Lexington union. (Lexington, Miss.) 1838-18??, 1841-01-02

on the rights az me states, or The provIs-
IONS of the halowed instrument Of our
Uaion. Viewing The aggregate powers Of
the Federal Government as a voluntary
concession OF he States, it seemed g. me
that such only should DO exercised as
we're at the time intended to be glyelA
! have been strengthened, too, IA the
proprety Of this course, by the convitlon
that all efforts TO 60 beyond this tend mIy
to produce dissatisfaction and distrlX, to
excite jealousies, and to provoke ASST
ance. Instead of adding strength u the
Federal Government, even when suN sess-
full, they must ever prove a source oGncu-
rable weakness, alternating q portion Of
those whose adhesion is Indispensable to
the great aggregate of united strength, and
whose voluntary attachment is, in nv
estimation, far more essential TO the eff
cheney of Government strong in the best
/ of all possible strength-the confidence
and attachment of all those who make up
its constituent elements.
Thus believing, il has been my purpose
to secure to tho whole people, and to every
member of lie conlederacy, by general,
sautary, and equal laws alone, the 'neli
of those republican institutions vi \ it
was the end aud oim ofthe Conslitl& -"
establish, and the impartial inhi4 W .
which is, in my judgment, indispeEss 8
to their preservation. | cannot bring
myself to believe that the lasting happi-
ness of the people, the prosperity Of the
States, or the permanency Of their union,
can be maintained by giving preference or
priority TO any class Of citizens in the
distribution of benefits or privileges, or by
the adoption ofmeasures which enrich one
portion Of The Union, at the expense Of
another, nor can see 10 the interference
Of the Federel Government with The local
legislation and reserved rights Of the
States remedy for the present, or secu.
rIty against future dangers.
The first, and assuredly not the least,
important step towards relieving the conn
try from the condition into which il had
been plunged by excuses 10 trade, bank
ing and credits of all kinds, was to place
the business transactions of the Govern.
ment itself, on a solid basis; giving and
receiving 10 all cases value for value, and
neither countenancing nor encouraging In
others that delusiye system Of credits from
which ii has been found 80 difficult e
escape, and which has left nothing behind
il but the wrecks that mark its fatal ca
reer.
That the financial aff,irs Of the Gov
eminent are now, and have been during
the whole period of those wide spreading
difficulties, conducted with strict and
invariable regard to this great fundamental
principle, and that by the assumption and
maintenance Of the stand thus taken on
the very threshold of The approaching
crisis, more than by any other cause or
causes whatever, the community at large
has been shielded from the incalculable
evils Of AZ ehcIH;~ and Indefinite sug9cs.
&C., specie payments. and a eongeato,s
for the whole perioI il Any
nave. lasted, of a Just and inyariable STAN
dard of value, will, it is believed, at this
period, scarcely be questioned.
y steady adherence, on the part of the
Government, to the policy which has pro-
duced such salutary results, aided by
l1dlcioos State legislation, and, what is
not less important, by the industry, enter
prise, and perseverance, and economy Of
the American people, cannot fail TO raise
the whole country, ut an early period, to
state OF solid and enduring prosperity, not
subject TO DO again oyerthroWn by the
suspension of banks or the explosion OF
a bloated credit system. 1t is for the
people and their representatives, TO decide
"hethc- or not the permanent welfare OF
the country (Which all good citizens equal.
ly desire, however widely they may differ
as to the means OF its accomplishment
shall be in this way secured; or whether
the management of the pecunlary concerns
OF the Government, and, by consequence
to great extent, those of individuals also,
shall be carried back to condition OF
things which fostered those contractions Of
the currency, and those reckless abuses oil
credit, from the banefu effects Of which
the country has SO deeply suffcred--a
return that can promise, in the end, no
better results than to reproduce the en,-
barrassmcnts the Government has expert.
enceJ; and to remove from the shoulders
of the present, TO those Of fresh victims, the
bitter fruits Of that spirit Of speculative
enterprise to which our countrymen are
so liable, and upon which the Lessons Of
experience are so unavaling. The choice
is an important one, aud sincerely hope
1t may be wisely made
A report from the Secretary Of War,
presenting detailed view of the affairs o.
that department, accompanies this com
munlcation