I believe I may fairly claim to have possessed a full share of
the confidence of the people of the State which I in part represented;
and proof has already been furnished to show how little effect my own
influence could have upon their action, even in the negative capacity of
a brake upon the wheels, by means of which it was hurried on to
consummation.
As for the imputation of holding our seats as a vantage-ground in
plotting for the dismemberment of the Union--in connection with which
the Count of Paris does me the honor to single out my name for special
mention--it is a charge so dishonorable, if true, to its object--so
disgraceful, if false, to its author--as to be outside of the proper
limit of discussion. It is a charge which no accuser ever made in my
presence, though I had in public debate more than once challenged its
assertion and denounced its falsehood. It is enough to say that I always
held, and repeatedly avowed, the principle that a Senator in Congress
occupied the position of an ambassador from the State which he
represented to the Government of the United States, as well as in some
sense a member of the Government; and that, in either capacity, it would
be dishonorable to use his powers and privileges for the destruction or
for the detriment of the Government to which he was accredited. Acting
on this principle, as long as I held a seat in the Senate, my best
efforts were directed to the maintenance of the Constitution, the Union
resulting from it, and to make the General Government an effective agent
of the States for its prescribed purpose.
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