II. LIBERTY.

drive me leave, my dear General, to present you with a picture of the Bastille, junt as it looked a few days after I had ordered its demolition,-with the main key of the fortress of despotism. It is a tribute, which I owe, as a son to my adoptive father, as an Afd-de-camp to my General, as a Missionary of liberty to its Patriarch. LAFAYETTE, March 17, 1790.

CIVIL LIBERTY.

Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.

The political state of affairs in France, seems to be in a delicate situation. What will be the issue, is not easy to determine; but the spirit which is diffusing itself, may produce changes in that government, which, a few years ago, could hardly have been dreamt of.

The American Revolution, or the peculiar light of the age, seems to have opened the eyes of almost every nation in Europe.

A spirit of equal liberty appears fast to be gaining ground every where; which must afford satisfaction to every friend of mankind.

If we mean to support the liberty and independence, which it has cost as so much blood and treasure to establish, we must drive far away the demon of party spirit and local reproach.

Should the conduct of the Americans, whilst promoting their own happiness, influence the feelings of other nations, and thereby render a service to mankind, they will receive a double pleasure.

Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of our hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary, to fortify or confirm the attachment.

None of them* will ever submit to the loss of those valuable rights and privileges, which are essential to the happiness of every free State, without which, life, liberty, and property are rendered totally insecure.

In a government as free as ours, where the people are at liberty, and will express their sentiments, (oftentimes imprudently, and, for want of information, sometimes unjustly,) allowances must be made for occa

*The Colonies.

sional effervescences; but, after the declaration which I have made of my political creed, you can run no hazard in asserting, that the Executive branch of this government never has suffered, nor will suffer while I preside, any improper conduct of its officers to escape with impunity, nor give its sanction to any disorderly proceedings of its citizens.

THE CAUSE OF THE AMERICAN COLONIES.

If historiographers should be hardy enough, to fill the page of history with the advantages that have been gained, with unequal numbers, on the part of America in the course of this contest, and attempt to relate the distressing circumstances under which they have been obtained, it is more than probable, that posterity will bestow on their labors the epithet and marks of fiction; for it will not be believed, that such a force as Great Britain has employed, for eight years, in this country, could be baffled in their plan of subjugating it, by numbers infinitely less, composed of men oftentimes half starved, always in rags, without pay, and experiencing, at times, every species of distress which human nature is capable of undergoing.

1783.

Great Britain thought, she was only to hold up the rod, and all would be hushed.

When we consider the magnitude of the prize we contended for, the doubtful nature of the contest, and the favorable manner in which it has terminated, we shall find the greatest possible reason for gratitude and rejoicing.

This is a theme that will afford infinite delight to every benevolent and liberal mind, whether the event in contemplation be considered as the source of present enjoyment, or the parent of future happiness; and we shall have equal occasion to felicitate ourselves, on the lot which Providence has assigned us, whether we view it in a natural, a political, or a moral point of light.

The rights of mankind, the privileges of the people, and the true principles of liberty, seem to have been more generally discussed, and better understood, throughout Europe, since the American Revolution, than they were at any former period.

THE SPIRIT OF THE REVOLUTION.

The value of liberty was enhanced in our estimation, by the difficulty of its attainment, and the worth of character appreciated by the trial of adversity. The tempest of war having at length been succeeded by the sunshine of peace, our citizen-soldiers impressed a useful lesson of patriotism on mankind, by nobly re

turning, with impaired constitutions and unsatisfied claims, after such long sufferings and severe disappointments, to their former occupations. Posterity, as well as the present age, will doubtless regard, with admiration and gratitude, the patience, perseverance and valor, which achieved our Revolution. They will cherish the remembrance of virtues which had but few parallels in former times, and which will add new lustre to the most splendid page of history.

I concur with the legislature in repeating, with pride and joy, what will be an everlasting honor to our country, that our Revolution was so distinguished for moderation, virtue, and humanity, as to merit the eulogium they have pronounced, of its being unsullied with a crime.

FALSE AND CRUEL POLICY OF GREAT BRITAIN.

Great Britain understood herself perfectly well, in this dispute, but did not comprehend America.

She meant, as Lord Camden clearly and explicitly declared, to drive America into rebellion, that her own purposes might be more fully answered by it. But take this along with it, that this plan originated in a firm belief, founded on misinformation, that no effectual opposition would or could be made. They

* 1777.