Year: 1860

Oui "ooP anu heartfelt gratitude Is due to that Almighty Power which has bestow- ed upon us such varied and numerous bles. sings throughout the past year. The ce- neral health of the country has been eycel. lent; our harvests have been unusually nlen- tlful, and prosperity smiles throughout the land. Indeed, notwithstanding our demer- its, we have much reason to believe from the past events in our history, that we have enjoyed the special protection of Divine Providence ever since our origin as a na- ton. We have been exposed to many threatening and alarming difficulties in onr progress; but on each successive occasion the impending cloud has been dissipated at the moment 1t appeared ready to burst upon our heads and the danger to our institutions mas passed away May we ever be under the Divine guidance and protection.

 While 1t is the duty of the President

 from tune to time to give to Congress in- formation of the state of the Union." I shall not refer in detail to the recent sad and bloody occurrence at Harper's Ferry. Still, 1t IS proper to observe that these events' however bad and cruel in them selves, derive their chief importance from the apprehension that they are but svmp- toms of an incurable disease in the public mlnd, which may break out in still more dangerous outrages and terminate at last in an open war by the north to abolish slavery In the south While, for myself, I enter. tam no such apprehension, they ought to al1ord solemn warning to us all to beware of the approach of danger. Our Union is a stake ot such inestimable value as to de- mana our constant and watchful vigilance for It's preservation. In this view, let me iihPlore my countrymen, north and south, 10 cultivate the ancient feelings of mutual forbearance and goodwill toward each oth- CT, and strive to allay the demon spirit of sectional hatred and strife now alive in the land. This advice proceeds from the heart of an old public functionary whose services commenced in the last generation, among the Wlse and conservative statesmen of that day. now nearly all passed away, and whose ilrst and dearest earthly wish is to leave his country tranquil, prosperous, united and powerful

 We ought to reflect that in this age, and especially in this country, there is an inces- sant lux and reHux of the public opinion. Questions which in their day assumed a most threatening aspect, have now nearly gone rom the memory of men, They are volcanoes burnt out, and on the lava and ashes and squalid scoria of old eruptions grow the peaceful olive, the cheering vine. ant the sustaining corn.' Such, in my oplmon, will prove to be the fate of the present sectional excitement, should those who wisely seek to apply the remedy con- tlnue always to confine their efforts within the pale of the constitution. If this course be pursued, the existing agitation on the subject of domestic slavery, like everything human, will have it's day and give place to other and less threatening controversies Public opinion in this country is all power ful, and when 1t reaches dangerous excess upon any question, the good sense of the people will furnish the corrective and bring 1t back within safe limits Still, to hasten thlS suspicious result, at the present crisis, we ought to remember that every rational creature must be presumed to intend the natural consequences of his own teachings.

 Those who announce abstract doctrines subverslve of the constitution and the Un- lon, must not be surprised should their heated partlsans advance one step further, and attempt by violence to carry these doc- trlnes into practical effect. In this view ot the subject 1t ought never to be forgot ten that, however great may have been the political advantages resulting from the Cnlon to every portion of our common country, these would all prove to be noth- ing should the time ever arrive when they cannot be enjoyed without serious danger to the personal safety of the people of fifteen members of the confederacy If the peace ot the domestic freside throughout these States should ever be invaded-if the moth CTS of families within this extensive region should not be able to retire to rest at night without suffering dreadful apprehensions ol what may be their own fate and that of thei1 children before the morning-it would be vain to recount to such people the political benefits which result to them from the Union. Selfpreservation is the first in stinct of nature; and therefore any state oi society in which the sword is all the time suspended over the heads of the people, must at last become intolerable. But I in dulge in no such gloomy forebodings.

 On the contrary, firmly believe that the events at llarper's Ferry, by causing the people to pause and reflect upon the possi- | ble peril to their cherished institutions will be the means under Providence, of al- laying existing excitement and preventing future outbreaks of a similar character They will resolve that the constitution and the Union shall not be endangered by rash counsels, knowing that " should the silver cord be loosened at the fountain" human power could never reunits the scattered and hostile forces.

 cordially congratulate you upon the final settlement by the supreme court of the | United States of the question of slavery ir the territories, which had presented an as. pect so truly formidable at the commence. ment of my administration. The right has been established of every citizen to take his property of every kind, including slaves into thecommon territories belonging equal. ly to all the States of the confederacy, and to have 1t protected there under the federal constitution. Neither Congress nor the territorial legislature nor any human power has any authority to annul or impair this vested right.

 The supreme judicial tribunal of the country, which is coordinate branch of the government, has sanctioned and affirm ed these principles of constitntional law, so manifestly just in themselves, and so we'll calculated to promote peace and harmony among the States. It is striking proof of the sense of justice which is inherent in our people, that the property in slaves has never been disturbed, to my knoweledge, in any of the territories. Even through out the late troubles in Kansas there has not been any attempt, as am credibly in- formed, to interfere. in a single instance, with the right of the master. Had any such attempt been made, the judiciary would doubtless have afforded an adeouate remedy. Should they fail to do this here after, it will then be time enough to strength en their hands by further legislation. Had it been decided that either Congress or tbe territorial legislature possess the power to annul or impair the right to property in slaves, the evil would be intolerable. In the latter event, there would he a strnoolo