OR ATIO]^ DELIVERED JULY 4TH, 1865 Ei^Eisr, Bi^iE oo., osr. •^. By JAMES SHELDON. ^^i-i?s] BUFFALO : A. M. CLAPP di CO'S MORNING EXPRESS STEAM PRINTING HOUSE. 1865. • r S Z % ^^OKKESPONDieNC^. Eden, Erie Co., July 4, 1865. Hon. James Sheldon, Buffalo. Sir: — The Oration delivered by you this day received the commendation of your fellow-citizens for the dignified and patriotic sentiments therein expressed. In order that it may be more exten- sively read and appreciated we would respectfully request a copy for publication. Your fellow-citizens, JAMES W. GREEN, WILSON ROGERS, THOxMAS RUSSELL, LYMAN OATMAN, ELBRIDGE BUNDY, JOHN SHERMAN, THOMAS JUDSON, C, S. RATHE UN, BENJ. W. SHERMAN, IRA AYER, LYMAN PRATT, C. B. PARKINSON, AMOS AVERY, ISAAC RUSSELL. Buffalo, July 11, 1865. Hon. Wilsom Rogers, and others. Gentlemen: — Your flattering testimonial relating to the Oration delivered by me before the people of the Soudi Towns of Erie County on the A.nniversary of our Independence has been placed in my hands It was prepared while other cares and duties were pressing upon my time, and your kind expression in regard to the humble effbrd is grati- fying and unexpected. Hoping that a consideration of the sentiments therein expressed may in some measure contribute to the public good, I comply with your request. Very truly yours, .IAS. SHELDON, OEATION. A NATION'S JUBILEE ! The congregated millions hail its annual return. The song of rejoicing is blended with the voice of prayer and the psalm of thanksgiving in the land of our fathers. The freemen of a nation exchange fraternal salutations, the republicans of a commonwealth unite to celebrate the great event with pageants of triumph and festivals of joy. We commemorate the day when American Independence was declared before the powers and dominions and thrones of earth, when human lib- erty was defined, and the natural rights of man enun- ciated ; when the chief corner-stone was laid of that fabric of political organization which we hope will remain under the sun, amongst the posterities and endure for ever. The men of olden time have long since been gathered to the tomb, but you have come forth to venerate their memories. Y(m are sons of later generations, strong in the assurance that your inheritance cannot be alienated, and elevated by the consciousness that you as citizens of the Republic enjoy all the privileges and immunities with which you can be invested. You have assembled in obedience to the summons of that mysterious spirit of freedom whose exalting influence pervades every soul, like that of the day present and breathing around us to the natural world. As you thus unite to celebrate the event which resulted in the foundation of our sys- tem of formal government, you forget the differences of opinion you entertain concerning question of national or local policy, you forget the diversity that exists among you, of creeds and sects in all matters of faith or religion, you acknowledge no distinction of rank or wealth ; you all assemble as Americans, as freemen having equal and common i-ights and privileges, to join heart with heart in thankfulness for our happiness, and to indulge the earnest hope that all this may be per- petual. You come to awaken the remembrance of the past, to dwell in recollection upon the deeds of the immortal sages and patriots who established our Re- public, and to heap new offerings from your hearts upon the altars of our Liberty. Well is it, Americans, that you cangregate this day, animated by such influences and inspired by such enno- bling emotions. You pause upon the eminence of the present to look down upon the valley o£ the past, and you behold the long, succession of events that led to the formation of our government. There was colonial allegiance strengthened by ties of love and affection and even of veneration, but that allegiance in place of being fostered with parental kindness was claimed for pur- poses of oppression. The position and importance of the colonies were not understood, the respect due to their citizens was forgotten, their rights even as subjects, of petition and complaint, of exemption from odious burthens, even the common rights and immunities en- joyed in their native land were ignored. Our fathers were not and could not be slaves, for they w^ere men of high intelligcDce and inspired with lofty sentiments in regard to political and social rights, and as the events occured that one by one hastened the inevitable crisis, they became aro sed to a full sense of their position and thoroughly animated by the consciousness that their cause was that of justice and truth and right. The crisis came. The conflicts of Concord and Lex- ino-ton were but the first scenes enacted in the re vol u- tionary drama. At Bunker Hill the chain of British dominion was broken and reconciliation became impos- sible. Eigthy-nine years ago this day our fathers as- serted their independence and then came the long years of contest and the final victorious result, A young and vigorous republic was ushei-ed into the great family of nations, a constitution was established and political as well as religious freedom secured among men. The results of those memorable events are before the world ; 8 they are your glorious inheritance and the sources of your national pride ; they constitute a social, moral and political system heretofore unknown, and to which the nations are pointing as to a beacon of light amid the troubles and contentions of earth. The important characteristic of the event w^e cele- brate, distinguishing it from all occasions of similar im- port in the history of nations is, that on that day for the first time on earth the true principles of human liberty were established. They had been, in other ages, vainly hoped for by the uncertain multitude who dwelt in the vales beneath the temples of the Acropolis ; they had a theoretical existence at the Forum of the Eternal City, but the philosopher of Tusculum * dared not to hope that the dream of his imagination would ever become reality ; they were enunciated at Runnymede in Magna Charta, vindicated by Hampden on the battle- field, and asserted by Sydney upon the scaftbld ; they had life but not vital strensrth in the fastnesses of Switzerland ; but they had never been established ; the world had never been compelled to recognize the truths upon which our system of government is founded, the monarchs and kings of earth had never thought that the spirit and sentiment which created our liberty could be embodied into form and substance, and like a phys- * Cicero, Fragm de Eepublica. •ical fact have a fixed and actual and living being. It was reserved for the era of the American Revolution to accomplish this great political fact, not only to declare the rights of man, but to define the powers and autho- rity of rulers, and to establish in magnitude a Republic which we know will be perpetuated among the nations. The declaration of the independence of the Colonies was but the assertion of those naturl truths which the sages and patriots and martyrs of bye-gone centuries had pro- claimed, that man is naturally free, that he cannot justly be deprived of that liberty without cause, and that government was made for man and not man for the government ; it was the realization in a later age of the hopes they had breathed for human happiness and which had ever been repressed by despotism. This event therefore is to be distinguished from all others of that character as being the most important to humanity, by which freedom and liberty as we understand them vv^ere rescued fi'om the dominion of power and became animated and living realities. The conflict that ensued, the struggle duiing long years of suffering and exhaus- tion, of peril and of danger was but a physical support given to the principles involved, and they have ever since and will ever require that support until the unna- tural despotism of thrones is annihilated. But the great material point was gained when upon the day we com- memorate, the representatives of the humble colonies in 10 solemn council gave form and expression to the spirit that animated the breasts of their countrymen. The question of allegiance or independence was solved; the rest was but the act of reducing the new elements to consistent form ; which resulted in the organization of our federal government. Our Federal Government, our Union of sovereign and independent States, that Union to which we owe our grandeur and dignity among the nations, shall we forget this day to speak with reference of that compact which was the crowning act of the patriotism and self denial and wisdom of the men of the Revolution ? When the last struggle was ended and peace was I'estored, the colo- nies presented a spectale well calculated to fill with alarm and apprehension the minds of all who had indulged a hope for the great result which was finally accomplished by the confederation. Thirteen contiguous nations, inde- pendent of each other and of the world were brought into existence, connected only by the ties of language and origin, and the remembrance of their sacrifices and struggles and triumphs in a common cause. The league that had existed had accomplished its j^urpose and henceforth they were to choose for themselves, either to remain dissevered and discordant, or to unite in a fraternal association. If they adopted the former alter- native, it was to lose in reality all that had been gained 11 and a dreadful future was thus presented for considera- tion. The wise men of the land knew that there was no hope for liberty, for the establishment of enduring government unless a brotherhood was formed from all the existing elements that should unite the whole land in one confederation, under one system, which, while the existing sovereignty of each was recognized, would still concentrate their physical and moral power through the paramount allegiance yielded by all to that confed- eration and ensure their perpetuation. They were true patriots and sages or it would never have been done. Compromise of conflicting opinions and concession of rights were required and manfully offered, jealousies were allayed and animosities quieted, sacrifices were made which we know not of and hopes and prayers breathed forth and the clouds that enveloped our des- tiny finally rolled away. The result was accomplished and the bow of promise stood brightly in our political heaven, an omen of the glorious future. Behold how fair and lovely the work those artificers of your happi- ness constructed, how it has endured amid the storms of war and the contentions of foreign foes, and how in our days it has resisted the whirlwinds of faction and secession and stands more firmly in majestic strength. That Union so established is our heritage and boast To it, and the principles upon which it is founded, we owe our temporal grandeur and the existence of those 12 institutions so dear to us and to humanity. It has elevated us to the first rank among the nations and invested us with dignity and honor and grandeur, It is enshrined in the hearts of our citizens as an object of patriotic zeal, and you have demonstrated in your time a devotion for its preservation which we hope will establish it forever. May it be perpetual, may it exist with ever increasing splendor, may it stand fast in its own integrity and remain in all ages the great bulwark of religion against the assaults of infidelity, the great conservator of peace and truth and right upon earth, the land of refuge and happy home of the suffering and distressed of all climes, and the last and most glorious hope of Freedom and of Man, x\mericans, you hail the coming of this day of na- tional rejoicing with feelings of personal emotion inspired by the results of the last four years, knowing that the pledge your fore-fathers gave to all the world that this land should remain as an everlasting temple consecrated to liberty has been sacredly redeemed by you in these later days of stiife and desolation. The element of discord existing co-eval with the adoption of our consti- tution and which had oftentimes threatened the de- struction of national integrity, culminated in its terrible wickedness, and bafHing all the efforts of statesmen and 13 patriots to avert the woe, involved our peaceful land in all the horror of a civil war. It was the old con- tention for mastery between freedom and democracy on the one hand, and the spirit of slavery and aristocracy on the other, that in all the ages had bathed the earth with blood. We understood from our fathers that con- cerning all questions and matters of difference which at any time might arise in the Councils of the Republic there was established and ordained, by usage and com- mon consent, a tribunal whose judgments and decrees were to be recognized as binding upon the whole peo- ple of the Commonwealth. Those decisions, uttered by the sovereign will of the majority were promulgated by no doubtful oracles ; they were distinct and solemn de- terminations commanding acquiescence and respect and entitled while unreversed to receive the support of every citizen. But when after nearly half a century of strug- gle for power in the national councils, the time came that the issue between extending slavery over the un- polluted domain of the mighty west and confining it where it constitutionally existed was submitted to the consideration of that august tribunal, and decided ac- cording to the hopes and prayers of all friends of human liberty in all lands, that arrogant and defying spirit sought the arbitrament of the sword to perpetuate the hideous wrong that outrages the Christian world. You, freedom loving men, dwelling in peace amid the 14 hills and mountains of the North were astounded at the monstrous pretences, false as the idols of a heathen world, which were presented as justifying the dissolution of the Union. Still more were you stirred in every sense when the storm of war, so unexpected by you but so deliberately raised by the people of the Southern States came echoing o'er the land, and the flag of our fathers was humbled upon the ramparts of Sumter. Have you forgotten those terrible days when the stout- est hearts stood still and your manhood was prostrated as the inevitable crisis in its magnitude was presented ? This, your land, so glorious as an inheritance of free- dom, consecrated by all the recollections that you com- memorate on this festal day, was threatened in its territorial integrity and destroyed as a mighty nation of the earth. Should you accept the fact as accomplished — thenceforth, there was no certainty of existence as a government, no faith in law, no established order in society ; one wide waste of anarchie and woe, to be endured by yourselves and left a wretched legacy to your posterity. In that dark hour, so full of moment to yourselves and the world, how wonderfully the in- fluence of our democratic institutions was exhibited, how completely the spirit of American Liberty was justified. The whole people with a true appreciation of the eventful crisis, acting intelligently concerning their high- est interest, with one voice and one will determined 15 that the Kepublic should live; that the rebellion should be destroyed. The kingdoms of the earth stood amazed at a spectacle they could not and would not understand. Enemies to our freedom, in our adversity they coun- selled our destruction; sycophants in our renewed pros- perity, they behold with trembling the progress of our democracy. That determination, so founded in your hearts and so justified upon all principle, grew stronger as doubts of final success and discourasfements arose to repress your patuiotic hopes. At the beginning, the measure of the contest with Slavery and all its minions had not been taken. Your homes gave up their thou- sands to support the government of your fathers, you poured out the gathered treasures with devotion, but there seemed to be no results to crown your sacrifices. Slowly but surely the nation became educated to the war and the issues involved, new sacrifices of men and treasure were demanded by the authorities and by pub- lic judgment and these were given with enthusiasm, but as yet the contest was undetermined and the vast pro- portions of the rebellion unreduced. Then it became evident that the time had come when Slavery must perish and no longer be recognized as an institution even where by law it had been protected, or that the Commonwealth would fall and be destroyed. The de- cree was sounded through the temples and high places of the Republic, proclaiming that henceforth and for- 16 ever all men were free; its echoing peal yet resounds, not among our hills alone, but over the wide earth, telling the whole world of the glory of our laud. Again you engaged in the gigantic struggle, severing all ties of home, foregoing the delights of peace and marching by millions to the battlefield to crusade in the holy cause of establishing your government. You know how slowly your sacrifices accomplished results, but you nor the world will ever forget the example you gave of continued hopes sustained by prayers, of patient well-doing for the truth, that finally after four years of unparalleled devotion gave you the victory. Most glorious victory ! triumphs such as were never before recorded in the annals of time ! Liberty and Union established upon the ruins of Slavery, a hideous sin crushed down, and the shrines of truth and justice and freedom secured as a perpetual memorial of our generation. This day, forever hallowed in the annals of our nation, you welcome with the enthusiasm inspired not only by the recollections of our Revolution, but by the glories of the struggle just terminated. You are anim- ated by a loftier spirit of personal and national rejoic- ing than ever pervaded your hearts upon the return of this consecrated day You have more firmly established the principles of our hberty and cast out the sin of 17 human slavery, you have found new shrines to deck with votive oSerings and built up new altars in the land whereon the watchfires of our freedom will never cease to burn. You know that your devotion has wrought a wondrous change and opened new fountains of patriotic pride, that you have raised the Common- wealth from the verge of ruin and placed it firmly in its position of grandeur among the nations of the world. Thus animated and thus inspired, you assemble from your homes, the men, the women, the children of the land, bearing about you the consciousness that you all have in some way contributed to the glories of the time and with ceremonies proper for the august occa- sion give form and expression to those sentiments that fill your hearts with joy and happiness. Well is it, citizens, that you thus gather, around the temples of your love to rejoice that the God who rules all human destiny has smiled upon your sufferings and your labors and given you the crown of victory. Well will it be, if succeeding generations shall gather as you now do, acknowledging in humble faith their dependence upon His will and animated by the national recollections that so freshly cluster around the present and which through all the future should inspire the souls and for- tify the hearts of Americans. 18 We, who come forth this day enjoying the fulness of the natural world, are not unmindful of the heroes who have gone fo.vth from all the land and who sleep in the valley and shadow of death that our country might live. They heard the call to arms and a mil- lion freemen from our Northern hills laid down the implements of peace and marched forth to swell the ranks of war. Manhood parted from every association of his years, youth sacrificed the tenderest ties of home and affection, and all, mindful but of the high duty of the citizen gave themselves a mighty host of martyrs to the cause of the Republic. Your own fa- thers and sons and brothers, who once were with you in these abodes of peace went forth to return no more. Their once beloved forms lie scattered upon a hundred battle fields where life was given in the struggle with the dark and rebellious spirit of slavery, or were wasted by unutterable tortures, endured until reason and life departed in those prison grounds whose names are hor- rible to our humanity. Mothers, wives and sisters! you alone know what partings have been yours, and what sorrows have come to you for those you never more will meet on earth. You knew these things might be, as you cheerfully gave up the idols of your souls and urged them to be brave and death defying in the con- test, but you have realized the fulness of grief and the cup of agony has been filled. Your offerings upon the 19 altars have been most precious, whose memories the nation will cherish and venerate forever. Thus do we, who survive, commemorate the virtues and the valor of those who gave their lives a glorious sacrifice for their country's good. We recognize their devotion and their patriotic zeal, and with tears that may not fall upon their tombs and silent emotion that pervades each sor- rowing breast, speak cheerfully of their career of honor and award them undying praise. Their memorial will stand through all time, not on columns or sepulchral inscriptions alone, but in the enduring remembrance of all ages. To those who have been spared in the carnival of war and have returned to enjoy with us the results of this contest with anarchy and wrong, we award the honors merited by their sufferings and patriotism. This day, through all our land, they receive the tributes of affection and respect; in days to come they will be venerated as survivors of that conflict which regener- ated and purified the nation by the baptism of blood. You who are here present with us, we welcome as the saviours of the Commonwealth ; w^e offer you our gra- titude and an abiding place in our chief homes as the circling years of age advance. Heroes of the great Rebellion! your brows are bound with wreaths that decay not, but freshen in all the days to come! Your 20 toils and sufferings and privations have not been in vain ; your honorable wounds are the sacred emblems of your bravery ; receive the rewards you have merited by your fortitude and valor. What age has exhibited greater virtues, what men bestowed more abundant gifts upon their country ! Enjoy the fulness of the honors that are yours ; remember that now having hung up your armor in the temples of peace, you will be citizens with us and that our laws and religions look to you for fidelity and support. If you are faith- ful to yourselves and regard your duties in the days to come, your country and your people will surround you with blessings that flow from the institutions you have preserved, and each one of you will dwell among us and our posterity, your proudest boast that you too were soldiers of the Union in the great rebellion. All nations have preserved in historic records the renown of those whose lives were most illustrious. The annals of a dim and obscure antiquity existing only in the song, but chaunt the praises of some hero or some man whose acts and deeds comprise the story of the nations existence. The events occurring to mark the centuries in which they transpired were so insepar- able from the men who lived and acted and died, that their remembrance and the memorial of their deeds is 21 the history of the age. The era of our Revolution and the formation of our Repubhc is imperishable, and to be distinguished from all others by the importance of its cliaracteristics, but when centuries shall have rolled away, it will be known as the time when Washington lived and founded a Commonwealth of freemen. The record of his fame will be the record of our nation's birth, and his immortal glory will constitute the earlier glories of our land. Thus, too, the most endui'ing mon- uments of time are but the events conneted with the men who made illustrious the ages in which they oc- curred. The sage who calmly quaffed the cup of poi- son will be eternally remembered not only from 1«ie fact but on account of the sublime incidents that attended his death ; and he who usurped the liberties of Rome and fell when Brutus avenged her wrongs, attained the eminence of fame, blending the memory of his country inseparably with his own. We who have been called to act our part in the wonderful events of the last four years, know that we have seen the day which in all time will be most memorable to humanity. The struggle which from its grand proportions and the im- portance of the principles involved convulsed the land and agitated the civilizetl world, however vast and ex- citiug in the detail of its origin and progress and con- clusion, will live in' history as the contest between liberty and slavery; between law and order and endur-' 22 iDg government, and the spirit of rebellion and wrong. The fact that truth and right triumphed over error will be impressed upon our annals to the glory of the wise and brave men who have won the victory. But when it was so ordered that the hideous sin amid its ruins and with its last expiring blow committed that terrible deed which shrouded the land in mourning, then was it that the name of one man became the em- bodiment of all that was involved in that contest and that victory, and was destined to stand forever the ideal of his age. His martyrdom, . while enjoying the love and confidence of his people and the praise of all men, was so causeless and so terrible that even the most envenomed partisan hastened to bestrew his bier with flowers. A nation mourned and millions joined the long procession to the tomb in funeral rites such as never before were accorded, Welcome, Abraham Lincoln to the temple of immortality ! Last and most glorious martyr upon the roll of time, the countless millions in the advancing ages, in the name of human liberty bid you welcome to an eternity of fame. As we rejoice this day in the inheritance of freedom we have received from our fathers and survey the beneficent results that even in the few years of our existence have become apparent, it becomes us to con- 23 Bider thoughtfully the grounds upon which we can most safely predicate the hope for their continuation in the ages yet to come. It is vain for us to say that while our Constitution stands, the Kepublic we love will be preserved. Political government is forever changing and the wisest of human institutions have in themselves but little of stability. The patriotic Eoman might have said: " While stands the Coliseum, Rome shall stand," * ' but that was physical in thought and unsubstantial, for all the strength and glory and power and happiness of Rome, proceeding from liberty and virtue, did rise and grow and perish with them. We would speak of some- thing beyond our system of formal government, of the regulation and improvement of those customs and laws which common usage ordains, of the cultivation of that order and virtue which naturally exist among mankind, all of which are independent of government and would continue were governments to cease ; of that discipline of state by which our Republic can be preserved and which is the ark of safety to our institutions. Yes, although we deem our charters and constitu- I tions more pei'fectly calculated than any others to ' maintain the rights and ensure the happiness of man, yet we cannot look to them alone to accomplish these * Veuerable Bede. 24 results. There exist beyond all these the natural laws that bind society together and constitute the state, the moral duties of man towards man, which, the more they are cultivated, the nearer is he advanced towards his proper dignity and the absolute safety and happi- ness of the state ensured. The sages of early times were content to maintain their characters for wisdom by prescribing rules for social life, knowing that these were more worthy their consideration than the speculations regarding the formality of government, and that the greatness of nations was chiefly confirmed by discipline and wisdom. The education of man in its most exten- sive meaning is the most important element of that discipline we would consider. Intellect is the govern- ing power in our age ; it is the mind with the gentle train of virtues that direct its operations to good works, that governs man, and its influence is so extended that it rules with a more powerful dominion than Force ever exercised. Therefore, if we would lay broad and deep foundations whereon to erect an enduring fabric of state, how obviously important it is to develope this wonderful faculty which more than all others with which we are endowed can bless our mortal days, which with its developed powers becomes the creator and director of earthly things, by whose operations nations are formed and governed, civil and religious authority established, right maintained and wrong re- 25 buked, and the social condition of man advanced and perfected. To enlighten the men of our country by the diffusion of knowledge is therefore one of the first great steps toward national glory and discipline. Impress men with correct ideas of their civil rights and civil obligations and they will never yield assent to any usurpation or submit to any wrong inflicted in the name of government. Thus to inform men is to show them that they are men, and they will then manifest in action a sense of their rights and duties, in a word, they will act like men. But this improvement of the intellect does not of itself educate the heart by developing those good qua- lities or awakening those noble emotions of soul to the cultivation and exercise of which more than to our constitutions and civil laws we must look for the pre- servation and happiness of the Commonwealth. Men and the qualities of men constitute the state, and we must develope the virtues of the heart, those offices and duties of man which join us together in the inter- course of humanity and are the natural laws of our being, which existed and governed man long ere gov- ernments ^veve established and would continue to regu- late them were they abolished. These qualities may be collectively designated by the name of Virtue, which comprehending in its practice the exercise of all the moral qualities of the heart and the performance of all 26 human duties is so desirable and so extended in its good influence that it is all important for us to make it the object of our zeal, and as we love our country, to endeavor to extend its power over man and build up in the disciplined and cultivated hearts of our citi- zens a stronger and more rational support for the state than can ever be atibrded by force or the wisest of formal institutions. At the banquet of Xenophon th(3 great philosopher of the heathen Avorld jjronounced a lofty eulogium upon the genius of the Athenian republic when he remarked that the commonwealth had always loved those who added an indefatigable search for Glory and Virtue to the natural goodness of the soul. Indeed, the effect of moral discipline and education, in forming o-ood men and worthy members of society, in extending the influ- ence of the state and elevating it to a more command- ing and dignified station was understood and appre- ciated by the nations of antiquity, and in our later time we may rest assured that our social organization is radi- cally defective unless the moral principles of our natures are quickened and cultivated and made powerful to accomplish good through their virtuous activity. There- fore if we would seek to perpetuate our country we must accomphsh it by the practice not only in the government itself of this morality but in our personal characters as men and citizens. The attention of the 27 world is then drawn to our land, for a nation which exists more through the love of discipline than through the strength of positive laws naturally attracts admira- tion and induces that respect which virtue always com- mands, thus conferring upon our republic that renown wherein consists the proper glory of a Commonwealth. The subject of these remarks, so vast and compre- hensive, is not to be considered within the limits to which at this time we are necessarily confined. It offers a broad field for our examination, affording in its detail to the speculations of the philosopher the widest range of inquiry, and to the friend of man, the patriot and Christian one of the noblest themes for contempla- tion. We have been looking beyond the written laws and charters of the Republic to view the unwritten laws of nature, existing independent of human enact- ment and which no human authority can enforce. They are the silken ties that unite and bind man- kind in one common brotherhood, that like the nerves and fibres of our earthly bodies act unseen but daily minister to our happiness, Tliese great things are for the consideration of all our citizens, deserving our chief attention . we would hope for the stability of our formal political organization. And what American citizen, who feels the glow of hon- 28 orable impulse within Ms soul, whose heart cherishes the ennobling emotions of patriotism and virtue, can survey the condition of his country without hoping that the advancing years will more than fulfil in reality all the prayei's and predictions of the immortal sages and fathers who sleep in the valley of the past? It is here that nature unveils her wonders in magnitude. Our country, stretching through every variety of clime, possesses within itself all elements of physical supe- riority. These are the means prepared by Providence to minister to our wants, through the developement and use of which our earthly happiness can be pro- moted. They are at our hand, illimitable treasures to aid our advancement to mental and moral superiority. And beyond all this, a system of free institutions has been here established which excites the admiration of the world. Society is organized for the equal bene- fit of all men, depending for its preservation upon the virtue of our citizens alone and a Commonwealth erected which is becoming the light and hope of nations. Consider well, then, ye who love your country, how you can establish amoug men that general understand- ing of what is proper and necessary to ensure their happiness through the maintenance of social order and discipline. Consider well how you can contribute to the milder glories, the more absolute preservation of 29 the state. Consider how you can surely, though slowly, erect a fabric of government that will depend not upon physical force nor upon human laws for duration, but upon that stronger arm, the mighty will, the intelli- gence and patriotism and virtue of a whole people. Look to the hearts and minds of citizens and not to your constitutions for that silent but great and endur- ing conservative power which will rebuke all efforts at disorganization, which in our own day has maintained the institutions of our federal Union, and which is the most glittering weapon wherewith to crusade against error. This improvement of man which we have considered, this discipline of state which is so paramount in impor- tance, form the only security we can have that our Republic will continue unchanged and unshorn of its fair proportions. They constitute the safeguards that will protect our institutions, and through their influence error will be exposed and left to die amid her wor- shippers, while silently exercising their controlling influ- ence they will calmly and steadily guide our citizens to all that is good and true and beneficial to mankind, like that old Talus "Made of yron mould, "Immoveable, resistlesse, without end; Who ill his hand an yron flale did hould, With which he thresht out folseliood, and did truth unfould." * * Faerie Queene, B. V. ch. I, xii. 30 And as we take tlioiight of tlie future magnitude and grandeur of the state and pierce with prophetic eye the dim vista of the coming centuries when all our beating hearts will be mingled with the common dust, how sublime the spectacle, how glorious the vision un- folded to our view! The reign of Peace and Truth and Happiness on earth, Virtue triumphant and the nature of man vindicated, while through the unnum- bered ages of the world our cities that are full of people will never sit solitary, our Republic that is great among the nations and princess among the' provinces will never become tributary. * * Lamentations II. 1. THE FOUETH AT EDEN. [Fivm the lliijj'alo Morning E.tpress, July 7, l(i85.J Tlie patriotic citizens of tlie towns of Eden, Evans, Brant, Boston Collins, Nortli Collins, Ilamburgli and East Hanibnrghj celebrated the National Anniversary by one of the largest gatherings ever witnessed in the South towns of Erie county. The day was beautiful, and the oc- casion called forth the greatest enthusiasm. At 11 o'clock a proces- sion was formed under the direction of Col. Ira Ayer of Evans, the Marshal of the day, and marched to a lovely grove where seats had been prepared. Major Taylor, of Evans, and his drum corps — late of the 110th Regiment — discoursed the national airs, and young ladies, appropriately draped, representing the States, walked in the procession. The exercises w^ere under the direction of James W. Green Es(j^., of Eden, President of the day, and consisted of singing by a Glee Club, and a prayer by Rev. Mr. Barrell, of Evans. The Declaration of In- dependence was appropriately read by C. S. Rathbun Esq., of Eden, followed by the inspiring strains of Yankee Doodle, after Avliich an ora- tion was delivered by Hon. James Sheldon of Buffalo, which all unite in characterizing ns one of I'are elo(pience, noble sentiment and fine power of thought. It Avas greatly applauded. The exercises at the stand concluded with singing by the Club, and the benediction by Rev. Mr. Horton. The procession being again formed, marched to the gro\'0 near the Hotel, where a magnificent dinner awaited its arrival. Over four hundred sat down at the tables and enjoyed tlie rich repast. Many of the returned veterans were present to participate in festivities made moi-e joyous tlirough their bravery. %tLL v:2«««^ H 33 89^