George Houstoun Reid

“ I think the noblest thing of all about those people in the British Isles is this, that vast multitudes of them are poor, poor beyond the conception of the prosperous Canadians and Australians; they are staggering under the vast responsibilities of this Empire which covers so much of the earth's surface, and whose commerce flies across every ocean on the face of the globe, yet in the midst of their anxieties, in the midst of their troubles, they make no appeal to us for help; they do not ask us to do anything for them. ”

“ The onus upon those who wish to make changes is tremendous. The harmony of the Empire as it stands to-day is one of the miracles of human experience. We think it wonderful that majestic bodies in the heavens should revolve round the central sun. Well, that is not more marvellous than the orderly orbits in the political heavens of the various constellations of our Imperial system. The law of gravitation of the solar system is a great mystery and so are the marvellous peace and order which prevail right over this Empire. ”

“ The time may come when the majority of the people of the Mother Country may find our ideas to be in their interest, too. But I will tell you what occurs to me: There is one way of enjoying the blessings of reciprocity and preference without waiting for those acts of Parliament that may never come. Why can't every man of us in the British Empire, every day, give a preference in his purchases to the Empire? (Hear, hear, and applause.) Why should not there be a trade mark for the British Empire which would enable us, wherever we are, to give that preference? ”

“ With equal heartiness we can appreciate and we can reciprocate the feelings of brotherliness and of respect and esteem, we for the Australians, that the Australians through his lips have told us they have for us, and when he goes back to Australia, after having seen something of our country, and speaks to his own kin there, he can carry to them just as warm appreciations from Canada as his eloquent can tongue put into language. ”

“ We have as many horses in Australia already as you have in Canada or they have in Great Britain. We have a million head more cattle than you have in Canada. We have ninety-five millions of sheep. I think that is a few millions more than you have in Canada (laughter) . Canadians are so patriotic that I cannot get anybody to tell me how many sheep you really have. (Loud laughter.) Our ninety-five millions of sheep produce no less than 800,000,000 pounds' weight of the finest wool in the world. ”

“ One of the secrets—not a secret—one of the marvels of the relations between the self-governing Dominions and the Mother Country has been this, that as every tie was removed there was more loyalty, more attachment. And there is so much to be done in the Empire, in Canada, in Australia, there is so much to be done in developing the latent strength of these grand communities that we cannot, while we are waiting for the scheme, do better than pursue our present course. ”

“ Could not the great divisions of the Empire legislate for an Imperial trade mark of this kind; one with "made in the British Empire," on the outer circle, the inner circle having "made in Canada," or Australia, or Great Britain, the centre containing the trade mark of the individual whose production it was? Because you can never efface that; you must always have the trade mark of the firm that produced the article or its reputation would be worth nothing and its skill would get no reward, and a bad make would have the same favour as a good one. ”

“ Sir George has given us as Canadians some things to think about, especially those of us Canadians who are apt to be a little too self-satisfied, because he has brought up a youngster from the far southern zone and he has given us some facts and some figures which make us, unless we had looked into them, revise our estimates of the exceedingly magnificent position that Canada occupies in comparison to the continent of Australia. ”

“ We are so prosperous in Australia, and you are so prosperous in Canada, that our young men do not go to the sea as readily as used to be the case; but it would be a sad day for Australia, and perhaps for Canada, if we do not find some young Australians and some young Canadians on the deck of ships that travel the high seas. ”

“ He led us out into a thoughtful frame of mind as to the British Empire, what it was, how it became so, and how it was to remain so, and he asked the Canadian statesman, or politician—which ever you choose to denominate it—to produce the scheme of Federation. Well, I would say to Sir George that I have never been, and am not now, bothering very much about the scheme. If a young man really loves a young woman, he is not very anxious to be told what scheme shall be adopted for him to bring about the consummation of his wishes. ”

“ I have never been one of those who think that a country will grow truly great by putting millions of her youths into barracks for two or three years; but the compulsory training in Australia is of the lenient kind, which can be no real hardship to the youngsters. We have got a fleet that gives young Australia a chance of obeying the call of the sea. ”

“ We must never forget the phenomenal strain upon human sagacity, talent and patriotism which is involved in governing those 360 millions of aliens without infringing more than is necessary their individual freedom or ancient customs whilst maintaining amongst them the rules of British justice and the safety of life, virtue and property. ”

“ We have untold stores of mineral wealth, and auriferous areas of many thousands of square miles. Who can doubt that the dazzling discoveries of the past will be repeated? Then we have vast stores of coal, tin, copper, silver—the richest silver mines in the world, buried right in the heart of the continent. ”

“ I want to express my own, as I am sure I express your, deep appreciation of the privilege we have enjoyed to-day in listening to our distinguished friend from Australia. He is a distinguished man. He has taken a high place in the politics of that country. His mark remains on the history, and always will remain on the history, of that country. We like to know men; we like to see them before us ”

“ Our rainfall is not as plentiful as we would like, but there is a space in Australia which has a rainfall of over twenty inches a year, as large as Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, Great Britain, Portugal and Belgium, combined, and you can grow wheat out in Australia with a rainfall of from 12 to 15 inches. ”

“ The elevation of national self-respect which makes that statement true will surely redouble the strength and fervour of the love and gratitude which the men of Canada and the men of Australia feel for the people of the British Isles. ”

“ Young communities, like children, will spend ever so much more on a thing of their own than they will in buying anything for the old man. (Laughter.) We Australians in these three years have spent $65,000,000 on defence, naval and military. Every boy in Australia has, some time in the year, to wear the uniform of the King, (applause) ; but he is not taken away from industry, you know. ”

“ There are 287,000 hands in Australian factories, and in three years there has been an increase of 42,000 hands, that is, 17 per cent, in three years. Our banks have deposits amounting to $720,000,000. The increase in two years in our bank deposits is $130,000,000, or 18 per cent. Our savings banks have, in addition to those figures, deposits of $300,000,000, and there are no less than—and when you consider our population, it is a remarkable total—there are no less than 1,600,000 individual accounts in the savings banks of Australia. ”

“ Of minerals the annual production is over $120,000,000 a year. Manufactures do not flourish so readily or quickly in a young country as the primary industries—still we have a splendid variety of manufactures, which has reached $600,000,000 a year in value, and that output has increased during the last three years by 39 per cent, I think that a phenomenal rate of progress, especially when you remember our distance from the great consuming populations of the world. ”

“ As to the resources of Australia, I think you all know pretty well what they are. We can grow anything, from the productions of the colder climates to the productions of the tropical regions. We have a commerce which is expanding at a phenomenal rate. ”

“ But we have already 18,000 miles of rail, 2,000 private and 16,000 miles belonging to the people. (Applause.) In spite of the fact that those railways were authorized by political bodies, I am glad to be able to tell you that, taking the whole of these public railways of 16,000 miles, they yield already enough to pay all working expenses, all renewals, all the interest on the loans borrowed for their construction, and return besides a surplus of 1,000,000 pounds sterling into the public treasury. ”

“ Then, I think Australia is one of the greatest landowners in the world. Ninety-three per cent, of her three million square miles still belong to the people. (Applause.) Then I want you to remember this: We have only 4,600,000 men, women and children. Canada has nearly eight millions of people ”