IXTEltXATIOXAL TIJEATIES. 187 



bitiou of mighty all-cousuiuiiig power, liesitli- tlu' sober reality of 

 which all the ecstaciesof poets and of jiaintings are puny failures. 



NEWFOUNDrANI) THE >l'IISERY OF ENGLAND'S NAVY. 



"Among these heroic children of the sea England's sons have- 

 always been foi'emost. AVe sliDuld exj^ect England to be espe- 

 cially proud of such offspring, familiar witli their struggles, and 

 ever heedful of theii- wellare, lending an ear to their claims or 

 complaints before all other suitors. Strange to say it has always 

 l)een the e.xact reverse. In the great fisheries, England, from 

 her position and the nature of her peojde, has taken the leading 

 part. Thi' fidii'rii-.s <if Xi'irfiiiinilhind hare h-in tin- (irujin of all, 

 our iiwi^t chcritihni frtiiiDplix. From K<-vf<iiiiiiJliniil Ims lici-v imrsi'd 

 the irhole of tliat iiuvy, mercantile or icarUlc, irliidi moljcs nn iiiii.'<- 

 ters of the -swf.s. From Xevfoimdlawl has xjinimi tlu n-Jmlr iiisjii- 

 ration whicJi h((x h'<l fh'- Eiitjlish empire fn I'uD'r thr (jhilir. 



" It was pre-eminently the New Found Land — the first gai-ner 

 of English discovery. It was in 1497 that the Anglo- Venetian, 

 John (Jabot, with his genuine English sons, 

 '■ Saileit away, 

 J^-oiii Bristol Bay " 

 to find more gems for the concpieror of Bosworth Field to add to 

 his diadem, .lolin Cabot's voyage was the fir.-t of many Bristol 

 exjjeditions ; ami the "West Counti'v men came to consider the 

 Banks of Newfoundland as almost their watery homestead. 



CAPABILITIES OF THE ISL.\NI>. 



"Bearing these facts in mind, one Avenild expect Englishmen to 

 take a most lively interest in a possession next to Ireland in 

 proximity, larger than Ireland in area, and far exceeding Ireland 

 in potential jjrodnct. Besides the fisheries (which themselves 

 must ever remain Tuiri vailed as a national inheritance, and were 

 the most important gift furnished to Europe by tlie discovery of 

 the New World) Newfoundland also possesses a pei'fect treasure- 

 house of minerals, — almost all the metals, and coal and petro- 

 lenm. In fact there is every reason to ex]iect that the fanu^ of 

 Newfoundland as a mining field wduld be world-wide, were 



