Washington sentinel., 1854-03-29

after the battle of Jena, in arms on her side on
the continent of Europe-not one man and
! there they stood, complete non-conductor in
J terposed between them, except the United
States, who received the blows of both!
Il But, though that war was, for long time,
little else but suspension of arms, from the
inability Of each to attack on the others ele-
ment, was it nominal, was it war like peace,
or even peace like war, as was said OF
Amiens? Oh, no; old England had nailed
the coors to the mast she had determined to
60 down rather than give up the ship; she
wisely saw no safety for her in what might be
called peace; aud it was glorious determ-
nation. And il is that spirit--it is not thews,
muscle-though have the greatest respect
for the authority of the gentleman from Ken
lucky, Mr.. RowAY,l--it Is not byapn it is
that spirit which gives life to every nation
that spirit which carries q man, however feeble,
through conflicts with giants, compared to him
in point of strength, honorably triunphantly
Sir, consider the late conflict between Eng
land and France England against the congre-
4 gated continent of Europe-to say nothing Of
any other make-weights in the scale--con6dent
against world in arms as far surprising, in
sublimity of example, the tenaciousness of pur-
pose of Rome during the second Punic war, as
and expeditions 1t is lesson of the con-
stancy Of the human mind which ought never
to be thrown away. And l have sometimes
been inclined to believe that it has done that
nation more good know make a dangerous
4 adrnission-than the debt accumulated by the
war has done her harm. But when we look at
her present condition under the operation OF
that system, think we shall pause, as she
might have done, before we take any measures
that may lead to suspension OF specie pay
| ments, to the dissolution of all law, and of all
morals to that state of things which places
the honest man not merely on footing with
the dishonest, but far below him.
But, sir, perhaps may be told that, in case
do not accede to the proposition of the gen.
tleman from South Carolina, the answer is very
plain and triumphant to my resolution; that
the principles of these South American States
are the principles that were OF high authority
on another great question 1.-THE Missouri ques-
tion) are the principles of the Declaration OF
Independence. What more will you have; what
more can you ask? What resource have you
now left? Sir, my only objection is, that these
principles, pushed to their extreme conse
Equences-that all men are born free and equal
| can never assent to, for the best Of all rea-
sons, because it is not true; and as | cannot
| agree to the intrinsic meaning of the word Con-
/ gress, though sanctioned by the Constitution of
the United States, SO neither can agree to
! falsehood, and most pernicious ialsehood,
even though find it in the Declaration of In
dependence, which has been set up, on the Mis-.
souri, and other questions, as paramount to the
Constitution. / say pernicious falsehood. 1t
must be, iftrue, selfeyident, for it is incapable
of demonstration; and there are thousands and
tens of thousands Of them that mislead the
great vulgar as well as the small. There are
some in bald Latin, such as principia non
hona'nes, principles not men; that sounds
quite antithetical and quaint, and is quite
taking with some folks. But what are princi.
pies without men, any more than men without
principles? and how can you tell the principles
| of the man until you are shown the man OF the
principles? But this and such like conceits
are given over and over again in toasts and
sentiments, until the people at last come to be-
lieve that there is something in them besides o
clinch Of words. What would be said to
proposition just about rs true and sensible as
! this priRcipia non hon,i1eeS announced In these
words "Love, not women'-worth just as
much as your principles not men. There is
another, which, taken from different source, ]
shall speak of as trust | shall always feel,
with reverence mean faith, without works,
as the means of salvation. All these great po-
sitions, that all men are born equally free, and
faith without works, are, in certain sense
in which they are hardly ever received by the
mulhtude--true; but N another sense, in
which they are almost invariably received by
nineteen out Of twenty, they are false and per-
nicious | hope / am understood, sir. The
principles, to be sure, are what make the man
but you must see the man, to be judge of his
principles; you must know the man. 1t is not
his making profession Of faith, political or re-
ligious you must know his conduct. Thistles
do not produce figs; SO, sir, it is impossible
that weak, wicked, Or bad public counsels can
i proceed from man Of good public principles.
So is it as regards works and faith; there is no
question, in the minds of nineteen out of twenty
Christians, that it is the faith and not the works
that they are to be indebted to. And they are,
in fact, so far right; but then they forget that
the works constitute the only evidence of faith,
/ and that with bad life there is no true faith
vet Christians 60 on tearing one another to
| pieces about these things, and yet may find, if
they will but take the trouble to consider, that
they have been all along beating the air and
disputing about terms, except such as predes.
tinarians and such as believe in works of SUI
| pererogation-that they can buy place in
! Heaven, and spare little to friend to help
| him in his purchase In regard to this princi-
| ple that oil are born fred and equal, if there is
an animal on earth to which it does not apply
that is not born free, it is man. He is born in
a state of the most abject want and state of
perfect heplessness and ignorance, which is the
foundation of the connubial tie. / have heard
it lamented elsewhere, that the complainant was
born to infancy but that is only the common
lot of all men, except the first man and | be.
lieve the schoolmen were as well employed in
disputing, as Hudibras tells US they were in his
day, whether any signs Of the umbilicas were
found about Adam, as they have been in dispu-
ting this nice distinction, without difference
in practice, Of faith without works. / have
heard it amented by the same person that he
was born to indulgence but none Of US bring
anything more into the world (not even the
breath Of our nostrisl than we carry out of it;
and, as to ignorance, Locke says that we bring
no innate ideas with US into the world 1t is
true; but man is born with certain capacities
1 which assume the impression that NAV be given