i<. c- 'V, * o . o « . V^ V \^ • A. * V • J ' mill' A. n>. • ^ vV^ * ((<\ BR A "S^r <;>* • &dl|A • ^ A^ ' .. . . ' • • • * .ft* .. .^' V^T???-./ '\*^''*/ **^'^:7^''y ••■ •> vv.v-.-v J'yj^ki'.^ J.'^k:j-.'.\ SPEECH HON.A¥ILLIAM SAWYER, OF UIIl- In the Hbuse of Representatives, June 2, 184S, on the Civil and Diploimtlr ,h.!.,..n Hon Bill. Mr. S.VWYEll said: A diingcrous system of Icgislntioii has been crceiiing into tliis liouse of late, a system wliich is at open war with all ftiir and Icj^itimate legishition, Id wl>icii he interposed liis remonstrance. In the bill passed on yesterday, (the annual navy appropriation bill,) there were no less tiian from three to live appropriations made, not legitimately or properly belonging to that par- ticular branch of the public service; and it was on this account alone that he felt himself compelled to vote against ihe whole bill. One of the items to which I now allude, appro- priated the sum of §50,000 for improving one of the iiilets of Boston narbor, and to prevent* cer- tain island (individual property) from bciTig washed asvay. Another item was for paying Prot'essor Esj>y (denominated " the Storm King") for taking certain mineorological'observalions; or, in other words, as a reward for "regulating slorms."" Add to this the heavy expenditure provided for the long list of drones now hanging, with a perfect death- gripe, upon the public treasury, and who, fearing that they might be driven from their hold without some such scheme for securing it, have been watch- ing, with eager eyes, every stage of its progress here. These star-gazing astronomers, it seems, have dropped upon a scheme for taking the par- allax of the sun; one standing at the equator and the other at the north pole, to take the altitude and bearing of that great luminary. An appropriation has been inserted for this |Hupose, sir. But to other items. I find, sir, a pretty heavy sum ('ijoOjOOO) appropriated for removing obstruc- j tions t'roin the Savannah river. Also, the snug little sum of •|;3G,000 for paving and grading the streets of | Washington. And whysuchexpendiiures,sir? My j constituents, like the constituents of all my breth- ren on this floor, have to make, grade, and pave I their own streets, and build ihcir own bridges. It j is no part of my errand here to vote away their ^ money for the benefit of the rich nabobs of this , city, wallowing in their splendor. Gtrcal care has been taken, it seems, in perfect- ; ing these items — a care very common to members [ from certain sections of this Union. It is man- ! aged so as to avoid the great and growing West, j ISot a cent is appropriated for the benefit of that , region. Improvements for all that country are in- j corporated in a general bill for river and harbor | purposes. But even in this operation, in fixing j upon the proper items, enough of^ the most glaringly | obnoxious and ridiculous — such as difgmg out a i harbor where the God of Nature never made one, ! or creating a navigable river out of some miserable goose run — arousully lugged in, to secure a vtro. , And this result is the very one they seek to accom- | plish, as affording them a little political capital for | charging official misconduct upon a Democratic j President, and delinquency upon the Democratic j party. And hero, sir, I take occasion to warn my friends of this House upon the injustice and danger Primed at lUe Congressional Globe Office. of nil such Icgiiilntjon. 1. - forced u]>on «•*, ihuii hun. once put them down, nnd i a proper account to our coiiHiiiut nij. Here, Htr, I dismian nil norai ilrtn*, for n >«>f cxaminatioiiof topics It. ' " in tluir ch'iractcr. I i who have been most \\ .1 for one of the moat commendable and not, ever honored n imlrioiic nnd liiKhniind- ' It is with no feeling of i)le!i to the settlement of a ii Some of the leading p w yet be in the memory li .:. . ..,. . riie people of Mercer county felt then, posed upon, and resisted the degrading < ment. It would be recollected, and Mr. S. thought apology for the course he :•: ■ • ;i amply sutHcicnt, that in th> sion his constituents were ir- colleagues [Mr. Giddi.vgs] and ilic gcnilcinun fi Virginia, [Mr. Batlt.] Kow, he veniiirrd lo there was not a member in '' ' \ . ' sell', that would have sufT i made, and especially by hi^ _ ., , once refuting the charges. He had »\. would have ample opj>ortunity, aomr tf , during the present session of Con.- them, and he was not mistaken, ' portunity hak leave here to say that he c.X' . because it was not to be supposcil that he m uji v acquainted with all lite facts of the case; but colleague, he tho' -'•. ■■, ' '' '• been charged by ' concurred in by li: had been engaged in nwbltinz; ilint ihey had niulj< some negroes sent to liis district, there lo be d( . iciled. Mr. BAYLY explained thai the point of hii m irks was against those who •v ,. !'■ .1 (r, ,• n,- -r from their own community senialives here who were cii slaves from their masters. N •. , lii' from Ohio nnd his constituents did not «•'. cjite5(>ry, fttr thry '"• ! ■ • '• '■ . here, and thcrcfi- iy that gentleman, n _ dt Mr. SAWYER replied that he had said in the outset that he did not censure or blame the gentle- man from Virginia, because he presumed he did not understand the subject as well as liis colleague. The gentleman from Virginia had said: " 'J'lif Suite of tHiio, that liaO more abolition members ^n tliis floor lliaii any otliiT, had driv en oil' slaves who were emancipaieU in Virginia, and scut to Ohio, lltese blacks bought Iniid and settled down in the free State of Ohio, and the people, al\ir getting their money, mobbed Uiciu, and coiu- pelled Chcni to abandon their lands." The genileinan, it would be recollected, was here speaking of the Randolph negroes. Now, he sup- Eosed the gentleniiui thouglit tiint was the fact, ecause the charge had been made in all the aboli- tion papers in Ohio. Whatever his people had done he cndoised. This subject was up at the last session of Congress, and lie liad then laken occa- sion to explaiii how it was and why it was. Many gentlemen who were then members of the House might remember what he had then stiid; but there were others here now who were not then, and he desired to state tlic case, and to place himself and his constituents right. The abolition papers of the State of Ohio had charged them with being a set of mobocrats; they had denied it, and set forth in their papers tlie precise ground on which they stood; but those papers had never printed their de- fence — they had not let the antidote go out with the bane — they had never retracted the slander. Now, as the Representative of tliat constituency, and as one of the representatives of the Democracy of Ohio, he stood here in his place, and said that Ohio ■would never submit to the slave States .sending their emancipated blacks within her borders or colonics. He again said, if the test must come, Hjji'l ihey must resort to force to ellect their object, the banks of the Ohio (a mile wide) would be lined with men wiih muskets on their shoulders to keep oft" the emancipated slaves which the slave States might attempt to throw in among them. The Democrats of Ohio, at least of his district, and he with ihern, would stand up in their own defence. But his colleague's reply to the gentleman from Virginia showed that he fully agreed with the gen- tleman that it was a mob. He was reported in the Intelligencer as follows: " Mr. GiDDixGs wished to say one word on that point; and (Mr. B. yielding Uie tloor) observed tliat Uie act ol a mob in the district reprecented by his colleague [Mr. SawverJ sliould not be applied to Oliio in Us capaeiiy as a State, or to its citizens generally. 'I'he actol'that mob — his colleague •aid he took the responsibility of it; he (Mr. G.) was aware of that: and lie liad only risen lor tJie purpose of throwing it e/itir«ly from the State as a State, and from the people as a people. It was a mob ; and when the gentleman from Virginia called it a mi>b, Ids own heart responded to the truth which he a.sserted. It was a mob; one with which the peofile of that State had no sympathy whatever; one on which the people of that State looked with deep, unutterable abhorrence ; one on which they had placed their seal ol con- dcmnntion, as he believed ; and wlio^e procedure they held in detestiilion, and in violation of all the principles of liii- manily and ol Uic laws of the land, lie knew his colleague [Mr. SawyueJ thought dillcrcntly. He (Mr. G.) had only expressed what the people generally felt in his part of tlic t^tate, and what he thought the people o( the whole State generally felt and had expressed. He responded to the sen- limenl of the gentlt.inan fiom Virginia, tiiat it was the act of a mob — inhuman and detestable." Now, he desired to say that his constituents were a law-abiding people, and that it wa.s the men who had charge of theae negroes, and those who advised and counselled them (who wereThos. Corwiii and another distinguished lawyer from Dayton, Ohio, Mr. Odlin) to move the negroes into his district, who had violated the law. He now proposed to read a statute of Oliio under which they had Scted, and with the letter of which they had complied, and then he would ask gentlemen to decide whether he and his constituents were the mobocrats, or the men were who took the part of these negroes against their own citizens. This law was passed in lb07, and still remained on their statute-book; they acted not in violation of law, but in accordance with it. [He caused to be read a section of the law of Ohio, which requires that when any black or mu- latto person comes into that State, he shall give bond and security for good behavior, and in case he refuse, that it shall be the duty of the overseer of the township to remove such person without such county.] Now, in accordance with law, they took with them the trustees of the township, and marched where these negroes were to land; they took the statute in their hands and asked the negroes to comply with the letter of that law, and then they could interpose no legal objection to tlieir landing. The negroes, and those who had charge of them, utterly refused to enter into security; they then told them to take the back track, and for fear they would not do it — for fear thoy would go oil", and, having quieted suspicion, land at stniie other place, their men, to the number of some four or five hun- dred, inarched along with them and saw them safe out of the county with three good hearty cheers^ and t^ey had never ventured to come into the county again, and so long as his constituents and himself live.d in it they never should. He gava gentlemen timely notice. They were not mobo- crats; they valued the law and obeyed it, butthoss men who attempted to force those negroes upon them, in violation of the laws of his State, were mobocrats. Suppose they had tamely submitted to it then: what next.' What did these gentlemen desire free negroes to come into Ohio for.' The gentleman from Virginia had told them the other day — and he proclaimed now, that all the world might hear it — that most of the free negroes in the State of Ohio were the most despicable of all creatures. Their sit- uation there waslenfold worse than that of the slaves in the slave States; yes, the very worst slaves in the United States were not in so degraded a condition as were the free negroes in the State of Ohio; and they fetched them there for what purpose.' I'hcre was an ulterior olject. Did the abolitionists want to make them citizens? They said not; they pro- fessed they did not desire to make them citizens, to let them vote and enjoy all the privileges the whites enjoyed; but he should undertake to show that that was what they were after. Wliy did they want them there .' To make them their equals in society.' That they could 'never do. And he remarked, that abolition now was not what aboli- tion was when it was first started, when, some ten or fifteen years ago, it took its rise in Boston and New York. It was not then called abolition; it was then called amalgamation. At that time, that doctrine was promulgated; and, if accounts wer« true, gentlemen and ladies let themselves down to the common level of the negro, and said all distinc- tions ought to be done away with; and it was not uncommon to see a negro woman on the arm of a white man, marching to church and sitting in the same pew, in Boston and New York. That waa the fact when the thing first started; but that stat« of things was so revolting to the sense of the com- munity, that they were soon compelled to abandon it. What was the course taken now.' Why, the whole sympathies of some gentlemen run out in favor of a cci tain class. Whatclass.' When they had come into Ohio, and asked that these degraded negroes should become the equals of the white citizen there, it was too revolting in every respect. Their citizens would not submit to it, and they had licen oblifjed to clonk ihtir real do.si-jns under spL'cioua pretencea. He lu\d some cvidL-nce on ihi.s subject. Suppose tluU lliey, and every free Stuie, ■hoiild sit quietly down, and let tlic slave Sinles ■end their surplus negroes to them; what would be the clFect of it? He liad here a resolution of Mr. John P. Hale, the prince of the Abolition |iarly, od"ered in the Senate the present session: "Ri-i ihr/t, Tli;it llio (^)riiiiiiil<"0 on ilic Jmlici.nry lie in- •triiotuil to iii()uire wlirit li'!»i.>s nnil jiaiiiutiitiosi;ii;iriiiiliiMl livlliu CoiiHiitiition of the Uiiiteil States to <.'itizeiiH of eiicli of the States." Wiiat did that mean.' The committee were to inq'iire into the e.>:pediency of letting negroes in the free States have " the privileges and immuni- ties guarantied by the Constitution of the United States to the citizens of each of the Stales." That was the privilege of coining up to the poll.'3 and voting, the enjoyment of tree schjfCt'-il to, and not reei'iveil : Resjlreii, Tnat the Coinmittee on Public LanJ^ he in- straet ■< to ini)iiire into the expodieiicy of settin'! apart a por- tion of the public lands for tlie exclusive use and po-sessiou of tVei! black pardons, on the folio kvin;;t>'rmj and conditions: 1. T.iat cv.'ry free blifk mile person ab )v.! Of. a^o of twenty-one years, removing to and makini; his residence in sucii l;'frit')ry,;shall be entitled to occupy and cultivate acres of the public lands situated therein ; and after so occu- pyiu,':in'i i.upnvin^ the same for years, shall be further ciititli.' I to re(!eivo a grant of the same, free of all cost or cliar_'c whatsoever. 2. Tuat no sale of land within such teriitory be made by th; G ivcrn.uant, or be per.nitt>.-d to be made by individuals, t) white persons. 3. That portions of said lands be set apart for the pur- {vnes of education. 4. That such territory be separately organized arfd gov- orueJ under the authority of Ci).'rj;ress. 5. T.ial Winn the iiiliabitanl-; of said territory shall amount to thousands, they be invested with su^'h p>wers of self-government as are usually granted to the Territories of Itie United Slates. Now, there was a proposition to establish a State of negroes within the confines of these United States, and not only to give them the same privileges and immunities of the white citi- zen, but to give tiiem, free of charge, the public lands; while the Journals of the last Congress will show, that every Whig of this House, and every Barnburner, and fresh negro-loving Repre- sentitive from the great St\te of New York, had refused to give to poor white men th it very priv- ilege, and hid refused to rcduie and grarluate the prices of the imblic lands to actual settlers within the Slates. (Jut here they were willing to set ofT a portion of this country to the free negro, and then guaranty to him all the rights guarantied to the white mm; that was, to allow him to go to the polls, and have a place on this floor as a Represent- ative fVom the negro colony or .Stale. That State ought to lie called after the gentleman from New York — DuERK. . Mr. DUIiR asked if the gentleman dcjired him to answer him.' Mr. SAWYER declined to yieM the floor. Mr. DUER, said the gentleman had stated he wished to know whit he (.Mr. D.) meant. He had grossly misrepresented him. Mr. SAWYEil said he might have raisrepre- j seated him; he had taken these resolutions, how- 1. "ins In: I ever, out of the National lute.Wi organ in thin city, and if »4iere w ation, he was not rcxp >nsildi>. I he had read it word for w • I Now, thi!< w.i« what tK would not be long nfler ihi-.i. . got the negroes on citiren« in'. .States before they would throw, and ask that they Hhould riijny fr. the white man. He n»ked hii free laboring while men nt home, wurui.r in would back Huch doclrinen n* lUrnc' [Jut, on the other hand, he «nid tohii i!!..'. . ing friends, while he Mhould ao auon^- their sending their nurpluM blark poj. the free States, he was eipially firm in their rights. And he .said, ile'livcr up ; heads to us— those men who hid the ■.. faces in their mouth cvr^ry day, and wli now did not corn^sponij with thrir , heretofi)re — he a.skcd hiii southern frictiJs i • i liver them up to iheir lender merriei— the tru mercies of Demotrata from the We«i r- ' v -■ west, and they would take care of i their southern friend.i also. No H;ter no pretext, however ingenious, could i for one moment to run otF after iho beautiful things th.it their abo!iiii)n frim i . n 1 1 up as gods to bow down and worship. Th •• would keep their eyes steadily on the landinir of the Constitution, which guarantied to the Sou as well as to the West every species of proper ^ which tlieir laws niti le prooerty. They shoud not cofiie upon the soil of Ohi > or the free Stat ■■ i and interfere with their risrhls, and, so far as th' .' of Ohio and of the North had the power, th' y would preserve the rights of the South to the »«■ / letter of the law and the Constitution. Now, ih'-y had been charged, some of them, when they h 1 voted with the South on certain question -, ■•■ ■' ' ing doii^h-facts. He cared very little epithet; and the gentleman who was f ■ using that epithet he had heard the other cvcnin in which he had exhibited not only ihedou»h-f« but the don^h-htad. What was the meaning i" that tertn.' .A. dough-face, as he understood ', meant a head of JoiigA, upon which you might e» hibit any /(f? you pleased. There was a crrtji system which he believed had now J>een redu--' to a science — the science of animal magnetism; ■( they ap[)lied that prin'iiple, there were ceria . dough-heads which, if you touched f>" ■ --«■••' ■• bump in tin; cr.uiium, you operated oi pathies; sympathy WIS then with them " ing principle; and all their benevolence ran out ■ the negro; they had no sym!>aihv with the rest ■ the world, bul they pr oclaime i tScmselres to th world as the only puje philanthropists. Thfi tou'-.h th'se dough-heads upon another point, an I they had quite an ither ide\: at one moment thev would go against any .slaveh >\\'r ii th» w-»r!«l, Hut the very next breath — when the cranio 11 — they hurriie I prince of slaveholders in lb' i . was pr.icticc and orofession; and the test, the profession wis not .. the practice gave the lie to the profcii; on. Now, these abolition gentlemen, who thou^hl • » mueh an 1 cire I s> mu'-h aS>ut •' '■ " "••" tution — who made abilition d' their polar star, and mide cveryt . it — these wre the very gentlemen, l>.. in the Old World, (T'->r ho had. n^f Ion ■ an account of an ' ' London, where • were lauded lb ll.. — , , pairiotism and pliilunlhropy of the country, and tlie slaveholding Stales were ncld up to derision,) who denounced the Soiiili, and held tluniselvcs up as the peculiar and exclusive iihilanthropists. And yet what had they done for tlie slave ? The inhab- itants of the slaveliolding Stales themselves were the true friends of the slave — the real abolitionists — abolitionists not in word, but in deed. If the doc- trine of real abolition deserved credit, their actions were entitled to credit. Why, little Maryland, since the formation of this Government, had man- umitted more slaves than ail the free States of this Union put together, with tlie abolitionists of the modern day standing at their backs. Yes, tlie Hon. Louis McLane, of Maryland, wlio, when our minister in London, was referred to by these abo- litionists in their meetings as being a slaveholder and our representative at that court — that same Mr. McLane (the father of the gcnllmian from Maryland on this floor) had manumitted all his slaves. There was the true, philanthro|iic, chris- tian spirit; but that these conscientious abolition- ists refused to tell. The States of Virginia, Ma- ryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, had, of their own free will, itianumiltcd more slaves a thousand-fold than all the free-State philanthrojiists of this country had done since tlie formation of this Government. Maryland herself had manumitted slaves to the value of sixty mil- lions of dollars. And let him mention another thing — that while England, with her friends here, was sympathizing ■with the abolitionists, and condemning the slave States in all possible shapes and forms for their doctrines on the subject of slavery, those States owed this institution to Great IJritain herself. When we were yet colonics, England, with her licensed robbers, robbed the coast of Africa, and forced, against the colonies' consent, thousands and tens of thousands of slaves upon them. One State of the Union, Massachusetts, was entitled to the credit of having, one hundred and fifty years ago, when acolony of Great Britain, when Great Britain had landed her slaves there against their consent, purchased them up with their own money, of naving hired a ship and sent them back to Africa, and landed them at their former homes. And if we looked to the original draft of the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, we found that one of the reasons assigned by Thomas Jef- ferson for declaring war against Great Britain was, that she had persisted in forcing slaves upon us contrary to our will; and one-half of the arguments deduced from Mr. Jefferson and other fathers of the Republic against slavery, would be found to be argument-s, not against the institution of slavery in the slave States, but against the slave trade, as car- ried on by Great Britain to these colonies. In the slave States was the very first attempt made to abolish the foreign slave trade. All tho.se States united on that principle, and the movement took its start from the United State.", and not from tho.se abolitionists across the water, who were now inter- meddling with that with which they had no busi- ness; and their intermeddling was enough to set every American on his guard. South Carolina Rnd Georgia were the last to come into this agree- ment; but I hey did come in finally, and it was agreed to abolish the slave trade in a ceruiin year. iVow,he told gentlemen, whose sympathies were BO very warm for the slave, that the slaveholders of the slave Stales had manumitted iwore slaves — a thousand to one — than all thephilanlhropi.sts from the free States wlio were now crying outso loudly on ihiB Hubjccl. All that these liad contributed were windy epceches against this institution ; while those true philanthropists, the slaveholders of the South, with that commendable benevolence so hon- orable to their character, had put their hands into their pockets, and taken that which was property, recognized by the laws as such, and given it up, to tlie amount, of millions on millions; yet now these blubbering abolitionists came forward with their loud boastsof philanthropy, while he ventured to say they could not show the record where they had given one single dollar for aiding the emanci- pation of the slave. It was very easy for some of the States to abolish slavery; it was very easy for them to pass a law to compel the slaveholders to give up their property; the slaveholders were few in number, and it took no money from the pockets of the large part of their citizens; and so it waa easy now for the abolitionists to cry out. Abolish slavery, when it would not touch their pocket. If he had it in liis power, there should be no slavery under the canopy of heaven. He regretted its existence; but if the question were put to him whether slavery should continue in the slave States, or the negroes should be removed to Ohio, lie would not take half a moment to answer. He preferred that they should remain in the slave Slates. He would say to the gentlemen of the slave States, that he would do all he could to prevent them sending their negroes into Ohio, and at the same time he would do all he could to stand up for the rights of those gentlemen at home. And he would soy to those who assumed to be philanthropists, that the best way to accomplish the object which they pro- fessed to have in view was to compel the slave- holders to keep their slaves at home; or if they wished to manumit their slaves, let tlieni send them to Liberia, though he confessed he had not much confidence in that system. However, it was the best plan he had any knowledge of. If they were really the friends of emancipation, as they professed to be, he would tell gentlemen that they were taking the very worst course to accomplish their object; on the contrary, they riveted firmer and firmer the shackles of the slaves. How many slaves had they ever manumitted by traducing the South? Comparatively none. Suppose our southern friends should resolutely stand u[) and deny us in the West the right of own- ing, controlling, or in any way using our own household goods; should forbid us erecting a tene- ment, a mill, or even a distillery; alleging, if you please, as to the latter, that the practice of making distilled spirits had an evil tendency, seriously aflccting the morals of the country, and sending thousands to perdition; and suppose, luider the excitement of imaginary danger, they should here solemnly call on Congress to prohibit such a free use of our own property and means: if (said Mr. S.) I mistake not the spirit and resolution of the gallant West, they would hurl defiance in the very teeth of their presumptuous assailants, and tell them that every State has its laws, and every citi- zen his rights. And I take upon me to tell all these professed negro sympathizers and mock philan- thropists, that their imprudent and reckless course towards the South has done more to fasten slavery upon this country, and to extend and projiagate it in the land, than all that the combined ]>ower of the slaveholders could ever efl'ect, were they to marshal all their forces in the eflbrt. For his part, he (Air. S.) would say, let the southern gentlemen keep their slaves within their own borders; and if they could not use them, they would discover the unprofitableness of slavery, but they never would submit to improper inter- ference from other States in such matters. It had been said in a celebrated case in England, tried in one of its courts, in relation to n slave who had procured his freedom iIutc, that " the moment a slave touches the soil of England, his slun-kles fall." That expression had been frcnueiiily riuutcd in (luMic mceliiijcs in this country, hut those who used those words appeared not to he conscious, that at the very moment when such a dec-laration Was made before one of the Knjjiish tribunals, EuLcland whs en;j;a;;ed with all her power in scnd- inj; slaves to her colonies in this country. Hut I must pass on, (continued Mr. S.,) an my time is short. The gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Bayi.y] charged, theolhcrday, that inOliio tiny had taken money for land st)lil to emancipated slaves, and then sent them away out of the State. Perhaps in noticin^j this, I am runnini; into a diijrcssion; but I hojie I will be excused, as I au\ not very method- ical in the arrangement of my thoughts. Now, since that statement was made, I have procured the signature of every citizen within llie borders of the county where this was said to have occurred, and I find that but two small tracts of land have bcM sold to them by citizens of that county. Those who did sell the land were citizens of Connecticut, of Hoslon, Massachusetts, and other parts of Ohio, and not those who resided in the county where it actually took place; so that they .stood relieved from such an accusation. In fact they were not aware Uiat such purchases had been made for some lime. The other day, the gentleman from Massachu- setts [Mr. HuDsov] was making a speech, and in the course of it 1 interrogated him. I do not see that gentleman in his seat, which I regret; lor I am unwilling to speak of a gentleman in his absence, and I have a few words to say of that gentleman's discourtesy. I mean what I say. The gentleman from Massachusetts was discussing the qualifica- tions of the several candidates fin- the Presidency, and I rose and asked him, in a gentlemanly man- ner, and as politely as I knew how, what course he should pursue in relation to the gentlemen nom- inated as candidates.' The gentleman from Massa- chusetts, instead of answering the question, quoted some statement respecting General Cass's recep- tion at Cleveland, Ohio, which reported that gen- tleman as saying that the noise was so great he could not answer questions propounded in relation to great principles. Now, that was no answer to tlie question which I put to the gentleman from Massachusetts. It was not pertinent to the ques- tion asked. And, still further, I deny in loto that General Cass ever used such language. I have heard gentlemen read that statement, and glory over it; and I have told them it was false. 1 am satisfied no such words had been used, and I now say it is false. There were neither the questions propounded nor the answers given by General Cass, as that statement pretended. General Cass had no need to answer those questions, nor any others. He has been a Democrat from his boy- hood, and he had followed the Democratic track, notwithstanding he was charged with having been a Federalist. If he were a Federalist, certain I am that he would receive more favor from some gentlemen than he was now likely to receive. The slander, however, was perfectly harmless; it was not even worthy of an answer. But the Democratic nominees for the Presi- dency and Vice Presidency need no eulogy from me. Their history is written in the hearts of their c protect themselves. Mr. S. now desired to ask gentlemen opjwf where they stood.' He had in hiit jio-scM.iioi. - number of extracts from Whig papeni, writi''. before the nomination of General Taylor, a some written since, which he should pui>lish, ' show the harmony, and concert, and unanimity opinion existing amongst them. They had abr doncd every principle in the selection of iheir ca-' didate for the Presidency. Notwithstanding lh< i outcry against slavery and slave in8titulion.t, th' •. had selected as their candidate the greatest sla^ holder in the Union. How would they reconcile this inconsistency.' The constituents of some of them did not attempt to reconcile it, for they were out against the nomination. They were showing that the epithets of " dough-faces" and "dough- heads" could not be applied to them. They were consistent with themselves, and therefore of them he had nothing to say. But he begged to call the attention of gentlemen here to some extracts which he had collected; and the first was from the New Bedford Mercury, of January 2(j, lf*A>*, a leading Whi? journal of Massachusetts. The editor haa no mincing of the matter, but comes directly and promptly to the point. Here is his language: " It must be wi-ll kiinwn to all tho«f irpnllenif n, that (Jen. Tnyldr lia." not a ^lln(low of a claiiii upim the Win* p«ny ; llial he prdfeyneH to be iKnoruiit of the prent |Ki|iU<.-nl mif*- lioiK whit h for ye.ir- have aKilntid Uii.s iintion. an J Hint if he i.« .1 Whia at all, \if Wliiirery i-; of n iiio-l iluliiou- char- arter. We linxe had eiioiich "f qrnui U'liit", ami w ■• iiifi- niti'ly prefer nn nvowfd l^ocofoco of Hie bluest Ofdvr lo a iiieri'ly iioiiijiial \Vlii|{." Following up this pronunciamrnlo, the same ed- itor " hits him again," in this manner, under date of March 25: " TiiK PiiKsinKSrv. — The rtren(tt)i of (Jenrnt Tivl'rlir^ ill the Locofueii >eeliii(is of ihe I'limn. Not •■ \Vhi2 !*lali-, except Marylniid. adviirnte . \'> excrpted .Maryland, hiu we are inclined to beliec* " >■ ttfojiU of .Maryl.iiid greatly prefer lliiir) rt.v t' '• Taylor. We are aware thai the polil. land aie for Taylor. The iivo JoImiiwh are fuinoiM Tayloriled; and we do n"i .Malion and oilier men of iioiein Ilic 2:-, let -u. ::} W l.ig-, will exert lliiiiicelveg for Taylor. " W. have private advire.s wiiirh Indicate that PaMIKL WrndTKH i^ not In I'avor ofUie iiiiliUiry eandklnte.'' Will not this account for Mr. Web.sier'ii very sudden illness at Baltimore, a few.evet'"'-': ■: [)rupriaiioiis," . lie (Viileiice pniducvd in tlii^ isiso clearly proves that I resident ot" the I'liited States uiinece.-^arily and un- iiitioiially begun tliis war; that he was the invader ;i.'i f-sor. CDiiscqneiitly, he ouylit not only to pay our >cs oi tlio war, hut that ot' Mexico also. At any rale, ■; jny verdict.'' ' .>ie we have the precious avowals. Here is 'i.' i-'eileral policy foreshadowed. Once let tliem '.' j'liph, and we will be called upon to pay back ;. 7. le.Kico the expenses incurred in this war. r le next peculiarly-marked specimen of Whig :y and principle, 1 take from the speech of the h ^'"jrable Caleb B. Smith, a distinguished Whig Jlc; resentative from the State of intliana. He thus til.'uJes to the war, to its causes, and to what is to fjllow. Let it speak for itself: '■ if the Administration sliall succeed at the next election, ^'liiih God lorliid, the mask will be thrown off, and tlieii we 111' be told, that we cannot get along without all Mexico; •.;ie'. we shall be told, that the American people have decided 1.1 ;;'.vor of annexation, and that annexation must be con- s. I.;. mated. '• -r^ir, (said Mr. Smith,) I believe there can be no easier task '■. for this Administration to bring tlic present war to a ;. I lieliove that peace, an honorable Tieacc, may be . .le in thirty days : a peace just to Mexico, and honorable 1 ijrselves: a peace in which we have an opportunity of .■ -ving our justice and magnanimity, as we have already -:.jvn our heroic courage and skill in war. And what is ;ssary to ctlVct this desirable obji^ct.' Let the President lint suiuvble commissioners — not one of the clerks of a ■' :irtment, but men of char.ieter and high standing, men r- , 'wn to the country, and whose character will be a guar- ' • ic of fair and upright intentions on the part of those • iding ilsem. Let these gentlemen repair to Mexico, and ' . .'e let them propose terms of pe'ace, just and equitable to 11 parties; let them relinqnisli their wild schemes of con- st and annexation, and otter terms just and fair ; and, my .> i/rd for it, Mexico will accede to the otTer. If ills territory I! K we want, it can be obtained in this way, and withuut I'l. lonor. But, for myself, I do not want or wish for a foot '>' iier soil ; and I detest and denounce all prosecution of a •:'r for plunder. • Mr. Sawyer here interposed, and (Mr. Smitu yielding : floor for a moment) inquired, what were the terms he ught we ought to oiler.'' ■'Mr. Smith, resuming, said that if he were in a position . : ich required him todetine the terms of a treaty, he might liaps tell the gentleman what those terms were ; as it w:is, slioulcl be glad to see the Administration deiine them. '. Iiy did they not.' Why did they not propose some terms I which a judgment could be made up .'' Why conceal the ■iect they sought under the cabalistic phrase of 'security the future ." So far, however, as his own opinion went, • . S. would have no hesitation in saying what these terms gilt to be. lie had already staled them. In the tirst place, utterly repudiated all idea of demanding indemnity for . ■; expenses of the war. We have no riyht, said he, to ikc any such demand. I told my own constituents on the imp. that, for my own part, I would as soon think oftaking^ mrsa on the highway as extorting from Mexico the e.x- nscs of this war. The House have decided that the war unconstitutional, and that it was begun by the President, lelieve it: it is the truth. We have no right to ask to be imbursed for the cost of this war. I dotost and despise this higgling with Alexieo for the cost of the powder burnt in ■ .King !icr forts and cities from her." Here we have a fair sainple of Federal opposi- on to the war and to the Administration: it is the mtiment of that party. Ills here distinctly and ' iTiphatirally avowed, and we behold it here put forth with a boldness and independence that leaves io room for doubt or cavil — " Jill idea of dcmand- \g indciiinily for the expenses of tlic loar" is promptly ■ repudiatkd." Robbing on the highway would 'be referred to making such a demand of " poor, ■crsecuted Mexico !" Yes, the cause of the enemy ■i here f )und in able and worthy ha'iids. Let every Vceman of this continent read and |ionder well this ..tartling declaration: " We have no rig'ht to be RElMBL'RSED FOR THE COST OF THIS WAR 1" "Peo- ple of the Union, (cry out these Federal patriots,) give bark your ill-gotten gains! Y^u plundered It froiv. fcclilc and innocent hands ! Surrender up (sny they) all that you have thus wrongfully ac- quired ! Hosv down to Mexico, and ask her for- giveness! You invaded her soil — butchered her people — laid waste her territory ! Pay back tho tribute you so arbitrarily exacted; withdraw from her cities; acknowledge your wrongs; repent of your sins, and seek to be forgiven of your God and country!" This is the shoul. of patriotic Whig- ery throughout the land. Their country always wrong — the enemy ever in the right. Let us give a plain illustration of this business. For a moment let us imagine — what I trust in God can never in this country happen — that General Taylor is elected Presidentof these United States. The Hon. Caleb B. Smith may then come in as Secretary of State, and my friend and colleague, Mr. FrsHER, may be sent as minister to Mexico. Negotiations are opened for a settlement of the expenses of the Mexican war. Mexico puts forth her claims for full indemnity, in defending her altars and her firesides from a ruthless invader, quoting from Mr. Clay's Lexington speech, and from that of Mr. Corwin, made in the American Senate, to sustain the justice and equity of the claim. She alleges the war to have bccH " an ag- gressive one" on o-tr part, our cl ject being solely to rob her, and to steal her land; and, alongside of Mr. Clay's and Mr. Corwin's speeches, those of the new Secretary and minister are publicly read, to prove how very just and proper an i/e»i of some $80,000,000 or $100,000,000 will be to be thus " REIMBURSED." Mcxico Will then urge upon tlie new minister and Secretary that we " commenced" the war in direct violation of our Constitution ; that we invaded an unoffending people ; that we pursued them, and fought and conquered them in open violation of all the great principles regulalinc' the intercourse of nations; and, to cap the climax, the Journals of the American Congress are then brought forward to prove that every Whig vote was given in favor of Mexico ! Yes, $100,000,000 may then be demanded, and $100,000,000 refunded ! If these Whig speakers, and voters, and praters, and grumblers, have been honest in tlieir professions, honest in their denun- ciations, honest in their benevolent and sympa- thetic devotion to Mexican interests, they will, they must vote to pay back, under a Taylor admin- istration. Well can I imagine, sir, the eagerness, the enthusiastic welcome with which such a " re- imbursement" will be met in the treaty-ratifying branch of the American Congress. There Mexico will find her old advocates and friends. There will stand Air. Corwin, of tlie great West, ready to repeat his own enthusiastic harangue, that had he been a Mexican, he loould have icelccmed Ilia .Americans with bloody hands and hosjiitablc graves. There will stand the great and peerless Webster, the " second Daniel come to judgment," willing, rather, perhaps, to see the walls of the Capitol but' tered down, than to surrender up his opinion of the injustice of the war. But reverse the picture, and how stands the question.'' In whom can the American people most safely put their trust in times like these r Where the men, where the statesmen, the jiatriots, the soldiers, who will now most boldly stand up to the cause of their country, and best protect and defend it from all danger and peril. The democ- ra<;y of the nation have selected the men — Cass fflid Butler; if elected, they will carry out Ameri- can doctrines, and see justice done to our country. Wehavc" tii(/c)uni?i/"in ourown hands. Insolence has been chastised, American rights have been vin- dicated, American valor has been tested, and a war of justice, which soughtonly the redress of injuries, long and patiently endured, has been brought to an honorable, a peaceful, and a happy termination. * * » • vaq^ ^°-n^. V •'% ^^^*° /\ ^^fW: ^^^ %^ ^^^E^/ V^^ % ^ ■<•* .-alfe-. **-„./ -isSC;?;'. v.^* :i^: X.,,^" 'sPC,- • *« v^ <* *. . . «^- » • 1 • •* '-'--X .c°V>;^->„ y.-^;;:.\. .o°*.-^-:-> •^0* CjVP ^0^ • ISmy^o^ Or o'^ . « • •*