F122
H67 (LC)

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

DISCOURSE

DEHTEHED B£FOH£ THE
/
NEW- YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY,

AT THEIR ANNIVERSARY MEETING,

6th DECEMBER, 1812.

BY THE HONOURABLE GOUVERNEUR MORRIS,
FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY.

NEW-YORK;,
PCBI.ISHED BY JAMES EASTBURN, NO. 86 BROADWAY,
OPPOSITB TRINITY CHtTKCF.
1813.

District of New-Tori, si.
BE it remembered, that on the thirty-first day of December, in the
thirty-seventh year of the independence of the United States of Ame
rica, James Eastburn, of the said district, hath deposited in this office
the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the
words following, to wit : " Discourse delivered before the New-Yoi-k
Historical Society, at their anniversary meeting-, 6th December, 1812.
By the Honoui'able Gouverneur Morris, first vice-president of the socie
ty." In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, en
titled, " An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the co-
" pies of Maps, Charts, and Books to the authors and proprietors of
" such copies, during the times therein mentioned.". And also to an act,
entitled " An Act supplementary to an Act entitled an Act for the en-
" couragement of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Chai-ts, and
" Books to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times
" therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of
" designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints."
CHARLES CLINTON,
ClerJl: of the District of Nevi-Tork.

I.ARGIN & THOMPSON, PRINTERS,
NO. 5 BURLING-SLIP.

NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
DECEMBER 6th, 1812.
Resolved, that the thanks of this Society be
presented to the Honourable Gouverneur Morris, for
the Discourse delivered by him, this day, before the
Society ; and that the Honourable De Witt Clinton,
the Reverend Doctor Miller, and Doctor David
Hosack, be appointed a committee to convey the same,
and to request a copy for publication.
Extract from the minutes,
JOHN PINTARD,
Recording Secretary.

DISCOURSE, &c.
Mr. President and Gentlemen
of the Historical Society,
XT was my purpose, in obeying your orders,
to make a sketch of our history from the jrear 1763
to the year 1783, and compare our condition at the
close of two victorious wars, in both of which this
state was distinguished among her brethren as the
principal theatre and greatest sufferer. This Impor
tant period, of twenty years, marked by one of those
events on which history delights to dwell, will, I trust,
be related with philosophic impartiality by some fu
ture Hume, to amuse and instruct posterity, when
their ancestors shall havp mouldered to dust. But
reflection told me the time was not yet arrived.
Moreover, the bounds of a discourse like this are
too narrow to embrace the more prominent incidents
and characters. Another circumstance contributed
to deter me. However rapid and concise the narra
tive, egotism could not wholly have been avoided.
This circumstance not only forbade the attempt first
contemplated, but raised difficulties, which I feared
to encounter. In selecting some anterior term. Con
nected, by the ties of consanguinity, with persons
deeply engaged in those feuds by which, at an early
day, the colony was agitated, I trembled lest duty and

&
affection should wrong the memory of their foes : lest
some Incautious word of praise or blame should ob
scure the lustre of truth. I must therefore entreat
your pardon that, shunning what may be deemed the
more proper course, I venture to present some re
flections on prominent historical facts and geograph
ical circumstances which distinguish our state.
On a cursory glance at the map of North America,
our eye is caught by that deep ifident, where Long-
Island (vv^hose eastern point lies between thirty and
forty leagues west of the south end of Nantucket
Shoal) after stretching thirty leagues, on a course
but fifteen degrees to the southward of west, is sep
arated by a deep bay from the main land, whose gen
eral direction, from Sandy-Hook to Cape Hatteras,
is but seventeen degrees to the westward of south.
The upper end of that bay, divided from the lower
by Staten Island, is nearest to the valley which em
bosoms the great lakes, the St. Lawrence and the
Mississippi, of any sea-port on the Atlantic ; and the
hills which intervene are neither so numerous, so
lofty, nor so steep, as those by which other routes
are obstructed. The city of New- York, at the head
of this bay, from causes which will probably endure
as long as the earth Itself, Is generally accessible ; and
the navigation to It Is frequently open when that of
more southern situations is barred by frost. The
channel on the west end of Long-Island, though
broad and deep, may be so obstructed as to frustrate
hostile attempts. The other channel, whose mouth

is two degrees to the eastward, and therefore of easier
and safer access In dark bad weather, presents a se- '
cure and pleasant passage till within eight miles of
this city. There a rapid whirlpool and projecting
rocks (our Scylla and Charybdis) render it so narrow
and difficult that, although perfectly safe at a proper
time and with a good pilot, it may easily be rendered
too hazardous for an enemy. By the first of these
channels, vessels outward bound, within a few hours
after casting off from their moorings, gain the open
sea. By the second, those which arrive can, with
common prudence, reach safe anchorage without a
pilot : and the distance from the mouth of the one
to that of the other Is such that both cannot easily be
blockaded by the same squadron. These circum
stances alone point out New-York as a commercial
emporium. But there are others which contribute largely to
the same effect. Besides many small streams, the
great Connecticut river pours Its waters into the eas
tern channel ; and the western shore of Manhattan
island Is washed by the Hudson, navigable fifty
leap-ues by large vessels : and what is peculiar to this
noble canal, ships take with them a favoring tide be
yond all the ranges of mountain east of that great
valley already mentioned, which stretches upwards of
fourteen hundred miles In a southwestern direction
from the island of Orleans, in the St. Lawrence, to
the city of Orleans, on the Mississippi. To this val
ley an inland navigation from the Hudson can easily

be extended northward to the St. Lawrence, and
westward to the great lakes, whose depth, whose ex
tent, whose pellucid water, and whose fertile shores,
are unparalleled. It Is probable that if our western
hemisphere had been known to antiquity, those im
mortal bards who crowned their thundering Jove on
the peak of Olympus, would have reared tb commerce
a golden throne on the granite rock of Manhattan.
They might have pictured her, as receiving in a vast
range of magazines, from Harlaem village round to
jHaerlem cove (a distance of twenty miles) the willing
tribute of mankind : as fostering Industry in the
remotest regions, scattering on barren shores that
plenty which nature had denied, dispensing to mil
lions the multiplied means of enjoyment, and pouring
the flood-tide of wealth on this her favored land. Not
indeed that wealth, which the plunder of war and the
wages of vice, exalts a rapacious head over a servile
croud : but that honest wealth which, accompanied
by freedom and justice, comforts the needy, raises
the abject, instructs the Ignorant, and fosters the arts.
Such are the outlines of a picture which, adorned
by classic coloring, might, with the Iliad, have
been recommended to his roydl pupil by that sage
whose mind, acute and profound, was equally skilled
in moral, physical, and political science.
The first settlement of this state coincided with
its natural advantages. While Englishmen came to
America, either flying from ecclesiastical intolerance,
or pursuing the treasure its savages were supposed to

possess ; Dutchmen, inspired with the spirit of trade,
instead of sitting down on the skirts of the new World,
boldly penetrated to the head navigation of the Hud
son. They built. there a fort, in the year 1614, and
gave it the name of that august family, whose tal
ents and labors, in the cabinet and the field, secured
the liberty of England, as well as of Holland, and
established the independence of Europe.
The Dutch exhibited a new and Interesting spec*
taclc. Near half a century had elapsed since, con.
federated with the other ten provinces of the low
countries, they took up arms to oppose the establish-
ment of the inquisition. After a struggle of thirteen
years, abandoned by their associates, they had to
contend for civil as Well as for religious liberty, not
only against their bigoted and bloody foe, but against
their former friends also ; then submitted to his power.
They had, for many preceding ages, been free. The
supreme authority belonged to the states ; who met
on their own adjournment, and without whose con
sent neither laws could be passed, nor taxes raised,
nor war declared.* These privileges, which every
sovereign had sworn to defend, were respected by
Charles V ; but formed no obstacle to the amibition
of his unfeeling son. Thus the revolutions (if with.
out the violation of language that term can be so ap.
plied) of Holland, of England, and of America, bear
a striking resemblance to each other. Each was a
* Grotius de Anti. Repub. 6al. eap. 5.
S

10
contest to maintain the liberty already enjoyed, and
defend it against usurpation. In England, a power
ful nation, surrounded by the sea, dismissed their
prince and placed on his throne the husband of his
daughter. This work was easy and effectual. In
America, the Inhabitants of a great continent, sepa
rated from the invader by the Atlantic ocean, favored
nt first by the wishes and at last by the arms of other
nations, were successful after a short though severe
struggle. But in the case of Holland, seven poor
provinces, whose surface (about eight and a h^lf mil
lion of acres) does not exceed one of our senatorial
districts,* whose population, a century after establish
ing their independence and when they had reached
to the highest point of prosperity, was but two mil
lion ; about double our present number. These poor
provinces sustained a conflict of thirty years with the
most powerful nation In Europe. They opposed the
ablest generals, at the head of the best troops, of that
most warlike age. An awful scene ! Interrupted, not
closed, in April, 1609, by a truce of twelve years.
When that expired, another contest ensued of seven
and twenty years. At length (on the 24th October,
1648) almost a century (eighty-two years) from the
time they first took up arms, their Independence was
acknowledged by the treaty of Westphalia.
• Busching's Geography, Introd. to the Netherlands, sec. 3 and 5.
¦The Germans divide the degree into 15 geographical miles, which gives
in round numbers about 13,600 acres to tlie square geographical mile -
of whicti he gives to the Netherlands 62S>

a
It is natural nere to ask, by what miracle did these.
feeble provinces resist that mighty empire? The
sufficient, and only sufficient, answer is, by the will
of him who holds in his hand the destinies of man
kind. He bade their gloomy climate produce a per
severing people, whose industry no toil could abate,
whose fortitude no danger could dismay. He gave
them leaders sagacious, Intrepid, active, unwearied,
incorruptible. He, as of old, from the eater brought
forth meat, and from the strong sweetness. He gave
them food from a tempestuous ocean, and treasure
from the jaws of devouring despotism. But if, with
reverence, we seek those causes to which reason may
trace events, we shall find the miracle we admire to
have been the work of commerce. From the sea
they gathered means to defend the land against hostile
armies on one side, and against the sea Itself on the
other : for the singularity of their situation exposed
them, alike, to be inundated and to be subdued.
The sea, which threatened and still threatens to over
whelm them, gave access to the riches of both the
Indias. They pursued, along that perilous road, the
persecutors of mankind, and wrested from their grasp
the unrighteous plunder of Mexico and Peru. Thus,
surrounded by danger. Impelled by want, inured to
toil, animated by exertion, strengthened by faith,
stimulated by hope and exalted by religion, a few
miserable fishermen, scattered on a sterile coast, were
converted Into a race of heroes. They acquired power
in the struggle for existence, and wealth under the
weight of taxation.

12
Such, gentlemen, were our Dutch ancestors, who
immediately after concluding the twelve years truce,
came hither and brought with them their skill, their
integrity, their liberty, and their courage. From a
sense of justice, that animating soul of commerce,
without which it is a dead, and must soon become a
corrupt and stinking carcase, they entered into treaty
with the natives ; in whom they found patience, for
titude, and a love of liberty like their own. While
the seven united provinces, by their steady perseve
rance, astonished the nations of the east; our six con
federate tribes, by their military prowess, subdued
those of the west. The first treaty formed between
the Dutch and the Maquaas, or Mohawks, has been
frequently renewed ; and few treaties have been bet
ter observed. The excellent discourse* delivered to
you last year, leaves me nothing to say of those tribes.
Permit me, however, to express the astonishment, in
which you will doubtless participate, that men, repu
ted to be wise and learned, should suppose the people
of this state, born, brought up, and situated as they
are, can be restrained from commercial pursuits.
Half a century after fort Orange was built, Charles
II. of England, within three years from his restora
tion, granted this state to his. brother the Duke of
York ; and in that year (1664) it was conquered by
the British arms. England, which Elizabeth (after
veigning near five and forty years) had left in the pos-
* By the Hon. De Witt Clinton. E b.

13
session of peace, wealth, and glory, passed two and
twenty more under a conceited pedant, powerful in
words and poor in act. He had neither the courage
to establish nor the magnanimity to abandon prerog
atives, which, inconsistent with the spirit of his age
and country, became every day more and more intol
erable. Thus the scholasticimbecility of a projector
prepared the tragic scene, in which his son was doom
ed to act and to perish. A hideous scene, where
the spectators beheld, with horror and dismay, justice
violated, honor polluted, religion degraded, and free
dom destroyed. But great crimes were palliated, as
they were perpetrated, by great talents. The infamy
of murder and usurpation was ennobled by the sword
of victory. And the multitude dazzled by the splen
dor of success, that adoration which Is due to virtue
alone was blindly and basely offered at the shrine of
power. In seventeen years after Charles ascended
his father's throne, he was engaged in civil war. At
the close of another seventeen years he was led to the
scaffold. During nine years the British sceptre was
in the iron grasp of Cromwell. He made the nations
tremble. But in less than three years from his de
cease, the son of Charles was restored. Fortunately
for our freedom, this witty sensualist who, if we are
to believe one of his profligate companions, " never
said a foolish thing and never did a wise one," al-
though he had the sense to perceive, had not the
steadiness to pursue nor the address to secure the
advantages of his situation. He might have put

14
himself in possession of absolute power over a natioij
inured to war and naturally brave. He might have
held in his hand the fate of Europe. He might have
been the rival of Louis the fourteenth : perhaps his
superior. Instead of this, he basely became his pen
sioner, and In that mean condition waged war with
the United Netherlands. But a majority of his par
liament, too wise to be deceived, too brave to be in
timidated, too honest to be seduced, obliged him to
make peace, by withholding the means to make war.
The first of these wars was terminated in three years
by the treaty of Breda, which gave New- York to the
British crown, the 26th of January, 1667.
After a licentious reign of near two and twenty
years, the throne of inglorious Charles was mounted
\)y his bigoted brother James ; who, crowned in
1684, fled to France in 1688. Half a century had
elapsed, from the time when Charles the first made
his rash levy of ship money, to the accession of his
son James. In the former half of this period the
English character was degraded by hypocrisy and
crime, in the latter by impiety and vice. During
the first five and twenty years, we had no connexion
-with them. On the contrary, for two years, from
1652 to 1654, there was war between Oliver Crom
well and the States General. During the last five
and twenty, we were secured against the contagion
of their Immorality, by distance, by poverty, and by
the simple manners and habits which cliaracterized
our Dutch ancestors.' Six years after New- York was

15
ceded to Charles the second, it was retaken by the
Dutch, but restored to England the 9th February of
the next year (1674) by the treaty of Westminster.
In little more than fifteen' years from that period, an
insurrection under Leisler took this city for king
William ; whose war with France (terminated by the
treaty of Ryswick In 1697) lasted eight years. After
a short breathing of four years, however. It was re
newed, in the beginning of the last century, and last
ed thirteen years more : till, at length, the treaty of
Utrecht, on the eleventh of April, 1714, followed by
the death of queen Anne in August of the same year,
and of Louis XIV. on the first of September in the
next year, gave to our country a more durable repose.
For though it might have been imagined that cur
distance and our insignificance would have secured
us, a lowly bush, from tempests which tore the tops
of lofty trees ; yet, bordering as we do on Canada, so,
long as France continued In possession of that prov-.
ince, every war In which she was engaged with Eng
land, laid waste our frontiers and, calling forth every
effort for their defence, exhausted our resources^
From this rapid sketch, gentlemen, it appears that,
children of commerce, we were rocked in the cradle
of war, and sucks.! the principles of liberty with our
mother's milk. Accoi clingly we find that, long be
fore that controversy v/lucii rent the British empire.
asunder, in disputes with royal governors attempting
to stretch authority beyond its just bounds, there
was a steady appeal, by our fathers, to the principles

16;
on which the Belglc and British patriots relied in
their opposition to tyranny.
The revocation of the edict of Nantz, in the year
l685, di'ove many French protestants to seek an asy
lum on our shores, and governor Hunter, in the year
1710, brought with him a number of palatines. Thus
our ancestry may be traced to four nations, the
Dutch, the British, the French, and the German. It
would have been strange had a people, so formed,
been tainted with national prejudice. Far from it.
We are, if I may be allowed to say so, born cos
mopolite ; and possess, without effort, what others
can with difficulty acquire by much travel and great
expence. But as no earthly good is pure, so this
equal respect and regard for strangers diminishes the '
preference , to natives, on occasions where natives
ought to be preferred; and impairs the activity, if not
the strength, while It removes the blindness of patri
otic sentiment. In like manner, it may be numbered
among the advantages of commerce, that a liberality
which extends to foreign correspondents the gentle
appellation of friend, encourages the growth of gen
eral benevolence. It is at tlic same time to be la-
mcnted, that with this amiable sentiment is connect
ed a fondness for the fashions and productions of
foreign countries which is injurious to the simplicity
' of ancient manners. But, from the combined opera
tion of these causes, the emigrant from every nation
£nds himself, here, at home. Natives of the Alps,
the Pyrenees, the Appenines, the highlands of Scot-

17
land, and the mountains of Wales, as well as those
who inhabit the banks of the Shannon, the Thames,
the Seine, the Rhine, and the Danube, (meeting here)
see in each other the faces of fellow-countrymen.
It results, from our mixed population, that he who
wishes to become acquainted with the various lan
guages and manners of mankind, need not ramble
into distant regions. He also who would trace up
society to its origin, can here behold It in the rudest
condition. He can safely shut the volumes of phi
losophic dreaming, and look Into the book of nature
which lies open before him. Ethical reasoning may,
here, be raised on the foundation of fact. If it be
admitted, as a principle In the natural history of ani
mals, that the state in which a particular species of
them Is most powerful and abundant, Is the best
suited to its nature, and therefore its natural state;
it may be concluded that the natural state of man is
that in which they are most numerous, and in which
they have the most activity, strength and beauty. If
this conclusion be just, we need but open our eyes
on our savage brethren to be convinced, by a com
parison of them with civilized man, that in so far as
regards our own species, the state of nature and of
society are one and the same. The half-naked In
dian, who now sits shivering on the banks of Niagara,
while he views that stupendous cataract, may view
also the ships, the houses, the clothing and arms of
his civilized fellow-creatures, and hear the thunders

18
of their cannon roar louder than the torrent. If he
compares his feeble means and wretched condition
with their power and wealth, he cannot but be sen
sible of his great Inferiority. And much more will
civilized man who, daring death at the call of duty,
not only spares an unresisting foe, but soothes his
distress, relieves his wants, and heals his wounds,
much more will he feel superiority over the savage
hunter of men, whose rule of war is general slaugh
ter, whose trophies are torn bleeding from the skulls
of women and children, and who gluts his ferocity
by the torture ot helpless prisoners. The civilized
man will perceive also. If history has occupied his
attention, by comparing the laws of ancient and mod
ern war, the Influence, and, in that influence, the truth
of our holy religion. If it be true that one great end
of history Is to communicate a knowledge of man
kind, and, by making man acquainted with his spe
cies, facilitate the acquisition of that most important
science, the knowledge of himself; we may be per
mitted to believe that a faithful narrative of deeds
done by our fathers will eminently merit a studious
regard. The comparison which will, obtrusively,
present itself between the aboriginal tribes, the vari
ous colonists, the emigrants from Europe, and the
troops of different nations, will display a more perfect
picture of our species than can easily be delineated
on any other historical canvass. Neither will the
strong lineaments of character be wanting. Those
arduous circumstances which marked our origin and

19
impeded our growth; those ravages to which we
were exposed, not only until the treaty of Utrecht,
but in the war from 1744 to 1748, terminated by the
treaty of Aix la Chapelle, in that which began in
1755 and ended in 1760 by the conquest of Canada,
and in our war with Great-Britain, from April, 1775,
to November, 1783 ; above all, the persevering efforts
to defend our country, in that long period of near one
hundred and seventy years from the first settlement
by the Dutch in 1614, to the time when this city was
evacuated by the British in the close of 1783, during
which there was little repose (except in a space of
thirty years which elapsed between the peace of
Utrecht and the war of 1744) brought forth men
worthy of respectful imitation, and formed the mass
of our citizens to the hardihood of military life; not
withstanding a soil and climate which, teeming With
abundance, tempt to the enjoyment of ease and
luxury. May we not be permitted also to believe that they
are by nature brave ? Pardon, gentlemen, a digres
sion which, though it should conclude nothing, may
furnish amusement; perhaps reflection. He who
visits the nations which Tacitus and Caesar have de
scribed, will be struck with a resemblance between
those who now inhabit particular districts, and those
who dwelt there so many centuries ago. Notwith
standing the wars and conquests which have laid
waste, depopulated and repeopled Europe ; notwith
standing the changes of government and those which

20
have been wrought by the decline and by the advance
of society and the arts ; notwithstanding the differ
ences of religion, and the difference of manners re
sulting from all other circumstances; still the same
distinctive traits of character appear. Similar bodies
are animated by similar souls. Wc find, also, ex
tending our view a little further east and taking in a
larger surface of the globe, that peculiarities in civil
establishment and political organization, correspond
ing with the peculiarities of national character, have,
from the earliest ages, distinguished, those regions.
We find that the attempt of tyrants to establish des
potism, in some countries, was frequently bafiled;
while the endeavor of patriots to secure freedom, in
others, was equally fruitless. He who considers the
changes wi-ought by the tide of time on the face of
our globe, this solid earth itself alternately raised
above the ocean or plunged beneath its waves, and
perceives those peculiarities of form and mind, which
remain unchanged through such a long succession of
generations, must be struck with the idea of the sim
ple Indian who, pressed to sell the possession of his
tribe, replied, " We grew out of this ground. In its
*« bosom our fathers repose. What ! Shall we call
" upon their bones ? Shall we bid them arise and go
" with us to a strange land?"
We, gentlemen, grew out of this same ground with
our Indian predecessors. Have we not some traits
lo mark our common origin ? This question will be
answered with more precision when, after the lapse

21
of centuries, the blood of our progenitors, operating
with less force, the changes produced, not only in
man but in other animals, by that unknown cause
which exhibits a peculiar race In each particular
country, shall be more fully displayed. Let us,
however, collect the facts which now present them
selves. Among the curiosities of newly discovered
America was the Indian canoe. Its slender and ele
gant form, Its rapid movement, its capacity to bear
burdens and resist the rage of billows and torrents,
excited no small degree of admiration for the skill
by which it was constructed. After the lapse of
two centuries, the ships of America were equally
admired in the ports of great naval powers, for their
lightness, their beauty, the velocity with which they
sail, the facility with which they are managed. Nau
tical architecture may be considered as one of the
most Important branches of mechanic knowledge.
The higher order of mathematic science has been
called into act for its advancement. And certainly
a line of battle ship is one of the most powerful en
gines that was ever framed. In comparison with it,
the ancient inventions for defence or destruction
dwindle, almost, to Insignificance. And yet our
untutored ship-builders have, by the mere force of
genius, excelled their European brethren In this diffi
cult, complex art. So great is the difference, that
children distinguish, at first sight, the American
ship ascending the Elbe to Hamburgh: a city of
considerable trade long before Columbus was bom.

22
Again — We find among our savage tribes, the com
memoration of events by painting : rude. Indeed, but
more distinct than In other barbarous nations. May
I not remark that an American is at the head of that
art in England, and that many others, who excel in
it, drew their first breath on our shores. Again —
Let me recall, gentlemen, to your recollection, that
bloody field In which Herkemer fell. There was
found the Indian and the white man, born on the
banks of the Mohawk, their left hand clenched in
each other's hair, the right grasping, in a gripe of
death, the knife plunged in each other's bosom. Thus
they lay frowning. Africa presents a number of na
tions, like those of America, uncivilized. But how
different ! I will not say inferior, for they also have
excellence peculiar to themselves. They are not,
indeed, either painters or builders ; but no where, not
even in Italy, is the taste for music more universal.
If we believe, with Frederick the Great, that rea
son and experience are -the crutches on which men
halt along in the pursuit of truth, it may not be amiss
to ask the aid of what is known about the Indian
character and history, in order to dr.iw the horoscope
of our country. What is the statesman's business?
If futurity were known, the simplest which can be
imagined. For, as In reading Virgil we find the verse
so smooth that every scholar thinks he could easily
make as good ; so, in glancing his eye along the page
of history, an indolent reader figures to himself that
he too could be a prince of Orange, a Walsingham, a-

23
Richelieu. And so indeed he might, by the aid of
self-command, common prudence and common sense,
could he see Into futurity and penetrate the thoughts
of those with whom he is to act. But there lies the
difficulty. Let us see then whether some other characteristic
of the aborigines may not open to us a view of our
selves, and the perspective of our country. It has
already been noticed that the Dutch, on their arrival,
found the Indian tribes free. They were subject nei
ther to princes nor to nobles. The Mohawks had
not, like the Romans, naturahzed those whom they
subdued. It was a federal nation,- a federal govern
ment, a people as free as the air they breathed ; acute,
dexterous, eloquent, subtle, brave. They had more
of the Grecian than of the Roman character. The
most strongly marked, perhaps, of their moral fea
tures, was a high sense of personal Independence. Is
it not likely that this may be the character of our
children's children? May we not hope that the lib
erty to which we were bred, will be enjoyed and pre
served by them? It must, indeed, be acknowledged
that an extent so vast as that of the United States is
less favorable to freedom than a more confined domain,
and gives reason to apprehend the establishment of
monarchy. Moreover, the anxious patriot may well
tremble at the prevalence of faction, at the attempts
to prostrate law, and at those absurd principles of mob
power, as wildly preached by some as they are wick
edly practised by others. Still there is ground of

24
hope. Still it is permitted to believe that those wh©
pursue despotic power, along the beaten path of de
mocracy, and expect to establish their dominion over
the people, by flattering the populace, will be sorely
disappointed. The soul of this nation cannot be sub
dued. Neither will those who tread the sOll in which
the Mohawks are entombed submit to be slaves.
I shall not be surprised that ideas of this sort are
treated as visionary speculations. When the great
Chatham, in January, 1775, having moved an address
for recalling the British troops from Boston said, in a
speech which will ever do honor both to his eloquence
and discernment, " America, insulted with an armed
" force, irritated with a hostile army before her eyes,
" her concessions. If you could force them, would be
" suspicious and insecure. But it is more than evi-
" dent that you cannot force them to your unworthy
" terms of submission. It is impossible. We our-
" selves shall be forced ultimately to retract. Let us
" retract while we can ; not when we must. I repeat
" it, my lords, we shall one day be forced to undo
" these violent oppressive acts. They must be re-
" pealed. You will repeal them. I pledge myself
" for it that you will in the end repeal them. I stake
'" my reputation on it. I will consent to be taken for
" an idiot if they are not repealed." When the ven
erable statesman thus poured forth prophetic elo.
quence, the wise ones of that day, exulting in " a lit-
" tie brief authority," shrugged up their shoulders and
said, with a sneer of affected commisseration, poor

25
old peer ! He has outlived his understanding. In
fancy to be sure he Is young and wild, but reason Is
gone ; he dotes. So, too, In the height of Gallic
phrenzy, there was a cry raised to hunt down those
who, reasoning and reflecting, foresaw and foretold
a military despotism as the natural, the necessary re
sult of such unexampled atrocities. It became a
fashion to speak of those who warned their country
against the contaminating touch, the infectious breath
of licentious pollution, as enemies of liberty, as mad
with aristocratic notions, as whimsical and fantastic.
But now the predictions of Chatham and of Burke
are verified. And it may now be asked, where are
the men who called those eloquent sages fools ? They
are precisely where Chatham, who knew mankind,
would have predicted. They are In authority and
enjoy the blind confidence of disciples who, when
their masters shall have blundered on ninety and nine
times more, will most faithfully adhere to them in
their hundredth blunder.
Returning from this digression, I take leave to
observe that our state will support a population of
four millions. Already It exceeds nine hundred
thousand white inhabitants, although twenty years
ago it was but little more than three hundred thou
sand. When, therefore, the salubrity of our climate,
the fertility of our soil, the convenient situations for
manufacturing establishments, and our advantageous
position for trade are considered, there is reason to
c

26
/believe the period not distant when we shall count
four million inhabitants : and certainly our wealth, if
we are blest by a good government, must keep pace
with our population. New- York, connected with her
eastern brethren and New- Jersey, had in 1810 more
than two million and a half of Avhite inhabitants ;
wherefore we may reasonably conclude that in half a
century they will contain eight millions ; for in 1790
their number was short of one million and a half, and
in 1800 was near two : having encreased about one
third in each term of ten years, but more than three
fourths In the whole term of twenty years, viz. from
1,476,631 to 2,597,634. Though not yet distin
guished as a manufacturing people, yet, judging by
those fruits which the inventive genius of our fellow-
citizens has produced, we may reasonably foster,
even in that respect, exulting expectations. Nume
rous at land, we are not strangers at sea. Our coun-
tr}'^ abounds In iron, and the use of It is not unknown
to her children.
If, then, monarchy and aristocracy establish them
selves in other portions of America ; if the variously
colored population of states, in which domestic slavery
prevails, should be condemned to civil and political
slavery; if they should be subjected to haughty ca
ciques ; let us hope that here we may be led by the
council of our sachems. Let it not, however, be
supposed, that a breach of the federal compact is in
tended : for, setting aside all attachment to national
union, so essential to public tranquillity, if a separa-

27
tion of the states were contemplated, the Delaware
would not be chosen as their boundary. But when
the great extent of our country, when the violence of
rash men, when the dangerous Inequality of civil con
dition, when the contempt which some express for
others, alarm those whose lives have been devoted
to liberty, it is natural to look about and enquire, if
there be no asylum to which freedom may fly when
driven from her present abode. In such moments
of anxious solicitude, it Is no small consolation to
believe that here, whatever may be her fate elsewhere,
here, gentlemen, her temple will stand on a founda
tion Immoveable. Here we have, at this moment,
more free citizens than the whole union could boast
of in 1775. And here I fondly hope, here I firmly
Relieve, the spirit of 1775 still glows in the bosoms
of the brave.
It is among the circumstances which ought not to.
be overlooked, in this general view of our history,
that the practice of law has been strictly modelled on
that which prevails, In what we formerly called our
mother country. That land of good nature and good
sense from which we learned the most useful lessons
of our lives : our liberty, our laws and our religion.
Wits may scoff at the pedantry of special pleading,
the barbarous phraseology of lawyers, and stern se
verity of judges who, trampling on the flowers of
eloquence, check babbling and confine the bar within
the bounds of strict logic : but those who think will
perceive that, inasmuch as things are expressed by

28 -
Words, precise expression can only be effected by
words of estabhshed signification; and since the rule
of conduct cannot be applied until the fact be estab
lished, it is a pre-requisite that such precise assertion
be made by the one party, and such precise negation
by the other, as distinctly to state the facts to be as
certained. The judges of fact can then accurately
determine on its existence, and, that done, the judges
of law can apply the rule. Every case, so adjudged,
will serve as a rule for cases which may afterwards
arise ; and thus the general principles of natural jus
tice, the maxims of ancient usage, and the positive
injunctions or inhibitions of legislative providence,
are extended to the Infinite variety of human actions
and relations : so that liberty and property are secu
red. Nor Is it, as many have hastily supposed, an
evil, that law is expensive to suitors : for, as far' as
the suitor himself is concerned, by deterring him
from litigation, it strengthens (if his cause be good)
the sentiment of benevolence, and enforces (if bad}
the duty of justice. By lessening the number of
suits, it diminishes the causes of discord. Trifling
injuries which, if unnoticed, would soon be forgotten,
may, by a vindictive spirit, be made the subject of
controversy and separate families for more than one
generation. Moreover, this great expence of law is
a great public economy ; for when cheap lawyers,
multiplying trivial causes, croud tribunals with a host
of jurors, parties, witnesses, and their needful attend
ants, many fields lie uncultivated, many work-shops

29
are neglected, and habits of idleness and dissipation
are acquired, to the manifest injury and Impoverish
ment of the republic.
Is it a suggestion of fancy, or am I warranted In
supposing that rigid practice of law may give some
what of precision to general modes of thinking ; that
it may even render conversation less diffusive, and
therefore more instructive ; , that the accuracy of for
ensic argument may communicate vigor to parlia
mentary debate ; that the deep sense and grave de
portment of the bench and bar may have Imparted
to our character more of solidity than it would oth
erwise have possessed ? This city was long the head
quarters of a British army, and familiar Intercourse
with officers, many of whom were men of family and
fashion, while it gave (perhaps) a little of that lustre
and polish which distinguish the higher ranks of so
ciety, could not but dispose young people to levity
and mirth, more than is suited to the condition of
those who must earn their living by their industry.
Man is an imitative animal. Not only his deport
ment, his language and his manners, but even his
morals depend, in a great degree, on his companions.
Let us suppose two Individuals, of twin resemblance
as to intellectual disposition and power, one of them
frequently attending on courts of strict practice, the
other on those, where lengthened declamation: wears
out tedious days on questions of trifling import.
Would not the latter slide into' a loose mode both of
thinking and speaking ; might he not conceive that

30
to talk long is to talk well ; might he not attend too
much to the melody of periods, too little to the pre
cision of thought; might he not, at length, be expo
sed (from indulging the habit of loose thinking) to
the danger of loose acting? It requires accuracy of
investigation and clearness of perception to distin
guish right from wrong when, in doubtful circum
stances, self-interest is concerned. A man, therefore,
may easily be Induced to do wrong, in compliance
with what he feels to be his Interest, when he thinks
it may be right : especially when he thinks that those
who are to judge may be prevailed on to decide in
his favor. Is there not, on the other hand, reason to
suppose that he, whose course of life has led him to
Scenes of sharp enquiry, who has listened to argu
ments of precise logic, who has participated in de
cisions of legal strictness, is there not reason to be
lieve that this man will use a diction more concise,
possess a judgment more acute, and observe a more
correct line of conduct?
These probable, or at least possible, effects of for
ensic accuracy, may be encreased, or diminished, or
destroyed, by the ever varying circumstances of our
civil and social condition. Nay, their very existence
may be questioned, or attributed to other causes.
Talents and habits of observation must be exercised
to make the due investigation. But there Is one im^
portant consequence which cannot easily be Over
looked or assigned to any other cause. I allude to
the value of property in this state, and merely men-

31
lion it, because detailed observations would be te
dious, perhaps invidious. Permit me, however, to
notice the more prominent reasons why it must pro
duce that effect, in the political associations of man
kind. It is evident, at the first blush, that a purchaser
of land will give more for a good than for a doubtful
title, and It Is equally evident that titles must be less
secure where scope is given to declamation, than
where strict practice and close logic are required. If
we look a little nearer, we shall perceive a more ex
tensive consequence. The creditor who is certain
of getting speedily what is due to him, provided the
debtor possess sufficient property, will be more libe
ral of credit than where the recovery of debts is te
dious and uncertain. But credit is equivalent to
money, and, like money, not only enhances the price
of property, but, obviating the want of money, be
comes, to the nation in which it prevails, a substitute
for that intrinsic value, p^t of their capital stock,
which would, otherwise, be sent abroad to procure
the precious metals.
Indulge me, gentlemen, while on this subject, in
another observation. The more strict and regular is
the practice of law, the greater is our certainty that
the guilty will be punished ; and, of necessary con
sequence, that the innocent will be protected. The
law, when it is a terror to evil doers, is the safeguard
not only of property but of life, and of that which
wise and virtuous citizens value more than life. It
is the protector of liberty. Where the law is su-

32
preme, every one may do what It permits, without
fear ; and from this happy condition arises that habit
of order which secures the public peace. But when
any man, or association of men, can exercise discre
tionary power over others, there Is an end of that
liberty which our fathers enjoyed and for which their
sons bled. Whenever such an association, assuming
to be the people, undertake to govern according to
their will and pleasure, the republic which submits —
nay, the republic which does not immediately subdue
and destroy them. Is In the steep downhill road to
despotism. I cannot here, gentlemen, help congra
tulating you on the high standing of our city, during
late events, and adding my feeble approbation to the
full applause so justly bestowed on its magistrates.,
To say more might look like adulation. To say less
would be a want of gratitude.
Among the singularities of our history, is the slow
progress of population, previous to the year 1783,
compared with that of other states. James-town in
Virginia, was founded in 1607, Quebec in 1608,
New- York in 1615, New-Plimouth In 1620. Thus
in the short space of fourteen years, these different
plantations of mankind were made. The settlement
of Pensilvania was undertaken full sixty years later :
and yet at the commencement of the war for defence
of our rights, one hundred and fifty five years after
the first settlement of New-Plimouth, and only ninety
four years after the fir§t settlement of Pensilvania,

33
the population (according to the congressional esti
mate) was of
The eastern states, exclusive of Vermont, nearly as 70
That of New-York, Vermont and New-Jersey, ... 33
That of Pensiiyania and Delaware,  33
And that of Maryland and Virginia  64
Together, 200
Moreover, according to that estimate, the proportion
of the states of Virginia, Pensilvania and New- York
was Virginia,  44
Pensilvania,  33
New-Tirk, including Vermont,  22
Together, 99
But Virginia had been planted 168 years. New- York
160, and Pensilvania only 94, which gives a propor
tion to
Virginia, of,  39
Pensilvania,  22
And New-York,  ,  38
99
So that the population of Virginia had advanped,
compared with the term of settlement, 5, and Pensil
vania 11, while New- York was deficient 16. The
citizens of Pensilvania, warmed with that attachment
to their country so honorable to man, attributed
their superior prosperity to natural and moral advan
tages which they believed themselves to possess.
They supposed their climate more mild than ours,
more salubrious than that of Virginia, their soil more
fertile than either, and they contrasted the simplicity
of manners among those called quakers^ and their
E

34
equality of civil condition, with what they supposed
to be the luxury and aristocracy of men to whom
manors had been granted, and who were the masters
of slaves. The citizens of New- York, however, be
lieved that the comparative prosperity of Pensilvania
might more naturally be attributed to circumstances
more evident, and of less doubtful operation. With
out acknowledging either a moral or civil superiority,
they believed that nature had given them as good a
climate, a better soil, and a more favorable situation ;
but their country had been from the beginning, a
theatre of war, and stood in the fore front of the bat
tle. New-York was, like Joseph, a victim of paren
tal kindness. Not, Indeed, that her brethren, like
his, were disposed to sell or kill the favorite- child ;
but that their enemy endeavoured to subdue her, as
the means more effectually to annoy them. The
only accurate solution of such questions is made by
time. For as experience Is the groundwork, so is
time the test of political reasoning. At the end of
seven years from the period when the estimate men
tioned was made, by the first congress, another se
vere hurricane of war had blown over our state and
laid it in ruins. Our frontier settlements had been
broken up, and a part of our capital reduced to ash
es. Our citizens were banished or beggared, and
our commerce annihilated. Whatever doubts, there
fore, may have been entertained as to the accuracy of
proportions taken in 1775, there was no doubt left
in 1783 but that we were below the ratio assumed
when the war began. In less than eight and twenty

35
years, from that time, the census was taken on which
the representation in congress is apportioned. And
according to the ratio thereby estabhshed.
The eastern states, exclusive^ of Vermont, are as. . 53
New-York, Vermont, and New-Jersey,  60
Pensilvania and Delaware,  38
And Maryland and Virginia  49
Total 200
Or allowing for the black population, which Is not
fully represented, the number would be,
In tile eastern states, exclusive of Vermont, as .... 51
New- York, Vermont and New- Jersey,  58
Pensilvania and Delaware,  36
And Maryland and Virginia,  . 55
Total 200
If this be compared with the first proportion, viz.
that made by estimate in 1775, we shall find that the
eastern states have decreased 19, Virginia and Ma
ryland 9, while this state with Vermont and New.
Jersey, have increased 25, Pensilvania and Delaware
3, Or taking the relation between Virginia, Pensil
vania and New- York which was
Then, Virginia,  44 Now,  35
Pensilvania,  33 „  29
New-York, with Vermont, 22 Without Vermont, ... 35

99 99
It appears that Virginia has decreased 9, and Pensil
vania 4, making the 13 which New-York has gained.
In respect to Virginia, however, the variation may
arise from those colonies which have left the antient
dominion to people southern and western states. It
may be well, therefore, to confine our view to a com-

parison of this state with her sister Pensilvania. In
July 1775 the congress estimated the population of
Pensilvania and that of New- York, then including
Vermont, in a proportion of three to two, which
gives to Pensilvania,  30
New- York  20
50
but by the late apportionment of Representatives,
Pensilvania has  23
New- York,  27
Together, 50
So that in the space of twenty-eight years of peace,
from 1783 to 1811, Pensilvania has lost seven in
thirty, and New- York has gained seven in twenty,
on their relative proportion : and this too without
including Vermont. Finally, the matter may be
examined in a still more simple point of view, and,
speaking in round numbers, if the estimate of 1775
be considered as tolerably accurate, Massachusetts
has encreased one half, Pensilvania has doubled, and
New- York quadrupled since it was made.
Excuse me, gentlemen, for dwelling so much on
a calculation which may appear to some as mere
amusement. It shews by conclusions, which, foun
ded on arithmetic, cannot be questioned, that the
growth of this state was impeded only by the wars
in "which it has been so often, so deeply, and so dis
astrously engaged. From 1614, when FortOrangCj
now Albany, was built, to 1810, when the last cen
sus was iyken, there are seven terms of 2S years.

37
Durin;^ the first six terms, which ended in 1782,
we had not attained to more than one fourth of our
present condition. It has already been observed that
the settlement of Pensilvania began In 1681, but as
it may be contended that antecedent settlements in
Delaware and New- Jersey facilitated the undertaking
of Mr. Penn, we may go back a few years and suppose
it to have commenced In 1670, from which time to
that in which the last census was taken, there are five
terms of 28 years. In the first four Pensilvania at
tained to one half of her present condition, and had
acquired more by one half than we had In six. But
in the last term they have little more than doubled
while we have quadrupled. But it may be said that
no reliance ought to be placed on the estimate made
by congress in 1775, and that comparisons drawn
from proportions then assumed, are not convincing.
It may be well, therefore, to test the question by a
standard whose accuracy cannot be denied. The
census of 1790 gave to Pensilvania 424,099 white
inhabitants. The encrease in ten years was 38 per
cent, in the next ten years 34 per cent, (or in the
whole twenty years 85 per cent) so as to amount in
1810 to 786,804. The census of 1790 gave to New-
York only 314,142 white inhabitants: being to Pen
silvania even then, only in the proportion of near 3 to
4. The encrease in ten years was 77 per cent. In the
next ten years 65 per cent, (or In the whole twenty
years. 192 per cent) so as to amount in 1810 to
918,699: being to Pensilvania, in the proportion of
7 to 6. And now let a glance be east at the position

38
of those lands which have beeh settled, in those two
states, within the last twenty years. They are sepa
rated from each other by the River Delaware, for
more than fifty miles, and then only by a mathema
tical line, for more than two hundred miles. It may
be asserted, without danger of contradiction, that
along this extensive frontier, New-York is more
thickly settled than Pensilvania. Without conten
ding, therefore, as to civil or moral advantage, it can
hardly be denied that a soil and climate which have
attracted such great population in the last term of 28
years, would have thickly settled the state long ago,
had It not been for a political cause, which, while it
retarded the population of New- York, and because
it retarded the population of New- York, promoted
and accelerated the population of Pensilvania. That
great political cause, unhappily for us, again brought
into operation, was war with the possessor of Canada.
It has already been noticed, that in the last ten years
our number has encreased 65 per cent. This city
has in that period, (nearly keeping pace with the ag
gregate) encreased 60 per cent. But the western
district has encreased at the rate of 175 per cent.
If we add the counties of Montgomery, Essex, Clin
ton, and Franklin, so as to embrace the whole nor
thern frontier, the rate of encrease is 163 per cent:
the amount upwards of 261,000, whereas, that dis
trict, those counties and this city excepted, the
ratio for the rest of the state was only 20 per cent ;
and the amount little more than 75,000. In effect
near 262,000 out of not quite 373,000, our total in-

S'9
crement, belong to our northern and western country :
so that seven tenths of that growth, which we beheld
with astonishment and exultation, was the produce
of a country now exposed to the chance and disasters
of war. Nearly one other tenth was in the capital.
This, gentlemen. Is neither the place nor the occa
sion to enquire into the policy, much less the justice
of those measures, by which we are distressed-
Bowing with deference to the national government; I
am willing to suppose that, In so far as regards the
United States, the war may have been begun and is
now carried on justly, wisely, happily ; but for us,
most unhappily. Every member of this society is,
undoubtedly, disposed by every proper exertion and
every possible sacrifice, to support the honor and in
dependence of our country. But he must be void
of discernment who does not perceive that war, with
the greatest naval power, is no happy condition for a
commercial people. Whether America will eventu
ally rejoice In trophies gained, territory acquired,
and privileges torne, from an enemy subdued ; or.
whether she shall weep for defeats sustained, domi
nion lost, and rights surrendered, must depend, un
der God, on the manner in which this war shall be
conducted, and the wisdom and integrity of the ne
gotiations by which It shall be concluded. But,
whatever may be the feelings of our sister states;^
whether they, as events may indicate, shall clothe^
themselves in scarlet or in sack-cloth; our house
' will, in all probability, be a house of mourning..
It is by the lights of history and geography that we

40
discern the interests of a country, and the means by
which they can best be pursued and secured. Am
I mistaken in concluding, from the foregoing details,
which may, I fear, have been tedious to you, that
we should encourage husbandry, commerce, and
useful arts as the great columns which are to support
the fabric of our wealth and power. That we should
promote order, industry, science, and religion, not
only as the guardians of social happiness, but as the
outworks to the citadel of our liberty. And finally
that we should, as the best means of effecting those
objects, so arrange our concerns as that the manage
ment of public affairs be entrusted to men of wis
dom, firmness, and integrity. I will venture to add
the idea that, in any political change which circum
stances may induce, we should respect the example
of our predecessors, the Six Nations, and not be
persuaded to ask for a king that he may go out be
fore us, like the other nations, nor submit to the sway
of hereditary nobles. It would be a fatal delusion if,
for the military vigor of one institution, or the poli
tical cunning of the other, we should surrender that
freedom which ennobles man. Nor would it be less
fatal that, with a view to simplicity and unity, we
should permit the consolidation of too great a mass :
for history teaches that republican spirit is liable to
fermdnt, when in a large vessel, and be changed to
the corroding acid of despotism.

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