so his rights. And the man who rebels against a just, good Government, does all in his power to weaken your hold upon your property, and reduce society to a condition of barbarism. He dethrones order and law, and inaugurates insecurity and anarchy. Government also exists to protect human liberty and life. The man, therefore, who strikes a blow at the Government, labors to destroy that protection. He is the foe of society. Rebellion is national suicide, and no punishment can be too great for those who have plotted the destruction of such a Government as ours, and who seek the destruction of a Republic that has given happiness and prosperity to so many millions of freemen. [Cheers.] Gentlemen, we are here also to preserve and perpetuate the American Union. Now this Union was not created by a compact of the States. The idea of State sovereignty is a delusion. Before we achieved our independence, which was the beginning of our national life, the colonies derived all their powers from the British crown. They were under that crown until the moment that they passed under the authority of the Federal Government. They did not cede their authority to the Federal Government, for they had none to cede. Independence was declared and achieved by the people of the whole country, and not by individual States. The United States Constitution was framed and adopted by the people, and the right of secession is nowhere recognized. It is neither tolerated in the instrument itself, nor in the terms upon which the Constitution was adopted and ratified by the people of the several States. The authorities on this point are clear and incontrovertible. We are struggling also to maintain the principle of human liberty. Do you ask where do we get that principle ? I reply, not from the Declaration of American Independence, but from the human soul, where the Almighty planted it. That declaration simply expressed what has ever existed in the breast of man ; and if you will consult the writings of Hamilton. Jefferson, Jay, Washington, and other of the early American heroes, you will find that the great struggle then was, not simply for the freedom of this nation, but for the great doctrine of human rights. They fought for the liberty of man, endowed by his Creator with certain inalienable rights. We also fight to-day for liberty, and in proportion as we smite the cause of the Rebellion, as well as the Rebellion itself, the Almighty will help us, and crown our arms with victory. [Great applause.] And I deem it very appropriate, that the noble General who is with us to-day, who first placed the American flag upon the summit of the Rocky Mountains, and who gave freedom to California, should be the first to sound the bugle notes of emancipation at the head of the army. [Immense cheering.] And although the Government did not at that time sustain him, still those bugle notes have, ever since, been rolling over the plains, and reverberating through the hills and valleys, all over the country. And when those notes are gathered up and set to music, and our armies march to that music, then will they move on to honor and to victory. Let us then, one and all, respond to the call of our President, and let us inscribe in letters of gold upon our banners, the sentiment with which I began, " Liberty and Union, one and inseparable, now and forever." [Prolonged cheers.] SPEECH OF HON. E. DELAFIELD SMITH. General FREMONT, the chairman, then introduced the Hon. E. DELAFIELD SMITH, the United States District Attorney, who was received with great enthusiasm, and spoke as follows : MEN OF NEW-YORK, This is, in truth, a colo?sal demonstration. The eye can hardly reach the boundaries of these compact thousands. It would be in vain for the voice to attempt it. The people have come in their might. They
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