not the "Britain of the West," but the heart and centre of a greater empire than has been.

I come to another phase.

To the south of us is the greatest republic the world has ever seen, with a population of some 95,000,000 of people. In the northern zone we have the Dominion of Canada, population in round figures, 7,500,000. In area we are II1,992 square miles greater than the United States, counting Alaska, and we are backed up by the greatest Empire the world has ever known. With an area of over 12,000,000 square miles, and a population of over 410,000,000 of people, sharers in such a realm, heirs to such vast and varied privileges, we, as Canadians, need not be ashamed. Between these two countries is a border line three thousand miles in length, 1,400 miles of this border line is made up of our beautiful lakes and rivers, the other 1,600 miles is an imaginary line.

I presume that if every one here had been living in the years 1775 and 1776, we would have been holding up our hands in holy horror at the idea of the New England States cutting themselves away from Britain. Is there a man in this audience to-day who would blame the Americans for having done what they did on that occasion, and if you blame any one, would it not be the politicians who managed affairs in the Old Country at that time? It seems to me that nowhere in modern history can we find an example of the peculiar and mysterious workings of a Divine Providence better exemplified than in the relations between these two countries. Well, our neighbours became a Republic, and on account of their becoming a Republic, those people in foreign lands of Europe who were antagonistic to monarchial rule, to the Anglo-Saxon race, or to British rule, poured into the United States by their thousands. What did the United States do in their wisdom? They had, figuratively speaking, in every port of the United States, a wonderful piece of machinery, and as these people washed through that machinery, they came out on the other side speaking what-the English language, and to-day you have 95,000,000 of people to the south

of us with only one known, one recognized, and one official language, and that language English. Now, what does that mean to us in the future? Well, if it means anything, and if we can read the writing on the wall, and I think we can, it means that the time is coming when the Union Jack of Britain and the Old Glory of the United States will be tied together in a knot, and that knot a love knot, and when all the English-speaking races of this world will be marching together under those two banners in one solid phalanx for all that is good and for all that is right.

Now, what is our peculiar duty as Canadians, as a great link in the chain of Empire that encircles the world, our link being placed opposite this great Republic. I think our duty is a very simple one and can be answered in four words, "Mind our own business." The Americans have their great problems to work out, but have not we in Canada our great problems, and is there any one here who will say that there will not be greater? Then, if we have these problems, let us be men and face them and play the game. Let us be men, and as righteousness exalteth a nation, let us have a righteous nation and exalt ourselves.

There are two great lessons we can learn from the great Republic. One refers to language, and the other to the flag. As to the language, I do not know what is contained in the Treaty of Paris, in the Acts of 1791 and 1841, or The British North America Act, but if there is anything in the Treaty or Acts whereby we have allowed our French-Canadian brethren the use of the French language in Canada, let us be men and let us live up to our agreements, let us see to it that in no other province of this Dominion will there be more than one official language, and that English. As to the flag, it seems to me that our American cousins magnify their flag to such an extent that the foreigners going into their country in a few months learn to love that flag and forget that there ever was any other in existence.

Now, what are we Canadians doing in regard to our flag? The Honourable the Minister of Education for Ontario performed a splendid act when he had all our rural schools presented with a flag. But what are our

great patriotic clubs, our Empire and Canadian Clubs doing in regard to the flag? I have been at many meetings of these Clubs where I have never seen a flag. It seems to me that all our patriotic institutions could well take a page from out of that noble order of women known as the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire. In every Chapter of this Order they have what is known as a standard-bearer. It is the duty of that standard-bearer to place the flag in front of the Regent at every meeting, and after the meeting to take care of the flag until the next meeting.

I once heard an eloquent professor of the University of Toronto in addressing the Canadian Club of Woodstock make this statement: He said that times were always changing, that a few years ago the Christian people of Europe and America were praying that the great wall in China might be cast down. He said, today, figuratively speaking, that wall has been cast down, and these same Christian people are praying that we might be able to build up a wall to keep the Chinese out. But you can't do it. He drew our attention to the fact that owing to the unrest in Europe, and there is more unrest to-day than there was then, that hundreds of thousands of foreigners would be flocking to America, and Canada would get her share. He thought we should do all in our power to assimilate these people, and he would suggest the proper way to do it would be to meet them with the Bible in our hands. I quite agree with that learned professor, but I want to add something. Let us by all means meet these people with the Bible in one hand, but in the other let us carry the flag of our country, and let us teach these people, not only to love our God, but to honour our King, and then we shall have done our duty. The time will come when these foreigners, and their children, and their children's children will say, in those beautiful words of Ruth: "Thy people shall be my people and thy God my God."

In conclusion, lately at the call to arms to assist our Mother Country in an hour in which our aid was of moment, there was just what always will be, and let the world take, knowledge of it, in spite of local differences and dissensions, there was a united Canada pouring forth

her treasure and her best hearts' blood to maintain the honour of the British Crown and the supremacy of British rule. This has taught us that we can rise superior to local dissensions and party differences. Let us in the future be no fomenters of, or participants in, any source of conduct that may separate or wound, but let us go forth, each of us, to do our best, to have a united Canada and a united Empire, without regard to race or religion, tribe or tongue. Let us in the future, as in the past, follow the example of the Romans of old, so beautifully described by Macaulay, where he says:

Romans in Rome's quarrel,

Spared neither land nor gold,

Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life,
In the brave days of old.
Then none were for a party

Then all were for the state

Then the great man helped the poor

And the poor man loved the great.
Then lands were fairly portioned,
Then spoils were fairly sold,

Then Romans were like brothers
In the brave days of old.

Now those lines were on a very ancient theme, “ancient Rome." Lately, I read lines by a Canadian poet, and though he was no friend of mine, I reverence his patriotic ideas where he says:

Instil in our little children,

As they learn to write and read,
Less of the modern teachings,
Which tend to graft and greed,
Preach to them love of country
And less of the love of gold,
Give them the noble maxim,
Of what we have, we hold.
Ceasing your cant and snivel,
What is your snivelling worth,
If you leave unkempt, unguarded,
The lordliest land on earth.

Let me ask you, gentlemen, as you leave this hall today, to go forth in national affairs as patriots rather than as party politicians, banded together to make this land, this Imperialistic Canada of ours, this land of the Maple Leaf, this land we love so well, a veritable garden, beautiful to look upon, and delightful to dwell in.

ONTARIO'S PLACE IN THE EMPIRE

An Address by the HONOURABLE W. H. HEARST, before the Empire Club of Canada, on November 28, 1912

Mr. President and Gentlemen,

I am sure I feel highly honoured in having the privilege of addressing this audience to-day. One would always feel it an honour to have the privilege of addressing a body of representative citizens in this great city of Toronto, but the honour is doubly enhanced when one is permitted to address members of a Club having for its purpose the aims and objects of your Club. I cannot understand anything that is more important at the present time than the bringing before the people of the Empire their duty to the Empire; particularly is this so in a young country like Canada. There is nothing to my mind that is of more importance than to educate properly the people as to their duty and the high destiny of Canada in working out Empire problems, as in the Providence of God it is intended they should be worked out. I am sure I must thank you for your kind words of introduction; and from what you have said of my duties as a Minister of the Crown, I think that the gentlemen here will appreciate the claims that are made upon my time and will understand and excuse me, if my remarks this afternoon are not as collected and not as concrete as they should be.

You have been told that I spoke a week or so ago to the Canadian Club. The subject I then took was Northern Ontario and its relationship to the whole Province. When I gave the subject for my address which I did to your Club, I had not in mind speaking so near to this date to another Club composed of gentlemen, many of whom are members of this Club. I otherwise, perhaps, might have given you a different subject, but I will try as far as possible to give new matter to-day and not