Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 111.
I’t’flLtJHED WKEKL7,
BODGE, er Cos,
CONDITIONS.
fit The Atvnual Subscrip ion will be tßhxe
collars, half in advance.
2d. Subscribers living out pf the Stare wit 1 pay
% the whole subscription upon the delivery of
the first number.
sd. No Subscription's will be received for less
than one” year* and no -paper shall be dis
continued uhtil arrearages are pa’ul.
4th. AdvertiTements will be inserted at the
customary rates*
rr* i .titers addressed to the Edi
jkt/.s'/ bt fost paid .
* AN ORATION- ‘;•
Z/te Aniversciry of the Demostkenian Sr
t/e/y rs Franklin (.allege was celebrated
‘ on the 19 (h of February* on . which day
the fallowing oration was delivered by .
X. C. l.amar.
Published by the request of the Society,
Kkspkgted audience, ,
I appear before voujthfs day for this.
?*T charge of .vn obligation which -fiHlG*
to the honorable Demosthenian Society.
Impelled fey a strong desire to repay
the testimony of respect and confidence,
which that honorable body ha* cornered
upon roe by nominating me lheir Ana
versary Orator, 1 will endeavor to sup
press those emotions of diiTidence ori
ginating from the knowledge of my in
capacity* which Would otherwise restrain
me from an attempt at public elocu
tion.
There ns no subject of moral specula
tion more ample, or more interesting
to the grand family of man than that
of government* The retired pilosopher,
and the practical statesman, haVe both
been employed in developing its princi
ples ; and T beg leave to address to my
respected.au Tence a few animadversions
upon that kind of government denomin
ated Moparchy ; after which I will cull
your attention to »is splendid contrast,
our own glorious and happy republic.—
The legitimacy and divine right of
kings and me exceliccy ot a monarchi
cal form of government are themes
which have otten exercised the pens qf
panegyrists who endeavor to secure
the tavour and patronage of prm ces by
veiling the irrationality of their power
in-the cobwebb garbs of sophistry, and
by disguising their crimes and enormity
avith the gfctre’ of turgid applause. Biv
it will not require a long train of syste
matic deduction to convince a nun biass
ed understanding that a monarchy is
in onsistent with the natural rights of
mankind. Emancipated from the de
grading shackles of transatlantic subjec
tion and dependence we can strip mon
urchial despotism of its splendid trap
pings, and expose its native? deformity.
The hideous monster caparisoned in
royal splendour may command the un
willing plaudits and enforce blind vobe
dience from those who inhale the foul
atmosphere of regal bondage. Bill here
in the uh;ma tarra libertatts the illusory
spell is broken which would bind degra
ded mortals to a throne, ’ Every indivi
dual of the human race inherits from
his creation the same lights, the same
privileges, and the same liberty* Equal*
ity was the grand law by which nature
established the rigfits of mankind and
rational equality must constitute the
base of every rational government.—
Whence then the proud authority and
power of Princes ? Whence do they
derive the right of imposing a royal
yoke upon oppressed humanity l Will
/parasitic iinpudepce dare allege that
nature or reason invests them in robes
©faayalty ? Apply the touchstone of
truth and reason to the proud preten
tious of kings, despots and tyrants, and
they will vanish like the evanescent
gloom of night before the refulgence of
the rising ovb of day. Or will it be
said that the interests of mankind
place the sceptre of dominion in their
despotic hands ? Fatal and melancholty
examples evince, that the best interests
of humanity are sacrificed to their lolly,
to their avarice, to their pride and to
their ambition ; yet the legitimacy of
king® and their incapacity to do wrong
are hobby-horses upon which court
Uniuon* prance before the ir imperial
ATHENS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1816
majesty, and find a reward forthesr ser
vii.ty in the royal coffers. But where
shall we find this, important mark of
legitimation l and where shall we look
for the original source of this wonderful
stock of kings ? Is it superior wisdom’
or virtue tlyai distinguishes them? Is
there any discriminating characteristic
in their an itral organization ( or are
lheir veins filled with a more etherial
fluid than that of the ignoble multitude ?
Unhappily the cause ol royalty,
monarchs have sat upon thrones, whose
brows a fools cap would more consis
tently have adorned, than a diadem.—
And indeed Minerva seems not to have
presided at the birth of the prestent
princes of Europe ; for the lunatick
and superanuated sovereign of England,
the pus'.lanimous Louis, and the recre
anl Ferdinand form an appropriate sa
tire upon the boasted wisdom of Prin
ces. But it is unnecessary io protract
our remarks upon the genuineness of
regal authority as it must be evident to
i'll that the consistent will of the people
only can stamp the scale of legitimacy
upon any charter ot power whatever —-
Inc object of every gover nt should be
the happiness of the people,and where
ever this great object is neglected, the
po ‘eroi government is prostituted and
its principles subverted. Let us now
enquiie more particularly whether this
great design is fac.litated under the
oppressive machinery of monarchal des
potism. In the first place it is irration
al to suppose that one individual (even
admitting his willingness ) can direct
tne vast concerns of a nation with due
legat'd and advantage to .the people
National interest and popular prosperi
ty must frequently languish amidst the
■complicated initnitucSte ‘of employment
which would naturally devoive upon the
unhappy monarch'. His labour would
• be as abortive as that of the tabled lis
ters condemned to draw water with
perforated buckets ; and like gigantic
Atlas.everpowertcl with the ponderous
lead of th Heavens, he would unavoid
ably sink beneath the oppressive weight
and gladly .resign his Utown for tran
quility. But perhaps it may .be said
that the sovereigns can abridge the bur
then ol his exalted station by . tne ap
pointment ol subordinate magistrates
it is tiue that he n»av thus divert from
• r * .
himself the overpowering current
loikome tU»ty, but a recourse to the
historic page and'a survey of the p.e
sent state Oi European nations wdi
clearly demonstrate that- those royal
dependents are political leeches that
impoverish a nation and engender ab
ject wretchedness in a community* The
luxurious satraps of ancient Persia, and
the avaricious ministers of the Roman)
Emperors are strongly corroborative of
the truth of our assertion. Thus Tit is
apparent that a monarchy is unfavoura
ble to general happiness, although th *
Prince himself may be virtuous. But.
to their-eternal disgrace and imfamy
how rarely‘.do Kings measure their
actions by the standard of moral recti
tude. Nursed in the cradle of indul
gence and inebriated with continual
draughts from the Circean cups of
toxicating flattery which crouching
minions servilely present, their inilla
ted imaginations array themselves in
Che pomp and power of demi-gods.—
The proud monarch fronj the height of
his elevation gazes around and his am
bition becomes .confined to no other
bounds than the , wide horizon before
him. His full blown pride exclaims in
the language of Pope,
** Seas roll to wafrme, suns to light me rise,
“ M> footstool earth, my canppy thesKies *’
Wherever his ensigns *re displayed
there* we may behoid the. paralyzing
features of oppression exulting in th .
surrounding scenes of misery and want
of which it is creative. Pie views man
kind as inferior beings created solely
lor the • execution, of. Fits vain-glorious
purposes, and whose welfare and pioa
peiity are considerations too trifling to
engage his attention or to require, hjs
care. For the accomplishment of their
ambitions designs those regal tygers
marshal enslaved millions against one
another, and the iron throat of war is
heard to bellow through the land. The
copious blood of slaughte ed myriads
fatten the plains which the dews of
tfteayen aicne should and vj»-
* c!«ctive cruelty sits brooding over the
scene of destruction whilst wounded
humanity averts her lovely eyes and
flies weeping away. Ye sanguinary
demons who thus sacrifice human be
ings at the shrine, of power, do not
your secret thoughts like a swarm of
irritated hornets goad your guilty souls?
Do you not tremble with the fear of
divine vengance* when the faithful
mirror of conscience reflects the black
catalogue of your crimes and atrocities ?
Bin I will not here pain the philanthro
pic bosom with 4 a long detail of murder
ous wars which have originated from
th£ ungovernable passions of sanguina
ry sovereigns ; and indeed it would re
quire the epic of sublimity of Homers
) pen to portray their dire
The infamous names of Xerxes, Sessos
tris, Cambyses, and Alexander, will
at once raise in the affrighted imagina
tion a faint picture of that human
butchery which should excite the in
. dignant execration of every human be
ing. But it is unnecessary to appeal
to the archives of antiquity when the
annals of our «.wn times ’'teem with in
numerable instances. But a short time
since the plains of Europe were in a
state of putrefaction with the mangled
bodies of her slain to appease impe
rial ambition and royal resentment.—
Bonaparte, that man whose power for a
long time seemed like the fabled gor
gons to petrify the very faculties of
cotemporary monarchs, swayed a bloody
sceptre over prostrate Europe, anti led
millions of hfs subjects to untimely
graves, . The unburied bones of three
hundred thousand choice veterans are
now scattered over the inhospitable
plains of Russia—and remain; melan
choly monuments of the destructive
infatuation of an ambitious despot, of
whom it might be said in the bold aud
applicable language oi Doctor Young,
*• Fain would he make the world his
pedestal, mankind the gazers, the sole
figure he.*’
But perhaps it may ■ be advanced by
royal apologists who with the versatility
of Proteus, assume ever/evasive shape
to elude the weapons of truth that as a
Titus, a Nerva, and a Marcus Aurelius
have adorned a throne, their names
should rescue royalty from the scouige
of indignant censure. It is true that
some have reigned whose virtues enti
tle them to the eulogium of History and
the veneration of mankind. But the
worthy names and the bright examples
of the virtuous few, who have appeared
amidst the many Neros, Caligulas, and
pomitians that have oppressed disgra
ced and tyranyzed over humanity can
not prove the general excellence of roy
al supremacy. As well might we at-,
tempt to prove the mildness and sereni
ty of equatorial skies, because .a few
calm days may intervene’ during the
stormy turbulence of the year. But as
the mind when confined to a continued
contemplation of gloomy scenes turns
with delight to one in which fancy is
gratified with the most beautiful varie
gation, and the heart exhiletaitd with
the appearace of universal cheerfulness,
with similar tmotions I cease to depict
the multifarious ev|Ji of regal sway in
oilier to make a fe4 desultory obseiva
tidns upon the pre-eminence of our fed
eral republic. To this western hemis
phere which then presented to the spec
tator’seye a vast continuity of wilds and
forest, our ancestors fled from the
political and fanatic persecutions of
their native climes* Here they enjoy
a political enfranchisement and a reli*
gious liberty unknown to them before,
but which was still to be sur passed and
rationally perfected by their more en
lightened posterity. England like an
unnatural parent stretched forth an op
pressive hand against her offspring, and
invaded our colloniaf rights tuid liber
ties. But no: with impunity . Her un
justifiable taxation rotfted the manly
spirit of indignant Americans, who
patriotically assembled and like a Spar
tan Phalanx,opposed the hated enemies
of their country and liberty. But it is
not requisite that 1 should here detail
.the brilliant achievements of that mem
orable epoch, as all are equally acquain
ted with the triumphant scenes of that
I glorious struggle, which dissevered A
\ me lie a from England, «
It was then that the magnificient temple
of liberty arose proportioned by the
hand of justice and founded upon the
broad base of rational equality. Ben
eath its expansive roof, humanity found
protection from the rage of oppression
and the tempests of tyranny, whilst
transatlantic sovereigns viewed the res
plendent dome with mute astonishment
and jealousy,. Since that eventful peri
od our country has rapidly increased in
national importance and our govern
ment has developed its pree ninence and
challenged the admiration of the world.
Hefe virtuous apostles of liberty are
not in danger of the judicial‘fangs of
a sanguinary Jeffries ; for the American
citizen stands invested in the full conse
quence of inviolable liberty. He wears
not the disgraceful fetters of regal bon
dage, nor fawns at the feet of titled no.
bility# His rights are respected and
guaranteed by equitable laws, enacted
by no arbitrary power. But emanating
from a source which his own indepen
dent choice has authorised. Hits is his
pride—this is-his glory. In the ssnrr
and unalienable privilege of free repre
sentation, he beholds his proud superi
ority over the subjects of other govern
ments, and from it imbibes the ethereal
glow of virtuous patriotism. With a
heart sympathising in the sufferings of
humanity, he looks towards lacerated
Europe, where the mellifluent voice of
Peace has long been drowned in the
thunders of Bellona. There the wretch
ed state, of France first commands his
attention and excites compassionate em
otions. The daggei* of ambition first
wounded her prosperity and finally ren
dered her an exhausted victim to the re.
venge and avarice of the allied
eigns. Their mercenary soldiers like
the locusts of Egypt empoverish her
fields and convert every cottage into a
tabernacle .of distress. Gallic emi
grants are daily landing upon our shores
to elude the tyrarJcal rigour which de
presses their native country and with
the plaintve Shepherd of mantu* they
may exclaim “ Nos fugimus patriam et
linquir.ius dale la urva .*’ imp ins miles
habebit hac novalia lam cultal” But the
miserable state of Franc e is not the only
contrast by which the American citizen
is rendered more .sensible of the felicity
of his own country. England, the cor
rupt government ofmhich has often
been the. subject of inflated eulogy,
but whose inhabitants art tantalized
with the fascinating name of freedom,
whilst they bear the oppressive chains
of slavery—lll-fated Ireland whose in
dignant sons have been galled to madness*.
SpVin where humanity shudders at in
quisitorial cruelties, and the frigid re
gions of Russia, where the grossest vas
salage prevails, where millions ol human
beings are subject to the capricious will
of a despot, all conspire to convince
him, that his own government is a po
litical paradise* where
«* No grasping Lord shall grind the neighboring
•; poor,”
<* Starve numerous vassals to increase his
store.** (B ARLO W>
From this gloomy survey of Europe
an wretchedness he turns with an aug
mented indignation against the perfidy
of crowned miscreants, and rejoices that
he is an inhabitant of a country where
every vestige of royalty was effaced by
the noble patriots of the revolution# To
eternize this happy form of government
and to secure the blessings of freedom
to a distant posterity should be the per
petual care of every true americaa*
When we observe , the great mulations
which every nation has experienced*
when wo read of the mighty states and
empires of antiquity which are now only
to be found portrayed on the historic!*
page, we must naturally'conclude that
the same causes will produce similar ef
fects upon the present. nations of the
earth, and that states and empires are
subject to the same subverting influence
which tumbled former government*
from their bases and raised new fabricks
upon their ruins ; and however painful
the reflection may be to the philanthro
pist, the patriot and the lover of freedom,
we must admit l&at our own beloved
conn Try is subject to the revolutionizing
hand of time ; that it. is possible she
may one day become hke'the repubjicks
oi Greece and Rome a nonentity in the
dcale of existence# But let not this me-
NO. J.