A Friend has sent me a copy of the programme of the Macaulay Club, Chatham, Ont., for the season of 1928-29, which opens on October 13th of this year. This society, as a literary club, is in several ways quite unique, or, as the French would say, sui generis. It is not Bohemian, because it is quite devoid of the social aspect, except in so far as an annual banquet is concerned. It has no permanent abode, not, in fact, a place in which to lay its head. It has no furniture, no library, and no funds, except those provided by a small annual membership fee, just sufficient to pay running expenses. Yet it has become a permanency—one of the institutions of the Maple City—and a continued success. After forty-five years it is going stronger than ever.

In the beginning, a few of “us” young men, more or less congenial in spirit, met in my room, the editorial sanctum of the old Chatham Planet, and decided to form a literary society and, as best fitting our literary and oratorical ideals by which we were in spired in those days of youthful ambition, we called it the Macaulay Club. As our motto we adopted “To smooth with classic art the rugged tongue.” So far as speaking was concerned our tongues required a good deal of smoothing. Among our charter members -was Thomas O ’Hagan, well known Canadian poet and litterateur, then principal of the Chatham separate school. I cannot remember all the brilliants the club turned—not very many, I know. Arthur Stringer, Canadian novelist, was a member for a time and still may be, but whether it was before or after he achieved distinction I do not know. Harry Anderson, subsequently one of my successors on the Planet and now editor of the Toronto Globe, was another Macaulayite. For some years now. Victor Lauriston, Canadian writer of fiction, has been one of its most enthusiastic members, and has an established place as its literary critic. Most of the original members have passed from this vale of tears, let us hope to a happy fruition of their earthly hopes and labors. I happened to have been secretary for the first three years, and, in 1888, the year I left for British Columbia, I was President. In a period of thirty years I largely lost track of Chatham affairs, and in 1920, I think it was, I was surprised and greatly pleased to be invited to attend the annual banquet as a guest and to speak. I learned then that there had been no intermittence of activities, but rather had there been a steadily growing interest and an increase of membership from year to year. Most of the prominent citizens of Chatham, during that long period, had been at one time or another Macaulayites and taken an active part in its affairs. It is really remarkable that a purely literary and debating society should have gone on as it has and so long.

I learned also on that occasion that the idea of having permanent quarters had been abandoned very early in the game. We had rented a room in my time and furnished it but, as it was seldom used during the summer time, the club got behind in its rent and the furniture either went to the landlord or was sold by the sheriff. In that respect it ran true to old-time literary traditions. An annual banquet, and it is a real event always, was one of its features. At the first banquet, Dr. T. K. Holmes, honorary president, and now well along in the nineties, was an invited guest, and he has never missed a banquet since. I have been at a great many gatherings of a festive nature, but I do not remember one at which all around there was a higher excellence in after-dinner speaking reached. There was a difference between then and now. Prohibition stepped in and since then members have drunk to their sentiments in ginger ale or other not more wildly exhilarating compounds. I remember, too, that the late Judge Weeds, first proponent of prohibition and good roads in Canada, was also a guest. A very exemplary man in all respects, his wife made him hang his dress clothes on the clothes line in the back yard for over a week until the smell of tobacco smoke had been got rid of. Both he and Dr. Holmes gave me a mild lecture about the too great prevalence of both liquor and cigars. Anyway it was a great success in other ways. Dr. 0’Hagan, though he may not agree with me, made a great hit as a reciter and speaker on that occasion.

In one respect, the Macaulay Club, at the outset made a failure of what to some of our minds was a very laudable endeavor. The original constitution provided that it should become a local historical as well as a literary society. As secretary, I prepared a circular letter setting forth the objects in view and sent out thousands of copies by mail to a lot of prominent persons, mainly in Kent County, but to many in Essex and Elgin as well— to teachers, members of Parliament, editors, postmasters, judges, municipal clerks, mayors and reeves and pioneers. These three counties, very rich agriculturally and horticulturally, were similar in character, and having been settled about the same time, so to speak, grew up together. Recipients were asked for photographs of interest, sketches of family history, old books relating particularly to western Ontario, pamphlets (once the favorite means of propaganda, religious and political), old newspapers, newspaper clippings, information about landmarks, and pioneer material generally. The result was a keen disappointment. Apart from a few letters expressing sympathy with the objects, I cannot remember a single response to this appeal. At that time there were some of the earliest settlers still living. I remember one, Jacob Dolson, a nonagenarian, close to the century mark, who, with his parents, settled on the present site of the city of Chatham, and there Were any numbers of the sons and daughters of the original settlers. There were the Ermatingers of St. Thomas (old Northwest Co. traders), the Rankins, Princes, Bensons, the Babys and Marenttes, about Windsor and Detroit; the Mayhews and Fergusons of Thamesville, the Wilsons of Harwich, the Baldoon settlers in the township of Dover, the Ducks and Pattersons of Morpeth, the Macleans, and Eberts, and McKellars, and the Woods of Chatham. Joseph Woods, brother of Judge Woods, had been a member of the old Upper Canada Parliament in the early forties. There was also another parliamentarian, a Mr. Larwill, of the same period. There was also the Hon. David Mills, who, though largely absent on account of parliamentary and other duties, still had his residence at Palmyra, on the Talbot road, quite close to the shore of Lake Erie, and two brothers and several sisters, whose parents, of U.E. Loyalist stock, came from the Maritime provinces somewhere. A nephew, formerly a well known figure in Ottawa as parliamentary postmaster, practiced law in Ridgetown, and at 85 still plays golf, and I have been told dances lightfootedly to jazz, music, though I doubt it. These and hundreds of others, including relatives of my own, whom I could mention, had a great wealth of family and county reminiscences, now largely lost, but as I have found in rather long experience of pioneers as a class, the thing which present day local historians would give their ears to possess. had entered into their every day life so intimately and commonly, appeared to them of no consequence, forgetting that the commonplaces of today are the things of consequence of tomorrow. At the present time al] over Canada, there is great interest in local history. Forty years ago nobody cared. The up to date archivist, if one could use the expression, is alive to the fact that the commonest of concerns are the basis of history and makes hay while the sun shines. Even railway time tables, replaced telephone books, and menu cards are not overlooked. For over one hundred and fifty years, at least, the British Museum has been the repository of everything which enters into the life of Great Britain in the form of printed matter. If you want to see a play bill or an election dodger of any year during that period apply there. I forgot to say we had in oui' historical zeal an enthusiastic supporter in the late Sir John George Bourinot, Clerk of the House of Commons and Secretary ‘of the Royal Society of Canada, with which, through his efforts, the Macaulay Club was affiliated and entitled to send a representative to the annual meeting.

But to come back to the Macaulay Club, the programme for the coming season before me contains forty subjects for debate, divided into three parts—literary, historical, and general. They embrace almost everything of current interest under these three headings, and there are twenty suggestions for addresses and essays. While there is an intermission of four or five months each year, the main object is never lost sight of. I shall venture to say that even during their holidays, it may be in Muskoka, or the Thousand Islands, in Europe, or nearer home at Eaurieau, the members are busy with getting together the material they require for discussion, and every member is required to take a leading part in the debates and to give at least one address during the season. I am told it is amazing the amount of labor spent in investigation, not to speak of effort in composition, and the beauty of it all is that these men, young and old, are not striving to become statesmen, or orators, or literary giants.

I recommend the example of the Macaulay Club to all and sundry in Canada, whatever their literary or parliamentary aspirations may be.