Oak Street 
 i UNCLASSIFIED 
 
 Volume V OCTOBER-DECEMBER, 1919 Number 5 
 
 Published by Randolpb-Macon Woman's College 
 
 ISSUED QUARTERLY 
 
 BULLETIN OF 
 
 RANDOLPH - MACON 
 WOMAN'S COLLEGE 
 
 LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA 
 
 Of mi 
 
 ENGLISH AND AMERICAN POLITICAL IDEALS 
 
 By PROFESSOR JAMES FREDERICK PEAKS 
 
 IN MEMORIAM 
 
 PRESIDENT WILLIAM ALEXANDER WEBB 
 MRS. WILLIAM ALEXANDER WEBB 
 
 Entered as secoDd-class matter, January 5, 1915, at tlie post-oflSce at Lynchburg, Virginia, under 
 the Act of August 24, 1912. 
 
BULLETIN 
 
 OF 
 
 RANDOLPH-MACON 
 WOMAN'S COLLEGE 
 
 ENGLISH AND AMERICAN POLITICAL IDEALS 
 
 By Professor James Frederick Peake 
 
 IN MEMORIAM 
 
 President William Alexander Webb 
 Mrs. William Alexander Webb 
 
 Published by Randolph-Macon Woman's College 
 lynchburg, va. 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Arcliive 
 in 2013 
 
 littp://arcliive.org/details/englisliamericanpOOpeak 
 
English and American Political Ideals 
 
 By professor JAMES FREDERICK PEAKE 
 
 WHEN the great war broke on the world in the summer 
 of 1914, thoughtful persons were puzzled by the 
 peculiar turn which the sympathy of the American 
 people took. Everyone, of course, deeply sympa- 
 thized with France; most Americans were anti-German, but at 
 the same time there were thousands who were strongly anti- 
 English. Many who wanted Germany to lose did not want Eng- 
 land to win. Even after we entered the war on the side with 
 England and thereby proved the identity of our interests and 
 ideals, the retort was made that the United States was forced to 
 go to war to make the world safe for England. 
 
 How can this anti-English feeling be explained? Why was it 
 that England's motives and purposes were so completely mis- 
 understood in the country where this was least to be expected? 
 Many explanations have been offered and all of them help to 
 answer the question, but probably the explanation that goes 
 nearest to the root of the trouble is the one offered by Mr. Alt- 
 schul. His theory was that the misunderstanding of England and 
 her ideals, and most of the anti-English feeling in this country, 
 are due to the superficial and even false teaching of history, par- 
 ticularly the history of the American Revolution. To see what 
 there might be in this theory he collected some 93 representntive 
 text books on history that have been used in the schools of the 
 country during the past generation and sought to find out what 
 they taught about English-American relations. Studying the ac- 
 count of the American Revolution as given in these books he 
 discovered that in the great majority of them the struggb be- 
 tween England and America was very superficially and falsely 
 presented, and he concluded that the bias and prejudice which 
 Americans have thus acquired have left their indelible imi)res- 
 sion on us. As a logical result of such prejudice we have in- 
 herited the belief that England is America's ** hereditary 
 enemy," that she has always been opposed to freedom and that 
 
4 Bulletin 
 
 she is a big greedy land-grabbing power demanding for herself 
 the best in trade and territory all over the world. A greater per- 
 version of historical truth can hardly be imagined, and it is in 
 the hope of correcting such an error and of being able to pay a 
 small tribute to the great role that England has played in the 
 extension and development of what we consider the highest 
 ideals in government that the present brief study is made. No 
 attempt is being made, and no attempt need be made, to hold 
 England up as a perfect nation without sin or wrong. Nations 
 like individuals are human, they make mistakes and they often 
 yield to great temptations, but just as an individual must not be 
 judged by a single act or event in his life, so a nation's entire 
 history must be taken into consideration before passing judg- 
 ment on that nation. Viewed in this light, the study of English 
 political history can lead to no other conclusion than that Eng- 
 land's work and influence in the world have been decidedl3^ for 
 good and that she has done more to advance the principles of 
 law and free government than any other nation. Indeed, "the 
 English have been leaders in the political civilization of the 
 world." Moreover it must be said to the glory of England that 
 she has always profited by her mistakes, she has learned well 
 the lessons of her experience and has by them been led on and 
 on to the practice of higher ideals. As a direct result of the 
 American Revolution, for example, England carried out 
 thoroughgoing democratic reforms in her government at home 
 and adopted a more liberal policy toward her colonies and pos- 
 sessions. In 1918 the Earl of Derby, British Ambassador to 
 Prance said: "I wish to thank America for giving us the best 
 licking we ever got. It has done us both a lot of good. We are 
 grateful to you because that licking taught us how to treat our 
 children ; it is the reason why we have Australia, Canada and 
 South Africa fighting beside us today." 
 
 Now what are the facts about England's political ideals and 
 practice? From the beginning of their history the English have 
 been champions of liberty, self-government and law. Political 
 liberty in the modern sense had its birth in Englandi, and, as for 
 law, it may be truly said that the English are a people to 
 
Randolph-Macon Woman's College 5 
 
 whom the principle of the reign of law is a sacred principle. In 
 theory England has never had an absolute kingship. If in times 
 of danger the people have permitted certain of their kings to 
 disregard their rights and rule as veritable despots, yet when 
 the danger passed they have risen up and successfull}^ asserted 
 their rights to liberty and freedom. Magna Charta, the Petition 
 of Right, the Bill of Rightsi, represent landmarks in the struggle 
 for liberty that should make any nation proud. And the prin- 
 ciples embodied in these immortal documents have been trans- 
 planted and upheld wherever Englishmen have gone. The 
 American colonists could never have produced such documents 
 as the Virginia Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence if they had not been Englishmen by tradition and in- 
 heritance. In declaring these principles to the world they were 
 merely expanding the English doctrine of the rights of English- 
 men into the American doctrine of the Rights of Man. Where 
 did we get the rights we so fondly cherish today — the right of 
 trial by jury, habeas corpus, freedom of speech and the press? 
 These were all won and firmly established as fundamental Eng- 
 lish doctrines long before America became an independent state. 
 As Professor George Burton Adams says, "All that is funda- 
 mental in our political system — the supremacy of law over 
 government, the representative system, individual liberty, the 
 sovereignty of the people — is derived form England and from 
 nowhere else." 
 
 But English liberty has not been confined to territory ruled 
 by Anglo-Saxons. One of the primary causes of the French 
 Revolution was the doctrine of liberty as taught and practiced 
 by England. Montesquieu, the great French political philoso- 
 pher of the 18th century, glorified English institutions, and by 
 contrasting the freedom enjoyed in England with the despotism 
 prevailing in France he explained and accounted for the prog- 
 ress, prosperity and happiness of the English and the discontent 
 and backwardness of the people of France. His work the 
 ''Spirit of Laws" was in reality an apotheosis of English lib- 
 erty, and the real meaning of the great revolution in France is 
 that the French people, converted, by the preaching of Mon- 
 
6 Bulletin 
 
 tesquieu and the practice of America, to the English ideal of 
 liberty, added to it their own ideal of equality as preached by 
 Rousseau and became missionaries of what seemed to them a new 
 gospel. Therefore, it is no mere chance that England, France 
 and America have been associated together in the late war for 
 human liberty, for there are spiritual bonds that make these 
 three peoples natural allies, and these bonds all had their origin 
 in England. 
 
 Now the obstacle over which most people stumble is the fact 
 that the United States and England have been at war twice in 
 their history and have been on the verge of war at various 
 other times. Therefore, they conclude, England and America 
 are natural, hereditary enemies and have always stood for op- 
 posing principles. Though the former facts are true, the latter 
 conclusion is false. 
 
 Many of our school histories in their superficial treatment of 
 the American Revolution do give the impression that in that 
 struggle America stood for liberty and England for despotism. 
 Such slogans as ''Grive me liberty or give me death" and "Re- 
 sistance to tyrants is obedience to God," are apt to mislead us 
 unless all the circumstances are known. 
 
 Now what are the facts in the case? Fifteen years befor-) the 
 American Revolution began, a German with a veneer of English 
 learning ascended the English throne as George III. Imbued 
 \\'ith the divine right idea of kingship he set about to destroy 
 the ]i])erties that the English people had won during a struggle 
 of more than 500 years. By bribery and other means known to 
 the politics of that day he built up a party which was known 
 as the "King's Friends," but which was the enemy of the 
 English people who protested and resisted this attack upon 
 their rights. When George III and his friends attempted to ex- 
 tend their theory of government to America they found the 
 colonists ready to resist them not only by constitutional argu- 
 ments but even by resort to war. What w^as the attitude of the 
 English people in this struggle? The ablest statesmen in the 
 mother country and the true representatives of the English 
 people — Pitt, Fox, Burke — openly championed the cause of the 
 
Randolph-Macon Woman ^s College 7 
 
 colonists, expressed delight that they had resisted and rejoiced 
 when they won. And why ? Because they saw that the American 
 colonists were upholding and fighting for the rights of the Eng- 
 lish people as well as their own. They saw that if George Ill's 
 attempt failed in America his system of government would be 
 overthrown in England, and that the reforms which they had 
 been working for could not be withheld. The three great reform 
 bills of the 19th century which made England a thorough-going 
 democracy prove that they were right. The American Revolu- 
 tion, therefore, was not a war between England and America, 
 it was a war between America and a government in England 
 which did not represent the English people but which on the 
 contrary was hostile to all their best traditions. As recently 
 expressed by an old Londoner, the American Revolution was due 
 entirely to ''the stultified 'ouse of 'Anover." Therefore, in- 
 stead of being a cause for ill feeling, the American Revolution 
 should have convinced the English and Americans of the identity 
 of their ideals. It preserved Anglo Saxon rights for England, 
 America and the world at a time when they were in danger of 
 being trodden under foot. 
 
 We went to war again with England in 1812, but the less 
 said about that affair the better for us, for there is nothing con- 
 nected with it that brings any glory to the United States. When 
 we declared that war on England we had more just cause to de- 
 clare war on Napoleon, but we had so completely lost our pa- 
 tience and had become so exasperated with the entire situation 
 in Europe that we were determined to fight somebody, but un- 
 fortunately we chose the wrong enem.y. What we should Lave 
 done was what we recently did, viz., join Avith England who was 
 fighting then as later a life and death struggle with an Europ-^an 
 despot, not alone for her own existence but for the freedom of 
 all European nations. 
 
 Apparently, however, that "War of 1812" was worth all it 
 cost, for it was the last war between the two divisions of the 
 English-speaking peoples and it taught them to respect the 
 ideals of each other and that their interests and mission in the 
 world are so similar that whatever differences might arise be- 
 
8 Bulletin 
 
 tween them in the future could and should be settled by arbi- 
 tration instead of by war. 
 
 A clear distinction must always be made between the English 
 people and the English government before that government was 
 democratized. The English people have always been friendly to 
 the United States because they have recognized that the people of 
 the two countries have common aims and ideals. But before the 
 second great Reform Act in 1867, which brought the Enc,4ish 
 government into hannony with the English people, that go\em- 
 ment often showed an unfriendly attitude toward the United 
 States, because it knew that the success! of democracy in 
 America would spell defeat for aristocracy in England. The 
 English government, though not the English people, was^ afraid 
 of American democracy and it was the fear of American de- 
 mocracy that caused the English government to hope for the 
 success of the southern Confederacy. But almost immediately 
 after the Reform Bill of 1867 became a law the English govern- 
 ment agreed to arbitrate not only the serious questions that 
 arose between England and the United States during the Civil 
 War, but also all outstanding questions between the two 
 countries. 
 
 Several explanations have been given for what is called Eng- 
 land's ''backdown'' in the Venezuelan controversy. Some one 
 has said that it was due to Lord Salisbury's sense of humor. An- 
 other has attributed it to the Balance of Power in Europe. But 
 undoubtedly a consideration that had great weight with the 
 foreign secretary was the belief that the English people would 
 not support a war with the United States. That the feeling 
 against the United States at that time was not very strong may 
 be judged by the warm sympathy and hearty support given us 
 by both the English government and the English people thrcB 
 years later in our war with Spain. 
 
 If anything more were needed to convince the two peoples of 
 the identity of ideals and interests it was furnished by the great 
 World War. Not the least of the benefits derived from this last 
 war is the fact that it has revealed the different nations to the 
 world in their true light. It has made each nation declare itself. 
 
Randolph-Macon Woman's College 9 
 
 It has thrown a great light upon the peoples of the world which 
 has enabled iis to see their very souls. When this war began the 
 issues were so beclouded that few of us understood the real issues 
 at stake. Most of us looked for selfish motives and the desire for 
 material gain. But the war had not gone on very long before we 
 discovered that the most fundamental issues were at stake, 
 reaching to the very heart of Christian civilization. We saw that 
 fundamental principles of government were at war — autocracy 
 was fighting for existence against the world tide of democracy. 
 Indeed, we saw that the real issue was a moral one — should 
 right depend upon mere might, should brute force rule the 
 world or should there be established the reign of law. It is 
 possible that England might have been drawn into this war even 
 if Belgium had not been invaded, for her existence might have 
 been threatened. The whole world knows that the defeat of 
 France and Russia was only a step in the German plan, to be 
 followed by the conquest of England and then by a war with 
 the United States. But however that may be, it cannot be denied 
 that the cause which led England to enter the war was not pri- 
 marily her own interests, but the defense of a law that Germany 
 and England had both solemnly agreed to keep. A treaty may 
 be ''a scrap of paper" to a German, but to an Englishman a 
 treaty is a sacred obligation. England entered the war to de- 
 fend the idiea of a public law of Europe and for the small na- 
 tions which that law protects. That her own interests may have 
 been served at the same time, should not detract from the no- 
 bility of her motive. A high and responsible English authority 
 stateisi: ''Our cause, as one would expect from a people that has 
 fought out its own internal struggles under the forms of law, 
 is a legal cause. We are a people in whose blood the cause of law 
 is the vital element. It is no new thing in our history that we 
 should fight for that cause. When England and Revolutionary 
 France went to war in 1793 the cause, on the side of EngUaid, 
 was a legal cause. We fought for the public law of Europe as 
 it had stood since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648." Today in 
 the same cause "England has drawn her sword" again. "How 
 could she have done otherwise, with those traditions of law so 
 
10 Bulletin 
 
 deep in all Anglo-Saxon blood — traditions as real and as vital 
 to Anglo-Saxon America as to Anglo-Saxon England." 
 
 And did England slack in this struggle? Did she hold back 
 and allow the other nations to bear the brunt of this war" In 
 spite of the fact that next to France, England suffered most in 
 the late war, these charges have been made against her. But cer- 
 tainly a nation that can announce an official casualty list among 
 her land forces alone of 3,049,000 including more than 658,000 
 actually killed, has come pretty near to doing her duty ! 
 
 But if England had not sent a soldier to France or to any of 
 the other theaters of the war, the work of her navy would have 
 been no mean contribution to the great cause. The task of driv- 
 ing the German flag from the sea.s, of conducting the most diffi- 
 cult blockade known to history, of overcoming the submarine 
 menace is a task that is entitled to the highest praise. How 
 much food or amnuuiition could have been transported to the 
 allies if England had not controlled the seas ! How many 
 American soldiers would have landed safe in France without 
 the aid of the British fleet ! The Great War was won as much 
 by allied superiority on sea as on land and that superiority on 
 sea was made possible onlv bv the British navy. Far more 
 hujniliating than the surrender of Germany's army while on 
 foreign soil was the surrender of the German fleet which sub- 
 mitted without daring to risk a battle. 
 
 England's close proximity to the continent of Europe has 
 compelled her to take deep interest and often to participate in 
 movements that have more directly concerned the nation.^ on 
 the continent. But her sympathy has always been on the side of 
 liberty, s'lf-government and deiuocraey. England remained a 
 member of the Quadruple Alliance until that alliance announced 
 as its chief purj)()se the suppression of li])eral movements wher- 
 ever they might appear. Then England not only withdrew from 
 that alliance but she immediately offered to form a counter alli- 
 ance with the United States to defend republicanism in the west- 
 ern hemisphere and to counteract the reactionary influence of 
 the despotic powers of Europe. The Greeks in their struggle for 
 independence got not only sympathy ])ut substantial assi^-tance 
 
Randolpji-Macon Woman ^s College 11 
 
 from Eugland. When, about the same time, Belgium revolted 
 from the unnatural union she had been forced to make with 
 Holland, England was an outspoken champion of that instance 
 of national self-determination. Such exiled heroes a® Kossuth, 
 Shurz, Garibaldi, whose only crime was devotion to liberty, 
 found the same welcome in England as in the United States. 
 Therefore the triumph of the allies in this war is the triumph of 
 the ideals for which England as well as America has ah^^ays 
 stood. The principles to which the allies are committed in the 
 resettlement of the world are the principles that England, 
 Prance and America have advocated all through the 19th cen- 
 tury. A high authority writing in 1917 but foreseeing the tri- 
 umph of the allies asks this question: — "Now that the world has 
 been made one by the victory of western civilization, in what 
 spirit is that supremacy to be used? Is is to be used in the 
 spirit expressed in the German doctrine of Power, the 
 spirit of mere dominion ruthlessly imposed and ruthlessly ex- 
 ploited for the sole advantage of the master power? That way 
 lies ruin. Or is it to be in the spirit which has on the whole, and 
 in spite of lapses, guided the progress of western civilization in" 
 the past — the spirit of the respect for law and for the rights of 
 the weak, the spirit of liberty Avhich rejoices in variety of type 
 and method and which believes that the destiny towards which 
 all people should be guided is that of self-government in free- 
 dom, and the co-operation of free peoples in the maintenance of 
 common interests? Britain, France and America have beer, the 
 great advocates and exponents of these principles in the govern- 
 ment of their own states : they are all ranged on one side today. " 
 
 But in addition to the foundation of liberty and devotioji to 
 ihe principles of law and self-government, colonial expansion 
 has been a particular achievement for England, and in building 
 up the most remarkable empire the w^orld has ever known Eng- 
 land has been guided by these same ideals. Even in the 17th 
 century when modem colonization began and the European 
 powers were vieing with one another for colonial suprem.acy, 
 England wa® by far the most liberal of these powers towards 
 her colonies. Tn spite of the absurd and unpopular Navigation 
 
12 Bulletin 
 
 Acts it is the judgment of history that **the English system 
 was more enlightened and far less selfish and harsh than that of 
 Holland, France or Spain.'' Indeed in the opinion of many the 
 American colonists were more benefited than injured by the 
 commercial restrictions of the mother country. The fact that in 
 all the American colonies a large number, and in some of the 
 colonies a majority of the people remained loyal to England 
 during the Revolutionary War, even enduring loss of property 
 and exile is evidence that the colonial policy of England was 
 not wholly bad. But England learned a lesson from the Ameri- 
 can Revolution, for it has been declared that by losing her 
 American colonies England gained an empire^ — an empire that 
 is nothing short of a marvel in political organization. Indeed 
 the British Empire today is **not an Empire in the old sense — 
 a dominion imposed by force upon unwilling subjects.'' It is 
 rather "a commonwealth of nations," a '^ free-partnership of 
 self-governing peoples held together not by force but in part by 
 common interests, and in a still higher degree by common cjenti- 
 ment and the possession of the same institutions of liberty." 
 England has established in Canada, Australia, South Africa, 
 governments that make the people of these colonies as free as 
 the people of England or America. The satisfaction of all parts 
 of the British Empire with their political conditions and their 
 gratitude and loyalty to the mother country was tested v. hen 
 the Great War began. Instead of revolting as Germany ex- 
 pected they would do, instead of remaining neutral as they 
 might have done, they voluntarily put at England's disposal 
 all their resources in manpower and wealth. The sacrifice made 
 in the w^ar by all these parts of the Empire refutes every sug- 
 gestion of greed, selfishness or oppression on the part of Eng- 
 land towards her colonies. Well may it be said, therefore, that 
 "Greater Britain is not a mere empire, though we often call it 
 so. Its union is of a more vital kind." Gen. Smuts, a bitter 
 enemy of England during the South African War, but now a 
 strong champion of British imperial policy, has declared, "The 
 British Empire is not founded on might or /force, but on moral 
 principles — on principles of freedom, equality and equity. It 
 
Randolph-Macon Woman ^s College 13 
 
 is these principles that we stand for today in the mighty- 
 struggle. ' ' 
 
 But it is not alone in the English speaking parts of her Em- 
 pire that England has established her peculiar institutions, — 
 she has made great progress toward this end in her government 
 of those parts where conditions are so entirely different. British 
 rule in India has been severely criticised and even called worse 
 than Russian despotism, but those who cannot see the boun.'lless 
 good that English rule has brought to India are either super- 
 ficial in their judgment or hopelessly prejudiced. No country 
 has ever faced the problems that England has faced in her efforts 
 to establish law and government in India. Mistakes have heen 
 made and injustice has been done of course, but the most in- 
 telligent natives of India today realize that in spite of all this 
 the country is infinitely better off than it would be if English 
 authority were withdrawn, and many of them are proud of being 
 British subjects. The story is told of an Italian journalist who 
 visited the British lines in France in 1917 and who reported a 
 conversation he had with a Hindu chief. He asked this Hindu; 
 "Are you content to come here in a country which is not vours 
 to serve the interests of a nation which dominates your 
 people?" With high spirit he replied : " India is not dominated. 
 She is a part and not the least part of a great empire. If the 
 Empire were threatened in India, English soldiers would be there 
 to defend us. It is now threatened in Europe and we have come 
 here to fight for it. We are English." 
 
 In a recent book the following statement appears: "Bishop 
 Warne, of Lucknow, tells how his daughter at the outbreak of 
 the War hung a laige map of the world in her study, on which 
 she was accustomed to trace the progress of the armies on the 
 various fronts, and how prominent natives from far and near 
 would come in and ask to have her explain the latest news and 
 indicate on the map where the Indian troops were en- 
 gaged. One day an aged man from a far city in the 
 north arrived and inquired how things were going for 
 the Allies. When all was explained he expressed his 
 gratitude and then on the supposition that she was 
 
14 Bulletin 
 
 English he delivered himself on this wise : ' I have com'i on 
 a long journey to learn these things and I want you to know 
 that my heart is full. "When you go back to England and see 
 your King I want you to deliver this message from me. Say, 
 "My grandfather lived under the British raj; my father lived 
 under the British raj ; I have lived all my life under the British 
 raj, and my children are living under the British raj today. In 
 all these years we have had justice, protection, peace and plenty. 
 Tell the King that we Indians are grateful for his rule over our 
 land, and that w^e will stand by him to the very end.' " 
 
 If England has done nothing more for India she has forced 
 the numerous tribes to keep peace which they could not do if 
 left to themselves; she has established a better system of law 
 than the people of India could ever have established by them- 
 selves ; and she has brought to the country European civilization. 
 In ''The Expansion of Europe" Ramsay Muir says British rule 
 in India "has brought iteace instead of turmoil, law instead of 
 arbitrary might, unity instead of chaos, freedom for the de- 
 velopment of the capacities and characteristic ideas of their 
 people and the prospect of a steady growth of national and po- 
 litical responsibility. ' ' 
 
 But why not give India self government '! Because self s^ov- 
 emment is something that cannot be given to any people. It is 
 something a people must be prepared for, and such preparation 
 cannot be made in a year or even in a generation by a people 
 who for centuries have not known even the meaning of self gov- 
 ernment. It would be more criminal for England to grant self 
 government or independence to India now than it Avould be for the 
 United States to grant independence to the Philippine Islands in 
 their present condition. In both cases either arnachy would 
 result or the country would be conquered by a ]K)wer that w^ould 
 exploit it for all it is worth. And this the most intelligent peo- 
 ple of India realize. Mr. Walter Lippman in his little book "The 
 Stakes of Diplomacy" mentions a conversation he had wiih a 
 native on the subject of British rule in India. Losing his pa- 
 tience, the Hindu exclaimed, "I had rather be in hell than to 
 be in the British Empire." How about being in the Knssian or 
 
Randolph-Macon Woman's College 15 
 
 the German empires? Mr. Lippman asked. "I have thought of 
 that," he replied, ''and therefore I am a loyal subject of the 
 British Crown." 
 
 The duty of England to India and of the United States to the 
 Philippines is to regard themselves as trustees or guardians of these 
 politically backward people, train and develop in them a ca- 
 pacity for free government and extend this boon to them as 
 soon as they are prepared for it. That this is the purpose of 
 England no one who is familiar with public sentiment in Eng- 
 land today can deny, and remarkable progress in this direction 
 has already been made. The authors of a recent work on free 
 government declare: ''The spirit which finds expression in the 
 self-governing dominions is being diffused throughout the gov- 
 ernment of the British possessions in general. Democracy in 
 England inevitably seeks to provide for the training of the peo- 
 ple of India and the Crown Colonies for local autonomy and 
 for ultimate self-government." An official report made to Par- 
 liament last year (1918) and favorably received stated: "Our 
 conception of the eventful future of India is a sisterhood of 
 states, self-governing in all matters of purely local or pro- 
 vincial interest Over this congeries of state would pre- 
 side a central government, increasingly representative of and re- 
 sponsible to the people of all of them ; dealing with matters, both 
 internal and external, of common interest to the whole of India ; 
 acting as arbiter in interstate relations, and representing the in- 
 terest of all India on equal terms with the self-governing units 
 of the British Empire." 
 
 What has England done in this direction already? The gov- 
 ernment of India since 1878 has been carried on "by a small 
 body of British officials among whom leading Indians have been 
 gradually taking their place and who work in detail through an 
 army of minor officials nearly all of Indian birth and selected 
 without regard to race or creed." In 1893 the first general 
 election of representative members to the Indian Legislative 
 Councils took place, and the Indian Councils Act of 1909 ad- 
 mitted a much larger number of elected native representatives 
 to these councils and established the principle that one of the 
 
16 Bulletin 
 
 six members of the viceroy 's executive council should be a native 
 of India. IMoreover, the new British Cabinet created in De- 
 cember, 1918, has a native Indian as Under-Secretary of State. 
 The fact that throughout the Great War, in spite of German 
 efforts to stir up revolution, India not only remained loyal, but 
 furnished more than a million troops to fight side by side with 
 the English troops is evidence of what India thinks of her place 
 in the British Empire. 
 
 And what profit does England derive from India and from 
 her other possessions? These dependencies though they are pro- 
 tected by the British navy are not tributary. ''Normally each 
 colony, whether self-governing or not, is self-supporting. It 
 contributes nothing to the imperial treasury and the mother 
 country defrays no part of the cost of its administration. India, 
 for example, maintains the British troops stationed there, and 
 pays both the salaries of English officials in her service and 
 their retiring pensions when they leave ; but although this may 
 be an advantage to England, the money is spent solely on the 
 government of India and in principle at least for her benefit." 
 *'The profit that England derives from her dependencies does 
 not come in the form of tribute, but of enlarged opportunities 
 for her citizens." 
 
 Therefore, the same political ideals that have been so com- 
 pletely realized in England and in her self-governing colonies 
 are being followed in the government of everj^ part of the Brit- 
 ish Empire. Now that England' has acquired a free hand in 
 Egypt she will begin preparing the people of that country for 
 a real partnership in her great empire, and if Ireland can ever 
 agree upon a plan of self-government for herself she will be 
 numbered among England's self-governing dominions. When 
 we review our own history, first before 1898, and then since we 
 acquired colonial possessions, we can see that we have been 
 guided by identically the same political ideals in both our do- 
 mestic and foreign policy. 
 
 Moreover, back of our common political ideals and largely re- 
 sponsible for them, are common moral ideals, for, as Lord Bryce 
 has pointed out, England and the United States have always 
 
Randolph-Macon Woman ^s College 17 
 
 been at one in their moral standards for "Neither of them has 
 ever questioned the sanctity of treaties or denied that states are 
 bound by the moral law." 
 
 Therefore the time has come for us to be fair and to tell the 
 truth about England, her ideals and her work in upholding 
 these idealsi. If our histories and teaching have been superficial 
 or false they should be revised and England's part in encourag- 
 ing and establishing liberty and free government in the world 
 should be acknowledged. Also the time has come for us to recog- 
 nize not the few things that tend to separate, but rather the many 
 ties that bind England and the United States into a natural 
 alliance. Why should not people who have the same language 
 and institutions as a common heritage, and who stand for the 
 same political and international ideals recognize their kinship? 
 When they do, not only will the peace and safety of each of 
 these two countries be secure, but the peace of the future world 
 and the development of this future world "along progressively 
 democratic lines" will be guaranteed. 
 
 That it is the duty of the two nations to recognize their com- 
 mon aims and ideals and to work together to their common ends 
 is a lesson taught by the recent war. "The war has taught us 
 clearly — two things," says Prof. Geo. B. Adams. "One is that the 
 United States and England, the people of America and the people of 
 the British Empire, are so nearly alike in their fundamental politi- 
 cal ideas, aims and institutions, in their attitude towards questions 
 of foreign relations and their intentions towards other nations, 
 that a common policy in relation to all the rest of the world 
 would be as easily formed between them and as easily conducted 
 as between New York and Iowa, or any two of our states. 
 
 * * The second thing which the war has taught us clearly is that 
 had such a union in international policy existed at the beginning 
 of 1914 between all the English speaking peoples — there W(.uld 
 have been no war. " 
 
 Whether within a League of Nations or without it England 
 and the United States are natural allies. And their alliance is 
 not of the transitory kind resulting from treaty or agreement, but 
 it is based upon ties and instincts so fundamental as to be of a 
 
18 Brrj.ETiN 
 
 permanent character. In 1913, before the Great War revealed 
 this fact to us all, Mr. Bryce said: — "There is a friendship of 
 governments and a friendship of nations. The former may shift 
 with the shifting of material interests or be affected by the re- 
 lations of each power with other powers. But the latter rests on 
 solid and permanent foundations. With our two peoples it is 
 based on a community of literature, of institutions, of beliefs, 
 of traditions from the past, of ideals for the future. In all these 
 things the British and American peoples are closer than any 
 two other peoples can be. Nature and history have meant tliem 
 to be friends." 
 
 Therefore : ' ' Given two democracies, speaking .the same lan- 
 guage, familiar with the same literature, having frequent and 
 easy commercial intercourse with one another and above all able 
 when they choose to make their will avail with the governing 
 classes to whom they delegate their authority, it would be 
 strange if they could not rise above selfish futilities of bureau- 
 cratic foreign policy and strike up a formula of concord which 
 they know to be in the common interest of all."^ 
 
 ''The English-speaking peoples of the world are together the 
 largest body of human beings among whom a nearly complete 
 intellectual and moral understanding is already achieved. They 
 have reached high attainments in science and the arts, in edu- 
 cation, in social order, in justice. They are highly organized, 
 they cherish the same traditions of their common history. To 
 permit anything to endanger the moral solidarity of this nucleus 
 of a perfected internationalism would be a crime unspeakable. "- 
 
 ^Quoted in Beer, "The English-Speaking Peoples,*' page 298. Ubid. 
 
31tt ilpmonam 
 
 WILLIAM ALEXANDER WEBB, LiTT. D., LL. D. 
 President Randolph-Macon Womans College 
 
 JULY 30, 1867 
 NOVEMBER 4, 1919 
 
20 Bulletin 
 
 RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE EXECUTIVE COM- 
 MITTEE AND ALUMNAE ADVISORS OF RAN- 
 DOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE 
 
 At a called meeting of the executive committee and the 
 alumnae advisors of Randolph-Macon Woman's College held Tues- 
 day, November 4, the following resolutions were unanimously 
 adopted : 
 
 Whereas, it has pleased Almighty God in His providence to 
 remove from our midst our esteemed friend and co-laborer, Dr. 
 W. A. Webb, president or Randolph-Macon Woman's College, 
 therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, first, That we bow in humble submission to His sov- 
 ereign will and realize that He is "too wise to err, and too kind 
 to be unkind." 
 
 Resolved, second, That we desire to express our appreciation 
 of the splendid services rendered by Dr. Webb in the discharge 
 of the duties and labors of his responsible office and shall ever 
 hold in grateful and affectionate remembrance his unceasing in- 
 terest in the welfare of our college, his scholarly attainments, 
 his unfailing courtesy, his kindly and sympathetic spirit, and 
 above all, his high Christian character. 
 
 Resolved, third. That we assure the bereaved family of our 
 heartfelt sympathy in their deep affliction and commend them to 
 our Heavenly Father, whose grace alone can bring them comfort 
 and resignation. 
 
 Resolved, fourth. That a copy of these resolutions' be sent to 
 the family of our deceased brother and that a copy of the same 
 be published in The Sun Dial, the Richmond Christian Advo- 
 cate, the Baltimore Southern Methodist, the Nashville Christian 
 Advocate and the Lynchburg News. 
 
 EDWARD F. SHEFFEY, Chairman. 
 MRS. W. J. D. BELL, Secretary. 
 
Randolph-Macon Woman's College 21 
 
 I 
 
 RESOLUTIONS OF THE FACULTY READ AT THE ME- 
 MORIAL SERVICE FOR DR. WEBB SUNDAY 
 EVENING, NOVEMBER 9, 1919. 
 
 Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to call to himself our 
 friend and president, Dr. William A. Webb, we, the members 
 of the Faculty of Randolph-Macon Woman's College, wish to 
 pay to his memory our tribute of esteem and respect. 
 
 As our President he always placed the good of the College 
 first in his consideration, and freely sacrificed his health and 
 strength in its service. A true scholar in his chosen field of 
 English and American literature, an educator by tradition, pref- 
 erence and training, he stood for high ideals of scholarship in 
 the councils of the various educational associations of which he 
 was a member, and also in our own institution. Under his ad- 
 ministration the work of the College proceeded quietly and effi- 
 ciently. He was ever ready to co-operate with us in enriching 
 our internal resources', human and material, for educational pur- 
 poses, and in perfecting our methods of procedure. Also he was 
 untiring in his efforts to secure high and valuable recognition of 
 the scholarship and standing of the College in the educat'onal 
 world, efforts which he had the satisfaction of seeing in large 
 measure crowned with success. During the term of his office, 
 the College was placed on the list of recognized institutions by 
 the Association of American Universities, it secured a chapter 
 of Phi Beta Kappa, and its graduates were made eligible to mem- 
 bership in the Association of Collegiate Alumnae. 
 
 As a citizen he was much interested in all questions of public 
 welfare, both national and local. Of a deeply religious nature, 
 he actively co-operated in the work of the church. He was a 
 tenderly devoted husband and father, and his personal life fur- 
 nished an example of pure and noble ideals. We felt that we had 
 in him a friend, the quickness and sincerity of whose sympathies 
 were equaled by the unfailing courtesy with which he exercised 
 them. 
 
22 Bulletin 
 
 We deeply mourn his untimely passing from us, and we desire 
 to extend our profound sympathy to his children and his next of 
 km in their great loss. 
 
 Be it resolved' that copies of this statement be sent to his 
 family and to the press, and that a record of it be made in the 
 minutes of the Faculty. 
 
 (Signed) T. M. CAMPBELL, 
 E. B. CROOKS, 
 GILLIE A. LAREW, 
 Committee. 
 
 RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE ALUMNAE ASSOCI- 
 ATION OF RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE. 
 
 The undersigned committee was appointed by the President 
 of the Alumnae Association of Randolph-Macon Woman's Col- 
 lege to give some expression to the grief and sense of loss felt 
 by the members of that association in the death of Dr. William 
 A. Webb, late president of the college. We, as alumnae, are 
 deeply appreciative of all that Dr. Webb did for the scholarly 
 standards and the intensive betterment of Randolph-Macon ; but 
 we feel at this time especially anxious to voice our gratitude for 
 his services to our own organization. 
 
 With no group was Dr. Webb more sympathetic than with the 
 alumnae. Early in his administration he made clear his definite 
 ambitions for us — to unite us for productive service to our Alma 
 Mater, and to give us no inconsiderable part in the shaping of 
 her policies. So quietly did he work for this end, so generous 
 was he to his fellow-workers, that few outside a little circle of 
 alumnae officers realized the extent of his activities. To our agi- 
 tation for representation on the Board of Trustees he gave a 
 cordial approval; when our alumnae advisors were admitted to 
 the Executive Committee of the college, he welcomed them most 
 warmly, opened the affairs of the college to them without re- 
 serve, and continuously strengthened their service by his loyalty, 
 
Randolph-Macon Woman's College 23 
 
 sympathy, and appreciation. He took an active part in pressing 
 our claims before the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, and 
 he had the pleasure of seeing Randolph-Macon women finally ad- 
 mitted to membership in that organization. In the last months 
 of his administration, the Alumnae Association and the college 
 were able to co-operate in establishing an alumnae office and em- 
 ploying a secretary. This was very largely the result of his- 
 initiative and interest, and it is a great regret to us that we be- 
 gan the active work of the office without his presence and advice. 
 To these larger achievements we can add a long list of lesser 
 services, all tending to stimulate and unite usl Not the least was 
 his unshaken faith in our loyalty, and belief in our future. 
 
 We, the daughters of Randolph-Macon, have lost a sincere and 
 constant friend. We can only trust we may be able to honor his 
 memory by perpetuating in our lives and the life of our associa- 
 tion the Christian virtues we saw in him — faith, enthusiasm, 
 generosity, patience, tolerance, fairness, courtesy, and love ; that 
 we may realize his ambitions for us, and emulate him in devotion 
 to Alma Mater. We mourn his passing with a deepening appre- 
 ciation of his life and service. 
 
 (Signed) GILLIE LAREW, 
 
 CLARA COX BELL, 
 VIRGINIA HOWLETT, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE STUDENT BODY OF 
 RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE. 
 
 Whereas, God in His infinite wisdom and mercy has taken 
 from us Dr. Webb, our beloved President ; and 
 
 Whereas, We, the undersigned, feel so deeply the loss of our 
 leader and friend; 
 
 Be it Resolved, First, that Ave hereby give expression to our 
 sorrow at his passing from us. As a Christian, sincere and con- 
 secrated, he daily manifested in his life the spirit of Christ; as 
 
24 Bulletin 
 
 a man of letters, deeply interested in the advancement of things 
 intellectual, he held ever before us the highest ideals of scholar- 
 ship ; as a co-worker with the f acult}^ ever ready to advise and 
 always willing to share every responsibility, he strove earnestly 
 to promote the welfare of the college; as our President, Icyal, 
 sympathetic, untiring in his efforts, ever responsive to all matters 
 pertaining to our good, deeply interested in our college ac- 
 tivities and giving freely of his best self to us, he won for him- 
 self our respect, our admiration, and our love. 
 
 Second, that these resolutions be published in the college 
 periodicals. The Lynchburg News, The Banner (Nashville, 
 Tenn.), The Tennessean (Nashville, Tenn.), The Nashville Chris- 
 tian Advocate, The Greensboro Christian Advocate, The Rich- 
 mond Christian Advocate, The News and Observer (N. C), and 
 that a copy be sent to the family as an evidence of our sympathy 
 for them in their sorrow. 
 
 (Signed) HADLEY WOODARD. 
 MARY BELL BIBLE, 
 MARTHA LATHAM, 
 Committee. 
 
3tt iMfmortam 
 
 MRS. WILLIAM ALEXANDER WEBB 
 
 OCTOBER 17. 1919 
 
26 Bulletin 
 
 RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE EXECUTIVE COM- 
 MITTEE AND ALUMNAE ADVISORS OF RAN- 
 DOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE. 
 
 Whereas, Death has suddenly removed from our midst our 
 valued and beloved friend, Mrs. Mary Clary Webb, wife of Dr. 
 W. A. Webb, president of Randolph-Macon Woman's College; 
 therefore be it 
 
 Resolved, First, that we lament the passing of such an ex- 
 cellent Christian woman, who, by her many virtues and excel- 
 lencies, had endeared herself to all with whom she was brought 
 into association. 
 
 Resolved, Second, that we shall cherish the memory of her un- 
 failing interest in the welfare of our college, the gracious cour- 
 tesies and generous hospitalities which she extended to its 
 faculty, students and friends, and the cheerful and unceasing 
 co-operation with which she entered into every movement which 
 had for its object the promotion of its interests. 
 
 Resolved, Third, that we tender the grief-stricken husband 
 and children, together with all the relatives of our departed 
 friend, our sincerest sympathy in their sore bereavement. 
 
 Resolved, Fourth, that these resolutions be sent to the family 
 of the deceased, and that a copy of the same be published in 
 The Sun Dial, The Lynchburg News, Richmond Christian Advo- 
 cate, Nashville Christian Advocate, and recorded in the minutes 
 of our Executive Committee. 
 
 (Signed) EDWARD F. SHEFFEY, Chairman. 
 MRS. W. J. D. BELL, Secretary. 
 
Randolph-Macon Woman's College 27 
 
 RESOLUTIONS OF THE FACULTY READ AT THE 
 
 MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR MRS. WEBB SUNDAY 
 
 EVENING, OCTOBER 19, 1919. 
 
 Whereas, death has taken from us our friend, Mrs. Mary 
 Clary Webb, 
 
 Be it resolved; 
 
 First, That in her passing our institution and community 
 have suffered a grievous loss. Deeply interested both in the life 
 of our student body and in the welfare of the college, she ever 
 manifested a spirit of loyalty for which she will be held in 
 grateful remembrance. 
 
 Second, That we have the deepest sympathy for the stricken 
 family. A devoted wife and a faithful mother, she spent herself 
 freely in creating the atmosphere of an ideal home. By words 
 of counsel and acts of self denial she showed herself always 
 ready to share the burdensi of those who looked to her for guid- 
 ance and support. Her high ideal of Christian character and 
 her lofty conception of the tender relationship of parent and 
 child called forth the respect and affection of her children, upon 
 whose lives her influence has left a deep impression. 
 
 Third, That a copy of these resolutions be spread upon the 
 minutes of the faculty and published in the college periodicals 
 and in the Nashville Advocate and that a copy be sent to the 
 family of the deceased. 
 
 (Signed) E. B. CROOKS, 
 
 MABEL K. WHITESIDE, 
 HERBERT C. LIPSCOMB. 
 
28 Bulletin 
 
 RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE STUDENT BODY OF 
 RANDOLPH-MACON WOMAN'S COLLEGE. 
 
 Whereas, Almighty God in His infinite wisdom has taken from 
 us Mrs. William A. Webb, our friend and the wife of our be- 
 loved President; and 
 
 Whereas, The student body has been saddened by the loss of 
 so valued a member of our college community; 
 
 Be it Resolved, First, that we hereby give expression to our 
 respect and love for Mrs. Webb as a co-operator with our Presi- 
 dent in all he undertook. As a devoted wife and as a loving and 
 tender mother, Mrs. Webb won for herself the admiration of the 
 entire student body. As one ever anxious to promote our happi- 
 i-ess, quick to understand and ready to sympathize she found a 
 place in the heart of every student. Always interested in our 
 college activities and eager to help us, she was indeed one of our 
 sincerest friends. 
 
 Second, that these resolutions be published in the college 
 periodicals and that a copy be sent the family of the deceased as 
 an evidence of our love and sympathy for them in their be- 
 reavement. 
 
 (Signed) HADLEY WOODARD, Chairman, 
 LAURA HENDERSON, 
 MAUDE LETSON. 
 
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