Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1858-07-20
From the Trenton Americana


From the Trenton Americana
HON. JEFFERSON DAVIS.
Of almost all the public Men of the South, the name
of this gentleman has been coupled by Northern Ia
natios with extreme ideas in regard 10 the sectional
differences which, have, from time TO time, agitated
The country. He has been called a nulliisr, disunion
ia, and fre.aater, 80 earnestly and 30 often, that most
people had set him down "a the Jupiter Tonans OF
The Pierce Administration and the most terrible and
dangerous man in the Senate. But il was admitted
that he was a generous and brave man; and behold,
he has proved his bravery by marching with bis wife
and children, bag and baggage, into the very centre
of niggsrdom, and the whole country is astounded by
the report of a speech made by JEFF Davis" IN Port.
land, Me-, breathing the most benevolent and en-
largcd spirit of nationality. In order that our readers
may Judge of the temper OF this terrible man, AZ dread
I'd and hated by abOlitionis;s, we have copied here
under a part OF his speech, which We recommend to
their perusal:
Extract from the SPEECH Of Hon. Jefferson Dar1s, at
Portland, Ne Jnly ., 1853.
Such, in very general terms, Is the rich political 10
gacy which our fathers bequeathed TO us. Shall We
preserve aud transmit it 10 posterity Yes, yes, the
heart responds, aud the Judgment answers, the task is
easily performed. Ii but requires that each should
attend to that which most concerns him, and on which
alone he has rightful power TO decide and 10 act
That each should adhere to the terms of a written
compact, aud that all should cooperate for that
which interest, Qutv ana uOuUT uclnhuu. TOT Tue
general affairs of our country, both foreign aud do
mestic, We have a national Executive and a national
Legislature. Representatives and Senators are chosen
by Districts aud by States, but their acts effect the
whole country, AMI their obligations are to the whole
people. He who, holding either seat, would confine
his Investigations 10 the mere interests OF his imme-
diate constituents would be derelict 10 his plain duty;
and he who would legislaie in hostility TO any section,
would be morally unfit for the station, and surely an
unsafe depository, If not a trescherous guardian, of
the inheritances with which We ara blessed.
No one more than myself recognizes the binding
force of the allegiance which the citizen owes to the
State Of his citizenship; but that State. being n party
10 our compact u member OF our Union, sealty 10 the
federal Constitution Is not in opposition 10, but flows
from the allegiance due to one ot the United States.
Washington WAS not le-s q Virginian when he com
manded Il; Boston; uor did Gstes or Greene weaken
the bonds which bound them 10 tier several States
by their campaigns in the South. In proportion as 81
citizen loves his State, will he strive Ia honor by pre-
serving her name and fame free from the iarnish 0i
having failed 10 observe her obligations, and fulfil her
duties To her sister States. Each page of our history
il illustrated by the names and the deeds OF those who
have we'll understood aud discharged the obligation.
Have we 80 dsgenerated that We can no longer emu
late their virtuesi Have the purposes for which our
Union was formed lost their value 7 Has patriotism
ceased to be a virtue. and ia narrow sectionalism no
longer 10 be counted a crime! Shall the North not re.
joce that the progress OF the agriculture in the South
has given TO her great staple the controlling influence
VI u luulrlS vi wv VI aJu Iul ulhuuld
turing nations under bonds to keep the peace
with the United States Shall the South not
exult i. the fact that the industry and per-
ssvering intelligence of the North bss placed her
mechanical skill in the front ranks of the civilized
- orld-thHt our mother country, whose naughty
minister some eighty odd years ago declared that not
q hob nail should be made in the colonier, which are
now the United States, WAS brought come fo,v years
ago to recognize our pre-eIninence by sending q com.
mission to examine our workshops, and our machine.
80 ~ pprFEOt THAR own mnnufacfnra nf rho rms ra-
auieite for their defencel Do not our whole people,
interior and seaboArd, North, South, East and West,
alike feel proud Of the hardwood, the enterprise, the
skill, and the courage OF the Yankee sailor, who has
borne our flag AZ far as the ocean bears its foam, and
caused the name and the character of the United
States to bs known and respected wherever there is
wealth enough to WOO commerce, and intelligence
enough 10 honor merritt So long az We preserve and
appreciate the achievements of Jefferson and Adams,
of Franklin and Madison, of Hamilton, of Hancock,
and of Rutl-dge. men who labored for the whole
country, and lived for mankind, We cannot sink to The
peity strife which would sap the foundations and de-
strcy the political fabric our fathers erected and be
~queeth.d rs IN Inheritance 10 our prosperity forever.
Since the formation OF The Constitution a vast IL
tension of territory, and the varied relations arising
therefrom, have presented problems which could not
have been foreseen. 1t liz just Gauss for admiration
even wonder, that the provisions OF The fundamental
law should have been found so fully adequate 10 all
the wants Of Governments, new III Is organization,
and new in many Of its principles on which il was
founded. Whatever lears may have once existed as
to the consequences OF territorial expansion. must give
way before The evidence which The past affords. The
General Government, strictly confined To its delegated
functions, and the States left IN the undisturbed eIer.
else of all else, we have a theory aud practice which
tits our Government of iDmeasurable domsin. and
might, under a millennium Of nations, embrace man.
kind.
ceaseless tide, has poured into the wide and fertile
valley Of the Missi-eippi, with eddYing whirl, has
passed to the cnast of the Pacific; from the West and
the East the tides are rushing towards each Other
and the mind ia carried to the day when all the cult.
vable land will he Inhabited, and the American peo
pie will 'igh for more wilderness to conquer.
1t would be to treapa.s on your kindness, and vic.
late the proprieiies of the occasion, were | TO detaip
the vast concourse which stands before me, by enter
ing on IN. discussion OF controverted topics, or by
further INDUCING in the expression Of such reflections
as circumstances suggest.
/ came to Your city in quest of health and repose.
From the moment ! entered it you have showered
upon me kindness and hospitality. Though my ex
periencs has Taught Inc TO anticipate good rather
than evil from my fellow man, il had not prepared
me- to expect such %unremltting attention as has here
been bestowed. | have BEEN jocularly asked in rela.
ton to my coming here, whether l had secured a
guaranty for my safety, aud lo, / have found il. | stand
IN the midst of thousands Of my fellow citizens
But, my friends, | came neither distressing, nor mp.
prehenslve, OF which you have proof in the fact that
| brough; with me the objects OF tenderest affection
and sOllcitude, my wife and my children they have
shared with me your hospitality, and will alike remain
your debtors. Ii at some future time when | am
mingled with tho dust and the arm of my infant son
has been nerved for deeds of manhood, the storm Of
war shall burst upon your city, | feel that relying up.
on hs inheritipg the instincts of his ancestors and
mine. | may pledge him in that perilous hour, to stand
by your side in defence Of your hearth stones, and in
maintaining the honor OF a flag whose constellation,
though torn and smoking in many a battle by sea and
land, hns never been stained with dishonor, and will,
| trust, forever fly as free as the breeze which uufolds
it.