, 1862-02-22

olive it. To listen to mere speculation in
uch a case were criminal. We are authorized
9 2 hope that = proper organization Of the
ncnts for the. respective subdivisions, will
ford happy issue to the experiment.. Its
veil worth fair and full experiment. With
uch powerful and obvious motives to union
dccting al parts Of our country, while eEpe-
liability, there will always be reason to dis
rust the patriotism of those who, nany quar-
Ter, may endeavor to weaken its bands.
In contemplating the causes which may dis
nrb our Union, it occurs, as q matter OF seri-
ous concern, that any ground should have been
yraphicaE determinations Northern and So,41-
77,, At1d"tic and Wese'n; whence designing
men may endcayor to incite belirf that there
IS real difference Of local interestAand views .
One Of the ezpedients Of party to acquire in ,
duence, within particular districts, Is to mis-
represent the opinions and aims Of other dis !,
tr1cts. You cannot shield yourselves too much !;
against the jealousies and heart-burnings !
which spring from these misrepresentation; /
they tend to render alien to each other those !
who hit to be bound together by fraternal !:
affection. The inhabitants Of our western
country have lately had useful lesson on this
head; they h:tve seen. i'll the negotiation by
the Executive and in the unanimous ratitcA-
tion by the Senate Of the treaty with Spain,
and in the universal satisfaction of that event
throughout the United States, a decisive proof
how unfounded were the suspicious propaga-
ted among them Of policy in the general gov
ernmcut and in the Atlantic States unfriendly
to their interests in regard to the Mississippi;
they have been Witnesses to the formation OF
two treaties, that with Great Britaiu and that
with Spain, which secure to them everything
they could desire, In respect to our foreign re-
1ations, towards confirming their prosperity
Will it not be their wisdom to rely, for the
preservation Of these advantages, On the Union
by which they were procured? Will they not
hgnceforth be deaf to those advisers, if such
there are, who would sever them from their
brethren and connect them with aliens?
To the efficacy and permanency of your
union, government for the whole is indis-
pensable. No alliances, however strict, be-
tween the parts can be an adequate substitute;
they must inevitably experience the fnfrlc-
tons and Interruptions which all alliances, in
all times, have experienced. Sensible Of this
momentous truth, you have improved upon
your first essay by the adoption Of 3 constitu-
ton Of government better calculated than
yeur former for an intimate union. and for the
ctiicaclons management Of your common con-
Germs. This Government, the offspring Of
your own choice, uninduenced and unawed,
adopted upon full investigation and mature
de'iberation, completely free in its principles,
in the distribution Of its powers, uniting Sc
curity with energy, and containing within it.
self d provision for its OWL amendment, has a
just. claim to yonr confidence aud your sup
port. Respect for its authority, compliance
with its 1aws, acquiesence in its measures, are
duties cujoincd By the fundamental maxirns Of
true liberty. The basis Of our political sys-
te,ns i the right of the people to make and to
alter their constitutions Of government. But
the constitution which at any time exists, till
changed by an explicit and authentic act Of
the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon
i'll. The very idea OF the power and the right
Of the people to establish government, pre-
supposes the duty Of every Individual to obey
the established government
AL distractions to the execution Of the laws,
a1l combinations and associations, under what
ever plausible character, with the real design
to direct, control, counteract, or awe the reg
ular deliberatfon and action Of the constituted
authorities, are destructive Of this fundamen-
tai principle, and Of fatal tendency. They
serve TO organize faction, to give it IN artifi-
cial and extraordinary force; to put, in the
place Of the delegated will Of the nation, the
will Of party, often small but arttul and
e1te1prsing minority Of the community; and,
according to the alternate triun1phs Of differ
ent parties, to make the public administration
the mirror Of the ilconcerted and incongru-
GUS projects Of faction, rather than the organ
Of consistent and wholesome plans dlgcsted
By common counsels and modified by mutual
interests.
However combinations or associations Of
the above description may now and then an
sWer popular ends, they are likely, in the
course Of time and things, to become potent
| engines BY which cunning, ambitious, and IN.
| principled men will be enabled to subvert the
power Of The people aud to us1rP for them
| selves the rcins Of government; destroying
| afterwards the very engines which lave lifted
! them to unjust dominion.
Towards the preservation Of your govern
| mcnt and the perlnanency Of your present
| happy state, it is requisite, not only that you
| steadily dfscountenance irregular opposftionE
to it's acknowledged authority, but also tlat
| you resist with care the spirit Of innovation
| upon its principles, however specious thu
| PTeteSts. One method Of assault may be te
effect in the forms of the constitution alteEa
system and thus to undermine what cannot b<
| directly oTerthrown. In all the changes tt
| which Jon may be invited, remember tha
time and habit are at least as necessary TO Fl,
the true character Of government as Of othe
human institutions; that experience is til.
tendency Of the existing constitution OF
country; that facility in changes, upon tn
credit Of mere hypothesis and. opinion, cS
poses to perpetual change, from the endlcs
variety Of hypothesis and opinion; and re
member, especially, that, for tile eficien
management Of your common interests IN
country SO extensive as ours, government q
as much vjgor Us is consistent with the pei
feet security Of liberty is Indispensable. Lit
I cry itself will find in such i government, wit
powers properly distributed and adjustee
its surcst guardian It is, indeed, little els
| than 4 name where the government is too fet
be to Withstand the enterprises Of faction.
| conIine each member Of the society within til
limits prescribed by the laws, and to maintai
all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment Of tt
. rights OF person and property.
, / have already inti1natcd to you the daust
of parties in the State, with particular refc
, | erce to the founding Of them on geographic
= determinations. LIT NE now take mo,
, comprehensive view, and warn you, iu IL
!. !. | most solemn manner, against the most BAN
!, | fuI effects Of the spirit Of party generally.
This snIrit. unfortunately. il insenarab]
! from cur nature. having its root in the stron.
! est passions Of the human mind. 1t exisi
| nnder different s1anes in all government
more or less stifed, controlled, Or repressed
| hnt in fhnsr Of a nnnu1nr farm II Is seen
its s1ratest ~ @ ranSntes and is trly ~ their h SS wo
: enemy.
) The alternate domination of one faction or,
, another sha,pcned by tic spirit Of reyens
| natural 10 party dissecsion. which in ditferci
h0rTid cnormit;rs is itself = fri@htfn1 Iesno
ism. But this leads at Ienet11 fS a mnre fam
: and ner1na1,cnt 1esY,ntisrn The disorders o1
misrries which reE.,1t 7r,dno11v incline ii
minds nf men tn snel- Secn-itV md raonee
!: | the absolute DoSer nf an ini4;ridnaI. an
!. sooner or later. fhe chief of some nrcyai1;1
= faction. uore able or moro fortunate Than !,
con,prtitors. tI,y1is this 1isnosition fo thc m
!, poses Of his own elevation on The rims
: 1tublic liberty.
= = Without looking forward ia an extremi
| of this kind (Which onrht not to he entirp
e ont Of sjehtS. the comn1on and Continual n,
u chiefs Of ihc shirt of narty are sufficient
max. il the interest and dnfv Of A wise nenr
to discourage and rrstrain Il. .