Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1816-10-02

Ian q Inaugural Discourse, delivered Pc
|Fores the New-Y ork Historical Society, ~
|the Hon. Goyerneur Morris, president, ot
1.-The 4th instant, from the press O
Messrs. 4. Il w. Mercein This 10 9
rare cxampls Of elegant literature engag
|edsin the cause Of religioa aud sound
morality; Ut which, it's our duty 20 ex !,
|tend the circulation as-wide as our litiie
Influence reaches, by turning towards !
Et6e n,iblic attentions II will, however
lhcsts sneak for itself; and therefore, we
hasten 10 present the public with copiou,
/ xtracts. as a specimen OF The taste ane
talent which peryaded every page. It'll
lempbstically American Throughout. and
|no s, can read It without feeling 9
sentiment Of pride that he owes his ma
|tiyity to that 9. dear Columbia, chlid o.
[scieinlce. parent ofusefal ats,' which the
|orstor has iimmortaIizedy in strains q &C.
|nuipe eluquence.
g 'fhe reflection ard experience ,ol
many years have lsJ me tocons der the
holy writings, not only as most authentic
and instructive in themselves, but as the
clue to III other history- They tell as
what man is. aud they alone, tell as why
he is what heis: contradictory creature
that seeing and approving what is good.
pursues and performs what is eyil. All
esfpriyate ana Of public life is there dis
PLAYED, Elects are traced, with uner-
ring accuracy, each to the real cause.
We see, in the beautiful story Of Joseph,
how envy, destroying the peace of fami
lies leads to crnelty and to crime. How
a aienified condition is degraded by Inst
How The wrath Of despised wantoaness
stimulates a woman to deadly revenge
How tho heat-bnrnings ia a Shepherds
family drove minister of state to.the
ioot Of Pharaoh's throne. And how, for
still more important, a shepherd
boy was enabled to govern a mighty king
dom.
" From The same pure fountain ofwis
dom. we learn that vice destroys freedom
that arbitrary power is founded on public
immortality, and that miscorductin those
who rule republic, necessary conse-
quence Of general slicentioussess, SO dis
gusts and degrade sthe nation, that, dead
to generous sentiment, they become will
ling slaves.
cit is a trite maxim, that man is GO
verned by hope and fear. The desire
Of pleasure, wealth. and power, the APP
prehensiou of poverty, pain, and death,
prompt generous reward, speed severe
are the human means to in
vigoiate duty, stimulate zeal, correct
peryersity, and restrain guilt But ex
pesience teaches that profiigates gain ali
the eEticements of life, and criminals es-
cape punishment, by the penetration of
new and more atroeious crimes. Some
thing more, then, is required tn encourage
virtue, suppress vice. preserve public
peace e, and secure national independence.
There must be something more to hope
than pleasure, wealth, and power. Some
thing more to fear than poverty and pain.
after death more terrible than
death. There must be religion. When
HAT ligament is torn, society is disiointed|
and its members perish. The nationisI
exposed to foreign violence and domes.
tic con.ulsion. Vicious rulers, chosen
1y a vicious people, turn back the current
pf corruption to its source.
6 The most Important of all lessons IS !,
The denunciation of ruin TO every state
hat rejects the precepfs of religion
Those nations are doomed to death, who|
bury In the corruption of crimiaal desire
the awful sense of an existing God, cast
off the consoling hope of Immortality, and
seek refuge from despairin the dreariness|
IF ,annihllatisn Terrible, lrrevocabIe|
doom! loudly pronounced, frequently re-
peated, strongly exempli6edin the sacred
and fully cdnfrmedby the long
-ecord of time. 1t is the clue which
eads Through the intricacies Of universal
history. It is the principle of all sound
political science"
Bat we must hasten to the interesting
md affecting conclusion.
g Gentlesnen--By the occasion which
called us together, we are reminded that
Hudson discovered, in 1909, the river
which bears his name. Imagine his a.
had some prophetic spiritre-
yealed that this island would, in twecen-|
turies from the first European settlement
embrace a population of twice fiftJ|
souls.
9 Europe Witnessed, IN eighty years
four events which bad great influence on
the condition of mankind. The race of
English moaarchs expired with Eliza
beth in ZOOS. Henry the Fourth of
Fsance was assassinated in 1910. In the