Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-16
CANADIAN STATESMEN.
The POmp and Glory With which Pa
Lament is Conducted.


tne ruling family, was entitled TO sit with
MIN. Princess Louise on such occasions
appeared In full dress royal robes. and
gave 70 the deeply disappointed Canadians.
who expected much from their appointed
portion Of viceroyalty. the only real
satisfactory glimpse Of majesty vOuched
them.
1t was an additional qualification, too.
10 know that at such times they afforded
the classical featured Marquis. with the
dropping mustache, the sole opportunity
OF taking precedence Of and outranking
his stately and royal spouse. For they
did cherish resentment against Louise for
refusing to live in this northern latitude
and thus casting lasting discredit on the
| Canadian climate.
THE EVENT OF THE SEASON.
The opening Of the Senate is the grand
event Of the season; the wisdom, and
| fashion and beauty of the land sit IN full
| dress on benches and chairs. and in the
| gallery. The Speaker Of the Senate sits
on chair at the foot of the throne. The
members Of the House Of Commons are
sent for to hear the speech from the
| throne, and stand in a benchless part OF
| the room. divided from the rest Of il by a
| brass rail. The Marquis of LansdOwne,
| His Excellencv the most Honorable Henry
| Charles Keith v-FitZmaurice. Earl of
y
| about a stickful more Oftitles and append
ages after his name, performed the cere-
monies and made the speech this year.
The Senators are appointed for life and
receive a yearly salary of $1,000. The
| necessary property qualification is the
| possession Of real estate to the value of
| $4,000. They are selected from the ranks
of the party in pOwer-the Conservatives
and most OF them are said to owe their
/ place to Sir John A. Macdonald, the pres
/ ent Premier. While he is at the head of
| the government all they have to do is to
| pass whatever reaches them from his big
majority in the House, and, as all bills
| are lahOriOusly scTutiniZed and debated
/ by the representative body, there is
1 precious little for the Canadian House of
/ Lords to occupy themselves with. Their
/ sittings are short and far between, and /
| have not yet seen them in formal as
sembly.
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.
The sounding Of electric bells all over
| the vast building announces that the
] Speaker of the House of Commons is in
/ the Chair. The doors are closed against
/ all but members, however, until after
/ prayers, which are read in French as we'll
/ as in English. Then men and women file
/ into the galleries, the reporters come in
/ and Parliament is in session. The House
/ is an cblOng room, surrounded by CALLER
/ les. The floor is covered with green car
\ pet and is divided by a wide aisle. On
/ either side of this rise rows of desks and
\ chairs for the members. At one end of it
| is the Speakers throne, which is cur
| tanned, canOpied. caTpeted and uphol-
stored in green. In front of the throne is
| long table, az which are two handsome
/ " carved and cushioned chairs, in which
sit the clerks Of the House, French and
/ English.
! Whenever prayer or bill is read in
! English it is Immediately repeated in
/ French. Speeches are often made in the
/ latter language and all over the house,
] whenever a notice is posted in English,
/ its duplicate in French appears by its
side. This is in Difference to the French
element, which prevails in Quebec and
holds the balance of power in Parliament.
! 1t is one of the signal achievements OF
| Sir John Macdonald, and marks HIM as
! the astute statesman and politician he is,
| that he has harmOniZed into one party
| two diverse and distinct natiOnalities, diff
| fering in traditions, language and tempera-
ments, and has led them to see that the
true source of their future greatness and
power on this continent must lie in mu-
tual regard for each others rights, mutual
| fOTbearance for each others prejudices,
and a strong and cOnjOint effort for the
| furtherance Of their interests under one
| government and one flag. This Sir John
has done, and to-day the Bleus, the Que
bee Conservatives and the Ontario men,
/ bers on the same side sit and vote together
in support of the Premier's plans. The
Quebec Liberals are called ROuges.
ATwo THOUSAND DOLLAR MACE.
On the table in front of the Speaker lies
the mace, a gilded silver article that cost
the country $1,000. 1t is like an ordinary
| bed-pOst, with a knob at both ends and
one in the middle, and huge gilded pot is
mounted on one end, topped off by a
| gilded crown. 1t is the shadow and SYM
| Dol of the imperial throne and power in
/ Canada. When it is time for Parliament
1 to convene. the Sergeant-at-Arms should
ers the mace and goes in search of the
| Speaker. He could not attract his atten-
/ tion without the metal log on his shoulder.
When he has found that official, a pro-
cessiOn is formed in the lobby, and no
visitor to the Canadian capital should
fail to see this spectacle. The Sergeant
| alarms goes ahead with the mace. Aft
ter him comes the Speaker in a flowing
| robe Of black silk, with a rOsette of rib
| bon between his shoulders, a triangular
| cap on his head and lavender gloves on
! his hands: after him come the clerks in
similar robes, all looking like so many
priests as they wave and futter along the
hall. A score of pages, the messenger
I >.
black stockings and ministerial white
ties, bring up the rear, and the whole is
very like some scenes in ''IOlanthe,'-
''fOr into Parliament they must CO."
SIR JOHN MACDONALD.
To the right of the Speaker sit gov
| eminent party, the Premier and the Cabi-
| net Ministers occupying front chairs and
| desks. Across the aisle sit Her Majesty's
loyal opposition, the Liberals, who are in
| a hopeless minority this session. The
most prominent figure in Parliament is
also the central figure in Canada. He is
| Sir John a. Macdonald, Knight Com
/ mander of the Provincial Order of st.
Michael and St. George, Knight Com
| mander Of the Bath and a further
distinction enjoyed by him is that he
is member of the Imperial
| PrVy Council, an honor conferred
| upon no other man in Canada. He is
about 20 years old, tall, spare and blonde,
| and. although the greatest and most sue
| cessful political schemer in Canada, he
has an expression of cOuntenance that is
childlike and bland. Although born in
Scotland his features have Jewish cast,
| which is readily caught by the carica-
| turist. He has been forty years in active
| politics. and a glance at the personality
of his Cabinet shows the marvellous
moulding and controlling power Of the
man:
J. A. Chaplain, Secretary of State, adj
vanced Catholic. Sir Hector Langevin,
| Public Works, belongs to a family of
/ priests and is himself an ultramOntane
! French ROmanist. John COstigan, Irish
! Catholic. Mackenzie Bowel, Minister of
/ Customs, Orange Protestant. Sir John is
an Orangeman; Sir Leonard Tilley, FL
| nance, a temperance fanatic, and John
| CARING, Inland Revenue, is the largest
| brnxypr in Ontario These men have seats
IN Parliament, and sit with Sir John to
the right Of the Speakers throne.
A PROFESSIONAL BEAUTY.
Sir Leonard Tilley is descended from n.
+. LOyallst stock, and is a graceful and
courteous gentleman. But Sir Charles
| Upper, Minister of Railways, and also a
member of an n. Z. LOyalist family, is
the professional beauty of Parliament.
| He has curling gray hair, a little thin on
the crown but full and fluffy about his
| face. He has rosy complexion and gray
| side-whiskers and dresses with precision,
/ wearing a high collar, narrow black tie,
/ black clothes and stiff shirt front, with a
] single gold button in il. He has got
/ ten himself into serious trouble lately.
/ He accepted last year the appointment of
! High Commissioner of Canada and went
/ to England at the expense of the govern
/ ment. Without resigning the emOluments
and perquisites of the former Office, Sir
1 Charles has occupied his usual seat in the
/ House this session. and, although he has
| refrained from voting, he has introduced,
| spoken upon and urged the granting of
/ the loan of $30,O00,0OO to the Canada Pa
| cite Railway.
| There is a penalty Of 5000 day attached
/ to this irreguiarity, and Mr.. Edward Blake,
/ leader of the opposition, has moved the
| impeachment of Sir Charles for the INSIDE
I he q