USA > New York > Erie County > Buffalo > Memorial of the city and county hall opening ceremonies, Buffalo, N.Y. > Part 8
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Here where the majority forms the government and controls its policy, if the virtues of the masses be sapped, unbounded and irre- sponsible ruin must be the consequence.
Thank heaven, the people whom we serve are intelligent and un- corrupt. The people of Erie county, and of every part of it, are kind, and liberal, and noble. We office-holders are its servants ; and we, in this great City and County Hall, if we are wicked and slothful servants, can never say to it, " Lord, we know thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gath- ering where thou hast not strewed." This massive building, famous for all time, with its rich, chaste ornamentation, its admirable ap- pointments for health and comfort, and its perfect adaptations and conveniences for the discharge of all county and city official duties, is, and will remain forever, a witness of the just pride and generous
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spirit that animates our people, and, we trust, an admonition and incentive to fidelity and honor. Too high praise can hardly be awarded to the Commissioners who have so thoroughly and wisely given effect to the popular will. But to the people of our city and county we and all posterity must attribute the glory of this marvel- ous achievement.
What, my friends, is the acceptance of office, but a contract ? No nobly-minded man seeks any office except for the honor to do some service to the public. He will not take a paid sinecure. He desires, perhaps needs, the emoluments of office, but he feels that his contract binds him to fidelity to the interests and the honor of his master, and is determined to earn them.
THE FAITHFUL OFFICER HAS HIS REWARD
in the respect, perhaps in the affection of the public, and goes down to an honored grave; but the betrayer of a public trust withers un- der public scorn and private detestation, sinks into a shameful grave, and leaves to his descendants the odious inheritance of his tainted name. Of the infamy that follows the plunderer of the public, we have, alas ! a recent example in the late Secretary Bel- knap. We have another sad example in our city. Better far to die any honest death, though it be to be torn asunder by horses, to be hung, drawn and quartered, to be impaled, than to survive with the unutterable shame that dogs the heels and the intolerable remorse that gnaws, or ought to gnaw, the soul of the perjured thief, of the money entrusted to him by the people.
O, my friends ! true and loyal representatives of the generous people that you are-intrusted as you are with the conservation and promotion of their interests, and with the maintenance of the fair fame of our city, you will, we are confident, be always vigilant and faithful, and persistently tenacious of integrity and honor. It is an honor beyond all price to be trusted as you are by the people of Buffalo. This is an epoch in our history-an era worthy of all manner of commemoration. The name of our worthy Mayor ought, with your names, to be engraven, as the first occupants of this Chamber, here on eternal granite, in golden letters; and, some- where-perhaps in the center of the first floor-a column of granite ought to bear, in detached blocks, the name of any and every offi- cer who now is, or in the far future shall be, basely traitorous to our city.
How strong and beautiful is our great city ! How nobly she sits above and looks out upon the lake ! How magnanimous she is, and how rich is the reward to those whom she says : "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." May the Almighty inspire me, and you, and all her servants, with a fixed longing for that reward, and give us grace to win it.
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CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS.
When Judge Clinton had concluded his feeling address, Alder- man N. C. Simons offered the following resolutions, and moved their adoption :
Resolved, That the congratulations of this Council be and the same are hereby extended to the citizens of the city of Buffalo and of the county of Erie upon the successful completion of this magnificent edifice, in which we to-day meet for the first time, which building is the noblest architectural ornament of our fair city, and may be regarded as the just pride of every citizen of Erie county.
Resolved, That the thanks of this Council be, and the same are hereby ten- dered, to the Building Commissioners of this City and County Hall, for the commodious and elegant quarters assigned to this body in said building.
Speaking upon the resolutions, Alderman Simons said :
ADDRESS OF ALDERMAN SIMONS, .
Mr. President: It is with feelings of the liveliest satisfaction and pride that I rise to speak to the resolutions now pending. The record of this day will long be marked as a red letter page in our history, and in making it a day of jubilee and mutual congratula- tion, we are but giving expression to the feelings which animate the breasts of all classes of our fellow citizens. It has been well said, Mr. President, that in union there is strength, and the truth of that ancient saying has been strikingly verified in the erection of this magnificent structure, whose towering spire pierces the upper air, a lofty testimony of what such strength may accomplish.
Some years ago it had become manifest that our prosperous and expanding city had outgrown its public buildings, and a bold stand was taken for a City and County Hall which should meet our grow- ing wants, and be an ornament alike to the County of Erie and the Queen City of the Lakes, and instead of dividing the interests of city and county, the wiser plan was adopted, and with the city's co- operation the noble towns comprising the county of Erie came for- ward with boldness and energy to join in the noble work, the result of which unity we view with just pride in the building in which we this day meet for the first time, and which we to-day dedicate to the use and occupancy of this and coming generations.
The choosing of the site on which to erect the structure became a matter of great moment, and after much thought and investiga- tion, Franklin park was selected, and although to many it is not Zion,
"BEAUTIFUL FOR SITUATION,"
yet I boldly assert that its contiguity to the various railroad depots, from which come vast throngs of people having business with the
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County Clerk and Treasurer, the Surrogate and the various Courts, its proximity to the offices of the legal fraternity, and its convenient access to all classes of our citizens, makes the location the most convenient to the greatest number; and when in a few years we shall be able to sweep away the intervening buildings between this and Main street, and when the City and County Hall Park shall bloom in all its loveliness, our chronic croakers will be compelled to admit the wisdom of the choice.
Mr. President, the spot on which we stand is consecrated ground, for the soil beneath our feet was once the resting-place of the re- mains of many of this county's illustrious dead, but as must always be the case in this live and busy, progressive world, the dead have been crowded out to make room for the living. It is a suggestive fact, the venerable divine who to-day opened with prayer the dedi- catory service, officiated at the last rights of him whose mortal re- mains were last deposited within these grounds. Now they repose beneath the quiet shades of beautiful Forest Lawn, where (almost reverently do I say), peace be to their ashes, while here upon the soil thus made sacred has risen this massive granite pile, with heavenward pointing spire, to stand as an enduring monument to their energetic work while living, and their resting-place when dead.
Mr. President, we must congratulate ourselves upon the most fortunate selection of the Building Commissioners, for among them were men of large understanding and strict integrity, and thorough business capacity, and under their most careful attention-with closely scrutinized contracts and competitive bids for labor and ma- terial-the whole work has been done for the lowest possible pay, and while many who have taken contracts have gone away wounded and limping, but few have gone away with a chuckle that they had taken away many more dollars than they had put down; while all who have had jobs for labor or material have worked chiefly without further profit than that derived from the advertisement of their goods, wares and merchandise, for which this building has afforded a most excellent opportunity.
Among such advertisers may be found representatives not only of our city, but of New York, Boston, New Albany and Hartford, and all have left work here of which they may well be proud.
The materials have been purchased, as far as possible, of our own tradesmen and manufacturers. The various industries of our city and county have been patronized, and the labor in construction has been by our own people; and I here, in the presence of this audi- ence, assert that this City and County Hall
IS THE BEST BUILDING FOR THE MONEY
it cost, that stands on the western continent, for it has been erected without the rings and accompanying stealings that usually prevail in jobs of such magnitude.
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Of the Building Commissioners, all of whom have labored so faith- fully and well, I am sure the other members will forgive me if I only make mention of one name, and his is inseparably connected with this building, for he has styled it his "baby," and having watched it from its infancy up to full stature, I hope and pray that he will not be led to exclaim, like Simeon of old, "mine eyes have seen thy glory, and now let thy servant depart in peace." It is scarcely necessary to say that the name I allude to is that of Dennis Bowen.
Mr. President, it is altogether probable that some of those who for the first time visit the several apartments exclaim, this is ex- travagance. This smacks too strong of dollars and cents in many of its details. This chandelier with its colossal proportions, for example, may be thought too large, costly, gorgeous. Yet a glance at the general architectural design of the chamber reveals the fact that it is only in equal and exact proportions. Let it be remem- bered that this magnificent structure was not built for a day, but for time; and when yonder clock, whose pendulum tells by pairs the fleeting seconds, and whose electric life may be noted by the jumping minutes on twenty-eight dials of which this is one, shall have faithfully marked the cumulative years, and when on the mid- night air shall peal forth from that deep-toned bell the second cen- tennial year of America's independence, this granite pile will be found intact from base to dome.
Now, Mr. President and fellow-members of this Common Coun- cil, I come to the second resolution, and I may observe that this is where the laugh comes in. The Building Commissioners have be- stowed upon us, through our worthy Mayor, this roomy, well-ven- tilated chamber, having with a lavish hand fitted out and adorned it so magnificently that we find ourselves to-day occupying the most elegant Council Chamber in these United States, and most ungrate- ful would we be if we did not all most cheerfully and heartily en- dorse the resolution.
Finally, as we are out of the old house into the new, let us begin our work here with the high resolve so to discharge our duties that when we have been gathered to the land of our fathers, and when the heads of wisdom which now grace and adorn this chamber shall have passed away, and these halls shall echo to the tread of other foot-falls, and when our children shall gather here, it may be said of the Council of the first centennial year of the republic-the first to occupy this chamber-that its record was without spot or stain.
In seconding the motion for the adoption of the resolutions, Ald. A. L. Lothridge said :
REMARKS OF ALDERMAN LOTHRIDGE.
Mr. President and Members of the Council: I heartily second the motion of the alderman of the Ninth. Surrounded by our fellow-citizens, whose faces are an index of the mingled admira- tion and wonder that possessed them on entering this magnificent
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building, we can well afford to give toneful expression to their silent congratulations ; and we should be derelict in our duties as municipal legislators did we not also convey to those gentlemen, on whom the burden rested, our heartfelt appreciation of the success which has crowned their efforts in presenting at last to the admiration of every beholder one of the noblest temples of justice and law in these United States.
It certainly is a good omen-and one we hope may prove propi- tious-that this epoch in our municipal history is glorified in the recurrence of the hundredth anniversary of our National Independ- ence. Who will gainsay that to-day's event may not mark the beginning of a renewed life in city government; the ending of strife and party hostility which, unhappily, but too often was man- ifested in the time-worn structure we have just deserted.
Gentlemen of the Council: Ours the pride denied our predeces- sors ! Ours the glory they fain would covet! In like manner let ours be the task of revivifying the purity of government and integ- rity of purpose that animated the men who first made the walls of the old Council re-echo with
THE HONEST PLEA OF THE TAXPAYER.
Let us bring into this new temple an ambition to excel only in an unselfish regard of duty and a jealous care for the weal of those who have proclaimed us their representatives. Let the mistakes of the past be buried in the destruction of yonder building, which soon will be among the things of the past.
The time, the scene, the occasion, all these, gentlemen of the Council, I know animate us with a feeling of good-fellowship for one another, and for just and unselfish legislation. If, in the pros- ecution of our manifold duties, we are actuated by patriotism, and that patriotism is the outgrowth of love of justice, and that jus- tice the parent of honesty, and that honesty the essence of virtue that springs from the fountain of all truth, no man can point at us the finger of derision ; no future will blast our reputation! A hundred years hence posterity may not have forgotten the first meeting in this new Hall, and the Council of 1976 may meet and feel as we meet and feel to-day.
The resolutions offered by Ald. Simons were adopted unanimously.
DEDICATION AND DETERMINATION.
Ald. Elijah Ambrose then offered the following resolution :
That in the name of the citizens of Buffalo, whose representatives we are, we dedicate this legislative hall to the exclusive use of the Common Council. As the construction of this splendid edifice marks a new era in the growth and progress of our beautiful city, illustrating a higher order of architectural taste, so may the future action of this Council give evidence of greater de- votion to the public interest, of stronger determination to secure a pure and economical municipal government, and more careful and constant endeavor to protect and promote the welfare of our citizens.
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In moving the adoption of his resolution, Ald. Ambrose said :
REMARKS OF ALDERMAN AMBROSE.
The resolution just read speaks for itself, and it is a very easy matter for this Council to carry out its instructions. In the first place let each alderman before he enters into this noble building shake the dust from his garments, and at the same time not forget but also shake the politics from his mind, and let no personal favor- itism be shown where it is to the injury of others; and this same advice I would also give to the heads of all the departments in our city government, including the judiciary. Let us not strive to gain party advantage over each other, but let us legislate for the greatest good to the greatest number; by so doing we will unite in a common cause, and look to the interest of our taxpayers and to the prosper- ity of our beautiful city.
Ald. Ferris, in seconding the motion for the adoption of the res- olution offered by Ald. Ambrose, addressed the Council and those present as follows :
SPEECH OF ALDERMAN FERRIS.
Mr. President: It is not very often that so distinguished an audi- ence and so well assorted with the fair sex, and those whom we love and honor, listen to the deliberations of the Common Council, and inasmuch as our friend Ambrose proposed to pledge that this Council in the future shall be free, so that when the public shall read in the newspapers the record of its doings that it shall be with satisfaction that every taxpayer shall be satisfied with its proceedings, it seems proper to reply to this resolution. Not in opposition to its senti- ment, for I honor the member from the Fifth Ward in his senti- ment, but let us pledge before this audience our honest endeavor to do what we believe to be right. I know that at times the taxpayers of the City of Buffalo will have occasion to make complaint. I know that they have had occasion to make complaint at the action of the Common Council in the past. I see before me many men who have occupied the position before me, and I see but few, if any, who have left it with their honor tainted or the maledictions of the public resting upon them. I enter into the sentiments that have been expressed in these resolutions in this Council Chamber with feelings of pride-pride that I have been so long a time a citizen of so proud a city. I can say with a citizen of old,
"" I AM A CITIZEN OF NO MEAN CITY,"
but a city of honor, whose name has ever been and ever will be a name of honor among her sister cities.
I am pleased that so large a number of our fellow-citizens have attended with us also at this opening, and I have to thank them,
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and say we are glad to be recognized by you, and in the future, if you have occasion to find fault with the action of this Council, bear with great consideration with the present, and with the future members of it, for we are of the people. We are not born into any line of nobility by which we acquire any position in this place, but acquire them because of the choice and selection of the people whom we represent, and as we come from them, it seems to me, that when I see the honorable men who sit upon the platform with you, and surround us here, and who so seldom make their appear- ance at the Council Chamber, unless it is for some personal or pri- vate reason-it seems to me that this is an appropriate occasion for every member of the Common Council to make a determination set forth in this resolution, that, so help him God, he will strive to do what is right and honest and just before all men. [Great ap- plause.]
The resolution was. then unanimously adopted, and the Council took a recess for mutual congratulations with their constituents present, and to permit a more informal inspection of their spacious Chamber and its rich and beautiful appointments.
The Sun-Diet Sanatorium
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RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES.
A MEMORIAL SERMON-AN INTERESTING DISCOURSE BY DR. HEACOCK.
REV. DR. GROSVENOR W. HEACOCK commemorated the event of the completion of the new Hall in the delivery of a historical dis- course appropriate to the occasion. The Doctor was born in Buffalo, and, although he is not as old as the venerable Court House, he has, nevertheless, for nearly a third of a century officiated as pastor of the Lafayette Street Presbyterian Church, that has a frontage upon Court House Park in the immediate vicinity of the old and now deserted temple of justice. The Sermon was delivered Sunday even- ing, March 12, and was especially addressed to the legal profession, a goodly number of whom being present.
The reverend speaker said :
Dear Friends and Brethren: You will excuse my taking notice of an event of so much interest to me, to the county, and to you, as the abandonment of the old Court House, the seat of justice and of judgment among you so many years. You may wonder, indeed, how such an event should find an appropriate place and notice here in a Christian pulpit on the Sabbath day. I hope you may find reason to justify this act before I have done.
IT HAS BEEN OUR NEIGHBOR
for nearly thirty-one years. My recollections of the old and vener- able structure, which can be said no longer to grace our streets and park, runs back as far, probably further, than that of most of you. And singular enough, and appropriate to this day and occasion, my first recollections of that old interior are more connected with the gospel than the law. For in the winters of 1831 and 1832, the old Court House was occupied for religious services, and then your speaker-then a lad of eleven years of age-believes that he first
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began to realize the verities and to feel the power of a religious life. It would be impertinent to dwell at any length upon an ex- perience so personal, but this I may say, that I believe then and there, as far as a boy might realize, I realized the hopes and fears, the anxieties and joys, which attend the beginning of a religious life. The next incident that occurs to my mind, as connected with that old Court House, carries us by a great leap over many years, and was the celebrated
TRIAL OF THE BUFFALO BANK.
George P. Barker, then Attorney-General of the State, and at the height of his fame, was in attendance as prosecutor for the govern- ment. The case had awakened a very general and great interest, especially in this community. Hiram Pratt, the president of the bank, was dead. The Court House was crowded to its utmost ca- pacity. I do not remember any of the details of the case. I have heard my genial friend, J. Hyatt Smith, tell of his coming on from Albany to be a witness in the case, in the rude baggage car, where he was compelled to stay to keep guard over a trunk of bank bills he had brought on for testimony in the trial. In the same rude car with him was a plain man, in rough working garb, who had a few express packages with him, which he was personally de- livering from station to station. These two took turns with each other, Smith watching his friend's packages when he went out of the car, and the friend his trunk when he wished to go out. They called the man "Fargo," and this was the beginning of that grand enterprize of business energy and skill which has belted the conti- nent with the lines of "Fargo's Express." I have said the bank case had excited a great interest in' the community. The intensity of the excitement was too great for Mr. Barker's strength. He was in a community where he had long lived, and it was, I think, his first and last official visit. When he rose to speak at one point of the case, I noticed clearly that he had lost control of his nervous energy-his hand trembled perceptibly as he endeavored to carry a glass of water to his lips, so violently as to make the agitation visi- ble to all. I learned from that simple incident one secret of the true orator's power. There is no doubt that Mr. Barker was an orator, but then, to my mind, he had lost hold for the moment of one of its grandest secrets. He who would control others must be able to control himself. He must not tremble and shrink beneath the cloud, no matter how charged with electricity it may be; he must leap upon the cloud, and turn its thunders upon those whom he would crush or overwhelm. I felt such a pity for him-he could never have aroused within me a nobler sentiment of indignation. An almost perfect contrast to this was another scene I witnessed later in the old court room, and that was the first plea of the late
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JUDGE JAMES MULLET
before a jury. Mr. Mullet's fame as a jury lawyer had preceded him here, and many of his friends were gathered to hear his first plea to a Buffalo jury. The venerable ex-President, Mr. Fillmore, so lately deceased among us, was opposing counsel in the trial. I need not allude to the nature of the case. Mr. Fillmore had not risen then to the great distinction he afterwards attained, but was even then a very prominent personage in the political world. He had just returned from Congress where he held the important post of Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means in the House of Representatives. His plea was marked by that strong sound sense and clear discrimination, which was the characteristic of the man in his profession. When he had closed, Mr. Mullet rose. You could see he was laboring under great excitement, but he perfectly mastered it-it never for a moment mastered him. Folding his arms across his breast as a measure of self- control, as I thought, he began: "May it please the Court and Gentlemen of the Jury"-and then he went on. I think I could almost give the passage; suffice it to say, that, beginning with a slow and measured movement, the sentence as it went on gathered volume and power-the sighing of the rising tempest, the roll of the approaching thunder was in it-till finally it closed with a burst of indignation and appeal like the crash of thunder over the very heads of the whole audience and jury. There were explanations to be made after that to justify his points, but it seemed to me as if from the close of that first sentence the case was already won.
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