238 ‘The French in Prince Edward Island

will fill, on the true democratic basis not of race nor of religion, but of a career open to talent.

But there are signs that such truth has been recog- nized. All national movements which seek inspiration from the past are subject to the danger of perversion when the problem is complicated by racial differ- ences. It is only by a wise reading of history that history can be what Napoleon deemed it, “the base of the moral sciences, the destroyer of prejudices, the torch of truth.” The magnificent national service of the Acadians in the recent war and the brilliant leadership of Ex-Premier Arsenault, lead one to hope that the independent judgment, which the French officials condemned in the Acadians, still per- sists ; that they will “obey their superiors” only when they believe that their commands are for the common good; and that they will cultivate “the will to co- operate,” in the interests of Prince Edward Island and the Dominion as a whole, along which road alone lies the future prosperity of Canada, of civilization, and of humanity.