The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1861-02-26
SPEECH OF
HON. =. A. BIN CHAM,
ON THE STATE OF THE UNION,


u ON THE STATE OF THE UNION,
y In the House ofReprcsc,Iiarives,Ja OF ,Jan.22, 1856
Il Tho House having under consideration the repol
! from the select committee OF thriy'three-
u Mr.. BINGHAM said:
f Mr.. SPEAKER: No man can regret NOR
than do the fact that there is conspiracy il
K The Capitol, and widespread conspiracy il
Il the country, against tho Constitution, tn
D Union, and the laws. For one, | am read,
), to saw, that neither partisan feeling, nor prd
I Of opinion, nor the prcjudces or passions o
the hour, shall deter me from an earnest sup
port Of any and all just legislation essential (,
: the supremacy Of the Constitution and til,
Y maintenance Of the Union. But, sir, it is il
vain TO endeavor To save the Constitution hy
sacrifice of the great principles which uudclIl,
it, and which constitute its life. cannot, auc
will not, under any pIcssu,o, support Al J
measure which shall involyc ~ucl, sacrifice
, No, sm; | stand here today for tho Cousliru.
tion AS it is. stan to-day with millions ot
my cOunirymcn of every section of the Re
public for tho Constitution as il is. By all the
dread memories of the past, hy all The felt
cnjoymcnts Of the present., by all the cherish
od hopes uf m" future, we arr commanded e.
maintain intact and iu,lolatc that matchlr,s
form of civil roi,v-thc Constitution of our
common county; that conntry which has bat
on" Constitution; that country which ombra-
ccs every rood Of the Republic.
But SIR, notwithstanding the clear guaran.
tee of tho Constitution to every citizen, bow
pvcr humble, that he shall be at llrrty to 90,
under the protection OF the laws, every where
within the jurisdiction o. the Federal Cons'i-
and hamlet and clty f Ihc Union, upon every
water cours" upon cvrry sea, all round The
globe wherever your flag floats; yet day 10y
day it is proclaimed here aud in the other end
Of the Capiloi that rhie cuarartec OF the Con
stiutlon, this rgtl Of The citizen, may be
swept away at any moment 10y State scces-
sion convention. Sir, stand here TO deny
that proposition. With uplitcd hand, deny
that any State Of this Union, or all the States
Of this Union combined, acting rs States, can
righlfully deprive any ci,iz Of his guaran-
tled prl'Iieg's. In the name OF the people OF
ne republic | declare ,l"t e.. -''
the sovereign power OF the people themselves,
can righttully separate any portion of this
country from the'rcst, or sever the sacred tics
which bind together it, various parts And,
above aI-alove ALL ,ir. do declare that no
Srte can rghrfulIy strike down that unity Of
government which, in TIE words Of Washing
ton, constitutes us one people, and which Is
the main pillar in the cditice OF our real III
dependence, the support OF our tranquility at
h me, of ON peace abroad, Of our happiness,
Of our prosperity, and of that very lib rty
which we so highly prize. And | further
lcny, in the name Of the American people,
that any State can rghllulr Jet loose in Our
midst the demon of di,corI, to brca he upon
us from his shrivclod lips famine, pcstIlencc
aud death, to blast our fold-, and detile our
hearths and al,ars with the blood OF f,antri.
eide.
The people ordained the Constitution Of
the U,i'cd States, and vested the Go eminent
Of the United States with the general sovcr.
clgutv of this county. by that Same act they
stipled every State within The Union OF the
general sovereignty which before that time
vi. lodged in it.
That, sir is m POSITION. The people on
dalsej the Constitution of the United States,
not the States. Mr.. Pcndeton, in the Vlr.
ginia conycntio2, on the adoption Of the Con-
stitutou, said:
WHO bu, the people can delegate powers who
= x
The Constitution is The law for the govern.
ment of this great nation. BY means of it,
this people became one, and the nation came
to be. All governmental power. under that
Constitution can be exercised only by th. pco.
pie, through their duly chosen agents.
What then, become of the a,s rlon rhata
State has right to socedc from rhe Unionl
That is the basis of the argument for compro .
mise aud for con .esson grant ycu that, il
this asserted right be we'll founded, there is
nothing left for US to do than to make such
cornp,omis AMI 10 giant such conc ,sions as
the seeding States may demand. But |
deny this asserted State right. Has y State
light to secedc nom tie Unionl What i,
scccssioal 1t Is IA partition of rhc Rcpubljc;
j. is n contraction of the lin IL of he Rcrub-
lie; It is the absolute exclusion f the iurisdic
ton of the United States, AZ Government.
from the limits Of lie sccrdlng State; aud Fl
nally, il is a total abrogalion within the lin.
it, Of the seeding state, OF ali the civil right,
OF thirty million fee neu as American cilizons.
That i secession. 1t is. therefore, simply dis
uuior. 'D,uniou, secession! This. we ave
told, j, pcaccahlc remedy for the redress of
grievances a peace hlc remedy whi.h sun.
dcls a great nation. y pcaceahlc remedy.
which strike, down ir,e constitution. \
pcaccahlc rcn ol, which cxtinguj,hc. the
rights of tli,tv million American cirizets \
pcaceable remedy which blot, great people
from the map Of nations. Yen might rs well
talk about II poaceable earthquake, which
rcnds the earth asundcr aud burles its iahabi.
tanls in common ruin. You might as well
talk to me Of a peacealla storm, which fills
the heavens with darkness and the habiations
OF men with dcsolstion and death.
Bat, Mr.. Speaker, we are told that peacca
ble State secession is constitutional rene ".
A constitutional remedy, commend g.ut'c.
men, who tell me that to ponder upon these
strong words in the Constitution Of the United
States:
This Constitution, aud the lave and treaties
made in pursuance thereof shall De the supreme lav
of the land. aud tho ludg-s Of every State shall be
bound thereby anything IN the Constitution, aud
laws Of any state To the contrary notv outstanding"
| ask gentlemen 10 read tic words Of the
great commouor oF Kcutucky-ITcnry Clay
who died too son fear, for the interests
Of his county, and who now sleeps in his hon
esa1 I