The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-09-05

mar subsequent generations Of their
may be inspired to emulate
thelr deeds and characters. Such a
man was Walter Raleigh. and such,
100, were Philip Amadas, Arthur Bar
low, Ralph Lane, John White. Sir
francis Drake. Sir Richard Grenville,
homas CaNendish and Thomas Har-
riot-that group of brilliant soldiers,
sailors, adventures and scholars
whose names are inseparably con-
nected with the story of Roanoke and
to whose genius England owes her
immense colonial empire of today.
The marvellous deeds by which
these men laid the foundations Of that
vast empire found their inspiration IN
lIyaity to queen and country, love OF
liberty, and Devotion to religious con-
i1ctlons. At NlV Gus times in English
history an attack on any one of these
sentiments mas been sufficient to call
1o1tn the m.ghtiest eXertions Of the
English nation; during the closing
Years of the sixteenth century all
three were attacked at one and the
same time by n and the same ar
rogant Philip II of Spain,
proclaimipg Eliza beth of England an
usuIper, had laid claim to her throne.
Mlghty armies and navies had been
leVleo and equipped throughout his
boundless dominions for the sole our
pose Of establishing the despotism Of
CASTLE by OVerthroWing the liberties
OF England. The Pope Of Rome had
commissioned His Most Catholic
Majesty to lead a crusade against the
National Church Of England and ito
inaugurate on English soil the ac-
cursed work of the inquisition." AS
one man, without egard to religious
cn1iEictions or sectarian p~rejudices,
he people of England sprang to the
deli OF the throne, the constitution
and the church with an enthusiasm
that stirs our blood with pride ever
after the lapse of three centuries. IL
this contest with Spain, England was
"pitted against the greatest military
power that had existed in Europe
since the days Of Constantine the
Great. To many the struggle seemed
hopeless. F'or England the true policy
was limited by circumstances. She
could send troops across the channel
to help the Dutch in their stubborn
resistance, but to try to land a force
in the Spanish peninsula for agrees
s.ve warfare would be sheer mad
ness. The shores Of America and the
open sea were the proper field of. war
for England. Her task was to para
!yze the giant by cutting off his sup
plies, and in this there was hope Of
success, for no defensive fleet, how
ever large, could watch all Philips
enormous possessions at once This
was the work which was lone SO eff
fectively by Raleigh and Drake,
Amadas and Barlow, Grenville and
Cavendish, that even until this day
it has never been necessary to do
it over g III.
Before I undertake to point out the
special service which entities each Of
these men to an honorable place in
our history, let me refresh your
memories by stating briefly the rela-
ton which each bore to the Roanoke
settlements. The connection Of Sir
Walter Raleigh with these events is
and Arthur Barlow, you will remem-
Der, were the captains Of the expedi-
ton dispatched by Raleigh in 1854
to explore the country and select a
place for the contemplated colony.
Ralph Lane. was governor Of the
colony sent out in 1885. The fleet in
which his eolony sailed was under the
command of Sir Richard Grenville.
With Grenville sailed that wonder
full Suffolk boy Thomas C~avendish,
aged twenty-five years, who, before
he had reached his t~wenty-ninth year,
had rivaled the exploits Of Sir Francis
Drake in the Pacific and circumnavi-
gated the globe. Two Of the colonists
with Lane were John White. after
wards governor Of the Lost Colony
and Thomas Harriet. the historian and
scientist Of the colony, to whose schol-
arly narrative we are indebted for
most Of our knowledge Of it's history.
And finally there was Sir Fn1ncis
Drake, whose timely arrival at Croa-
tan in the summer of 1886 afforded
Lanes homesick men an opportunity
Of returning to England.
The impelling mind behind the
achievements of these men was the
mind Of Walter Raleigh. Grenville,
Annadas, BarloW, C~aVendish and the
other glorious English sea kings of
the sixteenth century understood Eng
lands problem we'll enough so far as
it involved the ravaging of Spanish
coasts and the plundering of Spanish
treasure ships. But Raleigh under
stood that something greater and
more permanent than such exploits
was needed to establish English SUI
% in EurOpe and America. II