Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1861-01-14
CONaREssToNAL.
sfter our report closed
MI Seward cODti nued HIS sDeech He said

Mr. Seward continued his speech. He said:
IL 10 only sixty DAYS since this disunion move
ment began; already the disunionists have can
vesssd the possible recombuations Of the states
W hen discovered. and alliances Of those recomoi-
nations with Eur opean nations, as unnatural, ana
which would prove 1iamatsv s EMU no 20
Spaniards who promised them revenge upon their
ancient enemies, the Aztecs.
Secondly.-The movement arises partly ont OF
dispute over the con- mon domain Of the United /
States. Hitherto, the Union has confined this /
controversy within the bounds Of political debate
by referring 1t, with all other national ones, to
the arbitrament of the ballot-box. Does any one
suppose that disunion would transfer the whole |
domain to either party. or that any other umpire
than war would, after dissolution, be invoked!
also arise. out OF the 5sa, oS ,s
country. Freedom In to them, as to all mankind,
the chief object Of desire. Hitherto, under the
operation Of the Union, they have practically re-
manned ignorant of the controversy, especially Of
Its bearings on themselves. Can we hope that
fragrant civil war shall rage among ourselves In
their very presence, and yet that they will remain
stupid and-idle spectators! Does history furnish
Us any satisfactory instruction upon horrors of
civil war among people 80 brave, SO skilled In
arms 30 earnest in conviction, and so intent In
purpose, as we are' Is II a mere chimera which
suggests an aggravaton Of those horrors beyond
endurance when, on either side, there shall OCCUR
the intervention Of an uprising ferocious African
slave population Of four, or six, perhaps twenty
millions?
The opinions of mankind change, and with them
the policies Of nations. One hundred years ago
all the commercial European States were engaged
In ,so,e saes se
set In hostility to the extension and even to the
practice Of slavery. Opposition to IL takes two
forms-one European, which is simPle, direct ao-
clifton effected If need be. by compulsion; the
other American, which seeks TO arrest the African
slave trade, and resist the entrance Of domestic
slavery into territory where II is vet unknown,
while II leaves the disposition Of existing slavery
to the considerate action Of the States by which Il
IL retained.
II is the Union that restricts the opposition to
dissolution prevail, what guarantee shall there be
against the full development here of the fearful
| and Incorporating hostility to slavery which
| elsewhere pervades the world, and Of which the
recent invasion Of Virginia was an illustration?
Practically, the loss Of safety involves every
| other form Of public calamity
Dissolution would extinguish the greatness of
our country. If separate confederacies could ex-
ist and endure they could preserve share Of the
| common prestige Of the Union. The stars,
| whether scattered widely apart or grouped in
smaller clusters, will shed forth feeble glimmer-
ing and lurid lights. Nor will great &c Movement
| be- possible for the new confederacies Dissolu-
tion would signalize its triumphs by acts of wan
| tonness which would shock and astound the
| world. IL would give this capitol over to desc
lation at the very moment when the dome is rising
| over our heads that was to be crowned with the
| statue of Liberty. 4.
| No petty confederacy that shall follow the
Il
jestic drama Of national progress. Perhaps II is
| to be arrested because its sublimty 10 incapable
| Of continuance Let it be so il we have indeed
become degenerate.
The public prosperity how could 1t survive the
| storm? Its elements are material improvement
| that knows no obstacle and has no end; invention
that ranges througho the domain of nature; in
| crease OF knowledge as broad the human mine
can explore; perfection Of art as high as human
| genius can reach; and social refinement working
FOR the renovation Of the world.
How could our successors prosecute these noble
objects in the midst of brutalizing civil conflict!
| What guarantees will capital invested for such
purposes have, that will outweigh the premium
offered by political and military ambition, What
leisure will tho citizen find for study, or inven
ton, or art under the reign Of CONSUMPTION; nay
what interest in them viii society feel, when feal
and hate shall have taken possession Of the ma
| tional mind! With standing armies consuming
| the substance Of our people on the land, and ou
navy and our postal steamers withdrawn from tn,
ocean, who will protect or respect, or who will
even know by name, our petty confederacies,
| Public liberty, our own peculiar liberty, mus
| anguish for time and then cease to live And
such Ii bertyi free movement everyw ere througl
| our own land and throughout the world; fire,
speech, free press, free suffrage; the freedom o
every subject TO vote on every law, and for O
| against every agent who expounds, administers
or executes Unstable and jealous confederacies
constantly apprehending assaults without anC
| contemplate to all beside; how long will IL b.
before, on the plea OF public safety, they will
, render all their inestlmable and unequalled lib
erty and eccepttLe hateful and intolerable espion
age Of military despotlsm?
What Is the cause for this sudden and eterna
: sacrifice Of so much safety, greatness, hsppines,
AID freedom Have foreign nations combi ned
and are they coming In rage upon US! No 8
| far from being enemies, there 10 not a nation O
} earth that 10 not an interested, admiring friend
Even the London Times, by no means partial I
/ | Us, says
''Itis quite possible that the problem of dem
ocratc republic may be solved by It's overtime,
In few days in spirit Of folly, selhshness, an
D shorislgbtedness "
or oppressive, or even rigorous or unsound, h
the Constitution lost Its spirit and all at once CO
lapsed into a lifeless letter? No; the Feders
moIe sbse s4s
ton 10 even the chosen model for the organizatio
Of the newly rising confederacies.
The occasion is the election Of President Of th
| United States, who Is unacceptable to a portion
| the people. ! state the case accurately TheI
was no movement Of disunion before the ballo
2 | which expressed that choice were cast Disunio
g | began as soon as the result was announced Tt
. just ncatlon it assigned was that Abraham lii
coin had been elected, while the success of it'll,
one Of three other candidates would have bee
7, acquiesced in
/. Was the election illegal, No; Il Is unimpeacl
q able. Is the candidate personally ofsnsivsi "
: be IL a man Of uDblemished virtue and amiab
u manners. is an election Of President an unfr
d quentor extraordinary transaction? No; we new
?, had Chief Magistrate otherwise desis sted thu
A by such election, and that form Of choice is 7
newed every four years. Does any one even Or
pose 10 change the mode Of appointing the Chi
6 Magistrate! No; election by universal suffrag
= as modified by the constitution, is the one crow
!, ing franchise Of the American people To "a,
. IL they would defy the world. Is il apprehende
that the new President will usurp despotic powe
e No; while he is OF all men the most unambitiou
he 10, by the partial success Of those who oppos
his election, subjected to such restraints that
cannot, without their consent appoint minist
- or even police agent, negotiate treaty, or DR.
l. cure the passage Of a law, and can hardly draw
musket from the public arsenals to defend his ov
person.
~ What then, is the ground Of discomfort, 1t
II that the disuniOnsis did not accept as conclus
lie the arguments which were urged in behalf of d
,, successful candidate In the canvass. This il a.
Were thsir own arguments against him mo
!, satisfactory TO his supporters, or course tn
, were not; they could not be.
Does the Constitution require or imply that q
arguments Of one party shall be satisfactory
% | the other7 No. What is the constitutional reI
Ia | edy for this inevitable dissatisfaction? Renew,
:. debate and ultimate rehearing in subseuu
election. Have the now successful majority Dc
- verted power to purposes ofoppression? No; tn
as have never before held power
4 How gladly would the people Of any nation
,e Europe accept, on such terms we enjoy 1t, q