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Show 100 are in a measure responsible for this wound inflicted on the honor and union of the country, we do feel, that the evil is to be imputed chiefly to the proud, impetuous temper of the South. It is believed, that the personal violences, which, if repeated, will reduce the national council to the level of a boxing match, may be traced to that part of the country. This evil is too notorious to be softened down by apologies or explanations ; nor is it less an evil because precedents and parallels can be found in the legislative bodies of France and England. It tends not merely to spread barbarism through the community, but to impair the authority of legislation, to give new ferocity to the conflicts of party, and thus to weaken the national tie. If slavery, that brand of discord, were taken away, the peculiarities of Northern and Southern character would threaten little or no evil to the Union. On the contrary, these two grand divisions of the country, now estranged from each other, would be brought near, and, by acting on and modifying one another, would produce a national character of the highest order. The South, with more of ardor and of bold and rapid genius, and the North, with more of wisdom and steady principle, furnish admirable materials for a State. Nor is the union of these to a considerable degree impracticable. It is worthy of remark, that the most eminent men at the South 101 have had a large infusion of the Northern character. Washington, in his calm dignity, his rigid order, his close attention to business, his reserve almost approaching coldness, bore a striking affinity to the North; and his sympathies led him to choose Northern men very much as his confidential friends. Mr. Madison had much of the calm wisdom, the patient, studious research, the exactness and quiet manner of our part of the country, with little of the imagination and fervor of his own. Chief Justice Marshall bad more, than these two great men, of the genial unreserved character of a warmer climate, but so blended with a spirit of moderation, and clear judgment, and serene wisdom, as to make him the delight and confidence of the whole land. There is one other distinguished name of the South, which I have not mentioned, Mr. Jefferson; and the reason is, that his character seemed to belong to neither section of the country. He wanted the fiery, daring spirit of the South, and the calm energy of the North. He stood alone. He was a man of genius, given to bold, original, and somewhat visionary speculation, and at t}le same time, a sagacious observer of men and events. He owed his vast influence, second only to Washington's, to his keen insight into the character of his countrymen and into the spirit of his age. His opponents have set him down as the most unscrupulous of politicians ; but 9* |