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^'K.:,^//^:^: 
 
 AN 
 
 ORATION, 
 
 DELIVERED 
 
 AT THB 
 
 MEETING-EOUSE 
 
 IN 
 
 BENNINGTON, 
 
 ON THE 
 
 Uh of Jult/, 1806. 
 
 '.' A cause like otirs is its own j,?.cramcnt! 
 *• Truth, justice, reason, \^s and liberty, 
 *' The eternal links that cla&p,th,c world are in it, 
 " And he who breaks their sanation, breaks all law 
 " And infinireconneflion.'^-HEN'RYBROOKE. 
 
 BENNINGTON : 
 
 PRINTED BY BENJAMIN SMEAD, 
 
 
341 
 
 Shiran «•••** •«•••••• *««1i 4VOVCV* /t«rS ?»5r«iwi t7i« ttwiniH 
 
 Bennington, Atb July, 1806. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 In compliance withthe unanimous 
 vote of the Gentlemen asiLembled at 
 the State- Arms Hall, we have the 
 pleasure of presenting you their 
 thanks for your Oration, this day 
 delivered, and request a copy for the 
 press, that others with them may 
 be benefited by the instru6\ion it 
 contains. 
 
 JVd are^ "VDiih sentiments cf cordial esteem^ 
 Sit; YourSf 
 
 .\ 
 
 DAVID ROBINSON 
 
 BENJAMIN FAbSET, (^ Committee of 
 WM. HENRY, j'ln. i Arrangements, 
 
 ANDREW SELI3ENJ 
 ORSAMUS C. MERRILL, Esq. 
 
AN ORATION. 
 
 THE spirit of our celebration istherehsarsaf 
 of the testimony of our political redemption, 
 an4 of the duties essential to the preservation of 
 the institution?, resulting, from it in a chain of 
 events. 
 
 While Liberty remains an objefl of our desije 
 and love, the way and price of our redemption, 
 how the Heroes looked, how they felt, and how 
 they a^ed, will be interesting ;— and while in 
 these things, we take an interest, the day of our 
 festival will be particularhv ^nd invariably 
 distinguished — we shall assemble in commemo- 
 ration of it, and think our time and property 
 better appropriated, than in building proud 
 mausoleums, or erecting marble pillars of 
 remembrance. — Our meetings once a year, will 
 be living, animated, glowiag testimonials of our 
 national nativity, and of our gratitude to the 
 great and good Being, whose propitious provi- 
 dence has appointed for us a select a-nd vast 
 congregalion of blessings, flawing free as living 
 
— 4 
 
 and limpid streams, from social and religious 
 libeny, and from a soil and clime produ6tive 
 and salubrious. 
 
 The Declaration of Independence^ whicii has 
 been read, vas, to England, a solemn and 
 impressive commentary on the folly and ridicu- 
 lous vanity of their proceedings — to us, it is a 
 lucid memorial of the motives which awoke 
 those manly exertions, that gave birth to a 
 Republic — It is an intelligent witness, a sum- 
 mary and comprehensive rehearsal, of the pride 
 and insolence of our revolutionary adversary. 
 
 Antecedent to our Independence, the kingdom 
 of England had arisen to the zenith of its po>ver, 
 both in the old world and the new — they boasted. 
 
 prerogative in every clime Filled with their 
 
 greatnes?, and because we were descendants of 
 their is!c,thty presumed to do more than decimate 
 the fruits of American industry, ti.ey presumed 
 to "bind us in all cases whatsoever." — Bjt the 
 plenitude of kingly omnipotence was in'iufficient 
 to effeft it, by sophistry and stratagem. 
 
 In the vinJi(f>ive paroxisms of their exasper- 
 ated pride, they meditated and matured the 
 projc<5l of driving Liberty, by force, from this 
 her last asylum — of driving her from the woody, 
 shores of Americn, to- wander again upon the 
 
5— 
 earth, without any fixed abode,, as a fcrlorn and 
 unfriended fugitive. 
 
 The Genius of Liberty saw, with sensibility, 
 the unwelcon)e crisis approaching, and wept for 
 the sufferings of Amenca — She wept, that her 
 footsteps should be wet with the blood of her 
 followers ! 
 
 The armaments of the enemy came to our 
 land — their vassals and mercenaries commenced 
 the bloody work. Wretched and menacing 
 was the aspect of the times. The hardy disci- 
 ples, and choice spirits of Liberty, met the onset 
 onappalled— -they never bowed to their fears :-- 
 Yet they were not trained or inured to war; 
 and under the guidance of their Chief, prudently 
 aftcd on the defensive ; they kept aloof, like 
 retiring winds, to renew and recruit their 
 strength. The temporary consequence was, a^i 
 
 •apparent success to the arms of Biitain. But 
 
 while their official minions were mounting the 
 highest pinnacle of exultation, and saw, m fancy, 
 the tents of America in affli(5tion, the people 
 scattered, and fieeing to their mountains for 
 refuge, or imploring the clemency of their 
 conquerors, on terms of unconditional submis- 
 •sion— that Power, at whose behest '* dread 
 •ehunders roll and livid lightnings piny "—.that: 
 
—6 
 
 Power, whose fnsndly omniscient eye behol(Si 
 the form and pressure of every swift conlin- 
 gencc — brholds all the successive ties of natural 
 and moral a£^ion, down the long series ofevent- 
 ful vears — that sovereign, mighty Power, com- 
 missioned the spirit of '76, to speak- tire bol4 
 accents of Liberty, to proclaim to the king of 
 the isles, and the world, that the kingdom had 
 departed from Britain, and the people of fertile 
 America — were free — were sovereign — were 
 independent ! 
 
 These are the events we commemorate ; they 
 are distant, and f)ow seen through the vista of 
 years; but whenever we meditate rpon themf 
 we do well to reflect, they were the offspring of 
 the understanding and virtue of the American 
 people, a nation the immorTal Sovereign of earth 
 and heaven in mercy delights to honor. 
 
 These things are familiar to ynu all ; yet tl>e 
 spirit of Independence, who will lead the g'^ne- 
 rations on to higher and more charming scenes 
 of freedom, delights to lead her votaries thro' 
 the rolls of history and of memory, to the deeds 
 cf their fathers — But they are so engraven on the 
 heart, so frequcniiy bro't in review before Ui, 
 and io congenial to the benevolent mi«d, that fJ 
 ihrv need onlv to be nlla:/ivclv mentioned, to be 
 
7— 
 
 felt and understood in ali their details — T say^ 
 to the affectionate Republican, a bare allusion 
 to them, speaks to his heart in natural and pre- 
 vailing pathos— He feels the throb of affet^ion, 
 for the institutions which w<^rethe result of their 
 
 toil ap.d labor, their privations and d<ingcrs 
 
 He feels his political existence entwined with 
 ihese events, these institutions, and their lively 
 remembrance — He loves the exhllirating and 
 Cfiastening influence of the spirit of Independ- 
 ence, and his tho'ts in h«mility ascend to the 
 pure source from whence it emanates, the throne 
 of GOD. Returning back to earth, his soul 
 looks forth from the clouds of prejudice, in all 
 the majesty and loveliness of a<^ive philanthropy, 
 and contemplates its diffusion and perpetuation 
 as a paramount duty, and tiie performance of 
 this duty, the genuine effusion of gratitude to 
 that Power, which made the happiness of man 
 commensurate with its prevalence. 
 
 Thus felt our renowned Ancestors, and they 
 followed the divine impulse. They were unitev; 
 and resolute, wise and prescient ; and were 
 permitted to fill up the measure of their useful- 
 ness — they .finished the politic.iI work they lisd 
 to de. 
 
— 8 
 
 Their energies were first dire<?\'cd t© the 
 wresting of the sceptre of /n^blic Jtoiver from the- 
 grasp of tyranny — they did it. Their next step 
 was to place this power high above, and secure 
 from, the reach of sudden innovation — ihey did 
 it — they plated il in the hearts of the freemen 
 of America; and they made this deposit, with 
 high aiiuriiiice, and for the express purpose that 
 i: should be used as the shield of oppressed hu- 
 manity, and no longer as the jtyor^/ of wounding 
 and extermination. Tiiis, to their enlightened 
 eyes, was the "little ^.^oud" seen from mount 
 Carmel, by the servant of Elijah the Tishbite, 
 minutely rising from off the sea, " like a man's 
 hand," \»hich was to water and revive, in alt 
 ages, the plant of Liberty. 
 
 This accompllshpd, they ** looked well to the 
 ways of the houshold ;" they were not "careless 
 ■and secure ," they were tlie a(5tive, and ardent, 
 i^\-\d. fast friends of Liberty; and tliey secured, as 
 far as human prudence and prescience could 
 secure, its blessings to posterity. They ga%'e to 
 ViS political life, and the means ci-sential to its 
 peaceful prestrvntion and improvement". 
 
 This was the inestimable store of. political 
 wealth, they solemnly bt:queath;fd to us : Shall 
 wc forge: their blood- washed oarmcnis—shaU 
 
9— 
 
 we be prodigal of the inhciitance ? These are 
 the important items of their account against us^ 
 Shall we fraudulently blot out the account ? 
 Shall we shut up the book, and forget the obli- 
 gation? Shall we misuse the deposit? "If ye will 
 enquire, enquire ye ;" for here is the hinge upon 
 which turns our massive individual and collective 
 duties, our national prosperity and preeminence. 
 
 From this view of the subje£l, it stands us in 
 'hand to examine, whethtr things now remain as 
 fhey were, when cur fathers were laid asleep — 
 to scrutinize the governmental precedents since 
 established, their bearing upon the principles of 
 republican liberty, and t!ie purposes of the de- 
 posit. Has government been used as the j-^/>// 
 of oppressed humanity ? or has it been converted 
 
 by oppressors, into a sword of wounding? 
 
 What description of characters have used it as a 
 shield of defence, and what characters have used 
 it as a sword of otfencf, I purpose to examine. 
 
 Ingenuity may dress lorovg in the habiliments 
 of n'g/it, and tyranny may assume the robes of 
 republican clemency ; but the disguise will never 
 be concealed for any length of time. Their arts 
 and address may at first dazzlcj but a familiar and 
 clobe acquaintance, bedims the varniih of decep- 
 tion, and exposes the reality. 
 B 
 
— 10 
 
 We have evidence, that llie effrontery o( 
 party, may mike men audaciously j'ut on a 
 tattered garment, a robe of patcli-uork, and 
 eulogize if, as the mantle which ftU from the 
 
 chariot of an ascending Washington! 
 
 But the delusion is temporary — the unsopiilsti- 
 cated mind of man will seek its level. 
 
 A sentiment, imprecating religious intolerance 
 and persecution, and which has its foundation in 
 the Christian Religion, can be 'tortured into a 
 tenet embracing a belief of twenty Gods, orno 
 God — and by dint of clamor, may excite a hostile 
 alarm and agitation; but the evil recoils with 
 velocity upon the heads of those who gave 
 currency and direction to the imposition — be- 
 cause it will compel an enquiring and conbider- 
 ate people, to examine the text, as well as its 
 co'.nments. 
 
 Thsse cases, like the stories of the Ocean 
 Massacre, lUuminatism, and myriads of others 
 which might be recited, where exposure and 
 confusion frequently trod upon the heels of 
 delusion, ought nnr, however, in their efFe(5li 
 upon the boiiy politic, to be considered of a light 
 and transient nature, but of a nature dangerous 
 to the great purpose^ for which our privilegcfs 
 were established— they are *'like loitering to*.-- 
 
11-^ 
 
 err, which draw contiguous ruhi ;" and great 
 and portentous is the danger, when the promul- 
 gators are men to whom the people have givea 
 official consequence. 
 
 These are no ideal, or premature speculations i 
 they are demonstrative fa<5^s — they are not left 
 wiihont many witnesses, in that the practice 
 ccntinueth to this hour. 
 
 I would ask, if there is one in. this assembly, 
 who has not evidence in his own, knowledge, 
 that there is a class of men among us, that have 
 by these acls, or by ten thousand similar or 
 more disreputable impositions, endeavored to 
 yigratiate themselves with the source of power? 
 I would ask, if fertility in fabrication, zeal in its 
 propagation and industry in exciting alarms, has 
 not been the passport to offices, under the pat- 
 ronage of Federal incumbents. 
 
 This prostration of talents, if it does not 
 amount to a full proof of an abandoned and 
 vicious taste and disposition, and an attempt to 
 turn the simple uses, and mild privileges of' 
 freemen into a sword of wounding, is at least 
 no desirable trait in the chara£ter of those into 
 whose hands the charge of the deposit-- cf- our 
 fathers is given. 
 
—12 
 
 These impositions have the same stamp, the 
 tame origin, and the same tendency, with those 
 •* Lilliputian ties which bound us in the first 
 slumbers which succeeded the labors" of the 
 revolution; they then were the introduction to 
 those more bold governmental precedents, de- 
 signed to impose upon us the substance of the 
 British government, a government, where public 
 power is a sword, an instrument of sanguinary 
 infliction, and where oppression rides upon the 
 necks of its suffering subjeCts — a government,, 
 whose insatiable love of domination has shed the 
 blood of Americans, and from whom we were 
 severed but thirty years ago : And yet, with 
 astonishment be it spoken, this government has 
 been the subject of American eulogy, and the 
 eulogist, in consequence of this his predilection, 
 
 made President of the United Stales ! After 
 
 his investiture, he closed the book of revolu- 
 tionary gratitude, and compassionate regard for 
 the human race — he ascribed to this government 
 whatsoever things are pure and wise, and inces- 
 santly laboi'cd 10 assimilate our social regulations 
 to it. 
 
 No disj}osiiinn exists, neither is it necessary, 
 to arraign for the purpose of reproach, the mo- 
 lives of this admhiistralion, or the class of msu 
 
i^s— 
 
 «'ho approbate its measures. — Butastateaient of 
 fa6ts, and the obvious tendency of their condud 
 and opinions, musr, from iis uaturc, be a mos£ 
 cutting rebuke, a most pungent reproach. — 
 Whenever a disquisition is made upon this head^ 
 and the observations come charged with severity, 
 it must be imputed to the subject- matter, and- 
 not to any malignant desire to rcfleft upon, or 
 exult over a vanquished enemy. But inasmuch 
 as their measures had an evident tendency to 
 privilege those in place, to stretch to the utmost 
 the constitutional prerogatives of our Executive, 
 and occasionally overstep its bounds, and to 
 introduce anew the political heresies of those 
 European governments, whose principles we 
 had rejected — it is all-essential, all-important, 
 their measures ?houkl be exhibited as an exam- 
 ple, a lasting memorial to the people ; and it 
 would be criminal tenderness to pavilion in 
 silence their political extravagancies. 
 
 The Federal Government was no sooner 
 organized, than we were relieved from our ap- 
 prehensions, rescued from a stormy and emi- 
 nently hazardous situation, and placed in one 
 incomparably better than had ever been known 
 in this or any other country ; it was virtually a. 
 ihieldj behind which the people found secunty.. 
 
And It would IfU'aiiably have been a barri'itp 
 ag;ain5t encroachments, had every adminhtraiion 
 under ir, been consonant to a liberal and fair 
 co!istru£liou oi its provisions and requirements. 
 In the prosjjcious srate of affairs which marked 
 the morning of the FecieralGovcrnmenr, there 
 '^c c men inseniible or indifferent to the bless- 
 •ven-handed and liberally dispensed to us, 
 :!.. :J\ this medium, and whodireclly discov- 
 Ci\;d its only vulnerable point — to this their 
 fiiergies were diredcd. A combination was 
 formed, and ilieir leaders took rank as isith and 
 credulity marshalled them. The reward fer 
 service?, was the distribution of existing ofRces, 
 which cculd be obtained by art andjsiirprJse; and 
 the expectation of enjoying the advantages to be 
 acv^uired, by an unfair and illiberal exposition 
 of the constitutional allotment of power to th.e 
 Executive — as by the increase of Executive 
 power, patronage would be extended in an 
 astonishing ratio ; and as subordinate c;i:cei 
 multiplied in number, the whole gained propor- 
 tionately in permanency. Thus, as in the 
 parable of Jotham, *' fire came out of the bram-^ 
 ble, and devoured the cedars of Lebanon." 
 
 The watchword, of the coalition, was the 
 kcCciency of Rfpiiblics ; and the want of 
 
15— 
 
 energy in ours to prolong the terrnftiafion of its. 
 existence. Undcubtcdiy, this would not long 
 have remained a paradox, had it been as easy 
 to flatter, subsidize and arrange the vices of man 
 lo the purposes of private aggrandiseiDent, and 
 the monopoly of power, in large agricuitiiral 
 republics, as it is in small military and con:mer- 
 cial ones. Bat the event has happily proved the 
 ssberrion contrary to appearance atid reality. 
 
 The republics that have bad their day, arise 
 irirough the medium of history, and offer them- 
 selves as examples, illustrative of the fatal ten- 
 dency of the measures pursued by tiie coaiiticn. 
 The local situation, as well as the manners of 
 the age, 'in which one clasj of their, flourished, 
 made it necessary, that their government and 
 education should be military; which virtually 
 amounted to a dismission of every useful em- 
 bellishment of the understanding. Their cgii- 
 cukural interests were so greatly subordinate 
 that the tillage of the ground was considered a 
 business suitable for their Helots or slaves, but 
 unwortljy the pursuit of a freeman. Ti-ii 
 sitiiation produced a restive and predatory spirit; 
 made their freemen desirous of distinction, by 
 the display of their dexterity in the then favorite 
 art of war ; and v?hen it occasioncliy happened. 
 
— 15 
 
 that conquest was satiated, the objeAs inviting 
 10 the warrior diminished, and the arts of peace, 
 like birds of passage, made their appearance ; 
 their superior riches and flourishing condition, 
 or the recolleftion of past injuries, invited 
 aggression, from various surrounding warlike 
 nations. A higli state of martial discipline, 
 became of consequence essential to national 
 safety, until the minds of tiie freemen, accustom- 
 ed to this anti-republican subordination, were 
 callous to independence. Hence it befei these 
 republics, as it befals all military estab!i>hments, 
 when they could not prey upon others, and 
 otliers did not prey upon them, they preyed 
 upon themselves ; aspiring geniuses seized the 
 advantage this posture ofafi'airs offered them, 
 and rose to preferment and unlimited power. 
 
 The commercial republics that have existed, 
 from thtir management, have solicited and /cic 
 the same evih. They, like military republics, 
 have been beasts of prey. The means have 
 been variant, but their tendency invariably the 
 same ; one caught their prey by open force and 
 agili'.y— -the other compassed its objed by art 
 and stratagem. 
 
 Commercicd ascendancy, has ever corrup:ed, 
 emasculated, and put to sleep, -the watchfulan*! 
 
17— 
 
 independent spirit of rcpi>bli<ranisr.i ; cr by 
 ccuntenaticing gradual Innovation and monopo- 
 ly, has sapped iis energies. The ^^cS: was 
 inevitable. Aristecracies arose. The jame 
 predatory system was pursued; the same im- 
 manent, corrupt disposition remained. Their 
 divisions in tiirn lacerated and tore the vitals c( 
 their ccuntry, and limited monnrchy or despot- 
 ism, or entire subjugation by external encmief, 
 closed the scene, ar.d their name has disappeared 
 from the .map of nations, except to tell where 
 ll>ey once flourished. 
 
 ThQ mixed government of England, i: a 
 compound of the evils of every govtrnmeiu ; 
 of coarse, the most stupendous fabric of corrupc 
 materials that tvhe ingenuity of man ever framed, 
 Tor public use. 
 
 But hers is a warning, al^.o, solemn and aufui. 
 Ail the rights the people ever had, have been 
 long since m.erged in ihe power, the corruptions, 
 snd the excessive oppressions of government — 
 it is now tottering to its fall; "fear trembles in 
 its cement ;" and it is driving upon destruction, 
 23 sure and rapidly as the advance of time, to 
 its plunge into the ocean of eternity. Hencs 
 the magnitude oi the evil — hence the turpitude 
 of those whose measures have apprcximatsd our 
 C 
 
— IB 
 
 government to this.- •'Why did tliey seizp, 
 
 with greedy hand, a liltie brief authority, to 
 Introduce a military establishment ? — Why 
 strengthen the commercial interes'-, by a mari- 
 time establishment, at the expc-nce of ih.e farm- 
 ing ? — Wherefore the policy of tlie confederacy, 
 in introduciiig systems which have been so 
 noxious to republics, and so friendly to the 
 cncroachmenta of power, unlessit was to shorten 
 the tenure of Republicanism, and cast a som- 
 brous shade over the memory of our fathers. — 
 It must therefore be recognized as a faft, that 
 a combination, whose measures are manifestly 
 prejudicial to agricultural ascendency, will have 
 r.il the properties of an aristocracy, aud ali^he 
 effects of a tyranny. 
 
 This confederacy was proverbially " avari- 
 cious freedom"— their whole system was to en- 
 orocs and accumuiitt this treasure to themselves, 
 and never to imj^ai t il« bcnciits to their fellovV- 
 inen. 
 
 Tl.ij coalition was composed of various de- 
 scriptions of men. The first in order I tliail 
 mention, are the most worthy and honest — thssc 
 are the disciples of the OldSchoo!, the rpposers 
 cf the revolution, who, in all their walks, have 
 shewed themselves cons.iiutionallv uneasv *: 
 
the progr^is ofgene'ral and equal happiness, and 
 who have ever bsen recognized as the same 
 beings under the ntw system as the old — bigoted 
 in their own way, they are obnoxious to im- 
 provement, from the practical lessons of repub- 
 licanism, and ii3capable of that broad and ardent 
 philanthropy, which seizes, with affedionats 
 ividitv, the first dawnings of liberty, as the 
 advent of repose and happiness to man, as ti^e 
 certain prelibation of t!;e amendment of his 
 Condition. This part of the coalition took for 
 their motto, Order. 
 
 The remaining conslhui;nt parts of the coall- 
 rlon, had a venal friendship for the revolution. 
 
 The next in order come the new converts to 
 '■'. e same antiquated and tyrannical dodrine 5 
 liiey appealed in all the brilliance of wealth. — 
 These had deviated from a rational estimate of 
 things, in their superlative attachment to proper- 
 ty, from its answering the purposes of European 
 monarchical parade, and its becoming the pro- 
 curator of resped in all governments, except 
 
 Republics. From this irrational estimate of 
 
 man, they soon found themselves insulated fron: 
 the terra-firma of republics, and entered the 
 nnfederacy against them — from these originat-^d 
 :':ie motto, Proj^enj, 
 
—20 
 
 The next in order were learned, ambiiiousy 
 znd rash adventurers, who were fluslied with 
 college notions of their superiority over the 
 /aboring part of community — and upon this 
 surreptitious importance, they rested their pre- 
 tensions to distinction in government. Thf?e, 
 in the early period of the revoluliwi, were Alex- 
 anders and Ciesars, in their own conctption. 
 Inflamed by reading the flu£liiations of power 
 in Greece and Rome, they shed, like Caesar, 
 "tears of ambiiiun," and were inebriated with 
 the idea of suddenly raising themselves to future 
 admiration and wonder, from the mistaken no- 
 tion of the instability of republics. These 
 
 candidates for renown, presumed too much upon 
 their own consequence, and too little upon the 
 intelligence they would have to encounter. — 
 They otherwise deceived fhcmselve?, by ima- 
 gining that the basis of a large Republic, was 
 more fragile and subject to vicissitude, tiian a 
 small Republic. In this, they *< embr::ccd a 
 cloud instead of a goddess :*' they never refle<5l:- 
 ed, that a representative agricultural Republic, 
 r/as variant from a military one — or that it was 
 easier to concentrate (he ir.fiucnces v.hich mp.ke 
 for ambition, in a crowded population, than 
 where it xas oitensive and scRtiered— cr.sier in a 
 
21 — 
 I'ommercial city, than in the half of 3 coruinent. 
 It is probable they found out their error, previ- 
 ous to the organization of the coalition ; and 
 that by entering into it, and siding against the 
 rights of the people generally, they had an ex- 
 pe<5iat!on of slowly but substantially acquiring 
 that preferment, which, in their first start 
 for the goal of ambition, they had expe£lcd 
 would burst upon them suddenly, in fnH-orbed 
 cfi'ulgence. But the imposition wa'^, like their 
 I-ogic, too superficial. The inECiipticn of their 
 order was, Learning and Talent!:. 
 
 There was another portion, who, as Parson 
 Osgood expresses it, were in "desperate cir- 
 cumstances, and whose only hope of beitering 
 them, is in revolutions of government/' the 
 confusion and tumults of life. The motto of 
 thtrir standard was, Honesty. 
 
 Another very important description, consisted 
 of commercial men, and British agents and 
 subjects in the same business. — These had high 
 and blooming expectations of reaping obvious 
 and certain advantages, as will be more clearly 
 seen from a synopsis of the objeCis and reason- 
 ing of the coahtion : v.'hich were, to assimilate 
 this government to the British, and to bring the 
 niinds of Americans back to an acquiesc'vT.ce iix 
 
~-22 
 
 ii)e despotic principles of tilt. Old School, whicii, 
 in parr, corii.i>teU of a dcfereniial adoration of 
 titles and proj)erty — And inasmuch as mental 
 pre-eminence, and physical symmetry and- 
 provi'e5^, co'ald not !>c miidc hereditary, these 
 fniisf be. Ti;a: ib, because intrinsic wjrih and 
 personal mtrir, cannot descend from father to 
 son, veneration must be attached to ideal and 
 i;ianii::aie things, which could be so m:;nag€d, 
 r's to perpelnate family coiiseqiience, whether 
 ircorrigibly vicious, or ideots. This could not 
 be clfc6led, without creating a predatory spirit, 
 to war with our institutions, morals, and habits. 
 To engtfndtr this, our wholesome regulations 
 must be feitercd with all the mysterious appara- 
 tus of European policy — the establishment of a 
 navy, a funding ^.y£tem, an army, and place- 
 men, retainers, and expeftants. Preliminary 
 to the achievement, and support of these 
 assumptions, our sentiments of republican sim- 
 plicity, and consiituiional afFc<5lion,. must un- 
 dergo a radical change. To produce this 
 change, the commercial interest mu>t furnish 
 the greatest proportion of the contaminating 
 materials,- which the genius of the outs and ins 
 of tlie coalition, could form into engines of 
 oppression and t^Tior, or modify to the purposes- 
 
25-^ 
 
 of Tiscination. The result of cuch a state of 
 things, would be an increased dtmand for the 
 luxurious commodities of con*.merc^j, a lessenint; 
 of risk from maritime prote(flion-"an enhance- 
 ment of profits---a more close and cordial union 
 of this inierest, with our own gover:;;yit:ir, to 
 the great detriment of the ?.gricultural---and a 
 sure pledge of British patronsg-. H:?re the.i 
 were clustering benefits. These advaiiia<;es, 
 wirh the aids of the banl.ingsy^:en:, and miiirary 
 interes!-, were sufficient inducements for tneni to 
 coalesce against the plain and unadorned manner* 
 of republicanism. Their motto, hoviever, was 
 Re/:uilicanism and Fivtus. 
 
 But as the press, was an almost insuperable 
 imped -miiit to the accomplishmsnt and perpe- 
 tuity QiX these designs ; and as sedition and 
 comm.on law, were in some respccfti inadequate 
 to the work of suppression, a majority of the 
 clergy must be listed in cffiet, who would turn 
 their pulpits into ^* whitcd tepulchrt?^" end 
 rostrums, for preaching the political religion of 
 the confederates; otheraise it would be \-tVy' 
 difficult to demoralize and to lead the people to 
 rrdoptas legitimate,the substance oftiieBritisiigov- 
 ernment, in exchange fortlieir iibertit5,ortoltave 
 •the '^bimple Ui'js cf property/' fr vb^-e -usek-^s 
 
—24 
 
 j^a^tantry of office, and the cumbrous grandeur 
 of a wealthy nobility ; especially as their con- 
 dition would be reduced to a level with that 
 of a sumpter-muie, to move iu all the pride of 
 harness, and to bear a burden which they could 
 not tastt. This part of the coalition, the clergy, 
 Were tlie only oncb dhir.terestcd^ and whose views 
 rose above sublunary consideraticnj. But a 
 refined humility, a sequestered life, a total 
 inappetency to fading things, and their easy 
 accommodating desires, did not qualify them 
 cbstinarely xo withstand the earnest importuni- 
 ties of artUil men, or to resist the bewitcliinor 
 prcspe£t of church dignities, and sacerdotal 
 emoluments.— -Tlie inscription on their flag, 
 m'as Rsliglcn, in large and imposing chara£lera. 
 Besides these classes of men, were others, who 
 would rather government should be *' propped 
 up'* on the " tottering footstool of imposiiion," 
 ib?^\\ on the "solid basis of reason." And some 
 who were dazzled with the glare of things, but 
 who were too indolent to examine, u-ere ssPiSC- 
 lesbly carried with the current, and served as 
 dead weights in the opposite scale to fhe repub- 
 lican. Hence the motlcrn definition of Fcderal- 
 iiyn^ which means an affection for the ccalitio.i 
 formed against the liberties of America. 
 
25— 
 
 Hence it would appear, ihat thisanti-rcpub'Ican 
 confederacy, in case th.°y assumed appropriate 
 mottos, did possess, as they frequently have told 
 U5, all the order, tiie property, the learning, the 
 talents, the honesty, the republicanism, the_ 
 
 virtue, and religion of the country. Tliis 
 
 last observation might appear unimportant, if 
 we had not experimental knovv'edge of the as- 
 sumption of all this, by the party of which I 
 am speaking; if we did not know that it has bad 
 considerable effe6l on the minds of an American 
 public—and that this same proposition has form- 
 ed no inconsiderable part of the absurdities and 
 delusions of the day. 
 
 *' The business of sober philosophy, (says the 
 author of the Vision of Columbus) is ohtn a 
 task oi drudgery — it must sometimes listen to 
 the most incoherent clamors, which must be 
 unworthy ol its attention, did they not form a 
 part of the general din, by which mankind are 
 deafened and misled.'' 
 
 Thtir first work towards the abandonment 
 and final departure from revolutionary princi- 
 ples, I repeat, was to enlist the passions, the 
 prejudices, the haMts, the fashions, and the 
 splendor*, incidental to, and congenial with, 
 Aristocracy This finished w^ r^^-^nfnl re£ti- 
 
 D 
 
—26 
 
 tude, and external simplicity, in appearance, 
 banished into t'.ie obscure walks of private life, 
 or to the cottage of penury, by the substitution 
 of their oppobires, external and fallacious signs 
 cf merit, and individual pomp and magnificence; 
 nothing remained to make it virtually so, but the 
 cna£lion of la-:vs in derogation of the constitu- 
 tion, and the manufacture of hereditary digni- 
 ties, and badges of respeft, as the emblems and 
 san<5lions of a government, unnatural and de- 
 grading to the governed — a government which 
 was to shield a few, and to be a szuorJ oi wound- 
 ing to all others. 
 
 Thus was a combination formed, which la- 
 bored to bring back the sceptre q{ public pQ"jjer^ 
 to the grasD of t) ranny from which our fathers 
 M-rested it. A specification of the precedents 
 adopted to compass this obje£l, and how nearly 
 it was accon^plished--'and how the whole of 
 their machinations, under Gz^i^ were frustatcd, 
 and the sceptre of Public Powtr regained, and 
 placed where the individual wishes, and ccllt<5^cd 
 w iidom of Republicans desired ir, remai.;s t;: be 
 shown. 
 
 Although si^ns and tokens o\ revolt from 
 Consliiulional grounds antecedently arpfared in 
 pantominic, we consider if^.e British Treaty the 
 
27— 
 
 ^rst bold and dlsoraceful ad:^ taken by the coa- 
 lition, for rc-u;iion with Great-Britain, and the 
 snnihilation of American independence. This 
 «as so palpably wron^ and humiliating^ 
 that the prudent Washington declared, he 
 never could consent to put his signature to it, as 
 it v.'as---but the dc'Rction of his Secretary, di-* 
 re6t)y after, so altered, in his estimation, the face 
 of our foreign relation?, that he reluflantly 
 signed it. The integrity of President Wash- 
 ington, shock with fears the coalition, but did 
 
 not relax their adilvity. In the course of 
 
 carrying the Grenville Treaty into operation, 
 two important constitutional points were bro'c 
 under consideratiorj by the agents of the coali- 
 tian, who were beiit uj)on trying whether the 
 Constitution, the guarantee of liberty, possessed 
 more potency than a clean piece of parchmentv 
 The Constitution vests the right of regulating 
 Gonnmerce in Coiigress, together with the right 
 to make appropriations of monev."-The men> 
 btrs of the confederacy in place, determined 
 upon working the privilege of the People into 
 Executive prerogative, now resolutely broke the^ 
 ground of assumption, and contended violently 
 for the principle, that the treaty-makiiig poweiT 
 belonged ej^clusively and of right, to the Execi?-^ 
 
—28 
 
 five— and the right to demand appropriations 
 of CongrQs, to carry treaties into cue(5\. 
 
 Admitting the clauses vcsring these c'accl; 
 powers in Congress, were conched in general 
 and ambigujus language ; they ought to have 
 had a fair and liberal construflion ; and in case 
 of inclination any way, it should have btun in 
 favor cf privilege, and against prerogative. Bat 
 in these cases, there was a bearing manifestly 
 contrary to the obvious meaning of the clause, 
 upon which the powers assumed v^trt predicated. 
 Piesident Washington undoubtedly saw, with 
 mournful anticipation, the formidable current 
 of innovation *' roll the ruin onward ;"---but, 
 shrunk from the burden of opposition whicli 
 was necessary to resist its progress, and stay its 
 
 ravages. Advanced in life, he could not 
 
 •* breast the shock." Tired of the cares incident 
 to the presidency in ordinary times, he retired to 
 private life, accompanied, no doubt, with the 
 secret exultations, if not the advice and threats 
 of the coalition-cabinet— for they trcm!')Ied at 
 his lofty atiitude and firmness, on the first arrival 
 of the Grenvillc Treaty, and dreaded the weight 
 
 of his name, in case of open opposition. • 
 
 Besides, his full coincidence with ti:eir views, 
 was not to be txpciflrd, witliout a dcrdiction 
 
 
29^ 
 
 rroai his former sentiments, iv;;a3Ut a total 
 relinquishment of the merits of liis military ser- 
 vices, and the advantages gained by the virluc 
 and heroism of our fathers. 
 
 The appointment of a succesecr, the promi- 
 r.e-nt traits of whose political chara6ler, were his 
 high-imbued predikftion to the British govern- 
 ment, and hostility to Republicanism, which, -in 
 his estimation, " meant any thing and nothing," 
 tvas a consummation, equally iiFiportant as the 
 decline of Mr. Vv''aihington. 
 
 Among the instances of power surrcjititiouily 
 acquired by the Adamite administration, we 
 may rank the Alien Law, which gives to thz 
 Executive the p<,>ver of sending emigrants out 
 of the country, at his pleasure, who fled from 
 tlie tyranny of Europe. 
 
 This Is evidently contrary to the plain lan- 
 guage of the Constitution, and very remote from 
 
 any thing ever contemplated by its framers. 
 
 They, with the tenderest impulsions of human- 
 ity, and under the mildest beamings of ccmciis- 
 eration and compassion for the sufferings of 
 human nature, in every clime, offered to the 
 ** stranger and sojourner" an asylum, *' com- 
 mensurate with, and inseparable from," the 
 American soil---and, I presu:ne, little thought, 
 
— 30 
 
 that ere the banner of renown had waved over 
 ihcir tor.i'js f(;r the sj i;ce of twenty years, 
 Amf:riLan humanity should havcCtiinese metes 
 and bounds, and national liberality be narrowed 
 down to the caprices and antipathies of aa 
 iiulividual. 
 
 The corr.cVness of what I have said will not 
 be doubted, when I mention Rufus King's 
 (.ffii^ic^l letter, written in answer to teriain ap- 
 plications made hhr, for the purpose of ubiain- 
 ing permission to emigrate to this country— - 
 la this letter, lie sav^, that the admisiiion and 
 residence of foreigners, exclusively belonged to 
 the PrcsidtjU. He further gives us the key 
 which unlocks the intentions of the coalition, 
 in the beitowment of this power— when h* says 
 in substance, that in consequence of his interfer- 
 ence, he received advice'^, giving him as:urance^, 
 ihat a particular description of persons in Ireland 
 should not be allowed to emigrate, without our 
 consent---take notice of the'impei ial words, our 
 ctnsent /---because a large propcriion of the emi- 
 grants from Ireland, arranged themselves on the 
 side of tlic w<3/ron/c7.'//, (meaning the republicani) 
 a French parry, who had become more formidable 
 tlian could have been api'rehended, which required 
 great watchfulntib &::.<5t;v ity Uqt:. ihe gcvernmeM 
 
51— 
 to repress. Hence this law was i-ntcnded to put 
 down the republicans who were not natives, 
 from a jealousy they would join malcontent 
 republicans in the United States. 
 
 To curb native republicans, raise the crea- 
 ture above the creator, and prevent tlitf strifl- 
 iires of the people upon tlie measures of their 
 agents, the enadion of a sedition la.v, out of 
 unconstitutional po-«'er, was necessary. Tr.c 
 weaker advocates of this law, claimed for its 
 basis, a mere quibble between the words regu- 
 latinz and restraining ; but its ablest advocate^, 
 have resorted to the coniprehensive doctrine of 
 implied power, as a justification. This, how- 
 ever, to the unsophisticated sense oi mankind, 
 does not amount to a possible justifijation, for 
 the 3(51 is obviously in violation of the received 
 2nd plain meaning of the constitur.ional claue, 
 upon which it is predicated. I shall not be 
 contradiifted, when I say this law, was un'.vorthv, 
 ^was unlike our ancestors ; was ai.ti-republicaa 
 in its principles, and was oppressive in its ope- 
 ration. It had not the firm and serene look of 
 our primitive patriots — but the angry and leer- 
 ing look of a despot. If any one <J(;ubrs it, I 
 P-ppeal to the men who have seen informers, 
 greedily, and invidiou.j^ly hunting up vii"tiai3 ; 
 
—32 
 
 who have seen judges, giving judgment, and 
 passing sentence of condemnation, with all the 
 sourness nnd severity of angry justice— who 
 have seen c.iecutive officers inflift the sentence 
 ofthelau', in all the vindiclive paroxisms of 
 eruehy, ar,d the poor Republican vi6lim caged, 
 ** sick and in prison," because he would n6t 
 offer up deferential adulation, or doubted a Utile 
 less, or a little more, than the government 
 standard. 
 
 The next obnoxious feature, is the A^tny 
 t^Mblis'^men*. 
 
 An army is a proline source of evil, a grand 
 engine of de?.potism---and never has there been' 
 an instance, where a standing army regularly 
 maintained, failed of rendering the government 
 independent of the people. It is a distinfl in- 
 terest from the people. It is arming the worst 
 class in scci.ty, against the most meritorious.-— 
 Its ranks are neve i tiil>;d with tl-.e independent 
 farmer, or the inelustrlous artizan — it is the 
 indolent and dibsipattd part of the communitv, 
 whose names are heard in the roll-call — ihese 
 become incorporated with tlie govt-rnment- — 
 they become manr.geable or turbulent beings-— 
 in either case, they are snbverters of liberty — 
 they cither support the governing power, or 
 
33— 
 
 lift to supremacy their favoiUc officer. Ic Is 
 
 idle to say, Americans had not a standing army, 
 but 2i provisional one. ---The argument is decep- 
 tious. In England, the introduction of this 
 odious establishment, was under the designation 
 of the Kin7*s life-guard, and a Parliamentary 
 army— Therefore, if it shews any thing, it is the 
 art of the confederacy, and iheir preposterous 
 imitation of British policy. 
 
 The cardinal duty of the soldier* of an army, 
 is submission to their officers — prompt and 
 implicit obedience ;"-andas they are submissive 
 without resistance to the orders of officers they 
 do not appoint — are gviverned by fear — they 
 think the citizen in like manner, without a why 
 or wherefore, should implicitly obey the gov- 
 erning powers in the civil department. Tiic 
 
 officers of an army are frequently servile, venal 
 beings; they regard theaiselves under personal 
 obligation to the governing powers, and depend- 
 antupon their will, for the tenure of their officesj 
 they therefore consult the interest and inclina- 
 tion of the government, follow with readiness it* 
 diredions, and support its adls and opinion?, 
 
 however repugnant to general happiness. 
 
 Kence the predileflion of monarchies for this 
 establishment — hence the experiment in Ameri- 
 E 
 
^34 
 
 ca. It was not raLcd as a defence agaui^: 
 
 foreign invaders, but to war with the friends and 
 principles of Liberty — not against foes without, 
 but foes within. Appendant to th's estallish- 
 nent, are alluring offices, posts, jol)s, and con- 
 tracts, for the pariisans of government 
 
 )nor' 
 
 Great God of Justice ! How ought our abl 
 rence to grow as we advance upon the subject, 
 SkS we see the cocilition arising in its difFtrent 
 attitudes ! 
 
 The maritime a<ft, is one of the main pillars 
 in thegovtrnment-h'uuse of the coalition. The 
 establishment of a navy is produftive of more 
 diflfiisive, yet Litent evils, of course attaches to 
 itself more plausibility. A navy is osrensibly, 
 a.:d in a great measure really is, established for 
 the prolecTiion of commerce. A naval apparatus 
 is also variously useful to a government hostile 
 to Liberty — it gains over to a man the commer- 
 cial interest — it is the stamina of a standing army, 
 because it " multiplies the chances of incipient 
 disputes." — Government, through this medium, 
 hasniorcopportuniiicsto enter iiito *'enranglir^ 
 alliances" with belligerent powers, thereby pro- 
 voking hostility, and inducing the nccessiiy of a 
 standing army. — No government, in its first 
 jtart to despotism, would have tl-.c prciumi'iion" 
 
35— 
 
 • laise troops, withcut some real motive, or 
 uftitious alarm from exterior causes. A n&vj 
 furnishes both, or either of these pretexts, sud- 
 denlv, and in any governmental en:ergency ; 
 because government with a navy can seek in all 
 regions, occasions for offence, but without a 
 navy it must wait until the opportunity offers 
 itself. The men which compose the maritime 
 strength, are as much subservient to the gov- 
 ernment, as those which compose the military ; 
 and its Internal subordination, is vastly more 
 rigid and despo:ic— -therefore, was open force 
 necessary to uphold a system of governmental 
 usurpation, and put down opposition, a navy at . 
 their beck, commands at once, the pcpuior.s 
 sea-port towns of America, and ceoperates with 
 the army. To this system are a very consider- 
 able nuiDber of offices, posts, jobs, and contrafts 
 attached, for gaining adherents to government. 
 To enlist on the side of government another* 
 interested class of men, money was borrotved 
 at an usurious rate of interest. This was bene- 
 ficial in strengthening the funding system---it 
 was a new ligament, drawing closer the com- 
 mercial, maritime, and military interests. li: 
 made more job and c>^ntra£l work, and thu3 
 nas instrumental in gaining over or iilencinj 
 
— 26 
 
 anii-partizans, and rewarding the adherents of 
 
 jovernment. 
 
 To secure the praises and support of ihe 
 bigoted, their scruples must be obviated ; and 
 to obviate these, the appearance and repu^atio.i 
 of sanclity became essential : hence, the religious 
 blandishments of the coalitJon---hencc their at- 
 tention to the outward forms of religion, to fast 
 and thanksgivii^g ordinances, r.nd outward re- 
 spect for the clergy, preference of religious 
 character?, and exclamations against infidelity 
 and atheism. 
 
 There were many unofficial a<fts necessary 
 to make the sanftions of government of force 
 and operative upon the minds of the timid and 
 ignorant. Hence, the vehement denunciations 
 against thos« opposed to thtm — hence the vo- 
 ciferous invefiives against the republicans, 
 stiiing them enemies of government, seditious 
 disturbers, and dangerous disorganizers-— hence 
 the attempts to attach obloquy to allwiio pre- 
 sumed to animadvert upon the hostile tendency 
 of their measures ;— from this source too is 
 deduced the amaring inundation of adulatory 
 addresses from the parlizans of government, and 
 the complacent answers vouchsafed in return. 
 The dignified doctrines of the rirhts cf man, 
 
57— 
 
 and the sovereignty of the people, were heiu up 
 by the managrrsof the day, as tenets cf reproach, 
 they derided them as the extravagant chimeras, 
 the mad theories, of an infuriated and inSdci 
 rabble ;— and wagging their heads, pointed the 
 finger of scorn a: their advocates. Grades and 
 distinctions entered into every village, ^thcdoors 
 of social intercourse were shut against ali, whose 
 language and opinions were not implicitly and 
 adiively coincident with the government. Thus 
 the lovers of rank and etiquette sided with therr, 
 and the interested and the ignorant, ihe dissipated 
 and the bigoted, found themselvcrs *' heads and 
 points in the same truckle-bed.'* 
 
 Taking advantage from the experience of past 
 eras, the errors and miefortunes of Republics, 
 sod improving upon the pclitical chicanery of a 
 Blachiaval, a Richlieu, and a Pitt, they formed 
 the most subtle and well barricaded coaiiiiont, 
 that ever was previously formed for the enslave* 
 rcentcfman. Trusting to the short comires 
 cf republicans, they burst the cloud which had 
 covered their designs. Thus in the mcinent of 
 surprise and astDnibhment which succeeded their 
 introdu^ian, the rapidity and celerity of their 
 movements, were fast usurping a reign over u?, 
 and undermining the foundsticn of our liberties; 
 thus -a little territory ciily lay between us arid 
 
— 38 
 
 the wasres ci tyranny- -what a blast would its 
 Siroc w incl. have bronchi upon the rich blessings 
 of Heaven !---how would it have dissipated the 
 inheritance of our fathers ! 
 
 Heroes and S.iges of our revolution, little did 
 y<'U think, ihal berore the lapse of twice tea 
 years, a faction ivould arise, who exultingly 
 could see these mon'-.trous reptiles of tyranny, 
 coilinc; with tremendous velocity around the 
 f*ir form of Liberty, and feel no hurror, na 
 coinpuncllor., not even compassion. 
 
 Fellow Cilizenj, I do not exaggerate — Fedc- 
 ralibm meditated the defilement and death of 
 Liberty, and we were brought to the very vcrgt 
 of its terrible and ignominious reality : But 
 Provide n«e traced their parricidal steps through 
 the night of Republicanism, disclosed their 
 intentions, but stayed the aftuat perpetration of 
 the crime. The political watchmen of America 
 were upon their watch-towers, they were in 
 their wards whole nights— they were inquired 
 of in all the four winds of Heaven, watchmen, 
 what of the timss ? — The night was long and 
 dismal — but the republican day-star arose reful- 
 gent, and on the 4th of March, 1801, their 
 morning came. The coalition chief had retired 
 in night. Our much-loved institutions, knewr 
 
55-^ 
 
 renovation-— the undulations of tyranny cea-ed, 
 and harmony was restored to social intercourse. 
 
 V7r are now reposing on the bjsom of x 
 government, bland, wise, and concilia'ory.--- 
 The very opposite to the one just spoken of--- 
 Tiie sovereignty of the people is recognized and 
 operative — Executive patronage ^\A prerogative 
 have sought a republican level — tlie state gfW- 
 crnments, are more respe^led and vigorous — • 
 ihe judiciary establishment is reduced to reason- 
 able bounds, and the course of justice, resum- 
 ing the even scales, is restored to dignity — tiie 
 sinking credit of the nation is recovered, and all 
 the various concerns of the Republic, have 
 generally ftit Its invigorating, its benign and 
 chary influence. We conten:pIare this admin- 
 istration as a shield. Imbued v.ith the spirit of 
 ^ySf we see protei?^ion and defence, beam forth 
 in everv a«5V — we see all the cherub charities of 
 life, arranged as component parts. What arc 
 the splendid trophies of ancient or modern vic- 
 tors, compared with those bloodless ones which 
 grace our republican triumph of i8ci ? 
 
 Yes, fellow Citizens, you passed sentence of 
 condemnation up^n the measures of \\,tfedtral 
 administration, and in that sentence have declared 
 your detestation of the principles, that a standing 
 
—40 
 
 army is necessary to rcndcf govern ment energetic j 
 that investigation is more free and salutary, while 
 confined within the bounds of a sedition law, and 
 that fines and imprisonment are the most fit means 
 to inculcate sound opinion, and an independent 
 republican spirit. You have evinced a disrelish 
 for those monarchical manners and distinflions, 
 which were fast usurping a reign over us— -you 
 have declared your abhorrence of, and deep 
 distress at, the repeated instances of individual 
 oppression and cruelty, in beating, and bruising, 
 and offering every indignity to those individuals, 
 who amidst the tempest of tyrannic rage, and 
 the threatenings of exasperated ambition, dared 
 to be freemen. Let these things be enstam;:>cd 
 on your memory, in chara<5lers deep and indeli- 
 ble, which no time, no situation, and death only 
 can efface. 
 
 On the measures of the first term ot the present 
 administration, you have likewise formed your 
 opinion —you have passed judgment--Yo'u have 
 declared your approbation of the arrangements 
 made to pay our national debt, of the abrogation 
 of the excise law, of the abolition of a number 
 of supernumerary offices, and the consequent, 
 retrenchment of expense, and the repeal of the 
 judiciary system-*- You have felt dignified with 
 
41— 
 
 the name of American, when yon have reflt<Ste<i 
 upon the just and benevolent CGndu<5t which 
 has been pursued towards European nations, 
 and cur savage neighbors. You have rejoiced, to 
 see the attachment to republican simplicity and 
 Hianners, exhibited in the condu<5l of your public 
 officers — to see the right of discussing public 
 measures and charaders restored, and the most 
 shameful slanders pass unnoticed, and left to the 
 decision of the cnly legitimate tribunal, the 
 People. With joy you have seen a return of 
 social harm»ony, and neighborly intercourse, 
 uninfefled with the poi:.Gn of distindtion, and 
 party enmity. 
 
 All these things you have examined and tested 
 by the unerring standard of experience. The 
 measures of the last session, whose effects are yet 
 to be felt, and the utility of which has not bceii 
 proved by experience, you have yet to watch. 
 But I leave this exhilarating bubje6l, to draw 
 some improvement from the wilderness-times 
 which preceded the JefFersoiiian period. 
 
 After the to''" of our first revolution, naturally 
 Luccecded a "od of relaxation and slumber. 
 It was at this jun<5lureihat a confederacy against 
 the people began to form itself, w hich well nigh 
 compassed the death cf our iastitutionse SiuGC 
 F 
 
—-42 
 
 our second bloodless rcdtnipiion, \vc arcrcsllnj 
 from our labors. But are we not too much in- 
 clined to slumber? Have we nothing now to 
 ftar ? Are w'e exempt from tlie danger of a 
 nc'.v conspiracy ? Is it to beexpe£led, that the 
 leaders of the coalition, exasperated at their own 
 folly, and continual defeats, will become sincere 
 converts to republicanism ? They were, like 
 Festiis, "deaf to the words of truth and sober- 
 ness"— Is it likely they wiil be restored to re- 
 publicsnlsmi to truth, and n'oueration ? — No, 
 
 they will not, they cannot, fellow-citizens 
 
 They have waded so far into the waters of inno- 
 vation, that they find it easier to go on, than to 
 go back.— The Italian singer is easily deprived 
 cf his masculine faculties, but who shall oivx 
 him Ijack his virility ?-— Innocence is more easily 
 seduced and corrupted, than restored to primi- 
 tive purity. Exadliy parallel is the situation of 
 the man devoted by interest and habit to aris- 
 tocracy. The season of rem^orse is past. Like 
 Caesar, he has waded the Rubicon — he has 
 passed that bourne frcm \vh..iCe no political 
 iraveller returns. 
 
 Let not the lustre of the present administra- 
 tion, obscure the memory of the past, or divert 
 jou from prcparatio:i for the future. — Lrt not 
 
43— 
 
 h'le stillness and placidity of public feeling de- 
 ceive you, or make the monitions of .prudence 
 
 appear stale and unnecessary. With what 
 
 facility do individuals fabricate arguments to 
 support beliefs and acftions, which are most con- 
 sonant to their own inclinations, and particular 
 interests ? When private interest or inclination 
 interfere with public duties, how a<5live is Ihc 
 mind in inventing subterfuges to silence the 
 whisperings of conscierice ? How soon do the 
 firm'Wrought systems of reason, vanish before 
 the fictions of artful evasion, suggested by inter -^ 
 est or ambition ? On no subje£l do we see this- 
 principle mure fully exemplified, than in that of 
 politics. Those who are accused of a want of 
 jiclivity and attention, will shield themselves by 
 saying, "it does no good to make exertion j 
 man is naturally a tyrant, and it is impossible 
 to guard against tyrannic ads." Tell the man 
 who is fond of distin^lion, that it is essential to 
 •ur government, to preserve a simplicity of 
 manners, and that it is the duty of every one to 
 endeavor, not only by persuasion but example, 
 to introduce and observe republican habits : He 
 will reply, that distindions will always exist iii 
 society, and it is vain to attempt to change the 
 r^ature of -man, -—It must be ;\i:h mclanchoK> 
 
— 44 
 
 that the friend of govcrnmsnt bears such senti- 
 ments. Shall we then make no approachei 
 
 towards a state of perfeftTbiliry, because we can 
 never expert to arrive to a state of perfection?' 
 Shall we ceas? ro combat with vice, because we 
 cannot entirely destroy it ? Shall we,, because 
 we cannot destroy the seeds of tyranny, not 
 attempt to retard their growth ? Shall we not 
 strive to reform abuses in government, because 
 we cannot render it invulnerable to the attacks 
 of its enemies ? Imperfc^ions are the inseparable 
 concomitants of humanity, yet man is endowed 
 with a capacity to be continually lessening and 
 corre^ing them. 
 
 Hence results the great duty of man, to be 
 continually marching on in the rond of indus- 
 trious study and investigation, and unceasingly 
 engaged in purifying himself from error. 
 
 All governments necessarily contain some 
 seeds of evil, and their excellency is in propor- 
 tion to their exclusion of these, and their means 
 of preventing their growth.— Hence results the 
 duty of freemen-. -although we cannot root out 
 all evils from government, yet we must be con- 
 tinually lessening their number, and sofrening 
 their elfe^ls, unseduced by the aliurcments of 
 private gain, or the solicitations of ambition — 
 
45— 
 
 iiot suffering the gloom of despair tp unnerve, 
 or the dazzling of success to blind. The true 
 Republican holds on his way, with a zcsl that 
 " never tires," and a determination that always 
 ensures success. 
 
 AmDng the mostimportanl duties of freemenj 
 
 is the selecting their public officers on the 
 
 faithful discharge of which depends the existence 
 
 of ©ur constitution and liberties. The will 
 
 of the people, is the only legitimate law of our 
 country ; and this -wm is to be known by agents 
 
 chosen by the people therefore^ the right of 
 
 the people to ele£l these organs of thtir will, is 
 the foundation of republicanism^ the soul of ©ur 
 political body, which regulates every movemenr, 
 and shapes every measure cf our government.--- 
 If the people are sufficiently attentive to their 
 intefests, latvs will bean exa6t^ transcript of their 
 v,i\\ ; but if, through their negligence, or de- 
 ception, persons areelefted, whose opinions £.re 
 not coincident with theirs, or who abuse their 
 confidence, laws then become mere regulatio- ;> 
 of individual interest or ambition. --To discharge 
 this right, then, requires the most unceasing, 
 ardent vigilance, and careful observation, the 
 most watciifu^and piercing inspecftion into the 
 «jiara£ters,aadse 'timents,cf candidates for cfSce> 
 
—46 
 
 The dissimLjIailo*l and arts that arc iTiC^dt us? 
 cf, to conceal real sentiments from the public 
 tve, or cloak them under a popular f ar"^, render 
 the people more liable to deception aiid iinposi- 
 rion, on this, than any other subje6l.---In timts 
 of great national agitation, when questions of 
 ffcat importance are before the public, the 
 necessity of energetic aftion, and determined 
 cpinicn, will not sufTcr individuals to maik and 
 tlisgnise their principleS"-and the warmth of 
 feeling occasioned, fully evinces the charafler 
 2*k1 sentiments of all; hence the boundary line 
 between individual opinion, is easily drawn. — 
 But when the waves of disseniion have subsided, 
 and a calm ensues, the individual assumes an 
 ;ltered asp c£b, a different appearance j — his 
 zeal becomes relaxed, and no longer urge* 
 him to an exposure of his principles ; — 
 he can now adjust them to answer the various 
 ends, which interest or ambition may suggest-— 
 Tind thus his real sentiments beccme disguised^ 
 r.nd unknown. 
 
 Docs not the history of our own country, 
 furnish an illustration of this position ?— -When 
 a few years since, cur nation «as convulsed by 
 ihe throes of tyrannic madnc3s--when usurpation 
 had defaced the fairest features of cur constitu- 
 
47-^ 
 
 lij 1, ?,nti (Jomestic oppression was fast chasing 
 s'.vay the pure principles of re;ublicaiiism, aud 
 the awful decision makirg, that uas totieterminc 
 its fate-- -there was no neuiral grcund^ the senti- 
 nicntS'Ofall were written on their forehead?, 2nd 
 the line of separation wasdiscoverable to all. Eat 
 when justice and libtrty had once more resumed 
 their empire, dispersed the cloud that seemed 
 ready to burst upon us, End brought in their 
 train, order and tranquility, and introduced 
 the present cahm and flourishing state of affairs, 
 do we not see an immediate change in the con- 
 duct of persons? In some, an apparent indif- 
 ference; in others, a feigned moderation, who 
 are continually deploring the eSecls of party spirit, 
 and representing that there is no difference of 
 opinion between the two great parties in the U. 
 
 States, and advising a coalition. Behold here, 
 
 says the RepuMican, whose faith, like a real 
 
 Christian, worketh by love Behold here, the 
 
 Man of Sin ! The intelligent expositor of 
 
 Scripture, dees not say tlie Man of Sin is the 
 open and boisterous opposer of Christianity---:t 
 is the neutral, lukewarm, pretended, and hypo- 
 critically candid professor, who, undT the robe 
 of his profession, and the convolutions of its 
 folds, conceals a deep and deadly er-7rfy. Ju^t 
 
— 4S 
 
 so in .the poliiical Blble--:he man of j/«, Is no: 
 the open Federalist, the decided opposer ; it is 
 the deceiving, hesitating, indecisive professor ; 
 it is he who pays lip-service to candor and mod- 
 eration, who takes the rear ground, and waits t« 
 be dragged or pushed into adlicn, against the 
 adversaries of republicanism. The chastity of 
 the Republican who hesitates, is lo3t. 
 
 Sut are the People to be entrapped by the 
 iCobweb stratagems of the Man of Sin ? Do they 
 not see, under the coverings of candor and mo- 
 deration, concealed artifice and intrigue ? Can 
 twcty be iTLius Lo believe, that the difference be- 
 tween the parties is all imaginary, and solely 
 occasioned by the blindness of indiscriminating 
 zeal ? — and that the a<5lors in past scenes of 
 tyranny, would not now re-acl the same part, if 
 opportunity presented ? ^ 
 
 In examining the fitness of a candidate for 
 ofSce, we must view him while invested whh 
 power, or in times of national distress and alarmi 
 and his conduct then must be made the standard 
 of our decision. The sentiments of individuals 
 on any particular subjcil, may be discovered by 
 their manner of expression, and adion, and their 
 -opinions upon collateral subjects ;— for so me- 
 chanically do the out'.^ aid tokens of the mind, 
 
49— 
 
 adjust themselves to the emotions within, that 
 it requires more than common art to impose 
 upon the discerning. If a person feels a warm 
 attachment to a particular objcdl, his fondness 
 will manifest itself in every a6t, relative t© 
 the objcft of his affection, and even the linea- 
 Jiients of his countenance will mark the images 
 of his mind. Thus in personal friendships, the 
 cheerfulness and alacrity with which assistance 
 li bestowed on a friend in distress, the delight 
 which a brightened countenance exhibits at his 
 prosperity, and th.e commiseration and ovsrfio-.v- 
 ing sorrow, which accompany him in distrejj, 
 irresistibly discover afTcclion au^ love. 
 
 Here is a proper criterion to test the attach- 
 ment of persons to our government ; and if we 
 apply it at the present period, the rral aiidySr^- 
 Ufi/ie^I (nend to the con?*itution maybe discov- 
 ered. If we search for the true Republican, 
 not contenting himself with giving a cold, the- 
 oretical assent to the principles of our govern- 
 ment, he will be known by the fervency of his 
 zeal, and an unwearied attention to the duties of 
 a citizen and a freeman — ever at his post — 
 always vigilant — a rock amidst dangers and 
 persecutions. He will rejoice at every advance 
 in national happiness—and if vice and corruptioii 
 G 
 
ihall have found their way into our governmcn*^ 
 an unfeigned grief, an earnest anxiety, an un- 
 ceasing aftivity to promote a remedy, fuUy 
 
 evince his attachment. If wc search for the 
 
 opposite charafter, the man of //», though undefw 
 the veil of pretended attachment, hostility wil! 
 look forth from his eye — with churlish and 
 officious zeal he will dwell upon the errors of, 
 and defe6ts in, government ; and if compelled 
 by the justice or popuhrity of any measure, t« 
 a/t/ilaiiJf his coldness of manner and expression, 
 will plainly shew it is ttie effect of necessity and 
 
 not of joy. Which. of these descriptions of 
 
 people, is it, that are continually sounding in 
 our ears, the people are unfit to be intrusted 
 u'ith power?— who are continually ridiculing 
 this fundamental principle of republicanism, 
 that the people are the only ;;roper judges of the 
 measures pursued, and the conduct of public 
 officers? — -Can lie be a frierid to that system, 
 who discredits the foundation en which it ifi 
 built? Are they the enemies or friends of our 
 government, who delight to dv^ell upon the 
 inconsistencies and ingratitude of republics? If 
 it the true republican, that we daily witness, 
 lamentingthnt there is no stimulus to genius, no 
 iJicentive to ambition, incurjovcrnment j and 
 
Si— 
 
 ^sdainfully spcaidfig cf Arrjerican genius and 
 literature, and drawing insidious comparisons 
 between this and other governnients ? Let the 
 people, as they value the past sufferings of Re- 
 publicans, be sure they give to this class of men 
 no official consequence. 
 
 Let cold hearted, plodding pedants, and friends 
 •f monarchy, delight in degrading American 
 literature and genius i let them ridicule the 
 simplicity of the American government., habits^' 
 and manners, because divested of those tinselled 
 ornaments, and mystical coverings, which serve 
 only to insnare and deceive, and which give 
 birth to the necessity of confining the manage- 
 ment cf government, to the hands of particu° 
 lar men, who can then impose themselves upon 
 , the world, as men of superior wisdom and vir° 
 tue — who can rise on the ruins of truth— = 
 become celebrated by prostrating the noblest 
 faculties of man — and by shutting the door to 
 investigation, efieftually guard against an 
 exposure of their villainies. Let them take 
 pleasure in contemplating Egyptian science and 
 splendor, or Babylonish magnificence ,*-Let 
 ahem forget the proud trophies of American 
 patriotism, valor, and science, which in thirty 
 years, has lifted a few weak and divided colonifSj * 
 
— 52 
 
 from the lap of igacrancc and despotism, to the 
 rank of Freemen, and the foremost seats in the 
 Temple of Science, -to wander in the ^classic 
 fields of Greece, and Rome, and there repose 
 wiih unsatiated deligh!:, and undiscerning vene- 
 ration, upon the monuments of Grecian and 
 Roman arts and sciences, and undisturbed en- 
 joy the gratification of eulogizing their poet', 
 orator?, and philosphers — of admiring their 
 Jaws, customs and manners. Let them deplore, 
 that the splendid eras of a Pericles, and August- 
 us, arc past — that no Phidias or Correggio exisf, 
 t© give to the marble and canvas, animation and 
 life — yet, let them reflect, that amidbt this 
 blaze of science, a great part of the people were 
 in the most abject state of ignorance and 
 wretchedness; incapable of judging of its utility, 
 or appreciating its worth. 
 
 It is the boast of every genuine American, 
 that in his country alone, science has become 
 subservient to public utility, the handmaid of 
 yirtue, the promoter of sound morality, and 
 the bestower of public and private happiness. 
 That it is not here a transient blaze, that bright- 
 ens along the path of adulation, or illumes the 
 road ot despotism — that polishes the chains of 
 the despot, and renders his subjeds the more 
 
53— 
 willing vi(^iin3 — 'but that it sprea-Jb Its banquet 
 to all, and invites them to become nartakeis — 
 that ilkc the ele£lric spr.rk, it shoots throue'i 
 every msmbtir of our political bcAy, givinp; 
 health and vigor to the whole — penetrates the 
 veil of life, relieves despairing distress and suffer- 
 ing virtue — removes the rtil of ignorance, from 
 the indigent, and becomes si main pillar in the 
 Fabiic of Freedom. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
A HYMN, 
 
 For TUE 4th of ivzr, 1806. 
 
 BT M. SBLDEN. 
 
 Tunc— ik/btt«/ yeiMon, 
 
 — <y"^ — 
 
 TO GOD, our sovereign Lord, m'c raisr, 
 
 The loudest aiilhems of our praise, 
 
 And all his wond'rous dealings tell : 
 Who taught our fathers to withstand 
 Their foes, subdue and till the land, 
 And here in peace securely dwell. 
 
 He made their flocks and herds increase^— 
 Their friends had rest — their children peace^^^ 
 
 He made their corn and wine o'erfiow ; 
 The rarest sweets of distant shores, 
 Were safciy wafted to their doors. 
 
 And blessings crown'd their toils belowr. 
 
 But wicked men, who pined to see, 
 Their neighbors ha/ijiy^ blesi^ and free^ 
 
 Beheld our sires with envious eye ; 
 Their fleets and armies cross'd the waves. 
 To conquer, spoil, and make them slaves, 
 
 And drench the land in crimson dye. 
 
 Then heaven-born freedom fired the soul, 
 They stood unmov'd above control, 
 
 And dar'd the champions to the field ; 
 He taught their hands with dreadful might, 
 To aim the deathful javelin right — 
 
 And make the murd'rous minions yield. 
 
 It 
 
55- 
 
 Then iNDifEWDENci, babe of Heav'n, 
 The choicest good tO mortals giv'n, 
 
 Was iuirs*d in youthful robes, and hlest ^ 
 The JftfantgttWy in love with men — 
 Our God vouchsaf'd htu watchful ken — 
 
 And ev'iy age the youth garest. 
 
 The aged worshiped near the shrine, 
 'With sacred gifts — and songs divir.e — 
 
 And pour'd the rich libations forth — 
 'While shouting millions rais'd the vi>icc — 
 Ti)' immortal offspring was their choice-— 
 
 Far from tl>c souihward to the riorti*. 
 
 rFair P€acei desccnded-from above, 
 And bade the slaughtering foe remove— 
 
 Their hostile bands re-cross'd the main,^ 
 She hover'd o'er her infant brood, 
 Attended ev«jy step with good, 
 
 And all the land had rest from pain. 
 
 The aris and sciences prevail'd— - 
 The deep arcana was assailed — 
 
 Discoveries bade the leaves unroi : 
 When Man is free, bis soul's inclin'd 
 As much to aid the human mind, 
 
 As the touch'd needle seeks the pole, 
 
 T\\% /tarty tool^ the crouching slave^ 
 The king^ the lord^ and princely knave, 
 
 Are ieagu'd, at war with every good j 
 Their sordid vicws---their mean piirouit?^ 
 ■Debases men below the brutes. 
 
 And robs the toihorrie hand; of ioo/j.- 
 
—56 
 
 The wretch, who dar'd to rob the shrine, 
 InscribM " 7» Liberty divine^** 
 
 Shall be accurst---his name shall rot-— 
 And all x.htfc'w his rank! caa boast, 
 S!:all seek Oblivion's haggard coasr, 
 
 III gloomy silence lie lorgot. 
 
 But wc will praise th' Almighty Thou, 
 Who broke the snare, and Itt us through— 
 
 And made the wily Towler flee : 
 And call'd his favori'tC Son*" to reign, 
 Ove;- the fertile, vast domain 
 
 O/ those, who nobly would be free. 
 
 I.c* ev'.-y voice with loud acclaim. 
 Join \u\\ to laud Qxn Maker's name; 
 
 His love, to ail the nations tell ;— 
 Tliat ev'ry peoJiUy sea, and land^ 
 Tic sweets of peace may soon command, 
 
 And Independence with them dvvell. 
 
 * Ml. JlFFERtON. 
 
 Ri)~ 1^ 
 

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