A 
 
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Class ___„Jl1 
 
 Book 
 
 13. 
 
1 
 
DISCOURSE 
 
 1 <*5 
 
 FKEACHED ON 
 
 THANKSGIVING DAY, 
 
 IN THE BENEFICENT CONGREGATIONAL MEETING-HOUSE, 
 
 PEOYIDENCE, JULY 21, 1842. 
 
 Br MARK TUCKER, D. D. 
 
 mtHH^te^ i® M/(r(imirs^t 
 
 PROVIDENCE : 
 BENJAMIN F. MOORE, PRINTER, 
 
 No. 19 MARKET STREET, UP STAIRS. 
 
 1842. 
 

 
DISCOURSE 
 
 Job V : 8, 9, 12, 13. / 2vouId sccJi- unto God, and unto God 
 woidd I commit my cause ; which doth great things and un- 
 searchable ; marvellous things ivithout nunihcr : He disap- 
 pointcth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot 
 perform their enterprise. He taketh the ivise in their own 
 craftiness; and the counsel of the froicard is carried head- 
 long. 
 
 We are assembled this day in the house of God, by direction 
 of the chief magistrate of the State, in compliance with a resolu- 
 tion of the Legislature, " to confess before the living God cur sins 
 as a people ; and with warm and contrite hearts, sincerely offer 
 up to the Father of all mercies our deep and unaffected thanks- 
 giving, for the signal interposition ojhis. Idnd and fatherly love so 
 recently and stiikingly manifested in rescuing us from the horrors 
 of civil war, anarchy and death: and to'beseech Him to impress 
 this whole people with an active and abiding reverence for His 
 holy laws, and that they may be enabled through the mercy of 
 Jesus Christ to live in the daily recognition of the great and sol- 
 emn truth, that they are all hastening to a final and eternal retri- 
 bution." 
 
 This resolution, so well expressed, ftills in with the sentiments 
 of a large portion of this community. We have passed through 
 a scene of peculiar trial and danger — we have been mercifully 
 preserved ; and it meets my views, already given on another oc- 
 casion, that we should publicly express our thanksgiving for the 
 divine interposition. 
 
 If there are others who have different views, I have no re- 
 proaches to cast. So far as this difference is owing to political 
 sentiments, I shall have no controversy with them. T never in- 
 terfere in politics ; it is only to be regretted that political opinions 
 have been permitted to bias many minds in judging of the wicked 
 course of men who have committed the high crime of treason 
 against the State. 
 
 In relation to sermons preached on occasions like the present, 
 
I adopt fully the language of a distinguished statesman of Eng- 
 land, comnioiiting on a sermon preached by Dr, Price in 1789. 
 " Politics and the i)ulpit are tprms that have little afireement. 
 ]\o sound ought to be heard in tiie church but the healing voice 
 of christian charity. The cause of civil liberty and civil govern- 
 ment gains as little as that of religion by this confusion of duties. 
 Those who quit their proper character, to assume what does not 
 belong to them, are, for the greater part, ignorant both of the 
 character they leave, and of the character they assume. Wholly 
 unacquainted with the world in which they are so fond of med- 
 dling, and inexperienced in all its afiairs, on which they pronounce 
 with so much confidence, they have nothing of politics but the 
 passions they excite." 
 
 It is unhappy, and much to be regretted, that the strife of ])oli- 
 tics stirs up such unholy passions. Owing to this, many excel- 
 lent men letire from the world, and stand aloof from duties of 
 great importance to the interests of the state. I never yet casta 
 vote, or saw one cast, for any civil office, and never expect to do 
 so ; yet I think every layman ought to make himself acquainted 
 with civil concerns, and avail himself of all the privileges of free- 
 men. This is perfectly consistent with the feeling of reliance 
 upon God expressed in the text. I would seek unto God, and 
 unto God would I commit my cause. For while God disapi)oint- 
 eth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform 
 their enterprise, he does it through the instrumentality of men who 
 love their country, who, anticipating these wicked devices, lay 
 their plans to defeat them. Policy must be opposed to policy, 
 and, if need be, force to force. It would not be piety but pre- 
 sumption, to sit still in the midst of enemies plotting the ruin of 
 the State, arming themselves with deadly weapons, and say, unto 
 God I commit my cause. God is honored by trusting in him in 
 the discharge of active duty. His government over this world is 
 a moral government ; events are brought about by human means. 
 We must em[)loy our reason, exercise our judgment, and act vig- 
 orously in view of circumstances. To pretend to commit our 
 cause to God, and make no provision against want or danger, is 
 to sink down to the level of the Mohammedan fatalist. 
 
 The text, rightly understood, teaches us, in the day of ajiic- 
 
don or of danger to commit our came to God, Tlie encourage- 
 ment to do this is drawn from his attrihutes and government. 
 
 1. Because he is mighty, who docth great things ajid unsearch- 
 able. Who hath an arm like God? His resources are infinite. 
 He doeth his will in the armies of heaven, and ruleth in the king- 
 doms of men. The great and unsearchahlo things which God 
 hath done are a sufticient security to His people to trust in Him. 
 
 When they were oppressed hy the king of Egypt, when plots 
 were laid to exterminate them, first by hard service and wasting 
 labor, and then by destroying all the male children, He who hears 
 the sighing of the prisoner, interposed, and caused these very acts 
 of cruelty to issue in their deliverance. Instruments were raised 
 up. His Piovidencc co-operated with them ; the elements of nature 
 were put in requisition ; by a series of wonders, effected by the 
 out-stretched arm of Jehovah, they were brought out of the iron 
 furnace, while their foes lay dead at their feet. Their song of 
 thanksgiving has supplied tlie church with matter of praise in 
 every age. 
 
 When the three Hebrews, for their religion, were cast Into the 
 fiery furnace, one like the Son of God appeared for them — they 
 escaped unhurt. When Daniel, in his integrity, resisted the un- 
 reasonable and wicked command of (he king, and refused to neg- 
 lect the worship of God, for which he was thrown into a den of 
 lions, he was preserved. When David was hunted by Saul, like 
 a partridge upon the mountains, the Lord was his shield and de- 
 fence. When ancient Israel were established in the promised 
 land, and for their sins were often exposed to danger from their 
 enemies, upon their repentance they were rescued by the might}' 
 hand of God. Witness the case of Asa, who was threatened 
 with destruction by the immense host of the Ethiopians. When 
 he cried unto the Lord, wlio gives strength to them who have no 
 power, lie granted him a signal victory, and the Ethiopians fled. 
 A most interesting and instructive history of God's wonderful do- 
 injrs is found in the 2d Chron. xx. The kingdoms of Moab and 
 Ammon combined to crush Jehoshaphat and all Judah. Like a 
 pious king he called upon God. O our God,tciit thou not judge 
 them, for we have no might against this great company that Com- 
 eth against us ; neither knojv we what to do: but our eyes are 
 
6 
 
 « 
 
 upon thee. They were assured they should triumph, but they 
 were to go down against them. They had faith, they anticipated 
 a victory, and sang praises before the battle. And the Lord de- 
 livered their enemies into their hand. Were it needful we might 
 refer to a m.ultitude of cases, under the gospel, in which God has 
 interposed to deliver his people from impending ruin. The his- 
 tory of the English Protestant Church is replete with facts, but 
 we cannot now refer to tliem. 
 
 2. A second reason why we should commit our cause to God 
 is, that He is wise. He disojjpointeth the devices of (he crafty, 
 so that their hands cannot jjerform their enterprise. He taJceth 
 the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the froward 
 is carried headlong. 
 
 These striking words are illustrated and confirmed by the 
 strange events on account of which we are assembled here to- 
 day. 
 
 We are called upon to give thanks, that on two particular oc- 
 casions, our citizens have been preserved fiom death. That they 
 were greatly exposed no one will deny. The General Assembly 
 and the Chief Magistrate would not have summoned the people 
 together to celebrate a deliverance from imaginary evils. On one 
 occasion, men, under cover of night, attacked the Arsenal of the 
 State with cannon loaded with such materials as not even the fiends 
 of the French Revolution ever attempted to use. While that 
 Arsenal was filled with the friends and relatives of these murderers, 
 they attempted to dischai'ge these destructive guns. Had not a 
 kind Providence interposed, who can say how great had been the 
 waste of human life. The first drop of blood had incited the mul- 
 titude, and revenge had glutted its rage by most horrible massa- 
 cre. God so disappointed them that their hands could not per- 
 form their enterprise. And on the next day, when stung by dis- 
 appointment, incited by strong drink, and desperate with anger, 
 they turned these instruments of death upon a|long line of the 
 best men in the State, they were restrained by Him who carries 
 the counsel of the froward headlong. The cowardly leader fled, 
 and thus their devices were disappointed. The ISth of May 
 will long be remembered as a day of signal deliverance. And 
 were we to follow the impulses of grateful heart<=, we should now 
 
arise from our seats and strike the loud anthem of praise. Yea, 
 let all the people praise Him. [Here the Organ struck up an 
 Anthem of praise, and the congregation arose simultaneously from 
 their seats.] 
 
 That the audacious leader had murderous designs is proved, not 
 only by the long course of drilling which preceded that day, and 
 the arms that were taken, but also by subsequent events ; by his 
 return to the State, surrounded by an armed host, by every de- 
 monstration of war, by fortifications, ammunition, and the show of 
 an army. The outrages that were committed evinced their dis- 
 position ; that murders were not perpetrated was not owing to 
 them, but to a kind Providence. Again they were disappointed ; 
 this armed mob was dispersed without the loss of life. But in 
 another quarter, where more mahgnity was shown, and greater 
 danger existed, one miserable being was hurried into eternity. 
 And how, amid darkness, and abuse, and outrage, and every evil 
 passion, so little injury was done, we cannot explain. It was 
 owing entirely to the hand of God. Let not our gratitude eva- 
 porate in a song of praise. God can restrain the wrath of man. 
 
 Christianity teaches us the value of human life as a season of 
 probation. When we reflect, therefore, how many who were ex- 
 posed to death and escaped by a miracle, have yet a space 
 granted for repentance, we have infinite cause of thanks^ivino-. 
 Their reckless conduct proved they were not prepared to meet 
 their God, and if their subsequent defeat and punishment shall 
 bring them to repentance it will be well for them. 
 
 It is also matter of thankfulness that violence and outrage have 
 been restrained. The show of resistance on the part of theo-ood 
 people of this State, on the 18th of May, and the development of 
 public feeling, convinced all the better part of the revolutionary 
 party that there was a firm purpose to resist anarchy and sustain 
 the laws, so that none but the most reckless and unprincipled 
 among us gathered around the desperate leader when he returned 
 a second time to carry out his designs. Men of no character, of 
 ruined fortunes, of base feelings, flocked in from other States : a 
 miserable multitude, ready for any thing. To suppose that such 
 a rabble were influenced by a love of liberty, that a high and no- 
 
8 
 
 ble sentiment inspired them, is to expect grapes from thorns and 
 figs from thistles. They were stimulated by the promise of plun- 
 der ; and had they succeeded, no one can tell what havoc had 
 been made of property. The apocryphal history of Rhode Island 
 might have been sober truth. That during their preparations and 
 assemblage so little injury should have been done, is cause of 
 f^ratitude. The recent disclosures have revealed plans of unpar- 
 alleled wickedness. We do not yet know from what we have 
 been preserved. Let a part of that property which has been saved 
 from pillage be consecrated to God. 
 
 Another cause of gratitude this day is. that so many have taken 
 the side of law. 
 
 From the pains that have been taken to forestal public opinion, 
 from the Interference of interested persons from abroad, from the 
 false reports circulated by hireling presses, it is not strange that a 
 great excitement should have been raised on the subject of a 
 written constitution. To strangers, ignorant of the practical ope- 
 ration of the Charter, unacquainted with thecharacter of our pop- 
 ulation, it might appear unaccountable, that the people of this 
 State should have lived so long without some change in the form 
 of government. Tlie very fact itself proves that they enjoyed 
 sufficient liberty. For no people are more jealous of their rights, 
 none better able to redress them. It has been said that the Char- 
 ter made no provision for a change. But no charter, or form of 
 government, is supposed to be perfect. The several acts of the 
 Legislature, grafted upon that instrument, all go upon the suppo- 
 sition that there could spring up no abuse that could not be cor- 
 rected. And the fact that petitions from the people for a new 
 constitution have been often presented, and frequently acted on, 
 proves that a remedy was at hand, without overturning the gov- 
 ernment. The reason, probably, why the late attempt was re- 
 sisted was, that it originated in the most corrupt place in the na- 
 tion : in the dark conclave of a society in a great city in another 
 State. The people here felt that they were capable of changing 
 their own form of government. Men of infidel sentiments were 
 sent here to give public lectures, to stir up the people, and by 
 perversion of truth, exaggerated statements and inflamatory ap- 
 peals, to prepare the way for a revolution. And who that re- 
 
9 
 
 members the mass meetings, the means employed to inflame the 
 public mind, the nightly processions through these streets, the 
 strong expression of public sentiment in favor of free suffrage, can 
 refrain from gratitude that so many who desired a change in the 
 form of government, were induced to pause where the line is drawn 
 between political excitement and open rebellion. 
 
 It has been well said by one of the ablest of British statesmen, 
 speaking of" dethroning kings," or revolutionizing a government, 
 " this question w ill always be, as it has aK\'ays been, an extraor- 
 dinary question of state, and wholly out of the law ; a question 
 (like all other questions of state,) of dispositions, of means, and 
 of probable consequences, rather than of positive rights. As it 
 was not made for common abuses, so it is not to be agitated by 
 common minds. The speculative line of demarcation, where 
 obedience ought to end, and resistance must begin, is faint, ob- 
 scure, and not easily definable. It is not a single act, or a single 
 event, which" determines it. Governments must be abused and 
 deranged indeed,' before it can be thought of; and the prospect 
 of the future must be as bad the experience of the jiast. When 
 things are in that lamentable condition, the nature of the disease 
 is to indicate the remedy to those whom nature has qualified to 
 administer in extremities (his critical, ambiguous, bitter potion to 
 a distempered state. Times, and occasions, and provocations, 
 will teach their own lessons. The wise will determine from the 
 gravity of the case ; the irritable from sensibility to oppression ; 
 the high-minded from disdain and indignation at abusive power 
 in unworthy hands ; the brave and bold from the love of honora- 
 ble danger in a generous cause : but with or without right, a rev- 
 olution will be the very last resource of the thinking and the 
 good." 
 
 The excitability of the public mind inspired hope in the lead- 
 ers, and they, under the plausible pretence of securing the rights 
 of the people, aimed at a revolution from purely selfish purposes. 
 To the credit of great numbers, and to the praise of God, they 
 turned away, when it became manifest that violence was to be 
 used to establish a new government. When we think of the pride 
 of opinion that is common to men, the anomaly of the existing 
 2 
 
10 
 
 government, the correctness of the principle avowed as the object 
 to be obtained, to wit, the equably of representation and the right 
 of suffrage, we must, while we bless God for his interposition, 
 award due praise to all who stood forth in defence of the laws. 
 Among them were many whose sympathies originally were with 
 the suffrage party. But greater evils must exist, greater abuses 
 be practised before any good reason can be given for overtLirninf 
 the regular government. The favorable termination of this un- 
 happy affair will afford many an opportunity of surveying the 
 gulf they have escaped, and we hope none will refuse to give God 
 the glory of our deliverance. 
 
 Another cause of gratitude is, that the designs of the ivicked to 
 overturn the government have been defeated. 
 
 I would not knowingly do injustice to the opinions and conduct 
 of any man, or set of men. According to the constitution of the 
 United States, and the construction of the ablest jurists, these 
 men have been guilty of treason. They have " levied war against 
 the government." And had they succeeded, we should now, if 
 living, be under an usurpation. In the face of positive enact- 
 ments, and in defiance of fearful penalties, they went forward and 
 organized a government, and took up arms to establish it. That 
 all this was not the result of accident, that they were not carried 
 on step by step by the force of circumstances, but that it was 
 the result of deliberation and long continued effort, is capable of 
 proof. 
 
 It appears there is a set of men in our country, and some of 
 them are in the Senate of the United Stales, others are editors of 
 papers, who are ready for a revolution. The principles they 
 avow would prostrate every regular government. They are the 
 boasted champions of liberty, but they would bring us under the 
 most intolerable despotism. To show that I do not speak unad- 
 visedly, I will refer to facts. Read the speeches that have been 
 made in New York, Boston and Philadelphia, at what are called 
 sympathizing meetings. Read the outrageous articles, as false as 
 they are abusive, in some of the papers published in tlie two 
 former cities. Read the writings of one, who, when he lectured 
 •and wrote on the laboring classes, was countenanced and -sup- 
 
11 
 
 ported by these men, and by him, who is now a fugitive from 
 justice. We are not ignorant of the treasonable doctrines he has 
 put forth, and the wise and good of the old world read with as- 
 tonishment such sentiments, while the reckless authors of them go 
 abroad unmolested. Truly this is a free country. 
 
 Listen to some sentiments published and defended by this sus- 
 tained lecturer. In a book purporting to be a history of, him- 
 self under a fictitious name, he says, "Wherever I went I beheld 
 uijustice, oppression, inequality in wealth, social position, moral 
 and intellectual culture, the many every where toiling for the 
 few." " Wealth is every where, in practice at least, counted 
 the supreme good, and every where its producers are the poor 
 and wretched. They who toil not, spin not, are they who are 
 clad in soft raiment, and fare sumptuously every day. What 
 monstrous injustice is here. " Here priests, statesmen, lawyers, 
 all boasting their services, and pretending to manage society as 
 it ought to be managed. But what do they for the mass, the 
 great, unprivileged, hard-handed many?" "O, it is a bad 
 world ; society is all wrong. These iniquitous distinctions of 
 class, this injustice, this oppression of the toiling many to feed 
 the kxury and the vanity of the idle and worse than useless 
 few, 7nust he redressed/' 
 
 Here is an attempt to arm the poor against the rich by appeal- 
 ing to prejudice and to cupidity, in fact to the worst passions. 
 This great evil of the distinctions that exist in the world, must 
 be redressed, and he has told us how. First, by the destruction 
 of the priesthood. "The remedy," he says, "is first to be 
 sought in the destruction of the priest. T[ie complete and final 
 destruction of the priestly order in every practical sense of the 
 word priest, is the first step to be taken towards elevating the 
 laboring classes." The second means is the destruction of 
 banks. "Uncompromising hostility to the whole banking sys- 
 tem should, therefore, be the motto of every working man and 
 every friend of humanit)^ The system must be destroyed." 
 
 The third means for the accomplishment of his object is ahol- 
 ishiiig hcrediiunj property. This is levelling with a witness. 
 But it must be carried out, though at the expense of blood. He 
 says, " it will be effected only by the strong hand of physical 
 
12 
 
 force. It will come, if ever it come at all, only at the conclu- 
 sion of a war the like of which the world as yd has never wit- 
 nessed, and from which, however inevitahle it may seem to the 
 eye of philosophy, the heart of humanity recoils with horror." 
 There are also men in New England who openly avow the de- 
 struction of all government, domestic and civil, of the Sahhath, 
 and the ministry. Who can say then that the recent rehellion 
 in this Stale is not the natural result of such horrible doctrines, 
 and has followed in the train of such efforts. In proportion as 
 these designs to subvert the government have been long cherish- 
 ed and pu'ijlicly advocated should be our gratitude for the signal 
 deliverance. 
 
 It is a further cause of thanksgiving, that we are still sw' 
 rounded ivith our civil and religious privileges. 
 
 We may yet set under our own vine and fig-tree undisturhed. 
 Had the insurgents succeeded, we should have been made hewers 
 of wood and drawers of water. They had already in imagina- 
 tion divided the estates of the city and distrihuted the civil offices; 
 and as Jeroboam in his rebellion appointed priests of the lowest 
 of the people, ministers would have been found of a character to 
 uphold such proceedings. Let us bless God to-day that we are 
 under wholesome laws, that our altars have not been polluted, 
 that the light yet shines in this candlestick. 
 
 Such are some of the causes of thanksgiving to-dav ; any one 
 of ihem is sufficient to awaken the liveliest gratitude; combined 
 they should lead to a life of praise and obedience. 
 
 But thanksgiving is not the whole of our duty to-day. Impor- 
 tant lessons are taught us by these events which we ought not to 
 be slow to learn. We ought not to pass tlirough such scenes 
 without improvement. 
 
 1. We are taught the importance of correct principles in regard 
 to government, both fimily and civil. 
 
 We are not to suppose that the obstinacy and recklessness of 
 one man, or of a few men, have brought upon us all these evils 
 under which we have suffered. This rebellion threatened to be 
 too general to be ascribed to such a cause. It was brought about 
 both by remote and proximate causes. Why is the Sabbath now 
 so well observed' Why are some places of common resort now 
 
13 
 
 deserted on that day? It is owing to the vigor of wholesome law. 
 There is a small portion of every class of a community who are 
 regardless of all law. Many such have fled the state, or are in 
 close confinement. The magistrates and public officers have been 
 perhaps remiss in execuiing the hnvs, till the rebellious became 
 bold and daring. They had no thought there would be spirit 
 enough in the people to arise and put down opposition. When 
 they saw men of standing and high character come forward, and 
 even noble spirited sons of Rhode Island living in other states, 
 return in defence of the laws, their spirits fainted and they fled. 
 This rebellion, in a great measure, may be attributed to want of 
 family government. A man who has been trained to obey wdien 
 he was young, will not rise up against the government when he is 
 old. A spirit of subordination should be inculcated in every 
 department of life. Parents must do their duty, and like Abra- 
 ham command their children and households after them. The 
 whole country is in danger from this cause. In those districts 
 where murders and mobs are most common there is no flimily 
 government ; and a large portion of the children cannot read. 
 They grow up in ignorance, slaves to their passions, submiitino- 
 only to brute force. In our cities, there is little regard paid to 
 family discipline; hence they are in danger of being ruled by 
 mobs. Shall we not take warning by what we liave suffered 
 and begin, if it be not too late to train up our children to strict 
 obedience to law and government. 
 
 2. It is evident that there exists a combination to rcvoJution- 
 izc the country. It was not an oratorical flourish merely, when 
 it was said by the pretended governor returning to the state with 
 an armed force to establish his government, that Rhode Island 
 would be the battle field for the liberties of America. It was no 
 obscure intimation that many in every part of the land were in- 
 terested in the result; it is fair to infer that if they had succeeded 
 here, other movements would soon have been made elsewhere. 
 The rebellion here was not an isolated diet but a part of a sys- 
 tem. There can be no doubt that the second attempt to invade 
 the regular government had never been hazarded, if assistance 
 had not been promised from abroad. In reading the remarks of 
 the agitators in other states, we see in their tones of disappoint- 
 
14 
 
 ment, iheii- bitter reproaches, their shameless falsehoods, how 
 deeply they sympathized with the insurgents. A single defeat 
 will not cure the evil. These dark malignant spirits lurking 
 about the hiding places of rcbelHon, will wait for another occasion 
 to attack the citidel of constitutional liberty. This recent devel- 
 opement should lead us to watch with more vigilance such men 
 as Garrison, who is propagating errors of the worst character, 
 openly assailing all government, the Holy Sabbath and the 
 Christian Ministry; had b.e any influence he would be like the 
 Bohan Uj)as, around which nothing that has life could grow — 
 and Broivnson who has already had as many phases as the moon 
 and who, if his influence were equal to his malignity, would ren- 
 der many fit only to be tenants of the mad house ; who like 
 Marius brooding over the ruins of Carthage, is now silently sur- 
 veying the scene of anarchy and threatened death, which he aided 
 to produce ; and Goodell, who more reckless than the rest, once a 
 citizen of this state, and still bound to it by many ties, in letters over 
 his own name, calls our constituted authorites, tyrants and usur- 
 pers, justifies all that has been done to destroy our liberty, and 
 under the name of Christian would commit outrages, wdiich be- 
 long only to the school of the French Revolution. These are 
 living men, and wdiat must be the state of morals and public 
 sentiment, when they unblushingly and without prosecution erect 
 their batteries against all that is sacred in right and privilege, all 
 that is venerable in usage and law, all that is true and sound 
 in political and religious institutions. 
 
 Such clouds and vapor and smoke indicate too clearly the ex- 
 istence of a crater whose subteranean fires are ready to burst 
 forth, and when the catastrophe comes, a scene will be present- 
 ed, from which, in the language of one of these men, " the heart 
 of humanity recoils with horror." 
 
 3. Another lesson taught us by these recent events, is, that 
 threatening evils should be checked in the beginning. 
 
 It is now acknowledged that it was a capital mistake to sufler 
 these men to forestal the public mind. When they saw the 
 apathy that prevailed they were emboldened to go forward. 
 There was a want of energy in the government, which, however 
 ainiable it may appear, opened the way for many of the evils we 
 
15 
 
 have felt. The law is for the disobedient ; and if the stale, like a 
 weak parent, forbeav ^^l)en it ought to correct, its requisitions will 
 be treated with scorn, its threatnings with contempt. A counter 
 government, ought never to have been organized ; if full confi- 
 dence had been placed in the jiower of the law, and the first acts 
 of rebellion punished, the arm of opposition had not been raised. 
 The wicked are fiint hearted, they may put on the appearance 
 of resistance but it is a rare step "to levy war against the gov- 
 ernment." The guardians and executors of the law ought not 
 to shrink from any just responsibility. If there is any faltering 
 in those who fill important stations, the rebellious will take 
 advantage. Now is the time to impress upon the minds 
 of all men of all parties, the necessity of unqualified submission 
 to wholesome laws. And it was truly gratifying to observe 
 in the resolution of the Legislature, appointing this day, a 
 distinct recognition of the great and solemn truth of a final 
 and eternal retribution." Legislators do not always seem 
 to feel that their acts will be reviewed in the day of judge- 
 ment. The sentiments inculcated in the Proclamation are wise 
 and salutary. If there is not a reverence for the laws of God in 
 the minds of the people, and a full belief of the scriptures and 
 all tlie doctrines they contain, human governments are vain, and 
 legislative acts without power. It is to be hoped the constituted 
 authorities, whether under the Old Charter, or under a written 
 constitution will not recede from the high ground they have 
 taken, but will vigorously maintain the supremacy of the law. 
 The lawless and disobedient now find there is an arm they can- 
 not resist with impunity ; nor should the vile slanders of corrupt 
 presses be suffered to intimidate the officers of the government. 
 They have a duty to perform which involves many great inter- 
 ests ; the right performance of which will afiTect families and 
 communities in all time to come. 
 
 The violence of the storm which has agitated the great sea of 
 life, has subsided, but we feel the ground-swell. Causes of irrita- 
 tion yet remain. The principal offender is a fugitive from justice, 
 his accomplices have notbeen tried, there is much secret sympa- 
 thy with them, the com(nunity has been extremely poisoned — 
 many roots of bitterness remain — There is a call for the exercise 
 
i 
 
 16 
 
 ot forbearance and forgiveness. The fact that the evil has infect- 
 ed the churches, proves that there are consciences that need to be 
 enhghtened, as well as understandings to be instructed. 
 
 Here is a work for every one to do ; we are parts of a great 
 coniniunily — our habitations are here — our friends are here; 
 our business is here — sad divisions have taken place — friend 
 has been arrayed a:,rainst friend, brother against brother; lines of 
 alienation have nm through families and firms of business — While 
 we thank God, this day for our deliverance, let us endeavor to 
 reclaim to reason and duty those who have sinned by counten- 
 ancing oj)posilion to the state. With our thanksgiving let our 
 prayers ascend for their salvation. Let all animosity cease. If 
 prosperity is again to return to the walks of business, and peace 
 to the circles ol social intercourse, we must cherish the 'spirit of 
 love. Here then as we come to offer our gifts, let us enquire if 
 any brother or neighbor hath ought against us, and let us lay 
 aside all bitterness, all evil speaking, and live hereafter, as those 
 who have one common interest, and are travelling to one com- 
 mon home. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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