The Georgia pioneer, and retrenchment banner. (Cassville, Ga.) 1835-184?, July 13, 1835, Image 1
Vol. 1.
EDITED BY
JifOKGjA EURNETT.
T E R M S.
""‘'“’Fhe PIONEER will be published
weekly, per annum,
AH ADvERI ISEMENTS will be
published at the usual rates.
No subscription taken for less than a
vear,and no paper discontinued till all
dues are paid, except at the option or
the Editors.
All communications to receive atten
tion must be post paid.
\Jn\on Candidates.
For Governor.
WILLIAM SCHLEY.
STATE LEGISLATURE.
For the tienute,
Coi. william Hardin.
For ike House of Representatives.
'1 HUM AS ESPY, Esq.
H—a»i m ■ m sr>-
PIONEER.
CASSVILLE, JULY 13, 1835.
AN OHA L ION,
DELIVERED BY
WILLI IM L. MORGAN, Esq.
To the Union Par Ip of Cats County, on
the Athof July last, and published by
request.
FELLOW-
We again a*sem de on the Anni
versary of oUr National Independence.
But not for the purpose, I hope, of e
•viucing on this occasion, merely a dis
position to comply in outward appear
ance with the bare cerem mies of a
Celebration, which have, for more
than half a century, been observed by
the citizens of the United Slates; but,
for the purpose of observing and com
memorating thia joyous day, with feel
ings of the deepest devotion and grati
tude to Almighty God, for those bless
ings which tie linn been ptevrrcA
Btow on our ancestry and ourselves—
and of‘transmitting to succeeding gen
er-itions, unimpaired, that holy spiri;
of devotion, which is due to the birth
day of our N itional Liberty.
The 4th day of July, fellow-citizens,
should be celebrated by Americans,
with feelings of the purest patrioti-m.
No distinction of Party—no Sectional
jealousy, should contaminate our Na
tional Jubile**. Such ungrateful pas
gions, if any there are on this occasion,
should in the deepest re
cess of a bosom so ungenerous and po
inted as to give them birth, and we
should here meet and recognize each
other only as fi iends &. brothers—par
ticipants in common of those blessings
which no party will dare be so pre
sumptuous as to appropriate exclusive
ly to itself. The Federalist and the
D- mocrat, the Consolidationist and
the Advocate of State Rights,ail act
ing io concert, with unbounded love
and patriotism for their common coun
try, side by side, achieved each, a glo
rious and conspicuous partin produ
cing that happy result, which it is now
our privilege and our duty to commem
orate* And those blessings which we
derive from a combination and Union j
of the whole system, with due respect i
to the Liberty and Reserved Rights
guaranteed by the constitution to each 1
co-ordinate Branch constituting that;
general Union, and which we trust will I
be perpetuated to thousands of age? j
yet to come, were produced by mutual
consessions on their part, of interests
and i clinations in themselves so dis
cordant. That discord between pow
erful and often fluctuating parties,yet
exists; and each,with an eye of watch
ful jealousy,scrutinizes the conduct and
administration ofthat Party,which h* p. |
pens for tbe time,to hold and d>' ec t r
reins of government. Pq, a „ ‘i 5 ®
and talented rep r^ gen t a t;
■di.cord i< ie conv?
_ - • v>u r ition which orga-
nized our pre»e~ jt for nos Government,
a Line of d 1 tf markation, which should be
a to either party in power, was,
their mutual self-preservation,
drawn and sketched by the constitu
tion,the fruit of their joint labour,with
accurate precision; and whenever
those bounds are once e’erleapcd, an
outraged and oppressed people, guar
ding it with vigilant jealousy, will
shake the foundation on which the fab
ric of government is erected to its very
centre.
Parties, with party feelingsand par
ty interests* have been, by some, con
sidered as inevitable consequences of
THU GEORGIA PIONEER.
Republican and Representative forms
ol government; and while mutual suc
cess and defeat follow in such rapid ro
tation, the effect resulting from a rot
ten and corrupt administration, or a vi
ol ated constitution, which all have
pledged themselves to support, will be,
to hurl the ascendant Party from eleva
tion & power into minority, and they in
iheir turn will rigidly scrutinize the ad
ministration of those who have supplant
ed them. Thus fellow citizens, when
they donotassume the attitude and bear
ing of a faction, the vigilance and in
terests of a minority, will be a sure
safe-guard for the preservation of oui
National Institutions in all their purity,
and a shield against the encroachment
of usurped power.
It will not be amiss, fellow citizens,
on this occasion, to advert for a mo
ment to the situation of the Colonies,
and their rcl. tions to the British Em
pire,anterior to the time on which they
threw off th l .' galling yoke of foreign
oppression,and declared their Indepen
dence. It is unnecessary, however, for
me to tell this audience, that we were
English Colonies, planted by Great
Britain, governed by her own laws and
governors sent hither forthat purpose,
and subjects of her exclusive legisla
tion, but divested, by a partial legisla
tion on her part, of many of the dear
est rights and immunities, which were
extended'to her subjects, residing with
in her own Territory.
“The sad story of our Colonial op
pression commences in the year 1764.
Great Britain then adopted new regu
lations respecting her Colonies, which
after disturbing the ancient harmony
between the two countries,for about 12
years, terminated in the dismember
ment of her empire.” A perfect cairn,
in the political world, is not long to be
expected. The events of the French
war, in which the colonies bad render
ed material assistance to the parent
country, had also given them some ex
perience in military operations, and
they now began to acquire confidence
in (heir own ability from the rapid
Scarcely had the calamities of that war
ended, when the seeds of discord, which
vere destined soon to produce ano
tner, in which the Colonies were to act
t still more conspicuous and arduous
part, were planted by the mother coun
try, and they speedily grew up, and
produced deadly fruit. Foreseeing
iheir future importance, with pleasure
the Colonies indulged sentiments of in
lependence, and while combustibles
vere daily «ollec'ti'ng in the New
tVorld, a spark to kindle the whole,
was by acts of tyranny and oppression,
produced in the Old, which nothing but
blood could extinguish.
By their acts of Parliament, the En
glish Nation subjected the Colonies to
heavy and oppressive taxation, and
drained their coffers of thousands, an
nually; denying them at the sarnetime
the right of Representation, a right so
inseparable to that of taxation. While
on the other hand, the Colonies insisted,
that it was illegal, oppressive and un
just, to subject them and their proper
ty to heavy and oppressive taxation,
wh L they were represented, neither
directly, nor indirectly, in the parlia
mentary power winch imposed them.
By w hat authority, others could assume
the right, of giving and granting away
their own property, without their con
sent, they could arrive at no clue to as
certain, and they considered it as ma
nifesting a settled and determined dis
position on the part of Great B:it”; n i
to check their growing pro3P* r jt v -t
importance, by acts of 'de
pression. And tha* * ■
r ~ , «• Lt once acqui
esced in, and . .. P
ricans th- uOro ' -<ed to by the Arne
nor w Suld then have no other
.. , ctte r security for the protection of
I ul€,r property,against unconstitutional
( requirement, than the magnanimity of
, a Nation, which already seemed to con
i sider the accomplishment of its purpo
-1 ses of ambition, and a deficiency in its
, Exchecquer, a sufficient authority and
excuse for its exercise. But for the
presumptuous Colonies, their children,
“planted by their own care, nourished
by their indulgence, and defended by
their arms,” to question by respectful
and repeated remonstrance, the exer
cise of even usurped power, by the
Omnipotent Parliament of Great Bri
tain, were acts of stubbornness and ob
stinacy, equivalent almost to treason
and rebellion. Proud and jealous Na
tion! Had your acts of fostering care
and protection, (as vou are pleased to
call them) have manifested in their ob
ject, even a semblance of justice to
wards your disobedient offspring, with
Cassville, Ga. Monday Evenijjg-, July 13, 1835.
filial pride you might now behold them
“basking in the sunshine” of prosperi
ty, and in the days of your dotage, you
would consider them the strongest pil
lars of your government. But a just
and righteous heaven, to the terror and
dismay of crowned heads,has seen fit to
ordain otherwise; and holds them up to
thefaceof an admiring world, as an
of a form of government, congenial in
its spirit with the creation and happi
ness of each individual, wherein all her
creatures stand as she created and des
tined them equal, and none enjoy
any precedence or distinction, by birth
or fortune, above the rest of their fel
low beings, except that alone, which
merit confers. And may the last revo
lution of any Nation on earth, be, foi
the purpose of establishing its govern
ment on the same basis I
It is unnecessary, fellow-citizens, for
me to detain you longer, by reference
back beyond the period of our Coloni
al forbearance. The innumerable acts
of tyranny and oppression, which were
continually heaped upon them, on the
recommendation of a weak and impoli
tic ministry, and which finally dissolved
all their political connection with the
Old World, you have just heard enu
merated in the emphatic and eloquent
language of the declaration. And
when all hones of other redress were
in vain, when their patience was ex
hausted by the contempt and neglect of
their repeated remonstrances and pe
titions tor redress, and submission to
one act of usurpation, only inviting the
er actment of anotberstill more tyranni
cal in its character, the Colonies, des
pairing of peaceful reconciliation with
the mother country, were driven to the
necessity of throwing oil* their galling
yoke of oppression, as an only alterna
tive between bondage and freedom.—
They saw that they were forced eithei
to surrender, without a struggle, their
dearest rights and liberties, or to rise
in one united effort to resist the govern
ment of a Nation, which they had been
taught hitherto to regard with unboun
ded affection and respect; and which
re-rl, id rTUE irjcnn tvif £u
all others, the resources of war- But
weak and diminutive as a comparison
with their powerful and warlike antag
onist may have rendered them, in
physical strength as well as fiscal re
sources, and fearfully awful as may
have been the odds against success in
every point,casting themselves for suc
cour and direction within the arms of
a just and righteous providence, they
fearlessly resolved to contend manful
ly for the restoration of their lost lib
erty, or to be exterminated by the
sword of a tyrannical and despotic
government. The prize was not un
worthy’ of the daring effort. If they
succeeded, they were a free indepen
dent and happy nation, unfettered by
foreign dominion; but if conquered,
proscribed rebels. Dreadful and a
larming indeed, fellow citizens, was
the alternative! How deep and se
vere the afflictions which could have
placed our forefathers undei the dire
ful necessity of choosing it! And how
many fountains of pure and living
gore, to appease the fury of the stern
God of Battles, have drained in tor-'
rents the souls of our bravest warr’ ors
in the accomplishment! How uear to
every American bosom that Gov-'
eminent to be, which Las be en purcha
sed and purified by tly c * bloo d of so ma-1
ny invalua *ie L’tiizens! Yes, fellow'
t’L n and behold that blood |
r>,n LL banner,gently waiving without,
1 ..nd emblematical of our relations to
the Federal government, and be re
minded of the dying groans of those
martyrs in the cause of Liberty and
Union, whose last aspirations for its
protection and preservation, ascended
heaven amid the shocked din of furious
and assailing armies. Then if thou
canst reckon it's value.
The day which we now celebrate,
fellow-citizens, is the day on which the
Continental Congress declared that
these United States, then dependent
Colonies on G. Britain, should thence
forth be free and independent. It is
that day on which our ancestors, 59
years ago, undismayed by the presence
of a threatening army, sent hitherto
enforce their obedience, and
into subjection, severing the tie which
connected them with the parent coun
try, and assuming the attitude of a free
and independent people towards all
Nations, confidently anchored all their
hopes on the justice and righteousness
of their cause, and relied solely on the
God of battle, for its vindication. Tl t e (
controversy between the two countries
had now passed the stage of petition,
remonstrance and argument. The
long dreaded crisis had at length ar
rived. The dark and threatning ele
ments, which had argued well the ap
proach of an impending storm,
which on its bursting, would rend in
twain the greatest empire oh earth,
were now ragingin all the fury of impla
cable(war. Anappeal had already been
made to force, and opposing armies
were in the field. The battle of Bun
ker Hill, Concord and Lexington, had
inflicted a wound, and effected a breach
between the Old and New World,
which no art or medicine could heak
Ihe “sun of Liberty” which alone
could cheer and buoy up a Nation, in
its onward march t© that towering
greatness, which it seemed destined
by Nature at no distant period to reach,
bad now descended, and would never
again illumine the horizon, until it pro
claimed to the world its Independence,
and sealed it with its blood.
Congress was then assembled to agi
tate a question, big with the fate of
empire. It was to decide whether the
tie which had so long connected us
with the mother country, was to be se.
vercdatonce, and severed forever.—
They must either dissolve ail their
connection with Great Britain, or,
tamely submit to a disfranchisement I
of many of their dearest rights and li
berties. “All the Colonies had signifi
ed resolution, to abide, Lbe_re£ulL
heir deliberations; and Ine people
looked forward to it, with the most in- i
tense anxiety.” And surely, fellow ci- 1
lizens,never were men called to a more !
important political deliberation. Il we
contemplate it from the point where
they then stood, no question could be
more full of interest; if we look at it
now.and judge of its importance, from i
itseff j cts,it appears in still greater mag
nitude. It was an act fraught with the
utmost peril,and on its issue, hung not
only their liberty and fortunes,but their
lives. Let us for a moment bring be
fore us this assembly, open their doors,
and look in upon their deliberations. —
Let us survey their anxious and care
r»cn comdenances, while dismissing,a.
Nation s grievances. Let us hear the
firmed toned voice of this band of patri
ots, when the momentous question was
announced from the chair, in encourag
ing each other to firmness and resolu
tion. “The venerable and proscribed
Hancock,” presides over the solemn
assembly, which was to agitate for the
first time,the question of independence,
in our National character. Hereto
fore, oppression was resisted by this
Colony,and that one, where its effects
were more intensely felt, and until now,
the keen lash of oppression,had produ
ced no united and combined resistance.
Many of them had long hesitated, ar t d
still hesitated, to take the awful step,
which they could never retrace.
“Sink or swim, live or die. survive or
perish, we give our h?.nd%, and our
hearts to this vote. We know the un
certainty of affairs, and we in
deed may rue if. VVe may not live to the
time, when this declaration shall be
made goo'i, \y e may die; die, colo
nists; ffie, slave 3 '; die, it may be, ig-
BOPfnniatisly, and on the scaffold. Be
’it so. But whatever may be our fate,
be assured, that this Declaration will
stand. It may cost treasure, and it
may cost blood; hut it will stand, and
it will rieb’y compensate for both. —
through tne thick gloom of the present,
we P'ee the brightness of the future, as
the sun in heaven. We shall make
'this a glorious,an immortal day. When
we are in our graves,our children will
honor it. They will celebrate if, with
thanksgiving, with festivity, with bon
fires and illuminations. On its annu
al return, they will shed tears, copious,
gushing tears, not of subjection and
slavery, not of agony and distress, but
of exultation, of gratitude, and of joy.”
Yes illustrious patriotsand prophets!
as long as a spark ©f patriotism and
gratitude dwells in the bosom ofyour
Countrymen, they will welcome with
joy, the return of that day, on which
you periled your all. that was dear to
you on earth, regardless of the impen
ding doom that awaited the uncertain
issue. Your memory and renown on
earth,shall test in duration, the blasts
of all—consuming time itself, although
no monumental statutes may mark ‘he
places of your dismal abode. You
have nor/ ended your brilliant corner
of mortality on earth, but the recollec
tion ofyour namesand deeds,shall ral
ly around the standard ofliberty, your
countrymen, in the hour of danger, &
infuse in their souls that noble daring
1 and love of freedom, which caused you
to immortalize this day; and which rcu-'
NO. 2.
dered you invincible in the field of bat
tle.
We now arrive at the period, fellow
citizens, when we are no longer to con
sider America, as dependant colonies
on Great Britain, but as a free and in
dependant Nation, struggling for its ex
istence-struggling against the inva
sion of a powerful army from without,
and distracted by civil convulsions
within. Horrid war raging in all its
relentless fury, in the very centre of
her empire. Iler Congress flying
from city to city, for safety, before au
invading army. Her own inexperi*
enced and feeble army, naked and
frost bitten, destitute of arms and am
munition, driven in triumph before the
conquerer from one colony to another
for shelter, and not daring to risk the
fate of a general battle. The merci
less indian turned loose to satiate his
savage lust of blood and carnage, on the
defenceless widow and orphan; and to
drag in blood and dust the grey hairs
of venerable age, as trophies of honor.
Freedom held forth as arewaid, to
those of our slaves,who would murder
in the gloom and darkness of midnight,
their unsuspicious masters. And all
this desolation, woe and misery, merci
ful God ! the unhallowed fruit of mor
i tai ambition; which at best is but of a
day, is as it were, and then passeth a
way forever—the covetousness of an
Aiuilxronad rmnnaicr f-Linntin-. f..-: .
sed revenue, or panting tor more de
spotic sway over the liberty of his sub
jects. But our feelings recoi’, and our
i hearts sicken, at the contemplation of
those black days of fiendish outrage,
and we will not now unrake the dying
embers of National jealousy, by the
gloomy memorial. They inflicted deep
i and enduring pangs of grief, in the bo
soms of our ancestors, who for liberty
and independence braved them all, but
this prosperous and peaceful genera
tion, knows them only as facts detailed
in the history of the times, and they
serve to set a value on their peace and
prosperity.
Congress having proclaimed our In-
dllzeuadt .was now,
when that astounding news had reach
ed the parent country, that the anger
and violence ©f her rage, which now
knew no limit, that her inexhaustable
resources could encompass,came well
nigh overwhelming our country in ruin r
in its revengeful fury, and lopping the
bud of our liberty in its fii st dawn.—»
It was nowthatshe poured forth,confi
dent in her anticipations of certain and,
easy conquest, her numerous armies to
ransack our cities for spoil and plunder,
and to overspread our fertile plains,
with countless numbers. “But the
race is not always to the swift, nor the
battle to the strong.” Heaven bad de
creed otherwise. And contrary to all
their expectations, an able general,
whose talents and fame were yet in em
byo, was here to be found, and to be
first conquered.
A general whose prudence and abi
lity supplied the deficiency of numbers,
in his little band of patriots, and were
more than an overmatch, as the event
happily proved, to the strength, skill &
discipline of his adversaries, the boast
and pride ofEngland. A general, who
on the coming of the most tremendous
storm which for eight years ever deso
lated any country, would waver not,
hesitate not: But born to a rich inhe
ritance, destined to the attainment of
high distinction, he was prepared to
assail the slavish doctrine that man was
incapable ofself-government,and to aid
in erecting this happy system under
which it is our destiny to live. Atari
early day, he sa distinguished himself,
as the firm and fearless asserter of the
rights of Colonial and oppressed Ame
rica, and hud already anticipated the
occurrence of (he period, when the
Colonics should be elevated to free,
sovereign and independent States. A
righteous Piovidcnce had ordained
that he should be the instrument,
whereby she would humble the pride ot
powerful England, and con luct the
destitute and oppressed, to glory and
conquest. She blended in him quali
fications so splendid, as to redound to
the glory even of the country which
i: ive him birth. You all anticipate
me, fellow-ci’izens, in the mention ot
his name. Yes, I mean George ash<
ing ton. That name which in the day
and hour of its country’s peril, was as
a powerful loadstone, rallying and hov
ering around it in suspense, a whole
Nation, for its fatherly direction. And
happy, thrice happy for us, frit it pos
sessed such powerful attraction, when
the common cause dem inded such uni
ted effort. Division would have p.ov-