York, in the month of October, | 1816, the Hon. GOUVERNEUR MORRIS, after a short but distressing illness, aged 65; a man equalled but by very few in the brilliancy of his genius and the value of his public services. His family was one of the most antient of the state of New York. The grant for the estate, Morrissania, which he occupied, may be considered as coeval with the surrender of the government by the Dutch to the Enlish in 1664. His grandfather was chief justice of the state, and his father judge of the court of vice admiralty, and both at different periods, members of assembly, taking an active and conspicuous part in the affairs of the colony. The first appearance of Mr. Morris in public life, was as a member of the provincial congress in 1775; and he continued a member, until it ceased on the establishment of a regular government under the constitution, April, 1777; that body having in the meantime, on the declaration of the independence, varied its style to the convention of the state. He was then chosen a member of assembly for the county of West Chester. It met in September following; and at the same session he was appointed a delegate to congress. The subject, which more than any other, occupied the provincial congress in 1775, was a paper currency, our only money sinew of war. -Mr. Morris appeared to have comprehended it throughout, and as it were by intuition, he advanced and maintained opinions new to all;-there were none who did not ultimately perceive and acknowledge them to be just.-They have since become familiar. The address from the assembly to the governor in answer to his speech at the opening of the session in 1777, written by Mr. Morris, is a model of appropriate style and manner. The report of the committee of congress of 22d April, 1778, in relation to certain printed papers circulated by British emissaries, and the address from congress on the same occasion to the people of the United States, were both the work of Mr. Morris, and may challenge a comparison with any of our state papers. At no period of the revolution was there more cause to be apprehensive for the issue it; and none of the men of that day who now survive, can fail to recollect the effect of the report and address, which were printed and distributed together. Mr. Morris belonged to the committee who reported on the treaty with France which was read in congress 4th May, 1778. When Dr. Franklin was appointed minister to France, Mr. Morris was chairman of the committee directed to prepare instructions for him. The whole journal of congress, while he was a member of that body, bears testimony to the consideration in which his talents and patriotism were held. He took his seat in congress 20th January, 1778, and, on the same day was added to the committee to repair to camp to confer with the commander in chief.The subjects of the conference,are, in general terms, expressed to be, "to promote discipline and economy in the army; to take effectual measures to reduce the number of regiments; and to reform abuses which had too long prevailed in the different departments of the army." In 1787, residing then in Philadelphia, he was chosen by the legislature of Pennsylvania, a member of the convention which formed the present constitution of the United States. After it was agreed to in detached parts, it was put into the hands of a committee, Mr. Morris being one of them, to digest and arrange it, and, where it could be done and the sense still preserved, to amend or vary the phraseology; and we owe to him chiefly the form or order, and propriety and perspicuity of language in which it now appears. During the session of congress of, 1792, he was appointed American minister to the court of France, where he was not only well received, but much in the personal esteem and confidence of the king. Mr. Morris had but one opinion of the French revolution from the beginning. Concealment or change of opinion, was a task too difficult for him. The purport of the one alluded to need not be repeated; it may readily be collected from the circumstance, that when we requested from the revolutionary government, the recall of their minister, they availed themselves of the occasion, and in return requested the recall of Mr. Morris. It being judged prudent to comply, he was recalled. to save them from themselves What caused the ruin of the republics of Greece and Rome?Demagogues, who by flattery gained the aid of the people, to establish despotism" He was answered by a senator from North Carolina-He replied—“ The honourable member from North Carolina has informed us there is no check for the overbearing power of the legislature but public opinion; and he has been pleased to notice a sentiment I had uttered; a sentiment which not only fell from my lips, but which flowed from my heart.-It has however been misunderstood and misapplied— After reminding the house of the dangers to which popular governments are exposed from the influence of designing demagogues upon popular passion, I took the liberty to say, that we, the senate the United States, are assembled here to save the people from their most dangerous enemy, to save them from themselves, to guard them from the baneful effects of their own precipitation, their passion, their misguided zeal."-His practice was in conformity with all this-He never sought office-A consciousness in others of his trust worthiness and ability, impelled it to seek him. There are few to whom we are so much indebted for our independence as to Mr. Morris. His labours were faithful, enlightened, and unwearied. He was remarkable for personal dignity, and equally so for urbanity of character. Nothing could be more impressive than his elocution which was distinguished by the greatest fluency, and the most He returned to his country, and enjoyed its honours. He was chosen one of our senators in congress; and was present, and took a distinguished part in the ever memorable debate on the repeal of the Judiciary Law. He was, and from his well-known principles could not fail to be opposed to the repeal.-In one of his speeches he expresses himself thus:-" examine the annals of history-look into the records of time-see what has been the ruin of every republic-brilliant colouring. He is to be rethe vile love of popularity-Why are we here?-To save the people from their most dangerous enemy, VOL. II. gretted not only as a fine orator, and an erudite statesman, but as an excellent scholar and a delight3 G ful companion. The Christian Religion had taken a strong hold of his mind, as may be seen in the last discourse which he pronounced before the historical society of New York, of which he was vice-president. He venerated the Bible as the true book of knowledge, and studied it, moreover, as the repository of those images and sentiments which are most grateful to a philanthropic spirit and a glowing fancy. Mr. Morris has often been accused of a predilection for monarchy, owing to his esteem for the house of Bourbon, and his aversion to the revolutionary governments of France. This is an accusation in which his colleagues of the assembly who framed our constitution will hardly concur, and which was belied by all his speculative opinions. The following extract from one of his private letters, written towards the close of his life, will serve to illustrate his true sentiments. "Those," says he, "who formed our constitution were not blind to its defects. They believed a repub. lican government to be the best. They believed a monarchical form to be neither solid nor durable. They conceived it to be vigorous or feeble, active or slothful, wise or foolish, mild or cruel, just or unjust according to the personal character of the prince. It is a dupery to cite the duration of the French monarchy at eight centuries. In that period, the provinces which lately composed it, passed, by various fortune, from their subjection to Rome through the conquests of Barbarians, the ferociousness of feudal aristocracy and the horrors of anarchy and civil war, to their union under the Bourbons. That union was not consolidated until the soaring spirit of Richelieu and the flexible temper of Mazarin had tamed an indignant nobility to the yoke of obedience. By the va nity, the ambition, and the talents of Louis XIV., France became the terror of Europe. By the facile immorality of the regent and the lasciviousness and feebleness of Louis XV. she sunk almost into contempt. After a few years of dis tempered existence under the mild and virtuous Louis XVI., the lamp of that boasted monarchy was extinguished in his blood." At Baltimore, Maryland, in the month of December, 1815, died, the Most Reverend Doctor JOHN CARROLL, Archbishop of Baltimore. The following notices of this excellent personage appeared in the newspapers of that city within a few days after his dissolution. When such a man as Archbishop Carroll, dies-a man who filled so large a space in the public eye, and leaves so great a void in the community-something more than a mere notice of the event is justly expected. Without presuming, therefore, at this time to enter into a detailed account of his long and useful life, or to por tray at large the features of his distinguished character, a brief and very imperfect biographical memoir of this illustrious individual is now given, which is submitted to the public in the hope and expectation, that it will soon be gratified with a much fuller and more satisfactory account of his life and character, from some more skilful and competent hand. Archbishop Carroll was born at Upper Marlborough, in the state, of Maryland, in the year 1735; and was sent at the age of ten or twelve years, to a grammar school beneficent patron, and came back to his native country. at Bohemia, in Cecil county. Evening solicitations of his noble and at this early period he gave striking presages of his future worth and eminence, by the mildness and innocence of his manners, his docility and assiduity. From this school he was sent to the college of St. Omers in France, where, after going through the studies of that celebrated institution, with the most distinguished success and honours, he was transferred to the college of Liege, and was there ordained a priest; and after surrendering his patrimonial estate to his brother, he became a member of the society of Jesus. Upon the dissolution of that society, he acted as the secretary of the dispersed fathers, in their remonstrances with the court of France respecting the temporal interests of the abolished order. For this station, he was peculiarly qualified as well by his distinguished learning and talents, as by the remarkable purity and elegance of his style, in the French as well as Latin language. He then went to England, and was selected by the late Lord Stourton, (a catholic nobleman) to accompany his son, the present Lord Stourton, as his preceptor and governor, on the tour of Europe, During this tour he wrote a concise and interesting history of England, for the use of his pupil which is still preserved in manuscript. He also kept a journal of his travels which strikingly displays that good sense, sound judgment, and enlightened intelligence which ever distinguished him. Upon his return to England, he resided for some time in the family of Lord Arundel (another catholic nobleman); but upon the approach of the revolutionary war, he withstood the earnest and press Shortly after his return, at the request of the American congress, he accompanied Dr. Franklin, Charles Carroll of Carrollton (his relative and friend) and the late Judge Chase, on a political mission to Canada. And throughout the arduous and hazardous conflict which ensued, he remained fervently attached to the cause of his country. He did not at any time, however, neglect his clerical duties, the primary object of his care and solicitude. Upon his arrival in his native country, he lost no time in taking upon himself the laborious care of several catholic congregations widely separated from each other; where his memory is cherished with the most enthusiastic affection. Some time after the establishment of our independence, the catholic body in this country, (before that time subjected to a spiritual hierachy in England,) solicited the pope, to erect the United States into an episcopal see; and the subject of this memoir was nominated to the sovereign Pontiff as the bishop. There was no hesitation on the part of the pope, to whom his character and talents were well known, in confirming the nomination. At a later and recent period, at the solicitation of the catholic clergy of his diocese, he was raised to the dignity of Archbishop. In the exercise of his sacred functions he displayed a spirit of conciliation, mildness and Christian humility which greatly endeared him to those under his charge. His manners and deportment in private life were a model of the clerical character;-dignified yet | ly as possible, into that chamber simple, pious but not austere. This in search of it: He did not find secured him the affectionate at- it immediately, and the archtachment of his friends and the bishop overheard his footsteps in respect of all. the room. Without a word having passed, he called to the clergyman, and told him that he knew what he was looking for; that he would find the book in such a position on a certain shelf; and there it was accordingly found. In him religion assumed its most attractive and venerable form, and his character conciliated for the body, over which he presided, respect and consideration from the liberal, the enlightened and the virtuous of all ranks and denominations; for they saw that his life accorded with the benign doctrines of that religion which he professed. The members of his own church, to whom he was in truth a guide and a father-who daily witnessed the kindness, the beneficence and the tenderness of his heart-who, in the purity of his doctrines and precepts, saw the purity of his own unsullied character-who saw him on his death bed, with the meekness, the patience and the cheerfulness of a saint and a martyr, view the sure and rapid approaches of his own dissolution, concerned not for himself, but anxious only for the welfare of those whom he was so soon to leave-will long remember him with the most profound, heartfelt grief, gratitude and veneration. He taught us how to live-and Oh, too high The price of knowledge-taught us how to die. A single trait will suffice to show with how much truth these lines of the poet are applied.-The life of the archbishop was almost at the last ebb, and his surrounding friends were consulting about the manner of his interment. It was understood that there was a book belonging to his library which prescribed the proper ceremonial, and it was ascertained to be in the very chamber, in which he then lay. A clergyman went, as soft When we consider that the archbishop was, at this moment, fully sensible of his nearness to the tomb, and that the knowledge that his friends were searching for the volume which explained the established mode of burial for archbishops and other dignitaries of the church, was, above all things, calculated to bring fully and strongly to his thoughts the melancholy and gloomy ideas attendant upon so solemn a service, and those ideas applicable to his own person, it is impossible to restrain our admiration, not only of the clearness and precision of his memory, at the age of eighty, but the sublime tranquillity of his spirit, which discoursed of mortality as if he had passed its limits, and regarded the concerns of this world as if he had become already an inhabitant of the other. Death, the terrors of which he had so often dispelled from the minds of others, had no power to disturb his serene and tranquil soul. But long will his bereaved and disconsolate flock mourn the the loss of him, who was the succour and support of the wretched who, when this world could af ford them nothing on which to lean, turned to him for consolation as their spiritual father. The closing solemnities with which the body of the late Archbishop Carroll, was entombed on |