IT is with reluctance that I now present myself to public view, as an organ by which the feelings of this assembly are to be expressed, under the most afflicting dispensation; But, in a full belief of your candour, I surmount every embarrassment.

Fellow-Citizens,

Advised by the General Government, and urg­ed by our own feelings, we have met, to comme­morate the Life, the Acts, and the DEATH, of the Man, who has been the most luminous star which has ever shone in the American Field, or Councils: He has, with propriety, been styled, "the first in war, the first in peace, and the first in the hearts of his countrymen." Many sons of America have done well;—but, the illustrious, the most excellent WASHINGTON, has excelled them all. John Baptist was, in a spiritual point of view, "a burning and a shining light." The beloved Man, whose Death we deplore, has, in a political point of view, [Page 6] done the same. He has burnt and shone in our po­litical heavens, until the chains of slavery and the clouds of despotism have been destroyed, and Lib­erty and heaven-born Freedom, with all their con­comitant blessings, are here enjoyed. There is not a son or daughter of America, who does not enjoy many blessings, more precious than rubies, which result from the magnanimous conduct of the belov­ed Man, whom relentless death has torn from our weeping eyes, and bleeding hearts. Such have been the valor and firmness which he has displayed in be­half of his Country, that, should not his name and character receive monumental honors, they will yet live and flourish, being written in indelible characters on the human heart. Parents will teach their children the great things which God has brought to pass by the hand of WASHINGTON— and generations yet unborn, will rise up and call him blessed; and speak of him, as a precious gift of God to his beloved Country.

America seems to have been marked out, by God himself, as a place where to bestow his glori­ous goodness, in the communication of those bless­ings which are suited to the social and civil state of man; particularly liberty and freedom.

At the time of the first discovery of the Ameri­can Continent, tyranny, and the galling shackles of slavery, had obtained their empire over almost all the nations of the Eastern world. Our Fore-Fathers [Page 7] seeing this; and having, at the same time, an ar­dent thirst for the rights of man, both civil and re­ligious, left their native shores, and crossed the broad Atlantic, to seek, in this new world, a place for the enjoyment of those blessings which were denied them at home. God crowned the enter­prize with success. Our fathers reached this de­sired haven. And, from that time to the present, the interpositions of Heaven, in favour of our coun­try, have astonished many of the human race. "The ends of the earth" heard, "drew near, and came." We may, with propriety, adopt the words of the Psalmist, "Thou hast done great things for us, where­of we are glad."

After our Ancestors had, for some time, enjoy­ed those blessings, for which they hazarded their lives, hell stirred our mother country to adopt those measures, with respect to Infant America, which breathed the most unnatural affection, and were calculated to destroy the tender ties of habit, faith, and blood. In this alarming and distressing crisis, America placed herself in a position, which aston­ished the nations of the earth. She, who was weak in numbers, weak in money, and still weaker in military discipline, told her veteran, her unnatural foe, that she would be free, or die.

When hostilities were commencing, the grand question was, Who shall command the sons of Co­lumbia, and lead them in the awful contest? Our [Page 8] enemies, undoubtedly, thought there were none of her native sons whose abilities were adequate to so important a task. But, lo! Heaven had designated the MAN, whom it had inspired with wisdom, in­tegrity and fortitude, equal to the undertaking:— And, at the call of his country, WASHINGTON came forth; and, with all the diffidence of a man of sense and merit, took upon him the important charge. During eight years service, the most fa­tiguing and discouraging, being subjected to many incidents which rarely happen in other countries, he displayed an almost unexampled vigor, heroism, and firm attachment to his country.

During the war, money grew scarce; the sol­diers were poorly paid, and consequently became mutinous: the ravages of the enemy were intoler­able; and many times it seemed as though tyranny must triumph. These disasters hung, like a thick cloud, on almost every American mind, and seem­ed to forebode immediate destruction. But, under these weighty trials and discouraging omens, our HERO exhibited a calmness and fortitude peculiar to his almost unequalled soul. His enemies, from time to time, felt the weight of his potent arm; while all those who fell into his hands experienced the benignity and benevolence of his heart. On the one hand, he exercised strict severity, when his country's good required it; while, on the other, he discovered great compassion when it was consist­ent with duty and honour.

[Page 9]General WASHINGTON, although highly exalted in the scale of honour, viewed himself as the companion of Men, and not of Angels; and therefore always discovered the greatest sympathy for his suffering soldiers, as many of them can this day bear testimony. In but a very few men has such angelic mildness dwelt, with such high authority and power. If we search the records of antiquity, we shall find the names of many who could boast of conquest and victory; but, still, in them the best part of man seems to be lacking; for, while they could, on the one hand, boast of rivalship, they could not, on the other, boast of clemency, and of sacrificing individual good to general happiness.— But the latter of these has shone, with the most con­spicuous lustre, in America's dearest friend. If we view him, and trace his steps, from Braddock's de­feat, till the surrender of Cornwallis, his character does not suffer by a comparison with any General, either of ancient or modern date, who has trodden the field of battle. He was neither elated with pros­perity, nor disheartened by adversity; but was en­abled to preserve that equanimity, which is highly necessary and important for those, on whose shoul­ders the great concerns of a nation rest.

After WASHINGTON had conducted Ame­rica, through a long and distressing war, under God, to a state of freedom and renown; after he had raised her to that exalted rank which she now holds [Page 10] among the nations of the earth, having rolled the glorious ear of freedom over the necks of tyrants and oppressors, and placed the oppressed under the Olive-Tree of Liberty, he retired from the field of battle with the grateful thanks and best wishes of millions, and resigned up his commission to those from whom he had received it. At this time, he met a band of illustrious Councillors, and they rejoiced together, that the auspicious day had arrived which terminated the bloody contest in favour of America.

Our beloved WASHINGTON, and faithful General, having thus obtained the laurels of victo­ry, hasted from the field of war and din of arms, to Mount Vernon, there to enjoy, in calm retreat, the blessings of domestic life, which were justly due to a man who had done so much to secure them to others. But he did not long enjoy that repose, and freedom from anxiety, which perhaps would have been more consonant with his desires. He was soon called to take upon him the office of Chief Magistrate of the United States. Having led the American sons in the field of war, he is now called to lead in the Grand Council of the Nation, a task perhaps no less difficult than any he had yet under­taken, considering the then present situation of our nation Independence, our primary object, was indeed gained; but we began to feel all the mise­ries which a reduction of paper currency, want of money, loss of credit, contentions between differ­ent [Page 11] States, and the want of a wise, uniting Constitu­tion, could produce. For any other man to have taken the important post of President, at this alarm­ing crisis, must have been entirely fruitless. He, who had served his country during eight revolving years; he, in whom the affection and entire confi­dence of all harmoniously centred, was the Man, and on him the important office was conferred:— And the event evinced the wisdom of the choice. He, together with his co-patriots, devised, execut­ed, and presented to the world, a Constitution, in which the wisdom of man shines conspicuously, and by which the several States are so wisely and closely united, as that we hope they will continue one and indivisible till the laws of gravitation fail, and the kingdoms of the earth are buried in undistinguish­able ruin.

During eight years in the Chair of Government, to which he was raised by the voice of millions of freemen, WASHINGTON displayed vast know­ledge in politics, and almost unequalled skill in go­verning. His authority borrowed the mild guise of paternal affection and care; and, in this way, his character became complete. After having guided the political [...]ar of America, for eight years, he refused to be considered among the candidates for a new election, when in higher esteem than ever in the minds of his countrymen, and once more hast­ed to the shades of retirement, with the blessing of [Page 12] millions upon his hoary and honourable head, the best reward that a lover of his Country can receive. The Valedictory Address of our departed Friend to his beloved Country, is a precious political Lega­cy: and will God grant, that it may be preserved, and wisely and faithfully regarded, until the king­doms of this world become the united Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

There were none, perhaps, who thought, that the man who had served his country forty years, would again be called on to resume his public toils in the decline of life, with his silvered locks: But the French having commenced hostilities against us, the means of defence became necessary. For this purpose, an army was raised, and he, whose name was like a Host, was invited to take the com­mand: And no sooner did our much beloved Fa­ther receive the invitation, than he complied with the request, and the sons of Columbia exulted with joy. But when we consider his advanced age, his great achievements in the American Field and Le­gislature, his having gained the summit of human greatness; and when we likewise consider, that a mind so great must have been sensible, that a very few circumstances in combination might overthrow all his popularity, and bring a cloud on all his for­mer greatness; I say, when we see him accept the office under these necessary considerations, we are constrained to say, it was not for money, or honour, [Page 13] but from real love to his country, that induced him to the undertaking. This was an action, which dis­played such virtue and benevolence as are rarely found in man: Yea, such was the parental care manifested in this, that it seemed to crown all the other actions of his life with a glory which equals the resplendent beams of the sun; and almost pre­saged, that a man so good must soon leave the the­atre of mortality—And so was the event; for on the 14th of December, 1799, he who was the cha­riot of America, and the horsemen thereof, resign­ed his useful life, and passed the dark vale of death; which proves him to have been a son of Adam, and a fallen creature.

Here let us pause for a moment, and admire the hand which preserved the Father of our Country in the field of battle, amid the thunder of cannon and showers of flying balls, that he might die on his own bed, being blessed with the tears of his worthy Consort, and many domestic friends, which in some measure alleviated the distress of sickness, and eas­ed the pains of death.

But, perhaps some are ready to conclude, that the speaker, in viewing our deliverances, looks no higher than men and means. But, my friends, of such stupidity I wish not to be guilty. There is a [Page 14] God on high, who ruleth in the kingdoms of the earth, setting up one, and putting down another, ac­cording to his infinite pleasure. This God, from eternity, decreed the prosperity of America; and all the instruments, requisite to accomplish it, were written in the book of his eternal purposes: And, among the many instruments used by God for the accomplishment of his purpose with respect to America, the excellent WASHINGTON seems to have been the chief. Thanks to God for such a rich and noble blessing. And while I speak of the noble talents of our departed Friend, so wonderful­ly exerted in favour of the human race, I would avail myself of it, as an argument to enforce the importance of the most profound reverence and re­spect to that Being, who knows perfectly well what instruments are necessary and adapted to the accom­plishment of any glorious object. To speak re­spectfully of any finite being or object, is consist­ent with supreme love to God. To say, that the Sun is the great illuminator of the world, the arbi­trator of time, and that which causeth the womb of nature to bring forth, would be consistent with de­votion to God; but to say, that it shines with un­borrowed lustre, would be highly blasphemous.— So, to say, that the beloved WASHINGTON has been extensively useful to the world, and particu­larly to United America, is consistent with the most religious belief in Divine Providence; but to say, [Page 15] that his life, his talents, and his virtues, were not from God, must argue the greatest stupidity.

In view of our National loss, the following things naturally strike the mind:

1. That it will either tend to greater internal discord, and external commotion; or, to greater internal harmony, and of course to greater exter­nal peace. God grant, that it may be the latter— And to this end, let each of us live, let each of us pray.

2. This loss reminds us, that all sublunary things must fail us; and particularly, that Death is an arti­cle in the creed of the universal progeny of Adam, the principles of dissolution being fixed in all the works of nature. The tall, the wise, the reverend head, must not only taste, but drink the bitter cup. Could the universal esteem of mankind, the warm­est affections of millions, and the prayers of Saints, have saved our Friend, he would not have died;—— but▪ alas! when God's time had come, it was not possible for all these to hold him, or protract his life, a moment. It is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. May we all prepare for the grand assize—for the midnight cry.

3. We have reason to bless God, that he raised up for us such a glorious deliverer; that he direct­ed his talents to the happiness of his country; and that he preserved his life, and continued his useful­ness, to so great an age.

[Page 16]4. By this stroke of the righteous judgment of God upon us, as a nation, we are reminded of the obligation we are under, of gratitude and thanks to Jehovah, that he has given another to sit at the Helm of our National Administration, in whom wisdom and virtue shine with unblemished lustre.— May ADAMS as nearly equal WASHINGTON in the grand Council of our Nation, as Joshua did Moses in the camp of Israel. May America ever be bless­ed with wise Governors and Legislators, until HE whose right it is shall come and reign, by the pow­er of his grace, in the hearts of all men, "from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth." In that day, union will be spiritual and uni­versal—the law and constitution, Divine—and the Governor, THE MIGHTY GOD, THE EVERLAST­ING FATHER, THE PRINCE OF PEACE.