and necessary operation is calculated to excite an insurrection among the slaves, has been held, by highly respectable legal authority, an offence against the peace of this Commonwealth, which may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor at common law. Although opinions may differ on this point, it would seem the safer course, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, to imitate the example of our fathers,—the Adamses, the Hancocks, and other eminent patriots of the revolution; who, although fresh from the battles of liberty, and approaching the question as essentially an open one, deemed it nevertheless expedient to enter into a union with our brothers of the slaveholding States, on the principle of forbearance and toleration on this subject. As the genius of our institutions and the character of our people are entirely repugnant to laws impairing the liberty of speech and of the press, even for the sake of repressing its abuses, the patriotism of all classes of citizens must be invoked, to abstain from a discussion, which, by exasperating the master, can have no other effect than to render more oppressive the condition of the slave; and which, if not abandoned, there is great reason to fear, will prove the rock on which the Union will split. Such a disastrous consummation, in addition to all its remediless political evils for every State in the Union, could scarcely fail, sooner or later, to bring on a war of extermination in the slaveholding States. On the contrary, a conciliatory forbearance with regard to this subject, in the non-slaveholding States, would strengthen the hands of a numerous class of citizens at the South, who desire the removal of the evil; whose voice has often been heard for its abolition in legislative assemblies; but who are struck down and silenced by the agitation of

the question abroad; and it would leave this whole painful subject where the Constitution leaves it, with the States where it exists, and in the hands of an all wise Providence, who in his own good time, is able to cause it to disappear, like the slavery of the ancient world, under the gradual operation of the gentle spirit of Christianity. The foreign relations of the country are, at the present moment a subject of high interest. Many of the citizens of Massachusetts have, from the first, been deeply concerned in the controversy with France. They suffered largely in the injuries inflicted on our lawful neutral commerce, by the belligerant policy pursued by the French government, in violation of the faith of treaties and of the law of nations. They looked forward with proportionate satisfaction to realizing their share of the compensation for these injuries, (partial at best), so justly due and so long withheld. They have witnessed with corresponding pain and surprise the refusal of France thus far, to execute the treaty of indemnification, negotiated and ratified in conformity with the provisions of the Constitutions of both countries, in the most solemn form known to the law of nations, and securing commercial advantages to France, far outweighing the pecuniary value of the treaty to the United States; advantages which France is now enjoying, while refusing to execute her portion of its stipulations.

Till the last session of her legislative chambers, the execution of the treaty, on the part of France, was withheld on the grounds, that, such a treaty requiring the sanction of the chambers, the question of its validity was still an open one; and that, in point of fact, for various alleged reasons, the compensation, which it provided for our citi

zens, was not rightfully due them. Of these grounds, France has deprived herself, by passing a law, which sanctions the treaty and appropriates funds to carry it into effect. Payment is now refused, on the ground of language contained in the message of the President of the United States to Congress, at the commencement of the last session. It is believed that France will look in vain to the enlightened public sentiment of the world, ever to countenance her in withholding the payment of an acknowledged pecuniary debt, on the ground of an alleged affront to her national honor. In the unpleasant state of the relations between the two governments, although there may be various opinions, as to the policy of some of the steps which have been taken, it is satisfactory to reflect, that there can be but one as to the justice of our cause. The people of the United States would regard as an evil of great magnitude, the interruption of that friendly intercourse with France, which is cemented by some of the best blood and the most cherished recollections of both countries. These sentiments are believed to be reciprocated by the mass of the people of France, who from feeling as well as interest, are desirous that the good understanding between the two countries should continue. But there can be no permanent basis, for friendly relations between individuals or communities, but justice; and this the United States owe it to themselves to require as well as to render, in all their international relations. It is believed, that the resolution unanimously adopted by the House of Representatives of the United States, at the last session of Congress, that the treaty ought to be maintained and its execution insisted on, expresses the undivided sense of the country.

In conclusion, fellow-citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives, permit me to tender you my respectful co-operation, in whatever can be effected by our joint efforts to promote the public good. Let us apply ourselves, with singleness of heart, to the service of our constituents, under a constant sense of responsibility to them. Let us study an economy of the public time and of the public money; sacrificing every thing to principle and every thing but principle to conciliation. Let us offer the best proof of the rectitude of our own motives, in a ready allowance of the rectitude of the motives of those who differ from us. Party Spirit was pronounced, by the Father of his Country, "the worst foe of a free government." Inseparable perhaps from the nature of such governments if unchastened by a spirit of mutual forbearance, it is sure to prove, in the end, the instrument of their subversion. It is in the power of every citizen, by moderation and tenderness toward those who differ from him, to do much to assuage the violence of party; and it is in the power of very few, in any more effectual way, to promote the happiness of society, and the stability of our institutions. The causes, that separate the good people of this Commonwealth from each other, are comparatively trifling and transitory; the blessings of civil liberty, which are our joint inheritance and can only be maintained by our joint efforts, are of unending importance to ourselves and our children.