ORATION

1}£UVERE1>

BY MR S. RIGDON

ON

THE 4th OF JULY,

1838.

AT FAR WEST, CALDWELL COUNTY, MISSOURI

Better far sleep with the dead, than be oppressed among the living.

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FAR WEST:

fRINTED AT THE JOURNAL OEFICK.

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Friends and Fellow Citizens;

By your request, I am called upon to address you this day, under circumstances novel to myself, and 1 pre- sume as much so to the most of you; for however frequently we may have met with our fellow-citizens* in times past, in the places of our nativity, or of our choice, to mingle our feelings with theirs, and unite with them in grateful acknowledgments to our Di ine Benefactor, on the anniversary of our national existance; but not before, have we been assembled by reason of our holy religion; for which cause alone, a very large majority of us is here this day. But though our residence here, is far from the sepulchres of our fath- ers, and from the lands of our nativity and former choice; and our association here,, as novel, and as strange to ourselves, as it could be, to an}' portion of our fellow-men; still, we Iviil the return oi' the birth day of our liberties, with no less feelings ot joy and grati- tude: nor no less desire, for the prosperity and continuance, of the fabric of our national government, inspires our breasts this day, than when met in the nixed assemblies of all religions, as in tines past, in the lands of our nativity.

Nor indeed could it otherwise be; fram our infancy, we have been traditionated to believe ours, to be the best government in the world. Our fathers, our neighbors, and our associates in life, have extalled its excellence to the highest pinacle of fame in our cars, even before we were capable of judging of its merits for our- selves, or were able to form an estimate of its worth. As we ad- vanced in life, we heard nothing else from our statesmen and heroes, but the perfection and excellence of our political institutions, and the superiority of our government, over all the governments of the world; whether they existed in former or latter times. It is the government under which we were born and educated, or else we ex- changed Another for it, \vith whose form we were not satisfied, and in our hearts gave this the preference, and sought by removal to enjoy its benefits.

YVe have been taught from our cradles, to reverence the fathers of the Re olutiou, and venerate the very urns which contain the ashes of those who sleep; and every feeling of our hearts responds in perfect unison to the precept. Osr country and its institutions, are written on the tablet of our hearts, as with the blood of the he- roes wh > offered their lives in sacrifice, to redeem us fro r. oppros- ■ 8lun, On its towers, the flag of freedom waves, and invites th.^

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oppressed to enter, and find nn asylum. Under the safeguard of its constitution, the tyrant's grasp is unfastened, and equal rights and privileges flow to every part of the grand whole. Protected by its laws and defended by its powers, the oj pressed and persecuted saint can worship under his own. vine, and under his own figtree, and none can molest or make afraid. Wc have always contemplated it, and do now, as the only true fabric of freedom, and bullwork of liberty, in the world.

Its very existence, has taught the civilized world, lessons of free- dom, far surpassing those of a Pitt, a Wilberforce, a Canning, or a Grey, and has cast all their efforts in the shade forever. It has stood, and now stands, as the arbiter of the world, the judgerof the nations, and the rebuker of tyrants.

Throughout the world, it is the standard of freedom, botb civil and religious. By its existance, the fears of the superstitious have been removed, and the pretexts of tyrants have been swept away as a refuge of lies, and the rights of man have been restored, and freedom,, bpfh political and religious, have been made to triumph.

Our government is known throughout the civilized world, as the standard of freedom, civil, religious, and, political,; by it are the .acts of all nations tried, and it serves to expose the frauds, the de- ceptions, and the crafts, of" the old world, in attempting to pawn up- on the people, monarchy and arastocracy,. for republicanism and freedom. So powerful has been its influence, that the hand of the opp lessor, even in the old world, has been lightened, tyrants have been made to tremble, and oppressors of mankind, have been filled with fear. Thrones, if they have not been cast down, have been striped of their terror, and the oppressed subject has been, measur- ably, delivered from his bondage.

Having been rocked in the cradle of liberty, and educated in. tbx school of freedom, all our prejudices and prepossessions are deeply routed in favor of the superlative excellence of a government, from which all our privileges and enjoyments have flown. We ace wedded fn it by the strongest ties; bound to it by cords as strong as death. To preserve it, aught to be our aim in all our pursuits, to maintain its constitution unvio.able, its institutions uncorrupted, its laws un- violated, and its order u^.deraneed. ' < (.

There is one thing, in the midst of our political differences, which ought to create feelings of joy and gratitude in every heart, and in the bosojpn of every wellwLsher to mankind; that, all parties, in politics, tics, express the strongest desire to preserve both the anion and the constitution unimpaired and unbroken*, and only differ aboa< the means to accomplish this object; so desirable, as expressed by ali parties. And while this, indeed, is the object of parties in this re- public, there is nothing to fear. The prospects for the future, wi.Il he as flattering as the past.

In celebrating this, the anniversary of our independence, all pain- ty distinctions should be forgotten, all religious differences fchdtfld be laid aside. We are members of one common republic, equally de- pendent on a faithful execution of its laws for our protection, in the enjoyment of our civil, political, and religious privileges. All have n common interest in the preservation of the Union, and in the de- fence and support of the constitution. Northern, southern, and western interests, ought to be forgotten, or lost for the time being, in the more noble desire to preserve the nation, as one whole; for on this depends the security of all local and sccrionai interest; for if we cannot preserve them by supporting the Union, we cannot bv rending it in pieces. In the former there is hope, in the latter fear. In one peace, in the other war.

In times of peace, it ought to be our aim and our object, to strengthen the bonds of the Union by cultivating peace and good will among ourselves. And in times of war, to meet our foes sword in hand, and defend our rights, at the expense of life. For what is life when freedom has fled ? It is a name, a bubble; better far sleep with the dead, than be oppressed among the living.

All attempts, on the part of religious aspirants, to unite church and state, ought to be repeled with indignation, and every religious society supported in its rights, and in the exercise of its conscien- tious devotions. The Mohameden, the Pagan, and the Idolitor, not excepted, and be partakers equally, in the benefits cf the gov- ernment. For if the Union is preserved, it will be by endearing the peon!? to it; and this can only be done by securing to all thmr most sacred rights. The least, aeviation, from the strictest rule of right, on the part of any portion of the people, or their public servants, will create dissatisfaction, that dissatisfaction will end in strife, strife in war, and war, in the dissolution of the Union.

It is on the virtue of the people, that depends tin* existence of the government, and not on the wisdom of legislators. Wherefore serveth laws, (it matters not how righteous in themselves,) when the people in violation of them, tear those rights from one another, which they [the laws] were designed to protect? l^ we preserve the natidn from ruin, and the people from war, it will be by secur- ing to others, what we claim to ourseh's, and being as zealous to defend another's rights, as to secure our swn. If on this day, the fathers of our nation, pledged their fortunes, their lives, and their sacred honors, to one another, and to the colonies which they rep- resented, to be free, or to loose all earthly inheritance, not life, and honor excepted. So ought we to follow their example, and pledge our fortunes, our lives, and our sacred honors, as their children mi successors, in maintaining inviolable, what they obtained by their treasure, and their blood.

With holy feelings, sacred desires, and grateful hearts to our Divine Benefactor, o ight we to perform the duties of this day, and

enjoy the privileges, which, as saints of the riving G,j<I, we enjoy in this land of liberty and freedom, where our most sacred rights, even that of worshiping our God according to his wdl, is secured nnto us by law, and our religious rights so identified with the exist* on<-- of the nation, that to deprive us of them, will be to doom the nation to ruin, and the Union to dissolution.

* It is now three score and, two years, since the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, causeJ the proclamation to go forth among the people of. the continents, that the people of ttiis nation .should be free, and that over them, "kings should not rule, and princes decree authority;" and all this, preparatory, to the great work which he had designed to accomplish in the hist days, in flic .face of all people, in order, that the Son of God, the Savior, of the world, should come down from heaven, and reign in mount Zion, ,and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously; according to the testimony of all the holy prophets, since the world began. And it is eight years, two months, and twenty eight days, since this church of th k last days was orgaaized, by the revelations of that .same Jesus, who is coming to reign before his ancients gloriously: then consisting of six members only.

At its first appearance, excitement began to prevail among the people where it made its appearance, and as it increased in numbers, the excitement increased. The first attact made upon it, by its en- emies, was by false representation and foul slander. By this engine it was assailed from every quarter, and by all classes of men, reli- gious and unreligious: misrepresentation followed misrepresentation, falsehood after falsehood, followed each other in rapid succession, until there must have been multitudes of them created in a minute, by those employed in it, or else they could not have gotten so many put in circulation. This scheme not succeeding, the enemies had recourse to prosecutions, which were multiplied continually, appa- rently with. determination, to destroy every person who united to aid and assist in bringing forth the work, of the Lord. But all this not succeeding, according to the expectations of the persecutors; the.v united t ■• an this power, that 01 m ;l>s, driving ifxetk, women, and children, from their houses, dragingthein out in the dead hours of thfl night, o t .of \Uvii- beds, whipping, tarring and feathering, and otherwise shamefully treating thera.

Nor were those means the only ones resorted to in this work of persecution, but being determined to put an end to the church for- ever; they added to all the rest of the means used, stealing the pro- perty of the saints, also burning houses and charging it on their [the saints] heads, in order to raise public indignation agaipst them; as also false swearing, and indeed we may: add, all other means .wh ch the adversary had in his power to use, nothing seems to be teft undone, that could be done, by men and demons, in order that the purposes of Gou might fail; but stilt the object, so much djsired

. _ . oy many, has not as yet been obtained. Under all this lire of persecution, the cause has rolled on with a steady course; the in- crease has been gradual, but constant, and the church, at this ti:ne, numbers many thousands: some in the old world have become obedient to the faith, multitudes in the Canadas, as well as in most parts of the United States.

During these scenes of persecution, a number of the saiats have fost their lives, and others are missing, and ,it is unknown what has become of them; but the presumption is, that they have been se- cretly murdered.

No country, of which we have any knowledge, has offered so fair an opportunity for determining the great hostility which exist... naturally in the human hea^rt. against God and against 'his work, as this one. l'n other countries, persecutions were carried on under pretext of law; hat in this country, where the constitution of the Uniied. States, rmd the constitution of every State in the Unkn, guarantees unto every person, the rights of conscience, and the lib- erty of worshiping as he pleases, to witness such scenes of persecu- tion, as those which have followed this church from the beginning, in dispite of law, justice, equity, and truth, and at war with the very genius of our republican institutions, and contrary to the spirit and design of our government; surely evinces the depravity of the humsm heart, and the great hostility there exists in the hearts of the human family, against the work and purposes of God; and most ful- ly confirms the apostle's saying; that, "the carnal mind is enmity against God."

But notwithstanding all this violence, we can say as did Paul to the Corinthians: "We are troubled on every side, yet not distress- ed; we are perplexed, but not in dispair; persecuted, but not for- saken; cast down, but not destroyed." We have until this time, endured fhis great fight of affliction, and kept the faith. If the an- cient saints had to endure as seeing him who is invisible — so have we. If they had to sutler the contradiction of sinners against them- selves— so have we. If they had to undergo fears within, and fightings;without — so have we. If they had to suffer stripes and imprisonments, for their religion's sake — -so have we. If they were often in journeyings, in perils of water, in perils among robbers, in perils by their own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea. in perils among false bicthren. In weariness and painfullness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness — so are we. If they had to commend themselves to Cmd, in much patience, in afdictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in im- prisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Idoly Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power ol' God, by the armor' of righteousness on the right hand rtnJ on tnc

.Toft, by -honor anil dishonor, by evil rcnort and good report; as ao- ceivcr.s, and yet true; as unknown and yet well known; as lying and, behold, they lived; as chastened, an I not killed; as sorrowful-, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things — so have we. If they went up through much tribulation, and washed thejr'robes; antl made thorn white in the blood of the Lamb — so have we to go up through as great tribulation; and we trust in so doing, we will also wash our i-obes, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb.

One cause of our iieavy persecutions, is the influence which those have in the world, whom we have seperated from the fellowship of the church for their wickedness; who attempted to gratify their vehgence on us, and also to hide their own shame, by foul glanders ^nd base' calumny. We were at otqMRna represented by them; as having all things common: at ahotber, as being enemies to the gov- ernment.' and in other piaces we wore reported to bo abolitionists* and indeed any thing, they thought best calculated to stir up the public mind, and to excite popular indignation; and if possible, put an end to the work, by sacrificing some of those who were consid- ered as most active in supporting and defending the ciuso. But through the mercy of God, we are still in existence, and have the opportunity of joining with you in the privileges of this day.

In assembling un this occasion, our object is not only to comply with the custom of our nation n celebrating the birth day of our liberties; but also to lay the corner stones of the edifice, about to be built in tais place in honor of our God, to whom we ascribe the glory of our national freedom, as well as our eternal salvation; and whose worship we esteem of more consequence, than we do the treasures of Missouri; ready at all times, to offer unto him the sacrifice of our first fruits, antj hy untiring persevcrenco, patient industry, and faithful devotion to the cause of our God, rear this budding to his name, designed, for the double purpose, of a house of worship and an institution of learning. The first floor will be for sacred devo- tion, and the two others, for the purpose of education. The build- ing to be one hundred and ten feet bv eighty, with three doors, and not far from thirty feet between the floors: all to be hrtisftsd, ac- cording to the best stile -f such buildings in our country. Tin en- tire oxponce, calculated at not far from one hundred thousand dol- lars: all when finished, to stand as a monument, of the power of union of effort and concert of action.

ISjW to the worship of our God, we esteem the education of our children and of the rising generation. For whit is wealth without society, or society without intelligence. And how is intelligence lo be Obtainedl — by education. It is that which forms t'.ie youthi'd mind: it is that aione, which renders society agre<^ible, and adds merest and importance, to the, worship of Go(\. What is religion without intelligence'?— an empty sound. Intelligence is the root

from which all true enjoyments flow. Intelligence is religion, and religion is intelligence, if it is any thing. Take intelligence from it, and what is left? a name — a sound without meaning. If .a per- son desires to be truly pious in ihe sight of God, he must be purely intelligent. Piety without intelligence, is fanatacism, and devotion without understanding, is enthusiasm.

The object of our religion, is to make us more intelligent, than we could be without it, not so much,, to make us acquainted with what we do see, as with what we do not. see. It is designed to evolve the faculties, to enlighten the understanding, and through this medium, purify the heart. It is calculated to make men better, by making them wiser; more useful, by making them more intelli- gent; not. intelligent on some/subjects only, but on /ill sulyects, DO which intelligence can' be oboffired: and when science fails, revela- tion supplies its place, and unfolds the secrets and mysteries of the unseen world, .leads the mind into the knowledge of the future ex- istence of men, makes it acquainted with angels, principalities, and powers, in the eternal world; carries it into heaven and heavenly places, makes it acquainted with God, its Redeemer, and its asso- ciates in the eternal mansions; so that when science fails, and phi- losophy vanishes away, revelation, more extensive in its operations, begins where they [science and philosophy] ends, and feasts the mind with intelligence, pure and holy, from the presence of God. — Tells of eternal mansions, of immortal glories, of everlasting do- minions, of angelic throngs, of heavenly hosts, of flaming seriphs, of crowns of glorv, of palms of victory, of the saint's eternal tri- umph through a glorious resurrection, of songs of everlasting joy, of God the father of all, gf Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and ol the blood of the sprinkling, which speakcth better things, than tliqi^f righteous Abel.

It not^Uy acquaints us with these eternal things, but it makes known unto us the future history of man in time, of the purposes of God, which have to be accomplished before the end of all things comes. It warns and forewarns, of the wars, the pestilences, the famines, the earthquakes, and the desolations, which are coming on the earth. i The aising and falling of nations: and also the desola- tion of the earth itself: the falling of the mountains, the rising of the vallies, the melting of the rocks, the purifying of the elements by fire: of the sun's vailing his face, the moon's turning to blood, ihe stars of heaven falling: of the heavens rolling away as a scroll; and of Christ's descending from heaven in a cloud, with the shout, of the arch angel, and the trump of God. And of the wicked's fear- ing and trembling, of their faces gathering blackness, and of their seeking a refuge under the mountains, and of their calling upon the rocks to hide them from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; ''For the great day of his wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand?"

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All this mass of important intelligince, together with the final end of ail thrones, and dominions, ai»d principalities, and powers, and governments, which nothing else but revelation could make known, (for science, with all her powers, could never declare it, neither could philosophy, with her utmost stretch, reach it,) we ob- tain by our holy religion; for this is her province; it is the theatre where she acts; it is the business we have for her; it is to tell us things which nothing else could tell; it is to fill us with that kind of wisdom, which cometh down from above, and which is alone ob- tained by revelation, and by the powers which our holy religion confers, and by nothing else. In view then, of what we have al- ready obtained, and of what there is to be obtained, we have as- sembled ourselves together in this rcuote land, to prepare for that which i^ coming on t«he earth, and >iy^ have this day laid the corner stones of this temple of God, and design, with as little delay as pos- sible, to complete it, and to rear up to the name of our God in this city, "Far West," a house, which shall be a house of pray-r, a house of learning, a house of order, and a house of God; where all the sciences, languages &c, which are taught in our country, in schools of the highest order, shall be taughj. And the object is to have it on a plan accessable to all classes, the poor, as well as the rich, that all persons in our midst, may have an opportunity to edu- cate their children, both male and female, to any extent they please. So that all the talents in our midst, may be called foith, in order that we may avail ourselves, of all the m?ans God puts into our hands, and put it into the power of all, to deliver themselves, from the impositions, and frauds, which are practicing upon the more il- literate part of the community, by those who have had superior ad- vantages, or as far, at least, as learning dtn go to obiain this object.

One part of the house, shall be set apart for a place of worship, where we shall invoke our God for revelations, when we^pve gone as far as human learning can carry us, thjtt by revelatiWfr, visions &c. we may fill the vacuum still left, after science and philosophy have done all they can do. So that we may have that understand- ing, and that wisdom which brings salvation, and that knowledge which is unto eternal life. t

That whether there are wars, or famines, or pestilences, or earth- quakes, or distress of nations, or whatever ma\ come according to the purposes of our Clod, that we may know it before hand, and be prepared for it, so that none of these things shall overtake at as a thief in the night, and while we are crying peace and safety, sud- den destruction come upon us.

The Savior of the world himself, while he was here with his dis- ciples, said, that, "As it was in the days of Noah, so should it bo at the coming of the Son of man. They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, an J giving in marriage, and knew not, till the flood came and swept them all away — So shall it be, at

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ihe coming of ihe Son of man/' And Paul declared to the saints of his day, "That the day of the Lord so eometb, us a thief in the night. That when the people are crying peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape. And that wicked men and seducers, would wax. worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." Tiny will, says Peter, say, "where is the promise of his coming; for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."

Such is to be the stats of the world, at the most important period in the existence of man's earthly residence. The discnph'on given by Isaiah, is tremendous in the extreme, "Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and makeih it waste, and turneth if up side down, and scattereU^abroaulb ..i£^i|*wi^ thereof. ^.Ani^ it sh»^be, as \ with the pcf-^P^o witlrthe p. Testes with the servant so with bis- master, as with ihe maid so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him; the land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world lan- guished, and fadeth away; the haughtv people of the earth do lan- guish. The earth is also defiled under the inhabitants thereof, be- cause they have tiansgit ssed the laws, changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse de- voured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: there- fore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left."

The prophet Maiichi disenbing the same scene and the sam? period of ca- lamity sai's, "For behold, the-clay cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proujl, and all that du-iJpiedly, shall be stubble; and the day that com- eth shalttbum them u^laiuiwe Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root n<a£pranch. ^^^ Jr

The'Bhrnist David., in the majesty of his prophetic power, has let! us a w.irningilra who' i ■■•says", "The mighty God, even the Lord hatb^fl,L>ken, and callecWR eai-iij from the rising of the sun to the going down th»reor** Out or Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our '^od shall come, and sh:Ul noi keep siie.ice; a fire shall devour before, him and it shall be very tempest- uous roundabout him- He shall call to the heavens from above and to the

earin (inai.iie may juoge nis neopieK trainer my saints together unto me; fcjt! ■■■-' ij*rt»ve made a covenant with^ne by sacrifice. Aid tile heavenV shall ' declare hisirighleousness; for Gou isJudge himself,"

Having then knowledge of these things, and the voice of God being unto us, to gather together, and make a covenant with our God by sacrifice- We have given heed thereunto, and, are here this day as witnesses for God, that he lias not spoken in vain, neither has he saiti in vain. But the day and the hour of his judgements sleepeth not, neither do they slumber; and whether men believe or do not believe, it alters not the word which God has caused to be spoken, but come it must, and come it will, and that to the astonishment, the confusion, an.! tiie dismaj, of thousands who believe not, neither will they regard, until overtaken by it as a thiefin the night, anil sudden distruction come upon them, and there be none to deliver.

Knowing therefore the terrors of the Lord, we warn our fellow men. not on- ly by precept, but example also, by leaving our former homes, to which we were bound by the strongest ties, suffering a sacrifice of the greatest share of

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our earthly possessions. Many of us, in times past, were rich, but for Jesus' sake, and at the command ofoui God we have become poor, because he [Chris*] became poor for our sakcs; so in like manner, we follow his example, and be- come poor for his sake.

And as Moses left Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king, and refused to he called the son of Pharaoah's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, having re- spect to the recompence of reward. So do we, we choose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the flatteries of the world for a sea- son.

It is not because we cannot, if we were so disposed, enjoy both the honors and flatteries of ihe world, but wc have voluntarily offered, them in sacrifice, and the riches of the world also, -for a more durable substantia* Our God has promised us a reward of eternal inheritance, and we have believed uis^uromise* and though we wade through great tribulation, we are in nothing discouraged, for we know he that has promised is faithful The promise is sure, and the rewavd-'^-ertainJ, It p- becau.\s ofL'-.'-'^itfC.we hav* taken the spoiling of our goods. Our cheeks have been gi\ . ■ '■ ■ efViiteTsy-Wid our lVje 0 to thus.- wi.o have plucked off the hair. We- have not only when smitten on one cheek turn- ed the other,' but we have done it, again and again, until we are wearied ol be- ing smitten, and tired of beiug trampled upon. We have proved the world with kindness, we have suffered their abuse without cause, with patience, and have endured without resentment, until this day, and still their persecutions and violence does not cease. But from this day and this hour, we will suffer it no more. t

We takeGod and all the holy angels to witness this day, that we warn all men in the name of Jesus Christ, to come on Us no more forever, for from this hour, we will bear it no. more, our rights shall no more be trampled on with mpunity. The man or the set of men, who attempts it, does it at the ex- pense of their lives. And that mob that comes on us to disturb us; it shall be Tvetween us and them a war of extermination, for we will follow them, till the ,**-last drop of their blood is spilled, or else they will have to exterminate us: for we will carry the 6eatof\var to their own houses, and their own families, and ■one party or the other shall be utterly destroyed^— Remember it the4all Mkn. - We will never be the agressors, we will infriag mi the rights of riL people; but shall stand for our own until death. We Kiil-A^own right^kand are willing that all others shall enjoy theirs. ^B^ '^^ ^^

No man shall be at liberty to come into our strceft, to threaten uiSiMn' mobs, for if he does, he shall attone for it before he leaves the place, *-n«jjK- shall he be al(prcrty, to villify and slander any of us, for suffer it we vSBwot in this place.

We therefore, take all men to record this day, that we proclaim" our liberty on this day, asdid our fathers. And we pledge this day to one another, our fortunes, our lives, and our sacred honors, to b>"- delivered from the persecutions . -.Vc-h . \-ve have bi .<■ re. foi -the Jpt iiinefyea-js, or nearly thV Neither

will we indulge any man, of «et of men, In instiuuing vexatious law iuits against us, to cheat us out of our just rights, if they attempt it we say wo ba unto them. We this day then proclaim ourselves free, with a purpose and a determination, that never can be broken, "no never! no neverll NO NEVER."!!'