ROYAL BOND OF UNION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1218, 29 August 1911, Page 7

ROYAL BOND OF UNION.

SPEECH BY SIR WILFRID LAURIER. Sir Wilfrid Laurier was enlkusiasticnlly welcomed homo on his arrival at Ottawa after attending the Imperial Conference. Addressing himself as a citizen of Ottawa to his fellow-citizens, ho urged thom to hasten the improvements to the capital, so that it might present a worthy appearance upon the arrival of the Duko of ConnaughJ. "As I told you," continued Sir Wilfrid Laurier, "wc are to have with us as our new Governor-General a member of the Royal Family. Let me further tell yon, fellow-citizens, that when I left Ottawa two months ago I liad an impression formed by a study of the British Constitution and of recent events that the Royal Family of ..England, as representing the British Crown, was a bond of union between all the different classes in England. Now I come back with the impression, nay, the conviction, that the. British Crown is a bond of union, not only of the different classes in the United Kingdom, but also of the whole British Empire. The Royal Family is not only ona of which wo as British subjects have reason to be proud, but, from the King and Queen to their children and all the collateral members, it has given the world an example of those domestic virtues which so strongly appeal to the British heart and which are the foundation of the happiness, prosperity, and grandeur of a nation. These'examples, given to the people from such an exalted source, are doubtless one of the greatest assets which the people can possess. I do not say this in any pifit of sycophancy. I am not now on the soil of England, but I am still on British territory, and I say this as a deliberate conviction. When wo have a member of the Royal Family coming as the representative of his Majesty it is our duty to see that' wo make the event of his arrival worthy of a loyal people. 1 was asked by flic Duke and Duchess and Princess Patricia what kind of reception they would have in Canada. I told them—and I am sure I was only expressing the conviction of your hearts—that if the affection of a loyal people could make their stay in Canada happy, they would be happy indeed while among us. They said they were looking forward with keen pleasure and expectation to their stay in Canada. T am sure they will not bo disappoinled."