Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-06-01
THE CONSTITUTION.
WASHINGTON AS THE PIONEER OF
THE UNION.
The Silent Soldier the Keystone of
the Combination Of
Patriots.

The Silent Soldier the Keystone of
the Combination of
Patriots.
The remarks Of Justice Harlan, at the
centennial banquet given at Chicago, under
the auspices of the Union League Club of
that city, in response to the toast Wash
ington and the Constitution" was a mas
terpiece, and should be read by every man.
woman and child in America 1t is gem
of the first water, and we present it in full.
He said
Ir. President: 1t is the concurring iudg-
ment of political thinkers that no event in
all the history of the Anglo Saxon race
has been more far-reaChing in its cOnse-
quences than the organization of the pres
ent Government of the United Suites.
And at this centennial celebration Of that
event 1t IS, in every sense, appropriate to
connect the name of Washington with the
Constitution which brought that Govern
ment into existence. 1t is appropriate be-
cause his splendid leadership of the reyo-
lutionary armies made it possible to eslab-
llsh on this continent government resting
or the consent of the governed, yet strong
enough to maintain its existence and au-
thOrlty whenever aSsailed. But it is espe-
Clally appropriate for the reason that he
was among the first of the great men of the
revolutionary period to discern the inherent
defects in the articles of confederation
and but for his efforts to bring abCuta more
perfect union of the people, the existing
Constitution, it is believed. would not have
been accepted by the requisite number of
MI Il H. i Il
Union established by the Constitution. OF
the accuracy of these statements there is
abundant evidence.
AS early as the 4th of March, 1888. in a
letter addressed to Governor Harrison. of
Virginia, he expressed the opinion, based
upon his observation during the war and
his intercourse with the people of the
States, that If the powers of Congress were
not made competent TO all general pur-
poses. the blood that had been split. the
expense incurred, and the distress felt,
would avail nothing; and the bond that
held the country together, already too
weak, would soon be broken, when an
arChy and confusion would prevail. 1t is
TACT, not without some interest, that the
revolutionary patriot to whom the letter
was addressed was the greatgrandfather of
our honored fellow citizen now holding
the exalted position of President of the
United States.
In the same month in which Washing
ton communicated these views 10 the Gov
ernOr of Virginia, he wrote to Hamilton
" My wish to see the union of the States
established upon liberal and permanent
principles, and inclination to contribute
my mite III pointing out the defects of the
present Constitution, are equally great All
my private letters have teemed with these
ant nd urh L.,
been the subject of conversation have en-
deavOred TO ditfuse and enforce them" To
Lafayette, who never lost his interest in
the people whose liberties he aided to Sc
cure, he said that to form a new COnsti-
tuition that will give consistency, stability
and dignity to the Union and sufficient
powers to the great council of the nation
for general purposes, is duty incumbent
upon every man who wishes well to his
country" As the time approached to sur
render his authority as COmmander-in-
chief OF the army, he addressed a cir
Cular letter to the Governors of the States
declaring that according TO the system of
policy the States shall adopt at this mo-
ment, it is to be decided whether the revo-
luton must ultimately be considered as a
blessing or curse; blessing or q curse
not to the present age alone, for with our
fate will the destiny of unborn millions be
involved" He therefore expressed the
deep conviction that IAN indissoluble
union of the States under one Federal
head was essential TO the existence of
the United States as an independent
power" that it was " indispensable to the
happiness of the individual States that
there should be lodged somewhere a su-
preme power to regulate and govern the
general concerns of the confederated repub-
lie, without which the Union cannot be of
long duration; - and that " it is only in our
united character, as an empire, that our
independence is aCl nOwledged, that our
power can be regarded, or our credit sup
ported among foreign ,atiOns"
Shortly after this pa 'iOtic letter was is
sued, and when about dsbaud the army
he had led 70 victory, 4 2 addressed these
words of farewell to h., comrades - Al
though the General has so frequently given
it as his opinion, in the most public
and explicit manner, that unless the
principles of the Federal Government were
properly supported, and the powers of the
Union increased, the honor, dignity and
justice Of the nation would be lost forever
yet he cannot help leaving ii as his last in
junction to every officer and every soldier
who may view the subject in the same seri-
Gus light, to add his best eDdeavors, with
those of his worthy fellOw-citizens, towards
eteCting those great and valuable purposes
On which our very existence as a nation so
materially depends Thus did the great
commander sheathe his sword. Under the
influence Of the purest patriotism the
soldier expanded into the statesman.
With a foresight and breadth OF vision
that was extraordinary, he saw that
upon the recognition of our Independence
by the mother country, the crisis in the
struggle for republican institutions was
only beginning: and so his purpose was to
send forth every soldier in his army as an
advance of constitutional Government
And what be said to the army was repeated
in letters to the moulders of public opin-
ion. To John Jay, he wrote that we could
not long exist as a nation without having
lodged somewhere power which will per.
wade the whole Union in as energetic a
manner as the authority Of the State Gov
ernments extend over the several States"
To Madison: Thirteen sOvereignties pull
ing against each other and all Juggling at
the Federal head, will soon bring ruin on
the whole"
Entertaining these views, Washington
entered the convention of 1877, which
Jefferson describes as IAN assembly of demi-
gods" 1t does not appear that he partici-
pated to any extent in the discussions OF
that remarkable assembly. ! say remark
able because IN the recent words of the
foremost EAglishman of this generation,
the statesmen of the American revolution
have taken their place once for all among
the greatest political instructors of the
world" But such was the grandeur and
nobility of his nature, so entirely free was
he from mere psrtisanship, so awful was
the reverence for his character that Wash
ington's influence upon the deliberations
of the convention was far greater than that
exercised by any other delegate. From
the beginning of the struggle between the
advocates of more perfect union and
those who dreaded, or profsssed TO dread,
any dimiIutIon whatever of the powers of
the States, he deemed it "impracticable, in
the Federal Government of these States, TO
secure all rights of independent sovereignty
to each, and yet provide for the welfare
and safety of all" And that was the gen.
eral view by which the convention was
guided. Indeed, it is not too much to say
that every vital principle of the Constitu-
ton, as originally adopted, was in har-
mouy with the views he had avowed
and urged upon the leading statesmen
of the country for years before the Con-
vention met. But when its work was
submitted to the people of the States. it
became apparent that the enemies of a