306 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



the light of perpetual day. An English ship first ploughed the watera 

 which Avash the north coast of America. English feet first trod the island 

 and the mainland. English hands first planted a national ensign on this 

 part of the new world ! It matters not if the leader's name be John or 

 Sebastian ! It mattei'S not if he be of Venice or of Bristol ! It matters 

 not if one portion of the land was first seen in 1497 and another in 1498 ! 

 The flag that was first fixed in the earth of North America was an Eng- 

 lish flag. The manual which gave warrant and protection to men and to 

 ship was the signet of an English king. And this territory was not 

 Labrador alone, but the land to the south ; the land of Newfoundland 

 and of Acadie ; the New England coast and the shores of the middle 

 states, and the land that drinks of the Chesapeake bay. And the title to 

 all this goodly territory runs fi'om ocean to ocean. And this land belongs 

 to English-speaking people forever. 



The dream of a king leadeth to foolishness. The fortunes of a people 

 are ordered in heaven. The seventh Henry dreamed of an eastern coun- 

 try, of its spice and precious stones. His vision was Cathay, its fulfilment 

 is America. In Cathay men still bow down to wooden gods. In America 

 men worship a living Grod. The civilization of Europe, amended and im- 

 proved, is ours. Cathay sits throned in superstition. In Cathay famine 

 stalks, a familiar figure. Peace and plenty abide in America. InCatha}' 

 the individual drags a chain. In Amei-ica the light of freedom falls upon 

 his forehead. In Cathay^the precious stone is uncut and imperfect. In 

 America every face of the gem shines like a star. In Cathay the odour of 

 the spice dies on the air. In America the fragrance of liberty perfumes 

 the world. In Cathaj'' a wall shuts in its j)eople. In America the brother- 

 hood of man is marching to and fro with open banners. 



" Better fifty yeais of Europe 

 Than a cycle of Cathay." 



