Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1832-12-27

President my entire and eOrdial support. Sir,
we are truly in crisis Of the utmost magni-
tude and the most imminent peril. The Un.
ion of the States Is in danger. Its al.reaten-
ed by the immediate application Of military
force. Let us not. Sir, deceive ourselves by
the imagination that the Uni0n NAV snbsist,
though one State secede from II. No, Sir
IT the Government on this FIRST trial, shall be
found not able TO keep all the States in their
sprOper places, from that moment the whole
Union Is virtually dissolved. Whatever link
be struck from this golden chain. breaks the
whole. Our Only alternative is, tn preserve
the Union, one and entire as II now is, or else
to break MP. and to returnsto the condition Of
separate States; with the nnprOmising chan
ces Of forming hereafter, new, partial Sec
tionaI, rival, perhaps hostile governments;
thus bidding atlieu forever, not only to the glo-
rions idea, but To the glorious reality Of The
United STATES Of america.
sMf.C chairman, in this alternative my choice
is made. lam for the UniOn,as 1t is. am con-
tent with no Government less than that which
embraces the whole Four and Twenty States.
am fur the Constitution, as it is /; a COnsli-
tuiion, under which those Four and Twenty
States have risen TO height of prosperity
unexanpled in the history of mankind.
shall support the President, in maintaining
this Union, and this Constitution and the
cause shall not fail for want Of any aid, any
effort, or any Jealous corporation of mine.
In the spirit Of the Resolutions, now before
the meeting, say, when the Standard of the
Union is raised, and waves over my head-tbe
standard which Washington planted ON the
rampant Ofthe Constitution, God forbid that
should enquire HON the people have commits
stoned to unfurl it and bear itup; only ask in
what manner, as an humble individual, / can
best discharge my dmty n defending if
Hon. III. G. Otis said, he was sensible that
the few remarks which he had to offer would
in deserve that favor, which had been by an
ticipation extended to him. There were some
circumstances, however, which seemed to his
own mind to justify his appearance before the
present meeting; though he was far from i'm
agining, that any thing was requisite TO be adj
ded to what had already been observed by
his eloquent young friend lMr. Dexter.) and
what had been uttered by those lips, from
which words of fire invariably proceeded.
He regarded this meeting as one called by the.
warrant Ofthe President ofthe U. 8. That off,
Ger had nut the question to the people, whetilr
er they have disposition to maintain the au-
thority of the constitution and the laws: and
in answer 10 this question, It weuld be snoUgh
to say, IS Let all the people say. Amen !''--
The present was one of those periods Of crlti-
cal exigency, when men of all parties must
unite, and when they are naturally disposed
to act iii harmony. 1t was we'll known that
parties are every where the progeny Of free
governments but they have existed in every
country, whose institutions were in any con-
siderable measure liberal. In some instances
they constituted the safeguard of a country );
under some circumstances, they might be-
come the causes ofits ruin. Sometimes they
themselves persisted by a natural death at
others, they were overwhelmed by the ascen-
dancy acquired by one and at others still,
they continued to maintain protracted strug-
giles, until the question was settled by the
sword. In our own country. the contests Of
parties had existed from the foundation Of
the Goscrnment; they bud existed in other
States !; il thpse Of antiquity. they endured
Tor few centuries, and might have perhaps
endured longer. had that representative prin-
ciplc been thus early discovered, which is now
10 the progress Of experimental this country,
and which is exposed at this moment to
perilOus test Should the experiment fail
here, ne could only say, Farewell TO free in
atitutious from this iimc forth forever.
Here the will Of the majority must govern.
Sucl, VAS the recognized principle, for which
no substitute could he devised; right or wrong,
the will Of the majority must prevail; there
was 40 appeal from it hut to the sword
Clouds and darkness were gathering around
us the public mind was agitated by the
most alarming approximations men had been
taken by surprise by the strange pfefensions
of one cf our sister States. At this moment,
the Proclamation of the President ofthe Uni
ted States. he had almost said, like the great
!" Let there be light" came forth
to give as light. He had never been the pan
egyrist Of the Chief Magistrate. nor had her
ever been his traducer; his situation for some
time past had been such, as, called him TO no
active interest in political concerns. But at
the present time, he had no disposition to
look back with feelings Of asperiiy, or forward
with very sangnine anticipatiOns to The future
resting on this document, he would say. that
it was above all praise. 1.-THE spirit of Wash
ington could return to US from the tomb, we
could hardly expect sounder exposition Of
the constitutional principles by which that
great man was guided. than that " hich is here
to the people Of this nation. If it be
permitted to the spirits Of the great and good
men made perfect, to look down from their
celestial habitations on what passes here be-
low-ii the spirits Of Washington. Adams.
Jay, Rutledge, Pinekney, -ofthewho!e noble
army of mart yrs-cou,G return to earth, they,I
would Join ia one chorus OF sympathy with
the principles of that memorable instrument.
They would declare it to be the duty of this
whole people. from Maine TO Florida, from