The Ottawa free trader., 1881-07-09
THE FOURTH.
IOnttnueR fLOm paae 3.

} Dckey, who responded to the toast, THE Po
t neers Of La Sale county," as follows:
LadicS and GeateHet anI Fci'op. citizens: The
circumstances which surround me to-day excite
IN my breast very varied emotions. II is always
u pleasure to me 10 come back in the neighbOr
hood Of the scenes and events Of my early man
hood and fall In with those who lived around
where my old home was. IL brings up the asso.
Citations OF days gone by; some pleasant scenes
and some sad. | love to meet my old neighbors
who have taken hold Of this country which, when
| first saw 1t, was little else than a desert. We
might spend the day in the recollection OF the
pleasant memories Of byg gone days, but AS has
already been called to your attention by MIR.
Cook, the events OF Saturday, the present condi-
tion Of the public mind, the almost certainty that
the President Of this nation is either now dead
or dying brings over these associations cloud,
and while Mr.. Cook has been pointing out the
dangers that surround this people, the dangers
to this country that may be apprehended, it has
seemed TO me that in the events that have OBJ
served here this day there is evidence that those
dangers will be averted. The glory of this great
country has been growing, swelling, expanding
and enlarging from my earliest bovhood until
now it is the grandest land upon the face of the
earth On what does that glory OF that country
restg 1t is upon the sense Of the people. 1t hnS
been borne through four wars, carried through
! political strife, carried through financial trou-
blcs all questions Of difficulty that beset II ma
tiun, and yet for one hundred years that march
has been onward and onward; and why Be-
cause the people of this great land as body
have been q law-abiding people; they have been
u people that respected right and have detested
wrong. This day, the 4th of July, In these latter
wears has become a day for idle boys t. collect
around the of the streets and the rafting
of drums and the firing VI crackers and the drink.
| ing OF beer and all sorts OF entertainments and
while we have gone through the ceremonies OF
the ith OF July and while we have heard the
sound Of the drum and an occasional sound Of
| the cracker, there has been gravity OF thought
that has pervaded the very boys OF the whole
country; that 10 me is satisfactory evidence that
| this people are not degencrating, that they are
not falling back; that the noble love Of truth,
that love Of right that deep detestation of wrong,
/ that regard for law and justice which has rested
as the foundation and support OF our institutions
and upon which they have grown from step to
step during an entire century Is still there.
! am not conscious that had ever felt great
er solicitudc for the preservation of any mans
| life out Of my own family than that which nave
felt for the last three days for the preservation OF
the life of our President; aud yet one OF the great
features OF the grandeur and stability OF our in
sttutions is the consciousness that we all feel
that although the head of the nation be stricken
down, although he may lay in the grave, that
the Institutions of this country will continue to
march on and grow and move with that same
steadiness as the movement Of 4 vast Iceberg. III
does not depend upon the life of one man wheth-
er our nation shall be preserved. The assassina-
| ton is one which | lament. l lament 1t FOR the
sake OF the man; lament it more, however, for
| the sake OF its moral effect upon our L Uaited
States and upon the minds Of the civilized world.
| 1t has been the pride Of Americans in an earlier
day, before the war OF 1861 began, from the very
foundation of our government we ruled ourselves
in our concerns like the Pharlsees OF old, and
thanked our God that We were not like other ma
| tiOns, that our President rode here and there
without guard or escort, but when we see that
| it Is made possible even through the acts OF u
mad man that the life Of a President is exposed
to more danger by reason OF the fact that he is
the President of the United States it has cast
upon the bright prospects Of this country cloud
which cannot be taken away without the expert
ence of half century to come. While as sug-
gested by Mr.. Cook, there is no suspicion upon
the mind of any rational man that the leaders OF
the rebellion had any kind OF sympathy with the
act of the assas sinaton of President Lincoln yet 1t
did grow out of the excitement that sprang from
that controversy; and while we might say that
this is mere accident, it is not thing likely to
occur again. And why? Because the ground
for excitement at that time wos such as we hope
never to again in this country, and feel that
few of us, none of MS, who have lived for a half
century will ever live to again that question
revolving in this coantry. The moral etfectssof
the war have settled that, and hence when Lin
coin fell, while mourn his loss, yet II did not
excite that apprehension as to the future that it
might otherwise have excited; we felt that that
was an incident Of the condition Of affairs which
was abnormal, which was not to be repeated,
and therefore We had no apprehension Tor the
future. Here, however, We see Il President
against whom personally there is perhaps as lit
tie political antipathy as against any man THAT
has been in the Presidential chair for many years.
We see him stricken down by the hand of an as
sassin, have no doubt a mad-man and by u
mad man whose insanity is led by the spirit oil
the hour. We are taught a lesson that excite
ments of a less important and less engrossing
character than that Of which the assassination of
President Llncoln's sprang may bring about such
a result there Is the deep depression that comes
upon my mind l5 that we are taught that these
things may come from influences which are not
extraordinary, and the like Of which We may eX-
pect suddenly in the conrse OF the admnfstra-
ton of the affairs Of our government; and it
brings depressing effect upon my mind to think
how small and simple fact is liable to produce
q thing of this kind. | shall mourn the day
when the President Of the United States shall
not feel at liberty and cannot walk IN security in
any city in this broad land from north to south
| or from the Atlantic to Pacific ocean.
| But was called upon to talk about THE Pio-
neers of La Sale County" With the suri ound-
| ings we have here to-day | don't feel much ike
running back and taxing my memory to discuss
that subject AS general thing man ought
not to undertake to say auothing about himself
or his own class for if he does he is regarded as
egotistica My father was pioneer in Ken
lucky and was pioneer In Illinois, nearly hail
a century ago. have looked on and seen this
state grow from its infancy; from state OF bank
ruptcy to that OF great wealth and prosperity,
great cultivation ana the means of great enjoy
ment in other words it has grown from that OF
childhood to manhood under my observation.
Many Of the pioneers of La Sale county have
passed away John Green, whom most OF you
knew, an old pioneer, has gone to his grave, and
also m any OF his children. The Armstrong; are
scattered through this country; some of them
still live, but many have gone to their graves.
Father Batcheller is here, and could enum,
crate many others, but l cannot stop to dwell
upon the incidents connected with each one.
have, therefore, just spoken to you some of the
thoughts that have occurred to my mind in con-
nectiOn with the matters that were brought oe,
fore YOU Sy Mr.. Cook, and there | believe will
allow my little talk to end.
| The President then introduced Mr.. John MIL
Ter, who, in response to the toast, "Ihe Old
Court House." spoke as follows:
| Hr Chairman and Ladies and Gentlemen: This