the popular enthusiasm which greeted his restoration to liberty, he will receive, as an appendage to his freedom, the highest honors which a grateful and intellectual people can bestow. The work of reformation, which began with the election of Governor Jackson, has been well sustained by the liberation of Governor Dorr, and will, we trust, be worthily prosecuted by the election of Governor Dorr to the executive chair. - Philadelphia Ledger, (neutral.)

Celebration at Philadelphia, July 4th, 1845, by the Young Men's Democratic Association.

Governor Dorr A brave man; a patriot of the revolutionary stamp! Neither the threat of protracted imprisonment, nor the promise of liberation, could induce him to abandon the requisition of honor, or his determined adherence to equal rights. (Nine cheers.) Among the volunteer toasts were the following :

The liberation of Thomas W. Dorr We hail it as another evidence of the prevalence of democratic sentiments. (Nine cheers.)

By the committee:

Thomas W. Dorr - A martyr to the great and incontrovertible principles so ably set forth in his sentiment, so nobly contended for in his actions, and for which he has, like an indomitable patriot, so long and magnanimously suffered. We rejoice that this day, so dear to Americans and democrats, is not still desecrated by the incarceration of one of the most devoted champions of the rights and supremacy of the people. (Nine cheers.)

The following is the letter of Governor Dorr, in reply to an invitation to attend the celebration : —

PROVIDENCE, July 2, 1845. Gentlemen: It has been wholly out of my power, until the present moment, to acknowledge your friendly and gratifying letter of June 12, which conveys an invitation to take part in celebrating the anniversary of our national independence. It would give me great pleasure to join you on this occasion in renewing our accustomed tribute to the principles, the acts, and the men of the American revolution, and, in so doing, to strengthen our allegiance to the great cause of freedom, which has been bequeathed to the patriotism and vigilance of each succeeding generation. But, for reasons which you will duly appreciate, I shall not be able to avail myself of this opportunity for a social interview, and must propose the accompanying sentiment as a substitute for my personal attendance.

With the best wish for your success in advancing the objects of the association, I am very truly and respectfully your friend and fellow-citizen.

(Signed,)

THOMAS W. DORR. To Messrs. J. N. Cardozo, J. A. Stevens, and others, committee.

The Declaration of American Independence - Always true, and not merely designed for once to set forth a rhetorical enumeration of abstract, barren "belligerent" rights. The absolute supremacy of the people over their political institutions, is the primary vital doctrine of our democratic republic. It was sealed with the blood of the revolution. It was trampled upon in this state in 1842. It was avenged in the election of the present chief magistrate of the Union. It carries terror in its front only to tyrants. When it shall be obscured and lost, the people of this country will cease both to enjoy and to deserve the rights and blessings of a free government. (Thirteen cheers.)

THOMAS W. DORR.- Shouts of the democracy are

heard in every portion of our land; and for what? The friend of liberty, Thomas W. Dorr, is again free from the enclosure of the prison walls.

The good men of the revolution opposed the British charters of their own states.

Thomas W. Dorr opposed a like charter of his own state. Many of the former were imprisoned by the British; the latter was also imprisoned by the lovers of British institutions.

The names of the men of the revolution are embalmed in glory. So will be the name of Governor Dorr. His grievous wrongs will be remembered; his sufferings can never be forgotten. Honest in principle and firm in purpose, he scorned the humiliating proposition of his persecutors, and chose a prisoner's life rather than a dishonorable surrender of principle. The people admired his integrity, and came to his rescue. The spell of tyranny in Rhode Island is broken. Its remnants may be felt for a season, but they are crumbling, while the tree of liberty is growing freshly. The strength of the tyrants, in death throes, was spent upon Dorr. A stouter heart and firmer patriot could not have been selected among the sons of liberty. Most nobly has he sustained his cause, keenly has he suffered, and more proud is his triumph. He suffered for principles near and dear to the people of this land; but not for himself. A base surrender of those principles, on his part, would have saved him the pangs of a prison cell. But he was not the man to make the surrender, and happily in his case is the admirable saying of Bryant verified-"Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again.

The people will do justice to the man and his principles. While those who have attempted to blacken his character and crush him are sinking into disgrace, Thomas W. Dorr will rise to distinction. The glad shouts of freemen, at his release are welcome to every son of liberty. Hartford Times.

CHAPTER XVIII.

AN ACT OF THE RHODE ISLAND LEGISLATURE TO REVERSE AND ANNUL THE JUDGMENT OF THE SUPREME COURT AGAINST MR. DORR.

Ir may be presumed that the court which pronounced sentence upon Mr. Dorr seriously expected he would suffer its unmitigated rigor, and dole out the remainder of his life in that horrible sarcophagus to which that decree consigned him, and that the records of their own supreme tribunal would stand unimpeached and undisturbed to testify against him forever. A few fleeting years passed, and a mighty change came over their mad vision. Public opinion not only set their victim at liberty, but justified and applauded his conduct, and, finally, expunged the foul stain which his enemies had cast upon his name, and converted the records of that court into perpetual testimony against itself, as the following preamble and enactment of the Rhode Island legislature show.

An Act to reverse and annul the Judgment of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island for Treason, rendered against Thomas W. Dorr, June 25, A. D. 1844.

Whereas the General Assembly of this state hath from time to time exercised the powers conferred upon

it by the charter of King Charles the Second, "to alter, reverse, annul, or pardon, under their common seal or otherwise, such fines, mulcts, imprisonments, sentences, judgments, and condemnations as shall be thought fit: "

And whereas the same powers were continued to the General Assembly under the existing constitution of this state by the terms thereof, which provide "that the General Assembly shall continue to exercise the powers they have heretofore exercised, unless prohibited by this constitution;" and by the provision that "the Supreme Court established by this constitution shall have the same jurisdiction as the Supreme Judicial Court" theretofore existing :

And whereas an alleged political offence, for which a judgment hath been rendered in favor of the state, may in certain cases furnish a proper occasion for the exercise of such high powers:

And whereas upon the trial of Thomas Wilson Dorr for the alleged crime of treason, there was an improper and illegal return of jurors in this, that one hundred and seven jurors from one political party were designedly selected by the sheriff, in part with the aid and assistance of persons acting in behalf of the state, and only one juror from the other political party, and the accused was tried in a county other than that in which the alleged offence was committed and in which he resided, and he was allowed but two days with any, and but a few hours with some of the panel of jurors in which to inquire as to their disqualifications or obtain proof thereof, and was not allowed, after the peremptory challenge of several such jurors, and after obtaining proof of such disqualifications, to withdraw said peremptory challenges, and to challenge said jurors for cause, or to have a new trial in consequence thereof:

And whereas the court denied the jury the right to pass upon questions of law, though said court had