THE A CITIZEN OF NO MEAN COUNTRY (A Speech of Introduction) HON. FRANK HAMLIN HE ancient knew no prouder boast than to be a Roman citizen, and Saul of Tarsus obtained permission to speak to the captain of the guard when he said, "I am a citizen of Silesia, which is a Roman province, a citizen of no mean country." We are met to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of the great Commoner of Illinois. As citizens of no mean country, we rejoice in this opportunity to pay our measure of respect to the memory of one of the greatest of our leaders. It is eminently appropriate and fitting that we should do this. But in the proper sense, following the words. of President Lincoln's great Gettysburg speech, it is rather for us to be dedicated to those great purposes for which the martyred President gave his life, for liberty, for righteousness, for the preservation of the American Republic. We cannot honor him more than by following his example in the material essentials of life. The striking characteristic of Abraham Lincoln was his simplicity, his rugged honesty. It has been well said by an eloquent orator of the present day, it has been aptly said, that a college is the place where pebbles are brightened and where diamonds are dimmed. While I cannot say that I thoroughly agree with this, it is probably true that Abraham Lincoln's development was broader and stronger than it ever could have been under the mere conventional trainings of life, and I am sure, at least, that to be eminently great, to be sublime in the sense in which Abraham Lincoln was sublime, it is essential that one should be absolutely simple, as he was simple in mind and character alike. Abraham Lincoln was an optimist; he was a believer in men, because his character was a touchstone which drew the best from every one with whom he came in contact. But, perhaps, after all, the most inspiring thought which is associated with this commemoration, is the fact that we see one great united nation, forgetful of any sectional prejudice, joining in affectionate regard to offer its tribute to the memory of our martyred President. Is it not, in fact, as if the great American Commonwealth here highly resolved that those ideals which Abraham Lincoln advocated all his life, that government "by the people, of the people, and for the people," should not perish from the earth? THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LINCOLN HON. J. A. MACDONALD MONG the men born of American women, there has not that throughout this Republic, from the capital to the remotest pioneer hamlet, his name should this day be lifted high in loving memory. The honor of that name is the priceless heritage of every State in this great Union, whose integrity he maintained and whose flag he saved from shame. But if the people of other States raise their voices in this centennial celebration with pride and grateful praise, how much more you-you people of Illinois, whose State gave him the nation; you citizens of Chicago, whose city witnessed his first nomination to the Presidency-how much more should you cherish the name of Lincoln as the honorable birthright of yourselves and your children; and "For many and many an age proclaim With honor, honor, honor to him, The smoke of war has long since cleared away. Even the darker clouds of ignorance and selfishness and suspicion that blinded the eyes and hardened the hearts of men on both sides, and made not only the Revolution, but the Civil War inevitable, have been shot through with the straight white light of reason and charity and truth. The men of the South to-day appreciate the work and venerate the memory of Abraham Lincoln, even as the men of the North are coming to honor the heroism and courage and personal worth of those genuine patriots and noble leaders, Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson. We meet as the reconciled members of one great family, all enriched by the memories of each, the heirlooms of one being the treasures of all. We come, all you of the blue, and you, too, of the gray, and we of the red-coat and kilted tartan, heritors of the same history, sharers in the same freedom, sons of the same blood; and in the speech that sways from the Gulf to the Arctic Sea we pay our tribute of honor, and reverence, and love to the memory of that greatest world-citizen this continent has known. For among the men born of American women, there has not arisen a greater than Abraham Lincoln. It is not for me to tell the story of Lincoln's life, the incidents of his great career, or the traditions that gather around his name. All of that has been done again and again in every Lincoln renascence that has marked each decade since his day. It is being done to-day by those who knew him face to face. It is not for me to come from Canada to Illinois to recite Lincoln anecdotes, or to pronounce a Lincoln eulogy. Not as a neighbor, not as an acquaintance, not as a citizen of the same State or of the same nation, may I speak of him as many might speak. To me he stands out, not in the softened light of personal friendship, not even with the glorifying halo of patriotic devotion on his brow. From the long range of another land, from under the shadow of another flag, I see him stand in the great perspective of world-history, not merely the citizen of your State, or the saviour of your Republic, but Lincoln, the world-citizen; Lincoln, the man whose name spells freedom in every land. And for that Lincoln, one of the few immortals of his age and land, I profess the reverence which the nobleness of his character and the heroism of his life must ever command from you of this Republic and from us, too, of the Canadian Dominion. Into our Canadian lives he came as a mighty inspiration, and our childhood's lips were taught to speak his name with that respect we paid our own good and gracious Queen. I recall as vividly as if it were yesterday the night in that fateful week of April, 1865, when into my childhood's home, on a pioneer farm cut out of the primeval forest of Middlesex County, in Upper Canada, The Toronto Globe came, |