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rj?f. i?V?'# .<*,^**Qi,-.'{> 1 >???*&'> ?,v^s<?- : ? - '. - ' '... . I .< * - \: \ t v , - * ' ;-'d > "' ' i'.' i ill "ii - ? VOLUME XIV. - ' O. F. TO W N EB, I EDITOR. J O. BAILEY, Proprietor ui tab-Editor. ft"-. ' I ' President's Message. OBMTBBKD TVIID1Y, DKC. .1, 1807. UowCiltrtnn of the Small and Home of /lif?wtrtutfN> r.v/' -' VTho coptloaod disorganisation of the Union, I ' to Which (be President bat io often celled the I attention of Congress, la yet a auhjeot of pro found and patriotic concern. W# may, bowaver, find font* relief from that anxiety In the reflection that the palnta! political situation, although before untried by ourselves, is not hew in the experience of nations. Political ectenoe, perhaps as highly perfected in our own time and country as In any ether, has not yet disclosed any moans by which civil wars aan be absolutely prevented. An enlightened nation, however, with a wise and ip-ncfleent Constitution of freo Government, may ditninr - ish their frequency and mitigate their aevority by directing all its proceedings iu accordance with iu fhndamental law. Vfh?B a civil war has boon brought to a v ' - close, it ia manifestly the first interest and ? duty of the SUto to repair the injuries which the war has inflicted, abd to secure tho bonefit of tho lesson* it teaches ae fully and as speedily as possible. This duty was, upon the termination of the rebellion, promptly accepted, Wot only by the Executive Department, hut by the Insurrectionary States themselves, and restoration, in the first moment of peace, was believed to he as easy and ecrtain as it was Indispensable. The expectations, however, then so reasonably and confidently ertcrtaln* ed, wore disappointed by legislation from which I felt eontrained. by my obligations to the Constitution, to withold my assent. It is, therefore, a source of profound regret, *\ that in complying with tho obligations imposed*upon the President, by the Constitution, to glvh to Congress from time to time information of the state of the Union, I am unable to communicate any definite adjustment, satisfactory to the American people, of the questions which, sineo the close of the rebellion* * have agitated the publio mind. On the contrary, aandor compels me to declare that at this time there is no Union as our fathers understood tho term, and as they meant it te he understood by us. T-he Union which tbey established oan exist only where all the States are represented in both bouses of Congress; where one 8tate ia as freo as another to regu late its internal concerns according to Us own will, ud whin tho Itwt of the Central Oov4 ' eminent, strictly confined to matters of national jurisdiction, apply with equal force to nil the people of every section. That such is ? net the present " state of the Union," is a melancholy fact, and we all must acknowledge that the restoration of the States to their proper legal relations with the Federal Government and with one another, according to tba terms of the original compact, would be the greatest temporal blessing which flod, in His kindest providence, could bestow upon this nation- It becomes our imperative duty to eeasider whether or not it is impossible to effect this most desirable consummation. The "Union and the Constitution are inseparable. As long as one is obeyed by all par ties, the other will be preserved; and if ono Is destroyed, both mnst perish together. The destruction of the Constitution will be followed by other abd stUl greater eelamltios. It was ordained hot only to form a more perfect nuion between the States, but to "establish justice, insure domestio tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure*the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." Nothing but implicit obedience to its requirements in all parts ol the country will accomplish these great ends. Without that obedlenoe, we oan look forward to continual outrages upon individual rights, Incessant breaches of the public peace, national weakness, financial dishonor, the tota' Iocs ol oar prosperity, tho general corruption f morals, and the final extinction of populai freedom. To save our country from evils sc Appalling as these, we should renew our oHorti gain and again. * To me, tho process of rest oration seems per fbetljr plain and simple. It consists merely it a faithful application of tho Conatitution and laws. Tb* execution of tho laws ia not now obairuetad or oppoaed by physical force.? jj There ia no military or other neocaaity, real 01 fwetendod, which can prevent obedience to th< '' Constitution, either Nortb or South. All th< yv* rights and all the obllgatlona of Stales ant ^ . individuals aan be protected and enforced bj moons perfectly eonaiatent with the foods ' naeatallaw. The eenrta may hearerywhere opci and, if open, their proceaa would ba an impeded ' ' . - Crimea egeiSit the United 8tates oen be pre VVV* or punished by the proper Judicial an tberitiee, in a manner entirely practicable ant f Ml legal. There Is, therefore, no reason why tb< v Conatitution abonld hot be obeyed, no lee t a ihoee who axarciae Itn powers have determine; * that it ahal) be disregarded and violated. Th mere naked will of thla Government, or o I wm one or more of ita branches, ia. the on); hataele that can exist to a perfect union of ?l "> tUltatM, ?. ' \ '0.4 1 ' % On thia mementos question, and aoraa of tlx , measures growing on* of it, I have had tlx misfortune to differ from Congress, and ban ,#?pruaaed my eonvlptlona without reaarra though with becoming-defcrenro to the opia U? ef the leglalativa department. Those eon vietlena are net thly. unchanged but strength ened by subsequent events nod farther n-flec tie a. The tronaaendent importance of thi nhjeet Will be a sufficient exouse for eallloj ' yew attention to soma of the raaeone wbiel ham 9* strongly iofnenaed mf^ewn jndg ' meat.Tha hope-that v t/toy ail finally Con ftr la ti mode 9# settlement, consistent ft ggten with ova true Interests pnd with onj ,-S ewera datim to the Constitution, U too nolo loo Jrnt Co be OMtly roUu-iunbr-i. iSfci-H IM tl * II11 L! m,AmUi AWA.1 ^ \3?N. A. REFLE It ia clear to my apprehension that tha States lately in rebellion are still members of the national Union. When did they ceaae to b?i?l The " ordinance of eeoeaaion," adopt* ed by a portion (in most of them a very email portion) of their eitisene, were mere nullitiea, If we admit now that they were valid and c? reciuai ror the purpose Intended by their authors, we (weep from under our feet the whole ground upon whieh wo justified the war.? Were those States afterwards expelled from the Union by the war f The direct contrary was averred by this Oorcrnment to be its purpose, and was so understood by ail those who gave their blood and treasure to aid in its prosecution. It cannot bo that a successful war, waged for the preservation of the Union, had tha legal effect of dissolving it. The victory of the nation's arms was not the disgrace of her policy; the dofcat of secession on the battle-field was not the triumph of its lawless principle. Nor could Congress, with or without the consent of the Executive, do anything which would have the effort, directly or indirectly, of separating the States from each other. To dissolve the Union is to repeal the Constitution which holds-it together, and that is a power which does not belong to any department of this Oorcrnment, or-to all of them united. This is so plain that it has been acknowledged by all brancbea of the Federal Government. The Executive (iny predecessor as well as mysalf) and the heads of all the Departments hgve uniformly acted upon tbo princi. pie that tho Union is not only undissolved, but indissoluble. Congress submitted an amendment of tbo Constitution to be ratified by tbe Southern States, and accepted their acts of ratification as a necessary and lawful excrciao of their highest function. If they were not States, or were States out of tbe Union, their consent to a ebange in the fundamental law of the Union would have been nugatory ; *nd Congress, in asking it, committed a political absurdity. The Judielary has also given the solemn sanction of its authority to the aame view of tha eaae. The Judges of the Supreme Court have included the Southern States in their circuits, and tliey are constantly, in bane and elsewhere, ekereising jurisdiction whieh does not belong to tbem, unless those States are Statea of the Union. If the Southern States aro component parts of tbs Union, tho Constitution is the snproine law for them, as it is for ail the other States. They are bound to obey it, and so are we.? The right of the Federal Government, which i? cicar ana unquestionable, to enforce the Constitution upon them, implies tlio correlative obligation on our part to observe its limitations and esecute its guaranties. Without the Constitution we are nothing ; by, through, and undor tbe Constitution we are what it makes us. Wo may doubt tho wisdom of the law, we may not approve of its provisions, but we cannot violato it merely because it seems to coufiue our powers within limits narrower than we could wish. It is not a question of individual, or class, or sectional interest, much less of party predominance, hut of duty?of high and sacred duty?which we a*o all sworn to perform. If we cannot support the Constitution with the cheerful alacrity of those who love and believe in it, we must give to it at least tho fidelity of public servants who act under solemn obligations and commands which they dare not disregard. Tho eonstitutional duty is not the only one which requires tbe State to l,o restored.?* Thoro it another consideration which, tliongh of minor importance, is yet of great weight. On the 22d day of July, 1S6I, Congress declared, by an almost unanimous vote of both Houses, that-tbe war should "he conducted solely for the purpose of preserving tho Union, and maintaining tho supremacy of the Perioral Constitution and laws, without impairing . the dignity, equality, and rights of tho States or of individuals; and that when this was ; uono, ino war suouia cease. 1 <io njt say that tliis declaration is personally binding on those ' who joined in making it, any wore than individual members <?t Congress are personally ' bound te pay a public dobt created nndor law 1 for which thoy voted. Bat it was a solemn, public, official pledge of the national honor> and I eannot imagine upon what grounds the i repudiation of it is to be Justified. If it be I said that we are not bound to keep faith with r rebels, let it be remcmberffil that this promise - was not mado to rebels only. Thousands of true r men in the South were drawn to our standard ? by it, anil hundreds of thousands in the North > gave their live# in the beliuf that it would bo I carried out. It wat mado on the day after th? r first great battle of tho war had been fought - and lost. All patriotic and intelligent inon i then saw the necessity of giving such an assurance. and believed that without it the war would end In disaster to our cause. Having given that assurance in the extremity of our i peril, the violation of it now, in the day of i our power, would be a rude rending of that i good faith which holdi the moral world to1 gather} our country would eeaso to hare any b claim upon the confidenee of roon ; it would f make the war not only a failure, but a fraud. f Being sincerely eonvineed that these views 1 are correct, I would be unfaithful to my duty if I did not recommend the repeal of the Acts , of Congress which ptaee ten of the Southern , fiUtM under the domination of military mas -? rr ^-.l ? ^? .kail ..H.A. . uaU. I wn, 41 cmiii ivinuviuii mmu ?nnj m ni^yur> Hy of your honorable bodies that iho Acta ra. ferrad to era not only a violation of the national faith, bat in direct conflict with the Constitution, I dare not permit myself to donbt that yon will immediately strike them , from the statute book. I To demonstrate tho unconstitutional ehari actcr of tbose Acts, I need do no more tban , refer to their general provision*. It wnst be . teen at onee tbat tbey are ere not authorised* I To dictate what alterations shall be made In r the Constitutions of tbe several State*; to 1 control tha elections of State legislators and Slats o(Beers, tBcmbcrs of Coujiqm and aieo\ 1 ^3 V* V >r NT | \ ' * , * o i__ ???? :x of r>< -L GREENVILLE. SOUTH C tor. of President and Vice-President, by arbitrarily declaring who .hall Tote and who sha1| bo excluded from that privilege; to dissolve State Legislatures or ptevent then from as somblitog; to dismiss judges and other civil functionaries of tho State, and appoint ethers without regard to Stato law; to organiso and operate all the political machinery of the 6tatea ; to regulate the whole administration of their domeetie and local affairs according to the mcro will of strange and irrcsponslbla agents, teat among them for that purpose?these are powers not granted to the Federal Government, or to any ono of Us branches.? Nut being granted, we violate onr trust by asturning them as palpably as we would by acting in tho face of Expositive interdict; for the Constitution forbids us to do whatever it docs not affirmatively authorise either by express words or by clear implication. If the authority we desire to use does not come to us through the Constitution, wo can exercise it only by usurpation, and usurpation is the most dangerous of political crimes. By that crime, the enemies of free government in all ages have worsted out their designs against public liberty and private right. It leads direetly and immediately to tho establishment of absolute rule; for undelegated power is always unlimited and unrestrained. Tho Acta of Congress in question are no( only objectionable for their assumption of utigrantgd power, but many of their provisions are in conflict with tho direct prohibitions of tho Constitution. Tho Constitution commands that a Republican form of government sball bo guaranteed to alt tbo States ; that no person shall be deprived of life, llborty or proper ty without due process of law, arrested withou* a judicial warrant, or punishod without a fair trial boforo an impartial jury ; that the privilege of kubeau cor pun shall not be denied in time of peace ; and that no hill of attainder shall be passad, ovea against a single individual. Yet the system of measures established by those Acts of Congress docs totally subvort and destroy the form, as well as tho substanco oi (republican government in tbo ten States to which they apply. It binds lliein hand and loot Id absolute slavery, and subjects them to a strange fend hostile power, more unlimited and more likely to bo rbiisinl than nny other now knowu among civilised men. It tramples down all those rights in which the tmcnce of liberty consists, and which a freo Govern* mcnt is always most careful to protect.?It denies the habta* enrjms and the trial by jury. Personal freedom, property, and life, if assailed l>y the passion, the prejudice or tbo rapacity of tho ruler, have no security whatever. It has tho effect of a bill of attainder, or bill of pains and penalties, not upon a few Individuals, but upon whole masses, including the millions who inhabit the snhjoct States, and even their nnbnrn children. These wrongs, being expressly forbiddon, cannot be constitutionally inflicted upon any portion of onr people, no matter how tbey may eomo within our jurisdiction, and no matter whetbor they live in States, Territories or Districts. I have no dosiro to save from the proper and just consequences of theirgroat crime those who engaged in rebellion against the Government; but as a tuodo of punishment, tho tncasuros under consideration are tho most unreasonable that eould be iurontod. Many of thoso people are perfectly innocent; miny kept their fidolity to the Union untainted to tho last; many wore incapable of any legal offence ; a large proportion uvon of tho persons able to boar arms, were forced into robclllon against tbeir will; and of thoso who are guilty with their own consent, tho degroes of guilt kre as various as tbo shades of thoir character and tonapor. Hut these Acts of Congress confound them all togethor in ono common doom. Indiscriminate vcngoanco upon closes, sects and parties, or upon whole communities, for offences oomiulttod by a portion of them against the governments to which they owed obedience, was common in the barbarous ages of tho World. Iiut Christianity and civilisation have ninds'such progress that recourse to a punishment so cruel and unjust would meet with tho condemnation of ull unprejudiced and right-minded men. The punitive justice of this age, end especially of this country, does not consist in stripping whole States of their liberties, and reducing all their people without dlitinetion, to the condition of slavery. It deals separately with each individual, confines itself to tho forms of law, and indicates its own purity by an impartial examination of every case before a competent judicial tribunal. If tbls docs not satisfy all our desires with regard-to Southern rebels, let us console ourflros by reflecting that a tree Constitution, triumphant in war and unhrokon in peace, is worth far more to us and our children than the gratifh-ulfron of any present feeling. I am aware it is assumed that tbls system of gorornment for the ftonthern States is not to be perpotual. It is true, this military government is to be only provisional, but it is through this temporary evil that a greater evil ie to be made perpetual. If the guarantees of the Constitution ran be broken provisions')/ to eerre n temporary purpose, and in n part only of the country, wo can destroy them ?r?ry?ht? and for nil time. Arbitrary kmi* urea often change, bat they generally change for the worse. It U the euro* of despotism tbnt it baa nn halting place. The intermitted exercise of It* power bring* no sense of security to It* subjects; for thoy can never know what more they will be tailed to endnre when ite red right hand I* armed to plague them gain. Nor I* It poeaible to conjecture how or where power, an restrained by law, may seek it# next viotims. The fitaJes that are till free may he enslaved at any moment j for II the Constitution does not pvoteot all, K protests none. It Is manifestly and avowedly the object of theao lawa to confer upon negroes the privilege of voting, and to disfranchise such ISiW I / Uti i ??i ?. ^PULAR CAROLINA. DECEMBER I ? number of white ciii&rn* will hItc the fanner a clear majority at all elections in the Southern State*. This to the minds of some person*, is so impoitanl that a violation of the Constitution Is justifiable as a means of bringing it about. The moral itv is always fals* which excuse* a wrong be Cause it proposes to accomplish a desirable sod. We are not permitted to do evil that good may coma. Will in this caso the end itrelf is avil, aa well as the means. The subjugation of the States to nogro domination would b* worse than the military despotism under which they are now suffering. It was believed before-hand that the people would endure any amount of military oppression, for any length of lime, rather than degrade themselves by subjection 16 the n? ^iu mcc. i ncrciure, inej niivts d on leit without a choice. Negro suffrage wm established by Aot of Congress. and the mill Ury oflk-urs w?re commanded to superiut?od the proeeM of clothing the negro race with the politic*) privilege* torn from white men. The blacks in the South ere entitled to he well end humanely governed, end to here tho pioleoiion of just lew* for ell their fight* of per?'?n end property. If it were practicable,*! this lime to give them n gov* rnment exclusively their own, under which they m:ght manege their own affaire in their own way, it would become a grave qmsiion whether we ought to do *n, or whether common humanity would not require us to save them from themtelves.? But, under the circumstances, this it only a speculative point. It is not proposed merily that they shall govern themselves, hut that they shall rule the while race, make and administer State laws, elect Presidents and member* of Congress, and shape to a greaUr or less extent the future destiny of the whole country. Would such a trust and 1 power be cafe in such hands f The peculinr qnaliliee which should characterize any people who arc fit to decide upon the management of puldie affaire for a groat State have seldom been eomtdned. It Is the glory of while men to know that tlo-y have bad lli-se qualities in sufficient mens ure to build upon this continent a gieit political fabric, and to preserve its stability for more than ninety years, while tn erery other part of the world all rimilur experiment* have failed. But if anything can be proved by known facts?if all reasoning upon evidence is not abandoned?it mutt be acknowledged, that in the progress of nations negroes have shown has capacity for government than any Other rare of people. No independent government of any form has evrr been successful in their handsOn the contrary, wherever they have been left to their own devices they have show n a constant tendency to relapse into harharism. In the Southern Slates. However, Congress has undertaken to confer upon them the privilege of the billot. Just released from slavery, it tnay be doubted w hether, as a class, they know more thar their ancestor* hoj* to organize And regnlatt civil societj. Indeed, it U admitted llinl the hlacks of the South are not only regard less of th? rights of properly, hut so utterli ignorant of public affair* that their voting ran consist in nothing more than carrying a ballot to tlie place slice they are direct ed to deposit it. I need not remind vot that the exercise of the elective franchise ii the highest attribute of an American citizen and, that, when guided by virtue, intelli genee, palri Aism, and a proper appreeialior of our free institutions, it constitutes tin true basis of a <1e noerntic form of govern ment, in whinb the sovereign power ii lodged in the body of the people. A tros artificially created, not for its own sake but Bol.ly as a m-*rts of promoting tin general welfare, its influence for good mils necessarily depend tij?on the elevated clior acter and true nllegance of lire elector. I ought, therefore, to be reposed in noa< except those who are fitted morally am mentally to administer it well; for if eon fcrred upon persons who do not justly est! mate its value, and who are indifferent ai to ite results, it will only serve as a meam of placing power in the han Is of the tin principled an I amliitious, and must eVentu ale in the complete destruction of thai liberty of which it should he the most powerful conservator. I have, therefore, here tofore urge I upon your attention the greal danger "to be apprehended from an an timely extension of the elective franchise tt any new class in onr country, especial!] when the large majority of that class, it | wielding the power thus placed in lh?ii hands, cannot l>? exproted correctly t< comprehend the duties and responsibilitiei which pertain to snfT age. Yesterday, *?ii were, four million* of p~r*on* were held Ii condition of slavery that had existed foi generation*; to-day they are freemen, and re a is nmed hy law to lie eilisona. It can. not he presumed, from their previous eon dition of servitude, that, a* a close, they ar? ft* well informed a* to the nature of oui Government as the Intelligent foreigner who make* our land the home of hischoice. In the case of tha latter, neither a residence of flew years, and the knowledge of our in' siitutions which it gives, nor attachment U the principles of the Constitution, are lh? only conditions upon which ha ean he sd' nritted to oiliwnship. He must prove, ir addition, a good moral character, end tlm-* give reasonable ground for the b lief thai he will be fai'.hful to the. obligations which EVENTS. ii 1867. h? iMumM u I citizen of the Republic ? a Where a people?the aoeree of all political I power?epeak, by their euTragea, through r the instrumentality of the ballot-box, it n muat be carefully guariled against the con- ?' trol of thoee who are corrupt in principle tl and eaemiea of free institutions, for it can li only boeotne to our political and eocial aya- it trm. a aafe conductor of healthy popular p eentiment When kept Tree from demoralizing C influence*. Controlled tkrongb fraud and c usurpation by the designing, anarchy and 1 despotism must loeritably follow. * In the o hand* of the patriotic and worthy, our 1; Government will bo preserved upon the p principles of thoConstitution inherited from tl our father*. It follow*, therefore, that in h .1?i- it. ? ?.<> iiic uiiiui uox t new etas# ol p voter* not qualified for tlie exercise of the tl elective franchise, we weaken our system g of government, instead of adding to its p strength and durability." "I yield to no n one In attachment to that rule of general o suffrage which distinguishes our poliey as a a nation. But there is a limit, wisely oh ii served hitherto, which malt** the ballot a * privilege and a trust, and which require* o of some classes a time suitable for proba- <1 tiun and preparation. To give it indie- g criminatrly to a new class, wholly unpre- p pared, by previous habits and opportuni I tiss, to perform the trust which it demand', f< is to degrade it, and finally to destroy its tl power; for it may lie safely assumed that v no political truth is belter established than d that such indiscriminate and ail-cmbracing extension of popular suffrage must end at q last In it* overthrow and destruction." r I repeat the expression of my willingness \ to join in any plan within the scope of our t constitutional authority ?hich promises to g better the candilion of the negroes in the i South, by encouraging them in industry, g enlightening tluir minds, improving their morals, and gijing protection to oil their i just rights as freedmen. But the transfer g of our pol.lical inheritance to them would, a in my opinion, ba an abandonment of a duty t which wc owe alike to the memory of our i fathers and ths right* of our children. c The plan of putting the Southern States I wholly, and the General Government par- c tially.into the hands of negroo?, is proposed, t at a lime peculiarly unpropitious. The t foundations of society have been broken up by civil war. Iudiiatry must be reorgan- , iscd, juetice re-established, public credit ] maintained, and order brought out of con t fusion. To accomplish these ends would re | quire all the wisdom and virtue of the great y men who formed our institutions originally. t I confidently believe that their descendants j will be equal to the arduous task before ( them, but it is worse than madness to ex- y p -ct that negroes w ill pet form it for ue.? | I Certainly we ought not to ask their assist- i ance until we despair of our own cmpe , tency. , Tho great difference between the two rncrs in piiysicsl, mental, and moral char| acteristics will prevent an nmalgamalioii or , fusion of tbetn together in oue homogeneous mat*. If lli? inferior obtain* tbo ascendency over the other, it will govern with reference r only to its own interests?for it will recog, nise no conittion interest?and create aueh a tyranny a* this continent has never yet witnessed. Alteady the negroes are influ , et ced by promises of confiscation and plan, der. They are Inoght to regard as an enemy every while mnn who has uny . respect for the rights of hisown race. If tl.ts , continues it must become worse and worse, 9 until all order will le subverted, all indus . try cease, and the fertile fields of the South s grow up Into a wilderness. Of all the dsn' I. gets which our nation has yet encountered, none are t-qual to those which must result 8 troni the success of the efTort now making t to Africanize the half of our country. I would not put considerations of money l in competition with justice and right. But s the expenses incident to " reconstruction " I under the system adopted by Congress aggravate what I regard a* the intrinsic wrong of the measure itself. It lies cost i uncounted inOAons already, and if persisted I in will add largely to the weight of taxa lion, already too oppreetire to be borne - without just complaint, end may finally t reduce the Treasury of the nation to n con > dition of bankruptcy. We must not delude ourselves. It will require a strong stand I, iug army, and probably more than two hundred million* of dollars per annum, to main'nin the supremacy of nrgro governmtnls after they are established. The aum thua thrown away would, If properly used, f<>rin a sinking fund large onongh 10 pay the whole national debt in lese than fifteen years. It Is vain to hope that negroes will maintain their ascendancy themselves.? Without military power they are who.ly incapable of holding in subjection the white people of the South, I submit to the judgment of Congrese whether the pwMic credit may not be injuriously affected by a system of measures like this With our debt, and the vast pri? 1 vate intereeta which are complicated with ] it, we cannot be too cautious of a policy which mfjjtit, by possibility, impair the confidence of the world in our Govern- | meat. That confidence can only be retain* i ed by carefully inculcating the principles i of justice and honor on the popular mind, I i and by the most, sortitions fidelity lo all 1 our engagements of every sort. Any *r- i nsus breuoh of the organic law, persisted I In for a censid> ruble time, cannot but ere fc -I - ???*? ' M'L.I NO. 29. -? ? . ? it* fear* for the stability of our ln*titn? ion*. Habitual violation of prescribed ulee, which we bind ourseiv?e to obeerve, )u*t demoralise the people. Our only tnndard of nivil duty being net at naught, lie *heet anchor of our political morality i lo*t, the public conscience awinga from e mooring*, and yield* to eYery impale* Of aealon aud interest. If we repudiate the ouatilutiun, we will not be expected to are much for mere pecuniary obligation*, 'he violation of eneh a pledge aa we mad* n the S2d day of July, 1881, will aaauredf dlminlih the market value of our other ronilse*. Besides, if we now acknowledge hat tbe national debt vat created not to -1J aL. ev*-. - ? * uiu liic oiaics in ine union, as the taxayers were led to aappoae, but to expel hem from it, and hand them over to l>a overned bj negroes, the moral duty to ay it may seem much leas clear. L say it tay teem so ; for I do not admit that this 4 r any other argument in favor of repudilion can be entertained aa sound; but its aflucnce on some classes of minds may rail be apprehended. The financial honor f a great commercial nation, largely inlebted, and with a republican form of [overnment, administered by agents of the opular choice, is a thing of such delicate exture, and the destruction of it would be olio wed by such unspeakable calamity, hat every true patriot must desire to avoid rhatever might expose it to the slightest soger. The great interests of ths eonntiy re[nire immediate refief from these enaetnents. Business in the South is psialyaed >y a sense of general insecurity, by the error of confiscation, and ths dread of ns* ;ro supremacy. The Southern trade, from vliicli the North would have derived so ;reat a pro6t under a government of law, till languishes, and can never revive until , | t ceases to be fettered by the arbitrary lower which makes all its operation! onafe. That rich country?the richest in istuial resources the world ever saw?is vorse than lost if it be not soon placed onler the protection of a free Constitution.? nstead of being, as it ought to be, a source if wealth and power, it will become an inolerable burden upon the rest of Uie union. Aoother reason for retracing our steps will doubtless be seen by Congress in the ate manifestations of puhlio opinion upon his subject. We live in a country where .lie popular will always enforces obedience ? itself, sooner or later. It is vain to :hink of opposing it with anything ahort of egal authority, backed by overwhelming ore*, it cannot have escaped your attention that frcm the day on which Congress Fairly and formally presented the proposition to govern the Southern States by military force, with a view to the ultimate establishment of negro supremacy, every ex predion of the general sentiment has been more or less adverse to it. The affections of this gen< ration cannot be detached from the institutions of their ancestors. Their determination to preserve the inheritance of free government in their own hands, and transmit it undivided and unimpaired to their own posterity, ia too atrong to be successfully opposed. Every weaker paction will disappear before that love of liberty and law for wliich the American people are distinguished above all others in the world. IIow far lli# duty of the President, " to preset ve, proteet and defend the Constitu, tion," requires him to go in opposing an unconstitutional act of Congress, is a very serious and important question, on which I have deliberated muob, and felt extremely anxious to reaelt a proper conclusion.? Where an act has been passed according to the forms of the Constitution by the supreme legislative authority, and is regularly enrolled among the public etalutea of the country, Executive resistance to it, especially in times of high party excitement, would be likely to produce violent collision between the respective adherents of the two branches of the Government. Thie would be simply civil war; and civil must be retorted to only as the last remedy fur the worst of evils. Whatever might tend to provoke It should be most carefully avoided. A faithful and conscientious magistrate wil) concede very much to honest error, and something even to perverse malice, before he will endanger the public peace; and he will not adopt forefblw measures, or such as might lead to force, as long as those which are peacable remain open to him or to his constituents. It is trne thst cases may occur in which the Executive would be compelled to stand on its rights, and maintain them, regardless of all consequences If Congress should pass an act which is not only in palpable conflict with the Constitution, but will certainly, if carried ont, produce immediate and irreparable injury to the organic atrneture of the Government, and if there be neither judicial remedy for the wrongs it inflicts, nor power in the people to protect themselves without the official aid of their elected defender?if, for instance, (lie legislative department should pass an act, even through all the forms of h?w, to abolish a eo ordi natc depart men t of the Government?ii> neb >i c??a l'1 pf-^detit. must tulcc the liigh reapOSSvU V > ' fi<?. mi ' L%. life of tT. "..at the lo-ftdled Seconal mat ion acts, though n? [cosrisfin os rttSTu raut I