The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-04-13
A GREAT SPEECH.
Daniel Webster's Talk Has a Present
Application.


tFrom Daniel Webster's Speech on the
Presidential PrOteStD
lie CONTEST, for ages. has been TO
rescue liberty from the grasp Of
executive power. Whoever has en-
gagged in her sacred cause has struggled
for the accomplishment of that single
object. On the long list of champions Of
human freedom there IS not one name
dimmed by the reprOach of advocating
the extension Of executive authority; on
the contrary the uniform and steady
purpose of all such champions has been
to limit and restrain il.
Through all this history of the contest
Tor liberty executive power has been re
gaTGed as q lion which must be Gagged.
So far from being the object of enlight-
ened popular trust. so far from being
considered the natural protector Of popu-
lar right, il has been dreaded. uniformly.
always dreaded, as the great source of
its danger.
The first object Of free people Is the
preservation Of their liberty; and liberty
is only 70 be preserved by maintaining
constitutional restraints and just d.
visions Of political power This is
the very essence Of free political in
situations. The spirit of liberty is.
indeed, 8 bold and fearless spirit; but
it is also a sharp-sighted spirit; il is a
cautious. sagacious, discriminating. far
seeing intelligence, il is Jealous of en-
man. It demands checks; it seeks for
guards; 1t insists on securities; il in
trenches itself behind strong bUlWarks,
and foTtifies itself with all possible care
against the assaults Of ambition and
passion It does not trust the amiable
weaknesses of human nature, and, there
fore, il VIII not permit power to overstep
its prescribed limits, though benevolence,
good intent and patriotic purpose come
along with Il. Neither does ii satisfy
itself with hashy and temporary resist
ance to illegal authority. Far otherwise.
It seeks for duration and peTmanence.
Il looks before and after; and, building
on the experience of ages which are past,
it labor5 diligently for the benefit Of ages
to come. This is the nature Of consti-
tutional liberty; and this is our liberty.
II We would rightly understand and pre-
serve II. Our security is IN our watch
fulness Of executive power. It was the
constitution OF this department which
was infinitely the most difficult part in
the great work Of creating our present
government To give to the executive
department such power as should make 1t
useful. and vet not such as should render
it dangerous: 20 make it efficient, inde-
pendent and strong, and yet to prevent it
from sweeping away everything by its
union Of military and civil authority, by
the influence of patronage and Office and
favOT-this, indeed, was difficult. They
who had the work to do saw the difficult
~. AMI we see il, and If we would main
tain our system we shall act wisely TO
that end by preserving every restraint
and every guard which the constitution
has provided. And when we and those
who come after us have done all that we
can do and all that they can do it will
be well for US and for them if some
popular executive, by the power of pat
rOnage and party. and the power. too. OF
that very popularity, shall not hereafter
prove an oveTmatch for all branches of
tho government.
Sir. in our endeavOrs to maintain our
existing forms Of government, We are
acting not for ourselves alone. but for
the great cause Of constitutional liberty
all over the globe. We are trustees, hold
ing sacred treasure, IN which ell the
lovers of freedom have a stake.
We are surrounded, sir. by a cloud of
witnesses The gaze of the sens OF lib
erty everywhere is upon US. anXiOusly,
inteutly upon US. They may see US fail
in the struggle for our constitutional
government. but heaven forbid that they
should see us TeCreant.