Evening star., 1898-09-02

| an EhsHsh soluler, real Briton, could
| never have initiated the drollery with
| which this military guide dropping into
| French archly asked. Would messieures
| the Americans like to see the cannon which
we look at Bunker Hili?" with a stress on
| the we that expressed a mingling OF
loyal British satisfaction with French
| irony.
IL the language of their forefathers IS
| preserved by the descendants of the French
| colonists the customs and traditions live
with 1t. These people must be good farm.
ers, said former Secretary John w. Fos-
| Ter L noticed coming along the railroad
nCW trim and well kept their farms are.
! Nothing Is wasted and nothing neglected -
similar observations were made by other
members of the party. The drive through
| the village of Beaufort or along the road TO
Snarlesoourg shows how thrift nourishes
| cohtentment- / do not know whether these
| HaEsard cottages, with their gardens ana
| lne str1p OF a farm running down to the
river, are so exact reproduction of Nor
Tbe,, anu brlttany as the travellers say.
lhey are quaint enough, but they do not
| appear 10 be primitive. The log house in
| the United States meets our notion of what
prlmiuve, but in Quebec province even
r1 e ,os nouse ana the straw thatches would
not seem SO. They are too neat and tas.a-
| IuI to suggest the pioneer
Inc rrehcn Canadian farmer also lacks
tne plcturesQueness of the peasant
frooaDIy II is because he is not a neasant
but shrewd landowner who knous hn,- -
MAKE rev acres yield the fruitfulness Of
tiie SOIL ana a little more. These St Law
renee river farms would be accounted Moor
Sas nSS,uass along the Mississippi, yet they
anord good living to father and son and
grandson, who build their homes in cot
tsses one back of another. and pass a com
iortable existence. They are content with
@ .iielr language. their church and their gov
ernment which Is not alien to them If II
were they would be less content and less
Wouio De heard about the loyalty of the
Prttie,l Santdlans to the integrity of the
nLi.ish empire They are a good people,"
saio the priest on the boat to me- He was
returning from an absence of many wears
III the western states to the scenes of his
own youth and student life, and he uncon-
sSiousiy spoke in French Il shall see few
SndhSeS among my people," he continued
Ihey are not what you call in the states
progressive. But they have the fundamen-
tai virtues. They are true to themselves
a.; ;ngy noid together and they are cred
liapie citizens of any government English
statesmen have been wise enough to see
tnat such a people cannot be unmade TLey
VIII always preserve their individuality,
ana their language is part of it"
Preservation of French.
had been told before coming to Quebec
that the French Canadian element was in
a transition state, and that the evidences
OF Its ultimate disappearance might even
now De discerned. If the evidences are
more discernible than they were a hundred
and forty years ago. when New France
came under English rule, they are still be-
yond the ordinary vision. In the states
among the "old folks of the Germans I
nave often heard bitter regrets because
their children were unwilling to learn tie
language of the fatherland Association
with those who speak a common language
was enough to create a dislike for the
speech of their parents. No such condition
prevails in the French province of Quebec
because the English-speaking element OF
the population is not numerically or other
wise wise ehe dominating element Possibly
more French Canadian children speak
English In this generation than in the last
one, possibly more will speak it i'm the fu-
ture than IN the present Nevertheless
this Will not be at the expense of their own
tongue. The young French Canadian has
no ambition to forget the language of his
parents. With him to know English is an
incident, not object
The certain means of preserving q an
guage is in its literature and, after that
through the newspapers 1t would be a
hazardous judgment to say that the French
newspapers In Quebec and Montreal are
better than the English ones Each class
mas Its own constituency and like good
newspapers everywhere, is printed for that
constituency. This may be said as a preface
70 the statement that several of the French
journals OF Quebec and Montreal are unu-
sually good ones. They give guidance to
the aspirations and the purposes of the
French Canadians. A full understanding of
the politics, the economic situation or the
social IRE OF the province cannot be had by
reading the English newspapers alone
lhey DO not interpret the feelings or reflect
the thought OF the major part of the popu-
iSuon. L notice also that the Paris CORE
spoliuence OF the French Canadian journals
is mora complete and more regular than
the London correspondence of the naners
printed IN English. The truth appears TO he
mat the real Canadian. whether he is of
frehcn, English, Scotch or Irish extraction
cares little about what is happen in the
English capital. He may feel and profess a
sentimental loyalty, yet 1t does not inter
fere with his independence as an individ,,a1
however, what is going on in France
though 1t can have no political signifcance
ana cannot influence his surroundings does
interest the French Canadian He even
shares the emotional phases Of the Francb
nauonal NE, and probably is better inform
ed regarding the lightning changes which
take place in the ministries than the paris
bouleVardler who gossips over them in the
cares. All this is with the knowledge that
these things do not concern him. Perhaps
that is what enhances his relish AS lone
as 1t Is so New France that once was OIIn7
pee province that Is, will continu. 10 he a
hindrance to Anglicizing the dominion. The
more sensible plan seems to be that which
English statesmen have been wise enougb
to follow. While England is content with
the allegiance given the empire and while
Quebec, as part of the dominion is content
with English political institutions which af-
iord stability and security. the difference in
language Is not worth trying to revolution
lze Nor Is 1t worth while guessing whether
In the remote future it will DE evolutionized
out OF existence. If that ever happens Oua-
DEC VIII cease to be the most interesting
portion of Canada. Though its hfstoricaI
monuments will remain, it will become al
most as commonplace as some of the other
provinces CHARLES NJ. PEPPER.
SECRETARY ALGER'S DEPARTURE