The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-04-26

rested upon in the fruition of a re
t Quilted love?
Sound the muster roll and let the 81.
lent response answer; the dry bones
| at Goliad, the Alamo and at San ia
clnto, and even on your own spark
ling Salado, tell their own brave but
pitiful story.
But you and those imperishable
dead bones planted here the tree of
llberty-thus it became watered with
the blood of human hearts.
Though for time swayed by
adverse winds, that tree bent its roots
down below the drought of frost and
anarchy; its trunk went up erect, not
rlven by the storm; soon the ever
green unfolded its branches and it now
affords IA welcome shade for the op-
pressed and liberty loving of all the
people of the earth.
And. where lies the true greatness
or grandeur, in the civilization itself
or the primal human agency that pro-
duced it? 1t is to them that strike
the first blow and blaze the road to
progress and civilization. The char
acter of Martin Luther will live in
history when Henry Ward Beecher is
quiet in oblivion; the name of Gut
tenberg will be cherished when the
painters and typesetters of the present
civilization are clothed in the dark
garb of utter forgetfulness; the name
of Columbus will be towering mon
ument when that of the commander
of the steamship Great Eastern is
crumbled into impalpable powder; the
name of Morse will electrify the COM
ing ages, while those of the presidents
of the Western Union and other ON
nipotent telegraph corporations are
blotted from the minds of men:
the names of Austin and
of Fanin, of Bowie and Frank John
son, of S. w. Blount and Sam Hous-
ton, of VIM. L. Hunter and Deaf
Smith, of Davy Crockett and Ed.
Burleson, of Moses Austin Bryan and
| Walter Z. Lane, and the men now be-
fore me who blazed the road to our
advancement and civilization, will be
! spoken with generation and blessings
a hundred generations after the great
men of this day in Texas are discarded
from the pages of history.
| Then, whence came these choice
blessings to Texass What human
agency poured this priceless treasure
into the very laps of the two millions
| of people that now dwell within these
borders? You and your comrades in
the early days of Texas were the in
| StrumentS, under the direction of a
wise Providence, to create this civili-
Zation and unfold our destiny. You
and the courageous wife that followed
your fortunes made these prairieS,
these rivers, these hills and valleys
almost sacred by your woes, your pri-
vations, your heroisms. Men then,
footsOre and hungry, marched daily
with feet unshod and nightly slept
Upon untepted fields; women of high
birth and Of gentle manners gathered
no thornleSs flowers of comfort and
ease, but they challenged the bowling
blasts of the prairies, the tomahawk
of the savage and the very welcome
of the solitudes.
1t, Sirs, is to you and those of your
Spartan band who have crossed over
the river, that l owe the privilege of
breathing to-day this balmy Texas
air, of resting in the soft rays of her
bright sun, of looking down upon
these valleys which might seem to
have been followed out for the very
home and dwelling place of liberty.
Forty-seven years ago this day, a
vanquished foe lies bleeding on the
banks of the San Jacinto. A few
hundreds of ragged and hungry men
are the victors over the thousands of
skilled foreign soldiers, already sur
feited with treasure and human
blood-their proud general on Bonded
knee, hoping for that quarter and mer-
| cy so foreign to his own heart and so
little in keeping with his own mode
of warfare. On that evening the
very heavens smiled, and, for the first
time, the sun went down on this lib
Grated sovereignty. In its broad
sense, Texas was then free. From
that good hour, these people have
been governed by magistrates of their
own selection, under laws framed by
their own agents.
The so-styled Napoleon of the
West" no longer dictates your policies
or commands your battalions; here
now smiles an independent, peaceful,
law-abiding, well-governed common
wealth.
Th ousands shall spring from your
IONS and trace back with pride and
lineal love their blood to yours. Cen
turtles hereafter, in great cities, from
tribes of a common Israel, shall come
| together the good, the eminent, the
beautiful, to remember you and learn
| the lessons of your uneXampled hero
ism. Your influence will endure here
| for ages and, until the morning stars
spoken with gratitude and venera-
ton.
And shall the state refuse to out
stretch her arm, once weak but now
strong, made so by your valor, to ten
| dor fhof hnl1nfu T1nhl0 onhinNo-
| ments so richly earned? Shall
the millions remain locked
| and bolted in the state treasury while
the widows of dead Texan spartans
are almost without food and raiment
Just here / will state that it was my
pleasure to prepare and have intro
duced and earnestly labored before
the legislature Just adjourned to pro-
you the meagre pension of $3.50
year; and, strange to you as it may
seem, many obstacles were placed in
the way. The men of gray hairs and
tottering footsteps, with exceptions,
opposed your demands against the
state while very large majority
of the young men-and let it be said
to their honor-were your friends
and stood between you and the older
members like "a pillar OF cloud by
day and pillar of fire by night" The
oldest member of the senate refused
to recognize your rights, while Mr..
Matlock, the youngest, was your
earnest advocate. The lower house
furnished like examples of gratitude
and patriotism on the one hand, and
niggardly economy and base ingrati-
tude on the other-the oldest members
voting against your just demands, and
the youngest standing by you with
unsheathed sword battling for your
rights.
You, sirs, merit of Texas her high
est honors and richest rewards. She
may offer her bountieS and pensions
in simple morsels, but she cannot Cir
cumscribe the memory of your deeds
and achievements. There is now no
marble shaft uprisen in the Pass of
Thermopyle, but Leonidas and his
brave band will live when the law
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