 |
Oration honouring Edward Roberts
May 30, 2003
Dr. Annette Staveley
Deputy Public Orator
Vice-Chancellor,
It is a great honour to introduce to this Convocation, the Honourable Edward Roberts, the Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador. As former Chair of the Board of Regents, His Honour is no stranger to this stage, but he usually sat comfortably and safely in a large oak chair as he watched the parade of other Honorary degree recipients waiting nervously to hear what the University orators — those licensed court fools in the medieval tradition — made of their lives and careers. Now, Vice-Chancellor, it is his turn to be called to the bar.
As I plead his case, I must begin by citing how you and this scholarly community have been enriched by His Honour's encyclopaedic knowledge, his discernment, his gentlemanly grace and his wisdom, born of his upbringing by his beloved parents, Harry and Mary Katherine, his education in Newfoundland and Ontario, and his cherished family life with his wife, Eve, and his daughters Catherine, Caroline, Jessica and Alison, his granddaughter, Madeleine and, of course, Misha, the Vice-Regal dog.
But, on this occasion, Vice-Chancellor, you might wonder at the wisdom of a man who spent three decades in political life in the House on the Hill in the practice of a profession that Winston Churchill described as almost as exciting as military engagement, but much more dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, whilst in politics you can be killed over and over again. You might question the judgement of a man who has now allowed himself to be moved to that other House, the one on the ridge overlooking Cochrane Street. Are these the acts of a wise man?
In his defense, Vice-Chancellor, this distinguished man, with steadfastness and dignity withstood the assays of political life and left an unequalled legacy of strong, fair judgement in the exercise of power. As leader of the Liberal party, as Minister of Public Welfare, Minister of Health, Minister of Justice, Attorney General and Government House Leader, His Honour was the only man to serve in the three Liberal governments since Confederation, the only man to contribute consistently to building the enduring political, economic and educational structures in our province. Even after defending his political ideals and actions in eight elections, and in representing the districts of White Bay North, the Strait of Belle Isle and Naskaupi, Edward Roberts still advocates that a career in politics is the highest and noblest calling for men and women of intelligence, courage and integrity. Are these the actions and statements of a wise man?
Indeed they are, Vice-Chancellor. If we were all as well-read as His Honour, we would recognize that his advocacy of spending one's life in public service finds correspondence in the writings of the sixteenth century scholar, Erasmus, who in his seminal work, In Praise of Folly, tells us that wisdom cannot be attained except at the cost of sacrificing the comfortable life, that “infinite heart's ease that only private men enjoy,” that worldly wisdom can be gained only through working always for the good of others in the full knowledge that the world will judge this a foolish pursuit.
So it should come as no surprise that this man, who has for forty years played a decisive role in the history of this province, who is, himself, an avid reader of history, should willingly, and with humility, accept the highly merited distinction of the title and office of Lieutenant Governor, despite knowing full well how we have treated some other governors. Who can forget the fate of Governor Pickamore whose bedroom filled with snow on cold winters' nights and whose government refused to pay for extra fuel and insulation. Only after he died of pneumonia, did they have the decency to pay to preserve his body in a puncheon of rum, until he could be sent back to England. And who can forget that Governor Le Marchant was hanged in effigy, that Governor John Byng ended his career in front of a firing squad and that Governor Gordon MacDonald, though he managed to stay alive, was immortalized in an ode, in which the initial letters of each line spelled out an acrimonious acrostic, that cast aspersions on the legitimacy of his birth.
So, perhaps the title of the best-known song of His Honour's favourite songstress, Patsy Cline, — you know the one “I'm crazy, crazy for loving you” — is not far off the mark. For it is in his love for his native land that this public man, who has a healthy scepticism about public displays of emotion, has set the example for future generations of the dignity and worth of public service, whether in government or the legal profession or in voluntary work in the community that he loves. Always a man of action, not of the empty gesture, his contribution to public life reached its apotheosis when, as Chairman of Memorial's Board of Regents, his clear understanding of the autonomous nature of this unique institution in the development of independent, critical and creative minds, his commitment to extending Memorial's built heritage and innovative programmes in St. John's, Corner Brook, Bonne Bay and Harlow helped to make Memorial pre-eminent.
Now, as Her Majesty's official representative, he embodies that sophisticated political concept of a commonwealth of peoples, with a shared history of political and social ideals. This is indeed, a wise and natural fulfilment for a man who has been part of all our histories. As Lieutenant Governor he is now beyond the spheres of politics and law, but you will be delighted to know, Vice-Chancellor, that, though we have lost a Chairman of the Board, we have gained a new student at Memorial. His Honour plans to continue his graduate work in history in the coming semester.
Therefore, I ask you to honour this man, who has always discerned the substance beneath the show, and, like the wise princes in Shakespeare's history plays, has always respected the traditional structures of society while distrusting the seductive displays of “idol ceremonies,” by awarding him the degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa), by signing his Permit to Register Form, and by ordering for his enjoyment, not a puncheon of rum, but a few bottles of Baron Rothschild's fine, red wine.
|
|
