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sure to come as is the sun to rise again which is now descending to the horizon. What the free Governments of the world may find it proper to do, when this great struggle truly begins, I leave to those upon whom will devolve the duty and the responsibility of decision.

It has been well said that the existing generation stands upon the shoulders of its predecessors. Its visual horizon is enlarged from this elevation. We have the experience of those who have gone before us, and our own, too. We are able to judge for ourselves, without blindly following in their footsteps. There is nothing stationary in the world. Moral and intellectual as well as physical sciences are in a state of progress; or, rather, we are marching onwards in the investigation of their true principles. It is presumptuous, at any time, to say that "Now is the best possible condition of human nature; let us sit still and be satisfied; there is nothing more to learn." I believe in no such doctrine. I believe we are always learning. We have a right to examine for ourselves. In fact, it is our duty to do so. Still, Sir, I would not rashly reject the experience of the world, any more than I would blindly follow it. I have no such idea. I have no wish to prostrate all the barriers raised by wisdom, and to let in upon us an inundation of many such opinions as have been promulgated in the present age. But far be it from me to adopt, as a principle of conduct, that nothing is to be done except what has been done before, and precisely as it was then done. So much for precedents!

198. INTERVENTION IN THE WARS OF EUROPE, 1852. — Jeremiah Clemens.

WASHINGTON has said: "There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon any real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, and which a just pride ought to discard." There is a deep wisdom in this; and he who disregards, or treats it lightly, wants the highest attribute of a statesman. We can expect nothing as a favor from other nations, and none have a right to expect favors from us. Our interference, if we interfere at all, must be dictated by interest; and, therefore, I ask, in what possible manner can we be benefited? Russia has done us no injury; we have, therefore, no wrongs to avenge. Russia has no territory of which we wish to deprive her, and from her there is no danger against which it is necessary to guard. Enlightened self-interest does not offer a single argument in favor of embroiling ourselves in a quarrel with her. So obvious, so indisputable, is this truth, that the advocates of "intervention" have based their speeches almost solely on the ground that we have a divine mission to perform, and that is, to strike the manacles from the hands of all mankind. It may be, Mr. President, that we have such a mission; but, if so, "the time of its fulfilment is not yet." And, for one, I prefer waiting for some clearer manifestation of the Divine will. By attempting to fulfil it now, we employ the surest means of disappointing that "manifest destiny" of

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which we have heard so much. We have before us the certainty of inflicting deep injury upon ourselves, without the slightest prospect of benefiting others.

Misfortunes may come upon us all; dishonor attaches only to the unworthy. A nation may be conquered, trodden down, her living sons in chains, her dead the prey of vultures, and still leave a bright example, a glorious history, to after times. But when folly and wickedness have ruled the hour,-when disaster is the legitimate child of error and weakness, the page that records it is but a record of infamy, and pity for misfortune becomes a crime against justice. Sir, I do not love that word "destiny," -"manifest" or not "manifest." Men and nations make their own destinies,

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"Our acts our angels are, or good, or ill,

Our fatal shadows, that walk by us still."

The future of this Republic is in our hands; and it is for us to determine whether we will launch the ship of State upon a wild and stormy sea, above whose blackened waters no sunshine beams, no star shines out, and where not a ray is seen but what is caught from the lurid lightning in its fiery path. This, Senators, is the mighty question we have to solve; and, let me add, if the freedom of one continent, and the hopes of four, shall sink beneath that inky flood, ours will be the guilt, ours the deep damnation.

Shall I be told these are idle fears? That, in a war with Russia, no matter for what cause waged, we must be the victors? That, in short, all Europe combined could not blot this Union from the map of nations? Ah, Sir, that is not all I fear. I fear success even more than defeat. The Senator from Michigan was right when he said that our fears were to be found at home. I do fear ourselves. Commit our people once to unnecessary foreign wars,-let victory encourage the military spirit, already too prevalent among them, and Roman history will have no chapter bloody enough to be transmitted to posterity side by side with ours. In a brief period we shall have reenacted, on a grander scale, the same scenes which marked her decline. The veteran soldier, who has followed a victorious leader from clime to clime, will forget his love of country in his love for his commander; and the bayonets you send abroad to conquer a kingdom will be brought back to destroy the rights of the citizen, and prop the throne of an Emperor.

199. HAZARDS OF OUR NATIONAL PROSPERITY, 1851.-W. R. Smith, of Alabama.

EVERYBODY knows, Mr. Speaker, what has been the policy of this Government with respect to the concerns of Europe, up to the present time. And what, I ask, has been the result of that policy? Why, from the small beginning of three millions of inhabitants, we have grown to twenty-three millions; from a small number of States, we are

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now over thirty. But Kossuth says that we may depart from that policy now; that it was wise when we were young, but that now we have grown up to be a giant, and may abandon it. Ah, Sir, we can all resist adversity! We know the uses and sweet are they-of adversity. It is the crucible of fortune. It is the iron key that unlocks the golden gates of prosperity. say, God bless adversity, when it is properly understood! But the rock upon which men and upon which Nations split is PROSPERITY. This man says that we have grown to be a giant, and that we may depart from the wisdom of our youth. But I say that now is the time to take care; we are great enough; let us be satisfied; prevent the growth of our ambition, to prevent our pride from swelling, and hold on to what we have got.

Do you remember the story of the old Governor, who had been raised from rags? His King discovered in him merit and integrity, and appointed him a Satrap, a ruler over many provinces. He came to be great, and it was his custom to be escorted throughout the country several times during the year, in order to see and be seen. He was received and acknowledged everywhere as a great man and a great Governor. But he carried about with him a mysterious chest, and every now and then he would look into it, and let nobody else see what it contained. There was a great deal of curiosity excited by this chest; and finally he was prevailed upon, by some of his friends, to let them look into it. Well, he permitted it, and what did they see? They saw an old, ragged and torn suit of clothes, the clothes that he used to wear in his humility and in his poverty; and he said that he carried them about with him in order that, when his heart began to swell, and his ambition to rise, and his pride to dilate, he could look on the rags that reminded him of what he had been, and thereby be enabled to resist the temptations of prosperity. Let us see whether this can illustrate anything in our history. Raise the veil, if there is one, which conceals the poverty of this Union, when there were but thirteen States! Raise the veil that conceals the rags of our soldiers of the Revolution! Lift the lid of the chest which contains the poverty of our beginning, in order that you may be reminded, like this old Satrap, of the days of your poverty, and be enabled to resist the advice of this man, who tells you that you were wise in your youth, but that now you are a giant, and may depart from that wisdom. Remember the use of adversity, and let us take advantage of it, and be benefited by it; for great is the man, and greater is the Nation, that can resist the enchanting smiles of prosperity!

200. AGAINST FLOGGING IN THE NAVY, 1852.-R. F. Stockton.

It is this:

THERE is one broad proposition upon which I stand. That an American sailor is an American citizen, and that no American citizen shall, with my consent, be subjected to the infamous punishment of the lash. If, when a citizen enters into the service of his country, he is to forego the protection of those laws for the preservation of which he is willing to risk his life, he is entitled, in all justice,

humanity and gratitude, to all the protection that can be extended to him, in his peculiar circumstances. He ought, certainly, to be protected from the infliction of a punishment which stands condemned by the almost universal sentiment of his fellow-citizens; a punishment which is proscribed in the best prison-government, proscribed in the school-house, and proscribed in the best government on earth — that of parental domestic affection. Yes, Sir, expelled from the social circle, from the school-house, the prison-house, and the Army, it finds defenders and champions nowhere but in the Navy!

Look to your history, that part of it which the world knows by heart, and you will find on its brightest page the glorious achievements of the American sailor. Whatever his country has done to disgrace him, and break his spirit, he has never disgraced her; he has always been ready to serve her; he always has served her faithfully and effectually. He has often been weighed in the balance, and never found wanting. The only fault ever found with him is, that he sometimes fights ahead of his orders. The world has no match for him, man for man; and he asks no odds, and he cares for no odds, when the cause of humanity, or the glory of his country, calls him to fight. Who, in the darkest days of our Revolution, carried your flag into the very chops of the British Channel, bearded the lion in his den, and woke the echoes of old Albion's hills by the thunders of his cannon, and the shouts of his triumph? It was the American sailor. And the names of John Paul Jones, and the Bon Homme Richard, will go down the annals of time forever. Who struck the first blow that humbled the Barbary flag, which, for a hundred years, had been the terror of Christendom,-drove it from the Mediterranean, and put an end to the infamous tribute it had been accustomed to extort? It was the American sailor. And the name of Decatur and his gallant companions will be as lasting as monumental brass. In your war of 1812, when your arms on shore were covered by disaster, when Winchester had been defeated, when the Army of the North-west had surrendered, and when the gloom of despondency hung like a cloud over the land, who first relit the fires of national glory, and made the welkin ring with the shouts of victory? It was the American sailor. And the names of Hull and the Constitution will be remembered, as long as we have left anything worth remembering. That was no small event. The wand of Mexican prowess was broken on the Rio Grande. The wand of British invincibility was broken when the flag of the Guerrière came down. That one event was worth more to the Republic than all the money which has ever been expended for the Navy. Since that day, the Navy has had no stain upon its escutcheon, but has been cherished as your pride and glory. And the American sailor has established a reputation throughout the world, in peace and in war, in storm and in battle, for heroism and prowess unsurpassed. He shrinks from no danger, he dreads no foe, and yields to no superior. No shoals are too dangerous, no seas too boisterous, no climate too rigorous, for him. The burning sun of the tropics cannot make him

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effeminate, nor can the eternal winter of the polar seas paralyze his energies. Foster, cherish, develop these characteristics, by a generous and paternal government. Excite his emulation, and stimulate his ambition, by rewards. But, above all, save him, save him from the brutalizing lash, and inspire him with love and confidence for your service! and then there is no achievement so arduous, no conflict so desperate, in which his actions will not shed glory upon his country. And, when the final struggle comes, as soon it will come, for the empire of the seas, you may rest with entire confidence in the persuasion that victory will be yours.

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201. ON GOVERNMENT EXTRAVAGANCE, 1838.—John J. Crittenden.

THE bill under consideration is intended to authorize the Treasury Department to issue ten millions of Treasury Notes, to be applied to the discharge of the expenses of Government. Habits of extravagance, it seems, are hard to change. They constitute a disease; ay, Sir, a very dangerous one. That of the present Administration came to a crisis about eight months ago, and it cost the patient ten millions of Treasury Notes to get round the corner. And now it is as bad as ever! Another crisis has come, and the doctors ask for ten millions The disease is desperate. Money or death! They say, if the bill is rejected, Government must "stop." What must stop? The laws? The judicial tribunals? The Legislative bodies? The institutions of the country? No, no, Sir! all these will remain, and go on. What stops, then? Its own extravagance, that must stop, and "there's the rub!" Besides, Sir, I must really be permitted to say, that, if to keep this Administration on its feet is to cost ten millions of extraordinary supply, every six or eight months, why, Mr. President, the sooner its fate is recorded in the bills of mortality, the better. Let me know how this money is to be applied. I never will vote a dollar on the mere cry of " exigency!". "crisis!" I will be behind no man in meeting the real necessities of my country, but I will not blindly, or heedlessly, vote away the money of the People, or involve them in debt. If the Government wants money, let it borrow it. If extravagance or necessity shall bring a national debt upon us, let it come openly, and not steal upon us in the disguise of Treasury Notes. "O! but it is no debt," say gentlemen; "it is only issuing a few notes, to meet a crisis." Well, Sir, whether it be a national debt, I will not say. This I know, it will be followed, whatever it is, with the serious and substantial consequence, that the people of the United States will have to pay it, every cent of it, and with interest. Sir, I desire to see this experimenting Administration forced to make some experiments in economy. It is almost the only sort of experiment to which it seems averse. Its cry is still for money, money, money! But, for one, I say to it, "Take physic, Pomp!" Lay aside your extravagance. Too much money has been your bane. And I do not feel myself required, by any duty, to grant you more, at present. If I did, it would not be in the form proposed by the bill.

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