WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT.

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none under the influence of which the proceedings of a new and free government can more auspiciously commence.

Having thus imparted to you my sentiments, as they have been awakened by the occasion which brings us together, I shall take my present leave, but not without resorting once more to the benign Parent of the human race, in humble supplication, that as He has been pleased to favor the American people with opportunities for deliberating in perfect tranquillity, and dispositions for deciding with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government for the security of their Union and the advancement of their happiness, so His divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measures, on which the success of this Government must depend.

Ex. XCI.-WASHINGTON AS PRESIDENT.

Speech in Parliament, 1794.

CHARLES JAMES FOX.

How infinitely superior must appear the spirit and principles of General Washington, in his late address to Congress, compared with the policy of modern European courts! Illustrious man! deriving honor less from the splendor of his situation than from the dignity of his mind! Grateful to France for the assistance received from her in that great contest which secured the independence of America, he yet did not choose to give up the system of neutrality in her favor. Having once laid down the line of conduct most proper to be pursued, not all the insults and provocations of the French minister could at all put him out of his way or change him from his purpose. It must, indeed create astonishment that, placed in circumstances so critical, and filling a station so conspicuous, the character of Washington should not once have been called in question; that he should, in no one instance, have been accused either of improper insolence or of mean submission, in his transactions with foreign nations. It has been reserved for him to run the race of glory without experiencing the smallest interruption to the brilliancy of his career. The breath of censure has not dared to impeach the

purity of his conduct, nor the eye of envy to raise its malignant glance to the elevation of his virtues. Such has been the transcendent merit and the unparalleled fate of this illustrious man!

How did he act when insulted by Genet?* Did he consider it necessary to avenge himself for the misconduct or madness of an individual by involving a whole continent in the horrors of war? No; he contented himself with procuring satisfaction for the insult by causing Genet to be recalled; and thus at once consulting his own dignity and the interests of his country. Happy Americans! while the whirlwind flies over one quarter of the globe and spreads everywhere desolation, you remain protected from its baneful effects by your own virtues and the wisdom of your Government. Separated from Europe by an immense ocean, you feel not the effect of those prejudices and passions which convert the boasted seats of civilization into scenes of horror and bloodshed. You profit by the folly and madness of the contending nations, and afford, in your more congenial clime, an asylum to those blessings and virtues which they wantonly contemn, or wickedly exclude from their bosom! Cultivating the arts of peace under the influence of freedom, you advance, by rapid strides, to opulence and distinction; and if, by any accident, you should be compelled to take part in the present unhappy contest,-if you should find it necessary to avenge insult or repel injury, the world will bear witness to the equity of your sentiments and the moderation of your views; and the success of your arms will, no doubt, be proportioned to the justice of your cause.

* Genet was minister from the French Revolutionary Government, and misused the privileges of his diplomatic station to enlist soldiers and fit out privateers in this country to serve against England, in direct contravention of our treaty with that nation, which bound us to the strictest neutrality. He set the United States Government openly at defiance, continuing his practices in spite of repeated remonstrances, and caused a letter to be published from himself to the President, reflecting severely on the conduct of the latter. In this course of conduct he was upheld by a large party of French sympathizers, who wished for a war with England, but the Administration finally triumphed, and he was recalled in 1794.

THE TOAST.

Ex. XCII.-THE TOAST.

FRANCIS HOPKINSON.

"TIs Washington's health,-fill a bumper around,
For he is our glory and pride;

Our arms shall in battle with conquest be crowned,
With virtue and him on our side.

'Tis Washington's health-and cannons should roar,
And trumpets the truth should proclaim;
There can not be found, search all the world o'er,
His equal in virtue and fame.

'Tis Washington's health-our hero to bless,
May heaven look graciously down;

Oh long may he live, our glad hearts to possess,
And freedom still call him her own.

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Ex. XCIII.-ON THE DANGER OF VIOLATING OUR TREATIES.

Speech in Congress, April, 1796.

FISHER AMES.*

On this theme my emotions are unutterable. If I could find words for them, if my powers bore any proportion to my zeal, I would swell my voice to such a note of remonstrance, it should reach every log-house beyond the mountains. I would say to the inhabitants, wake from your false security; your cruel dangers, your more cruel apprehensions are soon to be renewed; the wounds, yet unhealed, are to be

*The treaty with Great Britain concluded by John Jay in 1794, was very unpopular with a part of the people, who considered its terms too favorable to England; and a strong party arose in Congress, in favor of refusing to fulfil its provisions. A long and excited debate ensued. Among the last speakers was Mr. Ames, Member of Congress from Massachusetts, and one of the most eloquent and influential of American statesmen, who urged strongly the duty and expediency of ratification. His speech, though uttered under the pressure of distressing illness, produced a thrilling effect, and silenced, if it did not convince, those who wished to break the national faith. The treaty was ratified, and the threatened war with England put off until the country was better able to sustain it.

torn open again; in the daytime, your path through the woods will be ambushed; the darkness of midnight will glitter with the blaze of your dwellings. You are a father -the blood of your sons shall fatten your corn-field; you are a mother-the war-whoop shall waken the sleep of the cradle.*

On this subject, you need not suspect any deception on your feelings; it is a spectacle of horror which can not be overdrawn. If you have nature in your hearts, they will speak a language compared with which all I have said or can say will be poor and frigid.

Will it be whispered that the treaty has made me a new champion for the protection of the frontiers? It is known that my voice, as well as vote, have been uniformly given in conformity with the ideas I have expressed. Protection is the right of the frontiers; it is our duty to give it.

Who will accuse me of wandering out of the subject ? Who will say that I exaggerate the tendencies of our measures? Will any one answer by a sneer, that this is all idle preaching? Will any one deny that we are bound, and I hope, to good purpose, by the most solemn sanctions of duty for the vote we give? Are despots alone to be reproached for unfeeling indifference to the tears and blood of their subjects? Are republicans irresponsible? Have the principles upon which you ground the reproach of cabinets and kings, no practical influence, no binding force? Are they merely themes of idle declamation, introduced to decorate the morality of a newspaper essay, or to furnish pretty topics of harangue from the windows of that state house? I trust it is neither too presumptuous nor too late to ask, Can you put the dearest interest of society at risk, without guilt and without remorse?

It is vain to offer as an excuse, that public men are not to be reproached for the evils that may happen to ensue from their measures. That is very true, where they are unforeseen or inevitable. Those I have depicted are not unforeseen; they are so far from inevitable, we are going to bring them into being by our vote; we choose the consequences, and become as justly answerable for them, as for the measures that we know will produce them.

By rejecting the posts, we light the savage fires-we bind

*The frontier posts, in case of a war with the British, would have been exposed to the ravages of the Indians, who were with difficulty restrained from hostilities even when both nations were at peace.

SHALL WE BREAK OUR FAITH?

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the victims. This day we undertake to render account to the widows and orphans whom our decision will make; to the wretches that will be roasted at the stake; to our country; and I do not deem it too serious to say, to conscience and to God. We are answerable; and if duty be anything more than a word of imposture, if conscience be not a bugbear, we are preparing to make ourselves as wretched as our country.

The

There is no mistake in this case, there can be none; experience has already been the prophet of events, and the cries of our future victims have already reached us. western inhabitants are not a silent and uncomplaining sacrifice. The voice of humanity issues from the shade of the wilderness; it exclaims, that while one hand is held up to reject this treaty, the other grasps the tomahawk. It summons our imagination to the scenes that will open. It is no great effort of the imagination to conceive that events so near are already begun. I can fancy that I listen to the yells of savage vengeance and the shrieks of torture; already they seem to sigh in the western wind; already they mingle with every echo from the mountains.

Ex. XCIV.-SHALI WE BREAK OUR FAITH?

Speech in Congress, April, 1796.

FISHER AMES.

Ir would be strange that a subject which has roused in turn all the passions of the country, should be discussed without the interference of any of our own. We are men, and therefore not exempt from those passions; as citizens and representatives, we feel the interest that must excite them. The hazard of great interest can not fail to agitate strong passions; we are not disinterested; it is impossible we should. be dispassionate. The warmth of such feelings may becloud the judgment, and, for a time, pervert the understanding. But the public sensibility and our own has sharpened the spirit of inquiry, and given animation to the debate. The public attention has been quickened to mark the progress of the discussion, and its judgment, often hasty and erroneous on first impressions, has become solid and enlightened at last.