.0. O^. \'*^^^%, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 £ lU 1^ 2.0 111= U III 1.6 ^ <^ /}. A m e". ei VI > '> ^) *5^ J^ V /; / (? ^ / M CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Instltut canadien de microreproductions historiqueo 1980 Ei Technical Notes / Notes techniques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best origin.il copy available for filming. Physical features of this copy which may alter any of the images in the reproduction are checked below. Coloured covers/ Couvertures de couleur Coloured maps/ Cartes g6ographiques en couleur L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Certains ddfauts susceptibles de nuire 6 la qualitd de la reproduction sont notds ci-dessous. 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The original copy was borrowed from, and filmed with, the kind consent of the following institution: Library of the Public Archives of Canada Maps or plates too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grSce d la gdndrositd de I'dtablissement prdteur suivant : La bibliothdque des Archives publiques du Canada Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre reproduites en un seul clichd sont filmdes d partir de Tangle sup^rieure gauche, de gauche 6 droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la mdthode : 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 f- \ DUAL LANGUAGE IN CANADA: Its Advantages and Disadvantages. A LECTURE BeUVERKD BEFOnE THE PliOPEBSORS ARD STDDESTS OK TlIE U.iJ VKKSITV OF New BKL-NawicK, Fredericpon, MARUir 18, 1896, By Reverend S. J. DOUCET, OH Shippegan. SAINT JOHN, N. B.. EU,I8, ROBKKTSON & Co. — "Gl.OF.fi)" PrE8H. 1890. \. DUAL LANGUAGE IN CANADA: Its Advantages and Disadvantages. A LECTURE Delivered before the Professors and Students of The University OF New Brunswick, Fredericton, March 18, 1896, By Reverend S. J. DOUCET, OF Shippegan. SAINT JOHN, N. B. Ellis, Robertson & Co. — "Globe" Press. 1896. 'ysa. 9S DUAL LANGUAGE IN CANADA: Its Advantages and Disadvantages. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gkntlemen : The subject on which I have been invited to lecture on this occasion is: "Dual Language in Canada: its Advantages and Disadvantages." Whether from love of the subject or from any other motive, it is one iii which we cannot help taking a certain amount of interest, for dual language we have in our midst and will likely have for many years to come. Theoretically, it might be desirable to have now only one language in Canada, and it may be a matter of regret that things were allowed to take their present course; practically, it is better to leave things as they are, and cut our garment according to our cloth. At first sight, the existence of two languages in the same country seems to be a source of embarrassment and confusion, an obstacle in the path of progress, something incompatible with national greatness and unity. On adjusting our mental spectacles, we learn to take a more correct view of things, so that what without sufficient consideration appears to be an unmixed evil may be accompanied by such redeeming features as to turn it into a positive good. Of course, if unity of language were essential to national unity and prosperity, the question would be at once settled, for no amount of advantages could compensate a disadvantage which would be a radical and fatal defect in the organization of a federal state. On this supposi- tion, it would be our duty to strive to obtain this essential requisite, for we are all desirous, as ti'ue and patriotic Canadians ought to be, to see this Canada of ours grow and develop into a great nation, second to none on the face of the earth. Or, if it could be shown that, though not preventive of ultimate success, the disadvantages resulting from the use of both the English and French language in Canada are without corre- sponding advantages, or that they greatly outweigh the latter, then the abolition of one of the two languages should be effected, provided it could be done without prejudice to the rights of any class of people, or without creating difficulties which might prove more serious tlian the evil to be remedied and make the cure worse than the disease. If it had to be done, which would be the best way of doing it? By enacting 1 DUAL LANGUAGE IN CANADA. prohibitory laws, or adopting otherwise violent measures or odious expedients to coerce two millions of Canadians in that direction? I should think not. This would rather be a good way of showing how not to do it. Tlie language, not much less than the religion of a people, is held by them as sacred and inviolable. Those are to the people at large as family rights are to the family— things that caimot be touched without exciting a righteous zeal in their defense. Persecution under any form or for any purpose generally accomplishes the opposite to what is intended. If one of the two existing languages in Canada has to go, let time bring about the change, and let us all have the patience to wait for the "survival of the fittest." The disadvantages which a plurality of languages in the same country is alleged to entail as regards the consolidation and prosperity thereof may be summed up under the following heads : 1. It is a source of enmity and strife between the integrant parts of a nation and is therefore incompatible with national unity and progress; 2. It necessitates an increased outlay for conveying parliamentary and legal proceedings and enactments to the knowledge of the people; It divides the forces and resources necessary to the diffusion of education and to the creation of a national literature; It is a drawback on the commercial relations and general business intelligence of the country. Before pointing out the corresponding advantages, let us see whether the alleged disadvantages are all necessary concomitants of a plurality of languages in the same country, and whether they are as great as they appear to be. I think the conclusion which will force itself upon our minds, is that, at the worst, Canada's unity and prosperity will not be hampered by the use of a dual language, especially if we take into consideration that the two languages are the tongue of Shakespeare and Burke, and that of Bossuet and Corneille. If it could be maintained, the first of the objections against dual language settles the question, but can it be maintained? Is unity of language really essential to the unity and well-being of a ration? It is not essential, for if it were, there would scarcely be a single country in Europe united and prosperous, as all, or nearly all, allow a plurality of languages within their limits. If unity of language were essential to national unity and prosperity, the first step to be taken on organizing a federal state under any form of government should be the adoption of a measure stamping out all languages but one within its limits. Not only should they not be made official or encouraged in any way, but they should not be even 3. 4. DUAL LANGUAGE IN CANADA. i" tolerated as being detrimental to the intoresta of the state. As this is n]L?ainst the almost universal practice of nations, it follows that the alleged danger is not feared, presumably because it does not exist. It must be admitted that unity in the highest and strictest sense in a nation implies unity of language, but it also implies unity of loligion, unity of manners and customs, and unity of growth and development, if not of origin. Such tniity may be flesirablo, but it is not attainable by force of arms or by legal enactments; it is induced by favorable circum- stances and is the growth of ages. Neither is such absolute unity recessary to make great and prosper- ous a nation comj)o.sed o^ two or more dillerent nationalities. To do this, a political unity capable of engendering a common national policy, the industrious development and judicious use of an unfailing supi)ly of natural resources, together with a due regard to the spread and retiuire- ments of education, both in its moral and intellectual aspects, are surely sufficient. Social castes, the inecjuality between the rich and the poor, the wranglings of Capital and Labor, clashings between the people and the government of the country, differences in religion, and other differences and sources of discord in the state must be much more prejudicial to its unity and prosperity than a difference of language could be, and yet, what government would level all social inecpudities and conditions to the same plane in order to make the jjeople united, prosperous and happy? If such an attempt were to prove successful, the dream of the socialist would be realized. History teaches how dangerous are religious dissensions, how blighting is the blast of wars carried on in the name of religion. Who on that account, and for the puri)ose of obtaining and securing religious uniformity would clamor for the suppression of all religions but one — his own, of course — unless it were some Catholic or Protestant bigot of a very low ty^je ? In the practical concerns of a nation, unity should not be sought for its own sake. The word is attractive and the thought inspiring, and on that account the reality is sometimes pursued further than is expedient and useful. Unity does not exclude diversity, but it may rather be enhanced by it. There is diversity even in the unity of the Godhead, as religion teaches. The universe is energized, and the harmony of the heavens maintained by natural agencies which are probably all resolvable into one single primary form of energy, and yet what similarity and diversity are at once implied in the doctrine of the unity of the physical forces ! Even on aesthetic grounds, unity in its most attractive aspect comes from the blending of various forms and colors into a harmonious DUAL LANOUAGE IN CANADA. whole. No one would fancy a garden adorned with only one set of flowers. Amid the various flowery forms, let the blushing rose bloom by the side of the snow-white lily ! I stated that the piactice of European countries disproves the assertion that uniformity of language is necessary to national unity and prosperity ; I will now substantiate that i)roposition. In Italy, while Italian is the otlicial language of the country, it is far from being the general household speech of the {)eoplo. Indeed, beside Tuscany, there are few other parts in which it is the oral language even of the educated classes. Jxalects proper to each locality are the media of oral intercourse in the I.eapolitan provinces, in Sicily and Sardinia, in Piedmont, Lombardy and the Venetian and Ligurian territories, as also in the former states of the church. The Castilian has become the established language af Spain, but the Basque or Euscara, the primitive language of Spain, is the dominant language in the Basque provinces. The Catalan is spoken and written throughout Catalonia. It has its literature and is considered by the Catalans to be a richer language than the Spanish. While French is the official and literary language of France, and has been, through the channels of popular education, widely diffused through the country, yet there is still in the different provinces various languages spoken, most of which are remnants of old dialects, mere local patois. South of the Loire, where the langue (V Oc, the literary tongue of the Troubadours, used to be spoken, there are several such patois still in use, the principal of which are the Provencal, the Lnnguedoclen, the Gascon, the Auverc/nat, and the Lunotisin. On the north of the Loire, the home of the Trouveres and of the Langue d' Oil, there are not less than a dozen different languages spoken, such as the Wallon, the Picard, the Normand, the Breton. Basque is spoken in Basses-Pyrenee, Flemish in some parts of Le Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Celtic is spoken by at least a million of people in Finistere, Cote-dn-Nord and Morbihan. Yet with this great diversity of languages, several of which are prac- tically official in the localities where they are used, is there a more united and prosperous country in Euro[)ethan France? Whilst travelling some few years ago through different parts of that country, the home of my forefathers, I had occasion to hear some of those patois. I knew those who spoke were French, and as ready as Frenchmen could be to take up arms and die in defense of their country (mourir pour la patrie!); but their speech sounded like Celtic to my ears. About two-thirds of the Swiss people speak German, a little less than one-third speak French, the I'est of the population speak Italian and Romanch, and notwithstanding the use of these four languages, the first two, if not three, of which are official, Switzerland is united and prosperous. DUAL LAiVOUAOE IX CANADA. (I <i In one of his lectures, delivered before an English nudiencc, Professor Freeman comments in the following manner on tlie Swiss Coi\fedoration: "To you the sight must seem strange to see two states of the same union side by side, s[)eaking wholly distinct languages; it must seem yet more strange to you to find one state all but wholly Catholic, another all but wholly Protestant, and to learn that the laws which in either case secure civil ecjuality to the minority are in most cantons of recent date. Yet, with all this diversity, the Swiss {Hjople, Teu*^onic and Ronumce, Catholic and Protestant, undoubtedly form a nation, though a nation artificially put together out of fragments of three elder nations." After giving several other instances of a similar union, this historian says in another place: "These instances and countless others bear out the position, that while community of language is the most obvious sign of common nationality, while it is the main element, or something more than an element, in the formation of a nationality, the rule is open to exceptions of all kinds, and the influence of language is at all times liable to be overruled by other influences." In Belgium, about one half of the inhabitants spoak Flemish, the other half, French, and a more prosijerous and united country cannot be found in Europe. In Sweden, where Swedish is the official language, there are at least three ditt'erent dialects spoken in different parts of the country — Old Norse or Icelandic, Scania, Blekinge and Dalecarlia. In Austro-Hungary, there are not less than twenty different languages, German being the official language in the Cisleithnn, and Magyar in the Transleithan provinces. The 19th article of the Constitution of the Austrian Empire provides that : "All tribes in the state have etjual rights, and each has an inviolable right to maintain its nationality and language." In his history of Austro-Hungary, Louis Leger says : "The Universities of Vienna, Gratz, Innspruck and Czernowitz teach in German. The Czekh Universities teach in Czekh. The Cracow University teaches in Polish. The Universities of Livow teach in Polish and Ruthenian. The Universities of Buda-Pesth and Rolosovar teach in Magyar. The University of Zagreb teaches in Croatian. The University of Prague, which was first Latin and then German, has recently been divided into two Universities, one teaching in German, the other in Czekh, the Hungarian tongue." While German is the dominant language of the German Empire, Polish, Lithuanian, Danish and other languages are spoken in parts of that country. As to Russia, beside the common Russian language, there are well nigh a hundred languages spoken in that vast empire, the principal of which are the Finnish, the Polish, the Sclavonic and the Caucasian. w mp DUAL LANGUAGE IN CANADA. While English is the official language of Great Britain and Ireland, Gaelic is the household language of the Highlands of Scotland, and Irish is still spoken in different parts of Ireland, chiefly in the western and southern parts of the Emerald Isle. In Wales, the Welsh language is nearly on the same footing as the English ; even Flemish is spoken in parts of that peninsula. As regards the British possessions at large, there are almost as many languages as the races which inhabit them. Manx is official as well as English in the Isle of Man, and French (the old Norman French) is the only official language in Jersey Island. In Heligoland, the Frisian and German languages are taught in the schools as well as English. In Malta, ItaHan is the official language in the courts. In the Cape of Good Hope, the Dutch language is on equal footing with the English. In British India, the Urdo or Hindustani is taught in the schools as well as English, and is used with the other vernacular languages in the courts. In the 133rd clause of the British North America Act, both the Englifh and French languages are declared to be official in the Houses of Parliament at Ottawa, in the parliament and courts of the Province of Quebec and in any court which may be established under that act. Neither in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, in the Articles of the Capitulation of Quebec in 1759, and of Montreal in 1760, in the Treaty of Paris in 1763, in the Royal Proclamation of the same year, in the Quebec Act of 1774, nor in any other act or document by which New France and Acadia were ceded or confirmed to England is there a positive declaration as to whether English, or French, or both languages should or could be used in any part of Canada. There was no necessity for such declaration, it being looked upon as a matter of course that public documents should be published and the people should be addressed in a language they could understand. Hence, so far as these acts or treaties go, the new subjects could consult their convenience in this respect; all that was, and is now required, is that the right to use their own language, wherever and whenever they wish, should not be expressly dcuied them. By the absence of a positive declaration to the contrary in the acts or treaties referred to, such right was tacitly recognized. Indeed, in some of those documents the right is implicitly recognized, for it is stipulated that the new subjects will continue in possession of their privileges and customs, and surely, these included the right to the unrestricted use of their own language, for unrestricted it had been from the foundation of the colony. Governor Murray, the first English governo'' of Quebec, and his successors generally acted on the tacit acknowledgment of this right, for, under their direction, official documents were as a rule published in H'l DUAL LANGUAGE IN CANADA. French as well as in English. Indeed, some of them, as the Quebec Act, were published in French only. In this they consulted the convenience of the people, and truly, the choice of a language in the official acts of any wise and practical government should be regarded only as a matter of convenience, — as a question which should be settled according to local circumstances and the wants of the people, for in this as well as in other things, the government is for the people, and not the people for the govern.Tient. Nor is it any objection that in the diversity of languages displayed in the practice of several of the European countries, one only is declared to be official, for such declaration has little influence on the everyday life of the people, as is proved from the condition of things in this particular in different parts of Canada, and especially in the Maritime Provinces. They will communicate among themselves in the language most familiar to them, their own native tongue, and it is mainly through newspapers or other public prints published in their own language, whether declared to be official, or not, that they receive intelligence of the enactments of parliaments, proceedings of courts, and of passing events. The report of Lord Durham on the cause of the rebellion of 18.37 led to the insertion of a clause in the Act of Union of Upper and Lower Canada by which all public instruments connected with the Houses of Parliament should be published in English only. Here we have some- thing exclusive, prohibitory. Not until that positive and authoritative declaration was made did the French Canadians consider themselves deprived of their right to the unrestricted use of their language, and only then were they so considered by their rulers. They were not very long deprived of their right. In 1844, not quite four years after the enforcement of the Union Act, the Legislature of Canada unanimously passed an address to the Queen praying for the restoration of the French language to its former basis, and the request was readily granted. The obnoxious clause was formally repealed by a special act passed by the English Parliament in 1848. Concerning the suppression of the French language by the Bill of Union, Lord Elgin, who a few years afterwards became Governor of Canada, expresses himself as follows: "I must avow that I am profoundly convinced of the impolitical character of all intentions of this kind to denationalize the French. In general it produces the opposite effect to th' have in view, and inflames national prejudices and animosities." "A wise prince," says Edmund Burke, "should study the genius of the nation he is called to rule; he must not contradict them in their customs, nor take away their privileges, but he must act according to the circumstances in which he finds the existing government." ~r 10 DUAL LANGUAGE IN CANADA. "It is less by terror than by love," snys Montesquieu, "that men are governed, and if absolute perfection in matter of government is a myth, it is a fact that the best is the government which adapts itself most closely to the climate, the habits, and even the prejudices of the country." " Since all authority is snatched from the conquered," says Grotius, "leave to them their own laws, their own customs and magistrates, which are of advantage in private and public matters." "It is ever to be remembered," says Herbert Spencer, "that great as may be the efforts made for the prosperity of the body politic, yet the claims of the body politic are nothing in themselves, and become something only in so far as they embody the claims of its component individuals." The European nations have not always shown due regard to the claims of their component parts. For instance, while Russia allows, or allowed until late years, her Finnish subjects the peaceful enjoyment of their rights, including the use of their language, she has done and is still doing her best to stamp out the language of her Polish subjects. In 1863, when enslaved Poland broke out into a new insurrection to regain her freedom, England, France, and Austria remonstrated with Russia, urging her to fulfil the obligations she had assumed at the Congress of Vienna in regard to that oppressed people. One of the points of their remonstrance was that the Poles should be allowed the use of their native language in the public offices and in the law courts, but unfortunately for Poland, this did not go further than a diplomatic remonstrance. Russia's course towards the Finlanders makes that people loyal and contented, and conduces to her unity and prosperity, while her continued oppression of Poland is a source of strife and misery in that land, and an obstacle to the consolidation of her vast empire. At the congress above mentioned, there was provision made to unite Belgium and Holland under die same crown. All went well enough as long as due regard was shown to the rights and privileges of all the subjects, but after a time and for the purpose of strengthening his realm, the Dutch King took it into his head to forbid the use of French in Belgium. Half of the population were soon arrayed against the other half, and the final result was the disruption of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. While it can well be admitted that community of language is not essential to national unity and prosperity, it is obvious that it cannot of itself secure such unity and prosperity in any state. One of the bloodiest wars that ever raged in any country was the American civil war, and the United States of America have one common language. Other civil wars have burned fiercely in many other countries, and dynasties have been annihilated, but history does not show that these dire evils were in DUAL LANGUAGE IN CANADA. 11 ^ any instance caused by clissentions arising from a diversity of language, except where the rights of nationalities were in this respect trampled under foot. "A common language, even without common blood," says Max MuUer, "makes the whole world feel akin." England and the United States have the some language, yet it does not appear that there is much love lost between them. When they come dangerously near to an o{)en rupture, war is averted not so much by reason of a community of language as on account of the commercial interests of both countries. The Irish people have practically given up their language for that of their rulers, yet they cling as tenaciously as ever to their nationality. In parting with old Erse, their representatives at Westminster have simply learned to assert the claims and vindicate the rights of fatherland in plain Anglo-Saxon. As to the disadvantage arising from an increased expenditure, it is not one that tells very strongly against dual language in Canada. The portion of the population for whom the French language is a necessity or a convenience, contributes its full share to the defrayment of the general expenditure, and co-operates successfully in the development of the resources and in the promotion of the general welfare of the country. It would then be manifestly unjust and mean, when benefiting by their co-operation, to deprive them of the pleasure and benefit derived from having public documents oorae to their knowledge and appeal to their intelligence in their own native language. Besides, the extra expense incurred by the publication of all legal and parliamentary enactments in the French as well as in English would be only a small fraction of the general ye.uly expenditure. Equally divided, it would not probably amount to much more than one cent to each head of the population. As to the bearing of dual languages on the requirements of education and national literature, Canada has nothing to apprehend on that score. The resources and forces brought into play may be divided, but they are not weakened by such division. All that is required is that they should be distributed equitably and judiciously, and a laudable emulation will promote the work. It is hardly necessary to add that Canada has as much reason to pride herself on Canadian literary productions wortliy to be crowned by the French Academy, as on works that delight the English reading public. As regards the difficulties that a duality of language may occasion in commercial relations and ordinary business transactions, the answer is that the knowledge of French does not necessarily exclude that of English, and vice versa. People will soon acquire a knowledge of any language that furthers their intei'ests, and learn to use it too, sometimes better than their own. The settlement of such difficulties may well be left to the action of time and influence of local circumstances. 12 DUAL LANGUAGE IK CANADA. The same diificulties may be alleged to exist in the ever increasing commercial relations between difieren*" countries, yet who would success- fully advocate the abolition of all leading languages but one (Volapuk, for example, or its more modern successor !), on the plea that international commerce and interests would be favored thereby ? The advocacy of such a theory would land us in Utopia. In our business relations within the limits of Canada, we may well rest satisfied with the means of intellectual intercourse that serves the same purpose on an international scale. Indeed, considering the question from this jwint of view, far from being a disadvantage, dual language is in no small measure beneficial to the Dominion, for, not to speak of the convenience it affords in travelling through Europe and elsewhere, it invites and facilitates international intercourse and favors commercial relations to a greater extent. But this is not the only advantage, nor the greatest one, that can be claimed for dual languages in Canada. While the experience of European countries shows that unity of language is not essential to national unity and progress, it must be admitted that it is what best characterizes each of the nationalties of which a state may be composed, and is at the same time the best preservative of their other characteristic features and their identity. But what advantage is there in keeping intact the unity and characteristic features of the races which may be united under the same government? I will answer in the words of an excellent authority : "I think," says the Marquis of Dufferin, in one of his .admirable addresses delivered during his stay in Canada, — "I think that Canada should esteem itself happy in owing its prosperity (mark the words — owing its prosperity) to the mixture of sevei'al races. The action and reaction of 'Several national idiosyncrasies, the one upon the other, give to our society a freshness, a coloring, an elasticity, a vigor, which without them would be wanting to it. The statesman who would seek to obliterate these distinctive characteristics would be truly badly advised." "At this moment," says this eminent statesman (in an answer to an address presented to him by Laval UniA'ersity), "the French-Canadian race, to which you belong, is engaged in a generous rivalry with your fellow subjects of English origin, the end of which is to see which of the two will contribute more to the moral, material and political advance- ment as well as to the prosperity of the country. There is not one student, man of business or of science, politician or writer of either origin, who does not feel himself inspired by this noble emulation." The greatest advantage which duality of language in Canada may be claimed to offer is that it subserves the cause of education. Lord Macaulay said on one occasion that whenever he had mastered a new language, he always felt as if he had acquired a new sense. Where is I DUAL LANGUAGE IX CANADA. 13 the man who, having sense and knowledge enough to appreciate the benefit of education, does not feel, intellectually, double the man he was before, when, besides his own mother tongue, he has acquired a thorough knowledge of another language, esi)ecially when such language is freighted with a rich literature and is spoken by a large portion of the community in which he lives? A due appreciation of this wider knowledge is shown by thousands of parents who, irrespective of expense or distance, send their children to study or to live for a time in places where they can become familarized with the new language which it is desirable to know, and which they cannot easily learn at home. If the knowledge of both English and French is a desirable acquisition, especially for a Canadian — and who will deny that it is? — are not the existence and preservation of those two languages in Canada an incentive and an aid towards that end? The frequent intercourse of the two classes of the Canadian population must tend to the acquirement of each other's language. The knowledge thus acquired can be afterwards perfected by the best method of study. Many are under the impression that the language spoken by French- Canadians is nothing else but a patois. This is not so. There are, it is true, many patois in France, but the language spoken by the French, speaking portion of the community whether in the Province of Quebec or in the Maritime Provinces, is the real, genuine French language. To be sure, it has not the ring of the aryot de Paris, but it has something better. The original settlers of la Nouvelle France, and la Cadie, who were of the best class of citizens, came to this country in the seventeenth century, the Augustan age of French literature, and the language which they bequeathed to their children has been wonderfully well preserved, and is still marked by the characteristic features of the French language of that age. Even French litterateurs of the highest rank testify to this. "I have been told," says the well-known French novelist, Paul Feval, "that pretty good French is spoken at Moscow and St. Petersburg, but if you wish to listen to the genuine sound of the language of Bossuet and Corneille, the general consensus of opinion is that one must go so far as Canada, where an offshoot of France obtained a vigorous growth." "Here," (in Canada) says Xavier Marmier, of the French Academy, " there is retained in the use of our tongue the elegance of the grand Steele. The people speak pretty correctly, and have no patois." It is true that, especially among the French Acadians, a certain number of words and phrases borrowed from the English language are needlessly intermixed with French in conversation, but very few of these English words have been definitely adopted or gallicized by them. Moreover, most of those who use them know that they are not genuine French words and avoid using them when they wish. As to their 14 DUAL LANOUAOE IN CANADA. gmmmar— well, they are in this respect pretty much on a level with those of their neighbors who murder or clip the Queen's English, and who are not on that account supposed to speak any particular dialect. It is uimecessary in this connection to enlarge on the comparative merits of the two languages, and go on discussing such questions as whether it is more philosophical to place the adjective before the substantive (as Herbert Spencer would have it) and say— a black horse, as the English do, or place it after the substantive, and say with the French — un cJieval noir. Each of the two languages has its peculiarities and excellencies. If one is cor'-ncuous for the number and power of its terms, the other excels by the clearness and elegance of its phrases. Each has been and is still a most efficient vehicle of thought, whether scientific or religious. Each has a literature richer than that of any other language in Europe, and the use of the two languages in Canada invites and encourages an emulative and profitable research in the literary treasures of both. The one is the diplomatic language of Europe, the mother tongue of the pioneers of religion and civilization in British North America and of their hardy and numerous progeny ; the other, the dominant commercial . language of the age, is spoken by over one hundred millions of people, is the tongue of a Sovereign upon whose empire the sun never sets, and under whose rule both the English and the French speaking Canadians, notwithstanding a diversity of language, are united, prosper- ous and happy. I* (From St. Johx Globe, March 19Tir, 189(5.) Rev. Father Doucet, of Sliippegan, read before the students of the University of Now Brunswick and their friends on Wednesday evening a very interesting paper on "The Dual Languages in Canada: their Advantages and Disadvantages." The reverend gentleman treated the subject in a thoroughly academic spirit. He pointed out that in many European nations two, three, and, in some cases, several languages were used and that, therefore, one language was not essential to national unity, although dual languages were regarded as a disadvantage by many persons from this standpoint. He argued upon the commercial, literary and social advantages to a country of having at its command a great commercial language like that of England, and a great diplomatic language like that of France, and he dwelt upon the power t)ie use of these two languages gave those who possessed them. That the French of this country should be allowed the liberty of using their own tongue was, he held, a simple act of justice to a true and loyal people, and, of course, without restrictions of any kind time would settle all the difficulties ot the situation through the survival of the fittest. The address was In every respect a scholarly one, showing a wide scope of information and reading, and was as moderate in tone as it ■was reasonable in argument. A discussion followed, which was participated in by Professors Davidson and Stockley, and Messrs. Jones, Kierstead. and Jordan of the University students, and by Kev. William O'Leary, to which Mr. J. V. Ellis, who occupied the chair, added some observations. Rev. Mr. Doucet closed the discussion in a few observations, using for his purpose the French language. On motion of Mr. Z. Everett, who gave an instance from his own experience of the advantages to be derived from knowing something of two languages, a hearty vote of thanks passed to the reverend lecturer. It was stated that Mr. Doucet not only travelled from Bathurst to Fredericton via St. John by rail to deliver the lecture, but that his journey also included a sleigh drive of over sixty miles, from Shippegan to Bathurst. The students showed their appreciation of the lecturer's courtesy and ability by hearty cheers and by giving him the college cries with three times three. The President of the University, Dr. Harrison, occupied a seat upon the platform, and there were several citizens of Fredericton in the audience.