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BOSTON FAIEUIL HALL 
 
 REFUSED TO 
 
 MR. WEBSTER AND HIS FRIENDS, 
 
 APRIL, 1851. 
 
 TIT 
 
 '.• 
 
 a. s. A. 
 

BOSTON FANEUIL HALL 
 
 Refused to 
 
 MR. WEBSTER AND HIS FRIENDS, 
 
 APRIL, 1851. 
 
 From the Boston Advertiser. 
 Mr. Webster's Letter to his Boston Friends. — Subjoined we 
 lay before the public a copj^ of the invitation which a number of 
 the citizens of Boston tendered to Mr. Webster to meet them in 
 Faneuil Hal), together with Mr. Webster's rep^y, written after he 
 had heard that the Hall had been refused to the citizens by the 
 Aldermen. The letter of the Hon. Secretary is brief, appropriate, 
 and dignified, viewing the whole aflair in what every one must 
 regard as its true light, and estimating the affront put upon him- 
 self at its real value. Mr. Webster does no more than justice to 
 the people of Boston and Massachusetts, when he. disavows im- 
 puting to them the miserable spirit of folly and fanaticism which 
 has been manifested by certain individuals in the affairs which 
 now occupy the public attention. To copy his own words, "folly 
 and fanaticism may have their hour. They may not only affect 
 the mindsof individuals, but they may also seize on public bodies, 
 of greater or less dignity. But their reign is destined to be short, 
 even where, for the moment, it seems most triumphant." 
 
 Boston, April 11, 1851. 
 Hon. Daniel Webster: ' . , 
 
 Dear Sir: There is a general desire among your fellow-citizens 
 of Boston and its vicinit}-, irre;<pcctive of party attachments, or 
 party considerations, to avail themselves ot the opportunity af- 
 forded by your visit among them, to manifest to you the high res- 
 pect for your public services; and particularly it is their wish to 
 give expression to their deep feeling of obligation for the power, 
 ability, and patriotic devotion, which you have brought to the 
 
defence of the Union of these States, when that Union has been 
 so assailed by misguided and reckless men in different sections of 
 the country, as to excite the most painlul apprehensions for its 
 continued blessings, and even for its very existence. 
 
 For the purpose of gratifying this general desire, the under- 
 signed respectfully invite you to meet your fellow-citizens in 
 Faneuil Hall, at such time before your return to Washington as 
 may best comport with your convenience. 
 
 We are, with great consideration, your fellow-citizens, 
 
 GEORGE G. SMITH, 
 And one hundred and forty others. 
 
 Marsufield, April 15, 1851. 
 
 To Messrs. George G. Smith, Caleb Eddy, Asa Swallow, Uriel 
 Crocker, and others : 
 
 GENTLEMr.-v: I duly received your letter of the lllh of this 
 month, and had fully made up my mind to comply with your in- 
 vitation ; for, although I have entertained no purpose of discuss- 
 ing lurther, at present, the political questions which have so much 
 agitated the country, yet 1 could not deny myself the pleasure of 
 meeting my fellow citizens, for mutual congratulation upon an 
 esca^ e, so far, fronj dangers which, one year ago, so seriously 
 threatened the very existence of our national institutions: and 
 upon the prospect of an early return, in all parts of the country, 
 of I'eelini^s of good will and reciprocal regard. 
 
 But the newspapers of this afternoon inform me that the Board 
 of Aldermen have refused your request for the use of Faneuil 
 Hall. 1 care nothing for this personally, except that it deprives 
 me of the graiilication of seeing you; although if 1 supposed that 
 the general voice of the people of Boston ;ij)proved ol' this pro- 
 ceedini:, it would, I confess, cause me the deej)est regret. The 
 resolution denying you the Hall has been adopted, if 1 mistake 
 not, by I he same Board which has practically relut^ed to join with 
 th(! oilier branch of the Ciiy Government in ollering the hospi- 
 talities of the city to President Fillmoi-e. 
 
 Gen! hmen, for nearly ihirty years I have been in the service of 
 the CO .niry, by the choice of the jieople of Boston, and the ap- 
 pointment of the Legislaiure of Massachusetts. My pul)lic con- 
 duct, liiroiigh the whole of that long period, is not unknown, and 
 I cheerlully leave it to the judgment of tiie country, now and 
 hereaf. er. 
 
 Since the commencement of March, of last year, I h.ive done 
 something, and hazarded irjuch, to uplmld the Consiitution of the 
 United Stares, and to maintain interests of the most viial impor- 
 tance lu the ciiiz<'ns of Boston. And I shall do more, and hazard 
 more, whenever, in my jiKUuienf, it becomes necessary that more 
 be d.Mie, (M ui,)re be hazarded. 1 shall perform, wiili unllinching 
 persmcraiK'e, and to the end, mv uutv to mv whole countrv ; nor 
 
do I, in the slightest degree, fear the result. Folly and fanaticism 
 may have their hour. They may not only affect the minds of in- 
 dividuals, hut they may also seize on public bodies, of greater or 
 less dignity. But their reign is destined to be short, even where, 
 for the moment, it seems most triumphant. We, of Massachu- 
 setts, are not (loon:ied to a course of political conrkict, such as 
 would reproach our ancestors, destroy our own prosperity, and 
 expose us to the derision of the civilized world. IVo such future 
 is before us. Far otherwise. Patriotism, the union of good men, 
 fidelity to the Constitution in all its provisions, and that intelli- 
 gence which has hitherto enabled the people of this State to dis- 
 cern and to appreciate their own political blessings, as well as 
 what is due to their own history and character, will bring them 
 back to their accustomed feelings of love of country, and of res- 
 pect and veneration for its institutions. 
 
 I am, gentlemen, with the most sincere regard, your obliged 
 friend, and very obedient servant, 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 The following paragraph from the Boston Bee explains the ac- 
 tion of the Board of Aldermen, referred to in the foregoing letter: 
 
 The use of Faneuil Hall refused for a public reception of Il^n. 
 
 Daniel Webster. 
 
 At the regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen, yesterday 
 afternoon, the following was among the petitions presented : 
 
 To the Honorable Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Boston : 
 
 The undersigned respectfully ask the use of Faneuil Hall on 
 the seventeenth day of April, 1851, for the purpose of a public 
 reception of the Honorable Daniel Webster, and to consult on the 
 public good. 
 
 Signed by George G. Smith and over one hundred other influ- 
 ential citizens, of both political parties. 
 
 The above was acted upon in Executive Session with closed 
 doors, and with the following result : 
 
 Upon the petition of George G. Smith and others, for the use of 
 Faneuil Hall for a public meeting on the 17th instant. 
 
 Resolved, That, in view of the recent action of this Board upon 
 other similar applications, and of the present excited stale of the 
 public mind, it is inexpedient to grant the use of the Hall for the 
 purposes asked for. 
 
 Probably no act of the Board of Aldermen, since the first or- 
 ganization of the city government, ever caused so much indigna- 
 tion among all classes of our citizens as this. Shortly after the 
 above resolve had been made public, the news spread rapidly 
 
throughout the city, to the utter astonishment of ever}'- one. We 
 were prepared for almost anything, in these times, but scarcely 
 expected to live to see the doors of Faneuil Hall barred against 
 the Secretary of State of the United States, a distinguished states- 
 man and a I\Iassachusetts man, who loves the time-honored walls 
 of the old Cradle of Liberty as he does the apple of his eye. 
 
 From what we could judge of the state of the public feeling 
 last evening, we think a remonstrance will be presented to the 
 Board of Aldermen to-day, of suflicient strength to effect a recon- 
 sideration of the vote. Shame upon the men who committed so 
 flagrant an outrage on the citizens of Boston ! We have not yet 
 done with this matter. 
 
 ' From the Boston Conner. 
 
 The Country's Cause. — The documents published by us yester- 
 day will, we hope, call the attention of the rational, sober-minded, 
 and thinking portion of the community, to the true question at is 
 sue in the political dissensions which are now agitating the Union. 
 The emphatic and decided language of such men as Mr. Webster 
 and I\Ir. Everett — men whose weight of character with the world, 
 S(iund knowledge, and unerring political foresight, give the utmost 
 importance to the opinions and the counsels which they oiler in 
 relation to public matters, cannot be lost on a community wise 
 enough to see the right course, and steady enough to pursue it. 
 That there is a national cause — a cause in which the welfare of 
 the whole country is involved — overshadowing and absorbing all , 
 minor interests at the present moment, is apparent to every man 
 who is willing to open his eyes, and courageous enough to speak the 
 truth in describing what he sees, ll is the cause of the country — 
 the whole country — which now demands the support uf every man. 
 There is a single question now before the American people, in 
 comparison with which all other political questions sink into in- 
 significance — namely, the question ol" national union — the question 
 whether we shall be one united people or a divided people; the 
 question, whether the fruits of sixty years' labor in buiiding up a 
 mighty and a prosperous nation, shall be cast away in a moment, 
 or treasured up foi' the benefit of our postcrit}' and the social im- 
 provement of all mankind. The struggles among us have hith- 
 erto had lor their object little more than the ascendancy of one 
 party over another. The struggle is now for national existence. 
 
 The wisest and most experienced men among us have assured 
 us in the language of .sober earnestness that the L'nion was in ex- 
 treme jieril. Some of the dangers that menaced it have been 
 averted by the discreet counsels and courageous action of the men 
 who stood in the breach when the peril was most threatening. 
 But there is danger still. The people of the United States yet 
 have their destiny in their own hands, and must decide their own 
 
lot for weal or woe, according as they choose to be guided by 
 wise and honest, or foolish and wicked advisers — by those who 
 direct them in the paths of peace, or those who would lead them 
 into the career of civil discord and ruin. 
 
 The heart of every American ought to bear engraved upon it 
 the noble words addressed by Mr. Webster to the citizens of Bos- 
 ton, " I SHALL PERFORM WITH UNFINCHING PERSEVERANCE, AND TO THE 
 
 END, MY DUTY TO MY WHOLE COUNTRY." This declaration embodies 
 the true national sentiment— the leading and controlling principle 
 which must regulate the language and the conduct of every man 
 who claims the character of an American statesman, or an Ame<. 
 rican citizen. Upon the ground covered by this declaration we 
 must stand or fall. Nothing short of the performance of our duty 
 to our Avhole country will carry us through the perils and embar- 
 rassments which now lie in our course. 
 
 Often have we repeated, and we have still constant occasion 
 to repeat, that the concealment of this essential fact — the dis- 
 guise of the true question now at issue— has done more than any- 
 thing else to mislead those who now seem to be arrayed against 
 the cause of the country. The ranks of the disunionists are filled 
 to a great extent with persons who are serving the cause of dis- 
 union unconsciously ; whose minds, being restricted to a sectional 
 view of the great subject, are uninfluenced by its more important 
 national bearings. Such men cry out against the fugitive slave 
 law as a thing that ought to be resisted, without well considering 
 what the inevitable consequence of resistance must be; they 
 would set at nought the authority of the Federal Government, 
 though a moment's reflection is sufficient to teach them that an- 
 archy must follow. As ]Mr. Everett truly remarks, "we cannot 
 shut our eyes to the fact that persons holding extreme opinions at 
 the South and at the North, are straining toward a dissolution of 
 the Union. The number of persons desiring this object at the 
 North, I suppose to be small, and not very large at the South, ex- 
 cept in one State ; but there is a very considerable number, I fear, 
 in both sections of the country, who reason upon the same gene- 
 ral principles as the extremists, and are tending, perhaps uncon- 
 sciously, to the same result." 
 
 Extremes meet. The enemies of the Union and the Constitu- 
 tion in the North, and the same class of men in the South, now 
 stand on precisely the same ground, and shake hands in cordial 
 enmity over the Compromise measures and the policy of President 
 Fillmore's administration. Both these anti-national parties— the 
 Northern Abolitionists and the Southern Secessionists — are now 
 groaning in spirit and deeply troubled at the peaceful execution 
 of the law in Massachusetts. The sorrow of the Commonwealth 
 and the Liberator newspapers is not more pungent than that of 
 the Southern Press, the chief organ of the South Carolina disunion 
 party at Washington. The latter journal is cut to the heart on 
 learning the fact that there has been no insurrection in Boston 
 against the authority of the Federal Government. There seems 
 
8 
 
 to have been hope in the bosom of this amiable champion of dis- 
 affection, disunion, and disorganization, that Massachusetts would 
 take up arms and " lead of! " in thai perilous career, toward which 
 the gloating eye of South Carolina is now turned — 
 Willing to wound, but yet afraid to strike. 
 But this hope has been disappointed, and those who looked for 
 a practical exposition of the 'higher law" at the North, to coun- 
 tenance the higher law and high-flying secession doctrines of the 
 South, are inconsolable. Massachusetts well knows that she 
 must either stand in the Union or stand out of it ; and she knows 
 too well the value of the Union to be unfiiithtul to it, or unmind- 
 ful of those constitutional obligations which claim observance 
 from all who desire to enjoy the inestimable benefits which flow 
 from national strength and unity. 
 
 From the Boston Bee. 
 
 Faneuil Hall closed against the Hon. Daniel Webster ! Un- 
 paralleled proceedings ! An insult to the citizens of Boston and to 
 the Nation. 
 
 The action of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, on Monday 
 afternoon, in reference to the application for Faneuil Hall, for 
 the purpose of a public reception of the Hon. Daniel Webster, 
 has astonLs-hed the citizens of Boston. That the "Cradle of 
 Liberty " should be closed against Massachusetts' greatest man, 
 and that too by the highest branch of our Muxicipal Government, 
 is the most extraordinary step we ever knew a public body to 
 presume to take. Nearly One Hundred and Fifty of the first 
 citizens of Boston, irrespective of party, and representing the 
 sentiment and desire of ninety-nine one hundredths of the whole 
 city, have been told that Faneuil Hall shall not he opened for the 
 distinguished United States Secretary of State, neither shall 
 they meet in their own hall to consult on the public good. 
 
 What shall be said of such an action 1 When the greatest 
 intellect in the country, the profoundest statesman in the nation, 
 the wisest and most experienced public man in the land is invited 
 to give his counsel on the public good — and that person is the 
 HON. DANIEL WEBSTEK, a body steps in and says it shall 
 
 NOT BE DONE. 
 
 We submit it to the candid Judgment of the people whether 
 such an act is to be (juietly endured. We mistake the material 
 of Boston if it allows such an insult to go uncondemned. 
 
 This is probably the first instance on record in the whole 
 country where the use of a public hall has been refused to the 
 
9 
 
 citizens for the purpose of welcoming a high public functionary. 
 Well, indeed, may our citizens feel indignant at an act so insult- 
 ing and oppressive to their rights. 
 
 There is not a man in the New England States who has done 
 so much for Boston as Mr. Webster. He has here spent the best 
 part of his days, and his whole life, interest, hopes, and aspira- 
 tions have been identified with its good. In the halls of Con- 
 gress he has ever raised his eloquent voice in its behalf, and on 
 all occasions it has been his greatest pleasure to labor for its ■ 
 best interests. 
 
 And now, when the citizens of our city desire to offer a slight 
 public demonstration in consideration of these great services, 
 and desire again to hear his noble voice in that hall where it has 
 so often been raised in their behalf, they are practically told that 
 it cannot be done. While treason and open rebellion of the 
 laws of our country are preached with impunity under the very 
 eaves of the City Hall — while the stage is licensed to gratify 
 personal malice to the injury of respectable families, and the 
 sacredness of the family fireside is exposed to the morbid gaze 
 of the public — while contempt for religion and morality receives 
 the sanction of public authorities, it is ''deemed inexpedient''' to 
 grant the use of Faneuil Hall for the purpose of listening to the 
 exalted counsellings and the fervent eloquence of a Webster or a 
 Choate. 
 
 Yesterday — the members of the Board hearing of the indigna- 
 tion which was felt by the citizens — a special session was called 
 in the afternoon. The Board was complete, and after two hours 
 amj'p half of discussion with closed doors, the motion to recon- 
 sider the vote passed on Monday was lost. Some of the Alder- 
 men desired that the yeas and nays would not be called, but to 
 no effect. The following is the result of the vote: 
 
 Yeas 4. Natjs 4. One Alderman refused to vote. 
 
 Thus have the public servants of the people confirmed the 
 greatest insult ever offered to the citizens of Boston, and stamped 
 upon the capital of Massachusetts a disgrace which can never 
 be blotted out. We take this occasion to state, and it gives 
 great pleasure to do so, that Mayor Bigelow, and the Aldermen 
 who voted with him to reconsider the vote, have done everything 
 in their power to avert the lamentable results. 
 
10 
 
 Take in connexion wilh this act the fact that the vote inviting 
 President Fillmore to visit Boston, Nvhich passed the popular 
 branch of the city governnment almost unanimously, several 
 weeks since, was laid on the table by the Board of Mayor and 
 Aldermen, and the city of Boston can be viewed in no other 
 light than in open hostility to the present National Whig Admin- 
 istration, The effect of the recent decisive movements on the 
 part of the officers and citizens in carrying out the laws of the 
 land, has been completely destroyed by a majority of the Alder- 
 men of Boston, 
 
 The presses which have lately been teeming with praises for 
 Massachusetts' devotion to the Laws and the Union, will now 
 point the finger of scorn at our City Government, for its con- 
 temptable insult to the great defender of that Constitution, with- 
 out which there would be no laws — no union. 
 
 In order that the readers of the Bee may have an opportunity 
 to be fully advised in this outrageous proceeding, we \xi\\ go over 
 the whole ground. On Monday the following petition was pre- 
 sented to the Mayor and Aldermen : 
 
 To the Honorable Mayor and Aldermen of tlte City of Boston. 
 
 The undersigned respectfully ask the use of Faneuil Hall on 
 the seventeenth day of April, 1851. for the purpose of a public 
 reception of the Honorable Daniel Webster, and to consult on the 
 public good. 
 
 GEO. G, SMITH, 
 And one hundred and twenty others. 
 
 The above petition was not acted upon at the public meeting, 
 but laid over until the Board went into secret session. When it 
 came up to be acted on, as we are credibly intbrmed, the ^f 13'or 
 read from the back of the document, " Petition of George G, Smith 
 and others, for the use ot Faneuil Hall for a public meeting on 
 the 17th Instant ;" an informal vote was taken upon its acceptance, 
 resulting in six nays to two yeas. After the petition had been 
 read, agreeably to Alderman Holbrook's request, that gentleman 
 moved a reconsideration of the vote. This was voted not in 
 order, the vote being an intbrmal one. A warm discussion then 
 ensued, and in order to get out of the disagreeable position in 
 which they iiad so inconsiderately placed themselves, a number 
 of resolutions were olfered. 
 
11 
 
 Common Council. — Its action on the Funeu'd Ifall matter. — Rchiihc 
 of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. 
 It will be seen b}^ the following preamble and resolutions, passed 
 last evening b}' the Common Council, that oho branch of the city 
 goveriUnent is on the side of the people, common sense, and the 
 general sentiment. To the great honor of the Council it was 
 passed with a unanimity at once hearty, strong, and full. 
 
 CITY OF BOSTON. 
 
 Ix Common Council, April 17, 1851. 
 
 Whereas, Faneuil Hall has been consecrated and dedicated to 
 the use of the inhabitants of Boston upon all suitable occasions; 
 and 
 
 Whereas, The exclusive custody of the same is exercised by the 
 Board of Mayor and Aldermen of this city; 
 
 Whereas, This branch of the Government has learned with 
 great surprise that the Mayor and Aldermen have denied the res- 
 pectful petition of a large'number of the citizens of Boston for 
 the use of said Flail for the reception of the Hon. Daniel Webster ; 
 
 Whereas, This Board is unwilling to be compromised by the 
 action of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen in this case, or to 
 be identified therewith, therefore 
 
 Resolved, That the Common Council deeply regret the action 
 of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen in closing Faneuil Hall 
 against the Hon. Daniel Webster, our illustrious fellow-citizen, 
 whose high official position, whose unwavering attachment to, 
 and uncompromising defense of, the Constitution, whose long ser- 
 vices in the Senate of the United States, and whose untiring ef- 
 forts in support of the Union have justly endeared him to the 
 whole people of the United States. 
 
 Resolved, That while this Board would not interfere with any 
 rights which the Mayor and Aldermen may have over Faneuil 
 Hall, it cannot but consider their action in the present instance 
 unprecedented and injudicious, calculated to increase rather than 
 diminish the public excitement. 
 
 Resolved, That it would have given to the Common Council of 
 the City of Boston the hiirhest pleasure to have met our distin- 
 guished fellow-citizen in Faneuil Hall to exchange congratula- 
 tions with him, and hear him once miore address his friends and 
 neighbors in support of Law, Order, the Constitution, and the 
 Union. 
 
 On motion of Mr. Thompson, of Ward 0, it was unanimously 
 Ordered, That IMessrs. Thompson, Jewell, and Smith, with such 
 as the Board of Mayor and Aldermen may join, be a Committee 
 to tender to the Hon. Daniel Webster, in the name of the City 
 Council of Boston, an invitation to meet and address his fellow- 
 citizens in Faneuil Hall at such time as he shall select. 
 
12 
 
 On motion of Mr. Allen, of Ward 2, it was voted that the above 
 preamble and resolutions be forwarded to the Hon Daniel Web- 
 ster, duly signed by the President and Clerk of the Council. 
 
 • • 
 
 Letter from Hon. Daniel Webster. ^ 
 
 The following correspondence was read by the President: 
 
 Common Counxil Room, 
 
 Boston, April 18, 1851. 
 
 Dkar Sir: I have the honor to transmit a certified copy of the 
 Preamble and liesolutions adopted by the unanimous vole of the 
 Common Council of this city at their session of last evening, in 
 reference to the refusal by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen of 
 the request of our I'riends for the use; of Faneuil Hall. 
 
 One of the rules of the Common Council provides that "in all 
 cases the President may vote." I cheerfully availed myself of the 
 privilege, by recording my " «?/e" on the passage of the Preamble 
 and Besolutions; it is with pleasure that I comply wirh the in- 
 structions of the Board to transmit to you an attested copy of 
 them. 
 
 I remain, very sincerely, your olrt servant, 
 
 FRANCIS BRINLEY, President. 
 
 Hon. Danikl Webster, Marshlield, Mass. 
 
 Marshfield, Saturday jNforning, 
 
 April lUth, 1851. 
 To Francis Brinley, Esq., 
 
 President of the Common Council of the City of Boston : 
 
 Dear Sir: I have received your communication, transmitting 
 copies of the Preamble and Resolutions adopted on the 17th inst., 
 by the unanimous vote of the body over which you preside. 
 
 I should be incapable of all just emotion, if 1 delayed a moment 
 to express my grateful thanks for a proceeding so friendly, and so 
 honorable towards myself 
 
 I wish my stay in this vicinity could be such as to adbrd me an 
 opportunity of calling, individually, upon you, and all the members, 
 and paying to each my personal regards. 
 
 There are, I know, members of the Council who entertain opin- 
 ions diflerent from my own ; and this makes me the more anxious 
 to signil'y, in an emj)hatic manner, my sense not only of the kind- 
 ness and courtesy, but, also, of the manliness and independence, 
 which characterize their votes. 
 
 I shall not have the {)leasure, during my present visit, of meeting 
 the citizens of Boston. 
 
 What I have done, within the last year, to maintain the Union, 
 and to preserve the relations of peace, friendly intercourse, com- 
 merce, and l)Usiness among all the States, has not been done in a 
 corner, and 1 shall not go into a corner to perform what may re- 
 main to be done. Nor shall 1 enter Fancuil Hall till its gates 
 
13 
 
 shall, be thrown open, wide open, not " with impetuous recoil — • 
 grating harsh thunder," but with "harmonious sound, on golden 
 hinges moving," to let in, freely and overflowing, you and your 
 fellow-citizens, and all men, of all parties, who are true to the 
 Union, as well as to Liberty ; men who can look around on the 
 faces of the patriots which Vdorn the vi'alls of that sacred Tem- 
 ple, draw in with their deepest breath the appropriate inspira- 
 tion, and stand upright and erect upon its pavements, in mind and 
 heart, elate, in the consciousness that they, too, are Americans, 
 lovers of their country and their whole country, and not unworthy 
 to follow in the footsteps of their great forefathers. 
 
 If I'rovidence shall be pleased to spare my life and health till 
 that hour conies, I shall meet the citizens of Boston, and my voice 
 shall be heard once more in the Cradle of American Liberty. 
 
 Till then, again thanking you and the members of the Council, 
 I bid you and them farewell. 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 From the Boston Bee, of April 22^ 1851. 
 The Board of Mayor and Aldermen held its regular weekly 
 meeting yesterday afternoon, Mayor Bigelow in the chair. 
 
 Alderman Rogers offered the following resolutions, which were 
 unanimously adopted : 
 
 Boston, April 2lst, 185L 
 
 In the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. 
 
 R sohcd, Thar, this Board, in their action on the application of 
 Geo. G. Smith and others, for the use of Fancuil Hall on the 17th 
 inst., were actuated by motives growing out of their past action 
 in reference to said Hall, and of the state of the public mind in 
 relation to exciting political questions, and by no feeling of hos- 
 tility or disrespect toward the applicants or the illustrious indi- 
 vidual whom they intended to honor: and, however much they 
 have erred in judgment on the occasion, and however deeply they 
 regret the inferences which have been drawn from (heir action in 
 this case, they felt called upon to assert and maintain the right of 
 t^is Board to independent action, under the City Charier, upon all 
 questions properly brought before them, and, in a spirit ol" calm- 
 ness and self-respect, must protest^ a gainst any legislative act of 
 censure by one branch of the city government upon the other, as 
 irregular, and calculated to excite feelings and prejudices that 
 must inevitably intei-fere with the proper and liarinoiiions action 
 of the two departments of this government, and be productive of 
 consequences injurious to the public interest. 
 
 Rpsoh-ed, That this Board concur with the Common Coimcil in 
 raising a joint committee to tender to the Hon. Daniel Webster, 
 in the name of the City Council, an invitation lo meet and ad- 
 dress his fellow-citizens at such time as he may elect, and that 
 the use of Faneuil Hall be granted for the above purpose. 
 
 AMermen Smith moved the adoption of the above resolutions, 
 and they were adopted by a unanimous vote. 
 
u 
 
 The Common Council and Mr. Webster. — At half pasi 10 
 o'clock on Tuesday the Committee of the Common Council 
 Availed upon Mr. Webster at the Revere House, and jiresented to 
 him the resolutions and preamble we published in our paper of 
 that morning. Alderman Rogers, the chairman, addressed him 
 in a few neat and manly remarks, entirely suited to the occasion, 
 assuring Mr. Webster that the resolutions they brought expressed 
 truly the unanimous wishes of the two boards that had passed 
 them, and adding his earnest hopes that it might accord with Mr. 
 Webster's feelings and with his convenience to address his fellow- 
 citizens in Faneuil Hall. Mr. Webster thanked Mr. Rogers and 
 the Committee for the communication they had brought him, and 
 said that he would, with their permission, reply to it in writing. 
 After a few moments more spent in very agreeable conversation 
 on other subjects, the committee retired. 
 
 CITY AFFAIRS. 
 
 At a special meetinj^ of the Mayor and Aldermen yesterday 
 afternoon. Mayor Bigelow read the following report in the absence 
 of Alderman Rogers, who is still confined to his residence by 
 illness. 
 
 , City of Boston, } 
 
 In Board of Mayor and Aldermen. \ 
 
 The Joint Special Committee who were appointed "to tender 
 to the Hon. Daniel Webster, in the name of the City Council 
 of Boston, an invitation to meet and address his fellow-citizens 
 in Faneuil Hall, at such time as he shall elect,'' beg leave to 
 repoj-t that, in pursuance of the duty assigned to them, they 
 proceeded to the lodgings of IMr. Webster, and through their 
 chairman communicated to him the votes and wishes of the City 
 Council, and have received from him an answer declining to ad- 
 dress his fellow-citizens in Faneuil Hall during his visit to Boston. 
 Copies of the correspondence are herewith submitted. 
 
 Henry B. Rcgers,^ 
 
 H. M. HoLnRooK, 
 
 Bexj. Smith, I ^ ... 
 
 TVT . rp > Committee. 
 
 j\. a. 1 iiumpson, ' 
 
 Joseph Smith, 
 
 Harvey Jewell, ^ 
 
 [copy.] 
 Hon. Daniel Webster, 
 
 Secretary of State. 
 Sir: In comj)liance with an order of the City Council, passed 
 this day with entire unanimity, we have the honor of inviting 
 you, in the name ol" the City of'Bo^^ton, to meet and address your 
 fellow-citizens in Faneuil Hall, at such lime as shall be most 
 agreeable to 30U ; and in behalf of the corporation, of the citi- 
 
> Committee. 
 
 15 
 
 zens generally, and of ourselves, we beg leave to assure you that 
 your acceptance of this invitation, should it accord with your feel- 
 ings and convenience, will be peculiarly gratifying at this time. 
 With the highest respect and consideration. 
 
 We remain your very obedient servants, 
 Henry B. Uocers, 
 Henry M. HoLimooK, 
 Benjamin Smith, 
 Newell A. Thompson, 
 Harvey Jewell, 
 Joseph Smith, ^ 
 
 City Hall, April 21st, 1851. 
 
 ■ 
 [copy.] 
 
 To Messrs. Henry B. Rogers, Henry M. Holbrook, Benjamin 
 Smith, N. A. Thompson, Joseph Smith, Harvey Jewell. 
 Gentlemen: I have perused the paper which you did me the 
 
 honor to place in my hands yesterday ; and I have to say it is not 
 
 my purpose to address my fellow-citizens in Faneuil Hall during 
 
 this visit to Boston. 
 
 I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
 The following paragraphs from the Boston Daily Advertiser 
 and Boston Courier throw some further light on the proceedings 
 above related : 
 
 From the Boston Advertiser of April 16, 1851. 
 Faneuil Hall.— The refusal of the jNIayor and Aldermen to 
 grant the use of Faneuil Hall to the citizens, who asked it for the 
 purpose of receiving properly here the Secretary of State, has ex- 
 cited much surprise and remark. It was doubtless made under a 
 misapprehension, and will perhaps be reversed. The use of 
 Faneuil Hall was asked for, in the manner provided for by the 
 ordinances, for one of the purposes for which the citizens intend 
 that that Hall shall be used. If this w^as not such a purpose, the 
 Hall should be sold, or let, or pulled down. That it had been 
 previously refused to persons who wished to abuse it, for treason- 
 able or seditious purposes, is no reason to refuse it to persons who 
 wish to occupy it for the very purposes for which Peter Faneuil 
 built it. 
 
 We are not disposed to enlarge on the subject, but we cannot 
 forbear expressing our regret at such a decision, which regret we 
 are very sure is concurred in by the general sentiment of the 
 community. 
 
 We cannot but regard the refusal as most unfortunate, it being 
 not only disrespectful to the applicants, and to the distinguished 
 individual whom they had invited, but of a nature to fix upon the 
 
16 
 
 city the imputation, in the minds of that public throughout the 
 country, that its inhabitants cannot be assembled to meet their 
 distinguished state^^man without danger of disorder and violence. 
 We regret it also because our citizens are prevented from paying 
 to Mr. Webster that mark of respect which they had intended, 
 and are dej^iived of the gratification of hearinfr from his own 
 mouth his views upon some of the subjects which now engage 
 the public attention. 
 
 From the Boston Courier. 
 
 Boston at the South. — Various comments are made in South- 
 ern journals iipf)n thf. late difficulty in this city, concerning the 
 grant of Fanenil Hall to the friends of the Union. Those of the 
 Washington Union^ a paper which represents the Democratic 
 party at the seat of government, we copy below: 
 
 The use of Faneuil ITall was refused to George Thompson, a 
 foreign emissary, and his treasonable associates, who wished to 
 preach sedition, and urge doctrines dangerous to the Union of the 
 States; and that refusal is made a pretext, and pleadpd as a pre- 
 cedent, for denying the use of Faneuil Hall to the Secretary of 
 State — a citizen of Massachusetts — when he wishes to advise his 
 fellovi'-citizens to adhere to the laws of the land, and to advise 
 them to enforce them in despite jof the treasonable ellbrts of a 
 miserable band of fanatics and f^cfionists. There is uo consis- 
 tency in such conduct. There is something rotten in Denmark. 
 It is no plea of justification, or even of excuse, to say to sane 
 men that tlie door is closed against them because it has been 
 closed to a b.iiid of lunatics, burglais. and thieves. We neecL-not 
 say that iMr. Webster is not our model of a statesman, but we 
 admire the gigantic intellect with which he has been gifted. We 
 have not sanctioned his general course as a public man; but no 
 one can deny that in his public as well as his private capacity he 
 has been a laiihful advocate of the interests of Boston and Mas- 
 sachusetts, and that latterly his powerful voice has contributed to 
 strengthen the Union. The treatment which he has received is 
 disgracelul to the authorities of Boston. It shows that Mr. Web- 
 ster has been .serving a bad master. The compromise measures 
 are as UM|)opiilar in South Carolina as in I>osion ; and we venture 
 to say that, had Mr, Webster been in Charleston, and had citizens 
 of Cliath'stdii recjuested of the city authorities the use of any 
 building beloniiing to the city, for tlic purj)osc of receiving him, 
 the request Wduld have been granted on the in>-tant, and he would 
 have been listened to with respect, no matter how ihin the audi- 
 ence might have l)ecn. 
 
 The 'tiioii makes some mistake in connecting Mr. Thon;pson 
 with thi^ \:\<\ application of the Abolitionists for the use of Faneuil 
 Ilall. lie aiul his friends were allowed its use before, but the 
 
17 
 
 latter were shut out from the hall, upon their wish to preach dis- 
 union therein, on the subject of the fugitive slave law bill. 
 
 The New York Courier and Enquirer has the following upon 
 the invitation of the people of its city requesting him to address 
 them : 
 
 We are happy to perceive that the merchants of this city are 
 moving to secure the presence of Mr. Webster at the Exchange. 
 While the doors ofFaneuil Hall are closed against the great De- 
 fender of the Constitution, New York solicits his presence, and 
 will feel honored to have him address her citizens upon the duty 
 of sustaining the Constitution and the laws at all times and under 
 any conceivable circumstances. True, our people are ready to 
 discharge their duty in this regard, at all times, without being 
 urged thereto by Mr. Webster or by any body else ; but, notwith- 
 standing this, after the insult offered, by the refusal of Faneuil 
 Hall to him, in which to meet and address the people of Boston, 
 it is proper that New York should mark her disapprobation of 
 that act, by urging him to come among us, and from the Ex- 
 change, " where merchants most do congregate," send forth his 
 appeals in behalf of the Law and the Constitution, and his ana- 
 themas against all who array themselves against either. 
 
 Prom the Boston Courier. 
 
 Tuesday Morning, April 30, 1850. 
 
 Reception of Mr. Webster — Yesterday afternoon Mr. Webster 
 was received by the citizens of Boston, on his arrival in this city 
 from Washington, with a welcome that must have removed all 
 doubt, if any existed, that their confidence in him is unshaken. 
 Very little formal preparation was made for the occasion. It 
 was altogether an impromptu gathering of the people at the 
 hour when his arrival was expected ; but the greeting was none 
 the less hearty and enthusiastic for its lack of ceremony and pre- 
 paration. The day commenced with a heavy rain from the east,^ 
 and toward noon it blew a I'resh gale from the southeast. Short- 
 ly afterwards, however, the clouds dispersed before a westerly 
 breeze, leaving a clear sky throughout the afternoon. The clouds 
 and tempests that lower in the political firmament, we trust, will 
 be dissipated in like manner. 
 
 Bowdoin Square was thronged with people at an early hour, 
 and by five o'clock, every spot favorable for seeing or hearing, 
 was occupied. The windows of the Revere House, and of the 
 houses and stores around the square, were bright with lair faces, 
 giving a grace and animation to the spectacle which it is due to 
 the public spirit of the Boston ladies to saj% they never fail to 
 bestow upon all fitting occasions. At twenty minutes past five, 
 Mr. Webster made his apfjearance, accompanied by a few of his 
 friends, in an open barouche. He was received by the surround- 
 2 
 
18 
 
 ing multidude with hearty cheers and every other testimony of 
 friendly recoj^nition and greeting. A strain of music .arose from 
 the band in front of the lievere Hou.«e, after which the following 
 welcome was addressed to him by Benjamin R. Curtis, Esq. : — 
 
 Mr. Webster: These your fellow-citizens, have come here to 
 bid \ou welcome home. 
 
 They desire to express to you, l)y their presence, their appre- 
 ciation of 30ur great past services, in the public councils of the 
 nation. They are not poliiicians, sir, any more than myself — nor 
 deeply skilled in political history; but they know your political 
 history, and they have come here to greet you, on your return to 
 Massachusetts, after the arduous labors of the winter, because 
 they know it. 
 
 They are aware that, for the tliird of a century, during more 
 than the lifetime of a generation of men, you have been serving 
 their country, with unsurpassed ability and patriotism. These, 
 sir, are Northern laborers ; for where is there a Northern man, 
 of an age to labor, who is respectable and respected, who is not 
 a laborer in some good work? And they are not ignorant how 
 long and zealously you have upheld the rights and interests of the 
 labor of the country. They are deeply concerned in the main- 
 tenance of a safe currency, and they recognize the just and 
 sound principles which you have always held and enforced on 
 this subject. Living almost at one of the extremities of the 
 country, and dependant for our prosperity on the free develop- 
 ment of all its commercial resources, we are not unmindlul that 
 the internal improvements of the whole United iSlates, have 
 found in you a steady and powerful friend. We know also, that 
 when a protracted and ditKcult controversy, with a great foreign 
 nation, involved the honor and tlireatened the peace ot our coun- 
 try, by your etlorts, mainly, its peace was preserved, and its honor 
 maintained with increased brightness. 
 
 Allow me to say, also, sir, that we never, for one moment, 
 forget that we are citizens ot" the American Union ; that its 
 peace and prosperity and gK)ry, are our peace and pri^sperity and 
 glory — and that only under the Constitution, and in the Union, 
 can these exist for us or o..r children; and, therefore, with our 
 whole hearts, we say here and everywhere, that the friends ol the 
 Constitution are our friends — and its enemies, whether open or 
 secret, wilful or blind, are our enemies al^o ; that there is one 
 party, in which all minor dilferences of opinion and feeling are 
 merged and obliterated, and that is the party of the Union. As 
 members of that great party, sir, wo desire to express to you our 
 abiding gratitude for the ability and lidelity which you have 
 brougiit to the defense of the C'onstitution and Union of these 
 United States. 
 
 Recent events have awakened our most painful attention to 
 this great subject. You are well aware, sir, that it involves 
 s' nje i porta it eor.f.icling ivfrrrsts, and still more con dieting 
 
19 
 
 opinions and feelings. Any attempt to reconcile them, must, for 
 a time at least, be a cause of od'ence to 'many honest men. But 
 even they, sir, can scarcely withhold their respect, from manli- 
 ness, which dares to speak disagreeable things, and the patriot- 
 ism which seeks, in the spirit of conciliation, a remedy for an 
 inflamed and disordered state of the public mind. And when 
 ^ey shall have waited long enough to allow their judgments 
 somewhat to cool, and their views to embrace ^e end as well 
 as the begining, they may be expected to feel as we now do, that 
 we are not about to begin to distrust one, who, before many of 
 us were born, was eminently vigilant, wise, and faithful to our 
 country, and without a shadow of turning, has ever continued so. 
 
 You have, for many years, stood before this community as the 
 expounder and defender of the Constitution, and we have no doubt 
 that you will continue so to stand. In this cold northern soil, 
 confidence is indeed a plant of slow growth ; but believe me, sir, 
 when it is grown, if is not to be uprooted by any gusts of passion, 
 or prejudice, nor blasted by the breath of suspicion. 
 
 Permit me once more to say, that we welcome you to your 
 home. 
 
 Upon the close of this address, Mr. Webster arose in the car- 
 riage, and was received with loud cheering. 
 
 After the noise had in some measure subsided, he proceeded to 
 say that it was with great pleasure that he met so large an as- 
 semblage of his friends at a time when his private affairs had 
 called him from the seat of Government to his own home. As 
 you have said, sir — said he — the duties of the winter it the public 
 councils of the country have been arduous. I am sorry to say 
 those arduous duties are not done with. I am sorry to say that 
 the public affairs of the country have not yet made so much pro- 
 gress towards satisfactory adjustment, as to remove all the anx- 
 iety which has been felt about the adjustment of the subjects 
 under discussion. But I feel authorized to say that there is now 
 reason to hope — reason to expect — that further reflection, that a 
 generous comparison of various wishes where we disagree, will 
 bring about that improved'state of public feeling — in the repro- 
 duction of which all our expectations of useful discharge of pub- 
 lic duty, all our expectations of useful legislation, must depend. 
 
 I cannot but feel, sir, that I stand in the presence of my friends. 
 I must regard this gathering as the personal tribute of your wel- 
 come to me. You do not welcome the politician, and this is not 
 an opportunity for discussing those questions which now agitate 
 the community and the Government — questions which can leave 
 little repose in the mind of any intelligent man, till he can see 
 some probability that from discuss^ion an adjustment may come, 
 in favor of the prosperity, peace, happiness and continued union 
 of the country. [Cheers.] 
 
 Gentlemen, I have felt it my duty, on a late occassion, to make 
 an effort to bring about some amelioration of that excited feeling 
 
20 
 
 on this subject which pervades the people of the country every- 
 where — North and South ; to make an eflbrt also to restore the 
 Government to its proper capacity for discharging the proper 
 business of the country. [Cheers.] For now, let me say, it is 
 unable to perform that business. That it may regain that capacity 
 there is a necessity for effort both in Congress and out of Congress. 
 Neither you nor I shall see the legislation of the country proceed 
 in the old harmdtiious way, until the discussions in Congress and 
 out of Congress upon the subjects to which you have alluded, shall 
 be in some way suppressed. Take that truth home with you — 
 and take it as truth ! Until something can be done to allay the 
 feeling now separating men and different sections, there can be 
 no useful and satisfactory legislation in the two houses of Con- 
 gress. 
 
 Mr. Curtis, and gentlemen; the Commonwealth of Massa- 
 chusetts has done me the honor to place me as her representa- 
 tive — as one of her representatives — in Congress. I have believ- 
 ed that she would approve, in me, any honest, cautious, and sin- 
 cere effort to allay the dissension which we see among the people 
 of the country, and to restore Congress to its constitutional ca- 
 pacity for action. I have believed that the Commonwealth of 
 Massachusetts would support her representatives in that course. 
 I have believed that the general sentiment of the whole country 
 would favor and encourage their efforts to this end ; and I have 
 the satisfaction now to believe, that, in the hope, I shall not be 
 disappointed. [Cheers.] However that may be, that eflbrt I 
 shall repeat. [Renewed cheering.] In that course of pacifica- 
 tion I shall persevere, regardless of all personal consequences. 
 [Three cheers.] I shall minister to no local prejudices. I shall 
 support no agitations having their foundations in unreal, ghostly 
 abstractions. [Laughter and cheers.] I shall say nothing which 
 may foster the unkind passions, separating the North from the 
 South. May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, before 
 it may utter any sentiment which shall increase the agitation in 
 the public mind on such a subject. [Cheers.] 
 
 Sir, I have said that this is not an occasion for political discus- 
 sion. 1 confess that if the time and Circumstances gave an op- 
 portunity, I should not be indisposed to address the people of Mas- 
 sachusetts directly upon the duty which the present exigencies of 
 affairs has devolved upon her — upon this great and glorious Com- 
 monwealth ! Upon the duty, at least, which it devolves upon us, 
 who represent her in the National Legislature. I shall have oc- 
 casion, in my seat in the Senate, to which 1 shall inunediately re- 
 turn, to give my opinions upon some topics of. an interesting 
 character — topics, in regard to some of which there exists both 
 mis-statement and misapprehension — the greatest mis-state- 
 ment — the greatest misapprehension, especially so far as I am 
 concerned. I may sitnply mention one of these. It is the ques- 
 tion respecting the delivery of fugitives fixim service. With re- 
 gard to that question there exists the greatest prejudices — the 
 
21 
 
 greatest misapprehensions. T do not wonder at these misappre- 
 hensions. I am well aware that this is a topic which must ex- 
 cite prejudices: I can very well feel what the prejudices are, 
 which must naturally sfart up in the minds ot' the good people of 
 this Commonwealth. But, Mr. Curtis and gentlemen, there are 
 in regard to that topic duties absolutely incumbent on the Com- 
 monwealth — duties imposed by the Constitution — absolutely in- 
 cumbent on every person who holds office in Massachusetts un- 
 der her own constitution and laws, or under those of the nation. 
 She is bound, and those persons are bound to the discharge of a 
 duty — of a disagreeable duty. We call upon her to discharge 
 that duty as an affair of high morals and high principles. We 
 ask iier to resolve upon the performance of duty, though it bfe a 
 disagreeable duty. Any man can perform an agreeable duty — it 
 is not every man who can perform a disagreeable duty. Any 
 man can do what is altogether pleasant. The question is whether 
 Massachusetts — whether the old State of Massachusetts — im- 
 proved by two centuries of civilization — renowned for her intel- 
 lectual character — mighty in her moral power — conspicuous be- 
 fore the world — a leading State in this country, ever since it was 
 a country — a leading State in the Union, ever since it was a 
 Union ; — the question is, whether Massachusetts will shrink from 
 or will come up to a fair and reasonable and moderate perform- 
 ance (and no more than a fair and reasonable and moderate per- 
 formance) of her sworn obligations. 
 
 I think she will. [Cheers.] 
 
 Sir, the question is, whether Massachusetts will stand to the 
 truth, against temptation ! Whether she will be just, against 
 temptation ! Whether she will defend herself against her own 
 prejudices! She has conquered everything else in her time; she 
 has conquered this ocean which washes her shore ; she has con- 
 quered her own sterile soil ; she has conquered her stern and in- 
 flexible climate; she has fought her way to the universal respect 
 of the world; she has conquered everybody's prejudices but her 
 own. The question now is, whether she will conquer her own 
 prejudices ! I shall return to the Senate, to put that question to 
 her, in the presence of that common mother, who shall deal it to 
 her heart. [Cheers.] 
 
 In the meantime, let me repeat that I tread no step backwards. 
 [Cheers.] I am devoted to the restoration of peace, harmony and 
 concord out of Congress ; and such a degree of mutual co-opera- 
 tion in Congress as may enable it to carry on once more the le- 
 gitimate business of the Government. 
 
 The Union for the preservation of which I strive ; the Union of 
 States for which I strive ; is not merely a union of law, of Con- 
 stitution, of compact — but while it is that, it is a union of broth- 
 erly regard, of fraternal feeling throughout the whole country. I 
 do not wish that any portion of the people of this country shall 
 feel held together only by the bonds of a legal corporation ; bonds 
 which some of them may think restrain their limbs — cramp their 
 
22 
 
 affections, — gall and wound them. I wish, on the contrary, that 
 they shall be bound together by those unseen, soft, easy sitting 
 chains that result from generous atfections, and from a sense of 
 common interest and common pride. In short, fellow-citizens, my 
 desire is, and my labor is, to see that state of things produced, in 
 which, filling all bosoms with gratitude, all hearts with joy, illu- 
 minating all faces, spreading through all ranks of people, whether 
 rich or poor, whether North, South, East or West; — there shall 
 exist the balm of all our sufferings : the great solace of all our 
 political calamities; the great security of everything prosperous, 
 and great, and glorious, in the future ; — and that is, tue united 
 
 LOVE OF A UNITED GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Mr. Webster's remarks are such as every one who knew him 
 must have been well prepared for. They are appropriate to the 
 occasion, truly American and constitutional in sentiment, and ap- 
 peal to the plain sense, manly feeling and sober self-respect of his 
 fellow-citizens. The appeal, we trust, will not be made in vain. 
 
 From the Boston Courier, April 29, 1852. 
 Mr. Wehster''s meeting with the People. 
 
 Yesterday forenoon, a grand and enthusiastic gathering of our 
 citizens took place in Bowdoin Square, to olier a manift-station of 
 welcome to the Hon. Daniel Webster on his visit to this city. A 
 large deputation of the citizens of Salem, together with great 
 numbers of persons from the neighborhood of the Capitol, also 
 contributed to swell the multitude which spontaneously gathered 
 together on this interesting occasion. The Square was thronged 
 to a greater degree than ever was known in any instance of a 
 similar nature. The weather, which for weeks has been cold, 
 cheerless, dark and rainy, took a most auspicious change. The 
 skies cleared, the morning sun came out in bright smiles, and a 
 bland westerly bieeze threw its cheering and invigorating influ- 
 ence into every bosom. Every avenue to the Square was beset 
 with eager throngs of people — and every window from which a 
 sight of the Square could be obtained, exhibited a dazzling array 
 of bright eyes and blooming faces, showing that now as ever, the 
 beauty of Boston is sure to be on the right side. 
 
 At eleven o'clock, Col. X. A. Thompson mounted a temporary 
 rostrum, which had been constructed lor the occasion, and said — 
 
 Fdlow-citizcns : This, as you are aware, is a spontaneous meet- 
 ing. You will have learneil its purposes from the handbill dis- 
 tributed this morning. No regular organization is proposed. If 
 it be your pleasure to a[)poiiit the following gentlemen to wait 
 upon xMr. Webster, who is now in his chamber, and inform him 
 that the people are awaiting his presence, and prepared to pay 
 their respects to him, you will please to manifest it. 
 
23 
 
 The gentlemen proposed are Messrs. Joseph Bell, John T. Heard, 
 Daniel L. Gibbens, Adam W. Thaxter, George Darracott, Levi 
 A. Dowley. 
 
 This announcement being received with loud cheers, Col. 
 Thompson declared it to be a unanimous vote. 
 
 The Committee subsequently appeared, conducting Mr. Webster, 
 whose presence excited the most enthusiastic cheers from the 
 multitude. He appeared deeply affected with this great mark of 
 respect, and after a short pause, spoke as follows : 
 
 Fellow-citizens of Boston : You rather take me by surprise this 
 morning — but it is a very agreeable surprise to me. I am greatly 
 pleased to see your cheerful and satisfied faces, as much so as to 
 see the cheerful face of that luminary which shines now in the 
 heavens above us. If you are half as glad to see me as I am to 
 meet you, there is a great quantity of human happiness and good 
 feeling at this moment in Bowdoin Square. (Great cheering.) 
 
 Gentlemen, a long and violent convulsion of the elements has 
 just passed away, and the heavens, the skies, again smile upon us. 
 There is often an analogy between occurrences in the natural and 
 political world. Sometimes political agitations pass away, bring- 
 ing after them sunshine, joy and gladness. May it be so now! 
 (Cheers.) 1 greet you as citizens of Boston — I welcome you — I 
 offer )ou my heart and hand. I present to you my warmest grati- 
 tude for "what you and your fathers have done for me from the 
 days of my early manhood when I came from the North to dwell 
 among you and to partake your fortunes, for good or for evil, to 
 the end of my lile. (Long continued cheering.) 
 
 I am not vain enough to suppose that I have rendered any very 
 essential services to my country in my day and generation. But 
 if I may supjiose that I have rendered any service — however lit- 
 tle or however much, I owe it mainly to the constant, warm and 
 unwavering friendship and support of the people of Boston. 
 
 I shall, ere long, follow your fithers and my fathers to man's 
 last home.' But while I live and breathe — while 1 have language 
 or thought — while my heart beats or my tongue moves, I shall 
 feel and speak of Boston as my home — as the cherished object of 
 my public and private, my political and friendly regard. (Cheers.) 
 
 Gentlemen, you do not expect to hear any discourse from me. 
 I come to see you and you come to see me. It is not an occasion 
 for the discussion of any political topic. You do not expect me 
 to deliver any opinions of my own, or to state the grounds of any 
 political transactions. 
 
 Let me congratulate you, and ask you to congratulate me, that 
 the events of the last year or two have placed us under better 
 auspices. We see clearer and breathe freer. We feel new assu- 
 rance that the rich blessings we have inherited from our fathers 
 will endure, will be perpetual — will be immortal, if any institu- 
 tion of man or of earth can be immortal. The youngest of your 
 children — the youngest of your grand-children — will grow up to 
 
24 
 
 manhood Avith the proud- feeling that they were born to, and they 
 %vill inherit imperishable liberty in these United States of North 
 America, and in this ancient, beloved, and, under all circumstan- 
 ces, by me venerated. Commonwealth of jNIassachusetrs. Wh}', 
 fellow-citizens, we need not be vain; we need not be too much 
 self-satisfied, after all ; but who among you is there, who would 
 exchange his own political and social condition for that which 
 befals the inhabitants or residents of any other country under the 
 wide scope of the canopy over us? Where is the foreign country 
 that Would satisfy you? No where. You stay at home satisfied. 
 The institutions of your own country are satisfactory to you You 
 enjoy political power universally disseminated under a republican 
 government framed upon popular principles. Every citizen feels 
 that he is a man. If he is governed he is also one of the gov- 
 ernors. He has a voice in every great transaction of public policy 
 and national concern. Let others praise what they will, and 
 admire what they please. Let others prefer a government more 
 royal, more despotic, or more democratic. For myself, and I be- 
 lieve for you, I may say, we are satisfied with our condition as 
 people of the United States and citizens of Massachusetts : our 
 free, popular, and glorious representative government makes us 
 known reputably all over the world. (Cheers.) 
 
 Gentlemen: Let us despair of nothing — letnsdespair of nothing 
 in behalf of our country. We shall see it go on in continuous 
 prosperity. We see the returning sense of the community — the 
 love of Liberty, and — let me add, with all the emphasis which I 
 can pour out from my breast — the love of Union. That will 
 keep us together. If I had ten thousand voices — if I could reach 
 the shores of the Pacific — if I could gather the whole vast nation 
 within the reach of my voice — I would say, "Fellou-Citize.ns, 
 Union, Union, Union, now and forever." (Great cheering.) 
 
 What are all these petty distinctions — these cavils, these ques- 
 tions, these sectional quarrels? They are as dust in the balance! 
 They are not fit to inhabit the heart of a true American : for the 
 heart of a true American embraces the whole counti%': if it is 
 not big enough for that, he had better tear it out and throw it 
 from him. (Vociferous cheering.) 
 
 What little I have done — I repeat it — is mainly attributable 
 to the support you and your fathers have given me. I am not 
 unmindful of it — not ungrateful for it. I findyou as I have found 
 you in the past, and as I am sure I shall continue to find you lor 
 what remains to me of life. Let me say to you, and let me en- 
 treat vou to deliver to vour children what I say: as Boston found 
 me thirty years ago, she finds me to-day, without variation or the 
 shadow of change. I shall go to my grave full of the gratitude 
 which 1 shall cherish for her and for her supjiort of me. 
 
 Gentlemen, I bid you adieu — an afiectionate adieu. By the 
 blessing of God, 1 shall see you again, (loud cheering) under cir- 
 cumstances, it may be, which will enable me to express some- 
 what at large my opinions on t!ie aspect of public afiairs. (Cheers, 
 
25 
 
 and cries of " good," "good.") All this is in the hands of the 
 Providence that is over us ; to Him I commend myself, I commend 
 you, and I commend the interests of our dear, our beloved country. 
 Gentlemen, farewell. 
 
 As Mr. Webster was descending from the platform, several 
 bouquets were thrown to him from the windows above by the 
 ladies. Turning towards them, he said — "I thank you! The 
 ladies are all for f/n/on." 
 
 . The orator retired to his room in the Revere House forthwith, 
 and the joyous multitude soon dispersed. The occasion was one 
 of mutual happiness; and the people enjoyed unmixed pleasure 
 in this brief interview with their fatorite fellow-citizen. 
 
 The following paragraph from the Boston Bee of May 8, 1852, 
 a little more than one year after the use of Faneuil Hall had been 
 refused to Mr. Webster and his friends, exhibits the healthful 
 change in political feeling in Boston, as manifested by its public 
 authorities. 
 
 And, in the opinion of those best acquainted with public senti- 
 ment in all parts of the State at the present time, were the ques- 
 tion to be taken to-day upon supporting Mr. Webster, and through 
 him the course of public measures, of which he has been the ablest 
 advocate, especially the adjustment or compromise law of Septem- 
 ber, 1850, there is not a shadow of doubt that he would be trumph- 
 antly sustained— a result which proves not only the moral and po- 
 litical strength of Mr. Webster in his own State, but the sober, 
 second thought of Massachusetts. 
 
 Faneuil Hall and Mr. Webster.— The popular branch of the 
 City Council on Thursday evening performed an act highly cred- 
 itable to the members, in the appointment of a committee to wait 
 upon Mr. Webster, for the purpose of inviting him to address the 
 citizens of Boston in Faneuil Hall. The ready concurrence of the 
 upper branch of the City Council will no doubt be had. Not only 
 every friend of INIr. Webster, but every man of manhood in the 
 city of Boston will rejoice at this step. 
 
 No action of the City Council since Boston had an existence, 
 was more unfortunate than the refusal to grant the use of Fan- 
 euil Hall to hear an address from Mr. Webster, last session. It 
 led to the total defeat of the Board of Aldermen last year, more 
 than any or all other acts which it performed ; and in view of all 
 things it will not soon be forgotten. The time was peculiar. Na- 
 tional afRiirs wore an unwonted aspect. A voice was needed to 
 go forth tVom Faneuil Hall. No voice could command the gene- 
 
26 
 
 ral ear or respect, like that of Webster. But the petitioners, re- 
 presenting our very first citizens, were refused. The Board said, 
 by their action, " Daniel Webster shall not speak in Faneuil Hall.** 
 It was a gross, unaccountable, unprecedented insult. 
 
 We are rejoiced that the present City Council show that they 
 mean to obliterate, as far as possible, that insult, by not only 
 throwing open the doors of that Hall, where Webster's voice has 
 so often sounded with so much eloquence, but by cordially inviting 
 kim to go there and address our fellow-citizens. We have no 
 doubt but that the invitation will be accepted, and also that it 
 will be such a meeting as has not yet been seen or heard in Fan- 
 euil Hall. We need at this time the counsel and wisdom of the 
 distinguished statesman, and to the acceptance of the invitation, 
 Mr. Webster will gratify, beyond expression, thousands of our 
 fellow-citizens. 
 
 Mr. Webster''s Fourth of July Letters. 
 
 The following letter was received from Mr. Webster by the 
 Boston City Government — who refused the citizens of Boston the 
 use of Faneuil Hall for the purpose of hearing Mr. Webster speak 
 on national afiairs — in reply to an invitation to join in the cele- 
 bration of the Nation's Birth Day: 
 
 Capon Springs, Va., June 27, 1851. 
 
 Gentlemen : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your printed invitation, in behalf of the City Council of Boston, 
 to attend the celebration of the approaching Anniversary of 
 American Independence. 
 
 My engagements elsewhere oblige me to decline this honor. 
 I am gentlemen, respectfully, your ob't servant, 
 
 DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 To Messrs. John P. Bigelow, Billings Briggs, Edward S. Erving, 
 James W. Sever, Daniel N. Haskell, Esquires, Boston. 
 
 And here comes a letter from the same great man to the invi- 
 tation of gentlemen in Springfield: 
 
 Washington, July 2, 1851. 
 
 Gentlemen : I have received your very kind letter of the 2 1th 
 June, inviting me to be present at your celebration of the Anni- 
 versary of American Iiidepoiidonce. 
 
 I thank you lor your kind invitation, but I shall be prevented 
 from accepting it by my engagements on that day in this city. 
 
 No one can more heartily join with you in your patriotic feel- 
 ings and sentimtMit. inspired by that occasion, than myself. 
 
 I was born, gentlemen, at a time when the States were few in 
 number; and under the inlluence of the spirit which animated 
 our Fathers, I have seen them extended, still united, prosperous 
 and happy. And it is my earnest prayer that whatever may be 
 
28 
 
 Marsiifield, May 12, 1852. 
 To Hon. Bcnjmnin Scavcr, Mayor of Boston ; Messrs. Oher and 
 Rich, members of the Board of Aldermen ; Hon. II. J. Gardner, 
 the President; and Messrs. Ilobart, Plummer, and Thompson, 
 members of the Common Council : 
 
 Gentlemen : I receive you here to-day, as friends and fellow- 
 citizens, members of that community in the midst of which I have 
 lived for the greater part of my life, which I have regarded as 
 my home, and which home has been rendered happy to me by all 
 the endearments of domestic affections, the warmth of social re- 
 lations, and that mutual respect and kindness, which constitute 
 the unbought grace of life. 
 
 And you come, gentlemen, to confer upon me an honor which 
 it is quite impossible for me altogether to decline. Of course, 
 gentlemen, I consider this honor as intended entirely for a mani- 
 festation of personal respect and kindness; and it touches my 
 feelings the more tenderly, as it proceeds from the unanimous 
 votes of all the members of the two branches of the City Govern- 
 ment, without reference to political or party distinction. You 
 invite me to come among you, as one of your fellow-citizens, not 
 unknown to you, through a course of many years ; and I shall 
 go, with warm regard and a grateful heart, into the midst of the 
 citizens of Boston, many of whom I know, and with the fathers 
 of many of whom, when life was younger, I lived in habits of 
 daily intercourse. 
 
 Perhaps it is unnecessary for me to say, gentlemen, but it is a 
 point upon which I deem no nlisapprehension should exist, that 
 neither the^ source of the kind invitation thus presented to me, 
 nor the state of things now existing in the country, will allow me 
 to enter upon the discussion of any political questions or subjects, 
 whatever. The pleasure afforded to me by the occasion, will be 
 that of being once more in the universally acknowledged Cradle 
 of American Liberty, to behold again those images of immortal 
 revolutionary patriots, which adorn the walls of Faneuil Hall, 
 and to see the faces of prosperous, happy, and patriotic fellow- 
 citizens; and their gratification, if tliey shall experience any, 
 M'ill be to know, that I come among them with unabated friend- 
 ship and attachment, that I regard the place of their birth and 
 residence, with as warm a heart as beats in any of their own bo- 
 soms, and that I regard myself as numbered among them, for 
 good or lor evil, so long as anything, good or evil, may happen to 
 me from human associations. 
 
 I am, gentlemen, with the highest personal regard, vour obedi- 
 ent servant, DANIEL WEBSTER. 
 
27 
 
 the causes of dissension, the same feeling which secured to us "a 
 more perfect union," may overcome the bitterness of distrust and 
 alienation ; and that our children may enjoy as we have done, 
 and celebrate as we have celebrated, many happy anniversaries 
 of National Independence. 
 
 " The Union ! God in his mercy grant that no apocalyptic wri- 
 ter may see the Commonwealth of Massachusetts fall from the 
 firmament." 
 
 I am, gentlemen, with great regard, very truly vours, 
 
 DAME 1/ WEBSTER. 
 Messrs. J. W. Preston, T. D. Winchester, L. C. Allen, Springfield. 
 
 From the Boston Courier, May 14, 1852. 
 
 Mr. W^ebster in Faneuil Hall. — Our readers will learn, with 
 high gratification, that the invitation tendered by our city govern- 
 ment to Mr. Webster, to meet his old acquaintances, the citizens 
 of Boston, in Faneuil Hall, has been accepted, and that we shall 
 enjoy the pleasure of hearing him speak again in the Old Cradle 
 of Liberty, in the early part of next week. By the subjoined 
 correspondence, announcing this fact, it will be seen that Mr. 
 Webster, on this occasion, will abstain from the discussion of any 
 political subject. The perfect propriety of such a course will be 
 understood by all who reflect upon the position in which he now 
 stands toward the American people. In Faneuil Hall we shall 
 welcome him once more to Boston — not as a party man, not as a 
 candidate for office, but as our fellow-citizen — the great states- 
 man of cur country — the courageous and devoted defender of the 
 Ameiican Constitution and the Union of the States. W'e need 
 onl}^ say, that the warmth of feeling, heartiness of welcome and 
 enthusiasm, that will hail the appearance of Daniel Webster in 
 Faneuil Hall, will be unbounded. 
 
 The correspondence to which we have alluded, is contained in 
 the following account of the proceedings of the city government 
 yesterday : 
 
 CiTV OF Boston — In Board of Mayor and Aldermen, 
 
 Mciy 13, 1852. 
 
 The Couirnittee appointed to wait upon the Honorable Daniel 
 Webster, and tender to iiim the invitation of the City Council to 
 address his fellow-citizens in Faneuil Hall, during his present 
 visit to our city, yesterday proceeded to Marshfield to perform the 
 agreeable duty assigned them, and ihey are happy to report that 
 Mr. Webster has accepted the invitation, as will be seen by the 
 accompanying letter. He will inlorm the City Council the day 
 on which it will be convenient for him to be hero. Your Com- 
 mittee, therefore, recommend that they be authorized to make 
 such arrangiMuents as they may deem expctlient for the proper 
 carrying into full ellect the wishes of the City Council. 
 For the Committee, 
 
 BENJAMIX SEAVER. 
 
 I W46 
 

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