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 CL Z> 7 -^Z ^ 
 
 JAN 1 2 1945 
 
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VISIT OF HIS EXCELLENCY 
 
 THE GOVtRNOR-GENERAL 
 
 TO THE 
 
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 NATIONAL CLUB. 
 
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 IN compliance with the request of the Board of Direc- 
 tors of the National Club, His Excellency accepted 
 an invitation to dine with the members of the Club on 
 the 1 2th January, 1877. Owing to the limited capacity 
 of the dining-room, it was necessary to restrict the num- 
 ber of subscriptions to sixty, and to issue no invitations 
 other than to His Excellency the Governor-General and 
 suife^ to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, 
 and his Private Secretary, and to the Honourable the 
 Premier of Ontario. 
 
 On arrival His Excellency was received by the Secre- 
 tary, and conducted to the drawing-room of the Club, 
 where the Vice-President and the members of the Board 
 of Directors were assembled. At His Excellency's request 
 these gentlemen and the members of the Club who were 
 to meet him at dinner were presented to him. After these 
 
THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL S VISIT 
 
 ,. 
 
 presentations, His Excellency was conducted to the din- 
 ing-room by the Vice-President. The seats prepared for 
 the guests were placed upon a dais raised eight inches 
 from the level of the dining-room floor, in order that the 
 speakers might be in full view of each member, His 
 Excellency occupying the seat at the Vice-President's 
 right hand, having next to him the Hon. W. P. How- 
 land, C.B., the Hon. Mr. Mowat, in the absence of the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, being on the left hand of the Vice- 
 President, and having next him His Worship Mayor 
 Morrison. 
 
 On the wall in rear of the centre of the dais were the 
 Arms of the Dominion, surmounted by the arms of His 
 Excellency, and on the opposite wall were displayed the 
 Arms of Ontario, surmounted by a beaver, each escutcheon 
 being surrounded by tastefully draped trophies of flags. 
 
 The dining-tables were profusely decorated with flowers, 
 and presented a very handsome appearance. 
 
 The Vice-President expressed regret at the absence of 
 the President in England, who, he felt sure, would have 
 been pleased had he been present to do the honours on 
 such an auspicious occasion. 
 
 ^n proposing the first toast, the Vice-President said • — 
 The toast he had the honour to propose was one which 
 kindled in the heart of every Canadian the deepest affec- 
 tion and the truest loyalty — the health of her who reigns 
 not only iii the hearts of all her subjects, but in the hearts 
 of millions of people beyond her own dominions. 
 
 He then proposed The Health of Her Most Gracious 
 Majesty The Queen. 
 
 ■. 
 
TO THE NATIONAL CLUB. 
 
 
 Her Court was pure ; her life serene ; 
 
 God gave her peace ; her land reposed ; 
 
 A thousand claims to reverence closed 
 In her as mother, wife and queen. 
 
 — Tennyson. 
 
 The National Anthem having been sung by the com- 
 pany, the Vice-President said : — In tendering to the repre- 
 sentative of Her Majesty, the heartiest welcome to the 
 National Club, we follow only the instinct of Canadians — 
 the loyalty which is ingrained in tlie national character, 
 and which has developed itself on every occasion since 
 Canada was a British Colony. The patriotic designs 
 which led to the adoption of the name of the Club have 
 not been misunderstood by Hir Excellency, the honour 
 done us by him in being present ;o-night being a proof 
 of this. The principles which unite us together are those 
 which should actuate every true statesman and patriot in 
 the Dominion. There had been times in the history of 
 this country when the want of " love of country " was 
 painfully evident— for instance, when with the outbreak 
 of the civil war across the borders came the abrogation 
 of our reciprocal trade relations, and who can recall the 
 too prevailing sentiments of that time without regret ; 
 how the price of produce weighed heavily against nation- 
 ality ; how some thought we could not exist without trade 
 relations with our neighbours, and were ready to sell 
 their birth-right for a mess of pottage ; the want then of 
 an universal national sentiment was very apparent. Nor 
 can it be wondered at if we consider the various elements 
 comprising the population, without an attempt to blend 
 
THE GOVERNOR-GENERALS VISIT 
 
 into harmony the heterogeneous mass ; for, be it remem- 
 bered, our population is not composed merely of emi- 
 grants from Great Britain, who naturally feel an attach- 
 ment to the old flag, nor of those from other European 
 States seeking an asylum from the tyranny of despotic 
 Governments ; but we have French, German, Norwegians, 
 Swedes, Danes, Swiss, Poles, Laplanders, — some from 
 almost every State in Europe, who have left their native 
 land and settled in the West, to better their fortunes, 
 attracted hither more by the price of land than by the 
 form of government. Many of them, after a brief sojourn 
 with us — for a trifling inducement — move on to the 
 Western States. Besides this, there is the sectionalism 
 existing in the Provinces themselves. In such a condi- 
 tion who could think, without trembling, of the proposi- 
 tion of some of England's statesmen, that the time was 
 ripe for political autonomy, as without a thorough in- 
 fusion of " love of country," such a misfortune might 
 be the flrst step to annexation. More than this, 
 can any thoughtful person say it is impossible for 
 circumstances to arise in the future in which it might 
 appear a mutual advantage that our beloved Mother 
 should ask us to set up for ourselves. It cannot be re- 
 garded then as otherwise than patriotic to adopt the name 
 of this Club with a desire simply to inspire the Canadian 
 heart with a love of country, to raise a standard around 
 which — in case of necessity — every Canadian would rally, 
 ready to shed his blood in defence of that which nerves 
 and fires the soul of the true soldier — his country. But 
 in seeking to prepare Canada for any emergency, we be- 
 
 
 ./ 
 
TO THE NATIONAL CLUB. 
 
 lieve her first interests lie in the closest possible relations 
 with the Mother country ; and I believe I speak the sen- 
 timents of every member of this Club, in stating that no 
 greater calamity could befall us at the present time than 
 separation from Great Britain and our beloved Queen, 
 and that no more truly loyal community — to British con- 
 nection — exists in this Dominion than the National Club. 
 His Excellency has shown a thorough interest in our 
 national welfare, and that he might have a perfect know- 
 ledge of our wants and condition, has minutely examined 
 all the Educational, Commercial, and Industrial interests 
 in each of the Provinces, even braving the risks and 
 fatigue of crossing the continent, with his noble Countess, 
 to visit our disaffected fellow-subjects on the Pacific coast ; 
 thus contributing very materially towards breaking down 
 Provincialism, and uniting us as one people ; and, by 
 sounding the praises of this great Dominion, h.as done 
 more towards making this country popular as a field 
 for emigrants, than all the agencies employed by the 
 Government, and much to create and foster that spirit in 
 tlie minds of Canadians for which this Club was formed. 
 The welcome of the Club is extended to Lord Duf- 
 ferin, not only as the Queen's representative but as 
 indicating the respect and honour that he has won, both 
 politically and socially, since his advent in Canada. May 
 he live long to administer the laws with that discretion 
 and wisdom which has secured to him so high a place in 
 the affections of the inhabitants of this country, and 
 when he forsakes this for a higher appointment, may he 
 and his Countess ever remember that in Canada they 
 
6 THE GOVERNOR general's VISIT * 
 
 leave behind them sincere friends and hearty well-wishers. 
 He then proposed the health of His Excellency the 
 
 Governor-General. 
 
 "I • ' ■ , 
 
 And then I stole all courtesy from heaven, 
 And dressed myself in such humility 
 That I did pluck allegiance from men's hearts, 
 Loud shouts and salutations from their mouths, 
 
 —K. Henry IV. 
 
 His Excellency the Governor-General, in reply, said :— 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 I assure you it is with feelings ot the deepest grati- 
 tude that I rise to acknowledge the kind and cordial manner 
 in which you have been good enough to drink my health. 
 Such tokens as those which you have just exhibited of 
 your confidence and kind feelings are a most welcome 
 encouragement to any one in my situation, for it gives me 
 the assurance that I have not failed in that which is one 
 of the dearest and most anxious desires of my heart, 
 namely, to secure the good will and attachment of those 
 I have been commissioned by my Sovereign to serve. 
 (Cheers.) Precluded as the representative of the Crown 
 necessarily is, by the very essence of his duty, from the 
 slightest appearance of a desire or design to place him- 
 self in sympathy with any phase of political enthusiasm, 
 or with the special predilections of any section of the 
 community, however numerous or well-inspired ; reduced 
 as his functions are to those rather of a negative than of a 
 positive character, and unsensational as is the routine of 
 his ordinary duties, there necessarily remain but very few 
 
 >■ 
 
TO THE NATIONAL CLUB. 
 
 „ 
 
 points at which he can come into anything like intimate 
 or harmonious contact with those to the promotion of 
 whose interests, happiness and welfare, the energies of his 
 life are nevertheless directed. (Hear, hear.) Under 
 these circumstances his pleasure and his pride is all the 
 greater when he finds that his obscure and unostentatious 
 efforts to do his duty and to benefit the country with 
 which he is connected have attracted the notice or com- 
 mendation of those whose esteem it is his ambition to win 
 and preserve. His principal achievements probably con- 
 sist rather in preventing mischief than in accomplishing 
 any substantial good ; and even with regard to his public 
 speeches, which more than anything else communicate 
 some little substance to his shadowy individuality, as I 
 observed the other day to the City Council, the best parts 
 of them, to adopt the privilege of my country, are those 
 which have been left out. (Great laughter.) In fact, the 
 head of the State in a constitutional regime is the depository 
 of what, though undoubtedly a very great, is altogether a 
 latent power — a power which, under the auspices of wise 
 parliamentary statesmanship, is nt «rer suffered to become 
 active, and his ordinary duties are very similar to those of 
 the humble functionary we see superintending the work- 
 ing of some complicated mass of steam- driven machinery. 
 (Laughter.) This personage merely walks about with a 
 little tin vessel of oil in his hand (renewed laughter), and 
 he pours in a drop here and a drop there, as occasion or 
 the creaking of a joint may require, while his utmost 
 vigilance is directed to no higher aim than the preserva- 
 tion of his wheels and cogs from the intrusion of dust 
 
8 
 
 THE governor-general's MSIT. 
 
 grits — (roars of laughter again and again renewed) — or 
 other foreign bodies. There, gentlemen, what was I say- 
 ing ? See how easily an unguarded tongue can slip into 
 an ambiguous expression — (uproarious laughter) — an ex- 
 pression which I need not assure you on this occasion is 
 entirely innocent of all political significance. (Laughter.) 
 But I must say that far from having had cause to com- 
 plain of my humble efforts, such as they were, not having 
 been duly appreciated, I am only too sensible that your 
 kindness and the generous instincts of the people of 
 Canada, to take the will for the deed, has created for me 
 an amount of good-will and approval far beyond my de 
 serts, of which such entertainments as the present and the 
 pleasant things said at them is the agreeable exhibition. 
 (Cheers.) Anybody would, indeed, be dead to every senti- 
 ment of gratitude in whose heart such tokens of confidence 
 did not arouse a still more earnest desire to do his duty, 
 and to strain every nerve in the service of those who 
 are so ready to condone his shortcomings and reward 
 his exertions. (Loud applause.) And, gentlemen, 
 here I must be permitted to say that I consider it 
 as no small part of my good fortune that my connec- 
 tion with Canada should have occurred at a moment 
 when probably she is in the act of making one of the 
 greatest stndes towards the establishment of her prestige, 
 stability, and importance which has hitherto been recorded 
 in her history.- (Cheers.) Even a casual observer cannot 
 have failed to mark the decisive manner in which she 
 is gradually asserting her position as one of the most 
 important communities in the civilized world. (Great 
 
TO THE NATIONAL CLUB. 
 
 applause.) This circumstance has liad a very visible 
 effect both upon the public opinion of England and of the 
 United States. In spite of that preoccupation with their 
 own affairs natural to all communities, Canada on several 
 occasions has not merely attracted the sympathies but 
 has compelled the admiration and attention of the think- 
 ing men of both countries. Her school systems, her 
 federal arrangements, her municipal institutions, her mari- 
 time regulations, have repeatedly been cited in recent 
 years by English statesmen of authority and distinction as 
 worthy of imitation. (Cheers.) As for the United States, 
 although they may be too proud to own it, there is not a 
 citizen of the neighbouring Republic who does not envy 
 the smooth and harmonious working of our well-balanced 
 and happily-adjusted institutions.. (Applause.) Of one 
 thing I am quite sure, that there is not an American 
 politician between the Atlantic and the Pacific who would 
 not at the present moment be content to give half his 
 fortune, and perhaps a great deal more, to possess that 
 most serviceable and useful thing, a Governor-General. 
 (Great laughter.) Indeed, the acquisition by the United 
 States of so valuable a personage has of late come to 
 appear of such prime necessity — would prove such an 
 obvious mode of solving their personal difficulties, and of 
 remedying the defects of their Governip'eiltal. machine — 
 that I have been extremely nervoK3:-^(laughter)-^about 
 passing so near the border as I had to do on my way hither. 
 There is no knov/ing what might happen in the case of 
 people under such a stress of temptation. (Renew.ed 
 laughter.) Raids have been pro^^pted sometimes ty 
 
10 
 
 THE governor-general's VISIT 
 
 love as well as hate. In fact, the tame ceremonies of 
 modern marriage are but the emasculated reproduction 
 of the far more spirited principle of capture — (laughter) 
 — by which brides in less sophisticated ages were obtained. 
 Who knows to what lengths Mr. Tilden and Mr. Hayes 
 and the millions of their respective adherents now drawn 
 up in hostile array against each other might not be driven 
 in the agony of their present suspense. (Laughter.) A 
 British Governor-General ! What a cutting of the Gor- 
 dian knot. (Great laughter.) And so near, too — ^just 
 across the water. A gunboat and a corporal's guard and 
 the thing is done. (Continued laughter.) And then 
 think what they get in him. A person disassociated from 
 all sectional interests, prejudices, and passions (hear, hear), 
 who can never become stronger than the people's Parlia- 
 ment or divide the national vote. (Applause.) A repre- 
 sentative of all that is august, stable, and sedate in the 
 government, the history, and the traditions of the country ; 
 incapable of partizanship, and lifted far above the atn^os- 
 phere of faction ; without adherents to reward or opp .n- 
 ents to oust from office ; docile to the suggestions of his 
 Ministers, and yet securing to the people the certainty of 
 being able to get rid of an Administration or Parliament 
 the moment either had forfeited their confidence. (Ap- 
 plause.) .Realiy, gentlemen, I think I had better remove 
 nearer to the North Pole — (great laughter) — for I am 
 sure you will believe me when 1 say that, after having 
 been made to feel for so many years how good and kind 
 ar^ the people of C3:nada~ (cheering) — having had an 
 opportunity of appreciating how high an honour it is to 
 
 •"V- 
 
 :A ' 
 
 >,1,.: 
 
TO THE NATIONAL CLUB. 
 
 ir 
 
 be connected with a Dominion so full of hope, with such 
 a glorious prospect before her — (great cheering) — I shall 
 never be induced, even under the stress of violence and 
 a threat of being " bulldozed " (loud laughter) — to sit 
 for one moment longer than I can help in the Presidential 
 chair of the United States. (Laughter and cheers.) 
 Should I go you may expect me back by the underground 
 railway. (Renewed laughter.) Nay, more, so deeply at- 
 tached am I to our Canada that the Pashalik of Bulgaria 
 shall not tempt me away — (laughter) — even though a full 
 domestic establishment, such as are customary in that 
 country, should be provided for me out of the taxes of the 
 people (laughter) — and Lady Dufferin gave her consent 
 — which is doubtful. (Great laughter.) In conclusion, 
 His Excellency asked leave to propose the health of the 
 •National Club, coupled with that of the Vice-President. 
 In doing so he said he was well aware that the National 
 Club sought to identify itself with all that was most 
 patriotic in the country ; that he himself was in perfect 
 sympathy with their endeavours to cultivate a just pride 
 in the glorious Dominion of which they were citizens, and 
 that his presence there to-night testified his profound con- 
 viction that those sentiments of patriotism were not only 
 compatible with the most genuine loyalty to the Crown, 
 but were the best pledges which could be given of the 
 devotion of those he saw around him to the honour, wel- 
 fare, and interests of the British Empire at large. (Great 
 applause.) 
 
 In responding to the toast proposed by His Excellency, 
 the Vice-President said he returned thanks on behalf of 
 
12 
 
 THE governor-general's VISIT 
 
 the Club, and felt sure every member would appreciate 
 the honour done them ; and he felt specially honoured at 
 the kind mention of himself. The Club owed much to 
 His Excellency, for he had — as it were — explored the 
 Dominion and taught Canadians how much they had to 
 be proud of, proud of the land that gave them birth, proud 
 of the land which their labour and the labour of their 
 fathers had changed from a wilderness to a land of pros- 
 perity and plenty. Beyond this, no true Canadian has a 
 desire to go, nor will they seek that independence which 
 may be the future of Canada until Britain herself con- 
 siders the time has come for her to take her place amongst 
 Nations. Till then we are content with the blessings 
 accorded to us under the freeest and most enlightened 
 form of government that exists in the world. 
 
 The Vice-President said His Honour the Lieutenant- • 
 Governor had accepted the invitation of the Club and 
 was expected here to-night, but had excused himself at 
 the last moment on account of some unexpected obstacle. 
 He had reached his high position with an enviable record, 
 both in public and private life, furnishing a proof of Her 
 Majesty's readiness to recognise ability and faithful ser- 
 vices to the State among Canadians. Such a record 
 should be an incentive to every Canadian to persevere in 
 the path of duty, as, should we not prove faithful in that 
 which is least, we cannot attain to that which is greater. 
 Since he assumed the government of this Province, he 
 had proved himself in every way worthy of the high trust 
 committed to hina by His Excellency the Governor-Gen- 
 eral, and we trust he will be blessed with health to enjoy 
 
TO THE NATIONAL CLUB. 
 
 13 
 
 the distinguished honour he has so fairly won as the 
 Lieutenant-Governor of the most important Province in 
 the Dominion. 
 
 He then proposed the health of His Honour, 
 
 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR. 
 
 For you must know, we have with special soul 
 Elected him our absence to supply, 
 , . Lent him our terror, dressed him in our love. 
 
 — Measure for Measure. 
 
 In proposing the last toast, the Vice-President said he 
 was sure it was one which would touch a chord in every 
 breast, and that full justice might be done, he should not 
 speak to it himself, but would afford an opportunity to 
 one who could so eloquently express how dear the sub- 
 ject was to every Canadian heart. He then proposed 
 
 CANADA. 
 
 It is the land that freemen till, 
 That sober-suited Freedom chose. 
 The land, where girt with friends or foes, 
 
 A man may speak the thing he will. 
 
 — Tennyson, 
 
 A poor virgin, Sir, an ill-favoured thing, Sir, 
 But mine own. 
 
 — As You Like It, 
 
 The Honourable Mr. Mowat, being called on to re- 
 spond, in the course of his observations mentioned the 
 embarrassment of being called to reply to such a toast, 
 without the slightest previous intimation of any speech 
 
14 
 
 THE GOVERNOR GENERAL S VISIT 
 
 being expected from him, and to reply in the presence of 
 such a master of the art of public speaking as His Excel- 
 lency was, to whom he referred also as amongst the most 
 esteemed and most respected of Canada's Governors. He 
 (Mr. Mowat) rejoiced to hear the loyal and patriotic re- 
 marks of the Vice-President, and to learn from him that, 
 while the leading object of the Club was the very impor- 
 tant one of cultivating amongst Canadians a love of their 
 country, the Club did not desire to hasten the period of 
 the political separation of their country from the old land ; 
 but, on the contrary, regarded the prospect of such a 
 separation at a future day with regret. The Club had 
 been supposed to favour independence for Canada, and 
 if independence was talked of anywhere in the Dominion, 
 it was supposed to be here ; but the evident enthusiasm 
 with which every loyal allusion to-night had been re- 
 ceived, would be evidence to his Excellency, as it was to 
 all, that their thoughts in that direction, whatever they 
 were, did not prevent warm loyalty from being the senti- 
 ment of the whole Club. It was well to cultivate love for 
 Canada, but it was not to be assumed that such love 
 did not exist generally now ; Canadians loved their 
 country just as much as Englishmen, Irishmen, and Scotch- 
 men loved their native land, and why should they not ? 
 The Dominion was a wide one, extending from sea to sea. 
 It possessed a climate adapted for the development of a 
 hardy race. It possessed territory and resources suffi- 
 cient to support a population large enough, by-and-by, to 
 sustain itself against all comers. Canada had a special 
 call on the attachment of her sons, as being peculiarly the 
 
TO THE NATIONAL CLUB. 
 
 15 
 
 country of the poor man, who here can secure for himself 
 comforts and even wealth which in Europe he has little or 
 no prospect of ever arriving at. Mr. Mowat spoke of the 
 moral advantages as well as material advantages which 
 we derive from our present connection with Great 
 Britain, and concluded by saying that, if separation some 
 day was in the natural progress of events inevitable, his 
 hope was, and, from what he had seen and heard to-night 
 he felt sure that the hope of the National Club was, that 
 the separation should not take place in our time. 
 
 His Excellency then leaving the table, the proceedings 
 terminated. 
 
 I' 
 
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