Sentinel of the valley. [volume] (Woodstock, Va) 1841-1848, 1845-03-06

dependent nation, which shall secure
to all the blessings of liberty, for which
they long had struggled against British
tyranny and oppression. Our great
commander was called, by the unani-
nous voice Of his country, to preside
In her councils. In this responsible
station, his duties were arduous and diff
ticult in the extreme. This, ii is well
known, was the most alarming part in
the history of our government. Tho
| great in the council, as he had been
great and glorious IN the field, he seiz-
ed the helm, and through dangerous
shoals and rocks, and whirlpools on
every side, conducted the ship of state
safely into port. If there is any thing
in the actions of man, which more than
all others, awakens emotions ofsubhm-
ity, it is in the contemplation of the
character of him, who was 'sfrst in war,
first in peace, and first in the hearts of
his countrymen.'' O, what glorious
change has taken place, if we contrast
the dark days of re with these which
followed the peace Of 'S3, and with but
little interruption, have continued to
the present time. Then, almost borne
down by foreign oppression, the chains
of the tyrant were forged for us,-now,
the most free, happy, independent and
prosperous nation which the sun visits in
his daily course round the globe. Yes,
fellow-cltlzens, we enjoy, as nation,
the fairest structure of human govern
ment that ever rose for the admiration
Of man. And for this our unequalled
government, we are indebted manly
to the " Father of his Country" 1t is
not, sir, in the power Of human Ian
guage, however eloquent, to do justice
TO the character of Washington. The
subject is too vast for the human tongue
TO portray-his name, his deeds, in
spire our hearts with the "awful Ian
guage, eloquent Of infinite affection,
which is far too big for words. -
Of him Lord Erskine said, sthat tho
conyersant all his life with the greatest
of men, General Washington was the
only. human being whom he ever APP
preached with awful reverence
Speaking of Washington, Napoleon
said, CHS name will descend and be
reyered in coming time, when my name
shall be lost in the vortex Of reyolu-
ton" How transcendantly glorious
must be the character which could
draw such praise from another hemis-
Iphere, and from men who, in national
politics, held opinions adverse to him.
In his acts, fellow citizens, you have
seen the man In the complicated excel
lence of his character, he stands alone.
Compared to his, the fame of Hannibal,
or Caesar, or Scipio, or Bonaparte, is
as the dust Of the balance. In our
great, happy, and prosperous country,
we can realise the results of his labors
"a country enjoying uneqaalled bles-
sings at home, and the highest nation
al respect abroad. Our golden harvests
waving over hundred plains-splen-
did towns and cities springing up as
by magic in all directions, where but
yesterday the earth groaned beneath
the weight of the dense forest-all, all,
bespeak our greatness, and show the
industry, enterprise and intelligence Of
our citizens, and in all these our national
blessings, we acknowledge, with gra-
titude, the hand of the founder of our
republic. Our commerce is waited on
the bosom of every seattle star-span-
gled banner is unfurled in the breezes
of every cline, and we are now able
to silence, by the thunder of American
cannon, the insolence of the enemies
of liberty of every land. Of this we
have given glorious proof to the world
in second struggle with the most 81
gantic power on earth. as Champlain,
Erie, and New Orleans bear ample
witness. Our country is emphatically
the pride and admiration of the friends
of liberty of every country, and .formi-.
dable only to tyrants.' Now, fellow
citizens, let us never forget TO profit BY
the example & precept Of our illustrious
commander. He has told you, "that
on your virtue and intelligence depend
the duration Of your free institutions -
that stignorance and vice will ever be,
as they ever have been, the grave Of
liberty" He even helped US by the
dissemination of his saving knowledge
and intelligence, to perpetuate the llb-
critics for which he fought and our fa-a
theirs bled, and TO hand them down an
impaired to our children to the latest
of time. Let us never unsheath our
swords until necessity compeis, and
when once drawn, never return them
until the last enemy has been conquer