The Star and Republican banner. (Gettysburg, Pa.) 1832-1847, March 13, 1837, Image 1

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    *tar Si Stout,lira* Sasitter
13'7' ROBERT WHITE zunnzLwrorro
VELIUI OLaElLalilU.)o
-"With sweetest flowyrs enrich'd,
From various gardens cull'd with care."
FROM THE FRANKLIN REPOSIITORIt
"We rescue our own names; character, and honor
"from all participation in this mutter; and whatever
"the wayward character of the times, the headlong
"and plunging spirit of party devotion, or the fear or
"the love of power may have been able to br!ng a
"boot elsewhere, we desire to thank Cod that they
"have not, as yet, overcome the love of Liberty,
ll
"delity to true Republican principles and a sacred re
gard for the Constitution, in that State whose soil
'was drenched to a mire, by the first and best blood
'of the Revolution."—pfr. Webster's Protest.
"Old Massachusetts wears it
" Within her lordly crown."-[Mno.SIGOURNRY.
AYE,—honestly, and fearlessly,
Thy duty bath been done!
Champion of Truth and Liberty!
New England's gifted son!
Well may the State that gave thee birth
Exulting hear thy name—
That to the farthest bounds of earth
lier glory to proclaim!
Firm leader of that Roman band
Who in the lawless hour,
(When ev'n the Guardians of our land
Cringed to the nod of power;)
True to their Country's grateful trust
Medalled to bend the knee,
And saw with indignation just
The shameful mockery—
What though in Freedom's holy cause
Thy voice was raised ins ain,—
For when did Party spirit pause
At Truth's persuasive strain?
That voice in every patriot soul
Huth woke an answering tone,—
And still the echoes outward roll.
Ev'n to the Idol's throne.
And blench thou not—though 0 • !ily now
The sway of Power Ifath spread,
A spirit it can never bow
Is rising from the dead;
And men are murmuring of the
,past,
And rousing them sec
The fearful doubts that overcast
Their future Liberty.
Then onward! Thou whose warning cry
Huth broke that heedless rest,
Until thy own true energy
Glows in each freeman's breast!
Until thy faithfulness of yore,
Our Fathers' only guide,
'wires Columbian hearts once more
With all thy patriot pride!
Aye. point them to the Pilgrim Rock!
And to the hallowed mound
Where Warren met the battle shock,
In death with glory crown'il!
Let every burning word recall
The struggles of the brave,
Who nobly dared and suffered all
Their dearest rights to MM.
The glorious dead!—H shall not be
That they have liv'd in vain,
While on the page of Memory
Their thrilling deeds remain!
Haiti not each State some sacred spot
Her Freedom's chosen shrine?
Some record ue'er to be forgot,
Proud as the boast of thine?
Yet all should only servo to keep
- Moro true our Unity;
EV . II as our own bright rivers sweep
On to ono blending Sea;
So should the splendors of the Past .
With presentiMen itatobine.
And round our Union ever cast
A halo all divine.
And when in future years thy name
Shall find the Poet's song,
And roll with all thy Country's famo
On Hirt'ry'• page along;
Ev'n as thy own expanded mind
Now sheds its cheering rays:—
Not to one narrow spot confined,
Shall be thy well earned praise.
No—though the North may claim thy birth
The Star's ascending gleam!
As just to all thy gifts and worth,
The South shall hail its beam!
From every lip—from every heart,
The glowing tribute won—
That thine has been a Patriot's 'tuft,
COLOMBIA'S noble Son!
'Ei'llirif EitalTf3Ml®MS3
vnon ZION'S HERALD.
A Camp Meeting Scene.
We extract the following graphic description of
a camp meeting incident from the "Knickerbocker."
How finely, it will be seen, the preacher took ad
vantage of the leaping of the fawn into the enclo
sure of the camp ground, as a shelter from the
pursuit of the wolf, and with what beauty, earnest
ness, and eloquence, ho seized upon that inclement
to warn sinners to "flee to the fold of God."
"Disembarking at Cincinnati, I set off on foot
to explore the caverns a Kentucky and Virginia.
Travelling later than Initial one evening, I lost my
way in the midst of one of those extensive forests,
which still skirt some of the western cities. After
wandering about for some time, on turning n pre
cipitous ridge Which obstructed my course, I came
suddenly upon one of those singular gatherings of
the church mahout,• called camp meetings. Be
fore me stretched a grove of tall pines, beneath
whose dark foliage,- and'in striking contrast with
the same, were pitched numerous white tents, em
bracing-a level area of several acres in extent, en
tirely devoid of underbrush, and carpeted with the
'fallen tresses of the overhanging boughs. On one
side of this enclosure, several feet from the gound,
appeared a plain -lodge quadrangularly formed of
tough boughs, nailed-to the trees, with a pulpit in
front, and benches around the sides, for the elders
and ministers who were to address the congrega
tion. From this spot to various points in the en
closure, stretched in divurging lines the straight
poles of lofty pines, felled for the occasion, across
whose prostrate length. with the interspace of here
and there a- "long drawn aisle," were laid the rude
seats of those hardy worshippers. Innumerable
lamps were suspended on all sides of the encamp.
meat, blending their flickering light with the glare
of pine torches from the several tents where the
evening's repast was in preparation, while millions
of lite-flies shot like tiny meteors along the dark
openings of the surrounding forests, and the eyes
of the 'sleepless stars looked on as if to witness the
devotions of that primeval temple.
As I paused to survey the wonderful scene, the
wild howl en wolf rang through the shuddering
:air, and a moment after, a fawn shot past me, and
lidunded into the enclosure, dropped down panting
end exhausted in ono of the open aisles. Thi s
4nguhir incident %vas succeeded by a dead silenca,
:Which was presently interrupted by the voice of
the reverend, speaker, who had just finished the last
discourse of the evening, and was about reading
the concluding hymn. "Welcome,' said the aged
man with compassionate emotion, "welcome, poor,
weary and persecuted wanderer, to the refuge and
the rest ye seek not here in vain! Ye did well to
flee hither from thy ravenous pursuer, for thereby
have thy days been lengthened, and ye shall yet
1 1 / 4 inge through the green places of the wildemesa,
where the hand of God bringeth forth the tender I
herb and the pleasant water course, even for crea
tures such as ye. Pilgrims of the world," con
tinued he, turning to his hushed auditory, oshall
the beasts that perish be wiser in their day and
generation than ye,'w•ho are fashioned after the
image of the All-wise? Flo to the fold of God!
The wild pigeon shrinks to her covert at the
scream of the wood-hawk, and the roebuck bounds
fleetly from the yell of the panther, while ye, who
ore encompassed with many foes, having eyes see
not, and ears, hear not,or heed not the voice of the
prowler. Wot ye not that ye, like that poor pant
ing hind, are hunted up and down in this dark wil
derness of the world. Flee to the fold of God!—
Doth not temptation haunt your footsteps from the
rising of the sun to the going down thereof! Doth
not remorse dart his fiery arrows into your bleed
ing hearts at every turn! Doth not conscience
smite ye with its avenging sword, whenever you
turn a deaf ear to the still small voice! Flee to the
fold of God! Do no•. the cares of the world, its
vanity and vexation of spirit surround ye, when
ye rise up and when ye lie down, yea and when
ye dream dreams! Flee to the fold of God! Is
not death the everpresent shadow of your earthli
ness, and (loth not the prince of the power of the
air—the mighty nimrod of your priceless souls—
trace your guilty souls along this pilgrimage of
sin! 0 flee then, fellow sinners, flee to the fidd
of God, wherein ye shall find a refuge and a rest!"
Vain were the attempt to depieit the scene
which followed this peroration. The sighs and
sobs, the groans, the hysteric shrieks of the terrified
females, and indeed the convulsive shudder of the
whole assembly, I leave to the render's imagina
tion—or memory. if he has ever witnessed a spec
tacle so thrilling. After the first burst of feeling
Ind a little subsided, the tremulous, yet not un
musical voice of the late speaker was heard chant
ing that striking hymn—
" Stop, poor sinner! stop and think,
Before you farther go;
Will 'you stop upon the brink
Of everlasting woe."
One listener after another joined in the strain,
till presently ten thousand voices were blended in
swelling symphony. I . have listened to the mid
night peal of the roused ocean, and trembled amid
the thunders of the Niagara, but never was my
heart hushed to breathlessness, as by the living
chorus of that solemn anthem. The place, the
scene, and the music ofthat vast choir, filling the
depths of the mute forest with echoes of terrible
warning, were all calculated to make a vivid im
pression, even on a mind the most obdurate. I
sunk down on my beaded knees, awe-struck and
overpowered. It seemed to me that every eye
and every voice were directed to myself, in eager
impetration to fly from the brink of the dreadful
aby . ss to which "hope never comes, that comes to
services closed with the hymn, the
worshippers slowly retired to their respective tents,
and silence and sleep resumed their quiet empire;
but there I remained, riveted to the earth, faint,
motionless, and alone. Yet not alone, for the
voice of a mysterious presence kept whispering in
my car,
"flee to the fold of God!"—and even the
monitory "stop!" of the thrilling hymn, rung like
a trump from heaven through the chambers of my
hear'. I bowed myself to the earth, and there all
night long, amid the gloom of that lonely forest,
and the moon of its solemn pines, gazed on the
phantoms of misspent hours, imploring light to
my darkened Tirit, energy to subdue its fiery pas
sions, strength to unmask the specious vanities of
the world, and to forego its momentary pleasures
for the unimaginable cycle of an eternal beatitude,
till morning dawned upon my silent vigil, and
found me blessed with that inward peace which
seems the antepast of heaven."
knowledge—its 'Worth.
K Now LEIME ITS Po w rat:—lt enables man to
subdue nature as in mechanical philosophy. It
also confers the agility of governing and directing
animals that are stronger than man and also of
conquering savage beasts and savage men, and ren
dering them subservient to the will of the intelli
gent. It enables him to understand the laws and
revolutions of the planetary worlds, and thereby
teaching the mariner to guide his vessel upon the
trackless ocean. It also gives hinuthe ability to
understand and judge of his appetite and passions
and to keep them under proper regulations, and
whatever intellectual defects may have fallen to
his lot he will ho able in some measure to remedy
or entirely remove.
Knowledge rs wealth: It enables the possessor
to acquire property, where the less intelligent
would necessarily be unsuccessful. This naturally
folloyvs from his acquaintance with the relations
and states of society, and his ability of rendering
valuable the resources of the country. , This is fair-
ly exemplified by the immense difference in this
respect, between the aboriginals of this country
and its present inhabitants. The latter having
brought into requisition, iron, marble, cotton, and
a thousand other things, both vegetable and mine
ral, altogether unknown and unthought of by the
former possessors of the soil.
Knowledge is happiness: It enables us to place
ourselves in such relations to persons and things,
and to the present, past and future, as best com
ports with our enjoyment- It opens to us many
sources ofinnocent delight—in thought—in imagi-
nation—in the arts and sciences—in literature—
in natural history—and in music and poetry. It
renders our animal nature subservient to our had.
lectual and moral being, and enables us to hold
Intercourse with powers above us, rather than with
beings beneath us, in the exercise of mere sensual
enjoyments.
Knowledge is respectability: It, gives weight
of character,nnd causes the possessor to be consult_
ed oven by those who may not be friendly in other
respects'. No one will quarrel with the pilot, when
'there is no other on hoard who can steer all safely
into port: Knowledge may some times excite
envy, but it will do this less than wealth or fame,
or any other qualification.
Knowledge may also besaid to be permanent:
A man may lose his property—ho may be deprived
of his possessions—his riches may take to them
selves wings and flee away—his friends may for
sake him—his character may be injured or des_
troyed—his health may decline, but while ho re
tains his faculties, he cannot lose his intelligence.
In this sense knowledge is a pearl of great price,
which a person may carry about with him, with
out:the danger of being robbed, whether he travels
by sea or by land.
All the above advantages, and many more, mad•
I WISH NO OTHER. HERALD, NO OTHER SPEAKER OF MY LIVING ACTIONS, TO KEEP MINE HONOR FROM CORRUPTION."-SHAHS.
eautwreavavitaa., rpa. 9 Quizolaalcur. ataa(e.m• aa,) aval.
be obtained by every one possessing- extensive
knowledge; and that all are justly entitled to such
knowledge; is the point for which we strenuously
contend, and for the attainment of which wo re
spectfully'solicit the aid and co-operation of all. '
HIRING TO . DUTY.—Cultivate in no way
the mercenary principle. Never lIIRE your
child ..n do its duty: To subAcrihe the re
ward for the motive, and make present ad•
vantage the determining influence, when
truth, honor or religion, all sacred and im
porative, should decide, is to breed monsters
in the moral world.
FARE%VELL ADDRESS
Farewell address of .I►ulrew
Jackson.
FELLOV•CtTI'ZENS. Being about to retire
finally from public life, I beg leave to offer
you my grateful thanks for the many proofs
of kindness and confidence which I have
received at your hands. It has been my
ffirtune, in the discharge 61 public duties,
anvil and military, frequently to have found
myself in difficult and trying situatioi,s,
where prompt decision and energetic action
were necessary, and where the interests of
the country required that high responsibili
ties should he fearlessly encountered; and it
is with the deepest emotions of gratitude
that I acknowledge the continued and un
' . .ken confidence with which you have
sustained me in every trial. My public life
has been a long one, and 1 cannot hope that
it has, at all times, been free from errors.
But I have the consolation of knowing that,
if mistakes have been committed, they have
not seriously injured the country 1 so anxi
ously endeavored to serve; and, nt the mo
ment when I surrender my last public trust,
I leave this great people prosperous- and
happy; in the full enjoyment of liberty and
peace; and honored and respected by every
nation of the world.
If my humble eflio.ts have, in any degree,
contributed to preserve to you these bless
ings, I have been more than rewarded by
the honors you have heaped upon me; and,
above all, by the generous confidence with
which you have supported me in every
peril, and with which you have continued
to animate and cheer my path to the closing
hour of my political life. The time has
now come, when advanced age and a bro
ken frame warn me to retire from public
concerns; but the recollection of the many
favors you have bestowed upon me is engra
yen upon my heart, and I have felt that I
could not part from your service without
making this public acknowled, _ •ment of 'the
gratitude I owe you. And if I use the oc
casion to offer to you the counsels of age
and experience, you will, I trust, receive
them with the same indulgent kindness
which you have so often extended to me;
nod will, at least, see to them an earnest de.
sire to perpetuate, in this fiivored land, the
blessings of liberty and equal laws.
. We have now lived almost fifty years tin
der the constitution framed by the sages and
patriots of tho Revolution. The conflicts
n which the nations of Europe were enga
ged during a great part of this period; the
spirit in which they waged war against each
other; and our intimate commercial connex
ions with every part of the civilized world.
rendered it a time of much difficulty for the
Government of the United States. We have
had our seasons of pence and of war,with all
the evils which precede or follow a state of
hostility with powerful nations. We en
countered these trials with our constitution
yet in its infancy, and under the disadvan
tages which a new and untried Government
must always feel when it is called upon to
put forth its whole strength. without the
lights of experience to guide it,or the weight
of precedents to justify its measures. But
we have passed triumphantly through all
these difficulties. Our constitution is no
longer a doubtful experiment; and, at the
end of nearly half a century, we find that it
has preserved unimpaired the liberties oldie
people, secured the rights of property, and
that our country has improved and is flour
ishing beyond any lot mer example in the
history of nations.
In our domestic concerns there is every
thing to encourage us; and, if you are true
to yourselves, nothing can impede your
march to the highest point of national pros
perity. The States which had so long been
retarded in their improvement, by the Ind
an tribes residing in the midst of them, are
nt length relieved from the evil; and this
unhappy race—the original dwellers in our
land—are now placed in a situation where
we may well hope that they will share in
the blessings of civilization, and be saved
from that degradation and destruction to
which they were rapidly hastening while
they remained in the State k; and while the
surety and comfort of our own citizens have
been greatly promoted by their removal,
the philanthropist will rejoice that the rein
nant of thnt ill•fated race has been at lengtl
placed beyond the reach of injury or oppres
mu, and that the paternal care of the Go
neral Government will hereafter watch over
them and protect them.
If, we turn to our relations with foreigti
powers, we find our condition equally grati
fying. Actuated by the sincere desire to
do justice to every nation, and to preserve
the blessings of peace, our intercourse with
them has been conducted on the part of this
Government in the spirit of frankness; and,
I take pleasure in saying, that it Ins gener
ally been met in a corresponding temper.—
Difileulties of old standing have been stir•
mounted by friendly discussion, and the
mutual desire to be just; and the claims of
our citizens, which hod been long withheld',
have at length been acknowledged and tuh
jested, and satisfactory arrangements made
for their final payment; and with a limited,
and, I trust, u temporary exception, our re-
latinns with every foreign power are now of
the most friendly character—our commerce
continually expanding, and our flag respec
ted in every quarter of the world.
These cheering and grateful prospects,
and these multiplied favors, we owe, under
Providence, to the adoption of the Federal
constitution. It is nu longer a question
whether this great country can remain hap
pily united, and flourish under our present
form of government. Experience, the un
errihg test of all human undertakings, has
shown the wisdom arid foresight of those who
formed it; and has proved, that in the union
of these States, there is a sure foundation
for the hi ightest hopes of freedom, and for
the happines, of the people. At every haz
ard, and by every sacrifice, this Union must
be preserved.
The necessity of watching, with jealous
anxiety, for the preservation of the Union,
was earnestly pressed upon his fellow-citi
zens by the Father of his country, in his
farewell address. He has there told us,
that "while experience shall not have de
monstrated its impracticability, there will
always be reason to-distrust the patriotism
of those who, in any quarter, may endeavor
to weaken its bonds;" and he has cautioned
us, in the strongest terms,- against the for
mation of parties, on geographical discrimi
nations, as one of the means which might
disturb our union, and to which designing
men would be likely to resort.
The lessons contained in this invaluable
legacy of Washington to his countrymen
should be cherished in the heart of every
citizen to the latest generation; and,perhaps,
at no period of time could they be more
usefully remembered than at the present
moment. For when we look upon the scenes
that are passing around us, and dwell upon
the pages of his parting address, his paternal
counsels would seem to be not merely the
ofispring of wisdom and foresight, but the
voice of prophecy foretellirg events and
warning us of the evil to come. Forty
years have passed since this imperishable
document was given to his countrymen.—
The federal constitution was then regarded
by him as an experiment, and he so speaks
of it in his address; hut an experiment upon
the success of which the best hopes of his
country depended, and we all know that he
was prepared to lay down his life, if neces
sarv,to secure to it a full and fair trial. The
trial has bas n made. It has succeeded be
vond the proudest hopes ofthose who framed
it. Every quarter of this widely extended na
tion has felt its blessings,& shared in the ge
neral prosperity produced by its adoption.
But amid this g eneral prosperity and splen
did sticcess,thedangers of which he warned
us are becoming every day more evident, &
the signs of evil are sufficiently apparent to
awaken the deepest anxiety in the bosom
of the patriot. We behold systematic
eff7nts publicly made to sow the seeds of
discord between difFerent parts of the United
States, and to place party divisions directly
upon geographical distinctions; to excite
the south against the north, and the north
against the :south, and to force into the con
troversy the most delicate and exciting
topics;—topics upon which it is impossible
that a large portion of the union can ever
speak without strong emotion. Appeals,
too, are constantly made to sectional in
terests, in order to influence the election of
the Chief Magistrate, as if it were desired
that he should favor a particular quarter of
the country, instead of fulfilling the duties
of his station with impartial justice to all;
and the possible dissolution of the union has
at length become an ordinary and familiar
subject of discussion. Has the warning
voice of Washington been forgotten? or
have designs already been formed to sever
the union? Let it not be supposed that I
impute to rill of those who have taken an
active part in these unwise and unprofitable
discussio.lis, a want of patriotism or of public
virtue. The honorable feeling of state pride,
and local attachments, find a place in the
bosoms of the most enlightened and pure.—
But while such men are conscious of their
own integrity and honesty of purpose, they
ought never to forget that citizens of other
states are their political brethern; and that,
however mistaken they may be in their
views, the great body of them are equally
honest and upright with themselves. Mu
tual suspicious and reproaches may in time
_ _
erea!e mutual hostility, and artful and de
signing men will always be frond, who are
ready to foment these fatal divisionq, and
to inflame the natural jealousies of different
sections of the country. The history of the
world is full of such examples, and especial.
ly t he history of republics.
What have you io gain by division and
disgension? Delude not yourselves with the
behef that a breach once made may be af
terwards repaired. If the union is once
severed, the line of separation will grow
wider and wider : and the controversies which
are now debated and settled in the halls of
legislation, will then he tried in fields of
battle, and determined by the sword. Nei
ther should you deceive yourselves with the
hope, that the first line of separation would
be the permanent one, and that nothing but
harmony and concord Would be finind in the
new associations formed upon the dissolution
of this union. Local interests would still
be found there, and unchastened ambition.
And if the recollection of common dangers,
in which the people of these United States
stood side by side against the common foe;
the memory of victories won by their united
valor; the prosperity and happiness they
have enjo) ed tinder the present constitution;
the proud name they bear as citizens of this
great republic: if all these recollections and
proofs of common Interest are not strong
enough to bind us together as one people,
what tie will hold united the new divisions
of empire, when these bonds have - been
broken and this union thssevoretl? The
first fine el separation would not last thr a
single generation; new fragments would be
torn off; new leaders would spring up; and
this great and glorious republic would soon
be broken into a multitude of petty states,
without commerce,without credit; jealous of
one another; armed for mutual aggression;
loaded with taxes to pay armies and lenders;
seeking aid against each other from foreign
powers: insulted and trampled upon by the
nations of Europe, until harassed with con
flicts, and humbled and debased in spirit,
they would be ready to submit to the ab.
solute dominion of any military adventurer,
and to surrender their liberty for the sake
of repose. It is impossible to look on the
consequences that would inevitably follow
the destruction of this Government. and not
feel indignant when we hear cold cacula•
tions about the value of the union, and have
so constantly before us a line of conduct so
well Calculated to weaken its ties.
There is ton much at stake to allow pride
or passion to influence your decision.—
Never for a moment believe that the great
body of the citizens of any State or States
can deliberately intend to do wrong. They
may, under the influence of temporary ex•
citement, or misguided opinions, commit
mistakes; they may he misled for a time by
the suggestions ofself interest; but in a com
munity so enlightened and patriotic as the
people of the United States, argument will
soon make them sensible of their errors;
and when convinced, they will be ready to
repair them. If they have no higher or bet•
ter motives to govern them, they will at least
percciye that their own interest requires
to be just to others as they hope to receive
justice at their hands.
But in order to maintain the union unim
paired, it is absolutely necessary that the
laws passed by the constituted authorities
should be faithfully executed in every part
of the country, and that every good citizen
should at all times, stand ready to put down ;
with the combined force of the nation, every
attempt at unlawful resistance, under. what.
ever pretext it may be made, or whatever
shape it mai. assume. Unconstitutional or
oppressive laws may no doubt be passed by
Congress, either from erroneous views, or
'the want of due consideration; if they are
within the reach of judicial authority, the
remedy is easy and peaceful; and if, from
the character of the law. it is an abuse of
powernot within the control of the judiciary,
then free discussion and calm appeals to
reason and to the justice of the people will
not fail to redress the wrong. But until the
law shall be declared void by the courts, or
repealed by Congress, do togividual, or com
bination of individuals; can be. lestifiedin
forcibly resisting its exec:Wien. -
possible that any Government can continue
to exist upon any other principles. It would
cease to be a Government, and be unworthy
of the name, if it had not the power to en
force the execution of its own laws within
its own sphere of action.
It is true that cases may be imagined dis
closing such a settled• purpose of usurpation
and oppression, on the part of the Govern-
ment, as would justify an appeal to arms.—
These, however, are extreme cases, which
we have no reason to apprehend in a Go
vernment where the power is in the hands
of the patriotic people; and no citizen who
loves his country would, in any case what
ever, resort to forcible resistance, unless he
clearly saw that the time had come when a
freeman should prefer death to submission;
' heir if such a struggle is once begun, and the
citizens of one section of the country arrayed
in arms against those of another in doubt
ful conflict, let the battle reset as it may,
there will be an end of the Union, and, with
it, an end to the hopes of freedom. The
victory of the injured would not secure to
them tEe blessing of liberty;it would avenge
their wrongs, but they would themselves
share in the common ruin.
But the constitution cannot be maintained,
nor the Union preserved, in opposition to
public feeling, by the mere exertion of the
coercive powers confided to the General
Government. The foundations must be laid
in the affections of the people;in the security
it gives to life, liberty, character, and pro
perty in every quarter of the ceuntry; and
in a fraternal attachment which the citizens
ofthe several States bear to one another as
members of one political family, mutually
contributing to promote the happiness o
each other.. Hence the citizens of every
State should studiously avoid every thing
calculated to wound the sensibility or offend
the just pride of the people of other States;
and they should frown upon nny proceedings
within their own borders likely to disturb
the tranquility of their poliitcal brothern in
other portions of the Union.
Ina country so extensive as the United
States, and with pursuits so varied, the in•
ternal regulations of tho several States must
frequently differ from one another in ►mpor-
Rant r.articulars; mud this difference is una
voidubly increased by the varying princi
ples upon which the A tnericancolonies were
originally planted; principles which had iit•
ken deep root to the social relations before
the revolution, and therefore, of necessity
influencing their policy since they became
free and independent States. But each State
has the unquestionable right to regulate its
own internal converns according to its own
pleasure and while it does not interfere with
the rights of the people of. other . States, ol•
the rights of the Union, every Slate must
be the sole jud;e of the measures proper to
secure the safety of its citizens and promote
their happiness; and alt . eflbrts on the part of
people of other States . to cast odium on their
institutions, and all measures calculated to
distu►b their rigl►ts ofpropeay, or to put in
jeopardy their peare and internal tranquili
ty, are in direct opposition to the spirit in
which the Union was formed, and must on•
danger its safety. Motives of philanthropy
may be aft.ngned fur this unwarrantable in•
[VOL. 7--NO. 50.
terference; and weak men may persuade
themselves for a moment that they are labor
ing in the cause of hilmanity, and asserting
the rights of the human race; but every one,
upon sober reflection, will see that nothing
but mischief can come from these improper
assaults upon the feelings tit rights of others.
Rest assured that the men found busy in
this work of discord are not . worthy of your
confidence, and deserve your strongest re
probation.
hi the legislation of Congress, also, and
in every measure of the General Govern
ment, justice to every portion of the Uuited
States should be faithfully observed. ' No
free Government can stand without virtue
in the people, and a lofty spirit of pritrietism;
and if the sordid feelings of mere selfiihnese
shall usurp the place which ought to be filled
by public spirit, the legislation ofeongress
will soon be converted into a scramble for
personal and sectional advantaise r
s. Unde
is -
our free institutions, the citizens of every
quarter of our country are capable, of
ing a . high degree of prosperity and happi
ness, without seeking to profit themselves
at the expense of others; and every such
attempt must in the end fail to succeed, for
the people in every part of the United States
are too enlightened not to understand their
own sigh's and interests, and to detect and
defeat every effort to gain undue edvantages
over them; and when such designs are dis
covered, it naturally provokes,resentments
which cannot be easily allayed. Justice,
full and ample Justice, to every pertionof
the U. States, should be the ruling principle
of every freeman, and should guide the de
liberations of every public body, whether it
be State or national. •
It is well known that there have always
been those amongst us who wish to enlarge
the powers of the General Government;
and experience would seem to indicate that
there is a tendency on the part of this Gov
ernment to overstep the boundaries marked
for it by the constitution. Its legitimate
authority is abundantly sufficient for all the
purposes for which it was created; and its
powers being expressly enumerated, there
can be no justification for claimingany thing
beyond them. Every attempt to exercise
power beyond these limits should be prompt
ly and firmly opposed. For one evil exam•
ple will lead to other measures still more
mischievous; and if the principle of con
structive powers, or supposed advantages,
or temporary circumstances, shall ever be
permitted to justify the assumption ofa pow
er not elven by the constitution, the Gene
ral Government will before long absorb all
the powers of legislation, and you will have,
in effect., but,ene consolidated Government.
From the extent of our country, its diversi
fied interests, dilThrent pursuits and different
habits, it is too obvious for argument , that a
single consolidated Government would be
wholly inadequate to watch over and protect
its interests; Mid every friend of our free
institutions should be always prepared 'tor
maintain unimpaired and in full vigor the
rights and sovereignty of the States, and to
confine the action of the General Govern
ment strictly to the sphere of its appropriate
duties.
There is, perhaps, no ono of the powen
conferred on the Federal Government so
liable to abuse as the taxing power.. The
most productive and convenient sources of
revenue were necessarily given to it, that
it might he able to perform the important
duties imposed upon it; and the taxes which
it lays upon commerce being concealed
from the real payer in the price of the ar
ticle, they do not so readily attract the at
tention of the people as smaller sums de
manded from them directly by the taxgath-
er. Rut the tax imposed on goods enhances
by so much the price of the commodity to
the consumer; and, as many of these duties
are imposed on articles of necessity, which
are daily used by the great body of the peo
ple, the money raised by these imposts is
'drawn from their pdcket. Cengress has no
right, under the constitution, to take money
from the people, unless it is required to exe
cute some one of the specific powers entrie.
ted to the Government; and if they raise
more than is necessary foesuch purposes it
is an abuse of the power of taxation, and un
just end oppressive. It may, indeed, hap
pen that the revenue will sometimes exceed
the amount anticipated when the taxes were
laid. When, however, this is ascertained,
it is easy to reduce them; and, in such a
case, it is unquestionably the duty of the
Government to reduce them, for no circum
stances can justify it in assuming a power
not given to it by the constitution,not in tak
ing away the money of the people when it
is not needed for the legitimate wants of this
Government.
Plain ns these principles appear to be,you
will yet find that there is a constant effort
to induce the General Government to go
beyond the limits of its power,and to impose
unnecessary burdens upon the people. Many
powerful interests are continually at work
to procure 11.•avy duties on commerce and
o swell the revenue beyond the real wee.
sities of the public service; and the country
has already felt the injurious effects of their
combined influence. They succeed in ob
taining a tares of duties bearing inept op-
pressively on the agricultural and laboring
classes of society, and producing a revenue
bat could not be usefully "employed within
the range of the powers conferred upon Cod
gres; and, in order to faston upon the peo:
pie th.s unjust and unequal system of taxa.
tion, extravagant schemes, of internal im.
provement were got up, in various quarters,
to squnnder the money and purchase sup.
port. Thus, ono unconstitutional measure.
was intended to be upheld by another. and
the abuso of the power of taxation, was Inini
maintained by usurping the poster of et ,
pending the money in internal improve'.
meats. You cannot have forgetter' the