No medal was struck for Queenston Heights, but when some time afterwards the rewards for the capture of Detroit were distributed, gold medals were deposited by the Sovereign with the families of Major-General Brock and Colonel Macdonell, and the King stated in each instance that it was done "in token of the respect which His Majesty entertains for the memory of that officer."
The graciously worded despatch of the Prince Regent mentioned the only fault of Sir Isaac Brock. Like Nelson he was too prodigal of his life; but as, alike by his services and his glorious death, Nelson became the hero and the idol of the British people, so by his services and his death Brock became for all time the hero of the people of this Province, and his memory will never die. Although he had served ten years in Canada, he had held his position as Administrator of Upper Canada but a few days over a year; yet that short time was sufficient to obtain for his name immortality, so long as the English language can narrate what in that brief period he accomplished, and hold forth for succeeding generations of British subjects in Canada and throughout the Empire the bright example of his genius and his gallantry, and the indomitable spirit with which he contended and overcame difficulties, apparently insurmountable, and which were sufficient to appal a heart even as stout and to tax to the uttermost a mind as versatile and resourceful as his.
Under this stately column he found a fitting tomb, and the ardent young friend, Glengarry's representative, who fell with him, lies beside him.
DR. JAMES L. HUGHES
Chief Inspector of Schools, Toronto
I had the honour of requesting the Hon. Dr. Pyne, Minister of Education, to call the attention of the School Boards of Ontario to the importance of celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the victory so gallantly won on these heights, and of paying due tribute to the brave men and women who so nobly and heroically struggled to preserve for us the blessings of British liberty, and of unity with our motherland. To these men and women of firm faith and strong heart we give gratitude and reverence to-day, and especially to the statesman and hero who at the foot of these heights died a hundred years ago while leading Canadian volunteers to drive back invaders who without just cause had dared to come to Canada with the avowed purpose of forcibly taking possession of our country.
In the judgment of the committee that arranged for the celebration of the glorious deeds of our early history, it is most important that Canadian children should be trained to revere the memories of the great and true men and women of one hundred years ago, and to rejoice because of the victories won by them for freedom and for imperial unity.
There are men who have written to the newspapers objecting to the course we adopted. They seem to think it improper to let our children know that our country was ever in danger, and that it was saved by the unselfish devotion and the brave deeds of our ancestors. However, in spite of their protests, based on weak and unpatriotic sentiment, we intend to teach young Canadians to remember the patriotism and valour of the founders and defenders of Canada, and to train them to become worthy successors to the men and women who made such sacrifices for them.
We have no wish to fill the hearts of the pupils in our schools with animosity towards the great nation whose fertile fields and happy homes we see beyond the great river that separates it from our own fair land. We wish to develop in our children a spirit that will lead them to say to the people across our borderland not "Hands off Canada," but "Hands together to achieve for God and for humanity the highest and broadest and truest ideals that have been revealed to the Anglo-Saxon race."
We do not wish to make our children quarrelsome or offensive, but we do wish them to be patriotic Canadians, full of loyalty to their flag, their Empire, and their King. We wish them to understand what their predecessors did in order that they may have faith in themselves and in their country; and we intend that they shall learn the achievements of the past in order that they may have a true basis for their own manhood and womanhood. True reverence for courage and self-sacrifice, fidelity to principle, and devotion to home and country in time of need, is a fundamental element of strong, true character. The facts of history may have little influence in developing character, but the noble deeds of our ancestors performed for high purposes are the surest sources for the development of the strong and true emotions that make human character vital instead of inert. Emotions form the battery power of character, and among the emotions that give strength and virility and beauty to character, reverence for the dead who wisely struggled and nobly achieved, is surely one of the most productive of dignified and transforming character.