FROM the turret-crowned palace of the monarch, to the grove-sheltered cottage of the humble peasant;—from the elevated sphere of supreme dominion, to the lowliest grade in the family of man, Independence is the blessing most valued and dear. In the cause of Independence, the sages and heroes of our own Columbia and of our own time, waged war against Despotism. They wrenched, from the monster's grasp, the iron sceptre, and bound him in the fetters and chains he had forged for millions of freemen. Then, Liberty, was thy triumph complete! Inde­pendence, majestic and serene, gave to our coun­try her sacred charter, and WASHINGTON swore to defend it.

[Page 6]ON the 4th of July, 1776, a phenomenon in politics appeared, which challenges a parrallel in the annals of the world.—A nation by her own fiat sprang from chaos and night, into the full vig­or of life, and the unbounded splendor of day.— At that awful moment, was foredoomed the down­fal of Tyranny. Rock-rooted bastiles were shiver­ed to their lowest dungeons and their deepest foundations. The blood encrimsoned cells of the Inquisition, the Austrian cemetaries of living wretch­es, dead to the recollection of enslaved empires; every purple robed gaoler; the rack, and every infernal instrument and minister of his office, were destined to speedy and irremediable destruction.— Mighty Columbia—such were the miracles which attended thy birth, and thy natal morning beheld thee, like the fabled daughter of Olympian Jove, born with the wisdom and energies of mature and ripened age!

TO trace the multiplied causes, and expose the hidden springs of revolutions in states and nations, is the peculiar province of the historian. The speaker, who has the honor of addressing this res­pectable assembly, and many, who favor him with their attention, on this auspicious anniversary, had, when our political connexion with Great-Britain was dissolved, scarcely stepped upon the threshold of existence. But we have heard with [Page 7] our ears, and our fathers have told us, why they refused to surrender their rights and privileges to an avaricious, oppressive, insolent king and min­istry.

THERE is, and ever has been, a jealousy, an extreme sensibility of intended wrong, in the Ame­rican bosom, which operates as an amulet against danger and injury. May Americans always con­tinue to wear that amulet about them! Most na­tions have been subjugated, more by their own supineness, than by the force and arms of an in­vading power. Our ancestors, and the authors of our national independence, were Argus-eyed to their political concerns. They felt an evil as it approached them. By timely and spirited resist­ance, they were enabled to ward off every blow, and frustrate every design of an assailing enemy. Beside, the American breast was the abode of a noble pride, which viewed with indignation and resentment an insult or an affront. It stimulated to generous and manly opinions—to liberal and undisguised conduct—to an explicit declaration of the rights of man, and to heroic resolutions to die or preserve them. The American people, whose every individual was a Caesar in courage and a Brutus in patriotism, would have been deem­ed unconquerable by any other, than the infatu­ated politicians who composed the cabinet of St. [Page 8] James'. The aggressions of Great-Britain, at length, became intolerable.—They followed each other with increasing magnitude until the souls of Americans could brook no more, and they made their appeal from the injustice of an overbearing empire, to the God of Armies. Their glorious exertions, during eight tedious years, were crown­ed with merited success, and gave to Liberty the brightest diadem that ever had decorated her brow.

HAIL ye sainted spirits of sages and warriors, who toiled and bled and died to procure our na­tional independence! From realms of eternal bliss; from your star-emblazoned thrones of immortal glory, look down with benignant eyes upon your grateful children, and inspire their bosoms with your own ardent passions and unsullied virtues! By your holy and beloved memory we swear, that the land hallowed with your blood; conse­crated, by containing beneath its verdant surface your venerable remains, shall be yielded to the ra­pacity of no foreign power, until the invaders have scaled the rampart of your slaughtered sons!

LET us, my friends and fellow countrymen, consider some of the most rational and necessary means for securing and perpetuating the blessings which have been purchased at the expence of in­finite treasure, and with the lives of martyred pat­riots. Often, when celebrating this jubilee of [Page 9] Freedom, have your songs of exultation echoed to the skies—on this, and every similar occasion, may you remember, that, though victory entwined her laurels around the American arms, the grand, the efficient cause of the successful termination of our contest with Great-Britain, was UNANIMITY— the political "bond of perfectness." Americans were a multitudinous brotherhood. One soul— one spirit pervaded three millions of people—one object was before them;—the security of their NA­TIONAL RIGHTS—one sentiment inspired them; —LIBERTY OR DEATH!

ALAS! do I speak of days, that are gone for­ever?—Do I present you a portrait of former times, to weep over it?—Do I shew you a charac­ter that, as a people we ought to possess?—Oh! my countrymen, may its want of semblance to the reality never reproach you! Unite or die!—The alternative has been offered to all the nations under the sun—to all the nations which ever existed— and they have flourished or decayed, according to the decisive election. At this critical moment can we hesitate? Who, but a madman would rush down a precipice, when he has freedom of will, and is invited to range through fertile fields, and inhabit the abodes of safety and peace? BE AME­RICANS! In one word is comprehended all the [Page 10] duty the good citizen owes to his Country—his Government, the Laws and his self.—But, my friends, beware of false notions of rights and privi­leges—of mistaken conceptions concerning the conduct of your political servants.—Degrade not the sacred sovereignty of the people, by unreason­able distrust and caprice.—Having delegated your power and authority, be not eager to reclaim it— you part with it but for a short time, and those, to whom you have committed it, will not, cannot, and dare not betray their trusts, or abuse your confi­dence. But, as you wish to be free and happy— to be a nation—oppose as your deadliest enemy, that daemon most accursed, FOREIGN INFLUENCE, —"THE DESTROYING ANGEL OF REPUBLICS."

IN the political, as in the moral world, there are duties, which we owe to ourselves, and duties, incumbent upon us to perform to others. Viewing nations, as one great family, each should feel for the AUGUST SISTERHOOD, every affectionate emo­tion, every desire to promote happiness and inter­est;—should render every kind office in her power, compatible with her own peace, security and honor. Self consideration, as the main spring of human action, has so necessary and unavoidable a control, wherever man is an agent, that we can graduate merit, only by its comparative approach towards [Page 11] the disinterestedness of perfection. We cannot, therefore, expect any nation to treat with us, unless she calculate upon an accruing advantage to her­self. On our own part, there is no compulsion— we have a right to consent and agreement. As an independent nation, we have the privilege of form­ing treaties when, and with whom, we please—and if the solemn contract be made, the party, who violates it, becomes an aggressor in injury. One treaty broken by a state, affects its character as does the infraction of an engagement, between man and man.—Loss of reputation is the first con­sequence—dishonor, poverty, and bankruptcy fol­low, with eternal ruin in their dismal train. In any country, where there are laws, the aggrieved is entitled to, and will receive judicial redress. When nation sins against nation, the issue must be determined by the TRIAL AT ARMS. We, as Americans, have national dignity to support—we have national honor to defend—we have public engagements to fulfil, and we have the fulfilment of public engagements due to us. If we be insult­ed or suffer injury, we must have the means of indemnification and the instruments of inflicting punishment, in our own hands.—Our property must be protected by sea and by land—our terri­tory must not be profaned by the foot of an inva­der. [Page 12] —Hence then the importance of a well disci­plined militia.—In the melancholy event of war, the landholders, the mechanics, the merchants— all, who have any thing dear to them—all, who have any thing to lose, will feel the task of defence devolved upon themselves;—THE GREAT BODY OF THE PEOPLE. The life and property of each individual, being in equal jeopardy, the combina­tion of the whole, for mutual and general security, will be natural and indispensable. Of what avail are public spirit and a crowd of citizens, without military knowledge and discipline? The gallant band of LEONIDAS, had they been unskilled in the use of arms, would, instead of achieving a most important, brilliant and immortalizing exploit, have deserted the post of honor, and fled to a shel­ter among rocks and in caverns.—Four hundred warriors defended the straits of Thermopylae against the army of Xerxes—an army, whose [...]an saluted the rising sun, when the distant rear was enveloped in the shades of night!—Men, ac­quainted with their duty, feel assurance in discharg­ing it. Undisciplined troops are easily intimidated. The defection of a few cowards, is sufficient to give a panic to battalions. In battle, fear is epidemical; —military science is the only preventative against its admission and ravage in an army.—Our fa­vored [Page 13] country can boast of a militia adequate to every occasion, and prepared for every emergence. —A militia, whose appearance communicates for­titude, and whose hearts, contemning danger, would beat with dauntless courage in the field of death. Thank God, if fate have ordained that war be our portion, we shall neither be dependent for assistance upon foreign mercenaries, nor shall we be laid under a new debt of gratitude to foreign volunteers in our cause.

CRITICAL, and in a degree, distressing as is the present situation of our country, yet much reason has the patriot, for exultation and joy, in a survey of our public affairs. Let us congratulate each other, in the most affectionate language, that Co­lumbia is yet free, and that her sons are determined that she shall remain mistress of her own actions without subjection or control.—That our old, tried and venerable friend, JOHN ADAMS, whom we have chosen from the midst of us, still presides over our national councils, a political Pal­inurus, who guides the American ark with skill and safety, through the tempestuous ocean that rages around her, unmoved among the surges, and unshaken amid the storm. May he continue to conduct her—to govern her course and watch at the helm, until the subsiding billows shall leave [Page 14] her in security on the Ararat of ETERNAL PEACE! That our President—our Constitution—the honor of our land and the reign of Law, may be long pre­served, is a fervent prayer, which ascends from every unadulterated American, to the throne of GOD.

RETIRED to the consecrated shades of Mount-Vernon, the immortal WASHINGTON enjoys, in a serene old age, the consoling reflections of a no­ble mind, whose own consciousness is an unceas­ing reward for all the toils and perils of an active and glorious life.—The recall to his native skies is delayed by Heaven, that he may remain a bulwark to his country—the terror of her enemies, and the invincible Champion of her rights and dignity! His sword is ready, and his heart is unchanged.^* [Page 15] —Tremble ye, who vainly threaten invasion, and gasconade at a distance.—We have millions of hardy youth, who mock at fear, and set danger at defiance—and we have Washington—a Gates—a Lincoln—a Knox—and a constellation of veteran warriors whose names are enrolled in the bright volume of Fame—to command them.

BY the divine goodness, we have been directed in the choice of our state and federal officers, to select men eminent for their patriotism, abilities, public and private virtues. The example of such distinguished personages produces the general dis­semination of piety, honesty, learning and their attendant blessings. Hence the character of our people wears an amiable and endearing aspect. It is the Spartan character, mellowed and improv­ed by time and wisdom. Americans venerate the plough—and from the furrow, our legislators and judges are exalted to the senate and the judgment seat. Our merchants and mariners enrich our land with the treasures and luxuries of every clime, and our harvests are wasted over arctic seas, and [Page 16] to realms beneath the glowing line. America is destined by Heaven to be the granary of the world. Already the emporium of commerce, her navy shall commit to her hands the trident of the ocean. Our Atlantic receives with joy her floating castles to his bosom, and swells with pride while his briny mountains are shaken by their thunders.

TO exhibit the reverse of a pleasing picture, is a task disagreeable and painful. Truth compels a compliance with duty, and demands obedience to her injunctions. When a great and powerful peo­ple forgets the eternal principles of justice, and vi­olates the compact of nations, she commits a crime most heinous against the whole world.—She for­feits all right to the friendship, assistance and con­fidence of every other state and country.—She be­comes an outlaw, a general depredator, against whom arms must be employed, and with whom no other mode of reasoning will prevail. The consequences of her conduct are war—the destruc­tion of order—the ruin of myriads—the depopula­tion of empires—anarchy—confusion and death! Among the victims of the ambition and avarice of the present scourge of the globe, alas—our dear America is numbered! Many of her citizens have been despoiled of the rich earnings of their indus­try, [Page 17] and the valuable produce of their enterprize. Attempts have been made under the direction of the French government, to effect a fatal division between the people of these States and their con­stituted authorities.—Our neutral flag has been in­sulted.—Our ministers of peace and reconciliation treated with contempt and diplomatic insolence un­paralleled in the annals of history, in any nation or in any age.—Our fellow-citizens have been ren­dered suspicious of each other, and the pestilential spirit of party had nearly dissolved all those bands of confidence, mutual affection and friendship, which hold society together, and constitute the happiness, security and prosperity of civilized man. —These are serious evils—these are open insults to which the high souls of Americans could not submit with Spanish servility or Batavian tameness. Our gratitude and ardent love to France were not easily to be shaken—if they are destroyed, the act that destroyed them was her own. May this conduct teach us an important lesson. The inter­posing providence of GOD directed the develope­ment of her designs, and exposed her insidious arts in all their deformity. We have escaped the catastrophe, which threatened us—civil war—the hottest instrument of Almighty wrath.

[Page 18]THE voice of the people from New-Hamp­shire to Georgia, has assured our Executive and Congress of the Union, that they are ready and determined to protect and defend their Constitu­tion, their Government, their Laws and their Liberties, against any foreign or domestic enemy who shall dare to assail or oppose them. You, my fellow-townsmen, will be among the foremost in the patriotic struggle, whenever summoned to action, and