County of Perth Herald (Stratford), 11 Nov 1863, p. 2

The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

SH Bor OF PERTH HERALD sehen Mintle ee ge sehen atte ae : Herald. 4 PEPIN -- County of Perth WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER11 , 1863. By-Law 91. We have before usa long letter published in last week's Beacon from our Representative, on this By-Law. Some men are so constituted, that 'while in the ordinary transactions of life, they conduct themselves with common-sense, the moment they put their pens to paper, their senses begin to wander. A more confused jumble than this letter is, from first to lest, it is impossible to conceive. In -at- temptingto enlighten the public on this now celebrated By-Law, he has succeeded in plunging the whole matter in yet deeper obscurity. Lan- guage, it has been said, was given us notso much for the purpose of making known our wants, as to con- ceal our thoughts. The writer of the dessertation in question, was evi- dently of this view ;for while he af- fectsto give usa plain statement of facts, he has only aroused our curi- osity to discover what he intended to say. His sentences are so constructed that no man living can make head or tailofthem.. Adjectives deprive ad- verbs of their just rights, relatives re- pudiate their antecedents, and the whole family are in perpetual discord, But let us be just. uncharitable enough to suppose that our Member intended to mislead the public, and will asssume that he did the best he could. Our Member's talent evidently does not lie in letter writing. But ifhe cannot be elegant, he should at least be truthful. Many of the charges which he alleges to have been brought againsi him, in this matter, we never heard of before. They appear'o be purely . " False creations" " Proceeding from his heat oppressed brain." The animus displayed throughout the whole of this long and luminous letter; the petty spite exhibited by the writer against every act of the Gounty Council for the last nine months, and the hypercritical surveil- lance which this Municipal body re- cei «dat the hands of Mr. Macfarlane and his partner, are directly traceable to the following cause which we give in tu somewhat plethorie language of th: Honorable Member himself, " In January, 1863, my partner Mr. Lizsrs, and myself, ceased to be Soli- citor~ for the Corporation of the Coun- ty ei Perth, and other gentlemen (Messrs Carrall & McCulloch) were appointed in our stead." " Hiuie omne principium, hac refer axtium." hi would be to follow Mr. Mac!:rlane through his history of ibe Gravel Road Scheme from its incep- tion tu tie present time. The facts are pretty generally known. The Coun?y Council passed a By-Law for the purpose of granting to certain Municipalities throughout the County certain moneys--in all some twenty thousand dollars-- to grade, gravel, and gencrally improve the various roads in those Municipalities. The money for this purpose, was to be raised by the issue and sale of Coun- ty débentures. Debentures were ac- cordingly issued and a purchaser 'ound for them; nothing further re- -nained to be done, but to procure the 'tovernor's sanction to the Gravel Road by. Law, and the money would be nmediately forthcoming, This sanc- ,on.is usually given 28 a matter of ourse. In view of these facts, and sit was desirable to havethe roads - at inan efficient state of repair before useless We will not be' Meantime a bill was filed inequity, by Messrs Lizars & Macfarlane to quash the By-Law, and praying for an injunction to restrain the sale of the debentures issued under it, Bat Mr. Maefarlane well knew, and if he did not, donbiless the leading equity lawyer whom he consulted in the mat- ter informed him, that ifthe deben- tures were actually sold, and in the hands of bona fide holders for value, and without notice of the. bill, all their proceedings would be rendered nugatory, as the Court would not be likely to interfere. It thus became an absolute necessity to the success of their scheme, that the Governor's sanc- tion should be withheld until an in- junction should issue from the Court restraining the sale of the debentures. The delay would only be for a_ short lime ; affiaavits were being rapidly prepared to support the application in the Court of Chancery, and if the At- torney General would only remain in- accessible for a week or two longer the business would be done. If the "pplication failed, it could not be helped ; if it was successful there was 'an end to the Gravel Road Scheme. Mr. Macfarlane may deny, with all the figures of speech of which he is capable, that he in any way tampered with the Gevernment in this matter, and may, hurl invectives with all the power of climax and anti-climax at the head of him who dares to iterate the charge: but when we know that steps are being taken to procure an injunction to restrain the sale of these debentures ; that letters addressed to the Attorney General, at every con- ceivable point of the compass, fail: to elicit a reply, we ask any honest man, in view of all the facts of the case, if the evidence is not all but conclusive against him. Mr Macfarlane may not in so many words have asked the Attorney Gen- eral to delay procuring the Governor's sanction, until an injunction could be procured ; that was not necessary He probably let him know the facts of the case, and doubtless that an- Swered the same purpose. Mr. Mac- farlane was a thick and thin supporter of the Government, during the last session of Parliament; nay, his sup- port was absolutely necessary to the existence of the Government, and any little accommodation the Attorney General could give him, would no doubt be cheerfully accorded. it :emains to be seen what the issue of the plot will be. We shall watch its developerhent with more than or- dinary interest. The Examiner of Thursday last, charges us wiih having distorted cer- tain remarks made by Mr. J.A. Scoit,at the last meeting of the Town Council. It ssy in reference to our report "it is grossly inaccurate." 'The gentleman connected with that paper has so !ong been in the habit of holding himself up as the only distinguished individual in the community, and as the only person possessed of any " brains" that we presume an unvarnished statement in regard to his little failings is rather annoying. We are sorry that our re- marks, being truthful, should have put * our Reeve " in such a " passion." We assure the gentleman we did not wish to put hin to the trouble of spend- ing several honrs of his valuable time, which might have been employed in hunting up a suitable site for the new Jail, in the vain endeavor of trying to persuade Mr. Scott that he had not said what he did say--Unlike " our Reeve," Mr. Scott has a mind of his own, and could neither be coaxed nor bullied mto such an absurd position. We repeat then, that we did not pub- lish an incorrect statement of the Council proceedings. We did not put words into Mr. Scott's mouth which he did not use, nor has Mr. Scott said so! &~& We also reiterate the statement . ¢ coming winter, contracts were ; ade, and the work proceeded with. $y. S. L. Robarts, Esq. Reeve of strat- ford, was purposely absent when the final vote on the gravel road By-Law 'was taken, and that his reason for being absent was to place the Warden ina difficulty--that 'tour Reeve " was seen crossing the "dam" less than fifteen minutes before the vote was taken--that he made his appearance immediately after--that he could not, therefore, have been examining any of the lands offered as a site for the new Jail. $3 We would remind the gentleman that hiscalling our humble "self" little spiteful names,such as litile boys are in the habit of using when annoyed with one another, will not refute such direct evidence as we have adduced. If it affords our frieud any pleasure, how- ever, to indulge in the peculiar style of argument to which he resorts in his last issue, we shall make no effort to prevent him from doing so. It may snit his readers, but we are quite sure those who read the Herald would not appreciate it, and we, therefore, de- cline attempting to imitate him. The public, who are the judges in the matter, will have no difficulty in seeing that we make the charges against 'our Reeve" on the authority of Mr. Scott, a man whose truthful- ness he dare not impugn, a:'d on the authority of Mr. Carroll, who could have no object in misrepresenting his _conduct. Let our readers then dis- tinctly understand that it is not we who have brought an accusition against the Reeve of Stratford, but Mr. Carrol of Hibbert. We merely, as a matter of justice to our readers, gave the facts as they came before us. It is useless, therefore, for 'he "* Truck- ler" to attempt, by disreputable side- issues, to divert the matter from him- self. His Truckling disposition is perfectly well understood, and he is now regarded by the members of the County Council with feelings of con- tempt only. A member of that Board said in our hearing that Mr. Robarts was a ' perpect nonentity," and that no reliance could be placed on him. Mr. Robarts was elected for the ex- press purpose of carrying out the gravel road scheme--why did he not de so? He said he would! Did he over esiimate that mighty influence which he thinks he possesses, or did he sell the people who reposed confi- dence in him? At the very outset he attempted to sell the party in order to obtain the position of Warden, and then, according to Mr. Carroll he sold the friends of the By-Law. We will now leave the "Truckler" in the hands of the people whom he sold-- they, no doubt, will do him justice. The Beacon in its last issue in- dulges a little in its congenial style. it accuses us of asking Mr.. Macfar- lane to perform an impossibility, viz: to prove a negative! We never asked him to do any thing of the kind? We da ed him to deny the charge we had preferred against him, not to prove that it was untrue! !f the stupidity of the Beacon's editor is such that he cannot see a distinction between dar- ing a man to deny a certain charge, and asking him to prove _ its untrathfulness--prove a negative--we can't help it. We will not retaiiate by calling the gentleman who writes for the Beacon by that classic epithet, he, in his last issue, applied to us. That would be supefluous. Since Mr. Macfarlané has not thought proper to deny the charge him- self, but has left the matter in the hands of the Beacon's editor, whose inability to speak the truth is so pro- verbial, we might well allow the mat- ter to drop. But as that gentleman, finding himself cornered, has thought proper to resort to Lis usual style of argument -- abusive language --we' again challenge Mr, Macfarlane to deny the truthfulness of our charge ! Let him do so if he dare, and we are made by Mr. Carroll to Mr. Scott, that Re _ ready with the proof ! 'The Fifth of November in Brant- ford. As previously announced the Orange- men of Perth and Huron met their Brethren of Brant at Brantford on Thursday last, the 5th of November for the purpose of celebrating the an- niversary of what has been called Pope's Duy, Guy Fawkes? Day or the Gunpowder Plot. The English Catholics were led to believe that James I, being the son of the unfortu- nate Mary Stuart, who died in the Catholic Faith, when he placed the British Crown on his brow would re- store tothe Church of Rome the pow- er and dignity it enjoyed under Queen Mary, which during the reign of Elizabeth, had been taken away. In this hope the Catholics were disapoint- ed. James not only did not re- establish Popery but determined to maintain Protestantism. This soex- asperated the Catholic people that a uumber of misguided fanatics deter- mined to uproot Protestantism by de- stroying both King and Parliament at one blow. In accordance with this diabolical plan the vaults under the Parliament House were hired by the conspirators, under the pretence of selling wood. Into these vaults over thirty barrels of gunpowder were conveyed and covered over with the fire wood. It was arranged that Guy Fawkes, a Spaniard, would apply the match. A few days before Parlia- ment was to have met, some friend of Lerd Monteagle, anxious to save him from the fearful doom which he imagined awaited all who.would be present on the first day of the session, wrote that young nobleman an an- onymous letter requesting him not to be present. The letter was handed tothe King who, from the fact that it was stated that although the blow which was about to fall upon the Par- liament would be a terrible one, yet the Members would " not see the hand that hurt them" it was concluded that gunpowder was the agent intended to be used. At midnight of the 4th of November, 1605, Guy Fawkes was seized, having in his hand a dark Jan- tern and matches, ready to light the train--Thus God frustrated one of the most wicked plots ever planned for the destruction of civil and religious liberty, Had that plot succeeded 'it is hard to say what the fate of Europe might have been. Thursday mornirg last, the 5th, presented rather a stormy appearance which, no doubt, caused many to re- mainat home. The Train containing the Goderich and Mitchell Brethren arrived at the Station about half-past eight o'clock. The Stratford and neighboring Lodges were ready to get on board and the Train composed of 16 cars, proceeded at once on its way to Brantford whether it-arrived about half-past ten o'clock. The Brethren East of Brantford were already on the ground. About 11 o'clock a proces- sion was formed on the " green"? op- posite the Station which, headed by Henry Lemmon Esq., Grand Marshal and accompanied by our own excel- lent Brass Band, the Fullarton Banc and the Brantford Juvenile Flute and Drum Band playing the usual tunes, proceeded to march through the prin- cipal streets, finally halting opposite the drill room in the building known as Wilkes' Foundry whcre dinner was being provided. Judging from the length of the procession the num- ber present could not be much short of 1400 or 1500. Brother Grif- fiths, of Brantford, seatedon a white charger, in imitationof King William, and dressed in the uniform of a Brit- ish " Life Guard's man," managed th> procession {mmediately after dinner those who intended to address the meeting as- cended a platform erected for their accommodation. Among those on the platform we observed F. H. Med- calf, Provincial Grand Master, John'! tary, Thos. M. Daly, Esq., late M. P. P., E.R. Sullivan Esq:, Mr. Dent County Master of Perth, Mr. Connors, County Master of Huron, Mr. DeCew, County Master of Haldimand, C. Le- froy, Esq.,of Goderich, Rev. James C, Usher, and Allen Good, Esq., of Brantford. Among those on the floor we ob- served Andrew Monteith Esq., War- den of the County of Perth, James Lee Esq., J. P.. of Ellice and James Powell, Esq., landing waiter, Stratford. Henry Lemmon , Esq., County Mas- ter of Brant, occupied the chair. The time was tooshort to permit all the speakers to address the meet- ing at much length. Jobn Coyne, Bsq., Provincial Grand Secretary, was the second gentleman called upon to speak. He addressed the Brethren for over two hours in a very eloquent, pleasing and instruetive style. He appears to be a very young man and must, therefore, have made good use of his time. We trust, ere long, to see him, not only a member of. the Grand Lodge of Western Canada but é Member of our Provincial Parlia- ment. Mr. Daly, who spoke next to Mr. Coyne, had not time to address the meeting at as much length as could bave been wished. He spoke well and to the point however, and was repeat- edly cheered during his remarks. We avail ourselves of the very excellent report of the proceedings which ap- peared inthe Brantford Courier to furnish our readers with a synopsis of the speeches. Henry Lemmon, Esq., County Master of Brant, who ably filled the chair, opened the speaking by thanking the brethren for their attendance en the present occasion. It was a proud day for him as an orangeman, to see somany of his brethern gathered _to- gether in the town of Brantford, from all parts of the country to celebrate so impor- tant and memorable an event; and their or- derly and decent appearance in the streets could not fail to be pleasing to the inhabit- ants of Brantford, so seldom do they see so large a gathering of Orangemen. He re- gretted that there should have been any misunderstanding about the dinner. The fact was, where the error was made, was in allowing the brethren into the hall until the dinner was prepared. The dinner was an- nounced for 2 o'clock, and the men were allowed into the hall at half-past twelve, The consequence was, the length of time they were kept waiting, created uneasiness and dissatisfaction. There was no blame to be attached to Bros. Griffiths, Dawson and Brockington, who got up the dinner; they did everything in their power to give satisfaction. Where the error was committ- ed was in having the dinner at two o'clock, which was too late an hour--it should have been at half past twelve or one o'clock. However, he trusted that the brethern would overlook the matter, more especially as all did their best to please. It was not for the mere sakeof a dinner they were called to- gether, it was for the purpose of hearing the principles of the order explained--principles that are dear to every true Orangeman. He said that such large gatherings do much good, more especially in Brantford and the County of Brant where Qrangeism is not so extensive. By thus meeting together, Or- angemen will be more united and will better understand each other. If we had been more united at the last general election in~ the Upper Province, our country would not now be disgraced 'with such 4 miserable and incompetent Government. By our con- duct on that occasion, Clear Gritism, Radi. calism and Yankeeism have the sway for a time. He liked to see Orangemen consist- ent and true to their principles. It is not by voting for Clear Grits they are support- ing their institution and Conseryativism. They should not be led-astray by every wind of doctrine. If the candidate chosen is not a man of their choice, if they do not wish to vote for him, they should not go on the op- posite side and vote for the Clear Grit; the more consistent course is to keep quiet and not vote at all. It isin this particular in- stance that many of our brethren failed at the late elections. They were too easily led astray by such men as Geo. Brown, and de- magogues of alike stamp. (Hear, hear and cheers.) This was one of the principal dsq. inci 'and Secre- , peme. tet, Aronia Gran | be found. He hoped this demonstration causes that lost Bro. Daly his election, and no better principled Orangeman than he can COUNTY OF : #4 oe "Se PERTH HERALD S ty hd) ive < te ihm 3 would haveits effect inshowing brethern their duty, and how they should act on occasions of alike nature, Why not have semi-annual meetings in every town and village on the line of railway, from Goderich to Dunnville. He could not see why they could not as- semble together twice every year--the twelfth of July and. fifth of November. The commencement is now inaugurated in the town of Brantford, and he trusted. it would be kept up. We. have an excellent railway whose officers are both careful and accomodating, from the "General: Manager down to the smallest lad employed, and whose charges are extremely moderate. What is to hinder us then from meeting oftener. The railway passes through some seyen or eight Counties, each of which is strongly Orange. He therefore trusted that his sug- gestion would be carried out, and that the next 12th of July, if the Almighty spared us, would see a still larger congregation of Orangemen, than at present, assembled in some of the towns on the line of railway. He would not trespass any more on their time, more especially as there was such an array of talented gentlemen to address them on the principles of the Order. Before clos- ing he would remark that he regretted the non-attendance of the Right Worshipful Grand Master, the Hon. John Hillyard Cameron, whose professional duties prevent- ed him from being present on the occasion. He regretted this for he was certain the brethren generally were disappointed in not seeing him in his place. He read a letter of apology from Mr. Cnmeron and then sat down amidst great cheers. Mr. Mepcatr, Provincial Grand Master, then came forward and said--Ladies and Gentlemen, in standing before you to day I do not some here for the purpose, nor do I pretend, to make a great stump speech. But I am glad to meet with you to-day in this capacity, and extremely glad am I to meet such an assembly of loyal Orangemen in such a place, at such a time, and for such a pur- pose. I have seen the time when sucha gather- ing as this could not have been convened if all the Orangemen in the Province had been called in requisition: for, in truth, within my memory I have stood on this ground when there was not an Orange body in Ca- nada regularly organized. (Hear, hear.) Yes, gentlemen, I haye stood here when it was inhabited only by the children of the wild and uncultivated wilderness--the Indi- ans. When the hardy pioneers of the for- est were just beginning to erect their log cabins and to fell those giants of the forest where now towns and cities stand, and the busy hum of a thronging population is heard. When there were only a few Orangemen, and, as I said before, none regularly organ- sized. But now I see before me an assembly of Orangemen which would not disgrace any city in Canada, no not in Christendom. And here let me mention one great thing which intimately concerns our welfare. It is that of union, for " united we stand, but divided we fall." It is only by being firm- ly united that we can maintain our freedom and our institution from perishing. I sin- cerely hope the day is coming, and I trust it is not far distant, when we can take such a stand as will show to the nations of the earth that we are possessed of a power to main- tain and defend our rights, and to make tyrants and all evil doers tremble. That perhaps it may do good in Ireland where it was first instituted, and that it should be kept there and never brought where it could be of no possible service. But, gentlemen is this true? Are we really in no danger from Roman Catholics destroying us? Is there no need for Orange organization ?-- Yes, there certainly is. If there is one place where Orangeism and Orange institutions are needed more than another, it is in Can- ada. For, let uslook around. Here to the north of us, down in Lower Canada, is Popery rampant to-day, there is Popery petted ; there is Popery pampered and nursed on the fat of the land, and there the Gov- ernment handle it with gloves on. Have we not a Government composed, in a great measure, of Papists, and- who are always favoring Popish institutions; men who are enemies to England; men who would like te see England overthrown? What is to prevent them from doing this? What is to prevent them from coming and trying to get us to adopt the constitution of our neighbors, the United States ? What but Orangeism ? It is Orangeism which has given us our con- stitution, and has kept England in her pres- ent position. (Loud Cheers.) So long as Qrangeism shall stand, England shall stand; and so long shall Canada have her present constitution. And unhappily if the day should come, it will fall more from its false § riends than-from its enemies. (Hear, hear.) We have the best constitution in the world --none equal to it. (Loud and prolonged cheers.) And it has been built up by such a class of men as I-see now. before me--the hard-working sons of toil, whose hands ate rough with labor--who have not the hands of.a woman, -- The tillers of the soil are the men who build up and maintain a nation. Men whom, when you shake their hands, you know to be honest and true of heart be- cause they earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, and while they are sound there is no danger of the institution. When there are such men attached to our order, there is no danger of its ever falling because they will always support it in their zeal. 'The day we have come to celebrate, if it be not a remarkable one in the history of Orange-: ism, is, at least, a very remarkable 'one in the history of England. It is the greatest day in the annals-of- history,and as such, we have come to celebrate it. I will not tell you, nor indeed did I come for such a purpose, about the Gunpowder Plot. There are other gentlemen on this platform who are speakers by profession, and they will tell you all about it. (Hear, hear.) There isno day which I would like to see celebrated more than the twelfth of July, except the fifth of November. Had Popery succeeded on that day we would not have had a twelfth of July to celebrate. William, Prince of Orange, landed at Torbay on the 5th of November. And in the long and bloody Crimean war, the cclebrated battle of In- kerman was fought on the 5th of Novem- ber, and, gentlemen, believe me, that was no small affair. On that day the Russians came down on our lines with the greatest fury; but they were met with zeal by hearts who felt in their bosoms that it was the 5th of November, and with héw much great- er earnestness they fought, for that very reason, we know not. And many whose 'bones now strew the plains of Inkerman, al- though even there bones are bleached and decayed with the winds, were Orangemen.-- in that bloody and memorable fight, and Or- angemen will increase 'the laurels they won, and, if need be, help to sustain the glory of England. I feel that England has need and will always have need of our services. I know the bonds you are bound together by, and the obligations you have taken ag Orangemen, you are bound to support. the constitution of Great Britain. And I know there is not one of you, from the smallest to the greatest, who would not be willing, while possessed of reason, to support the Government you are sworn to support; and that you would rather part with life itself than part wichit. Because Orangeism con- sists in being faithful to your God and to your country: in always keeping steadfast to the Bible and to the crown--the one for your guidance, the other for your protection. This is our cause and we are all bound firm- ly together in it, or if we are not, why have most of us left our homes and our business ? What but to show to the world that we are really what we profess to be ? (Cheers.) What we pretend to be we are, and we came here to-day to show it.--And now as there are others to address you of greater talents in that line, I will withdraw. (Cheers.) Mr. Corn, Grand Secretary, who, after being greeted with loud applause, said--In coming before you as I do on this occasion, it is as an Trish boy, (laughter and cheers) if could express my feelings, it would be with the most extreme pleasure, but in doing so I would express the thoughts which ani- mate my breast. When, in standing before this large audience, I say that I am highly gratified--my real feelings are but faintly echoed. But there is one thing more par- ticularly, about which I wish to tell you, and it is to make you feel that we area band bound in the ties of brotherhood. In so doing, I have the interest of the order at heart, and indeed it is always expected that those who enjoy the honors of a body, should have them more immediately at heart.-- Now, although we are sometimes split on vexed questions, yet we are bound together by the strong tie of brotherly love, and work for the good of a common cause, and he who is a stranger to Orangemen is unworthy of being called an Orangeman. I may be a stranger to many of you, but I am one in heart with you all. Now there must be some good reason, some great cause, why such a number of people can meet together in a social way on an occasion of this kind. Is it idle curiosity which has brought here men from a distance of eighty or ninety miles ?--Certainly not, and therefore some great motiye must influence those men to come here. Such men will make brighter 'er' Orange blood and valor overcame the enemy | the actions of our society. There are men now all over Christendom who sympathize in the great cause we have at heart, How many men now in their humble cots are thinking of the glorious deéds of their fathers, and of the great labors which they have achieved for their posterity and which we, as such, now enjoy. -We think of the men who achieved for us the privileges of the British Constitution--those privileges with which we are now blessed--and do they not now concern us, without which our lib- erty would be lost, our nationality destroyed, and all we hold dear, as descended from our fathers, snatched from us and once despoiled of which we would be truly poor. Many a man in the fatherland, 'every one in fact, is now celebrating the deeds which have thus gained for him these high privileges: Brethren, reflect that our forefathers suf. fered and bled to secure the rights and lib- erties which we, their descendants, enjoy, and will we lose that which has been bought so dearly? Will we drive it away by dis- cord? I, for one, will never drive it away, but on the contrary would like to show how highly I prize it. I delight to call myself the Irish boy, brethren, because I am proud of the nation from which I am sprung. My father and mother were Trishmen--[laugh- ter and cheers]--If you will allow' the ex- pression. Something more than two hun- dred years ago there was a great plot planned to bring destruction on the Pro- testuntism of the world. No one could have planned such a thing without the assistance of the evil one, and none but he could have thought of.sucha thing. But by the all- seeing eye of an all-wise Providence, who governs the whole course of human events, this plot of deepest dye was frustrated, and we have all assembled here to-day to com- memorate its discovery, and, 'on this occa- sion, to give expression of our thanks to Almighty God for causing it to be revealed. For we inust all admit that by His hand the dark project was revealed. . Is not His guidance most plainly seen in causing Lord Monteagle to carry the fatal letter he had received and place it before the King ? James the First, it is well known, was gifted with no great depth of penetration or dis- cernment,--[hear, hear,]--so that it is highly improbable that he with his dull per- ception could have hinted that there was gunpowder about the Parliament building, and that it was about to be blown up by it. Providence was undoubtedly particularly at the helm of events when this discovery took place. The planners, and the almost per- petrators, met the punishment they so justly deserved. We should be thankfal in our hearts to Almighty God for the deliver- ance which was given to our fathers in that memorable time. Butas the Grand Mas- ter has said, there are other things for which we should hold dear the memory of to-day. The scenes of the revolution of 1688 are dear to the heart of every true Orangeman. [cheers.] As he has told us, this is the anniversary of the landing of William Prince of Orange at Torbay. He landed on the fifth of November, 'and then commenced that great struggle for liberty which has made his name so memorable. At that time the whole Protestant world was looking to him as their deliverer; they were looking to the event of the contest in which he was en- gaged, as to whether Protestantism or Catholicism should reign triumphant. And when he landed there, what was the first thing the Glorious William did ?--He bent his knees at Torbay and thanked Almighty God for having conducted him safely, and for the succour he had sent him, and he now gave up all to His divine guidance. He found himself in a strange land, but in a Protestant one. [Cheets.] He saw around him many more besides those who had ac- companied him there--men of known and tried fidelity. You all know how he conquer- ed, and the greatness of his victory was only equalled by the magnitude of the cele- bration which greeted hin on his arrival in London. Great. was his victory and, if possible, greater was that celebration. [ Hear, hear.] Previously the principles of the British Constitution had been trampled upon and set at defiance--yes, brethren, ut- terly set at naught. Anarchy would soon have been the only rule 'if it can be called arule] in the land. No man could call his soul his own in the timesof James the Se- cond. But under the harsh and somewhat tyrannical one of Willian, justice was es tabished and security secured, and from him we have received the British Constitu- tion as it now is, and by him were granted the various rights and the principles of free- dom which we now enjoy. Dr. Burnett was the first to draw out the principles of the OrangeOrder. These have been revised again and again; until they reached the shape in which we now haye them. Thus was our Society grounded, and may it so remain firm to the end of time. It has encountered more than an ordinary amount of opposition, but 1t has been triumphant in all. It has been said here to-day as one reason why we should be proud of our Order and celebrate the Fifth of November, that the battle of In- kerman was fought on that day. Laurels were there won by Orange soldiers. Only fourteen thousand of our fellow Orangemen went forth in that battle to meet a force of sixty thousand Russians; but they fought back to back, as they did at Thermopylx of old, with a valor which nothing could overcome. He stongly urged upon the brethren the ne- cessity of a union in love--he reminded them of the solemn vows they had taken, and trusted there were none who would, in opposition to those vows, attempt the ruin of the Society, or the overthrow of the Glo- rious Constitution under which we live--a constitution which sprung from the revolu- tion of 1688. That constitution provided that none but a Protestant could sit on the throne of Great Britain. It was said we should not recall the things of the past-- that Orangeism was indigenous to Ireland and never should have been brought to Canada. But the free Constitution of Great Britain was ours, and whether in Ireland or in Canada, we had aright to our Orangeism --and when it was remembered what our fore-fathers suffered that we might be free, and for the Sacred Bible, it was no wonder we loved the Institution that bound them together in the bonds of brotherhood that they might defend themselves against their inhuman foes. It was the duty of Orange- men to be peace-loving subjects, obeying and respecting the laws. Orangemen should work together as men whose principles were noble and just. Orangemen were not ene- mies to Roman Catholics, but they were op- posed to Roman Catholicism. "Wherever Popery ruled, wretchedness was to be found. Look at the countries of Europe where Popery was rampant. There despotism reigned--there want and misery were to be found. In Rome, the fountain of Roman- ism, there were more beggars to a given population than in any other place in the world. . It was not so where Protestantism or Orangeism prevailed. He hoped never to see Orangeism and Gritism combined-- nor_did he desire to see it joined with rotten Conservatism--he wished it be an active living principle. The principles of Orange- ism and of Gritism were antagonistic. It was the duty, therefore, of Orangemen to op- pose Gritism, to oppose the present Minis- try--in order to do that effectually, there should be no division in the Orange ranks-- they should go to the polls as one man. Go back for fifteen or twenty years and sce what was then transpiring. Although very young he remembered distinetly the articles which then appeared in the Globe. At that time George Brown was the bitterest oppo- nent Orangeism had. True in 1857 he had said a word in its favor, but why ? --that he might ride into -- place and power on Orange -- shoulders, not because he loved the Society. He strongly condemned the course pursued by certain Lodges in passing resolutions condemnating of the Hon. J. H. Cameron, Grand Master, and having them published inthe Globe. That was just what the Globe people wanted. It was all important for the success of Brownism or Gritism that the Orange party should be divided. By the intrigues of Mr. Brown and his satellites a few of the Orangemen of Toronto met and passed resolutions condemning the Grand Master because he gave any support what- ever to the Separate School Bill. The next morning these resolutions appeared in the Globe in black letters with a flaming edito- rial, representing that the Orangemen of Canada had condemned their Grand Master and all others, who thought ashe did. This was the way the arch enemy of Orangeism attempted to split that party, and neutralize its power. It was th> duty of Orangeism to stand against this. If their Grand Mas- ter did wrong, t' ere was a proper place and a proper time to bring him to account. It was highly wrong and contrary to the prin- ciples they professed for Orangemen to play into the hands of George Brown. On the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales to Canada, what was the course of Brown and his paper? Did the Globe say that the Prince should acknowledge theOrange bodv? No! But it said that organization should be put down. It would be remembered that George Brown opposed the Cartier- Macdonald Government because, he said, they supported Popery--no sooner, however, had that Ministry ceased to exist, than wo find Mr. Brown bound hand and foot to the Popish Premier of the present corrupt Min- istry. He referred to the many cries got up by the Globe, before the present Minis- try came into power, and shewed that, al- though the position of affairs is worse at the present time than they ever were, that paper has not a word to say. He was in favor of Roman Catholics having Separate Schools, so long as they did not ask us to pay to- wards their support. We are sorry, the want cf space prevents us from giving Mr. Coyne's able address in full--as he eonelu- ded by saying he was always willing to: at- tend such celebrations. Let us hope we shall have the pleasure of hearing the " Irish Boy," in Stratford ere long. Mr. Day, Ex-M. P. P. for Perth was then introduced, and spoke for a short time, After receiving loud cheers from all sides he said :--I am sure, Mr. Chairman, from what we have already heard, there is but little more for me to say.. You havethad a history of William's landing at Torbay, and a general review of Canadian politics. And after what you have heard, anything more in that line would perhaps be superfluous, but I can- not express my 'views without referring to Canadian polities, and therefore what I say will be chiefly political. Those gentlemen who had preceded him were members of the Grand Lodge, but some advice coming from him would be trusted, not be un .eceptable, but that it would, be of benefit to thé Order. The only way we can flourish as a body is to keep steadily in view the objects for which we were instituted, and never in any way to allow ourselves to suffer sub- jection. And I think we must always have these things before our eyes, so that we can never stumble, and the only way we can secure these for our benefit is to firmly stand by one another~From the Orange ranks came those who had defended the British Constitution, and I am sure they would al- ways be found true to what they from the commencement had professed. (A voice-- "God Save the Queen."') Loyalty was one of our first principles, and I hope to see it always upheld, and I am sure it always will be. (Cheers.) It is our sacred duty to defend the British Constitution; and let it never be said that Orange hearts were want- ing in its defence. (Cheers.) But there are men who are opposed to the British Con- stitution. We know that Orangemen, as a class, are very true to the nation to whom we owe our existence, and I am proud to identify myself with that body. I am proud to be called an Crangeman, All of us to day have heard of the deliver- ance wrought to Protestantism on the fifth of November, and also in later years of the deliverance by William the Third jandas a speaker has before said, we will be willin again to take up arms and to fight again for our liberty, and national existence. as our forefathers cid in 1688 and 1689,' and as they fought for the maintainence of right with all their strength, we cannoton that account tamely part with it, but will defend it to the last drop of our blood. (Cheers. ) If we look back in the history of Canada only so far as 1857, then we see a Radical or Repyblican faction opposing with all their might and main the passage of the Sep- arate School Bill; but in 1863, we see the same men, and among them the editor of the Globe, thrusting upon the people of Upper Canada a sectarian school bill; and this, too, be it remembered, against the consent of the larger class in Upper Canada. Now it is ourduty to make a steady and firm re- sistance, to all such acts, and not to act from the spur of the moment. But because one of our number makes a mistake, let us not therefore immediately identify onrselves with the opposite party. If he has erred let us select some one else to fill his place, but by no means let us identify ourselves with the enemy of the country. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Let us never trust men wLo have misrepresented the Orange party in Canada, for we have had a great number who have proved teacherous to our cause.-- But by no means condemn a man without a patient hearing, and never let us, aS seems to be too often done, hang him first and then bring him to trial afterwards. Is not Or- angeism a political institution? Do not the Roman Catholic party cling with tenac- ity to the Conservative interest, and al though we thus, in some things, seem to coincide it is our duty to maintain our prin- ciples to the last. The Roman @atholics themselves are not' the worst enemics to Or- angemen that we have in Canada. It has too often suffered more from its false friends than from them. We should always pre- fer an open enemy to a secret foe, and it' is too often that the institution has suffered from that very cause. The Roman Cath- olics are our open enemies, and we meet them as such--they are openly known as opposed to the purposes for which our order was instituted--but there is another enemy which we have to encounter, and which is all the more dangerous from the fact that it isa secret one, and while its workings are hidden, they yet tell with greater force, as we cannot present any opposition to them. I have reference to the Free Church, from the pulpits of which we are all but open] denounced. (Loud cheers.) It is often said that welare not imbued with the sound principles of Protestantism, but these say- ings come from men who know not the great principles of Protestantism. N ow, it is plain that the orange party cannot rule Canada alone. We have been long enough trying that, and our experience has shown it to be clear, that without co-operation with some party our influence is likely to fall to- the ground. How, then, must this be res- cued, the end for which we so zealous] promise with another party, our labor wil] be thrown away and our zeal lost ina coun- try with such a legislation and such a popu- lation as Canada possesses ; the number of Orangemen in the Province only amounts te about one hundred and t-venty thousand, and they are so scattered about, that in very many counties their influence is entire- ly thrown away. Then, as we must make compromise be made? sa lain] brethren, the only one with acini ties cake 2 accordance with our principles ©o-operate. is the Conservative. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) That great party is composed of men who will conserve the present position (Continued on page 6.) - ig oe labor? I say brethren, that without a con\- ; a compromise, with what party shall that 4 ¢

Powered by / Alimenté par VITA Toolkit
Privacy Policy