REMARKS AT A PUBLIC RECEPTION BY THE LADIES OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, ON
THE 5TH OF OCTOBER, 1840.
[The visit of Mr. Webster to Richmond was short, and his public
engagements so numerous, as to put it out of his power to return the
calls of his friends, or to pay his respects to their families. It was
accordingly proposed that the ladies who might desire to do so should
assemble in the "Log Cabin," and that he should there pay his respects
to them collectively. The meeting was large, and the building quite
full. On being introduced to them in a few appropriate remarks, by Mr.
Lyons, Mr. Webster addressed them in the following speech.]
Ladies,--I am very sure I owe the pleasure I now enjoy to your kind
disposition, which has given me the opportunity to present my thanks and
my respects to you thus collectively, since the shortness of my stay in
the city does not allow me the happiness of calling upon those,
severally and individually, from members of whose families I have
received kindness and notice. And, in the first place, I wish to express
to you my deep and hearty thanks, as I have endeavored to do to your
fathers, your husbands, and your brothers, for the unbounded hospitality
I have received ever since I came among you. This is registered, I
assure you, in a grateful heart, in characters of an enduring nature.
The rough contests of the political world are not suited to the dignity
and the delicacy of your sex; but you possess the intelligence to know
how much of that happiness which you are entitled to hope for, both for
yourselves and for your children, depends on the right administration of
government, and a proper tone of public morals. That is a subject on
which the moral perceptions of woman are both quicker and juster than
those of the other sex. I do not speak of that administration of
government whose object is merely the protection of industry, the
preservation of civil liberty, and the securing to enterprise of its due
reward. I speak of government in a somewhat higher point of view; I
speak of it in regard to its influence on the morals and sentiments of
the community. We live in an age distinguished for great benevolent
exertion, in which the affluent are consecrating the means they possess
to the endowment of colleges and academies, to the building of churches,
to the support of religion and religious worship, to the encouragement
of schools, lyceums, and athenaeums, and other means of general popular
instruction. This is all well; it is admirable; it augurs well for the
prospects of ensuing generations. But I have sometimes thought, that,
amidst all this activity and zeal of the good and the benevolent, the
influence of government on the morals and on the religious feelings of
the community is apt to be overlooked or underrated. I speak, of course,
of its indirect influence, of the power of its example, and the general
tone which it inspires.
A popular government, in all these respects, is a most powerful
institution; more powerful, as it has sometimes appeared to me, than the
influence of most other human institutions put together, either for
good or for evil, according to its character. Its example, its tone,
whether of regard or disregard for moral obligation, is most important
to human happiness; it is among those things which most affect the
political morals of mankind, and their general morals also. I advert to
this, because there has been put forth, in modern times, the false
maxim, that there is one morality for politics, and another morality for
other things; that, in their political conduct to their opponents, men
may say and do that which they would never think of saying or doing in
the personal relations of private life. There has been openly announced
a sentiment, which I consider as the very essence of false morality,
which declares that "all is fair in politics." If a man speaks falsely
or calumniously of his neighbor, and is reproached for the offence, the
ready excuse is this: "It was in relation to public and political
matters; I cherished no personal ill-will whatever against that
individual, but quite the contrary; I spoke of my adversary merely as a
political man." In my opinion, the day is coming when falsehood will
stand for falsehood, and calumny will be treated as a breach of the
commandment, whether it be committed politically or in the concerns of
private life.
It is by the promulgation of sound morals in the community, and more
especially by the training and instruction of the young, that woman
performs her part towards the preservation of a free government. It is
generally admitted that public liberty, and the perpetuity of a free
constitution, rest on the virtue and intelligence of the community which
enjoys it. How is that virtue to be inspired, and how is that
intelligence to be communicated? Bonaparte once asked Madame de Staël in
what manner he could best promote the happiness of France. Her reply is
full of political wisdom. She said, "Instruct the mothers of the French
people." Mothers are, indeed, the affectionate and effective teachers of
the human race. The mother begins her process of training with the
infant in her arms. It is she who directs, so to speak, its first mental
and spiritual pulsations. She conducts it along the impressible years of
childhood and youth, and hopes to deliver it to the stern conflicts and
tumultuous scenes of life, armed by those good principles which her
child has received from maternal care and love.
If we draw within the circle of our contemplation the mothers of a
civilized nation, what do we see? We behold so many artificers working,
not on frail and perishable matter, but on the immortal mind, moulding
and fashioning beings who are to exist for ever. We applaud the artist
whose skill and genius present the mimic man upon the canvas; we admire
and celebrate the sculptor who works out that same image in enduring
marble; but how insignificant are these achievements, though the highest
and the fairest in all the departments of art, in comparison with the
great vocation of human mothers! They work, not upon the canvas that
shall perish, or the marble that shall crumble into dust, but upon mind,
upon spirit, which is to last for ever, and which is to bear, for good
or evil, throughout its duration, the impress of a mother's plastic
hand.
I have already expressed the opinion, which all allow to be correct,
that our security for the duration of the free institutions which bless
our country depends upon habits of virtue and the prevalence of
knowledge and of education. The attainment of knowledge does not
comprise all which is contained in the larger term of education. The
feelings are to be disciplined; the passions are to be restrained; true
and worthy motives are to be inspired; a profound religious feeling is
to be instilled, and pure morality inculcated, under all circumstances.
All this is comprised in education. Mothers who are faithful to this
great duty will tell their children, that neither in political nor in
any other concerns of life can man ever withdraw himself from the
perpetual obligations of conscience and of duty; that in every act,
whether public or private, he incurs a just responsibility; and that in
no condition is he warranted in trifling with important rights and
obligations. They will impress upon their children the truth, that the
exercise of the elective franchise is a social duty, of as solemn a
nature as man can be called to perform; that a man may not innocently
trifle with his vote; that every free elector is a trustee, as well for
others as himself; and that every man and every measure he supports has
an important bearing on the interests of others, as well as on his own.
It is in the inculcation of high and pure morals such as these, that, in
a free republic, woman performs her sacred duty, and fulfils her
destiny. The French, as you know, are remarkable for their fondness for
sententious phrases, in which much meaning is condensed into a small
space. I noticed lately, on the title-page of one of the books of
popular instruction in France, this motto: "Pour instruction on the
heads of the people! you owe them that baptism." And, certainly, if
there be any duty which may be described by a reference to that great
institute of religion,--a duty approaching it in importance, perhaps
next to it in obligation,--it is this.
I know you hardly expect me to address you on the popular political
topics of the day. You read enough, you hear quite enough, on those
subjects. You expect me only to meet you, and to tender my profound
thanks for this marked proof of your regard, and will kindly receive the
assurances with which I tender to you, on parting, my affectionate
respects and best wishes.