ADDRESS

DELIVERED BIIZFORE THE

NEWARK MECHANICS’ ASSOCIA"I‘ION,

JULY 5., 1830.

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IHTSAMUEL L.$OUTHARD,A.M}

NHEVVAJRFK:

.'PI{TNTEl') 131’ W’. '.I‘U'1"1"LI3l 3:. (.3‘4;}.,

.»...4....._

1830.

Nmvarlr, July 5, 1830.
f+'m.,

THE undersigned, being :1 Committee of the Newark Mechanics’ Association,
have it in clmrge to express to you the great satisfaction with which the Association
have heard your Addmss, delivered before thozn to-day--and also to request you to
favom‘ thoxn witl1 :1 copy for p'ub1ioati.on..

With respect, we are,
Yours,

STEPHEN DOD,

ASA ’I‘()RR.IC'Y,

{JOHN 1?’. ."IA_CI1{SON,

 TB()'S:’fDEN,

(52 l?}(') Rf} I?) W. (3: ‘R..AY,

()2 I3}(”.),R(J I!) W. CA I\'TI’lf£]'il.IJ.,
A. II)(,_H.)J.),

("ficxnxmlitloo of the Nowvurlc Moolmtmics’ A:s:5sooio.t;i«‘:a1d1.

ji-Ton. .‘i'wATV’I'l'.ITIiI)". L. €T$‘O‘[.I']‘.I:1A]ftD.

To S']’fE’I’TIEN DOD, AF-SA '.I.‘OTR.REY, .TOHN 1"’. .TA.C1K."n‘ON, S. BOYI)EN', GEORHE W.
(§‘«'lM..‘.&?”, (?'.'oI‘i}(lI)dlT€.(7:lf?3 W . CJ,A.’iV<I§Il’o[}I31lI;L, and A. I‘)(Z)IjL))!i), .I3}.%c1rLi1*Ce.<..r, (;3o1.xunit;t;oc c»1'1‘(h.(.-. Now:11'k
:M(3(5Y1‘l1fl.l'li(5:¥§’ .As:i<.('d>ci:x‘Li<3ta.

ésdxxm,

IN oomplizmoo with the rxroqtio:-31:oo11t:1i.noc1 in your note of the 5th of July, I
onclctvscr. :;x. copy of thca A¢IICIross' whic:.I1 I (]c;:Ii.vo'rmfl on 1;I1:"1.1;(]:11dy‘. .AItho1‘1gI1not.}ufo-
}j):~;n:1.'cr.1 w.iot;l..1 o vimv to publiwtion, I do not‘. ‘R301 at Iilwxrty to deny‘ the 1'(eq11(‘:.e;t of the
Assooizxtionl.

I am, Si1‘f:"3, very 1'o:=.pact1'L1]1y, &c.

SA.M’L L. i$3()'l',T'I‘IIAI{.I).
".I.‘1m:r~I'1'oN, July 13, 1830.

ADDRESS.

_..._.-_—..—...-.--m.-....-._.—-

I rnnsnnrr myself before you, to discharge, in my humble
measure, the duty a,SSlgIll3(l to me as one of the members of
the Newark Mechanics’ Association. This Society declares
“the cultivation of the sciences, with their application to the
arts,” to be the purpose for which it was instituted: and its
ordinary meetings are faithfully devoted to its professed object,
lint as those who love science and cultivate the arts, .find, in our
political and civil privileges, peculiar causes of gratitude and
praise, so are they ever ready, when the National Jubilee ar-
rives, to repeat their expressions of devotion to liberty, and
pledge anew their faitlifuilzmess to the constitution and to the
country. Such is the motive of the present meeting. The
members of this Association, feeling the intimate connection
between their pursuits and the common liberties of the nation,
have chosen, on this day, to assemble as a body, and in unison
with their fellow-citizens, to ofler to an overruling Providence,
the tribute of tliankt'ul hearts, for Ul111l1I'f1bG1‘€(l blessings. The
occasion therefore, has selected for me, not one of the usual
subjects of discourse in the Society, but prescribes for my
theme, a nation’s birtl1--—-~fo1' my argument, a nation’s duty--—-—-for
my aid in the discussion, a nation’s grateful feelitigs.

At this rejoiciiig rnoment, one anthem of praise from all our
land, ascends to the skies. I*‘rom the shores of the Atlantic to
the great valley of the Mississippi--——from the borders of the
Lakes to the waves of the Gulf----every city and every village
-——-every mountain and every plain--—-gives forth the same glad
notes. The proudest and the humblest citizien----he who dwells
in the costliest edifice, and he who inhabits the frailest cottage
-mthey who enjoy the luxuries and refinements of wealth, and
they who labour for subsistence on the confines of civilization-W

8

are all engaged in swelling the universal paean. Andfor what
is this sound of joy heard? Has unjust power triumphed on
some bloody field? Has ambition conquered a kingdom, and
trodden a nation under foot? Do widows’ groans and orphans’
sighs, extorted by our wrongs, mingle in the sound? Has a
conqueror appeared—--a prince been born---or aking crowned,
on whose virtues or vices, yet unknown and unfelt, the happi-
ness of a nation must depend? Are these our festivities pre-
scribed by government, as the appendages of power and rank,
to decorate with smiles the misery of slaves? Such causes
produce not our rejoicings. They are the spontaneous effu-
sions of an emancipated people for christian liberty and light
diffused—-—-for national independence acquired—-for civil rights
assured. And although he who addresses you may be unable
to give the appearance and the interest of novelty to the theme
on which he dwells, still it is our duty and privilege, on this day,
to examine together, that rock from which our liberties have
been hewn, and from the past, to draw instruction for the pre-
sent and the future. it h

At the period when this new world was opened to the ava-
rice and ambition of mankind, Europe had not entirely emer-
ged from the darkness of the middle ages. The trophies which
had been erected by hordes of barbarians, on the ruins of lite-
rature and religion, science and law, had not yet mouldered and
disappeared. Ignorance oppressed the people, depravityand
craft characterized the rulers. Ecclesiastical and civil despo-
tism held an uncontrolled dominion.

But the dawn of better intelligence had begun to arouse the
spirit of freedom, which, struggling against the pride of power
and the contempt of slavery, adventurously sought and achieved
a refuge from them, in the wilderness of the west. The annals
of those who adventured inthat enterprise are unstained by
servitude, and fraught with admonitions to us and to all ages.
They were guided by ardent love to civil and religious li-
berty, possessed equal rights, submitted to equal hardships,
equally braved danger and peril, and soon grew to thersize of
a nation, comparatively unnoticed and unoppressed. * But aug-5
menting wealth and increasing numbers, offered a temptationi

too strong for a rapacious government to resist. And that’ _

"7

country which claimed the name and privileges of’ a parent,
prepared to exercise an unjust authority, and to wrest frorri
them the well earned rewards of their labours and suflh1‘i1*igs.
Forgetting the privileges which were their birtl1ri,g'ht, she at-v
tempted to lay a foundation, broad and firm, for tyranny over
a people fostered and fixed in the principles of fireedoin. But
the approach of usurpation was the signal for resistance. The
alternative presented was basely to submit, or boldly to encoun-
ter the adversary, and triumph or perish. They understood
their common rights too Well to yield, and the Declaration of
independence was the result of the alternative. The point in
dispute was plain, and could only be disguised by the sophis-—
tries of 3.I'gL‘lI‘I'1811t, or overlooked in the haughtiness of power.
On the one side unlirnited authority over property and life was
cla;irned, as the p1'e1~ogative of goveriinient; on the other it was
asserted and believed, that ta.xa.tio11 without representation,
power over property and life without a voice in deterniiriing
the judp;ment concerning them, constituted the essence of des-
potism, and was altogether alien from the common law, and
:f'rom those principles under which their territory had been
settled. ’

The application of those principles, and especially here in
New-Jersey, admitted of no doubt or difliculty. Jerseyriien
were not, like many nations of the old World, igno1'ant of the
o1'igoi11 of their people, of the nature of their riglits, of the foun-
tains from which their institutions issued, and which have so
o'l'ten, like the sources of the Niger and the Nile, been situated
wherever fancy or superstition chose to place them. Wi.tli us,
they were neither concealed in mystery, rnantled in tradition,
nor decorated with table or n"1ytlt1o1ogy————l;>ut clothed with oer»
tainty and truth, monuments the most durable marked their
comrnencement and progress. , Fancy and superstition had no
share in the creation of our records. The only rock on which
merely human institutions can ever justly rest, was the founda-
tion of our edifice, and the rising of the floods and the beating
of the storms could not shake it. Our territory was peopled
by compact. All our institutions arose froin the agreement and
consent of those upon whorn they were to operate, and their

8

binding OlL)ll,C.§€ttl.O11 was created, and had been continued, by that
agreement and consent alone.

Wllell our ancestors essayed the settlement of this country,
they encountered the enterprise under the protection of char-«
ters, grants and concessions, which formed a solemn compact,
clear and well defined as to the privileges and immunities which
should be enjoyed by them, and which embraced not the rights
of persons and property only, but also the rights of self-govern—

ment. And when at a subsequent period they chose voluntari— i

Iy to surrender the powers of government into the hands of
the crown, they did not permit the slightest encroachment upon

their civil and religious privileges. Their titles widened by ac-— ,

knowledged and recorded conveyances, were almost allodial,
and a plain remnant of Saxon liberty. Trial by jury was se-
cured, with all its benefits; while the principles of morality
and the worship of God were provided for and supported, it
was a fundamental and unchangeable law, that no man on earth
had power to rule over men’s consciences in religious matters,
and that no person, at any time, or under any pretence, should
be called in question or hurt for the sake of his opinion, faith
or worship towards God. They elected their own legislators,
out of their own numbers. They were subjected to no tax,
custom, assessment, or other duty, upon any colour or pretence,
how specious soever, without their own consent, or the autho-
rity of the assembly; and then only in the 1na,nner,«a11d for the
good ends prescribed in their charters. And these immunities
did not depend upon the uncontrolled will of a master; they
were not benefits extorted by force from a reluctant monarch,
but the terms of a contract founded upon valuable considera-
tion. They were not, like Magna Charta, the proud boast of
British liberty,yielded by a debilitated lciiig to the restless and
hardy barons of Runnemede, but freely tendered, as the re-
wards of enterprise, and purchased for themselves and their
children by faithful subjects and virtuous men. a *
The surrender of the powers of government by the people,
and the acceptance by the crown, were accompanied by in—-
struments which explicitly fixed the limits to which those pow-
ers should be exercised, and by which their civil rights should
be secured. A The surrender was voluntary and conditional 2;

9

itwas the actof freemen, entering into a compact as to, the
terms on which they should be governed. Like Magna Chan

ta, it prescribed bounds to the power of“ the throne, but it did
not resemble Magna Charta either as to the parties or the induce~

pments which led to it. In the former, acknowledged and re» d
ibellious subjects, with arms in their hands, extorted concessions

from their rulers ; in the latter, a voluntary compact between
those who had equal right to contract, created for their mutual
benefit the relation of governors and governed, but with strict
limits on the exercise of power. The agreement, in its very
nature, admitted the pre-existing right of the people to rule
themselves ; and its terms cautiously preserved their civil rights
from encroachment.  

The surrender and acceptance, with the instructions for
the future government of the colony which accompanied them,
formed the written constitution of New-Jersey during the se-
venty»-four years in which she continued to be a colony. These
show that we did not cease to be free when we ceased to
govern ourselves ;*that the great principle which created our
separate existence as a people—-—--the principle of well—~defined
and written compact continued through all our progress to be
the security of our rights and privileges--~—-that there has not
been amoment of our existence up to the hour of the indepen-
dence which we celebrate, in which our government did not
exist by our own consent and by written contract, in which we
prescribed the law for ourselves-————that at our revolution we
did but take back from the crown of England that power
which we had given to the crown of England. ‘We rescinded
in 1776 the contract which we had made in 17052, for causes
and motives which will justify to future ages our conduiit in
thus rescinding it. The settlers of New-‘Jersey were fromithe
beginning a free people, who governed themselves and their
property by their own laws. Our soil was not planted by des-
potism-—--it has never been trodden by despotism.

The claim of the British government would not only have
made as slaves in common with others, but it had the additional
aggravation, that it violated our voluntary and solemn compact.

The power of parliament to tax the colonies without represent-1
ation and consent, was not with us matter of speculation and of

2

10

deep and learned research into the records of British liberty :3"

it was expressly denied by the original contract under which
the territory was peopled, by the surrender which was made.ol"
the right of government, and by every act of intercourse be-»
tween the colony and the crown during the whole period of
their connexion. Our history is filled with evidences of our
confidence in its honour, and ourregard for its glory, and‘ with
voluntary tributes both of money and of blood to its Wishes and
enterprises; but We nowhere find anadmission that one dollar
could be taken by taxation, except in conformity with the
agreement, and by the consent of the representatives in legis-
lature assembled. This was the drop of blood not to be found
within the condition of the bond. Wlieii, therefore, the.prin-
ciple was proclaimed which both violated the general liberties
of British subjects, and was a direct infraction of their covenant»
ed rights, they did not hesitate to join their fellovv-colonists,
and peril themselves as others did. In such a case, it was not
in the nature of their character and principles to be sluggish
in entering into the conflict, or slow and feeble in the blows
which they inflicted. None of the colonists, in proportion to
their numbers and means, made larger contributions in sustain-
ing the wconteste--by none were its dangers more bravely met,
or its ravages and privations more severely felt, and firmly
endured. They bore a part both in‘ action and suffering, in
toils and l sacrifices, which gave them, at least, an equal claim
with their brethren to all the benefits of the final triumph.

In thetcontroversy which succeeded, the people of'New-~
Jersey and of -the other coloniesiexliibited forbearaiice equal
to their valour. Wltll the patience of true courage, they put
forth every tender and &fiTl~3CtlOI1&t(3,. every manly and spirited
effort, by argument, supplication, remonstrance, opposition. to
avert the intended Wrong; but they implored in vain’ the ole»-
Qency of the sovereign, the protection of parliament, the symw
pathy of their fellow»-subjects. The indignation of an arrogant

T government was aroused, and hauglitily exclaimed, “Shall the A

beingsof my creation dare to resist my mandates. I will over-~
turn the fabric which their rebellion is erecting. The thunders
ofmy power shall be heard across the main-—-stlie lightnings of
my power shall blast their budding hopes.” The form of . tyw

ll.

ranny was at this period of the world encircled by the mantle
of ancient custom which superstition had consecrated, and
smiled at the anticipation of vengeance. But Americans dared
the hazards of resistance---they burst the ties which bound them
to an inexorable parent———trampled on the fetters designed for
them——-—proclaimed their independence, and marched to empire.
Their laiiguage then was, “ Independence now, and i11depend-
-ence for ever.”  
The act which severed the connexion between the colonies
and the niother country, wasrnot the effect of popular ebulli-
tion produced by pressing and galling evils, but the cool calcu-
lation of a people who had weighed both the causes and the
darigeirs of the contest, and who reasoned and acted for future
ages as well as the present. They foresaw the tremendous
c"xjpc11.rlit11r'c of toll and blood and treasure which must ensue,
and anticipated the calamities attendant on war, with. a nation
formidable for power, vindictive in resentment, and terrible in

her vorigcarncc. But they trembled not at the risks of battle-——-—r‘
they dared, to measure their weakness with the strength of the

the. They knew. the calamities of war could be repaired, but
they could not restore, nor did they wish to outlive the lost

“liberties of their country.’ That elevatedenthusiasm which

rises superior to st1lTe1*ings.anc1 to death, whiclrscorns the sug-
~gcst.ions of interest and the cowardice of unequal accomrno-
dation, impelled them onward. They were entering on a

«eontestt almost hopeless to human calculations by human means,

in which, want of numbers, wealth, union, power, were opposed
by all that tyranny can possess, or ambition court. But they
knew that the patriofis hand was st1'o11g when striking for
liberty, and his heart firrn in the day of t.rial--——that their cause
was jL1SlL---—-l;l1‘é11; their deliverance depended on an Almighty arm,
and that the God of battles was the God of justice. w \ y

The history of r the str'11gg1e will not now be repeated.   It is
written upon every memory. They broke the array of oppres~
sion——-—-they drove invasion frorn their shores. - Every portion
of the land bore witness to their exertions. . The echoes of a
thousand hills, and the murmurs of a thousand streams never»
berated their shouts of battle and of victory. The Heights of
Abraham, Eutaw, ,Saratoga., Princeton, Trenton, York, will

153

be the themes of poetry, history, and eloquence, until their voice
shall be heard no more. “ They changed rebellion into revo-
lution.” By their sufferings and their swords they sustained
their infant liberties, and revealed to us and to every age the
passage by which an oppressed people may achieve their inde-
pendence. Through eight long years of unequalled agony
did they f‘ buffet with hearts of controversy”... the storms which
beat upon them i; but at the appointed hour the powers of despot-
ism retired; their independence was acknowledged, and the
ark of freedom upon the summit of the mountain rested from
the tumult of the Waves.

i Let us, fellow-citizens, who now enjoy the inheritance pur-
chased and protected by them, go, and in their school learnto
defend and to love our country. 3 Their example will teach us
patience and submission under sufl"erings--———a generous‘ zeal in
defence of , our rights-—-a proud scorn of oppression---at sacred
devotion to the public good. a T t r »

In the peace which succeeded, there was a new and valuable
exhibition of the principles by which the actors in the revolu-
tionary struggle had been governed, and which enhanced the
glory of the triumph. There was no conflict for exclusive
privileges, no servility to men, no contests for arbitrary power.
They who had strength did not seek an unworthy victory over
the weak. Those who ‘had honest claims submitted them to
the justice of an impoverished people, and waited for the time
whenthe ability to discharge them should correspond with the
sense of {right by which they were admitted. They passed no
Rubicon with arms in their hands to enforce them within the
walls of the capitol. The soldier covered with his laurels,
resumed spontaneously the character and duties of the citizen.

“ The conqueror of empire deposited his sword beneath the ,

laws which he had covered with his shield.” The people freed
from the terrors of war, enjoyed their domestic blessings with-
out interruption, and exulted in the advantages of restored
peace. l ‘ j   , X‘  T ‘
But their duty was not ended--—the work was not finished--
independence had been acquired---but liberty and the success
of free government was not yet confirmed. The confedera-
tion of the states which had been bound together by the com-

I3

bined force of interest and of danger, did not contain the
principles of self-preservation, nor the energy to protect the

general interest, and preserve the public credit. It did not,
and couldinot answer the wants of the nation, and its history

teaches us a lesson, which they who have studied it diligently,
and with hearts that love their country, and prefer the happi-
ness of Rome to the glory of Caesar, will not, in this our day,
forget, nor will they desire to restore its weakness. It merits
our applause, and should receive it; for it carried us success-
fully through the great conflict; but when external pressure
was withdrawn, it put in jeopardy all which that conflicti had
acquired. It depended on the voluntary action of those whose
interests, sometimes reluctantly obeyed; at others, openly re-

sisted its demands-—-—-~on the magnanimity and the justice of the

states who were parties to it, and it failed of its objects when-
ever they misapprehended their duty, or were misled by ambi-
tious and unworthy men. And was there then, or is there
now, any security that such caseswill not occur? Are states
more than individuals always generous, magnanimous, just, and
wise ? The history of man--—-the annals of our own country
give a melancholy and warning answer to the inquiry. The
union, the people as well as the states of the union, felt that
another and more vigorous system was indispensable--«a go-
vernment which should ensure. its own preservatioii----guard
the public credits-—improve agriculture, commerce, and manu-
factures---4-and meet the claims which justice and right presented
against it. To tbrm this government, and to protect the prize
which had been won, they who had fought now counselled
together, and he who had led to victory, and who has no equal
in human annals, presided in their deliberations. Led by the
pure motives of the revolution----guided by the Wisdom, and
warned by the follies of other times, they devised and present-
ed to their fellow-citizens a new and beautiful systerni---a sys-
tem which arose from, and which consecrates the principles of
the Declaration of Independence-g-a system which forty years,
of enjoyment has but confirmed and rendered sure to other
generations. Shalll attemptits eulogy? l The effort is unne-
cessary. Its effects are imprinted on every footof our wide

rdominionrsw--wider than ever before were shadowed by the

14

wings of liberty--—-more happy than man ever before saw. Its
eulogy is recorded on the hearts, and pronounced by the pros-
perity often millions of freernen, who are at this hour uniting
in one common exultation. Shall it be preserved ? Wlio dares
to utter the sacrilegious doubt? It must»---it will. The people,
if not the states, the people who created it will guard and pro-—
tect it. Let temporary evils excite resentments against it-———let
ambition see in its vvealtness the sources of its own‘advance-
ment----these can cause but partial and local assaults, butthe
panoply of the whole people will be thrown around it and over
it. That benignant providence which led us in the revolution
---,-vvhich exhibited to us the vveakness of the confederation——--
which enabled us to form this union and government as the bat-

tlernents and watcli-T-tower of liberty for thehurnan race, will

not desert, but will sustain ‘it.   l t s

The periods of our country’s history to which We have briefly
adverted, furnish the appropriate subject of contemplation on
this anniversary, not for the unworthy purpose of exciting na-«
tional pride, or gratifying a frivolous vanity, but with the more

a sober and sedate design of teaching us vvisdom and gratitude.

They exhibit a course of events, strange, impressive, and sub»
lime. A whole people inspired by one sentiment of i virtuous
love to their countriy—--impelled by one principle of courage,
rising to defend the rights of hu111ani'ty--~y,-a Whole continent
emancipated, disenthralled from the “dominion of despotisrnw-—-a
governinent of reason and equality, of power Without ‘abuse,
of liberty witlront licentiousness established. Events of paral-
lel dignity and interest are to be found neither in ancient story

‘nor the transactions of modern ages. In search of them, we

shall fruitlessly traverse the climes of Asia, and wander anttong
the mountains of Europe,or pause upon the banks of her Tiber
and her Thames. The exile of Aristides, the murder of So-
crates, and the ‘petty factions of Greece; the turnults of the

Graechi, the civil discords and unbalanced fabric of the ‘Roman,

republic, the oppression of feudal principles and the sway of
prerogative in England, and the «tremendous: agitations of revo-
lutionary France, render the regions and thepieriods most famed
in history, aunwortliy of the comparison;   »

A Nor are the effects less interesting‘ than the events which

15

produced them. , What should we this day have been but for
those events ?   Dependent upon England-~sufl’ering a commu-
nion in slat/e1'y with other nations. i Our return to subjection
would have made us suppliants before offended majesty. An
oblivion of our rebellion might perhaps have been granted on
a surrender of our rights. But we shouldihave become the
humble auxiliaries of an ambitious government; and been com»
pelled with exhausted, resources and population, to partake in
the disasters of European warfare. No calculation can equal
the misfortunes of such a connexion and career. Fiftyimillions
of iemaciatedf slaves in India exhibit the love which England
has for liberty, and the manner in which she extends it to her
colonial subjects. The groans of Ireland for centuries teach us
the effect of British connexion. The condition of "man when
ever he is subjected to the destroying influence of despotism,
exhibits the value of our escape. I  

In Asia where human nature was once most perfect, nothing
is presented but man’s fallen dignity---—-unvaried impotence, de-
crepitude, and“ woe. , Wheire at Eden smiled all is ruin, ‘Where
peace on earthand good will to men was proclaimed,the
wretched proselytes of the Koran bow in ignorant submission
to imposture, and human sacrifices are oli’ered on the altars of
pagan idolatry. In Europe, tyraunyconsumes the enjoyments
of the people. Scarcely one of the goveriunents which wit-
nessed our birth, has escaped dismernberrnent or..ove1'tl1rour.--—
France indeed gave at dawn of beauteous light to the hopes of
Freedom, but a bloody anarchy. speedily succeeded; madly
struggling with her chains, and pressed by external enemies, she
threw herself for protection on the arm of that fortunate be-
ing, who, springing as a prodigious birth from her struggles,

created that colossean power, which made all nations dread,

and England herself to fear, behind the rampart of a thousand
ships. Possessing great, splendid and relentless qualities, he be—

came the Wonder of me11,,gthe ‘ arbiteruof kings, the instrument p
of I slaughtersand revolutions most unexpected and terrible.»-

God made him a scourge for the chastisementl of nations. . But
his overthrow and exile did not ensure liberty and happiness-»to

Europe. Subrnission is still the chief duty of the people.---

They have learned something of their rights, but the knowledge

16

is criminal. They have gained something in civil privileges, but
they are stillhelots under the control of masters. When they
murmur, their complaints are unheard. They would seek for
free government, but their efforts are punished as rebellious.———~
That usurpation which calls itself legitimate government, frowns
upon every prospect of freedom, and issues its mandate to de-
stroy it. Whenever a momentary hope is lighted up, the cause
of kings must be avenged, and a new lesson of submission
taught to subjects. Italy and Greece recently recalled our re-
collection of the best periods of Rome, of Sparta, and Athens;
of the days of Solon and Epaminondas and Brutus ; but men,
who happened to be born kings, and whose ancestors for gene-
rations have lived upon thelspoils of the people, with detestable
hypocrisy, assumed the mantle of christian monarchs and pro»-
tectors of freedom, and forbade alike the reformation of abuses,
and the establishment of free governments. The principle sa-
cred in our Declaration and in the maxims of all just govern-
ment, that the people have aright to organize its powers in such
form as shall, to them, seem most likely to effect their safety
and happiness, has been denounced, and the whole armed force
from the Adriatic to the Frozen Ocean summoned to destroy
it wherever it has appeared; The people, there, are yet des-
tined to find their rights, by teaching their rulers moderation,
through scenes of - confusion and horror. T g ‘ t

On our own continent, the emancipation from Spanish au-
thority has not been succeeded by the reign of equal and just
laws. The conflict between despotism and liberal principles
still rages and witli doubtful results ; and too often exhibits the
treason of professed friendsof liberty, to its cause. Philan-
thropy finds t_oo little in that region, to distinguish it from the
communion in misery and servitude, to which man is elsewhere

subjected, and from which we have been saved by our Revolu-

tion. Our situation then calls for gratitude. Our country de-
mands our love. It comprises every thing dear to thehuman
heart within itself. And over all our blessings, preside our free
institutions, which guard alike the public” safety andhonour, and
the rights of individuals; and p1‘Ol‘.80t~W'itl1 the unseen energy
of the law, the enjoyments of the fortunate, and the humblest
sheds of poverty and misfortune. Our growth has been with»

17

out a parallel. We have lived but a single day in the age of
nations; yet observe the contrast. But yesterday, our settle-
ments were confined to a narrow strip upon the shores of the
Atlantic; to—day the Mississippi no longer bounds the tide of
our population, but it has rolled far westward, and carried the
lights of civilization to the darkest recessesof the forest. But
yesterday, a savage foe pressed upon all our frontiers, and the
shout of civilized man encouraged his sava.ge ally in the work
of desolation ; to-day, the acquisition of new territory and the
advancing strength of our population and defences, have given
us peace in all our borders, and furnished the best securities
for national frienclshipwinterest and fear. But yesterday, our
flag was insulted, our countrymen oppressed; to-day, thatflag
waves the guardian and protector of every citizen. But yes-
terday, we were unknown and neglected ; to—day, American is
a proud name, the object of admiration and envy. ,_,__The (321--
reer of our infant nation has _, condensed the improvements of
ages into years, and already embraced the arts which accompa-
ny the maturity of refinement; and if we cast our eyes for-
ward, our destinies expand into the richest prospect which ever
opened to the rising fame of a nation.

Let us then rejoice ; and may we not add, let the enslaved
of every nation rejoice with us. Our acquisition of national
independence has taught them the avenue to freedom. Our
free institutions have exhibited, in peace and war,their capacity
to protect us in the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty; and
given evidence to a doubting world that theremay be, that
there is, a safe and legitimate species of government, not com-
posed of kings and nobles; that human happiness does not ne-
cessarily depend on the virtues or vices of one or of a few,
who may make it the sport of their passions, the victim of their
crimes; that power may be safely administered where ranlc
and titles are unknown ; and these institutions will remain, the re-
proach of arbitrary governments; and should ignorance and su-
perstition prevail, and traitorsto the cause of freedom triumph
in the southern continent, and the last lights of liberty be e:xtin-
guished in Europe, still they will preserve the sacred fire, until
it shall be enkindled in futurerepublics, and consume the last
monuments of despotism.

3

18

These, fellow-citizens, are the results of our revolutionary
struggles-———these the fruits of our fatl1er’s toil--—-this an antici-
pated destiny fit for a great and virtuous people. But we must
not forget that they require in us a corresponding conduct-—-
that this destiny under heaven depends upon ourselves. We
are the guardians to whom our institutions are entrusted. We
have each high and solemn duties to discharge, around which
are entwined every feeling which can interest, every passion
which can agitate, every emotion which can delight. And if
We fail to discharge them faithfully, the handwriting upon the
wall will inscribe the irreversible decree, “the days of thy li-
berty, oh people, are numbered----thou hast been weighed in the
balance, and art found wanting.”

Let us dwell for a moment upon a few of these duties.--—--
They are as clear asour obligations to perform them are iinpe-«
rative. We must preserve the wholesome operations of our
institutions, enlarge our sphere of intelligence, that we may un-
derstand our rights and duties, cultivate the means of protection
and the advantages of our position, for the general interest and
regard in all our actions as a people, the dictates of justice and
humanity. ,

We have a system of peculiar and singular organization, com»
plex in appearance, yet perfectly simple in the single principle
which pervades, and gives authority and action to every part,
divided into twenty-four distinct portions, yet combined in one
whole; of separate independent authorities, yet forming one
government. The federal union is not alone, and of itself, the
government of this nation, but a part only of that government.
The state authoritiesare portions of it, essential to its existence
and its action. Our errors respecting it not unfrequently arise
from regarding it as possessing certain inherent powers as a

government independent of the authority and cotntnission  T

t which it was created; a doctrine fitted ,for.the systems of lEul-sk

rope and the atmosphere of monarchies",“but utterly to be dis-
carded here. The people of’ this nation, in determining what

 powers should be entrusted to their rulers, chose to prescribe

that the portion of them which related to the ordinary admin-
istration of justice, the protection of civil rights, and the..,~rsgu—
lation of the intercourse between man and man,. should‘, bei*vest-

19

ed in one class of agents, and they called them the state goveri

ments: that another portion, which relates to the good of the
whole nation, and to an intercourse with the rest of the world,
should be vested in another class of agents, and they called them
the general government. But both classes are alike and equally
agents of the same people, employed in different objects, un-
der the control of those who created them, and not under
the control or dominion of each other, The state legislature
are but agents of the same people for one purpose, and con-
gress are the agents of the same people for another ; both act-

T ing by their warrantof attorney, and neither having the author-

ity to revoke and disannul the acts of the other, unless authority
for it be found within their written warrant. The union was
voluntary, the creation of the powers was unanimous, and while
they exist, they must be exercised in conformity to the will and
opinion of the majority. A single state, or the people of a sin-
gle state, a small minority of those who gave the power, may
perhaps withdraw from the compact, and thereby commence
the horrors of civil war and create revolution, but until this be
done, the acts performed by the agents of the whole and ap-
proved by the majority, cannot be nullified and rendered invalid.
These principles are radical and essential to the existence of
the union. To deny them is moral treason against its peace
and integrity. In the energy and strength of the general go-
vernment the feebler members have a deep and abiding inter-
est. It is their protection against the injuries and oppressions
of the strong, and no where can the protection be more dear
than in our own little state, feeble as yet in numbers and in
wealth, and hazardous in its position. And this is not an unfit
occasion on which to urge upon Jerseymen that duty vvhichis
binding on every citizen of the republic, but doubly obligatory
upon us, to watch with zealous care the movements of our sys-
tem, as well in its combination as its separate members, and
render our aid in sustaining its powers in all their usefulness and
vigour. *

The great object of the formation of all just government is
the benefit and happiness of the whole people. a Our govern-
ment, in all its parts, was designed to accomplish that great ob—-
ject. The spirit of despotism is to riot in the spoils of the poo-

52.0

pie. The spirit of just government is to exert all its energies
for their benefit and the advancement of their prosperity. Such
was the, avowed purpose of that under which we live. To
execute this purpose, all its powers were given, and all its
powers should be exercised, and in that exercise sustained and
supported by us. It should not be permitted to perform an
act, however beneficent, which is not authorised by the consti-
tution; but when the action of a given power was one ob-
ject of its establishment; when that power has been declared
by its framers and expounders to exist, and its exercise has
long been acquiesced in, and found salutary to the national in-
terests and the prosperity of the citizen, no party cavils nor
party feelings should mislead us from its support. Such is un-
equivocally the protection of our domestic industry, and the
expenditure of the national treasure to improve the condition
and resources of the country. From the organization of the
government, this power has been exercised ; the fathers of the
constitution have affirmed its propriety, and blessings without
number have followed in its train. The patriot . cannot cast
his eyes over our immense territory, look back upon our
past history, and forward to coming events, without rejoic-
ing that such is the fact. Half  century ago, our fathers
foughtfor independence-———not albne that they might be free
from the control of a foreign nation. We have erected defences
from hostile assaults, and that navy which floats on every
ocean, the pride of every heart, and those bulwarks which are
scattered along our borders, and studded upon our coasts, have
been created to ensure and protect it. But that independence
is only half , assured until within ourselves we are capable of
providing for our own wants, and furnishing the means of our
own comfort and protection. It is not enough to guard the
outer walls of the city, unless the storehouse and arsenal be
filled. V/Ve have means of internal wealth and prosperity
equal to any portion of the globe; these mustbe drawn forth
by our own industry and the beneficent action of the govern»-
ment. “To have a territory equal to civilized Europe, with
all its Inightykingdoms. It must be bound together by the ties
of interest and convenience. The mountains which divide it,
must be levelled by the gigantic means which modern improvea

E21

ment has devised. Communications by land and Water must
be facilitated, that the extremes may be brought nigh to each
other, and made to feel that they are neither aliens in rights
nor interests. V

In the just and liberal movements of the union on this sub-
ject, we, as Jerseymen, have more than common concern.
Our territory is small, and we have no new and unsettled lands

t to partition among our people. Our population can never equal

the numbers of our sister republics. Our commercial wealth
cannot sustain a successful competition with others. We are
hemmed in and pressed by powerful and enterprising neigh-
bours. But our local position, our capacity for internal im-
provement in various forms, and our growing manufactures,
constitute our wealth and our strength. In these we are strong,
and by these we can add our full portion of wealth and strength
to the union. No territory of the same extent on which the
sun shines, offers richer rewards to enterprise and industry,
or can give to its possessors more enviable prosperity and in-
fluence. Let us then beware, that by our political principles
and conduct, We do not sport with our inheritance,and sell our
birthright. l i i . . r .
Nor must we rest satisfied with the physical growth and ad-
vancement of the country. The mental improvement of its
citizens, presents a higher obligation, and more elevated em-
ployment. Our institutions rest on the intelligence and virtue
of all the people, and can remain valuable and permanent only
so long as they are equal to the discharge of their high duties.
In the exercise of the elective franchise, and in the perform-
ance of official functions, every citizen acts upon and controls
the government, for good or for evil. He must understand
the nature of that government, and the interests of the people
and of the nation, or, like the madman, he will scatter arrows,
firebrands, and death through all our blessings, or will blindly
follow the dictates of others, as a servile instrument in their
hands. He is one of the governors of a mighty empire, and
by his wisdom its growth and its destiny must be affected. In
no free government could he discharge his duties if unlettered,
untaught, inexperienced, and ignorant. History is eloquent
nponthis theme; the fickleness and insolence of an Athenian

2&2

assembly; a Roman election in the Campus Martins; the
bloody streets of revolutionary Paris———eXhibit warnings which
alarm the patriot when he contemplates the results of ignorance
and depravity upon free institutions. All our interest as men,
all our hopes as patriots, all our pride as Americans, are centred
in the duty of extending and enlarging the sphere of education.
General instruction, universal education, is the only safeguard
and protection of liberty, where general suffrage exists.

On this topic, I need scarcely make a particular appeal to
you my brother members of the Mechanics’ Association. You
have manifested your enlarged and liberal views of this impea-
sing duty. You know that in the mass of the community, the
bone and sinews of the nation, from whose labours arise the
wealth and conveniences of society, are to be found its pride
and defence. And youlhave sought, by the cultivation of the
mind, to insure, the intelligent, virtuous, and faithful discharge
of all your obligations as citizens and men. Onward, onward,
in your career, is the urgent and affectionate call which your
country directs to you. That call will be obeyed ; the motives
to obey it are imperative and irresistible ; they are found in the
most selfish, as well as the noblest principles of our nature;
in our private interests, as well as in the proud origin and still
prouder progress of our people; in the illimitable materials of
augmenting happiness and prosperity in the nation; in those
religious privileges and enjoyments which elevate and expand
the intellect, and enforce upon the conscience the performance
of duty ; in those broad and equal principles of our institu-
tions, which place every man, according to his virtues and his
merits, on the same level of civil rights; and in that control»-
ling influence which our progress and destinies must continue
to have on the freedom of the whole human family.

But popular instruction should be combined with temperance
and personal morality ; with strict obedience to the laws ; with
ardent attachment to the union. The moral energy of the ci-
tizen, arising from these qualities, must be cultivated and build-
ed up, as constituting the strength of the nation, both in pros-
perity and in adversity; in its triumphal march to future re-
nown, and in its combats with every calamity which may
await it. i

£23

Nor must we rest satisfied with the cultivationof such prin-
ciples among the people. We should require, as we have a

right to require, that truth and justice be the characteristics of

the government in all its actions, both within our own limits,
and in its intercourse with other nations. No hope of splen-
did success, no temporary advantages, should be permitted to
tempt it to unrighteous legislation, nor to the adoption of any
selfish or criminal policy which virtue condemns. Our nation-
al honour should be preserved unsullied. The escutcheon of
our fame should be Without a stain. Our flag, as it rests on every
ocean and on every shore, and floats on every breeze beneath
the skies, should be regardecl as the unquestioned ensign of un-«
corrupted liberty and union; of untainted honour and faith;
of unimpeached justice and humanity.

Thus far in our career, our intercourse with civilized and
equal nations, justifies unmingled congratulations. But is there
no danger that another record will, one day, be made against
us in reference to our conduct, where we have dealt with those
who are not our equals, and where our power has been unre-
strained by a misjuclging interest? In the history of the abo-
rigines of this continent, and of the children of Africa, there
is much to awaken inquiry and excite solicitude.

It is but a short period since the Indian was the undisputed,
master of this wide hemisphere, with all its rivers and lakes, its
mountains and valleys. The God of nature had planted him
upon them, and granted them to him as a possession and enjoy-
ment. His title was Without defect.----W'e found him here our
brother man: he was powerful, and We warred with him as a
foe, and felt the terror of his arm. In peace we profited of his
kindness; when we were feeble We sought his friendship ;
when We were strong We plighted our faith with his. In all
the forms of civilized intercourse we bound ourselves to be
just and faithful to him. We took his lands and have cultivated
them, and grown upon them. He was rude and savage and
heathen, and we professedto give him the lights of civilization,

  and teach him the Worship of the christian God. And Where

is he now’! He learned our vices, and sunk to feebleness and
insignificance. We wrested from him his possessions,and he
retiredifrom our presence. We often wronged him, and then

E4-

infiictedvengeance upon him; and nation after nation, to the
north, to the south, to the east and to the west, have disappear-
ed. The fame of their warriors has been forgotten in their fo-
rests: the soil which was pressed by their footsteps has closed
upon them. j But a remnant yet remains. To them, in their
hour of strength, in the face of the civilized world, We promi-
sed protection, security, education, christianity. Havewe re-

- deemed-——-vvill we redeem the pledge? And if we donot,

where will be our honour? Where our appeal to a just and
overruling Providence’? That unfortunate race I has drank
long and deep enough of the cup of affliction. The calami-
ties vvhich have borne them down, should be stayed. How this
may be effected, with proper acknowledgment of the rights
of the States in which they are found, and a due regard to their
interests,“ is not now to be discussed here. But none vvill--none
can deny, that an effort should be earnestly made to under-
stand those rights and to reconcile them with the exercise of
mercy and clemency. Inquiry and efforts on this subject, are
obligatory on every citizen ; and by whom shall they be made,
if not by you? Your history permits you to approach that
duty Without rebuke. It contains no accusations of the white
man’s fraud and violence, or the red rnan’s dissatisfaction and
Wrongs. Your land was obtained by fair and open purchase.
Not one foot of it was taken by force. With the law which
regulated your own rights, you protected their rights and per-
sons. You secured Indian friendship and truth by kindness
and justice. You did not act upon the guilty plea so often pro-
claimed throughout all christendom, that civilized man has a
right, Without purchase, to the possessions of his "savage bro-
ther. No Indian battles, no sanguinary conflicts, followed your
encroachments. You cannot exiultingly point to hills and val-
leys where the warvvhoop and the drum, the musket and the

tornahavvk were mingled, and Where the victors left, forfuture j n

times, their trophies over justice and humanity. Your soil has
not been drenched with Indian blood, shed by avarice and am-
bition. Thanks to the spirit of our fathers, when the last ex-
terminating day of Indian sufferings shall ‘approach, you can
appeal to your statute books, and to your history, to prove that
here neither private cupidity nor sovereign power has gluttedj

25

itself with their destruction. And thanks too to that fervid
and christian eloquence, which has pronounced before a listen-
ing nation, that justice is our law and humanity our pride. i As
thelast broken and fainting remnants of the once proud and
mighty masters of our forests shall recite the traditions of their
fathers over the graves of their nations, there will be heard no
passages of crimsoned wrongs to blast the fame of J erseymen.
I would not tear this single fact from the history of my native
State, to give her all the lands which tyranny ever _vvrested
from the enfeebled grasp of the savage. ‘ ~ i- ',
There is still another debt which we owe---another duty
which should not be forgotten onrthis day. The wrongs of

Africa, and the slavery of her children, always rise before the

mind, when we announce the solemn truth, that all men are by
nature equal, and have equal rights. That blighted region has
been for centuries the common sport of nations-—--the sport of
criminal avarice——--the opprobrium of the Christian world.-.--—
More than a hundred thousand of her children have been an-
nually torn from her——-«millions of them are now held in hopeless
and cruel bondage. Her injuries from us have been neither few
nor small. In this land, favoured of heaven above every land,
with exalted privileges, and boasting of its freedom, there are
nearly two millions of these exiled and wretched outcasts from

the home of their nation. But we maynot-—-—-we cannot——-we

dare not attempt to relieve them at once by one decisive eflbrt
from their servitude. The curse was entailed upon us before
we became a nation. Itis fastened upon us by chains which
cannot at once he sundered by any efforts of philanthropy. The
rights and the safety of a portion of the union demand,’that

, national legislation should not touch it. Our constitution and

our laws have wisely and humanely thrown around it a protec-

tion which the good man and the patriotwill not assail.7 fIsit

thenanevil without hope and without end? I-lunianityf and
justice exult in the belief, that the gradual emancipationr of the
slave, and the restoration of the free to the land of their fathers,
may yet afford. aremedy. t On the western coast of Africa,

the. standard of the crossand, the ensign ofvfreeland equal is

laws have been erected, and we are invited to aid those who

4 will come unto them. The scheme of African “colonization

4

26

addresses itself to our humanity, our justice, our interest, and
our duty. It will in no wise interfere with the safety or the
rights of our southern brethren. It will relieve us from a great
and increasing calamity; it will restore the descendants of
Cash to happiness, and the enjoyments of human rights. They
cannot here possess the privileges , of freedom ; nature has
placed a barrier between them and us whichrvvill -not--——which
ought not to be overthrown.‘ Let us then unite in restoring
them to their country. Thebenedictions of providence already
rest upon the undertaking. Feeble as have been the means
employed»---portentous as were the difficulties to be encounter-
ed, unparalleled success has crowned the undertaking. Already
does this colony possess strength for defence against surround-
ing enemies. Already does it number more than athousand
free, equal,»and happy citizens. Already do commerce, agri-
culture,rand~the arts flourish. Already are the blessings of
education and gospel light enjoyed. Come then, and on this
our jubilee, let us resolve to manifest our gratitude by urging
on this glorious enterprise. Let us make atonement to bleed-
ing’ Africa, and she too will have her jubilee. That people

renowned in the early ages of the world for their wisdom, and

celebrated for science-mtlie inventors of Egyptian arts and
Grecian letters-—--who formed the first kingdom and instituted

the first police, will rise from the degradation of centuries--—

their chains will be broken----their deserts converted into fruit~
ful fields--«their idols be throwndown, and temples for the
worship of the living God. erected. “ Ethiopia will stretch
forth her hands,” and “the daughters of the dispersed bring
their offerings from beyond her rivers.” \

But I forbear to trespass longer in urging the obligations

- which our position creates. They multiply with our blessings

and enlarge as our privileges advance. They warn us to tr*eIn-

ble while we rejoice, and to remember, that neglect of them

 is national crime ; and that however. the punishment of indivi-

duals may often be reserved for the i rétributions of eternity,
the retributions of nations are always those of time. Let as

L notforget that it is forour country we act-r-A--for principles that
i we should contend. Under our system, parties will arise, con-
“flicts of opinion will be waged. Let them be parties founded

27

upon principle, not on names; let them he conflicts for right,
not for place or power; let us not bear upon our foreheads the
names we follow, and be the advocates of Pompey or the satel~
lites of Caesar, and thus wear the livery of slaves. I speak as
unto Wise men and patriots. Let us act, knowing that all that
is dear to us and our country, hangs upon the experiment which
we are now making; that in our wives and "children we have
given hostages to futurity, who can only be redeemed by our
own faithfulness; let us not then madly struggle on the giddy
heights of that national prosperity to which We have ascended,
forgetful of the gulf which lies beneath us, and unto which we
may fall, the ‘self-destroyed victims of our own passions and
folly. Why, why shall we forget, that he who governs empires
as he governs men, has proclaimed to every age, not only by
theidispensations of his providence, but by the mouths of his
servants, “ Righteousness exalteth a nation.” “ The people that
will not serve him shall perish.” l i