BANGOR SPEECH.
* Yesterday was a glorious day for the Republicans of
Bangor. The weather was delightful and all the imposing
exercises of the day were conducted with a gratifying and
even inspiring success.
The noon train from Waterville brought Gov. Connor, Col.
Ingersoll and Senator Blaine.
At 3 p. m. the speakers arrived at the grounds and were
received with applause as they ascended the platform, where
a number of the most prominent citizens of Bangor and
vicinity were assembled. At this time the platform was
surrounded by a dense mass of people, numbering thousands.
The meeting was called to order by C. A. Boutelle, in behalf
of the Republican State Committee. As Col. Ingersoll was
introduced by Gov. Connor he was welcomed by tumultuous
cheers, which he gracefully acknowledged.
As we said before, no report could do justice to such a
masterly effort as that of the great Western Orator, and we
have not attempted to convey any adequate impression of an
address which is conceded on all hands to be the most
remarkable for originality, power and eloquence ever heard
in this section.
Such a speech by such a man—if there is another—must be
heard; the magnetism of the speaker must be felt; the
indescribable influence must be experienced, in order to
appreciate his wonderful power. The vast audience was
alternately swayed from enthusiasm for the grand principles
advocated, to indignation at the crimes of Democracy, as the
record of that party was scorched with his invective; from
laughter at the ludicrous presentment of Democratic
inconsistencies, to tears brought forth by the pathos and
eloquence of his appeals for justice and humanity. During
portions of his address there was moisture in the eyes of
every person in the audience, and from opening to close he
held the assemblage by a spell more potent than that of any
man we have ever heard speak. It was one of the grandest,
most cogent and thrilling appeals in behalf of the great
principles of liberty, loyalty and justice to all men, ever
delivered, and we wish it might have been heard by every
citizen of our beloved Republic. The Colonel was repeatedly
urged by the audience to go on, and he spoke for about two
hours with undiminished fervor. His hearers would gladly
have given him audience for two hours longer, but with a
splendid tribute to Mr. Blaine as the strongest tie between
New England and the West, he took his seat amid the ringing
cheers and plaudits of the assemblage.—The Whig and
Courier, Bangor, Maine, August 25,1876.
HAYES CAMPAIGN 1876.
I HAVE the honor to belong to the Republican party; the grandest, the sublimest party in the history of the world. This grand party is not only in favor of the liberty of the body, but also the liberty of the soul. This sublime party gives to all the labor of their hands and of their brains. This party allows every person to think for himself and to express his thoughts. The Republican party forges no chains for the mind, no fetters for the souls of men. It declares that the intellectual domain shall be forever free. In the free air there is room for every wing. The Republican party endeavors to remove all obstructions on the highway of progress. In this sublime undertaking it asks the assistance of all. Its platform is Continental. Upon it there is room for the Methodist, the Baptist, the Catholic, the Universalist, the Presbyterian, and the Freethinker. There is room for all who are in favor of the preservation of the sacred rights of men.
I am going to give you a few reasons for voting the Republican ticket. The Republican party depends upon reason, upon argument, upon education, upon intelligence and upon patriotism. The Republican party makes no appeal to ignorance and prejudice. It wishes to destroy both.
It is the party of humanity, the party that hates caste, that honors labor, that rewards toil, that believes in justice. It appeals to all that is elevated and noble in man, to the higher instincts, to the nobler aspirations. It has accomplished grand things.
The horizon of the past is filled with the glory of Republican achievement. The monuments of its wisdom, its power and patriotism crowd all the fields of conflict. Upon the Constitution this party wrote equal rights for all; upon every statute book, humanity; upon the flag, liberty. The Republican party of the United States is the conscience of the nineteenth century. It is the justice of this age, the embodiment of social progress and honor. It has no knee for the past. Its face is toward the future. It is the party of advancement, of the dawn, of the sunrise.
The Republican party commenced its grand career by saying that the institution of human slavery had cursed enough American soil; that the territories should not be damned with that most infamous thing; that this country was sacred to freedom; that slavery had gone far enough. Upon that issue the great campaign of 1860 was fought and won. The Republican party was born of wisdom and conscience.