The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1885-11-26
VOL. XIV.

tIiC sIIto VI Iulllp anu DItCh-
ened walls. Our enterprisng merchants
make such an attractive display Of their
wares that they draw customers from dis
tant communities. Numerous church ed
lfices Of architectural beauty ornament our
streets. Spacious warehouses, prize houses
and factories attest the magnitude of our
tobacco industry, which embraces trade
with every section Of the United States
and with Canada and Great Britain The
high prices realized by our farmers for
their tobacco, are the amazement Of stran-
gers, excite the envy Of competing mar
kets and speak in trumpet tones for the
intelligence and skill with which our ag
rlcultural pursuits are carried on.
Our school facilities for both sexes are
exceptional, and the salubrty of our eli
mate, sobrety of our people, and beauty
Of our surrounding country render our
town an attractive locality as a residence
and place Of business.
The energy and enterprise Of our people
are proverbial and without dollar of in
debtednesS either on the part of the coun-
ty of Vance or town of Henderson, We
may well predict a brilliant future for our
town.
But enough sir, Of matters so personal,
let me again in the name of us all ladies
as We'll, bid you a hearty welcome
Senator Nance's Response.
Senator Vance responding, among other
things, SAID
FRIENDS OF VANCE Cou NTY: For your
hearty and cordial welcome | thank you.
The people of this county have honored
me in a way which appreciate more than
any honor | have received at the hands Of
the generous people Of EortIl Carolina. To
have a county progressive and prosper
ous-named for me Is a monument that
will speak long years after your speaker
and all who hear me this day have passed
away. 1t will hand my name down to
pOsterity in more enduring manner than
any other honor you might bestow upon
me would do. Loving the whole State
and desiring its property, | feel a pecu-
liar interest III your county which seems
to be a part of me. thank you for the
great and lasting honor you have done me;
for your cordial and hearty welcome; and
for the kind and complimentary express
slOns of your speaker.
The Public Reception.
After partaking of lunch at the hOspita
bic residence of Col. BurgHyn, the Cover
nor and his accomplished and charming
wife held a reception at Burwell Hall from
1 30 to $50 p. N. Men women and chill
dren called to pay their respects and the
Senator and his Kentucky wife (she is so
| much like a North CarOlinian III appear
ance and manner that most people think
her 'tnative and to the manor born') greet
ed them cordially and with warmth. Many
columns might be written descriptive of
the people present; how they shook the
Senator's hand from the man with the
clammy, gelatine-like fist to the horny
handed son of toll who in his JOY, forgot
that the Senator's shaking apparatus was
| not made of iron ;of Mrs. Vance, wonderful
| tact and power of entertaining all classes
| of people from the graduate of Nassar to
| the little girl who had been helping to cure
| the yellow weed; of the Senator's Jokes:
of the relation of old stories about the war;
of the awkwardnesS CT some of the people
and the timidty of others; of the thous
and conmon and uncOmmOnplace remarks
made and many other things which did
NOT escape my eye and ear, but which q
| lack of spack forbds detailing.
The Lecture at Night.
Burwell Opera House will seat 600 peo-
| ple-or more. 1t is a beautiful little hall
| and is one of Henderson, attractions.
| There may have been more people III the
| house since it was built than We're there
| Monday night but | doubt it. | am quite
sure there never gathered a more intelli-
gent or better looking company of people
| And | know they never came together to
| hear a better lecture from better man on
| a better sub ject. At $50 p. M. Rev. Alex.
| Sprunt, President of the Library AsSoci-
alton, arose and after explaining the OBJ
| iect of the Association, introduced Senator
! Vance. The introduction was appropriate,
| the words were well chosen, and grace
marked the bearing of the speaker
| Amid rounds of applause
Senator Vance
advanced to the stage and spoke for one
t.our and five minutes on North Carolina
4 theme of which he knows more, per-
/ haps, than any other North Carolinlan
| The lecture was interesting, instructive,
and entertaining throughout. Some peo-
pie W, re disappointed because of the alb
| sence of anecdote and wit which are eX-
| pected in everything Senator Vance says,
| but they were so highly entertained and
| their attention was held so closely that
they forgot their disappointment. 1t was
| the speech Of a lover of his State-it was
/ practical, it was plain, it was sometimes,
| especially toward the close, eloquent. 1t
| breathed devotion to State, devotion to
| right, devotion to honest CONVICTIONS 1t
| was a lecture of rarc merit and was heard
| with rare lnte est.
The fOlloWing-SOm of which are eX-
! tracts from the lecture and some of them
| llOltS NEltleu from llculOl w III give q
| clear idea Of the manner Of treating the
| broad subject and of the opinions of the
speaker on matters of great moment.
regret that the lecture in its entirety
could not be obtained for it is one which
will make every lover of the State proud
of his State and proud that so great a
State has produced 50 great statesman
as the greatly beloved Senator Vance
However enough of the speech follows tc
accomplish those two purposes and surely
that ought to satisfy.
The Senator opened his lecture by say
ing
"a toast of humorous writer's mos
! humorous character was OUR NOBLE
SELVES With a similar modesty, said the
Senator, he proposed to give social tall
on the theme, Our State and its people
our own noble selves Know thyself' il
a great command, and introspection occa
sionally by commonwealths, as well as b,
individuals, must be had it they bette
themselves.
Notwithstanding the modern improve
ments in methods Of land transportation
the prosperity of our race has always beer
and will always be, more or less depend
ent on their access to the sea. The grea
sand banks which stretch across the entir,
length of our coast, separated from th
mainland by system of shallow seas, hav,
served to render commerce both Difficult
and dangerous and impart to our border