The Port Gibson herald, and correspondent. (Port Gibson, Claiborne Co., Miss.) 1848-18??, 1851-01-10
BuChanan's Latter.


& The following is the letter Of Jas. Buchanan,
in reply to an invitation to attend Union
meeting, in Phladelphia:--
WHEATLAED. NEAR LANCASTER, Nov. 19, 1850.
Gen.lemen-I have been honored bv the re-
ceipt Of your very kind invitation, sin behaHof
the friends of the Constitution and the Union.
without distinction of party, resident in the CITY
and County Of Philadelphia" !" to attend pubic
meeting, to be held on the 2lst instant. at the
Chinese Museum. regret that engagements,
which need not specify, will deprive me Of the
pleasure and The privilege of uniting with the
great, patriotic and enlightened community of
your City and County 10 manisesting their at
taehment for the Constitution and the Union, in
the present alarming crisis in our public affairs
On a recent occasion, at the celebration Of
the opening of the Eastern portion of our great
Central Rail Road from Philadelphia to Pitts.
ourg, said that the cordial support of that mag
nlncent Improvement was platform ON which
al Pennsylyanans. of every political denomna-
ton could stand together in harmony. The
sentiment e1ciled an enthusiastic response from
an present, whether Democrats or Wings. /
now say that the platform of our blessed Union
is strong enough and broad enough to sustain
all true hearted Americans 1t is an elevated,
all glorious platform, on which the down-trodden
nations OF the earth gaze with hope and desire,
with admiration and astonishmeut Our Union
is the Star in the West; whose genial and stead
lily increasing influence will, at last, should we
remain united people, dspel the gloom Of des-
potlsm from the ancient nations Of the world.
Its moral power will prove to be more potent
than millions of armed mercenaries. And shall
this glorious star sci in darkness before it has
accomplished half its mission? Heaven forbid
Let US all exclaim, with the heroic Jackson,
s1he Union must and shall be preserved"
And what a Union this has been! The histo-
~ of the human race presents no parallel to it.
The bit Of striped bunting, which was to be
swiftly swept fromthe ocean, by the British Ma
Wy, according to the prediction Of a British
statesman previous TO the war Of 1912, is now
displayed in every sea and in every port Of the
habtabe globe. Our glorious stars and stripes.
the flag our country, now protects Americans in
every cline. 81 am a Roman citizen!" was
once the proud exclamation which everywhere
shielded an ancient Roman from insult and njus.
tlce. 81 am an American citizen!" is now an
exclamation of almost equal potency, throughout
the civilized world. This is tribute due to the
power and the resources Of these thirty one Un-
Il
world in arms We have lately presented a
spectacle which has astonished even the greatest
Captain ofthe age. At the call of their country
an irresistible host of armed men, and men, too,
skilled in the use Of arms, sprung up like the
soldiers Of Cadmus, from the mountains and val
lies of our great confederacy. The struggle a.
mong them was not who should remain at home,
but who should enjoy the privilege of brayng the
dangers and the prvatons of a foreign war in
defence of their countrys rights. Heaven for
bid that the question of slavery should ever prove
to be the stone thrown into their midst by Cad
mus, to make them turn their arms against each
other and perish in mutual conflict!
Whilst our power as a united people secures
us against the injustice and assaults OF foreign
enemies, what has been our condition at home?
Here every citizen stands erect in the proud
proportions bestowed upon him by his Maker,
and feels himself equal to bis fellow man. He
is protected by government of Just laws in the
enjoyment of life, liberty and properly. Ele sits
down under his own vine and his own flg tree,
and there is none to make him afraid. A vast
confederacy, composed of thirty.one sovereign
and independent States, is open before him, ~
which he feels himself to be every where at
home, and any where throughout its limits seek
his own prosperity and happiness in his own
way. The most perfect freedom of intercourse
prevails among all the States.
Here the blessings of free trade have been re-
allied underthe Constitution the United States
and BY the consent of all, to greater extent,
than the world has ever witnessed. Our domes-
tic tonnage and capital employed in this trade,
exceed. beyond all comparison, that employed N
our trade with all the rest of the world. The
mariner of Maine, after braving the dangers OF
the passage around Cape Horn, finds himself at
home nhis own country, when entering the dis
tant pert of San Francisco, on the other side o.
the world.
Heaven seem to have bound these States to-
gether by adamantine bonds of powerful inter-
est. They are mutually dependent on each
other-mutually necessary TO each others well
| fare. The numerous and powerful common
wealths which are spread over the valley Of the
| Mississippi must seek the markets OF the world
| for.ther productions, through the mouth oil that
| father Of rivers. A strong naval power Is nec-
/ essarY to keep this channel always free IN time
/ of war; and an immense commercial marine is
required to carry their productions to The mar
kets of the world, and bring back their returns
! The same remark applies with almost equal
force to the cotton growing and planting States
ontbe Gulf of Mexico and on the Atlantic. Who
is to supply this naval power and this CONNER.
cial marine7 The hardy and enterprising sons
Of the North, whose home has always been on
/ the mountain wave Neither the pursuits nor
the habits of the people the Western and the
Southern States fit them for such an employ
meut. They are naturally The producers whilst
| the Northern people are the carriers This es,
/ tabisshes a mutual and profitable dependence
upon each other, which is one of the strongest
bonds of our Union.
The common suffering and common glories o.
the past, the prosperity of the present, and the
brilliant hopes Of the future. must impress every
patriotic heart viii, deep love and devotion foI
/ the Union. Who, that is now citizen of this
vast Republic, extending from the St. Lawrence
/ to the Rio Grande, and from the Atlantic to the
] Pacific. does not shudder at the idea of being
j transformed intoa citizen Of one of its broken
Jealous, and hostile fragmentsl What patriot
would not rather lose the last drop OF his blood
than see the thirty one brilliant stars which now
| float proudly upon our country's flag, amid the
battle and the breeze, rudely torn from the ma
fional banner, and scattered IN confusion over the
face of the earth?
Rest assured that all the patriotic emotions o
4 everv true. hearted pennsylvanian, in favor o
The Union and the Constitution. are shared b.
/ The Southern people. What battle-i field has no
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