The pilot and transcript. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1840-1841, 1840-07-30

DeIi5lFrd sefortflss ashlngtoga @sssoEt1siO
afL.aneaster, on tis! lsot'1fa Of Jssly, 1sts.
10y JAMES BUCHANAN, ssfl. bsss

we were declares an lhaepenocht people. NJ
S4Tb5f eontinentat Congress ss-
under the chains which bound them to Great
britain. and resolved TO be free, or to perish,in
the attenpt. Upon that day, they presented to
: the world spectacle of wisdom and firmnes
8 which hasneycr bcenexeelledis 81 "a ~
To make a proper estimate of their conduct,
1--WE must talte,iTitoz DEMONSTRATION Of
tthis country, compared with that oEour enemy.
ION tile one side, the armies of Great Britain
were numerous and veteran; they were led Bby
commanders who had acquired military reputa-
! ton in every cline; they were supported and
furnished with every implement OF warby a ma
tion whose wealth has, upon different occasions
purchased the services of all the crowned heads
in Europe On the other side, our armies were
small and unacquainted with military discipline,
our officers Were destitute of experience; and we
were so miserably poor, that our brave soldiers
were not more than half clothed, and their winter
marches, over the, frosty ground which they
Were defending, could be traced by the blood
that flowed from their naked feet. s- .;f1
But even these not the only dsadvantage s
under which we laboured. Whilst our enemy
invaded US from without, the torch Of discord and
oftreason was ighsed up within. When indie
pendence was declared, the mother country had
a powerful party throughout all the middle
states, and many adherents in every other party
of the union. .., - -
-.r Dreadful, therefore, was the responsibility of
that Congress-. Had not victory carried their
banners, their names would have been cursed by
the people of this country as the promoters Of a
destructive civil war, whilst their blood would
have flowed on the scaffold as sacrifice TO APP
pease the spirit Of British vengeance. In this
awful situation, whilst the dark cloud of des-
truction appeared ready to burst on them, they
declared to the world our independence, They
thought that INV ,2W'z
some day, one Hour of virtuous iiberfyi
Was worth whole eternity of bondage"
d Everlasting honor to their names! The graft
tude of free people will forever hallow their
memory. - r i9 -7"-sn.-7e. .:.o,ar ,rf
1t is not my intention, at this time, to give YOU
a narrative of those glorious events OF The rey-
olutionary war, which led to the recognition of
our independence, by Great Britain! and by the
w6rld They have been the subject of so MANY
orations, and of such general interest, that they
are familiar to every mind The present Grafton
shall contain a short historical sketch of the
most prominent actions of the party NOW in pow
| er in this country, and their consequences; and
also an inquiry concerning the course which
sound policy dietatesftha the government Of the
United States should pursue in future. jThe-im-
portance of these subjects, although not strictly
connected with the celebration of this day will
trust, be their apology to every mind. q ..,f
There was powerful faction in the United
States opposed to the adoption of the federal con-
stitution. The individuals Of which it was COM |
pissed, were called anti-federalsts, and were the
founders Of the democratic party. They gloried |
in setting themselves in array against cur present
admirable form of government. The authors of |
this opposition chiefly, slemagogues, who |
might have risen to the head Of state faction,
but who felt conscious that their talents would |
be eclipsed, when the luminaries of the United |
States should be collected af6tlnd the general |
government. To crafty their ambition, they
wished that this country should continue divided |
into Il number of petty state sovereignties, with
out any efficient government for theirc
This they desired, although they had the exam
pie of ancient Greece be ore their eyes, and well
knew, that the cashing interests of the states
and their mutual Jealousies, kept alive BY alli-
ances with different foreign nations, would have
made this country perpetual theatre Of conten-
ton and of civil war, until it had fled for refuge
into the arms of despotism. THY therefore
sounded the alarm throughout the Union against
The federal constitution. They predicted rain to
the state governments and to the liberties OF the
people, from the powers given to the. general
government By these means they succeeded in
alarming the fears of many good men, and in
ducibg them to believe, that that government,
which is now the palladium Of their safety, would
be the instrument of their destruction. Notwith-
standing their desperate efforts, the constitution
was adopted, and Washington was elected Pre-
sident. safrt
1t might have been, supposed that these fac
tionariss would have been awed into silence by
his wisdom and virtue This was not the case
The opposition which they had given to the fed
eral government, was now transferred to its adj
ministration, At first, indeed, the voice of ca
bunny dared only to whisper against Washing
ton and his measures, but ere long it was heard
in thunder.
When the French revolution commenced. it
was hailed by the people of this country, gener-
ally, as the dawn of rational liberty in Europe
But when, in its progress, it had become the des-
truction of religion and Inorality-when thous-
ands OF citizens were daily. sentenced to death
/ al ..fs.l -
when all the horrors of anarchy were poured
out upon that devoted country at home-and
when, Attilla-like, it had become the scourge of
| God to foreign nations; the Washingteniar par
ty began to entertain fears for its results and
thought 1t necessary to stem the torrent Of French
influence, which rapidly OVERLOOKING our
country To this duty they were imperioasly
called, asst was not in theory one of the aYowed
objects OF that government to spread revolution
airy principles over the whole world, but they had
actually attempted to sowtt the seeds Of rebellion
throughout the United States. ..,a-,s.
+ True to their original principles ami their first
love, the democratic party of that day Became
more the friends of the French, as they became
more the enemies of social order When the
proclamation Of neutrality ~asissued by Wash
Eington-tbat proclamation, which is now alni6st
universally admitted to have been the salvation
Fof our country--that proclamation which i'm
partially placed England and France upon the
same footing, andiai open the cominerce of the
world to America, they were erirased that We
had not entered intoan alliance WITH the French
Republicy and 'waged war, under their banners,
against the human race Butwhtn the treaty
Of peace with England, commonly called jays /
treaty, was ratified by Washington. torrents /
Of personal abuse Were pouredout BY the demo- /
cratic party upon his head They oS1eniy icfYhTg I
ed the father Of his country, with an Intention
lofr destroying his own beloved offspring, To
such pitch toflingratitude, were, they carried