The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1860-01-04
PR ES I'D E. N T. S
MESSAGE

81 Our ueep anu neart.IelL SratlCuQe Is que
to that Almighty Power which has be-
slowed upon us such varied and numer-
Gus blessings throughout the past year.
The general health of the country has
/ been excellent; our harvests have been un-
usually plentiful, and prosperity smiles
throughout the land Indeed, notwith-
standing our dement's, we have much rea-
son to believe from the past events in
our history, that we have enjoyed
the special profession of Divine Provi-
dence ever since our origin as a nation.
We have been exposed to many threaten
ing and alarming difficulties in our pro-
gress; but on each successive occasion
the impending cloud has been dissipated
OF the moment it appeared ready to burst
upon our heads, and the danger to our in
, stitutions has passed away. May we ev-
er be under the divine guidance and pro-
lection
Whilst it is the duty of the President
''from time to time to give to Congress
shall not refer in detail to the recent sad
and bloody occurrence at Harper's Ferry
Still, it is proper to observe that these
events, however bad and cruel in them
selves, derive their chief Importance from
the apprehension that they are but symp-
toms of an ihcurable disease in the pub
lie mind, which may break out in still
moro 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 solemn warning to
us al to beware of the approach OF dam
ger. Our Union is stake of such ines
timablc value as to demand our constant
and watchful vigilance for its preservation.
In this view, let me implore my country
men, North and South, TO cultivate tie
ancieut feeling of mutual forbearance and
goodwill towards each other, aud strive
to allay the demon spirit of sectional ha-
tired and strife now alive ia the lard, -
This advice proceeds from the heart of an
old public functionary whose service com.
meneed in the last generation, among the
wiss and conservative statesmen of that
day, now nearly all passed away, and
whose frss and dearest earthly wish is to
leave his countrymen tranquil, prosper
Gus. united ard powerful
q We ought to reflect that in this age,
and especially il this country, there is an
incescant aux and rcfnx Of public opinion.
Questions which in their day assumed a
most threatening aspect, have now nearly
gone from the memory of men. They
are s.volcanoes burnt out, and Oh the lava
and ashes and squalid scorie of old erup-
tions grow the peaceful olive, the cheering
vine, and the sustaining corn" Such, In
my opinion, will prove to be the fate of
The present sectional excitement, should
those who wisely seek to apply the remedy
continue always to confine their efforts
within the pale of the Constitution. Il
this course be pursued, the existing agita-
tation on the subject Of domestic slavery.
like everything human, will have its day
and give place to other and less threaten
ing controversies Public opinion in
this country is nll.powerful, and when it
peaches dangerous excess upon any ques-
ton, the good sense of the people will
furnish the corrective and BRING it back
within safe limits. Still, to hasten this
auspicions result, at the present crisis, we
ought to remember that every rational
creature must be presumed to intend the
natural consequences of his own teachings.
Those who announce abstract doctrines
,subversive of the Constitution and the
Union, must not be surprised should their
heated partisans advance one atep further,
and attempt by violence to carry those doc
.trines into practical effect. In this view OF
the subject it ought never to be forgotten
that, however great may have been the
political advantages resulting from the
Union to every portion of our common
country, these would all prove to be as
nothing should the time ever arrive when
they cannot be enjoyed without serious
danger to the personal safety of the peo'
t,le of fifteen members of the confederacy
If the peace of the domestic fireside
shroughout these States should ever be
invaded if the mothers of families with
in this extensive region should not bt
able to retire to rest at night without
suffering dreadful apprehensions of wha
-mny be their own fate and that of thei
children before the morning--it would
be vain to recount to such people th'
political benefits with result to then
from the Union. Self-preservation i
the first instinct of nature; and therefore
any state of society in which the swort
is all the time suspended over the head
Of the people. must at last become intol
cradle. But indulge in no such gloom
sforebodings On the. contrary, firml
believe that the events at Harper's Ferry
by causing the people to pause and re
aaect upon the possible peril to their cher
Xished institutions, will be the means. ur
der Providence, of alIaying the existin
excitement and preventing future ou
breaks Of similar character. They will re
ssoiye that the Constitution and the Unio
shall not be endangered by rash counsel
GU. chat shonld ssthe silver cord L