THE AMERICAN MUSEUM,! For NOVEMBER, 1789. in oration delivered at Petersburg, Virginia, on the 4th of July, 1787, in commemoration of the independence of the united flates of America. gratitude and every sentiment of the foul, first demand the tributary tear to be freely confecrated on freedom's holy altar, to the illuftrious manes of our flain brethren, who nobly WE are here convened to wel- ftruggled in the glorious caufe of come in the annual jubilee of our freedom:-Hail! glorious reurning era!-Faireft in the annals of creation :-Birth day of a nation -a world! It was on this ever menorable epoch that liberty and inde>endence triumphed over tyrannic opreffion and flavery, and, with our hoiceft blood, laid the foundation of a glorious temple of liberty, in the fpacious plains of America. Indulge me, my friends, a moment, and let the alluring charms of he idea, apologize for the prefumption, if I take you by the hand and lead you up to this facred fane, and here attempt to display to your atentive minds, the various fcenes which the celeftial hand of fate, has ingraved on its confecrated walls. Happy! thrice happy, fhould we feel, if, without the painful fenfations confequent upon a retrofpect of fufferings and dangers undergone, calamities ftill impending, or the thoufand ills we as a nation feel-we could now alone forellall thofe chofen bleffings, there treasured up to gladden fome future day: yet duty, freedom, and ftruggling fell! yielding up their lives the generous and voluntary facrifice to liberty and their country! But 'tis enough— "The patriot's copious tears are fhed "A facred tribute that embalms the dead." Hail ye illuftrious fhades of martyred heroes, that now hover round us. Behold our tears; and deign to fmile on the only tribute we can pay; thus appeared, become the guardian angels of our peaceful bleffings, and let fucceeding heroes catchyour falling mantles. Having thus, in the elevation of our fouls, welcomed in the joyful day of our emancipation, and paid. the juftly deferved tribute to the immortal memory of that virtue that triumphed over death, and, at the expenfe of terreftial exiflence, fet the cope-ftone on freedom's temple-let us now pause a moment, and leave to the unerring page of history to record, and to the fons of genius to celebrate, the matchlefs deeds achieved by the man who led our chofen band of heroes through all the dubious fcenes of war, till, victoriously triumphant, they opened the womb of fate, and gave birth to a nation-a world. TM of moral duty and obligation creates, to be removed, and gives a loose to the enjoyment of unwarrantable defires, the great barrier of integrity and honour is easily thrown down, and it launches forth and is swallowed up in the boundless ocean of licertioufness and corruption. Whenever democratical flates degenerate from thofe noble republican virtues which conflitute the chief excellency, fpring, and even bafis of their government, and inftead of induftry, frugality, and economy, encourage luxury, diffipation, and extravagance, we may juftly conclude that ruin is near at band. To illuftrate this, the faithful page of history furnishes a varie ty of firiking examples. The confequences of that event. now demand our most ferious attention. That it is yet to be determined whether that liberty and independence, purchased at fuch immenfe danger and expenfe, will prove a blefling or a curfe," was a remarkable expreffion in that farewell legacy, left us by the illuftrious father and protector of his country. Perhaps that favourite of heaven, at that moment, felt his benevolent mind expanding with fomething more than human: for certain it is, eleven years have rolled away fince the declaration Shall I now call up the venerable of our independence, and four fince fhade of the Athenian orator, to its final ratification by an honourable bunder in your ears the downfal of peace: yet Americans are not the his country; or Cato's mournful happy people that might be expected. ghoft, to tell the affecting tale of the A general decay of public and private cataftrophe of Roman liberty? Had virtue an almoft total derangement Greece profited by the fad examples of national fyftema want of con- of Affyrian and Persian luxury and fidence in government, which ever effeminacy, the might fill have gloproduces violations of faith and ho- ried in her frength, boafted her nour-and a want of energy there-- refinements, and held the rest of the added to a rapid increafe of luxury world as barbarians; had Rome too and diffipation--a firong paffion for profited by the additional and more foreign frippery and foreign vices--triking example of Greece, the might a general neglect of education and religion, are the principal among the long catalogue of evils, that have verged our country on to a crifis I now tremble to think of. Deftitute of national virtues on the one hand, and encouraging national vices on the other, ruin alone can be expected; for even Mofes might writeSolon, Solomon, Minos, or Lycurgus, dictate the belt conftitution and molt perfect code under heaven-yet in the hands of [the] faithlefs and diffipated, they would only become a fanétion for perfidious villainy, and the very means to hatten deftruction: for fuch is the deplorable fate of the human mind, that when once it fuffers thofe refraints, which a fenfe ftill have reigned miftrefs of the world without a rival. But alas! thofe celebrated and once all-powerful Hates are no more! When fraud, luxury, and diffipation, were once introduced and encouraged, religion flighted and neglected, public juice winged her flight to heaven, leaving faith and honour to be trampled under foot, or feek an afylum in a more genial foil; while ruin and defolation talked forth triumphant. But it is not my intention now to trace the rife, progress, or catastrophe of former ftates. Every intelligent and informed mind has been acquainted with their fate. The great queftion now to be confidered, is, fhall we with thefe inflances of man grandeur and glory finking der depravity and corruption, bere our eyes, rufh headlong to deruation P Never was there a fairer opportu ity for a nation to become great and appy than America poffeffed at the onclufion of the late war. She then und herself an infant nation, united fentiments, cuftoms, and language, et spread over a vaft continent, comrehending all the various climes om the torrid to the frozen zone, mbofoming boundless forefts, extenve fertile plains, luxuriant vales, olden mountains, whofe lofty fum aits tranfcend the clouds, wide fpread akes, and a thousand extenfive interecting rivers, abounding with all the uxuriant dainties of the watry eledent: in a word, poffeffing every ecellary that can render life defirable ind happy, with ampleft fcope for mutual intercourfe and exchange : While on the one hand rolled the wide Atlantic, a powerful barrier again the intrigues, the ambition, the avarice of the European world: On the other hand, the valt Pacific, that allo might fecure us from the corruption and luxuriant effeminacy of the Afiatic. In addition to thefe natural advantages, we acquired and poffeffed thofe of a nobler kind and more effimable value, than any other; thofe darling dear-bought privileges the natural and indefeafible right of forming our own fyftems or conflitutions of government, upon the most benevolent, unequivocal principles of reciprocity and freedom, and appointing whom we pleafed to the offices of legiflation-while each individual, in the enjoyment of equal and perfect freedom, might contentedly fit down under the friendly fhade of his own orchard, and have none to moleft or make him afraid. Happy had it been for America, had the here been contented in the peaceful enjoyment of these bieffed privileges and advantages, in the fa lubrious breathings of our native air, in the peaceful walks of our own fertile foil, and thus circumfcribed her ideas and ambition to agricul ture, frugality, economy, the arts and manufactures at home. Had this been our difpofition, we fhould not now groan under the load of enormous taxes-we fhould not now individually feel the opprellion of immenfe private debts due in foreign countries, without the means of difcharging them-we should not now behold one part of our country weltering in blood and groaning under lawlefs fedition and rebellion, while anarchy and confufion pervade another part; nor fhould we now have had occafion to fummon from the peaceful walks of domeftic cafe and retirement, the venerable fages of our country, to deliberate on the means of again refcuing us from the jaws of ruin. Yet melancholy as the tale may appear, fuch is our present unhappy fituation. That fatal rage for a destructive foreign trade, to which we were totally inadequate; but which, at the conclufion of the late war, pervaded every part of the continent, and has fo unfuccessfully been carried on ever fince, may be reckoned the principal fource from whence all thefe evils fprang. Foreign trade is in its very nature fubverfive of the fpirit of pure liberty and independence, as it deftroys that fimplicity of manners, native manlinefs of foul, and equality of flation, which is the fpring and peculiar_excellence of a free government: Yer, that which we have been engaged in has done even more; the balance being totally against us, it has impoverished and drained us of what is juftly deemed the great medium of trade, and the finews of government. doubt not but that the policy of our inveterate enemies has laid thefe fnares for us, which have given them greater caufe now to triumph over us, than they ever gained in an eight years fanguinary ftruggle. To confirm this opinion, let us a moment attend to a flate of incontrovertible facs: no fooner were we happily eftablished in our peace, liberty, and independence, than appeared our inveterate foes, "Who Imooth their locks, and "flatter whilft they hate," difplaying the multitude and variety of merchandife, and inviting us to partake. We too eafily confented -wallowed the delufive bait-a general unlimited credit was given -while every part of the continent abounded with inundations of their goods, not of the fubftantial and ufeful kind, but chiefly fuch as would gratify the vanity or pamper the luxury of the inhabitants-and here their policy appeared-no fooner were we involved in debts, than we were reftricted in the means of difcharging them, and no fep left untried to clog and embarrals us-by which means our money was effectually drawn away, and multitudes of our honeft indulrious countrymen involved in a flate of bankruptcy; upon whofe ruin an army of foreign factors have arisen, who have mono polized our trade, and fattened upon our fpoils: British influence has prevailed-jealoufies and diffenfions among the flates fomented and encouraged-and the flames of civil war kindled up in fome, while calamities feem to overfpread others. In this fituation, it is time for us to awake! It may not yet be too late to practife virtue and retrieve our errors; nor can it be deemed les than the kind interpofition of that benevolent power who over-rules the affairs of nations, that we have now convened an extraordinary national council for the fole purpose of deli berating on the means of our fafety and happiness; on their wife deter minations, and our acquiefcence, I may venture to predict that the fate of America depends. Let, then, my friends, the ardent love of our courwe quall the flowing bowl, or drink try animate all our actions, and while the iparkling glass, let us not forget, that TO BE FREE WE MUST BE VIRTUOUS. Petersburg. Anfwers to the objectiens to the new conftitution. From the Independent Gazetteer. FRIEND OSWALD, SEEING in thy paper of yeller day, tweny three objections to the new plan of federal government, I fhall endeavour to answer them dif tinetly, and concifely. That this may be done with candour, as well as perfpicuity, I requeft thee to reprint cer of the late continental army,' them as they are flated by "an offiand to place my answers in the fame order. is not in point, and leave the ftric1 fhall pafs over every thing that tures on friend Wilfon, to thofe |