The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-11-25

ri.
The Hon. JOSEPH r. IsoERsoLL, being loudly
called for, said it might fairly be Questioned, under
circumstances different from those which actually
surround us, whether this part Of the country wood
require any public demonstration TO prove It's IN
tegrity Our good old Commonwealth has lived III
vain If Ii has not lived down all doubts OF its 10y
atty to the Union. Pennsylvania is, we may trust,
principle and practice not less than In position,
the keystone Of the great Federal Arch This State
has sustained itself in that inent and responsible
station and il fail to do only when the sve
pillars which it serves to hold together shall crum
ble into ruins. II will then-in that evil and far
distant day, asit was among tn, earliest to con-
raj prosperityfal reluctantly, and the last in the
universal dissolution.
Yet, however firm we may feel in the conscious
ness OF fidelity, there are good reasons Tor ex
changing a ratification of it at this agitated mo-
ment, and IN the face Of an anxious aud inquiring
world. Distant friends desire cooperation and
support in their allegiance which is tried by diiii-
culties and dangers They are exposed to tempta-
tons, by which devotion to the country Is made
heroic virtue Distant enemies may not be un-'
willing draw differences from our silence, unfa-
vorable to the great cause OF United America, and
to rejoice in the anticipated downfall Of the power
and permancnce Of a government OF the people, oc-
casoncd, as they might be willing to believe, by
our abandonment OF 1t.
IL will at least cost nothing here in the abode OF
the still blooming vestges Of the Independence and
the Constitution, to renew our mutual pledges to
SUSTAIN, in their purity and unbroken perfection,
ln6s
ieu,ieu with their lives. Applause
Let us rerice that this self creating spontaneous
movement Uf par: :iotsm. stirred up only by an in
nate love of the Jnlen, by an attachment to the
principles md Embellishments by which it is sus-
tained promises TO speak with no equivocai voice,
and in terms too explicit to be nAhe To be inisun.
ders.ood. Individual preferences ana .sectlohal
preiudiccs bend their and stubborn slne"s az
the cali. Party 10 contented To veil its ice before
the altar Of the country. tApplause The coun-
try itself, represented by assemblies vi enthqsasilc
citizens who willing TO forget their own au-
thoriy in the still higher authority which, sprIng-
ing from themselves, connands the utmost rever-
ence, bows down W the sovereignty of the law.
All of us are prompted by common motives
10 embrace an opportunity 30 favorable IN ITSELF
and so happily constructed to ward oil threatened
difficulties and caiamites and to purify the poiti-
cal atmosphere, if il needs it, from all corruption
The bright inheritance we possess is well worth
the struggle to maintain u uuimpaircd. The duty
of protecting sacred as the object to be pre-
served is inestimable A condition can scarcely
be iaag agined in which nation would be freer from
evil or fuller of advantages than our own. From
the moment when n perfect union was accom-
plished Heaven Eas smiled upon the bold ami per-
haps novel undertaking., and every thing has pros
pered. Evils which had bceet q disjointed yet con
federated republic at once done away; inde-
pendence was established on platform not easily
TO be shaken and the people, for whom and by
whom the Constitution was framed, have con-
tinued without substantial interruption, to be the
happest well as the freest under the SUM- lGrcat
applause Their prosperity has been uniform;
their progress in wealth, extent, population, lnfu-
ence, and power, has been more rapid than history
in its brightest pages can parallel or liable In II.
widest dreams has fancied Their skies are not
more bright than their social atmosphere has been
unclouded. They have every thing at hand that
gives reality to desire. Their horn OF plenty 10 iuI
The future and the past rival each other IN their
promises and possessions; and prospective and pres
ent fruition, like the cups OF the Hods oil the hea
thens, seem to sparkle with the light OF hope, and
TO overflow with the exuberance Of enjoyment 1t
10 hell In
Of prosperity is in their hands as is compatible with
the most unrestrained exercise Of popular privi-
leges and rights
Yes, in this Peoples Paradise-where every
thing ia bestowed, and not tree bearing fruit ID
denied 10 the hand Of the too happy propuetors'
where desire is anticipated almost before It's utter
ance-evil and discomfort have found an entrance
here. The fatal curse is among u.s. and the
principle, which ought 10 have exhihited an excep-
ton, proves itself of universal application.
"Though flowers Of Eden, still inherit,
The trail OF the Serpent is over them all"
tApplause.l
! This demon Of strife comes among in the
white robes Of peace and good will. IL proiesses
extreme humanity and scatters discord. IL sails
under coiors that betoken friendship and phflan-
thropy, while II Is ready To hoist the bloody flag vi
piracy and To fight under that crimson banner. A
more elastic and capacious web of mischief could
scarcely have been woven by the en.issaries OF
satan upon earth, or by the great father Of evil
himself in the confines which he is said To nbsbit
below. This is not characterzing IL too strongly
when recocct that II carries into section of
| the country elements the most painful and perni-
cous that can be conceived. II is a subject that is
delicate and tender as scarcely to be touched or
looked at without pain; and yet it is perpetualiy
thrust, without the slightest chance OF practical
good, INTO view. IL is also tnat, although an
unnatural spirit Of resentment for some time past
has refused 10 recognise 1t with that aspect, s not
! without positive and extreme danger. IL was once
said by a southern man that sudden abolition with
out violence like thrusting rcd-bot poker
into n barrel OF gunpowder and supposlng that 1t
| would not explode.
To US OF the North what is this institution which
seems like The influence of the pole upon the needle,
I upon itself intensity of interest in propor-
ton to the di stsnce which attention is arouseds
seventy years ago gave IL up as unnecessary or
unsuited t. ourselves. We did without diff
Guilty or dangers, aud there is end to con
neNion with IL. II IL be a misfortune elsev here, II
/ IL equally ungeneruus and unjust to be taunting
fellow citizens with their cslamities. II it be
| crime, however inherited or cast upon them, Il
oannot be atoned for by our vioarious penitence.
Whatever IL may b. IL is no concern Of ours. II
can cause no imaginable tnent in our bOsoms.
We have no drsUgbts made ON us for syDpa-
thies; and suffer nothing from 1t oursel, es "
call forth our tears.
whats Hecuba TO us, we to Hccuba,
That we should weep for herr" GApplsuse.
This tendency irritate and infiame exists ha D.
PLY to small extent among ourselves in this par.
ucular latitude. IL exists more especially anon
our itiends in the Esst and in the Westtovsrds th'
meritcd and received the eloquent eulogium of Mr.
Burke nearly century ago, and whose ener gics 10
peace, or capacity Tor war, has not failed or ial
tered to the present day. With all their wisdom
they sometimes indulg. a nofion. Let us hope tina
this is more; and that 1t will pass away with h'
hour that gave il birth. The warm reception re
Gently gwen 10 foreign cmssry, who came not e
preserve the Union, proves that they are not dis
posed TO permit further ntefncddling than maJ
Z suit themselves. lApplausc.
They are sisw-abiGing people, equally 30 at i'as
T; with any in the country. No where is It admins
! tered with frmness and more strict regard u
Justice l. IL from that quarter, so faithful To h
laws that to hear threats of disregard for II
threats, as We told, not unsccompsnIed by pos
tive measures OF preparation for actual resistance
Now. the power 70 legislate on this peculiar sub
, jcct is exclusively in Congress. Its power ex
ercised after the Constitution was formed, an
il invoked authorized the agency OF State officer
for the purpose OF more soooptsbly in each jurs
= diction executing the law. When this agency o
: State officers prohibited by the State itself
and that which yesterday was duty became to
day crime or misdemeanor, with penalties af
fixed, further Legislation became incumbent on thu
nation. Then, and not till then, nor even then i'm
mcdiately, Congress passed tho law which has con