jr uuiM'oMbbb 013 703 179 6 SENATE.... No. 2. E 513 .114 Copy 1 ADDRESS OF HIS EXCELLENCY JOHN A. ANDREW, TWO BLANCHES f ^pslature of Passatjjuselts, JANUARY 5, 1861 BOSTON: WILLIAM WHITE, PKINTER TO THE STATE. 1861. I : :. V J 3 i ^ ADDRESS Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives : The responsible positions to which we have been respectively called by the suffrages of the People of Massachusetts, demand of us a pause, on the threshold of the year, for a brief survey of the field of our labors and a summary review of the duties before us. Surrounded by all the evidences of plenty gathered from the workshop, the mart, the field and the fold ; representing a people prospered in all the undertakings of industry, and graciously defended during the year which has closed, against wasting disease or public calamity ; we ought Avith grateful hearts to pay our vows of obedience to the Great Lawgiver of the Universe, and to adore Plis bountiful goodness. And whatever shadows may cloud for the time our National horizon ; walking in the faith which becomes men, — rational, immortal and believing, who perceive in difficulties only obstacles to be overcome, — let us meet the duties and, if need be, the dangers of the future, with lofty and triumphant cheer. In a spirit and with the purpose of justice towards all other peoples and States, our immediate and official 4 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. obligations are mainly due to that ancient and beloved Commonwealth, in whose service we are assembled. I have obtained from the Treasury Department, and herewith present to the Legislature, the following Financial Statement • of the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts, up to December 2-4th, 1860 : — Liabilities on account of Railroad Corporations. Western Railroad Corporation, . . . §3,999,555 56 Eastern Railroad Corporation, . . . 500,000 00 Norwich Railroad Corporation, . . . 400,000 00 Southern Vermont Railroad Corporation, . 200,000 00 Trov & Greenfield Railroad Corporation, . 427,572 00 85,526,127 56 Funded Debt. Lun. Ho5p. Scrip, 1852, due 1865, §100,000 00 " 1853, " 1865, 70,000 00 " 1854, " 1874, 94,000 00 8264,000 00 St. Almshouse " 1852, " 1872,8100,000 00 " 1853, " 1873, 60,000 00 » " " 1854, " 1874, 50,000 00 State House " 1853, " 1873, 865,000 00 " 1854, " 1874, 100,000 00 Six per cent. " 1856, " 1862,8100,000 00 " 1856, " 1864, 100,000 00 " 18.56, " 1866, 100,000 00 Lun. IIosp. " 1857, " 1868, §150,000 00 " " 1857, " 1877, 50,000 00 Con. Stats. " 1860, " 1870, 8150,000 00 Temp-rj- Loans due'Jan. 1, 1860, 8240,429 77 Reduc'd by issue of Scrip, 1860, 1.50,000 00 210,000 00 165,000 00 300,000 00 200,000 00 150,000 00 896.429 77 86,815,127 80 Estimated Deficit for 1800, .... 170,000 00 266,429 77 87,081,557 33 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. For the liabilities and debts before stated, provision has been made by law, as follows : — Liabilities on account of Railroad Corporations. Mortgage W. R. R. Co.'s entire property, . $3,999,555 56 Sinking Fund, W. R., amounting to . . 1,600,000 00 Mortgage E. R. R. Co.'s entire property, . 500,000 00 Mortgage N. & W. R. R. Co.'s " . 400,000 00 Sinking Fund, N. & W. R. R., am'nting to 66,000 00 Troy & Greenfield R. R. entire property, . 427,572 00 Sinking Fund, T. & G. R. R., amounting to 20,000 00 Southern Vt. R. R. Co.'s entire property, . 200,000 00 $7,21.3,127 56 For Funded DeU. Debt E.Kt'm't Fund, 7,056 W. R. R. Sfk, par, 1705,600 00 Present value, premium 10 per cent., . 70,560 00 W. R. R. Stock Fund, bal. of securities, . 115,.500 00 Less am't advanced on these securities. Back Bay Lands Fund appropriated. Almshouse Sinking Fund, Payments for 1860 amount to about Receipts for 1860 amount to about 1891,660 00 46,000 00 $845,660 00 300,000 00 53,548 00 $1,185,000 00 1,015,000 00 1,199,208 00 g8,412,335 56 Deficit, $170,000 00 This deficit arises in part from the following extraor- dinary payments, to wit: — Extra Session and Cattle destroy Con. Statutes, State Reform School for Boys, Nautical Branch, Wesleyan Academy, . Valuation Committee, Repairs on State House, State Prison, Total deficit, ed, $.52,000 00 21,000 00 27,000 00 16,000 00 22,000 00 15,000 00 10,000 00 7,000 00- $170,000 oa 6 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. The expenses of the ensuing year, estunated, will be considerably less than the present, and unless some extraordinary emergency arises, the revenue will more nearly equal the expenditures. Expenditures for 1861, estimate, Revenue, including unpaid tax 1860, Deficit, 1861, .... Deficit of previous years, . To be provided for by tax or otherwise, $870,000 00 760,000 00 $110,000 00 267,000 00 $377,000 00 The fiscal year closes on the 31st of December, and therefore the statements given are only an approxima- tion to the actual results, which may vary somewhat the above. The Valuation of the Commonwealth. The Legislative Committee appointed to compute the valuation of the Commonwealth as a basis for State taxation during the next ten years, has recently con- cluded its labors after a session which was protracted to a length of more than a hundred days, beginning September 5th, 1860, and ending January 1st, 1861, at a cost of ;$(13,191.50, for the pay of its members, and ;$f6,322, for its contingent expenses. The aggre- gate valuation of taxable property is computed at the sum of ^897,795,326, which is ^299,858,330 more than the State valuation of 1850, exhibiting an increase of about fifty per cent, in the wealth of the State during the last ten years. When it is remem- 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 7 bered that considerable sums (in the hands especially of small property holders, of which deposits in Savings Banks not exceeding ^500 each, may be taken as an illustration,) have been omitted from the assessment, the result discloses that the wealth of the people of Massachusetts averages not less than ^750 to each inhabitant, irrespective of age or sex. The proportionate distribution of this wealth among the people is illustrated by the fact that the amount of deposits in the Savings Institutions of the Common- wealth on the fourth Saturday of October last, as shown by the annual report of the Bank Commission- ers, was ^45,054,235, although these institutions are prohibited by statute from holding at the same time more than ^1,000 of one depositor, other than a reli- gious or charitable corporation ; and these deposits represent only a fraction of the savings from the daily industry oi the working classes. The policy of encouraging families to become land-owners, by ex- empting their homesteads to the value of ;^800 from seizure on execution, has helped to preserve their ac- cumulations; and the numerous modes in which small savings are invested by private loans and friendly accommodation, help largely to increase and to preserve their aggregate. The industrial statistics of the Commonwealth are compiled but once in ten years. The last compila- tion was in 1855, when it appeared that the annual production from the industry of Massachusetts 8 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. amounted to ^295,820,681, which was an increase of 138 per cent, over the amount exhibited by the last previous compilation ; nor can it be doubted that the productive capacity of our people since 1855 has kept pace with the gratifying increase of their capital. A Commonwealth of 1,231,535 persons, on an area of only 7,800 square miles, with a property of nearly ;^900,000,000, whose people are all free, and whose poorest child may be educated in the free schools of the State, is a noble monument of the triumphs of intelligence and liberty. In this connection I respectfully recommend to the General Court to provide some less expensive and cumbrous method for ascertaining the valuation of the State, than that which has hitherto been pursued. The details of a more economical and efficient plan Avill be suggested if it shall be deemed desirable. Militia. The whole number of our enrolled militia for the year 1860, (from Avhich, of course, is excluded firemen and other exempts,) was 155,389 men. The active militia, uniformed, armed and equipped, drilled and organized, ready for active service on call, — including its various arms of infantry, cavalry and artillery, numbered 5,592. In respect to good conduct, discipline, spirit and capacity proportioned to its numerical force, I am advised that our active citizen soldiery was never in a condition of greater efficiencv. 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 9 But, T venture tlie inquiry whether, in addition there- to, the dormant militia, or some considerable portion of it, (now simply enrolled and not organized nor subject to drill,) ought not, in confoiTnity with the theory of the institution itself, to be placed on a footing of activity. For how otherwise, in the possible contingencies of the future, can we be sure that Massachusetts has taken care to preserve the manly self-reliance of the citizens, by which alone, in the long run, can the creation of standing armies be averted, and the State also be ready, without inconvenient delay, to contribute her share of force in any exigency of public danger 1 Agriculture. The agricultural interests of the Commonwealth, have, in the main, been exceedingly prosperous during the past year, notwithstanding the presence, in the spring, of that disease among neat-stock which, it was feared by many, would prove unmanageable and disas- trous. I am advised that the amount drawn on account of the Commissioners appointed to extermi- nate that disease, is ;^29,259.33, and that the amount actually paid or to be paid on that account, wiU exceed ;^30,000, without including the expenses of the extra session of the Legislature called to consider the dis- order, which amounted to ^20,650. All the farm-crops during the season have been fully up to the average production of preceding years ; and 10 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. some of tliem, such as fruits, wheat, barley, and oats, have yielded far more than was ever before known in the Commonwealth. Attention to slieep husbandry is now on the increase, by reason of the protection Avhich has been afforded to it by judicious legislation ; and the importance of this branch of farming to the vari- ous interests of New England, can hardly be over-esti- mated. The encouragement extended by the Legisla- ture to the fomiation of Fanners' Clubs throughout the State has had the desired effect, and the number of these associations has rapidly increased. In respect to Agricultural Literature, the State Board of Agriculture have in preparation a Manual of Agri- culture for use in schools, and it is hoped that addi- tional elementary instruction in matters connected with the daily experience of our country youth, may increase public interest in this great source of our material prosperity. The progress made in the revis- ion of Mr. Harris's Treatise concerning Insects Injuri- ous to Vegetation has been very satisfactory, and that valuable work will be issued during the coming year in a manner which will be creditable to the Common- wealth. An edition of 2,500 copies was ordered by statute in 1859, but only partial provision was made for the distribution of them. About 1,000 copies will remain at the disposal of the present or of some sub- sequent Legislature, and I respectfully suggest that a proper number shall be placed, for distribution, with 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 11 Professor Agassiz, who has gratuitously rendered essential service in the revision of the work. Banks and Banking. In view of the recent financial perturbation, the subject of Banks and Banking will undoubtedly at- tract your attention. No one can pretend that our system of banking is perfect, while very few will deny that the currency of New England, and especially of Massachusetts, is as safe and convenient as that of any other section of the country. Oiir present system is the result of long experience, and I trust that no rad- ical change will be attempted with respect to any of its features, without mature consideration. Under ex- isting circumstances, I deem a conservative course of legislation in this respect to be best for the Common- wealth, and that we should be cautious about encour- aging any new theories of banking concerning which the public mind is divided, without requiring the sub- ject to be thoroughly investigated by a committee ap- pointed for that purpose, in the manner customary in the British Parliament. As it is the duty of govern- ment to throw every safeguard around the person of every inhabitant of the State, so it is also its duty to protect all property, whether it be individual or corporate. So long as the banks are conducted in good faith towards the people, so long should they be sustained under their charters. It is common to charge the banks with responsibility for our finan- 12 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. cial difficulties, and it is doubtless true that they have more or less to do with them ; but financial troubles and panics are by no means peculiar to this country. They have occurred from time to time in all civilized communities where business is done on credit, being sometimes created by a single cause, and at others by a combination of circumstances, while at still others it is difficult to trace them to any definite source. Their occurrence cannot be prevented by leg- islation, for no legislation can invariably anticipate the future and provide against all its contingencies. The remedy is to be found in less speculation, more limited credits, greater caution, and a more thorough study of the laws of trade, and adherence to its established principles ; and above all, in the diff"usion of such a sentiment of patriotism as shall never justify a doubt of the stability of our institutions. The privileges of the General Banking Law have not been embraced in the country towns ; but in Boston several banks have been organized under its authority, and a large amount of banking capital thereby created. If you think that the increase of corporations thus organized may become too rapid, the power to organ- ize them could be suspended for a season, leaving the law, in other respects, in force ; and if you think that the whole law should be repealed, charters might be granted to the banks already organized under it, if they are willing to accept them. 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 13 The able report of the Bank Commissioners will be placed in your hands, and I commend to your attention its statistics and suggestions, especially concerning an increase of specie in the vaults of the banks. But it may be well to inquire whether any arbitrary or mechan- ical rule in this respect, can ever be successfully applied to a matter so delicate as a mixed currency, in its rela- tion to the business of our community, involved as it is with that of the whole commercial world, and sus- tained upon a universal system of credit. To require only that moderate quantity of specie to be held by the banks which is supposed to be safe for the ordinary course of business, seems plainly inadequate, for in moments of unforeseen and sudden panic or disaster, the banks thereby become powerless, and the system fails. But supposing that an amount of specie twice as large as that deemed absolutely necessary in ordinary times, were required to be maintained, might not the use of a portion of the specie so accumulated, be per- mitted at the discretion of some branch of the govern- ment, for the purpose of meeting temporary exigencies requiring such relief^ Many examples of the Avisdom of such a course, and tests of its safety, have occurred both in England and in France. One of the most striking illustrations of the benefits of a flexibility of the banking laws in this particular, by lodging a dis- cretionary power somewhere, to accommodate artificial rules to the exigencies of a life so mercurial as that of commerce, was aff'orded in Great Britain three years 14 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. ago. A panic Avas then at its height, and a crisis was imminent. The Bank of England was forbidden to issue notes of a denomination less than five pounds. But at this moment the government removed the restriction temporarily, and the Bank proceeded to issue several millions in one pound notes. Specie immediately flowed into its vaults, the small notes taking the place of metallic currency among the population ; and the result was immediate and perma- nent relief. This circumstance also illustrated the usefulness of generally restricting the issue of small bank-notes. The Usury Laws. In this connection I wash to call yoiir attention to the propriety of making some change in our usury laws. In the year 1818, a very able committee ap- pointed by the British House of Commons, made an elaborate report, recommending a modification of the usury laws. But so strongly were the people opposed to the measure, that more than twenty years elapsed before any favorable action to that end was adopted. At last in 1839, a law was enacted by Parliament exempting bills of exchange and promissory notes not having more than twelve months to run, from the operation of these laws ; and for twenty-one years this enactment has been satisfactory to the British public. Might not a similar statute prove equally useful and popular in this Commonwealth, tend to 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 15 retain capital at home, and prove in the end a great relief to borrowers of money 1 Such a change in our legislation respecting usury could hardly be called an experiment, when in making it we should follow the cautious example of England after its long and satis- factory experience by a people who so much resemble ourselves. Mutual Insurance Companies. The principle of Mutual Insurance is one which should be preserved and cherished, but the methods and operation of the institutions for mutual insurance cannot be too cautiously inspected. Those institutions solicit and receive the confidence of many thousands of people who trust in them to the extent of many millions of dollars, for indemnity against loss by the perils of fire ; and these people rely upon the quality of the charters which you grant, and upon the efficiency of your legislation in this regard. I respectfully invite your attention to exist- ing defects in the method of laying and collecting assessments by these institutions, and to the need of providing efiicient means to compel the imposition and levy of assessments when they become necessary for payment of losses. The subject of exercising control over the form of the policies issued by these compa- nies, also deserves consideration, for they are often burdened with conditions so numerous and intricate 16 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. that intelligent and careful business men are misled by their teiTns, so that having supposed themselves effectually insured, they awake to a knowledge of their mistake only after a remedy has become impossible. Public Charitable Institutions. The reports of the Board of Education and from the various public institutions and commissions estab- lished for charity to the poor-, for the relief and cure of the diseased, and for the correction and reform of criminals, will present in detail the Educational, Charitable, Sanitary and Penal Statistics of the Com- monwealth. They concern matters which demand and shall receive the diligent supervision of the Executive Department throughout the year. The obligation of a government to protect the per- sons and property of its subjects, enjoins the duty of taking care of those who are unable to take care of themselves. The child should be taught, the insane should be guarded, the deaf, the dumb, and the blind should be cared for, and the idiot should be remembered and protected. I commend to your especial care all our benevolent institutions, and I should be glad if the list could be enlarged by adding one for the cure of inebriates. Capital Punishment. The punishment of offenders is perhaps the gravest responsibility of civilized society, and in modem times 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 17 the utmost attention of the sincerest thmkers and observers has been bestowed upon the philosophy and the phenomena of crime. In order that the laws may be both just and humane, it is necessary that detection and punishment shall be speedy and sure, and also that prevention and reform shall be secured in the largest measure. The progress of civilization steadily dimin- ishes crimes of violence, and also steadily discourages punishments of a violent, cruel, or sanguinary charac- ter. The infliction of the penalty of death as a pun- ishment for crime will one day be discontinued among civilized men. Already, philosophers, jurists, and statesmen, in large numbers, possessed of the most comprehensive experience of human affairs, and clothed with the highest authority, have pronounced against it ; and it Avill initiate a nevs^ era in the progress of Massachusetts when she shall conform her penal legis- lation to the most enlightened principles of criminal jurisprudence, and consult her truest safety by its abolition. Whenever that event shall occur, whether as a private citizen, or in a public capacity, I • shall respect the intelligence and assent to the policy by which it will be accomplished. Practical Scientific Institutions. The wise foresight which has secured such large provision for the education of the children of the Commonwealth, enjoins us to use all reasonable means to promote the spread of useful knowledge, and espe- 18 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. cially to facilitate such practical scientific instruction as shall elevate while it invigorates the industrial arts. A favorable opportunity is now afi"orded to advance this desirable object by setting apart a suitable por- tion of the Back Bay lands for the accommodation and collocation of institutions devoted to practical branches of art and science. In this connection, the views and wishes of the Boston Society of Natural History, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and the Institute of Technology have already to some extent been presented to the Legislature, and will, it is under- stood, be submitted to you during your present session, in detail. The valuable contributions which the two first named societies have rendered, the enlarged sphere of usefulness which wider these new conditions they would be enabled to fill, and the material benefits which the proposed Institute of Technology is adapted to confer, are considerations Avhich commend the purposes of the petitioners to the favorable attention of all friends of education and industry, and will, I doubt not, receive at your hands such liberal appreciation as they deserve. Boston Harbor and Back Bay. The preservation of the harbor of Boston against deterioration, is a subject of grave concern ; and I trust that any measures which may be proposed to you, possibly affecting it, will be vigilantly scruti- 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 19 nized. I would also call attention to the question whether any method can be devised in the present state of the work of filling the Back Bay, to secure to the public health the benefits contemplated by the reservation of a full basin, agreeably to a memorial of Hon. Josiah Quincy, Senior, and other citizens, to the last Legislature, which stands referred to the present one. Marriage and Divorce. While considering the personal interests of the people of the Commonwealth, I cannot persuade myself that I shall have performed my duty until I have invoked your consideration of an anomaly in our law, by which, under the operation of the process of divorce, society creates husbands who have no wives, and wives who have no husbands. This anomaly originated many ages ago, in certain eccle- siastical theories concerning the institution of mar- riage, and was devised by the ecclesiastics themselves. In our own age, the theory upon which the law enforces the celibacy of a divorced husband or wife, is that of punishment for the offence which was the occasion of the divorce. But this offence, so far as it relates to the injured party to the marriage, is punished by the dissolution of that relation upon the petition of that very party, and by the decree of alimony, or other pecuniary advantages, as the Statutes ma}- determine ; and so far as it relates to society, it ought 20 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. to be punishable solely by means of crimiual process maintained by the public prosecutor in conformity with the criminal laws. Thus only can each case receive its appropriate and proportionate punishment, according to its peculiar circumstances, and thus only can the accused be insured the benefit of a trial for his alleged crime, such as shall be in accordance with the principles of our criminal jurisprudence. Now, upon the hearing of a libel for divorce, before a single judge, the party seeking the divorce is entitled for his or her relief, to certain inferences of guilt from circumstances from which a jury, in many cases, would not and ought not to draw such inferences, were the controversy between the government and the accused, and not between a husband and a wife. Thus a party is sometimes practically sentenced to celibacy so long as he shall remain a citizen of Massachusetts, as a punishment for a crime for which he was never tried nor indicted, and of which in truth and fact he may not have been guilty, although a divorce was properly decreed against him according to the rules of the ecclesiastical law. And whether morality is promoted by prohibiting the formation of new domestic rela- tions, and thereby Avithholding the opportunity for fidelity in the future in order to punish infidelity in the past, is a question much debated in the gravest and most thoughtful minds ; but long reflection has satisfied me that it is expedient at least to lodge in some tribunal the power to mitigate the hardships 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 21 of the law, according to the cu-cumstances of each case, whatever may have been the cause of the dissohition of the marriage. The Cape Cod Canal. The surveys ordered by the last Legislature for a Ship Canal between Barnstable and Buzzard's Bay are in progress under the care of the Joint Committee which was charged with their direction. Statistics have been collected which exhibit the dangers incident to the navigation around Cape Cod, and demonstrate the commercial advantages to be derived from the con- templated canal. A topographical chart of the pro- posed route, and hydrographical charts of its termini, have been completed at a moderate expense, by offi- cers of the National Coast Survey, assisted by the advice of the United States' Commissioners on Boston Harbor. Engineers are now engaged in locating the line of the canal upon this route, and preparing for sectional surveys, and making plans and estimates for the entire work. The appropriation made at the last session for these objects has been exhausted, and an additional grant is needed to cover the expense of past as well as to provide for future services. The design of this canal having been entertained by the State as well as by the Federal government at intervals ever since 1776, there seems to be a propriety in completing at the present time this examination into the feasibility of the proposed undertaking, in order to act intelli- 22 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. gently upon a question which has claimed so large a share of public attention. The Joint Committee will report to the Legislature at an early day the results of their labor, so far as they are ascertained. The report which was ordered by the last Legislature, has been delayed, by reason of the impossibility of completing the surveys in season to comply with the terms of that order. The Provincial Statutes. I earnestly recommend the collection and publication under the patronage of the Commonwealth, of the Statutes enacted between the time of the union of the two colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay under the Charter of William and Mary in 1691, and that of the adoption of the Constitution of 1780. Not more than a moiety of these Provincial Laws are to be found among the accumulations of the State Library ; but the zeal and intelligent industry of one gentleman of the bar, has enabled him, after years of careful search, to complete a collection of them. They are of inestimable value on account of their historical interest, their usefulness in throwing light upon sub- sequent legislation, and the assistance which they afford in the determination of many important c^ues- tions mooted by the profession and the courts. An edition of 2,500 copies, in two octavo volumes, can be published at a cost of not more than ^10,000, including the expense of editing the work. 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 23 The Two Years Amendment. I beg leave to ask the Legislature to consider the propriety of initiating the appropriate measure for enabling the people to pass once more upon the sub- ject of the limitation of the exercise of the right of suffrage by citizens of foreign birth. The amendment of the Constitution by which that limitation was imposed, was voted upon at a time specially assigned for that purpose, and not at any regular or usual meeting of the towns, or any day of election. The vote was so small as to afford no safe indication of the will of the people, and I am convinced that the result does not agree with their opinion. The whole number of votes oast was only 36,517; while a full vote is about 180,000. This amendment has been thought by some to be needful to preserve the purity of elections by prevent- ing frauds upon our system of registration. But it is to be remembered that the person naturalized cannot vote, (any more than a native born citizen) — unless he shall have " resided within the State one year, and within the City or Town, in which he claims the right to vote, six months next preceding any election." This precludes the sudden influx of strangers ; and when any person desires his name to be placed on the list of voters, the Mayof and Aldermen, or Selectmen, require the proper proof of the residence of the party, of his naturalization and the payment of his tax, and of his other qualifications. 24 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. I suggest that there should also be required by statute a residence within any Congressional district in which a right to vote may be claimed, for six months next preceding the election. This measure stands upon the same grounds of propriety which require such residence in the city or town, and would prevent the possible effort to defeat the will of the majority of bona fide inhabitants of a Congressional district, by the colonization of voters from another district, in a case where some of the wards of a city lie in one district and the remaining wards in another. The General Statutes. I respectfully suggest to the Legislature the pro- priety of refraining from alterations of the General Statutes of the Commonwealth, not clearly requisite in order to repair accidental errors or omissions, or to conform legislation to new wants, or to reform abuses. The General Statutes as recently revised, have been less than one year in operation. The revision received more or less attention from several successive Legislatures. It was the work of eminent Commis- sioners, which they constructed with critical, intelli- gent and laborious care and learning. Their Report was submitted to a numerous Joint Committee of both branches of the Legislature o€ 1 859. This Committee sat for one hundred and nine days in reexamination of the work, and its final Report was, in turn, made to the Legislature convened in special session for the 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 2S single purpose of its consideration. This session, commencing September 7th, closed December 28th, and the labors of the Commissioners and the Com- mittee were subjected to a minute, independent and thorough criticism, never surpassed under similar circumstances. Finally, the Governor of the Com- monwealth, in the exercise of his duty of original re- examination preparatory to the expression of approval or dissent, discovered a single instance of possible conflict between these Statutes ^nd the laws of Con- gress. This consisted in the omission of a word from one of the chapters, which led him to apprehend a Avant of conformity between that chapter and a cer- tain provision of the Federal law touching the organ- ization of the militia. With conscientious zeal he invoked the opinion of the Attorney-General and of the Judges of the Supreme Court upon the cj^uestion. Their reply confirmed his objections, and he returned to the Legislafure the whole body of the Revised i^tatutes unapproved in consequence of the omission. The Legislature restored the omitted word, and the unhesitating bestowal of the executive sanction then conferred upon the work the authority of law. I mention this to illustrate the minute fidelity with which the revision was accomplished. Able hands conducted the enterprise ; vigilant eyes watched and criticised it at every step of its progress ; and the most eminent lawyers and statesmen of the party in opposi- tion, were members of the Committee, and sat in the h GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. Legislature by which it was at last perfected. Printed copies of the Report of the Commissioners were pro- fusely distributed among lawyers and jurists, whose aid was invoked for the discovery of errors, or inaccu- racies of any kind. The intelligence, learning, good faith, and patriotism of the entire legal mind of the Commonwealth was thus directed to the labor. A large measure of respect is due to a body of law prepared with a care so elaborately exhaustive of all possible means of ajjpuracy. And I think that it is due to truth and to the merits of the work to declare that in my humble judgment such respect will be amply justified by the experience of the future. The Provisions of the Statutes concerning Personal Liberty. I cannot, however, forget at this moment some re- cent impeachments of our legislation providing safe- guards for personal liberty ; but it is impossible f6r me to compress within the restricted space allowable fcjr the purpose, a review of the objections alleged against that legislation, or even of the reasons by which it commends itself to good citizens who believe in its propriety. The subject opens too broad a field of juri- dical inquiry and erudition to be mapped out on this occasion. But I think that if it could be remembered that the liberties of white men and of their children are involved in its consideration, and if it could be for- gotten, in the discussion, that people of color have an 1861,] SENATE— No. 2. 27 existence, some advance would thereby be made to- wards clearing a vision now too easily beclouded, touching all matters which concern the African race. The governments of the United States and of this Commonwealth have co-ordinate jurisdiction, each within its own sphere, over the same territory. When either, by its appropriate officers, has obtained actual and lawful custody of a person or of property, for the purpose of legal inquiry into the title to the property, or the right to hold the person, or in order to try that person for crime, the person or the property, until that investigation shall be completed, is withdraAvu from the exercise of the corresponding jurisdiction of the other government. This is implied from the very co- existence of the two governments in federal relation- ship, and it is rarely expressed in the statutes of either, although it applies with equal force to both. It does not depend upon any supremacy or preference of the one government over the other, but upon the naked question which of them first acquires jurisdiction of the subject matter to be determined. The application of this principle to the provisions of the General Statutes of Massachusetts concerning the writ of habeas corpus, relieves them from all con- stitutional objection. Although our Statutes in terms require this writ in all cases except of imprisonment or restraint by a sheriif or similar officer of the Com- monwealth, to be addressed to the sheriffs and their deputies (as being the appropriate officers to execute 28 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. the process of the C'ommonwealth,) and to direct them to take the body of the person alleged to be restrained of his liberty, as well as to summon the person who is alleged to restrain him ; yet if the person so restrained is held by a marshal of the United States by virtue of a lawful warrant from a judge or other authorized officer of the United States, for the purpose of con- ducting any legal inquiry, he cannot be taken out of the custody of the United States until the hearing upon that question has been finished and the result declared. The most that can be done is to summon the marshal to appear and show the cause of the restraint ; and this summons the marshal is bound by his duty as a citizen and a subject of the State, to obey. If he shows a process issued by lawful authority, valid to hold his prisoner, the State Court cannot take the prisoner from his custody for the purpose of a further exercise of its jurisdiction. But if the process, being produced, proves to be invalid or insufficient for the purpose for which it is proposed to be used, or if an alleged fugitive is not in the custody of an officer of the United States, but in that of a private person, there is nothing in the Constitution or Laws of the United States to prevent the trial by the State Courts upon habeas corpus, or other appropriate process, of the right of restraint alleged ; and in such cases the modes of proceeding and rules of evidence are to be determined by the Constitution and Laws of the State. 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 29 By the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, " each individual of the society has a right to he protected by it in the enjoyment of his life, liberty, and property, according to standing laws," and " every subject of the Commonwealth ought to find a certain remedy, by having recourse to the laws, for all injuries and wrongs Avhich he may receive in his person, property or char- acter. He ought to obtain right and justice freely, and without being obliged to purchase it ; completely, and without any denial ; promptly, and witliout delay ; conformably to the laws." The Legislature, in con- formity to the spirit of the Constitution, and knowing that obscure and friendless inhabitants of the Com- moirwealth are most in danger of being unlawfully deprived of their freedom, have taken measures to secure to every person seized or in danger of being seized as a fugitive from service, a fair and impartial trial ; and have also imposed an adequate punishment upon any one who shall undertake to remove from the State any person in the peace thereof and not a fugi- tive from his service, " on the pretence " that he is such a fugitive, " or with the intent to subject him " to slavery. By the well settled principles of the criminal law and the ordinary rules of construction of penal statutes, the unlawful intent must concur with the un- lawful act in order to subject any individual to the penalties of this statute. In 1842 the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Prigg vs. The Commonwealth of Penn- 30 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. sylvania, declared that " every State is perfectly com- petent and has the exclusive right to prescribe the remedies in its own judicial tribunals, to limit the time as well as the mode of redress, and to deny jurisdiction over cases which its oivn policy and its own institutions either proliibit or discountenance." And again the Court in the same case says, that " the States cannot be compelled to enforce them, [i. e. the provisions for the surrender of fugitives from labor,] and it might well be deemed an unconstitu- tional exercise of the power of interpretation, to insist that the States are bound to provide means to carry into effect the duties of the National Government, nowhere delegated or intrusted to them by the CJon- stitution." And again the Court says in allusion to the powers conferred upon State magistrates by the fugitive act of 1793, that as to the authority " conferred upon State magistrates, while a difference of opinion has existed and may exist still on the point in different States, whether State magistrates are bound to act under it, none is entertained by this Court that State magistrates may, if they choose, exercise that authority, tmless prohibited by State IccjislatioH." This decision not only frees the individual States from all action in the matter, but also expressly recog- nizes the power of the States to prohibit action by their officers under the acts of Congress. Accordingly this Commonwealth soon afterwards, in 1843, enacted the statute popularly known as the " Latimer law," and 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 31 made it penal for any of its officers to aid in the cap- ture or detention of a person claimed as a fugitive from service; and in 1855 it enlarged its legislation upon this subject, by the addition of more comprehen- sive and stringent provisions, framed in the same spirit and for the same purpose. But in 1858, in order to prevent any confusion or uncertainty in the minds of the militia, which might arise from the idea of a divided duty, it imposed the responsibility for viola- tions of these Statutes by the militia, solely upon their commanding officers, by providing that their prohibitions and penalties shall " not apply to any act of military obedience and subordination performed by an officer or private of the militia." The prohibitions thus addressed to the civil and military servants of the Commonwealth, of course do not and cannot apply to them in their private capacity as citizens of the United States. It is certain that the legislation of Massachusetts is intended to be constitutional ; and I am bound to declare my belief that it has proceeded upon prin- ciples of the strictest constitutionality. If, however, any party to any legal proceeding shall deem himself aggrieved by any thing found written in our Statutes, we are consoled by the knowledge that he has access to judicial tribunals which will bestow most intelligent and conscientious attention to his complaint. What- ever legal truth the judicial mind may perceive in this 32 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. or in any other regard, will be declared, because the judiciary exists not to make the law but to expound it There can be no doubt that the first and most sacred duty of government is to protect the lives and liberties of subjects. I believe that every person who is prima facie free, being in possesssion of his liberty and claim- ing title thereto ; that every parent being in possession of his child; or guardian having custody of his minor ward, has a right to a judicial vindication of his rights in that regard, whenever and wherever they are prac- tically drawn in question. And I do not think that a certificate issued to authorize a person from Califor- nia to seize and carry away, as and for his fugitive apprentice, the child of a Avhite inhabitant of INIassachu- setts, (which certificate may under the Fugitive Act of 1850, be issued without any previous notice to or hearing of the child or its parent,) can bar the right of such child or parent to a determination by a com- petent tribunal, of the right of the child to be retained in this community, from which perhaps he may never have departed since the hour of his birth. So, too, I deny that a certificate so issued to a person from Massachusetts, authorizing him to seize and carry away, as and for his fugitive apprentice, the slave of an inhabitant of Georgia, (which certificate may under the Fugitive Act of 1850 be issued without any pre- vious notice to the master,) can bar the right of such master to a determination by a competent tribunal, of his right to retain his slave under the local law of 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 33 Georgia. And the trial may in either case be had in any competent forum within the jurisdiction wliere the person may thus be seized. The Constitution of the United States, while it provides for the surrender of persons charged with crime ^ho have iled from one State into another, nevertheless, when it speaks of fugitives from labor, expressly restricts the authority to surrender, to the instances of those only who were held to service or labor and who did flee. And the right of a person to reclaim an alleged fugiti^'e from his service must always be subordinate to the original, prior, mdefeasible right of every freeman to his lib- erty, — to its preservation, to its instant and constant assertion, and to all the defences of it which pertain to the institutions of the Common Law. The proceed- ings under the Fugitive Act of 1850 are not judicial, and they are not adapted to determine the questions of right which arise whenever a free man or the wrong man is innocently seized, or recourse is had to the arbitrary provisions of the Act itself by mere kidnap- pers, for nefarious purposes. On the propriety of exerting all the constitutional power which we possess (but none other than that,) for the protection of the liberties of the people of the Commonwealth against kidnappers, there can be no debate ; and its necessity is illustrated by the surrender of persons claimed as fugitive slaves under the Act of 1850, who are known to have been free. In one case which I recall, the Commissioner denied to the accused person time to 3i GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. • send for his free papers, and declared that they would not be admissable on such a hearing. In another instance, the person carried off was found by the claim- ant, as soon as he saw him, to be the wrong man, and was honestly allo^^ed to regain his liberty. In still another, a woman who is ascertained to be of unmixed Caucasian blood, with her daughter and grandson, were saved by ransom, only, from the operation of a decision directing their rendition into slavery. And I may add that in at least one case in this Common- wealth, a man was sent out of our jurisdiction, as a slave, the warrant against Avliom did not appear on its face to have been issued by any magistrate author- ized by the Act of Congress. Suggestions are sometimes urged that great conces- sions should be made as matter of comity between States. But I do not understand that any State demands, or that any State can consent to, the ren- dition of free persons into slavery. This whole matter, however, involves no question of comity, or inter-State politeness. It is a naked question of right between private pexsons, and of duty between the Common- wealth and its subjects. And all such rights can be protected by preserving a logical consistency, and not assigning to the certificate of a Commissioner a char- acter to which it does not even pretend, viz. : that of a record of a judgment settling the conflicting rights and titles of contending parties. 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 3-5 Supposing, however, that our legislation in this behalf is founded in mistake, the Legislature will only have endeavored to perfomi their duty towards the citizen, whom they were bound to shield from unlawful harm. The power to obtain the judgment of the Court affords ample redress to all claimants. Should a critical examination disclose embarrassment in rais- ing and reserving questions of law for the appropriate tribunals, the Legislature will readily repair the error. In dismissing this topic, I have only to add that, in regard not only to one, but to every subject bearing on her Federal relations, Massachusetts has always conformed to her honest understanding of all constitu- tional obligations — that she has always conformed to the Judicial decisions — has never threatened either to nullify or to disobey — and that the decision in one suit fully contested, constitutes a precedent for the future. I submit these remarks and the subject, to the wisdom and candor of the Legislature. Massachusetts and Virginia. A suit is now pending in Virginia, arising out of an Act of her Legislature by means of which a citizen of Massachusetts was subjected to the forfeiture of his vessel while trading at the port of Norfolk a few years since. By that Act our coasters are annually large pecuniary sufferers. This Commonwealth has here- tofore made the needful appropriations, for the defence 36 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. against the suit referred to. It was argued before the Court of Appeals nearly a year ago, but a decision there has not yet been reached. In the opinion of eminent counsel in Virginia, the Statute in question violates both the Constitution of the United States, and also that of Virginia herself I recommend an appro- priation to defray the expense of a writ of error, and an argument thereon before the Supreme Court of the United States, if the cause shall be decided against the defendant in the courts of Virginia. The Condition of the Country. The constitutional choice to the Presidency, of a citizen Avho adheres to the original principles of the Fathers of the Country, is the happy result of the recent National election. But by events which have since transpii-ed in the Southern States it appears that a large, influential, and energetic body of men in that section of the country, Avho control the action of at least the State of South Carolina, desire to resist, if necessary, by force of arms, this peaceful and consti- tutional triumph of Republican principles, to which they ought in honor and loyalty to yield a generous acquiescence. Forgetful of the traditions of their ancestors, they seem determined to live in peace under no government which shall not concede to them the privilege not only of enslaving their fellow-beings within their own dominion, but also of transporting them at their pleasure into the National Territory, or 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 37 from State to State absolutely without restriction, and of retaining them as slaves wheresoever within the national limits they themselves may please to sojourn. It is the recpmmendation of President Buchanan in his recent annual message, that by means of consti- tutional amendments to be initiated by Congress or in a National Convention, concessions shall be made for the satisfaction of this extraordinary demand. This is a subject which I commend to your immediate but deliberate consideration, and I shall be happy to concur with what I hope will be the unanimous sentiment of the Legislature, in a declaration of the opinion of Massachusetts with reference to the state of the Union and the suggestions 'of the Federal Executive. If Massachusetts, either by voice or vote, can prop- erly do any thing to avert from those misguided men the miserable consequences which threaten to succeed their violent action, — the pecuniary disturbances and the civil commotions which must necessarily occur within their own borders if they persist in their career, her voice and vote should not be withheld. Not the least deplorable result of the action of South Carolina I apprehend will be the insecurity to life and property which will result throughout the whole South from fear of servile insurrection. Wherever slavery exists, we have the authority of Jefferson for believing that, in his own words, " the hour of emancipation is advancing in the march of time ; it will come ; and whether brought 38 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. on by the geueioiis energy of our own minds, or by the bloody process of St. Dommgo, is a leaf of our history not turned over." The enslaved negro population of the South is not destitute of intelligence, nor devoid of that sentiment of resistance to tyranny which naturally inspires the oppressed to seek for freedom. If, as appears probable, it shall once conceive from the pres- ent march of events, that it has no hope of emanci- pation from any generous exertion of the minds of its masters, a resort to that process will be only the logical impulse of human nature. That God may be pleased to overrule the folly of man so as to avert so dreadful a calamity, must be the prayer of every American ; but in my judgment it lies at the end of the road which South Carolina invites her sister States upon the Gulf of Mexico to enter. I have searched the position of Massachusetts with all the disinterested patriotism which I could com- mand for the performance of that duty, and I find nothing by Avhich I can reproach her with responsi- bility for such results if they shall come to pass ; but I invite you to a similar examination. The truth of history compels me to declare that one chief source of the difficulty which we are called to en- counter, lies in the incessant misrepresentation of the principles, purposes, and methods of the people who compose the majority in the free States, by superservice- able individuals, who undertake to monopolize friend- ship for the people of the slave-holding States ; and can- 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 39 dor requires me to add that they profess a friendship the largest part of which might be analyzed into dislike of their political opponents. I have for twenty years past, been a constant and careful observer of public men and affairs ; and for twelve years, at least, I have been intimately aware of the private as well as the public declarations and conduct of the representative men in almost every town and village of the Commonwealth. I think I may claim also some intimacy with the great body of the jjeople of Massachusetts, of whatsoever party. This jjeriod has been one of extraordinary and intense political interest. The tenderest sentiments, the deepest con- victions, the Avarmest emotions, have all been stirred by the course of public aifairs. Bitter disappoint- njents, the keenest sense of injustice, the conscious- ness of subjection to most flagrant wrong, have fallen to the lot of our people. The fugitive slave bill of 1850, with its merciless severity, and the ostentatious indignity with which it was executed ; the repeal of the Missouri restriction upon the extension of slavery over national territory ; the violent means adopted to prevent emigrants from this Commonwealth from par- ticipating in the settlement of Kansas ; the invasion of that Territory by men armed with the plunder from national arsenals ; the imposition of fraudulent legis- latures upon a people temporarily subjugated by rufhanism and unprotected by a Federal Executive, Avhich also forbade them to protect themselves; the 40 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. indiscriminate pUlage, fire and slaughter to ■wliicli peaceable settlers were subjected without cause or excuse ; the repeated exertions of the national admin- istration in conspiracy with the enemies of freedom and good government, to impose and enforce upon Kansas a Constitution sanctioning slavery ; the attempt to withdraw the discussion of political ques- tions from the people themselves and to confine it to a conclave of judges ; the assault upon free speech in Congress by a murderous attack upon a Senator in his seat, for opinions expressed in debate and for the manner of their expression ; the indifference or posi- tive approval with which this attempt to overthrow representative institutions, was treated throughout a large portion of the country ; the prostitution of all the powers of the government and the bending of all its energy to propagate a certain interest for the benefit of a few speculators in lands, negroes, and politics, and to discourage the free labor of the toUing masses of the people ; the menaces of violence and war against the Constitution and the Union Avith which our arguments and our constitutional resistance have been met ; — these all are but a part of the record of the last ten years of American political history, which is burned into the memory of the people of Massa- chusetts. And yet, during all the excitement of this period, inflamed by the heats of repeated Presidential elec- tions, I have never known a single Massachusetts 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. , 41 republican to abandon his loyalty, surrender his faith, or seal up his heart against the good hopes and kind af- fections which every devoted citizen ought to entertain for every section of his country. During all this mal- administration of the national government, the people of Massachusetts have never wavered from their faith in its principles or their loyalty to its organization. Looking forward to the long ages of the future; building always, in their own minds, for countless generations yet to come ; they have endured and are willing still, cheer- fully and hopefully to endure much Avrong and more misconception, because they trust in the blood inher- ited from heroic ancestors ; m the principles of constitu- tional liberty; in the theory of democratic institutions ; in the honest purpose of the intelligent masses of the people everywhere; in the capacity of Truth and Eight ultimately to reach and control the minds of men ; in an undying affection for their whole country, its mem- ories, traditions and hopes ; and above all, in the good Providence of God. It was at a great cost that our fathers established their independence, and erected this Union of States, — which exists imder the form of a National Govern- ment, unquestionable as to its authority to act on all persons and all things within the sphere of its juris- diction and the range of its granted powers. It needs ask permission from no one to fulfil its functions or to perpetuate its existence. It has no right nor power to abdicate ; nor to expel a State, or any portion of the 42 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. people of any State, from the benefits of its protection ; nor to permit their revolt against the duties of a com- mon citizenship. By the incurring of national debts, by the granting of pensions, patents and copy-rights, by the issue of commissions establishing a tenure of office not terminable at the pleasure of the appointing power, by the purchase and the conquest of territory erected into additional States, by the improvement of harbors and rivers and the construction of military roads, by the settlement of wildernesses and the de- velopment of their resources imder the national pat- ronage, by the investment of vast sums of money in buildings for the transaction of public business, in light-houses, navy yards, fortifications, vessels of war, and their equipment, by the assumption of obligations under treaties with Indian tribes and foreign powers, the People of the United States have paid and are paying a continuing consideration for the existence of this National Government in all its sovereign territo- rial integrity. All the people of all the States are interlocked and interlaced in a vast web of mutual interests, rights and obligations as various and as precious as are the characteristics of that wonderful civilization in which they participate. And this Union, through whatever throes or crises it may pass, can- not expire except with the annihilation of the People. Come what may, I believe that Massachusetts will do her duty. She Avill stand by the incoming National Ad- ministration, as she has stood by the past ones ; because 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 43 her peojDle will forever stand by their Country. The records of her Revolutionary history declare her ca- pacity and her will to expend money, sympathy and- men to sustain the common cause. More than half the soldiers of the Revolution were furnished by New England ; and Massachusetts alone contributed more men to the Federal armies than Avere enlisted in all the Southern States. She is willing to make the same sacrifices again, if need be, in the same cause ; — and her capacity to do so has increased in proportion with the increase in her wealtli and population. The echoes of the thunder of her Revolutionary battle-fields have not yet died away upon the ears of her sons, and the vows and prayers of her early patriots still whisper their inspiration. The people of Massachusetts will, in any event, abide by her plighted faith. She agreed to the Constitution of the United States. It is the charter of the Union, it is the record of the contract, and the written evidence of rights intended to be secured to the States and to the People. History shows that never at any one time is there more than one grand issue on trial under a popular government, before the great tribunal of the people. A reactionary movement against the doctrines and traditions of liberty handed down from the beginning, precipitated the trial in the elections of 1856 of an issue made up upon the relation of slavery to the territorial possessions of the nation, and the right of the People to manage those possessions so as 44 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. to protect themselves, preserve their liberties, strengthen the Union, promote the common happiness .and welfare, and best develop the resources of the lands within exclusive Federal jurisdiction. By the conduct and manifest designs of the leaders of that same reactionary movement, the same issue was kept open and presented to the country in a form still more intense, and a popular verdict demanded in the elections of 1860. >So far as that issue can be settled by a popular election of President of the United States, its settlement is for the present, com- plete. In the next National election it may again be presented and the grand issue of 1860 be repeated in 1864, should the people of the country be of opinion that any duty or practical advantage remains dependent on the possible result of a new trial. Meanwhile other duties command our immediate care. There is now no issue before the people touching their political relations to slavery in the Territories. The policy of the National Government in that regard is determined for the next four years ; but instead of preparing for a re-hearing and an endeavor to reverse the verdict at the end of that period, that party of reaction has now engaged in an effort to abolish the tribunal and over- throw the authority of the People themselves. And the single question now presented to the nation is this — Shall a reactionary spirit, unfriendly to liberty, be permitted to subvert democratic republican government organized under constitutional forms ? 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 45 Upon this issue, over the heads of all mere politi- cians and partisans, in behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts I appeal directly to the Avarm hearts and clear heads of the great masses of the people. The men who own and till the soil, who drive the mills, and hammer out their own iron and leather on their own anvils and lapstones, and they who, whether in the city or the country, reap the rewards of enterprising industry and skill in the varied pursuits of business, are honest, intelligent, patriotic, independent, and brave. They know that simple defeat in an election is no cause for the disruption of a government. They know that those who declare that they will not live peaceably within the Union, do not mean to live peaceably out of it. They know that the people of all sections have a right which they intend to maintain, of free access from the interior to both oceans, and from Canada to the Gulf of ^lexico, and of the free use of all the lakes and rivers and highways of commerce. North, South, East or West. They know that the Union means Peace, and unfettered commercial intercourse from sea to sea and from shore to shore ; that it secures us all against the unfriendly presence or possi- ble dictation of any foreign power, and commands respect for our flag and security for our trade. And they do not intend, nor will they ever con- sent, to be excluded from these rights which they have so long enjoyed, nor to abandon the prospect of the benefits which Humanity claims for itself by 46 GOVERNOR'S ADDRESS. [Jan. means of their continued enjoyment in the future. Neither -will they consent that the continent shall be overrun by the victims of a remorseless cupidity, and the elements of civil danger increased by the barbar- izing influences which accompany the African slave trade. Inspired by the same ideas and emotions which commanded the fraternization of Jackson and Webster on another great occasion of public danger, the people of Massachusetts, confiding in the patriotism of their brethren in other States, accept this issue, and respond, in the words of Jackson " The Federal Union, it ?nust he preserved ! " Until we complete the Avork of rolling back this wave of rebellion which threatens to engulf the government, overthrow democratic institutions, subject the people to the rule of a minority, if not of mere military despot- ism, and in some communities to endanger the very existence of civilized society, we cannot turn aside, and we will not turn back. It is to those of our brethren in the disaffected States whose mouths are closed by a temporary reign of terror, not less than to oursehes, that we owe this labor Avhich, with the help of Providence, it is our duty to perform. I need not add that whatever rights pertain to any person under the Constitution of the Union, are secure in Massachusetts, while the Union shall endure ; and whatever authority or function pertains to the Federal Government for the maintenance of any such right, is an authority or function which neither the Govern- 1861.] SENATE— No. 2. 4T ment nor the people of this C'ommonwealth can, or would, usurp, evade or overthrow. And Massachu- setts demands, and has a right to demand, that her sister States shall likewise respect the consti- tutional rights of her citizens witliin their limits. And it is a reproach to human nature, and a breach of honor, that more of her free citizens, who hap- pened to touch the soil of South Carolina, should have been sold into slavery under laws the assertion of the unconstitutionality of which that State punishes with a grievous penalty, than ever fugitive slaves have escaped from South Carolina to Massachusetts. The Pacific Railroad. I congratulate the country upon the passage of the Pacific Railroad Bill through the House of Represen- tatives at the present session of Congress, and upon the probable early adoption of the same measure by the Senate. Its prompt enactment is due to our brethren on the Pacific coast, as an earnest of our desire for speedy, safe, and ample communication between them and ourselves ; and while it will open vast territories abounding in agricultural and mineral wealth, it must also add to the trade and importance of the great maritime cities. It has been framed in a spirit of honorable concession to supposed con- flicting interests, but it will inure to the benefit of all. 013 703 179 6 48 GOVERNORS ADDRESS. [Jan. 'Gl. Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: With unaffected solicitude, I approach this office ; but with the frankness Avhich is due to you, to the occasion, and to our constituency I commit these inquiries, opinions and suggestions to your wise and patriotic covmsels. The People and the State are entitled to our honest thought and our best services. At the termination of this career of public duty, I trust that a consciousness of faithful purpose and patient effort will be our groat reward.