General and gentlemen,--I accept with the highest gratitude, the honour to meet the first division of the New York State Militia, who having, in their capacity of citizen soldiers, honoured me on my arrival by their participation in the generous welcome which I met with, have also, by the military honour bestowed on me, so much contributed to impart to this great demonstration that public character which cannot fail to prove highly beneficial to the cause which I hold up before the free people of this mighty republic, and which I dare confidently to state is the great question of freedom and independence to the European continent. I entreat you, gentlemen, not to expect any elaborate speech from me, because really I am unprepared to make one. You are citizen soldiers, a glorious title, to which I have the ambition of aspiring; so, I hope you will kindly excuse me, if I endeavour to speak to you _as_ soldiers. Do you know, gentlemen, what is the finest speech I ever heard or read? It is the address of Garibaldi to his Roman soldiers in the last war, when he told them:--"Soldiers, what I have to offer you is fatigue, danger, struggling, and death--the chill of the cold night, the open air, and the burning sun--no lodgings, no munitions, no provisions--but forced marches, dangerous watchposts, and continual struggling with bayonets against batteries. Let those who love freedom and their country, follow me." That is the most glorious speech I ever heard in my life. But, of course, that is no speech for to-day. I will speak so, when I again meet the soldiers of Hungary, to fight once more the battle of freedom and independence. [After various compliments to General Sandford on the appearance of his soldiers, and the good order of the republic, Kossuth continued as follows:] I thank you for the explanation of the organization and discipline of this gallant division. Europe has many things to learn from America. It has to learn the value of free institutions--the expansive power of freedom--the practical value of local self-government, as opposed to centralization. But one of the most important lessons you give to Europe, is in the organization of the militia of the United States. You have the best organized army in the world, and yet you have scarcely a standing army at all. That is a necessary thing for Europe to learn from America---that great standing armies must cease. But they can cease, only _then_, when the nations are free; for great standing armies are not national institutions, they are the instruments of dynastic violence or foreign despotism. The existence of tyranny imposes on Europe great standing armies. When the nations once become free, they will not want them, because they will not war with each other. Freedom will become a friendly link among nations. But as far as they may want them, your example shows that a popular militia, like yours, is the mightiest national Defence. Thirty-seven