MR. WEBSTER,

TI-IE CELEBRATION

OF‘ THE

NEW YORK NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY,

DECEMBER 23, 1850.

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1851.

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SPEECH.

 

Mr. GRINNELL then asked attention to a toastwhich was not on the cata-
iogue, but which he thought every one would vote ought to be plaeed there
forthwith. He gave-—--

‘~'Tx.»m Cons-rrrutrion AND we UNION, AND THEIR C1-1IEF‘_ Dnmmona.”

This sentiment was received with great applause; and when Mr. Wesswma
rose to respond to it, he was -greeted with the most prolonged and tumultuous
-cheers. When the applause had subsided, he spoke as follows:

..Mr. President, and Gentlemen of tits

New York JV'ew England Society .~
Ye sons of New England! Ye brethren of the kindred tie! I
have come hither to-night, not without some inconvenience, that
I might behold a congregation whose faces bear lineaments of a
New England origin, and whose hearts beat with full New Eng-

land pulsations. [Cheers] Iwillingly make the sacrifice. Imam

here, to meet this assembly of the great offshoot of the Pilgrim
Society of at Massachusetts, the Pilgrim Society of New York.
And, gentlemen, I shall begin what I have to say, which is but
little, by tendering to you my thanks for the invitation extended
you, one and all, every kind of happiness

and prosperity.

Gentlemen, this has been a stormy, a cold, a boisterous and

inclement day. The winds have beenoharslnthe skies have been
severe; and if we had no houses over our heads; if wehad no
shelter against this bowling and freezing tempest; if we were

4

wan and worn out; if half of us were sick and tired, and ready

to descend into the grave 5 if we were on the bleak coast of Ply-s
mouth, houseless, homeless, with nothing over our heads but the V

Heavens, and that God who sits above the Heavens; if we had
distressed Wives on our arms, and hungry and shivering children

clinging to our skirts, we should ‘see something, and feel some- T
thing, of that scene, which, in the providence of God, was en»

acted at Plymouth on the 22d of December, 1620.
_ Thanks to Almighty God, who from that distressed, early con-
dition of our fathers, has raised us to a height of prosperity and

of happiness, which they neither enjoyed, nor could have antici--~

pated! We have learned much of them; they could have fore-
seen little of us. Wouldto God, my friends, would to God, that
when we carry our a1’fections and our recollections back to that
period, We could arm ourselves with something of the stern vir-
tues which supported them, in that hour of peril, and exposure,
and suffering. Would to God that we possessed that unconqureable
resolution, stronger than bars of brass or iron, which nerved their
hearts ,; that patience, “sovereign o’er transmuted ill,” and,
above all, that faith, that Religious faith, which, with eyes fast
fixed upon Heaven, tramples all things earthly beneath her trium-~
phant feet ! , [Applause.]

v Gentlemen, the scenes of this world change. What our an-~
cestors saw and felt, we shall not see nor feel. What they achiev-—\

ed, it is denied to us even to attempt. The severer duties of life,

requiring the exercise of the stern and unbending virtues, were
theirs. They were called upon for the exhibition of those austere-

qualities, which, before they came to the western Wilderness,

had made them what they were. Things have changed. In the

progress of society, the fashions, the habits of life, and all its
conditions, have changed. Their rigid sentiments, and their
tenets, apparently harsh and exclusive, we are not called on, in
every respect, to imitate or commend; or rather to imitate, for

we shouldcommend them always, when we consider that ‘st9ate+

5

«of society in which they had been adopted, and in which they

seemed necessary. Our fathers had that religious sentiment,

that trust in Providence, that determination to do right, and to
seek, through every degree of toil and suflering, the honorof
God, and the preservation of their liberties, which we shall do
well to cherish, to imitate, and to equal, so far as God may enable
us. It may be true, and it is true, that in the progress of society
the milder virtues have come to belong more especiallyito our
day and our condition. The Pilgrims had been great sufferers
from intolerance ,3 it was not unnatural that their own faith and
practice, as a consequence, should become somewhat intolerant.
This is the common infirmity of human nature. Man retaliates
on man. It is to be hoped, however, that the greater spread of
the benignant principles of religion, and of the divine charity of
christianity, has, to some extent, improved the sentiments which
prevailed in the world at that time. N o doubt the “ first comers,”

as they were called, were attached to their own forms of public

Worship, and to their own particular and strongly cherished reli-4
gious sentiments. N o doubt they esteemed those sentiments, and
the observances which they practised, to be absolutely binding on

all, by the authority of the word of God. It is true, I think, in the.

general advancement of human intelligence, that we find what
they do not seem to have found, that a greater toleration of reli-—
gious opinion, a more friendly feeling towards all who profess
reverence for God, and obedience to his commands, is not incon-y
sistent with the great and fundamental principles of religion; I

 might rather say, it is, itself, one of thoseifundamental principles.

‘ Soiwe see in our day, I think, without any departure from the o

essential principles of our fathers, a more enlarged and corn—~
prehensive Christian philanthropy. It seems to be the Ameri-e

can destiny, the mission which God has entrusted to us hereon A

this shore of the Atlantic, the great conception and the greatrdutyi
to which we are born, to show that all sects, and all denomina-

l tions, professing reverence for-the authority of the Author of our

6

being, and belief in hisfflevelations, may be safely tolerated with-
out prejudice‘ either to our religion or to ‘our liberties. [Cheers]
We are‘Protestants, generally speaking; but you all know that
there presides at the head of the Supreme Judicature of the
United States a Roman Catholic; and no man, I suppose,ithrough
the whole United States, imagines that the judicature of the
country is less safe, that the administration of public justice is
less respectable or less secure, because the Chief Justice of the
United States has been, and is, an. ardent adherent to that religion.
And so it is in every department of society amongst us. at In both
Houses of Congress, in all public offices, and all public affairs,
we proceed on the idea that a man’s religious belief is a matter
above human law ; that it is a question to be settled between him
and his Maker, because he is responsible to none but his Maker
for adopting or rejecting revealed truth. And here is the great
distinction which is sometimes overlooked, and which I am afraid
is now too often overlooked, in this land, the glorious inheritance
of the sons of the Pilgrims. Men, for their religious sentiments,
are accountable to God, and to God only. Religion is both a
communication and a tie between man and his Maker; and to
his own master every man standeth or falleth. But when men
come together in society, establish social relations, and form gov-
ernments for the protection of the rights of all, then it is in-
dispensable that this right of private judgment should in some
measure be relinquished and made subservient to the judgment

of the whole. Religion may exist while every man is left re»

sponsible only to God. Society, civil rule, the civil state, can-
not exist, while every man is responsible to nobody and to nothing
but to his own opinion. And our New England ancestors under»
stood all this quite Well. Gentlemen, there is the “ Const'£tu-

. tion” which was adopted on board the Mayflower in November,

1620, while that barque of immortal memory was riding at an-
chor  theharbor of 'Cape"Cod. What is it ? pi Its authors honored
God; they professed to obey iallhis commandments, aindtolive

7

ever and in all things in his obedience. But they say, nevertheless,
that for the establishment of a civil polity, for the greater secu-

t rity and preservation of their civil rights and liberties, they agree

that the laws and ordinances, and I am glad they put in the Word
“constitutions,” invoking the name of the Deity on their resolu-
tion 5 they say, that these laws and ordinances, and constitutions,
which may be established by those they should appoint to enact
them, they, in all due submission and obedience, will support.
This constitution is not long. I will read it. It invokes a
religious sanction and the authority of God on their civil obliga-
tions ; for it was no doctrine of theirs that civil obedience was

a mere matter of expediency. Here it is:

“ In the name of God, Amen: We, whose names are underwritten, the
loyal subjects of‘ our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, by the Grace of God,
of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, and Defender of the Faith, &c.,
having undertaken, for the glory of’ God and advancement of the Christian
faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the fit-st colony in
the heathen parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in
the presence of God ‘and of one another, covenant and combine ourselves to-
gether into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation, and
furtherance of the ends aforesaid, and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and
frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and oflices, from
time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general
. ood of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obs-=

ience.”

The right of private judgment in matters between the Creator-

and himself, and submission and obedience to the will of the
whole, upon whatsoever respects civil polity and the administra-

tion of such affairs as concerned the colony about to be estab-M

lished, they regarded as entirely consistent; and the common
sense of mankind, lettered and unlettered, every where estab-~

lishes and confirms this sentiment. Indeed, all must see, that it:

is the very ligament, the very tie, which connects man to man,
in the social system:;, and these sentiments are embodied in that
constitution. Gentlemen, discourse on this topic might be'en~
larged, but Ipass from it. i
Gentlemen, we are now two hundred and thirty years from that
great "event. There is the Mayflower, (pointing to a small figure

of a ship, in the form of confectionery, that stood before him.)

8

There is a little resemblance, but a correct one, of the .Ma3g‘Zower..
Sons of New England! there was in ancient times a ship that
carried Jason to the acquisition of the Golden Fleece. There was

a flag-ship at the battle of Actium which made Augustus Caesar N

master of the world. In modern times, therehave been flag-
ships which have carried Hawkes, and Howe, and Nelson on
the other continent, and Hull, and Decatur, and Stewart,
on this, to triumph. What are they all; what are they all,
in the chance of remembrance among men, to that little barque,
the Mayflower, which reached these shores on the 22d day of
December, 1620. Yes, brethren of New England, yes! that
Mayflower was a flower destined to be of perpetual bloom!
i[Cheers.] Its verdure will stand the sultry blasts of summer,
and the chilling Winds of autumn. It will defy Winter; it will
«defy all climate, and all time, and will continue to spread its

petals to the world, and to exhale an ever living odor and fra-

grance to the last syllable of recorded time. [Cheers]
Gentlemen, brethren, ye of New England! whom I have come
some hundreds of miles to meet this night, let me present to you
one of the most distinguished of those personages who came
hitheron the deck of the Mayflower. Let me fancy thatl now
see Elder Wm. Brewster entering the door at the further end of
this hall. A tall and erect figure, of plain dress, of no elegance
of manner beyond a respectful bow, mild and cheerful, but of no
merriment that reaches beyond a smile. Let me suppose thathis

image stood now before us, or that it was looking in upon this

assembly. a

“Are ye, are ye,” he would say, with a voice of exultation,
and yet softened with melancholy, “Are ye our children? Does
“ this scene of refinement, of elegance, of riches, of luxury, does
“ all this come from our labors? Is this magnificent city, the like

“ of which We never saw nor heard of on either continent, is this

“but an offshootfrom Plymouth rock ?

“  . . N. . lQ,nisjamloous l N. . . . » it
“ Quee regio in terris nostri non plena laboris?

9

“ Is this one part of the great reward, for which my brethren
“and myself endured lives of toil and of hardship? We had
“ faith and hope. God granted us the spirit to look forward, and
“ we did look forward. But this scene we never anticipated.
“Our hopes were on another life. Of earthly gratifications we
“tasted little; for human honors we had little expectation. Our
“bones lie on the hill in Plymouth church—yard, obscure, un-
“ marked, secreted to preserve our graves from the knowledge of
“ savage foes .No stone tells where we lie. And yet, let me say
“ to you, who are our descendants, who possess this glorious
“ country, and all it contains, who enjoy this hour of prosperity,
“ and the thousand blessings showered upon it by the God of
“your fathers, we envy you not; we reproach you not. Be
-‘ rich, be prosperous, be enlightened. Live in pleasure, if such
“ be your allotment on earth ; but live, also, always to God and to
“duty. Spread yourselves and your children over the conti-
“nent; accomplish the whole of your great destiny; and if so
“ be, that through the whole you carry Puritan hearts with you;
“ if you still cherish an undying love of civil and religious liberty,
“ and mean to enjoy them yourselves, and are willing to shed
“ your heart’s blood to transmit them to your posterity, then are
“ you worthy descendants of Carver and Allerton and Bradford,
“ and the rest of those who landed from stormy seas on the rock
‘F of Plymouth.” [Loud and prolonged cheers] , P

Gentlemen, that little vessel, on the 22d of December, 1620,
made her safe landing on the shore of Plymouth. She had been
tossed on a tempestuous ocean; she approached the New Eng-
land coast under circumstances of great distress and trouble ;. yet
amidst all the disasters of her voyage, she accomplished her end,
and she placed the feet of a hundred precious souls on the shore
of the New World.

Gentlemen, let her be considered this night as an emblem of

New England, as New England now is. New England is .a. ship,
staunch, strong, we1l—built, and particularly well-manned. She

. ‘ y 1 ‘' h
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 it‘.

i   any biehccasionally throwni into the trough of the sea, by the vio-
   bf winds‘ and waves, and may wallow there for a time ; ‘but,

" England will there celebrate the landing

depend upon it, she will right herself; She Will, ere long, come
round to we wind, andwill obey izeojizelm. [Cheers and applause]

We ‘have hardly begun, my brethren, to realize the vast import-
ance, on human society, and on the ‘history and ’happi:ness of the
world,’ of the voyage of that little vessel which brought the love
of civil and religious liberty hither, and the Bible, the word of
God, for the instruction of the future generations of men. We
have hardly begun to realize the consequences of that voyage.
I-Ieretofore the extension of our race, following our New England
ancestry, has crept along the shore. But now the race has ex-
tended. It has crossed the continent. It has not only trans-
cended the Alleghany, but has capped the Rocky Mountains. It
is now upon the shores of the Pacific ; and on this day, or,lif not
on this day, then this day twelvemonth, descendants of New

 

A Vorcn. ‘‘To-day ;, they celebrate to-day.”
‘ Mr. Wnssrna. God bless them! Here’s to the health and
success of the California Society of Pilgrims assembled on the
shores of the Pacific. [Prolonged applause-.] And it shall yet
go hard, if the three hundred millions of people of China---if they
are intelligent enough to understand any thing--—-shall not one day
hear and know something of the Rock of Plymouth too.! [Laugh-
ter and cheers] ‘ M

But, gentlemen, I am trespassing too long on your time. [Cries
of No, no! Go on i] .l am taking‘ too much of what belongs to
others; My voice is neither a new voice, nor is it the voice of a
young man. It has been heard before in this place, and the most
that I have thought or felt concerning New England history and

, New England principles, has been before, in the course of my

life, said here or elsewhere.
“Your sentiment, Mr. President, which called me up before this
meeting, is of a larger and more comprehensive nature. It

   
   

speaks of the Constitution under which we 
which for sixty years has been over us, and 

fellow—citiz.ens of those who settled at Yorktown a     p

  
  
  

of the Mississippi and their descen_dants, and now, at ,
who have come from all corners of the earth and assemb, 

California. I confess I have had my doubts whether the rep“,
can system under which we live could be so vastly extended"

without danger of dissolution. Thus far, Iwillingly admit, my
apprehensions have not been realized. The distance is immense;
the intervening country is vast. But the principle on which our
Government is established, the representative ‘system, seems to
he indefinitely expansive 3 and wherever it does extend, it seems
to create a strong attachment to the Union and the Constitution
that protects it. I believe California and New Mexico have had
new life inspired into all their people. They consider themselves
subjects  of a new being, a new creation, a new existence. They
are not the men they thought themselves to be, now that they
find they are members of this great Government, and hailed as
citizens of the United States of America. I hope, in the provi-
dence of God, as this system of States and representative govern-
ments shall extend, that it will be strengthened. In some respects
the tendency is to strengthen it. Local agitations will disturb it
less. If there has been on the Atlantic coast, somewhere south
of the Potomac--»-and I will not define further where it is--if there
has been dissatisfaction, that dissatisfaction has not been felt in
California; it has not been felt that side the Rocky Mountains.
It is a localism, and I am one of those who believe that our sys-
tem of government is not to be destroyed by localisms, North or
Southl [Cheers] No; we have our private opinions, State
prejudices, localuideas 5 butpover all, submerging all, drowningl
all, is that great sentiment, that always, and nevertheless, we are
all flmericans. It is as Americans that we arelcnown, the whole
wolrl-‘d over.‘ *Who~asksiwhat Stateyou are from, in Europe, or
in Africa, or in Asia? Is he an American---l-is he of us? Does

 

12

he belong to the flag of the country? Does that flag protect
him? Does he rest under the eagle and the stars and stripes? If
he does, if he is, all else‘ is subordinate and worthy of but little
concern. [Cheers] .

Now it is our duty, While we live on the earth, to cherish this
sentiment, to make it prevail over the Whole country, even if that
country should spread over the Whole continent. It is our duty
to carry English principles-m--I mean, sir, (said Mr. Wnnsrnn
turning to Sir HENRY BUL'WER,) Anglo—Saxon flmerican princi-
ples, over the whole continent--the great principles of M Magna
Charta, of the English revolution, and especially of the American
Revolution, and of the English language. Our children will
hear Shakspeare and Milton recited on the shores of the Pacific.
Nay, before that, American ideas, which are essentially and ori-

ginally English ideas, will penetrate the MeXican—--the Spanish

mind; and Mexicans and Spaniards will thank God that they
have been brought to know something of civil liberty, of the trial
by jury, and of security for personal rights. ~

As for the rest, let us take courage. The day-spring from on
high has visited us _:, the country has been called back, to con-
science and to duty. T/Lere is no longer imminent danger of dis-
solution in these United States. [Loud and repeated cheers]
We shall live, and not die. H We shall live as united Americans;
and those who have supposed that they could sever us, that they
could rend one American heart from another, and that specula-
tion and hypothesis, that secession and metaphysics, could tear us
asunder, will find themselves dreadfully mistaken. [Cheers.]

Let the mind of the sober American people remain sober. Let
it not inflame itself. Let it do justice to all. And the truest
course, and the surest course, to disappoint those who meditate
disunion, is just to leave them to themselves, and see what they
can make of it. No, gentlemen ;, the time for meditated seces-
sion is past. Americans, North and South, will be hereafter more
and more united. There is a sternness andseverity in the pub»,

13

lic mind lately aroused. I believe that, orthand Soutli,th_ere

has been, in the last year, a renovation of publi..g_sentini;ent,la,n>‘..
animated revival of the spirit of Union, and, moin'~§han.~pa11? Of" 

 

attachment to the Constitution, regarding it as indisp
cessary; and if we would preserve our nationality, it is inffspenw

 ably net-L.

sable that the spirit of devotion should be still more larilg”e1y_
increased. And who doubts it? If we give up that Constitution;

what are we? You are a Manhattan man 5 I am a Boston man.

Another is a Connecticut, and another a Rhode Island man. Is»

it not a great deal better, standing hand to hand, and clasping,
hands, that we should remain as We have been for sixty years--——~
citizens of the same country, members of the same Government,
united all--—united now and united forever? T/Lat we shall be,
gentlemen. There have been difficulties, contentions, controver-
sies---angry controversies 3 but I tell you that, in my judgment,

-—-—-----—--—~ “ those opposed eyes,

Which, like the meteors of a troubled heaven,

All of one nature, of one substance bred,

Did lately meet in th’ intestine shock,

Shall now, in mutual well-beseeming ranks,
Manon ALL om: WAY.”

Mr. WEBSTER, on Closing, was greeted with the most hearty,
prolonged, and tumultuous applause.

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