Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1843-07-25


from II, to ccnsure or to check those feelings
Of love of country. or of religion, which seek
their outpourings in the erection of mcmori-
ais upon spots which have drank the blood of
the patriot or the MARTYR. II Is a tribute to
virsuc which honors the dead and the living.
But LET IL be voluntary. Then it will neither
be uniuSt ia its object. nor oppressive in its
accomplishment. It will teach lesson TO az
ter ages. which my stimulate virtue to ac-
ton, and give iortitudc 10 endure, till the day
OF dcivcrancc comes. with It's struggle and
with Is reward. Look At the mighty Pyra-
mids. which rise over the arabian and Lyby-
IN wastes, and which cast their shadows far
in the desert. rocking the researches of the
pride of man. They tell no tale but the old
tale Of oppression. They speak in their We
~ massivcncss of pride and power, on the
one SIDE. aud of misery and poverty on the
other. Onc of the little channels which the
Fcllah has diverted from the great river at
their base, and which spreads ycrdurc and .er-
tity over the valley, that owes so r.uch to
God, and so little to man. is far dearcr to the
oppressed population, than these uselcs. but
mighty structures.
Our eastern brethren. with Characteristic
libcrality and patriotism. which make the
descendants of the pilgrims proud of the land
of their ancestors, have Just completed and
G'ed' led monument to mark the ste of
tic battle, which opened the great contest
between a powerful Empire and her young
and distant provinces. and whose influence.
If it did not give to the revolution is iortu-
whole struggle. We have no such place to
hallow but we have the people TO do the
deeds by which places are sanctiticd, and
where the pilgrims of liberty come, not to
worship, but to reflect. We have not the
wealth nor those "applianccs" by which the
long and imposing procession, and the gorge
ou' p1gcantry which great city can arrange
and display, affect, and almost subduc the
imagination. We have not the Chief Mag
stratc of the Republic, with his official coun-
sellers, To marx, is it were. with national
character. the occasion of our asscmblagc.
Nor have we constructed an Obelisk. simple
and severe in is st, c, but lasting as the deed
it commentaries, whose foundation i, laid in
the graves of martyrcd patriots. but whose
summit rises low ards the heavens. telling the
story of thcis fall, and proclaiming the graft
tulc of their countrymcn. But there arc
here stout hearts and strong hands. Thou
sands, who would devote themselves, did
the men OF Bankers Hill. to the cause of
icedom. and would fight rs they fought.
and die rs they died, should their country
demand the sacrifice. On the face Of the
globe. liberty has no more Jealous de-
tenders. nor patriotism more ardent votaries.
than In this great assembly. the COnvoCation
of people, who have made this region their
own by all the tics that bind man 10 his
home. AMI who will defend it, and the instr
tutions. which belong to it, by all the means
that energy and intelligence and devoted
ness have ever brought to the great day of
trial. and by which they made it a day of
triumph.
We have come here TO join in al other COM
mcmoration. TO witness the union OF the
Lakes and of the Mississippi. TO survey
one of the noblcst works of man in the i'm
provcmcnt Of that great highway of nature.
extending from New York to New Orleans.
whose full moral and physical effects it were
vain to seek even to conjecture.
And fifty chosen is the day of this cclcbra-
ton. This work is another lgament. which
binds together this great conicdcratcd Re
public. Providence has given us Union. and
many motives to preserve 1t. The sun never
shonc upon country Astounding more than
ours does. in all the elements of prosperity
1t were needless to cnumcratc the advanta-
ses we enjoy. and which gives us so dstin-
guished position among the nations of the
world. They are seen and felt in all thosc
evidences of prosperity and Improvement
Which greet the traveller wherever he passes
through our country. And still more striking
are they when we contrast our situation with
that of the older regions of the world.
shall not enter into the comparison. | could
speak OF ii from personal knowledge. but the
taS. would not be pleasant one. for it would
recall many a cause OF discomfort. and MANY
Il scene OF misery. which meet the eve of the
most careless observer. WHO exchanges the
new hemisphere for the old. IN American.
who does not return to his own country Il
wiser man. and better citiz IN. and proudcr
and more contcntcd for all he has seen abroad.
may we'll doubt his own head and heart. and
may well be doubted BY his countrymcn.
Sill. ii is not TO be disguised that. from the
very constitution of human nature. causes
may occasionally exist tending 10 weaken,
though they cannot sever. the bonds which
unite US; and happy Is 1t that these causes
may be countcracted. and ultimately, we may
hope, rendered powerlcss. by measures now
in progress. which will add the tics of inter-
est 10 the dictates of patriotism. Our rail
roads and canals arc penetrating every sec
ton of our Territory. They are annihilat-
ing time and space. They are embracing in
their folds the ocean and the Lake frontiers.
and the great region. extending from the Al
leghany 10 the Rocky Mountains. through