Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1853-03-09

u II
INFLATED wealth, and augmented population
has proved to be unfouDded. The stars up
on your banner have become nearly tbreefold
their original number. your denssly pcpula-
ted possessions skirt the shores of the tive
great oceans, and yet this vast increase Of
people and territory has not only shown it.
self compatible with the harmonious action Of
the States and the Federal Government in
their respective constitutional spheres, but
has afforded an additional guarantee Of the
strength and integrity Of both.
With an experience thus suggestive and
cheering, the policy Of my Administration
win not be controlled by any timid forebo-
dings Of evil from expansion. Indeed, it is
not to be diguised that our attitude as ma
ton, and our position on the globe, render
the acquisition Of certain possessions, not
within our jurisdiction. eminently important
for our protection, If not in the future, essen
| tial for the preservation Of the rights Of COM
merce and the peace of the world. Should
they be obtained, it will be through no gras-
ping spirit, bit With view to obvious ma
| tional interest and security. and in manner
entirely consistent with the strictest obser-
vance Of national faith. We have nothing in
our history or position to invite aggression !;
we have everything to beckon us to the cul-
tivation of relations of peace and amity with
all nations. Purposes. therefore, at once
just and pacific, viii be Significantly marked
10 the conduct of our foreign affairs. IN
| tend that my Administration shall leave no
blot upon our fair record, and trust may
| safely give the assurance that no act within
the legitimate scope of my constitutional con-
troll will be tolerated on the part of any por
ton of our citizens which cannot challenge
ready justification before the tribunal Of
the civilized world An Administration would
be unworthy of confidence at home. or res
pect abroad. should it cease to be Influenced
by the conviction that no apparent advantage
eau be purchased at price so dear as that
of national wrong or disbonor II is not
your privilege, as nation, to speak of dis
tant past. The striking incidents of your
history. replete with instruction. and furnish
ing abundant grounds for hopeful confidence,
are comprised in period comparatively brief.
But if your past is limited, your future is
boundless Its obligations throng the unex
plored pathway Of advancement. and will be
limitless as duration. Hence sound and
comprehensive policy should embrace not less
the distant future than the urgent present.
The great objects Of our pursuit, as a peo-
pie, are best to be attained by peace, and are
entirely consistent with the tranquility and
interests of the rest of mankind. With the
neighborng nations upon our continent we
should cultivate kindly and fraternal rela.
tons. We can desire nothing in regard to
them so much as to see them consolidate
their strength, and pursue the paths of pros
perity and happiness. If, in the course Of
their growth, we should open new channels
of trade, and create additional facilities for
friendly intercourse, the benefits realized will
be equal and mutual. OF the complicated
European systems of national policy we have
heretofore been independent From their
wars, their tumults, and anxieties we have
been, happily, almost entirely exempt
Whilst these are confined to the nations which |
gave them exstance, and within their legit-
innate jurisdiction they cannot affect us, ex-
copt as they appeal to our sympathies in the
cause of human freedom and universal adj
But the vast interests of COM
MERGE are common to all mankind, and the !
advantages of trade and international inter-
course must always present noble field for !
the moral influence of great people.
With these views firmly and honestly car
ricd out, we have right to expect, and shall
under all circumstances require, prompt re-
ciprocity The rights which belong to us as
nation are not alone to be regarded, but
those which pertain to every citizen in his in
dividal capacity, at home and abroad, must
be sacredly maintained. So long as he can
discern every star in its place upon that en-
sign, without wealth to purchase for him pre-
ferment, or title to secure for him place, it
will be his privilege, and must be his acknowl-
edged right, to stand unabashed even in the
presence of princes, with proud conscious
ness that he is himself one of nation of SOW
ereigns, and that he cannot, in legitimate pur-
suit, wander so far from home that the agent
whom he shall leave behind in the place which
| now occupy will not see that no rude hand
of power or tyranical passion is laid upon him
with impunity. He must realize that upon
every sea, and on every soil, where our en-
terprise may rightfully seek the protection of
our flag, American citizenship is an inviola-
bic panoply for the security ofamerican rights
And, in this connection, it can hardly be ne
cessary to re-affirm principle which should
now be regarded as fundamental. The rights,
security, and rcpose of this Confederacy re-
ject the idea of interference or colonization,
ON this side of the ocean, by any foreign Pow
err, beyond present jurisdiction, as utterly in
admissible.
The opportunities of observation, furnish
ed by my brief experience as a soldier, con-
frmed in my own mind the opinion, entertain
ed and acted upon by others from the form
alton of the Government, that the mainte-
nance of large standing armies in our coun-
try would be not only dangerous, but unne-
cessary. They also illustrated the import
ance, might well say the absolute necessi-
ty, of the military science and practical skill
furnished, in such an eminent degree, by the
institution which has made your army what it
is, under the discipline and instruction of Of
6cers not more distinguished for their solid
attainmenfs, gallantry, and devotion to the
public service, than for unobtrusive bearing