tions had been made in that city by the authorities for his reception. Both branches of the Council, by a unanimous vote, had extended to him the freedom of the city, and had invited him to become its guest.

PREAMBLE AND RESOLUTIONS OF THE BOARDS OF ALDERMEN AND COUNCILMEN OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.

Whereas, Information has been received that the Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, United States senator from Illinois, will arrive in this city in a few days, en route for Washington, aud

Whereas, It is eminently due this esteemed patriot and distinguished senator, that the city of New York, through its constituted authorities, should extend to him a cordial welcome on his arrival, in order to express our admiration of the man, and of the principles which he has so long and so ably advocated;

Therefore, be it resolved, That a committee be appointed to extend to the Hon. Stephen A. Douglas the hospitalities of the city, and to become the guest of the corporation during his stay in New York.

And be it further resolved, That the flags be displayed on the City Hall during the day set apart for the reception of our distinguished guest.

Accordingly, Mr. Douglas was met at the wharf, on his arrival at New York, by the joint committee of the two boards of Common Council, and escorted to the Everett House. During his sojourn in the city, he was treated with such demonstrations of respect and regard as few public men have ever received.

No sooner had the news of Mr. Douglas' arrival in New York reached Philadelphia, than a committee of eminent citizens was appointed to repair to New York and tender. him a public reception in Independence Hall, in pursuance of the resolutions of the Councils of Philadelphia, unanimously tendering its use for that purpose.

Although anxious to repair at once to Washington, and avoid all further demonstrations-for his journey so far had

been one continuous ovation-Mr. Douglas could not well decline an invitation which had rarely, if ever, been extended to any American who had held a less position than President of the United States.

The reader will hardly fail to admire the speeches which were delivered on this interesting occasion.

Wm. E. Lehman, Esq., on behalf of the citizens' committee, introduced Senator Douglas to the Mayor and Council. He said:

MAYOR HENRY: It was my agreeable duty to be one of the committee appointed to go to New York, and wait upon the distinguished senator of Illinois, and extend to him a cordial invitation to visit our city. In the performance of that duty, I not only represented his personal and political friends, but, in a measure, the corporate authorities of the city. I informed Senator Douglas that the councils of the city, without distinction of party, had unanimously tendered him the use of Independence Hall to receive his friends, and that it was your intention, as chief magistrate of this municipality, to welcome him. I deem it proper to state that the senator, in his reply, consented to waive all his private arrangements, and to forego eugagements of a pressing public nature, to accept this grateful tribute of respect. It is with great pleasure that I now introduce to you the illustrious senator.

Mayor Henry then addressed Senator Douglas in the following:

MR. SENATOR: The councils of Philadelphia have tendered you, in passing through this city, the use of the Hall of Independence for the reception of your friends, and in their name I welcome you upon this occasion.

This spot is the common heritage of American freemen. Within these walls, memorable for the most illustrious deed in our country's history, hallowed more than once by the ashes of the mighty dead, cherished as the depository of the mementoes of patriots and heroes, all other sentiments merge in that of unalloyed devotion to the Union, its prosperity and its perpetuity.

I greet you, sir, as a member of those national councils on whom

devolves the guardianship of our nation's interest and destiny; as one whose eminent position in those councils has elicited the admiration and respect of so many of your fellow-citizens.

Permit me, individually, to express my wishes for your personal welfare, and the assurance that the hospitality of Philadelphia will be well cared for by your surrounding friends.

SENATOR DOUGLAS' SPEECH.

Senator Douglas, in response, said: MR. MAYOR-It has fallen to my lot, as a public man, and as a politician, to receive many testimonials from political and partisan friends, which, under the circumstances, were most grateful to my feelings; but the tender of the use of this hall voluntarily, and as I am informed, by the unanimous sentiment of the corporate authorities of the city of Philadelphia—this hall, within whose sacred precincts no thought, no sentiment, can enter any citizen's breast inconsistent with the peace of the republic and the perpetuity of the Union--is a compli ment that overwhelms me with gratitude. In this hall we find the pictures, and we feel the influence of the spirit, of those sages and patriots to whom we owe our independence and our constitutional form of government. Here that sentiment which now animates all the free governments of the earth first found its authoritative exposition and proclamation. There stands the bell which "proclaimed liberty throughout the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof;" and it seems as if the inscription it bears was directed by the hand of Divine Providence, for it was placed upon it far in advance of the period when any human brain could foresee that it was to be used to proclaim the independence of America over the arbitrary decrees of a British parliament. The great principle proclaimed by the fathers of the republic in this hall, was the right of the people of all the States, of all the provinces and dependencies, and of every community, to regulate its own domestic concerns and internal affairs in its own way. Pennsylvania has always been true to that cardinal principle of representative government. Pennsylvania, with her Franklin, and those congenial spirits who gave impulse to the Revolution, foresaw that the time might come when, after. having maintained her independence against the British parliament, another imperial parliament might be established on her own continent, equally destructive to the liberties of the people and the rights of the citizens, and hence Pennsylvania, in her instructions to her delegates who represented her in this hall, when she articipated the Declaration of Inde

pendence, empowered them to give her assent to that declaration, on the fundamental condition that Pennsylvania retained unto herself forever the right to manage her local and domestic concerns and police regulations in her own way, independent of any other power on the face of the globe.

Sir: If we remain true to these great principles of constitutional liberty proclaimed by our fathers in this hall, and consummated by the Constitution of the United States within the precincts of Philadelphia, this Union may last forever as our forefathers made it, each State retaining just such local and domestic institutions as it shall choose. If my devotion to these constitutional, conservative principles of liberty have attracted to me the attention of the constituted authorities of this vast city, it is ample reward for all of the toils that have accompanied my public life. I appreciate it a thousand times more than any partisan triumph which a transient politician may acquire in the road through life, for such a triumph must necessarily be ephemeral in its character.

Mr. Mayor, discarding all partisan spirit, as you have done, I accept this honor with a grateful heart. I have not the vanity that would receive it as a mark of mere personal respect. I am glad to know that I have the esteem individually of yourself, and of those you represent; but it is far more grateful to me, as a public man, to know that your sympathy is aroused by public services calculated to sustain and perpetuate those principles of civil and religious liberty which our fathers have translated to us. May we be successful in handing down to our children, and through our children to our latest posterity, those immortal principles which were first proclaimed in this hall, the witnesses of which stand now, like guardian angels, looking down upon our every act, and inspiring our prayers to Heaven that this Union, this Constitution, these States, as they exist, and have existed, may last forever, not only for the protection of our own people, but as a guide to the friends of freedom throughout the world.

Returning my grateful acknowledgments, I can only say that when I leave here I shall carry with me a recollection of this day which will never be effaced while life lasts, and over the memory of which, I trust, my children will feel more proud than of any act that has heretofore marked my public life.

This great mark of respect to Mr. Douglas was to be the more appreciated, coming as it did from authorities the majority of whom were his political opponents, and was con

curred in by the citizens, embracing every shade of political opinions.

The arrangements for Mr. Douglas' reception in Philadelphia by his political friends were imposing beyond description. Cannon, fire-works, music welcomed his arrival, while a vast concourse of citizens escorted him to his hotel, through thronged streets rendered brilliant by the illumination of the houses.

At Havre De Grace, Mr. Douglas was met by a deputation of citizens from Baltimore; the chairman of which delivered an eloquent address of congratulation upon the glorious triumph which he had recently achieved in Illinois over the enemies of the Constitution and the Union, and insisted that he should accept the hospitalities of his political friends in the Monumental City.

Yielding to their request, Mr. Douglas addressed that night a large assemblage of citizens on Monument Square, and the following day had a public reception.

After a brief recapitulation of the issues determined by the people of Illinois, at the late election, Mr. Douglas, in conclusion, said:

"My friends, I have given you an epitome of the principles which I discussed in Illinois in the late contest with the abolitionists and their allies. I appealed to the people of Illinois by their love for the American Union, to preserve sacred the fraternal feeling between the old and the new, the free and slave States; I pointed them to Bunker's Hill, to Bennington, to Saratoga and to Monmouth; I pointed them to King's Mountain, Guilford Court House, and to Yorktown; I showed them that in the Revolution, northern and southern men stood shoulder to shoulder in a common cause, fought under the same banner, poured out their blood in common streams, and shared common graves to secure the liberty which we now enjoy. Why cannot northern and southern men live under this Constitution in the same spirit in which our fathers framed it. I believe that if these principles are firmly adhered to and faithfully carried out, this glorious Union can exist forever, divided into free and slave States, as our fathers