But above all, it is incumbent upon us
to hold erect the principles of morality and law, constantly executing
our own contracts in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution,
and thus serving as a rallying point by which our whole country may be
brought back to that safe and honored standard.
Our people will not long be insensible to the extent of the burdens
entailed upon them by the false system that has been operating on
their sanguine, energetic, and industrious character, nor to the means
necessary to extricate themselves from these embarrassments. The weight
which presses upon a large portion of the people and the States is
an enormous debt, foreign and domestic. The foreign debt of our
States, corporations, and men of business can scarcely be less than
$200,000,000, requiring more than $10,000,000 a year to pay the
interest. This sum has to be paid out of the exports of the country,
and must of necessity cut off imports to that extent or plunge the
country more deeply in debt from year to year.
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