Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-11-15
CONTINUED FROM FIRST PAGEl

ana respect Tor us, ana convinced JDem
that in hunting in New England the
game WIS not worth the ammunition.
But the lesson the Sons of the Revolu-
ton are to learn from the events | have
so crudely outlined is something more
those who have so greatly hOnOred us
by leaving us the glorious heritage of an
unstained name and an honorable eX-
ample.
The first settlers of Vermont, when
their numbers were few and they were
without power or inflence, determined
to lay the foundation of a new common
wealth. and in this determination they
never faltered. E'hey brought from their
several native colonies all the best and
most advanced ideas of "A republican
form of government, based on the theo-
| Ty of equal rights for every man, and
| government exercising its power and au-
thomty through the medium of a free
ballot They believed government of
the people, by the people, for the peo-
pie, as it had heen worked out by the
| Pilgrim fathers, among whom almost
every feature of monarchial government
had practically disappeared long before,
leaving but its mere form, which the
first clash of arms dissipated forever in
New England.
Such ideas of liberty and government
were little in accordance with the theo-
res upon which the governments of
most of the other colonies were based.
The colony of Pennsylvania was found
! ed by William Penn, much in accord.
ance with New England and all civilized
men to day honor the name of William
Penn, and when Vermont adopted con-
stitution she awarded Pennsylvania the
most sincere praise by making her con-
stitutiOn the model for ours.
The other colonies were planted by
men who were believers in the prevail
ing European forms of society and gov
ernments. The believed in a nobility
and peasantry-in the ownership of
vast estates by few, while the mass of
the people were to be the tOilers
The theory found a natural develop
ment in the slave States of the South,
and it cost the people of the North a
four years bloody war, thousands of lives
and billions of money to convince our
Southern brethren of the superiority of
the New England ideas of republican
| government.
New York was first settled by the
! Dutch who followed the feudal idea to
considerable extent, by granting vast
tracts of land to individuals, which they
rented IN small parcels to tenants, as in
the case of the Van Rensselaer, Manor,
which Joined Vermont and included the
greater part of Albany and Rensselaer,
| Counties, n. Y, that grant alone having
beena source of endless litigation between
the heirs of Van Rensselaer, and the AN
ti-Renters, "'whO now occupy the land.
After New York was captured by the
English, they pursued the same policy
of granting whole townships and coun-
ties to individuals, plan which our
hardy ancestors repudiated at the point
of the sword aud would have nothing to
do with it.
The pioneers of Vermont were IN many
respects representatives of the highest
types of manhood. As men of enter
prise they left their old homes and sub
dued a wilderness and established a new
colony by their unaided efforts.
AS soldiers they organized for defence,
and the records of every war in this
country since tha5 time shows Vermont
ers to have been in the fore 'front.' Of
the battle.
As statesmen they organized a govern
mem which is little changed to day, and
which was strong enough to carry them
through the troublesome times that tried
mems souls, and in diplomatic fencing
proved themselves the equals of the
trained diplomats of England.
As patriots they resisted all the bland
ishments of England, in the shape OF
wealth, power and hUnOrs, offered them
if they would fUrsake the cause of the
colonies and throw their weight in scale
with England, at which time it is more
than probable the fate of the Nation was
held in their hands, and England could
afford to reward them beyond their wild
est dreams, if they would have supplied
Burgoyne's army and pushed hi m
through to Albany, instead of sealing
the decree for the destruction of that
army with their blood, as they did at
HubbardtOn and Bennington.
AS patriots they established schools,
promoted religion and good morals, and
especially taught obedience to lawfully
constituted authority. They believed in
the Golden Rule.
They maintained their union and were
the just, practical opponents of the doc
trine of States rights. They were the
| first to incorporate a prohibition of slav-
cry in State constitution.
As believers in Christianity, they not
only built churches, but cheerfully sup
| ported tneIn.
In all the armed contention between
Vermonters and New York claimants,
they avoided bloOdShed and never went
off their own territory to retaliate, They
moved straight forward toward their
one grand object, to lay one of the foun-
dation stones and assist IN the building
thereon of great Nation. They loved
the right, they loved liberty, they loved
their hOmes-they loved and taught
their sons to love our everlasting green
hills, and because of such teaching we
are here to day.
And may we make it our duty to teach
those who shall join our society, and all
others whenever we have opportunity,
to love the same objects, and if the day
shall ever come when the people of this
Nation shall forget or cease to cherish
the principles of right, justice and patri-
otism, let us believe that the last strong
hold in which liberty shall be found Sc
curely entrenched will be among the
White Mountains of our mother State,
New Hampshire, and IN the Green Noun
tain State, and that from these noun
tain peaks, the beacon fires of liberty
shall perpetually tighten the whole of
our continent.