to seek a home in this unknown Western world. Such, in brief, is their history. I could not say more of it without intruding upon your time; I could not say less without injustice to them.

Rarely have austere principles been expressed with more gentleness than from their lips. By a covenant with the Lord, they had vowed to walk in all His ways, according to their best endeavors, whatsoever it should cost them, and also to receive whatsoever truth should be made known from the written word of God. Repentance and prayers, patience and tears, were their weapons. "It is not with us," said they,

66

as with other men, whom small things can discourage or small discontentments cause to wish themselves at home again." And then, again, on another occasion, their souls were lifted to utterance like this: "When we are in our graves it will be all one, whether we have lived in plenty or penury, whether we have died in a bed of down or on locks of straw." Self-sacrifice is never in vain, and they foresaw, with the clearness of prophecy, that out of their trials should come a transcendent Future. "As one small candle," said an early Pilgrim Governor, "may light a thousand, so the light kindled here may in some sort shine even to the whole nation."

And yet these men, with such sublime endurance and such lofty faith, are among those who are sometimes called "Puritan knaves" and "knaves-Puritans," and who were branded by King James as the "very pests in the Church and Commonwealth." The small company of our forefathers became the jest and gibs of fashion and power. The phrase 66 men of one idea" had not been invented then; but, in equivalent lan

guage, they were styled "the pinched fanatics of Leyden." A contemporary poet and favorite of Charles the First, Thomas Carew, lent his genius to their defamation. A masque, from his elegant and careful pen, was performed by the monarch and his courtiers, wherein the whole plantation of New England was turned to royal sport. The jeer broke forth in the exclamation, that it had "purged more virulent humors from the politic bodies than guaiacum and all the West Indian drugs from the natural bodies of the kingdom."

"

And these outcasts, despised in their own day by the proud and great, are the men whom we have met in this goodly number to celebrate; not for any victory of war; not for any triumph of discovery, science, learning, or eloquence; not for worldly success of any kind. How poor are all these things by the side of that divine virtue which made them, amidst the reproach, the obloquy and the hardness of the world, hold fast to Freedom and Truth! Sir, if the honors of this day are not a mockery; if they do not expend themselves in mere selfish gratulation; if they are a sincere homage to the character of the Pilgrims — and I cannot suppose otherwise, then is it well for us to be here. Standing on Plymouth Rock, at their great anniversary, we cannot fail to be elevated by their example. We see clearly what it has done for the world, and what it has done for their fame. No pusillanimous soul here to-day will declare their self-sacrifice, their deviation from received

*This masque, entitled Calum Britannicum, was performed at Whitehall, 18th February, 1673.

opinions, their unquenchable thirst for liberty, an error or illusion. From gushing multitudinous hearts we now thank these lowly men that they dared to be true and brave. Conformity or compromise might, perhaps, have purchased for them a profitable peace, but not peace of mind; it might have secured place and power, but not repose; it might have opened a present shelter, but not a home in history and in men's hearts till time shall be no more. All will confess the true grandeur of their example, while, in vindication of a cherished principle, they stood alone, against the madness of men, against the law of the land, against their king. Better be the despised Pilgrim, a fugitive for freedom, than the halting politician, forgetful of principle, "with a Senate at his heels."

Such, sir, is the voice from Plymouth Rock, as it salutes my ears. Others may not hear it. But to me

it comes in tones which I cannot mistake. words of noble cheer:

I catch its

"New occasions teach new duties; Time makes ancient good uncouth;

They must upward still and onward who would keep abreast of Truth:

Lo, before us gleam her camp-fires! we ourselves must Pil

grims be,

Launch our Mayflower, and steer boldly through the desperate winter sea."

THE LANDMARK OF FREEDOM; FREEDOM

NATIONAL.

SPEECH IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, AGAINST THE REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI PROHIBITION OF SLAVERY NORTH

OF 36° 30' IN THE NEBRASKA AND KANSAS BILL, 21ST FEBRUARY, 1854.

On the 14th December, 1853, Mr. Dodge of Iowa, asked and obtained leave to introduce a Bill to organize the Territory of Nebraska, which was read a first and second time, by unanimous consent, and referred to the Committee on Territories. This was a simple Territorial Bill, in the common form, containing no allusion to Slavery, and not in any way undertaking to touch the existing Prohibition of Slavery in this Territory.

On the 4th January, 1854, Mr. Douglas, of Illinois, as Chairman of the Committee on Territories, reported this Bill back to the Senate, with various amendments, accompanied by a Special Report. By this Bill only a single Territory was constituted under the name of Nebraska; the existing Prohibition of Slavery was not directly overthrown, but it was declared that the States formed out of this Territory, should be admitted into the Union "with or without Slavery," as they should desire.

On the 16th January, Mr. Dixon, of Kentucky, in order to accomplish directly what the Bill did only indirectly, gave notice of an amendment, to the effect that the existing Prohibition of Slavery"shall not be so construed as to apply to the Territory contemplated by this Act, or to any other Territory of the United States; but that the citizens of the several States or Territories shall be at liberty to take and hold their Slaves within any of

the Territories of the United States, or of the States to be formed therefrom."

On the next day, 17th January, Mr. Sumner, in order to keep alive the existing prohibition, gave notice of the following amendment :

"Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to abrogate or in any way contravene the Act of March 6, 1820, entitled 'An Act to authorize the people of Missouri Territory to form a constitution and State government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, and to prohibit Slavery in certain Territories; ' wherein it is expressly enacted that 'in all that territory ceded by France to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, which lies north of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north latitude, not included within the limits of the State contemplated by this act, Slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall be, and is hereby, forever prohibited.' '

It is worthy of remark that at this stage the proposition of Mr. Dixon, and also that of Mr. Sumner, were equally condemned by the Washington Union, the official organ of the Administration. It had not then been determined to sustain the repeal.

On the 23d January, Mr. Douglas, from the Committee on Territories, submitted a new Bill as a substitute for that already reported. Here was a sudden change, by which the Territory was divided into two, Nebraska and Kansas, and the prohibition of Slavery was directly overthrown. According to his language at the time, there was incorporated into it one or two other amendments, which make the provisions of the Bill upon other and more delicate questions, more clear and specific, so as to avoid all conflict of opinion." It was formally enunciated in the Bill, that the prohibition of Slavery 66 was superseded by the principles of the legislation of 1850, commonly called the Compromise Measures, and is hereby declared inoperative." This, of course, superseded the proposed amendment of Mr. Dixon, who subsequently declared his entire assent to the Bill in its new form. It also presented the issue directly raised in Mr. Sumner's proposed amendment.