Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1873-07-12

SpEECfr OF Col. d. TAueART. Tho
leading attraction on the 4th, at Northum1
berland, was the speech of Col. ID. Taggart,
Paytna,ter of the United States Army, To-
Gated at Portland, Oregon, who is now on
o brief visit to his family at Northumber-
land, aud the parade of the order of the p.
o. S. of A. The speech of Col. Taggart
was attentively listened to by large num-
of persons. Many of them his personal
friends and neighbors, and some who had
come a long distance to hear him. For the
benefit of those who were unable to attend
we publish some portions of his address
below -. 90
Since 1 went away from you, more than
twelve years ago, to mingle with
strangers--to make new friends and
new foes-I have seen more of our
country than most of you ever will. In q
little more than four years L have been in
tbirty-one States and six Territories. /
have looked upon the snow-peaks of British
Columbia in July, and sheltered myself
from the hot sun ofJanuary under the palm
trees and in the orange-groves OF Cuba.
have seen the gorgeous sunset of the tro-
pics from the deck of an Atlantic steamer,
and watched him go down in glory at nine
O'Clock behind the waters of the North
Pacific. | have travelled by railroad over
mountains 1900 feet higher than Mount
Washington, and look down upon vast
treeless, level plains nearly three times as
high as the highest point in Pennsylvania.
From almost The same spot have seen the
head streams Of the Colorado flow south
westward, and the tributaries of the Mis-
sissippi begin their eastward course offour
thousand miles to the sea. | have ridden
on this same railroad 4S0 miles at q contin-
uous elevation of G,000 feet and upwards,
and for 1,300 miles without getting below
1000. From the hills of Oregon | have
seen the waters of The Columbia at points
20 miles apart, and beyond them five
mountain peaks covered with everlasting
snow, the lowest of them more than 10000
feet above the tide, and all of them from 30
to 100 miles away; and on the other side
the Coast Range, with its base laved by the
restless pillows of the Pacific. | have seen
nearly every snow-crowned peak from
Shasta to Edgecombe. / have navigated
waters not much wider than our beautiful
Susquehanna, whose depth have been
sounded with lines oftwo hundred fathoms,
hemmcJ in by mountains on every side of
1900 feet, each one differing in outline from
its fellows, and alike in their rugged and
colossal majesty, while from their untrod-
den cannons leaped scores of cascades,
some of them four times as high as Niaga-
RI.
In the far North have watched the twi-
light linger to meet the dawn, where for
many nights total darkness was banished
from the land and sea. have looked upon
H., Il
earth, but have seen no spot as dear to
me as this. l wish l could photograph
upon your memories, as they are stamped
upon mine, all the scenes and some of the
incidents of my wanderings, but that | can
never do.
have gathered many pleasant recollec-
tions and suffered some bad bereavements.
In few short weeks, not long ago, the
three persons whom, of all others, stood
in the closest official and social relations,
were taken away from income of them by
painful and slow disease, one by shipwreck,
and one by cruel and bloody murder. Two
of them were strangers to you, but to me
they were all dear and valued friends. And
as long as an unclouded intellect is vOuch-
safed to me their memories shall be honor
ed and cherished as sacred and holy things.
And on more than one occasion my own
life has hung upon a single hazard but
fortune favored me, and l am with you
once again. | have mingled with men and
women as noble, and true, and as highly
cultured as can be found in any country
so far above dishonesty, meanness, and false
hood themselves, rs never TO impute un
proven baseness to their fellow-creaturcs
And l have met few of the other sort
miserable, low-priced, ,white-livered wretch
es, who looked at the deeds of their neigh
bors through the blackness Of their OWL
corrupt and degenerate hearts. And here
let me entreat you never to take the darker
view Ofany mans conduct, unless you wisl
to proclaim to your associates the sort o.
man you are yourself If people would
learn to Judge their fellows lenently instead
of harshly, the world would be great dea
better and happier than it is to-day. 1t is
my decided opinion that vast majority o
mankind is more inclined TO good actions
than to bad ones, if for no other than the
selfish reason that kindly acts bring more
happiness to The performer. No man evel
did a malicious deed in his life that he die
! not suffer from it. ......
J "Cunatural deeds
/ Do breed unnatural troubles infected minds
Totheir deaf pillows will discharge their secrets
And no man ever did good one that he
was not the happier for it. The older yor
get, unless your hearts are warped by long
INDUCED avarice, the more inclined yol
| will be to live for others rather than your
/ self In our declining years it is far easier
to be happy by proxy.
! y philosopher of the olden time, aftel
seeing his possessions swept away by {
great disaster, exclaimed, II have lost al
but what / have given away" In hi
penniless old age he could look with salts
I faction upon the boards he had laid up ii
the indcstructable storehouse of charity.
Not many years ago, n difference Of opin
ion in politics or religion, and especially il
religion, was regarded as worse than {
crime, even though INDUCED by those who
in every other respect, were above reproach
But Il happy change is coming owe
the world. This beastly intolerance is al
ready confined to people of the narrowes
hearts, and dullest intellects. Men can nov
differ in politics, and even in religion, ant
still be friends, and entertain sincere re
Ua rl for ono annth haP IIarasV iS NOT IN