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, 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 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 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.

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 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 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 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, 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 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, 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.

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.