The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-10-14

represented according to their population and not
rights that they nhertad from te rs '0yeafSn
as egual states in the Union But think 4 is safe
70 say thht the sober sense of the millions of
the population of the greater states will never con
sent TO an innovation OF that kind
But this Is not the occasion to discuss subjects
embracing SO wide range which, to be properly dis.
IKE this would in the least degree warrant. have
telt every day that have been here-as every one
dressing you have said and as have heard so many
say ~ private conversation-that, after all, the
occasions are not the thoughts of the philo.ophies
Of Government although they, are connected with
the prospect that belong to republic situated and
iounaea MS we have been and are And so, in speak
ing 81 tne senators Of the United States | think
could safely say for all the OF all parties in
tnat greti Dody that they would be glad to be here
But the things that touch us most as we look over
personal recolecons that cluster around liz ,nn
VINO nave gone before u.s. In the time that have
been in the Senate, young as you see that am,
have seen every member of every one of the other
thirty-seyen states of this Union come into that
of the states Of this country in the short
time that have been at Washington, has marched
There IS now only one senator, and his time has not
Wien s enfsr wdo WIS member of that body
JOIN. sherman" All the rest have gone, and one
new men appear with equal powers, with equal
sPehaor Of intellect equal patriotism from all
that one stands almost alone the world goes by SO
iast; There have been In that body within my reco
station, If there could he greater one which d.
not know of. There have been men of the most
creeds in religion, the most opposite views of social
progress associated and yet in the good order of
always safe in the division Of parties and cresds and
views That body has been always one of the great
est posSlpe personal harmony and good-wll-always
friendship always Kindness, almost always courtesy
even even IN the heat of debate And so from year to
year, as the time has gone and great men and
great events have come and have had their day
fneae mas been continually present that concord Of
"A lfa
beneye rests everywhere the safety OF a govern
nent that rests upon the consent of the governed
There is one thing further should wish to say.
although it is out of the line of festive conyersatioi
IN respect of the valuethe coordinate value-tot
governed OF this arrangement of the Senate of the
United States 1t is different, largely different from
any similar body that exists in any government that
Is not republican, asd in some that are republican
The Republic of France recently establisied-and
am sorry to say, in some danger fear, of being
overthrown-has its senate composed in a way en-.
urely different from ours, but not hereditary as in
the country from which most of our forefathers
came1 a., Britain That country has its Senate
called the House of Lords, exercising by it's const.
tuition or entitled to exercise, almost the same func-
miscbef in tSe Fact bS ha mas its great vice and
lord II becomes hereditary; it becomes the prop
name; and in the long course of time that has gone
on the House of Lords of Great Britain has come to
Commons as anything can possibly be. A gentleman
OF That body the House of Lords, with whom con.
versed recently when was in England. in speaking
OF our respective methods and the difference be,
tween the two houses, asked me if it was possible
PHI that the House of Representatives had sent to
them thing which the House OF Lords could not
under your British constitution to reject bills that
the House of Commons send You, and to really rep
resent the conservative element i'll your own So
ciety?' No." he said. that would not dot had
never been known In recent years that any bill of
any consequence hnally was rejected by the House
o t LORDS ana Tue upshot Of the business is likely
by the nobility that ii the wisest thing for their
own yrd order and preservaton that their House of
LORDS must soon be reinodeed upon the plan of the
Sp1. nd tvb
mat mas been done think that we who are the de
cause we are not their descendants, we are their
cousins think we can rejoice that one great step
the government nearer home to the real Interests
and the real power of the citizens of the
have been accomplished from the example of a
century NOV almost. it will be in two years. since
now is The example of this republic in every spe-
cles OF vcissitude, through every of crisis Of
peace and war, has convinced the people of Great
Britain-the learned, the rich the aristocracy Of
Great BrtanIthat after all, the safest government
Tor property the safest government for religion the
safest for rational and conservative liberty, gov
eminent that Is founded upon the model of the Re
Our example, then, will have been a valuable ex-
look back las we may now do over the past feel
that our fathers and ourselves in our humble way.
of mankind And il the ladies will pardon me for
concluding with the least bit of poetry, look
forward, and
The virgin future lifts her veil of snow;
"
The gulf of long ago" Loud applause +
~. OUR CoNGRBssMEN-Past and present Il put
IN prospective" but they objected whose sturdy
the nations welfare.
COLONEL HOOKER. who proposed the above
toast, said: 81 promised General Grout
that some one would relieve him, but / am
in duty bound TO call upon him"
GENERAL CIRCUIT" Mr.. President. Lddies
and Gentlemen. If any offence requires Sc
hpnptit nf al.. >
1t is that of calling upon an unoffending
cltlZen Tor "A speech in such presence as
this, without one single word of warning.
charge this upon the management this even
ing, and am in "A dilemma. | read IA few
days ago, that the man who could play upon
the trumpet of fame and the horn of a
delemma got his first ideas of music from
hearing cock crow while he was tying
knot in cord of wood To extricate my
self from the dilemma | am in, must draw
my inspiration from some equally original
source. Occasions like the present should
be made of as much avail as possible, as
they tend to bring out The sweetcr and
happier side of life. This has been termed
a reunion OF living eX-members of the Yer
mont Legislature. | suppose the reason
those not living are absent is because they
were not invited. | am pleased to meet so
many representative men of our State-men
who have given shape to this little common
wealth. The Legislative department is one
that came to be an important factor in civil
government. The history of its rise and
development is really the history of human
liberty" General Grout then concluded by
referring briefly to the rise and progress of
Legislative representation. and the relations
subsisting between the state and nation and
their respective legislative bodies.
v THE PRESIDENTS OF THE VERMONT SEN.
ArE-They have we'll sustained the dignity and i'm.
portance of the upper house. Lieutenants by title
they often demonstrate their fitness for the chief
command.
Hon. l.. III. THOMPSON of Irasburgh re-
sponded, in his usual good style, thus: " do
not see why | should have been selected as
the scapegoat of this occasion. First | am
put in place of the president of the reunion,
and now ! act for the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
an ONCE never expect to be elected to fill.
suppose am to say word in behalf of the
Vermont Senate represented upon this occa-
sion, present and past. Vermont may con-
graduate herself upon always having had
worthy and faithful servants to represent it
in its Senate. While the United States SEN
ate. as IT has been observed, presents the
anomaly OF representing the states in their
corporate existence, il | may so speak,
the Senate of Vermont, instead of repre-
sentlng the corporate towns which make up
our beloved commonwealth, is a popular
body and represents the people. 1t is the
members of that body who are elected by
the popular vote of the people, irrespective
of the local limit embraced in the townships
representing the corporate entities of the
state. Our state Senate has always been a
body ready to take progress by the hand
From the early history of our state our Ver-
mont senators, as well as representatives
in the General Assembly of Vermont, have
been true to the OLD Green Mountain State I"