Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1826-07-07
Fran II. National la,.lzgacer Of yesterday,

The Fiftieth Anniversary OF American lnqe-
nendence was celebrated in this city on tuesday,
with great manifestations Of public respect
The day was usheree in by salutes OF artlile-
rv which made the. welkin ring. AT the APP
no;n,ed bonr. the Volunteer Companies OF the
c;tv assembled on the plain north OF the fresi-
dsn,'s House. marching salute was paid 10
The President of the United States by the Mill
,.r,. and after receiving the President, Vice
president. Heads Of Departments, &c. the pro-
cess;on moved off, in the prescribed order, along
the pennsylvania Avenue, to the Capitol. he
mos, conspicuous object in the procession was
General PHILIP STEWART, veteran, whose DO
DIV is scanned with honorable wounds received
in the war Of the Revolution habited in the cos.
tune ofthe Revolution, bearing the standard oil
his country-supported on the one side by Com
modore BAINBRIpGE, and on the other by Gen.
JEsuP.
The procession reached the Capitol about
half past eleven, previously TO which The ladies'
admitted into the Hall occupied nearly the
whole floor, forming graceful and honorable
auditory to the ceremonies OF the day. when
The President and Vice President of the United
States, accompanied by the Heads OF Depart
ments and other public officers, and the Com.
mitlee Of Arrangement, entered the Hall oil ko
representatives., where places had been reserved
for them in front of the Speakers chair, the
Band Of the Marine Corps, stationed In the
gallery, struck upa patriotic air, and continued
to play at intervals throughout the subsequent
services Of the morning.
After an appropriate and eloquent introduc-
tory prayer, by the Rev. Mr.. RYLAND, the Ho-
norable JOSEPH ANDERSON, veteran, VINO no.
morally fought the battles of his country thro'
out the whole Of the war Of the Revolution, read
the Declaration Of independence, accompanied
by few appropriate explanatory remarks
WALTER JeNEs, Esq. the orator oil the day,
then rose and delivered all impressive and ar
eumentative Grafton, which, though too imper-
feclly heard in many parts Of the Hall, was lis
tened TO with great and deserved interest by
those who were so situated as to preserve I'M
broken the series Of remarks. Having our
selves heard but small proportion OF 1t, we
shall no, undertake to present any report OF the
Grafton. which, we trust, will in due time be.
given to the public entire. The orator COM
menced with comment on the practice OF sta
ted public commentators ofnational achieve
ments, and compared this mode of their Preser-
walton with that bv statues and monuments OF
art; giving the preference to the former as bet
ter suited to the character and genius of this
nation. He next compared the value OF great
civil and political acts patriotism, with those
Of a military kind-and Of the latter, those
whose object was merely conquest and selfish
ACKNOWLEDGMENT, with those resulting from the
love of country and a zeal Tor liberty. ne al
luded briefly to the acts OF our Revolutionary
statesmen and soldiers, to whom he accorded
their merited eulogy. Then, turning TO the
nature of our Government, he noticed and com
bat,ed the objection urged against 1t by the ad
vocates Of monarchy, that 1t was necessarily OF
transient duration, and contained within itselt
the seeds Of its own destruction. lie went 10
the examples of history, both ancient and mo-
dern, to prove the falsity OF this position, even
as respects such Republics as preceded ours
and then argued the perpetuity OF this, torf'or',
from its superior advantages to those enjoyed
by any which had gone before it. This led ma
turally to the influence Of such an experiment
on the rest of the world-its effect in Europe
and in South America. Here the orator In
duged in the most cheering anticipations, as
we'll for this continent, as for the Old World
looking forward TO the celebration oil the next
Jubiee-and predicting the universal freedom
OF all America, and the ameliorated condition
of European nations.
Such was the outline Of the speech--it ocou-
pied nearly an hourin the delivery, and contain
ed many passages Of eminent beauty.
The ceremonies Of the day were closed by a
fervently pious and pathetic prayer, by the Kew
Mr.. Posr
Mr. BARBOUR (Secretary of War; then as
cended the chair of the Orator, and, after adj
verting 10 the peculiar opportunities which he
had enjoyed of forming just estimate OF the
worth of the illustrious THOMAS JEFFERSON,
made very earnest and feeling appeal to the
audience in behalf of that venerable patriot
whose situation, in the evening of life spent
for his country, was such as claimed the sym
pathy OF every American. He spoke OF the
deb, the nation owed to one from whom she had
received SO much-of the delightful privilege
of being permitted 10 make some slight express
sion of its obligatons-and of the ennobling
beauty of such ac,s of public gra,i,ude-invi,-
ing his fellow-citizens washington Gin which
capacity he now addressed them) 10 shew, by
their acts, the esteem in which they held this
great man.
MIR. b. was followed by Mr., RUSH, Secretary
of the Treasury who, in few neat and i'm
pressive sentences, expressed his entire concur
renee in the views'which had been presented
bv Mr. BARBOUR, and, asa citizen Of another
State, as well as of Washington, urged the OBJ
LEGATION of relieving our distinguished fellow
citizen under his present painful emoarrass-
ments.