The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-11-18
PREMIER BORDEN
Tells CANADA'S
WAR ACTIVITIES
Dominion Premier Gives In
teresting Talk to The
Bar of New York.

Bar of New York.
New York, Nov. 1S.-Sir Robert
Laird Borden, Premier Of Canada.
spoke at a luncheon in his honor at
the Lawyers club in this city to-day,
discussing the influence of the Euro
pean war on Canada, the determine.
ton of his countrymen to carry their
part in the great conflict through to
the end, the friendly relations be-
tween Canada and the United States,
and on the ideal of an ultimate
scheme of self-mastery among the
nations of the world to prevent war.
Himself a lawyer for many years,
Premier Borden said he spoke not
only as a lawyer to lawyers, but as a
kinsman to kinsmen, since on either
side Of the unguarded and invisible
boundry between the United States
and Canada. the national life found
it's inspiration in the like ideals of
democracy.
cit is true there are tariffs Valid
the Premier, "but during the past de-
cade we have manifested our neigh
borly spirit by purchasing your prod
ucts to the extent of $3,000,00O,000.
should also add that we paid for
them; and as a final proof of our
friendship we have recently borrow
ed from you 1925, 100000 of the sum
thus paid. We have exchanged i'm
migrants both east and west. The
arrows Of the little winged divinity
shoot >ceaselessly across the frontier.
In short, the citizens Of these two
neighboring and kindred common
wealths have developed a reciprocal
understanding good will and respect
SO complete that it would be difficult
to find parallel in history
He appealed to the lawyers to rec
ognize the field that was open to the
bar of a great neutral nation in help
ing to define international law and
right in such terms that by. them the
peace Of the world might be main
tanned. He said:
HSThe nations have been brought so
closely together that there is a GER
tain community of national life
throughout the world. AS the estab-
lishment and enforcement Of laws
within an organized civilized COM
munity depend in the final analysis
upon the will Of the people and upon
public opinion within that commun-
ity, so the enforcement Of pubic
rights through organization of the
nations prepared in advance must al
SO depend upon public opinion of the
world. Upon the advance and de-
velopment of that opinion must reHt
the hopes of those who look for ~
world tribunal backed when neces-
sary by worldwide force for the re-
straint of an outlaw nation. Many
voices admonish us that all this is
idealistic and visionary, that the stan
dards, conceptions and purposes Of
our present civilization forbid the
realization Of any such ideal, that
there must be death Of this era and
the birth of a new before humanity
shall attain to SO much self-mastery.
All conjecture is idle, but to me 1t
is certain as my own existence that
modern civilization will ultimately
disintegrate and perish If it fails to
achieve this idea.
'"To us involved ip the most ter
rib1e struggle that humanity has ever
Known struggle in which we have
taken part of our own free will and
because we realize the world-com-
polling consideration which it's issues
involve-the events of the past two
years have brought both a lesson and
an inspiration.
ssMany hundred thousand men will
return after this war to their homes |
in the Oversee Dominions Of the
British Commonwealth. They will
have thronged upon the stage Of the |
worlds theatre of action and taken a
mighty part in settling world issues
and determining the future destiny
of civilization and humanity. Upon
our Atlantic and Pacific shores, by
our inland waterways, in the north |
ern winterlands on Ontario and
Quebec, on our vast western plains
and still further west within the !
shadow majestic mountain ranges,
these men will take up anew the
task Of developing and upbuilding
our country. They will take up that |
work with q consciousness that Can
ada has played a worthy part in the !
Hateful struggle which she entered !,
at the call of duty and for the cause
of freedom. Theirs will be an i'm
perishable recollection Of comrade-
ship with men Of the motherland and
of all parts of the Kings Dominions;
theirs also a wider vision and deeper
insight from service in a high cause
Hardly less profound will be the in
fuence Of the war upon all our peo-
pie They have learned that self
sacrifice in a just cause is at once a
duty and a blessing: and this lesson
has both inspired and ennobled the
men and women Of Canada
1.-The overseas men will have learn
ed another lesson and they will have
learned it so thoroughly that it never
can be forgotten. That lesson is two
fold; first, that the liberty, the secur-
ity and the very existence of our EN-
pire are dependent upon the safety of
the ocean pathways whether in peace
or war; next, that while sea power
cannot Of itself be the instrument of
world domination it is nevertheless
the most powerful instrument by
which world domination can be eff
fectually resisted. Three hundred
years ago 1t forever crushed arrogant
pretensions then put forward to con-
troll western trade rn11fas and fa ga