, 1860-03-07

possesses my Legislative authority, aud should
he assumed and exercised by court which eau
only take cognizancc Of the great question col
1aterally, IN private action between indlyidu-
ais. and which action tho Constitution will not
suter the court to cntertain if It involves TWEEN
y dollars OF money, without the oyerruling in
tervcntion Of a jury of twelve good and lawful
men Of the ueighborhood where the litigation
arises. The independent, eyer-renewed, and
ever recurring representative Parliament, Diet,
mount, essential, indispensable institution in a
Republic: Even liberty, guaranteed by organic
law, yet II it be held by other tenure thaa tho
guardian care Of such representative popular
assembly, il precariously maintained. while
Slavery, enforced by an irresponsible judicial
tribunal, is the eompletest possible development
Of despotism.
~ Mr. President, did ever the annals of any gov-
ernment show more rapid or more complete.
departure from the wisdom and virtue of its
founders. Did ever the Government Of
great empire founded on the rights Of human
labor, slide away SO fast and SO far, and moor
itself so tenaciously on the basis Of capital und
that capital invested in laboring men? Did
ever free representative Legislature, invested
with powers SO great, and with the guardiau-
ship OF rights so important, Of trusts so sacred,
Of interests so precious, and Of hopes ut once
so noble aud SO comprehensive, surrender aud
renounce them all 50 unnecessarily. SO nnxise-
- 50 AAkA&45 aAA 81 1AEl01!0Aa43 IL IL QG
true, as every instinct Of our nature, and every
precept Of political experience teaches us, that
WltIe wsal:h aceunol.te, aai mss Iesay,"
then whcre in IRELAND. il. Italy, in Poland, or in
Hungary, has any ruler prepared for a generous
and confding people disa.ppointments, disasters
and calamities equal to those which the govern
ment Of the United States holds now suspended
orcr so large portion Of the continent Of North
America!
Citizens Of the United States, in the spirit Of
this policy, was subyested the free Republican
Nicaragua, audopcned it to Slavery and the Afri-
can Slage trnde, and h,ld it in that condition,
waiting annexation to the United States, until
its sovereignty was restored by combination Of
sister Republics exposed to the same danger,
and npprehcnsiye Of similar subversiou. Other
citizens reopened the foreign Slavc trade In yio-
lation Of our laws and treaties; and, after u
suspension ofthat shameful traffic for City years,
savage Africans haze teln once more landed on
our shores and distributed, unreclaimed aud
with 1nlpunity, among our plantations.
Forth's policy, 50 (ar as the government has
sanctioned it, the Democratic party ayows itself
responsible. Everywhere complaint against it
Is denounced, and it's opponents prescribed.
When Kansas was sriihing under the wounds
OF incipient, serrile war, because of her resist
ance, the Democratic press der,din:ly said Let
her bleed" Official integrity has been cause
for rebuke aud punishment, when it resisted
frauds designed to promote the extension of
Slavery. Throughout the whole Republic there
is not one known dissenter from that policy re-
mainingin place, ifwitfin reach Of the Executive
arm- Nor over the face Of the whole world is
there to be found one representative Of our
country who is not m apologist Of the extension
Of Slavery
1t is in America that these things laye hop-
| pened. In tile nineteenth century, the era OF
tue worlds greatest progress, ard while all na-
tious but ourselves have been either abridgIng
or altogether suppressing commerce in men Ut
the very moment when The Russian serf is
emancipatcd, and the Georgian captive, the Su.
hiau prisoner, and the AbysSinian savage are
lifted up to freedom by the successor of alcharu-
mel. The world, prepossessed III our behalf by
| cur early devotion to the rights Of human n;s.
tnre, as no nation eyer before engaged its re:
a1pazement, what alt this dclnoral;z ltion means,
1t has an excuse better than tile world can i'm.
aElne-~teitcr than We arc generally conscious
OF ourselves a yirtuous excuse. We hare loy,
/ ed not Freedom so much less, but the Union oil
our country so much more. We have beer
made to believe, from, time to time, that in cr
sis both Dt these precious institutions could moi
be saved together, and therefore ne have, from
time to time, surrendered safeguards offrcedon
| to propitiate the loyalty of capital and STAY l.:
lands from doing violence II the Union. The
true state Of the case, however, ought Eot to bt
a mystery to ourselves. Precedence, indeed, i.
not g1ren to statesmen; but We nrc without cx
cusc when we fail 10 apprehead the logic Of cur
rent crents. Let parties, or the Government
glucose or do what they may, the people Of tha
United States do nut prefer the wealth Of til,
few to the liberty Of the many, capital to labor
African slayes to white frecnlen, in the naticna
Territories and in future States. That question
has never been sufficiently recognized on actet
on by them. The Republican party ei3telic
the popular protest and reaction against poll
! o. which has been fastened upon the nation b,
surprise, and which its reason aud conscience
| concurrjng with the reason and conscience o
mankind, condemn.
Democratic party and the Republican party. It
principles aud policy are, therefore, Justly an,
even necessarily csaafiued. l know Of onf: on
policy which it has adopted or ayowed. namely
Tie sariug Of tie Territories Of tie Uni.4i !Sta<4
# possi@ls, ty constitutional and AtgIN 1'eant
from icing homes for 4starsry end .t~ly2 ls"y
Who, that considers Yhere this nation exists. :
what races it is compGsed, in what age Of th
world it acts its part on the public stage, uni
what are its predominant institutions, ctlst2n,s
habits, and sentiments, doubts that the lsepub
lican party can und will, if unwaycriug1y faith
ful to that policy, and just and loyal in all be
side, carry it into triun,pha1 success: 10 t.ouh
is to be uncertain whether civilization can i'm
prove or Christianity saye mankind.
may, perhaps, infer, from the necessity o
the case, that it will, in all cnurts and places
stand by the freedom cf speech anL of til
press, nnd The constitutional rights Of freedom
every where; that it will favor the speedy Iii
provement Of the pnhlsc domain l'y hon,cstea
laws, and will encourage mining. mapuf:ctare,
and internal co.nn,efce, with neellul connec
tions between The Atlantic and Pacific States
for oil these arc important interests Of freedom
For all tue rest. the national emergencies, no
individual Influences, must determinu, Us soeet,
goes On, the policy and character of the Kepub
lican party. Already bearingitsp in lesis;a
ton and in treaties, it feels the necessity Q
being practical in its care Of the national healtl
and life, WMle itfeaves mEtaphy steal specuiatio,
to those whose duty it is to cultivate the emo
bling science Of political philosophy.
e but iu the midst Of these subjects or, rather
before fully reaching them, the Republican pa.
II encounters, unexpectedly, Il new and poicn
tial lssue-one prior, and therefore paramount
to all others, one Of national life and death
Just as it SO much had not been already couce
aed mar, just Ms if nothing at oil had ever bec1
conceded to the interest OF capital invested il
men, we hear meuaces Of disunion, louder, ,mor
d,ion annexed that they shall be executed til
moment TINT Republican Administration
though constltutionally elected, shall assum
the Government.
do not certaiuly know that tue people ar
prepared to call such an Administration 10 pow
er. know only, TINT through q succession G
floods which never greatly excite, ard ebb
which ncrer entirely discourage me, tile voluu,
| of rcpublicanisu1 rises continually higher an
higher. They arc probably wise whose apprt
tensions admonsh them that it's already strou
enough for effect.
Hitherto the Republican party has been cor
tent with one s.lfinterrogatory-ho man
votes it can casts These threats enforce anott
er-bas it determination enough to cast them
This inter question touches its spirit aud pride
am quite sure, however, that, as It has hither,
practiced se!f.denial IN SO nauy other forms,
will in this emergency lay aside all impatienc
Of temper, together with alf ambition. and vi
consider these extraordinary declamations 81
riously, and with just moderation. It woul
be waste Of words to demonstrate that the
are unconstitutional, and equally idle to slo,
that the responsibility for disuujon, attemptc
or effected, must rest not with these who 10 tn
exercise Of constitutional authority maintai
the Government, but witt those who uueor
stitutionally engage in the mad work Of sui
rerting it.
What are the excuses for these menaccs
They resolve themselves into this, that the liz
publican party in The North is hostile to III
South. But it already is proved to be mi
jority in the North; It is. therefore, PRACTICAL
the people OF the North. Will it sill he tt
sano North that has forborne with you 50 lon
and conceded to you so much! Can you jnstl
assume that affection which has been So cun
plying cao all at once change to hatred, inteus
1nd inexorable7
You say that the Republican party is Sc,
tional one. Is the Democratic party less set