“My young friends, go out into the world to service. Make the highest
thought of service your inspiration. Problems there are—big problems.
To-morrow and the day after to-morrow, it will be your turn to grapple
with them. Serve God and your country. Be firm in the right, as God
gives you to see the right. You may not always succeed. Progress is
often punctuated with reverses. You may meet reverse—but the following
day stand up again and renew the conflict for truth and justice shall
triumph in the end.”
* * * * *
When a man becomes satisfied he becomes a Tory. The life of a Liberal is
one of unceasing effort towards progress and encouraging development in
all that makes for the betterment of mankind. It is easy to read
articles of appreciation upon a man when he is gone, but if anyone is so
poor in reflection as to overlook the fact that Laurier worked hard all
his life he does an injustice to himself and to the record of Sir
Wilfrid. Before he became leader of the Liberal Party about 32 years
ago, Sir Wilfrid had visited many portions of the Dominion in support of
his leaders, Mackenzie and Blake, upon all occasions advocating the
Liberal cause, not only in Quebec, but in the Maritime Provinces and in
Ontario. His first election as leader was in 1891, and he all but
carried the country, for in the previous three years he addressed many
meetings. In 1893, after the National Liberal Convention he toured
Ontario for months. In 1894 he took a series of meetings in Ontario
before going West right through to the Pacific Coast, addressing over 60
meetings and taking part in numerous smaller gatherings. The effect of
this tour was that whereas he had but one supporter in 1894 west of the
Great Lakes, he in 1896 carried the West by a majority of three. In the
fall of 1895 Laurier spent nearly two months in Ontario, and addressed
56 large gatherings besides taking part in smaller assemblies and
receptions. The effect of all this was that in the session of 1896
Laurier had a commanding knowledge of the conditions of the country, and
the people not only admired him but trusted him. In 1896 he carried 48
seats in Ontario, and the average number of seats he carried in 1896,
1900, 1904 and 1908 was 40. As the years stole over him he could not
carry on with his former vigour, but he had to carry on without the
support that should have been accorded him by those who sat in Cabinet
with him. In 1910 Laurier took a grand tour of the four Western
Provinces, and in all general elections never spared himself. The
efforts in this regard in 1917 were the wonder and admiration of
supporters and opponents alike.
In 1918-19 he took up the task of supervising the Liberal reorganization
in Ontario and of urging the Liberals in all the other provinces also to
get together. He died in the midst of this work.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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