hich she could not
disregard, to save the monuments of her own glory. Her
honored son who sleeps at Mount Vernon, the political mecca
of all future ages, presided over the body which framed the
Constitution; and another of her honored sons, whose brow
was adorned with a civic wreath which will never fade, and
who now reposes in Orange county, was its principal
architect, and one of its ablest expounders--and, in the
administration of the government, five of her citizens have
been elected to the chief magistracy of the Republic.

"It can not be that a Government thus founded and
administered can fail, without the hazard of bringing
reproach, either upon the wisdom of our fathers, or upon the
intelligence, patriotism, and virtue of their descendants.
It is not my purpose to indicate the course which this body
will probably pursue, or the measures it may be proper to
adopt. The opinions of today may all be changed to-morrow.
Events are thronging upon us, and we must deal with them as
they present themselves.

"Gentlemen, there is a flag which for nearly a century has
been borne in triumph through the battle and the breeze, and
which now floats over this capitol, on which there is a star
representing this ancient Commonwealth, and my earnest
prayer, in which I know every member of this body will
cordially unite, is that it may remain there forever,
provided always that its lustre is untarnished. We demand
for our own citizens perfect equality of rights with those
of the empire States of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio,
but we ask for nothing that we will not cheerfully concede
to those of Delaware and Rhode Island.

"The amount of responsibility which rests upon this body can
not be exaggerated. When my constituents asked me if I would
consent to serve them here if elected, I answered in the
affirmative, but I did so with fear and trembling. The
people of Virginia have, it is true, reserved to
themselves, in a certain contingency, the right to review
our action, but still the measures which we adopt may be
fraught with good or evil to the whole country.

"Is it too much to hope that we, and others who are engaged
in the work of peace and conciliation, may so solve the
problems which now perplex us, as to win back our si