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Show 240 'l'TIE MISSOUHT QUE TION. ou can change the spots of the leopn.ro, you cannot change ~he condition. of the , la.ves by lh' illcgitimaLc measures now propo etl. You may violate the Con .. t itntion-yon may impair the social compact by encroaclung upon the sovercirrnty of t11e SLates, which is the palladium of out· liberties-yon mt'LJ ton h the right of propel'ty under the pretext of letting the capti.ve go free.; .yon may essay to bind the peo ple of l\1iHHOill'l, by pre. cnblllg to them co ndition of legislation; bnt yonr d l'ort will he fruitl ess. You ri sk much aud gain nothing. rrhe peo pl e of Mi:souri are American . They have the right of self-governm ent, anu they will govern ihem .. elvcs. You m:-~y prepare chains for them, but, like Samson's cord s, they will be as tow, aud fall n.sundcr like ropes of sand. These people arc de eendants of freemen. They arc of the old stock who aehicveu your independence, and they will Le free. Do yon hope to abridge their sovereignty? Their character is a pledge that they will 110t yielu their rights. Whatever may be our n.nxiety for universal freedom, it is very certain that no sndden change cnn be efTccte<l. rro attrmpt impossibilities wi11 only expose our folly. God himself has taught ns to wait patiently the operations of time, by his own example, in six dnys' employment in the formation of the world; and while we fin 1 suni cicnt evil to awaken all our sensibiliti es, we hould remember that man cannot renovate the world in one day. In the moral world, we see vices and crimes ; in the religious world, per ecntions anu marty rdoms ; in tlle poli tical world, despotism and convnl. ions ; in the physical world, earthquakes and tornadoes. "'\~r ho can renovate the heart of the vicious, and chasten the thonght s of the wicked? \Vho can sustain the martyr upon ihe cross? \Vho cnn hn. h the tempest in the politi cal worl<1, or control the dc;;:Li n i 'S of nature ? lT c only, who holds ihe winds in the hollow of his hand. I charge you, then, to let patience hu.ve its perfect work; :ti l and do not ro sllly disturb the balance of this hurmonio118 political system. If you do, the blood \ri II be upon yo 11 r o'vrn heads. I hn vc unshaken con fid en C'e in Lhe pro vi den co of God, that he will, in hi goodne:s, provide t11e w:1ys nnd m ans of deliverance from th i.s great .evil, nnd that. he will do it without violence or con1pulsion. Bu t we nrr to choose the time, and effect in a day what can not be accomplished in years, without a miracle; and this is to be clone wi thout respect to either the sentiments OJ' rights of out· nci(rhbors. Instea<l of atisfying ourselves with the happy condition in which a kind Providence hns placed uH, we are to aspire, like our first parents in Eclen, to become as gods; and, for the sake of giving law to others, inclcpendt•nl :H1 ourselves, we arc io set the whole nati on in a state of commotion. Beware, lest, like ihem, you should experience a sad reverse, and entail the curse upon posterity. W c nrc to become constitution-makers, and give both the texL aucl commentary. I was in ugh i to believe in the do ·tri nc of Lhc ltcvolntiona1·y patriots, VO.'.C j)OJJUh ·voJ: /Jei, huL now thr maxim is too antiquated to be regarded. I have been a. disciple of the old school, which taught, us to believe ihnt all power belonged to the people; and have ever aumirc<1 the beautiful fabr ic of this Western empire, because it was calculated to secnre i11c exercise of this power to each State, while it delegated to the federal government a fiufficient portion, to provide for the common sn fety, and sccnro the harmony of its several paris; Lui this lu1rmony is now to be disturbed; this rnagna ·har·ta of our rights is to be broken; thiH fair fabric is to be shnkcn, to gratify the lnst of power; an<l Congress, deriving all its authority from the States, is to prescribe to the States ihc limits of their constitutional prerogative. I would not impeach the political sagacity of this body; bnt such is my confidence in the virtue and talents of the communi ty, that, in my opinion, every ten miles sqnare iu the United StaLes is as competent 16 ! i • I |