Excerpt from The Clan Fraser in Canada: Souvenir of the First Annual Gathering Toronto, May 5th, 1894 The Gael has proved himself not less a pioneer of civilization, and adaptable to changing conditions of living, than a lover of the traditions of his race, holding tenaciously by ancient usages and manners, and stirred profoundly by racial sentiment. As a pioneer he has reached "the ends of the earth," possessing the unoccupied parts of the world. As a patriot he h.is established not a few of his cherished customs in the land of his adoption. His love of kindred is probably his most notable characteristic; it found embodiment in the clan system, under which his race achieved its greatest triumphs and enjoyed its greatest glories, and the bond of clanship, with its inspiring memories, the true clansman will never disregard. While the clan system, as such, would be impracticable in the British colonies under present-day conditions, even more so than in its old home in the Highlands of Scotland, its spirit lives, leavening the system of government and exercising no small influence in the fusion of heterogeneous elements into new and distinct peoples. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.