DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

Ca But it may be well to remember that the British Empire is not the sudden growth of our era, not the creation of this century alone, but an edifice long and laboriously built, raised stage by stage by generations and generations of your forefathers at the cost of infinite hardship and suffering, founded with stupendous energy, consolidated with indomi- table perseverance, and adorned with magnificent heroism. Proud as we may be of our possessions, our prosperity and our liberties, they are virtually the result of the struggles of your ancestors —an inheritance for which we owe them the tribute of our admiration and gratitude. On these grounds I venture to offer for your consideration a brief survey of one of the most remarkable periods in the history of this country. The reign of Queen Elizabeth, more than any other epoch in the history of England, claims our sym- pathy, and appeals to the imagination, on account of the extraordinary personality of the Queen, the romantic character of its chief actors, and the prodigious bound made by the country from com- parative barbarism into the enlightenment of modern civilisation. In the year 1509 Henry VIII. succeeded to the crown. Endowed with many brilliant and sterling qualities, he strengthened the throne by his diplo- matic skill and the valour of his arms, and raised