The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1873-07-16
HAWAIIAN GAZETTE
An Eloquent Adde'S.

wives lQQ Our ullle ones 70 OeCOrhte the graves
Of the honored dead. Hither come we to pay
our tribute Of gratitude to the fallen heroes who
in the service Of their country ungrudgingly laid
down their lives, We come to testify our un-
abaied love for those brave men who sealed with
their own likelihood the perpetuated charter of
our Liberties. We come to commemorate the
rzlor OF those who withheld no sacrifice, who
were patient under the severest discipline, who
voluntarily forsook the comforts Of home to en-
dure every hardship and TO brave every danger,
II only they might leave flag not dishonored,
a nation not dismembered, and freedom dominant
over al The land
Not with heathenish superstition do we wor-
ship the spirits Of the departed brave. But we
do revere the names, we cherish the memory,
and we honor the Talor and devotion of those
who. 10 The season Of its greatest peril were the
saEious Of their country. And in this hearty
tribute Of reverence and gratitude, what more
fitting than that all, Of every political party and
Of every religious creed, should join for, under
God, we all owe our peace, safety and prosperity,
not 10 the worth. and wisdom, and industry of
the living alone, but largely also to the unselfsh
devotion Of those who died that the nation might
live.
Who can tel all that we have gained by their
Felfsacrihce, or measure the damage and the loss
which had resulted to us, had they refused in
the crisis Of danger to risk everything upon the
issues
The cause to which they devoted themselves
was well worth the sacrifice for justice and hu-
Tnanity and The highest hopes of civilization, and
the grandest possibilities Of progress for two
races were in it. 1t WIS desperate conflict for
human rights and democratic consistency that
or political professions and practices might |
tbenceiOrth agree that this land in all its length
and breadth might indeed be the asylum of the |
oppressed and the home Of the free. 1t was the
quick rallying OF true men prompted not alone
by patriotic devotion TO the old flag, which men
in their madness had traiIed and trampled in the
dust; 1t was great popular uprising for the
maintenance IN its integrity Of the most euuita-
bic government on the face Of the earth. That
martial tread Of a million men what forceful
protest against the spirit of faction which had
Secreed that the Republic should perish If so
slavery in this heritage Of freedom might be per-
petuated That martial tread of million men
what popular verdict Of guilt and swift pursuing
punishment pronounced against the greatest
crime on record in the history of the Western
World
The course Of events has shown that this was
what divine providence enlisted them for whether
or not they themselves purposed so much What
though some Of them may have wrought and
fought Tor higher purposes than they intended
Shall We honor them the less because God hon.
ored them so much Right we'll then have We
written all their names upon your Roll of Honor
Tell il TO your children, that they may tell it
again to theirs: This is the record of our illus
triOus dead
O, ye heroes that gave your lives for the life {
OF the land, there are no faded leaves in the
chaplet wreatbs which willing hands would weave
for you. By us and by our children through !
many coming generations this record shall be S
rehearsed, and your memories shall abide. Sue '
cessive winters may throw their snowy mantle 7
over the mounds that mark your resting places
in The beauteous gardens Of the dead, but not
one word from that ilustnous record shall fade
from view, not one name from these rolls of h
honor shall be blotted out. Each returning spring
time, exchanging the cold winding sheet for the 4
vaFiegated tapestry Of natures most tasteful n
workmanship, shall bring its floral tribute to dec
crate these graves. And as the Summers sun e
snail greet with genial warmth these halowed
grounds, so shall our hearts be warm with CRATE. f
ful emotion as we think how much we owe to
those whose fame is imperishable though their
remains may moulder to decay 4
Theirs was the simple faith, the will complete a
NE Solder daring, never taught retreat
Who only saw, wherever danger led
The star Of duty shining overhead,
Followed that star through battles burning breath
And hailed it shining on the front of death" b
And you who mourn the loss Of those who d
were as dear TO you as your own lives you who
saw your fathers and sons your husbands, your e
brothers and your betrothed, go forth in the full
strength Of manhood only to return hither for p
burial you who feel to-day that your fondest Il
earthly hopes and your choicest earthly friend u
ships are buried in these soldiers graves while
we sincerely sorrow with you to think how much
it cost to maintain the liberty and the life of
nation that stood upon The very verge Of ruin, III
We rejoice with you that the sacrifice was not in
vain. Yes gladness chases away the gloom 81
when we remember that neither they nor you pl
withheld The needful sacrifice. IT. even then, in A
the first intensity of your griefs, when with n;
lnuled drum and the funeral dirge, you laid to T
rest the loved and the hODored brave, you could,
through the tear drops Of your sorrow, have seen
the bright bow Of promise spanning the stormy m
sky, you could have said as submissiyely as now W
you say it. o. God the sacrifice is terrible indeed So
but the grand results have more thau justified d,
TIE cost.
We bOnOred fathers, now bowed with age who, CO
without a murmur, gave your sons to be slain, 1t
yourselves with patriarchal faith binding them to an
The altar, accept anew our thanks and the pledges
Of our sympathy as to-day we stand in stead of 81,
those whom you had hoped to lean upon as the su
staff and stay of your declining years. K
O. orphan children, grown prematurely old Of
under the heavy weight of care which your early
bereavement brought upon you; o, woman, so at
patient under your burden Of grief, we owe You of