APPENDIX.

SPEECHES AT THE REVERE HOUSE COLLATION.

In view of the state of the country, it was thought wise by the City Council to dispense with the City Dinner at Faneuil Hall, which had been customary for so many years, and to substitute therefor an informal social gathering at the Revere House. Accordingly, at the conclusion of the Exercises at the Music Hall, the City Council met the Orator of the Day, the Chief Marshal, and his Aids and Assistants, the Officers of the Military Escort, and a few other invited guests, at the Revere House, where a collation, well suited to refresh the active participants in the celebration after the fatigues of the day, was served.

After the Collation His Honor the Mayor, Hon. Joseph M. Wightman, claimed the attention of the company, and addressed them as follows:

FELLOW-CITIZENS: In accordance with long established custom, we are this day commemorating the eighty-fifth anniversary of the Independence of the United States of America. We are again listening to the voice of eloquence, to the joyous chimes and merry peals of the bells, and to the loud salvos of the thundering cannons proclaiming another anniversary of our National Birthday; and if, in the present condition of our country, there is a shadow of anxiety or doubt which throws a cloud over the bright picture of the future, let us take courage and rest our hopes on the wisdom of that Providence which has so far guided and preserved us as a nation.

Let us remember that less than a century has elapsed since this great Republic dawned like a star on the verge of the political horizon, with scarcely light enough to penetrate the gloom, or twinkle through the darkness which surrounded it, and that that feeble star, which every cloud seemed destined to obscure forever, has risen higher and higher, and grown brighter and brighter, until it has become glorious as one in the mighty constellation of civilized nations. What has been the secret of her greatness, the mainspring of her success and power? The universal intelligence and education of her people.

History has portrayed the rise, decline, and fall of all the Republics in other quarters of the globe, and our country alone has the high privilege to solve this great problem of self-government. Established by the master minds of the Revolution, based upon a Constitution of which popular representation and mutual confederation are the sustaining pillars, are not the benefits we have so long enjoyed under this system so palpable and evident as to receive the homage of an intelligent people? Do we desire a change? Do we ask to have that Constitution, in which, as it were, the beauties. of the rights of all other nations have been combined in one grand Charter of Liberties, annulled? No! A thousand times no!

If selfish ambition and disunion assail it, let patriotism, ever warm in the hearts of our citizens, defend it. And in this hour of trial, let us, animated with the spirit of our fathers on this anniversary of their Declaration of Independence, renew the solemn vow to sacrifice on the altar of our country, "our lives and fortunes," and pledge "our sacred honor" to support and sustain that Union which has given so proud a position to our

native land. And, fellow-citizens, let our prayer be, that peace may be restored, and that for ages yet to come her glorious title, as "The Great Republic," may be preserved, with no monarch but the sovereign people, with no nobility but mind; and that it may continue to stand, self-poised and firm, upon the rock of the Constitution, the wonder and admiration of the world.

The Mayor's remarks were received with much enthusiasm. Professor Parsons, being toasted as the Orator of the Day, responded in a brief speech.

The next toast was to the "President of the United States," and Alderman Thomas C. Amory, Jr., being called upon, responded as follows:

That, Sir, is a sentiment to which all parties can respond. For though some of us preferred candidates more centrally placed in abode or political opinion, and believed that their election would avert, or at least postpone this controversy until it ceased to be dangerous, since it has come upon the country, the President, by his prudence, energy, and also by his moderation, has gained the confidence of all. Still I feel, that on this occasion another should have been called upon to pay the respect due to our Chief Magistrate, and that had our wonted prosperity admitted of our assembling in our historic hall, and with our usual numbers, that among them would have been found many to do more appropriate justice to the theme than I can. But that sacred edifice is reserved for happier days, or for sterner duties, and assembled here under this roof, the honored name it bears, as also that of the President himself, closely connected as they both are with our great revolutionary epoch, remind us that our fitting subject now is the historic past.

And on this festal celebration of the most important event in

the history of our country, perhaps in the annals of our race to be permitted to participate in the expression of sentiments glowing in every heart, springing spontaneously to every lip, is a privilege which should be dear to every American, and especially in Boston, where we have been accustomed to regard the day as one of peculiar sanctity. Here were sown the seeds of that yearning for equal rights and national independence which culminated in the Declaration, which we this day commemorate. Here Otis, Quincy, and Warren rocked the cradle of liberty, till, animated by their patriotic ardor, that infant Hercules strangled in his grasp the demons of tyranny and arbitrary power and gaining fresh vigor from another Quincy, and another Otis, and from the soul-stirring eloquence of Webster, Choate, and Everett, developed into maturity, and spanned this mighty continent. Here on this day, have our fathers gathered in their joy and triumph, taken counsel amidst their trials and perplexities, and it is well for us, now that clouds have for a time obscured the brightest political promise ever vouchsafed to a nation, that we also should come. for hope and cheer to these revolutionary altars. And what higher privilege have we as a people, what stronger cement to bind us together in national fellowship, than the associations of the past which make this day sacred? So long as we continue true to the principles which separated the colonies from the mother country, while we deserve to possess the rich inheritance purchased by the blood and sacrifices of that glorious struggle, on each annual return of this great natal day of our national existence we shall render homage to the fathers of the republic, reflect upon their virtues, wreathe new garlands for their fame. And, if we may derive a lesson from experience, the future is full of hope. The