windows in your city to-day proclaim your affection | States--a debating society, or a moot court, without any and reverence for the Union. You will gather in battalions,

Patient of toil, serene amidst alarms, Inflexible in faith, invincible in arms; and as you gather, every omen of present concord and ultimate peace will surround you. The ministers of religion, the priests of literature, the historians of the past, the illustrators of the present, capital, science, art, invention, discoveries, the works of genius-all these will attend us in our march, and we will conquer. And if, from the far Pacific, a voice feebler than the feeblest murmur upon its shore may be heard to give you courage and hope in the contest, that voice is yours to-day; and if a man whose hair is gray, who is well-nigh worn out in the battle and toil of life, may pledge himself on such an occasion and in such an audience, let me say, as my last word, that when, amid sheeted fire and flame, I saw and led the hosts of New York as they charged in contest upon a foreign soil for the honor of your flag; so again, if Providence shall will it, this feeble hand shall draw a sword, never yet dishonored-not to fight for distant honor in a foreign land, but to fight for country, for home, for law, for government, for constitution, for right, for freedom, for humanity, and in the hope that the banner of my country may advance, and wheresoever that banner waves, there glory may pursue and freedom be established. (Loud and prolonged applause.)

[Lieutenant Hall, of Fort Sumter, was here introduced to the audience, and made his bow amidst enthusiastic cheers.]

ROBERT J. WALKER'S SPEECH.

real power to uphold the laws or maintain the constitution. We have no country, no flag, no Union; but each State at its pleasure, upon its own mere whim or caprice, with or without cause, may secede and dissolve the Union. Secession, we are told, is a constitutional right of each State, and the constitution has inscribed its own death-warrant upon its face. If this be so, we have indeed, no government, and Europe may well speak of us with contempt and derision. This is the very question we are now to solve-have we a government, and has it power to maintain its existence? This question is not for the first time presented to the consideration of the American people. It arose in 1832, when South Carolina nullified the revenue laws of the Union, and passed her secession ordinance. In that contest I took a very active part against the doctrines of nullification and secession, and upon that question, after a struggle of three years, I was elected by Mississippi as a Senator of the United States. A contest so prolonged and violent had never before been witnessed in this country. It was fought by me in every county of the State under the banner of the Union. The sentiments contained in the many speeches then made by me, and then published, are the opinions I now entertain. They are all for the Union and against secession, and they are now the opinions of thousands of Union men of the South, and of Mississippi. (Applause.) These opinions are unchanged, and deeply as I deplore our present situation, it is my profound conviction that the welfare, security, and prosperity of the South can only be restored by the re-establishment of the Union. I see, in the permanent overthrow of the Union, the utter ruin of the South and the complete prostration of all their interI received the request to address you but a few ests. I have devoted my life to the maintenance of hours since, and being wholly unprepared, shall all their constitutional rights and the promotion of therefore detain you but a few moments. This their happiness and welfare; but secession involves greatest popular meeting ever assembled in the them and us in one common ruin. The recognition history of the world, has a deep significance. The of such a doctrine is fatal to the existence of any hundred thousand freemen whom I now address, government-of the Union-it is death-it is nationhave assembled here for a great and glorious pur- al suicide. (Applause.) This is the question now to pose. It is a sublime spectacle, and the greatest be decided-have we a Union-have we a flag-are epoch in the history of the world. The question the stars and stripes a reality or a fiction-have we a is, shall this Union be maintained and perpetuated, government, and can we enforce its laws, or must or shall it be broken and dissolved? (Cries of "Nev- the whole vanish whenever any one State thinks er.") No question so important has ever occurred proper to issue the despotic mandate? Is the Union in the history of our race. It involves not only the indissoluble, or is it written on the sand, to be swept fate of this great country, but the question of free away by the first angry surge of State or sectional institutions throughout the world. The case of passion which may sweep over it? It was the deself-government is now on trial before the forum clared object of our ancestors to found a perpetual of our country and of the world. If we succeed Union. The original articles of confederation, by all and maintain the Union, free institutions, under the the States, in 1778, declared the Union to be "permoral force of our example, will ultimately be espetual," and South Carolina (with all the States) then tablished throughout the world; but if we fail, and plighted her solemn faith that "the union of the our Government is overthrown, popular liberty will States shall be perpetual." And in modifying these have made its last experiment, and despotism will articles by the formation of the constitution in 1787, reign triumphant throughout the globe. Our re- the declared object of that change was to make "the sponsibilities are fearful. We have a solemn duty to Union more perfect." But how more perfect, if the perform-we are this day making history. We are Union is indissoluble in 1787, but might at any mowriting a book whose pages can never be erased-itment be destroyed by any one State after the adopis the destiny of our country and of mankind. For tion of the constitution? No, my countrymen, semore than seventy years this Union has been main- cession is not a constitutional right of any one State. tained, and it has advanced our country to a pros- It is war-it is revolution-and can only be estabperity unparalleled in the history of the world. (Ap-lished on the ruins of the constitution and of the plause.) The past was great, but the future opened upon prospects beyond the power of language to describe. But where are we now? The world looks on with scorn and derision. We have, it is said, no government-a mere voluntary association of independent

Union. We must resist and subdue it, or our Government will be but an organized anarchy, to be surely succeeded, as anarchy ever has been, by military despotism. This, then, my fellow-citizens, is the last great contest for the liberties of our country and of

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the Government shall be preserved, and that, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the lakes of the North to the Gulf of Mexico, never shall be surrendered a single acre of our soil, or a drop of its waters. (Loud and long continued cheering.)

LETTER OF ARCHBISHOP HUGHES.

The Chairman then read the following letter from Archbishop Hughes, amid loud applause :

NEW YORK, April 20, 1861.

DEAR SIR:-Unable to attend the meeting at Union Square in consequence of indisposition, I beg leave to state my sentiments on the subject of your coming together, in the following words:

In

the world. (Applause.) If we are defeated, the last experiment of self-government will have failed and we will have written with our own hands the epitaph of human liberty. We will have no flag, we will have no government, no country, and no Union; we will cease to be American citizens, and the despots of Europe will rejoice in the failure of the great experiment of republican institutions. The liberties of our country and of the world will have been intrusted to our care, and we will have dishonored the great trust and proved ourselves traitors to the freedom of our country and of mankind. This is not a sectional question-it is not a Northern or a Southern question. It is not a question which concerns our country only, but all mankind. It is this, Shall Ministers of religion and ministers of peace, acwe by a noble and united effort sustain here repub-cording to the instructions of their Divine Master, lican institutions, or shall we have secession and have not ceased to hope and pray that peace and anarchy to be succeeded by despotism, and extin- Union might be preserved in this great and free guish forever the hopes of freedom throughout the country. At present, however, that question has world? God grant you, my dear countrymen, cour- been taken out of the hands of the peacemakers, age, and energy, and perseverance, to maintain suc- and it is referred to the arbitrament of a sanguinary cessfully the great contest. You are fighting the last contest. I am not authorized to speak in the name great decisive battle for the liberties of our country of any of my fellow-citizens. I think so far as I can and of mankind-faint not, falter not, but move on-judge, there is the right principle among all those ward in one great column for the maintenance of the whom I know. It is now fifty years since, a forconstitution and the Union. Remember it was a South-eigner by birth, I took the oath of allegiance to this ern man, a noble son of Kentucky, (Major Anderson,) who so gloriously sustained the flag of our country at Fort Sumter, and never surrendered that flag. He brought it with him to New York, and there it is, held in the hands of Washington, in that marble column now before us representing the Father of his Country, and whose lips now open and urge us, as in his Farewell Address, to maintain the constitution and the Union. And now, whilst I address you, the news comes that the city of Washington, founded by the Father of his Country and bearing his sacred name, is to be seized by the legions of disunion. Never. Never must or shall this disgrace befall us. That capital must and shall be defended, if it requires every Union man in America to march to its defence. And now, then, fellow-citizens, a desperate effort is made to make this a party question-a question between Democrats and Republicans. Well, fellow-citizens, I have been a Democrat all my life, and never seratched a democratic ticket, from Constable up to President, but say to you this is no party question. (Cheers.) It is a question of a maintenance of the Government and the perpetuation of the Union. The vessel of State is rushing upon the breakers, and, without asking who may be the commander, we must all aid in her rescue from impending disaster. When the safety of my country is involved, I will never ask who is President, nor inquire what may be the effect on parties of any particular measure. Much as I love my party, I love my country infinitely more, and must and will sustain it at all hazards. Indeed, it is due to the great occasion here frankly to declare that, notwithstanding my earnest opposition to the election of Mr. Lincoln, and my disposition most closely to scrutinize all his acts, I see thus far nothing to condemn in his efforts to maintain the Union. And now, then, my countrymen, one word more before I close. (Cheers.) I was trained in devotion to the Union by a patriot sire, who fought the battles of liberty during the war of the Revolution. My life has been given to the support of the Union. I never conceived a thought or wrote or uttered a word, except in its defence. And now, let me say, that this Union must, will, and shall be perpetuated; that not a star shall be dimmed or a stripe erased from our banner; that the integrity of

country under its title of the United States of America. (Loud cheers.) As regards conscience, patriotism, or judgment, I have no misgiving. Still desirous of peace, when the Providence of God shall have brought it, I may say that since the period of my naturalization I have none but one country. reference to my duties as a citizen, no change has come over my mind since then. The Government of the United States was then, as it is now, symbolized by a national flag, popularly called "The Stars and Stripes." (Loud applause.) This has been my flag, and shall be to the end. (Cheers.) I trust it is still destined to display in the gales that sweep every ocean, and amid the gentle breezes of many a distant shore, as I have seen it in foreign lands, its own peculiar waving lines of beauty. May it live and continue to display these same waving lines of beauty whether at home or abroad, for a thousand years and afterwards as long as Heaven permits, without limit of duration.

JOHN HUGHES, Archbishop of New York.

MAYOR WOOD'S SPEECH. FELLOW-CITIZENS:-The President has announced that Colonel Baker, the gentleman who has so eloquently addressed you to-day, proposes to raise a New York brigade, if the State will bear the expense of outfit (cheers); and here, as Mayor of this city, so far as I have the power to speak, I pledge for the corporation that sum. (Loud applause, and cries of "good!") When I assumed the duties of the office I have now the honor to hold, my official oath was that I would support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of New York; and I imply from that that it is not only my duty, as it is consistent with my principles and sense of right, to support the constitution, but the Union, the Government, the laws and the flag. (Loud cheers.) And, in the discharge of that duty, I care not what past political associations may be severed. I am willing to give up all past prejudices and sympathies, if in conflict with the honor and interest of my country in this great crisis. (Applause.) I am willing to say here that I throw myself entirely into this contest with all my power and with all my

it has been said here to-day that your flag has been insulted. Aye! not only has your flag been insulted, but the late Secretary of War, assuming to represent the Confederate States, has said that the confederate flag shall wave over your Capitol before the first of May. (Groans.) And, more than that, that the confederate flag shall fly over Faneuil Hall in Boston. (Cries of "Never," groans and hisses.) My friends, before that banner can fly over Faneuil Hall in Boston, it must be carried over the dead body of every citizen of New York. (Enthusiastic applause.) In behalf of you I am prepared to say here, and, through the press, to our friends of the South, that before that flag shall float over the national capitol, every man, woman, and child would enlist for the war. (Renewed cheers, and cries of "That they will.") Gentlemen, I have no voice, although the heart, to address you longer. (Cries of "Go on.") Abler and more eloquent men that myself are here. I can only say, therefore, that I am with you in this contest. We know no party now. (Cheers.) We are for maintaining the integrity of the national Union intact. We are for exhausting every power at our command in this great, high, and patriotic struggle— (cheers)—and I call upon every man, whatever may have been his position heretofore, whatever may be his individual sympathy now, to make one great phalanx in this struggle, that we may, in the language of the eloquent Senator who preceded me, proceed to “conquer peace." (Loud applause.)

might. (Loud cheers.) My friends, the greatest | right of independent thought violates the first princiman next to Washington, that this country has ever ples of republicanism and strikes a blow at the theory produced-Andrew Jackson-has said that "the of our Government. (Loud applause.) My friends, Union must and shall be preserved"-(cheers)-and in that connection he has said, and it is directly pertinent to the present contest, "the Union must and shall be preserved peaceably if we can, but forcibly if we must." (Enthusiastic applause.) There are those of us who have heretofore held antagonist positions to what is supposed to be the policy and the principles of this Administration, who are willing to accept that noble declaration of the sacred Jackson, as a resort to force upon this occasion. (Prolonged cheers, and cries of "That's so!" "Good!") Why, gentlemen, what is the nature of your Government? Ours is a government of opinion expressed through the laws. The laws being made by the people, through their representatives, are simply the expressions of popular sentiment; and the administrators of the laws should be maintained in the exercise of all legal authority. (Cheers.) I have always advocated a strong Executive power; because, to be efficient it requires ample authority, and under our form of Government, the agent being merely the exponent of the popular will, he should be provided with every means to maintain that will. Thus in maintaining the Government, we maintain ourselves, our inalienable rights and the basis of free institutions. It is true that individuals retain the right of independent criticism, and at the ballot box have an opportunity to exercise this right; yet we are all bound to abide by the result. These views are pertinent to the occasion, so far as the people of the city and State of New York are concerned. (Applause.) This city is a portion of the State, and this State retians its position as one of the United States of America. (Loud cheers.) Therefore we must stand by the Government, we must obey the laws, we must respect official authority, we must respond with alacrity to the calls of patriotism, and so long as we may have the strength, support the constitution and the Union. (Applause.) In accordance, then, with these views, I have no hesitation in throwing whatever power I may possess in behalf of the pending struggle. If a military conflict is necessary, and that military authority can be exercised under the constitution and consistently with the laws, dreadful as the alternative may be, we have no recourse except to take up arms. (Cheers, and cries of "We will do it.") In times of great peril great sacrifices are required. When the human frame is upon the verge of death, every effort of skill and the most desperate experiments are resorted to to preserve life and prevent dissolution. This may be said to be an apt illustration of the present condition of the body politic. In the expression of these views, which I design to be understood as a public proclamation in favor of maintaining the authority of government as such, peaceably if we can but forcibly if we mast," (renewed cheering,) I desire also to be understood as taking back no sentiment I have ever uttered on the political issues of the day. (Cries of "Good for you.") If the Presidential election was to be held over again to-morrow, my vote and my sentiments would be unchanged; nor am I to be regarded as countenancing or justifying mob law or violence. The people themselves have elected or established tribunals for the adjudication of offences against the laws, and all of us are restrained and must conform thereto. Every man's opinion is to be respected; and he who denies to a fellow-citizen the

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My friends, it has been already announced by the Chairman that the Baltic and other vessels at the foot of Canal-street are ready to take five thousand men to-morrow to the capital of Washington. I urge a hearty response to that call, that New York may speak trumpet-tongued to the people of the South. (Enthusiastic applause.)

SPEECH OF EX-GOVERNOR HUNT.

Mr. President and Fellow-Citizens-A profound sense of duty impels me to take a brief part in your deliberations at this trying crisis in our national history. At no period since the darkest hours of the Revolution has the republic been involved in dangers appealing so emphatically to the patriotism and wisdom of the people. It has been my constant hope that the controversies which have disturbed the harmony of the two great sections of our country might find a peaceful and constitutional solution, that the voice of reason and patriotism would finally prevail over the turbulence of excited passions, and above all, that we might be spared the agonizing spectacle of a great and free people destroying the richest inheritance ever bestowed upon mankind, in unnatural and fratricidal strife. But, Mr. President, we are compelled to deal with the stern realities before us. The past is beyond recall. It belongs to history. The present is no time for reviving former controversies or discussions. We must meet the issue which is forced upon us. Let us remember only that we have a country to serve, a constitution to defend, and a national Union to cherish and uphold. On one side we behold our national Government struggling for the maintenance of its constitutional authority; on the other a formidable combination of discontented States, arrayed in open and disloyal resistance. Whatever differences of opinion may exist touching the causes of the attempted subversion of the fede

come so incurably alienated, or that there is such incompatibility of interest and feeling that they can no more dwell together in peace, under a common government. If we should ever be forced to the conclusion that a separation is inevitable or desir able, there are regular and pacific methods in which the question may be submitted to the people, in whom the sovereign power resides, for their solemn deliberation and verdict, in view of their obligations to themselves and their posterity. We are bound to make every effort which wisdom can devise or patriotism suggest to avert the calamities of a final dissolution of the Union. If a national convention could be invoked in a constitutional mode and enabled to deliberate in peace, undisturb it might result in a satisfactory solution of our present troubles? I feel, Mr. President, that I have some right to appeal to the Union men of the South, and to invoke them to join hands with us in one more patriotic effort to preserve our common nationality. In these unhappy dissensions I have been an humble advocate of moderation and forbearance; in my love of country, discarding all geographical distinctions, and contending for a faithful observance of the constitutional rights of both sections. Knowing full well that a large portion of the Southern people were earnestly devoted to the national constitution in all their efforts to uphold it from the assaults of its enemies, the warmest affections of my heart have been with them. While abhorring the spirit of disunion and secession, I have cherished and still feel an ardent attachment for the loyal Union men of the Southern States. I have loved them as brethren, and am not willing to be disjoined from them, now or hereafter. Overborne as they are in many of the States by the resistless torrent of popular frenzy and delusion, may they still stand firm in their loyalty, and be prepared to aid in the noble work of pacification. Let them not believe that the mass of the Northern people are their enemies or desire their subjugation; nor should it be assumed that the Federal Government intends to reduce them to dishonorable submission by force of arms. Notwithstanding the irritations engendered by past controversies, the national heart of the North is still sound, and its prevailing desire at the present moment is that our Union may be preserved and perpetuated, in the spirit of the fathers, as a bond of peace and affection between the people of all the States, for the common benefit and security of both sections. It is this sentiment of nationality, now thoroughly aroused, which prompts our people to step forth with patriotic ardor and enthusiasm to pledge their lives and fortunes for the support and defence of the Federal Gov. ernment in all its constitutional vigor. While they feel themselves bound by the highest considerations of patriotism to sustain the executive arm in defence of the national supremacy, they are not actuated by a spirit of aggression towards their fellow-citizens of the South. They look to the Government to act with firmness in defence of its just rights and prerogatives, yet with kindness and moderation towards the people of every State; and if compelled to draw the sword with one hand for the preservation of its authority, it should ever be ready. to tender with the other the olive branch of peace and conciliation.

ral power, I am sure you will all agree that they are not such as to furnish a sufficient justification for the States which seek to renounce and annul the national compact. Our constitution makes ample provisions for the redress of grievances, and who shall say that the people, on a direct appeal to their patriotism and sense of justice, would not be found faithful to its principles and true to its spirit and design? Instead of revolution or secession we have at least the right to demand that an honest effort should be made to settle differences within the Union, and according to the principles of the constitution. This is the only mode consistent with reason or compatible with the public safety. Amid the present distractions and dangers I cannot but feel that it is the duty of every true citizen to up-ed by the clash of arms, is it too much to hope that hold and maintain the Government of the United States. Come what may, we must stand by our country and support the Union in its integrity. You and I, Mr. President, have sworn more than once to support the Constitution of the United States. I consider that oath perpetually binding; but if it were blotted out, the obligations of loyalty and patriotic fidelity to the Government under which we live would demand our best efforts for its preservation. Why should we not support the constitution? It has made us a great and powerful people -prosperous at home, respected abroad, and conferring upon our citizens everywhere a larger share of liberty and happiness than has fallen to the lot of any other nation on earth. While the country is convulsed by violence and dissension, it is not pretended that the Government, in its action, had invaded the constitutional rights of any of its members, or given any adequate cause for resistance to its rightful authority. Yet so rapid has been the progress of disaffection that the national capital is in danger of armed invasion and seizure. Sir, the capital of this Union must be defended at all hazards; and I hope to see the preparations for that purpose on a scale fully commensurate with the magnitude of the danger. Let the force be sufficient, if not to prevent, then to repel any assault on the seat of Government. I cannot even yet believe that the attempt will be made. The men of the South ought to know that the men of the North will not permit the capital to be wrested from the legitimate national functionaries without a struggle such as this continent has never seen. If the time has not gone by, I would make a last appeal to Virginia not to permit any hostile invasion of the federal district. Can she forget that it bears the august name of her own Washington, and that it was he who dedicated its soil to the national Union, to be held as a sacred trust by the United States? It is consecrated ground. It is guarded by the most sacred and venerable recollections. Let no impious hand be laid upon the temple of American liberty and nationality. Any attempt to make the city of Washington the theatre of bloody civil conflict would be alike treasonable, fratricidal, and sacrilegious, and could not fail to arouse a spirit of intense, unappeasable vengeance. Whatever else may come, I pray to Heaven that this land may be spared the woes which are inevitable if the possession of the capital is to be determined by the arbitrament of the sword. I yet indulge the hope that this Union is to be perpetual. That hope is dearer to me than life, and I will be found among the last to relinquish it. We may well pause before admitting the idea that the people of the North and South have beDoc.-17

I believe these are the sentiments which animate you all on the present occasion, and which this im

pressive demonstration of the popular will is intended to embody and express. In manifesting your attachment to the Government founded by our T. Brady: fathers, and your undying devotion to that national flag, under whose ample folds we have steadily marched onward in an unexampled career of greatness and renown, you aim only to attest your affection for the Union, and your determination to stand by your country, and your whole country, one and indivisible. For myself, I can only say that my whole heart is with you, in every effort for the maintenance of our national Union and constitution. Let every patriot, in this trying hour, range himself on the side of his country and give a prompt and cheerful support to every measure of Government, which may be necessary to vindicate its rightful power and integrity. My fellow-citizens, we must not despair of the republic. I pray that the God of our fathers, who has so signally favored and sustained our country in times past, may dispel the clouds which darken the horizon, and ever continue to protect the majestic fabric of American Union and nationality.