NEVV HAVEN ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO. BY REV. LEONARD BACON, D.D., LL.D. 9 V ll % x Q A CENTENNIAL ADDRESS Delivered in Center Church, July Fourth, 1876.. h A A A NEW } HAVEN: ‘ A V rUI3LIsHED BYEF. P. SHANLEY: ‘ musss or c. C‘. BENHAM. h h h h 1876.h NEW HAVEN ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.* N the year of our Lord one tlionsancl seven hund- 43 red and aeventy~eix, the Fourth of July fell on Thursday. On that day the Continental Qo1ig1'eaa ,, at Plfriladelphia gave notice to all riatione that the \ . 0 political cornrnnnities which it representecl had ceased to be colonies, were absolved from their allegiance to the British crown, and had become independent States; The news that such a declaration had been made was 4: V 1 not flashed along electric wires; it was not conveyed by steam, ‘oar or steamboat; nor can I learn that it was sent in all di, rectione by any extraordinary express. But We may aeelrime that an early as Tuesday m01‘l'1lI1g‘, July 9th,.the people of Newllaven heard the news, and that such news repo1'ted by neighbor to neighbor, was talked about everywhere, with every variety of opin- ion as to W'l‘1(:‘.tl1(~3I‘ the independence that had been declared could be maintained; some rejoicing in the declaration, and enre that it vvonlcl stand, others doubting, here and there one indignant but not daring toexprese his indignation. Allknew that the decisive step had been i t l taken, and that the country was committed to a life and death strng- y vgle, notvfor the recovery of chartered and inherited rigl1tsiasyprov- ‘ can independence. * An ihietorical address dcliveredbyRev.nL1coNAI:n Bacon, D.I)., LL.D., at Center Chnrch, July 4th, 187 6, being the centennial anniversary of the declaration of Ameri--. 5.’. inces included in the British empire, but for an independent nation-. ality and a place among acknowledged sovereignties. THE LIMITS on THE TOWN on NEW HAVEN IN 1776. It is difiicult for us to form in our minds any just conception of What New Haven was a hundred years ago. But let us make the attempt. At that time, the Town of New Haven included East Haa- Ven, North Haven, I-Iainden, West Haven, and almost the entire ter- ritory of what are now the three towns of VVoodbriclge, Beacon Falls and Bethany. ‘JV hat is now the City of New Haven, was then “ the town plat ”--——the nine original squares, with surrounding fields and scattered dwellings, from the West river to the Quinnipia_c, and between the harbor and the two sentinel cliffs which guard the ‘bean- ty of the plain. Here was New Haven proper————the territorial par- ish of the First Ecclesiastical Society—all the outlying portions of .. the township having been set ofi into distinct parishes for church and school purposes. H N ’ n i ‘ In other words, the town of New Haven, at that time, Was bound- ed on the east by Branford, on the northby Walli11gfo1'd, Wliich in» cluded Cheshire, on the West by Derby and Milford; and all the “ freeinen” Witliin these bounds were accustomed to assemble here in town meeting. ‘THE crrr on NEW HAVEN IN 1776. A hundred years ago there was a very pleasant village here at the" ‘itown plat,” though very little had been done to make it beautiful. ' This public square had been reserved with a Wise forethought for certain public uses, but in the hundred and thirty-«eight years that had passed since it was laid out by the proprietors who purchased these lands from the Indians, it had never been enclosed, nor planted with trees, nor graded, for the people had always been too poor to do much for mere beauty, Here at the center of their public square, the planters of New Haven built a plain, rude house for public Wor- ship, and behind itthey made their graves, thus giving to the spot , a consecration that ought never to be forgotten; At thetime which We are now eudeavoi-ing“to recall, that central spot, almost identical with the site of what is called the Center church, had been occupied about eigliteen years by the brick meeting house of the First Church and the oldburying ground, enclosed with a rude fence, but other» i A 3 wise neglected, was still the only burial“ place within the parochial limits of the First Ecclesiastical Society. A little south of the bury- ing ground was another brick edifice, the State House, so called even While Connecticut Was still a colony. Where the North Church now stands there was a framed meeting house, recently built by What was called the Fair, Haven Society, a secession from the White Haven, Whose house of Worship (colloquially called “the Old Blue Meeting House,”) was on the corner now known as St. John Place. Besides these three churches there was another, from which Church street derives its name. 'l‘hat was pre—-exninently “the church ”-—--- those who worshipped there would have resented the stiggestion of its being a meeting house. It was in fact a missionary station or out—post of the Church of England, anil such, was served by a missionary of the Englisli “ Societylfor the Propagation of the GOS- ;pel in Foreign Parts.” That building, though of respectable Clll11011- lsions, (58r:38,) was smaller than the others, yet it had one distinc- -tion, its steeple,————a few feet south of Cutler corner, and in full view from the (:lr1'een, though somewhat less aspiring than the others ..——-was surmounted by the figure of a crown, signifying that whatever i might be the doctrine or the sentiinent elsewhere, 2.‘./acre the king’s .ecclesiastical sumexnacy was acknowledged, and loyalty to his sac- yred person was a conspicuous virtue. Only a few households wor-’ shiped there, for the Church of England was an exotic in the c1im- ate of N GVV'E1‘)gl.‘J,11Cl. Not till the Episcopal church h.ad become (in consequence of the event vvhicli this day connnelnorates, an organia g zation dependent on no king but Christ, an American cliurch and therefore no longer English, did it begin to strike its roots deep into C the soil, and to flourish as if it were imligexious. Two other pulalic buildings adorned the “ market place ;” one a little school.—li1ouse, on Elm street, just back of the Fair Ilaven meetlng house, and not un- like the old-timed wayside school-houses in the country, the other , county j ail, which was a wooden structure 'fi'C)I1tiI1g on College street about half way from Elm to Chapel. YALE connnce Pmou TO '.I‘I-IE ;anvoLu':r1oN. Besides all these public buildings 1'ep1-esentative of religion, of gov- rernn1ent,‘of justice. and of provision by thecoxnmonwealth against C 7 popular ignorance, there was the college, then as now, the pride of NerwlHaven,Vburt very difihrent then from what we ‘now see Tltie , college buildings at that time were only three. First, there was the original college edifice,_to which atits completion, 1718, theiuaime 4 of Yale had been given in honor of a distinguished benefactor, and -from which that. name had been -gradually and at last authoritative- _ly transferred to the institution which has made it famous. The original Yale College was close on the corner of College and Chapel vstreets-——-a wooden ‘building, long and narrow, three stories high, with three entries,‘and witha cupola and aclock. Next in age was the brick Chapel with its tower and spire-3+-thelbuildiiig now called the Atheneum, and lately transformed into recitation rooms. More glorious yet was the new brick college=(then not more than ten years of age,) which had been -named Connecticut Hall, and which remains (though not unchanged,) the“ old South Middle.” THE 1>oPULATI5N on NEVV rnwnn IN 1776. " Such was New Haven a hundred years ago in its public buildings and institutions. Its population within its present town limits was at the largest estimate not more than 1,800 (including about 150 students,) where thereare now more than thirty "times that number, I remember some of ‘those 1,800; as the question comes up, Wliat were the people who lived here then? Certainly they were, at least in outward manifestation, a religious people. Dif. ferences of religious judgment and sympathy had divided them, ‘ within less than forty years, into three worshiping assemblies, besides the little company that had gone over to the Church of of England. Their religious zeal had supported three ministers; i and I will venture to say that the houses were comparatively C few in which there was not some form of household religion. Compared with other communities in that age, on either side of the ocean, they were an intelligent people. ~With few exceptions they could read and write; and though they hadno daily newspaper norany knowledge of the modern sciences, nor any illumination from popular lectures, nor that’ sort of intelligence and refinement l which comes fromythe theater, they knew some things as well as we do. They knew something about the chief end of man, and man’s responsibility to God something about their rights as ‘free—born 0 . subjects of their king;-—solmethi11giiabout their chartered freedom; and the tradition had Irever died out among them-———tl1ere were graves in the old buryingground_wl1ich would not let them fcrget—e— that a king mayiprove himself a traitor to his people and may be brought to account bythe people whom he has betrayed. gThe1'e . were social distinctions then as now. Some families were recog-1 ~ 5 nized as more intelligent and cultivated than others. Some were re- spected for their ancestry, if they had not disgraced it. ,Men in oiii~ cial statsions-e-—--—civil, military, or ecclesiastical, were treated with a sort of formal. deference, now almostlobsolete ;, but then, as; now, a man,»-— whatever title he might, hear, was pretty sure to be estimated: by his neighbors at his real worth and-7 nothing more. Some. men» were con- sidered wealthy, others were depressed by poverty, but the distinc- tion between rich and poor was not just‘ what it is to-day. There‘ were no: great capitalists, nor was there any thing like a class of mere laborers, with no dependence but their daily wages. The ag- gregate wealth of the community was very moderate, with no over- grown fortunes, and hardly anything like abject want. Almost ev- ery family was in that condition—--‘‘ neither poverty nor riches” which a wise man of old desired and prayed for as most helpful to right living, Such a community was not likely to break out into any turbulent or noisy demonstrations. THE DECLA-R‘.A.TI-ON o1rINn1s1>nNn;t:NcE nrnstr KNOWN IN NEW HAVEN. Doubtless the Declaration of Independence was appreciated as a great fact by the people of New Haven when they heard of it. Per- haps the church, bells were rung, (that would cost nothing), per- haps there was some shouting by men and boys---- (that also would cost . nothing),--——-plerhaps there was a bonfire on the Green, or at the “Head ‘ ofithe “Wharf,”-—-(that could not cost much), but we maybe surethat P P the great fact was not greeted with the thunder of artillery,nor cele-» bx-gated with fireworks, for gun-powder was just then too precious to be consumed in that way. The little newspaper then published in thistown every Wednesday gives no indication of any popular EX", l citement on the occasion. On “ Wednes»da.y, July 10, 1776,”, the Connecticut, Jtmmal had news, much of it very important, and al-i most every word of it relating to the conflict between the colonies and the mother country; news from London to the date of April 9th, from Halifax to June 4th, from Boston to July 4th, frorn New a York to July 8th, and from Philadelphia to July 6th. Under the Philadelphia date the first item was : “ Yesterday the Congress unaniy-r i mously resolved to declare the United Colonies Free and Independ. entlstates.” Thatiwas all,save that in another column,the ipririter said, “To-mozrrow will be ready for sale the Resolves of’ the Con- N gress declaring theillnited Colonies Free and Indrepgendentl States.” i it What the printer in that a)dV8’Tt~i‘Sg0m€flb called ‘‘ the ‘Rte-solves of the 6 Congress,” ixvas a ,h;andbil1,i eight inches by nine, in two columns, with a rudely ornamental border, and was reproduced in the Jozmzczl \ for July 17th. It was the immortal state ‘ paper with which We are so familiar, and We may be sure that everybody in New Haven, old i enough to know the meaning of it, had read it or heard it read, be- \ fore another seven days liadbeen counted. -The declaration of independence was not at all an unexpected rd event. It‘ surprised nobody. E Slowly but irresistibly the conviction had come that the only alternative before the United States was ab- solute subjection to a British parliament, or absolute independence of the British crown. Such was the general conviction; but Whether independence was possible, Whether” the time had come to strike for it, Whether something might not yet be gained by remonstrance . and negotiation, were questions‘ upon which there were different opinions, even among men Whose patriotism could not be reasonably l doubted. Letme therefore call to your rexrnembrance some of the factsvvhicli will help us to understand what were the thoughts and what the hopes and fears of good men ‘here in New Haven a hund~ red years ago. i l E V COLONIAL" RIGHTS AND LIBERTY. From the beginning of tlieirhistory, the English people Who were settled-at various points along this coast——-«the inhabitants of Vir- l giniaas Well as the inhabitants of New England——-~had claimed the liberty of .Englishmen~——and had been accustomed to make their a own laws in their own representative assemblies. The char-is ters i which guaranteed their rights were charters from the king, and not from the parliament of England, and were of the same nature with thewell-known charters of municipal liberty bought I or Wrested from kings in the middle ages. Not .ZlIa_c]9m ‘A0/meta itself was more precious to the English people in England than these royal charters were to Englishnien in the colonies. There had been indeed a vague acknowledgment (though not with- out protest) that the parliament of the mother . country might regulate the trade of the colonies ;} but the claim of aright inking _ or parliament. toimpose,taxes on the people of the colonies had never been admitted- While these American provinces of theempire‘ ac- i ~knowledged the king of GrreatyBritain as thelrlilllgj they did not ac- knowledgethe parliament of Great Britain as their parliament, for ‘ h each colony had parliament of its own. But soon after the acces- i 7 sion of Geonge III., (in 1760,) and the treaty by which all the French possessions and claims on this continent were surrendered, (in 1762,) i it was resolved by the young king and his ministers (for it was the king’s own purpose from the beginning) that the colonies should be brought intocomplete subjection to the mother country. A standing . army of 10,000 men was to be maintained in the colonies ostensibly for their defense, but really for their subjtigationg and taxes 0 were to be laid upon them at the discretion of a parliament three thousand miles away. In other words, the Americans were to be governed, notas a free people having co-ordinate rights with their fol’ low subjects in the mother country, but as a conquered people. The government of these colonies, instead of being like the government of England and Scotland, was to become like that which for five hundred years had oppressed and degraded Ireland. W’hen the . parliament of Great Britain, under the leading of the king’s minis- ters, asserted by vote its right to tax all portions of the empire, and proceeded to the enactment of thefamous Stamp Act as a method a of obtaining a revenue from the colonies, the question become prac- tical and ‘urgent. g Having learned the impossibility of raising a revs- nue in that way, and having at the same time taught the people in America the possibility of resisting and frustrating an unconstitu~ tional act of parliament, the administration consented to the repeal of the stamp act, but ‘persisted, nevertheless, in the obnoxious pol- " icy. Persistence in that policy intensified the ‘spirit of resistance... brought the Colonial Assembliesinto correspondence with each other and concerted action in the common cause rouse-d”the,_ people to pledgethemselves against the importation and consumption of Brit-r ish goods, and kindled that resolute indignatiopn which converted . Boston harbor‘ into a teapot, and which manifested itself in simi- , A, . lar performances at New York and Philadelphia. THE FIRST C0.'SrGRESS——ROGER_SHERMAN, ESQ., one or run ‘ ,.ZDELEGr.A.TES. l w 0 ° At lastthe woe Congress began torbe familiaron the lips of, pa- ' trifots. Nine years before, there had been a congress of committees ” from lnineliolfi the colonies, in opposition. to the stamp act. l But now, , 0 ‘Septemberisd, 177‘4,flurged by the common danger, delegatesyfrom ltwelveelof thethirteen colonies met as at congress at Philadelphia.«» That was the fi.rlst..,rudimrentary organization of the American Union. . The meeting‘ of those fifty-three delegates, variouslyappointed, in- by 8 vested with no power but to consult and advise, yet representing and expressing the determination of the people to maintain their rights, gave evidence that there was tolbe-—nay, that there was al- ready-—-an American Nation. From that Congress came forth, as w from itssprecursor, state papers which commanded the admiration of the World, and not state papers only, but a plan of peaceful resist- ance by a voluntary combination of the people in all the colonies to abstain from commercial intercourse with Great Britain till the ob- noxious acts of parliament should be repealed. The articles of an “ American ‘Association ” for that purpose vvere formed, and were subscribed by all the «members of the Congress, associating not themselves only, but their constituents also, “ under the sacred ties of virtue, honor, and love of their country.” Already that method of resistance had been Widely adopted. That “American Associa- tion subscribed by therdelegates in Cong:-ess,,solemnly binding, a- they said, ourselves and our constituents, made it a national resistance of the attempted usurpation. An-d that it might not be ineffectual , the articles of association proposed that ‘committees of inspec- tion sho.ul:d,-be appointed in every county, city or town, and that the convicted violators of it should be advertised in the Gazettes as enemies to the rights of America, Whom good people were to avoid and have no dealings with. The determination to repel force by force had diffused itself through ‘all ‘the colonies, and after that experimental Congress had closed its Work by arranging for another, the certainty of a conflict in arms stimulated all prepara- tions foriself-defense. Cannon weremade ready for use at the sea- ports; military stores were accumulated; the militia were drilled by frequent trainings:' “ minute men ” ready to serve at a n1inute’s warning,,Were enrolled by thousands. Everybody knew What was coming, War began with the bloodshed at Lexington and the fight at Concord onthe 19th of April, 1775, and immediately the r king’s regiments in Bostonfound themselves besieged by an pirregu- lar but formidable army._jl The Congress of 1775,---«the illustrious “ Continental Congress,”iiIIieTt at Philadelphia on the 10th of May, A and took upon itself, without hesitation, the direct_ion of the Revolu- A A i tion which was in progress, and of the War by which the legal rights“ \ p of the American people were to be defendedpagainst the kingisimin-A Misters and the British‘ parliament. i In all the colonies save Connecti- p out and Rhode Island, the previously existing governments had been , subverted ; and temporary” governments, either by irregular convene a = tions representing the people or by committees of safety, were provider 9 . ing for the public welfare. All eyes were turned toward that Conti- nental Congress as the supreme authority of the Continental Union. In its name, even before it had actually assembled, Ethan Allen de- manded and received the surrender of the great fortress of Ticonder- oga. Massachusetts sent to it an official account of how the war had begun,and. arequest that the Continental Congress would assume control of the armythen beleaguering the enemy in Boston. At the same time a communication came: from the people of the city and county of New York, asking what course they should take with the troops that were soon to be landed there. Evidently, if there was to be a union of the colonies in defense of their rights, the Congress must be the organ of their united, will, and must assume all neces- sary power. Nothing was done without deliberation.‘ But after ~ careful andfree debate on the attempts tocarry into execution by force the unconstitutional and oppressive acts of Parliament, on the actual hostilities begun in Massachusetts, and on the reinforcemenug that were coming with the intention of conquering and stibjugating the country, it was unanimously determined, “ that for the express pur- pose of securing and defenclring these colonies, and preserving them in safety against all attempts to carry said acts into execution by force of arms, the colonies be placed in a state of defense.” The statesmen in that Cong'ress-—-«they were statesmen as well as patriots -——were not yet aware that the war which had been begun must end. ‘ either in the siibjugation of the colonies or in their acknowledged independence. So persistent was their desire for therestoration of l . amity between this and the mother country that, though they made a no new appeal to parliament, they once more addressed a loyal pea tition to the king, and an earnest remonstrance to their “ friends, countrymen and brethren,” the people of ‘Great Britain. In the pe- tition and the remonstrance alike they denied that they were aim. ing at independence, and renewed their professions of affection to the country and the race from which they came, and of loyalty to the king. They were honestin those professions. Their heialrty de-A sire wasflto be under the protection of the British flag, if only it y would protect‘ them. Yet they went forward resolutely to those . measures of ‘national selfi-defense which the exigency demanded. We t Unanimously they appointed a comlnander-in—-chief of the armies r raised or to be raisedlfor the defense of American liberty. For such entrust there was only one man tofibe thought of. His ynarne out. > shinelsto-dayfthe most illustrious names of merely military history, i 10 and ibrightenswlth the progress of the centuries; for he who was “ first” in that momentous War became also “first in peace,” and T his memory lives forever “first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Having at last undertaken to Wage war in defense of American liberty, the Continental Congress proceeded, Very naturally, to ‘a formal declaration of War, setting forth the causes which impelled them to take up arms. That declaration preceded. by a. year the Declaration of Independence, for at that time only a few saga- oious minds had seen clearly the impossibility of reconciliation. Declaring to the world that they had taken up arms in self-defense, and would never lay them down till hostilities should cease on the part of the aggressors, they nevertheless disavowed again the idea of separation from the British empire. “ Necessityfi’, said they, “ has not yet driven us to that ‘desperate measure; ” “ we have not ~ raised armies with ambitious designs of separating from Great Britain and establishing independent States.” Again I say, that r was an honest declaration. Doubtless a few prophetic souls had seen the vision of a separate and independent nationality, and knew to what issue the long controversy had been tending; but the thought and sentiment of the people throughout the colonies at that time ——.--the thought and sentiment of thoughtful and patriotictmen in every E colony—-«Was fairly expressed in that declaration. . They were English colonies,*proud. of the English blood and name; and as young birds cling to the nest when the mother bird thrusts them out half:-fledged,.so they clung to their connection with Great Brit» ain, notwithstanding the unniotlierly harsliness of’ the mother coun- try. ,They were English,”as.their fathers tire1'e, and it was their T ‘ English blood that”, roused them to resist time," invasion of their Eng- lish liberty. ‘ The meteor flag of England “ Had braved a. thousand years The battle and the breeze,” and it was theirs. Its memories of Blenheim and Ramillies, of Crecy and Agincourt were theirs ;. and they th~e:rnsel=ves had helped to "plant that famous banner on the ramparts of Louisburg and Que- gi bee. Because they were English they could boast “ That Chathanfls language was their mother tongue And Wolvfe’si great name compatriot with their own.” . Because they were English, Milton was theirs, and Shakespeare and - qhe English Bible. They still desired to be included in the great i 11 empire whose navy commanded the ocean, and whose commerce encircled the globe. They desired to be under its protection, to share in its growth and glory, and, enjoying their chartered free- dom under the imperial crown, to maintain the closest re.lations of amity and rnutual helpfulness with the mother country and with every, portion of the empire. p All this was true in -July, 1775. When Washiiigton consented to command the Continental armies “raised or to be raised,” he thought that armecl resistance might achieve some adequate secu- rity for the liberty of the colonies without achieving their independ- ence. Wlien in his journey from Pliilaclelphia to New York, hear» ing the news from Bunker Hill, and how the New England volun- teers had faced the British regulars in battle he said, “' Thank G odi our cause is safe! ” he was not thinking of independence, but only of chartered liberty. 'When, in hisjourney from New "York to New Haven,,he said to Dr. Ripley of Gnreen’s Farms, who dined with him at Fairfield, “If we can rnaintain; the war for a year we shall succeed,” his hope was that by one year of unsuccessful war the British ministry and parliament would be brought to some reasona- T bleterms of reconciliation. Wlien, in the words of our historian, Palfrey, “the roll of the New England drums at Cambridge an- nounced the presence there of the Virginian George VVasl1ing;tor1,” he knew not, nor did Putnam know, nor Prescott, norStark, nor the farmers who had hastened to the siege of Boston, that the war in which he then assumed the chief cor11niam:l.,w:ts,, what we now call it, the war for~in«:lepen.dence. VVith all sincerity the C‘ong1'ess, four a days later, while solemrily declaring ?‘ before God and the world,” , “ The armswe have been compelled by our enemies to assume, we x will, in defiance of everyihazard, with unabatingi firmness and per» severance, employ for the preservation of” our liberties, being with one mind resolved to die freernen rather than to live slaves,” could also say, at the same time to their “ friends and fellow subjects in i ever )art of the em ire ” ““We assure them that we mean not to 7 V dissolve that union: which has so long and so happily subsisted be- tween us, and which we sincerely wish to see lrestored.” The Udeclaration on the 6th of J uly, 17 75, was a declaration of war, but not of independence,,yet from the beginning of the war, there was i in reality only one issue--5-though a whole year must pass before thatissue could be clearlyapprehendedby the nation and proclaimed to the world. Froin the first clash of arms» the only possible result 12 was eitherrsubjection} or separation; either the loss of liberty or the achievement of "independence. The first gun fired upon Fort Sumter on the 11th of April, 1861, was fatal to the institution of slavery, though. there were few who then saw where the shot struck. So the first shot from ajor Pitcairn’s pistol on the village green at Lexington, in the gray dawn of April 19th, .1775, was fatal to the connection between these colonies and their mother r country. That was “the shot that echoed round the world,” and is echoing still along the “ corridors of time.” That first shot, with the slaughter that followed and the resistance and repulse of the British soldiery that day at Concord, was felt by thousands who knew in a moment that it meant war in defense of chartered liberty, but did not know that, for colonies at war with their mother coun- try, independence was the only possible liberty. ‘As thewar pro- ceeded, its meaning and the question really at issue became evi- dent. The organization of a Continental army, the expulsion of the king’s regiments and the king’s governor tfrom Boston, the mil-l itary operations in various parts of the country, the collapse of the royal governments, followed by the setting up of popular govern- ments under the advice of the Continental Congress-~——-wliat did such thingsismean but that the colonies must be thenceforward an independent nation, or provinces conquered and enslaved? I It came,therefore, as a matter of course, that from the beginning of 1776 the peopleiin all the colonies beganito be distinctly aware that the war in progress was and could be nothing less than aiywar for independence. The fiction, fundamental to the British , Constitu- tion, that the king can do no wrong, andthat whatever wrong is sdoneyin his name is only the wrong-doing of his ministers, gave way before the harsh. fact that they were at war, not with parlia-A ment nor withlLord North, but with King George III. ISO palpa- ble was the absurdity of professing allegiance to a king who was waging war against them‘ that, as early as April in thatyear, the . Chief Justice of South Carolina under the new government just organized there, declared from his official seat, in a charge to the grand ury, l “ The Almighty created America to be independent of ~ Great Britain; letus beware of the impiety of being backward,‘ to act, as instrumentlsr infthe Almighty hand ncwextended to ac- complish his purpose.” About the same ‘time the convention of A North Carolina authorized its delegates in Congress to concur with those of the other colonies in declaring their independence. But t 13 it was more than instruction to delegates~———it was anabsolute re- nunciation of dependence on the British crown-—-when the Legisla- tures of Connecticut, in April, and Rhode Island, in May, by formal enactment abolished the oath of allegianaeto the king. About three weeks later, the convention of Virginia unanimously -instructed the delegates from that colony to propose in Congress a declaration of independence and a national confecleration. In that same month of May the towns of Massachusetts, with great una- nimity, expressed their judgment in favor of a declaration of inde- pendence, giving distinct instructions on that question to their rep- resentatives iu the General Court; When the public opinion of the colonies, North and South, Twas thus declaring itself; the time had come for action on the part of the Continental Congress, Accordingly, on the 7th of June, Rich- ard Henry Lee, in behalf of the delegation from Virginia, proposed a resolution “ that the united colonies are and ought to be ‘free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiancel to i the British crown, and that all political‘ connection between them ‘ and the state of Grreat-.Britaiu, is, and ought to betotally dissolved.” It was agreed that the"reso1ution should be considerecl the next day, i and every member was enjoined to be present for that purpose. The next day’sidebate was earnest, for the Congress was by no means ” unanimous. Nobody denied or doubted that liberty and independ- ence must stand or fall together, but some who hadbeen leaders’ up to that point could not see that the time had come for such a , declaration. Some were embarrassed by instructions given the ,- year before and not yet rescinded, The debate having been con- tinued through the clay (which was Saturday) was adjourned to Monday,June 10. On that day, the resolution was adopted in, cornnnttee of, the whole by a vote of seven colonies against five, and so was reported to the House. Hoping that unanimity might be gained by a little delay, the House postponed its finalaction for three weeks, but appointed a committee to preparea formal decla- ration of independence. Meanwhile, though thesessions of the Congress were always with closed doors, these proeeedingswere no secret, and public opinion was finding distinct and authentic ex- pression, I need nottell Whatwas done elsewhere, but I maysayi T , what was done, just at that juncture, in our old lCommonwealth., , On the 14th of June there came together at l‘Iartf'ord, in obedience 1 to a call from Jonathan Trumbull, Governor, “a General Assem- bly of the Governor and Company of the English Colony of Con» , l 14 necticut, in New England, in America,” the last to meet under that name. It put upon the record a clear though brief’ recital of the causes which had made an entire separation from Great Britain the only possible alternative of slavery. The record tells how the British‘ government after “accumulated wrong and :injury” had “invaded the colonieswith fleets and armies, had destroyed our towns, had shed the blood of our countrymen,” had involved us in- the calamities of war. and were at that time endeavloring to reduce us to a surrender of our natural and stipulated rights, so that our. property should besubjected to precarious dependence on their ar-i bitrary pleasure, and our persons to slavery; and how they had at. length,“ declared us out of the king’s protection,” had “engaged foreign mercenaries against us,” and were “strenuously seeking our ruin and destruction.” In view of such facts it had become “evident beyond the possibility of a doubt,” that these colonies» had “nothing to hope""Tfrom the justice, humanity or temperate counsel of the British king or his parliament, and that all hopes of reconciliation upon just and equal terms were delusory and vain.” What then ‘Pl Let me give the Words of the record: ‘ “ Appealing to that God who knows the secrets of all hearts for the sincerity of former declarations of our desire to preserve our ancient and constitutional relation to that nation, and protesting, and solemnly, against their oppression and injustice which have driven’ us from them, and compelled us to use such means as God inhis M Providence hath put in our power for our necessary defexiser and preservation, , Resolved, unanimously, by this Assembly, that the delegates of this colony in general Congress be and they are hereby instructed to propose to that respectable body to declare the United American‘ colonies free and independent States, absolved from all allegiance to ‘ the King of Great Britain, and to give the assent of this colony to V such l declaration."f' It was amid such manifestations of the national Will, Comin g in from various quarters, that the Congress, on Monday, July last, took up the 4' 2 i postponed resolution declaring the colonies independent, discussed it again inrcommitteeof the whole ‘and passed it, so bringing it aback for a final decision. a The vote inthe house was postponed till , the next day, and then, July 2d, the resolution was i adopted and entered on the journal. In anticipation of this result, the formal ‘ 15 Declaration of ~Independence had been reported by the special com- , mittee on the preceding Friday, (June 28th,) and it was next taken up for consideration. After prolonged discussion in committee of the whole and various amendments, (some of which were certainly C changes for the better,) it came before the house for final decision, 1 and was then adopted, in the form in which we have heard it read to-day, the most illustrious state paper in the historyof nations. We may be S111‘6.- therefore, that whatever diversity of opinion a there may have been in New Haven on the 4th of July, 17 7 6, about the expediency of declaring independence at that time, the news that such a declaration had been made by the Congress caused no great astonishment or excitement here. The General Assem- . bly of Connecticut had already made its declaration, and had in- structed its delegates inthe Congress. One of these delegates was Roger Sherman, (or, as his neighbors called him, *‘,’iSquire Sher- man”); and nobody in this town, certainly. could be surprised to, hear that the Continental Congress had done what Roger Sherman thought right and expedient to be done." The fact that Roger Shen- man had been appointed on a committee to prepare the Declaration may have been unknown here even in his own house ; but what he thought about the expediency of the measure was no secret. We, a to-day, I venture to afiirm, are more excited about the Declaration of Independence than they were to whom the news of it came one hundred years ago. ~ i C i C 1 Some of the records in our Town Clerk’s office, whenwe read them in connection with the history of the country through the rev} olutionary period, are full of meaning. In ordinary times the annué t al town meeting, or even a special meeting, pleaves upon the record very little that a later generation will care to read. But wherea great crisis is passing, or approaching, some passages in those dull records may be very suggestive to the student of history. Foruex-5 ample, Ipufindg that ata towumeeting, February 8, 1768,; a letter was presented “from the selectmen of the town of Bopston,” containing a vote of said town respecting some measures of economy which r they haducome into,iand recommending the same 1 measures to this and other towns.i Wuhat was done u about it, beyond referring ~ the matter to the civil authority and selectmen for their considera- tion, ‘and fora report of what they should thinkiproper to be done, i does not appear. But those “ measures‘ of economy,” lwhat were it they? “ Economy” is a laudable thing; and .theVWord‘sueemsuipneace , i able. Yet,under that harmlessword therelay a meaning , of3j,eal-, 16 V ousy, of iiirligiiation, of resistance. The repeal of the stamp act, in 1765, had been followed by new attempts -to tax the colonies. I Duties expressly for revenue had been imposed by parliament on I the irnportationioi certain articles, and the question of the time was whether that attempt could be baffled as the stamp act had been. On the 28th of October, 1767, a Boston town meeting had adopted certain resolutions tending to encourage “industry, economy, and manufactures ”--—a commendable design, and one which was to be prosecuted -in a perfectlyilawful method. “ Industry, economy and manufactures” wereyto be encouraged by a general agreement of the people to abstain from the importation, and (so far as possible,) from the consumption of British goods. The details of that non- importation and nonéconsumption agreement were the subject mat- ter of the communication from the Town of Boston to this and other towns. Without great resoluteness and tenacity on the part of the people at large the proposal would fail, but (though no further action by the town appears on record,) we know that it was eagerly adopted in Connecticut as wellas in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and that the “ agreement ” was subscribed by the patriotic merchants of New York and Philadelphia. In this method the rev- enue duties imposed by the British parliament and exacted by the king’s ofiicers were to be converted into prohibitory duties for the encouragement of’ American “ industry,_economy and manufactures.” , Voluntary abstinence from tea in the exercise of an undoubted right wasnotonly an evasion on the duty on tea, but a telling protest 7 against the usurpation that imposed the duty; and if it should im- I pair the profits of’ the East India company, it would be no more than I legitimate and peaceable sort of reprisal upon British commerce. Looking along the pages of the record book for traces of what preceded and brought on the event of July 4th. 1776, I find another‘ record, obscure in itself, but illuminated by the contemporaneous history. At a town meeting, September 10th, 17 70, “ Colonel John Hubbard, I moderator,” a committee was appointed “ to meet the gentlemen whomay be appointed in the other towns of this colony to meet on the 13th day of instant September, to consider what may be done towards promoting the commercial interests of the colony.” 7 _‘ Let me give the names of this committee:, “ Col. Nathan Whiting,pi p .Mr. Adam Babcock, Joshua‘ Chandler, Esq., D_an’l Lyman, Esq., Mr, , I John‘ Leavenworth, Mr. Ralph Isaacs, Capt. Joel Hotchkiss and Dea- con David Austin.’-’l In March, 1768 “ economy” was at great I ~pub~l lic interest,~—-“incl11stry, economy and nianufactiiresf’-——b11t now in ” 17 September, 1770, we find a sudden manifestation of widespread anxi- ety for “ the commercial interest of the colony.” What was the matter ‘P What was it that was bringing together, just then, a con- ventionof committees from the towns of Connecticut ‘P Therecord does not tell us, nor does it even intimate where the convention was to be held. But from other sources we learn that while the mer- chants of Connecticut had faithfully kept the non-importation agree- ment, the merchants of New York--—-where, under a less privileged charter of government, and with very different historical anteced- ents, there was so much more of _court influence and so muchless of unity in the people----had violated that compact. The complaint was, “that a large number of merchants and traders in the colony of New York ” had “C been guilty of a very criminal and perfidious breach of said agreement, and thereby had shamefully betrayed C , their country’s cause ;” and the proposal was, “that for the future» no commercial intercourse by any in this colony beheld with the in- habitants of that government, either directly or indirectly, until the revenue acts are repealed and our grievances redressed ; or until they make public satisfaction.” Then, furthermore, that the decree of non-intercourse with New York might not be a mere grumble of thunder that does not strike, it was proposed, that “all connections be withdrawn from those in this colony who shall presume hereafter to carry on any traflic or trade with those betrayers of their coun- try, until they shall give proper satisfaction for their offensive con- duct.” That convention was held here. What the proceedings were I have not been able to ascertain, but the demand for such a convention and the response to the demand may suffice to show with what persistency Connecticut stood out against usurping acts of C parliament, and what sort of coercion, moral and social, was brought to bear on men who would have sacrificed American liberty to their greed of gain. a ‘ ‘ From September, 1770, we go forward three years and eight , months. Parliament had yielded nothing, nor had any colony suc- C ncumbed to usurpation. Intelligence had come of the Boston port bill, passed and enacted-ma measure; which, in connection with other measures known to be in progress, expressed a determination to bring these colonies into a the most helpless subjection, _ and which was itself 3 an act C of most unreasonable tyranny, Just then, ten daysafter the arrival of Gen. Gage at Boston with four, regiments to subdue and govern Massachusetts, we find thisCrCrecordCC:C A A H“ a legal tovivn meeting held in New Haven on the 23d day of . May, 17 7 4, Daniel Lyman, Esq., Moderator, i Voted, That We will to the utmost of our abilities assert and de- v fend the liberty and immunities of British America, and we will co- _, operate with our sister towns in this and the other colonies 111 any constitutional measures that may be thought most conducive to the preservation of our invaluable rights and privileges.” ‘ At the same time a iCommittee of Correspondence was appointed to communicate with like conirnittees inithis and other colonies. Then four Weeks later comes this record: "‘ At a town meeting holdexr in New Haven by adjournment upon the 20thday of‘ June, 1774, Voted, That Samuel Bishop, Esq., be "desired to inform the Hon- orable Committee of Correspondence, of this Colony that it would A be very agreeable to this town to have a general Congress as soon as may be, and that in their opinion a general annual Congress would have a ‘great tendency to promote the Welfare and happiness ‘ of all the American colonies.” Voted, That upon the request of the Committee of Correspond- ence, the Selectmen be desired to call a town meeting.” The same proposal, for a yearly congress of “deputies from the several ,colonies of British America,” in other Words, a g proposal for a permanent institution, had been made four weeks earlier (May 26) by the disbanded members of the House of Burgesses in Virginia. Earlier yet, a continental congress for the exigency had been pro- . posed in public meetings at Providence (May,17). and Newport (May 20), bythe Committee of Correspondence at New York - (May 23) andby the legislature of Connecticut (lllay 24). a Three A days before u this New Haven town meeting, the House of Repre- sentatives inlMassachusetts (June 17), justrat the moment when A Governor Grage’s secretary was standing at its closed door to pro- claim its gdissolution, appointed its delegation to meet similar dele- gates fromthe other colonies in a general Congress at Philadel- , iphia, or any other suitable p1ace,on the first of Septernber. Another town meeting is held on the 20th of September, “Thomas Darling, Esq., Moderator,” and is “ adjourned four Weeks,” “to be held at the Brick meeting house.” We are assembled at the 19 Brick meeting house—--not the same edifice, but on the same spot‘ with that in which the ., adjourned town meeting was held “ at one “of the clock in the afternoon,” October 18th, 1774. To understand the proceedings of that meeting we must rememeber that Boston was occupied by British regiments; that its ‘commerce wasfor "the time annihilated by the act of parliament «Which those regi- V ' ments were there to enforce; that its inhabitants, deprived of the commerce which gave them their subsistence, were in distress, and that the conflict between Governor Gage and the people whom he ‘Was endeavoring to govern under the usurping acts of parliament, was evidently tending to become a conflict in arms. This, then, is I the record of the votes in town meeting on that occasion : - “ Voted, That it is the opinion of this town that a subscription be set on foot for the relief of the inhabitants of the town of Bos- ton that are now suffering’ in the common cause of American free- dom; and that Joseph Munson, David Austin, Benjamin Douglass, Adam Babcock, Enos Alling, Isaac Doolittle, Henry,Daggett, J on- athan Osborn, Isaac Chidsey, Azariah Bradley, Silas Kimberly, Samuel Candee, James I-Ieaton, J r., Stephen Jacobs, Timothy Brad- ley, Amos Perkins, Simeon Bristoll, Theophilus Goodyear, Isaac Beecher, Jr., Timothy Ball, and Samuel Beecher, be a committee to receive subscriptions and ‘transmit what may be so collected to I the Selectmen of the town of Boston, to be by them disposed of for , thesupportof the inhabitants of the town of Boston.” “ Voted, That the Selectmen build a suitable house,to put the town’s stock of powder in,,of such dimensions as they shall judge needful, &c. p B I r I it ' “ Voted, That the Selectmen procure a stock of powder, agree-J able to the law in such case provided, for the toWn’s use.” We, are still in the year 137 7 4. The Congresshas met, and among its doings is the American ,Association4--7--the expression of the Na- tional Will to terminate for the time all commercial intercourse with Great Britain, Eliphalet Dyer, Roger Sherman and Silas Deane, thedelegates from Connecticut, have returned and madeireport to p the General Assembly at its Octlober session in New Haven. And , p pr snow, November 14th, in pursuance of the resolvetprlof the House of Representatives in October last, a town meeting is , held “ to choose a comlmittee for the purpose mentioned in the eleventh‘ article of 20 the association entered into by the late continental congress held at Philadelphia.” At that meeting, “RogerSl1erman, Esq., being moderator,” a committee Waschosen, (“the major part within the limits of the First Society”), “ for the purpose mentioned in the T. eleventh article of said association.” But these proceedings seem to have been in some Way not quite satisfactory. Another meeting Was held December 20th, and then it was distinctly “voted that this town do approve of the association entered into by the ‘late continental congress held at Philadelphia.” The committee ap pointed November 14th, “to carry into effect the resolutions of said congress,” was unanimously approved by this meeting, and for the sake of “peace and unanimity in this town,” twenty were ad- ded to that “ committee of inspection.” The second meeting seems to have been held for the purpose of toning up and strengthen- ing the proceedings of the first. Evidently, the will of the town, in "all its parishes, was that the articles of the American Associa- tion should have the force of law. Nor was the oflice of that “committee of inspection” reappointed year by year, a sinecure. It was their business to discover, to convict, and to denounce as “ enemies of American liberty,” those who dared to violate the arti- cles of the American association, and they attended to that busi~ , ness. We go forward to another year. The record of a town meeting, November 6, 17 7 5, not quite five months after the Battle of Bunker Hill, shows that it was a busy time in New Haven, then. A beacon was ordered to be erected on Indian Hill. In case of alarm the beacon was to be firedby order, in writing, from Colonel Fitch; in his absence, by order, in Writing, from Captain Thompson, or Captain Brown, or Captain Alling, and by no other order or authority. H a The Committee of Inspection at Lyme Was desired to send by express to give A-Colonel Fitch the earliest intelligence of the arrival of any fleet or any hostile appearance on the Sound. , Captain ‘ Sears was requested to establish a modeof intelligence in case of any danger the Way of N ew York. . T It was ordered. that a company of artillery, to consist of forty men, be enlisted to take charge of the carriage-gu'ns, they to choose tlieir own officers arid be under the dircctioii of Colonel Fitch. 21 Among the votes at that meeting were such as these : “' That the town approve the methodthe householders have taken in forming themselve-s into two companies, and of their drawing a half a pound of powder for each man deficient.” “ That the officers of said two companies of householders draw a list of such as have not joined said companies, and notify them to meet and form themselves into a third company, or into a fire com- pany, and choose their oflicers,” &c. “That householders of the respective parishes he required to form” companies in like manner, everyman deficient in powder to receive his half pound, giving his “ receipt to return the same if not used in the service of his country.’ ” “ That Captain Jones furnish his independent company by the C same rule.” “ That each‘ and every of said companies, on appearance of dan- ger, be under the command and direction of ‘Colonel Fitch and such as he shall appoint, who is directed to assign an alarm post or posts. Each company to meet at least once a week till ordered to the con- trary by Colonel Fitch. Arms and cartridges to be inspected that no powder be wasted.’ ” “Captain Thompson’s company to draw thirty pounds of pow- der.” . t r “ That each man ‘of the militia deficient draw half pound of powder in the same manner said voluntary companies are enabled to do.” i C ' “That the Governoribe desired to permit one hundred stands of arms to be lodged in the library for the use of aicompanyin Yale college.” “That, should acompany in college he formedand accoutred, » , they draw in a like manner half a pound of powder to each mail.” , “Thatythe ofliclersiotf each voluntary company aforesaid return i C the names of such as neglect to attend appointments, and such as refuse to join any company, to the next town. meeting.” 22 “That five persons, to Wit : Messrs. Adam Babcock, Joseph Thomp son, Isaac Sears, Samuel Broom and Amos Morris, be at committee, ac- cording to the letter received from the Governor and Committee of Safety, to direct and superintend the building of a fort at Black Rock, to apply to the committee of New York for cannon, and to apply for and procure shot, to make application to the neighboring towns to come in upon an alarm, and totrequest the Governor to lengthen out the term of Captain Thompson’s company if that is requisite.” ‘ “ That Messrs. Adam Babcocl: and Benjamin Douglass be agents to apply to the Assembly in behalf of this town for 6 row-gallies and 3 floating batteries, and whatever else the committee of five shall think proper for the defense and safety of thetown, and to, solicit and obtain the 100 arms for the College.” Voted, That every person who looks upon himself‘ bound“ either from conscience or choice to give intelligence to our enemies of our C situation or dtherwise take an active part against us or to yield any a obedience to any commands of His Majesty King George the Third, so far as to take up arms against this town or the united colonies, every such person be desired peaceably to depart from the \ town.” a r “ Voted, That a committee of fifteen be appointed for that pur- pose, be a desired, l30"'II10I‘I"OW', or as soon as may be, to call before them every person suspected of harboring the sentiments above- . mentioned, and on conviction they be desired to depart the town as soon as ,may be in at peaceable Way. Committee are Samuel C Bishop, -Jir., Daniel Lyman, Adam Babcock, Phineas Bradley‘, Mi-‘ chapel Todd,Pierpont Edwards, Timothy Jones, J r., John Lothrop, T ' Henry Daggett, Gen. Platt, Larnberton Smith, J r., Joel Hotchkiss, Isaac Ohidsey and Stephen Goodyear.” T “ Town MEETING, December 11, 1775. Committee of Inspection was appointed for the year ensuing: Committee to “consider the best ‘method to procure powder and arms for the use of the town, and to report their opinion to the town i r at their next meeting.” [No town meeting between Jan., 1776, (adjournmentiof annual at meeting), and Dec. 9, (annual) when~James Hillhouse first appears.]” 1 C l 23 Dee. 9m, 17 7 6.———-Committee to Inalxze application to His Honor the Governor and his council of safety for small arms and “a number of field pieces,” and that :3. barge be provided as occasion shall ofi"er, to obtain intelligence and Watch the motions of those _tha.t may at- tempt to land and annoy the town.” Again at the town ineetiiig December 11th, the matter of “ pow- der and arms for the use of the town ” was considered and referred to a committee.“ Arms! arms-——PoWder! powder¥—-Doubtles.ss they l “‘ put their trust in God,” but how Could they “keep their powder dry ” unless they had powder? l i p Surely it was not Wondlerf'ul that when the defense of liberty had l3l1l1E$ become war, and the War had oome l1o1nelA to every altar and l oVe1'y ' liz.earthe'tor1e, the hope of a reeoneiliation that should gtiaiantee l3l'1el1' chartered ‘liberty, and the desire for eontinued union with old llngglancl, died out; and the people were ready for the proclamation of" indepemilenee. The war llad made them know that national in~ dependenee—-~tlize imlependenoe of the eoloniee as one 1'1ation~«-We&3 the ixicliepeneable oondition of the liberty which they had inhe_r.- i.1:-m‘l :*LI1d‘f'()1'Wlt1l(3l‘l they were figl1_ti11g. “July 4th, 17 '76,” made no rnark. whatevel‘ on <:>ur to wn. records. Tlllfotlgll all that year, fi‘O1’I."l. .la1:mary let, there Wae_no call for a town '1'11eet»ing till the annual meeting in December. a . I have e:x:l:1a.u.~st;e<:l yo111'pa.tie11ee,and muet refre.in from tracing evexi an outline of the war, ee New Haven was eoncerned in it, after that 1u.1erno::.'::z,hle day one lfmndred yeare ago. Especially must I rof'r::ti1:1t from a ;, When the founders of our fair city came to Quinnipiac, 238 years ago,,they came not only with the leaders of their uniorrnedloivil state, Eaton and Goodyear, not only with their learned minister of‘ God’s word, Davenport, to be the pastor of the church they were to orga11ize—-«—-but also with their captain, Turner, who had been trained, like Standish, in the wars of the Dutch Republic, and who in the Pequot War of the ‘preceding yearhad seen the inviting beautyof the Quinnipiao -«hay and plain. W'l1o does not know liow, in those early times, i i H “ Our grandsires bore their guns to nieeting, Each man equip’d, on Sunday morn, ‘With psalxn-book, shot. and powder horn,” and that-,in the arrangement of the house of worship, a place for the “ soldiers” near the door was as much a matter of course, as the place for “the elders,” at the other side of the building? ‘Who. does not know that every able-bodied man (with few exceptions) was requir- - ed to bear arms and to be trained in the use of them ‘B What need that I should tell how a yigorous military organization and the con- stant exhibitionof readiness for self-defense, not less than justice ’ and kindness in dealing with the -Indians, were continually the indi- spensable oonditionofl safety’? What need of my telling the story i of King Philip’sWar, jiisttwo hundred years ago? Let it suffice to remind you of the long series of inter-colonial wars, eonte1npo- raneous with every war betwen England and her herditary enemies, iFranee‘ and Spain»-beginning in 1689 and continued with now and “"”then a few years’ interruption till therfinal eonquest and surrender of the French ‘dominion on this continent in 1762. It in the last War in this long series, that the military heroes of iourwar for independence had ,their~*training, and it was in the same war that the New England farmers and the Virginia hunters, fighting under the pi same flag and under the same generals with Britishlred-coats, learned howto face them Without fear. That war which swept from our “lco~ntinent the ‘Bourbon lilies and the Bourbon legions, made us‘ inde-«i ‘Z5 pendent, and enabled us, a few years later, to stand up as independ- ent, and in the ringing proclamation of‘ Jn1y°4th,‘ 1776, to inforrnthe world that where the English colonies had been struggling for ex- l istence, a nation had been born. i a Fellow’ citizens! ’We have a gooclly heritage----how came it to be ours? God has given it to us. How? By the hardships, the strug- gles, the self’-denial, the niansifolcl sufliering of our fathers and prede- cessorson this soil; by their labor and their valor, their conflicts with rude nature and savage men ; by their blood shed freely in so many battles ; by their manly sag'a.city anldlthe Divine instinct guida ing them to build better than they knew ‘P For us (in the Eternal Providence) were their hardships, their strtiggles, their sttfferings, their heroic self‘-denials. Eel‘ us were the cares that Wearied them, and their conflicts in behalf of liberty. For us were the hopes that cheered them. in labor and strengthened them in battle. For us-«T-—no not for us alone, but for our ehildren too, and for the unborn genera» tions. They who were here a lsuntxclred years ago, saw not what We see to-day, (oh I that they could have seen it 1) hutthey labored to win it for us, and for those who shall come after us. In this sense they ‘entered into God’s plan and became the ministers of his beneficence to us. We hless their memory to—day, and give glory to their God. He brotiglirt a vine out of Egypt when he brought hither the heroic fathers of’ New England. He planted it, and has guarded it age after age. We are now clwelling; for a little while under its shadow and partaking of its fruit? Others will soon he in our places, and the inhet-itance will be theirs; As the fathers lived not for them?» selves, but for us, so We are llVi1]g for those who will cyome after us. Be it ours so to live that they shall bless Giiad for What wehave w*1'o11gl1t as the. ser ants of his love; and that ~ age after age, till time shall end, may repeat our fathers’ words of trust and of W(I).1'Slll}V --~~--- ‘ l l em: emamxe sustimt.