The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-11-26
Englan and the English Lam
guage.

rise and progress OF the English Ian
guagc. Notliing SO extraordinary
There is nothing which had such past
thar can begin 10 compare " ith il Ia the
present o. j. likely To i'm the future.
Three hundred wears ago the number OF
those who spoke the language did not
exceed two millions, or. at the best. two
millions and half They were upon
An island II small and inaccessible patch
upfni the territorial area OF tire globe.
when We ray they spoke il. il was with
great variations. Almost every county
~ England had large variations OF the
dialect. rhich, To some extent. is per-
peiuaied 10 this iay--variativns which
ircf,ler conversation difficult If not i'm
possible. IL had apparently no future
before ~. II was not then the English
Of Shakespeare and Milton. They din
mot exist for Tire period Of = hundred
and forty wears after the time Of which
We are treating. The language was the
Language of IN island up0n the western
coast Of Europe. IN territorial area il
could he spoken but bv = comparative
few. In colonial nc QUESTION il was
simply a badge OF misfortune. II had
tnade no successful colonies Spain had
been established IN the West Indies and
south America for more ilisn Il century
before England had successful settle
nent in the dcminion- al what j. now
The United States. ~. Augustine.
florids. j. \ half century Older than
.lanIcrt'wn.N Virginia. aud has sixiy three
years the advantage Of Plymouth. The
French were ~ Canada. and liad been,
nearly 4 century when the smoke OF the
English habitaiion first began 10 ascend
from the wilds ot North America. The
French and The Spanish ccnciliated the
tr The Englishmen did not. The
mrs Ought TO govern through his aid
the q ler through his cxtermination.
I Three hundred years ago every thing
south Of tile Gulf OF Mexico. or west OF
The Mississippi. WAS either French.
spanish or Portuguese. But how won
,deriul WAS the progress OF history, Ia
1913, when England and France were
On the eve of gigantic contest, the
number of English inhabitants ia Amer
Ici amounted, according 10 Bancroft, The
historian. to 2oOOO0O. those of lie
French 10 5v.0tO. The Ingli-htnan came
here 10 live: the Frcnchman and Span
lard To make money. and then return TO
the old country. Tile first came here
with his wife anil children; the last un-
incunbercd with families The condi-
ton of England WAS specially in favor
OF thc advance OF It's cuionists. The
arbitrary rule OF the first Stuarts drove
the Puriians or Protestant reforIners To
tho United States, ia New England
Aiiernsrd. when the civil war arose be-
tween the King and the Parliament. in
which the latter WAS triumphant, and
in W hicll the Puritans were the main-
stay of Parlialn cnt. the Cavaliers. or
supporters of the King. emigrated to
Virginia in large numbers. Again
when the Stuarts were established. " lien
ihc Puritans were put under the ban OF
reprobaiion. there WAS another large
emigraiion To the wilds OF America, no,
ior the sake OF conscience unly. but for
public opinion. In the mean time ev-
cry thing was tranquil in France and
spain. There " ere no civil wars, moth
ing 10 drive the people 10 emigration.
until tho revocation of the edict OF
Nantes. which occurred in the reigu OF
Louis NV. of France. ia 1880. or there
iaDouis. To that we owed the iounda-
tion OF the State of South Carolina by
French irotesIanIs. Time has passed
on. and how stands the case io-dav2
The two millions OF persons who spoke
Ruslish three hundred wears ago have
in Europe increased io 34OOu.OuO. In
America, where there were none. they
now amount to 45OOUWD. In total
There arc SO.oOO.OOO on the two conii-
neni-. Bnt what a future they have =
the l nited States, Australia AID Cana-
,la! Their populations are doubling
and treLiing. while the populations OF
Other countries are almost stationary.
in time every body will speak the Eng
lish language In tho great divisions Of
4 The globe to which We have referred. ia
Territorial area amounting To more than
Europe, aud if productivenes far cx-
ceiling IL. ln a century from now the
Eng lisli language will he spoken by a
majority of those who profess Christ ian
lity. and in two or three centuries by
the great mass OF its adhercnis. N i
The worlds dialect OF the future. Its
the dialect of those who have the power
of colonization--who have ships and
commerce, aud who have extended
themselves TO all the regions 6f the
known earlh, and adapted themselves to
its climate and natural conditions. No
other language save the Sclayunian.
which is spoken 10y the immense En-
ipirc Of Russia, j. making any sensible
advance among tho l.3 UuOUUpU inhabi
ianIs OF the earth. None other has the
territory or the other elements 10 make
II successful Between them Christen-
dom. 10 less than three centuries. will
be Amo-t entirely divided. It's many
hundred millions of aihe-nnfs will tax !