Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-10
SIR WILFRID LAURIER'S TOAST.


dian-American Relations Mt Banquet.
Sir Wilfrid Lau1ier of Canada was one of
the speakers at the Chicago day banquet in
Chicago last night. His toast was 1.-The
Dominion In his speech he reviewed the
relations between the United States and
Canada. He said:
81 take it to be an evidence of the good
relations which in your estimation, gentle
men. ought to prevail between two such
countries as the United States and Canada
that you have notified us, your next-door
neighbor in this day of rejoicing, to take
our share with you of your joy. We shall
bring back to our own country the most
pleasant remembrance of the day.
II must say that 1 feel that though the
relations between Canada and the United
States are good, though they are brotherly,
though they are satisfactory, in my judg
ment they are not as good, as brotherly, as
satisfactory, as they ought to be. We are
of the same stock. We spring from the
same races on one side of the line the
other. We speak the same language We
have the same literature, and for more than
a thousand years we have had common
history. Lot me recall to you the lines
which in the darkest days of the civil war
the Puritan poet Of America issued to Eng
land oh, Englishmen,' he said
Oh, Englishmen. in hope and creed,
In blood and tongue are brothers,
We Ill heirs of Runnymede.
bTOlicIS we ttI e, III lIie VI Jul
own poet May I not say that while our
relations are not always brotherly as
they should have been, may not ask, Mr..
President, on the part of Canada and on the
part of the United States, are some
times too prone to stand by the full con-
ceptions of our rights and exact all our
rights to the last pound of flesh. May L
not ask if there have not been too often
between petty quarrels which happily
do not wound the heart of the nations.
Sir, l am proud to say in the presence
of the chief executive of the United States
, that it is the belief of the Canadian govern
ment that should make supreme effort
to better our relations and make the gov
eminent of President Mckinley and the
present government of Canada, with the
assent of Great Britain, to work to-
get'.sr to remove all causes of diSSen-
sio. between us. And regarding the com
mis- ION which sat, first in the old city of
Quebec, and next in the city of Washing
ton-but whether sitting in Quebec sit
ting in Washington, | am sorry to say, the
result has not been commensurate with our
expectations. Shall | speak my mind?
tCries of Yes.) We met stumbling block
in the question of the Alaska frontier. Well,
let me say here and now. the commission
could not settle that question, and referred
1t to their particular governments, and they
are now dealing with it,
May be permitted to say here and now
that we do not desire one inch Of your
land? Applause) But if l state, how
ever, that We want to hold our own land,
to know? l am here to say, above all, my
fellow countrymen, that we want not to
stand upon the extreme limits of
rights. We are ready to give and to take.
We can afford to be just; We can afford to
be generous because we are strong. We
have population Of 77,000,000-I beg par
don l am mistaken; it Is the reverse of
that. Gaughter.) But pardon my mistake;
although it Is the reverse, l am sure the
sentiment is the same But though We
have many little chickering's of that kind,
l speak my whole mind, and | believe the
mind of all you gentlemen, when | say that
after all, when we go down to the bottom
of our hearts. we will find that there is be-
plause.) There are no two nations today on
the face of the globe united Great
Britain and the United States of America.
(Cheers.D
1.-The Secretary Of State told us some few
months ago that there was no treaty of
alliance between Great Britain and the
United States of America. 1t is very true,
there is between the United States of Amer
lea and Great Britain today treaty of
alliance which the pen can write and which
the pen can unmake, but there is between
Great Britain and the United States OF
America unity of blood-of blood, which
Is thicker than water. (Applause.) And
appeal to recent history when | say that
whenever one nation has to face eIucrgen-
cy-a greater emergency than uSual--forth-
with the sympathies of the other nations
go to their sister. tApplause.) When last
year you were suddenly engaged in war
with Spain, though Spain was the weaker
party, and though it is natural that men
should side with the weaker party our
sympathies went to you, for no other lea-
son than that of blood. (Applause) Ard
l am sure you will agree with RE that,
though our relations have not reached the
degree of perfection to which / would
aspire, from that day new page has been
turned in the history of our country