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AT THE DEDICATION OF THE GRANT MONUMENT

(Delivered in New York City, April 27th, 1897- From the Authorized Text, by Permission)

Fellow-Citizens : —

A

GREAT life, dedicated to the welfare of the Nation, here finds its earthly coronation. Even if this day lacked the impressiveness of ceremony and was devoid of pageantry, it would still be memorable, because it is the anniversary of the birth of one of the most famous and best-beloved of American soldiers.

Architecture has paid high tribute to the leaders of mankind, but never was a memorial more worthily bestowed or more gratefully accepted by a free people than the beautiful structure before which we are gathered.

In marking the successful completion of this work, we have as witnesses and participants representatives of all branches of our Government, the resident officials of foreign nations, the governors of States, and the sovereign people from every section of our common country, who join in this august tribute to the soldier, patriot, and citizen.

Almost twelve years have passed since the heroic vigil ended and the brave spirit of Ulysses S. Grant fearlessly took its flight. Lincoln and Stanton had preceded him, but of the mighty captains of the war Grant was the first to be called. Sherman and Sheridan survived him, but have since joined him on the other shore.

The great heroes of the civil strife on land and sea are for the most part now no more. Thomas and Hancock, Logan and McPherson, Farragut, Dupont, and Porter, and a host of others, have passed forever from human sight. Those remaining grow dearer to us, and from them and the memory of those who have departed generations yet unborn will draw their inspiration and gather strength for patriotic purpose.

A great life never dies. Great deeds are imperishable; great names immortal. General Grant's services and character will continue undiminished in influence and advance in the estimation of mankind so long as liberty remains the cornerstone of free government and integrity of life the guaranty of good citizenship.

Faithful and fearless as a volunteer soldier, intrepid and invincible as Commander in Chief of the Armies of the Union, calm and confident as President of a reunited and strengthened nation which his genius had been instrumental in achieving, he has our homage and that of the world; but brilliant as was his public character, we love him all the more for his home life and homely virtues. His individuality, his bearing and speech, his simple ways, had a flavor of rare and unique distinction, and his Americanism was so true and uncompromising that his name will stand for all time as the embodiment of liberty, loyalty, and national unity.

Victorious in the work which under Divine Providence he was called upon to do; clothed with almost limitless power; he was yet one of the people-patient, patriotic, and just. Success did not disturb the even balance of his mind, while fame was powerless to swerve him from the path of duty. Great as he was in war, he loved peace, and told the world that honorable arbitration of differences was the best hope of civilization.

With Washington and Lincoln, Grant has an exalted place in history and the affections of the people. To-day his memory is held in equal esteem by those whom he led to victory and by those who accepted his generous terms of peace. The veteran leaders of the Blue and the Gray here meet, not only to honor the name of the departed Grant, but to testify to the living reality of a fraternal national spirit which has triumphed over the differences of the past and transcends the limitations of sectional lines. Its completion, which we pray God to speed, will be the nation's greatest glory.

It is right, then, that General Grant should have a memorial commensurate with his greatness and that his last resting-place should be the city of his choice, to which he was so attached in life and of whose ties he was not forgetful even in death. Fitting, too, is it that the great soldier should sleep beside the noble river on whose banks he first learned the art of war and of which he became master and leader without a rival.

But let us not forget the glorious distinction with which the metropolis among the fair sisterhood of American cities has honored his life and memory. With all that riches and sculpture can do to render the edifice worthy of the man, upon a site unsurpassed for magnificence, has this monument been reared by New York as a perpetual record of his illustrious deeds, in the

certainty that as time passes around it will assemble with gratitude and reverence and veneration men of all climes, races, and nationalities.

New York holds in its keeping the precious dust of the silent soldier; but his achievements- what he and his brave comrades wrought for mankind are in the keeping of seventy millions of American citizens, who will guard the sacred heritage forever and forevermore.

2908

SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH

(1765-1832)

NE of the greatest events in modern times was the adoption by England of the policy of "autonomy," advocated by Sir James Mackintosh in his speech of May 2d, 1828. Nothing else could have saved the British Empire from collapse. The Tories, whose policies resulted in the loss of the American colonies, fought "autonomy" at every point. The Napoleonic wars and the American War of 1812 enabled them to sustain themselves by appeal to British patriotism, but it became apparent, nevertheless, that the centralized military empire, which constituted their ideal, was impossible with England as the central power. When Mackintosh boldly declared in Parliament that in every country the majority of the inhabitants and property owners ought to possess the power of the government," he was merely vindicating principles he had held during the whole of his public life—often in what seemed to be a hopeless minority. Now, however, they were to be vindicated. As a result of them, Canada and Australia became autonomous, and the British Empire survived.

Mackintosh was born near Inverness, Scotland, in 1765. He was educated at Aberdeen and Edinburgh, graduating in medicine and removing to London for the practice of that profession, which in 1795 he abandoned for the law. His defense of Peltier in 1803 made him a great reputation as a lawyer. He had already become celebrated as a political writer by reason of his reply to Burke's 'Reflections on the French Revolution.' This reply, published in April 1791, was to some extent discredited by subsequent events of the Reign of Terror and Mackintosh evidently had this fact in mind in the striking review of the Revolution he made in the case of Peltier. He remained a consistent Whig until his death, however, and though never popular as a political orator, he was one of the decisive factors in making the English history of the first quarter of the nineteenth century. He was Recorder and Judge of the Court of Vice-Admiralty at Bombay from 1804 to 1811. After his return to England, he entered Parliament and devoted the remainder of his life to unremitting work in literature, philosophy, and public affairs. He died in London, May 30th, 1832. Among his best-remembered works are his

'Vindicia Gallicæ,' in reply to Burke; his 'Dissertation on the Progress of Ethical Philosophy'; and his 'History of the Revolution in England in 1688.' As an orator, he delivered himself with such deliberation and finish that "he spoke essays "—if we are to trust Macaulay, himself the greatest of all speakers of oratorical essays.

CANADA AND THE AUTONOMY OF BRITISH COLONIES
(Delivered in the House of Commons on the Second of May, 1828)

Mr. Speaker:

I

THINK I may interpret fairly the general feeling of the House, when I express my congratulations upon the great extent of talent and information which the honorable Member for St. Michael's has just displayed, and that I may venture to assert he has given us full assurance, in his future progress, of proving a useful and valuable Member of the Parliament of this country. I cannot, also, avoid observing that the laudable curiosity which carried him to visit that country whose situation is now the subject of discussion, and still more the curiosity which led him to visit that imperial Republic which occupies the other best portion of the American continent, gave evidence of a mind actuated by enlarged and liberal views.

After having presented a petition signed by eighty-seven thousand of the inhabitants of Lower Canada,-comprehending in that number nine-tenths of the heads of families in the province, and more than two-thirds of its landed proprietors,—and after having shown that the petitioners had the greatest causes of complaint against the administration of the government in that colony, it would be an act of inconsistency on my part to attempt to throw any obstacle in the way of that inquiry which the right honorable gentleman proposes. It might seem, indeed, a more natural course on my part if I had seconded such a proposition. Perhaps I might have been contented to give a silent acquiescence in the appointment of a committee and to receive any observations I may have to offer until some specific measure is proposed, or until the House is in possession of the information which may be procured through the labors of the committee,— perhaps, I say, I might have been disposed to adopt this course. if I had not been intrusted with the presentation of that petition. But I feel bound by the sense of the trust reposed in me

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