Source: The nation and the Constitution. An oration delivered before the city authorities and citizens of Providence, July 4, 1866

ORATION
By
Hon. Wm. Sumner Dodge

DELIVERED AT
Sitka, Alaska
Saturday, July 4th, 1868

“Liberty: Her Struggles, Perils and Triumphs.”

SAN FRANCISCO:
Alta California Printing House, 529 California Street
1868.

CORRESPONDENCE.

Sitka, A. T., July 6th, 1868.
Hon. William Sumner Dodge,

Sir: In behalf of the citizens of Sitka, I would respectfully request a copy of the Oration delivered by you on the 4th of July last, with a view to its publication. An early reply will greatly oblige.

Your very obedient servant,
J. H. Kinkead,
Chairman Com. of Arrangements.

Sitka, A. T., July 17th, 1868.
J. H. Kinkead, Chairman Com. of Arrangements,

Dear Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of July 6th, made in behalf of the citizens of Sitka, requesting “a copy of the Oration delivered by me on the 4th of July last, with a view to its publication.”

I have the honor to state that if the citizens of Sitka think this Address, written in the hurry of business and manifold duties, is worthy of publication and will benefit the country by any detail of information, I cheerfully comply with the request, and herewith furnish the copy desired, thanking you and the citizens for their kind appreciation of the humble effort now submitted.

I am, sir, faithfully yours,
Wm. Sumner Dodge.

THE CELEBRATION
OF THE
Fourth of July, 1868, in Sitka

The American citizens of Sitka, prompted as well by their own patriotic feelings as deeming it eminently proper that a suitable celebration of the Anniversary of our country’s freedom should show to the Russian subjects resident amongst us that distance from the land of their births cannot obliterate in American hearts the memories of that day, and desirous of signalizing the first 4th of July in Alaska, assembled in mass meeting and chose a committee to make such arrangements as were in their power, whereby all nationalities here might participate in the commemoration of our national holiday.

The committee unanimously made choice of Hon. W. S. Dodge, the Collector of the Port and Mayor of the City of Sitka, as the Orator of the occasion; and W. H. Wood, Esq., was appointed Reader of the Declaration of Independence.

Every assistance possible was cheerfully rendered by Maj.-Gen. Jeff. C. Davis, commanding the Department of Alaska; and the citizens, with a rare unanimity joined heartily in the plans of the committee, so that, although brief time was allowed and scant means attainable, the festivities of the day were such as would not shame many an older, richer, and more accessible community.

The programme adopted and carried out was as follows: At 10 o’clock A.M. there was a canoe race in the harbor, open to all canoes, the distance to be run being about a mile. Due notice had been given to the Indians, and long before the appointed hour the water was alive with boats, whose occupants were either bedizened in their best blankets and paint or stripped for the race. The wharf and surroundings were crowded with spectators, who cheered lustily as the winning boat passed the stand and approached to receive the prizes of blankets and other Indian finery.

At 2 o’clock P.M. a procession was formed to proceed to the mouth of Indian River, where, in a beautiful grove, the Committee had prepared a stand for the Orator and other distinguished guests, as well as tables for the collation. Escorted by music, first came Battery “H,” 2d U.S. Artillery, commanded by Capt. S. H. Kinney; next Co. “F,” 9th U.S. Infantry, commanded by Lieut. M. C. Foot; then the Fire Engine, elegantly decorated with flowers and flags, having in a bower a young Russian Miss representing the Goddess of Liberty, who well sustained a part so novel to her. The engine was manned by soldiers from both companies and was the most striking feature of the procession. Then followed the Major-General Commanding and Staff, the Orator and Reader, the Chaplain and City Government, and citizens generally, all under the supervision of Bt.-Major C. O. Wood, 9th Infantry, Marshal of the Day. Along the route of the procession many houses and stores were fancifully decorated, and flags waved from many a housetop—Russian as well as American—fraternization and good feeling being throughout the order of the day.

Arrived on the ground, the Reader and Orator having performed their duties, a few remarks were made by General Davis, and then commenced an onslaught upon the tables, stayed only by the rain, which unfortunately commenced falling shortly before the Orator had concluded. Notwithstanding this, the guns of the battery, at the conclusion of the speeches, fired the customary National salute, and everyone returned home gratified at the proceedings of the day.

Ladies and children mingled in the festivities; good order and good feeling prevailed to an eminent degree. The Russian appreciated for the time being, as well as the American, “the blessings of free institutions;” and the Indians, even, went away satisfied that the children of their Great Father in Washington were no niggards. In the evening there was a display of fireworks; and so passed the first 4th of July ever celebrated in what, but a short time since, we knew only as Russian America.

Oration
Delivered July 4th, 1868,
at
Sitka, Alaska.

My Fellow-Citizens:

Appointed by you to serve as Orator on this occasion, I accept the honor, and will endeavor to address you as becomes an American citizen speaking in commemoration of the great and glorious services rendered by our patriot sires in the cause of country, humanity, and God. And while I do this, I cannot forget that there are others here whose names are linked with political life heretofore, and whose career, marked by a rare combination of ability and eloquence, might more fitly render this interesting service. But you have willed it otherwise. Well, it is an honor which any person may well covet on ordinary occasions and under ordinary circumstances. How much greater the honor to be the first to vindicate the cause of our fathers and the principles of democratic government on a soil which, until a few months ago, was under the jurisdiction of one of the mightiest autocrats of the Old World—a man whose word was law, and a law from which there was no appeal except through revolution and the flowing of blood!

This day is sacred to liberty; this is our Fourth of July—a national holiday! Other days have their significance and their peculiar consecration. Thanksgiving is dear to us, for then there is a general re-union of the family circle around the old family hearth; Christmas is dear to us, as it touches the religious chords in our nature and inspires us with renewed hope and faith in the severance of the soul from its tenement of clay when summoned from earth, and its endless immortality in the world to come; New Year’s is a day of hilarity and good-will, sportive pleasures and innocent joys, and while mayhap we shed a silent tear as the old year passes away, we freshen in our strength and resolve manfully to run the next link in the chain of life; but of all the holidays in the American calendar, the Fourth of July is the “gladdest, merriest, maddest day in the year!”

To-day the nation sings a jubilant song, and its burden is liberty; to-day, from millions of housetops, ship-masts, and liberty poles, the “Star-Spangled Banner,” the emblem of our nationality, our faith, and our hope, floats to the breeze, filled with the air of freedom; to-day the pealing of bells, the rattle of musketry, the flash of cannon—“grim-visaged dogs of war”—the firing of crackers and toy torpedoes, the joyous shout and wild acclaim, all proclaim freedom, all assert liberty as our birthright and heritage. Yes, fellow-citizens, to-day is peculiarly American. To-day we congratulate ourselves on being citizens of America; to-day we put on our Sunday clothes, look our best, bow to ourselves profoundly, and feel proud that we are such a mighty people; to-day, as some other orator has said, “the Great American Eagle screams his shrillest notes from his loftiest mountain aerie, and Young America flaps his wings and lustily crows his Yankee-Doodle-doo.”

Fellow-citizens, we are far away from those general scenes of jubilation—the waves of ocean roll between us and our alma mater; but let us none the less join in the

the exultation—offer our reverence to the principles of the fathers, and contribute our strength towards maintaining in the political heavens that flaming constellation of liberty around which all others revolve, and gain glory only from its borrowed light. Let the lesson of to-day, then, be “LIBERTY: HER STRUGGLES, PERILS AND TRIUMPHS.” I do not purpose tiring your patience by any dissertation, “long-winded and astute,” concerning the rise of liberty in the earlier ages of the world—how she appeared first like an altar fire in Greece, and then transplanted to Rome, linked herself to the banners of Cæsar’s conquering legions, awakening new theories and new ideas in the “British Isles of the Sea.” No, this is history—a record of the long ago, recorded and accessible to the studious everywhere. It is only of liberty in America that we need contemplate. On this continent has been her great field of action—here have been witnessed her saddest reverses and her most glorious successes.

From the sad farewells of our Pilgrim Fathers at Delft Haven; from the embarkation upon the Mayflower to cross the “Atlantic’s wintry and stormy surge;” from the landing at Plymouth Rock; from the foundation of Massachusetts Colony to the 18th of October, 1867, when the American flag was raised, of right, over the soil of Russian America, is a mighty contrast, covering whole spaces of history, and such a history! Unroll the great scroll of recorded time from its beginning, and where can be found a greater panoramic display of events, a grander procession of results—bold, startling or dreadful in their conception, more astonishing, tragical or fearful in their consummation—than the last two hundred and fifty years reveal! This struggle for liberty, we may say, began in England, and originated in a quarrel in the Church. The Church of England then, as now, was national; but not then, as now, were the people allowed to worship God “according to the dictates of their own consciences.” Every one was compelled to square their faith with the tenets of the Established Church. There were many who conscientiously could not do this, and they resisted the magisterial authority which sought to compel them into obedience to certain prescribed rules of worship and Christian life. Some still remained in the Church and sought to “right the wrong” within its pale; others boldly disavowed all connection with it and openly denounced its arbitrary power. The laws of conformity they pronounced “pestiferous, cruel, unjust, and unchristian.” At the outset religious toleration was the object to be attained. But this struggle being prolonged and constantly growing more bitter and rancorous, the Church and State united, constantly imposing new burdens upon the non-conformists, amounting to persecution; and the political troubles soon afterwards arising under James I, great masses of the people thus doubly oppressed joined in a common cause for religious and political emancipation.

What was the effect? No description in Macauley is more beautiful, statelier, or more intensely interesting than that which, in historic diction, pictures the progress of this popular organization which, first under the name of Brownists, then as Separatists, and finally as Independents—with Oliver Cromwell as Leader and John Milton, the great Poet, as Secretary—revolutionized England and triumphed everywhere: in Parliament, in Church, and in State. From this revolution sprang the heritage of liberty in our land. How humble the seed! how glorious the result! How noble the lesson it teaches us! It is the voice of Faith, more potent than armies and navies, prefiguring final triumph to all the devotees of right.

“Naught shall prevail against us, or disturb
Our cheerful faith, that all which we behold
Is full of blessings.”

Leave now the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth Rock. Bear in mind, however, the trials and sufferings they endured while upbuilding and pioneering a higher civilization and broader political views; while clearing almost impenetrable forests, and founding cities and towns; while instilling the generous ideas of independent labor and intellectual emancipation. For one hundred and fifty years the struggle for life and liberty continued, marked with varied successes, more or less important and significant. Then came another change—so sudden, so startling, that the thrones of Europe tottered to their very foundations. That change was the American Revolution—a change not merely in the form of government, but in the principles of government.

For the first time in the history of the world was then enunciated a practical philosophy of the principles of democratic government. The ideas of despotism, autocracy, and monarchy, whether absolute or limited, were all discarded, and the great political axioms—the very forefront and basis of the Declaration of Independence which you have heard read here to-day—were declared to be the foundation principles of all true government. Said the Fathers in that sacred instrument: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

This, fellow-citizens, is popular government; this is democracy; this is the creed of the American people. The leaders of that revolution were great men—great in intellect, in philosophy and eloquence, and in common sense. They knew what they were doing when they declared allegiance with Great Britain absolved; and when the elder Adams wrote, and the fiery Otis and Henry spoke, they meant what they said. They were men given to reflection; most of them were profound scholars. They were familiar with history; familiar with the thoughts of the great minds of the past, and they realized that which England’s statesmen had always failed to admit—that the life of a nation is not in the national pocket, but in the conscience of the people. And the earnestness of their purpose is fully evinced when, after the great Magna Charta of American liberty was signed in Independence Hall, Philadelphia, just ninety-three years ago, John Adams calmly, yet forcibly, said: “From this day we must hang together, or we will hang separately.” We all know they did hang together, and though few in numbers, they felt that truth, justice, and God were on their side; and clothed in that triple armor, they felt invincible and sure of success.

The American people rallied around them; “war, stern arbiter of dispute,” came close upon the heels of the Declaration. The Governors of the Colonies, representatives of King George, were proud, aristocratic, arbitrary, and unjust, looking only to the greatness of the throne, and never casting a thought, other than of contempt, upon the people. Already, at Lexington and Bunker Hill, had the red-coated soldiery and the citizens come into conflict, and the issue was no longer doubtful. King George, having forgot to put justice into his colonial governments, saw them doomed to fall like the house which the Scripture saith was built upon the sand.

The entire population of the Colonies was small—only three millions of people—and yet it resolved to wage war in defense of its rights against the mightiest power in all Europe. Our patriot fathers kissed their wives and children, seized their muskets, and rushed forth to battle, to long, weary marches, to sufferings almost indescribable, to death itself. After seven years of war, of varying fortune, on land and sea, they triumphed! They had fought for liberty, and liberty, through them, was now sovereign—now supreme.

“Freedom’s battle once begun,
Bequeathed from bleeding sire to son,
Though baffled oft, is ever won.”

The next step in the progress of liberty in our land was the formation of the Constitution of the United States. This instrument is the embodiment of the practical philosophy of the fathers as expressed in the Declaration. Its cardinal principle is popular sovereignty, or the rule of the people. The thirteen original Colonies all joined in the support of this Constitution, framed by delegates elected for that purpose by the people themselves. By this system the Colonies became States, and all the country outlying was termed eminent public domain, belonging to the General Government for the future use and occupation of all the people of the Union.

Each of these States had its own separate local government for the regulation of its internal concerns, subject only to such controlling power as the people had themselves imposed upon their local governments by vesting supreme authority in the National Constitution. Hence comes the beautiful, yet complex, system of our Government. To-day we have thirty-six separate, powerful Republics; each, like the original thirteen, independent in its own sphere of action, and yet each and all blending and harmonizing into one greater, grander Republic, which embraces all and controls all.

Eighty-one years have elapsed since this Government was framed. What progress has been made? From thirteen we have grown to thirty-six States! In the infant Territories, younger sisters of the now sister States, is a larger population than in all the Colonies when the Revolutionary struggle was waged and won. From three millions we have grown to forty millions of people. From poverty, contempt, and disgrace, we have become wealthy, esteemed, and honored by all the nations of the earth. Our commerce, our manufactures, our agriculture, our progress in science, art, and literature is immense—astonishing the senses of Europeans, dumbfounding the savants of the schools—at once a matter of pride and congratulation to ourselves. And all this is the natural outflowing from that generous principle of self-government, of liberty regulated by self-imposed law. And this principle is everywhere prevailing. We see its silent yet effective working in the Parliament of England. Ireland, oppressed for ages, feels the inspiring breath of freedom as it is wafted across the Atlantic from our shores, and spasmodically strikes for liberty. Napoleon of France trembles lest the hour of retribution is near, when he shall ignobly perish for usurping the powers of the people, and, divesting himself of the simple robes of the citizen President, donning the royal purple of the Emperor. Classic, moribund Italy is constantly gaining life and hope, and the day is not far distant when she, too, will throw off completely the tyranny of Church and State which so long has oppressed her, and take her place among the independent nations. Mazzini, Garibaldi, and a few other flaming apostles of liberty are there, and the leaven is at work. Russia has felt the ennobling power, and the present Emperor, by an edict which shall forever enshrine his memory among the great and good of earth, has forever emancipated from the thrall of serfdom millions of his subjects. Everywhere history justifies the assertion that free government is the true government for all races of men, and that the revolution which began in America with asserting the rights of man to self-government will never cease until the wrongs of men are redressed.

“Mankind are by nature free and equal;
’Tis their consent alone gives just dominion.”

But while freedom and self-government have prospered so well in America and have done so much for the world, it must not be forgotten that recently this system received a mighty shock, and for some time wise and grave men doubted if it would survive the struggle. I refer to the Great Rebellion of 1860–61. It is not necessary for me here to dilate upon the causes of that contest; they are stamped indelibly upon the hearts of our people and upon the page of history. Its origin, briefly stated, was the system of slavery which had been fastened upon us by the mother country anterior to the American Revolution. Its chief cause was the antagonistic idea which that system generated—that slavery under the Constitution was co-extensive in its rights, privileges, and purposes, and that if interest dictated, slavery, not freedom, should become the paramount idea—the underlying principle of the Republic.

It was an attempt on the one side to pervert the Constitution in its most unequivocal, unambiguous parts, discarding the Declaration of Independence as “sound, not sense,” as a “glittering generality” and a revolutionary manifesto—an attempt to assume that capital, not labor; property, not liberty; is the great interest of the people, and that the rich, of right, are entitled to own body and soul their poorer neighbors, no matter what the color, intellectual standing, or condition in life—an attempt to nationalize slavery and sectionalize freedom; an attempt to destroy free government and restore the old rule of monarchy or despotism.

Many of freedom’s defenders, on the other hand, without any just regard to the wishes of the masses, without any thought of what sound policy might dictate, or what the Constitution did guarantee concerning the system of slavery, resolved to carry the war into Africa. They, in their turn, asserted ideas just as impracticable, just as erroneous, just as outrageous to every sense of justice, propriety, and right, as the advocates of slavery. Thus the contest commenced; not more than one-third of the people in the entire land interested themselves in the conflict. The other two-thirds quietly looked on, mere spectators. There was the fatal mistake; while they were considering the conflict as mere declamation, as buncombe, as child's play, angry passions were stirred, devilish purposes were formed, and all at once the thunder of revolution pealed in long and continuous rolls from the clear political sky; the heavens were suddenly covered, like a pall, with the dark and threatening clouds of secession, and the red hand of blood appeared in the midst of all, carrying consternation and terror all over the land.

The tocsin of war was sounded; great armies were marshaled on either side, and the terrible conflict began. The question at issue was Union and Liberty, or Disunion and Slavery. Four years passed away. Now victory perched on Union, anon on Rebel banner. Hundreds of thousands were slain; every household in the land was more or less stricken with grief, and millions of money expended, and billions more of debt contracted. And all for what? The annihilation of wrong, the destruction of evil tendencies, and with it the great wrong of slavery—the cause of all; the maintenance of the Union; and the perpetuity of the Constitution. And all this sad experience, because the sage counsel of Washington, the Father of our Country, concerning geographical lines and sectional parties, was discarded.

Fellow-citizens, the Union still stands; the Government still continues; the struggle in the field has ended, thank God! but the question of Reconstruction now agitates the nation from circumference to center. It belongs now to the peaceful agency of the ballot-box to consummate the rest. God grant it may be done! It cannot be expected that a Government purely popular shall always work harmoniously and smoothly, unruffled by exhibitions of human passions. This is human nature, and it will be displayed; to think otherwise would be to disregard the divine appointment.

Now that the Union has stood the shock of this great civil, internecine war; now that it is gradually settling the great question of Reconstruction; now that radicalisms and ultraisms are rapidly finding their proper level; now that the people, educated by sad experience, are comprehending the true path of National duty and are striving to follow in it; now that calm reason resumes her sway—it is clear that all is safe, that the national unity will remain for years undisturbed, and that hereafter, more than ever before, we shall become the central figure in all governmental organizations. And that if we continue to have faith in freedom, in the cardinal principles of our Declaration, and in the just controlling powers of our National Constitution, we shall endure for centuries yet, and our political system become as fixed, as immutable, as eternal as the sun in yonder heavens.

The Federal Government, by a treaty with Russia, now has possession of this vast country, extending from the British domain on the east, to Behring Straits on the west, and from the Pacific on the south, to the Polar Ocean on the north. With the soil are transferred all the resources of the country, and all the Russian people who see proper to remain, at once, by operation of that treaty, become entitled to all the rights and privileges as well as subject to all the duties of natural born American citizens. Many among those now before me have changed their allegiance and filed their declarations with the proper military authorities; many more at other points along the coast will do so when opportunity offers.

You all remember the ceremonies of transfer on the 18th of October, 1867. They were brief and diplomatic, yet interesting and impressive. Then Americans and Russians were placed side by side, in daily contact; opportunity was offered for each to observe the manners, habits, and customs of the other. The American soldiery commingled with the Russian soldiery; American citizens mixed with Russian citizens; and citizens and soldiers associated together. This union proved pleasant, and has been productive of good. Never did a foreign people extend a heartier welcome to Americans than was universally witnessed here; and I trust—indeed I feel assured—that this kindly feeling has been and is continually being reciprocated. We met as friends; we shall continue friends. We each differ in our habits and ways in many respects; we each can learn from the other. Constant contact has rubbed away the sharp edges of dissimilarity, and fraternal feeling is ever increasing. Fortunately for the American citizens, for the Russian citizens and residents, and for the government, the distinguished General, Jefferson C. Davis, whom I have the honor to see before me, and whom during the war I met frequently on the field of patriotic duty, was appointed to take charge of this now infant Territory of the United States. He has watched our welfare with fatherly care, and has ever been ready to lend a helping hand in all our needs. Although a soldier, accustomed to exercise discipline over men, he has not forgotten that he is a man; although a soldier, he remembers that he has been a citizen, and that citizens have rights which all are bound to respect; although a soldier, he knows and feels that it is no less honorable to be a good citizen, and that to be an American citizen is greater than to be a king. Thus endowed with that happy faculty of appreciating what is the soldier's and what is the citizen's due; and with that other happier and better faculty—plain common sense, he sees the line of demarcation between the civil and military power, and neither desires to arrogate to himself the functions of the former, nor does he prove lax in the exercise of the powers of the latter.

Upon assuming command, it was found that there was a considerable body of citizens already here, many Americans—the ready pioneers of new enterprises and industries; some foreigners from British Columbia, and many more Russian subjects and residents, constituting in all a population of some twenty-five hundred souls. Like all towns with which the Yankee element becomes engrafted, affairs speedily assumed a business shape. Stores were erected, markets were opened, private depots for the fur trade were established, saw mills were put in motion, and the commerce of the place at once became considerable. These things all showed the necessity of some organization among the people, that the just and equitable rights of all might be secured. The military stood ready to protect all to the extent of its power. But there were other matters constantly arising which it seemed difficult to solve, and which were beyond and outside of the strict military administration. Thus embarrassed, and feeling that these needs would increase continually, the citizens, as by intuition, met together, and at a series of primary meetings resolved to organize a local municipal government, to secure and forward their interests so far as such a government, necessarily limited in its powers, could do. Unwilling to take these steps without first informing the Commanding General of their intention and ascertaining his views in the matter, a committee was appointed, who addressed him a letter on the subject, to which he promptly and generously responded that “if the citizens of Sitka think that the time has come for such an organization, and their necessities require them to exercise their privileges as American citizens, and they are willing to assume the responsibility and incur the expense of a city government, the undersigned has no desire to interpose any objection, and will give the citizens every assistance in his power compatible with his military duties here.”

Grateful for this hearty co-operation in their plan for a local government, another meeting was held and a committee of three was appointed to frame a municipal charter. It does not become me to eulogize that instrument, but I will say, that two at least of the members (Gen. N. J. T. Dana and Dr. A. H. Hoff), are men of large experience, sound learning and well fitted for the part they performed. And I will say further, that this organic act was drawn under great disadvantages. The committee had not the privilege of examining a single city charter elsewhere—not even the means to refer to a single state constitution or territorial enactment—and yet their labor produced a charter under which we have lived contentedly, and the administration of affairs under it goes smoothly and well. It defines what shall be the city limits and its name; it establishes executive, legislative, and judicial powers; provides for revenue from taxation, improvements and the maintenance of the poor; it vests the judicial power in a court which has cognizance of all cases, civil and criminal, save in suits when the title to public land is involved. It offers ample protection to all interests, and every encouragement to honest industry and enterprise; and more than all, and above all, it provides for the establishment of a Free Public School—America’s boast and blessing—and from its very nature instills into the minds and hearts of our people the foundation principles of free institutions and American civilization. And this is enough: it is a proud beginning, and none of us hereafter need feel ashamed for our anxiety at this time to plant on this soil with the raising of the American flag, the concomitants which constitute its greatness.

And yet, fellow-citizens, there are those among us, a few however, God be praised!—some claiming to be citizens, and some wearing the livery of honorable officers in the army and navy, who affect to despise this local government; who are always talking to others sneeringly of it, who boast what they will or will not do, and who seem to ache to bring about some conflict by which they can test its strength. With an ignorance which is woeful, with a purpose which is devilish, with an effrontery which would shame Satan himself, they proclaim that the people of Sitka have no right to form this government; that their acts are illegal, without warrant in the national constitution or in common law, and that the day is not far distant when its usurpations of power will be crushed and its pretended authority overturned. Profound thinkers! astute jurists! learned men! The nations—the states—to which you belong, lost the finest jewels from their caskets of fame, when you left their borders to waste your mighty powers away in this northern country, amongst a few pitiable Americans, Russians and Indians.

Go back! for I feel sure that you have mistaken your calling, and your own dear people will welcome you as their leaders—their Moses—in teaching them the philosophy of your new theories of government. My fellow-citizens, I am happy to say that these grumblers—these contemners of our efforts at the maintenance of a local government—are mostly of foreign extraction, and if they did not “leave their country for their country’s good,” at least they are now deriving their livelihood by the aid of those whose acts they affect to despise. To those among you who are Americans, I will say that you are unfit to have the title; for you, by your actions, ignore the Declaration of Independence, discard the teachings of the fathers, and trample under foot the Constitution. You ignore the plainest principles of the law of nature, the facts of history, and the declared practice of Americans all over our land, and particularly on the Pacific coast. Who does not know that hundreds of town organizations existed in California and Oregon independent of any territorial or congressional enactment previous to their admission as states? Did Congress declare the organizations illegal? Did it reprimand the people for presuming to govern themselves? No; on the contrary, it legalized all their acts, save such as had interfered in the disposition of the public domain. Knowing this to be contrary to the National Constitution and the statute law, we have not meddled with the lands, any further than to declare that the man who shall bona fide occupy a town lot, shall be protected in his rights, until such time as the proper authorities shall settle titles.

And our acts, like those of other communities, will be sanctioned. No sooner had we organized the municipal government than the City Council, in an ably written address, petitioning Congress for the organization of a Territorial Government, enclosed to that honorable body a copy of the city charter, together with the signatures of the citizens who had signed it, and who, in so doing, pledged themselves to maintain and obey it. If we had been guilty of gross usurpations of power, if our acts were illegal, would we not have been notified of it long ago? Would not the General commanding the Department have been instructed to break up our organization? The whole argument of these men is farcical, a bug-a-boo, and is only fit to rank with Tom Brown’s exploded theories that toads have stones in their heads and ostriches digest iron. With these remarks I dismiss the subject.

Fellow-citizens: the great need of this country is the organization of a civil government; not because we are illy used under military rule, but because such a government is needed to induce emigration, to develop the resources of the country, and to give it character at home. Americans love civil rule, and they will have it. The true interests of the people require it; capital is needed, labor is needed; each is the handmaid of the other. With a Territorial Government, both of these requisites will be attained in a greater or less degree.

If some members of Congress had not been so foolish as to injure their own reputations by their nonsensical talk and their disgraceful attempt to openly violate the plighted faith of the nation with Russia—the warmest and most steadfast friend of our country among all the powers of the Old World—in the payment for this territory, purchased more than a year ago, but, like high-minded men, had promptly voted the appropriation and passed a Territorial Organic Act for Alaska, a different state of things would be ours to-day. These enemies to the purchase of this territory are constantly publishing in the papers the most outlandish reports in regard to this country and its people. Now, we hear that Sitka is surrounded with icy mountains, and that it is so cold that we are absolutely freezing for want of sufficient clothing. Anon, we learn that the Bay of Sitka is frozen over away out to the headlands of the ocean, and that vessels cannot enter to relieve the starving garrison. Again, we hear that it rains every day in the year, and the sun never shines. Soon afterwards, that the country will not produce anything, and that subsistence is impossible.

All here can testify to the falsity of these reports. It has been the common remark of all Americans, except its enemies—a few gangrened naval officers—that last winter was as mild and pleasant a season as they ever saw. The lowest the thermometer ever ranged was at nine degrees below zero, and that only three times during the whole winter. Very few among us wore overcoats. As to the freezing of the harbor, the statement just made proves its untruth. The gardens now under cultivation around us in the care of our own people show that nearly every kind of vegetable will grow, and of fine flavor and quality. Next season the garden culture will be much more extensive; and the experiment will be tried as to wheat, corn, and other cereals.

The wealth, however, of this territory is in its immense fisheries; probably no country in the world is its equal. From the whale, which we often see blowing even in yonder bay, to the salmon and herring, which blacken the very waters of our harbor, there is every variety, and inexhaustible quantities. Already a few fisheries have been established along the coast. The establishment of the Russian Commercial Company, organized this Spring at Ozersky, fifteen miles from Sitka, is doing finely, and the fishermen employed, Gloucester or Marblehead men, feel confident that the “catch” this season will be at least four thousand barrels of salmon. Baronovitz, at Cassan, expects with his limited means to put up one thousand barrels. And every one present, familiar with the coast in this vicinity, knows now that a hundred other establishments could do as well, and properly equipped, vastly better. The cod and the halibut, too, are of superior quality, and offer a rich harvest to the fisherman who engages in the work.

Other sources of wealth have been discovered. Mining parties this summer have found gold on the Takou and the Stickine, and the most favorable results are expected from Walden’s party, who pushed up the latter river early this spring, and who will return early in September. Several coal fields have been discovered, and the coal is pronounced equal, if not superior, to that at Nanaimo, British Columbia. The specimen brought from Cake, or Kake, by Captain White, of the Revenue Cutter Wayanda—a large lump, weighing some twenty-five pounds, and beautiful in its appearance—has already been forwarded to the Secretary of the Treasury, with his report of its situation and its practicability of working. The mines at Ouchnaho are proved a success, and are now being worked by Captain Mitchell, of the navy, for the government use, at the rate of ten to twenty tons per day.

The seal fishery is another great field of enterprise, and in this there is already a lively competition. From this port alone, during the months of April and May, thirteen vessels cleared for St. Paul’s and Ounoulaska. One large company—Hutchinson, Kohl & Co.—with headquarters here, have bought out all the interest which the Russian American Company formerly owned, and now have three steamers, besides several sailing vessels, engaged in this pursuit. Three or four other companies, with ample capital, are also zealously at work. And to this subject the speedy attention of Congress should be directed. The seal is a valuable animal, and if proper regulations are established by Congress and enforced, this branch of fishery will alone, in a few years, repay the government for the money expended in the purchase of the territory. If Congress does not act, competition will, in the indiscriminate slaughter of this animal, drive them from our shores, and this source of gain will be lost forever.

Concerning the protection of the seal fisheries at Saint Paul’s, Saint George’s, and the other islands of Behring’s Sea, I am satisfied, from all I can learn in this regard from the Russian Managers, that the General Government will be compelled to adopt and enforce, for a time at least, the most stringent regulations.

Three plans for the attainment of this end seem to present themselves:

First — The granting of a royalty to some well established and responsible company—with exclusive privileges for a certain term of years, upon the payment of a certain specific sum—say fifty cents for each seal killed—under well-defined conditions and restrictions, specifying the manner and the maximum of the killing.
There is no doubt in my mind that the granting of a franchise or royalty would best secure the permanent protection of this species of animal; but it is objectionable to many, because the granting of exclusive privileges is contrary to the general policy of our government, and tends to aid in the establishment of a mighty monopoly.

Second — General competition among all classes of traders and fishermen in this direction, under such regulations as Congress or the proper department may impose. This, however, would compel the establishment of military posts on all the sealing islands, as well as the maintenance of a man-o’-war to cruise in those waters. Hence the expense would be great and much of it needless.

Third — The confinement of the entire seal killing to the natives of the islands, permitting the traders to operate outside, either hiring the natives under contract or purchasing from them. This is the simplest and most efficacious mode of protection. I have conversed with the Russian authorities fully on this matter, and they all express their opinion in favor of this latter plan. The islanders, taught by the long experience of the Russian Company, cannot be persuaded to kill these animals except in the old way. Hence their continued preservation. Restrict this business, then, to them; forbid mercenary adventurers (who would ruthlessly wage an indiscriminate slaughter, even at the expense of a complete annihilation of these valuable animals, for the sake of reaping a sudden fortune for themselves), from any participation in it, and the whole question of protection is solved.

And to secure the enforcement of this law will demand no great outlay. The government will always require during the sealing and trading seasons the services of a revenue cutter in these waters. An officer can be detailed on this special duty, and with frequent communication with the cutter, his authority will be as potent as that of a man-o’-war or a company of soldiers. Besides, these simple-minded people will be freed from the contaminating influences, which seem to be unavoidable concomitants of the presence of either force. Thus much for the sealing interests of the territory.

Upon the assumption of Federal authority in this territory came the establishment of customs regulations, and this place was declared a port of entry. Immediately upon the raising of the Stars and Stripes, was unfurled the Revenue Flag, declaring commerce open to all the world, subject to national laws. The first thing was to change the nationality of all the vessels belonging to the country, thereby adding to the American merchant service. This is being done as fast as opportunity offers, and to-day the Port of Sitka alone presents a creditable amount of shipping. There are belonging to us four steamers, one ship, two barks, three brigs, and four schooners, making two thousand two hundred and twenty tons, aggregate measurement.

And notwithstanding all the disadvantages under which we labor, the commerce of this port has been considerable. From the Collector’s office, I have gathered the following official statement; it covers six months, from January 1st to July 1st, 1868.

During that period the amount of imports admitted and paying duty were valued at $26,661.52; the export trade reached the sum of $277,954.67. Nor has the coastwise trade been at all insignificant. During the same time there was entered at this port stores and trading goods valued at $91,413.97. There was also cleared for domestic ports below and along the coast of Alaska, merchandise to the amount of $59,781.81. Nor do these statements include any stores entered for the use of the army and navy, either here or at other points along the coast.

The local trade is also of importance. From estimates furnished by the merchants, the trade with the whites, Americans, and Russians, will average $70,000 the present year. The trade with the Indians—the Sitkas, encamped near us—will fully equal if it does not exceed $50,000.

Surely for a town which has only been under American rule for eight months, and without the advantage as yet of any development of the natural resources of the country, we need not be ashamed of our position as a commercial port. How much greater our importance, how much greater the benefit to our commerce, country, and ourselves, when the National Government shall form for us a civil code, which freely, generously, and bountifully administered, will tend to promote the settlement of this vast public domain, and to build upon it towns, cities, and States—nurseries of future greatness and power.

There is the certain wealth of the New England States in the fisheries and forests of this territory, and untold riches in minerals beneath its surface. Once establish regular communication with the States, once induce capital to lend its aid in assisting labor, and the day is near at hand when this territory will prove as valuable as British Columbia, and a strong pillar in the support of the mighty arch of the Union itself. With Addison’s Cato, we may say:

“‘Tis not in mortals to command success;
But we’ll do more, Sempronius, we’ll deserve it.”

Fellow-citizens: there are many other topics which I might touch upon, but I forbear; they all suggest themselves to thinking, candid men. Charles Sumner, in his speech on “The Cession of Russian America,” not only made a valuable contribution to literature, but he gave to the world, and to the American people especially information concerning the illimitable resources, climatology, and population of this country, which we, from our observation and information from other sources, fully justify and maintain. It is literally true; none of it is overdrawn. And although a portion of the people now ridicule the treaty negotiated by Secretary Seward, whereby we have gained possession of this far distant land, the years are not many when the country will bless him for this very act, and pronounce him the ablest and most far-sighted statesman of the age in thus pacifically attaining so important a step towards the final and exclusive dominion of the entire North American Continent.

One word more and I am done. I have, in my humble way, briefly reviewed the great landmarks in the history of liberty on this continent; I have touched upon its struggles, its perils, and its triumphs. Who would not be a citizen of America? Our government, founded on just and equal laws; founded on the principles of human nature; on the golden rules of religion, seems specially favored of God, and its power and extension of empire is now almost fabulous. To-day the flag we love so well waves in triumph over a stretch of country almost uninterrupted from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Now we are on the dividing line between the eastern and western hemispheres—between America and Asia. The bounds of a newer and a higher cultivation are extended; commerce has new fields in which to operate; the honest and hardy miners here have a broad expanse of territory to explore and develop; the General Government obtains a new acquisition of people to serve as its defenders; and all these in turn are kindly protected in their rights by the American Flag and the Ægis of the National Constitution.

Hereafter when our country shall need our aid, either to crush rebellion or repel invasion, Russians and Americans will be found joining heart and hand in defense of the national power, even as Cassius and Brutus, on the field of Phillipi, together upheld the liberties of Rome.