The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1848-01-20


Tain hostile lfFllRgS lBwaUls thFlJ eaRqWeF'
o., sllilepgh litine - IhF mldsi Il IhFm
foT nrarly one hgndlsd yfsrs. u We may
Judge lram lhsss saamPisa. IL weuld nul
y unsafe y eoncilale nal IL Msxieshs
nsssr ID = heartily Tsenus.led 10 asf
asiharily. The hetler rlsss have essli-
Ian blood n their seins. and are of he
Cd 6slhie sanrk--qaias sqnsl - he An
glo.Saxens IN uasny Tespsets. and n some
superior. az II lhe propls uPna earth
they are he most psTllnaeiaus; Ihry Ibid
oul longer. and Olirn uhrn there Mould
seem 70 he no prospect 81 ever making
elIersanl rrsislnmre. II - sdmiiaed. 4 b~-
lisrr. ON ~ hands. lhal lhry are now H.
Universally hnslile 70 us. and he probable
lIly is will eonlinUe 81.
But sapposs shis difficulty removed.
Suppose their hostility slouid CEASE, and
Ihey should berome desiFOus Of bring in.
corpoIaicd n oar Uninn. Ought We 10
admit Iheml .AIe he Msxicans 81 10 he
Politcally associated with nsg Are they
fl moi only 10 govern themselves. but Tor
governing rs also! Are any Of you. Sc
majors. willing thai your Stale should ron
ssilule \ member of q uninn. of which
twenty odd Mexican slales. more than one
lhird oi the whole. would be Part. the
Car greater pan Of ihe inhabitants u whirh
arr pure Indians. not equal in intelligence
anil elevation of ehararler 10 The Chero
KEGS. chorlaws, or any Of our Southern
Indian tribes!
We make great mistake in surprising
all people are rapahle Of self government.
Acting under that impression, many are
anxious 10 GOrre free Governments on all
the people Of this continent, and over the
world. if they had The power. 10 has
been lately nrged in very respectable
quarter, that il is the mission Of this coun.
try 10 spread civil aud rligious liberty
oil over the globe. and especially over this
con,inent-even BY force IL necessary. II
is sad delasion. None hut people al.
yanced Ia high state Of moral and intel.
lerlual excellence aTe capable. in ciyiIiz.
ed condition, Of forming and maintaining
free Governments; and among those who
are so far advanced. very few indeed have
had the good fortune Ia form constitutions
capable Of endurance. II is n remarka.
bile inc, in the polliiral history Of man.
that there is scarcely an instance Of free
constitutional Government which has been
the work exclusively of foresight and wis.
dom. They have all been the rcsull Of a
fortunate combination OF circumstances.
IL is very difficult task 10 make c"nsii.
tuition worthy OF being called So. This
admirable federal constitution If ours is
the result "f such combination. II is
superior 10 the wisdom Of any or all ol
the men BY whose agency il was made.
The force Of circumstances. and nat FIRE.
sight 81 wisdom, induced them TO adopt
many Of lis wisesi provisions.
But Of the few nations who have been
So fortunate as 10 adopt wise constitutions,
still fewer have had the wisdom long To
preserve Them. Il is harder To preserve
them than 10 obtain liberty. After years
of prosperity, The tenure by which il is
held Is but too often forgotten and I fear,
Senators. that such is the case with US.
There is no soIieilude now about liberty.
u was not so in Tie early days Of the Re
public. Then il was The first object of our
solici.ude. The maxim then was, thai
"P"wer is always stealing from The many
TO the few !" the prize II liberty is per.
pe,ual vigilance" Then no question oI
any magnitude came up in which The 6rsi
inquiry was not .' Is il consliiulional!'' /. is
IL consistent with our free and popular insii.
tuiions!" how is il to affect our liherly!''
II is not so now. Questions of the great.
est magnitude arc now discussed without
reference OF allusion 10 these vital ronsi,l
erations. have been olren struck with
The fact that, in The discussions OF the grea,
questions in whirh we are now engaged
relating 10 the origin and the conduct oI
this war. their effect on the free insiilu
,ions and the liberty Of The people have
scarcely been alluded 10. although lheiI
bearing in that respect is so direct and dis.
astrnus. They would, in former days
have been the grea, and leading topics oI
discussion; and would, above all Others,
have had the most powerful effect in a.
ronsing the attention Of the country. Bul
now other topics occupy the attention o
Congress and Of the. country--mililary
glory, extension Of the empire, and the
aggrandizemen, Of the country. To whaI
is this great change to be attributed! Is
II berause there has been n decay nf the
spirit of Liberty among the people
think not. believe that il was never
more ardent. The true cause is, that We
har" ceased To REMEMBER the tenure by
whirh liberty alone can be preserved.
We have had so many years Of prosperity
passed through so many difficulties and
dangers without the loss of liberiy-thal
we begin to think that we hold il by right
Divine from Heaven itself. Under this
impression, without ,higking or rejecting,
we plunge into war, contract heavy dcbts,
increase vastly the patronage OF the Ex-
erulive. and indulge in every species Of
eytrayaganre without ,b;,,E ~, M, ,,,