he testimony of General Robertson in the House of Lords. And if
these soldiers are Irishmen, you can wager they're Catholics. And why
should we pass laws 'gainst these crowds of Irish Papists and convicts
who are yearly poured upon us, unless they were Catholic convicts
fleeing from the laws of persecution?"

"What ails ye, Forrest," rejoined Jim, "can't be cured."

"Take care 'f yourself," angrily retorted the Colonel, "an' I'll take
care o' myself."

"If ye did, and yer likes did the same, we'd git along better and the
war'd be over. I s'pose ye know that yer friend Jay lost Canada to us."

"What if he did. Wazn't he right?"

And then he explained to him.

II

Canada had been surrendered to England by France in a clause of the
Treaty of Paris in 1763, with a stipulation, however, that the people of
the territory in question would be permitted the free use of the French
language, the prescriptions of the French code of laws, and the practice
of the Catholic religion.

South of this region and west of the English colonies between the Ohio
and the Mississippi rivers, stretched a vast expanse of territory known
as the Northwest Territory, where dwelt a large population without laws,
with no organized form of government save the mere caprices of petty
military tyrants, placed over them by the various seaboard colonies who
severally laid claim to the district. At the request of the people of
Canada it was voted by the English Parliament to reannex the territory
northwest of the Ohio to Canada and to permit the settlers to share in
the rights and privileges of the Canadian province. This was effected by
the Quebec Act in 1774.

It was truly a remarkable concession. The inhabitants of this vast
stretch of territory were freed for all time from the tyranny of
military despots, their lands and churches secured to them and their
priests given a legal title to their tithes. It was the freest exercise
of the Catholic religion under the laws of the English Government.

But what a storm of abuse and protestation was raised by the fanatical
portion of the Protestant population! The newspapers of the day abounded
with articles, with songs and squibs against the King and His
Parliament. The mother country witnessed no less virulent a campaign
than the colonies themselves. "We may live to see our churches," writes
one writer to the _Pennsylvania Packet_, "converted into mass-houses,
and our lands plundered of tithes for th