Columbia telescope. (Columbia, S.C.) 1819-1821, July 03, 1829, Image 1
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?V D. Wf SIMS, STATE PRINTER. COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, JUL* 8, 1S29. * VOLUME XV...NUMDER IT*
i ii?? '
PUBLISHED KVKftY FRIDAY MOHNINU.
TERMS?Tfirte Delta*! ptr annum, payable in
er Fur D*u*rs pmymUimtllufdif
ADVERTISEMENTS interledaitki mmtatrmln.
variety.
F ??>? ?!??? MaflivUlf H^iMihltrnn
Ma, Editor?Your correspondent,
Ilamden, think* "there should some where
exist a power ooaapetont to puniah or pre
vent blsaphemy, sabbath breakinc, and
profane a wearing." Do we really stand in
need of law* to punish or prevent blasphe
my! Has there over been an instance of
this crime in Tenneeseel Why should we
have laws to puniah crimes that do notex
istl If it was constitutional to have ?<teh a
law, and a court established for Uiat pur
pose} who should be our Judcel A few days
ago, I picked upasmall voiumeof sermons
written by a /twin and (earned Presbyte
rian mtnittcri pious, I suppose he must
have been, for he was a strict observer of
tbe Sabbath, and learned because he waa
on eminent professor in one of our univer
sities! In one of those sermons the /ifjus
and learned gentleman says, "He, who is
God blessed forever became a curse. He,
-j/hoUthe ancient of day*, brea ne a >i infant of
a tft a 11 long.'* Now, most of tlio. Chris
tian Churches, both reformed and Catholic
havo pronounced upon the sacred mystery
of tho incarnation, that Christ is one with
God?"one, not by conversion of the God
head into flesh, but by taking of the man
hood into God." Ana which faith, except
*'every one do koep whole and undeAled,
without doubt he Khali perish everlasting
ly." Consequently, accordingly to thu
orthodox standard,, thcfitout and / -trnrd
Pretbufrieit minktrr would be hold guilty
of blasphemy, and subjected to all the pains
nnd penalties that bigotedenthusiasts, when
in nowcr have thought proper by law to
inflict. Many have been burned at the
Mtako for as alight a deviation from the or
thodox standard as this! John Calvin had
the ad<lre?K and overbearing influence to
cause Michael Servetus to be condemned
and burnt am a heretick for much about
such an error!! But wo thank God and the
enlightened wisdom and patriotism of our
ancestors of Uio glorious revolution, those
persecuting day* are past, as we hope for
ever ; or one part of the communit y might
have lamented the death ofa martyr, while
the other exulted over the fall of a here
tick!!
Mankind are too enlightened at this day
to suffer the operations of the human mind
to become the subjects of legal investiga
tion! If a Trinitarian or a Unitarian forci
bly, or clandeatincly takes another man's
property, let the civil authorities punish
nim agreeably to law for his transgression,
but not for his belief. If a Catholic breaks
the peace, or lulls a man, punish him for
the crime as the law directs, hut not be
cause he believes in the infallibility oftlie
Pope. For the operations of the mind gov
erning our religious duties which tho mind
can only approve, we are accountable to
God alone; tnceo matters we never submit
ted to the influence of the legislature, nor
the control of tho judieiary or executive
power.?But for those actions which injure
our fellow citizens, we are accountable to
society, and amenable to public justice:
and this we liave submitted to the control
of government. Now the pious and learn
ed Presbyterian minister, not having the
tanH notions of the incarnation which sunt
Athanasius had. or which those calling
themselves orthodox now have, by no
means injure* any man, no more than his
keeping, or not keeping the Sabbath would
do; therefore, government has no business
with it. Yet such instances make nine
tonths of the cases of blasphemy and heresy
by which persecuting bigots when they
had the power, set mankind to butchering
and destroying one another under pretence
of vindicating tho honour and glory of
God!! A court sitting for the triafof blas
phemy, heresy or Sabbath breaking would
be a novelty in our freo republican country!
It could be viowed in no other light than as
an introduction to the inquisition! In fact
it would be the very thing itself; and tho
legislature have just as much right to es
tablish such a eoort as thoy have to estab
lish tho old English court of star chamhcr
or high commission!
Whether the Presbyterians acknowl
edge the Congrngationalists of tho eastern
state* as brethren of the same church, or
not. they h <ve generally been considered
as deriving their principles from Calvin and
tho church of Geneva. Thoy seem very
generally to agree in their doctrines, dif
fering principally in church government.
They both seem to possess the seme narrow
prejudices with respect to other churches.
"Tno Presbyterians," says the edinhurgh
Review," "abhor the Episcopalian church
as bad as they do the Catholic, and consider
them both as abominable; and inflicted
death for attending ma*s"(No. 44, p. 322,
No, AS, 171.) In New Kngland, whether
Presbyterians or (Jongregationalist* "they
were an exclusive and persecuting church
from the flrst, their congregation was the
chosen people of God, and those who differ
ed from them were us the seven nations of
the Canaanites and to be driven out of the
land the Lord their God had given them.
These were Catholic, Episcopalians or
Prelatists, Anabaptists Antinomisns. See
kers, Gnrtonitfts snd Kami lists" (Beivd.
Hist. vol. I, p. 441.V~Thoy considered
themselves a kind of Theocracy in which
the clergy had a principle shsre in the af
fairs of government and as might have been
expected they persecuted such as differed
from them with imprisonment, stripes and
death; they hung the friends, or quakers
with very Kttle ceremony, and being as su
perstitious as they were bigoted a number
of innocent people were hung for the pre
tended crime of witchcraft! All this time
they wets strict observers of the Sabbath;
which would naturally induce a belief that
this institution has no great tendency to en
lighten the mind or humanise the ferocity
of fanaticism!
While the British provinces which now
form the U. State* were vet in s Made of col
ooisatkm, they were an asylum to the per
secuttd in every part of Korea*. Generally
all sects were tolerated In die middle snd
southern eeetWma of three colonies, each en
joying the forms of thdr vwn rtllgiou with
out much interruption. And it may be vdd
with truth that thousands grew up without
being acquainted with the forms of any re
ligion! The pressure of government eith
er eociesfaatical or secular, wu hardly felt
by the dutant and detached aettlements ol
emigranta who, rejoicing in the freedomthey
had attained, railed up their children in the
loveof liberty which they weretaoght to be
lieve was theirjast and equal right! The pa
nts made known to their children the na
ture of thoee tyrannical oppraashma which
scourged and impoverished the middle and
lower olaaee* of the nations from whence
they fled. They also pointed out the na
ture of that ghostly avarice and vindictive
tyranny exercised by the bigotry of prieata
and ministera combined with the powera of
government. la fine it benut to be clearly
perceived at the epoch or the revolution
that the clergy were wholly unfit and dis
qualified for civil rulers, and that religion
should not be submitted to the control of
human authority. Every attempt which
had been made at establishments in the
provinces had only tended to confirm this
general sentiment, and it was held ar. im
periously necessary to sever the connection
between religion and government, aa it was
to expel the secular tyrant. None had
Reater opportunity of perceiving the bale
I and oppressive effects of tills ghostly
tyranny combined with civil government
man the good people of New York. They
could view the scenes of spiritual oppres
sion as they took placo in tneir immediate
vicinity, without being otherwise affected
by them, than at cautionary Deacons to
^iiard them against similar errors; and so
impressed were they with the absolute ne
tshity of doing so that they commence the
thirty-eighth article of their constitution
with these remarkable words, "and where
as we are required by the benevolcntprinci
pies of rational liberty, not only to expel
? ivil tyranny, but also to guard against that
spiritual oppression and intolerance where
with the blgott y and ambition qf tuea/c and
wicked /met!$ and princes have acourged
mankind."
It is experience that makes men truly
wise, and therefore those who lived in the
vicinity or under the pressure of religious
establishments were tne more cautious to
^uard against them. At the commence
ment of the revolution, the different lendir.g
MM ts were so nearly equnl, that nn establish
ment of any one to the exclusion of the
others would have caused a bloody civil
war instead of a glorious revolution. Ne
cessity pressed into immediate establish
ment the just state of things which icason
would have dictated, ind with almost unan
iimus consent they proclaim M That no hu
man authority can in any cate whatever
control or interfere with the right* of con
tcientr " Every church was left to the
tree enjoyment of their own religious exer
?- iM-t, fesi ivals and forms of worship, while
n"thinx was required of them but an mual
? haiity mo?I tolcrance towards each other.
It wa?. clearly understood that all power of
?'Ki*lating on the subject of religion, or re
ligious rites wm, with many other of the
unalienable right* of the people exceptrd|out
ot the powers of the legislative body and so
rxpressly declared bv several of the states.
Indeed the nature of a bill of rights shew*
tlir articles contained, to belong exclusive
ly to the people for the most part in their
individual capacity, and not to be acted up
on, or in any wise abridged by either legis
I at ion or executive authority. The repre
sentatives of the people in Congress, declar
ed it a self evident principle, a first and evi
dent truth: That all men are created
equal. That their creator had endowed
them with unalienable rights. That among
these are life, liberty and the fiurkuU of
hof>/tinrtt. These were considered by the
people, and their representatives in the
state conventions as grand and leading
truths, fully adopted and clearly expressed
and extended not only to enjoying but de
fending life and liberty, and acquiring, pos
sessing, and protecting property and re
putation, a* well as pursuing their own hap
piness.
Such a state of things had never been
presented to mankind before! The estab
lished clergy acquiesced in a kind of sullen
silcnce, but the Episcopalian church of Vir
ginia and Maryland, on bring secured in
their glebes and other possessions came
hrartily into the measures of the people
In North and South Carolina laws had betti
enacted for sn establishment but their ves
tries had always refused to induct the es
tablished clergy. The leading states of
New York and Pennsylvania set a great
and noble example of free and liberal prin
ciples. The presbvterlans in the middle
and Southern states being emancipated from
the yoke of an established Episcopalian
church united firmly in the principles of thn
revolution. The Baptists, who never Aimed
at an establishment, were more unanimous
in sentiment than any of the other sects, and
their ministers frequently attended with
such parts of their congregations as were
drawn into service. The Eastern states
were as liberal in their declarations of free
dom of conscience and the rights of church
es or individuals to worship CJod in time
And manner as should be most agreeable to
themt but secured totheir clergy, as being
of the most numerous party, a kind of se
curity in a competent provision to be made
for ifi*m by the town, or parishes, and as
the war pressed more Immediately severe
upon them It was also acquiesced in at the
time by their clergy?Such b the outline
of those principles and proceedings which
?t the revolution emancipated the people
fr?>m the yoke of bigotry and superstition
which was in part fixed on their nceksi and
forevet secured as I confidently hope, the
permanent separation of church and state
in these United States.
Rut notwithstanding the happy result 'f
'hose exertions of the patriots of the revo
lution In procuring and confirming to all
sects md denominations the most unbound
ed lihert) off conscience and right off control
over their own ecleslMtlcal rights, opinions
and practices}such I* the melancholy state
off the human mind when under the control
ing influence of religious prejudice that it
seeks the wwi off oppvoeetew, and ardent
ly grasps after the power* of government
that It may abridge or control the rlghta of
others In matter* wtklch H wishes to deny
itself The clergy and leader* off some
denomination* ffeellnp the lot* off tecnlM
power to enforce conformity to their dog
mas and the worship of their symbols, of
religious devotion; are endeavouring to in
fluence the government into an assumption
ot power denied them by the constitution,
and thereby set at risk the blessing of civil
liberty to gratify a superstitious or nigotted
.nejudtec ! ! Thc thousands who have
grown up under the benign influence of ?
well guarded constitutional government, in
the full enjoyment of well protected civil
and religious rights, siuce the revolution;
know nothing of religious oppression and
intolerance when armed with regal nower*.
They have not been in the habit ot seeing
magistrates on the road keeping their men
in readiness to run down travellers on Sun
day, and force them to pay a fine for break
ing the Sabbath, or rcnuin confined in a
kind of inquisition until the next day, to the
great injury and expence of poor men whose
necessities lead them from home on business
ot importance to their families. The pre
sent generation hnve only seen the meek
and humble ministerso| the gospel without
power, and dependent on the free will offer
ings of their congregations?and apparent-1
ly without the desire of persecuting or op
Stressing any one; but. it is a well known
act which history fully justifies the belief
of, that it is the situation which governs
the apparent temper and disposition! In
the early part of the seventeenth century
the puritans or presbyterians were oppres
sed and persecuted in a most cruel manner.
None at that time inore ably contended foi
the liberty of conscience, and the rights of
private judgement and opinion on religious
principles and practices , and yet to the as
tonishment of mankind in the year 1648
when they came into power they had the
influence tn the British parliament to puss
an act to sunnress blasphemy and heresy
containing eigntarticlesof the most abstruse
dogmas containrd in their creed, and inflic
ting death for the denial or refusing to be
lieve cach and every one of them! Who
can placc confidence in the professions of
men acting under the influence of religious
f Or who can safely
power in the hand of bigotry* If the act of
May 1648 was now of force (n the U. States,
and strictly carricd into effect, it is more
than probable it would hung two thirds of |
the whole population of the nation including
puritr.ns, presbytcrians and all other de
nominations! Vain and irrogant mortals
thus to legislate foi Heaven and prescribe
the designations under which th?- Deity may
be permitted to receive the adoration of his
creatures; and to exclude from the enjoy
ments of life and the hope 01 future happi
ness all who conform not t<> their creed ! !
Wretched, imperious bigotry to assume
the right oi prescribing the time and plact
when and wiicrc the universal fathei of all
may be permitted to accept the worship of
his creature man!
The artful and insinuating address of su
pcrstltlon ana DiRotry when in pursuit of
power, ever begins with professions of ten
der conscience and humble piety. It is but
a small thing (hey want, and that such as
almost all agree in, or think they nearlv ;
agicc about. It is no more than other*
have done, all pious nations of christians
have done the same or ought to have done |
so. The sabbath i? fully established by ,
law in England, the mail is stopped, the
pott offices shut in the pious city of London;
and the bulwark of religion is offered as an
example to the American government!
Geneva too, the original fountain sanctifies
the sabbath with exemplary piety! In
fact, keeping the sabbath is asserted to Itc
the criterion of the soundness ot religion
in nil countries of the known world, " ac
cording to the degree of true godliness, in
the same degree has the sabbath been sanc
tified or kept holy." Such assertions have
their effect at a distance of either time or
place, and surve to mislead the ignorant
and unwary, but have little ttuth in them!
An American traveller who lately spent
some time at Geneva, writes thus, " while
reposing in the alcoves of this retreat, we
over-heard a rehearsal in a neighbouring
theatre, and were not a little surprised to
learn in this protestant and calvinistic city,
that the play was in preparation for the
Sunday evening following (letters from Eu
rope v. 2. p. 553.) Ana who would not be
surprised to read the notice published con
cerning the Atlas, one of the largest news
I papers in the world, which runs in these
I words: "The Atlas is published in two
j editions; the first on Saturday evening in
time for post and is received on Sunday at
[ the distance of neariy two hundred mile*
from London; the second on Sunday morn
ing, containing, specially reported the
whole news of Saturday up to mid-night."
(New Monthly Mag. Jan. 1, 1829.) Thu?
not only the mail, hut the press seems to
have chosen Sunday for their peculiar labor*!
These things require no comment; supersti
tion and bigotry in pursuit of power have
ever had recourse to misrepresentation,
and deception. The genius of American
liberty speaks a different language. " We
follow no precedent that leads to slavery?
no human authority can in any case what
ever control or interfere with the rights of
conscience?religion is placed on itspropt-r
basis, without the unwarranted interference
of civil power.?It is supported b> its own
evidence, illustrated bv the lives of its pro
fessors, and sustained by the almighty care
of its divine author. Every church has the
power of preserving its own purity by ex
cluding from its cominnnion its own blas
phemers hereticks, sabbath breakers and
profane swearers. Ami that church
which claims the power of dictating to the
faith, or controling the practice of others
who do no*, belong to it, must have viewiol
ultimately seising on power, inconsistent
with the principles ol the revolution and
destructive of that freedom of conscience,
and exercise of that civil and religious lib
erty purchased with the blood of <iur an
LOCKE.
MR EVERBTT'8 APBECII
-At m Pub Ik Oinnrr given to him bu the
Cithen* of MiihvWe, ( tVnnemee.)
Mfn. Cmmomt anii Gkntlmmk*
The mntiment which ha* juat been an
mninrwl, mitt the kind attention of which
I And myself, on, thin occasion, the object,
demand my particular acknowUtgflnient*.
Coming among you from a remote district
of the country 1 pemonatly acquainted, on
my arrival, with but a nngle individual,
betides your distinguished Representative
in Congress: possessing none of those pub
lic and political claims on your notice,
which are usually acknowledged by cour
tesies of this kind, 1 find myself the honor
ed guest of this day ; cordially greeted by
so largo a company, where I could have
ox peeled only to 1'orra n Tow acquaintan
ces, and made to feel myself at home in the
land of strangers. I should feel that sense
of oppression which unmerited honor ought
always to produce, did 1 look within my
self (or the reason of this flattering distinc
tion. It in not here, gentlemen, that I look
for it I know that it flows from a much
higher source; from your ready hospitali
ty: from your libenil fouling, which is
aoto to take in thoso parts of tho Republic
which are tho most remoto from you, and
which disponfryou, oven toward tho per
son of an individual stranger, toMrcnuthon
tho bonds of good will between nil the
brethren of the groat American family. It
is in this view of the subject alone, that 1
could reconcile my accepting this kind
profler of your public attention*, with thr
inoffensive privacy which it is my study to
preservo in my uresent journey; for "tho
sake of which I liavo been led, on more
than one occasion since I left home, to ex
press a wUh to l)o excused from similar at
tentions on tho part of political friends;
attentions which would have implied a
public standing which 1 do not posses*;
and would have caused my excursion to bo
ascribed to anotlior than its real motive.
That motive, gentlemen, is tho long cher
ished wish to behold, with my own eyes,
this western world, not of promise merely,
but of most astonishing and glorious fulfil
ment. The wonders, a* they ma^ justly
bo called, of the West; the prodigious ex
tent of the territory ; the magnitude of the
streams, that unite into one great system
tho remotest part* of this l>ouudlcs* region ;
the fertility of it* soil, of which the ac
counts, till they are vended by actual ab
Hervation, seem rather like tho (aides of ro
mance than sot>er narrative, were among
the earliest objects that attracted my youth
ful curiosity. Whilst visiting some of tho
most ancient altodcs of civilization iu the
elder world, I had frequently occaKin to
observe (and I have no doubt, Mr. Presi
dont, that your observation confirmed Ute
tho fact) that tho < uriosity ot the intelligent
men of Kurope wan more awake on tho sub
jeet of this, Uiuu any other portion of our
country. Of the Atlantic coast tlioy have
some general knowledge, arising from the
length of time since it was settled, and the
political events of which it ha* been the
theatre : Hut the valley of the Mississippi
Seemed to have presented itself, as it were,
suddenly to their imaginations, as a most
peculiar, important and hitherto compara
tively unknown region. Hut from the
time that I have been led more particularly
to reflect on the \Ve*tern country, iu itssoci
at relations to the r?st of (ho Union, I have ,
felt an irresistible desire to understand,!
from personal observation, the stupendous i
work of human advancement which is
hen; going on, and of which the history of
mankind certainly afibrd* no other exam
ple. I cannot hut Ihink it the m??t inte
resting subject of contemplation which the
world at present affonls. Apart from the
grand natural feature* of the Kcene, the as
pect of populous towns springing like an
exhalation from the soil???f a vacant or
savage wilderness transmuted, in one gen
eration, into a thickly inhabited territory
?must certainly appeal as strongly to the
inquisitive mind, as the sight of crumbling
towers, of prostrate columns, ofcitiew once
renowned and powerful rcduccd to misera
ble ruins, and crowded provinc es turned in
to deserts. While these latter objects are
thought sufficient to reward the traveller
for a distant pilgrimage to foreign countries,
i he may well l>o pardoned for feeling him
isclf attracted hy the opposite spectacle
I whichis presented to himut home?a scene
j not of decay, but of teeming life; of im
I provement almost too rapid to seem the re
sult of human means.
It is a remark auoted of a celebrated for
eign statesman, (Talleyrand,) that Ameri
ca presents, as you travel westward, in
|M>int of space, the samo succession of ap
pearances, which may be traced in Europe,
as you go lack in point of time ; that a*
you move from the coast towards the inte
rior on this continent, you oas* through
those stages of civilization which arc found
in Europe as you follow its history back to
the primitive ages. If we take thn aborig
inal tribes of our continent into the survey,
there is some foundation for the remark,
but applied to our own population, it is
rather igenious than solid. The scene
presented by our western country, is not
that of a barbarous race, growing up like
the primitive tribes of Europe, into civiliz
ed nations, but is the far more interesting
because the more rapid and intelligent pro
cress of a civilized people, extending itself
tlirough a rude wilderness, and transplant
ing tin* mature arts of life into the hidden
recesses of the forest. The traveller, who
penetrate* a thousand or two thousand
miles from the coast to the interior, may
find, it is true, the log hut of the first set
ters as he may find within the limits of
Philadelphia and New-York, aye, of Paris,
or l?ondon, many a wretched hovel far less
commodious; but he will also find here
substantial dwellings; spacious, even mag
nificent mansions?the abodes of compe
tence and abundance?surrounded by all
the indications of the improved arts of life.
?1 have learned, to my astonishment, that
within twenty vears the city ??f Nashville
has grown up, from not exceeding four or
five brick houses, to it* present condition,
as a large, populous, and thriving capital,
tho mart of a great and increasing com
merce, exhibiting, tor the nnmber of it*
inhabitants, as many costly edifices as any
lot *
city in tho Union. The log houses have
disappeared, not in the lapse of two thous
and, or even two hundred years, hat in the
laps** of twenty year*?the primitive fort*
01the old hunters *ra gone, not hy the de
cay of*ge,butintheprogre**of society fora
single generation. Far as we are from the
coast , we walk abroad and find ourselves
not in the infancy of society, hut in the
midst of its art*?its refinements and it* el
egancies- the pronutt not of centuries, but
ofthe life of nten.?We are told that,
" \ tli< ???ad jesn ?esr*?* ??> form "> Mate.
" An bow oisy Ut it In tb* 4?ft."
The roverae seem* almo<t true. While
wo con template in Eurupu the fat? of king
dom* that nave been tottering for age* on
tho brink of decay, slowly dying for a
thousand yearn, wo behold our own repub
lic* mine into maturity within the oxpo
rience 01 a generation. Were Uicy not
our countrymen, our fathers; did not tho
grey hair* of a few surviving veteran* car
ry conviction to our minds, wo could scarce
credit tho narrative of the pioneers of the
western settlements. It was not till 1701,
Uiat even Daniel Boone, whose flight from
wilderness to wilderness forms a sort of
Herira in tho west, made his ap|>enrancc
in East Tennessee. The first cession of
land obtained by treaty of the Indians in
Uiis state is of no older date Uian April,
1775, a momentous month, as if tho gr.it
order of events in tho country's progress
required, that simultaneously as the blow
was struck, which gave independence to
America, tho portals of the western moun
tains should no thrown open to her sons,
who had hitherto bocu forbidden, by author
ity from the crown, to extend their settle
ments beyond the Ohio. All those high spir
ited adventurers cannot have passcdofTtho
stage, who moved forward at Uio head of
tho culuiun of tho first emigrants. It itf
related that in the year 1706, not a white
man was found settled on tho Tennessee or
the Cumberland, by a parly who, in thut
year descended tln.se river*. The popula
tion of the State at the present period, can
not be less than 000,(MX).
Rut it is not i:iercly tho rapid growth of
tho western settlements into |>npulouH
States, that surprises tho travcllcrfrom the
sea coast. For this growth he must l>e
prepared, bccauiw he finds it set down in
the statistical tables of the country, and 1h>- j
cause, as a mere matter of figure's, he can
not but comprehend it. That which strikes!
him with astonishment is the advanced
?late of the community?the social iutprov
mei)t which he witnesses. Ho finds this
great region abounding not merely with
fertile lands, but with highly cultivated
farms filled not with wild hunters but with
substantial vcoinanry. The forests are in
, terspcrsed, like the regions he has left, with
; villages active with all the arts of life. He
( descends the mighty rivers in one of those
i flouting castles, halt' warehouse and half
| palace, which the genius of Fulton has
launched on all our waters; built here in
| greater numl?ers than in the east, and with
at least equal magnificence; and on these
' rivers lie finds, from Pittsburgh down to
New Orleans, a succession of large towns
j surpassed only by a few of the Atlantic ci
| ties; growing fast into a rivalry with some
I of them ; hut in all the refinements of life,
j and in all the institutions that adorn the
? nature of social intellectual, moral and re
ligious man.
Kucha spectacle can not bo contemplated
without mingled feelings of astonishment
anil gratification. 1 am sure* you will par
. don me for adding, that it enhance* tiic
j pleasure with which a son of New Kngland
contemplates it, to find that anionic those
! who Imvc swelled the numbers of tliin great
family who have come not merely to share
your prosperity, but in former da vs to par
take the morn doubtful fortunes ofthe enrly
settlements, are not a few of tne children
of that distant region, lie rcjoices that he
is able in addition to the ties of common
language, government and laws to trace
those of origin and kindred blood. Nor
does he rrjoiee nlotir. The feeling 1 am
sure, is mutual. This festive occasion,
gentlemen, is a pledge that you too are not
less willing to sei/.o an opportunity how
ever slight, of promoting that good will
which in more important for the |terpetuity
of the I'nion than all the forms of the con
stitution.
The beloved land of my birth, gentlemen,
compared with yours, is generally *pcak
j iug, a barren region. Our rocks and lands
! yield not those rich harvests which clothe
! your morofertile soil with plenty ; nor are
i wn connected with our sister states by no
j ble streams like yours, which penetrate the
country for thousands of miles and bind
the deepest interior to the maris of the
coast. Hut 1 may venture toassuro you,
i on behalf of my fellow citizens at home,
1 that we behold not with envy but with
J pride, your natural advantagcx and won
! derful progress. When we arc visited by
! strangers from Kurope, after wo have
shown them what is most worthy notice
among ourselves, we habitually add, that
this is littlo compared with the astonishing
advancement of the west. We l>oast of
your improvements rather than our own.
w e are in the habit of contrasting our com
paratively tardy progress under a foreign
colonial system with your moro rapid
growth, beneath the cheering inlhu-nce of
American Independence. We look to yon
to complete the grand undertaking which
I was but begun by the fathers of the Amer
ican people, who settled the Atlantic coavt.
Reflecting inen in that region never re
gard tho great work to 1m> performed in
America, as confined to the settlement of
the strip along the shore. It was to open
the whole western world as an al?ode of civ
ilized freemen, and wish you Ood speed in
accomplishing the noble work Two cen
turies have imssed away since the first set
tlers of the Atlantic coast were struggling
with those hardships, which tho genera
tion immediately preceding you was here
called to encounter, and we cordially re
joice that a period of thirty years has pur
chased for you that security and prosperity,
which were with us the growth ef a cen
tury and a hall. We feel happy in the be
lief; that in your further advancement you
will not forget the cradles of the Amer
ican race, and that you w ill bear in kindly
remembrance the men and the deeds which
are among the dearest titles of our glory.
In casting the eye over the map of your
state, we behold among the names of your
counties, those of our Lincoln, tJreen,
Knox, Wimn and Perry. We feel that
uor hearts arc thus linked together by the
tie of common devotjpn to the prccious
memory of our great and good men; and we
confidently resl in the assurance, that
when the present generation, with us at
with yon, shall have passed awav, our
children will nnlte with yours in ibe tri
bute of gratitude to those who whether at
the North, or the South, the Kast, or the
West, have triumphed or bled, have ftood
or flUlea in their country'* caus*
Gentlemen, it has been justly stated tha*
when the next census shall be taken, the
valley of tho Mississippi will probably ?w
found to contain a population larger than
that with which the old thirteenetMce plun
(T?d into the rovokit ionary ?W| after a pe
riod oi' leu yew* more, yd another enu
umomiion shall bo mndo, you will then
probably out vote us in the cuuneils of the
tuition. The ?i<*eptre will then deport from
Judith, never to return. We look forward
to that i*vent without alarm, a* in the or-*
d?r <?f the natural growth or thie great re
puldie. Wo have a firm faith that ourln
teroxtN are inutuaUy consistent; that If you
prosper we Mliall prosper, if you suffer we
shall Miller, that our (strength will gruW
with tho closeness of our Union, thai our
children's welfare, honor, and prosperity!,
will not suffer in the preponderance with
the next generation in tho west must pea-'
kcsh in the balance of the country.
One word moru Gentlemen, and I will
relieve your patience. In thn course of hu
man events, it is certain that wo, who are
now assembled shall never all be assembled
together again. It is probable, that when
we, shall part this evening, the most of ua
will ,ln it to ineet no more on earth. Allow
inn, with the seriousness inseparable from
that feeliug; to assure you, that tills unex
pected and Muttering mark of your kindness
w ill never be forgotten by me or mine, but
at whatever distance of tiino or place, and in
whatever vicissitude of fortune, will be ro
niemliered, as one of the most gratefUl in
cident* of my life.?Permit mo in taking my
seat to reciprocate the sentiment last an
nounced, by prupcs'.ng- -
The Inhabitants of Nashville?May
their prosperity, like their city, befounded
on u rock.
J-'rotn the Old Dominion*
MY UNCLE SAM'S FARM.
There it so much truth and humor in thti
following skctch from the Winchester Vir
ginian, that we have determined to give it a
conspicuous insertion, and have there
fore mndc it n lending article for this day'*
j):i|>cr:
" My unclc Sam, at the period when till#
description commenced, wai a lieartv ro
bust, generous, independent and wealth/
republican farmer, and had he lived con
temporary with the patriarch*, would havo
j>;?Hved for si ver\ gay chivalrous youth, be
i?K onh in his Jifry-atcoixl year. He was
remarkable through bin whole life for hi?
;ieacrable disposition, though whenever a
fit opportunity occurred, he exhibited adc
termiiicd spirit that disdained submission
ami permitted no insult to go unpunished.
In lus hoyhooi!, he had been under the tu
telage of a domineering old pedagogue,
who thinking himself superior to all the
wot Id, would n?'t suffer my uncle to enter
tain an opinion of his own, but endeavored
by every menus in his power to keep him
in utter subjection;taking every opportuni
ty to thwart his wishes, and denying every '
petition or request, however reasonable ami
just. My uncle submitted to this treat
ment ns long ns it was possible, but finding
that the more he yielded, the tnore severe
was his tutor's treatment, he determined on
resistance; and one morning, when the old
pedant attempted to forcc bin- to take a
cup of tea against his will, he threw the
whole of it in his lace, cup and all, and
bouncing up in a rage, swore that he was a
free man, nud would no longer lie governed
by such a tyrant; this produced u* might bo
cxpicicd, a terrible battle; and sometimes
one and sometimes the other had the better
1 of it. The old fellow drew his sword ami
, laid about him with all his skill and forcc,
but my uncle having been taught the art of
dcfcnceby this very muster,anu understand
ing nil his home thrusta, knew how to tiar
ry most of them successfully, though hc'wus
often wounded so severely that it wan doubt
ful whether he would ever reooverjdndecd
the blood streamed at every pore; but ho
was true spunk nud rave at good a& he re
ceived: at last the old fellow began to puff
and blow, and started to run, but my unelc
kept clove at his heels, and with the auit*
tance of a French gentleman, (who had
been looking on, hurraing for my uncle, and
who had often felt the pedagogue'* lash and
therefore had no peculiar fienchant toward*
him) so completely hemmed him m a comer
that he was necessitated to surtender at di?
crction,to acknowledge that ray uncle washis
own man, nnd that he waa at liberty to
mitnagc hi* own affairs as lie thought beat.
As soon as this quarrel waa adhnted, my
uncle commenced setting every thing in or
der about his plantation, and improving hia
land by judicious cultivation) Init aa hi* farm
was very extensive, he could not attend to
the whole himself, and was therefore com
pelled to employ overseers, who were held
responsible to himself. It was a rule with
my uncle, never to engage an overseer for
more than tour years at a time; and lest they
should he disposed to claim ownership over
his estate, he was never to retain the name
person In his place more than two term*.
My unc.lc established certain written direc
tions for the management of hia farm,
which e.?ch overseer took an oath to follow,
and fiorn which th? y were in no case to de
part. 1 lis first o?'trseer was a first raej
manager, enriching and improving the farm
so highly, that my uncle wa? delighted with
him, arid I believe was disposed "to keep
him as lonp, as he would serve hnt he re
signed his steward??i;p; and my uncle waa
obliged to look out for another. My unele'a
farm was now a very curious one, and hujj
liad some peculiar rotlons about the man
ner it was to be worked. It was at firat
laid ofT into thirteen different fields, all un
der different fence#, and each field being
worked by different hands; but na he grew
richer ami all hi* hands increased, one field
waa added to another until the number
amounted to twenty-lour; and though eaoH
field had its own fence, yet my uncle built a
fence around the whole farm, ami made it
the oreraeerV business to keep the outside
fence alwavs in the condition in which he
found it, while the hand* had the right r>{
Hatching and mending the fence around th?*
tldsthcv cultivated, when and In what
manner they thought pi oner. My unci*
did not succeed so well in the choice of hh
aecond overseer; for he proved a cruel and
severe manager; he broke down the fences
in three or tour plate*, and would never
follow my uncle'* direction*; and when thu
hanJ* would complain of hU meqagsrvirt,