AN

wratimt,

DELIVERED

ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, 1823, IN COlV.IMEMORA'I‘ION

OF,

AMERICAN INT)E‘PENDENCE,

mmonn THE
SUPREME EXECUTIVE OF THE COMMONWEALTH,
AND mm
CITY COUNCIL AND INHABITANTS

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-a-—.-—-......-.

BY CHARLES PELHAM CURTIS. V"

————......«..-..n

 
Printed by order of the City Council. U

BOSTON:
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY JOSEPI-I ‘W. INGRAHAM.
1823.

sesame

ll

THE annual celebration of this day was Wise-
ly instituted by our predecessors, to keep alive
the recollection of an event, for which the people
of this nation have cause to feel the deepest
gratitude. A

In the habitual enjoyment of the purest civil
and religious liberty, We are too prone to forget
the authors of those blessings, and the sacriﬁces
by which they were acquired; sacriﬁces, for
which we never have, nor ever can, remunerate
them; blessings, without which even life itself is
of no value ! t

The more we reﬂect on our privileges, the
more exalted will be   our estimation of them;
the more ﬁxed our resolution to preserve and
transntnt them undiminished to posterity; and the
more profound will our gratitude be to those
brave men, by whose achievements we are this

‘*2

4

day the free citizens of a powerful republiclc,
instead of being the colonial subjects of a distant
monarch.

Wisdom, therefore, dictates to us the proprie-
ty of assembling, at stated periods, to mingle our
congratulations, to offer up our united thanksgiv-
ings for the Divine favour which has been mani-—
fested towards us, and to impress, on our own
hearts, and those of the rising generation, an in-
delible attachment to the principles of the con-—
stitution.

, On a festival like the present, the object of
which is to awaken and cherish the ﬂame of
patriotism, Whatever elevates the character of
our country, and it renders us proud of our ybirthgg
place, is a proper subject of contemplation; and,
if there are any points of superiority in our con-
dition, over that of other nations, we may be
permitted, without incurring the charge of vanity,
to pass themin review before us. . _
_ There is no mode better, adapted to bring
home to our bosorns the consciousness of this
superiority, than by instituting a comparison be-
tween the actual, present situation of these
United States, and that of the American colo-n-,
nies before the revolution; and the more minute
this comparison may be, the more vividly shall
we realize the burdens under which our. ances-
tors laboured, the dangers which they had to

5

encounter, and theadvantages which we have
derived from their exertions. E

In the execution of the honourable, but ardu-
ous duty assigned to me, I shall take leave to
invoke your patient and candid attention, while

I lay before you, facts and considerations, Which,

though not adorned with the charm of novelty,
can never be viewed by Americans but with the
deepest interest.

In all the colonies, the king of England was
the acknowledged sovereign; in most of them,
the chief magistrates and other oﬂicers were
directly or indirectly appointed by his authority;
and, with such variations as the dilterent founders
of the colonies had introduced, or subsequent
usage had established, the government was sub-
stantially administered by his royal prerogative.
s ‘By the navigation acts, which were rigidly en»
forced, the colonists were prohibited from main-
taining any commerce whatever with foreign
countries, except Madeira and the Western is-~
lands. None but English or colonial vessels, com-
manded and chieﬂy manned by British subjects,
were admitted to an entry in the ports of the
plantations. The tobacco, and other productions
of America, could be transported to no place out
of the British dominions ; and in order to secure
to England the entire proﬁts of the carrying

6

trade, “in regard his majesty’s plantations be»
“yond the seas are peopled by his subjects of
“ this kingdom of England, for the maintaining a

“ greater correspondence and kindness between

“ them, and keeping them in ﬁrmer dependence
“ upon it, and rendering them yet more beneﬁ-t
“‘ cial and advantageous to it,” according to the
preamble of the statute, it was further enacted,
in the reign of Charles II., that none of the
commodities of Europe should be- imported into
any of the colonies, unless they were laden in
England, on board of English ships, navigated
by English men. All that the colonists Were.
permitted to do, was to carry their own producw
tions to the other colonies, or to England, and to

load their vessels with English manufactures “or

productions in return.

The whole of that extensive commerce
which We have since carried on with Russia and
the north of Europe; with France and Spain
and the Mediteranean ; and with the territories
beyond the Capes, by which the Wealth and im-
portance of the United States have been so
much increased, was reserved for the more ‘fa-
voured inhabitants of Great Britain. Not be-
cause Great Britain had fostered the colonies in
their infancy, or had cherished and protected
them in after time, and by expending her, blood
and treasure in their defence, had acquired an
equitable claim to their services :9--on the contra:-z

'7'

ry, so far from receiving protection, the first
founders of Massachusetts ﬂed from persecution,‘

and subdued the wilderness, without the assis-
tance, or even the sympathy, of the mother "coun-

try. Alt was not till the harvest was ripe that

England, like the austere lord, began to reap
where she had not sowed I i i , l

Another obstacle to the commerce of the

colonists,,was created by an act of parliament,

which declared it not to be desertion, for the sear

men of a merchant ship to quit her, at a moment’s
warning, for the purpose of enlisting in the king’s

service. The right of impressment, also, was

claimed, and sometimes exercised, notwithstand-
ing the cruelty and illegality of the practice; «so

that between the forcible employment of ‘the:

royal prerogative on one hand, and the fickle-
ness of seamen on the other, ships were expos-
ed to the misfortune of being deprived of their
most skilful mariners, without notice or redress.

Wliat were the extent and practical effect of.

these latter grievances, I am unable to declare ;.
but there can be n”b doubt, that they contributed
to repress the spirit of mercantile adventure,

which had so limited a ﬁeld for its operations.

To the exercise of t_hes‘e and other powers by
the government of England, though. exceedingly
prejudicial to the colonies, they submitted, with»-

8

out dispute. But their increasing wealth, not»-
withstanding these oppressive “regulations, did
not fail to attract the observation of the sove-
reign; andit was determined, by his ministers, to
render the provinces more immediately beneﬁ-
cial to the mother country, by levying taxes in
them, which would assist her in discharging the
national debt; the magnitude of which even then
began to excite apprehensions.

The shortsighted politicians of that day sup»
posed that their task was done, when they had
announced their pleasure to the high-minded peo-
ple of this country; who were expected, Without
delay or resistance, to yield up all the immunities,
which their forefathers had exiled themselves in

the wilderness to secure, and, like the slaves it

of an oriental despot, to answer, that “ to hear is
to obey.”

The ignorance and infatuation of those politi-
cians are unequalled but by the beneﬁts that we
have derived from them; for their tyrannical
aggressions on the rights of the colonies, were
the immediate ‘causes of our independence and

happiness. :

  The governmentof Englandspeedily adopted
measures, for the execution of their projected
scheme of taxation. i Custom-“houses Wereliiestabw

lished, royal commissioners werrest appointed, .and

“ his maj.estty’stmotst dutiful and loyal subjects,

9

t the commons of Great Britain in parliament

assembled,” with a liberality in disposing of

the property of others that is beyond all

praise, first broke the ground, which they ex-
pected to convert into a mine of Wealth, by
granting to his majesty the right of levying
duties on the importation, into America, of cer~
tain speciﬁed articles of merchandise. ,
The stamp act, by which the inhabitants of
the colonies were prohibited the use of any but
stamped paper, for notes, bonds, and other docu-
ments, was another branch of the same scheme.
This regulation subjected them to expense‘ and

inconvenience, and alarge body of stamp officers,

and retainers of government, was dispersed over
the provinces, Whose dependence on the king en-«
sured their ready obedience to any mandate of
royal authority.

But thesemeasures, vvhich,if they had been
successful, appear to have been well adapted to
replenish the coffers of Great Britain, were
viewed by Americans with abhorrence. iNot-«
withstanding the venal arguments of British
Writers to prove that taxation was "not tyranny,
they were regarde»d as direct infringements on
their most valuablle privileges; and the execution
of the laws for the collection of the revenues
was steadfastlyopposed. Military and naval
forces were sent out to compel obedience to

10.

them ; the colonists resisted; an appeal was
ymadeto arms ,;i and the galling yoke of colonial
subjection was thrown off for ever I it

The subsequent progress of events is a theme
to which my feeble powers are inadequate.
They have been so accurately delineated, by
the historians of the revolution, that I should be
inexcusable gvverel to detain you with the repe-
tition; and I ought, perhaps, to offer anapology
tothis enlightened assembly, for having already
dwelt too long on transactions which have been
so recently detailed in the most felicitous manner,
by one of your brethren; whose biography of
James Otis, that ardent and patriotick advocate of
his country’s rights, sheds lustre both on the au-
thor and his subject; and to posterity will be in-~

valuable, as arecord of the times and the men, n

of thefeelings, manners, and principles, which led
to and secured, our independence.

I have told you that my object in adopting the
courset.which I have followed, is to contrast the
present situationof this country, as a free and in-
dependent republick, with its former condition as
an appendage to a remote empire; and, in order
to impress you with a deeper sensibility totthe
magnitude of your obligations to the revolution,
it is my intention to wander, for» a few moments.

'11

into the region of imagination, and endeavour to
represent to you the probable condition of the

American people, at the present moment, had
their attempt to emancipate themselves been
frustrated.

r In the remarks vvhichl am about to oﬁ"er,I
deprecate the suspicion of any design to revive
former complaints, or to excite present animosity.
The period has long since gone by, when inﬂam-
matory appeals to the passions were necessary.
Our national independence has been established
half a century; its foundations are settled, deep
and immoveable; and my only motive, in refer-~

ing to Great Britain, is not to disparage her privi--- '

leges, but to display the transcendency of yours,
by comparing them With those of a people, Whose
habits and institutions are more analogous to our
own, than those of any other nation; and by
whom alone, until of late years, the principles of
civil and religious liberty have been understood
and cultivated. My sole aim is to rivet the links
which unite us to our country, by demonstrating,
that in all those important points, which consti-
tute the happiness of the many, the citizens of
this Union are the objects of peculiar favour.

Had it been the destiny of our ancestors to be
conquered, the arm of the royal government,
instead of being palsied, would have been

3

1‘)

Jul

strengthened; 1 the prerogatives of the monarch

would have been augmented; and the right of

the British parliament to . bind, us, in all cases,

conﬁrmed. , Our commerce would have been sub»-

jected to new and severer restrictions, and, in-

stead of fourteen hundred thousand tons of ship-'
ping, We should have possessed few but ﬁshing,
Vessels and coasters. In place of a population of

ten millions, we should not have counted ﬁve.----‘

Our ; navy----Whose «brilliant exploits adorn the

annals of our country, and constitute one of the

brightest pages of its history---would not have ex»- ,
isted; and our brothers and our sons would be

obliged to seek renown in the service of their
conquerors.  

The Wars Which have desolated Europe, could
not have failed to extend their effects = to the
colonies of the most obstinate of the belligerents.
The armies of Great Britain would have been
recruited in America; not toidefend our posses»
sionsfrom rapine, and our rﬁresides from invasion,
but to assist in the restoration of the Bourbons ;
for, though the success of the American revolu--r
tion probably accelerated that of the French,'it
ought not to be regarded as the cause of it.
There were causes enough for the French revo-
lution, at home, Without seeking for them abroad.
The abuses under which the French peoplee
groaned, the writings it of Voltaire, Diderot, and

13

the other philosophers, and the utter eictinction
oft publick credit, must eventually have produced
a revolution, though the period of it might have
been postponed by an unprosperous termination

to ours.

‘Among the privileges of which We should have i

been bereft, that of freely possessing ﬁrearms
should be included. One of the ﬁrst acts of the
victors would have been to disarm the vanquish-
ed. Monarchs are too jealous of their subjects
to intrust them with arms, except under the
strictest inspection; and the rebellious conduct of

the Americans would have brought upon them a

severer cliastisement than the utmost rigour of

this rule of policy could inﬂict. Instead of our

militia, the great, the ultimate guarantee of “our
liberties, electing their own commanders, and per-
forming an easy and honourable service for ‘a few
days in the year, our young men would be im-
bodied under officers selected by the crown, sub»
jectedto the severity of regular discipline, and
compelled to assist the regular troops, in fortify-
ing the garrisons, or in overawing the other pro»
vinces. i

And let us not imagine, that while Great Bri-
tain Was pouring forth her resources to support
the War; While she Was accumulating a debt of
eight hundred millions sterling; While“ she was

I4?

taxing her subjects until the invention of ﬁnan-«
ciers was exhausted; that We should have been
exempted. N 0; these provinces would have been
required to furnish their proportion of the pubs
lick expenses, and to sustain their share of the
burdensome and protracted contest. To effect
this, the odious and demoralizing system of excise,
with its penalties and its functionaries, from
which, as from the plagues of Egypt, the retire-
ment of the bedchamber affords no relief, would
have been entailed upon us, as it is upon England,
for ever. To the duties on stamps and importa»-
tions, would have been added, a tax upon WlI1-~
dovvs, and another on hearths; taxes on rnanu-
factures of every description; taxes on nevvspa-

pers; and taxes on law proceedings; the last of

which has been emphatically called “ a tax upon
distress.” In fine, to borrow the language of an
ingenious British Writer, taxes would have been
irnpos:ed' “ on every article which enters the
“ mouth, or covers the back, or is placed under
“a the foot; taxes upon every thing which is plea»-
“ sant to see, hear, feel, smell, or taste; taxes on
“ Warmtlii, light, and locomotion; taxes on every
4‘ thing on earth, and in the Waters under the
“ earth; on every thing that comes from abroad,
“ or t is grown at home; taxes on the raw mate»
“ rial, and taxes on every fresh value that is ad-r
“ dedltoyit, by the industry of mtan. Taxes on the
“ sauce which pampers 1nan’s appetite, and the

up-

In

“ drug that restores him to health; on the er»-
“ mine Wllich decorates the judge, and the rope
“ that hangs the criminal ; on the poor man’s salt,
“and the rich man’s spices; on the ribands of
“ the bride, and the brass nails of the coﬂ‘in.”*“
Had the arms of Great Britain been fated to
prevail, how strongly would she have been tempt»
ed to introduce changes in our religious institu-~
tions. A considerable portion of the inhabitants
of the colonies were already attached to the
Church of England, and a beneﬁced hierarchy
is at the same time a powerful engine in the
hands of government, and a fruitful source of re»
wards for its friends. On the other hand, free-
dom of thought and practice, in religious mat»
ters," naturally leads to freedom of inquiry and
opinion on political affairs, the growth of which
it would not have been the policy of Great Bri-
tain to encourage. In place of the ministers of
our own choice, to whom we are attached by
every tie of friendship and respect, inspired by

their virtue and reciprocal esteem, our pulpits
might have been ﬁlled by beneﬁciaries of the

crown, accompanied by tithe proctors and con»
sistory courts, and armed with the power of
levying contributions, for the maintenance of a
worship which we do not prefer, and of a clergy
in whose appointment we should have no voice,

‘i’ Edin. Rev. LXV.

16

If there are any in this assembly, who thinlc
this suggestion too unreasonable for belief, I
refer them for an example to the existing state
of Ireland ; ‘where an established church, possess-
ing a revenue of six millions of dollars, is main»
tained, by military force, in luxury and splendour,

at the expense of an impoverished people, of A

whom more than nine tenths reject its doctrines
and embrace another faith. I am ready to ad-
mit, however, that the circumstances of the two
countries are not entirelyparallel, and perhaps
the conduct of England towards us vvould not
have been guided in this particular by similar
views. ii But it is suﬂicient for my purposes, that
such a measure had been possible ;-—--it is certain
that the valour of our ancestors has rendered
it ‘ impossible !

There is another innovation, however, which,
if Great Britain had succeeded, I am strongly in-
clined to believe i she would have introduced
among us ;----——I mean, an hereditary order of no-—

bility.

Every principle of monarchical policy would ‘

have been in favour of such an institution. The
viceroy of America would have needed an inter-
mediate class, dependentcon the throne as the
fountain of honour, to give strengthto his ad-
ministration, and dignity to his court. The pride
of the richer adherents of the crownwould have

17

been gratiﬁed by such distinctions; the establish-
ment of a privilegedorder would have assimilat-»
ed the provinces more nearly to the mother
country; titles had already been conferred on
a few individuals, and ribands, and stars, and pa»
tents of nobility, are cheap rewards for services
in council or in the ﬁeld. The most strenu-
ous opponents to the revolution would of course
have been the chosen objects of royal muniti-
cence ; and as Monk received a dukedorn from

the hands of Charles II., Arnold would have

merited, at the least, an earldom from those of

George III.

But while the instruments of arbitrary power

were basking r in the sunshine of royal 7 favour,

what would have been the destiny of those he-
roesandrsages, whose conduct is the themeof
admirationto the world? i "
That, which at ﬁrst is a rebellion, is exalted
by success to a revolution; and the fate of the
actors is determined by the event. In one case,

they are venerated as the saviours of their counw

try; the honours of a nation await them living,
and theirgraves are moistened with apeop1e’s
tears. t In the other, they expiate the errours of
their zeal on the scaﬂbldl

W Can you realize such a doom for your Adams-

es, your Franklin, your Washington? Can you _

imagine them manacled and thrown into prison;

18

dragged before the royal tribunals as criminals;
executed as traitors; their estates confiscated;
theirnames branded with infamy ;—----but no more!
The picture is ‘too revolting! Alas! itis also too
true. Its ﬁdelity will be disputed by none who
are familiar with the history of Europe; and,
had not the God of battles smiled on the sublime
enterprise of our fathers, We, too, should have
mourned our Emmetts, our Sydneys, and our

Russells ! i

Let us now turn to the other side of the pic-—
ture, and enjoy the ﬂattering contrast which it
offers to our view. a

We inhabit a land possessing every variety of
soil and climate; ‘Watered by majestick rivers,
anddefended as well from the friendship as the
enmity of foreign powers, by the broad bosom of
the Atlantick.

iWe possess a government, Which, in practice,
as well as in theory, admits that the people are
the only true source of power, and their welfare
the sole objects for which it is delegated. VVe
acknowledge no hereditary rulers, no divine right
of kings, by which the lives and happiness of mil-
lions are made to depend on the caprices of a
mistress or the wantonness of: a favourite. The
officers of government are the servants of s the
people, nt their asters ; and the distribution of

-19

powers between the authori"ties of the Union and
those. of the several states, is Well adapted to
render them‘vigilan~t and faithful, by facilitating
an inspection of their conduct, and rendering
their responsibility to the people more tinlmedim
ate and direct. it _
But the most. extraordinary feature in our sys«
tem of government is its invisibility. F oreign-
ers, Who are accustomed to the -presenceof sen-
tinels at the gates of the palaces, in the theatres,
and at all publick places, in the old world,
are surprised not to ﬁnd the same appearances
on their arrival in the new World; and they are
saicl to experience a feeling‘ of insecurity, until
they become used to their absence. Tliey per-
ceive that the pomp and circumstance of imilita-
ry government, and, above all, the insolence of
,military power, are strangers in our land. The
only ensigxisof authority which they see here,
are the painted staves borne -in our courts of jus-
tice; a burden almost too great for the trem-A
bling hands of the venerable conservators of the
peace who support them. And even these
might ordinarily be dispensed With, were it not
that they serve so happily to personify those
itleal personages of the common law, whose
names will be remembered byall who are ac»-
-qujainted with its forms. a
But the offender ﬁnds that the arm of gov»-
ernment is not feeble, if it is invisible, nor is its
4:

20

protection less efiicient, thougli its ministers do
not obtrude themselves uponlus at every step;
for every citizen feels as personal i interest in the
execution of the laws, and cheerfully lends his
assistance in the preservation of publick tran-

quillity.

Our commerce and t manufactures have ﬂour-
ished under the benign inﬂuence of our liberal
institutions, beyond the anticipations of the warm--
est friends of America. v e

The introduction of commerce is the era of
civilization and reﬁnement. It enlarges the hu-
man mind, and removes its prejudices and super-
stitions; it excites ingenuity and awakens enter-—
prise; it approximates distant nations; and by
giving them a direct interest in the preservation
of peace, it diminishes their propensity for War;
that fatal propensity, too closely interwoven

in the nature and constitution of man ever to be

eradicated. ’The commerce of this country is
restricted by no royal monopolies, no colonial
prohibitions. To this source are We chieﬂy in-
debted for the Wealth and prosperity that smile
around us; to this for our fortunate exemption

tfromt internal taxation; and, though last, not

least, commerce is the nursery of our navy.

  i Manufactures, also, have justly received, and
are entitled to claim, a largeshare of publick pa-v

21

tronage. But to this mode of employing labour
there are objections, to which agriculture and
commerce are not liable. N o nation is truly in-
dependent, which does not manufacture or pro-
duce within itself, all the staple commodities and
necessaries of life; and though it is found that
the collecting together of so many individuals of
different ages and sexes, as are requisite to carry
on a manufactory with effect, is unfavourable to
morals and health, yet the importance of the
end, in a national point of view, is an apology for
the means. But to articles of necessity let us
conﬁne ourselves, till “the soil furnishes employ»-
ment for no more cultivators, and the density of
our population requires new channels for their
industry; for those of luxury, We may still rely
‘Without derogating from our dignity, on the less
favoured inhabitants of the old world, to whom
heaven has denied the healthful occupations "of
agriculture. The friend of humanity must re-
gret the sacriﬁce, though necessity may excuse it,
when he sees children of tender years, Whose
corporal and mental faculties have had no op-
portunity for development, shut up in an atmos-
phere, saturated With oil or vapour, or ﬁlled with
metallick particles,and gazing, with i ceaseless
watchfulness, at the contents of a crucible, or
the convolutions of athread, Their minds be»-
come contracted; their ﬁbres relaxed; their
lungs enfeebled; and at maturity, instead of


possessing the skill and strength to aid the utyst-»*
terious operations of nature in the ﬁeld, or to

guide. “ the ship imperial” through the Wave,
they are ﬁtted for noavocation, which requires

ﬁrmness of body or fortitude of mind. In the

cities of Europe, vice and pauperism have mul-
tiplied in proportion to the increase of manufac-=
turing establishments, and their own prosperity

is a poor compensation to the publick for the*

misery and crime that emanate from them.

i I do notiintend to charge the manufactturiiig
establishments of this country with all the evil
consequences that I have described; I am con»
scious that great pains have been taken to avert
them. Sunday schools have been founded ;
the duty of publick Worship is inculcated; and
the morals and health of the females and chil-—
dren are the objects of solicitous attention.
The effects of such vigilance and care are very
satisfactory; but the deleterious consequences

of this mode of employment are inherent in it,

and cannot be entirely prevented.

Although transatlantick affairs are strictly,
not embraced in the subject allotted me, yet I

cannot forbear to record my testimony against

the deeds now perpetrating inEurope.t The
situation of that continent, since the paciﬁcation
in 1815, has afforded few materials for the com--
ments of your annual orators. iThe noiseless

23

movements of peace, with her attendant train,
are observed only by their remote eﬁ'ects.--—-
Wars, the march of armies, political convulsions,
like earthquakes and Whirlwinds,arrest imme-
diate attention, and excite a deeper, though a
more fearful interest.

It is but a few years since the reigning family
of France were exiles, and dependents on the
charity of England. The ambition of the French.
emperor, not satisﬁed with the most extensive
and powerful empire that the world has seen
since the days of Charlemagne, impelled him to
the acquisition of Spain, as another appanage
to his crown. Veteran armies, under the most
fortunate and accomplished generals, were sent
to take possession, and instate his Viceroy. But
the genius of freedom forbade the consummation,
and Spain was saved! A “ A

or Europe has hardlyrecovered from the lassi-~
tude and exhaustion of her efforts in favourof
the Bourbons, when her repose is again broken
to promote the mischievous designs of that fam-
ily. The counsels of their oldest and most de-
voted friends---friends who sustained and shelter-
ed them, when they were abandoned by every
crowned head on the continent-—-are disregard-
ed ; and an army of Frenchmen has crossed the

  Pyrenees,’to whitenwiththeir bones the ﬁelds

so fatal to their ‘predecessors!

24

What is the pretext for this unprincipled ag-»
gression on a free people—---a people, whose" re»
sistance to Napoleon ﬁrst gave confidence to his
adversaries----a people, to whose sufferings and
sacriﬁces, Louis XVIII. is chieﬂy indebted for
his crown? Does Spain aim at universal domina-
tion? Has she interfered in the internal govern-
ment of France, and excited the subjects of
Louis to rebel against his authority? Has she
murdered, her sovereign, proscribed theworsllip
of God, and rent asunder the bonds of society?
No. The guilt of Spain consists in her refusal
to alter her constitution at the command of

iFrance. The former chooses that her Cortes

should consist of one chamber, While the latter
dictates the addition of another. Warmth of
debate, Louis affects to call anarchy; and indig-
nation at foreign interference, is ascribed to a
dangerous revolutionary spirit, whose pestilen-
tial influence threatens the tranquillity of neighw
bouring nations. 1

This is the shadowy veil with which the
Bourbons cover their hostility to the elements
of freedom. This is the unsubstantial basis
-of their pretension to interpose in the affairs of
an independent people! T

The secret is, that the Spaniards l'1EtV0 com»-
pelled, their ungrateful sovereign toyadmit them
toa participation in the beneﬁts of a contest,
which cost them so much blood, and restored

25

him to his throne. A constitution has been pro-
mulgated, which secures to the people a voice
in the administration ‘of government. To this,

the assent of Ferdinand has been given in the

most solemn and publick manner. The mode»
ration of the reformers has been exemplary.
They have spared all but the overgrown reve—
nues of the church, which, like those of F rance,
have been devoted to the public]: service, after
providing adequate stipends for the clergy; they
have abolished nothing, but that detestable en-
gine of spiritual tyranny----—-the Holy Inquisition!
A revolution has been eﬂected in Spain, without
bloodshed, and without excess.

That the people of any nation, however, should
enjoy privileges, emanating from any source ex»
cept the pleasure of the sovereign, is a doctrine
which the Bourbons will not acknowledge; and
their attack on Spain,if crowned with success,
will prove to be the first stepto a general cru-=4
sade, by the members of the holy alliance, against
the votaries of liberty.  

But, whom God intends to destroy, he first
deprives of his reason?“ Louis, aged i and in»:
ﬁrm, perceives not the volcano on which he
treads. Impelled by the ultras, whose favour-
ite object is to obtain restitution of their es-
tates, by annulling the decrees by which they
were conﬁscated and sold; decrees, the re»-

* “ Quem Deus vult perdere,” Szc.

26

cognition of which was one of the fundainen=~»~

italiconditions of the restoration; urged by

this party,composed of emigrants, and the chile-
dren of emigrants, who have returned to their
native land, untaught by experience, and undis-
ciplined by adversity; instigated by the princes
of his own family, the avowed enemies of free»-
dom ;—--——-Louis, instead of consolidating his power,
and ensuring the continuance of his dynasty, by
cultivatingthe arts, of peace, provokes another

revolution by making war against the principles

of liberty. V

A large party of his own subjects are oppos-
ed to the prosecution of this unhallowed War.
The friends of the charter; the liberals; tlie
-possessors of the conﬁscated domains, and all
who are adverse to the ulterior designs of the
emigrants; the disappointed ambition of the Bo--
napartists, who were obliged to give place to
the followers of Louis,--v"--all are combined against
him; and, if the veteran prince, whom he has
placed at the head of his army, proves to be no
better soldier than he is a statesman; if he

pmeetsv reverses, sustains del"eat,and brings dis»-
grace on his nation, there is .great reason to ape
wprehend, that the smouldering ﬁres of discontent

will burst forth, and France again be involved in
the “ﬂames of civil War, Fromsucha conﬂag1°.a-
tion, the Bourbons must not expect the good for»
tune to escape a second time.

27

That Spain may prove true to herself; that
she may pass through the ﬁery ordeal, unscath-=
ed, are sentiments that animate the heart, and
vibrate on the lips, of every lover of freedom.
Should the odds be too fearful for her to con-
tend against alone, let England extend her pro»
tecting arm; let her spread forth her ﬂeets and
array her forces once more in the peninsula,
and the conquest of Spain is impossible!

The spirit of England is awake; the halls of
her parliament re—echo, on both sides, with de-
clarations of sympathy for the Spaniards. Her
statesmen have declared that the right assumed
by France strikes deep at the root of the Bri-
tish constitution; and England cannothesitate,
if she values her own independence, to enlist in
the cause of Liberty, if the arms of the Span--«
iards are insuffﬁcient for her protection. t

But time, as well as inclination, admonish
me, to return from the unpleasing spectacle of
foreign politicks, to the more grateful exhibition
at home.

In one of Franklin’s agreeable epistles, the ex- A

presses a wish, that he might be permitted to
revisit this continent, at some future period, and
witness the prosperity, which his counsels had so
largely contributed to establish. The progress
of improvement in this country is so rapid, that
the imagination can hardly conceive the effects,
5

d

32.8

which the lapse of one or two centuries will
produce. But, though we claim not the spirit of
prophecy, I trust we shall be excused for amus-
ing ourselves, a few moments, with the supposi-
tion that the sage has descended, a hundred
years hence, into the midst of his native town,
and is endeavouring to discover some vestige of
former times, by which he may recognise the
place of his birth. V

.He ﬁnds a city covering that once beautiful
basinton the western side, and extending itself,
till theyformer avenues from the country have
become populous streets, and the distinction be»
tween the city and its ancient suburbs is effaced.
He seeks for the narrow and Winding passages,
which, though familiar to him, seemed to have
been laid out on purpose to puzzle strangers;
and he ﬁnds in their place, magniﬁcent squares
and broad ways, paved with blocks of granite,
and pursuing their course with due regard to
that neglected axiom in geometry, which teaches
that a straight line is the shortest distance be-
tween any two given points.

He walks on the common, but ityis transform-

ed from a pasture for cattle to an ornamented
park; and the stagnant pool, which, in days of
yore, furnished the patient cow with beverage,
is now the receiver of the waters of, a fountain,
which throws its spray into the air, and imparts
freshness and coolness to the scene. A The

29

grounds are divided by gravelled walks, and
planted with our American elms; and in the
centre, the masterpiece of some native Chan-
trey or Canova, is a splendid monument of the
gratitude of his countrymen, to the memory of
their great hero and benefactor.

V/Vhile surveying this spectacle, his eye rests
on an ediﬁce of marble, occupying the site of
that gorgeous senate house of brick, where erst
the rulers of the state gave laws. He is told
that this is the seat of government, and its no-
ble colonnades, rich capitals, and majestick col--
umns, do equal honour to the taste of the ar-
chitect who designed, and the liberality of
the people who erected, this magniﬁcent struc-
ture. M

He inquires with much earnestness after the
publick schools, which have been the proudest
ornament of Boston, from time immemorial; and

  he learns that their increase, in reputation and

usefulness, bears a just proportion to that of
every other institution. The silver medal, be-
stowed by his bounty, is still conferred, with
proper solemnity, on the most meritorious pu~
pils; to Whom no honour of succeeding years
affords half the gratiﬁcation, that attends the re-
ception of this simple mark of approbation.
Admirable donation I Hovv much do the youth
of ‘each successive generation owe to the benevo-
lent founder! How much does society owe to

3Ui

him, for the emulation which is excited, and the
habits of application acquired, while the juve-~
nile aspirants forifame are striving together for
the Franklinlmedals l g

The athenaeum arrests the attention of our
philosopher. Heienters a suite of apartments
adorned with ancient and modern statuary, and
containing cabinets of minerals, of coins, and of
medals, and a Well-chosen and valuable library.
The centre of the building, next the dome, is
appropriated to historical paintings, and portraits
of distinguished men; among whom his townsmen
have not forgotten to assign him an elevated
place. The librarian invites him to repeat his
visit, and informs him, that, as a stranger, he is
entitled to attend the lectures which are deliV-
ered there by the most eminent instructors in
natural philosophy, belles lettres, and other
branches of science. He is informed that this
institution was founded by a few generous indi-
viduals, who were enabled, by the aid received
from the state, and a grant of land from the
city, on which tlietbuilding stands, to construct
anediﬁce so useful to the community, so orna-»
mental to the city, and so honourable to the
commonwealth. A A V

The sage ﬁnds our Alma Mater as distinguish»
ed as ever, for her learning’ and liberality. A
score of new halls and colleges hardly aﬂ"ord ac-~
commodation for her numerous pupils; and she

31

maintains her just pre-eminence in the republick
of letters, over the other literary institutions of
the country, without even excepting the nation-
al university at Washington, which was estab-
lished, and muniﬁcently endowed, by congress,
about the middle of the nineteenth century.

He next visits the naval establishment at
Charlestovvn, and views the immense docks,
Where ships of the largest class are placed upon
the ways, and exposed to examination, without re-
moving a gun or a spar. He admires the mats»-
sive and durable clieracter of the Works; the
foundry for cannon; the machines for rolling
copper and forging anchors; the steam engines,
by which this machinery is propelled; and the
exquisite specimens of naval architecture, which
display the grandeur and majesty of the repub-
lick, “ from Indus to the pole.” Above all, he
admires the academy, where young men are edu-s
cated, at the publick expense, for the naval ser-i
vice of the United States; and the skilful Vic-«
tories gained by their ﬂeets in the late war with
Russia, for the defence of their territories on
the N. W. coast, attest the merits of the offi-
cers, and the excellence of this institution.

He is so deeply impressed with the extent of
the national resources, that it excites no surprise
in him, when he learns that the population of
the United States, at the last census, exceeded

eighty millions; that their navy comprises more

32

than five hundred frigates and ships of the line 3

and that their annual ‘ revenues amount to the

sum of a hundred millions of dollars ! i
The number of the states he ﬁnds to have

been more than doubled, by the admission of H
riewrnlembers into the federal union, among

which is the island of Cuba ; no longer the
lurking place of slave-«dealers and pirates. Those
wretches have long since gone torender their
dread account to thelDeity, and are replaced
by a free and intelligent population, who, from
their position, at once derive protection from,
and afford support to, the southern portion of
the continent. ‘ l i
The farther our philosopher extends his in-
quiries, the more he sees to admire and exult in.
He ﬁnds the country traversed and intersected
by solid roads and noble canals, uniting, by inter-
nal navigation, the north with the south, and the
great lakes and rivers with the Atlantick. He
sees large cities, Where he left small villages,
and populous towns, where, in his day, no feet,
but those of thevvolf and the panther, had pene-
trated; and he enjoys the rich reward, of re-
ﬂectingthat he was one of the instruments, in
the hands of a wise Providence, for laying the
foundations of all the happiness, prosperity, and
grandeur that he witnesses; to »

33

But enough of such fanciful musings. I have
“given you a hasty review of the past, a brief
sketch of the present, and a somewhat visionary
prospect of the future circumstances of our
country. That she will realize all that I have
presumed to foretell, and much more; that the
most elevated destinies are reserved for her,
“ all nature cries aloud.”

The vast extent and fertility of her territory,
the rapid increase of her population, the gene-
ral diffusion of knowledge, the freedom of her

civil and religious institutions, and her security,

from foreign hostility, afford the surest indicau
tions of the rank which she is hereafter to oc-
cupy among the nations of the earth.

But all these brilliant anticipations depend on
the preservation of union. If the constitutional
authority of the federal government is disregard-
ed; if sectional jealousies are fomented and in«
ﬂamed; if clissensions arise among ourselves; if
the union is destroyed"-then will the more pow-
erful states become the tyrants of the less
powerful; the latter will call in the aid of fo-
reign mercenaries; the hand of the stranger
will be upon us; and the World’s last hope
will fall an easy prey, to the ambition of a do»
mestick demagogue, or a foreign despot!

34.»

Ihave thus, my fellow-citizens, fulﬁlled the
duty appointed for me; with What acceptance
you are to decide.

I will not remind you of the difliculty of glean-
ing, where so many have reaped the harvest.
But, if an individual leaves this assembly with an
increased veneration for our ancestors, a Warmer
attachment to our institutions, or a deeper rever--
ence for the constitution, I shall believe that I
have not employed your time entirely in vain.

FINIEB.