The Yazoo Democrat. [volume] (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1858-18??, 1860-01-14
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PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
Extract.


Fcllow citizens of the Senate and House i
Of Representatives Our deep and heart )
felt gratitude is due to that Almighty Pew v
er which has bestowed upon us such varied t
and numerous blessings throughout the S
past year. The general health of the coun
try has been excellent; our harvests have c
been unusually plentiful, and prosperity {
smiles throughout the land Indeed. not.
our dement's, we have much q
reason to beievc from the past events in
our history, that we have enjoyed the spe-
cial protection of Divine Providence ever
since our origin as a nation. We have been
exposed to many threatening and alarming
difficulties in our progress; but on each
successive occasion the impending cloud has
been dissipated at the moment it appeared
ready to burst upon our heads, and the
danger to our institutions has passed away.
May we ever be under the divine guidance
and protection.
Whilst It'll the duty of the President "from
time to time to give to Congress informa"
tion of the state of the UniOn," | shall not
refer in detail to the recent sad and bloody
occuncn at Harper's Ferry Still, it isl
proper to observe that these events, however
bad and cruel in themselves, derive their
chief importance from the apprehension that
they are but symptoms Of an iucurable dis
ease In the public mind, which may break
out IN still more dangerous outrages and
terminate at last in an open war by the
North to abolish slavery in the South
Whilst, for myself, | entertain no such
apprehension, they ought to afford a solemn
warning to US all to beware of the approach
of danger. Our Union is a stake of such
inestimabc value as to demand our constant
and watchful vigilance for its preservation.
In this view, let me implore my countrymen,
North and South, to cultivate the ancient
feelings of mutual forbearance and goodwill
towards each other, and strive to allay the
demon spirit of sectional hatred and strife
now alive in the land. This advice proceeds
from the heart of an old public functionary,
whose service commenced in the last genero
alton, among the wise and conservative
statesmen of that day, now nearly all passed
away, and whose first and dearest earthly
porous, united and powerful.
We ought to reflect that in this age, anC
especially in this country, there is an inCes
SAINT hu1 and rcfux of public opinion
Questions which in their day assumed {
most threatening aspect, have now ncarly
gone from the memory of men. They ar,
"volcanocs burnt out, and on the lava anC
ashes and sduahd scoriG of old eruption'
grow the peaceful olive the cheering vine
:. and the sustaining corn" Such; in my
. opinion, will prove the fate of the presen
n sectional excitement, should those who wise
0 ly seek to apply the remedy, continue alway
0 to confne their efforts within the pale o
{ the Constitution. If this course be pursued
the existing agitation on the subject of do
0 mcstiG slaveriy, like everything human
0 will have its day and give place to other an'
y less threatening controversies. Public op
a iuion in this country is all~powerful, an'
0 when it reaches a dangerous excess upol
0 any question, the good sense of the peop
o will furnish the corrective and bring it bac
, within safe limits. Still, to hasten thi
= Iauspcious result, at the present crisis, W
2 ought to remember that every rational crca
ture must be presumed to intend the natura
I consequences of his own teachings. Thos
! who announce abstract doctrines subversiv
of the Constitution and the Union, mus
not be surprised should their heated partisan
advance one step further, and attempt b
violence to carry these doctrines into pIa'
Z teal effect. In this view of the subject
ought never to be forgotten that howcv(
$ great may have been the political advantage
he resulting from the Union to every porto
ill of our common country, these would a
Ve prove to be as nothing should the time eve
=; ~ arrive when they cannot be enjoyed wlthor
be serious danger to the personal safety of I'll
people of fifteen members of the contede
a. acy If the peace Of the domestic fresd
nd throughout these States should ever be il
:, vaded-if the mothers of families within tn
% at extensiveregion should not be ablc.to rctll
to rest at night without suffering dreadfI
to apprehension of what may be their own ia
and that of their children before the morI
ing-it would be vain to recount 70 such
people the political benefits which result
Vn them from the Union. Self>preservation
"s "a. the first instinct of nature and thereto
ia any state of society in which the sword
h always suspended over the heads of the PEI
*, pie, must at last become intolerable. But
M indulge in no such gloomy forebodings. {
= the contrary, l firmly believe that the even
at Harper's Ferry, by causing the people
pause and reflect upon the possible pei
to their cherished institutions, will be Il
in means, under Providence, of allaylng Il
existing excitement and preventing futu
outbreaks of a similar character. Th
w will resolved that the Constitution and t
R, Union shall not be endangered by ra
Ill, counsels, knowing that should "the silv
cr- cord be loosed or the golden bowl be bl
ken at the fountain" human pow
- could never reunite the scattered and host
40 fragrants.
md | cordially congratulate you upon t
all final settlement by the Supreme Court
ty' the United States of the question so tru
: formidable at the commencement of my {
- ministration. The right has been establi
cd Of every citizen to take hisproperty of a
led kind, including slaves, into the comm
= a II H.. Ill