be robbed of that political power, in common
with those of kindred associations and sympa-
thy, by which she and they under the solemn
guarantees of an organic law might have secured
that independence and protection, without which
the future is well nigh without hope. Old things
in truth are passing away—the very land marks
of that government which so long has guided
and controlled our destiny, soon will be obliter-
ated and forgotten—the shadows of coming years
already are lowering o'er, and strange indeed
would be that man who could stand unmoved
amid the jarring elements—caring not, and
recking not of the consequences that must inev-
itably follow.
But, sir, I did not rise like the honorable gen-
tleman from the county of Montgomery, to sing
Paean songs to that old Constitution, which it
may be, is even now breathing its last, destined
perhaps, to "sleep the sleep that knows no wak-
ing." I am no blind worshipper of the idols of
the past, however antique the robes in which
they may be apparelled. That Constitution was
born in the glorious days of seventy-six, amid
the war of opinions—the din of battle and the
clash of surrounding arms. It was a memorable,
sublime and eventful period, contrasted with
any in the long centuries that had rolled on be-
fore it. The stirring cry of "excelsior," echoed
throughout the land, and the moral and intellec-
tual being bursting from the grave-like cere-
ment, in which it had so long been fettered, star-
ted with a young and powerful vigor, in the on-
ward march of life. The spirit of freedom was
kindled into a glowing existence—and the re-
creant tameness of an unnatural and unmanly
submission forever laid aside. Useless clogs
and impediments that had hung like mill-stones
about the neck, weighing as an incubus upon the
age, and retarding it in its every progressive
step, were thrown off with a giant's strength,
and a new brilliancy of light, and knowledge,
and liberty, dawned upon the world. Entertain-
ing and holding such sentiments, no one can re-
gard the immortal framers of that instrument,
which now seems passing away with higher
respect, esteem, and admiration than myself—
and no one surely contemplates the work which
has received the impress of their hand with a
deeper or more unbounded feeling of veneration.
it came to us whilst just emerging from the
bends of colonial vassalage, and with but slight
modifications, we have lived and grown under
its controlling influence, until none in this broad
confederacy, hold a loftier or more distinguished
position. Wisely and courageously then did our
fathers act, and well and nobly has the creature
of their formation—the offspring of their wisdom
performed the task for which it was commis-
sioned. Yet, let no one, for an instant, imagine
that with its present provisions I seek to con-
tinue or perpetuate its existence longer. How
ever others may feel, I shall weep not over its
ashes, and mourn not when its funeral notes are
sounding. Another and brighter era is opening.
Philosophy is moving with a bolder and more |
fearless stride. Art is wrestling with nature,
and making its very principles submissive to its
will. Liberty and freedom are not now what
they were or seemed to be three scare years
ago. And man himself, true to the sacred in-
stincts of his exalted nature, is soaring to that
elevated and sublime sphere, to which he has
doubtless been assigned by the great God of the
universe. Shall the science of government then
stand still, when all else is advancing in such
glorious and harmonious array? Are our addi-
tional wants and hopes and asperations, still to
be tied and crippled by unwise and unmeaning
restrictions, the characteristic relics of days and
generations that are gone forever? Has consti-
tutional lore been entirely exhausted, and has all
improvement abruptly ceased? No, surely not;
and if any there are who are still living under
such a delusion—looking backward with the
long lingering view of hope and affection for the
past, the time has arrived when they should
at once wake to the glorious reality. The
same spirit that pervaded a patriotic ancestry
has been transmitted with full force and power
to their posterity. The sons are worthy of the
sires, and like them, whatever may be the action
of this Convention, they will sleep not, and
slumber not, till the whole fabric is made to.
conform in all its essentials to their wishes.—
The examples of other States are beckoning them
on—and they will not and cannot lag behind,
with so many political lights burning brightly
ahead. I rejoice that such is indeed the case.
As the imprisoned bird, restrained by tiny bar-
riers to the narrow limits of his cage, longs ar-
dently for his native wilds, the green fields, the
opening flowers and the babbling brook, so do I,
for the moment that shall witness the eternal
obliteration of all these aristocratic and unseem-
ly features, that now mar the theory and utterly
destroy the beautiful simplicity of our republi-
can institutions. I am hers to-day as a reformer,
and my honorable colleagues can testify how
truly are shadowed forth the sentiments of those
who have sent us hither, and confided to us the
sacred trust of faithfully reflecting their wishes.
Sir, when the distinguished gentleman from
the county of Baltimore, [Mr. Howard,] was
pleased a few days since in the hearing of us all,
to characterize the county of Worcester, as an
anti-reform county, because, forsooth, she had
voted with eight other counties of kindred inter-
ests and sympathies against the proposition
which had emanated from the honorable gentle-
man from Washington, (Mi, Fiery,) I could but
think he little knew the character of that com-
munity of whom he thus spoke, else sentiments
so unjust to their past and present history never
would have been uttered. When the voice of
reform and retrenchment was first heard, they
answered immediately and warmly to the call,
and from that period to the present instant,
through long years of constant and bitter disappointment they
have been unceasingly struggling
to effect the same grand objects. The records of
the legislative department speak also in unmis- |
