Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1860-12-04
Take Counsel of Wisdom.

We would invoke all who feel their hearts be
coming Indifferent to the preservation of tht
Union to read the extracts we give below from
some of the great and wise and patriotic men o.
this country. aa as Fl sfn
In the solemn farewell address of the "Fathel
of bis Country" he used the following language
SIT fs of infinite moment that you should
properly estimate the immense value of your
National Union to your collective and individ
uaf happiness; that you should cherish cordial,
habitual and ilnmovable attachment to it; :; &C.
HcustomiDg yourselves to think and speak of it as
of the palladium of your political safety and
prosperity; watching for its preservation with
Jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may
suggest even q suspicion that it can, in any e.
vent, be abandoned; and Indignantly frowning
npon the first dawning of any attempt to alien
ate any portion of our country from the rest, or
to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link TO-
gether the various parts"
In the farewell address of the "Hero of New
Orleans" he counseled his countrymen as fol-
lows:
"Wbat have you to gainlby division and dis
seDsions Delude not yourlolves with the belief
that breach may be afteIward repaired. If
will grow wider and wider, and the controver-
sizes which are now debated and settled in the
halls of legislation will then be tried in fields of
battle and determined by the sword. Neither
should you deceive yourselves with the hope
that the first line of separation would be the
permanent one, and that nothing but harmony
and concord would be found in the new associa-
tions formed upon the dissolution of the Union.
Local interests would still be found there, and
unchastened ambition. And if the recollection
OF common dangers, in which the people of these
United States stood side by side against the
common foe; the memory of victories won by
their united valor; the prosperity and happiness
they have enjoyed under the present constitu-
ton; the proud name they bear as citizens of
this great republic IF all these recolections
and proofs OF common interest are not strong e.
nOugh to bind Us together as one people, what
tie will hold united the new divisions of empire,
when these bonds have been broken and dissev-
ereda The first line of separation would not
last for a single generation; new fragments
would be torn off; new leaders would spring up !;
and this great and glorious republic wonld soon
be broken into multitude ofpetty States, with
out commerce, without credit, Jealous of one an
other, armed tor mutual aggressons, loaded with
taxes to pay armies and leaders, seeking aid a.
gainst each other from foreign powers, insulted
and trampled upon by the nations of Europe, un-
TIL harassed with conflicts, and humbled and
debased in spirit, they would be ready to sub
init to the absolute dominion of any military
adventurer, and surrender their liberty for the
sake of repose. 1t is impossible to look on the
consequences that would inevitably follow the
destruction of this government and not feel in
dignant when we hear cold calculations about
the value of the Union, and have so constantly
before US line of conduct so well calculated to
weaken Its ties.
s There is too much at stake to allow pride or
passion to influence your decision. Never for a
moment believe that the great body of the citi-
zens of any State or States can deliberately in
tend to do wrong. They may, under the infu-
ence of temporary excitement or misguided o.
pinions, commit mistakes-they may be misled
for time by suggestions of self-interest; but
in community so enlightened and patriotic as
the people Of the United States, argument will
soon make them sensible of their errors, and,
when convinced, they will be ready to repair
them. If they have no higher or better motives
to govern them, they will at last perceive that
their own interest requires them to be just to
others, as they hope to receive justice at their
hands," @
CAss.-sIt pains me to hear allusions to the
destruction of this Government, and to the dis
solution of this Confederacy. 1t pains me, not
because they inspire me with any fear, but be-
cause we ought to have one unpronounceable
word, as the Jews had of old, and that word is
Dissolution. We should reject the feeling from
our hearts, and its name from our tongues
This cry of "Wo, 100, to jerusalem" CRATES
harshly upon my ears. Our Jerusalem is neither
beleaguered nor in danger. 1t is yet the city
upon hill, glorious in what it is, still more go-
rious, by the blessing of God, in what it is to be
"a landmark, inviting the nations of the world,
struggling upon the stormy ocean of political op-
preston, to follow US to haven of safety and of
rational liberty" 4l
SILAs WRIeHT.-"If there be those among Us,
who, imapelled By a mistaken sympathy, or by
sudden excitement, are forgetting their obliga-
tions to the soh0le country, to the Constitution
and the Union, let US use every effort of persua-
sion and example to awaken them to sense of
their dangerous error. If those, who, for the
sake OF private interest, personal ambition or
momentary political success, are willing to ex-
pertinent upon the public passions, to treat light
ly their constitutional obligations, to fonaent sec
tao7a0t jeaLousaes und raise up geographical dis
couateaa0nce ind support coaavince such, that the
personal gratl6cation, or public ser0ices Of any
ta0ang man, are not objects Of sufficient maagna
tude to be gained at the expense Of the harmony
OF the country, the peace Of the Union, or SIN
gle letter in the list Of our constitutional duties
Ii among US there be any, which Heaven forbid,
who are prepared, for any earthly object to dis
member our Oonfederacy and destroy that Con-
stituton which binds US together, let the fate of
an Arnold be theirs, and let the detestation aud
scorn of every American be their constant COM
panion, until, like him, they shall abandon a
country whose rich blessings they are no longer
worthy to enjoy"
GEN. TAYLoR-"The dissolution of the Union
would be the greatest of calamities, and to avert
that, should be the study of every American
WEBsTER.-'sI shall stand by the Union, and
by all who stand by it,"
CLAY.-"I may be asked, as have been asked,
when | would consent to dissolution OF the
Union. answer, Never! Neyer! NEVER ~ .
In one of the last letters Chief Justice Mar
shall ever wrote he uttered these words of wis
dom: 80
at is, in my opinion, impossible to preserve
our Union unless our bosoms receive those inn
pressions and kind affections from each. other
which ought to belong to citizens of the same
country-unless those jealousies and enmities
which grow out of a supposed but mistaken op-
position of interests yield to those feelings which
a conviction of our reciprocal dependence on
each other would inspire. am not less firmly
persuaded that our prosperity and our free in
stitutions will be greatly hazarded if the govern
iment of these United States be destroyed"
The Next Congress.
1t is pretty nearly certain that the next Con-
press will be politically composed as follows