Year: 1861

HIS INAUGURAL!


THE REVENUES TO BE CoLLECTEDl


Government Forces to be Used to
Hold the Federal Property


THE SUPREME COURT SET ASIDE
| The Streets Guarded by SOIdiers-R1he-
| men ON the HOusetOPs.


WASHINGTON. March 4-Mr. Lincoln was to-
| day inaugurated President of the United States.
! He was escorted to the Capitol in carriage


with President Buchanan and from the South
ern portico delivered the following


| INAUGURAL:


Felloao- Citizens Of the United States:-ln
| compliance with custom as old as the OoV-
ernment itself, appear before you to address
| you briefly, and to take In your presence the


oath prescribed by the Constitution of the Uni


ted States to be taken by the President before
he enters on the duties of his Office. do not
| consider it necessary at present for me to dis
| cuss those matters of administration about
which there is no special anxiety nor excite
ment. Apprehension seems to exist among
! the people of the Southern States that by the
accession of a Republican Administration their
property, and their peace, and personal securl-
| ty, are to be endangered. There has never
! been any reasonable cause for such apprehen-
sions Indeed, the most ample evidence to the
contrary has all the while existed, and been
open to their inspection. 1t is found in nearly
all the public speeches of him who now ad-
dresses you.


do but quote from one of these speeches
when declare 'that have no purpose, dl-
rectly nor indirectly, to interfere with the in
stitution of slavery in the States in which 1t
exists do believe [ have no lawful right to
L. 70 l@
Those who nominated and elected me- did so
with the full knowledge that | had made this
and many similar declarations, and had never
recalled them And more than this, they
placed in the platform for my acceptance, and
as a law to themselves and to me, the clear
and emphatic resolution which now read:


Resoired, That the maintenance inviolate of
the right of the States, and especially the right
of each State, to order and control its own do,
mestc institutions according to its own Judg-
ment exclusively, is essential to that balance
of power of which the perfection and endurance
of our political fabric depends; and we de-
nounce the lawless invasion by armed force Of
the soil of any State or Territory, no matter
under what pretext, as among the greatest OF
crimes.


now reiterate these sentiments, and in do
ing So only press upon the public attention
the most conclusive evidence of which the case
is susceptible, that the property, peace, and
security of no section are to be in any wise
entlarg gered by the now incoming Administra-
ton. | add, too, that all the protection which,
consistently with the Constitution and laws
can be given will be cheerfully given to all
the States, when lawfully demanded, for what
ever cause-as cheerfully to one section as to
another There is much controversy about
the delivering up of fugitives from service or
labor. The clause | now read is plainly


~. Dt i+S
provisions:


No persbn held to service or labor in one
State, under the laws thereof, escaping into
another shall, in consequence of any law or
resolution therein, be declared free from such
service or labor, but shall be delivered upon
the claim of the party to whom such service Or
labor may be due


It is scarcely questioned that this provision
was intended by those who made it for the
reclaiming Of what we call fugitive slaves, and
the intention of the law is the law. all mem
bers of Congress swear their support to the
whole Consttution-to this provision as much
as to any other To the proposition, then, that
slaves whose cases come within the terms Of
this clause shall be delivered up, their oaths
are imperative. Now, if they would make the
effort in good temper could they not, with
equal unanimity, frame and pass a law by
| means of which to keep good that oath? There
is some difference of opinion whether this
clause shall be enforced by national or State
thority but surely that difference is not very
material one Ii the slave is to be surrendered,
it can be of but little consequence to him or to
others by which authority it is done And
should any one in any case be content that his
oath shall go unkept on merely unsubStan-
| tial controversy as to how it shall be kept? p
| Again-In any law on this subject, ought not
all the safeguards of liberty known in civilized
| and humane jurisprudence to be introduced so
that free man be not in any case surrendered
as slaveS And might it not be we'll, at the
same time, to provide by law for the enforce
ment Of that clause in the Constitution which
guarantees that the citizens of each State
shall be entitled to all the privileges and immu-
| mites of the citizens in the several States p
| take the official oath to-day with no men
! tai reservation, and with no purpose to con-
strue the Constitution or laws by any hypo-
| thetical rules and while | do not choose now
| to specify particular acts of Congress as pro-


per to be enforced, do suggest that it will be


more safe for all, both in official and private


stations, to conform to and abide by all those


acts which stand unrepealed, than to violate


any of them, trusting to find impunity in hav-


ing them held to be unconstitutional.


It is seventy two years since the first inau
| guration of President under our National


Constitution. During that period fifteen diff:


ferent, and greatly distinguished citizens


have in succession administered the Execu


tive branch of the Government They have


conducted it through many perils,, and gen


orally with great success. Yet, with all this


scope for precedent, | now enter upon the


same task for the brief constitutional tern


of four years, under great and peculiar Difficult


ties.


A dissolution of the Federal Union hereto
fore only menaced is now formidably attemp,


ted. l hold that in contemplation of the uni


versal law and of the Constitution, the Unior


of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is
implied. if not expressed, in the Fundamental


law of the national governments. 1t is safe tx


assert that no government, proper, ever had {


provision in its organic laws for its own ter


mination Continue to execute all of the ex


press provisions of our National Constitution


and the Union will endure forever, it being i'm


possible to destroy it, except by some actor


not provided for in the instrument ITSELF


Again-If the United States be not Govern


ment proper, but association of States il


the nature Of q contract merely, it is a con


tract not to be peaceably unmade by less thar