Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1860-12-26

UANlEL W EBSTER ON fEACEABLE SECESSIOS.
A THRILLING SPEECu.-In his las: great speech in
the Senate, on the 7th Of March, 1850, Daniel Web
ster thus spoke of secession:
"MR. PRESIDENT should much prefer to have
heard from every member on this floor, declarations
of opinion that this Union could never be dissolved
than the declaration ofopnion by anybody thatsucha
dissolution was possible hear with distress and an
guish the word Secession, especially when it falls
from the lips of those who are patriotic, and known
to the country and known all over the world. for
their political services. Secession! Peaceable &C.
cession! Sir, your eyes and mine are never desti-
ned to see that miracle The dismemberment of
this vast country without CONFUSION! The break
ing up Of the fountains Of the Great Deep without
rutfling the surface!
Who is so foolish, beg every body's PARDON as
to expect to see any such thing? Sir, he who secs
these States. now revolving in harmony around
common CENTRE and expects to them quit their pla
ces and fly off, without convusion may look the next
hour to see the heavenly bodies rush from their
spheres and ostlc against each other in the realms
of space without causing the wreck of the Universe.
There can lie no such thing as peaceable secession.
Peaceable secession is utter impossibty. Is the
great Constitution under which we live-cOverng
this whole conntry-is it to be thawed and melted
away by secession, as the SHOWS on the mountain
melt under the influence Of vernal sun. disappear
unobserved and run off? No, Sir. l will not state
what might produce the disruption of the Union;
but sir, see as plainly as | see the sun in the
heavens what that disruption itself must produce
see that 1t must produce war; and such war as will
not describe in its two-fod character.
Peaceable secession! Peaceable secession! The
concurrent agreement of all the members of this
great Republic to separated voluntary separation,
with aimony on the side and on the other! Why,
what would he the result? Where is the Inc to be
drawn? What States are to secede? What is to
remain America? What am l to be? An Ameri-
can no longer? Am to become sectional man, q
local man, separatist with no country in common.
with the gentlemen who sit around inc here, or who
fill the other house of Congress? Heaven forbid !!
Where is the flag of the Republic to remain? Where
is the eagle still to tower! Or is he to cover and
shrink, and fall to the ground? Why, sir, our an.
cestors, fathers and our grandfathers, those Of
them that are living among with prolonged lives
would rebuke and reproach us, and our children and
our grand children would cry out shame upon us, if
of this generation should dishonor these ensigns
of the power Of the government and the harmony Of
that Union which is every day felt among US with
SO much joy and gratitude" .>
MEssRs. BRAGG AND BRAHcH.-We are grati6ed
in being able to state with confidence, that in the
midst Of the detection of many of the Democratic
leaders in this State and their nov open efforts to
promote disunion, Messrs. Bragg and Branch will
stand by the Union as long as there is any hope left
of holding it together. But in taking this position,
they are neither subnssionists nor enemies of the
South They will demand for the South what she
ought to claim, and what all honest conservative
men among us will insist upon They will not
yield an inch of what the integrity and honor Of the
South must demand but they Will labor with the
conservative Of the country to prevent dssolu-
ton but if it must come, they will 60 as North
Carolina goes They will be- ready to sanction what
the people demand, without attempting, as the Sc.
cessionists are doing. to control and manufacture
public sentiment. These gentlemen are known to
be sound Democrats, but We honor them neverthe-
less for the manly and conservative position they
take Warrington Dsspateh.