"Mr. President
and Gentlemen -The event which has called the present large assemblage
together is one of great importance to the progress and prosperity
of our county. Since our soil was first pressed by the foot of civilized
man, no circumstance of equal consequence in its bearing upon the
general welfare of our citizens has occurred. I may venture to pronounce
it the great epoch in our local history; for so posterity I
am confident will concur in regarding it.
"For twenty years,
more or less, Railroads have been in operation in portions of our
state, conveying in their iron arteries the life-blood of enterprise,
and liberally distributing it to the various communities within the
range of their wealth-creating influence. We, however, have remained
comparatively in the background. True the iron horse has approached
our south eastern extremity, and he has also whizzed along a few miles
from our northern boundary, in his ceaseless journeyings between the
Atlantic and the Lakes--but these distant approaches to our confines
availed us very little in the race of prosperity with surrounding
neighborhoods. In reality, we have, during the period mentioned, been
only remotely benefited by that effective agent of modern business
and civilization, whose
"Unconquer'd
arm afar Drives the fleet barge and wheels the rapid car."
"Under this
state of deprivation, we have plodded along as best we might--carting
our bulky commodities over rough roads into Morris, and into Orange
counties--seeking always the nearest outlet--yet losing yearly in
the time, labor, and expense applied to transportation by horse power,
a very large per centage upon the fruits of our toil. Those perishable
products which require so handsomely the labor of the husbandman,
when rapid and convenient access to the city market is practicable,
we have not dared to cultivate, except in so far as they were required
for home consumption--while our vast, exhaustless mineral treasures,
by reason of their ponderous nature, have remained to a great extent
undeveloped--merely filling the fissures in our rocks, or increasing
by their bulk the magnitude of those hills and mountains which every
where swell majestically from our fertile vales. But we are now entering
upon a more prosperous era. The rock-ribbed hills, which "clip us
'round about," and which have long hemmed us in, depriving us of even-handed
participation in the struggles of the busy world, have been cloven
asunder by the united force of science and labor; and the steam-impelled
train, with a speed outrivalling the antelope, and exerting a power
far exceeding the fabled prowess of Herculean sinews, now courses
through the divided barriers of adamant as smoothly as "the swallow
skims the air."
"The Sussex Rail
Road, though limited in extent, presented numerous obstructions to
its execution, which required a high degree of skill, as well as steady,
persistent labor to overcome. These have been met and vanquished.
The men, therefore, who projected this enterprise, and whose money,
time and toil have been devoted to its successful completion, deserve
to be held forever in grateful remembrance by the citizens of Sussex.
[Here three
cheers were given for Messrs. Cooper & Hewitt.]
"They have
provided for us a link which unites us with the greatest mart of business
upon the American continent--which brings to our very doors as it
were a market for every thing which our county can produce. More than
this, they have done their work well. Notwithstanding the pressure
of the times, they have adhered with honorable fidelity to their original
determination, to provide for public use, at what-ever cost or sacrifice,
a road bed of the most solid construction, and a track of interlaced
iron without flaw or blemish in any of its component parts. The reproach
that has been cast upon some railroad companies that they have overlaid
beds of American ore with rails of English iron, does not apply to
this road. It is American in all its parts--the offspring of American
enterprise--built by American capital--and rounded off and riveted
with sound substantial American iron.
"We have all
watched the progress of this work with anxious solicitude. We are
all aware that in the course of its construction difficulties occurred
on consequence of careless engineering and violation of obligation
by reckless contractors, which involved a large extra expenditure
and retarded the progress of the work. Some of us a few months ago,
began to despond--murmurs of dissatisfaction were heard, and the completion
of the work, it was feared, would be thrown far forward into the indefinite
future. At this juncture, Thomas Hewitt, Esq., the President of the
Company, came forward, and taking upon himself the responsibility
of superintending all the departments of labor essential to its completion,
pledged himself to bring the work to a speedy issue; and by his untiring
activity and iron-nerved resolution he has abundantly fulfilled all
the expectations that had been raised by his promises. To him, then,
special praise is due.
[Here three
hearty cheers were given for Thomas Hewitt.]
"Gentlemen (continued
Mr. E.) I will not weary you by extending my desultory remarks. This
is the age of action, and prosy slang-whanging is altogether out of
order. I will, therefore, conclude by offering for the consideration
of this assembly a couple of resolutions, which I am confident will
not only be unanimously but heartily adopted--viz:
"Resolved,
That the completion of the Sussex Railroad to Newton is a subject
of congratulation, not only to the Officers and Stockholders of the
Company, but especially to the citizens of the county of Sussex, as
an event tending more than any other to develope the rich and extensive
agricultural, mineral and manufacturing resources of our county.
"Resolved,
that we tender our congratulations to the officers and engineers of
the Sussex Railroad Company upon the final accomplishment of their
arduous undertaking, and that the thanks of this community are particularly
due to the President, and the Secretary, of the Company (Thomas and
Abram S. Hewitt, Esqrs.) for their enterprise, and the indomitable
perseverance with which they have urged on the work to a successful
termination under difficulties of no ordinary character. "