serve our beloved country from the grasp of the destroyer as an asylum for the oppressed, a home for the worn and weary pilgrim, a gathering-place for earth's children, where they may meet, like those of a common father, around one sacred hearth -where the great mission of free government may be realized in full fruition, and all worship at the shrine of liberty and law.

AT THE

SPEECH

CELEBRATION OF THE 131ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTHDAY OF WASHINGTON BY THE REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE.

DELIVERED AT THE CITY ASSEMBLY ROOMS, NEW YORK, February 22, 1863.

[Mr. Dickinson was called on to respond to the third regular toast "The Empire State: Great alike in its power and its fidelity to the cause of the whole nation," and said :]

MR. CHAIRMAN, LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN-The natal days. of the great and good have been celebrated through all time wherever civilization has prevailed; and among the eminent of the earth, no one subject to mortality has ever lived who has been more worthy of the honor than he whose nativity we have met to commemorate. The name, the character, the memory of Washington, have ever been, will ever be, dear to the American people. He was chief among those chosen ones who founded this free nation and government; who repudiated the idea of heaven-descended rulers, and erected a republic upon the great principle of the equality of all men. They acknowledged no ruler but the Ruler of the skies; no sovereign but the Sovereign of the universe; no protector except Him who notes as well the fall of a sparrow as the destruction of an empire. Well might the shepherds of the political Bethlehem, if they had foreknown the birthday of Washington, have assembled to greet his star, and hail him as the redeemer of his nation and the pioneer in the cause of liberty for all peoples. His valor, his prudence, his calm and resolute endurance, maintained before the world, in the tribunal of last earthly resort, the sublime principle of self-government, which formed the motive of the revolutionary contest and the found

ation of our new polity. Having won our independence by the sword, his moderation and wisdom helped to establish it upon a firm and practical basis. Called by the unanimous voice of the people to the highest civil trusts, he adjusted and set in motion the machinery of the new government, gave it a place and a character among the nations, and then, while his countrymen yet hung upon his words and marked his footsteps, calmly retired to the dignity of private life, exhibiting in his career the nearest approach, attained among mortal men, to a perfect character. Having discharged his great and benign mission on the earth, like the prophet Elijah he passed away in glory to heaven. "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof," was exclaimed by the American people, when earth lost and eternity gained a mighty spirit.

But if the mission, if the history, if the work of Washington were a cheat and a delusion; if this government was founded only to blast expectations, only to disappoiut hope, then it would have been far better that George Washington never had been born, and that this government had slept forever in the wide abyss of possibility. Yes, my fellow-citizens, far better that the birthday of Washington had been cursed as the Idumean cursed the day of his nativity. But this cannot, must not be. The effort, the example, the achievements of Washington will live in history and in the hearts of living men, a beacon to guide mankind as long as time shall last; and this government is destined to pass on by a will stronger than all human power -to pass on to the glorious fruition that awaits it; and we cannot only see this mighty people of this great and free government, but can hear the footsteps of the coming millions in the distance.

In this great constellation of political hope; in the midst of these thirty-four sons and these blooming territorial daughters, we see the Empire State," apparent queen, unvail her peerless light," and shed lustre and glory and genial warmth upon all. She is the second land of promise, and like that region of old, between the Mediterranean and the Jordan, full of all the elements of greatness, of plenty, of wealth, of success, moral and material, that can bless a people. Look out upon her great expanse; her vast inland seas; her rivers, moving majestically to

their destination; her bright and beautiful hills; her sunny slopes, and silvery streams, and smiling valleys. See her internal improvements, her contributions to commerce; the productions of her industry; her achievements in letters, arts, and arms; mark all that she has done and is doing in the cause of human happiness and progress, and then say whether such a land is not worth preserving-whether such a Union is not worth fighting for.

"Breathes there a man with soul so dead,

Who never to himself hath said

This is my own, my native land?"

In the midst of security, the cry of danger has aroused us; in the midst of success and prosperity, a rebellion is upon us. A portion of the States, designated as slave-holding, have been dragged by reckless and ambitious political leaders into revolt against the authority of the government. This government, that hitherto has hardly been felt, so gentle and genial has been its influence; that has come down to bless the people like the sunshine that sheds its rays upon all God's children alike; or like the refreshing rains and gentle dews of Heaven, unseen except in their fertilizing results; this beneficent government has put its nose into the water that came to rebeldom to drink ; this wolf of a government has attempted to fasten its fangs upon the lamb, the rebellion. Here are two great antagonisms standing before the world, a government and a rebellion; a government founded by Washington and his compeers; a rebellion hatched in hell. What shall the Empire State say, what shall the Empire State do in this emergency? There is no half-way house, there can be no compromises here. Where shall she cast her political voice? She answered the question when Sumter fell, and party and faction for a time slunk back abashed. She took her position with the government which she helped to establish, and where she should sit, empress, crowning the mighty court. We say the Empire State should say now, as she said at first, "War, uncompromising war, until the rebellion is put down!" Why should party politics interfere to place her in a false position? If a riot should occur in your city, would our friend the mayor send out an ambassador of peace, or would he send out the representatives of the law, VoL. II.15

in their majesty, to crush it down to darkness and to dust? This that we have to deal with is a question between government and rebellion. It has been nothing else, it is nothing else, and it will never be anything else; and they may baptize it at the font of infidel politics as often as they choose, and when it comes out, the same bastard of rebellion will be seen.

But it is feared by the politicians that some incidents may be drawn in that may be uncomfortable. This reminds me of the transmigration philosopher who begged a man to desist from the chastisement of a dog, for, he said, he could recognize in its howl the voice of a deceased friend. There are a great many politicians, I think, now, who, the moment they hear slavery crying, believe that they hear the voice of a deceased friend. I have been one of these conservative people; not according to the modern doctrine of conservatism, for I was oldfashioned in my definition. I was for letting the institution of slavery alone to work out its own problem under the guidance of a beneficent Providence, not interfering in any manner, but leaving it to the localities where it existed, to be dealt with in their own time and way. When they said "Constitution," I said "Constitution." When they appealed to that as their shield, I invoked its protection for them. When they said "powder," I said "powder." And when they inquired "who can make war upon the beast," I said "the American people." I have had no anxieties upon this subject, except to afford them the shield of the Constitution, so long as they invoked it. But when they threw it away, when they resorted to arms, I said they must be put down by the whole power of the American people. And I say so now. I was an old-fashioned democrat, as you may remember. I am a democrat now, of the straightest sect. But a great many who were abolitionists in my earlier days of democracy now call me to account, and say I am radical, very radical indeed, and they are conservative. Well, I will admit they are conservative in one sense, and only one; and that is not the etymological or technical sense, but, it is the anti-American sense; that is, they are opposed to the government and all its institutions and interests. I admit I am radical if they intend by this that I am for making this cure complete and thorough and effectual, for, being fairly in, I have a wish and purpose to see this war fairly out. The question of