SCOTCHMEN IN CANADA.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1140, 7 March 1884, Page 4

SCOTCHMEN IN CANADA.

Speaking at tlio annual dinner of the Scottish Corporation, the Marquis of home said: Tam very g’ad that I should be rev ived bv such a representative assembly—an assembly representative of rur fellow citizens in England and Ireland an well as purely of Scotchmen, Shaking of represent* fives assemblies, so f»r as Scotchmen are concerned, they are no peculiar case, for the truth is that wherever yon go in the world it is very difficult indeed to keep away from a representative assembly of v c itch men Some time ago I thought I had got l-eyond all Scotch influence on the coast of labrador, and I wanted .on the occasion of visiting an encampment of Indians I was young in the service at the time—to see a pure-blooded Indian, so I said to a friend who was -vith me, “ You make one of those fellows come to me—(be most pureblood, d a men cst them.” Andaco rfingly be shouted out in French Come Here, come here, Macd nald.” Another instance took place much fun her away to the west—indeed very near the Rocky Mountains. T Siw in a fine Indian lodge a beautiful baby, I askedto whom the baby belon ed. The answer was “ < >h, Yes; it is partly an Injun, but it is partly an engineer and it turned out that it was partly a Scotchman. Now. Gentlemen, we Dave lately I «erf accused of talking too much when amongst ourselves of our successes, I don’t al ude to such successes as that I shall not allude to such successes, but it is alowable for «s to do so on one supposition only—a supposition to which I shall afterwards allude, and that only on one ground. I certainly have seen some very remarkable cases of success amongst out countrymen abroad and in the colo ies. One of the mot remarkable instances I here met with in recent years was one I came across in the country so loyally represented in the Canadian Government by my honourable friend whonow so worthily represents the Dominion Government in England, t-ir Char les Tupper. It. Nova Scoria I fonnd a Highland ■woman cultivating very successfully a farm, but she could speak nothing hut Gaelic, and her husband could speak nothing but Italian. I have no doubt tii t the success of the management was dne to the fact that they had a tolerable Indian family, about twenty children, who were able to act as interpreters between them. F.very where, from Cape Breton on the Atlantic coast to the inner valleys of that beautif 1 Country, British ■Columbia -everywhere I found men -who .-aid that they were Scotch, who had come out with almost nothing, and who were in very comfortable •circumstances. The last occasion on which I had the pleasure of speaking to one of those who originally came from my own county, Argyllshire, ■was the other day, when coming down the St Lawrence, 1 had a con versalion with Mr Sinclair, captain of t e steamer there, and he said he came out ii. 1823 with a large number of others; upon which I told him that the thing had now gone far enough as far as my own country was concern' d, and that we did not want any more from the rur 1 districts to go out to <Jan,.da. “ Well, we worn very happy indeed, we were bright and cheerful, and the whole way across the Atlan tic we had no less than nine pipers." I recommend to those who have to cross the Atlantic the strains of nine pipers on deck as a preveirive of seasickness. Passing to others who have obtained greater possessions, I know ol many of our countrymen who now possess more land of their own in that happy land of Canada than the who e estates of the proprietor on whose land they were born. I know one •case of a gentleman who did not begin under verv exceptional circumstances, and he was able years ago to come back to Scotland and tell his mother, wiih petfect truth, that be had in his possession more area le land than existed in the Highlands of Scutlanu. She did not believe him, and she said, 4 ‘ John, it must be really weak,” It was the best land in the country I mention these esses of success, which are not doubted by auy one, and of which examples are to be found in ■every quarter of the globe, for the purpose of showing that we Scotchmen are not only successful, but that we wish to encourage that success in others, not by making people the recipients of foolish charitv, but by encouraging that i dividual talent, energy, and hardihood of character which lead to success in the sti uggle of life.