Bedford inquirer and chronicle. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1854-1857, 1856-12-12
PRGsIDElT'S llESSlGE.

p
Tue Constitution ,equires that fbe Pres
ident shall, FROM time to tiue, not. enly re
commend to the consideration of Congress
such measures as he may judge necessarY
aud eypedient, but also that he shall give
Information to them Of the state Of the
Union To do this fully involves exposi-
tion of all matters In the actual condition
OF the country, domestic or foreign, which
essentially eoncera the general welfare
While performing bis constitutional duty
in this respect, the President does not
speak merely 10 express personal cnnyic-
tious, but IS the executive minister Of the
government. enabled By his position, and
called upon By his Official obligations, 10
seau with an impartial eye the interests OF
the whole, and Of every part of the United
States.
OF the condition Of the domestic mi, II
est Of The Unitn, It's agriculture, mines,
manufactures, navigation, and commerce., it
is necessary only 10 say that the internal
prosperity Of the country, its continuous
ana steady advancement III wealth aud pop
ulatioa, aud in private as we'll as pubic
well being, attest the wisdom of our insti-
tutions, ana the predominant spirit of .in-
telligeace and patriotism, which, notwiih>
slanding occasional irregularities of opin-
ion Of action resulting from popular free
dom, has Distinguished and charaeterizea
the people Of America.
In the brief Interval between the termi
patton of the last and the commencement
of the present session of Congress, the
public mind has been oecupietl 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, topresiIe 7ycr
the administration of the government, is,
under eur system, committed to the States
and the people. We appeal to them, by
their voice pronounced in the forms Of law,
TO cali whomsoever they viii to tie high
post of Chief Magistrate.
And thus it is that as the ators rep
resent the respective States of the Union,
and the members Of the House of Repre-
sentatives the several constituencies of each
State, so tae President represents the ag-
gregate population Of the United States
Their election of him is the explicit and
solemn act Of the sole sovereign authority
of the Union.
1t is impossible TO pisapprebeud the |
great principles which, By their recent po-
litical action, the people of the United |
States have sanctioned and announced.
They have asserted the constitutional /
equality of each ard ali Of the States of
the Union as States; they have affirmed the |
constitutional equality Of eaeu, and all Of /
the citizens Of the United States as citi-
Gems, whatever their religion, wherever
their birth, or their residence; they have I
maintained the nriolabifify Of the constitu- I
tioual rights of the different sections of the I
Union; and they have proclaimed their de- I
voted and unaIterable attachment to the
Union and TO the constitution, as objects of I
interest superior to all subjects Of local or
sectional controversy, as the safeguard OF +
the rights of all, as the spirit and the es-
sence of the liberty, peace aud greatness of
she Republic.
Ia doing this. they have, at the same
time, emphstically condemned the idea Of
organizing in these United States mere geo.
graphical parties; of narshalling in hostile I
array from each other the different parts Of
the country, North or South. East Or West
Schemes Of this nature, fraught with iu-
caleulablc mischief, aud whien the conside-
rate sense of tho people has rejected, could
have bad countenance in no part OF the /
country, had they not been disguised 6y
suggestions plausible in appearance, acting
upon an excited state Of the pubic mind,
induced by causes temporary in their char
aetsr, and it is to be hoped transient 10
their influence
II
Perfec: liberty Of association for politi-
cal objects, and the widest score Of Discus
sion, are the received and ordinary condl-
'ions Of government in our country Our
institutions, framed in the spirit OF conf
dence in the iutelligcnce and integrity Of
the people, do not forbid citizens, either in
diVidually er associated together, to attack
BY writing, speech, or any other methods
short Of physical force, she Constitution and
the very existence Of tho Union. Under
the shelter Of this great liberty, and pro-
'ected BY the laws and osages of tie gov
eFnment they assail, associations have bee0f
toroaed, 10 some Of the States, Of iadiyidu-
'is' who, pretending to sock oply 70 pre-
sent the spread Of the institution OF slave
~ INTO the present on f1.tura ioekoaff States