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THE REPUBLICAN. ► • tei: 1’:;. * w Tuesdiv, July 25, 1815. ' < dWir.i: ■ .... tl BY FREDERICK 3. FELL, ■Vi* OH TBKlMTi !IUB TH* «*ChM»OK. 9R1NTED THREE TIMES A WEEK. At Sis Dollars per annum, It advance. F't ORATION. DEL1VCS.KB CT ■ ftlie foil taerciie,of tU?JiiapTe 1 * fOvereigpij^K: vested tef the excesses, and imperfections, of the ancient democracies.—— I have laid, it did not spring from the heads of learned men, nor was it discovered by the the refined investigations of Civilised society.— It had its origin in the woods of Saxony, amidst the gloom of forests the man of nature, con ceived the idea of representative government. —It had escaped the- noblest flights of ge nius; anti when every other science was on the march, this principle of government so inti mately connected With the rights of man, was confined to the imperfect and crude legislation of bai barian hordes. . The regions of metaphysics,—of Ethics of Eloquence, of Poesy, of civil polity bed been #5*OS.THOMAS#.P.CHARLETON. SSSSJttfirtftWS fn tjte Presbyterian Church, Savannah, Gear- • t ; on received the last touches of a masterly gia, July 4, 1815. ' perfection.. The statue seemed to breathe from — *nr rniToal the marble,—the picture to start from the Imuraifltf request or THE editor J einvas The Portico, the Lyceum, the Aca- Fiuow Crri*r.i»s and Cochtrymbx!—I demy and Garden, might be resorted lo for sub- jjever had the honor, if it be an honor, to i im e disquisitions on the various systems of breathe for a moment the air of monarchy.— ideal, and useful philosophy. .. The heart was Sons a citizen of the Republic, some years nf- fireri with the lofty declamations of the orator, ter it had tahon its separate station among the —the Imagination delighted and ielevated by ■power* of the earth,—reared up under the be- the beautiful fictions of the Poets.——Vet in nigoqnt band of liberty,—educated in the prin- these bright eras of science, of heroism,.(dad espies of ’70, I hope I am noton this occasion of Li berty if you please,)—no system wa« de an unfit medium to cor.7ey the doctrines, for vised for the the progressive amelioration tof which Washington unsheathed his sabre, and man’s political condition.—— bis heroes combatted. I The Republics of Rome and Greece have vati- How strange and mysterious hes been the j 6 hed from the earth,—their boosted systems birth of that liberty, we have this day convened {, aV e perished with them, and until the repte- to commemorate ! It did not spring from the tentative form of government was conceived, beads of learned meh,— it was not discoverable we vainly retrospected to ancient institutions in the abstract researches of Philosophers—it f or models of political freedom. —In England; Was unknown to the brightest cpochas of an- : w hcre this form of government bad been carri- cient freedom. We speak of Roman and Grc-: e( ] her German conquerers, it gradually as- cian Republics.—Our youthful minds are daz- 911 med the appellation of King, Lords and sled with the spleiidid achievements of their ! Commons, and even with the accursed amalga- heroes, and we believe we perceive-in their de- nation of a King who can do no wrong, and an motion and their actions thetru- spirit and prin ciples of that Liberty which we worship.— Curtins leaped into the yawning gulph,—De- cius immolated himself.—Cato and Brutus Would not survive the fall of the Republic,—Ti- moleon slew his brother,—those examples are generally adduced as illustrative of that system hereditary peerage,—(of course equally im- maleulate)—England became the seat, such as it was, of European Liberty. The portion of authority exercised by the people through the house of Commons,—faint as was that recognition of the representative P rinciple, put abroad a spirit of Liberty un r . .1 .Li ‘ iir u •f civil liberty, always dearer to a patriot than known to the other divisions of the World bis life, and without which this earth exhibits a hideous picture of tyranny and oppression tut, if Equality is the basis of human rights,— if Liberty recognizes no distinctions other than those which are founded on superior intelli gence, integrity and virtue, then it never exist ed, cloathea with all its native purity, in the boasted Republics of antiquity. The conflicts between Ine patrician and pie- bean castes,—the distinctiveness of the senate, ‘the heriditary pretentions to its seats,—the se parate exercise of authority by a plebiscitum or a senatus consuitum,—the act of the people and the act of the senate,—these features of the Ro man institution bear no resemblance to the beauteous smiling goddess whose votaries we are. The Roman Republic consisted in a per- petnal struggle between the real or affected Triends of the people, and the few who in all -ages have trampled on the rights of the many. The distinction between the high born, and Jew born, was as well known and defined among these stern republicans as it isnow, in the polish ed regions of Christian Europe.— The patri mans were the nobility of Rome as contra-dis tinguished to the great mass of the people... There wag no community of interests... It an incessant effort on the one side to rise, and on the other to depress. The Roman sys tem was in short nothing more, than on one «kand, a haughty aristocracy jealous of the peo pie and their functionaries, anti on the oth«r, a vigilant democracy, ever on the alert, to check -the mad career of patrician ambition. In the greater part of the states of Greece, we ■gee a different organization of Government , but fjot the less at variance with the true principles 0 f civil Liberty.—There existed no salutary _j,eck opon the honest, but loo frequently mis £U ided and tumultuous deliberations of the ag gregate people.—It was a wild system ofiin- -nracticablc democracy, too perfect for human X a :Ry, because it was predicated o.i ihe ab- stra c * right of the whole people to enact the laws which were to affect and operate upon -thcm se * ves —The impracticability of this sys tem is nt once obvious to the man of wisdom -and di iCernn,ent< —perceives that in the bnge m ass of the assembled people, there can be no patie nt discussion, and consequently that the public honesty will be generally more sub servient to the interested suggestions of the de magogue, than to tfca mild propositions of the .patriot Legislator... Hence the Larthquake shout of an assembled people, has raised an un principled Themistocles to the apex ot their favor, and in the same instant banished irom their presence, the virtuous Aristides — The people left to the feelings ol their honest hearts, are ever virtuous,-they mean to pro mote the public happines by every act^ emana ting directly from themselves but they art When other Kingdoms were groaning under the uncontrolled,—unchecked ; irresponsible do mination of despots, the Britfsli subject possess ed some important rights beyond the reach of Kingly oppression .... His station contrast ed with his fellow-creatures of other climes vras enviable and dignified .. If he looked to:the other sections for the portion of liberty he eu- joyed, he looked in vain .... In the East, man was a crouching slave,—his mind chained to the altar of a hideouss uperstition,—his back ever bare for;the tyrant’s scourge. In the European kingdoms around him he saw man a submissive feudatory vassal, with no rights save wliul were reluctantly awarded him by the influence of Christianity. The Euro pean therefore was no less irresponsible than the Eastern despot ;—he could Darter away his people like a flock of sheep, and he could spill the last drop of their blood in guility and impious warfare. There were no restraints upon his power, his ambition or his vices. The British subject in thus contracting his political condition with that of a human being under other forms of government, felt, as he ought to have felt, an honest pride, that he was not *• as other men were.”—He felt, that he bore some resemblance to the creature, God nad put upon this earth, to enjoy happiness and Liberty. With Ihe corroding ulcer's of the political system. King, Nobility and hierarchy ; there was still a healing power in this representative principle, imperfect as it tvas, to communicate the appearance of health lo the National Liber ty. Some rays of glory, of hope and consola tion occa tonally beamed through the dark ho rizon of the British monarchy They lighted up the path of thg patriot, and pointed out the means of amelioration'. Those means were used by the great men and parlia ment, which brought Charles 1. to the block, and abolished the peerage. This was bringing back government to its original principles,— and never was England so glorious and free a# under her evanescent Commonwealth.—The sway of Comnwell gave it the shadow of a Re public, but that shadow was sufficiently awtul to terrify the Kings of Europe.—They knew it w is the work of toe people, and the people aro ever enemies to Kings. The principles of this Revolution, had left an indelible impression on the maids of a great portion of the British nation. . They had taken a .oot bfeyond the reach of parliamentary regulation—and not to be subverted by the tempests of the passions.—— Who were they, my tellow Citizens, upon whose minds these impressions had the most irrosistable influence.—— Our Axc stous,—the settlers of Northern America. They believed, that neither God or nature in- txj iip&ftL barano beyoai the c# I,if *:.<*** fcnem, ite!*fitud apiu* Bursof an act of Parliament.”-*.This was the cotSs ben ficieat system the fcoqiqur ct haughty lone tif the despot, or, if it is wished 1 should be more courteofts, of Us ministers. Moral causes had already produced thei'f wonderful effects. Separated from she tainted government of the old world—-.1000 miles distant from their mephitic influence, themn glo-American had already imbibed the true principles of htunan rights... The book of Nature lay. open before him. The sublime scenery of his forests and mountains—the im mense space slreached before him—all foretold that here was the seat of a great nation, and that a beneficient Deity could oat intend this beauteous domain asm tyrant’s property... Acens toined to see and commune with his fellow man as an equal and a brother, the distich naturally occurred to him : tended that one man should become the heredi- nofalwavs aware of the machinations ol fac- A* of hvnorricy.—They are; tary master ol millions ot human beings superi- notalwavs aware that men professing the great- j or to himself in honor, in virtue and intelligence. cst reeard Tor their interests, are only wielding It appears, says an eloquent historian, suf- the powerful lever of public credulity to attain fieiently obvious; that of the various forms of •the Inds of ncrsonal aggrandizement and ambi- government, which have prevailed in the world, ane r . an hereditary monarchy seems to present the ll0n " . , . „„ „„,v„ 1 fairest scope for ridicule. Isit possibletorc- The acts of the people spn E '• late without an indignant smile, that on the siasro ever having tbeir origin l je s ee - father’s discease, the property of a nation like rings oftke heart,— c >' ca ’* * J—, e e " i that of a drove-of oxen descends to bis infant mws or themselves, H is an Iniamons libel on as t unknown t0 man kind or to hiinself,— their native honesty,-but thisenthusiasm is and th at the bravest w ' - ’ the more danberous as its operations are instan taneous. Hence the versatility of large pop ular assemblies, and what was yesterday an act -paused with thundering applause is to day ab rogated with sentiments of contempt and indig- . • I A .«I■ I I) A(1 arriors and wisest states men relinquishing their natural right to empire approach the royal cradle with bended knees and protestations of inviolable fidelity.” The knees of our ancestors were stiffened,— thev could not bend in adoration and submis- , . „ i Sir- “ rnev couiu not uenu in auorauon ana suonns- L.berty Reason » I _ ion lo this im p ious doctrine.. . . They believ- V' V . '.7 T? I ed. that a priesthood associated with the go- go Heaven to mIL motion. Rand in hand. . x.iey ed . that a priesthood support the temple ot Freedom-take one of vcrnment {; ad ro auU , orilv fr0M them away and the lair fabric tumble, mto ru- t . exclus|ve , it , doctrines :-that a liturgy ;jns.--TfcetenipestuoiuLibcrtyoftheGreek,,j and ertic , es #f f #|th the worIi of meDa , tr ^, „ as seldom in alliance with 'he grave sugges. thernse!v( . s . an a modified by human legisla tions of rcasbn,—heace the excesses and incon-. J e - sistencies which distinguish the acts and delib- > erations of their assemblies,—hence the ingra-1 tion, imposed no obligations on their ccnscein ces - This simple creed of the republicans of Eng land brought down upon them the lash of intel- lerance. They fled from the land of their fore fathers,—they fled from The smiling fields of Britain, and took refuse in the wilds of Ameri- f titude which has become proverbial, in relation to Republican institutions. The Patriot and Statesman of antiquity stop ped short with the acknowledgement of the people’s sovereignty. The proposition being admitted, that the sovereignty was in the peo ple it resulted according to their logic, that the right to legislate was in the aggregate people. The great mind of Tully himself, could not re- . llc lMlnalulnl lnuwlc , unl l(ul prr . T .- (l „„ „ cognize a dinerent conclusion ; and tbe id«aj spring to tread the wilderness in tranquility, of checks and ballances, of co-eqaai and co-or- j The British monarc stretched his arfo across , finite departments of government,—the com- ! the Atlantic lo throttle into obedience his unna- plex organization and machinery of the repae-. tur£ ] at) d undutifnl children.— Tentative sysletu never entered into the by- j -y Rebels ! Ye owe -me unconditional sab- •pothesc* of ancient palitical sagacity. In this ) missioi * a knnmvor fniuiilc t ft a trtiA urinciT'lea nf . - 4 This great nation—this Republic, is the re sult of their fortitude, their bravery and vir- tue—— The unnatural mother did not permit her off- When Adam delved, and Eve span, Where was then the nobleman ? Denying the auihomy ol a governmental prieachor.d to trammel him Willi dugnaxs his conscience could not asseot to, he opened the gospel and gave his own exposition. He could there find no (races of a hieraichy subjected to siate' pokey.— O i ihe cohitrary he feund io* culcated LIBERTY, EQUALITY,— h* the taler of the Universe, w-s no ies^eo-cr oi per eon* and that benevclence, vii toe a.id ha tnaniiy we-e the bases upon which tvacd the tovor of God, Bud the happiness of man, A stranger to the tuxery and vices of the well bi r o, his simple manners had not been polluted by tbc admixture or the example o. a co. rupt and bloated aristocracy .... 1 hus hen tbe cn j liip operation of religion,—of iec! ing > ol rrfl c’iuu,—of sentiment had prepared the angk..American of >he new wend tor the sublime political iiisti'uttuDs produced by tbe ipvo lu'hnary contest. Our faiiiers—heard tbc menaces ct the 3ii tisk ki .g. a.'d they temonsirated, not as he lo: —not as ths submissive vassals cf tbs tjrran' but as MEH determined to support the eter nal principles of f. eodom. It was decided, that their blood and tha heir bandage should wipe iff the insult iffsr ed to Bri'isn prowess and suprentaev. I .soledi Senators irf \he British Parliament had spekrn contemp uously ol A ne ican co«i r age ., . “It was only necessary (sad they, tor the British Lion to shew his terrifia front tied these timid hinds would t-eck sT'ety in humble submission to Ins mercy."—The ex pertinent wav tried, I believe, at Bunket’s Hill That ever memorable and glorious combs: of- forded the first divclopjr.ic.it of republican en ergies .... Twice did the tegular and dic’phned coho of Britain advance to the attack in fourfn> numbers, and Twice we^e they epul-ed br x balfarnivd und und'C'pbncd Americans.- he elictrtc fi t d wav nor mere instantaneot .nd destructive than the fi e of he sons - L be'iy ... Hs*oc *"d d smay sp e d smo* j he tar ks of he British se doty, and elevc. .unrl ed k ,led and wounded ii.yrmidnos wip -d oi? ihe foul aspersion nn American valoi The Ruib cpn was passed 'he doors of.-c enneihation we’e closed,—the Luba- m ■ Liberty and Ir.depe'-dence was iir.f'j'iedja'-- ,->f:er a stiuggie ,he mast niotnentons and m tercsting : n the annals of he wo ft*, tl. s na'’< - 'or,k its sepat ate sation amor g he powers, •he earth,—and revolved lTisj"nicatly in i . o' bit illumined by ihe suns of Vkiory, <J Gian. and of Liter ty. I have sa d before, that the idea nf repre sentarive government was fi-st conceived io th< woods oFGermany, and is it not strange and wonderful, that it sheold have been perfecter in the forests of AfflfC It demonstra'e' Cit zeos, that great and furiijgrner.ta) t>n hs d not admit of complex invest’gation, a'.d tha* t simple yeoman may as read-ly ecncc’ve th, principles iipnn which depend bis happiness his l.-berty and his.sB r ety, as the p'e'ended phi losopher, who wraps up his sys'em in the cobwebs of abstract rerearch, and carries yon to his conclusion 'hrnugh all the windirgs of metaphysical refinement . . - and the Let is, that the native Ci'izen of United America, nn matter in what situation of life you rr.av find b m, has a more acccra e knowledge of rivi government, than the fust statesman of Eu rope, or the profoundcst philosnher of antique y.-—-With him it is a matter nf feeling and of sentiment,—he takes it in his grarp, and ho'ds it up to you in a tangible and mn'eria shape ; —with the o./ror it is a raatrer of hy pothesis,—of speculation,—-o frtfi emen',—be, yor.d ’he reach of c xnmon understandings, and always of impracticable ope>e'ion. The simplified ays em Which toe acknow ledpe, as the Pallad'cm of our rights is con. tained in the constitution of the Uni ed S ates, and is adapted to the meridian ot every com prehension .... It emanated fom the un- sophistreared intellects of our patriots ard sa. ges, who knew the extent of human rights, and had the boldness to disclose them... These righ s were only half known to the an cient republicans, and but vaguely conceived by Jhe moderns .... It ways reserved tor the infant, eniighteneJ and heroic Republic of America, to tear the viel aside, which had ern* cea’ed from the great family of mankind their imprescriptible Immunities.—and to expose in all their disgusting deformity the arcana ofdes* pots, the hypocrisy of priestcraft, and tbe im piety of Kings, Infusing the representative principle into the acknowledgemeot of the People’s soveteignty, all i he abuse* of pure democracy, were avoided; —and abolishing heridtary distinctio n the parti, tion wall was thrown down which separated one cla<softhe People from tbe other.——Every one has therefore a common interest and a Coro mon Couotiy .... The principle of Equality leaves the post ot hooct accessible to every citizen of virtue and capability.—The dogmas and‘e«ts of religious secarie*, having no es sential connexion with the charter of Freedom, no formula of faith is required to qualify the public fonc'ioosry.... These are among the primary and fundamental principles upon whose everlasting foundations are erected the proud which I now have tbe honor to exhibit. Would 'o Cod that your krowlpdgc and your- 'eellogs cmiU infuse themvolve ibta.the debate S the ; ffi qted and unhappy myriads of the 5 Id whrfdH. . We Should not then tee the royal butchers Wetting liter garmept* in the blood of Sneir Mlovrf nien? and ^mpjfljsly CaN ling upon the Supreme Being to aid. the cause >>1 legi'imate Saver, ig.os,—aa if ihe Supreme Being looked with complacency upon »he san guinary cci.fl.ctsof despots, and dohghted-tn the cam-ge and mt»e'v, ofihls immoi f al c.-ea*ures. | With your knowledgc.and/eolings the giant million would rise in the mighty majesty of his strength—hq wpujd stretch fbrth hif Bria^ta arms, and-hurl from their usurped elevations these diademed oppressors ....... v But without the feelings and knowledge of American patrir ois, it is vein to expect salutary rerolutions^ll the’ancient monarchies... Man there must still be a slave,—must still bend bis neck to the tyrant until he understands your charter,—utr- til he understands the principles of representa tive government The friends of Liberty were delighted with the novel and simplified organization of a Fed eral Republic. Writers had advanced the hypothesis, that a Republic waso: ly calculated for certain confined end circumscribed limits, and tn»t monarchy was the natural government of extended Empire : Montesquieu- had advanc ed it, and others had implicitly adopted it. It was contended and .bcliwcd, and henee was 1-id the foundation of titan's eternal-'degrada tion, that the internal energies of*Monarchy alone, could preserve the integrity of a ivida and extended empire. It was,again the glorious destiny of America to prove the fallacy of this last apology of monarchal and imperial pride ..,...,.. *Sh-p has demonstrated to un astonished world, that a federal representative democracy, is not con fined to specified geographical limits, and that its vigour and its energies are as polent and irresistible, as the pretended unity and decsion of Kngly councils.— .. -She has demonstrated, that the federal system spreatf- ing itself over a inighiy nation, ’is not a philosophical reverie, calculated; fiqrVhe halcy- on days of peace, from which'- \v.‘ should ha aroused to meet destruction on the first shock of internal violence or external aggression — Federal America has r-ut her s- * r*m to t^ test.—Again did her malignant foe view wift demoniac envy, the glorious operations of her Heaven-born Liberty.— Again di.l Rhgland see tbe energies extending which menaced\he pros tration of her grey-headed usurpations—En gland sought the quarrel, ^hc relied omn the unnatural disaffection of our own people,—she thought our democracy a splendid bubble, which the first breath of opposition would dissipate with every trace of its existence.... She stole our citizens,—plundered our property;—under unrighteous expositions of national law, inter dicted onr eommerc?.—An 1 insultingly repeat ed, ns far as she was able, the 1-jiiri-s and wrongs proclaimed in the declaration of Inde pendence— Delighting in the palms of :v*nce and Liber* ty our government was unwil'ing to hrea-t the tempests of war. .... It feared many of* those evils which had h»en predicted. It for* bore as long as its dignity, its hoeorand insult ed nrid- would suff r it to forb ar. . . . At length the Republic was compelled t*acknew- ledge its fear and imbecility, or meet again iit battle the haughty monarchy of Britain. When this was the alternative the Republic did not hesitate to buckle on its armour. — What, Citizens, have been the events and the results a r this second straggle for Liberty and Independence? ~ J .T ,le ; - he same effect as the paintings of the ,jouvre. . . It is di ferpnt amidst. Ihe ge nera! bi-jn of glory to fix the attention s e ? di. ly on one . . .*■ The mind of an American feels a kind of pleasing delirium in selecting end adt verting to actions which appear to posies* equal claims to his gratitude and applanse-fr. .* Cast your eyes on the Ocean and "the Lakes.. . • Do you see that vivid flash ? It is th® lightening of an American frigate, it is tl ® thunderbolt of valor riving and blasting th® bulwark of England’s glory Amidst the cor ruscations, can you discover a hero pacing the quarter deck, or fearlessly presenting himself at every point of dan -er? Observe, he if giving tbe mandate for a skillful manmuv’rc, or the destructive broadside. . . Who is he ? ■ YVhfn the feat of rcnoyvn is the same, wiff ye inviduously discriminate ? it ig .Hull, or it fr Decatur, or Perry, or M Donough, or Porter, or Bai : bridge, or Jones, or Burrows, or Blake ly, or Warrington.—or it is Stewart,—or ono of that host whose names are inscribed ontthe scroll of Fame. < . temple of cur Hationel Liberty.. . . Time Will yon consent to stretch vonrattention a little farther?... Do you see tlnyt tfailant crew, whose fierce and undaunted looks horl de fiance atthcenemy? W’hat islhe principleorthe feeling that lights up their manly countenances with such flowing animation ? what principle or feelling is it that infuse# such heroic ardor among them,—such obedience and alacritv,— such confidence in ’ victory ! Who ire they ?. . They are American seamen.. . '1 tie principle that animates them is Liberty,—the feeling that inspires them with such uncon querable ardour, is, the honor of the star-spang led banner waving o’er their heads,—it is a feeling of vengeance.—— They see before them a floating Hell, whence had so often issued the unpitied groans of ttteir impressed seamen. .. They see before thjem the haughty naval chief whose order had so often inflicted ignoble stripes on ba-ks of their coun- trymen,—who had so often uttered his blasphe mies and imprecations against their country and its Yankees But the hour of retri bution is come. Minutes and seconds...com plete the work of destruction,—the proud cro^* of Britain is at the feet of the victors,— whilst the stars of America still illumine the mast head prepared in a few minutes more to point their rays of glory to the result of a second combat.— Can ye listen to the cheers of these brave jneo, and not feel a swelling exulting sensation, that they are your Countrymen ? Can ye regret th* blood ana the treasure expended in vindicatioa of their rights ? They have given to this epochs of the Re public a renown immortal ana imperishable ;— and when at some future sra, a ruthless tyrant shall have laid the last temple of Liberty in ruin*, posterity will still dwell in raptures on the ex ploits of oar navy. / Tbe degenerate Italian recollect* withe toffy emotion that his coontry gave birth to a Bratus, ifeJlbi system however consists tbe true principles of part 01 - the British nationYe are to ctmtri-1 dulgence by carrying the snelyria farther, i.. a Cato, or a Seipio,—the degenerate A merican avil Liberty r-it is the system which admits Uto to the extent required of yon by mymin1s^<} am addressing an American andieoee each (if Heaven ever permits him U bo « bsndntan) s XT?--'' S i.... j *. '■ * • ,,i T Wm . a o.^ m