of the Panama Canal, and with deep water from the Lakes to the Gulf, it will be one of the greatest cities in the world.

"Bienville left the colony in 1743, and was suceceded by Vaudreuil, who became Governor of Canada in 1752. On the Plains of Abraham the fate of Canada was decided, and the approaching independence of the English colonies might have been foreseen. By the treaty of Fontainebleau, in 1762, and by the treaty of Paris in 1763, Louis XV lost his colonial empire. in America. Canada had been conquered, but Louisiana was given away by a wretched King. The Louisianians rose against the Spanish domination on October 29th, 1768, under an eloquent and patriotic leader, Nicolas de Lafrénière. They expelled the Spanish Governor and thought of establishing a republic in New Orleans. The French colonists were animated by the same spirit as the English colonists in 1776, and we are proud that our ancestors of 1768 should have been the first men on this continent to have thought of making themselves independent from the rule of a European monarch. This contribution of a spirit of heroism and independence to the civilization of the future United States is of the greatest importance, and deserves careful notice. The chiefs of the revolution of October, 1768, were cruelly put to death in October, 1769, and the Spanish domination was firmly established. It became popular under Governor Bernardo de Galvez, who gave to the Louisianians the glory of having taken part in the war of the American Revolution.

"It gives me great pleasure, Mr. President, to mention the campaigns of Galvez, as they are not known as they should be. In their glorious struggle for independence the Americans obtained the aid of France, and the names of Lafayette and of Rochambeau will never be forgotten in the history of the United States. We should also remember the aid given by Spanish Louisiana, and the name of Galvez, who captured from the British the town of Baton Rouge in 1779, Mobile in 1780 and Pensacola in 1781. The campaign against the latter city is of the greatest interest. As the man-of-war San Ramon had run aground in attempting to enter the harbor of Pen

sacola, the Spanish commodore refused to allow his frigates to run the same risk. Thereupon Galvez ordered his small fleet from Louisiana-a brig, a schooner and two gunboatsto force an entrance into the port. He embarked on board the brig Galveztown, commanded by Rousseau, a native Louisianian, caused his pennant to be raised, so that his presence on board the brig should be known, and boldly entered the port. The Spanish squadron followed the next day, and Pensacola capitulated on May 9th, 1781. Charles III of Spain rewarded Galvez by giving him a high military rank and by allowing him to place on his coat-of-arms the brig Galveztown, with the proud words, "Yo Solo" (I Alone). In letters to Galvez, Washington acknowledged the help given the Americans by the Spanish troops, among whom were many Louisianians. This is surely an important contribution to the history of the United States; and important, also, were the attempts made by Governor Miro of Louisiana, in 1788, and by Governor Carondelet, in 1797, to separate the western country from the Union and join it to the Spanish possessions in the South.

"We had the honor, Mr. President, to take you to Jackson Square, the former Place d'Armes of the French. From the square one sees our historic Cathedral, situated between two imposing buildings. The one to the right of the church is Spanish, like the Cathedral. It is the Cabildo, where took place, in 1803, the transfer of Louisiana from Spain to France, and from France to the United States. When Bonaparte ceded Louisiana to President Jefferson he himself prepared Article Third of the treaty of cession, and guaranteed to the Louisianians their political and religious freedom, and, from 1803 to our days, there has been absolute religious toleration in Louisiana, an admirable contribution to the civilization of the United States.

"When the American banner replaced the French tricolor in 1803 there was no longer colonial Louisiana. But the history of the French and Spanish dominations should be carefully studied. The Latin races which ruled Louisiana for more than a century have left upon her an indelible mark. To

them are due the greater part of her laws, a high sense of the asthetic and an exalted chivalric spirit.

"The Province of Louisiana was immense at the time of the cession by Bonaparte, and the acquisition of that vast territory, which extended as far as the Rocky Mountains, rendered inevitable the expansion of the United States beyond the Rockies to the West and to the Rio Grande to the South. As soon as the Mississippi became an American river from its source to its mouth, it was certain that its tributaries would be thoroughly explored, and, in fact, the Missouri, the greatest of its tributaries, and itself a noble river, led Lewis and Clark to the unknown West in 1804. The same year the Territory of Orleans was organized.

"From 1804 to 1812 the only events of general importance in the history of Louisiana are the presence of Aaron Burr in New Orleans, at the time of his mad attempt to establish for himself an empire in the Southwest, and the revolution at Baton Rouge in 1810, which added that city and West Florida to the domain of Louisiana. In 1812 the Territory of Orleans became the State of Louisiana, as guaranteed by Bonaparte.

"The most glorious event of the war of 1812 was the battle of New Orleans, which was fought at a short distance from this place. It was in vain that the British succeeded, on December 23rd, 1814, in reaching the Mississippi River, and in establishing their headquarters a few miles from the City of New Orleans. Andrew Jackson attacked them with wonderful impetuosity and skill on the very evening of their arrival, and repulsed them on December 28th, on January 1st, and on January 8th, 1815. On the plain of Chalmette the American troops, commanded by General Jackson, inflicted upon the British invaders, commanded by General Pakenham, the most crushing defeat that history mentions. At the spot where stands the monument erected to commemorate his victory Jackson stood to direct his valiant troops in their defense of the soil of Louisiana, and, therefore, of the United States. From the monument one sees a row of trees which grow on a ditch, which is the celebrated Rodriguez Canal, on the side of which Jackson

built his impregnable parapet. On the other side of the canal is the field of Chalmette, and there, at daybreak, on January. 8th, 1815, the British army advanced to attack the Americans. In the space from the river to the wood, when the sun rose, there was a swarm of British soldiers marching against the American line of battle, and at half-past eight in the morning the plain of Chalmette was covered with the bodies of brave men defeated by Jackson's army. There fell Gibbs and Keane, Rennié and Wilkinson, and the gallant Pakenham himself, leading his troops in a vain charge.

"Bravely and well did they fight, Jackson and his menTennesseeans, Kentuckians, Mississippians, Louisianians, Frenchmen, and the so-called pirates of Lafitte.

"If, however, the men had not succeeded in repelling the invaders, there is no doubt, as Bernard de Marigny said, that there would have been found among the Creole women another inspired Maid of Orleans to rout the English. The soil of Louisiana cannot be conquered by a foreign foe.

"We are glad, Mr. President, that it was while you were Secretary of War, that the land on which stands the Chalmette Monument was conveyed by the State of Louisiana to the United States. That shaft is an important memento of the heroism of our fathers, and we are grateful to the patriotic and energetic women of the Society of the United States Daughters of 1776 and 1812, who have completed the monument, and who guard it so zealously.

"The Louisianians fought valiantly in all the wars in our history after 1815; they have contributed to the literature of the country works of merit in French and English, and they have established educational institutions which have trained many Americans to fulfill their duty as enlightened men and women in the uplifting of the civilization of the United States. "We thank you most sincerely, Mr. President, for your kindness in listening to us. We take the liberty of addressing you because we know that our history is worthy to be told, and because we know that whatever concerns an American

city and an American State is of interest to the honored head of our common country, the great United States.

In acknowledgment of Mr. Fortier's address Mr. Taft spoke as follows:

ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT TAFT.

Mr. President, Gentlemen of Louisiana, and My Fellow-Guests: "I have listened to the historical address of your distinguished president with intense interest. Not only have the facts related been of interest, but the interest that the narrator takes in those facts is one most marked. There is something about the French character that persists; something about the French women that persists. It has been my fortune in another part of this continent to come into contact with the French race, in lower Canada, a part of the country that I think at one time was combined with this under one GovernorGeneral. The place is Murray Bay. That has a history that bears out my statement. After the battle of the Plains of Abraham, where Montcalm and Wolfe went to such a glorious death, the Murray Highlanders settled about eighty miles below Quebec, on the north side of the St. Lawrence River. Their officers assumed the feudal duties and positions of the seignors, and the enlisted men became their tenants; and in that regiment were Blackburns, MacNeils, Fraziers, Warrens and a number of other names that would at once advise you that they were from Scotland. With that excellence of judgment that characterizes the Scotch, who know a good thing when they see it, they married French wives. And the influence of those wives is shown upon that sturdy peasantry to-day in the fact that you meet a gentleman who responds to the name of MacNeil, and he doesn't know English at all. Mr. Warren doesn't know himself as 'Warren,' but he is 'Mishter Varron. The English strain has disappeared in that country.

"Now, that country illustrates what this country illustrates-and this in a higher degree even than that-that the French love of France remains wherever the French race is, only to strengthen the patriotism that the