Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1860-01-10

beset with tolls. when sedition is rife in the
land, when suhjection threatens the dignity,
the integrity, the majesty, the sovereignty Of
Virginia, and the violence Of armed invasion
itself menaces our borders,
THE patriot and the pa,rio. press shall stand
A wall Of fire around our mueh-oYed land
,lr Chairman, it is, perhaps, presumptu-
Gus in me, before such an assemblage as tins,
to ningle my advice with the counsel already
expressed by SO many others better entitled to
advise on the topic which has formed the chief
subject Of discussion to-night-the priceless
value Of this Union and the means best adap-
ted 1T this time 10 the maintenance Of its in
tesrity.
But this, sir, trust may be permitted to
say-that love this Union with long and
enduring affection-one that has grown with
my growth and strengthened with my
strength from childhood up | have even
found homes that call my own-yes, more
thai, one home in the sections Of the Union
in the North, and in the Great West, and, es.
pecially, on the hallowed soil OF this my mo-
ther State And there is pride which at
taches to this affection for the Gnion-a fond
pride. In my childhood, heard repeated the
words OF n very great man, Sergeant S. Prem
tiss, Of Mississippi. which express in glowing
eloquence this pride Of Union. ! believe re-
member, rery nearly, the exact language and
| have frequently taken OCCASION 70 recltc it
in prirate-solnetimcs in public.
"Fellow-citizens," said Slr. Prentiss, adj
dressing an audience az distance from his
home-"F Fellow -Ctizens-I can stand by the
deer.hunted forests of Maine, and say, Feflon-
Citizens! can wander to the remotest shore
of Lake Superior and there say, Ftllon Citi-
-ena. can 90 further, 10 the head waters Of
the Missouri. and there can say, tsttor- Clu-
zcnst can follow the course Of the stream to
where the Father of Waters yields his tri-
butte OF waters to the ocean-thcre, too, and
at every step, can repeat it-fstI0~- Citizens!
From shore to shore Of this mighty continent;
from the fur North, where the icicles glitter in
June, to the far South where the orange BIOS
som and the spice tree shed their perfume in
December: on the crowded martS Of the Queen
cities of the Atlantic coast or where the surg
ing pillows of the Pacific bound our Western
Empire; on mountain, OF pain, or valley; on
the waving prairie, or beneath the palmetto
shade wherever place my foot il stands on
native soil; and it is still my pride and privl-
lcgc to shout the Sel[.came words-rELLow-
CITIZENS"
Alr. Chairman, with the pride and love Of
this Union, have imbibcd too the sentiment
and the conviction, that jealous maintenance
Of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution
especially the rights guaranteed 10 the unim-
paired equality Of sovereign States-rights to
be maintained at every hazard, and by force Of
arms, if nccessary-that such an unhinching
maintenance Of Constitutional right furnishes
the best the only means, BY which to maintain
the integrity of the Union.
Sir, we have been told, by some, that we are
not to rush forward to meet and repel the wave
of fanatcal encroachment on our right, while
the danger at hand is only imminent We
have been told that we are to await covert
acts" We'll, sir, the Lieutenant Governor Of
this Commonwealth has just called your attcn-
ton to the fact, that one overt act has been
tell you, that not one, but
many overt acts, have been committed are at
this moment in the very act Of continuous
commission. need not refer in proof Of
this even to the continuous guerrilla war,
Keep, up on tue Northern border Of the
Southern States for the pilGering Of Southern
property. ] refer you to Il motion, gentlemen,
unanimously passed BY your own body, at the
suggestion of Senator lSBELL, for full report
of all the statutes passed by the Legislatures
o! Northern States in dcrogation Of our rights
Lock to this development, Senator's Of Firgi-
nn and fud on iLc very st"tute hnnks nf snve-
raj Of tho Northern States, overt acts OF un-
constitutional inr;rsi even nos operating
against us with an influence and all outrage
even more reprehensble and more fatal to our
peace than the raid itself Of John Brown ever
proved TO be.
The question involved is for your official con-
silcration, gentlemen: How shall we main-
tain the integrity of the Union: How shall
We repel and eXtinguish the flame Of encroach-
ment which has already invaded the integrity
of the Union? How shall we act? When
shall we act? will not presume to instruct you
rs to the how or the when. But trust you
will permit me to observe, that if the moment for
prompt, direct, forcible action has arrived, or
when il shall arrive-when the decisive blow
must be stricken,-I have little hope Of the
efficiency of sectional interstate Congresses or
Conventions. Congresses and Conventions ne
yer did, and, believe, never will give the first
great impulse TO great political reform, be 1t
revolutionary or rc.active. The tlrst great
overt act Of patriotic resistance must DC
accomplished BY chosen few. Some Pat
rick Henry must first seize the Powder
Magazine. 4 few men of popular infiu-
ence must lead the van. Happy will it be
for us, if in the crisis of the irTeprcssi.
bic conflict" proclaimed against us, these
leading men shall be found ready, and already
at the helm Of State 1t is in the first instance
to the separate action Of the Executive and
r -. of <t,o1 Cfata
especially to the Executive and Legislature oi
Virginia, that the people Of the South, nay the
conservative people Of the whole Union, have
the right to look for the first instance Of ef'
ficient aid, protection and redress for the nov
violated integrity of the Union.
take the liberty, Mr.. Chairman, before re
suning my seat, to make some reference to tht
great occasion Of this assemblage. You, Sena
tors Of Virginia, have assembled in one body
to DO honor to one man. You have to-nigh
unanimously declared that the guest who now
occupies the chief seat at your board, has filled
the second office in the gift Of this Common
wealth so faithfully and so efficiently as tt
render him lit model for the imitation OF hi:
successors No higher compliment than thi'
could be paid to public servant Ask your
sClNcS HliClilSl llIlo IN ILL SibpLy oH'PiASste
mere matter of ceremonial observance, which
like the ordinary current Of editorial puffs
falls alike on the just ard on the unjust!
bestowed alike on the deserving and the unde
serving. If so, the complimentary observan
ces of your august body, permit me to say
like those Of the press, stand sorely in need o
some healthy correction.
Or, is the compliment now rendered 10 WI
liam L. Jackson a sincere tribute? Does
meet the approval Of your hearts and you
judgments! Has this man performed his duty
his whole duty: In the high part which h'
has been called to act in this government O.
Laws, has he stood faithful high priest beside
the altar of the law to preserve its purity, t.
guard its sanctity, burning the genuine in
cense Of patriotism before the eyes OF tre'
people and beneath the eye Of that all-seein;
God whose service is perfect freedom 2
May.I be permitted to answer this question
for you? l believe that know this man-ant
] know that love him-and in the earnest
ness Of atfectionatc sincerity, |, for one, pro
noun IN hin, tn no TRUp HAS