But go on.

Let me know the whole story, that I may know better what to think and do," replied Bernard.
"Well, it is this," began Belton; "you know that there is one serious flaw in the Constitution of the United States, which has already caused a world of trouble, and there is evidently a great deal more to come.

You know that a ship's boilers, engines, rigging, and so forth may be in perfect condition, but a serious leak in her bottom will sink the proudest vessel afloat.

This flaw or defect in the Constitution of the United States is the relation of the General Government to the individual state.

The vague, unsettled state of the relationship furnished the pretext for the Civil War.