Red Wing sentinel., 1861-03-13

.eeS-A .s.-sc----S
Inaugural Address Of President Linccln
Delivered at the Ccpit0l. March .,tl., at II
O'clock, NJ.
Fctl"m CWi=cns Of tie tnitcd States.
III compliance with custom rs old rs III,
Government is itself, appear before you Il.
address you briefly, aud to take in your pres.
cncc the oath prescribed by the Constitution
Of the United States, 10 he taken by the
President before he enters on the execution,
OF the duties OF his Office. DO not consider
IT necessary ut present for mo TO discnss thos,
matters OF administration abont which there
IS no special anxiety or excitement. Apprc-
he'sion seems to exist among the people o.
the Southern States. that ty the accession oi
Republican Administration their property,
and their peace, and personal security, arc to
b, endangered.
lhere las never been any reasonable cause
Tor such apprehension; indeed TIC most ample
evidence to the contrary has alI the while ex
iStcd, and been open to their inspection. II
IS found III nearly all tho published speeches
Ol HIM who now addresses you l do hu:
quote from one Of those speeches, when de-
clare that have no purpose, directly or in
directly, to interfere with tic institution O.
slavery in the States where it exists. be-
lievc have no right TO do so. and have nc
inclination to do SO. Those who nominated
nn! elected me did so with full knowledge
that had made this and many similar dctla
ratlons. and had never recalled them; art
more t''"" this, they placed in the platform
Tor my acceptance rs a law to themselves ant
to me-, q clear and emphatic resolution, wLicl
now read:
RESOLVED, That the maintenance, inyiolatt
OF the rights Of the States, and especially til,
right OF each State, to order and control It:
own domestic institutions according to its owl
judgment exclusively. is essential to tkat bal
"nce OF power on which the perfection ant
endurance OF our political fabric depends, anc
VIC dcnouncc Tic lawl1ss invasion by an avInc.
force OF the soil Of any State or Territory, nc
matter under what prctcxt, as the grayest O
crimes.
now rcitcratc my sentiments. and in doing
so only press upon the public attention the
most conclusive evidence of which the case: i:
susceptible, that the pr pcrty, peace, and Sc
curity OF no section are to be in anywisc en-
tlangcrcd by the now incoming administration
add, too, that all the protection which con
sistcntIy with the Constitution and the law;
can be given, will be checrfully given to al
the States when lawfully demanded for what
ever cause, as chccrlully to one section as tc
another.
There is much controversy about the tcliy
ering up OF fugtivcs from service or labor
The clause now read is as plainly written ir
the Constitution as any other OF its provis
M 1,nll % l.
one State under the laws thereof, escaping
into another, shall in consequence of any law
or regulation therein, be discharged from such
service or labor but shall be delivered up OF
claim Of tho party to whom such service or
labor my be DUE" 1t was intended BY those
who made it for the rcclaiming Of what we
call fugitive slaves, and the intention of the
lawsivcr is the law. All members of Con.
grcsss swear their support to the whole Con-
s.itution, to this provision as much as to
any other mission, then, that slaves, whose
escape comes within the terms of this clause,
shall hc delivered up. Their oath, arc
unanimous. Now if they would make tho
effort in good temper, they could not, with
nearly equal unanimty, frame and pass
law by means Of which to keep good that
unanimous oath. There is some difference
Of opinion whether this clause should be en-
forced by National Or State authority, but
surely that difference is not very material
one. If the slave is to be surrendered, it
can be Of but little consequence to him or to
others by which authority it is done, and
should any one in any case be content that
his oath shall be unkcpt for merely unsu5-
stantial controversy as to how it Shall be
kept? Again, in any law upon this subject,
ought not alt the safeguards Of liberty known
in civilized and human jurisprudence, to be
introduced so that freemen may rot be in
any case surrendered as a slave, and might
it not be we'll at the same time 10 provide a
law for the enforcement of that clause in
the Constitution which guarantees that the
citizens ofcach State shall be entitled to all
the privileges and immnnitics of citizens in
the several States? take the official oath
to-day with no mental reservations and
with no purpose to construe the Constitu-
ton or laws by any hypocritical rules, and
while do not choose now to specify par.
ticularly acts of Congress as proper to be
enforced, do suggest that it will bc much
safer for all, both in office and private rcla-
tions, TO conform to and abide by all those
acts which stand unrepealcd than to violate
any Of them, trusting to find impunity in
having them held to be unconstitutional.
1t is scyenty-two years since tho first in
auguration ola President under our present
Constitution. During that period fifteen
different and greatly distinguished citizens
have in succession administered the execu-
tive branch Of the Government. They have
conducted it through many pcr;ls, and gen
orally with great success, yet with all this
scope for preccdcdt, now enter upon the
same task for the brief constitutional term
Of four years, under great and peculiar diff
culties. Disruption Of the Fedral Uuion.
heretofore only menanced, is now for,slably
attempted. l hold that, in contemplation
of universal law and Of the Constitution, the
union Of these States is perpetual. Perpitu-
ity is implied. if not expressed, in the fonda-
mental law Of all National Governments
1t is safe to assert that Government
proper never had provisions in its Or
ganic law for its own termination. Continue
TO execute all the express provision o:
our National Constitution, and the Union
will endure forcvcr,i it being impossible to
destroy it except by some action not proyid-
cd for in the instrument itself
Again, ifthc United States he not sov-
crnmcnt proper, but an association of States
in the nature of a contract merely can, it, as
81 contract, be pcaccably unmadc by less than
all the parties who made it? One party to a
contract may violate it, and break it, so to