VOLUME S7.
NEW SERIES.
PRESIDENnjEM.
fellow-citizens of the Senate and House of
Uleprestntatives :
Throughout thf year since our last meeting,
the country has been eminently prosperous in
ail its material interests. The general health
has been excellent, our harvests have been a
bundaut, anil plenty smiles throughout the
land. Our commerce anil manufactures have
been prosecuted with energy ami industry, and
gave yielded fair and am; ' • returns. In short
no nation in the tide i>! .. -■ has ever presen
ted a spectacle'of greater material prosperitv
than we haedone until within a very recent
period.
Why is it, then, that discontent now so ex
tensively prevails, and the Union of the States,
which is the source of all these blessings, is
threatened with destruction? The long-continu
ed and intemperate interference of the Northern
people with the question of slavery in Ihe
Southern States has at length produced its
natural efT'Cts. ThediffVrent sections of the
Union are now arrayed against each
other, and the time has at rived, so much
dreaded by the Father of his Country,
when hostile geographical parties have been
formed. I have long foreseen, and olten fore
warned my countrymen olthe now impending
danger. This does not proceed solely from the
claim on the par t ol Congress or the territorial
legislatures to exclude slavery fiom the lerri
tones, nor from the efloits of o! ''erer.l {Slates
to defeat the ex-cution of the fugitive-slave law
All or any of these evils might have I een en
dured by the South without danger to the Union
others have been,) in the hope that time
and reflection might apply 'he remedy. Fhe
immediate peril arises not so much from these
causes as from the fact that the incessant and
violent agitation of the slavery question
throughout the North for the last quarter of a
century, has at length produced its malign in
fluence on the slaves, and inspired them with
vague notions ot freedom. Hence a sense of
security no longer exists around the family al
tar. This feeling of peace at home has given
place to apprehensions of servile insurrection.
Many a matron throughout the South retires at
night in dread of what nr.ay befall herself and
her children before the morning. Should this
apprehension of domes'ic danger, whether leai
or imaginary extend and intensity itseif until
it sbalfpervade the ma -is of the Southern peo
ple, then disunion will become inevitable. Self
presetvaliot! t? too- 6m nature, an.! lias
been implanted in the heart of man by hi- Cre
ator for the wisest purpose ; and no political
union, however fraught with Lless-ngs and ben
efits in all other respects, can long continue, it
the necessary consequence be to render Ihe
homes and fir- ",u. -so! nearly huii the paities to
it habitualiv and hopelessly insecure. Sooner
or later the'ootids of such a Union must be sev
ered. It is my conviction that this fatal period
has not yet arrived ; and my ptayer to God is
that He would preserve the Constitution and
Union througnout all generations.
But let us take warning in time, and remove
the cause of danger. It cannot be denied that
for five and twenty years, the agitation at the
North against slavery in the South has been in
cessant. In 1833 pictorial handi>ills, and in-
p?aU, were circulated ex e siveh
throi ghout the South, ola character to excite
the passions ot the slaves: and, in the languag"
of General Jackson, "to stimulate them toinsur
rrction and produce ail the horrors of a servile
war." This agitation has ever since been con
tinued by the public press, by the proceedings
of State and countv conventions, and by aboli
tion sermons and lectures. The time ~f Con
gress has been occupied in violent speeches on
this never-ending subject ; and appeals in pam
phlet and other torms, endorsed by distinguish
ed names, nave been sent forth from this cen
tral point, and spread broadcast over the U
nion.
How easy would it be for the American peo
ple to settle the slavery question forever, and
to restore peace and harm my* 'o tins dislraced
country.
They, and they alone, can <fo it. Ail that is
necti.ai y to accomplish the obj.-cf, and all for
which the slave States have ever contended, is
to be let alone and permitted to manage their
domestic institutions in their own way. As
sovereign States, they, and they alone, are re
sponsible b fore God and the world for the sla
very existing among them, for this, the peo
ple of the North are not more responsible, and
have no more right to interfere, than with simi
lar institutions in Russia or in Brazil. L pon
their good sense and patriotic forbearance I con
fess I'still greatly rely. Without their aid, it
is beyond the newer (A any President, no mat
ter what may be his own political proclivities,
to restore peace and harmony among the States.
Wisely limited and restrained as is his power,
under our Constitution and laws, he alone can
accomplish but little, for good or for evil, on
such a momentous question.
■\nd this brings me to observe that the e'pc
tio'n of any one of our fellow-citizens to the of*
fice of President dot s not of itself afford just
cause for dissolving the Union. 1 his is more
especially true if his election has been effected
by a mere plurality, and not by a majority, of
the people, and has resulted from transient and
temporary causes, which may probably never
a*am occur. In order to justify a resort to rev
el utionaij resistance, the I?edeial Government
must be guilty of "a deliberate, palpable, and
dangerous exercise" of power not gianted by
the Constitution. The late presidential elec
tion, however, has been held in s'net confor
mity with its express provisions. How, then,
can the result justify a revolution to destroy
this very Consti'uiion ? Reason, justice, a re
gard for the Constitution, all require that we
Thail wait for some overt and dangerous act on
the part of the. President elect before resorting
to such a remedy.
It is said, however, that the antecedents of
the President elect have been sufficient to jus-
tify the fears of the South that he will attempt ,
:(o invade their consti'uiional rights. But are |
such apprehensions of contingent danger in the j
future sufficient to justify the immediate de- j
! structlO.l ot the noblest svstem ot government
| ever devised by mor'als ? From the very na- j
I ture of his office, and its high responsibilities,
:he Ynust necessarily be conservative. The
stern duty of administering the vast and coin-!
plicated concerns of this Government affords iri j
itself a guarantee that tie will not attempt any J
violation ot a clear constitutional right. After |
all, he is no more than the chief executive of- j
fic-r of the Governine- "h province is not j
—..,0u the laws ; and it i.s a re
markable lact in our history, thai, notw...- •
ding the repealed efforts ofthe anil-slavery par
ty, no single act has ever passed congress, un- j
less we may possibly except the Missouri Com- j
promise, impairing, in the slightest degree, the j
rights of the South to their property in slaves, j
And it may also be observed, judging from p r es- j
er.t indications, that no probability exists of ttie j
passage of such an act, by ja majority of both
Houses, either in the present or the next Cmi- ;
2res. Surely, under these ciicumstances, we j
ought to be restrained from present .action by I
j the precept of Him who spake as never man i
! spoke that •♦sufficient unto the day is the evil t
i thereof." The day of evil may never come,'
: unless we rashly bring it upon ourselves.
: It is alleged as one cause tor immediateseces
! sinri that the Southern States are denied equal
; rights with other States in the common Terri- •
j 'oties. But by what authority are these denied ?
| Not by Congress, which has never passed, and j
I believe never will pass, any act to exclude :
slavery from these Territories; and certainly !
! not by 'he Suprem- Court, which has solemnly j
decided that slaves are property, and, like all j
other property, their owners have a right to j
I take them into the common Territories, and :
hold them there under the protection of the Coti
\ stitntion.
So tar, then, as Congress is concerned, the
objection is not to anything they have already
done, but to what they may do hereatter. It
will surely be admitted that this apprehension
i of future danger is no good reason for an imtne- i
diate dissolution of the Union. It is true that j
the territorial legislature of Kan-as, on the 23d
! of February, 1860, passed in great haste an act
| over Ihe veto of the governor, declaring that
j slavery "is, and shall be, forever prohibited in ;
! this Territory." Such an act, however, plain- j
I ly violating the rights of property secured by
! the Constitution, will surely be declared void by
: the judiciary whenever it shall be presented in
a legal form.
Only three days after my inauguration the
Supreme Court ofthe United States solemnly
adjudged that this power did not exist in a ter- i
ntoria! legislature. Vet such has been the fac
tious temper of the times t.:at the correctness of j
this decisis has been extensively impugned be- 1
fore tiie people, and the question has given;
rise to angry political conflicts ihroughout the !
1 counti ~ Those who have appealed from this
judgment of our Highest constitutional tribunal i
I to popu'ar assemblies would, it they could, in- j
j vest a territorial legislature with power to an
i nul the sacre 1 rights cf property. This power j
Congress is expressly forbidden by the Federal
Constitution to exercise. Every State leg:s!a
ture in the Union is fo.bidden by its own con- i
slitution to exercise it. It cannot be exercised
in any State except by the ppople in their high- ;
est sovereign capacity when framing or amen
ding tfieir State constitution. In like manner, j
it can only be exercised by the people of a Ter- j
ritorv represented in a convention of delegates i
for the pui pose of framing a constitution prepar- |
atory to admission n~ a State into the Union.— .
j Then, and not until then, are they invested
with power to decide the question whether sla
very shall or shall not exist within their limits.
This is an act of sovereign author ity, and not o)
subordinate territorial legislation. VVere it ;
I otherwise, then indeed would the equality of (
the Slates in the Territories be destroyed, "and
the rights of property in slaves would depend,
not upon guarantees ol the Constitution, but
upon the shift ing majorities of an irresponsi-.
ble territorial legislature. Such a doctrine,
from its intrinsic unsoundness, cannot long
influence any considerable portion of our
people," much less can it ailoi d a good reason
for a dissolution of the Union.
The most palpable violation of constitutional
•duty which hiave yet befit committed consists in
the acts of different State legislatures to defeat
the execution of the fugitive-slave-law. It
ought to be remembered, however,.that for these
acts, neither Congress nor any President can
justly be held responsible. Having been passed
in violation* of the Federal Constitution, they
are therefore null and void. All the couits, both
State and national, belore whom the question
has arisen, have from the beginning declared the
fumtive-siave-law to be constitutional. The
single exception is that of a Slate corn! in Wis
consin : and this has not only been reversed by
the proper appellate tribunal, but has met with
such universal reprobation that there can he no
danger from it as a precedent. The validity 01.
this law has been established over and over a
gain by the Supreme Conrt of the United States
with perfect unanimity. It is f >nruled upon an
express provision of Ihe Const I'tr ion, requiring
that fugitive slaves who escape from service in
one Slate to another shall be "delivered up" to
their masters. Without this provision it is a
well-known historical fact that the Constitution
itself could never have men adopted by the Con
vention. In one form or another under the acts
of 1793 and 1830, both being substantially the
same, the fugilive-slave-law has been the law of
the land from the tlavs of Washington until the
[•resent moment. Here, then, a clear case is
presented, in which it will be the duly of the
next President, as it has fiepn my own, to ac'
with vigor In executing this supreme law again- 1
the conflicting enactments ot State legislatures.
[Should he fail in the performance of this high
i duty, lie will then have manifested a disregard
[of the Constitution and laws, to the great in
jury of the people of nearly one hall of the
BEDFORD, PA., FRIDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 11, 1860.
States ofthe Union. But are we to presume
in advance that he will thus violate his duty ;
Th.s would be at war with every principle d
justice and christian charily. Let us wait foi
the overt act. The fugitive-slave-law has been
carried into execution in every contested casr
since the commencement of the present admin
istration ; though often it is to be regretted, wit!,
great loss and inconvenience to the master, and
with considerable expense to the government.
Let us trust (hat the State legislatures will re
peal their unconstitutional and obnoxious enact
ments. Unless Ibis ifiill be done without u.,
necessary delay, it is impossible for any human;
power to save the Union.
~ T ly* , " n —■ Hie b as - -( 1
the Constitution, have a right t •' inis act >
of justice from the States of the North. Should
it he refused, then thf Constitution, to whicb
ali the Slates arii parties, will have been wilful
ly violated by one portion of them in a provi
sion essential to the domestic security anil hap
piness of tlie remainder. Jn that event the in
jured States, after having first used all peaceful
and constitutional means to obtain redress,
would be justified in revolutionary resistance to j
the Government of the Union.
I have purposely confined my remaiks to j
revolutionary resistance, because it has been \
claimed within the last few years (hat anv I
State, whenever this shall be its sovereign wilt '
and pleasure, may secede I roar the Union, in :
accordance with the Constitution, and without j
any violation of the constitutional rights ofthe
other members ofthe Confederacy. That as 1
eacli became parties to the Union by the vote ol
its own people assembled in Convention, so anv j
one of them may retire front the Union in a
similar manner by the vote of such a cauven
tion.
In order to justify secession asa constitution
al remedy it mu.-t be on the principle that the
Federal Government is a mere voluntary asso
ciation of States, to be dissolved at pleasure by
any OIK- ot the contracting parties. It this b
so, the Confederacy is a rope of sand, to be pen
etrated and dissolved by the first adverse wave
of public opinion in an of the States. In this
manner our thirty-three States may resolve j
themselves into as many petty, jarring, and hos- ;
tile republic-', each one r. tiring from the Union,
without responsibility, whenever anv sudderi i
excitement might impel them to such a course.
By this process a Union might be entirely bro
ken into fragments in a few weeks, which cos! :
our forefathers many years of toil, privation, and i
blood to establish.
Such a principle is wholly inconsistent wot. '
the history as well as the character of rfte !
eral Constitution. Alter it was framed, with j
the greatest deliberation and care, it was sob- i
mi'.ted to conventions :>( the people of the sev- j
eral States tor ratification, its provisions were
discussed at length in these bodies, composed of j
the first men of the country. lis opponents J
contended that it conferred powers upon the j
Federal Gover. nent dangerous to Ihe rights of j
the States, whilst its advocates maintained that I
under a fair construction ot the instrument there i
was no foundation for such apprehensions. In [
that mighty struggle between the fi'sl intellects j
ol ttiis or any other country, i never occurred j
to any individual, either among its opponents or j
advocates, to assert, or ev n to intimate, that i
their e.torts were all vain labor, because the
moment that any State felt herself aggrieved
she might secede from the Union. What a!
crushing argument would this have proved a- i
gainst those who dreaded that the rights ofthe j
Slates would be endangered by the Constitu- j
lion. Tne truth is. that it was not until many j
years after the origin of the Federal Govern- j
inent that such a proposition was first advanced, j
It was then met and refuted by the conclusive
arguments of Goneral Jackson, who in his mes
sage ol I (jth Januaiy, 1833, transmitting the
nullity i;:g ordinance of South Carolina to Con
gress, employs I tie following language : -'The
right of the people ot a single State 'o absolve
themselves at will, and without the consent of
the other States, from their most solemn obliga- j
lions, and hazard the libeily and happiness ofj
the millions composing tins Union, cannot fit- j
acknowledged. Such authority is believed to
be utterly tepugnant botli to the principles up
on which the General Government is constitu
ted and to ttie objects which it was expressly
formed to attain."
It is not pretended that anv clause in the
Constitution gives countenance ta such u theory.
It is altogether founded upon inlerence, not
from any language contained m iho instiumenl
itself, but Irorn ttie sovereign character ol tire
several States by which it was ratified. But is
it beyond tile power ola State, like an individ
ual, to yield a portion ol its sovereign rights to
secure ttie remainder? In the language ol Mr.
Madison, who has been called the fattier of the
Constitution : "It was formed by the Slates—
tfiat is, by ttie people in each of the States, ac
tio' in their highest sovereign capacity ; and
lormeil consequently by the same authority I
winch formed me Slate constitutions."
"Nor is the Government of the United States,
created bv the Constitution, less a Government
ift ttie stuct sense of the term, within the sphere
ot its powers, than the governments created by
the constitutions of the Stales are, within their
several spheres. It is, like them, organized in
to legislative, executive, and judiciary depart
ments. It operates, like them, directly on per
sons and things; and, like them, it has at
command a physical lorce for executing the
powers committed to it."
It was intended to be perpetual, and not to
be annulled at the pleasure ol any oneof the
contracting parlies. The o!o articles ot con
federation were entitled "Articles of Confeder
ation and Perpetual Union between the Slates ;"
and by the I 3th article it is expressly declared
that' (tie articles of tins Confederation shall be
inviolably observed by every State, and the U
nion shall be perpetual." The preamble to
the Constitution ofthe United States, having
express reference to the articles of Confedera
tion, rtcites that it was established ♦Mn order to
' form a more perfect union." And yet it is con-
Freedom of Thought and Opinion.
tended that this "mm- perf-ct union" does not
include the essential attribute of perpetuity.
But that the Union was deigned to be per
petual appears conclusively Itom the n wure
an i extent ofthe powers conferred by the Lun
stitution on the Federal Government. These
powers embtace the very highest attributes of
national sovereignly. Thry place both the
sword and the purse under its control. Con
gress has power to make war, and to inike peace;
to iaise and support armies and navies, and to
conclude treaties with foieign governments.
It is invested with the power to coin monev,
and to iegu 1 ate_tbe ye thereolj^pij n to regu
, several States, it is not necessary to enu
merate the other high powers v. hich have been
conferred upon the Federal Government. In :
order to cany the enumerated powers in'o ef
fect, Congress possesses the est lusive right to
lay and collect duties on imports, and in com
mon with the States to lay and collect all other
taxes.
But the Constitution has not only conferred
these high powers upon Congress, but it has a
dopted elf ctual means to restrain the States
from interfering with their exercise. For that
purpose it has, in strong prohibitory language,
expiessly declared that "no State shall enter
into any treaty, alliance,cr confederation ; grant
letteis ol rnaique and reprisal; coin money;
emit bills o! credit ; make anything but gold
and s'lver coin a tender in payment of debts ;
pass any bill ot attaind-r, ex post facto lau, or
law impairing the obligation ot contracts." Mow
over, "without Ihe consent of Congress, no
State shall lay any ; imposts or duties on any
imports or exports, except what may be absolute
ly necessary forex°cuting its inspection laws ;"
and, it they exceed this amount, the txcess
shall belong to the United Slates.
And "no State shall, without the consent of
Congress, lay any duty ol tonnage ; keep troops,
or ships ol war, in lime of peace enter into any
agreement or compact Willi another State, or
with a loreign power . or engage in war, unless
actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as
wilt not admit ot delay."
In order still further to secure the uninter
rupted exercise ot these high powers against
State interposition, it is provhled "that this
Constitution and ti.e laws of the United States
which shall be made in putsuanee thereof; and
all treaties made, or which shall be mode uu
<:er the authority of the U-nited States, shall be
the supreme law ol ttie land ; and the judges in
eveiy State shall be bound thereby, anything
m the Constitution or laws of any Stale to the
contrary noi wiihstanoing. '
1 he solemn sanction of religion has bepn su
pe added to the obligations ot official duty, and
all senators and representatives of the United
S'ates, all members of State legislatures, and all
executive and judicial officers, -'both ol the Uin- '
led States and of tile several States, shall be
bound by oath or affirmation to support this
Constitution."
In cider to carry into effect these powers, the
Constitution has es'.ablishtd a perfect Govern
ment in ail its forms, Legislative, Executive,
ar.d Judicial: and this Government, to the ex
tent of its powers, acts directly upon the indi
vidual citizens of every State, and executes its
own decrees by the agency ot its own ollicers.
In this respect it differs entirely from the Gov
ernment •wider the old Confederation, which
was confined to making requisitions on the
States in their soveieign character.—
This left it in the discretion ot each whether to
obey or to retuse, and they oiler, dec.'ined to
comply with such r pt tions. It thus became
nece ary, tor tile j iit . ;> e c>| removing tins bar
rn r, and "in order to firm a more perfect U
nion," to establish a Government v. turh could
act ditecfly upon tlm pec,.!e, and execute its j
own laws without the intermediate agency of
the States. This has been accomplished by the
Constitution of the United States.
In shoit, the Government cieated bv the
Constitution, and deriving its authority from
the sovereign people of each oft.be several
Staics has precisely the fame right to exercise
its power over the people ol all these States, in
ll.e enumerated cases, that each one of them
possesses over subjects nut delegated to the Uni
ted States but "tesei ved to the States respective
ly, or to (tie people."
To the extent of the delegated powers the
Conslitu'ion of the United S ales is as much a
t art of the constitution ot each State, and is as
binding upon its people, as though it had been
textually inserted therein.
This Government, therefore, is a great ami
powerlul Government, invested with all the at- .
ti ibute-a of sovereignty over the special subjects
to which its authority extends. Its l'ramers i
never intended to implant in its bosom the seeds •
ol its own destruction, nor were they at i's
creation guilty ofthe absurdity of providing for
its own dissolution. It was not intended hy its
frameis to be the baseless fabric of a vision
which f at the touch of the enchanter, would
vanish to thin air, but a substantial and rnightv
Irbric, capable of resisting the slow decav of
time and of defying the storms of ages. Indeed,
well may the jealous patriots of that dav have
indulged fears that a government of such high
powers might violate the reserved rights of the
Slates, and wisely did they adopt ttie rule of a
strict construction of these powers to prevent
the danger! But they did not fear, nor had
they any reason to imagine, that the Constitu
tion would ever be so interpreted as to enable
any State, by her own act, and without the
consent ot her sister States, to discharge her
people from all or any of their Federal obliga
tions.
Jt may be asked, then, are the people of Ihe
States without redress against the tyranny and
oppression ot the Fedeial Government ? By
no means. Ti.e right ot resistance one the pail
j of the governed against the oppression of their
governments cannot be denied. It exists mde-
pendently of all constitutions, and has been ex
> ercised at all periods of the world's history.—
Under it old governments have been destroyed,
ja id new ones have taken their place, it is em
j bodied in strong and express language in our
j own Declaration of Independence. But the
dis'incl-.oii must ever be observed, that (his i
i revolution against an es'ablisbej Government,
anil not a voluntary secession from it bv virtue
of an inherent constitutional light. In shut,
j let us look the danger fairly in the face : Seces
sion is neither more nor le.-.s than revolution.—
It may or it may not be a justifiable revolution,
but still it is revolution.
•Vha , in the mean time, is the responsibility
anil true position of the Executive ? He i>
fiijO'HU-raKe <*are I bat I lie hws f,e '. llc CJUn *
ecuted," and liom this obli fie
absolved by any human power. But what if
'fie performance of this duty, in whole or in
part, has been rendered impracticable by events
over which he could have evercised no control ?
Such,at the present moment, is the case through
out the Stale of Sou li Carolina, so far as the
laws ol Ihe United S'ates to s-xure the adm ini
tiation of just ce bv means of the Federal Judi
ciary aie concerned. All the Federal officers
Within its limits through whose agency alone
these laws can be cauied into execution, have
a!r t a!v resigned. We no longer have a dis
trict judge, a district attorney, or a marshal, in
South Carolina. In fact, the whole machinery
of the Federal Government, necessary for the
distribution of remedial justice among the peo
ple, has been demolished ; and it woulj be ditii
cu't, it not impossible, to replace it.
'1 he only acts ol Congress on the statute-book
beating upon this subject, are those of the 2Slii
February, 1793, and 3J March, ISO7. These
authorize the President, alter he shall have as
certained that the marshal with his posse comi
tnfus is unable to execute civil or criminal pro
cess i.i any particular case, to call loith the
militia and employ the army and navy to aid
him in performing this service, having first by
Proclamation commanded ttie insurgents ">o
disperse and retire peaceably to their respective
abodes, within a limited time." This duty can
not by possibility be performed in a State where
no judic u authority exists to issue process,ami
where there is no rnatshai to execute it and
where, even it thete were such an officer, the
entire population would constitute one soiid
combination to resist him.
Tile bare enumeration-of these provisions
proves how inadequate they are without farther
legislation to overcome a united opposition in a
single State, not to speak of other States who
may place themselves in a similar attitude.—
Congress alone lias power to decide whether the
pree,ii hjvvs can or cannot be amended so as to
carry out more eflectually the objects or me
Cms!it t on*
Ttie same insuperable obstacles do not lie in
the way of executing the laws for the collec
tion of Ihe customs. The revenue still contin
ues to be collected, as heretofore, at the custom
house in Charleston ; arid should tfie collector
unfortunately resign, a successor may he ap
pointed to pei form this duty.
Then in regard to the property of the Uni
ted States in South Carolina. This has been
;> irehased for a fair equivalent "by the consent
ol tiie legislature of the Slate," "for the erec
tion of forts, magazines, arsenals," icc., and
over these the authority "to exercise exclusive
legislation" lias heen expressly granted bv the
Cons! i tut ion to Congress, It is not believed
t fiat any attempt will be made to expel the
United Slates from this properly by force : but
if in tins I should prove to be mistaken, ttie
officer in command ofthe fort has received or
des to act strictly on the defensive. In such
a contingency, the responsibility for conse
quences would rightfully test upon tile heads
oi the assailants.
Apart I run the execution of the laws, so far
as tins may he practicable, the Executive has j
n . authority to decide what shall be the ie
-lit ions between the fe.Jei3l government and i
South Carolina. lie has been invested with
no such discretion. He possesses no power to j
change the relations heretofore existing be
tween them, much less to acknowledge ttie in
dependence of thai Sta'e. This would be to
invest a mere Executive officer, with Ihe power j
of recognizing the dissolution of the Confedcra- ;
cy among our thirty-three sovereign Stales. It :
bears no lesemblance to the recognition of a;
foreign de fuclo government, involving no !
such responsibility. Anv attempt to do lhi< j
would, on !os part, be a naked ac! ot usurpation.
It is, therefoie, my duty to submit to Congress
the whoij question in all its bearings. Ihe j
course of events is so idpiutv Hastening far I
ward, that the emergency may sum aiise,
when you may be calleu upon to decide the
momentous question whether you possess the
power, by force of arms, to compel a State to
rensain in the Union. I should f.-el myself
recreant to my duty were I not to express an
opinion on this important subject.
Ihe question fauiy stated i> : Has the Con
stiiulion delegated to Congress the power to
coerce aslate into submission which is attempt
ing to w ilhdiaw or has actually withdrawn
from the Confederacy ? If answered in the
the affirmative, it must be on the principle that
ttie power lias been conferred upon ("ongiess to
declare and to make war against a S'a'e. —
After much serious reflection I have ar.ived at
the conclusion that no such power lias been
delegated to Congress or to any other depart
ment ofthe Federal Government. It is mani
lest, upon an inspection of the Constitution,
that this is not among the specific and enumera
ted powers granted to Congress ; and it is
equally apparent that its exercise is not "ner s
j.iry and proper lor carrying into execution"
! any one of these powers. 'Bo tar from this
(rower having been delegated to Congress, it
j was expressly refused by the convention which
liamed the Constitution,
i It appears,' t from the proceedings of that body,
j that on the 3lst May, 1787, the clause
j "authorizing an exertion of the force of the
! whole against a delinquent State" came up for
' consideration. Mr. Madison opposed it in a
beief but powerful speech, from which I shall
WIIOIJ; K|IIBE3{, 2026.
1 exlract but a single sentence. lie observed :
• 44 1'hu use of force against a Sia~ would look
more like a decJaraftori of war 'ban an inflic
tion of punishment ; and won! i probably be
fconsiJiTe.l by the parly att.iciud as a dissolution
of all previous compacts by which it might bo
bound. ' Upon his motion the clause was
unanimously postponed, and was never I be
lieve again presented. Soon afterwards, on
the Bth June, 1787, when trtcidenlllv advert
ing to the subject, tie said : "Any Government
for the United States, formed on the supposed
practicability ol using force ihx un.
! co.istiiuii" i.-> j at-'i iaii iciotis as the govern
ment of Congress," evidently meaning the
then existing Congress of the old Confedera
tion.
Without descending lo particulars, it may
be safely asserted, tint the power to make war
against a State is at variance with the whole
spirit and intent of the Constitution. Suppose
' such a wai should lesult in the conquest of a
State, how are we to govern it ilterwards ?
! Shall we hold it as a p r ovince, and govern it
Iby despotic power ? in the nature of things
we could not, by physical force, control the
will of the people, and compel them, to elect
senators and representatives to Congress, and
to perform all other duties depending upon
their own volition, an 1 req- ;rrd from me Iree
citizens of a Iree Stale ?.s a constituent mem
ber of the Confederacy.
But, if we possessed this power, would it be
wi-e io exercise it under existing circumstan
■ Ces 1 Tile object would doubtless be to pre
serve the Union. War would not only pre
| sent the most effectual means of des'roying it;
but would banish all hope of its peaceable re
cmstiuciion. Besides, in the fraternal conflict
a amount of blend and treasure would be
: expended, rendering fuluie reconciliation be
tween ttie States impossible. In the mean
tim-, who can foretell what would be* the
> sufferings and privatious of itie people during
its existence ? .
The fact is, that onr Union rests upon public
I opinion, and can never be cemented by the
i blood ol its citizens shed in civil war. If-dt
I cannot live in the affections of the people it
must one da}' perish. Congress possess many
means of preserving it by conciliation ; but the
swo r d was not 'acvd in their hand to preserve
it by force.
But may It 3 permitted solemnly to invoke
my countrym- pause and deliberate, before
they determine to destroy this, thegrandest tem
-1 [>!e which has ev r been dedicated to human
freedom since the world began 1 It has been
iiuscLiateii by the bluod ot our falh.-e.,, by ih.
I glories of the pas!, and by the hopes of the fu
ture. The Union has already ni3de us the
most prosperous and ere long, will, if preserved
render us the most poterlul nation on the face
of theear-lh. In every foreign region ot the
globe tin. title ot American citizen is held in
the highest respect, and when pronounced in a
.oreign land it causes the hearts of our country
men to swell with honest pride. Surely when
we reach the b: ink of the yawning abyss, we
shall recoil with honor tiom the last fatal
plunge. 'By such a dread catastrophe, the
hopes of the friends of freedom t.ir >ugho-t the
world wou.d be destroyed, and a long night ot
leaden despotism would enshroud the nations.
Our example for more than eighty years would
not only be lost ; but it would be quoted as a
conclusive praol that man is unfit lor self-gov
ernment.
. It is not every wrong—nav, it is not pvery
grievous wrong—which can justify a resort to
such a fearful alternative. This ought to be
the last desperate remedy of a despairing peo
ple, alter every other constitutional means of
conciliation had been exhausted. We should
reflect that under this free government is
an incessant ebb and flow in public opinion.—
I he slavery quesiion, iike everything human,
will have its day. I firmly believe that it iias
already reached ami passed £lhe culmur.atmg
point. Bui if, in the midst of the existing ex
citement, the Union shall perish, the evil mav
then become irreparable. Congress cannot con
tribute much to avert it by proposing and rec
amending to the legislatures ol the several
S'ates tiie remedy for existing evils, which the
Constitution itselfhas provided for its own pres
ervation. This has been tried at different crit
ical periods ot our history, and always with
eminent ruec- s.. It is to be found in tiie sth ar
ticle providing fur its own ampndmerit T~r>d*r
this article amendments have been proposed by
iwo-ihir.k of both houses ofCongte;, and have
been "ratified by the legislatures of three-fourti 8
C)( ti)t? Sc*VtfTtll Suiirsj** cxr>.J Haifa enne~S}ii#nf ly
become parlsof the Constitution. Tu this pro
cess the country is indebted fur th? clause pro
hibiting Congress from passing any law respec
ting an establishment of religion, or abtidging
the freedom of spech or of the press, or the right
ol petition. To this we are, also indebted for
the Bill of Rights, which secures the people a
gainst any abuse ot power by the Federal Gov
ernment. Such were the apprehensions justly
entertained by the iiiendsof State-rights at that
period as to have rendered it extremely doubt
iul whether the Constitution couiJ have long
survived without these amende en's.
Again, ihe Constitution was amended bv fh
same process ahei the election nf President Jef
terson by tie House of Representatives, in Feb
ruary, 1803. This amendment {was rendered
necessary to prevent a recurrence cf the dan
gers which had seiiously threatened the exis
tence ol the Government dining the pendency
ot that election. The article for its own amend
ment was intended to secure the amicable ad
justment of conflicting constitutional questions
like the present, which might arise between the
governments of the States and that of United
States. Th is appears from contemporaneous
history. In this connection, I shall merely call
a tention to a few sentences in .Mr. .Madison's
justly-celebrated repotl, in 179 ft, the legis'a
ture of Virginia. In this he ably and conclu
sively defended the resolutions of the preceding
legislature against th-- stnefurea ol tereral other
VOL. 4. NO. IS.