3- f • ^Q•ni THE DIVINE RIGHT OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. A SERMON DELIVERED IN WHARTON STREET METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SABBATH, MAY ii, 1861. BY THE PASTOR, Rev. G. D. CARROW. PUBLISHED BY UNANIMOUS REQUEST OF THE CONGREGATION, Note. — Tlie discriminating reader will at once perceive that the following sermon vras made to be preached, not printed. '• Why, then, did the Author print it? " Because, his Congregation reqnested him to do go, and would take no denial. Co C^^ li '^ PHILADELPHIA: FROM BRYSON'S CALORIC POWER PRINTING ROOMS, No. 2 North Sixth Street. 18G1. 'Vw^ •C3 A SERMON. THE DIVINE RIGHT OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. Isaiah 1st chap. 2d v. — " Hear, heavens, and give ear, earth : for the Lord hath spoken : I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me." The history of tlie Jewish people, as contained in the Old Tes- tament, furnishes very many and very striking illustrations of the great truth that Divine Providence interferes with the affairs of individuals and nations. Indeed, the historical books of the Old Testament are literally crowded with the facts of Providen- tial oversight and interposition. The chief purpose of God, in his special dealings toward that people, was to make them the Depository of true religion, first, for their own advantage, and ultimately for the enlightenment and salvation of the whole human race. It was in accordance with this purpose, that they received favors innumerable and incomparable, justifying the grateful boast of their royal Bard and Prophet when he exclaimed, " He hath not dealt so with any nation, and as for his judgments, they have not known them." In the text, the Prophet appeals to this distinguishing care of the Infinite Providence in his loftiest strain : " Hear, heavens, and give ear, earth, for the Lord hath spoken ; I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me." In this sublime appeal, the Prophet intimates what Jesus, long centuries afterwards, ex- pressly declared in these words : " Where much is given, much will also be required." At present, there are no inspired men to announce the pur- poses of God, as did the Hebrew Prophets, or to record the facts of His providence, as did the Old Testament historians. But it requires not the eye of immediate inspiration to see and record that the care of Divine Providence, in a marked, pre-eminent degree, has been exercised over this nation, from the birth of its first child, to that of the last of its thirty millions of people. Firmly convinced of this, I shall proceed to apply the text to the American people, as it was applied to the JeAvish people by the God-imnointed Prophet. And O, that lie who touched Isaiah's hallowed lips with fire, might touch my heart, and inspire my tongue! "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me." In their present application, these words suggest the following propositions — God has cared for the American people, as a father cares for his children — Kebellion against the American government, is rebellion against God. I. God has caeed foe the American people, as a father CARES FOE HIS CHILDREN. — This proposition needs no further proof, or illustration, than is to be found in the inheritance with which he has endowed them — his interposition in their favor at the most critical and decisive periods of their history, and the government which he has established for the security of their rights and the promotion of their happiness. These facts, seve- rally, are so comprehensive and full of matter, that a mere allu- sion, rather than an extended amplification, is all that can be attempted in the present discourse. 1. We establish and illustrate the internal care of God over the American ^people hy the inheritance with lohich he has endowed them. — Considering all the resources and advantages of this inheritance, it may be regarded as the richest and best that has ever fallen to the lot of a single nation. Would you survey the extent of it ? Put your finger upon the atlas or globe, and trace its limits. You will see that it lies between the twenty-fourth and the forty-ninth parallels of north latitude — that it measures north and south nearly two thousand, east and west nearly three thousand — and that it includes an area of two million nine hundred and sixty- three thousand six hundred and sixty-six square miles. Within this vast range of territory there is almost every variety of cli- mate that exists upon the face of the globe. In the north and east, there is the keen, bracing temperature of protracted winter, with its hoards of frost, ice, and snow. In the central portions there are brief extremes of temperature, with long intervals of moderate heat, cold, and teeming showers. From the Avestward slopes of the Kocky Mountains to the verdant plains of the Pacific coast, perpetual mildness reigns. Along the Atlantic seaboard, and the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, tropical thunders rend the sky — tropical rains drench the soil — tropical sunshine matures the snowy cotton, and ripens the golden orange — and upon all the scene, arrayed in beauty, ami rich in stores of luxui'y — the soft, transparent heaven of the tropics, looks down with beaming smiles. There is no temperature, necessary for the purposes of health or pleasure, which the American citizen may not find within the limits of his native land. The piercing, raw, frosty, savage clime of the New Englander, threatens him with consumption and early death. To escape the doom, he crosses over into Florida — lingers for a season among the vines and orange groves of St. Augus- tine — and with his lungs soothed and healed, goes back to the embraces of his family — goes back to post the heavy Ledgers of the counting-room, or to guide the whirling spindles, or to wield the pen that is to charm the thoughtful reader, and write for immortality the author's name. The Southerner, enervated, and with seeds of yellow fever in his system, retreats, as the sun of the tropics advances ; and on the banks of the Hudson — the shore of the sea — the margin of the great lakes — in the shadows of the White Mountains — in Niagara's awful presence — he seeks the remedies which infallible Nature provides, and returns to his home a new man, as the first winds of autumn whisper gently through his latticed win- dow, and die in low murmurs mid the groves of the palm. As to the productions of this inheritance, what is there for manufacture — for domestic consumption, or foreign exportation, that is not here to be found? Here is ice to prepare and pre- serve all delicate viands — to cool the fevered brow — to comfort the weary sufferer through long days and sleepless nights of dis- ease and pain — granite to pave highways for the busy feet of mil- lions — marble to rear temples for the living God — gold to dimin- ish the charms of beauty, and to make coins for domestic circula- tion or foreign exchanges — lead to convey water to the homely kitchen, or the luxurious bath, to be wrought into cheap toys for the poor man's children, or moulded into bullets to vindicate the honor of the national flag, and to carry the nation's just retribution straight through the hearts of its enemies — fuel, in exhaustless supplies, to soften the rigors of the northern winter, and generate the prolific powers of steam — iron to build houses for great cities — navies for the ocean — to make tracks for the swift-footed engine, and tongues for the mysterious lightnirfgs of Grod — timber for the ordinary purposes of domestic conveni- 6 ence, and the ornate designs of the parlor and the bed-chamber bread to strengthen man's heart — wine to cheer his fainting- spirits— on to make his face to shine— all luxuries of the animal and vegetable kingdoms to meet the demands of rational plea- sure, or to tempt a morbid appetite, and ensnare more deeply a wandering soul. And, whenever we cannot import them cheaper, we shall cultivate the tea of China — spin the silks of Europe and the East — breed the goats of Thibet, and weave the shawls of Cashmere. Look again over the scene of this brief survey — from the pine forests which skirt the great northern lakes to the palm groves that fringe the margin of the southern sea — from the slopes of the Alleghanies to the basin of the Mis- sissippi — from the peaks of the Eocky Mountains to the blue line of the Pacific Ocean, — and your eye will rest satisfied, that it is indeed, a rich, vast, magnificent heritage. Here is room for national expansion. Here may be found supplies commensurate with the wants of millions, multiplied till the hour that shall seal the destinies of the race. Endowed with such a heritage, how complete and impregnable is the basis of the nation's indepen- dence ! Sometimes it is asked, and with an air of grave signifi- cance, " if our government should adopt such a measure, or such a measure, what would France and England say ? If all rebel ports should be blockaded, will England consent to forego the supplies that she has heretofore drawn from our cotton fields ? " To all such questions as these the true Patriot has but a single question to ask, and a single answer to give in return. Is our government right — is its action based upon the constitution and the laws ? If it is, neither England, nor France, nor any other power, shall deter it from the pursuit of its chosen line of policy. Standing here, we shall presume to mind our own business, in our own constitutional and legal way, and shall alike defy the do- mestic traitor and the foreign foe. The character of the heritage which God has given to the American people, makes them inde- pendent of every other power in the universe save his own, and if the continents of the Old World, with all their ricketty despot- isms were submerged in the depths of the sea, they could live and flourish just as well without them. A. And now turn we again, for one moment, to the geography of this inheritance, and we shall see that it ivas evidently designed by Providence for the occupation of one people. For two reasons we we could not, if we would, divide this nation. First, the prece- dent of division once fully establisliecl, would in time lead to other divisions and sub-divisions, and ultimately to the extinc- tion of the national existence. Secondly, the natural outlets for the national productions must be kept open. The people of the southern States that have seceded, and those who would like to secede, inflamed and infatuated by a wretched class of lying, dis- appointed demagogues, say that they dislike, and even hate their own kindred of the loyal States, and neither can nor will longer be united with them in the same political bonds. Surely this is a terrible sentiment ! Surely there is no true Patriot in the loyal States, who does not deplore with real heart-pains, this state of feeling in his misguided kindred of the south ! But, we cannot help it. We protest, notwithstanding, the intemperate zeal of certain individuals against the peculiar institution of the south, that we are not responsible for it. And considering the inevitable anarchy and ruin that would lurk in the first precedent of divi- sion, and the geographical structure of our common inheritance, we declare to our disloyal brethren of the south, you must live with us — there is no help for it — our present necessities, and our future destiny as a nation, alike demand it, and we hope that you will soon see this to be the case, as we see it, and conclude to sub- mit to it in a better state of mind. We could say to Maryland and Virginia, we have no need of you. We will therefore take down the monument which comme- morates the gallant deeds of our patriot fathers in Baltimore, and remove the hallowed remains of immortal Washington from Mount Vernon, and let you go. We could say to North Carolina, we have pine forests of our own, from which to manufacture pine boards, pitch, and turpentine. We will therefore treasure up the fact, that upon your soil was pronounced the first declaration of independence, and let you go. We could say to South Carolina, your rice and cotton are not indispensable. We will therefore reclaim the sacred dust of Jackson's mother, and the Parish Ee- gister that contains the record of Jackson's birth, and let you go. We could say to Louisiana — though our federal money bought you, when you were the beautiful slave of despotic France, and we arc justly entitled to the revenue produced by your cane fields. we can do without it, and can afford to import sugar from the West India Islands. We will, therefore, take from your dis- honored brow the diadem of the battle of ISTew Orleans, set it by the side of that of Chippewa in the crown of the nation's glory, and let you go. Traitors, as you are, you may, branded with the infamy of treason, together go about your business, and descend to receive the just reproaches of this and every other nation of freemen beneath the sun. The genius that framed the Federal Constitution — that invented the steam engine and the telegraphic wires, and that won great victories upon land and sea, could easily maintain all the arts of peace, and achieve the most glorious triumphs of war. Pennsylvania is a great empire. New York is a great empire. Massachusetts is greater than all. If, therefore, we could cut straight through this solid continent, and set you all afloat upon the bosom of the North Atlantic, we would do it, rather than draw the sword against brethren, whose fathers, with naked and bleeding feet, followed Washington to victory, and under Jackson revived the proud memories of Saratoga and York- town. But the continent defies our will and power. It must stand just as God made it, from everlasting to everlasting. And so long as Maryland guards the mouth of the Chesapeake — so long as Virginia and North Carolina front upon the Atlantic sea- board — so long as Florida and Alabama overlook the Gulf of Mexico — so long as Mississippi and Tennessee command the banks, and Louisiana closes the mouth of the "Father of Wa- ters" — just so long must those national highways and harbors be kept open and free, and the Star-spangled Banner shall float triumphant over the harbor of Boston and the bay of Mobile. 2. We again establish and illustrate the iKdemal care of Ood over the American people, hj his interposition in their favor, at the most critical and decisive periods of their history. The American people have not an ancient and venerable history. Yet, though brief and recent is their story, it is great and marvellous, and is distin- guished chiefly, by two critical and decisive periods — when, if events had taken a different turn, they never would have been what they are, or never been at all. The first of these periods is that which was covered by the French and English war of sevcnteen-fifty-five, and sixty. That war involved a stubborn contest for supremacy upon this conti- 9 nent, between a great despotic Catholic Monarchy, and a great Constitutional, Protestant Monarchy. If France had triumphed in that contest, and extended her views of civil and Ecclesiastical polity over these fair lands, there would have been no burning of the Stamp Act — no Tea party in Boston harbof^no declaration of rights in Independence Hall — no battle of Lexington and Con- cord — no defeat at Brandywine — no victory at Yorktown. But France did not triumph. He who reads the history rightly, will learn that Providence had pre-ordained her defeat in battle, and the consequent loss of her American colonies. God stretched forth his arm in favor of the embattled hosts of a people whose civil rights had for centuries been guarantied by the Great Char- ter, and whose hearts were deeply imbued with the doctrines, and the spirit of His uncorrupted word. That moment, on the Heights of Abraham, when Wolfe expired in the arms of victory, French despotism, and French popery, on this continent, received their doom. Wolfe's last victory was the natural antecedent of Washington's first ; and the providential establishment of British supremacy on this continent, in seventeen hundred and sixty, led to the establishment of the independent nationality of the Ameri- can people, in seventeen hundred and eighty-three. Though Divine Providence could, he does not usually accomplish his great purposes by a single stroke of his Alniighty hand. He rather moves gradually toward the ends which his wisdom has pre-determined ; and it was in accordance with this method, that the subjects of a Constitutional Monarchy triumphed in seventeen hundred and sixty, that a national Ptepublic might be born in seventeen hundred and seventy-six, and adopted into the great family of nations in seventeen hundred and eighty-three. The second critical and decisive period in the history of the American people, is that which stood between the first gun fired at Lexington, and the last one fired at Yorktown. The American people have not studied the history of that momentous period with sufficient care. It ought to have greater prominence in American school-rooms. And if American Christians would more thoroughly regard it, their increased attention to, and inte- rest in it, would at the same time increase their patriotic devo- tion, and their faith in the providence of God. For, as surely as there was ever a providence over any people, was tliere a provi- 10 dence over the American people during the years of their great struggle for freedom and national independence. As surely as God was in the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, that guided and saved the hosts of Israel, so surely was He in the cabinet i|f councils, the tented fields, the toilsome marches, and bloody battles, which marked the revolutionary career of our patriotic, gallant, and noble sires. It has always seemed to me, that the man who repudiates this truth, is no better than an Atheist, and is unworthy the honors of American citizenship, and the blessings of American freedom and civilization. But to refresh our memories, and confirm our faith, let us glance at some of the incidents of the period in question, which establish and illustrate the fact of Providential interference in behalf of the founders of this great Republic. First of all — when God would bring a new nation into being, he removes the obstacles to its conception, and prepares the way for its birth. In the History of England, we find the traces of these preparatory steps of the providence Divine. At the outbreak of the quarrel between the parent government and her colonies, William Pitt, great Earl of Chatham, was Minister of War, and the greatest war minister in the world. But the British King, Council, and Parliament, under an infatuation, that could have been nothing short of a Divine judgment, pursued obstinately and blindly such a course of oppo- sition to the views of Pitt, as compelled that gifted and haughty minister to resign his place, and drove him into support of the colonial cause. At the same juncture, Lord Clive, founder of the British empire in the East Indies, and the greatest captain in the world, broke down under an accumulation of diseases, and in a fit of melancholy, cut short his eventful life, with his own hand. Now, had Pitt remained in office to provide the materiel of war, and had Clive lived to command the armies, the struggle of the colonists must have failed. But by the resignation of the one, and the death of the other, God removed the opponents, who could have subdued the patriots by concession and conciliation, or put them down by the power of the sword. It is not sufficient , however, that the site be prepared on which the national edifice is to stand. Every nation to be newly con- structed, requires a Chief Architect. It is not sufficient that God gives to men the bravo heart, the strona; wi]], and tlic vioforous 11 arm. Every nation that is to bo made free, every war for liurnan rights, must have its Chief, all-conquering Captain. And now, we shall need nothing more on this part of the subject, if we will carefully note some of the marked instances of providential inter- ference in the training and preservation of the man, who was ordained of God, for the high purpose of conferring national existence and independence upon the American people. Mark we first, the presence of a Guardian Angel on the memorable day of Braddock's defeat, near Fort DuKane. On that fatal day, Washington served on Braddock's staff. After the General- in-Chief had been mortally wounded, and all the other officers of his staff had been disabled or struck down, young Washington conducted the retreat, and by his presence of mind and skillful movements, saved the broken and routed forces of his King from total destruction. That day an Indian Chief, covered his body with his deadly rifle seventeen times, and each time the ball was turned aside from the fatal line. Well might the savage ex- claim — " Some great Spirit protects him, and he is not to die by mortal hand." Why not'r' Because he was providentially re- served for the day when he should return to the nation the sword that had won its independence, and raised it to an exalted seat among the powers of the earth. Mark we again, the patriot army's escape after its signal defeat in the battle of Long Island. The King's forces well-sustained in that battle the old renown which their ancestors had won under Eugene of Savoy, and the great Duke of Marlborough. At all points, the patriots were beaten. It was to no purpose that the Maryland and Delaware line, led on by Hazlett and Smallwood, performed prodigies of valor. The defeat was regarded as total by the British General. And hemmed in all round, as were the patriot forces, the con- queror stationed his pickets and waited for the morning, sure that he would seize the Rebel Chiefs, and crush the rebellion for- ever. But in the still hours of that awful night, Washington collected the remnants of his troops — broken and bleeding — arranged his tents and baggage, and at a few hundred paces from the British sentinels, began his retreat. Standing in person at the point of embarkation, he watched with anxiety, which we may imagine, but can never know, each boat as it receded from the shore, till all bad passed over. Then he followed with his 12 staff; and as the first rays of the morning sun kissed the cheek of the placid waters, all were again united beyond the reach of danger. The momentous prize had escaped the British chief- tain's hand. Verily there is not a more marked providence in the whole Bible. Verily that was a providence, amounting to a miracle. Verily the Angel of God must have closed the avenues of sound in all the surrounding air, during that night, so big with events involving the safety of the patriots, and the salvation of their country. Eemarking upon this circumstance, says Mr. Irving in his Life of Washington, — "Never did retreat require greater secrecy aud circumspection. Nine thousand men with all the munitions of war, were to be withdrawn from before a victorious army, encamped so near, that every stroke of spade and pick-axe from their trenches could be heard. The retreating troops, moreover, were to be embarked and conveyed across a strait three-quarters of a mile wide, swept by rapid tides. The least alarm of their movement would bring the enemy upon them, and produce a terrible scene of carnage and confusion at the place of embarkation. Many who considered the variety of risks and dangers which surrounded the camp, and the apparently fortuitous circumstances which averted them all, were disposed to attribute the safe retreat of the patriot army to a peculiar yrovidencer Mark we yet another instance of providential interference. On the day of the battle of Brandywine. at early dawn, a horse- man from the American lines was reconnoitering, and came unexpectedly so near upon a British sentinel as to be within certain, point blank range of his fire. In an instant, the horse- man wheeled upon his track, and the sentinel as quickly drew his musket upon him. The horseman looked over his shoulder at him, — saying not a word — and the sentinel withdrew his aim. The horseman, still looking over his shoulder, slightly quickened the pace of his steed. The sentinel again brought his musket to his shoulder, and again let it fall upon his arm. The horseman was still within easy range, when the sentinel, the third time, lifted his musket to his shoulder, but strangely as it may seem, the third time let it fall, and stood looking at the receding stranger. A moment more, and the horseman, rising in his stirrups, lifted his hat to the sentinel and rode away. Why did 13 he reserve his fire ? Because it was the same man of whom the Indian Chief declared, twenty years before, that he was not to die by mortal hand. It was Washington, bearing the hopes of his country, and encircled with the arms of Almighty God. A skeptic will sneer at these incidents, and attempt their explana- tion upon principles, to which, if they give him any comfort, he is heartily welcome. But every mind that is guided by right reason, will interpret them as proofs of a special, divine protec- tion over the heads of those whom God selects for the accom- plishment of his extraordinary purposes. AYe might multiply these instances of providential interposition, for they continued to transpire throughout the entire period of the war of inde- pendence. But, what has been advanced may be fairly deemed sufficient for the present purpose. 3. Finally^ we establish and illustrate the 23Cite7')ial care of God over the American people, by a brief allusion to the history and char- acter of the government, which he has established for the security of their rights and the promotion of their happiness. — During the darkest days of the struggle for independence, the patriots felt that union was indispensable to victory. Influenced by this conviction, the delegates of the thirteen States, in Congress assembled, on the fifteenth of November, seventeen seventy- seven, agreed to certain articles of confederation and perpetual union between the States. That confederation framed by Con- gress, in the City of Philadelphia, was ratified by the same body, in the same city, on the ninth of July, seventeen seventy-eight, after having been submitted to the consideration of the several Legislatures of the States. Article II, of that confederation, is as follows : " Each State retains its sovereignty^ freedom and independence, and every power, jurisdiction and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United States in Congress assembled." Article YIII. is as follows : " All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common defence or general welfare, and allowed by the United States in Congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasur}^, which shall be supplied by the several States, in proportion to the value of all land within each State, granted to or surveyed for any person, as such land, and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estimated according to such mode as the United States in Congress assembled, shall 14 from tiiue to time direct ami appoint. The taxes for paying that pro- portion, shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the Legislatures of the several States within the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled." Article XIII. is as follows : " Every State shall abide by the determinations of the United States in Congress assembled, on all questions which by this confederation is submitted to them. And the Articles of this confederation shall be in- violably observed by every State, and the union shall he jJerj^etitcd ; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them, unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by the Legislatures of every State." We cite these Articles, to show you how vain were the noble intentions, how impossible the patriotic hopes of the authors, under the system of government which they had adopted. In the second Article, each State retained its sovereignty, and might upon the occurrence of an exigency, deemed sufficient, nullify the enactments or withdraw the powers which it had delegated to the confederate government. The eighth Article provided that Congress should contract expenses for the maintenance of the "common defence," and the promotion of the "general welfare," but assigned their payment to a common treasury to be supplied by the States, in pursuance of the votes of their respec- tive Legislatures. But in case a State Legislature should disap- prove an act of the confederate government, and refuse to levy taxes for the payment of expenses incurred in pursuance thereof, there Avas no provision in the Articles of confederation by which such refractory State could be compelled to meet its obligations. Again, Article second and Article thirteenth, might easily be so construed as to be brought into direct conflict. Article thirteenth provided that the authority of the National Coagress should in certain cases, be absolute and final, and that the union should be perpetual, but, while by Article second each State retained its sovereignty, the decrees respecting the authority of Congress and the perpetuity of the union, set forth in Article thirteenth, were not worth the paper on Avhich they were written. No one can carefully read this instrument, produced by the patriot legislators in their first attempt to create a system of national government, and not perceive that in the total absence of precedents, it was impossible for them to complete their great task, without addi- 15 tional observation and experience. What they conceived and ordained, was a union without the power of self-preservation — a confederate system, whose laws depended for enforcement upon the will and pleasure of the individual States, and which in con- sequence, might be taken to pieces at any moment. The con- federacy served very well as a bond of union, and of concerted action, while the States were under the pressure of a common danger. But as soon as the war was over, and the fear of subju- gation was gone, it was found to be totally inadequate to the original design of its authors. And here permit me to remark, that if the secessionists of this day would candidly read that period of our history, which transpired between the close of the revolutionary war, and the adoption of our present Constitution, they could no longer honestly accept Mr. Calhoun as an inter- preter of the theory of our federal government. I have said that the confederate system was found to be totally inadequate to the purposes of national union, harmony, and prosperity. No leading man who had observed its practical workings, was more sensible of that fact than Washington. " I have ever," said he, " been a friend to adequate power in Congress, without which, it is evident to me, we never shall establish a national character, or be considered as on a respectable footing by the powers of Europe. We are either a united people under one head, and for federal purposes, or we are thirteen independent sovereignties, eternally counteracting each other. If the former, whatever such a majority of the States as the confederation points out, con- ceives to be for the benefit of the whole, should, in my humble opinion, be submitted to by the minority. I can foresee no evil greater than disunion." In reply to Mr. Jay on the same subject, he said — "We have errors to correct. We have probably had too good an opinion of human nature in forming our confederation. Experience has taught us that men will not adopt and carry into execution measures best calculated for their own good, with- out the intervention of coercive power. I do not conceive we can exist long as a nation, without lodging, somewhere, a power which will pervade the whole Union, in as energetic a manner, as the authority of the State governments extends over the several States. To be fearful of investing Congress, constituted as that body is, with ample authority for national purposes, appears to 16 me the very climax of popular absurdity and madness. Could Congress exert them for the detriment of the people, without injuring themselves in an equal or greater proportion? Are not their interests inseparably connected with those of their constitu- ents ? His former aide-de-camp, Col. Humphreys, wrote to him as follows ; "A general want of compliance with the requisitions of Congress, for money, seems to prognosticate that we are rapidly advancing to a crisis. Congress, I am told, are seriously alarmed, and hardly know which way to turn, or what to expect. Indeed, my dear General, nothing but a good Providence can extricate us from the present convulsion." Close upon the receipt of this letter came intelligence, that certain parties in Massachusetts, were arrayed in open rebellion against the government. " What, gra- cious God," exclaimed Washington, writing to General Knox, " is man, that there should be such inconsistency and perfidious- ness in his conduct ! I feel, infinitely more than I can express to you, for the disorders which have arisen in these States. Good God ! Avho, besides a Tory, could have foreseen, or a Briton pre- dicted them ? I do assure you that, even at this moment, when I reflect upon the present prospect of our affairs, it seems to me to be like the vision of a dream." To James Madison he wrote in the same strain. " How melancholy is the reflection, that in so short a time, we should have made such large strides toward fulfilling the predictions of our transatlantic foes ! ' Leave them to themselves, and their government will soon dissolve ! ' Will not the wise and good strive hard to avert this evil ? Or will their suppineness suffer ignorance, and the arts of self-interested and designing, disaffected and desperate characters, to involve this great country in wretchedness and contempt ? What stronger evidence can he given of the loant of energy in our government than these disorders? If there is not power in it to check them, what security has man for life, libert}^, or property ? Thirteen sove- reignties pulling against each other, and all tugging at the federal head, will soon bring ruin on the whole; whereas, a liberal and energetic constitution, well checked and well watched, to prevent encroachments, might restore us to that degree of respectability and consequence to which we had the fairest prospect of attain- ing." Such was the practical result of State sovereignty — such the sorry pass to which it brought tlie country in three short 17 years after tbe recoguitiou of its iudependeuce. It was clearly seen that the government instituted by the articles of confedera- tion was nothing but a rope of sand. Then arose the momen- tous necessity of constructing a new government. The great problem to be solved was that of a government, investing the federal authorities with power sufficient to preserve the States from anarchy and self-destruction — and at the same time invest- ing the States with such prerogatives as would effectually check the federal authority, and prevent it from the assumption and exercise of the powers of a despotism. This, too, is to be considered, the statesman upon whom devolved the task of a reconstruction of the federal system, were required to work without models. Neither the Eepublics of Greece and Rome, nor those of the Middle Ages, furnished any thing to their pur- pose. But without precedents, they were capable of originating a system, worthy of being regarded as a precedent in all future time. They were not profound dreamers — not metaphysicians merely, but richly endowed with the keenest logic of common sense, and the highest attributes of practical wisdom. They had given the federal sj'-stem of seventy-seven a fair trial, and it had proved to be the constitution of a debating society rather than the constitution of a government. The convention, consisting of delegates from all the States, assembled in Philadelphia, on the 25th of May, seventeen hun- dred and eighty-seven. Washington, by a unanimous vote, was chosen to preside over its deliberations. Prominent among the members, were Adams, Jay, Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and Franklin. It may well be doubted whether any previous legisla- tive Assembly had ever contained an equal amount of talent and patriotism, and whether in these respects it will ever be surpassed by any that remain to be convened from the generations of the future. Various were the opinions entertained by the lagisla- tors, varied the interests which they represented, but the grand motive v/as the same in every heart. Looking away from them- selves, and looking at their country — passing in their noble thoughts beyond their present crisis, and extending their calcula- tions into the distant future, their single aim was to frame a sys- tem of government, that would most certainly guard all the rights and interests of the existing moment, and perpetuate to the latest 18 posterity the liberties that bad been so dearly and gallantly won. Four months were spent in deliberation. The result was the present Constitution of the United States. I have but three remarks to make upon this accomplished work of those immortal men. First, under the confederate system, it was expressly pro- vided that the Union should be 'perpetual^ and yet, the constitution was designed to form a more j>e?/ec/! union. Secondly, the delegates who framed the constitution regarded themselves as the represen- tatives and servants of the American people. Thirdly, the con- stitution thus formed was submitted to the people for their ratifi- cation. The preamble to the instrument itself tells the whole great story in a few lines : " We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to our- selves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." In this constitution, we have the result of the profoundest wisdom, and the most exalted patriotism ; and it will be entirely appropriate to the view main- tained throughout this discourse, to introduce Washington's reflections upon the joint labors of himself and his distinguished compatriots. " We may," said he, " with pious and grateful exultation, trace the finger of Providence through those dark and mysterious events, which first induced the States to appoint a general convention, and then led them, one after another, by such steps as were best calculated to effect the object, into an adoption of the system recommended by the general convention ; thereby in all human probability, laying a lasting foundation for tranquility and happiness, when we had but too much reason to fear, that confusion and misery were coming rapidly upon us." Washington believed that the federal government was organized under the immediate superintendence of God, and so in the name of God let it stand forever ! The people of the United States, as Washington believed, and as we believe, guided by Divine Providence, made the federal government. It follows, therefore, that the people only, convened in national convention, can abolish it, and substitute another form of government in its place. They may, as the primary, and supreme source of all political power, modify, or abolish the present government, and adopt in its stead, 19 a constitutional monarchy, or an absolute despotism. As long as they refuse to do this, there is no power that can break the bonds of the federal government, but the power of a revolution. In this view of the case, if the southern chiefs had disclaimed all constitutional right to secede, and appealing to the sword, had fallen back upon the inherent and inalienable right of men to rebel against a government, which they disapprove and abhor, they would have been consistent, and making good their purpose of resistance, would have been entitled to recognition as an inde- pendent nation. But, when they talk of doing in separate State con- ventions, what can only be done in a joint convention of all the States, and proceed to maintain their action by an appeal to arms, they are adjudged guilty of the blackest treason, by every man who forms an honest opinion, from a correct apprehension of the true theory of the federal government. Of the character of the constitution itself, it does not come within the range of our purpose to speak, further than to say, that the distribution of State and federal prerogatives, was wisely adapted to the fact that the States could best provide for certain local wants within their respective bounds, and the United States could best provide for the harmony, protection, and general wel- fare of the whole country. The line of distinction between State and federal powers is very clearly drawn in the constitution. And if the citizen correctly understands and wisely choses his ground, no power on earth can touch him. Should Congress pass a hiw, infringing upon the rights of a State, the citizen's appeal would be to the Supreme Court, and with a decision pronounced in his favor, should the federal government attempt to coerce him, open resistance to the last extremity, would be his sacred privilege and duty. On the other hand, should the Legislature of a State enact a law, in conflict with a law of Congress, the appeal would be to the same tribunal, as in the case first supposed, and the decision rendered against the State enactment, the fede- ral government would be bound to say to all citizens, pleading the authority of such a law — we regard you in this matter, not as citizens of a particular State, but as citizens of the United States, bound in this case to render obedience to the federal laws, made under the solemn sanction of the national constitu- tion. Framed in this way, our constitution has been regarded by the best and wisest men of foreign nations, as the most per- 20 feet pieee of politieal ecouomy ever devised by man. The fact is, as we have seen, the men who made it, believed themselves to be encharged with a sacred duty for the benefit of posterity in their own and other countries, and to be standing face to face with God, as did Moses, on Sinai's flaming mount. And now, be it observed that a government, for whose origin is claimed the interposition of a divine providence, may justly be expected to confer pre-eminent privileges upon its subjects. If this test be applied to the federal government of these United States, its claims to providential interference and approbation, and its de- mands upon the life-long gratitude and supreme reverence of its citizens, will be established beyond those of any other govern- ment that has ever existed in this world. It guarantees equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Under its just, equal, generous, inspiring sway ; genius, talent, and industry, never fail to receive suitable acknowledgment and remuneration. If under its administration a citizen amounts to nothing, he ought not to complain, for it is verily because there is nothing in him. We have seen marvels of progress and improvement under its fostering care, that were little short of miracles. That magni- ficent mansion yonder, with its ample grounds and princely fur- niture, is the property of a man who was once a bare-footed boy in these streets. The dome of yon proud Capitol, o'erlooking the banks of the Potomac, has echoed to the utterances of the eloquent tongue, whoso infant wails were hushed beneath the humble roof of a forest cabin, or in the naked room that flanks the narrow lane of the city's poor. The passage has been from the door of the church's charity to the hallowed sway of the Bishop's mitre, and from the handles of the plow to the desk of the statesman. This moment, two men stand conspicuously be- fore the eyes oC this nation, as illustrations of the equal justice and beneficence of its government. I allude to them not to compare them. God forbid that I should pollute and dishonor the one by the contact of comparison with the other. They arc Abraham Lincoln and Alexander H. Stephens, Under any other government, Mr. Lincoln would never have been known beyond a narrow circle of honest neighbors on our Western frontier. Under any other government, Mr. Stephens would never have occupied a scat in the national Legislature, and the fountains of 21 genius and eloquence which unquestionably exist within him, would have remained sealed forever. Whatever their political leaders may be, it is no matter of surprise that the American people are loyal to their government, and ready to pour out the last drop of their blood in defence of its sacred claims. It is their government that secures and gives value to their other blessings. Without this, notwithstanding their inheritance, so rich and vast, they Avould still be poor in the midst of plenty. Without this, the proud records of their past history, would soon be converted into reproaches, and would by very contrast, make more despic- able, the weakness and ingratitude, the shame and dishonor of a people, who had proved themselves so utterly unworthy of the divine call to be great and free. II. Eebellion against the American Government is Ee- BELLION against God. — This second proposition naturally arises out of the first. The paternal care of God exercised over the country from the beginning — displayed in the most critical junctures of our history — and so manifestly present in the forma- tion of our government, sets to the Constitution of these United States, and the laws enacted in pursuance thereof, the seal of a divine authority. The old doctrine of the divine right of kings, is worthy of the support which it has so long received from despots and sycophants, and nothing more. Nature indicates, beyond a doubt, where God has established the sources of govern- ment. The right to institute government, inheres in the people, for the reason that the people are to bear its burdens, and to be chiefly affected by its character and administration. And the right to make, as wc have before said, implies the right to change or destroy. These truths accord with the voice of nature and the appointment of God. 1. The chief ends of government, are the protection and happiness of ike people. — When, therefore, a government subverts, instead of promoting these ends, it forfeits all claim to obedience, and justifies the rebellion that defies and breaks it down. When a government organizes and send^forth armies to trample upon the legal rights of its subjects or citizens — when it levies taxes in opposition to its constitutional prerogatives — when it lays the burdens of the State upon the laboring poor, and grants to the rich and great, complete exemption — wlien it elevates the few to intelligence, power, and splendor, and dooms the many to ignor- ance, servitude and wretchedness — when it lays sacreligious hands upon the ark of human conscience, makes a creed, and with halter in hand, or fagots on the pile, or naked steel to the bosom, says, — bow down and worship ; then, whether it was originally constituted by the people, or the king, rebellion becomes a duty as sacred as prayer, as holy as the sacraments, and as imperative as the law written upon the tables of stone. It was against such abuses as these — abuses ancient and crush- ing — established and maintained by a high, imperious hand — that the guns of Garibaldi thundered in the gorges of the Alps, and on the banks of the Volturno. Deliverance from such oppression, inflicted in the name of government, per- verted from its legitimate ends, furnishes the ground of Gari- baldi's present fame, and his title to immortality. For this, it is, that starving mothers cling to his knees, and fathers emancipated from their chains, kneeling with their little children, kiss the ground beneath the feet of the simple hearted, unpretending hero, and pay him homage, akin to that which the devout soul offers before the altars of its God. 2. But have any such enormities as these been i^erjpetrated in the administration of our federal government? Have its fundamental principles been ignored? Have the precepts of Washington been laughed to scorn ? Has the chair of State, in which he sat, been desecrated by a tyrant's form ? Have troops been raised — have taxes been levied — have the rights of conscience been invaded, in violation of the federal Constitution — or has a single State law been broken by the federal arm, or so much as touched by one of its little fingers? To all these, and every kindred question, there comes a negative answer from the great loyal heart of the nation, like the thunders of Niagara. Even the rebel chiefs themselves, impudent and shameless, as is the front they have assumed, do not dare the avowal that any State law, or individual right has been invaded, either by the federal govern- ment, or any portion of the peeple of the loyal States. So far from this, the national administration has been conducted with scrupulous regard to the rights of all citizens, and the highest welfare of the whole country. In this connection, two facts, 23 bearing upon the present contest, are worthy of special notice. First, the North and East, the sections that are said to have goaded the South into rebellion, have from time to time, for many years, submitted to the operation of tariff laws, which were favorable to the South, but highly prejudicial to their material prosperity. Secondly, while in the North and East, tlie fugitive slave law, was from the first, and now is, almost universally re- garded as directly in conflict with the natural rights of men, and the moral laws of the gospel ; it has been submitted to for the sake of the union, and because it is generally believed to have been enacted in accordance with the Constitution. This, I take it, is the only Southern grievance that can be brought home to the loyal States. Certain citizens, belonging to the sect of the most ultra-abolitionists, have said very absurd things in their pulpits, and other places, and have printed some very clever things, and many very silly, spiteful, abusive things, against the peculiar in- stitution of slavery. But is this to be wondered at? Is it matter of surprise that people, born and bred in free States, and knowing the advantages of free, as compared with slave labor, should think and say things not flattering to the opinions and feelings of slave-holders ? Besides this, if the slave-owners and advocates are right, according to their own fullest belief and con- viction, they have neither much religion, nor philosophy, if they cannot aiford to regard the hardest loords as very little things. They surely know but very little of the history of nations, or the nature of man, if they imagine that unrestrained political liberty can exist, without being taken advantage of by bad men, or fools, to perpetrate acts of license. I have always believed the ultra-abolitionists to be mad, and to be working blindly in the heat of their passionate zeal — working so as to defeat the patriotic and humane ends at which they aim. In this opinion, the great body of the people in the non-slaveholding States con- cur with me — and when the Southern people have persisted in holding them responsible for the unwise things done, and the fanatical things said by the chief apostles of ultra-abolitionism — they have persisted in the face of their most sincere and solemn protests, in doing them a gross and cruel injustice. The great body of the people in all the non-slaveholding States, are opposed to the extension of slavery into free territories, and believing 24 that emancipation would be the greatest boon that could be con- ferred upon the people of the Southern States, they would be glad to witness the adoption of some plan for that purpose, by the Legislatures of those States, that would be compatible with the rights of the masters, and the interests of the slaves. This is the prevailing sentiment ; and he who holds it, can with no more truth, or justice, be identified with such men as Wendel Phillips and Lloyd Garrison, than a pure-minded christian can be identified with a Brahmin or a Mohammedan. This is the grand mistake of the masses of the Southern people. Influenced by their political leaders, they have been taught to confound the conservatives of the free States with the fanatics. While the conservatives are from interest, reason, and conscience, opposed to slavery, they are ready to grant to the South every right that can be claimed under the constitutional compact, and hold them- selves pledged to support the legitimate authority of every State in the union. I was born and bred in a slave State, and I declare to you this day, that if the federal government were to attempt to nullify any law of the State of Maryland, not in conflict with the Constitution, that State should have in support of her just cause, every impulse of my heart, every prayer of my lips, and every drop of blood in ray vein.=. But no such plea can be made for the rebel States of the south. Upon the south have been lavished the chief political favors, and upon the south rests the foul imputation of the first attempt to strike down the mighty and generous band of a free people, that has so often decked her brow with the highest honors of the nation. What are the facts in this controversy that is now to be decided by an appeal to the sword ? The general fact, including all particular facts, is, that the federal administration, with all that it implies, has, with rare and brief exceptions, been in the hands of the south from the formation of the government to this day. The free States have again and again been defeated at the ballot- box, by the skillful combinations and management of the southern politicians, and each time have returned to their honest labors. Poor mudsills, as they are, they know nothing of the spirit of chivalry, and have only sense enough to be good and loyal citi- zens, whether in or out of office. Having no first families, they have no hereditary oflicial honors to claim, and in their simpli- 25 city, are satisfied with tlic republican maxim that a majority of the voters shall rule the country. The south, I repeat, though so far inferior in resources, in population, and in general intelli- gence, has had by far the largest share of the federal patronage, and by combination with northern parties, has generally won and worn the highest honors in the gift of the nation. The climax of honor is in the presidential chair ; and that has in the main been occupied by southern men. "Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, Tyler, Polk, and Taylor, were from the south — and that man of " Wheatland," whose name shall never pass these lips, was a northern man, with southern principles, if he ever had any principles at all. After this protracted term of honor, en- joyed by the slaveholding south, the free States of the north, that had, amidst all their defeats, remained true as steel to the consti- tution, and kept on working, voting, and waiting, have at last, by constitutional means, elected an honest man and a practical states- man, of a free State, to the presidency, and that is all. As to the hue and cry set up by the leading demagogues of the south, respecting southern rights in the territories of the United States, the}- know, as must every man, who has sense enough to be morally accountable, that the supreme law of the land has been laid down in their favor, and that the law of nature has been ordained against the law of the land. In other words, the deci- sion of the Supreme Court of the United States, in the Dred Scott case, is the paramount law of the land, and under that decision, there is not an acre of territory, belonging to the United States, to which a southern planter may not take, and therein hold his slaves. And, if it be alleged that the existing law may be an- nulled by a subsequent decision, the answer is, that the south would thereby sustain no loss. For, if the Dred Scott decision should stand till the day of judgment, no slave State could ever be formed out of territories that are now free. A law of nature is but an- other term for the will of God. And the case of future States stands thus : — They must be formed of citizens, immigrating from the existing States of the Federal Union. And in accordance with a law of nature, the population of the free States has so far outgrown that of the Slave States, that the territories will of necessity be settled by persons, the great majority of whom, Avill hold sentiments against the institution of slavery. All who com- 4 plain of this I'osnlt slioiild bring tlicir coinplaiuts not against the Republicans, but against God. He has ordained that the popula- tion of a free territory shall outgrow that of a slave territory. No packed majorities in Congress — no partial bench in the highest courts of law, could ever annul the omnipotent and eternal decree. The attempt to do it, would break up the fountains of the great deep of nature, and submerge such a government forever, beneath its resistless waves. Countrymen and brothers ! I declare to you, that when a man who loves his country, and has a fond eye, and a proud hope for her future destiny, looks at the alleged causes of our great rebel- lion, the sight is enough to break his heart. If the federl govern- ment had been partial in the bestowment of its favors, or unjust and oppressive in the exercise of its demands, that would have been some excuse for, though not a justification of the conduct of the rebel States. But there is no such ground of excuse. No such plea can be offered. So far from it, no government was ever so considerate, so impartial, so forbearing. The national vessels have been seized. The national armories, dock-yards, and mints have been plundered. States, whose every foot of soil was paid for out of the federal treasury, have joined in the conspiracy against the federal rights. Cabinet councilors, and senators in Congress, solemnly sworn to support the constitution, have in the face of their oaths, done their utmost to subvert and destroy it. Citizens of the United States, bound by every consideration of truth, justice, and gratitude to obey the laws, have had the teme- rity to appear in tlie national capital, and claim to be regarded as the representatives of a foreign power ! Proposals, reeking with the rankest treason, have been made to the federal executive, and his council, and the men who dared to make them, have been allowed to return to their dishonored homes with their heads upon their shoulders. And last of all, our national flag, which the mightiest potentates of earth regard with profound reverence, has been fired on, and trampled in the dust. All this the federal government has borne for months, because the blood of its loyal citizens flowed in the veins of the traitors. If foreign enemies had committed these outrages, and men enough could not have been found to avenge the national honor, the very women and children would have risen up and hurled themselves against them- I avow it before earth and licaveu, that this rebelliou is without a parallel in the history of mankind. If it were a government partly wise and partly unwise, partly just and partly unjust, then paral- lels of resistance might be found. If it were a government wholly bad," unjust, oppressive, cruel, and crushing, then parallels of resistance might be found, and justifiable revolutions, that have swept away the political fabrics of ages, and drenched the earth with human blood. But this governm.ent stands as its immortal founders made it. It stands unimpeached and unimpeachable. The vilest rebel in all the hosts of its enemies, has never dared to wag his tongue against it. For this reason it is, I say, that this rebellion stands alone. And, for this reason, the traitors in whose hearts it was born, will descend to posterity, alone in infamy. Even Arnold, is a knight without shame and without reproach, compared with these distinguished leaders of the southern chi- valry. They have dishonored the memories, and defiled the graves of our glorious dead, and outraged the noblest feelings o^ all living patriots. They have rebelled against God in our inhe- ritance — against God in onr history — against God in our institu- tions, Conclusion. 1. And now, wc must meet the dreadful issue. Wo must sustain this grand cause of God and our country. We must put this re- bellion down. The great future demands it, when there will he not thirty, but three hundred millions of happy freemen to grate- fully acknowledge the sway of our federal government. The hopes of other nations, struggling to be free, demand it. The fate of neighboring republics, that have gone to pieces mid storms of conflicting passions, and have been in Avild confusion dashed upon the naked rocks of anarchy, demands it. All our own past achievements, all our present claims to progress, power, and glory, alike demand it. The real happiness of thirty millions of people, for which we are immediately responsible, makes decision upon our duty, against which there is no appeal. All that the country ever was, all that it is now, is ours to enjoy — ours to defend. I frankly confess that I have never been able to comprehend the nature of the native born American, who is so bound up in 28 local partialities and prejudices, that he does not love the whole country, and is not proud alike of all the noble deeds of all the States that form the union and the nation. All that constitutes the glory of the whole country, has been contributed by its parts, and is the common property of each citizen of the nation at large. Tlie North has furnished its quota, the South its quota, the Bast its quota, the West its quota, to the national greatness. The West pours in its vast supplies of grain. The North estab- lishes great marts of commerce. The South grows cotton for the spindles of half the world. The Bast founds schools, pro- motes literature, and makes all manner of wonderful and useful inventions. Differently endowed by nature, differently affected by local circumstances, yet, each brings block after block of its proud achievements, to build up the temple of the nation's fame. I have met the representatives of all these great sections in foreign climes, and with feelings which you will never know till exiled from the land of your birth, have said in my heart — Hail, brother of the West ! you have driven back the savage, have swept away mighty forests, have founded great cities, as by magic, and built up a vast empire in a few brief years. Hail, brother of the North ! in the learned professions, and in all the pursuits of agriculture, trade, and commerce, you have achieved a proud and honored name. Hail brother of the South ! you have preserved the ancient hospitality, have made your highlands bloom with cotton, and your lowlands rich with waving fields of rice, and far extending tracts of verdant, luscious cane. Hail, brother of the East ! you have taught rulers how to educate the masses, and employers how to bless the laboring poor ; you have drawn wealth from naked rocks and snow-capped mountains, and those are your swift-winged ships that so gracefully sit the bosom of yonder harbor. And when I have thought of the nation's charms of beauty, its gifts of eloquence, and its deeds of arms, I have said — hail countrymen and brothers ! the glory alike belongs to you all. What precious memories cluster about you, what sacred charges are reposed in your hands ! With you is the dust of Clay and Harrison. With you is the dust of Jay and Hamilton. With you is the dust of Adams, Warren, and Webster. With you is the dust of Washington and Jefferson, of Henry and Madison. I see, as it were, in the centre of a vast continent, a temple of glory, within whose consecrated walls stand the monuments of our mighty dead, and where, thus pre- served, our living heroes shall live forevermore. No false heart shall ever breathe beneath its dome. No echoes from traitor foot-steps shall ever disturb its sacred silence. And that flag with its stripes and stars : what proud reccollec- tions it awakens — what heroic devotion it inspires ! I have seen it in foreign harbors, and at sunset on the lone sea, and regarding it 29 as the emblem of all that is brave, generous and free, have lifted my hat to it in silent reverence, and burst into tears of pride and joy. Nor can I now, nor shall I ever be able to comprehend, how any living mortal, who has ever marched to victory under its folds, can dare to lift his hand against its rightful dominion. Yet, such 4iien there are. Passion, I suppose, has driven them to madness ; or if they are not mad, hell itself does not contain a spirit lost, that ever incurred the guilt of such black ingratitude, or perpetrated a deed so foul with shame and infamy. Under that flag, Washington conquered at Yorktown, and Jackson at New Orleans. Under that flag, McDonough and Perry humbled the haughty pride of Britain on Erie and Cham- plain. Under that flag, Jones and Decatur swept the sea. That flag was planted by Taylor, on the heights of Monterey, and by Scott, o'er the halls of the Montezumas. And shall it now be struck to gratify the vaulting ambition of domestic traitors? No. By the Eternal God, who made us what we are, it shall never be surrendered. Its insults shall be avenged. Its supre- macy shall be restored and maintained o'er every square foot and inch of land to which it has a rightful claim. This shall be, re- gardless of the sacrifice of blood and treasure. For the spirit of seventy-six is abroad in all its omnipotence. With mingled justice and mercy in its heart, it rides on wings of fiery indig- nation. It demands a loyal array of steel that shall be mighty and resistless. To this demand, an outraged nation's loyal heart responds — Amen. So may it, so shall it be. If there shall be nothing in the future, but the same ungrate- ful, proud, obstinate, defiant resistance, as in the past, we must not waver for one moment, nor pause to count the cost. Our liberties, and our very existence as a nation, will be the stake to be lost or won. Aye, this moment, the alternative to be accepted by the American people, is whether they will be a Mexican Re- public, despicable and despised — a proverb and a bye- word of hissing and reproach among the nations — or the greatest empire in all the arts of peace, and the most victorious in all the fiery issues of war, on which the sun in heaven has ever shone. As for me, though I stood alone, I v/ould still be true to what I be- lieve to be this nation's God-appointed destiny. But, thank heaven, I do not stand alone. I see twenty millions of freemen animated by the same inflexible purpose. These will live under the flag of the Constitution and the Union, or one and all, be carried to their graves wrapt in its folds. There is but one heart in all the twenty millions. The calm, deliberate, inexorable sentiment of that heart is — if it be necessary, let the shopman's door be closed, let the great depots of trade and commerce, be silent and desolate — let the anvil cease its ringing, and the plow stand rusting in the field; aye, should the stupendous issue for 30 Olio moment seem doubtfal, let the minisLer before (lie altar lay aside his sacred vestments, and firmly grasp the sword of freedom, bestowing in the name of Christ a kiss of fealty upon its flashing blade, and let the temples of the living God be left to the music of children's praises, and the holy incense of woman's prayers. And rushing like an avalanche upon the ranks of tbis rebellion, let us, in the name of God and Washington — "Strike till the last armed foe expires^ Strike for our altars and our fires, Strike for the green graves of our sires, God and our native land." 2. Bear ivith me loliile I say, that I do not eitlier forget luho, or where lam. This temple is not sacred to Mars, but to Jesus, the Prince of Peace. I have not been commissioned to destroy men's lives, but to save them from sin and death eternal. But what shall avail our temples of peace without liberty ? What is the gospel of salvation worth to men without liberty ? If the Con- stitution and the Union be subverted and destroyed, where shall any certain guarantee for liberty be found ? If the men succeed, who aim at their destruction, because you voted for Abraham Lincoln, what may they not do next ? They may next station a sentinel over your pulpit, and at the point of the bayonet, dictate to you a form of family praj^er. They would have just as much right to do this, as they had to resist by arms, the exercise of your right of suffrage in the last Presidential election. If you may not vote for any man for that high office, whom the Consti- tution makes eligible, what may you do ? I tell you that in the case now pending between the federal government and the rebel States, the hand of the tyrant and traitor is grasping at the throat of liberty, and would strangle it outright, if a loyal arm did not strike it down. If, therefore, I am not only firm in this cause, but seem to be severe and unsparing, it is because liberty calls to the rescue, and I regard her summons to be as pure in mercy, truth, and justice, as are the annointed, glorious feet of the eternal throne. And if this be true, let not the heart of any loyal citizen shrink, or stand aghast, at the prospect novy before us. War, it is true, even in the sacred cause of liberty, is always painful to the feelings of the Christian heart. War is the most terrible of all scourges that a righteous God inflicts upon the heads of the sinning in this world. War is to be dreaded on all hands, and should be avoided till every other expedient has been tried and failed. Yet, as great as it must be admitted to be, war is oiot an unmixed calamity. And to encourage the noble hearts that are standing by the government in this great crisis, permit me to say, that blessings to the nation, great and manifold, will follow the achievements of their victorious arms. The American people have always been recognized as great in all the pursuits of peace. 31 Hereafter they will be recognized as greater still in all the arts of war. For many years, the wisest of the European statesmen have shaken their heads, and said : " Oh, yes, all this growth of popula- tion — all this material and intellectual progress, is very fine, to be sure. But their passions will not always slumber. Peaceful differences of opinion will break out into conflicts of open vio- lence. Then, when the first potent faction shall have appealed to the sword, there will be an end of the great experiment, and they will fall back, as our ancestors did, in their superior wisdom, upon the principles of hereditary monarchy and military force, and be glad to adopt them as necessary in the government of nations." God grant, for the sake of the honor of our common manhood, that in these instances the loishes of the prophets may not have inspired their predictions. But, when the federal gov- ernment shall have placed its feet intriuraphupon the neck of this rebellion, what will the prophets think of the sources of their inspiration ? They'll be utterly confounded. And this nation's capability of self-government, will become the most conspicuous and glorious of all the truths belonging to modern history, and will rest upon the sure conviction of the civilized world. Not only so, but the result will contribute as much to the im- provement of the national sentiment at home, as to the increase of the national reputation abroad. No truth is more certain, than that men most highly prize the blessings for which they suffer most. And when we shall have suffered for the rescue of our institutions, as our fathers did for their original establishment, we shall know what it is to be an American citizen, and be ready at any moment, with cheerful gratitude, to lay our hearts in sacri- fice, upon the altar of our country. Besides this, we know that for thirty years, we have from both extremes of the country been threatened with disunion. Durinsr all that time this has been a favorite theme among all classes of political demagogues. We have been told over and over again, "if you elect such a man to the presidency, or pass such a bill through Congress, Ave'll break up the Union." We have heard such clamor till our patience is exhausted. Now, we see the experiment tried ; and God be thanked, we shall soon see whether it is in the power of man, angel, or devil, to make it sure. The day on which the head of this rebel monster is laid low in the dust, on that very day, the blaspheming atheists of the north and east, who have impiously damned the constitution as a cove- nant with death and hell, will themselves be damned to public silence, scorn, and oblivion, beyond hope of redemption ; and the fire-eating demagogues of the south will be struck dumb with confusion and dismay. The treason of fanaticism, and the treason of nullification, will together stand confounded before the majestic face of the whole American people ; and it will be seen that no 82 power short of Omnipotence, can an-est th,s nation, n.arohmg onward to its m°]-^^^<^ '};:S^\, ^ ,™ & you, strike ml in ven- r.t .l^df The Tme fol n^io^ i« t°° y°"°g '° P^"*' ^% to the winds, ino iim^.ixv>a, _ arrano-ements of forth Mr Seward in his instructions to Mr. Adams, says take place in any way wliateve i. Theie w 1 be ne e y ^^^^_ one iovernnicnt, and f^ -^^.^:,;^^ changes, stitutional Union, that have .^^^^f y^f '^''^''..i^er country. Those will Lr S t: t^a '^.l;t»S;nV^^^^ a/a it i. ,.i.h ^'°''' "When our land is illumined by liberty's smile if a foo from within strilco a blow at h or glory, Down, down with the traitor that dares to defi ^ ThP, flTo- of her stars and the page ot her story. _ By the mimon unchained when our birth-right was gained, wVwH keep her bright Wazon forever vinstamecU ^.:rs^;Kil^£:r-th:=^rS" Our example will be -pied by " -^^^^ freedom. Our commerce will float on ^7^?^^^ ''•^^^';'''4sionarics, will ligMen the burdens of toiling millions. 0^^^^,"^\''X^^^^^^^^^ bearing upon their lips the everlasting gospel to t^f l^^;^^f ^^^j down4rodden victims of superstition, will break ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^ in all the languages of mortal tongues, will sing the sweet Hymns of Ilebcr, Watts, and Wesley, to the praise ot- " The triune God of holiness ^^ -\Vhoso glory fills the earth and sky. May God Almighty grant it, for the sake of Jesns Christ onr Lord ! Amen. If W 6 C i<» ^^< ^"^ mm 'iililililiBlilliffiliilll:'