Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-10-02

his way III the long run. Hear, hear.
Therefore, before Il man attempts to bet
ter himself by crossing the 1000 miles of
particularly unpleasant water that lie be
tween this and the United States he ought
to be very sure what is the matter with
him and, what it is that he wants to go for.
If it is the fault of the country he lives in
then, in Gods name, let him depart as
soon as possible. If it is his own fault he
may be perfectly certain that with the
change of sky and of soil he has not
changed himself. There is no room for
him there more than here. The condi-
ton of prosperity there, as here, is indus
try, economy, virtue, and it is one OF the
most benelicent conditions, in my opinion,
that the Almighty has annexed TO human
life. Without that it is of no use to 90 to
America with that it seems to me, with
the observation | have had the opportuni-
ty of making, you can do very well where
you are. Cheers. Therefore, | do not
preach emigration l should advise every
man to stay where he was born and die at
last and be buried among his kindred.
And all have to say to the adventurous
among you who desire new scenes and
new chances Is that there is u chance for
you on the other side of the Atlantic, and
that the doors are open and we shall be
happy to see You all. Now Il word, on the
somewhat delicate subject for me to touch
upOn-great enlargement of the franchise
in this country, which has bestowed the
right of suffrage, as | learn upon many
persons who hitherto have not enjoyed it.
You may readily understand that belong
to no political party in England, that
have no political sentiments in this coun-
try, that if | had should take care not
to express them, and that in the few
words have to say to you to-day | must
not be misunderstood as saying anything
on the part of either Of the great parties
that divide, and very properly divide, the
people of this kingdom. There is great
patriotism and intelligence and ability in
each of them. | believe they are both
seeking ultimately their country's good.
The subjects on which they differ are sub
iects which admit of a wide difference of
OpiniOn-always have, and always will.
But both parties have united together i'll
approNlmatinS to American institutions
by extending very largely among the com
mon people the right of suffrage. That
is IL fact it is idle to discuss-if any one
were disposed to disCusS-lts wisdom.
And the question for those of you who
are now invested with the right to parti-
CIpate III the administration Ol your cOun-
try by voting, is, what use are you going
to make of 1t ? 1t is no privilege to be
allowed to do what you do not know how
to do. 1t is no privilege to be allowed to
do what you are not gong to try to do.
We have i'll America universal suffrage
Every man Is Il voter when he arrives at
II years of age. There is no qualification
or restriction. If he is a man Of decent
character he is invested with the right of
suffrage when he attainS his majority.
And the way in which it works depends
altogether on the way in which it is ac-
cepted and exercised. The right of suf-
frage may be II great privilege, great
blessing To the country and to the men
who exercise it. 1t may be a curse to the
country and II curse to those who
exercise it, 1t is simply question of
Intelligence :. of an earnest, cOnscien
tious, manly, independent effort to under
stand questions with view to/thc public
welfare and then to take that course
which will promote the public welfare
1lrSt and last. If men are to allow them
selves to be driven like sheep if they are
to become the prey of those who follow
politics not for the good of their country,
but for their own ACKNOWLEDGEMENT II
they are to be drawn into that worst curse
that can come upon any country that
know Of-the warfare OF one class against
another if they allow themselves to for
get that the prosperity of one class is nee
essarily and always the prosperity of all
classes that nothing is to be gained by
dragging anybody down, that the reverse
process is the one to look for if they set
themselves plainly to try to understand
the merits of measures proposed to them
and the true welfare of their country, and
/ remember first and last, and always, that
/
barked i'll one ship together, that one class
cannot saveI itself at the expense of
another, why then, as in America as Il
general rule the extension OF the fran
chse will work well and turn out to be n
wise and happy measure otherwise it
Will not. Cheers. And, therefore, this
great change that has been introduced
here, this salutary change, us | believe,
this approximation, as | have called it, to
American institutions i'll that respect, de
ponds upon the manner in which 1t Is re-
celved and exercised for its success. And
| think, my friends, you Will see in what
l have SAID that l am stating the case OF
no one party as against another. Now it
only remains for me again to congratulate
you on this occasion, suspicious AS | am
sure you will find il, and again to thank
you for the very cordial welcome you have
given me, and what touches me more near
4 ly, the kind and cordial words you have
expressed towards my country. | am glad
to see that you, III common with all Eng
llshlnen | have met here, recognize that
we all belong to one race. 1t Is imma-
terlal on which side of the water we are
found. An Englishman may go to Ameri-
ca and an American may come to Eng
land, but still we are all at home. | hope
that feeling will grow and increase among
/ the people ON both sides of the Atlantic,
aud | nave no sort of doubt that it will
and think if you are enabled to approx
mate III some respects to American lnstl-
buttons, the experiment will turn out rs
successful here us there, although it must
be remembered that the conditions are
very widely different between the two
countries. wish you all prosperity my
friends, and especially prosperity to the
excellent institution which is this day in
augurated. Loud and prolonged cheer
ing.
The proceedings terminated with votes
| of thanks to Mr. Phelps and the chair
man.