would never have been uttered, for certainly no man would
ever have dreamed of offering a bribe to Robert Baldwin. He has been in
his grave for more than a quarter of a century; thirty-four years have
elapsed since his withdrawal from public life; yet he is still referred
to by adherents of both political parties in Canada as a statesman of
unblemished integrity, whose character was without spot, and in whose
bosom was no guile. He more than once occupied the foremost position in
the public eye. During much of his career a fierce light beat upon him,
yet failed to disclose anything whereof the most august character in
history would have had any cause for feeling ashamed. As I have said
elsewhere: "We can still point to him with the admiration due to a man
who, during a time of the grossest political corruption, took a foremost
part in our public affairs, and who yet preserved his integrity
untarnished. We can point to him as the man who, if not the actual
author of Responsible Government in Canada, yet spent the best years of
his life in contending for it, and who contributed more than any other
person to make that project an accomplished fact. We can point to him as
one who, though a politician by predilection and by profession, never
stooped to disreputable practices, either to win votes or to maintain
himself in office. Robert Baldwin was a man who was not only incapable
of falsehood or meanness to gain his ends, but who was to the last
degree intolerant of such practices on the part of his warmest
supporters. If intellectual greatness cannot be claimed for him, moral
greatness was most indisputably his. Every action of his life was marked
by sincerity and good faith, alike toward friend and foe. He was not
only true to others, but was from first to last true to himself....
Robert Baldwin was neither a bigot nor a fanatic, but he was in the best
and truest sense of the word a Christian. He was strict in his
observance of religious duties, and brought up his children to seek
those things which make for righteousness, rather than the things of
this world. His piety was an ever-present influence in his life, and was
practically manifested in his daily walk and conversation. As we
contemplate the fifty-four years which made up the measure of his
earthly span, we cannot fail to be impressed by its uniform consistency,
its thorough conscientiousness, its devotion to high and noble objects.
It is a grand thing to acquire a f