The Holland Society of New York - Yearbook (New York, NY)

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153 p In their East India Company they had a power- ful agency for bringing- the nations of the East and West into closer relations. It had trading posts along the coast of Asia from India to Japan, The cargoes of spices which its ships brought back ffgm the East made their owners rich and Amsterdam the most wealthy city in Europe. Prosperity followed in the wake of commerce, It was the beginning of an era of commercial expansion, which occupies so much of the attention of the world at the' present day. It is a satisfactory sign of the times that the importance of commerce to the life and growth of a nation is being more and more appreciated every day. Qflpplausej In ,so far as commerce stimulates the production of wealth, it makes for general peace and discoun- tenances war. f 4 A Fortunately for the presentiday and generation, the world has advanced so far in enlightenment and civilization as to' have other means of settling international disputes than 'a resort to arms.. .Men have grown wiser. At the same time, the nations of the earth have been drawn closer together. Steam and electricity have made it possible for events taking place in the remotest corners of the earth, not only to become known in the newspaper offices throughout Europe and America, but in- stantly to be felt on the Stock Exchanges of Lon- don and New York. War at the present day not only involves the parties directly concerned, but also affects the in- terests of other nations. The extension of coma merce has brought about all this. The Czar Of Russia only gave concrete expreSSiO11 130 what all mankind felt some years ago when he iSS11ed 3

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..ag 1.15 fly' 1+ g L: ?.. .V , Pl in 5' li: c :rf-4 1- ' use-.aw fw-ann. 1 -.4 f ns. , 4 ,Ei . 4 , 1 - r 9, 1 5 1, if 4 152 Work in that it tries to lead men back to the first principles. I need hardly add that I heartily sympathize with its purposes. It affords me peculiar pleasure this evening to be in the com- pany of men who hold the memory of their an- cestors in gratitude and reverence. Macaulay has Well 'said that a people which takes no pride in the noble achievementsof remote ancestors will never achieve anything .Worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants. The rise of the Dutch Republic is a period in the World's history fraught With momentous signifi- cance. The gigantic figures of William the Silent, Maurice of Nassau, DeWitt, Von Tromp, and De Ruyter, to this day loom up grand and majestic. fflpplausej p The achievements of the Dutch in the cause of political freedom and religious toleration, in com4 rnerce, in science, and in art, have been various and splendid. Indeed, any nation might Well be proud of such a long succession of great soldiers, statesmen, natural philosophers, and painters as the Dutch have given to the World. QAppZcmse.D But the people that succeeded in reclaiming land from the sea-the people that, in the defence of their country, dared to cut the dykes which held back the Waters of the ocean-were not made of common stuff. The narrow limits 'of their country could not confine their activities. They had to expand, the result is history. Cflpplausej They set a king upon the throne of England g they planted colonies in the Wilds of Africa, they founded cities and settlements in the New World, they spread their dominion over the islands of the East Indies.

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154 general call for a Peace Congress. Consequently he met with a ready response from every Govern- ment. It is fortunate that the deliberations of the Congress resulted in something tangible--the creation of an International Tribunal of Arbitra- tion at The Hague. T ' This is a long step toward the ultimate abolition of war. Now that there is a 'high court of justice which offers to every nation a way out of every difficulty with another without sacrifice of dignity or honor, it is to be hoped that the time is not far distant when war between nations will be only a painful memory of the barbarous past. CLoud applause.D r THE PRESIDENT :g A Philadelphia lawyer is sup- posed to stand at the top of the heap. Q He can only get higher by moving to New York. I have very great pleasure in introducing to you to-night the Honorable james M. Beck, formerly Assistant Attorney-General of the Eastern District of Penn- sylvania, and now of New York. He will talk to you about OUR HERO ANCESTQRS. They never fail who die in a great cause. C 'N 'siffg 1.54 1 u 1 .ND N Aly . Xu - ..i' Q -541,755-y'- x r. -' .. C Cjw'.fLfW fT15ff f . N is , -g, 3+7byfgkQZii5i41 I U- me f X X X I ' T 3-4: Wg' an ' 3 A Qixl, 5'- 1