The northern galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1844-1848, 1844-09-25
SPEECH OF MIR. CHOATE,
Delivered before the Boston Yeung MEMS
Wing Club.


garded The approaching contest as one of
more interest to the whole country, and to
, the States ofthe North in a preeminent de-
gree, than any which had preceded il. The
peculiarly of this election,he continued, is,
that while it involves all the questions of
mere policy which are ever suspended on
the choice Of a Neutrality-suspicious. of the
currency, of the lands, of internal improve
ments, Of protection, Of foreign policy, and
all else; while it involves in its widest extent
the question, ho,c shall the nation be gorerned?
1t involves the first Presidential election that
has done so-the further more fundamentals E.
more startling question, ichdt shall the nation
be? ,1ho shall the nation be! ,chere shall The
nation be! who, what, and where, is, and is to
be, our country itself! Is it to be any longer
the Union which we have known; which we
have loved to which we have been accus-
toned Tor is it TO be dissolved altogether!
or sit to be new one, enlarged by the an
nexation of a territory, out of which forty
States, of the siz of Massachusetts, might
be constructed; territory, not appended
equally to the East, the West, the Center,
and the South; not appended equally to the
Slave States and the free States to the ag-
ricultural and to the planting to the locali-
ties offree trade ana the localities of protec-
ton, not SO appended as to work an equal
and impartial enlargement and assistance to
each one of those various and heterogeneous
elements of interest, and sentiment, and po-
sition, on. of whose struggle comes the
peace, but of whose dssonance comes the har-
, mony of our system-not so-but appended
in one vast accession TO one side. one region,
one interest, of the many which compose the
State; so appended as TO disturb the rela-
. tons ofthe parts; TO change the seat of the
center; to counterfeit the natural tendencies
of things; to substitute revolution of violent
,, and morbid policy in place of the slow and
, safe action of nature, habit and business, un-
der permanent law SO appended, in short,
as not merely to make small globe into a
larger one, but to alter the whole figure OF
the body; to vary the shape and the range of
its orbit; to launch il forth on new highway
of the heavens TO change its day and night,
, its seed-time and harvest, its solar year, the
great cycle gifts duration ITSELF
: This it is that gives to this election an in-
|, terest peculiar and transcendent. 1t is a
question. not what the policy of the Nation
, shall be-but what, who, where. shall the Ma
! ton be! 1t is not question of National poll
ties. hut Of National identity. For even if
the Union shall survive the Annexation OF
! L u,
, it will be new, a changed, another Union
! not this. 1t will be changed, not by time,
which changes all things-man, monuments,
States, the great Globe itself; not by time,
but by power; not by imperceptible degrees,
but in day; not by a successive growth,
unfolded and urged forward by an organic
law, an implanted force, a noiseless and in
. visible nutrition from beneath and from with
out, ofwhich every region, every State. takes
I the risk; but by the direct action of Gov
4 eminent, arbitrary, violent and unjust, OF
which no part has ever agreed to take the risk.
4 1t is to this element in the present election,
!, the Annexation of Texas, that l wish to-
night, passing over all the rest, to direct your
. attention.
/ shall consume but little of the time OF
such an assembly as this in attempting to
prove that the success or failure of this enter
. terprise of Annexation is suspended, for the
: present. perhaps for our day, on the result Of
the pending election. You, at least, have no
doubt on this point. Is there one man now
before me, in the first place, who does moi
believe, or who does not greatly and ration
= ally fear, that if Mr.. Polk is tie next Presi-
= dent, Texas will come thunder the unos-
T tentatious and not so very terrible form Of
. dterritory, Of course, in the first instance
:, in twelve mouths-unless some great anG
I extraordinary interpostion of the people
should prevent it! Does any one-if sucf
! an one may be supposed among you to
night-who, opposed to Texas, as you are
;, has yet hankering for Mr.. Polk. and mean.
'. TO vote for him, if he can obtain the consent
;. of his conscience-who wants to vote fol
: Mr.. Polk, but shrieks from the idea of pro
>. noting Annexatiou-does any such one say
" oh it don't follow that, if he is chosen, Tex.
= as will be annexed! Be il so. but does it MOI
: increase the chances of Annexation! Does
:, it not, at least, expose you to the terrible
!. hazard OF being compelled hereafter to en-
!, counter, by memorial. by convention, by re-
" monstrance, by extreme and extraordinary
action, that which you can now peaceably
innocently, sessonably anticipate and preven
at the pollsl Does not every stock jobber
and land-jobber, and fesh,jobber who clam
= ors for Annexation, understand perfectly
= that he aids his objects by choosing Mr.
Polk! Are not those honest gentlemen al
on his side, and do they not well know wha
they are about! Does not Mr.. Polk come
inf he comes-pledgedt annex if he can
and determined to do it ifhe can! Does ht
not come in pledged and determined to pu
in requisition the whole vast power of the
Executive-the whole vast power of the
flushed party that elects him, and TO effecl
anneNationl Is any man foolish enough tc
deny that MIR. Van Buren, was cast overheard
and MIR. Polk nominated, expressly and sole.
ly that the candidate might be,as they exqui
sitely express it, Texas to the back bone p
1t And how can you suppose that, nominated
l. for this very purpose, elected for this very
re purpose, he will do nothing Ito accomplish it
:, Why, if he should be disposed to do nothing
do you think that party, or faction, strong
y enough to 60 into National Convention
e and there trample instructions under foot
y strong enough to force upon the body al
o audacious. not very democratic rule of pro
o ceediDg, which put it out of the power of {
y majority to nominate the choice OF MAORI
/. ty; strong enough to laugh Col. Benton ant
: Mr.. Wright in the face; strong enough, MOI
merely to divide Buffers last crust with him
but to snatch the whole oft; strong enough
TO CIRCULATE Mr.. Van Buren, out of the win
dow-under whom they had once triumph
adm whom they lied az ain in six month.