KOSSUTH IN LYNN AND SALEM

A MEETING

of thecitizensofSalem was called at

Lyceum

Hall, on Thursday, April 29, ^to take measures toinvite Kossuth to visit that city, and toprepare^{for his} reception.

Notwithstanding the short _notice, there was a very respectable assemblage of

men

of all parties. Judge

Mack

called themeeting ^to order,

when

Hon. Stephen ^C. Phillips was _{appointed chairman,} and Stephen Osbornesecretary.

Upon

taking thechair,Mr._Phillips

made

an _{eloquentspeech}for thespace of a half-houror more. William D.

Northend, from a committee, then^offered aseriesof resolutions, which headvocated with energy andability. Afteran _expression of sympa-thy^forthe Hungariancause, &c., the ^seriesconcludesas follows:

"Resolved, That thecitizens of Salem, acitydistinguished ⁱⁿ the annalsof the Revolutionas having^{offeredthefirst} armedresistance to the_illegaland _tyrannicaldemandsofthe British authorities_; and hav-ing, at the North_Bridge, on the 26th of February, 1775, ^{set the first} example ^{of the}spiritwhichexhibited itself a short time after in the battles ofLexington and Concord^; bearing ⁱⁿ

mind

the principlesand events of that _era, and desirous ofhonoring ⁱⁿ

GOVERNOR KOSSUTH

the devotion and _patriotism

we

reverence in our _ancestors, hereby appoint a committee ^oftwenty-four ^to

make

arrangements^tohave him invitedtomeet the citizensof Salem and _vicinityin thelargest public hall inthe _city, admission tobe obtainedby the purchase ^ofa

Hunga-rian bond, and the entire proceeds^tobe_placed at hisdisposal."

A

committee of arrangements, without distinction of_party,was then nominated, and a committee ofinvitation towaitupon ^Kossuth.

The

lattercommittee discharged ^their duty on Friday, April 30, and had avery agreeable interview with the Magyar, ^{at the} Revere House.

Mr. _Phillips, their chairman, ^delivered the invitation speech, which, says^{the Mail,} was, ⁱⁿ point of eloquence and cordiality, one of the very ^{best that} Kossuth _{has yet}heard. It is to be regretted that^it could not have been reported^for the _press. Kossuth _replied inan impromptu and very feeling address of some fifteen minutes, with which thecommittee weregreatly delighted.

He

_accepted the invita-tion, and _Thursday,

May

^{63 wasfixed} upon^{as the}day^{ofhis visit.}

At

_Lynn,also,on Saturdayevening,

May

^{1,a meetingwas heldfor}

thepurpose ^ofinvitingKossuthto visit that_city. Hon. George Hood, the mayor, ^{Avas called to the chair.} Hon. D. C. Baker,

Edward

S.

Davis, Ebenezer Brown, and

John

C.Vennard, Esqs.,were _appointed vice-presidents; and William H. _Barry, J. F. Kimball and Lewis Josselyn, Esqs., secretaries. After addresses by^the mayor, ^Messrs.

Chamberlain, Harris, and _others, the

following resolutionswere unan-imously adopted, anda

largecommittee_appointed.

"Resolved, That

we

regard with admiration the ^exertions and sacri-fices

made

by Governor ^Louis Kossuth in the cause ofhis

country^; that

we

_recognizeinhim an exponent of ^the great principle of civil liberty; that Avehold itright that the friendsof freedom throughout the world should combine their sympathies ^{in the}

common

cause of humanity; andthat

we

_cordiallyextendto

him

the hospitalitiesofour

citizens.

"Resolved, That

we

sympathize with ^thepeople of Hungary, and with the oppressed of ^all nations; and look forward Avithanxiety and hope^{to the time}

when

^all _peopleAvill enjoythat rational and enlight-ened_libertyAvhichis the_rightofall.

"Resolved, That

we

extend toGovernor Kossutha cordial invita-tion to visit our _city, and address us on the subjectof his mission

;

and that a committee be appointed^to communicateto

him

this im'ita-tion, and to

make

all suitable arrangements^{for his} reception."

At

about _half-past twelve Kossuth and _suite, in

company

^with Messrs. Burlingame and Ward, ^{of the State} Committee, ^{left the} Bos-ton Eastern Railroad_station,ontheir

way

^to

Lynn

^{and Salem.}

They

were accompanied by^{Messrs. E. S.} Davis, B. F. Mudge,^{J. B.} Alley,

Thomas Raddinand

Alonzo _LeAvis,thecommitteeof invitation ofLynn, and Messrs. Baker, Porter, Pearson, Barry and Vennard, ^ofthe com-mittee of arrangements.

At

a fewminutes before oneo'clock, a dis-charge ofcannonand the ringing of ^bellsannounced the arrival of the

Magyar

^atthe

West Lynn

^station.

^Here

^alarge concourse ofcitizens

had _assembled, and a

carriage

drawn by

^{six beautiful} cream-colored horseswasin

Avaiting. Kossuthenteredthiscarriage incompany ^Avith his

Honor

the Mayor, and ^the

members

ofthe StateCommittee. Other carriageswere filledwith Kossuth's _suite, the committee of arrange-ments and

members

of the

citygovernment^; and a

procession ^Avas formed,which_proceeded,underescort of the

"Kossuth

_{Guards,',' Capt.}

Gale, ^tothe

Common.

Arrived _here, shouts of Avelcome from the assembled multitude

KOSSUTH IN

NEW ENGLAND.

161 greeted Kossuth, which ^he _repeatedly and _gracefully acknowledged.

Upon

^the

Common

weremarshalled the children of the publicschools, with their teachers, in two _{long lines,} four companies ^of firemen acting as a kind of body-guard.

The

_procession came in at the western _gate, and _{passed through} these _lines, Kossuth bowing and smiling ^tothe children,

who waved

_{tinyHungarianflags,} ^{and cheered}

him

^as he _passed.

On

_reaching the eastern_gate, theprocession, consisting ofthe mili-taryand the_firemen, withseveral appropriate banners,and a'cavalcade of_citizens,proceeded^directto

Lyceum

Hall,wherefive orsixhundred bondholderswere assembledto listen totheeloquent Hungarian.

A

shortdelayoccurred, in ordertogive Kossutha

moment

torest

him-selfafterleaving the carriage, as he was_quiteill and exhausted from his late excessive and constant exertions_; and

when

he entered the hall, which he ^didamidcheers that

made

thehouse_tremble, helooked pale and_feeble, and seemed _hardlyable to stand. After ascending the platformand acknowledging^the greetingsoftheassembly, he sank back upon^thesofa quite exhausted.

At

thebackofthe_hall,fronting the platform,amottowas _inscribed,

"LYNN HONORS KOSSUTH,"

^{andunderneath it} gracefullydrooped theAmerican_flag. After the cheers of themultitude had subsided, his

Honor

the

Mayor

^{rose and addressed the} audience, statingthat,

owing ^{tothe illnessofhis} Excellency the Governor of Hungary, he would not be able toaddress them, and that heshould not inflict a speech upon

him

or

them

_{; then, turning} to theillustrious guest, he said:

MAYOR

OF LYNN'S ADDRESS.

"GOVERNOR KOSSUTH:

Inbehalf of the City Council andof the people^ofLynn, ⁱⁿaccordance with theirunanimous _voice,Ibid you^a cordial and earnestwelcome toour

city.

"

Sir, you^{havethe hearts ofthis}people,because they^loveliberty;

and _{theyrecognize} in you^atrue representative and anable exponent of their principles.

They

regard with admiration thepatriotic exer-tions and heroicsacrificesyou have

made

in the causeofyour country, andtheunsurpassed eloquenceand power^withwhich

you

have pleaded that justcausebeforethepeople^ofEngland and America.

The

count-less wrongs,and_crushing oppressions,^inflictedupon your^noblenation, have

met

with the indignant condemnation of the American _people.

You

have _appealed tothegovernment and^tothe people^{of the} United

14*

States ^'to maintain the lawsof nations against foreign interference/

and theprinciplesyou have^{enunciated havereceived a}fittingresponse fromthe friends offreedom.

"

Sir,

we

approved of ^{the action}of our government,

when

_{you and} your ^brave companions ^{in exile} were invited to our _shores, and a national vessel senttoreceive you.

We

_rejoiced

when we

heard that

you

^{were safefrom} Austrian tyranny, under the protection of the _flag ofour Union.

When

_yousteppedon thedeckof theMississippi, and our _gallant tars greeted you^with cheers that

made

the sea tremble, their echoeswereborneacross the ocean, and metwithan enthusiastic response^{in thehearts}ofmillionsof freemen.

"

We

think you were rightin beingconfident that the people ^ofthe United Stateswould not feel in any

way

compromised, on learning that the citizens of Marseilles _did, in a _graceful manner, cheer the United Statesand _yourself.

"

The

Legislature ^of Massachusetts has _rightlyexpressed^{the will} of the people, by inviting you, and _receivingyou ^{as the}guest of the commonwealth.

"Accept, sir, our sympathy ^for your misfortunes, our heartfelt wishes forthe successof your patriotic missionfor theredemption of Hungary, and^ourprayers ^foryourfuture welfare.

"

Fellow-citizens, I present^toyou GovernorKossuth, the friend of libertyandtherightsofmankind."

As

he closed, Kossuth, whose feeble state compelled

him

toremain

sitting, rose slowlyand _{stepped forward,} bowing gracefully, as cheer after cheer, froma thousand _voices,

greeted him.

He

was dressedin a close-fitting velvet coat or sack, embroidered upon ^{the front} and

sleeves, and trimmed with _jet buttons. His countenance exhibited marksof great bodilyweakness; buthis eye^flashed with an _intensity which denoted _that, though ^the body was

weak

and exhausted, the spirit ^stillretained its energy and ^fire.

The

sympathy which greeted

him

seemedtohave_givenhim

new

_{life; and,}

much

totheastonishment and satisfactionoftheassembly, hespoke extemporaneously^for three-quarters^ofan hour.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: Out

of

my

^{heart I}

humbly

^thank you,andthankalso thecorporate authorities ofyourcity,for this wel-come,and for all thekindsympathy you^haveshown

me

_to-day. You,

sir, have been _pleasedto say^thatthepeople of

Lynn

^{have aloveof}

In document NEW ENGLAND: (Pldal 175-179)