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. The fpHowink ImpressivW and elo-
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laie ujustnoui Tu
was delivered Governor Tyler j of
ia. Wthe 25th nlt:
(( Why this numerous assemblage this
.solemn and melancholy procession, these
habiliments of woe ? Do tbev betoken, the
, ' fall of some might v autocrat, ofprae Im
;.. periai-)5!aster who hath " bestrid the
earth like a Colossus" andwhose remains
ore followed to the grave by the tools and
' minions of his po wer ? A t hey , ihe to
kens of ft ceremonious woe-a. mere mock
, ery of feeliog ? Or ate the the spontane-
- - ous ofierings jof gratitude and love ?
What mighty , man has fallen in Israel,
and why. has Virginia clothed hereself in
mourning i The tolling of yon dismal
- Belland the I6ud but solemn discbarge
of Artillery, batti announced tathe nation
the melancholy tidings Thomas Jeffer
on no longer lives. That glorious orb
which' has for so man v years given light
I to tiur footsteps, .h'ath set in death.; The
Patriot, the Statesman, the philosopher,
t!ie Philauthropist, has sunk into the
grave. Virginia mourns over hia remains,
wQ uer narp is nung upon idc; wiwows.
Why need I say more ? There is a
lauguage in this spectacle which speaks
more eloquence than tongue can i utter.
This is the testimony of a well spent life
the tribute of a nation's gratitude. Look
on this sight, ye rulers of the earth, and
learn from it the lessons of wisdom. Ye
ambitious and untamed spirits, who seek
the attainment of glory by ia scaffolding
formed of humao. suffering lebold a peo-
, pie in tears over the itinera bier of their
benefactor, and if true glory jbe your ob
ject, be guided by the light oitis example;
mv eountrymen,; 4inave no,-ojoy;-..
banner 'tc-presenr no oawies u rcyuuui
no sworu w um w-v,:T. -T
sword or belmet to deposit on 11 is
bparse 1 have to entwine a civic wreatn
wS Philosophy has woven, and patriot-
othmPh7ed. Thk achievements
of toef3r m the field, attract the at-
tention of mankind, and fasten on the
memory while the labours of Jhe civil-
iari too ften pass unnoted and unknown,
But notso with that man whose death we
this day mourn. The results of his poli-
y are exhibited in. all around. Al-
though his sun has sank below the hori-
son of this world, yet lintli it left, a traim
of iight, which shall never be extinguish-
At the commencement of hi successful
career, he manifested the same devotion
to ihe Rights of Man, which he evinced
in all his after life. At an eaily day be
so distinguished hfmself as the firm and
. fear less asserter of the rights q( Colonial
America, as to draw upon him the frown
oftheRoval Governor and had already
anticipated the occurrence of the period,
when the colonies should be elevated to
the - condition of free, sovereign and
indepndent States. Havingdrawn tfis
principles from the fountains of a pure
nhilosophv, ' he was prepared to assail j
.1 . m n l n m. I
I have to entwine a civic wreath
the slavisn doctrine inai maM wi mva- j
nable of sell government, and to aid in
building upon its overthrow, that happy j
system underwhich it is our destiny to j
live. OntHecoming of thartremendous
tnrm.
our country, Mr. Jefferson hesitated not ,
halted not. Born to,a rich inheritance, !
destined to the attainment of high, distinc
tion under the regal government, cour
ted hy the aristocracy of the land, he
jBdv.enturd, wub 4he. single motive, of
advancing the cause of his country and
0$ human freedom, into that perilous con
test, throwing into the scale his life and
fortune as of no value. The devoted
' friend of man, he had studied ; bis rights
in the great yolume of nature, and saw
Vith raptjare the era near at band, when
thte-rigbts'ihouid be proclaimed and
4be world aroused from the slumber of
centuries. The season was approaching
' tor the extension of the empire of reason
and philosophy y and the diciples of Locke
and of , Sidney rejoiced ar its approach.
Among bis fello laborers, those devoted
Champions of liberty, those brilliant lights
which shall forever burn, he stood con
spicuous. ifiut low transcendenlly bright
was that halo of glory by which he was
surrounded on the 4th of July 1776. Oh
be it ever precious in the recollection of
fcfreemen J; now" rendered doubly so by the
.recollection that if was the bath-day of a
nation; and, the last of him who had con
fei red pa i Immortality. Yes, illustrious
fiian-o-it was given thee to jive until the
advent of a Nation's Jubilee. Thy dis
embodied spirit was then upborne by the
blessings ot ten millions of icemen! and
the day and hour of thy renowji, was the
day and oour or my dissolution. Jlow
inseparable is nonr tbe connection between
that glorious epoch and this distinguished
citizen ! Does there bol teem v to have
been an especial , Providence in his death ?
The -sun of that day rose upon him.
life required a death so glorioos. VVho
now snau set nmus 10 nis.iamer Un
the annual recurrence of that rglorious
day, when with pious ardour, millions yet
unborn shall breathe the sentiments con
tained 1 in tue celebrated Declaration of
Independence; when the fires of liberty
snau oe Kinuiea on every nm ana shall
blaze, in every vale, shall not the name
of Jefferson be pronounced by every lip,
and written on eveiy heart ? Shall not the
rejoicings of that day and the recollection
of his death, cause the4 smilejto chase
away the tear, and the tear to becloud the
smile ? But not to the "future ' millions
of these happy states shall bis lame be
f and the roar of artiLlerV and the hosannas
a "i- vr ! J .'l'it Jsoungtalinj-uayra the aiitt.
rfMA9 JErFERSONi u,rjw, mi jujiuui unity i wi previous ' S
confined 5 that celebrated state paper will its garments dyed in the blood of the
be found wherever is to be found the martyr. Over the rest, of the wjrjd ne
abode of civilized man Sounded in the beh?ld the religion of ihe mpelrairtf hles
ears of tyrants;, they shall; tremble on sed Redeemer, converted intu a sypersiiq
their thrones; while man so long the tious rite and locked up in a gloomy and
victim of oppression, awakes from the ferocious myster. The sentence.of the
sleep of ages and burst his chains-j-The terrible inquisitor sounded in his ears,
day is rapidly approaching, a prophetic followed by the chains and the groans of
tongue has announced it, ' to some nktions the victim. If he looked in the direction
sooner, to others later, but finally tq all,"
wr.icu ii wiii uc maue manneii tflat the
mass ol mankind have not beep born
wun saaaies on tneir oacKs j nora favor- finishing the last ot this terribletragedy.
ed few booted and spurred, ready to ride He felt the full force of this picture!
them legitimately, by the grace of God.,?. and regardless of! all personal danger set
Already has this great truth aroused : about the accomplishment of the noble
the one half of this continent from, the 'purpose, of setting free the mind. He
lethargy in which it has so long reposed, who had so much contributed to the un
Already.arethepceans of liberty chanted j binding of the hands of his countrymen
from the Gulf of Mexico to the Rio de La j would have left his work unfinished if he
Plata, and its altars are erecting on the ru- bad not also unfettered their consciences,
ins of a superstitious idolatry. A might vi True, he had 111 all thitt artnt virh alim
spuiiwaiM uuruaa upon ineeartn wmcn
shall iri its on ward march overturn prin
cipalities and powers, and trample thrones
: -rrf. . "
tion of nations, hastened on as if will be
by the example of I America shall they
- h.,iL 5nn r ..
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Independence ; as the charter jf their
"ghts, andll not.ts author be hailed
" the benefactor of the redeemed ? ,
But, my countrymen, this state paper
is not the only lasting testimonial which
he bas left of his devotion to the,rights
of man. Where should I stop, were I to
recount the multiplied and various acts of
his life, all directed to the security or
those rights? The Statute Book of this
State, almost all that is wise iopolicy,or
sanctified by justice, bears the impress of
his genius, and furnishes evidence of that
devotion. I choose to present him to you
in the light of a l Mighty Reformer. He
was born to overturn systems, and to pull
down establishments. He; had a ; more
difficult task to accomplish than the war-
rior in the embattled field. He had to
conquer man and .; bring him to a true
knowledge of his own dignity. (He had
to encounter prejudices becomeenerable
by age to assail error in its strong pla-
ces, and to. expel ii even froni jits fastnes-
ses. He advanced' to the charge with a
bold and reckless intrepidity, but with a
calculating coolness. The Declaration of
mlit'nl T ii.al annk.n kail annnnnul
wiiau 1 ucjupuatu) ''""vvu
the great truth, that man was capable of
self-government j but it still remained for
him to atchieve a conquest .over an error
which was sanctified by age and fortified
to proclaim the important trutns that
1 Almighty God bath created the , mind
free ; that all attempts to influence it by
temporal punishments, or: burthens, or
' by civil incapacitations tend only to be-
get hypocrisy and meanness, and are a
departure from the plan of the holy au
Mhor of our religion, who being Lord
both of body and of mind, yet chose not
f topropogate it by coercions, on either,
fas was in bis Almighty power to do
that the impious presumption of legisla-
tors and rulers, civil as well as ecclesi
astical, who being themselves but falli
ble and uninspired men, have assumed
dominion over the faith of others, set ting
up their own opinions and modes of
thinking as the only true and infallible,
' aud as such endeavoring to impose them
on others, hath established and main-
tained false religions over the greatest
part of the world and through all time.'
That truth is great and will prevail, if
left to herself; that , she is the proper
' and sufficient antagonist to error, and
has nothing to fear from the conflict,
unless, by human interposition, disarmed
of her natural weapons, free argument
and debate, errors j ceasing to be dan
gerous when it is permitted freely to
contradict them.,--This is the language
of the Bill establishing Religious Free
dom, and is to be found on otir btatute
Book. How solemn and sc&lioe, and j
bow , transcendantlyl important mVfe our descent iaw in nrofeo ihtf bed f
mm,., wnic .t arinouncer to the Wid
What, but bis preat and miwerful
could have contemplated the brealdig a
!?e,lr!f T,dl m 7 te0
01 m-jn, woaia, naTe e-e.i u.ej;
cbardi throughout v all - Christendom, by
ujccttiuig mio sis very sanriuary ana ab
solving its connection wkh government ?
ti ne consulted tne pare ot nistory, be
found that the ChurcA establishment, ex
ercising unlimited pontroul over the con
science, and unlocking,1 at its pleasure.
the very gates of Heaven to the, faithful
devotee, had jn alt ages goversed the
world. - That Kings had been made bv
its thunders to tremble on their jhrones.
ahd.that thrones had been shivered bv
the lightnings of, its wrath. Injcasting
bis eyes over the face of the Glob he b-
estantism walking on the waters, ijut con-
iiusu aumiraiiea in us empire, ana even
from whence the sound proceeded, he saw
uie dies o the auto de fe consuming the
agonized body of the offender and thus
utors who. like himself had ad ven-
tpred all for their country, but he was the
great .Captain who arrayed the forces and
cdnsciehce was created free-Chlit h e is
no longer accountable to his fell jw man
for his religious opinions, being responsi
ble therefor only to j his God-Unt it is
impious in mortal man whether clothed in
purple or in lawn, to assume tlie judg
ment seat ; that the conuectionletween
Church and State is an unholy klliance
and the fruitful source of slavery and op
pression ; and srt it be dissolved. What
an imperishable monument has Mr. Jef
ferson thus reared to his memcrv, and
how strong are his claim to our gratitude.
When froin every part of this extended
republic, the prayers and thanksgiving of
countless thousands shall ascend to the
Throne of Grace, each bending at his
own altar, arid worshipping his Creator
after his own way, shall 'not ''every lip
breathe a blessing on hisjiame, and every
tongue speak forth his praise? 5f es, he
was born a blessing to his country, and in
the fullness of time shall become a bles
sing to mankind. He "was, indeed, a pre
cious gift a most beloved reformer. Shall
we not then, while weeping over ftis loss,
offer thanks to the giver of every perfect
gift for having permitted him to live ?
But, my countrymen, we have still fur
ther reason for the deepest gratitude. He
had not yet finished his memorable ef
forts in the cause of human liberty. The
temple had been reared, but it vas yet
exposed to violent assaults from without.
Those principles which in former ages
had defeated the hopes of man, arid bad
overthrown republics, remained to be
hunted out, exposed and guarded against.
The most powerful of these was the con
centration and perpetuation of wealth in
the hands of particular families, and the
creation thereby of an overweening aris
tocracy. The fatal influence of this
principle had been felt in all ages and in
all countries. The feeling of pride and
haughtiness which wealth is So well cal
culated to engender, and thejbomage
which mankind are unhappily so much
dishonored as to render it, causes Ihe per
petuation of larger fortunes in the hands
of families, the most fearful antagonist to
human liberty. Marcus Crassus had said
that the man who aspired to rule a re
public, should not be content until be
had mastered wealth sufficient jto main
tain an army, and Julias Casar ; paved
the way to the overthrow of Roman li
berty by the unsparing distribution, from
his inexhaustible stores of largesses to the
people. Mr. Jefferson saw, therefore,
the great necessity for reformation in our
municipal code, and the act abolishing
entails and that regulating descents are
in all their essential features; the offspring
of bis well constituted intellect' He bas
acted throughout on the great principle of
the equality of mankind; and his very
effort has been directed to the preserva
tion of that equality among hi country-
taen. How powerful in its operation
Fouhded on the everlasting priacles of
i.i.; J.' . t" . vl...!
- t dren the (ruits of ih Pntt ;fbobrJ
bhrii j i no longer cbnWSJeld, tl,e
10 1 v with ih th.... ; z a-ii.
ctuua to the dorabilit v of our Imoni:
rhMM in ilia J.L:l'.i ii. . - "'?,"', ,
is engendered in the bosoms pf cfrrciti-;
tens. Thus is it that we are -unjer the!
influence of an Agrarian law Jn effect :
while nature, instead of being rviu&ied is'
protected, and industry instead of being
suppressed, is excited by new stimuli.
cgii lawgiver 01 aparia in vain
sought to perpetuate the prirrciefe' of e-
Lquality amongst the' citizens of that re
nowned republic, by various; measures,
air of which ultimately failed bur, here
is a measure which cannot fail a niea
sure which depends not upon veneration
for. tht character of any one man.' but
lays hold of the affections, and records
its own perpetuity in the great volume of
nature measure which will every day
more conspicuously develope its'beauties.
One, without which the bood shed in
the revolution would have been shed in
vain without which the glories of that
struggle woild fade away, or exist but as
another prooV of man's incapacity for self
government. What more shall I say of
it? May I riot call it that great meas
ure, which to ur political, like the sun
to our plarieterj
system, imparts light
i alif its beauties and
ngth? Tell rae'lhen,
and heat unvi
.4 . 2" :.
manifests its stt
ye destinies that
ontrol the future, say
is noi inis man's lame inscribed in aaa-
k . . ....
mant ! Say,' raeupf the present age, yetv
lovers of liberty, y shining lights-from
amid the gloom of he world, say, does
Virginia claim too nmch when she pro
nounces her Jefferson wiser than the la w
givers of antiquity ?-!rTelI me then, men
of America, have you not lost your fa
ther, your benefactor your best -friend ?
A .J u . 1.' .1 ' :. .
where
ww
lamps in the mighty
and distribute the blessings of bis exis
tence around you ? - v
Here then 1 might stop. The cause
of this mournful procession is explained
the picture might be considered as per
fect. His claim to the gratitude of
mankind is made manifest, and his title
to immortality is established. But his
labours did not here cease. I have still
to exhibit him to you in other lights than
those
in which we have regarded him J
sent other claims to your venera-
nd . gratitude. Passing over those
to present
tion and gratitude. Passing
incidents which his history has already
recorded, let us regard him while in that
station, which I now fill, more by the
kindness of the public, than from any
merit of my own. We here recognise in
bim the able vindicator of insulted A
merica, against the sarcasms of Europe
an philosophy, indulging in the visions
of a fallacious theory, it was attempted to
be proved that the flush which nature as
sumed on the other side of the Atlantic,,
was converted on this continent into the
cadaverous aspect of disease and degen
eracy. That, while she walked abroad
over the face of Europe, in ail hex beau
tiful proportion, here she hobbled on
crutches and degenerated into a dwarf.
How successfully he threw back this
slander upon our calumniators, let the
world decide. Hrs Notes on Virginia,
will ever bear him faithful witness. Slan
ders upon nations make the deepest and
most lasting impression. They fall not on
one man, but on a whole people, and if
not refuted, tend to sink them in the
scale of existence. If under any circum
stances they are to be depreacted, how
much more are they to be so, when pub
lished against a nation not even in the.
gristle of manhood, unknown to the mass
of mankind, and struggling to be free.
Such was the condition of America at
that day. Shut out from free intercourse
with Europe, by the monopolizing spirit
of the parent state, she had remained un
known to the world, .and. was regarded
as an extensive wild, within whose bosom
the fires of genius and of intellect had
not as yet been kindled Mr. JVfferson
saw then the injury which she would sus
tain if these slanders remained unrefutefL
Vigilant at bis post, and guardful of the
interest of the states, he encountered the
most distinguished of the philosophers of
Europe, and his victory, was complete. It
was answer enough for him to have said,
what in substance he did say, that in war
we had produced a Washington,- in phy
sic ks a Franklin j and in astronomy a
Rittenhouse and if his triumph had not
then been esteemed complete, might we
not add with a certainty of success, thpt
in philosophy and politics America bad
produced a Jefferson. ' ' r
In all the various stations which 1 be af
terward filled' we find hi laboring cn-
ceasingly bV : the : good of his Con
uaving won hy his virtues and- taluur
the confidence of Washi nrton fm Iran
State, a In this Station li vmrfiritl Vt,i . . ; I
rights ot America against the -tanhlJtir f V;
xifjthe European Cabiiietsf.tnjit gave rtf .
-:rzy- MIPTt which
will be dutmywah...! iim , i "j - i
ges. : When the ;future'staresnwn sllVv :
look for a model from which to form i.j- 1
style of diplomatic writing, will he nnr '
cease his search, and seize with avidity
on that oHspring of the Secretarv'i ii.
in his correspondence with Hammond t
and Glnet ? Called at. length, bv the 1
voice of the people, to the Presidency of
these United States, he furnished the mo
del of an adminstration conducted on the
purest principles of republicanism. He
sought no? to enlarge his powers by con
struction, but, referring every thing to
his conscience, made that the standard of
the constitutional interpretation. Regar
ding tne government in its true and beau
tiful light of a confederation of states, he
could not be drawn from his course by any
of those splendid conceptions which shine
but to mislead. He extinguished $33,
000,000 of the national debt enlarged
the boundaries of our territorial jurisdic
tion, by the addition of regions more ex
tensive than our original possessions-;-,
overawed the Barbary Powers, and pre
served the peace of the nation amidst the
tremendous convulsions which then agi
tated the world. I will dwell no longer
on this, fruitful topic, nor indulge my
feelings. Party spirit is buried in his
guic ouu 1 win uui uisiaier it, tne
American people will as one man look
with admiration ' on his character, and
dwell with affectionate delight over those
bright incidents in bis life to which I have
already alluded. ' '-
Thus, then, my countrymen, in the
69th year of his age, he terminated his
political career and went into the shades ,
of retirement atTMonticello. But unlike
the politicians of other days, who had fled
voted to the science, the last pf his la
bours, reared under his auspices, arid
cherished by his care, testify to. this.
How choice and how delightful thiVtke
last fruit of his bearing How lasting a
monument will it be to his memory 1 It
will be, we may fondly hope, the per
petual nursery of those great principles
which it was the business of his life to in
culcate. The Youth of Virginia and the
Youth of our Sister States, to use bit own
beautiful language, "will bring hither
' their genius to be kindled at our fire.'
The good .Old Dominion, the blessed
Mother of us all, will then raise her head
' with pride among the nation.'
When History shall, at some future
day, come to draw his character, to what
department shall she assign him ? Shalt
aheenciicle his brow with the wreath of
civic worth ? Or shall Philosophy weave,
a garland of her own ? He is equally
dear to all' the sciences, in mournful
procession they have repaired to the
Tomb where his mortal remains are in
urned and hallowed the spot Yes, hal
low'd be the spot where he rests from his
labors -wave after wave may roll by,
sweeping in its resistless course countless
generations from the face of the earth,
yet Shall the resting place of Jefferson be
hallow'd like Mount Vernon, Monticel
lo shall catch the eye of the way farer
and arrest his course. There shall he
draw the inspirations of liberty, and learn
those great truths which nature destined'
bim to know. .
Is not then this man's life most bean;
tifully consistent ? Trace bim from the
period of his earliest manhood, to the
hour of his final dissolution, and does not
his ardour in the prosecution of the-great
cause of human rights, excite your admi
ration and enlist your gratitude? May
it not be said that he has lived only for
the good of others ? Look upon him in
the last, stage of his existence.' But &
few days before his death he exults in the
happiness of his country and the full con
formation of bis labours. With the pros
pect of death before him, suffering un
der a cruel disease, he offers op an im
pressive prayer for the good of mankind
when speaking of the then approach
ing jubilee, io writing to the Mayor; of ,
Washington, he says may it be to the !
world what I believe it will be, ihe signal
of arousing men to burst the chains un
der which monkish ignorance and super
stltion bad "persuaded them to bind tbem
rselves. and to assume the blessings of
free government" and it snail oe tnac
signal; a flood of light. has burst - upon
ihe world, and the Juggernauts of super
stition, and tbe gloom of ignorance, shall c
melt vin Its brightness. -Will jou look
upon him, my countrymen in the last
moments of his existence" ? Shall I make
knoirn ta yon bis fond concern for yon
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