ard Henry Lee, and, as it has been asserted, at the instance of Mr. Adams. The committee on this motion consisted of Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Sherman and Livingston, by whom Jefferson and Adams were appointed a sub-committee, and then the making of the original draught of the Declaration was devolved on Mr. Jefferson alone. That which he presented was approved by Mr. Adams, then by the whole committee, and reported to the Congress without the change of a single syllable. Some portions of the original were stricken out by that body before its adoption. Among which was a most eloquent and impressive invective against the king, for having introduced negro slavery into the Colonies, and still continuing the slave trade; which Mr. Jefferson's friends would not permit to remain, but they could not deprive him of the honor of having proposed it.

The Declaration, in its present form, was adopted by vote of the Congress, and subscribed by its members, on the 4th of July, 1776, the most important day, politically speaking, that the world has ever seen. Our admiration of this instrument is raised, not merely by the unequalled elegance and elevation of its style, but by the matchless thoughts that strike so forcibly upon the heart-by the principles it developes, and that firmness of purpose, which gives form and vigor to those principles; and that spirit, which breathes them into life, and energy, and action. But it is as a great, solemn political act, that it demands our highest veneration. What had the world ever seen that was equal, that approached to it? Go to antiquity-to Greece, to Rome-travel over France, Spain, Germany, and the whole of modern continental Europe. All was comparative gloom : political science had not risen. Go to the isles of the sea-to Britain, then the most free ofnations: and Englishmen would proudly point you to their Magna Charta, as their most valuable birthright, and the greatest bulwark of liberty which any nation had raised. It was so. And yet how does it dwindle in the contrast with our Declaration of Independence, which was a greater era in the history of

mankind, than Magna Charta was, in the history of England. The latter was a concession, extorted by armed barons from their Sovereign. It was, what it is called, a charter, from the King, as the fountain of all right and power. He was their lord and master-the ultimate owner of all the soil in the kingdom; and this was a grant, forced it is true, but still a grant, from his grace and favor, allowing the exercise of some rights to his subjects, and consenting to some limits to his royal prerogative.

The former is not a grant of privileges to a portion of a single nation-it is a Declaration, by a whole people, of what before existed, and will always exist, the native equality of the human race, as the true foundation of all political, of all human institutions. It was an assertion, that we held our rights, as we hold our existence, by no charter, except from the KING of Kings. It vindicated the dignity of our nature. It rested upon this "one inextinguishable truth, which never has been and never can be wholly eradicated from the human heart, placed as it is, in the very core and centre of it by its Maker, that man was not made the property of man—that human power is a trust for human benefit, and that when it is abused, resistance becomes justice and duty."

This great truth was proclaimed to the world, with a voice that reached over oceans and continents, and found an instant response in every human breast. I cannot exaggerate to myself the effects it will produce, not merely upon this country, but upon the future condition of the human race. Its power was soon felt in the tremendous revolutions of France, and the convulsive throes for liberty throughout Europe.

But it may be asked, how could those scenes, of horror and of crime, have flowed from the pure and beneficent principles of that Declaration? The answer is ready. The soil of France was not prepared for the seeds of liberty, and falsehood, impiety, and unbridled passion sprung up. The immense populace were there sunk in the depths of brutal ignorance. It had been for ages the policy of the civil rulers and the clergy

to keep the people in profound darkness, as the means of perpetuating their own power. The mind and the body were both held in thraldom. An arbitrary government had prostrated them to the earth, and a catholic priesthood had thrown over them the pall of bigotry, through which no ray from above could penetrate. Ground into the dust, they felt like men, though they could not see like men. They knew that they were wronged, but knew not the means of redress; and, rising in their wrath, were indiscriminate in their vengeance. The people, there, were the strong man, who had been shorn of his locks, and bound in fetters, and his eyes sealed up from the light of Heaven, and his toil and agony were made the profit and the sport of lords and nobles! No wonder, that in his blindness and his rage, he laid hold of the pillars of the fabric, which sustained them, and buried himself and his oppressors in undistinguished ruin.

But the convulsions and miseries of Europe, since our revolution, have not been in vain. They afford lessons to rulers and subjects which cannot be forgotten. Inquiry has been excited, knowledge is extending, the rights and duties of man are becoming better understood, and must in their progress be universally asserted and exercised. By the effects of our Declaration of Independence, South America has been emancipated, Europe enlightened, and Greece, unhappy Greece, aroused from her lethargy of centuries.

Mr. Adam's participation in this great measure is not less honorable than that of his illustrious colleague. His whole soul seemed wrapt up in the issue. His efforts were unremit ted. "Instant in season and out of season"-in the Congress, and out of it-in conversation and in debate, he exerted all his powers of persuasion, and poured forth his highest strains of eloquence; and by the aid of Him, who "touched Isaiah's hallowed lips with fire," he moved the heart and convinced the mind, and his glorious purpose was accomplished. To have been, the one the author, and the other the most efficient advocate of that Declaration, is fame enough for both.

It has placed them on the highest pinnacle of human greatness, and their names will go down with unfading glory to future ages.

But it was not by this act alone that Jefferson and Adams were distinguished in the Continental Congress. In that assembly of glowing patriots, they were always among the most ardent with the daring and fearless, they were among the boldest: with the unyielding-among the firmest: and with the sagacious the wisest. And when we say that they were eminently conspicuous in the old Congress at Philadelphia, in order to understand the full merit of such distinction, we must recollect who were the men that composed that body. If we examine their individual characters, their state papers and their public acts, we shall, with the celebrated Chatham, yield them collectively our unqualified admiration. It is difficult to speak of them with simple justice, without appearing to use the language of extravagant eulogium. For all, who have not well considered, will think it incredible that they should have been men of such overshadowing greatness. But it should be remembered that great occasions make great men. That it is amidst political revolutions that powerful minds are formed and called into action. The sparks of genius are struck out by the concussion, and the fury of the blast but increases the intensity of its fires. In the calm of peace, intellect may be torpid, or the inferior and unworthy, by the little arts of intrigue, may rise to place and power. But when the storm rages, and all feel that they are embarked together upon the waves-then, when the timid quail, and the feeble tremble, and the short-sighted are confounded-none but the strong hand, and the firm heart, and the unblenched eye, can hold the helm and direct the course. It is amidst the war of the elements that the master spirits rule.

Mr. Adams was removed from the Congress to other scenes of important duty and usefulness. In August, 1779, he was sent to Europe as a Commissioner of peace. The public ship, on board which he embarked, was commanded by the gallant

Commodore Tucker, now living, and a citizen of this State, who took more guns from the enemy, during the revolutionary war, than any other naval commander, and who has been far less known and rewarded than his merits deserved. One occurrence on their passage is worthy of relation, as illustrating the characters of both. Discovering an enemy's ship, neither could resist the temptation to engage, although against the dictates of prudent duty. Tucker, however, stipulated that Mr. Adams should remain in the lower part of the ship as a place of safety. But no sooner had the battle commenced than he was seen on deck, with a musket in his hands, fighting as a common marine. The Commodore peremptorily ordered him below, but, called instantly away, it was not until considerable time had elapsed, that he discovered this public minister still at his post, intently engaged in firing upon the enmy. Advancing, he exclaimed, why are you here, Sir? I am commanded by the Continental Congress to carry you in safety to Europe, and I will do it: and, seizing him in his arms, forcibly carried him from the scene of danger.

Mr. Adams remained in Europe during the remainder of the war, and for some time after, and went from court to court unceasingly exerting himself for the benefit of his country. He succeeded in negotiating a loan at Amsterdam; and a treaty of amity and commerce, and also a convention with the Netherlands, both of which were signed in October, 1782. He was engaged in negotiating the treaty with Great Britain which terminated the war, and his name is subscribed to the provisional articles of peace of November, 1782; the armistice declaring a cessation of hostilities, of January, 1783; and the definitive treaty of peace of September of the same year. He was subsequently Ambassador to the court of St. James, and one of the negotiators of the treaty of 1785, with Prussia.

Mr. Jefferson remained in the United States, continuing his efforts for the general good, in the several capacities of Delegate to Congress, a Member of the Legislature and Gov