“The irresistible genius and propagation of the English race are
fast _Anglicizing_ the world, and thus centering it around the
heart of civilization and commerce. Under the sceptre of England
alone, there live, it is said, one hundred and forty million of
human beings, embracing all races of men, dwelling between every
two degrees of latitude and longitude around the globe. And there
is the Anglo-American hemisphere of the English race, doubling its
population every twenty-five years, and propelling its propagation
through the Western World. And there is the English language,
colonized, not only by Christian missions, but by commerce, in
every port, on every shore, accessible to an English keel. The
heathen of China or Eastern Inde, whilst buying sandal wood for
incense to their deities from English or American merchantmen, or
trafficing for poisonous drugs; the sable savages that come out of
the depth of Africa, to barter on the seaboard their glittering
sand, their ivory, ostrich feathers or apes, for articles of
English manufacture; the Red Indians of North and South America,
as they come from their hunting grounds in the deep wilderness, to
sell their spoils to English or American fur companies; the
swarthy inhabitants of the ocean islands, as they run to the beach
to greet the American whale ship or the English East Indiaman,
bringing yams and curious ware to sell to the pale-faced
foreigners; all these carry back to their kind and kindred rude
lessons in the English language—the meaning of home and household
words of the strong, old Saxon tongue, each of which links its
possessor to the magnetic chain of English civilization.
“What then, should England do, to bring all nations of men within
the range of the vital functions of that heart-relation which she
sustains to the world?
“Answer—let her establish an _Ocean Penny Postage_.”
X. _The Free Delivery of Letters and Papers in Large Towns_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account