AN ORATIO Pnonoumcmn mm w@ttma;~E~: ©i? WW9 2% AT mm REQUEST 01:‘ THE xmmrarmmws or THE arm 014‘ BOSTON, IN COMIVIEMORATION on THE ANNIVERSARY 018‘ 73.W.é/M..?“E@7.LWal7J;z Eififlflfiflifllfiifiififlfla BY JOHN C. GRAY, ESQ. TPIHNTED AT TI-21E TIIEQUEST OF THE (LI'I.""Sl' QB‘ BOSTON. mmstrom : % TP'(‘T1¥I..f$f¥EI) BY CHARLES CALLENDER3 No. 25, School Street. 4300930005 *1 8332” CEITY OF BOSTON. In Common Council, July 8, 1822. ORDERED, That the Mayor and Aldermen be and they hereby are requested to present the thanks of the City of Boston, to Jo:-IN C. GRAY, Esq. for the elegant and spirited oration, delivered by him on the fourth, of July, at the request of the City upon the anniversary of American Indepen- dence, and to request a copy for the press. Sent up for concurrence. WM. PRESCOTT, President. In the board of Aldermen, July 8, 1822. Read and concurred. ' I JOHN ‘PHILLIPS, Mayor. A true copy Attest, S. F.McCLEARY, City Clerk. ®@@“E@Nee FELLOW crrxzsns, -IT would be unnecessary as well as impracticableto enuu merate the auspicious circumstances, under which we now meet together. You have already expressed your sense of them most unanimously and unequivocally by the usual rejoicings this day 5 in public and in private, by military‘ and by religious ceremonies, your steps are thronged by a cheerful multitude, the current of business stands still, and joy and gratitude are proclaimed by every tongue and reflected in every face. Ournational prosperity is not a subject, upon which you need to be either informed or ex- cited, and all, that I could say to display it, would be little else than a repetition of the sentiments of every one who 4 hears me. But it is not solely for the purpose of exul”ta- tion that We are here assembled. You have considered this as a proper occasion, not merely for innocent enjoy- ment, but for soberrreflection. You have re-collected that on this day, if ever, we must be naturally and forcibly led to think of our ancestors and ofposterity, to investigate the causes which conduced to the establishment of our na- tional happiness, and the formation of our national char- 4 acter, and to ask what are the means within our reach for increasing the one and improving the other. The practice of assembling annually for the consideration of subjects like these has been established among us by long custom, and might be defended if necessary on the sound- est principles of‘ reason. The beneficial effects, which it is calculated to produce both on our understandings and feelings, though difficult to define, are real and important. We meet together as members of one community 5 our at»- tention is diverted from those points, upon which we hon- estly differ, to those on which we must warmly unite ; we are reminded of objects, which we have a common and equal interest in pursuing, however we may disagree as to the best means of procuring them ; the spell, which is too often thrown over the mostliberal minds by the spirit of party, is interrupted and dissolved, and we are prepar- ed to return to our ordinary political duties, not perhaps with less difference of opinion, but with clearer views, with more dispassionate judgments, with more generous feelings. The anniversary of our independence will we trust be ever an occasion of universal gladness to all parts of our spreading empire; but this return of it, my friends, is renderedpeculiarly interesting to us, by a cir- cumstance Which has occurred since We last met together, which has probably already suggested itself to your reflec- tions, and which it would be doing injustice to your feel»- ings to pass over in silence. A thorough alteration in our municipal government is an event, which, as it has hap- pened but once, and as it was undertaken and conducted with the most mature deliberation, will probably not again recur, Like those important changes which sometimes take place in the life of an iIl(l.l.Vlidllfll1 it seems to break 5 the continuity of our existence ; our attention is irresisti- bly arrested for a season, and directed to the serious con- sideration of our past and our actual condition. To at— T tempt even the slightest abstract of the eventful history of Boston is a task, Which, however interesting, would oblige me to trespass on your patience, far beyond the proper limits of this occasion, and I shall merely select a few facts, which appear to indicate more fully and correctly than any others, the general course of our fortunes from the be- ginning of the last century, to this moment. One hun- dred years ago, Boston contained 18,000 souls. From that time till the year 17 90 its growth was slow and inconsid- erable, and its population remained nearly stationary. Since this last period, the number of its citizens has been regularly augmented one third in every ten years; and r from 1810 to 1820, not only the relative, but the absolute increase of the county of Suffollc, exceeded that of any other in the state. The accumulation of property in Bos- ton has been more than proportioned to the multiplication of its inhabitants. True, our prosperity has not been dun-or interrupted or unmingled; but our embarrassments have been shared by the rest of our country, and greatly exceeded at all times, and never more than at present, by those of every other capital in the union. We cannot p open our eyes, without beholding the most unequivocal monuments of the general success, which has crowned the industry and economy of our citizens. Their honestly ac» quired wealth is continually rising round us, not only in comfortable dwellings, but in magnificent and useful works not more conducive to the interests of the projectors than to the advantage and honour of the City 5 and what is still “more, in splendid edifices for the celebration of public 6 worship, and the relief of disease and poverty. We can hardly a give a stronger proof of our prosperity, than by stating that it surpassed even the expectations of the saga- cious and enlightened politicians, who formed our state constitution, and wasin fact the sole occasion of those difiiculties, which ledto the snnnnoning of our late Con- vention. l Itis a cause ofno inconsiderable gratification, that the contemplationof the trnagnitude and beauty of our city, leads to noneof those melancholy reflections, which arise in exploringthe nioresplendid capitals of the East—- ern continent. Tlicir monuments of art, glorious as they are, are generally the fruits of despotism or superstiti.on,~ the snare indications of fr-eneral snfi"ering, the incontestible proofs that the comfort of the whole people has been ~ sac- rificed to the decoration of the metropolis. , '3‘ When verging to decline, their splendonrs rise, Their Vistas strike, their Palaces surprise.” it The embellishments of this place, on the other hand,‘ are principally the result of private enterprise and liberality, the symptoms not of distress and decline, butiof the gem- eral prosperity of the capital, the state, and the union. I have said thus much of the increase of our city, not to in»- dnlge or excite an idle vanity, but for the purpose of lead.- ing your attention to the causes, by which this increase has been promoted and accelerated, Such as subject will, Itriust, not be considered as altogether inappropriate to it this great national festival, sincecmanjr of those causes are manifestly of a general nature, and have operateddalike on us, and on our wh‘ole'country. Mncliof our success is doubtless owing to external circumstances, and partic,ular~ sly tothe condition of the European World, during thellats 7 protracted and doubtful war. But what rendered the ope» ration ot’these.circumstances uniformly and highly favor- able, what enabled us to improve our unequalled oppox-tn» nities ? It would be doing a flagrant injustice to our early I ancestors, to forget that our actual prosperity arises prima~ rily from causes which existed before the revolution, though their operation was for a long time lessened and retarded by adverse circumstances. ‘We owe the princi-~ ples, feelings, and habits which have enabled us to acquire and preserve what we possess, in a great degrees, to their virtuous example and their wise institutions. I shall touch for a moment on a few of the most peculiar of these, those of a political, literary, military nature. That the will of the people is thelonly just foundation of government, and that all rulers are their delegates, were considered by our fathers, in common with every man of liberal views, as self-evident axioms. ,Wlll”l them, however, these were something more than more abstract propositions, which, like maxims on the origin of law or of property, serve only to exercise the ingenuity of studious theorists.--—~Thel popular form of internalgovernrnent, imperfect and re- strictedas it was, which we enjoyed in our colonial con»- dition, I may perhaps be considered as the principal source of our whole republican system. By their frequent elec- tions, the people were reminded of their equal rights, and common interests; they were admonished that the praise or blame of those legislative measures, which were sanctioned by their approbation or acquiescence, must, rest upon themselves, and “excited to an incessant andanx- ions inspection of the conduct of their representatives. , iTl'l0 whole country was reduced to one vast seminary of political yinsytruction, and A those principlespof lmowledge 8 which were implanted in early youth in the minds of all, but which might have been efihced from those of the great- er part, by an exclusive attention to their daily labours, . were kept alive and expanded by frequent reflection and discussion upon subjects of the highest general moment. A profound skill in political science, was necessarily limit-t ed to a few, but an acquaintance with the most important facts of their history, and leading principles of their gov» ernment, was acquired almost insensibly by every. citizen of the colony. Sensible, however, that a representative system could conduce to the happiness only of an enliglit-— cned community, our predecessors endeavoured to secure and increase the beneficial influence of their political in»- stitutions, by their provisions for the instruction of youth. ‘N Scarcely had they acquired a scanty subsistence for then»- selves, and their children, when they laid the foundation of our venerable university; and, could all else that they did be erased from our memory, this glorious monument of their wisdom and piety should alone entitle them to our never ceasing gratitude. They were still more rernarka- bly distinguished from every other community by the es- tablishment of schools. That laws are nothing Without morals, andthat these are principally the fruits of early ihstruction, are truths which were felt in all their force, by the most ancient Writers of Greece, and the public ed- ucation. of youth is laid down by Plato, as the corner stone of his perfect republic. But it was the glory of our ancestors, in this as in many other respects, to reduce theory to practice ; to execute those rules which had often been urged by the wisest political philosophers, as vitally important, and universally disregarded by governments, as visionary, erroneous, or injurious.---’I‘he beneficial‘ ef-- 9 fects produced on the character of our ancestors by their militia system are so obvious, that very few words will be necessary to display them. A high spirit of independence can scarcely exist in any community, unless accompanied by the consciousness, that they hold their rights by a firm- er tenure, than any which can result merely from written instruments 3 that their liberty is secured not merely by laws, but by the possession of physical force. Tinie would ~ fail me to dwell on the religious or judicial institutions of our forefathers, or even to mention many others of scarce»- lyless importance. I shall therefore detain you no lon- ger onmthis part of my subject, than merely to point out the combined influence of the political, literary, and mili- tary institutions which existed among us,ibcfore the revo» lution, in bringing that all important struggle to a success»- ful issue. It was because the minds of our citizens were expanded by early instruction at our public schools _; be- cause, in administering their internal concerns by their own representatives, they acquired a thorough knowledge of their great political rights 5 and because their skill in the use of arms, and in the rudiments of discipline, inspired them with a confidence not only in the justice but the strength of their cause, that the war of 1775 was truly and emphatically a war of the whole nation; that the pee»- ple, instead of being the blind followers of a few illustri- ous leaders, were separately and individually actuated by a spirit as enlightened as it was enthusiastic, a spirit which carried them through seven years of defeat, to final victory, and which nothing could have quelled but utter extermination. 2 10 I now turn from those causes of the prosperity of our city laml country which existed 7% previous to the event We this day commen‘mt*ete, to those which have since arisen. The first and greatest was our indepentlenee itself. It was this that freed ue from the impemlent lmr-t were of Arbitmryl powen It was this that opened those cl:1ent11el.€~s of imlus't1'y.,. y from Wl‘1“iCl1~Wel lllEl.(l- heeri inexorably 'dehe1'I'e(l by tlxejealouey of the mother country ; endit was this more especially, tltat struclc ‘oft‘tl1ee shackles from 6111' commerce, and enabled her to spreml her snowy pin-- ions, in every regvion of the glolle. h To recommend your intlepemlemte to your care would heeqtmlly idle and _pre~ sumptuous. Snell"recomlmemlations indeed eoulclsoarcely hetl11eceeee.1*y, till they became unevailing. The love of liberty, in any people worthy to ‘enjoy it, is a feeling like the love of life in en inc1ividlhel,y which no 1*eesoni11g* or perstzasion can eitl‘1er:ineree.ee or impair; Yet ’ou1‘*etnen- cipr-?I.tion'would be atbeet a “doubtful hoonyhatl it notlbeen succeeded by the establishment of our national §~'ovem—— 1nent.' To this tl1e1'el’et'e we ynmy point as the next cause in d1'*de1"', tl1oug;l1 ‘scarcely inferior in" eflicaoy of our‘ public proepm-i,ty. No sooner was the imlepentlence of ~ our States aelctacmwletlged, than thetooali:tion, which lt1e"erl%t%l1ee1*1 inetentaneonxesly fomned between them by a community of ohjnéetsl‘ of ¢lan;g~ers, and of eufi‘ex*i.nge, began to relax its hold, em] was vemishing as rapidly, as it areee. Itlwzts i1'lcl‘i.epens:allly requisite to perpetuate their fl"iGll(lSl“l'lI), by (.‘.St£tl)ll8llio.l}g7.yla sove1?eignty,l which, stpI*ingir1g' front the will of the United tpeoplepelmeuld hetaceountablel to them alone, by creating at power which should be like ‘ % “The glorious planet Sol In imoble eminence enthrened and sphered ‘Anuitl the otlmr, whose meclicirmble eye: l Corrects. the ill 'Vaspects of‘ plzmets evil % And posts like tlxelctmnrrmmilmexxt of a king Sans clmck to good and bad.” \ Our national fmvemmerzt is :’mdeed,l asobscrvetl on auotllcr subject by an «eloquent English writer, ““ The Sun of our ssystmn, the stml of our ])()lll3l.CB.l wurld, the scnmzc of light, life :«m(l” xmztimx aml genial Wa.x‘m‘tl; zmd plastilc erl:e1"gy.” N ever army we l’orf_;czt tllat the scva emncc Of mu? umiunl is; tlw only lmxnan means, wlzich can :m*1*esttl1e marcll of mm greatnesgg tha.t,shou1d it ever Imp- pen, alltlm gooclnem of Pmviclence will "9' p1~0‘{*eiIl in us zmd wall: but malice,” zmd the ccmvulsions,Vvl‘1ich r‘nustthe1'1 ngitaltc our wlmle country, will be d1*emll’ul in ywoportioxx to its: p1:'m*i.(ms pxmsperity. Let it be 01.11‘ peculiar? care, to prevcml; any temlency to an end so latxlentablc, by 3. cm*el’111 detection am! stvenuczeus resistarzcc of local pr-ejudi- ccs. l'I‘l1csca mm by far time most clar3ge1'ot:s,becat1se tlze most lastirzg ofalll. Party dixrisions on nzere political ques- lzions, are generally liznitecl in thcir tl11ration,aml can sscmmzly long lam-vlive, vsrlxen tlxose qlucstimms lose. l;l“l(.‘:i‘l‘l in- temsst by the ‘lfluctuatlimx of ciz~cumsstanc+cs.. I~l«:-mace tlw: lines; of dm"mwcal;ilc>n, wllxilclm SllCl1 divisions cmeate, are per-4 jletmally Cll2ll‘lfj"ll'l§_§‘, frown the want ol‘perma1w.11t lzmdx11la,rl~:.s. Not 530 wilth l0Cfllj011l(”)llSl.€SS. They run with the land, they sstrilm into the semi], and W131’: once deeply planteil,; an l‘l()p£3S of 1*emm:i:l1g,* tlxcrxa :~;u'c~:. uttmrly clxlnxerical. To “i1npr“ess:~ the f0I‘(‘:8§l,'lJi(l tlm tree unfixits eartlx-bouml 91:01:,” wave». mt it n1<)1'c:rlespm1'atc attenuyxt. 12 If those geographical distinctions are to he dreaded, which might destroy the harmony of our national union, how much more those,Which might tend to array one por- tion of our own state against the other. May not only the name, but the very imagination of a difference be: tween the interests of Town and Country, if indeed an idea so absurd can ever have prevailed, soon be utterly forgotten. It cannot be, my friends, that our honestly ac» quired prosperity should excite any undue jealousy among, our industrious and well informed yeomanry. Should such a feeling enter their minds for a single moment, the recollections, which this day naturally excites, must be alone sufiicient to suppress and expel it. They cannot fail to remember, that they are the children of those, who, when Boston was singled out as the foremost object of ministerial vengeance, and when every temptation was held forth to them to build their fortunes on her ruin, were anxious not only to relieve but to share her distres- ses; were ever prepared, by the sacrifice of their property and their lives, to bear witness to the great and eternal truth, that the prosperity or suifering of one member is that of the whole community. Meanwhile let it be our particular object to remove even any temptation to partial or oppressive legislation, by dill fusingg; just ideas of political economy. The labours of _Smith and of Say have at lengtli exposed the fallacy of those cumbrous and unwieldly systems, which have checke- ed the advancement of every country in ‘Europe. They, a have shewn that the great principles of Political Econo- my, like those of every other science, are few and simple in themselves 5 A that it is the perverted ingenuity of men, 13, which has sought out many inventions, which has distort- ed what was direct, and darkened what was clear. They have proved that the safest guide to the efforts of every man is his own interest ; that what is best for the individ- ual is best for the whole ; that industry, whether it guide the plough, or ply the loom, or spread the sail, is alike entitled to protection, to encouragement, and to respect; that legis- lative interference to assist one species of exertion, at the expense of all others, is not more unjust than impolitic, not more injuriousto those classes of citizens, which are unwarrantahly restricted, than to that which is unreasona- bly favoured. I shall notice as the next cause of the pros- perity of Boston the flourishing state of her schools. Those of our public laws which relate to the subject of ed- ncation, as their operation extends to the whole state, have ” required only such provisions for the free instruction, as are within the means of towns of a moderate size. To build on the solid foundation which these laws have A laid, to add the useful and ornamental to that which was indispensably necessary, is wisely left to voluntary munili-— cence. It may he asserted Without vanity, tl1at,in fulfilling this trust, the inhabitants of Boston have not been no- mindful either of its high importance, or of their own character. More than forty tlzousmzd dollars are annually expended by them for the gratuitous schooling of children, and this single circumstance is perhaps that of all others in our whole public conduct, on which we canreflect with the warmest, and most solid gratification. It is our aim to diffuse not merely elementary knowledge, but refined learning... That classical education, which is in other countries the highly valued privilege of the noble and the opulent, is with us freely bestowed on the children of the 14 pooreet critiema. "May no 1mr1'~ow or mlSl3‘él.Al«Il3l"1 ideas; of econon1_v ever lead us to witlihold our liberal support t'1'om imstitntionslso truly l"@{mlJllC2thl‘3, as our public. semina- riee. We yet owe much to the literary interests of our country. Large cities are ever?ywl'1ex*e the nnt'se1'iee of elegmit knewletlg'e,‘end nothing will‘mo1*e conduoe tolren— (ler the litei'etm'e oi‘ the United States worthy of their political g1'ee.tnesst, than the preservation, multiplication and e1'1larg;ei11ent of classical scho“ols. It is there,ithat‘a. puretaste can he tiwmed in the very infmicy of the facul- ties, by an ace.m°ete acquaintance with those epebirnene of Grecian and Roman eloquence, which the experience of two thousand y'eers has proved to he the only Sui‘!-3 igtiides to literary“(listincttioln. ’I‘heee'plein truths axe continually §§Elli‘lllif._!,‘ al firnner Ixoltl in the minds of our cennttqymen 3 we awe. every where becmninfg; tnore and more convinced of the real value of at national litemtnre. The acute oh» setvatioii of one of our own writers, tlmt 6‘ men of letters ztnd not -.1 he‘:-e(lita1*y‘nobility are the Coiiintliiien clapital of polislieil smeietyfliis most true, but it is not the whole truth. Elegztxit writers, as yen well know, eomluce not less to the st:-eingtlllx, thah to the Spl()l"I(l€)lll" of a free coun- try, anal it is with literalljuzstice that Homer has pointed out ‘~‘ the heave’n~teu_g*l1t poet and enehzmting strain,” as among}; the fii*sthlessir1_e;s of a. peziceful state. lV.’l‘*2mne1'-e home chan_g;etl, bot lnnnan nature 1‘~ema.ins the same; and tlioufzgh the Bl(.)qil(3i1t authors of rnodet-n tinoes are not in»- VOSiLt)tl with the open eml ‘public: honors paid to the Sages and herds of ancient days, yet their influence, while less osteiitatiouun. is fax-tno1‘e extensive, efficient and openne- nent ; their wot-its are not recited in palaces and at ifeaetls, hut transmitted by the press to the closet and the fireside ; they still continue in fact, though not in name, the gua1*cli- l5 ans of public sentiment, the real lawgivers out‘ their coun- try, the moral guides of the civilizedworld. The culti- vation of elegant literature is a duty, which we owe not more to our own interests than to the In-emery of our predecessors.j It is a cause of I“C_{.§l"@t‘, not to say complaint, that their gallant achievements have as yet found no Amer» ican to record them in y a style worthy their excellence. We haveiproduced indeed several histories of our own country 5 but these, though entitled for many reasons to the l1igl'xest respect, have been generally written by men, whose numerous professional avocations prevented them from doing justice to their subjects or to“theinselves.' We Inayventure to hope, that so glaring a defect will not re»- main unsupp~licd 3 that it will not long continue to he said, that the most elegantaccount of the United States has is- suedirfroym the pen of an Italian; that we have left it to foreign hands to adorn the graves of our fatliers. While the formation of an elegalitynational literature is thus reconnnended to us hy every motive of policy and morality, the actual si.tilation of our country presmtits still more obvious and pa*cssing- imilucenuents for the cultiva- tion of the sciences. It is these which must as—- sist us to explore those rich gifts, which nature has scat- tered over the forests, or hurled in the mines of our vast territory, and vrhicli are as yet untold, undiscovered, and unsuspected; It is these which will shednew light on our agriculture,'manut'actures, and commerce, which will teach us to improve our physical resources ; and multiply our daily comforts. May those among us, wliose}1x'ivilcg;e ‘it is to investigate the pl"ilTlClpl0E.i_, on which allthe useful arts are foyundecl, never be unnnindi’ul oi" the Ill"§,‘0l'lt wants of their country 5 may they ever reflect that the abstract 16 sciences have never been so gloriously directed, as when brought down to the practical purposes of life ; when do- voted by those who think, to the success and safety of those who toil ; when employed by Davyfor the preserva- tion of the miner in the depths of Earth, or by Bowditch for the guidance of the adventurous mariner over the pathless wilds of Ocean.----The last source of the prosper-i— ty of Boston which I shall mention, is the wisdom and ii- delity with which its municipal concerns have been reguw lated, ever since its foundation; This city was for more than 190 years a pure democracy, administered in a great degree by the people themselves, Without the inter- vention of representatives. Notwithstanding its large population, yet, till within a few years, little practical in- convenience was experienced from a form of government which is said, with much truth, to be generally incom-~ patible with the peace and success of as numerous and compact community. We may remark a prooflequally conclusive and gratify» ing, of the elficacy of the feelings, manners, and princi- ples of our ancestors, in the simple fact, that the mere force of public sentiment should have so long protected us from those irregtularities, which can scarcely be repressed in many cities of the Eastern World, by severe laws and by military force. The late alteration of our town con- stitution was indeed not made without opposition, or with- out reluctance. It was no wonder that we should fondly cling to a form of government, dear to our honest prej- udices (if ‘indeed they do not deserve a better name) alike from its venerable antiquity, from its similarity to the mu- nicipal institutions of our country brethren, and from a I7 recollection of the virtues of those ancestors, by whom it p was established and preserved. We were at length tauglit by a thorough experience, that the administration of our town affairs in person, was rendered impracticable by our ' overflowing population. The frequency of ourtown meet- ings became a heavy and embarrassing burden, and a gen- eral attendance upon them was utterly incompatible with a proper regard to our private duties. Our ordinary inu- nicipal concerns were actually managed, and our by-laws enacted, by a small proportion of our whole number 3 and we had no alternative left but to determine whether that proportion shouldibe an ever clianging assemblage, collect- ed almost wholly by accident, or abody of responsible del- gates chosen by the deliberate suffrages of the majority. Convinced. that either the municipal constitution which our ancestors had left us must be changed, or that the good order and good principles, which it was the sole object of that constitution to cherish, must be impaired or hazarded, we felt ourselves bound, by a regard not merely to our own good, but to their memory, to sacrifice the means to the end, and to establish, under the sanction of the legislature, a government of representatives. This has been framed with an accuracy and caution, which will appear superfluous to none, who rightly estimate the im- portance of city laws. They are those, of all others, which touch us most nearly. We feel their influence ev- ery hour. l The neatness and beauty of our streets, our public places, and public edifices ; our general health 5 the quiet pursuit of our business ; the enjoyment of our inno- cent recreations, our daily conot'ox*ts, and Illg‘l'1ijly repose, , 3 18 are all materially clepentleiit on wise and well executed municipal regulations. Such l"Cgl]ll3.iJi0l}S, by their effect upon our comtlitliomcontribute inateri.ally,tl1ougil1 indirectly, to the i'ormation of our character : for who does not know how much character is affected by situation, how forcibly our minds and hearts are influenced by our physical cir- cumstances E’ Still more may the government of every city control and guide a the conduct of its inhabitants, by that vigilant and internal police, which checks vice at its very spring, and prevents the deeper guilt, which more general laws can, at best, only punish. Without such a police ainong; ourselves,. the wisest enactments of our con»- gress or our legislature could do but little to render us a flourishing and happy municipality. This great end, we devoutly trust, will be materially,promoted by our new form of government. But let every citizen seriously re» iiect, that'it is still a g'overmnent of the people 5 and that ' the talents and fidelity of our municipal oflicers can avail us notliinfg, unless seconded by the prompt obedience and liberal approbation of the inhabitants, in general. .‘What indeed, let us inquire for a moment, is the origin, and what the nature not only of municipal, but of all public in- stitutions? They are valuable only as instruments for proinoi:ing- the happiness and virtue of the community where they exist. They spring from the character of the people, and are powerfully effectual in strengthening and inipic-ovirng that character, by their reaction. Hence the lnaxirn, that forms of government are of no consequence, if the people are generally virtuous, is alike illusory and da1:ngerous. But as the character of the community is the primary source of public institutions, so it is their sole 19 support, andthey are either thrown by, or rendered use- less, when that character is vitiated by other causes. For let us not forget, what, incontestihle as it is, is daily over»- loohed, that no laws can infallihly render us virtuous; that Heaven has made us free agents, and no ordinance of man can change us into more machines. Indeed it is not the least excellence of our invaluable systems of government, that they furnish a stronger motive than those of any oth- er country to individual virtue. Public opinion is par- ticularly the ruling; spirit of that cornmunity, where the voice of the majority is the supreme law; and in what other way can we hope to secure the purity of public opinion, than by the prevalence of private integrity? Our repuh-- lican‘ constitutions and laws are not upheld by the strong; arm of military power, or protected by the influence of he- reditary rank {to assist in their preservation is made the duty and the privilege of all classes, of either sex, and every age. Let us consider that it is in the power of each of us to contribute something to the derangement or har- mony of our political machine 5 that we are all parts of one stupendous whole. Whatever then be our condition, Whether it he ours to defend or to enlighten our fellow citi- izens 5 whether we be the ministers of health, of justice, or of reli§_.;ion ; whether ours be the labour, which supplies all the comforts and ornaments of life, or the capital, by which that labour is stimulated and sustained, may we feel that there is no sphere of action so humhleor retired, which is not elnhraced by the all surrounding orh of social duty 3 that our talents should all be ultimately direct- ed to the best good of a country, which dispenses equal rights to every one, and recognises no claims to superior 20 honors, but those of superior usefuhmess. May it be flux’: endeaavour of‘ each citizw to mnmdesr }1i.msa-flf worthy of the happiness, which he enjoys under her impmfial czar-0; am} may it be her prerngminre, when the bigattefl a,da11imI's of extemal splendor shall sneer at her republicam simplicityg anfi ask vvlmere are her oxmanaents, to mxswmr, like 001%- nelia, by pointitmg to her o1~uLmu«:.N. FINES.