Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-07-30
A NOTABLE CELEBRATIONS.
senator Joe Hawley's Opinion of the Re
puhlic aud fthe WORTH

/ iiehiN - ppNeH Oh lHe New ! OK mae
pcndcnt, has celebrated the Fourth OF
! July 10y II gathering of distinguished gen
| tleuen at his place in Woodstock, Conn
and by day of patriotic speech.makiul
to the multitude, who are wont to rathci
IN from the country round to ROseland
Park on the occasion. Mr.. Bowen had
made arrangements for a celebration this
| year, certainly not second in interest to
| those that have gone before. Generals
sherman aud Sheridan had agreec to be
present and senator Elmuuds was to bc
among the speakers The generals, how
ever, were obliged at the last moment to
decline, and Senator Edmunds sent the
following letter,
SENATE CHAMBER. WAsHINGTON.
June 70, 1856.
Dear Mr. Bowen: / am more sorry TN m
you can i'm Igine, but viii be obliged to in
form YOU that do not see how can possibly
toe at Woodstock for your celebration had
looked forward to it with much pleasure. in
order that | might Eastern Connecticut
whence SO many OF our carly NermOntcrs
CAME ana to become acquainted with the de-
scendants of the same race, to whom always
look now as first cousins.
And had also hopeL that might perhaps
contribute something to tie consideration OF
one of the great problems OF the present time
indicated IN the syllabus OF what was to sit, .
But the state OF business here IS such. and
tee with much confidential work, that at this
stage of the session feel that | should hc ic-
mss in my public duty If ! were to give up
the time necessary to viSi your place.
With sincere thanks Tor your kind invita-
ton, am Very truly yours,
GEO. f. EDMUNDs
HENRY c. Bowen, Esq, Woodstock, Conn.
The day did not fail however, on account
of the absence of some Of the orators and
guests Senator Joseph IIawley, Of Con-
nectcut was president OF the day, and
made n speech full of patriotic feeling and
cheer Speeches and addresses were
made by Hon. c. II. Grosvener, of Ohio
on The Ballot" by Hon. Levi z. Morton,
Clews, the noted banker, of New York on
Our Railroad Methods" and by Lieut..
Greeley on the Arctic regions. There were
poems by eX-preSident Hill of Harvard
college and Mrs. Louise Chandler Moul-
ton and the celebration was in all re-
spects notable one. Our space permits
only an extract from Senator Hawley's
address He said 1t is good thing to
give one day to the country with refer
ence tits whole history, not to the last
war alone, but TO all its wars and not to
its wars alone but to its great triumphs
in material progress, to its magnificent
advance in political institutions. There
never was a land like it. SO far as con
stitutiOnal, fundamental, cornerstone
declarations 90, so far is statutes
in harmony and in the execution
thereof 60, this is nearly a
perfect land. Very little more remains to
be said all men, absolutely all men, are
free absolutely all men are equal in the
eye of the law absolutely the ballot is
equally distributed, and the witness box
and the jury box and the cartridge box
are equally the right of every male clti-
zen. Education is everywhere acknowl-
edged to be not only blessing, but an
indispensable necessity to the future pros
perity of State and nation. In the dis
trbution of the public lands while there
have been great donations in order to
open up the lllmltable regions of the
West and to connect the two sides of
the continent together, yet, throughout
the whole of it, there has been an ackuoWl-
edgemenu that these wonderful posses
sions are to be held as possessions of
the people; and we have passed in the
House, and think it will be passed in
the Senate later on, laws that repeal the
impartialty of the pre- emption law and
the timber culture law, with the intent to
hold all that remains of these lands in
trust for the actual Seteier in small guam
titles adapted reasonably to home
think of no field of legislation in which,
with all the ingenuity of able men, and
with all The validity of ballots, the doc
trine of equal rights has not been applied :,
and with it law, liberty-not liceuse-lib-
tTlN anu law, dDSOlule law, TO Dt ODtNeQ
without question or resistance on every
foot of our land and in every second OF
time.
This is something that all people in this
land ought to know. There may be many
to-day who come through the great open
wide portals to enjoy all this freedom,
with whom for generations, it has been
an inherited tradition that that thing
called government was an enemy. Let
them forget it here. That thing called
government is, here, themselves they
make it; they are the law, for the law is
what they make. think that, in reality,
there is no land under the sun where
there is so much of real reverence for that
which is law, and there is no liberty with
ont it.
Our distinguished friend, Senator Ed
MINDS, whom those who are near him not
only respect but love, and whom all must
respect, was very sorry not to come here
today truly so, because he had some
things ready to say that he desired to
say. Bat know that his colleague has
been very i'll, and know that he was i'll
himself; | know that on his holiday
he is spending long hours in dill
igent work in his committee room.
His subject was the Liberty Of Labor
think that he intended to show that
labor, that is to say, that ninety-1ve one
hundredths of our people, cannot afford
to surrender the control of their daily |
calliugs and of the prices of their labor, |.
and their deposits in the savings banks, |.
and the control of their railroads, and I.
every imaginary thing TO any government
whatever, even free government.
If | were to address you, | might speak |
upon the words of Mr. Edmunds and |
speak of the Labor of Liberty instead .
of The Liberty of Labor" 1t is surely
misconceptiou to take it for granted, be- |
cause this if "A free country, that, there ,
fore. we have less trouble with our gov
eminent than any other In fact we are |
more troubled by it in one sense there .
is much more labor i'll il.
Liberty" rs French philosopher sa-
gaciously observed, "is a burden, and not .
n release" II YOU wish freedom from all .
the cares of politics and the affairs of
government, lind as wise a king as you
can pick up, as clever fellow, young or
old-baby boys some of them sre-sur-
round him with a resbectable body OF old
counselors and surrender. Tell him
That is better than this everlasting both
Grafton of caucus and of legislature and
of Congress run this thing and let us
alone. z
1t is better world than it was 10 or 25