Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-26

ent Of public buildings, board of health,
sewer department, etc, and the assess
| ors and engineers were provided for in
the upper or third story of the rear.
| The builders of the original structure
| in 1925 were Capt Lewis BigeloW, car
! penter, master builder and architect,
with Col Peter Kendall, brick mason.
The committee chosen by the town to
| have charge of the work Of building con-
sisted of ten leading men of the town,
| Fred William Paine, John w. Lincoln
| William Eaton, Rejoice Newton, Mai.
! Enoch Flagg, Col. Samuel Ward, Mai.
! Joel Gleason, John Gleason, Jr., Capt.
| Ephraim Mower, Edward d. Bangs, Abb
| jah Bigelow, DR.. Benjamin Chaplin Gen.
| Nathan Heard, DR.. Abraham Sinclair,
Samuel Allen, Jr., and William Cham
berlain.
| The old town hall, after the enlarge
ment in ~1S41, being much the largest hall
| in the place until the completion of the
Mechanics Hail building in 1857 all the
large gatherings and big mass meetings
! were held there. The next hall in size
below being Brinley Hall, which was
| opened in 1887. The most noted gathering
| held in 1t, to commemorate it, was the
| big gathering of June q and June %,
| 1888, when the great free soil movement
was inaugurated, and the memorable
free soil party had it's birth, the cul-
mination of which in it's development
into the republican party and the cleo
! tlon of Abraham Lincoln, was the aboli-
! ton of slavery throughout the land.
| In the musical line, the most marked
event was the memorable concert by the
worlds great SOM gstress, Jennie Lind,
assisted by her future husband, Otto
Goldsmith, Signor Belletti and Joseph
Burke, this being her farewell concert
in Massachusetts. The hall was crowded
/ ~ P17II aeffa Dif ifNr
! taken, the price of tickets, according to
location. being 50, SO and 81. Large num-
bers gathered about the building to
catch such notes as might escape
i through the walls. The Spy states that
| on that occasion Jenny never sang bet
ter. or gave better satisfaction, at any
place where she has ever appeared"
The most famous political gathering
held in the old hall next to the noted
free soil gatherings of 1S48, was the
| stormy democratic state convention OF
| 1851, when the effective power of
/ Nathaniel P. Banks as skilful and
model presiding officer was Shown. It
was at the time when the celebrated
| coalition was at its height between the
free soilers and that portion of the Bay
! State democracy who looked to the peo-
| pie for political promotion, rather than
| to Washington, in anticipation of the
| election of a democratic president in
| 1852. Whatever might be the result OF
the deliberations in the hall on this oc-
| casion, Banks was determined that per-
| feet flair play should be exercised be-
tween the two sections of the party in
| the discussions. The old national" or
pro-slavery, section of the delegates, led
by Gushing, Hallet and others, being de-
termined in their efforts to gag the
speakers on the other side, the presiding
officers tact was exhibited to an unusual
but eventually successful extent, in Civ
ing fair hearing to each side, and
especially to that side in which the
presiding officers sympathies were
strongly enlisted.
The nationals made a special
ly furious attempt to drown the
voice Of an honest democrat
of the coalition side, John Bran
ming, of Tyringham, but Banks
persistently and continuously repeated
the words, in the putting of the ques-
tion after each attempt to gag down the
speaker by stentorian voices had died
away, Gentlemen of the convention,
the gentleman from Tyringham has the
floor, and must be heardw adding, at
the end Of the last putting of the ques-
tion, And he must and shall be heard,
If 1t takes till tomorrow morning. This
settled the matter, and the coalitionist
From Tyringham was heard.
Among the most distinguished men
| who have spoken in the old hall at diff
ferent times are Daniel Webster Abra-
ham Lincoln, Thomas FL. Benton and
other notabilities outside of the more To-
cal or New England talent.
A funny incident worth recording for