Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1861-01-16
rllE NATIONAL CRISIS.


. Union expressed my opinion freely
, concerning the original cnuses OF these
dangers, and recommended such meas
uroa os ! believe would have the eject OF
tranquillzing the country and saving II
from the peril in which j. had been needs
lessy and most unfortunately involved.
r Those opinions and recommendation !
do not propose now TO repeat. Ny own
, convictions uron the whole suliec, remain
: 'unch ,ngcd. Tic fact that great caam-
ity was impending over tho nation was
even at that tine acknowledged by every
intelligent citizen, IL had already made
itself felt throughout the length and
breadth Of the land.
The necessary consequences Of the
alarm thus produced were most deplora-
ble. The imports fell ofrwith arap.dtv new
er known before except N time Of war, in
the history of oUr foreign commerce. The
treasury was unexpectedly afJ without
The means which il had reasonably count
ed upon to meet its public engagements,
ltrade was parayzed, manufactures were
lstoTpeG. the best public securities sud.
denly sunk in the market, every species
of property deprecated more or less. and
thousands ofpOor men, who depended on
their daily labor for their daily bread,
were turned ont Unemployment. deep
y regret that am not able to giIe YOU
any information upon the state Of the
Union which is more satisfactory than
what was then obliged to communicate.
On the contrary, matters are still worse at
| the present than they were. When Com
gress met a strong hope pervade the
whole public mind that some amicable
adjustment OF the subject would be speed
! lily made Icy the representatives. Of the
States and OF the people, which might re-
store peace to the conflicting sections of
the country.
That hope has been diminished by ove-
Iry hour Of delay, and as the prospect of a
bloojless settlement fades away, the pub-
lie distress becomes more ana more aggra-
waited. As an evidence of this, it is onl;
necessary to say that the treasury notes
authorized by the act OF the l7th Of De-
Icember last, we're advertised according to
law, ard that no responsible bidder offer
ed to take any considerable sum at par
at a lower Iato Of interest than u per
cent. From these facts il appears that IN
a government organized like ours, domes.
tic strife, or even well.groundcd fear Of
civil hOstiities, is more destructive to our
public and private interests than the most
formidable foreign var.
In my annual message | expressed the
conviction which have long deliberately
held, md which recent reflection has on
ly tended to deepen and confirm, that no
State has the right, by its own act to SCI
code from the Union or throw of its Fed
nrol nl,liro,i,,g at ,1,,,t,ro I,1. 1
red my opinion To be, that even if that
right existed, and should be exercised by
any State OF the Contederacy, the Execu-
tive Department Of this Government had
no authority under the Constitution to
recognize its validity by acknowledging
the independence Of such State. This
left me no alternative, as the Chief Exec.
utiye officer, under the Constitution OF.
the United States, bat to collect the pub.
tic revenue and protect the public prop
erty, as far as this laght be practicable
under the existing laws. This is still nv
purpose. My province is to execute, not
to make. the laws. Itbolongs TO Congress
exclusively TO repeal, modify or enlarecI
their provisions to meet eXigencies as they
occur. ! possess no dispensing rower. /
certainly had no ri ght 10 make an agrees
sive war upcr any State. and am per-
iectIv satisfied that the Constitution has
wisely withheld that power even from Conf
gress.
But the right ard the duty to use the
military force deiensivelv agsinst those
who resist the Federal officers in the exc
cution of their legal functions, and /.
against those who assail the uroncyty of
t ,n Ia.l.rol (npV1r,,,,,,,,t Z
undeniahle. But the dangerous ana hos.
tile attitude OF States towards each other
has already far transcendcd and cast into ,
the shade the ordinary Executive duties
already provided for by law, and has AS,
sumed such vast and alarming nropor,
tions as to place the subject entirely above
and beyond the Executive control. Tho
fact cannot be disguised that we are in
the midst Of great revolution. In all
its various bearings therefore. commend
the question to Congress, as the only hu>
man tribunal under Providence posJa>,,
ing the power to meet the existing e;nor.
gency. TO them exclusively belongs the
power to declare war or authorize the en-
ployment of TIE military force in all cases
by The Constitution, and
ley alone possess ,he power 10 remove
the grievances which might lead to war
and to secure peace and union to this dis.
tracted country. On them, and on them
alone, rests the responsibility.
The Union is sacred trust left by our
revolutionary fathers to their descendants,
and never did any other people inherit 50
rich legacy. 1t has randered US prospe- |
rous in peace and triumphant IN war |,
The national flag has hoated with glory
over every sea. Under its shadow Amer. |
lean citizens have found protection and
respect in all lands beneath the sun. III
we descend TO considerations of purely |
material interest, when, in the history Of (
all time has a coniederacy been bound !
together with such strong ties or mutual
interest? Each portion Of it is depend |
ent on all, and all upon each portion, for
prosperity and domestic security. A free
trade throughout tho whole supplies The
wants Of one portion from the productions
of another and scatters wealth every
where. The great planting and farming