Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-09-05
JOHN A. ANDREWS SPEECH.


DELIVERED AT BINGHAM, SEPT. 8, 1860.
ION his return home from Maine, Mr. An
drew's neighLors and fellow townsmen, in
bingham, without distinction of party, gave
him reception" at his own door. His NOM
ination for governor had made them think of
it but the affair was social rather than polit
ical. We copy from the Boston Atlas and
Bee the following report of his speech on this
occasion -
Friends and NeighborS of the ancient and goodly
tol0n of bingham
This is one of those occasions which come in
the course of our lives, when no poor form of
human speech is adequate to the soiemnity or
to the gadness of the hour. / confess to you,
my old friends and neighbors, associates and
| kins-people of bingham, that / could more
fifty speak by tears than by words, Tonight
From the center ofmy being, from the bottom
of my heart for this unsOught, enthusiastic,
cordial welcome, this tender of your generous
sympathy, in moment most important and
significant in my humble private or public ca
reer, dear friends, | thank you l am not
| here, this evening, as sometimes it is my lot
| to be, addressing an assembly of my fellow
citizens upon matters of public Government
touching what they and | may either agree or
differ for l understand, to highland this
thought adds sweetness and pa.hoS to the emo
ton of the hour-that | am here, among
neighbors and friends, who, for the moment,
are all agreed to differ, and all consentng to
agree. In all the eXigencies of our private or
public fortunes we mean-we of bingham, we
OF this old Puritan commonwealth, peoped by
intelligent, faithful, pious and progressive
| minds and hearts--we mean to be faithful to
the sacred duties and cares of friendship. You
/ as hIip
associates nor political coadjutors | am here
to receive your greeting and your sympathy.
| And again, dear friends, | repeat that my
heart leaps out in unspoken and unspeakabe
gratitude and joy at the reception of this hom-
age of your sympathy and love. applause
How dear to my heart are these fields, these
hills, these spreading trees, this verdant grass
this sounding shore of yours, where now for
fourteen years, through summers heat and
sometimes in winters Storm | have trod your
streets and sauntered by your beach, and sat
by your tiresides and felt the warm pressure
OF yolr hands, sometimes teaching your chill
dren in the Sunday school, sometimes speak
ing to you, my fellow citizens, always with
the cordial sympathy and friendship of those
who ottentimes differed from me in what they
thought the radicalism of my opinions
speaking TO willing ears, much more worthy
to hear than my words were to be listened to
on many of the topics most interesting to
your minds and your affections. Here | have
found most truly home, free from the cares
and the distractions, from the turmoil and
doubt and responsibilities, of laborous and
anxious profession, away from the buster
haunts OF men here it has been given to me
to ind calm, sweet retreat, where in the So
ciety of those who have given to me the boon
OF their private friendship, have been able to
recruit and refresh the wearled spirit, and to
strengthen the worn hands of toll Here, dear
friends, have found the home of my heart.
1t was in one of your families that l entered,
and joined myself in holy bands of domestic
love to one of the daughters of your town.
(Appause.) Here, too, first have known a
parents joys and a parents sorrows. But it
is not for me, nor is this the moment, to en-
large with detail upon thoughts which come
too near any mans heart to be spoken in
words.
have, my dear neighbors and friends, been
selected by one Of the great parties of the
commonwealth of Massachusetts to bear their
standard in the approaching political cam
palgn. For that responsibility | am not solely
indebted, certainly, to you. But it is because
1t has fallen to me to stand in position which
may cause me, at some early day, TO occupy
the chief seat in the places of power in this
commonwealth, that you have come here this
evening, to say to me that, whether here or
there, you are still my friends. CHEERS
And have dared to present myself, and to
lit up my voice before you, to say, with all
the earnestness of a manly conviction, that
| whether you say aye or no to that selection,
John a. Andrew is forever your friend. Hear
| ty cheers and cries of "Good!')
A certain sturdy honesty and independence
| of purpose has from the first distinguished the
people of this old Pilgrim colony of which
your beautiful and historic town forms part
| | remember that in the annals of Hingham
written by distinguished citizen native to
your SOIL it is recited of the first minister who
dispensed the word of God in that venerable
and commodious structure dedicated to His
service-now the oldest, believe, in which
His word is preached on the continent of
Amerca-that in the year 1647, when the
people of bingham chose to set up for them.
selves an opinion concerning matter interest.
ing to them and pertaining to their own munich
pal concerns, independent of and contrary to
that maintained by Gov. Winthrop and the ma.
gistracy of Boston at the time the yenerated
Peter Hobart, whose descendants now happily
live among us, and whose spiritual posterity,
at least, hope, will last as long as time en-,
dures, led the people of his town in remon.
STRANGE against that which they believed to be
an invasion of a municipal right. For that
act he and his townsmen were summoned be-
fore the magistracy in Boston. The good old
pastor and his associates, confident that they
had not stepped beyond the boundaries of
their legal rights, refused TO co. and, subse-
quently, although fine was imposed upon them.
it succeeded not i'll breaking down the strong,
dominant will of those ancient men of Hing
ham, And atterward, when the old pastor
was invited to Boston, to offciate at a wedding
Of persons who had been residents of his
parish, the magistracy forbade him to come,
declaring as an objection to him that he was
suspected of not being sufficiently LOYAL to the
spiritual supremacy of the magistrate, and be.
cause--so says Winthrop-Peter Hobart was
a bold man, and would speak his mind Zap
plause.) | believe that the men who twill
speak their minds" have not yet died out in
bingham; (renewed applause) and | believe
the race will continue to the last syllable of
recorded time. All that have to say to night
my friends, upon the politics of the common
wealth, with relation to the election of 1860
is that hope that every one of you will be-
as l know you are, bold men, and that you
will speak your minds. Fresh apphuse.j
l know not, fellow citizens, as yet, what gen.
tlemen are to be selected as standard bearers
OF the opposing parties of the republican or
ganization OF which / am an unworthy repre-.
sentative. There are three partieslwhich op.
pose us, each with creed or purpose sepa-
rate from and opposed to ours, and opposed as
well to each other In their ranks they mum.
Der honest, intelligent, patriotic and able men.
l doubt not that they, too, will speak their
minds, and that each one, according to the
principles of his own organization, and accord
ing to the proprieties which, in their best judg.
ment, befit the occasion, will advocate the
claims of their nominees and, with all Of
them before you, you will select the candidate
Of your choice. hope may venture to add
a word bearing upon the method for the con.