delving plows, the scythes, the reapers, the looms, the elec tric telegraphs, the vehicles of all descriptions, which, directly or indirectly, are employed or put in motion by commerce,-and last, and most important, the millions of human beings that conduct, and regulate, and combine these inanimate, organic, and mechanical forces.

And, now, is it any thing less than a liberal profession, which carries a quick intelligence, a prophetic forecast, an industry that never tires, and, more than all, and above all, a stainless probity beyond reproach and above suspicion, into this vast and complicated system, and, by the blessing of Providence, works out a prosperous result? Such is the vocation of the merchant,the man of business,-—pursued in many departments of foreign and domestic trade-of finance, of exchange, but all comprehended under the general name of commerce;-all concerned in weaving the mighty network of mutually beneficial exchanges which enwraps the world.

Ex. CLIV.-FREEDOM OF DISCUSSION.

W. C. PRESTON.

po

THE gentleman has referred to the contest to be fought between liberty and power; and I say, that if the contest did not originate here, it is made when we are not permitted to speak of the administration in terms that we believe to be true, without being denounced for it. The president of the United States certainly demands a degree of forbearance from his litical opponents; but am I to be told that one can only allude to him in the humble language of a degraded Roman senate, speaking of the emperor with his prætorian guards surrounding the capitol? Am I to be told, when he came into power on principles of reform, after "keeping the word of promis to our ear, and breaking it to our hope, -am I to be told that I must close my lips, or be denounced for want of decorum? Am I to be told, when he promised to prevent official influence from interfering with the freedom of elections, that I must not speak of the broken promise, under pain of the displeasure of his friends? Am I to be told, when he came into power as a judicious tariff man, after advocating his principles and aiding in his election,-believing at the time in his integrity, though I did not believe him possessed of intellectual qualifications,

14

-am I to be told, after pledges that have been violated, promises that have been broken, and principles that have been set at naught, that I must not speak of these things as they are, for fear of being denounced for want of courtesy to the constituted authorities? Why, to what pass are we come! Are we to be gagged--reduced to silence? If nothing else is left to us, the liberty of speech is left; and it is our duty to cry aloud and spare not, when the undenied, admitted, and declared fact before us is, that these pledges have been made, and have been violated. This administration is about to end; and if gentlemen can succeed in preventing us from complaining of being deceived, if they can reduce us to abject slavery, they will also have to expunge the history of the country, the president's written and recorded communications to congress, and the most ardent professions of his friends, when fighting his battles, before they can conceal the recorded fact, that he has made pledges which he has violated, and promises which he has repeatedly broken. If they succeed in reducing us to slavery, and closing our lips against speaking of the abuses of this administration, thank God! the voice of history, trumpettongued, will proclaim these pledges, and the manner in which they have been violated, to future generations!

Neither here nor elsewhere will I use language, with regard to any gentleman, that may be considered indecorous; and the question not easily solved is, how far shall we restrain ourselves in expressing a just and necessary indignation; and whether the expression of such indignation may be considered a departure from courtesy. That indignation, that reprobation, I shall express on all occasions. But those who have taken upon themselves the guardianship of the Grand Lama, who is surrounded by a light which no one can approach,about whom no one is permitted to speak without censure,have extended that guardianship to the presiding officer of this house. Gentlemen are not permitted to speak of the qualifications of that officer for the highest office in the government. Shall we, sir, because he is here as presiding officer of this body, keep silent when he is urged upon the people, who are goaded and driven to his support, lest we be guilty of an indecorum against those who are the constituted authorities of the country? Thank God, it is not my practice to "crook the pliant hinges of the knee, that thrift may follow fawning!" This aggression of power upon our liberties, sir, and this tame submission to aggression, forbode evil to this nation. Coming events cast their shadows before them," deepening

and darkening; and, as the sun sets, the shadows lengthen. It may be the going down of the great luminary of the republic, and that we all shall be enveloped in one universal political darkness!

Ex. CLV.-LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS CONNECTED WITH THE AMERICAN CAPITOL.

DANIEL WEBSTER.

WITH each succeeding year, new interest is added to this spot. It becomes connected with all the historical associations of our country, with her statesmen and her orators; and, alas! its cemetery is annually enriched with the ashes of her chosen sons.

Before is the broad and beautiful river, separating two of the original thirteen states, and which a late president, a man of determined purpose and inflexible will, but patriotic heart, desired to span with arches of ever-enduring granite, symbolical of the firmly cemented union of the North and the South. That president was General Jackson.

On its banks repose the ashes of the Father of his Coun try; and at our side, by a singular felicity of position, overlooking the city which he designed, and which bears his name, rises to his memory the marble column, sublime in its simple grandeur, and fitly intended to reach a loftier height than any similar structure on the surface of the whole earth. Let the votive offering of his grateful countrymen be freely contributed to carry higher, and still higher, this monument. May I say, as on another occasion-"Let it rise! let it rise, till it shall meet the sun in his coming,-let the earliest light of the morning gild it, and parting day linger and play on its summit."

Fellow-citizens,-What contemplations are awakened in our minds, as we assemble here to re-enact a scene like that performed by Washington. Methinks I see his venerable form now before me, as presented in the glorious statue by Houdon, now in the capitol of Virginia. He is dignified and grave; but concern and anxiety seem to soften the lineaments of his countenance. The government over which he presides is yet in the crisis of experiment. Not free from troubles at home, he sees the world in commotion and arms, all around him. He sees that imposing foreign powers are

half disposed to try the strength of the recently established American government. We perceive that mighty thoughts, mingled with fears as well as with hopes, are struggling within him. He heads a short procession over these then naked fields; he crosses yonder stream, on a fallen tree; he ascends to the top of this eminence, whose original oaks of the forest stand as thick around him as if the spot had been devoted to druidical worship; and here he performs the appointed duty of the day.

And now, fellow-citizens, if this vision were a reality,-if Washington actually were now amongst us,—and if he could draw around him the shades of the great public men of his own days,--patriots and warriors, orators and statesmen,— and were to address us, in their presence, would he not say to us," Ye men of this generation, I rejoice, and thank God for being able to see that our labors, and toils, and sacrifices, were not in vain. You are prosperous, you are happy,you are grateful. The fire of liberty burns brightly and steadily in your hearts, while duty and the law restrain it from bursting forth in wild and destructive conflagration. Cherish liberty, as you love it;-cherish its securities, as you wish to preserve it. Maintain the Constitution which we labored so painfully to establish, and which has been to you such a source of inestimable blessings. Preserve the union of the States, cemented as it was by our prayers, our tears, and our blood. Be true to God, to your country, and to your duty. So shall the whole Eastern world follow the morning sun, to contemplate you as a nation; so shall all succeeding generations honor you as they honor us; and so shall that Almighty Power which so graciously protected us, and which now protects you, shower its everlasting blessings upon you and your posterity."

Great father of your country! we heed your words; we feel their force as if you now uttered them, with life of flesh and blood. Your example teaches us; your affectionate addresses teach us; your public life teaches us your sense of the value of the blessings of the Union. Those blessings our fathers have tasted, and we have tasted, and still taste. Nor do we intend that those who come after us shall be denied the same high fruition. Our honor as well as our happiness is concerned. We can not, we dare not, we will not, betray our sacred trust. We will not filch from posterity the treasure placed in our hands to be transmitted to other generations. The bow that gilds the clouds in the heavens, the

pillars that uphold the firmament may disappear and fall away, in the hour appointed by the will of God; but, until that day comes, or so long as our lives may last, no ruthless hand shall undermine that bright arch of Union and Liberty, which spans the continent from Washington to California.

Ex. CLVI.-PLEA OF SERJEANT BUZFUZ, IN “BARDELL vs. PICKWICK."

CHARLES DICKENS.

THE plaintiff, gentlemen, the plaintiff is a widow; yes, gentlemen, a widow. The late Mr. Bardell, after enjoying for many years the esteem and confidence of his sovereign, as one of the guardians of his royal revenues, glided almost imperceptibly from the world, to seek elsewhere for that repose and peace which a custom-house can never afford. Some time before his death he had stamped his likeness upon a little boy. With this little boy, the only pledge of her departed exciseman, Mrs. Bardell shrunk from the world, and courted the retirement and tranquillity of Goswell-street; and here she placed in her front parlor window a written placard, hearing this inscription-" Apartments furnished for a single gentleman. Inquire within." I entreat the attention of the jury to the wording of this document-" Apartments furnished for a single gentleman!" Mrs. Bardell's opinions of the opposite sex, gentlemen, were derived from a long contemplation of the inestimable qualities of her lost husband. She had no fear-she had no distrust-she had no suspicion -all was confidence and reliance. "Mr. Bardell," said the widow, "Mr. Bardell was a man of honor-Mr. Bardell was a man of his word-Mr. Bardell was no deceiver-Mr. Bardell was once a single gentleman himself; to single gentlemen I look for protection, for assistance, for comfort, and for consolation-in single gentlemen I shall perpetually see something to remind me of what Mr. Bardell was, when he first won my young and untried affections; to a single gentleman, then, shall my lodgings be let." Actuated by this beautiful and touching impulse, (among the best impulses of our imperfect nature, gentlemen,) the lonely and desolate widow dried her tears, furnished her first floor, caught her innocent boy to her maternal bosom, and put the bill up in her parlor window. Did it remain there long? No. The serpent was on the watch, the train was laid, the mine was preparing, the