^f^^^-%. /*f*f religion ; all interwoven with passages of sublimity and beauty, and compacted in the texture of finished literature. Mr. Webster's writings properly include his wdiole works. By these his reputation is to be tested. His literary orations, his Congressional speeches, his legal arguments, his occasional addresses, his diplomatic and official papers, his miscellaneous letters, form a unity of mental achievement which cannot fail in all future time to command admiration. The specimens given to the public of Mr. Webster's easy, off-hand, familiar letter-writing, are equal to anything of the kind that has ever appeared. The variety of the subjects in Mr. Webster's works is as remarkable as the general excellence which marks the treatment of them all. One thing about Mr. Webster's writings is a fortu- nate attainment. I refer to his love of pure, old, strong words. No man has done more to retain the Saxon element in our literature. In his speeches, writings, and conversation, Daniel Webster was true to his mother tongue. To use one of his own allu- 9 G 98 EULOGY ON sions at the Royal Agricultural Society in England, he loved "the hith and lew of the old Savon race." 1 Daniel Webster's works have recently been pub- lished in six splendid octavo volumes. They are the repositories of great thoughts on great subjects ex- pressed in great words. Mr. Everett states that, in preparing the works of Mr. Webster for the press, almost everything was left to his editorial discretion in matters of taste. But one thing Mr. Webster en- joined. " My friend," said be, "I wish to perpetuate no feuds. ... I have sometimes, though rarely, and that in self-defence, been led to speak of others with severity. I beg you, where you can do it without wholly changing the character of the speech, and thus doing essential injustice to me, to obliterate every trait of personality of this kind." Mr. Everett well adds : " But I need not tell you. fellow-citizens, that there is no one of our distinguished public men, whose speeches contain less occasion for such an injunction." Mr. Webster's writings are pervaded with high moral sentiment, and with references to sacred subjects adapted to impress the mind with reverence. In the language of one of his friends 2 to the citizens of Springfield, Massachusetts : " It is fortunate for us and for posterity that so many of his speeches have been so well preserved ; and that his works havf been collected and published while he lived to superintend the 1 Yol. i., p. 438. 2 Eeuben A. Chapman, Esq. DANIEL WEBSTER. ( .»-> publication, and to adorn them with such exquisitely beautiful and touching dedications to those relations for whom he felt so warm an affection. Those works, and others which will yet be added, are of the richest treasures of the country. There is yet one — a history of the Administration of "Washington, which he had long been engaged to some extent in preparing, but which it is to be feared is left incomplete. Xo man was so competent to write this history as he; for he knew all the history of this country by heart. He ouce remarked of himself, that it was but a little that he knew ; but if he knew anything, it was the his- tory of this country. He added, that at the age of fourteen years he became interested in the study of this history, and had never lost that interest, nor ceased to make it a study." Daniel Webster's Works will serve admirably to in- crease and to perpetuate his reputation. Whilst they are splendid contributions to American literature, they are guardians, for posterity, of his fame as Jurist, Statesman, Orator, and Writer. III. Having attempted to form an estimate of Mr. Webster in the prominent varieties of his public life, let us turn to his more private and social traits of character, and to the solemn scenes of his death. It is acknowledged by all that Mr. Webster's great- ness shone in the social circle no less than in public life. Though not as readily accessible as some men. and having an appearance, which might, at times, be called dignity, and, at times, reserve, he had never- theless a large, social heart, which beat true in its friendships, and which was generous and warm in its affections. 100 EULOGY ON A writer, who knew him well, thus remarks of his more familiar intercourse : ' " Mr. Webster was never seen to more advantage than within his own household, at the family board, or in strolling with him over his farm at Marshfield, or standing with him upon the sea- beach and looking out upon the ocean before us, which, like the scope of his intellectual vision, appeared boundless. " We have enjoyed these things, and there are no events in our life in which we have experienced more pleasure. As we write, they involuntarily rise before us, like blessed visions of other and better days. To hear him converse upon the past, the present, the future, in a familiar, colloquial manner, to listen to his great thoughts expressed in the purest words of our language, and won- der how he could thus speak and think, are joys which we cau find no words to express. " His fund of anecdote and of personal reminiscence was inex- haustible. No one could start a subject, relating to history, and especially to American Congressional life, about which he could not relate some anecdote connected with some. of the principal characters, which, when told, would throw additional light upou the narrative, and illustrate some prominent trait in the charac- ters of the persons engaged in the transaction. This great gift he possessed in a degree unsurpassed. Mr. Webster's ' table talk' was fully equal to any of his more elaborate efforts in the Senate. He could' talk, to use a somewhat misnomeric expres- sion, as well as he could speak. He had a keen sense of the ludicrous, and loved and appreciated nice touches of eccentric humour." The manner in which Mr. Webster was accustomed to speak and write of his father and mother, his sisters and brothers, his wife and children, indicates the true sensibilities of his nature. The following language 1 In the Boston Alias. DANIEL WEBSTER. 101 of one of his friends ' beautifully expresses the sen- timents, doubtless, of all who knew him. "Upon a near and familiar approach to most great men, they dwindle to the size of common men. Their greatness is only seen on special occasions, and after much preparation. Bnt he. though familiar and frank as a child, though never attempting to display his superiority, appeared greatest in his most familiar and careless conversation. It may be said of him, as travellers say of the Pyramids, that one can only appreciate their full size when standing at their base. I have heard in his private con- versation, higher specimens of eloquence than his published works contain. "Great as his powers of argument and eloquence were, that which gives the brightest lustre to all his public addresses, is the lofty tone of moral purity that pervades them. This moral purity of sentiment was founded in a reverence for God and for the Christian religion. His private conversation, his most intimate friends testify, was never blemished by a profane, irreverent, inde- cent, or unseemly expression." Mr. Webster had a strong sympathy with nature. The works of creation afforded relaxation and delight to his mind. A taste for agricultural pursuits, which was early sown in the rich mould of his genial nature, was cultivated, as he had opportunity, and yielded harvests of enjoyment in his summer and autumnal years. In his speech on the agriculture of England, delivered at Boston, in 1840, he commenced by saying : " Mr. Chairman : I would observe in the outset of 1 Reuben A. Chapman, Esq., in his address before the Spring- field bar, Massachusetts. 9* 102 EULOGY ON these remarks, that I regard agriculture as the lead- ing interest of society ; and as having, in all its rela- tions, a direct and intimate bearing upon human comfort and national prosperity. / have been fam iliar with its operations in my youth ; and I have always looked upon the subject with a lively and deep in- terest." ' About the year 1825, Mr. Webster purchased a part of his Marshfield estate, which he afterwards enlarged by other purchases until the farm included about 2000 acres, " extending from a beach at the north, nearly two miles in length, on which the ocean dashes its ever-rolling waves, to a low range of pictu- resque hills on the south and southwest," This large plantation embraced every variety of upland and low- land ; and although much indebted to nature, it owed more to the laborious, reclaiming processes of a scien- tific and masterly agriculture. Mr. Webster attended by personal oversight to the practical working and general management of his farm. Thus, in his letter to John Taylor, he gives the following directions about one of his farms, whilst attending, at Washington, as Secretary of State, to the great political interests of the nation : Washington, March 17, 1852. John Taylor : Go ahead. The heart of the Winter is bro- ken, and before the first day of April, all your land may be 1 Webster's Works, vol. i., page 443. DANIEL WEBSTER. 103 ploughed. Buy the oxen of Captain Marston, if you think the price fair. Pay for the hay. I send you a check for $160, for these two objects. Put the great oxen in a condition to be turned out and fattened. You have a good horse-team; and I think in addition to this, four oxen and a pair of four-year-old steers will do your work. If you think so, then dispose of the Stevens oxen, or unyoke them, and send them to the pasture for beef. I know not when I shall see you, but I hope before planting. If you need anything, such as guano, for instance, write to Joseph Buck, Esq., Boston, and he will send it to you. Whatever ground you sow or plant, see that is in good condi- tion. We want no 'pennyroyal crops. "A little farm well tilled," is to a farmer the next best thing to a "little wife well willed." Cultivate your garden. Be sure to produce sufficient quantities of useful vegetables. Mr. Webster was interested in agriculture, mind and heart and soul. Thoroughly conversant with its philosophical principles, he was also an enthusiast in their practical application. His crops were large ; the pastures kept in good order ; drainage thoroughly attended to ; the agricultural implements of the best description ; the cattle of a superior quality ; in short, the Marshfield estate presented an example of tho- rough, prosperous, intelligent management. Mr. Webster paid particular attention to his cattle. He loved a fine animal, and knew wherein consisted its good points. He was an excellent judge of stock. Among his numerous animals of foreign blood, were Devon s, Alderneys, Ayrshires, Hertfordshires, and Durhams. His interest in these amounted almost to a friendship. It is an affecting incident that, during 104 EULOGY ON his last sickness, he ordered his favourite herds to be driven up towards the house, in a position to be seen from his window; and there, for the last time, his admiring eye looked upon their well-bred proportions of beauty and strength. Mr. Webster's address on "the agriculture of Eng- land," to which allusion has been made, contains a large amount of useful matter. Beginning with the primary elements which enter into the consideration of the agriculture of a country, which he defined to be four, — "climate, soil, price of land, and price of labor" — he makes some general remarks on each, and then goes on to discuss a great variety of practical questions of the highest interest to American agri- culturists. The address contains a mass of agricul- tural information, compact as a rich wheat-field, and goldened all over with the natural color of his ripe literature. It concludes as follows : "Agriculture feeds us ; to a great degree it clothes us; with- out it we should not have manufactures, and we could not have commerce. These all stand together, but they stand together like pillars in a cluster, the largest in the centre, and that largest is agriculture. Let us remember, too, that we live in a country of small farms and freehold tenements ; a country in which men cultivate with their own hands their own fee-simple acres, draw- ing not only their subsistence, but also their spirit of independ- ence" and manly freedom, from the ground they plough. They are at once its owners, its cultivators, and its defenders. And whatever else may be undervalued or overlooked, let us never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. Man may be civilized, in some degree, without great progress in manufactures and with little commerce with his DAXIEL WEBSTER. 105 distant neighbors. But without the cultivation of the earth, he is, in all countries, a savage. Until he gives up the chase, and fixes himself in some place and seeks a living from the earth, he is a roaming barbarian. When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization."' Mr. Webster's general information on the branclu s of knowledge, which are cognate to agriculture, was extensive. He understood a good deal of chemistry. botany, 1 natural history, mineralogy, geology. No branch of learning was alien to him, as an agricul- turist. Mr. Webster's recreations were of the out-door kind. He loved fishing, gunning, riding, walking, sailing. His boat, which was called the -'Home Squadron," often tested his skill at navigation, in these re. tions he was hearty, and up to any one in skill and enjoyment. His habits of early rising gave him a long day, and no man had a better right to pleasant relaxation. He ever delighted in "The breezy call of incense-breathing morn ;" and the exhilaration of the early sun was spread through the habits of his life, whether at Washington or on his farm. 1 The writer remembers his astonishment, many years ago, when, in walking about his father's grounds in Albany, with this statesman (the only character in which he was then known to in • . Mr Webster seemed perfectly familiar with every variety of tree-, some of which were rare, and referred to Michaux' North American Sylva, and other standard works on botany, as he would to Vattel's Law of Nations. L06 EULOGY ON His mansion, with all its sights and associations, was Webstcrian. It is a large, massive structure, combining the antique and tbe modern, raised upon a knoll above the general outline of the surrounding scenery, in full view of the rolling sea, and in the midst of the associations of Pilgrim history and the remnants of Pilgrim graves. 1 Its internal arrange- ments are those of convenience and taste, with plenty of room for friends, a large library, and the miscella- neous appurtenances of a gentleman-farmer's home, specially adorned with a collection of medals, voted to General Washington by the old Congress. 2 Yonder magnificent elm, which stands near the mansion, and which has seen a century of storms, sheltered its proprietor for the last time, about a fort- night before his death. Going out to reciprocate the salutations of a wedding-party who had called to see him, he returned after a few minutes into the house ; leaving his last footmark upon his beloved Marshfield 1 Plymouth Rock is about twenty miles off, and on a clear day the scene of the Mayflower's landing may be discerned. The graveyard, where many of the early colonists of the parish were buried, is within a mile of the mansion. Here is the grave of Governor Winslow, and also of Peregrine White, the first-born child of the Colony. Near by, stood the old parish church, built next after that of Plymouth. 2 These medals were offered to Congress; but that body being slow to purchase them, they were presented by private liberality to Mr. Webster's family. Since the death of the great Wash- tngtonian. are they not to be deposited with some national in- stitution ? DANIEL WEBSTER. 107 farm, and taking the last out-door glance upon its beautiful and variegated outline. Would that a man, so great, had borne through life a consistent religious character ! Here his great- ness, alas ! fails. Whatever may have been latterly his religious feelings and exercises, his moral example cannot be held up to the unqualified admiration of American youth. The great question, after all, that decides human character and destiny is, "Was he religious?" That many have entertained doubts in reference to the re- ligious character of the distinguished man who has now ended his earthly probation, is an admission due to truth. It is not denied, and ought not to be con- cealed, that Mr. Webster's character during periods of his lifetime, suffered serious loss from charges of immorality. To what extent these were true, or false, it is impossible to affirm; doubtless they were much exaggerated. And who can say that the delin- quencies charged were not either backslidings from general Christian steadfastness, or sins repented of in the later exercises of his soul, and washed away by the blood of an atoning Saviour? There are certainly many interesting illustrations of the strength of the religious sentiment in the mind and conscience of the great statesman. His early religious training, under the parental roof, was thorough and enduring in its impressions. He ac- 108 EULOGY ON quired a taste and reverence for the Bible which never forsook him, and committed to memory the Catechism and the larger portion of Watts's Psalms and Hymns. Under the care of Dr. Abbott of Exeter Academy, and of Dr. Wood of Boscawen, his reli- gious convictions must have been cultivated and strengthened. In his college course, Dr. Shurtleff testifies to the fidelity with which he discharged his general duties, and to the un deviating strictness of his moral character. When he taught school at Frye- burg, Dr. Osgood, who lived in the same house with him, says that he was a professor of religion, and even had thoughts of entering the ministry. His first wife was the pious daughter of a Congregational clergy- man. So far, all betokens .well. Evangelical reli- gion, deeply rooted in his mind, seems to have been exerting also a practical influence on his life. After Mr. Webster's settlement in Boston, few par- ticulars about his religious sentiments and habits have been divulged to the public. It is well known, that at this time, or shortly after, the great mass of the educated and influential professional men of the city, were Unitarians. Almost all the old churches had departed from the ancient faith of New England, and Park Street Church was not yet founded. It is stated, in one of the papers, that Mr. Webster attended the Brattle Street Church — Unitarian — for sixteen years. Unitarianism at that time, however, was in a com- DANIEL WEBSTER. 109 paratively latent form, and many persons attended the old churches, partly from choice, and partly from necessity, who never enrolled themselves as Unita- rians. Certainly Daniel Webster has never been claimed as a Unitarian. He was always a believer in the divinity of Christ, and in the fundamental doc- trines of the Evangelical Faith. An orthodox Con- gregational clergyman, who had charge of a parish to which Mr. Webster formerly belonged, says that, upon one occasion, the distinguished statesman "spoke of how the cause of orthodoxy was protected in the north of Boston by the indefatigable Dr. Morse, of Charlestown," a man who was "always thinking, always reading, always writing, always preaching, always acting"— of the Rev. Dr. Codman, " who main- tained the cause at the south, at Dorchester, and of other clergymen of that day." Mr. Webster, on be- coming an inhabitant of Dorchester, where he spent the summer for a number of years, called upon Dr. Codman, and, in the course of the conversation, he remarked : " Sir, I am come to be one of your parish- ioners, not one of your fashionable ones, but you will find me in my seat both in the morning and after- noon." Mr. Webster, in the latter years of his life, attended the Episcopal Church, of which his wife was a mem- ber. He himself had joined the Congregational Church, in Salisbury, in early life ; and this accounts 10 110 EULOGY ON for the fact, that he occasionally partook of the sa- crament, where he happened to he, with members of different denominations. Such acts show the power- ful, indwelling sense of the claims of religion ; and as he was the farthest possible removed from hypo- crisy, they are the expressions of a sincere belief in the doctrines and requirements of the Gospel. For the last two years of his life, the great states- man seems to have given himself up more and more to religious duties. The Rev. Dr. Shurtleff, of Dart- mouth College, in referring to the subject, 1 " spoke of his last interview with Mr. Webster in Boston, about two years ago, at his (Mr. Webster's) invitation. Knowing that great men are liable, from their posi- tion, to fail of receiving personal exhortation from the clergy, he resolved to do that duty which early intimacy, and as pastor in the college for a long period, made fit. He did so, and found Mr. Webster not only kindly disposed, but even anticipating him in the free communication of his personal religious feelings. Dr. Shurtleff said : ' I found his views of Christian doctrine and the claims of Christian duty perfectly coincident with my own.' " There are many other concurrent testimonies to the same purport. The pastor of the Orthodox Church in Marshfield, unequivocally expresses an entire con- 1 At a late meeting of the officers and students of Dartmouth College. DANIEL WEBSTER. Ill fidence in Mr. Webster's religious character. In the address at the funeral, reference is made to his habit of engaging, at least at times, in family worship ; and the pastor applies to Mr. Webster these words : "lam bound to say, that in the course of my life, I never met with an individual, in any profession or condition, who always spoke and always thought with such awful reverence of the power and presence of God. No irreverence, no lightness, even no too familiar allu- sions to God and his attributes, ever escaped his lips. " Those who knew him best, can most truly appre- ciate the lessons, both from his lips and his examph-. teaching the sustaining power of the Gospel." In the light of these various evidences, especially when viewed in their connection with his sound train- ing in the faith and his early attention to religion, the hope may be charitably indulged, that Daniel Webster relied for salvation upon the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ ; 1 and yet a little child, or a poor slave, may, in the kingdom of God, be greater than he. 1 The caution of the writer in speaking on this subject, may seem excessive, and even repulsive to those whose views of reli- gious truth are more lax than the Westminster standards. I have, however, according to my own religious convictions, al- luded to this solemn and delicate question, and endeavored to obey the claims of Christian charity. There are persons, on the opposite extreme, who will doubtless censure even the expression of a hope. I trust that the language employed will not, on the whole, offend many of the followers of Christ. God alone knows the heart. This prerogative the writer has not attempted to invade. 112 E D LOG Y ON The hope of his religious character is strongest when we approach his dying bed, and behold him in the hour when heart and flesh fail. The startling intelligence is brought that the great statesman is dying ! Disease is invading the frame which God built for the abode of living greatness. The body is but dust, but dust in mysterious glory ! i; It is said that when Thorwaldsen, the Danish sculp- tor, was residing in Rome, he visited the studio of our countryman, Powers. In looking about the room, he discovered a plaster cast of Webster. He inquired, with surprise, whether it could be possible that it was the actual representation of any man ; and after a long and careful examination, he pronounced it supe- rior to the highest conception of mental strength and dignity which the ancients had been able to express in their busts of Jupiter." That wonder-compelling cast, though brittle, is to outlive the majestic head that gave it form. The cheek, which once corres- ponded with its outline, is now wan and shrunken with disease. The arch of his • massive, intellectual brow, is already shaken by the failing keystone of lite. The "large, black, solemn-looking eye," alone shines with unabated strength, lighting up the im- pending ruin, and casting rays which will soon, in expiring, render the darkness more visible. Ah ! Immortal Orator ! Art thou on the bed of death ? Heaven sustain thee there ! The terrific work of DAXIEL WEBSTER. 113 bodily destruction is going forward under the arrange- ments of that Providence which is concerned in all births, all lives, all deaths. Let us approach the scene with awe ; and may God be Avith us when our own time shall come ! On Thursday morning, Mr. Webster despatched his last public business ; in the afternoon, gave some di- rections about his farm ; and in the evening, executed his will, which had been previously prepared. "Du- ring all these transactions, and throughout the whole evening, Mr. "Webster showed an entire self-posses- sion, and the most perfect composure and clearness of all his faculties, speaking with his peculiar aptness of phraseology, words of kindness and consolation to those around him, and expressing religious sentiments, appropriate to his condition, with the greatest sim- plicity and earnestness. His voice was as clear and distinct as it ever was, and his mind showed constant evidence of those qualities of exactness and power which had so strongly characterized his career." On Friday afternoon, he asked to have the people employed in his family and upon his farm, called in ; and after giving them much earnest advice upon mat- ters temporal and spiritual, he bade them a last farewell. On Saturday evening, being told that his end was approaching, he summoned, first the female members of his family, and then the male ; and addressing to them appropriate words of farewell, and of religious 10* H 114 EULOGY ON consolation, bade adieu to them for ever. In the course of these interviews, he remarked : " What would be the condition of any of us without the hope of im- mortality ? What is there to rest that hope upon but the gospel ? " ' He also remarked : " My general wish on earth has been to do my Maker's will. I thank him, I thank him for the means of doing some little good ; for these beloved objects, for the blessings that sur- round me, for my nature and associations. I thank him that I am to die under so many circumstances of love and affection." l Shortly after the interviews with his relatives and friends, as if speaking to himself, he said : " On the 24th of October, all that is mortal of Daniel Webster will be no more." He now prayed in his natural, usual voice — strong, full, and clear — ending with, " Heavenly Father, for- give MY SINS, AND RECEIVE ME TO THYSELF, THROUGH Jesus Christ.", Conversing with great exactness, he seemed to be anxious to be able to mark to himself the final pe- riod of his dissolution. He was answered that it might occur in one, two, or three hours, but that the time could not be defi- nitely calculated. " Then," said Mr. Webster, " I suppose I must lie here quietly till it comes." 1 George T. Curtis, Esq. DANIEL WEBSTER. 115 The retching and vomiting now recurred again ; and Dr. Jeffries offered to Mr. Webster something which he hoped might give him ease. The dying statesman remarked : " Something more, Doctor — more. I want restoration." Between ten and eleven o'clock, he repeated, some- what indistinctly, the words, "Poet, poetry — Gray, Gray." Mr. Fletcher Webster repeated the first line of the elegy — " The Curfew tolls the knell of parting day." " That's it, that's it," said Mr. Webster ; and the book was brought and some stanzas read to him, which seemed to give him pleasure. From twelve o'clock till two, there was much rest- lessness, but not much suffering ; the physicians were quite confident that there was no actual pain. A faintness occurred, which led him to think that his death was at hand. . While in this condition, some expressions fell from him, indicating the hope that his mind would remain to him completely until the last. He spake of the difficulty of the process of dying, when Dr. Jeffries repeated the verse : " Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me — thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." Mr. Webster said immediately : " The fact — the 116 EULOGY ON fact ! That is what I want ! Thy rod — thy rod! thy staff— thy staff!" Only once more did he speak after this. On arous- ing from a deep sleep, he uttered the words : " I still live." The close was perfectly tranquil and easy. He died on the 24th of October, about a quarter before 3 o'clock, in the morning. Thus, by a beautiful coincidence, his departure occurred early in his own favorite part of the day — early in the morning. In his letter, on this topic, he said : " I know the morning — I am acquainted with it, and love it." We trust that, through the infinite srace of Christ, he had reason to love that last morn- ing, and that its light was to him, spiritually, "as the light of the morning icJien the sun. riseth, even A MORNING WITHOUT CLOUDS ! " IV. As Christians, and as citizens, it becomes us to endeavor to search out some of the lessons of Providence, in. the light and gloom of the grave of Webster. 1. Let us thank God for raising up such men, in His providence, and look to Him for their suc- cession. Webster came from the hands of God. His vast intellect, in fitting union with a noble frame, was workmanship Divine. His life, although not free from censure, and in nothing perfect, has left influ- ences so generally favorable to our national prosperity, DANIEL WEBSTER. 117 that a thankful acknowledgment is due to the Maker and Ruler of all. The mind, which enabled the jurist to plead, the statesman to devise and execute, the orator " The applause of listening Senates to command," that mind, so fertile in resources of power, and so exerted in behalf of his country, her laws, and her rights, was given and sustained in reason to the last, by Him, in whom we all " live, and move, and have our being." Let God have the glory of his genius, his wisdom, his eloquence, his public services, his political influence, and his solemn death. Whence but from heaven can the succession of such men be expected ? To God alone can the nation look for public characters, who shall be equally able and equally willing to serve the United States of America. In time past, God has given to our country great minds as well as great natural landmarks. Bounded with mighty oceans, and coursed by vast rivers, and prairies, and mountains, our land has been the birth-place of Washington, and Franklin, and Henry, and Jefferson, and Adams, and Marshall, and Jay, and many other names of national immortality. But never have appeared simultaneously in American history three statesmen of superior mental greatness to Calhoun, Clay, and Webster. The general mourn- ing, which followed the departure of each from the 118 EULOGY ON theatre of their common fame, shows a nation's esti- mate of its great public loss. And never was mourn- ing more universal, and less interrupted by party prejudices, than over the last of the three — the Champion of the Constitution. In the beautiful lan- guage of one of America's chief poets : ! •'The great are falling from us; to the dust Our flag droops midway, full of many sighs; A nation's glory and a people's trust Lie in the ample pall where Webster lies. " The great are falling from us, one by one, As fall the patriarchs of the forest trees ; The winds shall seek them vainly, and the sun Gaze on each vacant space for centuries. " Lo ! Carolina mourns her steadfast pine, Which, like a mainmast, towered above her realm ; And Ashland hears no more the voice divine From out the branches of her stately elm. "And Marshfield's giant oak, whose stormy brow Oft turned the ocean tempest from the west, Lies on the shore he guarded long : and now Our startled Eagle knows not where to rest." But God will continue to give us great men, if we put not undue confidence in them. There are sap- lings in our American forests which may yet attain to equal elevation with Upland, or Hanover, or Salis- bury growth ; and the American eagle, when it no more shall find high resting-places for its glory, will 1 T. Buchanan Read. DANIEL WEBSTER. 119 soar away into heaven and die in the light of the dazzling sun. 2. The influence of eaely religious training and of association in the formation of character is one of the plainest inferences. Daniel "Webster was well trained and well se - <-iated all his early years. He was cradled, and nur- tured, and fellowshipped by the wise and good. Few men have had better influences to grow up under than the Salisbury boy. until after he left his Frye- burg retirement, and came to Boston. Early edu< ■- tion marked its traces upon his character, distinctly visible. Like the even flow of a crystal current wearing into the rock of the mountain, his training wrought into the solid range of his thought and soul. Fathers ! mothers ! take care of your children ! Without thorough religious influences, there i- littl hope of future restraint upon their passions, or of the right application of their talents. Unattended to in their early days, your sons will grow up to become like the deceitful brook — dry in the season of need, and pouring down wild torrents in every storm. 3. The value of an academical and collegiate education is another important lesson. If Daniel Webster had not been furnished with the discipline of a complete education, his mind never could have received that intellectual expansion which made him so srreat anions: his fellows. The academv 120 EULOGY ON and college are the workshops of busy minds. He was early indentured to his profession, and acquired his civil and political skill from lessons in the ancient classics, in philosophy, history, and literature, and from the mind-sharpening processes of youthful com- petition and industry. The rule of greatness is early diligence and acquirement. There are indeed excep- tions to this rule, but never exceptions like unto Daniel Webster. Such men are men of trained at- tainment, of early-wrought cultivation; not left to the rare contingency of self-development, but nur- tured out by the skilful influence of preparatory study, mental discipline, and learned acquisition. Our academies and colleges are the training-places of able public and professional men. Let them be sus- tained and multiplied ! Let learning be honored ! 4. A great encouragement is presented in the life of Daniel Webster to the laudable aspirings of YOUNG MEN IN . HONEST POVERTY. Ambition, misdirected and earthly, is a curse to the soul that harbors it. But there is a pure and commendable desire to do one's best, which is alike the dictate of patriotism and of Christianity. Webster once engaged in the commonest employments among men. Reputable but lowly, his intellect and perse- verance elevated him to the highest stations and honors of his country. Many a common school-boy will feel the influence of his example ; many a stu- DANIEL WEBSTER. llil dent of Dartmouth and other American colleges will be stimulated by the rising fortunes of the farmer's son; and many a teacher, toiling over the double work of instructing others and of self-instruction, will gain energy from the scenes of Fryeburg, which led up to the heights of legal and political distinc- tion. All, of every condition and age, may learn t'mm Webster to do their best for their country. But a right ambition stops not there. And if he failed, in any respect, in the fulness of a true example, let all remember that it is our duty to do our best for our country and for our God. " Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's, ■ Thy God's, and truth's." 5. The capriciousness of public opinion is one of the truths of the occasion. Public men cannot count upon a full reward of their eminent services at the tribunal of popular favor. This life is a life of discipline ; and none need its trials and disappointments more than those who mingle in the great scenes of the world's affairs. Nor are any more sure of experiencing disappointments in large, embittering measures. Every statesman at times is made to realize the capriciousness of public opinion, and "Finds the people strangely fantasied." Mr. Webster received many testimonies of high na- il 122 EULOGY ON tional homage, and yet the highest was given not to him, but to far inferior men. It is no departure from truth to say that Harrison and Taylor never once breathed the intellectual inspirations which were the daily motions of Webster's soul. And yet such men were preferred before him. But no fame of theirs. — though the fame of battles and of victories, — can equal the triumphs of genius, wrought by thee, Statesman, Jurist, and Orator, of a deathless renown ! Thou wast spared the sight of the last contest, and the fruitless efforts of a faithful few! God himself withdrew thy illustrious name from the struggle, wrapping thee away from the dust of an inglorious arena in the majestic pall of a statesman's mantle ! 6. The homage paid by intellect to Cheistianity is illustrated in the life of this great man. Mr. Webster's public speeches and addresses, throughout out his whole career, are pervaded with religious thought, and the acknowledgment of Chris- tianity. It is stated by his Marshfield pastor that he contemplated writing a book on the Evidences of Christianity, so much interest did he entertain in that great subject. Behold, then, another great name added to the long list of those whose highly culti- vated intellects sustain the religion of Jesus Christ on its external and internal evidences. Let the sceptic pause in view of the confounding testimony of such an array of minds, capable of far-reaching discrimi- DANIEL WEBSTER. 123 nation, of severe investigation, and patient deduction of truthful conclusions. Among Mr. Webster's many public declarations in homage of religion, are the following sentences of an address delivered in commemoration of his old friend and compeer, Jeremiah Mason: "But, Sir, political eminence and professional fame fade away and die with all things earthly. Nothing of character is really permanent but virtue and personal worth. These remain. What- ever of excellence is wrought into the soul itself belongs to both worlds. Real goodness does not attach itself merely to this life ; it points to another world. Political or professional reputation cannot last forever ; but a conscience void of offence before God and man, is an inheritance for eternity. Religion, therefore, is a necessary and indispensable element in any great human cha- recter. There is no living without it. Religion is the tie that connects man with his Creator, and holds him to his throne. If that tie be all sundered, all broken, he floats away, a worthless atom in the universe, its proper attractions all gone, its destiny thwarted, and its whole future nothing but darkness, desolation, and death. A man with no sense of religious duty is he whom the Scriptures describe, in such terse but terrific language as living 'without God in the world.' Such a man is out of his proper being, out of the circle of all his duties, out of the circle of all his happiness, and away, far, far away, from the purposes of his creation." 7. The end of eaethly gkeatness is seen at the Marshfield grave. There is an appointed season unto man of life and of death. Both his soul and his dust are under providential doom; and generation after generation passes away, amidst crumbling thrones and universal 124 EULOGY ON instability. Human elevation, at best a tottering pinnacle, falls at death. " The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Await alike th' inevitable hour : The path of glory leads but to the grave." The death of Webster is the expression of a uni- versal law — of a law which regulates the setting, as well as the rising, of the star of human destiny. This great man, closing his eyes in death, declares, with speechless solemnity, more eloquent than living utterance, that "political and professional reputation cannot last for ever ; but a conscience void of offence towards God and man is an inheritance for eternity." " Political eminence and professional fame fade away and die with all things earthly. Nothing of character is really permanent but virtue and personal worth." 8. Personal religion, the highest form of worth, is the true glory and joy of a statesman. Alas! that the character we have been contem- plating should fail in inspiring the same trust in its religious attributes as it commands in its other forms of greatness ! If the illustrious statesman had ex- hibited the transparent and consistent piety of Wil- liam Wilberforce, or John Jat, what an amount of service might have been rendered in the spiritual kingdom, as well as in the political world ! The example of public men, and especially of great public DANIEL WEBSTER. 125 men, is influential on a large scale. May God never curse our country with greatness dissevered from goodness ! The religion of Jesus Christ, which is the only true basis of individual character, is the only safe support of the State. Pergonal piety includes more than an acknowledg- ment of Christianity as a system of religious belief; it has holier exercises than a mere respect for sacred things; it implies more than an outward morality, however severe. Originating by the grace of God in "faith in our Lord Jesus Christ," it "works by love, purifies the heart, and overcomes the world." Works are the evidence and the expression of faith ; and trust cannot be sincere, however clear may be credence, without the accompanying fruits of righteousness. Religion, heartfelt and sustaining, is the want of our nature. The highest attainments of worldly fame can never satisfy the immortal soul. It grasps for something that is divine and enduring. All else is a reed, — brittle and deceitful, — which no one may rest upon in a dying hour. "A rod — thy rod ; a staff — thy staff" — " that is what we want" when we go out to walk alone in the valley of the shadow of death. 11* BATTLE OF LAKE GEOKGE. (127) An Historical Discourse, on the occasion of the centennial eelebra- tion of the Battle of Lake George, 1755, delivered at the Court House, Caldwell, N. Y., September 8th, 1855. (128; HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. Citizens of "Warrex County axd Visitors at the Lake : The echoes of a hundred years resound throughout the mountain-passes. The roar of provincial cannon thunders amidst the flash of Battle ; and, from noon to the setting sun, armies contend for victory on the shore of the peaceful and trembling lake. To-day the great events of other generations are marshalled by memory into their original order and commanding position; and as Americans, victorious then, as in a greater conflict, we are assembled to commemorate the triumphs of the olden time. — Eighteen hundred cmd fifty-five sends back to seventeen hundrt d and fifty- five the congratulations of a century, over the inheritance deeded and signed on the battle- field of Lake George on the 8th of September. Lake George and vicinity is the classic ground of the Old French War. Every hill-top threw the sha- dow of warlike scenes into the lake, and its southern and northern shores were spectators of the decisive events which at length ended in the subjugation of Canada and the prosperity of the old American colo- I (129) 130 BATTLE OF nies. A very brief notice of the discovery and ante- cedent history of the lake, will open to us a view of the Old French War and the battles of a former cen- tury. It will be my object, as a sort of ranger, to bring some account to you here, at the old head-quar- ters, of the events that occurred on this field of his- torical interest. The sun and stars of thousands of years have im- aged the glory of God in the crystal waters of the beautiful lake. Ages before the Indian tracked his path along the mountains or glided his canoe through the depths of the water-valley, this landscape had reality in all the grace and grandeur of a divine crea- tion. Before Iroquois, or Saxon, or Celt, looked with delight upon the foliage green of the hills, or the emerald green of the lake, nature worshipped here in festival solitude and silence on the altar dedicated to the well-known God. The history of the lake, like the mist that sometimes covers its waters, ob- scures the far distance. " In the horizon of the Past, The cloudy summits of lost cycles rise, Like cumuli, far onward to the point Where distance vanishes in dreaminess." The Indians were the original and undisputed pro- prietors of this secluded heritage, — the domain of the Six Nations, or Iroquois, including both this and the adjoining lake on the outskirts of their hunting- LAKE GEORGE. 131 ground. The first European or civilized man who is known to have penetrated this glorious Indian re- serve, was the celebrated Champlain. In 1609, at the head of an expedition of savages from Canada, against the Iroquois, he ascended the lake which now bears his name ; and in his account of the expedition, he refers to the "waterfall" between the two lakes, which he himself " saw," describes this lake as being three or four leagues in length, and mentions the dis- tance from its head to be about four leagues to the river which flows towards the coast of the Almou- chiquois, or New England Indians. Having given his own name to the larger lake, which was the scene of his achievements, Champlain was content to be- queath to the lesser lake the renown of his own record and an untitled nobility of nature. The next European who is known to have tra- versed these regions, was Father Jogues, a French Roman Catholic missionary, who, in 1646, was com- missioned to ratify the treaty of peace made between the French and the Iroquois. On his way from Can- ada to the Mohawk, he arrived at the outlet of the smaller lake on the eve of the festival of Corpus Christ i, or sacrament of the body of Christ, and, in commemoration of the event, he gave it the name of St. Sacrament. From this time not much is known of the annals of the lake, till General William Johnson encamped 132 BATTLE OF upon its shores, with his army of provincial soldiers, in 1755. During the interval, however, it is quite certain that the lake was more or less used as a channel of intercommunication with Canada, both in furtherance of friendly commerce and of hostile mili- tary expeditions. When General Johnson reached the lake, he affirms that "no house was ever before built here, nor a rod of land cleared." The ancient trees of the forest welcomed the old soldier in their unbroken and waving battalions, and gave him good ground to encamp upon, good lake-water to quench his thirst, and a good clear sky for his canopy. The Old French War originated in the long hered- itary national animosities between France and Eng- land. The British queen and the French monarch exchanged no visits of royal courtesy in those days ; and, instead of banquets and feasting at Windsor and Versailles, martial music and the display of arms were everywhere the mutual salutations. The treaty of Utrecht, made in 1713, guaranteed to England all Nova Scotia, with its ancient limits, and to the Five Nations, as subject to Great. Britain, the peaceable enjoyment of all their rights and privileges. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, was so indefinite in its terms, that, although a peace was agreed to, on the basis of the treaty of Utrecht, no settlement was made of the difficulty which had given rise to the war in America. There was a vague agreement that LAKE GEOKGE. 133 the boundaries in America should remain as they were before the war ; but for a quarter of a century before the war the lines had been the subject of per- petual contention. Thus provision may almost be said to have been made by treaty for the speedy opening of a new campaign, and the fires of war were to be rekindled on the very altar of peace. What rendered the indefinite terms of the treaty peculiarly exceptionable and unfortunate, was the fact that the French had erected, in 1721, a fort at Crown Point, within territory always claimed by Great Britain and the Iroquois. So intent, indeed, had France been on territorial aggrandizement, that before the signing of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. in 1748, she had erected nearly twenty forts, beside,- block-houses and stockade trading-places, on soil claimed by Great Britain. The peace on her part was merely a truce to prepare more extensive plans of commercial and military operations ; and, like the brief interval granted lately for the burial of the dead at Sebastopol, which the Russians emplo} T ed to strengthen their fortress, so France, at Aix-la-Cha- pelle, truced England into inactivity, whilst she her- self wove the banner of war and burnished her armor for a long campaign. Without regard to treaty stipu- lations, France commenced prosecuting her schemes of aggrandizement, not only in the American Colo- 12 134 BATTLE OF nies, but in Nova Scotia, in the East and West In- dies, and in the Mediterranean. The object of France in North America was to obtain possession of the great valley of the West, and to connect Canada and Louisiana by a chain of forts and trading-places, and thus hem in the colonies, and, perhaps, eventually gain possession of them, and secure a communication for Canada with the ocean through New York. When the Ohio Land Company was chartered, in 174'J, with a view to the settle- ment of the territory between the Monongahela and the Kanawha, the Governor-General of Canada sent an armed band of three hundred men down the Ohio Valley, to retain possession of the country in the name of France, and to expel the English traders from its borders. In every practicable manner, the French aimed at maintaining the vantage-ground which English inactivity had enabled them to seize. They attempted to proselyte the Six Nations, to foment disturbances among the Indians in general, to undersell the British traders, to gain possession of Lake Ontario by building a large vessel of war, and still further to increase their power, they had turned their trading-house at Niagara into a fort. The first blood shed by the French within the limits of the old thirteen colonies, in the Old French War, was at the Indian village of Piqua, in Western Ohio, in the year 1752. A contest which was to LAKE GEORGE. 135 determine the future destiny of the mighty West, thus commenced on its own territory ; and its influ- ence was to be felt throughout Europe, in Asia, and in the West Indies, as well as in North America. In 1753, the French detached a body of twelve hundred men to occupy the Ohio Valley, and the Governor of Virginia despatched George Washington to protest against the invasion. This brave young man, then only twenty-one years of age, traversed the forests of Maryland and Western Pennsylvania as far as Fort Le Boeuf, which was within a few miles of Lake Erie. The French commander of the forces, Le (Jardeur de St. Pierre, who was afterwards slain at the battle of Lake George, maintained the right of his sovereign to the soil. In 1754, Washington, now a lieutenant-colonel, was sent with a regiment to pro- tect P>ritish rights in the West, and to finish the fort at the forks of the Monongahela and Alleghany rivers; but, after an engagement with Jumonville, he was compelled to retreat to Fort Necessity, to capitulate, and to withdraw the English garrison to the east of the Alleghanies. France, at this time, was dominant throughout the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi, and England had not in the great West a flag to cast even a shadow on the soil. In June, 1754, the first American Congress met in the city of Albany. Its principal object was to devise measures of defence, and to conciliate the Iroquois L36 BATTLE OF Indians, whose sachems assembled at Albany for con- ference. This first Congress is famous for the Plan of Union it proposed for all the Colonies on the basis of a Federal Government. Benjamin Franklin was the author of the measure, which, however, did not meet with sufficient favor to secure a trial at that time. The same illustrious man foresaw the future great- ness of the country ''back of the Appalachian Moun- tains," and advised the immediate organization of two colonies in the West — the one on Lake Erie, the other in the valley of the Ohio, with its capital on the banks of the Scioto. Franklin, as a statesman. displayed on this occasion a penetration of intellect as vivid as the lightning which, as a philosopher, w r as flashed down to him from heaven. In view of the alarming state of things in the Colonies, England despatched General Braddock, as commander-in-chief, with two regiments of regular troops. War had not yet been openly declared be- tween England and France; but both nations were actively pursuing their belligerent plans in anticipa- tion of a speedy crisis. 1 Braddock arrived in Vir- ginia in the spring of 1755, and summoned a council of the governors of the Colonies at Alexandria. Three expeditions were determined on. The first, under Braddock himself, was to march to the Ohio, 1 War was not declared until the following year — by England on the 18th of May, 1156, and by France on the 9th of June. LAKE GEORGE. 137 obtain possession of Fort Duquesne, and then pro- ceed according to circumstances. The second, under Governor Shirley, was to reduce Fort Niagara, and to maintain possession of Oswego. The third, un General William Johnson, was to take possession of Fort St. Frederick, at Crown Point, and drive the French from the colony of New York. The lattei expedition was, perhaps, the most important of the three. The province of New York was more ac- cessible than any other to the enemy; Fort St. Fre- derick, Fort Niagara, and Fort Presentation, were encroachments upon its immemorial jurisdiction ; the province was central to the other provinces ; its chief city had the finest harbor on the Atlantic coast; ■ the council-fires of the Six Nations burned at Onon- daga, the head-quarters of these influential and brave tribes of Indians. The rendezvous of both Shirley's and Johnson's expedition was Albany. Most of the troops designed for Johnson's command arrived there before the end of June, and were obliged to remain for some time in camp, waiting for the artillery, boats, provi- sions, and other necessaries. In the meanwhile, the provincials became discontented with the inactivity of a long encampment; and Major-General Lyman was obliged to make short marches in the line of des- tination in order to prevent them from disbanding. When he had advanced to the "great carrying-place." 12* 138 BATTLE OF he waited for the arrival of General Johnson, and commenced building a fort on the east side of the Hudson, which was afterwards called Fort Edward, " in honour of the second prince of the blood of that name/' On the 8th of August, General Johnson set out from Albany, with the artillery and other stores, and reached the "great carrying-place " on the 14th, having been detained two days by some dissatisfac- tion on the part of the Connecticut troops. On the 22d, a council of war was held to determine what route should be taken to Crown Point; and it was the unanimous opinion of the council that the road to " Lake St. Sacrament appears to them the most eligible, and that it be immediately set about." It was further resolved to send forward two thousand men, to cut the road and to build " a place of arms and magazines " at the head of the lake. In addi- tion to the new r s of Braddock's defeat, which had reached the army about a month before, the spirits of the troops were now depressed by a report that the French were advancing towards Crown Point in overwhelming numbers; and the Indians declared that the English were no match for them, but must be surely defeated. Johnson writes that he ought to have eight thousand men, and that the reinforce- ments ought to advance as rapidly as possible. On the 26 th of August, Johnson sets out for Lake St. Sacrament, a distance of about seventeen miles; LAKE GEOKGE. 139 and, after three days' marching, reaches there, or rather here, on the evening of the 28th. What a sight was such a lake to an army of men that had never before looked upon its mountain-guarded waters ! Often did Johnson, and Lyman, and Williams, and Hendrick with their companions-in-arms, gaze with wonder at a scene whose enchantments are fresh with the morning light and renewed with the setting sun. "Alas! beside that beauteous wave Shall many an unreturning brave Find his last bivouac — the grave ! In his lost home his name grow dim, And low woods sigh his requiem 1" The name of the lake was changed by Johnson from St. Sacrament to Lake George, " not only in honour to his majesty, but to ascertain his undoubted dominion here" — a name now become historical, and properly enough commemorative of provincial times, and of the important events that occurred under the reigning king. The plan of operations arranged by General John- son was to construct a fort, proceed up the lake with a part of the army, as soon as the boats arrived, and take possession of Ticonderoga; and, waiting there until the rest of the army came up, proceed to attack Crown Point. On the evening of the 7th of September, however, the Indian scouts bring intelli- gence that they had discovered a large road cut from 140 BATTLE OF South Bay, and were confident that a considerable number of the enemy were marching to the "great carrying-place." Johnson, surprised and perplexed, perhaps doubts the report. About midnight, intelli- gence comes that the enemy were discovered four miles this side of the " carrying-place." Nothing, however, was done for the safety of Fort Edward until the next morning', when a council was called. In the language of General Johnson, "the Indians were ex- tremely urgent that one thousand men should be de- tached, and a number of their people would go with them, in order to catch the enemy in their retreat from the other camp, either as victors, or defeated in their design." The enemy proved to be a French force of nearly two thousand men, regulars, Canadians, and Indians, under the command of Baron Dieskau. This French general had arrived at Quebec in the spring, with nearly two thousand regular troops. His original plan was to proceed up the river St. Lawrence to Lake Ontario, and to capture the fort at Oswego. — But Montreal was so much alarmed, at the news of an English army on its march to Fort Frederick, and perhaps into Canada, that the Baron was importuned to proceed to the defence of Fort Frederick, which he finally consented to do with great reluctance. Having waited some time for the approach of the English army, he determined to go and meet them LAKE GEORGE. 141 himself. His scheme was bold and precise. Pie v, as to attack Fort Edward first, which was defended by a garrison of only four hundred men ; then to fall upon the camp at Lake George, where victory was supposed to be within his reach, as the camp was re- ported to be destitute of either artillery or intrench- ments ; and afterwards desolate Albany and Schenec- tady, and cut off communication with Oswego. It seems, however, that when Dieskau was within two miles of Fort Edward, the Indians refused to attack it, on account of their peculiar dread of cannon; but, on their declaring a willingness to attack the camp, Dieskau changed his plans and turned towards the lake. It is Sabbath-day in the provincial camp. The bustle of war does not prevent the arrival of wagons, work at the fort, and preparations for the campaign. But God is not forgotten by all. A venerable chap- lain, 1 whose locks are white with age, is seen taking his station in the shade of the forest-trees. He is the chaplain of Williams' regiment, the third regi- ment of Massachusetts, and Williams is there. With him are Ruggles, and Titcomb, and Whiting, and other officers. The soldiers of New England attend with reverential appearance ; and Hendrick and a band of Iroquois loiter in the distance, with their 1 Rev. Stephen Williams, of Long Meadow, Massachusetts. 142 BATTLE OF eyes turned to the assembly. After singing, — per- haps the 46th psalm, to the tune of "Old Hun- dred," — prayer is offered up to the God of their fathers. The Puritan preacher then takes for his text the words of Isaiah : " Which remain among the gravi e and lodge in the mountains." Were these words, alas ! prophetic ? Let us turn to the narrative. The detachment of one thousand provincial troops, despatched to arrest Dieskau's progress and to aid Fort Edward, was commanded by Colonel Ephraim Williams, of Massachusetts. It set out between eight and nine o'clock on Monday morning, and con- sisted of three divisions. Colonel Williams starts in advance with the first division of five hundred men. halts at Rocky Brook, about half a mile from the place where the attack occurred, and waits for the other divisions under Hendrick and Lieutenant-Colonel Whiting. The Indians soon follow, in command of the great Mohawk chief. Being advanced in years, and corpulent in person, he rides on horseback. Erect in the dignity of a noble Indian presence, the old sachem has cast his last look on the lake, and taken the road into the forest in pursuit of the enemy. During this halt of Colonel Williams, the enemy place themselves in ambuscade. Our party then march forward, the Indians leading the way, and enter the defile. One of the enemy's muskets going off prematurely, they are discovered, and immediately LAKE GEORGE. 143 they commence the attack on our Indians. The war- whoop resounds through the woods, and volleys of musketry from the Abenakis Indians on the left, and from the regulars in front, strew the ground with the dying. The brave old Hendrick falls, — a conspicuous mark to men of unerring aim. The Mohawks, un- certain and alarmed, move back to where Colonel Williams is, a short distance behind ; and at the same moment our troops march up to their support. The engagement becomes general. At this time, in the early part of the engagement, Colonel Williams mounts a rock for the purpose of reconnoitering ; and. in the act of ordering his men to go higher up the hill on the right, he is immediately shot down. It soon became evident to our officers that the French had posted themselves on both sides of the road for the purpose of surrounding and cutting off the de- tachment. A retreat was therefore ordered, which was conducted with consummate skill by Lieutenant- Colonel Whiting, of New Haven, who had previously distinguished himself at the taking of Louisburg, Nova Scotia. The firing had been heard at the camp, about two hours after the departure of the de- tachment. It drew nearer and nearer. Our men were retreating ; and General Johnson orders Lieu- tenant-Colonel Cole, at the head of three hundred men, to cover the retreat, which was accomplished with some success. Although defeated by superior 144 BATTLE OF numbers, our men had fought bravely. Rallying for a short time behind the Bloody Pond, they brought many of the enemy to the earth. It was afterwards found that nearly one half of the killed on both sides had Mien in the desperate preliminary encounter of the morning. The Americans were encamped about a quarter of a mile from the head of the lake, being protected on either side by a low, thick-wooded swamp. After the •march of the detachment, General Johnson drew up some heavy cannon from the margin of the lake, a distance of about five hundred yards from his front. Trees were also felled to form a breastwork, the proper intrenchments having been unaccountably neglected. On some -of the eminences to the left, where Fort George now stands, cannon were drawn up and advantageously posted. After these hurried preparations of a few hours, our retreating soldiers come in sight in large bodies, with the enemy in full pursuit. Among those who climb the intrenchments, Hendrick and Williams are not seen. All is confu- sion. But, behold, Dieskau halts ! For nearly fif- teen minutes, when within one hundred and fifty yards of the encampment, the French general, instead of making a bold advance upon the lines, which the disorder of the retreating corps might have made successful, is compelled to pause, as though Provi- dence had issued to him a superior command. The LAKE GEORGE. 14y cause of this delay is not fully ascertained. It may have been owing either to the surprise at finding ar- tillery arrayed against him, and the consequent diffi- culty of bringing the Indians up to the conflict, or it may have been with the view of giving time for the Canadians and Indians to get on either flank, and make a simultaneous attack with the regulars posted on the centre. Whatever was the cause of the delay, it probably lost Dieskau the victory. The provincials had time to rally, and to reduce their plan of defence to better order ; and when the French opened their fire, the distance was too great to produce much effect. The artillery of the provincials gave them an advantage in the battle. It was served by Cap- tain William Eyres, an English officer, despatched bv General Braddock to accompany the expedition. The battle at the camp began between eleven and twelve o'clock; and the wonder is that the French, with inferior numbers, and without artillery, could sustain the conflict for more than four hours. The attack on the centre by the regulars was obstinately persevered in for more than an hour. This proving unavailing, Dieskau then attacked the right, where, on account of there being no cannon, there seemed a better pros- pect of success. A heavy loss of the provincials occurred in this quarter, in the regiments of Titcomb, Ruggles, and Pomeroy ; but their bravery corres- ponded with the emergency, and the enemy could 13 K 146 BATTLE OF gain no advantage in that direction. In their attempt to pass over the intrench ments, the old-fashioned musket;, in the hands of brave New England farmers, did terrible work. The battle on the right raged for nearly two hours, when Dieskau again attacked the front, and then the right and the left, and at last attempted to come in on the rear of the army, when General Lyman, perceiving the danger, ordered some shells to be thrown, which, together with the fire of sonic thirty-two pounders, made the enemy retire in great disorder. The Indians, who. at an early period in the battle, had taken possession of the rising ground near where Fort William Henry now stands, were soon terrified by shots from a cannon, which was in position on one of the eminences near Fort George. After a long conflict, sustained chiefly by the regu- lars, the French begin to fly. Victors in the morn- ing, the survivors hurry back at the setting sun, van- quished, wearied, and dreading their doom. Dieskau, severely wounded, is taken prisoner. As the English neglected to pursue, the French halted about three miles from the camp, near Bloody Pond and Rocky Brook, where the engagement of the morning had been renewed. The halt at this parti- cular spot seems to have been partly owing to the desire of the Indians to obtain plunder, and to secure the scalps of those who had fallen in the early en- gagement ; but it is a busy day, and they must think LAKE GEORGE. 147 of their own scalps. At seven o'clock in the evening, a reinforcement from Fort Edward of two hundred men falls unexpectedly upon them, under the com- mand of Captain William McGinnes, of Schenectady. After a contest of two hours, our party gained possession of the baggage and ammunition of the French, which was conveyed to the camp the next morning; and the French retreated still farther towards Lake Champlain, having learned the danger of encamping for the night too near their foe. The victory was decisive. If the enemy had been pursued without delay, the whole body might have been cut off and made prisoners. General Johnson's first error was in neglecting an immediate and vigorous pursuit. General Lyman urged it with unusual ve- hemence, and the spirit of officers and men, aroused by war and flushed by triumph, was equal to the endurance. When the tide of battle is once turned. it sweeps against the vanquished with terrific im- petuosity. If that tide in our affairs had been taken at its flood, it might have led our army to the double fortune of a victory on the battle-field and the cap- ture of the enemy in their flight. Instead of pur- suing, our army retired to their encampment on the shores of the tideless lake, content, like it, with repose after the surges of the day. General Johnson excused his conduct by the plea that he had reason to expect a renewal of the attack, and that it was MS BATTLE OF dangerous to weaken the main body by detachments to scour the country. But the enemy was in no con- dition to rally after the loss of their General and of almost all the regular soldiers ; and the true way to strengthen the main position of the victors was to take advantage of the enemy's defeat by throwing out detachments to cut them off before reaching their boats on Lake Champlain. The enemy were far more fatigued than the Americans, in consequence of their forced marches towards the camp ; and there can be little doubt that, had the opinion of General Lyman and other officers prevailed, Dieskau's band would never have seen Ticonderoga or Fort St. Frederick. General Johnson's second capital error was in not carrying forward with alacrity the immediate object of his expedition — which was the reduction of Crown Point. The idea seems early to have gained entrance into the General's mind, that the victory at Lake George was glory enough for one campaign. Only ten days after the battle, on the 18th, he writes that it is doubtful whether the expedition can advance to Ticonderoga this year. At a council of war, how- ever, held four days later, the officers unanimously decided that it was best to proceed as soon as the expected reinforcements had arrived. Governor Shir- ley remonstrated with Johnson against his reluctance to push forward his army, and, in a letter to him dated the 25th of September, says : " If nothing LAKE GEORGE. 149 further could be done in this campaign than gaining Ticonderoga, yet that would be carrying a great point for the protection of the country behind, this year, and facilitation of the reduction of Fort St. Frederick the next spring." Whilst waiting for reinforcements, it was decided to build a fort — the officers being in favour of a small stockade fort, capable of holding one hundred men. whilst Johnson desired the erection of a large one, capable of defence against an army with artillery. Finally, Johnson's plan was adopted. The months of September and October passed away in sending out scouts and in fort-building, until the men became dispirited, wearied, and desirous of returning home. Towards the end of October, the council of officers decided that, on account of the lateness of the sea- son, the disaffection of the soldiers, and the want of supplies, it was inexpedient to proceed with the ex- pedition. At this time there were four thousand five hundred men in the camp. The great objects of the army were thus unaccomplished ; and, instead of oc- cupying Ticonderoga, which of itself would have been an important position in advance, the delay enabled the enemy to gain possession of it and fortify it, greatly to our subsequent loss and disadvantage. Notwithstanding General Johnson's apparent errors in not taking full advantage of his victory, it is cer- tain that the battle of Lake George has points of 13* 150 BATTLE OF honourable distinction, worthy of a centennial com- memoration Considering its time and circumstances, the battle of Lake George had a number of distinguished men to give character to the conilict. On the side of the enemy, who took the aggressive on the occasion, was Baron de Dieskau, an officer of some distinction in the armies of France. Be had been selected as a commander able to take charge of the important work i)i' superintending the military operations of the em- pire in the Western World. ;i Boldness wins " was Dieskau's maxim. This he exemplified, at least in part, in marching with about two thousand men to find the enemy, and into the very centre of our mili- tary operations. Fortunately for us, " boldness " did not "win" on that occasion. Dieskau, at the head of his forces, employs in vain strategy and military skill. The language of France and its crown-lilies of white are unheeded and dishonoured in the forests of America. The brave general receives a deadly wound ; and he who had rallied battalions on the fields of Europe, and had sailed up the St. Lawrence and Lake Champlain with the ambition to win a fame in the New World, sits upon a stump, in the midst of his slain, with hopes blasted, projects thw r arted, army defeated, wounded in body and in spirit, and with the doom of death darkly before his eye. Dieskau, after his capture, informed General Johnson that, LAKE GEORGE. . 151 only a few hours before, he had written to the Gov- ernor-General of Canada that he was driving the Eng- lish before him like sheep, and that he expected that night to lodge in General Johnson's tent. The ex- pectation was verified ; as prisoner, and not victor, Dieskau entered the American camp ; and, instead of the congratulations of victory, he received the honest sympathies of American soldiers towards a defeated and wounded general, carried within their intrench- ments on a blanket. After the lapse of a century, those sympathies remain fresh and unimpaired. Ho- nour to the memory of the gallant and unfortunate Dieskau ! Another of the distinguished men in the French ami}- was Le Gardeuk de St. Pierre. He was a brave officer, and remarkable for the zeal and energy with which he advanced the interests of his king, especially among the Indians, with whom he had very great influence. He had confronted Washington three years before at Fort Le Bceuf, which was con- structed in Western Pennsylvania for the mainte- nance of the claims of France. It was chiefly through his instrumentality that the Indians of Dieskau's ex- pedition were gathered together and organized. Ho received his death-wound in the forests in the morn- ing, and his earthly greatness came to an end in the battle of September 8th, 1755. On the English side, General Johnson, the com- L52 BATTI/B OF mander-in-chiefj was a distinguished character in th< province. He had been superintendent of Indian affairs for several -years, and possessed an acute mind and executive talents of a high order. His private morals were bad; but, like other public men of thai day and this, his moral demerit was. unfortunately, no bar to his public renown. The King of Great Britain conferred on him a baronetcy, and Parliament voted a tribute to his triumph of £5000. The name of Sir William Johnson will go down to posterity with titled honors and military distinction. Major-General Lyman, the real hero of the battle in the estimation of some, directed the movements of the provincial army the greater part of the day. The command had devolved upon him in consequence of a wound received by General Johnson in the earl} part of the engagement;, which compelled him to with- draw to his tent. Lyman was in the thickest of the fight, and guided the movements of the field with discretion and energy. He was an accomplished, edu- cated man, high in rank at the bar, a civilian of some eminence, and deserves well of his country for his military services on September 8, 1755. It is not to the credit of General Johnson that he does not even mention the name of General Lyman in the official account of the battle. Nor was it very courteous in Johnson to change the name of Fort Lyman, at the LAKE GEORGE. 15o carrying-place, to Fort Edward, which he did only a few days after the battle. Colonel Ephraim Williams was a prominent actor in the scenes we commemorate. In the former war of 1744, he commanded the line of forts on the west- ern side of the Connecticut river, and resided princi- pally at Fort Massachusetts, which was about three miles east of what is now Williamstown. In passing through Albany, on his way to the seat of war, he made his will on the 22d of July. After giving cer- tain legacies to his relatives, he bequeathed the re- mainder of his property to the founding of a free- school on the western frontiers of Massachusetts, at a place Avhich received the name of Williams town, in honour of the donor. In 1790, the sum had accu- mulated to nearly $20,000; $0000 of which was used, with a similar amount from other sources, in erecting a large building for the academy. In 1793, the academy was chartered by the State as a college. and was called Williams College. It was a great thought in the mind of Williams to establish an institu- tion of learning. His fame rests upon a more enduring rock than the reconnoitering-stone of a military offi- cer ; and his monument is seen, not merely by glances in a mountain-ravine, but on the highway of nations and in the heathen as well as the civilized world. — It was Williams College that sent out the first Ameri- can missionaries to Asia; and her graduates have 154 BATTLE OF the honour of originating the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. The alumni of the College last year erected ;i tasteful monument to the memory of its founder. His remains were disin- terred some twenty years ago. A stone, with the initials E. W., 1705, marks the original plaee of his burial, which was a few rods south of the monument, on the western side of the old road. Old Hendrick, the Mohawk sachem, fell in the battle of Lake George. He was the greatest Indian chief of his day. Sagacity and moderation were the basis of his character. Brave in the field, he was wise in council. His integrity was incorruptible; and his friendship to the American colonies, whose chain was consecrated at council-fires, was strength- ened in the heat of trial. Two characteristic anec- dotes are told of him, as incidents of the battle of September 8th, 1775. His opinion being asked in regard to the number of men at first proposed for the detachment of the morning, he replied : " If to fight, too few; if to be killed, too many." The number was accordingly increased ; but General Johnson pro- posed to send them out in three divisions. Hendrick took three sticks, and, putting them together, said : " Put these sticks together, and you can't break them ; take them one by one, and you will break them easily." Previously to the setting out of the detach- ment, Hendrick harangued his people in strains of LAKE GEORGE. 15-J fervid eloquence. He was among the earliest killed. He had advanced so far into the ambuscade that the fire from the flank hit him in the back. He was at the head of the Indians, as represented in Blodget's view of the battle, and must have fallen several hun- dred yards in advance of Williams ; probably a third of the way between the monument and the present toll-gate. The Indians on our side sustained the chief attack of the morning. Out of two hundred men they lost nearly one-fourth, and every one of their officers. They complained to General Johnson that they had been sacrificed by the backwardness of our men. The sticks mentioned by old Hendrick had not been tied closely enough together. Israel Putnam, who afterwards became a famous general in the American Revolution, and who shared with Warren and Stark the glories of Bunker Hill, was a private soldier in the battle of Lake George. He was one of Williams' men in the detachment of the morning. Lake George was a training-place of his future greatness. He was frequently employed, after the battle, in reconnoitering the enemy. He was the ranger of the lake. He was the scout of the mountain. His eye could detect an Indian's trail, and take unerring sight with his old musket at any mark worthy the snap of the flint. The rotund, jovial figure of "Old Put" has been often imaged in the waters of the lake and shadowed along the moun- 1 : 't'» BATTLE OF tain glens; and, in the regiment of Lyman, no man did heavier work than he on the 8th of September, 1755. The famous John Stark was in the army, as lieu- tenant; but, as the New Hampshire regiment was stationed for the defence of Fort Edward, it is pro- bable that Stark was on duty there,' and not in the battle. Other distinguished officers and men were on the battle-field, and among them was the brave Colonel Titcomb, who was the only officer killed in the en- campment, and whose regiment, posted on the ex- treme right, was obliged to sustain the brunt of Dies- kau's attack on that side. The graves of Titcomb, McGinnis, and the other officers who fell, are, no doubt, with us to this day ; and, although the dark oblivion of a century intercepts their individual re- cognition, tradition points the present generation to the "officers' graves." Let us now notice some of the circumstances which gave to the battle of Lake George a renown beyond the mere numbers engaged in the contest. I. The battle of Lake George is memorable in de- feating a well-laid, dangerous scheme of the enemy, and in saving the province from scenes of bloodshed and desolation. If Dieskau had succeeded in over- throwing Johnson in his intrenchments, his advance upon Fort Edward would have been easily successful, LAKE GEORGE. 157 and from thence his march to Albany would have been triumphant. Old Hendrick, at the Convention of the preceding year, had warned the province of its danger. "You are without any fortifications," said he : " It is but a step from Canada hither ; and the French may easily come and turn you out of doors." The conflagration of our northern settle- ments would have been followed by the desolation of Albany and Schenectady; and, although Dieskau must have soon been compelled to retreat, it is im- possible to estimate the bloodshed, plunder, and gene- ral losses which might have taken place, had not God ordered it otherwise. His providence was on our side. The victory of Lake George undoubtedly res- cued the province from injury and woe beyond com- putation. Considered, therefore, in its immediate strategical results, the battle was one of the import- ant engagements of American history. II. The battle of Lake George is remarkable for its influence in rallying the spirit of the American colo- nies. Much had been expected from the three expe- ditions sent against the French ; but disappointment and sorrow had already followed Braddock's terrible defeat. That event had occurred only two months before, on the 9th of July. It was more than the moaning of the forest-pine in the ears of the solitarj- traveller ; it was the blaze of lightning falling upon the mountain-oak in his very path, followed by the 14 158 BATTLE OF crash of thunder. All the provinces were amazed, awe-struck, paralyzed, for a time; but, recovering from the first shock of the calamity, they were aroused to avenge their loss. Their hopes were turned to Lake George and to Niagara, and not in vain. Johnson's victory was received as the precur- sor of a recovered military position and fame, and was hailed as the means of deliverance from a bold and cruel foe. Few battles ever produced more im- mediate results in rekindling patriotic and martial enthusiasm. Congratulations poured in upon General Johnson from every quarter. Not only were the colonies filled with rejoicing, but the influence of the triumph went over to England, and the deeds of our fathers at the camp of Lake George became familiar to the ears of Royalty and were applauded by the eloquence of Parliament. The moral effects of a battle in which the forces arrayed against each other were comparatively small, have rarely been greater and more decided in the whole range of military annals. Til. Viewed simply in a military aspect, the battle of Lake George was the only successful achievement, within the thirteen colonies, during the campaign of 1755; which is another item of its various renown. Braddock's defeat on the Monongahela, and Shirley's retreat from Oswego, brought ruin upon the expe- ditions framed for the reduction of Forts Duquesne LAKE GEORGE. 159 and Niagara. Although the northern expedition failed in its object of reducing Fort Frederick, it had a show of glory in the brilliant success of a hard-fought battle. Success in one direction often overbalances disappoint- ment in another. The victory of General Johnson was the great event of the campaign of 1755, solitary in the honors of its military triumph, and shining out, bright as Mars, from the clouds of night. IV. The victory of Lake George occurred in the series of campaigns that ended in the conquest of Canada, and of the valley of the Great West. Here, in the forest, was the base of a line of operations on which were wrought out great problems of war. The mountains of the lake were landmarks to conduct our armies from summit to summit of achievement, until, passing over all barriers, they found their rest- ing-place in the valleys of St. Lawrence and Missis- sippi. Unknown results of territorial acquisition, and of political and religious destiny, lay concealed in the expedition which started for the capture of a single fort on Lake Champlain, and for the defence of the limited boundary-line of a province. God dis- poses of man's proposals. The lucid purposes of an all-comprehensive Providence undiscernible by mortal eyes, are brought to pass by the majestic develop- ments of events apparently remote in their relations as trivial in their magnitude. The American victory of Lake George was not an isolated item of one cam- 160 BATTLE OF paign. It was more than a simple triumph in an un- broken wilderness, — a military achievement of the New England and New York yeomanry, which saved themselves from destruction. Far higher its moral, political, and warlike connections. It headed a series of successes that were followed by the gain of king- doms. It animated the determination of the country to take decisive measures for deliverance from French aggressions and agitations. "Canada, my lord," wrote a distinguished New Yorker, in reviewing the operations of the campaign, " Canada must be de- molished, — Delenda est Carthago, — or we are un- done." ' The result was not anticipated at the be- ginning, but the natural tendency of the contest was the overthrow of French dominion on the continent. Johnson's victory had a true influence of relation to this end. As the southern inlet near Fort George joins itself to the lake, whose waters flow to the north, and, tossed over cascades and waterfalls, pass into the St. Lawrence, so the expedition of 1755, identifying itself with a vast expanse of agencies, pressed forward the natural current of its direction, over the rocks and reverses of campaigns, into Canada. But Canada was only a part of the great acquisitions of the war. The whole Northwest was wrested from France, together with the valley of the Mississippi lying easterly of that river, with the exception of 1 Review of Military Operations, etc., p. 143. LAKE GEORGE. 161 the island of Orleans. Thus we stand to-day at one Of the fountain-heads of American destiny. A . The battle of Lake George was furthermore memorable in its suggestions of provincial prowess, and in its lessons of warfare to the colonies preparatory to their independence. The battle was fought by provincial troops, and chiefly by the hardy sons of glorious New England. The veteran regulars of Old England had been beaten in the forests of "Western Pennsylvania, or remained inactive in the Niagara expedition. Through some unaccountable cause, the expedition, which was on the direct line to Canada, and nearest to the French reinforcements, known to be at hand, was consigned to the exclusive care of native colonial soldiers ; and bravely did they do their duty. On these shores provincial prowess sig- nalized its self-relying and unaided capabilities; and in this battle and in this war the colonies practically learned the value of union and the unconquerable energies of a free people. Putnam, and Stark, and Pomero}^, came here, as to a military academy, to acquire the art of warfare ; and they all exercised their experience at Bunker Hill. George Washing- ton, himself, as a military man. was nurtured for America and the world amid the forests of the Alle- ghanies and the rifles and tomahawks of these French and Indian struggles. Lake George and Saratoga are contiguous not merely in territory, but in heroic 14* L 162 BATTLE OF association. Correlative ideas, evolved under va r v ing circumstances, they are proofs of the same spirit of liberty, the same strong energy of purpose, "And courage quailing not, though hosts oppose. " The battle-scenes of the Old French War and of the Revolution, are match-pictures in the gallery of his- tory, to be handed down together to all generations. The influence of the Old French War, as the training- field of the American Revolution, was incalculably great. During all this period, too, apolitical conflict was going on in almost all the provinces, between their legislative bodies and the commissioners of the plantations in England ; so that, while resisting from principle what were regarded as arbitrary exactions. the colonies were becoming conversant with their own military and political strength, which was laying itself up in store for the crisis of revolutionary emer- gencies. In view of these considerations, the battle of Lake George well deserves some prominence of the coun- try's annals. A few words about the forts must not be omitted on this historical occasion. Fort William Henry was built by General John- son, just a century ago. The original site of the en- campment extended from the lake a quarter of a mile, or upwards, with the old road as the centre, being LAKE GEORGE. 16o flanked by the marshy land, and having the irregu- lar eminences, on one of which Fort George was after- wards built, as part of the encampment. A few days before the battle, the site where Fort William Henry now stands, was selected for the building of a picketed fort, to contain one hundred men ; and Colonel Wil- liams was charged with its erection, under the man- agement of Captain Eyres, the engineer. General Johnson was, from the beginning, opposed to a pick- eted fort, and in favour of a regular military struc- ture, capable of resisting artillery. This contest be- tween Johnson and his officers was probably the index of opposite views in regard to the campaign at that time, — Johnson wishing to remain at Lake George and construct a large fortification, while the officers aimed at putting up a temporary defence and pro- ceeding at once to Ticonderoga and Crown Point. After a contest of nearly a month, during which time General Johnson managed to secure the opinion of the general-in-chief and the acting governor of the State in favour of his views, and it becoming evident that the expedition could not advance this season, the council of officers n greed to change the plan of a small stockade fort into a more regular work, capable of holding five hundred men. This opinion was arrived at on the 29th of September, and the new fortification was immediately commenced, prosecuted with some vigour, and finished in about two months. 1G4 BATTLE OF The name William Henry was given by Genera] Johnson "in honour of two of the royal family." — The site of the fort always had opponents. It was "faulted by Montresaor, the chief-engineer;" and General Johnson was early obliged to vindicate it from the objections still prevailing. The history of Fort William Henry is a short and mournful one. It capitulated, after a brave defence, to the French general, .Montcalm, on the 9th of Au- gust, 1757, and a large part of the garrison were inhumanly massacred by the Indians. The vestiges that remain are hallowed by ancient recollections; and the proprietors of the soil have patriotically determined that the site shall be forever reserved and kept free from the encroachments of modern improvement. The eminence at Fort George was " lined out " by General Abercrombie in 1758 — the year following the destruction of Fort William Henry ; but the mason- work was not built until the following year, 1759, by the army under General Amherst. Its site was part of Johnson's original encampment. It was also the encampment of a division of Colonel Monroe's army when Fort William Henry capitulated. The garrison at that time embraced about five hundred men, and the intrenchments around the eminence held seven- teen hundred. One of the first things that Montcalm did was to post a large detachment on the road to LAKE GEORGE. 165 the south, for the purpose of cutting off supplies from the rear, and of harassing the communication be- tween the intrenchments and the fort. The emi- nence was intrenched by General Abercrombie, after his defeat at Ticonderoga. In that disastrous action the English had about two thousand men killed and wounded. One of the Highland regiments, com- manded by the gallant Colonel Grant, went into the action eight hundred strong, and came out with the loss of nearly one-half. The Presbyterian clergyman, before the engagement, ended his few remarks In- saying : " My lads, I ha'e nae time for lang preach- ments ; a' I ha'e to say is, nae cowards gae to heaven." Fort George has no special renown on the pages of history. Fort Gage was built in 1759, while General Am- herst was at the lake. It was named in honour of General Gage, who commanded the light infantry. Gage was with Braddock at the time of his defeat. He afterwards received the appointment of general, and subsequently was governor of Massachusetts — the last provincial governor that the old Bay State allowed in her councils. The battles, the forts, the intrenchments, the ruins, the roads, the graves, of this vicinity, are all memo- rials of the Old French War. That war resulted in the most important conquests. It was, in fact, a war of Protestant against Roman Catholic Christianity ; 166 BATTLE OF and on its issues the destiny of the mighty valleys of the West was pre-eminently dependent. God raised up William Pitt, " the great Commoner," to preside over the affairs of England at this critical period ; and through his glorious administration, commencing in 1757, England recovered her position among the nations, and resumed her wonted superiority on the continent. Prussia was the only power that strug- gled with her, side by side, against the common foe. The greatest trophies won by England, during the war, were in this Western World. The possession of Canada, and the peaceable enjoyment of her North American colonies, were rewards worthy the struggle of an Anglo-Saxon kingdom. The peace of 1763 enabled King George III., who had recently ascended the throne, to carry out his design of overawing the colonies by arbitrary power. William Pitt, the man of the people, resigned his office, and a different policy prevailed. The Ameri- can Revolution ensued, and France, our former colo- nial enemy, became our effective ally against England. The Revolutionary War is naturally the one that most deeply stirs the heart of our patriotism; and 1776, the liberty-epoch in American annals, has a national priority over every other historical period. Yet not in vain does 1755 claim honour in these regions of the lake. Here the associations of the Old French War predominate; and history, interro- LAKE GEORGE. 167 gating nature, learns from mountain, and lake, and water-brook, and plain, that armies here fought for the rights of crowns and for vast territorial domains. thou Lake, islet-decked as with gems for maiden beauty, and intelligent, in the depth of thy clear waters, in scenes of the olden time, we hail thee to-day, Reminiscencer and Teacher ! And you, ye Mountains, where come the four seasons, monarchs of the solitude, to pay the tribute of the year, hail to you for the sight of your majestic presence, for the voiced memories of a century, for your glens, rever- berating with solemn sound the achievements of our sires ! Ye Forts, weak in triple confederacy, the work of man and the contrivance of war, we rejoice that your mission is over, and that ye stand like antiquarians, with relics in your hands, rather than as warriors equipped for the battle-field ! And you, ye graves, mounding hill-top and plain, scarcely dis- tinguishable from the furrows of the harvest-field, — ah ! Death, who digs deeper than the plough, has sown in you the seeds of resurrection, — seeds which the storms of centuries do but harrow for the reaping at the in-gathering time; ye are fertile with the bodies of men; and, when earth shall be buried in the ruins of its final doom, ye shall bring forth your tenants clothed with immortality ! Every view of the lake and every pass of the hills has some tradition of ancient deed and story which 168 BATTLE OF this day commemorates. In the midst of the scenes of our historical festival, let us use our patriotic emo- tions in perpetuating the records of the past century in some consistent and enduring form. I venture to propose that a monument be erected at the old battle- field of Lake George, on one side of which an appro- priate memorial of the contest shall be engraved, and on another side an epitaph to the courageous Colonel Titcomb and the other officers who died in defending their country. I also venture to suggest that another monument be erected to the memory of Hendrick, the famous Mohawk chieftain, near the spot where he is supposed to have fallen. Monuments are of great public use. They are pages of history to the people ; they are the rallying-points of earnest patriotism ; they are records of national gratitude ; they are me- morials of God's providential interposition ; they are pleasing objects of sight to the spectator and travel- ler, and have been regarded by all civilized nations as worthy of the public expenditure, interest, and care. Thus may the old century receive fresh homage from the new, and an increase of glory emblazon on our country's flag the inscription woven in upon it at Lake George, of September 8th, 1755. One hundred years — one hundred years — are gone. Rapid is the roll of centuries. Majestic clouds in the firmament of time, they fleet away, bearing on their diversified forms the light and shade of human LAKE GEORGE. 169 destiny. Everywhere, as here, is seen the vanity of earthly scenes, except as they are connected with the ends of an everlasting kingdom. Eesults endure, but generations perish. Sleeping are the warriors that fought, the councillors that schemed, the people that acted. The Celtic sway of the Bourbon, once dominant on the lake, is silent as the graves of Cham- plain and Montcalm. The Iroquois have vanished from the forests and valleys of their ancient hunting- grounds ; and the hardy race of Anglo-Saxon ancestry now occupy their possessions amid the land-marks of civil liberty and the institutions of the Eeformation. Welcome the new century in the procession of ages ! May the eras of human improvement be contempora- ries of its advancing cycles, and its calendar abound in festival blessings for our country and the world. And to thee, old century, farewell ! The good of the past shall never die. When mountain and lake shall flee away in the retinue of time, and the earth and the firmament be scrolled up for eternal judg- ment, the history of these scenes, and all human histories, shall be perpetuated in honour so far as they were tributary to the history of redemption. 15 THE ADVANTAGES OF COLLEGES. (171) An address delivered before the Pbilomathean Society of Carroll College, Waukesha, Wisconsin, July 15th, 1857. (172 ADDRESS. Gentlemen of the Philomathean Society, And Friends of the College : The first "commencement" of the first Presbyte- rian College in the United States, took place in the year 1748. The accomplished and beloved Burr, the first President of the College of New Jersey under the Charter, presided on the occasion. The com- mencement was held at. Newark, then a small vil- lage, not as large as Waukesha at the time Carroll College was located here. Governor Belcher, the friend of religion and the patron of learning, was on the platform; and around him sat a company of honored Trustees ; of ministers, Samuel Blair, Pier- son, Pemberton, Gilbert and William Tennent, Treat, Arthur, Jones, and Green ; and of laymen, Redding, President of the Council, Kinsey, Shippen, Smith, and Hazard. It was a great day in the annals of our Church and of the State. From that small but il- lustrious beginning, a score of Colleges have come into life of Presbyterian parentage ; and now another claims admittance into the Republic of Letters, fresh 15* (173) • 1 74 T H E A D V A N T A G E S with the bloom of Academic youth, and holding high the armorial bearings of a great State emblazoned with " Forward." All hail to thee, daughter, Wis- consin-born ! Salve, Collegium Carrollense ! The first commencement of the College of New Jersey possessed fewer auspices of greatness than the one with which, young gentlemen, you are now con- nected. The College of New Jersey in 1748 had no building, no Professors, no endowment, no permanent site, and only twenty students. The population of the adjacent States of New York, New Jersey, Penn- sylvania, Delaware, and Virginia, did not exceed that of Wisconsin at the present time; ' and the Legislature of New Jersey, with a persistent monopoly of refusal, declined then, as it has ever since, to bestow a pecu- niary grant upon the institution. Far more favored at its first commencement is Carroll than the College of New Jersey. Its permanent site is on a beautiful elevation, an appropriate symbol of education, with its campus thick-set with rock beneath and with ver- dure above, mingling the utile dulci, — a location, an- cient with the memorials of Indian antiquity, and modern with the sight of one of the most thriving towns in Wisconsin. The College has probably the largest and ablest Faculty that ever graced the first commencement of a similar institution ; it possesses 1 In 1749, New York had 73,448 inhabitants; New Jersey, about 50,000 ; and Pennsylvania about 180,000. OF COLLEGES. 175 an endowment which, with its building and grounds, is estimated at fifty thousand dollars ; its catalogue enrols forty-five students in the regular classes ; and there is a prospect of educational sympathy and pe- cuniary aid from the State. In short, everything betokens a prosperity quite unusual at so early a period of collegiate life. The first graduating class at Princeton contained six students, — the same number that would have graduated at Carroll, if God had not called away Marsh to perfect his education in Heaven's great University. Who could have foretold, a century ago, the blessings that were to accrue to the world from the infant institution over which Burr then presided ? Nor can any prophet, though endowed with Wiscon- sian enthusiasm, declare the unutterable advantages to Church and to State, which are to go down from generation to generation, from Carroll College, whose administration under our own beloved Savage, has been so auspiciously initiated. A happy day, indeed, to you, Sir, the honored President, who may affirm, with a deep experience, "Hie dies, vere mihi festus, atras Eximet curas." Young gentlemen, we stand to-day at one of the fountain-heads of Western destiny. A College is among the active forces of life and immortality ; it is a perpetual power to supply motive, and influence. 176 THE ADVANTAGES and action, from mind to mind, in all the providential developments of human society. There is a little stream among the mysterious latitudes and longitudes of the great West, where Lewis and Clark stood with the delight and wonder of first explorers. It is the supply source of the " Father of Waters." As the Mississippi controls the irrigation, the agriculture, the eommerce, the resources of the great West, so insti- tutions of learning, the upper sources of civilization, direct the political and religious destiny of the world. ( Jarroll College claims a share of homage, among the activities which are to shape the destinies of the West. On this, the first "commencement" occasion of its collegiate existence, I choose as a suitable theme for a public Address, the general advantages of Col- leges ; or, more particularly, I venture to offer a Plea for Carroll College, as a good gift to a great State. I. Among the general advantages which commend Carroll College as a good gift to Wisconsin, is its ADAPTATION TO FURNISH MINISTERS TO THE CHURCH. Religion is of supreme importance to men, as private individuals, and as citizens of a commonwealth. Our intellectual and moral constitution, in union with a resurrection body, declares the wisdom, power, and authority of God. Obedience to His government, through the grace of His Son, our Saviour, can alone elevate human nature to its true position and glory. OF COLLEGES. 177 Forgiveness of sin, sanctification of spirit, providen- tial guidance, usefulness in life, and eternal happiness beyond the grave, are the great proposals which Chris- tianity heralds to a fallen world. Young gentlemen, religion is the grandest, sweetest theme that can ever enlist a mortal's immortal mind. As members of a community, as well as personally, all men have an interest in the advancement of the Gospel. Virtue and morality are indispensable to the well-being of society. The nature and the exe- cution of the laws, the maintenance of the public credit, the preservation of social order, the adminis- tration of justice, the peaceable enjoyment of life, liberty, and property, whatever gives value to citizen- ship, and supplies patriotism to the State, must have its best guarantees in the principles and sanctions of God's holy word. The farmer, the merchant, the mechanic, with all classes and professions of society, are immeasurably benefited by the prevalence of reli- gious principle. Worldly thrift has a close relation to morality. Speculators understand the wisdom of the policy of donating lots for churches in new towns and cities. Outward prosperity is one of the attend- ants on religion. " Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honour." Reli- gion is the only safeguard for the great social and political interests of a commonwealth ; it is the only hope for the salvation of the soul. M 178 THE ADVANTAGES God has made provision for personal and public religious wants, by establishing a sacred profession, whose object is to keep the plan of redemption before mankind. The theme of heaven's everlasting Song, must be held up to human view, with the prominence of its own glorious and intrinsic merit, and with the grace of its adaptation to human hearts and human tongues. The Christian ministry is the selected in- strumentality. It is a vocation, magnified by the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was Himself a minister of righteousness, by the divine original and gifts of the sacred office, by the promise of the Spirit's presence in the discharge of its functions, and by its indispensable agency, as proved by Scripture and Providence, in promoting the welfare of king- doms and the salvation of souls. To assist in furnishing ministers to the Church is, therefore, a great work. This is one of the aims of a Christian College. It was distinctly set forth by our fathers in the ' establishment of their first collegiate institution at Princeton. Presbyterians have always acted on the principle of securing, by God's grace, an educated ministry. Piety and learning are as har- monious as the light and the heat of the clay, or the grain and the green of harvest. Since miracles have ceased, and inspiration, the gift of tongues, and the discerning of spirits, are no longer imparted to pro- phets and teachers, the Church supplies the absence OF COLLEGES. 179 of these miraculous endowments, as far as possible, by the industrious use of means in the cultivation of the natural powers of the mind. The Reformation in the Church took place under the directing energy of men of learning. Wickliff was nurtured into greatness at the University of Oxford, and John Huss prepared for immortality at the University of Prague. Luther, Calvin, Knox, Cranmer, and the host of Re- formers, were men of mighty erudition. They were indebted under God for their influence to thorough and extensive mental acquirements, as well as to fer- vent piety. The service of the sanctuary requires the most perfect qualifications. As the candlestick of the temple was made of pure beaten gold, and gave light to the worshipper from its seven branches of exquisite workmanship, so the most costly and varied cultivation of intellect and heart should be brought into requisition to show forth the light of the new dispensation, and to illuminate the world with the truth as it is in Jesus. Ministers are expounders of the wisdom of God. They are ambassadors from heaven. They are charged with the highest depart- ment of instruction. They are defenders of the faith. They are brought into contact with human nature in its various forms of stupid superstition, of callous indifference, and of adroit, untiring skepticism. Of all men, ministers have need, in every age, of mental training of the highest kind attainable. Institutions ISO THE ADVANTAGES of learning have thus a direct and influential relation to the prosperity of the Church. Without Colleges, the land could not be blessed with the ministrations of learned and gifted men, able " rightly to divide the word of truth." Colleges have been remarkably successful in the training of a learned and pious ministry. At Princeton College, out of its 3584 graduates, 670 have become ministers of the Gospel, or nearly a fifth of the whole number. At Jefferson College", Pa., and Centre Col- lege, Ky., one-third of the graduates have entered the ministry. Out of 30,000 young men who have been graduated at Presbyterian and Congregational Col- leges, about 8000 have become ministers, being nearly one-fourth of the whole number. You see, gentle- men, from these statements and statistics, one item in the value of Colleges. The Church has an intense interest in their prosperity. Heaven watches their origin and growth. The kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ is extended throughout the earth by ministers educated in these institutions of learning. II. A second advantage of a College, and of Carroll College, is that it furnishes the useful public men to the State. The commonwealth is the institution of God. It is an ordinance of the King of kings, established for high political and moral purposes ; and it claims, under the limitations of rectitude, supreme OF COLLEGES. 181 allegiance and universal homage. " The powers that be are ordained of God." The supply to the State of well-trained and able professional men is in obedi- ence to the clearest providential requirements, and it aspires to the good of the commonwealth and the glorv of Heaven. Education, in the first place, strengthens the wind. It fits it for use, and enables it to employ its faculties for the public welfare. Education is not theoretical : it is verily utilitarian. It has practical value. The power of mind is increased by training. If the pros- perity of a country be promoted by bringing into cul- tivation new acres of land, and by the production of additional manufactures by the industry of the people, so is it advanced by the cultivation of more intellect, and by the additional mental strength acquired in institutions of learning. All college graduates do not, indeed, become legislators, or executive officers, or lawyers and judges ; but the State has at least a wider range from which to obtain its supplies, and more strength of mind in its employment when that supply is obtained from educated men. And even though these individuals should never be called into public life, the State has still the benefit of cultivated talent and influence in the spheres in which they move. Secondly. A collegiate education enlightens the mind. It imparts knowledge; and "knowledge is 16 182 THE ADVANTAGES power." A public man ought not to be ignorant. You will all maintain that a person who cannot read or write, is unfit to hold office in Wisconsin ; and further, that the higher the office, the better informed ought the incumbent ordinarily to be, in order to fill it well. Now, a college possesses materials in its studies to qualify men for the highest engagements of professional life. History, political economy, the classics, literature, mathematics, general learning, give an enlargement of view which belongs to the true qualifications of a statesman. A collegiate education disciplines the character. Learning inculcates lessons of self-reliance, patience, subordination, a proper appreciation of ourselves and of others. The associations of college life, outside of the class-room, assist the other appliances of edu- cation in opening the eyes of the ignorant, and in unfolding the true relations of individuals to each other and to society at large. The daily intercourse of students, their alliances of friendship, their con- tact with each other as debaters in the Literary Socie- ties, all unite with the natural tendency of literary habits and acquisitions to improve and discipline the character. Furthermore, a collegiate education fosters the true spirit of liberty, which is another element in the qualifications of all public men. A liberal education brings the mind into communion with the master OF COLLEGES. 183 spirits of antiquity, who generally plead for popular rights. The study of history excites sympathy with liberty. The acquisition of knowledge in general opens to the soul the great truths and laws of the universe, which make a man feel his independence and the dignity of his nature. A student's natural position is in the ranks of freedom. In the first graduating class of Princeton was Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. John •Witheespoon, the President of the College, was an- other of the eminent signers, foremost in zeal for his country's cause. The College of New Jersey has the glory of enrolling on its catalogue one-fifth of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Wil- liam Graham, President of the College at Lexington, Va., collected a company of soldiers, and at their head boldly marched against the foe. Four-fifths of the graduates of Princeton passed from the walls of the College into the Revolutionary army, and their blood fertilizes every battle-field from Quebec and Ticonderoga to King's Mountain and Fort Moultrie. The very names adopted by our colleges, in the last century, show their appreciation of liberty. The old college building at Princeton was named Nassau Hall. in honour of William of Nassau, the Defender of freedom. The College in the valley of Virginia took the name of Liberty Hall ; whilst the other college, east of the Blue Ridge, called itself "Hampden Sid- 184 THE ADVANTAGES ney" after two great champions of human rights. Nor has the old spirit yet become impaired ; for out here in the far West, in the middle of another cen- tury, Presbyterians have called their college " Carroll" after one of the illustrious signers of the immortal document of our Liberties. The history of other colleges, in existence at the time of the Revolution, confirms the view taken in this Address. Harvard and Yale have been imme- morially for freedom. Out of the twenty-one repre-, sentatives sent by Massachusetts to the old Conti- nental Congress, from 1774 to 1789, seventeen were graduates of Harvard. Time would fail me to enter more largely into statistics. These facts show, not only that colleges foster the spirit of liberty, but that they furnish a large number of useful public men to the State. As a specimen of the State-aiding power of Col- leges, let me just add that Princeton College alone has furnished a' President of the United States, two Vice-Presidents, four Judges of the Supreme Court, six members of the Cabinet, nearly one hundred and fifty members of Congress, and about twenty-five Governors of different States, besides a large majority of the Judges of her own Supreme Court, and other public men. Carroll College has yet to make out her catalogue of eminent public service ; but it cannot be doubted that this institution will produce a true and OF COLLEGES. 185 honorable proportion of worthies in the executive, legislative, and judicial departments, and in all the learned professions of public life. III. Another advantage of a College is, that, being the NATURAL COMPLETION OF A SYSTEM OF EDUCATION, it exerts a healthful influence on the common schools AND ACADEMIES OF THE COUNTRY, AND ON THE GENERA!. ELEVATION OF THE PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY OF THE POOR. It is the honour of Colleges that they identify them- selves with the success of all other institutions. Their influence pervades society. They are the sources of an enlightened public opinion, from which streams of practical benefit flow down to the people at large. Colleges form a natural part of a system of education. They are the sun, around which revolve the large and the lesser stars. To deny a college its true rela- tions to the general system, is to disparage the power of first causes, as well as to disbelieve the demonstra- tions of experience. Intellectual culture descends from the higher to the lower conditions of society. It works its way down, through many obstacles, to the masses of the people. The leaders in the gene- ral efforts for popular education have been those who had the power of appreciating its necessity and bene- fits. A large number of the Pilgrims were educated in the Universities. Had Providence permitted the first settlers in the Mayflower to be ignorant and il- 16* 186 THE ADVANTAGES literate men, common schools would not have consti- tuted from so early a period the glory of New Eng- land. The first movement, in this country, for the universal education of the people, was the foundation of a College. Harvard College preceded the common school system, as its natural and nurturing cause. The same is substantially true, it is believed, of the history of com:;; on schools in every State where they exist by public law. Yale, Dartmouth, Bowdoin, and Brown Universities and Colleges preceded common schools, or grew up contemporaneously with them as sources of their prosperity. Columbia and Union Colleges, in New York, Princeton and Rutgers Col- leges in New Jersey, the University at Philadelphia, and Dickinson, Jefferson, and Washington Colleges in Pennsylvania, all antedated legal provisions for the general education of the people. Marietta College and the State Universities in Ohio, Hanover, Wabash, and all the colleges in Indiana, but one, are older than the beginning of taxation to support common schools. The Universities of Michigan and Wiscon- sin, and Carroll and Beloit Colleges, were founded in advance of the establishment of the lower institu- tions, or in such connection with them as to show r that they were natural and necessary parts of a com- plete system. Experience had already demonstrated, in other States, the great and indispensable advan- tages of Colleges. Enlightening and quickening in- OF COLLEGES. 187 liuences go forth from them to create a sound and active public opinion, and to prepare the way for the establishment and support of academies and common schools. Allow me to be a little more specific. Colleges further benefit the public educational system in two ways, which few persons will call in question. 1st. By increasing the number and elevating the qualifications of teachers. The life of a school system depends upon the persons who administer it. The chief question which immediately relates to the pros- perity of common schools, is, — How can teachers be obtained in sufficient numbers, and of the right quali- fications ? The common schools, of themselves, can- not send forth large numbers of good teachers, because the} 7 do not ordinarily carry the education of scholars far enough to qualify them for the great art of teach- ing. No employment in society requires more intel- lectual vigor and general thrift of learning than the office of a teacher. Ignorant men, although they may have good common sense, cannot ordinarily pro- duce any other than ignorant scholars. A stream will not rise above its source. Hence, we find, that the best common school teachers are those who have resorted to higher institutions for the purpose of pre- paring themselves for their work. The State has discovered the necessity of establishing Normal Schools, as the means of creating good teachers for 188 THE ADVANTAGES the common schools. If it be asked, whether Normal Schools and Academies will not do the work without Colleges, the reply is, that Colleges sustain the same relation to Academies and Normal Schools that the latter do to the public schools. Where can the supply of well-qualified teachers for these interme- diate institutions be obtained, except from the higher institutions, such as the Wisconsin University, and Carroll and Beloit Colleges ? All the educational in- stitutions of the State, from the highest to the lowest, exert a reciprocal influence upon each other, and each imparts life and vigour to the whole. The people are beginning to understand this matter, and the preju- dice against Colleges is yielding to the conviction that they sustain an important relation to academies and common schools. The supply of teachers, both as to number and qualifications, is connected with the op- portunities and the incentives presented by Univer- sities and Colleges. 2dly. Besides this direct advantage conferred by Colleges on the State system of schools, there is yet another : Colleges offer to the pupils of common schools the facilities of obtaining a higher education. What a great calamity it would be to the State, if the tens of thousands of its children in common schools were forever shut out from the opportunity of increas- ing their stock of educational knowledge ! Some of them, at least, will naturally aspire to farther acqui- OF COLLEGES. 189 sitions. There is a tendency in learning to stimulate the desire for more. Many a boy will be excited to aim at higher attainments than the common school undertakes to impart ; and under right influences will be led to go to an academy and then to a College. In proportion as the common school system becomes improved in the qualifications of its teachers, the number of youth, who desire to pursue a more ad- vanced education, will be increased. Colleges depend upon the common schools and academies for a supply of pupils, just as the latter depend upon Colleges for a supply of teachers. These general views are sufficient to indicate the advantages of a College in its connection with all other institutions of education. Carroll College claims the capacity to increase the prosperity of the academies and common schools of Wisconsin. There is yet another idea that deserves attention. Colleges, as parts of an educational system, convey re- latively their greatest benefits to the poor. A College opens its gates to all, and invites equally the rich, the middle classes, and the poor. Equal opportunity is Guaranteed to all. This is a relative advantage to the poor, because the poor do not naturally possess equal power with the rich, either in founding or sustaining in- stitutions of learning. The plan of endowment adopted by Carroll College, is designed to cheapen education to the lowest point consistent with rigorous necessity. 190 THE ADVANTAGES The larger the endowment fund, the less will be the price of tuition, and there are already scholarships to support the more need}' students. Here, again, in the pecuniary aspects of the case, the relative advan- tage is with the poor. But the greatest of all the ad- vantages to the poor is in the actual results. Educa- tion knows no distinctions in theory, and, practically. it eradicates them all. It takes a young man out of a condition of poverty, and gives him the intellectual resources, the cultivated tastes, and even the man- ners of a higher life. It exerts an enlightening and humanizing influence, which removes all artificial barriers. Nothing, like education, so confounds the distinctions of rank. Like the railroad, it cuts through hills, and builds its embankments over valleys. High and low places must alike conform to the law of its great energetic level. A College brings to the poor and middle classes the opportunity of furnishing their sons with all the appliances that assist in obtaining the highest posts of influence and usefulness in so- ciety. If any class ought to possess and exhibit a kindly feeling towards colleges, it is the poor. Carroll College is the friend of all, but especially of those who constitute the masses. It thus sympathizes in spirit with the common-school system, and whilst it offers equal opportunities to every child in the State, the poor receive the greatest relative gain. OFCOLLEGES. 191 IV. A fourth consideration to prove that a College is a good gift to the State, is that it aifords an im- portant means of imbuing the youthful mind with cor- rect principles of morality and religion. A godless education is a very dangerous experi- ment. The omission of divine truth in a course of training, virtually assumes that the immortal part of our nature is of comparatively little value. How much better is it to take the scriptural view, and to train up young men "in the way they should go," thus preparing them for this life and for the life to come ! The incidental compensations, which are to be found in private and public religious instruction. in the household and. in the sanctuary, do not justify the exclusion of Christianity from the literary course. The founders of Carroll College adopted, as a funda- mental principle, the inculcation of religion with all other acquisitions of knowledge. The book held in the greatest reverence here, is the Bible. The motto on the seal of the Corporation is " 6 Bt3?.iog :" and the Bible was the first book to form the nucleus of the library. Ought not Christians to honour the word of God in the institutions that train their youth ? Even the Pagans acknowledged their gods in their systems of education, as do the Chinese, the Hindoos, the Mohammedans of the present day. If religion be a good thing, it is a good thing to teach it. Insti- tutions of learning afford remarkable facility for reli- 11)2 THE ADVANTAGES gious instruction. A place can be found for divine truth, if there be a will to give it place. Our Pres- byterian colleges all assign to religion more or less prominence. Other denominations have also their religious colleges. Some of the considerations, which urge religious instruction as a part of the literary course, are these : 1. It is right to honour God in all things, and everywhere. 2. The human soul has moral as well as intel- lectual faculties ; and true education implies the development of our whole nature. 3. Religious truth is the most important of all truth. 4. Youth is the most suitable time to attend to the doctrines and duties of religion. 5. God has blessed in a remarkable manner efforts to convert young men in colleges. Exactly one cen- tury ago, in 1757, the first revival of religion took place in Princeton College. The great Samuel Da- vies, in writing about it, said : " This is perhaps the best news I ever heard in my life." President Finley, in giving an account, said : " God has done great things for us. Our glorious Redeemer poured out His Holy Spirit oh the students of our College ; not one of all who were present was neglected ; and they were in number sixty." Other revivals occurred under Dr. Witherspoon ; a very remarkable one under OF COLLEGES. 193 Dr. Green ; another under Dr. Carnahan ; and another in the first year of Dr. Maclean's administration — in each of the last three, about fifty students were hope- fully brought to the knowledge of the Saviour. Jeffer- &m has been frequently blessed with extensive revivals of religion. Oglethorpe University had five revivals in seven years. Centre College, Ky., has enjoyed fre- quent outpourings of the Divine Spirit ; and during the last session about thirty-five of the students have professed a hope in Christ. This revival was, as it were, a chariot of fire, to prepare the President, the good and great Dr. Young, for his ascension to glory. Congregational, and other Presbyterian, Colleges have been in like manner favoured with the displays of ' God's abounding mercy. In one year, 130 students in Yale College came out for the first time on the Lord's side. In Middlebury College, it is stated that every class for the last forty years has seen a revival in some part of its college course, and that at Amherst no class has ever graduated without beholding God's gracious power in a revival. These facts demonstrate the tendency and reward of religious efforts in col- leges ; and there cannot be a doubt that, if more attention had been paid to the direct inculcation of religious truth, still greater results would have been manifested in the number of College-born heirs to the kingdom of heaven. Here, gentlemen, is seen the true glory of a Christian College. 17 N 194 THE ADVANTAGES These institutions, as we have attempted to show, prepare ministers for the service of the Church ; they send out useful and enlightened public men for the employment of the State, and for the liberal profes- sions ; they assist in giving efficiency and prosperity to the public educational system ; and they imbue the minds of a large number of well-trained and influen- tial youth with the spirit and principles of true piety. I have thus, young gentlemen, endeavored to plead the cause of Colleges, and of Carroll College in par- ticular. If my observations have been correct, Car- roll College is a good gift to the State ; and it is a gift the more considerate, useful, and valuable, be- cause Wisconsin is a gkeat State. Before alluding to the present and prospective greatness of Wisconsin, permit me to refer to two historical associations, which possess no little interest. From Wisconsin, the expedition set out, which dis- covered the Upper Mississijipi and the Missouri River*. One hundred and thirty-two years before the Wiscon- sin expedition, 1541, De Soto had stood upon the banks of the Mississippi. Reaching it at the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, below Memphis, he ascended the river to New Madrid ; and then striking off into the western woods in the mad adventure for gold, he wandered about until he reached the Washita, which brought him again to the Mississippi. His enfeebled OF COLLEGES. 195 frame, however, yielded to disease; and the illus- trious Spanish chieftain was buried at midnight, near Natchez, in the great river, whose waters, like human generations, sweep onward without a returning tide. The Spanish expedition had started from Cuba, through Florida. The next was to enter upon its discoveries from Canada, through Wisconsin. At so early a date did the two extremes of our future Re- public meet, in the spirit of western research and adventure, Florida and Wisconsin giving the Missis- sippi to the United States and world. In 1673, May 17th, Marquette, the Roman Catho- lic missionary to the Hurons, and Joliet, the envoy of the Canadian Governor, set out from Michilimac- kinac, with five Frenchmen, in two canoes. Behold them braving the rough waters of the lake with steady hands at their wave-beaten oars, encountering at the outset the trials that make heroes. " Our joy," says Marquette in his narrative, " at being chosen for this expedition, roused our courage, and sweetened the labour of rowing from morning till night." They at length glide into the propitious harbor of Green Bay, and enter the Fox River, which they ascend through Lake Winnebago to the portage, often drag- ging their canoes over the rapids and shallows. The portage of about a mile is crossed, and then and there on Wisconsin soil, France for the first time waves the banner of Louis XIV in the Valley of the Missis- 196 THE ADVANTAGES sippi. Alas ! the Envoy of the State and the Mis- sionary of the Church, as they float down the beau- tiful Wisconsin, little realize what rivers of blood are to flow, before this fair region is to be wrested, first by England from France, and then by the American Colonies from England. On the 17th of June, the explorers reached the mouth of the Wisconsin, where they are greeted with the sight of a large and unknown river. It is the great northwestern flood rolling along in lucid and peerless majesty. Like a friendly Indian chief, ap- parelled in the dignity of the primeval forests and with fearless bow and arrow in hand, it is hailed as a guide to the far-off regions known only to the sons of the soil. The French canoes sail with delight upon the Mississippi. In a few days, they meet the wild waters of the rushing, conquering Missouri. Onward they go, past the beautiful Ohio, nor stop their explorations until they reach the Arkansas. The explorers, satisfied that the Mississippi enters into the Atlantic, now return homeward. They are the first civilized men that ascend the Illinois ; and crossing over to the site of Chicago, they take a canoe on Lake Michigan, and return thanks to God at Mi- chilimackinac. Thus Wisconsin has an ancient his- torical glory, connected with the discovery of the great rivers of the great valley. Another interesting historical fact sheds a glory OF COLLEGES. 197 over Wisconsin. Its territory is included within the jurisdiction of the Ordinance of 1787. Wisconsin is the last State contemplated by that great national compact, and she came into the Union whilst the ordinance was yet universally acquiesced in as worthy of a free and great people, and consonant with the spirit of '76. That ordinance of liberty was drawn up by a graduate of Harvard College, Nathan Dane ; it was originally proposed by Jefferson, the champion of democracy, on a still larger scale ; and it finally received a unanimous vote of the Northern and Southern States in the old Confederation. Without meddling with party politics, I may affirm that it is an honour to any State to spring into existence with the segis of liberty in her right hand ; to draw her first constitutional life under an ordinance excluding forever human servitude, and to commence a career of greatness with the inspirations and the institutions of " Independence now and forever ! " Wisconsin has elements of greatness. With an independent life of only nine years, it already ranks among the first-class States of the Republic. Wis- consin has been gradually educated to its present position. It received a common-school education, when the Northwest was an undivided possession of the United States, and when Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin were school-fellows, with a big play-ground used in common. Wisconsin received 17* 198 THE ADVANTAGES an academical education in the territorial academy with Michigan ; and when the latter took its degree as a State, Wisconsin pursued a collegiate education in its own territory, and in 1848 took the diploma of a State graduate ; when, freed from authority, it entered upon active life in the great Western world. Wisconsin has great advantages of soil. A consi- derable part of the State is prairie land, black as servitude, but free with a native liberty of marvel- lous productiveness ; and the prairies are of the best kind, "rolling" through the vista in "oak-opening" grandeur. The Southern division of the State is sup- posed to be able to support as large, if not larger, population than any other equal area in the United States. All the forms of agriculture flourish in this exulting soil ; and as a grain-growing State, Wiscon- sin will make itself known in the markets of the world. Agriculture is the main basis of general prosperity. It is the ruling power of human industry. The farmers govern the subsistence of the nations ; and where agricultural resources abound, as in Wis- consin, materials exist for a great and flourishing commonwealth . In addition to the resources of agriculture, brought from the earth by human industry, Wisconsin pos- sesses immense natural resources in her abounding forests. No prairie State has such overshadowing advantages of splendid imperial timber. The ever- OF COLLEGES. 199 greens of Wisconsin are among the glories of nature ; they cover a large part of the State, estimated at about a fourth part ; and their superiority of quality is as decisive as their extent of quantity. The Wis- consin pine commands the market of the West and Southwest, and finds its way up all the tributary streams of the Mississippi, and down to New Orleans, and away to foreign ports. The Maine, New York, and Allegheny pine, shrinks from comparison with the forest fulness of Wisconsin. Chicago has already become the greatest lumber market of the world ; but whence are derived its principal supplies? From well-timbered Wisconsin and Michigan. Wisconsin is equally distinguished for its mineral resources. Its lead is sold throughout the whole country, and in foreign markets. Two-thirds of the Galena lead is Wisconsin. Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette counties are the chief Cyclopeans around the smelting fires of the Northwest. A large quantity of the ore never comes to Galena, but is shipped at other places along the Mississippi and the Wisconsin Rivers. Iron exists to a considerable extent in the northwestern portion of the State ; and the copper region is like- wise included, in part, within its boundaries. There can be no doubt that Wisconsin possesses vast mineral resources, rivalling those of other States. Weighed in the huge scales of commercial value, her mineral 200 THE ADVANTAGES products move the lever with a power only inferior to Pennsylvanian ponderosity. The trade and commerce of Wisconsin are rapidly developing. With the Mississippi on the west, Lake Michigan on the east, and Lake Superior on the north ; with the fine harbors of Milwaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Green Bay, and Superior ; with railroads described on the State in all geometrical figures to make sure the demonstration of the problem of its greatness ; and with a location commanding the trade of a large section of country, Wisconsin is becoming a commercial, as well as an agricultural, a lumber, and a mineral State. Manufactures are also hum- ming in the air; and, like the rumbling of the wheels of an approaching locomotive, foretell that in this department, too, Wisconsin will be up to time. Its population, made up of the sittings of many kingdoms, contains some of the finest of the wheat. The hardy, enterprising sons of New England are here, having acutely guessed their way to as beauti- ful a heritage as ever fell to the lot of the most de- serving. New York is represented with a numerous and worthy progeny, mostly grandchildren of New England, with a slight engrafting of Stuyvesant stock. New Jersey and Pennsylvania have sent their proportion of honest yeomanry from hills and valleys, pine-barrens, wheatlands, and coal fields, to help to subjugate a better region. The Southern and South- OF COLLEGES. 201 western States have a worthy representation among this congress of races, where two-fifths count two- fifths. The West is here with its giant force of agri- culturalists and omniculturalists ; and almost every kingdom of Europe, including the domain of St. Pat- rick, St. George, and St. Andrew, St. Denys, St. Law- rence, and other calendric heroes, sighing for Lake Michigan and government prairies, has come straight for Wisconsin ; and, fortunately, the best foreign population that has reached America in this century is here, in the Badger State. The intermingling of these different classes and races, will be of the high- est advantage to its prosperity. In education, Wisconsin has wisely resolved not to be behind any State of the Republic. Her large fund for education, is to be sacredly applied to the enlight- ening of the people. A liberal common-school sys- tem has been established, which is richer than the ' soil of prairies, the ore of mines, or the trees of for- ests, and a State University stands in full view of the Capitol, the creation of its sovereign power, and the reflection of its supreme legislative wisdom. The Legislature, at its recent session, made an additional advance in promoting educational interests, by the adoption of measures which allow pecuniary grants to normal schools, and even to colleges. This is among the most important and liberal schemes de- vised by a State for the advancement of the public 202 THE ADVANTAGES welfare ; and if the scheme can be executed in the spirit of its good intentions, without creating unplea- sant disputations, or stimulating presumptuous and doubtful claims upon the public munificence, the Ordinance of 1857 will shine with no unequal glory alongside of that of 1787, — both having in view the highest good of a free people. Wisconsin has every sign of a great State. Its popu- lation is increasing with almost unparalleled rapidity, and its resources of every kind are multiplying so last, that the slates in the common schools are too small to calculate the future. Although the last State formed on the soil purchased by the blood of the Revolution, she walks in the procession of States with equal honour in her eye, and hope garlanding her brow, bearing aloft the thirtieth star of the Ame- rican Banner, as though, were all others gone, she 'could well maintain her own. To found a new Col- lege in Wisconsin is a noble enterprise. It is a good gift to a great State, better than the regalia of power, the trophies of war, or the monuments of ambition. May the gift be welcomed and cherished by the people, and Carroll College receive a just share of public sympathy and support among the rising institutions of rising, great Wisconsin! Young gentlemen, you are about to go out into the active duties of life. Carrying with you the convic- OF COLLEGES. 203 tion that religion is the friend of man, administering hope to conscience, peace to mental conflicts, solace in affliction, counsel in trouble, and rest and glory beyond the grave. One of your number has already been called from the scenes of time. Marsh has led the way of the class of 1857, to a better world. We remember him on our literary anniversary. His vacant seat pleads with mute eloquence the instability of human hopes. Like the pine, by the blows of the destroying axe, or the cypress, before the power of the storm, he has fallen. But to human mortality there is a resurrection of life ; and Marsh shall stand among the saints who pass from Wisconsin graves into the radiant presence of their Lord. Young gentlemen, if you do not already possess re- ligion, delay no longer to secure it. It is a sad reflec- tion to graduate " without hope and without God in the world." Delay is perilous. The shadows lengthen fastest as the sun draws nearest to the horizon. Let me say, as a friend, that the year immediately suc- ceeding college life, is often one of more than ordi- nary thoughtfulness and solemnity. Observation has brought to view the fact, that a considerable number who went through college life without religion, have embraced it in that serious interval which imme- diately succeeds their graduation. Few, very few, after this period, apparently give themselves much concern about the salvation of the soul. 204 ADVANTAGES OF COLLEGES. Arise to serve your country and your God. The age calls for zealous patriotism, purity of motive, steadfastness of principle. A grand field of useful- ness is presented in this grand State. Wisconsin must have seemed to the Indians a land favored by the Great Spirit, Methinks the council fires of con- federated tribes have been on the prairies and by the lakes where the State Capitol now stands, one of the glorious sites worthy to be the seat of Liberty and constitutional power. Where the Dacotahs and Win- nebagoes once held their hunting and fishing grounds, the sons of Wisconsin now dwell in the genial quiet of advancing civilization. Oh, young gentlemen, you have a mighty State to live and work in ! Lake Michigan is named, on the oldest French maps, " Le Lac des Illinois," the lake of the Illinois, or of men. Wisconsin, from her eastern to her west- ern shores, expects her sons to keep alive this imme- morial appellation. Higher than ancient Indian or French suggestion is the authority, "Quit ye like men." Even the savages of the olden time rightly judged this fine region of country to be worthy of men of a noble order. Let Wisconsians ever rank high in the race of men ; and let Carroll men stand among the foremost in Wisconsin ! SIGNALS FROM THE ATLANTIC CABLE 18 (205 An Address, delivered at the Telegraphic Celebration, in the City Hall, Burlington, New Jersey, September 1st, 1858. (206 ADDRESS. My Fellow-citizens of Burlington: Ladies and Gentlemen. The union of the two hemispheres is a festival event in the history of the great globe. America, from Greenland to Magellan, thrills with continental joy at the pressure of the sister hands of Europe, Asia, and Africa. And the mighty hemisphere of the East, in one family three, receives, with kindred emotion, the welcome grasp of a long-separated and absent member of the terrestrial household. The globe is now in electric union. Ye winds, who have swept over American forests, and African des- erts, and Asiatic mountains, and European plains, a new agent, swifter far than your aerial speed, is a visitant of the four quarters of the globe. Ye stars of light, who chronicle new achievements in the infi- nite universe, record in the book of ages the laying of the thought-wire that speaks to nations through separating gulfs. Ye mountains, sublime in the peaks of everlasting hills, let your primeval rocks and ver- dure respond to the human enterprise which has (207) 208 SIGNALS FROM mounted your Alpine heights, and has now thrown the rein of mastery over your submerged depths, and guides its way across the rugged mountain-path of waters. And thou, old ocean, majestic in the billows of thy might, that anthem the praise of God from shore to shore, — thou, who leadest the intercourse of nations by outspreading sail and grander steam, to thine azure deep is committed a new trained ele- mental power, from the hands of Him who rules the waves and directs the storm. The air, the sky, the earth, the sea, send greeting to the festival of men, and make one with the nations, in their simultaneous celebration of an influential and great event in the history of the nineteenth century. Occasions like the present have their high moral purposes. They serve to explain and illustrate the discovery they celebrate ; they magnify to its true proportions the triumph of mind over matter ; they secure to society an interval of intellectual and genial festivity; they exert an elevating and educating influence on the popular mind ; they render homage to providential developments in the world's affairs ; and they assist in bringing God to view as the great and glorious Ruler of the Universe. Fellow-citizens of Burlington, it is becoming to the dignity of this ancient city, and to its educational and industrial spirit, to unite with other cities in this and in distant lands, in celebrating the successful THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 209 laying of the Atlantic Telegraph. This is one of those leading and happy events in human history, which, when it occurs first, anticipates the emotions and honours of future triumphs of the same kind. Now is the time and the hour ! Our celebration, on the appointed day, brings us into heartfelt connection with the general joy and praise ; and the telegraphic poles of Burlington exchange signals with the wires on Albion's cliffs, and return the festival flashes, which puke with the power of life, from our com- mercial metropolis to the outstretched boundaries of this great Republic. The subject of our meditations shall be, some of the lessons taught by the laying of the Atlantic Telegraph. If I have succeeded in reading any of them, I desire to signal to you their true import, and to stand for a few minutes in sympathetic, electric union with your minds and hearts — an operator, to explain some of the signs and the seasons in the horizon of the awe-struck world. I. The first lesson of the submerged telegraph is clearly the superintendence of Divine Providence in the affairs of men. The time and the issuing of this event proclaim the hand of God. Occurring a century, or half a century ago, it would have been incongruous to human affairs. The world was not in a condition to appreciate or profit by an invention which antedated its necessity. God arranges all 18* o 210 S I G N A L S PE M things so tli a t everything shall be in its place, at the right time, in the mighty system of his advancing Providence. The clock on the dial of ages strikes, only when the seconds and minutes make up the hour. As the discovery of America was not demanded by the condition of the world, prior to the bold and hopeful adventure of the divinely guided Columbus. so an oceanic telegraph came into being only when the wants of the nineteenth century sought it out among the ordained inventions of a responsive Pro- vidence. The discovery of America in 1492 stands related to the counsels of God, just as the laying of the Atlantic telegraph in 1858. God is in history. Divinity overshadows every event with grandeur, and cdves to it. like the stars, its right ascension in a sphere of glory. The successful issue of the event we celebrate, as well as its time, brings to view Divine Providence. Man walks beyond the bounds of his domain, when he undertakes to thread over, by the line of his skill, mountain peaks, submerged in ocean depths. Adven- turous was he, who first unfurled a sail upon the bil- lows of the defiant deep ; but what language can express the boldness, and even hopelessness, of that enterprise that seeks to conquer, not space on the surface wave, but on the unexplored mud and cavern in. the darkness of the distant bottom ? To what but the interposing help of Divine Providence can be THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 211 ascribed the successful deposit, in the lower parts of the boisterous ocean, of a wire, measured in size by a human finger, and in length by a twelfth part of the distance around the globe ? In 1857, the first Atlantic experiment was made. On the 5th of August of that year, two ships, well named — the "Agamemnon," after an indomitable Greek chieftain, and thus representing the spirit of men ; the " Niagara," after the great cataract, and representing the wonders of nature — these two ves- sels set sail with the mysterious cable, one end of which is held by the Old World, as the pledge of its firm faith in the enterprise. Five days out from land. on the 11th of August, the slender cord, intended to reach the New World, is broken by the heaving of the vessel; and the part submerged, of three hun- dred and forty-four miles, is left a buried and irre- coverable fragment amid the curves of the Atlantic plateau. Thus perished the hopes of the first expe- dition. Man's ability was inadequate to the work. On the 10th of June, 1858, the undaunted ships again set out. Violent storms forebode disaster. The Agamemnon is shaken to and fro by the sea, as if to exult over the frailty of human workmanship, and the vessel barely escapes wreck. At last the cable is joined in mid-ocean, and the ships part for the two hemispheres. On the first day the wire is broken on the Niagara, on the second day at the bottom of the 212 SIGNALS. FROM ocean, and on the fourth day on the Again em i Three failures, with the loss of three hundred and thirty-five miles of cable, again rebuke human impo- tency. The Niagara returns in gloom, followed by her cheerless but not discomfited compeer. The con- viction settles on the popular mind that the enter- prise is beyond human power. And so it is. But not beyond God's. The Lord on high is mightier than the waves of the sea. On the third expedition the noble ships reached their mid-ocean rendezvous on the 27th of July, true to each other as the needle to the pole, and eager to make the magnet available at the bottom of the ocean as on its surface. The splice was effectually, but this time rudely made ; and " the apparatus was then dropped into the sea without any formality, and in- deed almost without a spectator ; for those on board the ship had witnessed so many beginnings to the telegraphic line, that it was evident they despaired of there ever being an end to it." The fact is, that public opinion, both on sea and land, had reached such a point of depression and of renunciation of human ability, as to produce the general feeling that, without the special interposition of Providence, the work must prove a failure. Thus did God prepare the world to put its trust in Him alone. Where else is. trust safe? The ships now slowly part from each other in the THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 213 concealed glory of a successful mission. Painful anxiety keeps watch on both vessels. The pilots scan the sea rather than the stars, and the interest is at the stern and not at the prow. Never did mater- nal affection note, with more tenderness, the breath- ings of a new-born infant, than did the electricians the continuity of life developed by this wonderful child of nature in the cradle of the deep. Day after day passes without disaster ; but, like the crisis be- tween life and death, apprehension only increases until complete safety is announced. The logs of both ships show the variety of contingencies which alter- nately cherished or depressed hope. The story of the double passage reads, indeed, like the romance of the adventures in the earlier voyages of discovery. But here is the higher moral sublimity of a great and well-matured enterprise, throwing its lights and sha- dows over the scene ! What dangers encompass the daring work ! Behold the little line, sparkling by day in the sunbeams, and in the night leaving its slight, phosphorescent track of foam, like silver, on the billows. Is it to reach, at last, its twofold desti- nation ? What perils of wind and storm, of waves, and icebergs, and whales, has it to encounter ! What perils of Yankee vessels dashing up with unapologiz- ing curiosity to spy out the mystery of the strange proceedings ! What perils from the uncoiling of the spiral heaps of those miles of wire ; from splicing and 214 SIGNALS FROM running out from one part of the ship to another ; from the standing still, as on one occasion on the Agamemnon, of the paying-out wheels of the ma- chinery, when the vast ship hung on to the frail cord ; above all, what perils from crossing the unknown heights and valleys of the sea, unvisited by man, save by a few plunges of his long sounding-line, or by his own lifeless frame asleep in the watery sepulchre ! Columbus on the prow of the Santa Maria, in search of the New World, depicts the double gaze, easterly and westerly, of the eager hearts on the Agamemnon and Niagara. The water at length shallows; the sounding-line telegraphs approaching land; the two harbors are won, and God is glorified. On the 5 th of August, the cable is landed on both shores. The Niagara's portion is carried up in glad but toiling procession to the station-house ; and the end being placed in connection with the instrument, the deflection of the needle on the galvanometer shows a good electrical condition in the cable. And then and there, in the silence of the awe inspired by suc- cess from heaven, and amid the rude scenes of the station-house in the wilderness, the good Captain Hudson, assembling his men, remembers God and prays. Few of earth's scenes were more sublime than that one, in the forests of Newfoundland. It stands out in the foreground of history, like Colum- bus kneeling before God on the soil of the New World, THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 215 or De Soto planting the cross on the banks of the Mississippi, or Brewster and the Pilgrims praying and singing psalms at the landing-Rock of Plymouth. Let this scene go down to posterity among the grandest memorials of our national history ! The religious services were introduced by a few appropriate words, beginning with these : " The work has been performed, not by ourselves: there has been an Almighty hand over us and aiding us ; and with- out the divine assistance, thus extended, success was impossible." In the same spirit of '• glory to God in the highest," Captain Hudson sent his first telegraphic announcement in the memorable words : " God has BEEN WITH US. TlIE TELEGRAPHIC CABLE IS LAID. WITHOUT ACCIDENT ; AND TO HlM BE ALL THE GLORY." This great truth, then, of God's holy Providence in the world'* affairs, is Hashed from Valentia to Trinity Bay, from Europe to America, and around the circuit of the globe, up into the bright arches of the eternal heavens. II. Another of the lessons, signalled by the Atlan- tic Telegraph, is the triumph of human genius, faith, AND PERSEVERANCE. Let it be distinctly acknowledged, that every en- dowment of man is from God. It is the inspiration of the Almighty that giveth understanding. The triumphs of man's intellect are his own, only as the aided emanations of a created instrumentality. 210 SIGNALS FROM The human mind, like the stars which differ in glory, has its variations of capacity. The mass* - are scarcely perceptible on the map of the firmament, inferior glimmerings, or nebulae undistinguishable in the vast abyss of being. The morning and the eve- ning star is solitary in the grandeur of its brightness. Superior intellects are rare; but with what power they attract and rule ! Great men in science and the arts, whose inventions and discoveries advance civili- zation, reign to distant ages. Man's intellect, however, is comparatively feeble in its best estate. The children of a succeeding genera- tion often know r more than was at first discerned by the mind of inventive genius. Three considerations modify, without disowning, the homage due to the triumphs of the human mind. First, new discove- ries and inventions generally originate from small and suggestive incidents, and not from independent, origi- nal investigation. Thus, the falling of an apple sug- gested to Newton's mind the principle of gravitation. The idea of the telescope grew out of the experiment of a boy, who, in using two lenses, found that a church- steeple was brought nearer in an inverted form. The properties of the magnetic needle were discovered by u some curious persons who were amusing themselves by floating a loadstone, suspended upon a piece of cork, in a basin of water, which, when left at liberty, was observed to point to the north." The art of THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 217 printing derived its origin from the effort of a man in Haarlem to amuse his children by transferring to paper some letters he had cut on the smooth bark of a tree. A new epoch was created in the department of galvanism,, or animal electricity, by Madame Gal- vani's notice of the convulsions in the muscles of frogs by the contact of metals. Electricity for tele- graphic purposes was first stumbled upon by Oersted, of Copenhagen, who observed that an electric current; transmitted through a wire placed parallel to a mag- netic needle, either above or below it, caused the needle to deviate to the right or left, according to the direction of the current. In short, the triumphs of genius in the arts and sciences, generally owe their origin to suggestive and casual incidents, and not to the original determinations of the human intellect. Secondly. Discoveries and inventions are the work of more than one mind. Not to multiply illustrations, let us take the single subject of Electricity, the great agent in telegraphing. Dr. Gilbert, of Colchester, is the first to record, in 1660, the phenomenon of elec- tricity, which he produced from various substances. Seven years later, Otto Guericke, of Germany, brought out the electric machine, now so common, although still an object of wonder. In 1730, Stephen Grey divided all material substances into electrics and non- electrics ; and shortly after, Dufaye discovered the phenomena of attraction and repulsion. The experi- 19 218 SIGNALS FROM merits of Kleist, Cunceus, and Muschenbrcek, dating from 17 40, led to the discovery of the Leydcn jar in 1 755. About this time, Franklin proved by hi* little kite the identity between electricity and lightning, and gave a new impulse to the science, by estab- lishing the universality of the fluid in nature. About 1780, Cavendish laid the foundation of chemical elec- tricity, by decomposing air and water by moan* of this agent. In 1790, Galvani, and in 1800, Volta, added to the advances of this science, by the discove- ries of animal magnetism and the construction of the Voltaic battery. And in 1819, Oersted announced the discovery of Electro-Magnetism, or the relations between Electricity and Magnetism, which constitutes the basis of the telegraphic art. These successive developments of this particular science, serve to show that, however great are the successes of intellect, no one mind can ever lay open the treasures of even a single vein in the strata of knowledge. In the third place, it requires time to bring all dis- coveries into practical use. Even after the leading principle has been discovered, the human mind is slow in applying it to its practical ends. The power of steam was long known ; but it was not until 1765 that Watt's invention of performing condensation in a separate vessel from the cylinder was applied to the steam engine ; and still more notable, it was not until 1807, or nearly half a century later, that Fulton THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 219 succeeded in propelling a steamboat on the Hudson river; and not until 1830, that steam was success- fully applied to railways." The Electro- Magnetic Telegraph, like the Steam Engine and other inventions, is the creature of gradual development. Oersted in 1819 discovered the prin- ciple of electro-magnetic power; and in 1820, the celebrated Ampere proposed to apply the principle to a telegraph, with the crude suggestion that as many magnetic needles and as many circuits should be em- ployed as there were characters to be indicated. Schelling and Feclmer proposed the employment of fewer needles. Gauss demonstrated, afterwards, that the appropriate combination of a few simple signs was all that was necessary to form a language for tele- graphic purposes. Sturgeon, of England, was the first to construct an electro-magnet by coiling a copper wire around an iron of horse-shoe shape. Barlow, of England, in 1825, failed to render his telegraph avail- able, on account of the rapid diminution of the gal- vanic action with the distance, under the arrange- ments which he made. The great desideratum was to propel the galvanic power through an indefinite circuit of wire. In 1831, Professor Joseph Henry, now Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, showed by his experiments how enormously more powerful magnets might be constructed, while the battery remained the same ; and he also showed how and why '220 SIGNALS FROM the battery might be so arranged that the rapid dimi- nution of the effect of galvanism might be prevented, so that the effect could be 'produced m sufficient intensify at a great distance ; that is, so that we might tele- graph. Professor Henry's discovery attracted much attention in the scientific world; but he did not him- self undertake to invent a machine for telegraphing, or to decipher the language of electro-magnetism. In 1833, Weber, of Gottingen, found that a wire for tele- graphic purposes on land required no special insula- tion; and in this year, in connection with Gauss, set in operation a telegraph between the Observatory of Gottingen and the Cabinet of Natural Philosophy, by means of a wire a mile and a half long. Tn 1835. Professor Morse, of New York, constructed in the University of New York, an electro-magnetic Tele- graph, about a third of a mile long, and transmitted the word "Eureka" to paper. In 1837 much pro- gress was made. In June of that year, Cook and Wheatstone, of England, took out their patent, using a deflective point ; in July, Steinheil constructed a telegraph between Munich and Bogenhausen, em- ploying a deflective needle to make dots and marks, as representatives of the alphabet; and in October of the same year, Professor Morse filed his caveat, which gave a general outline of his present system. In this paper, Professor Morse dates his inventions back to 1832, the year following Professor Henry's THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 221 discoveries ; but telegraphing, under his superintend- ence, did not go into practical use on a large scale, until the completion of the Washington and Balti- more line in 1844. At first, two wires were consi- dered necessary to make the circuit, one at the ter- minus and the other back. Stevnlieil, however, dis- covered that one-half of the circuit could be formed by the earth, and that double wires were unnecessary. In the matter of veritable telegraphing, in the present acceptation of that word, Professor Morse, of New York, is justly entitled to pre-eminence among all the inventors of instruments that applied the pre- viously discovered principles. So many minds have, in fact, co-operated to produce the telegraph to its present working order, that it may be called the invention of the age, rather than of any individual. Nevertheless, Professor Morse, more than any one man, has the credit of bringing the telegraph into practical use on a large scale ; sustaining to the tele- graph the same relation that Fulton does to steam navigation. 1 Even after the operations of the telegraph were successful on land, it was a bold thought to drop the wire into the bed of the ocean for international com- 1 In this brief sketch of the discoveries and inventions relating to the Telegraph — which has been compiled from the various sources accessible to the public — the intention has been to be impartial, and to give to each individual his due share of honour. 19* 222 SIGNALS FRO M munication. But time assists the triumphs of genius and perseverance. In November, 1851, the subma- rine telegraph was laid between Dover and Calais, a distance of 231 miles; and on the same day guns were fired at Dover by means of the electric spark, communicated from Calais. Franklin had, however, anticipated the experiment in another mode, and had fired spirits by an electric current over a river, a cen- tury before, in 1748. Planting his Leyden jar, or battery, on one side of the Schuylkill, the philoso- pher, as an electro-King, commanded the electric cur- rent to the other side on a wire, and then summoned it to return by way of the river and earth. Perhaps, before long, some Yankee hand, fond of exploits, may apply American electricity, through the Atlantic Ocean, to the touch-hole of British cannon, to as- tonish the Royal Lion and the Londoners ! Various submarine telegraphs have been set in operation since 1851 ; but the greatest of nil is the Atlantic Tele- graph of 1858. It does not detract from this great submarine work, that so many instrumentalities were necessary to its execution. Almost every philosopher has made some contribution to the elucidation of its scientific prin- ciples, especially Oersted, Gauss, Sturgeon, Henry, Weber, Steinheil, and Wheatstone; almost every inventor has aided in bringing it into practical use. especially Gauss, Weber, Wheatstone, Morse, and THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 223 Steinheil ; hundreds have assisted in laying the Atlantic cable — Brooke and Berryman in sounding and surveying the ocean path ; Maury in foretelling the time of genial skies ; Armstrong in applying gutta percha as the insulating material ; Field in organizing the companies, furnishing the means, and superin- tending the whole work; the manufacturers, Glass and Elliott, and Newell, whose cunning skill wrought the ingenious wires ; Berdan and Everett, who in- vented the paying-out machinery; Woodhouse and Canning, the engineers ; Bright and Whitehouse, the electricians; Preely and Hudson, Dayman and Old- ham, the commanders ; Morse and Bache, in their constant and valuable counsel from beginning to end ; the British and American governments, who supplied the vessels ; the gallant tars and laborious working- men, who encountered toil day and night ; — but, whatever number of persons may have been employed, intellectually or physically, in laying the Atlantic cable, it is certain that the work done is a great work, and that the mind of man, which fathomed the idea and anchored it in the deep, has a mighty range for its exploits, even from the stars of heaven down to the chambers of ocean's darkness. Whilst due honour should be awarded to all, on both sides of the Atlantic, who have aided, by thought or hand, this transmarine achievement, the names that will be forever most dear to American minds are 22-1 SIG N A LS F ROM Franklin, Henry, Morse, and Field : — Franklin, for identifying lightning with electricity, and thus con- necting earth with the heavens; Henry, for devising the means and demonstrating the practicability of telegraphing through an indefinitely long circuit of wire ; Morse, for reducing the electric current to a written language ; and Field, for successfully execu- ting the great sub-Atlantic enterprise. The present commemoration holds in special honour the laying of the Atlantic cable. This work involved three separate and special classes of difficulties : — 1 . The organization of the men and means for the enter- prise, including the immense cost of the experiment, which was about two millions of dollars. 2. The making pf the right kind of cable, which involved the greatest skill in the selection of materials and in their mechanical combination into one cord. 3. The laying of the line at the bottom of the ocean, which required the space of two large vessels, careful coil- ing and uncoiling, and paying out into the sea by the most ingenious machinery. The present celebration gives mingled homage to science, art, and practical skill. Taken all together, the combinations of the Atlantic Telegraph consti- tute unquestionably one of the greatest triumphs ever accomplished by the human intellect. The event teaches a lesson of faith, energy, and perseverance, to universal man. . THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 225 III. Another lesson of the Atlantic Telegraph is that it brings great advantages, political, social, eco- nomical, and religious, to the world. Many benefits, numerous as its own seven-fold cord, are wrapped up in the inventory of those mysterious strands. 1. The promotion of the friendship of nations is one of the first natural advantages of the Atlantic Telegraph. The division of the world into different nations by means of mountains, rivers, and oceans, is a part of the arrangements of infinite goodness. Great ends of mercy, as well as of retribution, were answered by the confusion of tongues and the disper- sion of mankind. In the progress of nges, the diver- sity, necessary to the best interests of the race, was to be relieved by the providential preparations for a more genial intercourse. The sharp, repulsive preju- dices and rude hostilities of the earlier eras of civili- zation were to be superseded by a system of attract- ing influences. At the present day all the tendencies of the world's advancement are towards intercourse, unity, and peace. The swift communication of thought is the best harbinger of universal concord. As the original dispersion of mankind was accom- plished by the confusion of language at the tower of Babel, so its reunion in the bonds of peace is pro- moted by the creation of a new, universal language, outstripping the resources of combined human tongues. The wire itself symbolizes the union of all lands, p 226 S J G N A LS FROM and the fraternity which grace is to give to tin. nations. Higher than physical juxtaposition is the intellectual and moral nearness of vision that out strips the course of the sun. and becomes a universal source of light and genial attraction. The very ex- istence of neighborly tics sanctifies intercourse. Never did Science before thus re-echo, from the deeps of the sea, the hosannahs, which rang through the fir- mament at the birth of the Prince of Peace : " Glory to God in the highest; on earth peace, and good-will towards men." As a specimen of the connection between the dif- fusion of intelligence and national peace, it may be stated that if there had been a telegraph, the last war with Great Britain might have been avoided. The British Orders in Council, which restricted our com- merce on the continent, and which constituted one of the prominent causes of our Declaration of War in 1812, were actually repealed before that declara- tion was made, although the slow rate at which in- telligence then travelled, prevented our receipt of the intelligence in time. So also the great battle of New Orleans was fought after the preliminaries of peace were signed ; but there was no telegraph to flash an armistice into the smoke of the contending armies. In proportion as the nations are brought into daily communication, mutual respect and sympathy are en- gendered. Diplomacy will cease to be a mischievous THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 22 7 appendage to thrones and cabinets. And since no movement can occur in national policy without its in- stantaneous communication to the whole world, it is clear that the Telegraph must become the Oracle of Peace. Congruous to its character, is its first enun- ciation of peace with China, and intercourse estab- lished between the civilized world and three hundred millions of, hitherto, self-inclosed barbarians ! No two nations on the earth ousrht to be united bv firmer bonds than those two, whose telegraphic sta- tions now respond flash to flash. War between Eng- land and America would imperil the interests of civil- ization. Welcome to all Anglo-Saxon hearts is the new union-tie, which enables the Royal Queen and the Republican President to exchange, on the same day, mutual congratulations in behalf of fifty millions of kindred freemen. May the British lion and the American eagle ever dwell in peace together, and the little child of the telegraph lead them ! In the el< ■- quent language of Governor King, of New York, at a recent celebration : "For England I have a noble, kindred feeling. In common she speaks the language of Shakspeare, Milton, Bacon, and Newton; and united, we may walk down the future centuries, a mutual benefit, and the hope of struggling nations." 2. Another benefit of the Atlantic Telegraph is in its relations to commerce. A merchant 1 justly re- 1 Mr. A. A. Low. 228 SIGNALS FROM marked, in the New York Chamber of Commerce, of the newly-laid telegraph : " We hail this as a com- mercial enterprise, carried into effect, more than for any other purpose, to answer the demand of a grow- ing commerce, — of a commerce guided by the light of an advancing civilization." Intelligence aids commerce in many ways. First, it places the operations of commerce upon the true and broad foundation of knowledge. Secondly, it gives regularity to its laws. Thirdly, it stimulates its advance into all quarters of the globe. And Fourthly, it gives equality to all who engage in its enterprises. A knowledge of the state of the markets in all parts of the world, at the time of acting, must effect- ually check rash and illegitimate speculation. The telegraphs in our own country have already equalized prices throughout its length and breadth, and regu- lated exchanges with the most exact precision. The same results will be now obtained for commercial ope- rations between Great Britain and America, and eventually for the whole world. The quotations of the business of tjie day on the Royal Exchange and at the Bourse, whose transactions close an hour or two before those in Wall Street begin, will have a daily influence upon the American market. And soon, the Exchanges of all the capitals on both hemi- spheres being in full telegraphic and commercial THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 22'.' union, Commerce will possess the advantage of a new power, worthy of the mysterious winds that waft her ships, and of the grand seas that bear them in their course. It is a remarkable fact, that one of the earliest mer- cantile results of the Atlantic Telegraph, was to com- municate the information of renewed intercourse with China, thus placing American vessels, trading with that distant land, on the same footing with English or other foreign vessels, which otherwise would have had the start of ten or fifteen days. The Atlantic Telegraph is to Commerce what the gathering of facts is to Science. It encourages, en- larges, purifies, invigorates, and confirms its domain. Let Commerce, then, bring her offerings from afar, gather her tributes from every shore, and wherever the> winds swell the glad sails of her ship, do homage to this new benefactor of the great mercantile world. 3. The advantages of the Telegraph to the various branches of mechanical labor are incalculable. Know- ledge and civilization are the allies of human indus- try. Every new invention tends to mitigate human toil, to dignify labor, to increase the sources of com- fort, and to elevate the working classes, intellectually, morally, and politically. The laborer with his barrow, the blacksmith at his forge, the boat-builder in his yard, the shoemaker with his last, the tinman at his instruments, the carpenter with his saw, the mason 20 230 SIGNALS FROM with his trowel, the hatter at his block, the painter with his brush, the printer at his types, the tailor with his needle, in short, all mechanics, of every oc- cupation and grade, — and work is honourable in all ; idleness is vice — I say, all mechanics are interested iu, and benefited by, every discovery and invention of the age. It might have seemed to some a singu- lar and incongruous thing, to see workingmen in New York turn out in a procession, two miles in length, on the day the success of the laying of the Atlantic cable was announced. With a full band of music and with banners, the hardy workmen, in their everyday clothes, marched in a festival procession, which ex- tended from Union Square to the Park. This was the testimony of men of sense to the general value of the new improvement, and to its influence on their own interests and happiness. Whatever promotes the prosperity of the city and of the country, helps the cause of the laborer and the mechanic. This principle is as true as the hammer to the head of the nail, or a plummet dropping straight down by the side of a wall. When the workingmen of New York had assem- bled in the Park, the President of the Commissioners of the Central Park thus forcibly addressed them : " Fellow-citizens and fellow-icorhnen of the Central Park : This procession of laboring men of the city, turning spontaneously from their daily work into line THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 231 of two miles long, with ploughs, drays, spades, and all the insignia of labor, adds a most significant fea- ture to the celebration of this most wonderful achieve- ment of time. While bankers, and brokers, and ship- owners, and manufacturers, are all fathoming the influence of this event upon their peculiar vocations, the intelligence of the laboring man is not behind in discovering its bearings upon his interests and the in- terests of labour throughout the world. Movement, activity, transportation by rail and by ship, by land and by sea, are the life of this great market-place of the West and of the East. All inventions facilitating the exchange of material products and articles, and the interchange of thought, must enhance the great- ness of this metropolis ; and it is not singular that you who are engaged in a work that is to add beauty to its greatness, should sympathize in an event that so deeply concerns its advancement. Whatever tends to equal- ize the prices of commodities, operates to arrest those sudden periodical shocks that paralyze trade and manufactures, and bear so heavily upon labour. This the ocean telegraph must do, and I find a chief grati- fication in a faith that points out to me this result. While officials speak of this event in the language of state, this demonstration of labor shows that the great heart of the people beats with an enthusiasm worthy of the day, and of the wonder of ages. It cannot be that this new avenue of thought, that 232 SIGNALS FROM brings the civilized people of the earth within an hour of each other, will ever fail to subserve the highest interests of humanity." 4. The power of the telegraph in extending tht knowledge and influence of republican institutions will aid to bless the world. Our country has remained isolated from the nations until the well-being of its free institutions has been well demonstrated in its history. The Old World has felt some of the move- ments of liberty ; but its irregular fires of inspiration have been followed by desolation. Before the influ- ence of America in overthrowing tyranny could be fully felt upon the earth, it was necessary to bring its system of government into closer proximity with the Old World. Steamships and the press have al- ready contributed to this result ; and now, the quick light of the telegraph exhibits, side by side, the insti- tutions of freedom and the thrones of tyranny. The cause of liberty always gains by light. The increase of knowledge tends to the political regeneration of the earth, and to the establishment of the great prin- ciples of popular government from pole to pole. — " The tyrants of the world will quail under the searching glances of an argus-eyed public sentiment. The present system of telegraphing is, as it were, blending the mind of the world into one stupendous republic." All inventions are in freedom's favour. It has THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 233 been said that the locomotive was a great democrat ; and so it is, in the true sense of that word. In the same enlarged signification, the Atlantic Telegraph is a true republican. Railways and electric wives unite in unfolding the glories of self-government to expectant nations ; and even the interest taken by Americans in the very celebration of the Atlantic Telegraph, goes up, like a jubilant shout, to cheer the hopes of the oppressed, and to warn Tyranny of its doom. Soon may Freedom's be a universal do- minion : "And henceforth, there shall be no chain, Save underneath the sea, The wires shall murmur through the main Sweet songs of liberty." 5. The influence of the telegraph upon the press will be salutary and powerful. More than any other department of business, the press feels the power of this great enterprise, which establishes almost instan- taneous communication with all parts of the world. The Telegraph will not only stimulate the desire of the people for intelligence, but it will throw increased ability and activity into the press, in order to meet the growing demands of the public. The newspa- per is one of the great institutions of the age. If its necessity has ever before been questioned, all doubt of its power and usefulness vanishes before the land- 20* ^34 SIGNALS FROM ward and seaward telegraphs, whieh send to the press the contributions of all nations. 6. Science shall receive rewards from her own achievements. The ocean telegraph has been already of use to science, by showing what modifications the electric wave undergoes under such new circumstances. It will serve, if it endures, to throw light upon the ve- locity of galvanic electricity, and enable the electri- cian to investigate the general laws of the fluid, when thus constrained. The Atlantic Telegraph can also be employed in determining the difference of longitude between ob- servatories, or stations, in Europe and America, and may be brought into use for certain astronomical purposes. It is, in short, a piece of philosophical apparatus on a grand scale. The electrician will cherish it w ith the love of the astronomer for his telescope, or the chemist for his retort. Its connection with farther discoveries is a certainty in an age of physical inquiry. 1 1 The "London Morning Post" says, that it is understood that, the Atlantic Cable transmits the electricity with sufficient rapidity, but that it retains it, time being required for its dis- charge, after it has been communicated to the wire. The first signal is transmitted instantaneously ; but the wire does not readily part with the charge, and the electricity it retains pre- vents the effect of a second signal from being perceived on the THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 235 Among the rewards of science, on this occasion, is the universal homage yielded by the multitude. No longer regarded as an aristocrat of high pretensions, living in the seclusion of a grand, but selfish and use- less domain, Science is welcomed as the handmaid of industry and the arts, and obtains from the masses to-day the most triumphant honours. This restora- tion to her true position is proof of her native dignity and worth. Never has Science received so hearty and gracious a demonstration to her praise. Whilst Jupiter places at her feet the thunderbolts of the firmament, and Neptune the trident of the Ocean, and Vulcan, the miraculous implements of Cyclopean forges, the crown of glory is placed upon her head by the Queen of Beauty, amidst acclamations which fill the conclave. 7. The benefits which the telegraph will confer upon the cause of Religion, are as certain as that Re- ligion's is the greatest cause on earth. Christianity has, in the first place, a common interest in all that relates to the advancement of society. Whatever cultivates good-will among men, facilitates commerce, distant instrument. The difficulty, which was experienced in the Telegraph to the Hague, was overcome by discharging the wire after each signal, and this was done by sending the electrical cur- rent in the reverse direction Such an arrangement does not seem to be sufficient to put the Atlantic Cable in satisfactory working order. Science, however, will doubtless discover a remedy in due time. 230 SIGNALS FROM stimulates industry, enlarges the sphere of free insti- tutions, benefits the press, and aids science and know- ledge, advances religion too. Every new discovery is tributary to the kingdom of Christ. Of how much use to religion has been the telescope, the microscope, the compass, the loom, the printing-press, the steam- engine ! Thus will it also be with the Atlantic Tel- egraph, through the general relation between the progress of society and the cause of truth and right- eousness. But further than this, religion derives a direct advantage from the use of the telegraph, like the secular interests of society. A knowledge of the state of mankind in every nation, constitutes the basis of evangelical effort, and stimulates the prayer and zeal requisite to carry on it's operations. If the angels of heaven were to descend, as visible messen- gers, to report daily the condition of the world, they would perforin the service that the telegraph, in the name of heaven's King, is commissioned to do, through the inspirations of its swift-winged words. Every agent on earth is God's agent to execute his will. The luminary that compasses the circuit of the hea- vens, and the time-defying spark that pervades the cable of the deep, have each, in their origin, purpose, and results, a relation to Deity. God carries forward the plan of redemption by means of the vast system of events, which, each and all, small and great, old THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 'I'd t and new, make up the glory of Providence. Tele- graphs ride over mountains, and leap through the seas, that they may prepare the highway of the Lord, and be the forerunners of the chariots of his sal- vation. It is easy to realize that this great invention of the century impresses upon the mind and heart of the religious world the idea of unity, and thus aids in creating a power, antagonistic to the injurious sepa- rations and alienations, too long prevalent in the Church. A better era is at hand. Unity is the familiar lesson among the religious demonstrations of Providence. Unity is the loving truth of Gospel grace. Unity springs from genuine Christian inter- course, like the morning light, to bless the world. Unity gladdens the train of enlarged evangelical efforts among the millions of mankind. Unity is celebrated by the moral influences of each world- related event. Unity is transmitted, with the love of God. to the Church, in every new memorial of His power and glory. Such is a brief view of the general blessings radi- ating from this work of light, whose success we are met to celebrate. It is not, indeed, to be disguised that the telegraph may also be employed for purposes of evil. If Satan transformed himself into an angel of light, it is no marvel if he still use the agency of light in strength- 238 SIGNALS FROM ening his influence and dominion. But, for the pur- poses of the wicked, light is the most hazardous and self-destructive of all weapons. The devil, in his attempts to quote Scripture, was overwhelmed by the replies of the Son of Man. All assaults upon the cause of truth and liberty through the telegraph, will bo repelled by the avenging power of right, in the Providence of the Most High. TV. Another thought is transmitted through the Atlantic Telegraph, as a commemorative lesson to the immortal minds that celebrate its achievement. Tt is that this great event is among the most impress- ive, as well as the latest, of the providential indica- tions of THE APPROACH OF THE MILLENNIUM. The age in which we live is intense with activity, change, and progress. There seems to be a mar- shalling of events to terminate a great and triumphant campaign. Behold the nations of Europe sighing after a better day amid the gloom of ancient systems, the Ottoman empire expiring in desolate impotence, the great and portentous commotions that have swept over India's plains, the Jews looking to Palestine with revived national aspirations, the unfolding of the gates of China to the intercourse of a long- excluded world, the grand preparations on the Paci- fic's shores, the opening of Central America as the highroad to the recovery of the kingdoms farther south, the numerous and industrious explorations in THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 239 Africa, as if to connect her, in time, with the general movement of this electric age ; and, above all, behold the progress of Christianity in every land, and espe- cially the existing revival of religion which is gilding the mountain-tops, and breaking in with glory upon the darkness of thousands and ten thousands of human hearts ; — all these, with other providential declarations in the political and religious world, an- nounce a crisis in human history. The horoscope of Time points to great changes in the zodiac of nations; and all the events on this world of wonders seem to be propelling it towards a sublimer destiny. The kingdoms of the earth, as at the Advent of Christ, are in providential training, with a great expectation ; and just at this period, the telegraphic achievement towards universal progress and unity startles conti- nents into awe. What is the consummation, foretold by this com- bination of uniform signs ? It is no less than the millennium — when the Lord shall reign King of nations as He is King of saints. This event, accord- ing to Prophecy, cannot now be far distant. Its exact period is, doubtless, beyond the computations of the human mind. Biblical scholars differ about the time of the commencement of the latter-day glory, mainly because they differ about the commence- ment of certain eras, spoken of by Daniel and John. in reference to the duration of the reign of Antichrist, 240 SIGNALS FROM whatever may be meant by that term. Many stu- dents of prophecy in the Protestant Church have fixed upon the year 18GG as the one that is to wit- ness "the beginning of the end." Assuming the year 606 (the time when the Empe- ror Phocas conferred on Boniface III the title of Uni- versal Bishop), as the year for the commencement of the persecution of the Church, they add to it the 1260 years, which mark the precise time of the reign of Antichrist, and thus arrive at the result of 1866, as an important era, preliminary to the Millennium, if not actually introductory to it. Some, however, reckon the 1260 years from the year 756, when the Emperor Pepin gave temporal dominion to the Uni- versal Bishop, and thus fixed the millennial epoch in the year 2016. Admitting this latter computation to be the most probable, the interval between 1866 and 2016 is not longer than might be expected, for putting into complete and successful operation all the means requisite for the full introduction of the Mil- lennium ; although God may bring it to pass at any period, like the sudden and universal illumination of the firmament by His messenger lightnings. - There can be little doubt that the millennial glory is to begin before many years. One of its antecedents is the preaching of the Gospel to every creature, a great spiritual work, which is in the course of vic- tory. The prediction that in those days " many shall THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 241 run to and fro, and knowledge be increased " is being remarkably fulfilled by the aspects of the times. The text places intercourse and knowledge in conjunction; just as the railway and the telegraph, which are the champions of each, and each of both, are usually found in juxtaposition. The telegraph will soon sway its amazing power in every realm; yea, it already reigns. " There is no speech, no language ; their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." The quick, pervading nature of the tele- graph is suited to a day of knowledge. Its cord har- monizes with the universal song : " Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace, good-will toward men." Soon will it announce that nations have beaten " their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning-hooks," and that a the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Nor is there any agent in nature that so well sym- bolizes the instantaneous transactions of the resurrec- tion morn. " In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Amidst these scenes of miracu- lous transition, there shall be " no more sea," and " Time shall be no longer." Help us all, heavenly Father, to be prepared for 21 Q 242 THE ATLANTIC CABLE. these great events of immortality ! And may our beloved land, with its banner of stars as an ensign among the nations, be among the foremost to promote the glory of the latter-day, and to utter with its tele- graphs and its voices, " the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ ; and he shall reign forever and ever ! " PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS SLAVEHOLDING. (243) The Letters and Rejoinders on Shareholding, contained in thi> Scries, were called forth by the letters of Rev. Dr. Armstrong, of Virginia. Dr. Armstrong's letters can h*> found in the "Presbyterian Maga- zine" for 1858. 244 TABLE OF CONTENTS. SLAVE HOLDING. IN REPLY TO GEORGE D. ARMSTRONG, D. D., OF VIRGINIA. I. On the Scriptural Doctrine of Slaveholding page 241 IT. On Emancipation and the Church 276 III. On the Historical Argument for Slaveholding 30B IV. On the Scriptural Doctrine of Slaveholding 330 Y. On Emancipation and the Church ; the Schemes of Emancipation; African Colonization, etc 351» (245 ARTICLE I. ON THE SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE OF SLAVEHOLDING. To the Rev. George D. Armstrong, D.D. : Your three Letters on Slavery have been read by me with great interest. They cover ground, not often distinctly included in the field of discussion, and they exhibit diversities of sentiment which rightly claim a candid consideration. The appellation of a " Conservative," which you have been pleased to apply to me, gives me satisfac- tion. I have always professed to be " conservative " on this exciting subject; repudiating, on the one hand, the fundamental principle of fanatical aboli- tionism, which makes slaveholding always and every- where sinful, and, on the other hand, rejecting with equal conscientiousness the ultra defences of slavery, which constitute it a Divine ordinance, in the sense that civil government is " ordained of God," and which claim for it an undefined permanence. 1 1 I am a little surprised that, in the popular classification of "Abolitionist, Conservative, and Pro-slavery man," you so qui- etly assume the appellation of the latter. Whether I admit the propriety of your proposed designation of " Philosophical, Phi- losophico-Scriptural, and Scriptural," you will better understand after you have read my letters. The only true division is Scrip- tural and Unscriptural. (247) 248 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS I follow your example in making a few preliminary remarks. 1. Some of our mutual friends, who are fearful of the agitation of slavery in our Church, have advised me not to reply to your letters. But if any danger was to be apprehended, the alarm ought to have been sounded before so much had been written from the other side of the line. It is quite probable that a brief notice of my brief review would have been allowed to pass without any answer. My position, however, is very much changed, after three long let- ters, containing an elaborate and skilful attack on the conservative views prevalent in the Presbyterian Church, have been extensively circulated. I am glad that you concur with me in the opinion that the dis- cussion of the points at issue between us " cannot involve any agitation of the Church." 2. The whole truth pertaining to this subject is of the utmost consequence. Slavery is among the pro- minent practical questions of the age. The destiny of several millions of human beings is more or less affected by the views of ministers and others, who, like yourself, possess an extensive influence in the formation of public opinion. I cannot shrink from any lawful responsibility in candidly and boldly maintaining what I conceive to be the true philosophy and morals of slavery, as set forth in the Scriptures, and in the testimonies of the Presbyterian Church. ON SLAVEHOLDING. 249 No servant of Christ should exhibit a false timidity when providentially challenged to defend the right. 3. Your candour and courtesy are models for my imitation. We undoubtedly entertain sentiments in regard to slavery, coincident in the main, but varying in importance according to the standpoint of different readers. Neither of us is a prejudiced partisan. Like yourself, although born at the North, I have lived at the South, and have learned, both there and here, to sympathize with my brethren who are involved in the evils of this perplexing social system. In Vir- ginia I completed my theological education, was li- censed and ordained by "the laying on of the hands of the Presbyter}'" of West Hanover, and com- menced my ministry as a missionary to the slaves on the plantations of the Roanoke and Dan Rivers. These personalities are mentioned to show that we are, in some respects at least, on a level in this dis- cussion. It is better for ministers of the same Church, who mutually appreciate each other's objects and position, and who endeavour candidly to arrive at the truth, to hold a Christian correspondence on slavery, than for boisterous and uncharitable parti- sans to break lances for victory in a crowd of excited spectators. The present opportunity is a good one for mutual explanations, which may possibly produce a nearer approximation to agreement than is indi- 250 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS cated by the line of separation marked out by some of your arguments. 4. The discussion embraces the whole subject of slavery, and not merely the points which might by some be placed within the limits of Church authority. According to your judgment, " the points on which we differ He entirely outside of the proper range of ecclesiastical action." I shall hereafter express my views in regard to this particular opinion, contenting myself, for the present, with the simple affirmation, that I write with all the light I can obtain from the Bible, and with whatever illumination the Spirit of God may graciously grant. Without discussing at present the precise range of ecclesiastical action, I shall endeavor to seek "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." 5. The general form of a discussion depends upon the positions of those who engage in it. When I discussed the subject of slavery in 1835, my object was to examine and expose the two fundamental principles of ultra abolitionism : viz., that slavehold- ing is always and everywhere sinful, and that eman- cipation is an immediate and universal duty. On the present occasion, I am called upon to defend the scrip- tural doctrine against arguments which seem to ad- vocate (in a comparatively mild form) ultra pro- slavery views. The Bible, as well as the Presbyte- rian testimony founded upon it, points to a clear, deep ON SLAVEHOLDING. 251 channel between these two dangerous passes. The Assembly's testimonies of 1818 and 1845, I regard as scriptural, harmonious, and, for the present at least, sufficient ; occupying, as they do, the true posi- tion between two extremes, and vindicating the opinions of those whom you rightly call "conserv- atives." I now proceed to the subject of your first Letter, viz., THE PROPER STATEMENT OF THE SCRIPTURAL DOG- TRINE OF SLAVERY. Your statement is : " Slaveholding is not a sin in the sight of God, and is not to be accounted an offence by Ids Church^ My statement is : " Slaveholding l is not necessarily and in all circumstances sinful" My statement was written currente calamo, without any intention to propound an exact formula of the scriptural doctrine. Some might prefer to either statement one in these words : " Slaveholding, in itself considered, is not sinful," or "All slaveholding is not sinful;" or " There is a slaveholding, which is consistent with the Christian profession." I adhere, however, to what I have written ; because, whilst my original form of statement includes the lawfulness of the relation, in itself considered, it also more clearly expresses the idea that circumstances may render the 1 I have substituted "slaveholding" for "slavery," iu order to remove all ambiguity in the terms. 252 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS continuance of the relation wrong. It 'brings out, in my judgment, more scriptural truth on the subject than any of the forms mentioned, and especially than yours. All admit that slavery, in a worse form than that which now exists in this country, prevailed through- out the Roman empire. As a system in actual opera- tion, with its cruel laws and usages, the Apostles could have no more approved it than they did the despotism of Nero. And yet they nowhere con- demned the relation itself as necessarily sinful. Des- potism maintains a relation to civil government an- alogous to that which slaveholding sustains to the household. Absolute authority may exist in both relations, under certain circumstances, without sin. The inspired writers uniformly treat both despotism and slaveholding as forms of society which circui n- stances might justify. The Bible contains no formal statement of the doc- trine of slavery, but enforces the duties growing out of the relation. A correct statement of the scrip- tural mode of treating slavery might be in these words : "All masters and all slaves are bound to per- form their relative duties, arising from legal authority on the one hand, and from enjoined submission on the other." You had, undoubtedly, the right to ex- hibit the doctrine of slaveholding in the more abstract form, propounded in your volume. But, I think that ON SLAVEHOLDING. 253 the reader of your volume and letters does not re- eeive the full impression of scripture truth and ex- hortation, properly pertaining to this subject. Your unqualified statement that " slaveholding is not a sin in the sight of God," seems to me to fall short of a perfect formula, even from "the admitted, scriptural premises" adduced, and by me cordially acquiesced in. I submit a brief commentary on these " ad- mitted, scriptural premises," by way of developing the argument. 1. If " slaveholding does not appear in any catalogue of sins," this fact proves that it is not malum in se. It is also deserving of notice that slaveholding does not appear in any enumeration of virtues and graces. 2. The Apostles received slave- holders to the communion, and so they did despots and their abettors in Caesar's household. 3. Paul sent back a fugitive slave, and would also have sent back a deserter from the imperial army. 4. The in- junction to slaves to obey their masters does not approve of slavery, any more than the command to submit to " the powers that be," implied approbation of Nero's despotism. 5. The distinctions of slavery in regard to the interests of Christian life are, like all other outward distinctions, of comparatively little importance ; and yet the general injunction of Paul on this subject was : "Art thou called, being a slave ? care not for it. But if thou mayst be free, iise it rather." 6. The Christian doctrine of Paul respect- 22 254 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS ing the mutual duties of masters and servants is clearly wholesome, and utterly subversive of modern abolitionism ; but whilst it proves that the relation is not in itself sinful, it does not sanction the relation as a desirable and permanent one. 7. Christian min- isters, who preach to the slaves insurrection, instead of submission, and who denounce slaveholding as ne- cessarily and always sinful, are on unscriptural and dangerous ground. In my judgment, your " admitted scriptural pre- mises" do not warrant the unqualified statement of doctrine which you have laid down. My commen- tary is simply designed as a rebutter to your too broad conclusions. Slaveholding, in itself considered, is not sinful; that is to say, it is not a malum in se; or, in other words, it is a relation that may be justified by circum- stances. When we say that the relation itself is not sinful, we do not mean, by the expression, a mere ab- straction; for slavery cannot be conceived of apart from a master and a slave. But we mean that slave- holding, as a practical relation, depends upon certain conditions for its justification. What is malum in se cannot be justified by any circumstances ; the law of God always condemns it. But slaveholding being among things "indifferent" in morals, it may be right or wrong, according to the conditions of its existence. ON SLA VEHOLDING. 255 Hence your definition, which excludes circumstances, comes short of the full Scripture doctrine. Three sources of your defective statement, as it appears to me, deserve consideration. 1. You have erred in placing the relation of mas- ter and slave on the same basis with that of parent and child. Your illustration assumes too much on this point. There are specific and fundamental dif- ferences between these two relations. The marriage relation is divinely constituted ; it existed anterior to sin ; it is normal in its character and permanent in duration ; and it is honourable in all. Whereas the relation of master and slave cannot be said to be more than providentially permitted or sanctioned ; it origi- nated, as you admit, by the wickedness of "man- stealing," and by a violation of the laws of God ; it implies an abnormal condition of things, and is there- fore temporary ; and it must be acknowledged, that it is in discredit generally throughout Christendom. The two relations are quite distinct in their nature. That of master and slave is not, indeed, in itself, sin- ful ; but it cannot be looked upon with the compla- cency with which the parental relation is contem- plated. The parental relation and slaveholding, pos- sess, of course, some affinities. They may fall into the same category, if the classification be made wide enough ; for both belong to the social state, and have relative duties. Or, if the classification be made even P R E S B Y T E l; I A N VIE W S narrower, they may still be arranged under the same category, for both imply the possession of absolute power. But, if the classification be into natural rela- tions, and those relations which arise from circum- stances, then marriage goes into the former category, and slavery into the latter. It is only within a cer- tain compass, therefore, that we can reason from one to the other, without danger of pernicious fallacies. 2. In the second place, your unqualified proposi- tion that " slaveholding is not sinful," mistakes the scriptural view by implying its lawfulness everywhere ,ind under all drcumstahces. The relation of master and slave may be lawful in Virginia at the present time. But is it lawful in New Jersey, or in New England ? And will it always be lawful in Virginia ? I apprehend not. The good of the slave and of the community is the great law controlling the existence of the relation. If a slaveholder were to remove from Virginia into New Jersey, your proposition loses all its virtue, and collapses into error. Slaveholding is sinful by the laws of that State ; and even if there were no law prohibiting its existence on the statute- book, could the citizens of New Jersey become slave- holders under the plea that " slaveholding is not a sin in the sight of God ?" Again, is it clear, that citizens in the Free States can always lawfully enter into this relation, when they remove into States where the laws sanction it ? Under the shelter of your propo- ON SLAVEHOLDIXG. 257 sition, they might do so; but it is certain, that there are tens of thousands of Christians in the Free States. who could not enter voluntarily into this relation without involving their consciences in sin. Slavery, even in the Slave States, where it may lawfully exist at the present time, is abnormal and exceptional, and is to be justified only by circumstances. This your definition overlooks. 3: In the third place, your statement passes by the testimony of the Old Testament dispensation. Moses found slavery an institution in existence, and treated it as an admitted evil. Tolerating it under the pecu- liar condition of society, the laws of the Hebrew Commonwealth were framed with a view to mitigate its evils, to restrict its limits, and finally to discounte- nance it altogether. The distinction between the lawfulness of enslaving Israelites and Gentiles, with various other discriminating regulations, shows that Moses took circumstances into view in his legislation on this subject. Even under the Jewish dispensation, your statements would not have been, received as a full and definite exposition of the true doctrine of slavery. My original statement, that " slaveholding is not necessarily and under all circumstances sinful," accords better, both with the letter of the Old Testa- ment dispensation, and the spirit of the New. than does yours. What I especially insist upon, in a scriptural state- 22* R 258 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS ment of the doctrine of slavery is, that the relation itself shall not be confounded with the injustice of slave laws on the one hand, nor separated, on the other hand, from the providential circumstances or condition of society, where it claims a lawful ex- istence. If you therefore ask, generally, why, in my state- ment, I qualify the relation by the words "not neces- sarily and in all circumstances sinful," I reply, that the possession of despotic power is a thing to be justi- fied, and for which a good reason is always to be given. Marriage is to continue as long as the race, and is in its own nature everywhere lawful. Not so with slavery. You, yourself, contend in your book, that it was originally wrong, and that the men- stealers in Africa, and, inferentially, the. slave-buyers in America, of that generation, sinned against God by their mutual traffic in flesh and blood. Slavery does not, like marriage, arise from the nature of man. It exists only from the peculiar condition of the slave class. And, therefore, a scriptural statement must not ignore a reference to providential developments ; and it is right to characterize the relation by words which qualify its lawfulness. Again. If you ask how circumstances can make a relation sinful, which, in itself, may be lawful, I ON SLAVEHOLDING. 25f> reply, that circumstances always control the moral character of those relations and actions, which belong in morals to things " indifferent," or the adiaphora. Some things, like idolatry and manstealing, are mala in sc, and can be justified by no circumstances whatever. Other things, like polygamy, were tolerated under the old Testament dispensation, but not under the New. Other things, as slavery, were tolerated under both dispensations ; but neither under the Old nor the New dispensation was slavery recognized as law- ful, apart from the circumstances of its origin and the attending conditions. The circumstances, in the midst of which slaveholding §nds itself, will always be an element to enter into its justification, or condemna- tion, at the bar of righteousness. Again. If you press me still closer, and ask more particularly, how the qualifying and restrictive lan- guage employed by me, is consistent with the lan- guage of Scripture in regard to the duties of masters and slaves, — which many interpret as giving full and universal sanction to the system of slaveholding, — I reply, first, that the mere injunction of relative duties, as has been already intimated, does not imply full approbation of a relation, which circumstances may for a time render lawful, and the duties of which require clear specification. The general duty of sub- mission to the established government, does not prove 260 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS that all despots are sinless in obtaining and in retain- ing their absolute power. Servants are required to be subject not only to good and gentle, but to froward masters, who make them suffer wrongfully. (1 Peter 2 : 18, 19.) This, however, does not make such fro- wardness and cruelty, on the part of the master, sin- less. And, generally, the meekness with which we are required to bear insult and injury, does not jus- tify those wrongs. Doddridge says : " I should think it unlawful to resist the most unjust power that could be imagined, if there was a probability of doing mis- chief by it." But this cannot make what is wrong and pernicious in any particular form or circumstances, sacred, divine, and immutable. Polygamy, which w r as tolerated under the Old Testament, under certain conditions, was a relation of mutual rights and obli- gations ; but was polygamy, therefore, on a level with the marriage relation, and was it an institution that could be perpetuated without sin ? Certainly not. Nor does the exhortation to masters and servants imply anything more than that the prescribed rela- tive duties are to be discharged as long as the relation may be lawfully continued. Secondly, the duties of submission, heart-service, etc., on the part of the slaves, and the corresponding duties of the masters, belong to my statement as much as they do to yours. The performance of these mutual duties is essential to the solution of the problem of slavery, and to the ON SLAVEHOLDING. 261 inauguration of the new circumstances which may make its continuance a wrong. Thirdly, slaveholding not being a malum in se, no scriptural exhortation against the relation under all circumstances, would have been consistent with truth and righteousness. Hence, neither despotism nor slaveholding receives from the Scriptures the undiscriminating anathemas hurled by modern fanatics. Their temporary justifi- cation depends on circumstances of which the rulers and masters of each generation must judge, as in sight of the Ruler and Master in heaven. Fourthly, The general spirit of the doctrines and precepts of the Bible operates unequivocally and decidedly against the permanence of slavery in the household, or of despotism in the State. An emphatic testimony is rendered on the pages of revelation against these re- lations, whose origin is in human sins and woes, and whose continuance is justified only by the public good. Instead of precise rules, which the wisdom of God has not prescribed for the eradication of all the evils of society, the Gospel substitutes sublime and hearts moving principles, which make the Christian " a law unto himself," and transform, through the Spirit, human nature into the image of the divine. After all, we both agree in the fundamental posi- tion that slavery may exist without sin ; that the relation, in itself considered, is not sinful. You 262 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS prefer your statement of the doctrine, and I prefer mine. You imagine, in comparing my statement with Scripture, that you discern " discord," and catch the sound of " quavering notes ;" whilst, to my ears, your statement sounds like an old tune with unplea- sant alterations, and withal, set on so high a key as to endanger falsetto in unskilful voices. It is my honest conviction that my formula approaches the nearest to the true doctrine of Scripture. The correctness of my form of statement is, I think, confirmed by several considerations. In the first place, this mode of stating the scriptural doctrine of slavery coincides with the testimonies of tlie Presbyterian Church. The General Assembly of 1818 uses the following language : "We do, indeed, tenderly sympathize with those portions of our Church and our country where the evil of slavery has been entailed ; where a great, and the most virtuous, part of the com- munity, abhor slavery, and wish its extermination as sincerely as any others ; but where the number of slaves, their ignorance, and their vicious habits generally, render an immediate and universal emancipation inconsistent alike with the safety and hapjriness of the master and slave. With those who are thus circumstanced, we repeat that we .tenderly sympathize. At the same time, we earnestly exhort them to continue, and, if possible, to increa;>e their exertions to effect a total abolition of slavery. We exhort them to suffer no greater delay to take place in this most inte- resting concern, than a regard to the public welfare truly and indispensably demands." ON SLAYEHOLDING. 26o Here, it will be seen, the doctrine of our Assembly is, that circumstances control the continuance of slavery. This relation is justifiable, or otherwise, ac- cording as " the happiness of the master and slave " and " the public welfare " are promoted by it. The paper adopted by the General Assembly in 1845, by a vote of 168 to 13, assumes the same prin- ciple, and substantially adopts the form of my origi- nal statement. It says : "The question, which is now unhappily agitating and dividing other branches of the Church, is whether the holding of slaves is. under all circumstances, a heinous sin, calling for the disci- pline of the Church." p. 812. "The question, which this As- sembly is called upon to decide is this : Do the Sci'iptures teach that the holding of slaves, without regard to circumstances, is a sin ?» p. 812. You perceive that the question is stated in words which resemble very much the words of a " Conser- vative." Further : " The Apostles did not denounce the relation itself as sinful." • The Assembly cannot denounce the holding of slaves as neces- sarily a heinous and scandalous sin." p. 812. "The existence of domestic slavery, under the circumstances in which it is found iu the southern portion of the country, is no bar to Christian communion." p. 813. Whilst my statement of the doctrine of slavery coincides with the utterances of the Church, many will think that yours comes far short of it. What- ever added explanations may cause it to approximate to the language of the General Assembly, the naked 264 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS words are as dissimilar, as a leafless tree is from one of living green. As yon frequently quote Dr. Hodge, I also will take the liberty of exhibiting the opinions of the distin- tinguished Professor, in their true connection with the point at issue. I ask your particular attention to these extracts from the Biblical Repertory, which might be extended, if necessary : "An equally obvious deduction [from the Scriptures] is, that slaveholding is not necessarily sinful." 1 1836, p. 277. "Both political despotism and domestic slavery belong in morals to the adiaphora, to things indifferent. They may be expedient or inexpedient, right or wrong, according to circum- stances. Belonging to the same class, they should be treated in the same way. Neither is to be denounced as necessarily sinful, and to be abolished immediately under all circumstances." p. 286. " Slavery is a question of circumstances, and not a malum in se." " Simply to prove that slaveholding interferes with natural rights, is not enough to justify the conclusion that it is neces- sarily and universally sinful. 1,1 p. 292. "These forms of society [despotism, slavery, etc.], are not ne- cessarily, or in themselves, just or unjust; but become one or the other according to circumstances.' 1 '' p. 295. " Monarchy, aristocracy, democracy, domestic slavery, are right or wrong, as they are, for the time being, conducive to this great end [intellectual and moral elevation] or the reverse." p. 302. " We have ever maintained that slaveholding is not in itself sinful; that the right to personal liberty is conditioned by the ability to exercise beneficially that right." 1849, p. 601. "Nothing can be more distinct than the right to hold slaves in certain circumstances, and the right to render slavery per- petual." p. 603. ON SLAVEHOLDING. 265 These quotations prove that Dr. Hodge unites with the great body of our Church, north and south, east and west, in limiting the lawfulness of slaveholding by the very terms of its formal definition, at the same time that he earnestly contends, with all who are on scriptural ground, that the relation, in itself con- sidered, is not sinful. The " conservatives " of the Church everywhere uphold all the testimonies of the General Assembly, in their true spirit and very letter. Another consideration, confirming the belief that my statement is the better of the two, is that it is more philosophical in its form. The conditions of an ethical proposition relating to slavery, as furnished by yourself, are threefold. 1. The proposition must be in the usual form of ethical propositions. 2. It must be so expressed as to require no explanations. 3. It should cover all the ground which Christianity covers. 1. The usual form of ethical propositions in regard to the adiaphora, or things indifferent, includes a reference to circumstances. Whether the proposition be expressed in a positive or negative form, is not of much account, provided the meaning be clear. Your own statement is a negative one ; but the difficulty is that its meaning is not plain. If the word despotism, or war, be substituted for slavery in our respective statements, I think you will see at once that your statement does not express the true idea, so well as 23 266 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS mine. The proposition that " despotism, or war. is not a sin in the sight of God/' is not a true ethical proposition. Because, like slavery, despotism and war seek their justification in circumstances. Cir- cumstances cannot he omitted from a philosophical proposition on " things indifferent." Your objection to my statement appears to be that it does not clearly admit the morality of slavehold- ing, but that it acquits the master with a sort of ; ' whip and clear him" judgment. This latter expres- sion, if I understand it, means " strike first, and then acquit." Very far from such a rude proceeding is the intention, or tendency, of my argument. The force of it is simply to put the slaveholder in a position which demands him to justify himself before God, which every Christian ought always to be ready to do. I explicitly maintain that the relation may be a lawful one, and that the Christian performance of its duties often brings peculiar honour upon the slave- holder, and calls into exercise some of the most shining graces of the Gospel. But slaveholding, al- though not malum in se, is not a natural and perma- nent phase of civilization. Like despotism or war, it is to be justified, or condemned, by the condition of things and the necessities of the case. It does not, in itself, imply an unchristian spirit, or unchristian conduct; and hence our Church has always refused to recognize it as under all circumstances an " offence" ON SLAVEHOLDING. 267 and " a bar to Christian communion." My proposi- tion throws no suspicion, or reproach, upon any one who is in a true and justifiable position ; and the very fact that it includes circumstances as an element in the solution of its morality, proves it to be philoso- phically sound. 2. If the proposition, in order to be correctly stated, must require no explanations, I think that my form has considerable advantage over yours. " Slavery is not necessarily and in all circumstances sinful" is a general proposition, containing, without the need of explanation, the ethical truths on the subject. Your proposition, " Slavery is not a sin in the sight of God," is liable at once to the doubt, whether it is intended to be a universal or a particular proposition ; that is, whether you mean to say, "no slaveholding is sinful," or only that "some slaveholding is not sinful." The needed explanation, against which you protest, is actually given by you in another part of your let- ter, where you say that your statement by no means " involves the idea that all slaveholding is sinless in the sight of God," or in other words, some slavehold- ing is not a sin. How this could be expressed with more rigid accuracy than in my formula of " slavery is not necessarily and in all circumstances sinful," it is for you to show. Why my formula does not more exactly express your belief than your own, which you would substitute for it, is also for you to show. 268 PRESBYTERIAN yiEWS Your statement fails to endure the philosophical test brought forward by yourself. It must have explana- tions, before the reader can even understand whether it is a universal or particular proposition. Permit me to add, that even some of your expla- nations seem to need explanation. For example, in your illustration about the despotism of France, you say that this despotism is "at the present day, de- manded by the general good of the French nation," and then go on to say, that " the time may come when the general good will demand a different form of government in France." Here you propound my doc- trine exactly ; and if you will only allow this expla- nation about despotism to enter into your proposition about slaveholding, it becomes identical with my own. But inasmuch as you insist, that " every general pro- position shall be so expressed as to bear examination," "apart from, all explanation" you prove that your proposition, as it stands, is not a general, but a par- ticular one, and that mine is really the universal and the philosophical proposition. Again ; }^our proposi- tion demands explanation, as a practical standard of right conduct as well as of sound philosophy. The proposition, that " slaveholding is not a sin," requires explanation, if you apply the doctrine to the first generation, who, as is generally believed, wrongfully purchased the slaves, and thus abetted manstealing. and entailed this unnatural relation upon succeeding ON SLAVEHOLDING. 2G9 generations. It requires explanation, if, anywhere at the South, the good of one or more slaves, and the glory of God, would be promoted by their emancipa- tion. It requires explanation in the Free States, where slavery is prohibited by law, and where the welfare of society does not require the existence of this institution. On the other hand, my proposition that " slavery is not necessarily and in all circum- stances sinful," expresses the truth without explana- tion." No proposition can be expected to define the circumstances under which slavery in every instance may be justified or not. It is sufficient for the pur- poses of a general statement, to give slaveholding a place among things indifferent (adiaphora) , and to imply that it is not a permanent institution, based, like marriage, upon the law of God, but one that owes its continuance to the necessities of the public welfare. 3. If the proposition must cover all the ground covered by the doctrine of Christ and his Apostles, then I think that your statement again suffers in comparison with mine. This point has been already discussed. The substance of the scriptural doctrine, in my opinion, is briefly this : First. Slaveholding, in itself considered, is not sinful ; or, it is not a malum in se. Secondly. It is a relation of mutual rights and obligations as long as it exists. And, thirdly. The general spirit and precepts of the Gospel are 23* 270 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS opposed to its perpetuity. I consider that my propo- sition, in this and in other respects, meets your ethi- cal conditions better than your own. A third collateral consideration, in favour of my form of stating the scriptural doctrine of Slavery, is. that it commends itself more to the enlightened con- science of the Christian slaveholder. Christians, whose minds and hearts are imbued with the spirit of their Lord, cannot regard with complacency an institution, whose origin is in wrong, and whose continuance depends upon the inferior con- dition of a large class of their fellow-men. During my residence at the South, of three years, I do not remember of hearing any justification of slavery, ex- cept that which appealed to the actual necessities of the case. It was everywhere said : " The slaves are not fit to be free ; neither their own nor the general welfare would be promoted by immediate emancipa- tion." The lawfulness of continuing the relation under such circumstances could not be called in question. I am confident that the enlightened con- sciences of southern Christians, prefer a definition of slavery which includes the providential aspect of the case. No abstract proposition, like yours, will place the vindication of slavery on high enough ground to pacify the consciences of those Christians who hold their fellow-men in bondage. ON SLAVEHOLDING. 271 But whilst the language of ray statement of the doctrine really justifies, with a high reason, the law- fulness of the relation, if lawful under the circum- stances, the other advantage it has over your state- ment is in keeping the conscience awake to the obli- gations of improving the condition of the slaves, with a view to a restoration of their natural rights in a more perfect form of society. If slavery is only to he justified by circumstances, the inquiry must press itself upon the conscience of the Christian master, whether, in the first place, the circumstances and condition of society constitute a sufficient plea, in his judgment, for his present position as a slaveholder ; and in the second place, whether he is doing all lie can, as a citizen of the State, and a member of the household of Christ, to remove all unjust enactments from the statute-book, and to break down the barriers of intellectual and moral degradation, which are in the way of ultimate emancipation. Although " slavery is not necessarily and in all circumstances sinful," it may become so under circumstances where the eleva- tion of the slave concurs with other conditions in rendering his emancipation a benefit. I claim, therefore, that my statement of the doc- trine of slavery surpasses yours, both in its power to relieve the conscience, if charged with the guilt of the existing relation, and in its power to alarm the con- science, if in danger of neglecting the whole duties 272 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS implied in the relation. My knowledge of southern Christian society gives me boldness in placing this view of the subject before the minds and hearts and consciences of my brethren ; for never has it been my privilege to be brought in contact with purer and more devoted servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, than are to be found in the Southern States. With all deference, and in all confidence, I submit to them the truthfulness of the positions taken in this letter. There is still one more consideration that gives scriptural weight to my form of stating the doctrine of slavery, namely, its practical power to resist error. The fundamental principle of ultra abolitionism is that slaveholding is in itself sinful. The only efficacious mode of encountering this fanaticism, is to show from the Bible, that it rests upon a false foundation. The doctrines that abolitionism cannot resist, are, first, that the relation itself must neither be confounded with the unjust laws which define the system, nor wdth the inade- quate performance of the duties of the relation ; and secondly, that slaveholding is not malum in se, but right or wrong according to circumstances. This double-edged sw r ord of truth will pierce to the dividing asunder of the bones of rampant abolitionism. Indeed, some of the distinguished leaders of that faction have virtually conceded the scriptural efficiency of these positions, and the great mass of people in the Free ON SLAVEHOLDING. 278 States will do homage to their truth. The doctrine that " slavery is not necessarily and in all circum- stances sinful," is the contradictory of the abolition dogma ; and its establishment in this very form, will most effectally arrest the encroachments of error, and vindicate the cause of righteousness in a perverse gene- ration. Your bare statement, however, that " slave- holding is not a sin in the sight of God," does not meet the case ; like a spent arrow, it falls short of the mark. It is a correct statement, to a certain extent ; but it does not include providential circum- stances, which necessarily enter into the morality of slaveholding. As a weapon to do battle with, your proposition invites assault, without the power to repel. It lacks the scriptural characteristic of fight- ing a good fight. It carries with it no available and victorious force. It provokes the conscience of the North ; it lulls the conscience of the South. This last sentence indicates an evil on the other extreme. Ultra pro-slavery is as much to be depre- cated as ultra anti-slavery. The idea that slavehold- ing is a divine ordinance, and that it may be lawfully perpetuated to the end of time, is a monstrous doc- trine, — derogatory to the spirit and principles of Scrip- ture, to the reason and conscience of mankind, to the universal sway of Providence, and to the glory of Christian civilization. A distinguished slaveholder of the South, who owns several hundred slaves, and s 274 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS who is not a communicant in. the Church, after hear- ing an ultra pro-slavery sermon, came out of the house of Gocl ? expressing strong disapprobation of such sentiments; and, stamping his foot on the ground, declared that he could not endure them. 1 1»- added that his only justification, before God and the world, for holding slaves, was in the necessities of the case. The attempt to fortify slavery by extrava- gant and unreasonable positions can only do harm. Extremists on one side always beget extremists on the other. Anti-slavery at the North has been the means of developing, to an extent before unknown, ultra pro-slavery at the South. The institution is now claimed, by some, to be a divine ordinance, like marriage or civil government; African bondage is sought to be justified by the original diversities of the human race ; and even the righteousness of the slave- trade itself is now openly vindicated in this land of liberty and age of light. One strong objection to vour statement of the doctrine is, that it seems to give countenance to erroneous and exaggerated views. It will be accepted, I fear, by the ultra pro-slavery party, as a good enough statement to be inscribed upon their banners. I cordially acquit you of any intention to contribute to the propagation of extreme opinions. But ought not a Presbyterian minister, of your position and influence, to be arrayed against such sentiments, beyond the possibility of misconcep- ON SLAVE HOLDING. 275 tion ? Hitherto, little impression has been made on our Church by ultraists on either side. We at the North are able, with God's blessing, to maintain the scriptural ground against anti-slavery fanaticism ; and we ask our brethren at the South to repel the irrup- tions of pro-slavery fanaticism with equal determina- tion. In order to do this successfully, the South needs a more guarded statement of doctrine than the one you have propounded. That statement is practically inefficacious in resisting ultraism on either side. For these various reasons, I adhere to the belief that my original proposition on the subject of slave- holding, although not, perhaps, as perfect as might be. is substantially correct, and is more scriptural and comprehensive than yours. Yours truly, C. Van Rensselaer. 276 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS AETICLE II. EMANCIPATION AND THE CHURCH. To the Rev. George D. Armstrong, D.D. : I certainly did not expect, when I penned the para- graph which you find fault with in your second letter, to become engaged in a controversy about " Emancipa- tion and the Church." My standpoint was that of a private citizen, and I gave utterance to a sentiment, which, I supposed, would find a response in the bosom of any Christian slaveholder on his plantation. The idea of expounding the duty of the Church, in its official capacity, was not in my mind at all. I ask you to look at the plain terms of the paragraph : " We regard the Christian instruction and elevation of the slaves as a means to an end, and that end is the recovery of the blessings of personal liberty, when Providence shall open the way for it. The higher end is the salvation of their souls." This paragraph simply declares the Editor's private opinion in regard to the providential antecedents which must necessarily exist, prior to the fitness of the slaves for the blessings of personal liberty. A Christian man ought also, as I supposed, to have the end in view, as well as to keep the means in operation. ON SLAVEHOLDING. 277 I might, perhaps, have fairly declined any formal reply to your second letter, on the ground that you transcended the real intentions of my statement. But inasmuch as the inference you have drawn from it may be a natural one, and is an opinion I really hold, and the arguments, by which you attempt to oppose it, are, in my judgment, unsatisfactory, I shall accept the opportunity of discussing what you seem to insist upon, — the subject of " Emancipation and the Church." You begin by attempting " to strip the proposition " of what you are pleased to call its " adventitious sup- port." I beg leave, however, to insist that its Chris- tian drapery shall remain upon it, and that it shall retain the firm support of its own Bible truth. The blessings of personal liberty have not been considered by me, in this discussion, in any other sense than in- cluding well-being. The whole morality of slave- holding depends upon conditions of social and public welfare, as I have endeavored to show in my first letter. This is also the fundamental idea in the state- ment, which you desire to lay violent hands upon. My statement contains three ideas, which ought to be a sufficient guard against the impression that I was in favour of emancipation without an adequate pre- paration. These three ideas are, first, a work of Christian instruction among the slaves; secondly, their elevation, as a result of this instruction ; and 24 278 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS thirdly, a progressive condition of society, which, under Providence, would render emancipation prac- ticable and beneficial. Could anything more be ex- pected to render my meaning plain, and to include well-being as an element in the recovery of freedom ? The expression "when Providence shall open the way for it," gives the latitude required in a question of this sort. True well-being was the precise thought in my mind ; for, as you justly remark : " Providence never does open the way for any change, unless well- being is to be promoted thereby." Judge, therefore, my surprise, when I find you not only imputing to me the opposite view, but also trying to rob my proposi- tion of the support of Divine Providence, whose glo- rious wisdom and power are so deeply concerned in the solution of this intricate problem. My view of the blessings of personal liberty magnifies well-being. Instead of admitting, therefore, that my statement involves a petitio prwcipii, I hold that the real peti- tion is from Dr. Armstrong to alter my proposition to suit his own views. This petition I respectfully de- cline. I cannot allow any one to banish God and his providence from my meditations on this subject. I choose to retain the whole paragraph, just as it was written, and more particularly the words you desire to exclude. The terms, " when Providence shall open the way," are used in exactly the same sense as the words, ON SLAVEHOLDING. 279 •• when God in his providence shall open the door for their emancipation," — an expression employed by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, in 1815, to convey the same idea on the same subject. The question of the time of emancipation is wisely left to the counsels of the Most High. Whether it shall be long, or "before very long," depends, in no inconsiderable degree, so far as human instrumentality is involved, upon the views of those who, like your- self, occupy influential positions in the southern sec- tion of the Church. But whether the time be long or short, it will be when " Providence opens the way," or " when God in his providence shall open the door." Not until then, will emancipation be consistent with the true enjoyment of "the blessings of personal liberty." On this particular point, there does not appear to be any real difference of opinion between us. We also agree in regard to the chief and higher end, which the Christian slaveholder should keep before him. The salvation of the souls of his slaves is the continual burden of a pious master's heart. To be instrumental in bringing to his plantation-house- hold the knowledge of the true God and of redemp- tion by Jesus Christ, is the primary duty and privi- lege of the relation. No language can exaggerate the magnitude of this responsibility ; no enlightened Christian conscience can resist the power of its appeal. The point on which we differ is, whether the Church 280 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS lias any authority to contemplate emancipation as a righteous and lawful end. This, although a compara- tively inferior matter, is nevertheless one of real in- terest and importance. And, in order that 1 may not be misunderstood, I request the attention of my bro- ther, Dr. Armstrong, to a few brief explanations. 1. In the first place, an interest, on the part of the Church, in emancipation, does not imply an undut regard for the temporal, above the spiritual welfare of the slaves. The chief duty is to preach " Jesus Christ and Him crucified." No work on earth compares with that of religious teaching and preaching. The vast concerns of immortality should ever be upper- most in the aims and enterprises of the Church. And yet present well-being has such connections with eter- nal life, as to claim a just share of Christian interest in all generations. The position of the Presbyterian Church has always enabled her to preach the Gospel to both masters and slaves. Ours is not an agitating Church. Her testimony on emancipation, as I shall presently show, has been uttered firmly and fear- lessly ; but, unlike modern reformers, or other Churches less favored of heaven, we have not magnified slavery above the higher interests of the kingdom of God. nor substituted vain clamor and restless agitation in the place of "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," 2. In the second place ; to keep in view emancipa- ON SL AVEHOLDING. 281 tion as an end, which naturally follows the use of lawful means, does not bring the Church into the exclu- sive province of the State. Slavery has both moral and political aspects. In the letter of the General Assembly to the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, in 1846, the following remarks have a place : " The relations of negro slavery, as it exists in the States that tolerate it, are twofold. Chiefly, it is an institution purely civil, depending absolutely upon the will of the civil ' power in the States respectively in which it exists: secondarily, it has various aspects and relations, purely or mainly moral, in regard to which the several States permit a greater or less decree of intervention." Our Church has always avoided interference with the State, in matters that are outside of her own ap- pointed work. She has not claimed authority over the political relations of slavery ; nor attempted to extend her domain over subjects not plainly within her own province. It is only where slavery conies within the line of ecclesiastical jurisdiction — that is to say, in its moral and religious aspects, — that our Church has maintained her right to deliver her testi- mony, in such forms, and at such times, as seemed best. She has " rendered unto Csesar the things that are Cesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." Let no man attempt to despoil her of this joy. 3. In the third place, the Church's testimony, in 24* 282 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS favour of emancipation, as a righteous end, must be distinguished from legislation over the consciences of men. Testimony differs from ecclesiastical law. It has different objects and purposes, and has a wider latitude of application. A Church judicatory may express its opinions, and attempt to exert its influence in a particular direction, within its lawful sphere, without pretending to make laws to bind the con- science. There are, indeed, duties devolving upon masters, whose violation is justly made the subject of discipline. But there are various views of slavery, which the Church, however desirous of their general adoption among her members, has presented only in the form of opinion, or testimony. Acquiescence in these views, as for example, those on emancipation, has never been made a test of Church communion. Dissenters from testimonies of this nature have no more reason to complain, than the minority in our public bodies have, in general, reason to complain' of the decision of the majority on other questions, which come up lawfully for consideration. 4. Emancipation, as an end to be kept in view. doe* not imply reproach, where emancipation is, for the present, impracticable. In my first letter, I have en- deavoured to show that slaveholdino- is not necessa- rily, and under all circumstances, sinful. There may be conditions of society where the continuance of the relation is among the highest demands of religious ON SLAVEHOLDING. 283 obligation. But even in such cases, an enlightened view of duty would, in my judgment, acknowledge emancipation to be an end, worthy of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The two ideas of the lawful- ness of the existing relation, and of the ultimate end of emancipation, are perfectly consistent and harmonious. The maintenance of the latter idea conveys no re- proach upon the scriptural view of slaveholding. It is antagonistic only to the unscriptural view of the permanence of slavery, as an ordinance of God, on a level with marriage or civil government. 5. The time of emancipation, as I have already intimated, the Church has left to the decisions of Providence. Circumstances vary so much in society, that no rule can have a universal application. It is sufficient to keep emancipation in view, and to labour to secure its attainment as speedily as circumstances will permit, or "when Providence shall open the way." Having made these explanations in the hope of disarming prejudice, and conciliating good will, I shall proceed to show, first, that my views of " Emancipation and the Church," are sustained by the testimony of the General Assembly, whilst yours differ from it ; and, secondly, that the testimony of our Church is sustained by the Word of God. The testimony of the General Assembly on eman- cipation is important, as an exhibition of the general 284 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS sentiments of the Presbyterian Church on this greal social question, and particularly as showing its inter- pretation of the Scriptures. The first deliverance of our Church on the subject, was made in the year 1787, by the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, which was at that time our highest judicatory, and was in the act of forming our present ecclesiastical constitution. The deliverance is as follows : "The Synod of New York and Philadelphia do highly ap- prove of the general principles in favour of universal liberty that prevail in America, and the interest which many of the State- have taken in promoting the abolition of slavery ; yet, inasmuch as men, introduced from a servile state, to a participation of all the privileges of civil society, without a proper education, and without previous habits of industry, may be in many respects dangerous to the community ; therefore, they earnestly recom- mend it to all the members belonging to their communion, to give those persons who are at present held in servitude, such good education as to prepare them for the better enjoyment of freedom ; and they moreover recommend that masters, whenever they find servants disposed to make a just improvement of the privilege, would give them a peculium, or grant them sufficient time and sufficient means of procuring their own liberty, at a moderate rate ; that thereby they may be brought into society with those habits of industry that may render them useful citi- zens ; and, finally, they recommend it to all their people to use the most prudent measures consistent with the interests and the state of civil society, in the countries where they live, to procure eventually the final abolition of slavery in America, " In 1793, this judgment was reaffirmed by the Gen- eral Assembly, and again reiterated by the Assembly ON SLAVEHOLDING. 285 in 1795, with the remark that "they trust every consci- entious person will be fully satisfied with it." Its brevity, its comprehensiveness, its conservative tone, and its scriptural authority, make this testimony de- serving of great attention. The General Assembly, in 1815, testified to the same effect : " The General Assembly have repeatedly declared their cor- dial approbation of those principles of civil liberty, which ap- pear to be recognized by the Federal and State Governments in these United States. They have expressed their regret that the slavery of the Africans, and of their descendants, still continues in so many places, and even among those within the pale of the Church, and have urged the Presbyteries under their care to adopt such measures as will secure, at least to the rising genera- tion of slaves within the bounds of the Church, a religious edu- cation, that they may be prepared for the exercise and enjoy- ment of liberty, when God, in his providence, may open the door for their emancipation." It could hardly be expected that a deliverance could be found on the records of our Church, so ex- actly concurring in thought and language with the extemporaneous statement contained in my brief review. In 1818, the largest Assembly that had yet been convened, met in Philadelphia. An abler body of divines, probably, never assembled in our highest judicatory. The paper adopted by them, on the sub- ject of slavery, is too well known to require large ex- tracts. It was drawn up by Dr. Ashbel Green, with 286 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS the concurrence of Dr. George A. Baxter, of your own Synod. Dr. Speece, of Virginia, was Dr. Bax- ter's fellow-commissioner-from your old Presbytery i >t Lexington. I only quote a few sentences from this celebrated document : "We rejoice that the Church to which we belong, commenced as early as any other in this country, the good work of endeavour- ing to put an end to slavery, and that in the same work, many of its members have ever since been, and now are among the most active, efficient, and vigorous labourers. " "At the same time, we earnestly exhort them to continue, and, if possible, to increase their exertions to effect a total abolition of slavery. We exhort them to suffer no greater delay to take place in this most interesting concern, than a regard to the pub- lic welfare truly and indispensably demands.'' "We, therefore, warn all who belong to our denomination of Christians, against unduly extending this plea of necessity, against making it a cover for the love and practice of slavery, or a pretence for not using efforts that are lawful and practica- ble, to extinguish this evil. "And we at the same time exhort others to forbear harsh cen- sures, and uncharitable reflections on their brethren, who unhap- pily live among slaves, whom they cannot immediately set free, but who are really using all of their influence and all their en- deavours to bring them into a state of freedom, as soon as a door for it can be safely opened." l 1 The Assembly's testimony of 1818 was reaffirmed at the last meeting of the Synods of Pittsburg and Ohio. These two Synods, in the midst of which the Western Theological Semi- nary stands, have been denominated the "back bone of Presby- terianism." The testimony of 1818 contains some expressions which might be advantageously altered ; but, with the proper explanations, it is consistent with that of 1845. The parts I have quoted have not been excepted to, so far as I know. OX S L A V E II L D I N G . 287 The General Assembly, in. 1845, took action on the specific point, whether slaveholding was, under all circumstances, a bar to Christian communion ; and in 1846, reaffirmed all the testimony uttered by pre- ceding General Assemblies. Here I might rest the case, so far as your opposi- tion to the recorded views of our Church needed any demonstration ; but as you are now a Virginian, 1 cannot avoid inviting your attention to the testimony of the Synod of Virginia, in 1800. Half a century has, indeed, passed by, and many of the precious men of God, who then served the churches from Lex- ington to Norfolk, have ceased from their labours; but the record of their opinions will endure through- out all generations. This subject was brought before the Synod of Vir- ginia by a memorial on emancipation, from one of their congregations. The following extracts are from the answer returned by the Synod to the memorial : " That so many thousands of our fellow-creatures should, in this land of liberty and asylum for the oppressed, be held in chains, is a reflection to us painfully afflictive. And most ear- nestly do we wish, that all the members of our communion would pay a proper attention to the recommendation of the late Synod of New York and Philadelphia upon this subject. We consider it the indispensable duty of all who hold slaves to prepare, by a suitable education, the young among them for a state of free- dom, and to liberate them as soon as they shall appear to be duly qualified for that high privilege ; and. such as neglect a duty so evidently and so powerfully enforced by the common principles 288 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS of justice, as well as by the dictates of humanity, and the benign genius of our holy religion, ought, in our opinion, to be seriously dealt with and admonished on that account. But to refuse to hold Christian communion with any who may differ from us in sentiment and practice in this instance, would, we conceive, in the present conjuncture at least, be a very unwarrantable procedure ; a direct infraction of the decision of the General Assembly of our Church, and a manifest departure from the practice of the Apostles and the primitive Church." "That it was wrong, in the first instance, to reduce so many of the helpless Africans to their present state of thraldom will be readily admitted, and that it is a duty to adopt proper measures for their emancipation, will, it is /-resumed, be universally con- ceded. But, with respect to the measures best calculated to ac- complish that important purpose, and the time necessary to give them full effect, different sentiments may be entertained by the true disciples of the Great Friend of man.'' The Synod of Virginia probably entertain the same sentiments in 1858 ; and, if the occasion required it, would doubtless reaffirm this testimony, with the same love to Christ that originated it in the days of Waddell, Legrand, Rice, Alexander, Lacy, Hoge, Lyle, Brown, Baxter, Houston, etc., — a generation of revered men, " mighty in the Scriptures." It is clear that my statement concerning " Eman- cipation and the Church" is no novelty, but that it is regular, orthodox, old-fashioned, Presbyterian truth. Secondly. I further maintain, that this truth is scriptural truth ; and, that the Church has a right to propose, and to hold forth, emancipation as a righteous end, when Providence shall open the way. OX SLAVE HOLDING. 289 Here I am met, at once, by your declaration, that " The word of God contains no deliverance, express or clearly implied, respecting emancipation. Hence, I affirm, that the Church has no right to make a de- liverance respecting it ; much less to set it before her- self as an end of her labours." In examining this proposition, I venture to lay down the following, as a counter proposition in part, and as a more scriptural view of the subject ; viz. : The Church has a right to expound, and to apply, the word of God, in reference to all the relations of life, and to all the changing aspects of society. The ex- position and application must, of course, be consistent with the spirit and principles of the Bible, but they are not limited to the mere word of its letter, nor to any general or universal formula of expression. From the nature of the case, exposition requires enlarge- ment of scriptural statement, and application implies a regard to providential developments and to the vary- ing circumstances of social and public life. Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians was very different from his Epistles to the Romans and to the Hebrews, although they all contained expositions of the same scriptural doctrines ; and his Epistle to Philemon contained a new application, in the case of Onesimus, of principles, not previously so fully developed. The Church has, in every age, the right to expound the sacred Scrip- tures according to the light granted by the Holy 25 t 'H>0 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS Spirit, and to apply its interpretation to all caf judged to be within its spiritual jurisdiction. I. Let us, in this search after Bible truth, glana at some of the views of the Old Testament Scriptures, on slavery and emancipation. A terrific statute flashed out from Sinai into the legislation of the Hebrew commonwealth. By the laws of Moses, " He that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hands, he shall surely be put to death." (Ex. 21 : 1G.) The original man- stealer, and the receiver of the stolen person, were both to suffer the penalty of death. The operation of this single statute would have forever excluded the existence of American slavery. Another provision, of some significance, shone with benignant beams of liberty. A fugitive slave, from a foreign country, was not to be sent back into slavery. (Deut. 23 : 15, 16.) The Hebrew commonwealth was a city of refuge and an asylum of liberty to the surrounding nations. These two statutes stood, like Jachin and Boaz, at the vestibule of the Mosaic legis- lation on slavery. Hebrew bondmen were held under a system, which resembled, in its nature, hired service rather than slavery, and whose duration was limited. Hebrew servants were emancipated on the seventh year, except in cases of voluntary agreement, and of children born ON S L AVE HOLDING. 291 under certain circumstances. In the year of Jubilee, liberty was proclaimed " unto all the inhabitants of the land." (Lev. 25 : 10.) In the fiftieth year, every Hebrew " returned unto his family," under the pro- tection of a great festival statute. The Old Testament dispensation made distinctions between the Israelites and Gentiles, in various parts of its legislation, and, among others, on slavery. Bondmen, purchased by the Hebrews from the Gen- tiles, might be held in perpetuity. Their bondage, however, as Dr. Spring remarks, partook of the char- acter of apprenticeship, rather than of rigorous servi- tude. The great fact remains prominent, that the bondage of the Hebrews was temporary. Emancipation was continually in sight; and the effect of their septennial and jubilee emancipation periods must have been a moral check and rebuke to slavery, under whatever forms it was tolerated. The long-existing middle wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles, was at length overthrown by Christianity. Thenceforward, all mankind stood in the new relation of a common brotherhood. " There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female ; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the pro- mise." (Gal. 3 : 28, 29.) Timothy, who, from a 292 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS child, had known the Holy Scriptures, must have realized, with all pious Jews, that the spirit of the Old Testament no longer sanctioned the holding of even Gentile brethren, in perpetual bondage. All laws, peculiar to the Jewish economy, being now abolished, the New Testament, in its larger spirit and greater light, was brought into contact with the arbitrary slavery of the Pagan nations. Can it be believed that, under these circumstances, any well-instructed Jewish Christians would become voluntarily involved in the pagan system of slavery? Heathen slave- holders, on their becoming Christians, received instruc- tions which gave new views of their obligations, and which tended to the ultimate abolition of the system. II. Christianity, in reforming the evils of society, inculcated general principles, of far greater influence than positive Mosaic laws. Before examining the true tendency of some of these scriptural principles, I shall ask your attention to the doctrine, which Paul expounded to the Corinthian slaves. "Art thou called, being a servant, or slave, care not for it. But if thou mayst be made free, use IT rather." (1 Cor. 7 : 21.) The ideas that are fairly implied in this verse are the following : 1. Religion is the most precious of all blessings to mankind. The Lord's freeman may bear, with little ON SLAVEHOLDING. 293 anxiety, any external condition of life, even though it be that of bondage. Well may Presbyterians rejoice that their Church, in conformity to apostolic precept and practice, has preached the Gospel to the slaves, without unduly agitating points bearing on their temporal welfare. 2. Slavery is an abnormal, and not a permanent, condition. Paul exhorted Christian slaves to seek emancipation, if within their reach, or if Providence opened the way for it. It is impossible to reconcile this inspired passage with the theory that slavery, like civil government or marriage, is an ordinance of God, to be perpetuated forever. " Use your freedom, rather," says Paul, expounding the nature of slavery. and throwing the light of inspiration upon its ano- malous character. When did the Apostle ever exhort husbands and wives not to care for the marriage tie. and to seek to be free from it, if the opportunity offered ? Slavery was in its nature a temporary ex- pedient, differing from marriage, which is founded upon the natural and permanent relations of life. Slavery is limited in its duration by the very condi- tions of its lawful existence. 3. The Apostle teaches the Corinthian slaves that liberty is a higher and better condition than bondage. Although Christian slaves ought to be submissive to their lot, they have a right to regard liberty as a greater blessing. Calvin, our great commentator, 25* 294 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS says: "Paul means to intimate thai Liberty is do* merely good, but also more advantageous Hon, servi- tude. If he is speaking to servants, his meaning will be this : While I exhort you to be free from anxiety, I do not hinder you from even availing yourselves of liberty, if a [lawful] opportunity presents itself to you. If he is addressing himself to those who are free, it will be a kind of concession, as though he had sa ld, — I exhort servants to be of good courage, though a state of freedom is preferable, 1 and more to be de- sired, if one has it in his choice." The Apostle evi- dently considered liberty to be the highest state, offer- ing an advance in civilization and true well-being, when Providence opens the way. 4. Paul also maintains that emancipation is an object of Christian desire, when it can be lawfully secured. Our own great commentator, Dr. Hodge, says : " Paul's object is not to exhort men not to im- prove their condition, but simply not to allow their social relations to disturb them ; or imagine that their becoming Christians rendered it necessary to change those relations. He could, with perfect consistency with the context, say to the slave : ' Let not your being a slave give you any concern ; but if you can become free, choose freedom rather than slavery.' Luther, Calvin, Beza, and the great body of commen- " Soit bcaucoup meilleur " — " is much better." ON SLAVE HOLDING. 295 tutors, from their day to this, understood the Apostle to say that liberty was to be chosen, if the oppor- tunity to become free were offered." Now, if the great Apostle to the Gentiles taught that slavery is an inferior condition, and that, under right eircumstances, emancipation is a lawful object of Christian desire, may not the Church teach the same things? Whilst the highest and chief end is to lead the slaves to Christ and to heaven, is the Church compelled to abjure all other ends, relating to human happiness, elevation, and liberty? Far from it. Paul's doctrine to Timothy, upon which you lay so much stress, must not be expounded to the exclusion of Paul's doctrine to the Corinthians. Christian masters are informed, in this passage, that their slaves may rightly regard their bondage as an inferior state, which may be superseded in due time; and the masters themselves are thus, incident- ally, instructed to keep emancipation in view, and to prepare the slaves for it, when the providential opportunity arrives. Further. If emancipation be a good which slaves may lawfully desire, it is a good which all Christians may lawfully desire, and labour, according to their opportunity, to confer upon than. It is not, indeed, in such a sense an absolute good that it may not be abused, or that every class of people is always pre- pared safely to possess it. The same is true of the 296 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS self-control which the law confers upon children, on reaching their majority. But is this any reason why children should not desire to be their own masters al a suitable age, or why all should not desire and la- bour so to train them that they may be duly prepai at the fit time, to be invested with self-control '. You refer me to the explanations of your book on this passage in the Epistle to the Corinthians. The explanations I find to be twofold : First, you urge that slavery in Greece and Rome was far more rigor- ous than in our Southern States; and secondly, that the Africans and Anglo-Saxons belong to different races; and that, on these two accounts, the doctrine of Paul has a less forcible application to American than to Corinthian slaves. I cheerfully yield to your argument any benefit which maybe fairly claimed by a change of circumstances ; but I submit, in reply, first, that human nature is the same in all ages and nations, and has natural desires to embrace every lawful opportunity to improve its outw r ard condition ; secondly, that the' Apostle propounds a principle, which has a real bearing upon slavery at all times and everywhere ; thirdly, that the light, liberty, and Christian appliances of the nineteenth century, are an offset against the supposed advantages for emanci- pation possessed by ancient Greece and Rome ; and fourthly, that your apology for not fully applying the principle to slavery now r , as well as to slavery eighteen ON SLA VEHOLDING. 297 hundred years ago, is at least a virtual acquiescence, however feeble, in the truth of Paul's doctrine. I find, indeed, on recurring to your book, that Dr. Arm- strong expounds the passage admirably. You say: " Yet, if they can lawfully be made free, as a general rule, slaves had better accept their freedom ; for a condition of slavery is not to be desired on its own account." p. 67. This is substantially the "Chris- tian doctrine " I am advocating ; but how a Christian minister can reconcile this scriptural view of the sub- ject with the silent and unchallenged expression of all sorts of opinions about the perpetuity, desirable- ness, etc., of slavery, I leave others to determine. Slavery was no less a political institution in the days of Paul than it is now. Is the Church, therefore, to be perpetually silent, as though slavery possessed no moral relations to the law of God ? Is it exclusively a question of " capital and labour ? " Surely, the Church may follow Paul in his inspired expositions, although his Epistles contain some things " hard to be understood," and easy to " wrest." III. Paul's incidental interpretation of the law of liberty to the Corinthian slaves, is in entire accordance with the injunctions of Scripture. Slaveholding is not in itself sinful, but its existence binds upon mas- ters and slaves mutual obligations, whose tendency is to abolish, eventually, the entire system. If the 298 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS Scriptures enjoin what, of necessity, leads to emanci- pation, they enjoin emancipation itself, when the time comes; if they forbid what is necessary to the per- petuity of slavery, they forbid that slavery should be perpetuated. How, then, do these divine injunctions to masters and slaves operate against the perpetuity of slavery ? 1. Christianity requires the land personal treatment of the slaves; it removes the rigours of bondage, and insensibly assimilates the system to one of apprentice- ship. Religious obligation is made the basis of all the duties of the relation. There is a " Master in Heaven," who rules over all; who searches the hearts of all ; who weighs the actions of all ; and who keeps a record for the final judgment. " The Bible method," says Dr. Hodge, " of dealing with slavery and similar institutions, is to enforce, on all concerned, the great principles of moral obligation. — assured that those principles, if allowed free scope, will put an end to all the evils both in the political and social relations of men." " First, the evils of slavery, and then sla- very itself, would pass away as naturally and as healthfully as children cease to be minors." The kind treatment which the Gospel requires towards slaves, and the corresponding obligations of slaves to their masters, cultivate feelings of mutual regard. which open the way for everything good in due time. 2. The effect of Christianity upon the sanctity of ON SLAVEHOLDING. 299 tlu marriage state, is of the same preparatory nature. The law of Eden regulates social life everywhere; it protects husbands and wives on the plantation, in their relations to each other and their children. The husband is "the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the Church." "As the Church is subject to ( 'hrist, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything." Forcible disruptions of the marriage bond by sale, or by separation for life, are not author- ized by the word of God. The Christian law of marriage holds inviolate the sacred privacies of home ; and the very difficulties of fulfilling the obligations of this law in a state of bondage, are suggestions in behalf of the natural state of liberty. 3. The Gospel demands an adequate compensation of service. "The labourer is worthy of his hire," whether he be a minister of the sanctuary or a plan- tation slave. He is entitled to food, raiment, and shelter, and to whatever additional remuneration and privilege justice demands, in view of all the circum- stances in each case. This doctrine of equitable compensation gradually unsettles the arbitrary or despotic nature of the relation, and provides a natural progress towards the coming end. 4. Religion protects the avails of human industry ; it favours the right of every man to the fruits of his labour. The laws of -the State deny, in general, the right of slaves to any property ; but the Bible enjoins 300 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS that which is "just and equal." In practice, Chris- tian masters generally acknowledge, in a greater or less degree, the justice of this claim. Such a prac- tice is a scriptural auxiliary to final emancipation. — Ideas of property enlarge the mind, cherish thoughts of independence, cultivate habits of industry, and possess a stimulating power upon the general charac- ter of the slave, which fits him for the exercise of all the rights of liberty, " when Providence shall open the way." 5. The intellectual and moral elevation of the slaves is a necessary result of Christian treatment and in- struction. The Bible is the universal text-book for mankind. Religious knowledge introduces all other knowledge. Any system that depends for its support upon the ignorance and debasement of the people, is doomed, by the law of Providence, to extinction. It was the wish of a pious king that every man in his dominions might be able to read the Bible. A Chris- tian slaveholder, in like manner, realizes the obliga- tions to give instruction to the slaves in his household. Religion tends to knowledge and virtue ; and know- ledge and virtue tend to liberty. If these statements are correct, obedience to the special injunctions of the Bible, on the subject of sla- very, tends to, and necessarily terminates in, Eman- cipation. The Church, therefore, may scripturallv ON SLAVEHOLDING. 301 keep in view this great moral result, to the glory of her heavenly King. IV. I add, that the universal spirit and fundamen- tal principles of religion originate, and foster, senti- ments favourable to the natural rights of mankind. Born of the same race, inheritors of the same corrupt nature, heirs of the same Divine promises, partakers of the same redemption in Jesus Christ, subjects of the same resurrection from the dead, and, if saved, inhabitants of the same mansions of glory and immor- tality, the children of bondage are elevated by the Bible to a condition of co-equal spiritual dignity, that asserts, and must ultimately obtain, the full recogni- tion of all their rights. Love to God and love to man, is the substance of the Divine requirements. " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;" "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so unto them." I am aware of the fanatical and un- scriptural interpretations that have been sometimes put upon the great law of Christian reciprocity. I disclaim fellowship with unreasonable and false dog- mas. But I think that the fair, scriptural interpre- tation of the rule of love bears irresistibly against the perpetuity of slavery, as well as against its rash or precipitate overthrow. Christianity seeks to ad- just the condition of society, on a basis of universal 26 302 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS brotherhood; fitted to accomplish the sublime pur- poses of "peace on earth, and good-will towanfe men." In all periods of her history, the Church has iden- tified herself with the well-being of the masses. — Without interfering with political relations, she has never renounced her interest in the highest welfare of the human race, both in this life and the life to come. At the present day, the Presbyterian Church. in preaching the Gospel to the heathen, expends a part of her resources in sending physicians to heal their diseases, farmers to assist in agricultural man- agement, mechanics to work at printing presses, teachers to instruct in schools. The principle actua- ting this general policy is, that the temporal well- being of mankind is, within certain limits, directly auxiliary to the preaching of the Gospel and the sal- vation of souls. So far as slavery is a question of " dapital and labour," or so far as emancipation de- pends upon the laws of the State, ecclesiastical au- thority is impertinent ; but the moral results to be secured by the elevation and emancipation of the slaves, are within the true aim of the law of love and of Gospel grace. Can it be " extra-scriptural, unscriptural, and anti- scriptural," for the Church, besides seeking the eter- nal salvation of the slaves, to endeavour to intro- duce them to the blessings of personal liberty, "when ON SLAVE HOLDING. 303 Providence shall open the way ?" Certainly, nothing less than this result is to be desired, when Providence shall so arrange and prepare things, that the welfare of society and the claims of justice and mercy shall require the termination of involuntary servitude. — This supposes a great advance in the intellectual, moral, and religious condition of the slaves. Is it sinful to desire, and pray, and labour for such a state of things ? If so, I confess myself ignorant of the first principles of the doctrine of Christ. In bringing this long letter to a close, I must ask your attention to one or two things more. If the Scriptures do not contain any deliverance on this subject, either " express or clearly implied," then the Christian, as a citizen, has no divine rule to guide his conduct. Emancipation, if it comes at all, comes not as. a desired end, but as a mere incident. The whole question, with its moralities and economics, is left to the operation of natural laws. If not a scriptural end, it may, or may not, be reckoned within the range of private and public prayer, and of earnest Christian enterprise and activity. If "extra-scrip- tural, unscriptural, and anti-scriptural," might not some infer that it was sinful? The motives that lead men to glorify God in labouring to remove social evils, are thus impaired in their force, if not rendered inoperative in this particular sphere. The effect of 304 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS such doctrine in perpetuating slavery, cannot be con- cealed or denied. If I understand you, emancipation in Liberia is acknowledged to be a proper object of ecclesiastical action, for the reason, among others, that it passes by the question of "the general ultimate emancipation of the slaves" in this country. But is not the prin- ciple the same, wherever the result may be finally secured ? My statement leaves the time, place, and circumstances of emancipation to the Providence of God ; whilst your view seems to admit the lawfulness of the end, provided that you yourself locate and define the land of liberty. Is not this a virtual sur- render of the principle contained in your argument ? In your general sentiments on Liberian Colonization. I cordially concur. One of the most painful things, allow me to say fraternally, in your Letter, is the low view of the natural rights of mankind, which pervades the dis- cussion. I fully acknowledge the difficulties of eman- cipation, and most truly sympathize with my breth- ren, in Church and State, who are involved in the evils of this complicated system. But if we lose sight of, or depreciate principles, difficulties and dangers will increase on every side. Are there no eternal principles of justice, no standard of human rights, by which a system of servitude shall submit to be judged, and in whose presence it shall be made to plead for ON SLAYBHOLDIN6. 305 justification? Is civil liberty a mere abstraction? Thanks be to God, the Presbyterian Church has been the advocate of freedom in every land and age. Long may she maintain this position of truth and righteous- ness, in the spirit of good-will to all men, bond and free ; and whilst she holds that slavery is not neces- sarily and in all circumstances sinful, may her testi- mony against the evils of the system, and in favour of emancipation, be clear, consistent, and unwaver- ing, before God and the world ! Presbyterians at the North have remained stead- fast in their integrity, amidst all the abolition agita- tion which has threatened injury, and even destruction, to the Church. We have deprecated this agitation, not simply on account of its own perverse nature, but on account of its evil influence in provoking ex- treme views among our brethren at the South. The northern section of the Church, by its successful resistance to fanaticism, earnestly and fraternally appeals to the Presbyterians at the South, to remain equally true to the principles and the testimonies sanctioned by the unanimous voice of our General Assemblies, and by the higher authority of the Sacred Scriptures. I am yours, truly, C. Van Rensselaer. 26* u 306 PKESBYTEK I AX V I 1 W S ARTICLE III. ON THE HISTORICAL ARGUMENT FOR SLAV KIM. To the Rev. George D. Armstrong, D.D. : History teaches important lessons ; but I have seve- ral objections to the historical view presented in your letter as the basis of instruction. 1. One of the forms of historical statement, liable to misconception, is that the Apostles maintained without qualification, that " slaveliolding is not be kept in view, and the political means of attaining that end. The measures to secure emancipation may be political measures, but the end contemplated rests upon a moral obligation. It is my duty, as a Chris- tian, to prepare my slaves for freedom, when Provi- dence opens the way; and yet, I may be so restrained by State laws as to depend upon political interven- tion for a plan of emancipation. With the latter, the Church has nothing to do. 2. Slavery is not, like despotism, enjoined by law. Every individual may be a slaveholder or not, as he pleases. Here is an important distinction, which you entirely overlook. Whilst the State has the right to control emancipation, and can alone originate general measures, binding upon all its citizens, it commonly leaves emancipation to the discretion of the slave- holder himself. In Virginia, any person may emanci- pate his slaves, who makes provision for their removal 1 A fair compensation may be claimed for the pecuniary sacri- fice involved in manumission, either from the State or from the slaves themselves. ON SLAVEHOLDING. 361 out of the State. The act of emancipation, under these circumstances, is a lawful act of the master, which in no way interferes with politics. Where shall a person thus situated, whose conscience trou- bles him, go for direction ? To the State ? To the members of the Legislature ? No ! The question is one of duty to his God. It involves a religious and moral principle; and, admitting that his slaves are prepared for freedom, it is outside of politics. The slaveholder must search the Scriptures, or he may consult the testimonies of the Church for her inter- pretation of the Scriptures. The Church has a per- fect right to give to her members advice on this sub- ject, which will guide them in perplexity ; and this advice may be volunteered, if circumstances seem to demand it. 3. Slaves stand, ecclesiastically, in the relation of children to parents. Our General Assembly has de- clared that Christian masters, who have the right to bring their children to baptism, may also present for baptism, in their own name, the children of their slaves. Can it be conceived that the Church has no right to counsel her members concerning the nature and continuance of this peculiar relationship through- out her own households ? 4. Slaveholding is "right or wrong, according to circumstances." It belongs in morals to the adia- phora, or things indifferent. It may be right in 1858, 31 362 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS and wrong in 1868, according as the slaves may be not prepared, or prepared, for emancipation. The very nature of the class of subjects to which it be- longs, places it within the scope of church testimony. The continuance or discontinuance of slaveholding, concerns the character of the slaveholder as a right- eous man. 5. Even if the State should altogether remove emancipation from the power of the individual slave- holder, and determine to exercise exclusive jurisdiction over the matter, what then ? In the first place, the obligation would still rest upon the master to elevate his slaves, and to set them free wdienever the way was open. And in the second place, the master would be bound as a citizen, to exert himself to obtain from the State the necessary public measures to se- cure at the right time the same object. Emancipation is not " properly a political question " in any sense that makes it cease to be a moral and religious one. So far as it partakes of the latter cha- racter, the Church has a right, within the limits of her authority, to utter her testimony in favour of it. SECTION II. SLAVERY AND THE INTERESTS OF THE LIFE TO COME. One of your arguments for excluding emancipa- tion from the influence of Church testimony is, that " it does not immediately concern the interests of the ON SLAVEHOLDING. 363 life to come." This point can best be determined by impartial witnesses, personally acquainted with the practical workings of slavery. Allow me, then, in all courtesy, to introduce the testimony of some of ablest and most respected ministers of the Presbyte- rian Church, who are familiar with the system in its best forms. A Committee, appointed by the Synod of Kentucky, made a Report to that body, in 1835, in which they characterized the system of slavery in the following manner : " There are certain effects springing, naturally and necessarily out of such a system, which must also be considered. " 1. Its most striking effect is, to deprave and degrade its subjects by removing from them the strongest natural checks to human corruption. There are certain principles of human na- ture by which God works to save the moral world from ruin. In the slave, these principles are eradicated. He is degraded to a mere creature of appetite and passion. These are the feelings by which he is governed. The salt which preserves human na- ture is extracted, and it is left a putrefying mass. " 2. It dooms thousands of human beings to hopeless igno- rance. The slave has no motive to acquire knowledge. The master will not undergo the expense of his education. The law positively forbids it. Nor can this state of things become bet- ter unless it is determined that slavery shall cease. Slavery can- not be perpetuated if education be generally or universally given to slaves. " 3. It deprives its subjects, in a great measure, of the privi- leges of the Gospel. Their inability to read prevents their ac- cess to the Scriptures. The Bible is to them a sealed book. — There is no adequate provision made for their attendance upon the public means of grace. Nor are they prepared to profit from instructions designed for their masters. They listen when 364 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS in the sanctuary to prophesyings in an unknown tongue. Com- paratively few of them are taught to bow with their masters around the domestic altar. Family ordinances of religion are almost unknown in the domestic circles of the blacks. " 4. This system licenses and produces great cruelty. The whip is placed in the hands of the master, and he may use it at his pleasure, only avoiding the destruction of life. Slaves often suffer all that can be inflicted by wanton caprice, by grasping avarice, by brutal lust, by malignant spite, and by insane anger. Their happiness is the sport of every whim, and the prey of every passion that may enter the master's bosom. Their bodies are lacerated with the lash. Their dignity is habitually insulted. Their tenderest affections are wantonly crushed. Dearest friends are torn asunder. Brothers and sisters, parents and children, see each other no more. There is not a neighborhood where these heart-rending scenes are not displayed. There is not a village or a road that does not behold the sad procession of manacled outcasts, whose chains and mournful countenances tell that they are exiled by force from all they hold dear. " 5. It produces general licentiousness among the slaves. Mar- riage, as a civil ordinance, they cannot enjoy. Their marriages are mere contracts, voidable at their master's pleasure or their own. And never, in any civilized country, has respect for these restraints of matrimony been more nearly obliterated than it has been among our blacks. This system of universal concubinage produces revolting licentiousness. " 6. This system demoralizes the whites ax well as the blacks. The masters are clothed with despotic power. To depraved hu- manity this is exceedingly dangerous. Indolence is thus fostered. And hard-heartedness, selfishness, arrogance, and tyranny are. in most men, rapidly developed and fearfully exhibited. " ?. This system draws down upon us the vengeance of Heaven. ' If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn to death, and those that are ready to be slain ; if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not ; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it ? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth he not know it? and shall he not render to every man according to his works ? ' ' The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have ON SLATEHOLDING. 365 vexed the poor and needy ; yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. . . . Therefore, have I poured out mine indigna- tion upon them : I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath ; their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord.' Such is the system, such are some of its effects." The right of the Church to testify against the per- manence of a system of this character, cannot be resisted by pointing to the overruling providence of God, through which many slaves have been brought into his kingdom. The Bible, it is true, treats the distinctions of this life as of comparatively little con- sequence, and enjoins submission even to wrong-doing and persecution. But must the Church, therefore, refrain from testifying against all social and moral evils, and from exhorting her members to use their best endeavours to bring them to an end ? The two facts adduced by you, do not prove that the Church has no interest in emancipation. 1. In regard to the number of Church members among the slaves, I deny that " a larger proportion of the labour- ing classes belong to the Christian Church where the labourers are chiefly slaves, than in the Northern States, where slavery does not exist." 2. Your second fact, that the number of church members among the slaves, is nearly double the num- ber of communicants in the heathen world, proves that God has overruled the system of slavery for good, but not that the Church has no interest in its abrogation. When we consider that at least twelve 31* 366 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS thousand ministers of the Gospel live in the Slave States, being in the proportion of one minister to nine hundred of the whole population, while, on the other hand, the number of missionaries among the heathen is only in the proportion of one minister to three hun- dred thousand of the population, the comparison I >;. no means exalts slavery as an instrument of evange- lization. Look, rather, for a better example to the Sandwich Islands, where society has been Christianized in a single generation. The system of slavery, as appears from the analy- sis of its evils by our Kentucky brethren, has so main and immediate connections with the life to come, that the Christian Church may wisely testify in favour of its abrogation, as a lawful end, whenever Providence opens the way for it. SECTION III. — SLAVERY AND THE BIBLE. The Word of God, when fairly interpreted, con- tains much instruction upon this subject. In the first place, the exhortation of Paul to the slaves is : "Art thou called, being a servant ? Care not for it, But IF THOU MAYST BE FREE, USE IT RATHER." (1 Cor. 7 : 21.) This last declaration proves that slavery is not a natural and permanent condition ; that liberty is a higher and better state than bondage ; and that emancipation is an object of lawful desire to the slaves, and a blessing which Christian masters may ON SLAVEHOLDING. 367 labour to confer upon them. In endeavoring to escape the power of this apostolic declaration, you maintain that it has only a local application, and that " through- out the chapter, in answer to inquiries from the Church at Corinth, Paul is giving instruction with especial regard to the circumstances in which the Corinthians were placed at that time, and hence, every special item of advice must be interpreted with this fact in view." The same thing is stated in your book. 1. Admitting your local interpretation to be the true one, what then? Does not my good brother Armstrong see that, if he in this way gets rid of Paul's declaration in favour of freedom, he also im- pairs the permanent obligation of Christian slaves to remain contented in their bondage? If the second clause of the sentence has a local application, and is limited to the state of things in the Corinthian Church, is not the first clause limited by the same conditions ? 2. Again. The Apostle, in this chapter, carefully discriminates between what he speaks by "permis- sion" and what by "commandment;" and it is strange logic that, because some passages, before and after the 21st verse, are of limited application, therefore every verse in the chapter is so. All that relates to virgins, and to the temporary avoidance of matrimony, etc., is declared to be merely advisory, in view of the existing state of things, or " the present distress ;" 368 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS whereas, the exhortation to believers to be contented with their external condition, from v. 17 to v. 24. is spoken by Divine authority ; " and so ordain I in all the churches" v. 1 7. The whole of the passage, 1 7-24, is manifestly an authoritative declaration of inspi- ration. 3. Your reasoning in regard to 1 Cor. 7 : 21 would be much more to the purpose, if the hypothesis were that persons were compelled hy law to enter into the marriage state, or to marry particular individuals. This would be analogous, in the most material points. to the case of the slaves. Surely, if one might be free from such compulsion, he ought to choose it rather, and that not only in apostolic times, but in every age. Neither your incorrect interpretation nor your incongruous illustration weakens the force of Paul's famous declaration in favour of freedom, as the best social condition, and one that may rightfully be kept in view. Dr. Hodge says, in loco : " Paul's object is not to exhort men not to improve their condition, but simply not to allow their social relations to dis- turb them. He could, with perfect consistency with the context, say, ' Let not your being a slave give you any concern ; but if you can become free, choose freedom rather than slavery.' " If the Church, fol- lowing Paul's example, can give this exhortation to slaves, she can at least exhort and advise masters to ON SLAVE HOLDING. 369 take measures to prepare their slaves for freedom , whenever Providence shall open the way for its blessings. I have not rested the right of the Church to keep emancipation in view, simply upon this single text. but I have showed that, not only do "the universal spirit and principles of religion originate and foster sentiments favourable to the natural rights of man- kind," but that " the injunctions of Scripture to mas- ters tend to and necessarily terminate in emancipa- tion." " If the Scriptures enjoin what, of necessity, leads to emancipation, they enjoin emancipation, when the time comes; if they forbid what is necessary to the perpetuity of slavery, they forbid that slavery should be perpetuated." "The Church, therefore, may script urally keep in view this great moral result, to the glory of her heavenly King." (See Letters.) SECTION IV. THINGS THAT AVAIL, OR AVAIL NOT. 1. You remind me that "it will avail nothing to show that the Church has often made deliverances on the subject in years that are passed,'''' and that "political preaching" and "political church-deliverances" date back "from the days of Constantine," when Church and State became united. Here is an ingenious attempt to dishonour history, and to beat down an- cient, as well as modern, testimony. (1.) You seem to admit, on reconsideration, that the general testimony Y o70 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS of the Church, from the days of Constantino, is against the perpetuity of slavery. (2.) But how do you account for the fact that the General Assembly of our Church, which, from its very organization, has been free from State dominion, has uniformly tes- tified in favour of preparing the slaves for liberty ? On referring to your rejoinder, I find this aberration accounted for on the ground that our Church has not had time to " fully comprehend her true position ! " A monarchist might say that, for the same reason, our fathers prematurely drew up the DecLi ration of Independence, not having waited long enough to com- prehend the true position of their country ! How much time, beyond half a century, does it take the Presbyterian Church to define her interpretation of the word of God ? The last deliverance of the General Assembly, in 1845, was affirmed by that body to be harmonious with the first deliverance in 1787. Fifty- eight years produced no variation of sentiment. This uniform testimony of the highest judicatory of the Church must naturally possess great weight, or will "avail" much, with every true Presbyterian. 1 1 If Dr. Baxter was a "wiser man" "eighteen years" after 1818, and was therefore entitled to the consideration of higher wisdom in 1836, then still higher wisdom is due to the General Assembly, in 1846, when that body reaffirmed the testimony of 1 818, twenty-eight years after the issuing of their great document. I have yet to learn that Dr. Baxter changed his views on the Mibject of slavery. At least, no quotation of his sentiments by ON SLA VEHOLDING. 371 2. You add : " Nor will it avail to show that eman- cipation has a bearing upon the well-being of a people — even their spiritual well-being." I am truly glad to obtain from Dr. Armstrong this incidental and gratui- tous admission, that emancipation really has a bear- ing upon the best interests of the human family. I thank my good brother for it ; although he immedi- ately attempts to nullify it by the declaration that "commerce, railways, agriculture, manufactures," etc., which also promote the welfare of society, cannot, simply on that account, become the subjects of eccle- siastical concern. Our Foreign Missionary Board might certainly build or charter a vessel, if necessary ; and it actually sends out printers to work presses, farmers to till the soil, and physicians to minister to bodily health. On the same principle, it might send out " bells " for the mission churches, or even cast them in " foundries," if bells were of sufficient im- portance, and could not be otherwise obtained. But the principle on which the Church testifies in favour of emancipation is, that it is a moral duty to set slaves free, when prepared in God's providence for freedom; and if the performance of amoral duty has " a bearing upon the well-being of a people," must it therefore be set aside ? Dr. Armstrong proves it. I have sought in vain for a copy of Dr. Baxter's pamphlet. Will any friend present a copy to the Presbyterian Historical Society ? — C. V. R. 372 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS 3. You also state that it will avail nothing in this argument, unless I can show that yon "place emanci- pation in the wrong category, or that the Church has a right to meddle with politics" This is going over ground already discussed. Let me say, again, that the exhortation of the Church to keep emancipation as an end in view, does not prescribe either the mode or the time of emancipation, and does not in any waj come in conflict with the State; and the Church does not " meddle with politics," when she concerns herself about moral duties. If it be a moral duty for a Christian to elevate his slaves and to set them free, when prepared for freedom, the Church has a right to make that declaration, provided she thinks it fairly deducible from the spirit, principles, and pre- cepts of the word of God. SECTION" V. A NEW QUESTION ! POLITICS. SCHEMES OF EMANCIPATION. COLONIZATION, ETC. The largest part of your Rejoinder is taken up with new matter, which is foreign to the discussion of " Emancipation and the Church," and which, accord- ing to law, is irrevalent in a rejoinder, the nature of which is an answer to a previous Replication. T regret that you have insisted upon opening this new field of discussion ; but, believing that your remarks leave wrong impressions upon the mind of the reader, I shall take advantage of the occasion to throw out suggestions from a different stand-point. ON SLAVE HOLDING. $73 SECTION VI. POPULAR ERRORS. I propose, without finding fault with some of the popular errors on your list, to add to their number. I do this, in order to present additional and true ele- ments which belong to the solution of this intricate and difficult problem. I. It is a mistake to suppose that the slaves have not a natural desire for freedom, however erroneous may be their views of freedom. There are certain natural impulses which belong to man, by the consti- tution of his being. No slavery can quench the as- pirings for liberty. In the language of the late Gov. McDowell, one of your old fellow-citizens, at Lex- ington, and one of Virginia's noblest sons : " Sir, you may place the slave where you please ; you may dry up to your uttermost the fountains of his feelings, the springs of his thought ;' you may close upon his mind every avenue of knowledge, and cloud it over . with artificial night ; you may yoke him to your la- bours as the ox which liveth only to work, arid work- eth only to live ; you may put him under any pro- cess, which, without destroying his value as a slave, will debase and crush him as a rational being ; you may do this, and the idea that he was born to be free will survive it all. It is allied to his hope of immor- tality — it is the ethereal part of his nature, which oppression cannot rend. It is a torch lit up in his 32 374 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS soul by the hand of the Deity, and never meant to be extinguished by the hand of man." If the desire of the slaves for freedom be not as intelligent as it might be, the excuse lie> partly in the want of opportunities to acquire higher knowl- edge, and partly in the bad example of idleness set by the free blacks and by the whites. And if the privilege of liberty were granted in society only to those who entertained entirely correct views of its nature, how many thousands of free citizens in this, and in all lands, ought to be reduced to slavery ? It deserves to be remarked in all candour, and without disparagement, that there is danger of the preva- lence, in a slaveholding community, of an unintel- ligent estimate of the value of future liberty to the slaves. II. It is a mistake to suppose that slaves possess no natural rights. Their present incapacity to " ex- ercise beneficially these rights" does not destroy the title to them, but only suspends it. In the mean- time, thk slaves possess the correlative right of being math prepared for the equal privileges of the whole family of man. Your remark that slavery secures to the slaves the right to labour in a better way " than it is secured to a more elevated race of labourers in Europe, under any of the systems which prevail among the civilized nations of the Old World," will hardly be received ON SLAVEHOLDING. 375 by autocrats and despots as a plea for reviving sla- very on the continent. Indeed, the new Emperor, Alexander, of Russia, is engaged, at this very time, in the great work of doing homage to Christian civilization by emancipating all the serfs of the empire. III. Another error consists in regarding the Afri- cans as an inferior race, fit only to be slaves. Infi- delity, as you are aware, has been active at the South in inducing the belief that the negro belongs to an inferior, if not a distinct race. This doctrine is the only foundation of perpetual slavery. 1 It is alike hostile to emancipation and injurious to all efforts to elevate the negro to his true position as a fellow-man and an immortal. The slaves belong to Adam's race ; are by nature under the wrath and curse, even as others ; subjects of the same promises ; partakers of the same blessings in Jesus Christ, and heirs of the same eternal inheritance. How the last great day will dissipate unscriptural and inhuman prejudices against these children of the common brotherhood ! IV. It is an error to suppose that slavery is not re- ■■■ onsible for suffering, vice, and crime, prevalent under 1 This defence of perpetual slavery is as old as Aristotle. That philosopher, wishing to establish some plausible plea for slavery, ^avs : " The barbarians are of a different race from us, and. were born to be, slaves to the Greeks." 1 To use the language of chess, this doctrine is "Aristotle's opening " 376 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS its dominion. Even were the slaves, if set free, to degenerate into a lower condition, slavery cannot es- cape from the responsibility of being an abettor of many injuries and evils. Much of the vice and crime of the manufacturing districts of England is undoubtedly owing to that system of labour, which thus becomes responsible for it. According to your theory, it would seem that no system of social or political despotism is accountable for the darkness and degradation of the people. It is sin that causes all the maladies of slavery ! But is there no connec- tion between slavery and sin, as demonstrated by the experience of ages ? Is slavery a system so innocent as to cast off the obligation to answer for all the suf- fering and wickedness that have been perpetrated under its connivance ? Far be it from me to deny whatever good has been accomplished, in divine Pro- vidence, through human bondage. God brings good out of evil ; but I cannot shut my eyes to the con- viction that slavery is directly responsible to God for a large amount of iniquity, both among the whites and the blacks, which, like a dark cloud, is rolling its way to the judgment. V. It is an error to suppose that the African slave- trade ought to be revived. Among all the popular errors of the day, this is the most mischievous and wicked. God denounces the traffic in human flesh and blood. It has the taint of murder. Our national ON SLAVEHOLDING. 377 legislation righteously classes it with piracy, and con- demns its abettors to the gallows. And yet, in Con- ventions and Legislatures of a number of the slave- holding States, the revival of the African slave-trade meets with favour. This fact is an ominous proof of the demoralization of public sentiment, under the influence and operation of a system of slavery. VI. Another error is, that slacery is a permanent institution. Slavery in the United States must come to an end. Christianity is arraying the public opinion of the world against it. The religion of Jesus Christ never has, and never can countenance the perpetuity of human bondage. The very soil of the planting States, which is growing poorer and poorer every year, refuses to support slavery in the long run. Its im- poverished fields are not often renovated, and the system must in time die the death of its own sluggish doom. Besides, the competition of free labour must add to the embarrassments of slavery. Even Africa herself may yet contend with the slave productions of America, in the market of the world. In short, slavery is compelled to extinction by the operation of natural laws in the providence of the ever-living God — which laws act in concert with the spirit and principles of his illuminating word. VII. Another popular delusion is, that slavery will always be a safe system. Thus far, the African race has exhibited extraordinary docility. Will this sub- 32* -)78 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS mission endure forever? God grant thai h may! But who, that has a knowledge of human nature, does not tremble in view of future insurrections, under the newly devised provocations of reviving the slave-trade, banishing the live blacks from the soil. and prohibiting emancipation ? Granting that insur- rections will be always suppressed in the end. yet what terrific scenes of slaughter may they enact on a small scale ; what terror will tiny eanj into thou- sands of households; and what hatred and enmity will they provoke between the two races ! The future of slavery in America will present, in all probability, a dark and gloomy history, unless our beloved breth- ren exert themselves, in season, to arrest its progress, and to provide for it< extinction. The prevalent sentiment in Virginia, in 1832, was thus uttered in the Legislature by Mr. Chandler, of Norfolk: "It is admitted by all who have addressed i his house, that slavery is a curse, and an increasing one. That it has been destructive to the lives of our citizens, history, with unerring truth, will record. That its future increase will create commotion, can- not be doubted." Vlll. Another mistake is. that nothing can be clone for the removal of slavery. Elevation is the grand demand oi' any. and every, scheme of emancipation. ( 'an nothing more be done for the intellectual and moral elevation of the slaves? Much is, indeed, already in ON SLAVEHOLDING. 379 process of accomplishment; but this work is left rather to individual Christian exertion, than to the benevo- lent operation of public laws. The laws generally dis- courage education, and thus disown the necessity of enlarged measures for intellectual improvement. If it be said that education and slavery are inconsistent with each other, the excuse is proof of the natural tendency of the system to degradation. Who will deny, however, that a great deal more might be done to prepare the slaves for freedom by private effort and by public legislation? Can it be doubted that measures, favouring prospective emancipation, might be wisely introduced into many of the Slave States? If there were, first, a willing mind, could there not be found, next, a practicable way ? Philip A. Bol- ling, of Buckingham, declared in the Virginia Legis- lature, in 1832 : " The day is fast approaching, when those who oppose all action on this subject, and in- stead of aiding in devising some feasible plan for freeing; their countrv from an acknowledged curse, cry 'impossible' to every plan suggested, will curse their perverseness and lament their folly." This is strong language. It comes from one of the public men of your own State, and is adapted to awaken thought. IX. The last popular error I shall specify, is, that none of the slave* are now prepared for freeclorn. Whilst I am opposed to a scheme of immediate and 380 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS universal emancipation, for reasons that need not be stated, I suppose that a large number of slaves are capable of rising at once to the responsibilities of freedom, under favouring circumstances, for example, in Liberia. Probably Norfolk itself could furnish scores of such persons, or, to keep within bounds, one score. There must be thousands throughout the plan- tations of the South, who are, in a good degree, pre- pared to act well their part in free and congenial com- munities. Such a representation honours the civilizing power of slavery, and has an important bearing on schemes of emancipation. SECTION VII. SCHEMES OF EMANCIPATION. I am now prepared to follow your example in offer- ing some remarks on " emancipation laws." Allow me here to repeat my regret that you have persisted in discussing this subject. First, because it is foreign to the topic of " Emancipation and the Church • " secondly, because the discussion involves speculations rather than principles ; and thirdly, be- cause no living man can, on the one side or the other, deliver very clear utterances, especially without more study than I, for one, have been able to give to the subject. Good, however, will result from an inter- change of opinions. My chief motive in noticing this new part of your Rejoinder, on Emancipation, is ON SLAVE HOLDING. 381 an unwillingness to allow your pro-slavery views to go forth in this Magazine without an answer. You are right, I think, in supposing that the best emancipation scheme practicable would embrace the following particulars : " (1.) A law prospective in its operation — say that all slaves born after a certain year, shall become free at the age of twenty-five. " (2.) Provision for the instruction of those to be emancipated in the rudiments of learning. " (3.) Provision for their transfer and comfortable settlement in Africa, when they become free." Your first objection to this scheme is that, "in its practical working, it would prove, to a very large extent, a transportation, and not an emancipation law." Let us look at this objection. 1. Many owners of slaves would go with them into other States, and thus no injury would be inflicted upon the slaves, whilst the area of freedom behind them would be enlarged. 2. Many masters would make diligent and earnest efforts to prepare their slaves for freedom, on their plantations, even if other masters sold their slaves for transportation. 3. If some, or many, of the masters were to sell their slaves, it would be doing no more than is done in Virginia, at the present time. The number of 382 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS Virginia slaves transported annually into other States. has been estimated as high as fifty thousand. 4. A compensation clause might be attached to the plan we are considering, with a prohibition against transportation. 5. The objection is founded upon the supposition that only some of the States adopted the emancipa- tion scheme. The objection would also be diminished in force, in proportion to the number of States adopt- ing the scheme, because the supply of slaves may become greater than the demand. 6. Some evils, necessarily attendant upon general schemes of emancipation, are more than counterbal- anced by the greater good accomplished. If Dela- ware, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri, were to adopt a scheme of prospective eman- cipation, 1 the general advantage to those States, in a social, moral, intellectual, and economical point of view, would more than counterbalance the inherent and minor evils incident to the scheme. The addi- tion of six new States to the area of freedom would probably outweigh all the trials incident to the transi- tion period. An emancipation scheme, similar to that pro- pounded, was tested in the Northern States, where it succeeded well ; and you could not have appealed to a better illustration of its wisdom. The number 1 Ought not such a scheme to begin with these States ? ON SLAVE HOLDING. 383 of slaves transported could not have been very great, because the whole number in New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, was only about 40,000 in the year 1790, when these schemes were generally commenced, and the number of Africans in those States was more than double at the next census. On the whole, a prospective emancipation scheme, with or without a compensation or prohibitory clause, would, in the States named, do more, in the end, in behalf of the African race and the cause of freedom, than the inactive policy of doing nothing. Objection 2d. You object to the plan, "on the ground that the slave race cannot be prepared for freedom by any short course of education, such as that proposed." 1. Suppose that the Legislature of Virginia should enact that all slaves born after 1870, shall become free at the age of twenty-five. The course of educa- tion would be precisely as long as the process of nature allows. It would embrace the ichole of the training period of an entire gent ration ; and with the intel- lectual and moral resources already in possession of the African race in Virginia, a general and faithful effort to elevate the young would result, under God. in a substantial advancement of condition, auguring well for freedom. 2. Your own experiment with the two slaves is just 384 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS in point. It shows how much can be done, on a small scale, and if so, on a larger scale. These slaves were taught to read and write ; they were fitted for freedom at the age of thirty- two; and they were then set free, as " good colonists for Liberia." Although they did not ultimately go to Liberia, perhaps their addition "to the number of free negroes in Virginia," was esteemed by them a higher benefit than it seems to you. They were, at any rate, qualified for freedom in Liberia. 3. To the idea that all the emancipated slaves ought to be " compelled to go to Liberia," you present three difficulties. (1.) "It is in vain to expect to make good citizens for Liberia, by sending them there against their will, like convicts to a penal colony." I reply, that Liberia is becoming to the African race more and more an object of desire ; that there is no more compulsion in the case than their own best inte- rests demand, as persons who, up to that period, are in the state of minors ; that the prospect of liberty in Liberia is very different from that of penal labour and suffering by convicts ; and that, if your remark be true, that it is vain to expect to make " good citi- zens for Liberia, by sending them against their will," is it not equally vain to expect to make good citizens of slaves by keeping them in slavery " against their will?" (2.) You say that we deceive ourselves in speaking of Africa as " their native country," " their ON SLAVE HOLDING. home." I reply that the race-mark indelibly identi- fies the slaves with Africa; that their own traditions connect them with their fatherland ; that the deci- sions of the United States Supreme Court deny them to be " citizens " of this country ; and that their own affections are becoming stronger and stronger in favour of returning to Africa, as their minds become enlight- ened. (3.) Another obstacle to " compulsoiy expa- triation," in your judgment, is, that it would " sunder ties both of family and affection." I reply, not neces- sarily either the one or the other, as a general rule. On the supposition of a compensation law, which is the true principle, there would be no sundering of family ties ; and as to ties of affection for their mas- ters or friends left behind, every emigrant to our Western States expects to bear them. Besides, in- stead of a " compulsory expatriation," it would be virtually a voluntary return to the land of their fathers. Objection 3d. Your third objection to the proposed gradual emancipation scheme is, that you "do not see the least prospect of Liberia being able to do the part assigned to it in this plan for a long time to come." This is the objection of greatest weight. SECTION VIII. LIBERIAN COLONIZATION. You will agree with me, if I mistake not, in three particulars : 33 z 386 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS 1. African colonization is a scheme, founded in wise and far-reaching views of African character and destiny. The coloured race can never attain to social and political elevation in the United States. The experience of the past is a demonstration against the continuance of the two races in this country on terms favourable to the negroes ; and there is reason to be- lieve that the future will be a period of increased dis- advantage and hardship. The colonization of the coloured people in Africa is, therefore, in its concep- tion, a scheme of profound wisdom and true benevo- lence. 2. You will also agree with me in the opinion that the measures for Liberian Colonization may be indefi- nitely extended. Territory, larger than the Atlantic slope, may be procured in the interior of Africa ; money enough may be obtained from the sale of the public lands, or from other national resources ; ves- sels are already on hand to meet the demands of the largest transportation; and emigrants, of a hopeful character, and in large numbers, may be expected to present themselves, at the indicated time, in the pro- vidence of God. There are no limits to the plan of Liberian Colonization. Your own faith in its ulti- mate capabilities, seems to be shaded with doubt, only in reference to the question of time. 3. Further. You will agree with me in the opinion that much more might be done, at once, in the actual ON SLAVEHOLDING. 387 working of the Liberian scheme. Among the col- oured population in this country are large numbers, both bond and free, who are superior to the average class of emigrants already sent out. SECTION IX. — WHICH CLASS SHOULD BE SENT FIRST, THE FREE, OR THE SLAVES. In your judgment, we ought " to adhere to the course marked out by the founders of the Coloniza- tion Society, and attend first to the free people of colour ; and only after our work here has been done, ought we to think of resorting to colonization as an adjunct to emancipation." 1. The discussion of this issue is outside even of the new theme ; because the plan of emancipation, proposed by yourself, assumes the colonization of the slaves as one of its main features. I submit that it is not in order to deny your own admissions. 2. The colonization of slaves, when set free, is precisely in accordance with the constitution of the American Colonization Society. And the Society has been acting upon this principle from the beginning. The majority of emigrants belong to the class that were once slaves, and who have been made free with the object of removal to Africa, as colonists. 3. I see no reason why the sympathy of philan- thropy should be first concentrated upon the free blacks. This class of our population are, indeed, en- 388 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS titled to our warm interest and our Christian exertions to promote their welfare ; but why to an exclusive and partial benevolence ? If you reply, as you do, because " the condition of the free people of colour is worse than that of our slaves," then I beg leave to call in question the statement, and to invalidate it, in part, by your own declaration, that at least fifty thou- sand of the free blacks are more intelligent and bet- ter prepared for colonization than can be found among the slaves. When the exigency of the argument re- quires you to sustain slavery, }-ou depreciate the free blacks and make them " lower than the slaves ;" but when colonization demands the best quality of emi- grants, then you depreciate the slaves and point to u fifty thousand" free blacks, who are superior to slaves. 4. I might assign many reasons why, if Liberian colonization be a benevolent scheme, the race in sla- very ought not to be excluded from its benefits. But, this point being assumed, as I have stated, an axiom of our problem, it is unnecessary to establish it by argument. 5. Let us compromise this issue on a principle of Christian equity, viz. : simultaneous efforts should be made to colonize the blacks who are already free, and those who may be set free for that purpose. You will not deny that there are hundreds and thousands of Christian slaves who, if emancipated, would make ON SLAVEHOLDING. > 389 good citizens of Liberia. Why, then, should the so- cial and political elevation of these men be postponed, and the good they might do in Africa be lost, simply because there are free people of colour in the land, who are also proper subjects of colonization? SECTION X. — WHAT THE COLONIZATION" SOCIETY HAS DONE. Before the establishment of the Republic of Libe- ria, the future of the African race, in this country, was dreary and almost without hope. The mind of the philanthropist had no resting-place for its anxious thoughts ; the pious slaveholder lived in faith, with- out the suggestion of any effectual remedy ; and the negro race in America seemed doomed to labour for generations, and then sink away or perish. In GodV good time, a Republic springs up in the Eastern world! It is an African Republic; and composed mainly of those who once were slaves in America. — What an event in the history of civilization ! Even in this last half century of wonders, it stands out in the greatness of moral and political pre-eminence. For some account of the results of African Coloni- zation,! refer you to my Address at the opening of the Ashmun Institute, entitled, " God glorified by Africa." It is sufficient here to say that the Libe- rian Republic, with its institutions of freedom, con- tains about 10,000 emigrants from America, of whom 33* 390 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS 0000 were once Southern slaves. Its schools, acade- mies, and churches ; its growing commerce, improving agriculture, and intelligent legislation; its favourable location, Protestantism, and Anglo-Saxon speech : all conspire to demonstrate the truth of the principles on which it was founded, and to develop a national prosperity rarely equalled in the history of coloniza- tion. In short, the Liberian Republic is a good work, well done, Laus Deo ! SECTION XI. — WHAT MAY BE REASONABLY EXPECTED OF LIBERIA. Let us be hopeful. Cheer up, brother Armstrong ! Ethiopia is yet to stretch out her hands unto God. An eminent Southern divine has well said, " I acknow- ledge the duty, which rests upon all, to hope great things, and attempt great things, and look with holy anxiety at the signs of the times." I. Let us hope great things. " Hope, that is seen, is not hope ; " and I may add, without irreverence, hope, that will not see, is not hope. Your views about the permanence of slavery prevent the access to your mind of large hopes from the Liberian scheme. In your Letters and Rejoinders, you several times express doubt whether slavery in the United States is ever to end ! Nor does it seem to you very desi- rable that it should end. ON S L A V E II L D I X G . 3D 1 II. The people of God should attempt great things for the African race. Prosperity has attended Afri- can colonization thus far ; and under circumstances to stimulate to more active and extended efforts. Assimilation. The great obstacle is, as you state. •• the difficulty in assimilating such an immigration as we are able to send" to Liberia. The fact of an "indiscriminate immigration," com- posed chiefly of slaves, accomplishing so much in Li- beria, is very encouraging in regard to the possibility of success on a larger scale. The emigrants to be sent out by the scheme of emancipation under review, would be of a higher cha- racter than the class already there. One of the fea- tures of this plan involves " provision for the instruc- tion of those to be emancipated in the rudiments of learning." Education is, under God. a mighty eleva- tor. The question, whether a people shall be raised up in the scale of intelligence, or be allowed to re- main unlettered and in gross ignorance, decides the destiny of nations. It will certainly decide the des- tiny of African colonization. The proposed plan contemplates a long interval of preparation, an inter- val of thirty-seven years, during which time a new generation is to come forward under a full system of "Christian appliances." A very different class of emigrants will, therefore, be made ready for coloniza- tion. Nor is it chimerical to suppose that great ele- 392 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS vation of character would attend measures for the instruction of the young slaves, under the kindly in- tercourse, supervision, and example of one and a quarter millions of white members of the Church of Christ, and twelve thousand ministers of the Gospel. These emigrants, thus prepared for freedom, would be prepared for assimilation. The difficulty of foreign immigration to this coun- try is in its diversity and irreligion. Speaking foreign tongues, trained to different habits and customs, de- C 7 7 based by Roman superstition, or corrupted by Ger- man infidelity, the mass of our immigrants are far more difficult to fuse into our existing population than would be the Africans into their own met- at Liberia. In the case of colonization in Liberia, the population would be homogeneous, of a more intelligent order than the original population, and under the influences of the Christian religion. African character is improving in Liberia. Instead of deteriorating, as when in contact with the white race, it is now gaining admiration in the political world. What has been wanting to raise the negro character is education, the habit of self-reliance, and a fair opportunity for development on a field of its own, unhindered by contact with the white race. — An illustration of the elevating power of a removal 1 This is the best estimate I can make of the number of white communicants and ministers in the Southern churches. ON SLAVEHOLDING. 393 to a congenial field, is seen in the case of thousands of impoverished whites in the slaveholding States. This class, doomed to poverty, and often to degrada- tion, by the law of slavery, rise to influence, wealth, and importance, when they emigrate to new States. A similar influence will bless the negro race, when sepa- rated from contaminating influences, and disciplined to bear its part among the governments of the world. In Liberia, new communities would be formed, and settlements established in different parts of the ex- tending republic, to meet the demands of emigration. "Assimilation " is easier under circumstances of diffu- sion than of aggregation. As, in our own country, the facility of acquiring land in the new Territories and States, promotes the welfare of the emigrants, and fixes them in homes comparatively remote from cities and overgrown districts, so the Liberian scheme proposes to establish its large accessions of emigrants in independent and separate communities, increasing in number with the demand for enlargement. The " deep-rooted distrust of the capacity of their own people for safely conducting the affairs of govern- ment " need give a friend of colonization no concern whatever. The race in this country has never had the opportunity of proving its capacity to take charge of public interests. The only experiment hitherto made has been successful. The government of Liberia is administered with as much skill as that of most 394 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS of the States in our Union, and the republic is grow- ing in importance among the nations of the earth. The Africans will learn soon enough to put confidence in Liberia, and to prefer their own administration to that of any other people in America. Your " rule of three " will hardly work in reference to the developments of God's providence. " If, now, it has taken thirty-four years to place a colony of ten thousand on the coast of Africa, when can we reason- ably calculate that our work will be done " with hun- dreds of thousands ? Verily, by the Armstrong rule, no calculation would be " reasonable." Virginia her- self could be ciphered out of her present civilization and glory, by writing down, for the basis of the prob- lem, the original Jamestown efforts at colonization. The " rule of three," irrelevant as it has always been, will become less and less geometrical, " as ye see the day approaching." How will it work when " nations are born in a day ? " It must be admitted that, although the rule is un- fair in such a discussion, no human sagacity can scan the problem of African colonization. It is certain, however, that many of our wisest men regard colo- nization as the most hopeful adjunct to emancipation. On the cmestion of time, there is room for difference of opinion ; and so there is, indeed, on all points. The late Dr. Alexander, than whom no man stood higher in Virginia for wisdom and far-reaching views, ON SLAVE HOLDING. 395 thus sums up his views of the capacity of Liberia to receive the coloured race of America : " If Liberia should continue to flourish and increase, it is not so improbable, as many suppose, that the greater part of the African race, now in this country, will, in the inscrutable dispensations of Providence, be restored to the country of their fathers." Some of our most distinguished political characters have expressed the same opinion. 1 There are various providential aspects, which en- courage large expectations from Liberian colonization, in its connection with the removal of American slavery, and which serve to show that an emancipation move- ment, of some kind, cannot be far off. III. Besides hoping great things, and attempting great things, we should " look with holy anxiety at the signs of the times." Providence is a quickening instructor. 1. One of the signs of the times is, the general s rt- timent of the civilized world in favour of measures of emancipation. Slavery has existed in the United 1 An enlightened advocate of colonization, as an adjunct to emancipation, need not maintain that the whole African race in this country must go to Liberia. Many of them will probably remain behind in this country, to struggle with adversity, and perhaps at last to die away. Dr. Alexander's language goes as far as is necessary to meet the case. "The greater part of the African race " will probably be restored to Africa. 396 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS States for two centuries, during which period it has been overruled, in many ways, for great good to the slaves. But can it long survive the pressure of public sentiment at home and abroad ? When all Christian and civilized nations are opposed to its continuance, must it not, before long, adopt some active measures tending to its abolition? 2. Another sign of the times is, the demonstration of African capability, made by the Republic of Liberia. The light of this Eepublic spreads far into the future. It illuminates the vista of distant years, and cheers the heart of philanthropy with the sight of a great and rising nation. The moral power of the successful enterprise on the shores of Africa, is like the voice of God speaking to the children of Israel to "go for- ward." 3. The exploration of Africa, just at this period of her history, is another cheering sign for colonization. Preparations for a great work are going on for that dark continent. Whatever develops Africa's re- sources, is a token of good to her descendants every- where. Elevate the continent, and the race is free. These explorations will serve, in part, to satisfy the public mind in reference to the healthfulness and fer- tility of the country, back from the sea, and its adapta- tion to all the purposes of colonization. 4. Another sign of approaching crisis, favourable to some important results, is in the South itself. After ON SLAVEHOLDING. 397 a long period of repose, it presents tokens of interna! divisions, of excitement, and of extreme measures. The revival of the African slave-trade, which is a popular plan in six States, bids defiance to God and nations. The preparations, commenced in Maryland and elsewhere, to drive out the free blacks or reduce them to slavery ; the movement to prohibit emanci- pation by legislative enactment ; the laws against the instruction of the slaves; all the recent political ad- vances of slavery, including the judicial decision deny- ing the rights of citizenship to free blacks, and carry- ing slavery into the national territories ; and especially the lowering of the tone of public sentiment on the whole subject of slavery and emancipation, to which even ministers have contributed : all this has the appearance of an impending crisis, and points to some great result in Divine Providence, in spite of all the opposition of man ; yea, and by means of it ! 5. The times magnify Colonization as an instru- ment of civilization. Behold the new States on the shores of the Pacific, and the rising kingdoms in Aus- tralia. Behold the millions who have peopled our own Western States. Colonization has never before displayed such power, or won triumphs so extensive and rapid. Nor has the black man ever attained such dignity as by emigrating to Africa. Coloniza- tion is one of the selected agencies of God to promote the civilization of the human race. 34 308 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS 6. It also seems clear that God had some special purpose of grace and goodness to accomplish with the slave race, on a large scale. The Africans have been torn from their homes, brought to a land of liberty and religion, civilized and elevated here, to a good degree, and yet, when set free in the land, disowned as citizens, and subjected to a social and political con- dition, so disparaging as to preclude the hope of ful- filling their mission in America, Everything points to Africa as the field of their highest cultivation and usefulness. 7. The concurring providences of God throughout the earth are harbingers of the times of renovation and of millennial glory. The fulfilment of prophecy is at hand. Progress and revolution mark the age. The end is not distant, when " He, whose right it is, shall reign ; " and " Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands unto God." With signs like these flashing across the heavens, it is no time for the watchers of the African sky to sleep at their observatories ; much less, if they are awake, is it a time to doubt. Providence calls upon the friends of the race to hope great things, and to attempt great things. It points to Liberian Coloni- zation as the most hopeful scheme ever devised for the elevation of Africa's degraded children, and for their emancipation from the long American bondage. Work, and see ! Trust, and try ! ON SLAVEHOLDING. 391 SECTION XII. EFFECTS OF ENTERTAINING THIS EMAN- CIPATION SCHEME. In your judgment, the discussion of emancipation is calculated to "do harm." Why, then, did my good brother introduce the question, and in a form that seemed to demand an answer ? The whole dis- cussion is evidently foreign from the original issues between us, as most readers readily see. For myself, I do not believe, that a calm and Chris- tian discussion of this vast social and political ques- tion will do any injury at all. It needs investigation. It requires it before God and man. The interests of the white race and of the black race, the welfare of the present and succeeding generations, conscience, political economy, safety, the public opinion of the civilized world, religion, Providence, — all invite serious attention to the question of emancipation. And why should a rational discussion interfere with " the religious instruction and gradual elevation of the African race?" Its natural effect, one would think, would be to stimulate effort in this very direc- tion, at least with Christian and sober-minded people. The Free States have, unquestionably, been remiss in their duties to the free coloured population. I confess, with shame, this neglect and injustice. Human nature is the same everywhere. The free blacks have, however, many privileges. They have 400 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS access to public schools ; they have churches in abund- ance ; and if they could enjoy social equality, they would long ago have been " assimilated " in our com- munities. You ask, "Are you colonizing them in Africa?" I reply, that hitherto they have refused to go, notwithstanding the most earnest and perse- vering expostulations. The same class of fanatics who have urged immediate and universal emancipa- tion at the South, have decried colonization at the North, and successfully resisted its claims among the free people of colour. There are evidences that a change of opinion is now silently making progress among them in favour of colonization. May God help us to do more in their behalf, and to roll away the reproach, of which you faithfully remind us, and for doing which I give you my thanks. SECTION XIII. — THE WORK AND THE WAY. There is no difference of opinion between us about the work and the way, although I believe that we ought to keep the end in view, as well as apply the means. Why work in the dark ? The great obliga- tion is the improvement of the slaves, their intellec- tual and moral elevation. The slaves, in my judg- ment, and, I suppose, in yours, ought to be taught the rudiments of learning. Our missionaries to the heathen place Christian schools among the effective instrumentalities of promoting religion and every ON SLAYEHOLDING. 401 good result. What can be gained by keeping the slaves in ignorance, it is difficult to conjecture. Ought not the Bible to be placed in their hands, in order that they may " search the Scriptures," and possess the opportunity of a more complete improvement of their rational powers ? A committee, in their report to the Synod of South Carolina and Georgia, in 1833, state : " The proportion that read is infinitely small ; and the Bible, so far as they can read it for them- selves, is, to all intents, a sealed book." Since 1833, progress may have been made in the instruction of the slaves in the rudiments of knowledge. And yet, in view of the fact that several of the States, including Virginia, have, within this period, passed stringent laws prohibiting the slaves from being taught to read, it is difficult to ascertain the nature and extent of this progress, if indeed there be any. In some States, I fear there has been an interposition that leads to retrogradation. You are right in saying that the most effectual way of promoting emancipation is "through the agenc}' of a gradually ameliorating slavery, the amelioration taking place as the slaves are prepared to profit by it." What strikes a stranger, at the present time, is that the laws have, of late years, become more harsh, especially in the matter of instruction, than ever before. An " ameliorating slavery " would naturally extend the educational and general privileges of the 34 * 2 a 402 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS slaves. Has there ever been any public legislative action having in view the enlightenment of the slaves? Might not Christian citizens accomplish much more in ameliorating the code, by enlarging the privileges of the slaves in conformity with the recommendations of Mr. Nott ? The remedial suggestions of Mr. Nott, understood to be received with favour by a number of gentlemen at the South, are of much value. If generally adopted, the work of amelioration would be carried forward with an increase of power altogether unknown in the annals of slave civilization. Among his ad- mirable suggestions, which are generally elaborated with much good sense, are the following : " There may be supposed admissible in the progress of ame- lioration, first, some extension of franchises to those remaining slaves; and secondly, an opportunity of full emancipation to such as may choose it : thus giving to all some share in providing for their social well-being, and opening the path for individual pro- gress and advancement." An ameliorating system is the only, and the safest, way to emancipation ; and in such a system, religious and moral instruction is the strongest element. The plan of emancipation we have been considering could have no prospect of a successful issue, unless, in the course of thirty years, a great advance could be made, under God, in the intellectual and social condition of ON SLAVEHOLDING. 408 the slaves. The intermediate work is Christian ele- vation ; after that, emancipation. I am far from undervaluing the general tendency of Southern civilization towards the improvement of the slaves. Great credit belongs to those of our self- denying brethren who have made special efforts in their own households and on neighbouring planta- tions. Let this work go on, and thousands of slaves will be prepared for freedom, in Liberia, in the course of another generation. This is the work, and this is the way ! SECTION XIV. — THE CHURCH AND ADVISORY TESTIMONY. After this long digression, of your own seeking, I return to the original topic of the relation of the Church to emancipation. The Church has a right to enjoin the performance of all the relative duties spe- cified in the Scriptures, and to give general counsel, or testimony, in regard to the termination of the rela- tion itself, as a moral and lawful end. Why a right to give counsel ? Because, as I have attempted to show, the relation being abnormal and exceptional, its ultimate dissolution is fairly inferred, as a moral duty, from the general spirit and princi- ples of the word of God. So far as the dissolution of the relation requires the action of the State, the Chiirch has no right to meddle with it in any form, either as to the plan, or the time. The Church has 404 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS simply the right to advise and urge her members to prepare their slaves for freedom, as soon as Providence shall open the way for it. Why may not the Church enjoin emancipation ? Because slaveholding being right or wrong, according to circumstances, the Church can neither give a spe- cific rule of permanent and universal obligation, nor can it take cognizance of the circumstances of each particular case, which must be adjudicated by the mind and conscience of each individual, under his responsibility to Cod. The Church, therefore, whilst it cannot prescribe political measures of emancipation, or the time of emancipation, has a perfect right to say to its mem- bers, as our General Assembly did, in 1818 : " We earnestly exhort them to continue, and, if jjossible, to increase their exertions to effect a total abolition of slavery. We exhort them to suffer no greater delay to take place in this most interesting concern, than a regard to the public welfare truly and indispensably demands." "And we, at the same time, exhort others to forbear harsh censures, and uncharitable reflections on their brethren, who unhappily live among slaves, whom they cannot immediately set free ; but who are really using all of their influence and all their endeavours to bring them into a state of freedom, as soon as a door for it can be safely opened." Or, as the Synod of Virginia declared in 1802 : " We consider it the indispensable duty of all who hold slaves, to prepare, by a suitable education, the. young among them for a state of freedom, and to liberate them as soon as they shall appear to be duly qualified for that high privilege." ON SLAVEHOLDING. 405 In thus maintaining the right of the Church to give advisory testimony, there is scarcely need to add, that the Church is bound to proceed with the wisdom which should ever characterize a court of the Lord Jesus Christ. SECTION XV. — THE THIRD LETTER. HISTORY OF ANTI- SLAVERY OPINIONS. 1. I do not conceive that my third letter was based upon the slightest misapprehension. The whole strain of Bishop Hopkins's apology for slavery implies, like your own, that the institution may lawfully exist among a people, forever, without any concern. This I do not believe 5 and this the Christian Church has not believed, either in earlier or later times. I pro- test against such doctrine, in however guarded lan- guage it may be expressed or concealed. In the time of Chrysostom, who nourished after Constantine, about A. D. 400, emancipation was en- couraged throughout the Empire ; more so than my brother Armstrong seems to encourage it now, in the interval of fourteen centuries. There is no rea- son to infer from Chrysostom's fanciful interpretation of 1 Cor. 7 : 21, that he was an advocate of the per- petuity of slavery. In some respects, that distant age was in advance of our own. 2. You think that in two instances I confound things that differ. (1.) But I did not understand 406 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS you as saying that the Christian anti-slavery philan- thropists of England were infidels, but simply that they acted quoad hoc on infidel principles. I proved that their principles were not those of infidelity ; that such an idea was preposterous. 1 (2.) Nor did I confound slaveholding with the African slave-trade. The paragraphs from Mr. Bancroft's history embraced both subjects, so that one could not be well separated from the other. Besides, the traffic and the system sustain a close relation to each other. The abettor* of perpetual slavery are always prone to defend the slave-trade, as is lamentably witnessed at the pre- sent time, in the extreme South. SECTION XVI. — CONCLUDING REMARKS. On reviewing our respective positions on this inter- esting question, I am confirmed in the correctness of those with which I set out, viz. : that " slaveholding is right or wrong, according to circumstances ;" that the General Assembly had a right to exhort the mem- bers of the Church to prepare their slaves for free- dom whenever Providence should open the door for it ; that the history of anti-slavery opinions shows that the Church has never regarded slavery as an institu- 1 Hobbes, one of the leaders of infidelity, maintained that every man being by nature at war with every man, the one has a perpetual right to reduce the other to servitude, when he can accomplish the end. ON SLAVEHOLDING. 407 tion to be perpetuated ; that it is wise for us, as citi- zens, to examine the question of emancipation in all its bearings; and that the border States, if no others, might advantageously commence the work speedily, on the plan of a prospective scheme, with Liberian colonization as its adjunct. On the other hand, if I do not misunderstand you, you have taken the following positions : 1. " Slave- holding is not a sin in the sight of God." 2. The Church has no right even to advise her members to elevate their slaves with a view to their freedom, and that the testimonies of the General Assembly, down to 1845, were wrong, and ought never to have been uttered. 3. Slaveholding has always existed in the Church without any reproach, from the earliest times, until Christian philanthropy, adopting the principles of Infidelity, has lately agitated the matter. 4. It is expedient to do nothing in the way of emancipa- tion at present, if, indeed, the slaves are ever to be free ; and the South had better not send any more slaves to Liberia until the North has sent its free blacks. By the expression of these sentiments, I fear that. without intending it, you have lowered the tone of public sentiment wherever your influence extends, and have impaired the obligations of conscientious Christians on this great subject. John Randolph declared in Congress : " Sir, I envy not the heart nor 408 PRESBYTERIAN VIEWS the head of that man from the North, who rises here to defend slavery from principle." This remark has no direct application, of course, to yourself; but many readers, I fear, will claim, in your behalf, the credit of doing the very thing that John Randolph de- nounced. I agree with you about the evils of the course of the fanatical abolitionists ; and not any more than yourself do I desire to unite my honour with their assembly. 1 I stand upon the good old ground, occupied by the Presbyterian Church from time immemorial. Be- lieving it to be scriptural ground, I have endeavoured to defend it ; and shall, by God's grace, continue to defend it on all fit occasions, against extreme views either at the North or at the South. I further be- lieve that my beloved brethren at the South occupy, in the main, the same conservative position, — a po- sition which has enabled our Church to maintain her scriptural character and her integrity. I do not ex- 1 Notwithstanding Dr. Armstrong's strong condemnation of the abolitionists, he practically, but unintentionally, adopts two of their leading principles. 1. He discourages, at least for a long period, the emancipation of slaves, with a view of sending them to Liberia. So far as this generation is concerned, Dr. Armstrong and the abolitionists are, on this point, at unity.— 2. He maintains that Africa ought not to be regarded as the country and home of the coloured race ; but that America is as much their home as it is his or mine. This is a favourite and fundamental principle of the abolitionists, from which they argue ('mancipation upon the soil. ON SLAVEHOLDING. 409 pect that my brethren, either at the North or South, will agree with me in all the side issues about plans of emancipation, which you have thrown into the argument without any logical authority, and to which I have replied according to the best light given me. Praying for spiritual blessings upon Africa and her descendants, and that the cause of truth, liberty, and righteousness may prevail from shore to shore, I am yours, fraternally, C. Van Rensselaer. NOTE. DR. BAXTER OX SLAYERY. Since writing the foregoing Article, a friend has forwarded to the Presbyterian Historical Society, Dr. Baxter's pamphlet <>u Slavery. I have read, with great interest and satisfaction, this remarkable production of my revered theological instructor, ft breathes the spirit of his great soul. 1. The principles of Dr. Baxter's pamphlet are not at all in- consistent with the Assembly's testimony of 1818, which he had a share in preparing and adopting. The general views are coin- cident with those of that immortal document, with such differ- ence only as was naturally to be expected in looking at the sub- ject from a different stand-point. 2. In the statement of the doctrine of slavery, Dr. Baxter fully agrees with me, as will be seen by the following quotations from his pamphlet : " The relation of the master is lawful, as long as the circum- stances of the case make slavery necessary." p. 5. "There is no consistent ground of opposing abolition, without asserting that the relation of master is right or wrong according to circumstances, and that the examination of our circumstances is necessary to ascertain whether or not it be consistent with our duty." pp. 9, 10. 35 410 VIEWS ON SLAVE II LDI NG. •' It therefore appears plain, that the Apostle determines the relation of master to be a lawful relation. [Here Dr. Arm- strong would have stopped, but Dr. Baxter adds.] I only mean that slavery is lawful, whilst necessary ; or that it is lawful to hold slaves, whilst this is the best thing that can be done for them." p. 15. " I believe that the true ground of Scripture, and of sound philosophy, as to this subject, is, that slavery is lawful in the sight of Heaven, whilst the character of the slave makes it neces- sary." p. 23. Dr. Armstrong will see that my doctrine of circumstances, and nothing else, was in the mind of Dr. Baxter. This was the As- sembly's doctrine of 1818. Dr. Baxter was no wiser in 1836, " eighteen years afterwards," because he was scripturally wise in 1818. I have a firmer persuasion than ever, that the great mass of my brethren at the South agree with Dr. Baxter, and not with Dr. Armstrong. 3. Dr. Baxter does not hesitate to speak out, like a man and a Christian, against the idea of the perpetuity of slavery. " For my part, I do not believe that the system of slavery will or can be perpetual in this country.'' p. 16. " Christianity in its future progress through the world, 'with greater power than has heretofore been witnessed, I have no doubt will banish slavery from the face of the whole earth.'' p. IT. " The application of Christian principles to both master and servant, will hasten the day of general emancipation." p. 23. Dr. Baxter uses no ifs, like a man afraid of his shadow, but boldly declares the common conviction of the Christian, and even political, world in regard to the desirableness and certainty of ultimate emancipation. 4. Dr. Baxter's pamphlet is specially directed against the abo- lition doctrine of immediate emancipation ; and his object is to show that slavery can only be abolished by preparing the slaves for freedom under the influences of Christianity. I find nothing in the pamphlet on the question of Church testimony. There is no doubt, in my own mind, that he adhered to his views of 1818, on this, as on other points. God bless his memory and example ! "Being dead, he yet speaketh." THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION (411 TABLE OF CONTENTS THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. I. On the New Emendations, in reply to Rev. T. E. Vir- milye, D. D., of New York PAGE 413 II. On the same Subject. 431 III. Protest of the Committee of Revision, and an Answer to it 451 IV. Origin of the American Bible Society 461 (412) ARTICLE I. REPLY TO DR.VIRMILYE. 1 My dear Sir ; — Your letter furnishes a good occa- sion for a statement on the other side of the Bible question, including a notice of your severe animad- versions upon the Church to which I belong. As one of the Committee of Revision, whose acts have been called in question by a large part of the Christian community, kindness to your brethren in this discussion would seem to have been eminently wise and proper. Instead of pursuing this concili- atory course, you have inadvertently allowed your- self to bring severe accusations, in unguarded words, and apparently in not the most amiable mood. The Old School Presbyterian Church is represented as acting in a spirit of sectarian jealousy and illiberality, whilst two of the greatest men whom God has raised up in her ranks, are stigmatized as opposing the Bible Society's movement from unworthy personal and pro- fessional motives. You need scarcely, my dear sir, have said that your letter was on your " own respon- 1 Originally published in " The Presbyterian " of October 24th, 1857. 35* ( 413 ) 414 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: sibility." The public generally condemn its tone ; the Bible Society itself would be the first to repudiate it, if put to the test; and it is not improbable that. in the calmer moments which have followed your transient excitement, your own conscience, true to its old habits of love and right, has united in the common expression of disapprobation and sorrow. Had not the Presbyterian Church a right to dis- cuss so important a subject as the publication of the Scriptures ? Was it not very likely, that a Church that has always been known as an unflinching cham- pion of the truth, from the days of Knox and Mel- ville through every period of its history, would take an interest in preserving the standard edition of the Bible unharmed from innovation ? Surely, if any part of the sacramental host could have been reck- oned, in advance, the opposers of novelties in the printing of the sacred oracles, and the advocates, by principle and practice, of the Bible, as it is, and has been, Old School Presbyterians would have been se- lected among the most earnest, steadfast, and uncom- promising, both to do and to suifer. Why, then, my dear friend, need you have gone out of the way to impute uncharitable and ungenerous motives to lofty- minded and pure men in our Church, and indeed to our Church at large ? All denominations have a right to speak, and ought to speak, at a time like this. Presbyterians, espe- ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 415 cially, ought not to be rebuked for boldly uttering their thoughts. They had a prominent agency in establishing the American Bible Society; they have contributed a very large part of its funds, and have always taken a zealous and efficient interest in its management. Our General Assembly was bound by its hereditary conservatism, its influential position. its interest in the affairs of the Redeemer's kingdom, and its original rights in the Bible Society, to inter- pose its testimony against an ill-concocted, though well-meant scheme of Bible emendation. That tes- timony would have been fully expressed, instead of implied, at the last meeting of our Supreme Judica- tor}^, if it had not been thought advisable to afford to the managers of the national institution the oppor- tunity of retracing their steps, according to the strong intimations of one of the Secretaries, in his public address before our body. Judge Fine's wise and non- committal motion of postponement, and the considc rate and kind speech of the venerable Dr. Hoge, alone prevented the passage of Dr. Breckinridge's search- ing resolutions, or, at least, of some overture con- demnatory of the proposed variations. You state. with a principal allusion to the Presbyterian Church . " I expect a strong response, when I say, From all High-churchism and sectarian ambition, from all geo- graphical brotherhood and dictatorial affection, good Lord deliver us." It will be generally thought more 416 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: desirable to exhibit the spirit of the Litany as it is, than to add new words of prayer, incongruous with the pious petitions of that Scriptural formulary. I submit to your consideration whether it would not be wise to moderate, if not altogether change, the tone of your utterance, the next time you undertake to arraign our Church before the public. The effect, I do not say the design, of your communication, has been to excite a denominational suspicion against the Presbyterian Church, in her honest opposition to the recent Bible policy. It is hoped that the Committee on Versions will hold fast to the Word of God in the oldness of the letter and the newness of the spirit. The two great principles to which the American Bible Society ought to be made to adhere, are — : First, that it shall not change the words, or alter the mean- ing of the existing text of the Bible, in part or in whole ; and secondly, that it shall not publish notes or comments on the text, in any form whatever. I. My first propositon is that the American Bible Society ought not to change the words, or alter the meaning, either in part or in whole, of the commonly received version. The first article of the constitu- tion is : " The Society shall be known by the name of the American Bible Society, of which the sole object shall be to encourage a wider circulation of the Holy Scriptures, without note or com- ment. The only copies in the English language to be circulated by the Society shall be the version now in common use. v ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. -ill Does the new edition vary, to any extent, in lan- guage and in meaning, from the version now " in com- mon use ?" The question is neither whether the vari- ations are/< w in number, nor whether they are improve- ments. They may be both ; but be they more or less, one or a hundred, and of whatever character, they are unlawful, if found to exist. A single violation of the text corrupts the fundamental principle of keeping intact the commonly received version. How many words are really altered (I do not refer to mere changes in spelling, but to the substitution of differ- ent words) , cannot be fully ascertained from the Com- mittee's report. That report only gives "specimens" of alterations, and it omits one which you adduce, viz. : the article between the words John and Baptist, — Assuming that there are only two changes in words (there are at least four), I maintain that the Consti- tution prohibits the Society from making even one change. Where does the Society obtain the right to touch the version in the minutest word ? There are other modes, however, of altering the meaning of the version besides changing its words. " Specimens " of variation in the use of capital letters, as in the word Spirit, are given, wherein the Commit- tee have decided by the use of capitals or otherwise, in four places, and in how many others they do not state, whether the word refers to the Holy Spirit or not, p. 24. 2b 41 8 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: Pivnctuation is another means of introducing vari- ations in the existing version, without requisite au- thority. Four " specimens " of unauthorized tamper- ing with the text by means of commas, colons, and periods, are presented in the Eeport of the Commit- tee, two of which make an important difference in the meaning, viz. : Rom. 4 : 1, and Rev. 13 : 8, the first of which is admitted to be " found in no edition hitherto," and in regard to the second, it is stated that "the translators wrongly inserted the comma after ' Lamb,' " p. 25. Parentheses have been omitted and retained at dis- cretion, although the Committee admit that " in some instances they have the force of commentaries." Brackets have necessarily force in the version of the Bible, and in one important instance, 1 John 2 : 23. the Committee have omitted them without the autho- rity of any preceding editions. Here are at least eleven variations relating to the text, found among the " specimens " given by the Committee, without taking into the account those not brought to view. The question, however, as I have stated, is not one of many or few, of improvement or otherwise. It is a question of fundamental principle. If the Bible Society has a right to change the existing text in 1851, in one, two, or a dozen, or more instances, has has it not the right to make more numerous changes ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 419 of the same nature in 1857, and at any time there- after? It is remarkable how the Committee unconsciously exceeded their powers. They were authorized by the Board to have the necessary collation made, p. 1G > and the Committee themselves merely employed a person "to collate the principal editions of the English Bible, published by this Society, with the latest Bri- tish editions," which was afterwards modified by a rule so as to include "the original edition of 1611." And yet it turns out that, besides being the result of a " collation " of existing translations, this standard edition contains original variations introduced from the Hebrew and Greek. Thus " these instances have, of course, been corrected according to the Hehrw" p. 20. " This is required by the Greek" p. 20. " So the Greek" p. 21. "Not in the Hebrew;' p. 24.— " Nothing corresponding in the Greek" p. 24. " Here, according to the order of the Greek, it should read," etc., p. 25. "So the Syriac and Latin versions," although " all the copies " of the English Bible have it otherwise, p. 25. "The clause is now inserted in all critical editions of the Greek Testament," p. 26. All this may show very good scholarship, which is not called in question, but where is the authority from the Constitution of the American Bible Society to go behind the translation, and to appeal to the ori- 420 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: ginal Hebrew and Greek, and even to the Syriac and Latin versions ? Is this " collation " ? The churches must guard with jealous care the version as it is — the version as it was in 1S1G — the old English version of the Word of God, of two hun- dred and fifty years' standing. Let there be minor changes of spelling, and a correction of errors, if need be; but Jet the old version l,< untouched, both in words and in m> aning. The churches cannot give up this principle without tolerating a violation of the Constitution of the American Bible Society, and abandoning one of the great principles of the Chris- tian co-partnership in the dissemination of the Scrip- tures. II. Another fundamental principle is, that the American Bible Society shall not be allowed to make notes or comment* on the sacred text. The Constitu- tion says, " without note or comment." The two questions that arise are, what constitutes a note and comment; and if the old headings are of the nature of comments, why publish any? The con- tents of the chapters, the running heads, and the marginal readings and references, were unquestion- ably designed to assist the . reader in obtaining a cor- rect view of the text ; and they do in fact, to a degree varying according to circumstances, perform that office. Although probably not much consulted, these headings give interpretations to the text. If so, it ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 421 may be asked, why not exclude theni altogether from the existing version? Simply because they were accepted by common consent as part of the version in common use in 1816. Action under the Constitu- tion for a long series of years has settled the point a^ to the retention of the old headings. But it is obvi- ously a very different question, whether the Society has a right to alter these old landmarks, which arc now the hereditary accompaniments of the version. 1 maintain that they have no more right to do this. than they have to alter the text, It is nothing to the purpose to say, that "in the lapse of time exten- sive changes and additions have been made." This is. no doubt, true. But the point is, what right has the American Bible Society to make any changes of this nature, that are not found in the standard edi- tion of 1816 ? And yet, the Committee have here made the most extensive and radical changes, sweep- ing away large masses of the headings which existed in 1816, and substituting other words of their own selection, as more pertinent. Who had a right to set in motion this reformation, if, indeed, it be a reforma- tion ? Let it be noted that the Committee themselves acknowledge, that many of these old headings are of the nature of comment. They say, "A special ex- ample of commentary is found in the contents of all the chapters in the Book of Solomon," p: 28. But 36 422 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: not more special are these than many of the new commentaries of the Committee in various parts of their standard edition. The Committee, besides mak- ing indefinite substitutions of their own for these ori- ginal headings, have taken the liberty of adding several marginal notes, and of omitting a number of marginal references. The references which they have omitted, have been only "those, which on actual examination, proved to be of little, or no import- ance," p. 30. But there is great room for difference of opinion as to the relative importance of texts of Scripture, in elucidating other parts of Scripture. Scotland was recently thrown into commotion by a new edition of the Bible, which insidiously left out many of the old references, and put in new ones. This was done on the responsibility of a private printing-house, which had no right to assume it ; and who gave to the American Bible Society the right to disturb the old references, or any of the accessories at all ? It is remarkable how the Committee exceeded their original powers in going to work at these accessories to the text, just as they did in regard to the text itself. I am far from charging the Committee with transcending their powers from any wrong motives. By no means. Like all men, who attempt to reform on too large a scale, they were doubtless unconsciously led along by the very abundance of their zeal. But ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 423 the authority to " collate " the old edition with other translations, did not imply authority to make sweep- ing alterations in the old-fashioned accessories, etc., at their discretion. Let the reader turn to the third rule, adopted to guide the collation (?), and he will find it as follows : " 3. That the comparison includes the Orthography, Capital Letters, Words in Italic, and Punctuation. (To these were added in practice the contents of the chapters, and the running heads of the columns.'') — p. 16.) Added in practice ? Does this mean that the prac- tice was more extensive than the rule? The rule itself is a proper one, and had in view very proper topics of inquiry ; but the practice under it, by in- eluding what was not originally intended, and what belonged to an entirely different category, took the largest liberty with rule and regulation. Moreover. let the reader observe that the rule contemplated a comparison with other translations, and, not even im- pliedly, alterations like the radical ones so extensively put forth. The founders of the American Bible Society un- doubtedly meant by "note and comment," such explanations and interpretations as accompany the Tract Society's new edition ; and by " the version now in common use," they intended both the text and the accessories, as they then were. Their aim was simply to exclude commentaries in the enlarged 424 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: acceptation of that term. The Committee had no right to touch the accessories of the text, except for the simple purpose of "collating" them with other editions to rectify errors. These two principles, which I have been attempt- ing to illustrate, will commend themselves, it is be- lieved, to many sound and reflecting minds among all denominations of Christians. The American Bible Society must not change the words of the text of the Bible, or alter in any way, to the least degree, its meaning; and it must not add a word of "note or comment " upon the text itself. If these views are correct, they show what course should be pursued by the American Bible Society, in its present exigency. Let the Society return to the old version and its accessories, with those unimportant exceptions which a " collation " with other editions. or the progress of the language, authorizes. Let the Bible be restored to its old position in all essential particulars ; and forever hereafter " let well enough alone." For one, I should prefer to have the Bible restored to the exact form in which it was in 1848. The following additional, or " accessory," reasons why the American Bible Society should retrace its steps in this unfortunate movement, are offered to your candid consideration. 1. Many good Christians in the community have had their consciences offended by the changes intro- ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 425 duced into the new edition. Granting that their eon- sciences are weak, that the principles involved are not so weighty as they are supposed to be, and that you and others are certainly right in their views of the matter, still, does not the Bible itself inculcate the spirit of forbearance, and even of respect and deference, to the convictions of brethren who act upon principle ? It is also worth}* of your notice that many plain Christians have had their confidence in the American version of the Bible weakened by these numerous changes, the minor ones alone being reported at about " twenty-four thousand " in num- ber, p. 31. This whole subject has necessarily prac- tical bearings, more or less connected with religions faith and experience. Many a true believer, in the midst of the discussions and facts recently presented to the community, will take up his Bible with doubts as to whether this new version is really the same Bible he has been accustomed to read. It is, surely, no small thing to impair the confidence of the people of God in the sacred Book, whence they are accus- tomed to derive spiritual nourishment and consolation. 2. The new edition makes the Society liable to prosecution in the civil courts for violating its Con- stitution. I do not affirm that any person will put the question to this severe test; but more question- able points, and less important ones, have been made the subjects of judicial investigation. The points of 36* 426 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: difference are certainly, under the charter, within the cognizance of legal tribunals ; and a large amount of funds might change hands on the finding of the fact, that the new edition differed from " the version in common use." 3. The adoption of the new edition destroys the uniformity between the British and the American Bible. The professed object in undertaking the col- lar ion was to produce " uniformity " in our own copies; and the measures recommended, namely, a collation of the old American edition with the first and the tour last English editions of authority, would have continued the blessing of one standard Anglo-Saxon Bible for all the world. The very opposite result has been reached by the faux pas of the new edition, which you had an agency in bringing out. England will never adopt this new and obnoxious one ; and thus the calamity of two diverse standard editions, one in England, and another in America, will be in- troduced into the nineteenth century. 1 1 It seems "Mr. Secretary Brigham communicated to the Com- mittee that the Superintendent of Printing found many discre- pancies still existing between our different editions of the English Bible, and also between our editions and those issued by the British and Foreign Bible Society." In regard to the discre- pancies between our own editions, it may be asked why the Super- intendent did not make all the editions conform to the standard edition of the American Bible Society ? If the Society had a standard edition, here was the remedy ; and there was no occa- sion for a Committee. If the Society had no staudard edition ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 427 4. The pressing forward of the new edition will put in jeopardy one of the common interests of Pro- testant Christianity in the United States. The co- operation of all denominations in the dissemination of the Word of God, is one of the grand exhibitions of Protestant unity. Shall this blessed consumma- tion be disowned, and ended by divisions in our ranks respecting versions ? Can the American Bible Society endure the thought of another national institution, or of denominational agencies, or of the printing by private publishing houses of the old edition, in order to satisfy those who, from principle, are determined at that time, the public has reason to complain of this negli- gence. Admitting the existence of such an edition, the Super- intendent's duty was to follow it in all the Society's editions, and there would have been no discrepancies to correct. In regard to the discrepancies between the American edition and those of the British and Foreign Bible Society, the only way to approxi- mate to an agreement was to make a careful " collation," or comparison of copies, according to rules like Nos. 4, 7, 8, of the Committee. But what is the result ? Instead of producing uni- formity between the American and British editions, which was the Superintendent's desire, the Committee, by transcending, as it seems to me, the original objects of their appointment, have brought forth an edition, varying from the British editions in words of the text, orthography, Hebrew plurals, particles of ex- clamation, the indefinite article, proper names, capital letters, words in italics, important instances of punctuation, parentheses, contents of the chapters, running heads, marginal readings, and marginal references ! Thus the Superintendent's laudable object, so far as relates to uniformity between the American and British editions, has been utterly thwarted, and the Committee have made "confusion worse confouuded." 428 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: to testify against the innovations lately concocted ? It will be a sad day to our American Zion when the only form of united action among Protestants shall be forever excluded from the history of Christian evangelization, and shall exist only among the things that were. May God avert this dire calamity from the Churches ! 5. This new edition gives great occasion to the new versionists among the Baptists, Unitarians, and others, to magnify the correctness of their position. The principles on which the Committee have inaugurated their work, need only a more extensive application, in order to justify what the Baptists have undertaken on a larger scale. The moment we abandon the prin- ciple of " collation," and tolerate a resort to Hebrew and Greek for the correction of the English version, we lose the vantage ground in the controversy. Obsta prbicipiis. Hold fast to that which is good. 6. No complaint has ever been made against the old edition by any auxiliary or ecclesiastical body ; and no public necessity actually exists for insisting upon the adoption of the new standard. The dis- covery of even minor errors and variations in the text was made in the printing-office, and not in the Church or in the family. No public notice was ever taken of the subject; no discussion was ever had in refer- ence to it ; and no emergency had arisen to demand the radical changes that have been propounded. ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 429 Under these circumstances, and when it is found im- possible to obtain the general acquiescence of the Christian community in the amendments to the old version, has the Bible Society no alternative but to persevere? 7. The present question is not simply one of ma- jority or minority ; but even if it were, the rights of the minority ought not to be disregarded. In a court of justice, right governs ; and according to the old Dutch maxim, " right makes might." But this is, to a large extent, a question of Christian magnanimity. The Bible Society is placed in a position to exhibit the power of the sacred book which it disseminates, by gracefully yielding, whilst yet it may, to the popu- lar disapprobation of its doings. The Bible Society may, indeed, if it pleases, refuse " to be in subjection, no, not for an hour." But is the present a case like that before the mind of Paul, when, in the mainte- nance of his Christian liberty, he refused to be com- pelled to bind Jewish ceremonies upon his brethren ? In the present case, the brethren only ask to be allowed to retain " the form of sound words " which was given to them. If this version has been a good one for forty years, since the foundation of the So- ciety, and for two hundred years before its existence, is it a very strong case of "subjection" to be willing to acknowledge still longer its power ? Can the Bible Society do a better thing than to maintain relations 430 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: of confidence to its old version, and of .amity to those of its friends who prefer it to any other ? These considerations are presented to yourself, my dear Doctor, and to other friends of the good old cause, in the hope that they may tend, in some hum- ble measure, to conciliate the good-will of parties in- terested in this important matter, and to secure oiic< more united action on the good old ground, sanctified by the memorials of two and a half centuries. It has given me pain, my dear Dominie and friend, to differ from you on the present question. I trust that our respective churches, one in faith, aud in Christian fellowship and holy work, will rally around the standard of the Bible as it is, and send down to other generations the legacy of our fathers, untouched in one iota of its essential text or accessories. Nor have I any doubt that, in this determination, you yourself will be found, at the right time, " submitting yourself" to your brethren " in the fear of God." I am yours, in old bonds, CORTLANDT VAN RENSSELAER. ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 431 ARTICLE II. REPLY TO DR. VERMILYE'S REJOINDER.* To the Rev. T. E. Vermilye, D. D. : My Dear Doctor. — One of your grave indiscretions and errors has been to begin and continue these let- ters, under no inconsiderable excitement towards the Old School Presbyterian Church, or its " leaders," as you are pleased to call them. Scarcely any one would have suspected that you had been '-'born, baptized, licensed, and ordained" within the communion of our venerable body. May the blessing of her baptis- mal administration be upon your head, and her holy nurture be more completely realized in the labours of your advancing life ! My rebuke of the severe language, thoughtlessly employed against two of our Theological Professors, was not founded upon the single paragraph, which admits of the explanation offered, and cordially ac- cepted, but upon many expressions in the letter, and the unfortunate tone which pervaded the whole. I presume you have no idea of the real force of some of the expressions in your letter, especially on per- 1 Originally published in " The Presbyterian," of November 14, 1857. 4:32 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: sonal topics — which it would have been wiser to avoid — and of the various imputations of motives and cha- racter therein abounding. As you have made no apology for this style of writing, I venture to submit the above as its best extenuation. I have again read the speeches of Drs. Breckinridge and Aclger in the Princeton Review. They do not appear to me to authorize the hard things you affirm of them. The occasion required direct and plain dealing ; and if some things were said in an extem- poraneous discussion, which had better been left un- said, as is very apt to be the case, this does not war- rant the very severe opprobrium which proceeds from the calm retirement of a pastor's study. Permit me here to assure you that no man exerts a greater in- fluence in our General Assembly than Dr. Breckin- ridge, whom you assail in vain. Nor is any man more honoured throughout the whole Presbyterian Church, for his past and present services, than our great Ken- tucky divine. His speech on the Bible Society's new measures was among the ablest and most valuable performances of his life — a speech in which, by the bye. he made a kind allusion to yourself as an es- teemed minister of the Dutch Church, and which in its severest parts was replete with a good humour and a parliamentary amiability, which some of his critics seem utterly at a loss to imitate, or even com- prehend. ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 433 The distinction you make between arraigning the motives and actions of our whole Church and of a, part of our Church, is of no avail, as regards the spirit of the language employed, or as to the matter of fact at issue, or as an apology for the offence committed, be- cause on no public question is our Church probably nearer to unanimity than its opposition to the new edition of the Bible. The General Assembly, in a Christian spirit, consented to postpone action until another year, after the fullest declaration from one of your Secretaries that the objectionable alterations would probably be removed, and the text and its ac- cessories be restored to their former condition. It appears to me to be no part of your vocation, in discussing this subject, to find fault with the Presby- terian Church, or the High-Church faction in it, or its " unfortunate leadership." What right has a Bible Society Manager to attempt to " lord it over God's heritage," and to denounce the donominational pecu- liarities of this Church, or of that Church ? Admit- ting that Old School Presbyterians are a set of bigots. far behind the times, and dreadfully set against inno- vation, what is all that to you, my old friend, or to the Committee of Revision ? We claim the liberty of examining into the whole matter of these proposed emendations, and even of discussing the authority and the qualifications of those who have been instru- mental in agitating the community on the sacred 37 2 c 434 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: theme of their forefathers' Bible. Let our arguments be answered, as far as they can be; but you have no right to stigmatize our " leaders," ' to cast insinuations against our motives, or to impeach the denominational characteristics, either of the whole Church, or of a party in it. Your persistent attempt to amend the Episcopal Liturgy is as unfortunate as the effort to improve the old Bible. It shows that when a modern Reformer begins a work he lias no right to touch, there is scarcely anything that will not tempt the benevolenl curiosity of his hands. Let me entreat you, first, to moderate some of the extravagant expressions of what may be called high style. A stranger might think that the "excellent oil," which you complain as profusely scattered over •lerical garments, has not yet reached the beard, even the good Dominie's beard. But those who know you are prepared to make allowances for these uncharac- teristic exaggerations of language. In the second place, let our Church and her peculiarities alone ; and argue the case on its own merits, without acting the bishop in other people's dioceses. Allow me, now, to glance at some of your positions. 1 The Presbyterian Church acknowledges no -'leaders;" but as Dr.Verrailye has used the word, I hope I commit no offence in employing it in my reply. ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 435 and to expose their fallacy with moderation and kind feeling. Our common aim is the truth. • 1. You say that I certainly know that " the Society lias not attempted any alteration in the version," and that " the Committee has disavowed everything but revision and restoration." But what says the Com- mittee's Report? It is as follows : " The Committee have had no authority and no desire to go behind the translators, nor in any respect to touch the original version of the text, unless in cases of evident inad- vertence, or inconsistency, open and manifest to all" p. 19. Now here are cases specified in which the Committee actually declare " a desire " to go " behind the translators, and to touch the original version." Where they obtained their " authority " to do this, under any circumstances, from their commission to " collate," they have not yet informed the public, although you say that their report is "frank and open to a fault." It appears to me that the Commit- tee's "desire" transcended their "authority;" and furthermore, that neither their " authority nor desire " came up to the condition expressed in their own state- ment, because the propriety of going "behind the translators, and touching the original version of the text," is now pretty well decided not to be " open and manifest to all." Some of the cases in which the Committee acted out their " desire," will be specified 436 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: presently. Thus much for your a priori appeal to my credulity. 2. You next declare that " the Report gives the whole" number of alterations in the words of the text, and find fault with me for expressing some un- certainty. My uncertainty grew entirely out of your own declaration, respecting the insertion of the article between John and Baptist, in two places, where you say " the Committee ventured perhaps unwarrantably to insert the article" Inasmuch as the Report says nothing about these two instances, how can you recon- cile their occurrence with your present declaration that "the Report gives the whole"? Can "the Report give the whole," when Dr. Vermilye adds two cases not found in the Report ? If the fact that the Report does not give the whole is, as you say, " a good stone to pelt with," who picked up the stone, and who but the Dutch dominie pelts the Report ? 3. The alterations in the text by means of words, I stated to be " at least four," which was moderate, as they are really five, viz., twice in John the Baptist, twice in Canticles, where she is substituted for he, and again in inserting the before judgment. The two cases about John the Baptist are admitted by you to have been " perhaps unwarrantable." But why un- warrantable, unless they involved a doubtful prin- ciple — doubtful now even in your judgment, and posi- tively wrong in the judgment of others? The two ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 437 cases in Canticles you attempt to defend on the ground that they were original errors in printing. But how could you find this 'out by collation ? Re- member that your authority only extended to colla- tion, and that by the very rules of your own forma- tion, you were tied up to collate the American edition, " with those of London, Oxford, Cambridge, Edin- burgh, and the original edition of 1611," p. 17. Now. the Report states that "the translators and all the copies have, till he please." Here your work obviously stopped, and your own rule bound you to go no fur- ther, but to let the word stand. But, in opposition to all authority originally given, or defined and lim- ited by your own rule, you went " behind the trans- lators," and behind every copy of the Scriptures ever published, and corrected the text " according to the Hebreiv" p. 20. In the same way, the insertion of the article before "judgment," is contrary to all the copies prescribed as your standards of collation. Tn your last letter, you indeed say that the article is found in the editions of 1639, '40, '41, '58, and 83. But what of that? This is. in the first place, appeal- ing to different editions than those prescribed by the Board of Managers and your own selves, which were " the recent copies of the four leading British editions. and the one of 1611," p. 16 ; and in the second place, this is an after-thought of your own, differing from the statement of the Report, which is : Matt. 12 : 21, 37* 438 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: reads, in all the copies, "shall rise up in judgment," p. 20. Collation, therefore, utterly failed, according to the Report, to discover the error. How, then, was it found out ? The Report tells you, " this is required by the Greek" p. 20. In this instance, as in others, the Committee's " desire " was to go behind the trans- lators, and behind them they went; but where was their " authority " to do so ? As I said before, these alterations, whether important or unimportant, involve a great principle, namely, the right of the American Bible Society to go behind the translators for any purposes whatever. The title-pages of our old Eng- lish Bibles contain the announcement, "With former translations diligently compared and revised." Your new edition is the first one, in the history of Bible Societies, that has dared to go beyond these words, and to introduce changes by consulting the " original tongues." 4. In regard to the changes of the text by means of capitals, I merely followed the declaration of this curious Report itself. If the reader will turn to page 24, he will find the passages referred to arranged in two columns, of which the left, without capitals, is headed " English copies" and the right column, with the capitals, is headed "Corrected " and these passages are presented as " specimens of changes which have been made." Yet you now say that in three of these cases there were no changes at all, but " in each in- ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 439 stance the Committee left it as they found it in the Society's edition ! " The four passages I alluded to were Genesis 6 : 3 ; 41 : 38 ; Numbers 24 : 2 ; and Revelation 4:5. Of Genesis 41 : 38, you say nothing, nor do you inform the public whether these examples exhaust all the cases, or whether, in the language of the Report, they are "specimens." 5. The four specimens of alteration in the old ver- sion by means of 'punctuation were also given on the authority of the Report, which has your signature, and which distinctly admits that they affect the sense : " The following five changes made in the punctua- tion, are all, it is believed, which affect the sense" p. 25 ; and yet you now argue that the sense is not affected. How strange to find Dr. Vermilye, of the sub-committee, again arguing against the Report of his Committee ! The most remarkable of your varia- tions from your own Report, is in your statement about the punctuation in Romans 4:1, which pas- sage, according to your letter, is pointed so as to pre- sent the meaning " given in the pointing of all the English copies, and of 1611 ;" whereas the Report of your Committee says : " This is found in no edition hitherto" p. 25. How is this? Is the Report of the Committee, as you say, "open and frank to a fault?" Whose fault is this ? If it be said that the peculiarity of the new standard is in having a comma after •'Abraham" as well as after " father," I reply, that 440 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: the first comma does not affect the sense, and that consequently the stress of the Committee's claim of emendation is on the second comma, which change alone "affects the sense." The punctuation of the English Bibles, where the comma is after both "father" and "flesh." leaves the sense doubtful, and I differ from you in the opinion thai the meaning in the English copies is necessarily the same as in the new standard. When you will show how the Report came to declare that the punctuation of the two pas- sages in 1 and 2 Corinthians do "affect the sense/' while you now deny that they do, it will be time enough for me to answer your question whether they do or not. 6. Bracket* and italic* in 1 John 2 : 23. Here again you not only go behind the translators, but also behind the Committee. The Report says that " the clause is now inserted in all critical editions of the Greek Testament ; and oa there is no question of its genuine- ness, both the brackets and the italics have been dropped," p. 26. The Committee's theory of altera- tion is new critical light from the Greek. But Dr. Vermilye's theory is that " in throwing out the brack- ets, we follow the majority of the English copies."' thus attempting to fortify the change by a numerical majority. At the same time you say nothing about removing the italics of the text, which are found in all the English copies, including that of 1611. The ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 441 question I here put is this. If the majority of copies authorized you to remove the brackets, why did not the authority of all the copies compel you to retain the italics? The fact is that your authority only authorized you to " collate," or, as your own rules have it, to make a "comparison" (Rules 2, 3, p. 16), between the Eng- lish copies; but your " desire " led to a consultation of the original languages, and thus to alterations of the text. Dr. Breckinridge's idea, to which you refer, was that the Committee had no right to go to the Greek at all ; but even if they went there, he had so little knowledge of their qualifications that he could not confide in their conclusions. I am content to say that you had no right to go to the original languages, for the purpose of alteration. You were commissioned to collate, and not to translate or to revise from the Hebrew or Greek. If the Committee had kept to the original idea of Dr. Brigham and of the superintend- ent of printing, p. 15, most, if not all, of these diffi- culties would have been avoided. The Committee's zeal of innovation covers a larger ground than I can now undertake to so over. Anions other notable instances of its exhibition is the inser- tion of new marginal readings. The Committee give us King James's rule, and then say they have ' ; added but two examples " — thus putting themselves on a level with the translators, when they do not show 4:42 A M E K I C A N BIBLE SOL'l E T Y : that they ever received authority to meddle with the margin, except so far as their doings were afterwards approved by the Managers. One of these new words put into the margin, is opposite the word " Easter," in Acts 12 : 14, as follows : " Gr. the Passover." Now, according to the alterations on page 20, where it is said, "All these instances have, of course, been cor- rected according to the Hebrew;" and "this is re- quired by the Greek" the Committee might have put " Passover " into the text instead of " Easter ; " for the Greek requires " passover " as much as " the " before "judgment," and it is actually so rendered in every other passage in the Bible. This is mentioned incidentally to show how dangerous it is to go behind the translators in order to correct errors. The Com- mittee, however, have taken the next greatest liberty by putting "Passover" in tlie margin, which the translators did not do, and which the Committee justify themselves in doing, because King James's rule would have authorized it ! The Committee state with great apparent gravity that " they entertain a reverence for the antique forms of words and orthography in the Bible," p. 20 ; and then they give tico specimens of their reverence in retaining the words " hoised " and " graff," and forly-seven specimens of alterations which indirectly indicate the opposite virtue. In truth, their reve- rence for what is old, compared with their curiosity ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 443 after what is new, appears to be well stated in the proportion of two to forty-seven. It is impossible for any impartial person, I think, to read the long Report of the Committee without per- ceiving that the new American edition differs more than any previous one, from the English copies. The differences consist in several words of the version ; in the spelling of common nouns, participles, Hebrew plurals, particles of exclamation, forms of the article, and proper names; in compound words; capital let- ters ; words in italics ; parentheses and brackets ; without counting the innumerable changes in the ac- cessories of the text. In punctuation, there may be more general similarity, but there are five cases of alterations which " affect the sense." As a whole, I affirm, without hesitation, that the American edition varies, more than it ever did before, from the English copies, if the Report of the Committee can be relied upon . There is a long paragraph in your letter mystifying the version of 1816, and just so far discrediting the ope- rations of the American Bible Society for a series of years. You challenge me to produce this version, in terms apparently implying the impossibility. As re- gards the American Bible Society, I suppose that the first edition it published was " the version in common use" in 1816. If it was not, the Society committed a great wrong. Please to take notice. Doctor, that I 444 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: do not affirm that this edition was a "perfect stand- ard," as you strangely seem to think it must necessa- rily have been. It no doubt had errors of the press, to be corrected by collation with the English copies. But it must have been (these errors excepted) the version then in common use, or else great culpability is chargeable upon the American Bible Society, who were bound to see that it possessed this character. — I produce, then, in compliance with your peremptory demand, the edition of the Bible, first struck off by the Society, as a standard edition of 1816, not indeed ••/> rfect" or "immaculate," but subject to the correc- tion of such errors as a careful collation with English copies would discover. The Bible Society do not pre- tend that any of their editions have been " perfect ;" and even the Committee, who have brought out the new standard, say that "they claim no special free- dom from error ; they may very possibly not always have fully carried out their own rules ; they may have committed oversights," p. 31. Just such errors, owing to oversights, may have existed in the old plates of the New York Bible Society, handed over to the parent Institution. But there was "the version in common use," which, errors excepted, was, to all intents and purposes, the version to be perpetuated ; and if that edition of it, owing to the culpable negli- gence of the Society, did not fulfil the requirements of the Constitution, the standard edition of that pe- ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 445 riod may at any time be reproduced by taking the Oxford or Cambridge editions of 1816, published by royal authority. Either of these editions would meet the demands of the Constitution of the American Bible Society in a court of law. Why, then, do you write with such imposing solemnity of tone about the impossibility of finding the standard edition of 1816, damaging at the same time, as you do, especially in the eyes of uncritical readers, the whole cause of Bible printing and circulation under the auspices of the American Bible Society in past years ? Between this old edition of 1816, and the other editions of the American Bible Society, up to 1851, there has been a substantial agreement. Your new standard, I admit, contains serious variations ; and yet you seem to want the public to believe that the " version in common use" in 1816 cannot now be produced. The two great fallacies in your reasoning on this point are, first, in supposing that anybody ever had the idea that any edition of 1816 was a " perfect " one ; and secondly, in supposing 4hat anybody had objections to the correction of that, or any other edition, by col- lation, at any time. The objections to your new edi- tion are not to the correction of errors by collation, but to their correction in other ways, and to many alterations made at the independent discretion of the Committee. There is no more difficulty in finding " the version in common use" in 1816. than in 1826, 38 446 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: 1836, 1846, or in any other year. What you say of the copies your Committee collated, is true of any of the editions, " the reproduction of any one, as it stood (i e. even with its errors), would have been substantially the reproduction of King James's Bible." Why all this special pleading, then, about the version in 1816? As to the headings, your letter contains an equally ingenious attempt at innocent mystification. In the first place, no one has ever claimed that these head- ings must necessarily be in all the editions, quarto, octavo, duodecimo, etc. In the second place, so far as the headings of the first edition published by the American Bible Societ} 7 varied from those in common use, they are unlawful. In the third place, it makes no difference whether the first new plates had head- ings, or not; because the Society had discretion to print editions without them. In the fourth place, all the ambiguity you throw around the headings of the other early American editions, is so much negli- gence set to the account of the Parent Society. In the fifth place, you acknowledge that the old standard headings were introduced " about 1828." Here, then, we are out of the fog, at last. The Society, after a careful examination, perhaps at the instance of " the Superintendent of Printing," finally reached the true ground, and fortunately without the aid of a Revision Committee of extraordinary powers. This return to ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 447 the old letter " shows what interpretation the founders put upon their own constitution in respect to head- ings." (Dr. Ver.) In the sixth place, the continu- ance of these old headings to the present time, indi- cates their acknowledged binding authority in con- nection with editions in which they appear. In the seventh place, the objections against any headings, made by some persons in the olden time — which your memory reaches, but whereof I am not personally cognizant — and the discussions growing therefrom, make it appear that the Society then settled the prin- ciple of the thing, and have acted upon it, as a thing settled, down to 1857. In the eighth place, the ac- cessories, although not of divine origin, may by cir- cumstances be required to be as unchangeable as the text. To insist that a Revision Committee shall keep their hands off of the headings, by no means exalts " these human trappings to a level w T ith the Divine Word." (Dr. Ver.) In the ninth place, the issue that you are undertaking to raise by presenting the alternative of new improved headings or none at all, is radical and revolutionary ; and, depend upon it, it is utterly impracticable. The people clearly will not submit to any such alternative at all. They will insist upon the old headings, deliberately adopted by the Society, and in common use in various editions, until these latter clays of alteration. What I mean is that, on this subject, the American Bible Society 448 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: shall not change its old policy and practice. Although the Society is not bound to put the headings into all the editions, large and small, it ought to continue to put them into those editions where they have ordi- narily been found. In the tenth place, the printing of the old headings with the version has the sanction of immemorial usage in the parent country, as well as in our own ; and this usage has taken them out of the category of prohibited, " note and comment." The Constitution requires the Society to publish the edi- tions of the Bible in its integrity, as it was issued from the English press, comprehending text and ac- cessories. These various points, briefly stated, I hold to be impregnable, notwithstanding the specious rea- soning in the latter part of your letter. The Ame- rican Bible Society will in -.peril its character, position, and usefulness, if it undertakes in any respect to alter the words of the text, or of the accessories, except as to errors to be corrected by collation. And now, permit me just to hint at some practical lessons deduced from your attempts at Bible emen- dation. 1. You see, my good friend, that it is a very dan- gerous thing to meddle with what is old. Whatever is incorporated with the religious feelings and usages of the community, has a sanctity that contains a dreadful power of resistance. 2. A Bible Society ought to " abstain from all ap- ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 449 pearance of evil." Better keep on in the good old ways, than strike into new and doubtful paths under a guidance which lacks universal confidence. 3. The right to " print and circulate " involves the right to collate for the purpose of correcting errors that may be so detected, but it will not be allowed to go any farther. Collation does not involve the right of making other kinds of alterations in the text and its accessories. 4. The fact that the alterations made "do not mar the integrity of the text, or affect any doctrine or precept of the Bible," p. 31, is not a sufficient plea of justification. Hundreds of other alterations, besides those effected by your Committee, might be made in words and even in the construction of sentences, and in this plausible way claim admittance. 5. Things that are considered unimportant by some people, are regarded by others, equally conscientious, as vitally important, because involving fundamental principles. Conservatives are quite as useful charac- ters in civil society, as innovators and progressives. Future generations, as well as the mass of sober- minded people of the present generation, will thank the Old School Presbyterians for the stand they have taken against unwarrantable Bible emendations. 6. God will bring good out of evil, and will es- tablish the cause of the old Saxon Bible upon a firmer 38 * 2d 450 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: foundation than ever. Let our works rather than our wrath be made to praise him. The American Bible Society was planned in the city of Burlington ; New Jersey,, where the first mea- sures were taken to found the National Institution ; and of the members of the Convention, which after- wards met in New York to draw up the Constitution, etc., about one-half of the ministers were Presbyte- rians, and Presbyterians whose character and subse- quent history identified them with the Old School. It is to me, personally, a pleasing incident that, from this city of its origin, where its first President re- sided, and as an Old School Presbyterian minister, I have been permitted to raise my voice, however feebly, in behalf of the American Bible Society, and its English Bible of 1816. In the name of that il- lustrious Convention, I call upon all the friends of good order, of peace, and of the old version and its accessories, to maintain their position of truth and right, with courtesy, firmness, and a reliance upon an overruling Providence. Your old friend, dear Dominie, CORTLANDT VAN RENSSELAER. ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 451 AETICLE III. PROTEST OF THE COMMITTEE OF REVISION, AND AN ANSWER TO IT. At a meeting of the Board of Managers held Feb. 4th. 1858, leave having been granted to Dr. Vermilye to read a Protest from several members of the Com- mittee on Versions, he proceeded to the reading of that paper, as follows : PROTEST. The undersigned, members of the Standing Committee on Versions, feel constrained to present their formal protest against the resolutions adopted by this Board, at its recent adjourned meeting, on the subject of the standard English Bible circulated by the Society, and of the proposed alterations in the same. They protest against these resolutions : First, As assuming a principle which is distinctly and em- phatically contradicted by the earliest history of this Society, as well as by the customs of the English presses, and the uniform and established usage of language — the principle, viz., that the accessories to that version of the Sacred Scriptures which this Society was organized to distribute, are an integral and perma- nent part of the version, and are, therefore, not susceptible of change and improvement by the action of this Society under its present constitution. They protest against the resolutions : Secondly, As giving validity, and the authority of this Board, to changes heretofore introduced by entirely unknown persons — probably by editors or proof-readers — in the text of the Scrip- tures, as well as its accessories, and making these an incorporate 452 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: aud a co-ordinate part of the version to be circulated by this Society ; while the careful corrections, unanimously suggested by the Committee on Versions, under their responsibility to the Board the Society, and the Christian public, and which have been heretofore adopted by the Board, are rejected and set aside. They protest against the resolutions : Thirdly, As attributing a practical infallibility to the editors and printers of previous editions of the Holy Scriptures; or, at least, as giving an altogether unwarranted sacredness and au- thority to eveiTthe palpable errors and oversights committed by these ; thus exposing the Society to just criticism and censure, and a great and injurious limitation of its usefulness. They protest against the resolutions : Fourthly, As restoring, and, in effect, perpetuating "head- ings " and -'contents of chapters" which were not prepared by the College Translators, by whom our excellent version was made ; which have had no constant acceptance and support in the editions of the Scriptures issued in Great Britain or in this country ; which were not followed in the earliest Bibles published by this Society, and were not introduced into any of these till the year 1830; which contain many obsolete terms and phrases not found in the version, with not a few statements that are pal- pably untrue, being expressly contradicted by the text; and many of which "headings," etc., are, in the judgment of the undersigned, in direct and plain contravention of that first article of the constitution of the Society which inhibits it from publish- ing "note or comment." They protest against these resolutions : Fifthly, As tending, by necessary force and immediate conse- quence, to limit the functions of the Committee on Tersions — so far as the English version is concerned, with all its accessories — to that of a mere mechanical proof-reader, and to limit the func- tion of the Society itself to that of a simple printing establish- ment, divesting it of all the authority and right which it hereto- fore has claimed, and through this Board of Managers has more than once exercised, of perfecting from time to time, by a more careful editing, and the correcting of errors before unnoticed, the ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 453 copies of that inestimable version which it constantly has dis- tributed. They protest against the resolutions : Sixthly, As having been the fruit of the action of a commit- tee who, through inadvertence, or for some other reason, had sought no conference with the Committee on Versions ; had pre- sented to them no specifications of the charges made against their work ; and had neither obtained nor requested from them any authorized statement or explanation, in answer to such charges, of the principles upon which that work had been con- ducted. They protest against the resolutions : Seventhly, As casting, if not directly and in terms, yet by necessary inference, an unmerited reproach on the Committee on Versions, whose members laboured for three and a half years, conscientiously and diligently, at the request of the Board, to prepare for the Society the most perfect edition possible of the version in common use ; and whose work, at first unanimously accepted by the Board with thanks and applause ; eulogized in the annual reports of the Society ; received by all the purchasers of its Bibles without dissent ; distributed as valuable gifts to theological seminaries, and sent with letters of strong commen- dation, by order of the Board, to eminent citizens in our own country, and even to sovereigns in Europe and elsewhere, is now, after the lapse of nearly seven years, summarily discarded. They protest against the resolutions : Eighthly, As further and needlessly increasing this reproach, by giving no specifications of the errors assumed to have been committed by the Committee on Versions in their work of revi- sion — thus practically allowing the most exaggerated and in- jurious impressions, which have been circulated of late concern- ing them and their work, to pass uncontradicted, and seeming, in the absence of such contradiction, to give to these impressions the implicit sanction of the Board. They protest against the resolutions : Ninthly and Finally, As having been adopted at a meeting of the Board at which the careful arguments and historical state- 454 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: ments prepared in behalf of the several reports then under con- sideration, which had before been prevented from being pub- lished, were not allowed to be read, thus preventing a large number of those present and voting, from attaining that know- ledge of the facts concerned and the principles involved, which only these papers, as distinguished from individual and oral dis- cussion, were fitted to afford. On the grounds thus recited, with others not now needful to be specified, the undersigned respectfully but firmly protest against the resolutions thus adopted by the Board, and ask that this paper may be received and entered upon the minutes. Signed, Edward Robinson, Thomas Cock, Thomas E. Vermilye, Samuel H. Turner, James Floy. On all grouuds except the sixth, which expresses' certain views with reference to the Special Committee, which, as its Chairman, he does not feel called on to express. R. S. Storrs, Jr. The undersigned, formerly a member of the Committee on Versions, was satisfied then, and is now, that the principle at the basis of that Committee's work is correct. He asks, there- fore, to append his name to the Protest, to testify his opinion that the Committee did not violate the Constitution, in letter or in spirit, in preparing either the text or accessories of the late standard edition of the Scriptures. John McClintock. New York, February 4, 1858. This Protest was received, which gives it a place upon the files of the Society ; but, after considerable discussion, it was decided not to allow it a place, as a protest, upon the minutes. ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 455 [The Board of Managers, in the judgment of many friends of the Bible cause, committed an error in refusing to allow the Pro- test to go upon the records. An Answer to the Protest rnight have been prepared immediately, and both Protest and Answer boon placed together among the archives of the Society. The following Answer is put forth in the fear of God, and with the love of truth. — C. V. R.] ANSWER TO THE PROTEST. A life member of the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society feels constrained to answer the Protest, issued by the resigning members of the Committee on Versions, in all its parts, from beginning to end, in the manner and form following : First. The resolutions of the Board of Managers, rescinding the action of the Committee on Versions, assume a principle which is implied in the common usage of language relating to the subject ; is recog- nized by the British standard editions, issued by royal authority; and although unwittingly impaired to some extent, in the earliest editions of the American Bible Society, 1 was reaffirmed with marked emphasis by the Board of Managers in 1830, as at the present time, viz., that the accessories to the English version, which the American Bible Society was organized to distri- bute, are, like the text itself, to be held inviolate, and 1 See Mr. Lenox's Note to Dr. Boardman's Report, and Dr. Brigham's Second Letter. 456 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: cannot be changed by the action of the Society under its present constitution. Secondly. The resolutions of the Board of Man- agers give validity and authority to the condition of the text and accessories of the English Bible, as found "in common use in 1816," when the American Bible Society was organized; the previous changes from the original edition of 1611, which were com- paratively few and unimportant, and had grown up with the silent acquiescence of the British authori- ties, being part of the edition adopted by the Consti- tution of the Society for circulation, whilst the many, and often careless and radical alterations, suggested by the Committee on Versions, without regard to the limitations of 1816, have been rejected and set aside, for reasons satisfactory to the Board, the Society, and the Christian public. Thirdly. The resolutions attribute no infallibility to erring men, whether printers, collators, or revisers of the Holy Scriptures, in this or in past generations; but simply prefer the old edition as it is (with the correction, by collation, of palpable errors and over- sights), to the proposed emendations of the Commit- tee, which would expose the Society to just criticism and censure, and a great and injurious limitation of its usefulness. Fourthly. The resolutions of the Board of Mana- gers aim at restoring and perpetuating the headings ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 457 and contents of chapters, prepared under the autho- rity of the College of translators, 1 by whom our ex- cellent version was made ; which were followed with a few unintentional variations, in the earliest editions of the American Bible Society, and were authori- tatively introduced into all its editions as soon as the facts became known to the Society ; 2 and if the old headings and contents contain a few obsolete and doubtful terms and phrases, they are far less excep- tionable, on the whole, than the headings of the Col- lator and Committee, some of which were, in the judgment of the Board, in direct and plain contra- vention of that first article of the Constitution of the Society, which inhibits it from publishing " note or comment," and which restricts it to " the version now in common use." Fifthly. The function of the Committee on Ver- sions, so far as the English version is concerned, has, by necessary force, and immediate consequence, and direct authority, been generally understood to- be con- fined to that of "mechanical proof-reading," or, in other words, to collation; and the true function of the Society itself, as regards publication, is in some respects even more restricted than that of a private printing establishment, which is not bound by a writ- 1 See first paragraph to Dr. Brigham's Third Letter. 2 See Dr. Brigham's Second Letter. 39 158 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: ten Constitution ; and the Board of Managers have always acted upon the principle of editing the editions carefully, and of correcting errors by collation, but they disown the principle of introducing changes into the text and accessories, such as are openly admitted by the Committee on Versions to have been in no pre- vious editions whatever. Sixthly. The chairman of the Committee of Nine was a member of the Committee on Versions, and competent (as appears from his Minority Report) to oive all the necessary information in reference to a subject thoroughly discussed and well understood; nevertheless, when the committee endeavoured to gain access to the Society's book, in which the Col- lator kept an account of all the variations in the copies collated, as stated in the published Report of 1851, they were informed that said book was not yet "ready" [in January, 1858, after a lapse of seven years. 1 ] Seventhly. Never were Christian gentlemen treated personally with more tender and universal respect than the protesting members of the Committee on Versions ; and no reproach was implied in the action of the Board, beyond that of an official disapprobation of unconstitutional emendations, which over-sensitive 1 See Report on the recent Collation, p. 28, where the mode of preparing: this book is described. Also Dr. Brig-ham's Third Letter, under Division IV. ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 459 and zealous reformers might misinterpret and thus misname ; and the mere fact that their work of " three and a half years," at first deemed worthy of eulogy and of presentation to seminaries and sovereigns, was after a more thorough examination judged to be in contravention to the principles of the American Bible Society, does not fairly convey unjustifiable censure to the Committee on Versions, especially as the Board has determined to retain all that is really valuable, or at least unexceptionable, in their labours. Eighthly. Specifications of the errors in principle and the errors in practice, committed by the Com- mittee on Versions in their work of revision, were abundantly enumerated at all the meetings of the Board of Managers at which the subject was con- sidered ; so that one of the last grounds of plausible protest is the lack of information, on the part of the protesters, in regard to the points complained of; and it is believed that the public, instead of having an exaggerated and unjust view of the work of the revisers, possess a very imperfect and lenient impres- sion of the nature, and extent of their unconstitutional proceedings. Ninthly and finally. The Board of Managers did not deem it necessary to read again, at an adjourned meeting, documents previously read, well understood, immensely long, and only called for by those who seemed most unwilling to come to a vote ; nor did 460 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: any of the Managers finally vote without a full knowledge of the facts and principles involved, un- less the protesters have more information about some of the minority than is claimed by those on the oppo- site side. If any other "grounds of protest" should be here- after " recited " — which, however, it is believed are " not needful to be specified " — they will receive in due time a full and candid answer. All which is respectfully submitted. CORTLANDT VAN RENSSELAER. ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. .461 ARTICLE IV. ON THE ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. REPLY TO CAMEROY. All Christian men seek "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." So far as I may have commited errors in the history of the American Bible Society, or may hereafter commit them, it is my sincere desire that they may be corrected. I do not admit, however, that my revised statement of the origin of the American Bible Society contains any error ; while I think it can be shown that my old friend " Cameroy " has himself fallen into material mistakes. Let the truth be evolved by discussion. The idea of a national Bible Society was undoubt- edly in many minds long before its formation. The British and Foreign Bible Society, which was estab- lished in 1804, suggested to the Philadelphia Bible Society the expediency of forming a similar institu- tion in the United States. The proposition was re- ceived by some favourably, as appears from the advo- 1 This Letter originally appeared in the New York Observer. It is generally known that "Cameroy" is the Rev. James W. McLean, D. D., the Collator of the new edition of the Bible. 39* 462 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: cacy of Mills and from the New Jersey movement ; but it met with opposition from the Philadelphia and New York Bible Societies, and elsewhere. There can be no doubt that Samuel J. Mills ardently desired the formation of a national Bible Society ; and other prominent and enterprising men of that day were of a similar mind. I have no disposition to detract a particle from the merits of Mills, whose name is pre- cious among the people of God. I am forward with " Cameroy," in giving to that truly good and gifted man, all praises for his thoughts, and efforts, and prayers, as a Bible distributor, and as an advocate for a national institution. But the chief question is, who originated and planned the measures which led to the final success of the scheme ? Hundreds had thought of applying steam to machinery, and machi- nery to navigation; but Watt and Fulton enjoy the reputation of reducing those great ideas to practical and useful results. Without at all disparaging the efficiency of Mills in propagating sentiments favour- able to the organization of a National Bible Society, I believe that the claims of Dr. Boudinot, as its founder, cannot be overthrown. Dr. Spring, whose admirable Life of Mills has fur- nished the principal facts in Cameroy's communica- tion, summed up the question more impartially than Cameroy has done ; and I beg leave to add a sentence to the extracts, quoted by Cameroy from that book. ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 463 Dr. Spring, speaking of the interview between " a re- spectable member of the General Assembly" and Dr. Boudinot, at Burlington, N. J., after the rising of the Assembly in June, 1814, says : " It was at this interview the foundation of this lofty edifice [the American Bible Society] was laid, and if it has inscribed on one side the endeared and memorable name of Elias Boudi- not, it has on the other the humble inscription of Samuel J. Mills," p. 97. The terms " originated," " founded," etc., are used somewhat indefinitely. Neither Mills nor Boudinot "originated" the idea of a National Bible Society. All admit that its formation was first proposed by the British and Foreign Bible Society. Mills took up the idea with great earnestness, and advocated it with all his powers ; but Boudinot was the man who ori- ginated and executed, under God, the measures which' resulted in its formation. Let us examine the facts, and see if they do not warrant this conclusion. At a meeting of the Board of Managers, held on August 30th, 1814, at Burlington, in Dr. Boudinot's house, resolutions were offered by Dr. Boudinot, which had in view the formation of a National Bible Soci- ety. On the following day, Dr. Boudinot, chairman of the committee on this subject, brought in a report, which was adopted by the Managers, and also adopted by the State Society, which met in Burlington on the same day, August 31st. The great object in view 464 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: was to form a national union of Bible Societies, " for the purpose of disseminating the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, according to the present approved version, without note or comment, in places beyond the limits of the United States, or within them, where the State Societies, or any one of them, shall be unable, from any circumstance whatever, to supply their wants, or where there shall not be a Bible Society established in the State." The details of this plan might have been changed, certainly with the approbation of the local Societies, by the Conven- tion, when met. The object was, in general, the same that is contemplated by the existing American Bible Society. Dr. Boudinot immediately issued circulars to all the Bible Societies in the United States, then few in number. The subject met with favour for a time ; but the Philadelphia Bible Society, the oldest of all, became strongly opposed to the contemplated move- ment for a general Society, and sent a circular in opposition to the one issued by Dr. Boudinot. Dr. Boudinot states, in his report of 3d of April, 1815, that he sent answers to the Philadelphia circular. " but in most instances they arrived too late, the Societies having taken their measures immediately on receipt of the address from Philadelphia. This has prevented the success of the whole measure, which at first seemed to give universal satisfaction." ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 4 G5 The good man, however, was not discouraged, al- though he had much to contend with. The Phila- delphia Society, with Bishop White and Robert Ral- ston at its head, was opposed to a national institution under any form. The Philadelphia plan was simply to secure annually the publication of a report, giving an account of the operations of all the Bible Socie- ties in the country. The Society in New York also declined to take any measures to send delegates to the first general meeting, which was to have been held in Philadelphia during the meeting of the As- sembly in May, 1815. In regard to this opposition on the part of the New York Bible Society, Cameroy omits to state, that it was owing to objections to any General Society, as well as to the objections to the plan proposed. The Report of the Board of Managers, of the date of Nov. 29th, 1814, says: " This Board, however, were not able to discover any advan- tages likely to result from the contemplated institution, which could not be compassed by a more simple, expeditious, and less expensive process, namely, by correspondence." The Report then specifies objections arising from [the expense of delegates, consumption of time, impracticability of securing their attend- ance, and concludes by declaring] " the inexpediency of delegating in this manner the control of their respective funds, under any regulations that might be devised, to secure the ends proposed." Pp. 11, 12. The New York Bible Society, therefore, was, at this time, not only opposed to Dr. Boudinot's plan, but to 2e 4G6 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: any plan whatever for a General Society ; preferring to do the work by "correspondence," and unwilling to trust its funds out of its own hands. The Board of Managers of the Society, where " the influence of Mills was more particularly felt/' state that they were " unanimous " in their conclusion. Such an amount of opposition to a General Bible Union would have caused many a man, less reso- lute than Dr. Boudinot, to abandon the project in despair. But Dr. Boudinot felt that he was commis- sioned to do a great work, in his Divine Master's name. At the meeting of the New Jersey Bible Society, on August 30th, 1815, he made " a very long report " on his favourite subject, which was referred to the Board of Managers, and by them referred to a committee, to report at their next meeting in April, 1816. But the meeting in April was too remote for a man of his energy. He continued to correspond on the subject, with his large heart bent on accom- plishing its purpose. Fortunately, about this time, the New York Bible Society, under the urgent repre- sentations of Mills, began to reconsider their previous position of opposition to a general Bible Union of any hoH. Thus it was that the Society ' where Mills's influence was more particularly felt,' began, more than a year after the New Jersey movement, to think favour- ably of a ' General Bible Institution for the United States,' as they expressed it. ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 46V In Cameroy' s attempt to elevate Mills above Bou- dinot, he deems it necessary to maintain that the dif- ference between the Burlington plan and the one ulti- mately adopted, nullified the claim of Dr. Boudinot to be considered the founder of the American Bible Society. He is unwilling to look upon all the move- ments in behalf of a national institution, as a suc- cession of the same evangelistic efforts. As Cameroy and myself do not agree upon Dr. Boudinot's claim to be regarded the founder of the American Bible Society, I propose to bring up, for examination, wit- nesses of the olden time ; and, inasmuch as Cameroy loves to consult the original, I will quote from official documents. I will begin with the New York Bible Society, where, according to Cameroy, " Mills's influ- ence was more particularly felt." This Society, in their report of December, 1815, state, they judged it expedient to call a convention, " for the purpose of considering whether such co-operation may be effected in a better manner than by the correspondence of the different Societies, as now established ; and if so, that the delegates prepare a draft of a plan of such co- operation, to be submitted to the different Societies for their decision." Here, it will be seen that the call for the Convention specified no particular pla n, but left the details to the decision of a Convention. And in order to show the reader that this movement was judged to be only a continuation of measures to 468 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: secure Dr. Boudinot's object, I ask attention to the following sentences in the report, immediately suc- ceeding the sentence which Cameroy quoted in part. Why he did not quote the whole, is for him to say. " This vote (in favour of a Convention) has been, by order of the Board, communicated to the President of the New Jersey Bible Society [Dr. Boudinot], with whom the subject originated, and by whom it has hitherto been prosecuted, as the most suit- able person to call such a Convention, at the time and in the manner which he may think fit." — Report, N. Y. Bib. Soc. 1815, p. 11. Cameroy will see, from the whole paragraph, that the New York Bible Society had no hesitation in declaring that the subject of forming a National Society "originated" with Dr. Boudinot (the very word I used), " by whom it has been hitherto prose- cuted," clearly implying that he was the chief agent in forming the Society. As no one denies that the first measures in reference to a general organization were taken in the " old Quaker City " of Burlington, I claim that the New York Bible Society fully indorses my three propositions, correctly stated by Cameroy. The testimony of the times, and especially of that " particular " Society, is better than any of Cameroy's reasoning. The men who drew up that report, knew perfectly well that Mills was an active advocate of a National Bible Society; but they also well knew that the credit of originating and prosecuting measures ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 469 for the formation of the Society belonged to Dr. Boudinot. I propose, in the next place, to " collate " my state- ment respecting the agency of Dr. Boudinot, and of the New Jersey Bible Society, in this matter, with the statement of the first Report of the American Bible Society. On the first page of the first Report, Cameroy will find these words : " The Managers feel it their duty to state that the plan of such an institution was first suggested by the British and Foreign Bible Society, to the Philadelphia Bible Society. No measures, how- ever, were adopted to attempt its execution, until the Neiv Jersey Bible Society undertook the experiment. Although baffled in their first effort, their worthy President [Dr. Boudinot], acting in conformity to their wishes, persevered in the good work, and finally succeeded. Called by the unanimous voice of the Man- agers to the Presidency of the National Institution, he is, in the decline of life, enjoying that pleasure which springs from his work of faith and labour of love, thus far owned of God, and promising the highest and most lasting blessings to this Western Continent." — First An. Report, 1817, pp. 9 and 10. Cameroy will here find no attempt to break up the connection between the original " Burlington action," and the final action in New York. The Report of the American Bible Society cordially admits that Dr. Boudinot devised the original measures for the execu- tion of the plan, and persevered until he finally suc- ceeded. Cameroy will perceive, in the statements of these two official Reports, something more substantial than 40 470 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: treacherous tradition ; and I think he will also wonder how he came to write with so much confidence that " the records of the past are against " my three several positions. The records confirm every one of them. Cameroy's communication leaves the impression upon the mind of the reader, that the ground of the opposition from the Philadelphia Bible Society to the first proposition to form a general association, was the peculiar nature of the original plan. But this is another of his mistakes. The Philadelphia Bible Society opposed the second Convention, held in New York, in 1816, for the same reasons that had been urged in 1814. The Report for 1816, states on this subject as follows : "To the proposition, recently revived by the Bible Societies of New Jersey and New York, for establishing a general So- ciety for the United States, they have attended with those dis- positions which the magnitude of the scheme and the respecta- bility of its origin required. Without swelling their report by entering into a detail of the reasons of the managers for dissent- ing from this plan, which were communicated in a printed cir- cular to their sister societies about the close of the year 1814, they are compelled to acknowledge their unanimous adherence to the objections then urged, as conclusive in their minds against its adoption." It thus appears that both the friends and the op- ponents of the General Society of that day, admitted the identity of the objects and aims of the two Con- ventions. It has been left to Cameroy to attempt a "revision" of the original testimony of the founders ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 471 of the American Bible Society, and in such a way as to " affect the sense " of the records — not willingly, but unconsciously. The error is of the head, and not of the heart — like mine about tradition. Finally, let us hear Dr. Boudinot himself, the aged patriarch, the founder of the Institution, and its first President. In the Appendix to the first Annual Report of the American Bible Society, is a letter from Dr. Boudinot, which shows that the Burlington action had never been in any danger of dying out. Having drawn up all the early papers on the subject, twice issued circulars to all the local Societies, published answers to objections, made official reports, and car- ried on an extensive correspondence, the following- extract shows the spirit of the man, whose hand was incessantly engaged in the great work : "Although there have been great temptations to despair of final success, yet have I been so strengthened with the assurance that it was a work of God, and that he would show his power and glory in bringing it to maturity in his own time, and by his own means, that I had determined, in case of failure in the last attempt, to commence the great business at all events, with the aid of a few laymen, who had testified their willingness to go all lengths with me." In this, extract Cameroy may see a man, whose great singleness and purity of purpose was mingled with indomitable resolution and perseverance — just such a man as Providence raised up to " originate " and " prosecute " the measures, which, in the midst 472 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: of much opposition, resulted in the formation of the American Bible Society. Dr. Boudinot was prevented by severe sickness, from attending the Convention that met in New York, in 1816. In his absence, his friend and fellow-la- bourer, Joshua M.Wallace, Esq., of Burlington, N. J., was elected President of the Convention. If the delight on the countenance of the youthful Mills, at that Convention, was "worthy of the pencil of a West, or a Raphael," what painter could delineate the hope and faith and peace that illuminated the mind and features of the venerable patriarch in his sick chamber, praying for the consummation of the last efforts of his long life, and waiting for the conso- lation of Israel? The truth is that Mills, as Cameroy well expresses it in one of his sentences, was a "pioneer;" but Bou- dinot was the founder of the American Bible Society. Mills was absent on missionary tours at the West and Southwest, during almost the whole of the years 1812, 1813, 1814, and 1815, there having been a short interval of time between his two excursions. Dr. Boudinot was in constant intercourse with the chief men of New York and Philadelphia; corres- ponded with the British and Foreign Bible Society ; and, as President of the New Jersey Bible Society, from its foundation in 1809, he was familiar with all the practical bearings of Bible distribution, and well ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 473 knew the difficulties resulting from a want of union in these efforts. It is unreasonable to suppose that such a man never thought of the advantages of a National Society, prior to the interview at Burlington, in 1814. The time had at length come for action. That interview may have assisted in stimulating the enterprising mind of Dr. Boudinot to commence the work of organizing ; but whatever may have been its influence, that interview only establishes the connec- tion of the name of Boudinot with the foundation of the American Bible Society. Whilst amicably discussing the comparative merits of Boudinot and Mills, in reference to the point at issue, let us gratefully acknowledge that both of these excellent men were servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, raised up to do a great work, in their respective spheres, in their day and generation ; and that what- ever usefulness crowned the labours of their lives, all its praise is due to God alone. C. Van Rensselaer. 40* 474 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY: NOTE. Since writing the foregoing reply to " Cameroy," I have suc- ceeded in finding Dr. Boudinot's Circular Letter, inviting the different Bible Societies to send Delegates to a Convention in New York, in the year 1816, for the purpose of forming a Na- tional Institution. This Circular throws some light upon the points agitated by " Cameroy." CIRCULAR. To the Several Bible Societies in the United States of America. Brethren : It is with peculiar pleasure that I once more ad- dress you, on the interesting subject of the extension of the Re- deemer's kingdom, by disseminating his Gospel wherever it is not known. After serious reflection, I determined again to solicit a meeting of Delegates from such Bible Societies as shall cor- dially join in this measure. Having laid this proposal before the Bible Society of New York, it took a more enlarged view of the plan, and adopted the following resolutions : "Resolved, 1st. That it is highly desirable to obtain, upon as large a scale as possible, a co-operation of the efforts of the Christian community throughout the United States, for the effi- cient distribution of the Holy Scriptures. "2d. That, as a means for the attainment of this end, it will be expedient to have a Convention of Delegates from such Bible Societies, as shall be disposed to concur in this measure, to meet at , on the day of next, for the purpose of con- sidering whether such a co-operation may be effected in a better manner than by the correspondence of the different Societies, as now established ; and if so, that they prepare the draft of a plan for such co-operation, to be submitted to the different Societies for their decisions. ITS ATTEMPT AT REVISION. 475 " 3d. That the Secretary transmit the above resolutions to the President of the New Jersey Bible Society, as expressive of the opinion of this Board, on the measures therein contained, and at the same time signifying the wish of this Board that he would exercise his own discretion in bringing the subject before the public." In pursuance of the foregoing resolutions, requesting me to designate the time and place at which the proposed meeting of Delegates from the different Bible Societies in the United States shall take place ; after mature deliberation, and consulting judi- cious friends on this important subject, I am decidedly of the opinion that the most suitable place for the proposed meeting is in the city of New York, and the most convenient time, the second Wednesday of May next ; and I do appoint and recom- mend the said meeting to be held at that time and place. Should it please a merciful God to raise me from the bed of sickness to which I am now confined, it will afford me the highest satisfac- tion to attend at that time, and contribute all in my power toward the establishment and organization of a Society which, with the blessing of God, I have not the least doubt will in time, in point of usefulness, be second only to the parent institution (the British and Foreign Bible Society), shed an unfading lustre on our Chris- tian community, and prove a blessing to our country and the world. ELIAS BOUDINOT, President of the N J. Bible Society. Burlington, Jan. 17th, 1816. This circular of Dr. Boudinot establishes the following posi- tions: 1. After the failure of Dr. Boudinot's first effort to obtain a meeting of Delegates to form a National Society, he had made up his mind to call another meeting for that purpose, on his own responsibility. 2. Dr. Boudinot himself brought the subject before the New York Bible Society, the second time ; and the resolutions of this 476 AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. Society in favour of a Convention were a response to Dr. Bou- dinot's suggestions. 3. After an interval of two years, the New York Bible Society was led to believe that "a more enlarged" plan of conducting operations ought to be adopted, than that of mere "correspond- ence " between the different Societies, which was their original and crude plan, when Dr. Boudinot first called their attention, in 1814, to the importance of general co-operation on a national scale. 4. No particular measures were proposed by the New York Society in their resolutions uniting in a call for another Conven- tion, but the matter was left entirely open for the action of the Convention itself. The resolutions and the Circular aimed simply at securing co-operation in a better form than the existing one, of correspondence. 5. All the official documents of the day, as they come to light, prove that Dr. Boudinot, more than any other man, is entitled to the appellation of Founder of the American Bible Society. C. V. R. FUNERAL SERMON UPON THE DEATH OF BISHOP DOANE. (477 Providence often summons o person to the performance of duties, wllloh WOuld otherwise nnuv mil urn II v have devolved upon others. i Ivlnp In Burlington, by the side of Bishop Doane, I felt called upon to notloe his death My own stand-poinl varies from that of some others I shall have qo personal controversy with any who differ lYoiW mi' t iod is the JudgQ of all. C.V K (478 DISCOURSE. 1 " Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord ; for his mercies are great: but let me not fall into the hand of man." — 2 Sam. 24 : 14. In the choice of evils, which God offered to David, the king wisely preferred years of pestilence or famine from the hand of the Lord, to months of adversity in the midst of his enemies. Every man has his trials, and especially every great man; and the most severe are those which come from his fellow-creatures. To fall into mans hands is the worst of human calamities. It was ,so in David's day ; it is so now. I. Let us first consider some of the causes of man's bitterness against his fellow-man, or more specifically, some of the reasons of THE FEARFUL HARSHNESS of human judgments. In discussing this subject, it is by no means implied that all opinions, condemn in- the conduct of our fellow-men, are wrong or unjust ; 1 Preached in the Presbyterian Church, Burlington, X J May 1st, 1859. (47. 480 SERMON UPON THE but simply that there is a strong tendency to severe judgments, even when evil may have been com- mitted ; and that this tendency may be explained in various ways. 1. Human depravity accounts, in the general, for every offence against God or our neighbours, in thought, or word, or deed ; for all the wars and ru- mours of wars, whether on the scale of nations, or of families, or of individuals. It is sin, perverting the understanding and hardening the heart, that brings into society, enmity, and all uncbaritableness. The monuments of man's ill-will to his fellow-men are reared all along the highroad of his depravity. 2. Self-righteousness has much to do with our harsh judgments against others. We unconsciously gratify our love of self in condemning others for sins, of which we ourselves may not be guilty. Our testi- mony against others becomes a pleasant mode of vin- dicating our own innocence. Did you never see the self-righteous schoolboy magnify the infirmities of his companion, in the vanity of bringing into notice his own merit ? Thus it is with self-righteous detractors, everywhere, and at nil times. 3. Personal prejudices go far to embitter our views of the actions and conduct of others. Some men are so constituted, with strong elements of character, as easily to make friends or enemies. Harsh opinions DEATH OF BISHOP D A X E . 1 S 1 will, of course, be formed of them, by those whose prejudices have been aroused. 4. Sectarian animosities are another source of se- vere judgment. Powerfully, though often uncon- sciously, do these denominational alienations affect one church in its estimate of the great men of an- other; and this infirmity may prevail in one's own church as well as in other churches. 5. Jealous?/ of a higher position than our own, must not be omitted in the catalogue of erring causes. It is a prolific source of differences, both in public and private life. 6. Injury to our temporal interests often violently affects our opinion of our neighbour. The love of money is the root of all evil. A failure to return dollar for dollar engenders a distrust and enmity that may pursue its victim for life. These are some of the causes that render it fearful to fall into the hands of man. Our characters, our motives, and our conduct find little charity among our fellows. I again distinctly admit that there is too often just ground of condemnation, and that wrong actions always deserve rebuke. These remarks are far from being intended to palliate crime, or to extenuate the guilt of human wickedness. Their object is to expose the tendency to exaggeration in evil reports, and to explain the reasons which often sway the mind in its too severe scrutiny of the con- 41 2f 482 SERMON UPON THE duct of others; and even when men have undeniably committed grievous sins, the words of David are only the more true: "Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great ; but let me not fall into the hand of man ! " II. The greatness of God's mercies are a ground of confidence, to all who rightly put their trust in them. 1. God's mercies are great in the general manifesta- tions of Ids Providence. He preserves and blesses all. He causes his sun " to rise on the evil and the good, and sends his rain on the just and the unjust." " He has not left himself without a witness, in that he gives us fruitful seasons, and fills our hearts with food and gladness." Yea, men who violate the Sabbath, and take the name of God in vain, are permitted to reap abundant harvests. Mercy adorns Providence, as the buds and blossoms beautify our trees in spring. All mankind, however wicked, are invited to enter- tain thoughts of hope and God. In every individual's life, there are multitudes of mercies (so the text). Whilst this is no'ground of presumption, it is of trust, —certainly of the preference of David : " Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great." 2. The plan of salvation shows God's great mercy. " God so loved the world, that he gave his only be- gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." Jesus listens to DEATH OF BISHOP DOANE. 483 the cry of the penitent, and invites the backslider' f return. He is the tender-hearted Friend of publicans and sinners. His precious blood can wash out guilt of deepest hue. He is more ready to forgive than the faint-hearted suppliant to ask. There is match- less loVe in the Person of the Son of Man. Behold him pleading with the weary and heavy laden, for- giving sins, healing diseases, blessing the sorrowing, saving the lost. Oh, Saviour, we can come to thee ! Thy birth, and life, and crucifixion, and resurrection, and ascension, declare the love, and condescension, and majesty of a God. Into thy hands we can com- mend our all, living or dying ; but oh, " let us not fall into the hand of man ! " 3. The distribution of God's grace displays his manifold mercy. He apportions his grace to all classes of men, in every continent and nation, bar- barian, Scythian, Greek, or Jew ; and to men of all classes, high or low, rich or poor, bond or free, moral or immoral. "The chief of sinners" finds his place; and " the least of all saints " receives his share. The spirit also moves on mighty masses of men, who yet resist His call. God's grace is communicated on a vast scale, and it is of the highest spiritual quality. In the presence of such manifestations of Divine mercy, in the kingdom of providence and grace, a poor sinner may put his trust in the Lord when no 484 SERMON UPON T II E charity is offered from num. If really innocent, the judgment of the Omniscient acquits at Bis bar tin- person accused of criminal offences. If, on the con- trary, the accused person is guilty, it is safer to fall into the hand of the Lord, whose men its are .meat. ihan into the hand of man; not simply on tl, ral grounds specified, but lor reasons such as the fol- lowing, in particular : In the first place, God sees all. tin <.r/> nuating >•',,-, n in- stances of the guilty action, whilst man magnifies every particular of infirmity, and perverts every ru- mour with a thousand tongues. In the second place. God distinguishes between acts, and rj,,i racU ,-. A Chris- tian may backslide into conduct which brings reproach upon the Church, as David, and Solomon, and Peter did; and yet God can discern the true, predominant religious character of the offender, during the interval of his temporary apostacy. The judgment of man on the other hand commonly overlooks this essential dis- tinction, and confounds occasional backsliding with habitual acts of wickedness. In the third place, God is acquainted with the penitential exercises of the returning transgressor. He accepts the renewal of his faith in Christ, notwithstanding the guilt and rebellion of the past ; but man, unforgiving by na- ture, is both unable and often unwilling to discern the relation in which the offender may afterwards stand in the presence of the King of kings. DEATH OF BISHOP DOANE. 485 It was a wise preference, therefore, of David, when he declared : " Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great; but let me not fall into the hand of man." With these preliminary explications of the spirit of the text, T proceed to a consideration of the character and services of that remarkable man. whose sudden death has thrown shadows so dark and so far. Bishop Doaxe had his faults, as who has not? "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone." In taking a glance at his infirmities, let us remember, 1. God is the only Judge. 2. He has gone to his final award. 3. We ourselves are sinners. 4. No charge being judicially proved, charity has large scope. 5. His faults were never concealed; for his nature knew no guile. 6. His many virtues claim a full and fair offset against every charge. 7. With what judgment ye judge, it shall be mea- sured to you again. These are general considerations. This is not the place, nor is it my duty, to discuss the particulars of accusation. It is sufficient to express the opinion 41* 1:86 SERMON L'l'ON THE that the distinguished prelate was often harshly judged, and calumniated. There arc three remarkable facts, which Berve to commend, and to enforce, charity over his grave. In the first place, Bishop Doane's most intimate friends believed him innocent. Judges, Lawyers, physicians, divines, intimate acquaintances, male and female, by scores and thousands, have placed the most implicit confidence in his motives and integrity. In the second place, his Church, in its Diocesan and Genera] Convention, was never against him. Indeed, the House of Bishops formally declared his innocencej and this is presumptive proof that his religions character could not be impugned in the ( ihurch to which he belonged. In the third place, it cannot he denied that God showed no little favour to the Bishop in life and in death. He enabled him to accomplish a large amount of good; protected him in Providence from a varied and powerful opposition; and permitted him. after a long life of labour and trial, to die in peace. On this latter point, I shall presently say more. The three facts, just mentioned, do not amount to absolute demonstration; but they must pass for all they are fully worth. To a person, like myself. outside oi' his Church, and an unexcited observer of DEATH OF BISHOP DOAKE. 487 passing events in the community, they afford evi- dence of no slight character. I am thankful, this day, that I have never felt it in my power to pass a severe judgment, in view of the whole aspect of the case, so far as it has been presented to my mind. I have seen enough, however, and have heard enough, to make me say, with David, "Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great ; but let me not fall into the hand of man." Having thus noticed some of the things suggested by the spirit of the text, I now proceed to the more pleasant task of considering the characteristic traits of the departed Bishop. The qualities that gave to Bishop Doane his great influence, and enabled him to accomplish so much service, seem to me to be summed up under three classes : intellectual vigour, an indomitable will, and strong personal attractions. 1. God gave the Bishop a fine mind. He was a man of mark in intellectual operations. His mind was clear and vivid, of varied resources, and highly cultivated. His perceptions were quick. He pos- sessed the vis fervlda ingenii. Not so much the lo- gician as the rhetorician, he yet never lacked argu- ment to attain his ends. His rich talents were moulded by common sense, and by an enlarged know- ledge of human nature. In an emergency, his intel- lect soared highest. In fact, one of Bishop Doane's 488 sermon rro.N the peculiarities of greatness consisted in always equal- ling the occasion. He saw what was to be done, and could do it, and did it. lie was adroit, when it was necessary to be adroit. The lawyers said that la- could have beaten them all, if educated a lawyer: and military officers affirmed that he would have made a grand general in war. Far-seeing, clear, quick, bold, always the centre of the campaign, his mind, especially in emergencies, moved in Hashes, whilst his right arm thundered in action. The fertility of his resources testified to superior endowments. His was the activity of spirit. His restless mind found do time for repose; and he was ready for every kind <>f service proper for him to perform. His mind was highly cultivated. He was at home in English lite- rature. The adornments of the scholar graced his learning, and varied knowledge mingled with his theo- logical attainments. All who came in contact with Bishop Doane, felt the power of his intellect. Nor were his opponents unwilling to acknowledge his com- manding mental gifts. 2. Bishop Doane had a ivonderful strength of will. He was a man of firm purpose ; resolute to be, to do. and to suffer. He could not be second where he had a right to be at all, nor subordinate in anything where a share of work fell to his hands. It was a privilege for him to be beforehand. His will was in- domitable. The Church, as the State, needs these DEATH OF BISHOP DOANE. 48P men of strong will. Every community needs them. Men of weak will have their place ; and generally they go through life with fewer enemies, and are blessed with the gentler virtues. But men of will are the men of mark, the men of deeds. It was this will-power that gave to Bishop Doane his energy. Energy does not necessarily belong to high intellect. It is not a mental gift or operation. It belongs to the heart. Its spring is in the affections, or " active powers," according to the philosophers. Bishop Doane's energy was a fire never out. It is said that, at the central depot at Bordentown, a reserve engine is always kept with fuel ignited, ready for the emergencies of the road. An ever-ready locomotive in energetic activity was this Bishop; with large driving wheels, and to each wheel a panting cylinder. His will, stronger than steam-power, generated energy in the soul. His self-denial was associated with his will. What he determined to do, he omitted no means to bring to pass. The end must meet the beginning; and by God's grace success must crown the plan. In labours he was abundant. No wind, no rain, no cold, could keep him from his appointments. He has been known to cross the Delaware when the brave heart of the ferryman dissuaded from the peril. He could submit to all privations in the discharge of duty. He could sleep anywhere ; in his chair, at his writing-table, in 490 SERMON UPON THE the car, or steamboat, or wagon. And alter working for twenty hours, the sleep of the other lour could well be taken without choice of place. His will out- worked his frame, in urging to laborious Belf-denial Of every kind for the Church's sake. It was strength of will that gave tin- Bishop his jK-rxecerance. Many a man would have quailed where he was fresh to go forward. Like the work- man at the anvil, he would wield the hammer all day, could the last stroke but perfect the work. He with- stood with persevering defiance an opposition which would have overborne almost any other man. He clung fast to Burlington College, when many advised him to surrender it ; and whatever may be the ulti- mate fate of that institution, it could not die whilst the Bishop lived. His perseverance had its ramifica- tions of care and of industry in every part of the diocese. His will was a strong element in the Bishop's suc- cess as a disciplinarian. Burlington College and St. Mary's Hall were under the most rigid government. The two institutions, so near each other, required watchful supervision, and all the appliances of the wisest discipline. Bishop Doane was unremitting in the fidelity of his oversight. His rules were rigid, minute, and wise ; and they were efficiently admin- istered. The peremptoriness of authority was blended with parental affection ; and in all the outgoings of DEATH OF BISHOP DOANE. 491 his love, the young men and maidens knew that a large will encircled a large heart. 3. Remarkable social traits contributed to Bishop Doane's extensive influence. He was a man of ami- able disposition and of warm feelings. His courtesy gained him friends everywhere. Generous to the poor ; kind to all ; abounding with pleasant conver- sation ; genial and free ; accessible at all times ; he was the life of the social circle : and it is no wonder that his personal endearments won hosts of attach- ments. At the same time, it must be admitted that many people did not like him, partly from prejudices, partly from his personal complacency, and partly from causes already alluded to. But it cannot be denied that Bishop Doane was eminently blessed with faith- ful and devoted friends, in his congregation, in his diocese, and throughout his whole church. Let it be noticed, to his honour, that vindicticeness was not a part of his social character. He keenly felt the disparaging estimate of others, but rarely did others detect any resentment. He would meet his adversaries with the usual courtesies of life, at home or abroad ; and many have been " the coals of fire " which his condescension has placed upon their heads. One of the most winning traits of Bishop Doane's character was his love of children. He gained their hearts. He was the little one's friend. What pret- tier sight than to see the grandfather, hand in hand 492 SERMON UPON THE with his fair, curly grandchild, prattling together through the streets ? The Bishop loved little children, and all the little children loved the Bishop. Bishop Doane was happily outliving the opposition that had formerly existed against him. One of his greatest misfortunes was in the number of flatterers that surrounded him— not flatterers always by inten- tion, but rendering their homage in too open and dan- gerous a form. His susceptible social nature was under the constant temptation to " think more highly of himself than he ought to think." Others may paint, if they choose, the infirmities of his social cha- racter in darker colours. I have given the outline as I have seen it. Never intimate with the Bishop, I have nevertheless known him and studied him for twenty-three years; and although his nature had its faults, it was a noble one. The secret of his influence and success in life is to be found in the three classes of endowments I have mentioned, — a vivid intellect, a strong will, and the social charms of his personal presence. As a Churchman, Bishop Doane was of the highest grade. In my humble judgment, he departed from the via media of the English Church of the Reforma- tion ; nor have I have hesitated to oppose his doc- trines in speech and through the press. Dr. Pusey's influence was an injurious influence ; and many have thought that the Bishop returned from England with DEATH OF BISHOP DOANE. 493 his views confirmed on some points which had better have been abandoned. It is nevertheless true thai the Church of England has always had a succession of that class of churchmen, with which Bishop Doane delighted to identify himself. Death is a leveller of doctrinal, as well as personal, distinctions. And a High Churchman, when he comes to die, is wont to exalt the doctrinal views entertained by Low Church- men. Nothing but Christ gives comfort in the last hour. An affecting view of a High Churchman's death is given in Bishop Doane's sketch of his friend, Dr. Montgomery, in Dr. Sprague's Annals of the Ame- rican Pulpit; and it is the more affecting because it substantially records the reported exercises of the Bishop's own mind. Ceremonies, church order, de- nominational peculiarities, and the minor incidents of human apprehension, disappear with the opening light of another world. When Christ is seen to be '-' all and in all," the glory of His grace dims the view of all things else, as the light of the sun dismisses the stars. As a Bishop, the departed prelate will undoubtedly be acknowledged by his Church to be one of her greatest sons. So he was. He magnified his office. His work was done on a great scale. He was per- sonally, everywhere, in his own diocese; and his writings were circulated widely in every other dio- cese. He was the prominent man in the House of 42 494 SERMON UPON TIIE Bishops. He could outpreach, outvote, and outwork the whole of his brethren in the Episcopate. He was a sort of Napoleon among Bishops. It was after he crossed Alps of difficulties, that he entered upon the campaigns of his highest renown. The bridge of Lodi and the field of Marengo were to him the inspi- rations of heroism, and the rallying time of mightiest strategy. Bishop Doane was, perhaps, better adapted to the English Church than to the American. His prelatical notions suited a monarchy more than a re- public. In the House of Lords, he would have stood among the foremost of Lord Bishops. He of Oxford would not have ranked before him of New Jersey. Bishop Doane was a good deal of an Anglican in his modes of thought and his views of ecclesiastical au- thority. Had he lived in the days of Charles, he would have been a Laudean in prelatical and political convictions — super-Laudean in intellect, and sub-Lau- dean in general ecclesiastical temper. My own sym- pathies are altogether with the evangelical, or Low Church Bishops, as are those of the vast majority of this audience. I do not believe in the doctrines of lofty Church order and transmitted grace, so favourably re- ceived in some quarters. But this is a free country ; and the soul by nature is free, and has a right to its opinions, subject to the authority of the great Head of the Church. Bishop Doane had a right to his ; and he believed himself to be, in a peculiar sense, a DEATH OF BISHOP DOANE. 495 successor of the Apostles. He is one of the few Ame- rican Bishops who has had the boldness to carry out his theory, and to call himself an Apostle. He de- lighted in his office. Peter was to him the example of rigid adherence to the forms of the concision, whilst Paul was his example in enduring suffering for the extension of the Church. With an exalted view of his office, he lived, and laboured, and died. In this spirit, he encountered all his hardships and perils ; and when, as in the case of danger in crossing the Delaware, he jumped into the frail skiff, inviting the ferryman to follow, it was in the same sjiirit of "Apos- tolum vehis." Bishop Doane was, in short, as com- plete a specimen of a High Church Bishop as the world has seen, and in some respects he was a model for any class of BishojDs at home or in mother England. As a Bector, Bishop Doane was precisely what might be expected of a man of his character. He was earnest, active, fertile in expedients, a faithful visitor of his people, and a friend of the poor. He seemed to be always in the right place at the right time. He went about doing good, and was known in Burlington as rector more than Bishop. As a Preacher, no bishop surpassed Bishop Doane He has published more sermons than the whole House of Bishops — able sermons, which will be perpetual memorials of his intellectual powers, and of his zeal for the Church. These discourses are on a exeat 496 SERMON UPON THE variety of topics, but they contain much scriptural truth, mingled with his own peculiar views of ftpofr tolic order, sacramental grace, and • 3tica] unity. His sermon before the last General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, was the occasion of one of the greatest triumphs he was ever permitted to enjoy. When his discourses and diocesan uddres are collected into a series of volumes, they will be found to be ;i treasury of High Church doctrine and order, which no bishop, nor all the bishops ofhiswaj of thinking, could equal. I have read most of his productions, and, although often disagreeing with him in sentiment, 1 have never failed to notice his intel- lectual vigour, his zeal for his church, and his unc- tion for the episcopate. As an Okatok, Bishop Doane excelled most of his brethren. His best efforts were line and impressive. His voice was loud, and when he chose, well modu- lated. His gesticulation was animated and strong. His clear blue eye glowed with vivacity; and his words worked their way into the minds and hearts of his audience. Bishop Doane showed an adapta- tion to the masses, which many speakers in the sacred desk so much lack. He was a whole-souled, com- manding orator, when great occasions summoned forth his powers. The two best specimens of his delivery, within my own observation, were at Mrs. Bradford's funeral, and at the celebration of the last birthday of Washington. Nothing could be more appropriate DEATH OF BISHOP DO AXE. 497 and more effective, for the ends of oratory, than was his manner on those occasions. At times, I am told, that he did not do himself justice ; but lie had if in him, and it generally came out. Who of the citizens of Burlington, that heard him on the 22d of last February, did not recognize the voice, the maimer, and the presence, of a great popular orator ? As a Writer, Bishop Doane's style was peculiar. It was ornate, pithy, Saxon. It was a style of his own. It would not suit most men. Few ought to presume to imitate it. But it suited himself Many admire it. It had the great merit of clearness. No one ever misunderstood him, although his punctua- tion was as remarkable as his style. He was a ready writer; accomplishing with ease all that he under- took, and commonly justifying, in the productions of his pen, the highest expectations. If his higher occupations had not called him away from the pur- suits of literature, he would have ranked among the finest poets of the age. In the various points of view in which his charac- teristics have been now considered, Bishop Doane was a remarkable man. And his death was an harmo- nious termination of a long and useful life. Let us meditate, now, upon some of the circumstances of his departure. 1 1 If this detailed narrative of the circumstances of the Bishop's death may seem, to some readers, too minute, it must be remem- 42* 2g 498 SERMON UPON THE lit died in the midst of his work. His pleaching, during his last semi-annual Visitation, was unusuall) acceptable. Several of my own brethren to the Pre* byterian ministry have spoken, in glowing terms, of one of his sermons in West Jersey. His Episcopal appointments in Monmouth County (the last one at Freehold), were fulfilled to the midsl of rain and high winds, and sometimeE to an open wagon. His services, as was his custom, were arranged two or three for each day. Work was his delighl ; and at his work he met the premonitions of death. With his Episcopal staff in his hand, he received the wound of the last enemy, — not from behind, but lace to face. Another kind token of Providence towards tin- Bishop was, that he died at home. Riverside opened its massive doors to him for the last time; and enter- ing its hall, he found a resting-place in its genial study. After partaking of a slight repast, he retired to bed, never to rise from it. The magnificent man- sion, where he had projected his enlarged schemes, written his numerous sermons, and entertained with profuse hospitality his hosts of friends, was the fit place for Bishop Doane to die. And Riverside had the privilege of his death and funeral. bered that, at the time the Discourse was delivered, every inci- dent was demanded by the state of public sympathy in the community. DEATH OF BISHOP DOANE. 499 God also permitted the Bishop to arrange what was wanting to the completion of his Episcopal work. During his sickness he conversed, for some hours, about the affairs of his Diocese ; and gave directions, and left memoranda, respecting its approaching exi- gency. On one of these occasions, he had a long interview with the Hon. Abraham Browning, of Cam- den ; shortly after which, a paroxysm of delirium occurred. God spared him, however, to complete all the necessary arrangements in the affairs of Me church. The time of Bishop Doane's death was well ordered in Providence. Had it occurred a few years before. a cloud of gloom would have rested over his grave ; and the inheritance of his good name might have been unredeemed from the tax-list of evil report. But the aspect had been changed. His honours had returned to him; and, as if in anticipation of his last end, his fellow-citizens had invited him to appear before them once more in an address. On the birth- day of Washington, old memories were revived ; and he, who had so often, in former years, addressed the people of Burlington, in its Lyceum, again made its Hall vocal with his eloquence, and again received the applause of his friends and neighbours. His diocese, also, was in a prosperous condition, and he was taken away from evil to come. In the judgment of his best 500 SERMON UPON THE friends, it was a good time for him to die. And God knew it, above men. God was good to the Bishop in surrounding him, during sickness, with the kindest comforts and care. His sons were present with all the activities of filial devotion ; one of them from the beginning to the cud. by day and by night. The other, who had become a Romanist, received forgiveness for all the }» rsonal pain the father and the Bishop had received. This was one of the incidents that must have given to the death-chamber a sublimity. His faithful physician did all that skill could do ; and the noble and vene- rable physician of Bristol, and the most distinguished from Philadelphia, freely gave the contributions of the medical profession. The tenderest female hearts were around about the sufferer, — without which, indeed, no death-bed can be what man expects and wants. It was well ordered that she, who had the first claims to be present, was absent ; for could feeble health well bear those scenes of sorrow ? l God was merciful in all these incidents. The Bishop, too, had his reason at the last. It is 1 Just after the Delivery of this Discourse, I received a letter from a relative in Rome, from which the following is an extract: "In coming out of church to-day, we met Mrs. Doane, who, I thought, looked remarkably well. She almost immediately began to speak of the Bishop, and expressed her intention to return home." DEATH OF BISHOP DOANE. -301 sad to die with a beclouded mind. Various intervals of delirium had occurred, especially about the middle of the attack. In these, the Bishop's mind was on the affairs of his diocese, or his class-room, or personal concerns. Disease struck its pains in every nerve, and blood-vessel, and muscle of the body, dethroning the intellect, for a time, from its high dominion. But it recovered its place before death, and he con- versed with relatives and friends, took a last loving farewell of all, and prepared' for the conflict, " faint yet pursuing." The Bishop was strengthened to die in j^eace. Par- taking of the communion, early in the morning of his last day on earth, he was refreshed by the ser- vice, and at its close, pronounced with a clear voice the blessing. He then composed himself for the final struggle. The last words, as taken down by the family physician, were : " I die in the faith of the Son of God, and the confidence of His One Catholic Church. I have no merits — no man has, but my trust is in the mercy of Jesus." Thus departed, at noonday, April 27th, this dis- tinguished Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. " Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great ; but let me not fall into the hand of man." Bishop Doane has passed away from human judgments, to the judg- ment seat of God ! 002 SERMON UPON THE LESSONS AT THE GRAVE. Before separating, it is well for us, as immortals, to try to learn a few lessons at a Bishop's grave. I. Death comes alike to all. My hearers, are you ready to die ? Ye of gray hairs, or in vigorous man- hood, or in sublime youth, are ye prepared to meet your God? What a solemn thing to be coffined away from human sight, and then lowered down into a chamber, digged out for our last abode, with six feet of earth thrown on to roof it in ? Ye living mortals, your funeral day is at hand. Come, prepare for the change ; for the change is coming. II. The honours of this world are fleeting nothings. Crown and crosier, sceptre and cross, vestment of dis- tinction, and laurel of renown, are all left behind. When the spirit enters its new existence, if it has been redeemed by blood, it carries with it graces of righteousness, which abide forever. But earthly honour and power, the elevation of outward position, the distinctions of learning and rank, all the superfi- cial framework of the vanity of the world, and all its real glory, whatever there be of it, sink away like a vision of delirium." 0, godly poor, be contented ! Worldly, or unworldly high ones, fear ! III. Let us grow in circumspection, both ministers and people. Religion cultivates prudence. It enjoins its disciples to " walk in wisdom towards them that DEATH OF BISHOP DOANE. 503 are without." In our unguarded moments, we are in danger of going astray, and often are led to do what we have charged ourselves to forbear. Human resolutions are frail; but God can, and will, give strength to all whose eyes, in tearful penitence, plead for help and mercy. A single act of indiscretion, or of guilt, may be followed by the heavy retribution of embittered calumny, or unrelenting exaggeration. The officers of the Church, above all others, should be above suspicion. "See that ye walk circum- spectly; redeeming the time, because the days are evil." IV. Let us not be weary in well-doing. Activity is the law of Christian life. The new birth inspires high motive, and nurtures the spirit of self-denial and suffering. Church idlers are a spectacle to the profane. Shall Christians be "created unto good works," and not perform them ? Shall the grace of the Spirit plead in vain ? Shall the example of Christ and the blood of his cross be without efficacy to those who profess to follow the one and to. be washed in the other ? Brethren, " be not weary in well-doing ; for in due time ye shall reap, if ye faint not." V. "Charity is the bond of perfectness" Love binds all the graces together ; and all the graces are formed out of love. The same Divine likeness is impressed upon them all. Charity covereth a multitude of sins. Charity suffereth long, and is kind. If our fellow- 504 SERMON UPON THE creatures transgress, can they not be forgiven ".' Doefl not God, for Christ's sake, pardon the penitent ? And shall man be forever hard-hearted and unrelenting against his fellow-sinners? May the Lord clot lie us, dear brethren, with every grace, and girdle our gar- ments with love! Charity is compatible with Truth and Justice. "Put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." VI. A man'* work survives his life. A useful and active Christian leaves imperishable memorials. Good done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, can never be buried. It survives with a multiplication of its power. It sends down accumulated influences to distant generations. It lives forever. Sermons preached, institutions established, catechisms taught, aid given to the poor — all virtue, of whatever kind, lives in perpetuity. And so, alas ! does evil, unless counteracted and circumvented by Providence and grace. VII. Let us learn, as Churches, to sympathize with each other more. If we all love Christ, what interests have we apart ? Why need we misrepresent each other's doctrines, depreciate each other's worthies, and call in question each other's piety ? If there be se- parate folds, is there not also a large field in common where all the good Shepherd's sheep may feed on the green pastures and drink the pure waters ? I have had my share of controversy, but have never relished DEATH OF BISHOP DOANE. 505 it, and dislike it with increasing aversion. We need not, we must not surrender our principles; but what is called principle is often nothing more than denomi- national interest. Brethren, our hearts beat together to-day. We mourn in sympathy. Can we not in sympathy live together and work together ? VIII. The passport to Heaven consists, not in merit or station, but in simple faith. The Gospel condition of eternal life is the same to men of all nations and generations. The Bishop enters heaven in the same way with the sexton. The saints become one in Jesus Christ, in the same true and living way, opened alike to every creature. In dying, the Christian goes back to the first principles of his religion. As he began with Christ, so he ends with Christ. The con- quest of death is won through faith. No forms and ceremonies ; or liturgical repetitions ; or imposition of hands ; or baptismal, or immersional regeneration ; or Church connection ; or office-bearing, be it that of Pope, Bishop, Priest, Deacon, or Minister, Elder, Su- perintendent, or Class-leader — ever have, or ever will, or ever can, save a single soul. Bishop Doane, in his dying hour, had a clear conviction that Christ was the only hope for a sinner, lost by nature. This doctrine was fundamental in his theology ; and no one taught it more beautifully than in that immortal hymn of his own composition : 43 506 SERMON UPON THE " Thou art the Way ; to thee alone, From sin and death we flee ; And he who would the Father seek, Must seek him, Lord, by thee. " Thou art the Truth ; thy word alone True wisdom can impart; Thou only canst inform the mind, And purify the heart. " Thou art the Life ; the rending tomb Proclaims thy conquering arm, And those who put their trust in thee, Nor death nor hell shall harm. " Thou art the Way, the Truth, the Life ; Grant us that way to know ; That truth to keep, that life to win, Whose joys eternal flow." May Heaven grant to us all, brethren, the right to live and die in the truth of the Apostolic Church, and to find our title to Heaven in the apostolic words : " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt BE SAVED." Can all allusion be omitted to that remarkable funeral? The burial of Bishop Doane was one befitting his position. A Bishop must be buried as becometh a Bishop. The funeral procession was one of sublime solemnity. No one, who saw it, can ever forget it. The day and the season were opportune with the brightness and sadness of the last of April. The coffin borne aloft on the shoulders of fellow-mortals ; DEATH O F BISHOP DOANE. 507 the royal purple of the pall, fringed with white, and fluttering out to the wind like the motions of a stricken eagle ; the crosier overlaying the body with the em- blem of Episcopal authority ; the bereaved family la- menting with Christian lamentation the father of the household ; the threescore of surpliced clergy follow- ing their silent Chief with uncovered heads; the Governor, Chief Justice, and other dignitaries of the State ; the students of the College with badges of grief, and the weeping young ladies of the Hall ar- rayed in full mourning, true-hearted representatives of their sister-graduates all over the land ; the long line of distinguished strangers and of sympathizing fellow-citizens ; the tolling of all the church bells, and of the city bell ; the immense gathering of spectators around St. Mary's Church and the grave ; — every- thing was as impressive as life and death could make it. The high task I have attempted, has been imper- fectly performed. T am ready to meet its responsi- bilities before God and man. My offering of May- flowers, fragrant with the freshness of their gather- ing, has been laid upon the new-made grave ; — flowers plucked by a Puritan's hand, and placed in rnemoriam over the dust of a great Episcopal Bishop. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA, 1759. 43 * ( 509 ) An Historical Discourse, in Centennial Commemoration of the Cap- ture of Ticonderoga, 1759, delivered at Ticonderoga, N.Y., October 11th, 1859. (510 THE CITIZENS OF TICONDEROGA VISITORS AT LAKE GEORGE, x$ iiscourse HISTORY OF LOCAL EVENTS IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED THE AUTHOR. (511) It is proper to state that the Author of this Discourse, being accustomed to spend a few weeks in the summer, for recreation, at Lake George, was naturally led to investigate the local his- tory of that section of country. Hence this Historical Dis- course, whose military aspect is out of the line of his general pursuits. The sources of authority, consulted by the author in the pre- paration of the Discourse, are chiefly the original, official docu- ments, furnished from the Archives of the State and War Departments in London and Paris, and printed by the authority of the State of New York, under the title of "New York Colo- nial Documents." The quotations, when not otherwise marked, are always from the volumes of this historical treasury. Other works are also referred to in the foot notes. C. Y. R Burlington, N. J., November 30th, 1859. (512) HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. The promontory between these two beautiful lakes, in the North American wilderness, is grand by nature and renowned in history. The Architect of worlds gave shape, as well as sublimity, to the landscape, uniting the rocks, and streams, and forests of Ticon- deroga in a physical configuration suited to a theatre of great events. Nature becomes a prophet by the inspiration of God's hands. The earth's outlines are commissioned with foreknowledge, to declare the purposes of their original destiny. The magnificent river, the broad bay, the defiant mountain-pass, the extensive plain. the encircling lake, the roaring waterfall, the jutting peninsula, send up to distant ages many-voiced pre- dictions of their future importance hi local and uni- versal history. The promontory of Ticonderoga was by nature prefigured for uses in war. For centuries, it stood like an Indian chief, born and trained to his destiny, watching both lakes with bow and arrow in hand. The spirit of military achievement was early en- 2H (513) 5] I C A PT I R E OF T : CO X D E B OG A. camped upon its rocks, tented beneath it- wo refreshed in its streams, and inspired by its positi of strategy. The oracle of the Indian, with savage omens, was enshrined within these forests. I! the shrill clarion of gallanl France has echoed it* onsets and its victories; and the martial music of sturdy old England and of the Colonies has here thundered to the charge, or sounded retreats and requiems. Ticonderoga was baptized for war: — a prophet, indeed, bul a warrior, too; a very chieftain of the old frontiers! We hail thee in L859, Veteran of many battles; nol in the pride of thy fiery youth, nor for thy deed.8 of death ; but, rebaptized with the spirit of peace, in the centennial soberness of age! It is just a century since Ticonderoga fell into the possession of the Colonies by its forced evacuation on the part of the French, in L759. Bistorj invites us to remember the first triumph of American arms upon this memorable promontory. Let it be our aim to recall the Bcenes and expeditions, of which Ticon- deroga was the centre ; to disi me of the prin- ciples involved in the events enacted in tic region ; and to carry away with us some <>f the impressions nurtured by the lapse of ;i century. I. The Indian Gateway. The promontory of Ticonderoga was the old Indian GATEWAY from tin 1 Iroquois country of the South to CAPTURE OF TICONDEEOGA. 515 the regions of the North and of the East. Before the Celtic Frenchmen came, the Indians were in pos- session here. The sons of the forest were invested with proprietorship by rights of nature and physical power. The Great Spirit had spread out for them, in North America, a vast and splendid inheritance, long unclaimed by a rivalling civilization. In the progress of centuries, the Iroquois rose to be the chief nation of Indian history. Their wig- wams and council-fires were in Central and Western New York; but their hunting-grounds included parts of Pennsylvania, of Virginia, of the Northwestern Territory, and of Canada. Their confederation, as five nations, dates back to about the year of our Lord 1 500, or a century before the Dutch began to encroach upon their forests and streams. During the whole period of Iroquois domination, and anterior to it, the Ticonderoga pass was the outlet for their expeditions of war in this direction. " Bald Mountain " ' was then, as now, natural in its scalped and savage deso- lation. Vegetation shunned its rocks; and the Indian canoe, in gliding by its frowning height, knew that Che-on-de-ro-ga, the outlet of the lake, was near. If the promontory be a Gate, opening between the two lakes, or countries, then beautiful Lake George may 1 Now known by the romantic name of Rogers 1 Slide. The old name ought to be restored to this mountain. " Rogers' Slide" might be retained as pari of "Bald Mountain.'* 516 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. be called the meadow, or prairie, beyond it; whilst the outlet was the dangerous and rugged water-path, leading down from the upper prairie through the Gate to the lower meadow. In these solitudes of woods and waters, the Iroquois wandered. As peaceful hunters, or warlike scouts, the ancient forests knew their trail on the spring grass, on the autumn leaves, or on the feathery snow. The "Gate" opened either way, towards the Champlain or the Georgian prairie; and turning upon its harsh hinges, the winds of war oft swung it to and fro, creaking with the wails of death. On either post hung a scalp, dangling from the antlers of a deer, or transfixed by the point of the flinty knife. This promontory was thus, by position, pre-emi- nently war-ground. The Iroquois went through its passes, to battle with the Hurons and Algonquins, who in turn boldly sought the hostile Iroquois through Ticonderoga. The trails of ancient days witnessed many a deed of woe upon the blood-stained soil ; and shadowed in the lakes by day, or by the light of the stars at night, canoes have glided through the deep with paddles plied by savage passions. The outlet, Che-on-de-ro-ga, 1 was familiar to the admiring tread of the Indians. Within that mile of 1 This is the Indian name, corrupted to Ticonderoga, meaning "Sounding Waters" The French name was "Carillon," ex- pressing the same idea, or more particularly a "chime." CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 517 falls and foam, what grandeur has inspired the pass- ing aborigines ! The present road follows, in the main, the old French military road betw r een the Upper and Low r er Falls, and deviates from the waters of the outlet. Methinks the Indian trails may have skirted closer to the dashing stream ! The Lake narrows about a mile above the Upper Falls, and engineers for itself a channel among the meadows and hills. It soon reaches a rocky pass, ro- mantic in configuration, about half-way to the Upper Falls. Here is a beautiful and lively chute, with seve- ral channels — the deepest to the west, close to the shore; and among those sharp rocks many a canoe has sped dowm, like an arrow from the bow, and safely reached the mark of the "Carrying Place." This first rocky pass is a sentinel outpost of alarm, where the lake arrays itself for the coming water-fray. At the "Carrying Place," the rough strife begins. The war-notes rise in the air; the opposing waves rush, like Iroquois and Algonquins, to the contest ; the dense ranks close fearfully upon each other ; and the sound of many waters roars to the distance, like rolling thunder. The main course of the outlet, for more than a mile, is a series o£ rapids. So incessant are the little falls and descents, that the outlet resem- bles a water stairway, whose cascade steps, painted white with foam, reflect every colour of the sun. The Indians, as they wander up and down, cen- 44 518 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. turies ago, on either .side of Che-on-de-ro-ga, foi awhile the tumult of war, and reel their thoughts with sublime visions. Hark! a noise in the thicket suddenly reanimates savage Life; and Bee! with .-train- ing eye and ear, the bow is bent between brawny arms. Thus passed centuries, before the white man came. War-whoops sounding; water.- splashing ; arrows fly- ing; forests overshadowing; birds Boaring; wolves howling; deer affrighted; Bcouts exploring; toma- hawks piercing; warriors dying; and the old Gate -winging northward and southward, to [roquois and Algonquin. In the mean time, the sun and stars kepi their course in the skies; and Providence was preparing Ticonderoga for Celtic and Anglo-Saxon entrance. IT. Cham plain's Expedition of L609. The second series of historical events at Ticonde- roga, was ushered in by the Expedition of Cham- plain, in the year 1609. Authentic history now begins. Before the Dutch had landed in New York, and before the Puritans had touched Plymouth Bock, Champlain stood upon the promontory of Ticonde- * roga. Hendrick Hudson entered the river now bear- ing his name, in "De Halve Maan," 1 on the 3d of September, 1609; Samuel Champlain, in his little 1 The Half Moon. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 519 canoe, navigated the Iroquois Lake in July of the same year. It is, therefore, exactly two centuries and a half, or just two hundred and fifty years, since the French discoverer knocked at the old Ticonde- roga gate. And his first knock was with the butt-end oi' an " arquebus." l Champlain was the first man who used powder and ball in Iroquois territory, in the State of New York. The echo of the first gun through the forests, and over the mountains, and up the water-course of Ticonde- roga, was from that arquebus, fired in 1609. Another memorable characteristic of this expedi- tion, consisted in its provoking the first contest on the soil between the white man and the Indian. Two Iroquois chiefs fell at Cham plain's murderous dis- rhar Yet another notable circumstance belongs to this sxpedition: the Iroquois continued ever after to be the implacable enemies of France. Transferring their Indian enmity to the new settlers at Quebec, they contributed more than any single agency, under Providence, in overthrowing the dominion of Franc in North America. Discoverer, arquebus-firer, Indian aggressor, and stirrer of retribution, Samuel Champlain's name has an enduring connection with Ticoxderoga. 1 An arquebus was a large, unwieldy sort of a gun, cocked with a wheel. 520 CAPTURE OF TIC0NDEE06A. Wheat brought the illustrious Frenchman hen Terrible war! At the head of twenty-four canoes of Indians, containing sixty warriors, he came from Quebec on a military expedition. Several months beforesettingout.lic had met the "Algoumequin " savages a few leagues above Quebec, where he assured them that "they could judge whether he intended to make war or not, since he carried with him firearms, and not merchandise fortraffic, as they had been given to understand." 1 An. 1 when the [roquois warriors, perceiving their small aumbers, sent two canoes, to learn of their enemies whether they wished to fighl Champlain's party replied, that " they desired aothing else." 5 War. and only war. had broughl them to Ticonderoga. Champlain gives the following account of the battle : •• The moment we landed, they [Champlain's [ndians] began to run about two hundred paces towards their enemies, who stood firm, and had qoI yel perceived my companions, who went into the bush with some savages. Ours commenced calling me in a loud voice, and making way for me, opened in two, ami placed me at their head, marching about twenty paces in advance, until I was within thirty paces of the enemy. The moment they saw me they halted, gazing at me, and I at them. When I saw them preparing to shoot at us, I raised my arquebus and aiming directly at one of the three chiefs, two of them fell to the ground by this shot ; one of their companions received a 1 Les Voyages du Sieur Le Champlain, i., 180. 2 "Qu'ils rte disiroini autre chose," i., 198. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 521 wound, of which he died afterwards. I had put four balls in my arquebus. Ours, on witnessing a shot so favourable to them, set up such tremendous shouts, that thunder could not have been heard ; and yet, there was no lack of arrows on one side and the other. The Iroquois were greatly astonished, seeing two men killed so instantaneously, notwithstanding they were provided with arrow-proof armour, woven of cotton thread and wood ; this frightened them very much. Whilst I was reloading, one of my companions in the bush fired a shot, which so astonished them anew, seeing their chiefs slain, that they lost courage, took to flight, and abandoned their fort, hiding themselves in the depths of the forest, whither pursuing them, I killed some others. Our savages also killed several of them, and took ten or twelve prisoners. The rest carried off the wounded. Fifteen or six- teen of ours were wounded by arrows ; they were promptly cured." ' The question, whether Ticoncleroga was the exact locality mentioned by Champlain, has been commonly settled in the affirmative. The description corres- ponds; the latitude is the same; and the spot is marked on Champlain's map as " the place where the Iroquois were defeated." Besides, Champlain seems to have pursued the enemy as far as the lower waterfall. In his account, he says : " I saw other mountains to the south, not less high than the former ; only that they were without snow. The Indians told 1 A full account of the battle between Champlain's party and the Iroquois, may be found in "Les Voyages de Champlain, y i. 198-202, which has been translated into English in the Neir York Colonial Documents, iii. 2-24. It may also be found in "Home Sketches of Ticonderoga," p. 18, an exceedingly able, interesting, and valuable historical pamphlet, by Mr. Flavius J. Cook, a student of Yale College ; 1850. 44* 022 CAPTURE OF T I C N D E K < 1 A . me that there we were to go to meet their enemies, and that they were thickly inhabited, and thai we must pass by a water/all, — which I afterwards saw, — and thence into another lake, three or four leagues long ; and, having arrived at its head, there were four leagues overland to be travelled, to pass to a river, which Mows towards the coast of the Iroquois, tending towards that of the Alraouchiquois, and that they were only two days going there in their canoes, as I understood afterwards from prisoners of war that we took, who, by means of some Algonquin interpre- ters who were acquainted with the [roquois language, conversed freely with me about all they had noticed." ' Another more important question is, whether ( !ham- plain was justified in heading this hostile expedition. If judged in the light of Christian civilization, the answer would be "No;" but in the night of back- woods opportunity, which threw a double darkness over war-ethics, Chainplain traced" Yes," with Indian blood, on the Ticonderoga rocks. His relations to the Algonquin tribes, however, did not necessitate his participation in all their feuds. Nor was the exist- ing war one of defence. On the contrary, the expe- dition was an aggressive one, depending, to some extent, in its origin, upon Champlain's co-operation. In his previous exploration up the St. Lawrence as far as the island of " St. Eloy," near Lake St. Peter's, the Indians had witnessed, for the first time, the effects of firearms ; 2 and probably convinced that, with an ally like Champlain, they could defeat their 1 Champlain's Yoyages, i. 196. 2 Ibid., i. 178. CAPTURE OF TICOXDEROGA. 523 old hereditary enemies, they persuaded him to ac- company their little army, numbering only sixty war- riors, far into the Iroquois territory. Champlain undoubtedly conciliated the St. Law- rence Indians by his active agency in securing their victory. Adventurers generally would have pursued the same course. The temptation of new discoveries and explorations may have added to Champlain's military ardour on this memorable occasion. His- tory pleads for some leniency in judging of the actions of public characters in similar circumstances. 1 The expedition of 1609, with its incidents of right or wrong, brought a new name to Lake Iroquois, — European in the place of Indian, and prophetic of the universal change of dynasty, — a name given at 77- conderoga, and associated forever with these rocks as well as with the waters. III. The Old Frexch War. A third series of events in the historical outline of Ticonderoga, is marked by the scenes and expe- ditions of the Old French War. The causes of these contests between England and France, had their origin afar off in the past. A very brief view, — 1 The use of the arquebus against the bow aud arrow was uot an act of bravery or of magnanimity. Like the expedition itself, if defensible at all, it is only so by the terrible necessities and usages of war. 524 CAPTURE OF TICO.NDEROGA. a mere glance at the overclouded and distant land- scape,— must not be omitted on the present centen- nial occasion. The boundaries between the twa kingdoms, which were, in Europe, the common waters <>t* a narrow channel, became still more intermingled in tin- West- ern world by the unsettled lines of nature's myste- rious wilderness. Both England and France traced their titles to their transatlantic possessions over tin- graves of ancient voyagers, through the dust of parti- san maps, amidst the darkness of confused treaties. under the wiles of perpetual encroachments. Finally; possession, which is stronger than claim, umpired to France Canada, and most of the valley of the Mis- sissippi, and to England, her North American Colo- nies. England had chained her lion at the sea-shore ; France had uncaged her eagle in the forests of the interior. England, however, never surrendered her claim to the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. France was equally resolute in pressing her title to parts of New Eng- land and New York ; the Governors of New France ever maintaining that all the country watered by streams flowing into the St. Lawrence and the great lakes, belonged to Canada. Under this latter claim, most of Northern and Western New York fell under French dominion. The boundary contest, so far as New York was CAPTURE OF TICONDEEOGA. 525 concerned, was fought by diplomacy upon the terri- tory of the Iroquois. Inasmuch as the hunting- grounds of these Indians extended by universal acknowledgment from Lake Champlain on the east, to lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron, on the north and west, both parties laboured to show their title to be the protectors of these Indians, and the virtual sove- reigns of their soil. Documentary history is filled with accounts of conferences and treaties with the Five Nations, attended with the usual quantity of wampum-belts, bead-strings, powder, rum, and elo- quence. The testimony of history is, however, de- risively on the side of the English. From the begin- ning, the Five Nations were on terms of friendship with Great Britain, and in a position, of general hos- tility to France. 1 After disputing for half a century, England obtained a great advantage over France at the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, in which the Five Nations were acknowledged to be the " subjects of Great Britain." France had previously succeeded, at the treaty of Byswick, in 1697, in obtaining the im- plied acknowledgment of her right to all the Missis- sippi Valley, watered by streams flowing into the Mississippi. England disowned the French interpre- 1 Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada, writing officially, in 1757, says: "Since the settlement of 'the Colony, the Five Nations have never been known to take up the hatchet against the Eng- lish." X. 587. 526 CAPTURE or TICON deroga. tation of the treaty of Ryswick; France rejected Tin- English interpretation of the treaty of Utrecht. The Old French War was almost a continuation of the preceding contest, Notwithstanding the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, the French pursued their schemes of territorial aggression with more spiril and resolution than ever. About this time the English turned their attention with new interest to the Ohio Valley. The Ohio Land Company, which was char- tered in 1749, engaged Gist and Trent to explore the country up to the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, and into parts of Western Vir- ginia and of Ohio. The French took measures n increase their power, in order to retain possession of the entire valley of the Mississippi. They launched a large war-vessel on Lake Ontario, strengthened their fort at Niagara, and commenced building a fort on the river Le Boeuf, in Northwestern Pennsylvania, where Waterford now stands. They also took pos- session of the fort which the Ohio Company was building on the present site of Pittsburg. The Governor of Virginia had already sent out Major Washington — God bless the young officer ! — to remon- strate against the French encroachments. But the embassy was in vain. God's blessing-time had not yet come. Washington commenced his military life by abandoning Fort Necessity, and retiring behind the Allearhanies. The French dominion then ex- CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 527 tended over the whole valley of the Mississippi, from Canada to Louisiana. Not a military post, not an encampment, not a flagstaff, was owned by England in the mighty West. Aroused at length, England resolves to win her way to western empire. Regulars are sent from Ire- land and Scotland ; and large provincial forces are gathered to strike a determined blow. Three expe- ditions were formed in 1755 : one under Braddock. to capture the fort at the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela ; another under Shirley, to defend Oswego and to attack Niagara; and a third under Johnson, to attack Crown Point. The wails of Bradclock's defeat soon echo through the forests and mountains of Pennsylvania. The Colonies are filled Avith dismay. Has the God of bat- tles forsaken the cause of liberty and Protestantism ? Despair not ! Reverses occur in war ; defeats recover victory. The expedition against Crown Point was under- taken for the recovery of rights of soil, long invaded by the French, and held adversely to the British, by the title of a fort. Fort St. Frederick had been erected on this Point in 1731 (originally on the oppo- site side of Lake Champlain), on lands belonging to the Iroquois, contrary to two stipulations of the treaty of Utrecht ; first, that " the Five Nations were subjects of Great Britain," and secondly, that their 528 CAPTURE OF TIOONDEROGA. lands should be held " inviolate by any occupation or encroachment of France." Being on the highway t<> Canada, the possession of this fort was of the utmost importance to the Colonies; and one of the three expeditions had been, therefore, organized for its capture. The first sound of the war that reached Ticonde- roga. was the rustling of the wind, from the south, among the trees of the forest. A large provincial army was gathering at Albany, to march for the cap- ture of Crown Point, A part of it is already at tin* Carrying Place, engaged in building a fort, 1 and in cutting a road to Lake St. Sacrament. 2 Dieskau's expedition is soon seen sweeping down Lake Cham- plain, with an army of three thousand men, rampant in the confidence of victory. Ticonderoga is as yet a wilderness, but its military eminence offers a good place for camping ground. Dieskau resolved to leave one division of his little army at Ticonderoga, and a 1 Fort Edward. -' The French name of Lake George, was "Lake of the Holy Sacrament." For the origin of this name, the reader is referred to the author's Historical Discourse at the Centennial celebration of the Battle of Lake George, delivered in 1855, p. 41. In the same note will be found a defence of the name of Lake George against the fanciful name of Horicon, suggested by the great novelist Cooper, to meet his romantic purposes. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. -329 smaller one at the Two Rocks, 1 about fifteen miles far- ther on, whilst he himself advanced, with the re- mainder of his corps, through the South Bay, 2 to the American lines. If Fort Edward had been attacked, according to the original design, a triumph would have undoubtedly rewarded the heated valour of the French ; but the Indians, who dread the cannon of a fort, refused to assist in the onset. Dieskau then dashed on towards the English en- campment at Lake George. Near the point of a mountain, still called " French Mountain," he ar- ranged his forces to encounter the American detach- ment under Williams and Hendrick, which had been sent out to meet him. This detachment was terribly cut up and defeated ; and the French hurried on, to enter the camp with the pursued. But the tide of war has already turned. The Yankee soldiers are there, behind rude entrenchments ; they fight for 1 The "Two Rocks" is a pass, about ten miles from White- hall, which naturally-attracts the attention of the traveller. X. Y. Col. Doc. X, 320, 341, 344. 383 [Map], 397, 709, 720, 914. - Dieskau's line of inarch was not past the present site of Whitehall, as is set down on some of the American maps, but through the "South 7?ay." Turning to the right, instead of going on to Whitehall, his bateaux and canoes passed beyond the new bridge, and moored at the extreme end of the bay, on its southwesterly side. The line is thus laid down in a map attached to the French narrative of the expedition. See Paris Documents in X. Y. Col. Doc. X, 720. The French documents call the bay "the Great bay." X. 320. 45 2 1 530 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. their country and their homes, and gain a notable vic- tory at the camp of Lake George, on the 8th of Sep- tember, 1755. The remnant of the dispirited French soldiers reach Ticonderoga on the 11th. and encamp upon its silent heights, to sleep away defeat and toil. The gallant Baron Dieskau never again saw Lake Champlain. Wounded and taken prisoner, hi' was soon after transported to Europe. 1 The first military lesson taughl by tin- Old French War, at Ticonderoga, was, "Boldness wins, only when Fortune favours." 2 The scene changes. All is animation, now, at Ca- rillon. Engineers come to survey its ground, and to line out the site of a fort. The axe rings upon the trees; the spade is struck into the rocky soil; the hammer sounds on the nail; the saw crashes through the timber ; iron drills into the rock ; the soldiers have become labourers and mechanics. If Johnson is busy at Lake George in the erection of Fort William Henry, shall Vaudreuil remain inactive at Carillon ? No, an English fort at one end of the lake, shall find, face to face with it, a French fort at the other. The lilies shall be planted under the lion's eye. 1 Dieskau survived several years. The impression stated in ray note to the Lake George Discourse, that he died in 1757, is not correct. He was sent to England, by way of Boston (X. 440 i ; and was exchanged at the peace of 1763. X. 340. 2 Dieskau's motto was, "Boldness wins." CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 531 A clearing was, until then, unknown to this pro- montory. Hitherto, the wild forests had rustled to- gether in the freedom of solitude, and waved their branches in the unmolested lights and shadows of nature. As the work advances, the opening space lets in the sun to see the arts of war. The road from the lake has been already cut ; and a military store and hospital are going up at the landing, simulta- neously with a fort on the hill. A saw-mill is also begun at the falls. 1 The logs of the fort are now laid ; the earth, cannon proof, is thrown in ; the rude ramparts are fashioned ; the intrenchment is ready ; the bastions are completed. Amidst the cheers of the regulars, Canadians, and Indians, the standard of France is run up into the air, and its lilies of Grandeur wave over the little stockade fort of Carillon ! Fort Carillon was commenced in September, 1755, soon after Dieskau's defeat. Vaudreuil, the Gover- nor of Canada, writes, September 25th, 1755 : " The engineer has reported to me that the situation of Caril- lon is one of the best adapted for the construction of works capable of checking the enemy ; that the suitable place for a for- tification is a rock which crowns all the environs, whence guns could command both the river which runs from Lake St. Sacra- ment, and that leading to the Grand Marais and Wood Creek. I see no work more pressing and useful than this fortification ; because it will enable me to maintain a garrison to stop the enemy in their march from Lake St. Sacrament, the immediate outlet of Paris Documents, X. 532 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. which is no more than a league and a quarter from that post; and I will be able to harass and fire on them pretty often within pistol range, for more than three-fourths of a league in a river, both on this and on the other side of the Carrying Place. I add, that it is of infinite consequence to hurry the work, as it is to be feared that the enemy will seize upon Carillon, of which it is cer- tain he would employ every means to keep possession. I have given orders that men should set to work there, without a mo- ment's delay. It would be highly necessary that this fortification should be finished this fall, and that it were possible to place a good battery there." 1 The fort was originally a square fort, with four bas- tions, which were defended by a redoubt, situated on a hill that commands the fort. 2 The Marquis of Montcalm writes: " The fort consists of pieces of timbers in layers, bound to- gether with traverses, the interstices filled in with earth. Such construction is proof against cannon, and in that respect is as good as masonry, and much better than earthen works; but it is not durable. The site of the fort is well adapted as a first line at the head of Lake Champlaiu. I should have wished it to be somewhat larger, capable of containing five hundred men, whereas it can accommodate, at most, only three hundred." 3 1 Paris Documents in Colonial History, X., 325. - Ibid., 414. :! Montcalm, X. 433. This account, written by Montcalm him- self, shows that the fort was originally a wooden and earthen fort, like William Henry. It was, doubtless, afterwards strengthened with stone by the French, as they found leisure. The stone works, as now seen, were in part built by General Amherst, in 1759. The works were still further strengthened by the Ameri- cans in the war of the Revolution. The fort, as it now stands, is, therefore, different from the original structure of 1755-6. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 533 The fort was provided with twenty guns, besides swivels and mortars. It was completed in Septem- ber, 1756. 1 In addition to the fort, Montcalm established a post at the Lower Falls, and a strong intrenchment at the Upper Falls, flanked by two bastions. 2 There was also an intrenchment to command the position near the present steamboat landing. 3 A fort is an agitator in the military world. It not only invites assault, but is itself a centre of aggres- sive operations. Carillon, built for defence, is all ready to attack. It stands on the promontoiw, the enemy of Fort William Henry, by oath of position ; its guns glowing for opportunity, its flag flapping its impatient folds, its encampment eager for the march. The second military lesson, taught at Ticonde- roga, in the Old French War, is, strategy begets STRATEGY. Whilst the war between England and France was waging in other parts of the world, what of the two forts in the Northern wilderness? Shall Fort Wil- liam Henry triumph ? or shall the eagles of Lake George alight on the rampart of Carillon ? Montcalm had arrived from France in May, 1756, 1 X., 480. 2 Ibid., 425. 3 Ibid., 470. 45* 534 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. as Dieskau's successor. In June, he hastened to Carillon, to examine its defences. He carefully sur- veyed all the approaches to the fort, and made an exploring tour through the woods, with Chevalier cle Levi, on the "Mohawk Road." l He formed a camp (3ii the heights, of three hundred and thirty tents, and seventy log-houses, with three thousand troops here and at Crown Point. 2 But the American expe- dition of 175G did not advance; it was dilatory and inactive, like that of the preceding year. General Abercrombie did not reach Albany until the end of June, and then delays occurred, which prevented ;m\ aggressive movement from Fort William Henry during the season. In the meantime, Montcalm was determined to be busy elsewhere. Organizing a military expedition, he soon reached Frontenac, crossed Lake Ontario, and in a few days victoriously assaulted the two forts at Oswego. He took sixteen hundred prisoners of war, and captured thirty pieces of artillery, with a large amount of ammunition and military stores. 3 This bold exploit struck terror throughout the fron- tiers, even down to Albany, and undoubtedly contri- buted to arrest any military movements against Crown Point. Montcalm, on returning to Carillon, consid- ered the practicability of attacking Fort William 1 X., 433. 2 Entick's History, i. 471. 3 X. 444. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 535 Henry ; but finally it was concluded at a council, to be " too great a risk, lest they should be beaten, as they were last year, under Dieskau ; so it was re- solved to wait for the English, and see if they would come." ' They did not come. The winter of 1756 passed sluggishly at the French fort. Early in the spring of 1757, before the snow had left the mountains, or the ice melted in the lake, the war-fires began to blaze. A party of nearly two thousand Canadians and Indians, set out on snow- shoes against Fort William Henry, provided with scaling ladders and all the appliances used in a gen- eral assault. They first appeared before the fort, early on the morning of the 19th of March. The noise on the cracking ice was soon followed by the sharp sounds of the artillery of the garrison, which beat off the assailants. Four other brave assaults were equally unavailing; but the French succeeded in burning two sloops, all the bateaux, several storehouses, and most of the huts of the rangers. This expedition had thoroughly explored the little tort ; it was the scouting party of the larger expedi- tion soon to be organized. The doom of Fort Wil- liam Henry was sounded among the hills. Montcalm skilfully organized his plans. His army 1 VII. 239. 536 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA, consisted of six thousand regulars and Canadians, and seventeen hundred Indians. The Indians arrived at Carillon on the 23d of July, from the North, by the way of the St. Lawrence and Lake ( Ihamplain. In the language of one of the French missionaries among the Abenakis : x " Scarcely had we begun to distin- guish the summit of the fortifications [at Ticonde- roga], when our Indians arranged themselves in the order of battle, each tribe under its own ensign. Two hundred canoes thus formed in beautiful order, furnished a spectacle which caused even the French officers to hasten to the banks, judging it not un- worthy of their curiosii \ ." The army is at last collected together; the cannon, bateaux, and provisions, are, with the greatest Labour, transported by hands to Lake St. Sacrament. 8 The march is begun, by lake and land, towards Fort "Wil- liam Henry. As a dark Btorm-cloud rallies its scat- tered masses in the sky, by the beat of the loud thunder-drum, and the banners of lightning, Montcalm's expedition of 17-">7. collecting togethei its elements at the mountains of Ticonderoga. moved through the valley of the lake, arrayed southwardly with woe and war. The march is eminently successful. De Levi, with 1 Father Roubaud. His Narrative may be found in Kip' Jesuit Missions, pp. 139-189. - X. r,4T. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROG A. 537 a large detachment of Canadians and Indians, cut his way through the forests, passing back of Bald Mountain, by way of Sabbath-day Point and Bolton, to the landing-place near the fort ; whilst the boats reached their destination in safety, with the greater part of the Indians and regulars, headed by Mont- calm. On their way down the lake, they met the wrecks of the barges, and the dead bodies of the troops, engaged in Colonel Parker's unfortunate ex- pedition from Fort William Henry. Everything in- spired courage in Montcalm's army. It landed, with- out any opposition, a short distance below Tea Island, on the second of August, 1757. On the next day, the camp was formed farther up towards the fort. It was situated on the south side of the brook which enters the lake a short distance from the cove where the wreck of the " Caldwell " now lies. That little cove was called "Artillery Cove," because the cannon were there landed. The trenches were soon dug, and two batteries were opened. On the seventh day after the operations were begun, the trenches had been pushed as far as the gardens around the fort, and the third and last battery was being prepared. The Indians took great delight in the progress of the operations of the siege, and actively assisted in the trenches. They greatly admired the artillery and the dexterity of the gun- ners. One of their number, an Indian chief, under- 538 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. took to fire one of the guns, and pointing it against one of the angles of the fort, which had beeD as- signed to him as a mark, he fortunately hit the very spot, amidst the applause of the wild sons of the lb-rest. On being urged by Borne French officers to repeat the experiment, he declined, giving as a reason for his refusal, that he had reached that degree of perfection to which he had aspired, and did not wish to risk his reputation in a second trial. 1 "Fort William Henry, abandoned by its proper sup- ports, and being already crippled in it.- defences, sent a Hag of truce before the last battery of the enemy was opened, and obtained honourable terms of capitu- lation. The garrison was immediately removed to the intrenchments on the rocky hill where Fort George was afterwards built, and prepared to march in the morning to Fort Edward. But Indian thirst had become excited, and the revelry of vengeance coursed, or cursed, through the hearts of the savages. I pass over the scenes of slaughter. The Colonies were horrified even more than with Braddock's de- feat. The war-cloud had burst over the captive gar- rison, and blood flowed like the swollen streamlets, poured by a storm into the lake. The fort w T as demolished with axe and fire. The name of William Henry ceased to be known among 1 Kip's Jesuit Missions, p. 173. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 539 military fortifications. It has come down in history with the associations of a French triumph, an Indian massacre, and a splendid American hotel. Montcalm returned to Carillon in triumph. He had driven the English from Lake St. Sacrament. With the means of transportation for his cannon and stores, he might have flung back the cowardly Webb, from Fort Ed- ward, and even sounded French clarions in Albany. But the work on which he went had been done, and done thoroughly. The fort on the southern shore of St. Sacrament was no more, whilst Carillon stood in the proud life of victory, the champion of the northern hills. Montcalm, reversing the defeat of Dieskau, had gathered the laurels of the lake, and, with them, large treasures of war. Thus, the third military lesson, taught at Ticon- deroga, in the Old French War, was, military GENIUS IS TERRIBLE IN ITS VICTORIES. The reverses of the English in the campaigns of Europe and America, aroused the public opinion of the nation against the Ministry. The Duke of New- castle had already been compelled to resign, and the great William Pitt had been called into power, first, for an interval of a few months, and now, again, in 1757, more permanently. New energies were at once inspired into the administration of public affairs, at home and abroad. The " Great Commoner's " sym- 540 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. pathies with the American Colonies, enabled him to summon a large military force into the field. Aber- crombie was already in America ; but Pitt selected Lord Howe as the virtual and efficient head of the new expedition against Crown Point. On the 5th of July, 1758, an army of sixteen thousand men, with a large quantity of artillery, set out from the head of Lake George for Ticonderoga, in nine hundred bateaux and one hundred and thirty whaleboats. Arise, arise, Carillon ! Arise, or fall ! Thy name of " Chime " can only be held by the thunder of ar- tillery. The little garrison is on the alert. On July 1st, the regiments of La Reine, Guyenne, and Bearne, are marched up to the Carrying Place. On either side of the Lower Falls are posted the regiments of La Sarre, Royal Rousillon, Languedoc, and the first battalion of Berri ; whilst at the fort the second bat- talion of Berri stands on guard. 1 This disposition of forces was not made with any serious expectation of arresting the progress of the British, but with a view to impede their march, and to take advantage of any disaster, or error, incident to the work of war. It having been reported that the British intended. to land near Bald Mountain, or perhaps even fall in the rear of the French, by the way of Trout Brook N. Y. Col. Doc. X. 721, 737. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 541 Valley, two detachments of volunteers, commanded by Captains Trepezet and Germaine, were sent, on the 5th, to watch the movements of the enemy, and to oppose, or harass, the disembarkment in that di- rection. 1 The immense armament, however, faltered not at the bay or the precipice, but rowed on towards the outlet, somewhat uncertain about the exact point of landing, until finally the " Burnt Camp " is selected. 2 Some of the boats passed through the reedy shallows ; some stopped at their edge ; some rounded the little island in the present steamboat channel, and some continued through the chute to the Carrying Place. 3 The French fired a few volleys, at the distance of six hundred yards, — too far to do execution, — and then retired to their position at the Lower Falls. 4 Abercrombie's host effected a landing without loss. The gallant Howe leaped ashore in the name of " England and King George ;" a true representative of people and monarch, and the very embodiment of the spirit of a military expedition. The troops, after 1 X. Y. Col. Doc. X. 721, 722, 738, 894. 2 The Burnt Camp, or Champ brule, was the place where M. ue Contrecceur encamped in 1756. X. 894. It is the same locality that was afterwards known as "Lord Howe's Land- ing.'' and where the steamboat now lands. 3 A Xew York regiment, and a part of the Jerseys, landed at the same time, near the French camp. [At the Upper Falls.] X. 734. * X. 734. 46 542 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. being drawn up in military order, marched in the early afternoon, in four parallel 1 divisions, on the left of the outlet, towards the fort. Lord Howe headed the advanced column of the righi centre. The sound- ing waterfall was a scout more unerring than ;i Mohawk, to give the general direction; but the line of march which had been adopted could not be pre- served amidst the entanglements of the aboriginal forests, and the columns fall upon each other in some disorder. At this juncture, when about half-way to the Lower Falls, Howe's column, after crossing Trout Brook, 2 immediately encountered hostile troops, wan- dering on the opposite hill, 3 and apparently uncertain as to their course. They are the detachment of Tr»'- pezet, which, having seen the first division of the enemy's bateaux pass Bald Mountain, intended to oppose their landing, or at least prevent themselves from being cut off from their own army ; 4 but, losing their way in the forests, they were now seeking their camp, perplexed and bewildered. A conflict imme- diately ensued. Nearly two hundred French were 1 So Entick in his history, III, 252. The official despatch of Abercrombie says : " The regulars in the centre and the provin- cials on the flanks." X, 725. ' Trout Brook is called in the French despatches, "Bernes River," " Bernets River," and "Birney," on the same page. X, 738. 3 X, 735. *X, 735. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 543 killed, or taken prisoners ; a few only escaped, by wading through the rapids to the large island,, and thence to the Falls. 1 But alas! among the eight of the British slain, Lord Howe, the army's hope, lay dead on the edge of the hill. Near the moaning waters of the reluctant brook, he ended his life-cam- paign. A thousand men on that day, and there, were less than one ! Numbers vanish to ciphers, in problems of war. The living Howe, at the crisis of Ticonderoga, was a host, and a host's leader to vic- tory ; his corpse in the camp gave the mute watch- word of coming woe. The army retreated with their fallen hero, to spend the night in a vigil of tears ; whilst Nature, with uninterrupted glory, imaged her stars and her mountains in the quiet lake, — quiet on that calm July night as death itself, and bright as the hope of the resurrection. The work of war must go on. On the 7th, Lieut.- Colonel Bradstreet marched, about noon, with 6000 men, 2 to take possession of the saw-mill; but the enemy, on their retreat, had burnt it and destroyed the bridge. Colonel Bradstreet secured the position, 1 X, Y22, 747. 2 X, 722. See also, "A Narrative of the Battle of Ticonde- roga," by Dr. James Searing, of Long Island, a Surgeon in one of the Regiments ; contained in the " Proceedings of the New York Historical Society for 1847," pp. 112-117. 544 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. and reconstructed the bridge. The whole army took up their quarters there for the night. On the morning of the 8th, Engineer Matthew Clerk was sent to reconnoitre the enemy's intrench- ments; and "on his report that the works could !><■ carried, if attacked before they were finished, it was agreed to storm them that day." 1 The attack was begun under the folds of brave banners, and with drums and bugles that had often sounded victory. It was soon ascertained that "the intrenchments were not only much stronger than had been represented, and the breastworks at least eight or nine feet high, but that the ground before them was covered with felled trees, whose branches pointed outwards, and obstructed the advance of the troops." 2 On, battalion of Royal Americans ! On, regiments of New I land, New York, and New Jersey ! On, brave High- landers of Scotland, and English veterans of King George ! " Forward ! " was the morning watchword of that day of blood. " Few, few shall part where many meet, The turf shall be their winding-sheet, And every sod beneath their feet Shall be a soldier's sepulchre." Fearfully w^ell had Montcalm made his prepara- tions. Earth and timber are choice materials in mili- 1 Abercrombie, X, 126. 2 Ibid., 727. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 545 • tary defence. Ditches and embankments, felled trees and redoubts, supply formidable places of shelter to brave men, resolved to do or die. Three thousand soldiers had been, for two days, woodcutters, diggers, and wheelbarrowers ; and on the third day, they stand with burnished guns to defend their works. The battalion of La Sarre occupies the left, towards the outlet ; Royal Rousillon is in the centre ; and Guyenne on the extreme right. Intermediate be- tween the left and centre, lay Languedoc and Berri. and between the centre and right, La Reine and Bearne. Bourlamaque commanded on the left ; De Levi on the right; Montcalm in the centre, and everywhere. 1 Near the beginning of the action, an attempt was made by the English to enfilade the intrenchments in reverse, by some pieces of artillery floated down the river on two rafts, which had been constructed for that purpose ; but the guns of the fort were soon brought to bear upon them, and one of the rafts was sunk. 2 This disaster compelled the retreat of other barges which the English had caused to advance, in the hope of turning the left of the enemy during the battle. 3 The attack embraced four points along the line of 1 X, 737. 2 X, 735, 740 ; also Dr. Searing, 116. 3 Montcalm, X, 728, 745, 749, 723, 896. 46 * 2 k 546 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. the intrenchments. which extended over a quarter of a mile. Never did soldiers fight more bravely, or at greater disadvantage. The severest onset was against the French right on the Lake Champlain side. Bere the Scotch Highlanders and English grenadiers per- formed prodigies of valour, and advanced close upon the abattis. 1 But valour, in front of entangling in- trenchments, and concealed musketry and artillery, was on that day in vain. 2 Falling back to attack the centre once more, they were again repulsed; the ban- ners of Royal Rousillon defied the storm. After another ineffectual effort on the French left, which was the most exposed point, the English and Ameri- cans retreated, between six and seven o'clock in the evening, with 1400 men wounded, and over 500 killed. 3 Among the latter, was the engineer, Clerk. who had advised the attack without sufficient recon- noissance. Some remarkable providences connect themselves with Abercrombie's expedition. 1. In the first place must be noted, the influence of the death of Lord Howe. In consequence of this catastrophe, the army ,# X, 748. - The trees which had been cat down to form the abattis, left on open space, in front of the French lines, of about 350 feet ; so that, while the French were concealed behind the intrench- ments, the English were in full view. 3 See Montcalm's Report of the Battle, X., 737, 738, 739. Also X., 748, in a letter to Vaudreuil. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 547 returned, on the 7th of July, to the landing; whereas, if they had marched on, they would have found the lines of intrenchnient just begun, and unable to arrest their progress. 1 2. There was, virtually, no com- manding officer. Abercrombie himself remained at the sawmill ; and he might as well have been a sawyer as a general. Was it not remarkable that no head could be found to direct sixteen thousand men? 2 3. In the third place, the energies of the Provincial t loops were not fully brought out on the occasion. Abercrombie, like Braddock, had a contempt of the colonists, and had depreciated them ever since he as- sumed the command. 3 Putnam and Stark were on the field, but nothing is heard of them. The total number of killed was 576, and of these only 92 were provincials; of the 1421 wounded, only 261 were pro- vincials. The regulars bore the brunt of the battle. in consequence of Abercrombie's prejudices. 4. An- other providence was the entire absence of Indians among the French. 4 Six hundred warriors arrived only five days after the engagement. 5 Had these 1 Montcalm says : " On the 7th, the entire army was employed at the works and abattis, roughly prepared on the previous night by the 2d battalion of Berri." X., 738. - The official document does not mention the name of a single officer, during the battle. X., 725, 726. Bradstreet and Clerk had been mentioned previously. 3 Bancroft, iii., 340. * Doreil says, " There was not a single one of them." X., 745. 5 On the 13th of July. 548 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. been present in the first conflict, at Lord How< death, hundreds of the British and Americans would have fallen, entangled in the woods.' Or could these savage warriors have been present to pursue A.ber- orombie's disorganized soldiers, as they fled back to their camp on Lake George, what additional slaughter would have defiled thai terrible day! 2 The English, still fourteen thousand Btrong, fled before thirty-five hundred French and Canadians. On the following morning, the whole army re-em- barked in their bateaux up Lake George, eight} boats being filled with the wounded, 3 and reached their en- campment, at the head of the lake, the same night." Thus, the fourth military lesson taughl at Ticonde- roga, during the Old French War, was. Numbers, WITHOUT A HEAD, PER 1 SI 1 BEFORE THE POWER OF A WELL- ORGANIZED BAND. The defeat of Abercrombie operated, like all re- verses in a good cause, among the brave, in inspiriug 1 "I am certain, had the enemy three or four hundred Indians with them at the beginning of this rencounter, they would have beaten us and driven us to our bateaux." X., 735. 2 Montcalm writes: "Wha1 a day for Prance, if I had hud only two hundred Indians to let loose atthe close of the action." X., 749. 3 X., 896. The wounded were sent off the evening ltd ore. 4 Dr. Searing says: "July 9th. The principal part of the bateaux arrived at Fort William Henry at seven o'clock in the evening, and again encamped." New York Hist . Proceeding-. 1847, p. 117. CAPTURE OF TICOXDEROGA. 549 the resolution that, what ought to be done, must he done. Fort Carillon ought to fall, and it must fall. Canada ought to be conquered, and it must be con- quered. The great purpose of gaining possession of Canada was thus established with crowning energy in the minds of the British rulers and of the American people. " No talk of peace." writes Vaudreuil, Gover- nor of Canada; "on the contrary, the English will absolutely have Canada, and are to attack it at various points." ' Three expeditions were organized in 1750. whose destiny was Quebec and Montreal. One division of the British forces was to sail for the St. Lawrence, under the command of Wolfe; the main branch of the army was to pass through Lake George, Ticonde- roga, and Crown Point, under General Amherst, who had conducted the successful expedition against Cape Breton the preceding year, and who had succeeded General Abercrombie in the command; and a third, under Prideaux, was to co-operate with the other two. after capturing Fort Niagara, by entering the St. Lawrence through Lake Ontario. Montcalm early foresaw the triumph of the Eng- lish. Writing to Marshal de Belle Isle, on April 12th, 1759, he remarks : " Canada will be taken this cam- paign, and assuredly during the next, if there be not some unforeseen good luck, or a powerful diversion 1 X., 947. 550 C A P T U 11 K OF TICONDEROGA. by sea against the English colonics, or some gross blunders on the part of the enemy." ' Again, he said : "If the war continue, Canada will belong to the Eng- lish, perhaps this very campaign, or the next." 5 France had neglected to reinforce her crippled regi- ments. The large armament, collected under Lord Amherst, took the usual route to Albany, Fort Edward^ and Lake George. A fort, called Fori George, was built by Amherst lingering .it the head of the lake."' After the usual waste of time, the expedition, consisting of 12.000 men, with artillery and stores, sel out in boats on the 21st of July. A landing was effected without opposition at the point, above the present landing, on the eastern shore of the lake.' 1 The ad- vantage of this route to the fort consisted in its soon joining the well-travelled road from the Carrying Place to the lower falls, without risking opposition at landing. The point itself formed a bay, where the army could disembark without molestation. The march to the low r er falls was soon made. On cross- ing over to the French lines of intrenchment, so fatal in 1758, they were abandoned by the enemy. Many a soldier remembered the military tragedy enacted 1 X., 960. 2 X., 962. 3 Mante's History, p. 201. 1 So laid down upon the English map. The point is south of the steamboat landing. The artillery was landed farther down, near the chute. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 551 there the preceding year, and cast looks of mysterious scrutiny at the rude works so victoriously defended. In the centre of these memorable lines, the French had erected, in celebration of their victory, a lofty cross, which still remained ; a deep grave was sunk before it, and on the cross was a plate of brass, on which was engraven this inscription : $)one pvfuciprs eorum sfcut €>reb et Zcb, et %ebn et ^almuimn. 1 Montcalm no longer commanded the promontory of Ticonderoga. The severer exigencies of the cam- paign had summoned him to Quebec, to resist the movements of the gallant Wolfe. The regiments of La Sarre, Languedoc, Beanie, Guyenne, and Royal Rousillon, which once stood conquerors behind those entrenchments, were now afar off on the St. Law- rence; and the garrison in the fort was reduced to four hundred men. Bourlamaque, the French com- mander, perceiving, from Amherst's mode of con- ducting operations, that a defence of the fort would be impracticable, withdrew the main body of his troops, consisting of three thousand men, to Crown Point, on the 23d. Amherst was a cautious officer. Although he commanded 12,000 men against 400, he 1 M ante's History, p. 212, and Warburton's Canada, II, 149. For the meaning of the inscription, see Ps. 83 : 11. Consult also Judges 7 : 25 and 8 : 21. 552 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. was not to be ensnared before fortifications. Accord- ingly, he commenced, in approved military style, to dig trenches, run parallels, and establish batteries. The garrison bravely resisted, and on the nighl of the 25th, made a sally which threw the British camp into great confusion; but at the end of three days. the works were ready. Two batteries 1 were to be opened against the fort on the morning of the 'J7th ; but the French, foreseeing \\< doom, had already abandoned it in the night, demolishing a part of the walls, and retiring to Crown Point. On the following day, July 27th, Amherst took possession of the fort, in the name of King George. For the first time, an English ann\ stood upon the tine old promontory of Ticonderoga. A grand scene of mountain and of lake greeted the soldiers. There arose Mount Defiance, inactive in the war. yet tower- ing in strength above Carillon, overlooking the joy of the conquerors. From its eminence. ;i> yet un- named and unoccupied, Mount Independence smiled upon the change of dynasty. Opening in the dis- tance, lay the great lake, which had borne so many boisterous expeditions of war, now placid in the sum- mer sun, and exciting admiration as when Cham- 1 Holmes's American Annals, II, 233. 'Amherst's Official Report. 5 Amherst, on gaining possession of the fort, filled up the trenches and parallels, so that not a trace of them now remains. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 553 plain's eye first rested upon its bosom of beauty. And there, amidst the glories of the scene, stood up the rude fort of Carillon, full of pluck and war, with its four bastions guarding every point of the compass, and its banner, tattered by many a wind, left floating over the ramparts, to be pulled down by other hands than those which had strung it up. The victory had been won at last, without a battle. Never had an English cannon been fired against ( 'arillon ; never had the fort discharged its guns against an assailing foe. Called into life against William Henry, it had survived its vanquished enemy, and had rallied at its advanced lines a gallant army, to win one of the most wonderful victories ever achieved in America. But the time of its own doom had come! Behold! the English flag now waves its royal folds over its shattered ramparts; the drums beat "God save the King;" the French lilies, trodden beneath strange feet, give incense to the conquerors ; and the guns of the fort sound aloud to either lake the final triumph of 1759. Thus Carillon yielded up its name ; and England, in the presence of France, occupied the promontory of Ticonderoga ! The fifth military lesson, taught at Ticonderoga in the Old French War, was, Providence shapes the END, ROUGH HEW IT HOW WE MAY. 47 554 CAPTURE OF TICOXDEROGA. IV. Revolutionary Events. The fourth series of historical events at Ticon- deroga, relates to the war of the American Revolu- tion. Although these events do not properly belong to the times how commemorated, yel the interval between them is so short, and the events are so inti- mately connected with Ticonderoga, thai a brief reference to them is demanded by the occasion. Peace between England and France was concluded in 17C3. Questions of colonial policy had already risen, on which different opinions were held by the King's ministers and the Colonies. 1 In the agitation which prevailed, a speedy rupture was foreseen. Blood was spilt at Concord and Lexington in April. 1775. What can now resist the tide-wave of the American Revolution ? The dawn of a May morning, in 1775, found Ethan Allen and eighty-two sons of New England inside of Fort Ticonderoga, waking up the British soldiers by loud defiant huzzas. Allen himself then knocked on the commanding officer's door with the strong fists of a Vermonter ; and when De La Place made his ap- pearance in the unmilitary undress of night clothes, 1 Among the members of Parliament who uniformly voted against the American cause, was the very Abercrombie who had disgraced England and her Colonies, in 1758, at the French lines, and in the flight to the camp on Lake George. — Bancroft. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 555 the impetuous victor shook his sword over his head, and exacted an immediate surrender " in the name of Jehovah and the Continental Congress." The astonished officer obeyed the emphatic and resistless summons ; and Ticonderoga became the first-fruits of the har- vest of American victories. Seth Warner, two days after, captured Crown Point. The peculiarities of Allen's daring exploit consisted partly in the authority under which it was executed, which was not that of the Continental Congress, or of the New York Legislature, but of the Governor and Council of the " land of steady habits." Con- necticut also furnished the funds. 2. The deed was performed fourteen months before the Declaration of Independence. 3. It was executed with great skill and bravery. Although numbers were on Allen's side, all the contingencies were against him ; and few men could have succeeded as he did. 4. The event inspired the Colonies with hope and self-reliance. Indeed, few recorded exploits excite more admiration, not unmixed with mirth, than Ethan Allen's at Ti- conderoga. . I need not detain you by reciting how Burgoyne recaptured Ticonderoga, in 1777, first by gaining pos- session of Mount Hope, and cutting off the commu- nication with Lake George ; then by conveying can- non to the top of Mount Defiance, where the holes, drilled in the rocks (as some think to keep the artil- 556 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. lery in position), are still visible, and also the remains of the old block-house. You all know how St. Clair, perceiving his certain doom, evacuated the fort, which was recovered on the surrender of Burgoyne, and again captured by the British in L780, and given up at the close of the war. These revolutionary incidents arise t<> our view. like distant points of an attractive Landscape, although outside of the range of special observation. Our present commemoration is with the old French War; and to that we now come back, al the summons of 1759, to meditate upon some of its Lessons. CENTENNIAL LESSONS. The sounds of war, echoing with centennial rever- beration over the passes of Ticonderoga, suggest moral and historical re 1 lections. I. What a contrast between these times of peace and those times OF WAR ! Ticonderoga has been the graveyard of many a soldier. Its sod has been crim- soned with human blood, like the red hue of the forest now pervading the autumnal landscape. Scenes of terror have been enacted here. Up and down Lake George, tides of woe have been stirred by war upon its rocky shores. Oh, War ! with laurel-en- twined brow, thy hand grasps for vengeance ; thy heart burns with wrath ! The visible impress of an CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 557 awful presence still abides in Ticonderoga. The ruins of the old fort are the emblems of the fierce old times, when men sought for blood as the thirsty deer laps the fresh water of the brook. All hail, Peace ! sent of God to bless the new century ! The promontory no more resounds with war-whoops ; Celts and Saxons pursue no more their stratagems of death. The con- trasts of peace elevate the century that is, above the century that was. II. The various military events enacted at Ticon- deroga in former years, declare the magnitude of the OBJECT BEFORE THE TWO CONTENDING PARTIES. It was to settle not only the boundaries of kingdoms, but the dominion of religion, of language, and of race; not merely for a State, but for a Continent, Shall France rule in America? Shall the Papacy triumph in the valley of the Mississippi? Shall Celtic or Anglo-Saxon be the language and literature prevalent on both sides of the Alleghanies ? These were the great questions put and answered at the cannon's mouth, and discussed in the conflicts on the Monon- gahela, at Ticonderoga, and in Quebec. Higher far than elements in the extension of the possessions <<( the House of Bourbon or of Hanover, were the plans of statesmen, the deeds of warriors, the blood of armies. Interwoven among the incidents of cam- paigns were issues far-reaching and transcendent. 47* 558 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. New England especially was alive with the activity of religious thought.- and feelings. She seems to have had a prophetic sense of the coming destiny. Her ministers preached and laboured for the Buccess of the Protestant arms; chaplains attended her soldiers, on distant encampments; and religion, more than liberty, animated her public spirit through the trying scenes of these old campaigns. Not Less earnest w t'- Jesuit priests and Roman Catholic Leaders in a war. upon whose events hung the missions of the St. Law- rence and the lakes, and the progress of the religion throughout the vast boundaries of the Western World. The Old French War was emphatically a war of religion.' In this respect, it possessed a moral grandeur above that of the American Revolution. The contests at Ticonderoga were for an open Bible and a free conscience. Our Puritan lathers, like the Israelites, went to the battle-field for their inherit- ance ; and although the campaigns were often pro- jected by worldly officers, and fought by thoughtless soldiers, yet was religion the great issue involved in the contest, and remembered at the family altars and in the sanctuaries of New England and New York. Mothers pressed their children in faith to their hearts, and prayed for the success of Johnson, and Aber- crombie, and Amherst, and Putnam, and Stark ; and 1 The Old French War on the Continent of Europe and in America was, properly, the last of the religious wars. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 559 far-seeing clergymen and statesmen beheld, in every victory of liberty, the triumphs of Christianity. III. The conflicts at Ticonderoga contributed to THE ACQUISITION OF CANADA AND THE MISSISSIPPI V AL- LEY. According to the measure of their success, the military actions of the region had a bearing upon the final triumph. The war was begun, on the part of England, with the simple aim of resisting French encroachments, and of maintaining her own rights of territory. There were not wanting, indeed, public men, both in England and New York, who main- tained, in the early part of the struggle, that the conquest of Canada was the only solid foundation of peace. 1 But this object did not enter into the aims of English statesmen until Pitt came into power. And it has been said that, even as late as the autumn of 1758, England would have been con- tent to make a treaty, leaving Canada to France, provided the latter power would have agreed to give to England her boundaries in Acadia, on the New York frontiers, and in the valley of the Mississippi. 2 However that may be, it is certain that every victory, which weakened the power of France, engaged Eng- 1 " Canada, my lord," wrote a distinguished New Yorker, in 1755, " Canada must be demolished — delenda est Carthago — or we are undone." Review of Military operations, p. 143. 2 Entick's History, IV., 83. 560 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. land to claim Canada. The expeditions of L759 openly aimed at its conquest. The taking of Ticon- deroga was one of the preliminaries of success. Am- herst had been expected to press forward with tin- main army, and join Wolfe before Quebec. Instead of building a fort at Lake George, and repairing and enlarging the one at Ticonderoga, and establishing a new one at Crown Point, which was the most north- ern position he reached, he ought to have pushed his way down the St. Lawrence, and stood with Wolfe upon the plains of Abraham. Wolfe succeeded merely by one of those providential interpositions, which sometimes crown the daring of a forlorn hope. .Montreal fell in the following year ; and Canada be- came English after the long toils and conflicts of the Old French War, in which Ticonderoga bore so im- portant a part. Canada being conquered, the do- minion of France in America necessarily terminated at the end of the war; and the whole country, east of the Mississippi, with a slight exception, reverted to England. IV. Another centennial reflection is, that strong MILITARY POSITIONS OFTEN BECOME WEAK IN THE PRO- GRESS of civilization. Ticonderoga possessed strength in its original configuration, by its command over the passes between the St. Lawrence and the Hudson. In the early state of the frontier, no military position in CAPTURE Or TICOXDEROGA. 561 Northern New York equalled it in importance. Its strength was greatest, however, relatively to the times. The engineering skill of the Old French War did not venture to seize the overhanging mountain near at hand ; * nor could the ordinary artillery, used in the western wilderness, assail with sure effect at such a distance. Modern warfare seeks new military posi- tions, and necessitates new centres of attack and de- fence. The frontier itself has, also, been removed far off. So that Ticonderoga has lost much of its importance; like a man outliving his usefulness, or whose influence has been overshadowed by a change of circumstances. Providence sets up one place, and puts down another, in the ever progressive move- ments of its sovereign ordinations. V. The sacrifices in the Old French War, scarcely less than those of the Revolution, led ON TO THE CONTEST FOR INDEPENDENCE. War always demands sacrifices; sacrifices of time, of resources, of industry, of comforts, of human life. New England freely contributed of them all in both wars. So did New York and New Jersey, and the other ' It does not appear to me clear that Montcalm himself re- garded the mountain as available in reducing the fortification. Certainly, the English did not. "The heights which command Carillon " were not the mountain, but the hill in the neighbor- hood of the intrenchments. X. 766. 2l 562 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. colonies. The people became inured to self-denial and suffering, and fought their way up in spirit and power to national independence. Not more cer- tainly is Mount Defiance included in the same land- scape with Mount Independence, on the opposite shore of Champlain, than do the battle-fields of the French War stand in juxtaposition with those of the American Revolution. The interval that sepa- rated the two wars was short — only twelve or thir- teen years ; and that interval was marked by politi- cal agitations, which may be said to have kept the watchfires burning.' The men who had defended themselves against French encroachments were not the men to submit to English aggression. Truer ideas of liberty had Ik en evolved in all the discus- sions of the French War, and a stronger reliance had been nurtured in provincial prowess. Ticonde- roga was one of the military academies, where were trained the generals and soldiers for the Revolution. As Lake George flows into Lake Champlain by the connecting pathway of a narrow stream, so the Old French War, after a brief interval, found its natu- ral outlet into the expanding course of American Liberty. 1 The year 1763, in which the treaty of peace between Eng- land and France was signed, was the very year in which Samuel Otis delivered, at Boston, his celebrated speech, which opened the campaign of the American Revolution. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 56^ VI. The true defences of a country consist, not in ITS FORTS, BUT IN THE HEARTS AND ENERGIES OF THE people. Unless a fort occupies a commanding mili- tary position, extremely difficult to assault success- fully, it invites preparations for its destruction, and it is sure to fall before an active foe. How far Forts William Henry and Carillon accomplished any im- portant result that was not equally within the reach of military expeditions, it may not be easy to decide. Sir William Johnson, after the defeat of Dieskau, was afraid to proceed against Ticonderoga, although un- protected at that time by a fortification. And it is certain that Fort William Henry was not of any great service during the war. Indeed, its unmilitary posi- tion, and the unprotected state of its defences, invited its memorable doom of blood. Ticonderoga was un- doubtedly of more use to the French than was Wil- liam Henry to the English. Yet there was no power in Ticonderoga to arrest Amherst in 1759, or Bur- goyne in 1777. Burgoyne easily captured the fort from its natural point of attack ; but his own army was as easily captured after he had rashly advanced into the territory of a people resolute to defend their country and their homes. Without denying the utility, and even the necessity, of fortifications among the resources of war, and without depreciating the ancient power of these little fortresses on the North- ern frontier, it will be generally admitted that the 564 CAPTURE OF T I C N DEROGA. true defences of a country against an invading foe consist in the intelligence, the virtue, the hardihood, and the skill in arms, of the yeomanry of the land. VII. A word may be said in commemoration of THE GREAT MEN, WHO HAVE MOVED AMONG THE PASSES OF TlCONDEROGA. At the head of the illustrious, stands Champlain. Animated by the spirit of adventure lie left his home at St. Onge for the seas, and became the founder of Quebec, and the discoverer of the lake of the Iroquois and of Ticonderoga. If a monument should ever !><■ erected on the promontory, in honour of its great men and its great events, the name of Champlain ought to l)e upon it, with an arquebus engraved as the fit memorial of his presence, in 1609. Among the Iroquois, who often ambushed here, was Hendrick, the great Mohawk chief. There is a re- corded notice of one of his excursions against the Canadians, in 1747.' With his people, he often im- portuned the Governor of New York to organize an expedition to attack Crown Point. 2 Let the name of Hendrick be upon the Ticonderoga monument, in commemoration of the Iroquois owners of the soil, with a bow and tomahawk for a memorial. 1 Hendrick or "White Head," a great Mohawk Chief, who had made an attack on our settlements, last war. X., 323. Also VI., 343. 2 VI., 946. CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 565 Montcalm is forever associated with Carillon. The two great exploits that made him the hero of Lake George, were the destruction of Fort William Henry at its south side, in 1757, and the repulse of Aber- crombie on the north side, in 1758. Let a sword, with its handle entwined with lilies, be the emblem of the heroic Frenchman. Lord Howe, young and chivalrous and beloved, died a military death in the overarching forests of Ticonderoga. A wreath of laurel is his appropriate monumental remembrancer. Amherst, the tardy and the watchful, the "slow but sure " of generals, has a title to a place on the monument, as the capturer of Carillon. The arms of our mother England should be inscribed with his name. FiTHAN Allen, the daring, dashing Vermonter, per- formed a deed of valour in the early dawn of the American Revolution, that demands a patriotic com- memoration. Let his name be engraved in old Rorrian letters, with a representation of the stars and stripes ! • Other great men, as the Schuylers, Putnam, Stark. Pomeroy, Burgojme, St. Clair, etc., were well known here ; but the preceding names may be a sufficient and proper selection from them all. Citizens of Ticonderoga! shall not 1859 make the contribution of a monument in memory of 1759 ' There is no finer or fitter place in the world for an 48 566 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. historical shaft. On an elevated and memorable pla- teau, amidst the ruins of the olden time, in sight of grand and towering mountains, and in the presence of a beautiful lake, Nature pleads with History for a memorial. Let not a monument be denied on such a site, for such names, and for such deeds, at the be- ginning of a new century, which rekindles afresh memories that can never die. VII. The last thought, suggested by the occasion, is the Century's Call. The roll has often been beaten by the drum in Fort Carillon, and in its successor fort, Ticonderoga ; sound- ing its notes with the morning sun, and arousing the camp to duty and to toil. To-clay, the new Century beats the reveille ! Its awakening strains call to thoughts of the past and of the future ! Methinks, I hear the solemn sounds from the band of a hundred years, coming down to the armies of the living gene- ration, over the graves of thousands sleeping in the camp of death. The advent of the new century demands a grate- ful remembrance of ancestral deeds. The work, done by the men of olden time, was great in its passing benefits, but greatest in its progressive good. What an inheritance of unnumbered blessings, personal, social, and religious, has been bequeathed by our an- Jtors, whose character is stamped armorially upon CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. 567 all their gifts ! Those men are ours by country-right and history-right ; ours by the consecration of doing and suffering and dying. At the incoming of 1859. Gratitude cherishes the virtue and the valour of past generations. The Century's call announces the future destiny of our country. With prophetic trumpet in hand, the new century points to the coming greatness and in- fluence of America among the nations of the earth. The elements tendered by local history for the cal- culation, evolve a problem of vast magnitude. At the capture of Ticonderoga, thirteen States and two millions of inhabitants were the sum of our national power ; at the end of a hundred years, thirty-three States, with as many millions of inhabitants, rise up in the name of American progress. In 1759. the Empire State was almost an unbroken wilderness, north and west of Albany; in 1859, its fields and valleys, from Lake Champlain to Lake Erie, are robed with the vegetation of abounding harvests ; and. the eighty thousand of its inhabitants have swelled to three millions, or one-third more than were in the whole country a century ago. Who can foretell the future progress, resources, and greatness of America. ? " Oh, fair young mother ! on thy brow Shall sit a nobler grace than now. Deep in the brightness of thy skies, The thronging years in glory rise, And, as they fleet, Drop strength and riches at thy feet.'' 568 CAPTURE OF TICONDEROGA. The Century's call is to GOD, above all and het/mui all. He created the majestic mountains around about Ticonderoga, its sweet valley, and glorious lakes, and notable promontory. In his holy Providence, He has overruled all the wars of Indians, and of Frenchmen, and of Englishmen, to the advancement of Ameri- cans. To God alone belongs the glory of giving Liberty and Protestantism to these United States. Often has He interposed, in dark times of trial, to restore our fallen fortunes. In 1757, when, after the destruction of Fort William Henry, France reigned triumphant over our entire Northern and Western frontiers; and in 1758, when Abercrombie's army was repulsed with fearful slaughter at the Ticonde- roga lines, our fathers' God brought forth for the American cause, victory out of deep disaster. During the intervening century, His goodness has marked out our way with clouds of direction and with fiery pillars of defence.' Throughout two other wars, our country has been conducted in safety and honour. Plenty fills the land. Revivals of religion animate the churches. Power dwells safely with the people. Institutions of learning and religion nurture the young. Peace smiles upon our inheritance. "Ye are blessed of the Lord who made heaven and earth." Lift up your hearts to Him in the thoughts of cen- tennial commemoration. Let Ticonderoga give praise for the events which have wrought greatness into its CAPTURE OF TICONDEEOGA. 569 own history, and which have contributed to the ad- vancement of the general history of the world. Every occurrence, on whatever scale, brings glory to God. Time daily worships Him at the altar of Providence. Ages bend before Him in adoration. Centuries, as they sweep by on their wings of majestic night, veil their faces before His throne. The end of all things is at hand. Hark ! The reveille of eternity is marshalling the nations for their last review. Mountains, and lakes, anal skies are flolded away, like tents, forever. The promon- tory OF TIME IS NO MORE ! THE END. 48* THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY This book is DUE on the last date stamped below Form L-l< 231 -1 — $ts H — I sous sermons, — — — — - s ♦ UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY