St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-05-08
A Ringing Speech For Vermont.

Gilbert A. Davis of Windsor
No true Vermonter can, If ne would
forget the land of his birth. You VINO
have wandered forth into the wilderness,
who have sought and gained homes ana
cherished associations, honor, tame
and wealth in other communities nave
an abiding love for the murmuring ri'ls,
the woods and tempted hills, the rugged
soil, the sterling friendships OF your
earlier days, and for the memories tnat
cluster around Vermont. The romantic {
stories of the early settlement OF tne
state, of the "Green mountain boys "
the Rangers, of the rude but eiiectuai
administration of justice with the
"Reechen seal" Of the heroic deeds OF
Seth Warner, Remember Baker, hthan
Allen and a host of Others, are familiar
TO us all as twice-told tales.
Mr.. Davis then referred to the pioneer
history of the state. The independence
of Vermont grew out OF disputed 'aiiu
t;tles-resstance to robbery under the
form of law. National independence
grew out of the principle involved in an
insignificant tax of threepence per pound
IN tea-taxation without representa-
ton. | claim that this state principle I
was broader and deeper than the national
In Vermont, at Westminster, March TO-
1775. was shed the first blood OF the
Revolution, and there fell and died Will
liam French, the first martyr IN that
holy cause. This event antedates Lex
ington and Bunker Hill.
1t is a fact not generally known that
Vermont has it's declaration OF independ-
. ence, adopted at the Westminster con
yention in January, 1777, when the
convention for themselves and constitu-
=. ents, proclaimed the people OF the New
# HAMPSHIRE grants "a free and independ-
y emf Jurisdiction" The first constitution
u of the state adopted at Windsor, July y,
n 1777, is one of the landmarks oil Ameri-
h can Jurisprudence. 1t announces primer
l. ples that were then new and important
q This constitution was modelled on that
a If Pennsylvania, which had been
a. adopted in 1776, in a convention pre-
i, sided over by Benjamin Franklin 1t
y had provision that prohibited slavery
g For fourteen years Vermont had indie
Ii pendent legislative, executive Jud'cia
a. and military organizations, her indie
81 pendent postal system, supported al
,I ndependent educational system, colne'
ne money and issued bills of credit. Durinl
er this period was enacted statute OF sue
az far.reaching Importance as to be worth
res of mention here-a novelty in America
IT. and English legislation, and which ma
icy since been copied in different forms
o'A MANY of the states of the Union, and
"a now recognized as an eminently just ar
on, necessary amelioration OF the CONNIE
so law. That was the statute known
' nno the "Betterment act" The substance
that law is, when the purchasers OF lan'
the have made improvements in good TAFT
but surprising that they had good title
,hu fee they cannot be evicted witho
hat les '"eS N'' f.,. :o,
hat allowance of the value OF their improN
ity. ments.
SYST After reviewing Vermont's part in t
nes, war of 1912 and Mexican war,
was sneaker dwelt on her exploits in the CT
net war. The total number OF men turnlsf
axe by Vermont in the civil war was 30, =
,,ee = The total population of the state at
rds commencement of the war was 1880
rned the total number of men subject to m
ears tary duty was 60,719, showing tt
-'1 az every other man of this number she
.iaqe dered his gun and went to tight Tor
w to country. The official statistics sh
that that deaths among Vermont troop
lnu:, action exceeded those OF any OF
$ the northern state except Michigan, VIII
sand regiments comprised many native
go of ,,o,,+a-s
ny, ~ In the presence of these "to the ma
some born, 1t is not necessary u ieiu'e
sum ISLANDERS that Vermont is an obs
corner Of the Union, about equally oil
essels ,,N..... ~ .o,,,;,;o, of tho w,
Ulcers GU between III.
+ EN-. chuck and bear, producing only SIP
erous gum and few stunted vegetables
haseo its sterile soil, where one has to
- - 1 ths around on bare ground, few mont
Cruz summer, where the sleeps noses ha'
Puget be sharpened to enable them to ge
Inen the struggling grass among the n
'u tsa IL and the soil is exhausted and desols
, went rests like mantle upon the state.
,lished On the contrary, Vermont ackr
&c. IL edges no equal in romantic beau
~ the natural scenery, healthfulness OF cli'
uently the variety ana value vi hei as'N"'
p with products, the beauty of her exhau
RS, ana ouarries of marble, the richness G
1000 limitless quarries of granite and
MIA. the extent and value OF her manutac
is terri. the products of her diaries, the tie'
er, was and symmetry of her horses, the lu
- clearness and sweetness OF her
lstoms, sugars, the romance OF her h'stoi
island thorough education afforded b
luuge common schools, graded schools,
;o., 80 bas mics, normal schools, college an
books, yersities the humanity and justt
Nnt-tIu n