The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1828-07-16
From Tie Rostan .3drkrtiscr.

CHEsAPEAKE AND ONO CANAL. On the
fourth inst =, the breaking of ground on this i'm
portant work was celebrated with great cere-
mony. The President of the United States, tho
Secretaries of the Treasury, War and Navy De-
sartmcnts, many other distinguished officers of
the government, and all the representatives of
foreign powers who were in Washington, were
present. On reaching the ground, one or two
hundred yards east of the line of The present
canal the procession moved round so as to form
hollow space, in the centre of which was the
spot marked out by Judge Wright, the En-
gineor of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Com
pany, for the beginning of the work. Gen.
Mercer received from the Mayor of George
t9R aRf a ddaFtGdt ahed q e res add a
of the U. States and handed to him the spade.
The President stepped forward to receive it,
and made an animated address-and struck the
first stroke. The Intelligencer says,
Attending this action was an incident which
Produced greater sensation than any othor
that occurred during the day The spade which
the President held struck root, which prevent
ed its penetrating the earth. Not deferred by
trIiilng obstacles from doing what he had DELHI
crateiy resolved to perform, Mr.. Adams tried
again, with no better success. Thus foiled, he
threw down the spade, hastily stripped off and
laid aside his coat, and went seriously to agoyk
trees, who could not hear, because of their dis
tance from the open space, but could sec and
understand, observing this action, raised a loud
and unanimous cheering, which continued for
some time after Mr. Adams had mastered the
difficulty.
After the President had finished salutes were
fired, and other addresses followed, and the pro-
cossion again formed and returned to the boafs-
when collation. was given
We make the following extracts from Pres
ldent Adams's Address
" Friends and FelIoa0 Citizens:
1t is nearly full century since Berkley
bishop of Cloyie, turning towards this fair land
which we now inhabit, the eyes of a prophet.
closed a few lines of poetical inspiration with
this memorable prediction !
:" Times noblest empire is the last
A prediction which, to those of us whose lot
has been cast by. Divine Providence in these
regions, contains not only precious promise
but solemn injunction of duty, since, upon cur
energies. and upon those of our pos:erity. its
tulfment depend For with reference to what
could it be, that Berkley proclaimed
tins, the last, to be the noblest empire of time
1t was, as he himself declares, on the transplant
tatlon OF learning and the arts to America.
VI learning and the arts--the four first acts
lhe empires OF the old world and of former
ages-the Assyrian, the Persian, the Grecian. |
the Roman empires, were empires of conquest |
doHliiiions OF man over man The empire which !
ms great mind, piercing into the darkness of
luturlty, foretold IN America, was the empire of
learning and the arts--the dominion of man
over himself, and over physical nature, acquir-
cd by the inspiration of genius and the tolls of
indnstry-not watered with the tears of the
wldow and the orphan--nof cemented in the |
blood OF human victims-founded, not in dis |
cord, but in harmony-of which the only spoils
are the lmperlections Of nature and the yicto-
ry achieved is the improvement of the cond- !
ton OF all. Well may this be termed noblor I
than the empire of conquest, in which man sub !
dues only his fellow man.
"Io the accomplishment of this prophecvtbe
hrst necessary step was the acquisition OF the /
right OF self-government by the people of the I
BRUSH North American colonies, achieved by |
the Declaration of Independence, and its ac- |
by the British nation The sec
ond was the union of all those colonies under !
one general coniederated Government n task !
more arduous than that of the preceding sepa.
ration, but at last effected by the present con
stltutlon of tho United States.
ne thIrd step, moro orduous still than eli I
her, or both the others, was that which we,
eiow cltlzens,'nay now congratulate ourselves,
,ur country, and the world OF man, that is talk
IN. IL IS the adaptation Of the powers, physic-
II, moral, and intellectual, OF this whole Union
o The Improvement of its own condtion--of its
moral and political condition, by wisc and lihcr.
j institutions--by tho cultivation Of the under
tandng and the heartily academies, schools,
ma learned instituteg--by tho PURSUITS and pat