£ems aflppWlcauon.
thb tioga codhW* Agitator is published
77 Wednesday Morningjjand mailed to subscribers
J tbe wry reasonable price iof
ONE DOLLAR PER ANNTJM„gsf
, advance. It to notify every
*"h?criber when the term which he has paid shall
He expired, by the figu resign the printed label on the
h* Te . J,f cac h nkper. The&per will then be stopped
& farther remittance lie received. - By this ar-
on man can in debt to the
is the Official Paper of the County,
•ih a large and steadily incasing circulation reach
every neighborhoo(hjn the County. It is sent
"* td'any Post ©fflee within the, county
r'ts but whose most convenient post office may bo
r „’adjoining County. U '
'Business Cards, not exceeding.s,lines, paper. Inclu
ded, $5 per year. ||. . . , .
f
' BUSINESS IJjRECTGRY.^
I IOWKEV . 'Wli*SOK,
i '& COUNJELLOBS AT LAW, will
A ■ attend the Court of KogarPottor and McKean
rWellsboro’.FebXlSSS.] -
G. R. DARTTj! DENTIST.
OFFICE algiibis residence near the
Academy,*> All work pertaining to
His line of business done promptly and
-'J [April 22, 1858.]
rarranled.
HOUSJE
COK N I N #, E. T.
if AJ . A. Field, § Proprietor.
Ou/iSts taken to and from tfTe Depot free of charge.
J. C. U HITTTAKEB,
Hydropathic Physician and Surgeon.
ELKLAND, TXOGf| CO., PENNA.
Will visit patients in all pasts of the County, or n
jeire them for treatment at Iffi house. [Juno 14,}
' J. CniRT,"
k TTORNEY A'JfD COBJSELLOR AT LAW>
A Wellsboro, Tioga Cc®| Pa. ' Will dorote bis
tuDB exclusively to ibe, pracfice of law. - "Collections
made' in any of the. Northern countiea. of Pennsyl
rania. ■ ’ ' ’i( IH>v21 ’ 60
PESKSYLTASSA BOUSE.
Corner o/ J/«i« Street and tl&Aeenue. Wellsioro, Pa.
J. W. BIGOKY, PROPRIETOR.
Thin popular Hotel; having been re-fitted and re
farmsied thrpaghouti Is now* >pen to the public as a
first-,cioM boueo. * 1
IZAAK WAL#» HOUSE,
E. C. YERMILYE AfAPIiO PRIETOR.
Gaines, Tioga gonnty, Pa.
rHIS is a new hotel locatp within easy access of
the best fishing and huniipg grounds in Northern
?», No pains will be spareJ i’or the accommodation
if pleasure seekers and the traveling public.
April 12. 1860. ' ;J
H,\>. C*>tE,
BARBER AND 'HAIR DRESSER.
SHOP La the rear of the Post Office. Everything in
hia line will bo done, a.H .well and promptly _as it
an be done in the city saloeii|. Preparations for re
loving dandruff, and beaufljfying- the hair, for sale
heap. Hair and whiskers djed any color. Call and
ee. Wellsborb, Sepf22, 18&8.
TiicOBNIMJOIIRfIAL.
Oeorgo W. Ptatt, Ejdflfoc and proprietor.
’3 published at Corning, Steuben Co., N. Y., at One
Dollar and Fifty Cel ts pci year, in advance. \ The
ournal is Eepubliosn i 1 pojj tics, and has a eircula
ion reaching into everw pari of Steuben- County.—
Ihose desirous pf extending idieir business into that
nd the adjoining countka wip find it an excellent ad
artising medium. Address n above.
FURS! Fltßijjh FURS!
FCRS.— The subscril >r has just received a-large
assortment of lajiies wear, consisting of
f I TCI I CAPES & VICTORINES,
FRENCH SABLE CARES & VICTORINES,
BIVER NINE CAPESi Sl'l’FFS,
ROCK MARTIN CARES & VICTORINES
These comprise a smali quantity of the assortment,
’hoy have been bought nd lotjijprices and will bo sold
d extremely low prices for cash, at the K«w Hat Store
a Cornidg, N. Y. ,1| S. P. QUICK.
TO MUSIji
1 CHOICE LOT of the beij
f\ German _il
VIOLIN STB
Viol strings, Guitar It
fridges Ac., just received ftnm
WELISBOB
WELLSBOROIISM,' pa.
!, 8. FARR, - - ij PROPRIETOR.
! (Formerly of the State's Hotel.)
Having leased this well and popular House,
elicits the patronage of the \ With attentive
jid obliging waiters, tog0 s thea| with too Proprietor 8
knowledge uf l-he business 6 ; to moke the stay
if those who stop will j aim both pleasant and
igreeable. T*
Wellsboro, May 31, 18(f). *
PICTURE <
rQILET GLASSES, Pictures, Certificates
Engravings, NeedlollWqW, Ac., Ac., framed in
Lhe neaest manner, in ornamented Gilt,
lose Wood, Black WalmTj, Q§|, Mahogany, Ac. Per
qqs leaving any article 6 ir Defining, can receive them
itit day framed in any sLyleghoy wish and hung for
bom. Specimens at •] §
f 1 BQOK sTORE ‘
E. B. BENEDICT, 31.
WOULD inform the he is permanently
{heated In Elklnnd Tioga Co. Pa., and
is prepared by thirty years' ejjfeerience to treat all dis
eases of the eyes and their appendages on scientific
principles, and‘that be canlsure without fail* that
beadful disease, called St. ijlitus’ Dance, {Chorea
Snncii Uiti,) and will attend j»dny other busitteus in
•h» line of Physic and Surgery.
EMiland Boro, August 8,
IQcIKROY *|:BAI3LEY,
\I7"ODLD inform the publ|| that having purchased
VY the Mill property, kttSWn- as the ‘‘CULVER
WILL," and having rcpaihsjj’ and supplied it with
lew bolts and machinery, are Snow prepared to do
CUSTOM WORK
o the entire satisfaction of With the aid
d our experienced miller, Mr.i L. D. Mitchel, and the
irisparing efforts of the prljlrietorß, they intend to
ieep up an establishment seemed to none in thecounty.
3asb paid for wheat and'cornMand the highest market
Price given. ; fjEDW. McINROY,
Bsrch 15, 1860, if. ; ?i JUO. W. BAILEY,
TIO«A ice#latob.
GEOKfiE F. HUMPHRMx baa opened a|W
Jewely Store at '' f| i
Tioga Village, County, Pa.
he is prepared to alifklnds of Watch, Clock
md Jewelry repairing, in*a wipjrknjapHk© u;onnert All
irork warranted to giv§ ehtirelatiafaction. .
'W do oot*pretend to db wfth better than any other
Ban, but we can do aa as can be done in
,D 9 cities or elsewhere. AlsofWatcbes Plated.
r ' * GfiORQE F. HUMPHREY.
Pa., March 15,
HAiT^pfSTOBE.
Subscriber has jrist opened in this place a new
+ Hat and Cap Store, [whole he intends to inanufac
‘ufre a °d keep onfhand a general assortment
Fashionable Silk an«faiiiiiiert Bail,
°hn manufacture, whim willbe, sold at hard
ha *B prices. ‘ f
SIM BEATS
& tl* t ?.°r der »» short notice}
r 1 5* sold at this Storejlkre fitted with a French
. n J or mature, which makes them soft and easy to, the
W witkat the trouble breaking yonr head to
Biv at> ®*9 re the) 'ffeW Block opposite the
>, ISM. g
•I
ML. TH.
i i. ■ ‘ —i T
j ~ Prom the Erie City Dispatch.
THE PEEILS AND’ BEAUTIES OF A
j ' BALLOON VOEAQE.
! A. few years ago, while sailing tinder the eu
{ihoneous title of Professor, (of iEronautics,)
and making myself famous in certain locali
ties by bating my name and intended exploits
posted in glaring capitals on board fences and
Urick walls and by being extensively advertised
and noticed in the newspapers, I was sojourn
ing for a time in a populous city In tfae south,
vfbere I had once arisen above.my fellow mor
tals and looked down upon them witfa compo
sure'and a certain degree of defiance from an
eleValmn of twelve thousand feet, and where,
through an unintended and purely accidental
exploit of daring! and skill! in| connection
with my last ascension, I had hecoine a lion of
considerable magnitude, especially among small
btoys and country people.
In conssquence of the confidence with.which
Ijhad inspired the community in my ability to
walk the air, I was employed by three scien
tific gentlemen —Who were snddenlyitaken with
aidisposition to blaze upon the public like a
stray comet—to carry them zenithward, dan
gling beneath my balloon. The terms and con
ditions being agreed upon, my next anxiety
wins to provide myself with gas —an important
element in affairs aloft! as well as affairs terres
trial. I wanted six(y (thousand cubic feet, but
owing to some derangement of the works from
wthich the city received its supply I |could get
but forty thousand feet from that sbtlrce with
iti a given time. I wotild have to manufacture
hydrogen to make up the and arran
ged my plans accordingly.
iOn the evening before the day appointed for
the ascension I congratulated myself upon ha
ving my arrangementsrall complete, my pre
parations all made. My balloon had received
an additional coat of varnish and was in splen
did order—the enclosure with seats, had teen
ejected—and my retorts and materials for the
tdauufacture of gas, and my ballast, were all on
the ground.
, After an interview [ with my passengers I
withdrew to triyroom at the hotel to deliberate
upon to-morrow’s, proceedings before retiring
for the night. Lighting a cigar and fixing my
self upon a chair, with my feet out through an
opeifwindow, I gave ths subject the most im
partial attention, and Ifinally this
should, he my last ascension—that, after reach
ing terfafirma with my I would
lei the balloon go off into the air iWhither it
might, without a commander, and it
oi my hands. ■, 1
iThe morning came, jbeautiful and bright, and
mjy barometer convinced me that I would have
as fair a day for my experiments al could be
desired. A cup of coffee and a' huj, roll an
swered for my breakfast, and with entire confi
dence in the success of my proposed;voyage, I
proceeded to my labors! without the i least ner
vqus- trepidation or anxious commotion of mind.
-Aljy assistants were instructed, tickets sent to
editors and especial friends, the inflation com
menced, and every thing went off with the ut
mbst’system and precision. I had proceeded
wiith caution to insure success, as well for the
gratification of my passengers as to sustain my
reputation and add to the means of my purse.
My gas aparatua had been arranged to act ef
fectually, and now, at 1 o’clock, was in full op
eration. The water in the casks was fast de
composing, and the gas from the two sources
wds pouring in volumes into the balloon, which
wqs fast raising and assuming its globular form
quivering with impatience as if anxious to
thkiw off .its bondage and bound away into the
upper air. . :
Hundreds of people were within fltha enolu
sui*o and a brass band, was playing lively airs.
Wje were soon ready. The balloon was fillud,
with an aseensive power of nearly fifteen hun
dred pounds, and was gradually let up and the
gajy wicker-car .attached. Overcoats, philoso
phical instruments, wines and refreshments,
newspapers, carrier pigeons, flags, ballast, Ac.,
were duly arranged in the car, and the passen
gers taking their seats in a kind of pleasing
bejwilderment in the focus of hundreds of eyes,
thp word was given, and amid redoubled cheers,
thi waving of handkerchiefs, and the music of
the band, we arose aloft inhabitants of air.—
Tlje upturned faces below indicated high beat
ing hearts, and cheer after cheer followed us.
•The buzz of the assembly soon gave awayjo a
more silent enthusiasm, but as I loaned over
tbd side of the car and. waived my country>
colors the huzzas from the crowds on the street
ana house-tops were again renewed.
None but those who have experienced the
fheping can possibly realize the slate of mind
capsed by being the object of gaze fpr a multi
tude of eyes and the cause of an enthusiasm
in h multitude of hearts; and the sensation is
heightened and the pulses quickened by the
magnificent sight which burst so slum upon
yop. The rarer atmosphere extacieeji the spir
its] and rushing into the .lungs cans® ’them to
dance under the influence of its invigorating
oxjigen, while the scenei below is poet realiza
tion or description. ,
UIS.
imported Italian anp
tINGS.
fings, Tuning Forks
for sale at
f'S DRUG STORE.
HOTEL,
We arose to an altitude of over two miles
almost perpendicularly, neither moving to the
right or left except seemingly by inherent vo=
litibn. Objects below were definitelyiyisible in
miniature. The business hum arose in sounds
shtjrp and distinct but rapidly diedawrty until
they came to us only as the last murmuring vi
brations of distant bellsl We let off 4 pigeonj
with a card fastened to it upon which ’>as writ
tert our altitude and tb'eistate of the barometer,
This bird hesitated, and iupon being pushed off
fluttered after us, bat we oulsped it irl ascend
ing and it made a curved course for the earth.
' Except with the faint! echoes, from ) deep be
neath we were alone^—alone in the? abyss of
light,- and air, and cloud—alone to ether’s
subtle elements, where us, formed the rain to
water the earth and the waters under.the earth
_Jfone where the stars;sing together! and the
lightnings revel as they irush from hidden
depths and furrow the iskies in vivid lights
alcjne where the meteors stream and -the moon
lights np the space with a religious lustre—
alctne, hanging like a bubble with nature and
wi|h God, |
All this was realised; by my pasrtngers, as
THB AGITATOR.
3cfcoteS3 to t&eSjrtrnffion of ttjt &rta of iFmOom aitH Hjc SamaO of &raUBs Reform.
ttSILB THEBE SHALL BE' A WRONG UNRIGHTjJd, AND UNTIL “MAN'S INHUMANITY TO MAS” SHALL (JfiASE, AGITATION MUST CONTINUE. 1
BT B. T. H. LTN.V.
-r j "-
HO, TIOGA COUNTY. PA., WEDNESDAY MORNING. DECEMBER 12, m
WELISBI
. they gazed upon the scenes and at each other,
with mingled feelings' of delight and owe.
1 Now we would-pass througiT.a light cloud
and the earth would be momentarily' hid from
Our view, nr be overshadowed by one,, and the
atmosphere Would become 'cold' and damp.— ;
Now we. were moving with, a breeze fromthe,
west, and os we danced along merrily, higher,
lower, further, the sun shining upon the aeros
tat, and an eddying wind! giving the balloon a
rotary motion, oar bark seeped like an unde
fined atmosphere aroundj particles of the ele
ments off immensity, through which we clave
our way! i .
To the south and helow -as, light clouds were
drilling lazily. Far in the west a storm-cloud
had gathered and burst, sending the last notes
of a thunder peal to onr ears, and as if pant
ing with fatigue; an alternate light and shade
broke from the dying .tempest,' displaying a
beautiful array of colors; and the sun break
ing through the opening chinks, sent its bril
liant rays away along the insist and fleecy haze,
painting! prisms of gold and ruby, until the
stormy! elements were entirely absorbed by its
heat. 1 ’ ! ! ’
Thrice we neared the eajrth and hailed the in
habitants below, as we passed oyer villages
rivers, hills and valleys, and were responded
to by cheers and the waiving of hats. The
landscapb was spread out (before us grand and
beautiful without a blemish to mar its .beauty
and no spot to discredit the handiwork of the
great Creator. Like the arch above, it seemed
concaved to the center, and wore a face illu
minated with a grandeur not to be conceived
from any point hut from the heavens.
Discharging ballast we would arise 'again
among the clouds, where it lacked but the gran
deur of thunder rolling pi our feet, and the
lightnings shooting fiercoljy from the embrace
of their mother elements, ito complete the most
magnificent scene which mortal ever beheld.
I Thus we proceeded until after 7 o’clock. We
Shad beenlup four hours add had not traveled to
{exceed one hundred and-fiifty miles, when, after
flaking an inventory of thy stock in gas and
{ballast, it was resolved to continue the voyage
{into the night. We had 1 seen the sun going
{down in the west, and the moon and stars were
{just coming out, but the night scene was to-be
{abridged, and in Vmanner we had not dreamed
{of —in moments of awful suspense.
I I discovered that a number of the suspending
{cords which sustained the j car were rotting. —
|By the carelessness of some assistant in the
I "reparations for inflation vitriolic acid had been
filled on them, and they were parting, a num
>r of them being already divided, and many
ore only retained the gotten strength of a
ngle strati. In twenty minutes the car would
•eak loose froth the balloon and go to the earth.
r ithout communicating the discovery to my
issengers I seized the valve-cord and gave it
violent poll, intending to discharge gas and
ight immediately. In my desperation I pulled
o suddenly and broke the cord' far above my
aoh I Horror of horrors 1 My consternation
came apparent and- alarmed my companions,
'ithuut satisfying their [inquiries I ordered
I hem to be quiet, demanding their obedience
F they valued life, i What was to be done? To
xplode the balloon, with, the curd attached
or the purpose, would ho [madness, as with so
auch weight in the car we would go dpwn
rith a rapidity Wjiioh the [balloon if it formed
. parachute would not retard, and which would
ause the [friction of air to kill us in the de
cent. Tq climb up the net and make an open
ng in thei gas envelope through which the gas
could escape, would be equally mad. The
freight sf[my body, on the side of the balloon
would carry it in fnd Cause extra tension on
tome of the already suspension cords,
and break, them off; or perhaps careen the bal
loon over and throty my passengers out of the
ear.
In an instant thel fate of ithe many unfortu-
nate aeronauts since the of M. Remain
Ind Pilatra de Rozijsr, in to cross
he English Channel, in 178 a, up to that time,
lashed through rayj mind; ; AVhat was to he
[one ? We must go up to come down—reach
In altitude in the purer air above where the
;as would expand 'and flow l out through the
leek below. Over went the ballast, thirty,
iixfy, ninety pounds. Up, up, went our frail
•raft with the speed of thought, trembling in
[very cord, our flags and ihdicators fluttering
lownward as if in gay mockery of our situa
ion. Sbon the speed slackened. The aerostat
Was disteflded to fullest capacity, but yet
|o gas had escaped;' Another and Another cord
Bad parted. Over '[went more ballast, our sand,
instruments, overedats, boots, provisions, and
|p again we flew. [Our heads were soon en
veloped in, a white mist, as the gas poured out
from above us, and jliy inhaling it fre sickened.
|!he excitement, and, the furies of the gas, was
my companions frantic and helpless.
hildren 1 never werp' weaker. By this time I
ad clinibed to thej concentrate hoop and Was
holding | the neck qf the ha'loon off, to avoid
direct contact with the escaping gas. We arose
to an immense altitude. Breathing became
In agony. Our eyes seemed to be forcing from
our heads-j-the blocid oozed from our ears and
nostrils—our bodiel puffed out like cushions,
Ind sfcemed numb and paralysed with cold. An
involuntary prayer was uttered by,every one of
s. ' Sodn lour ascent was stopped; We had
mched ollr greatest height and a descent
lust inevitably follow. A balloon in the air
oes notl/?oa<,in the; same line of altitude to the
mh, and thank Ileiven we must go down !
'orturous suspense minutes longer and
■e cannot Jive without vitalized ain But few
f the suspending cords remain and in six min
tes at most the basket wilt break away !
limbing into the hoop again I tied the explos
ive cord firmly around the neck of the balloon
Irfnd around my body ‘under my arms, to relieve
ijie car from my weight and to save me from
oing with it if it should break away. Any
eath but that, to he whirled through the air
:om such in height. We were falling, faster,
nd fasten and when within slght of the land
sapo so beautifully spread but in the moon
ght, thg basket broke away:! and with screams
he most' agonizing and intense that mortal
v«r utteyed, my companions went down, down,
pirallyj to strike the earth and be dashed to
ieees I'' After being relieved ofrfieir weight
—-rpvr.- .
u j.*- : 1
I felt myself rising again, and then a sadden
jar, and I awoke, and found that J had fallen
from my chair in my room at the-hotel, and
was. nearly suffocated from fire that had com
municated to my clothing during my dream
from the oigar I bad been smoking.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.
Fellow-citizen* 6/ the Senate :
and JJousc uf Itepretental l vt» ?
Throughput the year since ourj last meeting,
the country has been eminently! prosperous in
all its material interests. The general health
has been excellent, our harvests hare been
abundant, and plenty smiles throughout the
land. ■ Our commerce and manufactures have
been prosecuted with energy and industry, and
have yielded fair and ample returns. In short,
no nation in the tide of time has pver presented
a spectacle of greater material prosperity than
we have done until within a veryj 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 thege blessings, is
threatened with destruction ? |EHe long con
tinued and intemperate interference of the
Northern people with the question of slavery
in the Southern States has at length produced
its natural effects. The differentsectionsof the
Union are now arrayed against each other, and
the time has arrived, too. much dreaded by the
Father of hid Country, when hostile geographi
cal parties, have been formed.' I have long
foreseen and often forewarned my countrymen
of the now. impending danger. jThis does not
proceed solely from the claim on the part of
Congress or the territorial legislatures to ex
clude slavery from the Territories, nor from the
efforts of different States to'defeat the execu
tion of the fugitive-slave law. j All or any of
these evils might, have been endured by the
South without danger to the Union, (as others
have been,) in the hope that tinhe and reflec
tion might apply the remedy. The immediate
peril arises not so much from these causes as
from the fact that the innocent arid violent agi
tation of the slavery question throughout the
North for the last quarter of a cSntury, has at
length produced its malign influence on the
slaves, and inspired them with vague notions
of freedom. Hence ajense of security no lon-1
ger exists around the family altar. This feel-1
ing of peace at home has given place to appre-1
hensions of servile insurrection, i Many a mat- j
ron throughout the South retires at night in
dread of what may befall herself [and her ehil-1
dreu before the morning. Shouli) this appre- i
henaion of domestic danger, whether real or j
imaginary, extend and intensify jitself until it |
shall pervade the 1 masses of the Southern peo- i
pie, then disunion will become inevitable. Self- (
preservation is tho first law of nature, and has'
been implanted ip the heart of man' by bis
Creator for the wisest purpose; and no politi
cal union, however fraught with Iblessings and
benefits in all other respects, can I'ong continue, ,
if tbo necessary consequence be to render the
homes and the firesides of nearly half the par
ties to it habitually and hopelessly insecure. :
Sooner yr later the bonds of such h Union must
be severed. It is my conviction that this fatal
period has not yet arrived ; and'my prayer to
God is that He would preserve the Constitution
and the Union throughout all generations. |
But let us take warning in and remove
the cause of danger. It cannot bp denied that,
for five and twenty years, the agitation at the
North against siaveiy in the South has been
incessant. In 1835 pictorial hand-bills, and
inflammatory appeals, were circulated exten
sively throughout the South, of a character to
excite the passions of the alavesj; and, in the
language of General Jackson, ‘f to stimulate
them to insurrection, and produce all the hor
rors of a servile war. This agitiJtion fcas-ever-r
since been continued by the public press, by
tho proceedings of State and county,conven
tions, and by abolition sermons and lectures.
The time of Congress has been occupied in vio
lent speeches on this never-endinglsubject; and
appeals-Hv pamphlet and other founts, endorsed
by distinguished names, have been sent forth
from this central point, and spread broadcast
over the Union.
How easy would it be for the American peo
ple to settle the slavery question forever, and
to restore peace and harmony to this distracted
country.
They, and they alone, can do it! All that is
necessary to accomplish the object, and all for
which the slave States have ever contended, is
to be let alone, and permitted to manage their
domestic iristitotions in their own way. As
; sovereign States, they, and they alone, are re
sponsible before God and the world for the
l slavery existing among them. For this, the
people of the North are not more responsible,
and have no mure right to interfere; than with
similar institutions hr Russia dr in Brazil.
Upon their good sense and patriotic forbearance
I confess I still greatly rely. Without their
aid, it is beyond the power of any President,
no matter what may be his own .politlca.l pro
clivities, to restore peace and harjmony among
the States. Wisely limited and [restrained as
is his power, under our Constitution and laws,
he alone can accomplish but for good or
for evil, on sdch a momentous question.
And this' brings me to observe 'that the elec
tion of any one of our fellow-citizens, to the
office of President does not of itself afford just
cause for dissolving the Union, j This is nfore
especially true if his election has [been effected
"by a mere plurality, and not a majority, «f the
people, and has resulted from transient and
temporary causes; Which may probably never
again occur;, In order to justify a resort to
revolutionary resistance, the Federal Govern
ment must be guilty of “ a deliberate, palpable,
and dangerous exercise” of powers not granted
by the Constitution. The late j Presidential
election, however, has been held jn strict con
formity with its express provisions] How, then,
can the result justify a revolution to destroy
this very Constitution ?—Reason,-I justice, a re
gard for the Constitution, all require that we
shall wait for some overt Anddangerous act on
the part of the President elect before resorting
to.such a remedy. j
It is Said, however, that the antecedents of
the President elect have been sufficient to justi
fy the fears of the Sooth that he will attempt;
I to invade- their constitutional rights. But ore!
such apprehensions of contingent danger In the
future sufficient to justify the immediate de
struction of the noblest system of government
ever devised by mortals? From the very na
ture of liis office, and its.high responsibilities,
be must necessarily be conservative. The
stem duty"of administering the vast and comp
plicated concerns of this Government affords in'
itself a guarantee that be will not attempt any
violation of a clear constitutional right; After,,
all, he is no more than the chief executive offi
cer of the Government. His province is not;to
make, but to execute, the .laws; and it is n re
markable fact in our history, that, notwith
standing the repeated efforts of the anti-slavery
party, no single act has ever passed Congress,
unless we may possibly except the Missouri
Compromise, impairing, in .the elightestjdegroe,
the rights of the South to their property in
slaves. And it may also be observed, judging
from present indications, that no probability
exists of the passage of such an act, by a ma
jority of both Houses, either in the present dr
the next Congress. Surely, under these cir
cumstances, we ought to be restrained from
present action by the precept of Him whd
spake os never man spoke, that “sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof." The day; of evil
may never come, unless we shall rashly bring
itmpon ourselves.
It is one cause fer immediate se
cession that the Southern States are denied
equal rights with the other States in tile com
mon Territories. But by what authority, are
these denied? Not by Congress, which has
never passed, and I believe never will pass, any
act to exclude slavery from these Territories;
and certainly not by the Supreme Court,iwhich
has solemnly decided that slaves are property,,
and, like all other property, their owners have
a right to take them into the common Territo
ries, and hold them there under the protection,
of the Constitution. •
So far, then, as Congress is concerned, the
objection is not to anything they have.already
-done, but to what they may do hereafter., It
will surely be admitted that this apprehension
of future danger is no good reason for tin im
mediate dissolution of the Union. It it; true
that the territorial legislature of Kansas, on
] tho 23d of February, 1860, paaaed in great
| haste an act, over tho veto of the Governor, de-
I daring that slavery “is, jnd shall he, forever
I prohibited in .this Territory.” Such an act,'
however, plainly violating the rights of pfoper
j ty secured by tho Constitution, will surely be
| declared void by the judiciary whenever it shall
j he presented in a legal form. 1
I Only three days after my inauguration the
I Supreme Court of the United States solemnly
j adjudged that this power did not exist in'ia ter
-1 ritorial legislature. Yet such has been the fac
tious temper of the times that the correctness
of this decision has been extensively impugned
before the people, and tho question has given
, rise to angry political, conflicts throughout the
country. Those who have appealed from| this
judgmentof our.bighest constitutional tribunal
! to popular assemblies woufd, if they could-, in
vest a territorial legislature with power to apnhl
the sacred rights of property. This powyr
Congress is expressly forbidden by the Federal
Constitution to exercise. Every State legfsjs
- tore in the Union is forbidden by its own Con
stitution to exercise It. It cannot be exercised
in any State except by the people in thfeir high
est sovereign capacity when fiamingor amend
ing their State constitution! In like manner'it
can only bo exercised by the people of a Terri
tory represented, in a convention of delegates
for the purpose of framing a constitution pre
paratory to admission as a State into tho Uniop.
Then, and not until then, are they invested
with power to decide the question whether
slavery shall or shall not exist within thepr
limits. This is on act of sovereign authority],,
and not of subordinate territorial legisl itiun.
Were it otherwisei then indeed ■would the
equality of the States in tho Territories
strayed, and the rights of property in slaves
would depend, not upon the guarantees of tlje
Constitution, bur upon the shifting majorities
of an irresponsible territorial legislature. Such
a doctrine, from its intrinsic u'nsonndness, can
not long influence any considerable portion of
our people, much less can it afford a good rea- |
son for a dissolution of the Union. j
„ The must palpable violations of constitutional
duty which have vot been lOnmihed consist in
the acts of different State legislatures to defeat
tlic execution of the fugitive-slave law.. 1 It
ought to be remembered, however, that !fi)r
these acts, neither Congress nor any President
can justly be held responsible. Hiving liedn
passed in violation of the Federal Constitution,
they are therefore null and void. All I the
courts, both State and national, before whom
the question has arisen, have from the begin
ning declared the fugitive-slave law to be con
stitutional. The,single exception is- that of a
State court in Wisconsin ; and this has not pijly
been reversed by the propet appellate tribiinhl,
but has met with such universaj reprobation
that there can be no danger from it os a prece
dent. The validity of this law has been estab
lished over and over again by the Supreme
Court of the United Status with perfect una
nimity. It is founded upon an express provi
sion of the Constitution, requiring that fugitive
slaves who escape from service in one Stdttj Ito
another shall be “ delivered up” to their mas
ters. Without this provision it is a well-kdokjm
historical fact that Abe Constitution itself could
never hive been adopted by the Convention.—
In one form or other under the acts of 1793
and 1830, both being substantially the same,
the fugitive slave law has been'the hlw of the
land from the days of Washington until the
present moment. Here; tbesqa clear case is
presented, ip which it will'be thp doty of the
next President, as it has been' my own, to jact
with vigor' in executing this supreme! law
against the Conflicting enactments of State Le
gislatures. Should he fail in the performance
of this high duty;, he Will then have manifest 1
ed a disregard of, the Constitution and laws, to
the great injury of the people of nearly : due
half of the States of the Union. But arejwe
to presume in advance that he will thus, violate
his duty ? Thig would be at war with every
principle of justice and of Christian charity.—
iet us wait for the overt act. The fugitive
slaupl&w has boon carried in Be osecuriun in
.A-- ■ J.iU J 1 'J-’-i
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lines, one or three in»orlions,aud 25 cenis t lor, 1 very
subseqnenf insortTonr Advertisements of" il.i.irKi
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dered out and charged accordingly.
Poster?, Handbills, Bill-Heads, Letter-Heads and r : ' J
kinds of Jobbing done in country establishments, ea
coated neatly ard promptly. Jneliees’, Constable's
and other BLADES constantly on band.
m is
.'ever; contested case since tho commencement
of the present administration; though: often ■;
is to be regretted, with great loss and incum--
nience to the master, and with considerable t.t
pense to the government. . Let us trust that
the State legislatures will repeal their .uncon
stitutional and obnoxious enactments. Unless
this shall ~be done without unnecessary delay,
it is impossible for any human power to save
the Uniop.
r The standing on the basis
"of the Constitution, have a right to- demand
this act of justice from the States of.the .North.
Should it be refused, then the Const!(ution, to
which all the states are parties, will have been
wilfully violated by one portion of them in a
provision essential to the domestic security and
happiness of the remainder. In that event,
tile injured States, after having, first used all
peaceful and constitutional means to Obtain re
dress, would be justified in revolutionary resis
tance to the Government of the Union*
J have purposely confined my remarks to re-
Volutionary resistance, because it has been
Claimed within the last few years that any
State, whenever this shall be its sovereign will
and pleasure, may secede from the Union, in
accordance with the Constitution, and without
any violation of the Constitutional rights of
the other members of the Confederacy* That u
each became parties to (he Union by the vote,
of its own people assembled in Convention, so
any one of, them may retire from the Union in
a similar manner by the vote of such a Coni'
rention.
lii order-to justify secession as a Constitu
tional remedy it must be on the principle that
the Federal Government is a mere voluntary
association of states, to bo dissolved at pleasum
by ajrfione of the contracting parties. If this
be so, the Confederacy is a rope of sand, to bo
penetrated and dissolved by the first adverse
wave of public opinion-in of tho States.—
In this manner our thirty-three States may rt
■ solve themselves into; as many petty, jarring,
and hostile republic, each ojie retiring froth the
Onion,-without responsibility, whenever any
sadden excitement might impel them
course. • By this prooess-a Onion might be en
tirely broken into fragments in a few weeks,
which cost our forefather’s many yfears of toil,
privation, anil blood to establish.
Such a principle is wholly inconsistent with
the. history as well asithe character of the Fed
eral Constitution. After it was framed, with
the greatest deliberation and care, it was sub
mitted to conventions of the people of the States
for ratification. Its provisions were discussed
at length in these bodies, composed of the first
men of tho country. Its opponents contended
that it conferred powers upon the Federal Gov
ernment dangerous to the rights of the States,
whilst its advocates maintained that under a
fair construction of the instrument there was
no foundation for such apprehensions. In that
mighty struggle between the, first iptellects of
this or Any other country, it never occurred to
any individual, either among its opponents or
advocates, to assert, or even to intimate; that
their eiforts were all vain labor, Because tha.
moment that any State felt herself. aggrieved '
she might secede from the-Union. What a
crushing argument would this have proved
against those who dreaded that the rights of
the States would be endangered- by the Consti
tution. The truthis, that itavas not until many
years after the origin of Clio Federal Govern
ment that such a proposition, was first advanced.
It was then met and refuted by the conclusive
arguments of General Jackson, who in his mes
sage nf l(kh January, 1833, transmitting the
nullifying ordinance of South Carolina to Con
gress, employs the following language: “The
fight of the people of a single State to absolve
themselves at will, and without the consent of
the oilier States, from their most solemn obli
gations, and hazard tho liberty and happiness
of the millions composing this Union, cannot
he acknowledged. Such authority is believed
to be utterly repugnant both to the principhs
upon wli eh thevGcnerul Government is consti
tuted and to the objects which it was expressly
fumed in attain.”
It is not pretended that any clause-in tha
Constitution givi a countenance to sueji a theory.
It is altogether founded upon Inference, not
i from any language contained in the instrument
itself, hut fiom the sovereign character of the
several States by which it was ratified: But la -
it beyond the power of a State, like an indi
vidual, to yield a portion of its sovereign "right*
1 1 secure the remainder? In tho language of
Mr. Madison, who has been called the father of
the Constitution : “ It was formed the States—
that is, by the people in each of the States,
acting in their highest sovereign capacity ; aud
formed consequently by the same authority
which formed the State constitutions.” -
f “ Nor is the Government of the United States,
created by th'e Constitution, less a Government
in the strict sense of the term, within t(ie sphere
of its powers, than the government created by
the constitutions of the States ard, within their -
several spheres. It is, like . them, organized
Into legislative, executive, and judiciary de
partments. It operates, like them, direotiy on
persons and things; and, like them. It has at
command n physical force for executing tho
powers committed to it.”
It was intended to be perpetual, and not to
be annulled at the pleasure of any one of the
contending parties. _Tho old articles of confed
eration were entitled “ Articles of Confedera
tion and Perpetual Union between the States;”
and by the 13th article it is expressly declared,
that ‘‘ the articles of this Confederation shall
be inviolably observed by every State, and the
Union shall be perpetual.” The, preamble to
the Constitution of the United States, haying
exprsss reference tb the articles of Confedera
tion, recites that it was established ■“ in order
tb form a more perfect union.” And yet it U
Contended that this “ more perfect union" does
hot include the essential attribute of perpetuity.
But that the Union was designed to be per
petual appears conclusively from the nature
and extent of the povvers’eonferred by the Con
stitution on the Federal rGovern ment. These .
‘-powers embrace the very, highest attributes of
j national sovereignty. They place both tha
i sword and the purse under its control, • Com
gress has power to make, vrar, and to make
3 KOSTHS. 8 UOITTBa. ‘IS i’W
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5,00 6,50 a.'-i/
T.OO : 8,50 -16,59,
* 8,00 - * 9,50 12,50
15,00 20,00 16 t o
■ 25,00 35.00 SO.io
Obit!
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