Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1825-03-05

ted Representative Democracy, were
Government, competent to the wise &
orderly management of the common
concensofa mightynation,t those doubts
have been dispelled. If there have been
projects of partial confederacies, to be
erected upon the ruins Of the Union,
they have been scattered to the winds
If there have been dangerous attalh
ments to one foreign Nation, ana W.
tipathies against another, they have
been extinguished.
Ten years of peace, at home and a.
broad, have assuaged the animosities
of political contention, and blended
into harmony the most discordant ele-
ments of public opinion. There still
remains one effort Of magnanimity,
one sacrifice Of prejudice and passion,
to be made by the individuals through
out the Nation, who have heretofore
followed the standards of political par
ty. 1t is that of discarding every rem
nant of rancour against each other; of
embracing, as countrymcn & friends;
and of yielding to talents and virtue a.
lone, that confidence which, in times
of contention for principle, was be.
slowed only upon those who bore the
badge of party communion.
The collisions of party spirit, which
originate in speculative opinions, or in
different views of administrative poll.
cy, are, in their nature transitory.-
Those which are founded on Geogra-
phical divisions, adverse interests of
soil, climate and modes of domestic
life, are more permanent, and there.
fore, perhaps, more dangerous. 1t is
this which gives inestimable value to
the character of our Government, at
once Federal and National. 1t holds
out to us a perpetual admonition to
preserve, alike, and with equal ankle
ty, the rights of each individual state
in its own Government, and the rights
of the whole Nation, in that Of the U.
Mon. Whatsoever Of domestic con-
cernment, unconnected with the other
members of the Union, or with foreign
lands, belongs exclusively to the ad-
ministration of the State Governments.
Whatsoever directly involves the rights
and interests of the federative fraterni
ty, or of foreign Powers, is, Of the re.
sort of this General Government. The
duties Of both are obvious in the gene
raj principle, though sometimes per-
picked with difficulties in the detail
To respect the rights of the State Co
vernments is the inviolable duty Of that
of the Union: the Government Of eve
ry state win feel its own obligation to
respect and preserve the rights Of the
whole The prejudices every where
too commonly entertained against dis
tant strangers, are worn away, and the
jealousies of Earring interests, are allay-
ed by the composition and functions of
the Great National Councils, annually
assembled from all quarters of the u
Mon, at this place. Here the distin-
guished men from every section of our
Country, while meeting to deliberate
upon the great interests of those by
whom they are deputed, learn to esti-
mate the talents. and do justice to the
virtues OF each other. The harmony
of the nation is promoted, and the
whole Union is knit together by the
sentiments Of mutual respect, the ha-
bits of social intercourse, and the ties
of personal friendship, formed between
the Representatives ofits several parts,
in the performance Of their service at
this Metropolis.
Passing from this general review OF
the purposes and injunctions OF the Fe-
deral Constitution, and their results,
as indicating the first traces OF the path
Of duty, in the discharge OF my public
trust, l turn to the administration OF
my immediate Predecessor, as the Sc
cond. 1t has passed away in period
of profound peace; how much to the sa-
tisfaction of our country, and to the
honor ofour country's name, is known
to you all. The great features OF its
policy, in general concurrence with the