Washington sentinel., 1856-05-13
JAnaZs BUCHANAN
Compromise Measures Of 1850.

1
Compromise Measures Of 1850.
Proceedings Of the Great Union Meeting held
IN the large Saloon of the Chinese Museum,
PHILADELPHIA, on the 2lst Of NoUember, 1850,
under call signed by upaoards Of .fue thou
sand citizens--Hon. John Sergeant in The
! chair.
Letter from Hon. James Buchanan.
WHEATLAND, NEAR LANCASTER, Nov 10, $50.
Gentlemen-I have been honored by the re-
ceipt of your very kind invitation, ''in behalf Of
the friends Of the Constitution and the Union,
without distinction of party, residentin the city
aud county of Philadelphia" to attend public
meeting, to be held on the 2lst instant, at the
Chinese Museum. | regret that engagements,
which | need not specify, will deprive me Of
the pleasure and the privilege Of uniting with
the great, patriotic, and enlightened community
of your city and county in maniiesting their
attachment for the Constitution and the Union,
in the present alarming crisis Of our public
affairs.
| On a recent occasion, at the celebration of
the opening Of the Eastern portion of our great
Central Railroad from Philadelphia to Pitts
burg, said that the cordial support Of that
magnificent improvement platform on
which all Pennsylvanians, OF every political
| determination, could stand together in harmony
The sentiment elected an enthusiastic response
from all present, whether Democrats or Wings.
| now say that the platform of our blessed
Union is strong enough and broad enough to
sustain all true.hearted Americans. 1t is an
elevated, a glorious platform, on which the
ldown-trodden nations of the earth gaze with
hope and DESIRE with admiration and asionish-
ment. Our Union is the Star in the West,
i NH n.a1 nd ,nc cso
| WILL at last, should we remain a united people,
dispel the gloom of despotsm from the ancient
nations Of the world. It's moral power will
prove to be more potent than millions of armed
mercenaries. And shall this glorious star set
| in darkness before il has accomplished half its
mission? Heaven forbid Let us all exclaim,
with the heroic jackson, "The Union must and
shall be preserved"
| And what Union this has been! The his
| tory Of the human race presents no parallel to
| it. The bit Of striped bunting, which was to
be swiftly swept from the ocean, by the British
navy, according to the prediction of British
| Statesman previous to the war Of 1872, is now
displayed in every sea and in every port of the
habitable globe. Our glorious stars and stripes,
the flag of our country, protects Amer-
was once the proud exclamation which every
and injustice. ~ am TN American citizen!" is
now an exclamation of almost equal potency
throughout the cvlised world This is a tr
butte due to the power and the resources of
these thirty-one united States. In Just cause
we may defy the world in arms We have
lately presented spectacle which has aston.
ished even the greatest Captain of the age. AT
the call Of their country an irresistible host of
armed men, and men too skilled in the use of
arms, sprung up like the soldiers of Cadmus,
from the mountains and valleys of our great
contederacy. The struggle among them was
not who should remain at home; but who
should enjoy the privilege of braving the
dangers and the privations of a foreign war in
defence of their country's rights. Heaven for
bid that the question of slavery should ever
prove to be the stone thrown into their midst
by Cadmus to make them turn their arms
against each other and perish in mutual con-
aict!
Whilst our power as a united people secures
us against the injustice and assaults of foreign
enemies. what has been our condition at home?
Here every citizen stands erect in the proud
proportions bestowed upon him by his Maker,
and feels himself equal to his fellow man. He
is protected by government of just laws in the
enjoyment of life, liberty, and property. He
sits down under his own vine and his own fig
tree, and there is none to make him afraid. A
vast confederacy composed Of thirty-one sove-
reign and independent States is open before
him, iu which he feels himself to be every
where at home, and may any where through
out its extended limits seek his own prosperity
and happiness in his own way. The most per-
feet freedom Of intercourse prevails among all
J the States.
Here the blessings Of free trade have been
realized under the Constitution of the United
States and by the consent OF all, 10 greater
extent than the world has witnessed. Our
domestic tonnage and capital employed in this
trade exceed, beyond all com mparison that
employed in our trade with all the rest Of the
world. The mariner Of Maine after braying
the dangers Of the passage around Cape Horn,
finds himself at home in his own country when
entering the distant port of San Francisco, on
the other side ofthe world.
Heaven seems TO have bound these States
together by adamantine bonds of powerful
interest. They are mutually dependent on
each other, mutually necessary TO each others
welfare. The numerous and powerful common.
wealths which are spread over the valley Of the
Mississippi must seek the markets Of the world
for their productions, through the mouth Of that
father Of rivers. A strong naval power is ne
cessary to keep this channel always free in
time Of war; and an immense commercial
marine is required to carry their productions to
the markets Of the world, and bring back their
returns. The same remark applies with almost
equal force 20 the cotton growing and planting
States on the Gulf Of Mexico, and on the At
lantic Who is to supply this naval power and
this commercial marine7 The hardy and
enterprising sons Of the North, whose home has
always been on the mountain wave. Neither
the pursuits nor the habits Of the people Of the
Western and the Southern States, fit them for
such an Employment They are naturally the
| producers, whilst the Northern people are the
carriers. This establishes a mutual and prof.
table dependence upon each other, which is
one Of the strongest bonds Of our Union.
The common suHerings and common glories
Of the past, the prosperity Of the present, and
the brilliant hopes Of the future, must impress
every patriotic heart with deep love and devo.
ton for the Union. Who that is now n citizen
Of this vast Republic, extending from the ST.
/ Lawrence TO the Rio Grande and from the