Loyola College - Review Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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LOYOLA COLLEGE XQ) Page 8 REVIEW Viscount Alexander Viscount Alexander of Tunis and Errigal, veteran of two world wars and many campaigns, of Dunkerque and Burma, of Africa and Italy, has been accorded a warm welcome as Canada's 17th Governor-General. Within the British Commonwealth of Nations that office and rank is unique in its significance. The words of the Balfour Declaration, adopted by the Westminster Statute, describe the Commonwealth as a “voluntary association of nations none of which is subordinate to any other”. The Governor-General in each of the Dominions is the personal representative of the King. Still the Commonwealth is not a Personal Union in the technical sense of the term. It is itself: a free association of free peoples, bound together through community of origin, language, history, interest, sentiment and mutual trust. Its like has not been known in history nor perhaps would it be possible in circum- stances nor for people other than our own. Canada's growth from the first measure of responsible government to the British North America Act of 1867, and through a series of Imperial Conferences to the Westminster Statute of 1931, was a natural one for reasonable men to foster. Our Prime Minister has described the Commonwealth relationship as one of allance rather than of dependence. Publicists may dispute the nature of our Sovereignty. We in Canada know that internally it is complete. Externally we may witness it operate in any number of ways: our established right of treaty and legation; our indicated refusal to declare war against Turkey in the early twenties and our free declaration against Germany in 1939; the circumstances surrounding the abdication and succession in 1936; the full and open consultation on matters of Commonwealth interest. This sovereignty, it is claimed, is insecure. What has been established by an Act of the Imperial Parliament may be changed by another Act of the same assembly. Technically this may be correct and any such attempt might force Canada to defend what it holds to be her acquired constitutional rights. But such an objection can only come from one who fails to understand the spirit and soul of the Commonwealth system. It is based not on conquest nor colonization nor fear, but on the stronger bonds that hold families together, bonds of mutual interest and trust. The objection further overlooks the utter improbability of any such attempt to change what has been accepted and exercised by the government of Canada and so incorporated into the very concept of our country. The Rt. Hon. Robert Borden once said that the Governor-General has ceased to be an imperial officer and has become rather a nominated President who fills for Canada the role of the Constitutional Monarch in Great Britain. His signature makes Acts of Parliament, law, but he signs only on the advice of Parlia- ment. We welcome Viscount Alexander as the representative of His Majesty the King to whom Canada owes allegiance. We welcome him also for himself, for what he is, for what he has done, and for what his presence can mean to Canada through- out the next five years. His leadership is proven. His gifts of statesmanship, skilled and sound. At the swearing-in ceremony in the Senate Chamber, soon after his arrival, he took the three oaths: of office, of allegiance, as Keeper of the Great Seal. On that occasion the Prime Minister stated: “We in Canada have sought to make the family and the home the foundation of our national life. In your Excellencies and your children, we recognize and welcome a happy family. Lord Alexander replied: “1 believe, as you do, that the family and the home are the very basis of a healthy, happy and prosperous people .

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LOYOLA Page 7 (9. d UR Fifty-seven Loyola men were killed in action. Their heroic sacrifice was made that justice and peace might prevail. It was not adventure or bravado that prompted them to leave loved ones and home and Canada. It was the convic- tion that the time had come for all men of courage to rally in the cause of the right. They hoped to live. They went prepared to die. And as patriotism plays an honoured role in the larger virtue of charity, they gave their lives that other men might live. Neither sentiment nor platitude can restore them to us or to their young families. Unyielding fidelity to Christian principles in our personal, national and international lives can alone make sure they have not died in vain. The total of all ranks who served is difficult to compute accurately. When Montrealers entered the forces, we were able to follow them. But our students come from the whole of Canada, Newfoundland and the United States. A moderate estimate, based on careful research, would put the number between twelve and fifteen hundred. This total includes one Rear Admiral, one Major-General, one Air Vice-Marshal one Brigadier, at least one Group Captain and twelve Colonels and Lt.-Colonels, several Wing Commanders, Naval Commanders, Majors and a long list of other officers. Among the thirty-one decorations known to us which they received there are 1 C.B., 1 D.S.O., 7 M.C.'s, 6 D.F.C.'s, 1 D.F.M., 1 C.B.E., 4 O.B.E.'s, 3 M.B.E.'s, 1 George Medal, five American and one Polish decoration. Loyola is proud of her sons. Their record will remain an inspiration for generations of students yet to come. Veterans’ Refresher Courses A wise government has made it possible for every | veteran to complete his education. The measures which have implemented the Department of Veterans’ Affairs are not merely the expression of a nation’s gratitude. Their purpose is to assure that years of training for war will not be lost in peace. It is hoped that the discipline and technical knowledge that fit men to be modern soldiers can be turned constructively towards making them good citizens. This hope, we believe, is well-founded. Given the initial endowment, military training and battle experience will mature young men and help correct their sense of values. Teachers and business men alike testify they find returned men serious-minded, energetic and courteous. The Dean of Veterans at Loyola has repeatedly stated in public that their classes are a veritable teacher's paradise . The men realize why they are back on the benches and advancing age warns them they have little time to profit from it. During the academic year of 1945-1946 a Veterans' Refresher Course leading up to college entrance was established at Loyola and members of the Staff taught in courses held elsewhere in the city. Responding to the wishes of the Department of Veterans' Affairs and in close collaboration with McGill University the curriculum was drawn up jointly with the authorities of that University and the examination results will be recognized by both McGill and Loyola. Eighty-nine veterans were enrolled in the course. A large number were turned down because of lack of space. More than forty veterans are following regular college courses, the majority in Freshman Science. Two more courses, Senior and Junior Matriculation, will begin on June 3rd of this year,

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LOYOLA Page 9 (о: COLLEGE “LL REVIEW Very Reverend JOHN L. SWAIN, S.J., Provincial Jesuit Province of Upper Canada On November 13th, 1945, the Very Rev. John L. Swain was named Provincial of the Jesuit Province of Upper Canada. Loyola students will remember him as Professor of Freshman during 1939-40 and Dean of Studies from 1940-43. Father Swain was born on December 13th, 1907, in Kemptville, Ontario, and received his early education in the local schools. He entered the Society of Jesus on August 14th, 1925, and did his noviceship and classical studies at St. Stanislaus Novitiate, Guelph, Ontario. The first year of his course in Philosophy was spent at the Immaculate Conception College, Montreal, and the two last years at the Jesuit Seminary in Toronto. During his single year of regency he taught at Regiopolis Co llege, Kingston. For his course in Theology he went to the Gregorian University in Rome in 1933. He was ordained priest on July 25th, 1936. During 1937-38 he was attached to St. Andrew’s Church, Port Arthur, and in the autumn of 1938 began his year of Tertianship at Manresa Hall, Port Townsend, Washington. He was a member of the Loyola Faculty from the summer of 1939 to the summer of 1943 when he was named Socius to the Provincial. He held that post until his appointment as Provincial last November