v-o^ •/*- O »»«o' ,0'' V *•< ««>^ aO ^^ »" .V ^ ^'% "• I ORATION, PRONOUNCED At SALEM, ON TEE FOURTH DAY OF JULY, 1804, iw COMMEMORATION OF OUR NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE, / '\'Tfv^f-,-'r By JOSEPH STORY, Esq. Where Liberty dwells there is my Country. pRANKtlN. SALEM : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CAfiLTON. 1804. L \%o^ ^W^^^"l^^al monumcrit of honor to tkc H'erocs who conceived it... it will remain a fplendid ex- ample to latefl poflerity of what a handful of brave men caneffedt, when fupported by the energy of independence. The ch.ir-icter of hii- man nature never approaches "fonear to divinity, as when i^ruggling to prefcrvc the rights, and accomplifli the falvation of mankind. Our Fathers merited fuccefs, and they obtained it. They fought; they bled ; they triumphed. From the perilous enterprizes of an eight years' war, they rofe to the full pofieflion of the belt gifts of heaven, civil and religious liberty. Fain would I drop a veil over the conduifi: of Britain during this momentous conteft of the fpirit of reafon againfl the fpirit of domination- Would it were poflible to blot her mercenary cruelties from the annals of our hirtory. But they mull: and will defcend to future ages the difgraceful mementos of civilized barbarity. Let no one imagine that I think meanly of the Britifli Charader. I honor a people, whofe Conftitution has been for ages a folitary inflance of jurifprudence, founded on the acknowledged rights of man. I honor a people whofe m.uni- ficence has patronized the arts, and given the fciences a liberal refuge from papal oppreiT.ons. I honor a people who, in their lavvs and man- ners, ia their valor and entcrprize, have difcov-- ( i6 ) fred a pcrfeverance and illumination, which have blended fpeculative wifdom with pradlical grandeur. I wifh it were poffible to honor the humanity of their martial atchievements, or the reditudc of their ambitious projedls. Their liill for dominion has for centuries deluged the plains of Europe with blood, and difgraced the ocean with opprefJive plunders. National juf- tice has perilhied on the altar of pride, and evea the fandtity of religion been proftituted to the fupport of minifterial crufades. Moderation in refentment is not only the re- £nement of philofophy, but the dictate of na- ture. The polluted jealoufies of national rival- ry have too often fharpcned the retaliations of cruelty, and flimulated the fury of the paffions„ The fatal projeds of an Edward have unfor- tunately ietthd an hereditary hatred in the In- habitants on either iide of the Englifh channel, which neither time, nor reafon, nor generoiity can fubdue. But though as men we difdain to confuh the indignation of accumulated wrongs j though as chriftians, we forgive the brutal re- venge of our revolutionary foes, *' we muft re- member fuch things were,*' and pafs the whole-^ fome lelTon tc poflerity. Can we forget the time when, to glut this odious paffion, our ci- ties were wrapped in flames ? our widows and children impaled on the bavonet i* our wives and ( '7 ) rriothers expofcd to the mercilefs ravi{her» or loil ill the fury of contending elements ?... Hap- py, thrice happy had it been, if but one Cre- us A had pcrilhed iri the tempers ! Can we for- get, that the tomahawk and the fcalping knife were not beneath the refearch of martial poli- cy ? that the Indian warwhoop was the fignal for the execution of deeds, " which freeze the young blood and harrow up the foul ?" Can we forget, that prifon fliips, more fure in their purpofe, though lefs rapid in their fatality, than the black hole of Calcutta, were the Icathfome abodes of thoufands of our injured uncomplain- ing countrymen, who lingered for months in. the agonies of corrupted horror ? Death had been fweet to them ; but it came not to relieve till emaciated peflilence had exhaufted every fevcrity of torture. The affrighted Hudfori ** heard nightly plung'd beneath his fullen wave the frequent corfe," till his waters thickened with the Ihining pollution. To this very hour the fhrieks of the unburied dead roll on the blaft of midnight, and accufe the ungrateful ncgled: of their country. Can wc forget thefe things? No... We will forgive them ; but poflerity Ihail learn, that a civilized nation in an enlightened age has not been afllamed to record her infamy by fuch fanguinary flratagems. While we mourn over thefe unfortunate vic- C ( «8 ) Jims, whofe filent fortitude was denied its re- ward in the death of honor, let it fix in our hearts the mighty price of our political falva- tion. Shades of departed heroes ! ye who fell in the fury of the battle, and ye who perifhcd in the poifon of the prifon-.-ye have not died in vain ! Sweet is the voice of your fame.... The bleflings of nations have fwelled your requi- ems.,, the laurels of glory thicken on your fe- pulchres...the gratimde of Liberty immortalizes your memories. Your children fhall triumph in your deeds ; and by perpetuating the rights which you purchafed, fhall elevate the dignity of your atchievements, and brighten the fplen- dor of your renown ! Lefs grateful is the tafk to trace the hiflory of later times, and mark the aberrations from revolutionary principles. Deeply is it to be re- gretted that any can 6e found, who, fubfervient to foreign influence, or fubtle in inildious pur- pofe, depreciate the rights which they enjoy, and flain their anceftry by apoflacy and ingrat- itude. After fifteen years of the pureft civil liberty, proteded by a conllitution admirable in deUgn, and beneficent in operation ; after fif- teen years, in which commerce has guided to our fhores the trea fares of the eafl and weft, and the arts and fciences been cultivated with an entcrprize unequalled in fuccefs, it would fcem hardly poflible that any could be found fo, ( 19 ) ioft to human dignity, as voluntarily to re- nounce thefe bleiTings, and afk an afylum un- der the dangerous proledion of royalty. But Americans are to learn that ambition, like Mef- falina, thinks no proftitution beneath its boaft, and no corruption beneath its connmunion. Lajfata, nccdum fatiata, rcce[fit ; wearied, but never fatisfied, it retires for a moment only to re-ad: its iniquities with renewed vigor. Ter- ror and perfecution after exhaufting Europe, have been deftined to crofs the Atlantic, and roam from Altamaha to St. Croix. The rich and the powerful have been dazzled with the magnificence of courts, and the blufhing enfigns of nobility. The prudent and the good have been alarmed with the dangers of experiments, which feeming to fet every thing afloat, might overwhelm them in their progrefs. The veil of the temple of Liberty has been rent in twain, and the very altars devoted to fanguinary accu- fations. On every fide Republican inflitutions have been attacked. The quarrels and dilTentions of revolutionary zeal have been artfully fomented and exaggerated. The order of defpotifm, a bloated carcale of unweildy difeafe, calm only from want of life, has been dreffed in the robes of an Apega, though, like her, concealing in the ornaments of its bofom a poifoned dagger, it folds to corrupt, and embraces to dellroy..., ( 20 ) Thefc events are not here recited to awaken in- dignation or extenuate error : they are recalled to your minds merely to ihew that even inno- cence and virtue may become the deluded apol- ogifts of intolerance and crime. Far be it from me to vindicate the atrocities which havc^ fometimes difgraccd the bed of caufes. Theaccufations, thebanifhments, and the favage perfidies which have crimfoncd the Gallic annals, are deeply to be regretted by eve- ry friend of humanity and reafon. They have left a ftain on the altar of Liberty, which her veftal worfhippers have fcarccly wafhed away. But let thofe who have added the torch to the faggot, as well as confounded the principle with the adiion, let thofe refpond to their confcienccs for the unholy horrors. Let them weigh a- gainil: revolutionary woes, the raaffacres cf Charles, the Siberia of Catharine, the crema- tions of Mary, and bloody perfccutions of Phi- lip. Let them decide if the opprefiions and cruelties of ten centuries could be too fiercely retaliated. Let them decide if thefe accumu- lated wrongs could be redrefl'ed, but by the aw- ful facrifice of the innocent with the guilty.— Alas ! the beft caufe cannot decompofc the cor- rupt elements of ambition ; the worft cannot extinguilh every gleam of virtuous glory. But v^oubly guilty arc thofe, who, to fubferve the ( =»! ) purpofcs of party, wilfully confound accidental evils with neccflary refults j and depreciate the principles of freedom, by examples drawn from the violence of a moment. Why are the American People at this, very moment arranged under adverfe banners by the vehemence of party ? Why are names made the rallying points of divifions, when there is a real harmony of fentiment ? We believe in the emphatic language of our illuftrious father, that the great m.ajority are, in a noble fjnfe, ** all federylifts, all republicans." But their charac- ters and fentiments and friendfhips have been hazarded in tlie jeopardy of words. Why are the fplendor and tranquillity of monarchies blazoned, in all the pomp of eloquence; and the nftiferies and oppreffions and frauds of here- ditary prerogative forgotten or concealed ?... *'What would^offend the eye in a good pid:urc the painter carts difcreetly in the fhadcs." Why is the alarum bell forever ringing changes a- gainfl innovation, reform, and philofophy ? Are the crude abortions of a few difliempered brains to be afTumed as the principles o^ Legif- I-ation ? Moderation and prudence fhould guide the hand of experiment with acontroling cpolnefs ; but furely improvement is not forever to be ffifled by the fear of difafl:er....Why are projeds darkly hinted which tend to difTolve ( a* ) the Union, and reflore us again to anarchy and confufion ? Thefe are evils which all good men fhould unite to reprefs ; for all are intereft- ed in the prefervation of their country. Yet party fpirit has fo far blurred the public viiionj that though they difturb the glare of day, they feem buried in Cimmerian darknefs, I am deeply fenfible that the afhes, on which I tread, are living embers. Ref^etling men and meqfurcs, no vehemence of declamation, no a- cerbity of invedive, fhall on this occafion in- vade thefe walls. That tafk is left to thofe, whofe modefty has ufurped all talents and viV- tue, and whofe candor has meafured all politi- cal honeily by the fcale of fad:ion....No fuch pre-eminence is claimed here. We are proud \o confefs that many are found in the oppofi- tion, whofe powers tranfcend the timid ken of repuWicanifm, and whofe honor has never been fullied by fufpicion. But refpeBing principles ^ no one advanced beyond the rattle and leading ftrings fliould difgrace himfelf by hejiitation.— - 1^ our feven luflres of liberty had been, like the Roman Saturnalia, a Ihort interval of equality, only granted to rivet more firmly the fetters of ilavery, we might v/ell reafon ourfclves into a patient belief of the bleffings of oppreffion.— ' The gauzy fophifcry would at leaft cover our fhame, and blunt our feniibility. But if one ( «3 ) particle of revolutionary Ipirit yet remains, it muft flame with indignation at the terrible im- port of monarchical maxims. Yes, Fellow- Citizens, whatever forms they aflume, whether the clamorous authority of power, or the grave refinement of fpeculation ; whether they de- nounce, or weep, or entreat, the crafty Sinons who would exchange republican fimplicity for royal trappings, are the deadliefl: enemies of our national greatnefs. It requires not the prophe- tic powers of a Cassandra to forefee, when ilich men bear fway, that the wooden horse of defpotifm will foon be within the walls of the Conftitution. It will then be too late to favc.The womb is fertile in arms j the gates are furrendered to the foe I What in truth are the boafted advantages of monarchy ? Are civil liberty and perfonal pro- tection fecured ? Thefe are the tranfcendant rights of mankind, without which life itfelf were a heavy burthen. Look over the annals of ages, and mark the melancholy pidures, — Wherever we turn, nothing appears but a gloo- my fuceelTion of tempefts, lighted at diiiant in- tervals by a tranfient funfhine, which renders the furrounding darknefs more terrific. Op- prefHon and cruelty, murder and war, dcfciibe the progrefs of dominion. The v/hims of a courtier, the intrigues of a miftrefs, or the -an- ( "-4 ) ger ofa prince, have defolated kingdoms, and facrificed the feHcity of milhons. The lives of fubjedis have been too mean for the confidera- tion of thofe, v/ho are born for empire. If the fecurity of property be the objedt 'of govern- ment, where is the monarch whofe rapacity has not trampled en the laws, and wrefled from in- duftry its fcanty pittance ? What has been fparcd from the grafp of the excife, has been plundered under the fandtion of a requifition. Even in that country, which boafts a limit- ed conflitution, fcarcely have her own hiftori- ans, thro* a feries of one thoufand years, traced a lingle reign untarniflied by arbitrary exac- tions, and unclouded by unneceflary wars. National honor has been the vulgar pretence of dictatorial authority, and national calamity the undeviating refult. Need I advert to antient times ? Examples yet live, and crowd around me on everv fide. The vaiiies of Erin echo with the flirieks of murderfind rapine; and the flreams of the Indus are choaked with the blood of its children. No, fellow citizens... though under a mild fovereign the fubjtds of hereditary fvvay may enjoy civil happincfs ; yet jt is but the dream of a moment. There is no fecurity for the fu- ture^ Wherever public ref'ponfibility ceafcs> irnufticc will prevaiL No character is too fub-. ( 25 ) lime for error, when the force of puWic influ- ence is dellroyed. Kings have not afTumed the robes of angels to difpenfe peace and juftice : they have not been cloathed with divinity torc- fifl the aflaiilts of ambition, and the alUiremcnts of vice. Corruption and crime have not fled the imperial purple. Debauchery and murder have too often ufurped the palace • and ftifled the voice of complaint, before it reached the throne. The energy of a monarchy is the mere refult of the abfolute control of one will over many ; of an individual opinion, unchecked but by the fuggeflions of ambition or revenge, This very energy, fo miicli admired from its promptitude of aclcion, becomes the iource of innumerable errors ; and one executive error frequently involves in it a deadly cataftrophe. This very energy is purchafed by the miferies of millions, whofe properties are devoured and whofe lives are crufhed by its licentioufnefs. It is the very nature of juflice to be deliberate. Rapidity of dccifion, though it may fometimes atchieve an im.portant enterprize, is generally in naaonal affairs the worft of political delu- iions. The mighty intereils of State are not to be moved like the wires of a puppet fliew. The fiery fpirit of ambition would overleap at once the ordinary calculations of reafcn, and hurrv into meafures, which nothing but defpair can D ( 26 ) Siithorize. If this be energy, if this be glory, I truft we fliall long be Grangers to them. It is the boaft of a reprefentative government that the voice of the people is diflindly heard : that dehberation precedes adiion : that the interefts of the whole are not abandoned to the mercena- ry projeds of a few. Yet when national faith is violated, or national liberty invaded, the pub- lic zeal waits not in tardy indifference for the nod of a prince or the approval of a minifler. It concentrates itfelf for adlion, andbiiri-ls with inftantaneo'us vengeance on the daring aggreffor. Atvay then v/ith thefe fh allow declamations a-^ gainft republican governments. They pofTei's all the flrerigth requifite for national union in a /w6/e caufe ; more they ought not to polTefs. The foldier is not led to the field a deluded vaf- h] : he feels the public wrong, and glories to avenge his country. That the petty intrigues of a chief, or the fury of a fadion, cannot iil fuch a government awaken the popular zeal, is a proof of its admirable polity. War is the fcourge of the human race, and fliould be the laft rcfort of infulted virtue. The fufferings, which it entails, even in defence of juflice, re- quire that its caufe fnould be manifefl, and its objett nationah Freemen can never be infen- fible to martial ardor ; but they difdain to prof- titute it to the caprice of a courtezan, or the v/iles of a traitor. I 27 ) Let it be our duty then on this glorious anni- verfary to inculcate the love of the Conftitution, and cherifli with rapt devotion the Inftitutes of Freedom. We have paffed the perils of war, but we are not yet beyond the reach of political Catalines. Dangers of a moft powerful, tho' fecret influence, impend over cur heads. The voice of indignant virtue has crufhed the open traitor ; but who can feize the Senator in his wiles, and the alTaffin in iiis cell ? In every community, however bleft with privileges, or adorned with glory, there will always be found reftlefs fpirits, who are ever watchful to fan the flame of fadlion, and organize the machinations' offcdition. Urged by uncontrollable impul- fes, they riot in tumult, and build their great- neis on the ruin of their country. At every fa- vorable m.omcnt the fecret infinuations of in- trigue, the loud denunciations of confpiracy, and the crafty cantings of hypocricy, w'ill 6e employed to (hake our principles, and fap the foundations of national union. Every engine v/hich ingenuity can devife will be forced into adion to accomplifli the bold defign. Ambi- tion, who never flumbers nor fleeps, can aflfume ten thoufmd form.s to awe, to perfuade, and to intoxicate. It knows how to win the ear of curioilty by furprize, and force convid;ion on the unwary by the point of ridicule. At one time its voice in the muiic of a fyren pours the ( 28 ) captivating itrains of eloquence ; at another it wins fweetly in the tones of flattery and candor; at another it denounces in all the thunder of ac- cufation. Daring, intrepid, infatiable, it ad- vances with a hardihood of afiertion commcn- furate with the falfity of its ilatements. It proflratcs at its feet, vyith unhefitating cruelty, every thing however facred, however venerable„ Youth, beauty, genius, age, are unrelentingly ltd to execution ; and the exulting demon laughs in the agonies of its vi