100 WITH MR. CHAMBERLAIN IN THE 



was quite distressing to witness, but we all laughed 

 heartily. 



That evening we all attended the first annual 

 dinner of the Toronto Board of Trade at Rossin 

 House. Mr. Chamberlain was of course the guest 

 of the evening, and sat on the right of Mr. William 

 Ince, the President. Numerous prominent Cana- 

 dians were present, including Mr. Van Home, then 

 Vice-President of the C .P .R . He was very anxious to 

 take us all right across the continent to Vancouver and 

 back, and the Chief would have been sorely tempted 

 to avail himself of the offer had time been available. 

 But it would have taken quite a fortnight or three 

 weeks, and we had to get back to Washington, so he 

 was reluctantly compelled to abandon the project. 

 But to return to the banquet. Some 350 sat down in 

 all, but when the time for the toasts was reached, 

 so great was the desire to hear Mr. Chamberlain 

 speak, that, I should imagine, quite another 300 

 were admitted, and all the available standing-room 

 was occupied. Mr. Chamberlain had consented to 

 respond to the toast ** The Commercial Interests of 

 the Empire," proposed in a few suitable words by 

 the Chairman. Now I have heard Mr. Chamber- 

 lain speak on many occasions in this country, in 

 Birmingham, in the Commons, and elsewhere, but 



