Graduation Address

"Address To Graduating Class By Justice Estey." The Daily Gleaner (17 May 1945): 8. (UA Case 67, Box 1)

In the Encaenial exercises of University of New Brunswick this afternoon the customary Address to the Graduating Class was delivered by His Lordship Justice J.W. Estey of the Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa. His Lordship drew a contrast between the year of his graduation, 1910, and the present year, not only in the university but in the affairs of the world particularly in the international sphere.

(Omitted remarks about Justice Estey’s career)

Pleasure of Return
It is a real pleasure to come back, visit and observe the progress realized by this University; the new buildings, the additional courses, and the larger student body, a new president Gregg – and this is the first Encaenia at which he has presided. He enjoyed a very distinguished record in the armed services, which merited His Majesty the King awarding to him the Victory Cross. I congratulate the University upon his acceptance of this high and important office, and wish for him and the University under his leadership continued success.

Many of us, who have been privileged to pass through these halls of culture and learning, have lived far removed from this beautiful University site. I assure you who have remained in closer contact, this University is not forgotten by its graduates. In Western Canada, whenever and wherever we have met, we have enjoyed reminiscing upon the events of our student years. Only recently I met a fellow class-mate, the second or third time since 1910. He and I were intimately associated in many activities, including the recognition of certain well-founded traditions of that day. Of course, we recited those incidents and enjoyed them all over again. We are always delight to receive items of information with respect to the University, and this year, we have been particularly proud of the basketball team which brought the Canadian championship to the University.

Sacrifice of War
Upon an occasion such as this, our thoughts turn immediately to those who might be here but for the sacrifices of war. We shall never forget them and will always honor their memories. We think of all the graduates, under-graduates and others who, with them, joined the armed services and gallantly and heroically preserved to mankind liberty and freedom. We think of the relatives and friends of those who will not come back – them we express our deep and heartfelt sympathy. Our earnest prayer is that we and those who come after us may never forget the reason for which those who will not come back gave so much. That reason should provide the chart and compass of our future.

Beautiful Ceremony
Graduation is a beautiful and an impressive ceremony. Our young men and women have successfully completed their courses and today receive their degrees. They are justly proud and happy and we rejoice with them. I join with you in hearty congratulations to each member of the graduating class, and, with you, hope that they may enjoy success as they go forward through life.

In spire of two devastating and destructive wars and nationalistic politics, particularly in Europe, which paralyzed trade and aggravated international difficulties, the world has realized, so far in this century, much by way of advance and progress. You who graduate today go out into a world that has recently witnessed the unconditional surrender of Italy, then of Germany; that of Japan will be next. That event will conclude the Second Great War with a complete and decisive defeat of our enemies and will make possible the commencement of a programme for human welfare reform on a scale that has never before been attempted. It is into this new day that you go forth – into a world of change and opportunity.

Thirty-Five Years
Thirty-five years have passed since we of the Class of 1910 graduated as you are graduating today. A period of thirty-five years in this fast-moving world realizes many changes, and as one compares that period and this, great differences are observed. A review of these difficulties indicates clearly and precisely the direction in which peoples and nations are moving. The contrasts are striking and significant.

Then, in Canada, there was no war and no thought of war. We were expanding and completing the second Transcontinental Railway. The West was opening up, and the slogan was: "Go West, young men, go West." We were living in a day when the world appeared calm and placid. We believed we were strong and secure. We were unaware of the forces that were actively and aggressively preparing for war and ready to engage therein whenever opportunity might present itself. That opportunity came within a few years of our graduation. Suddenly and unprepared, we found ourselves engaged in war, the magnitude of which we know nothing at its outset.

Canada was a great country then, as now. We were proud of our progress – we still are, and properly so. We also prided ourselves in the fact that for almost a hundred years, no act of war had marred the boundary between United States and Canada, and that upon either side, no instrument of defence existed. So it continues one of the longest boundaries with not a symbol of war but yet the safest in the world.

Between these two periods, a great change has been effected in the attitude of the people upon both sides. An illustration will indicate this change. Reciprocity between Canada and the United States was then a lively issue. In Canada, the slogan was: "No truck or trade with the Yankees." There was a gear of annexation or of some control that might be exercised on the part of our great neighbor. On the other hand, in the United States, it was publicly declared that Canada was at "the parting of the wars." Over there, some saw a possibility of expanding and realizing something akin to annexation, if not annexation in fact.

What a Change!
What a change has been effected! Today we make trade agreements and agreements for mutual defence. We discuss what every may be a matter of common concern, arrive at understands and make agreements. We carry on as two great neighbors, with no thought upon either side of any such views as were entertained about thirty-five years ago. We respect each other and recognize our respective rights and continue free and independent. We carry on in the spirit of good-will such as must obtain between free and friendly neighbors.

This, to me, is striking and indicative of the change that has and is taking place the world over. In places not so pronounced – not so well practiced – but still a change toward the ideal is taking place. Here on the American Continent, between two great nations, we provide to the world an object lesson of what can be accomplished when suspicion, fear and aggression are put aside and replaced by trust, confidence and good-will.

Contrast in Wars
There is another contrast that to me is very significant: a contrast in the attitude and approach of the Allied Nations in this war with that of the last war. As we look into the post-war period, it is, I think, of the greatest importance, if we are going to have the confidence and the faith we ought to have in what is now being attempted in the councils of the United Nations. Woodrow Wilson, then President of the United States, was acknowledged to be the originator of the idea that a League of Nations should be created at the Peace Conference. He suggested his views in a general way early in 1917. They were well received, and in June of that year, the French Chamber, by a vote of 467 to 52, adopted the idea, and in Jul, asked President Wilson to set up a joint committee for the study of his suggestion. President Wilson replied that such would be premature and explained that it was advisable to avoid "new subjects of discussion and perhaps a difference of views." In September of the same year, the British Government made a similar request and received a similar reply. The point that we should emphasize is this: that both Great Britain and France apparently accepted President Wilson’s opinion and without a question or a protest.

The result was that when the leaders and their associates from the respective Allied Nations assembled at the Peace Conference, they found that whereas there had been a unity of purpose with respect to the conduct of the war, there was not that same unity of purpose with respect to the peace and the post-war period. Differences in matters of greatest importance soon developed. These nations had remained separate and apart upon matters related to the peace and the peace and the post-war period. Each nation had looked forward to the conclusion of the war, placing its own interpretation on the events of the immediate past and of the possibilities for the future. They had no consulted , and in fact, the opportunity to discuss and to consult had been denied and that denial accepted without a protest.

The contrast is great and significant. Throughout this war, it has been entirely different. The Right Honourable Winston Churchill, a great statesman and leader, has repeatedly arranged and attended conferences and frankly discussed all possibly problems with the other leaders in the United Nation. These leaders, the late President Roosevelt, and now President Truman, President Joseph Stalin and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek – also great statesmen – have joined wholeheartedly with Mr. Churchill in these discussions and conferences, and returned therefrom to give to their respective peoples leadership that has made for a unity of purpose and action both with respect to the principles that should obtain in the peace and the post-war period.

Magnificent Response
Then, too, they have consulted with leaders of other nations and have invited still others to join with them. The response has been magnificent, with the result that the number of the co-operating nations has steadily increased.

It is this new type of international negotiation and relationship that leads people throughout the world to anticipate, with confidence, far-reaching results from the San Francisco Conference, and the steps that may be taken thereafter at the Peace Table and elsewhere to promote human welfare, world peace and security.

The future gives promise of great and far-reaching possibilities. The attainment of these require that we must be realistic in our thinking and not expect too much in too short a time. The difficulties will be great and varied and the solution thereof will not be easily found. The facts of history, particularly since the last war, must not be ignored. These facts provide a fund of information of success and of failure that will be of the greatest assistance.

Not Matter of Form
At the conclusion of the last Great War, the Allied Nations demanded the abdication of the Kaiser, the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the republican form of government in Germany. They obtained all of this, but they did not get the results they anticipated. Somehow they believed these steps would insure the establishment of democracy in Germany. Democracy is not, and from its very nature, cannot be a matter of form. An appreciation of that fact is fundamental in any approach to an understanding of democracy. The German people knew little or nothing of real democracy – they were not prepared for it and nothing was done to assist them in understand or preparing for it. It is also important to remember that those in Germany who were in control did not want democracy and acquiesced in the republican form of government as an expedient to exact as favorable a peace as possible. They had no intention whatever of allowing democratic ideas or practices actually to obtain in Germany, however, much the appearance thereof might exist. They apparently soon realized that the maintenance of that appearance provided the protection they desired secretly to proceed in the preparation for another war. This they actually did and with such success that, in retrospect, seems almost incredible.

We must remember that human nature is not improved by wars, however destructive nor by international agreements, however sincerely executed. Feelings and motives developed down through the centuries of strife and conflict will not be immediately changed. One of our problems in the immediate future will be to find how and by what means these can be changed and replaced by feelings and motives that express themselves in the attainment of co-operation and not domination and for the creation of friendly states and not of puppet states.

Concerted Action
It is encouraging and hopeful to observe that the nations, great and small, today realize all this, and appreciate the necessity for concerted action. This is a great change among the nations and a great advance over the past. We hope it is a permanent change and that it will remain a dominating factor in international relationships. Today it is recognized by many of the nations that a world organization is necessary to vigilantly and effectively guard, and, if possible, maintain the peace of the world. The majority of the nations have already agreed upon the creation of some such body – a body before which the differences and difficulties between nations may be presented, discussed and adjudicated upon. There is a desire to go much further, and there is much by way of common agreement that there must be provided some power that will, after the pronouncement of the adjudication, assure to the world that that adjudication will be respected, adopted and acted upon. All the nations have not a democratic form of government, and it is not necessary that they should all have the same types of government, but we do recognize that in international relationships, the essential principles of democracy are being followed.

The war has made this change immediately possible, but we should not overlook another great reason which makes this change both possible and desirable, and upon a more permanent basis. The radio and aeroplanes have greatly increased international contacts and associations. These make for greater understandings and also lead to a conviction that international co-operation is essential. The recognition of this fact makes some type of international organization necessary if co-operation is to be successful, war avoided and peace and security assured.

Canada’s Position
Canada occupies a unique and an important position in the world today. A member of the British Commonwealth of Nations, in which so many different people in so many parts of the world are represented. It is in itself a great group of free nations, united by common allegiance to the Crown. Canada has for its neighbor that great and friendly democratic nation, the United States of America. Moreover, Canada is situated so far to the north that the aeroplane finds its shortest route from North America to Europe and to Asia across its provinces. The very recitation of these facts suggests the possibilities of Canadian influence among the nations of the world. These facts must stimulate and encourage every young Canadian to prepare to understand and to be active in Canadian affairs. Every time I have reflected upon these facts, there comes into my mind the beautiful language of James Russell Lowell, which appears to me particularly appropriate of our day:

New times demand new measures and new men;
The world advances and in time outgrows
The laws that in our fathers’ time were best;

The time is ripe, and rotten-ripe, for change;
Then let it come; I have no dread of what
Is called for by the instinct of mankind,

Truth is eternal, but her effluence,
With endless change, is fitted to the hour
Her mirror is turned forward, to reflect
The promise of the future, not the past.

This is a really great conception of the future. It involves a new conception of citizenship – one of greater privileges and larger responsibilities. It calls for greater public service in our communities, in our provinces and in the Dominion as a whole. The graduates of this University have a splendid record of public service. As I look back over the membership of our own Class, I find that we are represented in the Senate, and in the House of Commons others occupy important positions in the public service, some are active in the professions, in business and agricultural pursuits. The same is true of all other classes, sand those who graduate today will soon be called upon, and will respond with the same high type of public service. So you go out into a world that is interesting because it is changing and moving forward. This is a day for optimism, vigilance and understanding. It is not a day for complacency, indifference or apathy. Above all, our duty is and must remain to those who have struggled and sacrificed that we may have and enjoy this grand opportunity to go forward, enlarging our freedoms and multiplying our liberties. The words of Abraham Lincoln are particularly appropriate today:

"It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated…to the unfinished work which they who fought… have thus far so nobly advanced…that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain…and that this nation (all the people) under God shall have a new birth and freedom."