Should the Union perish in the midst of the present excitement, we have already had a sad foretaste of the universal suffering which would result from its destruction.  The calamity would be severe in every portion of the Union and would be quite as great, to say the least, in the Southern as in the Northern States.  The greatest aggravation of the evil, and that which would place us in the most unfavorable light both before the world and posterity, is, as I am firmly convinced, that the secession movement has been chiefly based upon a misapprehension at the South of the sentiments of the majority in several of the Northern States.  Let the question be transferred from political assemblies to the ballot box, and the people themselves would speedily redress the serious grievances which the South have suffered.  But, in Heaven’s name, let the trial be made before we plunge into armed conflict upon the mere assumption that there is no other alternative.  Time is a great conservative power.  Let us pause at this momentous point and afford the people, both North and South, an opportunity for reflection.  Would that South Carolina had been convinced of this truth before her precipitate action!  I therefore appeal through you to the people of the country to declare in their might that the Union must and shall be preserved by all constitutional means.  I most earnestly recommend that you devote yourselves exclusively to the question how this can be accomplished in peace.  All other questions, when compared to this, sink into insignificance.  The present is no time for palliations.  Action, prompt action, is required.  A delay in Congress to prescribe or to recommend a distinct and practical proposition for conciliation may drive us to a point from which it will be almost impossible to recede.

A common ground on which conciliation and harmony can be produced is surely not unattainable.  The proposition to compromise by letting the North have exclusive control of the territory above a certain line and to give Southern institutions protection below that line ought to receive universal approbation.  In itself, indeed, it may not be entirely satisfactory, but when the alternative is between a reasonable concession on both sides and a destruction of the Union it is an imputation upon the patriotism of Congress to assert that its members will hesitate for a moment.

Even now the danger is upon us.  In several of the States which have not yet seceded the forts, arsenals, and magazines of the United States have been seized.  This is by far the most serious step which has been taken since the commencement of the troubles.  This public property has long been left without garrisons and troops for its protection, because no person doubted its security under the flag of the country in any State of the Union.  Besides, our small Army has scarcely been sufficient to guard our remote frontiers against Indian incursions.  The seizure of this property, from all appearances, has been purely aggressive, and not in resistance to any attempt to coerce a State or States to remain in the Union.