The national Republican., 1868-12-23
LOCAL DEPARTMENT.

| The dininB-room was handsomely decorated
ipg of the covenant Of the Pilgrims, signed 10
| the cabin Of the Maynower. There was a
cross.table across the west end of the hail. at
officers OF the society; and at three long tables
extending down the hall were seated some
two hundred Of the sons and daughters OF
Yankee land. Instrumental music was fur
nished by Heald's American brass baud, and
there was fine choir under the direction OF
Mr.. Charles q. Ever.
| beginning to the end. There was Goldfish, OF
course; baked beans; the Inevitable boiled
dish of beef and vegetables; roast turkeys,
bread; pan dowdy, Indian puddingj election
cake; doughnuts, and other New England
dishes, with coffee and sweet cider as bey-
Surveyor Bliss deserved great credit for the
repast, which they as a committee ordered,
and which Mr.. King, "mine host" of the Kirk.
~GIS Ss D hay
feast OF reason was commenced, the band
playing yankee Doodle" after which the
High" Hon. 5. 9. Fessenasn, 'j the president dse
Of the society, then responded to the frst regu.
lar toast, The day we celebrate as follows {:
Men and Women Of the New England So
eiety Of the District of Columbia-Sons and
Daughters OF New England, we have assem-
bled this evening In commemoration OF the
24sth anniversary of the landing of the Pil.
grim Fathers on plymouth Rock. am happy
to be of your number. You do me great honor
IN assigning to me the position which oc;
cupy At this board, for which thank you.
have said that am happy to be present on
this occasion. Brethren, we are all the more
happy to be present, because we are here as
Adam was M 10 the garden g & Of Eden .n after r G3l Go,
| oe alone; will make him an helpmeet for
him. Our helpmeets are with us. What
would our forefsthers, what would we have
l England husklpg, with the matrons and sis.
ters and swce. hearts left out, So Am OF
the opinion, and in this we are agreed, our
| festival would have lacked joyous and most
essential element, had they not honored US
| with their presence. We bid them welcome.
Suns Ss 80 70 .pssk nd
We may, as to bring out hfresh on memory's
| ablet the origin and virtues, voyage and
sowea tse brosd acres Of ne Ne%
Il England States with the seed which has not
jnIy made New England what she is, but the
product of which seed she has distributed
I .om the Lakes to the Gulf OF Mexico-from
The Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, In the insti-
rutious which now create society on the basis
Df equality OF rights and privileges for the
brotherhood OF man, in trustful recognition OF
he Fatherhood of God.
Carlyle, "raSping Thomas has asked,
"what great thing has been done by our Ameri.
can eousinsr" "It is possible to find New Eng
lard with microscope.n Well, gentlemen,
having found New England with microscope,
let the finder put down the leg OF his COM
passes there; for, on "the day we celebrate"
our ancestors put their hand to the helm ofthe
wo. Id progress, and, for the great republic OF
the future in this new world, determined the
| social, civil and political Institutions which
should preponderate, and established that
type Of civilization which has impressed itself
10 that conveaant which the Pilgrim Faith.
ers made In the cabin OF the Mayhower, com.
Dining themselves into a civil body polltic,"
vas the social compact in the world entered
INTO by freemen preserving the liberties of
each and guara lteeing to all equal privileges
and rights. 1t was the germ OF the first true
republic on earth. True II Is, New England
is territorially small when compared with the
remaining portion Of the United States-so
small that a western member OF Congress pro.
poled, in case there was reconstruction of
ali the States, TO have her " swallowed by sis.
ter States and thus put an end to her identi'
ty." Alexander II. Stephens, man small IN
en-
swallow you without the least dirlculty,"
Then you would have more brains in your
bowels than you ever had In your head"
Had the reconstructed States thus disposed
Of New England, our oplaion 10 they would
have had as much, not to say more, brains In
| their feet than you reasonably could have
looked for In their heads, But the few minutes
to which am necessarily limited have
elapsed. Good taste at least requires that
keep within the bounds you have reluctantly
been obliged to set for our observance on this
| occasion. Let now "the feast OF reason and
| wit" begin. The sentiment, which is "the
/ day we celebrate" is ample to inspire the in.
| tellcct while II cheers the heart
/ The following letter from John q. Whittier,
the Quaker poet of New England, was then
read by General X. ID. Mussey amid great
applause:
DPAR iH; FRrEHS6: 81 / cannot, at such brief no.
tice, do more than express my hearty sympa-
thy with your festival, and the hope that you
may not only do justice to the good old New
England dishes on your table, but TO the faith,
courage, self-sacrihce and reverence of the
''An honest grace would hold
TIL the hot pudding grew at heart a-eold, -
Quaker as an, by birth and conviction,
virtues Of the Puritans. I used to feel some
what hardly towards them for their treat.
ment Of religious predecessors, but l have
learned to judge them more leniently. Their
persecution was simply matter OF logical
sequence. II l really believed, as they did,
sentiai 10 salvation, and that the slightest
deviation from them meant nothing less than
eternal torment, 1 might be tempted, from
sheer humanity, to do as they did. At any
rate the charge OF intolerance can scarcely be
urged against New England at the present
time. Whatever we may have been formerly,
liked, "good haters."
Usivinism nstens to Emcrsoni radicalism to
Park and Bushnell, and In no case Is the self.
repeating Individuality OF the speaker cause
ofcomplaint. Neither politics nor theology
are, with us, grounds for personal animosity.
Southern plan planter EhS Ts, yisited Boston just
al thought you Yankees hated us as badly as
we hate you, but III be hanged II eau see
that you hate US at ALL" The planter was
right. Even now, much as we have suffered
from the most csuseless rebellion since Satan's
revolt in Heaven; clothed as so many OF our
homes are In mourning for the slain of our
people, we certainly have no hatred for the
Inhabitants Of the South. On the contrary,
we are thankful for any opportunity OF aiding
them In restoring their waste places, have
no doubt that at this moment n majority OF
our people would heartily agree with me In
supporting the motion Just made BY q New
England Senator, to remove the disabilities OF
those at present disfranchised in the rcvolted
states and make amnesty and suffrage univer-
sal.
You do well, then, to keep alive the memo
ries of the old homo and the old faith. Puri-
tanism, with all abatements for its faults, is
not thing to be ashamed of. The tree is
known by its fruits. OF II, a poetical Bos.
tonia0, the precursor OF Lowell and Holmes
and Longfellow, said wisely and well, nearly
two centuries ago;
And waters I, whence upright Justice springs,
which yearly shoots forth laws and liberties
True Iijsriy's there ripe. where ali confess
They may do what they will, save W ck0dnoss.
Pace Is another fruit which that tree bears.
The chiefest garland that tho country wears
fprsaken trllth, time, daughter, ,groweth here,
More precious fruit what tree did ever bear
Whose pleasant gifts aloU hath many fed,
And what falls down knocks error on the head -
May that goodly tree which the fathers
planted, its strong old stock engrafted with
the liberal ideas OF our age, grow and over.
shadow the landi and wherever its shadow
falls may its leaves be leaves Of healing,
Very truly thy friend,
The toasts were then read and responded to
cloquently In regular order, as follows;
"New England The nursery of ideasj the
nqmJssy o. teS nSFsSy o SS
Response BY Hon. J. NJ. Thayer, Senator
from Nebraska.
"Massachusettsi shall enter on no enco-
utttTt, .,l.1ta 10 .Ia