Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-07-16

Delivered by Hon Geo. C. Hazel
ton at Boscobel, July 4, 1874


marks anew the epoch of free govern
ment in America.
1t is the nations birthday-a"breath
ing moment on the bridge of time"
where forty millions freemen, holding
sovereignty of government, and in
spired by patriotic devotion to its in
terests, make a pause amidst the stir
ring scenes and active employment of
life, to commemorate the great deeds
of their history, and dedicate them
selves to the high resolve, that this
government "of the people, by the
people, and for the people, shall be
preserved and maintained in all its in
tegrity, and with all its blessings, for
| evermore.
The Nations birthday--its lessons
and its memories are ours-ours to
cherish, and ours to celebrate. The
empires Of the Old World, with all their
long lines of historic achievements,
have no such commemorative days as
this.
Its significance finds no favor in the
eye Of monarch, or autocrat, or EN-.
peror. 1t can only live and be observ
cd as it ought to be, where the sub
lime truths of the Declaration of In
dependence are written upon the hu
man heart, believed in and understood,
and where the guarantees of free gov
eminent obtain.
England has no great day Of ma
| tional Importance set apart and OBJ
served as an occasion of common in
terest to the whole of her people No
day on which the rich and poor, the
high and low, the titled and untitled,
the Saxon and the Norman, impelled
by common impulse gather under the
flag to celebrate deliverancc from
wrong and oppression; and even that
period of her history on which Magma
Charta came, with its enlarged rights
and privileges, remains uncommemor-
ated to this hour.
Napoleon placed the I'd of Deem
Der in the French calendar of great
days, and. designed that each return
ing year should bring its commemora-
ton with increasing pride and JOY; but
it's observance died with the Napoleon
ic dynasty, and the column of victory.
erected in the Place Vendome from
the trophies of Austerlitz, to remind
the Frenchmcn of the imperial glory
of that day and of his country, hath
been already torn from its base and
demolished by the ruthless commune
The victory ana the blood of Auster-
litz brought no lasting advantage to
mankind, established no era of human
progress, established no great princi-
pie in government for the benefit of
the race, and failed justly to merit a
nations commemoration for all time.
Not so with us. The occasion
which attracts whole people, by one
common impulse-which turns the eye
of all towards the government and
;he flag-takes its inspiration, and
draws its life and meaning from the
fact, that on the 4th day of July, 1776,
the fathers of the republic asserted the
natural rights of man as the only true
basis upon which to build the fabric
of Government, and proclaimed the
right of the colonies to be free and in
| dependant states, absolved from all al
| legiance to the British crown, and
made the stone which the builders
heretofore had rejected, the head of
the corner of a new government in q
new land.
Ninety eight years have passed, and
the anniversary of that immortal day
comes to ns dearer than ever, Time
hath not dimmed its glory or impaired
its significance. 1t comes as Gods
blessing comes-comes as the shower
and sunshine and golden harvest
comes jewelled and crowned with ma
tional honor, national power, national
growth and prosperity-with equal
rights before the law-with JOY and
love and peace.
1t has taken the blood and valor of
two revolutions to place the self evil
dent truths of the Declaration of In
dependence securely in our govern
ment. They first absolved the allegi-
ance Of the Colonies to the British
crown, and brought about the consti-
tuition of 1887, the result Of compro-
mise between sectional interests, and
which, if it did not permit slavery to
exist and recognize the right of prop.
erty in man, failed to guaranty and Sc
cure, without discrimination on account
of race or color, the equality of all
men. Under it power grew up hos
tile to the best interests of the repub-
lic-an antagonist of freedom-claim,
ing to be stronger than the union of
the states, than the government itself
The second revolution broke down
and destroyed this hostile power;
while craftsmanship, following the
baptism Of blood, carried tho fruits
of it's victories into the government
itself, and made them secure for all
time. Wherever oppression aud
wrong had gained power either I'M
der the organic law, legislative act,
or tho adjudications of the courts,
they have been driven out, and the
constitution of 81, perfected by wise
amendments, upon the law of human
| haOn DNCOIAO tiO
and the declaration the constitution
Now, freedom is enthroned in power;
now, the republic is free; no bonds
man breathes its air or treads its
soil, and the broken manacle of the
slave is the emblem of his freedom.
The marvellous increase and extent of
empire, the rapid advances made by
the whole people in less time than
century, in all that goes to make up
the highest order of civilization,
demonstrate the superiority of our
government over all others. 1t places
development and growth where they
belong, among the people. 1t recog~
nlzes their capacity for self-govern-
ment, for great thoughts and great
deeds. Under its influence the high