ut
happily for us we have no occasion to consider the question in this
light. If ever a State came to meet her sisters, to consult for the
common good in a proper spirit, Virginia does so now.

A military chieftain once, when approaching his death, lamented that
he had no children to transmit his name and his qualities to
posterity. Virginia will never need to take up such a lamentation. She
has children enough. She is the mother of WASHINGTON and JEFFERSON, of
MADISON, MARSHALL, and CLAY. Rightly and justly she has been called
the mother of States. She is the mother of States, and of millions of
freemen.

I honor and respect Virginia, for she deserves it. She was among the
foremost in the Revolutionary struggle; and since it was terminated,
she has exhibited a continued example of patriotism and loyalty. Her
sons have been among the ablest in our legislative councils, and even
to-day she sets a noble example before the country, for the emulation
of her sister States. Our interests are inseparably connected with her
own. We will acknowledge the fact, and act in view of it. Let her
remember, also, that she has a common interest with us. She will do so
because she will be faithful to her old traditions as well as to her
present duty.

I cannot believe that the time has come when it is necessary for us to
contemplate a dissolution of the Union. The people are not prepared
for such an awful event. We do not yet know how heavy sacrifices they
will make to avoid it. Some States have left us I know, but I believe
their absence is but temporary. We must have them back, and we will.
As for the Border States leaving us in the present condition of
affairs, with the present feeling of friendship for them, _that_ I
regard as an impossibility. Why should the Border States go out of the
Union when three-fourths of the present Congress are ready to give
them all the guarantees they ask?

But let not Pennsylvania be misunderstood in her position. She will
yield a vast deal for peace. She will examine and recognize the rights
of every section of the country. She believes that when this is done,
it is the duty of all to stand by the Union. She believes that the
Border States cannot connect themselves with a so-called Southern
Confederacy without involving themselves in a vortex of ruin. The
President of the Southern Confederacy already talks about the smell of
gunpowder, and about battles at the North. Well! he is a brave man no
dou