The Irish standard., 1910-02-19


tussion and excitement had sprung,
this consummate orator had alike him
self, his auditors, and his subject we'll
in hand and could control as it suited
him. &.i
Gradually he gave his thought
words; and these, growing in intensity
az he proceeded, soon captured friend
and foe alike; till, holding that great
audience enthralled by his matchless
voice and spellbound by his n,agnih-
cent periods, he struck at the doc
trines advanced by Hayne with so sure
a blow and carried forward the ban
ner of union so triumphantly that.
las the last words died away into ST.,
lence those who had listened looked
wonderingly at each other, dimly con-
scious that they had heard one Of
the grand speeches which are the land
marks in the history Of eloquence."
In the first part of his speech, Mr..
Webster replied to the aspersions upon
himself and Massachusetts,, and in ths
second part he attacked with weighty
argument and keen lodged sarcasm the
doctrine Of notification. He did not
| deny the right Of revolution as last
resort in cases with which legal and
constitutional methods are found in
adequate to deal, but he assailed tho
theory of the Constitution maintained
by Calhoun and his followers, accord
ing to which notification was a right.
the exercise of which was compatible
with loyal adherence to the Consti
tuition.
His course of argument was two
fold. He sought to show, first, that
the theory of the Constitution was as
a terminable league or compact be.
tween sovereign States was unsupport-
ed by the history of it's origin; and,
secondly, that the attempt on the part
Of any State to act upon that theory
most necessarily entail civil war, or
the disruption of the Union. If the
South Carolina doctrine distorted his
tory in one direction, that of Mr.. Web
ster departed somewhat from the rec.
ord IN tho other; but the latter was
fully in harmony with the aetual
course Of our national development
and with the increased ana increasing
strength of the Union at the tins
when it was probounded with such
powerful reasoning and such magnif-
cent eloquence in the "Reply te
Hayne."
"The first settlers of North Amer.
ica," said he, "were enterprisina
, spirits engaged in private adventure
of fleeing from tyranny at home
When they arrived here they were for.
gotten by their mother country or re.
membered only to be oppressed. Car
ried away again by. the appearance al
analogy or struck with the eloquenct
Of the passage the honorable member
yesterday observed that the conduc
of the Government toward the West.
ern emigrants, or any representation
of it, brought to his mind celebrated
speech in the British Parliament.
1T was, sir, the speech of Col
Barre. On the question of the STAN,
Act, or tea tax, I forget which, Col
Barre had heard member Of IT,.
treasury bench argue that the peopl,
of the United States, being British
colonists, planted by the materna
care, nourished by the Indulgence ant
protected by the arms Of England
would not grudge their mite to reliev,
the country from the heavy burden
under which she groaned. The Ian
guage of Col. Barre to this reply was
They planted by your care? Your op
preston planted them in America
They fed from your tyranny and grew
by your neglect of them. So soor
as you began to care for. them 20,
showed your care by sending person
sent their character prey upon then
and eat out their substance
Il "And how does the honorable gentle
man mean to maintain that languag
like this is applicable to the ,conduc
of the government Of the United State
}: toward the Western emigrants. or t
any representation given by me Of tina
conduct? Were the settlers in the Yves
driven thither by our oppression? Hav
they fiourished only by. our neglect o
. them? Has the government done moth
ing but prey upon them and eat on
!, their substance? Sir, this fervid clio
quence Of the British speaker, jus
where and when it was uttered, an
!. fit to remain an exercise for the school.
! is not little, out Of place when /
is brought thence to be applied here
, the conduct of our own country towar
). her own ciffzena From America +