" This he did with singular
brevity, and sitting down he helped himself from a plate of chicken
that stood before him, and at the same time turning to Mr. Pierpont he
said: "The listened very well, 'till you got to Greece. They didn't
care anything about Greece."
In the preparation of my address I found from the records that the town
of Acton had as early as the year 1774 declared, by resolution in town
meeting, in favor of an American Republic, adding: "This is the only
form of government we wish to see established." Upon my own
investigation and upon the opinion of Mr. Webster, whom I consulted,
I ventured to say that this was the earliest declaration in favor of a
republic that was officially made in the American colonies.
My address ran as follows:
ADDRESS ON THE ACTON MONUMENT
The events of the American Revolution can never fail to interest
Americans. This assemblage, men of Middlesex, is an assurance that
you cherish the Revolutionary character of your county, and that you
will be true to the obligations and duties which it imposes.
The event we commemorate is not of local interest only. It has,
however, little value on account of the number of men who fought or
fell; but it lives as the opening scene of a great revolution based
on principle, and destined to change the character of human
governments and the condition of the human race.
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