the American people, to assume the duties of the highest office in their gift.

Whatever differences may exist among his countrymen, in regard to some measures of his administration, it must be admitted by all, that the same courageous assumption of responsibility-the same patriotism-the same energy and decision-the same honesty of purpose and the same devotion to the constitution and the Union, which distinguished him as a general, he displayed as a statesman. During his administration, questions arose which agitated the whole community. Even the Union itself was threatened, and gave occasion for an exhibition of devotion to its preservation, which commanded universal applause. It may well be added, as a remarkable truth, that all the leading measures of his administration, whatever differences of opinion may have existed at the time, have been finally approved by the people.

From the commencement of this government, the union of the states was an object of the greatest anxiety with all our patriots and statesmen. Jackson's whole life and conduct bear testimony to his fixedness of purpose to sustain this vital interest of our community of states, which, however slightly it may be valued by some, has been regarded, and is regarded by our greatest, best, and wisest patriots, as the foundation upon which we must rest for the perpetuity of our free institutions. The union of the states, cemented by the constitution, creating general powers for the protection and security of all, and yet reserving to the several states that essential sovereignty which is consistent with the powers granted to the general government, is that perfection of wisdom, which has, for nearly sixty years, secured to the people of these states a degree of unexampled liberty and prosperity. It has diffused its blessings throughout the nation. Under its mild and expansive influence, this people have advanced in all that dignifies and adorns our nature. Knowledge and the arts are cherished. Comfort and abundance are the sure rewards of honesty and industry, and the religion of the Redeemer, uncontaminated by any meretricious connexion with the government-resting upon its essential divinity-sheds its mild and humanizing and heavenly light upon man's pathway through life, and enables him, by the hopes of a sure inspiration, to look for a place of blissful rest beyond the grave.

The father of his country has, with great force, earnestness, and zeal, enforced the duty of cherishing and preserving this union of the states. He says:

"The unity of government which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of

that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee, that, from different causes, and from various quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress, against which the batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed; it is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your National Union, to your collected and individual happiness-that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immoveable attachment to it, accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as the palladium of your political safety and prosperity."

Faithful to the constitution, consistent with himself, and true to his country, Andrew Jackson maintained the sanctity of the Union, in an emergency when it was dangerously threatened. Animated and instructed by the counsels, and reverencing the example of Washington, when in 1832, the state of South Carolina attempted to nullify the laws of the United States, and advanced the doctrine that she had an independent right to secede from the Union, he "frowned indignantly upon the first dawning of the attempt to alienate a portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which link together the various parts;" while he was anxious to redress the wrongs of which they had just cause to complain, his decision was clear that, as long as the law remained, it

MUST BE OBEYED.

The bold and determined course of the state of South Carolina, the intelligence and chivalric spirit of her sons, who were prompt in sustaining it, were met by President Jackson with all the energy that marked his character. In his memorable proclamation of December, 1832, he speaks to the citizens of the disaffected states with paternal kindness. He points to the constitution as the perpetual bond of our union, which we have received as the work of the assembled wisdom of the nation, in which we have trusted as the sheet anchor of our safety in the stormy times of conflict with a foreign or domestic foe, to which we have looked with a sacred awe, as the palladium of our liberties, and with all the solemnities of religion, have pledged to each other our lives and fortunes here, and our hopes of happiness hereafter, in its defence and support. He invokes the descendants of the Pinkneys, the Sumters, the Rutledges, and the thousand other names which adorn their revolutionary history, not to abandon that union, to support which so many of them fought, and bled, and died. He adjures them, as they honour their memory, as they love the cause of freedom, to which they dedicated their lives, as they prize the peace of our country, the lives of its best citizens, and their own fair fame, to retrace their steps. But having entreated, invoked, and adjured

with fatherly affection-having placed before them the motives for returning to the path of duty, he assumes the dignity of the magistrate, and denounces the penalty of continued resistance. He tells them they cannot destroy the constitution: they may disturb its peace, interrupt the course of its prosperity, and cloud its reputation for stability, but its tranquillity will be restored, its prosperity will return, and the stain upon its national character will be transferred, and remain an eternal blot on the memory of those who caused the disorder. He then announces to his fellow-citizens of the United States, that a crisis had approached in our affairs, on which the continuance of our uninterrupted prosperity, our political existence, and perhaps that of all free governments, may depend. He relies with confidence on their individual support, in his determination to execute the laws-to preserve the Union by all constitutional means, to arrest, if possible, by moderate but firm measures, the necessity of a recourse to force; and if it be the will of Heaven, that the recurrence of its primeval curse on man, for the shedding of a brother's blood, should fall upon our land, that it be not called down by any offensive act on the part of the United States.

With the deep solemnity of a good man, he concludes by saying, "May the great Ruler of nations grant that the signal blessings with which he has favoured ours, may not, by the madness of party, or personal ambition, be disregarded and lost, and may his wise Providence bring those who have produced this crisis to see their folly, before they feel the misery of civil strife, and inspire a returning veneration for that Union which, if we may dare to penetrate His designs, He has chosen as the only means of attaining the high destinies to which we may reasonably aspire."

To this decisive and magnanimous course of President Jackson, distinguished for honesty, plainness, simplicity, and firmness, the nation was mainly indebted for the return of South Carolina to the communion of her sisters, and for the preservation of the Union itself, which was strengthened by the wisdom and force which met the attempt to disrupt it.

The continuance of the Bank of the United States presented a question during the presidency of Jackson, which divided the people of these states. The utility, advantage, and necessity of such an institution were strongly urged on one side, in favour of a recharter, while the danger arising from a great concentration of money power, and its evil tendency in a republican government, formed the ground of objection to it. Andrew Jackson was among those who were opposed to the recharter of the bank, and while those in opposition to him on this question may deprecate the effects of his course, they must admit the energy and honesty of it. The varied power and influence of this institution secured the pas

sage of a bill in both houses of Congress, extending its charter, in 1832. It was presented to the president for his signature. He was a candidate for re-election the coming November, and might justly anticipate that all this array of power and influence would be marshalled against him, if he withheld his signature. But he remained firm and immoveable. His convictions of the dangerous tendencies of the bank were too clear. He saw the storm gathering around him, but he smiled at its approach. Sustained by conscious rectitude, he maintained his position undismayed, and presented an example of devotion to what he believed to be the best interests of the country and of exalted patriotism, like those of Grecian and Roman virtue, which has been consecrated for the benefit and instruction of mankind. His hostility to that institution was determined and persevering he believed he was right, and in the strength of that belief, he advanced in the course he had prescribed for himself with unfaltering and uncompromising decision, until his object was accomplished. His own words are the best illustration of his conduct that can be given. He says:

"In vain do I bear upon my person enduring memorials of that contest in which American liberty was purchased-in vain have I since perilled property, fame, and life, in defence of the rights and privileges so dearly bought-in vain am I now without a personal aspiration, or the hope of individual advantage, encountering responsibilities and dangers, from which, by mere inactivity in relation to a single point, I might have been exempt, if any serious doubts can be entertained as to the purity of my purposes and motives. If I had been ambitious, I should have sought an alliance with that powerful institution, which even now aspires to no divided empire. If I had been venal, I should have sold myself to its designs-had I preferred personal comfort and official ease, to the performance of my arduous duties, I should have ceased to molest it. In the history of conquerors and usurpers, never, in the fire of youth, nor in the vigour of manhood, could I find an attraction to lure me from the path of duty, and now I shall scarcely find an inducement to commence the career of ambition, when gray hairs and a decaying frame, instead of inviting to toil and battle, call me to the contemplation of other worlds, where conquerors cease to be honoured, and usurpers expiate their crimes. The only ambition I can feel, is to acquit myself to him, to whom I must soon render an account of my stewardship, to serve my fellow-men and live respected and honoured in the history of my country." If there is one virtue in the character of General Jackson, pre-eminent above the rest, it is the disinterestedness which he here claims, and which his country awards him.

His whole career is strongly marked by heroism, disinterestedness, and devotion to his country. The age of fourteen found him

in the ranks of war. The indomitable spirit which prompted the boy, the prisoner and the orphan to disobey a degrading order, betokened the future hero. A pioneer of the wilderness, and yet acquiring under the guidance of his strong understanding and refined feeling, the polished manner and dignified address which became the elevated stations he filled. A republican in principle and practice. Distinguished alike for honesty of purpose and decision of character. His was an elevated political morality, which could not stoop to flatter venal passion, but always appealed to the virtue of his countrymen. Gifted by nature with a mind keen in its perceptions and clear in its conclusions, his decisions were seldom wrong, and always honest. The warrior of many battles, yet preserved to give the world the example of a tranquil death of a Christian in the bosom of his family.

The great benefactors of mankind are seldom appreciated, nor can they be fully appreciated by the generation to which they belong. Time and the progress of events, which have received a direction from their master's hands, can only fully develope the value of their services. The achievements of General Jackson in the field and in the cabinet must not be estimated by their immediate effects, but with reference to their influence upon the future destiny of the country. The American government and the American people are invested with the glory of his triumphs-they hold and will hold the eminent rank his services have acquired for them, and feel the dignity and pride of country which they confer; other nations will be influenced and regulated in their conduct towards us by the force and permanency which his character and services have enstamped upon our institutions, while our own people, young and old, from generation to generation, will regard his biography as among the most precious records of their history, and gather from his life the noblest examples for their imitation.

On the 8th of June last, this life, crowded with acts which conferred renown upon his country, and preserved from a thousand dangers, drew tranquilly to its close. Warned of his approach, and armed with the faith and resignation of a Christian, death came to him as the welcome messenger to open for his entrance the portals of the city of the blest. The life spent in illustrating the annals of his country, treasuring up immortal fame for himself, glorified God in its close. When the inevitable hour came, stooping from the very highest pinnacle of earthly fame, in meekness and humility to the very foot of the cross, the venerable old man, his brow bound with civic and military wreaths, bowed his head to the stroke with the dignity the Christian faith alone can inspire. Childless, the pains of his last illness were assuaged, and its tedious hours beguiled by affection more than filial, and bursts of grief from