"In the course of the insurrection one deplorable crime and many grossly illegal acts have unquestionably been committed, but it would be alike unpolitic and unjust to charge them to the French population generally.

"Much obloquy has been heaped on the Hudson's Bay Campany and their Governor and officers in the North-West, which I consider it unnecessary at this moment even to attempt to answer or refute, although not doubting that both could be readily and satisfactorily done. Errors, many and grave, have, it cannot be denied, been committed on all sides, but wilful and intentional neglect of duty cannot, I feel convinced, be laid to the charge either of the Hudson's Bay Company or their representatives in the country. Personally I have been entirely unconnected with the administration of affairs in that department.

"I would respectfully submit that it is of the utmost importance there should be a strong military force in the North-West as early as practicable. The minds of the Indians, especially the tribes in the Saskatchewan country, have been so perplexed and confused by the occurrences of the past six months that it would be very unsafe to trust to their forbearance; and, indeed, until the question of Indian claims has been finally settled, it would not, in my opinion, be prudent to leave the country unprotected by military. The adjustment of those claims will require early attention, and some memoranda and evidence in my hands on the subject I shall, if desired, be prepared to lay before the Government."

Time has shown how much Mr. Smith did to put down the rebellion. Quite as much, indeed, as the army that was sent into the West. The report given here shows with what wonderful skill he handled the turbulent elements in the North-West. From this time on. Lis life was to be peculiarly identified with the west of Canada. In the interests of the Company and of Canada he returned to the great Lone Land at once, and at Fort Alexander met Colonel Wolseley with his brigade journeying towards Fort Garry. He accompanied the brigade to its destination and found the fort deserted and the rebel leaders in flight.

Colonel Wolseley thereupon appointed Donald A. Smith to administer the affairs of the territory until the arrival of the new Lientenant-Governor, the Hon. Adams G. Archibald.

Mr. Smith was now to enter upon his political career. He was elected for the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba for Winnipeg, December 30, 1870, and in March, 1871, was elected to the Dominion Parliament for Selkirk. In 1874 he resigned his seat in the Manitoba House, but continued to sit for Selkirk until 1880. In 1871 he was appointed Chief Commissioner for the Hudson's Bay Company in the NorthWest, and better results were at once obtained by the Company.

During his first session in the Dominion Parliament the matter of a transcontinental railway came up and Mr. Smith voted in favor of it. Although a comparatively silent member of Parliament, he was an important one, and when any matters relating to the great West came up all eyes were turned towards him. However, he did not fail to make enemies-among others, ex-Governor Macdougall and Dr. Schultz. In 1873 he was again a candidate in the West, this time as a supporter of Alexander Mackenzie.

But the great work done by Mr. Smith for Canada was the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He saw from the beginning of his life in the West the possibilities of such a line. He knew that there were no obstacles that could not be overcome, and he knew that in time, through such a railway, a vast population would move to the fertile plains. At first he believed that the work should be done by the government. He deplored the manner in which the Macdonald government had taken the initiative steps to build this line, and it was on the railway policy that he opposed them. They endeavored to win him to their side, but he believed that no government, on which a shadow of suspicion rested, should exist. On account of the suspicion that rested on the Conservative government he could not give it his support. As a result of his action, bitter words passed between him and Sir John Macdonald, but he kept a dignified attitude through it all, and before the end of his life Sir John was generous enough to express approval of his course.

Mr. Smith's great ambition was to see the Canadian Pacific Railway constructed at an early date, and he deplored the lack of enterprise that Mr. Mackenzie and his government were showing in the matter. He saw no hope of the North-West being built up under Liberal rule, and he once more cast in his lot with Sir John Macdonald. Mr. Smith had now changed his mind with regard to the construction of a railway and believed that it could only be properly done by a company, and so he was to be the "prime mover and leading spirit in the Canadian Pacific Railway Company," and that the road was pushed across the plains and over the Rocky Mountains was largely due to his insight and financial daring. No other country in the world of such meagre and scattered population as the great Dominion, ever completed so vast an enterprise in so short a time; and without Donald Smith there were many stages in its career when it would surely have come to grief.

He had his reward for his enterprise from both the Hudson's Bay Company and the country. He was made Governor of the Company in 1886, and in the same year was created a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. His parliamentary career had continued without a break until 1880, and in 1887 he stood for Montreal West and was elected and continued to represent that constituency for nine years.

His business ventures had been magnificently successful and he was very soon recognized as one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest man in Canada. But wealth in itself had no charms for him, and when the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed and his hands were to some extent freed, he began to look about him for the best way of doing good with the money he had amassed. In 1887 he and Lord Mount Stephen, at a cost of one million dollars, gave the Royal Victoria Hospital to Montreal. They did this for two reasons, one was that the great commercial centre of the Dominion should have a thoroughly up-to-date and well-equipped hospital, the other was that in their loyalty these two great Imperialists desired to do something not unworthy of Queen Victoria's Jubilee. The hospital is one of the finest in the world, and looks forth upon one of the most magnificent scenes in America. Indeed, "earth has not anything to show more fair" than the

scene from Mount Royal where it stands.

Besides his generosity to

Victoria Hospital he has done much to build up McGill University, and has showered gift after gift upon that institution.

When the West was in a state of turmoil over the Manitoba School question the public once more looked to Sir Donald Smith to help settle the difficulty in the region he now knew so well. He went to Winnipeg to endeavour to bring the contending parties to a reasonable attitude, and was finally appointed one of the Special Commissioners to look into the situation, and in the end when Sir Wilfrid Laurier settled the question he had as one of his supporters Sir Donald Smith.

Sir Donald Smith's life had been a phenomenally successful one up to the present, and still greater honors were in store for him. He had come to Canada as a totally unknown Scotch lad, and had been appointed to the most desolate post in the domain of the great Hudson's Bay Company, and he had risen, through ability and close application, to the highest position in the gift of the Company, the Governorship. He was now to receive the highest honor in the gift of the Parliament of Canada. When Sir Charles Tupper resigned the High Commissionership to return to the political arena of the Dominion, Sir Donald Smith was sent to England in his place. As we have seen he had never been an active partisan, and had without hesitation deserted his party when he thought his country demanded such a course. He now went to London to act, to use his own words, "in the interests of the country as a whole and not of any party." When the Conservative party was defeated in 1896 he was wisely retained in office by the Liberals. At all times he has had the interest of Canada at heart, and by his vast wealth, clear insight and untiring zeal has done probably more than any other man to make Canada known to the people of the Motherland. In 1897 he was elevated to the peerage with the title of Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal.

Although being heard but seldom in the House of Lords, he has on several occasions spoken with force and acceptance.

When the war in South Africa broke out he was to become something more than a Canadian figure. He now stood forth with imperial prominence. The reverses England suffered in Cape Colony, Natal, and

Orange Free State in the early stages of the war drew his attention to the needs of the English Army. Lord Strathcona grasped the situation. He saw, even before the War Office, that the great need in South Africa was an efficient body of scouts, and so he offered to equip and support at his own expense an ideal body of men for service in South Africa. He knew that the place to procure these troops was in the western and north-western parts of Canada with which he was thoroughly familiar. The offer was accepted by the War Office, and the Minister of Militia for the Dominion was given a free hand to raise this regiment. Strathcona's Horse went to South Africa magnificently equipped and bearing a banner with the motto of Lord Strathcona, "Perseverance"-the word that sums up the reason of his success in life.

This great Canadian statesman and Empire builder is now in his eightythird year, but he is still an energetic worker on behalf of Canada, and is ever a true friend of his country and of the individual Canadians who visit him at the High Commissioner's office in London.