The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-07-07
AMERICA, ENGLAND AND
FRANCE ARE COMMITTED
TO POLICIES OF PEACE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE IL

(C0NTIN UED FROM PAGE ID
turtles by spaniards, Englishmen, French
men and Portuguese who braved those
dreadful terrors of the sea, circumnavi-
gated the globe in little cockleshells and
carried the standard of the then ciyiliza-
ton into the farthest forests and into
the dangers of the most distant tropics.
Stories of Pioneers.
II am a good sailor. / don't mind the
waves of the sea, but should think that
those that did mind them would not be-
lieve the stories of Magellan, of Cham
plain, of Cortez and of those who came
over in craft that seem no larger than
slxiffs today
'I think it is well for US to go back
through the history of all nations in or
der that our own heads, a little sweled
with modern progress, may be dimin-
ished bit by the proper appreciation
of what was done by nations before us,
under conditions that seemed to limit the
possibility of human achievements, but
limitations that were overcome by the
bravery, the courage and the religious
faith of nations that preceded us In de-
veloping the world.
"There were Montcalm and Wolfe, two
great Christians, back to whom you trace
the whole history of lower Canada. 1t
is true Wolfe conquered Montcalm on
the plains of Abraham, but there is still
in all the region of lower Canada pop
ulation purely French, a population in
dustrious, God-fearing and loyal to the
flag under WHOSE government they live.
That fact is a compliment not only to
the far-seeing craftsmanship of the Eng
lish colonial statesman who framed the
government under which they live, but
1t is a compliment to the present indus
trial domestic virtues of the French ma
ton.
Visits in Canada.
For 16 years It way my good good for
tune to go to Murray Bay in Canada
for the summer. There is a limitation,
however upon the presidential office that
now prevents it. While there I learned
some things and one was that while the
Murray highlanders and other soldiers of
England conquered on the plains OF
Hbraham quite number of those soldiers
went down the St. Lawrence and were
Induced to settle on the French seigneuries
which lie some 80 miles below Quebec.
There were Blackburns and WaTens
and McNeills and Fraziers and Nairens
and all the Scotch names that bring back
the memory of the Murray highlanders.
And what did they do? They had the
good sense to marry French women. And
what happened? That country Is full
of Blackburns and Nairens today and
they don't any of them speak a word of
English
There are other ways of conquering
a people than merely by guns.
Great Battle Ground.
This valley in which we are, in the 800
j years since it was discovered by Cham
plain, has furnished almost as much of
battle ground for the three nations
and the Indians who were on all sides
as Belgium in Europe, and one does not
have to seek far for the reason. If you
will read the account given by Benedict
Arnold of his attempt to reach Quebec
through Maine, you will understand why
everybody else that went that way went by
Lake Champlain. The truth is it was
the only passageway and as the st. Law
renee, on the one hand, offered a great
place for settlement and the Hudson, on
the other hand, all this Atlantic coast.
In order to reach the two this was the
passageway and here were fought the bat
ties that continued for 200 years and as we
now say, never to recur again. They did
not occur in the Civil war. l believe ex-
cept a little adventure by some rash
representatives of the Confederacy who
tried to break a bank in St. Adams, but
with that exception we have to go back
to the war of 1872 for the use of this as
battle-ground.
II echo and emphasize the statements of
the two ambassadors and repeat their
prayer that never again may this great
valley be given a name in history by
reason of its being the seat of bloody
war"