THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 107 



whether he thought there was any HkeHhood of English ultimately 

 becoming the spoken language of Quebec. He replied : " There 

 are probably three or four times as many French Canadians who 

 speak English as there were twenty years ago, but they do not use 

 English in speaking among themselves. They find that it is to their 

 interest to learn English, that they cannot get on in the world unless 

 they do, and they show a laudable eagerness to acquire the coveted 

 language. Parents sacrifice a good deal to send their children to 

 English schools, and one of the attractions of the so-called colleges 

 and commercial academies that have sprung up so thickly within the 

 past dozen years is that they teach English. The French have the 

 faculty of language in a marked degree, and learn English with a 

 facility that is astonishing to the Anglo-Saxon. In another century, 

 perhaps a shorter period, the French of Quebec will be described as 

 a bi-lingual people, but that they will cease to use their mother 

 tongue I consider improbable. My reasons for such conclusions 

 are : — 



1. " The natural, the divinely implanted love for one's mother 

 tongue. 



2. The influence of the clergy and the politicians. 



3. The disappearance of the English element from the rural 

 parts of Quebec. 



4. The existence of a sufficient mass of French-speaking peo- 

 ple to resist outside influence. When you find a body of over a 

 million, compact and autonomous, it is absurd to expect that they 

 will change their speech." 



In addition to the reasons already given for the continued use 

 of the French language by our fellow-citizens in Quebec, there is an- 

 other very important one. There is a determined effort being made 

 by the literary men of Quebec to free their language, as much as 

 possible, from the Anglicisms at present in common use, and this 

 effort is meeting with considerable success. M, Lusignan's censor- 

 ship in the columns of La Patrie is most evidently exercising a de- 

 cided influence upon the French of the daily press. 



Canada has no reason to be ashamed of her French Canadian 

 authors. Two of them have already enjoyed the honor of being 

 crowned by the Academy of France. L. H. Fre'chette, Cremazie, 

 Benjamin Suite and L. Pamphile LeMay are French Canadian poets 

 all marked by purity of style, excellence of verse, and an intense 



