deeds and sacrifices of those who even with their lives have secured to us the inestimable blessing of LIBERTY and its consequent happiness. Of those who took part in that ever-memorable town meeting, June 17, 1776, not one remains; but we have assembled to receive instruction from the lives of those who contributed to make this city, this State, and this nation, what they are to-day; and our teachers are sons of Newton, who, while they have often been called to positions of honor and responsibility, have equally honored their constituency by the fidelity with which they have fulfilled the trusts confided to them. Mayor Speare, in closing, introduced as a Newton boy, his Excellency Gov. ALEXANDER H. RICE, who made the following ADDRESS. It gives me unalloyed pleasure, ladies and fellow-citizens, to participate with you in the interesting ceremonies of this historic occasion, and to meet face to face some of my early companions, and a larger number who seem half familiar to me from bearing in their own countenances the well-known lineaments of their ancestors. I often go back in memory to the picturesque and beautiful scenery of this ancient town, now expanded into a prosperous and thriving city, - to its hills and valleys, forests, fields, and meadows; to its churches and schools, to its mills and factories, and to the manifold interests and 1 objects which absorbed my attention then, or kindled my ambition for the future. Nor have I ever failed to remember with affectionate veneration and respect you, sir (Seth Davis, Esq.), with others among my early instructors, who with rare aptitude in teaching led your pupils by easy and smooth gradations through preliminary branches of study, into the mysteries of science and the pleasures of literature. Especially do I remember that you were the first to unfold to my thoughtful admiration the character and movements of those grand constellations whose nightly radiance glows from zenith to horizon, and which stretch. out their widening orbits into the vast expanse, measuring by ceaseless revolutions the eternal years. And to-night, after this long interval of time filled with the vicissitudes of a busy life, its duties, its cares, its aspirations, perhaps with the common share of disappointments, perhaps with some measure of its successes, I come back to your centennial celebration flushed with a new devotion, and glad to join with you in laying upon our municipal altar fresh offerings of loyalty and affection. I think it is a pleasant and healthy custom thus to observe these anniversary occasions. They become great teachers, and stand like sentinels passing along in vivid imagery the story of the past to the generations following. The love of the soil which gave us birth is one of the strongest passions of human nature; and we burn with delight at the recital of incidents and events which render our birthplace famous and historic. I do not know the name of the noble man who offered the patriotic resolu tion passed in the town-meeting of Newton, a hundred years ago, a copy of which now adorns these walls; but he deserves to have a bronze statue erected to his memory, and upon its base should be inscribed the name of every freeholder who voted for it. I think we are apt without reflection to look back to the origin of the Republic as being also the beginning of our own State of Massachusetts; which is a great mistake, and quite leaves out of account the real significance of the Union and of the influences which brought it into being. Massachusetts had witnessed within her own borders the establishment and growth of civil society, with all its appointments of legislative, judicial, and executive functions, for a hundred and fifty years before the Revolutionary war began. She had also her schools and colleges based upon the conviction of their necessity; her churches, and institutions of charity and reform; her agriculture, her wide-spreading commerce and technical industries; her statesmen, scholars, and divines; and all the elements and accessories of a complete commonwealth. This commonwealth was not only enlightened and influential, but it was thoroughly loyal to the British crown. The honor of Great Britain was the pride of the people of the colony; and her martial strength on land and sea gave them security and confidence. The laws and literature of England were part and parcel of their inheritance. The thought of separation from the mother country never entered into their minds; the dream of independence had never bewitched their thoughts; and nothing but the violation of the common rights of Englishmen would have driven them into rebellion. But upon the institution of that series of acts of unparalleled oppression, in which it is difficult to tell which was more conspicuous, the arrogance of the crown, or the stupidity of parliament, acts which the colonists believed to be subversive of the rights of property and of personal liberty, they staked all they possessed upon the hazard of resistance, and enforced their determination with more. than Spartan courage. The Stamp Act, the Boston Port Bill, the Regulating Act, the Bute policy of moulding the colonies, the issuing of writs of assistance, and the like, were the culminating oppressions and follies which aroused the zeal and eloquence of John Hancock, of John Adams and Samuel Adams, of James Otis, of Josiah Quincy, and of their illustrious compeers, who stirred the whole country into sympathy, and brought on the war of the Revolution, and gave life to the Republic of the United States as one of the great powers of the world. In that great contest, Massachusetts was not only foremost in her declarations of resistance, but she contributed a larger number of soldiers to the Continental army than all the other States combined; and, whether in the field or in Congress, her influence was constant and decisive. Our own town of Newton was equal to any other in the spirit of her people and in their prompt response to the call to arms. In the present greatness and power of the Republic, with its forty millions of people, its vast accumulated wealth, its development from ocean to ocean, stimulated by all the discoveries of science and all the appliances of art, it is difficult to estimate rightly the sacrifices and sufferings of those earlier days when the men whose bravery we to-day commemorate offered all they possessed, and endured unparalleled privations, for the cause of liberty and country. While we enjoy the fruits of their toil and suffering, let us not tamely admire their virtues; but, inspired by a noble emulation, let us be, as they ever were, prepared for sacrifice in the line of our duty. Let us preserve the honor of our native or adopted dwelling-place untarnished by indifference or cowardice, and ready for every exigency of commonwealth or country. In every thing that shall add dignity and usefulness and happiness to mankind, or glory to the God and Father of us all, let us be as our ancestors were, first, foremost, and indefatigable. At the close of the Governor's address, the choir sung "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," accompanied by the band, the audience joining in the chorus: — 66 Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath bared the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword: His truth is marching on. In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, The Rev. S. F. SMITH of Newton, at that time in England, had composed and forwarded a hymn expressly for the celebration, |