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few‘:
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ORATION

DELIVERED IN FANEUIL HALL BEFORE THE

CITY COUNCIL AND CITIZENS
OF BOSTON

ON '1‘HE

One Hundred and Twenty--eighth Anniversary of

the Declaration of Independence

MONDAY, JULY 4, 1904

BY

HON. JOHN A. SULLIVAN

 

BOSTON
PRINTED BY ORDER 01: cm COUNCIL

1904

mm?

 

BOSTON’S PAST AND PRESENT.

WHAT WILL ITS FUTURE BE?

Mr. Mayor and Fellow Citizens .-

The history of revolts against unjust taxation and
arbitrary rule, which have oppressed men in every
age, records no movement that led to greater results
than the rise of Englislnnen against the oppression
of the Stuarts. To escape such evils in the reign of
Charles 1., the Puritan, John VVinthrop, with several
hundred followers, left England in 1630, crossed the
fierce Atlantic and landed on Massachusetts shores.

From Salem the little Colony moved to Charles-5

town, and“ on the seventeenth of September, in 1630,
they crossed the river, and there laid the founda-
tions of the City of Boston. They did not come
for profit or adventure, but, sick at heart with evils
in their native land, they left to fashion in a new
world a government in harmony with their ideals.
Other men came for other ends, but it was not those
who sought riches that succeeded, nor those whose
purpose was to found princely aristocracies, but
those stern men who for love of liberty stayed and

fought the pioneers’ battle in the primeval forest

against a hostile climate and a savage race. The

6 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION.

doctrine of the survival of the fittest was here exem-
plified. The weak and the dissolute perished or fled.
The strong and the virtuous remaine_d and conquered.
Though a monarch parcelled out the land amongst
his favorites, the royal mandate was powerless against
the forces of nature, and the favorites of a king
failed, while the industrious, ever the favorites of
fortune, succeeded. Soon, in this little settlement,
under the spur of necessity, the work was begun
which caused the forest to give place to the farm,
the red man’s hut to the white man’s dwelling, the
savages’ camp to the civilized community.

But success was not won quickly nor without great
difficulties. During the first winter the settlers were
visited by hunger and severest cold. In the comfort of
to—day we can hardly realize the sufferings of these
exiles. Indeed, the growth of civilization is well
measured by its progress from the privation of the
past to the luxury of the present. Wlieii the Colony
was reduced to desperation, and “the Grovernor was
seen giving the last handful of meal in the barrel unto
a poor man distressed by the wolf at the door,” relief
came and the threatened famine was averted. And
now in the face of the greatest hardships the patient
toil of these men began to bear fruit. Soon houses,
shops, wharves, and ships were built, industry advanced
and wealth accumulated. Trade stretched out to the
other colonies and the prosperity of the community
seemed to be assured. T

Their troubles had only begun, however, when they i

had conquered soil and climate. . Now new difficulties

rounra or JULY ORATION. 7

arose, and for many long years when the hostile Indian
was not at the door the Crown was forcing its unjust
demands upon them. And their worst foes were not
the red men, but white men of their own blood. As
the little state advanced in material prosperity, the
jealousy of English Inerchants and manufacturers
caused the British government to lay upon the colonists
a series of oppressive acts that culminated in the
revocation of their beloved charter. The first demand
for the return of the charter, during the reign of
Charles I., was met by the Puritans with grim
determination to defend it and they accordingly armed
themselves for resistance, but on the advice of that
wise man, Crovernor VVinthrop, they adopted apolicy
of evasion and delay, which, helped by the political
turmoil in England, succeeded in postponing the
threatened calamity. Witlvi the accession of Charles
II., in 1660, came greater menace to the colonies. The
new monarch appointed a commission to inquire into
the state of the colonies, and, as  counter-measure,
the General Court of the Colony appointed a committee
of twelve, which made a report in 1661 that set forth

their rights under the charter. Among these were

declared the right to elect their oflicers and, if not
repugnant to the laws of England, to inake and execute
their own laws; and to resist, with force if necessary,

any invasion of these rights by the King or Parliament.

This independent declaration aroused the King, and the
struggle was thenceforth carried on in terrible earnest.
In 1662 frequent communications passed between the
Colony and the Crown, and the vexation of the King

8 FOURTH or JULY ORATION.

was aggravated by the colonists’ open defiance of the
Navigation Acts and their constant resistance of his
authority to rule them. Two years later, four com-
missioners were appointed to investigate complaints
against the colonial governments, and in 1665 they cited
the Colony to appear before their court to answer certain
complaints, but the people skilfully kept away the
complainants so that no hearing was held, and thus the
second attempt upon the charter failed.

For the following ten years England, busy with
the Dutch war and internal troubles, left the colonies
unmolested. A Then a new and terrible danger came
upon them. After the suppression of the Pequots,
in 1638, there was peace with the Indians until the
rising of King Phillip in 167 5. Then a most devastat-V
ing war began, in which hundreds of lives were lost,
the dwellings of the people burned, and town after
town raided and destroyed. At times the feeling of
insecurity was so great that men carried their mus-11
kets to church so as to be prepared for conflict at
any moment. At last, however, the Narragansetts’

fort was destroyed, and this blow, followed by the r
death of King Phillip in 167 6, brought the frightful war

to an end. A
It was during this crucial time that the final strug-e

gle between the Colony and the Crown began. Edward

Randolph was sent out as an agent to Massachusetts,

and he began industriously to collect evidence against

the Colony, He harassed them in every way that his
malevolent genius could devise. He created a political
party that favored the Crown, and enlisted the wealthy

FOURTH or JULY ORATION. 9

classes on its side. Then the Colony which, while
united, successfully resisted every aggression of the
King, in its divided state began to yield, and though it
attempted by every means in its power to postpone the
evil day, the English Court of Chancery in 1684: entered
a decree vacating the charter, and the Legislature met
for the last time in 1685. Thus fell the Puritan state,
after nearly sixty years of power! The people who
had overcome cold, hunger and savage foes, who had
maintained their government through all the storms of
religious dissension and political agitation, succumbed
at last to the royal power that was urged i:'orvvard
by selfishness and greed. Here, under adverse cir-
cumstances, they displayed a political genius which
cannot be explained by referring to their previous
experiences, for the men who had kno'w11 only mon-
archical forms of government founded a democracy
in this new world. Here the town meeting reached its
highest developmentg, representative geverninent was
established; free schools were created, and Harvard
College was founded. But their record is not free from
taint, for they had narrow views of religion which led
them to practise cruelties that shook. us who are accus-
tomed to the tolerance of a liberal age. The persecu-
tion of Ann Hutchinson and of the Baptists and
Quakers, the driving of Roger Willianis into exile, and

the execution of the witches, all bear testimony to

the savagery of these illiberal sectaries. They had

gloomy ideas of life which caused them to repress

harmless pleasures and enjoyments, and even in the
present day this spirit returns occasionally to plague

10 FOURTH or JULY ORATION.

us. Theirs was a government harsh but successful,

liberal as to education, narrow as to religion, yet one A

under which the material prosperity of the people
became firmly established. The town of Boston had
been built, and had become the prosperous centre of a
series of thriving communities. It was the success of
courageous, hard-working, self-reliant, Grod—fearing men,
and their settlement became one of the strongest
foundations of our nation, and was destined to bear an
important part in its life.

The Boston of the Puritans, which had been the
very heart of the Colony in its struggle against the
aggression of the sovereigns of England, was again
to bear the force of the tyrant”s power and suffer
the evils that tyranny always visits upon those who
stubbornly defend their rights. After the brief but
stormy term of Governor Andros, which ended upon
the expulsion of James IL, a charter was obtained
from Williani and Mary by Increase Mather which
provided for a royal Governor with power to veto
acts of the Legislature and to convene, adjourn or
dissolve it, and, with the consent of the Council, to
create judges from whose final decrees an appeal
could be taken to the Privy Council of England. This
charter confirmed all the grants previously made by
the Colonial Legislature, extended the suffrage to all
freeholders of whatever religious persuasion, and made
all religions legal except the Catholic religion.

The political independence that the old charter gave a

was absent in the new instrument, but there was com-
pensation in the removal of restrictions upon religion

FOURTH or JULY ORATION. 11

and the suffrage, and the people, relieved temporarily
from exhausting strife, novv settled down to calmly
follow the pursuits of peace. The Colony had risen to
a flourishing condition. Boston was the commercial
centre and distributing point for the foreign and don1es—
tic trade ; its merchants supplied the other colonies
and shipped its products to England, France, and
Spain. The harbor was constantly filled with ships
engaged in the foreign and coastwise trade, and the
ship—building industry had grovvn to large proportions.
This prosperity enabled the King to obtain a goodly
revenue from the Colony, and friendly and profitable
relations would have continued indefinitely if liberal
measures had been adopted by the Crown. But the
idea prevailed then, which has followers even to-day in
our own country, that colonies should be managed
solely for the profit of the home government and its
merchants. The Navigation Acts were now sought
to be enforced and met With fierce resistance, as
they gave to British ships a monopoly of the right
to carry all nierchandise to and from the colonies,
including even the products of European countries
other than England. The penalty of forfeiture of
«offending ships and cargoes —— one-half of which was to
go to the Crown and the other half to the officers
making the seizure—---added zest to the pursuit of
the violators of these laws by nialcing their enforce-
ment profitable. In addition, the Crown made every
effort to repress manufactures in the colonies for the
purpose of keeping them engaged in agricultural
pursuits, so as to be entirely subservient to Eng-

1325 FOURTH or JULY ORATION.

1and’s interests. Taxes were levied without the con-
sent of the people or their representatives. Courts
of Admiralty condemned illicit cargoes under the
stimulus of a commission of five per cent. of the
value of the condemned goods, while if the sei-
zure proved illegal the owner could not recover
damages for the detention or the costs of the action
from the officers who made the unlawful seizure.
The hope of profit in the event of success, without
the deterrent fear of loss in the event of failure,
caused informers and judges to move the machinery
of the law so briskly as to rid this branch at least
of the reproach of tardiness. A stream of revenue
flowed into the King’s treasury which reduced the
circulating medium to a point below the require-
ments of trade, and this, with relief out off by Eng-
land’s prohibition of bills of credit, caused the greatest
hardship, for it left even the wealthiest men unable
to pay their debts in money, and thus subjected
them to the liability of loss of their estates for
demands far smaller in amount than the value of
these estates.

All these restrictions produced an irritation which
was aggravated by the constant struggle between
the colonists and the provincial governors over
the question of salary, the colonists refusing to
pay a fixed salary or to permit the Crown to pay
the Governor, but choosing rather to compensate him
by grants from the Legislature, their purpose being
to compel the Governor to be dependent upon the
colonists rather than upon the Crown, and thus

FOURTH or JULY ORATION. 13

insure for themselves greater liberality of treatment.
Both sides were determined to rule, and bloodshed
seemed imminent when the war between England
and France was extended to this continent, and the
colonists, putting aside their grievances, loyally sup-

.ported the Crown with troops and supplies, without

which assistance it could not have been successful.
The drain of the war with France and the neces-
sity for laying additional taxes upon the colonists
to replenish the royal treasury produced meas~
ures that strained their relations almost to the
breaking point. The period was reached when
wise counsels were needed to steady the men
on both sides, but the British, with incredible
folly, adopted a policy of coercion, which, had
they considered the character of the people, they
must have known would result in rebellion. The
hated Navigation Acts and the Sugar Act of
1.7 33, which levied a tax upon imports from
American colonies not under his Majesty’s do-—
minion, had been openly disregardecl by the
colonies, so in order to punish illicit traders, the cus-
toms authorities asked the Court at Salem to issue
“writs of assistance,” which would permit the officers
to forcibly enter dwelling houses, stores and ware-
houses and search for smuggled goods. Then, in
1761, James Otis argued the case of the colonists
against the writs of assistance, and his effort made
a profound impression upon the people, confirming
their opposition to these measures, and, indeed, laying
the foundation for the rebellion. In 176.5 Lord Grren-

14 FOURTH OF JULY ORATION.

ville caused the Stamp Act to be passed which levied
a tax upon business transactions, and public indigna-
tion was vented in riots that made the royal Grov-
ernor seek safety by fleeing to the castle. Then the
first American Congress met at New York, and pro-
tested against the abuses of the admiralty courts and
the levying of taxes Without the consent of the
people’s representatives, and this meeting united the
hearts of the people of all the colonies in their opposi-
tion to the aggression of the King. As a measure of
conciliation the Stamp Act was now repealed, but
the right to govern the colony in all cases whatso-
ever was asserted in the repealing act, and soon after-
wards an act was passed levying duties on tea and
other articles, and a board of customs was established
at Boston to collect the revenue for the Crown.
Then the King was petitioned to convene the Legis-
lature, and, upon refusal, Sam Adams called a town
meeting in which the people agreed not to buy
certain British products.

Now the Crown determined to use force, and
in 1768 ships of War were sent into the harbor,
and soldiers were encamped upon the Common.
Then the Boston Massacre occurred on the fifth
of March in 1770, and a meeting was held in
Faneuil Hall the next day to notify the Governor
that the people of Boston would not tolerate the
presence of soldiers any longer. Another town

meeting was held soon upon learning that, contrary A

to the charter, the Governor had taken a salary from
the King and that the judges were to be paid there-

FOURTH or JULY ORATION. A 15

after from the King’s treasury, and, upon motion of
Sam Adams, a committee of correspondence was
appointed to communicate With the other colonies
and publish their rights. This meeting was full of
menace to the Crown, for it meant the union of all
the colonies against the oppression of England, but
she seemed utterly unable to realize that constant
trespasses upon the rights of a strong, determined,
liberty—1oving people must, if continued, lead to armed
conflict. So the East India Company, in 1778, pro-
cured an act removing the duty on tea, and, in the
hope of sale to the colonists at low prices, cargoes
were shipped to Charleston, Philadelphia, Boston and
New York. But the colonists, preferring to smuggle
from Holland than to purchase cheaper from England,
protested against the landing of the teas and ordered
them sent back. Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson
refused to permit the vessels to clear with the tea
on board, and one fine evening a party of “ M0l1ELWl{S ”
went down to the ships and so arranged matters
that the ships were able to depart Without the
burden of their cargoes. The audacity of this act
aroused the British ministry, and accordingly the

- Boston Port Bill was passed for the purpose of clos-

ing the liarbor and suspending the commerce of the
town. The people of Boston now saw that the
Crown Was determined to deprive them of every
vestige of their liberties, and this conclusion was con-
firmed by the substitution of a military for a civil
Governor.

And now in Boston, which was destined to bear the

16 FOURTH or JULY ORATION.

brunt of first hostilities, soldiers appeared everywhere
to protect a government that was sustained only by
force. Then the town, with its trade at a standstill,
its shipping idle, its Legislature removed, and soldiers
quartered upon its inhabitants, feeling that it must
make its last stand, issued a call for a Continental
Congress. In 1774: the Suffolk Resolves were adopted,
which were virtually a declaration of independence
and a protest against the hostile measures aimed at
Boston. The appointment of the judges by the
Crown, the erection of fortifications and the payment
of revenue to the King were condemned. Obedience
to the Continental Congress was advised, non-inter-
course with England recommended, and meetings of
the people for military preparation were urged. And
at this meeting the immortal "Warren displayed that
patriotic spirit which at Bunker Hill raised him from
scenes of earthly conflict into the realms of eternal
peace. These resolutions filled the British with fear,
and they began to seize arms, while the colonial com-
mittee of safety and supplies began to arm the
citizens, and to organize minute-men in every town.
The British attempt to seize a supply of ammunition
supposed to be stored at Concord was the torch
that touched off the magazine of war. Every
American youth knows the story of the ride of Paul
Revere on the eighteenth of April, of the battle with
the farmers at Concord Bridge the next day, the battle
of Bunker Hill on the seventeenth of June, and the
evacuation of Boston by the British troops on the
seventeenth of the following March, andthese familiar
events in our history need no new recital.

FOURTH or JULY ORATION. a 17

Boston, after this evacuation, was not again the
seat of War during the Revolution, but in the initial
struggles it had borne an heroic part. It was the
first to resist the attempt to deprive it of its com-
mercial privileges and its right of seli'—government. It
was the first to shed its blood in the sacred cause of
independence. It furnished its sliare of patriotic men,
and gave generously of its purse during the dreary days
of the Revolution. And though its population had
been reduced and its trade and commerce destroyed,
the sacrifices it made have given it a place in the
history of the United States the lustre of Whose glory
will not be dimmed by years.

If there is any lesson which may be learned from the
story of our city from its settlement in 16:3(f) to the time
when the yoke of England was thrown off, it is that its
inhabitants had a lofty reverence for justice and liberty,
that they highly valued the blessings of unrestricted
commerce, that they detested unjust taxation and
despotic rule, and that irnpositions were sure to meet
resistance even at the sacrifice of their lives. And
although this is  patriotic occasion which should not
be burdened with the discussion of a subject that may

i seem sordid, it is Well to remember that this movement

for liberty had its origin in commercial restraints. And
this was not a condition peculiar to our history. Many
of the wars which have ravaged the earth resulted from
illegal taxation it and unjust commercial restrictions.
And the Wars of the future will proceed from these
causes alone. Wars for the personal ambition of
rulers will not now be tolerated by the people of any

18 FOURTH or JULY onarxon.

civilized nation. Neither vvill Wars avovvedly for terri-
torial aggrandizement occupy much longer the stage of
the vvorld’s affairs. The only possibility of future Wars
will be found in the selfishness of men or nations that
desire, by defeating the plain intent of nature, to
gather to themselves an undue share of the Wealth and
the commerce of the World.

That the commercial motive Was strong in its im-
pelling force needs no better proof than the violent
protests of Boston merchants against England’s meas—-
ures of repression, and that they ultimately provoked
rebellion is apparent to every one. Further proof of
the strength of the commercial impulse is found in the
Declaration of Independence, for England is charged
there with “ cutting off our trade with all parts of
the World,” and “imposing taxes on us Without our
consent,” and these are mentioned among the causes
which were published to the World as leading to the
separation. The desire to extend our trade found ex-
pression in the commercial treaties immediately pro-
posed vvith European nations, and in the Articles of
Confederation»-~—-the organic law of the new nation————~
the states were prohibited from laying duties or im-
posts that would interfere "With treaties already pro-
posed by Congress to the courts of France and Spain.
Nothing could speak more eloquently of the constant
movement of commerce towards freedom than the sub-
stitution of the Constitution for the Articles of Con-
federation. These articles left power in the states to
regulate commerce and to impose duties, and even to
prohibit the importation or exportation of goods, and

FOURTH or JULY ORATION. 19

the conflicting legislation that resulted in the several
states deprived the nation’s commerce of that uniform-
ity of regulation so essential to its growth. Madison
writes that “Connecticut taxed imports from Massa-
chusetts,” and that “states having ports for foreign
commerce taxed the states trading through them.”
Thus, New Jersey, placed between Pennsylvania and
New York, was likened to a “cask tapped at both
ends,” and North Carolina, placed between Virginia
and South Carolina, to “a patient bleeding at both
arms,” while in sundry instances, as of New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, the navi-
gation laws treated the citizens of other states as
aliens. These circumstances are mentioned by Madi-
son as among the principal causes which led to
the framing of the Constitution. So the Articles of
Confederation were abandoned, and a new system
provided in the Constitution of the United States
to meet the demands of a rapidly growing commerce.
That the value of unrestricted commerce to the life
of the nation and the necessity of its preservation for
the happiness of society were known to the fathers
is emphasized frequently in the debates in the Con-
stitutional Convention and in the provisions of the
Constitution itself. The federal control of tarifi taxa-
tion, the provision for its uniformity, the national
regulation of commerce and navigation, the prohibition
of the states to levy duties on imports or exportsor
upon tonnage or to make treaties, the guaranty that
the ports of one state should be given no preference
over others, and that vessels passing from one state

20 FOURTH or JULY ORATION.

should not be required to enter, clear, or pay duties in
another, give clearest evidence that the creation and
preservation of a national commerce were regarded as
of paramount necessity by the men Who were building
the nation. They appreciated the blessings of unfet-
tered intercourse among the states, and determined to
keep it forever free. The mere recital of the provisions
relating to commerce in these three instruments——the
Declaration, the Articles of Confederation, and the
Constitution —--indicates the strength of the commercial
power which accounted in such large measure for the
very existence of these documents. That motives
other than commercial contributed to the achievement
of independence we cannot deny, yet candid observers
must acknowledge their large influence in causing
opposition to the Crown in the early days of the
Colony, in keeping alive that opposition in the time
of the provincial charter, and in making it effective
by creating the Revolution.

Let us now take a glance at our native city and
see the position that her patriotism left her in. Her
population had been reduced more than half, and her
business ruined by the events preceding the Revolu-
tion. She had taken a prominent part in the agita-
tion that led to the Declaration of Independence, and
had suffered for her devotion more than any of her
sister cities. During the dark days of the War for
national freedom she gave freely of her treasure and
her best blood to support the cause, and upon its
successful ending furnished statesmen to frame a plan
of government and guide the new nation upon her

F(")URTl’—I or JULY ORATION. r 21

path. She inspired the devotion of Sam Adams,
John Adams, John Hancock, Joseph VVarren, and
James Otis, whose names will be remembered so long
as the cause of liberty is precious to the hearts of
men. Again, in the war of 1812, she served her
country well, manifesting anew her courage and
her patriotism. In the struggle for the emancipa-
tion of a race of bondmen she stood again in the
front, where shone as lights of hope in the dark sea of
oppression the deeds of Garrison, Phillips, Everett,
Andrew, an.<:l Suinner.

During all the struggles of these years she has risen
in power and i.mportance. Her harbor has attracted
the shipping of the world, and made her a great rail-
road centre for every section of our land. Her manu-
facturers, by their industry and skill, still command a
large share of the world’s markets. Her merchants,
by their enterprise, have possessed her of much of the
world’s commerce. Her free schools, lasting since
the days of the Puritans, have borne abundant fruit,
and she sends forth her scholars to lift men out of the
darkness of ignorance. Her government is not equalled
in excellence by any large American city. Her broad
tolerance, her free hospitality, her high public spirit,
her lofty spiritual aims, have given her a grandeur
that compels the admiration of mankind. i

And yet this splendid city has not received its just
due from the nation it helped to create. What foreign
aggression failed to do a narrow national policy is
accomplishing. Her position of commercial suprem-
acy, held until near the beginning of the Revolu-

22 FOURTH or JULY ORATION.

tion, has been stripped from her, and now she
is threatened with decay. In the last decade her
manufactures have decreased while those of her rivals
in sister states have advanced with giant strides.
Trade, travel, and transportation have been deflected
to other sections. Industry after industry ha.s fled
to escape the blight of hostile conditions artificially
created, or remained to perish utterly. So, too, in
growth of commerce and of population she has failed
to receive her share. No one in the eighteenth cen-
tury could have foreseen her subordination to other
parts of the Union. The possibility of her decline
could not be read in her geographical location, in the
character of her citizens or in the spirit of her institu-
tions. Nature favored her supremacy. Mains folly

deprived her of it. But what man can destroy man

can replace. Old Boston never submitted tamely to
measures that threatened the destruction of her 1*ights.
She will not yield without a struggle now. She will
do as of old, intelligently consider the ills that afflict
her, prescribe the remedy, and proceed with deter-
mination to apply it. The absorbing question for
us is how to restore our city to her former proud
position and to maintain her there.

And here let us note the result of some expedients
for advancing prosperity. The acquisition and control
of alien peoples as a means of increasing our wealth
has recently been tried, and has miserably failed. The
cost of maintaining a colonial government in the
Philippines has overwhelmingly exceeded the trade
benefits that have resulted from our possession, and we,

FOURTH OF JULY ORATION. 23

with the rest of the World, are learning that imperial-
ism is not successful as a promoter of trade. The im-
mense cost of armies and navies and of the adminis-
tration of government amongst a hostile people inakes
the commercial profits which result from colonialism
seem meagre in comparison. That trade does not fol-
low the flag has been demonstrated so clearly that We
need not Waste a moment upon that exploded theory.
People cannot be bayoneted into trading. Trade can-
not be created by force and repression, but by freedom
and friendship. It must be wooed gently to be Won.
And financial losses are not the Worst results of
this evil policy. Not only have We failed to secure
the expected trade which Was offered as a bribe to
still the protests of a conscience outraged by this
violence to the spirit of our free institutions, but We
have begun the very practices which our forefathers
condemned. The monopoly to ships of the home
government, which was the essence of the Navigation
Acts of Charles II., has its counterpart in the recent
act of Congress which permits only ships of the
United States to engage in the trade between us and
the Philippine Islands. The revenue acts which
caused our ancestors to revolt because they favored
England’s interests to our detriment were inspired
by a policy no more selfish than that Which framed
a tariff to favor American trusts to the injury of
the Filipinos, who are the Wards of this nation.
And though our ancestors complained because rights
of property were determined against them Without
the benefit of jury trial, We find that Filipinos are

24 L FOURTH or JULY ORATION.

deprived of liberty itself, which is far more sacred
than mere rights of property, and are condemned to
jail Without a trial by jury such as Would not be
refused to the commonest criminal in our own land.
No! Imperialism does not solve our domestic prob-
lems, but, by its very presence, delays that concen~—
tration of e11e1*gy upon our domestic affairs which is
so sorely needed. We should not attempt to bring
other peoples up to our standard, as if that were
perfection, but rather to constantly strive to raise
our standard higher so that other nations will at-
tempt to reach its level.

And the liigli tariff system, which has fostered
oppressive trusts, will not give back to us the inarkets
it has lost us. On the contrary, if persisted in, it will
lead to retaliation that will be even more destructive of
our commerce. Do We need illustrations ‘P Let us
remember the fate of France that forced a tariff War
upon Switzerland by decliniiig to enter into proffered
peaceful relations with her. After two and a half
years of hostile tariffs France was compelled to sue for

a peace and adopt reciprocal relations which she had

spurned so shortly before. During this conflict the
other nations of Europe stepped in and took. the trade

which the angry combatants had by their folly

abandoned. Upon the return of peace this trade was
almost immediately lost to the non—combatants and
restored to France and Switzerland. Let us profit by
this and other examples that could be given and avoid
a commercial war that would be ruinous to the people
of our land. If the states of Europe combined to

FOURTIEI 01+‘ JULY ORATION. 25 .

make trade free amongst themselves as We have made
it free amongst our own states, and then turned a
hostile front towards us With the cry of “Europe
for the Europeans,” our foreign trade would
Wither and decay. No! If We are to prosper
again in this city of ours We must be relieved
of man’s restrictions and follow nature’s plan. Grod’s
beneficent intent that men should mingle with each
other and exchange the products of their labor is Writ-
ten on the face of nature. Our great seacoast, extend-
ing from Maine to Mexico on the east and south, and
from Mexico to British Columbia on the West, the great
navigable rivers that drain our land and carry the
instruments of commerce upon their bosoms, the great
lakes that enable the border states to trade with the
country north of them, -mall furnish evidence of His
benevolent design. And man has availed himself of
these natural advantages. He  created great steam»
boat lines, long canal routes and a vast network of
railroads that extend into every portion of our land.
All these have helped to build up the prosperity of our
«country. Yet all these gifts of nature combined with
the works of man would be robbed of much of their
value if the protection system were carried to its
logical conclusion by the establishment of custom
houses along the borders of the states and territories
of this Union. It is freedom of trade between the
fruit raisers of California, the cotton planters of Missis-
sippi, the miners of Pennsylvania, the sugar planters
of Louisiana, the shoe marnifacturers of Massachusetts,
the lumbermen of Oregon and the Wheat growers of

26 FOURTH or JULY ORATION.

the western states that has enabled us to avail our-
selves fully of the great bounties of nature which have
been showered upon us. Let us take our lesson from
the book of nature, and extend our trade to the north
and west of us, and to every corner of the world. Let
us demand a return to freer trade relations that will
give to this ancient city the benefits which her position
upon the Atlantic seaboard has destined her to receive.
If the tribute which New York and Pennsylvania
levied upon New Jersey was wrong in the eighteenth
century, the tribute which is levied upon Massachusetts
by her sister states in the twentieth century is wrong,
and a change is demanded.

The provincial Governor, Sir Williani Phipps, made
a brave but unsuccessful attempt to capture Canada.
Richard Montgomery, in the Revolutionary time,
made a similar attempt with no more success.
When Benjamin Franklin was negotiating for the
treaty of peace in 1782, he nearly succeeded in
getting a grant of Canada from England, a project
which was most dear to his heart. In the eleventh
of the Articles of Confederation it was provided
that Canada could enter the confederation by ‘‘ join-
ing in the measures of the United States,” and if
this provision had been inserted in the Constitution
of the United States we might have Canada to—day.
Who shall say that the failure to insert it was not
a grievous mistake ? All of these attempts were
fruitless, but we are certain that no attempt at
forcible annexation will be made again. If union
comes it will be through friendship and not by force.

rooms or JULY ORATION. 27

So let us open our arms to our sister on the north,
and she will gladly receive our embrace. The
restoration of better trade relations will lessen the
spirit of hostility, and annexation will surely come
without bloodshed when the people of the two
countries are prepared for it. If we are wise we
will abandon wars and restrictive measures, and
follow the ways of freedom and of peace.

But until freedom from trade restrictions is granted
we will struggle to attain it. The old town led in the
fight for political independence. The city leads in the
fight for commercial independence. The fathers resisted
government to their injury for the benefit of English
merchants. Their sons resist government to their
injury for the benefit of selfish men in our own land.
We have determined to break the shackles that bind
us, and we will frame a declaration of commercial
independence. The immortal Declaration which sprang
from restrictions upon industry became, through the
fighting spirit of the fathers, the foundation of a gov-
ernment of freedom and of peace. And their sons,
following in the footsteps of the fathers, will declare
an independence that will rebuke the insolence of
greed, burst the manacles that cramp our industries
and place us again in the broad highway of free and
honorable trade. There is that in the genius of our
institutions and the manly courage of our citizens that
makes war upon oppression inevitable. The founders
of this city opposed every invasion of their liberties,
civil and political. They fought back the Indians who
threatened their homes, they resisted the Crown in

28 rooms or JULY ORATION.

-every measure of aggression, they saved the charter

twice before it fell under stress of tyranny and lack

of united opposition ; every act of oppression paved the

way to revolt, until finally independence was declared
and freedom Was achieved. This hall, in the olden
days, heard the protests of men who loved righteous-
ness, and will again hear men who are possessed of the
spirit of Sam Adams and the patriotic leaders which
made the Revolution successful, which resented inter»-
ference With the rights of our seamen in 1812 and es-
tablished our power upon the seas, Which, When a hated
institution menaced the morals of our people, caused
them to rise and make slavery no more. The descend-
ants of these men have peopled the great West, crossed
rugged mountains, converted barren Wastes into fertile
farms, vvrested from the bowels of the earth its hidden
treasures, spanned the hemisphere with iron rails and
brought the remotest points into communication with
each other. And We, possessed of their courage, will
take the initiative in this movement for the freedom of
commerce and of industry, and press forward to that
victory which cannot long be postponed.

And then our city Will achieve the triumphs which

she is destined to attain. Her harbor will be filled

again with the ships of every land, and her vessels
will be found upon every sea. The products of the
north will here be laid down for shipment to other
lands, and here will return the products of those
lands which will be taken north to complete the circle
of beneficial exchange. The tides of travel and trans»
portation which were swerved from their natural

rmunrrn or JULY ORATION. 29

courses by the ztrtifice of man will return to this
ancient channel, and the borde1'ing; fields of industry
will bloom anew under the stimulus of the lifegiving
current. Her inanufactures, relieved of oppressive bur-
dens, vvill revive and furnish attractive investment to
capital amid eonsta.1:1t and profitable employment to
labor. And all the industries dependent upon com-
rneree and manufactures will feel the quiclzzeniiig im-i
pulse of 1‘etu1~11i11g life. Weeltli will not be forced to
seek fa,1:‘-eweiy places for investment. Youth, that
needs more than tmditions for sustenatnce, will not be
driven to distant fields for the employment of its tail
ents. A glorious future awaits us. "With the restora-
tion of freeclorn in our coinmercial intercourse by a
return to 11a,t11i*e’s levvs this ancient city‘ upon the three
hills Will rise to such vveelth and splendor as will make
her the admiration of the World.

A LIST

BOSTON MUNICIPAL ORATORS.

¢@mm 

BY C. W. ERNST.

BOSTON ORATORS

APPOINTED BY THE MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES.

For the Anniversary of the Boston Massacre, Marcia 5, 1770.

NOTE. ---The Fii.’th.of-Marcli orations were published in handsome quarto editions,
now very scarce; also collected in book form in 1785, and again in 1807. The oration
of 1776 was delivered in Watertown.

1 771 . --——- LOv:ELL, JAMES.

1772. ---—— WARREN, JOSEPH.”

1 773. --~ CHURCH, BENJAMIN.b

17 74.. »--- HANCOCK, JoI~IN.“

1775. -—- WARREN, JOSEPH.

1 7 7 6 . ---- THACHER, PETER.

1 777. -—-—-~- HICHBORN, BENJAMIN.

1 778. —---~--- AUS’rIN, JONATHAN WILLIAMS.
1 7 79. --—--~-— TUDOR, VVILLIAIVI.

1 780. ——- MASON, JONATHAN, JUN.

1 781 . --— DAWES, ’1"‘I~1OMAs, JUN.

17 82. ———~ MINOT, GEORGE RICHARDS.
1783. —— WELSH, THOMAS.

For the Azzrziversargy of Natiorzal Imlependerzce, Jiely 4., 1776.

NOTE. ——A collected edition, or a full collection, 01’ these oretione has not been
made. For the nmnes of the oretors, as oilicially printed on the title pages of the
orations, see the Municipal Register of 1890.

1 788. —---~ WAItREN, J01-IN.1
1 7 84. ---—— I’IICI-IBORN, BENJAMIN.
1 785. —— GA1tDN1«m, J01-IN.

2;. Reprinted in Newport, R.I ., 1774, 8vo., 19 pp.

b A third edition was published in 1773.

1 Reprinted in "Wax-ren’e Life. The orations of 1783 to 1786 were published in large
quarto ; the oration of 1787 appeared in octave; the oration of 1788wa.e printed in small
qgisgrtozilsl zuceeeding orations appeared in octave, with the exceptions stated under
1 an 7 '. 7

APPENDIX.

1786. ---~-- AUSTIN, JONATHAN LORING.
1787. ———DAwEs, THOMAS, JUN.
1788. -— OTIS, HARRISON GrRAY.
1789 . —— STILLMAN, SAMUEL.

17 90. ——«- GrRAY, EDVVARD.

1791 . -—-- CRAFTS, THOMAS, JUN.

17 92. -—BI..AI{E, JOSEPH, JUN?‘
1793. -—--_AlDAl\IS, JOHN (.,),uINOY.'3

17 94. --—— PI-IILLIPS, JOHN.

1795. -— BLAKE, GE01u;m.

17 96. —-— LATIEIROI’, JOHN, JIJN.
1797. -~---—- CALLENDER, JOHN.

1798. ~—— QUINCY, JOSIAI-1.2’ 3

1799. —---LOWELL, JOHN, JUN.’-’*
1800. ----I*IA1”..L, JOSEPIL

1801. —~—— PAINE, C1~.1ARI..ES.

1802. -—-— EMERSON, WILLIANI.

1803. -—- SULLIVAN, VVII.LIAM.

1804. ———- DA.NFOR’1‘H, T1i01V[AS.2

1805. —~-- DUTTON, WA'RREN.

1806. —-— CHANNING, FRANCIS I)A.NA..4
1807 . ——-— TIIACIIER, PETI+31z.‘3= 5

1808. —-—-—- RITCLII13, .ANI)REW, J UN."
1809. —~—- TUDOR, VVILLIAM, J‘UN.2
1810. ——TOWNsENI>, ALEXANDER.
1811. -—-- SAVAGE, JAMI«:s."‘

1812. ———-—~ POLLARD, BENJAMIN.4‘
1813. — LIVERMORE, EDWARD ST. LOE.

2 Passed to :1. St300n(i1 edition.
3 Delivered a.nOthe1' oration in 1826. Quin(:y’s oration of 1798 was reprinted, also,

in 11-‘hilzxdelphia.

4 Not printed. %
“On Febr'uaI~y ‘.36, 1311, Peter '1‘ha<:.1IeI-’s name was clmnged to Peter Oxenbridge

Thacher. (List of Persons whose Names have been Changed in Massachusetts, 1780«—
1892, p. -21.)

AI?1>ENmx. 35

181.4. —-«- W1IITWF3I§.L, BENJAMIN.

1815. —-——-- SHAW, LE1V1U1£I..

1816. —--~ SULLIVAN, Gr1+3ORGE.2

1817. ——~- C1-IANNING-, EDWARD TYRREI.-.
1818. —— GRAY, FRANCIS CALLEY.
1819. —— DEXTICIJL, FRANKIJN.

1820. --we LYMA.N', TI3IEO1)O1~?.§I£, J UN. "
1821. —— L()I{lN('}, CI—1A.1z1.1«:.~3 Gr1‘i14‘.EI.‘1'.2

1822. ~—— GRAY, JOHN 01-III1’1\IA1\I.

1823. --- CURTIS, CI~1A.RLES P1«:.1.1mM.”

1824-. ---- l3A.ss1«:.'Irr1r, FRANCIS.

1825. -—---- SI?’.RAG~Ul:?1, C1~1A:m.1«:s.“

1826. --—~—~ QUINCY, JOSIAI-71.7

1827’. -—-- 1VIASC)N., WILLIAM I?‘ow1«:Lx..

1828. —~—--— SUMNER, BRAIJFORIJ.

1829. -——--— AUSTIN, JAMES T1u«:C0'J:.r11o1<.

1830. ——~—- EVl1+1RI§1'1.‘T, AI.1a.‘.XA'N11TI)ICl{ H.II.L.

1831. -——- 17’AL1a‘m«f:Y, JOIITIN GrORMA.1\I.

1832. -——~ QI;J1NC1', J()s1A1»1, JUN.

183:3. —-—— P.1'us:s<3o'r'r, 1I4f31:)wA:m> Gr()I.I‘)SB()ROUGI-1.

1834. -———l*‘.M, I”x’.x01x.\m> .‘5I_Jr.ir..11'w.N.

1835.--—I7IIILL[.A,R.1.), G~‘1r.c>1u:4:m STILLMAN.

1836.----KINS1\IAN, I:ImNm' VV11.‘I.xs.

1837. -~-——-- CHAPMAN, JC)NATIIAN.

1838. —-W1NsI.ow, I:Irmi1.3.2u=m. “ "F110 l\{[ea.ns of the Per-

pc~3t11ity :.1.n<,1 I”1'c>&a1')e1‘ity of 0111' I{e‘pub1ic.”

1839. ----AUSTIN, Iv1«m.3 JAIVIES.

1840. -——— PC.)WER., TIIOIVIAS.

1841. —-——-CUR.'r1s., G.1r.0m:+1r. 'I‘IcI«:Nc>r'..3 “ The True U ses of

Axnmican Re"Vo1utiona1'y 1}~Iisto1-y. ’ ’3
1842. --~--- MANN, I~I0RAc1+:."

6 Six editions up to 1831. R<.3p1'int(*.d also in 1115! I..if.e and Letters.
7 Reprinted in his lkiunicipal I;-Iis1;m~y of B0xstm:1. See 1798.

3 Delivered zmother ora.1;ion in 1862.

*"1‘bere are five or more editions; only one by the City.

03
OD

APPENDIX.

1843.——ADA.Ms, CHARLES FRANCIS.

1844.---— CHANDLER, PELEG WHITMAN. “ The Morals of
Freedom. ’ ’

18-4:5.--—SUMNER, CHARLES.“ “ The True Grandeur of
Nations.”

1846. — WEBSTER, FLETCHER.

184.-7.-—-CARY, THOMAS GrREAVES.

184.8. ---—— GILES, JOEL. “Practical Liberty.”

1849. —-—GREENOUG-I-I, VVILLIAM WHxrw1«:L1.. “ The Con-
quering Republic.”

1850. --- VVHIPPLE, EDWIN PERCY.” “ Washington and
the Principles of the Revolution.”

1851.——RUssELL, CHARLES TI~II1)OI)ORIi3.

1852. -——KING, THOMAS Sr.um.12 “ The Organization of
Liberty on the Westerii Continent/’1"
1858. ~—-— BIGELOW, TIM0TI~1Y.13
1854. -—— STONE, ANDREW LEE'I‘E.2 “ The Struggles of
 American History.”
1855.—-MINER, ALONZO AMES.

1856. --——~ PARKER, EDVVARI) GR.II+"l§‘IN. “ The Lesson of
"76 to the Men of ’56.”

1857. ~—-Arena, WILLIAM RoUNs12v1I.1.1«:.1* “ The Genius
and Posture of America.”

1858. --—HOLMES, JOHN Somnes.’ '
1859. —---~ SUMNER, Gizoaen.”

1860. -——— Evsmunrr, EDWARD.

1861. -——-~- PARSONS, THEOPHILUS.

1862. -~—-- CURTIS, GEORGE TICKNOIL8
1863. ---HOLMES, OLIVER WEND1aI.L.1“
1864. -—— RUSSELL, THOMAS.

1° Passed through three editions in Boston and one in London, and was answered
in a. pamphlet, Remarks upon an Oration delivered by Charles Sumner . . . . July
4th,1845. By acitizen of Boston. See Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner, by
Edward L. Pierce, vol. ii. 337-384.
11 There is a second edition. (Boston: Tieknor, Reed & Fields. 1850. 49 pp. 12°.)
11 First published by the City in 1892.
p 13 This and a number or the succeeding orations, up to 1861, contain the speeches,
toasts, ete., of the City dinner usually given in Faneuil Hall on the Fourth of July.

APPENDIX. C 37

1865.—MANNING, JACOB MERRILL. “Peace under
Liberty?“

1866. i—--Lori-iRo1>, SAMUEL KIRKLAND.
1867.---—HnrWoRrR, GEORGE HUGHES.

1868.-—--ELIOT, SAMUEL. “ The Functions of a City.”
1869.-——MoRr0N, ELLIS WESLEY.

1870. ----EVERE'1‘T, WILLIAM.

1871.-———SARGRNr, HORAOR BINNEY.

1872. -~——ADAMs, CHARLES FRANo1s, JUN.
1873»--—-VVARR, J or1N FOTI-IERGILL WATERHOUSR.

187 4. —— FROTIIINGI1 AM, RICHARD.

1875. --—-CLARKE, JAMES FREEMAN. “ Worth of Republi-
can Institutions.”

187 6.—-—WIN'rnRoi>, Ronnnr CnARL1:s.1"
1877.—---VVARREN, WxLLrAM WIRT.

1878.———-HRALY, JOSEPH.

1879.—Lone-E, HENRY CABOT.

1880.--—-SMI'r1~1, ROBERT I)IoKsoN.1°

1881.-——-WARREN, Greener. WAs1euNeroN. “Our Repub—

lic--—Liberty and Equality Founded on Law.”

1882.-——-LONG, JOHN DAVIS.

1883.———CAR1>RN'rER, HENRY BERNARD. “American

Character and Influence.”
~ 1884:.-—-—SHEPARD, HARVEY NEWTON.
V 1885.----GrARGrAN, T}EIOMA.S J OHN.

14 Probably four editions were printed in 1857. (Boston: Oflice Boston Daily Bee.
Bflpp.) Not until November 22, 1864, was Mr. Alger asked by the City to furnish a
copy for publication. He granted the request, and the first oiiieial edition (J. E. Far.
well 85 Co.. 1864, 58 pp.) was then issued. It lacks the interesting preface and appendix
of the early editions.

15 There is another edition. (Boston: '.[‘ickn.or 85 Fields, 1859, 69 pp.) A third
(Boston: Rockwell & Churchill, 1882, 46 pp.) omits the dinner at Faneuil Hall, the
correspondence and events of the celebration.

16 There is a preliminary edition of twelve copies. (J. E. Farwell & Co., 1863. (7),
71 pp.) It is “the iirst draft of the author’s address, turned into larger, legible type,
for the sole purpose of rendering easier its public delivery." It was done by “the
liberality of the City Authorities,” and is, typographieally, the handsornest of these
orations. This resulted in the large-paper 75-page edition, printed from the same

. type as the 71.pa.ge edition, but modified by the author. It is printed “ by order oi‘ the

Common Council.” The regular edition is in 60 pp., oetavo size.

38

APPENDIX.

1885.-----VVII..I.IAMS, GEORGE FREDERICK.

1887.-———FITZGERALD, JOHN EDWARD.

1888.——DILLAWAY, VVILLIAM EDVVARD LOVELL.

1889. —--SWIFT, J OHN LINDSAY.” “The American Citi-
zen.”

1890.--—PILLSBURY, ALBERT ENOCH. “Public Spirit.”

1891. ---Q,U1NoY, JOSIAH.2° “The Coming Peace.”

1892.----lVIUR.PlEIY, JOHN ROBERT.

1893.--—PU'I‘NAM, HENRY VVARE. “The Mission of Our
People.”

1894.—-O’NRIL, JOSEPH I-IRNRY.

1895. ——-BERLE, .A.DOLPI-I AUGUSTUS. “ The Constitution
ancl the Citizen.”

1896. —-—FI'1‘ZGERALD, J OHN FRANCIS.

“ The Contribution of

Boston to .A.1I1Gl‘1C{l.l1 Independence.”

1 89 7 . --—-I'I.A.LE, EDWARD EVERETT.

1898. -—- O’CALI.AeI~IA:N, REV. DEN18.

1899. ~--— MATILIEWS, NATHAN, JR. “ Be Not Af1*:.tid of
Greatness.”

1 900. -—- O’l\i[EARA, STEPIIEN.
flict.”

190l.—--GrUILI), CURTIS, JR.

“Progress Through Con-

“ Supremacy and Its Con-
ditions.”

1902. ----~- CONR1’. JOSEPH A.

1 903. -—- MRA.:1:>, EDWIN D.
Founders.”

“The Principles of the

1904. --—SULLIvAN, J OHN A. ‘‘ Boston’s Past anal Pres-
ent. What Will Its Future Be?”

17 (Pliers is 9. large paper edition of fifty copies printed from this type, and also an
edition from the press of John Wilson & Son, 1876. 55 pp. 80.

13011 Samuel Adams, a ‘statue of whom, by Miss Anne Whitney, had just been
completed for the City. A photog1~apl1 of the statue is added.

19Contz1—ins a. bibliography of Boston Fourth of July orations, from 1783 to 1889,
inclusive. compiled by Lindsay SW1 ft, of the Boston Public Library.

1° Reprinted by the America.n Peace Society.