Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-06-01

| the pTonoSeC constitution or a dissolution
/ of the Union awaits our choice, and Is the
! only alternative before u.s." To Lafayette
i he wrote: There is no alternative. no
| hope of alteration, no immediate resting
| place between the adoption of this Consli-
| tuition and q recurrence TO an unqualified
state of anarchy with all its deplorabls
! consequences"
| Such was the language ne employed in
| personal interviews and in an extended
/ correspondence with the leaders ofthought
| in all the States. His efforts to rally the
! people in behalf of the Union, which was
| TO transform the helpless confederation
! into a strong and permanent union, We're
crowned with success, and although he
took no part in the federal debates, and
wrote nothing like the mastery papers in
the EsdTdItSt, the country acknowledged
him as the real leader in the struggle for
Constitutional Government. His intlu-
enCe, said Monroe to Jefferson
carried this Government" Were it not
for one great character" said Grayson, Z" so
many men would not be for this Govern
ment." Over all the discussions in the
States as TO the adoption of the Coustiiu-
ton, says the historian Bancroft, there
lowered - the idea that Washington was to
lead the country safely along the untrodden
path" Many who thought that the Con-
stitution should contain a bill of rights ad-
vOCated its acceptance in the expectation,
which was fulfilled, that he would be the
first President, and that under his admins
tration OF the Government, all the neces-
sary guarantees of life, liberty and prop
erty, would be secured by amendment of
the fundamental law. This silent soldier,
so modest, yet 50 maSterful was in truth
the keystone of the combination OF patriots;
and as We look from this distance, we can
but feel that if he had died at that juno
ture the strong symmetrical arch of the
Union would never have been erected
! have preferred, Mr.. President upon an
occasion like this, to give these proofs of
the patriotism ana wisdom of Washington
rather than employ any terms of general
eulOgy. It is stated in his diary that on
the evening of the day when the Conven-
ton of 1877 concluded its labors, he retired
at an early hour ito mediate on the mo-
mentous work which had been executed"
an eloquent picture of himself, uncon-
sCiOuSly drawn for US with his own hand
We may well believe that the deep, calm
nature of this man of massive mould"
was profoundly stirred when, at the close
OF that memorable day, he looked forward
into the future, and attempted to forecast
the destiny of his beloved country under
the form of Government proposed for its
adoption. If the work then executed ap-
peared to him TO be momentous in its char
aCter and its probable results, how much
more so does 1t appear to US at the close of
the first century of our constitutional
existence, as We look back over
the wonderful history of this ma
ticn? We are only in the springtime of
our national life, and yet we have realized
all that Washington could possibly have
Mt tod from tho Of tl,n,
Government. What more could be desired
in system of government that is secured
in the existing organizations of the general
and State Governments with their respect
i've powers so admirably adjusted and dis
tribnted as to draw from Gladstone the re-
mark that the American Constitution was
" the most wonderful work ever struck off
at one time by the brain and purpose of
man" Despite the fears of many patriotic
statesmen, at the time of the adoption of the
Constitution, that that instrument would
destroy the liberties of the people, every
genuine American TeiOiCes, in the fullneSs
of grateful heart, that we have Govern
ment under which the humbest person
in our midst has q feeling of safety
and repose not vouchsafed to the citi-
zen or subject of any other country;
with powers ample for the protection
of the life of the nation, and adequate for
all purposes of a general nature, vet SO re-
stricted by the law of its creation, in the
exercise of its powers, that it cannot right
fully entrench upon those reserved to the
States or the people. / will not here
allude to or discuss particular theories of
constitutional construction. But l may
say, and | am glad that it can be truthfullv
said, that the mass of the people concur 10
holding that only by maintaining the lust
x,fl hot he Il
Governments can we preserve, in their in
tegrity, the fundamental principles of
American liberty. But while renewing
this dav our allegiance to the Constitution
OF Washington, let Us not, my COuntrymen,
forget that the liberty for which our fathers
fought is liberty secured and regulated by
law, not the liberty of mere license. There
is no place in our American system
for the unrestrained freedom that respects
not the essential rights of life, liberty, and
property, b. regards a Government of law
as inimiCal to the rights of man. The true
American, whether native or naturalized,
stands, under all circumstances, for the
law, and for the rights of his fellOW-men
as recognized and defined by law. Those
who hold otherwise are enemies of our free
institutions, and should be treated as such.
These observations are not inappropriate to
this occasion. They find some warrant in
our history and in the actual circumstances
of some portions of the country. This
country opens wide its doors for the reCep-
ton of honest, industrious immigrants who
desire to enjoy the blessings of our Institu-
tons, and who assimiiate with our people.
But we cannot close our eyes to the fact
that foreign Governments are throwing
upon our shores and crOwding our cities
with vast hordes of. men who have no
proper conception of the philosophy or
spirit of American liberty. Recent
Investigations, under the authority
of Congress, show the coming to
our land, in startling numbers, of
worthless characters, gathered from the
highways and byways of other countries,
as well as criminals from foreign jails and
penitentiaries, all of whom will in time be
invested with the privilege, at the ballot
box, of sharing in the control not only of
States, but of the nation. In view of these
facts, thoughtful, patriotic citizens, native
and naturaliZed. may well ask whether the
safety of our Government and the integrity
of our civilization are not seriously men
aced by the presence here of so many that
place no value upon the ;restimable right
of suffrage, and have little sympathy with.
or knowledge Of, our institutions. We can
perform no better service for our country
than TO see to 1t that the right to shape its
destiny is not bestowed upon those who are
unworthy OF it. Let US raise our voices in
favor of such further enactnents, constitu-
tOnsl and statutory, as may be necessary
TO guard our American civilization, and
keep this country for all time under Amer
lean control