stitutions — the English population understood the working of these institutions by a sort of intuition, strengthened further by a century's experience. Our population as yet, scarcely know them. Education has but begun to be spread amongst us ; and for those who are educated, our French training naturally l«?ds us to the study of modern liberty, not in the classic land of liberty, not in the History of old England, but amongst the nations of con- tinental Europe, amongst the nations that are allied to us in blood or in religion. And, unfortunately, the history of liberty is written there in characters of blood, in the most lieartrending pages of the history of the human race. Terrilied by these mournful records, you will find amongst all classes of educated people loyal souls, who look with horror upon the spirit of 1 1)erty, imagining that that spirit of liberty must, here, result in the same disasters and crimes as in the countries of which I speak. For these veil mean- ing minds, the very name of Liberalism is fraught witl^ national calamity. — 7 — Without entirely censuring- these fes. -s but without allowing ourselves to be terriJied by them, lot us ascend to the very source and examine calmly what is, at bottom, the meaning of these two words, Liberal and Conservative. What idea is concealed beneath the word " Li])eral " which has been subjected to so many anathemas ? what does the word " Conservative " mean which seems so sacred, that it is modestly applied to all that is good ^ Is the one, as it is pretended, as in fact it is affirmed everyday to be, a new form of error ? Is the other, as it is constantly insinuated, synonymous of good, in all its phases ':? Is the one, revolution, anarchy, disorder 'i Is the other the sole safe principle of society ? Such are the questions which are asked every day in this country. These subtle distinctions, w^hich are continually brought forward in our press, are, nevertheless old. They are but the rei)etition of the dreams of certain French publicists who, shut up in their studies, look only upon the past, and who bitterly criticise everthing that now exists because existing things do not resemble those of old. Such people say that the Liberal idea is a new one ; and in this they are mistaken. The Liberal idea as well as its opposite is not new. It is as old as the world, and it is to be found in every page of its history. But it is only to-day that we understand its forces and its laws and know^ how to utilize them. Steam existed before Fulton ; but it is only since Fulton that we know the scope of its power and how to make it produce its marvellous results. It is the com- bination of the tube and piston that serves to utilize the steam. It is the form of representative government that has revealed to the world the principles — Liberalism and Conservatism ; and it is that form of government that draws from each its full powers- - .■ ' On no subject in human affairs, does truth manifest itself in an equal degree to each intelligence. Some dive deeper into the unknown but grasp less at a time. With others the contemplation, although it be less penetrating, % ■w — 8 — ;■+ yet as 'far as that vision extends, they see more clearly. This primordial distinction explains at once to a certain dei^ree the Liberal idea and that of Conservatism. For this reason alone, the same object will not l)e viewed in the same manner by different persons. For this sole reason some will take a route which others will avoid, when, however, both intend to reach the same end. But there is one conclu- sive reason that explains the nature, the reason, the why and the wherefore of the two dilierent. ideas. Macaulay in the history of England defines this in a remarkably clear manner. Speaking of the assemblhig of the British Houses of Parliament, in the second session of the Long Parliament, in the reign of Charles the First, the celebrated historian uses the following words: a. .;■>, i .'j^ " From that day dates the corporate existence of the two great parties, which ever since have alternately governed the covmtry. In one sense indeed the distinction which then became obvious had always existed and always must exist. For it has its origin in diversities of temper, of un- derstanding and of interest, which are found in all societies and which will be found till the human mind ceases to ))e drawn in opposite directions by the charm of habit and by the charm of novelty ; not only in politics but in literature, in arts, in science, in surgery and in mechanics, in naviga- tion and agriculture, nay even in mathematics we lindHhis distinction. Everywhere there is a class of men who cling with fondness to whatever is ancient, and who, even when convinced by overpowering reason that innovation would ]>e beneficial, consent to it with many misgivings and fore- bodings. We find also, every where, another class of men, sanguine in hope, bold in speculation, always ])ressing forward, quick to discern the imperfections of whatever exists, disposed to think lightly of the risks and incoin-e- niences attending improvements, and disposed to give every change credit for being an improvement." The first are the conservaiive ; the second are the liberal. Such is the real sense, the true explanation of both principles liberal and conservative. They are two attri-* butes of our nature. As Macaulay admii-ably says, they are to he founcl everywhere, in the arts, sciences, in all branches oi'spev.alative knowledge ; but it is in politics they aro most apparent. Thus, those who condemn liberalism as a new idea, have not reflected upon what is happening every day before their eyes. Those who condemn liberalism as an error, have not considered that they thereby condemn an attribute of human nature. Now it must not be for- i>'otten that the form of our government is a constitutional monarchy. It is this instrument which brings out in re lit' f^ and places in action the two principles of liberalism and conservatism. We, liberals, are frec^ .cntly accused of bein,rr republicans. I do not point oat this reproach to refute it. It is not ne- cessary to reply to such a reproach. I simply say that the form of government means little ; let it be monarchical or republican, from the moment the people have the right to vote i, .a possess a responsible government, they have the full measure of their liberty. However, liberty would soon be an empty word if she did not restrain those in power. A man whose astonishing wisdom has laid down the axioms of the science of government with unerring ex* actitude, Junius says: "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty:' Yes, if a people wish to remain free, they must, like Argus, have a hundred eyes and ever be on the watch. If they sleep, if they become weak, each moment of indo* lence involves the loss of some portion of their rights. An eternal, unceasing vigilance is the price which must be paid for the inestimable boon of liberty. Now, constitutional government is adapted even to a greater extent than a re- public to the exercise of this necessary vigilance. ■ On one side you have those who govern, on the other those who watch. On one side are those who are in power, and- are interested in retaining it ; on the other are those who are interested in attaining it themselves. \k I i ; !^^■^ • M(-? — 10 — What shall be the mt >ns of cohesion which will unite these different parties ? What shall he the principle, the sentiment that will array the different elements of the po- pulation either on th(^ side of those who govern or of those who watch. It will be either the lil)eral or the conserva- tive principle. You will see toj^ether those who are at- tracted by the charm of novelty, and you will see together those who are attracted by the charm of habit. You will see on one side those who attach themselves to everything that is ancient, and on the other side those who are always ready to reform. I now ask whether between these two ideas which form the basis of these parties there can exist a moral difference ; is one radically good and the other radically bad ? Is it not manifept that both are, what are called in morals inthf- ferent 'f that is to say, that both are susceptiole of apprecia- tion, of thought and choice. Would it not be as unjust as it is absurd to condemn or approve either out; or the other, absolutely good or bad '\ Both are susceptible of great good and great evil. The Conservative, who defends the old institutions of his country can do much good, while he may perpetrate a great evil if he persists in i^erpetuating intolera])le abuses. The Liberal who fights against those abuses, and who after un- ceasing efforts eradicates them, may be a public benefactor, while the Liberal who would raise a profane hand against its sacred institutions, would prove a scourge not only of his country, but of humanity. Therefore, I am far from making the convictions of our adversaries an object of reproach, but as for myself I am, as I have already said, a Liberal. I am one of those who believe that in all human affairs there are abuses to reform, new horizons to discover, and new forces to develop. In fact Liberalism appears to me on all points to be su- perior to the other principle. The Liberal principle is ii» the very essence of our nature, in that thirst for happiness which wo all I'eol in thiis life, which I'ollows us every where, to be, however, never completely satislird on this side oi" the grave. Our souls are immortal, but our means are limited. We unceasin<>ly approach toward an ideal which we never reach. Wo dream of the highest good, but secure only the better. Hardly have we reached the limits we have yearned alter, when we discover new ho- rizons, which we have never dreamed of. We rush towards them, and when they hav*^ been reached in their turn, we find others which lead us on further and further. Thus shall it be Jifas long as man is what lie is, as long as the immortal soul dwells in the mortal body, so long shall its desires be beyond its means, its actions can never equal its conceptions. He is the true Sysiphus of the fable, its com- pleted work has ever to be recommenced. This condition of our nature is exactly what constitutes the greatness of man; for it i. ges him ceaselessly to push forward to progress ; our means an^ finite but our nature can be improved, and we have the infinite as our field of labor. There is then always room to improve our con- dition, to perfect our nature, and to render life more easy to a greater number. This it is which, in my opiniou, constitutes the sui^eriority of Liberalism. , ,., Besides, experience establishes that abuses glide into the community, which will end in seriously arresting its up- ward progress, and perhaps placing its existence in danger. Experience further establishes that institutions, which in the beginning w^ere useful, because they were suited to the state of society in which they had been introduced, in the end, from the very fact that everything is changing' around them, become intolerable abuses. Such among us was the seigniorial tenure. It cannot be denied that in the youth of the colony this system greatly facilitated the settlement of the country. But in 1850, everything had. so changed amongst us, that the system would have ended in produc- ing deplorable difficulties, if our legislature, at the sugges- t;|ou of tl^e liberals, had not, in iis wisdom, abolished it. / --12 — As nvsnll of this law which I havo pointed out as the dolmniuiiii? cause of Ijiberal and Conservative ideas, there will always he I'ouud nn'n who will fondly attach them- solves to these abuses, which they will eayerly defend, and who will look with fear on any attempt to abolish them. Woe be to them it while in the p&.ssession of power they bo not ready to sacrifice their favorite notions. Woe be to them if they know not how to accede and adopt proposed reforms. They shall bring on their country disasters so much more terrible as justice shall have been the longer delayed. History but proves too truly that few of thos* Avho govern have known the aspirations of humanity and have done them justici*. There have been more revolutions caused by the obstinacy of Conservatism than the exaggerations of Liberalism. • ■ The highest art in governing is to guide and to direct by controlling these asj^irations of humanity. The English jiossess this art in the highest degree. Look at the work oi' the great English liberal party. The reforms they have carried out, the abuses they have suppressed, without violence, without commotion, without disturbance. They understood the longings of the oppressed, they comprehend- ed the new wants created by new conditions of society, and under the authority of the law, and without anything else than the law, they have carried out a series of reforms which have made the English the freest of peoples, the most prosperous, and the happiest in Europe. On the other hand look at the continential governments of Europe. Most of them have never understood the wants of their people. When the unfortunate oppressed endea- vored to raise their heads to breathe a few^ mouthfuls of the air of liberty, t.iey were brutally thrust back to a state of deeper and deeptr degradation. But a day arrived when obstacles were ruthlessly set aside, when the people violently burst their cnains ; and -18- who can wonder at it i and thou uud»»r the sacred name oi liberty they perpetrated the most Irightlul crimes. Sliouhl it astonish us if the 'ouds gath«!red above our lieads burst into hail and thunder :* Should it astonish us ii" the steam burst out the walls which confined it, when the engineer had not the prudence torai^e the valve which regulated its foree ? No there is a fatal law whicti shall have always thi; same efiect in the intellectual a?- in the physical order of things. Where there is compression there must be a violent and ruinous explosion. I do not say this to palliate revolution. I hate revolutions. I detest every attempt to secure the triumph of opinions by violence. Further more, I am less disposed to place the responsibility upon those who carry them out than on those who l>y their blind obstinacy provoke them. I say this to explain the superiority of Liberalism, which comprehends the aspira- tions of human nature and instead of crushing them, tries to direct them. Do you suppose, for instance, that if England had per- sisted in refusing emanipation to the Catholics ; if she had 1 arsisted in refusing to the Catholics, to the Jews, and Protestant denominations who did not belong to the estab- lished church, full civil and political rights ; if she had persisted in preserving electoral oligarchy ; if she had per- sisted in refusing free trade in corn ; if she had refused the franchise to the working classes, do you think that ouf day would have passed before the people would have risen in arms to gain that justice they had obstinately been deprived of. Do you not think that the hideous monster of revolution would not have growled beneath the windows of Westminster ; and that civil war would have made the streets of London run with blood as it often has the streets of Paris. Human nature is everywhere the same, and as elsewhere compression produces explosion, violence and crime. These terrible calamities have been avoided — thaiiks to the Liberals, who eomprehending the evil cause, suggested and applied the remedy. What is more beautiful than the history of the great Liberal English party of this ag-e. At first tl;3re is Fox, the sage, the generous Fox, espousing the cause of the oppressed, wherever they were, A little later was O'Connell, I ho great O'Connell, vindicating and obtaining for his co- religionists the rights and privileges of English subjects. He WPS assisted in his work by all the Liberals in the three kingdoms, Oray, Brougham, Russell, Jeffrey, and a host of others. Then came successively the abolition of the electoral oligarchy, the repeal of the prohibition law against the corn trade, the extension of the franchise to the working- classes, and finally to crown all, the abolition of the English Church as a stiite religion in Ireland. And remember that the Liberals who worked out these successive reforms were not recruits from merely the middle classes, but some of England's greatest peers were among them. I know not of any spectacle more honorable f o humanity than that of these English peers, these nobles, those rich men, those powerful men stubbornly fighting to uproot a host of popular abuses, sacrificing their privileges with a calm enthusiasm to render life more easy and more happy to the greater number. On this subject let me read you a letter of Macaulay to one of his friends, writttni on the day after the vote on the famous reform bill which abolished the rotten boroughs. This letter, in my opinjon, admirably shows what an English Liberal is. Here it is, please excuse its length : " Such a scene as the division of the last Tuesday I never saw and nevin- expect to see again. If I should live fifty years, the ir. pression (>f it will be as fresh and sharp in my mind as if it had just t .ken place. It was like seeing Ccesar stabbed in the t*5eiiate Bouse, or seeing Oliver Cromwell tak- ing the mace from the tt.ble, a sight to be seen only once and never to be forgotten. The crowd overflowed the hou j in every part. When the strangers were cleared out, and the — 15 doors locked, we had six hundred and eight members pre- sent. More by fifty-five than ever were in a division be- tbre ; the yeivs and. nays were hke two volleys of cannon from opposite sides of a field of battle. "When the Opposi- tion went out into the lobby, an operation which took up twenty minutes or more, we spread ourselves over the benches on both sides of the House ; for there were many of us who had not been able to find a seii during the even- ing. When the doors were shut, we began to speculate on our numbers, every body was d(»sponding : " W^a have lost " it. "We are only two hundred and eighty, it most, I do " not think we are two hundred and fifty. They are three " hundred. Alderman Thompson has counted them. He " says they are two hundred and ninety-nine." This was the talk on our benches. The House, when only the yeas were in it, looked to me a very fair house — much fuller than it generally is even on debates of considerable interest. I had no hope, however, of three huiidred- As the tellers passed along our lowest row on the left hand-side, the interest was insupportable — two hundred and ninety-one — tvv o hundred ai?.d ninety-two — we were all standing up and stretching forward, telling with the tellers. At three hundred, there was a short cry of joy — at three hundred and two another — suppressed, however, in a moment ; for we did not yet know what the hostile force might be. We knew, however, that we could not be severely beaten. The doors were throwni opsn, and in they came. Each of them, as he entered, brought some difterent report of their num- bers. It must have been impossii^le, as ^-^ou may conceive, in the lobby, crowded as they were, to form any exact esti- mate. First, we heard that they were three iiundred and throo ; then that number rose to three hundred and ten ; then went down to three hundred and seven. We were all breathless with anxiety when Charles Wood, w^ho stood near the door, jumped upon a bench and cried out, " they are only three hundred and one." "VVe set up a shout that you might have heard to Charing Cross, waving our hats, stamping against the floor, and clapping our hands. The tellers scarcely got through the crowd, for the House was thronged up to the table, and all the floor was fluctuating with heads hke the pit of a theatre. But you might have heard a pin drop as Duncan now read the numbers. Then again the shouts broke oiit, and many of us shed tears. I could scarcely refrain. And the game of Peel fell ; and the -16- face of Twiss was as the face of a damned soul ; and Harries* looked like Judas taking his necktie off for the last opera- tion. We shook hands, and clapped each other on th^s back, and went out laughing, crying, and huxzaing into the lobb^'. And no sooner were the outer doors opened' than another shout answered that \fithin the Houses. All the passages and the stairs into the waiting rooms were thronged by people who hf 1 waited till four in the morn- ing to know tiie issue. We passed through a narrow lane between two thick masses of them ; and all thq,w^ay down they were shouting and waving their bats, till we got into the open air. 1 called a cabriolet, and the first thing the driver asked was, " So the bill is carried V' " Yes, ])y one." " Thank Grod for it, sir !'' And so ended a scene which will probably never be equalled till the reformed parliament wants reforming. "' . , He who wrote thus exultingly, voted for the abolition of the system under M^hich he held his seat. Macaulay owed his seat to the generosity of an English Peer, Lord Lands- downe, who had him returned for the rotten borough of Calne. 1 know of few pages of history which reflect more honor on hu?nanity than this simple letter wni.ch demons- trates those English characters, calm and obstinate in the struggle, which finally break forth into enthusiasm w^eeping and laughing at the same time, because an act of justice had been accomplished, because an abuse had been eradi- cated from the soil of old Enj^land. y , , , ; , • ,,r' j ^. Members of the Club Canadien ! Liberals of the Pro- vince of Quebec, these are our principles; behold our models; such a party is oars. , ji^.^j^.t^r^./'^-iV ,>:>:' J.i.'; It is true that there exists, in Europe, in France, in Italy and in Germany, a class of men who call themselves liberals, but who are liberal but in name, and who are the most dangerous of men. They are not Liberals they are Revolutionists. Their principles carry them so far that they aspire to nothing less than the destruction of modern society. With these men wt have no connection, but i t is the tactics of our adversaries inc ^ssantly to compare us to them. 17 Those acdtts&tlons dre beneath us, and the only reply worthy of lis is to state our true principles and to alv/ays ant in a manner conformable to them. ft Having arrived at this point, I will review the history of the liberal party in this country. I am one of those who do not fear to closely examine the history of my party. I am one of those who think that there is more to be gained by plainly speaking the truth than by deceiving themselves and others. Let us have the courage to speak the truth ! If our party has committed faults, our denial of them will not prevent things from being what they have been. Besides, if our party has cummitted faults, we shall always lind among the adverse party faults enough to counterbalance ours ; even were the other party without sin, our principles would be, thereby, neither better nor worse. Let us then have the courage to speak the truth, and let the avowal of our party trespasses enable us to avoid ^hcm in future. ' TJp to 1848, the French Canadians had formed but one party, the liberal party. The conservative or rather the tory party, as it was called, was, in a feeble minority. From 1 848, dated the beginning of the two parties which have contended for power. Mr. Lafontaine had accepted the system established in 1841 ; when Mr. Papineau returned from exile he attacked the new order of things with his great eloquence and all the elevation of his thought. I will not here introduce a comparison between the respec- tive legal Idens of these two great men. Both loved their country ardently and passionately; both devoted their lives to it ; both, by different means had no other end in view than to serve it ; both were disinterested and honest. Let us remain contented and satisfied with these memories and seek not to find out who was right or who was wrong. There were at this time a number of young men of great talent and of still greater impetuosity of character. Dis- appointed in being too late to risk their lives in the war of 4 ■ IT' ' :- —18— ■■ 1837, they rushed blindly into the political movement of the day. They were the foremost supporters of Mr. Lafon- taine in his glorious struggle with Lord Metcalf They afterwards abandoned him lor the more advanced policy of Mr. Papineau, and while they followed him, as it was quite natural they should do, they had soon outstripped him. Emboldened by their success, and carried away by their own enthusiasm, they established a paper, fAvenir, in which they assumed the position of reformers and regenerators of their country. Not satisfied with attacking the political state of things, they audaciously fell upon social institutions. They started a programme which contained not less than twenty-one articles, commencing by the election of justices of the peace, and ending with annexation to the United States, and which meant nothing less than totally revolution- izing this province. If it had been possible by a wave of a wand that the twenty-one articles of this programme coald have been realized in the course of a night, the country could not in the morning have been recognizable. Any one having left it the day before and returning the next morn- ing AVould have been completely bewildered. The only excuse for these liberals was their youth ; the oldest among them not being twenty -two years of age. Gentlemen I state facts, I do not intend to reproach any- one. Talent and sincerity of conviction ever command respect. Which of us now, who, living in that age, can flatter himself that he would have been wiser, and would not have fallen into the same errors. Everything then led to such exaggerations, the state of affairs both in this cor.ntry and in Europe. The country had not yet recovered from the wounds in- flicted on it during the rebellion ; a free constitution had been granted to us, it is true, but the new constitution was not worked out with good faith by the colonial officc^ There were in every mind bitter thoughts whose expres- sion was arrested solely by the remembrance of the ven- I ■i i - 19 geance taken during tho rebellion. "V7aves of democracy and revolution were reaching our shores on every side. Society, even then, trembled at the first breath of that terrible storm which soon after swept over nearly all the civilized world, and which, for a moment, shook society to its center. The years preceding 1848 are frightful to contemplate. It was terrible to look upon the disastrous work which was carried on every where and which plunged into revo- lution at once more than 80,000,000 of men. This state of things acted powerfully on the imagina- tions of the ardent and inexperienced youth ; and our young reformers not contented with revolutionizing their own country greeted joyfully each new revolution in Europe. However, scarcely had they lived a few years when they perceived the great error into which they had fallen. As early as 1852 they published a new paper. They left CAvenir, to hot headed madmen and endeavoured in their new paper the Pays without always succeeding, it is true, to point out the new path which the friends of liberty under the new constitution should follow. One cannot help smiling to-day, in reading the. pro- gramme of VAvenir, at linding w'th so much good tjense at times, such impossible and absurd propositions. It world be useless to go over one by one the incongruous pro^rosi- tions 'contained in the programme of VAvenir. I will take one at random : the annual parliamfmts. I am sure that any of these young reformers, who is to-day a repre- sentative is now firmly of opinion that an election every five years is quite sufficient. And furthermore, is it not manifest that annual parliaments would continually trammel all serious legislation and be a permanent source of trouble. However the evil was done. The clergy alarmed by measures which reminded them only too vividly of Euro- pean revolutions, immediately declared merciless war against the new party. Tho English population friendly to liberty, but law-abiding withal, also declared against the 1: 1 i t 20 — new party, and during twenty-five years they remained in opposition, although they had the honor ol" initiating all the reforms effected during that period. It was in vain they asked and obtained the abolition of the seigniorial tenure ; it was in vain they asked and obtained the decen- tralization of justice ; it was in vain that they were the first to give impetus to colonization ; those wise reforms were not recognized p the fruits of their efforts ; in vain these young men, now grown to manhood, disavowed the follies of their youth ; in fact it was in vain that the conservative party committed faults ; the generation of the liberals of 1848, had nearly disappeared from the political arena, when there dawned a glimpse of daylight for the liberal party. Since that time new accessions have been made to, the party, ideas more matured and calmer have prevailed. Of their former programme, none of the social portion remains, and of the political portion, there remain but the principles of the liberal party of England. During this time what has the other parLy done, when the rupture between Mr. Papineau and Mr. Lafontaine was complete, the portion that followed Mr. Lafontaine after some hesitation joined the Tories of Upper Canada, and to the title of Liberal, which they could nor aare acknow- ledge (hey added that of Conservative. The new party called itself Liberal-Conservative. Some years elapsed, further modifications ensued, the new party entirely gave up the title of liberal and assumed the name of conservative party. Again a few^ years i)a8sed by and new changes took place. I know not by what name to call this party. Those who to day seem to occupy the highest j^sition in the party, shall style themselves the Ultramontane party, the Catholic party. Its principles have suffered as many changes as its name. If Mr. Cartier were to return to this world again he would not recognize his party. Mr. Cartier was devoted to the principles of the English constitution. These of his old followers who are leaders to-day, openly I -31- oppose the principles of the English constitution as a con- cession to what they call the spirit of evil. They under* stand neither their country nor the age in which they live. All these ideas are derived from the reactionists of France ; as the ideas of the liberals of 1848 were based upon those of the revolutionists of !•' ranee. They become enthusiastic on Don Carlos and the Count de Chambord, as the liberals were enthusiastic on Louis Blanc and Ledru Rollin. They cried Vive le Roy long live the King, as the liberals cried Vive la Republique. In speaking of Don Carlos and of the Count de Chambord they affectedly called them His Ma- jesty King Charles VII., Ilis Majesty King Henri V., as the liberals in speaking*- of Napoleon, called him Mr. Louis Bonaparte. I certainly have too much respect for the opinion of my apponents to insult them, but I reproach them with an ignorance of this country and of the age they live in. I accuse them of judging of the political situation of this countrv, not by what is going on here, but by what is taking pV_ce in France. I charge them with endea- voring to introduce here ideas which are inapplicable to our state of society. I accuse them of laboriously en- deavoring and unfortunately too atFectively to drag down religion to the lev^el of a political question. It is the habit of our adversaries to accuse us liberals of irreligion. 1 am not here to parade my religious principles, but I proclaim that I have too much respect for the faith in which I was born ever to make it the foundation of a political organiz- .atiou. *- - - - -•■ '''-'^•' You wish to organize a Catholic party but have you never reflected, that if unfortunately you were successful,you would bring on your country calamities, the consequence of which it is impos.sible to predict. .;; ; . > You wish to organize all Catholics into a single party without other tie, without other basis than that of religion, but you haye not reflected that by that fact alonp you or- ganize the Protestant population as a single party, and that I) I; ■^1 y I 1 I i ;| Ail then instead of peace and harmony which now exist amongst the elemeJits of our Canadian populations, you will bring on war, religious war, the most frightful of all wars. Once more conservatives, I accuse you before Canada of knowing neither your country nor the age you live in. ( )ur adversaries again reproach us with the love of liber- ty, and they call the spirit of liberty a dangerous and sub- versive principle. Is there any reason for these attacks? None, unless that in France there exists a certain body of Catholics who curse the name of liberty. It is not only the enemies of liberty in France who look upon it with apprehension ; its warmest friends often regard it with the same feeling. Remember the last words of Madame Rolland. She had truly loved liberty, she had prayed for it most fervently, and her last touching words were : Oh ! Liberty, how many crimes have been committed in thy name. How many times have these same words been repeated as sin- cerely by as devoted lovers of liberty. I perfectly understand, without, however, acquiescing in the feeling of those Frenchmen who looking at what liber- ty has cost them in tears, in ruin and in blood, sometimes wish for their country a vigorous despotism. I can under- stand their anathemas, but that these anathemas against liberty should find an echo here, is something which I cannot conceive. And what ! shall we who are a conquered people curse liberty ? But, what should we d6 without liberty ? What should we be new if our forefathers had had the same sentiments as the conservatives of to-day. Should we be other than a race c f parias. I admit that liberty as understood and practised in France generally is not tempting. The French know but the name of liberty, they know not liberty herself. One of their poets, August Barbier, has given us an exact idea of the liberty which has occasionally passed current in France, and whose working was last seen in 1871. He re- presents liberty as a woman. " A la voix rauque, aux diirs appa.i, " Qui (In brun 8ur la i)ouu, ilu tou dan.s leg prunclles " Agile et marehant il grands pas, " Ho plait Bux cris du peupic, aux gunglantuit in'it'es, " Aux longs roulcnienta des tambours, " A Todeur de la poudre, aux lointaines voK'cs "Des cloches ot des conons sourds ; " Qui no prond ses amours que dans la populace, " Qui nc pr^to 8on largo flanc "Qu'il dea gons forts commc olio, et qui veut qu'on I'embrasse " Atcc des bras rouges de sang." .u. Were liberty such a virago, I ccv»id understand the ana- themas of our adversaries, and I would be the first to re- echo them. But this is not liberty. An English poet, Tennyson, sings of liberty, the liberty oi his country and of ours. In his poem ' In Memoriam," Tennyson replies to a friend who asks him why he does not search in South- ern isles a milder climate, and why, notwithstanding his poor health, he persists in remaining under the foggy sky of England. The poet replies to his friends that he does not wish to leave England because : " It is the land that freemen till, ' That sober-suited Freedom cboso, The land, where girt With friends oi foes, A man may speak the thing he will ; " A land of settled government, A land of just and old renown. Where Freedom broadens slowly down, t'rom preaedent to precedent : " Where faction seldom gathers head But by dot^.-ees to fullness wrought. The strength of some diffusive thought Ilath time and space to work and spread." Such is the liberty we enjoy, such is the liberty which we defend, and which our adversaries attack without un- derstanding it, even while enjoying its benefits. Jean ^aptiste Ronsseaii, in one of his odes, speaks of a barbarous tribe, who, one day, in a moment of ineonoeivable folly, in- sulted tin? sun by their cries and imprecations. The poet in a word describes their foolish impiety : Le Dieu poursuiviint la carriCre, Versait den torrents ile liimit'Tf, , Sur sea obsours blasphiuinteurH. Thus it is with those amongst us who attack h))erty. Liberty shields them, overspreads them, protects and de- fends them, even in their blasphemy. But our adversaries, in reproaching us with being the friends of liberty, still further reproach us with a charge which would be very serious, w^ere it well founded, that is, with refushig the Church the liberty to which it is entitled. They reproach us wath endeavoring to silence the administrative body of the Church, the Clergy, with wishing to prevent them from educating the people in their duties, as citizens as well as electors. They reproach us, if I may use a hackneyed saying, with wishing to prevent the Clergy from meddling in politics and sending them back to their vestries. In the name of the Liberal party, in the name of the liberal principle, I deny the assertion. I assert that there is not a single Canadian Liberal who wishes to hinder the clergy from taking part in political affairs if they wish to take part therein, under what principle would the friends of liberty -refuse the priests the right of taking part in public affairs? By what right would the friends of liberty refuse the priests the right of having political ojinions and expressing them, the right of approving, or condemning public men and their acts, of teaching the people what they believe to be their duty ? By what principle would the priests not have the right to say that were I elected, religion would be in danger, when I have the right to say that if my adversary be elected, the ./,;::_ —25— . :, statu will be iu danger ! Why should the priest not have the right oi' saying that were I fleeted, religion would in- i'allibly be destroyed, when I have the right ol' saying that if my adversary be elected the state won'd go straight into bankruptcy. No, let the priest speak and preach as he thinks proper; that is his right. No Canadian liberal will over deny him this right. Oar (ionstitution invites every citizen to take part iu the direction of pulilic allairs ; it mak«»s exception oi' no one. Each has the right not only of expressing his opinion, but of influencing, if he can, by expressing his opinion, the opinions of his fellow-citizens. This is every one's right ; there is no reason why the priest should not have it. I am here to say what I think and I add that I am far from finding the intervention of the clergy in politics, opportune as exercised during the last few years. On the contrary I think that the priest has every thing to lose as regards the respect due to his station by meddling with the ordinary questions of politics. However, his right is incontestable, and if he chose to avail himself of it, our duty as liberals is to secure it to him against every opponent. This right, how^ever, is not unlimited. We have amongst us, no absolute rights. The rights of each man in our state of society ceases to exist when he trespasses on the rights of others. The right of intervening in politics ends when it tres- passes on the independence of the elector. The constitution of this country is based upon the freely expressed will of the elector. The constitution intends that each elector deposit his vote freely and voluntarily as he thinks proper. If the electors of a country are now of one opinion and that the majority owing to the influence exercised over them by one or more persons, after hearing their arguments and reading their productions change their opinion, is a perfectly legitimate thing in itself, although the opinion they express be different froni w^hat they coi^U -26-- _ , , . ^ ,y ,. have ht'ld luiJ no such yitorlerenct' takou phice ; hovvovt'r, the opinion they rxpress is really what they wish to ox- press, that which is according to thoiv eonscionce ; the constitution thus rceeives its entire application. 11' how- ever, notwithstandinn' all arguments the opinion ol' the electors remain the same, but that by intimidation or Iraud they are forced to vote in a difFerent sense, the opinion they express is not their oj)inion, and then the constitution is violated. The constitution, as I have already said, in- tends that the opinion of each be freely expressed as it is held at the time of its expression, and that the collection of each of these individual opinions iVeely expressed form the llovernnient of the country. The law watches, with a jealous eye, over the free ex- pression of the opinion of the elector as he h )ld8 it, but if in a county the opinion exi)ressed by a single elector, is not his real opinion but an opinion extorted through fear, fraud or corruption, the election must be annulled. It is then perfectly allowable to change the opinion of an elector by reasoning, and all other means of persuasion but never by intimidation. In fact persuasion changes the conviction of an elector, intimidation does not. When by persuasion you have changed the conviction of an elector the opinion he expresses is his own opinion, but when through terror you force the elector to vote, the opinion he expresses is your opinion ; remove the cause of terror t'nd he will express another opinion — his own. Now it is easily understood, if the expressed opinion of the majority be not their real opinion but an opinion ob- tained by fiuud, menace or corruption that the constitution is violated ; you have not the government of the majority but of the minority. Moreover, if such a state of things be ^ continued and repeated, if after each election the opinion _' expressed be not the real opinion of the country, the con- stitution is again violated, responsible government is but _27- an idle word, and sooner or later here as elsewhere the compression will result in explosion, violence and ruin. But there are those who say that the clergy have a right to dictate to the people their duties. I reply simply this. We an^ under the rule of the Queen of England, under the authority of a constitution which was granted to us^as an act of Justice ; and if the exercise of the rights which'you claim should have the effect of preventing the proper work- ing of that constitution and exposing us to all the conse- quences of such an act, the clergy themselves would have none or it. I am not one of those who affectedly pretend to be the friends and defenders of the clergy. However, 1 say this: like the greater part of the young men of the country. I was educated by priests, and amongst young men who have become priests. I flatter myself that I have sincere IViends amongst them, and to them at least I can and do say : " Can you lind under the sun a happier country than ours, where the C.^atholic church is freer, and enjoys greater privileges?" Why then do you try to claim rights incom- patible with our state of society, to expose the country to agitation, the consequences of which it is impossible to foresee. But, I address myself generally to my countrymen and tell them : " "We are a happy and free people ; we owe this freedom to the Liberal institutions which govern us, which we owe to our forefathers and to the wisdom of the mother country. " The policy of the Liberal party is to guard these insti- tutions, to defend and propagate them, and under the rule of these institutions to develop the latent resources of our country. Such is the policy of the Liberal party, and it has none other.' Now to fully appreciate the value of our present institu- tions, let us compare our condition with what it was before they were granted to us. Forty years ago the country was in a state of feverish excitement, and agitation which in a lew months later, "'I — 28— .,:■■:(:,.. .. ;.,..,, .;;:v,^ culminated in rebellion. The British Crown was upheld in the country, but by powder and shot. And yet what did our forefathers demand? Nothing else than our present institutions ; these institutions were granted and loyally applied and behold the consequences ; the English flag floats from the ancient Citadel of Quebec ; it floats this evening above our heads and yet there is not a single Eng- lish soldier in the country to defend it ; its sole defence is the consciousness that we owe to it the liberty and security we find under it What Canadian is there who, comparing his own with even the freest of other countries, but feels proud of its institutions? What Canadian is there who in going through the streets of this old city, and seeing the monuraeii a few feet from this place, erected to the memory of two brave men, w^ho fell on the same field of battle in fighting for the possession of this country, but feels proud of his country ? In what country under the sun could you find a similar monument, erected to the memory of the conqaeror and the conquered. In what country under the sun could you find the names of the victor and vanquished honored in the same degree, occupying the same place in the sentiments of the popula- tion. Gentlemen, when in this last battle, commemoiated by the monument erected to Wolfe and Montcalm, the cannon spread death among the French ranks, when the old heroes, whom victory had so often followed, saw her at last desert- ing them, wfen reclining on the sod, feeling their heart's blood ilowin,? and life departing, they saw, as a conse- quence of their defeat, Quebec in the hands of the enemy and their country forever lost ; no doubt their last thoughts turned towards their children, towards those whom they left without protection and without defence ; doubtless they saw them persecuted, enslaved, humiliated ; and then 29 — we may imagine their last breath to havo been a cry of despair. But, if on the other hand, heaven had permitted the veil of the future to be raised before their expiring vision, if htniven permitted them, before their eyes closed forever, to pene- trate the unknown, if they could have seen their children free and happy, v>^alking proudly in every rank of society ; if they could have seen in the ancient cathedral the seat of honor of the French governors occupied by a French G-overnor, if they could have seen the spires of churches piercing the azure in every valley from the waters of Gaspe to the plains of Red River ; if they could have seen tliis old flag which reminds us of their greatest victory, triump- hantly borne in all our public ceremonies ; finally, if they could' have seen our free institutions, may we not believe that their last breath was softened to a murmur of thanks to heaven, and that they found consolation as they died. If the shades of those heroes yet move about this old city for which they died, and if they are on this evening in this hall, we libevals may believe, at least we have the dear illusion, that their sympathies are entirely Avith Us ! ■I WILFRID I AURIER. 30 — REMARKS OF THE PRR criminal spi- ritual influence, which is A'isited with prison and exile, and you, you have invented the undue spiritual inlluence, which is visited with tines and civil degradation, so that between the two there is Imt one degree of ditference. And that iegree, you would have lessened it long ago, if your own interest had not forced you hypocriticallv to uphold i* The Church does not forbid to vote in favor of « candi'h disposed lo approve of the policy of any government, witi regard to railroads, canals, tariffs, &c. She simply forbids her children to profess the liberal principles Avhicli tend to encroach upon the rights and the liberties of the Church, and to vote for candidates piofessing those principles, or too cowardly to oppose their introduction into the laws of this country. It is not for in ?tance because Mr. Laurier has approved Mr. Mackenzie's policy with regard to the ' — 81 ~ tarift' or the Pacific llailway, that he shall be accused of heiiii^' a Catholic liberal. No, it is because, formerly in his i)aper Le Defricheur, and now in his recent lecture at Quebec, he has endeavored to give to the State the rig-ht of deJhiing the limits of Catholic preaching, thereby placing the State above the Church, it is for these reasons, we say, that he is and deserves to be called «, Catholic liberal, and to be opposed as such. LE COURRIER DE ST. EYACJNTHE, P. B. DE LaBruyere, Editor. [('onsorviit'iM'.j The doctrine proclaimed by Mr. Launer, is the very same doctrine expressed by the Judges of the Superior Court, in the controverted election of Charlevoix, With Judge Ca- sault, Mr. Laurier concedes to the Priest his rights as a citi/en, but, with Judge Taschereau, he places the supre- macy of Parliament above the liberty of the Catholic Church. That question h;is already been discussed at length in the Press, and the Bishops of the Province, who are the natural custodians of the doctrine, have in a collective letter, unanimously protested against the Judgment of th« Supreme^ Court, and especially condemned the assertions of Judge Tiischereau ; consequently, Mr. Laurier, who is :iot ignorant of the action of the Episcopal body, has placed himself as an antagonist of the liberty of the Church he gavt? himself as the admirer of the false interpretations giv m to the Treaty of Paris, -vvhich se, res to the Catholics in this Province, the free exercise of thuir religion. With Chief Justice Richards, he believes that the priest from the pulpit, cannot prohibit his Hock from voting in one sense, when he considers that the interest of religion is in danger ; he grants, it is true, to the clergy, the right to speak out of Church, but not from the sacr«d tribune ; it would then be undue inlluence ; and when in the quotations which we have made, Mr. Laurier, uses the terms fear, intimidation, terror, he alludes to the threats of those eternal punishments which are the sanction of the divine law. He does not say it in formal terms, but it is the only logical conclusion to be drawn from his words, since he places the authority of the Quetu, or of the constituton, above the immutable and 33 — imprescribable rijihts of the Church; in other words, when he places the civil society above the religious society, hi.s jpeeeh cannot mean anything else. It is to he remarked that the Liberal Party entertains (hose views, and that the member for Arthabaska spoke in its name. He made himself the organ and interpreter of its sentiments, and rEvenement and Le National, went into raptures over the talent and abilities of the speaker. It vv^as not worth while to come and repeat before the public whivi; the public already knew. The tendencies, the opinions of the liberals upon politico-religious matters were known before hand, and when he wished to give ex- pression to new ideas, or to quiet the fears of the clergy con- cerning the the fundamental principles, which underlie all Christian politics, it would have been better for Mr. Laurier, not to show himself He has damaged himself and the jarty to v/hich he belongs. If the speaker, as tar as the pretended superiority of the civil law, over the law of the Church, is concerned, was designedly indistinct and confused, he showed himself in his true colours, in the follow^ing passage : " You want to organize a catholic party. But did you " not reflect that if you had the mistortune to carry out " your design, you would bring upon this country, calamities, " the consequences of 'vhich it is impossible to foretell." This sentence, from the lips of the leader of a purty, is very imprudent. How now Mr. Laurier ! entrusted as you were, with a mission, with a task by a large class of your countrymen, of asserting their principles, when you are called upon to explain the position made to your party, by the accusations of ii religion, and of Catholic Liberalism made against it, can you have the audacity to reproach your adversaries, with claiming their full rights as Catho- lics in the person of the priest. I L' UNION DES CANTONS DE LEST. P. L. TOUSIONANT, EdITOP. [ronsprvative.] Those words are nothii g less than a lesson to the bishops of the country, accompanied "ith a threat of " conse- quences which it is impossible to foretell," but which seem to make Mr. Laurier's soul shudder. — 83 — 111 fact, the whole of tie episcopal ]>0(ly has claimed for the clergy, the right — which right, according *^oMr. Laurier, is incompatible with ourstateof society— of dictating to the people, in election time, what is their duty. It is the claim of that right, acquired by the church, and secured by treaties, which awes Mr. Laurier, and makes him fear agitations and their consequences. He was so imi)ressed by that fear, that he did not dare rise in the house, to make hiins(?lf the interpreter of the bishops, and to claim for them and for the clergy, the right to dictate to the people their duty. Oh ! no, Mr. Laurier thinks this right incompatible with our state of society, and will not hear of it. ^ But like all timid men, Mr. Laurier has occasional flights of courage ; he had just such a one, before the Quebec public. He had the courage to complain of the action of the bishops, and to reproach them, ivilh exposin*^ the country t)ij ctaiming rii>hfs incompatible luith our society, to consc (juences impossible to foretell. He had the courage to fear the prote.stants. He had the courage to think himself superior to the bishops, and to say so. The bishops have declared that this right was not incompatible with our state of society. Mr. Laurier, on the contrary, says that it is incom- patible, and that they are Avrong in claiming it. LE CANADIEN. ' The liberal press will itndoubtedly publish Mr. Laurier"s speech this very day. We hope it will be neither revised, corrected, amplified nor condensed, neither more liberal, nor less anti-catholic. We await it such as we heard it. It is just such a speech as we wanted, but dared not hope for. It contains many quirks and quibbles, and but few aound ideas ; liberal contradictions abound, the radical confes.sion of faith is complete. We must admit, Mr. Laurier's speech fully delines the position. It is the expression of the ideas of the liberal party, and we are i)repared, to say that the speaker dealt squarely with the subject. He dressed it up, as he had a right to do ; he told us an old story, but after all, he showed himself in his true colors. The gist of the speech is, that the clergy should remain e ■]■■ in the sinCtuaiy, and that religion should not form the basis of any party. #####* The lecture is a denunciation of ultramontanism and of the authority of the clergy, while being a plea in defence of liberalism. The orator had a purpose, and he was bent on accom- plishing it ; he wished to impress upon Protestants that the conservative party is led by men who are subjected to the Pope too much, to respect the British constitution. Ho really affirmed that we are the enemies of this constitution. Mr. Laurier, we have long known to hold opinions com- pletely radical. His lecture places him incontestably, at the head of the liberals who are anxious to go ahead. He acknowledged that he believes the time has come to walk fearlessly and with living banners. FKOM L UNION ^T. HYACINTH E. ^ . . ' ] [Liberal.] ''*■■ We publish to-day to the exclusion of all other matter, ihe magni licent speech delivered on the 26th June last, be- fore the '• Club Canadien," at Quebec, by Wilfrid Laurier, Es(|., member of the House of C^ommons for Drummond and Arthabaska. This discourse is simply a masterpiece, and is as remarkable for the depth and moderation of the ideas developed, as for the polite and calm tone in which they are expressed. We request our readers to read it at- tentively, and carefully, to preserve it for the day of struggle ; it is the most honest and able defence, which has ever been made to our knowledge, of the principles and rights of the liberal party. Mr. Laurier speakes with firm conviction and religious feeling as will be seen ; in his opinion and in that of every honest man, it is as easy to be a sincere catholic and a liberal, as it is difficult to be a conservative without a little hypocrisy. We do not thi ik we exaggerate in saying that this lecture will be a new page added to the history of our age ; a hundred years hence it will be read with the same in- terest, as the monument to Wolfe and Montcalm will be looked upon. This document is a manifesto for our party ; it is the r(»- affirmation of principles which were forgotten ; it is a new plan of a well known field, the witnc»ss of manv battles. — 35 — but from which in the heaioi' the hght, we had temporarily strayed away. Let us return to it ; this plan is the salva- tion of tlr? party and will still lead us on to important conquesif In conclusion, we pray that Mr. Laurier may soon till in the council of the nat'on, the honorable position which the whole country has so lonii- assigned to him, and let us hope that the leaders of our party will delay no lonp^er in associat- ing with themselves one of our most celebrated ')rators and ablest statesman. s m- LEVENEMENT. [Liberiil.] , , , ., , • Mr. Laurier, has squarely disposed of all the stupid accusations made against the Liberal Party : he has shown that that party is not the liberal party of the European continent, but really the liberal party as it exists in England. He, at the same time, stigmatized the present coterie who call themselves Conservatives, by saying that if Sir George Cartier, were now to return he would not recogni/e the old Conservative party. This evening no doubt we shall see the Conservative Press let loose, whose sole ambition, is, no matter by what means, to return to power. But all their imprecations will fall harmless against this eloquent discourse which resumes in so perfect a manner, the history of the liberal party, and which exposes the liad faith, and the machiavelism of those, who, for a purely personal purpose, and in order to regain a position which they so foully disgraced, hesitate not to trifle with religion, and to make capital out of the deeply religious feelings of our countrymen. There were a great many Conservatives among the two or three thousand people present at the Lecture, who had come not only from all parts of the City, but from all the surrounding parishes. If these men are sincere, how can they refuse to accept such evidence ; how can they persist in believing, the lies, the false and base accusations made by a few men of no weight, without principles or convic- tions ? we have no doubt, that the discourse of Mr. Laurier, will have the effect of convincing honest people, those who act on sincere conviction, that the liberal party is more deserving of public support, than the old styled Conserva- 36 — tive Party, whose leaders only talent lies in vilifying their advt^rsnries. Mr. Laurier has just made known, the policy ol' our parly in all its truth and candour ; he has jiointed out its tendencies, and its real object : the party recoj^nizes its obligation to him, and is proud to have at its head a gen- telman oi' so much talent. We therefore repudiate as strongly as lies in our power the Conservative policy expressed in the following lines of the Counter : " We wish to oriianize a Catholic party, assemble all the Catholics under one banner ; we would thus be more nume- rous than by a mere union of French Canadians alone." 8uch a tliought, at a time when Catholics enjoy a free measure of liberty, is a dangerous and vicious thought. The wish to divide Canada into two religious parties, Catholic and Protestant, w'ould infallibly lead to terrible conflicts, in which we w^ould undoubtly be crushed, and in which we w^ould lose for ever the rights and privileges which it has cost us so much to obtain. This one declaration of the Conservative idea is sulhci- ent to bring about its condemnation. Let the Conserva- tives leave to Europe this religious hate, and let them work for the future greatness of our country, free from all re- ligious discord. . ^ ";: ■ ■ '•'• .>i LE NATIONAL. ' ' ; [Liberal.] There is one thing certain, the lecture which Mr. Laurier, the eloquent member for Arthabaska in the House of Com- mons, has just delivered at Quebec, before the " Club Canadien," has put our adversaries out of countenance. This fact is evident, and the efforts which thoy are making to alter the sense of Mr. Laurier's words, and to atribute to him, opinions and ideas which he did not express, and to lasten on the liberal party, principles, which as a body, they never professed, show in the clearest manner, the confusion in which the conser *atives are placed. Notwithstanding therr efforts, Mr. Lau-ier's speech will stand, and all the unfair commentories r)y which they endeavor to impute to him doctrines Avhich his lecture does not in any way ex- press, will not prevent the people, with their natural good sense, from understanding the real meaning of the refornj -87- programmo. Thost^ amongst our adversaries who are sincere, should now know from the acknowledged declara- tion of Mr. Laurier, speaking on ])ehalf of the reform or liberal party, that this organization never entertained plans dangerous to the church, but tha^ they have always endeavored to secure it the fullest enjoyment of its rights and privileges, wln-never the opportunity offered. The reform party never intended to cause the triumph of any religious or anti-religious princii)le. The object it has in view is to look after the adminis- tration of the temporal affairs of the coimtry. It leaves to each of its mem])ers individually the right to profess whatever religious or philosophical doctrines he may think proper without rendering itself responsible, as a i^arty, which has only a political object in view, for such doctrines. Playing on words, is the favorite tactics of our adversaries, and any declaration we may make will never force them to admit that our party does not try to bring about the triumph of principles w^hich they attribute to us: but the public who are daily becoming more enlightened is no longer disposed to be deceived by any such absurdi- ties, and it relies on its own judgment to decide as to the respective tendencies of both parties; on this we rely with fullest trust. ;;' : r A party must be judged according- to its works, and not by the forced meaning taken from the words delivered by those who represent it, and to w^hich, according to Talley- rand, a sense may always be given, contrary to what they mean. Now, if we consider the works of the reform party, it will be seen that far from being hostile to Catho- lics, it has on the contrary, been favorable on every occa- sion, to their dearest interests. To mention only the ques- lion of Catholic schools, to it is due the introduction of the {separate school system in Upper Canada. It is to the McDonald-Sicotte Liberal Ministry of which Mr. Dorion was a member, and which had a majority of two only, that is due the measure against w^hich conservatives, such as John Cameron and Cockburn gave their votes. •1^ It was a liberal government which was not afraid to lof;o its popularity in Upper Canada and to risk its existence as a government, by making it a ministerial question, l)y granting to the Catholics of Ontario the rights of having separate schools, a risk which Sir John A. MacDonald or Mr. Cartier, in the plenitude of their power, supported by a strong majority, never wished to incur. 7 — 88 — I,t is also to a rel'oim f^overuinent, the MacKeiizie gov- t'l-nraent, that the Catholics of the new North West Territo- ry owe the adoption oi" the separate school system. As re- •rards the New Brunswick schools, the immense majority which Mr. Anglin has just obtained clearly shows that the policy adopted by the rei'ormers on Ihii question had nothing aiitaiionistic to Catholic doctrines. These facts alone — even without Mr. Laurier's brilliant logic, should be enough to coivince every honest and unprejudiced citizen that the reform party does not in any way desire to deprive the church ot its rights, but that on the contrary, it has al- ways endeavored to secure to it the full exercise thereof. Let our enemies exert all their efforts ; their foiil work is ended. Mr. Laurier has unmasked the enemies' batteries, and the hypocrites who usurp the name of conservatives have been irrevocably driven from one of their strongest positions. \. ^v/i ■:■■'•■■■ '•a.:' ■_- ,..•,;,. ;:. iv^i.i, MONTREAL HERALD. ' V [Liberal.] ME laurier's ADDRESS. ■ :r The address of Mr. Laurier, recently delivered before a crowded audience in Quebec, w^as, we scarcely need say, a masterpiece of diction. The young member for Drum- mond and Arthabaska has already made for himself a national reputation as an orator, and anything that he may t>ay, either in English or in his mother-tongue, is sure to be said in a manner which leaves nothing to be desired- But in his recent address, he fairly surpassed himself, and his ex- position of the origin, progress and aim of Liberalism in this country, and his exposure of the hypocritical jiretences of its adversaries, form one of the brightest pages in the political literature of the day. The originality with which he treated the subject, the logic with which he reasoned out his course, and the strength of the positions which he occupied, all combine to make his speech one of the most Ibrcible pleas for Liberalism hat we have ever seen ad- vanced. Not that he descended into the actual political arena — it was not an election narangue, but a philosophical address that he made to his hearers. His object was to show in what political Liberalism really consists, and how baseless are the charges of its enemies that it means reyor -so- lution and not retbrm. For this reason the address was perhaps better suited to a French-speaking than to an English-speaking audience, lor thouuh Liberalism has pre- judices enough to encounter among our own i)eople, Irom the nature of the case it is not there attacked on account ol" its alleged repugnance to religion and social order. IJut the charlatans who control the destinies of the Conserva- tive party in this Province rely for their support, not upon the enlightening of the people, so that they may see clearly the course most beneficial to the country, but upon the intimidation of the electorate through clerical agents, and the use of spiritual threats to prevent it from forming or expressing opinions. And as they have been strongly supported in their endeavour by the Ultramontane element in the Roman (^atholic Church, it is but natural that con- siderable effect has been produced upon the more ignorant portion of the population. That this effect is destined to be permanent we do not for a moment believe. A check will be given to the clerico-political party, either from with- in or from without the Catholic Church itself. The present indication seem to point to the first-mentioned method, and the views expressed by Mr. Laurier rellect clearly the opinion of the intelligent French-Canadian population upon the miserable trickery by which it is expected that men are to be hood-winked. Mr. Laurier went to the root of the whole question. He showed how utterly subver- sive to civil liberty are the doctrines of the Ultramontane school of politicians; how useless and valueless their general reception would render the constitution, and how their promulgation is a menace to the safety and to the rights of us all. We need not follow^ him in his argument, for it is one which will bc^ apparent to all intelligent thinkers. The idea that a Catholic cannot, without re- nouncing his allegiance to his church, become a member ot the Liberal party, is, no doubt, one which, if widely received, would be of great advantage to the Conservatives in this Provir^.ce. But it is so utterly opposed to all truth and reason, that we wonder, not even that there are people stupid enough to believe it but that there are people sufficiently audacious to seek to inculcate it. But this idea is daily presented and insisted upon in the Ultramontane press, and we suppose that the theory must have sup- porters outside the little circle of those who advocate it lor their own selfish interests. As long as ignorance exists in the world, so long will there be fools, and knaves to profit . . - — 40 — by their folly. Tho i)opulatioii of this country how ever, does not, wo believe, include a numlxT ol' i'ools hufli- cicntly yreiit to insurer lor the renriioiiiHt.s any lasting su<'- ces.s. Mr. Laurif'r was particularly hiii)py in lii.s delinition of LiberaliHUi and Conservatism, for wliith purpose he quoted Macaulay, and in his exposure of some of the schemes which are employed to injure JiiberalLsm Ixdore the (;ountry. Our readers would hardly believe, if we were to tell them, th«' spirit which actuates certain mem- l)ers of the French press in this respect. They are accus- tomed to see the political conllict carried on vigorously — indeed, too A'itforously — in the coluinua of the Knj^lish journals ; but in order to know the depths to which a l>artizari writer can descend, they should glance at the leading articles in some of our French contemporaries. We are not now speaking so much of the personal assaults — we fear that in this abuse the scavenger English press is quite as bad as is its French compeer — but of the persistent political misrepresentation, both as to facts and as to mo- tives, with which the liberal party is continually attacked. To use a commonplace simile, the word " Liberal " produces upon the reactionary writers the same effect which a red cloth produces upon a bull. It ^xcites them to a blind irenzy, hi which they become i mble of distinguishing anything ])ut the colour that 1 oused their passions. They condescend to no arguments, but continually de- nounce Liberals in politics as Communists, Revolutionaries, Freethinkers, the enemies of God and of man. No charge of revolution or irreligion can be too hard to hurl against their adversaries. Instead of searching for the history ol" liberalism in. the political record of England, the only Eu- ropean country where constitutional freedom has really ex- isted for centuries, they look but at those continental na- tions where there has been a continual struggle between rigid despotism on the one hand, and a desire for liberty, which stern repression has too often converted, when suc- cessful, into a lamentable license, on the other. No onc^ sympathizes more ardent. y than we do with the wish of Continental Liberals to Iroaden and elevate the govern- ment of their mother com tries, but it is undeniable that the tide of freedom, too long and too severely repressed by barriers of tyranny, has sometimes broken out Avith a violence which has swept away evil and good to one com- mon destruction. There have been many crimes commit- ted in the name of liberty, and for these the reactionary — 41 — powers ol' the time huve been as directly liable a,s the po- l)ular frenzy through whicli thoHe criines were committed. But all this has nothinii- to . men who would have seen their compatriots as a conquered people, w ith no share in their own government, had it not been for the brave and eventually successful struggle for Constitutional government made l^y the Liberal party in years gone by. Perhaps they would like this state of aH"airs ; it is certainly what they desire if their opinions as to the best form of government for Canada are similar to those which tht-y ex- press as to the best form of government for France and ♦Simin. They profess to see in the desjwtic rule which would result from the coronation of the Count de Cham- bord and Don ' irlos, the only safety for the countries which are pestrred by these Monarchs out ot place, and so lar does their transatlantic loyalty carry them that they never allude to the Count de C'hambord save as His Majes- ty Henry V., and only know Don Carlos as His Majesty Charles VIL All this is ridiculous, of course, but it is none the less indicative of the designs which these retrogressive gentlemen entertain. They would like to establish a prac- tical despotism in this country — they themselves being the despots, bien (ntendu — and to hand over the government to the Ultramontane priests and politicians. We have no fear that their ideas will triumph ; as Mr. Laurier well says, they understand neither the country nor the epoch in which they live. But their strength lies in misrepresenta- tion, and they must be met and conquered by a clear state- ment of facts ; this statement Mr. Laurier made, in an able, eloquent and enlightened manner. His address is, as we have said, one of the most valuable contributions to the politi- cal literature of the day, and it is a thorough exposition of the liberal position, and the principles upon which the liberal party relies for its strength. In any constitutionally governed Cv antry there must always be two elements, liberal and conservative, but the conservative element in - 42 — this province seeks to nullify or to destroy copstitiitional een many years since a French Canadian public mail ha.'j given to the country a statesmanlike address on public affairs, although such are quite common in other countries enjoy- ing representative institutions similar to our own. The repressive inlluence of clericalism has for o long time dis- couraged and prevented any reflly honest and corapiehen- sive treatminit of those great political principles which underlie our system of government. Mr. Laurier has ])roken the monotony, and the results promise to be as wholesome as the event is noA^el. His address, it must be granted, is rather philosophical than political, but it has siifficieni application to actualities to give ir. a good deal of signilicance. Mr. Laurier is not afraid to call himself a Liberal. He seems rather to glory in the name than other- wist', and the picture he gives of the achievements of the Liberal party on behalf of the people in Eiigland and Canada, ought to put ne^\ spirit into the backsliders of his own party who hare reno inced the name. The Ultromon- tanes have constantly enleavored to discredit the party wich the peopla by attributing to it the principles of the French comii. unisis and the Radicals of Europe, who have declared war not only against the Church but against social order and the righis of property. Mr. Lam-ier repels this — t8 — accusation, and asserts that the principles ot his party are identical only with those of the Liberal party in Enn-land. He explains that he is " one of those who think that e\'ery- where in human ? (fairs there are abuses to reform, new horizons to open, and new forces to develop." Mr. Laurier assumes to speak on ])ehalf of the Frtnich Canadian Liberals, and they are tacitly recou'ni/ini^- the assumption as- correct. But it is worth while noting- that this declaration of Mr. Laurier brings him and those who think with him into conflict with the reneq'ac1'> section of the Liberal party who style themselves Reformists, like the National, and the Gazette de Sore/. The National last summer formally declared that its party " professed no philosophic doctrine, properly so called, and was only interested in the economi- cal and practical administration of the business of the country."' We are curious to see whether the Reformists will renounce Mr. Laurier also, as too extreme and unprac- tical, or whether his noble and courageous stand \vill have the eltect of inspiring- them Avith some part of their lost manhood. It is the habit for the French Li])erals of to-day to disown all sympathy witli, or responsibility for the policy of the young Liberals of 1848, who published the Avenir and later advocated their principles, considerably modillcd, in the P(U/s. Mr. Laurier iias fallen into the habit, and in his referenci' to th(>m we think he has scarcely done them justice. Admitted that some of their schemes, such a.s annual Parliaments and annexation, were ill judged and chimerical, tlie main U^itiires of their programme were indisputably ju.st and patriotic, and ^n harmony with the principles of the English Liberal party. Secular education provided by the State Jbr all children and separation of Church and State are doctrines of the leading linglish Liberals ; they are doctrines of the liberals in every country, and we have not the sli^-htest doubt that they are held also by every intelligent French-Canadian Liberal in his for inlerit'.ui. The taleuted and earnest young patriots who openly advocated the.se doctrines thirty yoai.. ago, who founded L'Listitut Canadie^^ and oiac^ centres of light for their fellow-Countrymen, were as noble men as tkis Pro- vince c'^r produced ; but in face of the treuiendous Ultra- montane reaction which has overwhelmed them, we are not surprised that even Mr. Laurier should have failed to do them justice. What pleases us most in Mr. Laurier' ;, address, and raises .|>vi-«iuerally inform the people what particular ai:)uses they are opposed to, and what particular reforms they are in favor of Mr. Laurier only promises in general t»M-ms that his party will follow the English Lilicrals, and that they w'll carefully defend the principles of the British constitution in their api)lication to our atfairs. That is all ; but that is really a great deal for a liberal politician to say in these days, and that is more than any French- Canadian jiublic man has said for many yeaispast. There- fore it is that we hail his declaration as au event of great promise. On one point, however, he is sufficiently clear — that of clerical intimidation in elections. Mr. Laurier ex- plains that it would be contrary to the principles of the liberal party to deny the clergy the right of taking part in politics and of endeavoring to inlluence electors in every legitimate way to vote against the Liberal party. But when they abuse this right to the point of intimidating electors by threats or otherwise, they violate the principles of the •constitution, which the Liberal party are bound to protect. If the clergy persist in dictating to the people in political •affairs, he warns them that the result will be to deprive them of some of their privileges, which are now guaranteed them by that very constitution they are striving to over- throw The effect of the address has already been to revive the spirits of the liberals and to excite the Ultramontane press to greater violence of language than ever. The wise, calm and generous declarations of Mr. Laurier are treated by the clericals as insults and definance offered to the Church, and fresh api>eals are mac e to the faithful to unite and put down the liberal monster Avhich is bent upon the destruc- tion of everything sacred. The effect of these appeals upon the ignorant habitants should convince the liberals that the first and most urge) it reform required is popular education. As soon as the liberals can muster up courage enough to make a stand, the tide will turn in their favor. It remains to be seen if that hour has come or not. m^ ^•s::- AS Iff m at ar in at in li- lt le n ill rs le al IL'