Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1860-12-07
The Message.

The Message of Mr.. Buchanan was laid
before Congress on Tuesday, Mr.. Glosbenner,
his private Secretary, reading it in the SEN
ate, and Mr.. Forncy, the Clerk, performed
the same duty in the House.
The President commences by referring to
the eminently prosperous condition of the
country in its material interests, and then
launches into the great topic of the day and
the country. lie commences, as in all other
Of his public papers, to convict the North of
wrongs and a long continued and intemIer
ate interference with the question of slavery
in the Southern States. But, says the 0.
P. F., +" all this - might have been borne,
had not these acts - inspired " the slaves
with vague notions Of freedom" This is
decidedly bad. No person should be " in
spired with notions of freedom " when the
" logic of events " will certainly doom all
such to disappointment; and if the Demo-
cratic politicians and presses have not been
the agents which have communicated TO
the slaves wrong notions Of the purposes of
the =" Northern people," who have been p
All g that the Slave States have ever conteu-
ded for is to be let alone and be permitted TO
manage their domestic institutions in their
own way y says the President. Who, pray,
is meddling with slavery in the States This
is not the question in controversy between
the Slave am Free States and the time and
ink spent in making points of this kind, are
only aggrayating the difficulties. If the
President wishes the people to look calmly
at the points in dispute, and to act judcous-
ly in relation to them, he should set them a
good example but instead of so doing he
peryerts the facts or raises false issues.
lie thinks the election of any zone Of our
fellow citizens to the office of President does
not afford just cause for dssolving the Tn
ion'" How profound. II the election of a
citizen was cause for dissolution there ought
to have been about twenty dissolutions of the
Union since the adoption Of the constitution.
Neither should the Union be dissolved from
anticipated evils. Sufficient for the day is
the evil thereof. No act has ever passed
Congress, imparing the rights of the South,
unless it was the Missouri Compromise. He
thinks Congress never will pass an act exclud.
ing slavery from the territories and the Su-
preme Court has decided that slaves are prop
erty and can be taken into the territories and
held there under the Constitution The SUI
preme Court, also, - solemnly adjudged y
that the power did not exist in a territorial
Legislature to prohibit the existence of sla-
very in the territory, says the President !;
but he also says, the - factious temper of the
times has called in question this decision.
The most palpable violation of constitu-
tional duty, consists of the acts to defeat the
Fugitive Slave law but for these the Presi-
dent and Congress are not responsible. lie
then PASSES to express his views on the seces-
sion scheme. The Southern States have the
right 10 demand the repeal of all obnoxious
laws, and if they are not repealed, then the
Constitution has been violated, by one p0r-
ton of the Union, and the injured States
would he justified in revolutionary resistance.
But secession is revolution, and the presi-
dent does not undertake to uphold such an