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inserted these few words, "With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence." A few years afterward France opened the series of European revolutions with the popular decree, "There is no God, the state is atheist." Divine Providence has protected the American people; but what resulted from the reign of the Godless reason in France and elsewhere? It is true, in Europe they succeeded in dethroning, banishing or murdering their kings, princes and priests, but instead of liberty, the revolution brought the "Reign of Terror," with all its horrors and miseries. Divine Providence made us a free and independent nation, and provided for us a national system of government, consolidating the independent and sovereign states in a democratic commonwealth and making us a people of sovereigns, while that same Providence suffered the nations of the old world to ex haust themselves in fruitless attempts to establish a republic. They scarcely were preparing themselves to bask in the sunshine of liberty, when Napoleon again covered their political sky with the dark cloud of despotism. The retribution for abused power brought the conqueror and lawgiver of modern Europe upon the barren rocks of St. Helena, but did not restore liberty and independence to the nations of Europe. My native country, the once mighty republic of the United Netherlands, threw off the iron yoke of the French autocrat, but it could not recover its former republican government. W hile such was the fate of Europe, our North American republic gained its independence from and maintained it against proud Britain in two bloody wars. It has twice paid off the national debt, and yet our treasury is full to overflowing. It has bought an immense territory including our own state from France and Spain, ex tended its boundaries by the annexation of Texas and acquired a vast domain from conquered Mexico, so that at present it occupies one-fourth part of the whole American continent, and it is washed by two oceans. Our internal improvements have been developed with unprecedented rapidity; our merchant ships cover the seas in every portion of the globe. O ur navy is feared and respected in all parts of the world; and as a nation we rank among the great powers of the world. Thus, firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence was crowned with evidence of our gratitude, and what is the impression that our present course gives to the nations of the old world, and to their despotic rulers, whose jealous eye eagerly watches our ever growing republic?
This is not a day or occasion to wound the feelings of any citizen, and I have no desire now to tread the path of political controversy. I am not animated by party spirit; but if the remembrance of the Declaration of Independence, and our present celebration of the birthday of our independence, shall be no mere form or social mockery-- if it is really our wish, our hope and our prayer to perpetuate for our posterity our national independence and happiness, we must know our danger and remember our duty. We have grown in numbers, in territory, in wealth, in power and influence; have we grown in piety and reliance upon Divine Providence, and in good will towards men, embracing the depressed and oppressed of foreign nations? Thus acted the signers of the Declaration of Independence. We have already demonstrated the first, and we have evidence from the same source of the second. One of the principal and first mentioned griefs against the King of Britain was: "He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states, for the purpose of obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither." Fellow citizens, the independent United States removed these obstructions, and we arc here, in the far West, native and naturalized citizens, but in law and in rights, members of one great prosperous American democratic republic. Our danger is that forgetting the real history of the Declaration of Independence, we should