Litchfield enquirer., 1844-09-05


 lowing speech of the Hon. RUFUS CHoATE, before the Young Mems Whig Clay Club of Boston, on Monday evening. Aug. 12
 The meeting having been called to order by Charles Francis Adams, President of the Club, Mir. Choate was introduced. He came forward and spoke as follows t--csT.
 MT. Choate began by saying that he regarded the approaching election one of more interest to the whole country, and to the states of the North m pre-eminent degree, than any which had preceueo 1t. The peculiarity of this election, he conthueo, s that while it involves all the questions of mere policy which are ever suspended on the choice of
 President-questions of the currency, of the ands' of internal improvements, of protection, ot foreign policy, and ali else; while it involves ln It's broad est extent the question, h0tc sh6H tne nduOn Oe roverned ?-it nvolves-the first presidential elec- fion that has done so-the further, more fundamen- tal and more startling question, eOGt shall the asG- tio1a be? scho shall the nation be? Utere shall the motion De ?who what, and where, IS, and is to be, our country itself! Is it to be any longer the Un- ion which we have known, which we have loved, to which we have been accustomed or is it to be dissolved altogether: or is it to be new one en- larged by the annexation of territory out of which forty states of the size of Massachusetts, might be constructed-a territory not appended equally to the east, the west, the center and the south; not appended equally to the free states and the slave states, to the agricultural and the planting to the localities of free trade and the localities of protec- ton; not so appended as to work an equal and im- partial enlargement and assistance to each one of those various and heterogeneous elements of inter- est, and sentiment, and position, out of whose struggle comes the peace, out ot whose dissonaRce comes the harmony of our system--not so--but ap- pended in vast accession to one side, inter- est of the many which compose the state so ap- pended as to disturb the relation of the parts; to change the seat of the center to counteract the natural tendencies of things; to substitute revou- ton of violent and morbid policy in place of the slow and safe action of nature, habit and business, under permanent law; so appended, in short, as not merely to make small globe into larger one, but to alter the whole figure of the body; to vary the shape and the range of its orbit; to launch 1t forth on new highway of the heavens; to change its day and night its seed-tme and harvest its so- lar year, the great cycle of its duration itself.
 This 1t Is that gives to this election an interest peculiar and transcendent. It is question, not what the policy of the nation shall be--but what, who, where shall he nGtioe be It is not ques- ton of national politics, but of national identty.- For even if the Union shall survive the annexation of Texas, and the discussion of annexation, it will 'be new, a changed, another Union-not this. It will be changed not by time which changes all Jhings-man, monuments, states, the great globe itself; not by time, but by power; not by mper- ceptble degrees, but in day; not by successive growth, unfolded and urged forward by an organic flaw, an implanted force, noiseless and invisible nutrition rom beneath ana rom WlINOut, or Wn.Cn SeverT region, every state takes the risk but by the direct action of government, arbitrary, violent and unjust, of which part has agreed to take the risk It is to this element in the present election, the annexation oi Texas, that wish tonight, pas sing over all the rest, to direct your attention.
 shall consume but little of the time of such an assembly this, in attempting to prove that the success or failure of this enterprise of annexation is suspehded-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 not believe, who does not greatly and rationally fear, that if Mr. Polk IS the next President, Texas will come thunder the unostentatious. and not so very terrible form of territory, of course in the first instance, in twelve months-unless some great and extraordinary interpretation of the people should prevent it' Does any one--if such an one may be supposed among you to-night-Hho, opposed to Texas, as you are, has yet hankering for Mir. Polk
 and means to vote for him, if he can obtain the consent of his conscience-who wants to vote fer MT. Polk, but shrinks from the idea of promoting anneyation-does any such one say, o 1t don't fol- low that If he Is chosen, Texas will be annexed . Be it but does it not increase the chances of an- nexation? Does 1t not tremendously enhance the difficulties of resistance? Does it not at least ex- pose you to the terrible hazard of being compelled
 hereafter, to encounter, by memorial, by conyen- tion by remonstrance, by extreme and cxtraordina- ry action, that which you can now, peaeeably in- nocenly, seasonably anticipate and prevent at the polls Does not every stock -jobber, and land Job5er, and hesh-jobber, who clamors for annexa- tion understand perfectly, that he aids his objects by choosing MT. Polk? Are not those honest gen. tlemen all on his side, and do they not well know what they are about? Does not Mir. Polk come in -a.!f he comes-pledged to annex if he can anu de- termined to do it if he can? Does he not come in pledged and determined to put in requsition the whole vast power of the Executive--the whole vast power of the flushed party hat elects him, and 10 effect anneXation? Is any man foolish enough to deny, that Mr. Van Buren was cast overheard, and Mir. Polk nominated, expressly and solely that the candidate might be, as they exquisitey express suppose that, nominated for this very purpose, elected for this very purpose, he will do nothing to accomplish it! Why, if he should be disposed to do nothing, do you think that party or faction, strong enough to go into National Convention, and there trample Instructions under foot-strons enough to force upon the body an audacous not very democratic rule of proceeding, which put it out of the power of a majority to nominate the choice of majority-sttons enough to laugh Col. Benton and Mir. Wright in the face-strons enough mot merely to divide Mir. Buffers last crust with him. but to snatch the whole of it; strong enough to circulate MT. Van Buren out of the window under whom they had once triumphed-on whom they rallied again in six months after the defeat of 1Sf0, and who had been their candidate-as noto- riously and avowedly as MT. Clay had been ours and of whom no man of any party will deny, that in point of accomplishment, and talent, and expe- rience of public affairs, he is immeasuraby Mr.
 Folks superior; strong enough to have dissolved that Convention in half an hour, had it not conce
 ded their utmost manufacturing if they could not rule; ;-if Mr. Polk should be disposed to do nothing, do you believe such party, or such fac tion as this, would permit him to do nothing!- No. No. Desperately, weakly, fatally, does he dncaive hinsalf xuho urill fhat