fiend of hell and enemy of happiness, would be banished from the human breast; and one more prospered of heaven than his fellows, would look down upon them, not to despise their poverty, nor to rejoice in their misery, nor to deprive them of their _liberty_; (the last earthly blessing that man can lose;) but to compassionate their necessities, to console them under adversity, and to administer to their relief. The whole human family would be bound together by the sense of a common nature, and the bonds of sincere affection: in a word, they would feel that they were _bone of each other’s bone; and flesh of each other’s flesh_; and in all cases, and under all circumstances, they would act like _brethren_. From these remarks, you will perceive that the words of my text, although they are not a part of the inspired volume, contain sentiments in perfect accordance with the divine declarations. This consideration therefore is sufficient to entitle them to the highest respect. But, in this favoured land, they do not need this argument to give them authority. They are the words of our _fathers_; not spoken by the fireside, or in the closet, while they rested quietly in the midst of their domestick circles, without a witness of their declarations; but proclaimed and published to the whole world, while they stood in jeopardy of their lives and all that they held dear on earth; and with a solemn appeal _to the_ SUPREME JUDGE _of the world for the rectitude of [their] intentions_. Nay, more; some of them sealed this declaration with their own blood, and voluntarily laid down their lives, to deliver their posterity from tyranny and oppression, and to procure for them the blessings of _liberty_ and self-government. Confining ourselves to this view of the subject, we should pronounce that native American unworthy of his parentage and the name which he bears, who would not revere the words of his father, uttered under such circumstances. Nay, that man, let him be who he will, and let his circumstances be what they may, is unworthy to tread American soil and breathe American air, who does not cheerfully and sincerely adopt the words of my text, as containing the sentiments of his heart, “_All men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness._”