■ AN 
 
 ORATION, 
 
 DELIVERED AT \EW LOXDOlf* 
 
 BEFORE THE 
 
 WASHINGTON TOTAL ABSTINENCE SOCIETY, 
 
 July 4th, 1842. 
 
 BV GEORGE S. f.' AT LIU. r><t 
 
 » 
 
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library 
 
ORATION. 
 
 FELL O IF CITIZENS — 
 
 The songs of rejoicing, which, at every successive return of 
 this Anniversary, have in triumph ascended from our Temples, 
 have all in succession died away. The soul-stirring eloquence 
 which, upon occasions like this, has moved our countrymen to 
 firm resolves to maintain and perpetuate the Liberties, for which 
 our Fathers so nobly and successfully struggled, has as often 
 been hushed in silence. And it may be that the various subjects, 
 fit for discussion, upon a day like this — subjects which have 
 been made the theme of many a lofty song and sounding period, 
 have been nearly exhausted, and that we cannot now speak, 
 *ave in fear of bootless repetition. 
 
 But yet, an event which was the happy result of so many 
 painful causes, was signal in the history of human affairs, and 
 upon which depended so much of human happiness, is worthy 
 still of commemoration. And when we remember the many 
 toils and sufferings, and the amount of treasure and of blood by 
 whi.h it was established; the momentous and happy results by 
 which it has been followed, and contemplate the blissful pros- 
 pects which open so enchantingly before us, little else can be 
 required to cause Patriot-hearts, which have so often been made 
 to swell with lively enthusiasm, again to beat with a quickened 
 pulsation. 
 
 Upon this Anniversary we commingle the spirit and events 
 of the past, and of the future, with those of the present time ; — 
 and while we gaze in wonder back, upon the first great monu- 
 ment of our existence — The Declaration ;— while wc look in 
 admiration forward, to the bright and dazzling glories which 
 
2 
 
 shall beam upon posterity, the present teems with new and 
 bewildering interest. Every breast is filled with whatever of 
 heroic pride, manly sentiment, or elevated feeling, may be excit- 
 ed by an epoch high placed on the annals of the past ; by what 
 ever maybe cheering in the view of our present condition ; and 
 by the contemplation of the glorious Sun of Liberty, which, 
 along the course of all future time shall shine in full effulgence. 
 
 Yes — American Liberty still lives ! and the Anniversary of 
 that illustrious day which saw its birth, has again returned, anew 
 to awaken our holy ardor, love of country, and grateful praisc= 
 Let us rejoice, that once more, we hail it Free ! 
 
 Perhaps nothing can be of more importance to the safety and 
 welfare of those who are essentially the guardians of their own 
 fortunes, than a precise and thorough knowledge of the nature 
 of the rights and privileges with which they arc endued by na- 
 ture, and which are recognised by the Constitution and Laws of 
 the Government under which they live. Upon the extent of 
 the Liberties whieh they actually enjoy, must mainly depend 
 the amount of their individual felicity ; and than an ignorance 
 of that extent, nothing can constitute a surer guide to error and 
 misfortune. And yet, by how few are the limits of our rights 
 precisely understood. 
 
 Of Civil Liberty it has well been said that, " though declama- 
 tion and eloquence, in all ages, have exhausted their stores upon 
 this favorite theme, yet reason hath made so little progress in 
 ascertaining the nature and boundaries of liberty, that there are 
 few authors indeed, either of this, or any other country, which 
 can furnish the studious and serious reader, with a clear and 
 consistent account of this idol of mankind." While Liberty- 
 has been the boast of many in every land, at every successive 
 age of the world, its principles have been the study of compara- 
 tively few ; and it has sometimes happened that those who pro- 
 fessed to those principles the most deep-rooted attachment, and 
 were loudest in their praise of them, have been found to under- 
 stand least of their nature and extent, as well as of their 
 practical utility and importance. 
 
 Civil Liberty consists, not in the right of "doing every thing 
 which a man's passions urge him to attempt, or his strength 
 enables him to effect." Such Liberty would place all at the 
 
3 
 
 mercy of the most designing and powerful. But Civil Liberty 
 is well defined to be, "that of a member of society, and is no 
 other than Natural Liberty, so far restrained by human laws, 
 and no farther, as is necessary and expedient for the general 
 advantage of the public." And this is a clear, concise, and 
 beautiful exposition of that Civil Liberty, which is the birth- 
 right of every American citizen ; that Liberty, the great prin- 
 ciples of which, arc incorporated into all our Institutions ; that 
 Liberty which, it is the first object of our excellent Constitution 
 and equal laws, to cherish and preserve inviolate. 
 
 The Tree of American Liberty, grew not first upon our own 
 soil, nor was it first nourished by American hands, No! The 
 seed from which it grew, was planted in the breasts of those 
 who, by birth, by education, and by every endearing association, 
 were Englishmen. Impelled by an unholy zeal to preserve 
 unnatural and ill-gotten power, the seed was deep planted in a 
 most fertile soil, by the hand of Oppression. Oppression sought 
 to blast its first fruits, and trample it under foot. But yet, the 
 seed took root, and its shoot was nourished, with care both deli- 
 cate and tender, in all the secrecy of secret thought and secret 
 prayer. It flourished ; and when too big for farther conceal- 
 ment, searched for as it was by all the watchful eyes of Tyranny, 
 it was thought to remove the sapling with the soil that clung 
 around it, to a more peaceful realm — to a more genial climate. 
 The time of its removal was fixed, and at length it came. It 
 was a cold and cheerless night ; the moon shone not, nor the 
 stars ; — and as the elements assumed a bearing of unusual 
 severity ; as the rains descended and the night winds blew, a 
 band of brothers bore it from the shores which threatened its 
 destruction, and themselves for the last time, trode the fens and 
 marshes of their native isle. 
 
 After encountering every severity and danger which a wintry 
 sky could inflict, or a wintry sea with its cold, dark billows roll- 
 ing threaten — severities which would have withered any stock 
 less sturdy than this, and dangers which would have paralyzed 
 any hearts less full of zeal and faith than those which held it in 
 their fond embrace, the Pilgrims ultimately planted it in the 
 Wilderness-Garden of America. Though in the midst of dan- 
 gers and privations which beggar description, they immediately 
 
4 
 
 instituted a form of government, such as they thought fit, to 
 nourish and protect the tree which they had planted. Their 
 government succeeded beyond the limits of their hopes, and so 
 suited was it to their purpose, that the tree soon took root, its 
 branches began to spread, and its foilage waxed green and beau- 
 tiful. It was indeed a tree of promise ! In its kindly shade, 
 the earth, and all things else, were seen to bloom and prosper ; 
 and even from afar, many came to inhale its fragrance, and to 
 invoke its shelter from the storms of life. Time rolled on — 
 and with only now and then a storm which threatened, then 
 subsided, all was tranquil and peaceful, and prosperous and 
 happy. 
 
 But Cupidity saw the lovely garden, and vainly thought to 
 make it all her own. Pride and ambition urged her on ; and 
 the royal head of an usurping, avaricious nation, sought exclu- 
 sive right to legislate over all its fertile soil, and to prescribe to 
 its people, the line of every thought, and of every action. 
 These claims were met by petition and remonstrance, but with- 
 out effect. " Unconditional submission or chastisement," was 
 the mad response : — and then Oppression came ; and then was 
 aroused that spirit of Patriotism which unauthorized minions 
 could never extinguish, and to prevent the effects of which, a 
 tyrant's power furnished no antidote. The British King learned 
 too late, that the Tree of Liberty had been planted here. At 
 the onset of his armies it rocked, but it fell not, for the Fathers 
 defended it ; and they had partaken of its delicious fruit. 
 
 At length, the Tree of Liberty was to be assailed with all the 
 force of British influence, of British arms, and British valor, 
 and the war-whoop and bugle-blast gave « awful note of prepa- 
 ration." Deep and fixed were the emotions and purposes of 
 those who stood arm in arm, and shoulder to shoulder, around 
 its mighty trunk, awaiting the hour of final struggle. It came, 
 and fearful was the contest. The clangour of arms, the thunder 
 of cannon, the cries of the wounded, and the groans of the 
 dying, resounded throughout the lines of embattled hosts ; and 
 thick smoke arising from the heat of contest, seemed to involve 
 Heaven and Earth in gloom and confusion ; and enshrouded 
 the foes of Freedom, with its friends, in all the impenetrable 
 darkness of night. 
 
5 
 
 The cry, 11 to arms," was over ; the Indian war-whoop was 
 no longer heard; the retreating British bugle had sounded its 
 last note, and all again was hushed. The curling smoke rolled 
 away into the vast expanse ; through a clear blue sky the sun 
 shone forth in magnificent effulgence ; and in that beautiful Uar- 
 den where so lately trode the invader's foot, again was seen the 
 Tree of Liberty, towering in its strength to Heaven. Not one 
 of even its tendercst branches, had been lopped away ; not one 
 of its beautiful green leaves had fallen or faded. There it stood 
 in its own native excellence, the pride and boast of Americans, 
 and the admiration of all the world. The Eagle was seen to 
 stand with well plumed wing, upon its top; and nearly Three 
 Millions of Freemen, full of joy, and gladness, and thanksgiv- 
 ing, were safely reposing in its ample shade. Patriots and He- 
 roes had been in council met, and had solemnly declared that, 
 " America was, and of right ought to be, a Free and Independent 
 Nation while with overflowing hearts they now paused, and 
 listening, heard surrounding nations give the glad response, 
 " America is Free." 
 
 There never before was, and there probably never again will 
 be, a Convention of sages, embodying so much of mental and 
 moral greatness, as did the Congress of '76. And though there 
 were some there, who feared that the struggle for liberty was 
 premature, and that the chances of success did not then warrant 
 the adoption of the Declaration ; yet there stood some in that 
 circle of Fathers, who seem to have been clothed with the spirit 
 of prophecy ; some whose zeal was equalled only by their pru- 
 dence, and whose wisdom assumed empire over both ; some who 
 saw liberty within their grasp, and pointed to the means of its 
 acquisition, with unerring certainty ; — some who to the truth, 
 foretold success. And there was one among them, who urged 
 the adoption of the Declaration, and predicted its ultimate tri- 
 umph, with an eloquence as resistless as the overflowing waters 
 of a mighty sea ; with an accuracy of revelation, which could 
 alone have been lighted up by the finger of Heaven, 
 
 To dissipate the dim mists which were raised only by doubts 
 and fears, the Patriot cries — 
 
 " But whatever may be our fate, be assured, be assured that 
 M this Declaration will stand. It may cost treasure, and it may 
 
G 
 
 u cost blood ; but it will Stand, and it will richly compensate for 
 " both. Through the thick gloom of the present, I see the 
 " brightness of the future, as the sun in Heaven. We shall 
 " make this a glorious, an immortal day. When we are in our 
 il graves, our children will honor it. They will celebrate it 
 f ' with thanksgiving, with festivity, with bonfires, and illumina- 
 " tions. On its annual return, they will shed tears, copious 
 "gushing tears, not of subjection and slavery, not of agony and 
 " distress, but of exultation, of gratitude, and of joy. * * * 
 " It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing of God, it shall 
 " be my dying sentiment — Independence now, and Independence 
 11 forever." 
 
 The Declaration was unanimously adopted, and was published 
 to the world. The People heard it, and were glad. Our Armies 
 heard it, and were inspired with new c6urage. Religion ap- 
 proved it, and the love of Religious Liberty clung around it, 
 resolved to stand with it, or fall with it. The war of the Revo- 
 lution was prosecuted with new vigor ; and, lighted onward to 
 the battle-field, by the same holy zeal and ardent patriotism 
 which had foretold their glory, wherever freedom's soldiers 
 stood, there arose the loud and pealing notes of victory ; and 
 the Proud Oppressor, humbled, acknowledged that America 
 was Free. The words of the prophet have been, even to the 
 letter made good. Ever venerated be his name ! Civil and re- 
 ligious liberty, has been to our fathers and to ourselves secured. 
 Let us aloud rejoice ! 
 
 If thus we may rejoice in a Revolution which brought delive- 
 rance from a foreign yoke, from foreign aggression, and from 
 foreign bondage, may we not, on this, its glorious anniversary, 
 rejoice with exceeding great joy, in that other Revolution, 
 which has dawned upon this, our day and generation, and pecu- 
 liarly upon ourselves, bringing as it docs to us, deliverance from 
 degrading bondage to the deadliest foe of man ; deliverance 
 from foes within, as well as from foes without ; a deliverance 
 without which, Liberty — liberty of person, of manhood, of 
 mind, liberty of conscience, is but a name, a by-word, and a re- 
 proach. The nations have not, by this, been distracted, con- 
 vulsed and plunged in war, and all the horrors which follow in 
 'ts train, Blood and treasure hayc not been poured out in its 
 
7 
 
 achievement, nor has the tide of prosperity been turned bacl 
 or retarded, by its onward progress. But peace and plenty, 
 honor and happiness, rather, have marked and crowned all its 
 triumphs. 
 
 And if there be anything which forms a high and distinguish 
 ing characteristic of the present age ; which is calculated to 
 elevate and ennoble humanity — and to inspire the soul of the 
 Patriot, the Philanthropist, and the Christian with joy, and hope, 
 and confidence ; and in which we may rejoice as in the event 
 of a nation's birth, it is the idea, the principle, the enterprise of 
 rescuing men from voluntary, self-degradation ; of restoring 
 them to the true dignity of their nature ; of prosecuting the 
 £rcat Temperance Reform, upon the enduring basis of Total 
 Abstinence. Indeed, though the traditions of the old world 
 furnish ample illustrations of the capacity of evil passions, of 
 war, of famine, and of pestilence, to corrupt, debase, and de- 
 stroy ; — and though the history of modern times, may point us 
 to all the splendid appointments, and magnificent paraphernalia 
 of modern degeneracy ; yet in looking back through the long, 
 deep vista of near six thousand years, the mind can rest upon 
 no oasis so green, no charms so lovely, no spell so potent of 
 good, no enterprise of reform so essentially lighted up by the 
 finger of Heaven, as the Waslungtonian Enterprise of the 
 nineteenth century ; — save always that high and holy Mission 
 — that universally soul-thrilling Advent, which marked the be- 
 ginning of our era. Save this one great work which, from its 
 mighty centre, shall finally come to embrace the whole earth ; — 
 the Temperance plan, in its origin, its progress, its success; in 
 its relief to Buffering and distress, to agony and despair ; in its 
 active capacity to wipe tears away from eyes, quite dimmed by 
 years of grief and weeping ; and to soothe and elevate the heart, 
 long bowed down with shame and woe ; and in its ever active 
 and efficient energies in forever breaking in sunder the iron 
 chains of soul-and-body degrading and destroying servitude ; 
 and in placing men erect in life, in liberty and light ; — I say 
 that, save the Christian religion, the Temperance plan in ail u 
 history, its power, success and limitless promise, over all othci 
 measures of philanthropy, stands proudly and mightily pre- 
 eminent — upheld by every principle of utility, expediency, an I 
 
3 
 
 of right — sustained by every principle of virtue, morality, and 
 religion — challenging our highest admiration, and eliciting our 
 warmest love. 
 
 And upon what state of things; what condition of society 5 
 what existence of humanity, dawned this glorious light; this 
 resplendent sun-beam ; this vivifying transcendence, which the 
 soul now hails with such thrilling delight ? The old world with 
 all its nameless abominations had passed away, and nearly fif- 
 teen centuries had rolled their years along, ere in the Christian 
 world Intemperance was recognized as worthy of a place in 
 that fearful catalogue of crying evils, which, from the beginning* 
 had so closely beset frail human nature. 
 
 • The chance production of a Mahomedan Alchymist, had been 
 recognized as a powerful chemical agent ; the unfortunate 
 discovery of a Spanish Leech, had placed it upon the shelves 
 of the apothecary, as a balm for every wound, and for every 
 disease a catholicon : — the nobility of Europe had regaled their 
 senses from sealed cruets of "aqua: vitac ;" — and finally, the 
 mass of the people, had found high excitement in dilutions, 
 strong or weak, from open casks and puncheons of poisonous 
 waters, which were destined to works of mighty desolation and 
 of death. 
 
 Alcoholic beverage, in great variety of strength and flavor 
 had become of extensive manufacture, and of extensive com- 
 merce, and its use, its consumption, had become co-extensive 
 with its great abundance. He who by his daily labor earned 
 his daily bread, sought to nerve his vigorous arm by the stimu- 
 lus of strong drink. He who delighted in feasts and revels, 
 pledged deep his guests in costly, spiced, and racy wines. The 
 social circle every where was urged on to gaiety and mirth, by 
 the overflowing bowl, and the sparkling cup. He who would 
 touch the " Lyre of Orpheus," first fired his imagination, by 
 copious libations from the fount of Bacchus. He who would 
 speak with the " tongue of Apollo," first unsealed his lips, in 
 paying his devotion at Bacchus' shrine. And he who would 
 gather up and concentrate all his energies to the accomplishment 
 of some great, some noble, some mighty end, first drank in firey 
 streams, which coursed, through all his veinsj his life's blood, 
 and his souk 
 
9 
 
 And this, almost universal use of unnatural stimuli was urged 
 on by the despotic fashion of the times ; and as might have been 
 expected, vicious and depraved appetites were created and con- 
 firmed ; vile and degrading habits were formed and established ; 
 and to such appetites and such habits, Men — men, created but 
 a little lower than the angels in the scale of moral excellence — 
 men, created in the moral image of God — men, with souls des- 
 tined to immortality, in countless multitudes, became the low, 
 the groveling, the abject, the willing slaves. And Intempe- 
 rance, with its hosts of kindred vices, did everywhere abound. 
 Poverty and suffering, grief and anguish, and disease and crime, 
 and unutterable woe were there. And there were moving ranks 
 of ten thousands upon ten thousands, all crippled of their 
 strength and of liberty, being borne down to untimely death 
 and nameless perdition ; and their thick and swaying legions 
 rushed madly on, heedless of the cries of suffering innocence — 
 heedless of the calls of humanity, the voice of love, the voice 
 of religion. And on they pressed to the very verge of an un- 
 fathomable abyss. Hopeless seemed the nerveless effort to 
 retire, to shrink, to recoil from its monstrous jaws. Behind, 
 multitudes still pressed on, and in their ranks there was seen 
 no breach, which offered hope of escape ; and as their numbers 
 followed thick upon each other, and host after host plunged into 
 the deep, dark and unknown, the horror stricken and motion- 
 less looked back aghast; and behold! the avenues, to society 
 and the world, were all fast closed upon them, and all hope shut 
 out of sympathy or succor. They felt that they were even 
 hated of themselves — a shame to humanity, despised of their 
 kind, and forsaken of Heaven. And Husbands and Fathers, 
 and Sons and Brothers ; Wives and Mothers, and Daughters 
 and Sisters were there, full of sighs and tears, and bowed down 
 with excess of grief, who scanned the files of this ever mov- 
 ing, ev er sinking mass of degraded humanity, in fruitless agony 
 of soul to lament and bewail their utter hopelessness and des- 
 pair. And childhood and old age, and youth and manhood 
 were there ; and as they saw the death blows of the hand of 
 desolation fast fall upon the nerveless, helpless fallen, they cried 
 out in supplication, " And is there no hope V While the rough 
 
 torrents and the murmuring brooks, and the stern mountain^ 
 o 
 
10 
 
 and the lovely vallies, answered back, " There is no hope !'* 
 And the genius of friendship and of love, robed in sackcloth and 
 ashes, wept over blighted prospects, buried aspirations, and 
 dear remembrances, and sent up its responsive wail — " There 
 is no hope !" 
 
 But, as if the cup of earth's miseries were to overflowing full ; 
 as if hell were gorged with the victims of intemperance ; — as 
 if Heaven itself were weary of listening to the lamentations of 
 the world, upon this sad scene of grief and anguish, of distress 
 and despair, of desolation and death, a glittering star arose, 
 only surpassed in splendid brightness by one other star — " the 
 Star of Bethlehem." In the midst of the panderers to debase- 
 ment, armed with all the instruments of revelry, carousal, and 
 debauch; — in the very presence of appetites, vicious and cruel, 
 exacting and insatiate ; — and of habits pernicious and destruc- 
 tive, confirmed and commanding — amidst all these, the Principle 
 of Total Abstinence was born ; and upright it stood, in form at 
 once perfect and mature. It was as Minerva, springing out at 
 a single blow, from the brain of Jove, clad in complete and 
 perfect panoply. It was wisdom and courage, emanating from, 
 and strengthened by, the natural, and honest, and mighty power 
 of the Divine Essence; — the capacity, the will and the affections. 
 Touched by its electric, revivifying power, out of hundreds of 
 thousands of fallen men, scattered throughout the whole length 
 and breadth of our country, in the far famed Monumental City, 
 six rose up from their pollutions, and re-asserted their humani- 
 ty. They went forth the fit and chosen Apostles of that great 
 principle which brought relief to them, and has since brought 
 relief to thousands more : — a principle which carries comfort 
 to the desolate fire-side ; brings rich blessings to the poverty- 
 stricken family ; re-unites the sundered ties of affection ; gives 
 joy and healing to the wounded spirit ; brings back the lost and 
 weary wanderer ; and restores the very dead to life, to man- 
 hood, and to unshackled freedom. And hence has rolled on the 
 great moral revolution which now beams so bright upon the 
 breastplates of the thousands who stand victorious over the 
 damning chains of vicious appetite and indulgence, — victorious 
 over the deadliest foe of man — victorious over the hellish in- 
 fluences which were fast dragging them over the brink of an 
 
1 ! 
 
 infernal abyss of n oes unmitigated. And hence has sprung up 
 that towering Alpine height of moral grandeur, moral sublimity, 
 and moral beauty, upon which we now gaze in such unaffected 
 surprise, and wonder and admiration. Posterity shall fix their 
 delighted gaze upon its shining celestial summits ; and perchance 
 they will recognize this generation, as a generation emphatically 
 breathed upon, by the regenerating, unseen breath of Heaven. 
 
 But, as if there had not been enough of suffering, and of 
 death by Intemperance, brought down upon mankind ;— as if 
 joy, and comfort, and happiness were unwelcome visitants to 
 the earth, there are those who manifest emotions of displeasure, 
 of anger, of fierce hostility, and of indomitable resistance to 
 the onward march of our heaven-directed enterprise. Of these, 
 some have long ministered to the appetites of the depraved, 
 the vicious, and the degraded ; and they seem blind to the un- 
 told miseries which they have scattered around them. The 
 homage of their hearts has been paid to gold, to silver and to 
 copper, and these are the gods whom they worship. Oh! that 
 they would be wise to discern the signs of the times, and to 
 recognize tjieir true interests and imperative duty, in the aban- 
 donment of a traffic which finds no warrant of justification Of 
 excuse in the history of the past, the testimonies of the present, 
 or the prophetic visions of the future ! Their past experience 
 and observation seem to have imparted to them no lessons of 
 generous instruction ;— the It&ht which now beams so full upon 
 the abominations of a traffic, which once was carried on without 
 reproach, quite fails in showing to their averted eyes, the glad 
 and peaceful paths of wisdom: and in continuing to oiler temp- 
 tations to folly and vice, they manifest no virtue, save that, 
 which has its only reward in filthy lucre. 
 
 While these are exerting their powers of ridicule, of sophis- 
 try, and of wily art, to hinder and prevent the progress of 
 Reform ; — while they are still pouring out their poisonous wa- 
 ters, that they may deluge, desolate and destroy, every remain- 
 ing green spot upon the far extended plain ot human character, 
 do they not know that they are doing violence to every just 
 principle of virtuous conduct ! Do they not know that ihere 
 are thousands in our country, who are now suffering the punish- 
 ment awarded to their crimes, who have never inflicted upon 
 
12 
 
 the community, even a tithe of the untold miseries, which they 
 themselves, are striving to visit upon this generation, and upon 
 posterity 1 Do they not know that there are countless numbers 
 of those, whose inexcusable misdeeds bear no considerable pro- 
 portion to their own, the sound of whose footsteps has passed 
 away from the earth, and who are now in a state of nameless 
 existence 1 Men, hardened in this iniquitous calling, have been 
 reasoned with, until, with them, argument seems to have lost 
 all its force ; — appeals to their better feelings, to their humanity, 
 seem to have been cast before them, like pearls before swine, 
 only to be trampled under foot; — while they still hold their 
 consciences, as if void of offence, seared as they are, with 
 irons seven times heated in the unquenchable fires of avarice 
 and depravity. But to these, public sentiment and public jus- 
 tice are fast assigning their fit positions in society ; — they are 
 justly being looked upon, as men wise to do evil, but who to do 
 good have no understanding. 
 
 And there are those who from the respectable position which 
 they occupy in the community, do not only by their precepts 
 and examples, but by the patronage of their money, counte- 
 nance and sustain the traffic in intoxicating agents. The re- 
 tailer can never look to the devoted friend of Temperance, for 
 countenance in anything associated with his wretched business. 
 Nor does he look for support in a miserable traffic, to him whom 
 that traffic has made miserably and emphatically poor. His 
 avaricious gaze is, rather, fixed upon him whose comparative 
 wealth and good name, may be used at once as a shield against 
 reproach, an authority for continuing in an hated occupation, 
 and as a guarantee of pecuniary gains. Were it not then, that 
 those who are pleased to style themselves " moderate drinkers," 
 still persist in rejecting the principle of Total Abstinence, the 
 manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages would at once 
 cease, and with it Intemperance would cease to be numbered 
 foremost among the vices of the times. And were it not 
 that, by their precepts and examples, they certify to others the 
 propriety, the safety, of moderate indulgence, how soon would 
 the fashion, the custom, of drinking at all of that which may 
 intoxicate, pass into absolute disrepute, and be, itself, entirely 
 done away. Fearful, then, is their responsibility. 
 
13 
 
 A glance of the mind's eye, at once intuitive and introverted, 
 must convince them, that on the tablets of their own hearts, the 
 Law of Abstinence is written, as by the finger of CJod; — and 
 though appetite, and prejudice and indulgence, may darken, 
 pervert, and obscure its sun-beam perspicuity, yet that law, no 
 folly, no crime, no degradation can ever totally obliterate. 
 
 This fundamental principle of our well being, is the guardian 
 of our self-love, of our happiness and of our rights ; and the 
 soul, the spirit, rides high and warm, upon its generous influ- 
 ence. It is the sustaining power of the Divinity in man. The 
 immortal mind partakes of no other feast so rich as that which 
 unclouded reason prepares, from the sober contemplation of 
 beauty and of truth; — and the inmost recesses of the heart, 
 furnish no other treasures so high above all price, as those 
 which have been garnered up, from innocence, from purity, and 
 from hope. What folly, what madness then, to pursue a course 
 of indulgence which divests the intellect of all its towering 
 strength ; palsies the wing of every noble aspiration ; chills the 
 warm life's blood, and surrenders up the moral image of God, 
 to foul and. horrid disfiguration. While they thus behold their 
 own true interests and welfare, and the very life and being of 
 all humanity involved in this great work — this all-compassing 
 measure of philanthropy, an enlightened conscience must, it 
 would seem, swing from her moorings, and seek relief and safe- 
 ty in the surrender and rejection of appetite, of prejudice, and 
 of passion. 
 
 Of all those who have refused the monitions of history, neg- 
 lectei the warnings of observation, and despised the lessons of 
 experience ; and, in the fast descending scale of degradation, 
 have passed on from abstinence to folly, from folly to vice, and 
 from vice to drunkenness and all its manifold pollutions, not a 
 few are yet alive, to behold again the light of Freedom's natal 
 day. How many of these, can behold gaunt poverty staring 
 them in the face ; a crowd of loathsome diseases gathering thick 
 around them ; and the web fast weaving, which may enshroud 
 them in untimely death. For them, the bright and glorious sun 
 has long poured out his gorgeous light in vain by day ; and in 
 vain for them by night, the silvery moon, and glittering stars, 
 have followed on their silent, trackless way, through all the 
 
14 
 
 heavens. Shame and deep disgrace, and unutterable distress 
 have settled heavily upon them ; and their wives, their children 
 and their friends, and every voice that floats upon the winds of 
 heaven, mourn and lament their fate in bitterness and wailing. 
 
 But even to these, the great moral revolution, in which we 
 rejoice, has brought a grand and wondrous change, and placed 
 them in a position, at once new, and full of interest. As they 
 now look back upon society, and the world, they behold no 
 more, the firm and lofty walls of separation all closed upon 
 them. They no longer hear the voice of anger and reviling, 
 of hatred, and of maddening reproach. They can now behold 
 the massive gates, which had remained, for them, so long unmov- 
 ed,- thrown open wide. The watchmen, with their flags of 
 truce adorned with all the emblems of joy, and hope, and love, 
 are standing upon their towers. And heralds, every where are 
 seen, clothed as in garments of good repute, proffering succor 
 and relief to the fallen ; and with friendly invitation urging all 
 to throw off their corruptions ; to put on their humanity anew, 
 arid with them to enter and abide in the mansions of essential 
 freedom — the bowers of plenty and of innocent delights — the 
 temples of sober meditation and of praise. And, oh ! that these 
 would but receive the Pledge, and with us unite in the requiem 
 of departed, monstrous folly — with us rejoice as in the morning 
 of life. 
 
 With what ecstacy of joy do those hail the light of this im- 
 mortal day, who are in the full fruition of all the priceless bless- 
 ings poured out upon them by the glorious and mighty revolu- 
 tions which we celebrate. They hail it in manhood erect and 
 unfettered, strong and free; in intellect enlightened and clear, 
 commanding and fast fixed on wisdom ; and in soul purified and 
 peaceful, elevated and swelling with thanksgiving. They 
 breathe not only the pure air of general freedom, but the purer 
 air of American liberty and independence, rich in its sweets of 
 plenty and of health, rich in its fragrance of abstinence and of 
 purity, and bearing all that is of worth, to the great, the good, 
 the noble, and the excellent in man. Remembering, but to be ad- 
 monished, all the sufferings and dangers through which they've 
 passed, the present and the future, with all their content, and 
 comfort and happiness, are as waveless of sorrow as the bosom 
 
15 
 
 of a tranquil sea. The balmy breezes of prosperity now gently 
 fan their brows. The eyes of friendship and of love, beam full 
 upon them, in tearful, joyous brightness ; and the warm breath 
 of affection, comes stealing over their delighted senses, like the 
 thrilling respirations of some dear, appeased divinity. 
 
 Sustained by the sacred Pledge, they have been as success- 
 ful in their struggles with the monster Intemperance, as was 
 Hercules in his struggles with the Nemean lion; — as successful 
 as were our Fathers, in their struggle with England's insatiate 
 beast. They glory in no blood-stained laurels won in fierce 
 collision on the battle-field ; — but in their own persons, their 
 own front and mein, they bear the trophies of a victory of higher 
 achievement — a victory over sin, and suffering, and death. 
 
 Hail, then, our Ship of State ! and the stars and stripes spread 
 out upon her gorgeous ensign as it floats far over the sea and 
 over the land, in pride and triumph. 
 
 Hail, then, her matchless consort — our Temperance Ship, and 
 her flags and banners streaming in the full swelling breeze, in 
 gladness and unspeak*able delight. 
 
 All hail, our Noble Fleet ! Its courses are all set to ride upon 
 the ever-rolling waves of Liberty. And notwithstanding the 
 rough surges of human passions which so continually beat upon 
 it, the good ships still go booming on their glorious way, freight- 
 ed with a nation's welfare, with a nation's wealth, a nation's 
 honor, a nation's happiness, and a nation's love. 
 
 B. P. BISSEI.L, PRINTER— NEW LONDON.