Alumni Oration

"Alumni Oration By Rev. E.B. Hooper, 1881" University Monthly 28, 8 (June 1909): 242-250. (UA Case 67a, Box 1)

Mr. Chancellor, Your Honor, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Too recently admitted as a member of the Associated Alumni of this university, I have yet been undeservedly honored in being selected to deliver the annual address from that body, to the distinguished assemblage of graduates, undergraduates and friends of the University of New Brunswick, which the Encaenia brings together.

It is with profound diffidence that I stand before you today to deliver that which for years has been known as the Alumni Oration. The very term "oration" contributes to my diffidence. It suggests such perfection of English, such richness in thought, such power of delivery that I cannot but feel how inadequate are my gifts. And I can assure you ladies and gentlemen, that it has been only by the exercise of a courage equal to that which leads an assault upon a death-dealing battery, that I have dared to accept the task of delivering an oration in the name and on behalf of the Associated Alumni of the university.

With this brief explanatory, if apologetic preface. I throw myself upon the tolerance and kindly judgment of this audience, and asking only for an attentive hearing, proceed at once to deal with the subject, which after careful deliberation I have selected as suitable to the present occasion.

"Vision" is the great word which I will ask you to take as the basis for our thought. Whether in church, in state or in the sphere of liberal education, vision is a mighty factor towards progress, development and achievement. It has to do with the upbuilding and strengthening of empires, nations, institutions and individuals. If you think for a moment, you will discover what an important part vision has played in the wonderful expansion of the great empire upon which the sun never sets; in consolidating and unifying its various and varying component parts, in the development of this fair Dominion of Canada, and (to bring it very near to us) in the very existence of such institutions and seats of learning as this, which we are proud to call the bounteous, beauteous, and now venerable mother of our education, the University of New Brunswick. I hope to be able not only to "make good" the truth of this assertion, but also to do something towards awakening in the hearts of the youngest amongst us the desire for the quickened eye, the alert mind, and the readiness to do, bear or be whatever the mind and eye may indicate.

Nearly 3,000 years ago a prophet of God declared that the time would come when the old men would dream dreams and the young men see visions. The time did come and the time continues. Dull, unambitious, and of most ordinary clay, is the young man who has no visions. So much have we been accustomed to hear the word "visionary" used as a term of reproach, that we find it difficult to think of those who see visions, as of that intellectual and moral world, which is to fashion all that is best and noblest in the world of thought and morals. People who launch out in some wild, impractical Utopian scheme, are rightly spoken of as "visionaries," but it is to be feared that many great souls, the real prophets of their age, have in their day been branded with the same epithet of contempt. The dreamers have become our poets, inventors, authors; the seers of visions have been recognized ultimately as our great prophets, our mighty reformers. Yes! the whole civilized world owes an enormous debt to the seers of visions. Think of some instances.

No matter where you stand in your attitude towards the Perfect Man, or what answer you make to the question "What think ye of Christ?" as men and women of intelligent and liberal judgment you will concede that the greatest civilizing agency the world has seen, is found in the precepts and principles taught by Him. Nearly 2,000 years ago He stood almost alone in narrow Palestine, and with far vision looked out into the world. He saw in His vision a world changed, enlightened, uplifted, blessed. He recognized the opportunity which the present offered in preparation for the greatness of the future. And so, taking advantage of the dispersion of the ancient people with their partial knowledge of the Divine, of the universality of the language of Greece, of the power, protection and engineering skill of Rome. He sent out His first little band of educators along the great military roads, to propagate His principles and precepts in the great centres of population, both in the east and in the west. Regarding Christianity solely as a great civilizing agent, it must be conceded that the world owed a debt of surpassing magnitude to the vision of the man Christ Jesus.

In this connection, consider again the ripe scholar, the wise administrator, St. Paul, the great pupil of the great Master. He it was who laid the foundations for the higher civilization of Europe. He had a vision, it led him from Asia into Europe, where first in Greece and then at Rome itself, he began those strong, ethical foundations, upon which future generations have built. Out of his vision came the sentiments of a true liberty which have widened and broadened and are now circling the earth; the mighty sweep of which shall never cease until every mortal shall be free. That vision changed the face of civilization, and the changing process is still going on. Ay! men's faith may be shaken in the reality of vision, but not in the reality of the results.

We have thought of vision in connection with two of the greatest. Let us think a moment now of some less great, but whose visions have affected the destiny of the race. Constantine had a vision, through the inspiration of which he was enabled to foresee the power of Christianity and how it was destined to affect the future of the Empire of Rome. Every student will remember the victorious issue of his campaign against his rival Maxentius, and its decisive termination in the victory at Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312. It may be truly said that the vision of Constantine changed the tide of civilization and established in the Eternal City that chief factor in civilization which has never been displaced. Admitting that his conceptions of Christianity were gross and unworthy, a vast stride surely was made, in the progress of the race by the Christianizing of Rome. The vision of Constantine affected the social, political and religious life of Europe. It affected the future of the Roman Empire, it sent Christianity through the continent of Europe as the heart sends blood rushing to the remotest members.

Again, Christopher Columbus had a vision of a continent before he saw San Domingo, or even before he had conclusively proved to his own mind that there was a new world. The vision was with him on that eventful voyage! Could it be that it was all vain imagination? Could it be that his scientific premises were astray? and his computations wrong? No! His vision reassured him! Sailors on the verge of mutiny! Officers disheartened! Pitiable plight! Yet the vision of that new world was as clear to Columbus as the stars on a cloudless night, or as the sight of its thousands of towns and villages are today to the inhabitants of the great continent.

Before leaving the historical illustration of this great matter of visions. I would refer to a later instance with which we have a nearer and more direct concern—that of the vision of Alfred, surnamed the "Great." Many legends and traditions cluster round his illustrious name. The explosion of old theories and myths seems to be the unthankful task of these latter days. We are all familiar with traditions which for centuries attached to his name the honor of having founded that which later developed into the University of Oxford. They tell us now that there is no ground for such a popular supposition. But be that as it may, there is no room for doubt but that he did much for the encouragement of learning and education. Alfred had a vision of an England free, enlightened, a centre of light and liberty in the centuries to come. And he did much to prepare the little England of his day to become the greater England of the future.

In my earlier years we loved the story which connected the inception of Oxford University with the name of the great Alfred. There it is today with all its grand history and great traditions. Generations come and go, but Oxford lives on. She had her beginning if not in the days of Alfred at all events in the dim past. Her work still lies before her. Ever old yet ever young; multiform in many colleges, yet one, leaning on the learning of the past, yet turning this way and that for fresh life; the pride of the rich, yet open to the poor, she does her work as she has done it for centuries as a great school of learning in the land. Now, granted that the tradition connecting the existence of Oxford University with Alfred is only tradition and cannot be proved, yet assuredly the fact that for centuries there did exist such a popular tradition, that fact alone, as indicating the impress of his life upon the times he lived in, would stamp his character, his vision and his memory as imperishably great.

We have restricted our thought to men who stand out upon the page of history, each with more or less claim to greatness, who were men of vision, and whose visions have been realized to a degree, convincing to the most sceptical. Each for himself, however, may add to the names I have mentioned, may call up a long muster roll of men and women who by their vision have contributed to the world's advancement and the march of human progress. From the dawn of time to the present day that muster roll stretches. Their names, their lives and achievements are recorded upon the scroll of fame.

But let no one think that vision is confined to the few, and those the great and distinguished. It is a gift more or less common to all, and every man who lives life worthily, with eye and ear open and heart and brain and hand ready, will have his vision and will contribute a worthy part towards the betterment of the world and the race. Great men must lead, but they need great support if they are to succeed in their high enterprises. National greatness depends not more upon the vision of great leaders than it does upon the lesser vision, multiplied, in the rank and file—vision which leads to the strong performance of the present duty, the present task, which must have its bearing upon a future too great for them to estimate. England has happily possessed men of far vision to guide her in great crisis of her national life; but, as happily, she has had British brawn and brain, British determination, pluck and fortitude, and British sense and vision of duty, in the rank and file of her sons, and this is what, under God, bas borne her banner onward, lifted it high, and kept it flying in the face of overwhelming odds and difficulties well nigh insurmountable.

Let hanging hands be lifted, feeble knees strengthened, timid hearts emboldened by the thought that each of us has the power to contribute something towards the general good!

Bring now your thought of vision to bear upon this province in which we dwell, and then upon this great home of education, the University of New Brunswick. The history of New Brunswick abounds in strong and beautiful examples of vision, followed with faith and fortitude. This peaceful, prosperous and happy province as we know it today is a partial fulfilment of many visions. I say partial, because the New Brunswick of today is as nothing compared with the New Brunswick of the future, as that future lies before us in our vision, when its present population shall have multiplied by ten and its resources developed in proportion.

It behooves the present dwellers in this province to take a high and withal a practical measure of its present and its future. We are accustomed to hear of Canada as the "brightest jewel in Britain's crown." Be it ours to make the province of New Brunswick a worthy portion of that jewel, shining with a lustre as bright as any other part from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Our eyes have been turned so much towards the west, we have seen that splendid portion of our Dominion developing with rapid strides, and the tide of emigration sweeping through our maritime home towards the attractive regions beyond, carrying with it far too many of our sons and daughters; that vision as it concerns our own province has been dimmed. We have not yet realized the character of the land we live in, nor the enormous capability it possesses for development and expansion. We are blessed with splendid resources in our fisheries, our forests, our agricultural possibilities, and we are especially blessed with a type of manhood and womanhood second to none on the face of the earth. I say that we have not yet fully appreciated the height to which our province may rise, nor the population it is capable of sustaining when the wealth which lies in its soil, in the bowels of the earth, in its forests, in its waters shall have been developed along lines of modern and advanced principles in the various departments of industry. We need, here in New Brunswick, a fuller vision of our own province and its possibilities, as well as the far and wide vision of western Canada and the distant ends of the earth.

The wise man, 3000 years ago, gave utterance to a proverb which we may well recall in these days and in this land. "Wisdom," he said, "lies before him that hath understanding, but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth." The wisdom spoken of is that sagacity which proportions means to ends—the seeing of opportunity and the right use of it: a sane and lucid view of conditions, and the application of conscience and intelligence to the great problem of living. The words of Jowett, the great master of Balliol, apply to a country as to an individual. "Take care of what you are, and what you will become will take care of itself." We shall best add to the glory of the empire and the lustre of Canada, its brightest jewel, by making our province of New Brunswick better, sweeter, stronger and greater.

I need hardly remind you that the source of all useful development lies in education. It is of the utmost moment that educational facilities and advantages keep pace with the needs and requirements of the times. This, ladies and gentlemen, is why every loyal alumnus and every earnest-minded citizen of our province will, with all his heart, desire to see this University develop, expand and strengthen as the ages lengthen. It is 28 years since, as a graduate, I left the sheltering arms of this Alma Mater. Those years have seen many changes and very considerable advance. Not only have noteworthy additions been made to the faculty and her doors opened for the admission of women, but, that these changes and additions are in the right direction and are meeting a need is seen in the fact that the number of students attending the University today is just about three times as great as in my day. We especially rejoice that at the University of New Brunswick our young men can now be trained in civil and electrical engineering and that recently a chair of forestry has been established, thus making provision for a branch of learning which is coming into much prominence, and which is especially needed in a province such as this in which the preservation and cultivation of the forests must be seriously taken up if we are to retain one of the most important sources of our wealth.

But I am sure that most of us have a vision of a greater and more extensive sphere for our University than that which she is occupying today.

Webster defines a university to be a "universal school in which are taught all the branches of learning." And that is what we desire our University shall become—branch after branch of learning added as the province develops and the needs present themselves. If this is to be the University of New Brunswick in very deed as in name, pace must be kept with the growing needs and all branches of learning essential too the progress of the province must be taught within its walls.

Expert educationists present here today will know better than I what are the immediate requirements of the University. There are several additions which present themselves to my mind as most desirable. I refrain from mentioning them on this occasion, seeing that I am speaking as the representative of the Associated Alumni, who, as a body, might not be prepared to endorse my views. I will venture, however, to call your attention to one department of vital and practical importance to the welfare and development of our province, in which, it seems to me, our University might be equipped for taking a useful and leading part. I refer to education in agriculture.

I know that of late years considerable advance has been made in this important field of industry by means of the agricultural societies and the dissemination of information by expert lecturers. But everyone who knows the agricultural districts of this province and who has any sort of large vision for its future prosperity will realize how much room there is for development and how much depends upon a more general and thorough education in agriculture. We have a soil and conditions in New Brunswick which only need to be turned to the beet possible account to produce a manifold greater yield of food stuffs than has been ever dreamed of.

Education is the chief factor in the development of a country and in no instance is this more true than in the matter of agriculture, for, as Solomon says, "The king himself depends upon the field." Merchants, lawyers, doctors, preachers, artificers, scientists, all alike, depend ultimately upon the 'field.' I have of late communicated with the departments of agriculture in Ottawa and Washington asking for information in the development in agriculture during the past 20 years. The information sent me from both sources has been simply overwhelming. It would take a year of solid work thoroughly to digest and to assimilate it. Amazing strides have been made in recent years in agricultural development in Canada, the United States, and in most European countries, of which perhaps Denmark is the most striking example. I am profoundly convinced that a most advantageous step would be taken towards the future prosperity of our province by the establishment of a chair or department of agriculture in connection with the University of New Brunswick.

All that I have said may be conceded. But the difficulty in the way, is the common difficulty of ways and means. I read with great interest the circular letter to the Alumni officials of the University, issued by yourself, Mr. Chancellor, in January last, dealing with the financial future of the University. It is to be deplored that in the matter of state support, New Brunswick should lag so far behind. Every effort must be made, no stone left unturned, to induce the government of our province to give the financial assistance to an university which is so greatly needed. But more than this, the needs of our great school of learning should appeal powerfully to all patriotic citizens of large means and of large visions, and should move them to give, devise or bequeath such sums of money as shall endow her with an income sufficient to meet the growing demands upon her and equip her for her vital part in the onward march of progress, in which our province must be made to share.

Mr. Chancellor, your honor, ladies and gentlemen, I feel that I have taken up too much of your time and attention. It is quite possible that you may consider that as an Alumni oration my effort has been poor and abortive. But this you will kindly credit to my misfortune not to my fault. I have earnestly endeavored to speak words which should be worthy, alike in their object, and as befitting a great occasion. First, I have shown the importance of vision and the part it has played in the world illustrated from the page of history. Then I have reminded you that vision is not for the few great leaders but for the many of the rank and file. Finally I have applied the subject to the province we live in and to the university so dear to the hearts of us all. I close with an earnest expression of hope, that the vision we cherish, of extended and extending usefulness and prosperity for our dear old Alma Mater may be richly fulfilled, and that in her pathway through the years to come she may be Semper Felix, Semper Paratus.