The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1860-12-14
PREsIDENT,s MESSAGE.

, been cminently prosperous In it's material In
terests. The general health has boon excel
lent. our harvesls have been abundant and
Iplenty smiles throughout the land. Our com
, mcrce and. manufactures have been prose.
cutod with energy and industry. and have
yielded fair and ample returns In short, no
nation IN the tide OF time has ever presented
a spectacle oil greater material pros perity than
, we have done until - very recent period
Why Is II, then, that discomfort now So exten.
Isively prevails, and tho Union of the states
(which II the source Of all these blessings is
threatened with destruction? The long CON.
tinued and tntemperato interference of the
Northern people with tho question Of slavery
in the Southern states. has at length produced
it's natural effects. The different sections oi
the Union arc now arrayed against each other,
and the time has arrived. So much dreaded bv
the Father of his Country, when hostile geo.
lgraphicai parties have been formed. have
long foreseen, and often furewarncd my co,in.
trymen ot the now impending danger. This
does not proceed solely from the claim on the
part Of Congress or tho territorial Legislatures
to exclude slavery from the territories. nor
from the efforts OF the different states TO defeat
tho execution of the Fugitive Slave law All
lbs lie Soas sp w fyS ff rss IS ta 9Se e nia ra"fss go
l0therS havo been, IN the hope that time aud
reelection might apply the remedy. The i'm
mediate peril arises, not So much from tnose
causes, Ms from tho fact that the violent ngi
tation Of the slavery question throughout the
North fhr the last quarter of 4 century, has at
length produced It's malgn influence on the
slaves and inspired them with vague notions
lot freedom Hence Il sense OF security no
longer exists around the family altar. This
feeling OF peace at home has given place to APP.
lprehensiOnS Of servile Instructions. Many u
lmatron throughout the South retires 1T night
| In dread of what may befall herself and child
rem before tho morning. Should this appro.
hension Of domestic danger, whether real nr
imaginary, extend aud intensity itself until It
should pervado the masses Uf the Southern
people. then dlSunipn viii become inevitable.
| Self preservation IL the first law OF nature and
has bced implanted IN the heart of man by his
Creator, for! he wiSest purposes. aud no polit
ical Union, however traught with blessings
and benefits IN ail other respects, can long con.
tinue II the necessary consequence he tn rem.
der the homes and iiresdes uf nearly half the
parties to it habltua'ly and hopclcssly inso.
cure. Sooner or later the bonds oi such u
Cnion must be- severed. II Is my conviction
that this fatal period has not yet arrived, and
my prayer to God Is that lie would preserve
the Constitution aud the Union throughout All
generations. Bat let US take warning In me-
ana remove the cause of danger. II cannot he
denied that for five and twenty years the Az.
ttton at the North against slavery IN tho = nth
has been iucesSlnt. In ls3j, pictorial hand
bills aud iniltmmatury appeals were circulated
extensively throughout the South. uf a ciEtrtc.
ter tn excite the passions OF the slaves: aud IN
the language uf ten. jackson, tu stimulate
them iu inSurrrCtion, and produce all the hnr.
rors III u seryile war. THIS agitation has ever
since been continued by the public press by
the proceedings nf state and county cnnvci.
tions and by abolition sermons aud lectures
The time of Congress has been OCCUPIED i'm yi.
olcut speeches on tins never ending subject.
and appeals, in pamphlet and other forms. ell.
dIrscd by distinguished names. have been
sent forth from this cCmrt point and spread
broadcast over the Union. How easy would Il
he for the American people t. So ttlc the slave.
ry question forever and to restore peace and
harmony to this distracted country. They
. alone can do II. All that Is necessary tu &c.
compllSh this object, and All which the slave
states have ever Cuutcndei tor. Is 10 be let
alni e, aud pcrigittcd Ia manage their domestic
institutions ~ their own way. AS sovereign
states, they, aud 10y al me. are rc,pnn>Ih .
before God for the slavery GAisling among
them For this the people of the North arc
not more responsible and have no more right
. To Interfere than win similar institutions ~
IIHiliAmy RrH!.l.. up"n Their good Sca,Gr ,Gr.itIy
RELY. Without their aid II X NGtyynnd the power
nt any President, un matter what may be his
avn political prI"livliicS, t. restore peace and
harmony among t'Io states. Wisely Limited
aud restrained - Ii lis i"wrr under cur 'll-
Stiiutium aud laws. h1 alone "tn accomplish
but l5tiic f,r -nud ar evil, "a 80 uinnIrutuLS i
question. Aud this brings me too iscrvc that
the election az any ana Of oar fellow ritiZnnS
tu thc Office o. President, Il 'rN not ui itself If.
iort iuSl cans, tor Il ~sulyuut th" Union IrIs
is more especially true, II h.S r...rfinn Il Is
been otuct"d hy Il mere ..mH,lty. and not u
majority ul tLo pcGi,'r, AMI has resulted from
transient causes, which may pruhahy never
again occur. In order iu Justify Il resort 10
revolutionary resistance. the federal govern.
meut must lee guilty 81 Il deliberate palpthr.
and dangerous exercise oi powers mot granted
by the Constitution. The late Presidential
election. however. has been held IN strict con.
turmiy with its express provisions. How,
then, can the result Justify "A rev luliou tn de
s,roy this very CONSTITUTIONS. Reason. jus ice.
aud REGARD tor the Constitution. All require
that We shall wait for some overt and danger.
aus action on the part oi tae President elect.
before rcsurliug tn such u remedy.
II Is said however, that the autcCcdouts Of
the President elect have been sum .i"rt t.
justify the fears oI the South, that nc wall at.
tempt !" invade their constitutional ri, ,htS. =
liut are such apprchcuSI"nS ui contingent dan.
gur ~ the future, sufficient L" Justify the I'M
mediate destruction Ot the nOhIcst system ol
government ever devised by mlrtals. From
the very nature ui hls office, and lis high re-
, sponSb,li,CS he mast necc, sarily he rnnScr.
vati"e. The stern duty of administering the
vast complicated concerns ol this .nvcrunrn,
, affords ia itself a guarantee that he viii not
iHttrmpt any violation oi n clear constitutional
right. Ai'er all, he is 10 m ne Than the Chc
Executive officer at the government. Ills pro-
vince Is not Ia make, but execute its laws. and
ii is n remarkable fact In our history that. not
, lwithstandin. the repeated efforts of tic anil
slavery party, no single act has ever passed
Congress, unless we may p"SSil ~ except ihe
. Missouri compromise. lmlHlrlliG ~ ne slight
est degree the rights ofthc South to their pro
perty in slaves. And II may alsu be nbscrN cd
Iiudgng from the present Indications, that ne
'lprobabiiiy exists OF the passage at such M
act hy majority of both Houses, other IN the
lprescnt or next Congress. Surely under these
circumstances we ought I" he restrained from
present action by the preccpt or Him who
3 spakc rs never man SptHe, "thal Sullici, NJ
unto the day Is the evil thereof The day q
, evil may never come uncSS we shall ,lshI,
n hri 4 "a III
, cause for immediate secession, that the Soutr
ern states are denied equal rights with th,
other states in the common territories: but h,
, what authority are these dcnicdl Not bv Con
, gress. which has never passed and I hclicy
= never Will pass any act to exclude slavcr
from the territories and oertainlk not hy IN
Supreme Court, which has sulemnly decide
II that slaves are property, thcir owners have
right To take them into tho common lerritnrio
y aud bold them there under the protection {
}. the Constitution. So lar, then, MS Congress
. concerned, tho objection is not to anythin
they have already done, but tu what they m,,
v do hereafter. II Will surely he admitted thu
: this apprehension Of future danger Is M GOO
reason for IN immediate dissolution of Ill
! Union.
a II is truo that the territorial Legislature
u Kansas, on the 23d of February, lsGO, lasSo
h in great haste, an act over the veto Of Il
Governor, declaring that slavery IL, and shu
be forever prohibited In the territory. Sue
70 an act, however, plainly violating the rights
property secured by tho Constitution, VI
le surely he declared void by the judiciary whe
n. ever II shall be presented in n legal form.
Only three days amer my inauguration Il
~ Supreme Court Of the United States solemn
nj adiudged that this power did not exist in a te
- ritorial Legislature. Yet such has been Il
III iactiOus temper Of the times, that the q,
rectness OF this decision has been exte
sively impugned beloro tho people, and 4
question has given rise to angry political ca
90 fiicts throughout the country. Those W
la have appealed from this judgment OF our his
y. est constitutional tribunal TO popular asse
Oi blies would. IL they could, invest terrItor
|, a Legislatures with power to annul tho sacr
Nc right of property. This power, Congress
ly expressly forbidden By the Constitution 10 ,
ar erciso.
", Every state Legislature in the Union, is 4
nd hidden by its own Constitution to exercise
cannot bo exercised ~ amy state. except
the people IN their highest sovereign cupaci
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