knows the joys of the whirlwind of victory, and the bravery of the foe sometimes victorious, and he, with all men of generous minds, will concede that, in that conflict-the rebels in arms, misguided as they were still taught lessons of valor to the world. And now reunited as a people-the North victorious generously extends to the South her fostering hand.

A word, as the phrase is, and I'll have done. It is common to greet celebrations of the 4th of July with laughter and derision, to make light of the day and its ceremonials, but the sentiment is wrong, and should be unknown among the people. If, as said the lamented Lincoln, in that most eloquent address delivered at Gettysburg-this is a government of the people, by the people and for the people-if this be true-and it lies at the foundation of all our political beliefs and professions-then it is the duty of each citizen to revive, as returns the anniversary of our independence, its memories and reminiscences; and the day should never, in word or thought, be treated with irreverence or contempt.

We have received a glorious heritage, and should be true to the lofty aims of those who have gone before us. If men in positions of public trust prove recreant to principle; if error and wrong appear, let it be the first duty of every man, acknowledging his personal responsibility as a part of the government, to effect reform and the removal of the evil.

Our danger lies, not in the dishonesty, but in the apathy and indifference of the people.

To note the landmarks in our history; to ever aim at the purity of the birth of the nation, is the safeguard of our destiny. To disregard the memories of the past, and those who, by their courage and combination, achieved for us liberty and good government, were to play the thoughtless part of children, who gather shells upon the shore, and throw them one by one away.

Let us then, amid the pleasures and pastimes of this day, renew our vows of loyalty to the nation, and to each other, as a people, and pledge ourselves by the memory of those who saved the fortunes of the State at first, to stand as true citizens by its honor to the last.

THE GLORY, GROWTH

AND GREATNESS OF

AMERICA.

A SPEECH BY L. M. GODDARD, ESQ.

DELIVERED AT THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION AT LEAVENWORTH, KAN., JULY 4TH, 1876.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.-Retrospecting the past one hundred years, reviewing the vicissitudes, trials and triumphs of the nation, it is with infinite pride we realize that we are citizens of this, the proudest government on earth. Standing here to-day, in this the one hundredth anniversary of our country's independence, we can contemplate, with just pride, its glory, growth and greatness. Long the sun looks down upon our far extended territory, before he sinks to rest in the ocean which bounds our western domain, casting his last rays upon glittering sands, that golden tints celestial may fall upon terrestrial gold. Everywhere course our arterial rivers, bearing commercial life and activity throughout our land.

Where but a few brief years ago was a wilderness untrod, now "labor with her hundred hands knocks at the golden gates of morning," and the busy marts of trade echo with the ceaseless pæans of American progress and prosperity. Idly our flag floats beneath the skies of the tropics and triumphantly waves in the icy blast of the Polar seas, symbolizing our might and majesty to every land and nation; whilst under the regime of peace, liberty sits smiling on our public hills, joy in our private valleys, justice in our courts, and and mercy on our highways. (After reviewing our privileges, duties and prospects, he closed by saying:)

In reciprocation for these priceless privileges it is our first duty as a nation to free ourselves from vice and inculcate the holy principle of virtue. We should wipe from our national escutcheon every blot of injustice-strike from our statutes every unchristian act. We should reform all the shameful customs that the pagan might of the past has fastened upon us; that licentiousness, intem. perance and pauperism may no longer infect and unbraid our civil

ization; that we may stand with a front of unimpaired holiness and present to the world an example of political perfection. The theory of our government is as near perfection as human wisdom can devise. It is the exemplification of the progress attained through the civilization of all the centuries, and it rests with us to harmonize our customs and conduct with our professions and principles. We attempted, for many years, to harmonize two antagonistic principles, and under the broad ægis of Republican liberty, perpetuated and fostered a relic of despotism, and while flaunting before the world our declaration of principles that "all men were created equal," nourished and legalized the worst phase of human tyranny, until it culminated in the most gigantic civil strife the world ever saw; until it required the sword of justice, wielded, by the gauntleted hand of war to sever the gordian knot that years of peaceful effort would have been unvailing to undo, and with much treasure and many tears, the nation paid the price of its inconsistency and sin. Let us profit by the lessons of the past, and garner the golden sheaves of experience, and enshrining above all else our national integrity, press onward with renewed vigor toward the goal of national perfection, devoting our vast energies to the advancement of liberty, and learning; we shall draw after us the benisons of an enfranchised race, and shape aright the coming centuries, and send forth an influence that will eventually liberalize the world, for such I believe to be the mission of this government, not only to be as among ourselves a free, intelligent and happy people, but to send forth an influence that will prove fatal to imperialism, and by force of example, introduce republicanism as the ultimate and universal form of government. And millions yet unborn will hail with gladness the anniversary of the day, on which the American Republic was born. For it is not ours alone to hymn the seraphic notes of liberty. Each day; each month; each year, will add glad voices to the chorus, and age succeeding age will swell the grand refrain until earth becomes resonant with the hallelujah of freedom.

THE TEMPLE OF NATIONAL LIBERTY.

AN ORATION : BY HON. JOHN I. JACOBS, GOV. OF WEST VIRGINIA.

DELIVERED AT THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION AT WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA, JULY 4TH, 1876.

After reading the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence the governor said: On this foundation has been erected a temple of National liberty, whose lofty spire is seen from afar by all the Nations of the earth, and whose altar-fires have given life, and light, and freedom to many peoples. A hundred years have passed away-a hundred years of trial, of struggle and of victory; a hundred years signalized by the noblest and grandests achievements of the human race: a century embracing within its folds greater discoveries in physical science, larger inventions for multiplying many times the result of man's labor, and diminishing its weariness and exhaustion, a kindlier sympathy of man for man, a more general intelligence, and a more tolerant spirit in religious matters, than characterized all preceding centuries; a century at the close of which, despite its many evils, despite its crime, vice and corruption, despite the anxieties of foreign wars, and the bur dens and horrors of civil strife, we can say without hyperbole, that we are wiser, better, stronger. As a nation in the beginning of the century, we were too proud to submit to insult, but too weak to resent it; at the end of the century, we are too massive in our strength to invite insult, and too just and magnanimous to provoke it. We commence the new century of our national existence at peace with the whole world, great in extent of territory; great in resources, great in arms, aud great in the possession of a free government.

The soldiers, heroes, statesmen of revolutionary times are gone, but they still live in the grateful remembrance of a free people,

live to teach us by example and to awaken in us a new love of country.

To commemorate the grandest event in our history, to do honor to the memory of those who signed the Declaration of Independence, and to the gallant spirits who, on land and sea, in the heats of summer and storms of winter, amid penury and privation, enforced it by the valor of their arms, with uplifted hands to swear once more before the altar of our country renewed allegiance to her and the cause of freedom, we, citizens, meet together on this the Centennial Anniversary of our nation's birth.

Throughout all the land to-day the people come together to rejoice and to be glad; the rich, the poor, sweet youth and hoary age, the dwellers by the sea and the toilers from the mountain side; from hill and valley, plain and prairie; from field and farm, vineyard and forest; from city, town and village; from shop and mine, store and wareroom; from office and pulpit, they come. From the shores of the Atlantic the shouts of the people rise and swell with morning air and are borne in the path of the rising sun, across the continent, over mountain and river, and plain, until lost in the roar of the Pacific. The world beholds the sublime spectacle of forty millions of people once again united never to be divided, actuated by a common devotion to their country, with swelling hearts uplifting their voices to welcome this day. All hail our country's natal day! we welcome thee! we greet thee! Great God! Sovereign Ruler of the universe! we thank Thee for our beautiful land, for her bright lakes, her magnificent rivers, her towering mountains, her fertile valleys and her spreading prairies, for the rich products of her soil, her fruits, her flowers and her garnered wealth, for the pleasant homes for her millions of children, for her arts and artisans, her telegraphs and railroads, her temples of worship, her colleges, her schools and school houses, her hospitals and asylums for the feeble and destitute, her government, her laws and her freedom. As the years unfold and centuries come and go, we pray that Thou wilt protect and defend her.