It is common knowledge that being premier of Newfoundland and Labrador is not always very good for one's constitution. Since 1855, there have been 25 premiers. Some have escaped from office in disguise, minutes ahead of a riotous mob. Some have vowed never to return to the "dirty business." Some have said only a dog would run for office; others have claimed that they could get such a dog elected. Some have been nursed back to health with the elixirs of knighthoods and baronetcies, and promises of consulting firms in other provinces. Still more, like the Roman emperors of old, have retired to their country estates or resorted to writing poetry. Unlike Mithridates, many more have declined into ill-health, suffering acutely from a poisonous surfeit of cabals, conspiracies and cucumbers.
Mr. Chancellor, you are no stranger to this "killing store" of the "many-venomed earth," nor to the salutary effect of Memorial University on the political senses and sensibilities. Therefore, you must have been in full accord with the consensus in Memorial's Triple E Senate -- Equal, Effective and Economical -- to award an honorary degree to Clyde Wells, former premier of Newfoundland and Labrador. The decision to repatriate Clyde Wells to his alma mater was not a unilateral action; it required no amending formula. It was not decided by the roll of the dice, in an overheated room, on the edge of a lake, but by the due measure and authority of our democratically, elected governing body. Indeed, in accordance with Memorial's promotion of early retirement, how could you veto Clyde Wells' decision to seek that "infinite heart's ease" premiers must neglect, that private men enjoy.
Mr. Chancellor, in admitting him to Memorial's distinct and distinguished society, we welcome back no prodigal son, given to profligacy and self-indulgence. Instead, we are acknowledging, with pride, a former graduate who has striven to restore to politics the life-giving values of integrity, responsibility, dignity, and fair-play. Clyde Wells distinguished himself, nationally and internationally, committing himself to the Promethean task of working with his peers to frame a perfect constitution for one of the best countries in the world. Drawing on his innate, intellectual and spiritual resources, Clyde Wells inspired a province and a country to expect from their politicians: policies, not promises; personal integrity and fiscal responsibility, not pretention and patronage. By example, he taught us to expect our leaders to have the imagination and astuteness to frame constitutional documents that would entrench, equally, regional distinctions, not regional disparities. This man who is not "passion's slave," but who is passionate about his family, province and country, like Horatio, truly delivered an account of his actions.
Whence came the vision, tenacity and dignity we witnessed during those crucial times? Why, in the deeply-rooted traditions of self-reliance and fair-play indigenous to Newfoundland culture. These values were fostered in Memorial's classrooms, sports arenas and student societies, under the tutelage of Dr. Moses Morgan and his successors. At Memorial, Clyde Wells learned the habits of a lifetime -- the lasting pleasure of intellectual inquiry, the delight in lucid, analytic language, the civility of dispassionate argument, the tolerant understanding of opposing views. These qualities he sought to translate into the factitious world of politics -- advocating reason not rowdiness, eloquence not evasiveness, and dignity not deceit.
Mr. Chancellor, with his breadth of understanding in government, law, literature -- who is not to say that Clyde Wells will bring a constitutional renewal to this community. Indeed, this is a symmetrical patriation. Not only does he rejoin Eleanor, Mark, Heidi and David -- all Memorial students -- but he now sits beside you, Mr. Chancellor, on the stage. You may remember a previous, less ceremonious time, when you and he endured the "law's delay," and "the insolence of office" and found you, and your chairs, spurned by a former premier. So, in asking you to confer Memorial University's highest honor on Clyde Kirby Wells, we acknowledge the moral courage of all those in public life who stand for principle, integrity and honorable conviction. We seek no special status, nor special power and privileges; merely, we ask that he be an equal partner in our confederation of humanity, scholarship, justice and truth.
The people of the First Nations of Canada honor their leaders who have sought truth and justice with a headdress of eagle's feathers -- this black, velvet hat is not as spectacular -- but it signifies those shared, common values cherished by all founding peoples of Canada -- wisdom, integrity, civility, rationality and humanity -- values epitomized by Clyde Kirby Wells, whom I now present for the degree of doctor of laws, honoris causa.