St. Charles Republican intelligencer. (St. Charles [Charles City], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1856-12-18
4olitital.
Presidents Message.

: Presidents Message.
. Felloc-citizes of the Senate and of til
;. House Of Representatives: V
The Constitution requires that tn
! President shall, from time to time, no
: only recommend to the consideration
. of Congress such measures as he ma,
!, judge necessary and expedient, but al
,, so that he shall give information t
, them of the state of the Union. T.
!, do this fully involves exposition o
all matters in the actual condition o
the country, domestic orforeign, whicl
,, essentially concern the general wei
fare. While performing his constitu
tional duty in this respect, the Presi
dent does not speak merely to express
personal convictions, but as the exec
utive minister of the government, Ell
abled by his position. and called upol
by his official obligations, to scan will
an impartial eye the interests of the
whole and of every part of the United
States. a
Of the condition of the domestic in.
terests of the Union, its agriculture,
mines, manufactures, navigation, and
commerce, it is necessary only to say
that the internal prosperity of the
country, its continuous and steady ad
Ivancement in wealth and population
and in private as well as public well
being, attest the wisdom of our inst
tutions, and the predominant spirit OF
intelligence and patriotism which, not
withstanding occasional irregularities
of opinion or action resulting from
popular freedom, has distinguished
and characterized the people of Amer
lea.
In the brief interval between the
termination of the last and the COM
mencement of the present session OF
Congress, the public mind has been
occupied with the care of selecting,
for another constitutional term, the
President and Vice President of the
United States.
The determination of the persons,
who are of right, or contingently, to
preside over the administration OF the
government, is, under our system,
committed to the States and the peo.
|ple. We appeal to them, by their
: voice pronounced in the forms of law
to call whomsoever they will to the
) high post of Chief Magistrate.
: And thus it is, as the senators repre-
i sent the respective States of the Tn
, ion, and the members of the House o.
Representatives the several constitu
encies of each State, SO the Presiden
, represents the aggregate population o
the United States. Their election o.
him is the explicit and solemn act Of
, the sole sovereign authority Of the Tn.
| ion
1t is impossible to misapprehend the
great principles, which, by their recent
political action, the people of the Uni
ted States have sanctioned and an
nounced.
They have asserted the constitution.
al equality of each and all of the
States of the Union as States they
have affirmed the constitutional equal
ity of each and all of the citizens OF
the United States as citizens, whatev-
er their religion, wherever their birth,
or their residence they have main
tanned the inviolability Of the consti-
tutional rights of the different sections
of the Union; and they have pro-
claimed their devoted and unalterable
attachment to the Union and to the
Constitution, as objects Of interest SUI
perior to all subjects Of local or Sec
tional controversy, as the safeguard OF
the rights of all, as the spirit and es-
sence Of the liberty, peace, and great
ness OF the Republic.
/ In doing this, they have, at the same
time, emphatically condemned the idea
, Of organizing in these United States
mere geographical parties; of mar
shaling in hostile array towards each
other the different parts of the coun.
try, North or South, East or West.
Schemes of this nature, fraught with
, incalculable mischief, and which the
considerate sense Of the people has re-
.jected, could have had countenance il
no part Of the country, had they no,
been disguised by suggestions plausi-
BILE III appearance, acting upon an ex
cited state Of the public mind, induced
by causes temporary in their charac.
ter, and it is to be hoped transient il
their influence.
Perfect liberty of association for po
litical. objects, and the widest scope Of
discussion, are the received and ordi
nary conditions of government in oul
country. Our institutions, framed il
the spirit of confidence in the intelli
gence and integrity of the people, dc
not forbid persons either individually
or associated together, to attack by
writing, speech, OF any other method
short OF physical force, the Constitu
ton and the very existence of the Tn
ion. Under the shelter of this great
! liberty, and protected by the laws and
usages of the government they assail
associations have been formed, in some
of the States, of individuals, who, pre-.
, tending to seek only to prevent the
; spread of the institution Of slavery
t into the present or future inchoate
States of the Union, are really inAam