b'\nK A T I O N \n\n\n\nDELIVERED BY APPOINTMENT OF THE COMMITTEES OF THE CORPOKA- \nTION, AND THE SEVERAL CIVfC AND MILITARY SOCIETIES, OF \nTHE CITY OF ALBANY, AT THE METHODIST EPISCO-\' "^ \n\n\' PAL CHURCH IN NORTH PEARL STREET: \n\n\n\nIJJ" COMMEMORATION OF \n\n\n\n-^^^EEICAN INDEPENDENCE : \n\n\n\nJULY FOURTH, 1839. \n\n\n\n1 \xe2\x80\xa2\xe2\x80\xa2\'^^ \n\n\n\nBy SOLOMON SOUTHWICK \n\n\n\nPublished in conformity to a Resolution of tlie Committee of Arrangements, and of the \nCommon Council, of the city of Albany. \n\n\n\nALBANY: \n\n\n\nPRINTED BY ALFRED SOUTHWICK, LAW BUILDINGS. \n\n1839. \n\n\n\n\nBook \xe2\x96\xa0 . >^ s \n\n\n\nDigitized by the Internet Archive \nin 2010 with funding from \nThe Library of Congress \n\n\n\nhttp://www.archive.org/details/orationdelivered01sout \n\n\n\nAN \n\n\n\nO E A T I O N \n\n\n\nDELIVERED BY APPOINTMENT OF THE COMMITTEES OF THE CORPORA- \nTION, AND THE SEVERAL CIVIC AND MILITARY SOCIETIES, OF \nTHE CITY OF ALBANY, AT THE METHODIST EPISCO- \nPAL CHURCH IN NORTH PEARL STREET: \n\n\n\nIN COMMEMORATION OF \n\nAMERICAN INDEPENDENCE \nJULY FOURTH, 1839. \n\n\n\nBy SOLOMON SOUTHWICK* \n\n\n\nPublished iu conformity to a Resolution of the Committee of Arrangements, and of the \nCommon Council, of the city of Albany. \n\n\n\ns \n\n\n\nALBANY: \\^^o,^ \'\' o^ \n\n\n\nPRINTED BY ALFRED SOUTHWICK, LAW BUILDINGS- \n\n\n\n1839. \n\n\n\nORATION \n\n\n\n\'^^ When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God \nshouted for joy," the burthen of that celestial song was the freedom \nof mankind. Well indeed then might the vaults of Heaven resound \nwith the shout of triumph and of exultation, when the seal of re- \ndemption was to be set upon the human race, and the celestial spirit \nof liberty was to descend upon the earth in the person and compan- \nionship of the Son of God. This is no fiction of a poetic imagination, \nbut a sober reality. Man was made a slave by the fall of Adam, and \nbecame free by the blood of Christ, and by that alone : Nor was the \nfreedom, for the birth of which, when sung in heavenly strains, \n" the sons of God shouted for joy," a spiritual freedom only : It \nwas, at the same time, the harbinger and the principle of moral and \npolitical regeneration ; the harbinger of all the pure and innocent \njoys that spring from human existence, human society, and human \nskill or labor ; all the blessings that flow from communion with God ; \nall the rights and privileges of self-government ; all the delights of \nlove and friendship ; all the pleasures of intellectual intercourse and \nenjoyment : And, in short, all the harmonies of Nature, which \nbind man to man, which fill up the measure of his happiness, and \nconstitute the climax of his glory. \n\nThe same Almighty Being, therefore, who said, " Let there be \nlight ;" and physical light came forth to dispel the chaotic darkness \nof the material world ; said also, Let man be free ; let moral and \nintellectual light dissipate the mist of his mind, whilst the fire of \nliberty shall warm his heart : And let these impel him onward in \nthe paths of devotion, the labyrinths of politics, and the fields of lite- \nrature and science ; in exploring the heavens with all their plane- \ntary orbs, and searching into the secrets or mysteries of the air, the \nearth, and the ocean ; thus ascending the steeps that lead to the \n\n\n\nsummit of human science, happiness and fame ; and thence to the \neverlasting heights, where saints and angels pour forth songs of \ngratitude and praise to "the giver of every good and perfect gift." \n\nThat God intended man should be free, must be admitted at once \nby all who have studied his divine word. One passage of holy writ \nalone demonstrates it, beyond the shadow of a doubt. " God said, \nLet us make man in our own image :" And who that reflects for a \nmoment on this passage, can believe that the Creator intended the \nbeing, upon whom He impressed the stamp of His own divinity, \nshould ever become a slave ! Common sense, without the aid of \nlogic, intuitively perceives the gross absurdity of a conclusion, so \ninsulting to the wisdom and majesty of God, and the understanding \nand dignity of man. \n\nAfter creating man in his own image, it was perfectly natural and \nconsistent, that God should confer, as he expressly did, upon this \nfavorite being, " dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the \nfowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the \nearth."\' \n\nHere again we instantly perceive, that God would not have be- \nstowed upon his favorite, Man, absolute power over all other ani- \nmals, and endowed him, at the same time, with the exalted privilege \nof self-government, if He had intended that this superior, erect and \ngraceful being, should ever bow the knee to earthly kings or ty- \nrants, or become in any shape the slave of his own race. \n\nThese passages of the Divine Word also clearly unfold the reason \nwhy the Hebrews, as every thorough student of History knows to \nbe the fact, were the only free people, the only true Republic that \never existed, until, by the Providence of God, the Republic of the \nUnited States had its birth in our glorious Revolution of 1776. \n\nThe chosen people of God were absolutely and entirely free, as \nHe intended they should be, under the pure and mild system of the \nJudges, and the Sanhedrim of their own choice, until they provoked \nHim, by their impious disobedience, to give " them a king in wrath, \nwhich He refused to take away in mercy." Well might He ex- \nclaim, when He beheld their mad infatuation : \xe2\x80\x94 " I had planted \nThee a noble vine ; how then art thou turned into the degnerate \nplant of a strange vine unto me !" Jer. ii. 21. And well might He \nresolve, at the same time, that since they had rejected His govern- \nment, they should be given up, at least during His pleasure, to the \ndelusion of their own corrupt imaginations, and ignorant and obsti- \nnate wills ; to that slavery and degradation which their ingratitude, \nin disobeying His Divine Injunctions, so justly merited. \n\n\n\nThus we see that Monarchy flowed at first from the wrath of \nGod : And hence we are not surprised, in spite of all the sophistry \nof its advocates, from the silly sons of Samuel, down to such sages \nas Filmer and Salmasius, that although it has inflicted curses innu- \nmerable, it has rarely, if ever, bestowed a solitary blessing, upon \nmankind : It has been, it still is, and it ever will be, no matter \nwhat shape be given to it, the bane of the earth, until the returning \nmercy of God, which has already dawned upon the United States, \nshall relieve the human race from its cruelties and oppressions, and \nbanish it back to its native regions of darkness. \n\nFor a period of from two to three thousand years, Man labored \nunder this curse of Monarchy, when God, whose mercy never tires, \nwhose justice never fails, at length saw proper to lay the founda- \ntion of his deliverance. He inspired Faust with the sublime idea \nof the invention of printing ; and Columbus, shortly after, with the \nstill more sublime conception, if that be possible, of the existence \nand discovery of a new world ; a new and a vast theatre of action \nfor the human race : And on that vast theatre, of which " our own, \nour native land," constitutes so fair a portion, He commenced the \ndivine operation of restoring to man his long lost political rights ; \nof re-investing his own image with its original brightness and \ndivinity. \n\nHither, in due season, came our pilgrim fathers, flying from their \nmonarchical and hierarchical tyrants and persecutors : And here did \nthey find time, not only to make " the wilderness blossom as the \nrose," but to reflect seriously upon the creation, nature and destiny \nof Man \xe2\x80\x94 his relationship to God \xe2\x80\x94 his duty to that Supreme Being, \nand to himself \xe2\x80\x94 the government that best suited him in this world, \nand the means by which he should find his way to another and a \nbetter one. \n\nHere, independent of vain, pompous and arrogant Hierarchs, t}^- \nrannical and despotic Kings and Princes, and titled and tinselled \niniquity of every description, they breathed and enjoyed in its ful-= \nness the pure atmosphere of freedom. Here, without let or hin- \ndrance, they opened, read, and understood for themselves, the Sa= \ncred Volume ; and from that only true fountain of spiritual, moral, \nhistorical and political light, they found themselves more and more \nconfirmed in their pre-conceived opinions, that Freedom was the \noriginal gift of Heaven \xe2\x80\x94 that Monarchy was afterwards inflicted as a \ncurse \xe2\x80\x94 and that hence Rebellion to Tyrants was Obedience to God. \n\nHere too our gallant, our venerated fathers, renewed their ac- \nquaintance with those inimitable writings of Milton, Harrington, \n\n\n\nSidney, Locke, Hoadley, Trenchard and Gordon, in vindication of \nthe freedom and dignity of mankind : And thus did they prepare the \nway for that glorious revolution, the success of which we this day \ncelebrate ; and of which Washington was the Moses, and Greek \nthe Joshua ; the Congress of 1776 the nursing fathers ; Morris \n(Robert) the Sully or grand financier, and Paine the Tyrt^us. \nIf indeed, great and unsurpassed as were the merits of Washington \nand Green, still, had not the unrivalled financial skill of Morris de- \nvised the means of raising money, and the vigorous pen of Paine \ndelineated the charms and delights of liberty, the cause might have \ntotally failed : For in that day Paine was an effectual instrument^ \nin the hands of Divine Providence ; then his muse, like the lyre of \nthe deformed son of Archimhrotus, on the plains of Lacedemon, \nkindled in the bosoms of our fathers the sacred flame of freedom, \ncheered the toils of our sages in council, animated the hearts of our \nwarriors on the battle field, and impelled them onward to victory \nand to glory. O ! how lamentable, how humiliating to the pride of \nhuman nature, that a man to whom God had given a genius so bril- \nliant, sublime and useful, should afterwards become the miserable \ndupe, the wretched victim, of his own bewildered reason and way- \nward passions : And having forgot his God, and lost his conscience, \nshould expire at last like Swift, his prototype, " a driveller and a \nshow :\'\' For what Swift was, in a certain crisis, to the people of \nIreland, Paine was, in a far more important crisis, to the people of \nthese States. While, therefore, we lament his degeneracy, and his \nmelancholy end ; let us not forget his invaluable services, nor prove \nungrateful for them ; let his virtues live in our hearts and our memo= \nries, while his errors and his vices lie buried with his bones. \n\nWe owe, then, under Divine Providence, to Washington and \nGreen, the Congress of 1776, Morris, Paine, and their coadjutors, \n" Solomons in council, and Sampsons in the field, ^\' that great and \nglorious Revolution, which gave birth to the only free nation, the \nonly true Republic, or Democracy, that has ever existed, since God \noverwhelmed with destruction the Egyptian Tyrant and his host, \nand with His " cloud by day," and His " pillar of fire by night," \nled His chosen people through the wilderness, and finally crowned \ntheir exertions with the blessing of a pure Democratic government \nI cannot, for obvious reasons, go into the proof here, that this is \nonly the second Republic that has yet been instituted on earth ^ \nWould time and the occasion permit, however, I could prove, that \nexcepting the Hebrews, neither the Persians nor the Egyptians, \nneither the Greeks nor the Romans, nor the men of the Middle \n\n\n\nAges, nor any of the Modern European Nations, have ever enjoyed \neven the shadow of a true Republic or Democracy ; for to talk of \nAristocratical Republics, Oligarchical Republics, and Monarchical \nRepublics, and some other similar crudities, as one of our great and \ngood men has done through a large volume, is, in my humble opi- \nnion, a waste of words. Any philosophic mind may indeed perceive, \non a mere glance at the subject, that before the invention of the \nart of printing, the excitement of the Reformation, and the sublime \nand unparalleled discovery of Columbus, nothing in the shape of \na true Republic, excepting that alone which God instituted in mer- \ncy, and dissolved in wrath, could possibly exist : For how, I ask, \nwithout the special exercise of Divine Wisdom and Power, could \neither a true simple, or a true representative. Democracy, like our \nState and Federal Democracies, exist among nations immersed in \nignorance and barbarism, and consequently the miserable dupes of \na mere handful of selfish, cunning, unprincipled and aspiring men. \n\nO ! what great reason have we to rejoice, that God has thus \nsingled us out as the pioneer of nations, in reviving and extending \non earth the sacred flame of liberty ; that hallowed flame which \nshall eventually consume, and scatter to the winds, the last vestige \nof Monarchy, and the last minion of Tyrants, and restore to \nthe human race the unsullied image of their Creator, with the rights \nwhich he originally intended they should enjoy. \n\nLet us, then, on this day, briefly consider, how we shall preserve \nthis lofty stand, this high and sublime character ; how we shall \npreserve the precious and the glorious privileges conferred upon \nus, and hand them down unimpaired to posterity. \n\nIn the first place, permit me to ask, is it not our imperative duty \nto recollect, and never for a moment to forget, that God destroyed \nthe genuine Democratic Republic, which He had bestowed upon \nHis chosen people, and inflicted upon them the heavy curse of Mo- \nnarchy, because they were ungrateful and disobedient to Him, from \nwhose goodness they had received the precious boon of freedom. \nWe are eager enough to look into profane history for lessons of \nwisdom and experience \xe2\x80\x94 and shall we not once recur to Sacred \nHistory, for a lesson, on the proper understanding and remembrance \nof which depends the salvation of our liberties, and those of all \nother nations. God gave freedom\xe2\x80\x94 pure Democratic Freedom \xe2\x80\x94 to \nthe Jews : But they forgot their Divine benefactor \xe2\x80\x94 they deserted \nhis holy altars\xe2\x80\x94 they disobeyed his laws\xe2\x80\x94 they became idolaters\xe2\x80\x94 \nthey gave themselves up to avarice and foul ambition \xe2\x80\x94 they made \nmoney, instead of Jehovah, their god, and became the tyrants and \n\n\n\n8 \n\noppressors of their species : And lo ! where are now all their splen= \ndid cities, and their lofty towers and battlements ? Jerusalem, their \nancient capital, has dwindled into insignificance 5 and where are the \ncities of the plain ? Alas ! they are prostrate in the dust. Those \nwhich the sword of the conqueror spared, the fire of indignant \nHeaven descended upon and destroyed : And the owl and the bit- \ntern, the fox and the wolf, the lion and the jackall, as predicted by \na prophet of God, now reign the sole tenants and sovereigns of the \nbarren hill and the desolated vale. \n\nHaving pointed out the first great duty, which we owe to God \nand to ourselves, it cannot be expected that I should dwell at large, \non this occasion, upon all the other important duties, which our \ncondition as freemen demands at our hands ; but I feel myself, ne- \nvertheless, bound to go as far at least as your candor and patience \nand my own strength will permit. \n\nExert, then, I conjure you, all your energies, to extend the bles \nsings of sound education, without which there can be no true vir- \ntue ; and without true virtue there can be no solid and permanent \nfreedom. To Charondas, of Greece, we owe the origin of com- \nmon schools. Though this ancient law-giver enacted some very \nsilly laws ; yet he ordained, " that all the sons of every family \nshould be taught reading and writing under masters in the pay of \nthe public." " This law alone," says an American Sage, " has \nmerit enough to consecrate to immortality, the memory of this le- \ngislator, and deserves to be imitated by every free people at least."* \nLet us, then, never remit our exertions to attain this great end. \nLet us never rest contented till all our public lands are divided \nequally between the several States of the Union ; and by each State \nconstituted a fund, the interest of which to be perpetually appro- \npriated to the support of common schools, and the education of \nteachers to conduct them. \n\nNever lose sight of the union of these States, on its just and pro- \nper foundations of State Sovereignty and limited Federal Jurisdic- \ntion ; yielding neither to Nullification on the one hand, nor Conso- \nlidation on the other. With written fundamental Constitutions, such \nas no other nation, now in existence, has ever enjoyed, in posses- \nsion of the ballot boxes and universal suffrage, it will be owing to \nour own criminal neglect, if we split upon the small rock of nulli- \nfication, or the great ice-berg of consolidation. \n\nNullification is the extreme of State Sovereignty ; Consolidation, \nthe extreme of Federal Jurisdiction. We must indeed abhor and \n\n" John Adams. \n\n\n\ndetest Consolidation under any pretext whatsoever : And respect- \ning Nullification, though we might possibly find it necessary in \nsome very extreme case; yet we should never forget, that the great \ncases, in which it has been more or less successfully resorted to \xe2\x80\x94 I \nallude to four cases of great and universal importance \xe2\x80\x94 do not ap~ \nply to us now, as they once did to our fathers. \n\nMoses nullified the laws of Egypt, because their tyranny was in- \nsupportable ; and there was no written constitution, no ballot-box, \nor right of suffrage, either limited or universal, to appeal to for re- \ndress. The sword was the only resort. \n\nThe great head of the church, and his Apostles, for the same \nreason, among others, nullified, by the sword of the spirit, the laws \nboth of Jews and Gentiles : For the words of the Saviour \xe2\x80\x94 " Ren- \nder unto CcBsar the things which are Cctsar^s^^ \xe2\x80\x94 implied neither sub- \nmission nor opposition to the Roman Government. \n\nLuther, and his party, on the same ground, nullified, at least sa \nfar as they could do it, the laws of the Papal See. \n\nWashington, and his gallant companions in arms \xe2\x80\x94 the author of \nthe Declaration of Independence, and all who signed it with him\xe2\x80\x94 \ndid the same with George III. and his tyrannical laws : for as Eng-- \nland never had a written constitution, nor universal suffrage, to ap- \npeal to, the sword was the only weapon with which our Fathers \ncould cut their way to the Temple of Liberty : And thanks be ta \nGod, who inspired them with the virtue and the courage to do it^, \nthey drew the sword, and threw away the scabbard ; and none but \ncowards, or willing slaves, will ever shrink from striking the same \nblow, under the same circumstances. \n\nThe time must and will come, when the sword may be turned \ninto the ploughshare, and the spear into the pruning hook, and \npeace and liberty be preserved without the aid of either. This is \na promise of God, which will not fail. But till this promised bles- \nsing shall descend upon us, never yield the right to possess arms 5 \nand to bear them, if necessary, in defence of your altars and your \nfire-sides, against domestic tyrants, as well as foreign foes : And \nnever forget, that it will always be easier to drive a hundred legions \nof foreign invaders into the ocean, than to dispossess one domestic \ntyrant, who has become firmly seated in power, with the sword \nand the purse-strings at his command, and a servile majority to \nobey his nod. Never therefore give up your arms ; but never \ndraw the sword to procure a redress of grievances, until all possi-- \nble constitutional means have been repeatedly tried in vain : And \nthen let your tyrants knoWj that your courage and fortitude are \n\n\n\n10 \n\nequal to your generosity and forbearance. This example our gallant \nfathers gave us\xe2\x80\x94let us never forget it. \n\nNever suffer a standing army, exceeding five thousand effective \nmen, to be kept up in times of peace. A free people, indeed, ought \nto have no standing army at all ; but every citizen should be a sol- \ndier, and ready, at a moment\'s warning, to gird on his armor for \nbattle against foreign foes or domestic tyrants. Standing armies \nhave, in all ages, been the instruments of usurpation and tyranny. \nThis vi^as the creed of our fathers ; and rather than keep up such \nan army of more than five thousand men, it vrould be better policy \nto encourage the voluntary formation of such companies, not ex- \nceeding a regiment to each State, as our noble spirited Burgesses \nCorps, by furnishing their military equipments, on a pledge of ho- \nnor that they should be carefully preserved in good order as long \nas possible. The companies thus voluntarily organised and equip- \nped, vrould constitute citizen soldiers in the true sense of the terms ; \nand being composed, as they would be, of young men of fair cha- \nracters, would feel the more forcibly the obligations of civil and \npolitical liberty and justice, which bind men to the true interests \nof thfeir country. \n\nNever suffer the liberty of the press, or the liberty of speech, to \nbe unjustly invaded or impaired ; and never attempt to curb the \nlicentiousness of either by ex officio informations, or public prosecu- \ntions. It is sufficient that individuals have the right of private or \npersonal action for damages against the writers or publishers of \nlibels that affect their characters or lawful pursuits and inte- \nrests. But the arm of the public should never be raised to crush \nthe press under any circumstances. This, however, is not the time \nor the place for the argument. I will merely remark, therefore, \nthat the only proper use of the press is to spread useful knowledge, \nand in this respect alone it is the Palladium of Liberty. The pub- \nlishers of licentious books, like the novels of Bulwer and his wife, \nand the editors of licentious newspapers, whoever they may be, are \nthe worst enemies of mankind : And it would indeed be much to \nthe honor of the press, and the credit of our country, if all of our \npublishers and editors would recollect, that the pens of those im- \nmortal spirits, to whom I have already alluded, Milton and Har- \nrington, Locke and Sidney, " overthrew the tyranny of the Stuarts, \nwithout the aid of ribaldry or licentiousness ; and that the illustri- \nous Reformers of the fifteenth century, contributed largely to con- \nfirm the morality of Europe, while they beat down the arrogant \npretensions of sacerdotal and papal usurpation.\'\'* \n\n* Helen Maiia Williama \n\n\n\n11 \n\nNullify at once and forever the doctrine of gratitude to youi \npublic servants, unless it be for some very great service, beyond the \nordinary routine of their public duties. Clinton, though Governor \nof a State only, was the benefactor of the Union, and hence he vras \nentitled to public gratitude. But as a general rule, vrhen you pay \na President Twenty-five Thousand Dollars a year for his services, \nyou owe no debt of gratitude either to him or any of his family. \nThe obligation is altogether on the other side. The salary is both \nremuneration and gratitude enough for the ordinary services of any \nman at the head of any government in the world. Public gratitude \nis due only to those who serve their country gratuitously, as Wash- \nington did with his sword, and Jeiferson, Franklin, Jay, John and \nSamuel Adams, Thomas Paine, Ezra Stiles, Solomon Southwick,* \nand many others did with the logic and the eloquence of their pens \nin the revolution. This is the true foundation of public gratitude. \nCan there be a grosser delusion, than to allow any man to pocket, \nas President, Two Hundred Thousand Dollars of the public mo- \nney, of which, if he make the office, as he ought to do, " an office \nof business and not of s^ow5,"t he can save with ease One Hundred \nand Fifty Thousand ; and then allow him to tax the people with a \ndebt of gratitude at the same time ! \n\nNever give up annual elections for your State legislative depart- \nments, biennial for the Executive chair of a State, and for the house \nof Representatives of the Union, or quadrennial for the President \nthereof. \n\nSo perfect do I conceive our federal constitution to be, that I am \nfearful of any attempt to amend it. Still I think it would be much \ngained for freedom, if the term of service of the Senators of the \nUnited States should be reduced to four years : That no Senator or \nRepresentative should receive any appointment from the President \nwho should be in office at the same time with them : \xe2\x80\x94 And that no \nman under forty years of age should hold the office of President, \nSenator or Representative. A volume would not suffice to portray \nthe evils, which history clearly proves to have arisen from the in- \nexperience and rashness of precocious and undisciplined ambition. \n\nNever elect any man to any office whatsoever, whose private life \nis profligate or licentious ; for no such man can be safely trusted as \n\n^ My father, one of whose works alone fixed the minds of the people of Rhode-Island for the \nRevolution, as Gordon, the historian, acknowledges. In an article, which appeared in a Rhode- \nIsland paper of 1813, written by a distinguished lawyer of Newport, it was said\xe2\x80\x94" When the his= \ntory of this state shall be fairly written, justice will be done to Solomon Southwick." \n\nt It was John Quincy Adams, who said the Presidency \'-^ ought to be an office of buaness, and \naot of show." We owe Mr. A. a small debt of gratitude at least, for this maxim. \n\n\n\n1-2 \n\nthe guardian of a free constitution : But look out steadily and vigi= \nlantly to secure able and honest law-makers, as well as able and in- \ncorruptible judges : For if you elect, or appoint, incapable or cor= \nrupt men to responsible stations, you not only jeopardise your liber- \nties for the time being ; but you dampen and destroy the ardor and \nemulation of all men to qualify themselves for the service of their \ncountry. Why should any man labor day and night, in studying the \nworks of historians and philosophers, to qualify himself for a states- \nman, when he sees every day ignorant men preferred to learned \nones, and stupid men and knaves to men of genius and integrity. \n\nNever wish to discard a President at the end of his first term, if \nhe has been faithful in that : And never, under any circumstances \nof peace or war, pestilence or famine, elect him more than twice. \nThe example of declining a re-election, and retiring to private life, \nestablished by Washington and Jefferson ; and confirmed by Madi- \nson, Monroe and Jackson, ought ever to be considered a sacred law \nof the Republic. It should be considered the more binding, the \nmore sacred, inasmuch as not only two such illustrious civilians as \nJefferson and Madison, but two such immortal military chieftains \nas Washington and Jackson have sanctioned it ; the former by set- \nting the first example, and the latter by following it : For it is well \nknown, that like Washington and Jefferson, the farmer of Tennessee, \nthe hero of at least two great wars, had popularity enough to have \nran a third time with success ; but he had too much democratic \nvirtue to attempt it. This, then, I repeat it, should be considered \nan inviolable and sacred law of the Republic. \n\nAs a safe general rule, never suffer the expenses of your govern- \nment to exceed its just and legitimate income ; and consequently \nnever incur a state or federal debt, if it can be reasonably avoided ; \nnor tax the mouth of labor unnecessarily. \n\nNever yield to the Federal Government the right of making in- \nternal public improvements : To do so, will be to destroy, without \nhope of redemption, both the Sovereignty and the Union of the \nStates. Usurpation and Consolidation must and will be the inevi- \ntable consequences. If we do our duty to ourselves and our pos- \nterity, we shall never permit that government to stick a spade or a \npick-axe into the soil of a state beyond the limits of tide-water ; and \nthen only for purposes clearly essential to " the common defence," \nor the " general welfare." On this one question alone, we shall \nfind, that with us, " the price of liberty is eternal vigilance." \n\nAbove all other considerations, would you perpetuate the pre- \ncious privileges which you now enjoy at the hand of Divme Pro- \n\n\n\n13 \n\nvideiice ; would you hand down unimpaired to posterity, the glo- \nrious Democratic Constitutions of your country ; then, I beseech \nyou, never forget, that the Christian Religion is indispensable to \nthe preservation of those precepts, principles, and moral virtues, on \nwhich alone liberty and justice can safely repose. The bare cir- \ncumstance, that our blessed Saviour chose his Disciples and Apostles \nwithout respect to persons, without the least reference to worldly \nstation, wealth, or influence, proves clearly that Christianity was \nthe ancient cradle of Liberty. It is indeed because there is little \nif any thing more than a merely nominal Christianity in Europe, \nthat Tyranny there rides triumphant over the rights and dignity of \nhuman nature ; and that Monarchs, Hierarchs, Lords, and their \nminions, revel and riot in luxury and splendor on the hard earnings \nof the honest and industrious mechanics and tillers of the soil. It \nis a remarkable fact, worthy of being remembered on this day, that \none of the Fathers of our Republic, Thomas Jefferson, acknowledges, \n" that he received his first correct notions of a republican form of \ngovernment from the proceedings of a Baptist" \xe2\x80\x94 that is, a Christian, \n" Congregation in his neighborhood." Let us then, fellow-citizens, \ncherish the pure spirit of Christianity, and the safe and salutary in- \nstitutions of piety and devotion, which flow from it, and cannot \nflow from any other source. These, rely upon it, are the main \npillars of our freedom, prosperity and happiness. \n\nI could multiply these brief admonitions, would the occasion per- \nmit, and were it not that I feel it my duty to be rather more pro- \nlix, on a subject which has been lately revived, though never fairly \ndiscussed, among us. A correct view of it, however, is important, \nat least to the stability of our freedom and prosperity. To come \nto the point, then, fellow-citizens, as the means of preserving that \nsocial harmony and good feeling, on which our freedom and happi- \nness, as a people, so much depend ; let us beware of creating invi- \ndious distinctions, or exciting groundless jealousies, between the \nrich and the poor. Such distinctions, such jealousies, have here- \ntofore done much evil, involving whole communities in anarchy, \nviolence and bloodshed ; for when once begun, there is no end to \nthe heart-burnings, and the animosities, which grow out of them. \nIn this country, where there is no ground in our civil, political, or \nreligious institutions, for any such feelings, it is to be regretted, that \nthey were first excited, whilst the present federal constitution was \nunder discussion, by a book, written by Mr. John Adams, ostensibly \nin support of the constitution, and by a speech of Mr. Gouverneur \nMorris, in the Convention of 1787, which framed that instrument. \n\n\n\n14 \n\nThe doctrine of Mr. Morris\'s Speech, which is in spirit, if not \nliterally, the same as that of Mr. Adams\'s book, is, that the House \nof Representatives, originating from the people, will ever be sub- \nject to precipitancy, changeability and excess. To check these \nevils, he proposed, that the Senate should be composed of none but \nmen of great and established property, an Aristocracy \xe2\x80\xa2 and that \nbesides their riches, to make them completely independent, they \nshould be chosen for life, or they would be a useless body. This \npermanent, rich and aristocratic Senate, was to keep down the tur- \nbulency of Democracy ! " History proves, I admit," said Mr. Mor- \nris, \'\' that the men of large property will uniformly endeavor to es- \ntablish tjT^ranny. How, then, shall we ward off this evil ^ Give \nthem the second branch, and you secure their weight for the public \ngood !" Again, said Mr. Morris, " the wealthy will ever exist ; \nand you never can be safe, unless you gratify them as a body, in \nthe pursuit of honor and profit!" Mr. Morris concluded by avow- \ning himself the advocate of a strong government ; and he asserted \nexpressly, that " a government by compact is no government at all." \n\nThe last clause is a hard saying of Mr. Morris ; for if the idea of \na compact be excluded from the idea of a government, the latter is \nof course an absolute despotism. It denies the people to be even \nthe source of power, much less the sovereign power itself. It is \nat war with sacred history ; for we there find that David especially \nmade a written compact with the people, by which he was to be \nguided in his government. It is at war with all the republican \nwriters on government ; for they all contend for a written social \ncompact, and all insist, that where it is not written, it is implied \nfrom the principles of natural justice. \n\nIt is not even remarkable, much less surprising, that such doc- \ntrines should have caused, as they did, great murmurings among \nthe people, and especially among the poor of that day. I myself \nheard those murmurings, and witnessed the excitement which they \ncreated in my native state ; for though Mr. Morris\'s speech had \nnot then come to light ; yet Mr. Adams\'s sentiments were well \nknown, and generally promulgated : And as we have lately wit- \nnessed something in the shape of an appeal to the poor on this sub- \nject, in several public journals, let us now come to the question : \xe2\x80\x94 \n\nDoes history prove, as Mr. Morris asserted, that the rich will \nuniformly endeavor to establish tyranny ? \n\nI think not. I believe it is not supported either by sacred or \nprofane history. I shall however pass over the rich Noah and \nAbraham\xe2\x80\x94 the richer Job and David, and the still richer Solomon, \n\n\n\n15 \n\nand other rich worthies of Scripture History, because they were \ncured by divine grace of any inordinate desire to oppress the poor, \narising from their enormous wealth . Abraham proved his forbear^ \nance in his noble spirited and generous conduct to Lot, in relation \nto the first dispute about property, of which we have either legal \nor historical record : And Job was literally the father of the poor ; \nfor he not only fed and clothed them by hundreds, but defended \nthem against every oppressor. Job, xxix. 30. \n\nWithout further reference, therefore, to the ground of antiquity, \nI will at once come down to modern history, and refer you to the \nItalian house of Medici. They were rich \xe2\x80\x94 splendidly rich : But \nsuch was their noble spirit, that their wealth contributed largely to \nthe advancement, not only of their native land, but of all Europe in \nscience and freedom. A large portion of their splendid wealth, the \njust reward of their great commercial genius and enterprise, was \nlavished at the dawn of the revival of letters, in patronising the \nlearned Greeks who fled from the capture of Constantinople, when^ \nthrough its fall by the Turkish arms, the last ray of old Roman \nPower and Glory expired ; " whilst a new era, pregnant with a \npurer philosophy than that of Aristotle ; a more diffusive spirit of \nintelligence ; a more improved state of the arts ; a more extensive \ncultivation of letters ; a more cordial and universal social and com- \nmercial intercourse between men and nations ; a more enlarged and \nrational view of human rights and duties ; and finally, a more mild \nand tolerant religious feeling began to shed its bright and cheering \nbeams on the horizon of a too long benighted and barbarous world. \nGibbon, Voltaire, and Roscoe, and indeed every writer on those \ntimes, concur in applauding the munificence of the Medici, than \nwhom no family ever obtained popularity and power more deser- \nvedly. I may indeed safely add, that by the universal consent of \nhis own countrymen, the Republic of Letters, and mankind at large, \nCosmo de Medici was denominated the protector of the needy, the \nrefuge of the oppressed, the constant patron and supporter of learn- \ned men."* \n\nAnother rich Italian, Niccolo Niccoli, devoted his life and fortune \nto the advancement of literature and science, and was the first man \nto establish, at his own expense, a public library in his native land. \n\nI could point even to a Monarch of France, a rare instance, it is \ntrue, among kings, but not the less deserving of credit, and his \nillustrious Prime Minister,! than whom no two men ever expended \nmore treasure in diffusing happiness around them. \n\n^ See Roscoe\'s Life of Leo X. f Henry IV. and the Duke of Sully. \n\n\n\n16 \n\nJuan Padilla was one of the richest men in Spain in the 15th \ncentury ; yet a purer, a more generous and exalted spirit never \nexisted. Even the Poet Laureat of the British Monarchy, has be- \nstowed a glowing epitaph on the virtues of this illustrious enemy \nof kings, and friend of the people. From 1420 to 1422, the genius, \nvalor and generosity of this noble Spaniard, sustained the cause of \nFreedom, to which he finally sealed his attachment with his heart\'s \nblood ; And to the honor of her sex, as well as her own glory, his \nillustrious wife, not only participated in all his toils and dangers, \nbut after his death assumed the command of the patriot forces, de- \nfended Toledo bravely, gained several victories, and did not quit \nher post, till she was deserted by the cowardly citizens, unworthy \nof so glorious a leader, and a disgrace to their country and to hu- \nman nature. \n\nThe De Witts of Holland were rich. They held the highest \nposts of honor, and had the best opportunities to accumulate great \nwealth ; yet John De Witt, like Juan Padilla, suffered a glorious \nmartyrdom in the cause of liberty. He was a republican, and that \nwas a sufficient crime, in the eyes of a royalist faction, for taking \nhis life in the most barbarous manner. We have seen in this State, \na descendant of this illustrious man, draw his sword for our liber- \nties in the revolution, and live among us fifty years after that event, \nsurrounded by well-earned wealth and prosperity ; but always the \nvirtuous and inflexible friend of liberty and of mankind.* \n\nThe two great German Reformers, John Wickliffe and Martin \nLuther, the former of whom, though of a rich and noble family, \nwas called the " morning star of the Reformation," as we may \nJustly style Luther the meridian sun, were both of them surrounded \nby all the comforts of life, and might have had these heaped upon \nthem ten-fold, perhaps a hundred, had they not preferred what \nthey believed to be their duty to God and mankind, to the sweets \nof luxury and monastic ease. \n\nLord Bacon, whom Pope basely, but vainly, attempted to hold \nup to the scorn of the world, was splendidly rich ; and whilst his \nunrivalled genius created a new era in Philosophy, his immense \nwealth was lavished in acts of the purest humanity, and the most \ndisinterested benevolence. \n\nJohn Hampden was one of the richest merchants of England ; \nand "the greatest patriot Statesman of his times; the man whom \nthe tyrant Charles I. would gladly have seen drawn and quartered ; \nwhom even Clarendon," the scribe of monarchy, and the friend of \n\n\' The late Simeon De Witt. \n\n\n\n17 \n\nCharles, *\' paints as possessing, beyond all his cotemporanes, i? \nhead to contrive, a tongue to persuade, and a hand to execute ; and \nwhom the fervent Baxter, another Royalist, " revered, as able-, by \nhis presence, to give a new charm to the repose of the saints in \nHeaven :"* And yet we know, that this very rich and all-accom- \nplished private citizen of England, and Lord William Russell, one \nof her richest, most learned and illustrious noblemen, did not shrink \nfrom meeting death, the one on the field of battle, and the other on \nthe scaffold, for the freedom and glory of their country. \n\nAlgernon Sidney, that inflexible and immortal republican, born \nto inherit a title of nobility, and a splendid estate ; whose mind \nwas illumined by the brightest beams of genius, whose brow was \nadorned by the proudest trophies of learning, and who wrote alto- \ngether the best book ever yet published on the subject of human \ngovernment ; voluntarily sacrificed all these brilliant possessions^ \nand the fair prospects connected with them, in the same glorious \ncause, for which Hampden bled on the field and Russell on the \nscaffold. What reflects the most lustre on the memory of this rich \npatriot, is the fact, that like Curtius, he made a voluntary sacrifice \nof himself to his country. He was indicted for writing an essay \nin favor of Liberty ; but the tyrants who thirsted for his bloody \nhad no proof of the authorship, but the circumstance, that the \nmanuscript was found in his house. But rich as he was, possessed \nof all that could render life the more dear and death the more \ndreadful, he confessed himself the author of the work, sealing his \nown doom, and at the same time securing his immortality, by a \ndeclaration the noblest that ever flowed from the lips of man : \xe2\x80\x94 \n" When God," said he, " has brought me into a dilemma, in which \nI must either tell a lie, or forfeit my life, he tells me that it is time \nfor me to die !" And what are we to think of the royal monster, \nand his servile judge, who could sacrifice such a man ^ \n\nIn the late French Revolution, when it would not have been \nsurprising, if a different spirit had prevailed amid the scenes of \nanarchy and blood that shocked the universe, many of the richest \ncitizens proved their zeal for the cause of their country at the im= \nminent peril, and in many cases the absolute sacrifice of their lives. \n\nI could fill a volume with such examples of self-sacrifice and \nhallowed devotion to the cause of freedom, by rich men abroad ; \nbut it is time to come home, and ask a few questions of our own \naltars and fire=sides, before we join in such sweeping denunciations \n\n\xe2\x96\xa0^ See Bancroft \'3 inimitable History of the U= S= vol. i> \n\n\n\n18 \n\nof the rich, as this of Mr. Morris\xe2\x80\x94 himself a rich man\xe2\x80\x94 or those \nwhich I have lately read in several of our political journals. \n\nFirst and foremost, then, in the galaxy of illustrious men, who \nshine on the page of history, or occupy the Temple of Fame, was \nnot our beloved Washington as rich a planter in Virginia as John \nHampden was a merchant in London ? And did that rich planter, \nsurrounded by all the endearments and luxuries of life, hesitate a \nmoment to risk his fortune, his fame, and his heart\'s blood, to re- \ndeem his country from the grasp of Tyranny ? No\xe2\x80\x94 he did not \n\nhesitate ; but emerging from his plantation, at the call of his \n\ncountry, as the morning sun ascends the horizon to warm and cheer \nthe animal and vegetable worlds ; he came forth to animate the \nhearts, and direct the energies, of his fellow-citizens, in a glorious \nstruggle for freedom ; ready, alike, to wave the Olive Branch, in \nthe spirit of mutual justice and benevolence ; or, that being re- \njected, to " ride upon the whirlwind and direct the storm" of war. \nIn imagination I now hear him urging the brave and the patriotic \nto defend the rights of their country and the cause of freedom : \xe2\x80\x94 \nLet us, says he, my friends and fellow-countrymen, have Peace, if \nwith Peace we can have Liberty : But if not, then let us meet our \nenemies as they land upon our shores. Let us show them that we \nhave minds to understand, arms to defend, and hearts ready to bleed \nfor the freedom and glory of our country. If driven from one\' \nstand, let us seize upon another : If we cannot do better, let us \nfall back and erect our standard upon the rocky mountains : And \nif hunted at last by the myrmidons of tyranny and oppression, to \nthe verge of the Pacific Ocean, there let us give shout for shout, \nand blow for blow, till we turn the tide of battle on our foes, or be \ndriven into the waves to become food for the monsters of the deep ! \n\nAnd who were the compatriots, that with Washington put their \nnames to the Declaration of Independence ? Many of them were \nrich, very rich for the times ; and of whom the latest survivor, the \nnoble-spirited Roman Catholic Carroll, was among the richest: \nAnd yet with the gibbet or the scaffold, and the executioner with \nhis instruments of death, in the gloomy perspective, did these rich \nand noble-spirited men fearlessly sign the document which pro- \nclaimed the liberty and independence of their country, which pro- \nclaimed through the universe, from shore to shore, and from pole \nto pole, the downfall of tyrants, and the freedom of the human race : \nAnd to this Declaration they added the noble pledge of their lives, \ntheir fortunes, and their sacred honor, that they would persevere \nm the glorious strife till Liberty or Death should close the scene. \n\n\n\n19 \n\nAgain, look around this vast country, matle free by the generous \nsacrifices and the deathless deeds, of those rich, noble-spirited, and \nimmortal patriots : And ask yourselves, fellow-citizens, whose mo- \nney, whose liberality, whose patriotism and piety, have reared \namong us so many temples of literature, science and religion ; so \nmany academies, colleges, churches and chapels, so numerous and \nso magnified, that almost every beam of the sun is obstructed by \ntheir spires. \n\nWho, may I not ask, can at this day travel from Albany to Lan- \nsingburgh, without passing by the way a Temple of Science, es- \ntablished and liberally endowed, by one alone of those rich indivi- \nduals, who are the ornaments of their country and of human na- \nture ; and who, notwithstanding many of their benevolent deeds \nare pubhshed by the voice of gratitude, still delight to \n\n" Do good by stealth, and blusk to find it fame?" \n\nNor was the establishment and endowment of this Temple of the \nMuses, all that the rich individual alluded to could boast of having \ndone for the good of his country and mankind, if his taste and edu- \ncation, his delicacy, dignity and elevation of mind and of heart, had \npermitted him to boast at all : For I can truly affirm, that from the \nsame source, many other valuable public institutions were munifi- \ncently aided ; while far more numerous, if not more generous, \nstreams of bounty flowed in private than in puWic channels, to \n\xe2\x80\xa2cheer the habitations of poverty, alleviate the pangs of sickness, \nheal the wounds of adversity, and animate the exertions of genius \nfor the public welfare^ Nor can we forbear, even on this pressing \noccasion, to pay one more tribute to the memory of that good rich \nman, whose modest pathway through life, shone with a mild and \nsteady splendor, illumined by the rays of his own goodness, mingled \nwith the blessed beams of faith and of grace : For who more ready \nthan he, when the trump of war called his country to arms, to \nforego the delights of social and domestic life, gilded, as they were, \nby the kindest and purest affections, and the most splendid gifts of \nfortune, for the privations of the tented field, and the perils of the \nday of battle ! O ! how beautiful in the eyes of the generous, how \nrefreshing to the souls of the just, to behold the tears of regret and \nof gratitude flowing in a thousand streams, when this good mam \ndied : And long, long will it be, before his country, and especially \nthe sons and daughters of adversity, will again " look upon the like" \nof Stephen Van Rensselaer ! \n\nThere is another illustrious name in the annals of our country^ \nwhichj whenever I think of it, or hear it mentioned, comes upoK \n\n3 \n\n\n\n20 \n\nme, in the language of a beautiful poet, \'^ like the memory of past \njoys, pleasant and mournful to the soul." I knew De Witt Clinton, \nwhen he was splendidly rich. I knew him again when he was \nassailed by the chill blasts of poverty, and the keen arrows of per- \nsecution. But neither in prosperity nor adversity, did that great \nand good man ever harbor a wish, much less make an effort, to in- \njure the liberties of his country : But calm and serene, amid the \ncares and toils of state, he was found faithful to her free Consti\xc2\xab \ntutions, steadily pursuing the Grand Improvements, which will \nenrich her through all time, and ensure his own imperishable fame. \n\nSo Jefferson, Monroe and Tompkins, an illustrious trio, were all \nrich at one time, but all died in poverty : And where, at any time \nof their lives, did the poor ever find better friends, or the cause of \nliberty firmer advocates ? \n\nAnd again I ask, whose money has carried Missionaries, with \nthe glad and glorious tidings of salvation, to the remotest corners \nof the earth ? And who are they that have built houses of refuge \nat home, for the blind, the deaf, the dumb and the insane ; for the \nunprotected orphan, the penitent Magdalene, and the worn out or \naged seaman ? The rich, fellow-citizens, have done all this great \ngood ; and without them it could not and would not have been \ndone. \n\nWith all due deference to the talents and memory of two &uch \nillustrious men as John Adams and Gouverneur Morris, I have said \nenough to prove, that wealth does not uniformly make tyrants of \nits possessors ; nor does poverty uniformly make patriots : For \nmany a poor, vicious and worthless demagogue has enriched him- \nself and his posterity, by usurping the liberties of his country, and \ntyrannising over it. Of this we find sufficient examples in the con- \nflicts, from time to time, between the Plebeians and the Patricians \nof Rome ; and also in those numerous and bloody struggles for \npower and popularity, which occurred during the Middle Ages, a \nperiod of about a thousand years between the fall of the Western \nEmpire of Rome in A. D. 475 and that of the Eastern in A. D. \n1453 ; such struggles as will never exist, where true religion and \na corresponding education prevail. \n\nIn the course of such conflicts, sometimes a poor native Dema- \ngogue has destroyed his country, and at others a poor foreign ad- \nventurer. But 1 must pass over these at present to come nearer \nhome. \n\nWhen the poor Corsican Adventurer, Napoleon BuonapartCj \ngrasped the sword and the purse-strings, in a country where he \n\n\n\n21 \n\nwas a stranger, and by various wheedllngSj as well as daring deeds, \ndeceived the people, the liberties of France fell before him. No \nwarning voice, like that of La Fayette, could stay his career ; no \npatriot pen nor sword could for a moment arrest the course of the \nUsurper. Those who had escaped the guillotine, under the tyranny \nof such poor demagogues as Robespierre, Marat and Cloots, were \nnow driven by a more daring upstart, to be sacrificed on the field \nof battle, to sink into the morasses of Italy or Germany, or perish \nby thousands on the frozen plains of Russia : And here let me give \nyou a friendly hint. Trust no man, who, being poor himself, sets \nout in life by declaring war against his rich neighbors. It is not \nby pulling down others, that a just man wishes to rise in the world, \nbut by honest ingenuity, industry and enterprise : And the man \nwho thus succeeds, will never, whilst running the race, envy either \nhis immediate rivals, or those who have successfully gone before \nhim. \n\nOf poor demagogues, rising by the basest means, from the lowest \nconditions, and doing great mischief, the occasion will not allow \nme to give but one more striking example, in the character of an \nadventurer, from whom not only Buonaparte, but other intriguers \nand usurpers, have learned the detestable lessons of a false and a \nfoul ambition. Not far from the times, when some of the illustri- \nous rich men I have named, were shedding their blood for the \nliberties of their respective countries ; and when the rich and truly \nillustrious house of Medici, by their great commercial enterprise, \ntheir immense wealth, and their Christian benevolence, were scat- \ntering blessings over their native land and the neighboring states ; \ncherishing by the noblest munificence, genius and science, litera- \nture, liberty and religion ; a base and unprincipled upstart, the \nAbbe De Retz, whose poverty was exceeded only by his private \nvices, and his profligate sentiments, was raising himself, amid the \ncivil commotions of France, by means of a vile and wicked system \nof intrigue, crime and corruption, to the highest station, save one, \nwhich either the state or the church could bestow. This poor and \ndetestable profligate sat out with a determination to become Cardi- \nnal of France ; and he resolved, at the same time, that he would \nnot stop at any means, however base, to gain his end. He cor- \nrupted the youth of France, so far as his machinations could reach \nthem ; and the young men, in the Parliament at Paris, he made \nthe instruments of his foul ambition, by exciting their jealousy \nagainst the aged, talented and venerable members ; and having ac- \ncomplished his designs, he left the victims of his duplicity, of all \n\n\n\n22 \n\nparties \xe2\x80\x94 for he cajoled and cheated all by turns \xe2\x80\x94 to take care of \nthemselves. His success was equal to his expectations ; but it \nwas obtained through a sei\'ies of complicated and unparalleled \ncrimes and corruptions, such as none but the vilest of mankind \ncould stoop to contrive, much less to execute. \n\nHaving briefly noticed what this poor and vicious Demagogue \nwas doing for his own benefit, at the expense of the ruin of France ; \nwhilst the rich and virtuous Cosmo de Medici, was devoting his \nlife, and his immense fortune, the fruit of his honest industry and \nenterprise, to the prosperity and happiness of Italy ; let us return \nfor a few moments to a more grateful theme. \n\nThis, of all others, is the day to do homage to the memory of \nWashington ; and the more especially as a celebrated British States- \nman has justly said, that " it will be the duty of the historian and \nsage, in all ages, to omit no occasion of commemorating this illus- \ntrious man." Several more able pens than I can pretend to, have \ndelineated the character of Washington, as it stands alone in its \nsublime native dignity \xe2\x80\x94 \n\n" As some tall cli^ that lifts its awful form, \nSwells from the val\xc2\xab and midway leaves the storm 5 \nThough on its breast the rolling clouds are spread^ \nEternal sunshine settles on its head." \n\nBut I will now, in my own humble style, compare this ricli \npatriot \xe2\x80\x94 this Patriarch of Liberty- \xe2\x80\x94 with a once poor Demagogue \nIn France, to whom I have already alluded ; a base and unprincipled \nadventurer, like De Retz, but aiming, by the same or similar vile \nmeans, at a far loftier flight. \n\nGeorge Washington and Napoleon Buonaparte were both- \npractical methematicians and soldiers in early life ; but from the \ndifference of their dispositions, they directed their civic and mili- \ntary talents to far different ends. Washington had acquired a splen- \ndid fortune by his honest industry, before he came forward to risk \nall in attemptiiig to redeem the liberties of his country. Napoleon \nwas poor, if not pennyless, when he commenced his career of usur- \npation. Washington attempted in one shape, and a very proper \none, what Napoleon did in another shape, and a very odious one. \nWashington nobly and generously aimed at leaguing the United \nStaftes in a confederacy for the good of the whole ; for the purpose \nof establishing liberty and justice, and the benign arts of peace and \ncivilization, under the protection of law, and the mild, salutary and \nindispensable influence of religion. Napoleon aimed at forming all \nEurope into a grand consolidated mass, not for the good of Europe,. \n\n\n\n23 \n\nbut for his own personal aggrandizement : It was, that he might \nsit upon his blood-stained and blood-cemented throne, hke Jupiter \non mount Olympus, and receive the servile homage of the nations \nhe had conquered and enslaved. Washington aimed at becoming, \nand by the blessing of God did become, the benefactor of his coun- \ntry and of mankind. Napoleon aimed at becoming the universal \nsubjugator and tyrant of the human race. If Washington, through \nthe frailty of human nature, ever committed an error, calculated to \nshed a malign influence on his grand enterprise ; the whole life of \nNapoleon was a tissue of such errors, to say nothing of the crimes \nconnected with them. The course of Washington was the path of \nthe just, shining brighter and brighter at every step. The path of \nNapoleon was that of conquest, ruin and desolation, in which no \nsolitary gleam relieved the gloomy perspective, or enlivened for a \nmoment its cheerless aspect. Washington was the modern Fabius, \nNapoleon the modern Alaric Washington, even in the heat of \nbattle, was as anxious to spare the blood of his soldiers, as he was \nto gain the victory. Napoleon, eager for the victory alone, cared \nnothing for the blood and carnage which it cost. Washington \nsigned with painful reluctance the death-warrant of an enemy^ \nalthough taken, tried and convicted as a spy, in league with Arnold^ \nthe traitor. Napoleon, with cold-blooded malignity, ordered his \nenemy, the Duke de Enghein, to be shot, not for having acted as \na spy, but as a man of frankness, honor and romantic heroism ; \nqualities which Napoleon neither possessed himself, nor respected \nin others. Washington served his country during the revolution^ \nwithout pay or reward, excepting his bare expenses, the modera- \ntion of which excited the surprise of many, aed the admiration of \nall. Napoleon knew no such magnanimity, and not only grasped \nimmense sums from the public treasury, for his own benefit, but \nenriched every member of his family with the spoils of office, and \nthe fruits of public plunder. Washington was never known to \ntremble at danger, or exhibit fear in any shape, however appalling \nmay have been the circumstances by which he was surrounded. \nNapoleon, the fact is well established, when, like Cromwell, though \nfrom far less nobler motives, he turned the national representatives \nout of the capitol, trembled from head to foot, his blood recoiled \nupon his heart, and his face turned as pale as though the hand of \ndeath had passed over it ; whilst his brother Lucien, who was \nalso his brother conspirator, though President of the Convention, \nreproached him in the presence and hearing of the spectators,^ for \nhaving betrayed his want of courage and self-possession. Wash- \n\n\n\nington was great in every sense of the term. The God of Nature \nhad stamped the character of his mind with grand and majestic \nfeatures J and had given him at the same time a heart alive to every \njust and good impression = Napoleon was great in strength and \nbrilliancy, but not in dignity, of mind ; and his heart was the seat \nof the worst of passions : And while we are not a little surprised, \nthat so many brave and able generals followed in the train of a \ntyrant so selfish and unprincipled, we derive some small share of \npleasure, at least, from the fact, that two of the best and bravest \namong them, Bernadotte and Moreau, denounced his tyranny, and \ndisdained to submit to it. Plutarch gives to Romulus more honor \nthan to Theseus, because he rose from small beginnings ; but he \ndoes not tell us whether he rose by fair or foul means ; for here \nlies the honor or the shame. We know that Washington, by a \nstern and steady adherence to truth and justice, rose from the hum- \nble station of a land surveyor, to the Presidency of a great and \nfree people. Napoleon, by every species of intrigue and deception, \nraised himself to Empire, it is true, but only to sink again into his \noriginal insignificance. Washington treated not only his own sol- \ndiers, but his prisoners, with kindness and humanity. Napoleon \nwould at any time sacrifice a regiment or a legion to gratify his \nselfish pride and vanity. Washington adhered faithfully, through \nlife, to the woman who had won his early affections, and to whom \nhe was married. Napoleon divorced himself from his first wife, \nbasely deserting the woman to whom alone he owed all his pros- \nperity and splendor, to take another far less amiable and accom- \nplished, from motives of the meanest selfishness and the foulest \nambition : Nor did he in this case alone, exhibit his total destitu- \ntion of principle, in his disregard of the matrimonial law, which \nOod ordained : For he divorced his brother Jerome from the beau- \ntiful and talented young American wife, whom he had married in \nBaltimore, because she was not of royal blood, forcing his depend- \nent brother to marry the daughter of a petty prince ; thus violating \nthe most sacred of obligations, and severing the tenderest ties : For \nalthough he had no affection for the wife whom he had abandoned, \nnor for any other human being, any further than some selfish inte- \nrest bound him ; yet Jerome did sincerely love his wife, and felt \nthe separation as a keen and incurable wound of the heart. Such \nwas the pride of Napoleon, on this occasion, that he would not \nsuffer the beautiful American wife of his brother to land on the \nshores of France ! Where, then, is the noble-spirited and virtuous \nwoman \xe2\x80\x94 ^^vhere, then, is the brave and honest man \xe2\x80\x94 of the United \n\n\n\n25 \n\nStates \xe2\x80\x94 who can either respect the memory, or regret the fall, of \nthis upstart tyrant ? Washington was the sincere professor and \nfriend of Christianity : \xe2\x80\x94 " Of all the dispositions and habits," said \nthat great and good man, " which lead to political prosperity, reli- \ngion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that \nman claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert \nthese great pillars of human happiness \xe2\x80\x94 these firmest props of the \nduties of men and of citizens." Napoleon was devoted to the cross \nor the crescent, as his interest dictated, being a Christian one day, \nand a Mahomedan the next ; a Roman Catholic one day, and a \nProtestant the next ; one day grossly insulting and basely plunder- \ning the Pope, and the next courting his favor, inviting him to his \ncourt, and pretending to be his obsequious admirer. Washington\'s \nreligion was of one complexion, one steady flame of pure piety and \nrational devotion. Napoleon\'s religion, if it be not a profanation of \nthe term, had all the colors of the rainbow, with none of their bril- \nliancy ; and all the changes of the moon or the winds, without any \nof their benign effects. Washington, secure in the affections and \nthe gratitude of a free people, voluntarily retired from power, to \nadorn and dignify the scenes of domestic ease and tranquillity. \n\n"AndO! Columbia, by thy sons caressed, \nThere dwelt the Father of the realms he blessed: \nWho, no wish felt to make his mighty praise, \nLike other chiefs, the means himself to raise. \nBut there, retiring, breathed in pure renown, \nAnd felt a grandeur thai disdained a crown 1" \n\nNapoleon, with no security in the affections, and no claims on the \ngratitude, of his country, or mankind, grasped the sword and the \npurse-strings, till they were wrenched from him by force, and then \nsought safety by an inglorious flight. Washington, thanks be to \nour God, and the God of our fathers, lived to see his benevolent \nand grand design accomplished, to see his country free, prosperous \nand happy; and died at last with all his laurels fresh upon his \nbrow, without having lost a solitary ray of his pure and imperish- \nable glory. Napoleon, totally defeated in a career of usurpation \nand tyranny, unparalleled in the history of mankind, was banished \nto a narrow, solitary and dreary rock, in the midst of a vast ocean ; \nthere to die a lingering and a miserable death, in which the justice \nof Heaven was as vividly displayed on the one hand, as the mean \nmalice, treacherous hospitality, and cowardly fears of his enemies 5 \nand especially of the British Government, were clearly evinced on \nthe other. The life and death of Washington attract the universal \nadmiration and envy of mankind : for who would not live the life. \n\n\n\n26 \n\nwho would not die the death, of the great and the good, the just \nand the righteous man ! The life and death of Napoleon, on the \ncontrary, attract no admiration, excite no envy, from any enlight- \nened and philosophic mind, or any honest and generous heart. \nGreat, good, and brave men have wept at the tomb of Washington, \nthe unassuming, honest and faithful republican chief. None but \ndrivellers or dotards ever shed a tear over that of Napoleon, the \nupstart usurper and the remorseless tyrant. \n\nAgain \xe2\x80\x94 Washington died glorying in the cross of his Divine \nMaster ; and in the full assurance, that there was eternal life and \nunspeakable joy laid up for him in heaven. But Napoleon, in his \nlast moments, found his future prospects as cheerless, and his heart \nas cold and comfortless, as the rock to which he was chained. \nEvery view which Washington took of his by-gone days, could serve \nonly to enliven his hopes of the future, and gild his prospects be- \nyond the grave : For like Enoch he had walked with God, and \nlike Abraham he felt assured that his faith was imputed to him for \nrighteousness. But whenever Napoleon turiled to the past, every \nview brought some fresh sting with it, to goad his conscience and \nto pierce his heart ; while the future was clothed with terrors that \nhaunted him by night and by day. I have studied alt \'"\'story, both \nsacred and profane; and I fear not to assert, that its pages exhibit \nno spectacle more disgusting to a correct mind, or more de[ "^ing \nto human nature, than that of this Usurper and Tyrant, sub d by \nadversity, but unsustained by grace. Behold him fretting and fu- \nming like a beldame at every trivial vexation ; and daily, if not \nhourly, venting his spleen, in the most unmanly and even childish \nebullitions, upon his brutal military keeper, instead of rising supe- \nrior to the insults which he received from that insignificant and \ncontemptible tool of power, and sustaining himself by communion \nwith his creator, and the page of inspiration. But alas ! poor De- \nmagogue, he had sunk the Emperor in the Exile, and the philoso- \npher and hero in the dotard and pitiful complainer. He felt himself \nabandoned both by God and man, whilst no ray of peace or conso- \nlation enlivened the gloom of his .solitude, or pointed the way for \nhim to another and a better world. We learn from the Journal of \nLas Casas, who shared his exile, and was his bosom friend, that \njust before his death he lamented bitterly his want of religion. On \none occasion he called for the reading of our Saviour\'s Sermon on \nthe Mount ; and though struck with the highest admiration of the \nsimplicity and purity, the beauty and sublimity of the morality it \ncontains, still he could not find in that divine composition the con- \n\n\n\n27 \n\nsolation which his hopeless condition required. It was in this \nstate of mental anxiety and uncertainty, although flattered by his \nvanity to believe, that he had committed no great wickedness, that \nhe exclaimed :\xe2\x80\x94 " What, then, would be my happiness, if the \nbright prospect of futurity presented itself to crown the last mo- \nments of my existence!" O! miserable man! He had ridden \nupon the whirlwind, and directed the storm of a tremendous revo- \nlution ! He had usurped the power, and subverted the liberties of \na mighty people. He had wielded that power to the prostration of \nKings, and the destruction of Empires. He had received, on their \nbended knees, the homage of millions of slaves and sycophants. \nEven genius and learning had stooped from their high career to \nminister to his pride, to flatter his vanity, and to aid in perpetuating \nhis power ! But in vain had minions bowed, and kings and em- \npires fallen before him. In vain had the pride of learning and the \nsplendor of genius been humbled and obscured by the fame of his \nachievements, the blaze of his glory, and the colossal magnitude of \nhis power : And instead of looking forward with the great and \ngood Washington, to a crown of righteousness and glory in heaven, \nhis imagination was harrowed with the spectre of a crown of thorns \nin a far difT.rant region. The sun of Washington had set in mild \nand majestic splendor, cheering with its departing beams the liberal \nhopef-j^of |the. votaries of liberty and religion of all nations : But the \nsun\xe2\x80\x9e.Jf^apoleon had gone down in clouds and darkness, leaving \nnone lo mourn his fall but the ignorant and deluded, or those con- \ngenial spirits of foul ambition, who had shared with him the spoils, \nwon by his unparalleled crimes and corruptions. Let no sickly \nsentimentalist say, that I am treading rudely on the ashes of the \ndead : I am, if I know my own heart, the last man to forget what \nis due to the memory of the good and the great, or to lose sight for \na moment of that decorum which the grave silently but impressive- \nly exacts from all who approach it. But the sacred cause of truth, \nfreedom and humanity demands, that history should no longer veil \nthe crimes and corruptions of usurpers and tyrants ; and that their \ntombs should be stripped of the false glory that surrounds them. \n\nThe fate of Napoleon, however, does afford one ground of great \nconsolation to the friends of freedom throughout the world. It \nholds out a perpetual lesson, a solemn warning to mankind. His \nlife is on record ; and thanks to the invention of printing, that dark \nrecord cannot be lost, while time and art survive : And so of the \nsoHtary spot where his relics lie buried. It seems to have been \nmarked out by divine predestination, as a memento to all future \n\n4 \n\n\n\n28 \n\nages. Scarcely a mound or a monument, a turf or a stone, now \npoints the traveller to the tomb of any one of the thousands of ty- \nrants and oppressors, who have heretofore disturbed the peace, and \ntrampled upon the rights of mankind. But the tomb of Napoleon, \nI rejoice to repeat it, can never be either lost or forgotten. Men \nof all nations, and of all ages to come, will pass in sight of it with \nevery breeze that shall ever blow. Often will they find themselves \nbecalmed around it in numerous ships, bearing the flags of every \ncountry and of every clime ; their eyes will behold the lonely spot ; \ntheir meditations will dwell upon it ; and they will hold converse \nof the Tyrant, whose ashes it entombs : And there will it thus \nstand through all time, as a beacon to warn the world against all \nsuch as he was : And let every one such, before he commences his \nfoul career of usurpation, visit, in imagination at least, if not in \nreality, the solitary rock of St. Helena : And as he there hears the \ndark storm of the ocean sweep with a howling blast over the deso- \nlate tomb ; and beholds the thunderbolts of heaven descending with \nawful sublimity on the desecrated and gloomy scene : Let him \npause, let him meditate on the fate of this modern Alaric : Let him \ncommune with his conscience and his God : Let him stay his foul \npurpose, and nobly resolve to become the friend of freedom, and \nthe benefactor of his race, instead of the enemy of the one and the \ntyrant and destroyer of the other. Let him not reconcile himself \nto usurpation, by saying with Caesar, Cataline or Caligula, that his \ncountry is so degenerate as to need a master ; but let him say with \nPlato, that if he cannot contrive to exalt and save, he will not con- \ntribute to degrade and enslave her. \n\nBut to return from this digresson, if it be one : \xe2\x80\x94 I have been ra- \nther prolix on the subject of the rich and the poor, from a sense of \nduty alone to the cause of liberty, which must depend upon social \nharmony : For I have been taught to believe, that men are to be \ndistinguished by their ignorance and their vices, in contrast with \ntheir talents and their virtues : And as God has made no other dis- \ntinction than this, excepting that of male and female, we cannot \njustly acknowledge any other. Let us not, then, excite or cherish \nprejudices between those, who, on the principles of our republican \nconstitutions, ought to be united, if possible, in the common cause \nof liberty and humanity : But let us enquire of Truth, and she \nwill teach us, that if Paul had been as rich as Croesus, he would \nstill have died as nobly as he did, without a solitary murmur, in \ndefence of her cause : And believe me, that riches would not have \ntransformed Columbus into an Almagro or Pizarro ; nor would \n\n\n\n29 \n\npoverty have made either of these cruel and mercenary tyrants to \nresemble him in his matchless genius and god-like virtues. So if \nthe Medici, or Hampden, or Washington, had been as poor as the \nvile demagogues and upstarts, De Retz and Napoleon, their virtues \nvrould have been the same, whilst the possession of all their wealth \nwould not have cured the latter of their vices. \n\nI cheerfully admit, what no well informed man will deny, that \nthe unequal distribution of property, carried to extremes, may af- \nfect if not totally destroy the liberties of a nation ; for we know \nthat it has, for nearly three thousand years, subjugated nearly all \nEurope. All that I have aimed at is, to convey the impression, \nthat in proportion to their numbers, there have been no more con- \nspirators against the rights of man among the rich than among the \npoor ; and that it is neither wealth nor poverty, but perversion of \nmind and of heart, that makes men proud, imperious, or unjust : \nAnd this can be cured only by the light and the spirit of revelation, \nthough it may be molified by the light of nature and common edu- \ncation : And here it may not be amiss to remark, that the greatest \nand vilest conspirator this country ever knew, the man, who, in the \nrevolution, sold us all and received his price in British gold, though \ndefeated in performing his contract, was Benedict Arnold, the poor \ndemagogue of Connecticut, whilst the vigilance and fidelity of \nWashington, the rich planter of Virginia, foiled the Traitor, and \nsaved his country. Arnold was involved in debt beyond the hope \nof extrication ; but still, if he had been an honest man, his poverty \ncould not and would not have betrayed him into the commission of \nso great a crime. \n\nIf the bulk of property in Europe be in the hands of the rich, it \nis owing to their old feudal system, and their ancient barbarism and \nignorance- These gave to the crown, the nobility and the hierar- \nchy, the chief possession of the soil, and rendered the tillers of it, \nthe farmers, not merely political slaves, as our fathers were before \nthe revolution, but personal slaves, the same nearly as our colored \nslaves in the south. But here, with the exception just alluded to, \nthe tillers of the soil are the lords of the soil ; the tenants are but \nfew and far between ; and the proprietors nearly the whole popu- \nlation. Here no proud lord \xe2\x80\x94 for we have, thank Heaven, no such \nvermin as lords among us \xe2\x80\x94 with his parasites, his hunters and his \nhounds, in his train, can leap the land-marks and trample down \nwith impunity the grass or the grain of the husbandman, or gather \nit into his own garners, when ripe for the scythe or the sickle, \nleaving only the gleanings for the mouth of labor : And here no \n\n\n\n30 \n\nPriest or Bishop can demand tithes of us, or take them by force if \nrefused : For here our rulers and our priests are our servants and \nnot our masters ; here no man or set of men can impose laws, \ntithes or taxes, upon us, without our consent ; nor can tithes or \ntaxes for the support of a priesthood be imposed at all : And here, \nthen, we shall never have either the rich or the poor, but ourselves, \nthe whole people alone, to blame, if by sanctioning unequal and \nunjust laws and privileges, we make the rich richer and the poor \npoorer, till property shall entirely change owners, and what is now \nso equally distributed among the many, shall be grasped in the \nhands of the few. But this can never be, so long as we preserve \nour state rights and constitutions as they now are ; the federal con- \nstitution of the Union as it now is ; all being based, as they now \nare, upon the principle of representation before revenue or taxation ; \nand the choice of our rulers by the ballot boxes and free and uni- \nversal suffrage, instead of having them imposed upon us by a king \nor a despot, and their tools or minions : And above all, so long as \nwe shall feel, and act upon, the obligations which flow from Chris- \ntianity, and form the strongest and the only permanent foundations \nof freedom. \n\nSurely, then, where all possess equal rights under the constitu- \ntion and the laws of their country, none can have a right to com- \nplain. Still, even under a political state of things so just and equal, \nthe most ingenious, industrious and enterprising, if Divine Provi- \ndence smile upon their exertions, will obtain the most wealth : \nAnd why should they not ? For to complain of this would be im- \npious : It would be to find fault with our Creator, for having be- \nstowed upon our friend or fellow-countryman his superior qualifi- \ncations for the toils and enterprises of life. On the contrary, so \nlong as the superior skill, enterprise and industry only of our rival, \ngive him the advantage over us, we ought to rejoice, instead of \nrepining, at his prosperity : For all good men must rejoice in the \nmerited prosperity of their friends or fellow-citizens. But if the \nconstitution, or the laws under it, or in violation of it, give my \nrival a privilege, which, under the same or similar circumstances, \nit denies to me ; and by means of this exclusive, unnatural, and \nunjust advantage, he triumphs and I fail, it makes him so far a ty- \nrant, and me so far a slave ; and I have then a right to complain. \n\nBut I now come to a serious question. Since both Mr. Adams \nand Mr. Morris have argued, that the rich will tyrannise over the \npoor, and have recommended, therefore, to keep them quiet and \ngood humored by fixing them for life in the Senate and other high \n\n\n\n31 \n\nplaces in the state, the army and the navy ; it is time to enquire \nseriously, whether these gentlemen \xe2\x80\x94 themselves rich men \xe2\x80\x94 were \nin earnest in thus impeaching the rich ; or was it mere policy, \nadopted for the moment to carry a favorite point : First, to alarm \nthe people, by showing them a Lion in their way ; and then per- \nsuading them to put the dangerous beast into a splendid cage, a \npalace, becoming the ferocious dignity of his royal bruteship, and \nthere to feed him with the richest and the choicest viands, instead of \nslaying him as Sampson did. I must say, indeed, that of all the rare \ncataplasms, or quack remedies, for physical, moral and political \ndisorders, this new plan of curing tyrants of their inordinate and \nfoul propensities, by placing them in the highest offices for life ; \nthis proposition to lengthen and strengthen the claws of the Lion, \nor the fangs of the Serpent, instead of cutting them off or pulling \nthem out, is of all others, ever known or heard of, in my humble \njudgment, the rarest illusion or hallucination of brilliant minds ! \nThat such truly illustrious men, and profound geniuses, should hit \nupon such remedies to prevent or to cure political disorders, is at \nleast one more proof that, in the language of Job, " great men are \nnot always wise !" \n\nLet us, then, I repeat it, away with all mean suspicions, all vul- \ngar jealousies, between the poor and the rich : And let us all unite \nto secure to ourselves, and our posterity, the continuance of the \nblessings of Union, Liberty and Justice. \n\nTo the poor and meritorious man of my country, I would say \xe2\x80\x94 - \nDoes any rich man look upon you with contempt, merely because \nhe is rich and you are poor, remember that it is his individual folly, \nweakness or wickedness, that excites the frown upon his brow : \nAnd upon such an arrogant fool, the poorest mechanic, or the hum- \nblest laborer, with a sound head and heart, may justly turn the \nsneer of scorn and contempt : He may say to him, in the conscious \npride of honest American Democracy : \xe2\x80\x94 Who art thou, weak and \nvain upstart, that dares to turn up your nose at a fellow-creature, \nmade like yourself in the image of his Creator ; and who, if his \nwealth be not equal to yours, has that within him which you do \nnot possess \xe2\x80\x94 a mind enlightened and guided by the principles of \njustice, and a heart warmed and animated by the fire of freedom : \nAnd, therefore, as my father once said to thy father, get thou be- \nhind me, vain reptile as thou art, and shrink into thy native insig- \nnificance ! \n\nAnd to the rich man of my country, I would say : \xe2\x80\x94 Forget not \nyour origin in the common clay of which God created man : If born \n\n\n\n32 \n\nrich^ abuse not the blessing, and be grateful to God who bestowed \nit upon you : If born poor, still be grateful to God for raising you \nfrom poverty and obscurity to wealth and distinction ; unless indeed \nyou feel conscious that your path to wealth and distinction has been \nthe path of iniquity. But seek not, whether your wealth and \nstanding have been justly or unjustly acquired, to trample upon the \nliberties of your country : For whoever shall attempt that, will \nfind, to his confusion and disgrace, that if his countrymen are poor \nin purse, they are rich in spirit. He will indeed find, too soon for \nhis vile purpose \xe2\x80\x94 and Lexington, Bunker Hill and Saratoga, Mon- \nmouth, Germantown and Yorktown, attest the glorious fact \xe2\x80\x94 that \nthere is a spirit in the bosoms of Americans, which will make him \nfeel, that he has to encounter \xe2\x80\x94 \n\n" Men, high minded men \'. \nMen, who their duties know, \nBut know their rights, and knowing dare maintain ; \n\nPrevent the long aimed blow, \nAnd crush the Tyrant while they rend the chain 1" \n\nThus much would I say both to the poor and the rich man : And \nI would at the same time, sincerely exhort you, my hearers, and \nall of our fellow-countrymen, never for a moment to suffer intoler- \nance, bigotry, false pride, or party spirit, to blunt your feelings of \nhumanity or benevolence ; but make Truth alone the guide, and \nLiberty alone, both temporal and spiritual, the object, of all your \npolitical, moral or religious conflicts. Well indeed might the patriot \nmuse of France, in the fervor of generous sentiment, exclaim \xe2\x80\x94 \n\n\xc2\xab O LIBERTY \xe2\x80\xa2 can man resign THEE, \nOnce having felt thy sacred flame? \nCan dungeons, bolts, or bars confine THEE, \nOr whips thy noble spirit tame 1" \n\nO ! how sublime and beautiful, in its proper sense, is the very \nname of Liberty ! Liberty, the gift of God, the glory of men, \nof saints and of angels ; the terror of tyrants ; and the theme of \nthat song which was sung by the Morning Stars, when all the sons \nof God shouted for joy ! O ! what a scene for God and good An- \ngels to behold, was that, when Freedom had her birth in the coun- \ncils of Jehovah ; when the vaults of Heaven resounded with the \nsong of her triumphs to come ; whilst Hell trembled to its founda- \ntions, and Lucifer, the father of Kings, Tyrants, and Monopolists, \n" grinned horribly a ghastly smile," and flew to hide himself in the \ndeepest recess of his dark domain ; there to bewail the fall of his \npower, and the inevitable fate of his tyrannic offspring, from Ne- \nbuchadnezzar, driven by God, for his crimes and corruptions, to \n\n\n\n33 \n\nherd and to feed with the beasts of the field, down to Napoleon, his \nmodern Representative, exiled by the same Divine Providence, for \nthe same crimes and corruptions, the same hostility to his country \nand to mankind. In comparison v^^ith these two Tyrants, whom \nGod so justly doomed to destruction, the present Monarchs of Eu- \nrope are but the dwindled and insignificant pigmies of the old Sa- \ntanic brood. Still, they are the same enemies to freedom and hu- \nmanity ; the same enemies of their people, and of the human race : \nAnd moreover, they are at this moment plotting the ruin of this \ncountry, because it is the only abode of Freedom on earth, and \nthey dread the example it holds out to mankind : But thanks be to \nGod, a storm is now gathering, which will sweep them all, not, I \nhope, after Nebuchadnezzar and Napoleon ; but into the ranks of \nprivate life, where, uninfluenced by the arts of their old master, \nand yielding to a purer and a holier spirit, they may redeem their \nlost time, by repenting of their crimes, and praying for acceptance \nat the Throne of Grace : For there the blood of thousands of mar- \ntyrs, like Warren and Montgomery ; Brissot and Roland ; Emmet \nand Fitzgerald ; Lount and Matthews ; Von Schoultz and Perrault ; \nAbbey and Woodruff; still cries aloud to Heaven for vengeance, \nand will be heard : For never yet did the Almighty turn a deaf ear \nto the cry of innocent blood. Yes, I repeat it, from the tombs of \nthese martyrs, and of thousands of other martyrs, to the sacred \ncause of freedom, a flame is now ascending and spreading, from \n" the Towers of Julius," in the modern Babylon, to those of the \nTyrant Turk on the banks of the Euxine ; and from the Palace \nRoyal of Madrid, to that of the Northern Autocrat, upon whose soul \nthe guilt of destroying the liberties of Poland, and butchering her \nheroic defenders, now presses with a weight, which divine grace \nalone can prevent from bearing it down to the dark realms of eter- \nnal perdition : And that flame, by the blessing of God, shall sweep \nall Tyrants from their blood-stained Thrones, and consummate and \nconsecrate the freedom of the human race. \n\nGentlemen of the Civic and Military Associations ! \n\nI should fail in my duty here, were I to pass over in silence \nthe harmonious and delightful manner in which you have come to- \ngether to celebrate the birth day of freedom. It is a beautiful and \nsublime spectacle, and excites emotions to which words would fail \nin giving utterance, to behold so many different associations, resting \non so many various foundations, and with such variety of laudable \n\n\n\n34 \n\nobjects in view, rushing like the mingled waters of so many pure \nand limpid streams into this sanctuary, to rejoice with one accord \nin the possession of that liberty which was the first best gift \nOF God to Man. The moral which it conveys should never be \nlost sight of \xe2\x80\x94 never, for a moment, be forgotten : \xe2\x80\x94 In Union there \nis moral beauty and sublimity : In Union there is civil, political \nand religious liberty : In Union, there is national strength, safety, \nand glory. This, gentlemen, is the grand and impressive moral, \nwhich the union, on this day, of so many different civic and mili- \ntary societies, whose brilliant emblems and decorations blend to- \ngether like the colors of the bow of promise, must convey to every \nliberal and enlightened mind, every warm and generous heart. I \ncould not say less, and I need not say more, to gentlemen, whose \npresence here, under such harmonious circumstances, evinces that \nthey are devoted, intellectually and sentimentally, to the liberty, \nprosperity and glory of their country. \n\nBrave and venerable Heroes of the Revolution ! \n\nHow ought you to rejoice, that the hallowed flame of liberty, \ndestined to consume the tyrants of the earth, first kindled by the \nbreath of God in the bosom of Moses, was re-kindled by the same \nDivine Power in the bosoms of Washington and his fellow-laborers \nof 1776, with whom you had the honor to stand, side by side, in \ndefending with your trusty swords the liberties of your native land. \nI congratulate you on the return of this day, in which you have \nso much reason to rejoice at the recollection of what God has gra- \nciously done for your country and yourselves. On her He bestowed \nthe precious boon of liberty in the revolution : And you He saved \nthrough the perils of that awful conflict, to enjoy the fruits of your \ngenerous valor, in her prosperity and happiness, and to witness on \nthis day the commencement of the sixty-fourth year of her free- \ndom and independence. Well, then, may you look back with \nhonest pride and joy upon the past : And well may you look for- \nward with the calm eye of hope to your future prospects, and with \npure and unmingled delight on those of your country : For, believe \nme, the present day is but the dawn of that light, freedom and glo- \nry, which, thanks, under God, to your valor, and that of your \nbrethren in arms, the nations of the earth are destined to receive \nfrom these shores. \n\nThere seems, indeed, to have been a prophetic ministering spirit \nat the side of Rogers, when, in the last canto of his beautiful poem, \n\n\n\n35 \n\n" The Voyage of Columbus," he introduces the vision of an An- \ngel, addressing Columbus in his sleep. " Not thine," says the \nAngel, to the slumbering but immortal son of Genoa \xe2\x80\x94 \n\n" Not thine the olive but the sword to bring, \nNot peace, but war ; yet from these shores shall spring \nPeace \xe2\x80\xa2without end : From these, -with blood defiled, \nSpread the pure spirit of thy master mild I \nHere, in his train, shall arts and arms attend. \nArts to adorn, and arms but to defend ! \nAssembling here, all nations shall be blessed, \nThe sad be comforted, the weary rest !. \nUntouched, shall drop the fetters from the slave,. \nAnd HE shall rule the world, HE died to save 1 \nHence and rejoice ! The glorious work is done, \nA spark is thrown that shall eclipse the SUN 1" \n\nSuch, my venerable and venerated friends, is the destiny of your \ncountry, which I rejoice to believe can neither be retarded nor \naverted, by any Aristocracy, Oligarchy or Hierarchy ; by any up- \nstart Usurper, Despot or King : And to that high destiny, how \ngrateful ought you to be, that your valor and achievements have \nbeen made instrumental by the Divine Power. Did purer glory \never glitter on the brows of the living ! Did brighter laurels ever \nbloom on the graves of the dead ! Farewell, my friends : And \nsince my race as well as yours is nearly finished, let us pray for \nthe precious hope, that should we never meet here again, we may^ \nthrough the merits of our Divine Redeemer, meet hereafter in. \nanother and a better world I \n\n\n\nLIBRARY OF CONGRESS \n\n\n\n\n011 782 712 4 \xe2\x80\xa2 \n\n\n\nU \n\n\n\n\ny^^m \n\n\n\n>\\-U^ \n\n\n\n'