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 SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 y 
 
 BENJAMIN BARSTO^T 
 
 OF SALEM, _ 
 
 ON THE 
 
 LT£t 
 
 lil^' 
 
 OF 
 
 CALEB CUSHING. 
 
 uB 
 
 'elivered at the Massachusetts National 
 Democratic Convention, held at 
 Boston, Sept. 22, 1853. 
 
 TO 
 
 FRANKlsIN FIERCE : 
 
 Our chief of men, who, through a cloud 
 
 Kot of war only, but detractions rude, 
 
 Guided by faith and matchless fortitude, 
 
 To peace and truth thy glorious way hast ploughed. 
 
 * * * * * ♦ 
 
 Yet much remains ' 
 
 To conquer still; Peace hath her victories. 
 No less renowned than War ; new foes arise, 
 Threatening to bind our souls in secular chains. 
 Help us to save free conscience from the paw 
 Of hireling wolves whose gospel is their maw. 
 
 [MlUON — SOKSET TO CrOMWEII, 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PUBLISHED AT THE OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCPiAT, 
 
 No. 15 Brattle, Street. 
 
 iS5S. 
 
•7 
 
 ■ If ^6 
 
 W^^ Co 
 
 SPEECH. 
 
 The National Democralic State Convention 
 for Massachusetts met at Boston, at the Tre- 
 raont Temple, September 22d, 1853. 
 
 After the organizttion and the choice of Com- 
 mittees, Mr. Benjamin Bakstow of Salem 
 rose to make a personal explanation, request- 
 ing the indulgence of the Convention there- 
 for. 
 
 The President decided that leave must be 
 requested of the Convention, and, on motion, 
 Mr. Barstow was allowed to proceed. He 
 spoke as follows : 
 
 Mr. President and GentlcvieJi : — I rise 
 to a personal question, to make an explana 
 tion, and, as it may occupy some time, I ask 
 Tour indulgence. I have been infornied that 
 I have been denounced to different members 
 of the State Committee, and the National 
 Democratic party of Massachusetts, for opin- 
 ions which I saw fit to exprfss during the 
 early part of March last, in reference to the 
 Hon. Caleb Cushing, while I was on a visit 
 to Washington ; and it has been stated that 
 the State Committee and the whole party 
 should. 1*6 held ^ resjjonsiblc for what I said. 
 1 UocfffC ihege cirejiijWtaiJees, feeling that I 
 may have involved you and those you repre 
 ;'«etttjt J'.fe<!l bwind -to; s^ite to you what I did 
 * 'say; irhd togive you my reasons fur doing so 
 Upon the announcement that the Hon. Ca 
 leb Cushing was to be a member of the Cabi- 
 net, feeling indignant that the National De- 
 mocracy of New England should be so mis- 
 represented as it would bo by one whose 
 career for the greater part of his life has been 
 in the Whig party, and whom I believe at 
 the present time to be as much a Whig as 
 
 ever, T accused him openly of being such, 
 and also what is equally weW known in Mas- 
 sachusetts, — of being a Coalitionist. For 
 this, it seems, I incurred the wrath of that 
 gentleman, and members of the State Com- 
 niittte were told by him that unless they stop- 
 ped " that beardless boy," the whole party 
 should be held responsible. If Gen. Cushing 
 thinks a 'beardless man" a finer looking ob- 
 ject than a 'beardless boy," he is welcome 
 to his taste ; but as to the charge of }outh, I 
 will say, that it has been my good fortune to 
 have been a member of the Democratic party 
 for twenty four years longer than Caleb Cush- 
 ing, even taking his own dates, and I have 
 only to refer him to his own defence against 
 the !-ame charge, in a statement over his name, 
 accompanying a certain notorious affidavit in 
 182G, in which he says: 
 
 " I am also accused ofyouth and ambition. 
 As for the heinous fault of not being an old 
 man, I may say with Chatham, in his youth, 
 that I hope time will mend it; and that the 
 charge comes with ill grace from ,«ome to 
 whom age has arrived without wisdom. But 
 in seriousness, it is needless to be wiser than 
 the constitution." 
 
 Before proceeding with the charges I made 
 against General Cushing, I wish to call your 
 attention to the gross injustice of attempting 
 to throw upon my shoulders, and to attribute 
 to any remarks of mine, a line of policy which 
 extends throughout the whole North, and was 
 determined upon a long time previously. I 
 wish also to state, tu avoid any false imputa- 
 tions, thar I have never been an applicant for 
 any office. State or national, directly or indi- 
 rectly, nor has my nan;e ever been used as 
 
such, to my knowledge : and in reference to I upon tbe Democracy, one of which resolutions 
 the coalition, I will say, that in 1849, when 
 it was first formed, believing it to extend to 
 State pui poses alone, I warmly adopfed it ; 
 but iinmedi itcly upon discovering its connex- 
 ion with the slavery question, I as warmly 
 opposed it, and have done so ever since. 
 
 And now, gentlemen, I charge Caleb Gush- 
 ing with deceiving the President, with being 
 a Whig, a Coaliiioni;-t, and ab<tIition agitator. 
 
 And first, as to deceiving the President. 
 Let us see what Franklin Pierce stood p edg- 
 ed to do upon commencing bis administrative 
 carter. If he has pledged himself to one 
 thing, and hiis done another, either he has 
 broken his promises or he has been deceived 
 in his agents. 
 
 In the summer or fall of 1850, the Demo- 
 e/atie party of New H.itupsliire, under the 
 immediate lead of Franklin Pierce, assembled 
 in State Conx'ention, and rejecting Jo!in At 
 wood, the nominee of the regular annual con- 
 vention, nominated another gentleman in his 
 plac'. Why? Because John At wood and 
 his friends had formed a coaliMon with the 
 Free Soilers of New Hampshire, for the pur 
 
 was as follows : 
 
 Resolved, That all those who assent to any 
 such bargain or consent to pay any such price, 
 must bear in mind that any Freesoil Senator, 
 if elected, would be n« cessarily an opponent 
 of the next administration, should that admin- 
 istration be — as it probably will be — Demo- 
 cra ic, and that all those who class themselves 
 as the frii nd.s of such a Senator, and who are 
 instrumental in his election, must necessarily 
 also be opponents of the next, Democratic ad- 
 n-inistrntion, and of the distinguished men of 
 whnm it is composed, and by whom it will be 
 supported, and must be piepared to take all 
 the necessary cont-equences of that position. 
 
 These resolutions were published in the 
 Boston Post of the 9ih of January, and tbe 
 mail from Concord next ensuing brought a 
 letter froni Gen Pierce written with his cha- 
 racteristic impulsiveness, warmly approving 
 the resolutions, and the stand taken by the 
 Salem Democraey, saying — '"He was so pleas- 
 ed he Cfiuld rot help sitting down to let us 
 know." and complimenting us strongly on 
 our Democracy and patri-itism. 
 
 Here was a virtual adhesion to the pnli y 
 laid down in the resolutions, and it sustained 
 
 pose of eltcting that gentleman Governor ofj i.is in our uuwaveiing opposition to th ■ Coa 
 the State, and of defeating the operution of lition. 
 the compromise measures, and the Democra 
 tic piirty. By so doing. General Pi rce ob- 
 tained the confidence of the Union men of the 
 oountry, and succeeded eventually in bi coin- 
 ing President By this he pledged himself 
 against (oalition,s with Free Soilers and in 
 fdvorofthe Nation:! Democracy. 
 
 In the spiing of 1851, the coalition in 
 Massae'^usett^, which had been formed t e 
 previous fall, was pcifcted by ;in agrcemei.t 
 nmde ou the 6 h il.iy of January between the 
 Free Sial ai.d Dcuocratie r< presentatives io 
 the Legislature, to the tlteet that Chas Suii - 
 ner should receive the votes of the Democra 
 tic pajty fur United Sta'es Senator. The 
 Democraey of the city o*" Salem held a meet- 
 ing on the 7th day of that month — the en 
 ^uing evening — and passed a series of reso 
 luiions denouncing the birgain as a f:au'l 
 
 The B dtiiiiore Convention met in June, 
 1852 and adopted a phi -form w irmly s-us- 
 taining the Compromise measures, •^r\(\ dfcid- 
 ing that no one who oppnsod t'lo-e me su'es 
 i)e!origed to the Democratic pti'y As if ro 
 leave no loom for doubt as to tlieir uieaning, 
 '.they proceedi d to reji et the Hon Robert 
 Haii'ou!, Jr , a leadinii Ci a'itionist and Free 
 Soil Democrat, solely upon the ground of his 
 opinions on th(^ compromise measures and his 
 part in too Massachusetts Coalition, and this 
 tf.o by the decisive vote of 194 to 83, thus 
 leaving no room to doubt that the compromise 
 mea-utes formed an essential part of the De- 
 mocratic creed. 
 
 Gen. Pie)ce, in accepting the nomination 
 then tendered to him, says, in his letter of 
 June 17th, 1852 — ' May I not regard it as 
 a fact jointirrg to the overthrow of sectional 
 
jealousies," and proceeds to say — "I accept 
 the nomination upon the platform adopted by 
 the convention, not because this is expected 
 of me as a candidate, but, because the prin- 
 ciples it embraces command the approbation 
 of my judgment ; and with them, I believe I 
 can safely say, there has been no word nor act 
 of my life in conflict." 
 
 Thus again, in this last sentence, he pledges 
 himself that the rejection of all coalitions with 
 Free Soilers, and the proscription of such 
 men as John Atwood, form part of the plat- 
 form laid down at Baltimore, and will form 
 part of his course if elected. Thus repeated- 
 ly he pledges himself to sustain pure national 
 Democracy, untinctured by Free Soilism. 
 
 Now what has been the course of the Ad- 
 ministration? Look at the appointments which 
 have been made in this State. Multitudes 
 of cases, known to all of you, might be brought 
 up, to show the Free Suil inclinations of the 
 appointing power, whoever that may be. I 
 shall conSne myself to what has been passing 
 under my own eyes, and in my own county 
 of Essex — the county of Caleb Gushing also. 
 
 On the 26th of May, Lewis Josselyn of 
 Lynn was appointed the Surveyor of the port 
 of Salem and Beverly. This Josselyn is too 
 well known to require a long description. He 
 has always been conspicuous for his Free Soil 
 inelinations. He was an early and an able 
 advocate for the coalition, and upon its suc- 
 cess received the office of Clerk of the House 
 of Ecpresentativos for himself, and Assistant 
 Clerk for his son, which netted not far from 
 ^2000 a year ; he has edited for some years 
 the Lynn Bay State, a paper of the strongest 
 Free Soil tendency, and as such, has com- 
 mented freely upon the politics of this and the 
 neighboring States. 1 shall select, as pertin- 
 ent to the occasion, his paper of March 20, 
 1851, in which he comments upon the result 
 of the election in New Hampshire, after the 
 rejection of John Atwood. Now as this was 
 Gen. Pierce's act, and as the President says 
 in his letter accepting his nomination, that it 
 was identical in principle with the Baltimore 
 
 Platform, it will show the beautiful harmony 
 between the President and his appointees ; 
 
 " It is not a pleasant task for us, under any 
 circumstances, to record the defeat of the De- 
 mocracy in any State in the Union. But there 
 are circumstances connected with the late elec- 
 tion in the Granite S'ate, and the defeat of 
 the 'Old Hunker' Democrats, which go very 
 far to make us reconciled with the result, and 
 even to believe that ' it is all for the best,' 
 and that ' great good will grow out of it.' " 
 
 It quotes from the Majichester Democrat, 
 speaking of Franklin Pierce and others : 
 
 " When .some ten weeks ago, certain /aZ.^e- 
 hearted and self-elected Democratic leaders 
 proclaimed that every man should be thrown 
 overboard who would not vow to support the 
 fugitive slave law, they were distinctly told 
 that this step would bring defeat upon the 
 party, and give at least two Congressional dis- 
 tricts to the Whigs. But no — the commands 
 of Daniel Webster and Franklin Pierce 
 Tmist be obeyed — the common people are in- 
 sultingly told that they are incapable of judg- 
 ing of the merits of this law — the bargain at 
 Franklin must be carried out, and the slave- 
 holders ujufat be propitiated." 
 
 Again the Bay State says : 
 
 "No set of leaders by offers of reward or 
 threats of vengeance, can induce the mass of 
 the Democratic party to abandon their cher- 
 ished hopes of tbe advancement of Humanity, 
 and their firm reliance on the eternal princi- 
 ples of Justice and Liberty, which are the 
 foundation of true Democracy [of course the 
 surveyorship will not induce Mr. Josselyn.] 
 And we admire the spirit with which thous- 
 ands of good and true Democrats in the Gra- 
 nite State have come forward in this election 
 and have said to those who would reduce 
 them to a political bondage as degrading as 
 African slavery, ' Thu;^ far shalt thou go and 
 no further.' " 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 " Do the Democratic leaders in NewHamj)- 
 shire, or any other State, mean to make tLe 
 ' coui promise measures ' and the Fugitive 
 Slave law a test in the next Presidential 
 election? Is every Democrat to be thrown 
 over who is opposed to that ' bill of abomina- 
 tions?' It will be difficult to find a place 
 large enough to put them in — and there would 
 not be an omnibus full left of the party." 
 
An annonncement appeared in the Bay 
 State that the editor was about to publish a 
 daily paper in Salem, and shortly after, on 
 the 26th of May, he received an appointment 
 as Surveyor. 
 
 Another appoititiBcnt is that of G. J. L 
 Colby, editor of the Newburyport Union, 
 who was appointed Storekeeper and Inspec- 
 tor at Salern, an office worth, by the Blue 
 Book, near $1500 a year. This Colby was, 
 as he says, a member of the Liberty party in 
 1842-3, and implies that he is of the same 
 sentiments still, although he has no confid- 
 ence in the men of that organization. He 
 has also been accused of delivering Aati- 
 Slavery lectures in various places, which he 
 admits in his paper of June 16, 1853, and 
 expresses strong approbation of the princi- 
 ples of the old Liberty party, and his sym- 
 pathies have always been like Josselyn's. 
 The Union newspaper, under his charge, has 
 always been a strong advocate for the coali- 
 tion, and being well known at Washington, 
 he received his appointment. But I cannot 
 resist the temptation to allude to one more 
 appointment — that of George B. Loring, as 
 Postmaster of Salem. This gentleman was 
 a Candidate for Collector of that port, and 
 bis appointment was opposed by 99 out of a 
 hundred of the party. A remonstrance was 
 signed by 350 of the Coalition and National 
 Democrats of Salem and Beverly, against his 
 appointment, as being odious to the party 
 and citizens generally, and the obliquity of 
 his political course fully exposed. This was 
 sent to Washington, but he was appointed 
 Postmaster notwithstanding. This g<;ntle- 
 man was a warm supporter of Robert llan- 
 toul, Jr., till his death — a Vice President of 
 the Lynn meeting, at which Mr. B. joined 
 the Abolitionists — a warm Coalitionist and 
 an eager office-seeker. At the Convention 
 which chose a delegate, who unseated Mr. 
 Rautoul at Baltimore, Mr. Loring made an 
 idle and weak attempt to break up the Con- 
 vention, of which he was not a member, but 
 an intruder. Mr. LoriDoj held two offices 
 
 from the Coalition, as appears from the fol- 
 lowing letter from the Secretary of State, and 
 became a furious National Democrat just a 
 fortnight before the Presidential election : 
 
 Secretary's Office, Boston, ) 
 January 22d, 1853. ( 
 Sir : — In answer to yours of the 21st inst., 
 I am able to state that George B. Loring of 
 Salem, was appointed a Commissioner July 
 3d. 1S52, under a resolve of that year, ch. 
 98. providing " for t^e appointment of Com- 
 missioners to examine Cape Cod Harbor." 
 
 George B. Loring, of Chelsea, was ap- 
 pointed a Trustee of the School for training 
 and teaching Idiots, June 16, 1851, and re- 
 appointed May Uth, 1852. 
 
 Very respectfully, your ob't serv't, 
 E. M. WRIGHT, 
 Secretary of the Commonwealth. 
 Benjamin Bakstow, Esq, Salem. 
 
 The Com?)ionweaUk newspaper, ia Boston, 
 in October 1852, says : 
 
 " We have in our possession an anti-slave- 
 ry pamphlet written by Dr. Loring of Salem, 
 not many years since, in opposition to some 
 pro slavery articles in the Boston Post. Dr. 
 Loring was then a respectable abolitionist. 
 We do not clearly understand what has con- 
 verted him into a Hunker Democrat. Some 
 folks in Salem think they do." 
 
 This charge of authorship, though fre- 
 quently reiterated in public prints and else- 
 where, has never been denied by that gentle- 
 man It has been my good fortune to pro- 
 cure a copy of this pamphlet, which fully jus- 
 tifies the remarks of the Commonwealth, but 
 which I will spare you, having more import- 
 ant matter to lay before you. 
 
 The appointments of Messrs. Josselyn and 
 Loring will come before the Senate in De- 
 cember. 
 
 The Hon. Caleb Gushing was selected to 
 represent New England in the Cabinet As 
 a general thing, the appointments in each 
 section of the country would necessarily be 
 approved by the representative in the Cabi- 
 net, or he would resign. But we have parti- 
 cular proof of the interest felt in some of 
 these appointments by the gentleman referred 
 to- 
 
The records of the City Clerk at Ljnrj 
 show that the Bay State newspaper (Mr 
 Josselyn's) is under a mortgage to Hon. John 
 B. Alley, the Free Soil candidate for Con- 
 gress in lS-52, for one thousand dollars, as 
 a j pears by the following : 
 
 Know all men by these presents, that T, 
 Lewis Josselyn, of Lynn, in the county of 
 Essex, State of Massachusetts, in considera- 
 tion of the sum of one thousand dollars, to 
 me paid by John B. Alley, of said Lynn, 
 the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, 
 have granted, bargained and sold, and by 
 these presents do grant, bargain, and sell un 
 to the said Alley, the whole and entire priut- 
 ing establishment known as the Bay State of 
 fice, situated in Union street, in said Lynn, 
 being the same establishment which 1 pur- 
 chased of John B. Tolman, October first, A 
 D. LS49, and of which a schedule appears in 
 a mortgage made to the said Tolman, October 
 1st, 1849, and recorded in Lynn Town Rec- 
 ords, Book 5, pages 72 to 77, which sche- 
 dule is to be referred to as a pait of this 
 mortgage. To have and to hold the afoie ''os 
 cribed goods and chattels, to the said All< y, 
 to his executors, administrators, and assigns, 
 forever. And I the said Josselyn, do avouch 
 myself to be the lawful ownt-r of said goods 
 and chattels, and have good right to sell and 
 dispose of the same in manner aforesaid. 
 
 Provided nevertheless, that if the said 
 Lewis Josselyn, bis executors, or adminis- 
 trators or assigns, shall pay unto the said Al- 
 ley, his executors or administrators, the said 
 sun of one thousand dollars, as fuliows, to wit 
 — five hundred dollars in six months and five 
 hundred in twelve months from the date here- 
 of, then this mortgage, as also two promissory 
 noies bearing even date hercwitli, si:zned by 
 the said Josselyn, whereby he promi.-es, &c., 
 shall be void. 
 
 In witness whereof, T, the s.-ii 1 Lmvis Jos- 
 selyn, have subscribed the sanjo, this second 
 day of October, in the year of our Lord one 
 thousand eight hundred and fifty-one. 
 
 Lewis Josselyn. 
 
 Executed and delivered in presence of J. 
 R. Newiiall. 
 
 Recorded October 7th, 1853, 30 minutes 
 past 5, P. M. 
 
 Another mortgage from Lewis Josselyn to 
 
 John B. Alley, dated June 14lh, 11^53, of— 
 
 The power printing press on which the 
 Bay State newspaper is printed, together 
 
 with all the types and other printing; materi- 
 als vvhich have been added to the Bay State 
 printing office in said L\nn, since the second 
 day (f October, A. D. 1851. 
 
 Provided nevertheless, that this convey- 
 ance shall be void and of no effect if the said 
 Josselyn, his executors or administrators, shall 
 pay unto the said Alley, his executors, and 
 administrators or assigns, the sum of one 
 thousand dollars and interest at the time fol- 
 lowing, to wit : on demand, and for which 
 sum and interest, I, the said Josselyn, have 
 given two promissory notes, bearing date Oct. 
 2d, 1851, signed by myself, and made pay- 
 able to the said Alley or his oider ; one of 
 said notes being made payable six months 
 from its date, and the other in twelve months 
 from its date ; the said notes being overdue, 
 this mortgage is given as additional security 
 to another mortgage, dated the second day of 
 October, 1851, and when the said notes and 
 interest are paid then both mortgages aie to 
 be void. 
 
 Signed Lewis Josselyn. 
 
 Tn witness. &e. 
 
 Tn presence of J R. Newiiall. 
 
 Recorded June 21st, 1852, fifteen minutes 
 past 2 P. M. 
 
 I am credibly informed that a letter was 
 received by Mr. Alley from Mr. Cashing, in 
 substance, requesting him to come to Wash- 
 ington. Mr. Alley went to Washington, and 
 Mr. Josselyn was appointed immediately af- 
 ter. The mortgage must be paid,, but in the 
 meantime, as appears above, was strengthen- 
 ed by another mortgage to the same gentle- 
 man, under date of June 14th, 1853, pro- 
 bably as a consideration for the office I'e- 
 ceived. 
 
 I have the best information tb.-it the Ncif- 
 iuryport Union newspaper was. at the time 
 of the appointment of Mi. Colby, its editor, 
 mortgaged to Hon. Caleb Cushing for the 
 sura of seven hundred and fifty dollars, as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 Know all men by these presents, that we, 
 Edwin Lawrence, William II. Huse and Jo- 
 seph H. Bragdon, all of Newbaryport, in the 
 county of Essex, and Commonwealth of Ma.s- 
 saehusetts, for and in consideration of the 
 sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, paid 
 by Caleb CirsiiiNO, of said Ncwburyport, the 
 receipt whereof we hereby acknowledge, have 
 granted, sold and assigned, and do by these 
 
presents grant, sell and assign unto the said 
 Caleb Cui-hing, the following described 
 Goods and Chattels, viz., the materials of 
 the Daily Union Printing Office, situated in 
 the building numbered 3G in said State 
 Street, with two Tufts Patent Printing 
 Presses, nearly new, now in use in said 
 office, (it being understood between the par- 
 ties that said property is free of incumbrance 
 saving and exceptintr a mortgage of eiglit 
 bundled dollars to Charles Nason ; on the 
 third part of said goods and chattels belopg- 
 ing tu said Edwin Lawrence, which said 
 mortgage is not a lien upon the other two- 
 thirds of said property. ) 
 
 To have and to hold the aforedescribed 
 Goods and Chattels to the said Caleb Cusii- 
 ING, his executors, admini.'-trators and assigns 
 forever. And we, the said Lawrence, Huse 
 and Bragdon, do avouch ourselves to be the 
 lawful owners of said goods and chattels, and 
 have good right to sell and dispose of the 
 same in manner aforesaid, excepting as above 
 stated. 
 
 Provided, nevertheless, that if the said 
 Edwin Lawrence, William H. Huse and Jo- 
 seph H. Bragdon, their executors or adminis- 
 trators, shall pay unto the said Caleb Gush- 
 ing, his executors, administrators or assigns, 
 the said sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, 
 according to the tenor of a certain note of 
 even date herewith, then this raorto-age shall 
 be void. 
 
 In witness whereof, we the said Lawrence, 
 Huse and Bragdon, have subscribed the same 
 this twenty-third day of January, in the year 
 our Lord eighteen hundred and fifty. 
 
 Signed, Edwin Lawrence, 
 
 William H. Huse, 
 Joseph H. Bragdon. 
 Executed and delivered in presence of 
 Albert Frye, Gardner N. Cobb. 
 Newburyport, Oct. 14, 1850, at 4 o'clock 
 25 minutes, P. M., leceived and recorded in 
 the Book of Records of Mortgages, lib. 5 
 folio 174, and examined by Eleazer Johnson, 
 Town Clerk. 
 
 A true copy of record. 
 
 Attest, Eleazer Johnson, City Clerk. 
 
 Know all men by these pre.«ents, that we, 
 Edwin Lawrence, William H. Huse and Jo- 
 seph H. Bragdon, all of Newburyport, in the 
 county of Essex, and Commonwealth of Mas- 
 sachusetts, for and in consideration of the 
 sum of five hundred dollars paid by Caleb 
 CusiiiNG, of said Newburyport, the receipt 
 
 whereof we do hereby acknowledge, have 
 granted, sold and assigned, and do by these 
 presents grant, sell and assign unto the said 
 Caleb Gushing, the following described goods 
 and chattels, viz., the type, presses and fix- 
 tures in the Newburyport Daily Union Office, 
 at No. 3 State street, in said town, viz , one 
 Adams Power Press, value SI 000 ; two 
 Tufts Patent Presses, value each S1275 ; all 
 type and fixtures used in the newspaper and 
 job printing dejiaitments of said office, to- 
 gether with the books and accounts beloneins; 
 to or pertaining to said office. 
 
 To have and to hold the aforedescribed 
 goods and chattels to the said Caleb Gushing, 
 his executors, administrators and assigns for- 
 ever. And we, the said Lawrence, Huse 
 and Bragdon, do avouch ourselves to be the 
 lawful owners of said goods and chattels, and 
 have good right to sell and dispose of the 
 same in manner aforesaid. 
 
 Provided, nevertheless, that if the said 
 Lawrence, Huse and Bragdon, their execu- 
 tors or administrators, shall pay unto the said 
 Caleb Gushing, his executors, administrators 
 or assigns, the said sum of five hundred dol- 
 lars, according to the tenor of a certain note 
 of hand of even date herewith, then tjiis 
 mortgage shall be void. 
 
 In witness whereof, we, the said Edwin 
 Lawrence, William H. Huse and Joseph H. 
 Bragdon, have subscribed the san;e, this 
 eighth day of October, in the year of our 
 Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty. 
 Signed, Edwin Lawrence, 
 
 William H. Huse, 
 Joseph H. Bragdon. 
 Executed and delivered in presence of 
 F, Lawrence, J. Q. A. Stone. 
 Newburyport, Oct. 14, 1850, at 4 o clock 
 25 minutes, P. M., received and recorded in 
 the Book of Eecoids of Mortgages, lib. 5. 
 folio 175, and examined by Eleazer Johnson, 
 Town Clerk. 
 
 A true copy of record. 
 
 Attest, Eleazer Johnson, City Clerk. 
 
 Another fact has come to my knowledge, 
 proving Mr. Gushing's influence in the dis- 
 pensing of patronage. The columns of the 
 Boston Times exhibit long lists of lucrative 
 government advertising. I have been in- 
 formed upon undoubted evidence, that Caleb 
 Cushing's name has been found as endorser 
 upon the notes of George Roberts, the pro- 
 
8 
 
 prieter of that paper, and that Mr. Gushing 
 has been forced to settle demands, brought 
 against him in consequence. The advertis- 
 ing will now pay the notes. The Times, 
 Bay State and Union, are all Coalition 
 newspapers, and have thus been aided and 
 sustained by Caleb Cushing. These appoint- 
 ments are Abolition appointments. Is the 
 President responsible, or has Gushing deceiv 
 ed him ? Is there any need of more proof of 
 Cushing's Coalitionism ? More can be found. 
 It is known that Mr Gushing made a show 
 of opposing- Chas. Sumner's election as 
 Senator. It is not generally known that it 
 was but a show. The Democratic State 
 Convention met at Worcester on the 20th 
 day of August, 1851. This was the first 
 Convention of the party since the election 
 of Chas. Sumner. Now was the proper 
 time to pass a resolution of censure against 
 that election. The National Democrats 
 wished to do so. The coalitionists of course 
 opposed. Gen. Gushing joined the last 
 party, and made a speech advocating har- 
 mony at any sacrifice. This is the exact 
 policy of the present administration, and 
 shows who has deceived the President. — 
 The National Democrats were beaten by 
 Gushing and his Free Soil allies, and no 
 resolution was passed. Within a year 
 General Gushing ivas appointed Judge of 
 the Supreme Coiert by Gov. Boutwell, acoaU- 
 tiofiist, and confirmed by a Free Soil Coun- 
 cil. Thus we behold General Gushing for- 
 mally adopted into the coalition party, re- 
 dicing ojjice from them ; sustaining their 
 policy in conventions; lending money on 
 mortgage to their presses ; assisting other 
 Free Soil presses to pay mortgages to lead- 
 ing Frie S dlers ; and endorsing notes and 
 giving 1 atronage to proprietors of leading 
 Coalition organs. Can a man be mork of a 
 
 CoALITIONlSr ? 
 
 And now let us look at his course at Bal- 
 timore. Well known to be a friend of Hon. 
 Robert Rantoul, Jr's, when the vote took 
 place upon the right of Mr. Rantoul to a 
 
 seat in the Convention, Mr. Gushing was 
 taken suddenly ill, and remained so for two 
 hours, until the question was decided, when 
 he as suddenly recovered. Thus he left his 
 seat to his substitute, a violent coalitionist, 
 B. F. Butler of Lowell, who voted for Mr. 
 Rantoul. Mr. Gushing was also forced to 
 leave Baltimore for home before either 
 nominee or platform was adopted, and even 
 before Franklin Pierce had received a single 
 vote for nomination, and thus the Con- 
 vention lost his valuable services. This is 
 his position at the present time. Let us 
 glance at his opinions, as expressed in the 
 past. 
 
 On the 27th and 2Sth of February, 1834, 
 a series of resolutions were before the Mas- 
 sachusetts Legislature, on the subject of 
 the administration of Andrew Jackson, and 
 his removal of the deposits. Mr. Gushing 
 made himself conspicuous by several speech- 
 es on the occasion, and thus poured out his 
 bitterness on the President : 
 
 Doubtless the gentleman, or any other 
 friend of the administration, who sees the 
 President growing heady with unmerited 
 elevation, intoxicated with flattery and 
 power, and breaking forth into transports 
 of ungovernable passion, would gladly shut 
 his eyes to the humiliating proofs of his 
 unfitness for the exalted statiin he occupies. 
 [February 28. Mass. Legislnturc] 
 
 And what is the style of this President 
 of the people, this reforn)ing and constitu- 
 tional President? That tieitherpers7iasion, 
 nor coercion, nor the opinio >is (f the people, 
 nor the voice of the Legislature, could shake 
 his fixed determination Assuredly, arro- 
 gance like this, from the lips of a constitu- 
 tional ruler, is aliKe unheard of and intol- 
 erable. Pray, what is the President ? Is 
 he some Asiatic despot lording it over his 
 crouching slaves? Does he wield an here- 
 ditary sceptre? What giddy madness has 
 seized upon a simple elected chief magis- 
 trate with limited constitutional functions, 
 that he should dare thus to address the sov- 
 ereign people in words of menace or dicta- 
 tion, and in the tone of a master? I, An- 
 drew Jackson, have said it; my will shall 
 be law ; I care not for the miseries or the 
 remonstrances of the people ; I care not 
 
9 
 
 for Congress ; I care not for the constitu- 
 tition. And this, forsooth, is the people's 
 President, the democratic President? Phse- 
 ton like he rashly thiows himself into the 
 chariot of State, and dashes i4indly on, 
 scattering dismay and ruin around him ; 
 but his disastrous career must and will end. 
 although it is- dealing forth terrible retribu- 
 tion on those who willed or suffered that he 
 should govern the Union. [Feb. 2S. Mass 
 Legislature.] 
 
 I have several extracts from his speeches 
 on various occasions, which 1 propose to 
 read, and shall proceed to take them up in 
 connection with the Baltimore platform. — 
 That being the creed of the Democratic 
 party, and adopted by the President, upon 
 his accepting the nomination, as the basis of 
 his administration, let us glance at the pe- 
 culiar fitness of Caleb Cushing to be his 
 agent in carrying it out. The seventh reso- 
 lution of the Baltimore Platform is as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " That we are decidedly opposed to taking 
 from the President the qualified veto power, 
 by which he is enabled, under restrictions 
 and responsibilities amply sufficient to guard 
 the public interest, to suspend the passage 
 of a bill whose merits cannot secure the ap- 
 proval of two-thirds of the Senate and 
 House of Representatives until the judg- 
 ment of the people can be obtained thereon, 
 which has saved the American people from 
 the corrupt and tyrannical domination of the 
 Bank of the United States, and from a cor- 
 rupting system of general internal improve- 
 ments." 
 
 On February 27, 1834, Gen. Cushing, 
 in the Massachusetts Legislature, thus holds 
 forth : 
 
 "In the President's unparalleled exercise 
 of the veto power, for but twice using which 
 Louis XVI. was hurled by the French from 
 his constitutional throne, — in his unparallel- 
 ed disregard of the opinions of the Senate 
 and House of Piepresentatives, in the unpar- 
 alleled political experiment he is now try- 
 ing, at the expense of the people and the 
 laws of the Union, — in all this the gentle- 
 man perceives the democratic character of 
 the Pn sident. [See 7th Res. Bait. Platform. 
 
 The 6th section of the 3d resolution is as 
 follows . 
 
 " That Congress has no power to charter 
 a National Bank ; that we believe such an 
 institution one of deadly hostility to the best 
 interests of the country, dangerous to our 
 republican institutions and the liberties of 
 the people, and calculated to place the busi- 
 ness of the country within the control of a 
 concentrated money power, and above the 
 laws and the will of the people ; and that 
 the results of Democratic legislation in this 
 and all other financial measures upon which 
 issues have been made between the two 
 politicnl parties of the country, have demon- 
 strated to candid and practical men, of all 
 paities, their soundness safety, and utility 
 in all business pursuits." 
 
 The 7th tectiim of the 3d resolution is as 
 follows : 
 
 " That the separation of the monies of 
 the Government from banking institutions 
 is indispensable for the safety of the funds 
 of the Government and the rights of the 
 people." 
 
 Mr. Cushing, on the other hand, in his 
 speech on the Post office Bill, delivered in 
 the House of Representatives, August 25, 
 1841, thus holds forth : 
 
 " In that revolution Mr. Cushing contend- 
 ed as he felt sure the gentlemjan from Ten- 
 nessee, (Mr. Arnold) and the gentleman from 
 Virginia (Mr. Botts,) contended for the suc- 
 cess of great principles, and for the success 
 of the men representing those principles, 
 and in whose persons those principles 
 should be embodied and made incarnate. — 
 He contended for both. The individuals for 
 whom he, in common with those gentlemen, 
 had f-poken, an i written and labored, were 
 placed in power, and therefore there is no 
 question here as to men, but only as to 
 principles; and if the allegation of the 
 gentleman from Virginia is justified by the 
 fact, it must be upon some question of prin- 
 ciple that these men were to be charged with 
 treachery to their party, to their friends and 
 their country." — Speech on the Post Office 
 bill. Aug. 25, 1S41. 
 
 Mr C. admitted that throughout the con- 
 troversy, at any rate wherev'^r he was, and 
 he addressed public assemblies in many of 
 the States, and on numerous occasions, he 
 admitted the \Vh\g party condemned the 
 currency measures of Mr. Van Buren's ad- 
 ministration ; they undertook to change its 
 n^easures and to introduce better ones; 
 they denounced the Sub Treasury. 
 
10 
 
 Mr. C. said he had voted for both the Bank 
 bills which had passed this House. He had 
 done so, not because he approved entirely 
 either of those bills, but because there was 
 nothing in hi-s past or present opinions to 
 prevent him from acquiescinjj; in that respect 
 in the wishes of a inujority of his political 
 friends in the House. He believed, f(ir him- 
 self, tSat a U. States Bank, duly constituted 
 and with pnip:'r guards, was one, but not the 
 only mode of settling the currency ques- 
 tion." — Same Speech, page 8. 
 
 Finally vee have swept from the statute 
 book, not only the Sub Treasury act — the sole 
 measure of Mr. Van Buren's administration 
 — bur also the Deposit act, the chief mea- 
 sure of General Jackson's second period ; 
 and have thus effectually put the stamp of 
 the public reproh.ition upon all the finan- 
 cial policy of the last administrations. 
 
 May 20 and 21, 1840, Mr. Gushing de- 
 livered a speech in the House of Keprcsenta- 
 tives against the sub treasury and in favor of 
 a National Bank. 
 
 Monday, Aug 9, 1841— The bill to re- 
 peal the Sub-Treasury Law passed by 134 
 ayes to 87 noes — Mr. Gushing in the affir- 
 mative. 
 
 JWonday, Aug. 23, 1841— The Fiscal 
 Bank bill passed, 125 to 04 — Mr. Gushing 
 in the affirmative. 
 
 Friday, Sept. 10th — The vote on the pas- 
 sage of the Fiscal Bank bill, notwithstanding 
 the Pie&idcnt's veto, was 103 yeas to 71 
 nays — Mr. Gushing in the affirmative. 
 
 In the 6th resolution of the Baltimore 
 Platform, the following opinions are express- 
 ed as the Democratic creed : 
 
 Resolved, That the proceeds of the Pub- 
 lic Lands ought to be sacredly applied to the 
 Natiinal objects specified in the Gonstitu- 
 tion ; and that we are opposed to any law for 
 the distribution of ^uch proceeds among the 
 States, as alike inexpedient in policy and re- 
 pugnant to the Gonstitution. 
 
 Yet we find Mr. Gushing, in the speech 
 before alluded to, thus doclainihig : 
 
 "In the second plnee, we have passed the 
 Land Distiibutiun Bill, which in his, Mr. 
 G.'s eye, if it had no other merit, was en- 
 titled to the highest consideration in being. 
 
 at the same time, a permanent prospective 
 pre-emption bill." 
 
 On Monday, May 23, 1836, the question 
 pending, was the motion of Mr. Williams, of 
 Kentucky, to refer the resolutions (of State 
 of Kentucky on that subject) to the Gommit- 
 tee of Ways and Means, with' instructions to 
 report a bill distributing the proceeds of the 
 sales of the public lands among the several 
 States, &c Upon this Mr. Gushing ad- 
 dressed the House at great length, commenc- 
 ing : " He was favorable to a distribution of 
 the revenue among the several States. He 
 showed that there would be a surplus of some 
 millions to divide." And upon a test mo- 
 tion to lay the instructions of IMr. Williams, 
 with the resolutions, on the table, Mr Gush- 
 ing voted no. 
 
 Jan. 14, 1836, Mr. Gushing introduced 
 the following resolutions : 
 
 Resolved, That for the purpose of reliev- 
 ing the whole people of the United States 
 from the inconveniences attending the pres- 
 ent relatinn of the Federal Government to the 
 Federal domain, and at the same time secur- 
 ing to the old and new States alike, their just 
 and lawful rights therein, the Select Gommit- 
 tee on the Public Lands be instnictrd to con- 
 sider the expediency of providing for the 
 division of the said donioi?! at/wng the sev- 
 eral States of the Union, according to the 
 following principles, viz : 
 
 [Then follow seven sections, defining the 
 manner.] 
 
 Tuesday, July 6, 1841, the Land Distri- 
 bution Bill passed, 116 to 108, Mr. Gushing 
 in the affirmative. 
 
 Again, on the same occasion, we find his 
 opinions thus expressed on the Revenue Bill 
 of 1841 : 
 
 " Then we had passed the Revenue Bill, 
 and he would say in regard to that, though 
 he voted for it with extreme reluctance, on 
 account of various objections of detail, and 
 with the greater reluctance, because in that 
 vote he diflered from some of his respected 
 colleagues, yet he thought it was due to prin- 
 ciple that, at all hazards of personal or party 
 popularity, we should not shamble on from 
 indebtedness to indebtedness, and should at 
 
11 
 
 otvce piovirlc means to meet the debts and 
 carry on the business of the Government." 
 
 Ytt the 4th section of the 3J resolution 
 thus lays down the Democra'ic doctrine : 
 
 " That justice and sound policy forbid the 
 Federal Government to foster one branch of 
 industry to the detriment of any other, or to 
 cherish the interests of one portion to the injury 
 of any other portion of our common country." 
 
 Saturday, July 16, 1842. The vote on 
 the Tariff Bill was 116 to 112, Mr. Gushing 
 in the afHrmative. 
 
 Wednesday, Aug, 17, 1842. The ques- 
 tion being on the passage of the above bill, 
 notwithstanding the President's veto, the vote 
 was 91 to 87, Mr. Gushing in the aflfirmative. 
 
 On xMonday, Aug. 22d, 1842, the Tariff 
 Bill (the High Tariff of that year) passed 
 by a vote of 105 to 103. Mr. Gushing in 
 the affirmative. 
 
 I have thus shown the last known opin- 
 ions of Caleb Gushing upon several of the 
 subjects embraced in the Bultimore Platform. 
 I have proved that so far as is known at the 
 pfe.«ent time, he is a Whig upon those sub 
 jects ; but one more remains. I accused him 
 of being an Abolition agitator. I must give 
 my reasons. We have found him the last 
 few years a Coalitionist ; let us see what he 
 was from 1835 to the end of his Gongression- 
 al career. It is well known that the agita- 
 tion of the slavery question, then in its infan- 
 cy, was carried on at that time under cover 
 of the right of petition. Dituaion petitions 
 were ptesmted in Gongress, and the subject 
 was agitated by the fj lends of abolition under 
 the pretence of vindicating the right of peti- 
 tion. Let us follow Mr. Gushing in his 
 course on this subject Every vote on this 
 subject I have collected, and will lay before 
 you in a short summary, together with an ex- 
 tract from a speech of that gentleman on the 
 25th of January, 1836, and if you can find 
 a stronger threat of agitation than is contain- 
 ed in that speech, then lam much mistaken. 
 
 Dec. 10, 1835, Mr. Fairfield, of Maine, 
 presented an abolition petition. Laid on the 
 
 f 
 
 table, 180 to 31 ; Fierce yes, Adams and 
 Cushbig in the negative. 
 
 Motion to print laid on the table ; 168 to 
 50; Pierce yes, Adams and Cashing no 
 
 Friday, Dec. IS, 1835, Mr. Jackson, of 
 Mass , presented an al>olition petition. D< c. 
 21, 1835, this came up and was laid on the 
 table, 140 to 76. Pierce voting yes, Adams, 
 Gushing. Jackson and Hoar voting no. 
 
 Dec 23, 1835, a similar petition wa.s laid 
 on the table, 144 to 07. Pierce ye.<, Adams 
 and Gushing no. 
 
 Jan. 6, 1830, Mr. Jarvis. of Maine, moved 
 (in substance) that " this House ought not 
 to entertain abolition petitions." It was 
 moved to lay this on the table Not c iiried, 
 66 to 123 Adams and Gushing vot;d yes. 
 
 Jan. 13, 1836, a motion to lay the above 
 on the table failed again. 58 to 156 Adams, 
 Gushing and Hoar, voting yes, F. Pierce no. 
 
 Jan. 25. Motion to lay the q^iestion of 
 receiving an abolition petirion on the able, 
 passed 143 to 44. F. Pierce yes, Adams, 
 Gushing, &c., no 
 Speech of C. Cushiiis; on the Right, of 
 
 Petition for the AhoJition of Slavery and 
 
 the Sla ve Trade in -the District of Colum- 
 bia, Ja,nuary 25, 1836. 
 
 We have been told that the prayer of the 
 petitioners is for a thing which the Constitu- 
 tion does not permit to Congress, and so the 
 pe'.ition itself should not be received. 1 ask 
 the Hou.se how it appears that we have no 
 right, by the Constitution, to le^!;islate upon 
 the subject matter of the petition ? It may \ e 
 so, and it may n(;t One member of the 
 House has earnestly averred that it is, anoth- 
 er that it is not. Which of tbem is right ? 
 I confess, for myself, that I cannot think it 
 becomes the House to decide either way, up- 
 on the mere %j)se dixit of individual members. 
 Besides, the petition calls in question not 
 only slavery, but also the commerce i7i slaves. 
 And will any gentleman affirm that the slave 
 trade of the District is among those holy 
 things which Congress may not constitution- 
 ally handle ? Is tbis District set apart by 
 the Constitution, under whatever changes of 
 opinion or fact the progress of civilization 
 may introduce, to be unchangeably and for- 
 ever a general slave market for the rest of the 
 Union? I confess,that I, again, am disappoint- 
 
12 
 
 ed in that. Among all the confidentthlngssaid 
 in deniul of the constitutional powers of Con- 
 gress in this matter, there has not been, so 
 far as I remember, any systematic argument 
 on the perfectly distinct branches of the 
 double constitutional question involved in it, 
 namely — the slave property and the slave 
 traffic in this District And what shall be 
 said of our constitutional power in the pur- 
 chased territories mider the jurisdictioutof 
 the Uni/ed States, [Is not this the Wilmot 
 Proviso?] to which some of these petitions 
 apply ? And what clause of the Constitu- 
 tion restricts the rio;ht of petition to coustitu- 
 tional things? This house cannot grant be- 
 yond i*s powers ; these are limited by the 
 Constitution ; but the people may petition 
 for anything ; for the right of petition is, by 
 the Constitution, secured for ever against any 
 and every limitation or restriction. 
 
 Men of Virginia, countrymen of Wash- 
 i^inton, of Patiick Henry, of Jefferson, of 
 Madison, will ye be true to your consti'ution- 
 al faith? Men of New York, will ye ride 
 over the principles of the Democracy ye pro- 
 fess? Men of the West, can ye prove re- 
 creant to the spirit of sturdy independence 
 which carried you beyond the mountains ? 
 Men of New England, I hold you to the doc- 
 trines of liberty wbich ye inherit from your 
 Puritan forefathers. And if this House is 
 to be scared by whatever injluence^from its 
 duty to receive and hear the petitions of the 
 people, THEN I shall send my voice beyond 
 THE walls of this Capitol for redress. 
 To the people I say, your liberties are in 
 danger ; they whom you have chosen to be 
 your representatives are untrue to their trust ! 
 Come ye to the rescue ! for the vindication 
 of your right of petition, to you I appeal; to 
 you, the people wno sent us here, whose 
 agents we are, and to whoiu we shall return to 
 render a reckoning of our stewardship, and 
 who are the true and only sovereigns in this 
 republic. 
 
 On Feb. 8th, 1836, the question arising 
 to refer all petitions, &c., to a select Com- 
 mittee, Mr. Gushing voted yes. 
 
 Immediately after, the second part of the 
 resolution coming up as follows — " with in- 
 structions to report that Congress possesses 
 no constitutional authority to interfere in any 
 way with the institution of slavery in any of 
 the States of this confederacy " — Mr. Gush- 
 
 ing had stepped out, and his name is not found 
 recorded. 
 
 On the third branch — " And that in the 
 opinion of this House, Congress ought not to 
 interfere in any way with slavery in the dis- 
 trict of Columbia " — Mr. Gushing reappears 
 with Adams, Jackson anfl. Phillips, voting 
 no to the above. 
 
 And on the fourth branch — " Because it 
 would be a violation of the public faith, un- 
 wise, impolitic and dangerous to the Union " 
 — Mr. Gushing voted against its adoption, 
 with his brother Abolitionists, Adams, Jack- 
 son and Phillips — while upon the whole of 
 the above F. Pierce is found in the affirma- 
 tive. 
 
 May 20, 183G, on the following -.—Re- 
 solved, That Congress ought not to interfere 
 in any way with slavery in the District of 
 Columbia — Franklin Pierce voted yes, Gush- 
 ing, Jackson, Phillips, &c , no; and upon 
 the resolve to lay all petitions, &c , on the 
 table without further action, Franklin Pierce 
 voted yes. Gushing and friends no. 
 
 Monday, Dec. 26, 1836, Mr. Adams pre- 
 sented a petition for the abolition of slavery 
 and the slave trade in the District of Colum- 
 bia, which was laid on the table, 110 to 30. 
 Franklin Pierce in the affirmative ; Adams, 
 Gushing, Jackson in the negative. 
 
 January 9, 1837, Mr. Adams presented 
 another similar petition, which was tabled, 
 150 to 50. Pierce voted yes; Gushing, Ad- 
 ams and Phillips no 
 
 Jan. 18, 1S37, Mr. Hawes moved that 
 "all Abolition patitions, &c., be laid on the 
 table without being printed or referred, and 
 that no further action be had thereon," upon 
 which Franklin Pierce voted yes ; Gushing, 
 Adams, Phillips, voted no. 129 to 69. 
 Passed . 
 
 On Saturday, Feb. 11, 1837, tha House 
 voted 100 to 35 against receiving a petition 
 from slaves, as it would be " disregarding 
 its own dignity, the rights of a large class of 
 citizens of the South and West, and the 
 Constitution of the United States." Upon 
 
13 
 
 this last quoted Franklin Pierce voted aye, 
 Gushing, Adams, Jackson and Phillips voted 
 no. 
 
 Tuesday, Dec. 12, 1837, Mr. Adams pre- 
 sented a petition for the abolition of slavery 
 in the District of Columbia. Laid on the 
 table, 135 to 70. Adams, Gushing, Phillips 
 voted no. 
 
 Thursday, Dec. 21, 1837, Mr. Patton 
 having moved in substance that all abolition 
 petitions should be laid on the tuble without 
 further notice, Cnshing and Phillips voted 
 
 110. 
 
 On the 11th day of December, 1838, 
 Charles G. Atherton, of New Hampshire, in- 
 troduced a series of resolutions into the House 
 of Representatives, to the reception of which 
 Caleb Gushing objected, but which were ad- 
 mitted under a suspension of the rules in 
 spite of his objection, and among which were 
 the following : 
 
 2. Resolved, That petitions for the aboli- 
 tion of slavery in the District of Columbia 
 and in the Territories of the United States, 
 and against the removal of slaves from one 
 State to another, are a part of a plan of ope- 
 rations set on foot to affect the institution of 
 slavery in the several States, and thus indi- 
 rectly to destroy that iastitution within their 
 limits. 
 
 3. Resolved, That Congress has no right 
 to do that indirectly which it cannot do di- 
 rectly ; and that the agitation of the subject 
 of slavery in the District of Columbia, or the 
 Territories, as a means, and with the view, of 
 disturbing or overthrowing that institution in 
 the several States, is against the true spirit 
 and meaning of the Constitution, an infringe- 
 ment of the rights of the States afiiicted, and 
 a breach of the public faith upon which they 
 entered into the confederacy. 
 
 5. Resolved, therefore. That all attempts 
 on the part of Congress to abolish Slavery in 
 the District of Columbia or the Territorie.'*, or 
 to prohibit the removal of slaves from State 
 to State, or to discriminate between the insti- 
 tutions of one portion of the confederacy and 
 another, with the views aforesaid, are in vio- 
 lation of the Constitution, destructive of the 
 fundamental principle on which the Union of 
 these States rests, and beyond the jurisdiction 
 of Congres3 ; and that every petition, memo- 
 
 rial, resolution, proposition or paper, touching 
 or relating in any way, or to any extent what- 
 ever, to slavery as aforesaid, or the abolition 
 thereof, shall, on the presentation thereof, 
 without any further action thereon, be laid 
 upon the tab e, without being debated, print- 
 ed or referred. 
 
 These resolutions introduced by Mr. Ather- 
 ton, of New Hampshire, in whose recent 
 election as Senator, Gen. Pierce interested 
 himself so actively, were received by a sus- 
 pension of the rules in the face of an ob- 
 jection by Caleb Gushing, and upon each 
 and every one of these, his vote (Mr. G's.) is 
 found recorded in the negative, with Adams, 
 G'ddings and other abolitionists. 
 
 On Friday, Dec. 21, 1838, Mr. Gushing 
 moved to amend the journal as follows: 
 
 Insert therein — " Mr. Gushing presented 
 a petition from Joseph Young and others, of 
 Salisbury, in the State of Massachusetts, 
 which was laid on the table under Mr Ather- 
 ton's resolutions; and on presenting the 
 same Mr Gushing protested that in submit- 
 ting to the application of said rule to this 
 petition, he yielded not to power, conceiving 
 said resolution not to be constitutional, and, 
 therefore, in itst-lf purely null and void ; but 
 which motion the Speaker decided to be out 
 of order." 
 
 Which motion was rejected, 14 to 174, 
 Adams, Gushing, Giddings, in the affirma- 
 tive. 
 
 On Dec. 13, 1S38, Mr. Slade, of Ver- 
 mont, submitted the following : 
 
 Whereas, There exists and is carried on be- 
 tween the ports in the District of Columbia, 
 and other parts of the United States, and 
 under the sanction of the laws thereof, a 
 trade in human beings,whereby thousands of 
 them are annually sold and transported from 
 said District to distant parts of the country, 
 in vessels belonging to citizens of the United 
 States, arid whereas such trade involves an 
 outrageous violation of hunian rights, is a 
 di.-<grace to the country by uliose laws it is 
 sai.ctioned,and calls for immediate interposi- 
 tion of legislative authority for its suppres- 
 sion ; therefore to the end that all obstacles 
 to the consideration of this subject may be 
 removed, and a remedy for the evil speedily 
 provided, 
 
 Resolved, That so much of the fifth resolu- 
 
14 
 
 tion of the subject of slavery, passed by this 
 House on the llih and 12ih of the present 
 month, as rehites to the ' removal of slaves 
 from Stare to State,' and prohibits the action 
 of this House on ' every petition, memorial, 
 resolution, proposition or paper touching' 
 the same, be and hereby is rescinded. 
 
 Objections being made, Mr.S. moved a sus- 
 pen>iun of the rules, and Adams and Cusk- 
 ing and Giddings voted for a suspension 
 unsuccessfully. 
 
 Mr. Culhoun of Kentucky, introduced a 
 resolution, the same day, to make it unlawful 
 to aid fugitive slaves to escape, and on a sus- 
 pension of the rules to receive this, Messrs 
 Adams and Cushing voted no, while, strange 
 to say, Giddings could not go so far, but vot- 
 ed yes. 
 
 On Monday, January 7th, 1889, Mr. Cush- 
 ing presented the petition of Peter Sanborn 
 
 United States, which it cancels and abridges, 
 and a violation of the privilege df speech and 
 of debate, rightfully apperiaining to the mem- 
 bers- of this Hou>e, which it forecloses and 
 abolishes ; and therefore that so much of the 
 resolution be and the same is hereby declared 
 unconstitutional and merely void, and of null 
 effect. [Mr. Cushing wished to debate ] 
 
 Dec. 30, 1S39, Mr. Wise's Resolution 
 (Atherton's) being before the Heuse, Mr. 
 Cushing voted against suspending the Rules 
 to receive it. 
 
 Dec 31, on Mr. Coks's (the s;ime purport) 
 Mr. Cushing Voted no, as also on Mr. Wise's 
 a second time. 
 
 Jan. 14, 1840, Mr. Thompson of S. C. 
 offering the same, Mr Cushing voted in the 
 negative. 
 
 Jan. 28, 1840, Mr Adams offered a reso- 
 lution which was amended on motion of Mr. 
 
 and others, of Reading, in the St.>te of Mas- 1 Johnson of Marjlnnd, by striking out all after- 
 sachusetts, pra} ing the House to rescind the the word resolved, and itiserting a resolve 
 re.solution of the 12th of December la.'^t, and ' against entertaining abolition petitions "in 
 moved that said memorial, together wiih the av.y way whatever " On this latter resolve 
 
 resolves of the State of Massachusetts on tlie 
 ritfht of petition and debate, pres- ntcd to the 
 House on the 28th of May last, and not 'inally 
 acted on by the Hi use, bo referred to the 
 committee of the whole on the state of the 
 Union, with instnictions to con>idcr the ex- 
 pediency of adopting tlie fiUowingnsolutions, 
 viz. Then follow four resolutions, the three 
 first of which state iu substance that the right 
 of petition and debate is a right guaranteed bj 
 the Constitution, and that Congress has no 
 ri^ht to limit it, and the fourth and last reso 
 iution is as follows : 
 
 Resolved^ therefore, That all that part of 
 a certain resolutinn of the House of Represen- 
 tatives adopted on the 12th day of Dtuomber 
 last, which provides that 'every petition, 
 memorial, resolution, proposition or paper," 
 of a pre>ciibed class, " shall, on the presen- 
 tation thereof, without any further action 
 therton, be laid on the tabic withijut being 
 debatefl, printed or refened,'' is a violation 
 of the fig'its of the States, whose official com- 
 niuiiicati ns of said class it excludes from due 
 and proper consideration ; a violation of thi 
 right of petition iuLeieut iu the people of the 
 
 Adams, Cushhig and Giddings voted 7io. 
 
 Dec. 23, 1840, Mr Jamts of Pennsyl- 
 vania presented an abolition petition, and 
 moved a suspension of the Rules th t it might 
 be received. Mr. W. Co.st John.<ion moved 
 to lay this on the table. Upon thi.s Adams, 
 Cushing and Giddings voted no. 
 
 June 7. 1841, Mr. Adams offered an 
 amendment to a resolution of Mr Wise, 
 which was to stiike out the 21st rule, [Mr. 
 Atherton's in substance] upon which the vote 
 was 112 yes to 104 no Messrs. Adams, 
 Cushing, Giddings;. in the affirmative. June 
 10, 1841, upon a motion to reconsider the 
 rtbove, Messrs Adams, Cushing and Gid- 
 dings voted no. 
 
 On June 14, 1841, on a motion to recon- 
 -■■ider, the vote was lOG ayes to 104 nays, 
 Adams, Cushing and Giddings, in the nega- 
 tive. June 15, 1841, the question rt curring, 
 Mr. Cushing made a speeci against the pre- 
 vious question, and in favor of Mr. Adams, 
 and on the vote upon Mr. Adams's amend- 
 ment of June 7 again being taken, it was re- 
 
15 
 
 jected, lOG to 1 10. Adams, Cashing anr! 
 Giduings in the affirmative. 
 
 Dec. 14, 1841, Mr. .Adams presented aii 
 abolition petition, which he moved to refer to 
 a select committee. On motion to lay this 
 on the table, Adams, Cushivg and Giddings 
 voted no. 
 
 On Tuesday, Jan. 4, 1842, Mr. Adams's 
 motion of Dec 14, 1841, coining up, was laid 
 on the table, 115 to 84. Adams, Cushing 
 and Giddings in the negative Syrae twent)' 
 other petitions arising were laid on the table 
 by difTtrent votes, Adams, C?<s/<i«y and Gid- 
 dings always in the negative. 
 
 Jan. 18, 1842, Mr. Henry presented an 
 abolition petition, which was laid on the table, 
 93 to 75, Adams, Cushing and Giddings in 
 the negative. 
 
 Dec. G, 1842, Mr. Adams moved to rescind 
 the 21st rule. Upon laying this on the table, 
 Messrs Adams, Cushivg and Giddings vot- 
 ed no 
 
 Dec 8, 1842, Mr Adams's motion of Dec. 
 G condiig up, on motion *o hiy it on the table, 
 Adams, Cushing and Gidiiings, voted no. 
 
 Dec. 12, 1842, the motion to lay Mr. 
 Adams's motion of Dec 6, 1842, on the table 
 again recurring, it was carried, 106 to 102, 
 Adams, Cushivg and Giddings, again in the 
 negative. 
 
 It will be found on referring to the Balti- 
 more Platform, that this is directly f>pposed 
 to the fourth and fifth resolutions of that Con- 
 vention. 
 
 But it may be said, Mr. Cushing haschang 
 ed bis opinions since then How do we know ? 
 The latest recorded opinions, which I have 
 been able to obtain, of Mr Cushiiig's, are 
 such as have been quoted just now, tnd where 
 is the proof that he h.ss changed ? Mr. Cush- 
 ing remained cornpatatively quiet after the 
 administration of iVlr Tyler, till, in 1847, 
 owing to his warm adoption of the policy t.f 
 the Mexican war, the Democratic Convention 
 of Massachusetts nonjinated him for Governor. 
 It occasioned a great deal of dissati-factionat 
 the time. How well the party liked it, and 
 
 how well they sUj sported him, may be fou"nd 
 in the fact, that out of 54.228 votes, which 
 the Democrats of Massachusetts threw in 1844 
 for George Bancroft for Governor, Mr Cush- 
 ing received at his first trial — in 1847 — but 
 39,398, and, upon further reflection, but 
 26,G95 voters were induced to suppot him, 
 and his further nomination became iiiipi'Ssilile, 
 save at the certain risk of the utter dis()ru:ani- 
 zation <if the pariy. The Democrats of Massa- 
 chu>et:s know Caleb Cushing too well ro place 
 any confidence in him. It was with this 
 brand upon him that he entered General 
 Pierce's Cabiiiet. 
 
 And now he is attempting to regulate the 
 fu'ure cour.-e of the Democratic party. Let 
 us ^ee what his idea of a political paity is. 
 In 1841 he was in the full tide of success. 
 The Whigs had achieved a victory, and he 
 was the oihcial spokesman. As such, in his 
 speech of August 25, 1841, he defines his 
 ideas of a party : 
 
 "It was upon the broad and great platform 
 of opposition to the administration, and of 
 conciliation toward each other, that the mem- 
 bers of the Whig party, entcriaining them- 
 selves opiniovs of every shade of di fj'ere7ice, 
 and associated in their past history with every 
 diversity of party. — it was upon this lofty 
 platform that thiy hud planted the banner of 
 Harrison and Tyler, and rallied around it as 
 the great symbol of union and of victory for 
 the whole people of the United States " 
 
 Again after stating t^at he voted for both 
 Bank bills, he says : 
 
 " But whilst himself pur- uing this course, 
 he did not conceive that, becau^e any gentle- 
 man niight have happened to differ from him, 
 therefore he had any right to denounce any 
 such gentleman. He abjured, for instance, 
 all claim of right to denounce the gentleman 
 from Kentucky, (Mr. Marshall. ) or his col- 
 league from Massachusetts, (Mr. Adams,) 
 because they had seen fit to vote against the 
 fiist Bank bill. They had put their votes 
 upon considerations of conscience and honor; 
 he believed them to be sincere then, and he 
 believed so still. Thus putting their votes 
 upon their conscience and honor, though thus 
 differing from the great body of their friends, 
 no man had a right to arraign their conduct, 
 
16 
 
 or insinuate any charge of treachery. And 
 in the same way that those t^o gentlemen had 
 a right to differ -with their party associates on 
 the Bank bill, so had his colleagues, (Mr. 
 Winthrop and Mr. Saltonstall,) in regard to 
 the Ileveuue bill. So also had the gentlemen 
 from Georgia a right to act on their separate 
 judgment of the Land bill; and the gentlemen 
 from Kentucky and Virginia on the Bankrupt 
 bill. So he contended was the President of 
 the United States entitled to the same right 
 of conscience, and to exercise the same privi- 
 lege of individual judgment in his legislative 
 action, on bills presented to him by Congress, 
 and to approve them or not, according to his 
 conscientious convictions of what is or is not 
 constitutional or just." 
 
 This is bis idea of what a party should be — 
 
 " composed of every shade of difference of 
 
 opinion," 
 
 "Black spirits and white, blue spirits and gray, 
 Mingle, mingle, mingle — ye that mingle may." 
 
 This is what he wishes the Democratic party 
 to be. This is what he has deceived the 
 President into adopting, and for this purpose, 
 feeling that the Democratic party will resent 
 this policy, he is about to hurry the adminis- 
 tration into a war — as is evident from his 
 remarks at Newark — that in the glory of suc- 
 cessful military achievements the errors of the 
 Cabinet may be forgotten. This, gentlemen, 
 is the Mexican discipline Brigadier General 
 Cashing wishes to enforce- upon the Demo- 
 cratic party. The head of the party is to be 
 thru.st into Free Soil for his benefit. The 
 party is to be broken "up, that renegade Whigs 
 may stand upon a level with tried Demo- 
 crats. 
 
 But it will be said we are opposing the 
 
 Pre-ideat. But no, we are opposing the 
 Cabinet, and those who have stolen in there 
 by deception. And if we were opposing the 
 admioistration, let rae refer Mr. Gushing to 
 his own ideas of Democracy, as portrayed in 
 his speech of February 27th, 1834, in the 
 Massachusetts Legislature : 
 
 '' Sir, one gentleman who opposed the 
 consHeration of them, has rep oached us 
 with ' oppugnation to the powjr.'^ that be,' 
 and he tauntingly demanded of us ' whether 
 it bo pleasant for old Massachu etts always 
 
 to be in a minority ?' And whether she is 
 content to ' lose influence ' by expressing 
 opinions unpalatable to the administration ? 
 When, afterwards, I heard the same gentle- 
 man talk of principles, of his principles, of 
 democratic principles, I could not but con- 
 sider, with something of wonder, though with 
 more of amusement, the inconsistency of his 
 professions upon this head. Are we to laud 
 the President to the skies, right or wronor, in 
 order to obtain credit at Washington ? Is this 
 principle ? Are we to chain our consciences 
 and our opinions to the car of a triumphant 
 military chieftain ? Are we to kiss the mailed 
 heel that treads upon our necks, and tramples 
 us into the earth ? Is this ' democracy V So 
 have not I learned democracy. I had strange- 
 ly imagined that we were to act conscien- 
 tiously, according to our conscientious convic- 
 tions ; that we should not palter with duty by 
 stifling its voice ; and that, minority though 
 we might be, in reference to the present ad- 
 ministration, wo enjoyed the consolatory con- 
 sciousness of obeying the dictates of a high 
 and solemn regard for the eon.^titution'jl lib- 
 erties of the land. If to saeritice principles, 
 conscience, duty, for the sake of ' influence ' 
 with the executive, be the ' democracy ' of 
 which that gentleman speaks, 1 desire none 
 of it ; and of the party success he flourishes 
 before us, we may say, as the old lioman 
 did, ' Victrix causa diis placuit, sed victa 
 Catoni.' 
 
 And now, gontlonien, T am done. I started 
 by asserting th »t Caleb Gushing was a W'^hig, 
 a Coalitionist, and an abolition agitator. I 
 have laid my proofs before you, and you must 
 judge. And now, what shall be done V Shall 
 we yield to the pressure arouni'l us ! Shall 
 Mr. Gushing force us into Coalltionisra ? — 
 Proscribed at Washington, read out of the 
 party at home, .shall wo yield one jot or one 
 tittle of the principle we have adopted ? No I 
 DO ! ! a thousand times no ! ! ! Let us keep up 
 our organization. Let us nominate our can- 
 didates. Let us nail our flag to the matt, 
 and wait for better times Yet, Democrat.*, 
 
 " Your banner torn but flying, 
 Stream-! lika the thunder storm (f/ainst the wind : 
 YtiUT trumpet voice, though broken now and dying, 
 Th" loud sc SI ill — t^ie tempest leaves behind. 
 Your tree hath lost its blossoms, and the rind, 
 Ciiopprd l>y the axe, looks roagh and little worth; 
 But the sap lasts and still the seed we tiiid, 
 Sown deep ev, n in the UPorf^uAhe north ; 
 So shall a b tt^r Sprin;^ iHb owtcfcHTiit bring forth." 
 

I