Delaware gazette and state journal., 1897-07-08


The world has advanced since 1776,
and as our own poet Whittier has sung;
Space Knocked. and time outrun
And round the world the thought of all
Is but the thought of one.
The ocean, once a barrier, is now a
bridge, and its depths, once the cause
Of terror to mankind, are now the most
secure and confidential deposit itaries of
human communication; its waves ars
whispering tubes, forming contracts
conveying messages from heart to
heart. and transferring fortunes silently
| and safely to and from the most distant
regions to
| The universal dsmand and need of
unauestioned public and private credit
is every day illustrated by the nexus
Of electric nerves that are thrilled daily
and nightly by the communications of
mankind in every part Of the civilized
| world.
Well might you Welcome in this great
city our fellow Americans from the
southern helf Of this hemisphere and
invite them to a friendly comparison OF
the results of our skill and invention,
| and an exchange OF the, products of
their industry with our own.
i warmly congratulate you upon such
expressions and such an organization
for the outlet and expansion Of your
energies and capabilities into foreign
countries, and FROM my heart Iwish
you God speed, and that the fullest
success may attend your efforts in the
lire indinated by the establishment of
your admirable commercial museums.
1t is known to you that for the last
four years | have been the envoy of
our government and reople ar the
Court of st. James. and that while 30
stationed | have necessarily beun a
deeply interested observer of the cur
rents between ths two countries in the
history OF our times.
Never was the Declaration of Ameri-
can independence in l776 so justified
bsfure God and man as il is by the
relations and conditions OF tho two
English speaking nations, which oxist
to day. U
Never was the United States So great
or powerful 10 material wealth and re-
sources, never SO grandly independent
in its self-sustaining energies and go
full of all the elements OF high
civilization, of political, social, moral
aud intellectual strength as to-day.
And never was the empire of Great
Britain, 30 mighty, so etropg in all the
constituents of civilized power, social,
political, moral, materially and intel
lectual as to-day. The last month has
witnessed natural iubilation aud mani
festation Of popular affection and re-
spect by the people OF Great Britain
for their venerable and virtbous Queen.
unprecedented in the annals OF history.
The political severence OF the two
branches of the Engish-speaking races
has stimulated competition and the
growth onward and upward Of both.
and looking back over and.through this
mists of prejudice, passions ami mis-
understandings, 20 can nowslcompre-
bend more clearly the reasons far this
remarkable growth, by what it has
and strengthened and the conditions
for Its happy and honourable con-
tinuauce.
May not the lesson he gathered from
this century OF history OF two free
nations that mutual consideration and
respect, with frank and generous treat.
ment, and confidence, form the best
and most enduring basis for the rs-
ciprocal advantage of both2 -
On this anniversary We now cole
brate, all over the British Empire, by
land and sea. wherever an American
citizen may be found, be can raise the
flag Of his country not only without
molestation but amid the respectful
salutes of British respect and goUd will.
Four years of residence in intimacy
and kindly relations in England enable
me to bear the unimpeaehable testi
mony that never did | hear word or
become aware of an act OF unfriendli-
ness or disrespect to my country or its
citizens: but on the contrary, the
prevalence everywhere in the United
Kingdom of courtesy, of kindness, OF
a desire for closer and kinder and
wider commercial and social relation
with the United States was everywhere
and every day apparent. .oH.&
And thanks be to God, never were
the international relations between the
people OF the two countries in clearer
atmosphere Of unmistakable mutual
good understanding and more free from
ignorant suspicion OF hostile intent
than on this l2lst anniversary of
American independence.
These are truths that cannot be gain
sayed aud | want to say and ought to
say them, and no time or place is moro
appropriate than in your presence on
this anniversary and upon the spot
whereon | stand.
Here ! might well cease to trespass
upon your patience but in the be-
ginning of these remarks said some
thing OF the rapidity and unexpected.
ness with which political event some
times moved, illustrating the Revolu.
tion of 1776 aud the disbelief of Wash
ington and others of the desire for
Independence.
To-day there ia in tho minds OF
thinking men in this country wide.
spread and vague uneasiness on ques-
tion which casts it's shadow over the
outlook of business and beclouds the
atmosphere of hope and enterprise.
Capital is one form OF property and
is sensitive plant, and shrinks and
withers when its confidence is
weakened. SUCH apprehensions. every,
where. vague and underlined. chill the
energies OF men and check their enter
PRISE and labor waits for capital to re
gain its courage and smooth away tho
obstacles and dangers which impede
employment and to bring the energies
of individuals into cooperative action,
And while labor is waiting, suffering
does not wait and worn faces and
hollow cheeks tell the story, amid
mutterings OF discomfort.
All this can be relieved. for there
does not seem much doubt as to the
true cause that "dulls the edge Of
enterprise, and sicklies o'er with the
pale cast of thought" the business Of
our country.
Is il not the uncertainty in mems
minds as to what may be done with the
currency of the country, which is the