Party divisions, whether on the whole operating for good or evil,
are things inseparable from free government. This is a truth which, I
believe, admits little dispute, having been established by the uniform
experience of all ages. The part a good citizen ought to take in these
divisions has been a matter of much deeper controversy. But God forbid
that any controversy relating to our essential morals should admit of no
decision. It appears to me, that this question, like most of the others
which regard our duties in life, is to be determined by our station in
it. Private men may be wholly neutral, and entirely innocent; but they
who are legally invested with public trust, or stand on the high ground
of rank and dignity, which is trust implied, can hardly in any
case remain indifferent, without the certainty of sinking into
insignificance; and thereby in effect deserting that post in which,
with the fullest authority, and for the wisest purposes, the laws and
institutions of their country have fixed them. However, if it be the
office of those who are thus circumstanced, to take a decided part, it
is no less their duty that it should be a sober one.