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Liberty in France, by William Wirt
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Title: Celebration in Baltimore of the Triumph of Liberty in France
Author: William Wirt
Release Date: February 12, 2009 [EBook #28053]
Language: English
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CELEBRATION IN BALTIMORE
OF THE
TRIUMPH OF LIBERTY IN FRANCE
WITH THE
ADDRESS
DELIVERED ON THAT OCCASION,
BY
WM. WIRT,
ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1830.
Published by order of the Committee of Arrangements.
BALTIMORE:
JOHN D. TOY, PRINTER,
Corner of Market and St. Paul streets.
1830.
DISTRICT OF MARYLAND, TO WIT:
BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the thirtieth day of October, in the
fifty-fifth year of the Independence of the United States of America,
John D. Toy, of the said District, hath deposited in this office, the
title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the
words following, to wit:
"Celebration in Baltimore of the Triumph of Liberty in France: with
the Address delivered on that occasion, by Wm. Wirt, on Monday,
October 25, 1830. Published by order of the Committee of
Arrangements."
In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States,
entitled "An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the
copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of
such copies, during the times therein mentioned;" and also to the act,
entitled "An Act supplementary to the act, entitled 'An Act for the
encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts and
books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times
therein mentioned:' and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of
designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints."
PHILIP MOORE,
_Clerk of the District of Maryland._
GRAND CELEBRATION
OF
THE PEOPLE OF BALTIMORE,
ON THE
RECENT TRIUMPH OF LIBERTY
IN FRANCE.
MAYOR'S OFFICE, _Baltimore, Oct. 5, 1830_.
At the request of a number of Citizens, I am induced to _invite_
my _Fellow Citizens_ to assemble in their respective WARDS, at the
places where elections are usually held, on THURSDAY EVENING NEXT, at
8 o'clock, in order to appoint two persons from each ward to meet in
General Committee on Friday evening following at the _City Hall_, at
7 o'clock, in order to adopt measures to celebrate the triumph of
Liberty in France.
JACOB SMALL, _Mayor_.
* * * * *
At a meeting of the delegates from the several wards, held at the City
Hall on Tuesday the 12th inst. for the purpose of considering the
propriety of celebrating in this City, the recent triumph of Liberty
achieved by the people of France, Col. SAMUEL MOORE was called to the
chair, and Col. JOHN THOMAS and JAMES L. RIDGELY, appointed
secretaries.
It was resolved, that a procession of the citizens commemorative of
that event, be recommended on the 19th inst.
That the Major General of the third division, be requested to order
under arms the uniform Corps of his command, on the morning of the
19th inst., and that the day be ushered in by a National Salute.
That the several trades and professions be invited to attend, with
appropriate banners and badges.
That the natives of France in the City of Baltimore be invited to
unite in the celebration of the day.
That the citizens, not included in the above resolutions, be requested
to assemble in Monument Square, on Tuesday the 19th inst.
That WILLIAM WIRT, Esq. be requested to deliver an oration suited to
the occasion.
That Gen. SAMUEL SMITH, be requested to prepare and submit an Address
expressive of the feelings of the citizens of Baltimore, on the recent
triumph of Liberty in France.
That Col. JOHN THOMAS be appointed Marshal-in-chief for the day, and
have power to select all necessary sub-marshals and assistants.
That the Marshal-in-chief, cause suitable arrangements to be made at
Monument Square, for the accommodation of the Executive of Maryland,
the natives of France in this City on that day, the Mayor and City
Council of Baltimore, Rev. Clergy, Soldiers of the Revolution,
Officers of the Army and Navy, Judges of the several Courts, and
members of the General Committee.
That the ceremonies of the day be announced by three pieces of
Artillery in quick succession, and a National air from the Band.
That the keepers of the public places be requested to display their
Colours, together with the Tri-coloured flag of France during the day.
That the members of the several trades and professions, be requested
to hold meetings, prior to the 19th, with a view of making their
necessary arrangements.
That the citizens of Baltimore be requested to suspend all kind of
business on the day of celebration.
_Resolved_, That the Marshal take such order in making his
arrangements as to enable the Orator to commence at 12 o'clock
precisely.
_Resolved_, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the
Chairman and Secretaries, and published in the several papers of
the City.
SAMUEL MOORE, _Chairman_.
JOHN THOMAS, } _Secretaries_.
JAMES L. RIDGELY, }
* * * * *
HEAD QUARTERS, THIRD DIVISION, _October 14, 1830_.
The Major General of the Third Division accedes to the request of the
delegates of the City. He therefore orders, that the uniformed troops
of all arms attached to his command assemble on parade, at 9 o'clock
A. M. on the 19th inst. to celebrate the recent triumph of liberty in
France. The day to be ushered in by a national salute.
General Steuart of the Light Brigade, will assume the command; and is
charged with the execution of this order.
By order of Major General Smith,
JOHN THOMAS, _Inspector of Division_.
ORDER OF THE MARSHAL-IN-CHIEF.
_The following Order of Procession will be observed on the 19th
October, 1830, in Commemoration of the Triumph of Liberty in France_:
FIRST DIVISION.
The Uniform Corps of the Third Division.
SECOND DIVISION.
General Committee.
1. Band of Music.
2. Printers.
3. Agricultural Society.
4. Farmers and Planters.
5. Gardeners.
6. Plough Makers and makers of other Agricultural Implements.
7. Millers and Inspectors of Flour.
8. Bakers.
9. Victuallers.
10. Tailors.
11. Blacksmiths and Whitesmiths.
12. Millwrights, Rollers of Iron and Copper, and Steam Engine Makers.
13. Weavers, Bleachers and Dyers, and Manufacturers of Cotton and Wool.
14. Carpenters and Joiners, Lumber Merchants and Plane Makers.
15. Stone Cutters.
16. Masons and Bricklayers.
17. Painters and Glaziers.
18. Plasterers.
19. Cabinet Makers.
20. Upholsterers.
21. Fancy and Windsor Chair Makers.
22. Ornamental Chair Painters.
23. Tanners, Curriers and Morocco Dressers.
24. Cordwainers.
25. Hatters.
26. Turners and Machine Makers.
27. Coopers.
28. Brush and Bell Makers.
29. Coach Makers.
30. Whip Makers.
31. Cedar Coopers.
32. Brass Founders, Coppersmiths and Tin Plate Workers.
33. Comb Makers.
34. Tobacconists.
35. Potters.
36. Sugar Refiners.
37. Watch Makers, Jewellers and Silversmiths.
38. Engravers.
39. Glass Cutters.
40. Ship Carpenters, Ship Joiners, Block and Pump Makers.
41. Boat Builders.
42. Rope Makers.
43. Riggers.
44. Sail Makers.
45. Pilots.
46. Ship Captains and Mates.
47. Seamen.
48. Draymen and Cartmen.
Music.
Juvenile Associations.
The respective trades and professions comprising the Second Division,
will assemble with their Banners and Personal Decorations, at such
place or places as they may deem convenient. Each trade and profession
will appoint a Marshal on foot, who will be distinguished by a blue
sash, and who will conduct their respective associations to Baltimore
street, where they will be received by the Marshals appointed for that
purpose, and posted at their stations in line.
THIRD DIVISION,
Comprising the following bodies, will assemble at the Exchange.
The Governor and Executive Council of the State, in an open Carriage.
Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, Esq. in an open Carriage, supported by
James H. McCulloch and Monsieur de Bois Martin.
Genl. Sam'l Smith and the Orator of the day, Wm. Wirt, Esq. in an open
Carriage.
The Natives of France in the city.
The Mayor and City Council and officers of the Corporation.
Foreign Ministers and Consuls.
Senators and Members of Congress.
Senators and Members of the State Legislature.
The officers of the Army and Navy.
The Clergy of all denominations.
The Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland.
The Trustees and Faculty of the University of Maryland.
The Collector and officers of the Customs.
The Marshal of the United States, and High Sheriff of Baltimore County
and their officers.
The Chancellor and Judges of the Court of Appeals.
Judges and members of the Bar and officers.
Justices of the Peace.
Public Teachers.
Students of Divinity, Law, and Physic.
Merchants and Traders.
Clerks and Accountants.
Citizens, Mechanics, and Artizans not included in the above arrangement.
Mr. Blanchard's Equestrian Corps.
Capt. Bouldin's troop of horse.
The line of Procession will be formed in Baltimore street at 9 o'clock
A. M., the right of the line resting on Bond street.
The several bodies composing the procession will assemble at their
respective places of meeting at 8 o'clock, A. M. precisely, three guns
will be the signal for the different associations to commence their
march to Baltimore street, under the direction of their own officers.
On reaching Baltimore street, they will be conducted by the Marshals,
appointed for the purpose, to their respective places in line.
The procession will take up the line of March at 10 o'clock, A. M.
precisely. Any association not in line, when the procession shall have
taken up the line of march, will fall in the rear.
JOHN THOMAS, _Marshal-in-Chief_.
* * * * *
AFTER ORDER OF THE MARSHAL-IN-CHIEF.
Mr. Blanchard having accepted the invitation of the Marshal, his
Corps of Equestrians will be attached to the Third Division.
The procession will move up Baltimore to Eutaw street, up Eutaw to
Fayette street, down Fayette to Howard street, up Howard to Franklin
street, from Franklin to Hamilton street, down Hamilton to Calvert
street, on Calvert street to Monument Square; when the ceremonies of
the day will be performed in the following order.
Three pieces of Artillery, fired in quick succession, will be the
signal for the commencement of the ceremonies of the day.
A National Air will then be played by the Band.
Mr. Wirt will then deliver an Oration.
After which General Smith will submit an Address expressive of the
feelings of the Citizens of Baltimore, on the recent Triumph of
Liberty in France.
The Marseilles Hymn will then be performed by the Band.
On the conclusion of the ceremonies, the Procession will be dismissed,
and the several associations will leave the ground under charge of
their respective marshals.
All those who shall unite in this procession are requested to wear
a tri-coloured cockade and an appropriate badge.
The following gentlemen are appointed Aids and Marshals.
CAPT. WILLIAM G. COOK, } _Aids to the Marshal-in-Chief._
ALCÆUS B. WOLFE, }
MARSHALS.
JAMES L. RIDGELY,
EDWARD SPEDDEN,
JESSE HUNT,
GEN. BENJAMIN EDES,
JAMES BIAYS, JR.,
MCCLINTOCK YOUNG,
JONATHAN FITCH,
GEORGE DOBBIN,
W. P. MILLS,
HENRY GREEN,
CAPT. HENRY MYERS,
R. D. MILLHOLLAND.
Captains Kelly, Myers, and Cook, assisted by William F. Small and
Alcæus B. Wolfe, Esqrs. are charged with the arrangements at the
Monument Square.
JOHN THOMAS, _Marshal-in-Chief_.
When the Procession arrived at Monument Square, Col. S. MOORE, as
Chairman of the Committee of Arrangement, announced that General
SAMUEL SMITH, was appointed to act as Chairman and JOHN S. SKINNER,
Esq. as Secretary to the meeting, with instructions to sign the
Address on behalf of the Citizens of Baltimore, and forward the same
to General LAFAYETTE, to be disposed of in such manner as he may see
most proper.
MR. WIRT'S ADDRESS.
We have met, fellow citizens, to give public expression to the
feelings which animate every bosom in our society, and to unite our
congratulations on the triumph of liberty in France. On this subject,
there is but one heart, one voice among us, and that a heart and voice
of universal joy.
Had this great event occurred even in a land of strangers, unendeared
to us by any previous act of kindness, and having no other claim upon
our sympathies than that they belonged to the same family of human
beings with ourselves, it would still have been cause of private joy to
each individual among us; for it would have borne evidence of the
progress of liberty in the world. But it is not in a land of strangers,
it is not in a country unendeared to us by previous acts of kindness
that it has occurred. It is in France, our ancient friend and ally: in
France, who stood by _us_ in the darkest days of our own revolution;
in France, by the powerful aid of whose fleets and armies, the last
ensign of British authority was struck in _our_ land, and we took our
undisputed place among the nations of the earth. Yes, it is in France,
the land of our benefactors and friends, that this spectacle has been
exhibited. And such a spectacle! unparalleled in the history of the
world! A nation of more than thirty millions of people emancipated by
the efforts of a single city in three days! Not by a great body of
lords and barons, cased in armour of iron, and with well appointed hosts
of vassals at their backs: but by the common body of the citizens of
Paris; the labouring classes--mechanics--manufacturers--merchants--boys
from the Polytechnic school; rushing naked and unarmed, upon the armed
bands of the king; without a leader to direct their movements, and yet
moving with a judgment, a concert, an energy that would have done honor
to the ablest general; and, at the same time, with a moderation, a
humanity, an integrity, a respect for private property and private
feelings that would have graced the noblest school of philosophers in
ancient times, or of christians in modern; finishing the whole stupendous
operation in three days, and then returning, quietly and peaceably to
their respective occupations, and committing the details of their
political arrangements to their more experienced friends!
In the stern decision, in the rapid and resistless execution, in the
thorough accomplishment of the purpose, and in the sudden and perfect
calm that succeeded, tyrants may read a lesson that may well make them
tremble on their thrones; for they see that it is only for the people
to resolve, and it is done.
Had this story been told to us by some writer of romance, as the
product of his own imagination, there is not a man among us who would
not have condemned it as unnatural, improbable, a mere extravagance
entirely out of keeping with the human character. And yet the thing
has actually taken place; the work has been done, and well and nobly
done.
The French have sometimes been spoken of as a light people, without
depth or stability of character. Let those who thus describe them,
open the annals of England (the Rome of modern times) and shew us
there, a movement, from the period of their invasion by Julius Cæsar
to the present day, that can match this magnificent movement of the
common people of Paris. No. In the enlightened motive, in the station
of the actors, in the character of the action itself, and in its
beautiful consummation, there is nothing in the archives of history,
ancient or modern, nor even in the volumes of the boldest and wildest
imagination, that will bear a comparison. It was for liberty they
struck, and the blow was the bolt of heaven. The throne of the tyrant
fell before it. The work was done: and all was peace. Well may we be
proud to claim such a people as our friends and allies, and to unite
in this public demonstration of joy at their triumph.
To give us a still deeper interest in the transaction, whom do we see
mingling brilliantly in the conflict, partaking of the triumph, and
benevolently tempering and guiding its results? Lafayette, our own
Lafayette, the brave, the good, the friend of man. Well may we call
him _our own_: for he gave to us the flower of his youth! freely
sacrificed the splendors of a court, all the pleasures and enjoyments
natural to his age, nay his fortune and his blood, on the altar of our
liberty. With the weight of more than seventy winters upon his head,
broken with the struggles of a long life devoted to the cause of
liberty, in America and in France--a cause which he has never ceased
to cherish in the midst of the most depressing circumstances, even in
the dungeon's gloom--we see him now throwing off at once the weight of
years, recovering, as if by magic, all the animation of his youth,
with all its generosity and humanity; building up the liberties of his
country with one hand, and with the other, protecting and alleviating
the misfortunes of the fallen dynasty, and its misguided adherents.
This is, indeed, to ride like an angel in the whirlwind and direct the
storm: like an angel whose mercy is equal to his power. Yes--if any
thing could swell still louder the note of our exultation at this
great achievement, it is the part which Lafayette, the noble pupil of
our Washington, has borne and is still bearing in it. He seems to have
been preserved by heaven, amid the countless perils through which he
has passed, that he might witness the final triumph of liberty in his
native land. The great object of his life, that alone for which he
seemed to wish to live, is accomplished; and he wears, at this moment,
a brighter crown than ever graced the brow of a Bourbon; for it is
formed of the best affections, the love and gratitude of an admiring
world.
Here let us pause, and endeavor to recover from the amazement with
which such an event is calculated to overwhelm the mind, that we may
contemplate it more calmly.
On the first arrival of the intelligence, we involuntarily asked
ourselves, "Can this be a reality?" And when we could no longer doubt
the evidence of the fact, the next anxious inquiry which pressed
itself upon us, was "Will it stand, or are we again to be disappointed
as we were by the revolution of 1789?"
This is not a question of mere idle and speculative curiosity with
regard to which we are indifferent about the result. It is one in
which our feelings are keenly interested; and more--it is one of deep
and awful import to the liberties of the world. For if France is
again to revolve through years and through seas of blood and crime,
and to terminate, at last, at the point from which she set out--a
despotism--despair will fill the European world, and the people will
be disposed rather to bear the ills they have, than to encounter the
unavailing horrors of the double precedent which France will have
set. Let us look, therefore, calmly, for a few moments, at the very
interesting question of the probable stability and success of this
revolution.
Those of us who remember the revolution of 1789, are forcibly reminded
of it by the late event, and from the catastrophe of the former
struggle, are apt to draw a mournful presage of the present. It is not
for human penetration to foretell, with certainty, the ultimate issue
of such a movement. In a case so dependent on the capricious passions
of man, there are too many contingencies that may arise to darken
the fairest prospect and disappoint our hopes. But there seem to be
fundamental points of difference between the two cases which forbid
us to reason from the one to the other, and justify, now, the hope
of a happy result. Let us attend for a moment to these points of
difference.
In the first place, the state of political information in France, and
in Europe at large, is widely different now from that which existed in
1789. France was not prepared for that revolution: nor were the people
of Europe prepared to understand it, to second it, and to turn it to
the best account. This is a grand and over-ruling distinction between
the cases.
With regard to France, her people had been buried, for ages, in the
night of despotism, and had no idea of the meaning of political
liberty. I speak of the great body of the people. On the upper
classes, it is true, that day had recently broken from the writings
of Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau and Raynal. But thick darkness
still rested upon the lower classes. Their faculties were benumbed by
its influence, and their spirits enslaved and debased by the habit of
subjection. The condition of things which they saw around them, and
which had been immemorially transmitted from father to son, seemed to
them to be the natural condition, and they considered themselves born
for the use of their prince and his nobles.
Such, too, was the general state of things in Europe. As to political
rights, the body of the people were all in Egyptian darkness. The
yoke had been fixed and locked upon them in far distant ages, of which
they had no knowledge; they had borne it, time out of mind, and their
necks had became so callous and accustomed to its pressure, that it
never entered into their imaginations to question the right.
In this state of habitual subjection and inveterate ignorance, the sun
of liberty suddenly arose upon France, in full glory; when, "blind
with excess of light," and maddened by the too rapid circulation of
the blood which had so long stagnated in their veins, they passed in
a few years, from the extreme of despotism to the extreme of anarchy,
and deeds of horror were perpetrated which humanity shudders to
recall. They frightened the rest of Europe by their example, instead
of alluring them to an imitation of it.
But widely different is the state of information at this day. That
revolution itself, dreadful as it was, has awakened the whole
continent from the sleep of ages, and put them upon inquiry into the
foundations of government, and the purposes for which it was ordained:
and during nearly half a century which has since elapsed, a degree
of light has been thrown upon the great subject of the rights of
man which has found its way into every hamlet and every cottage of
southern Europe, and is advancing to the north with such increasing
lustre as will ere long scatter the gloom that yet hangs over Siberia
and Kamschatka. Hence the people of France, certainly, and perhaps
of the whole south of Europe, are now prepared for the temperate
enjoyment of liberty, under the administration of a regular
government, for which they were totally unfitted in 1789.
There is another striking difference between the cases, and a most
important one it is, as it affects the question before us.
France has now the benefit of her own past experience before her eyes:
she had no such lamp to light her steps in 1789. Yes; that dreadful
lesson is fresh in her recollection. She has had full time to study
it: to discover every false step that was then taken, and to observe
the causes which led to the miscarriage of that revolution. And to
satisfy us that she has profited by this study, a comparison of her
very different conduct on those two occasions will suffice.
The former revolution was one long-protracted tragedy of horrors to
which there seemed to be no end, and of which the most sagacious men
among us could not guess the _denouement_, except that from its very
protraction and violence it would probably end in a despotism. At the
close of every scene of horror, we kept saying to ourselves, "surely
it will close _now_, and France will at length have rest and peace."
But we were doomed to be disappointed, time after time. One explosion
followed another until the heart sickened "with hope deferred," and we
turned away our eyes at last in despair from the appalling spectacle.
It was this slow, vacillating, indecisive course of the former
revolution which generated all the causes that conspired to defeat
it. The Bastile was stormed in 1789. It was not until the latter part
of 1792 that the unfortunate monarch was deposed. During these three
years, though strokes of great boldness were struck, one after
another, yet none of them were of a decisive character: none of them
indicated a fixed point at which the revolution was to stop: while
they were all of a character to alarm, to exasperate and to raise up
powerful enemies to the revolution both at home and abroad.
Thus, in 1789 privileges and distinctions of orders were abolished,
and the hitherto sacred revenues of the church suffered a deep
encroachment.
In 1790 titles of nobility, with all their _insignia_ of emblasoned
arms and feudal power, were annihilated, and the estates attached to
them were seized for the public use. These measures drove from France
a numerous and powerful body of emigrants, inflamed with resentment
and despair, who preached up, at every court in Europe, the cause of
kings, which they represented, with reason, to be menaced with general
destruction; and they left in France an equally numerous and powerful
body of malcontents, whose cabals kept every part of the kingdom in
a state of constant ferment and insurrection. The people, released at
once from the restraints of the clergy and of their feudal lords, and
suddenly become their own masters, without the discretion necessary
for their guidance, became licentious and turbulent, and the whole
kingdom presented a scene of riot and disorder which there were no
laws to repress. And now was hatched that political hydra, the Jacobin
faction, which no Frenchman will ever be able to remember without an
involuntary shudder.
In 1791 the affrighted king made an unsuccessful attempt to escape
with his family. They were arrested near the confines of the kingdom
and brought back to Paris under the most humiliating circumstances;
but still he was acknowledged to be the king of France, and a
constituent part of the existing government. A new constitution was
then framed, to which he was required to take an oath of obedience,
and he took it _per_ force. The leading patriots, who had nothing more
in view than the enjoyment of rational liberty under a regular
government, attempted to stop the revolution at the point of a limited
monarchy. Mirabeau, that prodigy of genius and vice, was believed to
have been of this number. The virtuous Lafayette certainly was, and
so was a host of others of the brightest names in France. But the ball
had rolled beyond their reach, and had acquired a _momentum_ which
they could no longer control. A set of unprincipled men, engendered
by the slow progress of the revolution, had, by their flatteries and
appeals to the worst passions of the populace, worked themselves up
to the head of affairs and drove on the revolution before the storm,
without any fixed object on their own part.
These infamous men infused suspicions into the minds of the people
against their best friends, and even Lafayette had to defend himself
against their accusations.
In 1792 the king was tried, condemned and deposed, and a republic was
established; but it was a republic of bedlamites. The revolution now
assumed a most dreadful form. France, delivered up, at once, to the
fury of a foreign and a civil war, and at the same time rent asunder
by the most frightful anarchy, exhibited a picture which the heart
quails to contemplate even at this distance of time. All was chaos and
confusion, and Lafayette perceiving that the great object for which
he had contended was lost, retired from the kingdom, and was doomed
to mourn, for years, in an Austrian dungeon, the disappointment of his
patriot hopes.
In 1793 the amiable and unfortunate king was torn from his family,
and bade adieu, on the scaffold, to all the troubles of life; and
thenceforth the guillotine streamed with the blood of the best
patriots of France. No confidence existed any where. Every one was
distrusted. Generals, whose victories had shed the highest glory upon
their country, were called from the head of their armies to perish
in disgrace. Denunciation and massacre were the order of the day.
Suspicion became full proof, and every accusation was fatal. To
consummate the horror of the scene, the christian religion was
formally abolished, and a sort of heathen worship was substituted in
its place. The republic was dissolved, the government was declared to
be revolutionary, and a dictatorship was established, compared with
which those of Marius and Sylla formed a golden age. Terror, death,
and rapine walked abroad in triumph, and the diabolical spirits which
had set the mischief afoot, hovered over the bloody spectacle and
mocked at the misery which they had created.
In 1794 the ruffians, Danton and Robespierre, fell in succession,
and expiated their crimes (if indeed such crimes be expiable at all)
on that guillotine which they had so often deluged with the blood
of innocence, even of female innocence and beauty. But the reign of
terror still held on its course. The government was continually
shifting its form. In truth, there was virtually no government at all.
It was one continued scene of anarchy and confusion. Those terrible
factions, the Jacobin, the Gironde, the Mountain, in their struggles
for power, and their alternate ascendancy, continued to exhibit France
as one great slaughter-house of human victims, without regard to
guilt or innocence, sex or age. The whole nation seemed to have been
metamorphosed into a nation of demons, wild and frightful, and drunk
with human blood, with which they seemed incapable of being satiated.
And yet, strange as it may seem, and strange as it does now seem
even to ourselves, there was a splendour, a magnificence about that
revolution that riveted our admiration and sympathy with a force that
could not be at once detached by all the horrors that accompanied it.
In the first burst of the revolution, nothing was seen by us but a
brave and generous effort by the people for the recovery of their long
lost rights and liberties. The spectacle of such a people, a people so
endeared to us by recent services, rising, in such a cause, against
the whole wealth and power of the court and the vast body of the
nobles, temporal and spiritual, who had so long lorded it over France,
was well calculated to enlist our strongest sympathies.--The first
movements of the national convention, too, were marked with an energy,
a grandeur, a magnanimity, and a power of eloquence such as the world
had never witnessed, and such as no human heart could withstand.--And,
then, when the combined armies moved upon France, the heroism with
which they were met by the armies of the republic--chaunting, as they
marched up in order of battle, the sublime strains of their national
hymn--and the stupendous power with which they were beaten off, and
their armies crushed and annihilated one after another--threw such
a blaze of glory around the revolution as made us blind to all its
excesses. Those excesses, too, came to us, veiled and softened by the
distance, and by the medium through which they passed: and, however
much to be deplored, we were ready, with the French patriots, to
consider them as the unavoidable consequences of such a struggle,
and to charge all the blood that was spilt in France, to the tyrants,
abroad and at home, who chose to resist, to death, the rightful
demands of the people.
Those "wonderful people," too, (as they were characterised by Gen.
Washington in '96,) in the midst of the terrific scenes which they
were daily enacting, contrived to throw a grace and a beauty around
their public acts, and to gild even their wildest projects with a
moral sublimity that effectually concealed, at the time, all their
folly and injustice, and gave them a rapturous reception throughout
the United States. Thus, when, in the rage of reformation which seemed
determined to leave nothing of the old order of things remaining,
they resolved to abolish the calendar, and, in lieu of the barbarous
names by which the months had been distinguished, to introduce a new
nomenclature, founded on the exhibitions of nature, in the different
seasons: there was a poetic beauty in the conception and a felicity
of taste in the execution of which no other nation on earth seemed
capable. Their months of buds, flowers and meadows, of harvest, heat
and fruit, of vintage, fog and sleet, of snow, rain and wind, were so
beautiful and so expressive, that they extorted the admiration even
of the reluctant world. Even the wild project of propagating liberty
by the sword, and folding the whole human family in their fraternal
embrace, was so bold and generous and grand, that, in the contemplation
of its magnificence, we forgot its folly. And when, in execution of
this project, the young hero of the republic crossed the Alps, and by
a series of victories that eclipsed the brightest boasts of ancient
history, brought Italy, Austria and Prussia to his feet, it seemed
as if heaven itself had set its seal to the high resolve.
Those days come fresh upon our recollection in consequence of the
recent movement in France. There are not many of us now alive who were
old enough then to understand and recollect them. The first shock
of the revolution, the storming of the bastile, struck this whole
continent, from one end to the other, like an electric flash, and I
believe that there was not a man in the United States whose first
impulse it was not to rush to the side of the gallant people of France,
and to triumph or die in their cause. Had it not been for the barrier
of the ocean, there were hundreds and thousands of our countrymen who
would have obeyed the impulse. Even with that impediment in our way, it
was with extreme difficulty that the illustrious man then at the head
of our affairs, the Father of his country, could restrain us from
plunging into the conflict. No other man, and no other thousand men in
the United States could have done it. And even when done by him, the
idol of our love and the pride of our nation, and of mankind, we
complained, in no very measured terms, of a restraint which probably
saved us from ruin. In truth, our hearts were too deeply engaged to
give fair play to our heads. Many of us were very young, and all
of us under a paroxysm of excitement which scarcely left us morally
responsible for our conduct. So all-absorbing was the passion, that
our own affairs had no longer any flavor for us. We gave to France all
that we were permitted to give, our hearts, our prayers, and all the
sympathies of our nature. Our eyes, our ears were turned, incessantly,
towards her coast, to catch the earliest tidings of her progress, and
every new sail from abroad that hove in sight, set our bosoms into the
wildest commotion. We identified ourselves with her as far as possible.
We assumed her badges, adopted her language of salutation and
intercourse, and all her votive cries of joy and triumph. The names
of her patriots, orators, and generals, "familiar in our mouths
as household words, were, in our flowing cups, _most devoutly_
remembered!" We recited with rapture those noble bursts of indignant or
pathetic eloquence which were continually breaking from her tribune.
Every shout of victory from her shores was echoed back from ours. Every
house and every cottage, our mountains and valleys, rung with her
national airs, and often did we see groups of the old and the young,
the rich and the poor, fathers and sons, virgins and matrons, swelling
the heroic chorus of the Marseilles hymn, with the tears and the fire
of enthusiasm in their eyes. Those days are gone; but there is still
a mournful pleasure in their remembrance. They recall to us many of
those who were wont to join with us in those celebrations, but who can
join with us no more. They recall those visions of glory which then
surrounded France, but which were, afterwards, so mournfully overcast.
They attest the universality, the sincerity, the depth of the interest
which we have ever taken in the cause of her liberty. Long, very long,
was it before that enthusiasm subsided. Never did it subside, while
there was a remaining hope that France might still be free. But the
combined powers, though beaten in every field, were still able to
protract the war, until all the bloom and beauty of the revolution were
gone, and, what was worse, until its very object was lost sight of and
exchanged for a deadly thirst of vengeance, and a proud passion for
the glory of the arms of France. It was this moral transition in the
sentiments of the people, which ultimately defeated the great purpose
of the revolution. For it conducted Napoleon to an imperial throne;
and his ambition, grown frantic with success, urged him to those rash
measures which resulted in the restoration of the Bourbons, and thus
brought back the revolution to the point from which it had started.
This sketch, imperfect as it necessarily is, will enable us to
institute a comparison between the former revolution and the present.
And we cannot but see that it was the slow, lingering, fluctuating
course of the former revolution, and the repeated intervals in which
there was, virtually, no government at all, that gave time for the
demoralization of the people, and for the formation of those terrible
factions within, and those powerful combinations without, which
finally ended in its discomfiture. But here the blow has been struck,
and the whole revolution rounded off and finished in three days. No
time has been afforded for the demoralization of the people; none for
the formation of factions within, or combinations without. The first
intelligence that Europe, or even the remote provinces of France have
of the affair is, that it is finished. It is this celerity, and the
constant presence of an efficient government, which distinguish this
revolution from the former and constitute its safety. The men who head
this movement are practical men, with strong common sense, (the best
of all sense) and with honest intentions. With the former revolution
full in their view, and a thorough knowledge of all the causes of its
miscarriage, they have gone to work in this case with the decision
and despatch of men of business. They change their monarch, limit his
powers, and there they stop. And what power in Europe can complain?
Can England? She has saved us the trouble of a speculation on this
subject by a prompt acknowledgment of the existing government.
Can Austria or Prussia complain of it, as breaking the line of
legitimate succession, while acknowledging Michael on the throne of
Portugal? Or can Russia, while not only acknowledging Michael, but
having her own throne at this moment filled with the younger brother
of the family? These are, both, departures from the strict line of
legitimate succession adopted by the holy alliance: and if it be
sufficient to excuse the departure in these two instances, that the
reigning prince is of the same blood with the right heir, the same may
be urged for the reigning king of France; for he is a Bourbon in the
maternal line. It is not upon the abstract principle of the strict
line of legitimate succession that these powers can be expected to
unite in a war against France. If they do unite in such a war, it will
be to assert the right of a prince to rule despotically, in violation
of the social compact which unites him with his people. Is this
probable? Let us remember that Alexander of Russia was the chief of
the armed negotiators by whom this compact was arranged. That monarch
saw the impossibility of maintaining a despotic prince, of the
obnoxious house of Bourbon, on the throne of France, in the state of
high illumination which then existed among the people. And although
the allied armies were in possession of Paris, he would not permit
Louis the XVIII. to enter until he had given to his people the charter
which they required. Will the present Emperor of Russia support with
his arms the violation of the charter thus sanctioned by his august
brother? That it has been most shamefully and most unwisely violated,
all Europe admits. That the offender has been removed with astonishing
moderation and humanity, is equally admitted. That the revolution is
not a war upon monarchy is apparent by the fact that a monarch now
occupies the throne, and substantially under the charter to which
Russia herself gave her sanction in 1814. With what decency, then,
could Russia interfere? But, waving the _decorum_ of such an
interference, (which perhaps would not be insurmountable,) let us
attend to the motives by which princes are more generally governed;
the practicability of the enterprize, and the value of its precarious
success, compared with the certain costs and hazards of the attempt.
The question is every day becoming more complicated to them: and
circumstances which, at first, seem calculated to provoke this
attempt, immediately assume an appearance well fitted to discourage
it. Thus the contagion is spreading: the Netherlands have risen
and demanded a charter from their king. This is a new alarm to the
neighboring monarchies. But the king of the Netherlands is a sensible
and honest man, and has, we are told, already called the States
General, with a view to the redress of the grievances of his subjects.
This monarch has followed, in the main, the policy of England so
closely as to leave but little doubt that he will be willing to adopt
the British form of government; and that he will, also, follow her
example in the immediate recognition of that of France. Similar
governments will probably soon be instituted both in Spain and
Portugal; and they will be recognized by England, France, and the
Netherlands.
Now, although England was willing in 1792 to unite in a war against
that wild democracy in France, which threatened to subvert, by
force, monarchy in every form, throughout the world, and to give the
fraternal embrace to every nation upon earth, willing or unwilling,
does it follow that she will look with composure at a war on the
limited monarchies in her neighborhood, which she has thought proper
to recognize, and that war, too, headed by Russia? Jealous as she is,
and with good reason, of the alarming strides of the great autocrat,
and interfering, as she certainly did, with his distant enterprise
upon Turkey, will she be content to see the kingdoms in her immediate
neighborhood reduced to Russian dependencies, by those armies of
occupation with which the success of Russia must be followed? Will
Russia rise against the resistance of England to such an enterprise,
when she is believed to have mitigated her designs on Turkey in
consequence of English _mediation_? This is scarcely credible. Or if
she should, will Austria and Prussia, notwithstanding their alleged
servility to her views, follow her in such an enterprise? Those powers
will unquestionably consult their own safety, and will weigh the
consequences, on both sides, before they take such a step. There is a
wide difference between their situation and that of Russia, and what
may be politic for Russia, might be very impolitic for them. The
subjects of Russia are yet in polar darkness: those of Austria and
Prussia are in a very different condition. Look at the internal state
of their own dominions. The spirit of liberty has gone abroad among
their people, and even in Prussia is so strong, that so far back
as 1814 the king found it necessary to promise his subjects an
amelioration of their political condition, to induce them to follow
his standard against France. In Austria liberty is awake, not only
in her Universities, but among the body of her people. Neither of
these powers could send an army against France, without raising and
maintaining another at home to keep down the discontents of their own
people. Those people are no longer the automatons they were in 1814.
They have discovered that they are men as their monarchs are, deriving
from the God of nature equal rights, and with a clear right to
participate in the government of their choice. Is it credible that
they would bear the repeated conscriptions to which such a war would
subject them, for the purpose of carrying on a crusade against the
liberties of others abroad, and thus riveting, more closely, their
own chains at home?
If, in spite of all these discouragements, those powers were mad or
fatuitous enough to meditate such an enterprise, have they any reason
to believe that it could succeed? Must they not see, on the contrary,
that it would be utterly hopeless? Have they forgotten that when
France stood alone, with all Europe combined against her, they found
her invincible; that she swept their embattled hosts from every field,
and led her victorious legions into their own capitals? One of these
monarchs is reported already to have said that "he has had enough of
French wars." Well may he say so; and well may Austria respond "Amen."
They have not forgotten that Napoleon twice "struck their crowns into
the hazard," and that it was by his gift that they now wear them. And
although Napoleon be no more, they well know the gigantic power of
France when armed in such a cause, and how readily a war upon her
liberties will raise up some other Napoleon, probably from among the
heroes of the Polytechnic school, once more to sweep like a whirlwind
over their dominions, and to bring them again to his feet. If France,
single-handed, was able to do this, while every power in Europe
frowned upon her, what will she not be able to accomplish when cheered
by the countenance, and perhaps supported by the arms of England?
Amid so many discouragements, is it conceivable that these powers will
brave the consequences of an enterprise so full of despair? No one
believes that their decision will be governed by any other motive than
their own interest. Their own safety will be their supreme law. But
will not this very consideration conduct them to the conclusion that
it is their wisest course to keep the peace with France, and endeavor
to preserve peace at home? Can they fail to perceive that the
irresistible course of events must constrain them ultimately to make
terms with their subjects; and that it is far wiser to make them at
once, with as good a grace as remains to them, and to place their
governments at least on the basis of the British constitution, of
whose stability they have had such signal proof? Must they not see
that it is far wiser thus to act, than to peril the consequences of
that wild and desolating uproar throughout Europe, which an invasion
of France would unquestionably produce?
That they will take the course that is wisest, because it is the
wisest, may be problematical. But it is scarcely to be presumed that
these sovereigns are so utterly bereft of reason as to provoke and
precipitate their own ruin by a measure so hopeless. If they do
attempt it, it can only be because Heaven, resolved upon their
destruction, has first made them mad.
What course they will take is yet problematical. But supposing them
to have the use of their reason, we have fair grounds of hope, that
although the astounding character of the revolution, and of the
progress of the same principles in the neighboring kingdoms may make
them pause for a while, their own common sense will at length conduct
them all to the conclusion, that there is no other course left for
them but to recognize the existing government of France, and to
direct their attention, exclusively, to their affairs at home.
Very much, indeed every thing, depends upon the prudence of France
herself. If she shall stop where she is, remain quiet, united and
happy at home, and avoid all interference with other governments, the
work is done. If, on the other hand, storms should arise within to
drive her from her present anchorage, and set the revolution afloat
again on a sea of anarchy, every thing is to be feared for herself
and for Europe. Is there any danger of such a relapse? That there are
domestic malcontents, and perhaps foreign emissaries enough in the
kingdom to make the wicked attempt, is probable enough. Is there any
reason to believe that such an attempt will succeed?
The great security of France arises from her past experience,
which must make her distrust all counsels tending to disunion and
disorganization. There is, moreover, an efficient and watchful
government in being, under whose jealous vigilance these incendiaries
will have to carry on their machinations. What theme can they find of
sufficient power to persuade the people of France to leave the port
in which they now find themselves safe and happy, and to commit
themselves again to those seas of whose dangers they have heretofore
had such dreadful experience.
Will it be sympathy for the fallen house of Bourbon? There is no nerve
in France that will respond to such an appeal. That house has no place
in the affections of the people. It was forced upon them, at the point
of the bayonet, in 1814. It has been tried a second time: found to be
incurably despotic, and every indication attests that the revolution
which has again ejected them from the throne, is, in this respect,
popular throughout France. The influence of that family is
extinguished for ever, in the kingdom.
Nor do we learn that there is any other competitor for the crown that
has a party of sufficient strength to unfurl a banner in his cause
with any hope of success. It is not a small faction that can disturb
the peace of such a kingdom as that of France, instructed as they must
necessarily be by their past experience.
It has been suggested that the limited monarchy which has been
established is distasteful to the republicans: and that the match of
discord may be applied with success to this party. But Gen. Lafayette
is at the head of _the republicans_, and a letter from him which has
been recently published is well fitted to quiet our apprehensions on
this score. _He_ would have preferred a republic on our model. But
the question was not what was best in the abstract, but what was best
for France in the situation in which she was placed. What was that
situation? The tastes and prejudices of foreign princes were to be
consulted to avoid all pretext for interference on their part, and
such a government was to be established as the more liberal among
them, (England for example,) would promptly recognize. On the other
hand, with a view to immediate repose in France, herself, it was
indispensably necessary that there should be at once a firm and
efficient government, to avoid those factions which are always
hatched by protracted revolutions, and fluctuating counsels; witness
the afflicting scenes in South America. Hence the necessity of that
compromise which he, Gen. Lafayette, says was so promptly made. The
wisdom of it, both in its foreign and domestic aspect, is so striking,
that the people of France, with the lights of their past experience
before them, cannot fail to see it. Nor can those republicans fail to
see what Gen. Lafayette has so intelligibly stated in another letter
"that although the government be a monarchy, it is a very republican
monarchy, _susceptible of farther improvement_:" and they have a king
manifestly prepared to yield to any improvement they desire; for he
is, in spirit, as much a republican as any man among them.
The people of France finding themselves at once in the actual
enjoyment of the sweets of peace and freedom, under the protection of
a government mild, conciliating and efficient--open, moreover, to such
amendments as experience shall suggest, will hardly be persuaded to
go again in quest of anarchy and confusion, with the horrors and the
catastrophe of the former revolution full in their view. No: they have
not forgotten that fearful lesson: and to suppose them ready, without
any necessity, to re-enact that tragedy, is to suppose them madmen,
without any other claim upon the sympathies of the world than such as
are felt for the inmates of a lunatic asylum.
The quiet and orderly manner in which the people restored the
pavement of their streets, purified their city, and went back to
their respective occupations, after their battle of three days, was,
at that time, a pledge for Paris, always the most to be dreaded of
any other part of the kingdom. They acted like honest and sensible
workmen. They had a public job to do; they finish it, at once, with
all possible moderation and humanity; and then peaceably resume
their private pursuits.
Whom have they to quarrel with? The guards, it seems, fired upon them
reluctantly, until their hearts would permit them to fire upon their
fellow citizens no longer--when they throw down their arms and rush
into their embrace in a manner so touching as to leave no doubt of
the sincerity and permanency of the reconciliation. France, at large,
seems tranquil. A few petty disturbances there may have since been;
but they are the mere foam which was to have been expected from the
fall of such a water-spout. Should more serious disturbances arise,
from any public grievance which demands redress, who can doubt that
it will be redressed, and that the people will be satisfied? We have
this important guaranty for the tranquillity of France, that Lafayette
is in the counsels of the king, and possesses the unbounded confidence
of the people. With a perfect knowledge of his countrymen, and with
an address of unrivalled tact to soothe and to conciliate, he is,
moreover, at the head of the National Guards, and of the whole
military force; and possesses, therefore, the power to entreat with
energy, where moral persuasion fails. But we have no authentic
information to justify the fear that the application of force will
become necessary; and we have good reason to distrust those reports
which, according to custom, will be continually thrown upon the London
Exchange, for the unworthy purpose of speculations in stock.
The quiet and very leisurely manner in which Charles the X. with his
family, was permitted to retire from the kingdom, and his reception by
the people, every where upon his journey, speak volumes on the subject
of the temper of the French, in the very crisis of the revolution.
How different from the flight of the unfortunate Louis and his family
in 1791--posting by night, in disguise and in dismay--pursued by
armed dragoons--finally arrested by the discovery of the keeper of
a post-house--and brought back in disgrace to Paris under an armed
guard, the informer sitting triumphant above him crowned with
laurel--the frantic rabble exulting in his humiliation, and with
difficulty restrained from laying violent hands upon him. Charles X.
on the contrary, travels, with his family, in open day, by the slowest
and easiest journeys, under the respectful escort of the commissaries
of the new government; and the people, every where, so far from any
vulgar display of insolent triumph, touch their hats in silent respect
for the sorrows of the party, with a delicacy of feeling eminently
characteristic of the French when in a state of peace, but at the same
time with an air of calm decision quite as manifest as their delicacy.
The whole movement stands in striking contrast to the former
revolution. In the two legislative houses there was no violence of
debate. Differences of opinion there were: but there was no rude and
bitter altercation. On the contrary, all was as calm and decorous as
it was decisive. And so far from adopting the bloody revolutionary
tribunal which characterised the movement of 1789, one of the first
measures proposed is the abolition of capital punishment. It was made
immediately after the arrest of the late ministers, and was supported
by Lafayette; and no one who observes the point of time and knows
the man, can mistake the purpose. How noble is this humanity to the
fallen; and how strikingly and honorably does it distinguish the
present revolution from the vindictive and sanguinary proceedings of
that of 1789. Is it not manifest that every man who has had any thing
to do with this affair, is acting with direct reference to the former
revolution, and with a settled determination to avoid the false steps
which led to its miscarriage? And is not this determination a most
propitious pledge of the stability and success of the present
revolution?
After all--in a case so dependent on the crooked policy of princes,
and on the wayward and turbulent passions of man--it is possible
that our hopes may be disappointed. Judging, however, by general
appearances both in France and out of it, (so far as any authentic
information has reached us) we have reason to cherish the hope that
that beautiful country is at length as free as she chooses to be,
and that the genius and taste, the fine sensibilities and generous
affections which so pre-eminently distinguish her, will now have
genial skies and full scope for their cultivation and expansion. Sure
I am that I speak the sentiments, not only of this city but of the
whole United States, when I say, that no nation will hail her success
with a truer heart of joy than ours, and that there is none on which
we believe that liberty will sit more gracefully and attractively
than on hers.
Never has her character appeared in a form so captivating as in the
late movement. It has brought forward, among her people, a new class
of candidates for foreign respect and admiration: that class which her
nobles, in haughty contempt, were wont to style the _canaille_, but
who proved themselves, on that occasion, the true noblemen of France,
the noblemen of nature. Their conduct throughout the whole movement
was marked with the noblest lineaments, and their sudden transition
from the shock of arms to the stillness of peace, was sublime. In this
they proved their perfect title to liberty by their fitness to enjoy
it, and, on a most trying occasion, have presented a model of prudence
and wisdom worthy of the remembrance and imitation of us all.
Among the youth of the Polytechnic school, too, there was a
beautiful little incident, so characteristic of the fine and delicate
sensibility of the French, that I cannot forbear adverting to it.
When those boys were required by the present king to designate from
among their number the twelve most distinguished in the late conflict,
with the view of conferring on them the decorations of the legion of
honor--what was their answer? Permit me to read it, as extracted from
our papers, for it is one of those things that will bear a second
reading.
"_To the Secretary of War_:
"_General_--We come in the name of the Polytechnic school, to express
our gratitude on the subject of the crosses of honor awarded to us:
but the recompense appearing to us above our services, and, moreover,
no one of us deeming himself more worthy than his comrades to receive
it, we beg permission to decline accepting them.
"There is a favor, however, we desire to ask of you. One of our
comrades, Venneau, perished on the day of the 27th: We recommend to
your kindness his father, who is in the service of the government,
in the collection of the revenue. We recommend, farther, to your
kindness, General, another of our comrades, Charras, dismissed from
the schools by General Bourdsoulle on account of his opinions. We ask
that he may be restored to our ranks, in which he did good service
these few days.
"In the name of the Polytechnic school, the two scholars deputed by
their comrades,
J. DUPRESNE,
FERRI PISANI.
_August 7th, 1830._"
There is no parade here. It is the simple voice of nature, and goes,
at once, to the heart of every reader. Such is France: radiant with
taste and feeling and generosity in every department of her society:
"in war, the mountain storm--in peace, the gale of spring." Long may
the sun of liberty gild with his glories her vine-covered hills, her
laughing valleys and her splendid cities.
With no pretence of right, and no wish to interfere with the political
institutions of other countries, but, on the contrary, holding it to
be the right of all to pursue their own happiness, in their own way,
and under the form of government which they deem most conducive to
that end--yet believing, as we do, that civil and religious freedom
are essential to the happiness of man, and to the development of the
high capacities, mental and moral, with which his Creator has endowed
him, it is natural for us to rejoice when we see any nation, and more
especially one so endeared to us as France, coming, of her own accord,
into the fold of free governments. If there be any people who believe
that their peace and order and happiness require the curb of a
despotic government, be it so: their believing it, is proof enough to
us that it is so, with regard to them: And however much we may regret,
it is not for us to disturb their repose. Free government is good only
for those who understand its value and are prepared for its enjoyment.
It cannot be forced, with advantage, upon any people who are not
yet ripe for its reception. Nations yet in darkness require, like
children, to be disciplined and instructed before they can act with
advantage for themselves. Their best instruction from abroad, is the
example of other nations; their only proper teachers at home, are
their own enlightened patriots; and the wisest process, the gradual
diffusion of light among them. That a movement may be premature and
end only in abortion and misery, the former example of France has
instructed them. That it may be mature, and the deliverance easy,
quick and safe, she has now given them a happy and beautiful
illustration. It is only by such a revolution as this that the cause
of liberty can present an attraction to the world. It is only in such
a revolution that the humane and benevolent can take delight.
Charity is due even to the prejudices of princes. They are, probably,
as much in the dark on this head, as their subjects. They have been
taught from their cradles that they were born to rule, as their
subjects have been taught from theirs, that they were born to be
ruled. The mistake seems to be mutual, and is, perhaps, equally honest
on both sides. Humanity requires that its correction should be
attended with as little violence as possible, and this can be best
effected by the gradual diffusion of light. Let us be content with the
order of nature, which, however slow, is always safest and best. The
sun does not spring at once from the nadir to the zenith. Such a leap
would bring on a convulsion of nature and the crash of worlds. No: his
ascent is gradual. Our eyes are accommodated, without pain, to his
increasing light. The landscape is softly and beautifully unfolded,
and the planetary system, in the meantime, maintains its harmonious
and salutary action. The seasons revolve in their order; and the
earth brings forth her flowers and her fruits, in peace. So let us be
content to have it in the intellectual world. Let not vain man presume
to be wiser than his Maker, and, in a foolish attempt to force the
order of nature, create only misery, where he intended happiness.
Let us not fear that the light which has already gone forth will be
extinguished. Tyrants might as well attempt to blot the sun from the
firmament. They may attempt it; but "He that sitteth in the heavens
shall laugh them to scorn." The creatures formed for his worship will
be permitted to worship him with exalted faculties and full liberty
of conscience. Placed here for their common good and happiness, and
indued with minds and affections fitted for enlightened intercourse,
and the mutual interchange of kind offices, let us not be so impious
as to fear that the light which has arisen will be suffered to be put
out and the world re-plunged in darkness and barbarity.
Fellow citizens, this light was first struck in our land. The sacred
trust is still among us. Let us take care how we guard the holy fire.
We stand under a fearful responsibility to our Creator and our fellow
creatures. It has been his divine pleasure that we should be sent
forth as the harbingers of free government on the earth, and in this
attitude we are now before the world. The eyes of the world are upon
us; and our example will probably be decisive of the cause of human
liberty.
The great argument of despots against free governments is, that large
bodies of men are incapable of self-rule, and that the inevitable and
rapid tendency of such a government as ours is to faction, strife,
anarchy and dissolution. Let it be our effort to give, to the
expecting world, a great, practical and splendid refutation of this
charge. If we cannot do this, the world may despair. To what other
nation can we look to do it? We claim no _natural_ superiority to
other nations. We have not the folly to think of it. We claim nothing
more than a _natural_ equality. But circumstances have conspired to
give us an advantage in making this great political experiment which
no other modern nation enjoys. The government under which the fathers
of our revolution were born was the freest in Europe. They were rocked
in the cradle and nurtured in the principles of British liberty: and
the transition from those institutions to our own was extremely
easy. They were maturely prepared for the change both by birth and
education, and came into existence as a republic under the happiest
auspices that can ever again be expected to arise. If, therefore, our
experiment shall fail, I say again that the world may well despair.
Warned as we are by the taunts of European monarchists, and by the
mournful example of all the ancient republics, are we willing to split
on the same rock on which we have seen them shipwrecked? Are we
willing to give our enemies such a triumph as to fulfil their prophecy
and convince the world that self-government is impracticable--a mere
chimera--and that man is fit only to be a slave to his fellow man? Are
we willing to teach the nations of the earth to despair, and resign
themselves at once to the power that crushes them? Shall we forfeit
all the bright honors that we have hitherto won by our example, and
now admit by our conduct, that, although free government may subsist
for a while, under the pressure of extrinsic and momentary causes,
yet that it cannot bear a long season of peace and prosperity; but
that as soon as thus left to itself, it speedily hastens to faction,
demoralization, anarchy and ruin? Are we prepared to make this
practical admission by our conduct, and extinguish, ourselves, the
sacred light of liberty which has been entrusted to our keeping? Or,
shall we not rather show ourselves worthy of this high trust, maintain
the advanced post which we have hitherto occupied with so much honor,
prove, by our example, that a free government is the best pledge for
peace and order and human happiness, and thus continue to light the
other nations of the earth on their way to liberty? Who can hesitate
between these two alternatives? Who that looks upon that monument that
decks the Park, and observes the statue by which it is surmounted,
or on this that graces our square, and recalls the occasion on
which it was erected, is willing to admit that men are incapable of
self-government, and unworthy of the blessing of liberty? No man, I
am sure, who has an American heart in his bosom.
Away, then, with all faction, strife and uncharitableness from our
land. We are brothers. Let no angry feelings enter our political
dwellings. If we differ about measures or about men, (as, from the
constitution of our nature, differ we must,) let us remember that we
are all but fallible men, and extend to others that charity of which
the best of us cannot but feel that we stand in need. We owe this good
temper and indulgence to each other as members of the same family, as
all interested, and deeply interested, in the preservation of the
Union and of our political institutions: and we owe it to the world as
the _van-couriers_ of free government on earth, and the guardians of
the first altar that has been erected to Liberty in modern times. In
the casual differences of opinion that must, from time to time, be
expected to arise among us, it is natural that each should think
himself right. But let us be content to make that right appear by calm
and respectful reasoning. Truth does not require the torch of discord
to light her steps. Its flickering and baleful glare can only disturb
her course. Her best light is her own pure and native lustre. Measures
never lose any thing of their firmness by their moderation. They win
their way as much by the candor and kindness with which they are
conducted, as by their intrinsic rectitude.
Friends and fellow-citizens, "our lines have fallen to us in pleasant
places: yea, we have a goodly heritage." Let us not mar it by
vindictive altercations among ourselves, and offend the shades of our
departed fathers who left this rich inheritance to us. Let us not
tinge with shame and sorrow, the venerable cheek of the last surviving
signer of the Declaration of our Independence, whom heaven still
spares to our respect and affections. Let us not disappoint the world
which still looks to us for a bright example, and is manifestly
preparing to follow our steps. Let us not offend that Almighty Being
who gave us all these blessings, and who has a right to expect that we
will enjoy them in peace and brotherly love. It is His will that we
should so enjoy them; and may His will be done.
ADDRESS
OF
THE CITIZENS OF BALTIMORE
TO
THE PEOPLE OF FRANCE.
FRIENDS AND ANCIENT ALLIES:
We, the people of Baltimore, in Convention assembled, do, with
unqualified satisfaction, tender you our heartfelt congratulations,
on the late glorious assertion of your undoubted rights. When we behold
the many and severe trials through which you have passed, we cannot
but express our joy, that your liberty is now fixed on a firm, and,
as we ardently hope, an enduring basis. We must ever bear in vivid
recollection, the efficacious assistance you so liberally extended to
us in our day of peril. The blood and the treasure of France flowed
freely in our cause. Under circumstances of great national difficulty
you alone, among the nations of the world, interposed your shield for
our protection. Frenchmen and Americans fought side by side in the
holy contest for freedom; and variant as were their habits, religion,
manners, and language, it is nevertheless true, that not a solitary
instance of discord disturbed the harmony of the two people. The most
exemplary citizen of America did not render more absolute submission
to the laws, and to the civil authority, than did the gallant and
devoted soldier of France. Such are the noble inspirations of liberty!
These recollections are cherished with gratitude, and will be
faithfully transmitted to millions of unborn Americans. To Heaven, to
France, and to the stout hearts of our ancestors, are we indebted for
all that man should most highly prize. And we rejoice that our ancient
and faithful allies have triumphed over tyranny, have asserted their
unalienable rights, and themselves ordained their great charter of
government. We rejoice that this triumph has been accomplished with
that mild and chastened spirit becoming the age, and peculiar to
advanced civilization. No excess, no absence of moderation, no
intemperate ardor nor vengeful aspirations. In this sublime display
of courage and of humanity, of victory and of forbearance united,
Americans are delighted to see the hand, and to recognize the
benevolent spirit of the great and good LAFAYETTE, to whom the hearts
of the people of Baltimore are bound by so many indissoluble and
grateful associations. History affords no brighter example of cool
and philosophic expression of matured thought, and of determined
yet temperate action. The omen is most propitious, and a people so
actuated must enjoy ages of that liberty they have so dearly yet so
nobly achieved. That this brilliant omen may be carried out into happy
reality, through all courses of time, is our sincere wish, and our
most earnest supplication to HIM who holds the destinies of nations in
his hand.
SAMUEL SMITH, _Chairman_.
JOHN S. SKINNER, _Sec'ry_.
Transcriber's Note
'Bastille' is spelled both 'Bastile' and 'bastile' in this text,
matching the original document.
The following changes have been made to the text:
Page 5: Added missing period (Jewellers and Silversmiths.)
Page 7: Added missing comma (A. M., the right of the line)
Page 7: Added missing comma (JAMES BIAYS, JR.,)
Page 24: Changed 'enterprize' to 'enterprise' for consistency
with other cases in the address (the enterprise, and the value)
Page 25: Changed 'recognise' to 'recognize' for consistency
with other cases in the address (proper to recognize)
Page 39: Changed 'his' to 'His' for consistency with other
references to an Almighty Being (may His will be done)
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Celebration in Baltimore of the
Triumph of Liberty in France, by William Wirt
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