Senate." These are the words of the Constitution. They expressly designate what shall be sacred from amendment,--what compromise shall be perpetual,--and so doing, according to a familiar rule of law and of logic, virtually declare that the remainder of the Constitution may be amended. Already, since its adoption, twelve amendments have been made, and every year produces new projects. There has been a pressure on the floor of Congress to abrogate the veto, and also to limit the tenure of the Presidential office. Let it be distinctly understood, then,--and this is my answer to the pretension of binding compromise,--that, in conferring upon Congress certain specified powers and jurisdiction, and also in providing for the amendment of the Constitution, its framers expressly established the means for setting aside what are vaguely called compromises of the Constitution. They openly declare, "Legislate as you please, in conformity with the Constitution; and even make amendments rendered proper by change of opinion or circumstances, following always the manner prescribed." Nor can we dishonor the revered authors of the Constitution by supposing that they set their hands to it, believing that under it slavery was to be _perpetual_,--that the Republic, which they had reared to its giant stature, snatched from heaven the sacred fire of Freedom, only to be bound, like another Prometheus, in adamantine chains of Fate, while Slavery, like another vulture, preyed upon its vitals. Let Franklin speak for them. He was President of the earliest Abolition Society in the United States, and in 1790, only two years after the adoption of the Constitution, addressed a petition to Congress, calling upon them to "step to the very verge of the power vested in them for discouraging every species of traffic in the persons of our fellow-men."[190] Let Jefferson speak for them. His desire for the abolition of slavery was often expressed with philanthropic warmth and emphasis, and is too familiar to be quoted. Let Washington speak for them. "It is among my first wishes," he said, in a letter to John F. Mercer, "to see some plan adopted by which slavery in this country _may be abolished by law_."[191] And in his will, penned with his own hand, during the last year of his life, he bore his testimony again, by providing for the emancipation of all his slaves. It is thus that Washington speaks, not only by words, but by actions more significant "Give freedom to your slaves." The Father of his Country requires, as a token of the filial piety which all profess, that his example shall be followed. I am not insensible to the many glories of his character; but I cannot contemplate this act without a fresh feeling of admiration and gratitude. The martial scene