AN”

ORATION§,

DELIVERED IN I-IAVERHILL, MASS. ON mm

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AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE,

3111:: 4:, 1827,

BY NATHAN W. Ifi'AZE1‘\?.

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HAVERHILL, July 4, 1827.
Dear Sir,

./it a Meeting of the Subscribers to this olay’s Celebration,
we were appointed a Committee to express to you their undivided
thanks for your eloquent Oration delivered this day, and to re-
guest ct copy for publication.

We are very respectfully,
Your obedient servants,

RUFUS LONGLEY,
WARNER VVHITTIER,

.h/Ir. N. W. Hazen. JAMES H. DUNCAN.

HAVERHILL, July 5, 1827.
Gentlemen,

I have received yours of the 4th inst. communicating the re-
quest of the Subscribers to the Dinner, for a copy, for the press,

of the Oration clelivereol on that day.

I shall cheerfully comply with this request, as the allusions
in the performance to the early history of this town may tend to

recall times and men whom it is honorable to commemorate and A

dangerous to forget.
I am, gentlemen, with true regard,

Your most obedient servant, V
To JV". W. Hfl Z EN.
Dr. Rufixs Longley,
VVarner Whittier, Esq.
James H. Duncan, Esq.

E"”3&"§'fl7$\‘lo

FELLOW-CIT1ZENS~ :

“TE have met together to rejoice in the light of this day.
The plough stands still in the furrow--—the tool of the artisan is
silent—--the noise of business has ceased, and all ranks have
gathered about the altar.-—--Age here remembers the gloom of
its morning, the toils and dangers through which it passed to

glory-——-mingles its praises and thanksgivings, and listens to the '

grateful expressions of its sons. Manhood relrindles the flame
of patriotism from the bright example of Age, and traces back
the history of its country to the sources from whence is derived
all that makes its possessions valuable. Youth here learns its
lesson of society, while its bosom swells with a noble emulation
of the deeds of its ancestors.

Well might I shrink from the responsibility which this View
of the assemblage around me imposes. How can I give utter-
ance to the emotions which the return of this day can never
fail to inspire I. So numerous and so sacred are tlieassociations
brought with it; and so deep the interest they awal«:en in every
bosom, that no expression may equal their intensity-—-no senti-
ment corrcspond to their elevation. There is an eloquence and
poetry of feeling which words must always chill and depress.---»
They are deep and mysterious as the seats of life. The soul
has an incommunicable language suited to its own etherial

6

nature. In scenes like this it discourses with its highest inspire»
tion, and vain is the hope of the speaker to rise to the pure
regions where it dwells and expatiates, or to body forth its
bright creations. His task is performed when, “ Guide of the
path, companion of the way,” he holds an equal flight.

We are assembled where We are wont to render praises for
social and private blessings, to offer our thanksgivings for the
glory and the prosperity of the Republic; to recall the events
from which they sprung ; and to commemorate the men whose
daring spirits conceived, whose stout hearts and great talents
achieved our country’s independence. Wecan never recur to
these times, and to these men, without being made wiser and
better. Like the precepts of that holy religion, by whose
auspices they were controlled, they shed a hallowed influence
around them. They cherish the purest virtues-—-they provoke
the noblest purposes. Their memorials rise on every side.
Man in all his relations received new dignity in the era of their
existence. History has erected a column to every event and
devoted a niche to every chief. Eloquence has added the
Corinthian capital, and conferred the appropriate Wreath. We
come to add no new strains to those that have yearly ascended
in grateful memory of the Heroes of the Revolution. i We need
raise no new notes to swell the full chorus of their faime. , ‘We
can bring to the temple no new gift. A long train of genius and

learning have gone up before us, bearing intheir hands the

choicest fruits of every clime ; the richest spoils of every age,

moulded to a new and brighter existence by the Workings of
their own immortal minds. They have left their offerings shin»

ing in ceaseless splendor on the altar. May our hearts be light-
ed from tlteir fires ; and may they burn as brightly, as inextin-
guishably as the flame that was kindled at Fanueil Hall. May
it never expire 5-A-~«--may it glow in every assembly V\’l1Bl‘8ll‘e6II'.l8.1’1
meets freeman, each with a noble consciousness of his rights
and responsibilities. . t p ‘
Thus may we learn their generous impulses Without sharing

in thesame school of aflliction. , Our. sentiments may be the

same as guided and governed them, though they may never be
called into action by the same causes.-——-And so shall we be

*7

taught the lesson the example-‘of our fathers ought to inspire.
Their hearts agonized with indignation under the wrongs of the
oppressor. Does not this make us value our security at a high-
er rate ? Menace and prescription were the palms awarded to
distinguished talents and public spirit. Who would not be so
distinguished? They met in the midst of peril—-—-an armed force
watched them ; spies and traitors lurked around the hall of their
deliberations. Who is he that looks around on our peaceful and
happy assemblage, and while he glories in the contrast, does not
feel that a great trust has been committed to him---a solemn
duty has devolved upon him?

Heaven has marked this day with no ordinary incidents.
On it was promulgated the first genuine declaration of the rights
of man. Then, for the first time on earth, the government and
the people responded in the same language——-the true dialect of
liberty. On this day, from being dependant colonies of the
mother country, we became an independent nation. On this
day the germ of freedom which the puritan fathers brought in
the Mayflower, when the little band ventured on their perilous

voyage across the Atlantic, burst into certain existence. l_t took

root deep and strong in the American bosom, and found there a
congenial soil. It luxuriates in intelligence, and gains strength
from union. Already its head towers among the nations. May

  it arise until the oppressed every where behold in it the beacon

of hope. Already haveits branches spread wide. Let them
spread.--Let them extend until they shelter all the nations
of the earth.

But the Declaration of Independence was a crisis to which
events had long been tending. A chain of causes and effects
unites it with the past and with contemporary events. Bold as
the measure may be regarded standing alone, other daring enter»

prises had led up to it, until it became a necessary step in tin

progress of affairs. The meetings and deliberations of a Gen-
eral Congress, disclaiming to be controlled in its decisions, by
any other power, were regularly held. An organized army was
in the field, and hostilities had been carried on for more than a
year. iThe British King had opened his Parliament with a
speech most hostile to Americans. Audit had been promptly

8

-answered on this side the Atlantic by raising, for the first time,
the striped banner. Then first did American soldiery behold,
waving over them, the signal of victory—~—-the omen of triumph.
If this symbol of freedom can be more endeared to us, let us
love it more that it cheered the hearts of these devoted men.
They needed something to brighten their hopes. Their cour-
age, nothing physical could increase, and no sufferings-—-no pri-
vations could impair. It was a portion of their nature. It
alone could fit them for the part they were to perform. The
British Ministry had just discovered that they had sent to the
Colonies “too many troops for peace, and not enough for War.”
Fifty thousand men were soon to be arrayed on our shores.
Eighty ships of the enemy hovered upon our coasts, to prey
"upon our commerce and harrass the towns and villages on the
seaboard. Then an American Navy iirst llcourted the ocean,
andas it lay on the bosom of the Delaware, seemed onlyto
await its destiny from the gigantic rivals that prowled around.
Adams, Quincy, Otis, Hancock, and the patriots of their
days, sometimes gave direction to public sentiment, and at oth-
ers, so prompt and intelligent were the people, they did but
echo it. The light of liberty was fixed, like the north star above
our horizon, and the eyes of every citizen were turned anxious-
ly to watch it, as the dark and angry clouds of the coming tem--

pest hurried furiously across it. Let us gather the spirit of the

times from a glance at its progress in this town. So early as
1765, the subject of providing security for public liberty was
discussed in a public meeting.‘* In 1770, the town pledged it-
self to support the agreement entered into by the merchants for
the suspension of commerce. And a committee was chosen
“ to detect and expose,” in the language of the resolve, “to
shame, contempt and infamy, any person who should be found

using or selling any British imported goods.” Any such person ~

was declared “incapable of being chosen to any ofiice of trust
or henorin the town.” i Again, in 177-4,i1'esolutions to the same
tefiiect, expressediin still stronger language, were adopted. And

a solemn engagement was entered into on the part of l the town,

“that theyVwould~abid—e by any determination, the General
Congress, then about to assemble, might adopt to prevent all
‘*9 Note A.

9

grade with Great Britain ;” and the terrors of public opinion
were again fulminated against “any person who should be so
lost to every feeling of humanity and regard to posterity as that
they should continue to counteract the same.” At the same
meeting measures were taken for providing arms. This is gen-
uine love of country, when men are willing to sacrifice private
rights like these to the general good. Noble, generous men 3.’
Your sacrifices were not made in vain. Your own valor crown-
ed them with success. While America has virtue enough to
merit your exertions, to be worthy your self-denial, she will
not cease to be grateful.

, But they did not stop here, though the rays of tyranny began
to dart fiercely upon them. Like the course of some majestic
river which the fervors of a tropical sun cannot exhaust, dispens-
ing richness and fertility, and rejoicing the vegetation upon its
banksieven amid the meridian blaze, druth grows fast in the
heats of persecution. Their zeal thus aroused, anticipated the
Declaration of Independence. They saw that the exigencies'of
the times demanded it. A bill had passed the British Parlia-
ment, declaring that all American property, whether floating
upon the sea or stationed in the ports, should be legal prize in
favor of the ofiicers and crew of vessels of the king; that the
men taken in American ships should be compelled to serve in’-
discriminately as common sailors on board those of England;
finally, that commissioners of the crown be empowered to grant
pardons to such individuals as should appear to deserve them,
and to declare a colony in whole or in part in a state of obedi-~
ence; in which case these commissioners might exempt them
from the rigor of the laws and restore them to their original
condition ! Here was a declaration of war to which the annals
of nations can furnish no parallel. It was made too against a
people in whose tribunals, justice was administered in the name
of this very crown; whose temples constantly resounded tvith
prayers for the health and preservation of thisvery prince. Tliis
was a tyrant’s reply to humble petitions for redress of grievances;
to the most earnest protestations of willingness to submit to just
obedience. National animosity may slumber in the grave, but

we must erect above it a monurnent of gratitude to the ntemorgr
of our fatlters.

C7‘

rs.-

'10

1 Thus had the union of the colonies and of the mother Conn»
try been shaken untilit could never again be cemented. The
colonies must arise and stand alone, or sink, and the government
that had oppressed, would float above them. The evils they

by had suffered were scarcely a prelude to most that would follow.

Lawless bands of soldiery would swarm over the land and be
quartered in every dwelling.; an impoverished nobility would
be sent. to glean wealth fromour spoils; every shadow of right
would beswallovved up in exactionstg the blood of our young
men would have fattened the fields of Europe in the warsof
royal ambition. What then would have been American glory 9
An American ship in the battleyof the Nile, or an American
corps to share in the honors of Wate1'loo I But the energies of
this broad continent were reserved for a loftier destiny. Events
tended rapidly to its consummation. An awful chasm was pro-
duced between the two countries, and sounds of war land defi-
ance were wafted across it. The citizens of America did not
linger on its brink, they threw first their fortunes and then the m-
selves into it, not like the Roman Curtius, that it might close,
but to make their treasures and their bodies the wedges to hold
it back from re--union. it   V

V The courage and spirit of the people arose with the occa-

sion. In two successive meetings held by the inhabitants of this
town, in January, 1775, it was voted, “strictly and firmly to

abide by the Association of the General Congress.” Another

step only remained, and they hesitated not to take it. They
openly and fully met thepr‘oposition for independence when it
had, notlong been avowed by the boldest. And on the 25th of

June, 1776,. it yvas voted, “that if the honorable Congress for
the safety of_theiUnited Colonies shall declare them independ-
ent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, this town do engage,
with their lives andptlieir fortunes to support them in the mens-

ure.”*'i This was notthe effusion, of a popular efl'ervescence,-

It; was an -obligation, entered into amid the sober realities of a
war, where the question debated was, A“ freedom or death.”
And well and truly did they redeemtheir plighted faith. b Strictu
ly and fully did the dire necessities of the times compel them to
the very letter of their bond.
* Note B.

it

If these considerations of the necessity and natural result of
‘ the event we celebrate diminish our admiration, they raiseour

nationalpricle and glory. In tracing the causes, We discover a.

whole people moved by one sublime sentiment, and uniteduiu _
the same great purposes, the good of their country and of man-r

kind. Other ages exhibit individuals, swayed by the same mo-—
tives, striving with tyranny or struggling through the mists of
superstition. Their names remain to adorn the pages of history.
Memory points to them, as the martyrs, philanthropists, or bene-
factors of their age, as fortune favored or defeated their enter-
prises. Their virtues began and ended with themselves. Still
they are exalted to the highest rank among men, and with the
strength of intellect and the power of virtue, seem to draw ‘hu-
man nature upward to their own elevation. It was reserved
forthe colonies of North America to present the spectacle of a
great community, spontaneously rising in arms at the noble. im-
pulses of insulted virtue and outraged rights; not merely to
avenge wrongs; not to dethrone one imasterand set up anoth«-
er; but to raise themselves and their posterity in all coming
ages, above the reach of oppression. , V
Whether it was the intelligence of the nation oruthe policy
of the leaders,_it matters not much to inquire; Qbutcertain itis,
that through the whole progress of the contest and inievery
stage of it, the glorious reward that would follow its successful
termination was always before the people. . They never lost
sight of the object of pursuit. They took care to shape theend,
at the same timethey furnished the means. Herewas no blind
devotion, no party, no bigot zeal. Let the steadiness and con-
sistencywith which the inhabitants of. this town followed up
their first patriotic resolutions be our example. i In 1776 a
committee was appointed to attend a convention held “to con-
sider of some method by which they may obtain an equal rep-
resentation, by every man’s having a like voice in the legislative
body of the colony.” A short time after, in the same year, it
was voted that “the House of Representatives and the Council
may enact such constitution and form of government "as on the
fullest and most mature deliberation, they shall judge, will con-
done most to the safety, peace and happiness of the Staten ina-ll

12

after successions and generations.” When the Constitution as
adopted by the Legislature came to be considered by the peo--
ple, they had no difliculty in deciding upon the civil part of it;
here their experience was full and explicit ; but it is most curi-
ous and interesting to trace the doubts and hesitation that arose
on the article providing for the support and maintenance of re-
iigionfi They were alive to its importance. It had not escaped
them that it was to something of this question that they were
indebted for the first settlement of the country. They were
divided between their respect for ancient usages, their jealousy
of freedom, and their reverence for religion. Long and deeply
did they debate it. Some oftheir views of it are happily pre--
served, and they are worthy of perpetual remembrance. Thus
they remark, that “the subject of national establishments in
religion is extremely delicate, and attended with considerable
difliculty. It appears to be right that in forming public commu-
nities, some care should be used for preserving and advancing
religion; but how far this care should» extend and what steps
ought tolbe taken for this purpose, is a nice and intricate ques-
tion. Certainly great prudence and wisdom as well as humani-

ty and a hearty concern for the true interests of mankind are i

absolutely requisite in conducting an afiair of this kind in any
suitable manner.” In all this the struggle was yet to follow.-——-
The rights thus sedulously weighed---thus carefully ascertained,
were. yet to be contested against a disparity of force, that it
seemed more ofrashness, than courage to combat. These rights,

so equally parcelled out, yet gave ornament to the sceptre, and

strength to the throne of England. They glittered among the
brightest jewels in the diadem of the British monarch. When
the hardy cclonist dared put forth his hand to pluck them away,

i a thousand spears were levelled at his bosom.

Atthis day we can conceive but faintly the cost and priva-

l tionlof thecontest that ensued. ‘ Devotion to the cause was so

universal that it was constantly showing itself’ by individual en»
terprises. where. those engaged in them either perished unknown,
or their fateand their deeds were soon forgotten in the rapid
succession of events. Among a multitude of similar instances,
iet us turntoll that of the brave and unfortunate Hale. He was
*5‘ Note C. r

:13

a youthful ofiicer in the American army, and on some pressing
emergency volunteered to obtain information‘ from the enemy’s
camp on Long Island. He was there recognised and arrested.
N 0 less amiable---no less accomplished, than the often lamented
Andre, he shared the same fate! How many Americans who
have wept over the mournful end of the British ofiicer, know
not that Hale ever lived! Every day has been opening to us
some new scene of sufFering-——has been adding another, and
another to the long account of sacrifices of home, of safety, of
wealth, of life, and still the half has not been told us. We read
of battles and of their fatal consequences. 3 we picture to our»
selves the blood and horror of the deadly strife, and then esti-
mate the conrage and patriotism that would lead us from our
firesides to embark in such dangerous toils. But wethus do
injustice to the men of ’76. In this very war there were em-
ployed by the barbarous policy of England, seventeen thousand
Germans, who fought for what they never saw, the price of
their blood paid to their native princes, and they fought so brave-
ly that it was the boast of our fathers to conquer them. The
true glory of the revolution consists not in its battles. Chival-
rous and gallant as they were, still they made but the pagean-
try of the times. They were but a part, and a small part of the
machinery by which the revolution was accomplished. We
should look rather to the deep and prevailing sentiment of de-
votion to the cause, which pervaded as well the citizen as the
soldier; yes ! which more than this, swallowed up the distinc-—
tion, and in the exigency of the moment made the soldier a cit-
izen, or converted the citizen into a soldier.

The history of this town is yet pregnant with examples. At
the commencement of the Revolution, its militia was divided into
four companies. By the requisitions made on one, some esti-
mate may be formed of those made on the whole. From the
records of one, which have been fortunately preserved, it ap-—
pears, that from that company alone, there were drafted at differ»
ent times, between 177 5 and 1778,, one hundred and fifty-nine
rnen.* Many of these were carried on short expeditions, from
whence they soon returned ; but it was always to encounter per-
il. Call was iterated. upon call, and still found them ready.

 Note D.

14:

Scarcely less were theyat the post of danger in their worltshops
and in their fields, than when within the lines of the camp.

if Most of us remember the effect of a single draft in later times,

But their patriotism was not stinted to personal services. N ear-
ly all the produce of their intervals of labor was laid at the feet
of their country. From this little community there was raised
in 1778, to defray the expenses then incurred for continental
soldiers, six hundred and fifty pounds, lawful money, and one
hundred and twenty-five pounds, to pay the soldiers which the
town was to supply the same year. Other necessities of the
government, in military stores and provisions, were answered to
an extent that seemed beyond all proportion to their means.*
All these besides the ordinary civil expenses, when the produc-
tions must have been much less and the resources much fewer
than at present. And summer after sumrnerfor seven long
years did they submit without a murmur to these heavy burthens.
They imparted with equal liberality to the service of the Com-
monwealth, their goods, their treasures, their floclts. This
was the spirit that Supplied the rnainspring of action. The
rulers of such a people need no lictors to guard their persons or
enforce obedience. As leaders, they obtain their elevation by
superior wisdom ; their equal zeal and keener foresight to the
hest interests of the state insure their reverence and authority.
It was a thirst----a love for liberty fanned into a flame, against
which England had to contend, and ifshe conquered, her tri-~
umph would only be complete, when death smothered the last
spark of it, in the bosom of the last patriot. She must make a
desert before she could call it peace.

Little as we know of all the hardships of the Revolution, we
may yet learn enough to bind us by the strongest ties of grati-
tude to cherish the memories of those who participated in them.
Perhaps I have dwelt too long on the recollections of our own
community. But it is only by tracing it in this manner up to its
fountain, that we learnhow elevated was theconrest for Ameri-
can Independence above the popular commotions of other coun-

tries and other times. We are bound to the remembrance of

the men whose exertions in that good cause have shed such lus-
tre on the place ofour hirth. As often as this day returns, let

*3‘ Note F...

15

the names of Sargent, of Redington, of White, of Webster, and

the host of their co-patriots, be freshly remembered !
The incidents sofa few past years have done much to reani«-
mate the scenes of this memorable war. The arrival of the

‘‘Nation’s Guest” on our shores seemed to recall them and their

actors from the grave of oblivion, into which they were rapidly
sinking. Few only of the men survived to receive their late
honors. The long delayed bounty oftheir country came at last.
But how many ha.d died in obscure and chilling poverty before
the little pittance of a nation rich and prosperous, nay, indebted
for its sovereign existence to their labors, found their wretched
abodes! How many lingered through years of houseless rnise—~
ry, after tossingso long in the storms of war, denied a home in
the land smiling beneath a peace purchased by their dangers!
How many proud spirits that spurned at a foreign yoke, were
compelled to submit to a social dependence, and driven to des--
peration,_fled to the boundaries of existence, reckless of the
path they followed 1 These are sad recollec.tions to mingle with
a festivity; but they belong to the season, and if they sadden,
they hallow our emotions. Vile stand, the connecting link be-
tween the past and the future. It belongs to us to transmit to
posterity with the observance of the day, all its associations.

_ Amid all the anxieties of the struggle that led to freedom,
publicrprovision was made for the support of the wives and
children of absent soldiers. We have now gazed long on
summits glittering with military glory, let us turn our eyes and
contemplate this less dazzling, but more beautiful prospect. The
soldier’s thoughts of home are pleasant and peaceful. He
learns new love for the country where the social ties and chari-
ities of life are adopted as duties of the state. A little remnant
of this glorious race of men is yet among us. They can yet
meet with us, to witness that their sons are not unmindful of
them. Each year may be the last that  our hearts will be glad-
dened with beholding their venerated forms. They stand like
the rocksyon some sea-worn shore, the angry surges rush be-
tween them, their relations are all cut off, the white foam gath-
ers on their heads, and the rising tide will soon shut them from
our view.

'16

Such then was the glory of the whole period ot'the‘“Rrevolu«
tion that it might nearly be feared that this day would be lost in
the splendor of those connected with it. The mind as it con»

. templated them, might well be uncertain where to render its

homage. As if then this day had not been marked strong
enough to be forever remembered above all days, it was yet to
be distinguished by one of those Wonderful coincidences, that
fasten on the memory and arouse the imagination with a power
that mocks at time. We have witnessed the consummation of
its glory. We have seen it gather up the honors of the two
great counsellors of the Revolution, and the mighty statesmen.
of all after times. It holds them in its grasp and presents them
for our homage. They are united with it by a link of mystery,
which years cannot unclose, and which no understanding can
trace, until the hidden ways of Providence shall be revealed.

It has been a part of my object to illustrate that the honor of
the first American War belonged to no party---to no set of men
-——-—to no leaders alone. Its glory is onthe people. Each acted
nobly at his station. One soul animated the Whole. What
was concerted in harmony, was executedin strength. Jefferson
and Adams moved in the highest sphere ; they filled the seat of
intelligence. Having infused abroad the living tire of patriotism
through their native states, we soon find them foremost in the
ProvincialCongress. Afrnagic hand has drawn the curtain, and
disclosed the interesting scene presented by that dignified body,
as they debated the momentous question of Independence.”-
Adams is its zealous and powerful advocate. With an ardor
and confidence, such as inspiration would impart, he promises
success, and paints the rising glories of the future. “Hope
elevated, and joy brightened his crest,f’ as through the vista of
coming years, his prophetic vision lightened on scenes like this.

To Jefl’erson it was given to inscribethe characters of his

ovvnimmortality, deep and lasting on our 'cuuntry’s“institutions.~

When we turn ourieyes tototliiernations, and measure their difl‘i-
enlt but progressive march totvardsmfreedom, we rejoice in the
anticipation that before another century has rolled away, these
.i‘llustrieust patriots shall be hailed as the lawgivers of the world 5

W

Through the whole arduous contest we see them acting side
by side. The Whole strength of their mighty minds was given
to the cause of liberty. Often did they render services without
which it would have been wrecked. They had embarked on
no tranquil sea ; they must be vigilant, or the billows of revolu-«
tion that rolled with threatening gulfs on every side, would over»
whelm their frail vessel. With unshrinking fortitude they re-
sisted ; with matchless skill they overcame every obstacle, and
brought their charge to a port of safety at last. Love of coun-
try was their master passion. No claims could impair it ;
neither the terrors of martyrdom or the glittering flatteries of a
court. When the British King, surrounded by his nobility and
all the imposing grandeur of royalty, congratulated the inflexible
Adams, thatin him, as the first American Minister, he should
receive one who had no prejudices in favor of France, his na-4
tural enemy——his reply was, and let it be re-echoed by every
citizen to the latest times-----“I have no prejudices but for my
own country.”

After rendering the most important and disinterested ser-
vices to the state in many exalted stations, they were successive-
ly elevated, by the natural transition of such talents and virtues,
to the highest oflices in the nation. In their private lives, a
cloud for a time obscured the pure sunshine of friendship and
peace, they had so long enjoyed. But it was not such an one
as filled the horizon in the morning of their existence. It was
gloomy, but it betokened no storms or violence. Their souls
soon rose above it, and again lightened upon one another with

‘ pristine purity and brightness. We must nearly count all our

national blessings before we can reckon the benefits of their
lives. Adams and Jefferson were among the foremost in fram-
ing all our institutions as they now exist. Their influence was
felt on every national question. Each in his own state was at
the head of almost every enterprise of great public utility. As
years stole upon them, they soughtretirement. Rich in honors
and great in fame; their minds stored with every variety of
knowledge, and their experience the wisdom of an age; dispen--
sing instruction, and receiving the glad homage of respect,
surrounded by the tenderest household relations, they patiently
3

i , Iii

 

 

18

awaited the end of all their labors. Time rolled on, and all the
events incident to a government were daily and yearly testing
the firmness of the political edifice they had so essentially con~—
tributed to erect. Fifty years had now elapsed in the history
of Independent America. This is one of those periods at which
mankind agree to pause and contemplate the past, before they
rush on to the future. These men saw that morning arise on
their country and find it prosperous and happy. The jubilate
anniversary of American. Independence found them lingering on
the shores of existence. They were in remote sections, ex-
posed to no common danger, suffering under no painful malady,
but watched with the most’ anxious solicitude of the tenderest
affection. They were feeble and faint under the infirmities of
age. Their thread of life continued to be spun out, and there
were no indications that the silver cord would so soon be loosed.
Geniushas studied how best to express the shortness and frailty

of man’s abode on earth. “ Life is a vapor,” faint as the wreath.

thatjust appears on the mountain side; it may vanish in a sun-
beam, or the lightest breath of summer may bear it away. The
career of Adams and Jefferson was eventful, and much of peril
mingled in the vicissitudes of their active lives. They escaped
all these, and then succeeded the decay of old age. They liv-
ed up to the very pitch of glory, and they lived no longer. A
nation’s tears, and the tribute of a nation’s eloquence, have

.mourned their deaths. They died in the fulness of their honors.

Their departure on this day has hallowed it with a new solemni-
ty. Piety now demands its celebration. The naked hand of
Heaven has been stretched forth to impress it with the same

‘ i seal of immortality that is fixed upon creation.
The foundations of our government rest on virtues like

theirs. pVVe rejoice that we have the means of preserving the
same schools in which they and the men of their generation
were nurtured. We have yet among us the spirit of the pilgrim
fathers; it remains, softened indeedof its most rugged and
stem features; we hail it in the deep interestof education, and

in free inquiry of religion. It spreads itself to the remotest.‘

bounds of population. It has been carried by the tide of emi-
gration to the pleasant banks of the Ohio ; it dwells on thelfer-

:19

tile shores of the Mississippi, and keeps pace with enterprise as
it penetrates the deepest recesses of the western wilderness.
N o sooner is the rude cottage erected from the rough and un-
hewn materials that grow around it, than there spring beneath

its shapeless roof, all the social sympathies, ties and habits, that

adorn our splendid and costly habitations. There flourishes

the same love of learning; there grows the same respect for re-

ligion. There, too, must we look for the physical hardihood,
the resolution of purpose and the patient endurance of toil, which
make a part of the character of husbandmen every where, but
which belong emphatically to those who first lay the axe to the
roots of the forest, and seek to convert its dark and solitary shades
to cultivated fieldsand verdant landscapes. Thus, much of the
same scenes that followed the landing of the Puritans on the shores
cf New--England, is daily acting. Thus, on the very borders of
our country is perpetuated the spirit that chose rather to aban-
don all the delights of home, to break all the sacred ties that

we express by love of country, than submit in their native scenes -

to the arbitrary restrictions, which are the offspring of the unna-
tural union of Church and State.

a But there is wanting, to complete the comparison between
the first settlers ofNew-England and the pioneers of these days,
one trait of danger. Where are now the Aborigines who once
traversed this wide continent? Where now isthe brave and har-

 race of men who once had their homes beneath the lofty for-—

ests that waved over these hills? The deer and his hunter, and
the shades that covered them, have disappeared together. The
light of the council—fire no more gleams on the darkness of mid-
night. The shouts of triumph, as they return from the success-
ful chase, laden with the rewards of their dexterity and toil, re-
sound no more. The warrior no longer wins his dusky love
by deeds of arms. The streams that now give their tribute to
us, once yielded it only to them. Their hunting grounds are
now our cultivated fields. The plough sometimes turns up the
mouldering bones oftheir burying places. Shells, bleached and
whitened in the rains of many summers, and here and there a
fragment of their rude pottery, or the flint head of their fatal
arrows, alone mark the spot, where, on the banks of our tziveis,

 

5'30

once stood their simple wigwam. These are all the monu-
ments of a once brave and happy people. They and our fathers
were enemies, and often met in the battle strife. Hardly a
settlement that has not its traditionary tale of violence and blood-
shed. Scarcely, is it beyond the age of some who hear me,
when a fierce inroad was made upon this village, and its belov-
ed pastor fell a victim to the fury of the war. A door in this
house now bears the pathway of the unerring bullet that was to
him the messenger of death. Sainted shade of the venerable
Rolfe! We recall not thy fate to awaken one emotion thou wouldst
not approve! we bury in the same spot, Indian cruelties and
European wrongs. Let the sons of the forest survive in the
memory of their rare and stern virtues ! There was something
in their character that may serve for example; something that
with all our pride we well may emulate. They had an elo-
quence, which it has been the studyof every enlightened age to
obtain; the only true eloquence, the language of nature and
passion! They had a system of education rude indeed, but ex-
actly fitted to their institutions. They had a religion pure and
simple. , e i

As the current of years bears us along farther from the event
We this day commemorate, we look back upon it through a truer
medium, as experience and contrast with the progress of other
nations teach us its value and importance. It is the peculiar
glory of that era and the men of it, that the splendor of their
fame grows not dim with age; but their influence brightens as
it extends, and it refines and improves in a progress of illimitable
perfection, every heart and every community where their prin-
ciples are received. Man has a love of improvement closely
allied to emulation, that often leads him to mistake the dreams of
speculation for the lessons of experience. This is the temper
that prompts one nationto follow the career of another, precise-
ly in the same path and by the same steps; to reach at the
same end by the same means, with no allowance made for dif-
ference of laws or variety of character. The ingenious re-
searches of naturalists have discovered prostrate and decaying
on the plains of France, an extensive forest of palm trees. No
palm treesgrow there new E N oneyever can he produced there

at

until the whole physical condition of the soil and climate is
changed. Liberty may be carried there by some violent con»
vulsion, but it will not thrive until the manners and intelligence,
the religion and civil polity of the state, have been fitted for its
reception. There sprung a Bonaparte ;. here grew at Wash-
ington. T T

If we turn to other countries, they teach us the same lessons
of reverence and love for the habits and principles of the puritan
fathers. The voice of freedom has been heard in Spain; but
it is hushed in the stillness of despotism. There the cowl cov-
ers the diadern, and the pusillanimous prince holds a crucifix for
a sceptre. The wretched people kneel at the sign of the cross,
and know not that it is the base humiliation of a secular tyranny.
We look with deeper emotions to ill-—fated Greece. Her cities
are depopulated, her islands redden the sea around them with
the blood of their slaughtered inhabitants. The cheek of hu-
manity shall never cease to glow with indignation at the name
of Scio. A little remnant of the band of liberty alone survives!
famine is amongthein! they fly from place to place, and the
foot of the destroyer presses closely behind them. The Grecian
cross scarce lifts its head, While the TL1l‘l{iSl] crescent still towers
aloft on the dome of St. Sophia. The condition and prospects
of our sister Republics in the Southern Hemisphere excite a
deeper sympathy. Liberty dwells there in disgrace. Her vio-
lated form is cheated with the false adoration of secret ambition.
Her name has been but the pretence for a change of tyrants.

“ Yet, freedom ! yet, thy banner torn, but flying,

Streams like the thunder storm against the wind.”
Clouds and gloom hang over these fertile provinces; but we
devoutly trust, the beams of peace shall yet revisit them, and that
from the tops of the Allegheny to the summits of the Andes,
notes ofjoy and freedom shall ascend.

We too had difficulties to combat after the hostile foot of the
foreigner ceased to mark: our shores. The wise and happy
balance of the national and state sovereignties was not obtained
rvithout fearful vibrations. The Union was at length accornplish—-
ed. Since that time, our country has marched in a courseof
prosperity unexampled in the history of nations- Its adversitics

22

have been converted into blessings. They have given confi-
dence to the people, and stability to the government. The
fierce tumults of party have agitated the land and shakenall but
the constitution itself. But its turbulence has been stilled, and
long and deathlike may be its repose. We have a nobler rival-
ry. We seek to make our country the first in arts, the first in
science, the first in every thing that gives grace to society, or
elevation to human nature. Our progress in all these has been
most honorable. The growth of the nation has held an equal
pace. A population of four millions has increased to twelve.
Agriculture has grown rich in the produce of a generous soil.
Commerce has explored every sea, touched at every port, and
brought to our coasts the produce of every clime. Manufac-
tures have clustered about every waterfall, and flourishing vi1—~.
lages have sprung up around them; Libearty and Law have
marched together. We have brought to a glorious termination,
a second war of independence. Learning has flourished, and
religion has not decayed. Yet the Republic, though saved, is
not safe. It is in continual danger. The enemies of liberty
without, and the devotees of ambition within, leave no season of
repose to those who wish well to their country, to their children
or mankind. On every citizen there rests a load of responsibil-
ities great as he can bear. If he shrink from it, the Republic
sufiers. Duties throng and press around him, numerous as he
can discharge. If he fails to perform them, the expectations of
the country are betrayed. Let no man suppose, that, because
he fills the humble walks of life, no share of the interests and
prosperity ofthe country rest on him. It is our boast, our dis»
tinction, that here every shoulder reaches up to the support of
the government.

Foremost among our obligations is that of deciding and act»
ing upon correct information. There will always be men
among us whose interests it will be to deceive. This is the
character of faction. If they can succeed in deluding the peo-
ple, it will follow that they must be elevated to power. Public
opinion founded on truth, and supported by public virtue, will
present an irnpregnable barrier to their assaults. Thus have
we been protected--~—thus may we be forever. It is the testiw»

523

rnony of a great statesman,""‘ that he “never relied in vain
on the good sense and justice of the American people.” It is
you----it is the people, more than the government, that must be
virtuous. When you elevate men, they act under new emotions.
They then feel the aspirings of ambition. The integrity and
intelligence of the people will compel them to purchase their
honors with services to the state. Cherish, then, no tears for
the corruption of the government. That will always take its
character from the people. While you are virtuous, your gow-
ornment will be pure.  

Much as We have lingered among the recollections of depart-
ed greatness, the noblest monument yet remains to be contem-
plated. It is of adamant, and can receive no grace from the
chissel of the sculptor. It stands in the simple majesty of na-
ture. The seeds of dissolution are not among its elements. It
bears no inscription. As the American beholds it, the name of
VVTASIIINGTON bursts instinctively from his lips. Let our eyes
he often fixed upon it. Let it remind us of the great example
of his life, his services to his country, and the treasures of wis-
dom he has bequeathed in his writings. VVhile America obeys
his precepts, she shall inherit the blessings he conferred to the
latest gerierations. Firm in union and fixed in principle, the
waves of time shall bear past her unharmed, the wrecks of other
empires. Secure in the virtue and public spirit of her citizens,
America shall forever look abroad on futurity as it opens and
brightens hefore her, with joy and hope.

“Joan QUINCY Ansms.

NOTE 8.

H 
u-u..—uu-.._...... ..,

A.

Tlitis year it was resolved in town-meeting, that “‘ we esteem
it our indispensable duty to pay a due regard to all the legal in-
junctions of our King and Parliament; and to resent all arbitra-
ry irnpositions : We declare that we think the Stamp Act to be
nnconstitntional; and that the extensive powers lately granted to
Courts of Admiralty are great infringements upon our rights and
liberties.” And Col. Saltonstall, the Representative for that
year, was instructed “ to exert himself, to the utmost of his pow-
cr, for the recovery or preservation of our just liberties, hoping
that what has been, and may be done by the several Colonies in
America, will convince those who preside at the head of affairs
in our mother country, that the Stamp Act and such exertions
of power, will not only ruin the Colonies, but greatly affect and
distress trade and rnanufactories in England.” Hewas also in-—
structed to “ use his influence, that there he no Excise on Ten,
Cofiee, &c. for the future.”

In January, 1'7’? , “ Hon. Judge N. P. Sargent, Brig. Gen.
James Brickett, Major Enoch Bartlett, Samuel White, Esq. Mr.
Joseph Haynes, Capt. Samuel Merrill, Mr. James Duncan, Dr.
William Bachellor and Des. Ezra Chase” were chosen 3. Com-
mittee “to peruse the Articles of Confederation, and give their
Representative instructions concerning them.” On their report
it was voted, “ That a Union of the Thirteen Independent
American States is a matter of the greatest importance for the
defence and protection of this and the other American States.”
The Articles of Confecleration were mostly approved, though
in some respects alterations were wished. It was iven as the
opinion of the town, “ that the larger States in the onfecieracy
m1lgi'li to have votes in Congress in, or near, the proportion of



23

the taxes they pay for the common defence.” And the ‘ll-iep't'e:—~
sentative was instructed “ to confirm and establish this Confed-
eration or Plan of Union, with such alterations and amendments
as the General Assembly may think necessary.”

Ce
Tine l.7'orrt’1 ‘of Government was publicly read, and “the first
end second articles again read and proposed to the people, for
their approbation and acceptance; and by a unanimous vote
agreed to.” The third article was a subject of considerable de-
bate and no vote ‘was tried upon it. The meeting was adjourned.
At the opening ofthe next meeting, some time was spent in de-
bating the same Article, when it was voted ‘ to suspend the
consideration of it for one hour; and they proceeded to act
upon the subsequent Articles. All these, except the 10th, which
was carried by a large majority, were unanimously adopted.
The consideration of Article 3d was now resumed ; it became
the subject of much altercation, and considerable time was spent
in arguing it. ;It was voted 91 to 85, to have it stand as pub-
lishedby the Convention. This vote was reconsidered ; on the
second trial, 40 only, voting for the Article. Two plans were
proposed, one by Hon. N. P. Sargent, and the other by Rev.
Hezekiah Smith- For -that of the former, there were 79, and
for the latter, 66 votes. The Meeting adjourned until the nerxt
day, when the Frame of "Government was considered and almost
unanimously adopted. On motion, it was voted to consider
further the 3d Article in the Bill of Rights 3 and the next Thurs-—
day was assigned for that purpose. After all that was done had
been reconsidered, Rev. Mr-. -Smith offered an amendment,
whi"ch was accepted by a majority of'.69. It was then voted,
that, though the town have proposed some amendments and
-alterations in the Form of Government, yet they do consent
that the whole be established, rather than returned to the peo-
pie, as that would occasion delay.’ _
The same difficulty that occurred here relative to the provi-
sions for the support of religion, was felt in all its force in fram-
ing the Clonstitution. Such was the idea of John Adams in re-
lation -to the ““ perfect religious freedom,” it was thought neces-
sary to secure, that when he drafted the Constitution, he decli-
nedtdrafting any article on this subject. 'We have been per-
mitted by a friend to make the followingrextract from a letter,
addressed to *'h~it_11 by a distinguished citizen of Boston :----~-‘‘ In
May, 18520, i tasked Mr. Adams who drafted the Constitution of
Massachusetts? He replied in his usual decided manner, “ This
-rgisght hand, Sir I There was ‘a great Committee appointed to sit

27

during the recess of the Convention, which accordingly adjournn
ed for some time. This Committee appointed Mr. Bowcloin,
Samuel Adams and myself a Sub-Committee. These gentle»-
men insisted on my taking the papers to Braintree, Where Ithen
resided, and making the draft. This, I accordingly did. I
completed the whole, excepting the Article relative to Religion.
This I found I could not sketch consistent with my town senti-
ments of perfect religious freedom, with any hope ofits being
adopted by the Convention. So I left it to be battled out by
the whole body. This was the case. The other parts were
adopted as I drafted them, with some alterations.” ”

E.

In April, 1775, there was, by order of the Provincial Con»
gress, a Company raised in this town, of about 60 men, which
were denominated Minute Men, commanded by Capt-. Sawyer,
and marched to Cambridge. This company served 8 months.
In June, 1776, by order of the General Court, 43 men were
raised, destined for Ticonderoga. In July, of the same year,
and for the same destination, there was a draft of every 25th
man of the militia of the town. In the same month, another
draft of every £25111 man was made, destined for Dorchester
Heights. “In September of the same year, a draft was made of
every 5th man. In December following, another draft was
made of every 25th man, destined for New-Jersey. In Janua-
ry, 1777, orders were received, to draft every 7th man in the
town, from 16 years old and upwards, to serve three years in
the Continental Army. In April, 1778, orders were received
for a draft of 15 men, to serve nine months. In the same
month, another draft of 10 men was ordered, to serve eight
months. In June, of the same year, a draft of 1.2 men was

I -ordered, to serve seven months. In the same month, a draft of

6 men was made. In September, same year, a draft of 9 men
was made, to serve four months. Besides the drafts here enu-
merated, several other requisitions were made, and promptly
‘answered, the records of which being imperfect, prevents a par»
ticnlar statement.

E.

Since every undertaldng of the Provincial Congress led to
some requisition on the people, while the country was without
‘revenue or funds, scarcely less than a history of the whole war
would enumerate the supplies furnished by the town. In the
‘general they were great, and in their particulars, they evince a
foresight, promptituide and caution, vrltrch, few governments of

 

 

28

whatever kind, have excelled. In 1775, the town gave 503.
lawful money, to two enterprising individuals, to encourage them
in the manufacture of Salt-petre. In the same‘ year thirty dol-
lars were raised to pay some suitable person for instructing the
militia in the flrt Military. In 1777, the sum of 1553. was
paid for fire arms and lead. Twenty——eight men on an’ enlist—-
ment for three years, were required from Haverhill, in 1780.
In this and the succeeding year, nearly 250 barrels of beef were
furnished for the use of the Army. Some of the resolves for
raising money, 830. are accompanied with a‘ proviso that no one
shall be compelled to pay his share.