Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1865-03-03
Class of'6S.

| work Is done, ana all radiant with g lOFy shall
retire from the field
Glass of '66.
! ToAsr, read by METELLUs THOMSON, Ken
ton, Ohio, Washington first in war; frs
10 peace; and first in the hearts of his coun
| trymen."
RESPONSE. by w. E. STANLEY. Patterson
Ohio.
First in war-for be was first to resist tht
tyrannicaI and oppressive measures of The
mother country, and spurn with deserved con
tempt The edict that would make the free Pur-
itan slave. First in peace-for he was frsi
to welcome the glad morn which ushered in the
day that gave existence to new Government
and birth to American Independence. First
in the hearts OF his countrymen-for he aspir-
ed to no position 10 his country's service that
was not for his country's good. Every Nation
has been the nursery Of great men, yet pre-
ceding the formation Of our own Government,
we look in vain for a single national character
uninfuenced by party spirit, or unmOved by
motives of ambition. Carthage could boast
homes, and an almost depopuiated country
marked bis course aad exhibited the character
of the ehiefiain who was waging this extermi-
mating warfare. Rene gloried In a Caesar,
but his laconic message to the Roman Senate
verified his actions on the field, and bore wit
ness that the principles Of right were made
subservieDt 10 the will Of al uuprincipled and
an uDgratified ambition. Macedon Was the
home of ap Alexander, but when he bad at.
tained the dizzy heights of his ambition, and
looked down upon a conquered world, he felt
that upon him rested the maledictious of many
blighted hearts France was proud of Ma
poIeon, out when he had prostrated the world
at his feet, and for the first time cast q look
beneath him he saw his victorious standard
reflected 10 a sea of human gore But it was
left for the new world, and reserved for our
own country, to first present in a national lead
er an unblemished character. An able advo-
cote of true religion, he was the Christian
scholar. An ability to cope with opponents
either in the cabinet or on the field, ne was al
the same time a statesman and soldier, and
With stern, unbsndiBg integrity that marked
bis whole course, our Washington stood forth
before the world a perfect man.
No party spirit induced him to trampIe
DOWN the rights of the weak and unprotected,
and no unrued ambition led him 10 seize upon
he prerogatives of crown which he might
20 easily have attained. The dictates of clear
conscience were his greatest incentives. and his
brightest achievements the promptiCgs of un-
elfish patriotism. The aid of the sculptor aud
historian is unneeded to immortalize his name
His deeds written indelibly upon the pages of
lis country's history, aud treasured up in the
OF his people, will be handed down
rom generation to generation through all pos
erity, as the brightegt legacy orr government
an bequeath. And should our government
all, as its former advocates look back over its
ruins Tor some memento OF the past,
hey will call to mind the deeds of its heroic |
ounder as all that are worthy the attention
nd dear and delightful to the memory of free |
men,. But it shall not fall. Openly assailed |
y domestic, and secretly by foreign foes, un-
mpeded the progress of the government has
'een still onward, gathering at every gigantic
tride, new energy for the greater work of a
nore glorious reformation. Her orators excite
be admiration of the world, the deeds of the
amed heroes Of antiquity are forgotten amid
be heroic exploits of her gallant defenders,
nd her ministers, heard in silence and with
everence in every foreign court, attest the
over of the government abroad. The prin-
iples so nobly advocated in times Of peace
ave been no less nobly defended in times Of
'ar, and already rebeIlion's naughty head is
owiBg to the dignity of the Republic. The
loud Of civil war is settling in the far off hor-
ION, and the light breaking forth in the ma
ions sky, betokens the early rising of the sun
peace. And cheered by its Frightening
cams, The people send up one loud Te Detsm
} the nations God, while history's pages
righten with the names of her re-modelers,
nd tue world points out her opposers by the
ow, unmoving finger Of seorn.
The existence of our government is in q
rest measure due to him who, an instrument
the hands of Higher Power, brought cut
disorder and revolution the frame work OF
IT social fabric, and the first seeds of human
eedom. He was first to set forth the beau
as of free government, and raise the vail OF
.eeption from before the eyes of his misguided
.Opie. The new government leaned on his
ong arm for support and the darkness that I
- "uAi' tiii'fttCJCh " VIA y eilC tsppGS aUU I
'ospecrs OF lreemen in eternal night was dis e
.lled by the plans that sprung like magic G
ON his giant intellect. Nov the leader Of e
5 peop.e, now spending his declining days in {
e walks Of civil lie-search history's bright l
t page, call back the departed heroes of the t
ist, and when presented 10 so unassuming T
aracter such glorious career?
While there remains one stone of the great |
liar o. freedom that now rears It's head 90 Z
oudy toward the heavens, or in the breast of
an there glows one spark of love for Demo- t
attic principles, the name OF Washington will O
honored and adored.
The Republic may perish, The wide arch s
our ranged Union may fall star by star in c
glories may expire stone by stone our cap
il may mouder and crumble all other names 6
lich adorn its annals may be forgotten but b
long as human hearts shall anywhere pant, e
human tongues shall anywhere plead for v
le, rational constitutional liberty, those "
arts will enshrine the memory, and those 81
ngues will prOlong the fame of GEORGE o
AsHINGToN 3
Glass of 81. h
Toast read by A. Ii. ADAMS, Sandusky, 0. d
" The Families of our Soldiers, who are
gagged in the maintenance OF the Govern