Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1850-04-04
Speech Of Daniel Webster.

were mace The special order OF the day at
IL o'clock. On this subject HE Senator
from Wisconsin (Mr Walker) has the
floor.
Mr. Waller. Mr. President, this vast
audience has not assembled to hear me !;
and there is but one man, in my opinion,
who can assemble such an audiencc.-
They expect to hear him, aud feel it to
be my duty, as well as my pleasure, to
give the floor therefore TO the Senator
from Massachusetts,. understand it is
immaterial to him upon which Of these
questions he speaks, and therefore will
not move to postpone the special order.
Mr. WEBSTER. beg to express my
obligations to my friend from Wisconsin,
(Mr Walker,) as well as to my friend
from New York, (Mr Seward, for their
courtesy in allowing me to address the
Senate this morning.
Mr. President, wish 10 speak to-day,
not as a Massachusetts, man, nor as a
Northern man, but as an American, and
member Of the Senate of the United States.
II is fortunate that there is Senate Of the
United States; body not yet moved from
its propriety, not lost TO a just sense ofi,s
own dignity, and its own high response
bil,,ies, and body TO which the country
looks with confidence for wise, moderate,
patriotic, and healing counsels. 1t is no,
10 be denied that we live in the midst of
strong agi,a,ions, and are surrounded by
very considerable dangers TO our ins,i,u-
tions of government. The imprisoned
winds are let loose. The East, the West,
the North, and the stormy South, all COM
bine to throw the whole ocean into COM
motion, TO toss its pillows to the skies, and
to disclose its profoundest depths. do
not aifec, 10 regard myself, Mr. President,
as holding, or as lit TO hold the helm in
this co,nba, of the political elements but
! have duty to perform, and l mean TO
periorm it with tidelity-not without a
sense of surrounding dangers, IN, not
without hope. have part 10 act, not
for my own secarity or safety, for l am
looking out for no fragment upon which 10
float away from the wreck, il wreck there
must be, but Tor tile good OF the whole,
and the preservation Of the whu.e; and
there is that which will keep me to my
d,uy during this struggle, whether the
sun and the stars shall appear, or shah
not appear, for many days. speak to-
day Tor the preservation OF the Union.-
''Hear me for my cause" speak to day,
out OF . solici.ous and anxious heart, for
the restoration 10 the country of that quiet
sad thai- i-aassnanS~AAaLiGA make ~tAa-- -LIes-s
sings OF this Union so rich and so dear 10
U, all. These are The topics that ! pro-
pose to myself 10 discuss; these are the
motives, and the sole motives, that in
auence me in the wish TO communicate my
opinions 10 the Senate and the contry
and ii can do any thing, however little,
for the promotion Of these ends, l shall
have accomplished all tl,a, desire.
Mr. President, il may not be amiss TO
recur very briefly TO the events which,
equally sudden and extraordinary, have
brought the political condition of the coun-
Try 10 what ii now is. In May, 1916, the
United States declared war against Mex
leo. Her armies, then on the frontiers,
entered the provinces oi that Republic
met and defeated al! le' troops pene,rat-
ed her mountain passes. and occupied her
capital. Tie marine force of the United
States took possession Of her forts and
her towns Oh tie Atlantic aud on the Pa
ciiic. In less than two years a treaty
was negotiated by which Mexico ceded 10
tie United States a vast territory, extend
ing seven or eight hundred miles along
the shores Of the Pacific; reaching back
over the mountains, and across the desert
and until ii joined the frontier OF the State
OF Texas. 1t SO happened that, III the dis
tracted and feeble state OF the Mexican
Government, before the declaration of va.
by the United States against Mexico had
become known in California, the people of
California, under the lead OF American
officers, overthrow the existing Provin-
cial Government Of Caliiurnia-lbc Mex
ican authorities cs-and run up an indepcn-
dent flag. When the news arrived at
San Francisco that war had been declared
by the United State. against Mexico, this
independent flag was pulled down and the
stars and stripes of this Union hoi>ted in
lis stead. So, sir, before the war was
over, the powers Of the United States,
military and naval, had possession of San
Francisco an! Upper California. and
great rush OF emigrants from various parts
OF the world took alaee iuo California in
1915 and iS47. Eut now, behold uno,h-
el wonder.
In January Of 1913, the MormonS, il is
said, or some OF them, made a discovery
Of an extraordinarily rich nine OIL gold
or, rather, Of very great quantity Q. gold,
hardly fit 10 I've called IA ,nlne, for it was
spread near the >urIuce--nn the lower
part Of the S"n.li or American, branch OF
the Sacrameeio. They seem to have at
tempted 10 conceal their discovery Tor
some time lu. soon another discovery,
perhaps 81 greater Importance, Was made
"l g"id, II another pait ot the American
branch OF tie sacramento, aud near Su'.
ter's lori, IS il is called. Tie lame Of
these disco,eiie, spread far and wide
They excited more and more the spiri, of
euig,,lion towards California, which Lad
already been excited; and person. crowd
ed lin hundreds. and hocked towards the
bay OF San Francisco. This, as have
said, took place i'll the winter and spring
OF l848. Tie digging commenced in the
spring Of that year, and from that time to
this, the work OF searching for gold has
been prosecuted with success mol here
,ofors known in the history OF this globe.