VALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 06126 4447 Liitnam, James 0, An oration: delivered at Lockport, ^¦^^^"S^iC "^ ' -1. V ~ •¦ / 1*. J » 9^'f-' "-^ ^ ,^«'^^'J» " - 4 ¦¦ I ctda L".M^^^f'' i "I give the/e JBaaks far Vie founding if a. CtUegt vt^tM^ _CalojLf^ AN ORATION: DELIVERED BY THE Hon. JAMES 0. PUTNjyi. AT July 4th, 185& ..r\.'^.i.\r\.'.,.f\f\.'\,i^\i-. ../•..•../v<-«.»<.«ias!',<-v-., LOCKPOET: a & POMBOY, PEOrrBE, COUEIEE OPEldflS NO. l^AIN-SX. 1856. ?l'.'*-'> f ^ j-a^^-fe 0 AN ORATION: DELIVERED AT oois,i»o JULY 4th, 1856. By the Hon. JAMES 0. PUTNAM. '..r\^../.^.r.,/^. LOCKPORT : S. S. POMROY, PKINTER, COXJRIBR OHB'ICE, NO. 1 MAIN-ST. 18{S6. OKATION. What is the political right of individual man ? Wbat the just relations of the ruled to the ruler, involving, as they do, the social and moral duties of the State to the citi zen ? This is the question of the day— de bated wherever civilized man is organized into societies. If there were a solvable problem in political philosophy, it would seem that this were one ; for it has never ceased to occupy the political student. Yet the world is still debating antagonistic the ories ; it is still engaged in the old contro versy between radicalism and conservatism, between a confident democracy, jealous of all power save its own, and ancienc authori ty, claiming the veneration, while it exhibits the decrepitude of age. One thing is certain : A perfect common wealth, a social and political organiftn, real izing all that could be desired in virtuous citizenship, in industrious and rewarded pursuit, in happy homes, in elevated hu manity, where power is always just and beneficent, where weakness is helped when it falls, and can not help itself, where Jus tice ever sits on her throne imperial, weigh ing with exact scruple every outward act affecting individual rights and huraan happi ness, giving up the wronger, whether golden or rag plated, to the whips of the Avenger, the armed Nemesis of the State, has never existed, save in tbe dreams of some Har rington or Sydney. Beautiful indeed, are the speculations of these poet state foundei's ; and their crea tions, could they be realized, would trans form earth into Paradise. But, alas! tbey have fallen, men. not Gods nor Angols, on whom to test their theories. Thoy have eaith, sin-smitten and groaning under a daily repeated curse as the field of their ex- peri n? en ts. What is tha origin of government ? and, especially, of kingship ? That there must be government, a su preme authority somewhere, is demonstra ted by the whole history" of man. Man flees from solitude to society. An ascetic is a social monster- In society rcan is soon [ driven to seek protection of property and j person in a power stronger than his single j arm. Society cannot exist amid distf ugt and 1 anarchy, and seeks to vest authority in one of those who by their strong heads to de vise, and their strong wills to enforce, seem God-commissioned to be protectors, if not rulers, of their fellow raen. In this infant state of society, too simple to have discovered the intricate machinery which distinguish the more enlightened gov ernments of to-day, is to be found, if any where, the ruler by " right divine." For it is in the midst of anarchy and lawlessness, where weakness is timid, and force, is brutal ; whore insecurity and distrust every where prevail ; whore the idea of safety ab sorbs every other sentiment, that the true hero steps forth, having in his force of char acter the credentials of power. It is no time for the reign of stupid mediocrity,' the rounds by which ambition ascends to power, are not the golden ones which form in our days so easy climbing. Authority is bestow ed or assumed whore confldence centers. " This man," say the masses, " can lead us, think for us. He can overawe the proud ; he can substitute a just authority for brutal force ; he has wUhin him the magnet of su periority, which attracts the weaker ele ments floating about and seeking a support they cannot give themselves. This force of character is power. He is born to govern. We will call him Father— King. With him are protection and confidence— without him, enarchy and civil war." It is often said that Kingship is an orig inal crime — thai it has ever had its origin in violence. That a system has oftentimes sprung up to make rule hereditary, that has resulted in the most oppressive tyranny, is undoubtedly true. But that irrespective of the abstract equality of natural rights, there is in some men the God-given power to rule, which by relations and events, becomes in some phases of society recognised as a right, it is, when viewed in tho light of hu man experience, hard to doubt. But are we not all wisest ? Are wo not all equally capacitated to govern ? These are ques tions which may be calmly asked, and an swered when society is peaceful. But look at the two contrasts, presented in almost every age of the world. Given, on one haad, a rude state of society, when all is violence^ [4j when there is no safety because their is no i recognised authority, when power is lodged in will, and will absorbed into appetite, and appetite becomes the universal wolf, raven ing at pleasure ; or, given a more elevated people, at, a fearful crisis in their history, when the great deeps of society have been broken up by Revolution, and law and poli cies have been wrenched out of thoir old anchorage by tho olorra. Observe tho raan who in either case is self-called to rule, to put bits into tho mouth of license in the one instance, and to I'ecoEstruct society, to give symmetry, force and power to its chaotic material in the other. Then, on tho other hand, given a state of general peace, when party discipline ranks all men in one of two contending factions, arming their leaders with disciplinary scourges, enabling them to keep ranks unbroken and the traditionary formulas of party to be everywhere re ceived, and superadd to the3e the power of patronage derived from the genius of jobs, and the mercenary clement, alike disgrace ful when it sells in tho market the Empire of Eome to Julian, and when it paves the way to power for the smallest aspitant that ever glittered his hour in the Athenian, the Eoman or tho American canopy, and then contrast tho Moses of the Israelites, a Ma homet of the middle ages, a Cromwell and a William of the modern heroic time, a Napoleon the I, or the III, and, finally, a Washington, invested with command be cause he was the wisest and best; contrast these and such as these, the centers of great systems, suns which having once risen never set, but impart both light and heat to all times, with those political accidents, those mental and moral negations, the sometimes results of ballot-boxes, Ul the midst of a proud and boastful cMnzation, which have proclaimed with emphasis that the wisest cannot always rule — nay, shall not; and we may be less disposed to wonder tbat the fic tion of rule by " right divine" has so often prevailed, and tbat ujjon it has been erected systems of hereditary power, so antagonistic to our more popular theories. Whence and wherefore then, the political revolutions which lend so much interest to all ages ? Had Kings been just and power beneficent, the history of the world had not been written, as it has been, in blood. The tendency of power is to abuse. Tho op pressions incident to that abuse, have led to those conflicts between authority and tho people, which constitute the most brilliant records of history. Conflicts which have developed while thoy have elevated man, and bnt for which, there would be little in the past to cherish or in the future to hope for. We need not ask Philosophy why a nation that has a heroic age will cherish it, and adore its heroes. We feel the answer in our own hearts ; it is to be read in your assembling upon an anniversary, which as a birthday of a new nationality, is unsurpass ed in historic interest. Yes, Fellow Citizens, this beautiful month that fliids us FO pleasantly assembled, is associated with tbe noblest struggles and the most heroic achievments which have made memorable the conflicts of the people with power. Humanity seems to have chosen it of all the Calendars' sisterhood, to evidence its claims to a kinship with Infinite intel ligence. Were we indifferent to the history of tbe progfew-TTf-itiGas and institutions, and to the struggle cf States whose noblest acbievments have been performed in this sacred month, it would prove in us a de generacy which would soon invite the thral dom it would deserve. We are trustees for posterity, as were our fathers for us, of the most precious legacies- ever purchased by the blood of heroes and martyrs. These legacies are principles and ideas, refined and purified iu the crucible of the past centuries, always progressive in their developement and io their application to the ever increasing relations of human societies. Revolutions are always depreca ted by those who are wedded to the past, be cause it is the past, and there are ever some, even among those who sympathise with its general objects, who shrink from the gaze of the Genius of Revolution, when mail- bound and storm-clad, it casts down at the feet of Authority, the gauntlet of defiance. For Eevolution is struggle with power for a right ; it is notice to the existing regime that its right to maintain its sway is to be disputed, and tbat it may maintain it, if it can suffer more, endure more, sacrifice more, than the rebel energy it has to grap ple with. That people have little apprecia tion of the work before them, who enter into a contest with existing power, unless they are prepared to stake property and life on the issue. If, in advance, tbey affix a limit to their sacrifices, a point at which they I'esolve to surrender, thoy have mor ally surrendered before the contest is begun. Politic timidity in the hour of Revolutioo is a traitor, and is itself the first victim of its moral treason. Tho Revolution you have met to celebrate was not one of hesi tating calculation : Life, Fortune and sacred honor were all staked on the issue. It was heroic ; it was sublime. It was the moral and militant sense of a people that had profoundly considered the great question of I sovereignty ; that had resolved upon break- [5] ing through the arbitrary systems of trans- Atlantic rule, and upon demonstratine the power, as it had faith in the right of" self government, — that is, the right to choose teoir own rulers, and indicate the bounds both of authority and discretion. This is comprehended in a single word, — Constitu tional Government. I have spoken of this beautiful month as peculiarly associated with the sreat political struggles of modern times. Were I asked, what were tbe characteristics, the leading incentives to the political revolutions of the last three centuries, I should say they were two-fold. That tho first and greatest strug gle was for religious liberty, the right of man to worship God after his own con science. In other words, modern Revolu tion sought first to separate the Church from the State, taking issue with the latter in its claim of a right to establish uniformi ty of religious faith and worship. Allow me to quote from a declaration of Independence which has attracted less at tention than it ought, in modern times. "All mankind know that a prince is ap- "pointed by God to cherish his subjects, even "as a shepherd to guard his sheep. When, " therefore, the prince does not fulfil his " duty as protector, when ho oppresses his "subjects, destroys their ancient liberty, " treats them as slaves, he is to be consid- *.' ered not a prince but a tyrant. As such, " the estates of tho land may lawfully and "reasonably depose him, and elect another •' in his room." Such was the doctrine laid down by the founders of the Dutch Republic on the 26th day of July, 1581, when after a quarter of a century of the severest conflicts for reli gious liberty ever waged on the bosora of this^ fair earth, it set the example followed two centuries afterwards by our fathers, of sundering political relations to secure the practical triumph of a principle. How tar this was in advance of the most liberal senti ment in England, may be judged when it is remembered that the House of Stuart reigned nearly half a century after this de claration before the doctrine of passive obe dience and the divine right of Kings yielded to an advancing sentiment in relation to the political rights of man. It was to throw off the religious tyranny of the bloody Philip II, whose bigotry bad turned all the Netherlands into an Acelde- ma, to establish the dogmas and forms of worship of his own church, that that band of noble raen, under tbe lead of William the Silent, the father of his country and the greatest of all the glorious house of Orange, uttered this truth and followed up the de claration with acts of Independence which severed forever the Netherlands from the Sponish Empire. This was tho loading Revolution, entirely religious in its character, in whose conflict the blood of four generations was poured out like water, to which we are indebted, and to which England is indebted for its deliverance frora the Romish doctrine, that heresy is crime, and that the State is sub ordinate to the Church, and that all its en ginery, moral and political, may justly be brought into service to crush out all dis sent, and compel the immortal soul to de throne its native spiritual sovereignty, and man himself to crawl from cradle to grave the poor slave of a self-appointed priest hood. This religious Eevolution, resulting in the dis-memborment of the once proud Empire of Charies V, and in the establish ment of tho Dutch Republic, was the first national revolt for freedom of conscience against the iron rule of the Papal See under which the Westor.T powers of Europe had groaned for centuries. No wonder that the Pilgrim Fathers turned frora the per secutions of the Stuarts, to the open hospi tality and the genial institutions of Holland. where under the guidance of William of Nassau, was tho utmost toleration of religi ous opinion, and from whence, went forth to the world the first example of a state that disavowed both the right and the policy, of attempting to compel uniformity in religi ous doctrine and worship. It would be interesting to trace the pro gress of this Revolution wh'ch has resulted at last, in the utmost toleration of religious opinion both in England and in this coun try, in the entire separation of the Church from the State, under our institutions. But time will not permit. Tho other great struggle of the later cen turies, and carried on mainly by the Anglo Saxon race, I should say, was the struggle for ihe civil rights of individual man — to fix the boundaries of power, to establish, in other words, a constitutional government; As the character of this celebration does not permit me to discuss public questions,now occupying and unhappily disturbing the harmonious relations of our beloved coun try, I have thought I could not more ap propriately occupy a portion of the time allotted to^me, than by tracing those revolu tions of opinion, those great epochs in the history of the English people, which have brought us to the ultimate bounds of a ra tional liberty. While it is easy to indicate one or two great popular movements which tended to [6] the establishment on these shores of the jfovernraent we enjoy and love, it is not easy to accurately trace tho rise and early progress of the sentiment which finally •sought this ombodiment. For there is scarcely a period in the his tory of the Anglo Saxon race, when tho sentiraent of personal liberty did not glow in the popular heart. There never was an age when their nocks seemed fashioned to wear the yoke of bondage. The Norman conqueror vanquished them by the power of numbers and imposed upon tnem tho burthens of the Feudal system. But no King from William the Conqueror down to the unfortunate house of the Stuarts, ever «at upon a quiet throne or swayed his scep tre over a submissive people. They wore «ver a positive, earnest thinking, God wor- ¦shipping people. The doctrine that Kings can do no wrong, was a fiction of the throne, it was never the sentiment of the people. The first great Era in tbe history of Eng lish liberty which I shall notice, when it transferred itself from the issue of battle to parchment and seal, is tbe charter of John, exacted at Runnomede, in the 13th century. And here in ;i rude age, when com merce had scarce unfurled a sail, and there existed none of those phjsical and moral elements of Revolution, which entered so largely in the latter contests, we recognise the first principles of civil liberty as dis tinctly as we find them to-day, in the Immor tal Declaration of our own Independence. This charter was itself a Revolution. It granted liberal franchises to cities and towns, soleranly guarantied the right of trial by Jury, declared that Justice should neither be sold, or delayed, and I'elieved from many of tbe oppressive burthens of the Feudal S}Stem. But those great prin ciples were never sustained by the throne, except when overawed by superior popular force, for royalty and ecclesiastical power were constantiy endeavoring to over leap thoir barriers. Hence those constant conflicts between our Anglo Saxon fathers and the throno, was the synonym of liberty. Liberty was -with them, something to be felt, something to be witnessed in a happy home, in a pro- - iteoted industry, in a a free worship of God. J They entertained that antiquated sentiment .. — that a Christian man, who feared God, trained his children in virtues' paths, and contributed by his industry to the strength of the State, was a better citizen, thanthe .outcast, who lived in squalidness and crime, without reverence of Deity, without re- ^morse or shame. They rejected too the modern doctrine of the infallibility of mere majorities. I say' tne dogma, that majorities can do_ no wrong, and which soraetimes couches itself in the sounding phrase, " the voice of the people, is the voice of God," was not an accepted doctrine of the Revolutionary fathers. The history of the world is crow ded with the crimes of individuals grouped together in superior numbers, and they had but to read its page, to reject a theory so false and dangerous. Thoy saw a majority even in Democratic Rome, nailing the head of the butchered Cicero over the very Ros trum where yet lingered the spirit of his patriotism, and the echoes of his eloquence, and then pass on to swell the tk-iumphal march of Osbsw, the funeral traih of Eoman liberty. They saw a majority ostracising an Ar istides from Athens, because be was a just man, and dooming the hero of Marathon, the noblest embodiment of Grecian valor and patriotism, to the dungeon and to chains. They heard swelling up through th^ shadowy aisles of eighteen centuries, and still echoing around the broken walls of the City of Fanes and Synagogues tlie ¦stoTBsy voice of a majority crying out, •' away with him, away with him, not this man, but Barabbas ! They knew that majorities were compos ed of individuals, tbat individuals may be blinded by ignorance or passion to err. — That what is error in the one, is error in the million, that numbers could never over throw principles of right, or sanctify crime. Hence the spirit of that Eevolution was a conservative one, and seeking elements of permanency and of substantial good. On this subject of majorities, allow me to quote from a single speech in the Fed eral Convention of one of the ablest and purest and most accoplished men of that or of any other age, a man who lored, but did not flatter the people, a man who cherished his own self respect, above all earthly dig nities, I mean James Madison, He says : " In all cases where a majority are united by a common interest or passion the rights of the minority are in danger. What mo tives are to restrain them ? A prudent re gard to the maxim, that honesty is the best policy, is found by experience to be as little regarded by bodies of men, as by indi viduals. Respect for character >is always diminished in proportion to the number among whom the blame or praise is to be divided. Conscience, tbe only remaining tie, is known to be inadequate in individuals in large numbers, little is to be expected from it. These observations are verified by the histories of every country ancient and modern. It is incumbent on us then, to frame a Eepublican system on such a scale, and in such a form as will control all the evils which have been experienced." In the spirit of this doctrine, the Federal Constitution has its highest value in those provisions which look to the protection of minorities. I have thus briefly traced the progress of tbat political revolution which beginning far back in the early period of the Anglo Saxon race, achieved its crown ing viotoay in that struggle, which gave In dependent Nationality to the EnglFsb Colo nies. How stupendous tbe results from so doubtful beginnings ! On the 22d of Marcb, 1776, Edmund Burke made his imisorted tlOj speech in the British Parlirment on Con ciliation with the Colonies. And after hav ing presented a statistical view of the in crease of wealth and power of the Colonies within the life of his friend Lord Bathurst, a period of 68 years, he|imagines the Angel of the honorable Lord, lifting to his infant gaze the curtain of the future to be em braced within his own life, unfolding the rising glories of his country and ad dressing him in the language of faithful prophecy. "Young man, there is America, which at this day serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men and uncouth manners; yet shall, before you taste of death, show itself equal to tbe whole of that comraerce which now attracts the envy of the world. Whatever England has been growing to by a progressive increase of ira proveraent, brought in by varieties of peo ple, by succession of civilizing conquests and civilizing settlements in a series of seventeen hundred years, you shall see as much added to her by America in the course of a single life. If this state of his country had been foretold to him, would it not re quire all the sanguine credulity of youth, and all the fervid glow of enthusiasm to make him believe it ? Fortunate man, he has lived to see it ! Fortunate indeed if he lives to see nothing that shall vary the pros pect, and cloud the setting of his day." If such raptures were occasioned to the most liberal and enlightened statesnten of England over the progress of the Colonies for the sixty-eight years preceding the American Revolution, how overwhelming would have been a prophetic vision of the future of America, from the treaty of Jay, to this Eightieth Anniversary of our Inde pendence as a Nation. Yet a single life compasses it. Within the sound of my voice may be more than one whose life spans this wonderful development. Of him, we may say with Burke, fortunate man ! Fellow-citizens, let us contemplate for a moment the instrumentality of all this growth and progress. What has given such expansive power to the moral and political forces of this government ? What is it, tbat under God, has preserved us trom the dis asters of civil war in the midst of public beats and of sectional strife ? What is it, that has borne the flag our country across the Alleghanies, across the Mississippi, over the sky-piercing mountains which swell from the vales of Oregon, and planted it at length on the golden shores of the Western ocean, where commingle its emblematic stars with thestars of heaven as they are reflected int to country, to come together at its holiest the Pacific ? What is it, that has given pro tection to that flag, and commanded for it respect on whatever sea or in whatever breeze it floats, environing it with a moral power for protection to American property and American men stronger than that of armies and navies ? Why has Civilization invoked the Genius of our government as its peculiar patron, under whose protection it has carried Christianity, free institutions, and all the sweet charities, the gentle graces and tbe refined humanities which charac terize the best phases of a christian age, over a vast portion of this continent, binding them all in tbe charmed zone of the Republic ? What is it that in spite of all intestine heats, conflicting interests and burning passions has thus far kept bound together these thirty-one confederated States, securing to each tbe individuality of interest and power which belongs to a separate nationality, and the respect and security which pertain to consolidated empire ? What is it that per mits us to be so delightfully assembled here to-day, instead of standing guard upon the outposts of our own State, protecting it a- gainst the incursions of hostile soveignties, or engaging, it may be, in battle conflict with brethren and kindred ? Fellow citizens, there is a cause for all this. It is to be found in tbat sacrifice of selfishness, tbat liberali ty of concession, that act of justice to all in terests however antagonistic, itself the re sult of the profoundest study of every model of Free Government ever tested by associ ated man— the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. That, fellow-citizens, is the sheet-anchor that has hitherto enabled the ship Republic to ride out every storm which has yet risen by Northern or Southern gales. When this shall be despised and cast away, it needs no seer to assure us that, as haye all other Republics whose wrecks now line the shores of Time,ours will go down in the maelstrom of human passions — the victim of a Nation's folly, and a Nation's crimes. For it is a crime to refuse obedience to that sacred instru ment formed by our fathers, who brought to the altar of Country all personal selflh- ness, every sectional hostility and all inor dinate state pride, making of them all a burnt-offering as they presented to their children this guarantee of individual happi ness, and of National honor. There are times, fellow-citizens, when it becomes us to go to' the source of our bles sings and consider it well. This is, of all others a fitting occasion to renew our vows tbeir purest lustre upon tbe calm waters of altars, and swear before them eternal fideli- [11] ty to tbe Constitution and Union of these States. 0, Fellowcitizens ! I hear a voice from Mt. "Vernon whose slightestwbisper reverberates through the heart of the civilized world. — Let us with reverence listen to its instruc tions and heed its warnings. In his fare well address to his countrymen Washington says: "It is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense val ue of your National Union to your collective and individual happiness, that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it, accumstoming yourselves to think and to speak of it as a palladium of your political safety and prosperity, watching for its preservation with zealous anxiety,discountenancingwhatever may sug gest even a suspicion that it can in anyevent be abandoned, and indignantlyfrowning up on the first dawning of every attempt to al ienate any portion of our country from the Test,or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts." Mr. President, had not you, had not you my friend, yonder and yonder, with a head blossoming for the grave, had not you, young men, who have performed a part in the peagentry of the day, so honorable to yourselves, upon whom rests the dew of youth, whose hearts pulsate with every generous hope, and pants for the mission of manhood ; had not you mothers and you fair daughters, all of you honored kindred who under Washington fought the battles of tho Revolution, and who, thank God, as did my ancestors, poured out their blood like water, periling fortune, fame, life, tbat you and I might have a country! The Con stitution under which we live was written as with the blood of that kindred. It is the charmwhich gives to you individual pro tection and to our beloved country its nation al glory. Dissolve that charm, put out that flaming minister, which illumines the po litical darkness and has been a sure beacon in the thickest storm that has ever ex hausted its rage upon ns, and I know not where is the sovereign skill, or the Prome thean light, that may that charm restore, that lamp relume. Fellow citizens, this Union cannot sur vive the sentiment of loyalty, which honors and would preserve it. The offspring of the spirit of conciliation, and of forbearance, and of affection, it cannot exist amid hate and uncharitableness, and struggles for sec tional power. Power attained under such influences is sure to be exercised, such is human nature, to fortify itself, and to crush out its enemies. The physical power of the govornment, all the standing armies in the world cannot preserve this Union when a mutual sectional hate, asks its dis solution. This government owes its preser vation not as do tbe absolute governments of the earth, to tbe machinery of Stale, to towers, and bastions, and standing armies. Its defence rests in the hearts of tbe Ame rican people. Much of wrong and violence have transpired in the last few months cal culated to alienate the hearts of the people, to sow discord and hatred among breth ren. It is not for me in this place to indi cate how peace may bo restoied, but this I raay be permitted to say. It never will be restored by taking counsel of our passions; nor will it be by submitting to wrongs which affront our manhood, and degrade ei ther personal honor, or the honor of State Sovereignty. Fellow citizens, there are some sad omen in tbe preseot state of public affairs and pub lic sentiraent. There is a dangerous reck lessness of opinion and action, on every side of us, provoked by excesses of speech, of action, and of legislation. The senti raent of patriotism is seemingly growing weaker, and affection and interest are be ing transferred from the Federal to the State organizations; This is the fatal rock, on which other Republics have wrecked, and which now threatens us with the same ruin. In an age of so little sentiment as this, and so intensely commercial, when all con siderations for preserving old or creating new relations, cluster around interest, look ing to results, how much it will cost and what it will pay, it is not easy to preserve a love of a Federal Government if the several parts of which it is composed, are conflicting in interest, and hostile in feel ing. Tbe several State governments come nearest to tbe citizens of the respective States. His State Educates his children, protects his property, is the source of mu nicipal and organic relations ; represents his public charities, and if it be an old State rich and powerful, the citizen easily learns to feel that it is an Empire of itself, and to look with as much jealousy upon the en croachment of sister States, and probably more, as if the Federal tie did not exist.— This was raanifest under the Confederation, when the different States were in constant collisions with each other, arieing from dis puted rights and supposed aggressions. The struggle everywhere among Federal States is for political power, for influence and consideration in all the departments of rule, and when there are conflicting in terests, the struggle will be bitter in pro portion to the magnitude of the stake.— The chief barrier to the formation of the [12] federal Constitution, is the prime cause of all our present evils — jealousy of the as cendency of one interest in tbe National Administration, and counsels over another interest, and that stimulated by the con sciousness, that no State is so pitiably poor, as tbe State which depends for justice upon the magnanimity of its superiors. It was this joalousy which induced two of the three delegates of the State of New York to leave the Convention which formed the Constitution, because the larger States in sisted upon making the representation in the Senate, a representation of persons in stead of St tes, whicb it was justly claimed would make the whole thirteen entirely de pendent on the will or caprice of three or four of the largest States. Massachusetts and Virginia, until com pelled to abandon the position,acted in con cert for this unjust principle, for they were both numerically strong, and both, true rep resentatives of human nature, sought to concentrate in themselves the controling power of the government Says Luther Martin, a delegate to the Convention from Maryland, in his letter ad dressed to the Legislature of that State, in relation to the proceedings of the Conven tion, while speaking of the action of the delegates from those two States, "In every thing that tended to give the largest States power over the smaller, Mr. Mason could not forget he belonged to the ancient do minion, nor could Mr Gerry forget that he represented Massachusetts, that part of the system which tended to give those States power over the others met with their perfect approbation " Their interests are now relatively very difiiBrent. Massachusetts now struggles to maintain her diminished political power, and "Virginia contends as if for life to preserve undimin ished the Federal power of that irterest which commands all her sympathies, so cial, pecuniary, and political. It is still the same old contest for su premacy, and that not so much to oppress others, as to prevent others from oppressing them. * The free interest and the slave interest, -Rave ever since tbe formation of the Gov ernment, been struggling to prevent, each the other, from securing a political ascen dency which might imperil the relative strength of their respective interests. The conflict, both in its aggressive and de fensive features, is to be traced lo principles which are found in universal man. Fifteen States of this Union find themselves deriv ing their political consideration, and tbeir wealth, from an insiitution, which is with out the sympathies of the civilized world. — They know it has within it elements of weakness ^nd decline, both physical and po litical. This is to be strengthened by en larging its sphere, and proserving its prac tical equality, by maintaining its ratio of represtntatiun in the Senate of the United States. Sixteen States of this Union na turally are jealous of this increase of power, and of vfhatever shall give \t a controlling ascendancy. Where is this to end? He who holds the nations in the hollow of His hand, only knows. But great as may be the evils in cident to our system,how beneficent, on the whole, has it proved to us all. What State is not prosperous ? What home is not happy? What conscience is not free ?— ! When before did the Sun shine up-^ on a nation of twenty five millions so rich ly enjoying all the blessings of free gov^! ernment, ot Christian institutions, of educa tional privilege? A united people, we are respected, powerful. Divided, we are weak, thirty-one rival States, with elements of discord which would soon familiarize us with, standing armies, with border forays, contemptible for our weakness, tbe easy victims of ambitious power. Fellow citizens, in view of a sacred past, of an unhappypresent and ac uncertain, fu ture, let us recur to the source of all our blessings, and consider it well. Let us drink deep of the spirit of Washington ; let us heed his counsels — and imitate his ex alted Patriotism. Let us perform a fresh lustration before the holiest alters of Coun try, renewing our vows of fidolity to tbe Constitution and the Union resolving tbaft Unimpairad to onr children, thege right^hall descend, 'We will live to preserve them and die to defend. 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