USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Barre > Memorial of the one hundredth anniversary of the Incorporation of the town of Barre, June 17, 1874 ... > Part 2
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PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS.
Lord Amherst by Gilbert Stuart. On the canvas before you is a faithful copy of that picture, painted for this occasion by a dis- tinguished artist for a son of Barre. I have the honor, Mr. Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, to present it to you as the proper representative of the town, for the purpose of testifying the respect of the donor for the place of his birth and the home of his childhood, with the hope that it may remain on these walls to stimulate the youth of the town to study the history of their country's early days and to note the career and imitate the virtues of the man in whose honor the town was named as they shall gaze on the lineaments of the noble countenance of Isaac Barre."
In response, the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Hon. GEORGE M. BUTTRICK, said : -
"We have high authority for the assertion that it is 'more blessed to give than to receive,' but we cannot fail to appreciate the motive that has led to this most appropriate and welcome gift. A picture like that, of one who had merited the honor of having his name preferred before that of the representative of roy- alty by the young democracy of the New World would have been a cherished ornament of any man's home, and for this preference of our Town Hall, in behalf of the citizens of the town, we desire you to convey to the donor our hearty thanks. I know I speak the sentiments of every citizen when I assure you, and him through you, that the successive officers of the town, charged with the care of its property, its rights, and its honor, will be required to see to it that that picture shall receive no detriment, but continue to hang on these walls to teach the youth of the town the lessons of courage, of truth, and of duty it is calculated to inspire."
The Committee had arranged that several of the young ladies of the town should furnish instrumental and vocal music, but the disposition to talk rather than to listen ren- dered imperative the omission of nearly all of that part of the programme.
The joyful greetings, the introductions, the memories revived and the friendships renewed, kept all occupied,
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and the exercises of the next day were rendered more interesting by the glad reunion of the evening before. .
The report to the General Committee on the subject of tent, seats, decorations, and dinner was made by the arrival at the depot, the transportation to the common, and the prompt erection of one of Mr. Yale's new and splendid tents, of sufficient size to accommodate five thousand per- sons, for whom as comfortable seats as the occasion would allow were provided. A platform, twenty feet deep and eighty feet wide, for the speakers, the choir, the band, and guests of distinguished civil or social position, was erected ; while an arch, trimmed with evergreen, and ornamented with appropriate inscriptions, fronted the entrance for the procession to pass through.
Across the principal streets entering the village were suspended the national flags, with varied and appropriate mottoes, and from a line suspended between the steeples of the two churches the Union flag floated proudly.
The Marshal had also, in honor of the occasion, arranged for an escort for the procession, consisting of sixty mounted men, the substantial farmers and citizens of the town ; and, though the unfavorable weather rendered the march im- practicable, the escort was out riding four abreast, and in the first platoon were Mr. FRANCIS RICE, Mr. NATHANIEL HOLLAND, Mr. JASON GORHAM, and Mr. FRANCIS NYE, whose united ages exceeded three hundred and twenty years, and who each rode and managed his own horse with a skill worthy of horsemen in the prime of life. He had also issued the following -
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PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS.
ORDER OF PROCESSION FOR BARRE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION,
Fune 17, 1874.
Marshal and Aids. Music. President, Orator, and Poet. Officiating Clergy. Governor of Massachusetts and Executive Department. Judiciary and Legislative Departments of the Commonwealth. Representatives of Historical Societies in Massachusetts. Representatives of Adjoining Towns.
Sons of Barre from Abroad of Distinguished Civil and Social Positions.
Former Residents and Descendants of Early Settlers from Abroad. Citizens from Abroad.
Committee of Arrangements. Town Officers. Citizens of Barre. Children.
CHARLES G. ALLEN, Marshal.
It was a great disappointment that the rain, which had fallen continuously through the night, making the travelling unpleasant, and the flags and mottoes to be shorn of their beauty and grace, should have deprived so many of the expected pleasure of being present, and in various ways diminished the éclat of the demonstration.
Yet at about the appointed time the President, Orator, and Poet were escorted to the tent, which contained about four thousand persons comfortably seated ; and at 10.55 A.M., the exercises commenced, and were carried through accord- ing to the programme.
A report of what was said will be found in the following pages. The hymn and the odes, which are to be found on a preceding page, were rendered by the choir under the
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BARRE CENTENNIAL.
direction of HENRY J. SHATTUCK, Esq., in a finished and appropriate manner, while the piano accompaniment de- served also special praise. Nor ought we to forget the beautiful sight of the three hundred school children, as they raised their voices in harmony to join in the welcome to friends, under the direction of the School Committee, and led by Mr. CHAUNCEY LORING. The Worcester Brass Band gave some very fine music to enliven the occasion during the afternoon, and in the evening the Barre Band by its performances added much to the pleasure of the occasion, so that on the whole the efforts of the Committee on Music were regarded as an entire success.
It is noteworthy that no accident marred the pleasure of the day ; and about seven o'clock the audience broke up, it having been announced previously that the Tent and Town Hall would be lighted in the evening, that music would be in attendance, and an opportunity be given for social and festive pleasures. Numbers gathered in each, and, cheered by music and speeches, passed a pleasant evening ; while others tripped it on the light fantastic toe till, at a seasonable hour, they retired to their homes or those of their friends to feel that the entire Centennial Celebration had been an appropriate tribute to those who founded the institutions of municipal, social, and business life that exist here.
PUBLIC EXERCISES.
I. VOLUNTARY BY THE CHOIR, " HAIL TO THEE, LIBERTY!"
II. INVOCATION.
BY REV. J. W. MOWRY, OF THE METHODIST CHURCH.
ALMIGHTY GOD, we thank thee that thou hast given us existence ; that thou hast permitted us to live in the time we do, and under the circumstances by which we are surrounded. We thank thee that thou hast given us a goodly heritage ; that thou, in thy providence, didst permit our fathers to locate them- selves in the midst of these valleys and hills. We thank thee that so many of their children and of their children's children are spared till the present time ; that not only these are permitted to assemble who here reside, but others from afar. Though some, in coming, have left graves and friends, yet, under circumstances of great mercy, we meet to congratulate each other in relation to this happy event. We pray thy blessing to be upon us. May every thing be done decently and in order. May impressions be made upon our minds that we shall carry down to our graves, and, through rich grace, may we all be prepared finally for the richer and more glorious inheritance and home on the other shore, where we will praise thy name for evermore, through Christ our Redeemer. Amen.
Rev. HENRY R. SMITH, of the Unitarian Church, read the
III. SCRIPTURE SELECTIONS.
NE generation passeth away, and another generation cometh ; but the earth abideth for ever.
O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all : the earth is full of thy riches.
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Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it : except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
Remember the days of old, consider the years of many genera- tions : ask thy father, and he will show thee ; thy elders, and they will tell thee.
Remember the former things of old : for I am God, and there is none else ; I am God, and there is none like me.
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass ; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, I bring near my righteous- ness ; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry. Remember this, and show yourselves men.
Behold, I come quickly ; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
IV. HYMN.
V. PRAYER.
BY REV. EDWIN SMITH, OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
O LORD our God, with thanksgiving in our hearts, and words of praise and gratitude upon our lips, we would now come before thee, rejoicing in thee, who art our fathers' God, and who art the God of their children, even unto the latest generation. Thou, our Lord, hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth or the world, even from everlasting to everlast- ing thou art God. Thou turnest men to destruction and sayest, Return, ye children of men. A thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is passed, or as a watch in the night. As we come together this morning from our homes and from our various fields of toil, we would call upon our souls, and all the
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PUBLIC EXERCISES.
powers which thou hast given unto us, to praise and magnify the name of our God. We would adore thee as our fathers' God, as their Creator, as their Preserver; we would adore thee as our Creator, our Preserver ; and this morning we rejoice in the way in which thou hast led us during these years that are gone by, and from the very depths of our hearts we would cry out, "What shall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward us." Surely thou hast led us beside the still waters, and in the green pastures, and we would magnify thy name this morning. We realize at this time that it is thy mercy that has spared us ; it is thy love that has watched over us, guiding our steps in all our various ways. It is thy kind care which has brought us home together ; and now, as we assemble on this glad festive occasion, we pray that our hearts all may be full of love and gratitude. Let none of us feel that through our own strength, through our own power, we have been kept, through our own strength we are here to-day, but through the power and through the strength which thou dost give. We thank thee that thou didst lead the footsteps of our fathers among these hills and valleys. We at this hour recall the scenes through which they passed. We recall the struggles and the deprivations, the hours of toil and of disap- pointment which were theirs. We thank thee that thou wast with them in the midst of all these scenes ; that thou didst never leave them nor forsake them. Thou didst cause them to feel that the Eternal God was their refuge, and that underneath them were the everlasting arms. We pray, our Father, that to-day we may realize how great the price that has been paid for the blessing we enjoy. As we look upon these green hills, upon these fertile val- leys, upon these pleasant homes and farms scattered all over this vicinity, may we remember the trials and struggles through which the early settlers passed, and may we remember that as the path to life lies over death, so the path to joy and peace and prosper- ity lies over these perils and tribulations and struggles through which our fathers passed. Our fathers went forth in sadness and in tears, sowing precious seed. We, their sons and their daugh- ters, to-day come back with rejoicing, bringing many sheaves with us. O that our hearts may praise the Lord for his kindness unto us, and to all our kindred and friends ! And now we implore thy blessing upon this vast company. Grant unto all of them that
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BARRE CENTENNIAL.
peace which passeth all understanding; and we pray that this gathering may bring us nearer and nearer to thee, nearer and nearer to each other. May it bind us more closely together in one common bond of brotherhood. And wilt thou bless all the homes here represented. Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us ; and wilt thou establish the work of our hands, yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. And we pray, our Father, that as none of us have come here without some effort and some preparation, so may we feel that a preparation is needful for that great home-gathering above; and we pray that we may be in earnest, that we may live well, that we may be faithful in that which is least as well as in that which is greatest, that all our lives may be such that at the last upon us all may fall the words, " Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things ;" and when that great company which no man can number shall be gathered from every kindred, tongue, and nation under the whole heaven, we pray that all of us may be found there ; that from these homes, these fathers and mothers, these parents and these children, there may all be gathered. Hear thou our prayer, forgive thou our sins, be thou our God and our Guide, never leaving us or forsaking us, impressing all our hearts with the truth, that except the Lord keep the city the watchman waiteth in vain, except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Be thou our comforter and helper, and accept us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
ADDRESS.
BY DR. GEORGE BROWN, THE PRESIDENT OF THE DAY.
By order of the General Committee of Arrangements, it is made my duty to occupy for a few moments the attention of this large assemblage of citizens from this and neighboring towns, distant cities and villages, who have gathered here to revisit the scenes of their youth.
You have come, as sons and daughters of Barre, with numerous guests from abroad, -leaving behind for this day business and professional cares, - to stand upon this horizon that divides the two centuries, and look back with us over the past in commemoration of our fathers, entering in fulness of enjoyment into the results
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PUBLIC EXERCISES.
of their toils and the abundance and comforts accumulated from their hardships and poverty.
This morning on every side you see proofs of their wise care and self-abnegation for the welfare of us of this generation, - institutions of learning, public order, morality, and religion, - beautiful fields freed from the wilderness and forest by their sin- ewy arms ; here are the foundations of their dwellings ; here, too, are their sacred graves.
In these ancient dwellings, humble though they were, has been transacted a history of joys and sorrows, thanksgivings that a living child was born, watchings over the opening mind and glow- ing features of childhood, affections binding young hearts stronger than clasps of steel, soothing sickness, pain, and death, - prayers from the domestic altar invoking God's blessing upon all the in- terests of each one.
Here, amid the throes of the revolution, one hundred years ago, one year before the battle of Bunker Hill, when all hearts were most intensely stirred by the great questions of that day, our fathers planted the foundation-stones of our municipal existence as a town, by the act of incorporation.
You have come with us to celebrate this day, and enjoy in gladness and congratulations the commingling of our common sentiments and sympathies as we with reverence scrape away the accumulated dust of one hundred years from around this first stone our fathers planted here, and to consecrate it anew with our pray- ers, joys, and hopes, and entwine it with fresh garlands of love and veneration. To this festival of history, sentiment, and song I welcome you, one and all, and congratulate you upon the favor- able circumstances under which we meet, and express the high gratification all feel who have had to do with the arrangements at seeing all around me animated by feelings so much in har- mony with the occasion.
It remains but for me to add that the printed order of exer- cises to be followed is before you.
The children of the Public Schools, under the direction of Mr. CHAUNCEY LORING, numbering about three hun- dred, then sang the two stanzas printed in the programme, which preceded the introduction of the Orator of the day.
4
DISCOURSE BY
JAMES W. THOMPSON, D.D.,
OF BOSTON (JAMAICA PLAIN).
"'Tis liberty alone that gives the flower Of fleeting life its lustre and perfume ; And we are weeds without it. All constraint, Except what wisdom lays on evil men, Is evil; hurts the faculties, impedes Their progress on the road of science, blinds The eye-sight of discovery, and begets In those that suffer it a sordid mind, Bestial, a meagre intellect, unfit To be the tenant of man's noble form."
DISCOURSE.
MR. PRESIDENT, SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF BARRE, AND FELLOW-CITIZENS :
I RESPOND to your hearty greeting with thanks and love.
Proceeding at once to the duty before me, I find my task to lie directly in the line of that sentiment which binds each man in loyal affection to his birthplace, to the homes and haunts of his childhood, and to the graves of his ancestors; - a sentiment which is familiar to every student of history, and to which the historic instinct bears joyful testimony on a day like this. Under the ordinary conditions of life, this sentiment becomes stronger with the increase of years, and often in old age, when the mind naturally reverts to early experiences, it seeks expression in some perma- nent form of filial remembrance and regard. Notable among the bequests and endowments which mark the advance of Christian civilization are those made by men and women, on whom prosperity has shed its benignities, for the founding of libraries, the establish- ing of schools, the erection of halls, and other objects of local benefit, in their native towns.
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BARRE CENTENNIAL.
And this sentiment, as it suffers no diminution of force from the infirmities of age, so neither is it weak- ened by absence or by distance. Wherever men travel, sojourn, or have their permanent abode, though in the midst of scenes more attractive to the stranger than those they left behind, they feel, in moments of quiet retrospection, the far-off magnet pulling at their heart-strings, till the desire to see again the goodly heritage into which they were born becomes pain- fully urgent. "By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion." To the transfiguring imagination what a mysterious charm invests the venerated spot! To memory how dear the old familiar houses and the friends who lived in them! Our childhood's home, with all the ob- jects that are beheld from it, - hills, woods, rocks, streams, meadows, - how does it cluster with asso- ciations of youthful pleasures, toils, dreams, com- panionships; dashed, alas! in an hour like this by images and recollections too tender for words! It is surprising how many things two friends of nearly the same age, meeting after long separation, find packed away in the memories of their common birthplace with which to interest and amuse one another; how many reminiscences come unbidden to give a glow and sparkle to their talk, and to render the longest interview too short for the never-finished dialogue.
Moved by this powerful sentiment, the inhabitants of Barre, by their Committee, have been pleased to invite their brethren scattered abroad, and whereso-
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HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
ever resident, to meet them here to-day in one grand convocation and fellowship of love, in order to unite with them in commemorating by fit observances THE ONE HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY OF OUR BELOVED TOWN. What response their invitation has met, let the thousands crowding this spacious tent, and the numerous hands that have been grasped in fraternal recognition and sympathy, bear witness. We who are their honored guests have had time as yet to glance at only a small part of what their hands have done to improve and adorn the place; but we have stood here this morning gazing on the magnificent panorama which the Creator's hand has spread out within the sweep of this large horizon, only to be filled with fresh admiration and delight by the spec- tacle. At this refulgent season all is life and beauty. The venerable matron, whom we proudly greet as the mother of us all, is clothed in her richest apparel, and " the smell of her garments is like the smell of Leb- anon." Her children, a great, glad multitude, rise up before her, with hearts full of love, and call her blessed.
It is a birthday that we commemorate, - the birth- day of a town. But what is there in that, a stranger to our institutions might ask, of particular signifi- cance? It may be well, therefore, to pause a mo- ment before taking up the thread of our history to notice this question.
The answer is found in the social and political importance of the towns of New England, particu-
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BARRE CENTENNIAL.
larly during the colonial period of our history. The towns or "plantations " were the original sources whence the representative government derived its powers. Thus they were related to the govern- ment, not as dependent on its care, or amenable to its authority, but as moulding its form and determining its character. They never gave up their political individuality, nor sunk their own vigor in the govern- ment which they created. They carefully reserved to themselves certain rights and immunities in respect to which they meant to be perfectly independent and self-controlled. With these they could brook no interference. This independence of the towns is believed to have contributed very largely to the intel- ligence, stability, and prosperity of the New England States. It did not escape the notice of that philo- sophical student of the institutions of this country, De Tocqueville. Writing of this part of the United States, he observes that here "political life had its origin in the townships; and it may almost be said that each of them originally formed an independent nation. ... Amongst the inhabitants of New Eng- land, I believe that not a man is to be found who would acknowledge that the State has any right to interfere in their town affairs."* The " little democracies," in their self-regulated meetings, prior to the Revolution, not only acquired the art of administering their own affairs with facility and prudence, but, by their dis- cussions and the independent spirit they nurtured,
Democracy in America, I. 81, 82.
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 33
wrought mightily in the interest of public liberty. The accomplished historian of "The Siege of Bos- ton " tells us that "so important were these little local assemblies regarded that the absentee from them was fined; ... so wide was the range of subjects discussed by them that the debates ran from a simple question of local finance to general questions of Provincial law and human rights; so great was their political effect that the credit has been assigned them of having com- menced the American Revolution." * In an interest- ing letter of the elder President Adams to the Abbé de Mably, 1782, he mentions four principal institutions which produced a decisive effect " in the first resolu- tions to resist in arms" the oppressions of Great Britain : I. The towns or districts. 2. The congre- gations. 3. The schools. 4. The militia. Referring to the towns, he describes them as containing upon the average about six miles square, and the inhabi- tants as " being formed by law into bodies politic with certain rights, among which was the right to assemble whenever they are summoned by their selectmen in their town-halls, there to deliberate upon the public affairs of the town, or to give instructions to their representatives in the legislature. . .. It was in these assemblies of towns that the sentiments of the people were formed in the first place, and their resolutions were taken from the beginning to the end of the dis- putes and the war with Great Britain."+ Bancroft
* History of the Siege of Boston, p. 8.
t The Life and Works of John Adams, V. 495.
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BARRE CENTENNIAL.
writes to the same effect: "Each of these little terri- tories, for its internal purposes, constituted a separate integral government, free from supervision, having power to choose its own officers; to hold meetings of all freemen at its own pleasure; to discuss in those meetings any subject of public interest; . . . to elect and instruct its representatives; to raise and appro- priate money for the support of the ministry, of schools, of highways, of the poor, and for defraying other necessary expenses." * These testimonies to the political importance of the town, self-governed and an integral part of the state, are confirmed by the judgment of all reflecting men. Every such town was a nursery of freemen. It bred men to do their own thinking, accustomed them to the exercise of their civil rights, and breathed into them the spirit to maintain and defend them. It was, also, a school for the education of legislators, magistrates, orators, and statesmen; for, on a limited scale, the town-meeting brought up for discussion most of the abstract ques- tions, as well as many of the more practical, which were debated in legislatures and cabinets. The town- meeting was a little parliament. A trained watchful- ness over the interests of these smaller municipalities was the best preparation for efficient service in the broader spheres of the commonwealth and country. Here, too, the ballot first came to be generally appre- ciated. It created in the holder of it a certain self- respect and consciousness of power. It was with him
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