Kansas weekly herald., 1854-09-22

cold ana commonplace ,rQlQ not recognize
among this greeting crowd, men who have
known me long and well, and who would
never. ensunerate In the catalogue, of my
deficiencies, insensibility to friendship and
kindness. Upon that knowledge I must
rely FOR the indulgence necessary to atone
for my short comings In the expressions of
my thanks-for words fail me to give vent
TO the feelings which this occasion has eyok-
ed toward old, and tried, and faithful friends
who have stood by me under all circum-
stances, and whom can never forget or
fail to. appreciate.
The event which has brought you here,
my friends, is well calculated to suggest
most interesting reflections upon the won
derful progress of our country, and you
will excuse me for relating an appropriate
incident that occurs to my memory. In 1913,
when California was almost an unknown
region, and without evena Territorial gov
ernment, was delegate in the National
Convention Of the political party to which l
belonged, and | recollect that member,
in the course of his remarks, intimated that
when that body should assemble again, a
delegate would claim his seat there from
the State of California. 1t seemed wild
and extravagant prediction, entirely out of
the bounds OF probability, and yet it touched
a responsive chord in the sense of manifest
destiny and pride Of our country that dwells
III the bosom of every American, and the
building shook from roof to floor with the
shout that hailed it. In 1852 | was again
a member of the Convention, and the wild
prediction was realized. found delegates
from the State Of California who had come
from the very shores of the Pacific ocean,
casting their votes like old denizens of the
place.
My friends, Ihope you will heartily join
me In the sentiment which l now propose:
Nowwe find that two embryo States are
about to be organized beyond the Missou-
ri, although within six days travel of our
Atlantic coast. We pass to them over 1900
miles OF a country teeming with wealth ,and
commerce, and business, and swarming
with population whilst the very starting
point of the journey was, but a century ago,
itself a frontier, protected by the bullet and
the rifle from the savages who prowled
around it.
Some idea may be formed too of the re-
sistless force Of the populous wave which
has spread like an inundation over this vast
continent, from the interesting fact that in
this very Territory Of Kansas, to which my
friend has alluded, we find, like an uproot-
ed tree carried by the flood, the fragment
Of the tribe Of the Delawares on whose
proper native soil we now stand, and whose
fathers waged deadly war upon ours here
in our valleys where the scream of the To-
comotive seems to chase the very echoes
Of the Indians yell,
But this is not theme to be discussed in
these desuitory remarks. It is subject for
thoughts to fill a world, to amaze future
generations, and to convert history into ro-
nance. We cannot discuss it now, and /
will close by thanking you once more for
this congratulatory call, and by the earnest
assurance, that whatever may be the result
OF Senatorial action, or of my own action
upon the honor which the President has con-
ferred upon me, these expressions of con-
fidence and appreciation, which it has evoked
from my fellow citizens and friends will ev-
er be cherished in my memory as giving to
the appointment its greatest value-and
whether now or hereafter-in whatever cir
cumstances may be placed-present OF
absent-on the banks of the Delaware or
at the base of the Rocky Mountains, my
heart Will always kindle with affection and
regard for the kind and faithful friends who
have cheered my path by their confidence
and devotion.
L give you as sentiment
MINNESOTA, KANsAs AND NEBRASKA
Destined soon to add the 32nd, 33rd, and
34th Stars TO cur national ensign, and to
prove the pathway of empire to the Pacific.