Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-05-16
AMBASSADOR BRYCES ADDRESS.

Ambassador Bryce said in part:
The oak Of English dominion on the
continent of North America lay hidden
in the acorn that was planted on this
island in the James river. just as the
germ of English dominion in the East
was to be found in the charter that had
been granted by Queen Elizabeth to the
East India company seven years before
this very settlement here.
"The landing at jamestown was ono
Of the great events in the history of the
world-an event to be compared for it's
momentous consequences with the over
throw of the Persian Empire by Alex
andcr with the destruction of Carthage
by Rome: with the conquest of Gual by
Clovis; with the taking of CONSTANT
nOple by the Turks;-one might almost
say with the discovery of America by
Columbus. But did any idea of magn
tude of this event arise in the minds of
the little band of settlers when they set
TO the building of their fort, called after
the king, james Town, and began to
SOW their fields with wheat There is
nothing TO show that they saw far
ahead.
OF the founders Of the colony I may
say this: We note in them two quail
ties. one of these, the spirit of adven-
ture, was common to them with many
others who had crossed the Western
Sea. But In the other quality our
countrymen and Your forefathers stood
pre-eminent. They came from free
country, though its freedom had not yet
been placed on secure foundation: and
the spirit OF liberty and the love Of
self government glowed in their hearts.
They carried in their breasts the prin-
ciples and traditions Of tho common law
of England, which of all the legal sYs
tens that have ever been framed is the
one most fully pervaded with the spirit
of liberty and the most favorable to the
the development of personal self-reli-
anCc and Individual responsibility. The
sprit showed itself very early among
the colonists of Virginia. The same g-
norant Of the Nirginia's action when an
unwise English ministry, ignorant OF the
circumstances and feelings Of the colo
nists, Numbered into a,confict which end
cd in their severance from England:
how the greatest Of all Vrgrians cla-
rum ct venerable Nomcr, led his colony
and it's fellow colonists in that conflict:
how the craftsmanship Of Virginia
nnatured by the experience Of nearly
two centuries bore its part and most
distinguished part, in framing the con-
stitution of 1887 and gave to the Union
four out of five first presidents; how
one of virginia's most illustrious sons,
Chief Judge Marshall, so expounded
and develOpc1 the constitution as to be-
come almost its second author-of all
this I must not here and now attempt
70 speak.
Nearly 20 years ago dark days des-
cended upon Virginia. War came, with
all the evils that war brings in It's train
Those days of sadness and suffering,
suffering borne with the Characteristic
gallantry of Nirginians, and they pro-
duced In Robert f. Lee one of the fin
est characters Of that age But out Of
the store there emerged a land delivered
from the curse Of slavery, which had.
alas, come down from nearly colonial
days. The republic now began to stand
more united than 1t had ever stood be-
fore. To-day the jealousies of States,
the antagonism of North and South,
have happily vanished. Virginia and
Massachusetts, the Carolina of Calhoun