The morning news., 1892-03-18
SENATOR HILLS GRAFTON.

his 6poocn R0celVeQ amid ENTHUSIASM
and Applause.
President Meldrim, In his introduction of
the distinguished visitor who was to re-
spond to the fifth toast, 1.-THE United
States,n at no time mentioned bis name, but
his most indirect and subtle references to
Senator Hills achievements were signals
for applause. and his direct reference to the
ex-governor's recent triumphs In New York
state, In behalf Of the Democratic party
was followed by a hurricane of cheers
and cries. When Senator Hill rose to re-
ply it was at least five minutes before he
could command attention. From the mem
bers on the floor. from the spectators In the
dress circle, the gallery and the boxes came
cheer after cheer, and three times over.
The ladies 10 the theeter contributed TO the
excitement by waving their handkerchiefs.
Three times the senator essayed to speak,
but the long pent-up enthusiasm of the
evening at last found a vent, and some
members on the floor ceased their enthusi-
astic welcome only after being physically
unable to proceed further.
His speech. which follows, was prefaced
by few witty remarks OF local applica-
tion, which had the effect Of putting his
auditors in good humor, and in a condition
TO thoroughly digest the weightier matter
that was to follow. he was listened to with
attention throughout, and the sentiments he
voiced were we'll received. Time and time
again he was interrupted by applause, and
! when he sat down at the close of his speech
the same scene that witnessed his rising was
| repeated.
GENTLEMEN OF THE HIBBRNIAN SOCIETY OF
| SAVANNAH you invited me to join with
you st. Patrick's day In oele orstin; the 80th
anniversary of your excellent and patriotic So
| cety perhaps you did not know how numerous
dtq0ualf 6Cati0nR share f0atiVi-
| ty, or receive the honor for which, neverthe-
less beg you TO accept my cordial and most
| grateful Acknowledgements.
My diSqualihcations are of every sort. They
are physical and they are mental. and they are
| moral.
or course it is possible that you did know
them beforehand. OF course it may be that that
is just the reason why you asked me to come
a Hibernian reason. Laughter. Such things
do happen. For instance, have suspected that
a certain ex-governor who is rather intimate
| acquaintance of mine I'VE have often eaten at
one table and slept in the same bed was
invited to the chair of great chief ma gistracy
because Of the immense variety Of his disquali-
| ficatiols, and waS reelected by a large major
| fly for just the same abundant reasons
| [Laughter.l l can bring you plenty of mug
wump and republican newspapers which daily
| confirm me In this suspicion. Laughter am
sure that have known OF a person being invited
TO take up his residence in the white house be-
cause he had no business to be there Laugh
ter That, to be sure, was as long ago as fit
will ever happen again in our lifetimes.
1t Is perfectly certain that the highest honor
ever touched by man or my profession In
Great 4 Britain, l mem the woolseck, was
once at least bestowed for no bett reason than
disqualification like those which may have
been your truly Hibernian reason for inviting
me.
suppose you know the man mean. It was
not toe lord chancellor, who was writing the
| lives OF the departed English lord ehancellors
| and made oil the still living ex-lord chancelors
| feel that he had added new terror to death.
| No, it was not Lord Campbell; it was Lord
| Brougham, and don't mean to reclte IN his
disqualification the old story that if he had
known little law he would have known some
thing of everything Laughter. His dsqual-
| hcatons for the invitation he got, like mine,
had a broader scope than that. They were set
down at large in an old novel which some OF
you may have read, called THE Bachelor of the
Albany :" and was once an Albany bachelor.
| [Laughter.l The novel was written in New Or
leans by an Englishman who was British consul
thare, and this was how be explained Lord
Brougham's coming TO the woolsack. said he:
Lord Brougham was man OF splendid in
capacity; vast and various misinformation and
immense moral requirements"
nian Society of Savannah would have asked
that man to dinner and treated him with
magnificent hospitality. [Appleuse.]
Moreover, he could smoke and l can't, He
could get drunk. and, except with cold water or
coffee, am just as wretchedly incapable of
that vice as if it were virtue. Laughter.l
But these physical disqualifcations are moth
| ing TO my mental and moral disqualfications.
| For them can only beg you to accept the ex-
| cuse of birth and residence
l am sure every Hibernian present will feel
| for me, when explain to you the conduct of my
ancestors, and tell you that after dinner my
| Irish wit perpexes my American wisdom, and
my American wisdom paralyzes my Irish wit
| Laughter.
Then there is one more disqualification. In
| New York nobody makes after-dinner speeches
| except two classes of persons; first, those who
| want TO be governors, presidents, senators and
| the like, which explains why have never prac-
ticsd the art of after-dinner speaking and
| formed myself on our great models. Second
| those who have nothing to say and are perfect
| masters in the fine art of saying it.
| There is a very witty yoang gentleman in New
| York who always eats his dinner quietly and
never says anything afterward-so far as
know, for lack the pleasure of his personal &C
| quaintance. He is a nephew, believe OF the
| late Bishop Brownel of Connecticut and a
| critic OF the pure breed, like Sainte Beuve or
! Henry James He has been at the New England
| Society and the st Nicholas dinners and heard
| all those stupendous orators whose names have
| not mentioned and Mr.. Brownell says that I'm
| New York after-dinner speaking came in when
negro mnstrelsy went out"
The last and greatest Of my disdualifications
| which shall submit. to account for and to ex
tenuate your cordial hospitality, is this. After
get through with this uDpractised aud most
trying ordeal or making an aiter-dinner sps ech,
subsequent TO hearing down south few speci-
mems Of real negro minstrelsy, which happily
never has died ont in this lovely land among
| your compauioa race not one human being In
| all our northern land will say of you
| Georgians OF the southern Empire state. what
| somebody in New York said to a friend who
| told him that he had just been making speech
| In Boston.
I'm delighted TO know it-delighted. al
| ways hated those Bostonians. Great laugh
| ter.
All, gentlemen il was not ever thus
Let US thank the God OF all mercy that every
! passion OF war, save patriotic price, has at last
| died out utterly from every northern, from
every southern heart. Applause