conscription, it will find, if it ventures on these experiments, that it can not enforce conscription without an army. The Government was not constituted for such purposes. Framed in the spirit of liberty, & in the love of peace, it has no powers which render it able to enforce such laws. The attempt, if we rashly make it, will fail; & having already thrown away our peace, we may thereby throw away our Government.
Allusions have been made, Sir, to the state of things in New England, &, as usual, she has been charged with an intention to dissolve the Union.[supp 1] The charge is unfounded. She is much too wise to entertain such purposes. She has had too much experience, & has too strong a recollection of the blessings which the Union is capable of producing under a just administration of Government. It is her greatest fear, that the course at present pursued will destroy it, by destroying every principle, every interest, every sentiment, & every feeling which have hitherto contributed to uphold it. Those who cry out that the Union is in danger are themselves the authors of that danger. They put its existence to hazard by measures of violence, which it is not capable of enduring. They talk of dangerous designs against Government, when the are overthrowing the fabric from its foundations. They alone, Sir, are friends to the union of the States, who endeavor to maintain the principles of civil liberty in the country, & to preserve the spirit in which the Union was framed.[1]
I have sent you Stockton's and Ward's speeches; also my little talk about the bank.[3] My conscription speech must rest till another day.
- ↑ See Private Correspondence, vol. i., p. 248. In this letter to Ezekiel, Webster says "after the best reflection which I have been able to bestow" he has decided not to publish this speech on the conscription bill. It is merely mentioned in the Register of Congressional Debates.
- ↑ Daniel Webster to Ezekiel Webster, "Private Correspondence of Daniel Webster," vol. 1., p. 250.
- ↑ Speech on the incorporation of a bank of the United States, Jan. 2, 1815. The President vetoed the bill.
- ↑ The Hartford Convention was called on October 10, and met six days after this speech. The more radical attendees advocated secession, but the result was a resolution proposing several constitutional amendments designed to protect the interests of New England and reduce the power of the opposition Democratic-Republican Party. (Wikisource contributor note)
