1e 458 .J73 \ "Copy 1 " AN ADDRESS Off THE ASPECT OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS AND THE rtCtHT of secession, DELIVERED BEFORE THE LITERARY CLUB OF CINCINNATI, SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 16, 1861. BY WILLIAM JOHNSTON, . OF THE CINCINNATI BAR. CINCINNATI: PUBLISHED BY RICKEY & CARROLL. NO. 7:i WEST KOrRTH STREKT. (PIKE'S OPER.\ HOUSE.) 186L AN ADDRESS ON THE ASPECT OF NATIONAL AFFAIRS AXD THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. DELIVERED BEFORE THE LITERARY CLUB OF CLNCINNATl, SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 16, 1861, BY WILLIAM JOnNSTO:N', or THE CINCINNATI BAR. PUBLISHED BY RICKEY & CARROLL, NO. 73 WEST FODKTH STREKT. (PIKE'S OPERA HOUSE.) 1861. .1 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. We have come, at last, to the great question of man's capacity for self-government. We liave proved to the world our capacity for everything else. I^othing, depend- ing on human genius or human daring, is above our reach or beyond our power. The only remaining question is, Can any system of self-government be contrived by the wisdom of man or the bounty of God, with which the people will be satisfied ? Or must they be remanded, like other, ungrateful people, to civil war and fraternal blood- shed ? To fire, sword, famine, desolation, and poverty, till, worn out with calamity, they subside into peace, and seek safety for life and property in proffered despotism? Such has been the fortune of other countries who had more freedom than they knew what to do with, more wealth than the rational wants of man required, and greater pros- perity than could be borne by the vanity and weakness of human nature. Can it be possible that, in seventy years, we have culminated in glory? m>t in gloiy only, but in badness and fully, like the builders of ancient Babel, till God has come down to confound our language, and scatter us abroad ? The Constitution under which we have lived for sev- (3) 4 THE RIGUT OF SECESSION. enty years, has challenged the admiration of wise men tliroughout the world. For the few and simple, but indis- pensable ]:)urposes for which it was made, no government contrived by the wit of man was ever so wise, so equal, or so beneficent. No human government ever was adminis- tered with so much moderation, so much wisdom, and so much cqtuilit}' toward the ditfcrcnt sections of the coun- try. Nor was any government ever so successful in the results of Hs administration. States, revolving within their own constitutional spheres, have moved onward to unexampled prosperitj^ without the expense of building forts, fleets, and arsenals, or rais- ing and supporting armies, because the common defense was taken care of by the Federal Government ; without the expense of building light-houses, and improving rivers and harbors, because the common commerce of the Nation was provided for by the Federal Goverimient; without the end- less vexation of providing a safe mode of correspondence with the different sections of our own country or of foreign countries, because "post-roads" were established, and the mails brought to every man's door by the Federal Govern- ment ; without contlicts or border wars between the sev- eral states, because the Federal Government furnisiied a common umpire betw^een them ; without the commerce of one state being taxed or interrupted by another state, because the Federal Government guaranteed free trade between them ; without the commerce of any state on the high seas being menaced by any power on earth, because the flag of the Union floated aloft on every sea, command- ing the respect of the world. The purposes of the Federal Constitution are well and briefly expressed in the preamble : " We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect "union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the coni- " men defense, promote the general welfare, and to secure the blessings of THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. 5 " liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this CoN- "8TITUTI0N FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AmEKICA." The few simple and general principles of this instru- ment were not only ordained by the people in convention, but ratified by the states separately. Among the rest is this one, worthy of notice first of all : " Art. VI. — This constitution, and the laws of the United States which •'shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which .■^hall be " made under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law "of the land; and the judges of every state shall be bound thereby, any- " thing in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwith- •' standing." "The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of "the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both " of the United States, and of the several states, shall be bound by an oath "or affirmation, to support this Constitution." One would suppose that, whatever may be the extent or the meaning of the Constitution, there were two things beyond all doubt : First. That the instrument is a law. Second. That, as far as it goes, it is supreme. To all human government, I admit, there is a right of resistance — a revolutionary right, which overrides all forms of law, and all obligations of allegiance — a disruption of the social tie, and an appeal to the God of battles. But revolution is not justifiable for every discontent which may arise in a state. The causes which may justify revolution are well defined in our Declaration of Independence : "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal ; "that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; "that among these are life, liberty, and the 2^ursuit of hapjnness. That, to " secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their "just powers from the consent of the governed ; that, whenever any form of " government becomes icstruciive of these ends, it is the right of the people " to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foun- " dations on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form as to 6 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. "them shall seem most likely to secure their safety and happiness. Pru- "dence, indeed, will dictate that governments long establi.shed should not "be changed for liyld and irnnsieni. causes; and, accordingly, all expcri- "ence hath shown that niaiikind arc more disposed to sutler, while evils " arc sufferahlc, than to ri^lit themselves by abolishing the forms to which " they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, " pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them " under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw oft " such government, and provide now guards for their future security. " Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies, and such is now " the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of "government. The hi.«tory of the present king of Great Britain is a his- " tory of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the " estnblishtnent of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let " facts be submitted to a candid world." Then follow twenty-seven specific charges, which fully sustain the general allegation above made. Such are the causes which warrant revolutions. It is (lifJicnlt to imafirine how such a state of thins-s could arise in a republic where the people are the source of all power; where a new jjresident is elected every four years; new representatives elected ever}* two years; new senators elected every six years; rotation in office every four years; and none but tlie judiciarj^ who can make no law, liold- ing office during good behavior; and wlicre the objects of the government are so few and sini[»Ie. If the people practice " a long train of abuses and usurp- ations" on tliemselves — if they "pursue invariably the " same object, evincing a design to reduce themselves under " absolute despotism " — if they practice on themselves " re- " peated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object "the establishment of absolute tyranny over" themselves, accordinof to the rule laid down in the Declaration of Inde- pendence, they prove themselves " unfit to be the rulei-s of a free jjeoplc;" and there is an end of self-government. The glorious idea with which we have filled and fired the world is all a delusion. The people can not govern themselves. THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. 7 They must have kings bj^ the grace of God, and senators by birth. They must have crowns and miters to dazzle their stupid gaze; and a titled nobility to stand between them and the throne. The dangerous truth, lurking in every bosom, "that all men are created equal," must be ag-ain smothered. Mankind do not know the value of freedom, and, therefore, it is not safe to trust them with it. They do not want to be rationally free, and, there- fore, let us have a revolution, in which something newer and more grateful than freedom may turn up. But the politicians along the Gulf do not want revolu- tion. There is something in the word revolt more start- ling to the Southern than to the Northern ear. What they think of is, getting out of the Union without a revolution. They will carry with them the arsenals and arms of the United States ; the mints and money of the United States; the forts and light-houses of the United States; the Con- stitution and laws of the United States ; but they will leave the United States behind. This is secession. Let us, then, inquire into the right of secession — from whence it comes, and wdiither it tends. This inquiry runs directly into the question, whether the instrument under which we have lived so long and grown so great, is, in fact, as it purports to be, a " Constitution "FOR THE United States of America;" or whether it is something else, called, for want of better scholarship, "a " constitution : " whether it is, in its own language, " the "supreme law of the land," ordained by the people; or whether it is some sort of a treaty between the states in their corporate capacity, open at both ends, so that either party may creep out at pleasure. This latter view, so far as I know its genealogy, origin- ated in a set of abstractions in the nature of a modern platform, passed by the Legislature of Virginia, and after- ward by the Legislature of Kentucky, in high party times, 8 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. during the administration of John Adams — times when ]>olitical platforms on both sides were built, not upright like the towers, but obliquel}-, like the abutments, of a sus- pension bridge, with reference to a strong pull from the other side. These abstractions declare that the United States are "united by a compact, under the style and title of a Constitution for the "United States; that to this compact, each state acceded as a state, and is "an integral party, its co-states forming to itself the other party; that the "government created by this compact was not made the exclusive or final "judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself; but that, as in all "other cases of compact among parties having no common judge, each party "has an equal right to judge for himself, as well of infractions as the mode " and manner of redress." It is well known that Mr. Madison, who brought forward these resolutions, in after life repudiated their doctrine; and if, as is supposed, Mr. Jeflerson drafted them, I have two remarks to make : First. Any man who mingles as much in party politics and writes as many volumes as Mr. Jeiferson did, without writing something for his friends to be ashamed of, is a happy man. Second. No President of the United States ever disregarded such abstractions more than Mr. Jefferson. He was a strict constructionist of the Constitution, but all the better for that. Those who construe the Constitution strictly are the truest friends to the Constitution and the Union. Those who defend strictly the constitutional rights of the states, are least likely to infringe the powers of the Federal Government. Those who depart from the letter of the Constitution, and run after vague abstractions and party platforms, are, in the end, far more likely to run into nuUilication, secession, and treason. I can not trust my abilit}' to go into the philological argument of this question. All that the subrogation of THE RIGHT OF SECESSION". 9 words, and the pith of language, and the powers of meta- physics, could do on the one side ; or the lights of analogy, and the powers of logic, and the breadth of thought, could do on the other, has been done by Calhoun and Webster. The lesser lights are not worth reading on either side. Philological argument, however powerful, is unsatisfac- tory to the common mind. When two mighty minds enter into a contest, as to whether the Constitution means what it says, or whether it means something else, there is more of wonderment than of conviction left on the com- mon mind. We wonder why so little can be said in favor of that which, on reflection, is self-evident — we wonder how so much can be said in support of some idea which, on reflection, is without foundation. In such a dilemma the mind feels around it in search of some argument which enters into the practical work- ings of the government. It wants to know whether such theories, if acted upon, w^ould not counteract the known and admitted powers of the Constitution ? — whether the instrument admits of a construction which, in the end, will destroy its existence? What I propose, then, is a practical inquiry into the ettects of these doctrines ou the acknowledged powers of the Government; — whether these abstractions, put in action, and the Constitution, can exist and act together at the same time. Whenever you admit the right of a state to be the sole judge of her own grievances and her own remedies, and to withdraw from the Union at pleasure, you concede to her the right to nullify the powers of the Federal Consti- tution, and defeat the movements of the Federal Govern- ment; not only as to the relations between the Federal Goveinmeut and the nullifying, but as to the relations and duties of the Federal Government to other states, at peace with the Federal Government, and desiring to remain in the Union. 10 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. I propose to illustrate by a few examples; and, first of all, the treaty-making powder of the Government. The treaty-making power, in all civilized countries, is all but unbounded. Through this power whole kinjrdoma have been bought, sold, and exchanged ; the navigation of rivers and inland seas, the right of way across conti- nents, and the commerce of nations secured. So great was this treaty-making power, that the fraraers of the Constitution, in conferring it on the President, guarded it by requiring the advice and consent of two- thirds of the Senate. Art. II, Sec. 2, provides that " He " shall liave power, by and with the advice and consent of " the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the " Senate present concur." The most important exercise of this power, since the Constitution was adopted, fell out under the administra- tion of Mr. Jefiferson, in the purchase, from the First Con- sul of France, of the Louisiana Territory. At that time the northwestern slope of Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, and the whole Northwestern Territory — now composing Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan — ■ were a wilderness, struggling into cultivation, with every element of success, except a market for their produce. Canals were not then in use, and railroads had not been invented. The only outlet for the vast valley, west of the Blue Ridge, was the Mississippi river, flowing through the dominions of a foreign power. The great and only depot for this vast valley was the city of New Orleans, situated within the dominions of a foreign power. To purchase by treaty a commercial highway, and a depot for the peoi)le in the Mississippi valley, was the primary object of Mr. Jefierson. He sent Mr. Livingston and Mr. Monroe to France, not to purchase the Louisiana Territory, but to purchase the free navigation of the Mis- sissippi lliver, the city of New Orleans, and, if it might 1 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. 11 be done, the Floridas. The entire Louisiana Territory was unexpectedly offered by the French minister. It was unexpectedly purchased by the American ministers. The treaty was ghidly accepted by Mr. Jefferson. It was wisely ratified by the Senate within a few days. Thus, for the consideration of eighty millions of francs, the most magnificent river in the world — the great em- porium of the Southwest for all time to come — and rich land enough for an empire, were purchased, through the treaty-making power of the Federal Constitution. That in all this Mr. Livingston, Mr. Monroe, Mr. Jefferson, and the United States Senate acted in good faith, wisely and considerately, can not be denied. With whose money, and for whose behoof, was this purchase made? It was purchased with the money, and held in trust for every citizen of the United States, East and West, ]*^orth and South; for them, and their heirs, assigns, and successors forever. Every citizen of the United States has, by birthright, a visitorial power over this purchase, to inquire whether the purposes of this trust are faithfully executed; whether the navigation of the Mississippi is free and unobstructed ; whether the ports of entry along its banks are open and free to the flag of the Union, and the commerce of all the states; whether the duties on foreign goods are faithfully collected and paid into the treasury of the United States; whether on this soil " tlie citizens of each state" enjoy " all the priv- " ilexes and immunities of citizens in the several states;" whether here " this Constitution, and the laws of the "United States which '■have been' made in pursuance " thereof, and all treaties made under the authority of " the United States, are the supreme law of the land." The purchasers from the United States within the Mis- sissippi Valley have still higher rights — rights in the na- ture of covenants running with their title. 12 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. All the territory drained by the Mississippi, from the fiunimit of the Appalachian to the summit of the Rocky Mountains, is, more or less, settled by the citizens of the United States. These lands have been survej'ed and sold by the Federal Government, and purchased in good faith by the citizens. The purchasers did not purchase the land over which their parchments spread merely ; they pur- chased the land with all the rights, privileges, appurte- nances, and easements thereunto belonging. AVithout these the lands would have been comparatively valueless. With them they furnish homes to the purchasers, and a rich inheritance to their children. What were the rights so purchased by the citizen and guaranteed by the Government — the covenants so running with their title ? The chiefest of these were the free navi- gation of the Mississippi, and free trade in all the ports on its border. There is not a man in all the Mississippi valley but knows, as he watches the melting snows, and marks the trickling current from his spring, that he has a right to follow their waters to the Gulf. The latest settler in Minnesota knows that the waters of the Mississippi are, of riffht, as free to him as the waters of the Minnehaha. To these rights the citizens looked when they purchased their land, and it is a fraud on them if they can be deprived of these rights. It is time to pause here and inquire whether it was in the contemplation of Mr. Livingston and Mr. Monroe, while they were negotiating for the purchase of Louisiana, at the rate of eighty millions of francs, to be paid from the treasury of the United States ; or of Mr, Jefferson when he adopted their contract; or of the United States Senate when they ratified it, that the millions of people to whom this great valley was to to be sold, could, in a few years, be robbed of their rights, and left without remedy, by a few desperadoes at the mouth of the river? That the THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. 13 future state of Louisiana, occupying a patch of land on either side, could take the mint of the United States under one arm, and the custom-house under the other, witiidraw from the Union, sit down in the channel of the Mississippi, and shut up the common highway of thirty-four states. But as'ain : I wish to group this treaty-making power with one of the powers of Congress, conferred by the Constitution (Art. IV, Sec. S,) in these words : " New states may be " admitted by the Congress into this Union." And yet another power conferred by the Constitution, (Art. I, Sec. 8,) to " provide for the common defense of the United « States." In 1819, through the treaty-making power, we purchased Florida from Spain, and in 1821, took possession; and since that time she has been admitted into the Union as a state. Every one who has read the discussions of that day, knows that the value of the land was not the object of the acquisition. " The common defense of the United "States" was the leading o1)ject. The peninsula was a long tongue of land projecting into the sea, entangled with piny barrens, everglades, lakes, and lagoons, a fit hiding- place for pirates, and a convenient foothold for a foreign enemy. For the common defense it was purchased, con- quered, fortified, and admitted into the Union. So, too, as to Texas. True, Texas was hopelessly in- volved in debt, and the bond-holders were plying congress- men with all the arguments usually presented by desperate speculators to politicians of easy virtue. True, all the most valuable lands had already been assigned to valiant fillibusters, who had aided in the conquest; and these lands were comparatively valueless unless the United States should take the new republic under her protection. But the argument for the public ear — the justification for the assumption by the United States of so enormous a debt, 14 TUE RIGHT OF SECESSION. for SO insignifieajit a consideration, was "the common "defense of tlie United States." General Houston said England was negotiating for Texas. If England takes it, she takes it on condition that slavery is to be abolished, was the argument in one quarter. But, if England takes it, there will be no safety for the United States, was the grand argument. "The common defense of the United " States," the highest, and noblest, and most patriotic of all considerations, was made the pretext for tlie grandest swindle the world ever belield. I will not pause here to inquire liow many millions of money, and how many lives the acquisition, the conquest, the fortification, and the defense of Florida and Texas have cost the United States. It turns one's brain to foot up the bill. I only speak of the principle on which these things were done. It was the common defense of the nation everywhere, paid for by the treasure of the nation every- where. On this same principle of "common defense," our Sen- ator Pugh, and other very worthy gentlemen, have advo- cated the acquisition of Cuba. But before we spend any more of our blood and treasure for "common defenses" of this sort, let us settle the question whether these defenses may lawfully secede, and leave us the next day after we have paid for them ? — and whether sworn otK- cers of the army, in the commission and pay of the United States, may lawfully surrender them? But again : Among the powers of Congress, under tlie Constitu- tion, (Art. I, Sec. 8,) is this: "To regulate commerce with " foreign nations, and among the several states, and with " the Indian tribes." Again, at Sec. 9, among the limita- tions we find this: "No tax or duty shall be laid on "articles exported from any state;" — "No preference "shall be given by any regulation of commerce or rev- " euue to the ports of one state over those of another ; THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. 15 " nor shall vessels bound to or from one state be obliged "to enter, clear, or pay duties in another." Tlius, free trade is guaranteed to every state in the Union with every other state. Equal terms of trade are guanuiteed to every state of the Union, with foreign nations; and national highways are guaranteed, whereby the people of every state may find their way to the ocean, free from taxation or tribute levied by any other state. Can the Federal Government secure these rights? Ohio, for example, is an inland state, surrounded by other states, each of which has as good a right to secede as the state of South Carolina. Without these immuni- ties of the Constitution, she may be cut ofi' from the commerce of the world. These immunities are guaran- teed by the Constitution ; and, as a loyal state, she has a right to demand of the Federal Government full security in the enjoyment of them ; and the Federal Government is bound to respond to her demand. The principal avenue of Ohio trade is the Mississippi river. Through this channel millions of dollars worth of her produce every year find their ^ay to the markets of her sister states on the seacoast, or to the markets of foreign countries. Xow% if the state of Louisiana can peacefully and lawfully secede, and close up the free nav- igation of the Mississippi, wdiat becomes of the constitu- tional power of the Federal Government to fulfill her guarantees? Driven from the Mississippi, she may turn to the north- ern lakes, and the St. Lawrence; but there she will find herself in the dominions of Great Britain, creeping through the canals of a foreign power, and passing under the guns of the strongest fortress, next to Gibraltar, in the world. Driven from the waters at both ends, she may turn to the Erie Canal and the Hudson. But the state of New 16 THE EIGHT OF SECESSION. York may as well secede as the state of Louisiana. She may block up the passage against Ohio produce, build her custom-house on the line, and demand tribute. New York being closed against her trade, she may turn to Pennsylvania and seek an outlet through the Pennsylvania railroad. But Peunsylviinia may as well secede as New York. She may shut her ports against Ohio produce, open her custom-house, and demand triljute. Pennsylvania having barred her ports against her, she may next turn to Virginia, and seek an outlet through the Baltimore and Oliio railroad. But Virginia may as well secede as Pennsylvania. She, too, may close lier doors against Ohio commerce, set up her custom-house, and demand tribute. Having failed in Virginia, she may turn to Kentucky, and finding Kentucky out of the sisterhood of states, she may find no better success. No one of her sister states regard the constitutional obligation of free trade and equal rights among the states. "What next? Ohio may store up her produce and wait for the opening of the Pacific railroad ; taking the chances that the Pacific states may secede also. If I am told that these evils are not likely to hapjien, I have to reply that if the secession of Louisiana is law- ful, the very worst of them has already happened; and all the rest may happen, for aught the Federal Govern- ment can do, if the right of peaceable secession be admitted. But again : By Art. IV, Sec. 4, of the Constitution, it is declared that " The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union a "Kepublican form of government, and shall protect each of them against "invasion; and, on application of the Legislature, or the Executive, (when "the Legislature can not he convened,) against domestic violence." THE EIGHT d F SECESSION. 17 Here is a duty made imperative by the Constitution — a duty neither to be evaded nor postponed. If one of the states is invaded by a foreign power, the Federal Govern- ment, on its own motion, must protect such state ; or, in case of domestic violence, on request, she must afford such protection. It is a part of the mutual defense men- tioned in the preamble. Both these misfortunes may, in time, befall the state of South Carolina. She may in time have to struggle with both foreign invasion and domestic violence. We have had two wars with Great Britain, and, it is possible at least, we may luive a third. In that event, we might expect to be assailed at the weakest point, which is the seaward of South Carolina. The old ships sunk in the cliannel might not be sufficient to keep a Britisli fleet out of Charleston harbor ; especially if Fort Sumter should be battered down and leveled with the sea. Be- sides reducing Charleston to ashes, the enemy might land large bodies of black troops from Jamaica, with procla- mations of freedom to the slaves, and arms ready to put in their hands. In such an emergency, it would be the sworn duty of the President of the United States, as commander-in-chief of the array and navy, to march into South Carolina troops sufficient to repel the invasion ; and, if requested, to subdue domestic violence. The trea- sonable folly of demagogues, and the outrages committed by their deluded tools on the property and the flag of the Union, would be no excuse for a neglect of this duty. In order to this, either the state of North Carolina, or the state of Georgia, or both, would have to be crossed. But suppose both these states to have seceded, and both to resist — both to resolve that they will regard any attempt to march an armed force across their territories as a hostile invasion, and that they will resist it to the last extremity. The Federal Government is left to the 2 18 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. dilemma of allowing one state to perish, or of cutting its way with the sword through two other states. Or, suppose the enemy, as in 1815, should direct their hostile movements to jSTew Orleans ; the most ready and natural plan to repel the invasion would ho to ship men and munitions of war down the Mississip[)i. But here again the state of Mississippi, on the one side, and the state of Arkansas on the other, according to the theory of secession, may lawfully place themselves in an attitude of hostility to the Federal Government, and, in order to repel an invasion on one state, she must run the gauntlet between the guns of other states. Can any man, worthy of a place outside a lunatic asy- lum, suppose that our fathers framed a constitution ad- mitting of a construction at variance with its express powers and provisions? But again: One of the constitutional powers of Congress (Art. I, Sec. 8,) is "To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the " Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions." The framers of the Constitution foresaw that in this country, as in all other countries, the laws would some- times have to be executed by force; that domestic insur- rections would sometimes arise, and have to be suppressed by force; and that sudden invasions would sometimes occur, and have to be repelled by force. It was not the policy of the Federal Republic to keep large standing armies in time of peace to accomplish all the purposes of armed force, and hence the provision for calling out the militia. But how completely could the surrounding and adjacent states accomplish the destruction of a sister state, W'hich might be in jeopardy, simply by seceding from the Union, and refusing to respond to the call, or to allow THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. 19 the militia of other states to pass over their territories. But ao'ain. Another of the constitutional powers of Congress (Art. I, Sec. 8,) is : " To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises ; to pay the debts "and provide for the general welfare of the United States; but all duties, •' imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States." It was not to be expected that the United States would escape the calamities common to all nations. It was not to be expected that they would escape expensive wars, both foreign and domestic; nor was it the policy of the Federal Republic that the national treasury should always be full and overflowing with gold, over and above the ordinary wants of the Government. Hence the provision for debts, and the power to lay taxes, in various ways, to pay those debts. But justice and equity required that all such taxes should " be UNIFORM throughout the United States." Let us now suppose a heavy debt, incurred by the Fed- eral Government, for "the general welfare" of the nation, and a uniform tax laid by Congress to pay that debt. After the tax is laid, and before it is collected, one-third of the states secede from the Union, and set at defi- ance all the provisions of the Constitution under wliich the debt was contracted and the tax laid, and refuse to pay their proportion. If they may lawfully do this, how shall the Federal Government lawfully compel the remaining two-thirds of the states to pay the whole tax, and dis- charge the whole debt, incurred for the common benefit and general welfare of all the states? But again : Another of the powers of Congress under the Federal Constitution (Art. I. See. 8,) is : '' To establish post-offices " and post-roads." It was important to the interests of commerce and the difiTusion of knowledge, that the postal system should be 20 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. national aiul universal ; tliat the mails should be carried with safety and dispatch throughout every part of tlie United States. Hence, instead of leaving this power to the states, it was conferred on the Federal Legislature. Incident to this power of establishing the mail arises the power of the Government to punish thefts and robberies of the mail. Under this power, it is the duty of the Government to carry safely and deliver promptly the Northern mails to the good people of the states of North Carolina and Ten- nessee. They have a right to demand this at the hands of the Government, and the Government is bound in good faith to comply with the demand. But the states of Vir- ginia and Kentucky, extending east and west from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, secede from the Union, and declare by law that no foreign state shall establish post- roads, or carry mails across their territories; and, abjuring all allegiance to the Federal Government, the Federal judges resign, and the Federal courts are closed. In such circumstances, how shall the Federal Government fulfill her obligations to North Carolina and Tennessee, and other states farther south? How shall thieves and robbers of the mail be punished, where there are no judges to try them, and no courts wherein they may be tried ? Thus a refractory state, if the right of secession be ad- mitted, may not only release herself from tlie bonds of tlie Union, but may make it impossible for the Federal Gov- ernment to discharge her constitutional ol)ligations to other states, in harmony with the Union, and obedient to its laws. But again : Another provision of the Constitution (Art. I, Sec. 10,) is that "No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant "letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of ci'editj make THE RIGHT OF SECESSION". 21 "anj'tliing but gold and silver coin a tender in the payment of debts; pass "any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation "of contracts, or grant any titles of nobility." The state of Louisiana professes to have cast oft" her allegiance to the United States, and freed herself from all the obligations of this Constitution. Admit the lawful- ness of this, and what follows? Louisiana may enter into treaty with some foreign power for tlie exclusive naviga- tion of the Mississippi river to her northern line; she may enter into alliance and confederation with some unfriendly nation ; she may issue letters of marque and reprisal, and turn a band of legalized pirates loose on the commerce of the L^nited States; she may coin money out of brass and babbitt metal ; she may issue bills of credit and make them a lawful tender in the paj^ment of debts. At this hour the people of Louisiana are largely indebted to the people of the feeding states of the "West for the bread and meat they have eaten ; and this indebt- edness is doubtless mutual, to a great extent, for sugars and other Southern products furnished to the people. Now, the Constitution guarantees to all these creditors alike the payment of their claims in gold and silver coin, in a medium of equal value at home and abroad. Al- low^ that Louisiana is released from her obligations to the Constitution, with the spirit of repudiation which prevails, and she n\?^y issue "bills of credit," and declare them to be a lawful tender in the payment of debts; and the cred- itors who have sold them their bread and meat, havins: no Federal court to redress their grievances, may be paid oft" in Louisiana bills of no more value than chaft"; while the Louisiana creditors may demand and collect gold and silver coin for every dime due them throughout all the states which remain faithful to tlie Constitution and the Union. Does this commend itself to the conscience or the common sense of any constitutional lawyer ? Yet 22 THE KIGHT OF SECESSION. these are some of the plain and practical results of the ritjiit of secession. But aijain : There is yet another passage, among the miscellaneous pi-ovisions of the Constitution, (Art. lY, Sec. 2,) to which I wish to refer, and then I have done. It is this : "No person held to labor or service in one slate, under the laws thereof, '•'escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation '■therein, be discharged from such service or labor; but sbHll be delivered "up on claina of the party to whom such service or labor may be due/' This is the Magna Giiarta of slavery. "Without this it has no respectable foundation in the civilized world. The slave-trade is at an end. The ministers of the priu- ci[>al European powers, in the Congress of Vienna, in 1815, put their seal of condemnation upon it. As early as 1821, there was not a flag of any European state could legally cover it north of the equator. By the act of Con- gress of 1820, and the act of the British parliament of 1824, it is declared to be piracy, and punishable with death. Domestic slavery alone remains, and in this coun- try is protected by this clause of the Constitution. With- out this clause, slave property in the Border states is not .worth a rush. By this clause the Federal Government is bound to deliver up to his master every escaping slave. Every slave-owner has a constitutional right to dema)id it at the hands of the Government. The Government has responded to that demand, in the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. If this is not sufficient, Congress ought to make it better. But while it is the law, let it be faith- fully executed. But let us bring the right of secession in contact with this provision of the Constitution, and the Fugitive Slave Act, and see how they stand together. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, "Wisconsin, and Kansas have as clear a right to secede as the tier of states along the Gulf, THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. 23 ■\vlH(,'h have already asserted tlie right. Suppose they do secede, what becomes of the power of the Federal Gov- ernment to gnarantee property in slaves, and canse fugi- tives from labor to be delivered up? llightful, lawful, peaceful secession, if there be such a thing, puts an end to all constitutional power, and leaves the Federal Gov- ernment utterly helpless, and unable to enforce the law. AVhat next? A universal jubilee among the negroes. Escry slave in the Border states who has a mind to be free, escapes across the line and is free. And there is no obligation on the seceding state, and no power in the Federal Government to remand him to bondaire. A border war might, and probably would, ensue, in which all the other states, North and South, would become involved; but this could not mend the matter. The empty swagger of ]\Ir. Davis, about fighting the Northern states on their own soil, would avail him nothing in the day of battle. Americans are all equally brave — through- out the country every man counts one. Every battle-field, from the struggle at Bunker Hill to the storming of Che- pul tepee, has proved Northern men to be fully eq'ual in courage, strength, and endurance to Southern men ; and with double their numbers, greatly superior means of transporting men and munitions of war by railroad, and no revolting domestics at home, it requires but little sagacity to determine what would be the result in the lono; run. The practical results would be the same if the Border states on the Southern side could secede. In either case, the constitutional obligation to deliver up fugitive slaves would be at an end. In either case, the appalling pros- pect of a border war would be equal. While we acknowledge the authority of a common parent to keep the peace between us, we shall go on har- moniously and afi:cctiouately, helping each other on to 24 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. prosperity, to happiness, to glory ; l)ut, if we spit in the face, and der)y the authority of oni- common parent, and rush mudly into civil -war, none hut God can tell the end of it. Other parts of tlie Constitution niiti^ht he commented iifton, but enouo:h has been done to show that every pro- vision containr'd in it is at variance with the risflit of secession ; that tlie right of secession, the moment it is exercised, contravenes and destroys the powers of tlie Federal Government to accomplish the purposes for which it was made ; tliat the right of secession and the Constitu- tion can not stand together, and that the one or the other must fall. If we admit the right of secession at all, there is no point at which we can safely say it will end. Other states, North as well as South, in time, will discover, or imagine they discover, reasons far stronijer than the Gulf states can show, why they should withdraw from the Union. The state of New York may wake up to the fact that her im- posts alone contribute more to the treasury of the United States than those of all the Gulf states put together; that she has more power to resist the Federal Government than all the Gulf states put together; and, seizing on these considerations, she may demand at the hands of the Federal Government, unreasonable and unconstitutional advantages over her sister states as the price of her alle- giance; may demand, at the hands of her sister states, nnreasonable and ruinous concessions as the condition on which she will remain in the Union ; may hold out to the states north of her unequal advantages over the states south of her, or threaten them with exconnnunication from the advantages of her commerce, as inducements to join her standard of secession. The question of slavery is not the only sectional ques- tion about which states may difl'er. So far as it can aiieot THE RIGUT OF SECESSION. 25 the Gulf states, that qnestiou is settled. Kansas, by the choice of her own people, is a free state ; and whenever the dwellers among the mountain spurs of New Mexico are numerous enough to form a state, the}', too, will come in, voting slavery up or voting it down as they please. AVlien a line between free labor and slave labor is once settled, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and the hot blood arising from the contest cooled, we may expect rest on that ques- tion. But, if we had rest from contentions about slavery, the right of secession, if admitted to be lawful, would not rest. Denying the common um}>irage of the Federal Govern- ment, it would run constantly into encroachments of one state on the riglits of another; into tyranny of the strong over the weak; into border wars . and endless strife. "Wicked and ambitions malcontents will always find rea- sons for treason and secession, if you will only allow such crimes to be lawful. During the first era of treason and secession in this country, slavery was not an element. Division between the North and the South was not the idea. O'Fallen" and his South Carolina Colony sought to detach, by secession from Georgia, the territory now forming the state of Mis- sissippi, and transfer it to Spain. Sevier, Robinson, and others sought to wrest, bj' secession from North Carolina, the territory now forming the state of Tennessee, and transfer it to Spain. General Wilkinson, Sebastian, and others sought to alienate, l)y secession from Virginia, the territory now forming the state of Kentucky, and trans- fer it to Spain. Bradford and his associates sought to separate, by secession from Pennsylvania, all the territory west of the Alleghany mountains, and set up for themselves. But in all this, slavery was not an element, and divisions between the North and the South were not spoken of. The free navigation of the Mississippi, which the Federal 26 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. Government had not yet seenred, was one element. An 'Mrrejiressiljle contlicr," snjiposed to exist between the Atlantic states and the \\'estern conntry, was another element; and, in rcnnsylvania, tlie exeise on distilled sitirits was another eleiiient. In the seeond era of treason and sceessicMi, under the lead ot" Aaron Burr, slavery was not an element, nor were Northern and iSouthern tlivisions thought of. Fomenting jealousies between the i)eople and states on the Atlantic slope and those on the Western slo[ie of the A[)[)alaehiau mountains, and thus dividing the Union b}' a line running north and south, and setting up a se[)arate government iu the ^lississippi valley, was the primary object of that movement. Nor was African slavery an element in the third era of treason and secession, which occurred in General Jack- son's administration. The subject of com[)laint then was, that the revenue laws of the United States were unequal and oppressive in their operation — that the planting dis- tricts of the country were unreasonably taxed for tlie protection of the manufacturing districts. After this attempt at the disruption of the Government was put dow^n by General Jackson, and the cause of comjilaint removed by Mr. Clay's bill. General Jackson, in a letter to a friend, declared that the complaint against the reve- nue laws was a mere pretext for treason, and predicted that African slavery would be the next pretext. Here are his words, too truly verified: "I liave had a lal)orious ta^lv here, but nullification is dead; and its "actors and courtiers will only bo remembered by tbe people to be exe- " ci'aled for their wicked d<'.sio;iis to sever and destroy the only good '•government on the globe, and tliat prosperity' and liapiiiness we enjoy "over every other portion of the world. Hainan's gallows ought to be "the fate of all such ambitious men, who W'ould involve their country in " civil war, and all the evils in its train, that they might reign and ride THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. 27 "on its -whirlwinds, and direct the storm. The free people of the United " States have spoken, and consij^ned these wicked demagogues to their "proper doom. Take care of your nullitiers; you have them among you; "let them meet with the indignant frowns of evovy man who inves his "country. The tariff, it is 7ioiv known, was a mere pretext; its hurdcn "was on j'our coarse woolens. By the law of July, 1832, coarse woolen "was reduced to five per cent., for the benefit of tlie South. jMr. Clay's "hill takes it up and classes it with woolens at fifty per cent., reduces it "gradually down to twenty per cent., and there it remains; and Mr. Cal- "houn and all tlie nuUifiers agree to the principle. The cash duties and '• home valuation will he equal to fifteen per cent, more, and after the year " 1842, you pay on coarse woolens thirty-five per cent. If this is not pro- " tection, I can not understand; therefore, the tariff was only the pretext, "and disunion and a Southern confederaej' the real oLject. The next " pretext will be the negro or slavery question." It would require but little argumeut to prove that all the complaints of the seceding states about negroes is a mere pretext — as much so as the com[)laints about the tariff. The Border states, as I shall show, have some ground of complaint; but these people have none. Their slaves never escape into the free states ; and whether the fugitive law is well executed or not, does not aflect their interests. Their complaints about slavery in the terri- tories is all a sham. Eveiy man knows, and every South- ern statesman has often declared, that the people in the territories, when they come to form constitutions, and be admitted as states, have a perfect right to admit or exclude slavery — "to vote it up, or vote it down." The attempt to force slavery on the people of Kansas against their will could only have been made for the purpose of provoking a sectional quarrel about negroes, and bring- ing on a crisis. It could not have been made with the Borions expectation tliat the people of Kansas would submit. And yet tliis controversy is made a pretext for an attempt to divide the Union and destroy the gov- ernment. What infernal star is to preside over the fifth era of 28 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. treason and secession, God only knows. 'We iiave reason, however, to believe, from what we have seen of the past, that if the right of secession is conceded, excuses will never be wanting to ambitious demagogues, who prefer their own advancement to the good of their country. A political heres}', so versatile in its instincts — so ready to form alliances witli every grievance and discontent — so ready to embrace every local pi-ojadice and popular furor, for tlie destruction of the Government, is not to be tol- erated. It is a wolf witliout even sheep's clothing, and fit to be knocked on the head by evcrj- honest man when- ever he meets it. E'er do I believe that the election of Mr. Lincoln, as a ground for dissolving the Union, is more than a hollow pretext. The erj' of abolition against him is but a raw- head and b]oody-b(Hies to stir up the [jrojudices of igno- rant masses, and prepare them to be at once the du[»es, the tools, and the victims of treason. Coming across a Southern man, who told mo that the election of !Mr. Lin- coln was a violation of the Constitution, I insisted on knowing how this thing could be. I was informed that the violation of the Constitution lay in certain bad doc- trines put forward in the Chicago platform, which he alleged, by the election of Mr. Lincoln, was foisted on the people instead of the Cons'titution. No one can increase my contempt for platforms. They are not the work of statesmen, but of politicians. They are the contrivances of the demagogues who rule con- ventions, for the purpose of destroying some one's pros- pects, or turning to account some prevailing public sen- timent or popular furor. After they have been used in convention, two tilings may be said of them. First. The masses of the voting public neither know nor care any- thing about them, but act upon the prevailing sentiment of the day. Second. The person elected, if an honest THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. 29 man, with the Coiistitation for liis platform, and a wise expediency for liis guide, regards them as of no mors anthorit}' than the quack nostrums published on the odd leav^es of an almanac. The leading demagogues ah)ng the Gulf cared nothing about the Chicago platform. This was not the mote that troubled their eye. Their grievance was more incurable. The scepter Ijad departed from them. They had failed, by stampede, to drive Mr. Douglas from the iield. They had failed, by fanfaronade, in Mr. Lincoln's case, to frighten tlie people from the first and highest principle of free gov- ernment — the right of the majority to rule. The secession movement did not come from a sober conviction that the seceding states would better their condition ; it was rather like the angry outbreak of a spoiled and willful child, who, failing to bully his mother out of all that he wants, flings the bread and butter she gives him away. For many years, they had had far more tlian their pro- portion of Federal patronage ; fur more than their propor- tion of the public money had been expended in fortifying their coast and improving their commerce ; they had had far more than their proportion of public offices in the gift of the president ; and, wdiat is more remarkable, since the time of Martin Van Buren down to the time of Stephen A. Douglas, we had not had a Democratic president, nor a Democratic candidate for the presidency, who was not nominated by their dictation. They had been so long masters of the Democratic party, that the revolt of Mr. Douglas and his friends could not be brooked. They saw, in his nomination, what has since been proved in the election of Mr. Lincoln, a determination, on the part of the majority, not to be always dictated to, but to have something to say in the affairs of State. And, if public sentiment should take such a direction, it might post[)one the chances of these ambitious men to be president for 30 THE RIGUT OF SECESSION. a long while — perhaps during tlie lifetime of some of them. One of the most fruitful sources of civil commotions, war, and liloodslu'd, is the lust for power. All the nations from which we derive our blood have been rent with feuds and drenched with blood from this cause. The blood of our ancestors still boils in our veins, and the same causes wdiich distracted them, now distract us. The ambition to l)e [)residcnt of the United States is both intense and ■vv'ide-s})read. True, the term of ofliv'e is but four j-ears; but, within that brief period, thousands and tens of tlnni- sands of })laces of honor, trust, and iirofit, are dispensed by him; and millions and hundreds of millions of money disbursed, directly or indirectly, throngh his appointment. Hence the inauguration of a president inspires an interest more intense tiian the coronation of seven kings. This ambition to be president can not often be gratified. The presidency is an immense lottery, in which the blanks are many and the prizes few. And I apprehend there are many ambitious men, both North and South, who would gladly rend the Union in two to be president of one half of it. Anions: the illustrious dead, there have been a 2:reat man}' who had a commendable ambition to be president, without attaining the object of their ambition. We can not withhold our admiration from the man of true ambi- tion, who makes his ambition subservient to the good of his country. Among these, the gods of my political idola- trv were Clay and Webster. The chief ambition of Clav's life was to be president; but his ambition soared far above the groveling thought of being president of less than the whole iSTation. As I thrust my head from the window of tlie rail-car to catch a glance of the pillar his grateful counti-ynien erected to his memory, it makes me proud to remember that here sleeps a man, ambitious as he was, THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. 31 wlio would yet " ratlier be right than president." AVeb- 8ter was as ambitions to be president as Clay, but liis am- bition was too bio- to ])reside over a broken fray his order, Governor Tiffen called out the militia of Ohio, and by armed force intercej)ted and cap- tured fourteen of Burr's transport boats near the mouth of the Muskingum, for wijich he received the thanks of the president. The territorial governor of Louisiana, in like manner, called out the militia to seize his transports and intercept his flight. He was arrested, carried to Kich- mond, Virginia, and there indicted and tried for treason. By the Constitution, every one accused of a crime is entitled to a trial in the same state or district where the crime was committed. By the same instrument, (Art. Ill, Sec. 3,) treason is conlined within very narrow limits: "Treason against the United States shall consist only in " levying war against them, or in adhering to their ene- " mies, giving them aid and comfort." Chief Justice Marshall held that there must be, not a design merely, but some overt act of treason to sustain an indictment. The government failed to prove any overt act of war against tlie United States within the district of Virginia, and Burr was acquitted. The moral efl[ect was the same as if he had been hanged. The public were advertised of the estimate in which traitors were held, and treason did not show her head till 1832. The third era of treason and secession occurred in 1832, THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. ^7 during the administration of General Jackson. The os- tensible subject of complaint then, was the revenue laws, which, as was alleged, were oppressive to the people of the planting states. General Jackson believed this was a mere pretext on the part of the leaders. Whether he was right in this I will not undertake to say. Whatever the grievance was, they resorted for their remedy to secession and violence. They pulled down from the custom-house at Charleston the flag of the Union, and trampled it under their feet, and passed laws in the Legislature of South Carolina, to resist the Federal Government in the collection of the revenues. General Jackson, following the example of Washington, remonstrated earnestlj' with them against their lawless conduct ; but, when they re- fused to listen to reason, he ordered General Scott, with a garrison of eight hundred men, to Fort Moultrie, to see that the laws were faithfully executed. If, by transmigra- tion, the soul of Andrew Jackson had occupied the body of James Buchanan, we would have had peace to-day. Gloomy as is the aspect of atfairs, I still think we shall have peace. I do not think a gun will be fired along the Gulf. The Federal Administration, as indicated by the Inaugural, is kind, conciliator}', and wise. The President advises those who are disaffected to take further time, and reflect more seriously upon the consequences of the pro- visional steps the}' have taken. And while the Gulf states are thus taking time to reflect, let us see what can be done toward a fair, honorable, and just understanding with the , Border states. V I come now to speak of the reciprocal duties of the states toward each other. And, first, as to the vexed question of slavery. Whether, in the abstract, it is right or wrong — whether the institution is Divine or human, is not now the question. The framers of the Federal Constitution found it here, and left it here; and, inasmuch as it did not exist 38 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. in 8ome of tlie states, and mi^lit be abolished in otliers, tbcy fixed the guarantee in the Constitution, tliat escapi?ig , slaves should be delivered up, on demand, to their masters. The spirit as well as the letter of this guarantee ought to be carried out. No good citizen of the United States can excuse himself from this. lie is a bad citizen who goes into a slave state and excites in the mind of a slave disobedience to his master. He is a bad citizen who, by Avord, or letter, or printed pa[)ers, persuades a slave to escape from his master. lie is a bad citizen who know- ingly assists a slave to escape from his master. He is a bad citizen wlio attempts to batfle or defeat a master in the recapture of his slave. And when Congress makes a law for the recapture of slaves, which is held by the su- preme judiciary of the United States to be constitutional, he is a bad citizen who resists the execution of that law. And a man whose conscience will not allow him, in good faith, to execute the law, ought not to liold the office of judge, commissioner, or marshal under the Federal Gov- ernment. Thus much for the duty of the citizen. The Slime rule of good faith and constitutional obliga- tion forbids the Legislature of any state to pass laws to thwart or defeat acts of Congress, which, by the terms of the Constitution, are the supreme laws of the laud. And, though all such state legislation is imconstitutional and void, still it is offensive, and has a powerful tendency to destroy the good feeling between the states, and weaken the bonds of the Union. Such acts are inconsiderately passed, and ought to be repealed. 'So considerations of state or personal pride ought to stand in tlie way of such an act of obedience to the supreme law of the land. IS'o man who nullifies the supreme laws liimself, ought to condemn others for nullifvino^ them. The Northern nul- lifier is no better in principle than the Soutliern nullitier. They only differ in degree. THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. 39 But there are reciprocal duties which ought to be per- formed by the slaveholding states. If, as has been said, and as I partly believe, busy-bodies from the free states go into the slave states to excite discontents, and stir up insurrections among the slaves, it is their privilege — it is their duty, to pass such penal laws as may remedy the evil, and see to it that such laws are enforced. But in these, as in all other cases of crime, the party accused should have a fair and impartial trial. The practice, too common in the distant South, of seizing on citizens of the free states, engaged in their lawful business, and putting some to death, and subjecting others to ignominious pun- ishments on mere suspicion of being Abolitionists, makes more Abolitionists in one year than all the lectures which could be delivered in seven. Oifeuses of this kind, com- mitted in the Gulf states, do great injury to the rights of our neighbors in the Border states. Men in the free states are but men, and it is in vain to attempt to reconcile them to outrages of this kind. The man whose brother or kinsman has been ignominiously murdered, will not be persuaded to forgive and forget. All the laws in the univ^erse wont make a man quiet under such circum- stances. And then there are some things which our Southern brethren must not expect, because, in the nature of things, they are impossible. Among these is the favorite idea of Mr. Calhoun, that there must be equality of representation in Congress, at least in the Senate, between the slavehold- ing and non-slaveholding states. The Constitution, as it is, for the purposes of apportionment, attaches the character of persons to property, and gives to every live slaves the weight of three free men. This is all they can expect in that direction. The other idea is inadmissible, on every principle of popular government, and runs back into the Rotten Borough system of England. As the people swell in 40 THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. numbers, they overflow and form new states, and b}^ this means, not only the number of the people, but the number of states, is greater North than South. The reasons of this inequality are natural and plain. First. Tiie people of the free states marry younger, and bring up more children, tlian the people of the slave states. Second. There is more emi- gration from the slave states to the free, than from the free states to the slave states. Third. The influx of population from abroad runs more into the free than into the slave states. In 18(30, the population of the free states out- numbered that of the slave states two to one. In 1880 they will outnumber them three to one. And, should a disruption of the Union take place, this change will come as early as 1870. The great democratic principle, that the majority must rule, can not be smothered, unless we run into anarchy, and from thence into despotism. AVhat remains to us on both sides is to settle definitely the line between us, and leave each other, and each other's institutions, alone. "With this, and a strict construction of the Constitution, no harm can befall any section of the country. All attempts to amend the Constitution at this time, I think, are futile, for the simple reason that a vote of two- thirds can not now be had. Then leave the Constitution alone. It is the temple of liberty in which our fathers worshiped ; and all attempts to change or remodel it seem to me like picking a frustum from a granite column, and filling its place with brickbats. If the legislation under the Constitution is insufficient for the purposes of justice, peace, and harmony, let that be amended. Another duty we owe each other on both sides is, to speak of each other according to some measure of decency. The man on my right who steals my horses, is not half so bad a neighbor as the man on my left who slanders me and my household. We dwellers in the North, and you dwellers THE RIGHT OF SECESSION. 41 in the South, must quit Iving on each other — quit calling each other hard names, quit accusing each other of crimes of which neither of ns are oruiltv. But, unless the printing press undertakes this reform, we are undone. In this city there is one press which could accomplish a world of good — enough to purchase absolution for the sinsof several years past, and indulgences of several years to come. I would not disparage the other journals of the city, but all the rest are helpless in the South, because not read in the South. If the Enquirer would forget, for a while, that it has a party to save, and remember that it might be the means of Raving a country; if it would put aside all the virulence of party, and earnestly tell the South the truth as to the real state of public sentiment in the Xorth, among all parties — tell them that the idea that the Democracy are pro-slavery men is all a delusion — that the idea that the Republicans are Abolitionists is all a delusion — tell them neither one party nor the other desire to interfere with slavery as a domestic institution — that both of them are heartily tired of discussions on that subject, and would both be glad if the word slave should never be heard again in Congress — that the Abolitionists, whom they seem so much to abhor, are but the Xorthern nullifiers — that the nullitiers in the South are but the Southern Abolitionists — men of kin- dred spirits toiling at either end of the lever to work out the same common mischief. The result could not but be happy. I know of no journal in Ohio, except the En- quirer, which could venture on such a work with any hope of success, and, therefore, I make the suggestion in all kindness. All the other journals can do is to pour cold water on the heads of fanatics at home, and keep the fever of party down, till time and wiser counsels shall restore the nation to peace. Young gentlemen, you must pardon what I am now 42 THE RIGUT OF SECESSION. aliont to sav. You liave stouter hearts and strono-er hands to dcfund the Union, il' the day of trial shouUl come, than I have, hut none of you love it so well. T am longer acqiuiinted with it, and, therefore, love it hetter. It is over half a century since my venerahle father threaded the gai)S of the Alk^ghany mountains, and took up his ahode in Ohio. I first found myself in a log-cahin in the ^\■i](h■rness, where night was made hideous hy the howling of the wolf, and the })aths of the woods dangerous by the ]ii"owling of savage beasts. I have seen and felt all the poverty, privations, hardships, and toils of backwoods life, when shabljy little pack-horses did the work of commerce now performed by canals, steamboats, and railroads. Thei'e were in those days no cities, no crowded marts, no splendid feats and shows, to dazzle the vision of poor boys. AVe had but two wonderful things to gaze upon and admire : the Sun shining in tlie heavens above, ar.d the Flag of the Union floating over our heads. As I sfrew older and more thoughtful, I still associated these won- ders. I pointed to the sun aiid said : This is the lamp which God in his power has hung out to the universe. I pointed to our National banner and said : This is the beacon-light which God in his providence has hung out to the struggling, bewildered, and faint-hearted votaries of freedom throughout the world. I hoped their lights would last forever, or be extinguished together, and blend harmoniously in the texture of the " new heaven and the new earth." I am not now without hope. "We shall still see brighter days. The tempests and darkness which deform the face of our country will blow over, and in a brighter sky we shall see the morning sun and the National banner both arising to their meridian splendor. ) r / » L«R«RV OF CO^ KS LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 2 5 2 7 7 3'=]'^ pH8^