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PROCEEDINGS 
 
 BANQUET OF THE JACKSON DEMOCRATIC ASSOCIATION, 
 
 
 
 WASHINGTON, EIGHTH OF JANUARY, 1852. 
 
 The Democracy assembled in the main 
 saloon of Jackson Hall, on the evening of 
 the Eighth of January, to celebrate the an- 
 niversary of the Battle of New Orleans, and 
 to listen to the speech of M. Kossuth, the 
 Hungarian Chief, a guest of the Demo- 
 cratic Association. 
 
 The saloon, which was filled early to 
 its utmost capacity, was arranged for the 
 banquet in excellent taste. The decora- 
 tions were such as became the occasion. 
 In the rear of the distinguished guest, were 
 to be seen the Hungarian and Turkish 
 banners, partially enveloped within the 
 folds of the American flag. The Crescent 
 and the stars intermingled, shone with 
 real brilliancy. Above the heads of the 
 great Hungarian Chief and the other dis- 
 tinguished guests who sat on the right and 
 left floated another American banner, sup- 
 ported on either side by that of Hungary. 
 In the corners of the saloon were grace- 
 fully unfurled other American and Hunga- 
 rian banners, whilst the entire walls were 
 appropriately festooned with Hungarian 
 colors. Over each of the ten windows 
 was a small flag, w ith the stars and stripes, 
 bearing also the words, " Welcome Kos- 
 suth to the land of freedom." The tables, 
 five in number, ranging the whole length 
 of the saloon and across it, at which near- 
 ly five hundred gentlemen and ladies were 
 seated, were spread in a sumptuous man- 
 ner. Marseletti's grand Infantry Band 
 enlivened the festivities with music most 
 appropriate and delightful to the ear. 
 
 J. D. Hoover, Esq., President of the 
 Jackson Association, presided. 
 
 Among the invited guests were on the 
 ricrht of the President Governor Louis 
 Kossuth, Honorable Lewis Cass, Honor- 
 able S. A. Douglas, Honorable Henry 
 Dodge, General Lane, Honorable Jesse 
 
 D. Bright, and Honorable Augustus C. 
 Dodge; while upon his left were F. P. 
 Blair, Esq., Honorable Sam Houston, 
 Major Do.nei.son, and Mr. Ritchie. At 
 the head of one of the centre tables were 
 seated a portion of the ladies, and all the 
 gentlemen comprising the suiteofthe Hun- 
 garian Chieftain. 
 
 The following is the letter of invitation 
 under which the guests were present, ex- 
 cept the Hungarian Chief and his suite, 
 viz : 
 
 Washington, December 13, 1651. 
 Sir: The undersigned committee, appointed by 
 the Jackson Democratic Association to make ar- 
 rangements to celebrate the anniversary of the Bat- 
 tle of New Orleans, on the 8th of January next, 
 have deemed it a fit occasion to bring together, at 
 Washington, as many of the friends of the Hero of 
 that day as can make it convenient to attend; 
 among them they recognize you, and transmit this 
 invitation in the hope that you will he enabled to 
 signalize the festival, at Jackson Hall, by your 
 presence. 
 
 The time, the place, and the occasion, will be 
 propitious to the harmonizing influences which it 
 is honed the Democracy of every section of the 
 republic is now disposed to apply to allay the 
 painful and threat! ning differences which have for 
 some years pervaded the party, overthrown its 
 ascendency in the administration of the Govern- 
 ment, and made the Union itself a hazard staked 
 on the management of that party which has re- 
 peatedly brought it in danger. The wise, the 
 good, and the great, in and out of Congress, ou^ht 
 to bring their conciliating counsels in aid of the 
 memory of the illustrious citizen whose whole life 
 was devoted to make good his motto " The Union 
 must be preserved." 
 
 We shall be pleased to receive a response to this 
 invitation at the earliest day practicable. 
 
 We have the honor to be your obedient sen. i..:, 
 J. D. Hoover, Francis P. Blah;, 
 
 W. W. Ccrran, E. B. Robinson, 
 Zephaniam Jone9, J. Knox Walker. 
 Col. J. G. Berret, Chas.S. Wallach. 
 Dr. A. W. Miller, Committee. 
 
 At 8 o'clock the President invited the 
 assembly to partake of the viands before 
 them, and for nearly an hour compliance 
 
 
J»* 
 
 with this invitation and social conversa- j 
 tion reigned supreme. 
 
 In order to be the better heard, the j 
 President and the invited guests, at a 
 quarter before 9 o'clock, took a position 
 
 the side.of the hall, and the toasts were, 
 eral of them, repeated by B. B. French, 
 Esq., at the end of the hall. 
 
 The first regular toast was read by the 
 President (and was followed by the band) 
 
 follows : 
 
 1. Washington: The greatest, wisest, purest 
 —the most glorious of mankind. — [Hail Colum- 
 
 The second toast was read by B. B. 
 French, Esq., as follows: 
 
 2. The President of the United States'. — 
 [President's March] 
 
 The President read the third, as follows: 
 
 3. Andrew Jackson : Foreign nations see his 
 fame on the field of battle— his country in his civil 
 administration — his friends in the bosom of the 
 Hermitage.— [Hail to the Chief.] 
 
 This toast was received with great ap- 
 plause ; and, being repeated by Ben. B. 
 French, Esq., three cheers were given. 
 
 F. P. Blair, Esq., then delivered the 
 following address: 
 
 Gentlemen: lam directed by the Committee 
 to respond to this sentiment, by associating with 
 the venerated name just commemorated that of one 
 
 enceweasserted; and the judgment of all, including 
 that of the Government which opposed it, now 
 justifies the act. Are not the principles admitted 
 in our own case applicable to another precisely " 
 similar? We besought the King of France to in- 
 terpose in behalf of our nationality when England 
 aimed to absorb its freedom in its omnipotence. 
 And the King of France interposed in behalf of 
 our country, because he saw in the colossal power 
 of England, growing to a dangerous supremacy, 
 through its inimitable increase on this side of the 
 Atlantic, hazard to the independence of his nation; 
 and this justified bis intervention in the eyes of all 
 mankind. If the people of this country see in the 
 march of military despotism on the Old Continent 
 danger to the liberties of the New; if they see in 
 the overthrow of the independence of Poland — in 
 the dismemberment of that Republic, and its dis- 
 tribution among the despotisms of the North; if 
 they see in the bloody sacrifice of Hungary — in 
 the utter subversion of its time-honored independ- 
 ence, and the bitter oppression of its people under 
 the lush, the hangman's halter, and military exe- 
 cutions en masse; if they see in Austria and Prus- 
 sia the pledges of the reigning houses to govern 
 under constitutional forms limiting their power, 
 violated, and their adhesion given to the Czar's 
 principle of extirpation of all government, save 
 that dependent on the sovereign's will, enforced 
 by the bayonet; if they see the proposed Ger- 
 man confederacy of States vanish, and every 
 petty prince become a despot under a greater des- 
 pot; if they see France, that but yesterday had a 
 representative government founded on a written 
 constitution, put in an instant under the foot of a 
 standing army, hired by largesses to immolate a 
 hecatomb of the friends of the Republic, and to 
 force the survivors to vote a dictatorship, with the 
 
 not less patriotic, but not yet so fortunate — of one, !| sword at their throat, and the cannon still sound 
 however, who still lives in the vigor of manhood, 'I ing in the knell of the constitution and 
 
 and to receive, I fondly hope, the crowning honor ' its defenders; if they see this war of extermina- 
 bestowed by the author of the Declaration of tion triumphing over the principles on which they 
 Independence on Jackson, who fought its last repose for safety, and arraying the whole powers 
 battle; and may Hungary yet boast of Kossuth, ' of a continent in deadly enmity to their mstitu- 
 
 and say, This man filled "the measure of his coup. 
 try's glory. 
 
 Were the Great Chief whose anniversary we 
 hail now here, the Exile invited to share his hos- 
 pitalities would have found one to receive him 
 whose heart was open as day to melting charity — 
 who, seeing him in these sables for his country's 
 fall, would have drawn him to his bosom, that he 
 might feel the warmth and throbbing of his mighty 
 heart — who, seeing him burdened with his na- 
 tion's woes, and hearing him plead its cause with 
 
 tions. — may they not be permitted to look abroad 
 and gather some strength for their defence? May 
 they not make an effort to interpose the masses of 
 the people who are the immediate object of attack, 
 and by sustaining them, ward off the danger threat- 
 ened by the coalition of despots? May they not 
 be allowed to resuscitate Hungary, and make her 
 the barrier against the encroachments of Russian 
 ambition, as she was once the bulwark of Chris- 
 tendom against Mahomet's religion and the rule of 
 the Janizaries ? May they not discharge, in some 
 
 an eloquence greater than Paul's before Agrippa, j small degree, their obligations to France, by giving 
 
 would have welcomed him, not with the hand of 
 " cold obstruction," but with the grasp of cordial 
 sympathy and support. 
 
 The Association proposes an expression of its 
 feelings and opinions in a toast, which requires a 
 few prefatory remarks, to prevent the conclusion 
 that a change in the policy of our Government is 
 implied in its pledge in relation to the concerns of 
 foreign States, the attitude of which does not in- 
 volve interests of our own. That policy does not 
 conflict with the right we vindicated as a nation, 
 in establishing the Government we enjoy — the 
 right to interfere with the course of any govern- 
 ment that endangered its safety. We called to 
 our aid a foreign Power to sustain the independ- 
 
 their countenance, at leas:, to the revolt of her 
 people against the substitution of the sword for 
 their constitution? And if the French people should 
 fail in maintaining the free principles which they 
 carried from our shores to their own, may not ours 
 be allowed to unite with a kindred nation, from 
 which they inherited their kindred institutions 
 (now threatened alike with a common danger) for 
 the purpose of arresting the progress of a domi- 
 nation which would desolate the earth? 
 
 If the conflict shall be renewed in Europe be- 
 tween the free and the despotic principle, England, 
 beyond doubt, must have a share in it. She is too 
 rich, too tempting to lie almost in the bosoms of 
 the victorious usurpers of the Continent, to escape 
 
mdespoiled, if she should be neutral, and wait 
 until every other people have suffered spoliation. 
 And what have we to expect from neutrality, while 
 Russia wagse her war for universal dominion, or 
 at least for universal despotism, with Austria and 
 France to aid, and England and such allies as she 
 may attach to her cause, make resistance? We 
 may anticipate the treatment which we received 
 from the belligerents, when Napoleon pressed on 
 to empire over all the nations, as Russia does now. 
 Then our commerce, and the pursuits which bring 
 civilized nations in contact, exposed our unarmed 
 ships and citizens to insult and robbery, our sail- 
 ors to impressment, and our Government to con- 
 tempt. To secure our country from the outrages 
 inflicted by both belligerents, it was compelled to 
 declare war against that one, whose insults and 
 injuries were the least tolerable. Can we hope 
 now, when the war is intended to exterminate the 
 principle of which our Government is the great 
 exemplar, that our people will be allowed the im- 
 munity of free-trade and intercourse with the bel- 
 ligerents, to grow rich and strong amid their 
 xuamities, under the pretext of non-intervention in 
 a controversy which originates in the incitements 
 and longings of the revolting nations, growing out 
 of the blessings theyjsee conferred by our Republic? 
 
 If a general war grows out of the attempt to es- 
 ablish absolutism, we shall in vain try to evade 
 »ur responsibilities by pacific professions. The 
 iding danger can only be averted from us 
 by the ability of the people of Europe, now kept 
 iown by military mercenaries, to rise like the 
 French against the Bourbons, and assert their own 
 rights. To encourage such efforts is the duty of 
 v free people, and of all that would be free. 
 
 The S »ugh a sovereign, did not with- 
 
 hold his encoura lungary in assert- 
 
 ing her ancient rights and independence. H<- 
 •i safe retreat and delivi i the Chiefs i 
 
 on for a renewal of h< e under happier 
 
 He defied the Autocrat and his ally, 
 who demanded their surrender, and risked the 
 denounced ns the consequence of refusal, tie 
 maintained tith,and vindicated the 
 
 law of And .shall we shrink from this 
 
 duty? Sh;'! out Government hesitate to denounce, 
 as a violation of the laws of nations, the inti 
 
 e Czar to crush the free nations of the 
 
 earth? Shall it hesitate to declare it'a justification 
 
 if a counter-intervention on the part of every in- 
 
 rident Government, and especially of that 
 
 whose principles are struck down by the aggressor? 
 
 Our countrymen will not assent to theone-sided 
 They will intervene to lift up those 
 strickei down I y intervention: 
 
 The Exiles from Europe — Liberty and Louis 
 Kossu H . 
 
 M. Kossuth responded as follows: 
 • stlemen: I feel sincerely gratified with the ] 
 honor of being invited to be present on this sol- 
 emn oc ..ision, dedicated to the memory of a glo- 
 . as well as highly-responsible fact in your 
 history. 
 
 There is high political wis. lorn in the custom 
 yearly to revive the memory of civil virtue and 
 national glory in the mind of the living generation, 
 because nothing is more efficient to keep alive the 
 spirit of patriotism — that powerful genius which 
 liketheangels of Stripture, guards with flamin 
 
 I sword the Paradise of national liberty and inde- 
 pendence. Happy the land where the history of 
 I the past is the history of the people, and not a mere 
 ; flattery to kings; and doubly happy the land 
 j where the rewards of the past are brightened by 
 present glory — present happiness— and where the 
 noble deeds of the dead, instead of being a mourn- 
 ful monument of vanished greatness which but 
 saddens the heart, though it ennobles the mind, 
 are a lasting source of national welfare to the age 
 and to posterity. But where, as in this your 
 happy land, national history is constituted to be 
 the elementary basis of education — where the very 
 schcolboy is better acquainted with the history of 
 his country than in monarchies scarcely the profess- 
 ors are— in such a country it would be indeed but 
 a ridiculous parading of vanity for a stranger to 
 dwell upon facts which every child is better ac- 
 quainted with than he can be. Allow me, there- 
 fore, gentlemen, rather briefly to expound what 
 is the practical philosophy of that great victory 
 which you are assembled to celebrate — what is the 
 moral of the strain as it presents itself to the scru- 
 tator's mind. 
 
 Just as a man has to pass through several pe- 
 riods of age, each of them marked "with its own 
 peculiarities, before he comes to a settled position 
 in life, even so a nation. A nation has first to be 
 born, then to grow; then it has to prove its pas- 
 sive vitality by undergoing a trial of life. After- 
 wards it has to prove its active force in gaining 
 ascendency in its own immediate horizon. At 
 last, it must take its competent seat amongst the 
 nations of the world as a power on earth. Every 
 one of these periods of national life must be gone 
 igh. There is no help against it. Itisane- 
 i y process of life. And every one of these 
 life-periods has its own natural condition, which 
 must be accepted as a necessity, even if we should 
 not be pleased with it. As there is no jumping in 
 Nature, equally there is no stop to it. A man 
 must be a child before he becomes a youth, and 
 he must have been a youth before he becomes a 
 man. But, then, if it be ridiculous to desire from 
 the child to act as a youth, or from a youth to be 
 a man, it is indeed impossible for the youth to be 
 child, or to the man not to become a man. 
 He must, because he is; and if, being a man, he 
 does not act as it becomes a man to act, well, then, 
 lie loses the position of a man. It is quite the 
 same with nations. 
 
 1 through the ordeal of 
 an earnest iife, with the view. before my eyes to 
 have yet to steer through stormy gales, it is nat- 
 ural that, while. I grasp with steady hand the 
 helm of my temp. irk, I look with calm 
 
 attention to the compass of History to guide me 
 by rfcs~ philosophy through the foaming waves. 
 And there is no history more instructive than 
 yours, because you have concentrated within the 
 narrow scope of a few years that natural process 
 of national life which elsewhere was achieved but 
 through centuries; and while other nations, start- 
 ing from a false point of a false principle, wavered 
 in their progress like the magnetic needle sur- 
 rounded by iron bars, you, starting from a true 
 ious of your aim, advanced in a 
 straight direction to that aim: and there you are 
 arrived, in a short time, where other nations failed* 
 to arrive in centuries, consuming the strength of 
 manhood in making their way, and growing old 
 
before they got to the settled position of the man 
 It would be a mistake, and a mistake not un- 
 dangerous, to believe that your nation is still in 
 its youth because it has lived but seventy-five 
 years. The natural condition of nations is not 
 measured by years, but by those periods of the 
 process of life which I had the honor to mention 
 already. And there is no nation on earth in whose 
 history these periods were so distinctly marked as 
 in yours. First, you had to be born. There is 
 the period of your glorious struggle for independ- 
 ence. Eternal glory to those who conducted it ! 
 You were baptized with blood, as it seems to be 
 the destiny of nations; but it was the Genius of 
 Freedom which stood god -father at your baptism, 
 and gave to you a lasting character by giving you 
 the Christian name of "Republic." Then you 
 had to grow, and, indeed, you have grown with 
 the luxuriant rapidity of the virgin nature of the 
 American soil. Washington knew the nature of 
 this soil, fertilized by the blood of your martyrs 
 and warmed by the sun of your liberty. He knew 
 it when he told your fathers that you wanted but 
 twenty years of peaceful growth to defy whatever 
 power in a just cause. You have grown through 
 those twenty years, and wisely avoided to endan- 
 ger your growth by undertaking a toil not becom- 
 ing to your growing age; and there you stood 
 about another twenty years, looking resolutely 
 but unpretendingly around if there be anybody 
 to question that you were really a nation on earth. 
 The question was put in 1812, and decided by that 
 glorious victory the anniversary of which you 
 celebrate to-day. That victory has a deeper mean- 
 ing in your history than only that of a repulsed 
 invasion. It marks a period in your national 
 life — the period of acknowledged, unshakable se- 
 curity of your national existence. It is the con- 
 summation of your Declaration of Independence. 
 You have proved by it that the United States pos- 
 sess an incontestable vitality, having the power to 
 conserve that independent national situation which 
 your fathers have established by the Declaration 
 of Independence. In reality, it was the victory 
 of New Orleans by which you took your seat 
 amongst the independent nations of the world, 
 never to be contested through all posterity. A 
 nation is really independent only when it proves 
 by fact to make good the word of the poet: 
 " Come the three corners of the world in arms, 
 And we will riiock them." 
 
 The victory of New Orleans was a proof of it — 
 was the period of demonstrative passive vitality. 
 And the process of life went on. The next natu- 
 ral period was to demonstrate your vitality. 
 That was demonstrated by the war against Mex- 
 ico. 
 
 If the history of New Orleans was the period 
 demonstrating the security of your national exist- 
 ence, the victorious war against Mexico was the 
 period demonstrating no; only that nobody can 
 dare to attack your existence, but that also "your 
 national interests must be respected, and nobody 
 can dare to oppose them. 
 
 The period of active vitality is accomplished. 
 Now one period then remains yet to achieve— that 
 to take your seat, not amoii^ the' nations of the earth, 
 because that you have since the day of New Or- 
 leans, but amongst the Potcers on earth. What is 
 the meaning of that word " power on earth?" 
 The meaning of it is to have not only the power 
 
 to guard your own particular interests, but also tc 
 have a vote in the regulation of the common inter- 
 ests of humanity, of which you are an independent 
 member — in a word, to become a tribunal con- 
 trolling the maintenance of the law of nations, 
 precisely as your Supreme Court controls the 
 maintenance of your own Constitution and la we. 
 And, indeed, all logic of statesmanship, all phi- 
 losophy of history, would be vain, if I were 
 mistaken that your great nation is arrived at this 
 unavoidable period of the natural process of your 
 natural life. 
 
 The sympathy which I meet with in your glo- 
 rious land — the very toast you are pleased to honor 
 me with — the principles you expressed — are a 
 highly significant demonstration of the truth of 
 this statement of mine. Indeed, gentlemen, what 
 is the explanatory key of this rapid progress of the 
 manifestation of public opinion in respect to those 
 principles of international law which I plead, 
 awkwardly perhaps, but certainly with sincerity } 
 Is it my bad English stammering, which I am in- 
 deed ashamed for, and I must feel happy if I am 
 not laughed at for it? Is it this miserable frame, 
 marked with the sad stamp of misfortune and toil ; 
 Is it even the justice and the misfortune of my na- 
 tive land — the more deserving the sympathy of 
 generous hearts as it is in intimate relation with 
 the future destinies of Europe? Oh, no, gentle- 
 men; all this can have contributed as an opportu- 
 nity to the manifestation of an existing fact; but it 
 neither has created the fact, nor is it the explana- 
 tory key of its existence. The key of it is that 
 circumstance that when a nation arrives, in th< 
 process of national life, to tiie period of a Power 
 on earth, then the question of foreign relations, 
 regulated by international law, becomes the pre- 
 eminent topic of public attention and public con- 
 sideration. It is the necessity of the situation — a 
 necessary peculiarity of that period in the national 
 process of life when a nation is about to become a 
 Power on earth. 
 
 And in this respect, gentlemen, the instinct of 
 the people is in the life of a nation precisely that 
 which conscience is in the life of man. Before we, 
 in our private life, arrive to a clear conviction of 
 what course we have to adopt in whatever occur- 
 rency, the conscience — that inexplicable spirit in 
 our breast — tells us in a pulsation of our heart 
 what is right or what is wrong. And this first 
 pulsation of conscience is always right. Then 
 comes the reflective operation of the mind: it now 
 and then lulls conscience to sleep, now and then 
 modifies particulars, and now and then raises it to 
 the degree of conviction. But conscience was in 
 advance of the mind; and it is always right, be- 
 cause it never stirs without reason, never without 
 necessity. So is the instinct of the people — thi<- 
 conscience of nations. Not the highest intellectual 
 power of individuality can feel offended at the idea 
 that the instinct of the people is always the first to 
 feel the right and wrong. It is the pulsation of tin 
 heart of the nation; it is the advertisement of cot. 
 science, which never heaves without reason, with- 
 out necessity. And this reason and this necessity 
 rest within the glorious position of your country 
 to have grown not as monarchies do, with the top 
 of the pyramid fixed as the foundation of it, but 
 upon the broad basis of democratic liberty and re- 
 publican principles, to the mighty pyramid of a 
 Power on earth, powerful enough to support, like 
 
a second Atlas, the great vault of the eternal laws 
 •>f Nature and of Nature's God. 
 
 Oh, indeed, gentlemen, it is not my humble 
 presence here which elicited that majestic interest 
 for national law and international rights. No; 
 my very being here is but a consequence of the 
 preexistence of this interest. It has raised 
 glorious interpreters during the struggles of 
 Greece, when, indeed, I was yet too young to be 
 in public life. It flashed up, kindled at the mag- 
 netic spark of Poland's heroic struggles, and it 
 blazed high and broad when we were fighting the 
 tiered battle of independence for the European 
 •-eminent. Had this interest and sympathy not 
 existed long ago, I were not now here. My very 
 freedom is the result of it. 
 
 And may I be permitted to mention that there 
 ivere several concerns quite unconnected with the 
 cause of Hungary, which have much contributed 
 to direct public opinion to feel interested in the 
 question of foreign policy, so naturally connected 
 with the question, What is international law? 
 
 Your relations with Mexico and Central Amer- 
 ica; the threatened intervention of European pow- 
 ers in a possible issue of a recent case which 
 brought so much mourning into many families in 
 the United States; the question about the Sand- 
 wich Islands, which European diplomacy appeared 
 to contemplate as an appropriate barrier to be 
 -aised between your Pacific States and the Indian 
 and Chinese trade; the sad fate of an American 
 -itizen now condemned to the galleys in Africa; 
 and several other considerations of pressing con- 
 cern must necessarily have contributed to excite 
 the interest of public opinion for the settlement of 
 •he question, What is and what shall be law 
 'imongst nations ? — law not dictated by the whims 
 )f ambitious despots, but founded upon everlast- 
 ing principles, such as republics c,m acknowledge 
 living and existing themselves upon principles. 
 
 Your history was so much a book of life to me, 
 [ was aware of this operation in the public 
 mind of the United States. 1 knew before my 
 coming hither that the question of, What shall be 
 law amongst nations ? mightily interested public 
 opinion here. I knew that the opinion was not 
 only advanced by individuals, but agitated 
 political doctrine appropriate to the broad princi- 
 ples upon which your Republic stands. 1 
 that doctrine that every nation of the world has a 
 right to stand by itself and regulate its own gov- 
 ernment — its own domestic concerns — and that in- 
 dividuals are not bound to the despot under whose 
 hey may have had the misfortune to have 
 been born. I knew that the second part of the 
 question — What is international law ? — went even 
 so far as to enter into the causes of that war al- 
 ready which was decided by the victory of New 
 Orleans; and I knew that the former part of the 
 question — the national, as I would call it — is 
 brought home to public decision in the United 
 States by being arri\e<t in the process of national 
 life to the very period of a Power on earth, be- 
 sides the urgency of many particular concerns. 
 
 The cause of Hungary, so intimately connect- 
 ed with the doctrines of Europe, in which your 
 country in so many respects is concerned — that 
 cause of Hungary happened to lay within the 
 scope of principles of international iaw, occupy- 
 ing not only the instinct of the people, but also 
 •'.he calm reflection of your statesmen, conspicuous 
 
 J by mature wisdom and patriotism; and herein is 
 I the key, besides the generosity congenial to free- 
 i men, that the cause which I plead is honored with 
 ; so rapid a progress of public sentiment. 
 
 Now, as to these principles: gentlemen, I of 
 I course can have nothing to do with whatever in- 
 1 terior question or party movements in the United 
 States; and even should any one (of which I am 
 not aware J have the desire to make a political cap- 
 ital, as it is termed here, out of myself, I trust 
 that will not belaid to my charge, I having nothing 
 to do with it. I indeed must humbly entreat not 
 to be identified with a certain foreign gentleman 
 now in the United Slates as well as myself. My 
 position, gentlemen, is humbly and thankfully to 
 acknowledge sympathy and support, whenever I 
 am honored with it, without identifying myself 
 with whatever question which is not my business 
 at all. And I must be permitted to express my 
 particular gratitude that you, though a political 
 association, bearing the character of a distinct 
 party in relation to your own domestic concerns, 
 were pleased to have the generous delicacy of 
 offering me the benefit of j r our principal support 
 and the consolation of your sympathy, without 
 placing me in any difficulty inconsistent with my 
 position. I, indeed, most warmly thank you for it. 
 lint it is a duty of honor for me to acknowledge 
 that I met the same generous delicacy also in other 
 quarters bearing a party character different from 
 yours. I consider it a highly valuable benefit that 
 the generous sympathy which I meet with in re- 
 gard to the cause which I represent is not a party 
 feeling, but a thoroughly American generosity — 
 not only w/iig, not only democratic, (as I under- 
 stand your party denominations to be,) but a re- 
 publican, which I believe is a common character 
 of all citizens of your glorious Union. 
 
 However, when I have on the one side nothing 
 to meddle with interior party questions, on the 
 other side no equitable man can charge me with 
 any fault when I de :lare that I feel infinitely obliged 
 and gratified when I see that those principles of 
 the law of nations which I humbly advocate have 
 found a permanent place, upon the platform of 
 great political parties also; and they have found 
 a place there before anybody could have imagined 
 what I considered my humble mission to be. That 
 is a fact, gentlemen, which is so consolatory, so 
 bright with hope to me, that even my sad mind 
 ighly cheered by tt. 
 It remained only to know whether you are in- 
 clined tf> apply those principles to the present par- 
 ticular case also, which my poor downtrodden 
 country, and, in connection with it, the condition 
 of Europe, presents. I was so happy n.s to get 
 on several occasions the most generous affirmative 
 to this fervent wish of my heart; and I feel infi- 
 nitely gratified to have met the same favor in your 
 generous toast, and in the generous manner with 
 whi-h it was received. Here, then, I have nothing 
 to do but to thank; and I thank you, gentlemen, 
 with all the sincerity, with all the joy which a 
 downtrodden nation must feel when the sun of 
 resurrection rises in bright glory upon the gloomy 
 horizon of its sufferings. May God , the Almighty, 
 bless you for it ! 
 
 And let me humbly entreat your permission, for 
 
 one single moment more. I received, during my 
 
 brief stay in England, some onehundedand thirty 
 
 jaddresses from cities and associations, all full of 
 
6 
 
 the warmest sympathy for my country's cause, 
 which you so generously support. That sympa- 
 thy was accorded to me, notwithstanding my frank 
 declaration that I am a republican, and that my 
 country, restored to independence, can be nothing 
 else but a republic. Now, indeed, this is a fact 
 gratifying to every friend of progress in the de- 
 velopment of public sentiments, highly proving 
 that the people are everywhere honorable, just, 
 noble, and good. And do you know, gentlemen, 
 which of these numerous addresses was the most, 
 glorious to the people of England, and the most 
 gratifying to me? It was that in which I heard 
 your Washington praised, and sorrow expressed 
 that it was England which opposed that glorious 
 cause upon which is founded the noble fame of 
 that great man; and it was the addresses — and nu- 
 merous they were, indeed — in which hope and 
 resolution were expressed; and that England and 
 the United States, forgetting the sorrows of the 
 past, will, indeed, in brotherly love go hand in 
 hand to support the eternal principles of interna- 
 tional law and freedom on earth. 
 
 Yes, indeed, sir, you were right to say that the 
 justice of your struggle, which took out of Eng- 
 land's hand a mighty continent, is openly acknowl- 
 edged even by the English people itself. The 
 memory of the glorious day of New Orleans must 
 of course recall to your mind the memory of 
 wrongs against which you so gloriously fought. 
 Oh, let me intreat you, bury the hatred of past 
 ages in the grave, where all the crimes of the past 
 lie buried with the mouldering ashes of those who 
 sinned, and take the glorious opportunity to ben- 
 efit the great cause of humanity. 
 
 One thing let me tell you, gentlemen. People and 
 governments are different things in such a country 
 as Great Britain is. It is sorrowful enough that 
 the people have often to pay for what the govern- 
 ment sinned. Let it not be said in history that 
 even the people of the United States made a kin- 
 dred people pay for what its Government sinned. 
 And, remember that you can mightily react upon 
 the public opinion of Britannia, and that the people 
 of Britannia can react upon the course of its own 
 Government. It were, indeed, a great misfortune 
 to see the Government of Great Britain pushed by 
 irritation to side with absolutical powers against 
 the oppressed nations about to struggle for inde- 
 
 Eendenceand liberty. Even Ireland could only lose 
 y this. And, besides its own loss, this could, 
 perhaps, be just the decisive blow against liberty; 
 whereas the Government of England, let it be as 
 it is, uniting in the direction not to allow foreign 
 interference with our struggles on the continent, 
 would become almost a sure guarantee of the vic- 
 tory of those struggles; and, according as circum- 
 stances stand, this would be indeed the most prac- 
 tical benefit to the noble people of Ireland also, 
 because freedom, independence, and the principles 
 of Nature's law could not fail to benefit their own 
 cause, which so well merits the sympathy of every 
 just man; and they have also the sympathy— I 
 know it— of the better half of England itself. 
 
 Hatred is no good counsellor, gentlemen. The I 
 wisdom of love is a better one. What people' 
 has suffer) n my poor Hungary has from 
 
 Russia? Shall I hate the people of Russia for it? 
 Oh, never ! I have but pity and Christain broth-! 
 erly love for it. It is the Government, it is the ] 
 principle of the Government, which makes every! 
 
 drop of my blood boil, and which must fall if hu 
 inanity shall live. We were for centuries in war 
 against the Turks, and God knows what we have 
 suffered by it ! But past is past. Now we have 
 a common enemy, and thus we have a common 
 interest, a mutual esteem, and love rules u ' 
 our fathers have fought. 
 
 Gentlemen, how far this supreme duty for you: 
 own interest will allow you to go in giving life and 
 effect to the principle which you so generously 
 proclaim, and your party as I have understood 
 have generously proclaimed in different parts — that 
 you will in your wisdom decide, remaining always 
 the masters of your actions and of your fate. But 
 that principle will rest; that principle is true; that 
 principle is just; and you are just, because 
 are free. 1 hope, therefore, to see you cord. I 
 unite with me once more in the sentiment — 
 
 Intervention for non-intervention. 
 
 After the conclusion of M. Kossuth's 
 
 speech, the President and invited gu r --i* 
 
 returned to their former places, and thi 
 
 following regular toasts were offered: 
 
 4. The Memory of Thomas Jefferson : The 
 author of the Declaration of Independence, and 
 the father of the Democratic party. — [Auld Lang 
 Syne.] 
 
 5. Ocr Country : Every year of her national 
 existence more strongly marks the caden-ce of des- 
 potism; and her rising greatness will continue to 
 attract the attention of the patriot and statesman 
 until the laws of nations shall not only be under 
 stcod, but cbei\ed. — [Yankee Doodle did it.] 
 
 6. Our National Anniversary, The Fourth 
 of July announced our independence — the Eighth 
 of January saw its accomplishment. — [Hunters of 
 Kentucky.] 
 
 7. Republicanism: An eyesore to despots — a 
 beacon-light to the people. — [Music] 
 
 8. The Constitution of the United States. 
 A monument of human wisdom — faithful adher- 
 ence to its delegated authority the sheet-anchor of 
 our hope, and the surest guarantee of its preserva 
 tion. — [Star-Spangled Banner.] 
 
 9. Our Foreign Policy : "We ask for nothing 
 that is not clearly right, and submit to nothing 
 that is wrong." — [Music] 
 
 VlO. Non-Intervention : A wrong principle in 
 our political system when despots are waging un- 
 holy war against Liberty! — [Music] 
 
 11. The Press: So identified with freedom 
 that they perish together. — [Music] 
 
 12. The Union of the Democracy : Essentia, 
 to success, and best effected by oblivion of past 
 differences. — [Music] 
 
 13. The Fair ivho honor our Feast: In the 
 presence of the Heroine of Hungary, w< 
 knowledge a union dearer than all others — one 
 that survives the catastrophe of States, and . 
 solace to the martyr in his prison. 
 
 The following toasts from the Commit- 
 tee of Arrangements were then read \>y 
 the President, and repeated by B. F> 
 French, Esq. : 
 
it 
 
 KllS- 
 
 Hon. William R. King: The faithful Senator 
 and the accomplished gentleman — may he long con- 
 tinue in the public service, and his declining years 
 be as peaceful as his public services have been 
 useful. 
 
 Hon. W. R. King being called for, it 
 was stated that he had been detained by 
 indisposition. The following letter was 
 then read : 
 
 Senate Chamber, January 6, 1852. 
 Gentlemek: Devoted as 1 have ever been to the 
 principles of the Democratic party, a persona! and 
 political friend of that great and good man, An- 
 drew Jackson, whose memory should be cherished 
 by every true patriot of the land, it will afford me 
 sincere pleasure (if my health will permit) to unite 
 with my fellow-citizens of the Jackson Democratic 
 Association in their celebration of the glorious 
 eighth of January — a day on which a republican 
 soldiery, led on by the hero Jackson, prostrated 
 the disciplined corps of England, and terminated 
 our second war of independence in a blaze of glory. 
 I have the honor to be, your fellow-citizen, 
 WM. R. KING. 
 To J. D. Hoover, F. P. B'air, and others, Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 I fun. Linn Born, the Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives: The legislative history of the 
 country is the monument of his character. 
 
 Hon. Linn Boyd being called for, 
 was announced that he was also 
 posed. 
 
 The next toast: 
 
 Hon. Lewis Cass : A distinguished statesman 
 and patriot — the man who frustrated the Quintu- 
 ple treaty. His name is intimately associated with 
 the history of his country, and the Democratic 
 party honor the man. 
 
 Mr. CASS, on rising to respond to the 
 toast, was received with loud and lono-- 
 continucd clieering. 
 
 Mr. C. said: Fellow-citizens, it is a task im- 
 posed upon any one to follow after the splendid 
 address which you have just heard from our noble 
 guest, equally marked by the best characteristics 
 of the head and of the heart. I shall, therefore, 
 impose upon your patience but for a few moments. 
 In the first place, fellow-citizens, I thank you for 
 this testimonial of your approbation. I have long 
 been a laborer in the Democratic party. 1 have 
 served in it during the better portion of a long life, 
 and I mean to serve in it cheerfully and zealously 
 until my days on earth are ended. [Great cheer- 
 ing.] I am one of the very few now surviving 
 who were appointed to office by that patriarch of 
 our political faith, Thomas Jefferson. [Cheers.] 
 His word, his approbation, is warrant enotl 
 any man's democracy, [great cheering,] and I 
 feel, my fellow-citizens, that it i.s warrant enough 
 for mine. [Renewed cheering.] But I did not 
 come here to talk about myself. You did not 
 come here to listen to any such topic. You came 
 here for higher considerations, connected with the 
 interests, feelings, policy, and progress of the 
 Democratic party. It is about that party that we [ 
 want to talk. Now, my fellow-citizens, the prin- 
 
 ciples of our party lie within a very narrow com- 
 pass. He who runs may read them, and he who 
 
 nay comprehend them. The ability of i 
 to govern himself, the right to govern hin self, and 
 the duty of submitting to the constitutionally ex- 
 id opinion of the majority — thee are the fun- 
 damental principles of our faith. [Cheers.] In these 
 is the whole of the law and the prophets. [Cheers.] 
 Yes, my fellow-citizens, the right of man and the 
 capacity of man to govern himself lie at the 
 foundation of the glorious institutions of 
 
 try, [renewed cheering,] and there are some, 
 I trust, who now hear me, who are young em. 
 to live to see this doctrine practically pri 
 throughout the world. [Great cheering.] 
 
 It has been well asked, if man cannot go 
 himself, who can govern him ? Or, in the em- 
 phatic language of Mr. Jefferson , "have we found 
 angels in the shape of men to govern us?" We 
 do not believe that God has anointed any man to 
 rule over his fellows. [Great cheering.] That is ; 
 question of internal policy, and not of religious. 
 faith. Still we are no propagandists. We main- 
 tain that every country in the world has the right 
 i and to change its own institutions at 
 its own pleasure. We are all of us aware that ail 
 the nations of the world are not yet prepared for 
 such institutions as ours. But all of them are pre- 
 fer better ones than they enjoy. It has been 
 well remarked by our illustrious guest, that infancy 
 precedes youth and youth precedes manhood. No one 
 should expect that the severity of the despotism of 
 centuries can give way at once to the freedom we 
 enjoy. But the path of man is onward. The road 
 may be through trial and suffering; but every trial 
 and suffering furnishes a lesson the more, and the 
 hour will come, in God's good time, when all will 
 be free. 
 
 Fellow-citizens, though we are no propagand- 
 ists, though we allow every nation, and wish 
 every nation, to determine its own government for 
 itself, we do wish, and as far as we can with pro- 
 priety, we mean to insist, that every nation shall 
 be permitted to 'exercise its own pleasure in its 
 own internal concerns. [Great cheering.] We do 
 not care it it is the Russian Czar, or who it is, 
 that stands in the way, but we say let every people 
 determine that question for themselves, and keep 
 your hands off. [Renewed cheering.] I believe 
 that to be the almost universal sentiment of the 
 American people. [Loud and continued cheering.] 
 
 Now, fellow-citizens, to return to the condition 
 of ourown country, for almost fourfifthsofthetime 
 that this Constitution and Government have been 
 in operation, it has been administered by the 
 Democratic party; and what has that party done? 
 We began with three millions of people, a little 
 strip of territory along the Atlantic coast, and a 
 few settlements beyond the Alleghany mountains; 
 now we have got a world within our boundaries. 
 I need not tell you of our increase in numbers, in 
 territory, in power, in all the elements of pros- 
 perity, for it is written upon the heart of every 
 American. We have added territory to ourcoun- 
 try, and who has done it? Every one of the an- 
 nexations made to this Republic has been made by 
 the men and the measures of the Democratic party. 
 [Cheers.] Aye, my friends, our party have car- 
 ried this country from the Atlantic to the Pacific s 
 and have made it a power that, 1 will not say 
 governs the world, but a power that will have a 
 
influence over the destinies of the 
 I more than that; we have not only 
 ii iheee annexations, but every 
 been opposed by our political 
 [Cheers.] 
 (emoeratic party needs no eulogist, and 
 • ble a one as I am. Its deeds 
 best eulogium. And I believe that 
 such is now a very general sentiment with the 
 American people. I believe that from one end of 
 the country to the other the conviction is nearly 
 unanimous, that we may expect the next year a 
 change in the administration of the government. 
 [Great cheering.] I believe I shall vote for it myself, 
 [renewed cheering;] and in this state of things, with 
 a motive and necessity for union and exertion, it 
 is the duty of all to labor zealously and efficiently 
 for the good of the part)', and especially is it the 
 duty of every one to submit with cheerfulness to 
 its will, when (iice expressed. Whoever has as- 
 pirations for ariy place high or low, or whoever 
 has friends that urge his pretensions — and such 
 hopes make part of our nature, and are liable to 
 no censure — 1 repeat, whoever entertains them 
 should bow with submission to the will of the 
 majority ; and if he succeed, should evince his 
 gratitude by a faithful discharge of his duty : and 
 if he tail, he should then enter the Democratic vine- 
 yard as a faithful laborer, and work in the good 
 cause till the end, [great cheering] — work zealous- 
 ly, and with an earnest will, proving thereby that 
 if he does not deserve the office, he deserves the 
 ation of every true Democrat, for his ad- 
 hesion to the principles of the party. Such have 
 been my creed and my course, and such will they 
 continue to be so long as 1 am able to go forth 
 with you to our party contests. [Cheers.] And I 
 am sure that I shall be joined in this sentiment by 
 the hearty approbation of the whole Democratic 
 party. [Loud cheers, j 
 
 ood for us to be here. The Eighth of Jan- 
 uary is a good time, and Jackson Hall a good 
 place, for the Democracy to meet, to interchange 
 congratulations upon the condition of the party, 
 and to renew their fealty to its principles and its 
 faith. [Cheers.] It is' a good day, for it is the 
 anniversary of one of the "most splendid victories 
 recorded in the annals of history — of a victory not 
 for conquest, but for defence— achieved by the 
 yeomanry of the country over a veteran and dis- 
 ciplined army. That "yeomanry, unskilled in 
 in discipline, and unprepared 
 by their habits for the confinement of a camp, met 
 and drove back to the sea one of the proudest 
 armies that ever went forth from England— -vet- 
 ho hadacquired skill and renown 
 on many a battle field in Europe. [Great cheer- 
 ing.] It was on teaching all the world the 
 people attached to their 
 u.tions, and determined to maintain them, j 
 TRenev/ed cheering.] 
 
 It is a good place, for it is .Inckson Hall— named ! 
 from him who led his countrymen to battle and I 
 to victory on that eventful day. I knew him ! 
 well. Few knew him better than I did. It is the 
 pride of my life to have enjoyed his confidence. 
 I shall cherish h<s memory with a sad and sacred 
 pleasure till I lie in my grave. [Great cheerim- ] I 
 I have dealt much with human nature, and under i 
 all circumstances, in the four quarters of the 
 globe; but never did I meet a man of such intui- ! 
 
 five judgment, of such clear sagacity, of such pure 
 probity, of such unerring intellect, aa he whose 
 memory we admire and deplore. [Great cheer- 
 ing.] He was one of those few men whom 
 Providence seems to rai^e up for special purposes 
 in the affairs of nations, and to stamp their char- 
 acter upon the history of the world. Of all the 
 men with whom I have been brought in contact, 
 he was the wisest and the greatest. [Enthusiastic 
 applause.] 1 will take this opportunity of doing 
 justice to one of his most prominent characteris- 
 tics. He has been called a rash man; but he was 
 as far from that as firmness is from rashness. 
 He never hastily determined upon any great 
 measure. He weighed the whole circumstances, 
 with calm deliberation, and turned and returned 
 them in his mind until he arrived at his conclu- 
 sions. He has told me that, during this process 
 of consideration, when the subject was an import- 
 ant one, it so weighed upon him as to deprive 
 him of sleep and rest, almost absorbing his whole 
 thoughts. But when he had reached his conclu- 
 sion, and formed his determination, his difficulty 
 was over. He looked neither to the right hand 
 nor the left, neither halting nor doubting, /but went 
 straight onward to his mark. 
 
 And thus he went straight onward to the Bank 
 of the United States, and overthrew it. [Cheers.] 
 And had he not done so, we might this day be 
 under the government of that worst of all powers — 
 a money power. [Loud cheers.] It may not be 
 unfitting the time and place to notice here the re- 
 ports which have lately been in circulation, that 
 he did not write his own proclamation, and hardly 
 knew what was in it. Little do they know him, 
 who believe such a libel as this ! "That procla- 
 mation was his own work. / speak that I do knew. 
 There was not a sentiment in it which he did not 
 carefully consider and approve. Owing to the 
 imperfection of language, a more extended con- 
 struction may have been given to some portions 
 of it than he intended to give himself. A large 
 part was the work of his own hand. I saw the 
 manuscript with my own eyes. [Loud cheers.] 
 And he who believes that Andrew Jackson fol- 
 lowed the lead of anyone, either in counsel or in 
 action, did not know the man whom Providence, 
 in its kindness, sent to preside over his country. 
 [Loud and long-continued cheering.] 
 
 The next toast: 
 
 Hon. Stephen A. Douglas : A noble specimen 
 of the younger Democracy ; the architect of his 
 own fortune, he never will forget first principles. 
 
 Mr. Douglas rose, and was greeted with 
 hearty applause. He spoke as follows: 
 
 Gentlemen, what shall I say? What can I say 
 after our illustrious guest has exhausted one branch 
 of the subject, and my distinguished friend from 
 Michigan has said all that was appropriate to be 
 said upon the other? Yet we have assembled here 
 to-night on an occasion that inspires every Demo- 
 crat with feelings of pride in connection with that 
 great political party in this country with which 
 we are identified. The day not only presents to 
 the mind agreat event in the annals of our national 
 history, but it brings before us more immediately 
 the character of a man who has made a greater 
 impress upon our institutions than any man who 
 has ever lived, if we except the Father of his 
 
Country. [Great cheering.] No man has ever 
 existed upon the American continent since the 
 days of Jefferson who was so perfect and truthful 
 an exponent of Democratic principles as was An- 
 drew Jackson. [Cheers.] He was a great military 
 man. The battle of New Orleans proved him to 
 be a hero; but his acts as a statesman were as far 
 superior to anything that he ever performed upon 
 the field of battle as the sun is more brilliant than 
 the moon ! [Cheers.] It is Andrew Jackson as a 
 politician, Andrew Jackson as a statesman, An- 
 drew Jackson as a Democrat that we have assem- 
 bled here this night for the purpose of honoring, 
 and of keeping fresh in our memories all the attri- 
 butes that pertained to him in that character. But, 
 gentlemen, I am not going to detain you with a 
 eulogy upon Andrew Jackson. Let his own his- 
 tory be written, and no man will be able to write 
 a eulogy upon him. [Cheers.] 
 
 Gentlemen, this is a festival of the Democratic 
 Association. It is not out of place, therefore, upon 
 this occasion to indulsre in remarks which may be 
 considered of a partisan nature. Yet I would say 
 nothing that could not be verified by the truth of 
 history. The distinguished gentleman from Mich- 
 igan has said truly, that every acquisition that has 
 been made to the United States has been accom- 
 plished by the Democratic party under Democratic 
 administrations! [Cheers.] Louisiana, Florida, 
 Texas, California — every inch of ground that we 
 have acquired has been the result not only of the 
 principles, but of the action of the Democratic 
 party. [Cheers.] Each and all of those measures 
 were strenuously opposed by our political oppo- 
 nents upon principle — they taking the ground dis- 
 tinctly that our territory is already too large for 
 any one system of government. Their policy 
 seems to have been always in perfect harmony 
 with the principles of their party — that is, retro- 
 grading, instead of progressing; for they assumed 
 the ground that the country was too large, and 
 therefore no additions should be made to it. Mr. 
 Madison, in defence of the Constitution of the 
 United States, said that no country was too large 
 to be embraced under one Republic, which would 
 enable the representatives to assemble, perform 
 their official duties, return to their constituents, 
 and, after arranging their private. affairs, resume 
 their public duties during the same year. Rapid 
 as has been our growth, and wide as lias been our 
 expansion, yet the advance of science, of the me- 
 chanic arts, the means of intercommunication, the 
 spread of intelligence, havebeen far more rapid than 
 has been our increase either of territory or popula- 
 tion ! [Great applause.] Young as 1 am, as your 
 toast would indicate, I have seen the time when I 
 congratulated myself upon making a very quick trip 
 if I could go from' Washington to my residence in 
 three weeks; and now I lament my misfortune if it 
 takes me four days to accomplish that same jour- 
 ney. At the time ofthe adoption of the Constitution, 
 you could make the trip to Georgia in about forty 
 days: now it takes nearly two thirds of that time 
 to go to California; and when a railroad shall have 
 been made direct to the Pacific, as it will be under 
 a Democratic administration, it will take nearly 
 five days to make the trip ! [Applause;] I allude 
 to the progress in science and the mechanic arts in 
 connection with the means of communication for 
 the purpose of showing that, no matter how rapid 
 may be our growth, or how wide may be the ex- 
 
 pansion of our territory, our country will never be 
 too large for one Republic, even if weshould include 
 the entire Continent. [Great applause.] I find 
 that in my expressions I have been rather loose 
 and vague. When I speak of our country being 
 well adapted to an ocean-bound republic, of" course 
 I mean to include the islands on this side of the 
 main channel of the two great seas. [Tremendous 
 applause.] 
 
 Mr. President, our system of government is as 
 well adapted to the entire continent as it was to 
 the space occupied by the original thirteen States, 
 provided Democratic principles are strictly and 
 religiously observed in the administration of the 
 Government. The great conservative and ren- 
 ovating principle in our institutions is the rights 
 of the States. If State rights are observed and 
 respected — if the Federal Government is confined 
 within its legitimate limits — if the reserved rights 
 of the States and the people are held sacred — there 
 can be no danger resulting from the indefinite ex- 
 tension and increase of these States. [Great ap- 
 plause.] Why, sir, my friend before me [Mr. 
 Cass] well recollects when there was no State 
 west of the range of the Alleghany mountains; and 
 the prevailing sentiment was, that that range con- 
 stituted such a barrier that it was impossible even 
 for Ohio and i>iew York to belong to the same 
 confederation. And yet every State that has been 
 added to this Union in the Northwest has been a 
 band of iron to hold the States together. [Ap- 
 plause.] 
 
 I am by no means certain but that the sectional 
 strife, jealousy, and ambition engendered between 
 the North and the South would ere this have dis- 
 solved this glorious Union had it not been for the 
 Great West. There she stands with an intelli- 
 gent and patriotic population, born in about equal 
 numbers in each of the great geographical divis- 
 ions of the Union, with her trade flowing down 
 the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, and down 
 the great chain of lakes, and over the numerous 
 lines of railroads and canals to the Atlantic, and 
 with her fervent affection for friends, for kindred, 
 and for native land, binding her with equal tena- 
 city to the North and to the South. [Applause.] 
 How can such a Union ever be dissolved ? [Tre- 
 mendous applause.] The North and South may 
 quarrel and wrangle about a question which should 
 never enter the halls of Congress; but the Great 
 West will say to the South, you must not leave 
 us; and to the Xorth, you must faithfully observe 
 the Constitution — with all its compromises. [Con- 
 tinued applause.] 
 
 Mr. President, I repeat, therefore, that every 
 new State added to the Union, and every one 
 which shall be admitted into its bosom, adds new 
 guarantees for the perpetuity of the Union, so 
 long as the Constitution is 'faithfully observed, 
 and the rights of the States are protected under 
 the guardianship of Democratic administrations. 
 [Great applause.] 
 
 Mr. President, we have much to do. The 
 Democracy have a mission to perform. It is the 
 great mission of progress in the arts and sciences — 
 in the science of politics and government — in the 
 development and advancement of human rights 
 throughout the whole world. [Applause.] We 
 have a mission to perform in developing correct 
 principles here; for, although the Democracy have 
 done much — have done everything that has been 
 
10 
 
 done by way of the advancement, elevation, and 
 improvement of the political system of this coun- 
 try — still we have not accomplished everything. 
 
 A system of laws that was adapted to our con- 
 dition twenty-five years ago, must, in the nature 
 of things and the progress of events, be inappli- 
 cable now in many respects. The man is not 
 consistent who supports a question of expediency 
 now merely because he advocated it a quarter of 
 a century ago; for, if it was wise then, the proba- 
 bilities arethat the change of circumstances in 
 the development of our resources has rendered 
 it inexpedient and unwise at this time. The 
 man is only consistent who follows out his prin- 
 ciples and adapts his measures to them in view 
 of the condition of things he finds in existence 
 at the period of time when it is necessary to 
 make the application. [Great applause.] Hence 
 I care not if a man says I have been inconsistent 
 upon a measure of expediency, provided he will 
 admit that I have always been faithful to my 
 principles, and regulated all questions of expe- 
 diency by them. Measures of policy are in their 
 nature temporary, and liable to be abandoned 
 whenever the necessity ceases which called them 
 into existence; but Democratic principles are 
 immutable, and can never die so long as freedom 
 survives. [Great applause.] Hence the man 
 who imagines that the triumph of the Democratic 
 party at any Presidential election places its prin- 
 ciples permanently in the ascendency, labors un- 
 der a fatal delusion. We must observe eternal 
 vigilance. The Democratic principle is eternal, 
 and perpetual action and undying energy are re- 
 quisite to give it force and to carry it into effect. It 
 requires harmony, energy, and unity of action 
 now as much as at any former period of our po- 
 litical history. It is required both m reference to 
 domestic questions and to our foreign policy. I 
 think it is time that America had a foreign policy 
 — [applause and cries of "Good! Good!"] — a 
 foreign policy predicated upon a true interpreta- 
 tion of the laws of nations — a foreign policy in ac- 
 cordance with the spirit of the age — [great ap- 
 plause] — but not such a foreign policy as we have 
 seen attempted to be enforced in this country 
 within the last three years. [Cries of " Good ! 
 Good!"] We have been told, and you are told 
 every day, that neutrality is the true American 
 policy; and that plea has been the excuse for the 
 acts which have been performed by the existing 
 Administration in connection with the Cuban 
 question. [Great applause.] They employ the 
 American Navy and Army to arrest the volunteers 
 and seize the provisions, ammunition and supplies 
 of every kind which may be sent in aid of the 
 patriot cause, and at the same time give free pas- 
 sage and protection to all men, ammunition, and 
 supplies which may be sent in aid of the t'03 alist 
 cause, and call that neu^r'alitt ! [Gr< il ap- 
 lause.] If I am ertgaged in a struggle i' ;1l - my 
 ife with a foe that is about to crush me, what do 
 I care whether you furnish him with a club with 
 which to beat out my brains, or seize the weapon 
 from my hands with which I was about to de- 
 fend myself? If they would propose to stop men 
 and supplies on both sides, or open the door'wide, 
 and give free egress and ingress to both, I could 
 then understand what they mean by neutrality. 
 [Cries of "Good! Good!"] But this modern 
 neutrality — that which denounces an American 
 
 I 
 
 citizen as an outlaw and a pirate, and authorizes 
 any Government into whose hands he may fall to 
 execute him without the forms of a trial, simply 
 because he was going to wage war in what he be- 
 lieved truly to be the cause of liberty — I do not 
 distinctly understand. The doctrine prevails, too r 
 that, because we have a statute that prohibits the 
 fitting out of armed expeditions against other coun- 
 tries with which we are at peace, and because that 
 statute imposes a penalty for its violation, there- 
 fore the Executive branch of the Government is 
 authorized to denounce the offender as being guil- 
 ty of piracy, when your own law has declared it 
 to be only a misdemeanor. [Great applause.] 
 And because it was proclaimed piracy, we find the 
 Spanish Government has acted upon that proc- 
 lamation, and executed fifty American citizens in 
 one day, without the forms of trial, and in palpa- 
 ble violation of solemn treaty stipulations entered 
 into between the United States and Spain. [Ap- 
 plause.] 
 
 Mr. President, I will not occupy your time in 
 presenting a bill of indictment against the present 
 Administration and the Whig party. It is no 
 part of my present purpose. They will soon be 
 on trial before the sovereign people, and we well 
 know what the verdict will be. [Great applause.] 
 1 has e only alluded to these things incidentally, 
 for the purpose of showing that the Democracy 
 have work on hand — have a duty to perform; and 
 hence that we should be prepared for the perform- 
 ance of that duty. [Great applause.] The dis- 
 tinguished Senator from Michigan [Mr. Cass] has 
 tokl you that the next President is to be a Demo- 
 cratic President. I believe that it is the will of 
 Providence and the will of the people also. [Great 
 applause.] But we should remember that the 
 Democracy are never in so great peril as when 
 we do not dream of the least danger. Our oppo- 
 nents never achieved a victory except by means 
 of our own divi kms, orwhei) they lulled us to 
 sleep and threw us off our guard, under the ex- 
 pectation of our triumph. Let the Democracy be 
 united, firm, and vigilant, and then we can bid 
 defiance to our political opponents, and insure a 
 triumph that will be full of valuable results when 
 it shall be achieved. I care not for a mere victory 
 in the election of a man, unless it is an entire, 
 complete triumph of our principle*. How is this 
 to be accomplished? By rallying upon the old 
 Democratic platform, and refusing to be seduced 
 by any hypocritical pretences of danger to the 
 Union that require an unnatural amalgamation 
 witfi our opponents. [Great applause.] The 
 Democratic party is as good a Union party as I 
 desire. [Cries of "Good!" "Good!"] The 
 Democratic party is the only Union party — it is 
 the only party that can preserve the Union, [great 
 applause,] because our principles are the only 
 principles that are consistent with the existence 
 and perpetuity of the Union. [Here three cheers 
 were given.] If Democratic principles had been 
 strictly adhered to, and had prevailed, the Union 
 would have never been in danger. If the Whigs, 
 by their unholy combinations^ had not wrested 
 the power temporarily from the hands of the 
 Democrats, the Union would never have been put 
 in jeopardy, and they could not have claimed the 
 glory of having aided us in having rescued it from 
 that destruction which was the legitimate result 
 of their own acts and principles. [Tremendous 
 
11 
 
 applause.] When the Whigs come to me and say, 
 Let us form a Union party; I say to them, But l| 
 for you, the necessity for such a party could I 
 never have existed. [Continued applause.] They 
 must not make an unholy alliance with Aboli- 
 jSonists, and thereby put the Union in peril, and 
 then call on me to abandon the time-honored prin- 
 ciples of the Democracy-, and join them in perpet- 
 uating a federal dynasty under the pretext of lov- ■ 
 ing the Union. [Three hearty cheers were here 
 given.] 
 
 Mr. President, if the Union was ever in danger, 
 it is now safe in anticipation of a complete triumph 
 of the Democratic party at the next election. [Ap- 
 plause.] We have only to be true to our country, 
 to our principles, and to our party organization, 
 and an easy victory awaits us. Let us rally the 
 Democratic party upon the old issues — upon the i 
 old Baltimore platform. [Long and continued ap- 
 
 Slause.] Let the Democracy of Jefferson, of: 
 ackson, of Polk be our standard of Democracy. > 
 [Great and vehement applause.] 
 
 Mr. President, 1 fear that I have already tres- 
 passed too long on your patience. [Cries of "Go 
 on !" "Go on !"] I ought to have made a short 
 speech; and had I received notice that I would 
 have been called upon to respond to a toast 80 
 complimentary to myself, 1 would have taken 
 time to have arranged my thoughts sufficiently to 
 have made yen a short speech. But your kind- 
 ness and partiality have forced me upon the stand 
 in the midst of the enthusiasm produced by the 
 magic eloquence of the illustrious Hungarian, and 
 the patriotic sentiments of my distinguished friend 
 from Michigan; and after they have exhausted the j 
 material from which speeches should be made, 1 
 have been left to pick up, here and there, the 
 pieces of driftwood which might be found floating 
 upon the current, and form and mould them into j 
 something winch I trust will not be deemed inap- j 
 propriate to the occasion. [Great applause.] 
 
 In conclusion, I will be permitted to say, that 
 this day has lit en, as the Eighth of January 
 always should be, a glorious day for the Democ- 
 racy. It is the most brilliant entertainment I have | 
 ever witnessed in the capital of tbis great Repub- 
 lic. Honored by the presence and smiles of the 
 ladies, and animated by those patriotic sentiments \ 
 which the occasion is so well calculated to inspire, 
 the Democratic Association have reason to feel 
 proud of their banquet. 
 
 Mr. Douglas resumed his seat amid the most 
 hearty and enthusiastic cheering. 
 
 At the conclusion of the remarks of 
 Mr. Douglas, Governor Kossuth and 
 suite left the hall. 
 
 The following toast was then offered: 
 General Sam Houston : The personal and po- 
 litical friend of Andrew Jackson. By his patriot- 
 ism and bravery, a new star has been added to 
 
 the galaxy of. States. 
 
 General Houston being; called for, it 
 was announced by the President that he 
 would be unable to address the Associa- 
 tion, as he had been called away from the 
 hall by indisposition. 
 
 General Joseph Lane: We honor the man for 
 his patriotism, heroism, and devotion to Demo- 
 cratic principles. 
 
 General Lane, on taking the speaker's 
 stand, was greeted with three enthusiastic 
 cheers, and responded as follows : 
 
 Gentlemen: I am very proud of this occasion 
 to meet so many of my Democratic friends. Noth- 
 ing has occurred for many years that is more grat- 
 ifying to me than this pleasure of meeting so many 
 of the Democracy of the country upon an occa- 
 sion like this — upon the 8th of January: for, let 
 me say, this is the first 8th of January I have 
 seen in the States since the commencement of the 
 Mexican war. 
 
 It is a pleasure to meet the Democracy of the 
 country upon any occasion; but more especially 
 when that occasion is to do honor to the memory 
 of the illustrious dead — the hero of the battle of 
 New Orleans — the great soldier and the enlightened 
 statesman. 
 
 I am also gratified to be here for the exceeding- 
 pleasure it has afforded me to hear the illustrious 
 Hungarian — our honored guest. He made a most 
 glorious speech in a most glorious cause — the cause 
 not only of his own Hungary, but the cause of con- 
 stitutional liberty throughout the world. He was 
 followed by the distinguished Senator from Mich- 
 igan, [Gen. Cass,] whose life has been spent in 
 the vindication and advocacy of Democratic prin- 
 ciples, and who, by his eminent talents and high 
 statesmanship as our Minister at the Court of 
 Paris, contributed so largely to raise our country 
 in the estimation of the world. The storms of 
 many winters have passed over his head, and his 
 democracy, always reliable, has been tempered by 
 experience. As my friend beside me well re- 
 marked, his capacious mind exhausted the subject. 
 And then came forward the Senator from Illinois, 
 [Air. Doui.las,] who, though young, is neverthe- 
 less a "giant" in the cause. Now, after these 
 eloquent and able speeches from these distinguished 
 gentlemen, I cannot hope to say anything new or 
 interesting to you. 
 
 I will say, however, that I would like to extend 
 to others the principles of our Government; and 
 after they have become independent and free, 1 
 would, by annexation, throw around them our 
 protection. Then let any Russian Power say these 
 people should not enjoy liberty and equal rights, 
 and the voice of this people, from one end of the 
 nation to the other, would thunder out, in the lan- 
 guage of the illustrious Jackson, " By the Eternal, 
 they shall be free." [Cheers.] 
 
 Gentlemen, as this appears to be a social Demo- 
 cratic gathering, where each is called upon to give 
 in his experience, [laughter,] as the representative 
 of the Far West, I would say to you that the 
 cause of Democracy there is onward and upward. 
 You are all aware that I was sent out by the 
 lamented Polk to the very extreme of the country 
 to establish a government. I went out in a demo- 
 cratic way, and when I arrived there I had the 
 pleasure to find a democratic population. I found 
 that on the Pacific side of the mountains, Democ- 
 racy prevailed and flourished. And when this coun- 
 try was tossed by the tempest of sectional strife 
 and agitation — when we saw the illustrious patriot 
 before me, (General Cass,) and Douglas, Clay, 
 
12 
 
 t 
 
 Houston, Webster, and other friends of the coun- 
 ardless of political prejudices, struggling 
 to bring about a compromise of the exciting ques- 
 tions, the united prayer of the people of Oregon 
 went up to Heaven that their labors would be 
 crowned with success and the Union preserved. 
 And, gentlemen, it should be a matter of congrat- 
 ulation to us, as patriots and as Democrats, that a 
 ust, honorable, constitutional, and final settlement 
 as been effected. [Cheers.] 
 
 My friend Judge Douglas has said of the spread 
 of Democracy that the institutions of our country 
 have not stopped their progress. Gentlemen, they 
 know no limit. They must and will be extended 
 to the people of this continent at least, and, in the 
 lapse of time, they will be extended to Hungary. 
 I regret that it is otherwise to-day. If it could be 
 possibly done, I would say noio. But so far as 
 this continent is concerned, if it would benefit 
 them and advantage us, as I believe it would, the 
 day is not far distant when we can truly say with 
 the poet, 
 
 "The whole boundless continent is ours." [Cheers.] 
 
 We are now upon the Far West; we can go no 
 further. Many would regret that the coast did not 
 extend two thousand miles further, that our insti- 
 tutions might be extended over them. [Laughter.] 
 They will be extended to the islands, and ulti- 
 mately, I trust, they will be extended over the 
 whole world. Democracy is progressive, our re- 
 publican institutions are progressive, and they 
 must prevail, for they are adapted to the happiness 
 of man. " The dueen of the Gulf " is almost ours 
 already. I have lived fifty years — and I see no 
 reason why I should not live fifty more, [laughter] 
 — and I have seen this republic prosper and spread 
 from thirteen States until it now embraces thirty- 
 one free and sovereign States, peopled by an intel- 
 ligent and patriotic population. Its strides are 
 still onward ! 
 
 Gentlemen, before we again assemble around 
 the social board to celebrate another 8th of Janu- 
 ary, we will be called upon to elect a President 
 of the United States. That President must be 
 a Democrat. [Cheers.] But a union of the 
 Democracy is necessary to secure this end. May 
 I be allowed to express my fervent hope, that 
 let the nomination fall upon whomsoever it 
 may — whether it is the illustrious Senator from 
 Michigan, whose enlarged patriotism and expe- 
 rience so eminently fit him for the station, or the 
 gallant Butler, of Kentucky, or my friend from 
 Illinois, "the young Democrat," or any other 
 Democrat, every Democrat in the country, from 
 Maine to Texas, will give him a most hearty and 
 cordial support. 
 
 I have had the honor in my life of voting three 
 times for General Jackson, twice for Mr. Van 
 Buren, and once for Mr. Polk. In 1848 I was 
 not in the country, and things went wrong. 
 [Great laughter.] But the fact "that things went 
 wrong in '48, is the very reason they should go 
 right in '52. [Cheers.] 1 trust that we shall en- 
 ter the campaign united, with all our differences 
 healed, and each Democrat emulating his fellow- 
 Democrat in the noble rivalry as to who will do 
 most for the cause. The time — the occasion — 
 our duty to our country and to posterity — every- 
 thing, conspire to proclaim, "A union of the 
 Democracy for the sake of the Union." 
 [Cheers.] 
 
 Gentlemen, I had intended to be brief. I am 
 not in the habit of public speaking; but when I 
 see the Democracy turn out in the numbers they 
 have flocked here to-night, and evince the enthu- 
 siasm that pervades this assembly, I cannot be 
 silent. But I have said enough, and will not 
 longer trespass upon your patience. 
 
 General Lane had previously written to 
 the committee the following letter: 
 
 Washington City, December 19, 1851. 
 
 Gentlemen: Your note of the 13th instant, in- 
 viting me to a festival at Jackson Hall, on the 8th 
 of January next, to celebrate the anniversary of 
 the battle of New Orleans, has been received. 
 
 It will give me great pleasure, gentlemen, to 
 participate with you on that occasion in doing 
 honor to the memory of the illustrious hero of that 
 day, who, in whatever situation placed, and to 
 whatever station called, was still the same un- 
 flinching patriot and pure statesman, whose sword 
 protected the country from foreign invasion, and 
 whose counsels make good his motto, " The Union 
 must be preserved." 
 
 Allow me to add, gentlemen, that I deeply sym- 
 pathize with you in the hope you express that the 
 time, the place, and the occasion, will have a pro- 
 pitious effect in bringing about the harmony and 
 union of the great Democratic family. Our motto 
 should be, "The union of the Democracy for the 
 sake of the Union." 
 
 I have the honor to be, gentlemen, with great 
 respect, your obedient servant, 
 
 JOSEPH LANE. 
 Messrs. J. D. Hoover and others, Committee. 
 
 General Henry Dodge : The best specimen of 
 the western pioneer: As a soldier, farmer, and 
 Senator, he makes good their motto — "Up to 
 anything." 
 
 Mr. A. C. Dodge rose and said : 
 I am requested to say, in behalf of the individual 
 who has been so highly honored by the sentiment 
 just given, and which has been so enthusiastically 
 received, that he feels profoundly grateful to the 
 Jackson Democratic Association for the very kind 
 and complimentary manner in which they have 
 been pleased to allude to him. He remained until 
 quite a late hour, expecting to have the pleasure of 
 making his acknowledgments in person; but, suf- 
 fering from the effects of a severe cold, was con- 
 strained to leave. He, however, yields to no cre- 
 ated man in devotion to the faith of Jefferson and 
 Jackson; nor is there one in our widely-extended 
 Republic who entertains a more sincere and heart- 
 felt sympathy for our illustrious Guest and his 
 cause than the person for whom I speak. That 
 sympathy and that devotion will be shown, as he 
 prefers to show all things — by action rather than 
 words. The sentiment which I read was placed 
 in my hands as he left the room, to be offered in 
 his name: 
 
 By Henry Dodge : 
 
 Our distinguished Guest, Louis Kossuth: 
 May the God of Battles grant that on some future 
 Eighth of January he may as successfully beat 
 back and trample under foot the invaders of Hun- 
 gary as did the immortal Jackson this day thirty- 
 seven years ago the British on the plains of New 
 1 Orleans. [Applause.] 
 
13 
 
 Allow me, whilst on the stand, to offer you a 
 sentiment of my own — one expressive of the de- 
 ight and gratification experienced by the humble 
 Democrat who now stands before you: 
 
 The Members or the Jackson Democratic 
 Association: I never had the pleasure of meeting 
 •-hem before, and, from the manner in which they 
 have acquitted themselves on this occasion, I never 
 ?xpect to hear of their being behind. [Laughter 
 a id applause.] 
 
 Three cheers were given for " Dodge.'"' 
 
 The following toasts were then given : 
 
 General William 0. Butler : A strippling ed- 
 icated in the Hero's tent — the snows of Canada, 
 the sands of Florida, the plains of New Orleans, 
 and the heights of Monterey bear witness how 
 well he learned his lesson. 
 
 Hon. R. F. Stockton : May his civil life be as 
 successful as his naval has been brilliant; and 
 should he ever find the ship of State on a lee-shore, 
 4e will prove a useful hand in working her off. 
 
 General F. Pierce, of New Hampshire: A 
 Democrat of the Jackson school — always prepared 
 to peril his life to " preserve the Union" or vindi- 
 cate the honor of his country. 
 
 Hon. R. M. T. Hunter: The honored Sena- 
 tor of the mother of States and Statesmen; may he 
 follow in the footsteps of his illustrious predeces- 
 sors. 
 
 The Washington Union: The able and faith- 
 ful defender of republican principles and Jackso- 
 nian Democracy: May its efforts to restore frater- 
 nal feelings between the North and the South, in 
 maintaining the Union of the States, and by up- 
 holding the time-honored organization of the Dem- 
 ocratic party, be rewarded with that success which 
 its patriotic zeal and eminent ability so well de- 
 serve. 
 
 Mr. Donelson responded as follows: 
 
 Gentlemen: Allow me to express to you my 
 -ulcere thanks for the compliment paid to the 
 Washington Union. The warm reception given to 
 ( heightens its value, and is an assurance that the 
 iment which dictates it is not a mere form. 
 But, gentlemen, neither myself nor those asso- 
 riared with me in the conduct of the " Union" can 
 fail to recognize that much of the consideration 
 extended to us on this occasion is due rather to the 
 cause in which we are engaged than to our merit 
 n dvocating it. It is because you believe that 
 we are sincerely devoted to the cause, and that 
 your feelings are as indulgent as this cause is pa- 
 triotic, great, and just, that you extend to the 
 Washington Union so large a share of your ap- 
 plause. Allow me to say that we thank you, and 
 shall derive from the enthusiasm which prevails 
 here to-night encouragement to pursue the labors 
 which you are pleased to consider as not without 
 good effect in contributing to the reunion of the 
 Democratic party. 
 
 Gentlemen, the name which your association 
 Dears is of itself an incentive to those charged with 
 "he Washington Union never to flag in the support 
 of the principles of the Democratic party. That 
 name can never be uttered in my presence without 
 awakening recollections which are of themselves 
 sufficient to point both my mind and heart to the 
 
 duties which are called for in the service of the 
 party which is so gloriously connected with the 
 past history of our Government, and has done so 
 much to elevate the principle of popular sover- 
 eignty. Andrew Jackson was the guardian of 
 my youth. It was from him that I received the 
 means of education, and the intimacy and confi- 
 dence thus commenced never terminated until his 
 death. Two years his aid-de-camp whilst he was 
 in the Army, eight years his family companion 
 before his election to the Presidency, his private 
 secretary during the whole period of his Adminis- 
 tration, and afterwards his nearest neighbor until 
 he was withdrawn by Providence from the scene 
 of his worldly action, I certainly had opportuni- 
 ties to know him, to study those remarkable traits 
 of character which enabled him to accomplish so 
 much for his country, and to impress upon ita 
 history so much of his own individuality. These 
 circumstances, gentlemen, are adverted to to show 
 you what are the ties which connect the Washing- 
 ton Union with the character and fame of the great 
 man whose brilliant achievement at New Orleans 
 we are now commemorating, and whose services 
 as a statesman in the Democratic cause give to 
 your association a political significance scarcely 
 inferior to that which would belong to one bearing 
 the name of Washington, the Father of his Coun- 
 try. These ties are a guarantee that the columns 
 of our journal will never be the medium of an in- 
 fluence which would be unjust to his memory, and 
 that his opinions, actions, and principles will be 
 explained and vindicated whenever their applica- 
 tion can be deemed useful to the country — not 
 with the dull formality of the mere observer of 
 public affairs, but with the enthusiasm inspired by 
 personal and grateful friendship, and the convic- 
 tions belonging to a practical acquaintance with 
 his conduct and character. 
 
 Leaving, gentlemen, the train of thought sug- 
 gested by the honor paid to the Washington 
 Union, my mind naturally turns to the great Hun- 
 garian, whose presence here on this occasion calls 
 out so many of the noble impulses of our nature. 
 My memory runs back to the period when the 
 good and patriotic Lafayette was the guest of the 
 Hermitage during his visit to Tennessee. How 
 appropriate is it that Kossuth — who represents 
 the same sacred principle — should now be the 
 guest of the association bearing the name of Jack- 
 son, and inscribing on its banner the cause of that 
 democracy, which Lafayette and Kossuth in Eu- 
 rope, and Jackson here, have so nobly illustrated! 
 The man is gone, but the fruits of his life remain, 
 and are offered to Kossuth as they were to La- 
 fayette, and as they will be to the millions who 
 are to come after us. 
 
 In the interval between the visit of Lafayette 
 and Kossuth our country has greatly extended, 
 and the principle which gives life to its institutions 
 has expanded, until it begins to come more directly 
 in contact with Europe. It is true that Lafayette 
 could not transplant it in France when he went 
 back from our land, but the effort to do so pro- 
 duced the revolution which ultimately secured a 
 written constitution, acknowledging the supremacy 
 of the popular will; and although this constitution 
 has in its turn given way, and the French people 
 seem again to be enchained by a tyrant, yet the 
 memory of what has been done remains, and this 
 momentary despotism may be but the form in 
 
14 
 
 which liberty will make a new step in its progress 
 to those principles which Lafayette learned in this 
 country. Let us hope that our noble guest may 
 re fortunate, and that, as in the order of 
 time, he stands cm our soil when its free institu- 
 tions have a wider circumference, he will find the 
 distance between them and the straggling efforts 
 of Europe not so great as it was in Lafayette's 
 day; let us hope that the darkness which now 
 seems to be deepening over the downtrodden 
 cause of his country's independence is the signal 
 of the near approach of the breaking day, that the 
 expanding power of democracy, which it is the 
 object, gentlemen, of this association to guard and 
 cherish, may be just now ready to throw its influ- 
 ence upon that darkness, and that the combinations 
 of despotism will disappear before it like the mists 
 •of the morning before the great luminary which 
 God has hung in the heavens. Let us hope, gen- 
 tlemen, that what was weak in the day of Lafay- 
 ette may be now strong — strong enough to reveal 
 to the world that neither nations nor individuals 
 can escape the laws which condemn oppression, 
 and urge on man to the recovery of the rights 
 which he has derived from his Creator — and that 
 Kossuth may go back to Europe the messenger of 
 glad tidings, as the inspired John was when he 
 announced the advent of our Saviour, and pro- 
 claimed the way in which there would be peace 
 on earth and good will to men. 
 
 Among the circumstances which induce me to 
 cherish this hope is the great fact that Hungary 
 understands the necessity of municipal freedom as 
 the foundation of the political building intended to 
 be occupied by her people. Institutions built on 
 any other foundation produce only centralization 
 and despotism. Here lies the secret of our Amer- 
 ican liberty: and if this secret is once compre- 
 hended in Europe, what has been heretofore 
 treated ns an American monopoly will become the 
 common inheritance of the world. It is munici- 
 pal freedom, local independence, State rights, 
 which constitute the only safe democracy; and 
 until they are understood it will be in vain that 
 France and Germany will declare that they have 
 written constitutions and representative princi- 
 ples. Without these local rights, which first fix 
 liberty in the individual, there can be no political 
 safety in the government. Man must first learn 
 what he owes his fe!low-man before he can under- 
 stand that the use of government is to protect 
 individual freedom; and he can only learn this by 
 the fireside of his parents. Having learnt this, 
 the meetings, clubs, leagues, and assemblies 
 which he resorts to are the instruments of free- 
 dom. If he has not learnt this, they become the 
 instruments of despotism. It is because we have 
 learnt this in America that our excitements do 
 not terminate in anarchy, nor differences of opin- 
 ion into disorder — that individual toleration is 
 national restraint and safety. 
 
 Let me say to our noble guest that in telling us 
 about the ideas which prevail in Hungary respect- 
 ing municipal independence, he has done more to 
 inspire us with hope in his mission than France 
 has ever done with all her boasted achievements 
 in dethroning her Bourbons and installing her 
 Bonapartes. It does more: it satisfies us that the 
 day is near at hand when despotism will be ban- 
 ished from the world. If the tree of the life of 
 thus principle has taken root in Hungary, that is 
 
 enough. America will contribute to its growth 
 by her example, and if need be by labors of a 
 more generous and active nature, especially if 
 that example is denied its legitimate influence. 
 The lights of America must not be hid under a 
 bushel — they must shine out on the mountain 
 tops of civilization, so that the world may see and 
 profit by them. 
 
 Before sitting down and quitting this soul- 
 stirring subject, allow me to say that I wish to 
 bring again to the attention of the association the 
 name of the great American apostle of liberty, 
 who was the first to signalize conspicuously the 
 fact that the freedom of America depended on the 
 preservation of this principle of municipal inde- 
 pendence or State rights. Let us remember him 
 on this occasion, and renew our fealty to State 
 rights by commending his philosophy to our noble 
 Hungarian, and by the assurance we will thus 
 give that the doctrines and services of Jackson 
 contain nothing incompatible with the most jealous 
 care of these rights. 
 
 1 give you, gentlemen — Thomas Jefferson, the 
 statesman who has most happily illustrated the 
 doctrine of State rights, and exposed the dangers 
 which belong to the opposite doctrines of consoli- 
 dation and centralization. 
 
 At (he conclusion of Mr. D's. remarks, 
 three cheers were given. 
 
 Mr. A. C. Dodge. Mr. President attd 
 
 Gentlemen, a toast has just been placed in my 
 hands. Itis sentto me by my friend Capt. IsaacW. 
 Griffith, who stands on the opposite side of the 
 table. I beg in his name to present it to you, and 
 to say of him that whatever his sentiment may 
 imply, he is a man who feels what he says, and 
 who will act up to it. Ilia scarred and mutilated 
 person attest that fact. Ho was a volunteer from 
 the State of Iowa, in our late glorious war with 
 Mexico — was in the front ranks in those murder- 
 ous battles which weue fought at the gates of the 
 city of Mexico, where he lost, as you may see, 
 his right arm. He is a Democrat doubly dyed in 
 the wool, and willing to peril limb or life m the 
 service of his country when and wherever that 
 country may need his aid: 
 
 By Isaac W. Griffith: 
 
 The Genius of Columbia reared in the tor 
 ests of the Western World: She cannot be 
 frightened either by Austrian owLs or Russian- 
 bears. 
 
 The next toast w:is : 
 
 The Democratic Governors op the variou* 
 States of the Union: We recognize them as the 
 representatives of the principles of that party 
 which the Jackson Democratic Association 
 ever advocated. 
 
 The following Setters were here read : 
 Hallowell, Maine, 
 December 29, 1851 . 
 Gentlemen: Your very polite invitation to at- 
 tend the annual celebration of the Jackson Demo 
 cratic Association, to be held at the Jackson Hall 
 Washington City, came duly to hand. 
 
 I am sorry to inform you that our Legislature 
 will, at that time, have just convened, and thai 
 
15 
 
 I shall thereby be forbidden the pleasure of meet- 
 ing with you. 
 
 I am, gentlemen, with respect, yours, 
 JOHN HUBBARD. 
 Messrs. J. D. Hoover, Francis P. Blair, and 
 others. 
 
 Executive Chamber, Trenton, N. J., ) 
 January 7, 1852. ) 
 
 Gentlemen: I am honored by yours of the 
 13th ultimo, inviting me, on behalf of the Jackson 
 Democratic, Association, to attend your festival on 
 the 8lh instant, to celebrate the anniversary of the 
 battle of New Orleans. It would afford me much 
 pleasure to attend your festival, if my public du- 
 ties here would permit. 
 
 I embrace the occasion to express my profound 
 admiration of the character and public services of 
 the illustrious man whose memory it is the design 
 of your Association to honor and perpetuate. No 
 citizen of our great and glorious Confederacy save 
 one, deserves a higher niche in the temple of fame. 
 With sleepless vigilance in council and in the field, 
 he ever asserted and defended the right. Popu- 
 lar wrongs, oppressive combinations, aristocratic 
 privileges, never found in him an advocate nor 
 defender. An enemy of corruption in every 
 phase, impregnable in honor, integrity, and truth, 
 he stood a bulwark of patriotic, principle, of un- 
 tiring devotion to his country. His keen percep- 
 tion penetrated the future, and beheld his country, 
 not the mere debris of disjointed parts, but a mag- 
 nificent whole, stretching in the majesty of her 
 power from the rising to the setting sun; an ex- 
 ample to mankind of union, liberty, and strength; \\ 
 a blessing to ourselves of union, prosperity, and I 
 durability. Let us adopt the memorable language ] 
 of the distinguished dead: "Our Federal Union, 
 
 IT MUST AND SHALL BE PRESERVED." 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 GEO. F. FORT. 
 Messrs. Hoover, Blair, &c, Committee, Wash-' 
 inglon city. 
 
 Executive Department, 
 Annapolis, December 27 ', 1851. 
 
 Gentlemen: I had the honor, a few days since, 
 to receive your polite invitation to attend the cele- j 
 bration of the anniversary of the Battle of New 
 Orleans, on the 8th proximo, proposed by the 
 "Jackson Democratic Association." The pres- 
 sure of official engagements prevented an earlier! 
 reply. I 
 
 I fear that it will not be in my power to avail 
 myself of your kindness, inasmuch as the General 
 Assembly of Maryland will open its session on the j 
 7th, and I could not leave Annapolis until the two j 
 Houses are fully organized, for the reception of > 
 the annual meassage. 
 
 I am, with very high regard, your obedient; 
 servant, E. LOUIS LOWE. 
 
 Messrs. J. D. Hoover, Francis P. Blair, and j 
 
 othprs, Committee. 
 
 AIilledgeville, January 3^185:.'. 
 
 Gentlemen : My official engagements will pre- > 
 elude me from accepting your invitation to attend \ 
 at Jackson Half^in Washington City, on the 8th j 
 instant. 
 
 There is no occasion in the annals of our coun- 
 
 try, which I would more cheerfully celebrate than 
 the one which has rendered the 8th of January 
 memorable in American history. Nor in the I 
 catalogue of our departed heroes, is there 
 whose memory I more deeply cherish or wo 
 more gratefully honor, than the Hero of the Her 
 mitage. His stern and indomitable will — his an 
 bending integrity — his ardent patriotism exhil i 
 in his inflexible devotion lo the Union of our 
 fathers, made him emphatically the man of his: ,t ;< 
 We have had one Andrew Jackson; we shall 
 all probability never have another. 
 
 In alluding, as you have done in your letter, 
 tlemen, to that memorable remark of this stern but 
 just old man, "The Union, it must be preserved,' 1 
 you have awakened recollections of the past, 
 whose study may be instructive for the future 
 When Andrew Jackson uttered that emphatic and 
 pregnant sentiment, it was not the expression of 
 despotic power, nor the unguarded language of 
 excited and exasperated feelings. Its conceptior, 
 was founded in the estimate which the patriot and 
 statesman had placed upon the inestimable bless- 
 ings of our glorious Union, founded upon a Con 
 stitution which dispensed equality and justice to 
 all its members. Its utterance was the patriotic 
 warning of the saviour of his country, against the 
 dangers by which that country was beset and 
 threatened. He called upon his countrymen to 
 preserve tlie Union, and taught them, both by his 
 precept and example, that a Union founded i 
 justice and cemented by principle, could only be 
 maintained and preserved by a firm, rigid, and 
 unbending adherence to the great principles of 
 right and justice, which constituted its firm four. 
 dations. These cardinal principles of Ins Demo 
 cratic faith, made him the man, the hero, the 
 statesman, and the patriot. The occasion of youi 
 assemblage is indeed an opportune one, to imbue 
 his admiring friends with that spirit of pure De- 
 mocracy, so happily exemplified in the life and 
 character of the illustrious dead. That Democracy 
 which teaches equal rights to all, exclusive privi- 
 leges to none; which takes hold upon the Consti- 
 tution as the imbodied truths of our republican 
 fathers, and looks to its maintenance, and the 
 preservation of the Union, as one and inseparable, 
 which scorns to purchase a frail tenure of politi- 
 cal power with the surrender of its most cherished 
 principles, as a propitiatory offering, to recreant 
 deserters from its faith and open revilers of its 
 doctrines; that Democracy which teaches its fol- 
 lowers that the surest guarantee of its success is 
 to be found in the firmness and integrity with 
 which its principles are maintained and defended 
 by its true advocates and friends — which prefers 
 honorable defeat to temporary power ingloriously 
 won, only to be traitorously exercised; that De 
 mocracy which, looking to the future, sees more 
 danger to its permanent success in the hesitancy 
 of timid friends, and the treachery of pretendee, 
 advocates, than in all the other elements of oppo 
 sition to it combined. Such, gentlemen, was ths 
 democracy of Andrew Jackson. May his true 
 frienffs and admirers emulate his earnest devotion 
 to its principles, and imitate his virtuous defend 
 of its honored and cherished alters. 
 I am, very respectfully, yours, &c, 
 
 HOWELL COBB. 
 Mr. J. D. Hoover, and others, Washington 
 City. 
 
16 
 
 The following toasts were then given : 
 i i;~. Dumocratic Partt: We acknowledge 
 no other party as a Union party, in contradistinc- 
 tion to those fundamental principles which have 
 ever governed it since the great contest of 1800. 
 In that contest State Rights triumphed over consol- 
 idation, the destructive element to all free govern- 
 ments. 
 
 The Army and Navy: The right and left arm 
 of our national defence. The rights and honor of 
 their country their aim and their glory. 
 
 To ihis toast, Major Stevens, Corps of 
 Eugineers, United States Army, responded 
 
 as follows : 
 
 Gentlemen: In the name of the Army I return 
 my thanks for the honor of this toast. 1 speak in 
 l>ehalf of the American Army — that Army which 
 oresents its breast to the enemy, which pours out 
 ita blood, which lays down its life. A weighty 
 significance already attaches to these words — the 
 American •Army. For, first, it achieved the inde- 
 pendence of these States against the most power- 
 ful nation of modern times. Second, it waged 
 against the same Power (he second war of inde- 
 pendence to maintain the freedom of the seas; the 
 war the culminating glories of which we this even- 
 ing celebrate. And third, when a contiguous Re- 
 public interfered with the domestic concerns of one 
 of our States, the vindication of the law of nations 
 thus trampled under foot was placed in its hands, 
 and the stars and stripes soon waved over the 
 ancient seats of the Montezumas. The American 
 Army will never forget what is due to its past 
 renown and its future glory. We feel that, citi- 
 zen.> alike with you, we are the Army of a free 
 We know, too, that our country pos- 
 sesses elements of military strength scarcely ap- 
 preciated by the inattentive observer of events — 
 elements that have been nurtured by the wonder- 
 ful growth, tfte trials and vicissitudes of our young 
 nation struggling into manhood. Consider simply 
 the history of the past ten years. They have been 
 years of heroic effort, and have shown us to the 
 world a heroic people. We have surpassed the 
 ions of the ancients, piercing mountains, 
 spreading over mighty wildernesses, and through 
 thousands of miles of length and breadth, planting 
 homes and rearing States. Moses was forty years 
 leading the Israelites to the promised land. ' We 
 have in less than ten years made many lands of 
 promise where before the Indian pursued the chase, 
 and cold and famine held undisputed sway. 
 
 Gentlemen, in consequence of this stern expe- 
 rience, a force of will and a happy combination 
 of individual qualities have been stamped upon the ! 
 American character. No other people have been 
 reared in such a school. No other people so coin- 
 bines command and obedience, is so subordinate 
 to law, yet is so much a law unto itself. No other 
 people, of ancient or modern times, possesses such 
 elements of military power. It is the profound 
 conviction of my heart, that in a just cause we 
 :ould meet the world with a million of armed men, 
 each man a tried and true soldier, surpassing even 
 the iron men of Cromwell; those men who feared 
 God, but not man; those men, stern in fight, yet 
 merciful in victory; those men who achieved the 
 great triumph of English independence, and trans- 
 mitted to ufl its glorious recollections. 
 
 As an officer of the American Army, such is 
 my profound conviction; and let me say to you 
 that the members of both services which you have 
 honored to-night, see that the American people 
 are marching forward to mighty destinies, and 
 that upon them heavy responsibilities will rest. 
 We mean to do our whole duty. We mean at all 
 times to be in harness and at our posts. We 
 know not when the time may come — probably in 
 our lifetime, and perhaps to-morrow. We feel 
 no despondency, but are filled with joy and hope. 
 When our beloved nation — " a Power on earth" — 
 shall determine to measure its strength with other 
 Powers in the maintenance of right, and in vindi- 
 cation of violated law and outraged humanity, the 
 Army and Navy will carry their country's flag in 
 triumph over all seas and through all lands. 
 
 Gentlemen, the words of your honored guest 
 are sinking deep into the hearts of men. As he 
 pleaded his cause to-night tears gushed from the 
 eyes of strong and stern men, soldiers in the field 
 and statesmen in the cabinet. The mighty soul 
 of this nation responds to his touching appeal in 
 behalf of his oppressed country. His mission to 
 us will have fruit. He will return home with the 
 conviction that our country will not permit Europe 
 to be Cossack, when its interposition will make 
 it Republican. Gentlemen, this much-vaunted 
 Russian Power has received some attention at the 
 hands of our own able military men. Its military 
 strength is not so gigantic tis has been represented. 
 In all the vital elements of naval strength the United 
 States is the first Power in the world. Wide- 
 spread commerce, seafaring habits, multitudes of 
 seamen, vast tonnage, (in round numbers over 
 four millions,) these are the real sources of navies. 
 The accumulation of obsolete material, of slow- 
 sailing ships, and honey-combed guns, is not naval 
 strength. On the contrary, it is weakness; for the 
 temptation to use existing material is too strong 
 to be resisted, and the failures due to the bad ma- 
 terial depress and drag down the naval character 
 of the nation. 
 
 In any contest with the United States, Russia 
 could not float an inch board anywhere below 
 low-water mark, except by sufference; that is, so 
 soon as the United States should get her fleets or- 
 ganized, which might require a year. 
 
 A vast spectre of Russian power haunts the 
 imagination of some people. But it is & spectre. 
 It is perhaps as much due to her overthrow of 
 Napoleon as to anything else. Let any one re- 
 flect a little on that campaign, and suppose that 
 Napoleon had had the naval control of the Ealtic, 
 and could have transported his armies, and above 
 all his supplies, in ships from the mouths of the 
 German rivers to St. Petersburgh, and then ask 
 what would have been the result. That campaign 
 failed for want of transportation for provisions 
 and forage, through the thinly-populated districts 
 that yielded none of these supplies. A ship of 
 one thousand tons is equal to a wagon train of 
 six thousand horses. Let, therefore, the neces- 
 sity of interposition arise, and with our immense 
 means of transportation, we could knock at the 
 gates of St. Petersburgh, and before the Autocrat 
 could call to the defence of his capital, his armies 
 striking down liberty in Hungary and in the Cau- 
 casus, that magnificent monument of the genius of 
 Peter would be a monument of the prowess and 
 heroism of the sons of the New World. Yes, a 
 
17 
 
 blow at St. Petersburg^ will succor the oppressed 
 nations of Europe, and turn the Cossack tide. 
 
 I close my brief remarks with a renewed ex- 
 pression of rny profound conviction that we have 
 a work yet to do — to be done by us in our 
 day and generation. Our fleets have to maintain 
 the freedom of the seas, from our own happy shores 
 to the remotest islands of the East; and our arms 
 to demonstrate to despotic Powers, that not only 
 are we the freest, but the greatest military people 
 of ancient or modern times. 
 
 The next toast was : 
 Hon. George Mifflin Dallas: The man 
 
 who fearlessly gave the casting vote in favor of the 
 tariff of 1846. By this noble act of public duty, 
 in favor of a great democratic measure, he placed 
 himself in the front rank of American statesmen. 
 Philadelphia, January 3, 1852. 
 
 Gentlemen : I received with much pleasure 
 the invitation with which, as a mark of your re- 
 membrance, you have honored me, to attend the 
 Festival preparing by the Jackson Democratic 
 Association in celebration of the great military 
 achievement of " the illustrious citizen whose 
 life was devoted to make good his motto, 7/ic 
 Union mast be preserved !" 
 
 Under no nobler prestige than the one connected 
 with the fame and memory of the Hero of New 
 Orleans, can the " harmonizing influences" of the 
 Democracy be invoked and rallied; and I should 
 be proud to participate, however humbly, in the 
 effort " to allay the painful and threatening differ- 
 ences" to which you allude as pervading the party, 
 and by that means make sure of ending the public 
 mischiefs and perils to which our country has been 
 subjected. As a banner, what name is more sug- 
 gestive of high patriotism, constitutional fidelity, 
 fearless freedom, and unfaltering republicanism, 
 than that of Andrew Jackson ? And what banner 
 has so invariably floated in triumph ? It is a 
 happy argury when that banner is once more seen 
 broadly unfurled at " the time, the place, and the 
 occasion" you have designated ! 
 
 I beg you to accept my thanks for your obliging 
 attention, accompanied by very sincere regrets that 
 I am unable to be with you. 
 
 Very respectfully, gentlemen, your friend and 
 most obedient servant, 
 
 GEORGE M. DALLAS. 
 To J. D. Hoover, P. P. Blair, W. W. Curran, E. 
 
 B. Robinson, Zcph. Jones, J. Knox "Walker, 
 
 Colonel J. G. Berret, C. S. Wallach, Dr. A. 
 
 W. Miller, Committee. 
 
 General John A. Dix, of New York: The tried 
 and consistent republican — the firm and able friend 
 of the Union, of progress, and of democratic prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 New York, December 31, 1851. 
 
 Gentlemen: In consequence of my absence 
 from my usual place of residence during the last 
 two weeks, I did not receive until last evening 
 your favor of the 13th instant, inviting me, in 
 behalf of the Jackson Democratic Association of 
 Washington, to attend their celebration of the 
 anniversary of the battle of New Orleans, on the 
 8th of January next. 
 
 Agreeing with you that " the time, the place, 
 ' and the occasion will be propitious to the har- 
 ' monizing influences which it is hoped the De- 
 
 ; mocracy of every section of the Republic is now 
 ' disposed to apply, to allay the painful and threat- 
 ' ening influences which have for some years per- 
 ' vaded the party," and appreciating as fully as 
 yourselves the evils and dangers which have grown 
 out of these differences, it is with deep regret that 
 I find myself unable to accept your invitation. 
 
 The removal of some of the chief causes of dis- 
 sention which have distracted us, furnishes a fa- 
 vorable opportunity of recurring to the great prin- 
 ciples of the Democracy, with a view to the 
 concentration of its strength for future contests. 
 All our experience teaches us that these prfnciples 
 constitute the only safeguard of our republican 
 institutions. On four occasions during the last 
 fifty-four years, the Democracy has been over- 
 thrown: and in the two former, its defeat proved 
 a signal for the wildest extravagances in the inter- 
 pretation of the Constitution, and in the pracl 
 application of the powers delegated to the Federal 
 Government. If the present Administration 
 not run into the same extremes, it is, perhaps, be- 
 cause the executive branch of the Government lias 
 not been sustained by a legislative majority. 
 Happily, the reverses sustained by the Democracy 
 are short-lived. The presidential term of four 
 years has proved, and is likely to prove, an un- 
 failing statute of limitations to the misrule of our 
 opponents. With al! their experience, they seem 
 never to profit by " the uses of adversity." They 
 disgust the people by their unscrupulousness ir 
 the exercise of power; and as soon as they can 
 be reached by popular suffrage, they are com- 
 pelled to relinquish the trusts they have abused, 
 and without the consolation of being followed 
 their retirement by disinterested sympathy from 
 any quarter. Their whole history, running back 
 into the closing years of the last century, exhibits 
 the same ruling principle under different phases 
 Under the first anti-republican administration, it 
 was manifested in the alien and sedition laws, and 
 under the second in the Panama mission, and : ' 
 a vast scheme of expenditure, under the burden 
 of which the public Treasury would infallibly 
 have sunk into hopeless bankruptcy. The lead 
 ins: feature in the present administration — the one 
 which will go far to fix its character in oui i 
 litrcal annals — is the success which individuals, 
 more or iess under its auspices, have had in dep- 
 redating upon the public Treasury. It is but an- 
 other manifestation of the incurable infirmity oi 
 the party which the administration represents, 
 under a new and more demoralizing form. How 
 far it might have gone but for the restraint of a 
 Democratic majority in Congress, must be lefi k 
 conjecture. 
 
 It has always been the aim of the Democratic 
 administrations, from Jefferson to the latest of his 
 successors, to maintain a rigid economy in public 
 expenditure. With the best intentions, they mav 
 not, at all times, have been perfectly successful. 
 But every system, in the administration of which 
 frugality' is an avowed principle, carries with it a 
 strong assurance that there will be no frequent or 
 wide departures from the standard of prudence. 
 On the other hand, economy lias never b 
 sential element in the creed of our opponents. It 
 is not a principle, which they assert in theory as 
 fundamental, or to which they cling in practice as 
 a defence against abuse. Their avowed aims have 
 rather been of a nature to call for large contribu 
 
18 
 
 ions from the people with a view to a re-distrib.u- 
 tion iii modes almost necessarily local and partial 
 in advantages. The protection of domestic indus- 
 try by imposts for that object alone; internal 
 improvements on a scale so broad as to confound 
 til constitutional distinctions, are instances of 
 these aims and of the tendency of the principles, 
 which enter into the administrative system of our 
 opponents. It is but charitable to admit that their 
 political vices spring from the collection of false 
 maxims, which they have adopted; and we may 
 concede, with the same frankness, that the prog- 
 ress of the country in wealth and general pros- 
 perity, under the Democratic administrations, is 
 the natural consequence of the better principles 
 which we have set up as a standard for our guid- 
 ance. 
 
 Nearly the whole philosophy of the Democratic 
 scheme "of policy in administering the Govern- 
 ment is comprised in a single maxim — that indus- 
 try should be liberated from ali artificial and useless 
 •estraints, and left free to run into the channels 
 marked out for it by the great interests to which 
 it ministers. The policy of our opponents is to 
 Mjffltrol and direct the application of capital and 
 labor. It bears no slight resemblance in principle 
 to the socialist doctrine of an organization of labor, 
 and it shows the tendency of opposite errors to 
 run into each other. 
 
 The practical working of the two systems is the 
 truest index to the wisdom of the one and the fal- 
 lacy of the other. I believe I may safely say, that 
 during the three Federal or Whig-administrations, 
 no high principle was successfully asserted, no 
 ijreat public measure of unquestionable utility ori- 
 ginated, or anything of consequence developed or 
 achieved in the way of political or social progress. 
 It is for this reason that the people, who bring to 
 the scrutiny of men and measures an intuitive sa- 
 gacity, which rarely fails them, have never con- 
 tinued our opponents in power more than four 
 ive years. I entertain no doubt that the 
 
 i administration will share, in this respect, 
 
 of all its predecessors of the same political 
 complexion, and that the Democratic candidates, 
 who shall be nominated at Baltimore in June next, 
 for the Presidency and Vice Presidency, will be 
 elected by the undivided vote of the party. To 
 this result every true friend of republican princi- 
 ples will feel l.ound to contribute by his best 
 ions. 
 
 Our duty to ourselves, to the Union, and to 
 those who are to come after us; our devotion to 
 institutions founded in constitutional limitations of 
 authority; our respect for the memory of the great 
 man, whose name your association bears, — all ap- 
 peal to us, in the most emphatic manner, to lay 
 st differences, and to place the Democratic 
 party on the strong ground of its ancient princi- 
 ples and faith. There may be errors to be over- 
 looked and feelings of unkindness to be repressed. 
 But who that carries within his breast a single 
 spark of the patriotic fire, which animated our 
 fathers in the establishment of an independence 
 the perils, through which the Union has 
 een borne, shall refuse to make any per- 
 sonal sacrifice or overlook every minor considera- 
 tion for the sake of the cause! Gentlemen, the 
 political aspect of Europe is gloomy and forebod- 
 ing. Public feeling in our own country is feverish 
 and excited. The lapse of a few years may bring 
 
 about the most important results for us and for 
 the friends of free government, wherever they are 
 to be found. The rapid growth of our territory, 
 our population and our commerce, and the spread 
 of our people, in the prosecution of their commer- 
 cial enterprises, over the whole habitable surface 
 of the globe are every day multiplying and com- 
 plicating our external relations. I need not sug- 
 gest to you, gentlemen, how important it is, in 
 view of possible contingencies, that the adminis- 
 tration of the Government should be in the hands 
 of a party, to which the country may look with 
 confidence for prudence, firmness, and an enlight- 
 ened sympathy in movements involving principles 
 kindred to those, on which our political institu- 
 tions are founded. 
 
 1 am, gentlemen, very respectfully, your fellow- 
 citizen, JOHN A. DIX. 
 Messrs. J. D. Hoover, Francis P. Blair, W. W. 
 
 Curran, E. B. Robinson, Zenhaniah Jonos, J. 
 
 Knox Walker, Col. J. G. Berret, Charles S. 
 
 Wallaeh, Dr. A. W. Miller, Committee. 
 
 Honorable Daniel S. Dickinson: A faithful 
 sentinel on the watchtower of Democracy. He 
 preferred constitutional principles to sectional ad- 
 vancement; and the Democratic party will never 
 forget the services of a man who loves his country 
 more than himself. 
 
 Binghampton, N. Y., January 6, 1852. 
 
 Gentlemen: My best acknowledgments are 
 returned for your kind invitation to participate 
 with you in celebrating the approaching anniver- 
 sary of the Battle of New Orleans. Most gladly 
 would I be with you, but intervening distance and 
 demands upon my time here prevent. 
 Sinccrly yours, 
 
 D". S. DICKINSON. 
 Messrs. J. D. Hoover, and others, Committee. 
 
 The next toasts were as follows : 
 The Tiir.LE Departments of the Govern- 
 ment — 77;: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial: 
 Coordinate, but etit of each other: The 
 
 sis of our political system. 
 John Tyler: The only man who ever success- 
 fully administered the Government without a 
 party — his administration was marked by a firm- 
 ness of purpose and a consistency of principle that 
 are unparalleled in the history of our country. 
 Shehwood Forest, January 2, 1852. 
 Gentlemev: It would afford me no ordinary 
 pleasure to be able to avail myself of your polite 
 invitation to be present on the occasion of the pro- 
 posed anniversary celebration of the ever-memo- 
 rable battle of New Orleans, and to unite in ren- 
 dering all honor to the memory of the great Cap- 
 tain, who led our hosts to victory, and inscribed 
 his own name on an imperishable tablet; but the 
 indisposition of some members of my family will 
 prevent it. 1 lose much in foregoing the visit — 
 I lose the opportunity of exchanging salutations 
 with many who will he present on the occasion, 
 and who, after a separation of some years, it 
 would be happiness to meet. I lose much in being 
 denied the gratification of going up to the altar of 
 the country with yourselves and others, and re- 
 newing the pledge of fidelity to the Constitution 
 and the Union. Preserve the first, and the last 
 becomes impregnable. With those words embla- 
 zoned on our banner, the sentinel on the watch- 
 
19 
 
 tower will be able to announce that " All is well. " 
 Nor does my loss stop here. I learn that one is 
 to be present from another land, whose name is 
 synonymous with genius and patriotism ; and whose 
 noble virtues are identified with the bitterness of 
 exile. I shall not be present to aid you in bidding 
 him welcome — a welcome from hearts that know 
 no guile. He comes to plead the cause of his 
 downtrodden country. He comes to denounce 
 absolutism, centralization, and tyranny. You 
 will " hear him for his cause." If all may not be 
 granted that he now asks, you will unfold to him 
 that future, now near at hand, and which a cycle 
 of twenty-three years will convert into reality, 
 when the oppressed nations may bring their com- 
 plaints to the bar of the American Senate, as of 
 old to Rome, with the certainty of being heard. 
 
 Be pleased to make acceptable the subjoined 
 sentiment, and receive my cordial salutations. 
 JOHN TYLER. 
 
 Non-intervention by America in the affairs of 
 Europe, should imply non-intervention by Europe 
 in the affairs of America. It is a bad rule that 
 does not work both ways. 
 To J. D. Hoover, F. P. Blair, W. W. Curran, 
 
 and others, Committee. 
 
 Hon. William L. Marcv: A sagacious states- 
 man; a genuine Republican; a man who shrinks 
 from no responsibility. The war with Mexico 
 exemplified his capacity and his devotion to the 
 honor of his country. 
 
 Albany, January 2, 1852. 
 
 i i entlemen: I sincerely regret that 1 am obliged 
 ■ i decline your invitation to join the Jackson 
 Democratic Association in celebrating the ap- 
 proaching anniversary of the battle of New Or- 
 leans. It would give me much pleasure to be pres- 
 ent on an occasion which will bring together so 
 many distinguished Democrats and call up so 
 many glorious recollections. 
 
 The event your Association propose to com- 
 memorate is generally regarded as the most bril- 
 liant military achievement in our history, and om 
 trymen who bore an important part in it are 
 heirs to a never-dying fame. Among them, and by 
 far the most conspicuous, was the illustrious man 
 whose name is connected with your Association. 
 
 The anniversary of the battle of New Orleans 
 naturally leads the mind to regard him mainly as 
 a hero: but the condition of the country at this 
 time i.--, however, such as to make it a matter of 
 higher interest to contemplate him in his more ex- 
 ! character of a consummate statesman. He 
 was a man, above all others, eminently fitted for 
 critical emergencies. When "painful and threat- 
 . differences " distract us, and the course of 
 becomes embarrassing, the light of his ex- 
 ample may be resorted to as a guiding star. He 
 loolced to the Constitution for direction, and pur- 
 sued the path it pointed out with a fearless and 
 unfaltering step. He had a considerate regard for 
 the welfare of the whole country, but at the same 
 time was mindful of what was due to each section 
 )f it. He was anxious to protect and advance all 
 interests, but avoided a course of policy unjustly 
 partial to any. 
 
 To recall the counsels and to dwell upon the ex- 
 ample of such a statesman, cannot at any time fail 
 to be profitable, but must be eminently so in the 
 present conjuncture of our public affairs 
 
 I anticipate, as you do, auspicious results from 
 a celebration which will naturally bring up for par- 
 ticular notice the virtues and services of sucn a 
 Patriot. It will have, I trust, a harmonizing in- 
 fluence upon that great national party of which he 
 was once the acknowledged head, as well as the 
 practical exponent of its principles. 
 
 I have the honor to be, with threat respect, your 
 obedient servant, W. L. MARCY. 
 
 Messrs. J. D. Hoover, Francis P. Blair, W. W. 
 
 Curran, E. B. Robinson, Zephaniah Jones, J. 
 
 Knox Walker, Col. J. G. Berret, Charles S. 
 
 Wallack, Dr. A. W. Miller, Committee. 
 
 General John E. Wool: In war the defender of 
 his country's honor — in peace the able and zealous 
 advocate of constitutional liberty. The democra- 
 cy of the country honor the man arid admire his 
 principles. 
 
 Troy, 5th Januanj, 1852. 
 Gentlemen: I have received your invitation to 
 join you in celebrating the anniversary of the bat- 
 tle of New Orleans on the 8th instant. 
 
 It would indeed afford me pleasure to unite with 
 you in celebrating a day so glorious in the annals 
 of our country. Although my official duties will 
 not permit me to be present and to partake of your 
 festivities, 1 will be with you in spirit. 
 
 With my grateful acknowledgments for your 
 kind invitation, I have the honor to subscribe 
 myself your obedient servant, 
 
 JOHN E. WOOL. 
 To J. D. Hoover, Francis P. Blair, W. W. Cur- 
 ran, &c, &.c, Committee. 
 
 Hon. James Buchanan: One of Pennsylvania's 
 noblest sons. As an American legislator, the 
 Federal Constitution was his primary book; as a 
 diplomatist, his country's honor and glory were 
 his guiding star. His fame as a statesman will 
 have its immortality upon the pages of his coun- 
 try's history. 
 
 Wheatland, (near Lancaster,) ) 
 January 3, 1852. \ 
 
 Gentlemen: I have been honored by your 
 invitation, in behalf of the Jackson Democratic 
 Association, to attend their celebration of the 
 approaching anniversary of the battle of New 
 Orleans, at Jackson Hall, in the city of Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 I am truly sorry that indispensable engagements 
 will deprive me of the pleasure and the privilege 
 of being with you on that interesting occasion. 
 Andrew Jackson, whether considered as a hero or 
 a statesman, was the man of the age in which 
 he lived. But above all, his ardent and unselfish 
 patriotism, and his devotion to the cause of popu- 
 lar rights and political liberty, must forever endear 
 his memory to every sound Democrat. 
 " He was a man, take him for all in all, 
 ! shall not look upon his like again." 
 
 With sentiments of the highest regard, I re- 
 main, very respectfully, your friend, 
 
 James buchanan. 
 
 J. D. Hoover, Francis P. Blair, W. W. Curran, 
 Esqs., and others, Committee, &c., &c. 
 
 The following sentiments were then 
 volunteered by gentlemen present, many 
 of which were received with great and 
 prolonged cheering: 
 
20 
 
 By B. B. FRENCH, in behalf of the Executive j 
 Committee: James K. Polk, in our hour of fes- 
 tivity, let us not forget to honor the memory of 
 one whose sun went down in its meridian glory. 
 
 By B. B. FRENCH: The people of the United 
 States: Their freedom was established by foreign 
 intervention; ran they, then, look coldly on and 
 see the struggles of any people for the same free- 
 dom they possess, overcome by despotic might ? 
 No, never! 
 
 By W. W. CURRAN : The Union of the 
 States: A glorious system of planets, held to- 
 gether by the Hand that preserves the Universe. 
 
 By General PATTON, of Pennsylvania: The 
 cause of Hungarian independence: So sure as 
 Freedom has a spirit, Liberty an altar, Patriotism 
 a sou!, or Religion a God, it must and will tri- 
 umph. 
 
 By JOHN C. F. R. SALOMON: The State of 
 Ohio, and her noble patriot, B. F. Tejj't, D. /)., 
 were the first in the West, among the frei 
 of the United States of North America, who spoke 
 the word of intervention against the acts of ty- 
 pe. We are indebted to them for the 
 « a e now enjoy, to hail the pre a 
 
 noble KotinUh. 
 
 By C. S. JONES: Hon Jessee D. Bright, of 
 Indiana: A rising star in the political firmament: 
 May its culminating point not be reached until it 
 illumines the White House. 
 
 By J. M. McENEAWRi . . Hun- 
 
 gary, Ireland, and Liberty! 
 
 By THOMAS CATON: General Andrew 
 Jackson: The hero of one of the greatest military 
 achievements on record; the statesman who was 
 selected by his admiring countrymen to till the 
 most exalted position on earth: May the great 
 Democratic party, whenever fanatics attempt to 
 overthrow this Government, reiterate the patriotic 
 sentiment of that immortal man — "The Union 
 must — shall be preserved." 
 
 By A. F. CUNNINGHAM: Thomas Jeffer- 
 son: It waa this great Apostle of Liberty and 
 Democracy, who wished that the Atlantic was an 
 n of tire, that this nation might be forever 
 separated from the wicked and corrupting in- 
 fluences of the Oid World — the time has arrived 
 when c»ery true friend of his country should, to 
 tins sentiment, respond Amkk! — and let its lesson 
 operate upon his judgment. 
 
 By B. B. FRENCH : The Speaker of the House 
 of Representatives of the United States: The 
 Statesman Farmer — and the Farmer Statesman: 
 Another hickory from the old Democratic forest. 
 
 By R. W. LATHAM: 
 
 Hail Liberty! supreme delight, 
 
 Thou ideal of the mind; 
 Through every clirne extend thy flight — 
 The world, range unconfined. 
 
 By S. A. ELLIOT: The ever-present manes 
 of the patriot Jackson: The intrepid champio 
 the Union against all its enemies. 
 
 Jackson ! thy fame shall unborn nations see, 
 
 And thine own deeds thy monument she.ll be. 
 
 By THOMAS THORNLEY: No alliance wiu 
 England, until her working classes and the i 
 nation are unfettered. 
 
 By the same: The rights of the working cla 
 — Hours, wages, education, suffrage, freedom of 
 the press, and impartial juries: When Democracy 
 prevails, their rights are secure. 
 
 By F. McNERHANY: General James Shields 
 A patriotic statesman, who has maintained the 
 honor of his country upon the battle-field, and 
 sustains with equal firmness the cause of republi- 
 can liberty in the councils of the nation. Sucr 
 shield'! are our surest defence in war — our brightest 
 ornaments in peace. 
 
 By C. S. JONES: Clark Mills, of South Care 
 lina: The artist, whoso creative genius has . 
 immortality to the form and features of Andrew 
 Jackson. 
 
 The following was also given: The Lion of the 
 day: Like the noble lion of the forest, when hi c . 
 voice is heard, all others are hushed in silence. 
 
 Mr. P. B. KEY, upon being called upon, 
 and remarked, that there had been so many 
 quent speeches already made upon the sound old 
 Democratic principles, that, at this late hour of 
 the evening, he would beg to be excused from 
 adding to what could not be improved by any- 
 thing he could say, but would propose the follow 
 ing sentiment: 
 
 Inter vent on: That just exercise of right whicl 
 belongs to the powerful to help the oppressed 
 Non-intervention: That miserable, selfish policy 
 which would induce us to pray, "God blesa nit 
 and my wife, my son John and his wife, us 
 and no more." [Laughter.] 
 
 At the conclusion of the speeches and the van 
 ous toasts, Mr. P. B. Ksv gave as the concluding 
 sentiment: 
 
 Jonas D. Hoover, the President of the Jack 
 son Democratic Association . 
 
 Upon which Mr. HOOVER, being called for, 
 rose and remarked that the lateness of the hour 
 and the exertions he had undergone must be taken 
 as his excuse for not speaking. He concluded 
 by thanking the gentlemen who had so enthusias- 
 tically responded to the toast which he had beer: 
 ; honored with. Mr. H. concluded by giving the 
 1 following toast: 
 
 The Refugees: The Autocrat and Austria de- 
 mand them of England. We can send th 
 
 i half a million — with arms and their Leader. 
 
 i 
 
 At twelve o'clock the Banquet closed. 
 I and the company dispersed. 
 
 Printed at the Congressional Globe Office . 
 
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