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whole power of the State to the support of the National Constitution. He said:

"No part of the people, no State nor combination of States, can voluntarily secede from the Union, nor absolve themselves from their obligations to it. To permit a State to withdraw at pleasure from the Union, without the consent of the rest, is to confess that our Government is a failure. Pennsylvania can never acquiesce in such a conspiracy, nor assent to a doctrine which involves the destruction of the Government. If the Government is to exist, all the requirements of the Constitution must be obeyed; and it must have power adequate to the enforcement of the supreme law of the land in every State. It is the first duty of the national authorities to stay the progress of anarchy and enforce the laws, and Pennsylvania, with a united people, will give them an honest, faithful and active support. The people mean to preserve the integrity of the National Union at every hazard."

"The Constitution which was originally framed to promote the welfare of the thirteen States and four millions of people, in less than three-quarters of a century has embraced thirty-three States and thirty millions of inhabitants. Our territory has been extended over new climates, including people with new interests and wants, and the Government has protected them all. It is all we desire or hope for, and all that our fellow-countrymen who complain, can reasonably demand."

The Legislature of Pennsylvania being in session on the 24th of January, 1861, adopted a preamble and resolutions which contained the following very explicit language:

"Whereas, A convention of delegates assembled in the city of Charleston, in the State of South Carolina, did on the twentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty, adopt an ordinance, entitled "An ordinance to dissolve the union between the State of South Carolina and other States united with her under the compact, entitled, "The Constitution of the United

States of America,' whereby it is declared that the said union is dissolved.

"Resolved, That if the people of any State in this Union are not in the full enjoyment of all the benefits intended to be secured to them by the said Constitution; if their rights under it are disregarded, their tranquility disturbed, their prosperity retarded, or their liberties imperilled by the people of any other State, full and adequate redress can and ought to be provided for such grievances, through the action of Congress and other proper departments of the National Government.

"Resolved, That we adopt the sentiments and language of President Andrew Jackson, expressed in his message to Congress, on the sixteenth of January, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, 'that the right of a people of a single State to absolve themselves at will and without the consent of the other States, from their most solemn obligation, and hazard the liberties and happiness of millions composing this Union, cannot be acknowledged, and that such authority is utterly repugnant both to the principles upon which the General Government is constituted, and the objects which it was expressly formed to attain.'

"Resolved, That the Constitution of the United States of America contains all the powers necessary to the maintenance of its authority, and it is the solemn and most imperative duty of the Government to adopt and carry into effect whatever measures may be necessary to that end; and the faith and the power of Pennsylvania are hereby pledged to the support of such measures, in any manner and to any extent that may be required of her by the constituted authorities of the United States.

Resolved, That all plots, conspiracies and warlike demonstrations against the United States, in any section of the country, are treasonable in character, and whatever power of the Government is necessary to their suppression, should be applied to that purpose without hesitation or delay."

The rapid progress and increasing strength of the

rebellion, admonished public men in the North, and more especially in Pennsylvania, bordering on the rebellious districts, of the necessity for inaugurating efficient precautionary measures for the defence of both State and National Governments. Accordingly, Governor Curtin, in a message addressed to the Legislature of Pennsylvania on the 9th day of April, 1861, recommended that immediate provisions be made for the removal of the defects in the military system; that arms be secured and delivered to citizens who would enter the military service of the State; that the most effective weapons be procured for the existing organizations, and that all possible means be employed to impart vitality and practical energy to the militia laws of the Commonwealth. The active preparations and the formidable display of military strength in the Southern States, did not pass unheeded by the Executive of this State. He declared in this message, that "on whatever pretext these extraordinary military preparations may have been made, no purpose that may contemplate resistance to the enforcement of the law, will meet sympathy and encouragement from the people of this Commonwealth. Pennsylvania yields to no State in her respect for, and her willingness to protect, by all needful guarantees the constitutional rights and constitutional independence of her sister States; nor in fidelity to that Constitutional Union whose unexampled benefits have been showered alike upon herself and them."

"Devoted to the Constitution and the Union, Pennsylvania offers no counsel, and takes no action in the nature of a menace; her desire is for peace, and her object, the preservation of the personal and political rights of citizens, the true sovereignty of States, and the supremacy of law and order."

In response to this recommendation, the Legislature in three days perfected and passed a bill to organize the militia, and appropriated half a million of dollars for the purchase of arms and accoutrements. Thus while the olive branch was held out and its acceptance urged in terms of patriotic devotion, its rejection was not unexpected. The vigorous

preparation of the elements of the approaching contest, indicated that those who set them in motion, understood well the nature of the rising commotion, and were determined to be ready for the fearful struggle.

On the 13th of April a bill was passed in the State Senate to define and punish treason. It forbid any citizen of the State to take a military commission from the enemies of the United States, or to give any aid or comfort whatsoever to the conspirators, and required all officers of the Pennsylvania volunteers to take an oath of allegiance to the United States. On the same day two new regiments raised for the United States, reported as ready for immediate service. Thus had the Governor, the Legislature and the people of Pennsylvania, promptly accepted the challenge of the seceders and prepared for war. Two days after the last of these transactions, the President of the United States issued the first proclamation calling for troops.

The tidings of war, actually begun by the attack on Fort Sumter, and the promulgation of President Lincoln's call for seventy-five thousand volunteers, produced a profound sensation throughout the country. In the cities and principal towns the people were moved to intense excitement. On the evening of the 15th of April, in Philadelphia, the feeling of exasperation in the public mind, especially wrought upon by the presence of persons suspected to be in the service of the conspirators, impelled the loyal and insulted populace to the very verge of mob violence. A vast multitude crowded in front of the office of "The Palmetto Flag," a newspaper recently commenced and believed to be controlled by secessionists, and demanded the proprietors to display the American flag. In order to assure the people that order would be maintained and the power of the Nation preserved inviolate in the City of Philadelphia, Mayor Henry appeared at a window with the national flag in his hand, and thus addressed the people:

"FELLOW-CITIZENS:-Lend me your ears, as becoming good and loyal citizens-men loyal to your country and her

honor. My fellow-citizens, no traitor shall rear his head or have a foothold in the city of Philadelphia. With the help of Almighty God, treason shall not raise its destructive hand to tear down the flag of the Union. I call upon you now and for the future to protect this flag at the point of the bayonet, and at the cost of our lives. Fellow-citizens, while I conjure you to stand by the flag of the Union, do not forget the private rights of individuals; be calm and resolute, defend your flag against treason, but act with prudence, and do not invade the rights or property of individuals."

However widely the people had differed heretofore, on questions of public policy and in reference to political parties, they were unanimous in the defence of the Union and the enforcement of the laws. Political differences were submerged, and all men became of one mind and vied with each other in efforts to punish treason and sustain the Government. The quota of the State, under the call of the President, was fourteen regiments. All men gave themselves up to the single labor of reinforcing the army of the United States. Troops were immediately put in motion, en route for the National Capital, and five hundred men, who arrived in Washington on the morning of the 18th of April, commanded by W. F. Small, of Philadelphia, were the first troops received from the States. Other States were equally zealous, but Pennsylvania being nearest the Capital, manifested a common energy and maintained her true position among the States, in being first with her troops, at the seat of war.

In his annual report for the year ending December, 1861, A. L. Russell, Adjutant-General of the State of Pennsylvania, thus briefly relates the action of the people at this most critical period of the Nation's peril:

"In response to the proclamation of the 15th of April last, by the President of the United States, calling out seventy-five thousand militia from the several States of the Union, to serve for three months, Pennsylvania not only

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