The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1861-01-25


do not assume extra constitutional powers
are less sure to avert imminent evils thar
they are certain to produce ultimately ever
greater dangers. Indeed Mr. President,
think it will be wise to discard two prevalen
IDEAS or prejudices, namely, first, that tn,
Union is to be saved by some cunning ant
insincere compact of paciication. If | re
member rightly, | said something like thi
here SO long ago as 1850, and afterwards ir
1854.
The present danger discloses itself in thi.
form. Discontented citizens have obtained
political power in certain states, ard they are
using this authority to overthrow the fedora
government. They delude themselves with
the belief that the state power they have &C.
quired enables them to discharge themselves
of all allegiance to the whole republic. The
honorable senator from Illinois MIR Douglas
says we have a right to cocrce state but
We cannot. The president says that no state
has right to secede, but we have no consti-
tutional power to make war against state
The dilemma results from an assumption that
those who, in such case, act against the fed
cral government, act lawfully as state al
though manifestly they have perverted the
power OF the state to an unconstitutional
purpose. A class of politicians in New Eng
land set up this theory and attempted to
practice upon it in our war with Great Brit
aim MIR Jefferson did not hesitate to say
that states must be kept within their consti-
tutiona sphere by impulsion, if they could
not be held by attraction. Secession was
then held to be iradmissable in the face of a
public enemy. Bu: if it is untenable in one
case, it is necessarily so in all others. | full
ly admit the originality, the sovereignty. and
the independence of the several states within
their sphere. But hold the federal govern
ment to be equally ori ginal, sovereign. and
independent within its sphere. And the gov
ernment Of the state can no more abSolvc
the people residing within its limits from al
legiance to tie Union. than the government
of the Union can absolve them from alles-
ance to the state. The constitution of the
United States, and the laws made in pursu-
ance thereof, are the supreme law ofthe land,
paramount to all Legislation of the states,
whether made under the constitutions or bv
even their organic conventions. The Union
can be dissolved, not by secession, with or
without armed force but only by the voiun-
taly consent Of the people of the United
States, collected i'll the manner prescribed by
the constitution of the Unit-d States
Congress, in the present case, ought not to
be mpassive. 1t ought, If it can. to redress
any real grievances Of the offended states,
and then it oush; to supply the president
with the means necessary to maintain Tx,
Union in the tull exhibition ard discreet ex-
erci>e of its authority. Beyond this, with
the proper activity On the part O: the eNecu-
tive the responsibility of saving the Union
belongs to the people,and they are abundant
ly competent to discharge it. | propose,
therefore, with great Difference, to address
myself to the country upon the MomtntOus
subject, asking hearing, not less from the
people within what are called the seeding,
than from those vino reside within the a,-
herring states.
Union is all Old, fixed, settled habit Of the
American people, resulting from the conyic-
tons of its necessity, and therefore not like
ly to be hastily discarded. The early states.
while existing as colonies, were combined,
though impertectly, through common ale
giance to the British crown. When tha, a.
egiance ceased. 10 one was so rresumptuouS
as to suppose political existence compatible
with disuuon and, therefore, on the same
day that they declared themselves independ-
ent, they proclaimed themselves also conttd-
Grated states. Experience in war and in
peace, from l11G to 1877, only convinced
them Of the necessity OF converting that
loose conicdcracy into a more pertec, and
perpetual Union. They acted with cool
ness very different from the ntemperate con-
duct of those who now on one side threaten,
and those who on the other rashly defy dis
union. They considered the continuance of
the Union as a subject comprchending moth
Ing less than the safety and welfare of all
the parts of which the country is composed,
and til, fate Of an empire in many respects
the most Interesting in The world. enter
upon the subject OF continuing tie Union
now, deeply impressed with TIE same sener-
Gus ard loyal conviction. How could it be
otherwise, when, instead o! only thirteen, the
country is now composed of thirty-tnree
parts and the empire embraces, instead of
only four millions, no less than thirty mil
lions of inhabitants ? The founders of the
constitution, moreover, regarded the Union
as no mere national or American Interest,"
On the contrary, they confessed with deep
senSibih.y that it seemed to them to have
been reserved for the people Of this country
to decide whether societies of men are really
capable Of establishing good government up
on reflection ard choice, or whether they are
forever destined to depend Ger their political
constitutions on accident and force. Ihcy
feared. therefore, that their failure to contin-
ue and perfect the Union would be a misfor-
tune to the nations. How much more, sir
would its overthrow now be calamity to
mankind
Some form of government is indispensable
here as elsewhere. Whatever form We have
every individual citizen and every state must
cede to it some natural rights, to invest the
government with the requisite power. The
simple question, therefore, for us now to de.
eide, while laying aside all pique, passion and
pre- judice, is: whether it conduces more to
the interests of the people Of this country to
remain, for the general purposes ofpeace and
war, commerce, inland and foreign, post al
communications at home and abroad, the
care and disposition Of the public domain
colonization, the organization and admission
of new states, and, generally, the enlarge
ment CT empire, one nation under our pres
cnt constitution, than it would be to divide
themselves into separate coniederacies OF
states.
Our country remains now as it was in 49,
composed no. of detached aud distant ter
| ritories, but Of one whole, well connected ant
!, fertile region, lying within the temperate
zone, with climates and soils hardly more va
| rious than those of France or OF Italy. Thi:
! slight diversity quickens and ampliiies manu-