""*' Unive ^ty Librarjes 
 
 Constiutuion of 
 p am. Coll. 3259 
 
 J>*»055715 + 
 
Louisiana tftoV \ 
 
 1851 P 
 
 Cataloged 3NSTITUTI0* 
 
 NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY OF LOUISIANA. 
 
 AN ORATION 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE SOCIETY. FEBRUARY 28, 1846. 
 
 BY HON. S. S. PRENTISS. 
 
 NEW ORLEANS: 
 
 Printed at the Office of the ."Daily Crescent." 93 St; Charles street. 
 1851. 
 
 4>& 
 
,<r* 
 
 Btoi^-U-ytfri i 
 
 LIS 
 
 1851. 
 
 J _,, 
 
 J.W.STANTON, 1st Vice Pratt. 
 
 R. B. SUMNER, 2^ yv«sPr«7. 
 
 JAS. I. DAY, 3^ 7i«? Pm'*. 
 
 GEO. O. SWEET, 4th Vice PresH 
 DUDLEY CHASE, Secretary 
 
 H. G. STETSON, Treasurer. 
 
 H. EDWARDS, M. D., Physician. 
 
 OFFICERS AN© MEMBERS. 
 
 President. 
 
 RELIEF COMMITTEE. 
 CHARLES GARDINER, 
 MOSES GREENWOOD, 
 WM. J. DEWEY, 
 JOHN LEEDS, 
 THOMAS A. ADAMS, 
 T. ALLEN CLARK, 
 WM. M. GOODRICH. 
 
 ANDREWS, JNO. W. 
 ADAMS, THOS. A. 
 ADAMS, THOS. E. 
 AINSWORTH, A. C. 
 BULLARD, H. A. 
 BRADFORD, E A. 
 BABCOCK, G. W. 
 BEAN, HORACE 
 BUNCE, C. D. 
 BAKER, W. A. 
 BARTELS, JNO. O. 
 
 BAXTER, H. V. 
 
 BULL, ANDREW G. 
 
 BLACKMAN, GEORGE 
 
 CLARK, T. A. 
 
 CLARK, WM. JR. 
 
 COTTLE; JOHN 
 
 CUTTER, C. S. 
 
 CHASE, DUDLEY 
 
 CROSSMAN, A. D. 
 
 DAY, J. I. 
 
 DOANE, CHARLES 
 
 DOANE, HARMON 
 
 DUNBAR, A. F. 
 
 DEWEY, WM. J. 
 
 DUNBAR, GEO. W. 
 
 DAVIS, EDWARD 
 
 EUSTIS, GEORGE 
 
 EUSTIS, GEO. JR. 
 
 EDWARDS, J. A. 
 
 EDWARDS, H. 
 
 FOSTER, J. W. 
 
 FLINT, E. H. 
 
 FOSTER, J. B. 
 FROST, J. W. 
 GAINES, J. G. 
 GARDINER, CHAS. 
 GOODRICH, WM. M. 
 GUSTINE, F. W. 
 GREENWOOD, MOSES 
 GRINNELL, EDWARD 
 GOULD, J. M. 
 HARROD, CHAS. 
 HUNTINGTON, G. W. 
 HUNTINGTON, W. 
 
 HOLBROOK, A. M. 
 
 HENDERSON, WM. 
 
 HAYDEN, DAVID 
 
 HILL, ALLEN 
 
 HARTWELL, A. C. L. 
 
 HEALD, J. H. 
 
 HOBART, A. JR. 
 
 JARVIS, NATHAN 
 
 JOSEPHS, A. R. 
 
 KENDALL, G. W. 
 
 KIRKLAND, S. W. 
 
 KENNEDY, S. H. 
 
 LEEDS, JOHN 
 
 LEEDS, C. J. 
 
 LEEDS, THOS. 
 
 LITTLEFIELD, S. S. 
 
 LATHROP, HENRY 
 
 LOVELL, J. F. 
 
 MONTGOMERY, R. W. 
 
 MUDGE, S. H. 
 
 MORSE, R. L. 
 
 NORTH, JAMES E. 
 OLCUTT, E. K. 
 OLIVER, ANDREW 
 PETERS, S. J. 
 PALFREY, R. J. 
 PALFREY, H. W. 
 PEIRCE, LEVI 
 PYNCHON, G. A. 
 PALMES, OLIVER 
 PALMER, W. L. 
 PERRY, O. H. 
 
 PLUMMER, GORDON 
 
 REYNOLDS, C. L. 
 
 STANTON, J. W. 
 
 SUMNER, R. B. 
 
 SPRING, L. 
 
 STETSON, H. G. 
 
 SWEET, G. O. 
 
 STICKNEY, A. 
 
 STEBBINS, CHAS. 
 
 SHERMAN, H. T. 
 
 TYLER, E. A. 
 
 TURNER, MORTIMER 
 
 TAYLOR, Z. 
 
 WILLIAMS, C. C. 
 
 WHEELER, E. H. 
 
 WINTHROP, JOHN 
 
 WOOD, P. N. 
 
 WRIGHT, J. B. 
 
 WILCOX, O. L\ 
 
 WEBSTER, L. J. 
 
 WATERMAN, C. M. 
 
 YALE, C. JR. 
 
int MUWhRS COLLECl 
 
 2- * Pa m, 
 
 | Si 5 ) UaiTe ^ Library 
 
 Cataloged 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 The Society shall be known as the New England Society of Louisiana, 
 and shall consist of any number of members not less than twenty-five, and 
 shall not cease to exist while that number continue, and a majority of such 
 number shall, at all times, constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 OBJECT OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 The sole purpose of this Institution shall be to foster among its members, 
 friendship and good feeling, and to assist the destitute and those worthy of 
 charity coming from the New England States of the Union. 
 
 ARTICLE III, 
 
 WHO MAY BE MEMBERS AND HOW ELECTED. 
 
 Any native of New England, or immediate descendant of such, of good 
 moral character, and twenty-one years of age, shall be eligible to membership. 
 Applicants for admission after the Society is organized, shall be nominated 
 at a regular meeting of the Society, and if four-fifths of those present concur, 
 (he applicant shall be admitted as a member. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 ADMISSION FEE. 
 
 . Every member, on joining the Society, shall sign the Constitution, and pay 
 live dollars to the Treasurer, and forthwith shall be entitled to a certificate of 
 membership, under seal of this Society, signed by the President and Secretary. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 ANNUAL MEETING. 
 
 The annual meeting of the Society shall be held on the twenty-second day 
 of December, in each year, at which meeting the officers for the ensuing year 
 
[4 ] 
 
 shall be elected — an oration delivered by a member, and all necessary busi- 
 ness transacted — after which the Society shall dine together. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 QUARTERLY MEETINGS. 
 
 The Society shall also meet on the twenty-second day of March, Jtate 
 and September in each year, for ordinary business ; but should either of these 
 days, or the anniversary, fall on the Sabbath, the meeting shall be on the 
 day following. The hour of meeting shall be regulated by the Society. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 OFFICERS, WHEN CHOSEN, AND DUTIES. 
 
 The officers shall be elected at the next meeting after the adoption of this 
 Constitution, to serve till the twenty-second day of December next ; after 
 which, the fifth article shall govern in this respect. They shall be chosen by 
 ballot, by a majority of the members present, and consist of — 
 
 A President, whose duty it shall be to preside at all meetings of the So- 
 ciety, and who shall have power to call extra meetings whenever circum- 
 stances may require, either in the opinion of the Board of Managers or at the 
 request of ten members of the Society, and to have a general supervision of 
 all the concerns of the Institution ; 
 
 A First Vice-President, who shall fill the place of the President in his 
 absence ; 
 
 A Second Vicc-Prtsident, who shall fill the place of President in absence 
 of both the former ; 
 
 A Third Vice-President, who shall fill the place of President in absence 
 of all the former ; 
 
 A Fourth Vice-President, who shall fill the place of the President in case 
 of his absence, and that of the First, Second and Third Vice-Presidents ; 
 
 A Treasurer, who shall collect all moneys, receive all donations, keep ac- 
 counts of the same, pay all drafts made in pursuance of this Constitution, and 
 render an account of all receipts and disbursements to the Society at the 
 annual meeting ; 
 
 A Secretary, who shall keep a fair record of all the proceedings of the 
 Society, a copy of this Constitution (fairly engrossed) in a book kept for that 
 purpose and signed by all the members, with the date of their several admis- 
 sions, deaths, resignations, removals or expulsions, and, in general, for all 
 other acts required by his office ; and 
 
 Seven Managers, who, with the officers before mentioned, shall form a 
 Board for directing the concerns of the Society. Five of whom shall form a 
 quorum. The Board shall meet on its own adjournments, and at the call of the 
 acting President. They shall have power to fill vacancies occasioned by 
 death or otherwise among the officers or managers, until the next annual 
 meeting. 
 
[5 j 
 
 ARTICLE VIII. 
 
 treasurer's account. 
 The Treasurer's account shall be audited by a committee appointed by the 
 Board, before being submitted to the Society at the annual meeting. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 ANNIVERSARY DINNER. 
 
 The Board shall appoint a committee, at a proper interval beforehand, to 
 make arrangements for the Anniversary Dinner. Any member desirous of 
 participating, shall give notice by enrolling his name upon a list, to be kept 
 by the committee for that purpose, at any time not less than ten days previous 
 to the Anniversary. Guests may be invited at the discretion of the commit- 
 tee, or Board of Managers, provided they do not exceed the ratio of one for 
 every four members of the Society, subscribing. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 BOARD OF MANAGERS, THEIR DUTY. 
 
 The Seven Managers, without the officers, shall constitute a standing com- 
 mittee on charity, any three of whom shall form a quorum. It shall be their 
 duty to search out such persons as may require the aid of the Society, and 
 consider all applications made for relief: and, when the proper cases occur, 
 the committee shall apply to the acting President, who shall draw on the 
 Treasurer for the sum deemed necessary by the committee. In cases of ur- 
 gent necessity, any two of the committee may draw on the Treasurer, for a 
 sum not exceeding thirty-rive dollars, in any one case. 
 
 ARTICLE XI. 
 
 TRUSTEES. 
 
 The President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer, shall constitute 
 a committee of finance, with power to invest, from time to time, the surplus 
 funds of the Society in such manner as may seem to them most productive. 
 All funds, so invested, to be in the names of the aforesaid officers, as " Trus- 
 tees of the New England Society of Louisiana." 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 ANNUAL ASSESSMENTS. 
 
 Every member shall pay into the Treasury of the Society five dollars, at 
 the Anniversary meeting in December in each year, or as soon thereafter as 
 may be practicable ; and, in case of neglect or refusal to make such payment 
 for six months, thereafter, the name of such defaulter, if within the State, 
 shall be stricken from the roll of the Society. 
 1 
 
[6 ] 
 ARTICLE XVIII. 
 
 RESIGNATIONS 
 
 Members wishing to resign, must tender their resignations in writing to 
 the acting President, or either of the standing committees or Board of Mana- 
 gers. All arrearages must be discharged before such resignation can be ac- 
 cepted. 
 
 ARTICLE XIV. 
 
 LIFE MEMBERS. 
 
 Any member having paid fifty dollars, at any one time into the Treasury, 
 shall be a member for life, and subject to no other dues but the annual dinner 
 fee. 
 
 ARTICLE XV. 
 
 EXPULSION. 
 
 Any member guilty of gross misconduct, maybe expelled by a vote of two. 
 thirds of the members present, at any regular meeting of the Society. 
 
 ARTICLE XVI. 
 
 HONORARY MEMBERS. 
 
 Any native of New England or immediate descendant of such, not residing 
 in the city of New Orleans, shall be eligible as an honorary member of this 
 Society by the vote of four-fifths of those present at any regular meeting. 
 Resident clergymen of the city, natives of New England, shall be ex-ojficio 
 considered as, and entitled to the privilege of, honorary members. 
 
 ARTICLE XVII. 
 
 ALTERATIONS OF CONSTITUTION. 
 
 This Constitution shall only be altered or amended at the annual meeting 
 of the Society, by a vote of three-fourths of the members present. 
 
 BY-LAWS OF THE SOCIETY 
 
 ADOPTED, MAY 10, 1842. 
 
 In future, all elections of members be made by ballot; and, after the next 
 quarterly meeting, no one shall be ballotted for except his name has been sub- 
 mitted to the Society af a previous meeting ; and the name of the member 
 proposing candidates shall also appear on the minutes. 
 
ORATION, 
 
 DELIVERED BY HON. S. S. PI1E.NTIS3. 
 
 This is a day dear to the sons of New England, and ever held by them in 
 eacred remembrance. On this day, from every quarter of the globe, they 
 gather in spirit around the Rock of Plymouth, and hang upon the urns of their 
 Pilgrim Fathers the garlands of filial gratitude and affection. We have as- 
 sembled for the purpose of participating in this honorable duly; of performing 
 this pious pilgrimage. To-day we will visit that memorable spot. We will 
 gaze upon the place where a feeble band of persecuted exiles founded a 
 mighty nation: and our hearts will exult with proud gratification as we 
 remember that on that barren shore our ancestors planted not only empire but 
 Freedom. We will meditate upon their toil rings and their virtues, 
 
 and to-morrow return to our daily avocations, with minds refreshed and im- 
 proved by the contemplation of their high principles and noble purposes. 
 
 The human mind cannot be contented with the present. It is ever journey- 
 ing through the trodden regions of the past, or making adventurous excursions 
 into the mysterious realms of the future. He who lives only in the present, 
 is but a brute and has not attained the human dignity. Of the future but 
 little is known ; clouds and darkness rest upon it ; we yearn to become 
 acquainted with its hidden secrets ; we stretch out our arms towards its 
 shadowy inhabitants ; we invoke our posterity, but they answer us not. We 
 wander in its dim precincts till reason becomes confused, and at last start 
 back in fear, like mariners who have entered an unknown ocean, of whose 
 winds, tides, currents and quicksands they are wholly ignorant. Then it is we 
 turn for relief to the past, that mighty reservoir of men and things. There 
 we have something tangible to which our sympathies can attach ; upon which 
 we can lean for support ; from whence we can gather knowledge and learn 
 wisdom. There we are introduced into Nature's vast laboratory and witness 
 her elemental labors. We mark with interest the changes in continents and 
 oceans by which she has notched the centuries. But our attention is still 
 more deeply aroused by the great moral events, which have controlled the 
 fortunes of those who have preceded us, and still influence our own. With 
 curious wonder we gaze down the long aisles of the past, upon the genera- 
 tions that are gone. We behold, as in a magic glass, men in form and feature 
 
[8] 
 
 like ourselves, actuated by the same motives, urged by the same passions, 
 busily engaged in shaping out both their own destinies and ours. We ap- 
 proach them and they refuse not our invocation. We hold converse with the 
 wise philosophers, the sage legislators and the divine poets. We enter the 
 tent of the general and partake of his most secret counsels. We go forth 
 with him to the battle field, and behold him place his glittering squadrons ; 
 then we listen with a pleasing fear to the trumpet and the drum, or the 
 still more terrible music of the booming cannon and the clashing arms. 
 But most of all, among the innumerable multitudes who people the past, we 
 seek our own ancestors, drawn towards them by an irresistible sympathy. 
 Indeed they were our other selves. With reverent solicitude we examine into 
 their character and actions, and as we find them worth or unworthy, our hearts 
 swell with pride, or our cheeks glow with shame. We search with avidity 
 for the most trivial circumstances in their history, and eagerly treasure up 
 every memento of their fortunes. The instincts of our nature bind us indis- 
 solubly to them and link our fates with theirs. Men cannot live without a 
 past ; it is as essential to them as a future. Into its vast confines we still 
 journey to-day, and converse with our Pilgrim Fathers. We will speak to 
 them and they shall answer us. 
 
 Two centuries and a quarter ago, a little tempest-tost, weather-beaten bark, 
 barely escaped from the jaws of the wild Atlantic, landed upon the bleakest 
 shore of New England. From her deck disembarked a hundred and one care- 
 worn exiles. To the casual observer no event could seem more insignificant. 
 The contemptuous eye of the world scarcely deigned to notice it. Yet the 
 famous vessel that bore Caesar and his fortunes, carried but an ignoble freight 
 compared with that of the Mayflower. Her little band of pilgrims brought 
 with them neither wealth nor power, but the principles of civil and religious 
 freedom. They planted them for the first time in the Western Continent. 
 They cherished, cultivated and developed them to a full and luxuriant maurity ; 
 and then furnished them to their posterity as the only sure and permanent 
 foundations for a free government. Upon those foundations rests the fabric of 
 our great Republic: upon those principles depends the career of human 
 liberty. Little did the miserable pedant and bigot who then wielded the 
 sceptre of Great Britain imagine that from this feeble settlement of persecuted 
 and despised Puritans, in a century and a half, would arise a nation capable 
 ot coping with her own mighty empire in arts and arms, 
 
 It is not my purpose to enter into the history of the Pilgrims ; to recount 
 the bitter persecutions and ignominious sufferings which drove them from 
 England ; to tell of the eleven years of peace and quiet spent in Holland, under 
 their beloved and venerated pastor; nor to describe the devoted patriotism 
 which prompted them to plant a colony in some distant land, where they could 
 remain citizens of their native country and at the same tune be removed from 
 ;ts oppressions : where they could enjoy liberty without violating allegiance. 
 
[ 9 1 
 
 Neither shall I speak of the perils of their adventurous voyage ; of the hard- 
 ships of their early settlement ; of the famine which prostrated and the pesti- 
 lence which consumed them. 
 
 With all these things you are familiar, both from the page of history and 
 from the lips of tradition. On occasions*similar to this, the ablest and most 
 honored sons of New England have been accustomed to tell, with touching 
 eloquence, the story of their sufferings, their fortitude, their perseverance and 
 their success. With pious care they have gathered and preserved the 
 scattered memorials of those early days, and the names of Carver, Bradford, 
 Winslow, Standish, and their noble companions, have long since become with 
 us venerated household words. 
 
 There were, however, some traits that distinguished the enterprise of the 
 Pilgrims from all others, and which are well worthy of continued remembrance. 
 In founding their colony they sought neither wealth nor conquest, but only 
 peace and freedom. They asked but for a region where they could make their 
 own laws, and worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences. 
 From the moment they touched the shore, they labored, with orderly, syste- 
 matic and persevering industry. They cultivated, without a murmur, a poor 
 and ungrateful soil, which even now yields but a stubborn obedience to the 
 dominion of the plough. They made no search for gold, nor tortured the 
 miserable savages to wring from them the discovery ol imaginary mines. 
 Though landed by a treacherous pilot upon a barren and inhospitable coast, 
 they sought neither richer fields nor a more genial climate. They found 
 liberty, and for the rest it mattered little. For more than eleven years they 
 had meditated upon their enterprise, and it was no small matter could turn 
 them from its completion. On the spot where first they rested from their 
 wanderings, with stern and high resolve, they built their little city and founded 
 their young republic. There honesty, industry, knowledge and piety grew up 
 together in happy union. There, in patriarcal simplicity and republican 
 equality, the Pilgrim fathers and mothers passed their honorable days, leaving 
 to their posterity the invaluable legacy of their principles and example. 
 
 How proudly can we compare their conduct with that of the adventurers o, 
 other nations who preceded them. How did the Spaniard colonize ? Let 
 Mexico, Peru and Hispaniola answer. He followed in the train of the great 
 Discoverer, like a devouring pestilence. His cry was gold! gold!! gold!!' 
 Never in the history of the world had the " sacra fanies auri : ' exhibited itself 
 with such fearful intensity. His imagination maddened with visions of sudden 
 and boundLess wealth, elad in mail, he leaped upon the New World, an armed 
 robber. In greedy haste he grasped the sparkling sand, then oast it down 
 with curses, when he found the glittering grains were not of gold. 
 
 Pitiless as the blood-hound by his side, plunged into the primival forests, 
 crossed rivers, lakes, and mountains, and penetrated to the very heart of the 
 continent. No region, however rich in soil, delicious in climate, or luxuriant 
 in production, could tempt his stay. In vain the soft breeze of the tropics, 
 
[ 10 ] 
 
 laden with aromatic fragrance, wooed him to rest ; in vain the smiling valleys, 
 covered with spontaneous fruits and flowers, invited him to peaceful quiet. 
 His search was still for gold : the accursed hunger could not be appeased. 
 The simple natives gazed upon him in superstitious wonder, and worshipped 
 him as a god; and he proved to them a god, but an infernal one — terrible, 
 cruel and remorseless. With bloody hands he tore the ornaments from their 
 persons and the shrines from their altars : he tortured them to discover hidden 
 treasure, and slew them that he might search, even in their wretched throats, 
 for concealed gold. Well might the miserable Indians imagine that a race of 
 evil deities had come among them more bloody and relentless than those who 
 presided over their own sanguinary rites. 
 
 Now let us turn to the Pilgrims. They, too, were tempted ; and had they 
 yielded to the temptation how different night have been the destinies of this 
 continent — how different must have been our own ! Previous to their under- 
 taking, the Old World was filled with strange and wonderful accounts of the 
 New. The unbounded wealth, drawn by the Spaniards from Mexico and 
 South America, seemed to afford rational support for the wildest assertions. 
 Each succeeding adventurer, returning from his voyage, added to the Arabian 
 tales a still more extravagant story. At length Sir Walter Raleigh, the most 
 accomplished and distinguished of all those bold voyageurs, announced to the 
 world his discovery of the province Guiana and its magnificent capital, the 
 far-famed city of El Dorado. We smile now at his account of the " great 
 and golden city," and "the mighty, rich and beautiful empire," We can 
 hardly imagine that any one could have believed, for a moment, in their 
 existence, At that day, however, the whole matter was received with the 
 most implicit faith. Sir Walter professed to have explored the country, and 
 thus glowingly describes it from his own observation ; 
 
 '• I never saw a more beautiful country, nor more lively prospects ; hills so 
 raised here and there over the valleys — the river winding into divers branches 
 -—the plains adjoining, without bush or stubble — all fair green grass — the deer 
 crossing in every path — the birds, towards the evening, singing on every tree 
 with a thousand several tunes — the air fresh with a gentle easterly wind : and 
 every stone that we stopped to take up promised either gold or silver by its 
 complexion. For health, good air, pleasure and riches, I am resolved it cannot 
 \x: equalled by any region either in the East or West." 
 
 The Pilgrims were urged, in leaving Holland, to Keek this charming country 
 and plant their colony among its Arcadian bowers. Well might the poor 
 wanderers cast a longing glance towards its happy valleys, which seemed to 
 invite to pious contemplation and peaceful labor. Well might the green grass, 
 the pleasant groves, the tame deer and the singing birds, allure them to thru 
 smiling land beneath the equinoctial line. But while they doubted not tin- 
 existence of this wonderous region, they resisted its tempting charms. They 
 had resolved to vindicate, at the same time, their patriotism and their princi- 
 pies — to dominion to their native land, and to demonstrate to .the world the 
 practicability of civil and religious liberty. After full discussion and mature 
 
[ 11 ] 
 
 deliberation, they determined that their great objects could be best accom- 
 plished by a settlement on some portion of the Northern continent, which 
 would hold out no temptation to cupidity— no inducement to persecution. Put- 
 ting aside, then, all considerations of wealth and ease, they addressed them- 
 selves with high resolution to the accomplishment of their noble purpose. In 
 the language of the historian, "Trusting to God and themselves.*' they 
 embarked upon their perilous enterprise. 
 
 As I said before, I shall not accompany them in their adventurous voyage. 
 Onthe22dday of December, 1630, according to our present computation, 
 their footsteps pressed the famous rock which has ever since remained sacred 
 to their venerated memory. Poets, painters and orators have tasked their 
 powers to do justice to this great scene. Indeed it is full of moral grandeur, 
 nothing can be more beautiful, more pathetic, or more sublime. Behold the 
 Pilgrims, as they stood on that cold December day — stern men, gentle women, 
 and feeble children— all uniting in singing a hymn of cheerful thanksgiving to 
 the Good God, who had conducted them safely across the mighty deep, and 
 permitted them to land upon that sterile shore. See how their upturned facts 
 glow with a pious confidence which the sharp winter winds cannot chill, nor 
 the gloomy forest shadows darken : 
 
 ''Not as the coqucror comes, 
 They, tin' true-hearted came; 
 N^t with the roll of the stirring drum, 
 Nor the trumpet, that sings of fame; 
 Noras tin' flying come, 
 In silence and in fear — 
 hey Bhook the depths of the desert gloom 
 With their hymns of lofty cheer." 
 Noble and pious band ! your holy confidence was not in vain ; your " hymns ol 
 lofty cheer" find echo still in the hearts of greatful millions. Your descend- 
 ants, when pressed by adversity, or when addressing themselves to some 
 noble action, turn to the "landing <>f the Pilgrims," and find heart for any 
 fate— strength for any enterprise. 
 
 How simple, yet how instructive, are the annals of this little settlement. 
 In the cabin of the Mayflower they settled a general form of government, 
 upon the principles of a pure democracy. In 1636 they published a declaration 
 of rights, and established a body of laws. The first fundamental article was 
 in these words: "That no act, imposition, law or ordinance be made or 
 imposed upon us, at present or to come, but such as has been or shall be en- 
 acted by the consent of the body of freemen or associates, or their representa- 
 tives legally assembled," etc. 
 
 Here we find advanced the whole principle of the Revolution — the whole 
 doctrine of our republican institutions. Our fathers, a hundred years before 
 the Revolution, tested successfully, as far as they were concerned, the princi- 
 ple of self-government, and solved the problem, whether law and order can 
 co-exist with liberty. But let us not forget that they were wise and good 
 
[ 12 ] 
 
 men who made the noble experiment, and that it may yet fail in our hands, 
 unless we imitate their patriotism and virtues. 
 
 There are some who find fault with the character of the Pilgrims — who 
 love not the simplicity of their manners, nor the austerity of their lives. They 
 were men, and of course imperfect; but the world may well be challenged to 
 point out, in the whole course of history, men of purer purpose or braver 
 action — men who have exercised a more beneficial influence upon the desti- 
 nies of the human race, or left behind them more enduring memorials of their 
 existence. 
 
 At all events, it is not for the sons of New England to search for the faults 
 of their ancestors. We gaze with profound veneration upon their awful 
 shades ; we feel a noble pride in the country they colonized — in the institutions 
 they founded — in the example they bequeathed. We exult in our birth-place 
 and in our lineage. 
 
 Who would not rather be of the Pilgrim stock than claim descent from the 
 proudest Norman that ever planted his robber blood in the halls of the Saxon, 
 or the boldest paladin that quaffed wine at the table of Charlemagne ? Well 
 may we be proud of our native land, and turn with fond affection to its rocky 
 shores. The spirit of the Pilgrims still pervades it and directs its fortunes. 
 Behold the thousand temples of the Most High, that nestle in its happy val- 
 leys and crown its swelling hills. See how their glittering spires pierce the 
 blue sky, and seem like so many celestial conductors, ready to avert the 
 lightning of an angry Heaven. The piety of the Pilgrim Patriarchs is not 
 vet extinct, nor have the sons forgotten the God of their fathers. 
 
 Behold yon simple building near the crossing of the village roads ! It is 
 small and of rude construction, but stands in a pleasant and quiet spot. A 
 magnificent old elm spreads its broad arms above and seems to lean towards 
 it, as a strong man bends to shelter and protect a child. A brook runs through 
 the meadow near, and hard by there is an orchard — but the trees have suffered 
 much and bear no fruit, except npon the most remote and inaccessible 
 branches. From within its walls comes a busy bum, such as you may hear 
 in a disturbed bee hive. Now peep through yonder window and you will see 
 a hundred children, with rosy cheeks, mischievous eyes and demure faces, all 
 engaged, or pretending to be so, in their little lessons. It is the public school 
 — the free, the common school — provided by laws : open to all : claimed from 
 the community as a right, not accepted as a bounty. Here the children of 
 rich and poor, high and low, meet upon perfect equality, and commence under 
 the same auspices the race of life. Here the sustenance of the mind is served 
 up to all alike, as the Spartans served their food upon the public table. Here 
 young Ambition climbs his little ladder, and boyish Genius plumes his half- 
 fledged wing. From among those laughing children will go forth the men 
 who are to control the destinies of their age and country ; the statesman 
 whose wisdom is to guide the Senate — the poet who will take captive the 
 hearts of the people and bind them together with immortal song — the philoso- 
 
t 13 1 
 
 pher who, boldly seizing upon the elements themselves will compel them to 
 his wishes, and, through new combinations of their primal laws, by some 
 great discovery revolutionize both art and science. 
 
 That common village school is New England's fairest boast — the brightest 
 jewel that adorns her brow. The principle that society is bound to provide 
 for its members education as well as protection, so that none need be ignorant 
 except from choice, is the most important that belongs to modern philosophy 
 It is essential to a republican government. Universal education is not only 
 the best and surest, but the only sure foundation for free institutions. True 
 liberty is the child of knowledge ; she pines away and dies in the arms of 
 ignorance. 
 
 Honor, then, to the early fathers of New England, from whom came the 
 spirit which has built a schoolhouse by every sparkling fountain, and bids all 
 come as freely to the one as the other. All honor, too, to this noble city, who 
 has not disdained to follow the example of her Northern sisters, but has wisely 
 determined that the intellectual thirst of her children deserves as much atten- 
 tion as their physical, and that it is mufh her duty to provide the means of 
 assuaging the one as of quenching the other. 
 
 But the spirit of the Pilgrims survives, not only in knowledge and piety of 
 their sons, but, most of all, in their indefatigable enterprise and indomitable 
 perseverance. 
 
 They have wrestled with nature till they have prevailed against her, and 
 compelled her reluctantly to reverse her own laws. The sterile soil has be- 
 come productive under their sagacious culture, and the barren rock, astonished, 
 finds itself covered with luxuriant and unaccustomed verdure. 
 
 Upon the banks of every river they build temples to industry and stop the 
 squanderings of the spend-thrift waters. They bind the naiades of the brawl- 
 ing stream, and compel them, like the sad daughters of Danaus, to pour un- 
 ceasingly from their glittering urns the sparkling treasures of their crystal 
 fountains. They drive the dryades from their accustomed haunts, and force 
 them to desert each favorite grove ; for upon river, creek and bay they are 
 busy transforming the crude forest into staunch and gallant vessels. From 
 every inlet or indenture along the rocky shore swim forth these ocean birds — 
 born in the wild wood, fledged upon the wave. Behold how they spread their 
 white pinions to the favoring breeze, and wing their flight to every quarter of 
 the globe — the carrier pigeons of the world ! It is upon the unstable element 
 the sons of New England have achieved their greatest triumphs. Their ad- 
 venturous prows vex the waters of every sea. Bold and restless as the old 
 Northern Vikings, they go forth to seek their fortunes in the mighty deep. 
 The ocean is their pasture, and over its wide prairies they follow the monstrous 
 herds that feed upon its azure fields. As the hunter casts his lasso upon the 
 wild horse, so they throw their lines upon the tumbling whale. They "draw 
 out Leviathan with a hook." They "fill his skin with barbed irons," and 
 in spite of his terrible strength they " part him among the merchants." To 
 them there are no piliars of Hercules. They seek with avidity new regions. 
 9 
 
I U | 
 
 and fear not to be •'"the first that ever burst' : into unknown seas. Had they 
 been the companions of Columbus, the great mariner would not have been 
 urged to return, though he had sailed westward to his dying day. 
 
 Glorious New England ! thou art still true to thy ancient fame and worthy 
 of thy ancestral honors. We, thy children, have assembled in this far-distant 
 land to celebrate thy birth-day. A thousand fond associations throng upon us, 
 roused by the spirit of the hour. On thy pleasant valleys rest like sweet dews 
 of morning the gentle recollections of our early life ; around thy hills and 
 mountains cling like gathering mists the mighty memories of the Revolution ; 
 and far away in the horizon of thy past gleam, like thy own bright Northern 
 Lights, the awful virtues of our Pilgrim sires ! But while we devote this day 
 to the remembrance of our native land, we forget not that in which our happy 
 lot is cast. We exult in the reflection that though we count by thousands of 
 miles which separate us from our birth-place, still our country is the same. 
 We are no exiles meeting upon the banks of a foreign river, to swell its waters 
 with our home-sick tears. Here floats the same banner which rustled above 
 our boyish heads, except that its mighty folds are wider and its glittering 
 stars increased in number. 
 
 The sons of New England are found in every State of the broad Republic. 
 In the East, the South, and the unbounded West, their blood mingles freely 
 with every kindred current. We have but changed our chamber in the 
 paternal mansion ; in all its rooms we are at home, and all who inhabit it are 
 pur brothers. To us the Union has but one domestic hearth : its household 
 gods are all the same. Upon us then peculiarly devolves the duty of feeding 
 the fires upon that kindly hearth ; of guarding with pious care those sacred 
 household gods. 
 
 We cannot do with less than the whole Union ; to us it admits of no 
 division. In the veins of our children flows Northern and Southern blood ; 
 how shall it be separated who shall put asunder the best affections of the 
 heart, the noblest instincts of our nature ? We love the land of our adoption, 
 so do we that of our birth. Let us ever be true to both ; and always exert 
 ourselves in maintaining the unity of our country, the integrity of the 
 Republic. 
 
 Accursed, then, be the hand put forth to loosen the golden cord of Union; 
 thrice accursed the traitorous lips, whether of Northern fanatic or Southern 
 demagogue, which shall propose its severance. 
 
 But no ! the Union cannot be dissolved ; its fortunes are too brilliant to be 
 marred ; its destinies too powerful to be resisted. Here will be their greatest 
 triumph, their most mighty developement. 
 
 And when, a century hence, this Crescent City shall have filled her golden 
 horns ; when within her broad-armed port shall be gathered the products of 
 the industry of a hundred millions of freemen ; when galleries of art and halls 
 of learning shall have made classic this mass of trade ; then may the sons of 
 the Pilgrims, still wandering from the bleak hills of the North, stand upon 
 the banks of the Great River and exclaim with mingled pride and wonder, 
 Lo ! this is our country : when did the world ever witness so rich and mag- 
 nificent a City — so great and glorious a Republic ' 
 
The design of "The New England Society of Louisiana" in 
 distributing among the Sons of New England, in New Orleans, copies of its 
 Constitution, together with the eloquent Oration of its departed associate, 
 Sargent S. Prentiss, is two fold: — to create an opportunity whereby 
 the object and purpose, the wants and claims of the Society may be laid 
 before each resident from the land of the Pilgrims, and to pay a well deserved 
 tribute of respect and affection to the fondly cherished memory of a gifted 
 and lamented Brother. 
 
 The object and purpose of the Society is plainly set forth in the second 
 
 article of its Constitution, which is in these words : 
 
 " Article II. Object of the Society. The sole purpose of this Institution 
 shall be to foster among its members, friendship and good feeling, and to assist 
 the destitute and those worthy of charity coming from the New England 
 States of Union." 
 
 Thus, while it aims to promote a social intercourse, its purpose is so emi- 
 inently charitable that it may be termed especially a benevolent association' 
 The expenses of the annual celebrations are provided for by those who join 
 in those festivities ; while the annual subscriptions, after the defrayment of 
 the expenses, are devoted to beneficent purposes. 
 
 Its silent and tranquil charities have indeed proved a cheerful comfort, in 
 the sad hours of sickness and need, to many a lonely and disconsolate Brother, 
 who, far from his birth-land, was breathing his last in penury amidst strangers. 
 
 It has assuaged the deep agony of the widow in the bitter hour of her 
 despondency, and it has dried up the tear of the orplian, as that heaviest of 
 all burdens, home sickness, was lifted from off the heart by the means it has 
 provided to re-convey them to their loved, though far distant home. 
 
 And where Death had set its seal upon the forsaken and destitute, it has 
 performed the last sad rites of brotherhood — preserving from utter neglect 
 and forgetfulness an unfortunate wanderer from the land of the Puritans • 
 thus carrying untold consolation to the mourning hearts of the household there. 
 
 Tt has done this — it would do more — and it seeks to have its means com- 
 mensurate with its end. 
 
' [ 16 ] 
 
 It now numbers but one hundred members, and this, too, when it is 
 believed we can boast of more than two thousand in our midst, eligible to 
 membership. The cause of this small proportion of New Englanders among * 
 us, who are enrolled as members, lies, it is thought, in the quiet and unob-f 
 strusive movements of the Society, whose very existence seems only to have 
 been made public by the celebrations of its returning anniversaries. The 
 knowledge of its cliarities are confined to the acting officers and the friend" 
 who solicits the contribution ; and they are dispensed so much in the spirit of / 
 liquidating an acknowledged debt, that the recipient is spared the feeling of 
 obligation. 
 
 In its social character the Society would do something to extend, widen 
 and increase the New England influence in this loved-land of our adoption, — \ 
 for it is believed that, great and growing as this influence may now be in our \ 
 midst, the advancement and prosperity, the intelligence and energy, the hap- 
 piness and the greatness, the commercial, agricultural and manufactural 
 interests of our Statte and city demand even more. 
 
 It is thought the Society has a rightful claim upon every resident from 
 New England, for the influence of its name, the countenance of his friend- 
 ship, and the support of his annual subscription. 
 
 Sons of New England! — this Society is yours. Shall it flourish, or shall 
 it be dissolved ? This Charity is yours — shall it be living and active, or 
 shall it cease to be ? The answer is with you,. 
 
 Application for membership may be made through any member. 
 
Hollinger Corp. 
 pH 8.5