Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1856-12-02


been delivered with the usual fearlessness of the
author, and with very little regard to the ex-
treme views of those present. From the synop-
sis of the lecture, furnished by the Boston Jour
nal, VIC present the following:
Lately it had become common to talk of a (
dissolution of the Union, in some quarters, as I
possible event, and opinions were hazarded
that it would be followed by no material conse-a
quences The first step,in the effort to accom-
plish this fearful contingency was negative one; |
but the mere superstition of that probability was
q vain one.
& @1he primary step was merely for integral
portions of the Union TO refuse to perform their
full share of the mutual terms of contract be- |
tween them and their associate States-to de- |
cline the performance of the mutual share of
duties pertaining to them under the Constitu-
ton and to which they are mutually bound
and then came the difficulty and the danger; for,
as Madison said, it would be difficult to retain
any section of the confederacy within its mutual
bonds against its will He would ask those who
talked loosely concerning dissolution of the
Union, If what they required were granted,
what would be the result ?-r There would be two
rows of border States, with an angry feeling
subsisting between them, and while they would
have faults peculiar to themselves, both would
have them in common, and all their social and
political disadvantages. Unable to sustain most
of them, they would separatcly--one with all
the disadvantages of interior location in great
measure-have to furnish custom houses, arms,
armories, border police to guard against contra
bandists, arssnals, standing army, patrols,
domdnieTs, and all the paraphernalia of detect
i've, defensive and aggressive warfare, which
would be fomcnted by the condition of antago-
nism in which one section, in its feelings and i'm
tercsts, would exert against another. In some
European countries there were ~, 900 d0uaniers
in pay, and in full efficiency, to prevent the in
| fraction of customs alone. But in this country
there would be an army required for the sole
purpose of preventing the escape of fugitive
slaves from one section Of the divided Union to
another; applause followed this statement as
\ we giveit III substance;) and besides this per-
mancnt evil, the two portions of the continent
would be kept in continual warfare on account
lof this cause alone. Every Illicit trade and es-
cape of fugitive would be followed more or
| less by such consequences, and the borders of
the several territories would be the continual
battle ground of contending parties and inter-
tests. There would be continual warfare,
scrvile civil war-and houses and cities, and
rich temples, would undergo CONGREGATION, and
the maid and the mother, and the babe ut the.
breast, and the holy vestiments of the servants
of God, would all drip in blood. Mr.. Benton
declared emphaticaIly that this would be the
state of affairs il the States were diSjoined.
"de spoke first on this subject to the North
crn heart. The subject belonged intimately to
Its people Were dissolution of the Union to
oit they would lose what teg would r u the
ly value in the shape of mere intercourse with
the better men of that section. In their place
they wonld have mendicants--a foreign and in
congruous race-with which they could hold no
Iequal social intercourse. In the South it would
be worse. The border line of division would be
drought down to the States composing that di-
vision. ipplausel No fugitive slave law
would be then competent to protect owners of
such property from its loss" More applause.]
| After slight episode, Mr.. Benton continued:
! "Butif the Union was broken up itwould not
stop at mere division; for internal disorganiza-
ton would follow that act, and jealonsies among
States no longer held together by a broad area
Eof interest, and among peoples as in the case of
the Grecian Republic, would soon conspire to
beget mutual destruction; the several sections
of the Union would receive such names as the
scofer should invent in the event of disSolu-
ton, and degradation would therefore cnsuei;
and rather than it should happen, Mr.. Benton
stated (in substaucc) that he would be willing
to yield up. the name eff America.
1.-THE question which stood prominently up
Mt present was-How was this unprecedented
state of things tn he nrrvent1'dp Mr: Ronton's
answer waS-by the invocation of the spirit of
the Constitution. That necessity he supposed
every one felt. Let men look back to the time
of the formation of the Federal Constitution,
and, as had been stated, they would find that
ference to the peculiarities of each section Of
the State-SInall and great-that bound the COM
pact together in strength offeeling and purpose
Particular references, in this connection, were
| made to the subject of compromises between the
free and the slave States. In 1887 there was an
| ordinance against the extension of slavery far
ther to the northwest; but it could not be pass
ed until another clause put into it, viz: the
fugitive slave law; and the moment it was in
serted the ordinance was agreed to-the slave
States taking the initiatory action-by an unan-
imouS vote almost Mr.. Benton maintained that
one part of the ordinance could not be got with
out the other, and consequently all who were in
favor of the first part must be in favor of the
other. What went into the ordinance went also
into the Constitution; and as it was historical
truth that the first could not be passed without
the second, the Constitution could not have been
adopted without the latter. And this was what
Washington meant when he said that "the, pc
culiarity of our institutions made this compro-
mise Indispensable" Here, then, was com
promise without which there could have been
no Constitution, and no Union; and it was for
the people to say that the Union could not be
saved unless the terms of agreement are pre-
served in all their integrity, tApplause
Mr.. B. said, "He touched nothing below the
Constitution of the United States; he designed
to alude to no topic of the present day, besides
that engrnssing one. The Constitution was his
platform. Ulcers He stood on it alone. finore
cheering He wanted nothing more than that
for his foundation. TRcnowned cheeringjl He
wished to maintain that Contribution in letter
and in spirit and he spoke tonight in that spi-
rit, and as he had, and yet would speak else
where" LGheers.
The following are given as the concluding
points of this lecture. ,df94I
.srhe speaker repeated his desire that there
should be a cessation of everything Incompatible
with the Constitutions. If that is consented to,
one great means ofcxasperating the Southis ia
ken from thuse who would bring about dissoln-
ton There has eSisteda design at the Sontii
for twenty-five years to dissolve the Union, and
that design has made a progress which has al
most accomplished its object We are not dis
united, but many of the evils of disunior are
upon US. The speakers prayer was that moth
ing more be furnished that can be used by those