my administration its governing maxim, and so happy have been its results that we are not only at peace with all the world, but have few causes of controversy, and those of minor importance, remaining unadjusted.

In the domestic policy of this government, there are two objects which especially deserve the attention of the people and their representatives, and which have been and will continue to be the subjects of my increasing solicitude. They are the preservation of the rights of the several States and the integrity of the Union.

These great objects are necessarily connected, and can only be attained by an enlightened exercise of the powers of each within its appropriate sphere, in conformity with the public will constitutionally expressed. To this end it becomes the duty of all to yield a ready and patriotic submission to the laws constitutionally enacted, and thereby promote and strengthen a proper confidence in those institutions of the several States and of the United States which the people themselves have ordained for their own gov

ernment.

My experience in public concerns and the observation of a life somewhat advanced confirm the opinions long since imbibed by me, that the destruction of our State governments or the annihilation of their control over the local concerns of the people would lead directly to revolution and anarchy, and finally to despotism and military domination. In proportion, therefore, as the general gov ernment encroaches upon the rights of the States, in the same proportion does it impair its own power and detract from its ability to fulfil the purposes of its creation. Solemnly impressed with these considerations, my countrymen will ever find me ready to exercise my constitutional

powers in arresting measures which may directly or indirectly encroach upon the rights of the States or tend to consolidate all political power in the general government. But of equal, and, indeed, of incalculable importance is the union of these States, and the sacred duty of all to contribute to its preservation by a liberal support of the general government in the exercise of its just powers. You have been wisely admonished to "accustom yourselves to think and speak of the Union as of the palladium of your political safety and prosperity, watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety, discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can, in any event, be abandoned, and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of any attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts. Without union our independence and liberty would never have been achieved; without union they never can be maintained.. Divided into twenty-four, or even a smaller number, of separate communities, we shall see our internal trade burdened with numberless restraints and exactions; communication between distant points and sections obstructed or cut off; our sons made soldiers to deluge with blood the fields they now till in peace; the mass of our people borne down and impoverished by taxes to support armies and navies, and military leaders at the head of their victorious legions becoming our lawgivers and judges. The loss of liberty, of all good government, of peace, plenty, and happiness, must inevi tably follow a dissolution of the Union. In supporting it, therefore, we support all that is dear to the freeman and the philanthropist.

The time at which I stand before you is full of interest.

The eyes of all nations are fixed on our Republic. The event of the existing crisis will be decisive in the opinion of mankind of the practicability of our Federal system of government. Great is the stake placed in our hands; great is the responsibility which must rest upon the people of the United States. Let us realize the importance of the attitude in which we stand before the world. Let us exercise forbearance and firmness. Let us extricate our country from the dangers which surround it, and learn wisdom from the lessons they inculcate.

Deeply impressed with the truth of these observations, and under the obligation of that solemn oath which I am about to take, I shall continue to exert all my faculties to maintain the just powers of the Constitution and to transmit unimpaired to posterity the blessings of our Federal Union. At the same time it will be my aim to inculcate by my offi cial acts the necessity of exercising by the general government those powers only that are clearly delegated; to encourage simplicity and economy in the expenditures of the government; to raise no more money from the people than may be requisite for these objects, and in a manner that will best promote the interests of all classes of the community and of all portions of the Union. Constantly bearing in mind that in entering into society "individuals must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest," it will be my desire so to discharge my duties as to foster with our brethren in all parts of the country a spirit of liberal concession and compromise, and, by reconciling our fellow-citizens to those partial sacrifices which they must unavoidably make for the preservation of a greater good, to recommend our invaluable government and Union to the confidence and affections of the American people.

Finally, it is my most fervent prayer to that Almighty Being before whom I now stand, and who has kept us in his hands from the infancy of our Republic to the present day, that he will so overrule all my intentions and actions and inspire the hearts of my fellow-citizens that we may be preserved from dangers of all kinds and continue forever a united and happy people.

CLAY

ENRY CLAY was born near Richmond, Virginia, in 1777. The son of

HENRY

a Baptist minister, who died when the boy was but five years old, he passed his youth in hardship, and for a time worked on a farm. At the age of fifteen he obtained employment in the office of the Clerk of the Court of Chancery, and having gained some influential friends, began in 1796 to study law. A year later he was admitted to the bar and began to practice in Lexing. ton, Kentucky. Having taken a conspicuous part in the discussions concerning the Constitution to be adopted by the State of Kentucky, he was in 1803 chosen member of the Legislature. Three years later, although less than thirty years of age, he became for a few months member of the Senate of the United States. In the next year he again took a seat in the Legislature of Kentucky, of which in 1808 he was chosen Speaker. In 1811 he became a member of the Federal House of Representatives, and was at once elected Speaker, a position which he subsequently held four times. All his energies were now devoted to bringing about a war between the United States and Great Britain. At the end of the contest he was appointed one of the commissioners who were sent to Ghent to conclude a treaty of peace. In 1824 he allowed himself to be nominated for the Presidency, and when the election went to the House of Representatives, Clay gave his support to John Quincy Adams. In Adams' administration Clay held the post of Secretary of State. In 1832, and again in 1844, he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Presidency. After the last-named year he retired from public life, but in 1848 he was again sent to the Federal Senate from Kentucky, and in 1850 carried the compromise measures by which he sought to avert a rupture of the Union on the slavery question. He died on July 29, 1851.

DICTATORS IN AMERICAN POLITICS

DENOUNCING ANDREW JACKSON, DELIVERED IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE, ON THE POINDEXTER RESOLUTION, APRIL 30, 1834

N

EVER, Mr. President, have I known or read of an administration which expires with so much agony, and so little composure and resignation, as that which now unfortunately has the control of public affairs in this country. It exhibits a state of mind, feverish, fret