The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1894-07-12
[CharlOtte ObServer,I |

which your invitation was extended,
| am profoundly grateful. The recol-
lection of this hour will be among the
most cherished of my life. The gen.
erous hospitality of the Old North
State is as unbounded as is her devo-
ton to the principles of constitutional
liberty.
In the early days of this century
North Carolina contributed her quota
of brave men and women who, joining
the mighty procession which moved
from the Atlantic Seaboard to the
Westward, found homes amid the for
ests and on the prairies of the great
basin of the Mississippi.
A descendant Of North Carolina
pioneers to Kentucky and Illinois, |
gladly come at your bidding, CRATE
fully exchange greetings with my kith
and kindred, and thankfully find
shelter beneath the ancestral roof
CHARLOTTE LINKED WITH RUNNYMEDE.
We are not strangers. The history
and traditions of the Old North State
are as dear to me as to yourselves
The blood that courses through my
veins is that of the men who, with your
brave sires, a little more than century
, ago, first gave to the world Declara-
ton of American 1ndepence =; the men
who have for all time linked the name
of Charlotte with that of Runnymede,
and made your Mecklenburg immortal.
My voice is raised to-day, i'll unison
with yours, in doing honor to the
memory OF the men who, in the early
days Of the colonial struggle-in the
days that tried mems souls
deep and broad the foundations. l
share with you the glory fan ancestry
whose achievements on the field of bat
! tie, and in the halls of legislation,
make up SO brilliant chapter in the
+ history of our common country.
In the great struggle for indepen-
dence North Carolina played no mean
part. Her sons were in the front ranks
of those who first braved the hostilities
and resentment of the British crown.
Her sons were first to realize the
necessity for separation, and the estab-
lishment of Colonial-ot American
independence.
1t must not be forgotten, Mr.. Psesi-
dent, that the love of liberty and the
hatred OF tyranny which found express
sion in the Mecklenburg Declaration
OF May Goth, 1775, touched a respon-
sive chord in the breasts of ancestors
of many of those l now have the honor
to address. The men who penned
this declaration builded wiser than
they knew. In pledging their lives
and fortunes to resisting British oppres-
sion, they sounded the keynote of the
national Declaration of independence,
which, 118 years ago this day, was
proclaimed by the Continental Con
gress at Philadelphia. To North
Carolina, then, belongs the imperish-
able honor of having taken the first
step towards securing to the American
Colonies, independence of the British
crown.
WHAT SHALL BE THE FUTURE?
What shall be the future of this
great Commonwealth? The glorious
achievements of her sons in the pas,
are part of our common history. In
her devotion to liberty, her struggles
and sacrifices for indepence, North
Carolina stood in the forefront of the
Colonies. The heroism of her sons a,
Eutaw, at Guilford, at Cowpens and
Kings Mountain turned the tide o.
, war from the Southern border, and
made possible the early termination
of hostilities by the surrender of Corn.
wallis at Yorktown. Nor has she
been less renowned for firm attach
ment to the principles Of religion:
toleration-for her efforts in behalf O.
higher and graner civilization.
But what of the futurel What will
be the verdict Of. history as to the
achievements ofthe present g~neration!
In all that makes State truly great
is North Carolina to lag behind, or te
keep even pace with her sister Com
monwealths in the century upon which
we are soon to enter?
WONDERFUL CAREER BEFORE Us.
With an area of more than fifty thou
sand square miles, stretching from The
, seaboard, five hundred miles to tht
western border; with breadth Of twt
hundred miles from North to South
! with a soil happily adapted to th'
o supply Of all material wants; with ;
:, climate unsurpassed upon the CONT
8 nent; travesed from North 10 South
=, from pine forest to mountain fastness
by railroads-her mountains overflow
ing with every variety Of minera
wealth-in a word, SO abundant
q blessed with natures choicest gifts
! North Carolina, am persuaded, MI
e President, is just entering upon
career ofwonderful material prosperity
But this is not all. Let this common
.. wealth be now viewed from a highe
standpoint. In the struggle for mate
y rial wealth, have the claims of educa
S, ton, of charity and of religion bee
j. forgotten To her honor be it sal