Queens University - Tricolour Yearbook (Kingston, Ontario Canada)

Page 11 text:

Drittratuni Hie (SrabiKitiuijClasses of 1933 respectfully JHc irziti' this issue of CLhe (Erirolor to •His Excellency Here Hraluumi Jmisonby iiith £arl of tUesshoroujjh ll.A. (tl‘mnluii i r , })oii. lill.D. jH«Cf ill, iliiriiiilK. flPllnlu;i, jUpuinnl. latoJil, Scholar - Statesman - Solhier

Page 13 text:

Vere Brabazon Ponsonby conics of a family that has to its credit two hundred years of high endeavour and achievement in many fields in the service of Crown and State. It is by such leadership as this family has given that the British Empire has been developed, and the adult daughter-nations of the Commonwealth are not ungrate- ful. Mis Excellency is of Britain and Ireland by a long line of noble ancestors, and is of France by the nationality of his consort. In 1912 Viscount Vere Duncannon married the charming Kobertc dc Neuflize. and. after serving with distinction in Galli- poli and in France, he succeeded in 1920 to the Earldom. Lord Bessborough has had ten years in the British House of Commons and ten years in the House of Lords, so that his Parliamentary experience, combined with his earlier training in law. enable him more readily to estimate the importance and intricacies of Canadian legislation which it is his duty to study. Actuated by a high sense of public duty, he has not hesitated to withdraw partially from his commercial interests in Britain. His Excellency came to Canada in April, 19.11. peculiarly well fitted for the work which lay ahead. He has a wide knowledge of men. a lawyer's training, long ex- perience in three great legislative chambers, an extensive knowledge of business, and an enthusiasm for the development of culture, especially in the Community Drama. He is a strong believer in the Dominion’s destiny, and his avowed ambition is to help in achieving that destiny. Convinced as he is that “Canada is destined to be one of the greatest countries in the world”, he welcomes the opportunity to contribute toward its development, and he has the vision, ability and training which, even within the re- strictions which hedge a Governor-General, can be applied to the lasting advantage of Canada. Her Excellency, Roberte. Countess of Bessborough. had already the hearts of French-Canadians when she came to Canada. She has. in the past two years, won also the admiration and adherence of all sections of the Canadian people from coast to coast by her personal charm and her devotion to social service. Both she and Lord Bessborough propose now to be Canadians among Canadians, and it is in precisely that spirit that the people of Canada welcome them wherever they go. It was an honour and a privilege for Queen's University, the Alma Mater of so many leaders in Canadian and British scholarship, politics, science and commerce, to bestow upon Lord Bessborough and upon Lady Bessborough, at a special Convocation last November, the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws. It was a gesture of loyalty toward His Majesty’s representative in Canada, and of appreciation for the outstand- ing contribution of Lord and Lady Bessborough to Canadian life. I’aim am qui meruit ferat.