INTRODUCTION. THE COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS, for the celebration of the 119th anniversary of the Birth-day of THOMAS PAINE, the Author-Hero of the Revolution, congratulate the liberal and enlightened portion of their fellow-citizens on the success which has attended this effort to do justice to a great man's memory. The Invitation of the Committee to the Political and Religious friends of THOMAS PAINE, to join in celebrating his Birth-day, met with a noble response. We were cheered by harmonious feelings and liberal contributions. Men of liberal sentiments, though widely separated in their opinions on political, social, and religious questions, joined heartily in a great ovation to the memory of an Honest Man, who, fearlessly and conscienciously did a noble work for Humanity. The result was, one of the largest and most enthusiastic celebrations ever known in our city. It was ushered in with the firing of artillery, from the hills which overlook Cincinnati, and from the neighboring city of Newport, on the Kentucky bank of the Ohio river. The meeting, which enjoyed and applauded the Oration, Addresses, and Music, was, probably, the largest that ever assembled on such an occasion. GREENWOOD HALL, the great hall of the Ohio Mechanics' Institute, was densely filled, and hundreds could not obtain admission; although two other celebrations were in progress at the same hour in the vicinity-that at the Turners' Hall, where the addresses were in the German language; and one in the neighboring city of Newport, Kentucky. The Committee have much pleasure in presenting to the public, in a permanent form, this record of a public event, which, they trust, marks the dawn of a new era of Intelligence in the appreciation of Worth, and of Courage, and Liberality in the expression of our obligations to PUBLIC BENEFACTORS. It may be proper to say that, in extending invitations to the speakers, no restriction was made, and no pledge required. Each was left to the free, consciencious performance of his individual duty, and is alone responsible for the sentiments advanced. The spirit of the occasion was one of Freedom and Toleration. The Committee would express their thanks to all who have in any way contributed to the Great Moral Triumph, which has been achieved in this Celebration; and would encourage the friends of Free Thought to renewed exertions. THE PAINE FESTIVAL. THE music of the United States' Military Band, from the Government Barracks at Newport, Ky., welcomed an overflowing audience of ladies and gentlemen to GREENWOOD HALL, which was appropriately decorated for the occasion. ISAAC E. HEDGES, Esq., on taking the Chair, as President of the Festival, addressed the assembly as follows: ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : I have been unexpectedly called upon to preside on this occasion; but while I acknowledge my inability to fill the chair with the fitness the occasion demands, yet I am not disposed to decline the duties and responsibilities of such a position. I congratulate you my fellow-citizens, of every clime and nation, that a day has dawned upon us, when we can assemble in such vast numbers, to commemorate the noble sentiments of one, who stood out in bold relief before the foes of Human Rights, whether they were Kings, Potentates, or Priests. We meet, not to worship men, but great principles. We are not idolators, or man-worshipers; but we bow humbly, and reverence great truths and holy principles, wherever they are found. I have no sacrifices to make. They have long since been offered. The natural tendency of my mind has long since led me to look beyond the boundaries of sectarianism, and the popular creeds of the day; and having early read the "RIGHTS OF MAN," by the IMMORTAL PAINE, I learned to consider it my duty and my privilege to embrace the truth wherever my reason found it, and fearlessly proclaim it, whether it was in harmony with, or in opposition to, orthodoxy. Let us ever cherish the generous spirit that inspired our Great Champion of Human Rights, whose very soul could not be confined to a single state or country, but leaped over oceans to find new fields for its philanthropic emotions. Let us ever prove faithful to the trust, secured to our possession by his untiring zeal in the cause of our own glorious country, that the "CRISIS" that once tried men's souls may never again recur. May the Sun of Liberty, whose dawn was heralded in the morn of the American Revolution by THOMAS PAINE, continue its onward march, until it shall arrive at a fixed and eternal meridian ! MUSIC.-NATIONAL AIRS, BY THE BAND. ORATION. BY T. L. NICHOLS, M.D. MR. PRESIDENT-LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: - I have accepted with pleasure and with pride, the honorable position your committee has assigned me. It might have been entrusted to one better able to do justice to the demands of this occasion; but the honor could not have been conferred upon any one who would appreciate it more highly, or who could feel more anxiety to perform worthily the sacred duty of rescuing from the darkness of ignorance, the blight of bigotry, and the calumnies of creed-bound sectarians, the fame of a man, who has done more than to "fill the measure of his country's glory;" one who has been a hero and a martyr in the cause of civil and religious liberty throughout the world. I respond cordially, therefore, to the summons to address you on this occasion, and to the sentiments expressed in the preamble and resolutions, inviting you to join in this celebration; and I, a stranger here, congratulate you upon the liberality, freedom, and justice, which have prompted your noble response to that invitation. I congratulate Cincinnati, Queen City of the West, that she has the mind and heart, the manly courage and nobility of soul, to render this tribute of justice to one of the great unappreciated heroes of humanity. I congratulate the Great West upon the spirit of freedom that breathes over her prairies, and flows onward with her |