stone portion called Plymouth Rock, which
we never begrudged them, gets up at a great dinner and reads a fine
speech and talks about civil and religious liberty which the Puritan
came over to cause to flourish. Why, the poor Puritan did not know any
more about religious liberty than an ordinary horse does about
astronomy. What the Puritan came over here for, was to get a place to do
what he liked, in his own way, without interference from anybody else,
with power to keep everybody out that wanted to do anything the least
bit different from his way. [Great laughter and applause. A voice--"I'm
glad I voted for you."] I never can get elected from New England.

I want to tell you just a thing or two about this business. The Dutch
tried very hard to teach them civil and religious liberty before they
came over, and then they put the Yankees in a ship and sent them over
from Leyden and Delfshaven, saying: "It is utterly useless; we cannot
teach you." [Great laughter.] But we came over to New Amsterdam and we
had free schools in New York until the English took the city by
treachery when there was only Peter Stuyvesant to fire one gun against
the invaders, and then they abolished free schools and had their church
ones, and they are fighting over that question in England now. Free
schools! New York established them when we were free again, years and
years afterwards, but they are an invention of the Dutch.

Civil and religious liberty! it was born in Holland, it was nourished by
the valor of the Beggars of the Sea, and finally it began to grow into
the minds of the peoples of the earth, that it was not only right to
enjoy your own religion, but it was also right to let your neighbor
enjoy his. [Applause.]

Then there is another story, that the English conquered Manhattan
Island, and that we are here by the grace of any people on earth except
our own. That is another mistake. Just read Theodore Roosevelt's "Rise
of New York." [Great laughter.] Now I am going to tell you this story
because you must go up to Ulster County and up to Dutchess and Albany
Counties, and you must tell every Yankee you meet the truth about this,
and not let him talk any more about the English having subjugated the
Dutch.

It is true the English captured Manhattan Island, but nine years
afterwards Admiral Evertsen and another Admiral whose name escapes me,
came up the harbor in two frigates with guns well shotted, got beyond
Staten Island, and gave the