Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1856-05-28
MRBUCHANAN At BALTIMORE.

MRBUCHANAW At BALTIMORE.
The Baltimore papers of Saturday des-
cribe the reception of Mr.. Buchanan in that
city as an affair of interest. m ies HT
The speech of welcome was made by Hon.
VIM. F. Giles. Mr.. Buchanan, in reply,
favored his hearers with "reminiscences Of his
early views Of the beautiful city of Baltimore,
for which he had always cherished pro-
found esteem, and referred to her early his
tory and that of Maryland, and then spoke
politically, saying:
"Disunion is word which ought not to
be breathed amongst us even in Whisper
The word ought to be considered one of dire
frl moment, and our children should be taught
that it is sacrilege to pronounce it. Let the
time ever arrive when faction or fanaticism
shall drive the people Of any State to the
brink Of the precipice-let them have full
view Of the yawning gulf beneath, and they
will recoil with instructive horror from the
abyss. ha
In regard to the future destiny of my
country, | confess am an optimist; and l
have an abiding faith that majority of the
States and of the people will always eventu-
ally redress every wrong which may be COM
mitted against any portion Of the country
Strange as it may seem, my faith was never
stronger in this belief than at the present
moment. We have already reached and al
most passed the dangerous crisis on the sub
ject of domestic slavery. The volcano is
nearly exhausted. The material for contin-
ued agitation no longer exists. And why |?
Because | hold it to be quite impossible that
any considerable portion of our people can
long continue to contest the elementary re-
publican principles recognised in the Terrific
rial Legislation of Congress-
This is nothing more than the power pos
sessed by the people of every free State since
the world began. 1t is the foundation-the
elementary principle of a democratic repub-
lie. Without cheerful submission to the
will of the majority, no democratic govern
ment can exist. We have thus reached the
end, or, to use an expressive Americanism,
the fnality, of our legislation on this subject.
"What man in the United States who
values his character will rise among his fel-
low-citizens and seriously urge the repeal of
a law declaring that the majority shall gov
ern? None-not one. l repeat, we have
reached the finality, of the question. We
have arrived at the elementary principle of
freedom, that the majority shall govern-a
principle essential to liberty, and as unchange-
able as liberty itself. '
"After the tempest had passed away, it
requires some days for the waves of the ocean
to subside; SO, after the agitation in the
public mind for many years on the slavery
question, it will require some time before this
shall cease. That it will do So except
among those fanatics who are governed by a
higher law than the constitution, | feel an
abiding confidence.
"And is it not high time that the agta-
ton on this question should subside, and the
intellect and energy of the American people
be directed to other objects? Our foreign
relations demand their serious attention.
Our mercantile marine is now the largest in
the world, and our merchant vessels cover
every sea; but where is the navy to protect
them?
"To be sure, what we have is composed
Of the best and bravest materials-but we
have too little of although we do not re-
quire anything like so large navy as that
of Great Britain or France. The first COM
mercial people in the world, we are but a
third or fourth-rate naval power Never
have been so convinced, as during my res
idence abroad, of the wisdom of the maxim
of the Father of his Country, that the best
mode of preserving peace is to be prepared
for war;"