E 381 .B95 Copy 1 %y- ^A (-') Glass Book J -n^ "^ P E E C H OF THE HON, THISTAM SURGES, .05' ilt l\ie Public Biiiuet « Gentlemen: — I tliank you, most cordially I thank you. All I Could say would telF you a very small part only of those feelings given to me by your expressions^ of kindness and consideration towards me^ and my very ineflScient efforts in the public service. From my earliest recollection to the present mo- ment, th'e approbation of my fellow-labourers has enlivened my hopes, cheered my exertions, and been dear to my heart. — Whether guiding the plough, or wielding the instruments of mechanic labour, the employments of my earlier life ; whether engaged in forensic toils, at the calls of my friends, or in the service of our common country, so dear to us all; that ap^- probation has been among my most engaging motives. 1 have fallen be- hind many, in success, but i have endeavored to keep in pace with the fore- most, in zeal and diligence. When I look around on these splendid accom- paniments, associated by your kindness with those efforts in the cause of the nation, though I must be more, or less, than human, not to feel gratified, and to attempt some expression of that feeling ; yet I cannot be vain enough to arrogate all I see, and hear, to myself merely, who am but the inconsi- derable occasion, and not the ultimate object, of all these preparations, these displays of national feeling, these genuine oblations to elevated pa- triotism. If we have been told, men are born to consume the fruit of the earth, and there be those who might look on all these provisions of the table, and on us as assembled here, with no better purpose than ordinary refection, the mere every day operations of mastication and swallowing, such men may best take their viands by themselves, each one gnawing his bone, and growl- ing his orisons, if he make any, in the solitude of his own den. The table has, by the customs of all nations, been consecrated to the purest riles of hospitality. Among the most ferocious warriors, hostilities cease ; truce and peace are, for the time, established, the moment they have taken salt together from the same stand. Of all those w^ho dipt their bread, at the same table, in the same condiment, sacred story has told us that one only became a traitor. — Should we, who with warm hearts and glad faces, are now met together at this table, this altar of good will and patriotic feeling, ever meet again, no matter in what land, or under what auspices, adverse or prosperous, this high ceremonial of kindness and patriotism could not be forgotten ; and we should, in memory of this evening, and of these rites of hospitality, take each other by the hand with higher and holier arior of brotherhood. The hours of refection were, by the wise men of antiquity, devoted to both bodily and mental refreshment ; the table was spread not more for the purpose of food, than of conversation ; and the public places for those pur- poses were the great schools of mutual instruction for the commonwealth. Our republican instiiutions are, as we trust, improvements on the models of both ancient and modern governments; but our administration of them rnay not, at all times, e(]ual the wise and patriotic administrations of the ancients; and if they deemed it important, at these hours of refreshment, to discuss public affairs and the conduct of public men, it cannot be unwise, or impro()er in us, to have adopted, in some form or other, this classic cus- tom, established, as a part of tiieir free institutions, by the sages and states- men of antiquity. If you please, then, gentlemen, permit me, for some brief time, to fill up this pause of festivity ; and, in exchange for the flow of the goblet, to offer you that of t!ie soul. '] he fjreat interests of the nation, the government established by the peo- ple of these United States for the preservation and advancement of those in- terests, and the administration of that government, by the public agents, selected and appointed for that purpose, are all subjects of deep and vital roncernment to each one of us and of the whole nation. What ttie past ■was, we all know : what the present is, let us inquire, that we may thereby endeavor to provide for the future. The Constitution of our country has recently, from ihe place where I now have the honor to stand, received such exposition and eulogium, and so perfect and finished, as neither to re- quire nor to admit addition or improvement. The boldest artist of Greece Dever attempted to give a new excellence to the Minerva of Phidias. Con- sidering the great prmciples of that constitution, as settled and established, "ive may secttrehj turn our attention to some of its great provisions, as they have been reduced to practice, under the several administrations of the general government ; and inquire how they are sustained by the present rulers of the land. When Gen. Jackson was placed in the Presidential chair of the United States, the patriots and statesmen of the country, who had been opposf 'i 8 to his election, did console themselves with the hope, that regard for his own fame might induce him to call to his cabinet the wisest and best men among those who had been (riendly to his advancement to that high station. If directed by the councils of such men, his administration might take a character not adverse to the great interests and institutions long fostered and established in the country. How sadly they were disappointed, is well known; nor has the disappointment of many of the most zealous and up- right of his friends been less grievous. His cabinet was so selected and arranged, that the whole power and influence of the President^ has been brought under the councils and into the control of the Secretary of State. This man has exerted his managing capacities in such intrigues, as to have either brought every other man in the cabinet into his schemes, or to have excluded him from the confidence of the President. The second officer of the government has, by the friends of the Secretary, as he admits, but by himself, as ail men believe, been driven into open hostility with the first; while Mr. Van Buren, securely sheltered behind the name of Gen. Jackson and the Presidential character, like little Teucer behind the shield of Ajax Telamon, discharges his arrows at the naked and magnanimous bosom of his great political adversary. Indeed, the President has little concern in the administration : so little, that upon the great question of re-election to that high office, which, when free from the control of advisement, he has always declined, bis own private secretary, without consulting him, has written a letter to a leading member of the Pennsylvania Legislature, assuring him that the President would be highly gratified if that body would nominate him for re-election. Who has such an interest in this re-election as Martin Van Buren? and what private Secretary of what other President of the United States, would, without consulting him, have dared to write such a letter? lam, in truth, detaining you without necessity; for '• you ail do know" this man; his wily genius, his crooked counsels, his Machiavelian principles. These principles, heretofore planted and forced into growth in the political hot-beds at Albany, have been, by him, transplanted into the open espo.sure at Washington, and are now flourishing in the invigorating sunshine of the Presidential palace. Is the nation likely to receive healing from their leaves ? Let us inquire. First of all, how has the Secretary mannged our foreign relations ; and to what good purpose, either of economy, interest, or national honour ? Neariy nil our foreign Ministers in Europe have been recalled ; but if they have been replaced by better, much better men, and our interests thereby advanc- ed to an amount,— equal to the enormous cost of these removals and ap- pointments, the people may have no cause of complaint. It is said that France has appointed Commissioners to ascertfii'i the amount of spoliations on American commerce and navigation, committed by her cruisers during the revolutionary government. This, so far as it indicates a spirit of remu- neration, is vveii ; bat it can lead to nothing which has not longbeen known as a maltp r of record, both to the government of France and in the Depart- ment of State at Washington. These spoliations were done by order o^ Napoleon, and by his corsairs, on the high seas, and in the sight of all na- tions. The ocean blazed with the conflagration of our ships. That mili- tary Despot commanded these atrocities to be perpetrated, that he might compel us to unite with him in his crusade against the nations of the earth. Ever since the final abdication of this man, the people of France have been desirous of doing us justice ; but they contend that they i^^ve an unadjust- «d claim against us, under the Louisiana treaty of cession. Under that treaty, a right of entry, into all the ports of that State, was foi ever secured to them, on the terms of the most favored nation. Thisright, as they hold, was by them purchased, and a valuable consideration paid for it, in the ces- sion of that territory ; and, accordingly, when that territory became r State in our Union, if other nations purchased a right of entry into those pt»rts by granting a rocipiocal right of entry into their ports to American ships, France was under no obligation to grant such reciprocity for such a right of entry ; because she had already purchased it by the cession, and 9 had it secured to her by treaty. Our government has always contended against this construction, and denied this right to France; and, in a corres- pondence between Mr. Adams, when Secretary of State, and the French IMinister, then near the United States, the French construction of that treaty was ably contested, and the American construction as ably supported. It still remains unsettled, and, until adjusted, or waved by France, all com- missioners, appointed by either or both governments, can make no final progress in settling the claims of American merchants on the French go- vernment. Whet time will ever come more propitious than that which has for the last six months been passing, for our government to institute an able and eflicient mission to meet plenipotentiaries on the part of France for the settlement of this great national question, and for the removal of this only obstacle between American merchants and their long-delayed rights of remuneration ? Never will the French people, hereafter, be more anx- ious to conciliate those of the United States ; and never will Lafayette, the brother in arms of Washington, the illustrious friend of the American peo- ple, have a higher or more controlling influence in the councils of France. Like all the surviving worthies of our revolution, he is standing on the verge of life ; he and they are not yet immortal, and they must soon pass from this world of dust and shadow^s, to that of realities and imperishable glories. Why has not this auspicious time been seized ? — Why has it been suffered to pass without exertion, and probably without attention, on the part of our government ? — No former administration ever had in hand such a golden opportunity. We have no intimation from the men in power that any etlbrt has been made, or intended, to improve it. Have our relations with England been made more prosperous by the ex- change of Ministry at the Court of that country ? It is said triumphantly that the West India trade has been recovered. Ever since the close of our revolutionary struggle, up to the close of the last administration, Great Britain has claimed and exercised the right of regulating all trade with her West India colonies, by the orders of the king in council. During all that time the United States, both under the confederation and under the present government, have demanded as a matter of right, due to national comity, that this trade, between these colonies and the U. States, should be regulated by treaty and permanently settled betw^een the two nations. Has this point been yielded by Great Britain ? Has a treaty been made ? No ; but the Secretary of State has for us yielded the right to demand it. The trade is regulated now just as Great Britain has always regulated it, by her own laws ; and we have agreed to receive as a boon what is in reality a favor granted to her. Before this concession, the British West India colonies con- sumed quite as great a quantity^of the products of our country as they can have done since. The commerce was as great, though not direct ; the navi- gation was exclusively ours ; and if the indirect transportation was more costly, it was because it gave more employment to our own tonnage, and, being paid by those colonies, was a real benefit to our navigation. Fo? much of the proceeds of our exports were received in specie, and employ- ed to purchase cargoes at New Orleans; and the trade was thus by its indi- rectness not made onerous to us as it was to them. What then have we gained by the restoration of this trade ? Our ves- sels can carry nothing to the West India Colonies under this restoration, which cannot be carried thither in British vessels ; but in the indirect trade much reached those colonies, transported, nearly to them, by our own vessels, which cannot be admitted into them now, even in British vessels. The restored commerce is, therefore, so much less than the commerce given up in exchange for it. How does it affect our navigation ? Com- mercial m-en have told me, that already one-third of the tiansportation of our own productions is done by British tonnage. This was to be expect- ed. For British vessels, freighted from Liverpool to New-York, being , -impelled to go to the West Indies for a freight home, w'ill take cargoes of \ ^rican produce on freight to those counties at a cheaper rate than our fGi 's can afford to do it. If this dues not secure the whole transporta- 10 fion to British tonnage, the other parts of the arrangement certainly will effect this. It was agreed (hat liie British government should, whenever they might choose to do so, lay an impost duty oh all products of our coun- try when imported directly from the United States into these West India colonies ; and, at the same time, exempt the same products from such im- post if injported from her colonies on this continent. So soon as this im post shall have heen laid on the products of the United States, they cannot reach the West India Colonies in American vessels ; because the duty will compel them to be transported thither from the colonies on the continent. We may chance to carry a part of them, in competition with the British,, to these colonies; but our vessels cannot carry freights, thence, to the West India Colonies. Transportation between colony and colony is a part of her coasting trade, which Great Britain will no sooner relinquish, than we shall relinquish to foreigners our coasting trade between one state and another. In this arrangement for this rcFtoratlon of the West India Xrade, the agree- ment on the part of Great Britain, not to impose any other or higher duty on our products, when imported into the West India Colonies, in Ameri- can, than if imported in British vessels, did not extend, as they understood it, to their Colonies on this continent. They will, accordingly, place an impost duty on all such produce imported into those colonies in our ves- sels ; and thereby transfer all our commerce with all these colonies, whe- ther island or continental, from our navigation, which had the whole trans- portation of it under the indirect trade, to British navigation, whieh will have the vvhole, under this triumphant restoration. This is exactly what the British politicians have claimed, as a matter of right, ever since the first rao- rnent of our independence ; and it is what all patriots of the United States^ since the revolution, have refused to yield, until Mr. Van Buren, in a man- ner " /Aewos/ /rawA; anof Adrianople. They had, sword in hand, opened to themsel ves a passage through all the defences both of nature and art ; and descended and spread themselves out on that plain, where, in former times, the Greek artd the Hun contended for empire. Here other powers interposed, or the Turks hud 12 feeen driven once more "beyond the Bosphorus. It was believed, that if the Czar of Russia reached and ascended the throne of Constantinople, the balance of Europe might tremble, and the beam itself lose its level. The Emperor of Russia terminated the war by treaty with the Grand Seignior, securing, among other things, a free passage through the Bosphorus to all na- tions in amity with both the high contracting parties. Christian nations hold all to be in amity who are not in a state of declared hostility ; but the Turk regards all christian nations as enemies, which have not, by treaty with him, obtained the relations of amity. Our treaty with the sublime Porte was founded on our respectful submission to the Moslem construction of the treaty of Adrianople ; and intended to bring us withio the provisions of it. This treaty was in part ratified, and in part rejected, by the Senate ; and thereupon the Secretary of State sent a requisition to that House of Con- gress, requiring an appropriation for the purpose of a most splendid pleni- potentiary mission to the Turkish Court, accompanied by all the oriental train of barbaric pomp; and carrying in hand fifty thousand dollars as a pre- sent to the Grand Seignior, eittier to purchase our relations of amity with the Turk, or to pay for the fine Aral)iao stud presented by him to the great man of the new world, and which, as I learn, is at keeping in this city. It was thus managed, that this modern argonautic expedition was to be fitted out, not like that of the ancients, to bring home from the shores of the stormy Euxine, but carry out to those regions, the goldenfleece. For some small quan- tity of trade, more or less, the republicans of the United States, the disci- ples of the cross, must be made to bow to those of the Crescent ; and our " mountain Nymph, sweet Liberty," compelled to turn her pure and vestal eye on the gorgeous saloons and voluptuous harems of a military despotism. We were, in some degree, preserved from the dishonour of this new and splendid project of state patronage, by a distinguished Senator of Massa- chusetts, who succeeded in reducing the lofty dimensions of the plenipoten- tiary mission down to a Charge d'Atfaires. Could he have brought the thing to a mere consulate, or commercial agency, it might have satisfied all the requirements of trade, and ceased to be odious to our national feelings. If, under the advisement of the Secretary of State, we have lowered our heads to foreign nations abroad, who might call us to some account for a departure from etiquette, we have, under the same councils, carried our- selves highly and haughtily enough to those dependent " remnants of once mighty nations" at home, placed, by the fortune of war and the inexpli- cable revolutions of human events, in a condition o( pupilage and guardian^ ship to the American people. How have these, our wards and pupils, been treated? How have the hi/h and holy relations of guardians and instruc- tors to them, been kept and preserved by us? We stand pledged to the whole christian world, by the declarations of our ancestors, repeated by us, in every the most solemn form, to civilize and instruct the aborigines in the great principles of our benign religion. By the obligations of the most sacred treaties, and for a full and valuable consideration in broad lands ceded to the TJ. States, our government has, at various times, covenanted with these tribes and nations to pay them annuities ; to guarantee to them their respective governments, and laws, and territories; and to defendthem in the quiet possession and peaceable enjoyment of all these, their great original and jiatural rights. From the commencement of our peaceable relations with them u[) to the close of the last administration, these cove- nants had been fully and sacredly observed and kept by the government of the U. States. Mechanics and farmers have sojourned among them, to teach these people the great fundamental arts of civilized life. By holy men, who have taken up their abode among several of these nations, they have been taught letters and arts ; and, above all, learned the divine precepts of the christian religion. The annuities, due to each nation and tribe by treaty, have, with good faith, been paid into their public treasuries, to be disbursed according to their own laws and customs. So early as 1802, by a statute of the United States, and called ever since the Intercourse jLe^w, a line of demarcation was drawn between their lands and territorieg 13 BTid those -of the United, or the several States and territories- By this law all mankind were excluded from these lands, unless by consent of the owners, and a license for that purpose first obtained. How have these people profited by these benefits ? I will call your attention more particu- larly to the Ciierokees, because their nation has been most improved, and iheir present condition does most interest the sympathies of the world. These people have abandoned the chace for subsistence, and become cul- tivators of the soil. They raise flocks and herds ; ^row corn and cotton ; and have established household manufactories for most of their own cloth- ing. — Such other kindred arts are cultivated among them as are necessary for this state of improvement. Under the advisement and instruction of Mr. Jelferson they have succeeded in establishing a republican form o (go- vernment; and have enacted wise and wholesome laws. A bank and ft treasury manage their currency and finances; a press promulgates their constitution and laws. One native Cherokee has Invented an alphabet of their language ; and another, a scholar, a christian, edits a public paper, printed in our and their language and letter ; published for the information of their people, and received and read in most of the Stales in this Union. In half a century after letters were brought to this people by pious and learned missionaries, they have reduced their laws to writing in their own alphabet and language. — A like achievement cost the Greeks not less than 600 years. The school-house and the meeting-house have been built by them in their villages, as our pious ancestors reared the like buildings ia ours. In the one their children are taught in our language and their lan- guage ; in the other, their whole people meet together, on our Sabbath, in the name of the Saviour of the world, to worship the God of the whole or when has the United States arrogated the power to control or impair any, the least of them, in one of its parts ? The powers of the sun in the solar system are not more distinct from those of (he earth or any' other planet, than are those of the United States and of the several States, each progressing in its own sphere, cherished and encouraged by the general go- vernment. The warfare of these champions is not to recover rights of which the States have been despoiled, but to plunder from the government of the United States those powers which the people, for their own general welfare, have, by the constitution, intrusted to its management. The present administration, sworn to support this constitution, and, there- fore, to execute the laws, does not seem disposed to extend the construction of either so as to bring them into conflict with any of the laws of some of the States. Among the grievances of the times this is not the least conside- rable. If the powers of the United States are ever destroyed, if the Union is ever dissolved, these disastrous events v^ill b» produced by an administra- tion, which, under the advisement of such a Secretary, shall refuse to ex- ecute the laws. The times are indeed ominous. The direction, and im- pulse, given by the policy of other administrations to our national affairs, has hitherto kept them in a condition of some prosperity. We have not been carried on in our progress by the counsels, but in despite of the mea- sures, of our present rulers. It is probable we can float, and make some progress for two years moi=e, if iliey do not scuttle the £hlp.-;-We must maa- fully look at the dangers, and wait for our sure, our constitutional, relief. If the heavens be portentous, and the whole hemisphere dark with clouds ; the wind is setting into the right quarter ; the wreck is swiftly driven before it; clear sky will soon be seen above the mountains, and the bright mn \\\ the West give us a glorious safety. Jn the hope of this, gentlemen, I will close my remarks, and relieve your kindness from further attention, by giving you, 5. The City of Mew ForA:.— Rich, populous and hospitable ; the London of the Ne\» World;— what may be her opulence, what her population, when her commerce and its kindred labours, encouraged and pro ected, like those of Loudon, shall annually renp two harvests, one from the ocean and one from the land ! The orator was often interrupted by the most enthusiastic cheers ; and when he sat down they %vere continued for a long time. The next of the set toasts, was the following: — 6. The Supreme Court of the United States.— Created by the master spirits who achieved our national iiidepedence, sustained by Washington and his associates : the faithful expositor of consiiiuiional principles, and the last hope of a free people. 7. The Father of his Country.— The lustre of his name brightens by modern con>- parisons. There has been but OJVE-WASHINGTON. 8. 2'he twenty four United Sta/es.— Tenants in common, created by the ConstslU- tion ; may blind and infatuated selfishness never lead to a partition. 9. The American JVavy.—h has given safety to, and shed glory upon, our country ; the gratitude of the people will sustain its distinguished officers against the persecu- tions of power. T J- -J 1 • J * .k 10. The Mechanics and ?ror/:mg-mcn o/ ot/rcownfry.— IndividuaUndustry, t&a source of all national and individual wealth. . Col. Knapp being here called on to favour the company with a special toast, rose and addressed the chair nearly as follows :— 09 Mr. Pres'iden(— permit rae to make a few remarks prefatory to {he toast 1 intend to offer you — It is well known lo all of us, that the several States of thisfrreat Republic were settled and grew up under peculiar circuinst.'inces, differing in cha- racter from each other, hut whicli are all worth rememboring in our social and happy hours ; and particularly when one part of the community is of- fering the rites of hospitality to the representatives of another. The great Stale of New-Yf>rk has, within afew days, been eulojjizedby one ic/tois the Jirst at the bar, first in the halls of Icgislat'on^ and first in the f, very hriel", observations on the small State — small, 1 meat* only in respect to territory •^—in nothing else, sir — which is represented by our distinguished guest. Khode Island, sir, has her distinct and proud history, — with strikijig land- marks all along the current of time since she began her existence. — Rhode Island was the birth-place of religious toleration in the western world — that glorious toleration which now pervades this country, and which alone would give it a superiority overall other countries. There, too, was held the first discussion upon the great doctrines of independence among us. In 1636, that exiled philantliropist, Roger Williams, erale for execution. Twen- ty-five were hanged in a day. They had none of those sickly notions of humanity which saves a murderer in order that he may commit other- enormities. In 1745 Rhode Island sent one of her armed ships to assist Massachu- setts in taking Louisburg. At this period, she was the fourth commercial colony in the country. She was also among the foremost in the revolu- tionary contest. J'or, nearly three years before the drama was opened in blood at Lexington, the people of Rhode Island had burnt the Gaspee, aa armed ship befonging to the British Government, which wa,s stationed to, watch and annoy their coranierye» 23 In 1775 she had a respectable little navy ; and this was sometime befofe the Continental Congress had thought of a naval force ; and before the declaration of independence she had declared that all ties between her and the mother country were dissolved. During the war of independence, Rhode Island was distressed by British troops, and her blood was shed profusely when a battle was fought any where f6r the great cause. She had the honour of producing the secontj in command in the American army. Greene, the patriot warrior, was a son of Rhode Island: he was a mechanic, and forged his own sword by his own hand. — " It tvas of the iccbrook temper.^' " A better never did itself sustain Upon a soldier's thigh." ft turned not back until the war was ended and our liberty won. The commercial enterprize of Rhode Island, when the time arrived lo favor commerce, was second to none. She enlarged her charts of the commercial world, pushed her voyages to India, and doubled the Horn to the Pacific, and explored the North Western Coast ; enriched by her enter- prize, slie had the means to cherish manufactures when the changes of the times made it expedient for us to bring some of our workshops from Eng- land and other countries to our own soil — She has kept a happy equili- brium between the -two great secondary sources of national wealth, com- merce and manufactures, never losing sight of the primary one, agricul- ture. — In a word, Rhode Island is the land of civil and religious freedom, of industry, enterprise, and success. She has produced patriots, warriors, statesmen, scholars, painters, poets, navigators, merchants, aye, and beau- ties too, who reward the brave and cherish the free. She has taken care also to select men for our national council in whom she can confide ; no snow-broth, shilly-sliaily politician who, encased in selfishness, considers cunning as wisdom and intri,'?ue as political service. Honored in all, but in none is she more distinguished than in the fame of your guest, whose eloquence has just warmed your hearts to the highest glow of political vir- tue, and whose tearless spirit <:arries courage into fainting politicians; an eloquence which forms an era in Congressional debates ; an eloquence thatjias at once the splendid diction, the finely poised sentences, and the harmonious and polished whole of Isocrates, — " the old man doqvent^' — unit- ed to the point and pungency of JUNIUS. Tistam Burgos has a tongue that cannot be silent when the rights of hig countrymen are invaded — a countenance that never fell at the demands or denunciations of assumption and impudence — and a heart that never quail- ed at " the insolence of office." Cherish such men, gentlemen, wherever they are found; whether it be in the great State of New-York, or from smaller sisters of the Union, A great mind is not the property of a party, or of a single State ; he belongs to a nation, to mankind. As talents and virtues of every kind are sustained by public opinion, so will they en- crease. Allow me, gentlemen, in conclusion, to propose — Rhode Inland, — A small jewel — but of great piice. The orator was often interrupted by animated manifestations of applause, and resumed his seat amid much cheering. 11. At/wcdliow. —May it become universal, bestowing its blessings on the hum- blest ciiizen and the Chief Magistrate. 12. The late Secretary of State andhis successor ! *' Look here upon this picture — and on this : See what a grace was seated on this brow : Look you now, what follows : A mildeio'd ear blasting his wholesome brother. ^^ [It is much to be regretted that Mr. Van Buren could not have been with- in bearing of the acclamations with which this toast was received. The Argus, too, might have written another paragraph under the head of '• pub' lie opinion."] 24 TS. The Press.— Republican in&tilulions are in danger when Executive patron- ese corrupts the nr-.tural ally of libert}'. , , r 14, r^e Dmner.— A Republican substitute for pensions and titles— valueless for its viands and wines, compared with its visible manifestation of public gratitude for public services. • i »» « The following song, written impromptu for the occasion by Mr. b. Woodworth, was then sung with great effect by Mr. Joseph Hoxie :— SONG. Freedom's Sons— to whom belong Hearts and arms sincere and strong, Festive rites, and patriot song, Join in revelry : While the sparkling rubies swim Round each mantling goblet's brim, Quafl' them ere their light be dim, Drink to liberty. Think what cause of joy is ours, in this land of fruits and flowers, Splendid towns, and shady bowers, Blest with liberty ; Freed from sceptre, crown, and throne, Independence is our own, Never but to Heaven alone, Will we bend the knee. Raise the jjatriotic lay For our honored guest to day, He who boldly held at bay Foes of liberty ; He who late tonlendcd for Constitution, rij^ht, and law. When a manin&sWdwd he satv. In the treasury. Laurels for that silvery brow. He whose pn sence cheers us now, ^ He who nobly scorns to bow For favour or from fear. He whose every act imparts Aid to our domestic arts. We unite with hands and heaits, To bid him welcome here. The following letters were then read by the President of the day. New- York, March 26, 1831. Gentlemen — I thank you for your invitation to the dinner to be given to Mr. Burges on Wednesday. It would give me much pleasure to meet you and your friends, and to aee him; but indispensable obligations call on me to be in Boston on that day. I pray you, gentlemen, to accept the tender of my regards and good wishes. DANIEL WEBSTER. Toast enclosed from Mr. Webster : 15. The United States ; while other nations are moulding their governmeDti into free forms, may we not break the pattern. Albany, March 28lk. 183L Gentlimen, I HAVE been honored with your invitation to a dinner to be given to the Hon. Tristam Burges on the 30th instant, for his able services to the country in exposing the maladministration of the general government. I heartily approve of this expression of patriotic feeling towards an indivi- 2 n dual whom I liighly esteem, and whose public course has been so spTendid and useful. II is with veal regret that I decline the high honor and gratification of din- ing with you on the 3()ih; my long al>serice from my family, anu my i"'ivate c()Mcerns, prevent me fi-om aece[)iing your kind and flattering invitation. I heg you to believe that nothing would bti more grateful to my feelhigs than to unite with you, and those you represent, in doing honorto a dis;i:i- "uished statesman, and in expressing my marked disapprobation of the ge- neral course of policy pursued by the administrators of the general govern- ment. I have the honor to be, most respectfully. Your Obed t serv't. A, SPENSER. Isaac Pierson, Elias H. Ely, & Win. Sam'l. Johnson, Esquires. Newport, March 28, 1831. Gentlemen, — I have just received your letter of the 24th, inviting me lo attend as a guest, a public dinner wh'ch a number (»f the citizens of your City will j>ive to my friend Mr, Bi I'ges on the HOth inst. as an expression of their sense of his decided conduct and able services to his country, and regret that my engagements will not permit me to ac<;ept the invitation. — 1 siiall, however, as r citizen of Rhotie Island, be fnliy c<.mpensated foe the pleasure I should enjoy in joining you on the ocr-.asii.m mentinnei'. by the reflection, that your ex|M'essioii of a[)probatiori of the able and efficiei.i ser- vices of Mr. Burges is an honour to s.ll whose Representative he has been. Permit me to add to the many which the occasion will, no doubt, produce, my sentiments, to be adopted if thought proper. With great respect, 1 am your very obedient servant, J. PEARCE. Col. Wm. L. Stone, &. W, S. Johnson, Esq. JVeu) England's Jewels — rendered more precious by iho high estimate of their value, made by the enlighltued and patriotic citizens of New- York. VOLUNTEER TOASTS, Lov son By Col. Trimihull. — Rhode Island — Equally distinguished by the Beauty and ivelinessol her daUj^literi, as by the iiiieiligence, /irnmess, and rectitude other wv^ns. By the 1st Vice President, Thos. R. Smith — Poland, struggling to escape from the iron grasp ofTyraiuiy. May Providence raiije up fur her a Wtishiiigton — then shall she be Irt-e. By P. H. Schcnrk, 2d Vice President. — The American System — A System recom- mended by Washington, advotatt d by Hafnihon, defeniied by Cla), ajid wisely adopted by ihe Ajneri( an People — May it ru-ver be nnlbficd. By Mr. Chanfllcr, :id Vice Piesid(-ni. — iVie JMechanics and Working men through' out our Country — livery art to which they have luiiied 'Jieir atletUion has becoine brifihter, from the exquisite pohsh of dieir workmanship. May lh« ir united e/forts lenevv thebl!^tte of tliat great jol) so hand.-ornely tinished by < nr Revolutionary Fa- thers; now grown rusiy, from having fallm into die hands oi' botchers. By FI. Booraem, 4lh Vice Presidetit. — The present Cabinet — " Behold, my son, with how litile wisdom the world inijoverned." By E M. Benyman, F^sq. — Henry Clay of Keniiuky — beloved in the East and in the West, honoured in the North, and envied in '.he South — May he soon occupy the highest place in tlie {^ifi of a free People. By B. 'J'itiany — Our distinguished Guest. — Like the key-stone of an arch, the harder it 'is pressed, the fitmcr it stands. C 26 By Joseph Iloxie.— The erasing Cieiks of the Gpnoral PoM OfRco— Thrir skill in that line would be iriore ustlully firi|)U.)€;d iii erasing i\\,ni ihe Nation's AikiuIs ll.e History of tue jiieiieiit Ailimiiibtiiiiioii. By a Ciiest. — I'lir SL-cieimy of SihIp — Mi-y ! !■<- 'H^st puhl.ic di'itifr ii: tlii.«< « it\ be giv*-!! at '« yacA:so/t y:^OM.is. By VV. S. Johnson, "jyte Little .Sya^es— u presenleti by Burges and Clayton, will 'lot want power. Old Hickory. Don't work a willinj; hor?e to death. liy James Uenedict. Henry Clay— The earlieal and most cOicient advocate of Aiiieriean lii(iui3Jr\. Rhode Island »• Domestics "—May they ever, as they now, be in " demand" in New-York. By H TennP3<:ean. John Qvincy Adams, in whom arc c(h( d by J\ ew Hampshire and ^wos Kenditll.on tn( et nji.aftej u ion:; abseme. By 'Vho^u-\s R.S\i\\\.\\.— Mechanics and Working men ; their arm, the stiength; Iheif indiJi-try, the wealth of the I'ati n. The loyal Governor of j\l\w-York, nho will submit to the dt ri>ion of the Sh- pteme (Jonif — if ii is m his (a\or. " Man's wis-dom is but a s-nr.ili I <:hr." tState rights— Likv individual rijjhts, to be asceitained and settled in the constitu- tional moiU-. By. Mr. Tisdale. — The American System— f^o where better .yun or wove than in Rode Island. Heirenchment and Reform — Piodigally promised l)y lho?e now in power, .«peedi- ly to be t fleeted by otht r hand-;. By Daniel Wa} land. — The national menagerie at H ashington. where all the be«s!s and creeping; things are j-nli-ei vimt to the < nnnin^ of a jilurtin B\ Mr. Dtrr. The principlesof Ritional IAI)erty — lllii>trate(i l)y ilie ConMitiition of the Unit) d "states and the cnndiiion of the Amercan I't-opk-. — Mav the\ have ir e tonise ill all li.eir pow« r, until liny have shaken to their centres the de.»p »lic s\s- leriiS of Contiiui.tal Knrope. By H. R. \Na((l. Reform — Xerox f\\n% to tlr professions o( the Administralion, and not a-< ilhistrat< d In l\tt'\ i\. I'lriid^!.. — The Lioii ot' thf Etst, and ilie Siar of the West— may (he pow- er ol (he foriiKT, aud tht; li^htui'ihe l.iUtr, it-Moie coiitiduiice in our jjeiitral goveili- iii« lit. T/'C Hon. John Randdph. — The next time he kicks a .s7.f^/), may it prove a 6eN ' ttiinu; /tarn. 'J'lie CLerokeet — VH«i<:aIs on the ?..il wii^Te C>od niiuie them fn e. Cimwinlort Biiinhrid^e, i\\v iiatiuii\-. prich — .Vbi\ the ptcpifN indi|>nation rest upoii !h(? iii^'i^iiioia ol ii.9 itiiiDV.il V iilikc vviili tie prxponeis lur (he dtb.iuction ot Old li (lf'>. liy (i. Fi/iiiiait. 7'fic Slate ofJVew Yotk. — May ii> Cloy »o 1 | n \e so stifl tl at Mill li I Villi UunM.'> tif;i-.>'ii liiiiii. II iiMV not he iilili to jiNiDjjfii a lu' iiiW lhrou«h It. Till' Gliil e and Tilfgfo} li — I h« p(,i sli.iild m \t i < nil it,e kiiii. Llai k. '• i'/.e U'liiiHo/tkt^t.t A- " — "It hiih Lien ti^ us «// a fiuitful source of national, S()<'i;l*", !iMI pt-lM.|li»l llrip|lll.l "t.." 77/f Ann ll'ortd — Uid eiioii::h lo fake rare of itself. The Serrttary o/".S7.i/e. — " llu (liat ^Iallds upo:» a slippery place, makes nice of no -I ill- I old III ^^n) hini i p " 'I ht: Dej'enJa-j of the Constitution — Posterity will associate them wiiii the fra- ■ met .■« ili< M i'(. 7V/e ConslUvllcn — The first, Im-I, ai d only l.o|-f of salViy to cur Countiy. 'J'heStCreliry oj' U'ai:—*' Kn(>\\\ d^.. j* power." 'I'liie j\tul>Jirtiti(in p iity. — •• In vain, al;i> .' in va-n, \e liallant fi w !" Cith:iiJii and Van Buren — Itie ioUifsl ^uniinit?, bull) in chutch and s'ate, are ' isilaiiiiil inil\ I13 > asiU'.-iand itpiihs." y.'C SiC.rttnry nj' Slate. — ' I'lii- wise di-iriist the ton fair Fpoken man.*' Juhfi Handiilpit, of Roanoke. — ihe \ ill.rn.r of e\ery aiJniiiiisliation tscepl that by \\l'icli h<- li.is lufii lioiijiiit. Vii li ire I an I hts man Dulley, or internal imprnrcmcnt and t' e Tariff " Wiiit h i- ihe s.d.- fial I iiit lio wiiuai i I am widi b mIi ; • aih aiiiu halh a liiiiid ; and, ill ituii la.e, Iha^in:; hiild ofboih; ilu-y who I abo'il and d snu-inber nie." TheCibintt — A sohit.oii ()!' ihf probleiii a> 10 ihe leasl nn.dcuni of intflUcl by uIihIi a iiai or 1 an l.f ::o\'( tned. The old Fiig.ite L'on.stitvtii>n — S^ivi d b\ God's j;rare, and not by the «;ood taste of ilu- pnseiii t. ab.iii ', fioin b< in;: piiltid Ui pit< j >. 7'h'e Hceniiig Tu^t and 'the Cou'rnr- atVl Enquirer.—S\\\\rA.\)' and vulgarity uniii d. I'.ii iioiiiic fra'iiiiii Tin- Cay if K luniky, i-i the hands of American uoi'Iiineri, will be moulded into the l:ij;l « .-I t Ihce in the ;;i t of a fiee peo|ile. The Hicki.ry of 'I ennessir. — L kc the poplar of Loinbatdv — it bears iniiuine:ab!c leavr? and liiami 1^, Imi n< i hi 1 fin ( noi hlo?so«ii. IJy a,Gi)esi. ./uckdcn.'ans. — Mo} thi y d.e puhlitalh — tuin to Clay and rI^e iiicotinp iltie. 7'/;e American Instituie —^Wvr disp!«\p of .Ameiii an invention s.nd skiil. the be^J roniineiKaiy on the btale le>soii tauj^ht by forei^neis, that we ate yet too \oun;j; to elollM- oiirset\e<. J/on. Danitl IVeb tsr. — A Planet ri>en with full aplendov:- in tl e A^orthern Hemi- r/ihere, wrin h 1 mils a ((iii>tanl sliea-n o! glorious Vi^ihl 'l"heonl\ daik spots on its di-k me Llherty and Un On., ntio and forerer, one and //« eparahle liy MoiliiiH r M. J.i< Kmmi. — The An^erican Htess — A iNaiional ble.-sinj '.s and ind, peiidt nci'. The M chiriic and Mnmf'actvrirg IriU I'c^ts fJVcv}- Y01 k — "^ liey 1 (w f nibrace * JM«ie iliaii one lia f ol oar we.iiili, wCitl;, and pti^&icjl poutr, and lluy ate rapidly/ expanding and strengtfieiiiiig. 28 Internal Improvement, Cannls and Rail-roads— -yitiy they t xlend from sea to sea, and ih« livfr to \\\e <'»(!>* of the caith. Tt.e B'lld Eagle. — May hi!» eye retain it.« Ii^hliiiii|)p(tsed by none l>ut d<'rria«;oj:n<'S. Public Iitstruclion — Fiee >clu «>ls, ihe oid* sf( ur i\ <•( \)iih{H»\ fie«(loni, In \vhi< h, if lo any human a>i»n(y, tlie world must be iudtbit d for a novel phenonieiion, ihe old a^of'i Repnbitcau (iifVeinnii n'. Ovr Fg, tfiiihtrs — I \>* y nt v« r .»-hna»!» from thtir duly, ihough dt;ath slood al the door. Go tli'jii and do lilie\v!land. dian the liii«(1 and si-ila!i«d phriipo!* ntiar\ loth*- Rn«>ian Antociat. T/ie President's vinos oj'ti.e Ctinsiilutiun. — "'FoinHd in ihe iimes^ and diawn from ihe ^af:f ;• of ihf Rfvcdnlion." Hv B Deniill. The in( rcajf and pfrrnanrnt ])rospf'riiy ci( cnw a'^iii nl'urai intt r- csls, which can oid} !)«' < rt<" (< d li\ pi(il« niiti; :\liinii;a< iijm ? and Cmnn «i( e. By W. B'lrjif^s. Audi eiv ./acfc.son. — Mnv his m xi an b lion be ihe hnrni'aL'e and n(»t ihr Pf«->id< n<\. — In ilttfn\-i \;c u>n\ fii «l uposr, in ihe lat-t d.s<. pjioinlna til. H'Zfkinh JViltS. — I tit' alile di fn.der of llu- A nfiiian <'\siiin. Khode IJiti'^ Girls. — Thcu^h of rn !inil z Hl' fl ou'< r, its gi nial inlhifncv-s as broad as onr lirtilor \ . and as vari.-nsas onr in(bvidual Wants. 'Jlie jVi^sion oJ'Jofin Randolph in hvsfia — A di^uiai < to die na'ion. By Jas. I. Van AUii. y'he Amrr c in Si/st(m — Tv ijie >n. cet-fnt opeialion t»f which i< the Ci'v <>(' Ncv.-Yoik nininlx ind« l»'i d for hf r nnt Xiinp'i d pio-fxrity. Adam Smith's J\[(i,iit'i. — Bii\, &,t. amended anie>-t. 'I'hr policy whici behi |)iomotes commerce, is ihal {Uilicy whii h 'nrnij-hcs die ma- terials for ( omnierce in the ;^ri:ate»t aljund nice ui.d best adapt* il to die Wrttils (-f mankind. The result oj" ovr Revolutionary Contest — A blaze of political » fiulgctice was S-hefl upon (he. world uh.ch will la?;t tor aj^es Our Country — Iti; prospeiin iniei wov« n with the American system, — its inde- pendence wiih Anierif an Mannfaclnies. By T. Bussing. — May he be « nt ofl'uiiha shillng, Who i.s a foe to warp and tihins;. The champions of South American lUeity., and the author of the Greek rcvolu' Hon — United the \ live m lie heai t> ol their (ounliy men. The Judiciary of ihe Unite! States — The bulwark of il5 Constiliiiion. By John M. banlbnh. American JManuf'ni tares. — " Biactite ii.akt S perfect." — May thti experiett* e ofthe past lie a le.«i^nll for the fumre. May the r.ext ifmhing d«y al U'athingion ii.ake a clear riddance of the pie- sent rubbish. '» The Little Red of Missouri" (Senator Barton) —The friei.d of Henry Clay and the -XJnericaji Sxstein. The present Administration —^'' Mene, Metie, Tekcl, Upharsin."- — Weigh* d in the balance of public opiiiif>n, and found wanting. By D. Mallory. President Clay. — May he reward his frieiidi without pun sling his enemies. By Mr. W. Hart, of Troy. Our Mlnistir io R.tssia,—^' Like P.ddy's flea, j ut your finger on him, atid by ny scwl he i&i»'t tiiere." Rejected Toasts. Burgca and Cambrcling — '* An ea;;le {(.weiing in his j,ride ofpiare, Was by a mousing owl biauUd al," but neither killed norhp.r.-iM d. Our Commercial Reprejentation — A small body, not ag£rand'zed by elevation. " I'i-imies are pijimies still, ihough pen-lud on Alps." C. C. C. De minimis non curat lex. The dinner was in all rospccfs a popular as well as a bnlliant onterlain- jhent : and the good, enthii^isislic h'eling which prevailed among the (om- pany must have been ins };iatifying to their distinguish* d giir si as Iho remarks drawn from him by their ccnnplimcnlary tf>ast ceitainly w«i« trt them. If Ihera was any thinji ti» sadden ilie merriment of this feas*, it Was the refleciion, thai the indignation I'lid the mirth which the remaiksof Mfo Burges could not and did not fail to extitej \\ ere al the expense of our mi- 29 sernble CRhincf. And yet tliis feeling is soothed, and changed into pride, liy the consideration tliat onr trnly glorious country, and its cunstiti.tion, can afftird to stipport snch a set of rulers for four yirars. Any oihir )jo- vernrnHut in existence would have bet-n l»n»ken down in four months w ith siioii niHU at its liend ; biit-there is a power in the charter of liberty framed by our faiher*. too mighty to be destroyed even by Mr. Van Buren's plan o( rewards and punishmenis. C'»l. Kiiapp's references to the liistorical facts which will always make the small but patriotic Slate of Rhode Island proud of her annals, and en- aljle her to assert her claim to be in Jhe front rank of the nations w h(» Ijave vindicated the liberty of mankind, were singularly felicitous and promptly understood, as was evident tVom the applause they elicted. The arrangements for the dinner, which was set out iti the assembly room at the City Hotel, were very good. The decorations at the late fancy liall, wliich weic in very good taste, remained 'J he national flag was displa\ed i'l feslooiis and dra;>ery in evrry direction. 'J he spectacle was a sp ei.did one as a mere picture ; and the provijjons uid credit to Mr. Jei iiings' krow n skill; but the moral ertVct was what uemost admired. The c< mpjsny were both instructed and (Jeligliled l»y the expostti n of our national lela- tions, and the manner in which they have lieen played with by Van Buien &, Co. — but there was an honest patvi()tiy surpassed even by the dinner previously given to thsi d!ii'.t?guisui;u Senator from Massachusetts. [Sevml of tho follovvino; Letters were not received until af- ter the 30ih, and we deem it proper to insert them all as an Appendi.x.] Mr. Kcii( Imd the honour Ir. recrlvr- ^hls morning a nn\c of invitatioi. in a niiblii; (JuiM.f^r 1<» Ut- giv.-n m Wedntjsday t.» IIk- n«»n. I rstam Bllr■.•^•, mu\ he begs hnv.- 1.. express his siiicore regrets ih}.t n pieviui.s engagement' will necessariiy de])r;ve him ot' thu honour and i.ici.su.c ».f iauMui.ng as a glH-Sl. To Isaac Piersoa and oUiers, Committee of Arrangement. Judre Thomp-on regrp1> that he iso])li2^d to lenvetown for Potislike^p- §ie«in Wednesday, whirl) j.revenis his having the hononr of accepting tlx^ Hivitation to the j»nl)lic ('inner given to [Ion. T. Hnrges. Messrs. I. P.erson a:id o'hers, Committee of Arrangements. MidJlelown, Conn. March 2S, ISSlC CSentlcmcn, I liav.- received yonr polite invitation to the dinner which i« In he given on the :VMh instant, hy the citizens of yonr city in honoin- of the honoii.a- ble Mr. Binges. . , , . , . For yonr civility in thu. noticmg me, be pleased to accept my most grate- ftrl ackiuiwledgments. Were it possible for me to do s >, I shonid with geal p'easnie atten I on the occasion. Nothing wonbi afford nie higher giatifna'ion, did circnni- stances permit, than to unite with you in the e.pression of respei I tor which it is intended. But the si'uation of my private busiiuss, pait cnla:iy in consetinence of my late ah en«te. so imperion-ly ri (piires my attention atliomc, that I regret to t-ay it mil Ite out of my power. With fcenlirnenis cf the highest lespect, 1 ixtn, Gentlemen, Yutn* obt. servant. Wm. L. STORRSo Blessr.'o Tsiac Pierson, Ehws 11. Ely. > Committee of arrangements N. Yoik. \\ m. Siunl. .Johnson. '^ o > Wm, L. Hone, Es ps. Ila tford, March 23th, lc;31. Genllemep, Be pleased to accept my thanks for your n(»ilie invifa'Ior! to idtend. as .i guest, the Public l)inn«'r' to be given Mr. Bulges. Piofesvioi a! engage- ments render it impossible fjf me to attend, it gives me pleasure loMil= 31 tipss (lie favnurnble rrc;ard yon hear t<» Dtp dislingruished and mprHnrious rrprfspnlalivp from Kliod** bland; it mjist h«; gratiiyinfi to him to Iihvh (he sipi-riba ioti ofsisch g. iiilcnieii in your ciiy, and lo receive this public testi- moriiai of his fidelity and worth. \\ ith scnliments of great e.sterm and respect, Your lluinble Ser\ant, Wm. M. ELLSWORTH. Messrs. I^aac Piersnn, ) Klias IL Ely, > and others, U'uj. S. Juhuspn, ) New-IIaven, CSth i^farch, 183L Gentlemen, I have the honour to acknowledsie the receipt of your fa= Vnnv of the 24lh ('uliich came (o hand this morning;, invltiiiij me to a pub- lic diin^r on tlu; :i()th, whicli a number of the citizens of New-York pro- pose giving to the ILm. 'I rislaiu Buigiis, in approbation of' his deciiled c Miduct and aide services to the country, in exposing the mal administra- tion (if t!ie Gniicr.d Government." It wonh' give me much pb-as:ire to accept the invitation if n^y health woidd (leiuiii me to «li» so. IJm I am i\t prpsient (|UIh ati in\alid,in conse- (jucn<:e of a tVvi-r whi<:h I had in Washington, the effects? of which are sli.i I pon me, and rend, r me unable to h ave l.orne. Be pleasHtl to accept my respectful a<;knowl« dj;ments for the honour you hrtve done me. in thinking of me a^ a guest on the occasion refeired to; and believe me to l.'e your obedient and humble servant, 11. 1. INGERSOLL. To Wm. Samuel Johnson and Wm. L. Stone, Esfjuires, Cunuuittce, *&c. Trrnfon, (N. J ) Marrh .'^O. 18.11, Gentlemrn, — I beg yoii to aocrpf my resprclful at knonledg. inent? for the liormr of \i.in- iinittiun to !.«■ prrssfiit "asH Guf.-(" al dii; dnmer to l)e given, this d tv, In " a nninher or the Citiz: ns of New-Y<>ik, who s-.;e de^iious ot ex pi casing to the Hi n 'rii.-lam Biirges their l.ijili 3 ■ , , tVdIiam L. Stone, J New York, March .30, 18.31. t Jenl'einen, — T had the honor, on arriving in the t iiy last evi niiig. (o nceive }oiir note of the -.Mlh irist. retjiieftiii; inv atlei.danie jit a pi.biir d iiiser to he gi*«n this (I'sy to my niiu h respecii d l'ri