iyi«§ YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 05350 1780 Bokee, David A. Oration delivered ... in the First Baptist Church, Brooklyn, July 4:th,1851. I fir'™ «r^e ii5^ J?5<>/&. „ IL]lIBI^.^IElf « lfl"l" ¦*'! " ORATION DELIVEHED Br §0n. Patii^ ^. p0kee, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, Brooklyn, JULY 4th, 1851, ON THE OCCASION OF THE SEVENTY-STXTH ANNIVERSARY OF OUB NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE. BSOOKLVM : LEES & FOULKES, PRINTERS, COR. FULTON & FRONT STREETS, X851, ORATION. Friends and FEi,t;ow Citizens : There are limes and seasons when it is proper tor men, in traveling ihe journey of life, to pause and take a retro.«pect of ihe past, that they may see whai progress ihey have made, and whether they have devia ted from the ri^ht coarse, — and that Ihey may also look forward and lake as exten sive a survey of their future route, as their own vision and the surrounding objects will permit. No wise man, indeed, will allow himself is neglect these proper oc casions of self-exarainaiion in regard to the past, and serious contemplation «f the fa- •ture. The same may be said of Nations. Wiih ihem there are recurrences of impor tant epochs, when the people iiTe emphati cally called upon to pause and reflect; — lo contemplate the past and survey the fu ture. Can there be a more fitting occasion for such a pause ahii for such examination than upon the arrival of another national birihday 1 This is an annual resting place, and it will be well for us to seize the op- portuniiy it offers to deepen the impression and refresh our recollections of the events ¦with which it is in evpry mind a^sociaied. Circumstances at a moHienious character that have lately transpired, and are now agitaiing the public mind, give additional interest 19 these events, and add greatly to the dutyol ihe American people, rightly to appreciate the blessings which flow from ihein and which have Made us a great and happy nation. It is not ray intention lo occupy the brief time allotted me oa the present occasion, in recapitulating the history of the Revolu tion. That history is too deeply engraven on the tablet of your memories, to render any labor of that kind necessary ; but at a moment when there arethose insane enough to lay violent hands upon our blessed Union, and attempt to rend it into fragments; when there are others, who, ilthe severance ofthe Union be not their avowed object, are yet pursuing a course, which, if per sisted in by any very large number of peo ple at the North, must ineviiably lead to that result; it will be well for us to cast our eyes back to the past, and see what was the condition of the country previous to the formation of this glorious Union, — what pains, and labor, and anxiety it cost our an cestors to bring it into existence, and then lake note of the blessings the whole coun try has enjoyed undgr it, and of which it has been the fruiiful and still increasing source. The Colonies which were plamt^d in N. America, and which at the commencement of that noble struggle which resulted so glo riously to them, were commenced at differ ent periods, by different persons, and for different purposes. They were distant from each other, separated by an unexplored wilderness filled wiih wild beasts, and wild men much more to be dreaded than the most savage and dangerous animals, and had lit tle communication or sympathy for each other. They were neither all of one raca or language ; nor was there a community of interest or religion to bind them together as one people. So far from ihis, there ex isted among some of them strong feelings ef hostility, growing out of those embiitered religious contests that bad disturbed tha peaoe of England before they had left their parent land, for these, then western wilds. The Cavalier of Virginia, Maryland and South Carolina, saw in the New-Englander the same sturdy, bigotled Puritan, who had kindled his ire, and against whom he had drawn his sword in the conflicis between pufitasism and prelacy, or protestantism and papistry in Old England. And the Puritan beheld his old enemies seilled upon the same continent but at such a distance and beyond such interirening obsiacles, ihat there was little prospect of their ever being brought into proximity or association wiih each other. Between these, and (he staid, cool and imperturbable settlers of New Amsterdam, there was as little affinity or intercourse, and sometimes even hosiilities. Such wera the disjoinled members of that confederacy which was afterwards formed, and which eventually became a well cemenied Union. And what, let me askyou, fellow citizens, were those causes— powerful indeed, they must have been — which overcame ihe re pulsive force of these scattered members.and united them in a firm, fraiernal national band 1— what were the causes which brought the Cavalier, the Rojind-head, and the stur dy Dutchman to forget former anlipaihies, to embrace as brothers, and to pledge their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honnr to stand by each other in the deadly conflict thev had embarked in 1 It was the love of Liberty; it was a firm resolve never to be deprived of the rights of freemen. They and their fathers had sought the.se western lands, had sundered ihe lies of kindred and of neighborhood, had left the hearth stones oftheir infancy and manhood, had bid adieu/to the scenes and cotnoaniont of their youth, aud the hallo«'ed graves of iheir ancestors, had braved the dangers of a voyage, uotthen as now, a mere pleasure excursion, but attended with perils and pri vation s of which we have but a faint idea, had landed upon " rockbound," cold, inhos pitable shores ; had encountered cold and hunger and sickness in an inclement season, •with no covering but the canopy of the hea vens, and nothing to sustain them but their abiding faith in Divine protection and good ness, and their own indomitable energies. They were inured to toil, privations, dan gers and hardships; but for ail these, they had the inestimable blessing which they pri ced above everything else on earth, " free dom to worship God" after their own man ner, and in accordance with the dictates ot their own consciences. Here, ihey tasted the sweets of Liberty; here, they were subject to no capricious whim of a pelly tyrant; lo no Slar-chamber inquisiiions, arbitrary fines and imprisonments; to no hrulal and blood thirsty judge, wiih juries ready to do his bidding, and consign inno cent victims by scores to the gallows and the gibbet. They were too insignificant and too lar distant to attract the notice ol those whose lender mercies were cruelty, and whose protection would have been thai ¦which the wolf gives to the lamb, or the Eastern satrap to the unforiunate and pov erty-stricken inhabitants of his district, whom he robs and oppresses. Thus, fortunately, Jbr a time left to them selves, our ancestors, as the inhabitanls of all new countries are, became a hardy, in dustrious, religious, liberty-loving people; and ihey took care ihattheirchildren should be trained up in the way Ihey should go. "With danger they were familiar, for they ¦warred not less with the primeval, inter minable, unbroken forest, than with the savage foe with which it was filled, and whose hideous yell was but too often the first intimation they had of his immediate presence, and of the appalling faie that awaited some portions at least of their fam ilies. But they " increased and multiplied," — Industry and enterprise, as they ever do, found their rewards. Few fared sumptuously, but few also lacked the necessaries of life ; and all, as a people, went on increasing in comfort and wealth, improving their farms, exten ding their settlements, and enlarging their commerce, until their prosperity finally at tracted the attention of the government ofthe mother County, and excited the cupidity of unjust ministers of ihe Crown, and then commenced that ever memorable conflict between haughty, insolent, and domineer ing power, and the indomitable spirit of civil liberty. This contest went on for years before hostilities commenced, John Adams has said, that the " revolution was twenty years old when the war began," The steps taken by the British ministry lo treat ihe American Colonies as a conquered peo ple, and not as British subjects, having all the rights of those who dwell in England, were taken cautiously, and, as it were, by stealth, but they were watched by jealous eyes, sagacious men, and ¦siurdy freemen. Not an inch could they advance unperceiv- ed. No disguise, however well assu med—no sophistry however specious could deceive or impose upon those " who knew their rights, and knowing, dared maintain," The purpose ol the British government, that is, to levy a tax upon the colonies without Iheir consent, — lo tax ihera unre presented in Parliament, — soon became apparent to the ' mare ¦ sagacious and lynx-eyed patriots of that day the Franklins, ihe Adamses, the Henrys, and the Randolphs ;— and a com mon danger, and common grievances naturally brought about an interchange of opinion between the leading men in opposi- lion to the objectionable measures, residing in diflerent and disiani colonies. Each col ony, or at least several of them, had their separate quarrels wiih iheir Royal Govern ors, in ailtliilon to the common complainis of Ihe whole against the ministry, and these were by no means calculateJ to reconcile iha people 10 such measures as the Siamp Act, ihe tax upon lea, the Boston Port Bill, &c., &c,, or to allay the irriialion of the public raind. The acis I have alluded to were not sn oppressive as they were objectionable in principle. They were subversive of the rights ot freemen, which was cause enough for resistance to those who well knew the cautiotis and stealthy pace wiih which arbi trary power advances, and the great pains it takes to lull the suspicions of those, upon whose necks it would bind the shackles of tyranny. It was not the amount ihey were called upon to pay that they objected to, bul it was the assumption of the power, without right, to make Ihem pay anything, however trifling. It was the great principle which is the very basis ot civil liberty, for which ihey contended ;— namely, that no freemau can be taxed but by himself rr his represen tatives. In speaking of the resistance of our an. cestors to the power assumed by the British ministry, to tax America without giving her a voice in Parliament — those who are not familiar with the history ot those limes — who have not had access to the private cor respondence and diaries of the' actors of those days, may suppose ihal the people were all of one sentiment, and were actua ted by one impulse in their resistance to the measures ofthe ministry. Such, however, was not the case ; the diary and letters of John Adams, covering a period of time from 1755, down to the latter part of 1777, show us how much and what constant labor was required lo enlighten the public mind upon the great and vital questions then agitated, and what unceasing efforts were necessary to counteract the influence and machina- ¦lions of ihe agents ofthe crown in this coun try. iVlr. Adams and other friends of the .peo ple, were in those days frequently called upon 10 address large meeiings, upon the topics then in controversy between the col onists and Ihe crown or ils officers, and his able pen was in constant requisition, to re fute the pretensions put forth by ihem, and toelucidate, sustain and enforce the p'inci- ples of liberiy, for which, he and his com peers were strenuously contending. In his AatoBiographv, Mr. Adams says "It was I believejin 1772 (it was in 1773) that Governor Hutchinson, in an elaborate speech to both Houses, endeavored to con vince ihem, Iheir constiiuents, and the world, that Parliament was our sovereign legisla ture, and had a right to make laws for us in all cases whatsoever, to lay taxes on all things external and internal, on land as well as on trade," — The House appointed a Commillee to answer this speech, and a -most elaborate and iriumphant reply was drawn up by Mr. Ailams, aliho' he was not then a member ofthe House, and publish ed. — Mr, Adams soon after entered into a controversy in ihe public prints, with Gen eral Braille, one of the King's oflicers, upon subjects then in dispute between ihe friends of civil liberiy, and the friends of the minis try — of this controversy he afterwards .¦¦poke as follows in his Auto-biography:—" The minds of all men were awakened, and every thing was eagerly read by every one who could read. These papers accordingly, contributed to spread correct opinions con cerning ihe importance ofthe independence ofthe Judges to liberiy, and safely," * * * The principles developed in the.se papers have been very generally, indeed al most universally, prevalent among the people of America from that lime," — These were but a small portion of the effusions of his' pen, which were widely circulated among the people, and tended to give them correct notions in regard to their rights, and the unwarranlable as-sumptions of the crown, Thesame and similar sub jects were also discussed by able minds in other colonies ; so thai the people might be, if they were not thoroughly imbued wiihthe principles of liberty. They were clearly and eloquently taught their rights and pri vileges, — their attention was kept alive, and their jealous watchfulness of those who aimed at subjugating them, stimula ted lo the highest degree. Nevertheless there were two parties,— the party of power andthe Liberty party, — and it required no small degree of resolution, firmness and moral courage, for men in those days, to step lorward, and become leaders in the con test against the British crown, then in Ihe plenitude of its power and lately victorious over a great and gallant nation. They were taking what appeared to cautious men, | the weaker side. They were throwing I, * ' away their chances ol official elevation, and the privilege of basking in the sun shine of royal favor, for what, to many, seemed a desperate chance of effectual re sistance to usurpation. How they felt,— how they reasoned, and how they acted, may be judged from the language of Mr. Adams, on the occasion of his preparing the an.iwer ofthe House, before referred lo, to Governor Huichinson's speech, tn a letter to his friend Tudor, he says, "can I describe to you, my dear Tudor, the stale of my mind at that lime ? I had a wife and such a- wife I I had children — and what children ! * * * * * In Ihis situation, I should have ihough't my self the hap'piest man in the world, if I could have reiired to my liltlehut and for ty acres, which my father left me in Brain tree, and lived on potatoes and seaweed lor the rest of my life. But I had laken a pan, 1 had adopted a system, I had encour aged my fellow citizens, and I could not abandon ihem in conscience nor in honor. I deiermined iherefore to set friends and enemies at defiance, and follow my own best judgment, whatever might fall there on." Such were the feelings, and such the re solution which nerved ihe leading men of ihat day, and I ore them on, through almost insurmountable diflicullies and discourage ments, and through long years of gloom and uncertainty, lo the final and glorious con summation of American Independence. Ic was no holiday labor they had lo perform ; il was no child's play, the pan ihey acted. Many who co-operated in the outset, cor dially and zealously with Ihem, becoming either disheartened, or alarmed, or enlice- eu by promises and rewards from those in power, fell tff and joined the Tories. But such things neither lesssened the zeal, nor for a moment shook the confidence ofthe stern patriots who had resolved upon liber ty or death. They had screwed their cour age to the sticking point, and the word '• fail" was not permitted to enter their vo cabulary. Bul there were those who were faithful to the cause, that were unprepared for the great step which was taken in the revolu tion, declaring the Colonies independent, and were even shocked at the suggestion of such a procedure ! Will you believe it, fellow citizens, that when this Idea first got out through a private letier which had been intercepted, and published by order ofGen- eral Gage, ihe author was shunned, even by members of the Congress of '76, as a dan gerous person! Mr. Adams was the wri ter of that letter, and after its publication, he says, " I was avoided like a man having ihe leprosy. I walked the slreels ot Phila delphia in soliiude, borne down by the weight of care and unpopularity." And ihis account is confirmed by Dr. Rush, who says, " I saw this gentleman (Mr. Adams) iralk the streets of fhiladelphia alone, af ter the publication of his intercepted letter in our newspapers, in 1775, an object of nearly universal scorn and detestation!" — iBuch, fellow-citizens, was the odium which in Philadelphia fell upon those who dared even lo hint at independence, as late as the fall of 1775, some months after the battle of Bunker's Hill, and after General Washing ton had laken command of the American Army I Am I not then borne out, in saying that the labor of those great men who pre pared the public mind for separation from the mother country— who led ihe way to independence, and who toiled in Congress to sustain the Army and the conflict in the long years of a doubtful struggle, and of gloomy prospects, was no holiday labor — no drawing-room amusements Nothing less than the most sacred conviction of the justness of their cause, the inborn love of liberty which belongs lo freemen, and a firm reliance on the goodness and justice of ihat Providence who had ever watched over the destinies of North America, could have sus tained and encouraged them in those limes that literally and emphatically " tried men's souls," But they were borne up and through all trials, hardships, and difficulties, and had the satisfaction of seeing their country take hef place among the nations of the earth, as their acknowledged equal. And here a reflection is forced upon us, John Adams was the first minister who represented the United States at the Court of St. James, afier the peace of '83, and the acknowledge- - jnent by Great Britain of our independence ; and what a contrast must there have been in his feelings when he stood before George the third, the proud representative jf a na tion of freemen, and when he walked the streets of Philadelphia "an object of nearly universal scorn and detestation," because he had in a private letter dared to hint at independence t Amply was he then repaid for all the odium that bad been attempted lo be cast upon him for being six months in advance of some other members of Con gress, and well might he afford to forget their scorn and contumely. With the hardships, privations, and suf ferings of Ihe American Armies ofthe rev- olufion, under Washington and his Gener als, you are all familiar, and it is not my purpose, iherefore, to occupy your time with them. The courage, fortitude, pa tience and endurance of those who fought and bled in defence of liberty and indepen dence, have been fruitful themes for elo quence, until all has been said thai need be said, though no more than justice has been d»>ne those brave spirits, now, alas ! nearly all descended to the grave, which must in a very short time close over the last of that gallant band. Ever honored be their names, and hallowed iheir memories through all la'.ure ages 1 They set a noble example to their posterity, and may that posterity never prove unworthy ot such an ancestry. De generate indeed must they have become, when Ihey shall have forgotten Washns- TON and his associates and the soldiers ot the Revolution — of Bunker Hill, Benning ton, Saratoga, Trenton, Monmouth, Ger mantown, Brandywine, Guilford, EiUlaw, and Yorktown ; or when these names shall not raise a glow of national pride, and make them feel that ihey have noble blood cour sing in their veins, Peaee came at length, but found the coun try prostrate and hfelpKss, It had wiihitt" ifielf ample recuperative powers, but such was its unhappy condition ihat they could not be brought into action. It was like a strong man paralyzed, or a powerful ma chine, whose parts were not so united as to make a whole, and perform the functions. for which it was designed. The old Confederation, which had cost Congress and the Legislatures of the States five years of anxious labor e'er it was flnal ly adopted by the whole thirteen, had, from the very first, been a weak, inefficient, im practicable form of govern ment, wholly dis appointing the expectations of the majority of its Iramers. The greal error of il lay in the fact thai it did not form the Slates, and the PEOPLE of all the States, into a nalionai government, but merely agglomerated them together as separate and independent Sover eignties, and not as subordinate parts of an enti.'e Nation. I need not tell you how utterly powerless it was for all those purpo ses for which a national government was most needed, during Ihe war, namely, lo raise and equip armies, and to levy taxes for the support of those armies. He who has read the numerous letters of General Washington, addressed lathe "Continental Congress," imploring and beseeching that body to do what seemed absolutely necessa ry to preserve ev,en a semblance of an ar my in the field,— and recollect the sufferings both he and his brave companions were en during for Ihe want of arms, ammunition, blankets, clothing, shoes and stockings ; he who has tracked them in their weary and painful march over the frozen ground lo their retreat at Morristown or Valley Forge, by the blood which their lacerated feet left in their foot prints, will require no stronger evidence of the inefficiency of the old con federacy. For, it was not for want of a disposition to do so, that Congress did not comply with the urgent and pressing soli citations of the commander-in-chief— but from the want of power. All that they could do, was to make requisitions upon the different States, and in some cases thejr might as well have called "spirits from the vasiy deep,"as to call for men and money. It was a slow and tedious process to raise both, even had every Stale promptly obeyed the call made upon her j but unlortunalely, the disposition to comply with these re qui- sitioBs, was as often wanting, as the ability. Every such call must be deoated and deba ted,. reconsidered, postponed, anddelayedin various ways, until, not unfrequently, ihe time had gone by, when they would answer Ihe purpose, or meet the exigency for which they were required, and then this fact was dishonorabl} seized upon as an excuse for criminal inaction. Still, however, the cause of liberty and independence was sustained, — and il is al most a miracle that it was,— by the ardor oi the people, and b} the fortunate ci.icum- ctancea that Oongress were enabled to bor row money in France, Holland and Spain, and to form a treat} of alliance, offensive and defensive, with the first mentioned nation, who aided us with land and naval forces, as well as money. But when the excitement, the pressure, and the danger of the war was removed, and the confederation was left lo perform by itself the operations of a nalioo- al government, ils weakness became still more apparent and palpable. What the condition ot the country then was under this feeble government, I shall let a promi nent actor in the public affairs of thatevenl- ful day describe. In the 15th number of " The Federalist," the joint production of Hamilton, Madison and Jay, the former uses the following language : " We may " indeed, with propriety, be said to have " reached almost the last stage of national *' humiliation. There is scarcely anything " that can wound the pride, or degrade the " character, of an independent people, " which »e do not expedience. Are ¦ here " engagements, to the performance of which " we are held by every tie respectable among " men 1 These are the subjects of constant " and unblushing violation. Do we owe " debts lo foreigners, and to our own cili- " zens, contracted in a time ot imminent f peril, for the preservation of onr political " existence 1 These remain without any '• proper or satisfactory provision for their " discharge. Have we valuable territories " and important posts in the possession of a " foreign power, which, by express stipula- " tion, ought long since to have been sur- •' rendered 1 The.'e are still retained, to the " prejudice of our interests not less than our " rights. Are we in a condition lo resent " or to repel the aggression 1 We have nei- " ther troops, nor treasury, nor government. " Are we even in a condition to remonstrate " with dignity % The just imputations on " our own failh, in respect tothesame trea- " ly, ought first lo be removed. Are we en- " titled by nature and compact, to a free par- " ticipalion in the navigation of the Mis- '' siissippi ¦? Spain excludes us from it. Is "public credit an indispensable resource in " time of public danger 1 We seem to have " abandoned its cause as desperate and ir- " retrievable. Is commerce of importance " to national wealth t Ours is at the low- '* est point of declension. Is respectability " in the eyes of foreign powcri, a «afe- " guard against foreign encreachraents % " The imbecility of our government, even " forbids them lo treat with us : our am- " bassadors abroad are the mere pageanis of 1' mimic sovereignty." Afler further remarks, in a similar ftraio, Mr. Hamilton most truthfully says, " Tho great and radical vice, in the construction of the existing confederation, is in the prin^ ciple of " Legislation'' for States or Go vernments, in their Corporate or Col lective Capacities, and as contradistin* guiished from the Individv4Ls ot whom they consist." Such was the old Confederation : — XJoiet it, the nation was in a state of atrophy,— prostrate, helpless, and rapidly sinking into utter imbecility, contempt and dissolntioB. In thus condemning it, I do not presume to cast censure upon those by whom it was formed. Ils authors and architects were wise and patriotic men, bul they were strik ing out a new path; they were commencing a new work, and though Ihey endeavored to concentrate upon il, all the rays of light which could be collected from the experi ence of the past, which glimmered through the histories of Greece and Rome, and of the Cantons of Switzerland and the United Provinces of Holland, yet, when thus col lected, these cast but a dim and feeble light upon their path— it was, in truth, "No light, but rather darkness Tteilnle." It was not to be expected that they could create a perfect farm of government, even if there had been no prejudices nor jealous ies lo encounter. But ef these, there were many and strong. Bul when the impotency of the confederc ation had been fully demonstrated by expe rience — when the condition of the country under it was such as Mr. Hamilton, in the language I have quoted, described it, — tha general cry was, what shall be done 1 We must have commerce ; we must have trade ; we must have credit; we must have mili^ tary force to repel the aggressions of the Indians ; we must pay Ih* debts the nation contracted to carry on the war of indepen dence ; we must do justice lo the Officers and Soldiers of the revolution ; and to do this, we must have a more efficient govern ment, a more perfect and effective Union. The idea of revising the articles of the confederation, with a view to strengthen the hands of the government, by giving it pow er to regulate commerce, and to do other matters, which that instrument did not au thorise them 10 do, was first started at Mount Vernoin, in 1785. TlieVirginiaLegislature led the way in appointing commissioners to meet commissioners, from other Slates, for ¦ this purpose at Annapolis. Five other Stales only,complied wiih her suggestion, and sent commissioners or delegates, to thai conven tion. Upon meeting and comparing ibeir . 8 powers,lhese were found to be wholly inad equate to the task necessary to be done, to *ay nothing of the fact, that not a majority of the Stales were represenled. The result was that ihis convention only drew up and adopted a recommendation for the assem blage of anotherconvention at Philadelphia, in which all the States should be represen ted with powers adequate to the accom plishment of the desired reformation of the government. This recommendation was complied with by each State, and the Convention assem bled in May, 1787 But though this body comprised some of the wisest, most experi enced and patriotic men of ihe nation, among whom were Washington, Frank- tiM, Shbeman, Madison, and Hamilton, it had undertaken no ordinary or holiday lask. It waa soon perceived that in reforming the old Confederation, and endeavoring to adapi it to the exigencesof the country, it musi be utterly demolished, and a new edifice erected in its place. To tear away from the very foundaiion, one form of govern ment, and to erect another of a different form on its ruins in a peaceful manner, was what had never before been accoraplished by any nation upon the earth. Neverihe- less, il was necessary that this should be done, and it was done, Ii takes not long to say this ; bui ihe great work itself was not so quickly or easily dispatched. I could not adequately describe, were I lo attempt it, the obstacles and the difficulties which beset the Cimveniion on every side, and at every step ihey advanced ; — old prejudices and conflicting opinions were to be over come and reconciled — jarring and clashing inleresls were lo be harmonised. The large States tenacious of their power, demanded thateach should be represented in the Na tional Legi-laiure according to their popu lation ; while the .'•mall States, jealous of the large, fearful of being overwhelmed and annihilated by them, and claiming to stand on an equality wiih them, as States, were unwilling 10 aJopt any rule or article that would make them mere sateliies of the large States. How these difficulties, after much discussion and anxious consultation, were overcome and setiled, you all know — the large Siaies retain iheir ascendancy in the House ol Representatives, while the small Stales are placed upon an equality with Ihem in the Senate, This was, per haps, the only possible mode in which the conflicting claims of the States could have been compromised, and a wiser one could not havebeen devised. Another quesiion presented difficulties al most insuperable, upon which sectional feelings were en Misled — ihai question which has of lale years so deeply agitated, and still agitates the country, Bul, thanks lo a kind Providence, there was a spirit of pa triotic conciliation pervading that body of sages, which, guided by wisdom, overcame all things, — which made the rough places smooth, laid bridges across deep chasms, and brought men entertaining irreconcila ble opinions, to act together in unity and concord. May that Divine Spirit ever per vade the people of this land, in its whole length and breadth, and cause ihem, follow ing ihe example of their falhers, to yield somewhat of their opinions and prejudices, ihat peace and concord, prosperity and hap piness may cover the land as the waters cov er the sea. The Constjtuli9i)i,was brought into exist ence by eoihpromise," Had each meinber of the Convention, and each section of the country adhered pertinaciously and un yieldingly to its own views and wishes, the delegates must have separaled without ac complishing the glorious work which stands as an everlasting monument of their for bearance, conciliaiory spirit and wisdom, WhaMhe condition of this countiy would now have been had they thus separaled, and what ihe contrast between what it would have been, and what it now is, I must leave 10 the imagination ot those who may reflec! upon the subjeci. May our own and all future generaiions, prove themselves not less wise, patriotic and conciliatory than those who left us the inestimable legacy of the Constitution and the Union, But, unpropitions as were, al times, the prospects of accomplishing the greal labor of ibrming a Constitution, and strenuous as had been the efforts of ihose wise men to bring their labors (o a successful result, that instrument was immediately assailed in the most furious manner, and its adoption by the State Conventions strenuously opposed, Fortunaiely, however, it had able sup porters both in the Siaie Conventions called to ratify or reject it, and in the broader field of public discussion through the newspapers. The various ob jections which were urged against it, were taken up and discussed, in a spirit of fair ness and candor, and with a masterly abili ty, in a series ot papers, since collected to gether and published under ihe title of '¦the Federalist." They were wrillen as you all know by Hamilton, Madison and Jay, — men, and especially ihe first named, who evinced a knowledgeof, and familiari ty with the greal principles of government, and the springs of human action , that seem ed almost intuitive. It is scarcely neces sary to say, that these papers exerted a most signal and salutary influence upon the public mind, by the beauty of Iheir style, cogency of their reasoning, the for cible manner in which the delects of the old confederation were sel forth, and the clear expositions of the Constitution which the people were called upon to approve and adopt. These papers form and will con tinue to form, for all ages to come, a most lucid exposition ol that proud instrument 9 which has thus far bound us together as one nation in the bonds of Union, May we not justly take pride to ourselves that of all those greal spirits lo whom we are indebted for that Constitution under which our country has run a career of pros perity heretofi)re unexampled in the history of the world ; New York furnished him who was second lo no one in the comprehensive powers of his mind,-. in the force,beauty,and • logic of his writings, in his thorough knowl edge of the principles of government, — in the energetic exeriion of all his faculiies. to accomplish the great work of establish ing the Union, in the influence he was ena bled to wield in the convention at Philadel phia and in that ot our own State, which principally through his efforts, adopted the Constituiion, and upon the public mind, by means ol his pen. If our own Hamil ton was not the principal architect of that work, he was second to no one, and is en titled 10 stand side by side wit>. his co-labor er and compeer, Ms, Madison. The joyous feelings which were exhibited in many parts of the country, bul more especially in some of the large ciiies, by celebrations, processions, bonfires, &c., up on Ihe formation of the Constitution, were the best evidences of ihe depressed condition of ihe people under the confederation, and of iheir high hopes of a favorable change nnder the new government. Thank Heav en, those hopes have not been doomed lo disappoinimeni ; so far from this, they did not in their wildest dreams, anticipate the half thai has been realized by their chil dren, and their children's children. Could the genius of America then have taken our falhers up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed them the United States as the country then was, almost entirely covered wiih boundless foresis through which the wild beasts and the red man- roamed ondisiurbed; and then by shifting the scene, exhibited the Uniiecl States as they now are, stretching from ocean to ocean, and from the St. Johns lo the Rio-del-Norte, covered with splendid ciiies and flourishing towns, — our lakes, rivers and canals teeming with commerce, our railroads running in every direction, through vallies, over rivers, ascending mountains, creeping along frightful preci pices, and leaping fearful chasms; our boundless fields of wheat, corn, cotton and other productions of the earth; the three or fbur millions ol people multiplied into iwenty-fonr, among whom intelligence is communicated from one extremity to the other, not only with the speed of lightning, but by lightning itself, what would have been their wonder and amazement ! — surely they would have thought, that, what they saw was nut reality, but a vision, a dream, a hallucination, conjured up by spirits of the air, by some Prospero and his tricksy Ariel. Bm we, fellow citizens, find the vision sober reality. Never, in any part of the globe, since the earth was given to man for his habitation, has there been such astonishing changes, improvements, and in crease in the physical comforts of man, as havebeen witnessed in this country within the sixty-two years that have passed awa)', since the ratification by the people, of the Constitution ol tb« United States. I wish [ could say that ihffre had been a corres ponding increase in the patriotic attach ment of the people to the simplicity of re publican instiiuiions, and an equal im provement in the moral and religious character of the country; but I fear, that if we greatly excel our fathers in physical comforts, we fall behind them in some of those moral qualities which are essential lo form a truly and permanently great nation. And now, let me ask, my friends, it' we are prepared lo tear lo pieces that Constitu tion which was formed with so much labor and with such a patriotic surrender of prej udices and sectional feelings, under whose protection the American people have run so splendid a career of national prosperity % Are we prepared to rend that Union asun der, and .scatter its fragments to the winds of heaven, which our fathers made such ef- foris lo establish 1 Are we prepared 'o con demn that noble work which they looked upon with so much pride and exultation, and pronounced good ? Are we ready to destroy that which has caused the loresisof the West lo disappear like the mist before the morning sun, and the tide of population 10 flow on, like the irresistable sweep of ihe ocean, driving before it the wilderness, the buffalo and the red man, and carrying with it industry, agriculture and the arts, intelli gence, education and religion 1 — that which has whitened every ocean and sea, and riv er with our commerce, and brought the pro ducts of the whole world to our doors 1 — that which has made us a great, a prosper ous, a brave and powerful people's Looli around you : what do you now see, stand ing where you are, or upon the beautiful heights of our own city 1 Every ship and steamer ofthe thousands in view, — every warehouse and dock of our own and the ad joining city, every spire of the hundreds that point like so many fingers up lo heav en, — all, indeed, that goes lo make up " the great emporium of commerce" is a monu ment to the wisdom of those who formed tha Constitution, and established ihe Union, and a cogent argument in favor of their faith ful mainiainance. Palsied be the hand that would touch the first stone of that noble ed ifice 10 remove ilfrom its place, and nerve less the arm that is outstretched. lo do it harm I Let him who would destroy our reverence and attachment for the Union, and persuade us lo do aught that should weaken its foundations, be anathema mara- nalka ; let him walk an object of scorn and deiestaliou in our midsi, and be shunned by IX) every good citizen as one infected with mo ral leprosy,— a loathed lump of living cor- , ruption, whose touch is pollution, and whose breath is pestilence I It is not to be disguised, fellow citizens, that this Union has been in danger of being rent asunder, and that ihat danger, in some degree, siill exists. It is not to be denied thai there are porlionsof the American peo ple, — few in number it is to be hoped ihey are,--who are at this moment plotling the dis.solution of the Union, and bent upon striking al least one star frora ihat glorious flag which is an emblem of the brighi ga laxy of Slates ! We could pily their insan ity and forgive their intemperate and indis criminate denunciation of a large portion ofthe nation, were it noi that ihere is so much wilful blindness, and personal ani mosity mixed up with that which is sheer prejudice and'folly. Nor is it to be denied that there are those among us, who, it they do not own hostility to Ihe Union, are doing, and persist in do ing, what they know must bring absut ils destruciion. Some of ihem, I believe, even go so far as to avow their hatred to it, and proclaim their desire lo see the Constitution ¦commiiied to the flames! They certainly do all in their power, laboring day and night, to scatter the firebrands of discord and con fusion among us. It is to these fanatics, who have been lor years endeavoring to provuke the South 10 commit some deed of rashness which would serve as an excuse for agitation on their part, and as a justifi- ¦caiion for their own incendiary acts, that we are mainly indebted for that siaie of things which has endangered the stability oi the Union, and justly caused such serious alarm. It is this class of men, who, disre garding ihe provisions of the Constituiion, and ihe laws made in pursuance thereof, even when they have solemnly sworn to support it, proless to be bound by some " higher law " than that which is the high est known to the judicial tribunals of the land ! What "higher law " can there be, lellow-ciiizens, than the Constilulion 1 Is it conscience ? If so, and every raan is bound to obey his own, then no one is bound to obey any other, and every one is a law unto hiraself; in other words, he may do just as he pleases, or, as he may please to say, his amscience directs him — which is no more nor less than anarchy or lawlessness — a slate of things which all sensible men must admit to be worse than a despotism, and all good men deplore. But I will not occupy your lime in expo sing an absurdity which is too palpable to impose upon any one who has nol lost his senses in ihe noise and confusion of I'anaii- cism. None but a fanatic could seriously put forth such a notion, and to reason with thern, is but to reason wiih the inmates of the A.sylum for the insane. The Consliiution is a compact agreed up on by nun having diffdreni and conflicting I views, by each yielding some portion of his own, lor the sake of that which il secures lo him and his posterity. It was, as I have be fore said, the result of compromise and con cession, and the spirit of patriotism which pervaded the convention that formed it, and prompted the members lo mutual concession or it could never have been farmed. As such a compact, or agreement, iherefore, ii is bind ing on all, and in each and all is parts. Every section, article, paragraph and word in it, must be faiihfully and honestly ad hered to, abided by , and executed by all, or it is a dead letier, good lor nothing, and binding on no one. This is so plain a pro position, that no one in his sober .senses, can or will deny it. It follows then, and is just as plain, that if the Constituiion is not ihus adhered lo, abided by, and faithfully executed by all, or at least enforced by the judicial tribunals of ihe land, we shall have no National Government and no Union, What is it, fellow citizens, that makes us, one and all, proud of the name of Ameri cans 1 Is it not because we are conscious that we constitute a partof a great and powerful nation % Is il not because we know that ihat nation is enterprising, pros perous, and increasing in numbers and weallh with unexampled rapidiiy 1 Is it noi because we are aware, that we are re spected by the whole civilized world % Is it not because we know that we enjoy a great er amount of freedom, and exercise indivi dually, a greater agency in making and ad ministering the laws under which we live, than any oiher people 1 Certainly. There is not an American who plants his foot upon European soil, but feels proud of bis coun try, and walks with his head as bigh as if he were a duke, earl, or baron, — But what would be his feelings,' if one of Collins' fast steamers, should bring ihe news lo him, in London, or where- ever else, on that side ofthe water it might reach him, that a number of the States had seceded; — that the Union was broken up, and that the "United States" no longer existed as a nation 1 What, in that case must be his sensations'! Would he not drop his arms, hang his head, and shed bit ter tears of monificaiion and sorrow i — Would he not desire lo flee from the faces of men, to some secluded spot where he could hide his shame, and mourn over that country, of which he was but yesterday so proud, now sttuck out ot existence through the insane infatuation of fanaticsanddisuni- onistsl My friends, if we would nol turn this "fancy sketch" into sad reality, we must, one and all, do our duty as American citizens. If we have rights under the Con stituiion, so have others; and we must re member that rights and duties are recipro cal. I will not enter into a discussion of the subject which has so agitated, and still agi tates the country; but this I will say, that, if we expect others to abide by and sustain the Couslituiion, we must not fail in fulfil. 11 ing everi/ obligation that it imposes Upon us. The question of Slavery is one which was settled by those who made the Constitution, — il'is a local, a Slate question, with which in other States we have nothing lo do, and With which we have no right to meddle, — But the Conslitution imposes upon us the obligation lo return lo their owners, such slaves as flee from them lo us ; we have agreed lo do so; it is a part of the compact — it is in the bond, and we cannot refuse to do it without violating the compact, and acting in bad faith. And, moreover, if we donot_doit, we .have no night to call upon those to whom we show such bad faith, to perform their part of the compact. There is another duty incumbent upon us, that is also essential to the preservation, peace, and harmony ofthe Union ^ and that is, to act the part of good neighbors to our brethren ofthe South, and not to annoy them with our ill-natured and censorious remarks upon matters which concern them and not us, and about which we are not as wise, perhaps, as we may think ourselves. We all know the disturbance which a censori ous, carping, meddlesome person keeps up in his neighborhood, and how he raises the hostility of others against him. And so it is in a nation, No|Sectionof the country can, will or ought to bear, peaceably and sub missively, the continued railing and cen sure of other sections; nor have the latter any right to set themselves up in judgment upon their actions, customs or instiiuiions, enter a verdict against them, and proclaini that verdict to the whole world. No peo ple having a proper degree of selfrespect, will permit this, and a proud people, like our Southern brethren, will certainly resist and resent it. That the South has been thus annoyed Jor years, by the constant intermeddling with their concerns, and the unceasing use of provoking lai^guage, by a portion of the people at the North, is a fact too notorious to be denied, nor can we censure them for resenting it, though we must those who would, for this reason lay violent hands upon the Union. And now, whatis the remedy for the evils which threaten the integrity of the Union, and what are our duties as good citizens and Americans 1 The remedy is in faith fully adhering to, and carrying out every reqniremeni of the Constitution, and the execution of all and every law enacted by Congress, and especially those Compromise laws, one and all, entitled " the adjustment measures," — for if these are not faithfully observed and executed, no one haying seen what it has been my lot to see within the last two years, and who is not utterly inca pable of judging of coming events by the shadows they cast before, — can for a mo ment doubt that the secession of the enr tire South, and the formation of a Southern Confederacy, would be the consequence. Our duliesjthen, are plain and palpable, — listen to them from the lips of WAtftHBOToN himself, who speaks lo us as a father in his ever memorable Farewell Address: — " It is of infinite moment that you should proper ly estimate the immense value of your na tional union to your collective and individu al happiness — that you should cherish a cor dial, habitual and immoveable attachment to it, accustoming yourselves lo think and speak of it as the palladium of your politi cal safety and prosperity — watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety — dis countenancing whalevermay suggest a sus picion that it can, in any event, be aban doned, ahd indignantly frowning upon the first (iawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts." These are the words of wisdom ; they are words ut tered from Ihe tomb ; let us tak^ heed that we obey their solemn injunctions. And my friends, while we " cherish a cordial, ha bitual, and immoveable attachment to the Union," we must also cherish and cultivate a cordial respect, and kind ly,lratei nal feel ing for our brother Americans lo whatever section ofthe Union they may belong. We must indulge in no jealousies, no prejudi ces, no heart-burnings towards any one, and especially of a sectional character, " The name of American which belongs lo you in your national capacity" says the same war ning voice of WasBingtom, " must always exalt the just pride of patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discrim inations." Without this respect and kind ly feeling mutually maintained and cher ished by Americans, — there may be a union of the States, but there cannot be a ordial sympathy and brotherly union amonj Ihtf people, and they will be like man and wife, when all love has fled, bound together by the bonds, — no longer silken bonds, — of ma trimony, but becoming more and more averse to each other, and more and more restive under the restraints which those bonds impose. Our country, fellow citizens, has seen many dark days and trying crisis; but through the goodness of an All-wise Provi dence, she has thus far passed safely through them, and like a gallant vessel escaping from the breakers, and spreading her canvas to the favoring breeze, has bounded on in her great and prosperous voyage. Let us fondly hope that we may escape the crisis through which we have been and are now passing, as fortunately and happily as others have been, and that oui^ good ship, guided and managed by able and experi enced pilots, laden as she is, wiih the' best hopes of man, and having the anxious eyes of eyejy friend of republican government, and of human liberty turned upon her, may come out unscathed from this and every peril, and prove herself to be staunch and good, and 'all that her skilful builders dared to hope she would be. '¦ i , f%, ft !•» f P^A•^'W . ;u;i1\ ..r''-,;r/ ^^ "\v^ ' t 1 .-.^ 'u \'A: f' :^ih' \ ^' ^^ . } y^ ;' 1 ', 'J I ^^ ^ t 1 ¦A .1" >» , < .^ylf .\ ¦¦ f , SI,! ! I J 't;*'* ' ' .. 't • 5' J ,y I' jH ^^'ta > >i / <^' /"