It will enable you to better understand and appreciate the depth of our gratitude to your great countryman and the meaning we attach to this celebration commemorating his achievements.
On behalf of the state of New York and its upwards of nine millions of inhabitants, for whom I have the privilege and honor to speak on this occasion, I extend to our distinguished guests from France a most cordial and heartfelt welcome.
And, if I may be permitted to anticipate a little, I will convey to them in advance and, through them, to their country, the appreciation and gratitude of our state and its people for the gift they bring and the honor they do us. It is the conception of a great artist, admirably typifying the ideals and aspirations of a great nation. I beg to assure you, our honored guests, that we will ever treasure it as an expression of the good will and friendship of our sister republic—France—placing the seal of its approval and appreciation on this celebration honoring the achievements of Samuel Champlain.
In closing, permit me to say that the recollection of your visit to our state and the motives that inspired it will ever be associated with the gift of your country, lending to it an element of personal interest as pleasing as it will be permanent in the minds and hearts of all who may have the privilege of meeting you during your visit. (Applause.)
By courtesy of Shover, Montpelier, Vt.
In alluding to the Governor of Vermont, President Finley remarked:
The Governor of Vermont, with rare forbearance, wishes to be excused from speaking. But as Jacques Cartier, nearly a century before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, saw, first of Europeans, the peaks of the Green mountains, so I wish you, from the land of the pilot of St. Malo, to see the topmost peak in Vermont to-day, its Governor, the Hon. John A. Mead.
Governor Mead stood and bowed to the audience. (Applause.)
The Toastmaster then introduced Mayor William J. Gaynor of New York City.