It is seldom that the deeds of the great men of past ages have been more fittingly remembered.  Champlain, as we have previously remarked, possessed in an eminent degree all the qualities necessary for a founder, and his character is therefore exceptional, for over and above all the heroism he displayed, all his perseverance, his devotion to his country, we behold the working of a Christian mind, and the desire to propagate the faith of his fathers.

What would have been the result of the missions without his aid?  It was Champlain who caused the standard of our faith to be planted on the shores of Canada.  It was he who brought the missionaries to the new settlement, and maintained them at Quebec, at Tadousac, and in the Huron country.  It was Champlain, too, who founded the parochial church of Quebec, and afterwards endowed it.

Champlain’s work rested solely upon a religious foundation, hence his work has endured.  It is true that the founder of Quebec had certain worldly ambitions:  he desired to promote commerce between the French and the Indians, but surely this is not a matter for which he should be reproached.  Without trade the inhabitants of the settlement could not exist, and without the development of the settlement, his work of civilization would necessarily end.  He worked for the material prosperity of the settlement, but not to increase his own fortune.  The development of trade was also essential to Champlain in his capacity of explorer, and it was only through this means that he could extend the bounds of his mother country.  This was surely the wisdom of a true patriot.  What nobler ambition on earth could any one have than this, to extend the kingdom of his God and of his king?

Champlain has been justly called The Father of New France, and this is certainly a glorious title.  The name of Champlain is indissolubly associated with this country, and will live long after his contemporaries are forgotten, for many of them now only live through him.

America contains a number of towns which have carefully preserved the names of their founders, whose memories are consecrated by monuments which will recall to future generations their noble work.  But where is the town or state that can point to a founder whose work equalled that of Champlain?  He had to spend thirty of the best years of his life in his endeavours to found a settlement on the shores of the St. Lawrence.  Twenty times he crossed the Atlantic in the interests of the colony, and in the meantime he had constantly to combat the influence of the merchants who vigorously opposed the settlement of the French in Canada.