The southern press., 1851-07-09


expressed through the means Of representation,
shall have the force Of law; and ii is quite eyi-
dent that In county without thrones or aris-
tocraces, or privileged castles or classes, there
can be no other found stion for law To stand upon
And, as the necessary result Of this, the third
element is, that the law is the supreme rule for
the government Of all TIE great sentiment of
Alcseus, so beautifully presented to us by Sir
William Jones, is absolutely indispensable to
the construction and maintenance Of our politi-
cal systems
S w hat constitutes State,
Not high rais'd battem .nts or laborcd mound,
Thick wall or moatcd gate;
Not cities proud with spires and turrets crownd;
Not bays and broad arm'd ports,
Where, laughing at the storm, rich nayes ride;
Not stan'd and spanglcd courts,
Where low brow'd baseness watts perfume TO pride.
No--MEN, high-minded MEN,
With powers as FAR above lull brutes cndued
In forest, brake, or den
As beasts excel cold rock and brambles rude
Men who their duties know,
But know their rights, and knowing, dare maintain,
Prevent the long -aim'd blow,
And crush the tyrant while they rend the chain
These constitute State;
And SOVEREIGN LAW that States collected will,
O'er thrones and globes cate
Sits empress, crownng good, reprcssing ILL.,"
And, ina ly another most important part Of
the great fabric of American liberty is that there
shall be written constitutions, founded on the
immediate authority of the people themselves,
and regulating and restraining all the powers
conferred upon government, whether legislative,
executive, or Judicial.
This, fellow-citizens, ] suppose to be just
summary of our American principles, and have
on this occasion sought to express them in the
plainest and in the fewest words. The summary
l l,,t L.. L.,
sufficiently so 10 those elsewhere who may
choose to inquire into the nature of our political
institutions, the general theory upon which they
are founded. And now proceed TO add, that
the strong and deep settled conviction ofall in
tclligent persons amongst us is, that in order to
support useful and wise government upon
these popular principles, the general education
of the people, and the wide diffusion Of pure
morality and true religion, are indispensable.
Individual virtue is part OF public virtue 1t
is difficult to conceive how there can remain
morality in the government when it shall cease
to exist among the people; or how the aggregate
of the political institutions, all the organs Of
which consist only of men, should be wise, and
benefcent and competent to inspire confidence,
if the opposite qualities belong to the individuals
who constitute those organs, and make up thai
aggregate.
And now, fellow-citizers, take leave of this
part Of the duty which proposed to perform
and once more feicitating you and myself that
our eyes have seen the light of this blessed
morning, and that our ears have heard the shouts
with which joyous thousands welcome its return,
and joining with you in the hope that every re-
volving wear shall renew these. rejoicngs to the
end of time, proceed to address you, shortly,
upon the particular occasion Of our assembling
here to-day.
Felow-citizens, by the act of Congress of 3Oth
September, 1850, provision was made for the
extension of the Capitol according to such plan
as might be approved by the President of the
United States and the necessary sums to be ex-
perded under his direction by such architect as
he might appoint. This measure was impera-
lively demanded for the use of the Legislative
and Judiciary departments, the public libraries
the occasional accommodation Of the Chief Ex-
ecutive Magistrate and for other objects. No
act of Congress incurring large expenditure
has received more general appreciation from the
people. The President has proceeded to execute
this law. He has approved plan lie has ap-
pointed an architect; and all things are now
ready for the commencement of the work.
The anniversary of National Independence
appeared to afford an auspicious occasion for
LAYING the foundation-stone Of the additional
building That ceremony has now been per-
formed, by the President himself in the presence
and view of this multitude. He has thought
that the day and the occasion made united and
an imperative call for some short address to the
people here assembled; and it is at his request
that have appeared before you to perform that
part Of the duty which was deemed incumbent
on us.
Beneath the stone is deposited, among other
things, list of which will be published, the fol-.
lowing brief account of the proceedings of this
day, in my handwriting:
'On the morning of the first day of the
Seventy sixth year of the Independence of the
United States of America, in the City of Wash
ington, being the 4th Of July, 1851, this stone,
designed as the corner stone of the extension of
the Capitol according to plan approved by the
President, in pursuance Of an act of Congress,
was laid by MmLARD FILLMORE, President of
The United States, assisted by the Grand Master
of the Masonic Lodges, in the presence of'many
members Of Congress, of officers of the Executive
and Judiciary Departments National, State, and
District, of officers Of the army and navy, the
corporate authorities Of this and neighborno
cities, many associations civil and military, and
masonic, officers of the Smithsonian Institution
and National Institute, professors of colleges
and teachers of schools of the District with their
students and pupils, and vast concourse Of peo-
pie from places near and remote, including few
surviving gentlemen who witnessed the laying
of the cornerstone Of the Capitol by President
Washington, on the eighteenth day of Septem-
Der, seventeen hundred and ninety-three.
"If, therefore, it shall be hereafter the will of
God that this structure shall fall from its base,
that its foundations be upturned, and this de-
post brought to the eyes of men, be it then
known that on this day the Union of the United
States of America stands firm, that their Consti-
tuition still exists unmpaired, with all its original
usefulness and glory; growing every day stronger
and stronger in the affections of the great body
of the American people, and attracting more and
more the admiration of the world. And all here
assembled, whether belonging to public life or
to private life, with hearts devoutly thankful 10
Almighty God for the preservation of the liberty
and happiness of the country, unite in sincere
and fervent prayers that this deposite, and the
walls and arches, the domes and towers, the
columns and entablatures now to be erected over
it may endure forever
| Con cAvr rur Irnrrrr, Sr.rrO or A,rprr.