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 BISHOP HOPKINS' ADDRESS, 
 
 AT ST. AIBANS, VEKMONT, 
 ON THE DEATH OF 
 
 GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR. 
 
 
 i 
 
i 
 
ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED BY REQUEST OF THE SELECTMEN 
 
 OF THE TOWN OF ST. ALBANS, 
 
 FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 1850, 
 
 ON THE DEATH OF 
 
 GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR, 
 
 LATE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN HENRY HOPKINS, D. D. 
 
 i' 
 
 BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF VERMONT. 
 
 ST. ALBANS : 
 
 PRINTED BY E. B. WHITING, 
 
 1850. 
 

 .H11 
 
 Cofrf 
 
 The undersigned, Selectmen of the town of St. Albans, regarding it as fit 
 that there be some public demonstration of the feelings of this community 
 respecting the national calamity occasioned by the death of General Zachary 
 Taylor, late President of the United States, have, on behalf of the citizens 
 of St. Albans, invited Rt. Rev. Bishop Hopkins to pronounce a discourse on 
 this afflicting dispensation. 
 
 It affords the undersigned much pleasure to be able to announce to then- 
 fellow citizens, that Bishop Hopkins has accepted their invitation and that 
 the discourse will be delivered at the Congregational Meeting House on Fri- 
 day, August 2nd, 1850, at U o'clock in the afternoon. 
 
 S(. Albans, July 24, 1850. 
 
 JOSEPH WEEKS, ) 
 
 ANSON BUCK, > Selectmen. 
 
 JULIUS H. BROOKS,) 
 
 St. Albans, 17., August 3rf, 1850. 
 Rev. and Dear Sir : — 
 
 The undersigned, Select-men of the town of St. Albans, 
 improve an early opportunity to return to you, on behalf of the citizens of 
 St. Albans, their grateful acknowledgments for the able and instructive Ad- 
 dress pronounced before them, at their request, on the evening of the 2d 
 
 inst. 
 
 Entertaining a desire in common with their fellow-citizens, that the moral 
 and patriotic principles, which were so eloquently enforced therein, should have 
 a more general, and, consequently, a more useful circulation, they respect- 
 fully solicit a copy for publication. 
 
 Your friends and ob't servants, 
 
 JOSEPH WEEKS, ) Select-men 
 
 ANSON BUCK, > of the town 
 
 JULIUS H. BROOKS, ) of St. Albans. 
 
 To the Rt. Rev., the Bishop > 
 of the Diocese of Vermont. $ 
 
 Burlington, 17., August 'id, 1850. 
 
 Gentlemen : — 
 
 [ comply very cheerfully with your kind request, that I would 
 furnish a copy of my Address for publication ; and only regret that it is not 
 more worthy of the subject, and of the favorable indulgence with which it 
 was received. 
 
 Your faithful friend 
 
 and servant in Christ, 
 
 JOHN H. HOPKINS. 
 To Messrs, JOSEPH WEEKS, ) 
 
 ANSON BUCK, > Select-men. 
 
 JULIUS H. BROOKS,) 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 My Friends and Fellow-citizens : 
 
 The respected officers to whom you have committed 
 the civil authority of your town, have called you together 
 this day, to mark an occurrence of rare and peculiar 
 interest. " Regarding it as fit that there be some public 
 demonstration of the feelings of this community respect- 
 ing the national calamity occasioned by the death of 
 General Zachary Taylor, late President of the United 
 States," they have invited you to manifest your sym- 
 pathy on what they have most truly called u an afflicting 
 dispensation ; " and have assigned to me the duty of 
 expressing the sentiments appropriate to an event, which 
 is invested with no ordinary importance and solemnity. 
 
 In accepting the office, however, thus kindly con- 
 ferred, you will permit me to premise, that I have not 
 been influenced by any confidence in my powers to do 
 justice to the occasion. I see around me many, whose 
 qualifications for such a duty seem far superior to my 
 own. The fervid eloquence of the patriot, the deep 
 knowledge of the practised politician, the high admira- 
 tion of military renown, would all find ample scope in 
 the subject assigned to me. And I need not say to you 
 that these are hardly to be expected in the ministers of 
 
Him, whose kingdom is not of this world. But notwith- 
 standing my conscious unfitness for the task, I did not 
 feel at liberty to decline it, lest my motive might seem 
 to be an indolent indifference to the wishes of my friends. 
 And therefore I have to ask for an indulgent hearing, in 
 the hope that although I cannot excite your feelings by 
 the talent of the orator, I may yet succeed in address- 
 ing to your understandings the words of soberness and 
 truth. 
 
 The order which I propose to follow is suggested by 
 the terms in which the invitation has been presented to 
 me. A brief sketch of the life and character of our 
 lamented Chief Magistrate, with the reasons for consid- 
 ering his unexpected death as " a national calamity " 
 and " an afflictive dispensation," will embrace the greater 
 part of what I design to set before you. 
 
 It appears from the slight statements which have met 
 the public eye, that General Taylor was the son of a 
 revolutionary patriot and soldier, from whom he doubt- 
 less imbibed his early predilection for the military pro- 
 fession, and his principles of earnest devotion to the 
 honor of his country. He was born in Orange County, 
 Virginia, on the 2nd of November, 1784. and is there- 
 fore one of that extraordinary band of men whom " the 
 Old Dominion" has raised to such exalted eminence, 
 in the battles and the councils of the Nation. Like 
 many others of our most distinguished countrymen, he 
 was kept in the safe and manly labors of agricultural 
 life, until he was of age; and in the year 1808, he indulg- 
 ed his fondness for the army, by accepting the commis- 
 sion of 1st. Lieutenant in the Infantry. Two years af- 
 terwards, at the age of twenty-six, he married; and in 
 the Indian war of the North-west, under General Har- 
 rison, during the year 1812, he distinguished himself 
 
5 
 
 greatly by his cool and determined courage. This war 
 being ended, and the army reduced, he returned to the 
 pursuits of husbandry ; but in 1816 he was again in ser- 
 vice at Green Bay, with the rank of Major, and after- 
 wards served in the South, being seldom absent from 
 active duty. In 1819 he was promoted to the rank 
 of Lieutenant Colonel j and in 1832, we find him a Colo- 
 nel, serving in the Black Hawk war. Four years after- 
 wards, he was ordered to Florida, and in 1837, he fought 
 the memorable battle of Okechokee, which was followed 
 by the close of that protracted and difficult contest, and 
 obtained for him the brevet rank of Brigadier General. 
 In 1840, he took the command of the first depart- 
 ment in the South-west j and in 1845, he was ordered 
 to the frontier of Texas, where he established his head- 
 quarters at Corpus Christi. The following year, in obe- 
 dience to the instructions of President Polk, he marched 
 to the Rio Grande, and then began the series of those 
 brilliant and surprising victories, which fixed on him the 
 admiring gaze of his country, and excited the astonish- 
 ment of the civilized world. The battle of Palo Alto 
 was fought on the 8th of May, 1846, followed, the next 
 day, by that of Resaca de la Palma, and, on the 18th 
 of the same month, by the taking of Matamoras. The 
 ensuing September witnessed the capitulation of Mon- 
 terey, and February 22nd, 1847, was distinguished by 
 the wonderful victory of Buena Vista. Dazzled by the 
 splendor of a career, almost unexampled in modern war- 
 fare, the whole nation rang with applause and gratula- 
 tion, which were powerfully enhanced by the singular 
 modesty and simplicity of their favorite hero, and yet 
 more by the universal tribute of affection to his frank 
 kindliness and benevolence of heart. The highest office 
 in the gift of the people was thought by some to be the 
 
6 
 
 proper reward of so much merit; and the idea, once sug- 
 gested, gained force with great rapidity, notwithstanding 
 the vast popularity and pre-eminent claims of other can- 
 didates, whom the country would have been delighted to 
 honor. On his return from Mexico to the United States, 
 in the Fall of 1817, he was received everywhere with 
 the most unbounded enthusiasm. In June, 1848, the 
 Whig Convention at Philadelphia nominated him for 
 President, and in November of the same year, he was 
 elected over General Cass, the opposing candidate, by a 
 majority of one hundred and sixty-three electoral votes 
 against one hundred and twenty-seven. His inaugura- 
 tion took place on the 5th of March, 1849, and he dis- 
 charged the duties of his exalted office, with the increas- 
 ing confidence and affection of the great body of his 
 countrymen, for little more than a year *, when it pleased 
 the Almighty Ruler of nations to remove him to that 
 unseen and spiritual world, where the voice of praise 
 or censure, from human lips, can reach him no more. 
 On the 9th of July last, the hero passed through his 
 final earthly conflict, surrounded by his agonized family, 
 the members of his Cabinet, and many anxious friends , 
 while an immense multitude thronged the public grounds, 
 waiting, in sad suspense, for the melancholy announce- 
 ment. His dying words were strongly characteristic : 
 
 4 ' I A>I PREPARED — I HAVE ENDEAVORED TO DISCHARGE 
 ALL MY OFFICIAL DUTIES FAITHFULLY." SoOU after- 
 Wards his voice failed — he sunk calmly into his last 
 sleep — the blow descended gently : but it smote upon 
 the national heart, and the universal feeling with which 
 it has been received proves, beyond dispute, the deep 
 hold he had gained, upon the reverence, the love and 
 the confidence of the people- 
 It would be neither consistent with mv ministerial 
 
character, my friends, nor in accordance with your own 
 sound judgment, that I should make the slightest effort 
 at a studied eulogy, on this occasion. As a servant of 
 the Prince of peace, I can have no strong sympathy 
 with military glory. And standing aloof from all party 
 politics for more than thirty years, I am perfectly 
 unconscious of any prejudice, which could affect the 
 dispassionate exercise of the best judgment in my power. 
 But in the clear and unclouded light of impartial opinion, 
 I think it must be granted that our departed Chief Ma- 
 gistrate was an extraordinary example of high excellence, 
 uniting in one those qualities which are seldom found in 
 combination ; and which it is not likely tliat we shall ever 
 see again, so singularly marked, in so exalted a station. 
 It was not merely that his courage in the field of 
 battle exhibited the boldest and most daring intrepidity 5 
 for this he shared in common with a host of heroes. — 
 Nor was it that he loved his country with the pure 
 affection of a patriot 5 for this, I trust, may be asserted 
 of many others. Nor was it that he displayed, in union 
 with the most chivalric bravery, the most benevolent 
 temper and the kindest heart 5 for this too, is no uncom- 
 mon trait amongst the warriors of our nation. But it 
 was that in the midst of the most splendid military 
 success, he seemed almost unconscious of his acknowl- 
 edged greatness — that he sought to do the fullest justice 
 to the merits of his subordinates, while he passed by his 
 own — that he took the largest share of the perils, the 
 hardships and effective service of war, while he cared 
 nothing for its pomp, and pride, and glittering appendages 
 — that notwithstanding it was the profession of his early 
 choice, and that he owed his elevation to its triumphs, 
 yet he regarded it, at best, as a necessary evil, and 
 mourned over its calamities as a Christian man— that 
 
8 
 
 when lie saw himself the favorite of the nation, his mod* 
 esty shrunk back from the Presidential chair, and his 
 honest candor frankly professed his want of knowledge 
 and ability — that he could not be induced to adopt the 
 ordinary measures of political expediency, to propitiate 
 the leaders of party, and shewed himself nobly superior 
 to all the natural promptings of ambition — that after he 
 was placed on the loftiest pinnacle of official power, his 
 political opponents could find in him no trace of self- 
 complacency, resentment, partiality or pride, but rested 
 their chief complaints on the ground that he suffered his 
 Cabinet to dictate in questions of removals and appoint- 
 ments, instead of taking the entire government of the 
 matter into his own hand — that his independence of 
 sentiment was so great as to keep him aloof from all 
 Southern influence, notwithstanding he was himself a 
 slave-holder — and, in a word, that in the midst of every 
 temptation which this world could offer, in the shape of 
 honor, fame, wealth, power and popular idolatry, he 
 maintained the same constant character of frank sim- 
 plicity, transparent truth, cordial kindness, sober wisdom, 
 strict justice, and unbiased patriotism. 
 
 It is manifest that the loss of such a man, at any time, 
 would be regarded as a national calamity. But there 
 are peculiar reasons for the opinion so generally enter- 
 tained, that in the present distraction of our public 
 councils, the death of a President who united so admi- 
 rably the qualities of the hero and the sage, is an event 
 of the saddest import to the country. It may be well to 
 state at large the argument for this prevailing impression, 
 and to test its correctness by facts and principles, familiar 
 to us all. 
 
 The immense accession of public territory consequent 
 upon the settlement with Mexico, and the application of 
 
California to be admitted into the Union as a Free 
 State, have roused a conflict in our great national legis- 
 lature, on the exciting subject of slavery, which has been 
 totally without example for duration. Many Southern 
 members of the highest standing have presented a form- 
 al menace of secession, if something be not done to pro- 
 tect their favorite institution from the increasing prepon- 
 derance of the North. The best intellects of our Coun- 
 try have been occupied for more than half a year in de- 
 vising a plan of friendly compromise, which shall give sat- 
 isfaction to the majority and keep our glorious confedera- 
 tion together. And our wisest and most experienced 
 statesmen agree in the opinion that the country is in 
 danger of an internal convulsion, which no true-hearted 
 American can contemplate without the liveliest appre- 
 hension and solicitude. 
 
 At such a time it is, that Divine Providence has seen 
 fit to take away our former chief magistrate, to whose 
 pure impartiality, prompt energy, and kindly moderation 
 the great body of the nation were disposed to look as 
 to a strong arm of defence in a day of trouble. They 
 saw him in full possession of every qualification which 
 might be desired to guide the ship of State through the 
 fury of the storm, and preserve it from the rocks and 
 shoals which threatened it with ruin. They knew him to 
 be devoted to his duty, fearless of danger, and prepared at 
 all risks, to do his utmost in the service of the Union. 
 They knew that he was firmly opposed to fanaticism, 
 whether of the North or of the South ; that he had pro- 
 posed to himself the principles of Washington, as the 
 highest and safest model for his own administration 5 
 and that he was ready to put down, with all the vigor of 
 his character and the power of his office, the first move- 
 ment in any quarter, which could bear the imputation 
 
10 
 
 of treason or conspiracy. And when they heard that 
 his valuable life was suddenly cut short, they felt as if 
 their best hope for the nation had perished, and the 
 clouds which hung over the public council seemed to 
 lower with ten fold darkness, and they mourned as if the 
 country had lost its most faithful guardian, its most effec- 
 tive friend. 
 
 Doubtless, all this was an easy and natural result of 
 the confidence and affection, which the character of our 
 departed President had won from the national heart. — 
 And in itself it was not only the most unquestionable 
 tribute that could have been rendered to his merits, but 
 it served to give its true force and effect to the event, 
 which was assuredly designed to be, in the wisdom of 
 Providence, precisely what your authority has called it, 
 " a public calamity, and an afflictive dispensation." 
 
 But yet, as in all similar cases, the language of regret 
 is not without a strong tendency to exaggeration. It is 
 by no means a necessary inference that this painful be- 
 reavement is intended to produce any evil results to the 
 peace or safety of our beloved country, nor that it should 
 be regarded otherwise than as a wholesome corrective, 
 appointed, in the mercy of the Almighty, to rebuke the 
 sins and the follies which are our worst enemies, and to 
 warn us not to rest our confidence on an arm of flesh, 
 but only on the wisdom and might of the true Ruler of 
 nations. To this view of the subject I would therefore 
 ask your attention, since it is the duty of explaining it T 
 in accordance with the true Christian principles of gov- 
 ernment, which induced me to address you, on such an 
 occasion. All Americans agree in acknowledging that 
 our great and glorious confederation has a special and 
 sublime mission amongst the nations of the earth, to 
 teach them the practical possibility and real superiority 
 
1] 
 
 of a popular constitution, in which the people are all 
 personally interested 5 electing, by an universal suffrage 
 their own law-givers and rulers, and thus making every 
 man, to some extent, an actual sharer in its administra- 
 tion ; abolishing all privileged orders of nobility, opening 
 to each individual the prospect of honor and advance- 
 ment to which his virtues and his talents may entitle 
 him, but denying all access to any political rank, inde- 
 pendent of the judgment of his fellow citizens. 
 
 It is generally conceded, also, that our admirable 
 Constitution takes for granted the virtue and intelligence 
 of the great body of our people, and rests them both on 
 the only sure basis of the Christian religion. This is 
 demonstrable from the fact, that the admission to all our 
 higher offices is guarded by a solemn oath, appealing to 
 the great Searcher of hearts 5 that the same oath, or an 
 affirmation equivalent thereto, is required in the 
 administration of justice 5 and that no one who disbe- 
 lieves a future state of rewards and punishments can 
 be allowed to give testimony on any trial. It is still 
 further proved by the laws of every State in the Union, 
 forbidding the violation of the Christian Sabbath day, 
 and punishing the sins of blasphemy and profanity 
 against the sacred Scriptures. But it is quite superflu- 
 ous to enlarge on this topic. For if there be a proposi- 
 tion about which mankind may be said to be universally 
 agreed, it is surely this: that there can be no true liberty 
 without morality, and no true morality without religion. 
 
 It is likewise granted that the peculiar blessings of 
 our system of government are to be found in the arts of 
 peaceful industry and useful enterprise, that it is neither 
 designed for nor adapted to wars of conquest, although 
 admirably suited to a war of defence 5 that the military 
 spirit is eminently unfavorable to public and private 
 
12 
 
 prosperity, and that while every citizen should be able 
 to be a soldier on occasions of necessity, every soldier 
 should remember that he is a citizen, so that the military- 
 may always be subject to the civil power. 
 
 Advancing on these principles from a small beginning, 
 our country has gone forward with unexampled success 
 and prosperity, until it is now, in little more than half a 
 century, the admiration and wonder of the world. — 
 Far and wide, our example is operating amongst the na- 
 tions of Europe. Far and wide, there is a sentiment of 
 reverence for our name. Far and wide, our privileges 
 are the subject of envy or desire to millions of the hu- 
 man family. And if we are but true to our principles 
 and faithful to the Constitution, which rests our liberty 
 on the virtue and the intelligence of the people, and 
 bases that virtue and intelligence upon the sure founda- 
 tion of the Christian religion, the same blessing which 
 has hitherto made us a burning and a shining light, will 
 continue to prosper us, until ultimately, perhaps, the 
 diffusion of freedom may extend throughout the whole 
 globe, and prepare it for the great and final consummation. 
 
 But here lies the difficulty. We have not been true 
 to those principles. We have not been faithful to that 
 Constitution. We are growing proud of our prosperity 
 and vain of our strength. We idolize the heroes and 
 the statesmen of our Revolution, and forget the God 
 whose instruments they were. We idolize the heroes 
 and the statesmen who have succeeded them, and 
 fasten our faith to these, and worship their greatness, 
 and rely on their power, and forgot the Almighty 
 Sovereign to whom both we and they are alike account- 
 able. And hence comes the necessity of " national 
 calamities, and afflictive dispensations," that God, in His 
 mercy, may shew us our error; and lead us back to 
 
13 
 
 the Source of all lasting prosperity, in which our fath- 
 ers trusted; and remind us that it is He that ruleth 
 amongst the children of men. 
 
 It may be necessary, however, to specify a few of the 
 proofs, which shew the downward tendency of our age, 
 through this sad neglect of fundamental principles. 
 
 1. And first, I may refer to the mode in which our 
 laws for naturalization have been administered. Those 
 laws expressly require the Judges to be satisfied con- 
 cerning the moral character of the applicant, and his 
 intelligent approval and choice of our principles of gov- 
 ernment. And foreigners possessing such qualifications 
 as these, would, indeed, be a welcome addition to the 
 strength and resources of the nation. But it is notorious 
 that thousands are admitted year by year to all the 
 privileges of citizenship, without the slightest real claim 
 to the morality and intelligence which the laws demand. 
 And, thus, in many places, the whole power of the elec- 
 tive franchise is actually taken out of the hands of the 
 lawful owners, by the votes of men who are utterly unfit 
 to exercise the right, according to the true theory of 
 Republican Government. 
 
 2. From this abuse has sprung another, viz. the cor- 
 ruption of our elections, in which the votes of multitudes 
 are confessedly bought and sold, and no sort of trick or 
 stratagem is thought immoral, if it be only employed in 
 the service of party. It is surely impossible to excuse 
 this on any ground of true republican principles. 
 
 3. It follows quite naturally, that the candidates them- 
 selves are often chosen without regard to moral, and al- 
 ways chosen without regard to religious character. In- 
 deed, this last would frequently be thought rather an ob- 
 jection. It is true that a certain measure of knowledge 
 -and ability is admitted to be necessary ; but this is taken 
 
u 
 
 for granted, and the main point considered is availabil- 
 ity for pari y purposes. Here is the only cause which, 
 in three prominent instances, led to the selection of a 
 military hero for the office of President. No intelligent 
 man, I presume, can doubt that General Jackson be- 
 came the popular idol of the nation by the splendid vic- 
 tory of New Orleans, and that it was the name of hero 
 that opened his path to the Presidential Chair. Gen- 
 eral Harrison owed his political success to the same 
 popular love of martial glory, and " the hero of Tippe- 
 canoe " was the magic phrase which emblazoned his pre- 
 tensions. And so it was with our late lamented Presi- 
 dent. His surprising victories in Mexico raised him to 
 the rank of hero in the public eye, and had more actual 
 influence in procuring his election than a thousand sober 
 virtues could have exercised. And yet no thoughtful and 
 considerate mind could ever believe that the art of war 
 was a consistent introduction to the science of political 
 government, or that success in the one was any argu- 
 ment of fitness for the other. It was doubtless a happy 
 event, that those military presidents were men of rare 
 merits in other points of character. But it was not on 
 these that their favor depended with the people. They 
 were pure objects of hero-worship, and notning more. — 
 And, therefore, I refer to them to show, that we have 
 quite as much regard for the shining points which catch 
 the popular eye, as the ages that have gone before us ; 
 and provided we have these, we concern ourselves but 
 little for the homelier qualities of morality and virtue. 
 
 4. The next topic of our reproach arises from the 
 political maxim that " to the victors belong the spoils," 
 by which every change of administration puis thousands 
 of men out of office, without any fault except the unpar- 
 donnblo one of having voted for the unsuccessful candi- 
 
15 
 
 date. On the theory of our Government in its early 
 youth the question to be asked concerning any public 
 officer was supposed to be this : " Is he honest, and is 
 he capable ?" But it is a long while since that theory 
 has been acted on, with any tolerable consistency. 
 
 5. And here we have to acknowledge the grievous 
 abuses of that party spirit, which is not only the cause of 
 the evil last mentioned, but of an innumerable host of 
 other sins against justice and truth. It is party spirit 
 which seeks so often to sacrifice the worthy and exalt 
 the vile 5 which studiously flatters its own candidates, 
 and as studiously reviles their antagonists 5 which calls 
 evil good, and good evil, and puts darkness for light, and 
 light for darkness ; which separates chief friends, and 
 tramples recklessly on the dearest relations and most 
 sacred obligations of life, whenever it is enlisted in the 
 service of political venality. True, there is nothing new 
 in this. All the older nations have set us the example of 
 the same corruption. But our republican system de- 
 mands a higher and a purer principle, if we would be 
 exempt from the fearful convulsions of other times and 
 countries ; nor can we hope to do much towards the ef- 
 fectual reformation of foreign governments until we have 
 learned to purify our own. 
 
 6. The sixth point that I would notice is the deplore 
 able want of public decorum and official respect, which 
 has so frequently, of late years, disgraced the character 
 of our legislative assemblies, and, at last, has even invad- 
 ed that most dignified body, the Senate of the United 
 States. 
 
 7. And when to all this, we add the new-born lust of 
 foreign territory 5 the wild and reckless crusade of our ul- 
 tra abolitionists against the institutions of the south 5 and 
 the equally wild and reckless spirit in which they have 
 
16 
 
 been resisted ; to say nothing of other points of repreheli* 
 sion, surely we have reason to bow our heads in sorrow- 
 ful acknowledgment that the early character of our na* 
 tion is fast changing for the Worse, that we have insen- 
 sibly departed far from the true theory of our republican 
 system, and that we need the corrective hand of Divine 
 Providence to curb our pride, to recall us to a sense of 
 our dependence on a higher power, to force us to reflect 
 and feel, to open our eyes to the dangers towards which 
 we are rapidly tending, and to awaken us to a conscious* 
 ness of the solemn truth that, "Righteousness exalteth 
 a nation, but sin is the reproach of any people." 
 
 It is but a few year,«, since we all witnessed the extrav- 
 agance of our hero-worship in the case of President Har» 
 rison. It pleased God to rebuke us by a " national ca* 
 lamity, an afflictive dispensation." In a little month af* 
 ter his entrance upon office, he was stricken by the hand 
 of death, and we were called to lament what many were 
 disposed to think a most untimely bereavement. Two 
 presidents succeeded, and behold ! another her© arose, 
 and gave us a new opportunity to fall into our favorite 
 idolatry. He has been spared to us somewhat longer, 
 but now, he too, is taken away. Far be it from me to 
 deny the claims of either. Both were eminent warriors, 
 both were pure and honest patriots, and both had well 
 "earned) by a life of consistent and laborous duty, the 
 praise and confidence of their country. But this is no 
 reason why we should forget that the best and greatest 
 men are only the instruments of a higher power 3 that 
 all their succeses and their triumphs are His appoint' 
 nicnt; that we can have nothing, either as a nation or 
 as individuals, except what we receive at His hands ; 
 that When He sees fit to withdraw one of his eminent 
 official servants, it is a light thing with His Providence 
 
17 
 
 to raise up another in his place ; and that, so long as the 
 great body of our citizens render all their worship to 
 Him who alone is entitled to it, as their Creator, Re- 
 deemer and Preserver — remembering that they must 
 not place an over-weening dependence in the powers or 
 virtues of any mortal, but rest with all their faith upon 
 the grace and goodness of the Almighty, — so long they 
 may be assured of His blessing ; so long, the Lord will 
 teach their rulers truth, and their Senators wisdom : 
 so long, if a David be removed, a Solomon shall suc- 
 ceed him ; and the tears of mournful regret shall be fol- 
 lowed by the voice of joyful gratulation. 
 
 There is not, my friends, in the wide earth, at this day, 
 a nation which is, in all respects, so favored as our own. 
 jYone where the laws are administered with so much 
 equality, where the poorest man finds it so easy to gain 
 a competent subsistence, where there is so great an av- 
 erage of ordinary instruction and intelligence, where 
 there is so little suffering from oppression, where the road 
 is so open to affluence and honor, where so many of the 
 citizens have it in their power to become the owners of 
 the soil, and sit in peace under their own vine, with 
 none to make them afraid, — where, in a word, the good 
 Providence of God has showered down His best gifts 
 in such rich profusion, and bestowed upon the mass of 
 our citizens so large a measure of comfort and prosperi- 
 ty. But I put it to your own sound judgment to say 
 whether we, as a people, have made a suitable return 
 for all these benefits ? Have our piety and zeal kept 
 pace with our blessings ? On the contrary, do we not 
 resemble those chosen and favored Israelites, w T ho began 
 to play the idolator in the very zenith of their glory and 
 renown j and, as a just punishment, were divided into 
 two nations, which ever after regarded each other with 
 
13 
 
 aversion and hostility ? And although it must be grant- 
 ed that our idols are not like those of the ancient or 
 modern heathen, yet do they not involve the same sub- 
 stantial sin of departing from God ? Does not the in- 
 spired apostle expressly say that covetousness is idolatry % 
 Is not the over-weening confidence placed in the ob- 
 jects of popular applause, another species of the same 
 sin ? Do we not virtually offend against the divine pre- 
 rogative, when we indulge our national pride, and claim 
 all the praise of our Country's greatness for our heroes 
 and our statesmen, without any just and thankful ac- 
 knowledgment to the Almighty Ruler ? And notwith- 
 standing the number of our Churches and our Ministers, 
 is it not true that the authority of the Bible is often set 
 aside, and that irreligion and infidelity are increasing ? 
 Hence it is, that we are in danger of far heavier trials, 
 — far more afflicting and awful dispensations, than 
 that which we are called upon to deplore this day. The 
 distracted state of our great national legislature is thought 
 by many, to be ominous of approaching disunion. So 
 deep was the anxiety of our late President's mind upon 
 this subject, that some have confidently assigned it as one 
 of the causes of his death. But whether that idea be 
 well-founded or otherwise, it is easy to imagine how sore 
 a trial to his feelings it must have been, to witness the 
 alienation, the strife, the bitterness, which have marked, 
 for six long months, this first Congress of his administra- 
 tion. How his patriotic heart must have yearned, as he 
 pondered over those alarming questions : Is this glorious 
 confederation, indeed, threatened with dissolution ? Af- 
 ter leading the soldiers of the Republic so long against 
 our foreign enemies, shall I now be compelled to wage 
 battle with our brethren in a civil war ? Is the wild 
 spirit of ultra-abolitionism to be gratified by trampling 
 
19 
 
 down our Constitution, and deluging our land with the 
 blood of our own fellow r -citizens ? Can it be possible 
 that already, before that noble Constitution has lasted a 
 hundred years, surrounded by every privilege and bless- 
 ing, the envy and the admiration of the world — that so 
 soon, and in such circumstances of unparalleled pros- 
 perity, we are to be torn asunder by internal discord, 
 only because we can neither be content with the herit- 
 age which our fathers have bequeathed to us, nor thank- 
 ful to Providence for the marvelous superiority of our 
 national lot ? That such reflections must have pressed 
 upon the departed hero's mind, can hardly be doubted ; 
 since we are assured, by our greatest and wisest states- 
 men, that this terrible risk is actually before us — that 
 this most awful of earthly calamities is not only possible 
 but probable, — nay, that it is, perhaps, nigh at hand. 
 May God, of His infinite mercy, avert the impending 
 danger ! May His spirit calm the angry storm of reck- 
 less violence and passion! May His omnipotent word 
 say to the fury of the tempest, Peace, be still ! 
 
 I know not, my friends, how far the avowal of my 
 own sentiments on the agitating controversy of the day 
 may accord with the feelings of my respected auditory. 
 In this matter, I speak only for myself, and desire that 
 every intelligent man that hears me, should enjoy the 
 same unbiassed freedom of opinion. But I should de- 
 spise myself as totally wanting in the moral courage 
 which becomes a Christian republican, if I shunned the 
 occasion of distinctly stating my own fervent hope, that 
 the great and wise leaders of our political councils may 
 succeed in their patriotic effort to calm the chafed spirits 
 of our southern brethren by some judicious course, 
 through which the true intent and meaning of our noble 
 Constitution may be vindicated, and our country be re* 
 
20 
 
 stored to unity and peace. It is not that I have any 
 sympathy with the institution of slavery. My feelings 
 and my habits are all opposed to it, and I regard it as a 
 serious evil, which I should rejoice to see abolished from 
 the earth. Were it in my power to direct the energies 
 of our General Government, I would gladly devote all 
 its vast resources to the object of purchasing the freedom 
 of every slave within the Union, and settling them upon 
 the shores of Africa, on the model of Liberia, and aiding 
 them to enlighten and civilize that vast continent from 
 which their fathers came. The Mexican war alone has 
 cost us one hundred millions in three years, for an ad- 
 vantage which is, as yet, of doubtful utility to our own 
 best and highest interests. And it is susceptible of a 
 strict arithmetical calculation, that the annual interest 
 of twice that sum, continued for a period of fifty years, 
 would suffice to emancipate our three millions of slaves, 
 so as to relieve the country of the whole, during the life 
 of the rising generation, and make them a blessing to Af- 
 rica and the world at large. But neither this nor any 
 other plan, at all commensurate with the evil, can be 
 adopted, without much time and grave consideration. 
 And, meanwhile, I cannot condemn our Southern breth- 
 ren as sinners, because they use an institution which the 
 law of God expressly allowed to ancient Israel, and 
 which the precepts of the Gospel were never supposed to 
 forbid, before the commencement of the present century. 
 I cannot see the justice of denouncing them, because 
 they claim the protection of tne Constitution for their 
 legal rights, as that Constitution has been expounded by 
 the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest tri- 
 bunal of our country. I cannot blame them because 
 they refuse to reduce themselves to beggary by emanci- 
 pating their slaves without a fair equivalent, nor because 
 
they are unwilling to expose themselves to the danger of 
 the conflict and confusion, which would be the probable 
 if not the inevitable consequence of retaining such a 
 population amongst them. Nor can I wonder at the 
 strong excitement which they feel at the doctrine of our 
 ultra -abolitionists, when they hear and see themselves re- 
 viled as the enemies of God and man, unfit to hold com- 
 munion with a Christian Church, or to have a place 
 amongst a Christian people, merely because they main- 
 tain what was the doctrine of the whole Christian world, 
 only fifty years ago. 
 
 But here I must ask you, my friends, to note careful- 
 ly the distinction which the ultra-abolitionist is always 
 confounding. The holding of an African slave is one 
 thing, and the abusing him by cruelty or oppression is 
 another. I cannot for a moment doubt that the Bible 
 -allows the relation of master and slave, while it con- 
 demns the treating of the slave in any other manner than 
 is consistent with the Gospel precepts of justice, kindness 
 and affectionate consideration. The sin therefore lies, 
 not in the relation itself, but in the abuse of that relation 
 by acts of immorality and severe ill-usage. And al- 
 though I freely admit that the institution is liable to 
 these abuses, and therefore desire most cordiallv, for 
 that and various other reasons, that it may be done 
 away, yet I know that there are many slave-holders who 
 are eminent for every Christian virtue, who treat their 
 slaves with all possible benevolence and care, and to 
 whom those slaves look up with loving attachment, as 
 their best earthly friends and benefactors. But the ul- 
 tra-abolitionist can see no difference between the use and 
 the abuse of the institution. According to his creed, 
 slavery, under all circumstances, must be an unpardon- 
 able sin, an unmitigated atrocity: totally forgetting that 
 
22 
 
 If the Gospel had forbidden the allowance of slavery, 
 these millions of Africans who have lived and died in 
 the midst of Christian influence, must have remained in 
 their own benighted land, sunk in the extreme darkness 
 of the grossest idolatry, and exposed to a depth of heath- 
 en corruption and ferocious tyranny, in comparison with 
 which, the worst alleged abuses of southern bondage are 
 light indeed. 
 
 Frankly and fully, therefore, do I agree, in relation 
 to this matter, with your great statesman, Daniel Web- 
 ster, and with, as I verily believe, the intelligent and re- 
 flecting minds which compose the majority of our clergy 
 and our people throughout the Northern portion of the 
 Union. With them, I deplore the evils of slavery. 
 With them, I earnestly desire its total abolition, as soon 
 as it can be attained in the spirit of Christian kindness 
 and constitutional principle. With them, I would sin- 
 cerely deprecate and oppose any needless extension ot 
 the area of slavery. But with them, also, I would refuse 
 to do evil that good may come. I would refuse 
 to relieve the slave by the ruin of the master. I 
 would refuse to wrest the word of God under the mistak- 
 en hope of advancing the march of freedom. I would 
 refuse to re-model the Church, by the exclusion of the 
 slave owner, in the face of apostolical authority. And I 
 would refuse to trample on the Constitution — the su- 
 preme law of the land, and thus risk the commencement 
 of a civil war, with all its horrid and atrocious conse- 
 quences, only in order to force prematurely, what will 
 be much more likely to come to pass in the exercise of 
 kindness and forbearance, and what I doubt not will 
 come to pass, with the consent of all concerned, in the 
 Lord's good time. 
 
1 have specified the name of Daniel Webster on this 
 Occasion, distinctly, not because he holds a different 
 opinion from many other eminent Statesmen, but 
 because he has been made the peculiar subject of so 
 much abuse and obloquy, for his disinterested, patriotic 
 and magnanimous course, in the service of the whole 
 Union. Alas ! have we not here another sad proof of 
 the violence of prejudice ? When such a man can be 
 so recklessly assailed by his former admirers, his very 
 motives calumniated, his integrity aspersed, his honor 
 and his purity of purpose slandered, only because he 
 has conscientiously preferred the performance of his 
 public duty to the nation at large, before his personal 
 interest in his own district ! These, however, are the 
 very circumstances which test the power of principle. 
 It is an easy thing to defend the truth, when truth is 
 popular and acceptable to our party. But the States- 
 man who can resolve, if necessary, to sacrifice himself 
 to the welfare ot his Country, is a patriot indeed. 
 
 And now, my friends, to conclude — let me entreat 
 you, one and all, to reflect seriously on the prospect 
 before us* We have met together to deplore the 
 calamity — the afflicting dispensation, which has deprived 
 us of the hero, so lately raised to the highest office in 
 the gift of man. But he has departed in honor and in 
 peace. No more can his ears be pained by the conflict 
 of party. No more can his heart be wrung by the sad 
 anticipation of civil war, with all its frightful train of woe 
 and desolation. For him we have nothing to regret. 
 Years could have added nothing to his fame, nor is it for 
 us to say that a longer fife would have enabled him to 
 establish a better claim to the affection of his country. 
 But how do we propose to shew our reverence for hit 
 memory ? Is it by encouraging this new and disorgan^ 
 
21 
 
 izins doctrine that the Southern slave-holder must be de- 
 prived of our sympathy as a Christian or a man ? Why 
 then did we help to elect a Southern and a slave-holder 
 as our President, and why do we come here this day to 
 unite in lamenting his death, as an afflicting dispensa- 
 tion ? Shall we not rather testify our sorrow for his loss, 
 by aiding to the utmost of our power, in maintaining the 
 glorious Union, whose battles he fought during almost 
 forty years ? Shall we not rather imitate his patriotism 
 by opposing the enemies of that noble constitution, which, 
 under the guidance of a favoring Providence^ our fa- 
 thers framed as a model to the world ? Shall we not 
 ranee ourselves to a man with our faithful representa- 
 tives, who, though they arc all opposed to the extension 
 of slavery, are yet more opposed to the awful perils of 
 civil discord, as bound by oath and in conscience, to 
 legislate for the peace and welfare of the whole nation i 
 And above all, shall we not imitate the course of those 
 Revolutionary heroes, who, in the hour of perilous dis- 
 sension, resolved to look to God as their leader and 
 their guide, in the prayer of humble dependence and 
 trusting faith, that He would vouchsafe His favor and 
 protection ? 
 
 True, our glorious nation has been intoxicated by a 
 marvelous career of prosperity. True, we have been 
 too much devoted to the love of gold, the power of popu- 
 larity, the ambition of conquest, the worship of men* 
 True, we have been neglectful of the divine Source of 
 all our blessings, and have forgotten that we are the 
 purchased and . redeemed inheritance of the Lord of 
 hosts. But He has not yet cast off nor abandoned us. 
 Our rulers are not yet delivered over to delusion* 
 Our departed Chief Magistrate is succeeded by another, 
 as able in the Cabinet as was his predecessor in the 
 
25 
 
 field, and animated, as we trust, by the same zeal for 
 the welfare of his Country. He has summoned to his 
 aid a band of advisers who, as a whole, have no su- 
 periors in the land, for talents, experience and devotion 
 to their official duty. If then, the feeling of the nation 
 be right, what forbids us to hope that the course of 
 our public prosperity will be onward, and still onward, 
 in the union of high national, and cordial, fraternal 
 sympathy, in the development of our vast resources, in 
 the increasing reverence for law and order, in a loftier 
 morality, and, as the spring and regulator of all the rest, in 
 a deeper sense of practical religion ? Thus, by due de- 
 grees, the North and the South may come to a harmo- 
 nious sentiment on the subject of slavery. The angry 
 spirit of crimination and recrimination once passed away, 
 a peaceful and united effort may be made by the whole 
 power of the nation, to convert the slaves into freemen, 
 and settle them on the coast of their father-land, as the 
 pioneers and guides of liberty and religion to that be 
 nighted continent. And then will our glorious country 
 have accomplished a deed, 'beyond all Greek, beyond ail 
 Roman fame,' sure to carry down the names of the actors 
 to the remotest posterity, and to attract the applause 
 and admiration of a grateful world. 
 
 I have but little more to add, nor shall I trespass much 
 farther on your kind attention. I doubt not that many 
 of my respected auditors agree with me in the opinion 
 expressed at the commencement of my address, that the 
 selection of your orator has not been fortunate, and 
 that I am but poorly qualified to do justice to your wish- 
 es, on an occasion like this. On that point, at least, we 
 shall not differ in opinion. But I can assure you, with 
 perfect sincerity, that I have not sought so much to say 
 what might be acceptable at the moment, as to place 
 
26 
 
 before you what I believe to be profitable, because I be- 
 lieve it to be true. In the ultimate power of truth, I 
 have the most absolute confidence, since it is truth, and 
 only truth, to which the Supreme Lord and Ruler of us 
 all has promised the final victory. Error may triumph 
 for a while. Even good men may be seduced by the 
 impulse of their own generous feelings to become its ar- 
 dent advocates, and in seasons of strong excitement and 
 controversy, it may carry them away from the calm, 
 pure light of Christian reason and consistency. And at 
 such times, the advocates of truth may be abused and vil- 
 ified. Yea, they may spend years under a cloud of odi- 
 um and calumny, and may die at last in a vain struggle 
 against popu'ar delusion, as many a martyr has died be- 
 fore them. But truth does not die with them. Truth is 
 immortal, truth is eternal, because it is the offspring of 
 His word who liveth and abideth forever. 
 
 If I have succeeded in raising any of your minds this 
 day to that Fountain of truth, — if, in some reasonable 
 measure, I have aided any amongst you to put away the 
 violence of party spirit, to cherish the feelings of old affec- 
 tion towards all the members of our glorious Union, to 
 regard the existing evils of our country in a spirit of 
 patient hope and prayer, and mildly but firmly to dis- 
 courage the disorganizing efforts, which endanger alike 
 the peace of Church and State, and which may, if not 
 checked in season, involve our happy nation in one wide 
 spread deluge of anarchy and blood — then, my respected 
 friends, I shall console myself with the reflection that 
 your time has not been spent quite unprofitable, and 
 that my humble and imperfect labor has not been alto- 
 gether in vain. 
 
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