M HOLUNGER pH 8.5 MILL RUN F3-1543 SPEECH OF MR. HALE, OF NEW HAMPSlIUiE, / • ON V THE TERRITORIAL QUESTION. -'V v/ DBIHEEED IS THE SESAIE OF THE U.VITEU ST.ITES, TIESDAV, JMRCH IS, ISiO. The Senate having under consideration the com- promise resolutions submitted some time since by Mr. Clay — Mr. HALE. Mr. President, it seems to have been admitted by almost every one who hus addrtssed the Senate on the subject whii-h has for some titne past engaged the attention oi this body, that the Senate and the country at large are divided into two classes— I will not say two great classes, but one large and one very small one; that the great body of the Senate and of the country are patriotic ; that they earnest- ly and anxiously desire that the distracting questions which divide and harass the country may be settled upon some just and patriotic grounds; while on the other hand, there are a few, designated as extremists. or uUraists, who do not desire to see any such enc effected; who desire, in other words, to promote agi- tation ; who are an.xious for nothing but trouble and disturbance; whose sole purpose is to increase the irritation that already e.\ists in the community — to keep the public mind sore, the public pulse throbbing irregularly with feverish heat. Nothing, it is said, is so stransje as the physical and moral organization of these few gentlemen ; agitation is the aliment upon which they leed, and by which they live : take away that, and their life, tlitir occupation, all which fur- nishes them with a motive for living, is gone. Now, I have not a word to say personally against this ; I am glad, sir, that these nltraisls, if they do nothing more, at least accomplish this much good — that they aH'ord this wholesome safety-valve to these extra exhibitions of patriotism on the part of those who are in the habit of addressing the Senate. Hard- ly any one seems to suppose that he has discharged the duty which he owes to the country, or done what he ou^ht to do to satisfy his constituents, unless he mingles with the suggestions wiiich he makes whole- sale denunciations against those ultraists—ihose agi- tators ; and even the calm and judicial mind of the Senator from North Carolina, who has just concluded his remirks, is so infected with the prevailing mania, that even he, educated as he has been upon the bench, where he learned to sanction a line of safe precedents, could not sit down satisfied that he had discharged his duty, until he had relieved his con- science of a due proportion of vituperation against these miserable fanatics and agitators. I think, tl'.en, it must be granted that the agitators do some good -at least by atlording a safe and whole- some channel through which this extra exhibition of patriotic indignation may find vent. 1 do hope that, if it be not conceded that they do any other good, at least credit will be at corded to them for this much. I have not a word to say in reference to the good taste or the truth and candor which prompts such a course. 1 make no appeal to gentlemen, who feel a consciousness in their own breasts that they are governed by high, puie, and elevated motives, to consider how far it is consistent with a proper sclf- resjiect to be continually employed in depieciating and attacking the motives of others. When 1 obtained the floor, sir, some time since, after the address that was delivered by the distin- guished .Senator from South Carolina, who is not now in his seat, I suggested that, according to my reading of history, the account which he hai under- taken to give of these agitations sounded i(j my mind more like the romance than the truth of history, and that I designed, upon some occasion, when it suited the convenience of the Senate, to set history right in some particulars alluded to by him. And that Is one of the objects I propose to myself to-day. I shall, sir, be compelled to call the attention of the Senate to the speech of the Senator from South Carolina somewhat in detail ; and, in devoting some few mo- ments to a preparation upon this subject, 1 endeav- ored to make something of an analysis of it. Before I had proceeded very far in my examination, I found it assumed the form of a regular catechism— questions and answers being given. In the first place it com- menced with a concession of the fact that the Union was in great danger; then it asks — •■ 1. How can the Union be preserved'! '• Aiisicer.— To give a satisfactory answer to this mighty question, it is indispensable to have an accurate and tho- rough kiowledge of the nature and character of the cause by which the Union is endangered. '♦•J. Wliat h.-is endangered the Union'? '•.■tHsirer.— To this question there can be but cne answer ; that the immediate cause is the almost universal discontent which pervailesall the States composing the Southern sec- tiou of ilie Uuioii. "3. What is the cause of tliis discontent? "Ansirer. — lt will be found in the belief of the people of tlie Southern States, as prevalent as the discontent itself, tliat they cannot remain, as things now are, consistently with honor and safety, in the Union. •• 4. What lias caused this belief 7 ''Answer.— One of the causes is, undoubtedly, to be traced to the long-continued agitation of the slave question on the part of the North, and the many aggressions which they liave made on the rights of the South during the time. I will nor enumerate tliem at present, as it will be done here- after in its proper place. There is another lying back of it, with which this is Intimately connected, that may be re- garded as the great ami primary cause. That is to be found in the fact that the equilibrium between the two sections In the Government, as it stood when the Constitution was ratified and the Government put In action, has been de- stroyed." Now, sir, the first act of this Government, in the series of these events which has broken up this equilibrium and caused this universal discontent, the honorable Senator says, is the Ordinance of 1787. I shall not undertake to go particularly into the history of that Ordinance, because it is familiar to the Senate and the coimtry, and has been frequently referred to by gentlemen who have already addressed the Senate on this subject. This, mark you, is the first in the series of Northern aggressions by which the equilib- rium which once existed has been destroyed. Mr. BUTI-ER. The word " aggression " does not occur in \utt speech, in that connection, at all Mr. HALK. I do not know exactly whether the Senator us«xl the word " aggreaaion " or not ; per- hap« he did not. Mr. lU TLtil, (in hia seat.) 1 know he did not. Mr. HALF..* Ai anv rate, it is one of the acin which liiis dcntroytd ilie «-tcd, and which was to !>.• perpeiujtid between the .Northern iind Southern Stiites, was u vatefroin a Northern Stale — the State of New York ; for ihf delegate* from every other State voted unan- imously for it— the delegates from South Carolina anions; the nuinb«'r. Well, sir, what followed ? I propose toslww now, if the Stnute will ^ive me their attention, that this famous Ordinance of 17?7, which has now got to bo the Wihnot Proviso, and which is deemed to be so insultini! to the Southern States of theConfeder;icy, if It if retained in our Federal legist. lion; that this Ordinance of 17?7, older than the Constitution, was re-enactid by the first Con{.Tess which assembled under that Constiiuiion, and in the preamble to the act which rccoj;nisid the Ordinince it is expressly recited that it is lione in order that its provisions shall be made conformable to the Constitution of the United Slates. The act was approved the 7ih Au EU-it, ITS', and is to be found in chapter Sih o( the laws of the United States. The preamble I will read. It is as follows : " Will r--;!*, in or i> r that the OrJinauce of the I'liited Suirs II. < I .f-.- ,is.-> iiililed, for the Rovernmeiit ol' the Trmi' • I'f the rivi-r Ohio, may coiilinue lo liuvr I ir(|ulnilc ihalcerinin provisions shouM l>f m I ' : !.i|'i ihe same to tlie preteDl Coiislitu- tiuii .f ti.-j Lii ;• 1 >(.itcB." That, sir, was the position of the first Congress that ns*embled under the Federal Consiiiutinn; it re-enacted and re-established the provisions of that Ordinanei-. Now, sir, wc have been told to-..'iiy, as well as on previous occasions, that, if this principle is insisted on, it is an insult and such a i,'rievous wror.g that the Southern States, if they remain in the Confederacy, will remain not from any principle of attachment to the Union, but from fear of the bit- ter conse-'i-icnccs which mitjlii fi)llow seci««ion. Now, I undertake to say that 1 will prove, i» the satisfac- tion of every reasonable man who can read the sta- tutes of the country, that the principle embodied in that Ordinance of 17-?7, and rc-enacii'i! by the first Congress under the Federal Constitution — who de- clarMi that they did it to adapt its provisions to those of the Federal Consiiluiion— has been continued to l>c re-eiiac;cd. in substance, from tin- lime of Gen. VVashin^ion, who 'ijjned the first nri, .liwn to James K. I'olk, who si;'ned the same provision in the Ore- gon bill ; and that the talk which is raised by gen- tlemen a*i<>ut niakin;; an une(|ual und unjust discrimi- nation i«bout properly, hasn"' ■ ' ' -i whii-h may not Willi eijiiol lUbllce be ;il ' every one of the .jets of the Federal ' ■ ' orcani/ing Territories, which mark our lu-'ory Irotu the ndop- Ul« I T Ai tim' • III' tix u I!.'- I .;.,■,. '.I '■:.• S'lilli .loriii; -im' t>««n, he M)r» ' "At llmi librtum brtwvrn th« two. .I'-li to protect llaelfafaliurt tion of the Consiiiution down to ihe present time. 1 ask the attention of the Senate to the subject. It will be found that, as early as 1794, on the Jid March, by an act of Contjress, General Washintrion then be- ing President- whilst the foreign slave trade was not urohibited, and could not be by the provisions of the Federal Consiituiion until IStlB; while the trade in foreign sKive-i was the subject of le;»itimate commerce under the Cunsiitiition; while every citizen of the United States had a right, under the laws and the Constitution, to go from any port of the United States to the coast of Africa and take a car£;o of slaves and bring them to any port in the United Slates— Congress, in 1794, made a discrimination against this species of properly, and prohibited the building or fining out of any vessel for the purpose of carrying slaves to anv foreign country : they mit;ht bring them here; but Congress thus far discrimina- ted against that species of property as early as 1794, whilst it was a t-ubject of le(,'al commerce under the Constituiion of the United States. Congress did not interlere, provided the slaves were brought home; but they did, and utterly destroyed that species of properly as an article of commerce, when an attempt was made to carry it to anv foreign country. That was an act passed under tleorge Washington. Its provisions were as follows : ".■in nrt In /iruhi/iit Ihe currying en Ihe Slave Trade from Ihe U lii led Slate* lu any fore i/pi plate or cuunlry. "Sec. 1 prohl)Ooii any personaiding or al^rtliii;; in tilliiig out such a vessel. "See. ;i. Any owner, master, or factor of any vessel ilearinK for Ai'rira. or suspected of being inteiiileJ for llie h'lave traile, are P-'ipiired lo give bond in substance not to violate Ihe proviMons of iliis art. "Sec. 4 imposes a prnalty of 8200 for every person re- ceived on board anv vessel lu violation of this net. "G. WASHINGTON. "Approved, March 22, 17M." Tfyfi is on net passed in 1794. Well, sir, other acts of M^tmilar ch.iractcr, only more express and e.x- plicft in their provisions, may be found. In the act of 179?, for the settlement of the limits of the Slate of Georgia, and the establishment of a Government for the Mississippi Territory, passed on the 7ih April, 179S : "Sec. 3 establisbeg a Government for the Mississippi Territory-, in all rcspeeis similar to ihat now exercised lu llic Territory norihwestof the river Ohio, eicepiinjt and ex- cluding the last arlicle of the Ordinance made lor the gov- ernment Iherrol hy llie late t'ongr>ss, on Ihe 13th of July, 1787. which provides thai there shall be neither slavery nor involiiiilary servitude. otherwise than iu the punishment of crimts, ic. "Sec 7 makes It uelawfiil to bring slaves into Mississippi Territory Ironi unv place without the llnlird Stales, Imposes a pi'iially of t^jllij Ut every slave thus brought into Ihe Ter- riiory in violation of Ihe provisions of this act, and givec every slave thus brought in his or her freedom ••.^pproveil, April 7. ITU'^ " Look nt the provisions of that nc. Slaves might legally be imporiid into the United States for ten years after that act was passed ; they might be import- ed, and were as much and as leiially a subject of property r.s anything else, but (."ongress took occa- sion to rei,'ul:iieihat species o( property ten years be- fore the prohibition to the importation of slavi s was to take ell'i ( t, and dedari d that slaves should not be carried into the Mississippi Territory from any place wiihoiii the United .Si.itcs, ond that any slave car- ried thi re became fre<'. and a penally was imposed on those that took them there. Slaves were ni that time— In 1709 -legal articles of commerce. Congress had no power under the Constitution to prohibit vspstls from coing to foreign countric'*, and 'nkinij cargoes of slaves, and bringing ihein lure. They were, under the Consti- tution, as legitimately articles of commerce as sugar or mola»«<*ii. Well, < 'ongress did iindcrtaki', that early in 1799, to soy thul alavus, which were recog- nised as articles of commerco in the States, should not be carritd into the Territories. That fact estab- Ushea two points. It shows that Congress iegi.^iated for the Territories, and it shows that they legislated upon this particular .subject within the Territories. Well, sir, there are other acts of a similar character. In an act erecting Louisiana into two Territories, and providing; for tlie temporary government thereof, approved the 'ilst March, 1801, section 10 prohibits the bringing into said Territory, from any place with- out the United States, any slave or sluveu, and im- posed a fine of three hundred dollars for any slave so imported; and, further, the act prohibited the bringing into the Territory any slave or slaves which shall have been imported into the United States since the 1st day of May, 1793, or which shall hereafter be im- ported. Under the provisions of this act, passed in 1804, Congress undertook to say that slaves which had been imported into one of the slave Slates be- tween 1798 and lSO-1, lair matters of commerce under ' the Constitution, should not be carried into the Ter- ritory, and imposed a penalty on any one so carrying them. Here, tlien, i-s an express and explicit recog- nition, on the part of Congress, of the right and authority of Congress thus to legislate upon this subject. Under the provisions of this law, no one could move from a slave State into the Louisiana Territory in 1901, '2, and '3, and carry with him slaves imported from Africa into any State subsequently to 1798. Or if they did, they did it in violation of this law, which prohibited it. I will not weary the Senate by going over the history of these several acts. They will, very many of them, be found in a speech delivered in this body on the 20rh June, 1843, by Mr. Di.x, then a member from the State of iVew York, and they come down to the very last Congress — because the last Congress, adhering to the legislation heretofore practiced, pass- -ed the Oregon bill, containinsr this very same prohi- bition, and it was signed by Mr. James K. Polk. He certainly must have understood it to be a constitu- tional prohibition, the constitutional exercise of a right vested in Congress, or he never would have signed it. The proposition was made Ln both Houses to put the enactment of that clause in the Oregon bill on the ground that it was north of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes. Both Houses refused to do it. It went to Mr. Polk, and he signed it, and sent it back with a paper, the substance of which, as I read it, was, that it was constitutional then, but never would be again. That, sir, has been the legislation of Con- gress, older than tite Constitution, comiag down through successive Presidents — Washington, Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, and so on; and, in the organi- zation of Territorial Governments in Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, and Michigan, all in express terms recognising this right : sometimes limiting slavery to a certain class of slaves, in other instances excluding it altogether. And now we are told that if we adhere to this long-established, well-considered construction of the Constitution ; if we continue to tread in the old path which our fathers marked out for us, that t!.e sensi- bility, the sen-itiveness of the South, which has been sleeping for more than fifty years, will be galvanized into such activity, as to endanger the Union itself. Well, sir, these arguments may be all potent, but I want to put history right. We are told that this agitation of the subject of slavery here is something new, and the Senator from South Carolina gave it a date of fifte(#n years. He said that it had commenced in 1835, and that as soon as it was introduced, he saw the mischief that was to ensue from it. The honorable Senator from South Carolina did not go back far enough; agitating papers of the sort com- plained of came here longer ago than that. He ought to have gone back to 1776, and he would have found ■one of the most "agitating" and ■'fanatical" papers tbat he could well find, beginning with the declara- tion that all men are created equal. The agitation of thi.s question of slavery goes back as far as that, and it shows what was the action and understanding of the men of that day. I wish to read, sir, a peti- tion presented to the first CongrcBs that ever assem- bled under the Federal Constitution, and signed by one of the irreai minds that framed it. I allude, air, to Doctor Franklin ; not one of these modern "agi- tators," not one of those amphibious atiimals, that have been describ- d as (lying about in the twilight, between light and darkness. On the 12ih February, 177fi, Benjamin Franklin, as I'resident of the Pennsylvania Society for promot- ing the abolition of slavery, the relief of free negroea unlawfully held in bondage, and the improvement of the .Vfrican race, presented a petition, which I send to the Clerk'a table to be read : Fkb/ii-arv 12, 1790. " A memorial of the Penrisylvania sjoctety for promoting tlie :il)iilJiloiiof .sUvrry, the relief of free iieijroeH unlaw fully belli in bondage, and llie improvement o( the African race, was prcseuteii and read. "The memorial respectfully showeth : "That, from a resanl for the happines.s of mankin'l, an association was formed, several years since, in this State, by a number of her citizens, of various relijL'ious denomi- nations, for promotins; the abolition of slavery, and for tHe relit f of ihose unlawhilly held inboiulase. A just and acute i-oiic-iition of the true principles of liberty, as it spread throu^'h the land, produced accession.s to tlieir numbers, many friends to their cause, and a lei;islative co-operation with their views, which, by the blessing of Divine Provi- dence, have been successfully directed to the relieyjnjjfrom bondage a larfte number of their fellow-creatures, of the African race. They have also the satisfaction to observe, that, in consequence of that spirit of philanthropy and gen- uine liberty which is generally diffusing its beneficial in- tluence, similar institutions are forming at home and abroad. "That mankind are all formed by the same Almighty Being, alike objects of his care, and equally designed for the enjoyment of happiness, the Christian religion teaches us to believe, and the political creed of America fully coin- cides with ihe position. " Your memorialists, particularly engaged in attending to Ihe distresses arising Irom slavery, believe it to be their indispensable duly to present this subject to your notice. They have observed, with real satisfaction, that many im- portant and salutary powers are vested in you, for 'pro- moting tlie welfare and securing the blessings of liberty to the people of the United States;' and, as they conceive that these blessings ought rightfully to be administered without distinction of color to all descriptions of people, so they indulge themselves in the pleasing e.xpectation that noliiiiig which can be done for the relief of the unhappy objects of their care will be either omitted or delayed. " From a persuasion that equal liberty was originally the portion and is still the birthright of all men, and influenced by the strong ties of humanity and the principles of their institutions, your memorialists conceive themselves bound to use all justifiable endeavors to loosen the bonds of slavery, and promote a general enjoyment of the blessings of free- dom. "Under these impressions, they earnestly entreat your serious attention to the subject of slavery ; that you will be pleased to countenance the restoration of liberty to those unhappy men, who alone in this land of freedom are de- graded into perpetual bondage, and wlio, amitlst the general joy of surrounding freemen, are groining in servile sub- jection ; that you will devise means f^jr removing this iu- consir^tency from the character oT the American people ; that ynu will promote mercy and justice towards this dis- tressed race; and that you will step to the very verge of the power vested iu you, for discouraging every species of traffic in the persous of our fellow-men. "HEN.!. FRANKLIN, President. '" Philadelphi.v, Febi~uart/3. 1790." Objection was made to the reception of the peti- tion, and a debate ensued, when a motion to refer it to a committee prevailed, by a vote of 43 ayes to II noes. It was considjred in committee, reported on, and the whole subject was under debate on the Bth. Sth, and 9th of March, 1790— the proceedings of which action in Congress may be found in the Jour- nals, page ISO. I only refer to this history to show that there were "fanatics" and "agitators" in earlier times than the year 1835 ; that there were men who were aflecled with this " mania" long ago ; and that amongst those upon whose grave must fall the de- nunciation? imi nrv »o freely and frpqutntlv heard here, i» !ht- man who alone of mortal man hud vision t-nou«;h to answer the question pro|><>8cd by the Aimigh'y lu his servant long n'^o, when he asikeJ him if he "can discover the way of the lightning of thunder 1 " Well, j>ir, I have another document, and n very curious one it ie^, too, referring to the action on this subject Idter in the history of Conpr-'ss. It is to bo found in till- fourth volume of the House Journals, f>aj;e S"'!, .«'eond s.tixion of seventh Congresn, under date of March "J. ]'rmo)itlee to wliirh were re- ffrr- i Willidui llfiiry Ilarriwin, Prrsiil'-iit of ilie ( i Bt Vuicrnurii, (Irclarillf: llieconscul uf the ;- iia to llir susneiiKiuii uf llir i^ixtli article of 1- • '11 llie liiiltd Slates ami llir people of tliai 1 a nienioriul ami peliliuii of llir inhabit- aulxoi i ..■ '.^ ■. iiir.loiy, niailc llie IhIIowmic repurl ; "Tliattlie rapiiljiopulaliiiuofllii-Siati' ol Uliiniiuiru'ii'ntly evinces, in tlif upuiiuii of yourconiniillt-t-. Iliat the labor of slaves 18 not utcfssnry Id promote tbe growth auil seltle- meut of roloiiieB in that resjion ; that this labor, demonstra- bly the dt-Hre<>l of any, cau uuly l>e employed to udvaiiUiKe iQ the culiivation of procntcd here — a cum- of a 'IVrrftory of the United .States, set- tled by freemen, wjih slavery intcrdicied, who come forward and ask Conjjress to relieve them from that interdiction— !o relieve them from that prohibition — and Congress refused to do ii. And they refused to do It upon the rejiort from which 1 have just read — thai made by Mr. John Randolph of Virginia. Now, sir, I think I may safrlv Icaye that pari <>f the subjec', the Ordinance of l'^, having shown lliut it was not lnipo-«d by a f>arl, but that it was the act of the whole country. It was iinpn'swd upon the legis- lation of the country at its earliest period ; it has con- tinued there ever since, and it remainii there now. Wh»i do f/etii|rinelve«, air, on (hat po.nt. The wcond matter which has disturbed the equi- librium, according to the arguments of the Sena- tor, is tlie Missouri Compromise. Sir, the Missouri Comproniise disturbed the equilibrium of those Northern Representatives that voted for it, more than anythiiis elst that ever happened; and that is the only etiuilibrium I ever heard of as bein^' dis- turbed by that Compromise. Not only did it dis- turb their ed their opera- lions.) us being small and cciniemptihie, and as- having no sort ef inrtut nee ond consideration. .Now^ what was the d«ilaratlon of the Senator in 1835, the very lime when he states this faction was so smnll and contemptible 7 In Niles's Register of l-:i"i, r.tih vol.. 4'.>ih page, is an extract of a letter from John C. Hi (i.'ti-rniin-(l character, even to the extent ol" disutiiut:, .it that stiouM be necens.iry to arrest the evil. 1 inirtl, how- ever, it nviy be arrested far short ofsnoh extremity.'' From this it appears that as loni^ ago as 1335, the South— all the South he spt-ak.s for— had come to sucli a unaniiiioiis d'.'terniination to ri'si*! the IVorth- era fanatics, iliat, ii tlioy c-oulJ not put them down in any other way, they were ready to dissolve the Union. " Small and cnntempiilile as this faction then was," to use the lani;urit;(} of the Senator from South Carolina, it was polent enouijh, it seiMns, to work up the whole South lo a determination to dis- solve the Union if they were not put down. I wish to call the attention of the Senate to an- other view of this question of the ei-itiilibrhnn. The Senator from Georgia, [Air. IJerrie.s. ] in his speech the other day, puts this siirnifieanf question to Sen- ators from the Northern State's. He says : '■ Now, sir, revert to the period vvlien tins Constitutiou was entered into — when thirteen Confederated States, loosely connecteil together, inutnally Kr^sping hamls, drew more closely the bond of union; and now tell uie, do you 'believe, does any man believe, that It consists with the sjiirit .and intention of the framers of that instrument, witli the feeii nj: I )f t h -.It monien t, that you should circ\ini scribe slavery ■within limits within which, in process if lime, it could no longer exist ! That were to deny to us the privilene of ex- ereisin'j; the rights with which we came into the Constitu- tion, in the manner in which we had exercised and were ex.?rci6inf; them when the Constitution was lormed. It •would be in etl'ect to say to us, We will allow you to hold slaves, if you will keep them witlun your present limits ; but in the future acijuisitions which we make of territories, by our joint and equal etTorts, even ot such as are titled to your own peculiar kind of labor, hands (i/f— slavery shall never be extended with our consent ; the banner of this free Republic shall never wave overanotherslave State, whether it were originally fp:'e or slave. Ifthis proposition had been made to our fathers in that Convention, what think you ■would have been their answer ? I will not trust myself to express it. Do you believe that this Constilutiou would have been formed under such circumstances? " Now, sir, it seems to me that an all sufficient answer to this question is to be found in the fact that the Constitution was formed under precisely the circumstances on which he speculates. Under what circumstances was the Constitution formed, sir? Why, every inch of territory which the States then owned was subject to this very prohibi- tion ! Every inch of territory by that provision of the Continental Congress, ratified by the first Con- gress under the Federal Constitution, was subjected to the inhibition of slavery, and was carved out to be admitted into the Union as five free States. The Senator's question, therefore, has a historical answer. They not only would have entered the Confedera- tion with such a proliibition, but they actually did enter it under just such a state of facts as the ques- tion presupposes. So much for the " equilibrium " in this point of view. In another part of his speech the Senator from South Carolina says, that, next after the Ordinance of 1787, the Missouri (IJomprom se, and the Oregon bill, among the causes which have produced discon- tent at the South is the system of revenue and dis- bursements adopted by the Government. He says : " The next is the system of revenue and disbursements swhich has been adopted by the (Jovernment. It is well known that the Government lias deriveditsrevenue mainly from duties on imports. I shall not undertake to show that such duties must necessarily fall mainly on the exportinir ■States, and that the S^uth, as the great exporting portion of the Union, has in reality paid viverniiient, over and above just what is necessary to collect the revenue to be spent tlse- where. So much for this subject. At.'uin, says the Senator from South Carolina : •• li'.oiliinl.cB.l.lril.lhiil m.iiiy I'ftlif (liilifK w<-rr imiiuHfil, not lor rt'\riiu' . tmi I tr pruimluii— Hint m, iiilriuird lu (nK moiiry. I ••ury, tut ilim-ily iiiiu the piv kt-i of the OKI ine cuu<°cpli»ii nmy lie luiiiinl nl' tlie iiniii wliioli, m llir liUg rourKO of nixly yt . :• iTrd Ironi Sliniiilry aiintciiiiK cniigru- lion wni all ipiarltrii to lliat (■i-clitni." Now sir, let us exannne this point. It is the tarifT, tlien, that has done injury to the South, and produced discontent there. Now, I have been at some little pains to examine the history of the vari- ous tariir:!, and our revenue policy, and I find that the first tarifl act was passed on the Jih o( July, 1769. and the preamble to it is in the following words : •' WlirrMS it is necessary, f»rthe Bunport of Government, for llic JiKclianje «f the debts of llie IJiiitcd Slates, and fur ikr cneouragrmfrnt and protection of manufurliirrs, tliat duties t>e liiid on goods, wares, aud'mereliandise, import- ed " The yeas and nays were not taken on the hill in either House. The next year the duties were lar*|- ly increased, and I think in some instances that thry were doubled, and the bill for that purpo.se passed the House of Representatives, yeas 40, nays 1' ; and ai a curiosity I will read the votes of the States on that measure : Yeaa. Sai/i. Ytas. Naiju. Ntw Hampshire 2 1 Dt4aware 1 Massachu.-x-tts R Maryland « 3 2 C'Tonecticul 3 2 Viru'iiiia # •' 7 New York 4 1 Nonli Carolina 5 New Jers y 2 Snj». \at/n. N'w llimpghire 1 3 Maryland 2 !> MoMMrliunrita 7 4 Virginia 7 13 KUodr lalaad J North Carolina (I 11 Connfciirui 'i 2 South Caroliua 4 3 Vcmiout 5 1 (Jeorgiii 3 3 Nfw York 20 2 Ki-niu'lir '■ 1 Nrw Jrffc'y 5 (I TrnnrMre •-' PfBDnylvaJil* 17 3 Ohio o Dclawar- ■' ■' ""' v. '»■ Louiwiana " 1 fA M And a>-i in- in- yeas on the passage of that bill HtsndH re. 'irdrd the name cf John C ("ai.m(il'.n. one of Ih'' Iti-iiriK/^niaiivos from South Carolina. That was In I'-M'i. The inrlli' poliey of the country con- tlnurd without material alteratiun until IH'24, when another hill on the Hubjeet pasiM-d the House, yeas 107, nnjr» \Vi. South t^arolina then chanu 23, as follows : Yea-i. Xai/s. Yfas. .Voi/s, M.iliif 1 6 (,'onnecticut n 1 Nrw Uampi-iiire 1 •'> Ri.ode Island 2 M.iiuat'liukciiK 1 11 Vcrinoiit 5 15 23 And such had been the uniform |io!icv of that portion of ihe country. But the histoiv of the tariff acts that have been passed show that the Northern States have ^jenerally objected to them, and that too against the power and the elotjuence t>f the Senator from South Carolina, in ISlti, in the House. And when this policy was forced un New Eni-land, and forced on her too by .Southern votes, against her own wishes, then, sir, the genius, the enterprise, and the industry of her people began to accoimiiodate them- selves to that state of thini^s, and because she flour- ished under it, it is made a charce aijainst her, and form.s the next point in the indictment agaim^t the North for disturbing the equiUbrium between the sections. Another evil of which the Senator from South Carolina complains, is as follows, to use his own language : " lliil while these meaKures were destroyinir the equilib- rium between liie iwo secllong, the MClion of the Govern- meni whs leading lo a radii'al chaiiK« in iib character, by conceiitrdtiiit: all the power of the system iu itself. The occasion will not pernill Die to trace the measures by which Ihisgreul chani^e has been cuiiEumm.'tted. If it did, it would not be ditKcult lofliow that tlieprocesscommenced at an earlv period of the Government ; that II proceeded, almost witfioiii interruption, step by step, until it absorbed virtually its entire powers; but without goin? through the whole priKess lo establish the fact, it may be dune satisfac- torily by a very short statement. "That the Government claims, and practically maintains the right to decide in the last resort, as to Ihe extent of its powers, will scarcely be denied by any one conversant with the political history of the country. That it also claims the right t" resort to force lo maintain whatever power sheclaimsagainst aIlo[ipo8ition, is eipially certain." His charge is, that this Government has changed gradually fiOm a federal republic to a consolidafed de- mocracy. Who hasdone it 7 From the very adop- tion of the Constitution down to the present time, what counsels have prevailed I Northern or South- ern ] Who have been the Presidents of the United States? Northern men or Southern men ? Again, with reference to the action of the Supreme Court, who have been on the bench of that court? His- tory will show that there has been no time when you would trust Northern men there, so as lo consti- tute a majority. Tluuith Congress, page 51, Dbcbmbbr 11, 1R3^. 1. '^ Resolved. That this Government is a Government of limited powers; and that, by the Constitution of the United States, Congress has no jurisdiction whatever over the in- stitution of slavery in the several States of the Confederacy. 2. ^' Resolved, That petitions for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and the Territories of the United States, and against the removal of slaves from one State to auothur, are a jiart of the plan of operations set on foot to affect the institution of slavery in the several States, and thus indirectly to destroy that institution within their limits. '.',. " Resolved, That Congress has no right to do that in- directly which it cannot do directly ; and lliat the agitation of Ihe subject of slavery in the District of C lurabia or the Territories, as a means and with a view of dislurbing or overthrowing that institution in the several States, is against the true spirit and meaning of the Constiuuion, an inliiiigementof the right of the States atTected, and a breach of the public faith ou which they entered into this Confed- eracy. 4. "Resolved, That Ihe Constitution rests upon the broad principle of equality among the members of this Confed- »r>rv (ii"t 0(«l roopreaa, in (he exercise of ii« acknowl- ^* luoiher, Willi ic ollirr . . , . on il.c part ti iiir DiBiiiii •'< ('oltinibia ihr rrmuvHl iil^!avr8 IrDiii ■ t^riwrcu llir iniiliiulions ol ly aiilrslnic(ivr . 'r< ,.|| \s hi. 1. ih. 1 I.,. I, ,.f ih<'in' ' s<: liOil IfUI 5 uf I i.r I (hi: l«P !un. or \ . Yi'iiii l'^, iiaj 8 OC'. Ypiiii IT-l.iiayn'JO. Ycnti 110, nays ')'2. Yeas l'.i^, n«v6 T^i. (lull ' prin(eU, or cell IT'- u.' 1. Paiseil: Yra« 1!»5, (iay»6 'i. I*»**"l \' '" 1 '•»• "«^'* ' l«( mrni' IM m'-iii' l(it ni- Ml' ai !■ 1>- : Jaumai il. R-, !«.' Kttiui^ Jblh Cong.. jHigr 2i4 Ja.ni'arv 2S, ISAO. "No pedlion, memorial, resoliitinii, or nihtr piip<>r. i>n*in« (lie abi>litloii of slavery in (lie Dirtrict of Co- Itim^ia. or anv Sta(e or Trrriiory, or (lie «liive (nule be- iwren (lie S'.a!rb or Terri(ori»8 ot the llnilid S(a(e8 in wliirh il now rxiuJs, shall be receiveJby Ihiti lloute. or en- lenaiunl iuany way whilivcr." Rule ad pled : Y'eas lU, navB lOf. That is (ho action of the House ; the nciion of the Senate has het-n, if possible, more deciiicd, because thtv have uniformly refused to receive petitions ad- tlrcsse^l to ihtiii upon this subject to this day. In Januar>*, 1>3S, the .Senate, on iimtion of the Senatorfrom .South Carolina, J Mr. C.^lhoi-n.] passed fieveral verv strinfrent resolutions aijainst the ntove- menls of the Abolitionists, one only of which I will read to the Senate, as a fair specimen of the whole : •• Retytlr'il. T. .'. Ms (JoveriinK'nt was iiis(i(utetl and ailopled b^ ■ - iti-s of this I'nion ay a comrri'jn agent inc lo elTecl the powrrs which iliey (Wejtaled t . ion for Ihtir muliial security ami proi.|>erily ; ::: I t I . .11 UiKilnieut of this Inch ani' Bacrnl iruiii, (hi« (Joverumeiit ii> bomul ko to exercise its power as to give, aji firris m '.V h'' pr.vllcable. increa.-ied slabilily and jieturuy (o ■ .iibtilulioiis of the Statet-' (hat corn- pone the r. t is the solemn duly of the Gov- erument l-i ■ nipig by I'ne porlion of the Union to u»e It Bii 111 j.-'r .;i\' 111 toailaik the .lomislic inslilu- lion«ol auulher. or :o we^ikeii orde8(roy tiiich iiistitiuioiis." Such, sir, was the manner in which both parties united, in the language of the Senator from South Carolina, " in insisting that the petitions should be received, and that Congress should take jurisdiction of the subject for which they prayed." Now, sir, I want to call the attention of the Sen- ate to the tnanner in which this movement was re- ceived by the people at the North. I liav.', at some trouble, iooked up the necessary doruir.ents. to show how they were received by the people at large. " M- ■ ! 111.'" 'f ihe people have been belli in i|i-arly all ol Uie ■ i I towiiB in 111'- Northern Slii'H. at which t'le I I I he aboh(ioniii(i4 were rejecled ami di8a- rnv.' r unanimity and much zeal "— .Vi7e*'« JUk"'- . "■■■ '"' :'., ifvCi. Them; meetings, as will be w>en by the papers of the day, were hwlden at New Vork, Fiosion, Albanv, and th'- other principal plans in the free States. f)f the rli'i-ictt-r of 'he re-iobiiions passed ut .Mbanv, th' i; i: ' ' we hull wllh deliffhl (h«! m*-" my ; Ihey are lip toihe huh: the righlH and H^iitlnientHiif I nil the ni'luphyioci' and "t New York ; Ihey are flee .1 1 iiuiTiM-alloii ; no "Me drnniii I- ry, no pumpoiia afM-rliolia of ilie ' ' V .1111. "iill' •' III till llli'il llllipilll. iieloneB, III! ■ ''■': ih' y ikli' - which, ffoui t!.' If verjf iiiliire, are ' 4l' ii^J'.rJ l.j iiill nil': the pub- (hey ail .;i J.. I ;. lhe'S»iilli ; Kirv abatrai 'i"ii> . i '' rroni ali'.i rl«r/. lie mind, and pu( in jeopardy the lives and properly of their frllow-citiren*. as at war with every rul. ol moral duty and every su«*'«'lion of humanity ; and they reprobate the iiuen.liarieK who will persist in carrying them on as dis- loyal to the riiioii." 1 will not wearv the Senate by readin" reports of such meeiinsis liulden in the principal cities and towns of the North. The papers of that day con- tain abundant evidence to satisfy the most incredu- lous. Hut all this did not satisfy the South; they demanded that the Abolitioni.-=is should be put down by l,iw in the free States. The (new.-paper) South- ern Patriot said : "Let the declaration lliat discussions which from their nature lend to inllame the public mind and pul in jeopardy (he lives and properly of our fellow-citizens, and are at war with every rule of moral duty and every suases-lioii of liunMiiily, be onlv embodied in some legislative act, Wllh approp'ruie peiiallieii, and the South seeks no higher ant£t --MissCrandall was imprisoned in Brook- lyn, Connecticut, on the charge of having taught persons o'f color from out of the Stale. '• S'fittiiJiiT 'A\ I'it!.— An assault was made on Miss Craiiddll's house, while a clergyman was holding a reli- gious meeting there. Rotten eggs and otiier missiles were thrown at the wini'ows. "The we!l of the house on ano'her occasion was filled with olTal, &c. " A newspaper in Connecticut says: 'The committee of the First EoclesiaBlical Society in Canterbury have seen proper lo prohibit llie scholars of Miss Crandall's school from attending Divine worship in the meetin;-house on Caniiroury green.' " There was no other meeting-house within three miles. '• May '27. —The Mayor and Aldermen of Boston rejected an appfication of V25 citizens for the use of FaneuilHall, for the purpose of holding a meeting in which to plead the Cause of the slaves. ^' .iiif;ii>il 10. l.'s:j.V— Canaan Acaiiemy, New Ilampshire, was drawn otfby a mob, for the crime of admittiugco.ored Youths. •• Augujit 111, ISl'i— Dislurbaiire at Worcester, .Massa- chiiseils. While the Kev, Orange Scott was lecturing on slavery, some indiviiluals loie up the lecturer's notes, and offered violeiic- to his person. •• .Vr/i'fHi/i>r 17, IKt.).— A gallows was erected in front ol .Mr (iarrison's, in liriuhlon street, liostoD, with this in- Hcriptioii : ' lly or er of Judge Lynch.' '•JuJyA. 'J. 10. and 11, KT>, (he Abolitionists were ninbbe'l in New York. Churches and stores were broken into and injured, and ihe dwelliiig-houbes of several Abolilioiusts v»rro molvhed. The furniliire of one was burnt in the sire'-t. The persons of Abolitionists were (hrealene.J. liolh political i'ar(ies joined in (he oulruge. " These niolis were iiisligali d by the (iress and pro sLi- very public im clings. The cli'rgy . Chancellor Walworth cUeni.) iiiul Chancellor Frelinghiiyseii (Whig) made Nltcechesat n piiblii: meeting agaiiiKl the Abolilionisis, and |H>pular c|eri:ynien ridiculed the Manalii-s ' •• Ihiring llie niolia, a whole ilivigion of troops was under arms. The mob riih'd ihe city for several days, and was Uiially diHiiers'd by the aiithorilieg acting efVici'ently. when It wnii iiiiilrrHlood ilint. (ired ol mobbing AholiiioniKls, the mob waaiuriiiiig Us attention to the Hanks in Wall street. "An Anil Sliivery (.'onveiition, hell at L'lica, New York, Oc.'obrr -M, Kl'i. in the Dapdat meeijng. house, was mobbed by Ihe iiti/.eiia of l'lica. heailed by a Comnutlee of iwenly (he, composed ofpromineiit niembersolboili politi- cal parties appoiniej at a meeliiiy held at tlie court-house. 9 " At a meeting In llie court liouse,aprominfnt inilividiial justifierl in express worils the gross violation ot' the law at •Char estoii, South Carolina. ' These occnsionn,' said he, ' will tind a law tor ihvmselves. I go for revolution when it is necessary.' •• Adverting to the sending Abolition publications to the South, he remarked : ' If other means will not do, the m:iil aiiould be blocked up on thit subject.' "At a public meeting' of the citizens, a resolution was ptissed that the community trill not submit to Ihr indienity ■of an Abolition a-nsemblage bting held in u jmblic builditi" in this city. ' "The mayor of the city, the first judi;e of the county, the •county clerk, tlie postmaster, the district clerk, anil other prominent citizens of both political parties, took part in tlie meeting, and most of them were of the committee of twen- ty-five, and the judsje, postmaster, &c., retained their ofti- •ces. While the Convention was in session, the chairman of the committee of twenty-five, followed by a mob of live hundred, entered the meeting house, interrupted the pro- ceedings, demanded that it should break up anlaUoD on ihe aubjrct. '• .: \Vt ',..!! '.'iM --'ri^ery can onlv be law Tully abolished • hcveml ^alrB in winch il pre- ' <>i any ullirr than nii>r:il iiidu- II :< tiii>-fiiiMiiuliuual. .^^iiiir i_ sinir ri^ht to nbol- u the l)lMri>': llmt the Slule (Juv- . .r lu their r- - . lictioiiii, and that It i> i:.- r 'luiy lu ellace to it>ui a i>K>t Irum the uatiunal earutchruii. "4 W- t>rli-ve ihiil American citizens have the right I" • ' :, tlicir iijiiuioiis of the Constitution, lis ul any and every Slate and iiiition . ; we mean never lohurrrnder the hhertv . . -, . > ,.. ,.. i,,r (.rriis, or ol conm-it-noe — blrK8iii^s whicti we i.jve innenieU Ironi nur lAtliTii, and which we Intend, k^ lAf ii» we are able, t«r»on in those States for dislnbuiloii, excepl to five respectable resident citizens at tlicir own request. But we have sent by mail single papTs, addressed to pub- li: officers, editors of newspapers, clergymen, and others. II', therefore, our object is lo excite the slaves lo insurrec- tion, tlie masters arc our agents." That is the exposition which they put furth in 1935, when tills exciieinent first bfgan. These sen- timcnis have been reiternted nearly every year from that time to ihie; and, us far as I Icnow anything of the movements of this organized society, they have religiously and scrupulously lived up lo them. I have yet to see th« first resolution titey have passed, the first line they have printed, in contradiciion or Contravention ol this platform, thus laid down in 1^35. What was the state of fet-ling at the .South at that time, why iffirii-ul fcrub' tait: it teiJ thtn lnciitnr ihr tulrmn liaty uj Ihr triuilr ^■•■•■" ../-. ( •fTul'rt Ih' iiiA'tri II unit iif cure tknr i ighft ■ft tht uiiiiiimliliiltiinul runjjiiuttiuttt uf 1 .:; Slitlm in llf rniirilrruiu dftignt of . - .. .. . :j trtlhijruirj'rutn Iff Uniun." There wn* tho Ihkiiu presented in 1935. If the non-tldVehnlding Slates did Doi pass penal laws to put down the AUjllil'inisis in 183.'), it was the Hui>-inn duty of the Southern States, accordinjf to ihesu recolution* paxiied in South Curohnu. to withdraw from the Union. Well, sir, 1 have in my hand another remarkable paper, taken from the Charleston Mer- cury, published about the same time, headed the "Crisis." This paper says: "The proper time for a contention of the slatiholdiiig- Stales will be when the Legislatures of Pennsylvania, Mas8achusells,and New York, shall have adjnuriitd wilh- uut passing laws for Ihe suppression of the abolition socie- ties. Should either of these States pass s'lch laws, it would be Well lo wait till their ffficmy should be tested. The adjournrut-nt of lh« Legislatures of Northern Stales wiliiout adopting any measures to put down Garrison. Tappan, and their associates, will present an issue wbich must be Viet by the Siexico, communicating the annexation of April 19, 1844, says : ■• And, in the next place, that the step was forced on the Government of the United States in self-defence, in conse- quence of the policy adopted by Great Britain in reference to the abolition of slavery in Texas. It was impossible for the United Slates to witne.ss with indifference the efforts of Great Britain to abolish slavery there. They could not but see that she had the means in her power, in the actual condition of Texas, to accomplish the objects of her pol- icy, unless prevented by the most efficient measures; and that, if accomplished, if would lead to a state of tliinps danserous in the extreme to the adjacent States and the Union itself Seeing this, the Government has been com- pelled, by tlie necessity of the case and a regard to itscon- stitulional obligations, to take the step it has. as the only certain and effectual means of iirevenling it." That was the doctrine advanced by Mr. Calhoun in his letter to Mr. Green, and the same doctrine was insisted on in his letter to Mr. Pakenham, the British Minister, which I will not trouble the Sen- ate with reading. The letter is dated the 18th of April, 1844, and declares, in efFect, that measures must be token to prevent abolition in Texas, to guard against the injurious efFect on us. It was the avowul of these Bentimenis by tlio General Govern- ment, thus boldly urd unblushingly made, and the declaration of Mr. Calhoun that unless those eiroris should succeed it would involve the whole country, and not the slaveholding Slates alone, in great ca- lamity, that awakened and aroused the public senti- ment at the North. Tluy saw then the revolution about to be effected in the Government, and that, instead of quie'ly employing ourselves at home, we were seeking to strengthen our hands by the incor- ponition of foreign nations in this Union to sustain the institution ofslavery. Now, in connection with this subject of the an- nexation of Texas, 1 come to the recent speech of the Senator from Massachusetts, [Mr. WEusTEn,] and I regret as much as any man being compelled to dlU'er from the honorable Senator. But 1 have this consolation, that it I difllr from the honorable Sen- ator from Massachusetts in IB.'iO, I agree with him In 184S. In a speech made by him in the Senate in 1848, the distinguished Senator from Massachusetts used this language : "My opposition to the increase ol sla ?ry in this coun- try, or to liie increase of slave representation in Congress, is general and universal. It has no reference to the lines of latitude or points of the compass, /shall ujrfiosi- all siuk exlfnsioji and all such increase, in all places, at ail times, uyuler all circumstances, even against all inducements, against all supposeit limitation of great interests, against ml cumtilnatiuns, against all compromises." — Mr. Webster in the Henatc, August 10, 1848." I agree with that sentiment of his, however I may ditier from some later things which he has said. I want now to call the attention of the Senate to some other remarks of the Senator from Massachu- setts, made upon this subject in the Senate of the United States : " Mr. President, there is no citizen of this country who is more kindly disposed toward the people of Texas than myself, from the time they achieved, in sc extraordinary a manner, their independence from the Mexican Govern- ment. I have shown, I hope, in anoilier place, and slialt show in all situations and under all circumstances, a jtist and proper regard for the people of that country ; but with respect to its annexation to this Union, it is well known that from the first announcement of any such idea, I have felt it my duty steadily, uniformly, and zealously to oppose it, I have expres.sed opinions and urged arguments against it everywhere and on all occasions in which the subject came under consideration, and could not now, if I were to go over the whole topic again, adduce any new views or support old views, as far as I am aware, by any new arguments or illustrations. My efforts have been con- s'aiit and unwavering, but. like those of others, they have fiiiled of success. I will, therefore, ui a very few words, acting under the unanimous resolution and instructions of both branches of the Legislature of Massachusetts, as well as in conformity to my own settled judgment and full con- viction, recapitulate before the Senate and bettre the coun- try the objections which have prevailetl. and which al- ways will prevail with me, against this measure of annex- ation. . . • ■ " In the third place, sir, 1 have to say. that while 1 hold, with as much integrity, I trust, and faithfulness as any cit- izen of this country, to all the original arrangements and compromises in which the Constitution uniltr which we now live was adopted, I never could and never can per- suade my.self to be in favor of the admission of oI^ rStates into the Union as slave States, with the inequalities which were allowed and accorded to ttie slaveholding States theQ in exisence by the Constitution. I do not think that the free States ever expected or could expect, that ihey would be called on to admit further slave Slates, having the ad- vantages, the unequal advantages arising to them from the mode of apportioning representation under the existing Constitution. " Sir, 1 have never made an effort, and never propose to- make an effort ; I have never countenanced an effort, and never mean to countenance an effort, to disturb the ar- rangements, as originally made, by which the various States came into the Union ; but I cannot avoid consider- ing it quite a different question when a proposition is . made to admit new States, and that ihey be ailowed t» <^ 12 •m* *n <»)!►» !*•♦ Sim* i»'.^!a?»« «ntl in<»'»'j»!i''?« which lie u<-,| .1 1 > (lie c|Ur>' > :it UpuU i(, . . . r . , krlT lo iiiru ihe ••I'.'i..-' into a iiml nut un>l ' '.!,j: iI uiII go "fTrr f«lirr*, or iiiiw. sir, thai all •u (iu«l I CUIllU ' il: ii ili<>»* wlio • r iiU(i|>orl ki.iii'l I ■ mv |>iii)i. ■V .km .•(I; . tjv til- i i . 1 .- • .. ■ (1 ■ ■■■•ucli Uill I nni kiisl.iill'-d liy K ilrcfi '.'ity. Auil while mipiiiirlnl lli, • ind by u snap judgment uncun- p d ] Ani yet, sir, in antiwcr to r >-4cd tu him a lew days ago, if he III. II..- Ml riiiulution ad>>|)ted by a major- ity oi ~ea of Con^rt-.ss imposed a c-on- xnr\ ■ 1 WIS binding, ho said that he i! ind in good failh to carry i' r new slivp Stales out of t. , of the obligation imposed -• wlio paiired the resolutions. I have t. .y as to how ihiit question will b6 met N -, and il is not very probable that I :iy public position to iiuit it when it <: ■ ; but I undertake to say, fur the pres- • ;. . ■ '■ ' ihe»e resuluiions impo'te no obli- - ■:. ■ . ■. I'.uver. I trust I shall always be .;.» c to Texas, but no considerniion - anything ei.se Is imposed upon me .1 .;i.»n growlnc dui of those resolutions. I'. .'< ti .' Ktdi by the Constitution ('ongress has the ri^lit to admit a .State, but, because il can do ihj* i; li :' ri' right lo connect with that oct a '-: M nation, out of which any obli- ;: .11 rest on this O.jvernmeni. Ills "rideacomp.ici wiili Texas — ' -and my unitwer to il is, .V eUe knew thai I'ongress, ' ' iiialie thai compnci, .!id what ' do, and what it was i .\pr^•^sly iiig. Did not the President anil '.jtu send llie matter lo the trvuiy- ; find when It fulled, did not the Pres- ■ I'l ihe IllBt'' ■ ' wt ..' h in the fi' my ■ii ihe iw(. 1 1 1 '.m- • iiion ill '.la n;iliis of 1 of lis eonniitiiilonal ' ition binding on my h nn act. I trust I - h'f" th»< wcj^jhi of Il Is put II u put on VSai, :U: iU avLUo «.aiiwu« «.olUt. in rela:ion to to this Texas anne.\ition. The Sen- ator from M.issachust'its, in that very patriotic speei-h for whuh he has been so much lauded that 1 cannot in uiiy;hin|i in what I may say adu to ihosr laudations, and iherelore will nut attempt it — the Senator undertakes to charge on the Democ- racy of the North that they were governed by the purpost, in!li [.Mr. Doiulap] says that it is not so, and hu shows us the record as exhibiting the fact Ihat every Noriiiern man in Congress who spoke on the subject cast from him the proposition of the Ad- iiiinisirution, and took another broad, comprehen- sive, liberal, enlightiTied, pairi tic, and Christian view trcnythi.ning, perpetuating, and rendering eternal the institution of human sla- very, that moment the .\0'thern Democracy, before opposed to it, opened .heireve*, and saw it us a great and glorious national measure. Just at that mo- ment did they see all this, and supported the meas- ure, not for the reasons assigned hy the .Administra- tion, but for other reasons of a v>-ry diUerent char- acter. This, in my judgment, is certainly one of the most remarkable and astonishing coincidences on record. There is another, equally astonishing, on this side of the chamber, exhibited in the course of the hon- orable .Senator from Miissachusetts, who filed a ca- veat against anybody taking a patent out for the use of his thunder, and who avowed his determination to defend it at all limes and on all occasions. At ihe v.ry time this thunder becomes a little annoying In some quarters, and ihrea'cns to embarrass the Administration, the Siiiutor discovers all at once that the l.iws o: God lake care of th.> Proviso, and that it wants nothing at our hands. Where were thisc laws of God when the Oregon bill was under consideration ? W-re not those laws in as full op- eration in 1-^H as they are in 1?50 ? Does not the law of God lake care of the Proviso up to 49 degrees, as Will 08 below 3') degrees 30 minutes? Or, sir, are the Iw^r of God and the in.stiaitions of piety more potent iiniler the present Administration than they were under the last ] Then it was abso- lutely necessary to iiistrt the Proviso into the Oregon bill; but now, ihat a new Administration has come in, nnd this thunder is very annoying and disturbing to ihcm, a'l at once it is discovi-nd that there is no sort of niTesrtiiy (or having any thiiniir at all, and that the laWH oi God take care of the whole question. And t!ie Senator says 'ic would not re-enael the law.s ui God. What would he do, then 7 Would he enact lows in repudiation and condemnation of the laws of ftfxl 7 All ihe laws we pass mtmi be cither in ac- ■ .me with or a:;alnst the Divine will. Have not liiwit in MiiMsachiisi'tis against murder, log, ond perjury f ond, if so, what are they but ihu rv-caactmcni of (he laws of Oud 7 Vet the Sen- 13 alor declares he would not re-enact the laws of God. Well, sir, I would. And when he tells mn that the law of God is against slavery, it is a most jiotent arprunnent to my mind why Wf should incorporate it with any Territorial bill, and against leaving it out. Well, sir, I will draw these remarks which I am making to a close. I will pass to another subject, the bill for the surrender of fugiiive slaves. That is a k-ine qua non. We must have a bill to carry out those provisions. Great fault h.-is been found with the remark of the iionorable Senator from New York, [>!'. Seward,] that the obligations which we owe to the Creator of all the earth are greater than those we owe to the Constitution. I do not stand up to take care of or defend the remarks of the Sen- ator from New York, because he can do it better than I can do it. But, however strong the Senator from New York may have made his position, however he may have said that the Constitution should be set aside when the laws of God contravene, ho fell very far short of the position assumed by high authority laid down on this subject about the the vear 1835. 1 will now read an extract iVom a letter written by Amos Kendall, then Postmaster General, to the postmaster of Charleston, in reference to the open- ing of packages in the mail. He says : "Th; Poplniaster General has no legal authority to ex- clude newspapers iVom tlie ni.iil, nor protiibit their c.irriaire or delivery, but I am not prepared to direct you to Inrwaril or deliver tlie papers of which you .speak. By no act or direction of mine, official or private, could I be induced to aid knowinp:ly in givinc circulation to papers of that de- scription, directly or indirectly. We owe obligation to the laws, hut a higher one to the e&mmunities in tr/iich we live ; and if the former be perverted to destroy the latter, it is pa- triotism to disregard them." Now, sir, where is the fanaticism of the Senator from New York ? Why, it does not come up to the A B C of this fanaticism ; and this was doctrine promulgated by the Administration, by its official organ in 1835— that we owed obedience to the laws under which we lived, but that we owed a higher obligation to any mob in the Union who chose to disregard them. Now, I do not stand here to defend or explain anything the Senator from New York may have said ; but let it be as fanatical as it may be, it is milk ard water in comparison with what was promulgated by the United States Postmaster General to his subordinates in 1835, that the obliga- tion? of the Constitution might be set at naught by an oflRcer of the Government, when he supposed that the interests of the community in which he lived re- quired it. What is the doctrine here maintained ? I want to know. Is the Senate ready to answer that question which was propounded more than 1800 years ago by the apostle, when he asked, " whether it be right in the sight of God, to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." Has i' been set- tled, then, that this doctrine implied by the inter- rogatory propo.^ed by the apostle, viz : the unquali- fied supremacy of God's law, is to be set at naught, to be derided, to be treated contemptuously, to be trodden under foot by every man ? Is a sense of re- ligious obligation to be scorned as tinworthy of a place in this republican assembly? I do not know how far such doctrines may eo, but I will say that while I am disposed to yield all obedience to the con- stitutional laws under which we live, I will stop a great deal short of the mark hid down by the hon- orable Senator from North Carolina yesterday. He says — "if judgment is obtained by fraud or violence, it is the duty of the citizen, not to arrest that judg- ment, but to ste it carried out." I have stated on another occasion what are my objections to the hill before the Senate. They are, that whileit recognises slavery, it recognises nothing else but slavery- ~ This bill is not framed with refer- ence to negroes; it is framed with reference to any- body and everybody, and proceeds on the assump- tion that the man who is seized in a free State is of course a slave. Now, the presumption of the law in the State where I live, where no slavery is recog- nised by law, is, that every man there is a frcemanr both in the technical and political srnse of the word. But this bill, with the amendment attached to it. with its affidavits taken a thousand miles ofl' behina his back, supposes that the man seized is a slave; and its passes over and cniire'ly forgets one provis- ion of the Constitution, which is, that no person shall be Seized without due process of law. But gentle- men argue as if the person seized must oi necessity be a slave, and the bill supposes and recognises him as a slave. Then we are told it will be impossible to carry out the provisions of the Constitution unless- some bill of this sort is passed. I, et us suppose an individual living in New Hampshire from his birth is seized as a slave : the thing has occurred of the seizure of an individual not many years ago, who drew every breath he ever drew in New Hampshire. It was a rare occurrence, and I remember it was so rare that, when the prosecuting authorities undertook to proceed aL'ainst those »vlio had seized this individ- ual, no statute asainst kidnapping could be found, and they were indicted at common law; since that tiinc, a statute has been enacted. Now, suppose an individual of that character is seized there — an indi- vidual who has been born, nurtured, and tirought up there, owing allegiance and being entitled to protec- tion there. You come upon him with an affidavit taken a thousand miles off, and you seize him. Where is that man's right ? Where is the trial by jury? Where is the habeas corpus? Where is the protection which the Constitution guaranties to the meanest citizi-n living under the law ? Why, sir, it is trampled in the dust by this bill ; he is carried be- fore a tribunal by one of the officers of the Govern- ment, without the right of a supervisory examination of a Judge of the United States Court within the district ; without any of the privileges belonging to a freeman, he is seized and hurried ofl"; and, although it may appear upon the face of it a mere prima facia examination, it is to all intents and purposes a final and conclusive judgment, because the officer gives to the claimant a certificate, and he hurries him ofiT; and when he gets to the great slave mart of Chris- tendom, the city of Washington, he may sell him or send him wherever he please^ Now, I am free to say, once for all, much as I love the Union, much as I reverence its institutions, fond as ore my memories which cling around its early histories, I would sac- rifice them all to-day before I would consent that the citizens of my native State should at one blow he stripped of every right that is dear to them, and for which their fathers bled and died. Now, sir, if that is to be the price of the preserva- tion of the Union, I say, "come disunion, and come to-day;" if you can only pur hase peace with us by compelling us to surrender e\erything which exalts us above your slaves, let disunion come; I think the people of the free States will be ready for it. I am utterly astonished to hear a proposition of this sort made in the American Senate. The bill proceeds entirely on the assumption that there are no rights in the Constitution, except the rights of slavery, and there is not a single word or letter in the proposition I have read, and I have read it very carefully, that is found to guard and protect with any efficient legis- lation the rights of a man or a child that may be wrongfully seized. Why not frame a bill that se- cures the rights both of the slaveholder and freeman? Why is there not some penalty imposed upon those persons who, upon some pretence or color of right, undertake, unlawfully, to seize an individual? Does not the same obligation rest upon us to deliver up all your property, even a horse, if it should escape ? Are not the free States under even,' obligation which an honest man would be under? Arc they not bound, as honest men, to deliver up that property ? Every citizen has a right to sue in the courts of his own State for the recovery of his property, and the Constitution of the United States provides that " the citizens of each State shall be entitled to all 14 privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States." There are courts, and a law of civilized society; a law which compels us to deliver up all the proptrty of any citizen which may be found in our State. In New Hampshire, you cannot come and take a hor?e without a trial by jury, nor any other pri'periy, amounting in value to S13 3'J. il any individual contests it. But y^JU come and take, not the horse, but the rider; not the accident, but the man ; not a cow, out a child. Then the safeguards which the Constitution throw.s around prop-.rty are stronger than for the man, and there is no help for hiiu. Hut let me not be misunderstood ; nor let it be said that I was ready to dissolve the L'nion. I said no such thing ; and the ini;enuity of no man is coiii;>etent to torture what I siiid into such a mean- ing. I said, sooner than surrender those rights for which the battles of the Revolution were fought, 1 would let the Union go ; for the Union was I'ormed to secure the blessings of liberty, as our fathers have said; but when it is used to secure the curses of .slavery, then, I say, it should go down. 1 cannot suppose a bill of this character can possibly pass, unless it is made etVectual to prevent abuses of this sort. We are accused of having other purposes in this mattf-r, and int» nding to irritate, wound, and insult the fttlin^'s of Southern cenilemen; but I ask you, if we have ever said anything on this subject that begins to come up to the declarations which have been taught us by the founders of the Republic in tho slave States. I will not read them, but if I should be so foolish as to write out this speecti, I may tran- scribe some of those declarations, made by the hon- orable Wiiliaiii I'inkney, of .Maryland, on this sub- ject. Sir, everything which the Abolitionists now say is tame, insijud, and heartless, compared with the denunciations made by him in the Legislature of -Maryland, in 17'?9. i,'rrrtir,'i from a »if.tch of \Vm. Pin/cney, delirered in the yi'try.arul lypitlature, July \7^, on a bill fur the relief of of/prrsseU liart*. '• The gf-nerous mind that has adequate ideas of the in- !.• r-:.! -i.-A.'s nf mankind, uiid knows the value of ihem, r- ii'idiguatioii rise against tJic shamf/ul traffic, ■ • ■* slavery into a country which ser-msj to have t I dy Providence as an osyiHin lor tlinse whom l:.L- .irni •: cower has persecuted, ami not as the nursery iir Wftclies hlrijiped of every privilege which Heaven iu- IrH'!-: lor ilf rational freatu'rea, uiid reilured to a level MTilh— nay, hecome llienitelves— the mbrb goods and CUATTEli) OF THEIR .HASTBRS. " Sir. br the Henud prinriplei of natural justice, so mas- TR< .S TUB STATB HAS A KIGHT TO HOLU HIS SLAVE IN B 'Nt'A -.8 FOR A bl.NOLE HOl'B ; bul tlie law of ItlC land, w .; '.■>«• vero///:vir incunnist- 'ti: :•.... '!■• L'reat trruund-wurlc nt the late revolution aud '■;' . .■ . ■ • irimf ■ f Government) we cannot, in prudence ■ '■■ :i . r -iril t 1 jnilividual rights, abolish, has author- --. or perhaps tr^ra^, than tlie most ah • s-rviiule that ever Ensland knew in ■ mpiie, under the tyrannical policy of I- II liil tenures ol tiie Saxons, or the pure Normans. * ' ' Sir, the natural char- iiid is Mutriciently »uWi>J and liinhunured by ■ 'iv-ry ; but when it Is found that your -ble enrouragemeni to its ronlinuauce • )im, and are ingenious to prevent even decline, how is the evil of the impor- li may even be lhoui{lil that our late liberty did not originate in principle, 11 popular i-Jiprice, the rn^e of faction, of party ' ' ' Sir, fet gentlemen . thiit. after Provideni-e has rrowned ■ no..- ol L" ii.i ,il ir.reilom With HUCfesH, I inyriailof danjjers, ' IJiii-k upon each • .• principles upon ; .DIM j.. .■.■.!»«■ of that intrr|)o»i- i.Qr we foiild have been naved ;...w.r. We niJiy talk of liberty . . I Nat we (e. I a revereure 1. with all the vi.'hemence , reFhioii. ami flatter our- iiH'er; litit, no lon/f ru tee « trrrj of ftarlKil tlavery •ur tinrmltf In th* n.im« rlncaid, from motives of interest, but whicli even she would have disdained to encourage, had England been the destined mart of sdch iniicman mer- chaNDIkX. its rnn/iriii(jnc>> is as shnmrfiil .is ith origin. " Kternal infamy i\viA\\ the ab.indoned misrnants, whow •elfish souIhco'iI I ever prompt them to roA unhappy Alrira of her sons, and frrighi idem hlthT by thousands, to poison the fair Uden of liberty teith tlie ranJc teeej of individucd 15 Sjondagf ! Nor is it more lo the credit of our nnceBtors that they did not command those surage spoiln-a to bear tlieir hateful cargo to another shore, wlierc the Hhrine of freedom knew no votaries, anil every purchaser would at once be b«th a master and a slave. "In the dawn of time, Mr. Speaker, wl en the rough f'-el- ings of barbarism had notexpcricm-ed the HofleiiinK touches of refinement, such an unpruiciplfd nrohiraliou of ihe in- herent rights of human nature would liave needed Ihe ({loss of an apolo}.'y ; tiul, te it siiid. thai \rhi-ti hr citizenn rivalled the nation fn'Di whence they emigrated in the knowledge of mural princi- ples, and ail enlliusiasni in the cause of general freedom, they STOOl'ED TO BECOME THE fUKCII ASERS 01' THBlIt FBLLOW- CilBATURES, and to introduce an hi-rrdilary bondage into Ihe buiom of their country, which should widen with every successive generatioi. " For my own part, I would willingly draw ilic veil of oh- liviou over this diig^istiiig scene (>/ iniquity. Imt that Ihe present abject state of those who are desi-emled from tli>se Kidnapped sutTerers ))crpetually brings it lorward to the memory. " But wlicrefore should we confine the edge of censure to our ancestors, or those from whom they purchased? Are not we ehuallv guilty ( They strewed around Ihe seeds of slavery, we ciiEmsH and si-stain tub growth. They introduced llif system, WK bm.aroe, in vioor atb, and OONPIKM IT. " For shame, sir ; let us throw off the mask ; it Is a cob- web one at besi, ami the world will see through it. It irill not do, thus to talk like philosophers, ami art like unrelent- ing tyrants ; lo In' perpetually sermonizing it, xtith libeity fur our text, and actual oppression /yr our commentary. "Survey the couiilrics, sir, where the hand of freedom conducts the ploughshare, and compare their produce with yours. Your granaries, in this view, appear like the store- nouses of emmets, tnough not supplied with equal industry. To trace the cause of this disparity belwcen tlie fruits of a freeman's voluntary labors, animated by the hope of profit, »nd the slow-paced efforts of a slave, who acts I'rom com- pulsion only, who has no incitement to exertion but fear, no prospect of remuneration to encourage, would be insult- ing the understanding. The cause and the etfect are too obvious to escape observation. ..... Thb extension op CIVIL slavery ought TO alarm us. In truth, we are the only nation upon earth that ever con- sidered 'manumission' as a ground of apprehension, or the 'extension of slavery ' a political desideralunx." That was said in 1739. I will say, with regard to the subject which was ap a few inoments since, whenever a bill can be framed honestly to carry out the obligations of the Constitution, and careluily guarding against abuses, 1 will consent to carry out all these obligations in good faith ; but good faith does not require that the rights of the States shall be perverted to enable per- sons to carry into eflect the purpose of recapturing fugitive slaves. It should be remembered that where the interests of freedom and shivery are in contact, the interests of liberty should be preserved, protected, and guarded ; and it is the duty of the Senate and of the National Legislature to protect and guard those rights of freedom. Now, sir, with a single word aboi:t this general ■question, I leave the subject. My purpose and aim have been, not to throw any apple of discord into the Senate, or'to e.xcite any angry feelings; but when an attempt was made by the Senator from South Caro- lina to give, with all the authority attached to his great r.aineand reputation, an historical account of the manner in which this subject had arisen and had been treated, and when 1 saw in that historical account grg^t injustice had been done, as I thought, I considered that a sense of duty required me, ac- cording to the measure of my leeble abilities, to cor- re do no* e.\()ect that public ««r political measures are to elleci it ; but by appealing to the hearts and consciences of men, by bringinj^ home the principles of Christianiiv and the appeals of humanity to those who have the power lo inllucnce the men aroiitid them, and who have hearts to feel, we trust they will be induced to rem- edy or remove the evils under which the country, in this connection, labors. This is what we dtsire, and aim at ; and firmly belitvinj^ in the providen- ces of God, we trust the day will yet dawn upon this country when the word slavery shall be a word without a meaning; and when tltose whose efforts are for iiniveisal freedom shall have, as their fathers had in the days of the Revolutir)n, the earnest, hearty sympathies of those who live m the slavc- holiling Siat'.s; and when every section of the Union will join hands with the other in spreading abroad the principles of humanity, philosophy, and of Christianity, which shall elevate every son and daughter of the human ra.X' to lh.it liberty for which they were created, and for which they were destined by God. That happy period, sir, will yet dawn upon the destinies of this nation ; and then sliall the united and universal shout of a regenerated people go up in one strong swelling chorus to the throne of t'le Most High, unmingled with the groans or prayers of the victims of oppression, living under any human form of government. These opinions, sir. we entertain, and these hopes wo cherish, and we do not fear to avosv them h< re now, always, and forever. We ask not the aidof thi.s Government to bring it about; for we know that under the Constitution you have no power to nuve in the work, and therefore anv such appeal of ours would be ill-timed. What we have a right t'> ask. and do ask, in the name of justice, of humanity, and of liberty, is that you place not this Government in the way— that you do not Ijv any action of yours interpose to extend the boundaries of slavery, or retard the progress of human freedom and improvement. Sir, this great cause must pros- per, and it is of little consequence to the cause whether this Government is found for it or aga'nst it ; but it is of grt\tt moment to the Government, lest, unhappily, in this great controversy, it be found righting against God. PnuleJ aiKl iur filt by Biiell A- BlaDcbard, Sixil) siretL, south of Ptuneyl«-ania avenue. Price, uw- dollar per hundred. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 011 898 114 5 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 0011 898 1145 m