Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1844-12-12
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
To tie Senate and House Of as 7 ke
50 Representaf;ves of ne Intel Stffes .ss9

we nave continued cause for expressing oul
gratitude to the Supreme Ruler o: the Universe
for the benefits and blessings which our country
under his kind Providence, has enjoyed during the
past year. Notwithstanding the exciting scenes
through which we have passed. nothing has oc-
Cured to disturb the general peace, or e derange
the harmony Of our political system. The great
moral spectacle has been exhibited Of nation. an
lProximating in number to 20 OO0, 600 Of people ;
having performed the high and important function
oeelecting their Chief Magistrate for the term of
four years, without the commission Of any acts Of
violence, or the manifestation Of spirit Of insub-
ordination to the laws The great and inestinable
fright Of suffrage, has been exercised by all who
were invested with 1T, under the laws Of the differ
ent States in spirit dictated alone by desire, in
the selection Of the agent TO advance the interests
Ofthe country, and to place beyond jeopardy the
institutions under which it is our happiness to live.
4 That the deepest interest has been manifested by
all countrymen id the result of the election, is
not less true than highly creditabe to them. Vast
multitudes have assembled, from time to time, at
various places, for the purpose Of canvassing the
merits and pretensions Of those who were presented
for their suffrages; but no armed soldiery has
been necessary to restrain, within proper limits,
the Popular zeal, of.to prevent violent outbreaks
| A principle much more controlling was found ID
| the love Of order and obedience to the laws
which, with mere individual exceptions, every
| where possesses the American mind, and controls
with an influence far more powerful than hosts OF
armed men. We cannot dwell upon this picture
without recognizing in it that deep and devoted at
tachment the part of the People, to the insttu-
tons Under which we live, which proclaims their
perpetuity. The great objection which has always
prevailed against the election, by the People, Of
their Chief Executive Officer, has been the appre-
hension of tumults and disorders, which might in
volve in ruin the entire Government. A security
against this is found not only in the fact before al
luded to, but in the additional fact that, we live
under Confederacy embracing already twenty six
States no one Of which has power to control the
Election. The popular vote in each State is taken
at the time appointed by the laws and such vote is
announced by its Electoral College, without ref
| erence to the decision of the other States. The
| Right Of Suffrage, and the mode Of conducting the
Election, is regulated by the laws of each State
and the election is distinctly federative in all its
prominent features. Thus it is that unlike what
might be the result under consolidated system,
riotous proceedings, should they prevail could only
effect the elections in single States, without dstur-
bling to any dangerous extent. the tranquility Of
others. The great experiment of political con-
fedefacy--each member Of which is supreme-as
to all matters appertanng 10 its local interests and
and its internal peace and happiness-while by a
voluntary compact with others, it confdes to the
united power OF all, the protection Of its citizens
in matters not domestic-has been so far crowned
with complete success. The world has Witnessed
its rapid growth in wealth and population ; and,
under the guide and direction Of a experimenting
Providence, the Developments ofthe past may be
garded but as shadowing forth the mighty future.
In the bright prospects of that future, we shall nd
as patriots and phianthropsts the highest induce
ments to cultivate and cherish love Of union, and
to frown down every measure or effort which may
be made to ALLEVIATE the States, the People Of the
States, in sentiment and feeling, from each other.
rigid and close adherance to the terms Of po-
itical compact, and above all, sacred observance
Of the guarantees of the Constitution, will preserve
the union on Q foundation which cannot be shaken:
while personal liberty IS placed beyond hazard OF
jeopardy. - i.
The guarantee Of religious freedom, Of the free
dom Of the press, Of the liberty Of speech, of the
nestle institutions Of each Of the States leaving
the private citizen in full exercise Of the high and
enoblng attributes of his nature and to each State
the privilege, which can only be judiciously exer-
ted by ITSELF Of consulting the means best calcula
ted to advance its own happiness; these are the
great and important guarantees Of the Constitution,
which the lovers Of liberty must cherish, and the
advocates Of union must ever cultivate. Presery-
ing these and avoiding all interpretations by forced
construction, under the guise Of an imagined ex-
pediency, upon the Constitution, the influence OF
our political system is destined to be as actively
and as benefcally felt on the distant shores Of the
Pacific, as it is those Of the Atlantic Ocean
The only formidable impediments in the way Of
its successful expansion ime and space) are so far
in the progress of modification, by the improve
ments Of the age, as to render longer speculative
the ability of Representatives from that remote
gion to come up to the Capitol that their consit
uents shall participate in all the benefits of Federal
legislation. Thus It is that in the progress Of time,
the inestimable principles of civil liberty will be
enjoyed by millions yet unborn, and the great BEN
efts Of our system of Government to extend to now
distant and uninhabted regions. In view Of the
vast wilderness yet to be reclaimed, we may
well invite the lover Of freedom, OF every land,
to take up his abode among us, and assist us in the
great work Of advancing estandard of civilization,
and giving wider spread TO the arts and refine
menfs Of cultivated life Our prayers should ever
more be offered up to the Father Of the Universe
for his wisdom to direct US in thepath Of our dnty,
90 as to enable Us to consumate these high pur-
poses =.
One of the strongest objections which has been
urged against ccnfederacies BY writer's on Govern
ment, is, the liability Of the members to be tam
pered with by foreign Governments, or the People
Of foreign States, either in their local affairs or in
such as affected the peace Of others, endangered
the safety of the whole Confederacy. We cannot
hope to be entirely exempt from such attempts on
our peace and safety The United States are becom-
ing too important in populate and resources not
to attract the observation Of other nations there
fore may, in the progress of time, occur that opin-
ions entirely abstract in the States in which they
may prevail, and in no degree affecting their do
nestle institutions, may be arffuly, but secretly
couraged with view to undermine the Union. -
Such opinions may become the foundation Of polit-
ical parties, until 1t last the conflict Of opinion pro
ducing an alienation Of friendly feeling among the
People Of the different States, may involve ~ one
general destruction the happy institutions under
which we live. II should ever be borne in mind,
that what is true in regard to individuals, equally
90 in regard to States. An interference Of one in
the affairs of another Is the fruitful Of faiDi
" dissensions and neighborhood disputes and the