Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1861-01-24

practically remained igncrant Of the con
.rovcrsy, especially Of IL bsahng on them
elves Can We hops tIAt 1asrant civil var
hall rage among ourselves in their very
presence, and yet that they will remain
tupid and idle spectators2 Does history
'hrnish us any satisfactory instruction upon
ne horrors Of civil war among people 20
brave, 50 skilled in arms, 70 earnest in con- |
viction, and % intent IN purpose, asw are?
Is il mere chimers which suggests an sg- |
Of those horrors beyond endur-
ancc, when, on either side, there shah occur
the intervention of an uprising, ferocious, |
African Slave population Of four or SIX, per-
haps twenty millions2 z ~ = f'
The.opinions Of mankind change, and with
them the politics Of nations. One hundred
years ago all the commercial European
States were engaged in transferring negro
Slaves from, Africa to this hemisphere, To-
day al those States are firmly 81 Ii hostility
to the extension and even to the practice of
Slavery. Opposition to it takes two forms;
one European, which is simple, direct aboli-
ton, effected, If need be, by compulsion /;
the other American, which seeks to arrest
the African Slave trade, and resist the en-
trance Of domestic Slavery into Territories
where it is yet unknown, while it leaves the
disposition Of existing Slavery to the con
siderate action of the States by which Il Is
retained. It is the Union that restricts the
opposition to Slavery in this country within
these limits If dissolution prevail, what
guarantee shall there be against the full de-
velopment here of the fearful and uncom-
promising hostility TO Slavery which else
where pervades the world, and Of which the
recent invasion of Virginia was an illustra-
ton? 80. .'''Aels} bssso1,~ .1i. il a sidf
Mr.. President, I have designedly dwelt 20
long on the probable effects of disunion up
on the safety of the American people as to
leave me little time to consider the otherevils
which must follow in its train Butpnctic-
ally, the loss of safety involves every other
form Of public calamity. When once the
guardian angle has taken fight, everything
is lost. -, -. ,.+- = q ~ !.
Dissolution would not only arrest, but ex-
tinguish the greatness of our country. Even
il separate confederacies could exist and en-
dure, they could severally preserve no share
Of the common prestige of the Union. 1t
the constellation is to be broken up, the
stars, whether scattered widely apart or
grouped in smaller clusters, will thenoeforth
shed forth feeble glimmering and lurid lights
nor win great achievements be possible for
the new confederacies. Dissolution would
signalize its triumphs by acts of wantonness
which would shock and astound the world.
It would provincialize Mount Vernon and
give this Capitol over to desoldtion at the
very moment when the dome wasrising over
our heads that was to be crowned with the
statue Of Liberty Alter this thers would
remain for disunion no act Of stupendous
infamy to the committed. q No petty con-
federacy that shall follow the United States
can prolong, or even renew, the majestic
drama Of national progress. Perhaps il is
to be arrested because its sublimity is inca
pable Of continuance. Let it be SO, if we
have indeed become degenerate. After
Washington, and the inHexible, Adams,
Henry, and the peerless Hamilton, .JefFer-
son and the majestic Clay, Webster, and the
acute Calhoun, jackson, the modest Taylor
and Scott, who rises in greatness Under the
burden Of years, and Franklin, ::and Fulton,
and Whitney, and Morse, have all perform
cd their parts, let the cursain faAf soas (
While listening to these debates, I have
sometimes forgotten myself in marking their
consrasted effects upon the page who GUS
tomarily stands on the dais before me, and
the venerable Secretary who sits behind him.
The youth exhibits intense but pleased emo
ton in the excitement, while at every irrev-
erent word that is uttered against the Union
the eyes of the aged man are sufused with
teass. Let him weep no more. Rather re-
joice, for yours has been Q lot of rare felicity.
You have seen and been a part of al the
greatness of your country, the towering ma
tional greatness of all the world. Weep
only you, and weep with all the bitterness
of anguish, who are just stepping on the
threshold Of life; for that greatness parishes
prematurely and exists not for you, nor for
me, nor for any that shall come after US.
The public prosperity | how could i sur
yiye the storm2 Its elements are industry
in the culture of every fruit mining Of "
the metals; commerce at home and on every
sea :, material improvement that knows nc
obstacle and has no end invention thai
ranges throughout the domain of nature
increase Of knowledge as broad as the human
mind can explore; perfection of art as high
l as human genius can reach and social re-
6nsmsnt working for the renovation Of tn
4 woridssii "a Of flssm ssa 0h .gF.ai,s
! How could our successors prosecute thess
noble objects in the midst of brutalizlnl
civil conflict What guarantees will capita
invested for such purposes have, that vii
outweigh the premium offered by politice
and military smbitionf What leisure vii
the citizens find for study, or invention o
!. art, under the reign of CONSUMPTION nay
..--. =, Al a,.. xv;ll aorsatv faal wheI