The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-26
AMERICAN BANQUET ABROAD.
THANKSGIVING DAY OBSERVED IN
LONDON.

Ambassador Hay One of the Guests at
the Spread-Queen Victoria Sends
Letter Expressing Her Appreci-
alton of the Congratulations Sent
Her by Americans on Her Jubilee.
Ambassador Hay Makes One of His
Characteristic Speeches.
London, Nov. 25.-Over 300 American
men and women and few English per-
sons celebrated Thanksgiving day by a
dinner at the Hotel Cecil tonight.
The party included John Hay, the United
States ambassador. and his wife and
daughter and Henry White, secretary Of
the United States embassy.
The menu, which was especially designed
for the occasion, was ornamented with
American and British flags and over the
seat of the chairman was an enormous
eagle. The list of toasts was long. The
health of Queen Victoria was proposed by
the chairman, who read letter dated
Windsor Castle, from Sir Arthur John
Bigge, private secretary to her majesty,
saying: The queen desires me to beg
that the American ambassador will be so
good as to convey to the members of the
American society in London the expires,
sion of her majestys sincere thanks for
the beautifully Illuminated address of con-
graduation she received from that body.
1 have further to assure your excellency
how deeply the queen was touched by the
sentiments of sympathy with the enthus-
iasm of her own subjects on the Goth an
niversary of her accession to the throne,
which was contained in this address from
citizens of the United States"
Hon. Sir John Garell Barnes, justice of
the high court of justice proposed the
health of Ambassador Hay, dwelling up
on the great friendllness that he believed
exists between England and the United
States, and saying: 'If the two cOun-
tries Will only put their backs together
they can rule the destinies of the world"
Ambassador Hay responded with a
bright speech. He sketched the origin of
the day which began, he said, in that
pathetic thanks Offering of our forefa-
theirs when they were keeping alight the
spark of freedom which was destined to
kindle into such beacon blaze, enlighten-
ing and astonishing the world
Some of our peculiar Institutions" con-
tinued Mr.. Hay, "thank heaven, We have
lost, The worst passed away in the
tempest of the war it caused, but this, the
most unquestionably peculiar of all, we
can trust to abide with us forever. This
is one of the few things we can do that
offends nobody, threatens no one and COM
petes with no one. There can never be
too much gratitude in the world.
Seventy millions of voices prasing God
together would not justify the addition of
one ronclad to any navy on earth To-
night we can hardly be said to be in a
foreign land A French statesman said
the other day: Where there is one
FTenchman there is France so we have
300 good reasons here to believe we are in
America tonight and may be pardoned
for speaking of some little things that we
care about"
Mr.. Hay then paid an eloquent tribute
to The unknown, nameless artist who
in the days of early New England, first
brought to perfection the pumpkin pie"
He endorsed Benjamin Franklin's sugges-
ton that the turkey should be the ma
tional emblem instead of the eagle, who,
with aristocratic profile, loud voice and
predatory disposition, hardly commends
himself as the emblem of modest, indus
trious and conscientious democracy, while
the turkey, like true altruist exists only
for the good of others and perishes by
thousands yearly for the public welfare" >"
Mr.. Hay, in closing, said: THE great
body of. the people of the two countries are
friends. We are the fortunate heirs to Eng
lish law and liberty, which both nations
respect"
Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal, re-
spending to "Our Next Door Neighbors, -
said that Canada, while loyal to the queen
and to Great Britain, had the fullest feel
ing of friendship for the United States and
he was satisfied that if either country
should get into difficulties the other would
help its neighborhood.