"'If that man had been a colonist, the dispatch marked 'private' would
have said, 'It sarved you right,' whereas it announced to him, 'You
are one of us,' and to mark our approbation of your conduct, you may
add one of these savoury missiles to your coat of arms, that others
may be egged on to do their duty. Indeed, we couldn't well have a flag
of our own. The Americans have a very appropriate and elegant one,
containing stripes emblematical of their slaves, and stars to
represent their free states, while a Connecticut goose typifies the
good cheer of thanksgiving day. It is true we have the honour of
fighting under that of England; but there is, as we have seen, this
hard condition annexed to it, we must consent to be taxed, to
reimburse the losses of those whom by our gallantry we subdue. If we
take Sebastopol, we must pay for the damage we have done. We are not
entitled to a separate flag, and I am afraid if we had one we should
be subject to ridicule. A pure white ground would prefigure our snow
drifts; a gull with outspread wings, our credulous qualities; and a
few discoloured eggs, portray our celebrated missiles. But what sort
of a flag would that be? No, Sir, these provinces should be united,
and they would from their territorial extent, their commercial
enterprise, their mineral wealth, their wonderful agricultural
productions, and, above all, their intelligent, industrious, and still
loyal population, in time form a nation second to none on earth, until
then I prefer to be a citizen of the world.
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