may not catch the eye of the cursory reader, indeed, so quickly, as if it were written in letters of blood; nor may it occupy so large a space as the dread alternative it has averted; but it will be inscribed in characters which will rivet, as with a charm, the attention and admiration of every thoughtful patriot and every true philanthropist, and which will continually acquire fresh lustre with the advancing progress of civilization and Christianity. The light which flashes from the sword of the successful warrior may dazzle for a day, or even for an age; but a far more enduring radiance will encircle the names of those who have reconciled the proud and angry spirits of two mighty nations, and have honorably secured for them both the unspeakable blessing of Peace.

Mr. Webster has been charged with great and glaring inconsistencies on the subject of the currency and the Constitution; and this Exchequer project is declared to be in direct contradiction to the doctrines of his whole previous political life. Now, Sir, I am not going to argue this point. I have no idea that I could argue it to anybody's satisfaction, if I should try. I will not pretend to say that this plan does not, in my own opinion, contain provisions which Mr. Webster has opposed and condemned in other connections, and under other circumstances. But this I will say, that the great and leading idea of almost all his speeches against the Sub-Treasury system was, that it was an entire abandonment of the power and duty of the General Government to regulate the currency and the exchanges. Wherever he addressed the people, in Wall street or in State street, at Saratoga or at Bunker Hill, this was the burden of his argument. And, so far as this argument is concerned, he is entirely consistent in advocating the Exchequer plan. But if it were not so, Mr. Speaker, I confess that I have yet to see evidence that, when arraigned, in reference to this project, on the mere score of consistency, Mr. Webster might not avail him self of the answer of an Athenian orator on a similar occasion, and say, “I may have acted contrary to myself, but I have not acted contrary to the Republic." The merits of this measure, if it has any, are certainly independent of any man's consistency. It has been devised under circumstances unlike any which ever

existed before in the history of this country, and unlike, as I heartily hope, any which will ever exist again. It has been brought forward, as I believe, in good faith, and with an honest purpose for the public welfare. If any part of it, or if the whole of it, be regarded as unwise, inexpedient, or unsafe, by this House or by the country; if it be really "the terrible machine" which the report declares it to be, which would "overwhelm the Treasury with bankruptcy, corrupt the government, and lay a foundation for the most dangerous political favoritism and universal corruption;" and if it be really "incapable of any modification which would justify its adoption ;"-let it be rejected. These opinions of the committee, however, as I have before suggested, appear to me exceedingly extravagant. I have seen no occasion for such a hue-and-cry against the plan, nor for such reproaches upon its author; and I have accordingly felt bound to say so, in utter disregard of any imputations to which such a course may subject me.

THE

CREDIT OF MASSACHUSETTS VINDICATED.

A SPEECH DELIVERED AT FANEUIL HALL, AT A MEETING OF THE WHIGS OF BOSTON, OCTOBER 12, 1843.

It is a pleasant sight, Mr. Chairman, to see the Whigs of Boston once more assembled in such good numbers, and in such good spirits, to consult together for the renewed vindication of their long-cherished principles. It is grateful to reflect, too, that there is so much in the circumstances and signs of the times to justify the animation which seems to pervade this meeting. The tidings which have come to us during the past week, from our friends in other parts of the country, are certainly of the most encouraging and cheering character. They have come upon us with something of the suddenness of an electric shock; and as the spark has coursed along our veins, and vibrated upon our heart-strings, we have felt a fresh assurance that the bonds which have so long united the Whigs of the Union as brethren, are not yet broken. I trust that these tidings will have an influence beyond this hour and beyond these walls. I trust that the great principles of the Whig party will be commended anew to the consideration of every citizen in the Commonwealth; that they will be pondered afresh and more deeply than ever before, in the field and in the counting-room, over the plough and over the spindle and at the fireside, in view of every thing that concerns the business or comes home to the hearts of the people; and that the second Monday of November will find not only city responding to city, Boston to Baltimore, but State answering to State, Massachusetts giving assurance to Maryland and to Georgia, that in the North and East, as well as in the South

and centre, the old Whig watch-fires are once more kindled — the old Whig spirit once more roused!

The resolutions which have just been read, relate almost exclusively to the politics of Massachusetts; and it has been thought best, by those who have been selected to conduct the affairs of the Whig party during the present year, and to whose peculiar province it belongs to draw up the plan of our annual campaign, that the contest for which we are assembled to prepare, should be conducted mainly with reference to the administration of our own Commonwealth. There is a great and manifest propriety in this course. It is a plan of proceeding entirely reasonable and eminently seasonable. The present year affords us a peculiarly fit and favorable opportunity for attending to the affairs of our own Commonwealth, and one which may not soon occur again. The approaching election is exclusively a State election. In some few of the districts, it is true, the people will be called on to make fresh trials for the election of Representatives in Congress, owing to their unfortunate failures to effect a choice at the regular period. But here, certainly, and I may take occasion to express my deep gratitude for any thing of personal confidence or kindness which may in any humble degree have contributed to the result, here we have no such failures to retrieve. The Whigs of Boston may sometimes be reproached for not making their majority large enough to counterbalance the minorities of their neighbors, in the general returns of the State, a reproach which I trust they will not subject themselves to again this year, — but they rarely fail to do up their own work fairly and fully on the regular day. on the regular day. In Boston, therefore, and in this part of the Commonwealth generally, the people will be called on, at the ensuing election, to vote exclusively for State officers. Next year, as I need hardly remind you, we shall enjoy no such unmixed opportunity of expressing our minds as to the adminis tration of our State affairs. Next year, the great quadrennial contest of the Presidency will be upon us. I will not anticipate its arrival. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." But this I may safely predict of it, that it will come back to us under circumstances which more, even, than ever before, will absorb all our thoughts and engross our whole attention.

There will be no chance for looking after local politics, in the

hurly-burly of the next Presidential struggle. Not until that "hurly-burly's done," not until that "battle's lost or won," when it has once opened, shall we be in a condition to look to any issues less broad than those which concern the whole country. Now, then, while we have opportunity, let us look at home. Now, then, while we may, let us remember, that let what will happen to the Nation at large, let who will be permitted, either by any dispensation of Providence, or by any delusion of the people, to defeat or disappoint the just expectations of the Nation, — we have here a community of our own, institutions of our own, an administration of our own, embracing within the sphere of its influence the nearest and dearest interests of ourselves and our children, for the purity and preservation of which we, and we alone, are responsible. Now then, I repeat it, if there be any thing wrong in the condition of old Massachusetts; if any breach has been made in the walls and fences of the old homestead; if any strip and waste has been committed on the old family premises; if any trespassers have invaded our firesides, and overthrown, or threatened to overthrow, our very altars and household gods; now, now is the time for restoration and redress.

And how is it with our beloved Commonwealth? How has it fared with her during the past year, and how is it with her now? Who are in possession of her high places, how have they come there, and how have they manifested their title to the continued support and confidence of the people?

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Strange scenes strange scenes, certainly, have been wit nessed, and strange sounds heard, within the walls of the capitol of Massachusetts during the last year. It is my fortune, — I should rather say, I owe it to your favor, to have witnessed these scenes from a distance; but distance, I assure you, has lent no enchantment to the view. No true son of Massachusetts, no one who has a true sense of what belongs to her character and her honor, could have read the proceedings of her Legislature, or of her Executive, during the last winter, however distant he may have been from the scene of action, and however free from any mere party preferences or prejudices, without feeling his blood burning in his cheek and tingling to his fingers' ends. The cir