The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-01-17

Wilmington, Del, January 14.-Unit-
ed States Senator George Gray was
rendered a complementary dinner IN
this city tonight. President Mckinley,
his cabinet and all members of the
peace commission, with the exception
of John Bassett Moore, sent letters or
regret. Mr. Moore was the only mem
Der of the commission present. There
were two hundreds guests in attend
ance.
Senator Gray was the chief speaker
of the evening, and responding to the
toast ."Our guests of honor" he SAID:
ut seems to me very commonplace
and cold, in response to this generous
welcome, to say that 1 thank you from
a full heart and yet, what else can l
saw. When one feels deeply, short
words are best and commonplace
phrases take on new meaning.
II have had, as you know, the great
honor of having been sent by the pres
ident of the United States as one of the
commissioners to negotiate and con-
clude a treaty of peace with Spain, and
we lately brought home with us sucn
a treaty, which, if ratified, mill restore
peace between the two countries ana
make more secure the peace OF the
world.
"eW are now in crisis of our ma
tional history. and your hearts and
oif Nf ic
centruy, are full of anxiety as to the
proper settlement of the momentous
issues which have resulted from the
war with Spain. While our country
was at war with Spain we are ready to
make, hope, every sacrifice to insure
the success of our arms and bring vic
tory and honor to the Americane-fagg q g
And when the war was over, nelleVe,
the patriotic instinct of American cit
izenship demanded, as your president
enioined upon us, that we would ex-
hibit magnanimity to a PROSTATE foe
and moderation in the hour Of victory,
as we had forced the war with stead
fastness and courage. In the first
place, !, want to say to you that it was
my pleasure as we'll as what conceiv-
ed my duty, to endeavOr to cary out
this instruction, SO creditable to us as
a nation and so worthy of the high civ
ilization of which we profess to be
leaders.
''The acquisition of territory by the
United States was not one of the objects
of the war, and we solemnly declared
in the resolution of congress that our
only object in demanding the relinish-
ment of the sovereignty of Cuba by
fn
except that we might pacify it and fit
it for self government by its own peo-
pie.
"But in this, as in all else, man pro-
poses and God disposes'; and it is one
of the things that make thoughtful men
desire to avoid war where it can be
avoided, for no one can tell what it's
consequence may be. 1 ardently de-
sired that we might escape the neces-
sity of taking the Philippine islands
and assuming the burden that their
taking will impose upon us and know
that the president of the United States
was equally anxious to the same end
But it became apparent that without
seeking, conditions had been created
and out Of these conditions unques-
tionably duties had sprung which could
not be avoided or evaded by the United
States
"1t was argued that the perform
ance of duty is sometimes not only un-
pleasant but has dangers attendant
upon it; nevertheless, a brave man
and brave nation will not shrink from
it on that account. On the other
hand, if American sentiment did not
Justify the return of these islands tc
Spain, no more could it justify leaving
them derelict in the eastern ocean, the
prey of the first occupant of European
rapacity. The powers of Europe would
acquiesce in our taking them, but they
would not have stood by and see ther,
in their helpless condition of anarchy
and disorder without seiZing the op-
portunity to aggrandize themselves
and so it was thought best by the pres
ident and his advisors to take the ces-
sion Of their sovereignty from Spain
-and hold it in trust to be administered
in conformity with those high ideals,
and liberty traditions which animate
and glor1fy the history of our country
Duty cannot honorably be avoided, be-
cause it may~bring pain or danger, nor
can responsibility always be evaded be-
cause OF it's burdens.
'"That I sought in Paris by all hon
Ssorable means to escape this response
bflity does not matter now. It came
to a point at last that we either leave
the islands to Spain, take them as me
did or break off negotiations and come
home without treaty of peace. In the
last event, the truce would be broken,