Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-01-07

conceive or my tongue could utter. Is there
an American who regrets the past? Is there
one who will deridc his country's laws. per
vert her constitution. or ALLEVIATE her people
If there be such Il man, let his memory de-
srcnd to posterity laden with the excavations
of all mankind.
So happy is the political and social condl-
ton of th" United States, and so accustomed
are we To- the secure enjoyment of II freedom
elsewhere unknown. that we are apt to un-
dcryalue the treasures we possess, and to
lose. in some degree. the sense of obligation to
our forefathcrs. But when the strites OF
faction shake the government, and even
threaten it, we may pause with advantage
long enough to remember that we arc reaplng
the reward Of other mems labors. This lib
erty we inherit: this admirable constitution,
which has survived peace and war, prosperl-
" and adversely: this double scheme of GOV
eminent. State and federal, 50 peculiar and
so little understood by other powers, yet
which protects the earnings of industry, and
makes the largest personal freedom cOmpati-
bic with public order These great results
were not acquired without wisdom and toll
and blood. The touching and heroic record
is before the world; but TO all this we were
! born and like heirs upon whom has been cast
Il great inheritance, have only the high duty
to preserve to extend, and to adorn it. The
grand productions Of the era in which the
foundations of this government were laid, re-
! veal the deep sense its founders had of their
obligations to the whole family ofman. Let
us never forget that the responsibilities i'm
posed on this generation are by So much the
greater than those which rested on our revo-
/ lutionary ancestors, as the population, ex-
| tent. and power of our country surpasS the
! dawning promise of It's origin.
! 1t would be Il pleasing task to pursue
many trains of thought not wholly foreign to
this occasion, but the temptation to enter the
wide field must be vigorously curbed; yet l
may be pardoncd, perhaps, for one or two adj
! ditiona reflections.
The Senate is assembled for the last time in
this chamber Ilenceforth it will be CONVEX
ted to other uses: vet it must remain forever
connected with great events, and sacred to
the memories of the departed orators and
statesmen, who here engaged in high debates
and shaped the policy of their country
Hereafter the American and the stranger, ~
they wander through the Capitol, will turn
with instructive reverence To view the spot
on which SO many and great materials have
accumulated for history. They will recall
| the images of the great and the good, whose
rcnOwn is the common property OF the Union,
and chiefly, perhaps, they will linger around
the seats once occupied by the mighty three
whose names and fame associated in life,
death has not been able to sever; illustrious
men. who in their generation sometimes di-
vided, sometimes led, and sometimes resisted
public opinion-for they were Of that higher
class IF statesmen who seek the right and fol-
low their convictions.
There sat Calhoun, the Senator infexible
austrr". oppressed. but not overwhelmed by
his deep sense of the Importance his public
functions seeking the truth, then tearlessly
following ia man whose unsparing intel
lcct compelled all his emotions to harmonic
with the deductions of his vigorous logic,
and whose noble cUuntcnance habitually wore
the expression Of one engaged in the perior
nance of high public duties.
This was Webster's seat. He, too, was
even such senator. Conscious of his own
vast powers. he rcpOScd with confidence on
himself: and scorning the contrivances Of
smaller men. he stood among his peers all the
greater for the simple dignity of his senatorial
demeanor. Type of his northern home, he
rises before the imagination, in the grand
and granite outline of his form and intellect,
like Il great New England rock, rcpelling a
New England wave. As a writer, his pro-
auctions will be cherished by statesmen and
scholars while the English tongue is spoken,
As senatorial orator his great efforts are
historically associated with this chamber,
whose very air seems YET to vibrate beneath
the strokes of his deep tones and his weighty
words.
On the outer circle sat Henry Clay, with
his impetuous and ardent nature untamed by
are. and exhibiting in the Senate the same
vehement patriotism and passionate eloquence
that Of wore electrified the House of Repre-
Scntativ"S and the country. His cytraordina-
nv personal rmdowmentS his courage, all his
noble qualities invested him with an indivi-
duality and charm of character which, in
anv are would have made him fav0rite Of
history. He loved his country above all
earthly objects. He loved liberty in all
countries. lllustriouS man, orator, patriot,
philanthropist-his light. mt its meridian, was
seen and felt in the rcmotcst parts of the civ
ili2cd world: and his declining sun, as it has
tened down the west, threw back its level
beams. in hucs of mellowed splcndor, to illu-
inmate and to cheer the land he loved and
served 81 well.
All the States may point. with gratifcd
pride. to the services in the Senate Of their
patriotic sons Crowdng the memory, come
the names of Adams. llayne, Mason, Otis,
Macon. Pinckncy, and the rest cannot
number then-who, in the record of their
acts and utteranccS, appeal TO their successors
To give the Union destiny not unworthy Of
the past What models were these to awak-
EN- emulation or to plunge in despair! Fortu-
nate will be the American statesmen who, in
this age, or in succeeding times, shall contri-
butte to invest the new hall to which we 90,
with historic memories like those which clus-
ter hare.
And now. Senators. we leave this momor-
able Chamber. bearing with us. unimpaired,
the Constitution we received from our fore
fathers. Let IL cherish it with grateful NC,
acknowledgements to the Divine Power who con-
trolls the de>tnics of empires and whose
goodness we adore. The structures reared
by men yield to the corroding tooth of time
These marble walls must nouldcr into ruin:
but the principles of constitutional liberty,
guarded 10y wisdom and virtue, unlike mate
rial elements. do not decay. Let us dcvoutly
trnst thar onnthnr Sonato ~ nnntba,,, al, III