Year: 1877

GOVERNOR PRESCOTT LADIES AND GENTLE
MEN: This custom of hand-shaklng, which
have just got through with, comes down to US
through several generations, and 1t Is not alto
gether satisfactory proceeding, and now, hay-
ing shaken hands, we hardly feel acquainted
with each other. We wish to hear the voice,
and suppose IL IL as proper now as at any time
to make my acknowledgement to the authori-
ties of the State Of New Hampshire the Cover
nor and members Of the Legislature ard to
the authorities Of the city of Concord for their
binduess in bringing me to New Hampshire.
We entered the State last Monday, and have
been making our way through il visiting the re-
markable scenery Of the mountain regions un-
der circumstances every way favorable. The
weather is perfect, sky clear, air bracing, and
when on the top of Mount Washington there
seemed nothing lacking to improve that Won
] derful spectacle that is as surprising as it is
perfect. We have had few clouds in the sky
just enough TO make the sky seem beautiful az
the shadows floated over great mountains.
Passing from that we came down to tho'region
of the lake, that beautiful part of
New Hampshire whore your great
river-riverS perhaps-take their rise; where
! the great Merrimac-that river that
builds up such cities as Lowell, Law
| renee, and Manchester-takes its rise. So
came on down here under somewhat hotter
| sun than IL usual in your climate / think. /
met you, my fellow-citizens, glad TO exchange
greeting with you, and to be met by you. l
thought that 1t was not altogether proper in
meeting this people that should talk politics
TO them. Men of all parties have met me
Democrats, Republicans, and Independents |;
Republicans that are satisfied and Republicans
that are dissatisfied Applause and laughterl,
and really feel by the way that laugh comes
i'll that there is pretty large crowd mere
! [laughterl but at any rate we are here not TO
talk politics, and it does not seem proper to me
that one in my situation should argue as TO
measures he thinks proper to pursue. What
you want in this country as an executive Is one
that will execute. That / believe to be his
duty, and all that want of my oountrymen is
that charitable Judgment that is proper to be
! given by men among men-looking each
other in the face, who believe that upon the
whole the man they are looking in the face,
whether he is right or wrong. after all means
to be right. II is not good thing to say of a
man that his intentions are good,
and there is proverb that a very
bad place is paved with good intentions. And
yet after ALL among this people, the man that
has the confidence of the people that he has
good intentions has gained something. And
| perhaps had better stop here and call upon
some other. Cries of "Go ONT Well,
then, there is only one other thing,
and that is up in New Hampshire, as in
Ohio and every other State, you desire this
Union to be real union real union of hearts !;
union of friends. You would wish 10 have the
entire Union secure not merely by force, but
ty all the affections Of the people in ali parts
| of the country. Now while we have had in the
past distrust between the sections, alienation,
the hostility of bad blood, believe neverthe-
less that with the cause removed the old har-
mony and concord may return. And believe
| it will return, and believe in adopting meas
ures that will make it return speedily.


! Then | dc not see but that in the main we
agree as to the most needful thing 70 be done,
and our only difference is upon the measures
| by which we are 20 accomplish that end, and
rhis | must decline altogether TO discuss.


| And 80 now let me introduce To you gentle.
men that are somewhat responsible for nay
| blunders, and it is a great pleasure to have
! somebody to lay ii on. In the first place, there
is a gentleman from the South that, it is said.
captured the good-natured man from Ohio.
Well. / can't say sure about that. There may
be something TO it, but l thought then that we
captured him. He was very much in error
during four years, and his error continued up
to last November; for, as have been telling
audiences, he made bad mistake in voting
against me in November last and vet, upon the
whole, he seems TO be a very honest man, and
that is one thing that seems to disturb men in
politics. There are so many men who vote
wrong. He has become better very fast. As
! told the people up there, If you keep him
among you week or two, he will be as good a
Republican as you can furnish. SO now in
troduce to you Postmaster General Key.


Postmaster General Key said:


FELLOW CITIZENS The President of the
| United States is fortunate in having some gem
tlemen upon whom he can lay his error. ap-
pear before you to-day with some embarrass-
ment l confess. ] remember, twenty-five
years ago, away down in Tennessee at the town
| where / lived Chattanooga, l heard dis
cussion in regard to this State, and / came up
! TO see how much truth there was in that dis
cussion. One of your distinguished citizens (Gen.
| Pierce) was then candidate for President and
among others / was q Democrat then and sup
| ported him. There met at our town an i'm
mense mass meeting OF both parties. One of
the speakers advocated the election of Gen.
Scott and one Gen. Pierce. A Whig speaker
insisted that New Hampshire was q very bad
State and that Gen. Pierce was responsible for
that state of affairs. He said that they were
religious intolerants by the constitution Of New
Hampshire Roman Catholics were not allowed
to hold Office. He went on to say that this was
of the thirteen colonies of the original States
OF the Union. The reply of the Democratic or
ator was that the Whig speaker was entirely
mistaken that New Hampshires name was
New Hampshire that she was not one Of the
old colonies or one of the old States. The
Postmaster Of our city, being supposed to be
the most learned man of the place. was APP
| pealed to, and he proved that the Democratic
speaker was right, and that New Hampshire
was new State, and that satisfied the Demo-
cfatS ana tne people generally. 1nev thought
that, as the Wing speaker was mistaken in one
thing, he was mistaken in all. Now. my friends,
| came up here expecting to see an old State,
but everywhere have seen evidence of your
thrift and prosperity, and / am not sure but
that the Democratic speaker was right. You
move like young men, like active men, like men
who are determined TO work out destiny-and
glorious destiny at that. 1t is true, as the
President has kindly said a few moments ago,
that was down in my own State supporting 10
the best of my humble abilities the election


of another to the Presidency of the United
States and suppose that no man was more
surprised than L when his Excellencv
asked me to take a seat in his Cabinet. | sup
posed my friends, aud this / feel ought TO
say, that such step might not hurt me great
deal, but it might be ruin to him. l supposed
the Republican party of the North would say,


"What has this President whom we have done
so much to elect gone and taken that old fell
low, who has been from his earliest infancy
Democrat, and who in later days was a rebel,
and taken him into his Cabinet for?" 1 sup
posed, my friends, and l am serious when say
IT, that all through the North there would be a


burst of indignant disapproval-for it was GER
talnly unusual / have been gratifed, nv
friends, to rec that the greater part of the
North have accepted that appointment of his
in far different feeling. and | have felt salts
fed from the beginning that it was the express
sion of the sentiment of the naorle of tba