The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, protected by the
equal laws of a common government, finds in the productions of the latter, great
additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise and precious materials
of manufacturing industry.--The South in the same intercourse, benefitting by
the agency of the North, sees its agriculture grow and its commerce expand.
Turning partly into its own channels the seamen of the North, it finds its particular
navigation invigorated;--and while it contributes, in different ways, to
nourish and increase the general mass of the national navigation, it looks forward
to the protection of a maritime strength, to which itself is equally adapted.--
The East, in a like intercourse with the West, already finds, and in the progressive
improvement of interior communications, by land and water, will more and
more find, a valuable vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, or
manufactures at home.--The West derives from the East supplies requisite to its
growth and comfort--and what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must
of necessity owe the secure employment of indispensable outlets for its own productions
to the weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic
side of the union, directed by an indissoluble community of interest as one nation.--
Any other tenure by which the West can hold this essential advantage,
whether derived from its own separate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural
connexion with any foreign power, must be intrinsically precarious.

    While then every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular
interest in union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass
of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater
security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by
foreign nations;--and what is of inestimable value!  they must derive from union
and exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequently
afflict neighbouring countries, not tied together by the same government;
which their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite
foreign alliances, attachments and intrigues, would stimulate and imbitter.
--Hence likewise they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments,
which under any form of government are inauspicious to liberty,
and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty; In
this sense it is, that your union ought to be considered as a main prop of your
liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of
the other.

    These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous
mind, and exhibit the continuance of the UNION as a primary object of patriotic
desire.--Is there a doubt, whether a common government can embrace so large
a sphere?--Let experience solve it.  To listen to mere speculation in such a case
were criminal.  We are authorised to hope that a proper organization of the
whole, with the auxiliary agency of governments for the respective subdivisions,
will afford a happy issue to the experiment.  'Tis well worth a fair and full experiment.
With such powerful ad obvious motives to union, affecting all parts
of our country, while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability,
there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those, who in any quarter
may endeavour to weaken its bands.

    In contemplating the causes which may disturb our union, it occurs as matter
of serious concern, that any ground should have been furnished for characterising
parties by geographical discriminations--Northern and Southern--Atlantic and
Western; whence designing men may endeavour to excite a belief that there is a
real difference of local interests and views.  One of the expedients of party to
acquire influence, within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and
aims of other districts.  You cannot shield yourselves too much against the
jealousies and heart-burnings which spring from these misrepresentations; they
tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal
affection.  The inhabitants of our western country have lately had a useful
lesson on this head; they have seen, in the negotiation by the Executive, and
in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the treaty with Spain, and in