The Hawaiian gazette., 1904-07-05

that. in my somewhat rambling re-
marks, shall have nothing better to
offer than the plain speech of q plain
man. Some men are gifted with the
swift insight which pierces beneath the
shows of things; some are blessed with
the divine gift of speech; and others,
again, not only see the inner pulse of
the machine, but add to that the alb
ility to translate, into words that burn
the thoughts that breathe. But of these
elect, l am not one, l regret to say. The
life of the courtroom in these business
days,-the life that 1 lead,--is not spe-
cially adapted to the development of
the imagination or of poetic fervor; 1t
deals too exclusively with the some
what arid. dry and practical details of
commonplace business; and the oppor-
tunites for passionate utterances are
conspicuous by their paucity. And so,
then. you must permit me to disclaim
all pretensions to the gift of oratory;
l can do no more than make few re-
marks. in simple way, upon the sub
| ject assigned me.
NATIONAL COHESION.
| / SdHHot Help Dut tnlnh lldl III tleSe
celebrations of this national birthday
there is an influence which makes for
national cohesion. On other days. we
are all shades of opinion upon all sub
jects; on other days, one American is
n Republican, while another American
is a Democrat; on other days, the
twang of the Yankee opposes the dia-
lect of the Southerner, and the effete
East calls to the breezy and vigorous
| West; but upon this day all reflections
sink and disappear and become obliter-
| ated; and upon this day, there are no
sections, there are no parties,-we are
all just plain Americans. in love with
our country. and in love with our
starry flag. (Applause.) And this, l
venture to think, makes for national CO.
hesion. We are thus periodically re-
minded that there is something bigger,
something greater in every way, than
any individual one of us and we are
thus reminded that. whatever may be
the diversity of our views upon other
matters, yet, in this commanding mat
ter of our country, We are at one,-for
we are all alike enjoying the inestim-
able boon of American citizenship.
A GREAT PRIVILEGE.
1T is priceless privilege, this, of
American citizenship. 1t means that
we are all linked with and parts of a
nation that, though one of the young
est, is yet one of the most efficient for
the betterment of the world 1t means
that we are parts of nation pledged
to the support of right, pledged to the
redress of wrong, and pledged to the
effective maintenance of liberty, equal
ity and fraternity. And it means that
you and /, for ourselves and for our
children, are entitled to work out our
own development and happiness pro-
tected by the law, protected by the
civic strength of the country. and pro-
tected by its arms when necessary. The
freedom from all restraints except such
as are demanded by social order free
dom of speech, the right to complain of
grievances, freedom to labor in any
lawful calling, the equal protection of
the laws, the equality of rights, the de-
NAL of special privileges, the right of
representation upon questions of tax
alton, the right of each man to worship
his God in his own way,-these, and
many more such valuable rights go to
lidhe w tiie SUN Ol american ClllZen-
ship and l ask you if rights of this kind
are not a priceless and a precious in
heritance, of which every right-think-
ing man may well be proud?
ALSO GREAT RESPONSIBILITY
"Of course, American citizenship has
its responsibilities because all rights
imply corresponding duties. But if it
be true, as our history shows it to be
true, that our national theory involves
the passionate determination to ensure
the freedom of the individual together
with the liberty and well-being of the
masses,-if this be one of the most dis
tinctive facts in our policy, is it not to
be explained by, or at least attributed
to, the intelligent acceptance by the
American people of the responsibilities
incident to American citizenship? And
ever since the days of Washington, past
Jefferson with his Declaration of indie
pendence and his statute for religious
liberation, past the worn face of Lin
coin, past the tragedies of Lincoln, of
Garfield and of Mckinley down to that
unselfish public servant who now gov
ems with the courage that takes large
responsibilities, Theodore Roosevelt,
the American people have supported
well and bravely their responsibilities,
and have thus put the nation into the
proud position it occupies today. In the
old days, among the ancents of the
earth, that man was proud indeed who
could say, I am a Roman citizen; does
not our own past history our ready ac-
ceptance of responsibilities, our meet
ing and vanquishing harassing prob
lens, justify the quickening of our own
blood when we reflect that we are Am
erican citizens?
MUST WIDEN IDEALS.
THE progress of the nation widens,
as time flows by, as the nation grows
and develops, as it becomes a factor in
international relations, as 1t assumes
obligations abroad our conceptions,
our ideals, our purposes should widen
also. New responsibilities crowd upon
us, as they inevitably must; new duties
arise, demanding adequate discharge;
new relations are contracted, requiring
tactful consideration: and thus, as the
nation advances, its problems increase
In Rnt 40 IN. M 81 t.usb "a r,s