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SPEECHES 
 
 ON THE 
 
 JEW BILL., 
 
 IN THE 
 
 HOUSE or DELEGATES OF MARYLAND, 
 
 BY H. M.^THIACKENRIDGE, COL. W. G. D. \yORTHlNGTON, 
 
 AND JOHN S. TYSON, EsauiRK. 
 
 I 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 AN ARGUMENT ON THE CHANCERY POWERS, 
 
 AND 
 
 AN EULOGY 
 
 ON 
 
 THOMAS JEFFERSON AND JOHN ADAMS, &o. 
 
 BY H. J\I. BRACKEJSRIDGRc^^'^^ "^ ^^"^/-^ 
 
 •^ Of Vj^ < v^'i-tO 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 J. nOBSON, (AGENT,) No. 108, CIIESXI'T STREET, 
 
 JrSl'ER IliRPlNd. TKINTER. 
 
 1829 
 
 / 
 
£"3 37 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 This publication was at first intended merely to 
 preserve in a less fugitive form, the speeches on 
 the Jew Bill, in Maryland, together with the ar- 
 gument on the Chancery Powers ; but the editor, 
 having been furnished with the Eulogy on Thomas 
 Jefferson and John Adams, which has been high- 
 ly complimented by Mr. Wirt, together with some 
 other articles, by the author, concluded to embrace 
 the whole in the volume, now offered to the public. 
 The struggle in Maryland for the freedom of con- 
 science, is one which at the time excited a deep 
 interest; and every victory of correct princi- 
 PLES---every triumph of freedom, should be care- 
 fully recorded in pcrpetuum rei memoriam. 
 
AN ARGUMENT 
 
 DELIVERED BY 
 
 H. M. BRACKENRIDGE, 
 
 BEFORE THE CHANCELLOR OF MARYLAND, 1816, 
 
 IN THE 
 
 CASE OF M'KEAN vs. BRUFF. 
 
 I AM about to address the court on a question 
 of some novelty, and, I think, of some importance. 
 It is one which must be solved by a recurrence to 
 first principles, if solved at all. It is one, which 
 calls for no little research, and, at the same time^ 
 opens a wide range of analogous illustration Trui^ 
 ing to the indulgence of the chancellor, and, u/Jth 
 all deference to his superior wisdom, I will ' cnture 
 into a field which ought properly to be reserved for 
 abilities infinitely greater than mine. 
 
 To the complainants, the refusal of the chancellor 
 to interpose in their behalf, will be attended with 
 the most serious consequences. They have no hope 
 of obtaining a restitution of their property, which 
 has been seized in Virginia, until the final decision 
 1 
 
ON THE CHANCEllY POWERS. 
 
 of a suit now at issue in that state ; and this must 
 depend upon their being able to procure the testi- 
 mony of the respondent. For the purpose of pro- 
 curing it^ a commission, (as is stated in the bill,} 
 has been sent from the court in Virginia to this state. 
 But the respondent to the present bill, conceiving 
 himself under no obligation to testify, because the 
 Virginia court has no power to enforce its commis- 
 sion here, has utterly refused. 
 
 Unless, therefore, there be some mode of com- 
 pelling him to give testimony, the plaintiffs to the 
 suit in Virginia must, eventually, lose their pro- 
 perty ; for, in the breast of the respondent, alone, 
 is deposited the knowledge of the facts essential to 
 the prosecution of their claim. 
 
 The chancellor of Virginia, informed of the nature 
 of this refusal, has suspended the suit in that state, 
 indefinitely, in order that time may be allowed us, 
 to procure this testimony. In the meanwhile, 
 however, the property of the plaintiffs, which is of 
 considerable value, is detained from them, and, 
 eventually, they may lose it altogether. 
 
 To our clients, then, the question before the 
 chancellor is of much importance. It will, how- 
 ever, be easily seen, that this importance, great as 
 it may be, dwindles into comparative insignificance, 
 when considered in relation to the general effects 
 of this decision. This is one of those cases of which 
 it may be justly said, that the private grievance 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 is merged iu tlie public inconvenience. There is 
 nothing of more frequent occurrence, than the send- 
 ing of commissions from one state to another, fo?: the 
 purpose of taking the depositions of witnesses ; and, 
 hitherto, no difficulty from a refusal to give evi- 
 dence, has been experienced. But, may not this, 
 in a great measure, be attributed to the general 
 belief, that it is the duty, as well moral, as legal, of 
 the witness, to testify? And, is there not reason 
 to fear, that, when it comes to be generally under- 
 stood that this rests entirely on the whim, caprice, 
 favour, or, perhaps, corruption of the witness, there 
 will be frequent instances of refusals like the pre- 
 sent? At all events, is it expedient, is it just, that 
 a matter of so much importance to the safety and 
 well-being of society, as the testimony of witnesses, 
 should be left altogether to their private will and 
 pleasure, where it is indispensable to the attain- 
 ment of justice, in cases depending in court? In 
 no well regulated government, is it ever left to the 
 mere option of the witness to give, or to withhold his 
 testimony, where it is essential to the ascertain- 
 ment of public, or private right. 
 
 The different states which compose this confede- 
 racy, as respects the intercourse of business, and 
 all the transactions of life, constitute but one great 
 nation. In matters of business, we are not more 
 influenced by state divisions, than by those of coun- 
 ties and parishes. The national compact (for thus 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 we may denominate our federal constitution) has 
 carefully provided against this inconvenience. It 
 is to the advantage of all^ that there should be some 
 mode of procuring the testimony of witnesses re- 
 siding beyond their respective limits, and yet with- 
 in the territory of the nation. In this point of 
 view, I am confident, the present question cannot 
 be regarded as unimportant. Our political institu- 
 tions are yet young and in a course of experiment ; 
 this may be the first time the question has been 
 presented to a court. In one thing, I believe, no 
 one will dissent from me ; if there be no law to 
 
 SECURE us THAT WHICH WE NOW SEEK, THERE OUGHT 
 TO BE A LAW. 
 
 It will therefore be a preliminary inquiry, whe- 
 ther this be such casus omissus, in legislation, as 
 requires the enactment of a law, or whether it be 
 a subject proper for the extraordinary interposition 
 of this court. I contend, that if we have a legal 
 right to the testimony of the witness, it is compe- 
 tent for this court to provide a remedy, unless re- 
 strained by some positive principle of law, from 
 which it would be improper to deviate. If, on the 
 contrary, this be not an original and perfect right, 
 but one which can alone derive its existence and 
 creation from some particular statute, it is, then, 
 casus omissus, for which a remedy may be provid- 
 ed in future, but, in the meanwhile, the present 
 complainants, and, perhaps, many others in a simi- 
 
ON TUF. CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 lar situation, must unavoidably suffer. It will be 
 my duty to show, that we claim a right which never 
 required a legislative act to call into existence ; 
 that, wherever legislatures have enacted laws, or 
 courts have interfered, it has been to acknowledge, 
 to sanction, to enforce ; and, although they have, 
 in some instances, limited the exercise of it, as in 
 the case of all other natural rights, or i^rescribed 
 the conditions upon which it will be enforced, they 
 have always taken for granted its original existence. 
 In ethics, or morals, those truths which are so 
 obvious as to be almost self-evident, are as difficult 
 to prove, as an axiom in mathematics. I feel at a 
 loss how to demonstrate, that which no one can ra- 
 tionally deny. And, yet, I sincerely believe, that 
 it will be seen, that the chief difficulty lies in this 
 part of my argument: for if it be admitted, that we 
 have a perfect right, it appears to me, that every 
 thing for which I contend, must be admitted as the 
 necessary consequence. Where is the civilized 
 people, and I might ask, where is the barbarous 
 tribe, that has not found it necessary to compel 
 witnesses to give evidence, when their testimony 
 was necessary to the administration of justice? 
 Amongst the Greeks, a witness who refused to give 
 evidence was liable to a penalty of a thousand 
 drachmas ; amongst other nations, whom I do not 
 mention as examples for imitation, the bastinado, 
 the knout, or the wheel, are the usual modes of 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 subduing the stubbornness of witnesses. As in every 
 society disputes will take place, and, as it is impos- 
 sible, in such instances, to decide between the par- 
 ties at variance, without having recourse to the in- 
 formation or knowledge of others, respecting the 
 subject of difference, such information becomes as 
 important as the authority of the magistrate who is 
 to decide, or the laws by which his decision is to be 
 governed. The resort to the testimony of witnesses 
 must have been coeval with government, with laws, 
 and with judicial power — nay, with society itself. 
 It is one of those things which may be said to be 
 interwoven with its very texture ; and essential, 
 not merely to its well-being, but to its very exis- 
 tence. To ^<^bear witness,'' in judicial causes, is 
 one of those duties which we reciprocally owe to 
 one another, and arises from the very nature and 
 structure of society ; a duty as perfect as that which 
 every citizen owes to the whole, (in other words, to 
 the state,) for its defence and preservation, as the 
 necessary and inseparable attendant on every social 
 compact. No positive statute, or express law, is 
 necessary to give birth to such a duty, for it was 
 called into life long before the formal enactment of 
 statutes or express laws. It is, in fact, an appen- 
 dage to the right to life, to liberty and property, 
 for the protection of which, society and laws have 
 been instituted. 
 
 It will not be denied that there are certain na- 
 
ON THE CHANCEXIY POWERS, 
 
 iitral 7'ights, which, on entering into society, are 
 supposed to be surrendered altogether, modified, or 
 completely retained. So far as they have not been 
 taken away, or modified, we still possess them in as 
 ample a manner as we could in a state of nature. 
 They originate in nature, although possessed and 
 enjoyed in society. For their security, others have 
 been surrendered ; but when we claim from the go- 
 vernment the security it has stipulated to afford, 
 for those which have been retained, we call upon it 
 to secure what was originally ours, not to warrant 
 what we have derived from it. Such, for instance, 
 is the right to pursue the course of life we may 
 think most conducive to our happiness, provided 
 we do not injure others, or contravene the laws. If 
 in the pursuit of this natural, and inherent right, we 
 should be interrupted, or molested, we are not re- 
 quired in seeking a remedy, to produce the laws or 
 statute, by which the right has been created ; it suf- 
 fices that it was ours on entering society, and that 
 it has not been taken away : it is enough that it is 
 inherent in the very nature of man, and that laws and 
 governments may act upon, but can no more create, 
 than it can create the beings which compose the 
 society itself. Now, as it would be no better than 
 a ^^ solemn mockery," to acknowledge that we have 
 rights, and, at the same time, deny us the means 
 of protecting them, there are other rights inciden- 
 tal to the first, alike antecedent to express law, and 
 
ON THE CHANOKUY POWKKb. 
 
 as independent and original in their nature, as those 
 which we receive from the Creator. Such is the 
 right to the security of our persons, property, and 
 characters, and the right to appeal to the courts of 
 justice when any of these have been violated. 1 
 Black. 124. This arises from that tacit social com- 
 pact, admitted to exist, even in monarchies, where 
 all power is referred to the monarch as its fountain. 
 The necessary consequence of the right to demand 
 redress for injuries, is the right of compelling wit- 
 nesses to give testimony^ otherwise, the first might 
 be altogether nugatory. For the protection of 
 . rights like these, constitutions may provide, legis- 
 latures may enact, courts may institute rules to faci- 
 litate their vindication, but neither legislatures nor 
 judges canmaAe them. They can but act on what 
 is already in existence. The distinction between 
 natural and social rights, although taken by Black- 
 stone in his commentaries, is of no practical impor- 
 tance, as the phrase natural rights includes both. 
 It is true, there are many rights, both social and 
 natural, which impose only imperfect obligations, 
 and some of them of such a nature, as not even to 
 appeal to the conscience ; the first are contained in 
 the precepts of morality, such as charity, benevo- 
 lence, piety, &c.; the others may be included under 
 the general term of decorum, bien seanse ; for both, 
 it would be utterly impossible for human laws to 
 provide, on account of their infinitely various and 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 indefinite nature, and are, therefore, left to the 
 coercion of conscience and opinion. But this sanc- 
 tion in cases of perfect right would be entirely in- 
 adequate, without others of a more certain and per- 
 fect character; the well-being of society, the fitness 
 of things, requires that they should be defended 
 and protected, in a more careful manner. Such are, 
 in general, the cases in which, to use the words of 
 Justinian, vinculum juris quo necessitate adstrin- 
 gimur alicujis ret solvendse ; such are, for the most 
 part, those cases, which are said to be at common 
 law, and owe their commencement or being to no 
 custom, to no statute, or statute supposed to be lost, 
 to no express law or precedent, but spring from the 
 relations of society; and it is immaterial whether 
 recognised time immemorial, or brought into notice 
 at a later period, by the accidents of place, of busi- 
 ness, of habits, or of employments. Among all the 
 individuals that compose the society, there is a 
 tacit agreement to respect them, and it is this which 
 the law will enforce. A mutual obligation arises, 
 not to withhold or interrupt their enjoyment, and, 
 on certain occasions, to assist in their defence. 
 From what other source do we draw the maxim, sic 
 utere tuo ut alienum non Ixdas, and whence we 
 derive the law of private nuisance ? Upon what 
 other ground does a man claim damages of his neigh- 
 bour, who obstructs his ancient rights? Or, who 
 burns his neighbour's house, by negligently keep- 
 2 
 
10 ON THE CHANCEKY I'OWERS. 
 
 ing the fire in his own, or who drowns liis neigh- 
 bour's lands, by damming up the stream common to 
 both — or who is the cause of injury to his fellow- 
 citizens by keeping mischievious animals? From 
 what other source, do we derive the remedies which 
 relate to the rights of property, reputation, or li- 
 berty, arising under the head in the civil law, de 
 injuria ? These are causes of complaint, founded 
 on the disregard of what tends to the safety, hap- 
 piness, and well-being of society. No well regu- 
 lated community can overlook them. There are 
 many of the same nature, which cannot be foreseen, 
 but when they occur, are instantly recognised as 
 belonging to the same class of rights. Such is the 
 right, which the law gives a man, to pass over his 
 neighbour's adjoining land, when the highway, by 
 some accident, has been obstructed. 
 
 There is, however, a criterion by which a law- 
 yer may easily distinguish the cases of perfect obli- 
 gation, from the imperfect. It is, by observing 
 whether they have been uniformly sanctioned by 
 law ; in many cases, I will admit, the distinction 
 between what is legal, or only conscientious, is dif- 
 ficult to be made ; but we cannot mistake, if we find 
 that this sanction has been actually applied. Coop- 
 er's Inst. 560. Let us bring the obligation to tes- 
 tify in a cause depending, to this test, in order to 
 ascertain the class to which it belongs. 
 
 We claim the right to the testimony of the re- 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 1 I 
 
 spondent, in virtue of no positive law or statute, but 
 as a natural or social right ; has this right been in 
 any shape acknowledged by courts or legislatures? 
 It is a sufficient answer/thatfroni the earliest periods 
 in the history of English jurisprudence, witnesses 
 in civil eases, have been compelled to give evidence. 
 But, it is expressly declared by lord Mansfield, 
 that an action for damages, can be maintained at 
 common law, against a witness who refuses to give 
 testimony, before and since, the statute of Elizabeth, 
 imposing a penalty, and giving damages, which is 
 nothing more than an additional security. Doug. 
 556. In another case, an action for damages, on the 
 statute, was maintained against a witness, who re- 
 fused to bring papers into court on a subpoena duces 
 tecum, although not within the words of the statute, 
 and, besides, objected to, as a mode of proceeding 
 but recently introduced. 9 East. 473. This case 
 was declared by lord Ellenborough, to have been 
 one of the most important ever tried in Westmin- 
 ster Hall. Indeed, it would be strange, if cases 
 which may involve the most important subjects that 
 can relate to us in this life, were otherwise consi- 
 dered. 
 
 From the cases just cited, it is evident, that the 
 power of compelling witnesses to testify, is not a 
 mere incident of judicial authority ; that it is not a 
 matter which rests altogether between the judge and 
 the witness, and not between the witness and the 
 
12 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 party. Otherwise, how could the party become en- 
 titled to damages at common law, if the witness be 
 only guilty of a contempt of court? The right to 
 claim damages, supposes a right to claim the per- 
 formance of a duty or obligation. I contend, that 
 the plaintiff has a clear, distinct, and perfect right 
 to the knowledge of certain facts, in the defendant's 
 possession, and that the defendant is under a corre- 
 sponding obligation to disclose them. Living under 
 the same laws, in the same society, being entitled 
 to the same right from some one of his fellow-citi- 
 zens, and having the consciousness that this means 
 of protecting his rights is always at his command, 
 can it be doubted that he has tacitly incurred an obli- 
 gation, which the laws will compel him to perform? 
 That knowledge, in the breast of the witness, is as 
 much the property of the party, when, on a proper 
 occasion, it is required, as a purse of gold placed 
 with him for safe keeping ! When legally called 
 upon, it is a duty which the witness is as much 
 bound to perform, as any office of life he may have 
 expressly and positively taken upon him ; and it is, 
 for this reason, that he is responsible for the conse- 
 quences of his neglect. Such has been the recog- 
 nition of courts of law ; let us now see how it has 
 been received in the court of chancery. 
 
 The court has also been in the practice of com- 
 pelling witnesses to testify, long before the enact- 
 ment of statutes on the subject. But. proceeding 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 13 
 
 on the principles of natural justice, it went miicli 
 further than the courts of law. These, in conse- 
 quence of the obstinacy with which they refused, 
 at an early period, to extend their remedies, failed 
 in securing this important right to testimony, as well 
 as many others, in some essential particulars ; ap- 
 plication was therefore made to the king in person, 
 or to his delegate, the chancellor. There existed 
 no way of compelling a party to give evidence 
 against himself: there was none for perpetuating 
 the testimony of witnesses, or for taking the depo- 
 sitions of such as were infirm, or about to absent 
 themselves : and, upon what ground did the chan- 
 cellor interpose in these cases? Surely, upon no 
 other, than the broad ground of natural justice. 
 The party had an equitable right to the facts in the 
 possession of the witness, essential to the determin- 
 ing of his cause. A right as complete, in itself, as 
 the right of trial, or to the subject of the dispute 
 when awarded him. What other reason than this, 
 could have been suggested to the chancellor as the 
 ground of his interposition ? Is it then necessary 
 to use further argument, to prove the truth of the 
 simple proposition which I have undertaken to esta- 
 blish ; that a party has a distinct and perfect right 
 to the testimony of his fellow-citizen, when legally 
 required, unless it is ivithheld 07i the ground of 
 some sufficient legal excuse? 
 
 It may be said, that the testimony being sought. 
 
14 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 for the purpose of being given in evidence, in a 
 cause depending in the court of another state, the 
 court here, will only consider it as a voluntary affi- 
 davit. There ought, most certainly, to be a proper 
 restraint, or restriction, in the use of this right, as 
 of every other ; or, more properly, it can only be 
 considered perfect, when it is sought, for the pur- 
 pose of being used in a cause depending in some 
 court, for it is only thus far, that it has received a 
 clear and undoubted sanction. But, I contend, that it 
 is not material where that cause may be depending, 
 in what court of legal organization, or in what coun- 
 try. This can in no case alter the right and obli- 
 gation. There is no necessity of entering into an 
 elaborate argument on this head, for I will produce 
 a case exactly in point. A bill of discovery has been 
 entertained by the court of chancery in England, in 
 aid of a court in Spain. Coop, chanc. 150. If the 
 decision in this case, proceeded on principles of 
 comity, there is certainly an equal reason for a simi- 
 lar comity between these sister states : if on the prin- 
 ciples of natural justice, which is more probable, it 
 goes to confirm my argument in every particular. 
 
 I am aware, it may be objected, that I am prov- 
 ing too much 5 that I am proving my client not to 
 be entirely remediless elsewhere ; that he may 
 maintain his action for damages at common law, or 
 perhaps under the act of assembly. To this objec- 
 tion I have an easy reply. To withhold from us 
 
ON THE CHANCERY I'OWERb. 15 
 
 the aid of this court, the remedy by action for da- 
 mages at common law, must appear certain and de- 
 finite, not uncertain and conjectural ; and, moreover, 
 that it must be commensurate to the nature of the 
 case ; it is not certain, for this would be the first 
 suit brought to recover damages of a witness, for re- 
 fusing to give evidence in a cause depending in a 
 foreign court. This case would be regarded as 
 primde impressionis, and, therefore, the presump- 
 tion would be against it : for where the right is clear, 
 but the remedy has never been applied, the reme- 
 dy is presumed to have been taken away, or never 
 to have existed. But, in chancery, directly the 
 reverse of this doctrine prevails. It is in these very 
 cases, where the right is clear, but without known 
 remedy at law, that the chancellor will interpose. 
 The reason is the same, where the remedy is imper- 
 fect or incomplete ; as in this case, the witness may 
 not be able to make a compensation. Besides, the 
 court of chancery, whenever the party is brought 
 before it in a proper manner, will rather compel 
 him to do the specific act, which he is bound in 
 conscience to perform, and will not accept an equi- 
 valent. Coop. ch. 128. 3d. Woodison, 382. It is 
 also the duty of the party demurring, to point out, 
 specifically, the remedy to which the other party 
 may resort ; if it cannot be discovered from the face 
 of the bill, it is not enough to suggest it in argu- 
 ment. It is analogous to the subject of jurisdiction; 
 
16 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 the party is not to be sent to hunt a remedy from one 
 court to another ; it is the duty of the defendant, if 
 he deny our remedy, to show in his demurrer 
 where it may be found. It is not in the power of 
 the defendant to show us this, with certainty ; he 
 does not even offer us a conjecture. On what 
 ground, then, can he oppose our claiming it here? 
 Does he deny that we have a right to the testimo- 
 ny? no — but that IV e have a right to compel the 
 defendant to give if. 
 
 It seems to me, that the position which I have 
 thus far been endeavouring to establish, with diffi- 
 culty, because it is almost self-evident, may now be 
 conceded to me ; to wit, that ive have both a legal 
 and equitable right to the testimony of the defen- 
 dant. It remains to be considered, whether this 
 court possesses the power of granting a remedy ; for 
 we do not ask the court to make law, to create a 
 right, but to enforce and secure, that which is al- 
 ready established. It is a maxim of law, that every 
 right has its remedy, which the student learns as 
 one of the rudiments of the science. There are said 
 to be exceptions to this rule ; but it is the opinion 
 of very able lawyers, that in the cases which have 
 been cited as constituting those exceptions, the 
 right itself is extinct. In the case of Ashby vs. 
 White, Raym. 944, it is boldly asserted by lord 
 Holt, that the English law suffers no right to he 
 ivithout a remedy. lu the case before him, a right 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWEUS. 17 
 
 had been created by act of parliament, but without 
 providing a remedy ; it was the right to be return- 
 ed for a public office, and which, when thus cre- 
 ated, stands precisely on a footing with a natural 
 right. Lord Holt contended, in opposition to the 
 other judges, that there was a remedy, and his opi- 
 nion was afterwards confirmed in the house of lords. 
 In the court of chancery such a question ought 
 never to occur; for it is its peculiar province and 
 duty, to see that no right be lost through defect of 
 law, in providing a remedy. Nay, this defect of 
 law is the very reason of its interposition, and the 
 origin of its jurisdiction, in every case. There can 
 be no question, but that, without the aid of the 
 chancellor, we shall be left without the means of 
 coercing the respondent to give evidence — to dis- 
 close facts within his knowledge, which are abso- 
 lutely essential to a fair decision of the cause de- 
 pending in Virginia. It is evident that we have no 
 certainty of any remedy in the courts of law, by ac- 
 tion for damages, and this court will not send us to 
 make the experiment, before it will interpose its au- 
 thority. As to objections of form, or to the manner 
 of our seeking relief, they can be obviated by the 
 chancellor's decree ; this may be so shaped as to 
 meet the exigence of the case, whether it be by at- 
 taching the witness to testify before the commis- 
 sioners, or compelling the respondent to make a 
 disclosure of the facts sought in the bill. 
 3 
 
18 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 I might here rest my case, with perfect confi- 
 dence of having proved every thing necessary to 
 entitle me to the interposition of the chancellor. 
 The question, however, from its novelty, demands 
 a more full investigation. I will not content my- 
 self with merely meeting the objections of the de- 
 fendant, but will endeavour to ascend to higher 
 ground, whence I may be enabled to overlook the 
 whole of this intricate subject. Regarding this case 
 as new in its circumstances, I will pray the inter- 
 position of the chancellor, in virtue of those high 
 superintending powers, with which by the nature 
 of his office he is invested. I will ask him to seek 
 the fountain of justice, from which all law must or 
 ought to flow ; to consult expedience, the fitness of 
 things, and to see that no injury be done to the citi- 
 zen through denial of right. 
 
 I am well aware, that I shall be told, that the pow- 
 ers of the chancellor are circumscribed like those 
 of every other judge, and that in administering jus- 
 tice, he differs from others, not in the substance, 
 but in the form. To this I answer that the dispo- 
 sition to restrict the powers of the chancellor, has 
 been carried to an extreme; the period is not so 
 far removed from our times, when his jurisdiction 
 was acknowledged to be much more extensive. How 
 has it come to pass, that this has been confined to 
 strict and narrow bounds? Has it been exactly de- 
 fined by any positive law, or have the writers and 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 19 
 
 judges at last agreed to fix their limits? No, his 
 powers are definite, so far only as cases have been 
 formed into precedents, and those precedents into 
 principles ; but a field still remains open, as exten- 
 sive as the endless variety of human transactions, 
 ever assuming new shapes and combinations. 
 
 All modern writers on the law of equity, confess 
 the difficulty, if not impossibility of exactly defin- 
 ing the powers of the chancellor. This surely is a 
 circumstance in which this court differs from courts 
 of law. Fonb. 20, Coop. ch. 25— Mitford 1, 1 
 Bl. 91 . It is admitted that there are cases in which 
 he possesses a legal discretion ; quod lex non exacte 
 dejinet, sedboni viri permittet, Fonb. 21. But this 
 discretion is attempted to be subjected to definition 
 and reduced to rules, by which it is in fact made 
 to signify nothing. A deplorable obscurity, and 
 even contradiction, is discoverable in all the writers 
 on the jurisdiction of the chancellor. Were I called 
 upon to account for it, I should say that it proceeds 
 from a conviction that cases must arise, for whicb 
 the law has made no adequate provision, and at the 
 same time, from an unwillingness to confide in the 
 breast of any individual, the necessary discretionary 
 power to provide for them. It is a jealousy of ar- 
 bitrary discretion — a jealousy to be praised, but 
 unfortunately, in the present instance, in contra- 
 diction to practical utility. It is this, which has 
 given rise to a strange and unintelligible distinction. 
 
20 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 between equity in general, and the system of Eng- 
 lish equity jurisprudence, by which the chancellor 
 is governed, not guided. " Equity," says Blackstone, 
 (when he means equity in general,) '^is the soul and 
 spirit of all law : positive law is construed, and ra- 
 tional law is made by it." 3 Black. 429. He elsewhere 
 adopts the definition of Grotius, (1 Bl. 62.) which 
 is expressed in these words : " the correction of 
 that, which by reason of its generality, is deficient." 
 We are further informed that both courts of law and 
 equity, seek the spirit of the law, that they inter- 
 pret the law with the same freedom, and are guided 
 by the same lights, act precisely on the same prin- 
 ciples, in a word, that they are both courts of law, 
 as well as of equity. Then why are we told by the 
 learned author in another part of his work, that 
 England is the only country in the world, in which 
 the moral phenomenon is presented, of these powers 
 being distributed to distinct and separate courts, 
 while, elsewhere, they are both consigned to the 
 same tribunal ? Let me ask, what distinct idea is 
 there conveyed to the mind, when, notwithstanding 
 this, we are told that the use of a court of equity is 
 to supply what in the court of law may be defec- 
 tive, and which, on the principles of natural jus- 
 tice, deserves a particular consideration ? Fonb. 21 . 
 This appears still more singular, when we find it 
 conceded by the learned commentator, that all the 
 more ancient writers agree in considering the power 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 21 
 
 of the chancellor as purely discretionary! Such 
 was the reason constantly urged by its enemies, on 
 its first appearance. They were unwilling to ad- 
 mit, that that discretion was not necessarily unlimit- 
 ed, but might be sound, honest, and enlightened ; 
 that it might be governed by positive law, guided 
 by precedent, or that, where neither positive law 
 nor precedents were to be found, that it might be 
 left free to obey the law written upon the hearts of 
 honest men, governed in the particular case by a 
 refined and enlightened judgment. 
 
 Two things occur to my mind which serve con- 
 clusively to prove, that in its origin, at least, the 
 power of the chancellor was not tied down or re- 
 stricted, by arbitrary rules of decision, as in the case 
 of other courts — that it was not circumscribed to 
 narrow and definite limits. The first, is, that the 
 court of chancery, in England, is no court of re- 
 cord. 2 Esp. 473. And why ? Because its deci- 
 sions are not secundum leges anglisBf but secundum 
 equum et bonum; the decisions of the chancellor, 
 forming no precedents of the law, by which his 
 successor is bound. We find, that in the earlier.* 
 books of chancery reports, the chancellors were in 
 the habit of reversing the opinions of each other, 
 with very little ceremony. 1 Vern. 194. The se- 
 cond, is, that the chancellor has no jurisdiction in 
 criminal matters, because th& well-being of society 
 forbids, that discretionary power should be con- 
 
22 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 ferred to any individual, on subjects so important. 
 1 Fonb. 23. Such discretion, is confided to the 
 hands of the king alone, and has now become the 
 only judicial power, immediately exercised by 
 him ; having, in all other cases, delegated that pow- 
 er to his courts of law and equity. 1 Fonb. Black. 
 1 Harrison 15. 
 
 It is not a matter of surprise, that writers should 
 have failed to mark by clear and precise lines, the 
 distinction between law and equity ; or the nature, 
 and extent, of equity jurisdiction, whose origin 
 may be traced to times of ignorance and prejudice. 
 I am not to be understood as speaking of the court 
 of equity, in the form which it has at present as- 
 sumed, after so many struggles. In the progress of 
 my argument, it will be seen, that I mean no disre- 
 spect to this court, or to the system as now shaped, 
 to which it resorts for aid, in the decision of parti- 
 cular questions. I am discussing a topic purely ele- 
 mentary, in order to clear the way for the reasoning 
 which I mean to advance. The court of chancery 
 took its rise from the deficiency and poverty of the 
 common law — or rather, was forced into existence, 
 by the narrow-mindedness of the common law 
 judges, who, either from timidity, or ignorant at- 
 tachment to their half-savage usages, were unwilling 
 to extend them by a liberality of construction, which 
 would enable them to embrace new cases. They 
 were still more unwilling to receive a code already 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWEUS. 23 
 
 formed by some more enlightened society ; with bar- 
 barian obstinacy, and pride, they haughtily rejected 
 any code of laws adapted to the changes, and im- 
 provements, which they were constantly experienc- 
 ing from their advancement in the social arts. This 
 deficiency soon became insupportable to individu- 
 als. They must resort to some means by which it 
 could be remedied. It was natural in a government, 
 in its nature despotic, to apply immediately to the 
 monarch, the fountain of all power in the state. 
 The suitors presented themselves to the king; the 
 king, occupied in the more important affairs of the 
 chase, of the banquet, or of war, referred them to 
 his chancellor — and the chancellor had recourse to 
 the civil law. Hence the ^^ laboured and connected 
 system," of the present chancery law, is chiefly in- 
 debted for its materials to that admirable code. In 
 time, this younger child grew to be the most ad- 
 mired for its beauty, and accomplishments, while 
 the elder son, and heir, spoiled by indulgence, grew 
 each day more vulgar, and unamiable. Judges more 
 enlightened, and liberal, at length arose, and at- 
 tempted to free the common law from its barbarous 
 roughness. At first, their well intended efforts, 
 served only to render ^^ confusion worse confound- 
 ed," — the potent interference of acts of parliament 
 was required^ — with their assistance, and the favour 
 of more enlightened times, the common law began 
 at last to emulate the system of equity. I feel my- 
 
24 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 self irresistibly urged forward in the pursuit of this 
 subject — although I am conscious of having already 
 trespassed much on the patience of the chancellor. 
 Who can mark, without a smile, the whimsical 
 inconsistency, and contradiction, into which the 
 greatest minds are betrayed, when acting under the 
 influence of mere prejudice, or when labouring to 
 support a fallacious theory? The enlightened 
 Blackstone relates with exultation, and with true 
 English pride, the manly deportment of the sturdy 
 barons, at the parliament of Merton, who, in ab- 
 horrence of the civil law, of which they were total- 
 ly ignorant, exclaimed nolumus leges angliae mu- 
 tare; while in another part of the same book, he re- 
 probates, in the most contemptuous terms, the 
 conduct of the poor Irish, for their obstinate resist* 
 ance to the abolition of their Brehone* law, and to 
 the introduction of the common law. And yet this 
 civil law, so sturdily rejected, has found able pane- 
 gyrists, and defenders, in many of the greatest mo- 
 dern English writers ; in Gibbon, in sir William 
 Jones, and even in the learned commentator him- 
 self! Notwithstanding his denunciation, he unin- 
 tentionally bestows upon it the highest encomiums. 
 He advises the student to study the law as reduced 
 to a science, in the code of imperial Rome — to seek 
 it as one of the fountains of English law — it is a foun- 
 
 * Brehoue, Brecken, from the glens and ridges of Breck- 
 etif or fern, where the rude people met to make their laws. 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. ^5 
 
 tain from which it has largely drawn. He calls 
 Edward the First, the English Justinian, and ac- 
 knowledges, that the earlier writers of the common 
 law, Glanville, Brackton, and the author of Fleta^ 
 have transcribed freely from the civil law. In fact, 
 if what was thus freely transcribed, were to be sub- 
 tracted from the old English common law, there 
 would be little left besides the feudal rules of te- 
 nures, arising out of a species of petty tyranny, 
 much of which has become obsolete, even in Britain, 
 and which, in this country, is confined to still smaller 
 compass. Without such a transcription, the laws 
 of England would only be adapted to the rudest 
 stage of society. But for the jealous ignorance of 
 the English barons, who feared that their petty ty- 
 ranny might be controlled by the more powerful de- 
 spotism of a monarch, and obstinately rejected the 
 Roman code, through ignorance of its character, 
 we should have had no chancery court, or chancery 
 law. At the same time, I own, that it has given 
 rise to a system more consonant to justice, and en- 
 lightened reason, than the common law ; to a modi- 
 fication of the civil law, better suited to our cir- 
 cumstances, and to the state of civilized life in mo 
 dern times. 
 
 And here, if I may be allowed the digression, I 
 would ask, what was this code which aroused an 
 enmity so violent in the barons, and against which 
 English prejudice was directed for so many centu- 
 
 4 
 
26 ON THE CHANCERY POVVEUS. 
 
 ries, and which even now prevails? Next to di- 
 vine revelation, it was the most rich, the most vari- 
 ous, and comprehensive treasury of precepts, ever 
 collected, and arranged, for the regulation of hu- 
 man actions. No circumstances could have existed 
 more favourable to the formation of a perfect code. 
 Rome had already flourished more than a thousand 
 years — she had long been the mistress of the world 
 — the wealth of nations had been poured into her 
 lap — the Greeks, the most enlightened people that 
 ever lived, had transferred their arts, their know- 
 ledge and refinement to the eternal city — she had 
 embraced the Christian religion, the touchstone of 
 moral truth and beauty — almost every social rela- 
 tion which required the aid of laws to define or to 
 protect — every art, commerce, or mode of existence, 
 was known to her experience. At such a time, 
 and in such a country, with such complicated inte- 
 rests to embrace, the immortal code was framed. 
 Yet against this code it was that the sturdy barons 
 directed their furious hate! The writers on law in 
 the time of Justinian, had accumulated to many 
 thousand volumes, they had become even more nu- 
 merous than the tomes which load the shelves of an 
 English lawyer. The Scaevolas, the Ulpians, the 
 Papinians, like our Cokes, our Bacons, our Black- 
 stones, had laboured to condense and reduce this vast 
 and unwieldy mass to the form of a science. Under 
 Theodosius, there had been an effort to comprehend 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS* 2f 
 
 the whole in a digest; and althoiigli a mighty effort^, 
 it was not crowned with success. At length, in the 
 sixth century of the Christian era, one more seri- 
 ous and successful, was made to accomplish this 
 magnificent enterprise. The study of a whole life 
 had heen insufficient to attain some acquaintance 
 with a species of learning, so voluminous, immetho- 
 dical, and complex. But the gathering of ages had 
 brought together a vast magazine of materials. An 
 edifice was raised at last, which bids fair to outlive, 
 as it has surpassed, every other regal monument. 
 The work was confided to Tribonian, and to nine- 
 teen others, chosen for their learning from the whole 
 empire. The most ample powers were given to new- 
 model, to abridge, to abrogate^ to annul, to enact, 
 according to their best judgments. And did these 
 men at last reach the point of perfection? No— 
 for they were men. Justinian, vain of this noble 
 edifice, and believing that since the muUitudc of 
 human transactions had now their rules, and that 
 no case unprovided for could possibly arise, de- 
 nounced the penalty of death, on any one who should- 
 dare to comment on them, or attempt an interpre- 
 tation, beyond their letter. But alas ! he soon be- 
 came sensible of his folly. If there be a moral' 
 axiom, it is that of Grotius — that no finite rule can 
 embrace a7i infinite subject. It was soon discover- 
 ed, that without consulting the spirit of the law, or 
 establishing a court of equity, invested with the 
 
28 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 necessary discretion, cases would occur, for which 
 his boasted code had made no provision. Justinian 
 was, therefore, compelled to repeal his unwise pro- 
 hibition ; and, but six years afterwards, he found it 
 necessary to publish a new edition with improve- 
 ments and augmentations. Here is a lesson to those 
 who hold that a code of laws must embrace every 
 possible case — to those case men, who dare not trust 
 themselves in a recurrence to the elementary prin- 
 ciples of justice, where the law is silent, or where 
 its letter, and not its reason, applies. Have we at 
 last arrived at that state of perfection which the 
 code of Rome could not reach? Permit me to take 
 a rapid glance at the map of our common and chan- 
 cery law, and we shall then see, whether they can 
 lay claim to this lofty pre-eminence. 
 
 Scarcely had Justinian retired from the stage of 
 life, when his works were covered with the dust of 
 oblivion. The corruption, the rottenness, which 
 pervaded every part of the empire — the decline of 
 the Roman power in Asia and Africa, together with 
 the eruption of savage hordes, once more spread 
 the night of barbarism over the fairest climes of 
 Europe. For five centuries the laws of Justinian 
 lay covered in a common grave, with all the refine- 
 ments of civilized society. But when the morn of 
 science once more dawned on Europe, 
 
 «To glad the nations with redoubled ray," 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 29 
 
 the immortal code experienced a glorious resurrec- 
 tion. The Pandects brought to light at Amalfi, and 
 the code discovered at Ravenna, were instantly ap- 
 preciated, where any progress was made in letters 
 and social arts. In Italy, Spain, France, and in 
 part of Germany, they were received with super- 
 stitious veneration. They were taught in the schools 
 as the most admirable precepts of wisdom, and they 
 were appealed to as oracles for the determination 
 of private differences, where the imperfect codes 
 of those nations were silent. Alphonso the eleventh, 
 of Spain, ambitious of the title of legislator, esta- 
 blished a uniform code through his kingdom, based 
 on the civil law, having regard to peculiar and lo- 
 cal customs. His example was imitated by John 
 of Portugal. In France the civil law was every 
 where gladly consulted, when the customary law fell 
 short of its purpose : and a people emerging from 
 the state of barbarism, must often experience the 
 poverty of laws, framed alone for the simplest state 
 of social life. The same judge who pronounced 
 the customary law, had also recourse to the civil 
 law for help, when the customs of his own country 
 no longer served him. Very different was its re- 
 ception in England ; whether to be attributed to 
 ignorant obstinacy, or to that unbending disposition, 
 which indicates in its rough state, that gem, which 
 becomes a noble manliness and independence of 
 character, under the influence of reason, certain it 
 
30 OM THE CHANCERY POAVERS* 
 
 is, that it was at first opposed with savage ferocity.* 
 Instead of retaining and incorporating their favour- 
 ite customs, they chose to reject the whole code. 
 Yet what says one of the most enlightened law wri- 
 ters England has produced ; '^ there is no reason/' 
 says Sir William Jones, *^ why we should not shorten 
 our labours by recurring to the laws of Rome." 
 Early in the thirteenth century, the English clergy, 
 who then occupied both the bar and the bench, 
 and to whom was confined nearly all the learning 
 of the age, attempted the introduction of the laws 
 of Justinian ; but this was opposed with indiscrimi- 
 nating inveteracy by the same barons, with the 
 whole force of that prejudice and bigotry, which 
 prevails amongst rude people, who are inimical to 
 the introduction of any thing new, from the inve- 
 teracy of habit and the pride of ignorance. The 
 spirit of opposition carried them to ridiculous ex- 
 tremes. An act of parliament imposed an oath on 
 every person, in a judicial station, to support the 
 laws of the land, that is, the common law, as distin- 
 guished from the civil. The clergy were now 
 driven from all the legal offices which they before 
 had filled, and no judicial function, excepting that 
 
 * The enmity to the laws of Justinian may perhaps be 
 chiefly referred to the definition of law in the institute,which 
 refers it entirely to the rcill of the prince. B\U this had no- 
 thing to do with the code itself. 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 3 1 
 
 of chancellor, which was then scarcely known, was 
 I'etained in the hands of any ecclesiastic. The ef- 
 fect may be easily imagined. The common law 
 administered by laymen, in a bigotted manner at- 
 tached to their own customs and usages, stubbornly 
 adhering to the mere letter or words of the rule, 
 and refusing to go a single step beyond them, these 
 rules were soon found entirely inadequate to the 
 purposes of justice, among a people who were every 
 day experiencing some improvement. 
 
 The laws of a rude people are no more suited to 
 a refined state of society, growing out of improved 
 agriculture, extensive commerce, and manufactures, 
 than the bark hut, or skin cloak of the savage, to 
 the man of civilization. To this narrow-minded ad- 
 herence to the letter of the law, we may trace the 
 slavish obedience of the present day to the magic 
 of precedents.* The suitors, probably in a thou- 
 sand instances, finding no redress, in cases, where, 
 according to the plainest dictates of natural justice, 
 
 * See a remarkable case in 4 T. R. 560. A person was 
 there actually condemned by an ex post facto law. It had 
 been established by former adjudications, that an act of 
 parliament takes effect from the beginning of the session ; 
 and an act passed at the close of the session, had render- 
 ed penal what was before lawful ; the fact charged was 
 committed between the time of the legal, and the actual 
 passage of the law: adjudged guilty. Here was a sacrifice 
 of principle to precedent. The law was afterwards cor- 
 rected by statute. 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 they were entitled to it, must have frequently re- 
 tired from the courts, with disappointment and dis- 
 gust. 3 Bl. 49 — 50 — 51. 54 — 1 Harrison's chanc. 
 5 — 10 Cooper ch. 23. 1 Vern. 178. Application 
 was therefore made to the king in person, as the 
 supreme judge of his kingdom, who referred the pe- 
 tition to his chancellor, usually a pious ecclesiastic, 
 and the remedy found here, even according to 
 Blackstone, was, until a late period, desultory and 
 uncertain, depending on the private opinion of the 
 chancellor. In process of time, the whole equitable 
 power of the king, in civil matters, was delegated 
 to the chancellor, who became one of the highest 
 judicial officers in the kingdom. But it does not 
 appear that any regular connected system of chan- 
 cery law, was formed, even as late as the time of lord 
 Bacon, who may be said to have sketched its out- 
 line. Perhaps the uncertainty, and looseness, of the 
 proceedings in the court of chancery, in his day, 
 may serve, in some measure, to account for the la- 
 mentable fall of that wonderful man. It was not un- 
 til the year 1673, that under sir Hineage Finch, the 
 system of equity assumed a regular form, or that 
 the chancellors began to consult the decisions of 
 their predecessors for their guidance. All the early 
 writers speak of the chancellor's powers, as purely 
 discretionary ; nor do I think the day has yet ar- 
 rived when the system has attained its utmost point 
 of perfection ; when every possible case is provided 
 
ON THK (JHANCERY I'OWKRS. 
 
 for by precedents; when it has ceased to be neces- 
 sary to appeal to the principles of natural justice ; 
 or, that the discretionary power which the chan- 
 cellor at first possessed, may be considered as en- 
 tirely taken away. That it has been narrowed, I 
 admit ; but, I must contend, that enough is left for 
 all the purposes we may require. 
 
 I have rapidly passed in review, the history of 
 the chancery power, from its rise, down to the 
 formation of the present system of equity ; I will 
 take a glance at the other principal branch of Eng- 
 lish jurisprudence, from the time of its unhappy 
 separation- -a separation, like that of body and soul : 
 for at first, it was, in fact, a separation of the letter 
 of the law, from its spirit. It is unnecessary to re- 
 peat what has been said, with respect to the incon- 
 venience and embarrassment vv^hich ensued. All 
 writers agree as to the original deficiency of the 
 common law. It consisted of little more than a few 
 scraps of the civil law, mingled with the rude cus- 
 toms introduced by the Saxon, or Danish conquer- 
 ors.* The compilations of Alfred, or Edward, 
 
 * The Roman law was in full force in England as late 
 as the emperor Severus. The much-famed civilian, Papi- 
 nian, was for some time the chief judge of the Prsetorian 
 court at York, and had Paul and Ulpian for his assessors. 
 Dion. Cassius in vita Severi. It is to be presumed, that the 
 code of Alfred, supposed to be lost, but which may only 
 have lost its name, incorporated many of the laws which 
 5 
 
34 ON THE CIIANCEKY TOWERS. 
 
 could not have been voluminous. At a time, com- 
 paratively modernj notwithstanding the accessions 
 from the civil law, which are visibly such, it was 
 but a disconnected bundle of rules. It was scarcely 
 before the modern times of Coke and Bacon, that it 
 had begun to assume a respectable form. Bacon 
 has observed, that, as the English language is so 
 much the richer, by reason of accessions from others, 
 so, the laws of England are the better for being 
 borrowed from every other nation. I cannot refrain 
 from expressing my regret, that they had not bor- 
 rowed more freely from the code of Rome. The 
 rapid melioration in the state of manners, gave rise 
 to a thousand wants before unknown, wants by which 
 men are rendered more dependant on each other, 
 
 had been in force in the country, before the Saxon con- 
 quest. As late as the fifth, and even a part of the sixth 
 century, the population of England was as enlightened as 
 any portion of the Roman empire, and there is every rea- 
 son to believe, that the barbarian conquerors pursued the 
 same course as in the neighbouring countries. It is inva- 
 riably observed, that the barbarous nations who had set- 
 tled themselves in the civilized provinces, were more apt 
 to assume the manners and habits of the vanquished, than 
 the latter, to adopt the usages of their rude conquerors. 
 It is therefore, even now, extremely difficult to say, how 
 much of the common law is English, or Saxon, and how 
 much of it Roman. No inconsiderable portion of the civil 
 law, was also infused into it, by the French lawyers, after 
 the Norman conquest. 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 35 
 
 and society is linked more closely together. The 
 deficiency of the common law became so apparent, 
 that the judges, not possessed of sufficient boldness 
 to consult at once its spirit, were compelled to re- 
 sort to the invention of ingenious fictions, and to a 
 thousand intellectual distortions and subterfuges, to 
 escape from the cave of ignorance, and reach the 
 light of reason. They dared not openly call in the 
 aid of some other code. The extraordinary subtilty 
 of distinctions, and complexity, which now took 
 place, is at once a subject of regret and admiration. 
 The pleadings, more especially, had become so la- 
 mentably intricate, and so replete with absurd refine- 
 ments, as to be productive of frequent injustice, 
 and it required the potent interference of a statute 
 to cut away the inextricable web, in which the law 
 had been completely entangled. It had become a 
 labyrinth, where, like that of Crete, none, without 
 the order of Minos, could enter, and from whence 
 it required the clue of Ariadne to escape. A slavish 
 adherence to the mere letter of the law, may often 
 times be productive of the greatest injustice---may 
 often be the extreme of wickedness and folly. 
 
 It was not until the court of chancery had ac- 
 quired the most decided preference, that the com- 
 mon law underwent a sensible improvement, from 
 repeated acts of parliament, from the commentaries 
 of great lawyers, and from the interpretations of 
 more liberal and enlightened judges. The spirit of 
 
36 ON THK CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 the law, began to be consulted here, as well as in 
 the court of chancery. This was even carried so 
 far, as to become the subject of complaint; inas- 
 much, as it augmented the difficulties of exactly 
 defining the boundary which separated the two ju- 
 risdictions. To this cause, we may, perhaps, ascribe 
 the doctrine which prevails at this day, that, ex- 
 cepting in the mode of proceeding, there is no dif- 
 ference between them. But, I again demand, if the 
 chancellor ever possessed the power of supplying 
 what the law had left imperfect, by recurring to the 
 fountain of equity, when was this power lost or with- 
 drawn- --when was that fountain dried up? It is 
 conceded by all writers, that in every well regu- 
 lated government, there must be somewhere a pow- 
 er of supplying what is defective in the code of laws, 
 and of preventing the happening of injustice, in 
 cases where no provision has been made. Fonb. 6. 
 Coop. 38--- 1 Bl. 62. ---Such is the unavoidable im- 
 perfection of all human laws and institutions, that 
 new and unforeseen cases will still continue to 
 arise, and which can only be decided by the spirit 
 of the law ; cases, which, if presented to the mind 
 of the legislator, when the rule was formed, would 
 have been embraced. It is this spirit which deserves 
 the name of equity ; it is this which was possessed 
 by the Roman Praetor, to whom it was intrusted, for 
 the purpose of aiding, supplying, and interpreting 
 the \Q.vf : juvare, supplere, interpretare^ sednon mu- 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 37 
 
 tare. It exists in every court in the world; except, 
 until of late, in the English court of law ; it existed 
 before the unnatural separation of law and equity, 
 in England, and is even said to have been exercised 
 both by the Aula i^egis, and the Wittenageraote. 
 This separation is not unlike the custom which pre- 
 vailed in the Roman theatre, where one performer 
 gesticulated while another spoke. The court of law 
 has come, at last, to speak, as well as gesticulate, 
 and hence proceeds, in some measure, a confusion 
 of tongues. 
 
 I challenge any one to point out to me the time, 
 and manner, of withdrawing from the chancellor 
 the power which he once possessed of providing for 
 new and unforeseen cases, where the law is silent, 
 but where there is a right for which the law ought 
 to provide. Fonb. 23. Mitford 120 — Harrison 15 
 — Cooper 282. I do not ask the chancellor to make, 
 or change the law, but I ask him to apply the prin-' 
 ciples of natural justice, where a case occurs, in 
 which they are the only guides. I do not deny that 
 the chancellor is bound by positive law, where the 
 law meets the case ; I do not pretend that he should 
 consult the mere circumstances of every case, or 
 be at liberty to consider the hardship to persons, in 
 the operation of some positive general law. No, it 
 is his duty to bow to the lav/s like every other 
 judge. I do not pretend that the chancellor should 
 have the power of putting aside the rule of primo- 
 
38 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 geniturcj because the eldest son is unworthy, while 
 the other members of the family are meritorious. 
 To alter the canons of descent, would be to put 
 himself above the legislator, instead of giving a more 
 perfect effect to his intentions. It is the rule of 
 the common law that land shall not ascend — that it 
 shall not go to a brother of the half blood, but rather 
 escheat — that it shall not be liable to simple con- 
 tract debts — that personal actions die with the per- 
 son — that a devisee may be in a better situation 
 than the heir — these are positive rules which the 
 English chancellor has no discretion to suspend. 
 It is true that in this country, in most of these cases, 
 a more enlightened rule prevails, and many of the 
 withered branches have been torn from the tree ;* 
 but the praise of these acts is due to the legislature, 
 with whom the necessary power resides. I do not 
 deny that the chancellor ought to be guided by 
 precedents, that he should follow them in cases even 
 
 * The improvement which the English common law has 
 undergone in this country is wonderful. For thirty years 
 a silent revolution has been rapidly advancing through all 
 the states. It is yet far from having completed the work 
 of reform. What is somewhat remarkable, this revolu- 
 tion is less to be attributed to the wisdom and liberality 
 of our judges, than to the general diffusion of information 
 among the people. A still mightier revolution in the 
 legal system is fast approaching; in the language of Paine, 
 "it approaches nearer, and still more near." 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 39 
 
 where their reason may not appear to him perfectly 
 satisfactory. It is undoubtedly proper, on the score 
 of public policy, that much regard should be paid 
 to certainty and uniformity of decision; but we 
 should also beware that this be not carried to an 
 extreme, which may sacrifice justice and principle 
 to doubtful precedent. I am willing to concede that 
 we have gained much by the system which has al- 
 ready been created out of the decisions in chancery ; 
 but I must also declare my opinion, that we have 
 lost much, if in consequence of this progress, the 
 power has been withdrawn from the chancellor, of 
 providing for new cases, where justice requires it, 
 and which a statute, by reason of its prospective 
 operation, cannot reach. I do not pretend that the 
 chancellor has authority to pull down the edifice, or 
 change its form; this might lead to dangerous con- 
 sequences ; but until the edifice be complete and 
 perfect in all its parts, every chancellor is an archi- 
 tect, and as such may add another stone to the build- 
 ing. The case which I now advocate is altogether 
 new — it runs counter to no positive law, and is 
 within the reason of no contrary precedent, or de- 
 cision, or rule of practice. I, therefore, call upon 
 the chancellor to interpose, and to prevent the 
 happening of injustice, in virtue of those ample 
 powers with which he is invested by the nature of 
 his office — I ask the chancellor to seek the fountain 
 of equity, and draw from its living waters — to de- 
 
40 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 cide as the first chancellor would have decided— 
 the first chancellor, who was the delegate of a king 
 — the chancellor of Maryland, in the fulfilment of 
 his high trust, is also the delegate of a king — but 
 not of an earthly king. 
 
 But I will be told that the rule of law on which 
 the respondent grounds his demurrer, is of that po- 
 sitive kind that claims implicit obedience. This 
 leads me to consider the nature of the rule itself 
 on which he relies, and I trust I will show that as 
 respects the present case, it is no better than if no 
 rule of the kind existed, for it is not applicable. 
 As a general rule, I admit, that a mere witness can- 
 not be made a party; but I will contend, that if the 
 reason on which it rests, is wanting on the present oc- 
 casion, our case must rest on the principles of natural 
 justice, and the chancellor must resort to his gene- 
 ral powers, which authorize him to apply those prin- 
 ciples to anomalous cases. 
 
 It will surely not be contended that this rule is 
 one of the landmarks of the law, which, on the 
 score of public policy and the safety of third per- 
 sons, ought not to be removed. It is no positive, 
 and arbitrary precept, like the canons of descent ; it 
 is no solemn adjudication which cannot be disturbed 
 without unsettling the right to property held under 
 it. No — it can lay no claim to such high authority. 
 It belongs to that artificial system, contrived by 
 courts, for the purpose of ministering in the appli- 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 41 
 
 cation of the laws and the principles of justice ; a 
 system founded on good sense, claiming no impera- 
 tive force, further than as it is auxiliary to the ad- 
 ministration of justice, and consonant to sound rea- 
 son. It is a mere rule of practice, first adopted for 
 convenience, and which comes not within the scope 
 of the ground of refusal, because ita lex scripta est. 
 If any part of the system of common law, can justly 
 claim the name of a science, it is that which has 
 grown up in the courts, to facilitate the administra- 
 tion of the laws ; and more particularly, the rules, 
 which relate to evidence, are founded purely on 
 reason, and even when created by statute, a libe- 
 rality of construction is permitted scarcely known 
 in other branches of the system. Here, indeed, it 
 may properly be said, that the reason ceasing, the 
 law itself ceases ; cessante ratione, cessat et ipsa 
 lex. In fact, the reason of the laiv, is here the law 
 itself; otherwise it would be an empty sound, a sha- 
 dow, a mockery. Whenever this artificial system, 
 if implicitly pursued, would defeat the end of its 
 creation, it is made to yield, and to be subservient 
 to the great ends of substantial justice. The case 
 is either admitted as an exception, which falls pro- 
 perly within the reason of the rule, or as entirely 
 anomalous. Surely it would be more proper, to be 
 altogether without such rules, if they should, in any 
 instance, defeat the object which they were design- 
 ed to protect. I would refer the chancellor to the 
 6 
 
42 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 case in 3d Equity cases^ 410, where lord Hardwick, 
 with the assistance of the other judges, decided, 
 that a Gentoo might be sworn after the form of his 
 own theology, although the law to the contrary was 
 laid down by Coke and other writers. On that oc- 
 casion. Chief Justice Willes used these expressions ; 
 but there is one I'uky firm, eternal, and immutable, 
 which never can vary, the rule of natural justice; 
 and I apprehend these rules of evidence, are, un- 
 der proper circumstances, and on proper occasions, 
 to give way to that. 
 
 There is, indeed, scarcely one of these rules, 
 however positive it may appear, that has not admit- 
 ted exceptions on proper occasions ; and for the 
 same reason that the first were admitted, will con- 
 tinue to admit others, when proper cases are pre- 
 sented. What rule is there better established, 
 than that one cannot be a witness for himself? And 
 yet on the statute of hue and cry, from the necessity 
 of the case, a plaintiff has been admitted to testify. 
 It is a rule that husband and wife shall not be wit- 
 nesses for or against each other ; yet a bankrupt's 
 wife, from public policy, or the necessity of the 
 thing, has been compelled to discover the effects 
 of her husband: 1 Wills. 611. A plaintiff without 
 such necessity, may be a witness, when the reason 
 which would exclude him, in common cases, ceases 
 to operate. 1 Peer. Will. 289. These rules, adopt- 
 ed by the courts to facilitate their proceedings, give 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS, 43 
 
 way in the same manner, when justice requires it. 
 There is no rule hetter established, than that all 
 persons interested, shall be made parties to a bill in 
 chancery, but this has yielded to many exceptions, 
 where justice required them, and where the rea- 
 son of the rule did not forbid. Where one of two 
 partners happen to be out of the jurisdiction of the 
 county, a suit brought against the other alone, will 
 suffice. 2 Atk. 510. The rule has been dispensed 
 with, in the case of creditors suing for an account 
 of their deceased debtor's estate, and in that of le- 
 gatees, where one may sue for all the rest ; a few 
 may likewise represent the whole, in the case of 
 societies, composed of numerous members. And 
 why were these rules pushed aside, after having 
 been firmly established? Because, in the particu- 
 lar instance, their enforcement would be destruc- 
 tive of the very end of all law. In opposition 
 almost to the very words of the statute of frauds, a 
 party has been compelled to discover whether a 
 devise was not made to him for a purpose not ex- 
 pressed in the will I The law will not suffer a sta- 
 tute enacted for the purpose of preventing fraud, 
 to be the instrument of fraud. Cooper 59. The 
 court will not suffer the rules adopted for the se- 
 curity and facility of justice, to be perverted to the 
 means of injustice. 
 
 There is another exception to the rule, that all 
 persons interested must be made parties : the want 
 
44 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 of parties, is no objection to a mere bill of discovery, 
 like the present ; as no relief is prayed, there is no 
 subject of litigation: for as the reason of the rule, 
 the preventing a multiplicity of suits, and the dis- 
 couraging of unnecessary litigation, does not apply, 
 the law itself has n@ application. Eq. cas. ab. 170 
 — Mitf. 220. I now assert with confidence, that 
 the rule of practice, under which the defendant 
 would shelter himself, was not made for his case, 
 because the reasons upon which it is founded, on 
 this occasion ceases. Is there any difference in the 
 nature, or character, of the rule opposed to us, 
 from those already cited? Has it thus far refused 
 to admit exceptions ?---Must we yield faith and obe- 
 dience to it, without daring to question the reason 
 on which it stands? No---it is not only of a nature 
 precisely similar to all the others, but has actually 
 admitted exceptions when the reasons required. 
 ^^The exceptions to this rule,^' says Cooper, ^'are 
 the book-keepers of a corporation, agents, auction- 
 eers, and some other persons." This is sufiicient 
 to show, that, however positive the rule may have 
 been originally, it has given way, at the requisition 
 of justice and sound policy. I will now examine 
 whether reason applies to the present case. 
 
 Before I enter upon this examination, it will, in 
 the first place, be proper to see how far the rule is 
 at all applicable to our local situation, and peculiar 
 institutions. It can hardly be supposed, that every 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 45 
 
 rule of practice, or of evidence, (unless founded 
 upon the immutable principles of justice, the same 
 in every land, and in every age,) framed by the 
 British courts for the purpose of regulating their 
 proceedings, should be received without allowance, 
 or modification, by courts differently organized, 
 and existing under different circumstances. There 
 are laws, which grow out of a certain state of things, 
 which, in that state, may be consonant to justice, 
 but which, in a different state, may be directly the 
 reverse. In Holland, the killing a stork, is a capi- 
 tal crime, because that bird contributes to preserve 
 the dykes, upon which the safety of the country de- 
 pends ; but it would be ridiculous in this country, 
 to estimate the life of a stork as highly as that of a 
 man. In England, there may be good reason why 
 a witness, in no instance, can be made a party ; 
 there may be no necessity for it ; but this may not 
 be the case here. But even in England, a witness 
 may be made a party, and coinpelled to pay da- 
 mages, for refusing to give testimony. Let us sup- 
 pose, that in this country, there were no other mode 
 of compelling him to give testimony, where is the 
 reason which forbids his being made a party, in a 
 bill of discovery instituted to compel him to testify? 
 But is there not an evident and material diversity, 
 between the constitution and relations of our courts, 
 and those of Great Britain? Are there not many 
 important circumstances peculiar to each ? All the 
 
46 ON TrtE CMANCEUY POWERS. 
 
 English courts derive their power from the same 
 source, and their proceedings are corrected by the 
 same authority : this alone is a material difference. 
 The high court of chancery extends its power over 
 the whole kingdom, although inferior courts of 
 chancery are established. In this country, the state 
 courts derive their authority from different and in- 
 dependent sources, and their decisions are not sub- 
 ject to revision out of the state. 
 
 It will not be pretended, that the judicial esta- 
 blishments of the different states, are on the same 
 footing with relation to each other, as the courts of 
 Great Britain with respect to those of France, or 
 other foreign country. — Even there, a disposition 
 to harmonize with each other, in the administration 
 of justice, prevails to a great extent; for justice, 
 like the sciences and the arts, should be of no coun- 
 try. In the United States, we are one nation, sepa- 
 rated in a most original and peculiar manner, by 
 distinct political boundaries, but which have no ma- 
 terial influence on the habits, transactions, and in- 
 tercourse of business. Abroad, we are known but 
 as one people ; at home, every thing of a national 
 character, is intrusted to one general government. 
 Sensible, however, of the inconveniences which 
 must ensue from our domestic relations, being thus 
 fettered by our political institutions, every means 
 have been adopted which would tend to lessen them. 
 The federal constitution, the different legislatures, 
 
ON THE CWANCEKY POWEKt:* 47 
 
 the courts of the United States, and of the indivi- 
 dual states, have all concurred in labouring to ob- 
 viate, as far as possible, the difficulties which from 
 time to time may have been observed. The authen- 
 tication of records and papers, has been provided 
 for by laws; the courts have decided, that the judg- 
 ments of the courts of a sister state, are domestic, 
 not foreign ; and they have gone far towards doing 
 away any ideal and unnecessary distinctions, by de- 
 claring, that the discharge of an insolvent debtor in 
 one state, shall be a discharge in another. In every 
 instance, where the subject has presented itself, the 
 courts have manifested this kind of liberality ; a libe- 
 rality, which is uniformly the interest of the whole. 
 No possible danger or inconvenience can result 
 from its being carried to extremes. Occupying por- 
 tions of the same soil, speaking the same language, 
 enjoying the same free institutions, allied in the 
 closest manner by the ties of consanguinity, and all 
 the varied transactions of business and social inter- 
 course, if such a liberality did not exist, our wise 
 political systems, devised for purposes of a different 
 nature, would be productive of the most serious 
 embarrassments. In fact, the same intimacy of re- 
 lationship, exists between different states, as between 
 different counties of the same state. 
 
 Am I not justified, therefore, in saying, that the 
 relations which the different states hold toward 
 each other, is of a different kind from that which 
 
-* 
 
 48 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 Great Britain holds to foreign countries? And it 
 follows, that the courts of chancery in America, are 
 on a different footing from the courts of chancery 
 in Great Britain; and the rules formed to regulate 
 their proceedings, are not to be received in all in- 
 stances in this country, without making a proper 
 allowance. I will put a case, which will illustrate 
 my meaning ; suppose it were agreed on all hands, 
 that the present defendant is a proper party, to be 
 compelled to discover, but that the discovery is 
 sought in aid of o. court of chancery in Virginia ; 
 would the English rule be objected to us, that a bill 
 of discovery will not be entertained in aid of a court 
 of chancery or an ecclesiastical court? But in Eng- 
 land, these courts can compel a discovery them- 
 selves, and from the difference in our situation the 
 reason does not apply. Let us suppose an act of 
 parliament, to have forbidden the courts of chancery 
 to entertain bills of discovery against mere witnesses, 
 would we not, in adopting such act, first examine 
 whether there does not exist such a difference in 
 our situation, as would have been taken into consi- 
 deration, had the act been at the same time intend- 
 ed for our use ? In England, there might be no 
 necessity for this mode of proceeding, because other 
 sufficient means of compelling the witness to dis- 
 close facts, had already been devised ; but in this 
 country, the case might be different. Is it not to 
 be presumed, that with a knowledge of the possible 
 
-• ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 49 
 
 occurrence of a case like the present, we should 
 have been excepted from the too general operation 
 of the law ? And if we had not been, would not a 
 sound and equitable construction of the statute have 
 procured for us sdch exemption ? But this is no 
 positive enactment of the legislature; it is a rule 
 adopted originally by the English courts, founded 
 on justice, calculated for convenience in the de- 
 spatch of business, and arising out of a judicial or- 
 ganization, in a great measure peculiar to herself. 
 
 If, then, the rule, from the mere circumstance of 
 having originated in a different state of things, and 
 being adapted to courts differently organized, is to 
 be taken with allowance, what are we to say when 
 the reason upon which it is founded ceases altoge- 
 ther? When, in a case similar to the present, even 
 in England, were it possible for such to occur, the 
 rule vvould be compelled to give way. 
 
 What are the reasons given for this rule, that a 
 bill of discovery will not be entertained against a 
 mere witness? They are two : first, because the 
 witness, not being interested in the cause, may be 
 compelled to give evidence in the courts of law ; 
 secondly, because the testimony or discovery can- 
 not be made use of between other parties, and the 
 court of chancery will not sit to do what is idle and 
 useless. The first does not apply to this case ; for 
 the court in Virginia cannot compel the witness to 
 give evidence, having no authority over the citi- 
 7 
 
50 ON THE CHANCEUY POWERS. 
 
 zens of this state. The witness is therefore pre- 
 cisely in the situation, in which a party would be 
 in a suit at law ; where, in consequence of there be- 
 ing no power in such court to compel a party to 
 give evidence against himself, resort is had to a 
 court of chancery. When the situation and rea- 
 son are the same, why is the law at variance? In 
 the first case, the court of chancery interposed, be- 
 cause of the want of power in the court of law, and 
 because, without this interposition, a party might 
 be denied a natural right ; and when a witness ap- 
 pears to be in the same situation as parties generally 
 are, is there not the same reason, justice, or neces- 
 sity, for the interposition ? What is it that is sought 
 in both instances? It is the knowledge of certain 
 facts, confined to the breasts of the parties, or of the 
 witnesses, which they are bound to disclose, in or- 
 der that justice may be dotie. If courts will compel 
 even parties to disclose facts which may be pre- 
 judicial to their own interests, is there not a still 
 stronger reason to compel mere witnesses to testify? 
 Upon what does the chancellor's power act in these 
 cases? It is upon the facts, no matter in whose 
 possession they may be. And why, I will again 
 ask, is a party thus called upon to bear witness 
 against himself, or why is a bill, on any occasion, 
 filed for the mere purpose of procuring testimony ? 
 It is because the courts afford no suiRcient remedy. 
 The court of chancery will not interfere in aid 
 
ON THE CHANCEUY POAVERS. 51 
 
 of an ecclesiastical court, because that court can, 
 itself, compel a party to discover. In fact, the true 
 rule is, not that a mere witness shall not be made a 
 party to a bill of discovery, but that there are other 
 means of obtaining his testimony: this, in the ear- 
 liest books of chancery reports, is the reason given 
 for refusing to entertain such bills. — 1 Vern. 213. 
 It was at a subsequent period, that the words of the 
 rule were changed, when it was observed, that, ac- 
 cording to the judicial system of Great Britain, a 
 witness could, in all cases, be compelled to give 
 testimony : yet, even there, if this wer^ found to 
 be a mistake, the reason of the rule would still be 
 regarded as the rule itself. In the case cited, the 
 interposition of the chancellor's power was denied, 
 because the plaintiff had other means of obtaining 
 the testimony; and, in another case, (3 Atk. 215,) 
 it was denied, because the party could compel the 
 witness to be exatnined at law. Let the defendant 
 show us how we can obtain his testimony by com- 
 pulsion. Will it be said, that we might institute a 
 bill to perpetuate testimony, or to take depositions 
 de bene esse? Of what use v/ould this be to us, and 
 would the facts warrant such a procedure? Could 
 we make affidavit, that being in possession of real 
 property, we were apprehensive of a lawsuit at some 
 future period, when our testimony would be lost ? 
 or that the witness was infirm, or about to depart 
 the state ? This would be absurd in the highest de- 
 
52 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 gree ; these are remedies provided for in cases alto- 
 gether different. 
 
 There is no mode in our power, of compelling 
 the defendant to disclose the facts within his know- 
 ledge, but the present. The rule under which he, 
 has therefore sought to shelter himself, has no ap- 
 plication as it respects this case, being divested of its 
 reason ; it is mere words without sense or meaning. 
 The exception in the ease of the corporation, shows 
 the principles upon which the courts have acted. 
 There, as the corporation could not be compelled 
 to give evidence, because incapable of an oath, or 
 liability for perjury, the secretary, a mere witness, 
 was made a party, for the purpose of procuring a 
 discovery of facts. This, it is said, was founded 
 upon the necessity of the case; and what is this ne- 
 cessity? Unless we are to understand that justice 
 required the exception, or rendered it necessary, 
 I am at a loss to know the meaning of the term as 
 thus applied. And does not the same justice, the 
 same necessity, exist on the present occasion? 
 
 ^^But," says the respondent, "I fear this dis- 
 covery can be of no use to you, after you shall have 
 procured it, for the court in Virginia will not re- 
 ceive it in evidence." — This is truly a kind solici- 
 tude for our interests; it would have been more 
 thankfully received, however, if the witness, in- 
 stead of shielding himself behind the excuse, ^^ I 
 cannot be compelled,'' had deigned to testify in the 
 
i ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 53 
 
 first instance; before the commissioners. In order, 
 however, to satisfy his mind on this score, I will en- 
 deavour to show to him that it will not be altogether 
 useless. This court will certainly not indulge a 
 party in mere whim or caprice, or lend its aid in 
 things which can be of no substantial benefit. The 
 court will not entertain a bill of discovery, or one to 
 perpetuate testimony, where it is evident that the 
 plaintiff has no title ; nor will it lend its aid to pro- 
 cure a mere exparte affidavit, not sought with a 
 view to any cause depending. But the court will 
 presume that we have not gone to the trouble and 
 expense of filing this bill, in order to procure what 
 will be altogether useless to us ; the presumption is, 
 that it will be of use. It must appear to the court, 
 that its aid is sought to no purpose ; is this certain 
 in the present case? Will the court of this state un- 
 dertake to say, under what circumstances tlie court 
 of Virginia will admit testimony? I presume there 
 was no inquiry of this nature, when the court of 
 chancery in England entertained a bill in aid of the 
 court in Spain ! And is not this reason to be taken 
 in conjunction with the first ? Is it not rather a con- 
 sequence of the first? Would not the same justice 
 and necessity which compelled the witness to an- 
 swer in this court, demand the admission of his dis- 
 covery in the court of Virginia ? — How was it in the 
 case of the corporation? Besides, this second rea- 
 son is founded upon a rule to which there are also 
 
54 ON THE CHANCF.RV POWEUS. 
 
 exceptions ; the reason why exparte testimony shall 
 not be admitted, is, that the party against whom it 
 is oifered, had no opportunity of cross-examining. 
 Suppose it should be made to appear, that, in con- 
 sequence of the act of the party, the witness was in- 
 duced to withhold his testimony, at a period when 
 the party had an opportunity of cross-examining, 
 would it not be monstrous if he were permitted to 
 avail himself of such a subterfuge ? After having 
 prevented the witness from giving testimony, on 
 a proper occasion, he complains of the want of op- 
 portunity to cross-examine! The bill, I believe, 
 sufficiently shows that such was really the fact. 
 There is no doubt, but that, in such case, the court 
 of chancery in Virginia, would enjoin the party 
 from opposing the reading of the discovery in evi- 
 dence, although exparte. The court of chancery 
 in England, has interfered in similar cases, where 
 the testimony was not admissible by the rules of law. 
 i Eq. Ca. 73. 
 
 There are further exceptions respecting the ad- 
 mission of exparte testimony: depositions may be 
 given in evidence, at the suit of a factor. Bull. N. 
 P. 237. In the present case, the respondent is a 
 broker, who transacted the business between the 
 parties, which has given rise to the suit ; according 
 to the decisions, he is the agent of each. 2 Esp. 
 456. Again, exparte testimony may be received 
 to contradict what a witness has sworn in another 
 
ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 55 
 
 cause. Peak 28, 29. This sufiiciently shows, that 
 the testimony of the respondent, is not necessarily 
 useless. But, all these objections may be obviated 
 by the decree of the chancellor: the respondent 
 may be attached to testify, under the commission; 
 his fears of our not being able to use his testimony, 
 will thus be removed. 
 
 What now becomes of the respondent's demurrer? 
 It is founded upon no law, for the reason of failing, 
 the law itself ceases to exist. He has attempted to 
 shelter himself, therefore, under the mere dead 
 letter of the law. He admits the facts set forth in 
 our bill, for such is the legal effect of his demurrer ; 
 1 Veazy, 427. He admits that we have a right to 
 his testimony ; that it is important to us ; that our 
 cause cannot safely be tried without it ; that we 
 have no other mode of compelling him to give tes- 
 timony ; but he is resolved to take advantage of 
 what he supposes a defect in the organization of our 
 government ; and he refuses to do what is consonant 
 to natural right and justice, because there is no 
 power to compel him ! 
 
 Upon this very demurrer, then, do I rest my 
 claim for the interference of the chancellor. The 
 respondent himself furnishes the weapon with which 
 we attack him. He admits our right, but denies 
 that there is a remedy for us any where. It is for 
 that very reason, we seek for it here. 
 
 The presumption of law is in favour of a bill 
 
56 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 of discovery, because it is founded on natural jus- 
 tice ; and it becomes the duty of him who resists, 
 to show reasons, to satisfy the court, why the party 
 seeking, ought not to obtain it ; either because he 
 has no right to such discovery, or because the re- 
 spondent may claim some personal exemption. The 
 respondent cannot prevail on this demurrer. It is 
 not possible that a party can be dismissed from this 
 court, (whose very business it is to provide for the 
 anomalies of the law,) and be told that his right is 
 clear, but remediless here and elsewhere. I cannot 
 suppose that, under the dead letter of the law, a 
 fellow citizen can excuse himself, from the perform- 
 ance of one of the most important duties of social 
 life. It is utterly impossible that there should be 
 so monstrous a defect in our political system, as to 
 leave the citizen in many situations, without the 
 ability of coercing the means of defending his liber- 
 ty, his life, his property, or reputation. This would 
 almost tempt me to be an advocate for arbitrary 
 power. But no — the thought is impious. Let me 
 rather be a beggar in a republic, than obtain riches 
 and honours by supplicating a throne. The senti- 
 ment of the poet I always viewed with detestation; 
 
 Nunquam libertas gratior exlai, 
 
 Qiiam sub rege pio 
 
 There may have been a good king ; but the best 
 has been surrounded with a haughty crowd of 
 
ON THE CHANCERY TOWERS. 57 
 
 worthless nobles, the least of whom could be a 
 tyrant and an oppressor. The feeble voice of the 
 cottage, is not easily heard beneath the canopy of 
 the throne. But the animating soul of a republic 
 of laws, gives life, and vigour, and importance to 
 the humblest member of society. Like nature her- 
 self, its seat is no where, while its vivifying influ- 
 ence is felt in every part. 
 
 Thus far, I have considered the defendant as a 
 mere witness ; but this is by no means clear. If we 
 understand by the term, a mere accidental specta- 
 tor, or one who casually becomes possessed of facts, 
 or even one who is called for the express purpose of 
 being a witness, to a deed or will, this would cer- 
 tainly not be our case. The defendant to the bill 
 is something more ; he is not merely a witness, he 
 was the agent of the transaction, respecting which 
 the suit has been instituted. I must confess, that 
 the law, as to the distinction between a mere wit- 
 ness and one who is sufficiently a party to be com- 
 pelled to discover, is not yet clearly defined. There 
 is undoubtedly a class of cases, in which the witness 
 is considered either in the light of an exception to 
 the general rule, or as sufficiently a party to be 
 joined in a bill of discovery ; " such as agents, auc- 
 tioneers, and some others.'^ 3 P. W. 266 — 6 Veazy, 
 jr. 7 Veazy, jr. 289. In the case of 7 Veazy, jr. 
 the demurrer was allowed, because in that particu- 
 lar instance, the party was considered too purely a 
 W 
 
58 ON THE CHANCERY POWERS. 
 
 witness to be joined in a bill of discovery. Proba- 
 bly, the true criterion would be the coming within 
 the scope of the transaction, at least having some 
 important agency in it. The kind of relation, which 
 a man bears to the parties, when thus situated, is 
 very dijQferent from that of a mere witness. He is 
 the agent of both, derives a profit in the business, 
 becomes intimately acquainted with facts^and ought 
 to act fairly and impartially to each. — 'flie defen- 
 dant is a broker ; and as such, transacted the busi- 
 ness of the parties ; it is, therefore, his duty to show 
 no partiality to either. There is also another point 
 of view, in which he may be regarded as a party. 
 It is laid down, that an arbitrator who has been 
 guilty of impropriety in his award, may be made a 
 party, and compelled to discover ; so also a solici- 
 tor who assisted his client in a fraud ; in the present 
 instance, the broker assisted in a usurious transac- 
 tion, in taking advantage of the necessities, in de- 
 frauding the plaintiff. It is then by no means clear, 
 that the defendant is a mere witness. Cooper, Eq, 
 201. 
 
 Thus fortified by reason, justice, and the laws of 
 the land, I leave the decision to the chancellor ; 
 with perfect confidence, that on whatever side the 
 balance may preponderate, it will be the result of 
 a wise and equitable judgment. 
 
SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 H. IVI. BRACKENRIDGE, 
 
 DELIVEHED 
 IN THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES OF MARYLAND, 1818, 
 
 ox THE 
 
 JEW BILL..* 
 
 Mr. Speaker, 
 
 Could I, for a moment, suppose it possible for 
 the bill on your table, to lessen, in the slightest de- 
 gree, by its passage, the attachment we all profess, 
 for the religion in which we have been educated ; 
 
 * This speech was published in a pamphlet form by 
 the Jews of Baltimore, and widely circulated. The bill 
 had been lost, but public attention was awakened to the 
 subject, both in Maryland and other states, and the mat- 
 ter was afterwards brought before the legislature, at each 
 succeeding session. It gained strength, and after a strug- 
 gle of six or seven years, prevailed. In Baltimore, it be- 
 came a sine qua non of the election of the delegate, to avow 
 himself in favour of it. The speeches of Mr, Worthington, 
 and of Mr. Tyson, the first in the session of 1824, the 
 other in the subsequent session of 1826, are published in 
 this volume. I regret that I have not the speech of Mr. 
 Kennedy, of Washington, the first mover, and indefatiga- 
 ble supporter of the bill. 
 
 / 
 
6a SPEECH ON -IMi: JliW BILI-. 
 
 or could I bring myself to believe, that even tliose 
 innocent and harmless prejudices, which more or 
 less influence the opinions of the most liberal, are 
 treated with disrespect by bringing the subject be- 
 fore this house, I should be the last person to urge 
 it on your consideration. 
 
 But, sir, I feel a firm conviction, that there is 
 no room for any such apprehensions. The known 
 public and private worth, (if I may be allowed thus 
 to express myself in this place,) as well as the firm 
 and fixed religious principles of the gentleman^ 
 with whom the bill has originated, and who has 
 supported it in a manner so becoming the enlighten- 
 ed American statesman, and the tolerant Christian, 
 must necessarily repel the suspicion of any but the 
 most generous, disinterested, and philanthropic mo- 
 tives. In the theological view he has just taken 
 of this interesting subject, he has most satisfactorily 
 proved to my mind, that there is nothing in the re- 
 ligious faith which we profess, that enjoins us, to 
 hold to the arbitrary test engrafted as a principle 
 on the constitution of this state, at this day, when 
 it is converted into a stain, by the progressive wis- 
 dom of the political world. To the test of that 
 wisdom, I will, nevertheless, endeavour to bring 
 the question now before the house. I will endeav- 
 our to show, that the objectionable provision in 
 our constitution, is at variance with all the sound, 
 and well established political creed of the present 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 61 
 
 enlightened age. For this, I will refer to the opi- 
 nions publicly avowed, and successfully maintained, 
 by every distinguished statesman, not only of Ame- 
 rica, but throughout the civilized world. In ad- 
 dition to this, I will show, that the principles for 
 which I this day contend, have received the un- 
 equivocal sanction of the most enlightened and 
 respectable political bodies of our country. The 
 subject, although of a most fruitful nature, properly 
 resolves itself into three questions. 1. Have the 
 Jews a right to be placed on a footing with other 
 citizens? 2. Is there any urgent reason of state 
 policy, which requires that they should be made an 
 exception? 3. Is there any thing incompatible 
 with the respect we owe to the Christian religion, 
 in allowing them a participation in civil offices and 
 employments? 
 
 In ascending to first principles, (and in examin- 
 ing institutions supposed to be founded upon them, 
 we must often do so,) I find that we have duties to 
 j)erform to our Creator, as well as to society, but 
 which are so distinct in their nature, that unless 
 their corresponding obligations be clearly under- 
 stood, we shall in vain attempt to lay the founda- 
 tion of a solid and satisfactory argument. It is un- 
 questionably the right of society to compel every 
 one who enjoys its protection, to conform to its or- 
 dinances and laws. It is its right so to restrain his 
 actions^ as to conduce to the general happiness and 
 
62 SPEECH ON THE JEW lULL. 
 
 prosperity. But I contend, that after having ex- 
 ercised this control over his actions, the temporal 
 power has reached its limit ; and when it dares to 
 pass that limit, it opens the way to oppression, per- 
 secution, and cruelty, such as the history of the 
 world has furnished but too many melancholy ex- 
 amples — not for our imitation, but abhorrence. Opi- 
 nion, when merely such, when prompting to no act 
 inconsistent with the laws and peace of society, 
 should be encountered only by opinion ; and on 
 such occasions the interposition of the temporal arm 
 is improper, however mildly interposed. For it is 
 not the extent, or degree, of compulsion, which 
 renders it improper, but the unjust and arbitrary 
 interference itself. If, as members of society, we 
 have duties whose performance the temporal power 
 may justly enforce, we have, as rational beings, 
 other duties of a much higher nature, to our Crea- 
 tor, of which he is the judge, and to whom, alone, 
 should be referred the punishment, or reward, of 
 their fulfilment or neglect. Religion, therefore, 
 merely as such, is a matter entirely between man 
 and his God. If my position, then, be correct, it 
 will follow, that it must be left to every citizen, as 
 he is to stand or fall by his own merits, or demerits, 
 to entertain that belief, or offer that worship, which 
 in his conscience he thinks most acceptable ; and 
 should any of liis fellow-citizens desire to release 
 him from what he conceives to be the bondage of 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 63 
 
 error, let it be by an appeal to the reason, and not 
 by a resort to coercion — a coercion which can only 
 affect outward actions, and serve to exhibit power 
 on the one side, and feebleness on the other. He 
 that is thus convinced, will be of the same opinion 
 still. The human frame may be bound in chains ; 
 it may be imprisoned and enslaved ; it may yield to 
 the dagger of the assassin, or the murderer's bowl ; 
 but the immortal mind soars beyond the reach of 
 earthly violence. Upon the self-evident truths 
 which I have spoken, (and on no others can they 
 safely rest,) are built the hights of conscience, 
 so little understood, or at least respected, in most 
 countries, not so well, I confess it with regret, in 
 Maryland, as they ought to be, but perfectly so in 
 the constitution of the United States ; an instrument 
 for which we are indebted as a nation, to the high 
 estimation of enlightened men, and which has con- 
 ferred on our country, the reputation of being the 
 land of freedom and toleration. 
 
 And here, I find it necessary to encounter an 
 argument of those gentlemen who oppose the pas- 
 sage of the bill ; they tell us, that no /orce, or co- 
 ercion, is resorted to by the constitution of Mary- 
 land, in consequence of religious faith — that every 
 one is secured in his civil rights, no matter what 
 religion he may profess — that no one can be molest- 
 ed on account of his religious belief — that no one 
 has a right to complain of being denied some com- 
 

 64 SPEECH ON THE JEW niM,= 
 
 'A 
 
 mon benefit, or being excluded from liolding oflices, 
 
 when he does not think proper to conform to the 
 prevailing religious tenets of the community of which 
 he is admitted a member. Sir, I contend, that in 
 conformity to the reasons I have advanced, everi/ 
 citizen is entitled to all the privileges of citizen- 
 ship ; that the religious opinions of no one can be 
 justly visited upon him, either directly or indirect- 
 ly, as the immediate or remote consequence of that 
 opinion. If, on account of my religious faith, I am 
 subjected to disqualifications, from which others 
 are free, while there is no paramount reason drawn 
 from a regard to the safety of society, why I should 
 be thus excepted, I cannot but consider myself a 
 persecuted man. The persecution may be but 
 slight in its character, but still it must bear the de- 
 tested name of persecution. It is true, it is not the 
 fagot, or the wheel, but it is applied for the same 
 reason — becaluse my opinions do not conform to 
 those of the more numerous, or more powerful. 
 
 An odious exclusion from any of the benefits 
 common to the rest of my fellow-citizens, is a per- 
 secution, differing only in degree, but of a nature 
 equally unjustifiable with that, whose instruments 
 are chains and torture. In our land of equal rights 
 and equal pretensions to the dignity and emolument 
 of olRce, to be subjected to a degrading exception, 
 is by no means a nominal punishment. 
 
 Sir, in the sentiments which I have uttered on 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 65 
 
 this occasion;, I have done nothing more than repeat 
 what has already been so often and so much better 
 expressed;, by the enlightened statesmen of our 
 country. There is hardly a distinguished Ameri- 
 can who has not in some mode or other^ given to 
 these ideas his decided approbation. They are 
 deeply engraven on the tablets of those political 
 doctrines which are considered as eternal and immu- 
 table. They are among the first lessons inculcated 
 on our youthful minds ; they are interwoven in the 
 texture of our political constitutions ; and so deeply 
 are we impressed with their truth, that every Ame- 
 rican who aspires to the character of liberality, as 
 well as to a proper knowledge of the spirit of our 
 institutions, must subscribe to this proposition, as the 
 test of the progress of his attainments — that reli- 
 gion IS A RIATTER BETWEEN MAN AND HIS GOD THAT 
 
 THE TEMPORAL ARM SHOULD BE INTERPOSED TO DI- 
 RECT THE ACTIONS OF MEN, AND NOT THEIR THOUGHTS. 
 
 I will now take the liberty of reading some pages 
 from dilTerent authors of this country, who have 
 expressed their ideas in language much more clear 
 and impressive. [Here Mr. B. read several pas- 
 sages from Mr. Madison's memorial on the test laws 
 of Virginia, from judge Tucker's works, and also 
 from a number of other writers.] 
 
 Sir, after what I have read, I would ask, whe- 
 ther I am not warranted in saying, that a just cri- 
 terion might be formed of the degree of proficiency 
 9 
 
66 SPEECH ON THE TEW BILL. 
 
 of any one, in those political doctrines, which so 
 justly and peculiarly deserve the name of American, 
 by the willingness or unwillingness, with which he 
 yields assent to the reasoning contained in those 
 papers? The masterly report of Mr. Madison, 
 doubtless, in its day had to encounter opposition ; 
 it came forth at a moment, when we were just strug- 
 gling to free ourselves from the errors of our poli- 
 tical education ; it was then regarded as the effort 
 of a bold spirit, declaring a daring truth to his coun- 
 trymen. And where is the man at this day so rash, 
 so mad, as to stand up against it? That truth has 
 triumphed over bigotry and prejudice ; it has plant- 
 ed its victorious standard on that noble monument, 
 the federal constitution — it has prevailed in every 
 member of the confederacy, unless the enemy of to- 
 leration, driven from every other place of refuge, 
 should have found a last entrenchment in the con- 
 stitution of Maryland — which God forbid. 
 
 I have hitherto, Mr. Speaker, considered ra- 
 ther what ought to be the right of the citizen, than 
 what it really is, as guaranteed by the recorded 
 monument of his liberties ; for it is our pride, that 
 for these, we are not indebted to the charter of a 
 sovereign. And here, I do not hesitate to assert, 
 that could this question be brought before some tri- 
 bunal competent to decide, I would undertake to 
 maintain, that the right which this bill professes to 
 give, is. already secu7'ed by our national compact; 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW HILL. 67 
 
 I would boldly contend, that the state of Maryland 
 has deprived, and still continues to deprive, Ame- 
 rican citizens of their just political rights. If we 
 cannot find it in the express letter of the instru- 
 ment, can we hesitate for a moment, in believing, 
 that it has at least virtually abrogated every part of 
 state laws or constitutions, whose tendency is to in- 
 fringe the RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE? But first, let 
 me ask, what says your own declaration of rights on 
 this subject? — It emphatically declares, not merely 
 that it is the right, but that it is the duty of every 
 man to worship God, in such a manner, as he 
 thinks most acceptable to him. It is true, this is 
 narrowed by the subsequent clause of the sentence, 
 which would seem to confine that worship to the 
 professoi's of Christianity; and I will not trouble 
 you with a vindication of the enlightened men who 
 drew up that declaration, from the charge of nar- 
 rowness of mind, in supposing it impossible for any 
 one, conscientiously to worship God, excepting 
 through the medium of Christianity. I firmly be- 
 lieve, that the subsequent expressions were intend- 
 ed to apply to all who worship the Deity, and that 
 it was not the intention to discriminate as to the 
 mode ; wherefore, no person ought by any law to 
 be molested in his person or estate, on account of 
 his religious persuasion or profession, or for his 
 religious practice, unless, under colour of religion, 
 any man shall disturb the good order, peace, or safe- 
 
68 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 ty of the state, or shall infringe the laws of mo- 
 rality, or injure others in their natural, civil, or 
 religious rights. I will ask, whether the religious 
 test in the constitution of this state, can stand for a 
 moment, when construed by the spirit of this decla- 
 ration? No, sir, they are utterly incompatible. 
 Let us now turn to the first amendment of the con- 
 stitution of the United States ; we find that congress 
 is expressly forbidden, to pass any lata respecting 
 an establishment of religion. Does not this speak 
 volumes? And is it not morally certain, that if a de- 
 claration of rights had preceded that instrument, 
 the right to worship God free from all human con- 
 trol, or reflection, would have been unequivocally 
 declared? No test-oath is required in that instru- 
 ment ; and can there be a clearer, although but a 
 negative exposition ? 
 
 It is true, the constitution of the United States, 
 as a form of government, is confined in its operation 
 to the specific objects for which it was instituted. 
 But there are certain broad and fundamental prin- 
 ciples, entitled to universal respect ; and, without 
 respecting them, it is impossible for the general 
 and state governments to move in harmony in their 
 respective orbits. This, I contend, is one of them, 
 and not the least important. Let us look at the con- 
 sequence of the contrary, in the practical operation. 
 The citizen, who cannot hold the most trivial oflice 
 in the state of Maryland, may be chosen to preside 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW HILL. 69 
 
 over its destinies, as the chief magistrate of the na- 
 tion! — He may be called to the command of your 
 armies, and lead you to battle against the enemy 
 who has dared to invade your shores ; and yet, he 
 cannot be an ensign or a lieutenant, of the smallest 
 company in the mighty host ! He may sit on the 
 bench, and in the federal courts, be called to de- 
 cide upon the fortune or the life of the citizen of 
 Maryland ; and yet, your constitution forbids him, 
 as a justice of the peace, to decide the most trifling 
 dispute? He may be juror in the circuit courts of 
 the United States, and be the arbiter of the repu- 
 tation, the life, or the liberty of the first among 
 youj yet, under the laws of Maryland, he cannot 
 sit iu the same box, to deal out the measure of jus- 
 tice to the pilfering slave ! He may be marshal of the 
 district, and in that highly respectable, and respon- 
 sible situation, be intrusted with your most impor- 
 tant interests, at the same time that he is disqualified 
 from performing the duties of a constable ! Can it 
 be believed, that such glaring inconsistencies could 
 have been foreseen or imagined, when our political 
 system was put in motion, attuned, as it was sup- 
 posed, to move in unison and harmony? This clash- 
 ing discord, of general and state government, could 
 not have been foreseen. Still less could it have been 
 supposed, that discord would have been produced 
 by such a cause. Supported, then, by the spirit of 
 the law, and the strong argument of inconvenience, 
 
70 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 I would contend in behalf of the citizen^, that in re- 
 quh'ing him to subscribe to a religious test, for 
 any purpose, his just, constitutional rights, are iti- 
 fringed and violated. 
 
 Sir, the history of the American colonies, unpol- 
 luted with intolerance, as it has been supposed, 
 compared to the fruitful narratives of the perse- 
 cutions, which deform the annals of Europe, is, after 
 all, but comparatively pure. Even in this country, 
 the scourge of real persecution has been felt j and 
 as in every other, it has done more injury to ge- 
 nuine religion, than could ever be effected by its 
 avowed enemies. With humility, and mortifica- 
 tion, be it spoken, the page of our pure history is 
 stained with persecutions, on account of religious 
 opinion, although the day has arrived, when, in the 
 face of the world, we assume for our country, the 
 proud title of the asylum of the persecuted! 
 In some of the colonies, it is well known, that de- 
 nominations, even of Christians, were persecut- 
 ed unto death. The cloudy atmosphere of error 
 and prejudice, it is true, had begun to be illumined 
 by the blaze of the revolution, and then it was, that 
 the framers of our State Constitutions, believed it 
 wise, and just, that all sects of Christianity, in every 
 part of the union, should enjoy the most perfect 
 equality of civil and political rights. And at this 
 day, do we discover any great effort of liberality 
 in assenting to this self-evident truth? But are we 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 71 
 
 certain that the enlightened men of those days, had 
 not stubborn prejudices to encounter? The wisdom 
 of nations, like that of individuals, is progressive. 
 What is universal error to-day, is disputable to- 
 morrow, — and the next, receives the no longer to 
 be questioned seal of wisdom. The probability is, 
 that they led the way to the salutary reform, and 
 triumphed by the force of reason, and the weight 
 of their influence. But the reformers of abuses in 
 society, have generally been compelled to compro- 
 mise with error. Their enlightened minds outrun 
 the times and country in which they live. : Hence 
 it is, that something was still left to be done by 
 our forefathers, at a future and more favourable 
 period. Let any one contemplate the rapid ad- 
 vancement of statesmen, between the recent epoch 
 of our emancipation, and the adoption of the federal 
 constitution, when the sages of our land were in- 
 trusted by the general voice, with the awful duty 
 of framing for a nation of the most elevated destinies, 
 a form of government that would secure its peace, 
 prosperity and happiness — and he will be ready to 
 admit, that our political wisdom had not been sta- 
 tionary. An eulogium on the great men who com- 
 posed the federal convention, and on the work of 
 their hands, would be necessary, for it is written on 
 the heart of every American, and next to the gifts 
 of Divine Providence, it constitutes his greatest 
 blessing. And among the greatest acliievements 
 
72 SPEECH ON THE. JEW BILL. 
 
 of that work, in my humble estimation, was that of 
 putting a finishing hand, to that which they found 
 much advanced, it is true, but still incomplete — 
 the final separation of force and opinion — the entire 
 dissolution of the unnatural union between church 
 and state, whose offspring were monsters, born only 
 to feed on the vitals of society. The citizen was 
 declared responsible only for his actions; for his 
 religion, he was left to account to his Creator. 
 
 Independently of the reflections which led to 
 this decisive course, as one of abstract and positive 
 right, it is to be presumed^ they had in their minds, 
 the evils experienced even in our own country, 
 from religious persecution, which, previous to the 
 revolution, had not unfrequently disturbed the peace 
 and good will of the different provinces. For the 
 purpose of preventing the recurrence of these evils, 
 it was intended to secure to every citizen of the 
 union, his personal rights, among the most precious 
 of which are those of conscience. I believe, that 
 any unbiassed man, who will read the federal con- 
 stitution, must perceive, that it does not consist 
 merely of articles of confederation, between inde- 
 pendent states, but that it is a compact, entered 
 into by «//the citizens, with each other, in their in- 
 dividual capacity. The federal constitution, there- 
 fore, in respect to civil and political rights, holds 
 forth a guarantee to all and to each. The rights of 
 conscience are unalienable, and imprescriptible; 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 73 
 
 they are not susceptible of being even voluntarily 
 surrendered — the only office, therefore, which the 
 laws can perform, is to protect, and save them from 
 violation. My argument, Mr. Speaker, leads to 
 this — that no state government has a right to en- 
 croach upon what is thus sacredly guarded, by a 
 superior authority. Sir, I do contend that the con- 
 stitution of the United States, has guaranteed to 
 every American citizen, the right of worshipping 
 God in the manner he deems most acceptable, and 
 that this right is violated, whenever the citizen is 
 made to feel the consequences of his opinions, either 
 by direct hodily inflictions, or by disqualifications. 
 
 But, sir, even admitting that I have not been 
 able to maintain my position, on the strict ground 
 of constitutional right, at least, it must be acknow' 
 ledged, that the negative disapprobation of the test 
 by that constitution, furnishes a powerful argument 
 in favour of its positive rejection from that of Ma- 
 ryland. For the sake of decent conformity, for the 
 sake of obviating the glaring inconsistencies which 
 have been exhibited, if for no other reasons, the 
 bill ought to pass. And, I would respectfully ask, 
 whether, even on subjects purely abstract, some re- 
 spect is not due to the opinions of the enlightened 
 statesmen who framed the federal compact? I 
 know, sir, that to err, is in the nature of man ; but, 
 if I must err, let it be ivith men like these. 
 
 And, let me ask, what is the rational object, which 
 10 
 
74 SPEECH ON rUE JEW BILL. 
 
 this test proposes to accomplish ? Does it propose 
 to do that which can be done hy omniscience alonef 
 Does it propose to discover the inward thoughts of 
 man, to lay open to view the workings of his mind? 
 Does it propose to discover who is the Christian, 
 and who is not? If such be the object, and I can 
 discover no other just or natural one, I will appeal 
 to any man of common experience, to say, whether 
 he really expects, in this way, to discover the true 
 sentiments and opinions of any one? The atheist, 
 if there be such, and the deist, will laugh at this 
 mode of detecting their errors. They will not hesi- 
 tate to subscribe, what they will consider, an idle 
 form. The Jew, and the infidel, unless governed, 
 the one by his religion, the other by an abstract love 
 of truth, can be placed under no constraint by a test, 
 which if they abuse, no earthly power can call them 
 to account. Is it necessary to the Christian? Is he 
 the better Christian for avowing his belief, before he 
 can be allowed the enjoyment of a temporal benefit? 
 No, sir, to him such a test is useless ; to others, it 
 is worse than useless ; it may make hypocrites, and, 
 I believe, it requires no great stretch of casuistry to 
 say, that the . sin of this hypocrisy must rest upon 
 the heads of those who are the authors of the 
 temptation. If any one can seriously flatter himself 
 that the test can accomplish a rational object, it must 
 be as a mode of propagating the faith, among those 
 unbelievers, whose love of truth will not allow them 
 
SPEECH ON TFIE JEW BILL. 
 
 to be guilty of deception. To these it holds out the 
 reward of offices and dignities for their conversion; 
 or denounces the penalty of partial degradation, 
 from the common benefits of citizenship, while they 
 persist in their unbelief. Can it be possible, sir, that 
 in this enlightened age and country, we have not 
 renounced the practice of propagating religion by 
 the sword ? Or can it be regarded as any thing else, 
 when temporal rewards and punishments are re- 
 sorted to, as the means of establishing or maintain- 
 ing religious opinions? It is impossible for any one 
 seriously to contend, that this was ever in the con- 
 templation of the framers of our constitution. The 
 very clause in the bill of rights, by which the test 
 is supposed to be countenanced, shows the struggle 
 in the minds of those men, between their own opi- 
 nions, and the necessity of compromising with the 
 prejudices of the times. They could not but have 
 seen, that having once destroyed the union between 
 church and state, to require a religious test for po- 
 litical purposes, was worse than absurdity. Even 
 English writers acknowledge, that in England the 
 test is founded upon this union, and on nothing else. 
 It is well known, that in that country, the struggle 
 between Catholics and Protestants, was a struggle 
 for the government ; the test was therefore resorted 
 to, for the purpose of securing political power, and 
 not as a mode of ascertaining religious sentiments. 
 We have borrowed it, as we have many other things 
 
y© SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL, 
 
 from that country, without sufficiently examining 
 their application to a different state of society and 
 manners. And I hope, Mr. Speaker, it will be 
 renounced, in the same manner that we have re- 
 nounced other things derived from that source, but 
 unsuited to our present situation. Let us substitute 
 the only real test of the qualifications for public 
 office ; that^of public and private worth, character, 
 and reputation. 
 
 Let me not be understood, sir, to contend, that 
 there may not be sound reason and policy for with- 
 holding from certain classes of citizens, or people, 
 the rights or benefits of citizens, in their utmost lati- 
 tude. The existence of servitude, an evil beyond 
 our power to remedy, has given rise to certain ideas 
 and policy, which would be useless in us to attempt 
 to counteract. On this subject, and that of not 
 throwing open to naturalized citizens, the whole 
 career of public offices, there are reasons of state 
 policy, so fully established by our laws and received 
 opinions, that it would be presumptuous in me to 
 call them in question. But, I have seen no reason 
 of state, nor has any been suggested, why the natu- 
 ralized Jew should not be placed on the same foot- 
 ing with any other naturalized citizen; or why a 
 native Jew should be cast into a lower order, than 
 even the naturalized foreigner of any country on 
 the globe! Is it because there is something in the 
 nature of his race, which necessarily renders the 
 
SPEECH OK THE JEW BILL, 77 
 
 Jew a less valuable citizen? Then, sir, ought we to 
 form a graduated scale for the different nations of 
 the world, and regulate the term of their admission, 
 or the extent of their privilege, according to the 
 merits or demerits of their national character ! And 
 would it not, on the same principle, be necessary 
 to establish different castes among our own citizens, 
 and lay aside that wholesome republican respect for 
 individual merit, which has hitherto been our guide ? 
 No, sir, such odious discrimination is practically 
 impossible. The citizen of Jewish origin, whether 
 naturalized or native, ought to be entitled to all the 
 rights of citizenship that may be claimed under like 
 circumstances by an Englishman, a Frenchman, or 
 a Spaniard. 
 
 But, sir, is there really such inferiority in the 
 Jewish race or character, which renders it neces- 
 sary to inflict on them such a degradation? The 
 sacred book on which we ground our faith, teaches 
 that they are not an inferior people. Else, where- 
 fore should they have been the chosen people of 
 God, the favoured depositaries of the sacred law 
 and holy prophecies ? Do we forget that to them we 
 are not only indebted for these, but even for the 
 blessings of Christianity? Its author was a Jew, his 
 apostles were Jews. On the contrary, there is every 
 reason to believe, that, as a race, they are entitled 
 to the first rank among nations. If a portion of this 
 race was unwilling, or unable to believe, we are told 
 
78 srEEcn on thf. jew bill. 
 
 it was permitted by Providence for purposes greater 
 than we can comprehend. That their descendants, 
 eighteen hundred years afterwards, should still per- 
 severe in the belief, or unbelief, of their forefathers, 
 we are taught to look upon as a miracle ; but we 
 are also taught, that the same people will believe at 
 last, and be restored to divine favour. Their na- 
 ture then has not changed, although they labour 
 under the displeasure of our common Father- That 
 displeasure has scattered them over the world, and 
 has exposed them to the persecutions of the wicked 
 — persecutions, which, it must be confessed, accord- 
 ing to the natural tendency of things, has had, in 
 many countries, a most unhappy influence on their 
 character. And, let me ask, is it to be wondered at, 
 when surrounded by the most indignant enemies, 
 their remorseless oppressors and persecutors, that 
 they should feel indignation and resentment ? Can 
 we expect them to exhibit elevation of character, 
 when a mark of opprobrium has been set upon them? 
 Can we expect to see them display universal bene- 
 volence, when they are universally scorned? Can 
 we expect to see them engaged in sober and indus- 
 trious callings, when they are forbidden to be own- 
 ers of the soil, or to exercise the common mechanic 
 arts? Can we expect them to love their Gentile 
 neighbours and brethren, when the very name is 
 used as a by- word— when those neighbours and bre- 
 thren teach their children to scoff evefti at their mis- 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 79 
 
 fortunes ? If the Jew be such as his enemies repre- 
 sent him, it is their cruelties which have made 
 liim so. That this should be, I own, is the will of 
 heaven ; but before we take part in the persecu- 
 tion, let us solemnly pause, and recollect, that when 
 God afflicts his children, the instruments of his 
 
 WRATH ARE OFTEN HIS ENEMIES ALSO. 
 
 If there is nothing in the Jewish race, is there 
 any thing in the Jewish religious doctrines, which 
 necessarily disqualifies the Jew from discharging the 
 duties, and fulfilling all the obligations of a citizen 
 of Maryland ? Sir, I do boldly maintain that there 
 is not. If there be such, I call upon the gentlemen 
 who have risen in opposition to the bill, to point it 
 out. I should be the last to deny, that a belief in 
 a future state of rewards and punishments, is the 
 sheet-anchor of all .civilized governments. And 
 has the Jew no religion to enforce the performance 
 of his moral duties, by sanctions beyond the grave ? 
 Yes, sir, he has. He worships the same God that 
 we do— -the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
 The same law which was given to him, we profess 
 to obey-— and excepting that law, which was from 
 the beginning imprinted on the conscience by our 
 Creator, for thousands of years, the chosen people 
 had no other. We are taught, as Christians, that 
 the whole of the sacred volume must stand or fall 
 together, and consequently that the religion of the 
 Jew, so far as he believes, is a part of ours. We 
 
80 SPEECH ON THE JEW DILL. 
 
 are, however, taught that the author of our religion 
 came not to govern the earth, but to unbar for us 
 the gates of heaven. Can the Jew be said to have 
 no religion which renders him accountable hereaf- 
 ter? He has. In his youth he is taught the same 
 precepts for the government of his life that we are ; 
 in his infancy he learns to lisp the same prayer of 
 universal benevolence, and morality, that the Chris- 
 tian mother teaches her child. He believes in the 
 coming of a Messiah, with great power and glory, 
 to judge the earth; this is our belief also. On that 
 day we shall all be Christians. The ultimate con- 
 version of the Jews is a part of our belief: why then 
 this intolerant and persecuting spirit ? Are we ap- 
 prehensive that there will be a scarcity of persecu- 
 tors ? Are we apprehensive, that in ceasing to be 
 persecuted, and therefore ceasing to be a peculiar 
 people, the Jews will no longer be the living mira- 
 cle, now exhibited to our eyes ? Then the will of 
 heaven shall have been fulfilled. It is with reluc- 
 tance, sir, I have pursued this train of thought. It 
 is my .wish to steer clear of any thing like theologi- 
 cal discussion, and to consider the present question 
 as purely political. 
 
 Were it necessary for the support of this bill, I 
 would undertake to vindicate the Jewish character 
 from its commonly imputed vices and defects. But 
 the question before the house, has nothing to do 
 with these considerations. I will ask those Chris-. 
 
SPEECH ON' THE JEV/ BILL. 81 
 
 lians who now hear me, candidly and dispassionately 
 to examine their own minds, and to say how much 
 of their opinions on the subject of the Jewish cha- 
 racter, is the offspring of prejudice? Most of us 
 have been taught from earliest infancy to look upon 
 them as a depraved and wicked people. The books 
 put into our hands, and even the immortal Shak- 
 speare himself, have contributed to fix in our minds 
 this unchristian hatred to a portion of our fellow 
 men. It is true, we have witnessed some honour- 
 able exceptions; a modern character, (I rejoice to 
 say it for the honour of Christendom,) ventured to 
 be their advocate, and what is more, with success. 
 We have seen, sir, that, in the same country, in pro- 
 portion as science and civilization have advanced, 
 the condition of the Jew has improved, while his 
 moral character has as uniformly risen to the level 
 of that condition. Will any one seriously compare 
 the Jews of England, of the present day, with the 
 same people a few centuries ago, when degraded 
 and oppressed by the British kings? Will the Jews 
 of Portugal or Turkey, bear a comparison with 
 those of the more liberal governments of Europe? 
 To come nearer home, I will ask whether the Ame- 
 rican Jew is distinguished by those characteristics 
 so invidiously ascribed to his race, by its enemies? 
 Sir, I have had the honour of being acquainted with 
 a number of American Jews, and do not hesitate to 
 say, that I have found at least an equal proportion 
 IX 
 
82 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 of estimable individuals^ to that which might be 
 expected in any other class of men. None, sir, 
 appeared to me/more zealously attached to the in- 
 terests and happiness of our common country ; the 
 more so, as it is the only one on earth, they can call 
 by that endearing name. None have more gallantly 
 espoused its cause, both in the late and revolu- 
 tionary war; none feel a livelier sense of gratitude 
 and affection for the mild and liberal institutions of 
 this country, which not only allow them, publicly 
 and freely, the enjoyment and exercise of their re- 
 ligion, but also, with the exception of the state of 
 Maryland, have done away all those odious civil and 
 political decriminations, by which they are else- 
 where thrown into an inferior and degraded caste. 
 In the city which I have the honour to represent, 
 there are Jewish families, which, in point of estima- 
 tion and worth, stand in the first rank of respecta- 
 bility—who are scarcely remarked as differing from 
 their Christian brethren in their religious tenets, 
 and whose children are educated in the same schools 
 with our youth, and, like them, glory in being 
 AMERICANS AND FREEMEN. Havc wc hithcrto had 
 any cause to repent of our liberality — rather of 
 our justice? Sir, I abhor intolerance, whether it 
 he political or religious ; and yet, I can scarcely 
 regard religious tolerance as a virtue. What! has 
 weak and erring man, a right to give permission 
 to his fellow mortal, to offer his adorations to the 
 
SPEECH ON THK JEW BILL. 83 
 
 Supreme Being, after his own manner? Did I not 
 feel myself somehow restrained from pursuing this 
 subject; I would endeavour to demonstrate, that the 
 idea of such a permission, or toleration, is no better 
 than impiety. But I content myself, with calling 
 your attention to v/hat has been the effect, in this 
 country, at least, of leaving religion to be taught 
 from the pulpit, or to be instilled by early educa- 
 tion. Is there, let me ask, less genuine Christianity 
 in America than in any other Christian country? 
 For, if the interference of government be necessary 
 to uphold it, such ought to be the natural conse- 
 quence. Certainly we are not disposed to confess 
 an inferiority in this particular- --Sir, I believe there 
 is MORE. And I am well convinced, that if the suc- 
 cess of true religion, were the only end in view, 
 other nations would follow our example of univer- 
 sal toleration. I believe, that in no countries, are 
 there more atheists and deists, than in those where 
 but one mode of worship is sanctioned, or permitted. 
 In my opinion, it is the natural inclination of man, 
 to seek support and refuge in religious feelings ; 
 and if he find a religion which his judgment ap- 
 proves, or to which his affections attach him, he 
 will cling to it, as his brightest hope. The man 
 who cannot subscribe to all the doctrines and dis- 
 cipline of Catholicism, may still be a protestant-- 
 the protestant may be a churchman, a presbyterian, 
 a friend, or a methodist. But the inquisition allows 
 
84 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 him no choice ; he must either embrace that which 
 is tendered him, or be nothing. No, sir, it does 
 not enter into the duties of this body, to guard 
 and preserve the religious faith of Maryland, from 
 schism, and innovation ; otherwise, we have been 
 grossly remiss in the performance of that duty. I 
 do not recollect a single statute, or resolution, on 
 the records of this house, for this purpose. Sir, the 
 propagation of error, has never been prevented by 
 force ; but force has sometimes given permanence, 
 to what would otherwise have been ephemeral. 
 
 Were we about to attempt the conversion of the 
 Jews to Christianity, the true mode, in my opinion, 
 would be, to treat them with kindness, and to allow 
 them a full participation of political and social rights. 
 When men are proscribed for their opinions, those 
 opinions become dear to them ; like the traveller in 
 the storm, they draw the mantle closer about them, 
 but on the return of the warm and genial sun, they 
 cast it carelessly away. 
 
 Some reasons have been urged against the passage 
 of this bill, whose force, I must own, I can scarcely 
 comprehend. We are told, that it will hold out in- 
 ducements to the Jews, to migrate to this country 
 from abroad? Without stopping to inquire into the 
 nature of this supposed evil, I will simply reply, 
 that the inducement already exists. If it can seri- 
 ously be supposed, that the prospect of obtaining 
 oMces would invite the Jews to this country, in such 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL, 85 
 
 numbers as to endanger its safety, I would ask 
 whether that invitation has not been already given 
 by the constitution of the union, as well as those of 
 the neighbouring states? On the other hand, it has 
 been objected, that the number of Jews is too incon- 
 siderable to call for an alteration of the constitution 
 on their account. I shall not attempt to show how 
 far these two propositions can be reconciled ; but, 
 sir, in relation to the latter, I entertain a very dif- 
 ferent opinion. The nature of the injustice is not 
 changed by the greatness or smallness of the num- 
 ber of those who suffer. If but one American 
 citizen be deprived of the least of his just consti- 
 tutional rights, or feel the hand of tyranny and op- 
 pression, and it be in our power to afford him 
 redress, it is our sacred duty to interpose. If we 
 leave him to his fate, we break down the barrier 
 which gives security to ourselves, and by indiffe- 
 rence to the violation of his rights, we invite the 
 tyrant to trample on our own. 
 
 It has been asserted and repeated, that there is 
 no intolerance in withholding from the Jews the 
 common privileges of citizenship. It is asked, are 
 they not protected in the free exercise of their re- 
 ligion ? Are they not permitted to hold property, 
 and tf> pursue the occupations most agreeable to 
 them, with one only exception, that of the legal 
 profession, which requires them to sign the test? 
 Are they not permitted to vote at elections, and 
 
86 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 thus to have a voice in the formation of the laws? 
 I own, sir, that this is true ; but why allow them 
 even these privileges? It is the principle against 
 which I contend, and not the extent of the injustice. 
 Suppose the Jews were allowed one privilege less 
 than they at present enjoy ; for instance, the right to 
 vote at elections, (and now, for the first time, it was 
 sought to be given them,) would not the same argu- 
 ments be urged in opposition to that just request, 
 that we have heard this day, against placing them 
 entirely on a footing with their fellow citizens? To 
 go further, let us suppose them on a footing with 
 the Jews of England, and an attempt were now 
 made to extend to them some trivial privilege of 
 citizenship, would not the same arguments still be 
 urged against it? Pursuing this train of thought, 
 to what result would it conduct us? Sir, it would 
 end in consigning the Jews to the dungeons of the 
 inquisition. The self-same arguments that have 
 been arrayed this day against the passage of the bill 
 on your table, have been heard from the lips of 
 those who were engaged in preparing the rack, the 
 chains, the fires, for the persecuted Jew. Such ar- 
 guments are unworthy of free Americans, and ought 
 to be abhorred, if for no other reason, that they are 
 the constant theme of such as perpetrate the tnost 
 horrid crimes in the name of religion — of those, to 
 use the words of a celebrated orator, ivhose banner 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL* 87 
 
 is stolen from the altar of God, and whose forces 
 are congregated from the abysses of helL 
 
 Even the illiberality of other nations, should af- 
 ford us a lesson. In countries which groan under 
 the tyranny of the inquisition, the stranger who 
 professes Protestant Christianity, is held in no high- 
 er estimation than the Jew — is even designated by 
 that very name ; and there is but little doubt, that 
 his only safety depends on the protecting arm of his 
 country ; without this, he would be treated with the 
 same cruelty and opprobrium, as the outcast Jew ! 
 As far as epithets will go, the heretic is not more re- 
 spected than his unfortunate companion. This is 
 not the spirit of Christianity. If man errs in his be- 
 lief, is there no judge ? There is ; but that judge 
 has emphatically declared to man, ^^judge not, lest 
 you be judged.^' Far be it from me, to express the 
 remotest disrespect, of any Christian denomination, 
 I speak of what I conceive to be the abuses of that 
 admirable system ; and those abuses have rarely fail- 
 ed to be practised, whenever there is an exclusive 
 religion maintained by coercion of any kind. If 
 we look abroad, and even glance around on our own 
 country, we shall find, that the practice of perse- 
 cution, and the "spirit of intolerance, are not the 
 inseparable attendants on Catholicism ; nor does his- 
 tory prove that American Protestants cannot be 
 intolerant. 
 
 It has been said, and I own I heard it with some 
 
63 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 surprise, that the evil proposed to be remedied by 
 this bill, is of a naturepiirely abstract, and accom- 
 panied by no real and serious grievance. It is true, 
 sir, that there has been no deputation from the 
 people called Jews, to solicit in person, or to make 
 known to you their feelings and wishes in relation 
 to this matter. Far from this circumstance being 
 construed to their disadvantage, there is a delicacy 
 in thus declining to weary you with importunity, 
 which deserves to be admired. But can any one 
 for a moment suppose, that any native American 
 citizen, whatever may be his religion, is insensible 
 to the privation of liberties and privileges, so high- 
 ly prized by all his fellow-citizens? Is it possible 
 for him to be insensible to the indignity of being set 
 apart, as belonging to a caste unworthy of a full par- 
 ticipation of civil and political rights? No, sir, 
 although the Jews are silent on this occasion, they 
 are not insensible, I will say more — they look to 
 the decision of this house with the deepest interest, 
 as to one which may restore them to that rank under 
 the spirit of the bill of rights, and the constitution, 
 which they have never forfeited, and to which 
 they have a just claim, in reason and sound policy, 
 as well as by the paramount princfple of the federal 
 compact. It is but a few days since I read in one 
 of the newspapers of Baltimore, an accoinit of a pub- 
 lic examination, at the principal seminary of learn- 
 ing at that place. To the son of a Jew, a youth but 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW HILL. 89 
 
 little turned of twelve years of age, was awarded 
 the first prize in every branch of education ; and 
 to crown all, he was declared to have surpassed his 
 companions in good conduct and morality, as he had 
 in the superior endowments of his mind. I own, I 
 feel a mortification, when I reflect, that the talents, 
 learning, and meritorious deportment of this youth, 
 can lead him to none of the offices or honouro of his 
 native state. That he cannot apply himself to the 
 study of the law, or aspire to a rank in the volun- 
 teer company in which he may have signalized his 
 valour. Is it possible, let me ask, for this youth, 
 or his parents, to feel no mortification at a distinc- 
 tion so invidious ? Those enlightened foreigners, 
 who have been in the habit of praising the liberality 
 of our institutions, will with difiiculty give credit 
 to the fact I have related. The feeling I have for 
 the honour of my country, for the character of Ma- 
 ryland, is a much more powerful motive with me, 
 in voting for the bill, than a sense of what is due to 
 the Jews, however strong that sense may be. I feel 
 mortified tliat any one can say, that the government 
 of a community of which I am a member, possesses 
 the power or inclination to exercise a control over 
 opinion, whether that opinion be political or reli- 
 gious. Nothing has so great a tendency to elevate 
 our character among the wise men of foreign coun- 
 tries, as our supposed exemption from all intolerance. 
 Our neighbouring states deserve this praise — and so 
 12 
 
90 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 inseparably did I suppose the principle of toleration 
 connected with our political institutions, that when 
 Maryland was first mentioned to me as an excep- 
 tion, it excited my astonishment. I hope for the 
 honour of the United States, and of the state of 
 Maryland, the hill on your table will pass. 
 
 I call upon any gentleman to produce the dictum 
 or opinion, of an American statesman of note or 
 celebrity, in favour of a religious test for political 
 purposes ; or the example of any state of the union, 
 which withholds f^om American citizens of Jew- 
 ish origin, all eligibility to office. In one of the 
 states, (Massachusetts,) we find something like a 
 test, but confined to a few of the higher offices ; but 
 I entertain no doubt that it will be done away in 
 that enlightened republic, whenever it shall be pro- 
 posed. From every state constitution formed since 
 that of the United States, the test has been reject- 
 ed---and some of them have gone so far as to say 
 that none shall ever be required. In the state of 
 North Carolina, there is a memorable instance on 
 record, of an attempt to expel Mr. Henry, a Jew, 
 from the legislative body, of which he. had been 
 elected a member. The speech delivered on that 
 occasion I hold in my hand ; it is published in a 
 collection, called the American Orator ; a book 
 given to your children at school, and containing 
 those republican truths, you wish to see earliest 
 implanted in their minds. I will take the liberty 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEAV BILL. 9 1 
 
 of reading some passages from it. [Here Mr. B. 
 read a part of the speech.] Mr. Henry prevailed, 
 and it is a part of our education, as Americans, to 
 love and cherish the sentiments uttered by him on 
 that occasion. 
 
 In turning over the pages of the same book, I 
 find at least ten speeches on the subject of religious 
 toleration, from the most celebrated orators of Great 
 Britain. The names of Chatham, Fox, Sheridan, 
 Grattan, Erskine, are here recorded as the cham- 
 pions of universal toleration. As the generous advo- 
 cates of the Catholic and the dissenter, they speak 
 '^ in words that burn and thoughts that breathe"— 
 they denounce with the irresistible energy of truth, 
 the unnatural union of church and state, and the 
 interference of earthly power in matters of religion. 
 Why put this book into the hands of your children, 
 if it be not to instil into their minds, the sentiments 
 that American citizens ought to entertain ? And 
 where is the distinction between the struggle of the 
 Catholic and the dissenter, for the liberty of con- 
 science in England, in which we all sympathize, 
 and the eifort now making in favour of the perse- 
 cuted Jews? Is not the proscription equally un- 
 justifiable? Do they not both claim the same right, 
 that of ofl'ering their worship to the Deity, free from 
 all animadversion of the temporal government? 
 The case is the same — it cannot be distinguished. 
 
 Some remarks have fallen from gentlemen, that,. 
 
92 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 in my mind, go further to discredit the opposition 
 to the bill than any thing that can be urged by its 
 supporters. It was, indeed, with surprise, I heard 
 it seriously asserted, that if this bill passed, we 
 should shortly have Chinese or Turks in office, that 
 we shall have the processions of Juggernaut crush- 
 ing to death its victims in our high-ways ! I cannot 
 suppose that gentlemen were serious in these ideas. 
 I contend for the freedom of thinking, and not for 
 the liberty of acting, as we may think proper ; and 
 if Juggernaut should happen to come among us, and 
 attempt to disturb the peace of our towns, I should 
 be the first to hand him over to the constable. So 
 long as my actions neither contravene the laws, or 
 disturb my neighbour, no one has a right to molest 
 me. This is the right I desire as an American citi- 
 zen ; and I proclaim it persecution when any one 
 forcibly interrupts the free enjoyment of my opi- 
 nion in matters of religion, politics or science, pro- 
 vided they lead me to do no act which insults my 
 neighbour, or violates the laws of the land. Where 
 the matter is a mere difference of opinion, I hold 
 
 MY RIGHT UNQUESTIONABLE, TO DIFFER FROM ANY 
 OTHER MAN, OR FROM ALL MANKIND, BE THE SUBJECT 
 WHAT IT MAY. 
 
 Is any gentleman really afraid that Chinese or 
 Turks may be elected to offices of honour or profit 
 in this state ? I see no reason why they should not 
 be, if the people think them deserving of their con- 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 fidence. But is the danger really so" great, as to 
 require them to be excluded by constitutional pro- 
 vision ? I never saw but two Chinese in the United 
 States, and they were the servants of an eminent 
 merchant in New York, and one Turk, who exhi- 
 bited as a juggler. But the irresponsible infidel 
 may be allowed to hold oJSice, if the test be repeal- 
 ed ! If the term infidel be applied to those indi- 
 viduals among us who deny the sacred scriptures 
 altogether, I assert that no religious test can have 
 any effect upon them. As to them, the only test is 
 a knowledge of their opinions, character, and habits 
 of life, among their fellow-citizens. The religious 
 test places it in their power to acquit or condemn 
 themselves as they may think proper ; there can, 
 therefore, be no greater absurdity than to subject 
 them to such a trial. Nay, its effects would be 
 worse ; for suppose the case of one whose misfortune 
 it might be to disbelieve, yet of known honour and 
 integrity, perhaps unconsciously di practical Chris- 
 tian, and such, it must be admitted, there are — 
 such a man, abhorring a falsehood, will, of course, 
 decline the test; and if any one should deny this to 
 be an evil, I might not be disposed to dispute the 
 point — yet, is there any one who will not concur 
 with me in disapproving, in the strongest terms, the 
 possibility of the rea/ infidel, the man who has nei- 
 ther regard to honour or religion, deriving every 
 benefit of ofiice, from his willingness to take up a 
 
94 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 convenient mask? Will he hesitate to subscribe to 
 the test, if any thing is to be obtained by it? Such 
 is the character of this test, which excludes the 
 man of truth arid integrity, and admits the unprin- 
 cipled knave ! If a witness swear falsely as to fact, 
 his testimony can be disproved by other witnesses ; 
 but, in this instance, it is only omniscience which 
 can convict him. If accused of having acted falsely, 
 or in contradiction to sentiments expressed on other 
 occasions — he can say, that conviction has reached 
 his mind, or that it has been shaken ; and who is to 
 determine the truth or falsehood of that which is 
 necessarily confined to his own breast ? The test I 
 consider as utterly useless for any temporal pur- 
 pose. If the term infidel be applied to the uncon- 
 verted aborigines of this country, I must again 
 reply, that there is not the remotest probability of 
 the test acting upon them in any way. But, sir, 
 the bill on the table is confined to the Jews, and is 
 intended specifically for their benefit ; it is not in- 
 tended for the infidel, Turk, or Chinese ; and surely 
 the Jewish religion is not to be placed on a footing 
 with barbarous superstitions. It hast been impress- 
 ed on my mind, that the Jewish religion is divine ; 
 that we should believe in the books of the Old Tes- 
 tament as well as they, although we believe also in 
 those of the New. We concur in the belief of that 
 which constitutes the base and foundation of Chris- 
 tianity — take away that foundation, and where is the 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 95 
 
 superstructure ? And why should we be displeased 
 with them, because they think proper to continue 
 their abode in the darker apartments below, while 
 we have ascended to the higher parts of the dwell- 
 ing, and breathe a freer air, and are surrounded by 
 a clearer light? The provisions of the bill, I con- 
 fess, are not exactly what I would wish them to be— 
 they do not go far enough— -instead of providing 
 merely for the case of the Jews, I could wish the 
 test entirely expunged from the constitution. 
 
 I am sensible that I have trespassed much on the 
 patience of this house, on a subject in which the 
 reputation of this state is more deeply involved than 
 its interests; it is one which seems to be remote from 
 the ordinary business of legislation'; but I feel for 
 the character of those whom I represent, as I feel 
 for my own ; and the character of justice, and a pro- 
 per regard for the rights of my fellow citizens, is 
 far dearer to me than any consideration of interest; 
 and I see no reason why the state in its represented 
 assemblage, should not be actuated by those motives, 
 which are regarded as generous, and noble, when 
 they influence individual actions. 
 
 There is but one remaining objection to the pas- 
 sage of the bill, and this I will endeavour also to 
 meet, and yet, it is not without reluctance. It has 
 been repeated, that the passage of the bill, is in- 
 compatible with the respect we owe to the Chris- 
 tian religion ; that this is a Chrisiian land — that the 
 
96 SPEECH ON THE JEAV BILL. 
 
 Christian religion ought here to be, at least, legally 
 avowed, and acknowledged ; and that the respect 
 which is due to that institution, may be weakened 
 by abolishing the test. Sir, I can see no disrespect, 
 offered to any system of religion, where the govern- 
 ment simply declares, that every man may enjoy 
 his own, provided he discharges his social duties; 
 and that the only support of religion, should be de- 
 rived from the zeal, affection and faith of those who 
 profess it. Sir, I do firmly believe that it is an 
 insult to the Christian religion, to suppose, that it 
 needs the temporal arm for its support. It has 
 flourished in despite of temporal power— -by the 
 interference of temporal power in its behalf, has its 
 progress ever been retarded, or its principles per- 
 verted. 
 
 But, we are told, that this is a Christian land, 
 and that we are Christians ! I rejoice to hear it, 
 and I hope we will prove ourselves worthy of the 
 name, by acting on this, and on every other occa- 
 sion, with Christian spirit. The great author of 
 that sublime religion, teaches us charity and for- 
 bearance, to the errors and failings of our fellow 
 men. To his followers, he promised no worldly 
 benefits, but crowns of glory in heaven ; for he em- 
 phatically declared, that his kingdom was not of 
 this world. Far from inculcating unkindness and 
 resentment, to those of the Jews who did not be- 
 lieve in him, he even forgave those among them, 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 97 
 
 who were his persecutors, and enemies. Do we 
 find any injunction bequeathed to his followers, to 
 l)ursue those enemies with vengeance? No---his 
 last words was a prayer for their forgiveness ; and 
 shall we dare to punish where he has been pleased 
 to forgive? 
 
 But this is a Christian land! And let me in- 
 quire of the page of history, by what means it be- 
 came so ? Was it through the instrumentality of 
 peace and good will to our fellow men ? Perhaps 
 we may say with a clear conscience, that we violat- 
 ed no principle of justice, or Christianity, in our 
 dealings with the poor heathen, whom we found in 
 possession of the soil. But if there is a beam in 
 our own eye, at least we can see the mote in the eye 
 of our Christian brethren of the south. Let us cast 
 a glance towards the bloody Christian conquests of 
 Cortes and Pizarro---they are now Christian lands, 
 and by what means did they become so? I can 
 fancy to myself the wretched Guatimozin, stretched 
 on burning coals, his only crime that of heing sus- 
 pected of imrevealed treasw^es, and I hear him re- 
 buke his less patient companion in misery, by the 
 simple, but heroic question. Am Ion a bed of roses? 
 Who was the Christian on that occasion? No, sir, 
 the soil we inhabit yields its fruit to the just and 
 to the unjust; the sun which gives us life, sheds his 
 glorious beams impartially on all. But the great 
 majority of the dwellers in this land are Christians; 
 13 
 
98 SPEECH ON THE JEW UlLL. 
 
 therefore is it a Christian land! For the same 
 reason J it might be a catholic, episcopal, or presby- 
 terian land. Our political compacts are not entered 
 into as brethren of the Christian faith— but as men, 
 as members of a civilized society. In looking back 
 to our struggle for independence, I find that we 
 engaged in that bloody conflict, for the rights of 
 MAN, and not for the purpose of enforcing or de- 
 fending any particular religious creed. If the ac- 
 cidental circumstance, of our being for the greater 
 part Christians, could justify us in proscribing other 
 religions, the same reason would justify any one of 
 the sects of Christianity, in persecuting the rest= 
 But, sir, all persecution for the sake of opinion, is 
 tyranny-— and the first speck of it that may appear, 
 should be eradicated, as the commencement of a 
 deadly gangrene, whose ultimate tendency, is, to 
 convert the body politic, into a corrupt and putrid 
 mass. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, if I were required to assign a rea- 
 son, why, in the course of events, it was permitted 
 by Providence, that this continent should have be- 
 come known to Europe, the first, and most striking, 
 according to my understanding, would be, that it 
 ivas the ivill of heaven to open here^ an asylum to 
 
 THE PERSECUTED OF EVERY NATION! We are 
 
 placed here to officiate in that magnificent temple ; 
 to us is assigned the noble task of stretching forth 
 the hand of charity, to all those unfortunate men, 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW DILL. 99 
 
 whom the political tempests of the world may have 
 cast upon our shores. We, as Americans, should 
 feel a generous exultation, when we behold even 
 the Jew, to whom the rest of the world is dark 
 and cheerless, overjoyed to find a home in this 
 Chi^istian land, in finding here, one sunny spot at 
 last! In perusing an elegant pamphlet, from the 
 pen of an American Jew, and lately published in 
 New York, I felt proud to find myself the citizen 
 of a republic, whose benevolent conduct deserved 
 such an eulogium. ^^ Let us turn, then," says he, 
 ^^from Europe, and her errors of opinion, on points 
 of faith, to contemplate a more noble prospect — our 
 COUNTRY, the bright example of universal tole- 
 rance, of liberality, true religion, and good faith. 
 In the formation and arrangement of our civil code, 
 the sages and patriots, whose collected wisdom 
 adopted them, closed the doors upon that great evil, 
 which has shaken the world to its centre. They 
 proclaimed freedom of conscience, and left the er- 
 rors of the heart to be judged at that tribunal, whose 
 rights should never have been usurped. Here no 
 inquiry of privileges, no asperity of opinion, no in- 
 vidious distinctions, exist; dignity is blended with 
 equality; justice administered impartially; merit 
 alone has a fixed value, and each man is stimulated 
 by the same laudable ambition — an ambition of do- 
 ing his duty, and meriting the good will of his fel- 
 low men. Until the Jews can recover their ancient 
 
loo SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 rights and dominions, and take their rank among 
 the governments of the earth, this is their chosen 
 country; here they can rest with the persecuted 
 from every clime, secure in their persons and pro- 
 perty, protected from tyranny and oppression, and 
 participating of equal rights and immunities." 
 
 Sir, I have done. I trust I have satisfied every 
 member of this house, of the justice of the positions 
 I have undertaken to maintain. I hope we shall 
 no longer persevere in withholding from the Jews, 
 privileges to which they are constitutionally enti- 
 tled, and which are not controlled by any paramount 
 reason of state policy, arising from a regard to our 
 own safety and welfare. We surely run into no 
 danger, by following the example of the enlighten- 
 ed framers of the federal compact, with the great 
 Washington at their head. Let us boldly, then, 
 adopt that course, the only one which can steer clear 
 df error and inconsistency, and enable us to square 
 our conduct by the immutable rules of justice. Let 
 tis sever at once, and for ever, the unnatural union 
 between force and opinion — between temporal pow- 
 er and religious faith. Let us give unto Cesar, 
 
 THOSE things THAT ARE CeSAR'S, AND UNTO GoD, 
 
 those things that are God's. 
 
SPEECH 
 
 OK 
 
 COL.. J. W. D. WORTHINGTON, 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 IN THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES OF MARYLAND, 1824, 
 
 ON THE 
 
 JEW BILL. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, 
 
 On a subject of this high importance, I feel a deep 
 solicitude. It seizes on the feelings and anxiety of 
 the old and the young, suspends the light pursuits of 
 the gay and the thoughtful, become doubly atten- 
 tive on this momentous question. See what an ex- 
 traordinary concourse from all quarters, of all ages 
 and sexes, this discussion to-day has attracted to 
 your house ! — every lobby, aisle and avenue, crowd- 
 ed almost to suffocation ! 
 
 This is a spectacle which no other nation on the 
 earth, on an occasion like this, (the dispassionate 
 discussion of a political question, though not en- 
 tirely abstract, yet least complained of by those who 
 1x)th theoretically and practically are affected by it) 
 
i02 SPEECH ox THE JEW DILL. 
 
 <3an exhibit, unless a discoloured and inflamed re- 
 semblance to it may be occasionally found amongst 
 some of the high-minded nobles and honest yeo- 
 manry of the kingdom of Great Britain. No where 
 else on this hapless political sphere, than within the 
 limits of our union, need the patriot or philanthro- 
 pist look for the realization of the scene now be- 
 fore our eyes ! 
 
 I shall treat this subject with great gravity, and 
 endeavour, by matters of fact, unquestionable cal- 
 culations, and plain but honest reasoning, to con- 
 vince this honourable house of their duty and ne- 
 cessity in passing this Confirmatory Act. I shall 
 deal in no ingenious hypothesis, no wild speculations! 
 And though ^"^ bright- eyed fancy hover o'er," I 
 shall restrain even a look towards these flowery 
 fields, where, in the fairy morning of life, it so 
 much delighted me to roam. 
 
 I shall divide my subject into two parts, by lay- 
 ing down two propositions : 
 
 1st. This disqualification is against the spirit of 
 our constitution, and the letter of that of the United 
 States, and against the genius and character of the 
 governments of our state and union, and the age in 
 which we live. 
 
 2nd. It is against the policy of our country. 
 
 Sir, — The whole scope of the declaration of 
 rights, and the constitution of Maryland, go to pro- 
 mulgate and establish our unrestrained and liberal 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 103 
 
 form of government. It exists only in this charac- 
 ter, and breathes only this spirit-— so that this re- 
 ligious restriction seems to be an alien and disjointed 
 member of that compact— an intruder, an inter- 
 polator. Upon a fair and liberal construction, even 
 in ordinary concerns, this repugnant condition 
 would be controlled and merged in the clear and 
 unequivocaHntention of the whole instrument. It 
 is superfluous to refer to any particular clause or sec- 
 tion. It must be recollected too, that this basis of our 
 state rights was framed at so early a period as August, 
 '76, when something of monarchical and colonial 
 prejudice, and narrow-mindedness, still hung about 
 us---passing upwards, from dependence to freedom I 
 So, the soul, as it is quitting its earthly tenement, 
 may have some mortal particles hanging about it, 
 till aspiring aloft, those grosser elements fall to the 
 ground as she reaches her pure and incorruptible 
 abode ! 
 
 Not so with the constitution of the union-— that 
 was framed many years after, when we had passed 
 from colonial misgovernment through the fiery or- 
 deal of a long revolutionary war---had reposed af- 
 ter its termination under a confederation, and then, 
 in a manner defecated and tranquil ; the sacred 
 charter, the constitution of the United States, was 
 elaborated into being. There, we have a right to 
 look for, and there we see, this wily enemy to equal 
 rights could find no habitation nor resting place j 
 
104 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 the gates and the walls were too well watched, and 
 his crippled wing could not now lift him from the 
 earth to soar above those impassable barriers. JVo 
 religious test stands in high relief over the very- 
 portals of the temple, and intolerance falls broken 
 and prostrate at the sight ! This was no hasty prin- 
 ciple engrafted in the constitution- --it grew out of 
 the plighted faith of the patriots and heroes of the 
 revolution, and the wishes of the states after the 
 dissolution of the confederacy. I will, with very 
 few comments, read from this old and venerable 
 edition of the proceedings of the Revolutionary Con- 
 gress, express authorities to substantiate my asser- 
 tion. 
 
 JOURNALS OF CONGRESS. 
 
 Address to the inhabitants of Quebec — vol. i. p. 60. 
 *' We are too well acquainted with the liberality of sen- 
 timent distinguishing^ your nation, to imagine that diffe- 
 rence of religion will prejudice you against a hearty amity 
 with us. You know that the transcendent nature of free- 
 dom elevates those who unite iu her cause above all such 
 low-minded infirmities," 8cc. 
 
 Address to the oppressed inhabitants of Canada — vol. i. p. 101. 
 
 "Nay, the enjoyment of your very religion, in the pre- 
 sent system, depends on a legislature in which you have 
 no share, 9.nd over which you have no control," See. Sec. 
 
 To encourage foreigners to quit the British service — vol. ii. p. 292. 
 "Whereas, it has been the wise policy of these states 
 to extend the protection of their laws to all those who set- 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 105 
 
 lie among them^ of whatever nation or religion they may 
 be, and to admit them to a participation of the benefits of 
 eivil and religious freedom: and the benevolence of this 
 practice, as well as its salutary effects, have rendered it 
 worthy of being continued in future times^" Sec. 
 
 New Jersey representation on the articles of confederation, vol. iv. 
 
 p. 269. 
 "In the fifth article, where, among other things, the 
 qualifications of the delegates from the several states are 
 described, there is no mention of any oath, test, or decla- 
 ration, to be taken or made by them, previous to their 
 admission to seats in congress. It is indeed to be pre- 
 sumed, the respective states will be careful that the dele- 
 gates they send to assist in managing the general interests 
 of the union, take the oaths to the government from which 
 they derive their authority;" — further — "we are of opi- 
 nion, that some test or obligation is necessary." 
 
 The Constitution, as passed Sept. 2Sth, 1787— vol. XII. p. 107. 
 " No Religious Test shall ever be required to any office 
 or public trust under the United States." 
 
 May 12th, 1788. Vol. XIT. p. 171. The Convention of South Carolina 
 wished the following amendment, but it was refused. 
 " Resolved, that the 3d Sec. of the 6th Article ought to 
 be amended, by inserting the word ^^ other," between the 
 words ^^ no" and ^^ religious." 
 
 Vol. XIII. p. 172. The New Hampshire Convention remonstrated, that 
 " Congress shall make no laws touching religion, or to 
 infringe the rights of conscience. " 
 
 Convention of Virginia— vol. XIII. p. 176. On 27th June, 1788, pro- 
 nounced that 
 " All men have an equal, unalienable, and natural right 
 14 
 
106 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 to free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of 
 conscience^ and that no particular religious sect or socie- 
 ty ought to be favoured or established by law in preference 
 to others." 
 
 Vol. XIII. p. 178. Lastly, the Convention of New York declared, 
 '* That the people have an equal, natural, and unalien- 
 able right, freely and peaceably to exercise their religion, 
 according to the dictates of conscience; and that no reli- 
 gious sect or society ought to be favoured, or established 
 by law, in preference to others." 
 
 Thus, sir, we see that toleration — that iio reli- 
 gious test, was the very corner-stone laid by our 
 illustrious progenitors, at the foundation of the tem- 
 ple of liberty. Even the highly interesting state of 
 New Jersey, whose bosom was not yet cicatrized, 
 bearing the hallowed wounds of Monmouth, and of 
 Trenton, though she gravely asked for it, could not 
 obtain a test. Nor could South Carolina, with all 
 her just weight of character — fresh in the renown 
 of her statesmen, and the brilliancy of her achieve- 
 ments, obtain the insertion of the little word 
 <' otherf^ because, that would have implied, that 
 there was some hind of test, and the framers of the 
 constitution would not suffer any thing in it, even 
 by implication, to smack of such a conclusion. Sup- 
 pose, out of the 213 representatives now in con- 
 gress, one " whose head no hellebore could cure,^' 
 were to rise in his place, and move to amend the 
 constitution, by inserting a religious test j I am cer- 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. lOf 
 
 tain, he would not get a solitary member to second 
 him. His name might descend to posterity, but it 
 would be like Arostratus, who fired the temple at 
 Ephesus ; and if, in August, '76, a test had not been 
 foisted into the constitution of Maryland, any one 
 who would attempt it, at this period, would share 
 the same fate. If such a thing could not be even 
 dreamt of then, why should it be suffered to exist ? 
 Like the unprofitable fig-tree, it bears no fruit, 
 ^^ cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground?" We 
 have now twenty-four states, eleven of which have 
 been added since the revolution; in every one of 
 which, a religious test has been expressly excluded ; 
 what can be a stronger proof of the genius and spi- 
 rit of the age in which we live? Even in the old 
 states, but two or three retain a test — in the others, 
 it is expressly excluded. A person was, some year 
 or so past, elected in the North Carolina legislature ; 
 she has a strict test — his seat was attempted to be 
 vacated ; it was determined that the state test was 
 repugnant to the constitution of the United States, 
 and he retained his seat! — he was a Jew! What 
 does this show, but that an isolated and odious dis- 
 ability like this, is swept away before the age. 
 
 Yet, a writer under the signature of Orthodox, 
 a large and well written paper, as to style and so- 
 phistry, which has been officiously, nay, obtrusive- 
 ly laid on the tables of the members of this house, 
 and which, I presume, comes from high and opulent 
 
108 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 aathority ; perhaps from a bishop, who was bred a 
 lawyer, or from the private pen of some modern 
 Gil Bias, and some sage writer of Homilies. But 
 from the preponderance of astutia in this produc- 
 tion, I think our modern wag will not tell his scrib- 
 bling reverence, that his faculties begin to fail — but 
 I will tell him, that he has misstated and misquoted 
 the constitutions and the facts, &c. 
 
 To maintain the propriety of our still retaining 
 the test, he says — ^' In several of the states, the 
 Christian religion is expressly recognised and esta- 
 blished. To make this assertion more effectual, he 
 puts an asterisk (*) to it; and immediately under 
 " Orthodox," at the bottom of the fifth column of 
 his ''Bemarks on the proposed alteration of the 
 Constitution of Maryland, in relation to the Test 
 required for those who hold ojfices,^^ he enumerates 
 the states which have a test, or provisions tanta- 
 mount to it, in their several constitutions. 
 
 1st.-— Massachusetts. She has not a full test, but 
 very modified and restricted. Next, Jersey — I 
 think he is wrong, from the view I have taken of 
 her constitution ; but not having the original char- 
 ter, to which it refers, I cannot be positive. 3d. — 
 Pennsylvania. Here he shows the cloven foot. He 
 thought, perhaps, the sceptical might take the trou- 
 ble to look up the first, and finding him correct, 
 would take the balance on faith — not so with me ; 
 I will sift him to the last grain. In the teeth of his 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 109 
 
 assertion^ this is the constitution of Pennsylvania: — ■ 
 Art. 9j Sec. 4. " JVb person who acknowledges the 
 bemg of a God^ and a future state of rewards and 
 punishments, shall, on account of his religious 
 sentiments, be disqualified to hold any office or 
 place of trust, or profit, under this common- 
 wealth,^^ — Would this prevent a Jew, or a Mahome- 
 dan, or any other religious person under the canopy 
 of heaven ? — I suspect not. The 3d, or antecedent 
 article, is equally liberal. 4th, Delaware— this hits 
 his reverence plump on the head. The 1st Art. 
 and 2nd Sec. says :"-*^^.A^o religious test shall be 
 required as a qualification to any office or public 
 trust, under this state.'''' Now, on my honour, if I 
 were certain " Orthodox" was a layman, I would 
 say he told a palpable falsehood ; but fearing, lest 
 he may be something amphibious, '■^ some bishop- 
 lawyer, or some lawyer-bishop," I will only prove 
 he has told it. 5th, Maryland- --Ah! you are too 
 right there"-^^it is the very head and front of her 
 offending." 6th, North Carolina-— right again. 7th, 
 and last. South Carolina— -as wrong as if he had 
 burnt his coat or cassock. How reads the book ? 
 
 Kv\aq\^ ^.—''' Ml persons who shall be chosen 
 or appointed to any office of profit or trust, before 
 entering on the execution thereof, shall take thefoU 
 lowing oath : ^ I do swear, [or affirm,') that I am 
 duly qualified, according to the constitution of this 
 state, to exercise the office to ivhich I have been ap- 
 
S 10 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 pointed, and ivill, to the best of my abilities, dis- 
 charge the duties thereof, and preserve, protect, 
 and defend the constitution of this state, and of the 
 United States.'' " Not one word in the constitution 
 about recognising or establishing any particular re- 
 ligion. How unworthy such deception, to be at- 
 tempted against the people, and doubly so, when 
 offered under the solemn sanction of religious truth ! 
 He speaks not one word of all the new states and 
 their constitutions ; and yet, what a strong instance 
 is the state of Louisiana- --though composed of 
 French and Spaniards, in large proportion, who are 
 as tenacious of their religion as any people on earth, 
 yet they require no test ; nor does the present ter- 
 ritorial government of Florida, though in its crysalis 
 as to state sovereignty, and just disincumbered from 
 the arms of the ^*^ Beloved Ferdinand." 
 
 And now for a few of this writer's false facts. The 
 address is too long, and too full of inaccuracies, to 
 be taken up regularly- --a great deal of historical 
 and theological detail-"discussion of the general 
 and state sovereignty, &c. &c., all pretty wide of 
 the main question. But at the head of the third co- 
 lumn, he says :— ^^ This provision (that is, the test,) 
 is now the stumbling-block, and the cause of great 
 clamour, not among the Jews, it must be admitted." 
 No, sir, the Jews have not made a ^^ great clamour," 
 because that would be the means of injuring both 
 their cause and their standing in our country. But 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 1 1 J 
 
 directly contrary to the inference of this writer, 
 they have gravely and decorously, feelingly and 
 ably presented, by my hands, a memorial to this ho- 
 nourable body, to relieve them from this test. He 
 goes on— "The truth appears to be, that the jnost 
 zealous advocates of the proposed change, care no- 
 thing about the Jews;"— talks about pagan idola- 
 ters, heathens, infidels, &c. &c. I am not going to 
 discuss either metaphysical or religious subjects, or 
 to advocate this creed, and attack that— I am speak- 
 ing on a subject of civil policy. If, in my investi- 
 gation, I shall sometimes be obliged to touch on 
 things and opinions of a sacred and holy character, 
 I shall endeavour to do it with all due reverence 
 and solemnity. 
 
 Having, I hope, fully discussed and proved be- 
 yond a doubt, my first proposition, I will proceed 
 to the consideration of my second, under which;, 
 those parts of " Orthodox'^ which I have last read, 
 will be noticed and refuted. I should be deficient 
 in courtesy, if I were not to notice him, after this 
 solemn invocation just before his parting benedic- 
 tion. " To our Christian bretliren of the state, 
 we appeal for exertion in this struggle. To the 
 members of the legislature, in an especial manner, 
 we direct our hopes. We invite them to pause, as 
 on a tremendous precipice, ^^—'i My dukedom to a 
 dernier," this writer would relish an established 
 religion, and a union between church and state ! 
 
112- SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL, 
 
 However, I will proceed in the plan I have laid 
 down. 
 
 It is certainly not only the policy of the union, 
 hut of each particular state, to encourage the emi- 
 gration of moral, enterprising, and affluent citizens 
 to their shores. This assertion is now received as 
 a political axiom.— The state, which creates or re- 
 tains disqualifications, on any description of per- 
 sons, will throw them into other states which have 
 not such disqualifications, and therehy injure hep- 
 self. Should this honourable house negative this 
 bill, who could blame those gentlemen of the He- 
 brew church, who have signed the memorial before 
 you, from quitting your state with their families, 
 their connexions, and wealth, and choosing some 
 other state, where they enjoy equal rights and fa- 
 vour, with all its citizens. Some persons may think 
 that we should lose but little, either in character, 
 wealth, or numbers ; but I assure you, I have a do- 
 cument here, which confutes such a conclusion. Be- 
 fore I left Baltimore, I wrote on a small scrip of 
 paper some half dozen queries, and requested Solo- 
 mon Etting, Esq. to have them faithfully and truly 
 answered, and transmit them to me. He did so, 
 and enclosed a copy of them for general Winder, of 
 the senate. This is Mr. Etting's original statement, 
 which I will read through as it is written. 
 
SPEECH ON THE .WAX UILL. 113 
 
 Solomon Ktting's Answers to Col. Worthington's tliieries. 
 
 Question 1st. — The number of Jews in the state of Ma- 
 ryland? 
 
 Answer — Supposed, at least, one hundred and fifty. 
 
 Ques. 2nd. — The wealth of the Jews in the state of Ma- 
 ryland? 
 
 Ans. — General wealth difficult to ascertain; among: a 
 few heads of families, we may estimate half a million of 
 dollars. 
 
 Ques. 3d. — The number of Jews in the United States? 
 
 Ans. — At least estimate, six thousand. 
 
 Ques. 4th. — The wealth of the Jews in the United 
 States? 
 
 Ans. — This is ecjually difficult to ascertain with ques 
 tion 2nd. Among the heads of families, m the principal cities, 
 we may fairly osfunale the wealth at ten ynillions of dollars. 
 
 Ques. 5th. — What offices have been held, or are now 
 held, by members of the profession? 
 
 Ans. — To enumerate these, in detail, would be extreme- 
 ly tedious and difficult; we will mention a few within im- 
 mediate recollection. 
 
 Solomon Bush, colonel in the American revolution, a 
 distinguished officer, and who died after the revolution, of 
 the wounds received, or effiicts arising out of them. 
 
 There were many valuable members, officers, principally, 
 in the revolution, from the south chiefly, who were nearly 
 all cut off and destroyed early in the war; they were ever 
 at their post, and always foremost in hazardous enter- 
 prises. 
 
 Reuben Etting — marshal of Maryland, appointed by Mr. 
 Jefferson, and who continued in office until his removal 
 from the stale. 
 
 Ditto — captain of a volunteer corps, raised very early 
 in Baltimore, long under his command, and grew so nu- 
 15 
 
1 14 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL.. 
 
 merous as to require being divided into companies, and 
 thrown into the 5th regiment of Maryland militia. 
 
 Solomon Etting — Captain 5th regiment Maryland mi- 
 litia, appointed by governor Paca. 
 
 B. I. Cohen — Lieutenant in Columbian Volunteers, at- 
 tached to the 5th regiment Maryland militia, appointed by 
 Charles Ridgely, of Hampton, Esq. 
 
 It may be well here to mention, that all the above of- 
 fices under the state of Maryland, were understood so to 
 be, and were held, without subscribing to the religious test 
 oath. 
 
 The strongest case applicable to the subject, is one at 
 present existing, and may thus be related: — Early in the 
 spring of the existing year, 1823, a number of spirited 
 young men formed a volunteer corps of riflemen, known 
 by the name of the '* Marion Corpsj" without any pre- 
 vious knowledge on his part, of even the existence of this 
 company, they unanimously determined, and did elect 
 Benj. I. Cohen their captain — a commission was received 
 from Governor Stevens, but not qualified to, of course, in 
 consequence of the existence of the test law^ the corps 
 were made acquainted with this fact, and a resignation on 
 his part of the command l)y the captain elect — at a meet- 
 ing of the corps, called for the purpose, it was unanimously 
 determined that no captain should be elected until the fate of 
 the bill at present before the legislature, should be decid- 
 ed, and the corps is, at this time, commanded by the first 
 lieutenant. This was the corps to which was presented 
 the flag, by Governor Stevens, on behalf of Mr. Cohen, as 
 a testimony of his gratitude for their highly distinguish- 
 ed marks of esteem. 
 
 There are very many instances of local appointment in 
 the different states, both in a military and civil capacity? 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW niLL. i IS 
 
 wherever the IsraeUtes are numerous, or large and pow- 
 erful, those of talent will be found amongst them. 
 
 M. M. Noah — Major in Pennsylvania, Consul to Tunis 
 for the American government, and on his return to the coun- 
 try, appointed by the legislature of New York to the im- 
 portant station of Sheriff of their metropolis. 
 
 A. A. Massias — Major i« the U. S. army during the 
 late war, and retained in the service at the reduction of 
 the array; he is now pay-master for the southern depart- 
 ment. 
 
 U, P. Levy — Lieutenant in the navy of the United States; 
 has repeatedly distinguished himself in the service — last 
 commander of the U. S, schooner Revenge, and lately 
 sailed for London and Paris, as bearer of despatches to the 
 ministers of the g^overnment at those places. 
 
 There ai"« very many midshipmen, cadets, 8cc. Sec. 
 
 Here is another paper, which contains the names 
 of a corps of voUinteer infantry, in Charleston, S. C. 
 in February, 1779; it was composed chiefly o^Israel- 
 iiesy residing in King's street, and was commanded 
 by Capt. Lushington, and afterwards fought under 
 Gen. Moultrie at the battle of Beaufort. 
 
 And yet this writer, " Orthodox," wishes to 
 make you believe, that the father of his country, 
 the hero of the revolution, under whom those Israel- 
 ites so gallantly fought for freedom, would be in fa 
 vour of the present restriction. At the bottom of 
 his third column, he quotes from Washington's 
 Farewell Address, enjoining not only morality, but 
 religion. Who doubts the correctness of those in- 
 
1 16 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 junctions for a moment? — No one. Does he say a 
 word al)out preferring one religion to another? 
 No. Then it has no peculiar hearing on this ques- 
 tion, unless it be to show, that by his not limiting 
 it to any particular sect, he is in favour of complete 
 non-restriction in this respect. 
 
 It is fortunate that I have in my hands, proofs 
 that the father of his country was in favour of the 
 political equality of the Israelites in this particular. 
 This is enough for me ; for I make this a question 
 between the 150 Israelites in the state of Maryland, 
 and citizens thereof, whose elegant and touching 
 memorial has been handed in and read at your table, 
 and this branch of the legislature. I will not be 
 fighting for .ibstract principles or rights — I am 
 speaking for 150 Jews, amongst a few of whom alone, 
 is one million and a half of property, in the lands, 
 chattels, and funds of your own state ; men who, 
 and their forefathers, have fought with Washing- 
 ton for the very liberty you now enjoy, and yet 
 you refuse them a full and equal participation. 
 
 These old papers have been preserved in the 
 family of Mr. Cohen, of Baltimore, for many years ; 
 it shows how near to the heart of that people, this 
 subject lies ; yet how noiseless and unobtrusive they 
 have been upon it ; and it evinces their veneration 
 for the American chief who poured this balm into 
 their wounds. 
 
 I will read them, or rather some extracts from 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 1 17 
 
 them, bearing on the present point. I have select- 
 ed three, all to be found in the Gazette of the Uni- 
 ted States, of June, September, and December, 
 printed at New York and Philadelphia, in 1790. 
 
 Extracts of Addresses to General Washington. 
 1st. — From the Hebrew congregation of the city of Savannah, of 
 the 4th of June, 1790, presented by Mr. Jackson, one of the repre- 
 sentatives of Georgia, signed by Levi Sheftal, president, in behalf of 
 the Hebrew congregation. 
 
 " Siu: — Your unexampled liberality^ and extensive philan- 
 thropy^ have dispelled that cloud of bigotry and superstition 
 which has long^ as a veil, shaded religion., unrivetted the fetters 
 of enthusiasm, enfranchised us uiith all the privileges and im- 
 munities of free citizens^ and initiated us into the grand mass 
 of legislative mechanism" 
 
 Answer of General Washington. 
 
 " May the same wisdom-working Deity, who long since 
 delivered the Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors, 
 planted them in the promised land, whose providential 
 agency has lately been conspicuous in establishing these 
 United States as an independent nation, still continue to 
 water them with the dews of heaven, and to make the in- 
 habitants of every denomination participate in the tempo- 
 ral and spiritual blessings of that people whose God is 
 Jehovah." 
 
 The next is an address of the Hebrew congrega- 
 tion in Newport, Rhode Island, which is so hand- 
 somely written, that I must take leave to read it 
 entire. 
 
 To the President of the United States of America. 
 " SiRr-rPermit the children of the stock of Abraham to 
 
1 18 SPEECH ON THF, JEW BILL. 
 
 appvoacU you, with llic most cordial affection and esteem 
 for your person and merit, and to join with our fellow-citi- 
 zens in welcoming you to Newport. 
 
 " With pleasure we j'eflect on those days — those days of 
 difficulty and danger, when the God of Israel, who delivered 
 David from the peril of the sword, shielded your head in 
 the day of battle; and we rejoice to think, that the same 
 spirit who rested in the bosom of the greatly beloved 
 Daniel, enabling him to preside over the provinces of the 
 Babylonish empire, rests, and ever will rest, upon you, 
 enabling you to discharge the arduous duties of CHIEF 
 MAGISTRATE of these states. 
 
 " Deprived as we heretofore have been of the invalu- 
 able rights of free citizens, we now (with a deep sense of 
 gratitude to the Almighty disposer of all events) behold 
 a government erected by the MAJESTY OF THE PEO- 
 PLE-— a government, which to bigotry gives no sanction 
 —to persecution no assistance; but generously affording 
 to ALL, liberty of conscience, and immunities of citizen- 
 ship: deeming every one, of whatever nation, tongue, or 
 language, equal parts of the great governmental machine. 
 This so ample, and extensive federal union, whose base is 
 philanthropy, mutual confidence, and public virtue, we 
 cannot but acknowledge to be the work of the great God, 
 who ruleth in the armies of heaven, and among the inha- 
 bitants of the earth, doing whatever seemeth to him good. 
 
 "For all the blessings of civil and religious liberty, 
 which we enjoy under an equal and benign administration, 
 we desire to send up our thanks to the Ancient of days, 
 the great preserver of men, beseeching him that the angel 
 who conducted our forefathers through the wilderness 
 into the promised land, may graciously conduct you 
 through all the difficulties and dangers of this mortal life. 
 And when, like Joshua, full of days and full of honours, you 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL- I 19 
 
 are gathered to your fathers, may you be udnikted into 
 the heavenly paradise, to partake of the water of life, and 
 the tree of immortality. 
 
 " Done and signed by order of the Hebrew congrega- 
 tion, in Newport, (Rhode Island.) 
 
 [Signed] MOSES SEIXAS, Warden. 
 
 *^ Newport, Aug. 17, 1790." 
 
 I must now be further indulged iu reading the 
 whole of the reply : 
 
 To the Hebrew congregation in Newport, Rhode Island. 
 
 " Gentlemen: — While I receive with much satisfaction 
 your Address, replete with expressions of affection and 
 esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you, that 
 I shall always retain a grateful remembrance of the cordial 
 welcome I experienced in my visit to Newport, from all 
 classes of citizens. The reflection on the days of difficulty 
 and danger which are past, is rendered the more sweet 
 from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of 
 uncommon prosperity and security. 
 
 " If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advan- 
 tages with which we are now favoured, we cannot fail, 
 under the just administration of a good government, to 
 become a great and a happy people. 
 
 "The citizens of the United States of America, have a 
 right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind 
 examples of an enlarged and liberal policy — a policy 
 worthy of imitation. All possess alike, liberty of con- 
 science, and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more 
 that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence 
 of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise 
 of their inherent natural rights. For. happily, the govern- 
 
120 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 ment of the United States, which gives to bigotry no 
 sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that 
 they who live under its protection, should demean them- 
 selves as good citizens, in giving it, on all occasions, their 
 effectual support. 
 
 "It would be inconsistent with the frankness of my 
 character, not to avow that I am pleased with your favour- 
 able opinion of my administration, and fervent wishes for 
 my felicity. May the children of the stock of Abraham, 
 who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the 
 good will of the other inhabitants— while every one shall 
 sit in safety under his own vine and fig-tree, and there 
 shall be none to make him afraid. 
 
 "May the Father of all mercies scatter light, and not 
 darkness, in our paths, and make us all in our several vo- 
 cations, useful here, and in his own due time and way, 
 everlastingly happy. 
 
 [Signed] "GEORGE WASHINGTON." 
 
 I come now to the third and last, to which I shall 
 refer. It is " The Address of the Hebrew Congre- 
 gations in the cities of Philadelphia, New York, 
 Charleston and Richmond, to the President of the 
 United States." As both the Address and the Re- 
 ply are short, and very interesting, I will read them 
 entire. 
 
 " Sir — It is reserved for you to unite in affection for 
 your character and person, every political and religious 
 denomination of men; and in this will the Hebrew congre- 
 gations aforesaid yield to no class of their fellow-citizens. 
 
 *'We have hitherto been prevented by vaiious circum- 
 stances peculiar to our situation, from adding our con- 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 121 
 
 gratulation to those which the rest of America have of- 
 fered on your elevation to the chair of the federal govern- 
 ment: Deign, then, illustrious Sir, to accept this our ho- 
 mage. 
 
 *'The wonders which the Lord of hosts hath worked 
 in the days of our forefathers, have taught us to observe 
 the greatness of his wisdom and his might, throughout 
 the events of the late glorious revolution; and while we 
 humble ourselves at his footstool in thanksgiving and 
 praise for the blessing of his deliverance, we acknowledge 
 you, the leader of the American armies, as his chosen and 
 beloved servant. But not to your sword alone is our pre- 
 sent happiness to be ascribed: that, indeed, opened the 
 way to the reign of freedom; but never was it perfectly 
 secure, till your hand gave birth to the federal constitu- 
 tion; and you renounced the joys of retirement, to seal 
 by your administration in peace what you had achieved 
 in war. 
 
 " To the eternal God, who is thy refuge, we commit in 
 our prayer the care of thy precious life; and when, full of 
 years, thou shalt be gathered unto the people, thy righte- 
 ousness shall go before thee, and we shall I'emember, 
 amidst our regret, ' that the Lord hath set apart the god- 
 ly for himself,' whilst thy name and^thy virtues will remain 
 an indelible memorial on our minds. 
 
 ''MANUEL JOSEPHSON. 
 
 "For and in behalf and under the authority of the seve- 
 ral congregations aforesaid. 
 
 " Philadelphia, 13th December, 1790." 
 
 To which the President was pleased to retui-n the following answer. 
 
 " To the Hebrew Congregations^ in the cities of Philadelphia, New York, 
 Charleston, and Riduuund, 
 
 " Gentlemen — The liberality of sentiment towards each 
 16 
 
122 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 Other, which marks every political and religious denomi- 
 nation of men in this country, stands unparalleled in the 
 history of nations. 
 
 "The affection of such a people, is a treasure beyond 
 the reach of calculation; and the repeated proofs which 
 my fellow citizens have given of their attachment to me, 
 and approbation of my doings, form the purest source of 
 my temporal felicity. The affectionate expressions of 
 your address, again excite my gratitude, and receive my 
 warmest acknowledgment. 
 
 "The power and goodness of the Almighty, so strongly 
 manifested in the events of our late glorious revolution, 
 and his kind interposition in our behalf, have been no less 
 visible in the establishment of our present equal govern- 
 ment. In war, he directed the sword; and in peace, he 
 has ruled in our councils. My agency in both has been 
 guided by the best intentions, and a sense of the duty 
 which I owe my country. 
 
 " And as my exertions have hitherto been amply re- 
 warded by the approbation of my fellow citizens, I shall 
 endeavour to deserve a continuance of it by my future 
 conduct. 
 
 " May the same temporal and eternal blessings which 
 you implore for me, rest upon your congregations. 
 
 "G. WASHINGTON.'* 
 
 I have no doubt, numerous similar addresses and 
 replies might be produced. These are amply suf- 
 ficient to show the opinion of general Washington 
 on this subject, and put to rest, I hope, for ever, 
 any similar appeals to his great name, to support a 
 religious test against any religion whatever, much 
 less that of the children of Abraham. I therefore, 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 125 
 
 not only contend for the abstract right, the general 
 principle of no religious test, but take the bull by 
 the horns at once, and say, that, contrary to early 
 pledges, to all rational expectations, you withhold 
 important privileges and benefits of your promised 
 free government, from one hundred and fifty inha- 
 bitants of your state, impeached with no crime, and 
 charged with no earthly defalcation; but on the 
 contrary, some of whom, you all know, for high 
 character in society, for moral worth, and strict re- 
 ligious duties, according to the ancient and vene- 
 rated theology of their forefathers, are a pride and 
 an ornament to any country. Who are those Jews 
 whom you thus shut out of the pale of civil rights ? 
 They are descended from a nation of mighty men, 
 famed for military exploits, and their high literary 
 attainments. The country of Solomon, of Saul of 
 Tarsus, one of the strictest of the Pharisees, whose 
 superhuman eloquence made Felix tremble, con- 
 founded Agrippa on his throne, and shook the Areo- 
 pagus of Athens, as he declared to them the unknown 
 God, whom they ignorantly worshipped! who, if 
 he filled the spot I now so feebly occupy, would, 
 by the thunder of his voice, and the lightning of his 
 eye, pierce through and dissipate this thick cloud 
 which has so long hung over the better genius of 
 your state. It was he who reasoned '^^ of tempe- 
 rance, righteousness, and judgment to come.^' — 
 Yet he was born a Jew, Who were the most sacred 
 
124 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 and famed holy men and prophets of the olden time? 
 Elisha, Isaiahj Daniel, were all Jews. Was not our 
 Saviour of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of 
 Judah, of the family of David?--- Why, these peo- 
 ple in religion were your especial progenitors ; and 
 the same God who led Moses and the children of Is- 
 rael out of the bondage of Egypt to the fertile vales 
 ofPalestine,ledyou to independence, to happiness! 
 You have no followers of the koran, nor the zenda 
 vesta, nor the morals of Confucius, nor the shaster 
 of the Bramins here, to complain of this test— so 
 that the only people it practically affects, are the 
 followers of Moses. Whether you repeal the test, 
 or suifer it to remain, it will never affect any bad 
 Christian ; for he who denies the truth and holiness 
 of the religion of his fathers, will make your decla- 
 ration of belief without even straining at the gnat. 
 Your test has had no eiFect on the bad and hard- 
 hearted; it is the good and the conscientious it 
 bears so cruelly upon. 
 
 To substantiate this important position, I will 
 read the opinions of some of the ablest statesmen of 
 the age in Europe---the opinions of two great rival 
 political champions, Mr. Fox, and the younger Pitt. 
 
 Mr. Fox said— "Men should be tried by their 
 actions, not by their opinions. This, if true with 
 respect to political, was more peculiarly so with re- 
 gard to J'cligious opinions. In the position, that the 
 actions of men, and not their opinions, were the 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 125 
 
 proper objects of legislation, he was supported by 
 the general tenor of the laws of the land/' 
 
 As to the disabilities heaped on the Roman Ca- 
 tholics of England, no man deplores them more than 
 I do ; and were I a member of the British parlia- 
 ment, I would be in the van to relieve them— be- 
 cause, when those disabilities were created, there 
 might have been some fear of a foreign ascendency- -- 
 now there is none. I will go on further with Mr. 
 Fox, who says: 
 
 " There were many men, out of the established church, 
 to whose services their country had a claim. Ought any 
 such man be examined, before he comes into office, touch- 
 ing his private opinions? — Was it not sufficient that he 
 did his duty as a good citizen? Might he not say, without 
 incurring any disability, I am a friend to the constitution, 
 and on religious subjects must be permitted to think and 
 act as I please? Ought their country to be deprived of the 
 benefit she might derive from the talents of such men? 
 But when did the test exclude the irreligious man, the 
 man of profligate principles, or the man of no principle 
 at all? Quite the contrary ; to such men, the road to pow- 
 er was open — the test excluded only the man of tender con- 
 science — the man who thought religion so distinct from 
 all temporal affairs, that he held it improper to profess any 
 religious opinion whatever, for the sake of a civil office. 
 Was a tender conscience inconsistent with the character 
 of an honest man? — or did a high sense of religion show 
 that he was unfit to be trusted? Further, if the majority 
 of the people of England should ever be in favour of the 
 
126 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 abolition of the established church, it ought to be abo- 
 lished." 
 
 I have before me some other remarks, both of Mr. 
 Pitt and Mr. Fox, on the subject of the Test Act, 
 Corporation Act,&c.; but I must conclude them; and 
 I do not hesitate to say, this liberality of sentiment 
 is, and has been, and ever will be, characteristic of 
 great and liberal minds, in all ages, and in all coun- 
 tries. Even where there is an established church, 
 as in England, you see this liberality of opinion. 
 Mr. Madison's remonstrances against the General 
 Assessment of Virginia, in 1785, which I hold in 
 my hand, breathes the same lofty and enlightened 
 spirit — Church and State are distinct and separate 
 here, and I hope they will ever remain so. 
 
 Having thus established my propositions, beyond, 
 I trust, the power of fair and honest contradiction, 
 not by my own assertions and arguments, but by the 
 highest authorities, supported by undeniable facts 
 and calculations — my duty, if I consulted my ease, 
 might here induce me to conclude ; but I am well 
 aware, that a solid phalanx of numbers are arrayed 
 against this bill, and it is not safe to leave the field, 
 until I have exhausted every means in my power, 
 far beyond my bare duty; then I shall repose, 
 whether victorious or vanquished, in that tranquil- 
 lity which nothing can disturb. 
 
 Mr. Speaker :— In the remainder of the observa- 
 tions which I shall submit, as having a direct bear- 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 12f 
 
 ing, or even a remote influence, on this question, I 
 shall be altogether guided by my recollections and 
 feelings at the moment, as they may present or 
 evolve themselves in the actual discussion. I now, 
 therefore, pray you to listen to me with rather an 
 indulgent ear. 
 
 Sir, I am myself a Christian—an humble and 
 feeble one indeed, and one who I am conscious is 
 unworthy to '^^ unloose even the latchets of the 
 shoes" of many here present. And this charity 
 and liberality which now induce me to advocate the 
 cause of the house of David, make me feel that I aim 
 at some distant and faint similitude to the acts of him 
 who was all goodness, all charity- --who could say to 
 his enemies and persecutors, ^'^ Forgive them, they 
 know not what they do.'^"-On this, Christianity in 
 spirit and in truth, not in ceremony mid persecution ^ \\ 
 I enjoy peace here, and humbly hope for eternal 
 happiness hereafter. The sect in which I was bred, 
 is the Protestant Episcopal Church. I have no 
 doubt, a person may get to heaven that way. My 
 fathers thought it good enough for them ; and I see 
 numbers every day, of as good people as any I know, 
 remaining in the same persuasion. Therefore, till 
 I shall be convinced it is not good enough for me, 
 I shall abide with them. The great fear I have, is, 
 that I am not, nor never shall be, good enough for 
 it— But that will be judged of hereafter. Yet I go 
 to see and hear all sects ; and I have full charity 
 for all. I like some better than others, to be sure ; 
 
128 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 but I have not a spark of enmity nor antipathy against 
 a single one. Therefore, with me, the good and 
 upright of every denomination, should enjoy com- 
 plete, equal, civil and political rights. 
 
 I know the great cry in this country against the 
 Jews, is, that they crucified Christ. It was specially 
 pre-ordained by God, that act should be done, and 
 they should do it. It was for your redemption. 
 What right then have you to take into your hands 
 vengeance and punishment? God can and will vin- 
 dicate his own acts. Are you commanded to it? 
 No: you are commanded the very reverse, by 
 the very victim, the very author of the religion 
 you profess— whose solitary sermon on the mount, 
 is worth all that ancient and modern philosophers 
 ever wrote or spoke ! S uppose ancient Greece were 
 to form a confederation of all her states, and deny 
 the Athenians equal privileges, because they forced 
 the half Christian Socrates to drink the deadly 
 hemlock: it would be not less unjust than your en- 
 mity, and, I say, persecution, against the Jews. I 
 know not what these people may be in Europe, 
 where they are borne down by despotism and co- 
 vered with slander ; but in America, they are some 
 of our worthiest and best citizens : nor in their deal- 
 ings, appearance, and intercourse in life, can you 
 here discriminate them from other persons in similar 
 pursuits. Every avenue to wealth and official sta- 
 tion is open to them under our general government. 
 
SPRKOII ON IHK JKW BILL. 129 
 
 A Jew may be president of the United States; and 
 yet in Maryland lie cannot be a constable! unless 
 he makes di false declaration. He cannot bring up 
 his sons to the practice of the law, the high road 
 to fame, and sometimes wealth, in this country. Was 
 ever any thing more cruel? I know an instance: 
 Mr. Etting, of Baltimore, had a son of talents and 
 acquirements : he spared no pains on him. The 
 youth wished to study law. The father, with pain 
 in his heart and tears in his eyes, told him that he 
 could not. Eveii to be an attorney of a county court, 
 he would have first to renounce the religion of his 
 father. Is not this an outrage on the age? Yet in 
 other states there are eminent lawyers, Jews ; and 
 so there will be here; for this wretched disability, 
 if not this session, will certainly shortly be annihi- 
 lated. 
 
 Suppose Rothschild, who, with his immense 
 wealth, like some mighty magician, dissolves and 
 forms again the coalitions of emperors, kings and 
 potentates, by some convulsion of the old world be 
 driven to seek an asylum in this western hemi- 
 sphere— -Though our climate,our general character, 
 our central position, our proximity to the metro- 
 polis of the union, nay, many other peculiarities, 
 should at first invite him to pitch his tabernacle in 
 Maryland ; think, that the moment he recollected 
 this test, he would not dash the garland chalice from 
 his lips? With his genius and his wealth he would 
 17 
 
130 SPEECH ON THE JEW HILL. 
 
 turn with loathing from you, to live in some Free 
 State. No more than a month or two ago, a Protes- 
 tant Church was involved in debt, in New Orleans, 
 for about 820,000. It was set up at public sale, 
 the pastor and congregation being unable to pay it, 
 and bought by Mr. Judah Torah, a Jew. What did 
 he do with it?---did he convert it into a warehouse, 
 or set it up to make money on it ? No : he gave it 
 back, at a moderate rent, to the pastor and congre- 
 gation. Verily, this ^^ was an Israelite in whom 
 there was no guile.'' Would a Christian have done 
 this for a Jewish synagogue? Yes, if he were "as 
 good as a Christian, as that was as a Jew. His mere- 
 ly making his Declaration^ which perhaps might 
 enable him to be governor of the state, would have 
 put him no nearer doing such an act as this, than if 
 he had never made it. 
 
 Let us say a word or two of the fair daughters 
 of Jerusalem ; they, like our own matrons and maid- 
 ens in this land of liberty, must have warm sympa- 
 thies and acute sensibilities on subjects like these. 
 Why should they not? Their ancestors had. In 
 what ancient or modern history do you find a su- 
 perior to the beauteous adopted daughter of Mor- 
 decai— -whose devotion to country, whose obedience 
 to her husband, placed her so far above Vashti, the 
 rebellious queen of Ahasuerus, who ruled from In- 
 dia to Ethiopia? The virtuous Susannah? And 
 those amiable sisters, Martha and Mary, so exem 
 
SPEECl^'ON THE JEW BILL. 131 
 
 plarily solicitous^ not only about domestic duties? 
 but the higher concerns of futurity ! ---their daugh- 
 ters of our time have rather improved than degene- 
 rated : they are still the roses of Sharon and the 
 lilies of the valley. After thus seeing and knowing 
 those people, experiencing the beneficial result from 
 no Test in our general government, none in any of 
 the new states, and retained but in two or three of 
 the old---finding no possible ill to flow from this 
 liberality, I am at a loss to discover on any rational 
 or religious principle, why anyone can, at this time 
 of day, vote to retain it. Has any one a sort of blind 
 and inveterate faith?-— Against such, I am aware, 
 even the most transcendent eloquence would be 
 vain. 
 
 -" The lover may 
 
 Distrust the look that steals his soul away; 
 The child may cease to think that it can play 
 With Heaven's rainbow; Alchyraists may doubt 
 The shining ore their crucible turns out; 
 Butfailh, too ardent faith, once wedded fast 
 To some dear doctrine, hugs it to the last." 
 
 If they are not satisfied with all this experience, 
 In their own country, I fear nothing I can say will 
 alter them. And as Lazarus, while reposing in 
 Abraham's bosom, said to Dives, ^^ neither woidd 
 they believe one, although he returned from the 
 dead." They already have Moses and the ])rophets. 
 
 But, Sir, religion is made the mere stalking-horse 
 
132 SPEECH ON THK JEW BILL. 
 
 —it has nothing to do with this question — it is 
 resorted to as a political fire-brand — as an election- 
 eering expedient. We see pious persons of all de- 
 nominations, whether Roman Catholic, Protestant, 
 Methodist, &c. in favour of the repeal, and others 
 of the same character against it. I have talked 
 with many gentlemen here, who say they are in 
 favour of the repeal, but come pledged to vote 
 against it. I certainly shall not undertake to say, 
 that they are not bound by those pledges — they 
 best understand their own consciences — I am no 
 casuist. As to myself, if I were to give a positive 
 pledge, and the state of things and my opinion did 
 not change honestly and rationally, from what they 
 were when I gave the pledge, I would abide by it. 
 But I w^ould not suffer a portion of my constituents, 
 who I was not morally certain were a majority, but 
 believed to be a minority, to direct and control me 
 on a great constitutional question like this. Indeed, 
 as we take an oath on constitutional questions, the 
 general rule in politics, is, that on those questions 
 you ought not to suifer yourself to be bound by in- 
 structions. I rather think so myself — certainly not 
 subsequent to your election- --but even then, or at 
 any other time, whether you pledge or not, if you 
 know and believe that your own opinion is contrary 
 to a majority of your constituents, you ought to re- 
 sign, or vote their will. 
 
 I have no doubt but a large majority of the people 
 
SPEECH ON THK JEW BILL. 133 
 
 of Maryland are in favour of the repeal---and a mem- 
 ber here, on a constitutional question, acts for the 
 state-— therefore the little sectional politics should 
 not govern him. In that view then pledges appear 
 to me no more capable of chaining a delegate down 
 to the earth, than were the withes, whereby the 
 Philistines attempted to confine the strong man in 
 Scripture. The repeal passed both branches of the 
 legislature last session; it has just passed, and come 
 down to us from the grave senate this session, and 
 I trust a majority of this house will give the finish- 
 ing blow to this evil, and wipe this stain for ever 
 from our code. Once repeal this Test, and it will 
 never again be even attempted to restore it. 
 
 On this subject, had I the power, I would send 
 forth my voice, that it should be heard from Damas- 
 cus to Ezion Gebar ; up hither and down thither 
 Jordan- --from the Arabian Gulf to the Pillars of 
 Hercules. It sheald roll its swell over the slum- 
 bering fisherman where Tyre once stood, and rever- 
 berate amidst the mountains of Gilboa. 
 
 Sir, I impugn the motives of no gentlemen in 
 this house, who may vote against this Confirmatory 
 Act. Many advocates of the Test, both in and out 
 of this house, I have no doubt, in their own judg- 
 ment, are governed by high and pious motives. 
 But I have thought some persons are in favour of 
 the Test, because it operates as a sort of monopoly 
 of offices. The more people you disqualify from 
 
134 SPKECH ON THE JEW BILL, 
 
 holding officesj the more remain for them and their 
 friends. 
 
 This Test, Sir, is like those powerful genii in the 
 Arabian tales, placed at the portals to guard the 
 treasure within ; it stands like the cherubim of old, 
 at the gate, with their flaming swords, to watch the 
 Hesperian fruit of office and of place. Though, 
 unlike the cherubim of old, the innocent, not the 
 guilty, are here the objects of opposition. It is said, 
 the Jews enjoy every thing in Maryland, except 
 appointment to office. Is this so slight a prohibi- 
 tion?-— Is not wealth, and honour, and consequence, 
 often, very often, included in this prohibition ?--- 
 Is not political power, and office, and place, and 
 patronage, with many men a ruling passion ? If 
 then our once happy and perfect first parents, could 
 not be contented with every possession^ but craved 
 even the solitary apple that was forbidden them--- 
 how can the children of Abraham rest contented 
 under a prohibition, which includes so many im- 
 portant and piquant incentives !---This is human 
 nature. How was it with Haman, the high cham- 
 berlain of the king---blest with every thing, even 
 admitted with the royal spouse, the only guest at 
 the queen's banquet-— yet, what .availed all that, 
 when there remained at the king's gate one solitary 
 individual, who sat still, and declined paying him 
 homage and respect ! 
 
 Some fear, if we destroy the Test, we shall in- 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 135 
 
 jure, nay, destroy, the Christian religion- —why is 
 it not destroyed in those states where it never has 
 existed?-- -nearly fifty years have tested the wisdom 
 of the omission. Why does it not affect your whole 
 general government, congress and all ? Are they, 
 or any one of them, less religious than this assembly, 
 or any one of it?---Sir, that religion, whose found- 
 er was shadowed out in the Polio of the Mantuan 
 Bard, to the heathen world, and by the Jewish 
 prophets, and chief by him ^^ whose hallowed lips 
 were touched with fire," to the Christian world, is 
 not to be injured nor destroyed, by liberality, by 
 charity ! This Test is a restriction on the people--- 
 it says, they shall not elect a man for a particular 
 service, unless he declare, after his election, that 
 he possesses a particular superadded qualification, 
 \vhich the people, who may have elected him, think 
 has nothing to do with that service. The people 
 have cause to complain, and a large majority of them 
 do. It is vulgarly called a Jew Bill ; it might as 
 well be called a Mahomedan or Persian Bill-"in- 
 deed, its most proper name is, a Turk Bill. 
 
 It is against the spirit of the age--- it is against 
 the spirit of your declaration of rights : and on that 
 rock, the constitution of the Union, I build my ar- 
 gument; and all the powers of sophistry and decep- 
 tion shall not prevail against it. tn this position I 
 rest secure and inexpugnable! 
 
 I will for ever hold up my hands against this re- 
 
136 SPEECH ON THE JEW lilLL. 
 
 striction — it is the same spirit of persecution which 
 drove our ancestors from Europe, from culture and 
 civilization j and they preferred a settlement here, 
 with freedom, amidst savages and a wilderness. 
 Why do you not perform the precept of the reli- 
 gion you declare in ? — " Do unto others as ye would 
 they should do unto you." — No, you do not, un- 
 less you shall confirm this law. Do you not take 
 away every spur to high-minded and honourable 
 ambition ?---even professions by which they might 
 earn their daily bread ! Do you not wish to continue 
 them for ever hewers of wood and drawers of wa- 
 ter?— -You will be mistaken---already the mandate 
 for this repeal has gone forth, and it will, it must, 
 ere long, be obeyed. I wish to pluck from the pile 
 of religious intolerance, this last brand, and extin- 
 guish it for ever. 
 
 I shall enter my vote solemnly against the test; 
 whether my exertions be successful or not, I cannot 
 tell ; but be they as they may, I regard this as one 
 of the proud days of my life, and though, like many 
 past ones, bright to myself, it may not be so fortu- 
 nate to others as I could wish. 
 
 Israel prays to you in her oppression and tribu- 
 lation ! Hear her---you have no excuse ; for I say, 
 there is balm in Gilead---there is a physician there! 
 It rests with you, who have the power, to restore 
 health to the daughter of her people! 
 
SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 JOHN S. TYSON, ESQ. 
 
 DELIVERED 
 IN THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES OF MARYLAND, 1825, 
 
 ON THE 
 
 JEW BILL. 
 
 Mr. Speaker, 
 
 After having been for twenty years Engaged in 
 this arduous struggle for the rights of man, and sus- 
 tained during the whole of that time repulse upon 
 repulse, and disaster upon disaster, having felt the 
 sweets of a victory obtained at one session, embit- 
 tered by discomfiture at another— the friends of 
 religious toleration succeeded during the last assem- 
 bly, in making a breach in the walls of the enemy. 
 Under auspices the most favourable, with renewed 
 vigour in their arms, and ardour in their hearts, 
 they again approach the broken wall, exclaiming, 
 in the language of Henry, before Harfleur, and with 
 the like assurance of success, 
 
 "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more." 
 18 
 
138 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 It is natural for us to inquire, why the triumph 
 of this cause has been so long delayed? 
 
 I answer, because of the ignorance of some of the 
 people, the prejudices of others, the bigotry of one 
 portion, and the honest, but mistaken zeal of an- 
 other- --an ignorance, prejudice, bigotry, and zeal, 
 fostered by political demagogues, who, though in 
 heart and soul, they were neither Christian, Jew, 
 nor Turk, professed to be the humble supporters of 
 the religion of Jesus. 
 
 Hence it was, that an opinion was inculcated 
 among the people, that the test bill, as it was call- 
 ed, was a bill to abolish Christianity— -that the state 
 was about to be inundated with Jews and Turks— - 
 that Maryland would become another Judea, and 
 Baltimore another Jerusalem. Those demagogues 
 have, however, within the last year, preserved a 
 commendable silence. The people have been left 
 free, to think and act for themselves-- -and they have 
 left their delegates free to think and act for them- 
 selves ; and the question is now submitted to an un- 
 pledged legislature. 
 
 On all constitutional questions, and particularly 
 on one of this kind, the first cry is, that the consti- 
 tution is a sacred instrument, it ought not to be 
 touched, it is much better to endure grievances 
 than to remove them by an alteration of the consti- 
 tution. 
 
 In India, the jjeople worship the great Mogul; 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 139 
 
 in Europe^ they worship their kings and emperors; 
 here, however, they worship their constitution ^ 
 This, though better than the others, is bad ; because 
 it is idolatry. Idolatry is still idolatry, whether the 
 idol be a constitution or a king; and, I may add, 
 that tyranny is still tyranny, whether the tyrant be 
 a piece of paper in the shape of law, or a despot in 
 his kingly robes. As the idolatry of a people to- 
 wards their king is the strongest support of his de- 
 spotism and the inherent vices of his nature, so the 
 idolatry of a people towards their constitution, is 
 the strongest support of the tyranny of that consti- 
 tution, and its inherent vices. 
 
 Think not that I undervalue the great charter 
 by which our government is bound together---! ve- 
 nerate, though I do not adore, our constitution ; and 
 it is because I venerate it, that I am anxious to purge 
 it of whatever is calculated to render it less and less 
 an object of reverence. 
 
 The constitution itself gives us the right to alter 
 and amend it. It is our duty to put this right in 
 exercise, whenever experience demonstrates its ne- 
 cessity. I would search for the evil even through 
 the ruins of the superstructure, and cleansing the 
 foundation, build up the edifice anew, rather than 
 permit the evil to remain, until it should itself have 
 undermined the constitution, and in some ill-fated 
 moment should bring it down in ruin upon our 
 heads. But, sir, the evil we are now considering. 
 
140 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 is not so difficult of access—it is upon the surface 
 of the constitution, ay, sir, upon the house-top, a 
 standing and disgraceful spectacle in the eyes of all 
 the world. 
 
 But the benefits (it may be said) of this act of 
 toleration will be circumscribed within narrow 
 limits, will be enjoyed by only a few individuals — so 
 solemn an instrument as a state constitution, should 
 not be altered for the benefit of a few. What then? 
 Will you do it when their number shall be greater? 
 No. You will then say, that it would be danger- 
 ous to grant constitutional privileges to so many 
 Jews. Sir, the Hebrews of Maryland are more 
 entitled now, if not to your justice, at least to your 
 sympathies and charity, than they will be when the 
 present handful shall become a multitude ; because 
 they are weaker, more dependent upon your mag- 
 nanimity ; less able to maintain of themselves the 
 rights of freemen. Would you feel the less indig- 
 nation towards the iron hearted, grasping guardian, 
 because the victim of his rapacity was an infant or- 
 phan? Oh! no, — you would execrate him the 
 more, because of the weak and defenceless condi- 
 tion of the suffering innocent. 
 
 So should you regard these unfortunate Hebrews. 
 They are the political orphans of your state, not 
 made so by their follies or their crimes ; not by any 
 of the natural and inevitable calamities of life ; but 
 orphans by desertion, abandoned by their parent — 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 141 
 
 cheated of their hirthright — nay, even deprived of 
 their legitimacy. 
 
 But, sir, honour ! the honour of the state is con- 
 cerned. A nation may be dishonourable in a very small 
 matter- --a nation may be dishonourable, nay, even 
 cruel, without committing a single act of dishonour 
 or cruelty. If a clause existed in your constitution, 
 which would subject to stripes or imprisonment, 
 every freeman who should flee from a foreign land 
 for refuge to your shores—it might happen that not 
 a solitary being would suffer himself to be the vic- 
 tim of such injustice; but would the nation be any 
 the less dishonourable or cruel? No-— because dis- 
 honour and cruelty, as well as honour and humanity, 
 are in the heart, in the intention, not in their ex- 
 ternal manifestation by outward signs. Therefore, 
 although there was not a single Jew in Maryland, 
 the clause which subjected them to oppression being 
 in the constitution, the dishonour is as great as it 
 would be if a hundred thousand Jews suffered un- 
 der its tyranny. 
 
 The honour of the state, (I repeat it again,) the 
 honour of the state is involved. The people of 
 Maryland have gone on for many years past, as if 
 they cared nothing about the honour of the state, 
 when it was tarnished by themselves. They have 
 jealousy enougli for the honour of the nation abroad 
 -—if a foreign frigate fires into an American sloop 
 of war, or a foreign government insults an American 
 
142 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 ambassador, how sensitive are we on the occasion. 
 The cry of vengeance rings from Dan even unto 
 Beersheba. We are ready to put the whole nation 
 in a panoply of offence. But a much worse dis- 
 honour we will suffer to remain untouched, when 
 inflicted by our own hands, upon our own country. 
 Yet in my apprehension this is infinitely worse, be- 
 cause, in the former case, we being the victims of 
 another's outrage, another shares a great portion of 
 the shame, whereas, in the latter case, we bear it 
 all alone. 
 
 The next objection which I will notice, is one of 
 a very singular character, and yet I have frequently 
 heard it in conversation with some of the members 
 of this house. They object to this bill, and will not 
 vote for it, because it is only a Jew bill, and not also 
 a Mahomedan bill— a Gentoo bill---in fine, a bill 
 sweeping away at once, every religious test from 
 the face of the constitution. If such a bill were 
 now before the house, I venture to affirm that some 
 of these very individuals would object to it because 
 it was not exclusively a Jew bill— -I am afraid, lest 
 with some, this objection is used as a cover to the 
 world for real sentiments, or as a quietus upon self- 
 reproach. 
 
 If there are any who sincerely entertain the ob- 
 jection, I would ask them, whether, by a universal 
 abolition of the test bill, one of the objects to be 
 gained, would be the relief of the Hebrews? Why 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. l4o 
 
 not join in their relief now?---have you charity 
 enough to comprehend the whole multitude of dis- 
 cordant faiths in the world- --and have you at the 
 same time too little for the persecuted Hebrews 
 alone ! 
 
 I, sir, am as strongly in favour of the entire abo- 
 lition of the test as any member of this house can 
 be. Indeed, one of the reasons which have urged 
 me to the support of the Jew bill, is the belief that 
 it would open the door for entire and unconditional 
 toleration ; but I know that I cannot obtain that now. 
 Am I, therefore, to suffer my charity to grow cold, 
 and fall at once from the very boiling point to half 
 a dozen degrees below zero ? No ; I will keep it 
 warm and vivid by exercising it upon the sons of 
 Abraham. I would fear that if it should perish now, 
 even a bill for the universal abolition of the test 
 would not hereafter be able to restore it to exist- 
 ence. 
 
 Sir, I can see many strong reasons, convincing 
 to my mind, why the portals of religious freedom 
 should be first opened to the Israelite — his religion 
 ranks next to ours-— the God of the Christian is the 
 God of the Jew. For the knowledge of that God, 
 we are indebted to his fathers ; that knowledge, like 
 the sacred fire of old, was preserved by them from 
 century to century, until the power of Omnipotence, 
 through the ministration of Jesus Christ, scattered 
 it abroad upon the face of the earth, to burn with 
 
144 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 unextinguishable brightness. We owe to them the 
 history of the antedikivian world ; we owe to them 
 a great portion of the holy scriptures- --above all, we 
 owe to them the birth of Jesus Christ. Let them, 
 therefore, first enter the temple of religious free- 
 dom, and not in company with the disciple of Ma- 
 homet, or the blood-stained worshipper of Jugger- 
 naut, whose presence is an abomination to the Jew. 
 
 Having thus disposed of these preliminary objec- 
 tions, which, if admitted, would close the very door 
 of discussion upon us ; let us look at those which 
 go to the merits of the bill. 
 
 The Jews are unworthy of relief! Why are they 
 so ? Bring forward your charges in the face of the 
 day ; but first gather the dispersed of Judah, from 
 the four winds of heaven, and assemble them at the 
 bar of this earthly tribunal, where mortal man pre- 
 sumes to act as the vicegerent of heaven. Sir, as 
 the advocate of this people, I plead to your juris- 
 diction. I deny your right to preside over the 
 consciences of men. Ah ! but, I hear you say, we 
 have the power, and will exercise it. That is true. 
 You have the power, and you will exercise it, and 
 we must prove our innocence, or suffer the punish- 
 ment of guilt. 
 
 When a tyrannical parliament had summoned the 
 whole American nation at its tribunal bar, to show 
 the cause why they should not be deprived of the 
 rights of freemen, the immortal Burke stood for- 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 145 
 
 ward as their champion. He told the British par- 
 liament that it was hard to draw a bill of indictment 
 against a whole people. Were this great man now 
 among us, and advocating (as he would advocate) 
 the cause of the oppressed Israelites---he would say 
 again : '^ It is hard to draw a bill of indictment 
 against a whole people." There is nothing like it 
 in the history of the world; there is no instance on 
 record of the trial of a whole nation at once, except- 
 ing that of the American people, before the Bri- 
 tish parliament, and the Hebrew nation, before an 
 American tribunal. The cases are alike. The dif- 
 ficulty is the same in each : it is, that no such charge 
 can be drawn into any shape, that will be consis- 
 tent with the constitution of a free people, or the 
 rights of human nature. This is our argument of 
 strength, and if it be true, cannot be resisted. Ex- 
 hibit your charges ! 
 
 The Jews do not believe in Jesus Christ ! This 
 cannot be disputed as a fact, but it is disputed as a 
 cause of accusation. Who made them Jews? The 
 same being who made you a Christian. They had 
 as little control over the destiny which made them 
 the sons of Abraham, as you had over that, which 
 cast your lot among a Christian people. Born as 
 you are in a Christian community, taught no other 
 faith, or taught it only as an object of execration ; 
 is it wonderful that you profess the Christian reli- 
 gion? 
 
 19 
 
€ 
 
 14G SPF.RC'H ON THE JKW BILL. 
 
 Born as the Jews arc, descendants from a line 
 of ancestry, traceal)lc to the first period of the 
 world's existence, all professing the same faith, a 
 faith communicated by God himself, in the midst of 
 thundering and lightning upon Mount Sinai,---edu" 
 cated in tliis faith, from their earliest infancy, and 
 wedded to it by the cementing power of persecu- 
 tion, is it wonderful that they should continue to 
 profess it? The wonder would be, if they should 
 burst through the mighty mound of circumstances 
 in whicli they are intrenched, and come over to 
 the camp of Christianity. Sir, if they had been 
 born as your were, they would have been Christians 
 —if you had been born as they were, you would 
 have been Jews. 
 
 When, therefore, you censure the Hebrews for 
 not being Christians, you arraign that mighty being 
 who holds in his hands the reins of destiny, and who, 
 for purposes inscrutible to us, has cast their lot in 
 the midst of necessities, which compel them to be 
 Jews. It is their fate, it may be their misfortune; 
 if so, they are objects of Christian charity, not Tor 
 Christian persecution. Are you still disposed to 
 condemn them, because they do not believe in the 
 religion of Jesus Christ? I would ask, how many in 
 this Christian community of those who are not Jews, 
 are believers in that faith ? how many in this assem- 
 bly, I would emphatically ask, how many among those 
 who oppose the claims of the children of Israel? 
 
Sl'KECH ON THE JEW BILL. HT 
 
 You will answer, all. This may be true in one sense 
 —all of you may have an historical belief of the ex- 
 istence of Jesus Christ, and a theoretical belief isi 
 the doctrines which he taught — but are you all be- 
 lievers, in the true sense of the term ? do you prac- 
 tise what you profess? If you do not, then are you 
 in a v^orse condition than the Jew, who to the 
 uttermost of his humble powers, fulfils the law of 
 Moses. He lives up to the light and knowledge 
 which he h^s received — you act against that which 
 you profess. You have been born in the midst of 
 Christianity---you have imbibed it, I had almost 
 said, with your mother's milk ; you have from the 
 pulpit, week after week, and in the closet, day by 
 day, received line upon line, and precept upon 
 precept: yet you wander from the line and disobey 
 the precept. The Jew has none of your advan 
 tages, and yet he does no v/orse than you ; nay, he 
 does better! for the faithful Jew practises Chris- 
 tianity without professing it---you profess it with- 
 out practising it. 
 
 *^ Judge not therefore, lest you be judged, for 
 with whatsoever measure you mete, it shall be mea- 
 sured to you again." Whosoever here is without 
 this sin, let him cast the first stone. If this advice 
 be taken, I am inclined to think that very few stones 
 will be thrown ; no, not one — for I am confident that 
 those who are without this sin, possess too much of 
 the spirit of Christiunity, to raise the hand of vio 
 
# 
 
 148 SPKECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 lence against these unfortunate sons of persecuted 
 fathers. 
 
 But you may say, we do not condemn the Jew 
 because he disbelieves in a different religion, but 
 because the principles of his religion are dangerous 
 in a Christian community. 
 
 I ask, how long have this race of people existed 
 in this country? and when have they manifested 
 that their principles were dangerous in a Christian 
 community? Sir, they have existed here ever since 
 the first settlement of the American colonies, during 
 all which time, nothing of this dangerous character 
 have they manifested. They have been as harmless 
 as doves — like lambs before their shearers, they 
 have not opened their mouths, even in reproach 
 for the persecutions they have received. 
 
 But the religion of that people, it will be said, 
 though innocent in private life, is dangerous in the 
 administration of government. This supposes the 
 establishment of the Jewish religion as the govern- 
 ment religion. The object of this bill is not to do 
 that. If you mean to say, that within the limits of 
 possibility, the Jewish religion may become the 
 state religion, if it be encouraged by the passage 
 of this bill, and therefore you ought to oppose it — 
 I reply, you adopt an argument which goes to 
 the exclusion of every religious sect in the com- 
 munity—Catholic, Protestant, and Dissenter. But 
 you may say that these are Christians, and they 
 
^ 
 
 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 149 
 
 would not seek any ascendency over their fellow 
 Christians. If they wet^e to gain it, they would 
 not abuse their authority as the Jew would. Sir, 
 this is reasoning against human nature, and in the 
 face of history. Cloak religious power as you will, 
 you will always discover with it one inseparable 
 companion- "the disposition to abuse it. 
 
 There is not a religious sect in the world, which 
 has not abused power when it possessed it. Did 
 not the pious Calvin, when he held the two-edged 
 sword of civil and religious power, stain it with the 
 blood of persecution? Did not the devout Presby- 
 terians who fled from the tyranny of British into- 
 lerance, to build the church of God upon the rock 
 of Plymouth, forget the day of their past calamity, 
 and stain even the paradise of liberty, with the 
 blood of martyrs? But not to go to past ages, look 
 at England, or rather look at Ireland. You there 
 see six millions of Catholics, with human hearts in 
 their bosoms, cheated of their birth- right, enslaved 
 and trampled upon by the leaden foot of religious 
 tyranny. 
 
 You cannot expect more than this from the Jew- 
 ish religion. And yet you have more to fear from 
 every Christian sect than from the Jews, because 
 every such sect is more numerous, and, therefore, 
 more likely to usurp religious power. 
 
 Besides, a Jewish hierarchy can only be supported 
 by the laws of Moses. These never can be intro- 
 
150 S1'£EC11 ON THK JKW HILL. 
 
 duccd into this country. For, in order to enforce 
 them, there must be a temple ; tliat temple must be 
 established at Jerusalem; there must be an especial 
 order of priesthood, an order, which, since the 
 destruction of the former priesthood, can only be 
 established by divine authority. The idea of the 
 establishment of the Hebrew religion in Maryland, 
 as the government religion, is preposterous in the 
 extreme ; it is a conjuration too weak to terrify even 
 infant apprehension. If this state of Maryland, were 
 the only spot on all the earth that afforded a rest- 
 ing place for these wandering sons of Judah, in their 
 pilgrimage through all lands, we might fear an in- 
 undation — but, 
 
 "The world is all before them, where to choose 
 Their place of rest, and Providence their guide." 
 
 They have, however, chosen one country, as the 
 abiding place of their posterity. The Jews of the 
 east look to the west — those of the west look to the 
 east, and they all cast their eyes on that sacred 
 spot, where, amid all the sublimities of nature, the 
 divine law of Moses was first given to the Israelites. 
 That is their place of future rest on earth. 
 
 The last accusation which I shall notice is one of 
 a heinous character indeed—The Jews crucified 
 the Saviour of the world !---What Jews? Not the 
 Jews of this age or this country -not the Jews of 
 Maryland. ---The deed was done eighteen hundred 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 151 
 
 years ago, and in a period of consummate wicked- 
 ness throughout the world. We have divine au- 
 thority, for saying tliat the sins of fathers shall not be 
 visited upon their children later than the third and 
 fourth generation- --and shall the flame of human 
 vengeance burn for twenty centuries? 
 
 There is not a devout Jew in existence, who does 
 not mourn the deed done on Calvary. It was a 
 bloody deed, and bloodily has Judah answered it. 
 The generation who witnessed the crucifixion, had 
 not passed away, ere the furies of fire and sword, 
 famine and pestilence, mingled in the work of her 
 destruction. Far and wide, 
 
 " Temple and town went down, nor left a site. 
 
 Chaos of ruins ! who shall trace the voice, 
 
 O'er the dark fragments, cast a lunar light, 
 
 And say, here is, or was, where all is doubly night?" 
 
 Thousands were slain by the sword — the rest were 
 carried into captivity ; no age, sex, or condition, 
 was regarded; the very name of Judea was blotted 
 from the roll of nations. Was not this enough? 
 
 Their descendants, from generation to generation, 
 for twenty centuries, have been the victims of a 
 persecution, unparalleled in the history of any 
 other people. In every period of the world's his- 
 tory, in every nation under heaven, by every sect, 
 they have been imprisoned, tortured, and massa- 
 cred — sewed up in the skins of wild beasts, and 
 
152 SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 thrown to the dogs in Asia — chained to the galling 
 car for life in Africa — burned to death in Spain — 
 flayed alive in Italy — fleeced and sentenced to ba- 
 nishment from time to time in England — plunged 
 into the catacombs in France — knouted in Russia, 
 or driven to perish in the wilds of Siberia. Is not 
 this enough? 
 
 It was only a few years since, that a poor Jew in 
 Polish Lithuania, was condemned to be tortured 
 to death on account of his religion. They cut ofl" 
 his hands, and then thrusting the bleeding stumps 
 into a pot of boiling pitch, called upon him to re- 
 cant. He only exclaimed. Oh God of Abraham! 
 have mercy upon them ! Oh God of Isaac ! have 
 mercy upon them ! O God of Christ ! have mercy 
 upon them ! and then expired. Which of these, 
 Mr. Speaker, was the Christian? The records (may 
 I say,) of heaven, will bear testimony in favour of 
 the Jew. 
 
 Ought not the world to be tired of such scenes? 
 Shall we, instead of execrating them, join in the full 
 spirit by which they are prompted ? We join in 
 this spirit, if we deny them the rights of freemen — 
 the inalienable rights of human nature. We do deny 
 them these rights, when we refuse to pass the bill 
 now upon your table. By the constitution of our, 
 and theii' country, by the constitution of human na- 
 ture, are they entitled to those civil and religious 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 153 
 
 privileges, which this bill is intended to confer upon 
 them. 
 
 As the data upon which I found this position, I 
 refer you to the immortal instrument which pre^ 
 served to us the like privileges, when the hand of 
 foreign domination was raised to crush them. I mean 
 the charter of our independence. " We hold these 
 truths to be self-evident— that all men are created 
 equal :""-the Jews are men; therefore, created your 
 equals— but do you treat them as such ? No. For 
 you say, they are unworthy to sit by your side in 
 
 the administration of a free government.---^' And en- 
 dowed with certain inalienable rights. That among 
 these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'' 
 But you have curtailed them in their liberty— you 
 have hindered them in their pursuit of happiness ; 
 the best of all kinds of liberty, religious liberty ; and 
 the purest of all sorts of happiness, eternal happi- 
 ness. "For the preservation of these, governments 
 are instituted among men."— But your government 
 is instituted for their destruction. You have put 
 them under the ban of the republic. " Deriving 
 their just power from the consent of the governed." 
 They never gave you power to deprive them of 
 their civil and religious privileges. The people of 
 Maryland did not surrender to the convention who 
 framed their constitution the right to control their 
 consciences. They could not surrender it, because 
 it was an inalienable right, 
 20 
 
154 SPKKCH ON THE ,1EW BILL. 
 
 Sii', do you not acknowledge the force of this in- 
 strunient ? Your articles of confederation are found- 
 ed upon itj and your existence as a state in the great 
 union, is founded on the articles of confederation. 
 It is a component part of the constitution of that 
 iinionj and endowed with its power. In opposition 
 to every state enactment, this power is omnipotent. 
 The clause therefore, denying civil and religious 
 freedom to the Jews, is expunged from your con- 
 stitution. The bill now on your table gives to that 
 people no new rights, it merely preserves to them 
 rights which are immutably and inalienably theirs. 
 
 Sir, if you continue to enforce this outlawed 
 clause of your constitution, you rear up with the 
 hand of arbitrary power, that worst of all monsters, 
 a religious hierarchy. Do not the words frighten 
 you? and yet they are true. ---The principles upon 
 which you uphold even the pure Christian religion, 
 to the exclusion of every other, are the principles 
 which uphold the inquisitorial government of Spain, 
 and the Episcopal hierarchy of England. The right 
 to put up one religion, is the right to put down an- 
 other---the right to put down one, is the right to 
 put down all ; and tiie right to put down all, is the 
 right to build up one upon their ruins. The right 
 to build up or pull down in one particular, involves 
 the right to do so in all; and you may, therefore, 
 whenever you choose it, establish a Presbyterian 
 church government, an Episcopalian church go- 
 
SPEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 155 
 
 vci'iiment, or any other church govenimeiitj iipoii 
 the ruins of every other religious society: nay, upon 
 the ruins of civil government itself. 
 
 In order to prevent these terrible consequences, 
 let us vote for the bill now upon the table. Let us 
 pronounce a verdict of not guilty in favour of the 
 pei'secuted sons of Abraham. It will be registered 
 in heaven — the recording angel will drop a tear ol 
 joy, as he notes it down, and all the melody of hea- 
 ven will join in hallelujahs on the event. 
 
 Some gentlemen are angry with this bill, and will 
 not vote for it, because it has taken up so much of 
 the time of the house. Sir, the only way to get rid 
 of this bill, is to vote for it — otherwise, it will re- 
 turn upon you again ; it is invulnerable and immor- 
 tal; cut oiFone head, another will rise in its stead. 
 Next to the dishonour of suffering this stain upon 
 our constitution, would be the ignominy we should 
 suffer, should it be said, with truth, that no one in 
 the legislature of Maryland could be found, bold 
 and honest enough, to defend the cause of religious 
 toleration. I will guarantee, that one gentleman, at 
 least, will do all he can to prevent so foul a tarnish 
 on our name and character. Should it please the 
 caprice of the people to remove him from the coun- 
 cils of the nation, or the wisdom of Providence to 
 call him to a better world, I guarantee that another 
 will succeed him, though he will be liMlc able to 
 supplv his place. 
 
156 srEECH ON THE JEW BILL. 
 
 I beg pardon of the gentleman from Wasliington 
 for thus introducing him to the house. I could not 
 do otherwise, because his name is identified with 
 the Jew bill. You cannot think of the one without 
 thinking of the other---he was an early champion 
 in the cause; Atlas-like, he bore it upon his shoul- 
 ders at a time when it was too heavy for all other 
 men— it fell— he raised it— it fell again—he raised 
 it again-'-and again. Like Sisyphus, he was com- 
 pelled, alternately, to roll up the stone, and suffer 
 its recoil. The enemies of religious freedom in 
 Washington, withdrew from him their support, and 
 he ceased to be a member of this house. Even then, 
 he continued to labour in the cause. He once more 
 comes into the hall of legislation, and his very first 
 act is to bring the Jew bill before the house! Let 
 him consummate the work---He began it, it is his 
 right to end it. Let him be both Alpha and Ome- 
 ga. I would pray for the stamp of immortality on 
 what I have said, merely to perpetuate his glory. 
 
EUIiOGY^ 
 
 ON 
 
 JOHN ADAMS AND THOMAS JEFFHRSOIT, 
 
 PRONOUNCED AT PENSACOLA, IN AUGUST, 1826, 
 BY 
 
 H. M. BRACKENRIDGE. 
 
 Fellow-Citizens, 
 
 The occasion on which we are assembled, is so 
 deeply interesting to every American heart, that 
 the simple annunciation would seem to preclude 
 every embellishment, or amplification of oratory. 
 The genius of a Cicero, or a Demosthenes, might be 
 fired by the glory of such a theme---a theme as im- 
 mortal as their eloquence. But alas ! your humble 
 orator feels himself oppressed by sensations to which 
 he has no words to give utterance. 
 
 CKir venerated sages and statesmen, John Adams, 
 and Thomas Jefferson, having reached the goal 
 appointed to the race of man, now rest from their toils 
 ---they have fallen asleep, with a transition as mild 
 and as gentle 
 
 '* As summer evening's latest sigh, 
 That shuts the rose." 
 
158 EULOGY 
 
 For their departure, attended by no circumstance 
 of pain, of terror, or regret, (if I nuiy say it on this 
 solemn occasion,) has deprived death of his sting, 
 and the grave of its victory. No, they are only 
 awakened to immortality---they are awakened amid 
 the loud acclaim of twelve millions of their coun- 
 trymen, the witnesses of the glorious apotheosis ! 
 If we may be permitted to indulge the fond imagi- 
 nation, we may behold the good, the great, the wise, 
 the blessed, of every nation, of every clime, *^ on a 
 hill apart,'' prepared to receive the illustrious 
 strangers. 
 
 just rising into view, 
 
 From earth's dispersing mists, to heaven's ethereal hkie." 
 
 We may behold the translated worthies of every 
 age, stretching forth their hands to the patriarchs 
 of America, to the apostles of the liberties of man- 
 kind, and hailing with such joy as angels feel, their 
 entrance into the regions of eternal serenity and 
 peace. For when we consider the circumstances 
 under which our beloved fellow-citizens closed 
 their long and useful lives, circumstances so pecu- 
 liar and extraordinary, we are almost tempted to 
 believe that we have witnessed the manifestation of 
 a special Providence. On the same day, almost at 
 the same hour, that day the jubilee of our liber- 
 ties, these- venerable men, who led us forth from 
 bondage, who guided our steps through the wilder- 
 
ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 159 
 
 ness, having reached the utmost bound of human 
 life, after fulfilling every obligation imposed by that 
 being, who intrusted to them those great abilities 
 for the benefit of mankind, having attained every 
 thing in this transitory existence, which the good 
 and wise can desire, were at last summoned to their 
 *^ great reward," amid the celebrations of that day, 
 which they had rendered ever memorable in the 
 annals of the world ! Since the departure of the 
 FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY, no cvcnt has occurrcd 
 to occasion a pause so deep and solemn. But it is 
 an event so replete with consolations, even to those 
 whom the ties of kindred, or the attachments of 
 friendship, drew around the mournful couch of their 
 repose, as to heal almost at the same moment that 
 the wound is inflicted on the heart. A whole na- 
 tion has gone forth to testify their respect for the 
 memory of two of their fellow-citizens, whose only 
 power was that of wisdom, whose only authority 
 was that of virtue. Every heart melts at the names 
 of the SUCCESSORS of Washington, every tongue 
 endeavours to pronounce their eulogy. But that 
 eulogy will be no episode in the history of our na- 
 tion, for their actions will constitute the very ma- 
 terials of that history. If Washington be the rock 
 on which our liberties are built, these are the cor- 
 ner-stones of the edifice. Bear with me, then, for 
 a moment, while I dwell on the virtuous actions of 
 these great men, although I feel that my words 
 
160 EULOGY 
 
 must be cold, compared with the warmth which 
 animates vour hearts. 
 
 To begin with the immediate successor o/Wash- 
 
 INGTON — THE SUCCESSOR OF WASHINGTON ! In 
 
 these few words how much more is comprised than 
 can be expressed by all the studied strains of pane- 
 gyric ! For great must have been his claims to the 
 respect and confidence of his country, to have been 
 chosen from among so many illustrious men, by whom 
 it was then adorned ; to have been chosen by the 
 free and impartial suffrages of an enlightened peo- 
 ple, to fill the place of Washington. Perilous as 
 such a situation must have been to any mortal man, 
 it was yet the highest testimonial of his worth that 
 his country could bestow. And that testimonial 
 was well deserved. From the very commencement 
 of our colonial oppressions, America looked upon 
 the subject of it, as one of her boldest champions ; 
 his name was already allied to liberty ; 
 
 "Each generous Adams, Freedom's favourite pair;" 
 
 and long before the awful struggle, he had main- 
 tained by his eloquence those principles which were 
 afterwards sealed by the blood of our heroic coun- 
 trymen. To the historian and the biographer, we 
 must leave the detail of events so worthy to go down 
 to posterity for the instruction and delight of future 
 ages. Suffice it to say, that when an appeal to 
 arms became unavoidable, he was delegated to the 
 
ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 
 
 161 
 
 councils of the confederacy by the principal colony 
 of the north. Here his glowing eloquence, his bold* 
 and de»i4e4=cha««*toi^ soon placed him at the head 
 of the orators of a body, justly eulogised by Burke 
 and Chatham, as-one f)f» the most dignified and au- 
 gust, that had ever been assembled. After two 
 years of distressing civil war, carried on by our 
 fathers in defence of those rights, which they main- 
 tained as men -of English. race^^iidcJaim^d to par- 
 ticipate with their brethren of England — when every 
 expedient, every remonstrance, every appeal was 
 resorted to in vain, to induce an infatuated minis- 
 try-to -re noimce. their hated policy, our affairs at- 
 tained a solemn^crisis. The attachment to England, 
 the country of our common ancestry, whose history, 
 whose arts, whose laws, whose genius, were ours, 
 still held us by ties we knew not how to sever— 
 which we could not break. But it became evident 
 that we wer^ exJiausting* our- -resQjjrces, and our 
 strength, without looking to any ulterior objgct-of 
 adequa4£ importance. A total separation was the 
 last, the painful resort ; it was like jEneas tearing 
 away the bleeding branch from the trunk of his un- 
 happy brother. A prospect, wide and boundless, 
 was opened ; its scenes were new and untried. Even 
 in that enlightened body, the first congress, elevated 
 as it was above popular feeling, and contemplat- 
 ing the present, and the future, with all the calm- 
 ness of philosophy, and yet all the ardour and 
 
 ^te 
 
 «i'' 
 
 n\ 
 
 ./^ 
 
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 21 •, 
 
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162 EULOGY 
 
 courage of patriotism, many a " longing, lingering 
 --/.!/ / •^Spok was cast behind.'' Even when the final vote 
 "*^ came to be taken on that ^ ii w i wunl ninniTm-nn t, pre- 
 
 sented by Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, Sherman, 
 ^:^^^^ _ Wythe and Livingston, a iiimTiim . Qnt which traced, 
 
 f5»^«*" 
 
 ^^ 7>«^^^ 
 
 " Moral nature through her total plan, 
 Marked all the steps of liberty and man," 
 
 it was a-p^Trn\i.rd.,nnly hy. a mnjopi-l^y — many, still 
 fondly clinging to the hope of safe and honourable 
 
 reconciliation, were reluctant to pass the boundary, 
 
 v^i^yx^. 'f'**^ from which there was no return. But then it was, 
 
 that the power of the orator was lieffjuijs&d-fed-be-ptrt 
 
 -fo*4fe=»*fe is on such occasions that eloquence is 
 
 divine, and it was then that Adams deserved the 
 
 • y — - thanks of his country, the applause of posterity, and 
 
 Q , the eulogy of every succeeding age. With all the 
 
 iUt^ *e r- jjj.g of Demosthenes, he painted the griefs of his in- 
 
 f.eC A-// i»i«s^pointed out the dangers which threatened her 
 
 ■ff*^ * liberty— -her existence, and infused into l^i^ip-brave, ttC^ 
 
 <;/ U t*^*^ ^^^ hesitating hearts,^he courage to pifrsue the 
 
 ^ boldest measures. Rising to a pitch of enthusiasm, 
 
 <, /Tt^^ which the occasioii' inspired, an enthusiasm ap- 
 proaching to inspiration, he unfolded the glorious 
 
 U^ ijL^ destinies of his native land, and foretold that the 
 
 ' DAY ON WHICH AMERICA DECLARED HER INDEPEN- 
 
 It^ /•«. — <' DENCE, would b© a day of triumph, of rejoicing, 
 
 of exultation, through all succeeding time. And 
 
' ' ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 163 
 
 most signally has that prophecy been fulfilled ; still 
 more wondrous, the far-seeing statesman, after hav- 
 ing lived to see the complete fulfilment of his pro- 
 phecy, after having seen his beloved country during 
 half a century in the onward march to greatness 
 and felicity, under a government firmly consolidat- 
 ed by wisdom and experience, breathed in peace 
 his last in a wish for the perpetuity of its indepen- 
 dence,* on the very day of the anniversary, per- 
 haps at the very hour, which had been signalized 
 by his prophetic eloquence. 
 
 During the seven anxious years which succeeded 
 this memorable day, while our country was more 
 frequently darkened by the gloom of adversity, than 
 brightened by the rays of success, Adams gave his 
 individual and unwearied support to that cause, in 
 which he had staked every thing dear to man. We 
 find him wandering from court to court, from go- 
 vernment to government, soliciting the slow and 
 reluctant aid of Europe, and experiencing all the 
 anxious feelings of alternate disappointment and 
 
 * On the 4th of July, 1826, the orator of the day, Mr. 
 Whitney, called on Mr. Adams, and asked him for a sen- 
 timent to be delivered at the table in the afternoon. He 
 said, " I will give you. Independence for ever." After a few 
 moments had elapsed, a lady present asked him if he wish- 
 ed to add any thing to the toast; he answered, " not a syl- 
 lable." This was within an hour of his dissolution in the 
 evening. 
 
164 EULOGY 
 
 alternate hope. But atlength^when, in part through 
 the success which crowned his mission, our victo- 
 rious eagle was planted, by the arm of Washington 
 and Lafayette, on the last hold of our enemy, 
 when the contest was no longer doubtful, when 
 the olive branch was tendered by that monarch, 
 who had lost the brightest jewel of his crown, 
 Adams was chosen one of the negociators of peace. 
 No sooner was this happily accomplished, than he 
 was selected as the Jii'St mnbassador of a new and 
 independent people, the former subjects of the mo- 
 narch to whom he was sent, and who had been the 
 subjects of his ancestors. That the sensibilities of 
 both were deeply affected at the first interview, 
 was no reproach to the ambassador, and did honour 
 to the character of the British king, who declared 
 on the occasion, that although he was the last to 
 conform to the afflicting separation, he would be the 
 first to meet the friendship of our country as an in- 
 dependent power. During his residence at the court 
 of St. James, he used every laudable endeavour to 
 heal the breach which had been made ; for although 
 as a patriot the land of his nativity was the first in 
 his love, yet his affection for the land of his fathers 
 was not eradicated. He was impressed with a 
 generous belief, that a firm friendship between two 
 nations so strongly allied by nature, could not fail 
 to advance the prosperity of both. These sentiments 
 
ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 165 
 
 he urged to his own countrymen, with a zeal which 
 rendered even his patriotism suspected, for the 
 strong resentment which had been awakened in 
 their breast could not be at once subdued, and it 
 was ordered, perhaps for wise purposes, that the 
 hearts of the British ministry should be hardened 
 towards us. The time had not come, when that 
 friendship which Adams so ardently desired, could 
 be safely indulged. 
 
 When that second revolution took place among 
 us, which secured all the advantages of the first, the 
 establishment of the present confederated govern- 
 ment, Adams was called, by the voice of his fel- 
 low citizens, to fill the second place in the republic. 
 Precluded, by the nature of the station in which he 
 was now placed, from any active share in the details 
 of administration, he employed his leisure hours in 
 communicating, through the press, those lessons of 
 his ripened experience, and the result of those pro- 
 found researches, which have rendered him one of 
 the classic writers of America, and one of the most 
 distinguished of the age. With a masterly hand he 
 analyzed the parts of every republic which then ex- 
 isted, or had come down to us through history. He 
 traced out the causes of their decay, their weakness, 
 or their strength, with as much ease as the most 
 ingenious artist separates, or puts together, the 
 various parts of the most complicated machinery. 
 
1 66 EULOGY 
 
 He saw that property, especially landed property,* 
 was the fountain of power in the state ; that the more 
 general its distribution among the members of so- 
 ciety, the less would that power become concen- 
 trated in the hands of one, or of a few. It is re- 
 markable, that his enlightened compatriot, of whom 
 I am presently to speak, was led by his reflections, 
 to the same result ; and was so fortunate, in his na- 
 tive state, as to suggest a remedy, as mild and effec- 
 tual, as the imperceptible renovations of nature. 
 How far some of the less flattering views of the sage 
 of Quincy may be unjust, let us not too hastily de- 
 cide, but leave to the slow and unerring award of 
 time. 
 
 Let us follow him to more active scenes, where 
 he was called to the highest responsibility, and the 
 highest honours. When at length the great Wash- 
 ington, like the hero of Ossian, " heard the call of 
 years," and resolved to retire to private life, all 
 eyes were turned to Adams as his successor. But 
 alas! who could be found to lift the spear of Fingal ! 
 Of those times, the various and distracting incidents, 
 and their causes, must be left to the impartial his- 
 torian, who, unbiassed by party feelings, shall ren- 
 der justice where it is due, and pass censure where 
 it is deserved. His country, even at this day, pro- 
 
 * The doctrine of Harrington is fully unfolded in his 
 "Defence," &c. 
 
ON ADAMS AND JEFFEKSON^ 167 
 
 nounces with one accord, that the intentions of 
 Adams could not be other than pure ; and we may 
 acknowledge, without an effort of candour, that 
 when the helm was confided to him, our system of 
 government was yet unconfirmed by experience, 
 that it had to contend with the jarring elements of 
 discord, at a time when the whole world was con- 
 vulsed by the fires of a volcano ; that the mighty 
 name and influence of Washington, like a vast 
 mound, had alone withstood the accumulating mass, 
 which threatened to overwhelm his successor, who- 
 ever he might be. And let us in some things antici- 
 pate the tardy judgment of posterity, and dare to 
 be just; let us acknowledge, that many of the se- 
 verest censures of the administration of Adams, are 
 to be ascribed to the excitement and errors of the 
 times ; and that it was productive of fruits, rich, 
 and glorious to our country. Adams is the founder 
 OF OUR NAVY. He saw, at an early period, that 
 should we come in conflict with other nations, it 
 must be on the ocean ; our commerce, growing with 
 extraordinary rapidity, would there require to be 
 protected from rapacity and injustice. On that 
 element have arisen our principal collisions with 
 thoise nations, which have " felt power, and forgot 
 right ;" but the frigates of Adams have proved the 
 best expounders of the laws of nations, and the most 
 eloquent advocates of the rights of neutrals. On that 
 element, both France and England have felt the 
 
168 EULOGY 
 
 energy of our republic — on that element, our flag 
 has won its proudest honours, and now carries with 
 it the renown of our gallant seamen, wherever it 
 displays its variegated glories. 
 
 If the sun of Adams retired behind a cloud, it 
 soon emerged to its ^^ original brightness ;" if his 
 star was dimmed at its meridian height, like that of 
 Dandolo, '^ nothing ever surpassed the brilliancy of 
 its setting rays." Shall we follow the sage to the 
 scenes of private life? Shall we speak of his vir- 
 tues? When an adventurous sophist proposed to 
 pronounce a panegyric on Homer, he was rebuked, 
 by the simple question, ^Mias Homer faults?" But 
 the virtues of Adams are the inheritance of his coun- 
 try ; their example will continue to form, to strength- 
 en, to delight, to the remotest ages! His sterling 
 integrity, and unblemished truth, his mild benevo- 
 lence, the strength of his friendship and affections, 
 his temperance rewarded by a long and illustrious 
 life, his love of country, strong in death, his faith 
 in a divine religion, and his resignation to the de- 
 crees of Providence, these will be the subjects of 
 many an aspiring strain, when the fleeting scenes 
 which attract our interest to-day, shall pass away, 
 and be forgotten. For classic eloquence, and nerve, 
 as a writer, for accomplishments as a scholar, for 
 profound acquirements as a philosophic statesman, 
 he will ever be conspicuous in the temple of fame. 
 In one particular, he enjoyed a rare felicity, which 
 
ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 169 
 
 in all probability will stand a solitary exception in 
 our history for the next thousand years. If, as a 
 patriot, he saw with delight his country advance 
 with the rapidity of fairy land, great must have 
 been his gratification, as a man and a parent, to 
 leave the fortunes of that country under the guidance 
 of his son ; a son, whose virtues and abilities, had 
 been subjected to the severest ordeal of public opi- 
 nion, in the various stations which he had filled, 
 and who was at length advanced to the highest of- 
 fice of his country ; let not the bitterness of party 
 feeling mingle in the cup of grief, or withhold the 
 just tribute of respect to the chief magistrate of the 
 nation, or refuse to condole with an affectionate 
 son, for the loss of the best of fathers. 
 
 The name of Adams has become inseparably unit- 
 ed with that of Jefferson, the patriot, the states- 
 man, the philosopher, the favourite of his country. 
 Your orator feels the poverty of his language in the 
 attempt to do justice to his transcendent merit. 
 His mind, of ^^ vast unclouded scope," stretched its 
 vision to every subject which belongs to human 
 knowledge ; his philanthropy, no less expansive, em- 
 braced every object of benevolence. His fame is 
 confined to no age or country ; he was the friend, 
 the instructer, the legislator of the human race. 
 He will be named with Solon, with Socrates, with 
 Plato, with Aristotle, with Bacon. Nature, kind 
 and beneficent mother, has cast even among the 
 22 
 
170 HULOGY 
 
 most savage and barbarous tribeSj some of those su- 
 perior and privileged beings, who have sketched 
 the first rude laws of society, and restrained the 
 fierce and destructive passions of men ; but small is 
 the number of those resplendent geniuses, who in 
 the enlightened periods of the world have given 
 rise to new era in the improvements of human life, 
 who have effected revolutions, that in the ordinary 
 course of events could only be accomplished by the 
 gradual progress of centuries. Such was Jeffer- 
 son. The splendid state paper with which our 
 political existence began, bears the impress of his 
 mighty mind ; that instrument, which has become 
 the ornament of our halls, the guide of our councils, 
 and the first political lesson of our youth. Had this 
 been the first and only production of his pen, he 
 had needed nothing more to render his name im- 
 mortal. ' But where is the American who has filled 
 so many arduous stations, who for an equal number 
 of years has been so constantly employed in the most 
 important and useful public services? Where is 
 the man who has so successfully united the boldest 
 speculation with practical utility ? He was a lumi- 
 nary even among such men as Franklin, Hancock, 
 Livingston, Witherspoon, Rush, Morris, Wilson, 
 Chace, M^Kean, Wythe, Paine, Walton,* Hopkin- 
 
 * Mrs. Walton, the widow of George Walton, one of 
 the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was pre- 
 sent. 
 
ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 17 J 
 
 son, Wolcott, each of whom was a ruHng star in a 
 constellation of intellect and virtue. Even in the 
 midst of the political tempest which swept over the 
 land, we find him in his native state preparing the 
 most laborious reforms, with all the calmness of Ar- 
 chimedes engaged in the solution of his problem. 
 He brought the whole body of the laws of Virginia 
 out of chaos, and reduced them to the beautiful 
 order, which they still preserve. Every thing was 
 great and original in his legislation; ever boldly 
 recurring to the fountains of first principles. 
 Every act overturned a rooted prejudice, or gave 
 a new impulse to improvement. He was the first 
 who established on a legislative foundation, a com- 
 plete toleration in.matters of religion, and which an- 
 nihilated the union between church and state, whose 
 tendency has ever been to corrupt and ruin both. 
 This was itself a revolution. Let his name be uni- 
 ted with that of Las Casas, as the generous advo- 
 cate of the aboriginal inhabitant, who had been 
 reduced by the false philosophy of Europe, in the 
 scale of being, to a level with the brute. And where 
 shall we find suitable expressions of praise of the 
 first, the successful denouncer of the abominable 
 trafiic in human flesh, which has entailed so much 
 misery and disgrace on civilized and Christian men? 
 The glowing terms in which he depicted the evils 
 of slaveiy, proved that as a great reformer, he was 
 no less bold than benevolent. In that incompara- 
 
172 EULOGY 
 
 ble production., tlie Notes on Virginia, where every 
 sentence is a gem, where every chapter is a volume, 
 in its sterling bullion, what a treasure has he left 
 us ! That volume will ever be crowned by the 
 gratitude of America— of the new world, as the 
 complete and triumphant vindication from the as- 
 persions and the prejudices of the old. The vain and 
 arrogant philosophy of Buifon, of Raynal, of Robert- 
 son, was dispelled like a mist before the rising sun, 
 and the glowing landscape was revealed for the 
 first time to the wise man of Europe. 
 
 As the legislator of his native state, Jeiferson 
 achieved a victory over the opinions and pride of 
 his fellow-citizens, which scarcely yields to that of 
 Lycurgus at Sparta. He it was, who first set the 
 example of that Agrarian law, which, unlike that of 
 Gracchus, was effected without violence, and was 
 based on the truest principles of wisdom, justice 
 and humanity. Well has it been demonstrated by 
 Adams, that where vast disproportionate wealth 
 accumulates in families, aristocracy is inevitable. 
 The downfall of Rome, and of Sparta, the lament- 
 able fate of the virtuous Gracchi, and the no less 
 patriotic Cleomenes, are chiefly ascribable to this 
 cause. The monopoly of the landed property in a 
 few hands, necessarily rendered the great majority 
 of the population a plebeian mass, without stake or 
 interest in society, without pride, without virtue, 
 and the fit subjects of sale and barter, between cor- 
 
ON ADAMS AND JF.IFEUSON. 173 
 
 ruptioii and ambition. It was this which enabled 
 Sylla to oppress his country, and CsBsar to enslave 
 it. Through the exertions of Jefferson, the law of 
 primogeniture was abolished, and the contrivance 
 of entails done away — every child was made to share 
 alike in the bounty of its parent, as it ought to be 
 equal in his affection. The example has been imi- 
 tated by every neighbouring state ; but the time 
 has not yet arrived to show the full effects of this 
 admirable innovation. The career of wealth and 
 honours, has been thrown open to industry and 
 merit, wherever it may be found. The freshness 
 and purity of society, is thus preserved by the 
 continued renovation of its elements, like the par- 
 ticles of air we breathe, or the drops of water in 
 the running stream, at which we quench our thirst. 
 Jefferson, like his compatriot Adams, was cho- 
 sen to fill the first offices in the republic. After 
 having been chief magistrate of Virginia, during 
 the most trying scenes of the revolution, he was 
 appointed one of that illustrious commission, which 
 negociated the treaty of peace. He was afterwards 
 our first ambassador to Paris, where the amenity of 
 his manners, and the elegant accomplishments of his 
 mind, rendered him the delight of every circle, 
 among the most polished people of Europe. There 
 his elegant classical attainments, his profound ac- 
 quaintance with every thing useful in natural his- 
 tory and the arts, found a theatre for display, a field 
 
174 EULOGY 
 
 to expatiate. Perhaps it would not be hazarding too 
 much, to say, that none of our countrymen had ever 
 before appeared abroad, who combined so many ele- 
 gant attainments, or who could hold so high a rank 
 among the literati of that celebrated metropolis; 
 and it must be admitted, that no individual has since 
 done so much to elevate the character of our coun- 
 try, for those qualities, which belong to a refined 
 and civilized people. Princes, and titled dignitaries 
 of boasted ancestry, in their own assemblies were 
 eclipsed by the noble of nature. On his return to 
 his country, he was chosen under the newly esta- 
 blished confederacy, as the minister and organ of 
 the administration of Washington. In the various 
 masterly reports, called for by the duties of his de- 
 partment, we view with wonder and admiration, 
 the vast compass and force of his mind, which could, 
 comparatively within narrow limits, collect such an 
 amazing mass, by the power of compression, by sim- 
 plification, and by lucid arrangement. Such is the 
 report on weights and measures, that difficult pro- 
 blem in natural philosophy, and the higher mathe- 
 matics; the reports on the fisheries and on commerce, 
 displaying a minuteness of information, a profundity 
 of research, and a patience of investigation, which 
 future statesmen may look upon with astonishment, 
 and humility. His diplomatic correspondence has 
 been the subject of universal praise. With the 
 Spanish, with the French and British ministers, he 
 
ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 175 
 
 maintained the rights and dignity of his country, 
 and has given models and principles which will 
 serve as the guide of all his successors. His ela- 
 borate and masterly vindication of the free naviga- 
 tion of the Mississippi, shows how profoundly versed 
 he was in the laws of nations. As a writer, perhaps 
 no one, since Bacon, has left so many admirable 
 sayings, which so easily attach themselves to the 
 mind, without the effort of memory, and may be con- 
 sidered as the steps of reason. This is, indeed, the 
 striking peculiarity of all his public and private 
 writings. 
 
 After having filled, like Adams, the office of vice 
 president, he was also called to the highest station 
 in the government of a free people. It would re- 
 quire a volume to give the history of his adminis- 
 tration. It does not suit the occasion to depict the 
 excitements and angry feelings which unhappily 
 distracted our republic at that period ; these must 
 be left to the calm and unbiassed contemplation of 
 later times. Suffice it to say, that it would be the 
 height of injustice to render the leaders of the great 
 parties of the day, responsible for all the impru- 
 dence, and folly, and malignity of their followers. 
 Perhaps impartial history may decide, that both 
 Adams and Jefferson were assailed by the poisoned 
 shafts of detraction ; that the partizans of both were 
 alarmed by imaginary dangers, and exasperated by 
 groundless recriminations. Perhaps errors of judg- 
 
176 
 
 EULOGY 
 
 ment may be pointed out, to show that the wisest 
 are fallible ; that even Jefferson, under the delirium 
 of party excitement, may have suffered the expe- 
 diency of the hour to outweigh those truths which 
 are eternal. And yet, the accusations of aristocratic 
 designs, or disorganizing jacobinism, of French or 
 British influence, were perhaps no more than the 
 watch -words and war-cries of dissention. But these 
 recriminations, so little calculated to elevate the 
 character of our country, ceased to be heard the 
 moment those two great nations ceased, by their 
 conflicts, to convulse the world. But at that time 
 Jefferson was seen rising serenely, above the tem- 
 pest which surrounded him ; he seized the helm 
 amid the most appalling distractions, awakened by 
 his well known voice our hopes and our confidence. 
 He called on his countrymen to forget the past — 
 to repair to their posts, and as federalists, as 
 REPUBLICANS, to dcvotc thcmselvcs to the happiness 
 of their common country. The sentiment was mag- 
 nanimous, and if he erred in his administration, he 
 has at least prescribed a rule by which his error 
 may be tried. But I will not dwell on the particu- 
 lars of that administration, whose results were so 
 happy, so successful, so glorious to the nation. One 
 only act will I select, but sufficient in itself to ren- 
 der that administration ever memorable in its annals. 
 If Caesar and Pompey deserved statues and triumphs 
 from their grateful countrymen, for having enlarged 
 
ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 177" 
 
 the bounds of the empire in Europe and Asia, at 
 the head of those veteran armies, which were after- 
 wards the instruments to crush the liberties of Rome, 
 what rewards have we reserved for Jefferson, who 
 more than doubled the extent of our republic, with- 
 out arms and without blood, and so far from en- 
 dangering, procured for our liberties, additional 
 security and strength ? Without the great Missis- 
 sippi and its outlet to the sea, could we have re- 
 tained the mighty states which have arisen on its 
 tributary waters, or could we have prevented the 
 advance of a deadly enemy into the very bowels of 
 the land ? The universal consternation and dismay, 
 which were felt a few years ago, at the dangers 
 which threatened that portion of the republic, suf- 
 ficiently proved at what a price we estimated its 
 value. 
 
 Let us contemplate the sage of Monticello in the 
 retirement of private life. Become the oracle of 
 his country, but unlike that of Delphi, whose shrine 
 was enriched by its votaries, his abode was the scene 
 of open-hearted generosity, of noble hospitality, 
 and the fountain of charity and benevolence. We 
 find him in this retreat, still consulted on whatever 
 might tend to advance the prosperity of the repub- 
 lic. We find him employing the precious remains 
 of a well spent life, in fostering institutions of learn- 
 ing; convinced that the torch of science must illu- 
 mine the path of liberty. His house was the Mecca 
 23 
 
178 EULOGY 
 
 of the votary of wisdom, of the learned and ingeni- 
 ous of every country. The distinguished foreigner 
 who visited our shores, scarcely thought he had 
 seen America, until he had seen Jefferson. His de- 
 lightful conversation, his admirable equanimity of 
 mind, the undeviating regularity of his life, his pa- 
 triarchal age, his profound learning, the various 
 and interesting scenes of which he had been a wit- 
 ness, or an actor, rendered him an object, ^^ worth 
 a voyage across the Atlantic," to visit. But when 
 at last the fatal sisters appeared to cut short ^' the 
 thin spun thread of life," he prayed that it might 
 be prolonged to the "^^ great and glorious day" of 
 independence ; the prayer was granted, and uttering 
 his favourite quotation, *^ now, O Lord ! let thy ser- 
 vant depart in peace," 
 
 " He sunk to rest, 
 
 With all his country's wishes blest." 
 
 Adams and Jefferson are gone — Let us mourn 
 the sad reality of their loss — let us rejoice in the 
 glory of their departure — let us condole with that 
 solitary and venerable man, the companion of their 
 glory, Carroll, the model of the accomplished 
 gentleman, the scholar, and the patriot. Washing- 
 ton, Franklin, Jefferson, Adams, have passed to an- 
 other, and a happier existence, but their names 
 will be associated here, as the founders of a 
 MIGHTY REPUBLIC. Washington, by the suffrage 
 
ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 179 
 
 of all posterity, and of the universe, has been as- 
 signed the first place ; not because he wielded the 
 sword, and crowned the great work with success, 
 but because his virtues as a citizen, his abilities as 
 a statesman, his authority as a magistrate, his god- 
 like purity and disinterestedness as a patriot, placed 
 him beyond the reach of envy, of rivalry, of com- 
 petition. Nor should we conclude, that because 
 Adams and Jejfferson have not been seen at the head 
 of legions, they were destitute of the courage and 
 capacity for command ; such minds cannot be allied 
 to fear, and those who ruled the destinies of na- 
 tions, might have commanded armies. 
 
 We may seek in vain through the whole range 
 of history, for a parallel to the lives and deaths of 
 Adams and Jefferson. It would have been remarked 
 as extraordinary, if any one of our revolutionary 
 worthies had departed amid the glory of this anni- 
 versary ; still more, if that one had been instrumen- 
 tal in bringing about the great event ; but when it 
 shall be told, that both the author and the advocate 
 of the declaration, so pregnant with the fate of un- 
 born millions, departed on that day, after having 
 lived the exact period of half a century from its 
 date, it will require all the weight of cotemporary 
 evidence, to place it on the records of history, and 
 all the faith of posterity to give it credit. It was 
 natural that the minds of both, should linger upon 
 that most brilliant moment of their lives, and that 
 
180 EULOGY 
 
 it should be the last spot of earthly vision to fade 
 from their view; but that a secret sympathy should 
 exist between their kindred spirits, calling them to 
 wing their flight to the regions of immortality at the 
 same moment, is a circumstance at which we must 
 pause, and adore the inscrutable designs of Provi- 
 dence. 
 
 To their children, for we may now call them our 
 fathers, it is a pleasing reflection, that if ever for a 
 moment, the warm and sincere friendship, which 
 had commenced with the morning of our liberties, 
 had been clouded by the demon of party, long be- 
 fore their deaths, it had been renewed into the most 
 generous ardour, beyond the power of malevolence 
 to interrupt. In the lives of these great men, the 
 historian will delight to trace the numerous points 
 of coincidence. They were both educated in the 
 profession of the law, a profession, which, in a free 
 country, in a government of laws, and not of men, 
 when liberally pursued, deserves to be considered 
 as the guardian of its liberties. Before our revolu- 
 tionary contest, they had both been engaged in pre- 
 paring the minds of their countrymen, for the sepa- 
 ration, and with Franklin, were probably among 
 the first to foresee its necessity, and to pursue a 
 systematic plan for its accomplishment. As mem- 
 bers of the first congress, the one from the principal 
 colony of the north, the other of the south, they 
 took the lead in bringing forward and sustaining 
 
ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 181 
 
 the important measure : they displayed at the same 
 time those characteristics^, which, according to the 
 author of Anacharsis, constitute true courage — they 
 knew their danger, feared it, yet encountered it 
 with unshaken firmness. To both were confided 
 the most important trusts abroad ; first, to negotiate 
 peace and amity with the nations of Europe, and 
 next, as the first representatives of our government, 
 at the two principal courts; Jefferson to that of 
 Paris, and Adams to that of London. They both 
 filled in succession the second station in the govern- 
 ment ; and were both afterwards elevated to the 
 first. For many years after their retirement, they 
 were both the objects of peculiar veneration to their 
 countrymen. They saw, in the simple retirement of 
 private citizens, those distinguished men, who had 
 been the chief magistrates of a great people, and 
 who had filled a station more dignified than that of 
 kings. In their great age, we are reminded of the 
 celebrated philosophers of Greece ; and much is to 
 be ascribed to the power of that intellect, \^ich 
 they preserved unimpaired, so highly cultivated, 
 so habitually exercised; whose embalming influence 
 almost controlled and retarded the decay of nature. 
 The closing scene of their lives rendered the coin- 
 cidence almost perfect. But the doom of man is 
 inevitable. If virtues, and talents, and great ser- 
 vices, could secure immortality on earth, our Wash- 
 ington had still lived. Let us not then repine at 
 
183 EULOGY ON ADAMS AND JEFFERSON. 
 
 the unvarying laws of nature, and of nature's God, 
 which have created the vicissitudes of day and 
 night, the changes of the seasons, and have appoint- 
 ed a time for every living thing to die. Under the 
 guidance of hope and faith, let us keep in view the 
 celestial light, which, if steadily pursued, will con- 
 duct us safely through this vale of trouble and dis- 
 appointment, to the regions of happiness and im- 
 mortality, where we shall meet again with those 
 whom we esteemed, and loved, and venerated, on 
 earth. ! illustrious names of Washington, 
 Franklin, Jefferson, Adams ! delightful to every 
 American ear — dear to humanity — ever living in 
 the remembrance of posterity ! Cities may disap- 
 pear ---empires may fall-— monuments may be crum- 
 bled into dust- -but unless the light of civilization 
 and science shall be extinguished, by an eternal 
 night of barbarism, your fame and your honours 
 shall endure for ever. 
 
AN ORATION 
 
 DELIVEUED ON THE 4TH OF JULY, 1779, 
 
 BY 
 
 H. H. BRACKENRIDGE,' 
 
 In the German Calvinist Churcli, Philadelphia, 
 
 In commemoration of those who had fallen in the contest. 
 
 It is the high reward of those who have risked 
 their lives in a just and necessary war, that their 
 names are sweet in the mouths of men, and every 
 age shall know their actions. I am happy in hav- 
 ing it in my power before this assembly, to speak 
 of those who have risked their lives in the war of 
 America. I know my abilities rise not to a level 
 with so great a subject, but I love their memory, 
 and it is my hope, that the affection which I feel, 
 will be to me instead of eloquence, and give me warm 
 words to advance their praises. 
 
 I conceive it as the first honour of these men, 
 
 * My father was chaplain of a regiment, to which he 
 often preached. I have seen six of his sermons published 
 in a pamphlet, but they are now lost. He accompanied 
 his regiment in the battle of Brandywine. 
 
184 ORATION. 
 
 that, before they engaged in the war, they saw it 
 to be just and necessary. They were not the vas- 
 sals of a proud chieftain, rousing them, in barbarous 
 times, by the blind impulse of attachment to his fa- 
 mily, or engaging them to espouse his quarrel by 
 the music and entertainments of his hall. They 
 were themselves the chieftains of their own cause, 
 highly instructed in the nature of it, and from the 
 best principles of patriotism, resolute in its defence. 
 They had heard the declaration of the court and 
 parliament of Great Britain, claiming the authority 
 to bind them in all cases whatsoever. They had 
 examined this claim, and found it to be, as to its 
 foundation, groundless ; as to its nature, tyrannical ; 
 and in its consequences destructive to the peace and 
 happiness of both countries. On this clear appre- 
 hension and decided judgment of the cause, ascer- 
 tained by their own reason, and collected from the 
 best writers, it was the noble purpose of their minds 
 to stand forth and to assert it, at the expense of for- 
 tune, and at the hazard of their lives. 
 
 These brave men were not soldiers by profession, 
 bred to arms, and from habit of military life attach- 
 ed to it. They were men in the easy walks of life ; 
 mechanics of the city, merchants of the counting 
 house, youths engaged in literary studies, and hus- 
 bandmen, peaceful cultivators of the soil. Happy 
 in the sociability and converse of the town, the 
 simplicity and innocence of the country village, or 
 
ORATION. 185 
 
 the philosophic ease of academic leisure, and the 
 sweets of rural life^, they wished not a change of 
 these scenes of pleasure for the dangers and calami- 
 ties of war. It was the pure love of virtue and of 
 freedom, burning bright in their bosoms, that alone 
 could engage them to embark in an undertaking of 
 so bold and perilous a nature. 
 
 These brave men were not unacquainted with 
 the circumstances of their situation, and their un- 
 prepared state of war. Not a bayonet was anvilled 
 out, not a fire-arm was in their possession. No 
 redoubt was cast up to secure the city, no fort was 
 erected to resist invasion, no gun mounted on the 
 battery, and no vessel was launched upon the 
 stream. 
 
 The power of Britain, on the other hand, was 
 well known, and by the lightning of her orators, in 
 a thousand writings and harangues, had been thrmvn 
 in full force upon their minds. They were taught 
 to believe her, (as indeed she was,) old in arts and 
 in arms, and enriched with the spoils of a thousand 
 victories. Embraced by the ocean as her favourite, 
 her vessels floated on every sea. Abounding in 
 men, her armies were in full force, her fleets were 
 completely manned, her discipline was perfect, and 
 the spirit of her enterprise by sea and land had 
 every where crowned her with success. 
 
 The idea of resistance to Great Britain, was in- 
 deed great — but the mighty soul of the patriot 
 24 
 
186 ORATION. 
 
 drank it in, and like the eagle on the mountain top, 
 collected magnanimity from the very prospect of 
 the height from which he meant to soar : like the 
 steed who swallows the distant ground with his 
 fierceness, he attempts the career, and proves him- 
 self upon the race. 
 
 The patriot quits his easy independent walk of 
 life, his shop, his farm, his office, and his counting 
 house, and with every hope and every anxious 
 thought, prepares himself for war. The materials 
 of gunpowder are extracted from the earth ; the 
 bayonetis anvilled out, the fire-arm is manufactured 
 in the shop, the manual exercise is taught, the com- 
 pany is formed in battalion, the battalion is instruct- 
 ed to manoeuvre on the field, the brigade is drawn 
 forth, and the standard of defiance is planted on the 
 soil. 
 
 Shall I mention the circumstances of the day when 
 
 the sword was drawn, and the first blood was shed? 
 
 and shall I trace the progress of the war, in the 
 
 course of five campaigns ? The narration would 
 
 require the space of an entire day. I can mention 
 
 but the sum of things, and only tell you, that the 
 
 inroad of the foe has been sustained upon the plain, 
 
 and the forward and impetuous bands have been 
 
 driven over the disdaining ground which they had 
 
 measured in advance. The hill has been defended, 
 
 and the repulsed and rallying foe has been taught 
 
 to understand, that the valour of America was wor- 
 
ORATION. 187 
 
 thy of the cause which her freemen had espoused. 
 The wilderness has been surmounted in the march. 
 It has been fought foot to foot, and point to point, 
 in skirmishes, and night surprises, and in pitched 
 battles, with alternate hope and dubious success. 
 The enemy beaten in one state, has retired to a se- 
 cond, and beaten in the second, has returned to 
 the first ; beaten in every state, he has sought the 
 water, and like a sea monster rolling to the deep, 
 has washed his wounds in the brine of ocean. 
 Rising from the ocean, he has sought the land, and 
 advanced with slow and suspicious step upon the 
 hostile territory. War is again arisen, and it has 
 been fought from spring to autumn, and from 
 autumn to spring, through the heat of summer 
 and the inclemencies of winter, with unabated ar- 
 dour and unshaken perseverance. What tract of 
 our country has not been marked by the vestiges 
 of war? What ground has not been cut with 
 trenches ? What hill has not been covered with 
 redoubts ? What plain has not been made the scene 
 of the engagement ? What soil of our whole earth 
 has not been sowed with ball ? 
 
 These have been the toils of the heroes of our 
 army ; but the brave men, whom we this day com- 
 memorate, have added to their toils the loss of life. 
 They have fallen in the contest. These of them, in 
 the long and laborious march ; these, by the fever 
 of the camp ; those have fallen, when advancing on 
 
188 ORATION. 
 
 the enemy, they have received the bayonet in their 
 breasts, or high in hope, and anxious of victory, they 
 have dropt by the cannon, or the musket-ball. 
 
 For what cause did these brave men sacrifice 
 their lives? For that cause, which, in all ages, has 
 engaged the hopes, the wishes, the endeavours, of 
 generous men — the cause of liberty. Liberty! 
 thou art indeed invaluable — the source of all that 
 is good and great upon the earth ! For thee, the 
 patriot of America has drawn his sword, and has 
 fought, and has fallen. 
 
 What was in our power we have done with re- 
 gard to what was mortal of these men : we have paid 
 them military honours; we have placed them in 
 their native earth ; and it is with increasing vene- 
 ration we view their tombs upon the furzy glade, 
 or on the distant hill. Ask me not the names of 
 these men? The muses shall tell you of them, and 
 the bards shall woo them to their songs. The verse 
 that shall embrace the name of one of them, shall 
 become immortal. Their names will be read with 
 those of Pelopidas, Epaminondas, and be registered 
 among the worthies of the world. Posterity shall 
 quote them for parallels, and for examples. When 
 they shall desire to dress the future hero with be- 
 coming praises, they will say he was as gallant and 
 distinguished in his early fall as Warren ; prudent 
 and intrepid as Montgomery ; faithful and generous 
 as Macpherson ; he fell in the bold and resolute ad- 
 
ORATION. 189 
 
 vance, like Haslet, and like Mercer; he saw the 
 honour which his arms had acquired, and fainted 
 in the arms of victory, like Herkimer; having gal- 
 lantly repulsed the foe, he fell, covered with wounds, 
 in his old age, like Wooster. 
 
 The names of these brave men shall live, and the 
 animated earth shall be sensible of praise, where 
 their bodies are deposited. Hill of Boston, where 
 the God of arms first kindled the patriot flame! 
 Here the muses shall observe the night, and hymn 
 heroic acts, and trim their lighted lamps to the 
 dawn of morning; the little babbling, mystic brook, 
 shall hear the melody, and stealing, with silver 
 foot, shall tell it to the ocean. Hills within the 
 prospect of York city, where the enemy, rejoicing 
 at his early strength, adventured and fought, or 
 where, refusing the engagement, he fled with pre- 
 cipitation to his ships! On you, the tomb of the 
 hero shall be seen, while fancy walking around, 
 covers it with shades. Ground in the neighbour- 
 hood of this city, where the stranger shall inquire 
 the field of battle, and the citizen shall say, with 
 conscious pride, as if the honour was his own, this 
 is the tomb of Witherspoon; that is the ground 
 where Nash fell ! Plains washed by the Ashly and 
 the Cooper, and before the walls of Charleston! 
 Here has the hero fallen, or rather has he risen to 
 eternal honour, and his birth-place shall be immor- 
 tal. His fame, like a vestal lamp, is lighted 
 
190 OKATION. 
 
 up: it shall burn, with the world for its 
 temple, and the fair assemblies of the 
 earth shall trim it with their praise. 
 
 Having paid that respect to the memory of our 
 patriots which the annual return of this day de- 
 mands, it remains, that we sooth the grief of those 
 who have been deprived of a father, bereaved of a 
 son, or who have lost a brother, a husband, or a 
 lover, in the contest. Fathers, whose sons have of- 
 fered up their lives, it is yours to recollect, that 
 they were given to them for the service of their 
 country. Fathers! dismiss every shade of grief— - 
 receive consolation from being the progenitor of 
 him who is enrolled with the heroes of his country. 
 Sons ! whose heroic fathers have early left you, 
 and in the conflicts of the war have mixed with de- 
 parted heroes, be congratulated on the fair inheri- 
 tance of fame, which you are entitled to possess. If 
 it be at all lawful to array ourselves in borrowed 
 honour, surely it is best drawn from those who have 
 acted a distinguished part in the service of their 
 country. If it be at all consistent with the senti- 
 ments of philosophy and reason, to boast of lineal 
 glory, surely it is most allowable in those who boast 
 of it as flowing from such a source. We despise the 
 uninstructed mind of that man, who shall intrude 
 upon our ears, the ideas of a vain, ancestral honour : 
 but we love the youth, and transfer to him the re- 
 putation of his father, who, when the rich and 
 
ORATION. 191 
 
 haughty citizen, shall frown upon him, as of igno- 
 ble rank, shall say, " I had a father who has 
 
 FALLEN IN THE SERVICE OF HIS COUNTRY." 
 
 When after-time shall speak of those who have 
 risen to renown, I will charge it to the golden- 
 winged, and silver-tongued bards, that they recol- 
 lect, and set in order, every circumstance; the 
 causes of the war, early and just exertions, the toils, 
 hazardous achievements, noble resolutions, unshaken 
 perseverance, unabated ardour, hopes in the worst 
 of times, humanity to an enemy, in the midst of 
 triumphs for victory. All these, will I charge it, 
 that they recollect and set in order, and give them 
 bright and unsullied to the coming ages. The bards 
 will hear me, and you, my countrymen, shall go 
 down to posterity with exceeding honour. Your 
 fame shall ascend on the current of the stream of 
 time. It shall play with the breezes of the morn- 
 ing. Men at rest, in the cool age of life, from the 
 fury of a thousand wars, finished by their fathers, 
 shall observe the spreading ensign. They shall hail 
 it, as it waves, with variegated glories, and feeling 
 all the warm rapture of the heart, shall give their 
 plaudit from the shores. 
 
-WESTERM- ANTIQUITIES, 
 
 COMMUNICATED IN A LETTER TO THOMAS JEFFERSON, 
 
 BY 
 
 H. M. BRACKENRIDGE, 
 
 AND 
 
 Read before the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia^ 1813. 
 
 Baton Rouge, July 25, 1813. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 From a knowledge that research in the his- 
 tory of the primitive inhabitants of America, is one 
 of your favourite amusements, I take the liberty of 
 making this communication. My attention to the 
 subject, was first awakened on reading, when a boy, 
 the observations contained in the " Notes on Vir- 
 ginia," and it has become, with me, a favourite 
 theme of speculation. I often visited the mound, 
 and other remains of Indian antiquity, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Pittsburgh, my native town, attracted 
 by a pleasing interest, of which I scarcely knew 
 the cause, and afterwards read, and heard with de- 
 light, whatever related to these monuments of the 
 first, or rather earlier, inhabitants of my native 
 
WESTERN ANTIQUITIES. 193 
 
 country. Since the year 1810 (without previously 
 intending it) I have visited almost every thing of 
 this kind, worthy of note on the Ohio and Missis- 
 sippi; and from examination and reflection, some- 
 thing like hypothesis, has taken the place of the 
 vague wanderings of fancy. The following is a 
 sketch of the result of those observations. 
 
 I. Throughout, what is denominated by Volney, 
 the valley of the Mississippi, there exist the traces 
 of a population far beyond what this extensive and 
 fertile portion of the continent, is supposed to have 
 possessed: greater, perhaps, than could be supported 
 of the present white inhabitants, even with the 
 careful agriculture practised in the most populous 
 parts of Europe. The reason of this, is to be found 
 in the peculiar manners of the inhabitants by whom 
 it was formerly occupied ; like those of Mexico, 
 their agriculture had for its only object their own 
 sustenance ; no surplus was demanded for commerce 
 with foreign nations, and no part of the soil, sus- 
 ceptible of culture, was devoted to pasturage ; yet, 
 extensive forests filled with wild animals would still 
 remain. The aggregate population of the country 
 might be less, but that of particular districts much 
 greater. We must, in this way, account for the 
 astonishing population of the vale of Mexico, when 
 first known to the Spaniards ; perhaps equal to any 
 district of the same extent.* The prodigious 
 
 * See Humboldt, Vol. II. page 127. 
 25 
 
194 ^ AVESTERN ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 population of Owyhee, and Otaheite, must be ac- 
 counted for in the same way. There are certainly 
 many districts on the Ohio and Mississippi equally 
 favourable to a numerous population. When I con- 
 templated the beauty and fertility of those spots, I 
 could scarcely believe it possible, that they should 
 never have supported a numerous population; such 
 a fact would form an exception to what has usually 
 occurred, in every other part of the globe. 
 
 II. In the valley of the Mississippi, there are 
 discovered the traces of two distinct races of people, 
 or periods of population, one much more ancient 
 than the other. The traces of the last are the most 
 numerous, but mark a population less advanced in 
 civilization ; in fact, they belong to the same race 
 that existed in the country when the French and 
 English effected their settlements on this part of 
 the continent : but since the intercourse of these 
 people with the whites, and their very great dimi- 
 nution in numbers, many of their customs have fallen 
 into disuse. It is not more than a hundred and 
 twenty years, since the character of the population, 
 which left the traces of the second period, under- 
 went a change. The appearances of fortifications, 
 of which so much has been said, and which have 
 been attributed to a colony of Welch, are nothing 
 more than the traces of palisadoed towns or villages. 
 The first travellers mention this custom of surround- 
 ing their towns with palisades; the earth was 
 
WESTERN ANTiqUITIES. 195 
 
 thrown up a few feet, and pickets placed on the top 
 I have seen old volumes in which they are repre- 
 sented in the engravings.* The Arikara and Man= 
 dan villages are still fortified in this way. The 
 traces of these are exceedingly numerous in the 
 western country ; I should not exaggerate if I were 
 to say that jive thousand might be found. Some 
 of them enclose more than a hundred acres. From 
 some cause or other (and we know that there are 
 enough which might sufiice to effect it,) the popu- 
 lation had been greatly diminished immediate- 
 ly before we became acquainted with them ; and 
 yet Charlevoix mentions a town of the Mascutin 
 tribe (at present incorporated with the Kickapoos,) 
 containing a thousand families ! The barrows, or 
 general receptacles of the dead, such as examined 
 by yourself, may be classed with the palisadoed 
 towns, though they are much more numerous ; they 
 are in fact to be found in almost every cornfield in 
 the western country. The tumuli or mounds, are 
 often met with, where there is no appearance of 
 palisadoed villages or fortifications, or of barrows. 
 III. The first and more ancient period, is marked 
 by those extraordinary tumuli or mounds. I have 
 reason to believe that their antiquity is very great. 
 
 * These are to be seen in many old volumes in the pre- 
 sent library of congress, which contains the most valuable 
 collection of books on America to be found in any part of 
 the world. 
 
196 WESTERN ANTlqUITIES. 
 
 The oldest Indians have no tradition as to their au- 
 thors, or the purposes for which they were origi- 
 nally intended ; yet they were formerly, I might 
 almost say instinctively, in the habit of using them 
 for one of the purposes for which they were at first 
 designed, to wit, as places of defence. The old 
 chief, Du Coin, told Mr. Rice Jones that the mounds 
 in the American bottom, had been fortified by the 
 Kaskaskias in their wars with the Iroquois. An old 
 work by Lafitau, a Jesuit, which I met with at New 
 Orleans, contains a curious plate, in which one of 
 these mounds, fortified by palisades on the top, and 
 large beams extending to the bottom, is assaulted by 
 enemies. These tumuli as well as the fortifications, 
 are to be found at the junction of all the consider- 
 able rivers, in the most eligible positions for towns, 
 and in the most extensive bodies of fertile land. 
 Their number exceeds perhaps three thousand; the 
 smallest not less than twenty feet in height, and one 
 hundred in diameter at the base. Their great 
 number, and the astonishing size of some of them, 
 may be regarded as furnishing, with other circum- 
 stances, evidence of their antiquity. I have been 
 sometimes induced to think that at the period when 
 those mounds were constructed, there existed on the 
 Mississippi, a population as numerous as that which 
 once animated the borders of the Nile, or of the 
 Euphrates, or of Mexico and Peru. 
 
 IV. The most numerous, as well as the most con- 
 
WESTERN ANTIQUITIES, 197 
 
 siderable of these remains, are found precisely in 
 the part of the country where the traces of a nu- 
 merous population might be looked for, to wit, from 
 the mouth of the Ohio (on the east side of the Mis- 
 sissippi) to the Illinois river, and on the west side 
 from the St. Francis to the Missouri. I am per- 
 fectly satisfied that cities similar to those of ancient 
 Mexico, of several hundred thousand souls, have 
 existed in this part of the country. Nearly oppo- 
 site St. Louis there are the traces of two such 
 cities, in the distance of five miles, on the bank of 
 the Cohokia, which crosses the American bottom at 
 this place.* There are not less than one hundred 
 mounds, in two different groups ; one of the mounds 
 falls little short of the Egyptian pyramid Mycerius. 
 When I examined it in 1811, I was surprised that 
 this stupendous monument of antiquity should have 
 been unnoticed by any traveller : I afterwards pub- 
 lished an account in the newspapers at St. Louis, 
 detailing its dimensions, describing its form, posi- 
 tion, &c. but this, which I thought might almost be 
 considered a discovery, attracted no notice : and yet 
 I stated it to be eight hundred paces in circumfer- 
 ence (the exact size of the pyramid of Asychis) and 
 one hundred feet in height. The mounds at Grave 
 
 * See the chapter on the Antiquities of the Valley of 
 the Mississippi, in the "Views of Louisiana," by the au- 
 thor of this Memoir, p. 181. Pittsburp^ edition, 1814. 
 
198 WESTERN ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 Creek and Marietta are of the second or third class. 
 The mounds at St. Louis, at New Madrid, and at 
 the commencement of Black River, are all larger 
 than those of Marietta. The following is an enu- 
 meration of the most considerable mounds on the 
 Mississippi and on the Ohio ; the greater part I 
 examined myself with such attention as the short 
 time I had to spare would permit. 
 
 1 . At Great Creek, below Wheeling. 
 
 2. At Pittsburgh. 
 
 3. At Marietta. 
 
 4. At Cincinnati. 
 
 5. At New Madrid — one of them 350 feet dia- 
 meter at the base. 
 
 6. Bois Brule bottom, fifteen miles below St. 
 Genevieve. 
 
 7. At St. Genevieve. 
 
 8. Mouth of the Marameck. 
 
 9. St. Louis — one with two stages, another with 
 
 three. 
 
 10. Mouth of the Missouri. 
 
 11. On the Cohokia river — in two groups. 
 
 12. Twenty miles below — two groups also, but 
 the mounds of a smaller size — on the back of a lake, 
 formerly the bed of the river. 
 
 13. Near Washington, (M. T.) 146 feet in 
 
 height. 
 
 14. At Baton Rouge, and on the bayou Manchac 
 
WESTERN ANTiqUITIES, 199 
 
 —one of the mounds near the lake is chiefly com- 
 posed of shells — the inhabitants have taken away 
 great quantities of these for the purpose of making 
 lime. 
 
 15. The mound on Black River, of two stages, 
 with a group around it. 
 
 At each of these places there are groups of 
 mounds ; and at each there probably once existed a 
 city. On the other considerable rivers which are 
 tributary to the Ohio and Mississippi, in Kentucky, 
 Tennessee, state of Ohio, Indiana Territory, &c. 
 they are equally numerous. But the principal city 
 and centre of population was between the Ohio, 
 Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois. I have been in- 
 formed, that in the plains between the Arkansa and 
 St» Francis, they are numerous, and some very large. 
 They resemble the Teocalli, in these important 
 features, 1. In their positions the cardinal points 
 are observed with considerable accuracy. 2. The 
 larger mounds have several stages. 3. In every 
 group there are two mounds much larger than the 
 others. 4. The smaller mounds are placed around 
 symmetrically. A closer examination would show 
 a resemblance in other particulars. It is doubted 
 by Humboldt whether advantage had not been taken 
 of some natural rise, in the formation of the pyra- 
 mid of Cholula ; with respect to the mound of Co- 
 hokia, there can be no doubt, for it stands in the 
 
200 WESTERN ANTiqUITIES. 
 
 midst of alluvium, and there is no natural hill nearer 
 than two miles.* 
 
 Such are the appearances of antiquity in the 
 western country, which I consider as furnishing 
 proof of an ancient and numerous population. The 
 resemblance to those of New Spain would render 
 probable the existence of the same arts and customs; 
 perhaps of an intercourse. The distance from the 
 large mound on Red river, to the nearest in New 
 Spain, is not so great but that they might be con- 
 sidered as living in the same country. 
 
 From the description of the Adoratorios, as they 
 are called, it appears highly probable that the 
 mounds on the Mississippi were destined for the 
 same purposes. Solis tells us, that every consider- 
 able place had a number of them, upon which a 
 kind of tower was erected, and which gave rise to 
 the belief of those who first visited the coast of New 
 Spain, that they had seen cities with numerous 
 steeples ;t from which circumstance they bestowed 
 upon it the name of their native country. The four 
 
 * See the account of the Teocalli of New Spain, by 
 Humboldt, pages 16, 41, 44, 123, 170, &c. vol. II. New 
 York edition, 1811. 
 
 t Dr. Robertson, who is disposed to lessen every thing 
 American, and to treat with contempt unworthy of a phi- 
 losopher, all their arts and advancement in civilization, 
 attributes this to the imaginations of the Spaniards, in- 
 flamed with the spirit of Quixotic adventure. 
 
WESTERN ANTIQUITIES. 201 
 
 great cities to which the general name of Mexico 
 was given, contained two thousand of these Adora- 
 torios or Teocalli ; at the first glance this vast po- 
 pulation, equal perhaps to London or Paris, appear- 
 ed to be crowned with innumerable towers and 
 steeples. Architecture was perhaps too much in 
 its infancy to enable them to build to any great 
 height ; a mound was therefore raised, and a build- 
 ing erected on the top. It was in this way the 
 temple of Belus at Babylon was erected, and the 
 Egyptian pyramids of the second class, which are 
 solid, and probably the most ancient. Besides be- 
 ing places of adoration, the Teocalli also served as 
 fortresses ; they were usually the last places, to 
 which the inhabitants of the cities conquered by 
 Cortez, resorted, after having been driven from 
 every other quarter. They were enabled from the 
 position, form, and the tower on the top, to defend 
 themselves in these situations to great advantage. 
 Placed from the bottom to the top of the mount, 
 by gradations above each other, they appeared (as 
 Solis in his animated style expresses it) to consti- 
 tute ^^a living hill ;" and at first, judging only from 
 the experience of their own wars, they fancied them- 
 selves unassailable. 
 
 From the oldest book extant, the Bible, we see 
 exemplified in numerous instances, the natural pre- 
 dilection for resorting to high places, for the pur- 
 pose of worship ; this prevailed amongst all nations, 
 26 
 
202 WESTERN ANTIQUITIES. 
 
 and probably the first edifice dedicated to the Deity, 
 was an elevation of earth, the next step was the 
 placing a temple on it, and finally, churches and 
 mosques were built with steeples. This having pre- 
 vailed in all countries, may be considered as the 
 dictate of nature. The most ancient temples of the 
 Greeks were erected on artificial or natural eleva- 
 tions of earth; at the present day, almost every part 
 of Europe and Asia, exhibits these remains of tu- 
 muli, the rudest, though perhaps the most lasting 
 of human works.* The mausoleum generally holds 
 the next place to the temple; and, what is remark- 
 able, all nations in their wars have made the last 
 stand in the edifices consecrated to their gods, and 
 near to the tombs of their ancestors. The Jldora- 
 torios of New Spain, like all works of the kind, 
 answered the three purposes, of the temple, the for- 
 tress, and the mausoleum. Can we entertain a doubt 
 but that this was also the case with those of the 
 Mississippi ? 
 
 The antiquity of these mounds is certainly very 
 great; this is not inferred from the growth of trees, 
 which prove an antiquity of a few centuries, but 
 from this simple reflection ; a people capable of 
 works requiring so much labour, must be nume- 
 rous, and if numerous, somewhat advanced in the 
 
 * See Appendix to Volney's View of America, Clark's 
 Travels in Russia, &c. 
 
WKSTERN ANTHQUITIES. 203 
 
 arts ; we might therefore look for works of stone or 
 brick, the traces of which would remain for at least 
 eight or ten centuries. The great mound of Coho- 
 kia, is evidently constructed with as much regulari- 
 ty as any of the Teocalli of New Spain, and was 
 doubtless cased with brick or stone, and crowned 
 with buildings ; but of these no traces remain. Near 
 the mound at St. Louis, there are a few decaying 
 stones, but which may have been casually brought 
 there. The pyramid of Papantla, in the northern 
 part of the Intendency of Vera Cruz, unknown to 
 the first conquerors, and discovered a few years ago, 
 was still partly cased with bricks. We might be 
 warranted in considering the mounds of the Missis- 
 sippi more ancient than the Teocalli : a fact worthy 
 of notice, although the stages are still plain in some 
 of them; the gradations or steps have disappeared, 
 in the course of time the rains having washed them 
 off. The pieces of obsidian or flint, are found in 
 great quantities near them, as is the case with the 
 Teocalli. Some might be startled if I should say 
 that the mound of Cohokia is as ancient as those of 
 Egypt! The Mexicans possessed but imperfect tra- 
 ditions of the construction of their Teocalli ; their 
 traditions attribute them to the Toultees, or to the 
 Olmecs, who probably migrated from the Missis- 
 sippi. 
 
 Who will pretend to speak with certainty as to 
 the antiquity of America — the races of men who 
 
204 WESTERN Antiquities. 
 
 have flourished and disappeared — of the thousand 
 revohitions, which, like other parts of the glohe, it 
 has undergone? The philosophers of Europe, with 
 a narrowness and selfishness of mind, have endeav- 
 oured to depreciate every thing which relates to 
 it. They have called it the J\''ew World, as though 
 its formation was posterior to the rest of the habita- 
 ble globe. A few facts suffice to repel this idea: — 
 the antiquity of her mountains, the remains of vol- 
 canoes, the alluvial tracts, the wearing away of cata- 
 racts, &c., and the number of primitive languages, 
 greater perhaps than in all the rest of the world be- 
 sides. 
 
 The use of letters, and the discovery of the ma- 
 riner's compass, the invention of gunpowder and of 
 printing, have produced incalculable changes in the 
 old world. I question much, whether, before those 
 periods, comparatively recent, there existed, or 
 could exist, nations more civilized than the Mexi- 
 cans, or Peruvians. In morals, the Greeks and Ro- 
 mans, in their most enlightened days, were not 
 superior to the Mexicans. We are told that these 
 people sacrificed human beings to their gods ! Did 
 not the Romans sacrifice their unfortunate prison- 
 ers to their depraved and wicked pleasures, com- 
 pelling them to kill each other? Was the sacrifice 
 of Ephigenia, to obtain a favourable wind, an act of 
 less barbarity than the sacrifices by the Mexicans 
 of their prisoners on the altar of their gods? The 
 
WESTERN ANTiqUITIES. 205 
 
 Peruvians were exempt from these crimes— perhaps 
 the mildest and most innocent people that ever lived, 
 and in the arts as much advanced as were the ancient 
 Persians or Egyptians; and not only in the arts, but 
 even in the sciences. Was ever any work of the 
 old world superior to the two roads from Quito to 
 Cusco? 
 
 Pardon me, sir, for troubling you with this long, 
 and perhaps tiresome letter, dictated probably by 
 the vanity of personally communicating my crude 
 theories to one who holds so distinguished a place in 
 that temple of science, which belongs to every age 
 and every country. 
 
 With sentiments of the highest respect, 
 I am. Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient. 
 Humble servant, 
 
 H. M. Brackenridge. 
 
LETTER 
 
 ON THE 
 
 CULTURE OF LIVE OAK, 
 
 TO THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY. 
 
 BY 
 
 H. M. BRACKENRIDGE. 
 
 SL Rosa, 1st June, 1828. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 In compliance with your request, I now commu- 
 nicate some of my ideas on the subject of the cul- 
 ture of the live oak, and the mode of employing, to 
 the best advantage, the public land to be reserved 
 at this place. 
 
 The live oak [quercus virens) is one of the most 
 valuable timber trees our country produces, and is 
 unequalled for the frames of vessels. There is no 
 wood superior, if there be any equal to it, in 
 strength, buoyancy and durability. It is found 
 principally south of latitude 34°, along our Atlantic 
 coast, but its favourite region is the southern part of 
 the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and of Florida, 
 and in the latter only it is now found in sufficient 
 quantities to be worth the attention of the govern- 
 ment. Michaud, the botanist, is of opinion, that, 
 
CULTURE OF LIVE OAK. 207 
 
 in the course of fifty or sixty years, this valuable 
 timber tree will entirely disappear, on account of 
 the greatness of the demand for it, and the limited 
 quantity to be found. The live oak tree at a dis- 
 tance, has the appearance of a large apple, or pear 
 tree; its spreading and picturesque top, and deli- 
 cate olive-shaped leaves, of a deep shining green, 
 render it extremely beautiful. It is one of the most 
 magnificent and delightful shade trees in the world, 
 but it is not found in continuous forests of any ex- 
 tent, like other species of the oak. It loves solitary 
 and detached situations ; it requires a free circula- 
 tion of air, and must have ample space to extend 
 its prodigious horizontal branches. One of these 
 branches which I measured some years ago, I found 
 seventy-five feet in length, and the extremity was 
 so low, that I could reach it from the ground. From 
 this peculiar habit, it rarely attains its JTull size any 
 where except on the margins of rivers, on the shores 
 of the bays and sounds, and on the edges of the open 
 ponds, seldom extending any distance back, which 
 I consider entirely owing to the being crowded by 
 other trees, and consequently to the want of proper 
 space ; for there are instances of beautiful groves 
 of twenty or thirty acres, on the coast of Georgia, 
 where they have been nursed with care, and allow- 
 ed sufficient room to spread. Twenty or thirty 
 trees to an acre are as many as ought to be allow- 
 ed to remain, in order to come to full perfection, 
 
208 CULTURE OF 
 
 although they might be permitted to grow closer 
 together, for some purposes ; but in order to form 
 those curious and valuable crooks, so much esteem- 
 ed for knees or fettocks, and other timbers of vessels, 
 it is necessary that they should be permitted to ex- 
 pand as much as possible. For beams, stems, stern 
 posts, transoms, top timber, and bow timber, it will 
 be an advantage to grow somewhat closer in order 
 to form longer and larger bodies. But a vessel 
 would require three or four hundred of the smaller 
 pieces, and of the others but a limited number ; for 
 each ship but one stem and stern post is required, 
 although these are generally in two pieces. The 
 live oak is naturally inclined to spread, as is in fact 
 the case with most trees growing in a deep, loose, 
 sandy soil; while in a rich and firm loam, they 
 shoot up into tall and vigorous stems with short 
 lateral branches. It is on account of its requiring 
 so much space, that in the natural forests, these 
 trees are rarely met with in groves of more than 
 fifty or a hundred trees, and that usually on some 
 narrow point of land, with an open space, or water, 
 on each side. 
 
 When the live oak is cut down, it is not neces- 
 sarily destroyed; that is, the stump does not rot or 
 die; and even where the'roots are dug up (and I am 
 told they are the most valuable part of the tree) 
 like the chesnut or locust, the roots that remain in 
 the ground, or the stump of the tree, send up vigor- 
 
LIVE OAK. 209 
 
 ous shoots of such rapid growth as to form large 
 trees in a third of the time which was required by 
 the parent stem. Under favourable circumstances, 
 fifty or sixty years from the acorn, I should think 
 sufiicient for live oak to attain its growth. Some 
 of the finest trees I have seen, are found on the 
 ruins of the old forts and villages in the Tallahassee 
 country, frequently growing out of masses of bricks; 
 and as those settlements were destroyed in 1706, 
 we may fix with certainty the longest period which 
 it required for them to attain their present enor- 
 mous magnitude. These have evidently been in 
 a state of decay for half a century, owing to the 
 close forests of other trees which have grown up 
 around and overtopped them. They at first, no 
 doubt, occupied open spaces, and to all appearance, 
 must have attained their present size in fifty or 
 sixty years. The live oak being an evergreen, 
 does not, like others, show its age by the concentric 
 circles, for it grows in winter as well as in sum- 
 mer. I should think, that a tree of fifty years old 
 from the acorn, ought to be fit for most uses in ship 
 building — although after it attains a certain size, in 
 a shorter period, its progress is more slow, if de- 
 prived of the necessary space and air. I have ex- 
 amined a tree, growing in a yard near Pensacola, 
 the trunk of which is now at least^'two feet in di- 
 ameter ; and w^hich the owner told me was so small 
 twenty years ago, that he bent the two principal 
 27 
 
210 CULTURE OF 
 
 limbs with his hands, and fixed them with stakes, so 
 as to give them a particular inclination. In the 
 neighbourhood of Charleston I have seen noble trees, 
 which I was told had been planted since the revo- 
 lutionary war. A number of young live oaks, which 
 I found growing around the spot where I built my 
 house, have increased at least one-third in size with- 
 in six years, from being carefully pruned and freed 
 from the encroachment of other trees. I can there- 
 fore speak with confidence derived from experience, 
 on the advantage of nursing those which we find 
 already set by the hand of nature, for they often 
 have the advantage of a root a hundred or perhaps 
 five hundred years old. In the neighbourhood of a 
 live oak grove there are always thickets of young 
 plants which have sprung from the acorn, or from 
 the roots of trees cut down, or gone to decay — 
 these thickets are so close as to form impervious 
 hedges, and it is to such places I should look for 
 plants to set out elsewhere, or to thin out and cul- 
 tivate those already growing. The only use in 
 planting acorns is to form nurseries, and here are 
 natural nurseries of millions of young trees, from 
 five to fifteen years old. 
 
 I am acquainted with no forest tree that im- 
 proves more rapidly by attention and care than the 
 live oak; and those which have been nursed for 
 shade are universally.found more valuable than those 
 which grow spontaneously, particularly as to the 
 
•LIVE OAK. 211 
 
 soundness of the timber, owing principally to their 
 roots being kept clear from bark or litter, which 
 have a tendency to cause rotten places at the foot 
 of the tree, or to afford material for the fires, which 
 occasionally pass through the woods. The prun- 
 ing the lower limbs, also, when they have a ten- 
 dency to decay, must contribute much to preserve 
 the trunk sound, and in the young ones this opera- 
 tion is indispensable where it is desirable that the 
 trunk shall not be low, the live oak being naturally 
 inclined to form very short trunks, in length not 
 more than six or eight feet, before it is lost in large 
 branches. In fact, by proper pruning, the tree 
 would be made to assume almost any shape, and 
 crooks, and smaller pieces might frequently be 
 lopped off without any material injury to it. An 
 old Spanish ship-carpenter, who had not been 
 at this spot for ten or fifteen years, expressed his 
 astonishment to me the other day, at the appearance 
 of the large live oaks here, which, he told me, 
 within his recollection had almost been stripped 
 naked of limbs for crooks, but they had since form- 
 ed others of such a size as scarcely to show where 
 they had been cut. The dead trunk of a live oak, 
 will stand half a century without decay; and the 
 place where a limb has been cut off, will look per- 
 fectly sound for years— in fact, the wood appears al- 
 most incorruptible. In situations not favourable to 
 the growth of the tree, it will no doubt remain a 
 
212 CULTURE OJ 
 
 long time without making much progress; moist 
 situations, in general, suit it best— some of the finest 
 I have seen, grew on the edge of ponds, where their 
 roots must have been continually in water ; and even 
 where they grow on high situations, I have found, 
 in digging wells, that their roots had penetrated 
 some twenty or thirty feet in pursuit of moisture. 
 
 Having given this brief sketch of the natural his- 
 tory of the live oak, I shall proceed to the subject 
 to which you have been pleased to call my attention. 
 
 This point, or tongue of land, is certainly the most 
 advantageous that could possibly be selected, for the 
 purpose of making a fair experiment of the cultiva- 
 tion or preservation of the live oak. The weight of 
 the wood is so great, that it will not bear land tran- 
 sportation, but for very short distances; the planta- 
 tion ought, therefore, to be near the coast, and 
 being in the immediate vicinity of the navy yard, 
 the value and adaptation of almost every tree, can 
 be known ; on this narrow peninsula, the land tran- 
 sportation need not exceed three-quarters of a mile. 
 At present, live oak has to be culled and collected 
 from a variety of places, at a multiplied cost, where- 
 as, by having a large plantation, every kind of tim- 
 ber might be met with in a small space ; and this 
 spot, being so completely detached and without in- 
 habitants, will be readily placed under the com- 
 plete control of the government. For at least fifteen 
 miles, to Williams's creek, it is, in spots of several 
 
LIVE OAK. 213 
 
 hundred acres, already thickly set with young live 
 oak, as well as occasional groves of fine trees ; and 
 there are many tracts of five hundred or a thousand 
 acres of low, open, and moist pine woods, and sa- 
 vannas, where the experiment of planting may be 
 made at small expense ; for they will neither require 
 enclosing, nor clearing. This point, also, abounds 
 with a very valuable yellow pine, remarkable for 
 the fineness of its grain, and freedom from sap, and 
 which would be valuable for beams and other pur- 
 poses in ship building. 
 
 The first consideration, and that which should 
 precede every other, is the expenditure, in the pro- 
 posed undertaking, and the advantage, either im- 
 mediately or remotely, to be derived from that 
 expenditure; for although it be a national Q\)\tQ,t, 
 to have in store the best materials for the construc- 
 tion of our ships of war, yet that object, important 
 as it is, may be attained at too great an expenditure 
 of the public money. In this situation, I think, how- 
 ever, it will be found not to exceed that which 
 would be fully justified, even considering it only as 
 an experiment, but an experiment worthy of an 
 enlightened nation, in a matter of the highest impor- 
 tance, and that consistently with the strictest atten- 
 tion to economy. Great Britain, a century ago, 
 began to find serious difficulty in procuring a suffi- 
 cient supply of the navy oak, (a kind, I am inform- 
 ed, resembling our post oak,) when those plantations 
 
214 CULTURE OF 
 
 were suggested, and eiFected, by a private gentle- 
 man, (Evelyn,) consisting of many millions of trees, 
 which at this day, form an ample, and permanent, 
 supply of a very valuable timber. But the navy oak 
 is admitted to be greatly inferior to our live oak; 
 a plant, which seems no where else to be found, ex- 
 cepting on our coast; as if to indicate the element 
 on which our countrymen are destined to surpass 
 every other people in enterprise and skill. The 
 practice of forming private plantations, was at that 
 period generally introduced, and at this day con- 
 stitutes one of the most important items, in estimat- 
 ing the value of landed estate in England. In that 
 country, where the value of every thing is reduced 
 to exact calculation, a person can obtain the pre- 
 sent value of his plantation of oaks, formed upon an 
 estimate of their value, some twenty-five or thirty 
 years hence.* This calculation is made on the prin- 
 
 * The investment of capital for the purpose of accumula- 
 tion merely, is but little known in this country; and in Eng- 
 land, it was not much before the reign of queen Ann, 
 that it was well understood. The idea that the capital 
 thus employed remained dead and unavailable, was the 
 reason why people did not choose to invest their money 
 in this wayj but since it can be transferred from hand to 
 hand, like other stock, the objection is in a great measure 
 removed. The comparative estimate of the accumulation 
 of money, and that from plantations, may be seen from 
 the following; arithmetical criteria: 
 
 "-" Interest. 
 
 S2 at simple interest of 6 per cent, would yield 
 
 at the expiration of twenty-five years, S3 00 
 
LIVE OAK. 215 
 
 ciple of annuities, and without going into details, I 
 will assume it as proved, that a tree which will be 
 
 Funded in 6 per cent, stock at par, incorpo- 
 rating the half yearly dividends for the 
 same term of twenty-five years, would 
 yield, : - - - 6 76f 
 
 This is merely the progressive compound 
 
 interest every six months. 
 
 Invested in plantations so as to produce at 
 the expiration of twenty-five years, an ag- 
 gregate of twenty-five dollars, would be 
 in the following ratio : 
 
 Equal to compound interest every six 
 months for twenty-five years, at 17 per 
 cent. 
 
 Equal to 6 per cent, bought at par, in a ra- 
 tio of accumulation of interest every six 
 months, for seventy years. 
 
 Equal to one hundred and ninety-one years 
 eight months, of simple interest, at 6 per 
 cent. 
 
 Comparative Results. 
 
 Investment, ut supra, - - S25 00 
 
 By the operation of funding every six 
 
 months, - . . ge 76| 
 
 Nucleus, or original stock, - 2 00 
 
 8 76| 
 
 Leaving a result in favour of such invest- 
 ment of gl6 23i 
 Or nearly 200 per cent, more than by funding, which 
 
215 CULTURE OF 
 
 worth twenty dollars, at the distance of twenty-five 
 years from this day, ought not to be worth more, at 
 present, than two dollars ; that sum then would be 
 the highest price that could be obtained for a planta- 
 tion already established, and in a flourishing condi- 
 tion. Although considered as a national object, a 
 different estimate might be made, from that which 
 would govern individual transactions, where the 
 interest of money would be the ruling considera- 
 tion, yet there ought to be some standard by which 
 to estimate the expense, so that the live oak, how- 
 could only be practicable on a scale, when the half yearly 
 dividends would be of a sufficient amount to reinvest, and 
 supposing the stock not to be susceptible of change. Such 
 a state of things, is, however, altogether unknown to what 
 is technically called the monied interest, and is merely 
 stated as a pro-forma hypothesis. Very different is the 
 reality; all stocks are liable to continual fluctuation, and 
 each reinvestment would require the intervention of a 
 broker, or agent, whose commissions would absorb a con- 
 siderable share of the re-duplication of interest. Of late 
 years, pecuniary capital, from its comparative great abun- 
 dance, competition in the monied market, and numerous 
 other concurring causes, has been less and less productive. 
 The United States 6 per cent, are now at 102f. From 
 these data, it will readily be conceded that such an invest- 
 ment would exceed the closest operation of funding in a 
 ratio of 225 pr. ct. at the minimum. Upon the system of 
 what are called annuities in fee simple, such an investment 
 would be equivalent to 150 years purchase. 
 
LIVE OAK. 217 
 
 A. 
 
 ever important and necessary, should not be ob- 
 tained at a price greatly exceeding its value. In 
 addition to present cost, an annual allowance should 
 be made, until the tree becomes lit for use, but in 
 the whole, to keep within its value at that pe- 
 riod. 
 
 Thus, ten thousand trees, at the average value of 
 twenty dollars, (which I do not think out of the 
 way, as the wood is worth a dollar a cubic foot at 
 the navy yard,) fifty years hence, when fit for use, 
 would be worth two hundred thousand dollars, and 
 the present cost ought not to exceed one dollar each, 
 or ten thousand dollars — but this is supposing the 
 longest time, before they would be fit for use, and 
 and it is supposing that the price of all kinds of tim- 
 ber, and this especially, will not be greatly enhanced 
 by the alterations in our country, as well as from a 
 greater scarcity. Here then is the maximum of pre- 
 sent expenditure, and if that expense exceeds a dol- 
 lar a tree, on the estimate of. fifty years, or two 
 dollars, supposing them fit for use in twenty-five, 
 which v^'ould amount to twenty dollars — unless it be 
 on a small scale for mere experiment, I would not 
 advise the government to undertake it. But, on the 
 plan which I suggest, it will be seen, that the ex- 
 pense falls far below that amount. 
 
 I would endeavour, in the first place, to combine, 
 as far as practicable, immediate advantage with fu- 
 ture benefit; present d^nii certain benefit, with mat= 
 28 
 
218 CULTURE OF 
 
 ter of experiment, however promising. The first 
 thing, therefore, would be to take care of the trees 
 already planted by the hand of nature, and, by 
 proper pains and attention, accelerate and improve 
 their growth. In the next place, to plant trees of 
 the largest size, that will bear transplanting, in situa- 
 tions the most favourable, and where their culture 
 will be attended with the least exipense. This point, 
 where I reside, may contain about four thousand 
 acres, and until we reach the open, grassy woods of 
 long-leafed pine, the whole, or nearly the whole, is 
 already thickly set with live oaks of every size, and 
 will require no planting ; but they are intermixed 
 with short-leafed, or old field pine, with a variety 
 of shrubs, and water-oaks, rendering the whole an 
 impassable jungle. Within this tract, (to which I 
 would recommend that the first operations should 
 be in a great measure confined,) there may be found 
 about four hundred full grown trees, fit for any 
 purposes of shipbuilding, andabout/owr thousand 
 thrifty young trees, from four to twelve inches in 
 diameter, which, with proper care, may be fit for 
 use in ten or fifteen years. The attention and expense 
 bestowed upon these, cannot be considered as expe- 
 riment—the benefit would be certain. But the prin- 
 cipal operation, and which would not be as certain as 
 the last, although much more so than planting, would 
 be to clear out a given number, say ten thousand 
 young trees, having the advantage of old roots, of two 
 
LIVE OAK. 219 
 
 inches and upwards in diameter. I think the clear- 
 ing away a few yards round each tree, would suffice 
 to give room and air, and in addition, the open- 
 ing wide avenues for the latter purpose would be 
 adviseable ; this opinion is derived from observing 
 the effect of the military road, where the young 
 live oaks on each side, have doubled the growth of 
 those some distance off. The full grown trees would 
 acquire some little attention also ; I would cut away 
 all the pines, water-oaks and hickories around them, 
 which would produce a large quantity of firewood, 
 that might be cut up afterwards for the supply of 
 the navy yard. I think I would even recommend 
 the cutting down some of those trees which have 
 attained such a size as not to promise much increase ; 
 the timber being cut to mould, and transported to 
 the navy yard, might be preserved in sheds for a 
 hundred years, without any other inconvenience 
 than that of becoming so hard as to break the tools 
 of workmen. I would recommend this plan gene- 
 rally for all the live oak on the sound, the Choctaw- 
 hatchy Bay, and other places convenient to the yard 
 ---but this might be done at any time, and is only 
 suggested for this reason, that if the natural stems 
 were cut away, the young sprouts might be nursed 
 into fine trees in a shorter time than by any other 
 mode j at least, the accumulation of bark and trash 
 about their roots ought to be cleared away. There 
 are some truly noble live oaks on this point, which 
 
220 CULTURE OF 
 
 are well deserving of some attention. As to the 
 plantations, I would be content the first year with 
 setting out a few thousand trees in the open savan- 
 nas, immediately above the tract of which I have 
 been speaking, and if they will readily take root, 
 these plantations would have many advantages; there 
 would be less trouble in keeping down other growth, 
 there being nothing but grass and scattering pines, 
 and the pine once cut dov/n never sprouts. These 
 first plantations I would at first regard as entirely 
 experimental, and to be made with much care. 
 The proper season and the best mode of transplant- 
 ing evergreens is not well known; by planting at dif- 
 ferent times and in different ways they would soon 
 be ascertained. It will be entirely unnecessary to 
 grub or clear the ground, or enclose it, as was done 
 in the small experiment at the navy yard. The 
 wild grass should be cut away a few yards around 
 the plant ; the grass is easily killed, and its destruc- 
 tion in the immediate vicinity of the tree, will be 
 a great defence from the fires, the only thing to be 
 much dreaded. I have watched with a good deal 
 of interest the plantations of live oak on the public 
 square in Pensacola — but three of the trees have 
 taken root, but these are growing handsomely. I 
 found on inquiry, that the corporation had given a 
 dollar a piece for handsome young trees, ten or 
 twelve feet high, but they were taken up with very 
 little root, planted too deep in the ground, and 
 
LIVE OAK. 221 
 
 were never watered. Those planted at the Can- 
 tonment have all taken root, and are flourishing, 
 while those at the navy yard have shared the fate 
 of those at Pensacola. 
 
 With ten labourers I would engage to clear out 
 ten thousand of the youngest trees, in the manner I 
 propose, in one year, and plant from one to three 
 thousand^ so that five hands would suffice, not only 
 to take care of them during the succeeding years, 
 but to make annual additions of from one thousand 
 to five thousand. But in order to clear and prune 
 the four hundred full grown trees, and the four 
 thousand half grown, it would require the aid of 
 ten additional labourers for one year. My plan of 
 operation, it will be seen, for the first year, is en- 
 tirely confined to the/owr or jive tliousand acres m 
 this im?7iediate viciiiity, and perhaps a few miles in 
 the open pine woods. In the course of two or three 
 years, after seeing the success of the present under- 
 taking, other subordinate establishments might be 
 made between this and Williams' creek, at two or 
 three of the principal natural groves of live oaky 
 where the full grown trees, the half grown and the 
 young ones may be treated in the same way, and 
 adjacent plantations formed. Two or three poor 
 families would be glad to settle at Twitchell's, Al- 
 lis', and Williams' Hammocks, where there is some 
 land cleared, and they would be useful to keep the 
 fires out of the woods ; a very small compensation 
 
222 CULTUHE OF 
 
 would satisfy them, as they could be engaged as 
 labourers. Persons passing and repassing in boats 
 along the Sound, to ascend the Choctawhatchy 
 river, after encamping, leave their fires burning, 
 which communicate with the grassy savannas, and 
 every few years, in very dry weather, and when 
 the leaves have accumulated, it penetrates into the 
 thick woods, doing much injury. A few poor In- 
 dian families, also, have made this their hunting 
 ground, but there would be no difficulty in keep- 
 ing them away. 
 
 My estimate of the expense of the first year 
 would be as follows : 
 
 For 20 labourers for one year, at Sl5 a 
 month, 300 working days, - - 84,000 
 
 For rations, &c. - - - 1,000 
 
 Cart, oxen, boat and tools, - - 300 
 
 85,300 
 Salary of superintendent, - 700 
 
 Overseer, _ , . 500 
 
 86,500 
 A few hundred dollars would be required in ad- 
 dition, for quarters, store houses, and other tempo- 
 rary buildings. But I would not recommend an 
 expenditure of more than ten thousand dollars at 
 the outside, until the reports and opinions of per- 
 sons in whom the government place full confidence 
 
LIVE OAK. 
 
 223 
 
 shall have given satisfactory assurance of at least 
 fair prospects of success, in the further prosecution 
 of the experiment. If ten labourers only be allowed, 
 it will be recollected that the expense will not be 
 reduced in proportion ; the saving would only be 
 in their wages and rations ; and I would recommend 
 even continuing the ten labourers the second year, 
 but after that, with occasional assistance, five would 
 suffice. It would probably take several years to 
 make a fair trial, particularly in the transplanted 
 trees. According to my estimate, the present 
 value of the four hundred full grown trees, would 
 be eight thousand dollars, and of the four thousand 
 trees, half grown, at five dollars, twenty thousand 
 dollars ; several thousand cords of fire-wood could 
 at the same time be obtained, with a little addi- 
 tional expense. Ten thousand dollars would be 
 money safely expended for national objects like 
 this, so far as they have a present or a certain value. * 
 
 * The author was authorized by Mr. Southard, in pur- 
 suance of the plan here proposed, to appoint an overseer, 
 and employ twenty hands. This was accordingly done, 
 and the work commenced last February. Two quarterly 
 returns have been made, and much greater progress has 
 been exhibited than was expected^ upwards oi forty thou- 
 sand trees have been cleared and pruned. They have been 
 classed according to their sizes, in the following manner: 
 
 Full grown trees. 
 
 Six inches and 
 over. 
 
 Between '2 and 
 6 incites. 
 
 Two and under. 
 
 Total. 
 
 40 
 
 977 
 
 15,666 
 
 5,629 
 
 22,312 
 
224 CULTURE OF 
 
 Some legislation mighty perhaps, be necessary to 
 declare the tract of land a reserve for this purpose, 
 and in order to prevent depredations. This point 
 has been a kind of common, for many years, where 
 persons came to cut wood to sell for the use of the 
 town, and for the navy and army. Perhaps a sim- 
 ple notice in the public newspapers, forewarning all 
 such persons, with strict instructions to the District 
 Attorney and the Navy Agent, to prosecute all 
 trespassers, may be found to answer every purpose. 
 A penalty on persons setting fire to the woods would, 
 however, be very useful. 
 
 I have thus given a hasty outline of my plan, and 
 
 — 1 _ 
 
 This is the return of the last quarter. About six miles 
 of avenue, or roads, to protect from fires, have been open- 
 ed thirty feet wide, and about six or eight acres grubbed . 
 and enclosed for the purpose of commencing a nursery 
 from the acorn. It is expected that about sixty thousand 
 trees will be cleared and pruned within the course of the 
 year. The expense will amount to about six thousand 
 dollars, which is much below the estimate. It is hoped 
 that this will be taken as a model for similar plantations 
 in East Florida and Georgia, whence the transportation 
 of the timber will be more easy than from the gulf of 
 Mexico. The government about thirty years ago, pur- 
 chased some of the islands on the coast of Georgia for 
 the sake of the timber; there is no doubt they could be 
 converted into valuable plantations. I shall feel proud of 
 being instrumental in a work of such vast national im- 
 portance, as that of securing a permanent supply of the 
 only kind of timber fit for ships of war. 
 
LIVE OAK» 225 
 
 it will afford me great satisfaction to attend to any 
 further suggestions on this interesting subject. 
 
 I remain^ with sentiments of respect;, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 [Signed] H. M. Brackenridge. 
 
 Hon. Samuel L. Southard, 
 
 Secretary of the JYavy United States. 
 
 29 
 
REPORT 
 
 ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL 
 OF BAI.TZ3M0RI:, 
 
 On the Subject of the Defence^ <^c.* 
 
 Your committee are of opinion, that there are 
 in the affairs of nations, of cities, and communities, 
 certain important era, which naturally call for some 
 commemorative institution. When a people have 
 been rescued from the grasp of despotism, when 
 their condition has been ameliorated by some mo- 
 mentous revolution, or when, through the interven- 
 tion of a benign Providence, they have escaped 
 some heavy impending calamity, the human mind, 
 in all ages, has sought, as well to record those events 
 with indelible characters on the page of history, as 
 to keep them continually in view by monumental 
 remembrances. The arts of sculpture, architecture, 
 and painting, have been used for the noblest purposes, 
 when thus employed. By their means, the objects 
 
 * This was drawn up by me at the request of one of 
 the committee. 
 
REPORT. 227 
 
 intended to be commemorated, are placed in the 
 most lively and impressive manner, before the eyes 
 of thousands, who may not have the time, or op- 
 portunity, to consult the volume of history, while 
 they produce a more deep and lasting impression 
 on the minds of those who are more fortunate. To 
 our youth, they furnish the most solemn lessons, at 
 the same time kindling in their breast, a noble de- 
 sire to emulate the great examples of their country. 
 
 A brief review of that memorable epoch in the 
 history of our city, when all America trembled for 
 her fate, will prove how well it deserves to be 
 placed continually before our eyes. Never can we 
 regard it with indiiference, while memory holds 
 her seat, or while we continue to honour the brave 
 citizens, who bled, or died, in the defence of Bal- 
 timore. 
 
 Our country had been filled with anguish, aston- 
 ishment and dismay, in consequence of the success- 
 ful attack on the capital of the nation ; we forgot, 
 for a moment, that it was but a straggling village, 
 defended by an inadequate force, hastily drawn to- 
 gether, fatigued and worn down by extraordinary 
 exertions ; and the success of the enemy was felt as 
 if a vital blow had been struck at our national exist- 
 ence. It was discovered, that our foes had thrown 
 aside every restraint of civilized warfare, and were 
 ready to commit the most cruel and barbarous out- 
 rages. This was unequivocally displayed, in the 
 
228 REPORT. 
 
 wanton destruction of private property, and in the 
 mutilation of the noblest monuments of the arts our 
 infant country had produced. In their hasty retreat 
 from the conflagration at Washington, it was easily 
 seen that Baltimore was their next object of attack. 
 And when the name of that hero and statesman, 
 whose illustrious example is no longer the exclusive 
 right of any portion of the globe, but belongs equal- 
 ly to the whole human race, could not even com- 
 mand a respect for the usages of civilized war, what 
 was to be expected by Baltimore, the peculiar ob- 
 ject of their hate, and the most tempting prize to 
 their rapacity? 
 
 The return of our fellow citizens from the un- 
 successful attempt to defend the unfortunate capital, 
 brought to us the afflicting account which spread a 
 gloomy panic over our city, now thought to be al- 
 ready in the deadly grasp of her unsparing enemy. 
 It is not to be wondered at that the first sensations 
 experienced on this awful occasion, were those of 
 despondency. A powerful fleet and a veteran army, 
 urged on by the prospect of booty, were every mo- 
 ment expected to make their appearance before our 
 city, at that moment in a condition almost defence- 
 less. In this state of the public mind, appalled, as 
 it were, by terrors, from which there appeared no 
 possible escape— our citizens determined on de- 
 fence : each endeavoured to dispel the feelings of 
 despondency, by the example of his own resolution ; 
 
REPORT. 229 
 
 new energy was inspired, and we were taught, that 
 a people contending in defence of their families and 
 their homes, ought never to despair ! The period 
 of despondency was not of long duration — it soon 
 yielded to the busy and anxious note of dreadful 
 preparation. Ignoble and coward thoughts vanish- 
 ed from every mind, and each one, with alacrity, 
 took the post assigned him. 
 
 Much was to be done, in order to place a large, 
 open town, in a situation to be defended by inex- 
 perienced militia. Excepting the fort which de- 
 fended the entrance to the harbour, this city, which 
 had grown up in an interval of peace, was without 
 a single military work. What an interesting specta- 
 cle did she exhibit, in the sudden transition of the 
 employments of her industrious inhabitants, from 
 the avocations of peaceful life, to the turbulent 
 scenes of war! The merchant, the mechanic, the 
 professional man, were seen labouring together in 
 the same trench, moving the same piece of artille- 
 ry, or exposed to the most inclement weather, and 
 performing the duty of v^.terans. Such was the 
 scene which Baltimore exhibited, previously to the 
 powerful attack by the forces of Great Britain. We 
 behold a peaceful city, on a sudden, transformed 
 into a martial camp; its population throwing off 
 their civic habits, and feeling all at once the ardour 
 of the patriot soldier of Greece or Rome. We be- 
 hold friends, and neighbours, brothers, and even 
 
230 REPORT. 
 
 father and son, aged men and boys, with scarcely 
 sufficient strength to wield a fire-arm, mingled in 
 the same company ; uniting in the defence of all 
 that is dear to the human heart. Notwithstanding 
 this determined attitude, which Baltimore assumed, 
 the contest was yet regarded as most doubtful ; its 
 probable result was indeed against her. Assailed 
 by laix ],.j?ind sea, by so powerful a force, to contend 
 with troops flushed with recent victory, under per- 
 fect discipline, and impelled by the hope of obtain- 
 ing a rich booty, with preparations for defence 
 made in so much haste, had she taken a moment to 
 weigh the chances of war, her situation must have 
 appeared desperate indeed. The defence thus re- 
 solved upon, under circumstances so discouraging, 
 cannot but heighten the merit of success. 
 
 Scarcely had there been time allowed even for 
 these hasty preparations for the reception of the 
 enemy, when, on the 11th of September, 1814, he 
 made his appearance at the mouth of the Patapsco, 
 with a fleet of ships of war, and transports, amount- 
 ing to fifty sail, besides a greater number of smaller 
 vessels. On the same day, the land forces, to the 
 number of at least seven thousand men, the veterans 
 of Wellington, debarked at North Point, and on 
 the day following advanced towards our city. The 
 Baltimore brigade, composed of citizens of the 
 place, claimed the honour of being the first to meet 
 the invader, and check his insolent march : they 
 
REPORT. 231 
 
 accordingly went forth to give him a foretaste of the 
 manner and spirit with which he might expect to he 
 received. The enemy was unexpectedly met by an 
 advanced party of the brigade, and in a skirmish 
 which ensued, their commander in chief, general 
 Ross, was killed. At first, disconcerted, then ex- 
 asperated by this signal misfortune, they rushed for- 
 ward under the orders of their next in co.amand, 
 to revenge the death of their leader. The brigade, 
 although no more than fourteen hundred strong, re- 
 ceived with coolness the onset of a force so superior 
 in numbers and discipline ; they maintained a brave 
 fight against the formidable invaders, holding their 
 ground until the enemy approached within twenty 
 paces, when they were commanded to retire to the 
 post assigned them, in the general line of defence. 
 Many of our most worthy, and now lamented fel- 
 low citizens, on that day offered up their lives, as 
 a sacrifice, on the altar of their country, for the 
 protection of our fire-sides, and to secure to us that 
 safety and prosperity which we now enjoy. Shall 
 these brave men ever be forgotten by us ? Shall we 
 prove ourselves ungrateful by neglecting to pay due 
 honours to their memories? Or rather, what ho- 
 nours can our gratitude devise, commensurate with 
 the debt we owe them? One hundred and sixty, 
 nearly one-eighth of the force engaged, bled on that 
 occasion ! Here was no summer parade of patriot- 
 ism — the immediate consequences of this battle were 
 
232 REPORT, 
 
 of great importance. It seemed to check the pro- 
 gress of the British army, and to prove to them 
 that a resistance was to be expected very different 
 from that which was represented to their imagina- 
 tions. Their accounts of the engagement show its 
 importance in their estimation. Our force was mag- 
 nified by them into an army of six thousand men, 
 and their bulletins vauntingly announced, that ^"^one 
 thousand had been put liors de comhat.^^ Theirs, 
 according to their own acknowledgment, greatly 
 exceeded ours, and most probably was double the 
 number : so that when we add to this the loss of 
 their commander, they could boast of but a barren 
 triumph. For us, it was followed by all the substan- 
 tial advantages of a victory ; it infused new courage, 
 and confidence, into our citizen soldiers, too much 
 disposed to magnify the prowess of the foe ; the ad- 
 venturous chief was no more; the invincibles of 
 Wellington had been withstood by militia. The 
 effect of this affair, embraced a still more expanded, 
 and expanding circle — and diffused itself over the 
 nation. 
 
 The enemy, thus repulsed, deemed it necessary 
 to approach with caution, intrenchments lined with 
 freemen, engaged in the sacred cause of their homes 
 and fire- sides, and soon deemed it prudent to retire 
 to his ships. But our city was simultaneously, and 
 even more seriously, threatened from another quar- 
 ter. The success of our fellow citizens on the land 
 
UEl'ORT. 233 
 
 side, would have been vain, but for the unexampled 
 defence of fort M'Henry, which protected our city 
 from the hostile fleet. On the 13th of September, 
 1814, the most eventful day — the day of impend- 
 ing fate to our city, the enemy's ships formed in the 
 shape of a crescent round the fort, and commenced 
 a bombardment, which they continued, with little 
 interruption, during twenty-four hours; throwing 
 upwards of fifteen hundred large shells, weighing 
 each two hundred pounds, besides a vast number of 
 round shot and rockets. The fort was defended by 
 a gallant oiiicer, and manned by citizen-soldiers of 
 Baltimore, in conjunction with a body of sea-fenci- 
 bles and regulars. Who can forget the throb, which, 
 during that awful night, beat in every anxious bo- 
 som? Who can forget the delirium of joy, with 
 which we hailed, on the return of day, the glorious, 
 the beloved flag of our country, still waving, in 
 proud defiance of our assailants? Here too we had 
 conquered — and here too we had to lament the loss 
 of some of our most respectable townsmen, who 
 bravely fell at their posts. The invader, thus baf- 
 fled in all his attempts, was compelled to retire, and 
 Baltimore once more lifted up her head in gladness- -- 
 yet in gladness mingled with sorrow. 
 
 By this signal and almost unhoped for success, 
 for which let us be thankful to the great source of 
 every good, this city was elevated in the esteem and 
 aifection of our common country. The conduct of 
 our city was cited as worthy of imitation, and the 
 30 
 
234 REPORT. 
 
 Stain upon our arms at Washington was considered 
 wiped away. The event was consoling to our na- 
 tional feelings, and encouraging to our government, 
 at that time seriously embarrassed. It is no more 
 than just to say, that the defence of Baltimore, and 
 the victory of Champlain, were productive of im- 
 portant effects in the result of the war. But why 
 are these facts, still recent in our recollections, thus 
 minutely enumerated? Because the unadorned 
 recital of the story of our preservation — nay, of our 
 second birth, is best calculated to impress on our 
 minds the importance of the event we recommend 
 for perpetual commemoration. When a people 
 become so lost to generous feeling, as to be insen- 
 sible on such occasions, it is evident they are in a 
 fair way of losing the spirit which produced actions 
 so deserving of praise. In our various pursuits, we 
 are neither wanting in public spirit nor individual 
 enterprise ; but is there not something due to those 
 noble feelings of humanity, to those exalted senti- 
 ments, which prompt to the achievement of heroic 
 actions? Events of much less moment have given 
 rise to annual festivals and celebrations. It is pro- 
 posed on this occasion, to illustrate the events of those 
 important days, during which the fate of this city 
 was so critically suspended, by some suitable me- 
 morial. For this purpose two paintings are recom- 
 mended, the one to represent the battle of North 
 Point, where our fellow-citizens first met the ene- 
 my, and the other of the defence of fort M^Henry, 
 
IIEI'ORT. 235 
 
 where an awful bombardment was resisted with suc- 
 cess. Your committee is of opinion that subjects 
 of greater sublimity could not offer themselves to 
 the genius of the painter. Where, let us ask, coa'.d 
 we find a more touching spectacle than that of a 
 peaceful city, threatened with destruction, by an 
 enemy deemed invincible, and yet in a momeh of 
 alarm, little short of panic, and without experience 
 in war, resolving on a desperate defence? We be- 
 hold a city filled with women, and children, and old 
 men — we behold its defenders, the stay and sup- 
 port in peace of those objects of their afFections, as 
 well as their hope in the hour of battle — we behold 
 those objects of affection even less alarmed for their 
 safety, than for that which impends over the heads 
 of their beloved soldiers. Can there be a more sub- 
 lime spectacle than the appearance of those citizen- 
 soldiers, marching forth from the bosom of their 
 families, to devote themselves in a cause sanctioned 
 by every earthly endearment! The appearance of a 
 regiment moving under the influence of such incen- 
 tives, must produce a very different effect, from 
 that of the mercenary, who fights because he is 
 paid, or with the ferocity of the tiger for his 
 prey. Surely here is a noble subject for every 
 muse and every art! It is the great example---the 
 lesson of history, addressed to future times, which 
 deserves to be remembered. What is it that consti- 
 tutes the great and noble in the history of nations 
 and individuals, but these elevated acts of public 
 
236 REPORT. 
 
 '% 
 
 and private virtue? Tlie nation has no liistory--- 
 the individual is confounded with the crowd, where 
 there are no actions worthy to be remembered. 
 The brave defence of Baltimore, will, doubtless, be 
 recorded in history with all the honour it so richly 
 deserves ; but, as a community, it is our duty to 
 mark the event in a more distinct and peculiar man- 
 ner. What Baltimorean---what American will not 
 feel a generous glow of exultation, when he beholds 
 these monumental testimonials of the valour and pa- 
 triotism of his countrymen ! Nothing contributed 
 so much in the bright days of Greece and Rome, to 
 keep alive patriotic feeling and public spirit, as 
 the national monuments erected in honour of great 
 actions and meritorious individuals. Our republic 
 is but just beginning to acquire a character and a 
 name ; but this can only be rendered deserving of 
 esteem and admiration by a series of noble actions 
 on the part of her sons ; these should, therefore, be 
 carefully monumented. The day will come, when 
 full employment will be afforded to our artists, our 
 orators, and our writers, in illustrating and embel- 
 lishing our national achievements both in war and 
 peace. It is due then to our country, to this city, 
 to the brave men who fought, to the living and the 
 dead, and to our children, who may be called upon 
 at some future day to emulate the example, that 
 some suitable measure be adopted to commemorate 
 and mark these events, so highly interesting to the 
 city of Baltimore and the American people. 
 
 '4^'?. 
 
 ^S