Show ALEXANDER HAMILTON dr gordy commenced his hia course of historical lectures at st marks school monday night may jtb the subject was wag an excellent one splendidly bandied and attentively listened to by a large and appreciative audience it was alexander hamilton the speaker commenced by saying we begin our national existence with little or no national patriotism aj the main drift of the lecture was the development of national iem IBM hamilton was the strong hand the master mind that st grasped rasped the elements that were wandering away from a strong central government vern ment and cemented them into a permanency and endurance that has remained unshaken une haken it was his bis wisdom and foresight that the darkness dark oese the difficulty and discord accles of the times of the inauguration atlon of a seres of policies that would wield separate and sovereign governments govern mente for such were the thirteen original states c considered under the articles of confederation then in force the ideas were adopted and a great and respected government such as we now have was formed that there was a lack of national patriotism on the part of the states after having obtained tai ned their independence is evidenced by the follow following iniz words of the state constitution words of the articles of confederation and policies that were added to each other by the states here the speaker called special attention to the words in connecticut ts Is con this republic Ke public to is and shall forever be of S auth carolina Is constitution ution this country shall be known as south carolina of new york this convention doth elph catly declare that no body of men shall exercise any authority over the people of the state save as granted by them 1 I notice also the selfsame idea embodied in the articles of confederation each state shall retain its sovereignty and independence the hindrance and obstruction by the states tc their own prosperity points to the indisputable fact that thai there was a lack of national patriotism it would be no exaggeration to declare that commercial warfare actually existed in various sections of the confederacy the states of massachusetts rhode island and new hampshire ham shut their ports against england only to have connecticut smile and beckon the english trade history portrays how now new york levied tariff upon connecticut and new jersey connecticut retaliated with a penalty of upon any of her citizens who would be unpatriotic enough to import from the dominions of the tyrant to in the west new jerseys jersey Is retaliation was a demand ft upon now new york who had built a lighthouse on the form formers erPs coast to pay 1800 pennsylvania regarded the immigrants from connecticut as subjects from a foreign country araj and sent its militia to drive them beyond its borders when they pleaded for mercy bread and protection all this in the midst of storms and freshets fresh ets desolation hunger and disease four years t to the ra recognition of the Deti declaration of independence pen dence by european powers none of them would treat with the so called united states without specific inquiry first being made as to whether our ministers represented the states or the general government according to the articles ot confederation tareq could be levied but not collected acts could be passed but not executed the people refused absolutely to pay taxes into the treasury of the general government in 1876 the government was practically penniless I 1 it t was without money or resources of any kind it was in a state of dire need there was this lacking a govern ment that could reach over and beyond its people and compel obedience and res respect otherwise poverty piracy beggary or starvation would be the train of eals that would naturally follow out of this unsatisfactory condition of affairs was the constitution evolved As was said sad by john adam the constitution was extorted from the grinding necessities of a reluctant people even after we the of this instrument these was no common country at least not a 61 proper P love for country the all amr important tont problem to solve was how to create a love for country another important question was by those who were closest to the pulses of the people and the times how coski the country be kept together until a fraternal love could be called forth the country had but one man who could be relied upon as being t iqual to the emergency that man was alexander hamilton applause his work commenced and was carried on in earnest the rhe great it struggle ruggle was t make self interest do the work of patriotism until patriotism was itself do de veloree velo pee every dollar that the government owes must be paid to those who held government paper this would attract to the of the government men of influence and money the debts ol of the states must likewise be paid that would be another bond of confidence and support and so it wap tariffs must be levied and collected and excises imposed for similar reasons the national bank system v was as proposed a pd and its it legality argued through the ablest state papers papi rs to the end that other elements would adhere and give strength and authority to the government his interpretation of the he COB ution was that there were implied aswell as well as expressed powers I 1 in n the section granting powers to congress is s the power to do what is necessary and proper IP this meant mant not what was indispensable but what was expedient ent I 1 useful useful desirable the fhe lecturer dwelt at length and with great plainness on the subject of implied powers hamilton was the th great crysta lizer and caught the stra elements of self belt interest and tied them together for the peoples good and add caused the hearts and sympathies of those who were reluctant to turn to the government prom from him came the roe proud droud spirit of nationalism and national love I 1 ii 1 concluding his lecture dr gordy paid a glowing tribute to hamilton Ha millon re as a 9 se scholar N olar orator and statesman |