.5

 

ORATION

DELIVERED

FRIDAY, JULY 4, 1828, IN COMMEMORATION

OF

AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE,    
SUPREME EXECUTIVE OF THE COMMONWEALTI-I,% A 
AND '1‘!-I13 V %
OITY OOTINGIL AND INHABITANTS

THE CITY OF BO S TON.
BY BRADFORD SUMNER.
BOSTON:

FROM ’.l‘l:’lE}é 1-"R.L*1S.‘”:‘» OF NATHAN I-IA,LE-----—(}‘1TY 1’R1N'.l'I3R.T g

......«

182.8.

 

flim at flflfitmt.
In Common Council, July 7, li828.

Ordered, that the Mayor and Aldermen be and they hereby“

are requested to present the thanks of the City to Bnnmrom)
SUMNER, Esq. for the elegant and spirited oration delivered by
him on the fourth day of July, at the request of the City, upon
the anniversary of American Independence, and request a. copy
for the press.
Sent up for concurrence.
JOHN R. ADAN, Prez'(Zc7-ti

 

V In the Board of Aldermen, July 8, 1828.
Read and concurred, and the Mayor is requested to commu-
nicate the same.
JOSIAH QUINCY, Mayor.
A true copy,
Attest, y r  
 F. MGCLEARY, City Clerk.

eeeeeemt

Ir has been the custom of nations, from early time,

to celebrate great national events. Ancient Greece,

and Rome, end other states renowned in history, had
their triurnphal entries, into their cities, by armies,
that lied been led to conquest and to glory. And the
saline spirit has been cherished, and the same policy
pursued, down to the days of our own times. And
so fellowwcitizens these things should be..They are

wise, they are just, they are politic.  Are the   virtuous

and the valiant among us, rewardedforitheir deeds of
glory, by e nation’s gratitude; are their ‘nameslwrit~
ten in our hearts, cherished in our affections, and em»

halmed in our memory, by song, and eulogy, and cele-— i

hration, then will others, alike daring in purpose,end  

ernulous of their virtues and their fame, be ledlonl to c

  like achievements.

6

But we have met togethe.r to day, for no ordinary
purpose. It is not to commemorate a single achieve-
ment, however brilliant, or however closely connected
with our country’s glory. It is not to pay our devo-
tions, as some have done, to an illustrious individual,
raised above the rest, by fortune or inheritance, hear-
ing about him the badges of royalty, or waiting to re-
ceive them at our hands. No such guest is of our
number. So let it never be. This were unworthy
our pilgrim origin. It were a treason against our
dearest rights, and an affront to the spirits of our
fathers.

But we dismiss the thought. It is unwelcome to
the feelings of freemen. We have not forfeited our
birth~right; we have not, in mad defiance of all that
should actuate high minded men, torn up the charter
of our liberties, drawn in peril, and sealed with the
blood of martyrs. r Ours is still the high privilege, to
celebrate the birthday of a nation’s freedom. To are»
mind one another, and to tell it to our children, that
they may tell it to theirs, to latest time, that on the

fourth of July, 1776, the British colonies of North

America, aroused  by a love of liberty, and goaded by
a sense of protracted injury, sundered the cords that:

bound them to the parental country, and shouted they

were free. Let us then with emotions of gratitude to

'7

the Parent? of good, mingle our songs, our joys, and
our gratulations, with the thousands of our country?
men, who with us hail the return of this joyous anni-
versary. J A i W A l

i   Standing as we do on a prouder height than it has
fallen to the lot of any other nation to attain to, it be-
comes us to pause, and to look around us; to look
back upon the steps of our progress, and to contem-
plate some of those events, that were connected with
the origin of our national character.

The story of our pilgrim fathers need not now be
told. The causes for leaving their native country, for
thisthen inhospitable shore, the sacrifices they made, the
dangers they encountered, and all those accumulated
sufferings, which pressed heavily upon them, and took
off some of their choicest spirits, are recorded in the
page of history. Still, however, as often as this glad
day shall return, they should receive at least a passing
notice, that they may be written anew in our hearts,
and have their proper effect upon our lives and our
principles. A ‘ l ,

From seeming partial evil, the most important general

l blessings are often deduced. Had not the trials, and  

the sufferings, to which we have alluded, been endured, if

or had they been less severe, or less protracted than
they Were, our national independence Hllgllt never

8

have been achieved---«or had it been, it might and pro-
bably would have been, less glorious, and of less du-
ration, than we now hope, under the smiles of Provi-
dence, it may be. Nations must be prepared for liber—-
ty, as well as able to achieve it, if they would enjoy
it, t and transmit it unimpaired to others. There is a
love of‘ liberty that consists onlyin a desire to do as
We will. This may pervade a people, may spread as
wide, and burn as intensely, and in the fervour of its
zeal,may make the same sacrifices for the attainment
of its object, as that holier flame, that seeks only the

protection of life and property, and a guaranty of’

equal rights, under the mild administration of Wise and
equal laws. But this spirit never qualifies for self--
government; never makes a nation free. The arm of
the oppressor may be broken by it, and in its march
ithrones may be cast down, and crovvns trodden under
loot of men, but the condition of the subject will not he
made the better, but Worse. Despotism, however ab-
solute, is less to be deprecated, than the disorder and
misrule of anarchy. Less blood is shed, and fewer

xgroans are uttered, Where one man rules, though his

sceptre be of iron, than Where no man rules, and the
leading spirits of an infuriate populace, are striving for

«supremacy. When laws are suspended, or there are

none to execute them, all that isdear to a man is in

9

jeopardy. As the ocean, when agitated, and thrown into
heaps, by the storm that sweeps over it, dashes in pieces
the bark that rides upon its bosom, so life, fortune, cha-
racter, all that men love, and all they live for, are in-
gulfed in the vortex of wild misrule. As those who raise
the storm, must always ride upon it, men least qualified
to govern generally ascend to povver. Where virtue
and intelligence are Wanting, revolutions have been at-
tended vvith little else than strife, rapine, and blood-
shed ; and have ended in nothing better than a
change of masters, without an alleviation of suffering.

But we were prepared for our independence, at the
t:ime it was achieved. The day that must, separate us
from the parent country, was seen afar off. The bone
and muscle of the nation, were in the mean time gaining
strength and consistency for the mighty conflict,
whenever it should come. And when the storm that
had long been gathering about us, broke over our
heads, and was spending its fury, we were prepared to
parry some of its deadliest bolts, and to hush its loud»-
est thunders.

Enlightened ‘public opinion, which must always
precede efficient, persevering action, in every great
enterprise, had made progress, even in our infant
country: And an altar, sacred to the love of liberty,
had been erected in the heart of every trueAme‘rican.

2

10

In the long period that elapsed, between the
commencement of parliamentary aggression, and our
first appeal to arms--—--a period marked at every stage
with events deeply involving the interests of the colo-

nies, and admonishing them of the impending crisis ; l

the finger of Providence seems plainly to be seen.
The best talents of the country were brought out, and
brought to bear upon the great business of the times.

A Men were, indeed, made, rather than improved, and

brought into notice, during this period of emergency and
discipline. And, as time has since fully shewn, were
made equal to the extremity of the pressure, that de-
manded their labours. As the mountain oak, that is
lashed by the blasts of an hundred Winters, strikes
deeper root, presents a firmer trunk, and throws up
towards heaven a more towering top, so they by the
burthens, and necessities that were laid upon them,
and which grew up with them, attained to a stature,
in character and intellect, which none but times that
push men to the very verge -of their powers, could
ever produce-

 Looking into future time, they had already put

themselves to the severests tests. Trials had been
met, sufferings had been endured, dangers had been
braved, battles had been fought, and lost and Won,

A and all the dread array of war, had been made to pass

E

11

in familiar review before them. i As statesmen, and as
Warriors, therefore, they were born in manhood. They
had buckled on the armour beforehand, and found
that it fitted; and at the first call of their country for
actual service, the strength, and Wisdom of maturity,
marked every enterprise. An assemblage of greater
men, of more powerful intellect, of more elevated vir-
tue, of more fervent and devoted patriotism, than Were
many of the leaders in our struggle for independence,
no country on earth was ever blessed with.

Adams, Hancock, Otis, Quincy, Warren. Time
would fail me to speak of Washington, H amilton,J effer-—
son, and others of that bright train of undaunted spirits,
who guided by the same principles, and animated by the
same high hopes, moved onward, side by side, and
step for step, along the rough path to freedom, count-
ing all things loss, in comparison with its attainment.

But, fellow-citizens, and in a tone of bereavement
should it be said, these great men are no more. The
grave has long since closed over them. Their dwell-
ing is in the land of silence. But their virtues live;
yes, they live, and they shall live forever. The bright
and burning record of their deeds, shall be as imperish-
able as the marble that points out the place of their
interment. It shall be cherished as a sacred relic in
the archives of a nation’s gratitude. Though their

12

hearts be now as cold and lifeless as the earth that
embosoms them, the fire that once burned there, with
an intensity not to be restrained, and which flashed
with electric power upon the intellect of the country,
enlightening, and burning as it Went, is not extinguish-
ed; nor shall it ever be It has found a common
altar in the hearts of a grateful country.

It is a source of solace, to kindred and to country,

that when great men die, so much of What they were,

and What. they lived for, survives them. Their vir-
tues, their talents, and their influence, go not into the
grave. Millions of angels could not confine them
there. The moment that frees the spirit from the
frail tenement, that binds it down to earth, is with them
but the birth of being. They live with their survivors;
and the bright page of recorded Worth, shall make them
cotemporaries with posterity to latest time.

Encouraged by the brilliant result of our struggle
for independence, which has been hailed as the dawn
of that ‘day, when all the governments of the earth
shall be free, sovereign, and elective, other nations
have adventured upon the same great enterprise, and
aspired to the same attainments in national felicity,
which it has been our high privilege to enjoy.

Long, tedious, and sanguinary, has been the strug-—
gle for freedom, in the provinces of South America.

13

We have heard thedistant sound, but have not rap»-
proached the scene. This the caution of national
policy seemed not to permit. 4

To consider at large, the wisdom or justice of this
policy, in its general application, or as varied by cir—-
cumstances, would exceed the limits of the present
occasion. The country too, whose condition, interests
and operations, first brought the subject under debate,
in our halls of legislation and elsewhere, has new
little or no interests in the decision. But to a fairer
portion of the earth, and one of which the very name
is dear to us all; towards whom the eye of benevo-
lence has been turned, and the fair hand  benevolence
so liberally extended, it may be a subject of vital in-
terest. ,

The principle contended for, and vehemently urged
by some enlightened statesmen, in relation to these
provinces has been, that any interference by neutrals,
in the affairs of belligerent powers, is inconsistent with

neutral policy, and a violation of neutral character. A

And even the recognition of these States as indepen-
dent governments, after they had nobly fought their
way to freedom and to glory was strenuously op-
posed. But is the question to be settled beforehand,
without 1'egard to circumstances, without exami-
nation, and without debate, that a. neutral nation

14

is never to employ her influence, by negotiation or
otherwise, to restore peace between contending pow»-

'” ers? Will nothing less than this satisfy What is call-
ed neutral policy? Such a doctrine, even that cold

and calculating principle which never looks beyond
its own narrow circle, put avovvedly spends itself in
the pursuit of its own advantage, would at once dis-
own and discourage. Pacific relations with other na-
tions, may often be protected and prolonged, by a
course of measures involving a partial, and temporary
interruption of strict neutrality.

Others, however, more liberal upon this subject, and
as We think more enlightened, have said, that a neutral
nation may connect itself with the interests of con-
tending powers, when the preservation of its own neu--
trality demands it. And this is the only case provid-
ed for» But is it not enough in all cases, to justify,
and even demand such interference, that it is needed .3
that human suffering may be alleviated by it, and that
it is consistent, at the same time, with the perfect safe-
ty of neutral character? Must there be superadded
to all this, and in all cases, the fact, that such a mea-
sure is essential to the safety of neutrality, before it
can be adopted? Are international duties, so unlike
all other duties, as to call for a. departure from that
course of conduct, which we profess to follow in all

V

15

other relations P Has the nation that wages offensive

war for its own aggrandizement, and without provoca-
tion, the same claim to our aid and sympathy, as the one c
that parries the blow of invasion, or is struggling for
emancipation from the grasp of tyranny. Is there no
philanthropy among nations ? Is that noblest principle
of our natures to be extinguished, and blotted out, the
moment we assume the national character?

But though the arm of power was not extended to“
the aid of these new republics; though their armies
were not fed, or clothed, from our bounty, nor the
pains and sufferings of the battle plain alleviated by
our solace, still our prayers and our sympathies were
with them; and we rejoice that they have been able,
after years of perilous conflict, to arise-from the dust,
to shake off the yoke of oppression, and in the strength
and spirit of freemen, to set at defiance the au-
thority of a parent country, whose passion for ty-
rany abides, while her power to exercise it has long
since departed, and as we trust forever. We greet
them as brethren. We extend to them the hand
of fellowship. We bid them a cordial welcome, to a
place with us among the assembly of free nations.

And we look for the time, and at no very distant
day, when the numbers of this bright assembly, shall
be greatly multiplied. When those nations of the

16

earth, whose‘ long, dark night, of ignorance and up-
pression, has never been pierced by a ray of hope, or
cheered even by a dream of freedom, shall be ad»
mitted to the enjoyment of the blessings of liberty.
Are we to indulge the belief, from a view of the past,
or from the present aspect of political affairs, that that
innumerable class of degraded subjects, who now people
much of the eastern continent, and who like the trees

lief the forest, and the granite of the mountain, pass by

feudal tenure, as appurtenant to the soil they cultivate:
are never to be their own masters; are never to cul—
tivate their own soil, never to enjoy the fruits of their
own industry? The tendency of the world towards

freedom, forbids the conclusion.

But before the brightness of this glad day can visit
the world, the world must be prepared for its coming.
The light of knowledge must be spread abroad, and
felt by the people. Men must be brought to a knowl-
edge of themselves. Their own energies must be de~
veloped within them. The veil that has long separat-
ed between them and their unalienable rights, must be
lifted up. Those unhallowed principles, and leagues
of rnen,* that have made war upon mind, and, under
the treacherous guise of imposing appellations, have
exerted their power to blot from the character of man

* Holy Alliance.

l7

all thatlikens him to his maker, must be utterly ban-
ished from the earth ; and they will be. The time for

men to be awed to silence and submission, by an arm

of power, and that too under a pretence of right,
when robbed of all that gives a charm to life, Will
soon be past forever. A day-star has arisen upon the
world; and in the brightness of its rising, that gloom
that has been settling upon the nations for ages, shall
he chased away, and made more visible, by the light
that shall blaze upon it. The human mind has receiv-
ed an impulse, that will carry it onward, and upward,
in its bright and brightening course, until it shallhave
attained to the high destiny assigned it by its author.
The feeble barrier opposed by kings and pctentates,
though leagued in the name of the holy trinity,” and
professing to he guided by the precepts of justice,
christian charity, and peace, shall never prevail
against it. i at

And as far and as wide as the progress of intellect

shall extend, a kindred love of freedom and of coun-
try shall be felt. Awakened by an earnest of the
blessings it bestows, and cherished by a recollection of
protracted sufferings, it shall go from heart to heart,
from place to place, and from shore to shore, till a
i ”"' Reference is here had to the alliance, formed’ between Austria, Prussia,

wntl Rl1S$it‘l, and the principles by which they p1‘0‘ll.32T'lS0(l“l;() be governed.
C‘; ,
«.3!

18

flame shall be lighted up, as extensive as the bounda-
ries of the civilized world--———and thrones, and crowns,
and sceptres, and all the gilded pomp of royalty,
shall be consumed in the mighty conflagration.

A Wlien we look abroad among those nations, where
the blessings of liberty are unknown, and even among
those who have achieved “their independence, and, so
far as may be practicable, have copied our institu-
tions, we find the conviction impressed anew upon
our   minds, that ours is above all others, a coun—-
try favoured of heaven. The degree of prosperity
which crowned our labours in days of trial, and which
has since marked our steady, onward, and upward
course, to our high seat among the nations of the earth,

 has never been vouchsafed to any other people. And

for all these blessings, and great indeed they are, the
primary, and most efficient human cause, will be found

A in the character and, principles of our pilgrim fathers ;

by whom the first germs of our national character
were planted, and from whom it received its earliest
impress. l 9

As our government is rapidly spreading itself over a
wider territory, and as our wealth, and the diversity of
our interests, are daily increasing, all those causes both

moral and political, which have made us what tvei

are as a nation, must be cherished; must be incor-

19

porated with all our interests, in all parts of our wide
dorninions. A

I would not predict the dismemberment of our
union at any future period. I would gladly indulge
the belief, that such an event could never in the nature
of things come to pass. But nothing is more certain,
and nothing more obvious to the common observer,
than that all the virtue, and all the Wisdom, and all
the patriotism, that We can ever hope to exercise as a
nation, Will be necessary to that equal adjustment of
general laws, to the various rights and interests of the
people, which alone can preserve our union

The task of government in our country, is daily be-
coming more and more difficult ; the call for wisdom
and patriotism more and more urgent. Ours is a
country of vast extent, and of vast and increasing re»-
sources. Stretching Westward from the shores of the
Atlantic to the western ocean, and southward from
the lakes, through half the latitudes of a temperate
::r.one, it embraces the most salubrions climes, and bears
upon its fertile bosom many of the richest productions
of the earth. Attracted by the opening prospects,
and high promise of this far spreading country, emigra-
tion in almost countless multitudes has been travelling
vvestvvard, to fell its forests, to till its soil, and to reap

 its 1'ichest harvests. Tln) ripe vallies of the Mississippi



and of the Missouri, are teeming with Wealth and popu-
lation ; and Verdure, ripe luxuriant verdure, quicliened
by the hand of cultivation, has crept Well onward to
the foot of the rocky mountains. And at no very dis-
tant period, and as it may be in our own time, the hum
of busy industry, and the voice of civilization shall
break upon the shores of the Pacific.

But our character must extend with our country.
Our brethren of the west, must in their manners, c'us—-
toms, and institutions, receive the impress of the New
England model. We must be branches of the same stock,
drawing nutriment from the same common source--——-
an extended Whole, preserving our identity, and not a
combination of discordant parts, brought together by

design or circumstance. To this end the minds of

i this vast people must be supplied with nutriment.

The light of education must be let in among them.
Their tone of morals must be raised. New England

virtue must be planted there. And there too New

England religion, clad in her own humility, and direct»-

ing the wayward traveller to the path of truth, in terms

a as sweet as angels use, must plant her holy standard,

erect her thousand churches, whose towering spires
pointing towards heaven, remind the beholder of the
holy charge of him who ministers at the sacred altar.

21

Then shall We have a bond of union, that will be felt
and acknowledged throughout our country.

Nothing will be lightly esteemed by the true patriot,
which has, or may have, an important bearing onthe
great interests of our country ; and no one will doubt,
that the prosperity and happiness of a nation, are great-
ly dependent on the character of those who are called
to administer its government. Men to whom power
is delegated, may sometimes Violate their trust, and no
great practical mischief be suffered. But when these
cases happen, it is where the power intrusted so soon
reverts by limitation or forfeiture, that the disease is
cured before its malignity spreads. Such exceptions,
however, to the general principle, furnish no warrant
for committing our destinies to men who are not quali-
lied to rule over us. The character and principles of
men in public life, are seen, not only through the medi-
um of official conduct or public example. In their

more retired walks, where the caution of public char»
acter  thrown off, there are a thousand avenues,

through which the man looks out, and the world look

in, and a powerful influence is exerted, and which if A

not salutary, is the more dangerous, because less ob»

served. In all free elections, and especially, where i

there is a mass of intellect and virtue to selectfrom,

such as our state and country are blessed with, the in»-

TLZ

-riquiry should always be, who among us that will ac-~
eept the trust, is best qualified to discharge it? U11--
yielding virtue, as well as competent powers of intel-
lect, should always be a test of qualification for official
station.   ,

But we are at liberty to say, and with pride and
heart-felt pleasure we do say, that in New England,
and with more safety still, may we speak of our own
Massachusetts, men have generally arisen, and do
arise to places of power and trust, in the strength of
their own qualifications for the duties assigned them.
And it is manifest, that that virtue which gives stabili—-
ty to government, and dignity to character, has not
been disregarded in the trust reposed in those who now
hold the highest official stations in the gift of the peo-
ple. Our confidence has not been misplaced. The
highest measure ll of reasonable expectation has been
filled up.

When has Massachusetts been more felt, more
respected, or more feared, in the halls of our national

congress, than at the present time; and when was

there more talent, more enlightened independence,
more undeviating fidelity, and more of the power of

that ‘ soul stirring eloquence,’ that falls from tongue

of fire, and eye that burns, that can move to mutiny,
or calm to peace,tl1an are found in the 1‘21I1l{S of lier

23

present delegation? And never has she enjoyed in

the same period of time, under any administration of

her government, more prosperity and happiness at
home, than in the few last years that have rolled
away.

And we would that the same degree of unanimity,

prevailed in our national, as in our state administration.
Not however a unanimity, resulting from a cold and
thoughtless indifference to the great interests of our
country, but that which should proceed from a faith-«

ful, enlightened, and impartial use of all the means ‘

afforded us, for devising the best measures for the at-
tainment of the highest good. . . . i  
I know it is said, that party zeal is essential to the
safety of a government ; and this has been so often
said, as to have obtained the authority of a political.
 And in its application to those countries
where i.t originated, and where it more properly be-
longs, there is undoubtedly much truth in it. A But not
so here. Says the great founder of our freedom, when
speaking of this spirit, with reference to representative
governments, in which light only I now consider it,
‘ It serves always to distract the public counsels, and
enfeeble the public administrations. It agitates the
community, with ill-founded jealousies and false
alarms“; kindles the animosities of one part against

‘24

another. Promotes occasionally, riot and insurrection.
lt opens the door to foreign influence and corruption,
which find a facilitated access to the government it-
self, through the channels of party passions. Thus
the policy and will of one country,f are subjected to
the policy and Will of another.’

The tendency of hereditary power, not being incurn-«~
bered With. accountability, or liable to reversion, is al-
Ways towards despotism; and the restraint irnposcd
upon it by the people, through a popular branch of
government, where one exists, is the only security
against its abuses. But in those countries where all
the branches of government are elective; Where the
tenure of office is the people’s Will, and that by con»-
stitutional provision, to be frequently expressed, party

, zeal isto be restrained rather than encouraged. A

principle Whose natural tendency is always to excess,
needs no excitement. Can it be supposed by any one,
that any good is to accrue to the people, from the lcrigli
political excitement, which now pervades our whole

a country, upon the great question who shall be our riext;

president. Is political Wisdom to be increased by it,

or virtue, public or private to be st1*e11gtl1er1czd?
Is patriotism to be more disinterested, and more en»-
lightened, and to make greater sacrifices for the com-

smongood? ,    ; , ~

25

A question which has so long engrossed the public
attention, and drawn out suichi an array of talent on
either side, and with reference to which, most of the
great political measures of the day are planned and
executed, may demand of us a passing notice on this
occasion. And I would with an unbiassed, and, as I
trust, a teachable spirit, ask of those who are opposed
to the present national chief magistrate, What are the
grounds of their objection 5’ Are they opposed to the
measures of his administration? Then let it be avowed,
and let the offensive measure, which has been recom-
mended or sanctioned, be pointed out, that it maybe
defended, if Wise and salutary, or abandoned, if impro-
vident. Does the objection lie against private charac-~
ter? Then let it be so stated, and the charge specified,
that it may be disproved, if unfounded, and the accuser
silenced; or admitted, if true, and the work of refer»-
mation commenced. If the objection is to the man,
without regard to character, public or private, it is
but ingenuous to state the fact, that the emptiness of
the objection may appear upon the face of the avowal.
Has not the present head of our government, from the
beginning, in all the leading features of his adrninisw

tration, followed in the footsteps of his predecessors,"

those great and accomplished masters, in whose school
he was educated ; and have not their administrations
Zn

26

been successively the theme of admiration and eulogy,
with many of those who now stand foremdst in the ranks
of opposition? If we test the measures of the present
administration, by the code of political rnaxims left us
by the father of our country, and which, by common
consent, is above all praise, shall we not see through-
out the whole, an adherence to the spirit, and may I
not say, even to the very letter of that memorable Cl0C11-
Inent? “Have not good faith, and justice towards all
nations been observed, and peace and harmony towards
all, cultivated? Have not our cornrnercial relations
with other nations been liberal, open and free P I-lave
anfperrnanent or entangling alliances with other na~
tions been formed, or any excessive partialities or

T prejudices i been indulged? These are questions of

fact. Questions 1:00, to be settled upon written evi-
dence, and the evidence is with the people. They are
familiar with it. Let then the issue he put to the
country, and without argument, and let the parties
abide the decision.

But whatever may be the answers to these ques-
tions, we cannot but lament the causes that give rise
to them 5’

Our country, fellow--citizens, has hitherto been pros»
perous and happy. The blessings of freedom, and of
good government have been pou1'ecl upon us in the

27

richest abundance. All our interests, and institutions,
under the protection of just and equal laws, have flour~—
ished beyond example. And if our peace with other
nations has been at times interrupted, and the noise
and strife of War succeeded to its blessings, even this
has seemed to redound to our good. The effect, at
least, upon the nation, has been to increase our strength
at home, and through a farther developement of na-
tional character, our respect and influence abroad.
As our country and its blessings are held by us in trust
for posterity, a Weight of responsibility rests upon us,
which can be discharged. only by exerting our best
efforts, that they be transmitted unimpaired.

It need not now be said, that the present state of
political feeling in our country, affords ground to fear
that its freedom may bein danger. Be this as it may,
no man can look with indifference on the strength and
virulence of party zeal, which now pervade and agi-—
rate the people. Divided strength, distracted eoun~—-
sels, opposing wills, and sectional , prejudices, will

never preserve a nation in the enjoyment of its free» i

done. V

Let not our bond of union be weakened now, when
its strength is most needed ; when our country is eX-
tending its boundaries, and tending, as may be feared,
to dissolution, by its own ponderous Weight. Letnot

28

those energies and resources, which by the blessing of
heaven, have made us the greatest, and happiest of
nations, be paralised, or vvhatis Worse, employed to
demolish the fair edifice they have erected.

We are acting a public part. The eyes of other na-—
tions are upon us, and they may not long be indifferent
spectators to our operations.

Could one of those leading spirits, who achieved
our independence, commissioned from the rest, be with
us to»-day, would he not remind us of our high privi-
leges as a nation; and in the fervour of a father’s love,
exhort us to union, and to a steady and religious ad-—
herence to those principles which have made us great
and free? Yes, he would say to nus, and when he said
it, We should respond a loud amen,       A

‘ Yours is a ‘y goodly heritage. From your fathers

  have ye received it.   It is your birthright. It is

above all price.   The deeds that bought it, are record-
ed in your memory. Keep it, cherish it, as a father’s
blessing. Days, and months, and years of trial, of
danger, and of suffering, could not purchase it. Our

treasures Were expended, and our lives sacrificed, or it

  had never been yours. Resolve then in the strength of

your virtue, and in the fulness hf your gratitude, that
as was the price that bought it, so shall be your care

and your zeal to preserve it. To this end,  united,

29

be brethren, be men. to Let no feuds or contentions,
spring up amongst you. No‘ discordant passions, or
interests, distract you; ‘ ‘As We Were one to obtain,
so be ye one to enjoy, and perpetuate the inheritance
We left you. Let the same spirit of patriotism, the
same love of liberty, the same fixed purpose and high
resolve, that bore us triumphant through danger and
suffering, guide and sustain you in every emergency.
Then shall we have your best pledge, your highest
guaranty, that what we have committed to your
charge,ancl more, shall go to your children after you,
and to theirs, and to theirs, down the long track of
time, till the years of nations shall be no more. A  p ‘

Finally, as you would be faithful to yourselves, as?

you would be faithful to posterity, as you would be  

grateful to the spirits that by me address you, and
above all, to the father of spirits, who gave us the

  victory, let these things sink deep into your hearts, and

become living admonitions to duty, until your dust

shall mingle with ours, and another generation shall

take the inheritance.’