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ADDRESSES 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 AT THE COMPLIMENTARY DINNER 
 
 GIVEN TO 
 
 THE HON. JOHN B. WELLER, 
 
 BY CITIZENS OF CALIFORNIA, 
 
 AT THE 
 
 KIRKWOOD HOUSE, WASHINGTON, D. C, 
 
 ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 1857. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GEO. S. GIDEON, PRINTER. 
 
 1S57. 
 
' 
 
 ADDRESSES 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 AT THK COMPLIMENTARY DINNER 
 
 GIVEN TO 
 
 THE HON. JOHN B. WELLER. 
 
 BY CITIZENS OF CALIFORNIA, 
 
 AT THE 
 
 KIRKWCOD HOUSE, WASHINGTON, D. C, 
 
 ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 1857. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 CxEO. S. GIDEON, PRINTER. 
 
 1857. 
 

COltllKSPONDENCE. 
 
 Washington, January 16, 1^57, 
 The Hon. John B. Wei.ler, Senator from California. 
 
 Dear Sir : Your kind and courteous deportment has endeared you to your friends; 
 your devotion to the interests of California claims the gratitude of her citizens; while 
 the ability, dignity, and patriotism with which you have discharged your duties as a 
 Senator, have won the approbation of your country. As an evidence of their esteem 
 and high appreciation of your public services, a number of your fellow-citizens of 
 California respectfully tender to you the compliment of a public dinner, to be given 
 at the Kirkwood House, on Thursday, the22d instant, at 8 o'clock p. m. 
 We have the honor to be, 
 
 Very respectfully and sincerely yours, &c, 
 
 WM. M. STEUART, 
 M. DELANY, 
 W. W. DOBBINS, 
 A. C. BRADFORD, 
 C. E. CARR, 
 
 Committee of Arrangement. 
 
 Washington City, January 17, 1857. 
 
 Gentlemen: Your letter of yesterday, tendering me a public dinner at the 
 "Kirkwood House," on Thursday next, has been received. As it will afford me 
 an opportunity of meeting my California friends together, I cheerfully accept the 
 invitation. 
 
 For the very complimentary terms in which you allude to my conduct as a 
 Senator and a citizen, accept my unaffected thanks. I have endeavored to discharge 
 my duty faithfully to our adopted State, and can only regret that I have not been 
 able to accomplish more for that important although neglected portion of our common 
 country. To enjoy the confidence and respect of those who have known me in the 
 social circle, and who, at the same time, have had an opportunity of watching my 
 course in the Senate, is indeed a high honor. I trust my future, whether public or 
 
4 
 
 private, may prove that your confidence has not been misplaced. Standing alone in 
 the Senate, with a multiplicity of public affairs to harass and perplex, if I have not 
 given offence to any of you, it is because of your charity and generous forbearance. 
 Accept again, gentlemen, my thanks for this distinguished mark of your respect. 
 1 am, with great regard, 
 
 Very truly, your ob. serv't, 
 
 JOHN U. WELLER. 
 Messrs. 
 
 W. M. Steuart, 
 M. Delany, 
 A. C. Bradford, 
 W. W. Dobbins, 
 C. E. Carr, Esq'rs, 
 
 Committee of Arrangement- 
 
ADDRESSES. 
 
 The complimentary dinner given to the Hon. John B. Weller took place at the 
 "Kirk wood House," in Washington, on Thursday, the 22d January, 1857, and 
 was attended by a number of distinguished persons as invited guests. Col. William 
 M. Steuart presided, assisted by Messrs. Delany, Dobbins, Bradford and Carr. 
 The hall was beautifully illuminated, and decorated with our national flags and other 
 suitable emblems and mottoes. After partaking of a most elegant and bountiful 
 entertainment, to which the kindly feelings elicited by the. occasion gave zest and 
 enjoyment, the president rose and addressed the company in the following remarks: 
 
 Gentlemen: The occasion which brings us together this even- 
 ing; is of a pleasing and interesting character. We have not met 
 to celebrate any victory won on land or sea — any triumph over 
 foreign enemies, much less over domestic political adversaries. 
 The flag that waves over us is not a trophy taken from a con- 
 quered foe, but our own glorious banner, the ensign of our com- 
 mon country, among whose stars, emblazoned with a living glory, 
 that of California has been assigned a place, and whose blended 
 stripes show the beauty and harmony of our national Union. 
 The motto, "The Constitution" which is placed above us, re- 
 minds us of the instrument which is not only the palladium of our 
 liberties, but, so long as it shall be preserved pure and undefiled, 
 will be a guiding light to the people of other lands—aye, in climes 
 where civilization smiles in its cradle or slumbers near its tomb. 
 Among the principles of that Constitution, if there is any one 
 more to be revered than another — more to be guarded and pro- 
 tected — it is that of political equality which it guaranties. At 
 once the basis of all political rights, as it is the fountain of all 
 honor to the American citizen, there cannot be a greater incen- 
 tive, to honorable ambition, or a greater security for the faithful 
 discharge of public duty. Yet, we are the only people who have 
 tried the experiment. Examine the histories of the most enlight- 
 ened people who have flourished in the lapse of time, and you 
 
will in no instance find them free from aristocratical distinctions 
 and hereditary rank. In the brightest days of net' liberty, when 
 the baffled Persian was sent back over the blood-stained waters of 
 the Hellespont, when virtue was the philosophy of her schools, 
 and the arts and sciences had attained their highest excellence, 
 Greece had her privileged classes. So also had Rome in the 
 proudest days of her grandeur and glory, when patriotism was 
 ranked pre-eminent in the moral code of her gallant people. Eng- 
 land, too, whose freedom is proclaimed unparalleled by her partial 
 eulogists — England selects one-half her law-givers by the glitter- 
 ing star a monarch's favor -'or the harlotry of genius" attaches 
 to their persons. When, as is beautifully frescoed on the walls 
 of yonder Capitol, Cincinnatus was called from the plough to as- 
 sume the ensignia of power, Rome had her patricians and hex: ple- 
 beians. But when, as is there also pictured, our Putnam was 
 summoned to the battle-fields of the Revolution, he left his plough 
 with the proud consciousness that no one of a privileged class — 
 no titled lord or bannered knight — could by right of birth take pre- 
 cedence of him in the path to glory, honor, and immortality. But 
 it needs not the deductions of reason, the examples of history, or 
 (lie illustrations of art, to prove that the principle of political equal- 
 ity is the vital source, as it is the almighty power, of our institu- 
 tions. It is written on every American heart, and throbs in every 
 pulse of freemen. We have around us living examples of the 
 philosophy of the theory, and ils efficiency in practice. Among 
 i hose who have honored us with their presence, are many, who un- 
 aided by the accidents of fortune, or the prerogatives of birth, have 
 won the highest positions and the most honorable distinctions — 
 men who in the forum, the council chamber, the halls of legis- 
 lation, as well as on the battle-field and the ocean wave, have 
 nobly sustained the honor of their country, winning for her in- 
 deed high renown, but making their own names the brightest 
 jewels in the diadem of her glory. To such men, gentlemen, we 
 will give all honor and praise while yet they live, and when they 
 are taken from us, should the insolent foreigner ask for their tombs 
 and monuments, tell him we Americans bury our illustrious dead 
 in our hearts. 
 
Among those lo whom I have alluded, is one whom we have 
 especially met to honor. He sought not California in the wild 
 and reckless spirit of adventure, much less from sordid avarice, to 
 gather the golden sands of her mountain streams, or the bright 
 pearls of her ocean waves; but having won distinction as the rep- 
 resentative of his native State in the halls of legislation — having 
 bravely led her gallant sons to victory on the battle-fields of 
 Mexico— he left home, kindred, and friends, to join a people 
 struggling for independence and the right of self-government. For 
 the aid and counsel given us in the darkest hour of " the winter 
 of our discontent," California was not unmindful, and soon called 
 him to the position which he now occupies. Of the ability, dig- 
 nity, and patriotism with which he has discharged his duties as a 
 Senator, I need not speak. The record is enrolled in the Capitol, 
 and will attest to all future time that he never sacrificed principle 
 to expediency, or his fidelity to the Constitution to party purpose 
 or political speculation. Carrying into the Senate Chamber the 
 same kind feelings and courteous deportment which has endeared 
 him to the friends of his social circle, he has gained the esteem 
 and regard of his illustrious compeers, as is shown by the presence 
 of those around us, as well as the regrets of many at their una- 
 voidable absence. 
 
 I give you, gentlemen, the health of the 
 
 Hon. John B. Welter: A man true to himself, his friends, his country, mid his God. 
 
 Mr. Welle r. 
 
 I thank you, gentlemen, sincerely thank you, for the very com- 
 plimentary sentiment which has just been drank. The honor is 
 the more highly appreciated, as it comes from those who have 
 known me in the personal and social relations of life. The posi- 
 tion which I occupy as the representative of our State in the 
 Senate could afford me neither pleasure nor honor, unless I en- 
 joyed the confidence and respect of my constituency. The praise 
 of strangers might give me a momentary pleasure, but the appro- 
 bation of those who have known me long and well, carries joy 
 and gladness to the heart. 
 
s 
 
 We are some six thousand miles from our homes; and because 
 of this and our isolated position, when we meet here we meet as 
 brothers. We have that feeling for each other which the soldier 
 bears towards those who have been associated with him upon the 
 field of battle, or in scenes of trial and danger. Merit of us have 
 shared in the hardships incident to the settlement of a new and 
 distant land, and our meeting around ihis festive board could not 
 be otherwise than pleasant: 
 
 " For, in the varied scenes of life, 
 Is there a joy so sweet 
 As when, amidst its busy strife, 
 Some kindred spirits meet.''' 1 
 
 We have, my friends, reason to be proud of our adopted State. 
 The rapid progress we have made in developing the inexhaustible 
 resources of our distant, home, has attracted the wonder and admi- 
 ration of the world. A country, which ten years ago was scarcely 
 known on this side of the continent, occupied by Mexicans and 
 Indians, is now the happy home of four hundred and fifty thousand 
 gallant, industrious and enterprising Americans. At the last Pres- 
 idential election, although the youngest in the Confederacy, we 
 compelled nineteen of our sisters to take a position in our rear. 
 The rude cabins and wretched hovels of the natives have disap- 
 peared, and cities and towns, teeming with commerce, have sprung 
 up, as if by magic, in their place. A city of sixty thousand in- 
 habitants, distinguished for the energy and enterprise of her citi- 
 zens, distinguished for her churches and her schools, her intelli- 
 gence and refinement, now stands where, but yesterday, nothing 
 but a few miserable tenements of unburnt brick could be found. 
 Then a few vessels employed in whaling and trading in hides 
 were occasionally seen in the waters of the magnificent bay of San 
 Francisco. Now we have splendid ships proudly displaying the 
 Hags of every civilized nation upon the face of the earth, and, in 
 the amount of tonnage, equal to almost any port in the United 
 States, save New York. Our seat of government is located upon 
 the field where, less than ten years ago, Captain Sutter cultivated 
 his wheat with Indian labor, now containing about fifteen or six- 
 teen thousand inhabitants. Splendid churches and magnificent 
 edifices have been erected where the Indian wigwam but recently 
 
9 
 
 stood. More than four hundred and fifty millions of gold has 
 been extracted from our soil, and the work has just commenced. 
 These rapid changes have taken place under your own eye, Mr. 
 President, for you were one of the active and efficient members 
 of that convention which shaped and formed our fundamental 
 laws, and spoke a new State into existence. 
 
 We say to our friends in the older States, give us good roads 
 across the continent, and protection against the Indians, whom 
 your policy has placed between us, and soon California will 
 rank amongst the first in the Confederacy. Give the hardy and 
 industrious men of the older States, who are now pressed by 
 penury and want, an opportunity of reaching us in safety, and 
 our ever-verdant valleys will soon be made to bloom and blossom 
 as the rose. Then in that golden land they can soon surround 
 themselves with all the comforts of happy homes. Give us a rail- 
 road across our own territory, and who can predict our future 
 greatness! 
 
 We love our adopted State; we love her genial health-giving 
 climate, where the fruits of the South grow side by side with those 
 of the North. We love her lofty mountains, her forests towering 
 to the clouds, her rich and productive valleys, and her gallant 
 and warm-hearted people. That wild fanaticism which occasion- 
 ally sweeps over a portion of our country, threatening the perma- 
 nency of the Government, finds no abiding-place with us. If any 
 dissatisfaction may exist amongst us, it can be easily removed by 
 bringing us closer to the centre, and allowing us to see our brethren 
 here more frequently. We want to feel that we are united by 
 affection, as well as the ties of interest. Give us an equal share 
 in the blessings of the Federal Government, and my word for it, 
 California will be the last to disturb the peace and tranquillity of 
 the Union. You must strike from our memories the glorious 
 history of our past career, and destroy all our brilliant anticipations 
 of the future, before we can cease to love, honor, and respect that 
 flag which is yonder so gracefully displayed. It is the emblem of 
 our Union; and as it has never been disgraced or dishonored, we 
 have reason to be proud of it. In the beautiful language of one 
 of our own poets: 
 2 
 
10 
 
 "What God in His wisdom and mercy designed, 
 And armed with His weapons of thunder, 
 Not all the earth's despots and factions combined, 
 Have the power to conquer or sunder ! 
 
 The union of lakes — the union of lands — 
 The union of States none can sever — 
 The union of hearts — the union of hands — 
 And the Flag of the Union forever 
 
 And ever ! 
 The Flag of our Union forever ! " 
 
 But, gentlemen, I came here not to speak, but to participate in 
 the rich repast which is spread before us. Accept again my thanks 
 for your kindness to me on this as well as upon ail other occasions, 
 and allow me to give a sentiment which 1 know will be acceptable 
 to you all. I give you the health of an able and efficient public 
 officer, and an honest man — The Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 Mr. Guthrie. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen : Festive speeches are not 
 in my line. For more than forty years I have been dealing with 
 realities at the Bar and elsewhere, and have no skill for occasions 
 like this. 
 
 The Senator whom you have assembled to honor, and whose 
 consistent and reliable course as a Democrat entitles him to the 
 confidence of his friends and constituents, and, indeed, to the 
 Democracjr at large, has been pleased to allude to me in the most 
 flattering terms. I must leave my life and the record I have made 
 in the Treasury Department, to the indulgent consideration of my 
 friends and country. 
 
 You, Mr. President, have referred in patriotic terms to the flag 
 that unfolds iis slars and its stripes over the entrance of this hall. 
 That flag is consecrated by the blood spilt in our Revolutionary 
 struggle, and is identified with our existence amongst the nations 
 of the earth. When first displayed, it had thirteen stripes and 
 thirteen stars in its folds. Kentucky, my native State and my 
 home, was the fourteenth star added to the old thirteen. Many 
 other glorious stars have been added since. California, the State 
 which the Senator represents, is the thirty-first star and the last in 
 
11 
 
 that glorious constellation; but there is room for many more. 
 The lovers of equal rights and equal privileges rejoice as the con- 
 stellation increases, because it is the flag of freedom. It is yours 
 and it is mine, and, what is more, it is the flag of our Union. 
 The intelligence and patriotism of our people have hitherto, under 
 all circumstances, rallied to its support. It embraces in its folds 
 both the old and the new States, and under its folds all have 
 equal rights and equal privileges. Strike one star from that flag, 
 and you destroy the Constitution and the Union of the States, 
 and the future of the freest nation that has existed in the tide of 
 time. 
 
 California, Oregon, and Washington, on the west coast, are 
 separated from the Atlantic, Southern, and Western States by 
 mountains and forests, yet, in our march to maturity, the inter- 
 mediate space will be filled by new States, with representative 
 governments, and new stars will appear in the folds of that flag. 
 The railroad and the telegraph will soon conquer both space and 
 distance, and give to the west coast the commerce, and secure the 
 brotherhood, of all the States. California will soon learn tiie 
 strength of a State is not in the gold picked up in her streams or 
 dug from her mountains and valleys. Bounteous nature has given 
 the west coast the plain, the hill, and the mountain, with a salu- 
 brious climate and a fertile soil, which, cultivated, will be more 
 prized than gold. Then the west coast will yield cheerful, happy, 
 and plentiful homes to millions upon millions of an industrious 
 population, with ample means of free trade with all the States, and 
 of an extended and civilizing commerce with all the islands and 
 shores of the Pacific. You may be assured, when commerce and 
 civilization shall be extended to the shores and islands of the Paci- 
 fic, religion with its steeples, and liberty and self-government with 
 the flag of freedom, will also be planted there. 
 
 Allow me to give you that better day for California and the 
 west coast, with the hope that no star will be struck from that 
 flag, and that its stripes will long remain the terror of the op- 
 pressors of freedom, and its stars the emblem of a happy and pros- 
 perous Union. 
 
12 
 
 By the President. The health of the Hon. A. P. Butler — the enlightened jurist, 
 patriot statesman, and chivalrous gentleman. Like the palmetto of his own loved 
 Carolina, his heart is deep-rooted in its native soil, but radiating like the fibres of 
 its evergreen leaves, his sympathies are with the wronged and oppressed of every 
 land. 
 
 Mr. Butler. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen: The time, the occasion, 
 and the import of the sentiment jnst pronounced, and the spirit in 
 which it has been received, have given me sincere gratification; 
 and I shall not attempt in any set phrases to return you my thanks 
 for it. I feel that I can trace to its source much personal kind- 
 ness; but I recognise in it something more to enhance my grati- 
 fication — a tribute to South Carolina; and, gentlemen, when you 
 wish to touch my heart, you could not more effectually do so 
 than by such a token of regard. 
 
 I pass from this to the occasion of your meeting, and it has in 
 it, to my mind, something more than a festive tribute to your 
 guest. It has in it the offering of friendship and just approval of 
 a public man, who has not walked the theatre of an eventful 
 period without making his mark. He has been for several 
 years (treading through a process of trial and difficulty) the 
 representative of one of the most extraordinary commonwealths 
 that has ever been introduced into the history of the world — a 
 commonwealth that has tributaries in its character, having many 
 sources, to make a current of commanding interest. 
 
 I heard Mr. Calhoun once say, (in his usual marked language, 
 conveying in a sentence the germ of history,) that the child 
 was then born who would live to see settlements made on our 
 Pacific coast, with a larger population than was now on the 
 Atlantic, and with a civilization such as never heretofore had been 
 contemplated. 
 
 Juvenal said that Rome had her Tiber mingled with the Orontes: 
 I think we may say that our Tiber, with its various tributaries, 
 making a current of Anglo-Saxon identity, will ultimately give 
 character to the eastern Orontes; and that the sentence of the 
 poet — 
 
 Jam pridem Syrus, in Tiberim defluxil Orontes 
 
 may be paraphrased — 
 
 lnfluit at Syrium nunc Tibris noster Orontera. 
 
13 
 
 In this current are mingled the intrepid and sagacious enterprise of 
 New England — the splendid and controlling adventures of New 
 York — the undaunted perseverance of Connecticut — the daring 
 and inspiring spirit of Maryland and Virginia, like ringing metal, 
 becoming more pure by trial — the dashing and generous spirit of 
 the South, asking only for a fair field and a clear sky; and, what 
 swells the current with cumulative force, the uncalculating courage 
 of the West, marked by a fertility of expedients in trials of danger 
 and difficulty. Tiiese are elements of an undeveloped and eventful 
 history. 1 will not, to his face, backbite my friend so far as to say 
 he is the entire representative of all these attributes; for he might 
 deny it and make a personal affair of it; but I will say, that his 
 catholic spirit, his frank deportment, his manly bearing, his intel- 
 ligent address, (and he has his share of it,) and his enlarged experi- 
 ence, have won my respect and regard; without bigotry, his mind 
 is lifted above local prejudice. 
 
 But, gentlemen, I am transgressing: I give you — 
 
 California: Great noiv — greater to be ; I think it probable she will soon want elbow 
 room — and that she will ultimately whip China, and take possession of the garden 
 of Eden as a new country. 
 
 Bylhe President. Texas — once "a Lone Star," she now shines bright in the constel- 
 lation of freedom. She showed California the way into the Union : California will 
 never show her the way out of it. May the friendship existing between her en- 
 lightened and distinguished Senator and ours, but typify that iron bond of union 
 which shall indissolubly unite the interests, sympathies, and affections of the peoples 
 of both States. 
 
 Mr. Rusk. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen: I have been taken by sur- 
 prise. The sentiment just given — the kind reception it has met, 
 demands a reply, and yet I confess I am at a loss what to say. The 
 compliment paid my State she is well entitled to; that to myself is 
 perhaps not so well deserved. 1 should probably speak of my 
 friend, the Senator on my left, (Col. Weller,) to do honor to 
 whom this banquet is given. Should I speak of him in such terms 
 as my heart would prompt, and my judgment dictate, the warmth 
 of the eulogy would cause him to blush ; while those less acquainted 
 
14 
 
 with the sterling- qualities of his head and heart than I am, would 
 pronounce it gross flattery. I shall, therefore, content myself by 
 saying, that his recorded history is at once his best witness and 
 most eloquent eulogy. That record, for its instructive wisdom, 
 will be read with deep interest long after he and his present asso- 
 ciates shall have passed from off the stage of action, proving that 
 throughout his public career he has ever been moved by that first 
 'and highest impulse of the patriot's heart — love of country. Shall 
 I speak of Texas? Her past history is before the world, and 1 
 feel sure her future will prove true to the glorious reminiscences 
 of that past — marked by the same unfaltering courage, chivalrous 
 gallantry, and loyal devotion in the cause of constitutional freedom. 
 In every hour of trial, she will prove one of the main pillars of 
 support of that Constitution to which all Americans yield the 
 homage of the heart's deepest devotion. Shall 1 speak of Cali- 
 fornia? That young giant of the far West, in tones audible to the 
 dullest ear, is speaking for herself, telling a wondrous tale of rapid 
 growth in all the elements of wealth, prosperity, and greatness, 
 almost unparalleled iri the history of States. True, she has recently 
 exhibited some of the wild pranks and excesses incident to the 
 warm blood and ardent temperament of vigorous youth; but I have 
 every confidence, that in the days of her maturity, when she shall 
 have sown her wild oats, she will turn those very energies to the 
 earnest duties of national life, and yet become one of the balance- 
 wheels of our complex political machinery, performing her appro- 
 priate duties with regularity and constancy. My own State opened 
 the door to her admission, and feels a just pride in all that pertains 
 to the development of her vast and varied resources. Shall I speak 
 of the late presidential election ? That is over: justice and political 
 truth have triumphed, and it is not to my taste to indulge in too 
 much elation over a success we had every right to expect from the 
 intelligence of the people, as due to the correctness of our princi- 
 ples and the justice of our cause; nor do I regard it as generous 
 continually to remind a beaten opponent of his defeat. Shall I 
 speak of our Union ? That depends for its preservation upon 
 deeds, not words — and words are too feeble to bear the burthen 
 of thought that would struggle for utterance upon such a theme. 
 With many thanks for the kind partiality which has called me up, 
 
15 
 
 allow me to clo?e these desultory remarks by offering yon a senti- 
 ment: 
 
 Our glorious Constitution — may it be perpetual. 
 
 By Air. C E. Carr. The health of the Hon. A. C4. Brown, a statesman of ripe 
 experience and indomitable energy; ever animated by the truest spirit of patriotism, 
 and ever vigilant in promoting national interests. Carolina may he proud that she 
 gave birth to such a son, and Mississippi that she '''aims him as her citizen. 
 
 Mr. Brown. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen: While T respond, without, 
 objection, to the sentiment so handsomely offered by my friend 
 over the way, you must allow me to say that a speech was not in- 
 cluded in the bargain that brought me here this evening. Like 
 my friends who have already spoken, I came to enjoy the creature 
 comforts which all of us knew were to be spread with a profuse 
 hand. 
 
 This is a California banquet in honor of a California Senator. 
 Had you taken note of my past course, and been disposed to re- 
 sent what some have called an injustice to your State, 1 should not 
 have been bidden to this feast. When California asked admission 
 into the Union, I thought it my duty to oppose her admission. I 
 did so on principle, and in defence of what seemed to me to be 
 solemn obligations to the Constitution and the rights of the Stales. 
 My judgment now approves what I then did; but in my heart of 
 hearts there is not concealed a sentiment of hostility to your noble 
 State. She is in the Union, and I am proud of her. She is in 
 the Union, and I would go as far to defend her rights or subserve 
 her interests, as I would to defend the rights or subserve the in- 
 terests of any other State in the Confederacy. Neither Texas nor 
 California were supposed by many to have entered through the 
 straight gate. But they are in, and palsied be the arm that would 
 attempt to thrust them out. No brighter gems glitter in the dia- 
 dem of our national glory. Texas on the Atlantic, and Cali- 
 fornia on the Pacific, keep watch on the movements of the 
 world; and while the older sisters take that repose which age ren- 
 ders necessary, these lynx-eyed lasses will descry danger, if it 
 comes, while it is yet afar off, and by their timely warning arouse 
 
16 
 
 the whole household to action. Texas is almost as remarkable 
 for the fertility of her soil as California is for the richness of her 
 mines; but if 1 were asked in what the greatest treasure of both 
 consisted, I would say, in the dauntless courage and gushing pa- 
 triotism of their people. If I did not owe my birth to South 
 Carolina, and my success in life to Mississippi, I could almost 
 wish that I had been born in Texas and reared in California. Of 
 California I can say with truth, that while duty constrained me 
 to oppose her admission into the Union, she has in my judgment 
 conferred more substantial benefits, and clone it in less time and 
 with a freer hand, than any State in the Union. I would reci- 
 procate these benefits. In return for the stream of gold which she is 
 continually pouring into our lap, I would send messages of fraternal 
 love, done up in electric fluid and shot with lightning speed along 
 the telegraphic wires. I would, as soon as possible, bring our dis- 
 tant sister nearer home by throwing a railroad across the continent, 
 and sending the iron-horse to bring her back to the paternal roof. 
 These things can and will be done. But let me counsel you, 
 my friends, to forbearance; be patient. By-and-by, at the right 
 time, and in the right way, you will find yourselves linked to the 
 older States by bars of iron and messages of love, like rivers of 
 gold, pouring in continually upon you. 
 
 A railroad and telegraphic communication we must and will 
 have; but we must have it without the "material aid" of this 
 Government. I am not about to discuss the question; but I may 
 at least say, on this occasion, (hat for a thousand reasons I shall 
 oppose connecting the Government with these schemes. Such 
 connection can only lead to embarrassments, political strife, long 
 delays, and to final defeat. The Government, to the extent of its 
 undisputed constitutional powers, may aid the work; this far it 
 ought to go, but not one inch beyond. 
 
 I hope and confidently predict, that the future of California will 
 be even more brilliant than the past. It has been sometimes pre- 
 dicted, that California will by-and-by become impatient of the 
 restraints imposed on her by the Union, and that she will take the 
 lead in setting up an independent republic on the Pacific. These 
 are fearful auguries, and I hope they are never to be realized. 
 California will be true to her allegiance, and I hope the older 
 
17 
 
 States on the Atlantic will treat her with such affectionate regard 
 as to make the connection between them a blessing to both and a 
 burthen to neither. But I must say, that if at any time California, 
 in the exercise of a sound discretion, and in pursuit of those bless- 
 ings which are the gifts of God, shall elect, in her capacity as a 
 sovereign, to quit the Union, no federal gun shall be fired with 
 my consent to bring her back. I would deal out justice to her with 
 a liberal and even with a lavish hand; but if she chose to quit the. 
 family, she shall go unmolested so far as I am concerned. This 
 is my notion of State-rights. A Union that was founded in con- 
 sent can never, in my judgment, be maintained by force. 
 
 It is fit, my friends, that you should in this and every other 
 way honor your gallant Senator. Whatever may be thought of 
 him at home, it is, 1 am sure, the judgment of all his peers that 
 he has been to California a faithful steward. No interest of hers 
 has suffered in his hands; and on the slightest intimation that her 
 rights were in jeopardy, his eloquent voice has rang like a bugle 
 through all the alcoves of the Senate. 
 
 Your Senator, my friends, is present, and I shall on that 
 acccount forbear to speak of him as he deserves. We came into 
 Congress together seventeen years ago, (I may say that, as we 
 are both married, and there are no ladies present,) and I have 
 known him intimately and well ever since. If California would 
 honor herself, she may do it effectually by re-electing John B. 
 Weller to the Senate of the United States. 
 
 But, gentlemen, I am detaining you. In the midst of these 
 festive scenes, and while the wine-cup passes merrily about, let 
 us not forget that there is one afar off, dearer to our honored friend 
 than this, than these, than all — one whose eye will watch his 
 coming, and grow brighter when he comes. I give you, gentle- 
 men — The health of Mrs. Weller. 
 
18 
 
 By the President. The health of the Hon. C. C. Clay, Jr., the youngest member of 
 the Senate, but, like Pyrrhus, uniting in his single person the gallantry of Diomedes 
 with the wisdom of Nestor, he is ever ready to protect private rights, to promote 
 public interests, and avenge national wrongs. 
 
 Mr. Clay. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen: I did not come here with 
 any expectation of being called out in a war of words; much less 
 did I anticipate any response to so flattering a challenge as that 
 which has been offered. It is so unmerited and unexpected, that 
 I am wholly unprepared to answer, in a manner worthy of my 
 challenger, or of our mutual friends who are here assembled. The 
 prodigality of his kindness and partiality has quite disarmed and 
 overpowered me. He has put me hors de combat at me onset. 
 Nothing sustains me, in this unequal contest, but the conscious- 
 ness that I am in the presence of friends, and that the chief of 
 them, on this occasion — he whom we have met to honor — is the 
 real person to whom the incense of praise is intended to be offered. 
 For his sake I could almost endure to be suffocated by the fumes 
 of the censer. 
 
 His devotion to his friends entitles him to their untiring and 
 patient fidelity under all circumstances and in any emergency. 
 His devotion to his constituents entitles him to their grateful plau- 
 dit, "Well done, good and faithful servant," and to the highest 
 rewards they can bestow. Few men could have achieved as 
 much — none could have striven more — for the interests of Cali- 
 fornia. Standing alone as her representative in the United States 
 Senate during this Congress, he might safely challenge a com- 
 parison of his works, in behalf of California, with those of any 
 Senators in behalf of their State. I might, in proof of this asser- 
 tion, designate the measures originated and carried by him through 
 the Senate, intended to facilitate the intercourse, harmonize the 
 interests, and consolidate the union of the Atlantic and Pacific 
 States, and to develop the great and growing resources, and mag- 
 nify the prodigious wealth of California. Rut these are matters 
 of history, attested by the record. That he has lost nothing by 
 non-claim that is due to his State, even his enemies (if he have 
 any) must concede. The only complaint preferred against him 
 by his peers in the Senate, is, that he claims too much. He has 
 
19 
 
 been guilty of a venial error, one that leans on virtue's side; that 
 of asking (in the opinion of some of us) more for California than her 
 just share. That she has not gotten all he asked, has been owino- 
 to the present complexion of the House of Representatives. His 
 eminent success is attributable not merely to his vigilance, in- 
 dustry, and ability, but, in a great degree, to his catholic political 
 sentiments, and his expansive patriotism. 
 
 Without any sectional bigotry or ill-judged fanaticism, and, 
 with the fullest appreciation of the rights of the States and of the 
 people, his policy has not been narrowed by lines of latitude or 
 of longitude, or been marked by selfish partialities or unjust pre- 
 judices. Coming from beyond the Rocky Mountains, from the 
 distant shore of the Pacific, he has not been the advocate of the 
 North or the South; but the impartial judge in their unfortunate 
 contest. If his history had not been familiar to the people of Ala- 
 bama before I met him; had he been a stranger, unknown to 
 fame, I should have been at fault to designate the place of his 
 nativity and of his education. My fond hope is, that California 
 and the nascent States of the Pacific slopes may continue to send, 
 as their representatives, in the Federal legislature, such men as 
 he and his colleagues, and the delegates of Oregon and Washing- 
 ton: men who will be just and fear not — who will aim at no 
 other ends than their country's, God's, and truth's. 
 
 In conclusion, I will offer you a sentiment, in all sincerity; 
 one which comes from the bottom of my heart, and not from the 
 mere surface of my lips. 
 
 California — Her auriferous lands can produce no fruitage of more sterling worth 
 than the Exotic from the Buckeye State; in entrusting to him her dearest rights, she 
 has done well in the past; in the future. she never can do better. 
 
 Mr. Bradford. 
 
 I rise, Mr. President, to propose the health of the junior Senator 
 from Michigan. It is a source of regret to all here, that General 
 Cass, the senior Senator from that State, and veteran statesman, 
 is absent upon this joyous occasion. But, sir, in his colleague we 
 recognise an able champion of the Michigan Democracy, a sterling 
 gentleman, and an honest man. We, of the extreme west, who 
 
20 
 
 are fresh from the scenes of a victorious party in California, 
 regret — yes, deeply regret — that the State from which our friend 
 hails was surrendered lately to our political foes. But, sir, we all 
 hope — nay, the country demands — that this surrender shall be 
 temporary; and, in proposing the health of the Hon. Charles E. 
 Stuart, I may be permitted to request that he will tell us some- 
 thing about the prospects of the Democracy of Michigan. 
 
 Mr. Stuart. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen: Like others who have pre- 
 ceded me, I can with truth say, that in joining with you on this 
 occasion, to pay a tribute of respect to your distinguished Senator, 
 I did not anticipate making a speech. But, sir, the very flattering 
 terms in which my adopted State, my honorable and distinguished 
 colleague, and myself, have just been alluded to, seem to demand 
 of me some response. 
 
 My worthy friend, Mr. Bradford, desires me to tell you some- 
 iliing of the Democracy of Michigan and our prospects. It is 
 known to you, Mr. President, that the party calling itself Repub- 
 lican carried that State by nearly twenty thousand majority. 
 
 Whether the Democrats there will be able to reclaim the State, 
 is one of those problems lying in the future, and which lime alone 
 can solve. But, sir, adopting the sentiment and cournge of a gal- 
 lant hero, "we can try." 
 
 And when it is remembered, that it is only about three-quarters 
 of a century since our fathers, representing a few feeble colonies 
 along the Atlantic, with a vast continent behind them, whose ex- 
 tent and characteristics were then unknown, laid the corner-stone 
 of a nation, whose people, by their energy, enterprise, and perse- 
 verance, have crossed that continent with their settlements, cover- 
 ing it with all the emblems of civilization and refinement, and 
 that they now. sir, from your State and the adjoining Territories, 
 look out over the Pacific, whose waters float their commerce, 
 toward the continent of Asia; we are inspired with a renewed 
 confidence in those great principles of Democratic truth, a firm 
 adherence to which has produced such mighty results; and believ- 
 
21 
 
 ing that what man has done man can do, we hesitate not to assure 
 the Democracy of the far west, and the whole Union, that the 
 gallant Democrats of Michigan will recover their ascendancy in 
 that State, and bring it once again into Democratic line. 
 
 It has been well and wisely said, sir, by the distinguished Sec- 
 retary of the Treasury, that we have much to fear from our un- 
 exampled prosperity. This is a great truth, sir, and lamentable 
 as it is true. 
 
 Yes, sir, in humiliation we must confess, that were we this day 
 borne down with taxation and poverty, we should have neither 
 time nor inclination for finding fault with each oilier. And thus 
 it seems, sir, that the prosperity of nations, like that of families, 
 too often hazards domestic peace and safety. 
 
 But, sir, as in families so among States, the remedy lies in con- 
 ciliation, kindness, and mutual forbearance; in avoiding all which 
 can aggravate, and giving heartfelt expression to all which can en- 
 dear them to each other: 
 
 By being to their faults a little biind, 
 And to their virtues ever kind. 
 
 By one of those changes incident to political life I was deprived 
 of any participation, sir, in the admission of California into the 
 Union. It may not, therefore, be improper for me to say, that 
 had I been then in Congress I should certainly have given my 
 vote for that measure. 
 
 There were, in that instance, sir, both the requisite population 
 and imperative necessity. And, before these considerations, sir, 
 all notions of mere form and regularity of proceeding, when legis- 
 lating on such questions, must and ought to yield to the far higher 
 considerations of public good and public necessity. 
 
 But, Mr. President, brevity, while a virtue generally, is especially 
 so on an occasion like this. Permit me, therefore, to conclude by 
 saying, what in any other connection might seem egotistical, that 
 I claim some knowledge of those feelings of gratitude which per- 
 vade the heart of him who has received the highest honors from 
 an adopted State. And well, sir, full well, do I know your hon- 
 ored Senator and distinguished guest. We have served, sir, for 
 years together; and to his industry, energy, great ability and high 
 
22 
 
 sense of honor, my testimony, though in his presence, must be 
 here cheerfully given to you , his constituents and friends. Of him 
 and for him, then, sir, 1 hazard nothing in saying, that 
 
 "The bridegroom may forget the bride 
 Was made his wedded wife yest'reen, 
 The monarch may forget the crown 
 That on his brow an hour has been, 
 The mother may forget the child 
 That smiles sae sweetly on her knee, 
 But ' he'll ' remember you 'my friends,' 
 And all that yaw have done for 'him. 1 '' 
 
 By Ihe President. Kentucky — Like the gushing streams that unite on her borders 
 and form the mighty river which Hows on resistless to the ocean, the valor, energy 
 and patriotism of her sons have ever shone conspicuous where sufferings were to 
 be endured, dangers encountered, and victory won in the cause of freedom. 
 
 Mr. Thompson. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen: The beautiful compliment 
 which has just been paid to Kentucky, the kindly spirit in which 
 it was conceived, and the generous enthusiasm with which it has 
 been received, demand an acknowledgment I should in vain 
 endeavor to express in words. Could I embody that which is 
 most within my heart; could I give my thoughts expression and 
 throw my feelings into words, I would speak; but, as it is, my 
 thoughts are voiceless, save for the utterance of the simple heart- 
 felt emotion that I thank you — thank you in the name of all the 
 sons of Kentucky — the living and the dead. Yet I will add, 
 that from no State, and from no people of any State, can expres- 
 sions of regard and commendation be more acceptable to the peo- 
 ple of Kentucky than from the people of California. Both 
 peoples have, in fact, been the pioneers of perilous and daring 
 enterprise, carrying forward the school-house as the Israelites did 
 the ark, building the log cabin on the site of the Indian wigwam, 
 and rearing the unpretending meeting-house, but yet the temple 
 of the living God, in places where the wild savage once had altars 
 red with the blood of victims sacrificed in superstitious rites to their 
 idol gods. 
 
.-; 
 
 As has already been said, Kentucky was ihe first new Slate 
 added to the American Confederacy; and her bold hunters were 
 the first pioneers into the western wilderness, driving back the 
 wild beast of the forest, and the still more savage Indian to their 
 lonely lair. California is the last which has joined our glorious 
 Union; and tbose of her hardy and enterprising settlers who pen- 
 etrated the gorges of the Rocky Mountains, scaled their rugged 
 heights, lorded (lie deep and rapid rivers which interposed, and 
 made good their way over the long and weary plains, till they 
 reached (be slopes of the distant Pacific, first saw the bright waters 
 of ihe boundless ocean, and first heard the wild music of its witves 
 as they rolled in and crested with glittering spray the rock-bound 
 coast of California, can well and truly appreciate the dangers, suf- 
 ferings and privations which they endured who first settled in the 
 "backwoods beyond the mountains." 
 
 But, Mr. President, I, as others have said, came not. here to 
 make a speech, nor yet merely to enjoy the creature comforts so 
 profusely spread before us, but to manifest, by my presence, my 
 high esteem and regard, and my full appreciation of the merits of 
 ihe distinguished Senator, to honor whom this banquet is given. I, 
 sir, have known your Senator long and intimately in private and 
 in public life, in peace and in war; and, in all truth and sincerity, 
 I can say, if God ever made a man with a kinder heart, more, 
 honorable, patriotic and chivalrous spirit than John B. Weller, I 
 never knew him. Gentlemen, permit me to give you— 
 
 California and KEN-rccKY-Alike in the perils and hardships of early settlement, 
 may their future of honor, glory and prosperity, he of equal and similar destmy. 
 
 By the President. 
 
 Tennessee: In her bosom are the sraves of Polk and Jackson. To the first we 
 owe the acquisition of California; to the latter, the preservation of the Union. While 
 Tennessee shall protect the graves, California will revere the memories and mam- 
 tain the principles, of the illustrious dead. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen: The manifestation here 
 this evening does more substantial honor to the distinguished Sen- 
 ator from California than his election to the Senate of the United 
 States. I once had a notion of going to California myself, but 
 
21 
 
 the people of my district allowed me (o come to Congress — 
 whether properly or improperly, is not for me to say. I have 
 come in at a late hour, and did not expect to he called up, and 
 will therefore onty give you — 
 
 The future of the Golden State of California — may she be represented by two 
 Senators whose combined zeal, patriotism, and ability, may equal that of the Hon. 
 John B. Weller. 
 
 Bij Mr. Dnvnl. The health of the Hon. Philemon- T. Herbert, lie has been 
 vigilant and faithful in the discharge of his duties as a Representative of California, 
 and those who know him best, will esteem hm most for his many excellencies of 
 character. 
 
 Mr. Herbert. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen: I thank my friend for the 
 kind expression of his regard, and in response can only say, that 
 however much I may have failed in the discharge of my public 
 duties, however much 1 may have fallen short of the expectation 
 of my friends and my own hopes and aspirations, I have know- 
 ingly neglected no wish of my constituents, or negligently let 
 pass any opportunity to subserve their interests. No man owes 
 more to his constituents than I do, and no man is more proud of 
 the evidences of their confidence and regard. Dear as was to me 
 the land of my birth, the home of my childhood, and the grave of 
 my sire, I love my adopted home with a heartfelt devotion, and 
 palsied be my tongue and unnerved my arm, when I fail to speak 
 or strike in her defence. But after the many beautiful compli- 
 ments which have been paid California this evening, what can I 
 add in commendation? and yet I would rather hazard a failure 
 in speaking her eulogy, than at this time, and on this occasion, 
 weary you with complaints of the indifference and neglect which 
 have been shown on the part of the General Government in be- 
 stowing upon her the same bounty which has been granted to 
 other, and, I might say, less deserving sisters. Yet, in candor 
 and truth, I must admit, that neither the indifference to the real 
 interests, nor neglect of the just claims of California, has been 
 because those interests have not been properly appreciated, or 
 those claims fully acknowledged, but because, having been born 
 
25 
 
 with a golden spoon in her hand, it is said, she ought, to feed her- 
 self. Yes, gentlemen, California may well be called the Golden 
 State; for she boasts not only of her bright skies and health -giving 
 climate; of her magnificent mountains, teeming with mineral 
 wealth; of her fertile valleys, laden with the richest fruits; but 
 of fair daughters and noble sons, who will compare with the 
 brightest and best of any other land or clime. No State in this 
 Confederacy can show a younger, more active, more intelligent, 
 more enterprising, and more chivalrous population: a people 
 whose adoration of the flag above us is only equaled by their 
 devotion to the Union. And if evidence of their indomitable 
 courage be required, I would point you to the gallant Walker, 
 who, with a handful of chivalrous spirits, chiefly rallied in Cal- 
 ifornia, and armed in the cause of liberty, has successfully corn- 
 batted against a force of ten or twenty times his numbers, and, 
 within less than two years, bids fair to establish, in that sunny 
 clime, where the orange ever blossoms and the figtree is ever green, 
 a republic, which, modeled after our free institutions, will regen- 
 erate a people now groping in the unhallowed gloom of religious 
 fanaticism, and make them, in the fulness of time, our friends in 
 peace, and our allies in war, against the combined tyrants and 
 despots of the Old World. But, gentlemen, I trespass on your in- 
 dulgence, and will conclude by giving you — 
 
 Oregon. Although some may think "California did not come into the Union 
 hy the straight gate,' 1 may Oregon be soon brought in by a straightforward 
 "Lane." 
 
 Mr. Lane. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen: Waiving the complimen- 
 tary notice of myself by Mr. Herbert, I take great pleasure in 
 acknowledging my indebtedness to him for his kind and generous 
 allusion to Oregon. The allusion was doubtless the more earnest 
 and cordial, and certainly not the less welcome, that it comes after 
 such an exhaustion of other topics as to require this change of 
 venue, in order to maintain the tone of the occasion. 
 4 
 
26 
 
 I have listened with very great pleasure to the chaste and beau- 
 tiful observations of the president, of the day; I have been de- 
 lighted with his eloquent and happy apostrophe to that glorious 
 star-spangled banner — the flag of our Union ! He has reminded 
 us that the star last added to that bright and glorious constellation 
 of independent and free States was the pactolean sovereignty of 
 California — the sole State upon the wide-spreading coast of the 
 Pacific. Sir, that proud banner, so gracefully overhanging us, 
 envelopes within its waving folds no star to give assurance to the 
 world of the existence of Oregon, or to remind us that she belongs 
 to, and forms a portion of, our confederacy. Nor is it alone upon 
 that field that the fortunes of our people seem to be ignored. I 
 regret that candor compels me to declare, that our people keenly 
 feel that in the present Congress their just claims to aid, protec- 
 tion, and (he fostering care of the Government, are overlooked, and 
 the existence of Oregon is almost as blank as 1 have said its recog- 
 nition is upon the foldings of that flag. And yet, sir, that flag never 
 floated over any people more devoted to the Constitution and the 
 Union than are those whose interests have been thus neglected and 
 disregarded. Patriotic, brave and chivalrous, as they are, "patient 
 in long suffering," with unswerving devotion to the Union, they 
 look anxiously forward to the termination of the period of their 
 minority, when in the strength of their political manhood they 
 will ask to add another, if not a brighter, star to that constellation. 
 Then, Mr. President, in our loyalty to the Constitution, to trie 
 Union, and to the rights of the States, we shall render the exist- 
 ence of Oregon a "fixed fact," and in the substitution of the 
 claim in lieu of vain solicitation, cease to know the interests of our 
 people uncared-for and neglected. 
 
 Mr. President, it was not my purpose so to speak of Oregon, 
 nor should I have done so but for the fact that the subject loomed 
 up in advance of what I meant to say of him whom we have met 
 to honor, and it is, you know, our nature to give first utterance to 
 that which springs uppermost in our minds. You, who have 
 preceded me, have cordially and well spoken of the eminent ser- 
 vices of your noble and gifted Senator, Colonel Weller. He is 
 well worthy of your eloquent commendations of his personal and 
 political integrity, genius, courage, and patriotism. As the sole 
 
27 
 
 representative in the United Slates Senate of California, and 
 indeed of our entire Pacific coast, embracing a district of country 
 from the thirty-second to the forty-ninth parallel, he has won the 
 welcome plaudit, ll u-ell done thou good and faithful servo nt ;" and 
 as well in my own, as in the name of the people i have the honor 
 to represent here, I tender Colonel Weller cordial assurances of 
 our gratitude and esteem for his noble services in behalf of us 
 and our interests as a people. Combining the esseniial requisites 
 of a true representative of an intelligent and free people — integ- 
 rity, fidelity, and ability — was the voice of Oregon heard in his 
 behalf, Colonel Weller would, as he merits, be retained in his 
 present position, an honor to the Senate, his constituency, and the 
 country. 
 
 By M-- Herbert. The health of the Hon. Miguel A. Otero, rhe faithful and efficient 
 delegate from New Mexico. Such adopted citizens constitute a valuable portion of 
 our acquisition of that rich and beautiful territory. 
 
 Mr. Otero. 
 
 Mr. President: I feel, indeed, highly complimented and hon- 
 ored by the sentiment proposed by the gentleman from California, 
 and I thank him heartily for it. I suppose, sir, that the honorable 
 gentleman represents a portion of a class of constituency, such as 
 1 entirely have the honor to represent, and 1 look upon him as a 
 colleague of mine, because we both represent what was once a 
 Mexican territory. It is my honor and privilege, unworthy as I 
 am, to represent a people foreign to your laws, your constitution, 
 and your language, and, I may add, a concpiered people. I, my- 
 self, have been twice conquered, once by your flag and another time 
 by your kindness. That people, sir, admired your noble institu- 
 tions, and the principles of liberty and freedom, that are at the 
 foundation of this magnificent fabric, long before you acquired 
 sovereignty over that country. They now love that flag which has 
 been already so beautifully apostrophised by gentlemen who have 
 spoken before me, and you cannot love it more. 
 
 I have heard the honored and experienced delegate from the 
 Territory of Oregon complain bitterly of the utter regardlessness, 
 
2S 
 
 on the part of the General Government, towards the people and 
 Territory of Oregon. Sir, when he, who has been always so suc- 
 cessful in procuring for his people and country all that they can 
 desire, complains, what then must be said by me, when abso- 
 lutely nothing has been done on the part of our adopted country 
 to promote the interests and safety of seventy-five thousand con- 
 quered people like myself. But, Mr. Chairman, I claim, and the 
 people of New Mexico claim, and consider that the honorable 
 Senator, whom we have come here to-day to meet and honor, 
 because of his faithfulness to the interests of his State, and his pa- 
 triotism as a statesman — we claim him as our representative. We 
 look upon the representatives of California and Texas as ours, and 
 are interested in the progress of all and every part of that country 
 which was once Mexican territory, and I trust they will not forget 
 New Mexico. 
 
 By Mr. Herbert. Professor Alex'r Dimitrt, a worthy son of Louisiana, and 
 true friend of Education and of the progress of civilization. 
 
 Mr. DlMITRY. 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen: Like your distinguished 
 guests at another portion of this board, [Messrs. Clay of Alabama, 
 and Rusk, of Texas,] I had no thought that, in a social gathering 
 of friends and admirers of one who has made his proofs in more 
 tban one field of usefulness, I could be expected to do more than 
 share in the genial festivities of this scene, dignified by a tribute 
 of respect due to acknowledged merit. After, however, paying 
 my share of that tribute in all sincerity, and acquitting myself of 
 my quota of duty — and "yeoman's duty" it has been — in work- 
 ing through this Lucullan feast; I find, Mr. President, that the 
 partiality of a friend [Col. Herbert] compels me, like Armado in 
 the play, to have recourse to "the bread-basket of words." 
 
 And now, Mr. President, though mine would seem, on this 
 occasion, to be, by virtue of the toast, naturally due to my native 
 State; still I prefer that they should be more pleasingly, and, I am 
 sure, less selfishly devoted to speak of California, a State honored 
 
29 
 
 by (he allegiance of so many good men, and eminently so by tlie 
 signal merits of her representative on the lloor of the Senate. 
 
 Indeed, sir, there is something of more than common moment 
 in the existence and prosperity of the young, but vigorous, State 
 which you, and other friends around me, claim either as the scene 
 of your former labors or the seat of your future interests. In one 
 respect, and in that one only, I feel certain — like the Tyre of old, 
 which "sat upon many waters" — she is a wonder to the world! 
 A wonder which has made a truth of the fables of ancient times; 
 whilst it has done away with the necessity of those gods who, by 
 their magic power, reared up cities and states in one day — an ex- 
 peditious process of building, the secret of which had been lost to 
 the world till again discovered by the ingenuity, and again applied 
 by the energy, of Americans to the dwellings of men on the wild 
 Pacific coast! 
 
 And yet, Mr. President, wonderful as have been the prosperities 
 of your State; great as may be the astonishment of the world at 
 its unfailing harvests of gold; there is something more interesting 
 and more absorbing than the yield of the harvests or the story of 
 the prosperities. The name of California, borne on the wings of 
 the four winds of heaven, has gone to all the quarters of the globe, 
 from the humblest hovel to the more aspiring mansion. It was 
 whispered to every grade and occupation in the various walks of 
 life; and out of every grade and occupation the influence of that 
 name has gathered some representative, and led him to her rich 
 fields, for every exertion and toil — it may have been for hardship 
 and suffering — but eventually for triumphs, before the splendors 
 of which will but faintly glimmer the successes of the past! 
 
 The world, Mr. President, looks on your State in amaze. It 
 once looked upon a territory which, for three centuries, the un- 
 progressive Spaniard held in useless fee, and which he yielded to 
 the equally useless mastery of the indolent Mexican. It looked 
 at it with the almost visible foot-prints of the great Conquistador 
 still upon its face — that territory, the importance of which the 
 ambition of Cortez had foreseen, but which even his sagacity had 
 failed to improve. It looked upon it, gradually yielding to the 
 utter savagism of untutored life, through the inertness of Mexi- 
 can rule. 
 
30 
 
 Thus, Mr. President, may the world have looked upon it once; 
 but how is it now, sir? Novus nascitur ordo — in the ever-moving 
 cycles of human destinies, a new order of things has revolved. 
 In the shadowings of providential ends, the motives for which 
 may be hidden from us, though the results must be seen by all; 
 the world looks upon California as a portion never to be sun- 
 dered from our political inheritance. It looks upon her as ours, 
 and doubly ours — ours by (he might of conqueringarms, and ours by 
 the sanctions of civilizing intellect. It looks upon her as a sovereign 
 State, taking rank among the most prosperous of those with which 
 we are dotiing the continent, under the a?gis of a constitution, 
 adopted just about a time when, so little of her condition was 
 known, that the savants of Europe were discussing whether she 
 was an island of the Pacific! 
 
 But whilst the world looks thus upon her, admiring her for the 
 gigantic strides which she has taken in the career of progress, ap- 
 plauding her daily efforts to master the elements of evil which in- 
 evitably gather around the rudiments of communities such as she 
 has been, and to build up in their place all the moralizing influences 
 which are destined to set her as high, in the social family, as she 
 stands in the productive world; I view her, as 1 have done for the 
 few years of her existence, with a better and a higher hope, which 
 tells me that, although her rise and growth bear the date of yes- 
 terday, she is teeming even now with the promises of centuries. 
 When she will have fully asserted her claims to the fostering care 
 of the Government, and when a wise legislation shall in her in- 
 terests have embodied those of the whole country, then will new 
 avenues of prosperity and power be opened, through the gorges 
 of the Sierra, which the daring of her hardy sons has successfully 
 marked out as the highway of future empire! 
 
 It were almost a truism, Mr. President, to say that the system 
 of railroads, completed and contemplated, not only in our country, 
 but also over the world, is a great frame-work in which the destinies 
 of modern civilization are embraced. But we cannot dissever our 
 navigation lines from our lines of railroads; these two great systems 
 are to be balanced along our continent, as circulation and locomo- 
 tion are balanced in the human system. He is but a short-sighted 
 statesman, who does not heed the inevitable destiny of our coun- 
 
try and race rooted in the soil of California, and connected with 
 the Pacific slopes, where you, Mr. President, have so properly 
 placed the cradle of a new civilization, I see it, not so much in 
 the miracles of industry which you have wrought — in the churches 
 which you have consecrated, and the schools which you have estab- 
 lished; nor yet in the daily conquests which you achieve over ma- 
 terial nature, compelling her unceasingly to yield to your energy 
 (he buried treasure, which centuries upon centuries have bosomed 
 in the stream or locked up in the mountain; but I see it in ihe 
 execution of an original, providential law, of which we are the 
 necessary instruments. 
 
 It were a serious error to admit^that the book of progress is 
 written out to its last page. The highest, type of civilization — 
 that which we now enjoy — is the result of many preceding types. 
 Still there is, I (rust, a better one to come. In our own country, 
 lying between Europe and Asia, on your own soil, sir, is the semi- 
 nary of the future civilization of nations and tribes which have 
 not even dreamed of the word. Its work will be carried on by 
 the migrations and lodgments of the more daring races, which even 
 now conlinue all but unobserved. Ay! sir, nations and races 
 never utterly perish, though they may be displaced. Not, how- 
 ever, as in the past, is the work performed in long and weary plod- 
 dings by the shores of oceans — along the valleys of streams, or 
 the gaps of mountains — but daily, almost hourly, under the heave 
 of the steam-engine from across the Atlantic — under the pantings 
 of the hoarse-breathing locomotive, from every corner of the land, 
 is this untiring traveller of thousands of years making his onward 
 way ! As science has noted a magnetic current running from the 
 north to the south; so has history recognised a living, human cur- 
 rent trending from the east to the west, in the pathway of the sun. 
 It is, and it has been, the law since the great dispersions of man- 
 kind. If the East sent us the elements of civilization from the 
 ranges of the Himalayan; the West is now about to restore it in 
 enlarged measures to the East. 
 
 This great race of civilization, gentlemen, is not near its close. 
 The puny attempts of little men cannot unmake the iaws of God, 
 or crush the instincts of mankind. Survey the geography of our 
 country — mark the wonderful adjustment of its mountains and 
 
32 
 
 valleys, its lakes and streams, and. in that magnificent system of 
 distribution, mark also the seats of successive cities, growing and 
 clustering into magnificent States. These broad fields of ours, 
 which in now unimproved extent intervene between our Atlantic 
 and Pacific possessions, will swarm with the contributions of Eu- 
 rope — nay, of Asia itself, until ours becomes the crowded conti- 
 nent. And when our Kansas and Nebraskas, our Oregons and 
 Californias, shall have been stocked to excess, the line of march 
 will again be taken up — over the waves of the Pacific — along the 
 islands of the Archipelago; the American bearing his peculiar 
 notions and ideas even to the continent of Asia. Leaving in each 
 footprint of his, the seeds of American civilization, he will press 
 onward until he plants a conquering foot on the very clay, out of 
 which the hand of God fashioned the first man to be, at once, the 
 proxy of his power and the instrument of his designs ! 
 
 Mr. Dobbins. 
 
 Gentlemen: Allow me to offer you the health of one who, al- 
 though absent in person, yet he is with us in spirit — a man whose 
 efforts, it mattered not whether as the military subordinate, fight- 
 ing the battles of his country on the Northwestern frontier in 
 1812-'! 3, or as the Cabinet officer here in Washington; whether 
 as the Governor of a Territory or a United States Senator; whether 
 as the Commissioner treating with the Indian tribes of the North- 
 west, or the Plenipo-diplomat treating with the nations of Eu- 
 rope, have ever been directed to the elevation, the protection, 
 the honor and glory of that flag, (pointing to the American flag,) 
 either afloat or ashore. And if he has a fault, if fault it Z>e, it 
 is his over-zeal in that good cause; and I might say, it would 
 further appear, his motto has ever been: "My country if right; but 
 right or wrong, still my country." 
 
 I give you, gentlemen — 
 
 The health of that veteran soldier, statesman, and true American citizen, Gen. 
 Lewis Cass: The history of the nation is his record; every American citizen should 
 be proud of it. 
 
33 
 
 Bi) the President. Arizona ami mm other. Territories — May they soon l.eeome 
 sovereign States: Like the virgins who entered the race of Grecian games, passing 
 on in succession the sacred torch unextinguished till they reach the altar of Liberty. 
 
 Mr. Cook. 
 
 As I perceive no one around me to respond to (he sentiment just 
 given, although coming from an embryo Territory, i will endeavor 
 to perform the task to the best of my humble ability. By the 
 unanimous voice of the people, I was called on to undertake a 
 journey of six thousand miles to present, to Congress their griev- 
 ances and their necessities, and to ask that civil and military pro- 
 tection which as American citizens they have a right to claim, to 
 which they are entitled by every principle of justice, and which 
 is established by usage and guarantied by treaty. 
 
 While California is to this nation what, the head of gold was to 
 the image as seen in the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, so is Arizona 
 destined to be the breast and arms of silver; and as in the physical 
 bod)' the head is the seat of will, so California governs the com- 
 merce of the other States, and dictates the Jaws of trade; and as 
 within the breast is contained the seat of life, propelling the vital 
 fluid through every ramification of the system, so is contained 
 within the boundaries of Arizona those latent elements of wealth, 
 which at no distant day will give impulse to the commerce of the 
 world. I am unable to stretch my imagination so far as the 
 honorable Professor who has preceded me, and to discern what 
 the Anglo-Saxon race will accomplish in the Old World; my 
 vision, piercing westward to what was of old the Eastern World, 
 is reflected back by the placid waters of the Pacific, and rests for 
 a field of future development upon what is now our own land of 
 Ophir, taking in with a prophetic glance our sister Republic of 
 the south, whose destiny will, I believe, be hereafter indissolubly 
 wedded to ours! 
 
 It is no vain or foolish imagination which leads me to believe 
 that a country pregnant with all the elements of wealth, and pos- 
 sessed of a climate healthful and lovely as that of classic Italy, 
 lying adjacent to this empire of freedom, and open to American 
 enterprise, must sooner or later throw ou political misrule and 
 ecclesiastical oppression, and join us in the march of progress as 
 an integral part of our great Republic! In viewing the rapidity 
 5 
 
34 
 
 with which we have acquired territory, and in contemplating the 
 course of that tide of civilization and enlightenment which the 
 impetus of our early colonization has sent forward, it needs no 
 prophetic vision to discover that the whole of Mexico must be 
 ours. Destiny has willed it; and He who "holds the waters in 
 the hollow of his hand" has decreed it! 
 
 I did not rise, however, to enter into a disquisition upon the 
 destiny of American institutions, nor to boast of the value of my 
 own Territory, but to acknowledge gratefully a compliment. 
 Permit me to give, in conclusion — 
 
 California — The Golden Head of our National body. 
 
 By Mr. Dobbins. The Pacific Railroad — The iron shackle which will ere long 
 bind the Atlantic and Pacific States in social and commercial intercourse. And when 
 that great work is completed, may the door of discord be locked and the key lost. 
 
 By Major W. M. Irvin. The health of Commodore Thomas Ap C. Jones — Others 
 may claim the conquest of California, but history will tell that he first "pitched m," 
 taking Monterey, as the telegraphic despatch sometimes travels, a Utile ahead of the 
 right time. May he soon be called back to active duty, and to the position to which 
 he is entitled for his long and meritorious services. 
 
 By the President. 
 
 •'Honor to Woman! To her is given 
 To garland the earth with the roses of heaven! 
 All blessed, she linketh the Loves in their choir; 
 In the veil of the Graces her beauty concealing, 
 She tends on each altar that's hallow'd to feeling, 
 And keeps ever-living the fire!" 
 
 By Mr. C. E. Carr. The health of our worthy and esteemed President: We return 
 him our thanks for the grace and dignity with which he has presided on this joyous 
 occasion. 
 
 Mr. Steuart. 
 
 I thank my friend for the kind sentiment just given, and espe- 
 cially our distinguished Senator, for the complimentary allusion 
 he made to the humble part I took in the formation of the consti- 
 tution of the State of California. This is not the time or occasion, 
 or I would gladly avail myself of the opportunity, in such a pres- 
 ence, to vind icale the motives and action of that convention from 
 
35 
 
 much miscori struct ion and misrepresentation. But, gentlemen, 
 
 while up, permit me to add a word to the eulogium which has 
 already been passed upon the distinguished Senator from Michigan, 
 whose absence we all must regret. It is not, in my apprehension, 
 the energy and enterprise of his early life, his heroism in our In- 
 dian wars, or (he bloody contests of that of 1812; not the high 
 rank which he holds in the Senate; not the reputation he has 
 acquired as a diplomatist, or his varied acquirements as a scholar, 
 and acknowledged abilities as a statesman, which have won for 
 him the esteem and regard of his peers, and the entire confidence 
 of his countrymen. But it is because in times past, as well as at 
 the present moment, at home and abroad, in peace and in war, 
 in every and all public emergencies, he has shown a zeal and 
 devotion in the service of the Republic which could only emanate 
 frotn a patriot's heart. Venerable in years, though vigorous in 
 intellect, Lewis Cass stands as it were on the isthmus of life, his 
 name associated with recollections of the past and hopes of the 
 future. Looking to yonder capitol, we remember those glorious 
 contests when mind met mind, and with all the force of reason 
 and the subtlety of argument, intellect strove with intellect for the 
 mastery, in devising and maturing measures of legislation for the 
 honor, safely, and welfare of the nation. We remember that he 
 was 
 
 "One of that illustrious band, 
 Beneath whose banners proud to stand, 
 Look'd up the noblest of the land;" 
 
 And who, by untiring efforts to secure the peace, happiness, and 
 prosperity of the people of the whole Union, won a nation's 
 gratitude and the world's applause. Of these, three of the 
 greatest, wisest, noblest, have passed away. The pure-minded, 
 but genius-gifted and chivalrous Calhoun sleeps in the bosom of 
 his loved Carolina; the memory of his virtues, as fresh in the 
 hearts of his people, as the evergreen leaves of the palmetto which 
 distil the dews of Heaven over his grave. The Great Pacifica- 
 tor, the illustrious Clay — life's fitful changes past — calmly reposes 
 in the shades of Ashland, his tomb to be more than a Mecca 
 shrine to patriot pilgrim while time shall last. And the mighty 
 Webster, god-like in virtue and in intellect, lies entombed at 
 
30 
 
 Marshfield, the lament of a nation for his untimely death still 
 continuing, as mournful and eternal as the dirge of the ocean 
 which rolls on., and will forever roll on, against its rock-bound 
 shore! To have, been at once the friend and rival, the ally and 
 compeer in the forum and the council-chamber, of this noble 
 triumvirate, and now in the evening of his days still to stand, 
 "with armour on and lance in rest," pre-eminent among the most, 
 gifted and talented of his present peers, is a position of the highest 
 honor and most enduring fame. 
 
 Since "laudari a viro laudato" is the highest possible commen- 
 dation, 1 know not what higher tribute can be paid to the Senator 
 whom we have met together especially to honor, than to present 
 the following letter, selected out of many received by the com- 
 mittee from gentlemen invited to this banquet, but who, having 
 previouslv accepted invitations elsewhere, and for other reasons, 
 were unavoidably prevented from attending. 
 
 Washington, D. C, January 17, 1857. 
 Gentlemen: For some years J have found it necessary to de- 
 cline all invitations to dine out, and I must therefore ask your 
 indulgence for declining to join you at the complimentary dinner, 
 proposed to be given to Colonel Weller by the citizens of Califor- 
 nia on the 22d instant. If I could be induced to depart from 
 this resolution, it would be upon an occasion like the present, 
 when my feelings and my judgment equally approve the measure. 
 Colonel Weller deserves this token of approbation from his fel- 
 low-citizens; for he has served his State and his country with zeal, 
 integrity, and ability during his senatorial term, and has acquired 
 the respect and regard of the members of the high body in which 
 he holds a seat. In these sentiments no one concurs more cheer- 
 fully than I do. 
 
 I am, gentlemen, respectfully, yours, 
 
 LEW. CASS. 
 
 W. M. Steuart, "J 
 
 M. Delany, 
 
 W. W. Dobbins, }> Committee . 
 
 A. C. Bradford, 
 
 C. E. Carr, Esqs.,J 
 
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