3^^ 3^ ^F'-Jx. 014 041 318 5 Pnnco MR/ WEBSTER'S REMARKS NEW HAMPSHIRE FESTIVAL, BOSTON, NOV. 7th, 1849. [Copyright Secured.l Correction — page 3, last line, for dextra read dextram. SPEECHES HON. DANIEL WEBSTER OF MASSACHUSETTS, DELIVERED AT THE Jistiual of tl)c Sona oi New l^ampsl)to, IN BOSTON, NOV. 7th, 1849. PHONOGRAPIIIC REPORT BY DR. JAMES W. STONE, PRESIDENT OF THE BOSTON PHONOGRAPHIC REPORTING ASSOCIATION. BOSTON: JAMES FRENCH, 78 Washington Street, 1849. r/ ^ T"r 3^ r j • OLD DICKINSOxN OFFICE, C. C. P. MOODY, PRINTER, KO. 52 WASHINGTON STKEET, BOSTON. MR. WEBSTER'S REMARKS AT TUE NEW HAMPSHIRE FESTIVAL, BOSTON, NOV. Ttii, 1849. Residents of Boston and its vicinity, native born of New Hanip- shire ! we meet here to-day in honor of our native State, to com- memorate and record our grateful affection for her ; to acknowledge the obhgation that we all feel under for her care and nurture in our early days. Coming into this, another State, we have not brought with us all our affections, or all our attachments. We have invited to meet us many distinguished citizens of New Hampshire. They have answered our invitation, and have come in numbers. It may be considered properly the dvity of the place I occupy to bid them, one and all, welcome. [Applause.] Welcome, ye of New Hampshire origin, from every part and quarter of our native State ! If you come from the pleasant valleys of the Con- necticut and Merrimac, Avelcome ! Are you from the sea-shore and the lakes of Strafford ? Avelcome ! Come ye from the Monadnock and the sides of the Crystal Hills ? welcome ! ivelcome ! welcome ! [Cheers.] It was not in my power, Gentlemen, to meet you in the Hall of the State House before dinner. But I meet you here, and in the name of us who have prepared this celebration, I greet our guests, and in my own name, I greet all. I think they say the Chinese have a heathenish custom, when they meet, for one to shake his own hands to his friends. That is not our custom. Let us be more classical ; Cur dextrce jimgere dexira non datur. Let us follow the English and the Saxon custom, and shake hands with our friends. I give my hands to the friends next me. Let us embrace, more ma jorum., and have a good hearty shaking of hands. [Great cheering, while Mr. Webster shakes hands with those near, and his example is followed by the company.] Gentlemen, all the world admits that identity of local origin is a tie of connection and sympathy, especially if it be strengthened by early association, by the meeting with one another in the school- house, and in the early society of life. In the morning of hfe, the heart opens all its sympathies to those around it, and receives im- pressions which are deep and lasting. We have migrated from one State to another. Our migration has not, indeed, been far. Nor have we come among strangers ; nor have we had a new tongue to learn, new principles to imbibe, new affairs of life to pursue ; but, nevertheless, we have changed our allegiance ; we have changed' our citizenship; we have changed our social re- lations. New Hampshire men once in all these respects, we have ceased to be New Hampshire men now in every thing, but grateful remembrance and affections for the past. To-day we meet to resume, for the time, the feelings which belong to us, as citizens of New Hampshire ; to put on the New Hamp- shire character, and see how well it may fit us here, in the metrop- olis of the State, to which we have come. Gentlemen, our lot is propitious ; singularly, remarkably, propitious. We are the native sons of one State, we are the adopted children of another, and we are proud of both. [Warm applause.] We desire not to forget whence we came, and Heaven forbid that we should forget where we are. We have met, I say, to commemorate our native State. We value it according to its merits, which we believe high and hon- orable. We value it for what Nature has conferred upon it, and for what its hardy sons have done for themselves. We believe, and we know, that its scenery is beautiful ; that its skies are all healthful ; that its mountains and lakes are surpassingly grand and sublime. If there be any thing on this continent, the work of Nature, in hills, and lakes, and seas, and woods, and forests, strongly attract- ing the admiration of all those who love natural scenery, it is to be found in our mountain State of New Hampshire. It happened to me latterly to visit the northern parts of the State. It was Autumn. The trees of the forests, by the discolor- ation of the leaves, had presented one of the most beautiful specta- cles that the human eye can rest upon. But the low and deep murmur of those forests ; the fogs, and mists, rising and spreading and clasping the breasts of the mountains, whose heads were still high and bright in the skies, all these indicated that a wintry storm was on the wing; that the spirit of the mountains was stirred, and that ere long the voice of tempests would speak. But even this was exciting ; exciting to those of us who had been witnesses before of such stern forebodings, and exciting in itself as an exhibition of the grandeur of natural scenery. For my part, I felt the truth of that sentiment, applied elsewhere and on another occasion, that " The loud tonent and the whirlwind's roar, But bound me to my native mountains more." [Applause.] Ours is not one of the richest of the States. It does not compare with Massachusetts in its facilities of mercantile or commercial oc- cupation and enterprise. Its soil is sterile and stubborn, but the resolution to subdue it is stubborn also. Unrelenting rocks have yielded, and do yield, to unrelenting labor ; and there are produc- tiveness, and health, and plenty, and comfort, over all her hills and among all her valleys. INIanly strength, the nerved arm of free- men, each one tilling his own land, and standing on his own soil, enjoying what he earns, and ready to defend it ; these have made all comfortable and happy. Nor need we be ashamed of her literary, her religious, or her social institutions. I ha\e seen, and others of my age have seen, the church and the school-house rise in the very centre of the forest, and stand and be visited ni the midst of winter snows. And where these things lie at the foundation and commencement of society, where the worship of God, the observance of morals, and the cul- ture of the human mind, are springs of action with those who take hold of the original forest, to subdue it by strong arms and strong muscles, depend upon it, no such people ever fail. [Sen- sation.] 6 Everywhere, everi/ivJierc, on lior hills and rivers, are the school- liouses. The school-house ; ^vho shall speak of that all over New En^dand as it ought to he spoken of? AVho shall speak, as they ought to be spoken of, of the wisdom, and foresight, and benevo- lence, and sagacity of our forefathers, in establishing, as a great public police for the benefit of the whole, as a business in which all are interested, the great system of public instruction ? The world had previously seen nothing like it. But the w^orld, in some parts, has since copied from it. But where, when you talk of fos- tering Governments, of guardian Governments, of Governments which render to subjects that protection which the allegiance of subjects demands ; Avhere is it, I ask, that, as here with us, it has come to be a great and fundamental proposition, existing before constitutions, that it is the duty, the bounden duty, of Governments composed by the representation of all, to lay the foundation of the happiness and respectability of society, in universal education ? If you can tell me such a country out of New England, I would be glad to hear of it. I know of none. I have read of none. [Ap- plause.] Gentlemen, the inhabitants of our New Hampshire mountains were, it must be confessed, from the first, rather inclined to the in- dulgence of a military spirit. I believe that that is common to mountainous regions in most parts of the world. Scotland and Switzerland show the example of hardy, strong men in mountainous regions, attached to war and to the chase ; and it is not unfortunate in our Ncav Hampshire history, that this sentiment, to a considera- ble degree, prevailed. For the position of the country, and the state of the people called for its exercise. We know that New Hampshire was settled in all its frontier towns, under circumstances of the most dangerous and difficult nature and character. It was a border State. It bordered on the Indians and on the French ;. names and nations always coupled together in the language of our- fathers as common enemies to them. This exposed the frontier- men, of New Hampshire especially, to perpetual war ; to perpetual' danger at least of war, and its frequent occurrence. People for- get ; they forget how recent it is, that the interior, the border country of New Hampshire, was settled and reclaimed, and made safe from Indian depredotion. All the world reads that New England is the oldest part of the United States, or one of tlic old- est. It has been looked upon as the longest settled. But, in regard to the frontiers of our native State, the settlement has been recent. Even up to the time of the birth of some of us now living, there was some degree of danger from Indian depredations and Indian wars ; liability to Indian assaults, murders, and burnings. Whole generations, at least one entire generation, tilled the land and raised their bread with their arms in their hands, or in the fields with them at their labor. We do not now appreciate the diffi- culty of those frontier settlements ; because subsequent prosperity and security have obliterated the recollection. The pioneers of more fortunate countries in our day, Avhat are their dangers compared with those of our fathers ? They go to a mild climate. They go to a fertile land ; and they have behind them a powerful Government, capable of defending them against the foe, of protecting their interests, and of redressing the wrongs they may suffer. It was not so with our fathers in New Hamp- shire. There, on the border were the Indians, and behind the Indians were the hostile French. It was in this situation of border danger and border warfare, and border strife and border suffering, that our ancestors laid the foundation of the State from which Ave come. In the language of Fisher Ames, "It is not in Indian Wars that heroes are celebrated ; but it is there they are formed. No enemy on earth is more formidable, in the skill of his ambushes, in the suddenness of his attack, or in the ferocity of his revenge." Not only was this foe to be encountered, but also a civilized State at enmity Avith us behind the Indians, supplying them Avith means, and always ready to purchase the victims that they could bring for sale to Canada ; this was the condition of things in which the fron- tiers were settled. Let it be added, that half the year was winter, and that on the surface of the snow, encrusted by frosts, bands of savages, coming from a distance of two hundred miles, suddenly appeared and set fire, at midnight, to the houses and villages of the settlers. It was in this discipline, it was in these Indian Wars, it was especially in the Avar of 175G, against the French, in which almost every man in New Hampshire, capable of bearing arms, bore arms; it was here that the military spirit of the country, the bravery, the gallantry of these mountain inhabitants were all called forth. They were a people given to the chase and to the hunt in time of peace; fitted for endurance and danger, and when war came, they were ready to meet it. It was in the midst of these vicissitudes that they were formed to hardihood and enterprise, and trained to mili- tary skill and fearlessness. As one example out of many, I might refer to Gen. John Stark, well known for his military achievements in all the wars of his time. A hunter in peace, a soldier in w ar ; and as a soldier, always among the foremost and the bravest. [Applause.] And since he is brought to my remembrance, let me indulge in the recollection of him for a moment. Gen. Stark was my neighbor ; the neighbor and friend of my father. One in a highly important, the other in a less distinguished situation ; they had seen military service together, and had met the enemy in the same field. It was in the decline of Stark's life, com- paratively speaking, when the Revolutionary War broke out. He en- tered into it, however, with all the manliness and all the fervor of his youthful character. Yet, in his advanced age, like other old men, he turned back fondly to earlier scenes ; and when he spoke of the "war," he always meant the old French and Indian war. His re- membrances were of Canada ; of the exploits at Crown Point, and Ticonderoga, and Lake George. He seemed to think of the Revo- lution as only a family quarrel, in which, nevertheless, he took a warm and decided part; but he preferred to talk of the "war" in which he was taken by the Indians, as he was more than once, I think, and carried to Canada. The last time I saw him, he was seated around a social fire with his neighbors. As I entered, he greeted me, as he always did, with aifection; and I believe he complimented me on my complexion, s^'ncli he said was like my father's ; and his was such, he said, that he never knew whether he Avas covered with powder or not. [Laughter.] The conversation turned, like other conversations among country neighbors, upon this man's condition and that man's condition ; the property of one, and the property of another, and how much each was worth. At last, rousing himself from an apparent slumber, he said, " Well, I never knew but once what I was worth. In the war, the Indians took mo, and carried mc to Canada, and sold me to the French for forty pounds ; and, as they say a thing is worth Avhat it will fetch, I suppose I was worth forty pounds." [Laughter.] These are the scenes, ye native born ; this is the history, yc sons of New Hampshire, of the times and the events, which brought forth the gallant spirits of our native State into the midst of a still more important and more serious conflict, Avhich began here in 1776. New Hampshire was then full of soldiers ; indeed, I may say that the whole of New England was full of soldiers, when the Revolutionary War broke out. New Hampshire, especially, had hardly any body in it that had not used the custom of bearing arms in the previous war. As proof of the soldier-like character of our New England yeomanry, I may mention a fact which should not be forgotten ; that, of all the soldiers, regular and militia, "which served in the war of Independence, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island, these four httle States, wdiich, as you look upon a map of the United States, you can cover with your hand, these States furnished more than one half of all the men that achieved our Independence. [Cheers.] It appears from official and statistical record, that, during the war, in the regular service and in the militia service, three hun- dred and seventeen, or three hundred and twenty thousand men were employed in our armies. I say that, of these, New England alone furnished more than half. I may refer to a period further back. I may revert to the time that Louisburg was taken from the French, in 1745. How many men do you think the States of New England maintained ? I believe. Gentlemen, they maintained, for one or two years at least, upon the pay of the Colonies, more men against the French, than were enlisted, at any one time, in our late war with England. And that induced old Lord Chatham to say in his place in the House of Lords, " I remember, my Lords, when New England raised four regiments on her own bottom, and took Louisburg from the veteran troops of France." Then came the war of the Revolution ; it broke out here in the State of Massachusetts. Where was New Hampshire then ? Was she alienated from the cause, or from her sister State ? No. Neither then, nor at any time in the succeeding contest, was her soil 9 10 subject to the tread of a hostile foot. Whether thej thought it not worth entering, or whether thev did not choose to encounter the dwell- ers in her mountains, I do not care to decide. The truth is, no enemy trod on the soil of New Hampshire. But when the strife began, when the beacon fires were lighted here, when the march from Boston to Lexington, and Concord, had spread the flames of Liberty, who answered to the call ? Did New Hampshire need to be sum- moned to Bunker Hill ? She came at the first blaze of the beacon fires. None were earlier, none more ready, none more valiant. I think it is Madame de Stael who says, that " from the mountains of the North there comes nothing but fire and the sword." And on this occasion, there did indeed come from our native mountains both fire and the sword ; not the fire of devastation and desolation, not the sword of ruthless plunder and massacre ; but the fire of Liberty and the sword of Patriotism. [Overpowering applause.] And how ardently the one burned, and how vigorously the other was plied till the return of peace enabled the country to sheath it, and be at rest, let the whole history of that country tell. [Cheers redoubled.] Gentlemen, from Bunker Hill to Yorktown, there was not a battle in which New Hampshire blood was not shed. I may go further yet ; and I may say that there is, probably, of the many hundreds now in this very Hall, a representative of some New Hampshire officer or soldier who fell in every field, and left his bones where he fought his battle. The blood, the blood of New Hampshire men, falling everywhere, and in every year of the war, in defence of the liberty of the country, is here to-night. I hope it is worthy of its descent, and that it will transmit itself undefiled to ages, and ages yet to come. [Applause.] Those who returned to New Hampshire from that seven years' contest, have their graves on her mountain sides, and along the valleys of their native land ; and those graves are ever objects of public regard, and private aifection : "How sleep the liravc, who sink to rest, B}' all tlicir Conntrv's wishes blest ! " " And Freedom shall awhile repair, And dwell, a weeping hermit, there." 11 They are ever pointed out to the passing traveller as the last rest- ing place of the patriotic and the brave ; and they continue to be watered with the tears of a grateful posterity. But, alas ! all did not return. McCleary, the earliest, or one of the earliest of the New Hampshire victims of the Revolutionary struggle, fell in Charlestown. His blood is mixed with the earth, upon which yon- der monument stands, raising its head to the skies, and challenging, from the Avorld, respect and admiration for the spot where a mili- tary achievement was performed, which, in its results, in the long career of its consequences, in the great course of events which followed it, and their effects upon human happiness, or human liberty, has no parallel in the history of mankind. Adams and Coleman fell at Saratoga, and the soil of New York contains their ashes. Col. Scammel, a scholar, a gentleman of high attainment and accomplishment, a soldier of undaunted valor, went through the whole career of the war, and lost his life at its close, when making a reconnoissance, as Adjutant General, before the redoubts at Yorktown. There he fell. He lies buried in the grave-yard at Williamsburg. An affectionate friend and comrade, Gen. Henry Dearborn, took pains to search out the spot where his remains were buried. He could find no more, than that they lay somewhere in that consecrated burial-ground. A braver, or a bet- ter man, did not belong to the army. I never read his history without being much affected. He left no descendants. He was never married. His career was short and brilUant, like that of the star that shoots across the horizon, and goes out to be seen no more. His friends came home from the army, full of attachment and love for his name and fame. Gen. John Brooks, formerly Gov- ernor of this State, beloved by every body and distinguished for every virtue, named a son for him, Alexander Scammel Brooks. This son was brought up to the army like his predecessor and name- sake, and lost his life in the Florida war. Gen. Dearborn, another friend, also named a son for him, Gen. Henry Alexander Scammel Dearborn, whom we have the pleasure of seeing here to-night. Col. Wadsworth also gave his name to a son who entered the Navy, and is now Commodore Alexander Scammel Wadsworth. The three namesakes, all about the same age, and early acquain- tances and friends, Uved, until death, in the time of the Florida War, 12 broke up the trio and reduced the number to Gen. Dearborn and Commodore Wadsworth. I wish, as a spontaneous tribute of the pres- ent generation, somewhere within the sacred grounds of the church- yard at WilUamsburg, at the expense of us, Sons of New Hamp- shire, a monument should be raised to the memory of that distin- guished soldier. Gentlemen, I have no right to occupy much of your time. My voice is a little too familiar to you all. There ai'e others to whom you will listen with more gratification. I will only refer, in a very few words, to the civil history of this, our native State, in the past and important era of our history ; and in doing that, I will mention only the great men who signed the Declaration of Independence, and those Avho put their names to the Constitution of the United States. The Declaration of Independence, on the part of New Hampshire, was signed, in the first place, by Josiah Bartlett. He was an unos- tentatious man, but able, sensible, and patriotic. He left numerous descendants, and there are here those who belong to his family and kindred. Gen. William Whipple was another who signed the Declaration. He left no descendants ; nothing but his character, his name, and his fame. Dr. Matthew Thornton was a third. And his descendants are in New Hampshire, in Boston, and elsewhere in the country ; some of them now in this Hall. Dr. Thornton was one of the most ai'- dent sons of liberty, but was, as it happened, not at Philadelphia on the 4th of July, 1776, when the vote was passed. He hurried immediately to Philadelphia. You know that the official resolutions of Independence were only to be signed by the President. But a Declaration, for individual signatures, was drawn up. The first of the members who signed, after the President, was Josiah Bart- lett, of New Hampshire ; the next, Avas William Whipple, of New Hampshire. Matthew Thornton did not sign immediately, because he was not there. Others went on to sign ; and the Massachuse:^*^ members, you remember, signed next to the two members from New Hampshire. Thornton hastened back to his post to sign with the rest, and the nearest place to his colleagues he could find, was at the bottom of the right-hand column ; and there it stands, " Matthew Thornton." [Applause.] 13 Well, Gentlemen, we now come to the Constitution of the United States. John Langdon and Nicholas Gilman represented New Hampshire in the Convention of 1789. Mr. Langdon has left de- scendants behind him, honorable and worthy. An excellent woman, a daughter, still lives, esteemed and regarded by all who know her. Nicholas Gilman, of a family always an honor to his native State, and some of whom I dare say are here to-night, left no children. At this pei'iod of time, without disturbing individual opinion or party feelings, I may speak of some of the early members of Con- gress. When the Constitution first went into operation, the members from New Hampshire assisted in forming the original organic laws, were confided in by the first President of the United States, and did all that they could do to put the machine in operation. At the head of this list was ^muel Livermore, the father of several gen- tlemen of respectability in public life, in the State, and in the Na- tional Councils. Jeremiah Smith and William Gordon, also, both men of talent and industry, and warm friends of the first President, held seats in Congress with high reputation. This, Gentlemen, was the history, the early history of our State, as one of the Union, so far as we may summarily comment upon it here to-night. In regard to the military character of the Revolutionary heroes, and the early statesmen, and in regard to everything which was done, or ought to have been done, or was expected to be done, to bring New Hampshire honorably and respectably into the great circle of our Union, Gentlemen, I leave all this for abler tongues, fresher recollections, and more persuasive accents. I sit doAvn myself, filled with profound veneration for the character of my native State, and acknowledging to her my own personal debt, for her culiure and nurture, and determined, so far as in me lies, to transmit the sense of that obligation to those who shall come after me. ^ ~" - HON. DANIEL WEBSTER'S SECOND SPEECH. The regular toasts have now been gone through. I have occu- pied this Chair as long as it seems to be convenient, and, with a few parting words, I propose to resign it to another. Gentlemen, departing from the character of particular States, leaving, for the present and at last, the agreeable thoughts that have entertained us, of our own homes and our own origin, it ap- pears to me, before we part, that it is not improper that we should call to our attention the marked character of the age in which we live, and the great part that, in the dispensations of divine Provi- dence, we are called upon to act in it. To act our part well, as American citizens, as members of this great Republic, we must understand that part, and the duties which it devolves upon us. We cannot expect to blunder into pro- priety, or into greatness of action. We must learn the character of the age in which we live, we must learn our own place as a great and leading nation in that age, we must learn to appreciate justly our own position and character, as belonging to a government of a particular form, and we must act, in every case, and upon all sub- jects, as becomes our relations. Now, Gentlemen, I venture to say, here and everywhere, in tlic face of the world, that there is not on earth any country, at the present moment, so interesting as the United States. I do not say, no country so strong, so rich, so beautiful, so high or command- ing ; but I say no country so interesting, no country that sets such an example before the world of self-government, no country around Avhich so many hopes and so many fears cluster, no country, in re- gard to which the world, with so much earnestness inquires, " what will she come to ?" 16 I need not say that we arc at the head of this continent. Who denies that ? Who doubts it ? Here are twenty milHons of people, free, commercial, and enterprising, beyond example. They are spread over an immense territory, and that territory has been lately increased, by a vast and an extraordinary addition. The country stretches from sea to sea, across the whole breadth of North America, and from the tropics to the great Lakes and Rivers of the North. Forty or fifty years ago, a Boston poet said to his countrymen, " No pent lip Utiea contracts our powers, For the whole bounilless continent is onrs." This was poetic ; but the poetry has been advancing, and is still ad- vancing, more and more, to sober truth and reality. But that is not all. Nor is it the most important point. We are brought by steam, and the improvements attendant upon its dis- covery, into the immediate neighborhood of the great powers of Eu- rope, living under different forms of government ; forms in which the aristocratic, or the despotic, or the monarchical prevails. And the United States, the second commercial country in the world, whose intercourse affects every other country, come into the circle, and are become the immediate neighbors of them all. And what is expected to be the consequence of this contiguity, this proximity, this bringing the Republican practice into the immediate presence of despotism, monarchy, and aristocracy ? This is the philosophical view, which attracts the attention of the observant part of mankind, most strongly, and strikes us with the greatest power. What is to be the result ? Gentlemen, between us and all the Governments of Europe, political power is yet separate. They have their systems, and we have ours ; but, then, their and our joint interests approach, and sometimes amalgamate. The commercial interests are mingling to- gether all over the civilized world. The information of mankind is becoming common to all nations, and the general tone of sentiment common, in learned circles, and among the masses of intelligent men. In matters of science, taste, commerce, hi questions of right and justice, and matters of judicial administration, we think very much alike. But, in regard to the origin of Government, the form of 17 Government, and, in some cases, the end and objects of Govern- ment, we differ. And yet, it is certain that of all human institu- tions, Government is the chief, and by far the most important ; and as the Press, at least to a very great extent, in modern times, is free, Government, its origin, its forms, its duties, its ends and objects, and its practical administration, are everywhere a constant subject of discussion. Noav that steam has created such a daily intercourse, and brought countries so much nearer together, men of one nation seem to talk to those of another, on political subjects, as on other subjects, almost like inhabitants of the same city, or the same county. This is a condition of things, novel and interesting, and worthy of our reflection. In National relations, we sustain a rank, we hold a certain place, and we have high duties to perform. Of course it is our duty to abstain from all interference in the political affairs of other nations. But, then, there is one thing, which we are bound to do. We are bound to show to the whole world, in the midst of which we are placed, that a regular, steady, conservative Government, found- ed on broad, popular, representative systems, is a practicable thing. We are bound to show, that there may be such a Government, not merely for a small, but for a great country, in which life and prop- erty shall be secure, religion and the worship of the Deity ob- served, good morals cultivated, commerce and the arts encouraged, and the general prosperity, of all classes, maintained and ad- vanced. It strikes me, and I repeat the sentiment only to show the strength of my own conviction, that our great destiny on earth is, to exhibit the practicability of good, safe, secure, popular Governments; to prove, and I hope we do prove, that there may be security for property, and for personal rights ; that there may be the mainten- ance of religion and morals, that there may be an extensive diffu- sion of knowledge, a carrying on of all branches of education to their highest pitch, by means of institutions founded on Kepubhcan principles. The prophesies and the poets are with us. Everybody knows Bishop Berkely's lines, written a hundred years ago : " There shall be seen another golden age, The rise of Empires and of Arts ; The good and great inspiring epic rage, The wisest heads and noblest hearts."' 3 18 " Westwiird the course of Empire takes its way • Tlie four first acts already past ; A fifth sluill close the drama with the day, Time's noblest ort'spriug is the last." And, at a more recent period, but, still, when there was nothuig to be seen in this vast North American Continent but a few colonial settle- ments, another English poet suggests, to his country, that she shall sec a great nation, her own ofispring, springing up, with wealth, and po\Yer, and glory, in the New World ; " In other lands, another Britain see ; And what tliou art, America shall be." But, in regard to this country, there is no poetry like the poetry of events ; and all the prophesies lag behind their fulfilment. That is the doctrine, which you, and I, of America, are bound to teach. [Cheers.] Does anybody doubt that, on this broad, popular platform, there exists now, in these United States, a safe govern- ment ? Tell me where there is one safer. Or, tell me many on the face of the old Avorld on which public faith is more confidently reposed. I say the government of the United States is one of the safest. I do not know how long it may be before it will become one of the oldest governments in the world. [Loud Applause.] We are in an age of progress. That progress is towards self- government by the enlightened portion of the community, every where. And a great question is, how this impulse can be carried on, without running to excess ; how popular government can be established, without falling into licentiousness. That is the great question, and we have seen how difficult it is, by those not taught in the school of experience, to establish such a system. It is a common sentiment uttered by those who would revolu- tionize Europe, that to be free, men have only to ivill it. That is a fallacy. There must be prudence and a balancing of departments, and there must be persons who will teach the science of free, popu- lar governments ; and there are but few, except in this country, who can teach that science. [" Hear, hear,"] And we have arrived at this abiUty by an experience of two hundred years. And how has it come ? Why, we are an off-shoot of the British Constitution. In that Constitution there is a popular element, that 19 is, a representation of the people. This clement is there mixed up with the monarchical and the aristocratic elements. Eut our an- cestors brought Avith them no ai-istocracy, andno nionarchial rule, except a general submission and allegiance to the Crown of England. Their immediate government was altogether a popular representa- tion ; and the country has been thoroughly trained, and schooled, in the practice of such a government. To abide by the voice of the representatives fairly chosen, by the edicts of those who make the legislative enactments, has been, and is, our only system. And from the first settlement of the Colony, at Plymouth, through all our subsequent history, we have adhered to this principle. We threw off the power of the King, and Ave never had admitted the power of the Parliament. That was John Adams' doctrine. And that is the reason why the Parliament was not alluded to in the Declaration of Independence. The Colo- nies acknowledged the power of the Crown, but never having ac- knowledged the authority of the Parliament, they disdained to give any reason for throwing it off. When the Revolution severed us from the mother country, then we had nothing to do but to go on with our elections, supplying the Governors, not longer appointed by the Crown, by our own election, thus making the whole government popular, and to proceed as at first ; and that it was which enabled the Colonies of Connecticut and Rhode Island, down to a very late period, to continue their ancient Constitutions. If you look anywhere, beside at France, on the continent of Eu- rope, can you find any thing that bears the aspect of a Representa- tive Government ? There is nothing. It is very difficult to establish a free conservative Government for the equal advancement of all the interests of society. What has Germany done ; learned Germany, fuller of ancient lore than all the world beside ? What has Italy done, what have they done who dwell on the spot where Cicero and Justinian lived ? They have not the power of self-government which a common town-meet- ing, with us, possesses. [Applause.] Yes, I say, that those persons who have gone from our town-meet- ings, to dig gold in California, are more fit to make a Republican Government than any body of men in Germany or Italy, because l^U they liave learne