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(Fi'oin tlie ' Canadian Monthly,' for Olarcb, 1881) Ati/iie iilidK ftiiiiii i/ifiiiih ilv even the humhlest essay is not at my command. 1 shall, therefore, trusting to the reader's in- dulgence, put down my thoughts as they ai'iso. During the present .session I have availed my8elf of ev<'ry hour ! could snatch from lalwrious duties, to hear, on a question of thu largest dimen- sions, the politicians and Htatesmen in our < 'anailian Parliament ; and men, not in the front rank, Init occupying prominent positions in both tlu* great parties, observing this, have ask(id mo how our leaders wouiil compare with thost! of the lliitish Hous») of Com- mon.s. Thtur wonder at my replies would alone liavt; suggested tliis writ- ing, to which, however, as will \n\ s(!en, 1 .should have l»een prompted by yet other consiih-ration.s. A cc^rtain senti- ment of scorn mingled in my mind with a resentment not unrighteous, whi'n astonishnumt was e.\j)ressed that we sliouhl have men inCanada who would well com])are with, who might stand up to, the best men of any other coun- try. Ther(i is a prevalent idea that the disparity lietween the conditions of education in the United Kingdom and those of Canada is so gi'eat that to be- lieve Canadians could l»e the eijui'l of Englishmen is like rebellion against the laws of nature. Men born aiul bred in old countries have, hit it beat once admitted, .some advantage from the point of view of culture we do noL pos- sess. Hut ' the wine,' says the too cyni- cal, but observant soldier — ' the wine she drinks is made of grapes.' W(> are of the same l)lood as the men of the United Kingdom. We have not, in- deed, the monuments of antiejuity, the picture galleries, the old cathedrals, I the ancient s(uits of learning, the cities I over which historical forms seem to 1 2ii2HH 2 (iREA T SPEECHES. flit like the spiritual guardians of a national heritage, the arsenals with the piled-uj) iniplenientH of world-over- shadowing greHtneH8,and the enibleniH, monumentH, and trophies of in)perial struggles and bloody battles ; the graves of heroes and poets and statcs- men ; the moving pictures, the stir- ring meniorieK which come from Htored- up achievement in every field ; the n)ixture of the venerable and the new — the crumbling ivied wall, which saw feudal barons strike at the life, through mail of proof, jtrotecting the delicate specimens of the modern flori- culturist, or the castelated ruin whence great eurls overawed the surrounding country, forming the back ground for a croquet party, or a church bazaar ; the shepherd's pipe mingling its plain- tive voice with the warlike summons of the clarion ; there the loom, the spinning jenny, theminer's lamp — here the colour and pomp, and circum- stance of a conquering race. On the other band, we have none of the squalor and poverty of an old country. Wo have no vast superincumbent muss of aristocracy to awe us ; none of the diiiiculties which arise from the strug- . gle between the latter part of the nineteenth centui-y and modern feuda- lism. On reflection, I think, I have overstated the case against Canada. We have at least one city unequalled in its situation, of antique lineament and great associations, and in the Capi- tal we have an Imperial site bearing buildings not unworthy of that com- manding throne. Nor is it true to say we are wholly, or necessarily to any extent, cut off from the precious his- torical traditions of Great Britain and Ireland. All we need is the historical imagination to make these treasures our own. Oui-s by inheritance, certain mental conditions have only to be fulfilled in oi-der to take possession. The gulf is great which separates the historical and the antique from the land of the woodman, the snake fence, the prairie ; but the mind can bridge the chasm ; nay, imagination has only to spread her wings and it is passed. We have schools and uni- versities, far indeed, at present, from what is dcHirablc ; but where, never- theltsH, our sons can hold communion with the mighty dead, catch their spirit, and learn the arts by which they rose to be the cynosure of na- tions. Inland, we have not the salt sea air, but the wind which sweeps under our cloudless skies and over our snow clad hvndsca])e is not less exhilarating. Too many are 'cady to subscribe to the statement nuidc by a Yankee, that it is all tail in Canada — meaning thereby that it is nil third class. I have found men — and some of these, I blush to say, born on the soil — quietly assuming that no one would stop in Canada if he could make a good living elsewhere, and this, in the face of the fact, that we have settled amongst us a distin- guished Jiterai-y man of large private fortune. Not a few men have re- sisted strong pecuniary temptation to go to the United States. The career of Mr. Benjamin shows how mmh in the way of money gains a tiratclass lawyer foregoes, by remaining in Can- ada. Why do such remain here 1 Tlio answer is to be found in the fact that Canada, although without arts, which would be an anachronism in a young country, has, in her climate, her in- stitutions, her youth, her future, at- tractions sufficient to fix the aflfections. In one of those fields to which the word art is applied with peculiar ap- propriateness, we have made a good beginning. From Mr. L. II. O'Brien, Mrs. Schrieber, Mr. J. C. Forbes, and their associates in the Society of Art- ists, we have not merely the promise of the future Academy, but present results marked by sincere workman- ship and permanent value. This want of self-belief is the one drawback of yotmg peoples who are too often ready to efface themselves before whatever comes with a foreign impri- matur. There is in certain quarters a sort of despair of art of any kind in scape. smger, , .., *-»«i,^'m« m^ GREAT SPEECHES. 8 and it is and uni- ent, from re, never- innuinion tch their by which ire of na- t the salt :h Hweei)8 and over I not less are 'cady t made I'v in Canada is all third -and some orn on the at no one lie could ^here, and ;t, that we a distin- •ge private 1 have te- ll ptation to I The career ►w niuih in I firetclaKS II g in Can- here ? The e fact that jirts, which in a young te, her in- future, at- ! affections. which the eculiar ap- ide a good tl. O'Brien, 'orbes, and iety of Art- ie promise lut present workman- lis the one vho are too Lives before kgn impri- jquai-ters a Iny kind in Canada. Some time ago,onoof the Icarl- ing papcra, the Mnil, charaijteriwd Canadian literature as * Hog's Wnsii,' and the other day the (Jlobe speaking of Monsieur liOuis H. Frccliette, the Canadian poet, who sings in French, said, he had a career, but he would not find it on this continent. Why not on this continent 1 Nay, why not in hi» own beloved country 1 The im'()|»U' must take this in hand. The poet und artist cannot look for recognition to the worshipperH of gold. Home of whom are no better than public lobherK. in England, in France, the wealthy and noble will be glad to honour them — shall the traditional disgrace of Naza- reth rest, in the opinion of Canaila's own children, on Canada] Is no good to come out of her 1 It is lamentable to think that had M. Friichttte not been crowned in Paris, most of our own people would have thought him a worthless doggerel-monger, deserving only of tolerant pity. If he has to find a career elsewhere he will have to refurnish his iiiuigination, which is now steeped in local tints ; the lakes, the mighty rivei-s, the snowy land- scape, the bright skiea of Canada, the blizzard of winter, the rapid vegeta- tion of May, all these are reflected in his song. He is our first national poet The heroes of Canadian history call forth the deepest and most touch- ing notes of his lyn;. The picture of the old age of Papineau is suirutsed with more than the atmosphere of Canada; it has over it the simplicity and elevation of heroic times. In the 'Nuit d'Ete' — a poem which has all the tenderness and subtle music of Alfred de Musset, with a purity to which tlu; French poet was a stranger — could hardly be understood by any one not a Canadian ; the pictures are all racy of this soil ; the vast solitudes, the meteoric sky, the sonorous pines, the young man seeing his sweetheart home, the liberty, the confidence, the long farewell. The national poet is a singer, ia whose song we find his time and country. lu the little poetu on QucIkhj, tlie contemjtorary feeling is painted on the back ground of tlie majestic river, which Hows past its storied citadel. Careful observation of the way tho Canadian Parliament gets through its work lias given me a high idea of its business capacity. I have lieen con- strained to admire the ability, the statesmanlike manner and workman- like (pnilitit's of the average member. The whole body, as a legislative ma- chine, is, on the whole, efiieient. You can hardly conceivet'ore-hand with a veto, liut 1 appreluiud there is nothing to prevent nie criticising the al)ility of our public men ; praising their admir- able qualities clearly distinguishable from opinions, and from pn^Judices in the nature of opinions, and animad- verting on their defects in mental en- dowments, their faults of method, or their errors in tactics, not as poll- ticions or party leaders, but as ora- tor& To return. Sir John Macdon- ald in tho Englisli House of Com- mons would have been equal, in my opinion, to Mr. Disraeli in finesse, in the art of forming combinations anil managing men. He never co\dd have equalled him in invective, or in epi- gram ; or in force as an orator. Sir John Macdonald brings up his artil- lery with more ease. He is always human, even in his attacks. Lord Beaconsfield, as Mr. Disraeli, in the House of (Jommons, approached his o))- ponent like some seri)entine monstci', coiled himself ruthlessly round him, fas- cinated with his gaze, and struck out with vencmed fang. But 8ir John is probably the better debater of the two. His delivery is lively, natural, mercurial ; Lord BeaconsHeld's is la- boured. Tho power of making a state; meut is not the forte of the author of • Endymion.' Sir John Macdonald makes a luminous statement, and his reasoning faculty is at least as high as Lord Beaconsfield's. He has very little, comparatively, of the latter's ctt/riosa felicitas in coining phrases, but his humour is more spontaneous. Lord Beaconsfield has the charm which is inseparable from genius, but it may wcdl \tv> doubted if his power of con- (MJiating men and fixing thcirati'ections siirpiiHses that of the Prime Minister of the Dominion. I am sure that in sobei', st-oMg sense the balance is in favour of the Canadian statesman. 'I'here is nothing viewy about Sir John Macdonald. Though a man of imagi- nation, reason is lord every time. Sir .lohn Macdonald is perhaps the only man in the House whose s|>eak- ing combines all the qualities noc(>s- sary to complete effectiveness as a de- bater, and whose speeches could ijo pointed to with justice as useful models. They combine clearness and fulness of statement, vigorous reason- ing, ample information, the play of fancy, the light of wit ; and they have what no other speeches heard in that 1 louse since Thomas D'ArcyMcGeeand Joseph Howe were there have had, the flavour of literary culture. In tho old world gentlemen are accustomed to put their whiskey in a wine cask to improve the flavour. Everything flowery is offensive in oratory. Liter- ary culture is not necessary to make a great orator. Nevertheless the ideal oratory will always come, as it were, from a vessel which has often beea tilled at Pierian founts— will betray a nature saturated with the thoughts and language of the great teachers of the world. ' We remember,' says an able writer in the Edhdmrgh Review^ speaking of Lord Beaconsfield, *to have heard him say in one of his felicitous after-dinner speeches, that the reason the Hebrews and the Greeks were by far the most powerful races in history is, that they had a literature. The same remark might aj)ply to states- men : no oratory, no diplomacy, no legislative ingenuity, confers so great and lasting an influence on a ruler of men as that which he derives from a combination of literary excellence with }K>litical power.' There was one other man, indeed, in that H ouse since the time of D' Arcy McGee and Howe all the movements UREA T SPEECHES. 1>ut it may ower of con- iciratt'ectioiiB iik; MiiiiHttM- Hure that in laliinco iK in I Htatt^siimn. out Sir .John lan of imaj^i- ry time. perhaps the vhoHt! H|)cak- alitioH neces- moBH as a do- 168 could \)0 e as UHuful ;lcarno8H and jrouB r«!U8on- the play of nd they have leard in that jyMcGeeand dave had, the . In the old icustoraed to wine cask to Everything itory. Liter- ry to make a ess the ideal }, as it were, often bee» will betray a he thoughts b teachers of her,' says an iryh Review, ield, 'to have lis felicitous t the reason eks were by es in histoiT ature. The ly to states- plomacy, no ters so great ju a ruler of rives from a lellence with uan, indeed, le of D'Arcy movements of whoso mind wore radiant with th»> ^Icam of the highest cultuie. I HjHMik of one whose name I may, without allectation, say it is hard for me to write without r(«newini? the tears which fell when I heard of his dossible, be a greater loss to his University. He was calcvdated to supply that literary feeling which is so conspicuous by its absence in the foremost otlicers of the University, ami the al)sence of which is so much to be regret- ted. Men who, having taken their degree, plunge into a laborious pro- fession, and spend tw(mty or thirty years in the legal mill, unless they are endowed with the happi(;8t aptitudes, and have (this does not happen once in five hundred times) cultivated these, will generally have as much literary flavour about them as a smoked her- ring. Chief Justice Moss, or ' Tom Moss,' as he is still affectionately cal- led — having shown liow well he was calculated Loservehis country in parlia- ment, pii.ss(!d on to the Bench, whence, having for all too brief a period pre- sided over the highest Court in the Pro- vince, with rare dignity and success, and given promise of making a name in Canada such as Mansfield made in England, has gone from honours and hopf's and usefulness. H the harsh fates might have been broken ! If the gods had only loved him less well ! With his passing out of parlia- ment the hope of adding something more ot colour and grace and charm to its debates was destroyed for the time. There are distinguished gradu» atesin parliament, but they only prove that a man may apparently 1)6 edu- cated at our univeu-sitios without bo- coming cultivated, Just as one some- times sees the star of knighthootl glit- ter on the breast of one who does not know what a chivalrous impulse is. \Vt* have a few proj)rietor8 of newspa- pers, an oaay to forncast Mr. Mackenzie is one of the very first debateni in Parliament, and IiIh H|>eaking not only indicaten with what strong powers nature endowed him, but how much is within the r'^aoh of asHiduouflCultivation. No one on hear- ing hiH firHt BjKiech could have beli«?ved he would ri|Hf)n into a conHumniato uiaMter of parliamentary disctiHHinn. He is always remly, be the Hubject what it may. His vuHt atores of |»oli- tical knowledge have been umaHHod in the courHO of a life devoted to party warfare, on which j)rol»ably an idltt day never dawned. Mr. For«ter, the prenent Secretary for Ii'elaud, ia the man lie i-eminds me of ; b«it hpli<>d : ' Bui then Bliike unil Tupper must cease to be Blake and Tupper.' Tlio extraordinary force of both these remarkable men has \\\wh' them careless of arts abscv lutely necessjiry to othera I have given my opinion of the career which would await Mr. Jilake in the English Parliament. If Sir CImrles Tupper warty wants a leader there. Sir Staflbrd Northcote is a re- spectable mediocrity, and pitting him against the LiV)eral leaders is like throwing a Christian to the lions. There is no use in trying to make a leader of a ])arty out of anything short of tirst-class material. The result is always debilitating to the ])arty, and disappointing and mortifying to the in- dividual. The weight of responsibility would, as was the case with Mr. Glad- stone, develop in Sir Charles Tupper unsuspected strength for the position. Before Mr. Gladstone assumed the leadership, it used to be said he could not lead ; he was a good second, and a splendid speaker, but that was all. The time came when his leader- ship was acknowledged to be a ne- cessity to his party. The incapable and the envious always bark at clever men, and even sometimes succeed in worrying them, until these fulfil their destiny, and then the barking and snarling ai*e exchanged for fawning ORKA r HPKSCHKS. 9 olaltoratofi tlut habit of iut tho luro HociiiH ever Hiif{U<'Htion ' Itfl an good li of a prog- ml to round thn quick ^hen I Haid ^nntloiimn, )H«» ohw^rver < But thou u«?a8« to he tmordinary rktthlf* men f artH ahgiv ion of the Mr. Hhike nt. If Sir the Knglinh before two l)eing ahout \\\ to inaater d he h'ader ty in that its a leader cote is a re- Mtting him erH ia like the lions, to make a ^thing short le I'BHult is ])arty, and ^' to the in- wponsibility Mr. Glad- rle.s Tujjper le position, isumed the id he could lecond, and that was his htader- be a ne- incapable rk at clever succeed in fulfil their irking and or fawning 3 and feet-licking. ' Why don't you follow tho hounds as 1 do 1' saitl a H|K>rtHman to a witty, ailitig staU'sman. ' I uuike the hounds follow me,' was tho prompt reply. The distinguishing characteristic of Sir liOonard Tilley is sincerity. No man could ap|H)armoro lost in his sub- ject This is a grent element in per- suasivenesa This (earnestness is en- hanced by a style of pure Saxon and unaffected simplicity. His i>a.m of ex- pression would at once mark him out in the Knglish I louse of Commons, and the ' auctoritas ' with which Ik! speaks give him weight and secure a following. He has the rare power of making a budget speech int«T<'sting, a power which no ('hancellorof the ICxcheijufir I ever heard in the Knglish House of Commons had, Mr. Gladstone, of course, always excepted, who, in the art of financiiil statement, leaves all other men behind. Sir Richard Cartwright— i*erhap8 at once tho severest and the most ni>iir routed in (liMhonoiu' stood, And faith iinfjiiMifiil niiwie him fulst-ly true. Happy is the man who has not, one time or other, been placed in this dread- ful dilemma. The situation is tragic. But, owing to some want of manner in the orator, the House evidently sup- posed they were humorous lines. Sir Ilichiird Oai'twright reminds >ne of a former llouie Seci-etary, Mr. Ayrton. But Sir llichurd is a better read man, with stronger powers of thought and expression. Mr. Ayrton had not more sweetness and light than Sir Richard. What an Ayrton did, therefore, a Cart- wright could have done, Mr. Macdougall is a finished speaker. Ii4itlier a great debater than a great orator, he hits nearly every gift by which a man can commantl the atten- tion of his fellow-men ; presence, de- livery, a noble diction, constitiitional grasp, a mind well stored with po- litical facts. \[ss tlian the least of all saints is this grace given, that \ should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;' and counnenced tli"H: ' The bird that sings tlie sweetest and soars the highest is the bird that makes his nest the lowest.' There was a great sermon which I have never forgotten. How brief are Paul's letters — but what cidossal effects they liave produced and continue to produce ! These are gieat utterances on religious subjects. Von have profound thought coinliiiicil with heroic devotion — either of which will ruike a great seniiou — which is a speech delivered on a. religious sub jeer, and for practical ends. Whitlield hid no thought. Tlieie is nothing, !is people say, in his seinions. But look at the effect he produced — the fervid soul melting his lieariTs. In the same way the inner lire l)urued out on the hearers of Wesley. Mr. Rainsford puts more work into his sermons now than he used wlien he first camtt amongst us, but bis ser- mons are not so effective. Then you felt that a really fervid soul was speak- ing to you, and his blundersof thought and expression were trifles. But the fire is low now ; the role of the evan- gelist, not that of the thinker, is what he was most suited for. On a recent occasion at St. Alban's, Ottawa, Dr. Jones denounced the fri- volity of the capital, declared it was given up to the worship of Bacchus and V(MuiH, and then supposing the apostle to visit the city, elaborated a dialogue l)etween the incumbent of St. Alban's, full of forms and ceremonies, and the rugged apostle of the Gen- tiles, who set no store by things indif- ferent. The apostle aildressed Dr, Jones as 'Mr. Presbyter,' and 'Friend Presbyter.' I never met Paul. I>ut I am familiar with his writings, and hold the th(;oiy that the style is the manif(!station of the man. The I'eadia' may juilge of my astonishment on this occasion, when I found that Paul car- ried his piincipie of btiing all things to all men, so far as to transform him- self into the double of Dr. .Jones. Versatility has never Ijeen emphasized ••IS a characteristic of the devoted Jew. ( ireat progress is, no doubt, pos.sil)le in the other woild. Be that as it may, Paul was no longer the Paul with a hurrying style, thoughts struggling for expression, aspirations divinely heroic, self-abnegation to tla^ death. No; he s]ioUe remarkably like Dr. Jones. ' I ])erceive,' said the Apostle, 'that some persons take an interest in the orna- me'itation of the hou.se of ({od. I see "Alpha" and "Omega" inider which name the Lord had n^vealed himself to my brotlwT John, over th*^ sacred table wiau'e thecommemoratory "sacrifice'' is offered. I .see many divine svmliols — and in my erles8 side considerations have to be taken into account. A clear concep- tion of the object sought is not enough to enable one to give an authoritative opinion. There must be in the mind of the critic a knowltnlge of what has already l)een achieved in the l)articular field ; the possibilities within the grasp of arduous endeavour there ; he sliould apprehenil how effects may l>e most economically pro- duced ; his idea of man should be as wide and various as that complex mystery, so as to see how far all the keys of life are touched, and wlielher in each case to harmonious or disconl- iint issues. The convenient habit of fixing attention on mental functions has made us the slaves of a l>arren and futile analysis, weakened our hold on the fact that the mind is one, af- fected in its constitution through all the range of its capacities by whatever appeals to the smallest of its powers. The common-place circumstance of a .sound tooth aching in synipathy with one the subject of decay has moral analogies. For whatever is said or done, an ideal standard would exact I'egard to man's nature in all its mani- fold developments. The lofty and the practical really meet. A high inspira- tion never fails to reach the inmost springs of even the meanest hearer, though .sinister motives nmy counter- vail the suggestions of the better na- ture. The soul, like a stronghold, is soonest taken when approached from all sides. JTenry Flood, who created, in the face of corruption, in the teeth of un- .scrupulous ]»ower un.scrupul )U.sly used, in a parliamentof pensioners and place- men, an opposition, could never have (lon(! this at that time, had he not unit- ed to strong logical faculties, states- manlike attainments and scathing in- vective, a charm of exprc^ssion at onco manly and attractive, which won at- tention from the interested and unwil- ling. The influence exercised by Mr. Bright is due not only to his force, ' or to his reasoning ])Ower. Whatever cause he advocates gains incalculably, because, while he .seeks to convince, he makes certain Ik; shall delight. I onco heard Mr. Lowe, in the midst of a de- nunciation of Mr. Bright's opinions, say \w would walk twenty miles any day in the year to hear him sjteak. An old fiituid of mine, the late Piofesiior Rushton, sought to learn the secret of the great tribune's charm. Waiting on him, he asked — 1st, whether, in his o|)inion, the orator was born and not made ? 2nd, whether he (Mr. Bright) had carefully studied the ancient ora- tors'] .'5rd, to what he attributed his command over the English tongue ? Mr. Bright re]»lied that, in his oj)inion, the orator was born and not made, that he had not studied the ancient oratois, and hardly thought doing so would re- pay time and trouble, and that what- ever facility he possessed in conveying I his ideas to his fidlows, was due to the constant perusal of old English pocftry. The scent of old English songs ])er- vadcs his style. It is wrojight in with web and woof. This is the only way literature ciin be of any value to a speaker. Lugging in a (pjotatiou for j purposes of grace only, is jiutting a ! jewel in a swine's snout ; the hog is WT 12 GREAT SPEECHES. not loss ii hog ; indeed, liis swiniflh <|\ialitie8 are emphasized hy the ituioii- gniouB gems. Sterne, I think it is, who says that the dwarf who brings a standard of height along with liiiii is something worse tl'.an a dwarf. All that we know of public speak- ers who have attained (Mninence, from DemosthenoK to liright, shows that excellence can be had only at the price of hard work. The genius of oratory does not smile on us without years of oourtship. Mr. (iladstone, some time ago, dwelt on the evidence of i)ains- taking thought and labour found in the MS. of Mr. Canning. How Brougham worked is familiar to all who have read the works of that great buh vain and garrulous man. Yet, probably, thei'e is no art in which so many are amV)iti()U8 of excellence as that of speaking, and in which they think succ(!8s so easy. Now, what is the end aimed at ' speaking — whether in the forum, fro... the ])ulpit, or in the 8enat(' '? Lectu- res do not properly come untler the he.id of sptvches. The name imports that a lecture is a composition thought out, and prf^parcnl, and written in the study for the purpose of being read. If a lecture pleases, if it has enabled you to i)ass an evening pleasitntly or instructively,it has justified itself. Not so a sermon, a legal argument, an ad- ilrcss to a jury, a speech in Parlia- ment or on the stump. What raises the sei'mon, the legal argiunent, the jury spee<^h, the political harangue, in- Hnitely above the lecture is this — they all contemplate action as an end. And so far as any one of them, or any part of any om; of them, is not instinct with this aim, the speaker is guilty of Mtipertinence. The eiul aimed at is iiot to delight the imagination or tickle the fancy, thoujfh delighting the imagination and tickling the fancy help you on your way, Imt to convince the judgment. Jfow can this best be done? iiy giving adeipiate reasons why the course you propose must be considered the best, and intlaming the ]iassions so as to bring tliem to your aid. The logic should be red hot. \[«)st oratory in modern times is ad- drt^ssed to the masses of the inhabi- tants of the country of the orator. Therefore a speech, or sermon, or oi*a- tion, which aims at persuasion must be easy of comprehension, must ap- peal to the understanding, must court the weakncfsses of those whom we try to persuade, and must pay some re- gard to the fact that we do not live in antediluvian times, when, no doubt, a f(!w years might le spared to digest a discourse. A great deal of the speaking in the course of the Hyndicate debate was ex- cellent, a great deal made me fancy that the speakers had forgotten all that Hazlitt says on the subject <>f oratory, with the exception of his striking but only half-true words, ' that modesty, impartiality )»n9, Itring- e — a large tailed state- itions, con- Sir diaries ig his Syn- led ;iG,000 ,400 words. K^cond read- e Bill, 1866 speech on ifpresenta- 280 words ; 008 words, the rights 24 words ; sply to Mr. ) philippic IS ORB AT SPEKCtiES. 13 against Flood, 2,.'i">2 words ; the first of hisanti-union speeches, 5,880 words. Windham's ' Defence of the Country,' one of the longest of his speeches, con- tained 8,280 words; Huskinson's great speech on the ' Ktl'ects of the Free Trade system on tlie.Silk Manufacture,' 23,322 worda Now let us look again at home, and we shall, at all events, see abundant reason to be proud of the industry of our public men : — Mr. Langevin's speech contained 17,640 words; .Sir Richard Cart- wright's, 14,440 ; Mr. McLennan's, .'1,760; Mr. Ives', 12,(;00 ; Mr. Lau- rier's, 5,580; Mr. Anglin's, 11,520; Mr. Mills', 16,560; Mr. McCallum's, 4,320 ; Mr. Coursol's, 3,960 ; Mr. Charlton's, 12,235; Mr. Patterson's (Essex), 4,402 ; Mr. Rinfert's, 3,900 ; Mr.Gigault's, 2,850; Mr. Longley's, 5,- 760; Mr. Ross's (IVIiddlesex), 12,135 ; Mr. Rykert's, 12,500 ; Mr. Cockburn's (Muskoka), 4,320 ; Mr. Mackenzie's, 7,200 ; Mr. Dawson's, 3,950 ; Mr. Wright's, 3,420 ; Sir A. Smith's, 10,- 420 ; Dr. Bergin's, 9,360 : Mr. Or- ton's, 4,860 ; Sir John Macdonald's, 6,840; Mr. Blake's (proposing amend- ment and exclusive of this), 30,000 ; Sir Leonard Tilley's, 7, 187 ; Mr. Kirk- patrick's, 10,440; Mr. Guthrie's, 10,- 799 ; Mr. White's (Cardwell), 18,000 ; Mr. Casey's, 5,400; Mr. Macdougall's, 9,360 ; Mr. Cameron's (Victoria), 5,580 ; Mr. Scott's, 3,240 ; Mr. White's (Ren- frew), 1,580 ; Mr. Rymal's, 5,040 ; Mr. Tassti's, 5,080 ; Dalton McCarthy's, 7,560. A great man as well as orator placed Demosthenes at the head of the art of speaking, and when we think of the orations of the patriotic, fearless, but prudent Athenian statesman, much as we believe and rejoice in the daily press, we cannot but bless God that there was a time in the world's history when the newspaper was unknown. Had newspapers existed in the days of Demosthenes, what quotations we should have had from the leading pa- pers of Athens and Macedon. We should have had — did I say ? The ora- tions of Demosthenes would never have Iteen thought worthy of being handed down to posterity. Judge«l by the standard of the mediocre mem- beiH of eitiier i>arty in Canatia, how I)Oor Demosthenes sliines I Why his first olynthiac does not contain two thousand five hundred and twenty words ; the second only tw(» thousand seven hundred ; the third two thou- sand eight hundred and eighty. When the Alabamas of Philip were chasing Athenian commerce from the vEgean, the first philippic was deli>ered. If we assuiiu; that the whole of this ora- tion was spoken a' the same time, and allow six pages for the statement of ways and means, and four for tlie letter of Philip to the; Eubteans, we have seven thousand two hundred and eighty words. The oration l)y which he averted war, bearing down a host of flattering orators, contains only 1,960 words. The third and fourth philippic contain respectively 10,080 and 6.480 words. I do not care much what other peo- ple have done. 1 jirefer to ask what, under any given circumstances, the iea.son of the case suggests. 1 will not say the above figures make out any case against Mr. Blake or Dr. Tupper, because we live in an age when the mind is more arithmetical than it used to be. Nor does a subject often arise in which so many calculations must bo made as in this last great issue con- nooted with the Pacific Railway. But if Grattan, a leader, could say all it was necessary for him to say on the 'Rights of Ireland,' in 13,524 words : on 'Sim- ple Repeal,' in 7,624 words; against the 'Union,' in 5,880 words; if Windham could say all he wanted on the ' Defence of the Country,' in 8,280 words ; if Demosthenes, in less than 8,000 words, could state the case against Philip of- Macedon; if the same great statesman and leader could usually overbear all opposition by his logical and fervid thoughts, bristling with solid argu- ments, compressed into from two to u aitEA T SPEECHES tliree thousands words — is it not likely that the suburdinate niiiuibers of l»oth parties speak too long, when they (■(|ual or exceed tin; liniits allowed themselves l»y such great Icwleis as I have mentioned 1 The speeches of Fox, Channing, Pitt, would yield like I'esults with those analysed. Easy writing makes hard reading. The sauu! is true of easy speech-mak- ing. South, wh(!n complimented on the shortness of a sermon, chanicterised by his usual eloquence, said, that had he liad tinie he would have made it shortr er. To realize the fulness of suggestion in the above statistics it must bo bonie in mind that those iien who spoke thus briefly thought h)ng and burned the midnight oil, gave muscle to reason, wings to iuiagination, and the eagle-glance to high purpose, by conversation with the best and greatest subjects. They w( e not thinking how to rig a convention, but how to become great men — great intrinsically, so that th(iy could bear to have their otlicial trappings taken from them and stand forth in all the naked majesty of inherent ])Ower. The hero is not less a hero when stripped of his st.!tr ^ and the great orator brings himself, as somebody said of Burke, along with him. He has not on each occasion when it is necessary for him to j)lead the cause of his country to retire to make himself up like a meretricious beauty. He does not fear surprise. He does not shrink from conversation. The outlines of his mind, as presented to the public, will bear pinching. ' Neino poterit esse,' says Cicero, who took all knowledge for his province, unml Imide cumulatus orator, nisi erit omnium rerum magnarum atque arti- nm scientiam cotisecutus.' It is not poring over the Globe or Afail, and filling a sciap-book with the rags of political discussion which will make an orator— by which, I mean, a speaker approaching the maximum of utility and practical effectiveness, able to counsel wisely and persuade men to follow his counsels; not guzzling cham- pagne and eating heavy dinners ; not an eye to the main chance and swagger- ing delight in your own abasement; not small spurts of study and long lapses of idleness. The true orator must have a love of justice, a hatred of wrong, a delight in liberty, a ])as8ion for the people's welfare, wide know- ledge mastered into system by pro- longed reflection on the problems of his tin»e ; his heart must have been compounded by nature in her most generous mood, and his brain origin- ally strong, made 8Uj)ple, swift, hardy, enduring, by incessant training and pei'sistent toil. 1 have not, of courae, heard all the speakers, and can only speak of those I heard. Among these, 1 was much struck by the speaking of Messrs. Koss, Laurier, Cameron (Huron), fiuthi-ie, Charlton and Kymal, on the Opposi- tion side J and by Messi-s. Cameron (Victoria), Plumb, White, of Cardwell, and White, of Renfrew, Royal, Rykert, and Dalton McCarthy. In one or two instances, there was repulsive and dis- cordant slang. But, as a rule, the dis- tinguishing feature of the speaking of thesegentlemen, was gra})[tliiig with the question in an indej)en(lent and l»usi- ness-like way. They seemeil to be aware, on the whole, that the duty of a speaker is to seize the question by the throat, to worry it with his own incisors and molars, and, not like a caterpillar on decaying leaves, to draw out an ignoble rhetorical existence on the strength of scraps of newspapers; nor yet to prove himself a statesnum by severely trying his own and his audience's physical strength, while hurling through space common-places or well-T-orn arguments, as though they were thunderbolts just forged in a mind active with the stormy vigour of great powers engaged on a momen- tous theme. In their speeches, on the whole, thare was little or none of im- potent invective or {)urloined vivacity; nor, t^ave in one instance, quotations sanctioned originally by a master's use with the edge of brightness \ mg ■ flinnfirs ; not hhihI swagger- iltaH(Miu'nt;not ml long lapKt's orator must , a hatred of Ji'ty, a ])aK8ion ^, wide know- rnUim by pro- e problems of J8t have been I in her most i brain origin- !, swift, hardy, training and , heard all the (peak of those !, 1 was much F Mcssra Ross, •on), Guthrie, n the Opposi- 381-s. Cameron .e,of C'ardwcll, loyal, Rykert, In one or two idsive and dis- rule, the dis- 10 speaking of plingwitli the ent and liusi- !med to be ,t the duty of question by with his own d, not like a aves, to draw existence on newspapers ; a statesman own and his r^ngth, while •mnion-places as though ust forged in ormy vigour on a momen- ches, on the none of im- led vivacity; R, quotations a master's brightness iJREA T SPEECHES. 15 taken off by currency for half a cen- tury. Mr. (Juthrio spoke like a gen- tleman, and in a manner to do credit to parliament ; Mr. Koss (Middlesex), with much force but, as I think, at too great length ; Mr. Cameron (Hu- ron), with the force of a practical man and an astute lawyer; while Mr. Laurier'n manner is iml)ued with the best parliamentary traditions. I wish the people of the Dominion, who aie accustomed to read little sneers at Mr. Plumb had heard his speech. Vigorous, terse, pointed, it showed that he has the growing mental energy of a young man full of the future, and his university training and its memo- ries active and enlivening. Mr. Roy- al's speech was a masterly eflfort, and Mr. Thomas White's in matter and manner left nothing to be desired. ' Tarn knows what's what, full brawley. ' Mr. White, of Renfrew, spoke brief- ly, but with weight and point. This was debating ; ' spreading' oneself is not de- bating. Mr. Hector Cameron's speech made every oneregret hedoes notspeak oftener. Although a great lawyer, and accustomed to meet judges and juries,^ he had that slight nervousness as he launched off' which, according to Ci- cero, never fails sometime or other to manifest itself in a speaker who has the root of the matter in him. Forcible and dignified, practical and original, his speech displayed a facile command of a fine parliamentary style. Mr. Dalton McCarthy reasons closely and sticks to his point. He is ready, in- structive, painstaking and practical. He is emphatically a useful member. Mr. Rymal fell irito a hackneyed quo- tation : (Will nobody catch and kill those fleas, big and little, for ever bit- ing and for ever reappearing 1) and I do not fear being accused of hypercri- ticisra, when I say that one of his sal- lies was not in good taste. To call a man a pocket edition of Judas Iscariot, because he interi'upts you may be very clever, though I fail to see it I noticed it made men on both sidesof the House laugh. It may have been insulting, Imt two blacks will not make a white, and however insulting, it did not justify Dr. Orton, who, as a pi'oiVtssional man, has had presumably advantages which wen; denied his opponent, in refer- ring to certain functinns at one time discharged by Mr. Rymal, functions it may be remarked in passing, not one whit more repulsive than those dis- charged everyday by medical men. If an employment is honest and useful, there is no reproach in having followed it, though it may not be of a character, proficiency in which would lead to your being knighted. Dr. Orton's sally called forth the remark from Rymal, that he was engaged just then in cur- rying down a jackass. And all this is embalmed amid sweets of the same kind in the immortal pages of Han- sard / Mr. Rymal is coarse. But he is no popinjay; and the way he was listened to shows how glad an audi- ence is to hear any one posse-ssing real individuality. Mr. Rykert spoiled a good speech by quoting at the end an absurd travesty of a nursery rhyme. With this exception, Mr. Rykert's (if- fort was up to a high mark. And speaking of quotation, what is its use 1 The use is like tliat of an il- lustration, to make a point or situa- tion more vivid, more emphatic, by a new light, by a suggestion which may be ridiculous, elevating, degrading, which enables you sometimes to put in the hearer's mind what you hardly dare, and could not, put into your own words. The praise which would be fulsome in prose may be elegantly conveyed by a line of poetry, and where prose would fall blunt and in- nocuous a rhyme will often cling and sting. A well-chosen quotation is like a diamond, useful as a noble kind of ornament and capable of cutting through the Ijrittle sophistry of a pre- tender. Poetical quotations, however, are not necessary, and therefore their use must always be justified by suc- cess. To apply lines of playful satire written on a man of stupendous genius r TT 16 flllKA T SPEECH KS. to an oppoiiuiit of j{roat talent is neing put in as rt'ail, which would mort; than ever tiausfcr the consideration of i|u» stions from parli.iment to the stump. 'I"he stuuip has its use ; parliauient has its use. Ihit the utility of both is im- l)aired if their functions are not kept distinct. 'I'he real object of meeting in ^^arl lament is too much lost sight of. If one of the gn-at fathers of parliamentary discussion were to enter our assendilies, and see the pages run- ning hither anti thither, whenever the snii|) of the lingers is heard, meml)er8 writing, letters and books being sent oil' to the post, he would fee! as much siiocked US if he came on a Pnjsby- terian divine keeping the Sabliath by line fishing and skimming a volume of 'Zola 'or 'Uui: •'■;;, ■!':: "■I^aH ;:-.'." '■])■ ''■^".■y - ".fi