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 M**IBEPENDEN@E 

THE Town’s Committee of Arrangements for the Cele-
bration of the Fourth of July, return you thanks for your
‘very elegant and appropriate Oration, and request a copy for
the press.

‘We are respectfully, r
Your friends,
it " T1—1oMAs S. WEBB,
JOHN CAuLILE,
S. G. ARNOLD,
.1/VILLIAM rBLo:oeE’r,
 r    JAMES B, MASON,
SALMON An.NoLm

‘TRISTAM BURGES,*Esq,
Providence, July 5, 1810.
 €i3 

M PROVIDENCE, jury 5, 1810.
Corrmzrree oz? Arrnrcemeres,

GENTLEMEN,  2 V ,

I AM too much honoured by your request to refuse a.
compliance with it, The” Essaiyiwhich you have been pleased
to call an Oration, although it has many imperfections of
arrangement and diction, was intei1ded‘to be, and perhaps in
some degree is, an Epitome of the principles of the Revolu-=
tion. Patriotism must be pleased with the purity of the
text, if that be preserved, and candour will, I hope, forgive
the clumsinese of the commentary. r

I am, Gentlemen, very
much and sincerely
Your friend,

 T RISTAM BURGE3,

oRaT1oNl    

 OUR Independence has given a new era to the
world. The first day which shone upon it is now
celebrated by Americans, and the friends of Ameri...
cans, in every quarter of the globe. VVe solemnize
this day; it is our country’s festival; and shall be
immortal as our national soVe1~eignty. The revolu-r
t-ion, originating our political existence, was one of
those mightyevexifs‘ which break on the world; to
the delight and A astonishment of mankind. As if
the nations of the earth had stood around the shores
of the Atlantiok, and beheld, bursting from the
misty bosom of its heaving waves, a broad region?
towering with mountains, waving with forests, A green
with wide plains, glittering with spiry cities,A and
swarming with nurnerous and busy population:
Thus they beheld the Americani revolution. Be.-
fore this we A were merely British colonies; nations
had not lookedat us ; for we had no page in history,
and no place in the political system of Europe. Two
centuries before some minion of power might have
heard, and perhaps whispered it in the ear of fasti»
dious royalty, that a few Vagabond puritans had run
away from England, on a wild project to cultivate the
wildernesses, tame the wolves and bears, and civil.»

will

--r

ize the savages of thenew World. Had the ocean

fonndered their vessel, While bearing them over its

stormy region; had the shores, which received their
Weary and emaciated bodies, been whitened by their
bones, rolled up by the Waves and mingled with the
sea-Weed ; or had the God of their fathers left them to
combat the untried privationls, calamities and clisasu
ters, of regions inclement, and barbarians, hostile,
ferocious and nnconquerable ; poetry might have
learned some fragments of the story, mingled them
with fiction, and amused posterity with the piteous
narrative; and all would soon have been forgotten.
The historyiof our country, from the e‘.comrnence-
meat of its ssptflation tciths birth~=day  itsInc1epen~

dence, has now become car part of l the first, lessons, as

tanght our childhood, and rnust be k.nown_to every
Arnerican. I therefore only ask you to recollect, that
ourwancestors rnigrated from England, because they
loved liberty and could not there enjoy it; because
they admired the true oid English national character,

 were obliged there to look, on its glory, tarnished s

by the riots of licentiousness, and the opp1*e,ssio11,,of,
tyranny. A it should moreover not be forgotten how
many labours, difficulties and hazards, they,an;d their;
posterity, for ages, endured, encountered and bravely
triumphed over, They were destitute of all things,
and without a home ; they hewed down the forests»
and the rocky mountains and built a country ; With»-’
out defence, surrounded by hostile savages, and bor-~
deredby hostile colonies, they became warlike, re»;-
pelled the_,ta.n«'ny' arm of aggression, and got to thorn.»
SjElfi»’€S a inarne and a glory in the Wielder11eSS~ \ y a H at
 Ilieiit exile, their tgffoyage from the old world, their;
toilsxj priyations, and successes were ,shared, alilie
among them; and forrned a chain of nniio'n,,,binding;
‘thorn together, like the ltnotty bosom of their rootin-

ftain ,9a1<s» Which, twllile they  stand amidstd their 
tive reeks,,e,,Ca11I1Qt 138 men asunder but, by tlte bolt?
of   A   t   A

 ‘Were ,American$ ,VVh€1’1t Great-Brittain 
claredff‘  had a right to tax them in all cases when
eve-=r.,?’,  ,T11iS.C1eQ1a1"3ti011 ‘united the colonies in the
ea1n,.e nmlsneer that the” individuals A of each colony, had.
bemfltnited before, and:, ...at once, from the tvdoiee of
millions it was heard beydnd the =At1a1"1tick, that “the
United ,,$tates of America Were, and of A right qughf
1:9 be, firee and ing1epen;dent.” This declaration Wee
made, in the pure, the proud spirit of ;-filmericant
liberty, Anzerican glory, and American zmz'cm.,4 \

;V\/hat then succeeded We all remember. It was
war, _bloody and merciless, between men proud of
dominion, «mad men despeztate for freedom; between

the persevexyeimee of tyremly, and the phrensy of suf» ,

ferance ;. $116; ;ca1c:u1ateC1, the iarexxéhanded blow of

veteran  discipline, a1x,d¢hfi&Wi1d, uneonquerable, en. t
thusigtetitzk  of Lileperty, We have often heard,

and1%ead IITOW dmueh We , em:ou11terec1, endured and
eonqueredj; how the blood of War dyed the Verduree
of eur plains»; how the grim ltorroure of conflagraw
tion glared, eever our cities on..t11e dark bosom of
midnight. , A  _ , e j A A At 

If We 1:70:01’: back on these dreadful images, still
living in memory, we: should do it for the purpose,
enly of learning the human  means which carried
our I1a.ti,on through 1.Zh’ctt,21‘lVfL11 storm of,revolu.tio11.‘

It will, surely, be wise in Ame1‘icans,Mto learn how

they obtained theili‘ Ihdependenee, because this will
best teach them flow to preserve it. A A V
 Let us then consider ” dwhafc were the things by

V which our I11dependenee Wee aeqttiredg end, if at all,

must be preseeved.

6

Independence does‘ not mean a condition“ insu~' ,

lated, and Without any relations to the other states"
of the World. National hermitage, like individual,
is but a fancied state of existence ; for God has so
scattered his good things round the globe, that no
civilised nation will-v ever be found, ‘so replenished,
as to Want nothing, in possession‘ of another. But
who, for this reason, will say a nation is not inde-
pendent? On that tmernorable and auspicious day,
when VVASHINGTON was first inaugurated Presi-
dent of these United" States, and in the view of glad
thousands called the God t of Heaven to witness that

t he would support the Federal Constitutioru on that
ldayr was not  our: ~niati:on indeed independent ?1p ‘Yet
on that day men retired from that splendid cererno-”

pnial, to , gladen   the festival with luxuries collected
  from every quarter of the globe- N o. ‘iNational

Independence is, no more, no less, than sovereignty:
A power to make lavvsand to execute them; to ex«
act obedience and to secure protection. Into the
hallowed councils of such a nation, the hand of foreign

power or influence cannot insinuate itself; and, to
vvhatever region of the earth, its citizens may travel,‘

in quest of , Wealth or Wisdom, they will find their
rights protected, or their Wrongs avenged. » t
It was such Independence the fathers of our
country declared to the World; for such WA SHING-
Ton fought, and MONTGOMERY bled, and all the
toils and dangers of War were endured by the Ameri-
can people. ‘ , V , ‘V v
‘I A love of liberty, first of all, roused the United
States to assert, and aided them .to maintain their
independence.   This love of liberty is the mostu~n-
guenchable passion in man; and doubtless, that God
tvlto gave us his own image, a11d,..taugl1t us to lool;

7
upvvards to theHeavens, said to“ mjarr“, ?‘ be frefe;?‘??,,,
We often see this passion suppressed, but§neve1:f‘
extinguished. The slave, r riveted to , thei galley,’
relents not at toil beneath a burning summer;isutni,.,;o1*
stormy Winter sky; but the moment he ceasesj to
hope for freedom, _“ he sighs and expires at the car.“
How many ages ago the Grecian states Were estab.-
lished! How many forms and names; and differeirt
kinds of tyranny have held dominion over theml
Their own demagogues, rival states, foreigndespots,
Indeed they are changed; alas it how‘ changed from
what they were when PI-IILOPEMAN, and B,'_E§~RI—
CLES, and EPAMINONDAS directed the stormof
their battle, Then they were freemen, now they
are slaves. Yet neither Persian, nor Macedonian,
nor Roman, nor Gothick, nor Turkish tyranny have
been able to subdue, entirely, this A uncolnquerablle

a spirit 0f1’1ibC1"tY- Still the Ifli§h*Y‘§€ni11Sa  titties,

:1Ti9Eli$,3I1§,.ff1‘0111lath‘? slumber Of 33355 Casts 3131' riblei a
jpWith‘¢ljiIV31glO0kr_OI1i turband oppression; and again
sinks recumbent on his chains. ‘   A t   
M a How many, how barbarous and bloody have been
the wars of France against Swiss and Tyrolese liable»
erty! but the tremendous spirit yet hovers iover
their mountains, and sometimes drives them down
in torrents on their foes, yvith wide, sweeping and
resistless destruction. A if  ~  p   a
Hard labour, scanty provision, and the toil exact»-

ing scourge, can but restrain, cannot subdue, even‘

the stupid, unenlightened African, Though VVe“st-;
Indian and Southern slavery covver beneath the blow
of proud dominion; yet often their Wealthy Lords
tremble at the cattle which till their fields; and watch
lest some spark of native freedom might enkindle
the flame of insurrection; and often the traveller
beholds the gibbet, blacken With direful memorials

8

at this eternal truth; that nothing, wearing the form
of man, can be plunged so deep, or immersed so
long in slavery, aswill extirtguish the fire of HeaveA.n,
the love of A liberty, in his bosom. A A

Perhaps no men ever l1aclA more just principles, or
J3. stronger love of liberty, than out A ancestors, ancl
theirA descendants, down to the A ,AmericAan revolu»
‘tin. A They WerelE.n~g'lishmen,« and migrated from a
country Wh_t3I7’etl1e' people ever stoA‘od firm for their
rights, against the prerogvatives of the   crown. l\/Iago,
ne$Charta., the great» book of liberty, tvas to them a.
heritage never tobe aandened.; for when they left:
”ho1t1"e», andl<indred,~»andoount1=y,, they brought this
l~:ikéfat1AAarl< .,o£  i transmitted it from ~ gene;
ration? to generation A; AtlA1atithe"~lat»est posteritjy, so long
as they would p1~eserve’ it,  might know they were
free,l»snifd the deseenclentis of freeman. VS0iong had

liherty been cherished in this country, that itloetcame '

aliincl of Aintnitivre; sentiment; and we started back at

s1ax2:ery« «as firom ltlieiiiicrouclaing tyger, or the taintecl.

ga1e]0fpesti.1enc¢»  i   e         
When the British governlnent texactecl snbmis».

siion, the loveof liberty blazed, léilze tl1Elig‘l1tI1i'1’ig‘ cl.’

heaven, from one end of the caonétinentlto the other.,
Towmen of such principles, and such feelings, there
:WasA not sohoice; they“-W0,11lCiw not live, or they would
live free. The love of liberty Was, therefore, um
ql1€S‘slZi'O11ali)ly‘tl1€t»--fi1‘?S*l§:,- the nixosti universal and inde-
strucAAtible principle «of that revol~ut-ion Whicli estab-
 i-our national?Independence. A e ,
  lpassio?n»l"oI* liberty was aided tby another al-
most as Vp0W&1‘ft’1li.~ All A mexi are warmed bye‘ Iiolve
ofigflorytz  desire to distinguish theinselves, their
familyl, their  their estate, their nation, by what-—
soever! is meritonionsl, or great, or glorious in the
eyes of Inankind err plosterity. N o one is so 11u"inl)le

9

V -as to surrender, himselfa prey to fond forgetfuleness:

If there be any thingsof good report, who Willnot
think of those things? A good name is of all things

s most precious, most. coveted by all ‘mankind’; for
even the profligate, who have not the virtue‘ to de«

serve it, cover their vices , by hypocricy; that they
may seem to have the virtues they do not possess.»

The ancients, who had butlittle hope“ of the soul’s
immortality, created to themselves a kind of factii-”
tious immortality, by endeavouring to live, in the
memory of all posterity, with fame and renown.---I
This,‘ though they cbuld not enjoy it after death,’
was still a strong incentive, through life, to the peri
formance of great and illustrious actions, A 

This love of true glory has a counterfeit; and we
are sometimes deceived, and take “ the cheating sis-"
ter for the same.” It is a love of popularity, a desire,
Without merit, to gain applause. .  love of V glory
carries with it a desire, ufnconquerable, of doing
many great,;a.ndt illustrious things for the benefit of
mankind; A love of popularity hungers and thirsts
after praise ;_and is eager for applause, but never

solicitous to do good. He who loves true glory,“

often sacrifices present good opinion for thebene--
fit of this country; and thereby secures a more last}-
ing, and honest renown. . The lover of popularity
will sacrifice , his conscience, and his country rather
than lose one breath of momentary praise. ‘ The“
lovers of true glory prefer the approbation of the
wise and good, to the loudest and .longest plaudits
of the foolish and profligate; The lovers‘ of popu-C
larity get fame, as they Win elections, by votes ; and‘
care nothing for merit, or motives, if theycan but
obtain a majority. _ , ~ ‘ ‘ v.  it

Nothing more strongly urges, to great and good
.actions, than a consciousness of a great and good’

32-

10

character. The recollection of great exploits will
sometimes lift men up to almost :more than mortal

achievements. . He, who has once been a hero, can

never be ‘a rcoward. The great and illustrious
actions of men are so many pledges to their coun»

_t,ry,;tl1at they will not desert her in the moment of

danger, , t , I

A The same passion,,Which gives men a fondness
for their own fame, renders them enthusiasts for
the glory of their country- A strong love for the
honour of his , country is one of the most ardent

, passions of the patriot. This passion is strengthened

by-eleivating the  character, of , our country; it is
weafkened by,.;de?gradingl1tl.,  l   “   r ~   i
:, lVal,0ur is never more irresistible than when com»

, batting for national lionoury If you would make

men ttnconqnerable, give them, their country, their
nation, a name and a character of which the proudest

_ rnigllt be proud. it  

 ,3 Valou-1‘, and cliscipliiie did less for the Greeizs, in
their   Wars, than was done by national character.
Wheiirr they contended with foreign natiotns, those
were considered as barbarians; and they, calling to
mind the exploits of their ancestors, found new in.“
citernents to battle, in their nationai renown. ‘When
the Romans had once sturrouncled themselves by a
national character, they were always invincible-_,. until
that.“ character was 10st,, l i r s , r

, ,; VVhat preserved the Swiss for so many rages? Not
merely their lovefof liberty, or the simplicity of their
laws; not their valour, or discipline, their rocks or
JSI10L11‘llIEElI1Sa. Their VVILLIAM TELL, the VVASH»_«

*I.N;G Ito Nfippflf it Helvetia, had given their ancestors a
, taste for trueglory; and, by conquering their renew

Imies, ,.established their independence, and rendered
1:hei1j_ national character illustrious for wisdom and

11

valour. For this character they contended; they
loved the glory of their country, and this preserved
them. When that glory was touched, Was tar-
nished, was polluted, by the foul embrace "of Gallick
democracy, then, and not till then, was S ,vitzer«
land conquered. . r T v . ~
The present tyrant of Continental Fturope has
practised on. thisprinciple. He has taught his sole:
cliers to believe themselves the conquerors of the
world, himselfjnvincible; and because the-yrhave
so often been victorious under his command, they
are devoted to his and their own glory, and would
not live, after they shall have been defeated. Such
soldiers will conquer, until they meet men who, like
themselves, fight for national glory. .
w The same principle animates the British. They
iight for the glory of Old England; andbelieve
themselves invincible.   They.feel, that. they are the
descendants, of those Eiiglishmen who conquered at
Cressy, Agincourt, Blenheim, Boyne, andthe Plains
of Abraham ;, “HARRY and ‘WILLIAM, W'oLr1.:
and lVIAR.L.BOlROUGH are yet frequent in theircups;
and they still raise themselves at the name of CHRI s-
rran .” They are the Warriors, and the cornpeers of
the warriors of the Balticlez, the Nile and Trafalgar;
and can they remember NEL s o N and be conquered?
His glory alone, like the body of Paraoctus, can,
at a moment, call the whole chivalry of the nation
to victory or death. Wise then is the man who
cherishes a love of glory, as an incentivelto great
and illustrious actions; and Wise is the nation, which
preserves its-honour, its glory untarnished; for then
will its citizens fight like Grecians, like Romans,
like Svviss, like Gauls, like Englishmen to preserve
that hallowed ariz, that consecratedpalladiuin of their

~ tiiational safety. 7

12

When the British government raised the standard,
drew the sword, and arrayed grim fronted War
against the Americans, they called to mind What
their fathers had done, What they themselves were;
and" their very character for hardy exploit, and
unbounded freedom, rendered them too proud for
submission. iThroughout the British empire the
people of these colonies were renowned. They had

, illustrated the English character with new glory,

by opening new fields of enterprise :" the toils and
jeopardies of migration; the building a country be-
yond the unmeasured, and almost untravelled waves;
and the learning to look with calculating indifference
onthe various, and innumerable forms of labour, and
difliculty, A and danger, and death. Heroism was
mingled with every ,thing; their very industry was
acetate: of Warfare; they eatirpated the wilderness
and ploughed their fields in the face of an enemy.
His seven labours gave immortality to HERCULE s ;
but these were like the enterprises of children for the
destruction of reptiles ;. when compared with the
ordinary occupation of a large portion of the seamen
of N cw-England. They literally sported with Le-
viathan, that animal Which, of all that roar through
the forest, or gambol in the ocean stream, -God hath
createdr alone without‘ fear. V

Besides the oharacterfor freedom, , enterprise, and
exploit, acquired by themselves, they Were, with
others of " the nation, the co-heirs of British glory.

They, or their fathers, had fought, side by side, with

We LEE ; and CH A TH A M spoketheir mother tongue.
- VVhen submission was the surrender of such a
heritage and such acquisition, can it be wonderful
that on Americans l resisted? The physical may, as
easily be subverted, as the morallaws of the world.
Pluck the oak from the everlasting rnountain, and

13

bidit flourish on the unstable bosom of the wave;
toll the fishes, from the dark recesses of the deep,
and teach them to feed, and to bask, in the sunshine
of green fields; lure the cattle of a thousand hills,
to browse in the coral groves of the ocean: All this,
although you may do, a yet you cannot change the
nature of man. VVhile he, or his country, has a
name, and a praise, in the earth, he can, and Will, die
in defence of them; but he will not, he cannot, sur-

render his, or her, glory.

A A love of glory, of nation_al honour, therefore,
next to a love of liberty, was one of the strongest
principles, operating in the production of American
Independence.

These passions, however, could do but little, until
aided by a spirit of union. This, like a’ burning
mirror, concentrated these fires; and turnedtheir
blazing beams on the foes of our country. A A

Although a union of the several States was that,
without which, otheirlndependence could not have
been achieved; yet patriotism travelled over many
difficulties, in her way to that union. Individuals
readily unite, in a moment of common danger; but
the union of sovereign communities, cannot soeasi-
ly be obtained. These separate communities were
scattered, through a wide region of country, Vastly
difierent, in climate, soil and productions; and ya.
rious in laws, habits and manner of thinking, were
the people who composed them. Throughout all
the”States, Was founda set of men, Who opposed a
union; because they opposed a revolution, and the
Independence of the United States. They believed,
the sovereignty of Britain had the same right to tax;
the colonies, which the Almighty has to exact hom-
age of his creatures. With them, kingly power
was, “ right divine in man ;” and whosoever resist»

 

14

ed the powers, thus ordained of t God, treasitred up
to himself damnation.” Resistance was treason;
and even obedience, to be ust, must be mechanical,
must be Apassivef obedience. A This description of
men had long been l{I1OW1"1 in England; :a.I10l were
there called tories. AA In this country they were brand-
ed with the same appellation; and were the zealous
advocates of the same doctrines, of non-resistance
andpassive obedience. They addressed the super-
stition of some, the loyalty of others, and the fears of
all; some they pAro'selyte“d, some they terrified, many
they embarrassed, A A A r ~ A AA V
, A Britainseemed to apprehenda union of the States;
and therefore oppressed some  with a designating
severity, that Aotl1“‘erls”A1night be induced to leave them
to the chastisement of royal indignation; and secure
to themselves a retreat, by fleeing; frorn “ the Wrath
to come.” A r it

t But, notwithstanding all these difiiculties, a union
was accomplished. Liberty was threatened, nation-
al honour at hazard, and a spirit of union Walked
abroad among the colonies, like the presiding, the
guardian angel of the dark hour. Every thing local
l/'£111lSl1€d from consideration; and men passed, in a

ernornent, from colonists to citizens of the United

States. It was a magnificent spectacle, to behold,
the north and the sonth, the frontier and the ocean,
rushing together into one grand phalanx of union.,
Our resistance to British aggression, instantly, as-4
sun-ted a new character; it was not the undirected,
and desnltory opposition, of scattered, and Widely
separated colonies; it was the migllty efliorty of a
Pi"OLlCl Aspirited, nation or frecrnen, Agloryingin their
liberty, proclainiedgto the .'WOI‘lCl their Indepens
dence, and ciallingAlAAAAthe kingdoms of[Athe7 earth to;
‘i€’liZl1€§5,aill57l1ll€, appealingto the Goal of arrnies, they

15

r subniitted their controversy to the tremendous a.rh.i.~

tration of battle. A \ A ‘ A‘

pThus, liberty, glory, and union “W€1“€itl1€ three
great principles of the revolution; and national ‘free-
dom, national honour, and national unanimity were
eonsuntniated in the Independence of our_ country.
V/Vliatitliinlzz you, my fellow.-citizens, could We liave
effected without these illustrious“ passions? Vt7l1a_t
would have been our councils; Where the fields of

your fame; wlmt the result of our toilsrand wztrs 9?

Aided by them the World was soon filled With our
renown ; the Wisdom of our statesmen, the exploits of
our her es; the Wztr was terminated; Ainerica tri~
umphed; and sat down aniong the nations of the
earth, to enjoy Independence and peace.

Do you aslt how shall that Independence he :.:re».
served, and rendered perpetual .9 By the preservation
of those things, without Which, it could not hzewe
been acquired. VV.-asalove of liberty necessary ‘I?
Then l,et.u.s love liberty. iWas a love of national

pl ~lor 2' ? Then let us love the honour, the   ‘lorv of"
S 3 8 .

our country. Vi/ias a spirit of union 3? Then let us

; be united. The principles of our revolution should

he the principles of our government ; and, so long;
as they are, We shall be independent; but, when

p they are 3.l3£.111d.01'1€Cl, We nriust abandon our sore.»

reignty. V   A

~ .The Federal Constitution was formed, and, for
twelvte years, aclministered, on these principles. It
was a commentary,. a Wise illurstmtion of them. By
it we were to continue what the e:ti§;en’ce of the

, tirneslisd made us, 21 nation ; not to crumble down

again into a. mere padjuncrtion of States. 'I‘l1is;union
was the depository of na.tio:nsl glory r;t and the bul-J
warl; of our freedorn. It was presented to the eye

~ by l€V€1“lV‘ possible tlev.i.se. "‘ Unurn e pluril:n.1s"‘

1 6 ,

glitte-red on our coin 2” 5‘ We are one,” spread its,,.

azure field to the sunshine, while our standards;
"‘ winnowed the buxom air.” The scattered oaks
of our mountains grewinto united navies ;, the thun-

nderlof the United States echoed from shore to shore

of the ocean; and the union eagle swept his broad

, wing against the distant margin of thesl<y.' , o o p
4 Enterprise opened the channels of intercourse with

all nations; and American industry poured the su-

perflursz of its acquisitions," through them, into vari-:_

ous, andldistant countries. Agriculture was awaken.-

ed, was enlivened by commerce; commerce was
protected by government; and brought back a reve-- ,

nue,~sopportiI1g thehand that cherished it, _ and fill-
ing the national Scofierspwith as rich superfluity. A
  Foreign nations, if they did not fear our power, yet

revered the wisdom of our councils, and our unsul», V

lied national character. When England rnenaced
our commerce, remonstrance brought them to a.

A treaty of reciprocal amity. VVhen the French, whose“
revolution, at first presented all the allurements of
freedom; and like Miltorfs Portress of Hell’s Gate,  ‘

4‘ Seem’d woman to thewaistyand fair;

“ But ended, foul in many a scaly fold,

“ Voluminous and vast; a serpent arm’d'j
“ VVith mortal sting,” r l

when~they* would have coiled us Within the Can»-i

taininating embrace of this revolution, the pr“eserving'
angel of our country said to the many headed face»
tion, “ Peace; be still;”“ “ ‘We will have holiest
friendship with all nations ; entangling alliances with
none.” And it was so. lFrance, then, respected,
our neutrality. J ‘ ‘ r V ,

VV l1en,-after this, other rulers stood on the Wheel

of her revolution, and despatched their 1narauders it

17

to rob ins‘ on the highway of natiionis ;' what a spirit
anim°atedeot1rl*country I It Was the same fire of free-
dom, of honour, of union "Which, in ’76, ablaze
throughout the continent‘. Reprisals soon tauglht
the French government, that the patriots, heroes,
and statesmen of America yet lived. Their pirates
sltulked from the ocean; and the American flag was
again respected. _ ~ at
This was indeed the golden age of America. In
future years, the true history of it will perhaps be
deemed fabulous; for alas iron times have succeed-s
ed. Surely God, for some strange purpose, has
permitted the dark mist of astrong delusion, to be
spread over our country, “ that We might believe a
lie gr?’ else Why have We committed the safe keeping,

and administration, of our federal constitution to

men, Who, from the very moment of its birth, stood,
like the great red dragon of the Apocalypse, ready
totdevour it!  WAsHrNc'roN and ADAMS

A surrendered  to  E F 13' E R s o N the sanctuary of our

liberty, honour, and union, it was pure and undea-

filed, la praise, and a glory, in the whole earth. It .
has since been polluted Withthe ceremonial of demo»

éracy; or erected into a laboratory for governmental

experiments; Where ‘native visiona;rie‘s,i and foreign

artists, have plyed _ the trade together, until some
obtained the art of making real  g’t:f)ldi;t  othere
have confuted their own theories.

 5». V. . .

The history of these times isia narrative of deyia»

tion from the great principles of i our national Inde.

pendence. A l l r
Liberty’ cannot exist, Without at free’ adtninistrat

tion of thelaws; for a government of them, whether

of one, few, or many, without law, isiithe very defi-

nition of despotism. l A This st1premacy,~ this indei.;

pendence of the laws cannot be preserved, Without a

c

18

preservation of the judiciary from dependence on
the legislative power. This great principle was
once secured, as was hoped, by a constitutional pro-
vision. A The first act almost, of J e1‘l"ersonian admin-
istration, was a practical subversion of it. t

Laws cannot preserve the principles of the revo-
lution, unless enacted by men, understanding their
spirit, and devoted to their preservation. Frequent,
and constitutional elections only can secure, and
perpetuate this great object. .The purity of our

i elections has been contaminated by encouraging the

migration and ready admission of foreigners to the
rights of citizenship, For years Europehas been in

a political ferrnentation; and the outlaws of France,

Germany, England and Ireland; the scum, and froth,

, of insurrection; all the foul, filthy, and polluted

abominations of profligacy ; the drainingsof cities,
the sweepingsr of gaols, the refuse of the gallows,
havebeen Welcomed to our shores; and congratu-
lated on their safe arrival to this “ Asylum of op.-
pressed humanity.” A   *
y t ‘The cégtteiit of our territory, and the varioushabits
of our citizens ever have weakened the cords of our
union. Jnrrsason has multiplied the evil, the has

incorporated Louisiana with the United States.-m

This country is more extensive than our own terri» i

tory; and for population contains an abstract of all

nations.

How canthe American Legislature enact laws for

such a Babel? o How can such a people be one with ‘

us ? Their veryi conversation is the“ conftisioti i of
tongues; for even one man, smust speak, several ,Cli:l3-
vferent languages,r in the same sentence.  \ r
  Surely the Philosopher of Monticello, in this an.
nexment, to our,, country, had lessvievv to political

aclvautage,rthanto f‘ the holdingforth to the World a r

19

lively-experiment”, on the musical effects of a union
of all possible articulate sounds. They may be the
religious favourites of this friend of the illustrious

i PAINE; because, Whether they Worship one God,
or twenty Gods, We, N ew-mEng'1a11ders, can never t

know; since none but God himself can even under.-
stand their dialect. l ~ . . i A

"When our government was established, the ex-
penses of administration were funded on a revenue,
annually resulting from commerce. ‘Witl1out this,
there could be no revenue; and without revenue,
the federal government could not exist. The pre-A
servation of . commerce is the preservation of govern-
ment; the destruction of it a kind of political sui-~
cide. This Was as true, in the time of J EFFERSON,
as in that of Wasnrncron and Anaii/13;‘ and as
‘Well known to him, as it had been to them; and yet
he advised and sanctioned an unlimited embargo.
This single measure   more empoverished the nation,
thantiour eightyears of War with Britain. It cut off
our revenue. : discouraged our industry ; wasted our
capital; ruined our fisheries; exiled our seamen,
and scattered them to the four winds of heaven.
Had our g~overnment invited, to a’ War of depreda-
tion upon us, all the pirates of Barbary, of France,

of England; and at the same time, let loose the taW- ’

ny sons of the wilderness on our defenceless fron-
tiers; less, incalculably, less, would have been the
injury. If administration, had openly '1Zt1l»’Lt‘:I1 coma»
sel of France, she Would, first of all, have advised a
perpetual embargo; for that must, by abolishing our
government, dissolve our union, destroy our national

character, and reduce us back to the tame condi»

tion of colonial slavery. Surely there is a singular
coincidence, between French, and American, policy.

God forbid, that a riband of legionary l1cnnr.,n*, or 

A the netioilal spirit.

20

gross of the enfipirei sghouldy solve that dark political
riddle, the Ainerican embargo. ‘ 

Other adtninistiations improved tile: maritime t

valour of the CO.uI1try by a navy of ships ;. these he

ord;ered to the docks, or dismantled and sold them; i

and condemned their brave crews; and gallant ofli-is»
cers, to the gunuboats. r This was prodigality of‘ both

courage, lead wealth 5" it not  helped. to drain   the l

treasttrys but to disgrace, break down ttsubduei

N eutraliyty towards the belligerents was Indepene; a

dance in VVASHINGTQN. t This J 1;r:m«:asaorN abanei
drQned)« at thefiirst Call at Bonaaanlre-it The pea»-

We of St. Domingothad brokena froni the tyranriy of t

their Frencho masters ;. and declared ‘themselves, free
and i_11Cl.€:p€1f1d€I1t._ BoNA~1=A~arrE denounced them as
rebels ;, and called on the government of the United
States to aid him in reducing them to subjection.

Our government obeyed the proud mandate; and

interdicted all intercourse with a people, as well en»;

p titled to freedom and independence, as We the United “
States of America had been twenty years before,
Indeed how could We, or Frenchmen, brand these

people with rebellion’? Both We, and they, had
refused obedience, to those who claimed dominion.

‘What was found in BONAPA-RTE more than Ton s— t

s A I N tr, to, grace the horrours Of‘l‘CVOlL1tlO1'1,;,t and Wrap
the bloody limbs of usurpation in the vestInents_

ofrighteousness? Did “more royalty circulate in his to
Veins, or beat in histbreast? Dindtmoretlnobiility sit

in the Corsican’s face, than looked ‘l§hI'O.l1gl’l the
dusky visage of the African: ;\ while his dark brow
drank the sunbeams,; and his: dazzling eyertgltanced;
alon _ “ the grim ridges” of St. Domingian “ waif?”

 time would fail me, toname the instances of
violated, Of almost surrendered, Independence. The

52

spoils of France, Won by the blood and valonr of
our seamen, were repaired, and ornamented, at our
national» @'Xp€I'lS€,- and sent back, Well armed, and
appointed, to annoy their adversary. , By treaty with
France, the American flag neutralizes all that floats

the ocean under it. For years this hasvbeen forgotg ‘A
ten. in Our ships have been plundered; and burned a

on the high seas, aspectacle Of-l10_1"1“0l1I’ in the eyes of
all nations. . American citizens. robbed, stripped,
insulted, are driven from one prison to another, a
gazing stock, a derision, to green inslent conscripts,
and grinning French Petit Martres.A , .

It, is thus our national character is degraded, in i
the eyes of the French mob ; and their very a shoe» A

blacks, are by it, taught to believe,they canconquer
British soldiers; because they have dared to i see
Americanslr who conquered them. A W l » . r

All these things have, for years,»  ? en,  to
our ,Minister at Paris; (to our. President ; to the

majority. in, Eiongress ; to the leaders of l the Ademogz A

cracy of our country; yet have therebeen no reprim
sals, no protection, no preparation for defence, not
even a rernonstrance or complaint. ,CAnonr-: hasso
written to A1tMSTRON’Gl ; and dare administration
say he not Written truth ? VV ell may that insolent

sycophant of Corsican royalty tell our government
“ they have no energy, no sense of national honour, A

no wise system of policy.” It is true, according to
s letters, AaM;s'rno.N can i has now I‘€I11OI1'Sl1I‘€li2€§l.,.
But why not before? or why now ? It isneedful to
seem to resent French aggression. A ~ .
Indeed We are fallen into a forlorn condition. We
have widely departed from the principles of the revo-
lution; and union, and glory, and liberty are depart»-
ing from us. Our constitution has been violated;
profligate foreigners receive the prerogatives of citi-w

22

zens ; our union is enfeebled by extending our terri»

tory ; the national navy is hewn down to gun-boats,

American seamen reduced to galley slavery ; an em-
hargo has licked up the very dust of the treasury;
the country is ernpoverished, exhausted, and depress-.
ed ; While French partialities, French principles, and

French influence, have brought our nation, almost .

to the foot of that proud tyrant, who now rides on

s the shoulders of Europe. Is there no ,rrrefuge,a no

defence? Yes, my countryrnen. A r , x
, a Let us look back to What achieved our Indepen.»

rdence. Those. immortal principles will ever pre-.

serve it. Is no spirit of union left on earth ? VVhen
our Independence israt hazard, the animosities, the

A distinctions, of party imust be forgotten. Call to

mind the achievements of our fathers; and remem-
ber We are not more the children of their love, than
the heirs of their exploits, and their glory. We are

 Americans. This is the land of liberty. Let not

tyranny have a habitation, on this side the Atlantick.
Look to the South: A, spirit of Independence is
ascending the Andes; and soon, from their heaven
iilumined summit, will she call the Provinces of
Southern America, to freedonfllnd glory. To us
they will turn their eyes, for friendly aid, and illus-,
trious e:eamples.,,, Wlten that proud day arrives,

  may the God of our fathers Warm our bosoms, with

a "divine transfusion of their spirit, of freedom, of

glory, of union ,-. then shall We be mindful of their_

fame, our Independence, the peace of the World, and
the weal of posterity.   ‘ t  .