Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-08-21
JOHN BRIGHT ON AMERICA.
His Speech at Cyrus w. Fields 4th of
July Dinner.

July Dinner.
"To-day is what / suppose may be con-
sidered day that might be termed his
torc century ago it was a day of
grief and humiliation to multitudes in
this country. On the other hand, it was
day of eXultation and JOY with multitudes
on the other side of the Atlantic. Now
we meet together, and without using Ian
guage that is not accurate, we may say
that we rejoice that, Notwithstanding the
events of that period, the greatness and
the grandeur of England has not been di-
unfinished, and at the same time we must
acknowledge that the new nation that has
sprung into existence stands in its vast
ness and power before wondering world.
Among eminent citizens of the United
States that | have known-and in some
cases with some intimacy-was the great
statesman from Massachusetts, Charles
Sumner When he was in England he
visited me, and his last night in England
he spent in my house. He published a
little book called prophetic Voices
which was collection of prophecies as to
the probable future of America. He was
revising the title page of that volume in
the very last sitting he ever attended in
the Senate of his country. He goes back
far beyond the time-many centuries of
the time-of the discovery of the Ameri-
a remarkable passage of old Rome-a pas
sage lett III the pages of Seneca. He
comes down centuries, and quotes from
an Italian pOet-if 1 remember rightly,
named Peuli-who wrote some centuries
before the time of Columbus. Then he
comes down to later periods and quotes
the opinions of many eminent writers
and speakers, but he curiously-l cannot
understand why he omitted lt-has no ref
erence to singular opinion and prophecy
of David Hume. When Gibbon sat down
to write his great history of The Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire he pro
posed to write it in French. David Hume
a great friend of his, on hearing this,
wrote letter of remonstrance, and he
said, among other things, that he wished
him to write in English because our es-
Establishments in America promised super
ior stability and strength to English his
tory We owe it to David Hume that that
great work was published in our own Ian
guage and not that of neighboring ma
ton.
But you see how these men saw the flu
ture of the American Continent in vision.
We see it in fact, and we see the prophe-
cies fulfilled At this moment England,
Canada, Australia, and the Cape OF Good
Hope show a population of about $4,000
600 persons AT this very time, as you
are all aware, the new nation of which
speak and which started as nation one
hundred years ago-numbers not far short
of 10000, 900 and is rapidly increasing. |
do not know but that at the end of the
century, or soon after, it may amount to
1OO,OOO,O00 Now, at the present there are
more than l00,O00,000 of what | call the
English-speaking people-that is, the
United Kingdom, its other connected col
onies, and the ancient colonies of the
British Crown which are now the United
States of North America,-and these, in
my opinion-t may lac presumptuous, it
may be egotism, but | hold the opinion
that they are the foremost in all the hber-
ties which are the most valued by the
most intelligent people living i'll civilized
countries But although in population
| am speaking to American gentlemen
you have oVerpassed us so much that in
time to come it is possible we may have to
ask the protection of your vast country
against the enemies which mayiassault us,
yet am not disposed at any rate to deny
the leadership which | think we have. In
our political freedom, | think, we are
about as free rs you are AT the same
time, must say there is another destrip
ton of freedom in which think that We
have surpassed yourselves. Many gentle
men here will know to what | refer