[FAIR HAVEN, VERMONT, AUGUST 25.]
At Whitehall the party was joined by Adj.-Gen. T. S. Peck and Col. M. J. Horton, of Governor Page's staff. When the Vermont line was reached General Peck, in the name of the Governor, formally welcomed the President to the State. Fair Haven was reached at 10 o'clock. The Reception Committee was Hon. Samuel L. Hazard, Andrew N. Adams, George M. Fuller, and Wm. V. Roberts.
Mr. Hazard introduced President Harrison, who said:
My Fellow-citizens—We have already lost some minutes at your station, and it will not be possible for me to hold the train longer. I thank you for this friendly greeting, and for the kindness which beams upon me from the faces of these contented and happy men and women of the good State of Vermont. I am glad to see about me the evidences of the indomitable pluck and successful enterprise which characterize so highly all of your New England States. When you found the stones too thick to make agriculture profitable you compelled the rocks to yield you a subsistence, and these great slate and marble industries have become the centre of wealthy and prosperous communities. You are here, each in his own place; these good ladies in that supremely influential position, the American home, and you, my countrymen, in the shops and in the fields, making contributions to the prosperity and glory of this great Nation. It is pleasant to know that the love of country, stimulated by the teaching of the father and of the mother, revived by these recollections of the first struggle for independence, deepened by the sacrifices which were made in the Civil War to preserve what our fathers had purchased for us, are still holding sway in the hearts of our people. [Cheers.]
We are conspicuously a people abiding in respect and honor for the law. The law, as expressed in our constitutions and in our statute-books, is the sovereign to which we all bow. We acknowledge no other. To the law each and every one should give his undivided allegiance and his faithful service. There is no other rule that will bring and maintain in our communities that peaceful and orderly condition, that good neighborhood and kindly intercourse, which is so essential to the happiness of any community. I am sure that these things, now as of old, characterize these New England communities, where the strife which your colder climate and your soil compel you to make for your subsistence has bred habits of thrift, economy, and independence, and the love of liberty which I am sure is as fadeless as the stars. [Applause.]
Thanking you again for this pleasant morning reception, I will bid you good-by. [Applause.]
[CASTLETON, VERMONT, AUGUST 25.]
At Castleton there was a large crowd, including 200 pupils of the Normal School, who pelted the President with roses and golden-rod. The Reception Committee comprised Hon. Henry L. Clark, A. E. Leavenworth, S. B. Ellis, and A. L. Ramson.