(s 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 I 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE 
 
 PHILOMATHIAN SOCIETY, 
 
 AT THE 
 
 ANNUAL COMMENCEMENT 
 
 Jfimrat ioint 3tknf® Culltgf, 
 
 EMMITTSBURG, FREDERICK COUNTY, Mi, 
 
 ON JUNE 30, 1852, 
 
 By JOHN F. ENNIS, Esq. 
 
 BALTIMORE: 
 
 PRINTED BY HEDIAN & O’BRIEN, 
 82 BALTIMORE STREET. 
 
 1852. 
 
Mount St. Mary’s College, ? 
 
 June 30 th, 1852. $ 
 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 The Philomathian Society, impelled by the delight which they ex- 
 perienced in listening to your address, return you their most sincere thanks and 
 solicit a copy for publication. 
 
 We remain 
 
 Your obedient servants. 
 
 Jno. F. Ennis, Esq,. 
 
 JNO. F. KNIGHT, 
 
 S. M. CHATARD, 
 
 JNO. R. IGLEHART, 
 GEO. S. HERB, f 
 
 CHS. E. THOMPSON. | 
 AUG. J. McCONOMY, J 
 
 Committee 
 
 Of 
 
 Philomathian Society . 
 
 Mt. St. Mary’s College, ? 
 
 June ‘SOth, 1852. $ 
 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 In deference to your wishes, I accepted your kind invitation to ad- 
 dress you. Actuated by the same spirit, I now comply with the request, 
 contained in your note just received, and herewith place at your disposal a copy 
 of my remarks. 
 
 With many thanks for your kindness, I remain. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 JOHN F. ENNIS. 
 
 To Messrs. John F. Knight and others. 
 
 Committee , <§’C. 
 
 

 
 < * :i , r i » 
 
 Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates 
 
 https://archive.org/details/addressdeliveredOOenni 
 
ADDRESS- 
 
 Gentlemen of the 
 
 Philomathian Society : 
 
 In obedience to your call, which, as a Mountaineer, I have 
 not felt at liberty to disobey, I am here, to-day, to discharge 
 the duty assigned me by your kind partiality. While ac- 
 knowledging, with grateful feelings, the honor conferred 
 upon me by the selection, let me transfer to your shoulders 
 the burden and responsibility of the tax, which, through me, 
 you are about to impose upon the patience and attention of 
 our kind friends, here assembled. 
 
 It is no unmeaning phrase, I assure you, gentlemen, when 
 I say to you that I enter upon the performance of my task 
 with feelings difficult to be expressed in wwds. A multi- 
 tude of thoughts now crow T d to my mind. The time which 
 has elapsed since I left this hallowed retreat of science and 
 learning, seems almost to be annihilated, so vividly do 
 the recollections of my college days, now rise up before my 
 view. Here were spent four of the happiest years of life, 
 amid friends and companions now 
 
 s( Scattered like ros^s in bloom, 
 
 Some at the bridal and some at the lomb.” 
 
 Solemn and impressive, indeed, is the lesson which I read 
 in the absence of all those familiar faces, which surrounded 
 me, when I participated, as I had supposed, for the last time 
 in the ceremonies of this day. But the theme is of too mel- 
 
6 
 
 ancholy a character to be indulged in amid the festivities of 
 an occasion like the present. There are other changes which 
 meet my eye, and which are worthy of a passing notice. 
 This spacious hall — this magnificent building — now stands 
 forth, the realization of the dreams , which the students of our 
 day were wont to indulge in, with regard to the future of our 
 Alma Mater. The old room, which, during the year, was 
 known as the “Study Room,” but, on this day, was styled 
 “Exhibition Hall,” now lives in the memory of the past, 
 while those antique desks and benches which it contained, 
 and whereon we were accustomed to pore over the tough 
 passages of Tacitus and Xenophon, are now supplanted by 
 the luxurious furniture which the progress of the times has 
 rendered necessary for the use and convenience of the Moun- 
 taineers of '52. 
 
 It were a pleasing task to dwell with you upon these 
 gratifying evidences of the growth and prosperity of our 
 Mountain Home, and to pay the tribute of a Mountaineer’s 
 thanks to the worthy Head, under whose administration these 
 improvements have been effected. But the subject which I 
 have selected for our consideration obliges me to forego the 
 grateful task, and to pass on to the notice of changes made, 
 beyond your College walls and in that arena into which you 
 are shortly to enter, to engage in that great battle which will 
 end only with } our existence. With the noise and din of the 
 combatants still ringing in my ears, 1 have come to offer 
 whatever assistance my experience will enable me to give, to- 
 wards preparing you for the contest. 
 
 Upon the very portals of this arena, will be found em- 
 blazoned in letters — perhaps of brass — the word “Progress ,” 
 and here, without proceeding further, we may find a subject 
 worthy of our serious attention and consideration. 
 
 It would be idle, at this day, to deny that this is an age of 
 Progress, and it would, doubtless, be considered presump- 
 tuous to contest the claim which our country presents to the 
 
7 
 
 apellation of a “nation of progress.” We have reversed the 
 figures which designated the original number of the States, 
 and from 13, have progressed to 31 free and independent 
 sovereignties. With a territory, extending from the Atlan- 
 tic to the Pacific, and exhaustless in all the rich resources 
 which can add to the wealth or happiness of a nation, 
 we have a population whose rapidly increasing numbers 
 exceed the calculations of Malthus, or the most sanguine of 
 his disciples. Time and distance have been annihilated b}' 
 the applications of science. “Young as I am,” said a dis- 
 tinguished Senator from Illinois, in a speech delivered a few 
 months ago, “I have seen the time when I congratulated 
 myself upon making a very quick trip, if I could go from 
 Washington to my residence in three weeks, and now I la- 
 ment my misfortune if it takes me four days to accomplish 
 the same journey.” Boston, through the means of the tele- 
 graph, is in speaking distance of New Orleans, and ere another 
 year rolls around, Washington and San Francisco will be 
 connected by the same magic link. More than this, it has 
 lately been announced through the columns of the press, that 
 the great public will soon have an opportunity of taking an 
 aerial trip from New York to California, and, in the city 
 from which I come, there is now in the course of erection, 
 the machine which, it is said, is to perform this almost miracu- 
 lous journey. So that in a year hence you will be able on 
 one day to inform your friend in San Francisco of your in- 
 tention to visit him, and on the next you will arrive safe and 
 sound, after an aerial passage of a few hours from Washing- 
 ton or N e w Y ork ! 
 
 It is no wonder, in view of these mighty triumphs of man’s 
 genius and intellect, that our vanity should suggest “ nil ad- 
 mirari ” for our motto, and that some of the more sanguine 
 of our countrymen, should cherish the hope of being able, at 
 no very distant day, to communicate, by some yet undis- 
 covered means, with “ the man in the moon !” Whether, 
 
8 
 
 however, this, or some of the other feats to which we have 
 alluded, shall be accomplished, it must certainly be admitted, 
 that science, in its application to the comforts and convenien- 
 ces of life, has been eminently progressive. 
 
 With this admission, we turn aside from the beaten track 
 of our festival orators, whose eloquence hut too often con- 
 sists of fulsome panegyries upon our country and its institu- 
 tions. Nor will it be considered unpatriotic in dissenting 
 from this wholesale adulation. Philip of Macedon, it is said, 
 ordered one of his attendants to repeat to him daily, “ Re- 
 member, Philip, thou art a man.” Posterity has approved the 
 wisdom of the Macedonian King, and we may profit by his 
 example. While flushed and elated by our prosperity it may 
 be wise that, now and then, a voice, however humble, should 
 be heard, repeating the sad “ Ilium fuit ” which serves as the 
 brief epitaph of nations, once as great and as powerful as we 
 are now. 
 
 Admitting, then, the advancement of knowledge and science, 
 and the increase of wealth, power and territory, we may first 
 stop to ask, in what consists this progress of religious ideas, 
 which, we are told, so distinguishes the civilization of the 
 nineteenth century ? An important inquiry indeed ! F or if 
 it be true, that Christianity is the sheet anchor which is to 
 save us from the fate of the republics of antiquity, who knew 
 not its holy influence, then, indeed, should we be careful in 
 guarding this citadel of our safety from the slightest approach 
 of danger. 
 
 The investigation, we fear, will result in the conviction 
 that Christianity — true Christianity — has paled its light before 
 the advance of civilization. In our own country, infidelity 
 stalks abroad through our land with as much effrontery as 
 it did in the days of Pagan Greece and Rome. An inter- 
 course with the world affords daily evidences of this melan- 
 choly fact. If further proofs be needed, we have but to turn 
 our eyes to the New England States, and see there, with 
 
9 
 
 what wonderful rapidity our Northern brethren are falling 
 off from the simple, but austere faith of their Puritan fathers. 
 From Unitarianism — just beyond the borders of Christianity 
 — down to the recent creed established by the “Spiritual 
 Rappers” — all have their believers and followers. As the 
 doctrines of Plato and Aristotle, in the hands of their un- 
 worthy disciples, degenerated into mysticism and pantheism, 
 so has the creed of Christianity been improved and theorized 
 by the advocates of religious progress, into unbelief and in- 
 fidelity. Long ago it was said by one of the Puritan fathers, 
 who foresaw the degeneracy of his decendants, that “ if the 
 Devil came visibly amongst many and held out indepen- 
 dency and liberty of conscience, and should teach that there 
 were no devils, no hell, no sin at all, but that these were 
 only men’s imaginations — he would be cried up, followed 
 and admired.” It is under this plea of “independency and 
 liberty of conscience” that men have run into these wild ex- 
 tremes of error, so startling in their effects upon religion, so- 
 ciety and government. From this source, has grown up that 
 most fearful of all doctrines ever announced in a republican 
 country : I allude to the doctrine promulgated by a distin- 
 guished Senator of the United States, and known as “ the 
 higher law” The one is the natural offspring of the other. 
 That same process of enlightened reason, which when applied 
 to Religion, leads a man into the mazes of infidelity, guides 
 him with unerring certainty into treason against his country 
 and its constitution. Let us not attribute this fearful state 
 of feeling to the ignorance and prejudices of the people. 
 The flame has been fanned by the teachings of our politico 
 religious preachers, who have ever been the curse and 
 disgrace of this country. They have left their impress upon 
 the blackened walls of the Charlestown Convent, and the 
 demoniac shouts, which greeted the sacred emblem of man’s 
 salvation, as it fell amid the burning ruins of the Church of 
 St. Augustine, were but an echo to the incendiary appeals 
 made, for months before, in various pulpits of Philadelphia. 
 
10 
 
 Under such influences, we have seen the parricidal blow 
 aimed against the institutions of our country. When the 
 “Compromise,” that noble monument of the exalted patriot- 
 ism of those who framed it, was passed by Congress, these 
 men were found in the front ranks of its fiercest opponents. 
 Submitting the law to their own private judgment, they pro- 
 claimed to the people that it was unjust and iniquitous — that 
 “the F ugitive Slave Law was the work of hell, and that there 
 was a law higher than any that could be passed by Con- 
 gress and the Executive.” Sedition was openly preached 
 from the pulpit, justified on scriptural grounds, and a blessed 
 immortality was promised to those who died in their traitor- 
 ous efforts to overturn the institutions of their country A 
 response was soon heard from those to whom these abomi- 
 nable doctrines were addressed. Meetings were held, and 
 associations formed, for the purpose of “purifying the churches 
 from all participation in the guilt of slavery,” and in laying 
 down their “platform of principles,” they say, “the Fugitive 
 Slave Law is a bill of abominations, and its authors, advo- 
 cates and enforcers deserve the severest condemnation, while 
 the act itself, should every where be condemned and exe- 
 crated.” With such sentiments, diffused amongst a people, 
 unrestrained by any of the influences of the Christian Re- 
 ligion, can we wonder that the life-blood of the master has 
 flown in his efforts to recover his slave, and that the whole 
 authority of the United States has been called into requi- 
 sition, for the execution of a law thus opposed and thus de- 
 nounced ? 
 
 Such are some of the effects of this expansion of human 
 thought, “which the liberalism of the day holds up to our 
 admiration, as proof of the “progress of the age. ” No greater 
 prostitution of the word could he made. It is progress, but 
 it is progress from Christianity to infidelity. It is a change 
 from the pure patriotism of our forefathers, to the wild anar- 
 chy of the French Republicans, who, under the guidance of 
 
11 
 
 “enlightened reason,” destroyed religion, morals, and society. 
 I intend, not here, to suggest the remedy for evils so fearful, 
 but it may be w ell for us to hearken to the warning voice of 
 the “Father of his Country,” and to ponder well the sage 
 advice contained in that rich legacy of a patriot’s love which 
 European testimony has pronounced, “ the greatest produc- 
 tion that ever emanated from uninspired pen.” Amongst the 
 paternal admonitions, contained in the Farewell Address of 
 Washington, is one, which tells us, that “religion is one of the 
 most indispensible supports to political prosperity.” “ In 
 vain,” says he, “would that man claim the tribute of patriot- 
 ism, who should labor to subvert these pillars of human hap- 
 piness — these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. 
 Whatever maybe conceded to the influence of refined edu- 
 cation upon minds of peculiar structure, reason and experi- 
 ence, both forbid us to expect that national morality can 
 prevail to the exclusion of the principles of religion.” 
 
 Next to religion, the highest moral institution on earth is 
 that of government; and, here again, we may well hesitate 
 before yielding our assent to the doctrines and theories which 
 have been developed by the “progress of the age.” The 
 locomotive speed, with which our ideas have progressed with- 
 in the past few years, puts to shame the stage-coach pace of 
 the men of the past. It was the fancy of the poet that sug- 
 gested the lines : 
 
 “No pent up utica contracts our powers. 
 
 The whole boundless continent is ours,” 
 
 But we have realized the thought, and expanding the 
 the idea of the poet, proclaim : 
 
 No pent up ,f continent ” contracts our powers. 
 
 The whole boundless “ universe ” is ours! 
 
 Satisfied, ourselves, that we are the “greatest people on the 
 face of the earth” we offer the blessings of our republican 
 institutions, as a sovereign cure, for all the evils under which 
 humanity labors. Nothing but a judgment, blinded by na- 
 
12 
 
 tional vanity, could suggest so absurd a policy, and nothing 
 but that madness, which, we are told, the gods first inflict 
 upon those whom they wish to destroy, will ever induce us 
 to attempt its enforcement. The boldness, however, with 
 which it is advocated, demands from our hands a passing 
 notice. 
 
 Macauley, in one of his political essays, quaintly remarks: 
 “A good government, like a good coat, is that which fits the 
 body for which it is designed.” Experience has proved the 
 truth of the observation. In 1790, the French nation tried 
 on the republican coat, and they found it the tightest straight- 
 jacket that ever confined the limbs of a maniac, and so it 
 continued, until the tailor of Corsica fashioned it into an ab- 
 solute monarchy, and the Frenchmen acknowledge the fit, 
 by yielding implicit obedience to his authority. The same 
 experiment was tried upon the Spanish American people, 
 and the scenes of anarchy and confusion which have been 
 enacted there, during the past twenty-five years, tell, with 
 fearful truth, of their unfitness for the institutions under which 
 they live. 
 
 But a more comprehensive policy still, will be found in the 
 next chapter of this book of Progress. It has been gravely 
 suggested, that this same republican coat should be tried on 
 the limbs of all the old worn out and effete monarchies of 
 Europe, and political soothsayers were not wanting to pre- 
 dict that the hearts of the “ peoples of the continent” were 
 prepared for the change. A mighty convulsion shook Eu- 
 rope to its centre — thrones trembled and monarchs quaked 
 under the indignant frown of suffering humanity, while, from 
 across the ocean, came the glad tidings that the foundation 
 stones of republican liberty had been laid upon the prostrate 
 thrones of departed royalty. France was welcomed with 
 shouts of joy into the family of republics, and our minister 
 was sent abroad, with a kind of roving commission, to exchange 
 congratulations with the next nation that should follow her 
 
13 
 
 example. How splendid the promise — how poor the per- 
 formance! Constitutional monarchy has disappeared from the 
 continent, and four millions of the ‘‘ thinking bayonets ” of 
 Europe are now arrayed on the side of absolutism. In 
 France eight millions of freemen voted away their liberty, and 
 with a base and humiliating acknowledgment of their unwor- 
 thiness to enjoy the boon of freedom, which fortune had 
 thrown into their hands, surrendered to one man the power 
 of re-modelling and re-constructiug their form of go\ernment. 
 Louis Napoleon has executed the trust with a strong hand, 
 and, under the title of President, wields the power of a des- 
 pot. In the meanwhile, the liberty-loving citizens of France 
 submit quietly, if not cheerfully, to his usurpations, and hail 
 the nephew, as they did the uncle, “ the savior of his coun- 
 try ! ” 
 
 What is true of France may be said of each of the other 
 states of the continent. In all of them we find a tame and 
 willing obedience to the despotism, which has grown up 
 from the seed planted by the hands of the reckless leaders, 
 under whose auspices the late revolutionary movement was 
 conducted. 
 
 Such is the condition of the people whom we were anx- 
 ious to welcome into the family of republicans. How grand 
 and noble does the wisdom of our forefathers appear when 
 contrasted with the folly of these chemerical pretensions of 
 modern progress ! One lesson, however, we may learn from 
 the failure of republicanism in Europe, and that is, that if 
 the people of those states ever rid themselves of the institu- 
 tions under which they have lived for ages, and which have 
 become part of their social and political existence, it will 
 not be done by the speculative teachings of the men who 
 have undone by their radicalism, the cause of liberty in Eu- 
 rope. These so called “ patriots ” are omnipotent to de- 
 stroy, but powerless to build up. Carried away by their 
 abstract ideas of “ liberty and equality,” they found their 
 
14 
 
 theories of government on fancy , and not upon experience. 
 Such reformers never have, never will succeed. The peo- 
 ple — the masses — must take the lead. As has been justly 
 observed, “one man cannot govern an unwilling nation. 
 When a whole people become fully impressed with the con- 
 viction that free institutions will enure to their happiness — • 
 they will become free, and when they come fully to under- 
 stand and appreciate those institutions, they will establish 
 them firmly and make them enduring.” 
 
 But it has been said, and by high authority, too, that 
 “America has a mission to perform in the development and 
 advancement of human rights throughout the world ” This 
 is the text, upon .which an eloquent, but ungrateful exile 
 has preached his five hundred sermons for the edification 
 and enlightenment of the statesmen of our country. Stand- 
 ing upon this platform, the cunning Hungarian has made his 
 insidious appeals to Yankee vanity, and while dazzling us 
 by the sublimity of his metaphors, has endeavored to fasten 
 upon the policy of our government, his peculiar doctrine of 
 “ Intel vention for the sake of Non-Intervention .” Coming 
 to our shore, with the prestige not only of an exiled patriot, 
 but also with that of u a good hater” of the Jesuits, it was 
 not surprising that his stirring eloquence found a responsive 
 echo in the breast of those, particularly, who hate the Jesuits 
 as much, or more, than they love their country. While the 
 people everywhere greeted him with tumultuous joy — as 
 fickle as it was noisy — the politico-religious teachers came 
 forth from their retirement, and, with sacrilegious adulation, 
 proclaimed him 11 the second Saviour .” Kossuth’s eye, how- 
 ever, was fixed upon the Capitol, where sat those who were 
 to give form and substance to the hollow shouts of the gap- 
 ing multitude. Thither he advanced, with his splendid reti- 
 nue, while behind him were left hotel bills of such enormous 
 lengths, as startled even our progressive ideas of republican 
 simplicity and economy ! 
 
15 
 
 It was at the seat of government he received the first 
 check to his vain ambition. That Banquo’s ghost which 
 had haunted his imagination, from the time he first perused 
 the “ Life of Washington,” now “seared his eye halls” and 
 blasted his hopes of success. And when, in his interview 
 with our chief Executive, the shade of Washington was in- 
 voked to place the mark of condemnation upon the cherished 
 scheme of his ambition, he might well have exclaimed in lan- 
 guage similar to that addressed by the guilty Macbeth to the 
 spirit of the murdered King: “ Thou art too much like the 
 spirit of Washington ; down.” Finding, however, that the 
 spirit would not “ down at his bidding,” he turned away 
 soured and disappointed, muttering his threats of appealing 
 from t: e President to the people. 
 
 Kossuth, however, is a man not easily moved from his 
 purpose. There was then in Washington one individual 
 whose approving voice would more than have compensated 
 him for the slights previously received from Congress and the 
 Executive. To him he applied ; and when the noble “ sage 
 of Ashland” — whose loss a nation now mourns — with his 
 ^‘dying breath,” denounced his policy, the last ray of hope 
 fled from Kossuth’s bosom, and since then he has been 
 fighting against despair. 
 
 But though the efforts of this political missionary have, in 
 a measure, failed, yet it can neither be denied nor concealed^ 
 that his battery of five hundred speeches has made some im- 
 pression upon the citadel of our political faith. The attack 
 has been conducted by a master hand, and by one who had 
 carefully studied the weak points of the enemy, against 
 whom his fire was to be directed With the seductive ton- 
 gue of the serpent in the garden of Eden, he tells us, 
 that we are now “ a power on earth,” and the meaning of 
 this is, he says, that “ we have not only the power to guard 
 our own particular interests, but also to have a vote in the 
 regulation of the common interests of humanity, of which we 
 
16 
 
 are an independent member.” In response to this insidu- 
 ous appeal, we hear it proclaimed in the Halls of Congress, 
 and from the pulpit, and the stump, that the “ progress of 
 our country requires that we should establish a foreign 
 policy,” and that “ it is time that we should begin to feel 
 an interest in the* decision of the great questions which 
 effect the rights of man throughout the world.” 
 
 So thought Rome, when, in the day of her pride and 
 prosperity, she claimed a similar right of extending to other 
 nations the privileges of Roman citizenship. Maintaining 
 her arrogant pretensions by the sword, she extended her con- 
 quests far and wide, until Greece and all Italy bent submis- 
 sive to the yoke of her power. But dearly did her “foreign 
 policy” cost her. The Roman soldier, enervated and con- 
 taminated by an intercourse with the vices and luxuries of 
 the nations, whom his valor had subdued, became an easy 
 prey to the tyrants and usurpers, who finally accomplished 
 the ruin of the “ once proud mistress of the world.” 
 
 Impressed, no doubt, by the salutary lesson to be derived 
 from the fate of Rome, the fathers of our republic have 
 warned us of the danger of entangling ourselves by alliances 
 or otherwise with foreign states. The good old chart which 
 they have laid down for us, was marked out at a time when 
 the most tempting offers were made to engage us in the 
 troubles and difficulties which agitated our brethren across 
 the waters. So far has it guided our ship of state in safety, 
 and the events of the past two years have but confirmed and 
 established its correctness. 
 
 We all remember the crusade which was preached in this 
 country “for the redemption and regeneration of the enslaved 
 millions of Europe.” England was proposed as our ally in 
 the good work, and a forgiveness of past sins was urged by 
 those in favor of this “holy alliance.” The tone of feeling, 
 towards the mother country was gradually changing, and 
 American blarney was substituted for a time for the lan- 
 
17 
 
 guage of denunciation and abuse which we were wont to in- 
 dulge in with regard to “ the tyrant of ’76. Almost beneath 
 the throne of the English Queen, an eminent American 
 statesman was heard exhausting the vocabulary of flattery, 
 in praise of British institutions, and in a wild flight of fancy 
 proclaiming England “ the breakwater of despotism m Eu- 
 rope!” Never was compliment paid at greater expense of 
 truth. Where is there an instance, in her whole history, in 
 which England has shown any real or sincere sympathy with 
 man in his struggles for constitutional freedom ? The ex- 
 posures which have recently been made of her continental 
 policy through the letters of the eloquent and gifted Dr. Ca- 
 hill, have laid bare the falsehoods and treachery concealed 
 beneath that, title worn, but never won by her — the friend of 
 constitutional liberty. Was she sincere in the honors which 
 she paid to Kossuth? No! for while she stood with her 
 arms extended to bind the laurel around his brow, her iron 
 hoof was resting upon the necks of the Irish patriots, and 
 mingled with the hoarse shouts of welcome, which greeted 
 the arrival of the exiled Hungarian, might be heard, across 
 the channel, the cries and groans of thousands, whom Eng- 
 lish tyranny and English oppression were driving, wander- 
 ing exiles, from the land of their birth. 
 
 But what is England’s present position, and where now 
 is the “breakwater,” which was to resist the rushing tide of 
 European despotism ? Prompted by her sordid interests, 
 and not by her inclinations, in her advocacy of the cause of 
 liberty, she was prepared to accommodate herself to any 
 change which might take place in the affairs of the continent. 
 Hence we find her now bending and cringing to those, whom, 
 but a short while ago, it was her policy to abuse and des- 
 pise. As an evidence of the sincerity of her repentance, she 
 yields in humble compliance to the remonstrances of France 
 and Austria, and narrows the circle of the liberties which 
 she had conceded to European exiles, and among the first 
 
18 
 
 acts of the new ministry, was one withdrawing the bill which 
 extended the electoral franchises of British subjects. So 
 stands England after the political storms, which,, with her 
 assistance, were raised in the different states of the conti- 
 nent ; and so ends the chapter of English sympathy in favor 
 of constitutional liberty. 
 
 While England, by her concessions and apologies, has pur- 
 chased her peace, and with it, the contempt of the nations 
 from whom she obtained it, America, unable, and as unwill- 
 ing as unable, to recede from her position, is looked upon 
 with intense hatred, by all the powers of Europe. Where 
 before the American traveller was received with open arms, 
 he is now met by coldness and distrust. “Self preser- 
 vation,” say the monarchists of Europe, “which required the 
 expulsion of rebels and revolutionists from our midst, de- 
 mands that we should be cautious in our reception of those 
 who not only offer our enemies a home, but encourage them 
 on to renew the attempt at our destruction.” Hence it is, 
 that an American on the continent, is now regarded either 
 as an open enemy or a secret spy. But this is not all ; our 
 country is now infested by crowds of European revolution- 
 ists — these weeds torn up from the gardens of monarchy, 
 and thrown with dangerous profusion upon our shores. Ar- 
 riving in our midst, they but exchange the field of their 
 labors, for what their philosophy calls-, “the social and po- 
 litical regeneration of man.” That philosophy, founded on 
 irreligion and infidelity, regards no more the legality of our 
 institutions, than it did those of the monarchies of Europe. 
 Already it has been announced by some of these champions 
 of reform, that our government is founded on wrong princi- 
 ciples — that it does not secure to man “liberty and equality” 
 — and that, therefore, it should either be remodled or de- 
 stroyed altogether. Such doctrines have already deluged Eu- 
 rope in blood ; let America beware, lest their advocates here, 
 by taking the lead in this so-called work of reform, should 
 
19 
 
 produce the same disastrous results in this asylum to which 
 they have been invited. 
 
 Other doctrines, as dangerous in their effects as those al- 
 ready alluded to, have been proposed by the advocates of 
 modern progress, for “ the advancement of the science of 
 government.” We fear the tendency of them all. The 
 science of government is an experimental one, and we look 
 in vain, during the lapse of the last half century, for evidence 
 of any true, real progress, wffiich would lay the basis for re- 
 form in our government. Have the morals of our people, 
 become more pure and refined ? Is obedience to Jaw, more 
 cheerful and universal, and, above all, is that ark of our 
 safety — the Constitution — more reverenced now, than it was 
 by the men of the past ? Has the administration of our gov- 
 ernment fallen into the hands of a superior race of beings, 
 and are the “ corruptions in high places,” which sometimes 
 occur, only admonitions sent from Heaven to remind them 
 of their frailty and mortality ? Is party spirit less rancorous, 
 and do the spoils of office attract less of the attention of 
 politicians now, than formerly? Are our legislators an 
 enlarged and improved edition of the noble set of American 
 representatives, who once assembled in Philadelphia, or is 
 there more of disinterested patriotism, more of wisdom, 
 more of gentility of manners, in the present Houses of Con- 
 gress, than could be found amongst our political fathers, w r ho 
 held their deliberations in the days when “constructive mile- 
 age” was unknown, and pugilistic feats had not yet been 
 introduced upon the floors of Congress? We wait an affir- 
 mative reply to these questions, before yielding our assent to 
 any material changes in our form of government. It is the 
 theory of Montesquieu, that “republics are founded on vir- 
 tue,” and if we have improved the material upon which the 
 architects of our revolutionary period have erected this fa- 
 bric of government, then may we commence to tear down 
 their work and prepare for the erection of other institu- 
 
20 
 
 tions, more in accordance with the spirit of the age, and 
 more in keeping with the quality of the foundation, upon 
 which they are to he erected. But until then, we would 
 say to these votaries of progress, u Procul estiprofani ” — 
 touch not a single stone in that noble edifice, erected by 
 men, the purity of whose patriotism, and the depth of whose 
 wisdom, attracted the admiration of the world. It was 
 reared for themselves and their posterity. Woe he to us, if 
 faithless to our trust, we listen to the syren voice of Eu- 
 ropean radicalism, and in our attempts to reform and remodel 
 our institutions, “should filch from posterity the treasure 
 placed in our hands, to be transmitted to other generations !” 
 
 Time, and a just regard to your patience, will not permit 
 even a passing allusion to the various plans developed by the 
 progress of the age, for (wLat is termed) “ the amelioration 
 of man’s social condition.” Society appears to be in a fer- 
 ment, and everywhere we find a feverish desire to change 
 the present condition of things for something that is better, 
 or that is supposed to be better. “The people’s rights, the 
 laborer’s rights, woman’s rights, and everybody’s rights and 
 everybody’s wrongs,” — the manner of curing society of all 
 the evils that flesh is heir to, and how to secure the greatest 
 happiness, not to the greatest number, but to “ all the w r orld 
 and the rest of mankind ;” these are the subjects which are 
 now agitating to a most dangerous ext6nt, the minds of the 
 people of this country! No man can mistake the paternity 
 of these visionary theories of universal happiness. They are 
 European born, and aim at nothing less than the total de- 
 struction of our present social organization. 
 
 Enough, we are sure, has been said to convince every 
 thinking mind, that our country has much to fear from these 
 wild and destructive theories of social and political reform, 
 which, of late, have become so popular and fashionable. 
 Horace in his ode, “ ad Rempublicam,” exclaims in the lan- 
 guage of the poet, and with the affection of a patriot : 
 
21 
 
 “O Navis referent in mare te novi 
 
 Fluctus !” 
 
 In the same spirit should we cry out against these “ new 
 waves” of doctrines, which threaten the safety of our noble 
 vessel of state. Its preservation is entrusted to each and 
 every one of us. It was the proud boast of Cicero, that, to 
 him, had been confided the high office of “ taking care that 
 the Republic should receive no detriment” — “ne quid res- 
 publica detrimejiti caperet .” The genius of our institutions, 
 bestows upon each one of her citizens the same high com 
 mission, while the object of our care is as far above that 
 which exercised the sleepless vigilance of Cicero, as Christi- 
 anity is to Paganism, or civilization to semi-barbarism. 
 Never has there been consigned to a nation more holy and 
 important trusts, than those which belong to the American 
 people. Cast your eyes back over the history of the past, 
 and trace the onward course of civilization, as it advances 
 from the far distant East, ever onward and westward, until 
 it spread its genial light over our own continent In the 
 Iliad, Homer speaks of Greece, as the West, beyond which 
 was the great terra incognita. Soon Italy beams upon the 
 eye of the exiled Trojan, and thither he repairs to find an 
 asylum from the wars of the Eastern world. Spain and 
 Gaul next figure as the terra occidentals of the Romans, 
 and so they continued until Great Britain and Ireland rose 
 up from their obscurity, and stood between them and the 
 ocean. Here, for a while, the flight of civilization seems to 
 have halted in its westward course, as if to gain strength for 
 the rapid spread which it afterwards made over the western 
 world In the Arneid, the West is described as ever reced- 
 ing before the eyes of the wearied 'followers of Arneas: 
 
 Oras Hesperiae semper fugientis. 
 
 With how much propriety may the expression be applied to 
 the settlement of our own happy country ! Some who now 
 hear me, remember when a portion of New York was the 
 
22 
 
 West, and so it was called until Ohio, Illinois, and other 
 states rose up beyond her, and gained the title to the appel- 
 lation. Farther on, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota are 
 seen to emerge from the forests, and now “the star of Em- 
 pire” rests upon the borders of the sandy deserts of Texas 
 and New Mexico. But the decree has gone forth, that 
 westward still it must “ take its flight,” and soon we find it 
 bursting over these barren plains, and setting in more than 
 pristine beauty and magnificence upon the distant shores of 
 the Western Ocean. The Hesperia of the Arneid now rest 
 over the golden sands of California. But will it stop there? 
 Already it seems to beckon us on to that great and mystical 
 land, whose trade has enriched every nation that has enjoyed 
 its harvest. We are prepared to follow, and ere long China 
 and India will feel the advancing tide of civilization, and be 
 re-vivified by its power. How intensely interesting is the 
 thought, which the imagination pictures to our mind, when 
 raising the curtain of the future, we contemplate China civi- 
 lized and Christianized through the agency of American en- 
 terprize ! Napoleon declared it to be “the true battle- 
 ground upon which the struggle for Eur >pean supremacy was 
 to be fought, and had his ambitious plans been accomplished, 
 he would have made it such during his life time. Under him, 
 however, the struggle w T ould have been one of blood, of strife 
 and of conquest ; while with us, it will be the struggle of 
 Christian civilization, against ignorance, barbarism and 
 superstition. There, where began the original dispersion of 
 the human race, and where commenced the long chequered 
 history of the misery and happiness, the degradation and 
 civilization of man, tne closing scene of the grand drama will 
 be consummated. 
 
 Other scenes of equal grandeur display themselves to our 
 view, in the contemplation of the future. In the fervid and 
 eloquent language of the elder Adams, “ a prospect into fu- 
 turity in America is like contemplating the Heavens through 
 
the telescope of Herschel, objects— stupendous in their magni- 
 tude and motions, strike us from all quarters, and fill us with 
 amazement. 
 
 If such, gentlemen, be the destiny in reserve for our 
 country, how important is it, that we should be fully im- 
 pressed with a sense of the heavy obligations resting upon 
 each one of us individually ? Upon the great theatre of life, 
 all, however various their capacities, have their parts as- 
 signed them in the great task of human improvement. F or 
 you, the time will shortly arrive, when the thousand endear- 
 ments of this scholastic existence will be changed for the 
 pursuits of worldly business. Animated with the spirit, and 
 imbuded with the learning of your Alma Mater, you will go 
 forth bearing from her portals the signet of her honors. 
 Forget not your accountability to her for the manner in 
 which you employ the many advantages you have received 
 from her hands. My humble effort has been to point to you, 
 in advance, some of the dangers which seems to threaten the 
 safety of our republic. Yours, then, be the task to see that 
 it “ receives no detriment.” From the history of the past, 
 as well as from the classic pages of the ancient authors, you 
 may learn lessons of wisdom worthy of your most serious 
 study and contemplation. Athens from the midst of her 
 ruins speaks to us in the words of one of the most illustrious 
 of her citizens: “Accustom your mind,” says Fhocion, “to 
 discern in the fate of nations, that recompense which the 
 great Author of Nature has annexed to the practice of vir- 
 tue. No state has ever ceased to be prosperous, but in con- 
 sequence of her having departed from those institutions to 
 which she owed her prosperity.” Rome, in the eloquent 
 language of her Pliny, cries out to us from the depths of the 
 past i “ Reverere conditores , Deos , numina Deorum. Reve - 
 rere gloriam veterem , et hanc ipsam senectutem quae in 
 nomine venerabilis , in urbibus sacra est .” 
 
 Be mindful of these solemn warnings and ever reverence 
 
24 
 
 the glory which haloes the past of your own country. Heed 
 not the glimmering lights which will ever and anon rise up 
 before you in your path through life. They are but the ex- 
 halations from the morass of error, which, when followed, 
 lead the incautious traveller to his destruction. 
 
 There is a legend told of a certain band of Persian Magi, 
 who were once passing over a dreary desert. Their leader, 
 on one occasion, offered a handsome prize to the man who 
 should discover the first rays of the next morning’s sun. At 
 dawn of the next day they all arose, and soon the struggle 
 for the reward commenced. All eyes, save one, were in- 
 tently fixed upon the Eastern sky. He alone, turned to- 
 wards the West, and while his companions were laughing at, 
 what they deemed, his folly, he was suddenly heard to ex- 
 claim, “I see it!” “ I see it!” All turned in surprise. 
 Pointing to the W est, he directed their eyes to the first rays 
 of the rising sun, as they gilded the tops of the distant moun- 
 tains, and to him was awarded the proffered prize. 
 
 So will it be with you, my friends, in your journey through 
 life. You will find the majority of your fellow-men turn- 
 ing with contempt from the Past, and looking, with eager 
 gaze, to the Future, for the rising of that sun of “Progress,” 
 in which is centred all their hopes for their country’s future 
 growth and prosperity. Heed not their sneers ; but turn ye, 
 with reverential eye, to the Past. There, on the tops of 
 those distant mountains, beneath which lie buried the wis- 
 dom and experience of ages, behold reflected the first and 
 pure rays of that sun of political Truth, which will preserve 
 undisturbed, the harmonious movements of this bright con- 
 stellation of States, until the designs of the Great Being, who 
 created them, shall have been accomplished. 
 
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