IN “THE

NITED STATES SENATE,

ON THE

LAVTERY com.

111‘ “  ‘ ‘ “ ‘ > ’ H "
‘4 ‘w ' ‘ ‘ ‘

 %M%ARCH#jA?, W0

L

ONE or two preliminary remarks upon the establishment of the administra-
tions of 1825 and 1829 may render some of the allusions in these speeches
more intelligible to those readers who are not familiar with the political his-
tory of the day.

The election of a President of the United States for the term beginning
March 4, 1825,’ devolved upon the House of Representatives. The whole elec-
toral vote was 261 ----~— of which Andrew Jackson had 99, John Quincy Adams
34, ‘William H. Crawford 41, and Henry Clay 37. The house, by the consti-
tution, was limited to the first three in making a choice, and the vote was by
states. Until the election actually took place, there was much doubt as to the
result, but on the first ballot Adams received the votes of thirteen states, Jack-
son seven, and Crawford four; and Adams was thus elected. The vote was
so close, however, that a rumor was put in circulation of a corrupt understand-
ing between Adams and Clay, by which the friends" of the latter, who was not
a constitutional candidate, voted for Aclams, in consideration of the littrstowal
of the office of secretary of, state upon Clay by Adams in forming his cabinet.
This calumny was disproved by all the testimony which could be brought to
bear upon a negative proposition ; and although at present it is probably not
credited by any body, the suspicion of such a “ coalition” seriously affected
the popularity of both Adams and Clay at the time, and Colonel I-Iaync in his
speech alluded to it, intimating that Vifcbster had hopes, of the office of score-
tary of state himself, which were frustrated by the appointment of Clay;

At the next presidential election, that of 1828, Adams and Jackson were
opposing candidates, and the latter was chosen by a large popular majority.
This result was brought about by the active coiiperation with Jackson’s ,origi-
nal supporters of the friends of Mr. Calhoun and many of the friends of. the
other candidates of 1824. This coiiperation implied the combination of the
most discordant materials. The friends of Calhoun generally  their aid,
in the expectation that their favorite would be the next candidate, and in this
way would receive the support of .Tackson’s other present supporters. How
unfounded was any such expectation was proved by the actual result,-by which
Jackson was elected for a second term, and after him Van Buren, Calhoun
being entirely neglected. It was in prophecy of this result that Mr. ‘Webster
quoted Shakspeare to the Vice l?_resident, Calhoun, reminding him that those
‘Who had foully removed Banquo had placed

“ A barren sceptre in their gripe,

Thence to be wrenched by an unlineal hand,
No son of theirs succeeding.” .

Although at the time of the speech there was the most perfect cordiality be:
tween Jackson and Calhoun and their friends and supporters. i

(2)

pv-

in
A

  Ms. HAYNES SPEECH.

Debate in the Senate on ;Mr. Footie“ Resolution, Thursday,
' January 21, 1830:  I

Mn. Foo'r’s resolution being under consideration, ---~ I

a [When Mr. VVn13s'r1tIt concluded his first speech on VVednesday, the

20th, Mr, BENTON” followed witli some remarks in reply to Mr. W., but

‘as they were principally embodied in his more extended speech some

days a.t'te1*, those rernarks are omitted. On the day‘ following, Mr. HAYNE
took the floor in the following rejoinder to Mr. Wnnsrnn.]

Mr. HAYNE said, when he took. occasion, two days ago, to throw out
some ideas with respect to the policy of the government,in relation to the
public lands, nothing certainly could have been further from his tlioughts,
than that he should have been compelled again to throw himself upon the
indulgence of‘ the Senate. Little did I expect, said Mr. H., to be called
upon to meet such an argument as was yesterday urged by the gentleman
from Massachusetts, (Mr. Webstc1*.). Sir, I questioned no n1an’s opinions;
I impeached no man’s motives ; I charged no party, or state, or section of

country with hostility to any other, but ventured, as I thought, in a beco1n-.
‘ ing spirit, to put',fortl1 my own sentiments in relation to a great national

question of public policy. Such was my course. The gentleman from
Missouri, (Mr. Benton,) it is true, had charged upon the Eastern States an
early and continued hostility towards the west, and referred to a number of
historical facts and documents in support of that charge. Now, sir, how

have these diiierent argtimexits been met ? The honorable gentleman from

Massacliusetts, after deliberating a whole night upon his course, comes
into this chamber , to vindicate New England; and instead of’ niaking up
his issue with the gentleman from Missouri, on the charges which he lead
prey”e»7-reel, chooses to consider me as the author of those charges, and losing
sight entirely of that gentlemen, selects me as his adversary, and pours out
all the vials of his mighty W1‘£LlLl1 upon my devoted head. Nor is he willing
to stop there. He goes on to assail the institutions and policy of the south,
and calls in question the principles and conduct of the state which I have
the honor to represent. VV1ien I find a gentlemen or mature age and ex-
perience,ot' - acknowledged talents and profound sagacity, pursuing a course
like this, declining the contest offered t'roml the West, and making war upon

. the unotiending south, I must believe, I am bound to believe, he has .some
t object in view which he has not ventured to disclose. "’ Mr. President, why

is this?  the gentleman discovered in former controversies with the
gentleman from Missouri, that he is overmatched by that senator? And
does he hope for an easy victory over a more feeble adversary? Has the
gentlemarfs distempered fancy been disturbed by gloomy forebodings of

I ‘fnew alliances to be formed,” at which he hinted? , Has the ghost of the
e l I 3

4;. I srnnorx on MR. nrarnn

murdered CO.&LITlON come back, like the ghost of Banquo, to “ sear the
eyeballs of the gentleman,” and will it not down at his bidding? Are

dark visions of broken hopes, and honors lost forever, still floating before‘

his heated imagination? Sir, if it be his object to thrust me between the
gentleman from Missouri and himself, in ,order to rescue the east from the
contest it has provolted with the west, he shall not be gratified. Sir, I
will not be dragged into the defence of my friend from Missouri. The
south shall not be forced into a conflict not its own. The gentleman from

Missouri is able to iiglit his own battles. The gallant west needs no aid r

from the south to repel any attack which may be made on them from any
quarter. Let the gentleman from Massachusetts controvert the facts and
arguments of t.he gentleman from Missouri,  he can-—and if he wintlie
victory, let him wear the honors; I shall not deprive him of his laurels.
Tltie gentleman from Massachusetts, in reply to my remarks on the in-
jurious operations _of our landsystem on the prosperity of the west, pro»
nounced an extra.vti,ga1it eulogiuni on the paternal care which the govern»
ment had e:.x:tended towards the west, to which he attributed all that was
great and excellent inthe present condition of the newstiates. The lan-
guage of the gentleman onthis topic fell upon my cars like the almost

forgot.ten tones of the tory leaders of the British I”arliatnent, at the com» 1

mencernent of the American revolution. They, too, discovered that the
colonies had grorwn great under .the fostering care of the 11ZlOtl1C1‘ coun--
try; and I must confess, while listening to the gentleman, I t.l1ougl“1tthe
appropriate reply to his argumeiit was to be found in the reinark of a

celebrated orator, made on that occasion: “ They have grown great in

spite of your protection.” 1 V V
The gentleman, in commenting on the policy of the government in re-

latiou to the new states, has introduced to our notice a certain Nlztltcm

Dane, of Massachusetts, to whom he attributes the celebrated ordinance of
"87, by which he tells us, “sZa-zrerfy was forever excluded from the new
states north of the Ohio.” After eulogizing the wisdom of this provisiot,
in terms of the most ext1*avagzt1it praise, he breaks forth in admiration 0

the greatness of Nathan Dane —--.-- and great indeed he must be, if itlbe true,
as stated by the senator from Massachusetts, that “ he was greater than
Solon and Lycurgus, Mines, Nuzna Pompilius, and all the legislators and
philosophers of the world,” ancient and modern. Sir, to such liiglx au-
t.hor.ity it is certainly my duty, in a becoming spirit of humility, to submit.
And yet, the gentleniaii will pardon me, when I say, that it is a little
unfortunate for the fame of this great legislator, that the gentleman from
Missouri should have proved that he was not the author of the ordinance
of ’87, on which the senator from Massachusetts has reared so glorious a
monument to his name. Sir, I doubt not the senator will feel some com-
passion for our ignorance, when I tell him, that so little are we acquaint-

ed with the modern great men of New England, that until he informed

us yesterday that we possessed a Solon and a Lycurgus in the person. of
Nathan Dane, he was only known to the south as a member, of a cele-i
brated assembly, called and known by the name of the “ Irlartford Convene
tion.” In the proceedings of that assembly, which I holdin my hand,
(atop. 19,) will be found, in a few lines, the history of Nathan Dane;

  and a little farther on, there is conclusive evidence of that ardent devon
tion to theinterest of the new states, which, it seems, has given him adjust
claim to the title of “ Father of the‘West.” By weed resolutionof the

“Hartford Conventionij’;   declared, “that it is lexpsfilient to attempt

‘It:

on rnnnnsoturron on MR. roor. 5
to’ make provision for restrtt2.'m"2zg Uongrcss in the e:rerct'se of cm ztrzlifmtted
power to males new states, and admitting them into the Union.” So much
for Nathan Dane, of Beverly, Massachusetts.

In commenting upon my views in relation to the publiclands, the gen? ,

tleman insists, that it being one of the conditions of the grants that these
lands should be applied to “ the common benefit of all the states, they
must always remain afzmclfor rave;-zue,"’ and adds, “ they must be treated
as so muclt treasure.” Sir, the gentleman could hardly find language
strong enough to convey his disapprobation of the policy which I had ven-
tured to recommend to the favorable consideration of the country. And
what, sir, was ‘that policy, and what is the difl"e1‘e'nce between that gen-
tleman and myself on that subject? I threw out the idea that the public
lands ought not to be -reserved forever, as “a great fund for revenue;”
that they ought not to be “treated as a great treasureg” but that the
course of our policy should rather be directed towards the creation of
new states, and building up great and flourishing communities,

NOW, sir, will it be believed, by those who now hear inc,--wand who
listened to the gentleinarfs denunciation of my doctrines yesterday, ~—-- that
a book then lay open before him ---— nay, that he held it in his hand, and read
from it certain passages of his own speech, delivered to the House of Rep-
resentatives in 1825, in which speech he himself contended for the very
doctrines I had advocated, and almost in the same terms? Here is the
speech of the Hon. Daniel VVebster, contained in the first volume of Gales
and Seatorfs Register of Debates, (p. 251,) delivered in the House of
Representatives on the 18th of J anuary, 1825, in a debate on the Uamzbsw
laud roadm the very debate,froii“i which the senator read yesterday. I
shall read from the celebrated speech two passages, from which itwill
appear that both as to the past and the jittrzt-re poZt'c;y of’ the government in
relation to the public lands, the gentleman from Massachusetts maintained,
in 1825, substantially the same opinions which I have advanced, but which
he now so strongly rcprobates; I said, sir, that the system of credit‘ sales
by which the west had been kept constantly in debt to the United States,
and by which their wealth was drained oil‘ to be expended elsewhere, had
operated injuriously on their prosperity. On this point the g;e11t.le111at1 from
Massachusetts, in January, 1825, expressed himself’ thus: “ There could
be no doubt, if gentlemen looked at the money received into the treasury
from the sale of the public lands to the west, and then looked to the
whole amount expended by government,‘ (even including‘; the whole
amount of what waslaid out for the army,) the latter must be allowed
to be very inconsiderable, and there must Zze ct constcmt olrmfn of "money
from the west to pay for the public Zcmcls. Itlinight indeed be said that
this was no more than the refluence of capital which had previously gone

‘over the mountains. Be it so. Still its practical effect was to produce

inconvenience,  not distretss, by absorlnlng the money of the peoplefi.’ ,
Icontended that the public lands ought not to-be treated merely as “ a
fund for revenue ;” that »tliey,ouglit not to be hoarded “ as a great treas-
ure.” ,On this point the senator expressed. himself‘ thus: “ Government,
he believed, had received eighteen or twentymillions of dollars from the
public lands, and it was with the greatest satisfactioii he adverted to the
icliatige which had been introduced in the mode of paying for them; yet
he could! never tlzlirzlc the aizcmlonal dozrzctiat was to be reg/crrdecl as cmy greczt
source of revemte. The ,great object of the government, in respect of
these lands, was not so much the money deirived from t/zeir sale, as it was

6‘ SPEECH on MR. IIAYNE

V as ' '
the gettivzg them settled. VVhat he meant to say was, ice oZ2TcZ not zf7r2'n/1' they’

ought to ]2.u_q-that dommln as A sneer rnnasnne, wlzic/2 was to em~z'c}i the
Ease/zequer.” ' i
Now, Mr. President, it will be seen that the very doctrines which the
gentlemati so indignantly abandons were urged by him in 1825; and if I
had actually borrowed my sentiments from those which he then avowed,
I could not have followed more closely in his footsteps. Sir, it is only
since the gentleman quoted this book, yesterday, that. my attention has been
turned to the sentixnents he expressed in 1825 ; and if'I had remembered
thorn, I zniglit possibly have been deterred from uttering sentiments here,
which, it might well be supposed, I had borrowed from that‘ gentleman.
In 1825, the gentleman told the world that the public lands “ouglit not
to be treated as a treasure.” He now tells us that “they must be treated
as so much treasure.” VVhat the deliberate opinion of the gentleinan on
this subject may be, belongs not to me to determine; but I do not think he
can, with the shadow of justice or propriety, impugn my sentiments, while
his own recorded opinions are identical with my own. When the geiitlem

man refers to the conditions of the grants under which the United States.

have acquired these lands, andinsists that, as they are declared to be
“ for the common benefit of all the states,” they can only be treated as so
much treasure, I think he has applied a rule of construction too narrow’
for the case. If in the deeds of cession it has been declared that the grants
were intended for “ the coxnmon benefit of all the states,” it is clear, from

other provisions, that they were not intended merely as so vitae/la, y9ropsrzfg/ ; '

for it is expressly declared, that the object of the ,g:rants is the erection of
new states; and the United States, in acceptiiig this trust, bind tlieznselves
to facilitate the foundation of these states, to be admitted into the Union
with all the rights and pi-ivileges of the original states. TlllS, sir, was
the great end to which all parties looked, and it is by the fnlfilrnent of
this pliigli trust that “ the connnon benclit of all the states” is to be best
promoted. Sir, let me tell the gentleman, that in the part. of the country
in which I live, we do not measure political lienelits by the money stcmn
clorrcl. 'We consider as more valuable than gc>l<:'l liberty, principle, and
justice. But,-sir, if we are bound to act on the narrow principles oon—~
tended for by the gentleman, I am wholly at a loss to conceive how he
can reconcile his principles with his own pract.ico. Tlie lands are, it
seems, to be treated “as so much treasure,” and must be appliedto the
“common benefit-of all the states.” Now, if this be so, whence does he
derive the right to appropriate them for partial and local objects? How
can the gentleman consent to vote away innnense bodies of these lands,

, for canals in Indiana and Illinois, to the Louisville and Iiortland Canal, to‘
Kenyon College 111 Ohio, to Schools for the Deaf and Dumb, and other

K

objects of a similar description? If grants of this cliaracter can fairly be
considered as made “for the common benefit of allthe states,” it can
only be, because all the states are interested in the welfare of each-—~—a
principle which, carried to the full extent, destroys all distinction between
local and national objects, and is certainly or-ocml erioztg/t to embrace the
principles for which I have ventured to contend.
between us I take to be this: the gentletnaniwishos to treat the public
lands as a great treasure, just as so much rnoney in the treasury, who
applied to all objects, constitutional and unconstitutional, to which the
public money is constantly applied. I consider it as a sacred trust which
we 'ou,gl1t to fulfil, on the principles for which I have contencled. I

Sir, the true difference

on man ,;enso1:.Ur1oN or Ms. roor. - I... 7

The ‘senator from Massachusetts has tliought proper to present, in strong ‘

contrast, the friendly feelings of the east towarclsthe west, with scnti-
ments of ‘an opposite character displayed by the south in relation to ap-
propriations for fraternal irizprooenzevtts. Now, sir, let it be recollected
that the south have made no professions; I have certainly made none in
their behalf, of regard for the west. It has been reserved for the gentle-
man from Massachusetts, while he vaunts over his own personal devotion

to western interests, toelaipi for the entire section of country to which he

belongs an ardent friendship for the west, as manifested by their support
of the system of internal improvement, while he casts in our teeth the
reproach that the south. has manifested hostility to western interests in

opposing appropriations for such objects. That gentleman, at the same 

time, acknowledged that the south entertains constitutional scruples on this

subject. Are we then, sir, to understand that the gentleman considers it I

a just subject of reproach that we respect our oaths, by which we are
bound “ to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of’ the U. States?”
‘Would the gentleman have us manifest our love to the west by tram»-
pling under foot our constitutional seruples? Does he not perceive, if the
south is to be i-ey99~octc]wcl with 1I1I’1l§i11d1'1(3SS to the west, in voting against
appropriations which the gentleman admits they could not vote for with»
out doing violence to their constitutional opinions, that he exposes him-
self to the question, whether, if he was in our situation, he could vote

“for these approp1'iat,ions, regardless of his seruples? No, sir, I will not

do the gentleman so great injustice. He has fallen into this error from
not having dnlyiweighed the force ‘and effect of the reproach which he
was endeavoring to cast upon the south. In relation to the other point,
the friendship manifested by New England towards the west, in their
support of the system of" internal. improvement, the gentleman will par»
don me for saying, that I think he is equally unfortunate in having intro-
duced that topic. As that gentleman has forced it upon us, however, I
cannot suffer it to pass unnoticed. "When the gentleman tells us that the
appropriations for internal improvement in the west would, in almost

A every instance, have failed but for New England votes, he has forgotten

to tell us the when, the /tow, and theiwlzerrgfore this new-born zeal, for the
west sprung up in the bosom of New England. If we look. back only a
few years, we will find in both houses of Congress aguniforni and steady
opposition on the part of the members from the Eastern States, generally,
to all appropriations of this character. At the time I became amember
of this house, and for some time afterwards, a decided majority of the
New England senators were opposed to the very measures which ‘‘ the
senator from Massachpusetts tells ‘us they now cordially support. Sir,the
Journals are before me, and an examination of them will satisfy’ every
gentleman of that fact. ‘ 7 ~ ‘ s W - 1
It must be well known to every one whose experience dates tbaclrtas far
as 1825, that up to ca, certain period, New England was generally opposed
to appropriations for internal improvements inthe. west. The gentleman
from Massachusetts may he himself’ an exception, but if heiwent for the
system before 1825, it is certain that his colleagues did not go with him.
In the session of 1824 and ’25, however, (a memorable era in the history
of this country,) a wonderful change took place in New England, in rela-
tion to Western interests. Sir, an extraordinary union of sympathies and
of interests was then effected, which brought the east and the west into
close alliance. The book from which I have before read contains the first

8 t ' I srnncn on ma. IIAYNE

, ,
public pannunciation of that happy reconciliation of conflicting interests,
personal and political, which brought‘ the east and west together, and
locked in a fraternal embrace the two great orators of the east and the
west. Sir, it was on the 18th January, 1825, while the result of the
presidential election, In the I-Iouse_of I~tep1'esentat1ves, tyas still doubtful,
while the Whole country_was looking with intense anxiety to that legis-
lative hall where the mighty drama was so sloon to be acted, that we
saw the leaders of two great parties in their iouse and in the nation
“ taking sweet counsel together,” and in a celebrated debate on the Own:

. oerlcmd rowel, fighting side by side for western z'n.terest.9. It was on that
is memorable occasion that the senator from Massachusetts lzelel out the
so/rite flag to the west, and uttered those .l1l)(3I'fl.l sentiments which he
yesterday so indignantly repudiated. Then it was, that that happy union
between the members of the celebrated coalition was consummated, whose
immediate issue was a president from one quarter of the Union, with the
succession (as it was supposed) secured.’ to another. The “American
system,” before a rude, clisgointed, and misshapen mass, (now assumed
form and coiisistenpy. 'l_‘hen it was that it became “the settled policy
of the government, that this system should be so administered as to
"create a reciprocity of interests and a reciprocal distribution of govern-
ment favors, east and west, (the tariff‘ and internal improvements,)
while the south ---- yes, sir, the impracticable ‘south ----“was to be “ out of
your protection.” The gentleman may boast as much as he pleases of ,
the friendship of New England for the west, as displayed in their sup-.-
port of internal.improvement; but when be next introduces that topic, I
trust that he Wlll tell us wlzen that fr1endsh1p_ commenced, how it was
brought about, and why it was established. ‘\ Before I leave. this topic, I
must be permitted to saythat the true character of" the policy now pursued
by the gentleman from Massachusetts and his friends, in relation to ap-
lnrpyirispcions of ltitillfll apdthmpney, fog 1El1e¢].b811':Bfi£13 pg tthe Wd€Sl3£.iSbi11t1I111y
cs nna 1011 very sum ar o a ‘pursue y ace‘ or lot powar s is ‘re er
Esau: “it robsthem of their birthright for a mess of pottage.” . v
Tlie gentleman from Massachusetts, in alluding to a remarlxzlof mine,
that beforelany disposition could be made of the public lands the nanioezal
debt (for whicli they stand pledged) must be first paid, tool: occasion to
intimate “ that the extraordinary fervor which seems to exist in a certain
quarter, (meaning the south, sir,) for the payment of the debt, arises from
a disposition to wcalceoz the ties to/275072 bind the people to the Umbez.” VVhile
telnet gentleman deals ‘us this blow, he professes an ardent desire to see the
debt speedily erztinguished. He must excuse me, however, for feeling
someflclist1*ust on tlng; subjecp until I filndlphlip iliSp0fS:ltlOI1tII1%I1i1f:?lZ(3(l. by
someynnrr gs ro_nrrer ian pro _ess1ons.~ s a co: or ac s ‘cm s an i
uneqtiiyolial actscg for the perfbrmance of which an opportuiiity will very
poon 1(if Iffaprli not greatlylr ‘II11lSl[',‘i1.l{:’311)MbtEi atdiorded. ldSir, if I vpere liberty
o Jucge o 1e course wzuci .1a wen I eman won ‘ pursue rom   e pr1n-
ciples which he has laid down iii relation to this niatter, I should be
. bound to conclude that he will be found acting with those :VV'it»l1 Whom it
is adarling object to prevent the payment of the public debt. a He tells us
he  desirous of paying the debt, “because we are under an obligation
to d1scharge1t.” Now, sir, suppose it should happen that the public
creditors, with whom we have contracted the obligation, should release
usvfroizn it, so far as to declare their yvillingness to wait for payment for
fifty years to come, provided only the interest shall be punctually dis-,-

tmate means of holding the states together.

-01»: THE nnsoturron or Mn. roor. 9

charged. The gentleman from Massachusetts will then be released from
the obligation which now makes him desirous of paying the debt; and,
let metell the gentleman, the holders of the stock will not only release
us» from this obligation, but they will implore, nay, they will even pay as
not to pay them. But, adds the gentleman, so far as the debt may have
an efiect in binding the debtors to the country, and thereby ‘serving as a
link to hold the states together, he would be glad that it should exist for-

ever. Surely then, sir, on the gentleman’s own principles, he must be

opposed to the payment of the debt. .

Sir’, let me tell that gentleman, that the south. repudiates the idea that
a pecmnary dependence on the federal government is one of the legiti-
A moneyed interest in the
government is essentially a base interest; and just so far as it operates
to “bind the feelings of those who ar__e subjected to it to the government,
--— just so far as it operates in creating sympathies and interests that
would not otherwise ezizist,-—-‘is it opposed to all the principles of free
government, and at War with virtue and patriotism. Sir, the link which
binds the public creditors, as such, to their country, binds them equally to
all governments, whether arbitrary or free.
principle of abject dependence, if extended through all -the ramifications
of society, must be fatal to liberty. Already have we made alarming
strides in that direction. The entire class of manufacturers, the holders
of stocks, with their hundreds of millions of’ capital, are held to the gov-
ernment by the strong link of pecztoziary interests; millions of people———---
entire sections of country, interested, or believing themselves to be so, in
the public lands, and the public treasure ----are bound to the government
by the eazpectation of pec2mz'ar3/ jtzvo-rs._‘ If thisisystern is carried inneh
further, no man can fail to see that every generous motive of attaclnnent
to the country will be destroyed, and in its place will spring up those low,
g1~ovellting, base, and selfishfeeliiigs ”Wl1l(3.l’1 bind men to the Footstool of a

In a free government, this

i

despot by bonds as strong and enduring as those which attach them to .

free inrstitutions.
the affections of the people-—--—-4I would teach them to cling to it by dis-
pensing equal justice, and above all, by securing the “ blessings of liberty”
to “themselves and to their posterity.” t

r The lionorable gentleman from Massachusetts has gone out of his way
to pass a high eulcgium on the state of OHIO. In the most impassioned
tones of eloquence, he described hermajestic march to g1'eatness. He
told us, that, having already left all the other states "far behind, she was
now passing by Virginia and Pennsylvania, and about to take her station

' by the side of N ew York. To all this, sir, I was disposed most cordially

to respond. Vlfhen, however,-tl1e gentleman proceeded to contrast the
state of Ohio with Kentucky, to the t disaclvantaga of‘ the latter, I lis-

. tened to him with regret; and when he proceeded further to attribute

the great, and, as he supposed, acknowledged superiority of the former in
population, wealth, and general prosperity, t-o the policy of Nathan Dane,
of Massachusetts, which had secured to the people “of Ohio (by the
ordinance of ’87) a population of fissrzen, I will confess that my feel-
ings suffered at revulsion which I am now unable to describe in any lan-
guagesutiiciently respectful towards the gentleman from Massachusetts.
In contrasting the state of Ohiowith Kentucky, for the purpose of point-
ing out the s'ztpe7:2.'0rt'Zy of the former, and of attributing that superiority
to the e5C'2:St'672C8 of slavery in the one state, and its absence in the other, I

Sir, I would lay the foundation of‘ this government in‘

, A, ‘.(:#_,A,,_&:N.,.,~_,q%W., ,.,..,. ,,. . ,4  3 ., ,7». .4  ,4  ,:._:g  «;,«,..«.\.  . A -. A «- 4 ~ ««~' » - A

10 ‘ srnnon on MR.‘ HAYNE

thought I could discern the very spirit of the .Zl.'Z7t'ssom-A2.’ question, intruded
into this debate, for objects best known to the gentleman himself‘. Did
that gentleman, sir, when he formed the determination to cross the
southern border,,in order to invade the state of South Cazrplina, deem it
prudent or necessary to enlist. under his banners the _p7‘£j]'ttd’l:Ce8 of the
world, Which, like Swiss troops, may be engaged in any cause,‘ and are
prepared to serve under any leader? Did he desire to avail himself’ of
those remorseless allies, the passions of marzleind, of which it may be
more truly said than of the savage tribes of the wilderness, “that their
known rule of warfareis an indiscriminate slaughter of all ages, sexes,
and conditions ”? Or was it supposed, sir, that, in a premeditated and

unprovoked attack upon the south, it was advisable to begin by a gentle l

admonition of‘ our supposed wee/mess, in order to prevent us froin making
that firm and manly resistance due to our own character and our dearest

interests? Was the s'27_qn‘2,_7]’z'ea9tt /tint of the wecnlmess of slave/aoZcZt'92.g » “

states, when contrasted with the s2q'oer2.'or stir-ear/2,‘/2 of free stctes,———lil;e the
glare of the weapon half drawn from its scabbard,—--I» intended to enforce the
lessons of prudence and of patriotism, which the gentleman had resolved,
out of’ liisabundant generosity, 'g1‘atuit0L1sly to bestowupon us? i Mr.
President, the impression which has gone abroad of the wee./.lm.ess of the
sent/2, as connected with the slave gztestiorrz, exposes us to such constant
attacks, has done us so much injury, and is calculated to produce such
infinite mischiefs, that I embrace the occasion presented by the remarks
of "the gentleman of Massachusetts,to declare that we are ready to meet
the question promptly and fearlessly. It is one from which we are not
disposed to shrink, in whatever form or under whatever circumstances it
may be pressed upon us. , ‘ t y

We are ready to make up the issue with the gentleman, as to the influ-
ence of slavery on individual or national character--—-on the prosperity
and greatness, either of the United States or of particular states. Sir,
vvhen arraigned before the bar of public opinion, on this cliarge of slavery,
we can stand up with conscious rectitude, plead not guilty, and put our-
selves upon God and our country. Sir, wevvill not consent to look at
slavery in the abstract. VVe will not stop to inquire whether the black
man, as some philosophers have contended, is of an inferior race, nor
whether his color and condition are the effects of a curse inflicted for the
offences of his ancestors. 'We deal in no ctdstf-7-actions. ‘We will not
look back to inquire whether our fathers were guiltless in introducing
slaves into this country. If an inquiry should ever be instituted in these
matters, however, it will be found that the profits of the slave trade were
not confined to the south. Southern ships and southern sailors were not
the instruments of bringing slaves to the shqres of America, nor did our

rnerchants reap the profits of that “accursed traffic.” But, sir, we will

pass over all this. If slavery, as it now exists in this country, be an
evil, we of the present day found it ready made to our hands. ,]3"inding
our lot cast among a people whom God had nianifestly committed to our
care, we did not sit down to speculate on abstract questions of theoretical

liberty. We met it as a practical question of ooZ'igazS'2.'on and duty. We a

resolved to make the best of the situation in which Providence had placed

. us, and to fulfil the high trusts which had devolved upon us as the owners

of slaves, in the only way in which such a trust could be fulfilled, without
spreadiiig, misery and ruin throughout the land. We found that we had

to deal. with at people whose physical, moral, and intellectual habits and

ON THE RESOLUTION on MR. roor. 11

character totallydisqualified them from the enjoyment of the blessings}

of freedom. We could not send them back to the shores from whence
their fathers had been taken; their numbers forbade the thought, even if
We did not know that their condition here is infinitely preferable to what
it possibly could be among the barren sands and savage tribes of Africa;
and it was wholly irreconcilable with all our notions of humanity to tear
asunder the tender ties which they had formed among us, to_ gratify the
feelings of a false philanthropy. What a commentary on the wisdom, jus-
tice, and humanity of the southern slave owner is presented by the example
of certain benevolent associations and charitable individuals elsewfzeref
Shedding Weak tears over sufferings which had existence in their own
sickly imaginations, these “friends of humanity” set themselves sys-
tematically to worl: to seduce the slaves of the south from their mas-
ters. By meansof missionaries and political tracts, the scheme was in a
«great measure successful. Thousands of these deluded victims of fanati-
cism were seduced into the enjoyment of freedom in our northern cities.
And what has been the consequence? , Go to these cities now and ask
the question. Visit the dark. and narrow lanes, and obscure recesses,
which have been 2':l.SSl,g11(»3.Cl. by common consent as the abodes of those
outcasts of the world, the free people of color. Sir, there does not exist,
on thefface of the whole earth, a population so poor, so? wretched, so vile,
so loathsome, so utterly destitute of all the comforts, conveniences, and
deccncies of life, as the unfortunate blacks of t Philadelphia, and New
York, and Boston. Liberty has been to them the greatest of calamities,
the heaviest of curses. Sir, I have had some opportunities of making
comparison between the condition of the free negroes of the north and
the slaves of the south, and the comparisonhas left not only an indelible
impression of the superior advantages of the latter, but has gone far to
reconcile me to slavery itself. t Never have I felt so forcibly that touching
description, “the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests,
but the Son of man hath not where to -lay his head,” as when I have
seen this unhappy race, nakzed and houseless, almost starving in the
streets, arid» abandoned bjr all the world.   Sir, I have seen in the neigl1-

 borhood of one of the most moral, religious, and refined cities of the

north, :3. family of free blacks, driven to the caves of the rocks, and there
obtaining a precarious subsistence from charity and plunder.

, When the gentleman from Massachusettsadopts and reiterates the old
chargeof weakiiess as resulting from slavery, I must be permitted to call
for the proof of those blighting eficcts which he ascribes to its influence.
I suspect that when the subject is closely examined, it willbe found that
there is not much force even in the plausible objection of j the want of
pliysicaipovver in slaveholding states. The powerof a country is com-
pounded of its population and its wealth, andin modern times, where,
from the very form and l structure of society, by far the greater portion
of the people imust, even during the continuance of the most desolating
wars, be employed in the cultivation of the soil and other peaceful pur-

, suits, it may be well doubtedwhether slaveholding states, by reason of q

the superior value of their productions, are not able to maintain a number
of troops in the field fully equal to What could be supported by states

witli a larger White population, biit notipossessed of equal resources.

It is a popular error to suppose that, in any possible state of things, the
people of a country could ever be called out an nias.s'e, or that a half, or a
third, or even a fifth part of the physical force of any country could ever

12 I srnnou or Mn. IIAYNE

be brought into the_ field. The difiiculty is, not to procure men, but to

provide the “means of maintaining t/zem ; and in this View of the subject,
" it may be asked Whether the Southern States are not a source of strengtlz .
i and power, and not of .weakness, to the -country -— whether they have not

contributed, and are not now contributing,‘ largely to the wealth and pros-
perity of every state in this Union. From a ‘statement which I hold in
my hand, it appears that in ten years--— from 1818 to 1827, inclusive-H
the whole amount of the domestic exports of the United States was
$521,811,045 ;_ of which three articles, (t/ze product of slave labor,)
viz., cotton, rice, and tobacco, amounted to $339',203,232‘-—- equal to
about two t/zirds of tlze whole. It is not true, as has been supposed, that
the advantage of this labor is confined almost exclusively to the Southern
States. Sir, I am thoroughly convinced that, at this time, the states north
of tlze Potomac actually derive greater profits from the labor-r of our slaves

than kweldo ourselves‘. It appears from our public documents, that in’

seven years-—--from 1821 to 1827 , IIICIIISIVE3---13116 sir; SOL'Il.l”1e1‘11‘ States
exported $190,337,281, and imported only $55,646,301. Now, the
ditierence. between these two sums (near :$1t.l0,000,000)~ passed ttleroztglzr
t/ze hands of the azortlzern merchants, and enabledlthern to carry on their
commercial operations with all the world. ‘Such part of these goods, as
found its Way back to our hands came charged Withthe duties, as well as
the profits, of the merchant, the ship owner, and a host of others, who

found ‘employment in carrying on these immense exchanges; and t'or‘_

such part as was consumed at the north, we received in exchange wort};-
em. mamtfactares, charged with an increased price, to cover all the taxes
which 1 the northern consumer had been compelled to pay on the imported
article. It will be seen, therefore, at a glance, hoiwiinuch slave labor has
contributed to the wealthand prosperity of the United States, and how
largely our northern. brethren it have participated in the profits of I that
labor.‘ Sir, on this subject I will quote an authority, which will, I doubt
not, be considered by the senator from Massachusetts as entitled to liigh
respect. It is from the great father of tl1el“.g-Xmerican‘ System,” lzonest
Matthew Oarey-—-no great friend, -it is true,‘ at this time, to southern
rights and southern interests, but not thcworst authority on that account,
on the point in questefotz. - I « -

‘Speaking of the relcctiue ~?l77Z}70T2ia7’l08 to the Union of the SOUTHERN
and the Easrnnn Srarns, Matthew Carey, in the sixth edition of his
Olive Branch, (p. 278,) after exhibiting a number of statistical tables to
show the decided superiority of the former, thus proceeds z---—

‘‘ But I am tired of’ this investigation -— I siclten for the honor of the

human species. Wliat idea must the world form of’ the arrogance of the

pretensions oi" the one side, [the east,] and,of the folly and weakness of

' the rest. of the Union, to have so long suffered them to pass without expo-

sure and detection. 'I‘he=naked fact is, that the demagogues in the East-—

ern'States, not satisfied wit/2 deriving all tlze benefit from the sout/tom secs

‘ tion of t/ze Umbn t/tat t/zey would from so many wealt/zy colonies ——é--wwitih
making princely fortunes by the carriage and exportation of its bull~:y‘and_

valuable productions, and supplying it with tlzeir own mamrfaotztres, and

the productions of Europe and the East and 'West Indies, to an enormous_

amount, and at anirrimmense profit, have ‘uniformly treated it with outrage,
insult, and injury. 3 And, regardless of their vital interests, the Eastern

States~~were lately ooarrttag rtlzeir loam destmctz'on, by allowing a iew rest-1-1
less, turbulent men to lead them“ blilndfolded to a asap-aration which was I

 on THE RESOLUTION or Mn. room. 13

pregnant with t7zet'a~ certain 7-tn.‘-22. ‘Whenever that event takes place, they
sink into insigmficance. If a separation were desirable to any part of the

Union, it would be to the Middle and Southern States, particularly the ‘

latter, who have been so long harassed with the complaints, the restless-
ness, the turbulence, and the ingratitude of the Eastern States, that their
patience has been tried almost beyond endurance. ‘Jcs/attrzm waxed fat
and kicked’ --—-and he will be severely punished for his kicking, in the
event sf a dissolution of the Union.” Sir, I wish it to be distinctly un-
derstood that I do not adopt these sentiments as my own. I quote them
to Sl10W that very diii‘erent sentimetits have prevailed in former times as
to the wealmess of the slaveholding states from those which now seem to
have become fashionable in certain quarters. I ‘know it has been sup-
posed by certain ill-—int'ormed persons, that the south exists only by the
countenance and protection of the north. Sir, this is the idlest of all idle
and ridiculous fancies that ever entered into the mind of man. In every
state of this Union, except one, the free white population actually pre-
ponderates; while in the British West India Islands, (where the average
white population is less titan‘ ten per cent. of the wlzola) the slaves are
kept in entire subjection: it is preposterous to suppose that the Southern
States could ever find the smallest difficulty in this respect. On this sub-
ject, as in all others, we ask 1‘lOl3l1l1'l,g of our northern brethren but to “let
us alon” Leave us to the undisturbed inanagcment of our domestic
concerns, and the direction of our own "industry, and we willtask no more.
Sir, all our difficulties on this subject have arisen from interference from
abroad, which has disturbed, and may again disturb, our domestic tran-
quillity just so far as to bring down punislnnent upon the heads of the
unfortunate victims of a fanatical and mistaken humanity. , ’

There is a: spt'rt't, which, like the father of evil, is constantly “ walking
to and fro about the earth, seeking Whom it may devour :” it is. the spirit
of 1+‘A.~LSIb rrtrnnnrrrtxtorr. Thepersons whom it possesses do not indeed
throw themselves into the flames, but they are‘ employed in ligliting up
the torches of discord throughout the contnnunity. Tlieir first principle
of action is to leave their own affairs, and neglect their own duties, to
regulate the affairs, and duties of others. Theirs is the task to feed the
liungry, and clothe the naked, of otherlands, while they thrust the naked,
famished,.and ShiV8I‘lIl,€_!,' beggar from their own -doors; to instruct the
heathen, while their own children want the bread of life. When this
spiritint‘us=esitse1f into the bosom of a statesman, (if one so possessed can
be called a statesman,) it converts him at oynce into a visionaryenthusiast.

Then it is that he indulges inygolden dreams of national greatness and

prosperity. I~Ie discovers that “ liberty, is .p.ovs}*er,” and not content with
vast schemes oftimprovement at home, which it would bankrupt the trees-

ury of the world to execute, he flies to foreigtt lands, to fulfil obligations .

to re“ the human race” by inculcating the principles of “political and 1'6!-
ligious liberty,” and promoting the “ general welfare ” of the whole hu-
man race, It is a. spirit which has long been busy with the slaves of the
south ; and is even now displaying itself in vain efforts to drive the gov-
ernment from its Wise— policy in relation to the Indians.‘ It is this spirit
which has filled the land with thousands of wild and visionary projects,

a which can have no effeict but to waste the energies and dissipate the re-

sources of the country.  It is thespirit of which the aspiring politician

i , dexterously avails.,,hin,1se1f,, vvhen,p,by,i.nscribing on his banner the magical

« zrctst rzzztltitztcle of silence.

I deprecate, as one of the greatest evils, the C07?;S0l'l(lctl?:()7’l of ties

. consolidation; that it

14 SPEECH on MR. IIAYNE
words LIBERTY and PI-IILANTIIROPY, he draws to his support that class of
persons who are readyito bow down at the very name of their idols.

But, sir, whatever difl"erence of opinion may exist as to the effect of
slavery on national wealth and prosperity, if we may trust to_ experience,
there can be no doubt that it has-never yet produced any injurious effect
on c'7zclt'vz'clua:l or azcttlorzal cltaracter. Look through the Whole history of
the country, from the commencement of the revolution down to the pres-
ent hour-; where are there to be found brigliter examples of intellectual
and moral greatness than have been exhibited by the sons of the south?
From the li‘a1*r1na or I-IIS COUNTRY down to the 1>IsrrNGU:rsI:£1«:D cums-
TAIN who has been elevated by a grateful people to the liigliest oliice in
their gift, the interval is filled up by a long line ot'orators, of statesmen, and
of heroes, justly entitled to rank among the ornaments of their country,
and the benefactors of .manl-rind. Look at the “ Old Dominion,” great and
magnaniiiious Virginia, “ wliose jewels are her sons.” Is there any
state in this Union whicli has contributed so much to the honor and wel-
fare of the country? Sir, I will yield the whole question-—--I will acknowl-—
edge the fatal effects of slavery upon cliaracter, if any one can say, that
for noble disinterestedness, ardent love of’ country, exalted virtue, and a
pure and holy devotion to liberty, the people of the Southern States have
ever been surpassed by any in the vvorld. I know, sir, that. this olerotloiiz
to liberty has sometimes been supposed to be at War with our insti'tut.ions;
but it is in some degree the result of those very institutions. Burke, the
most philosophical of statesmen, as he was the most accomplished oi‘ ora-
tors, well understood the operation of this principle, in elevat.ing the sen-
timents and erlalting the principles of the people in slaveliolding states.
I will conclude my remarks on this branch of the subject, by reading a
few passages from his speech “ on moving his resolutions for conciliation
with the colonies,” the 22d of March, 1775. j .

“ There is a circumstance attending the southern colonies wliich
maltesthe spirit of liberty still more high and haughty than in those
to the northward. It is, that in Virginia and the Carolinas they have a
Where this is the case, in any part of the World,
those who are tree are by far the most proud and jealous of their free»-
dom. Freedom is to them not only an enjoyment, but a kind of rank and
privilege. Not seeing there, as in countries where it is a common bless-
ing, and as broad and general as the air, that it may be united withxinuch
abject toil, with great misery, with all the exterior of servitude, liberty
looks among them like something more noble and liberal. I do not mean,
sir, to commend the superior morality of I this sentiment, which l1€1“S, at
least, as much pride as virtue in it----but I cannot alter the nature of man.
The fact is so; and these people of the southern colonies are much
more strongly, and with a higher and more stubborn spirit, attached, to
liberty than those to the northward. Such, were all the ancient com-
monwealths--——such were our Gothic ancestors-——-such, in our days, were
the Poles -—-~ cmal sun}; will be all masters of slaves who are not slcwes z‘/tem-
selves. In such a people, the haughtiness of’ domination combines with
the spirit of freedom, fortifies it, and renders it t'nm‘-ne7Il2le.’’ ‘

In the course of my former remarks, Mr. President, I took occasion to
The’ gentleman takes alarm at the sound. “ 0o7zsol*iclatt'or2.,” “ like the tar-
<g'fl‘;’? ‘grates upon his ear.
is the rallying Wordof all who are endeavoring to

govemnzent. I

He tells us, “ we have l1@£t1‘Cl.m.u(3l1 of late about

on true innsoLUtrIo,n on MR. roor. . 15

“weaken the Uizioiz, by adding to the power of the states.” But consoli-

dation it (says the gentleman) was the very object for which the Union was
formed ; and,‘ in support of that opinion, he read a passage from the ad-
dress of‘ the president of the convention to Congress, whichhe assumes
to be authority on his side of the question. But, sir, the gentleman is

‘mistaken. . The object of the framers ‘of the constitution, as disclosed in

that address, was not the co7_zs0Zidcttt'07z of the grovergament, but “ the con-
solidation of the Uriioti.” It was not to draw power from the states, in
order to transfer it to a great national gOV*€1‘I;InB11i:, but,-in the language
of the constitution itself, “ to form a more perfect Uniong”---and by
What means? By “establisl1i.1ig justice, promoting domestic tranquillity,
and securing the bldssings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”

This is the true reading of the constitution. But, according to the gen-

tlen1an’s reading, the object of the constitution Was, to consolidctte the
government, and the xneans would seem to be, the promotion ot'v,t'7y"atstiz5ce,
causixig domestic disco-rd, and depriving the states and the people “ of the
blessings of liberty ” forever. ,

The gentlernan boasts of belonging to the party of NATIONAL REPUB-
LICANS. National Republicans! A new i- name, sir, for a very old

thing. The National Republicans of the present day were the .Z7'er]era,Z'z7sts ‘

of ’98, who became Feclcrczl Repztblzicczras during the war of 1812, and
were mctmzfaczfttrecl into Natzoazctl Jicpatbltcarzs somewhere about the year
1825. * i T -

‘ _ As at joarty, (by whatever name distinguisl1ecl,) theyhare always been

animated‘ by the same principles, and liaveltept steadily in View a com-
mon object, the consolidation of the government. Sir, the party to which
I am proud of having belonged, from the very comniencement of my
political life to the present day, were the Devrzocrcts of ’98,-(Ai2,arc72xists,
Anti’-Fcdemlz'sts, Ji‘.'evoZ-uttt'om'sts, I think they were sometimes called.)
They assumed the name of .Dem.ocra.t-2.'c Jteptqbliccazs in 18:22,and'l1ave
retained their name and principles up to the present hour. True to their
political faith, they have always, as a party, been in favor of limitations
of power ; they have insisted that all powers not delegated to the federal

‘governnient are reserved, and have been constantly struggling, as they ..

now are,‘to preserve the rights of the states, and to prevent them from
being drawn into the vorte;x:, and swallowed up by one great consolidated
governinent. T ' _ r p T
Sir, anyone acquainted with the history of parties in this country will
recognize in the points now in dispute between the senator from Massa-
chusetts and myself the very grounds which havc,fro1:n the beginning,
divided the two great parties in this country, and which (call these par-
ties by What names you Will, and cmctlgamctc them as you may) will
divide thorn t'ore'ver. The true distinction between those parties is laid
down in acelebrated manifesto, issued by the convention of the Feder-

alists of Massachusetts, addenibled in Boston, in February, 1824, on the

€5CC$a.Sl2On of organizing a party opposition to the reézlection of Governor
Eustis. iThe gentleman will recognize this as “ the canonical book of
political scripture ;” ‘ and it instructs 1 use that, when the American col-
oniesltirredeemed *themselves from British, bondage, and became so many
independent nations, they proposed to form ENATIONAL UNION, (not a
Federal Union, sir, but a National Union.) Those who were in favor of
a union of the states in this formitbecarne lznownby the name of Federal-
ists; those who wanted no union of i» the states, or disliked the proposed

16 SPEECH on MR. HA1'NE'

W

formflof union, became known by t.he name of Aiati-Federalists. By ,

means which need not be enumerated, the Ants’-Fede9~aZt'sts became (after
the expiration of twelve years) our national rulers, and for a period of
sixteen years, until the close of Mr. Madison’s administration, in 1817,
continued to exercise the exclusive direction of our public aii'airs. Here,
sir, is the true history of the origin, rise, and progress of the party of Na-
tt'092.aZ Repzablefccms, who date back to the very origin of the government,

and Who, then, as now, chose to consider the constitution as having
I created, not a Feclerctl, but a National Umcm ,- who regarded “ consolida-

tion ” as no evil, and who doubtless consider it “ a consummation devoutly
to he wished” to build up a great “central government,” “one and in»
divisible.” Sir, there have existed, in every age and every country, two
distinct orders of men-----the lovers of _f-i~eeoZom, and the devoted ctcZoo--
cazfes of power.

The same great leading principles, modified only by the peculiarities
of manners, habits, and inst.itut:ions, divided parties in the ancient repub-
lies, animated the to};-{gs and tories of Great Britain, distinguished in our
own times the Z'£6areZ.s and ultras of France, and may be traced even in
the bloody struggles of unhappy Spain. Sir, when the gallant Zi’2fe_qo,
who devoted himself, and all that he possessed, to the liberties of his

’ country, was dragged to the scatioltl, followed by the tears and lamenta-

tionsot’ every lover of freedom throughout the world, he perished amid
the deafening cries of “ Long live the absolutcrkingl ” The people whom
I represent, Mr. President, are the descendants of those who brought
with them to this country, as the most precious of their possessions, “ an
ardent love of liberty;’’ and while that shall be preserved, they will
always be found Inanfully .struggling against the c09tsoZt'cZot2Io9z, of the
g0?}€7‘?Z77t87Zt—~—-AS TIIE Wonsr 01+‘ 1.’+3'VII..S. it

The senator froin Massachusetts, in alluding to the tariff‘, becomes quite,

facetious. He tells us that “ he hears of notliing but tctrifl; tarizgfl; tcti~g.'fi',~
and, if a word could be found to rhyme with it, he presumes it would
be celebrated in verse, and set to music.” Sir, perhaps -the gentleman,
in moclceo-y of our comyiltttnts, may be himself disposed to sing the praises
of the tariff; in doggerel verse, to the tune of “ Old Itlundret .” I am
not at all surprised, however, at the aversion of the gentleman to the
very name of term: I doubt not that it must always bring up some
very unpleasant recollections to his mind. If I am not greatly mistaken,
the senator from Massacliusetts was a leading actor at a great meeting
got up in Boston, in 1820, .o_r/at'nst the tcm_.'f;’.'. It has generally been sup-
posed that he drew up the resolutions adopted by that meeting, denoun-
cing the tariff system as unequal, oppressive, and unjust, and if I am not
much mistaken, deity/my its c072$t27tttt'2:072ttZ'2:t‘_?/. Certain it is, that the gen-
tleman made a speech on that occasion in support of these resolutions,
denouncing the system in no very measured terms; and, if my memory
serves me, calling its co7t.9tt'tut'z'o7/zctltftgy tin qztestcion." I regret that I have
not been able to lay my hands on those proceedings; but I have seen
them, and cannot be mistaken in their character. At that time, sir, the
senator from Massachusetts entertained the very sentiments in relation to
the tariff which the south now entertains. We, next find the senator
from Massachusetts expressing his opinion on theptarifi", as a member of
the House of Representatives from the city of Boston, in 1824. On that
occasion, sir, the‘ gentleman assumed a I position which commanded the

respect andgadmiration of his country. He stood forththc powerful arid,

W

., on ran 1tESOLU'.I.‘IONOF M12. roor. 1'1’
fl
fearless champion of -free trade. He met, in that conflict, the advocates
of restriction and monopoly, and they “ fled from before his face.” With
a profound sagacity, a fulness of knowledge, and a richness of illustration
that have never been surpassed, he maintained and established the princi-
ples of commercial freedom, on a foundation never to be shalten. T Great
indeed vas the victory achieved by the gentleman on that occasion ; most.
striking the contrast between the clear, forcible, and convincing argu.
ments by which he carried r- away the understandings of his hearers,
and the narrow views and wretched sophistry of aaot/aer clistintr/era's/lzecl
orator, who may be truly said to have “held up his farthing candle to
the sun.” ~

Sir, the senator from Massachusetts, on that, the proudest day of his

life, like a mighty giant, bore away upon his shoulders the pillars of the
temple of error and delusion, escaping liimself unhurt, and leaving his
adversaries overwhelmed 111 its ruins. Then it was that he erected to

, free trade a beautiful and enduring monument, and “inscribed the mar- ,

ble with his name.” Mr. President, it is with pain and reg1'et that I now
go forward to the next ,great era 1n the political life of that gentleman,
when he was found on this floor, supporting, aclvocating, and finally vot-ing

for the tariff of 1828--—that “bill of abominations.” By that act, sir, ,

the senator from Massaclrusetts has destroyed the labors of his whole life,
and given  Wound to the cause of free trade never to be healed. Sir,
when I recollect theposition which that gentleman once occupied, and
that which he now holds in public estimation, in relation to this subject,
it is not at all surprising that the tariff should be hateful to his ears.
Sir, if I lunl erected to my own fame so proud a monument as that
wliich the gentleman built up in 1.824, and I could have been tempted to
destroy it with nay own hands, I should hate the voice that should ring
“ the accursed tariff” in my ears. I doubt not the gentleman feels very

''’:much, in relation to the taritl, as a certain knight did to “distinct,” and

with him would be disposed to er.claim,—--- _
' “Ah! no more of that, I-Ial, an thou lovest me.”

But, Mr. President, to be more serious; what are We of the south to
think of what We have heard this day? The senator from Massachusetts
tells us that the taritl‘ is not an eastern measure, and treats it as if the
east had no interest in it. The senator from Missouri insists it is not a
western measure, and that it has done no good to the west. The south
comes in, and, in the most earnest manner, represents to you that this
measure, which we are told “is of no value to the east or the west,”
is “ utterly destructive of our interests.” We represent to you that it

has spreacl ruin and devastation th1'ougl1 the land, and prostrated, our ’

hopes in the dust. , We solemnly declare that We believe the system to
be wholly unconstitutional, and a violation of the compact between the
states and the Union ;‘ and our brethren twat of deaf ear to our com-
a planets, and refuse to relieve us from a system “ which not enriches them,
but makes us poor indeed.” Good God! Mr. President, has it comets
this? Do gentlemen hold the feelings and wishes of their brethren at so
cheap at rate, that they refuse to gratify them at so small a. price? Do
gentlemen value so lightlythe peace and harmony of the country, that
they will not yield a -measure of this description to the atfectionate en-—
treaties and earnest remonstranees of their friends‘? Do- gentlemen
estimate the value of the Union at so lOW-wt}. price, that they will not even
1 3 W

 

 E ysrnacrriiolr‘ ma. HAYNE

make one efibrt to bind the states together with the cords of attectionii?

, And has it come to this? "Is this the spirit in which this government

is to be administered? If so, let me tell gentlemen, the seeds of dissolu-
tion are already sown, and our children will reap the bitter fruit. ‘ I

The honorable gentleman from Massachusetts, '(Mr. 'Webster,_) while
he exonerates me personally from the charge, intimates that there is a
party in the country who are looking to disunion. Sir, if the geiitlenoan
had stopped there, the accusation would have “passed by me like the
idle Wind, which I regard not.” But when he goes on to give to his
accusation “ a local habitation and a name,” by quoting the eitpression of

' a distinguished citizen of South Carolina, (Dr. Cooper,) “that it was time

for the south to calculate the value of the Union,” and in the laiigyuage
of the bitterest S:;,t1'C€tSI11, adds, “ Surely then the Union cannot last longer
than July, 1831,” it is impossible to xriistake either the allusion or the
object of the gentleman. Now, Mr. Presiclent, I call upon every one
who hears me to bear witness that this controversy is_ not of my seeking.
The Senate will do me the justice to remeniber that,‘at the time this
unprovoked and uncalled-for attack was made on the south, not one word
had been uttered by me in disparagement of New England; nor had I
made the most distant allusion either to the senator from liiassacliusetts
or the state he represents. But, sir, that gentleman has thought proper,
for purposes best known to himself, to strike the south, th1'ougl1 me, the

most unworthy of her servants. He has crossed the border, he has in-‘
'vaded the state of South Carolina, is rnaking war upon her cit.izcns, and
‘ endeavoring to overthrow her principles‘ and her institutions. Sir, when

the gentlenian provokes me to such a conflict, I meet him at the thresh-
old; I will struggle, while I have 1if‘e,t'or our altars and our iigresitles;
and, if God gives me strengtli, I Will drivepbaeh the invader discotnfited.
Nor shall I stop. there. If’ the gentleman provokes the war, he sliall

" havewar. r ‘Sir, I will not stop at the border; Iwill carry the war into

the enemy’s territory, and not consent to lay down my arms until I have
obtained “indemnity for the past; and security for the future.” It is

\ with unfeigned reluctance, Mr. President, that I enter upon tl1e,perfqr1n~

ance of this part of my duty; I shrink almost instinctively from a course,
however, necessary, which may have a tendency to excite sectional feel»

‘pings and sectional jealousies. But, sir, the task. has been forced upon
me; and I proceed right onward to the perforxnance of my duty. ‘ Be the
consequences what they may, the responsibility is with those who have

imposed upon me this necessity; The senator from Massachusetts has
thought proper to cast the first stone ; and if he shall find, aocorcling to ‘a

‘homely adage, “that he lives in a glass house,” on his head be the con-— .-

sequences. The gentleman has made a "great flourish about his fidelity
to Massachusetts. I shall make no professions of seal for therinterests
and honor of South Carolina; of that my constituents shall judge. If

" there be one state in the Union, Mr. President, (and I say it not in a
‘“ boastful spirit,) that may challenge comparison  with any other, fbr a

uniform, zealous, ardent, and uncalculating devotion to the Union, that
state is South Carolina. Sir, from the verycomrnencexnent of the revo-
lution. up to this hour, there is no sacrifice, however great, she has not

' cheerfully made, no service she has ever hesitated to perform. pp She has

adhered to you in your prosperity; but in your adversity she has clung

‘ f ddtopyouivvith more than filial affection. No matter what was the condition
 of her domestic afi’airs, though deprived of her resources, divided by

on THE nnsorsurron or MR. roor. 5 * 19
\= parties, or surrounded with diiiicultics, the call of‘ the country has been to
l- her as the voice of God. Domestic discord ceased atthe sound; every
we man became at once reconciled to his brethren, and the sons of Carolina
were all seen crowding together to the temple, bringing their gifts to the
altar of their common country. ‘
Vifhat, sir, was the conduct of‘ the south during the revolution? Sir,
rI_hon>or New England for her conduct in that glorious st1~uggle. I‘ But
— great as is the praise which belo11gs to her, I think, at least, equal honor
is due to the south. They espoused the quarrel of their brethren with
a generous zeal, wliieli did not suf’t’er them to stop to calculate their inter-
est in the dispute. Favorites of the mother country, possessed of neither
ships nor seamen to create a commercial rivalship, they 1nigl*1t‘I1ave found
4- in their situation a ,r_;;uaranty that their trade would he forever 1"ostered
and protected by Great Britain. But, trampling on all considerations
» either of interest or of safety, they rushed into the conflict, and tigliting for
principle, perilled all, in the sacred cause of freedom. Never was there
exhibited in the history of the world higher examples of noble daring,
dreadf'ul sufi"cring, and heroic endu’ranoe, than by the wliigs of Carolina
during the revolution; 'l‘l1evvl1ole state, frorn the II1OUI1i1£§Ll11S to the sea,
was overrun by an ove1'xvliel1iii1igthree of the eneuuy.‘ The fruits ‘of'indus--
try perished on the spot where they were produced, or were consuined by
the foe. The “ plains of Carolina” drunk up the most precious blood of
her citizens. Blues and stitching; ruins marked the places which had
been the habitations of her eliildren. Driven froin their homes into the
gloomy and almost iinpenetrable swarnps, even there the spirit of liberty
‘survive-d, and South Carolina (stistaixmtil by the example of her Sumpters
and her Marions) proved, by her conduct, that though her soil might be
overrun, the spirit of her people it s invincible. I
But, sir, our country was soon called upon to engage in another revo-
lutionary st1'ugggle, and that, too, was a struggle for principle. I mean the
political revolution which dates back to ’98, and which, if it had not been
’ successfully achieved, would have left us none of the fruits of the revolu-
tion of "iii. Tlie revolution of ’t)8t1'cstrJ1‘e(litl‘1c constitution, rescued the
‘liberty of the citizen .'f'ro1n the gt'tts1:) of those who were aiiiiing; at its life,
and in the emphatic lttzigtrittge of Mr. J"cfi"crson, “ savedthe constitution at

I its last gasp.” .And by whom was it achieved? By the south, sir, aided

only by the democracy of the north and west.

I I come now to the war of, 1.812 --—--a War which, I well reineniber, was
called in derision (while its event was doubtful) the southern ‘War, and
sonuetimes the Carolina war; but which is now universally acknowledged
to have ‘done more for the honor and prosperity of the country than all‘
other events in our history put t.o,g;et,l1er. ‘What, sir, were the objects
of that War? “ Free trade and sailors’ rig'l1_ts!” It was for the protection
‘of northern shipping and New Iilrnglancl seamen, that the country flew to
arms. I Whatinterest had the south in that contest? If they had sat down.
rljteoldly to calculate the value of their interests involved in it, they would

M

 Waive foundthat they had every thing to lose, and nothing to again. But,
 l<vt—ftosir,twith that generous devotion to country so characteristic ct’ the south,
I they only asked if the rights of * any portion‘ of their fellow-citizens had

been invaded; and when told that northern ships and New England sea-
men had been .; rrested on thecornmon liighway of nations, they felt that
the honor~ot' their country was assailed; and acting on that exalted senti-
ment “ which feels a stain like a wound,”tl1ey«reso1vedinto seek, in open

E

20 ' srssczu on MR. HAYNE '

War, for a redress of those injuries which it did not become freemcn to
endure. Sir, the whole south, animated as by a common impulse, cor-
dially united in declaring and promoting that war. South Carolina sent to
your councils, as the advocates and supporters of that war, the noblest of
her sons. How they fulfilled that trust let a grateful country tell. Not
a measure was adopted, not a battle fought,” not a victory won, which
contributed, in any degree, to the success of that war, to which southern

councils and southern valor did not largely contribute. Sir, since South

Carolina is assailed,iI must be suffered to speak it to her praise, that at
theyery moment when, in one quarter, we heard it solemnly proclaimed,
“that it did not become a religious and moral people to rejoice at the 'v'ic-
tories of our army or our navy, ” her legislature unanimously

“Resolved, Tlzuat We will cordially support the government in the vig-
orous prosecution of the war, until a peace can be obtained on honorable
terms, and we will cheerfully submit t.o ever r privation that may he re-

uired of us, by our government, for the accornplishinent of this object.”

South Carolina redeemed that pledge. She threw open her treasu1'y to
the government. She put at the absolute disposal of the otlicers of the
United States all that she possessed ----her men, her money, and her arms.
She appropriated half a million of dollars, on her own account, in defence
of her marititne frontier, ordered a brigade of state troops to be raised,
and when left to protect herself by her own means, never suffered the
enemy to touch her soil, without being instantly driven oil’ or captured.

Such, sir, was the conduct of the south-—— such the conduct of my own
state in that dark hour “ which tried me1'1’s souls.” .

Wlien I loolt. back and contemplate the spectacle ~exhibited at that time
in another quarter of the Union -—-- when I think of the conduct of certain
portions of N ew Eiiglaiid, and remember the part which was acted on that
memorable occasion by the political associates of the gentleman from
Massacliuset.ts-cw-nay, when I follow that gentleman into the councils of
the nation, and listen to his voice during the da1'l::est period of the war, I

am indeed astonished that he should venture to touch upon the topics’

«which he has introduced into this debate. South Carolina reproached by
Massachusetts I And from whom does the accusation come ? Not from. the
democracy of New England; for they have been in times past, as they
are now, the friends and allies of the south. No, sir, the accusation
comes from that party whose acts, during the most trying and eventful
eriod of our national history, were of such a character, that their own
legislature, but a few years ago, actually blotted them out from their rec»
ords, as a stain upon the honor of the country. But how can they ever
be blotted out from the recollection of any one who had a l1eart"to feel, a
mind to comprehend, and a memory to retain, the events of that day!
Sir, I shall not attempt to write the history of the party in New England
to which I have alluded----the war party in peace, and the peace party in
war. Tliat task I shall leave to some future biograpl1e1° of Nathan Dane,

H and I doubt not itwill be found quite easy to prove that the peace party

of Massacliusetts were the only defenders of their country during their
war, and actually achieved all our victories by land and sea. .In the mean
time, sir, and until that history shall be Written, I propose, with the feeble

and glimmering lights which I possess, to revievv the conduct of this party, ,

in connection with the war, and the events which immediately preceded it.
It will be recollected, sir, that our great causes of quarrel with Great

Britain were her depredations on i northern commerce,land the impress-

on THE RESOLUTION on MR. ro'or. 1 21

 ment of New England seament From every quarter we were called upon

for protection. Importunate as the west is novmrepresented to be on
another subject, the importunity of the east on that occasion was far
greater. I hold in my hands the evidence of the fact. Here are peti-
tions, memorials, and rcmonstrances from all parts of New England,
setting forth" the injustice, the opprcss1ons,the_ depredations, the insults,
1,1,3 Out,-ages cQ1'x1111itted by Great Britain against the unoff'ending com-
mercc and seamen of New England, and _calling upon Congress for redress.
Sir, I cannot stop to read these memorials. _In that from Boston, after
stating the alarming and extensive condemnation of our ‘vessels by Great
Britain, which threatened “ to sweep our commerce from the face of the
ocean,” and “ to involve our merchants in bankruptcy,” they call upon

-1 the government “ to assert our rights, and to adopt such measures as will

support the dignity and honor of the United States.”

From Salem we heard a language still more decisive; they call ero-
plicitly for “ an appeal to arms,” and pledge their lives and property in
support of any measures which Congress might adopt. From NeWbury-
port an appeal was made “ to the firmness and justice of the govern-
ment to obtain coxnpensation and protection.” It was here, I think, that,

when the war was declared, it was resolved “to resist our own govern- -

merit even unto blood.” (Olive Branch, p. 101.)

In other quarters the common language of that day was, that our com-
merce and our seamen were entitled to protection; and" that it was the
duty of the government to afi‘hr<;l it at every hazard. ’I3he conduct of
Great Britain, we were then told, was “ an outrage upon our national in-
dependence.” ’.l‘l‘1esc clarnors, which commenced as early as January, 1806,
were continued up to 1812. In a message from the governor of one of
the New Etiglaiicl States, as late as the 1(I)th October, 1811, this language
is held: “ A manly and decisive course has become indispensable; a course

to satisfy foreign nations, t.hat_, while we desire peace, we have the means
and the spirit to repel aggrcssioxi. We are false to ourselves when our

commerce, or our territory, is invaded with impunity.”

About this time, however, a rornarlszablc cliangc was observable in‘ the
tone and temper of those who hacl been endcavoring to force the country
into a war. The language of complaint was changed into that of’ insult,
and calls forlprotection converted into reproaches. “Smoke, smoke!”
says one writer; “my life on it, our executive have no more idea of
declaring war than my g1‘m1(lI110tl101‘.” ’1‘he coinmittee of ways and
means,” says another, “have come out with their Pandora’s box: of
taxes, and yet nobody dreams of warm” “Congress do not mean to de»
clare war; they dare not.” But why multiply examples? An honorable
member of the other house, from the city of Boston, [Ma Quincy,] in a
speech delivered on the 3d April, 1812, says, “Neither promises, nor
threats, nor asseverations, nor oaths, will make me believe that you will
go to war. Tlieinavigation states are sacrificed, and the spirit and char-
acter of ; the countryrprostrated by fear and avarice.” “F You cannot,” said
the same gentleman, on another occasion, “ be kicked into a war.”

"Well, sir, the War at length came, and what did we behold? The very
-men who had been for six years clamorons for War, and for Whose pro»

tection it was waged, became at once cquallyclamorous against it. They.

had received a miraculous visitation; a new light suddenly beamed upon

~ their minds; the scales fell from their eyes, and it was discovered that the

war was declared from “subserviencpyt to .1*‘rance;”r and that Congress,

22 sermon or MR. xxarnn

and the executive, “had sold themselves to Napoleon ; ” that Great l3rit- .

ain had in fact “ done us no essential injury; ” that she was “ the bulwarl~::
of our religion,-,"’ that where “she tools: one of’ our ships, she protected
twenty ; ” and that, if Great Britain had impressed a Few‘ of our seamen,
it was because “ she could not clistitigtiish them from their own.” And so

far did this spirit extend, that a con*1mittee,_of' the Massachusetts le,g;is—-'

lature actually fell to calculation, and discovered, to their infinite_satisfac-
tion, but t.o the asltonislnnent of all the world besides, that only eleven

, Massachusetts sailors had ever been impressed. Never shall I f'orget‘

the appeals that had been made to the sympathies of the south in behalf
of the “thousands of impressecl Americans,” who had been torn frotn their
families and friends, and “ irnmured in the floating cltixiggeons of l3rit:ain.”
The most touching pictures were drawn oi’ the hard condition of‘ the Amer-

ican sailor, "-’ treated like a slave,” forced to fig;l‘1t the battleso-i:' his enezny,:

“lashed to the mast, to be shot at like a dog.” But, sir, the very rnornent
we had takeniup arms in their defence, it was discovered that all these
were more “ fictions of the brain ;” and that the whole number in the state
of Massacliusetts was but eleven; and that even these liad been “ taken
by 1nistal'~:e.” “Wonderful discovery! The secretary of state had collected

-’ authentic lists of no less than six thousand impressed Arncrieans. Lord
- Castlereagh himself acknowledged sixteen hundred. Calculations on the

basis of the number found one board of the G-uerrierc, the Macedonian,
the J ava, and other Brit-isli ships, (‘captured by the skill and ,ga.ll::t11t.1‘y of
those heroes whose acliievements are the treasured monuments of their
country’s glor ,) fixed the number at seven thousand ; and yet, it seems,
Massachusetts had lost but eleven! Eleven lllassacliusetts :ai1o1‘s taken
by mistake! A causeof war indeed! Their ships too, the capture of
which had threatened “universal bankruptcy,” A, it was discovered that
Great Britain was their friend and protector; “ where she l*1acl~ta.hen one
she had protected twenty.” Then was the discovery made, that subser-

Vienc to France hostilit to commerce “a determination on the ‘,)tEtI‘l}/
Y 2 9 7

of the south and west, to break: down ,the Eastern States,” and especially
as reported by a connnittee of the Massachusetts legislature) “ to force
the sons of commerce to populate the wilderness,” were the true causes
of the war.” (Olive Branch, pp. 134, 291.) But let us look a little i‘ur-7
ther into the conduct of the peace party of New Eiiglaiicl at tliat in1--

' portant crisis. VVhatever difference of opinion might lnwe existed as to

the causes of the war, the cotintry had a rigltxt to eiszpect, that, when once
involved in the‘ contest, all America would have c-.ordially united in its
support. Sir, the war elieeted, in its progress, a union of all parties at

the south. But not so in New England ; there {,.;;1'eat eiibrts were tnade‘

' to stir up the minds of the people to oppose it. Nothing was left uncloner

to embarrass the financial operations of the g‘0~VG1‘lll11G1lt,tO prevent the
enlistment of troops, to keep back. the men and money of’ New lihigland

front the service of the Union to force the iwesiclent from his seat. ‘Yes
3 7’

sir, “the Island of Elba, or a halter I 7’ were the a1te1'natives they pre-
sented to the excellent and Venerable J arnes Madison. Sir, the war was
further opposed by openly.carrying on illicit trade with the enemy, by
permitting that enemy to establish herself on the very soil of l\Iassachu-

setts and b o eninofi avfree trade between Ci‘:-rent Britain and America‘
5 Zn ?

with a separate custom hotise. Yes, sir, those who cannot endure the
thought that we should insist on a free trade, in time ot',prot'ound peace,
could, without scruple, claim and exercise the right of (3£1.1‘1‘_‘}'Zl11_.{._._," on a free

ON TIIE RESOLUTION 01'!‘ MR. FOOT.

l trade with the enemy in it time of war; and finally by g,et.ting up the-

. , ., ' 3 _ ' - l
renowned “I'It11fi;~fO1‘Cl C011V(uI1iL10l.l, and p1epd.II“1llg',i-lle way for an open,
resistance to the government, and n separation of the states. Sir, if I ,_am_

ashecl for the proof of those thing§, I 1°C-.:n1‘lessl3r appeal to contemporary
history, to the public documents oi‘ the country, to the recorded opinion
hndl nets of public nsseznhlies, to the declaration and acknowledgments,
since 1:nn.dc, of tlie extecutive and legis,lntu1*e oi'MnesnchL1setts l1erseli'.**“
Sir, the time has not been allowed me to trace this subject through,

even if I had been disposed to do so. But I cannot rei'ra.i11 from referring,

to one or two documents, which linve fallen in my way since this debate
began. I read, sir, t'ro1n the Olive I~3rnnch of l‘.Intt11ew Corey, in which
are collected “the n,ct.ingsi and ¢loi11gs” of the pence party of New Eng-
land, during the continuance of the enibnrgo and the war. I know the
senator fronn MnsSacl1uset.tswill 1'es1:“>ect the higli authority of his political
friend nnd fellow-lnhorer in the g;rcnt cause of “ domestic industry.”

In 19. 301, et seq., 309 of this work,  n clctnilcd account of the nieaeuree
adopted in Mnssncl1ust=:t.lrs during the war, for the express purpose of
ernhn.r1*nssiii1g the finnncinl opo.1't1.‘t,rio11s of the governnicnt, by prcveiiting
lonne, end tlierehy Cll.‘l‘Vll‘1g our rulers i'ron1 their sents, nnd t'o1'cing the
country into n dislionornhle pence. ‘It appears t.l:1nt the Boston hanks
coinrnencccl nrwoperntion, by which it run was to. he nincle upon all the

‘ banks to the south; ntthe" seine time stopping their own discounts; the

effect of which was to produce it sudden end most n,1nrtnir1g dirninution oi‘

"tl‘1e~circulnting medium, and nnivcrsn.l distrces over the whole country -—---_

“ £L distress which they fnilctl not to nttrihute to the unholy War.”
To such an extent wns this system cnrricd, thnt it appears, from a
statement of the conclition of the. .l3oston banks, inndc up in Jnnunry,

1814, tlint with nearly fli45,00(),(Tl()Oi‘ ct’ specie in their vaults, they land but
:‘,l52,00lfl,OOO ht’ bills in circulntion. It is ndcled. by Corey, thnt nt this "very "

time rm e'.t:tensivet;1'ntle was carried on in Britislii govermnenl; bills, for
which specie was sent to Clnuintln, for the pnyrnent of tl,1eCBrittis~l1 troops,
then lziyiiig waste our northern frontier; nnd this too at the very inoment
when New Englaiitl &Slllll.‘lS,St1lll11g under Britislriylicoiiscs, (n t. ‘tltltb declnrecl
to he lnwful by the courts both of Grrcnt Brilnin nritl '.Mt',l.l.‘~‘»t",~':'£l.(3l’1LlS€:il1fS,'l')
were supplying with provisions t.li.osc very nrniiee cleetined 1‘.'or.the inva-
sion of our own shores. Sir, the author of the Olive B1'£l.11C.l1, with a

*5 In answer to an address of’ (Rorcrnoir 1ll11Stl$fidGnOl1nClng' the conduct of the
peace party during the war, the lloiisc of Rcprcsciitntives of Mnesncliusctts, in June,
18.‘£3,sny, “ ’l‘l1elclw.ng-c of the political sentiments evinced in the late elections forms
indeed a new era in the history of our cominonweelth. It is the triumph of reason
ovor passion; of patriotism over party spirit. l\'Ifl5h€~lttCtl‘lLISGtiS has returned to her first,
love, and is no lO1‘lg‘Ct'. n st1*2111ge1- in the Union. We rejoice that tliotigli, clurin,r__2; the
last war, such rneessures were adopted in this stntcne occasioned double sncriiice of
treasure and of life, covered the friends of the nation with humiliation and mourn-
ing, and fixed n stein on the page of our history, a. redeeming'ispi1'it_l1ns at length
arisen. to tnlcc away our rtp1'onch, and restore to us onr~ good name, our rnnl; among
out-‘sister states, and 011l'jt1Stlllllll.10Il00 in the Union.  y l r 1

yr ' “ Tl1£)llg‘l1 we would not renew contentions, or irritate wnnton1y,we believe that there
are cases when it is necessary we should ‘iwound to heal.’ And Welconsider it am ong the
firstrdutics of the f1'iende,of our national orvcrnment, on this return of power, to disavow
the unwnrrantnhle course pursued by tiis state, during the lntewar, and to holdup

the measures of that period as honconsy; that the present and succeeding g-cnerstions

may shun that career which must inevitably terminztte in the destruction of the indi-
vidual or party who pursues its; and nmy learn the iniportnnt lesson", that, in all times,
the path of duty is the path of safety; and that it is never dangerous to rally around
i}l1»<3‘Stll.n(l€t1'ClOfOLll'CO11Ylt1'y'.”  l ~ Q s y -
T 2d Dodsonfis Admiralty Reporter, 48. to 13th Mass. Reports, 26. it
W H i ,

23.

24 SPEECH or MIR. nrarurs

holy indignation, denounces these acts as “trcasonableg” “ giviiig aid
and cou'n"ort to the enemy.” ’ I shall not follow his example. But I will
ask, With what justice or propriety can the -south be accused of disloyaltty
from that quarter? If we had any evidence that the senator from Mas~—
sachusetts had admonished his brethren then, he might, with a better
grace, assume the otlieet of’ aclmonishiiig us now. I

“Then I look at the measures adopted in Boston, at that'da.y, to deprive
the government of the necessary means for carrying on the war, and
think of the success and the "consequences of these measures, I feel my

a pride, as an American, humbled in the dust. Hear, sir, the language of

i that day. I read from pages 301 and 802 of the Olive Branch. “Let
no man who wishes to continue the war, by active means, by vote, or

i ‘“lending; money, dare to prostrate himself‘ at the altar on the fast day.”
“ Will federalists subscribe to the loan? Will they lend money to our
national rulers? It is impossible. First, because of principle, and
secondly, because of principal and interest.” “Do not prevent the
abusers of their trust from becoming banlcrupt. Do not prevent them
from beeorniiig odioustto the public, and being replaced by better men.”
“ Any federalist who lends money“ to government must no and shake
hands with James l\Iadison, and claim fellowship with Felix Grundy.”
(I beg pardon of my honorable friend from Tennessee-‘—-~but he is in
good company. I had thought it was “James l\tlfadison, Felix Grundy,
and the clevilf’) Let him no more “call himself‘ a feclcralist, and a friend
to his countr r: he will be called by others iiifan1ous,” 82:0.

Sir, the spirit of the people sunliunder these appeals. Such was the
effect produced by them on the public mind, tliat the very agents of the
governznent (as appears from their public advertisements, now before me)
ificoulcl not obtain loans without a pledge that “ the names of the sub»
scribers should not he ltnown.” Here are the advertisements: r“ The
names of all subscribers” (say Gilbert and Dean, thebrolters employed
by government) “ shall be known only to the undersigned.” As it" those
who came forward to‘-mid their country, in the hour of her utmost need,
were eiigaged in some dark and foul conspiracy, they were assured “that
their names should not be l;11oW11.” Can any thing show more conclu-
sivcly the unhappy state of public feeling which prevailed at that day
than this sin;2;le fact? Of the same character with these measures was
the conduct of’ Massachusetts in withholding her militia from the service
of’ the United States, and deivising measures for withdrawing her quota
of the taxes, thereby attempting, not merely to cripple the resources of"
the country,_ but actually depriving the government (as far as clepended
upon her) of all the means of carrying on the war —-- of’ the bone, and mus-
cle, and sinews of war-—-—-“ of man and steel--«-the soldier and his s"worcl.”
But it seems Massachusetts was to reserve her resources for hersclf'----
she was to def'end and protect her own shores. And how was that duty
performed? In some places on the coast neutrality was declared, and

V the enemy was sufi'ered to invade the soil of Massachusetts, and allowed
to occupy her territory until the peace, without one eilbrt to rescue it
from his grasp. Nay, more —--- while our own government and our rulers
were considered as enemies, the troops of the enemy were treated like
friends---the most intimate commercial relations were established with
them, and niatintained up to the peace. At this dark period of our national
afihirs, ‘Micro’ was the senator ‘from ihtlassacliusetts? Iilow were his po--
litical associates employed? 1“ Calculating the value of the Union?”

2‘

on rnn n:s‘soLUr:toN or rm. room. 25
Yes, sir, that was, the propitious moment, when our country stood alone,
the last hope of the world, st1-uggliiig for her existence against the colos-—
sal power of Great Britain, “ concentrated in one mighty effort to crush
us at ablow ; ” that was the chosen hour to revive the grand scheme of
building up ,“a great nortliern con:t’ederacy”--—a. scheme which, it is
stated in the work before me, had its origin as far back as the year 179 6,
and which appears never to liave been entirely abandoned. T

In the language of the writers of that day, (179 6,) “rather than have
a. constitution such as the auti~federalists were contending for, (such as
we are now contending for,) the Union ought to be dissolved;’’ and to
prepare the way for that measure, the same methods were resorted to
then that have always been relied on for that purpose, exc.it.ing prejudice
against the south. Yes, sir, our n‘Urthern brethren were then told, “that ii’
the iiegro-es were good for food, their southern masters would claim the right

to destroy them at pleasure.” (Olive B1‘tl.IlCl1, p. 267.) Sir, in 1814, all these

topics were revived. Again we hear of “ a northern confederaey.” “ T‘he
slave states~by themselves ;” “ the mountains are thenatu ‘a1 boundary ; ”
we want neither “the counsels nor the power of the west,” &c., «See. The
papers tcemed with accusations against the sow.‘/2 and the west, and the
calls for a dissolution of all connection with them were loud and strong.
I cannot consent to go lJl'11"0vL“tgl1tl‘lf3_CllSg‘L1Sl;lIT1g details. But to show the
lieiglit to which the spirit of disaifection was curried, I will taltc you to
the temples of the living God, and show you that sacred place, which
should be devoted to the extension of “ peace on earth and good will

, towards men,” where “ one clot?/‘s truce otiglit surely to be allowed to the

.3

dissensions and aniinosities of nianl~:ind,” converted into, as fierce (trans of
_7t70Z't'z"2—'<:'ctZ strafjiz, where, from the lips of‘ the priest, statidixig between the
horns of the altar, there wont fortll the most ttcrriblc dcatuttcziattons

agziiiist all who should be true to their country in the hour of her

utmost need. i l 

“ It‘ you do not wish,” said a reverend clergyman, in a sermon preaclied
in Boston, on the 23d July, 1812, “ to become the slaves of those who
own slaves, and who are theznsellvestlic slaves of Frencli slaves, you
must either, in the Zcmgttegc of the titty/, our true CONNECTION, or so far
alter the national compact as to insure to yourselves a due share in the
governncicnt.” (Olive Branch, p. 310.) “Tire Union,” says the same
writer, (p. 31330,) “ has been long since virtually dissolved, and it is full
time that this part of the disunited states slioluld take care of itself.”

Another reverend gentleman, pastor of a church at Mcdford, (p. 321,)
issueshis €'m£ttl’1(3n”t:2l.-—- “ LET 1111»! STAND Adortnsnn ”~—~v~against all, all
who, by their “personal services,” for“ loans of money,” “conversation,”
or “writing,” or “influer1ce,” give countenance or support to the un-~

-righteous war, in the following terms: ‘V“ That rrnen is an accomplice in

the wiclzedness ----l he loncls his conscience with the blackest crimes -—-T-he

it bi~ing's the guilt of blood upon his soul, and in the siglit of God and his

Claw, its is ct lutunniannn.” ~ i

; Onelor two‘. more quotations, sir, and rIl shall. have done. A reverend
doctor of’ divinity,‘ the pastor of a churchat Byfield, Massachusetts, on
the 7th of April, 1814, thus addresses his flock, (p. 321:), “ The Israel-

ites became weary of yielding the a fruit of” their labor to pamper their \

splendid tyr.ants.l,'1‘l1ey left their politically ‘woes. 'I‘H:sYi snmnsrnn;
where is our ; Moses? "Where the rod ot'*l1is‘miracles? Where is our
Aarons? Alas! no voice from the burning ‘bush has directed them here.”

26 i srnnon on MR. zuarnn

“We inustz-trample on the mandates of ‘despotism, or remain slaves
forever,” (p. 322.) ‘F You must drag the chains of’ Virginian Cl('3SpC3ilt31Il,
unless you discover some other mode of‘ escape.” “Those Vfestern btatcs

lwhich have been violent for this abominable war-—those states which

harve thirsted for blood--—— God has given them blood ‘to drink,” (p. 323.)
l‘vIr. President, I can go no further. The records oi the day are fullot"
such sentiments, issued from the press, spoken in‘! public assemblies,
poured out from the sacred desk. God forbid, sir, that I should charge
the people of Mfassacliusetts with participating 111 these sentiments. l‘h_e
south and the west had there their friends--—1nen who stood by their
country, though encoinpassed all around by their enemies. The senator
from Massachusetts (Mr. Silsbee) was one of them; the senator from
Connecticut (Mr. Foot.) was anotl1er;,2¥nd there are others now on this
floor. , The sentiinents I have read were the sentiments of a party em-
bracing the political associates'“of' the gentleinan from Massacliuset:'ts. If
they could only be found in the columns of a neWspa.per, 111 a few o<;:ea~—
sional pamplflets, issued by men pt‘ Ill1i",€2l'§‘tpt1':‘1‘2:1iL(:‘. feeling, I SllO'tl~§(l }not con»
sider them as ati‘ordino~ any evic ence 0' tie opinions even o" tie peace
party of New Eligland. But, sir,~ they were the coznmon language of
that day; t.hey pervaded the whole land; they were issued tironii the
legislative hall, frorn the pulpit, and the press. Our books are full of‘
them ; and there is no man who now hears me but knows that they were
the sentiments of a party, by whose members they were }.”)1?0IIlt1lgtti«GCl.
Indeed, no evidence of’ this would seem t.o be required. beyond the fact
that such sentiments found their way even into the pulpits of New Eng-I
land. VVhat must be the state of public opinion, where any respectable
clergyman, wotxlcliventtire to preach, and to print, sermons containing
the sentiments I have quoted? I doubt not the piety or moral worth of
these gentlemen. I am told they were respectable, and pipes men. But

the were men and the “kindled in a comrnon blaze.” And now sir .
Y 7 Y 1 ,7

I must he suti"ere_d to remark that, at this awt"ul“and melancholy period

of our national history, the gentleman i'rom Massachusetts, who now‘

zrnanitests so great a devotion to theUnion, and so much arndety lest it
should be endangereclfrom the south, was “ with his brethren in Israel.”
He saw all these things passing before his —eyes--—-he heard these senti-
ments uttered all around him. I do not cliarge that gentleiiian witli any
participation in these acts, or witli approving ofthese sentiments.

But I will ask, why, if he was animated by the same sentiments then

which he now professes, if he can ?‘augur disunion at a distance, and '

snuff up rebellion in every tainted breeze,” why did he not, at that day,
exert his great talents and ackiiowleclged influence with the political

associates by whom he was surrounded, and who then, as now, looked up
to him for guidance and direction, in alloying this general excitement, in

pointing out to his deluded friencls the value of the,Union, in instructing

them that, instead of looking “ to some prophet t_o lead them out;ot' they
land of Egypt,” they should become reconciled to their brethren, and

unite with them in the support of’ a just and necessary War? Sir, the
gentleman must excuse me for say:ing,"that if’ the records of our country
afibrded any evidence that he had pursued such a course, then, it‘ we

_ couldfind it recorded in the histoiry of those times, that, like the immortals
Dexter, he had breasted that mighty torrent which was sweeping before,

it all that was great and valuable in our political institutions---—-it‘ like

him he had stood by his country in opposition to his party, sir,i,we Would,

like little children, listen to his precepts, and abide byghis counsels. F

I

on run RESOLUTION on MR. room. I 27

As soon as the public mind was suiiiciently prepared for the measure,
the celebrated Hartt'ord Convention was got up ,-, not as the am of a, few
unauthorized individuals, but by authority of thelegislature of Massachu.
setts; and, as has been shown by the able historian of that convention, in
accordance with the views and wishes of the party of which it was the
organ. Now, sir, I do not desire to call in question the motives of the
gentlemen who composed that assernbiy. I knew many of them to be in
private life accomplished and honorable men, and I doubt not there were
some among theniwho did not perceive t.he dangerotts tendency of their
proceedings. I will even go further, and say, that if the authors of the
Hartford Convention believed that “ gross, deliberate, and palpable vio-
lations of the constitution” had tak.en place, utterly destructive of their
rights and interests, I should be the last nianto deny their x'igl.it to resort
to any constitutional measures for redress. But, sir, in any view of the
case, the time-when and the circumstances 1.mde1~ which that convention
assembled, as well as the measures recoznrnended, render their conduct, in

I my opinion, wholly indefensible. Let us contemplate, for a Inornent, the

spectacle‘ then eithibited t.o the view of the world. I will not go over
the disasters of the war, nor describe the difliculties in which the govern-
ment was involved. It will be recollected that its credit was nearly gone,
Wasliiiigtoii had fallen, the whole coast was bloel-szaded, and an innnense
force, collected in the 'West Indies, was about to niake a descent, which
it was supposed we had no means of rosistinrr. In this awful state of our
public atiairs, when the government seemed ahnost to be tottering on its
base, when Great Britain, relieved from all her other enemies, had ‘pro-
clairned her purpose of “retluci1ig us to unconditional‘ submission,” we
beheld the peace party of New 1Eh1glantlt(i11 the ltlllgtlfllgfo oi’ the work
before us) pursuing a course calculated to do more injury to their coun-
try, and to render E1'1gl£11‘1£i1.1101‘e etibctive service than all her armies.”
Those who could not’ find it in their hearts to rejoice at our victories
sang Te Deum. at the Iiixig-‘st Chapel in Boston, for the restoratioii of the
Bourbons. Those who could not consent to illurninate their dwellings
for the capture of the G-uerriere could give no visible toltens of their joy
at the fall of Detroit. The “beacon tires ” of their hills were ligiitcd up,
not for the encoiii-ageiiient of their friends, but as signals to the enemy;
and inthe gloorny hours of’ Initlnirrht, the very lights burned blue. Such
were the dark. and portentous signs of’ rthe times, which ushered into
being the renowned I‘Iarti'ord Convention.‘ That convention met, and,

from their proceedings, it appears that their chief" object was to keep back

the men and money of New I+3ng;1art1dtfrcii1t the service of the Union, and
to effect radical clianges in the governinent--- changes that can never be
effected without a dissolution of the Union. v i

Let us now, sir, look at their proceedings. I read from “ A Short Ac-
count of the I*Iartt'ord Convention,” (written by one of its 1ne1nbers,) a.
very rareiboolt, of which I was fortunate exiotigli, a few years ago, to
obtain a copy. . [Here Mr. II. read from the proceedingsfitj

it It appears at p. 6 of the “Account” that,,I)y a vote of thelE~Iouse of Represents-«
tives of Massachusetts, (260 to 291),), clelegates, to this convention were ordered to be
appointed to consult upon the subject “ of‘ their public grievances and concerns,” and
upon “ the best means of presc1'vi'ng; their resources,” and for procuring a revision of
the constitution of t the United States,“ more eii'ectua1iy to secure the support endot-

o tachmeut of all the pcople,by placing all upon the basis of fair representation.”

The convention assembled at Hartford onxtho 15th December, 1814. On the next
day it was , I t I '

28 T ‘ srnncn on MR.’ IHAYNE

It is unnecessary to. trace the matter further, or to ask what would
have been the next chapter in this history, if the measures recommended
had been carried into effect; and if, with the men and money of New
England withheld from the government of the United States, she had
been withdrawn from the war; if New Orleans had fallen into the hands
of the enemy ;. and if',,without troops and almost destitute of money, the
Southern and the Westei-11 States had been thrown upon their own re-
sources, for the prosecution of the war, .-and the recovery of New
Orleans. -

Sir, whatever may have been the issue of’ the contest, the Union must
liave been dissolved. But a wise and just I’ro-vidcnce, which “shapes
our ends, roughhew them as we will,” gave us the victory, and crowned

 our efforts with a glorious peace. The ambassadors of Hartford were

seen retracing their steps from Wcsliiiigton, “the bearers of the glad
tidings of great joy.” Courage and patriotism triuinphecl--——-the country
was saved»----tlic Union was preserved. And are We, Mr. Prcsitleiit, who
stood by our country then, who threw open our coifei-s,wl1o bared our
bosoms, who freely perilled all in that conflict, to be rcproached with
want of attachment to the Union? «If, sir, we are to have lessons of
patriotism read to us, they must come from a. diflisrent quarter. The
senator from Massachusetts, who is now so sensitive on all subjects con-

nected witli the Union, seems to have a memory f01‘gC3l2fL1l of the political.

Resolved, That the most inviolable secrecy shall be observed by each member of

' this convention, including the secretar , us to all propositions, debates, and proceedings

tliereot‘, until this injunction shall be suspended or altered. A

On the 2«ttl1 ot'1)<~,pexnbcr,tl1c committee appointed to prepare and report a general
project ct‘ such measures as may be proper for the convention to adopt, reported,
among other things,----—--- i y y

‘i‘ 1. That it was expetlient to rccornmend to thelegislaturcs of the states the adop-
tion of the most cii'cctua.l and decisive measures to protect the militia-of the states from
the usurpntions contained in these p1'ocecdi11g*s.” [The proceedings of Congress and

~ the executive, in relation to the militia and the won] t

“:2. That it was expedient also to prepare a statement, exliiliiting the necessity
which the itnprovidence and inability of the general government have imposed upon
the states of providing for their own defence, and the impossibility of their dis-—
charging this duty, and "at the same time fulfilling; the requisitions of the general
government, and also to recommend to the legislatures of the several states to make
provision for mutual defence, and to make an earnest application to the government
of the United States, with a view to some u1'rungemcut\vl1e1'cby the states niuy be
enabled to retain a portion of the taxes levied by Congress, for the purposes of self?-
defence, and for the rcirnbursemcnt of expenses already incurred on account of the
United States. .

- “ 3. That it is expedient to recommend to the several state lcg~islzttu1'cs certain
amendments to the constitution, viz., -—— pp

“ That the power to declare or niche war, by the Congress of the United States, be
restricted. ‘ l -

“That it is erzpedicnt to attempt to inakeprovision for restraining: Coiigi-ess in the
exercise of an unlimited power to make new states, and admit them into the Union.

“That an amendment be proposed respecting slave representation and slave taxo-
tion.” ' ~ .

On the 29th of December, ‘.1814, it was proposed “ that the capacity of naturalized
citizens to hold otilces of trust, honor, or profit ought to be restrained,” etc.

The subsequent proceedings are not given at lungs. But it seems that the report
of the committee was adopted, and also it rcconnncndution of certain measures (of the
clnnuctcr of’ which we are not informed) to the states for their mutual clefciicc; and
having voted that the injunction of secrecy, in regard to all the debates and proceed-
ings of the convention, (except so far as relates to the report finally adopted) be con-
tiuued,“thc convention adjourned sine dz’
circumstances should require it.

a, but, as it was supposed, to meet ugsin when

"2

on THE RESOLUTION or MR. rootr. 29
events that have passed away. I must therefore refresh his recollection
a little further on these subjects. The history of disunion has been writ?
ten by one whose authority stands too high with the American people to
be questioned; I mean Thomas J eiferson. I know not how the gentleman
may receive this authority. "When that great and good man occupied
the presidential chair, I believe he commanded no portion of the gentle-
inan’s respect. I

I hold in my hand a celebrated pamphlet on the embargo, in which
language is held, in relation to Mr. Jefferson, which my respect for his
memory will prevent me from reading, unless any gentleman should call.
for it. But the senator from Massachusetts has since joined in singing
hosannas to hlS~1’1£t1’I10; he has assisted at his apotheosis, and has fixed
him as “a brilliant star in the clear upper sky.” I hope, therefore, he
is now prepared to receive with deference and respect the high author-
ity of Mr. Jefferson. In the fourth volume of his Memoirs, which has
just issued from the press, we have the following history of disunion
from the pen of that illustrious statesman: “ Mr. Adams called on me
pending the embargo, and while endeavors were making to obtain its
repeal: he spoke of the dissatisfaction of the eastern portion of our con-

t

A federacy with the restraints of the embargo then existing, and their rest-

lessness under it; that there was nothing which might not be attempted
to rid themselves of it; that he had inforriiation of the most unques-
tionable authority, that certain citizens of the Eastern States (I think he
named Massachusetts particularly) were in negotiation with agents of the

British government, the object of which was an agreement that the New v

England States should take no further part in the war (the commercial
war, the ‘war of restrictions,’ as it was ca'll,ed) then going on, and that,
without formally declaring their separation from the Union, they should
withdraw from all aid and obedience to them, &;c.,
says Mr. J., “I saw the necessity of abandoning it, [the embargo,] and,
instead of efihcting our purpose by this peaceful measure, we must
fight it out or break the Union.” In another letter, Mr. Jefferson adds,
“ I doubt whether a single fact known to the world will carry as clear
conviction to it of the correctness of our knowledge of the trcasonable
views of the federal party of that day, as that disclosed by this, the most

nefarious and daring attempt to dissevcr the Union, of which the Hartford

Convention was a subsequent cliapter; and both of these having failed,
consolidation becomes the fourth chapter of the next book of their his-~
tory. But this opens with a vast accession of strength, from their
younger recruits, who, having nothing in them of the feelings and prin-
ciples of ’7 6, now look to a single and splendid government, &c., riding
and ruling over the plundered ploughman and beggared ye_omanry.”
(Vol. iv. pp. 419, 422.) r I l

The last chapter, says Mr. Jefferson, of that histor , is to be found in
the conduct of those who are endeavoring to bring about consolidation;
ay, sir, that very consolidation for which , the gentleman from Massa-
chusetts is coiitexiding-—--tlie exercise by the federal government of pow-
ers not delegated in relation to “internal improvements “and “the pro--
tection of manufactures.” And why, sir, does Mr. Jefferson consider
consolidation as leading directly to disunion? Because he knew. that the
exercise, by the federal government, of the powers contended for, would
make this 5“ a government without limitation of powers,” the submission
to which he considered as a greater. evil than disunion itself. There i.

s:
:4’

From that moment,’’_

30 V , srnnon or MR. l earns

one chapter in this history, however, which Mr. Jefferson has not filled

. up; and I must therefore supply the deficiency. It. is to be found in the

protests made by New England against the acquisition of Louisiana. In '
relation to that subject, the New England doctrine is thus laid down by
one of her learned doctors of that day, now a doctor of laws, at the head

i of the great literary institution of the east; I mean Josiah Quincy, pres-

ident of Harvard College. I iptote from the speech delivered by that
gentleman on the floor of Congress, on the occasion of the adrnission of
Louisiana into the Union. a ' I A , 

“ Mr. Quincy repeated and justified a remark he had made, which, to
save all inisapprehension, he had corntnitted to writing, in the following
words: If this bill passes, it is my deliberate opinion that it is virtually
a dissolution of the Union; that it will free the states from their moral -
obligation ; and as it will be the right of all, so it will be the duty of some,
to prepare for a separation, amicably if they can, violently if they

\ inust.”

Mr. I’resident, I wish it to be distinctly understood, that all the 1‘et'narls:s
I have nztade on this subject are intended to be exclusively applied to a
party, which I have described as the. “ peace party of New E1iglt121cl”—--
embracing the political associates of the senator from Mass_ael1usetts-—- a
party which controlled the operations of that state ‘during the eitibargo
and the war, and who are justly chargeable with all the measures I have
reprobated. Sir, iiotlriing; has been further frorn my tltoLtgl'1trs than to
impeach the chai-aeter or conduct of the people of New Iihiglttncl. F01‘

their steady habits and hardy virtues I trust I“ entertain a liecoiniiig

respect. I fully subscribe to the truth of the description given before
the revolution, by one whose praise is the highest ettlogy, “ that the per»
severance of Holland, the activity of France, and the de:s.tcrous and firm
sagacity of’ English enterprise, havebeen more than etpialled by this
recent people.” IIa1'cly, enterprising, stt,gacio11s,. industrious,and moral,
the people of New England of the present day are worthy o£- their
ancestors. I Still less, Mr. President, has it been my intention to say any
thing that could be construed into a wantof respect for that‘party, who,
trampling on all narrow, sectiotiallfeeling, havebeen true to their prin-

‘ ciples inthe worstot‘ times; I mean the democracy of N ew England.

Sir, I will declare that, highly as I appreciat.e the democracy of the _
sout.h,jI consider even higher praise to be due to the democracy of New

England, who have maintained V their principles “ through good and
;—13l11‘Ollgl1 evil report,” who, at every period of our national history, l:1a"vc
stood up tnantiully for “their country, their whole country, and nothing
but their country.” In the great political revolution of "98, they were I

found united with the democracy of the south, 1na1*cl1i11g'u1'1tle1* the ban»-
ner of the constitution, led on by the patriarch of liberty, in search of the‘
land of political. promise, which they lived not only to behold, but to pos-
sess and to enjoy. Again, sir, in the darkest and most gloomy period

of the war, when our country stood singgle-liaxiclecl agaitist “ the con-
hquerer of the conquerers of the world,” when all about and around thern

was dark and dreary, disastrous and discoL1ragi1ig,tl1ey stood a $partan
band in that narrow pass, where the honor of their country was to be
defended, or to find its grave. And in the last great stritggle, involving,
as we believe, the very existence of the principle of popular sovereignty,
where were the deinocracy of‘ New ‘England? V VVhere' they always have
been found, sir, strttggliug side by side, with their brethren of the south

is
it

ON THE RESOLUTION on MR. ‘FOOT. 31

and the West, for popular rights, and assisting in that glorious triumph,
by which the man of the people was elevated to the highest. ofiice in
their gift. ’ l .
-‘Who, then, Mr. President, are the true friends of the Union? Those
who would confine the fedeiral government strictly within the liinits pre-
Alscribccl by the constitution; who would preserve to the states and the
people all powers not expressly delegated; who would make this a fed-
eral and not a national Union, and Who, ad1ninist.ering the government in
a spirit of equal justice, would nialte it a ll)lf3SSl1”1g‘, and not a curse; And
_Who are its enemies P Those Who are in favor of consolidation ; who are
constantly stealing power from the states, and adding st1~enp.;tl1 to the
federal government; who, assurning an unwarrantable _jurisd.‘iction over
the states and the people, undertake to 1'c_gulateatl1e whole industry
and capital of the country. But, sir, of" all dcseriptions»i of men, I con-—
sider those as the Worst enemies of the Union, who sacrifice the equal
riglits which belong to every incmher of the cont"ederacy to combinations
of interested n1ajorit.ies,for pe:rs'*o1iz1.l or pol.itieal objects. lllut the rrentle-
mm apprehends no evil from the dependence of the. states on the fecleral
government; he can see no (l.ttI‘1g(?£;‘ of corruption from the influence of
money or of pat.ro11age. Sir, I know that it is supposed to be a wise
saying that “patronage is a source of Weakness ; ” and in support of that
inaxim, it has been said, that “ every ten appointments make a hundred
enemies.” But I am rather inclined to think, with the eloquent and
sagacious orator now 1'eposing on his laurels on the banks of the Roan-
oke, that “the power of conferring .t'avors creates a crowd of depend-
ants;” he gave a forcible i,llustration of the truth of the rornark, when
» he told us of the client of l',1ol<li11g up the savory rnorsel to the eager eyes
of the ln1ng1'y hounds gathered around his door. Itn'1attere<.l not whether
the gift was bestowed on Towzer or Swcetlips, “Tray, Blanch, or Sweet-
heartg” while held in suspense, they were all gore.rnecl by a nod, and
when the rnorsel was bestowed, the eztpectation of the favors of to-morrow
kept up the subjection of to-day. l l l i
The senator tfrozn l\:lassaclu.1setts, in cleiiottncixig what he is pleased to
call the C.arolina doctrine, has a.t.te1npt:ed to throw ridicule upon the idea
-that a state has any co:nst:itution.a.l remedy, by the exercise of its sovereign
;authority, against “‘ a gross, palpable, and deliberate violation of the con»
stitution.” He-calls it “ an idle” or “ a ridiculous notion,” orsolnetliing
«to that effect, and added, that it would xntilre the Union a “mere rope ct’
sand.” Now, sir, as the gentleman lies not condescended to enter into
«any examination of the question, and has been satisfiecl with throwing
the weight of his authority into the scale, I do not deem it necessary to
, do more than to throw into the opposite scale the authority on which

.South Carolina relies; and there, for the present, I am perfectly willing ,

-to leave the controversy, The South Carolina. doctrine, that is to say,
the doctrine contained in an exposition reported by a committee of the
"legislature in December, 1828, and published by their authority, is the
good old republican doctrine of ‘"98,--«the doctrine of the celebrated

, ,.“.Virginia Resolutions ” of" that year, andof “Madison’s Report” of ’99.
.It will be recollected that the legislature‘ of’ Virginia, in December, ’98,
tool: into consideration the alien and sedition laws, then considered by all
-republicans as a gross violation of the constitution of the United States
and on that day passed, among others, the following resolutions : ——-— :
“‘ The General Assembly doth explicitly and perernptorily declare, that

u

flu I V 17

32% , sensor: on MR. rmfrnn

it views the powers of the federal government, as resulting from the
compact to which the states are parties, as limited by the plain sense and
intention of the instrument constituting that compact, as no further valid
than they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; and
that in case of a deliberate, palpable, anddangerous erxzercise of other
powers not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties there»-
to have the right, and are in duty bound, to intcrpose for arresting the
progress of the evil, and for maintaining, within their respective limits,
the authorities, rights, and liberties appertajining to them.”

In addition to the above resolution, the Cieneral Assembly of Virginia
“appealed to the other states, in the confidence that itliey would concur
with that commonwealth, that the acts aforesaid [the alien and sedition
laws] are unconstitutional, and that the necessary‘ and proper measures
would be taken by each for cooperating with Virginia in maintaining unn
impaired the authorities, rights, and liberties reserved to the states
respectively, or to the people.” -

The legislatures of several of the New England States, having, con-
trary to the ezsrpectation of the legislature of Virginia, expressed their
dissent from these doctrines, the subject came up again for consideration
during the session of 1799, 1800, when it was referred to a select. com-
mittee, by whom was made that celebrated‘ report wliich is familiarly
known as “Madison’s Report,” and which deserves to last as long as the
constitution itself. In that report, which was subsequently adopted by
the legislature, thewliole subject was deliberately :reé:x.amined, and the
objections urged against the Virginia doctrines carefully considered. The
result was, that the legislature of Virginia reaifirxned all the principles
laid down in the resolutions of 17 98, and issued to the WO1'l(l‘ that admi-
rable report which has stamped the character of Mr. Madison as the pre-
server of that constitution which he had contributed so largely to create
and establish. I will here quote from Mr. Madisorfs report one or two
passages which bear more immediately on the point in controversy. “The
resolutions, having taken this view of the federal compact, proceed to
infer ‘that in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous cxci-cise of -
other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties
thereto have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting

w the progress of the evil, and for rnaintaining, within their respective

limits, the authorities, rights, and liberties appertaining to them.’ ”

“ It appears to your committee to be a plain principle, founded in com-
mon sense, illustrated by common practice, and essential to the nature of
compacts, that, where resort can be had to no tribunal superior to the

authority of the parties, the parties themselves must‘ be the rightful ‘

judges in the last resort, whether the bargain made has been pursuedior
violated. The constitution of the United States was formed by the sanc-
tion of the states, given by each in its sovereign capacity. It adds to the
stability and dignity, as well as to the authority, of the constitution, that
it rests upon this legitimate and solid foundation. The states, then, being
the parties to the constitutional compact, and in their sovereign capacity,
it follows of necessity that there can be no tribunal above their authority,

to decide, in the last resort, Whether the compact made by them be vio- ._

lated, and consequently that, as the parties to it, they must themselves

decide, in the last resort, such questions as may be of sufiicient magnitude

to require their interposition.” ‘
“ The resolution has guarded against any misapprehension of its object

at

on THE RESOLUTION or Mn. roor.  33

by expressly requiring for such an interposition ‘tliei case of a delib-
erate, palpable, and dangerous breach of the constitution, by the exercise
of powers not granted by it.’ It must, be a case, not of a" light and tran-

sient nature, but of a nature dangerous to the great purposes for which ,

the constitution was established.
r“ But the resolution has done more than guard against misconstruction,

by expressly referring to cases of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous‘'"

nature, It specifies the object of the interposition, which it contemplates,
to be solely that of arresting the progress or the evil of usurpation, and
of maintaining the authorities, rights, and liberties appertaining to the
states, as parties to the constitution. ~ e j - T

“ From thisview of’ the resolution, it would seem inconceivable that it
can incur any just di.sappro_bation from those Who, laying -aside all me-
mentary impressions, and recollecting the genuine source and object of’
the federal constitution, shall candidly and accurately interpret the mean-

ing of the General Assembly. If the deliberate exercise of dangerous T

powers, palpably Withheld by the constitution, could not justify the parties
to it in interposing evenso far as to arrest the progress of the evil, and

* thereby to preserve the constitution itself, as well as to provide for the

safety of the parties to it, there would be an end to all relief from usurped
power, and a direct subversion of the rights specified or recognized

under all the state constitutions, as Well as a plain denial “of the funds-r,

mental principles on which our ipdependence itself was declared.”

But, sir, our authorities do not stop here. The state of Kentucky
responded to Virginia, and on the 10th of November, 17 98, adopted those
celebrated resolutions, well known to have been penned by the author of

the Declaration of American Independence. In these resolutions, the

legislature of Kentucky declare, “that, the government created by this
compact was not made the exclusive or final judge of theextent of the
powers delegated to itself‘, since that would have made its discretion, and
not the constitution, the measure of its powers; but that, as in all other
cases of compact among’ parties having no common judge, each party has

an equal right to judge, ‘for ‘itself, as well of infractions asof the mode ~

and measure of redress.” r .
At the ensuing session of the legislature, the subject was reexamined,
and on the 14th of l.\Tovember, 1799, the resolutions of the preceding
year were deliberately re-afirlhed, I and it was, among other things, sol»-
cmnlyldeclared,-+~ T in g ,
“That, if those who administer the general government be permitted
to transgress the limits fixed by that compact, by "a total disregard to the
special delegations of power therein contained, an annihilation of the

_ state governments, and the erection upon their ruins of a general consoli- .

T dated government,will be the inevitable consequence. That the princi-

ples of construction contended "for by sundry of the state legislatures,
that the general government is the exclusive judge of . the extent of the

‘powers delegated to it, stop nothing short of despotism; since the discre-

tion of those who administer the government, and not the constitution,
would be the measure of their powers. That the several states who
formed, that instrument, being sovereign and independent, have the un
questionable right to judge of its infraction, and that a nullification, by
those sovereignties, of all. unauthorized acts done under color of that in
strurnent, is the rightful remedy.” ° ~

‘ Time and experience confirmed Mr. JefE'erson’s opinion on this all,

34 _ srnroze on MR. IIAYNE

important point. In the year 1821, he expressed himself in this ernplietio
manner: “ It is a. fetal heresy to supposeptlml; either our state govern-
ments are superior to the,f'eclers.l. or the feclersl to the state; neither is
authorized literally topclecicle which belongs to itself or its copartner in
government; in <lili"erenees of opinion, between ’their- different sets of
public servants,,, the appeal is to neither, but to their employers peaceably

~essembled by their representatives in convention.” The opinion of Mr.

Jefferson on this subject has been so repeatedly and so solemnly e:.r-
pressed, that they may be said to have been among the most fixecl and
settled convictions of his mind. i p 4 ‘

- " In the protest prepared by him for the it legislature of Virginia, in De-
cember, 1825, in respect to the powers exercised by the federal govern»

ment in relation to the tariff‘ ancl internal improvements, which he

declares to be “usurpo.tions of the powers retained by the states, more
interpolations into the compact, and direct infractions of it,” he solemnly
reasserts all the principles of the Virginia Resolutions of ’98, protests
against “these sets of the federal branch of the government ss null and
void, and declares that, ztlthough Virginie. would consider zzt clissolntion of
the Union as among the greatest calamities that could befall tlieni, yet it
is not the greatest. There is one yet g;1'en:t.or --- submission to at ,<.:.§overn~
ment of unlimited powers. It is only when the hope of this sl1nllbe.coIne
absolutely desperate, that further forbooro..nce could not be inclulge<l.”

' In his letter to Mr. Giles, written 1-TLl)0lIl'. the some time, he says, ~----~~

, ‘* I see as you do, ztntl with the deepest allliction, the mpicl strides witlx
which the feclcml l')1‘£l.l1(3l]. of our governinent is sclvsxicixig tO‘W$:tl‘(,,l£;i the
11S111"p£1l?lO1"l of all the riglits reserved to the .sts.tes, and the consoli(lo.tio.n
in itself of‘ oil powers, fo1*eign sncl (.lOm0StlC, end that too by czonstructions
which leave no limits to their powers, one. Under the power to regulate
commerce, they assume, inrlcfinitely, that nlso. over egriciultore nnrl xnnnuw
fsctm-es, lilac. Under the sutliority to éstsblisli post 1'omls, theyl olsizn
that of cutting clown mountains for the construction of roacls, nncl digging
esnsls, Soc. And wlint is our resource for the p1'eservntion of’ the e<:m‘-
stitution? \RG€l.S,{)I"1 and argument? You miglit as Well reasoii soil argue
with thepmnrblo columns enci1~cling them, Eco. Are we then... to stand to
our arms with the hoté~l'xeocled Georpgianr? N o ; [nncl I soy no,» and South
Carolina. line said no;] tl1o.t must be the lost resource. 'Wc1‘m1sthsve

patience encl long endnzence with our bretl:u'en, <“loc., and sepzxrntc from

our companions only when the sole eltcrnntives left are at dissolution of
our Union with tliem, or submission to 3. government Wltllollt limitntion
of powers. Between these two evils, when We must niche :3. choice, there
can be no hes‘its,tion.” V

Such,sir, are the higli and imposing stnthoritics in support of “tile

Cztrolins. doctrine,” wliich is, in feet, the doctrine of the Virgiiiia :R(3S50ll.l*+'

tions of 1798. l _ p

Sir, at that day the whole country was (llviclecl on this ‘very qnest.ion.
It formed. the line of clenisrcetion between the ‘f'erlc:ro.l t11'l(l republican
parties gr anal the great political revolution which then tool: plsce tnrnecl
upon the very questions involved in these resolutions. That ‘question. was
decided by the people, oncl by that decision the constitution "woe, is the
emphatic language of Mr. Jcfierson, “served at its last gssp.” I F3l‘1()lJ.lCl

i  suppose, sir, it woulclrequipre. more selflrespcct i»l'l2':1»I1_£1IlijT gentlemen phere
, wonlcl be willing topassume, to treat lightly pdoetripncs deriveclffroniusuech
l1,f2,l1l.resources+ Resting on authority ,1ike,ptl1is,.. Iwill ask gentlemen

‘ ON THE RESOLUTION on MR. Ii"O0’.[‘. 35

-whether South Carolina has not manifested a high regard for the Union,
when, under a tyranny ten times more grievous than the alien and sedi-
tion laws, she has hitherto gone no further than to petition, reinonstrate,
and to solemnly protest against a series of measures which she believes
to be ‘wholly unconstitutional and utterly destructive of her interests.
Sir, South Carolina has not gone one step further than Mr. Jefferson
himself was disposed to go, in relation to the present subject of our

present complaints-—-—not a step further than the statesmen from New
, England were disposed to go, under similar circumstances; no further

than the senator from Massachusetts himself‘ once considered as within
a“ the limits of a constitutional opposition.” The doctrine that it is the
riglit of a state to judge of the violations of the constitution on the part.
of the federal governnient, and to protect her citizens from the operations
of unconstitutional laws, was held by the enlightened citizens of Boston,
who assembled in Faneuil Hall, on the 25tli of January, 1809. They
state, in that celebrated memorial, that “they looked only to the state
legislatuiie, who were competent to devise reliet‘ against the unconstitu--
tional acts of the general government. That your power (say they) is
adequate to that object, is evident from the organization of the confed-
eracy.” ‘ ’

A distinguished senator froin one of the New England States, (Mr.

I"Iillhouse,) in a speech delivered here, on a bill for enforcing the embargo,
declared, “I feel myself bound in conscience to declare, (lest the blood
of those who shall fall in the execution of this measure shall be on my
head,) that I consider this to be an act wliicli directs a mortal blow at
‘the liberties of my country-—-—- an not containing unconstitutional provis-
ions, to which the people are not bound to submit, and to which, in my
opinion, they will not submit.”

And the senator from Massachusetts liimselfliii a speech delivered on
the same subject in the other house, said,“ This opposition is constitu-
tional and legal; it is also conscientious. It rests on settled and sober
conviction, that such policy is destructive to the interests of the people,
and dangerous to the being of government. The experience of every

day confirms these sentiments. Men who act from such motives are not ‘b

to be discouingrecl by trifling obstacles, nor awed by any diiiigers. They
know the limit of constitutional opposition; up to that limit, at their own
discretion, they will walk, and walk fearlessly.” I-Iow “ the being of the
government?’ was to _be endangered by “constitutional opposition” to the
embargo, I leave to the gentleman to explain. a T

Thus it will be seen, Mr. I:’resident, that the South Carolina doctrine
is the republican doctrine of ’98 -~«---- that it was promulgated by the Fatliers
of the faith---tliat it was maintained by Virginia" and Kentueliy in the

worst of times —---- that it constituted the very pivoton which the political ,

revolution of that day turned —-—- that it embraces the very principles, the
triuinpli of which, at that time, saved the constitution at its last ‘gasp,

audi which New England statesmen were not unwilling to adopt, when they

believed themselves to be the victims of unconstitutional legislation. Sir,
as to the doctrine that the federal government is the exclusive judge of
the extent as well as the limitations of its powers, it seems to me to be
utterly subversive of the sovereignty and independence of the states. It
makes but little (lll’Ft31‘€3nC(-3, in I113"? estimation, whether Congress or the
Supreme Court are invested with this power. If the federal government,
in all, or any, of its departments, is to prescribe the limits of its 0WD._

36 i , srnuon or Mn. nnrnn.

autliority, and the states are bound to submit to the decision, and are not to

be allowedto examine and decide for thernselves, when the barriers of A

the constitution shall be overleapecl, this is practically “ at government
without limitatioti of powers.” The states are at once reduced to more
petty corporations, and the people are entirely at your“ mercy. I l1.eve but
it one word more to add. In all the efi"orts that have been made by South
A Carolina to resist the unconstitutional laws which Congress has extended
over them, she has kept steeclily in view the preservation of the Union,
by the only means by which she believes it can be long preserved----a
firm, manly, and steady resistance against usurpation. The measures of’
the federal government have, it is true, prostreted her interests, and will
soon involve the whole south in irretrievuble ruin. But’ even this evil,
great as it is, is not the chief ground of our complaints. It is the principle
involved in the contest---- a principle_wl1ioh, substituting the discretion of
Congress for the limitations of the constitution, brings the states and the
people to the feet of the f'edere.l government, and leaves them notliing they
can call their own. Sir, if the measures of the federal government were
less oppressive, we should still strive against this usurpation. The south
is acting on a principle she has always held sacred —-«resistance to, un-

Y authorized taxation. These, sir, are the principles which induced the

immortal I-Iempden to resist the peyxnent of a. tax of twenty shillings.
Would twenty shillings have ruined his fortune? N o I but the payment
ofphelf twenty shillings, on the principle on which it was demu.nded, would
have mecle him a. slave. Sir, if acting, on these high motives ---- if nnimetecl
by that ardent love of liberty which liuselways been the most prominent
‘trait in the southern oliaracter-—--we should be hurried beyond the
bounds of 21 cold and calculating prudence, who is there, with one noble
and generous sentiment in his bosom, tlietgwould not be disposed, in the

language of Burke, to emfileim, “ You must pardon something to the spirit to

of liberty ” ?

MR. wsssrnrs SPEECH.

 

In Senate, January 26, 1830.

 

FOLLOWING Mr. ILLYNE in the debate, Mr. WEBSTER addressed
the Senate as follows :~----——- ’

Mr. PRESIDENT: ‘When the mariner has been tossed, for many days,’
in thick wee.ther, end on on unknown see,~he nuturully avails himself‘ of the
tirst‘pn.use in the storm, the earliest glance of thcsun, to take his latitude,
and ttscertein how for the elements have driven him from his true course.
Let us imitztte this prudence, and before we flout t'.errtl'1e1~, refer to the point
from which we depurted, that we may at least be eble to conjecture where
we now are. I ask for the 1'eutli1c1g of the resolution.

[The secretary rend the resolution, as follows : —-- _

“liiesoluctl, That the conrunittee on public Iunds be instructed to inquire
and report the quantity of the public loncls rcinuining unsold within each
state end territory, and whether it be expedient to limit, for it certain
period, the soles of the public lands to such lauds only as have hereto-
fore been otl'cred for snle, end sure new subject to entry at the minimum
price. And, also, whether the otlicc of surveyor general, and some of the
loud otlices, muy not be abolished without detriment to the public interest ;.

or whether it be (?}§.pt3(1l(31”1l? to udopt Inecsurcs to llnsteti the sales, and i

extend more rupidly the surveys of the public luuds.”]

We lxnvc thus heard, sir, wluftt the resolution is, which is actually be-
fore us for consiiderntitnri; emrl it will rendily occur to every one that it is
nlmost the only subject shout which something lies not been said in the
speech, running; tlirougrh two duys, by which the. Senate hes been new
entertained by the gentleman from South Carolina. Every topic in the
Wide range of our public utii;ti.1*s, whetlter past or present,---—- every thing,
general or local, wlietlicr belonging to netionul politics or party politics,--—

seems to have attracted more or less of“ the honorable member’s nttenition,

save only the resolution before us.  has spoken of every thing but the
public lands. 'I‘1:teyl1n.ve escupcd his notice. To that subject, in all his
excursions, he has not psid even the cold respect of a. passing glance.
Wlien this de»bet.e, sir, was to be resumed, on Thursday morning, it so
happened ’Cl"1t.tl3 itwould have been convenient for me to be elsewhere.

' t The honorable znexnber, however, did not incline to put off‘ the discussion

to another day. He had it shot, he said, to return, and he wished to dis»

» ‘charge it. ’1‘l1a.t shot,,sir, which it was kind thus to inform us was com-

ling,tt1m.t we miglit stand out of the way, or prepare ourselves to fell be-
fore it, and die with deceucy,‘hus now been received. Under ell adven-
tnges,'a.nd with e:tpectutio~n nwckened by the’ tone which preceded it, it
has been disclxerged, end has spent its force. It may become me to say
no more of its‘ effect than tlint, if’ "nobody is found, after all, either killed

or wounded by it, it is not the first time in the history of’ human affairs"

(37)

38 sensor: or Mn. wnssrsn

that the vigor and success of the war have not quite come up to the lofty
and sounding phrase of the maiiifesto.

The gentleman,sir, in declining to postpone the debate, told the Senate,
with the emphasis of his hand upon his heart, that there was something
ranhling here, which he wished to relieve. [Min IIAYNE rose and dis-
claimed having used the word raozirli-ng.] It would not, Mr. President,
be safe for the honorable member to appeal t.o those around him, upon the
question whether he did, in fact, make use of that word. But he may
have been unconscious of it. At any rate, it is enougli that he disclaims
it. But still, with or without the use of that particular word, he had yet
something /zere, he said, of‘ W'l1iC‘i'1 he wished to rid himself by an imme---
diate reply. In this respect, sir, I have a great advantage over the hon-—
orable » gentlelnan. There is nothing here, sir, which gives me t.he sliglitn

 

est uneasiness; neither fear, nor a1ige1*, nor that which is sometimes more .,

troublesome than either, the consciousness of having been in the wrong.

There is nothing either originating /acre, or now 1‘cceivecl here by the

gcntlen1an’s shot. Q Nothing original, for I had not the sligl'1test feeling of
disrespect. or unkindness tov_vards the honorable member. Some passages,
it is true, had occurred, since our acquaintance in this body, which I could
have wished might have been otherwise; but I lied used philosophy, and
1"c)I',._o.:otte11 them. Wlicn the honorable meinber rose, in his first speech, I
paid him the respect of attentive listce1‘1in,g“; and when he sat down, t,11otigl1
surprised, and I nrust say even astonished, at some of his opinions, nothing
was farther from my intention than to comrnence any personal uru1°:thr'e;
and through the whole of the few remarcs I made in answer, I avoided,
studiously. and care'f'ully, every thing which I thought possible to be
construed into disrespect. And, sir, while there is thus notlzing o1*igi~

nating here, which I wished at any time, or now wish, to disc1‘1arg;e, I
must repeat, also, that nothing has been received here, which ram/i'lcs, or
in any way gives me annoyunce. I will not accuse the honorable member

of violating the rules of civilized war--- I will not say that he poisoned
his arrows. But whether his slrafts were, or were not, dipped in that
which would have caused rankling it’ they had reached, there was not, as
it happened, quite strength oxxougli in the bow to l)1‘i11g”*tl‘1e1TX1 to their
mark. If he wishes now to find those shaf'ts, he must look for them else-
where; they will not be found fizued aiiclwqttivcrixig in the object at which
they were aimed. I w

The honorable member complained that I had slept on his speech. I
must have slepton it, or not slept at all. The moment the honorable
member sat down, his friend from Missouri rose, and, with much honeyed
conzunendation of the speech, suggested that the impressions which it had
produced were too charming and delightful to be disturbed by other senti-
ments or other sounds, and proposed that the Senate... should adjourn.

“Would it have been quite arniuble in me, sir, to interrupt this ezazeellent

good thcling? Must I not have been absolutely Inalicious, if I could have
thrust myself‘ t'orward to destroy sensations thus pleasing? "Was it not

'much better and kinder, both to sleep upon them myself’, and to allow

others, also, the pleasure of sleeping upon them? I But it‘ it he meant, by
sleeping upon his speech, that I took time to prepare a reply to it, it is
quite a Inistalre: owing to other exigagemermts, I could not employ even
the interval between the adjournment of the Senate and its rnceting the
next mo1~nin,g‘ in attention, to the subject‘ of this debate. -Nevertheless,
sir, the mere matter of fact is undoubtedly true --—I didsleeep on the

ON Tim masoLU'rIoN or MR. FOOT. 39

gentlorn:m’s spooolx, and slept soundly. And I “slept equally well on his
speech of yostcrd:»1y,to whioh I zun now roplyinrr. It is quite possible
tlmt, in this rospoot o,1so,I possess some och-‘outage over the honorable
1ncml)o1', 11if1'llZ)l1l‘£l.l)l(3, doubtless, to a. cooler tompemmoilt on my part; for
in truth I slept upon his spomallxos 1.'e1'na1'l:a.bly well. But: the gorxitleman
incp.1izres why ho was nmclo the object of such a reply. Why was he
Sl1']g‘l(:Bd out? If’ mi :Lt:t:Lc.l-: had boon made on the east, he, he assures us,
did not I)(3glI1 it-—--—it was tho gonlilomzm from Missouri. Sir,  zmsworod
the go1‘1tleu1::m’s spoocli boc-.uuso I lmpponocl to l‘1e:,u' it; and because, also,
I c.hoso to give. an o.nswor to tlmt spoooli, which,ii'1111:1nsWo1‘ecl, I thought
n1osl,.lil<oi1y to produce iujizrious ixfnprossions. I did not stop to inquire
who was the o1'igi11:‘ili cllmwor of tho hill. I found :2. rosponsiblo indorser
boforo mo, until it. wzfls my pu1'poso to hold him ll:£l..lI)l(T5, and-to liring him to
his just I‘€5fi%I)(§IV‘ZSi1;)liI1ity without‘. <:loluy.. But, sir, tliis i1'1to1*1'ogoto1*y of‘ the
l1ox'1o‘:-oblo. oiu:.~.x"ul.>ox.' ros only i2m*oc:l11<::to1*y to :uiot.l1ox'. lilo prooooclocl to
ask me \vl‘1ol:‘lio1* I luul tnimiotl upon him. in this clolmto from tho oon-
SGi()l;lSl‘1(.i.‘5$ tlizit I sliould ioiml mi, (}V'(3iI'lI1l‘l1il.l(’Sl1 ii’ I vouturod on :1, contest
with his frio:u<;l frozrxi l\'Iiis:4s<;:n.u'i. Ii’, sir, tho honomblo m'on1bor, co: gmtzia
?i2l0t.{Z¢’.?Sl5*£'6c€’, hocl ohoson tlius to <11".-.i"<l.:i‘wt<ti;» his l:'.1~iom."l, ouc'l to pay him an cor-upli~
Iuout, witihout io‘r;out.iouol ¢flisp1*>:i1':1,go1iiiout to <.)1l1<;~.1_'s,, it wouhl have been
quito :1oc:o1'ding' to tho frioriclly <.:o11rt;osios of <I1<:.>.i.:mtio, and not of; all 1.111gi'oto~
ful to my own ffliblillgfl. I ilfl”). riot ouo of tlioso, sir, who osl.ooxi.1 any

tribute oi'1'(3go.1'<.l, *wl1otl1o1: lipglit :.md (')(‘3(i[2!vlf?il(f)Il1ll, or xifiouro so1‘ious mid do.lib.. v

emto, which may bo bost;<fm'<;.:d on ot'il.1or.~’;s, us so muoli 1‘mjust.ly withholclon
from t.l1o1insolvos. But tho touo. and m:,muo.1* of tho fv'ont1c:zu1:tix‘1’s question
f'ox'bid mo thus to iut:cai'}_)1'c:t it. I am not oi; liborby to <::oosido1' it as moth»-
ixig more tlmn o. oivilit,yli;o his il'1'.i<.:m.l. It; haul on air of tmmf. and dis-~
p€*L1‘£’lg(:m0l'lt, :1. little cxi‘ tho l0f~t‘iz‘}y(:3£,$ of iissoxitcicl s1,xporiox*ity, which (loos
not; allow mo to ]T)1l.SS it own: without notioo. It was put as o tpzostioxi for
mo to {1i”1S\VC‘.1',£l1’1(l so put as if’ it; woro diiiioultz for mo to miswor, whether I
doomed tho mou1b<;:1* iisom. M'i.sso111*i mi ovo'ru“1:1.1;o’l1 i'or mysolf' in debate
lioro. It sooius to mo, sir, ilxznt  (33‘Z,i,1‘il.(j)1‘(.1ill2ILi‘y lziixigtiztgo, mud on oxtroor-~
dinury tone. for tho <Ilis<;:11ssions oi" thio body. p .

I\’.I:iLf(;tilUS ood ov¢:;atx.~n'iotoliosI ’;I.‘1mso tcmrxs oro ruoro oppliooblo else»-
wliioro l1ll£.l.i1 l1o1'o,~:m<;1 fil.t;ox~ i'o1* otllhr o..sso1'11l:lios iluui this. I Sir, the gen-
tlornzm sooniis to ii)1*gc::t\vlio1'o :'m<1wh:.1t wo owo. Ti’.lll'3  :1. f5ouot.o; a
sonata oi" oqimls; moi‘ moo oi’ iudiv“iduu.1 honor oml personal c:l1zm1cter,
and of oh.~:soluto im;lopoudono3.. ‘We know no mz1sto1~s ; wo ooknowloclge
no dictators. This is o. lioll for iimtuol <;:onsult'o}tio1‘i oucl discussion, not
sum arena. for tho on-Lliibition of’ olxoiupions. I ofih1' myself’, sir, as :1. niatoli
for no man; I tlir-ow tho ol'1:<xllo11g(a oi" (1(3lJ£li;(3 at no mm:1’s foot. Bl1t,il'.1@.I1,

V sir, since tho houoroblo x"11otul;2o1* lists put tlio question in o mzmne1- that

calls for an zrmswor, I will givo him on onsvvor; and I tell him that,

_l1o1di1ig° myself to ho tho humhlost of the members hero, I you know

notlxinggiil tho arm of his I1‘i¢I3Il(Il1v1'0m Missouri, either alone or wlieu
aided by the arm of" his fr" and from Soutli Carolina, tliot need deter oven
mo from espousing whotovor opinions I may choose to espouse, from
clebo,tingixvl1onovo1' I may ohooso to debate, or from speaking wlm.teve1~ I
may see fit; to soy on um floor of the Sorioto. Sir, when uttered as 11m.t-

ter of oommondotiou or oomplimont, I should dissent from nothing which i

the liionomblo member xiriigglit; soy of liis friend. Siill loss do I put. ibrth
any pxotensions of my own. But when put to me as matter of taunt, I

throw it ‘i'bo.ol:., and say to ‘the gentleman that he could possibly say

.4

40 SPEECII OF’ ME. WEBSTER.
nothing less likely than such a comparison to wound my pride of personal
character. The anger of its tone rescued the rcmarl: from intentional
irony, which, otherwise, probably, would have been its general accepta-
tion. But, sir, it‘ it be iniagiiied that by this mutual quotation and com-
mendation; it‘ it be supposed that, by casting the characters of the
drama, assigning to each his part, -—-~- to one the attack, to another-the cry
of onset, —~——— or if it be thought that by a loud and empty vauut of antici...
pated victory any laurels are to be won here; if it be imagined, especially,
that any or all these things will shake any purpose of mine, I can tell the
honorable member, -once for all, that he is greatly rnistaken, and that he
lSiCl.G2tll1"lg with one of whose temper and character he has yet much to
learn.‘ Sir, I shall not allow myself, on this occasion,-—-I hope on no
occasion, --- to be betrayed into any loss of temper; but it” provoked, as I
trust I never shall a1low_rnyself'. to be, into crimination and recrimination,
the honorable member may, perhaps, {ind that in that contest there will
be blows to take as well as blows to give ; that others can state compari.-—
sons as significant, at least, as his own; and that his impunity may, per-
haps, demand of him whatever powers of taunt and sarc:»s1n he may
possess. I commend him to a prudent husbandry of his resources.

But, sir, the coalition l 'I‘he coalition ! Ay, “ the murdered coalition ”~!
The geiitlenian asks if I were led or friglitctl into this dcbateiby the
spectre of the coalition. ---~ “ VVas it the gliost of the murdered coalition,”
he exclaims, “ which haunted the IIl01I1l)€3.1"il‘0I11 .llIt*l.f3S17tCl,lt1SGtl3S, and which,
like the ghost of Iitxriquo, would never down?” “ ’l‘he murdered coali—~
tion I ” , Sir, this charge of a coalition, in ret'erencc to the late adn1inist1~a-
tion, is not o1'i,s;i11a1 with the honorable member. It did not spring up in
the Senate. VVhether as a fact, as an arguinent, or as an embellishment,
it is all borrowed. He adopts it, indeed, from a very low o1*igin, and a
still lower present condition. It is one of the thousand calumnics with
which the press tecmed during an excited political canvass. It was a
charge of wliich there was not only no proof or probability, but which
was, in itself, wholly impossible to be true. No man of common infer-—
mation ever believed a syllable of it. Yet it was of that class‘ of false-

, hoods which, by continued repetition tl:11‘oL1,gl1 all the organs of’ detraction
' and abuse, are capable of misleading those who are already far misled,

and of‘ further faiiniiig passion already kindling into flame. Doubtlcss
it served its day, and, in a greater or less dogx'ec, the end designed by it.
Ilaving done that, it has ‘sunk. into the general mass of stale and loathed
calumnies. It is the very cast-oti' slough of a polluted and shameless
press. Incapahle of f'urther mischief',. it lies in the sewer, lifeless and
despised. It is not now, sir, in the power of the honorable member to

give it digiiity or decency, by attempting to elevate it, and to introduce it /

into the Senate. He cannot cl1an,g2;c,it from what it is ---- an object of gen--
eral disgust and scorn. On the contrary, the contact, if he choose to
touch it, is more likely to drag him down, down, to the ‘place where it
lies itself‘. I V

But, sir, the honorable member was not, for other reasons, entirely

 liappy in his allusion to the story of Banquo’s murder and Banquo’s

ghost. It was not, I think, the friends, but the enemies of the murdered
Banquo, at whose bidding his spirit would not down.
gentleman is fresh in his reading of the English classics, and can put me

Triglit if I am wromg; but according to my poor re,co1ilc.:.:tion,_ it was at
those who had begun with caresscs,_ and ended with foul and -t1*‘cachet‘0l1s

The honorable 7

on run. nnsornrxon or sun. room. ,I I " 41

murder, that the gory locks were shaken. 'I‘he ghost of Banquo, like
that of Hamlet, was an honest ghost. It disturbed no innocent man. It
knew where its appearance would strike terrdr, and who would cry out, A
ghost! It made itself visible in the 1~igl1t quarter, and compelled the
guilty, and the conscience‘-sinitten, and none others, to start, with '

‘* Prithee,‘ see there ! “behold ! -'- look! lo!
If I stand here, I saw him 1”

Their eyeballs were seared--—-was it not so, sir?---I-who had thought to
shield ‘themselves by concealing their own hand, and laying the imputa-
tion of the crime on a low and hireling agency in wickedness; who had
vainly attempted to stifle the "workings of their own coward consciences,
by ejaculating, through white lips and cliattering teeth, “Thou canst not
say I did it I ” I have misread the great poet, if it was these who had
no Way partaken in the deed of the death, who either found that they

I were, or feared that they should be, pushed from their stools by the ghost

barren sccptre in their grasp? Ay, sir, ----~- -

of the slain, or who cried out to a spectre created by their own fears,
and their own remorse, “ Avauntl and quit our sigl1t!” I
There is another particular, sir, in which the honorable member’s

quick perception of resemblances might, I should tliinh, have seen some- I

thing in the story of Banquo, making it not altogether a subject of’ the

most pleasant contemplation. ...'I‘hose who murdered Banqno,-what did I

they win by it? Substantial good? l?er1nanent power? Or disap-
pointment,rather, and sore mortitication -——— dust and ashes --~-—--- the common
fate of vaulting; ambition overleaping itself? Did not even-handed jus-
tice, ere long, commend the poisoned chalice to their own lips ? Did they
not soon find that for another theyhad “ filed their mind ” ? ----- that their
ambition, though apparently for the moment successtul, had but put a
\
“ A barren sccptrc in their gripe,

Slhence to be wrencfmol by on unlineul hand,
No son of theirs succec mg.”

Sir, I need pursue the allusion no i'nrther. I leave the honorable gen-

tleman to run it out at his leisure, and to derive froni it all the gratificaw

tion it is calculated to adrninistcr. If he finds himself’ pleased with the
associations, and prepared to be quite satisfied, thougli the parallel should
be entirely coinplctcd, I had almost said_I am satisfied also-1--_but that I
shall think of". Yes, sir, I will think. of that. I I I A

In the course of my observations the other day, Mr. President, I paid

. a passing tribute of respect to a very worthy man, Mr. Dane, of Massa-

chusetts.. It so happened, that he drew his ,ordinance of 1787 for the
government of the No1~tli-western Territory. ‘ A man of so much ability,

and so little pretence ; of so great a capacity to do good, and so unmixed r

a disposition to do it for its own sake ; apgentleman who acted an important

’ part, forty years ago, in a measure the iniiuence of which. is still deeply
I felt in_ the very matter‘ which was the subject of I debate, might, I thought,

receive from me at comniendatory recognition. 

\ Butthe honorable member was inclined to befacetious on the subject.
He was rather disposed to make it matter of ridicule that I had mtro-
dueed into the debate the name of one Nathan Dane, of whom he assures

_ us he, had never betbrciheard. Sir, ii‘ the honorable member had never

before heard of air; Dane, I‘ am sorry for if. POSHOWS him 14385 acyquaillterl
. 6 r I I

42   , ls?rnnon: or  Wntesrnn

with the public men ' of the country than I had supposed. Let me tell
him, however, that all sneer from him at rtllernention of the name of Mr.
Dane is in bad‘ .taste. It may Well be all highgmark of ambition, sir,
either with the honorable gentleman orrnyself', to accomplish as much to
make our names known to»advantage,a‘ncl remembered with gratitucle‘,
as Mr. Dane has accomplished. But the truth is, sir, I suspect that Mr.
Dane lives a little too far north. r He is of Massachusetts, and too near
the north star to be reached by the honorable gent1eman’s telescope. If
his sphere had I happened to range south of‘ Mason rand Dix:on’s line, he
might, probably, have come within the scope of his Vision! d

 I spoke, sir, of the ordinance of 1787, which prohibited slavery in all
future times nortI'1—wcst of the Ohio, as a measure of great wisdom‘ and
foresight, and one which had been attended with highly beneficial and
permanent consequences. I supposed that on this point no two gentle-
men in the Senate could entertain different opinions. But the simple

expression of this sentiment has led the gentleman, not only into a labored,

defence of slavery in the abstract, and on principle, but also ‘into a\v_a1~m
accusation against me, as having at.tacl:ecl the system of clomestic slavery
now existing in the Southern States. For all this there was not the
sliglitest fbundation in any thing said or intimated by me. I did not
utter a single word which any ingenuity could torture into an attack on
the slavery of the south. I said only that it was highly wise and useful
in legislatiizg for the north-western country, while it was yet a iwilclerness,
to prohibit the introductionof slaves; and added, that I presumed, in the

neighboring state of Kentucky, there was no reflecting and intelligent"

gentleman who would doubt that, if’ the same prohibition had been
extended, at the same early period, over that commonwealth, her ‘strength
and,‘popu?lation would, at this day, have been far greater than they are.
If these opinions be thought doubtful, they are, nevertheless, I trusjt,
neither extraordinary nor disrespectful. They attack nobody and menace
nobody. ,And"yet, sir, the gentleinarfs optics have discovered, even in
the more expression of this sentiment, what he calls the very ispiritof
the Missouri question! He represents me as making anonset on the
whole south, and manifesting; a spirit which would interfere wi‘tl1 and dis-

"turbt their domestic condition. Sir, this injustice no ot.herwise surprises

me than as it is done here, anddone without the slightest pretence of

‘ ground for it. I say it only surprises me as being done here; for I know
full Well that itsis and has been the settled policy of some persons in 

  

south, for years, to representthe people of~'~ the north as disposed to  I’ 

fere with them in_ their own exclusive and peculiarconcerns. Tm: ..a a
delicate and sensitive poxntip southern feeling; and of late :;*’«as“. -

always been touched, and ‘generally with effect, whenever the? o:bject has

, beento unite the Whole south against northernimfen Aorlnorit“  m€easnres.

I azltvrays been‘ regarldede

This feeling, always carefully kept alive,   as toeiintense a
heat to admit discrimination or reflectien, ifs at iletver*l“.ofr?tt*tgt~eat power in
our political machine. It moves vast bodies“, razdegives to them one and

tl_1e.same~ direction- -But the‘ feelingvis  

       

:4-
G
5:
6+

 cause, and the .

suspicion which exists wholly griolundl-ess. There is  and never has
i been, a disposition in the north to "interfere th»eis:e interests of the
south. Such ‘interferen~;e has nevvertbrlbeen supposed to be witihinthe .

power‘ of government, nor hats‘ it biecn? any. Way attempted. x 
r    dtiestie r policy, left with tltre?‘ 
 vi rselses, and with? whi the federal government had nothing to do.‘

 
  

ON THE RESOLUTION 013‘ MR. FOOT. 

Ce1'tninly, sir, I gun, and ever hnye been, of that opinion. The gentle-
man, indeed, argues that slavery in the abstract is no evil. Most sssur-
edly I need not say I d1f_I"er w1th hnn altogether and most widely on that
point. I regard domestic slnt*ery as one of‘ the greatest of evils, both
moral and political. But, though it be a. malady, and whether it he cum -
ble, and if so, liynvliat rnenns, or, on the other hand, whether it be the
vulmts 2222?-2zeoZzcccI2t.Ze of‘ the socinl system, I leave it to those whose right
and duty it is to 111q1111‘0 and to decide. And this I‘“believe, sir, is, and
unifbrmly has been, the sentnnent of the north. Let us look a little at
the history of this mt tter. , y ., I it

When the present constitntio_n was submitted for the ratification of the
people, there were those who lmngined thnt the powers of the govern-
ment winch it proposed to establish Illilgllii, perhaps, in some possible
mode, be ezszerted 111 inensures tending to the nbolition of slavery. This
stxggcistioti would, of course, attract nnuch attention in the southern con-
ventions. In tlint of. Vi1rg11’iitt, Governor R£UI1dO1pl1 said,---~

“I h.ope.tI*1ere is none here, who, consitlet‘in,g__v; the subject inthe calm.
light of philosophy, will 1nnl«:e on C)l)_}(iCi.l011 dishonorable to Virginie.--—
that, at the nnonient they nre se‘cnr1ng‘ the rights of their citizens, an ob-
300121011 is stnrtod,tl1nt there 15 it spark of hope tlint those nnf'ortunn.te
men now held in boiidttge xnny, by the operzttio11 of the general govern-
1'nent,be nmtle 'i1'ee.”"l

At the very first C.3o11g1‘ess petitions on the subject were presented, if I
mistnltc not,—irono. r;l1fiere.nt stntcs. The Pezinsylw.-min Society for promot-
iiig the Abolition of Slavery took. n lend, nnd laid before Congress {-1, ,me-
morittl, }:)1':.tyinp; Congr-oss to promote the abolition by such powers its it
possessed. This niernorinl \Wltt"5 referred, in the House of Repi-eseimttives,
to :1 select committee, tzciiisistiirig: of‘ Mr. ]i‘oster, of N ew lrlntnpslriire, Mr.
Gerry, oft" l\:Ittss.ncl“1usett‘s, l.\'I.r. Iltmtingtoti, of Connecticut, lVIr. Iluwrence,
of New York., Mr. Eiinniolr.s<:n1, of New Jersey, Mr. I-lnmtley, of l“enn'sy1-.

vnnin, end Mr. l’:.trlter, of Vireginin; all oi'then1, sir, ns you will observe,

I101‘t1l,(l!.1‘I1 men, but the lust. Tliis connnittee tnnde n report, which was
connnitted to o. oonnnittee of the whole lriouso, end there considered and
discussed on sevozrnl dnys; end l)(Ztl1“l,§g,‘tt11'l(311til.(;i('1,t’tll1l1(I)1.1gl1 in no material
respect, it 'V't§tSift1tt(1Ci to impress three distinct propositions on the subjects
of’ slzwery nnd the sieve trade. First, in the words of the constitution,
that Congress could not, prior to the your 1808, prohibit the migration or
irnportntion of such persons on any of the states then existing should

think proper to sdrnit. Second,tl1s.t Congress had iLl.li«1101‘Il}y to restraint

the citizens of the United States from cnr1'ying; on the African slave
trade for the purpose of supplying zlhreign countries. On this prepost-
tion, our early lows ttgztiiist those who engage in that traffic nre founded.

The third proposition, and tlist which beers on the present question, was

expressed in the ihllowing terms :--~---— I I

“ Resolved, Tlint Congress hnve no   nuthority. to interfere inthe eimnnai

cipntiop of’ sieves, or in the treatment of them in-snyiof the states; it

reinsininig with the several states alone to proividerules and ireguletionsl

therein, which humanity and true policy ma.y.require.”,

This resolution received the sanction,-iiofii the House of Representatives I

so. eturly as March, 1790. And, now, sir, the honorable rnernber will
allow me to remind him, that not only were the select committee who
reported the resolution, with a. single exception, all northern men, but slso

K

 s . isrnncu or am. Wnnsrnn

that of the imemjhersjithen composing the House of ‘Representatives, at large

 majority, I believe nearly two thirds, were northern men also.

The house agreed to insert these resolutions in its journal; and, from
that day to this, it hast never~been maintained or ‘contended that Congress
had any authority to regulate or interfere with the condition of slaves in
the several states. No northern‘ gentleman, to my knowledge, hasmoved
any such question in either house of Congress. a o i

o  The fears of the south, whatever fears theyatnightl have entertained,

I

were allaycd and quieted by this early decismn; and so remained, till
theyfivere excited afresh, without cause, but for llateral and indirect
purposes. 'When it became necessary, or was thought so, by some politi-
cal persons, to find an unvarying ground for the exclusionlof northern
men from confidence and frorn lead in the affairs of the republic, then,
and not till then, the cry was raised, and the feeling industriously excited,
thatthe influence of’ northern men in the public councils would endanger
the relation of master and I slave. For .myself, I claim no other merit,
than that-this gross and enormous injustice towards the whole north has
not wrought upon me to change my opinions, or my political conduct. I
hope I am above violating; my principles,'even under the smart of injury‘
and false irnputations. Unjust suspicions and undeserved reproach, what-
ever pain I may experience from them, will not induce me, I trust, never-V
theless, to overstep the limits of constitutional. duty, or to encroach on the
rights of others. I The domestic slavery of the south I leave where I
find it—---inwthe hands of their owntgovernments. It is their affair, not
mine. Nor do I complain of the peculiar eifect whichthe magnitude of
that population has had in the distribution of power a under this federal
government. We know, sir, that the representation of the “states in the
other house is not equal. We know that great adyantage, in that respect,
is enjoyed by the slaveholding states; and we know, too, that the intended
equivalent for that advantagem;-that is to, say, the impositionfiof idireoft
taxes in the same ratio-——~—-has become merely nominal; the habit of’ the
government being almost invariably to collect its revenues from other
sources, and in other modes. Nevertheless, I do not complain ;, nor
wonl.d I countenance any movement to alter this arrangement of repre-
sentation. It is the original bargain, the compact—---let it stand; let the
advantage of itbe fully enjoyed. The Union itself is too full of benefit
to be hazarided in ipropositions for changing its original basis. I golfer‘

the constitution as it is, and for the Union as it is. But I am resolved,

not to submit, in silence, to accusations, either against myself individu-

a:lly,: or .a.gainst the north, wholly unfounded and unjust-waccasatinfi.

which impute tons a disposition to evade the constitutionail cu1paet,.'..éani
 extend the power of the government over the internal 
estic condition of’ the states. All such ~accu~:sation:s,, were"ner7ahd7 vvIh~en-t
ever made, all insinuations of the ezxisteenvca let‘  fsuclr ipurpvoses,l I
kanovv and ‘ feel , to at be groundless‘ vandal  l  r t we must confide in

 

 

I srouternl tgentleen themselves; we   thesewlrose infegrity.

' "A m.,hithel*s.uthern public; wet‘  

of heart and magnanimity of i‘ee1i~ng:~will»ieea«  to I azlldesire to main-
tain and disseminate trut, ed , wihd — possess  of its 4 diffusion

 
 
  
 

      

we

 
 
 
 

not‘ it its  . *» wan.   er, for my own part, I shalil

 
 

 

I «act  we ,   whom justice is exercise
vn'=ze"~f  ‘ ,* I I ‘ , o I l “ «I  .  t
  h I    to the ordinance of 17 87, in order to

, ‘*4 ,

=ia;v:e to ternnlltopdisabuse that .pt1b-— ,

* the        

on ran RESOLUTION orrmn. room. 45

defend myself against the inferences which the honotrableimemberhasd
chosen to draw. from my former observations on that subject, I am not
willing now entirely to take leave of it ivitlioutanotlrer remark. It need

‘hardly be said, that that paper expresses just. sentiments on the great i

subject of civil and religious liberty. Such sentiments were common,

and abound in all our state papers of that day. , But this ordinance did _

that which was not so common, and which is not, even now, universal;

that is, it set forth and declared, as (Z /mfg]; and binding duty of government I

ftseif; to encourage schools and advance the means of education;-on the
plain reason that religion, morality, and knowledge are necessary to good
government, and to the happiness of mankind. One. observation further.
The important provision incorporated, into the constitution of the United
States, and several of those of the states, and recently, as we have seen,

adopted into the reformed constitution of Virginia, restraining legislative I
power, in questions of private right, and from impairing the obligation of '

contracts, is first introduced and established, as far as I am informed, as
matter of express written constitutional law, in this ordinance of ,1787.
And I must add, also, in regard to the author of the ordinance, who has

I not had the happiness to attract the gentlernan’s notice heretofore, nor to I

avoid his sarcasm now, that he was chairman of that select committee of
the old Congress, whose report first expressed the strong sense of that

body, that the old confederation was not adequate to the exigencies of the I

“ country, and reconimexiding to the states to send delegates to the convex»
tion which formed the present constitution. I _

An attempt has been made to transfer from the nerthto the south the

honor of,this“ exclusion of slavery from the N orth-western Teiritory. The

journal, without argument or comment, refutes such attempt. The session -

of Virgginia was made March, 1784:. On the 19th of April following, a

committee, consisting of Messrs. J effcrson, Chase, and Howell, reported a;
plan for a temporary governmelit of the territory, iniwhich was this article:
“ That after the year 1800, there shall be neither slavery nor ittvolnntaryi
servitude, in any of the said states, otherwise than in punishment of
crimes, whereof the party shall have been conrvicted.” ,  Spieigzht, at
North Carolina, moved to strike out this paragraph.V The ueetitson was

put, according to the form then praotirsed: 4.‘ Shall these words ‘stag.’

part of the , plan,” 850., New Hampsliire, Massachusetts,, Rode Isle
Coectilcut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania-—--~ seven states» 
voted in the aflirmative; Marylan, Viigiiniag and South Ciarolina   ’ tie‘
negative. North Carolina wasdivided, As the consent. of nine lets
was necessary, the words could  stand,and were struck out 
ingly. Mr. Jefferson voted for the a clause, but «waspi  by 
colleagues. _ i  ,  : I    A ’ ~‘ =
r In March of the nezctryaear, (,178l5,)  

 

 

 ssachesetts, sees

 

p nded by Mr. Ellery, of Rhode Island, proceed ethe,:i,Ert:'orerly rejected '
I  this addition: “ And time‘ tlttis 

   

  
 
    
   

 tartan  .  ;6el,‘arz ertt'o:ls it
n   aemata, r   4       
    ,om;etfael sites      z 

&ct,thisi,:c1ause, which :,ro~ed;,,,,,‘l I ‘ ‘ * «;  through sleeuritys
‘etiweiy, and te than

 

 

-Southern States negatively. Thevoites  states were not yet ob-

. The perseverancre of the 
t “ Ject was attained;  is Ili0‘;~ldi4€di0 - 1 s;

  
 

r tained,‘ and thus the provisiy  to was i rejieete by the Southern, States.
   so  afterwards the ob-

yon   the credit, whatever. that may

 

cmited at tlze resolves? »

46 srnrzcrr or MIR. wnnsrna
be, of drawing the ordinance, that its principles had before been prepared
and discussed, in“ the form of resolutions. If one should reason in that
way, what would become of the distinguished honor of’ the author of" the
Declaration of Independence? There isnot ta sentiment in that paper
which had not been voted and resolved in the assemblies, and other
popular bodiesin the country, over and over again. g - i
i But the honorable member has now found out that this gentleman, Mr.
Dane, was a. member of the Hartford Convention. However uninformed
the honorable member may be of characters and occurrences at the north,
it would seem that he has at his elbows, on this occasion, some high-minded
and lofty spirit, some magnanimous and true-hearted monitor,possessing
the means of local knowledge, and ready to supply the honorable member
with every thing, down even to forgotten and moth-eaten twopenny

pamphlets, which may be used to the disadvantage of his own country.’
' But, as to the I'Iartf'ord Convention, sir, allow me to say, that t.he pro-

ceedings of that body seem now to beless read and studied in New
Etiglapid than farther south. They appear to be looked» to, not in New
England, but elsewhere, for the purpose of seeing how far they may
“serve as a precedent. But they will not answer the ’purpose-----they are
quite too tame. The latitude in which they originated“ was too cold.
Other conventions, of more recent existence, have gone a whole-bar’s
length beyond it. The learned doctors of Colleton and Abbevilleihave

pushed their commentaries on the Hartford collect so far that the original "

text writers are thrown entirely into the shade.
sir, with the Hartfond Convention.
quoted, I never road. So far as the honorable member may discover in
its proceedings a spirit in any degree resembling that which was avowed
and justified in those other conventions to which I have alluded, or so far
as those proceedings‘ can be shown to bedisloyal. to the constitution, or
tending to disunion, so far I shall be as ready as any one to bestow on
them reprehension and censure. , _ l I I 

Having dwelt long on this convention, and other occurrences of ether
day, in the hope, probably, (which will not be gratitied,) that It should leave
the course of this debate to follow him at length in those .excursi.ons,‘the
honorable member return“ed,~an.d attempted another object. c He referred
toga speech«of'+ minein the other house, thesatne which I had occasion to
allude to myself the other day; and  quoted a passage or two from it;
with a bold though uneasy and laboring air of confidence, as it‘ he had”
detected in me an inconsistency. Judging from the gentl’ernan’s manner,
at stranger to the course of the debate, and to the point in discussion, weal‘
have. _imagined, from so triumpllant a tone, that the ‘honorable memiberf
was about to overwhelm me with a manifest contradiction. - Any onevwho
eard him, and who had not nhevard what I had, iintifact, previously said,
ust, have thought me routed and discomfited, as the gentleman had
preomiised. . Sir, a. breath blows all this litrittmphlaway. I There is not the
slightest" diiferiencei in the sentiments" of imysremarks on the two occasions;

I have nothing to do,

I "Wl1'atI said. here on Wednesday is in exact accordance with the opinions’
'expressed by me in the other house in 1825. A,

p p Though the gentleman
ii the eaaphysics of Hudibras -—--though he were able I 
.   I i “tosever and divide I I

”   ’twixt hearth and nortlrwest side,” * it

 

Its journal, which the gentleman has »

¢

on rm: :snsoLiJ'.rroN ormn. room. 47

he could not yet insert his metaphysical, scissors between the fair reading
of my remarks in 1825 and what I said here last week. '1‘here‘is not
only no contradiction, no diffiereuce, but, in truth, to-o exact a similarity,
both in tl1ou,g:;ht ancl-larigtiage, to be entirely in just, taste. I had myself
quoted the same speech; had recurred to it, and spoke with it open before
me; and much ofwhat I said was little more than a repetition from it.
In order to make finishing work with this alleged contradiction, ipermitime
to recur to the origin of this clebate, and review its course. This seems
expedient, and may be done as well now as at any three.

“Well, then, its history is this: The honorable member from Connecti-
cut. moved I a resolution, which constituted the first branch of that which

i is now before us; that is to say, a resolution instructing the committee

on public lands to inquire into the expediency of 1in1it.i1'ig, fora certain
period, the sales of public lands to such as have heretofore been otliered

t'or.sale; and whether sundry olllces, connected with the sales of the '

lands, might not be nbolishcd without detrinient to the public service.
In the progttess out the discussion which arose on this resolution, an
honorable member froxn New I"Itl.Il"l[)li%l1‘l1‘(3 rnovcd to nxnend the resolution,

so as entirely to reverse its object; that is, to strike itall out, and insert?

aidireetion to the committee to inquire into the expediency of atlopting
measures to hasten the sales, and ezntend rnorc rapidly the surveys of the
lands. I ‘ I 
The honorable member from Mnine (Mr. Sp1~a.p;ue) snggestecl tliat
both these propositions might well GI‘l01l,{;‘l1_g(7, for consideration, to the
connnittce; end in this state of the question, the member from South

Carolina addressed the Senate in his first speecln He rose, he said, to i

give us his own free tliottglits on the public’ lands. I« saw him rise, with
pleasure, and listened with expectation, though before he concluded I was
filled with surprise. Ccrtu.in1y, I was never there sulrpriszed than tofind
him following up, to the extent he did, the sentinuents and opinions which
the gentleman from Missouri had put forth, and which it is known he has
long entertained. ~ l ° 0 l l I I t " I I I l k ‘
I need not repeat, at large, the gencrulltopies of the honorable gentle-
mnn’s speech. I When he said, ycsterdny, that he did not attach the East-
eru States, he certainly must ltatre forgotten not only particular rems.rks,~
butthe whole drift and tenor of“ his speech; unless he means by not
atteching, tlntt he did not commence hostilities, but that another had prey»-I
eeded ‘himrin the attack. He, in the first place, disapproved of the whole

I course, of the government for forty years, in regard to its dispositions of

y when  to reply to them.

   
  
   

the public land; and tlien,lturni1ig northward a’nd7enstward, and funcying
he had found a cause for alleged rnerrorwnessl and «niggardlin=ess in the
“aceursed policy” of the tariff, to which he reprresented the people of
New Englimd I as wedded, he Went on, for a full ho*ur,witl1 remarks, the
whole scope of which was to exhibit the results of =tlhis policy, in feelings
ended in measures nnfuvoruble to the west. arth-ought his opinions un-
 issnd erroneous, ps to the lgIenlerel”r‘leon;rse~~lthe government, and

 

l»~'3Fhe“l:lllet11;1lefen had remarked on  4 
« cosuot of European; governrnents ‘s their own subjects, set;
on this c*o=ntinent,l nsin point, to show that we had been l1£LI_‘Sl1 and
in essxzellinigfiiwhren We should ‘ heme iven the public lands to settlers.
ughtthe Vllonmnebrle: elmb*eri,,.hei lsufliered his judgment to be be-
leyreljd by —a  latiailoéégfyi   _vites«s:trucrl:l with and appearance of

 

\

 tether cases, and quoted '
I ‘d

48 SPEECH on MR. WEBSTER-

resemblance where there divas no real similitude. I think so still. The first
settlers of North America were enterprising spirits, engaged in private
adventure, or fleeing. from tyranny at home- Wlieii arrived here, they
were forgotten by the mother country, or remembered only to be oppressed.
Carried away again by the appearance of analogy, or struck with the
eloquence of l the passage, the honorable member yesterday observed that
the conduct of government towards the western emigrants, or my repre.
sentation of it, brought to his mind a celebrated speech in the British
Parliament. It was, sir, the speech of Colonel Barre. On the question
of the stamp act, or tea tax, I forget which, Colonel Barre. had heard a
member on the treasury bench argue, that the people of the United States,
being British colonists, planted by the maternal care,nourished’ by the
indulgence, and protected by the arms of England, would not grudge their
mite to relieve the mother country from the heavy burden under which
she groaned. The language of Colonel Barre, in reply to this, was,
“They planted by your care? iYour oppression planted them in America.
They fled from your tyranny, and grew by your neglect of them. So
soon as you began to care for them, you showed your ‘care by sending
persons to spy out their liberties, misrepresent their character, prey upon
them, and eat out their substance.” i i

And now does the honorable “gentleman mean to maintain that language
like this is‘ applicable to the conduct of the government of the United
States towards‘ the western emigrants, or to any representation given by
me of that conduct ?_ Were the settlers in thewest driven thither by -our
oppression? Have they flourished only by our neglect of them? Has

a the government done nothing. but to prey upon them, andeat out their

substance? Sir, this fervid eloquence of the British spealter, just when
and where it was uttered, and fit to remain an rlsexlercise forthe sohoeols, is
not a little out of place, when it wasbrought thence to be applied here, to
the conduct of our own country towards her own citizens. ,I5‘rom.A,merina.
to England it may be true; from Americans to their own government

 would be strange language. Let us leave it to be recited and deelaied
by our boys against a iioreign nation; not introduce it here, to recite and

o a great

declaim ourselves againstour own. , t o o o  ‘  .
But I come to the point of o the allegedpacontriction. In my remarks
on Wednestiay, I contended that we could not give away gratuitously «all
the public lands; that We held‘ them in trust; that the government 
solemnly pledged itself to dispose of them as a common fund for the icoimw
monpbenefit, andto sell and settle them as its discretion should ldictates
Now, sir, what contradiction does the gentleman find» to this sentim;ent;,in
the speech of 1825? He quotes -me as having then said, that we ought
not to hug these lands as _a very great treasure. t Very well, sir; suppos-
ing me to p be accurately reported in that expression, What is the contra-t
diction? I have*not now said, that we shouldhug these lands as a favor-«
its source of pecuniary income.‘ No such thing. It is not my view. ,
What I have said, and What I do say, is, that they are a common fund ‘---M_

to be disposed of for the common benefit-—--«to be sold at low prices,.fo1t’7 ~
the accommodation of settlers, keeping the object of settling the landsasl

much in View as that of raising money from them. p This I say now,  .

thisilphave taglwagys sai,d. Is this hugging them as a favorite treasure i

   
  
  

 no .difi‘ercensn,,sathleiivtfelen hugging and hoarding this thud, on 

       

  

    of o   .      . 

:,,on,,:tl1,;e other of disposingjof it at lot. .2,   l

on man nesonurron on MR. soon, ‘49

is, that as irnuchis to be made of the land, as fairly and reasonably may
be, selling it all the while at such rates as to givethe fullest eliect to
settlement; This is not giving it all away to the states,,as the g<tntle-

man would propose; nor is it hugging the fund closely and tenaciously, i

as a favorite treasure ; but it is, in my judgment, a just and wise policy,
perfectly according with all thevarious duties which rest on government.

‘So much for my contradiction. And what is it?‘ Wlie1'e is the ground
of the gentlemanfs triumph? What inconsistency, in word or doctrine,

has he been able to detect? Sir, if this be a sample of that discomfiture
with which the honorable gentleman threatened me, commend me to the
word dt'sc0m_fitu7'e for the rest of my life. "

But, after all, this is not the point of the debate; and I must bring the
gentleman back to that which is the point. V

The real question between me and him is, VVh.ere has the doctrine
been advanced, at the south or the cast, that the population of the west
should be retarded, or, at least, need not be hastened, on account of its
effect to drain off the people from the Atlantic States? Is this doctrine,
as has been alleged, of eastern origin? Tliat is the question. ’ Has the

.gentlexnan found any thing by which he can 1nal:e_ good his accusation?

I submit to the Senate, that he has entirely failed; and as far as this dc»
bate has shown, the only person who has advanced such sentiments is a

“gentleman from South Carolina, and a friend to the lionorable member

himself. The honorable gentlcmauhas given no answer to this; there is

' none,which can be given. This simple fact, while it requires no comment
1 to enforce it, defiesall argument to refute it. I could refer to the speeches

of another southern gentleman, in years before, of the same general

character, and to the same effect, as that which has been quoted; but I it

will not consume the time of the Senate by the reading of thorn. ,
So then, sir, New England is guiltless of the policy of retarding

rr western population, and of all envy and jealousy of the growth of the

new states. Whatever there be of that policy in the country, no part of

it is hers. If it has a local habitation, the honorable member has proba-: »

bly seen, by this time, where he is to look for it; and if it now has
received a name, he himself has christened it. p l I p ,
~Weapproach, at length, sir, to a more important part of the honors»

ble gentleman’s observations. , Since it does not accord with my views

of justice and policy to vote away the public lands altogether, as mere
matter of gratuity, I am asked, by the honorable gentleman, on what

ground it is that I consent to give them away in particular instances. .

How, he inquires, do I reconcile with these ipr0fes*se.dVg sentiments my
support of measures appropriating portions of the lands to particular
roads,‘ particular canals, particular ‘rivers, and particular institutions of

education in the west? This leads, sir, to the real and wide «diiierence

 political opinions between the honorable gentleman‘ and myself’. On

. yyy ,part,,iI look upon all these objects as , conncctevd with the ycommion .
I .gto‘»d, fairly’ embraced in its objects _ and its ,ter_f; , he, on the eontraryoe

seems -the all; if good at all, only local gsood.»   is four ydiflerencc.
iintertm story which he proceeed to  at once .explains this dif-
feren.‘  ‘”‘%Vhat interest,” asks he, “ has ‘So‘uth Carolina in a canal in
Ohio  ”, S i this very question is full or .s~ignificance. It develops
the gentleman,‘srwhole political syste; “and its answer expounds mine.
Here we ‘difier tote ccelo;   look A upon a ‘road, over the Allegheny, a
canal round the fal'ls’0f the »O»hio, or a  or railway from the Atlantic

I

-

 

 _      

50 srnncn ‘on MR. wnesrnn
tothe western waters, as being objects large and extensive enough to be
fairly said to be for the common b,enefit. The gentleman thinks other-
wise, and this is the key to open his construction of thee powers of the
government. He may well ask, upon his system, Wliat interest. has South
Carolina in a canal in Ohio? On that system, it is true, she has no inter-
est. Onthat system, Ohio and Carolina are different. governments and

different countries, connected here, it is true, by some slight and ill- I

defined bond of union, but in all main respects separate and diverse
On thatsystem, Carolina has no more interest in a canal in Ohio than in’
Meriico. The gentleman, therefore, only follows out his own principles;
he does no more than arrive at the natural conclusions of his own doc-I
trines; he only announces the true results of that creed which he has
adopted himself, and would persuade others to adopt, when he thus de-
clares that South Carolina has no interest in a public work in Ohio. Sir,
we narrow-xninded people of New England do not reason thus. Our
notion of things is entirely different. We look upon the states, not as
separated, but as united. We love to dwell on that Union, and on the
mutual happiness which it has so much promoted, and the common re-.-
nown which it has so greatly contributed to acquire. In our conten:1pla-t-
tion, Carolina and Ohio are parts of the same country--«states united
under the same general government, having interests common, associ-
ated, intermingled. In whatever is within the properephere of the con-

stitutional power of this government, we look upon the states as one. H
We do not impose geographical limits to our patriotic feeling or regard; .

we do not follow. riv'ers,iand mountains, and lines of latitude, to find
boundaries beyond which public improvements do not benefit us. We,
who come here as agents and representatives of those narrow-minded
and selfish men of New England, considertourselves as bound to regard,
with cqttal eye, the good of the whole, in whatever is within our power

of legislation. . Sir, if a railroad or a canal, beginning in South Caro:lina»,

and ending in South Carolina, appeared to me to be of national. impor-
tance and national magnitude, believing as I do that the power of <'govern-
ment extends to the encouragement of works of that description, if 
were to stand up here and ask, “ _What interest has Massachusetts in a
railroad in South Carolina?” I should not be willing to face mytconstittué
ents. These same narrow—minded men would tell me that they had sent
me to act for the whole country, and that one who possessed too little

comprehension, either of intellect or feeling,————~one who was not large‘
‘ en*ougl1, in mind, and heart,to embrace the whole,-—-—-«was not fit to? be

intrusted with the interest of any part. Sir, I do not desire to enlarge the
powers of the government by unjustifiable construction, nor to exercise
any not within a fair interpretation. ,
power does exist, then it is, in my judgment, to be exercised for the
general benefit of the whole : so far as respects the exercise of such a
power, the states are one. It was the verytiobjrect ofyther constitution to

i create unity of interests to the ~e:x:tent~ of the powers of the general gov-.-

ernment. In war and peace we are one ; in commerce one; because the

I authority of i the general government reaches to warand peace, and to

theiriegulatiion of ‘ commerce. I have never seen any more ditiicultytiii
ierecting li=ghth=onsies on the lakes 1 than on the ocean; in improving the

p          the ebb. and 
 gf . or of  J arebst      vast. streams of the or West,
it ” W I I  Atlantic coast. 

fie

   

  

But when it_ is "believed that la ’

vented them‘ié‘from. 

on me RESOLUTION on Jun. ‘room. 51
there be -power for one, there is power also for the other; and they are
all and equally for the country. ' t r r I
There are other objects, apparently more local, or the benefitiof which
is less general, towards which, nevertheless, I have concurred with others
to give aid by donations of land. It is proposed to construct a road in
or through one of the new states in which this government possesses
large .quantities of land. Have the United States no right, as a great
and untnxed proprietor ---- are they under no obligation 1-»-—— to contribute to
an object thus calculated to promote the common good of all the pro-
prietors, themselves included? And even with respect to education,
which is the extreme case, let the question he considered. In the first
place, as we l1.o.ve seen, it was made mutter of compact with these states
they they should do their part to promote education. In the next plnce,
our whole system of land laws proceeds on the idea. that education is

for the common good; because, in every clivision, at certain portion is

unit'orn1ly reserved and appropriated for the use of schools. .A1'1cl,fi1*1ally,
he.ve.not these new states singulnrly stror1r,_._r clnirns, founded on the ground
already stated, that the government his a. great nntaxed proprietor in the
ownership of the soil? It is a consideration of great importance that
probably there is in no part of the country, or of the world, so great at call
for the menus of educetion as in those new states, owing; to the vast num-
ber‘ of personscwithin those egos in wl“1ich.‘“‘e<‘lucation and instruction are
usually received, if’ received at all. "l.‘his is the natural consequence of
recency of settlement and rapid increase. The census of’ these states

shows how great a proportion of the whole population occupies‘ the

classes between infancy and noanhoocl. These nro the wide fields,ancl
here‘ is the deep and quick soil for the seeds of knowledge and virtue;
and this is the favored season, the spring,‘ time rcfortstowing them. , Let
them be disseminated without stint. Let them be scntterecl with a. bone-
tiful broadcast. Vl7'li1lill130V€3I' the government can fairly do towarclstliese
objects, in my opinion, ouglit to be done. my I I i ~ I

These, sir, are the grounds, succinctly ‘stntetl, on which ntytvotes for
grants of lends for particular‘ objects test, while I ms.inta.in,-wet the some
time, l3l'1Ett it is all e. common fund, for the common‘ benefit- Andi rees~ofus

like these, I presume, have influenced the votes of other gentlemen from

w lilnglend. Those who have 21. ldiflicrexit view of’ the powers of,‘ the

_government, of course, come to ditfcrenti conclusions on these ason other

questions. I observed, when spee.ls;in.gI0n.itl1is subject before, thatit'we
looked to to any measure, whether for n roed, a canal, or any tiling else
intended for the improvement of the west, it would be ‘found, that if‘ the
New England eyes were struck out of the list ofivtovtes, the southern “noes
would atlweyshnve rejected the measure. The trnlth of thisz has notbceni

_..,._._.

denied, and cannot be denied. In stating this, I thoughtfit just to ascribe l

 or less charitable cause. i IBtut’l no stoonicr held Idone this, then

tie  g"entlerne.n asks if‘ I rcproaxth his ifrientcls with t“heir

 

  

 

con  scruples. Sir, I reprechf I restated Ia. fact, and
   respectful reason     ~  The gentle»?

   the .f's,ct-—-— he bmtify,  lire, %wl10‘se, disclaim the reason.
It i3    I ‘had occasion,  pr~esenting" as petition from his own
state,‘ to    being intzttusltedi to  hands by saying, that the
constitutional,  pot’  cgentlentant and his is worthy cdllcegtie pre-
‘  ii iSir,  I states this as a matter of

    

 

it tothepoconstitutional scruples of the south, rethero then to any other less ‘

t - time is tthiet time,jwhee.l  to the manner how, the gen»

52 SPEECH on MR. wnnsrnn

reproach? Far from it. Did I attempt to find any other cause than an
lioneeit one for these scruples P Sir, I did not. It did not become me to
doubt, nor to insinuate that the gentleman had either clranged his senti-
ments, or that he had made up a set of constitutional opinions, aCC:0In1"n0...
dated to any particular combination of political occurrences. I~—Iad I done
so, I should have felt, that while I was entitled to little respect in thus
questioning other people’s motives, I justified the whole world in suspecting
my own. I
But how has the gentleman returned. this respect for others’ opinions?
His own candor and justice, how‘ have they been exhibited towards the
motives of others, while he has been at so much pains to maintain ---what
nobody has disputed----tl’1e purity of his own? "Why, sir, he has asked
soften, and how, and salty New England votes were found going for meas-
ures f'avorabl.e to the west; he has demanded to be informed whether all
this did not begin in 1825, and while the election of president was still
pend-that/. Sir, to these questions retort would be justified; and it is both
cogent and at hand. Nevertheless, I will answer the inquiry not by
retort, but by facts. I will tell the geiitleman wlzen, and time, and wiry
New England has supported measures favorable to the west. I have
already referred to the early history of the governmente-——to the fiI‘Sl3
acquisition of the lands -——~-- to the original laws for disposing of them and
for governing the territories wlrorethey lie; and liave shown theinfluence
of New England men, and New Erigland principles» in all these leading
measures. I should not be pardoned were I'to go over that ground
again. Coming to more recent times, and to measures of a less general
cliaracter, I have endeavored to prove that every thing of this kind
designed for western improvement has depended on the votes of New
England. All this is true beyond thepower of contradiction. ,
I And, now, sir, there are “two nieasures to which I will refer, not so
ancient as, to belong to the early history of the public lands, and not so

recent as to be on thisside of the period when the gentleman chazritably t

imagines a new direction may have been given to New Ei1gland_ feeling
and New Etigland votes. These measures, and the New England votes
in support of them, may be taken as samples and specimens of all the
rest. In 1820, (observe, Mr. ]?resident, in 1820,) the ‘people of the west
besought Congress for a reduction in the price of lands. In favor of

that ‘reduction, New England, with a delegation of forty members in the ,

other house, gave thirtY’l;l1reetvotes, and one only against it. The four
Southern States, with fifty members, gave thirty-two votes for it, and
seven against it. Again, in 1821, (observe again, sir, the time,) the law

passed for the relief of the purchasers of the public lands. This was at
frnteasure of’ vital importance to the west, and more especially to the

south-west., It authorized thex relinqnishment of contracts for lands,
which had been I entered into at high prices, and a «reduction, in other

cases, of not less“ than 37% per 7'cent., on thegputrehiase money. Many,

Inillions. of ‘dollars, six. or seven I believe, at least,»-«probably much
more,-—--were trelinquéislted by this law. , On this bill New England, with
her forty members, gave more aiiirmative votes than the four Southern

States with their fifty-two or three members. These two‘ arexfar the V

apteldrwithin. the  years‘~.. a They tool: place in 1820 and 1

 post. important renames respecting the pgublic lands which have been _

    

              t 

W .

~ ‘M

   
   

on true :a:esoLtrrIoN on MR. room. o 53

relief; and lastly, as to the cause why, I tell the gentleman, itwas because
the members from New England thought the measures just and salutary;
because they eIIitertaineId towards the west neither envy, hatred", nor malice;
because they deemed it becoming them, as just and enlightened public
men, to meet the exigency which had arisen in the west withthe appro-
priate measure of relief ; because they felt it due to‘ their own characters,
and the characters of their New England predecessors in this govern-
ment, to act towards the new states in the spirit of a liberal, patronizing,
magnanimous policy. So much, sir, for the cause wfzy ; and I hope that
by this time, sir, the honorable gentleman is satisfied; if not, I do not
know when, or how, or why, he ever will be. I
Having recurred to these two iinportant measures, in answer to-the
gentleman’s inquiries, I must now beg permission to go back to a period
still something earlier, for the purpose still further of showing how much,
or ‘rather howlittle, reason there is for the gentlcman’s insinuation that
political hopes, or tears, or party associations, were the grounds of these
New England votes.» And after wliat has been said, I hope it may be
forgiven me if I allude to some political opinions and votes of my own,
of very little public importance, certainly, but which, from the time at
which they were given and expressed, may pass for good witnesses on
this occasion. I t
V This government, Mr. President, from its origin to the peace of 1815,
had been too much engrossed with various other important concerns to
be able to turn its thoughts inward, and look to thedevelopmentrof its
vasi internal resources. ,_In the early part of Pr-csident Washinugtonis
administation, it was frilly occupied with organising the government,
providing for the public debt, defending tlie-frontiers, and maintaining
domestic peace. Before the termination of that aclrninistration, thefires

of the Ii‘reneh revolution blazctlrfortli, as from a new-opened volcano,
and the whole breadth of the ocean did not entirely secure us from its I

effects. The smoke and the cinders reached us, though not tlierbunning
lava. Ditlicult and agitating questions, ‘embarrassing to government, and
dividing public opinion, sprung out of the newrstate of our foreign rela-

tions, and were succeeded by ot1iers,IaInd yet ‘again byothers, equally»

embarrassing, and equally exeitinrg division and disIcord,.throughI the
Ilong series of’ twenty years, till they finally issued in the war with

Engiand. I Down to the close of that War, no distinct, marked, and delib-r

crate attention had been t given, ‘or could have been given, to the internal

I condition of the country, its capacities of improvement, or the constitu‘-I
tional; power of the igovernznent, in regard to objects connected ‘with
such improvement. I . I  i i I

*“I'I‘he peace, Mr. President, brought about an entirely nevvand a most
interesting state of things i; it openfied to us tether prospects,aud suggested
oter duties; we ourselves were changed, and the whole world was

 The pacificationof EuroIpe,I af*te»1'iJune, 18,15, assumed aofiorm v
I assdtpweraneint aspect. The nations eevidentily gmanifested that they were

;  for peace: sometagitation*ot' the i‘Wavie~s tmightybe expected, even
sss~r this storm. had subsided 5,    Was, strongly and rapidly,
tdwardsssvettleidirepose, 2 i o i    I I   I I

 It se!rha.ppened, sir, that Itwasiratlthatrtime a member of Congress, and,
like others, natum-a11Ii turned tamytattentiloin to the contemplation of the
newly-altered *contdiItI1onI lot‘ the country,‘ and of the world. It appeared
plainly eno7nghI”to to,» II  he I’IIto wiser andlmiore experienced men,

.5

    

54 l srnnon: on MR. wvnnsrnn’

that the policy of, the government would necessarily take st start in 
new direction ; because new directions would 11GC@SS£1.I'1ly be given to the
pursuits and occupntlons of the pee ale. We had pushed our c‘~.on1merca

far and fast, under the advantage of oxxieutrel flag. But there were now 

no longer f'lngs,~ either neutral or belligerent. The lntrvest of neutrality
had been great, but we had gathered it all. ‘With the peace of Europe,

i it was obvious there would spring up, in her circle of nations, 21. revived

and inviglomtecl spirit of trade, and a. new activity in all the business and
objects of civilized life. I~I'erezu‘.'ter, our cornmercial gains were to be
earned only by success in at close and intense competition. Other nations
would produce for themselves, and carry for themselves, and 1na.nuf'a,eture
for themselves; to the full extent. of their abilities. The crops of our
plains would no longer sustain Europenii armies, nor our ships longer
supply those whom war lied rendered unable to supply theniselves. It
was obvious, that, under these ci1'cumstences, the country would begin to
survey itself’, and to estimate its own lcupncity of irnprovernent. And.
this improvement, how was it to be accomplished, and who waste ac-
complish it ?' p l l

I We were ten or twelve wmillions of people, spread over almost lmlf a
world. “To were twenty-f‘our states, some st1'etching uloaig the same sem-
boerd, some elong; the same line of inland frontier, end others on opposite
banlts of the some vest rivers. Two conside.ntions at once presented
themselves, in looking at this stn.t~c of tl'1inp;s, with grcntiorce. One was,
that that great branch of ixnprovcrncnt, which consisted, in furnishing
new facilities of intercourse, 11ecesszt1*ily rain into diilerent states, in every
lending instance, nnd would benefit the citizens of all such states. No
one state, therefore, in such cases, would assume the whole expense, nor

r was the coiiperntioxi of several states to be expected. Take the instance

of the Delaware B1‘(tal{W£tlLG1‘. It will cost several millions of rnoney.
Would PGI‘1I1SylV33bI'1lt‘t alone have ever constructed it? Certainly never,
while this Union lusts, because it is ncit for her solo benefit. Would
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and _Dcluwn.re have united to accomplish it,
at their joint expense? Certainly not, for the sumo rcnson. ‘ It could not
be done, tlxereforc, but by the ogcnerel goycrnnient. The same may be

i ‘said of they lztrgc inlund unclertalrings, cndept that, in them, governnient,

7 to heavy direct taxes.

instead of Ibenring the whole expense, 00ll1‘)tt1‘Eti.(3»‘3 with others who beer a.
part. The other consideration is, that the United States lrmre tl’lGII1(3t1I1,S.,.

They enjoy the revenues derived from cornznerces, arid the Sl'{tlJ€:Sili1£lV(3~1"l0,

abundant and easy sources of public income. The A‘ custom lxousesnfill the
general treasury, while the states have scu.nty,resources, except by resort

Unclerutliis view of things, I thought it necesss,ry to settle, at least for
myself, some definite notions, {wfitl1~re$pect to the , powers of government,

in re,en1r:d to internal efihiiés. It may not savor too much of self-gcommene .
dation to remark, that, with this object, I considered the constitution,.its,

jiuditcial construction, its contemporaneous ex.position, and the whole history

of the_,legislation.lof' :OO1’tgI'0SS under it; endrl arrived at the: conclusion

 government has power toeccormplislx sundry ,objects, or aid in their
accomplishment, which are now commonly spoken of as INrsnN.A.L IM-
1?iR«OVEMENT,S«. ,  pnclusion, sir,~ms,y have been right, or it niaylisve
listen sn;rong., I    A,
 thstit,;was edoplted,   onncveu tidal”   in 181 : ~ 
     i       

 
  

     
  

   

tat

 to argue the ghiounds of it at large.  ,1   

on me RESOLUTION or Mn. room. ,1 55

pourse of politicelpconductbn these subjects, in the 14th Congress, in
1816. And now, Mr. I’rcs1dent, I have further to say, that I niucle up
these opinions, and entered on this_9eourse of political conduct, Teucro
dame. Yes, sir, I pursued, in all this, at South Carolina tra.cl:. 1 On the
doctrines of’ internal‘ improvement, South Caroline, as she. was then rep-

resented -in the other house, set forth, in 1816, under a. fresh and leading ,

breeze; and I was among the followers. But if my leader sees new
lights, and turns :3. eliurpt corner, unless I see new lights else, I keep

. -St1"ttl,<;_§l1t on in tl1e some path. I repeat, thnt leading gentlemen from

South Ourolixm were firet and forernost in behalf of the doctrines of
intenmil iinprovements, when those doctrines first curne to be considered

.and acted upon in Congress. The debate on the hunl: question, on the-.'

te.rifl:’ of 1816, end on the direct tux, will show who was who, and what
was wl1ut,ut that time. The tur1tt' of 1816, one of the plum cases of
oppres.sioi1 and usurpation, from which, if the governrnent (loos not recede,

v ixidivitluel states may justly secede froin the government, is, eixr, in truth,

ta. South Cztroline. -t.u.1'ifi', supported by South Ca.ro1'inu votoe. But for
those votee, it could not have passed in the form in VVl'.1l(.SlTl it did pass;
wlierees, if it had depended on Mussuoliusetts votes, it would huvc been
lost. Does not the ltoxioublc «gentleniun well know ulll this? There

ere certainly those who do full well know it ell. I do not say this to

re1:u'on.el1 South Cerolimt; I only state the feet, and I think it will appear
to be true,‘ that among the e:.trliest end boldest eclvoemos oi’ the thrift“, on
a ritieesure of protection, end on the express ground of proteotion,,were
leading gentlemen of South Caroline in Coiigrese. I did not then, and
cannot 11ow,*un<lerstu11<.l their lzitnpguege in tiny other sense. While this
terift‘ of’ 1816 was under (:ll.‘él(3lZt.tT~.‘»tI~‘;l0Il.fl11e the House of Rcpflresentutivee, an
hono1‘t'tl)le gentleinun from Greorgiu, now of this house, (Mr. Forsyth,)
moved to reduce the proposed duty on oottou.  He fhiledi byfbur votes,
South Carolina giving; three votes (enough to have turned the scale)
against his motion. The act, eir, then pussed,t1nd received on its passage
the support of a. nmjority of’ the representatives of South Carolina
‘present and voting. This not is the first, in the order of’ those now de-
nounced as plain usurputions.  see it daily in the list by the side of
those of 18:34 and 1828, us a cane of nienifeet opp1‘eesion, justifying dis»-
enion. I put it home to the honorable member from South Curolinzuthet

his own state was not only “ urt end port” in this measure, but the cazcsa

causams. ‘Without her uid, this sem.inel~ principle of .miscl1ict; this root
of iuypes, could not lteve been planted.  have alree.dyee.id-g-- end it is
true ---- that this not proceeded on the ground of protection. It interfered
directly ‘with existing inte1*eete of great value and amount. It out up the
Calcutta cotton trade. by the roots. , But it passed, nevertheless, e.nd'it

it passed on the principle of protecting menufeeturies, on the ‘principle
. against ,t'ree trade, on the principle opposed to rt,/wit which lets us alone.
3 - Sn-elt,.Mr. 1’reei~dent, were the opitonsltof portent and lending gen-

 ‘ Cot‘ South Carolina, on « the eubjeht. lot’. internal improvement, in
 I went out of Congrees  ...neeet yeer,.end returning agein in
 itiiourglit I found South  I; ed left her. I really sup-
p»oseel thert;elle ithings tremeined as they revere,  that‘ the South Cerolirla.
doctrine of internal tiruprovetnentst weulldt   redefended by the seine elo-
quent   the so  htzeeg .,.;erms,-tes« formerly. ‘In the lapse. of
these six ye i", itiis true, ‘political.*esso~oietieons hed teesumed a. new aspect
and newldit «us.   arisen the south,host.i1e to the doc-

v F

56 season on MR. wnssrnn

trine of internal improvements, and had vigorously attacked that cloctrine.

‘ Anti—consolidation was the flag under wliichntliis party fought, and its supi-

porters inveighed against internal improvements, much after the same
manner in which the honorable gbntleman has now inveighed a.g:.—ri1ist
them, as part and parcel of the ‘system of consolidation.

Whetlier this party arose in South Carolina lierself, or in her .wneigl1-
borhood, is more than I know. I think the latter. However that may
have been, there were those found in South Carolina ready to inakc war
upon it, and who did make intrepid war upon it. Names being 1'e,ga.1*tled
as things, in such controversies, they bestowed on the ant.i-improvement
gentlemen the appellation bf radicals. Yes, sir, the name of radicals, as
a term of distinction, applicable and applied to,those who denied the lib-.
oral doctrines of internal improvements, originated, according to the best
of’ my recollection, somewliere between North Carolina and G-teorggia.
Well, sir, those mischievous radicals were to be put down, and the strong
arm of South Carolina was. stretched out to put them down. l About this
time, sir, I returned to Congress. The battle with the radicals had been
fought, and our South Carolina champions of the doctrines of internal
improvement had nobly maintained their ground, and were understood to
have achieved a victory. Tliey had driven back lLl1t3'€3I1Q*.l1'ly' with dis»

comfiture ; a thing, by the way, sir, which is not always perforrned when»

it is promised. A. gentleman, to whom I have already ret'erred in this
debate, had come into Congress, during my absence from it, from South
Carolina, and had brought with» him a l‘1*igl‘x reputation for ability. He
came from a school with which we had been acquainted,‘ ct azoscttu-r tr scum.
I hold in rny hand, sir, a printed speech of this distipguislied ,‘_3§£t1'1l.lu1:I1'l£tn,
(Mr..MoD“rJrrI1«:,) “ on Iuriti-mar. IMI’ItO'V1‘C.MIi1NTS, c1cl1ve1~ied about the
period to which I now refer, and printed with a few introductory remarks
upon consolidation; in which, sir, I think he quite consolidated the
arguments of his opponents, the radicals, if to crush be to coiisolidato. I
give you a short but substantive quotation from these remarks. He is
‘speaking of a pamphlet, then recently published, ‘entitled F‘ Consolida-
tion ;” and having alluded‘ to the question of recliarteriiig the fornier
Bani: of the UnitedflStates, he says, “Moreover, in the early liistory'of
parties, and when Mr.iCrawf'ord-advocated the renewal of the old char-

ter, it was considered ,at federal measure; which internal improvernent

never was, as this author erroneously states. Tliie latter measure origi-~
nated in the administration of Mr. Jefferson, with the approp1~iat.ionpt'or
the ‘Cumberland road ; and was first proposed, as at system, by Mr. Cal-

houn, and carried through the House of Representatives by a large ma-_

jority of the republicans, including”, almost every onerof the leading men,
who carried us through the late wan”? t v
So then, internal improvement is not one of the federal heresies.
One~parag1'apl1 more, sir. I i -n  t = n
“ The author in question, not content with denouncing" astifederalists
General Jackson, Mr. Adams, Mr. Calhoun, and the majority of the South
Carolina delegation in Congress, modestly extends the denunciation tor

Mr. Monroe and the whole republican party. i Here are his words:

‘During tlieradministration of Mr. Monroe,'much has passediwhich the

republican party would be glad to approve, it" they could! I‘, But  ,
pirincirpal feature, and that which has chiefly elicited these observati 

 ntllflrtdn-f3Wal of the srsran: or mrnnuat IMP,R0«~VEMpENTS;’ on ,Now,,,   s.
 was adopted, by a vote of i  into,   

 

WI

   

it

on THE RESOLUTION on MR. room. A 57

~ . 4 d .

and sanctioned by a republican president. Who, then, is this author,
who assumes the high prerogative of denouneing,in the name of the

republican party, the republican adlnin,ist1'ation of the country---«a denun-
,ciation including w1thin its sweep, Calhoun, Lovvndes, and Cheves; men

.for it, and it passed, and became a law.

who will be regarded as the brightest ornaments of South Carolina,
and the strongest pillars of the republican party, as long as the late
“War shall be’ remembered, and talents and patriotism shall be re-
garded as the proper objects of the admiration and gratitude of a free
people I. I ” - ‘
Such are the opinions, sir, which were maintained by South ,Carolina,
gentlemen in the House of Representatives on the subject of‘ internal
improvement, when I took my seat there as a member from l\Iassachu-
setts, in 1823. But this is not all; we had a bill before us, and passed it
in that house, entitled “An act to procure the necessary surveys, plans,
and estimates upon the subject of roads and canals.” "155 aztt/ionized the

president to cause saw-ave;/s and esttinzcttes to be motto of the routes of such “T

roads cmcl canals as /to mtg/at deem of ozatioital irnportcrzvzoe in ct co7mneo--
cial or military _p0t'm‘ of view, or for the trurzsportation of the mail ,- and
appropriated, thirty thousand dollars out of the treasury to def'ray the
expense. This act, though preliminary in its nature, covered the whole
ground. It took for granted the complete power of internal itnprove-

ment, as far as any of its advocates had ever contended for it. Having

passed the other house, the bill came up to the Senate, and was here
considered and debated in April, 18‘:2d. The honorable member from
South Carolina was a member of the Senate at that time. While the
bill was under consideration here, a motion was made to add the following
proviso :--- ~ i -

“ Prohided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to am;-m K

or admit a power in Congress, on their own authority, to make roads or
canals within any of’ the states of the Union.” T " f r V

The yeas and nays were taken on this proviso, and the honorable mem-
ber voted in the negative. r The proviso tailed.  T V

A motion was then made to add thislp,rov.ision, viz. : —---r V

“‘ Providocl, That the i‘aith of the United States is hereby pledged, that
no money shall ever be expended for roads or canals, except it shall be
aong the several states, and in the same proportion as direet'taxesare

laid and assessed by the provisions of the constitution.” , ‘ l
The honorable member voted la_qaz'nst this proviso also, and iptlfaiiled.
The bill was then put on its passage, and the honorable member voted

Now, it strikes me, sir, that there is no maintaining these votes: but

it upon the power of internal improvement, in its broadest sense. In truth, i‘

these bills for surveys and estimates have always been considered as test
.qu;e_stions. They show Whois for and who againstinternalo improvement.
T  flaw itself went the whole length, and assumed  full and complete
‘power. « The,.,gentleman’s votes sustains that ypxvver, in every form in

whi§ch‘,'the various propositions to amped presented it. ‘ He went fornthje 1

ent=i:re,anrd. urestrained authority,  eensultinglthe states, and with-
out agr.eein:g» to any proplortionate adisatributtion. And noW,.suff'er me to
reminch yn,  President,   is this», very same power,thns sanc-

tioned, in: revery form, bylthe gtentlearrs, iovwn, opinion, that is i so plain
» and imawnifest a usurpati.n,lth./at the ~:s<~tate of : South Cparolienais supposed to

be jjustified» refnsinwg.sn:s%si~on vtol anyfllaws carrying, the power into

I

58 . srnnon or  ‘WEBSTER

effect. Truly, sir, is not this a little too hard ? May we not crave some
mercy, under fever and protection of the gent1e1.na.n’s own authority?
Admitting that it rosd or a. canal must be written down flat usurpation as
ever was, committed, may we find no initigatiou in our respect for his
place, and his vote, as one that knows the law? ~

The tariff‘ which. South Caroline had an eflicient hand in establishing
in 1816, and this asserted power of‘ internal improveinent, uclvanced
by her in the szune year, and, as we have now seern,s.pproved and sene-
tioned by her representa.tives in 1824-, —— these two measures are the great
grounds on which. she is now tliouglit to be justified in breaking up the
Union, if she sees fit to break it up. , w

I iney now safely say, I think, that we have had the .-atuthority of lead-
ing and distinguished gentlemen from South Ca1*o1in.2i in support of the
doctrine of’ internal improvement. I 1'epcnt, tlint, up to 1824, I, for one,
followed South Caroline; but when that star in its escensioii veered off
in an unexpected direction, I «relied on its light no longer. [Here the
Vice President said, Does the Chair understand the gentlemzui from
Mussecliusetts to say tlutt the person now occupying the chair of the
Seimte lies tillttllgfld‘ his opinions on the subject of internal in1prove-
ments ?] From notliing ever said to me, sir, litwe I had reason to know
of any elmuge in the opinions of the person iilling the Cl‘1.t1~i1‘ of the Senate.
If sueli eliaiige has taken 1T)1t1.(3€3, I regret it; I speak geiiemlly of the
state oi’ South Cewolinn. Individuals we know there are who hold opin-
ions f'evorn.ble to the power. . An npplicnt.ion for its exercise in be11nlt' of
to public work in South Ct-t1~oli'ne. itself is now pe11cli.1ig, I believe, in the
othe1~ house, presented by members from that state. ‘

I have thus, sir, ‘perhaps not without some tecliousness of detail, shown
that it’ I sun in error on the subject of internal improvements, how and
in what company I fell into tliet error. If I am wrong,.it is apparent
who misled me. - r I

 I go to other remurlzzs of the honorable me1nber---- and I lieveitso com
plain of an entire Inisepprehension of wlutt I said on the subject of the
national debt ---wtlioulgh .I. can ‘hardly perceive how any one could misun-
derstend  What I said was, not that I wished to put off’ the payment
of the debt, but, on the contrary, that I had s.lws.ys voted for every
measure ‘for itsireduction, as uniformly as the gentlemen’ himself‘. He
seems toicleim the exclusive merit of e. disposition to reduce the public
charge; I donot allow it to him. i As at debt, I was, I mm, for paying it;

‘because it ise charge on our finsniceys, and on the industry Oftlle country.

But I observed that I thought I per.ceived a. morbid fervor on tlietrsubj;-.
ject ; an.excessive anxiety to pay off the debt; not somuch because it is

" a. debt simply, as because, while it’ lasts, it furnishes one objection to dis-

posing me to have advanced the doctrine that zt'nati*onu;l debt is s netionnl

me; by I distinctly and pointedly cantionednthe .~ho-notable meber y 

union. It is s tie of’ common interest while it lasts. I did not impute
sueh motive to the honorable member himself; ibutrthat there is sucha
Feeling in‘ existence I have not a particle of doubt. The most I said was,
tlist it’ one lefliect of the debt was to strengthen our Union; that ecct‘
itself was not regretted by me, however much others might regret it.
The gentleman has not seen how to reply to this otherwise than by sup:-*

 
 
 

  

blessing.’ Others, I must hope, will find bless  in uniderstenrtl’ 

I mlderstsnd me as expressing  opinion iierereite tto“ entin ‘, I  

  t *  v 

     

  thrown away.

on ma nnsonurxon or Mn. room. 59

On yet another point I was still more unaccountahly misunderstood.
The gentleman had harangued against “consolidation? I told him, in
reply, that there was one kind of consolidation to which I was attached,
and that was, the oonsonxnaxrron or oun UNION; and that, this was
precisely that consolidation to which I feared others were not attached ;

that such consolidation was the very end of the constitution——the lead- ‘

ing object, as they had infbrrned us themselves, which its framers had kept
in view. I turned to their communication, and read their very words,-—-—
“ the consolidation of the Union,”---- and expressecl my devotion to this
sort of consolidation. I said in terms that I wished not, in the sliglitest
degree, to augment the powers of this government; that my object was
to preserve, not to exilarge ,; and that, by ‘consolidating the Union, I un-
derstood no §1'nO1‘0 than the st1'engrtl'1eiiing of the Union and perpetuating
it. Having been thus explicit; having thus read, from the printed book,
the precise words which I adopted, as exp1*essi11g my own sentiments, it
passes > comprehension, how any man could understand me as contending
for an extension of the powers of the government, or for consolidation in
that odious sense in which it means an accumulation, in the federal gow-
ern1n=ent, of the powers properly belonging to the states.

I repeat, sir, that, in adoptingg,r the sentiments of theframers of the con»-
stitution, I read their language audihly, and word for word ; and I pointed
out_ the distinction, just-as fully  I have now done, between the consoliu
dation of the Union and that other ohnor;.ious consolidation which I dis-
claimed: and yet the honorablegentleman rnisiniderstood me. The gen-
tleman had said that he wished for no fixed revenue ---"not a shilling. If,
by a word, he could convert the Capitol into gold, he would not do it.
‘Why all this fear of revenue? Why, sir, because, as the gentleman told
us, it tends to ‘consolidation. Now, this can mean neither more nor less

I tflan that a commonrevenue is a common “interest, and that all common

interests tend to hold the~union of the states together. I ‘confess I like I

that tendency; if the gentleman dislikes it, he is right in depgrecating a
Sllillllllgfs fixed revienue. r So much, sir, for oonsolidation. I 
,As well as I recollect the course of his remarks, the honorable gentle»-

man next recurred to the subject of the ntarifi‘. He did not clouht the ‘I

wor»rl must be of unpleasant sound to me, and proceeded, with an effort
neith,er_n:eW nor attended with new success, to involve me and my votes
in ineonsisitency and contradiction. I am happy the honorable gentleman
has furnished a me an opportunity of a timely remark or two on thatisube
ject. I was glad he approached it, forit is a question I enter upon with-
out fear from any body. W The strenuous tail of the gentleman has been
to raise anpinconsistency between my dissent to the tarifi‘ in 1824 and my
vctein 1828. i It is labor lost. He pays undeserved compliment to my
speech in 1824;. but this is to raise me high, that my falhas he would
havejy  :in182 may be the more signal. Sir, there was no fallat all.
V @?13lg130l.,11lC1.,r]: stood onin 1824-., and that I took in 1828, there
    no precipice, butno declivity.  Itiswas tat change of .position,»:
toitenew eircnxnstances, but on theisame derel. -A plain tale explains
an-.i (‘In 1816, I had notalaeaieseed in the tarifi‘,_tl1e11 sup-
ported  is, lQarolina. To sorne sax-itsrtt   e_speeially, I felt and
GXPTQSW   I held  are opinions in 1821, at the
meeting in ‘ Faneuil ~Ia1l, to which to gentleman has alludeid. I said
t:1‘10n,and say!   taut, as an origintwl uestion, the .authority of lCo»ngress

  
 

 
  
  
 

to yexercisei the I revenue direet reference to the protection of I

 

60 season on Mn. wnnsrzen is W

manufactures, is a questionable authority, far more questionable, in my
judgment, than the power of internal improvements. I must confess,
sir, that, in one respect, some impression has been made on my opinions
lately. Mr. Madison’sr publication has put the power in a very strong
light. He has placed it, I must acknowledge, upon grounds of construc-
tion and argument which scorn impregnable. .But, even if the power
were doubtful, on the face of the constitution itself, it had been assumed
and asserted in the first revenue law ever passed under that same consti-
tution ; and, on this ground, as a matter settled by contemporaneous prac-
tice, I had refrained from expressing the opinion that the tariff laws
transcended constitutional limits, as the gentleman supposes. WVhat I did
say at Faneuil Hall,  f'ar as I now remember, Was, that this was origi-
nally matter of doubtful construction. The gentleman himself, I suppose,
thinks there is no doubt about it, and that the laws are plainly against
the con-stit-ution. Mr. Madison’s letters, already referred to, contain, in
my jiiclgxneiit, by far the most able exposition extaiit of this part or the
constitution. Isle has satisfied me, so far as the practice of the govern-
ment had left it an open question. I a

With a great majority of the representatives of Massachusetts, I voted
against the tariff of 1824. My reasons “were then given, and I will not
now repeat them. But notwitlisrtandinp; our dissent, the great states of

‘ New :Yorl<, Pcnnsylvaiiia, Ohio, and Kentucky went for the bill, in almost

unbroken column, and it passed. Congress and the president sanctioned
it, and it became the law of the land. What, then, were we to do? Our
only option was either to fall in with this settled course of public policy,
and to accommodate . ourselves to it as well as we could, or to embrace
the South Carolina doctrine, and tall: of nullityiiig the statute by state
intcrt‘e1'cnce. I t .
This last alternative did not suit our principles, and, of course, 
adopted the former. In 1827, the subject came lapgainl before Congress,
on a proposition favorable, to wool and woollens. We looked upon the
i system of protection as’ being fixed and settled. "J.‘he law of 1824
remained. , It had gone into full operation, and in regard to some objects
intended by it, perhaps-mostof' thein liacl produced all its expected eti'ects.
No man. proposed to‘ repeal it--—-no man attempted to renew thegeneral
contest on its principle. But, owing to subsequent and unforeseen occur-
rences, the benefit intended by it to wool and woollen f'abrics had not been
realized.‘ Events, not known here when the laws passed, had taken place,
which defeated its object in that particular respect. A measure was

accordingly hrought forwardtto meet this precise deficiency, to remedy
this particular defect. Ittwas limited to wool and Woollens. W'as.ever*,

any thing more reasonable? If’ the policy of the tariff laws had become
established in principle as the permanent policy of the government,
should they not be revised and amended, and made equal, like other laws,
as exige1icies—sl1ould arise, or justice require? Because wehaid doubted

I about adopting the system, were we to refuse to cure its manifest defects
after it became. adopted, and when no one attempted its repeal? 

[ , ‘;_.~es   lot‘ a at   ~ 

this, sir, is the inconsistency so much .b.ruited. » I had voted against tlriel
tariff‘ of 182st-—--but it passed; and in 1827  18248, I voted.to 
itin a point .es.sen.tial. to the interest of my 00iSl12lilZpu€%flt«S:ll Where i.st;e
.consistency?  I do ortherwisvei’ l  i l i I l r l  

I o   = does political.   always,  inegatiutei ,

         

 p 5. , 3 .9 ..     p 3. .

J/~

   

'3 .

ON THE nnsonurron on MR. roor. 61

because they passed against his consent? Iilaving voted against the tariff

orginally, does consistency demand that I should do all in my power to
maintain an unequal tariff’, burdensome to my own constituents, in many
respects,-—--favorable in none? To consistency of that sort I lay no
claim; and there is-another sort to which I lay as 1ittle—-—-and that is,’ a
kind of consistency by which persons’feel_themselves as much bound to
oppose a proposition after it has become the law of’ the land as before.

i The bill of 1827, limited, as I have said, to th.e single object in which
the tariff‘ of 1824 had manifestly failed in its effect, passed the“ House of
Representatives, but was l.ost here. We had then the act of 18528. I
need not recur to the history of a m.ve'a.sure so recent. Its enemies spiced
it with whatsoever they thought would render it distasteful; its friends
tool: it, drugged as it was. Vast amounts of property, many millions, had
been invested in manufactures, under the inducements of the act of’ 1824.
Events called loudly, as I thought, for further regulations to secure the
degree of protection‘ intended by that act. I was disposed to vote for
such regulations, and desired nothing more; but certainly was not to" be
bantered out of my purpose by a threatened augmentation of” duty on
molasses, put into the bill for the avowed purpose of melting it obnoirious.
The vote may have been right or wrong, wise or unwise; but it is little less
than absurd to allege against it an inconsistency with opposition to the
former law.

‘Sir, as to the general subject of the tariff’, I have little new to say.
Another opportunity may be presented, I remarkerl, the other day, that
this policy did not begin with us in New lrslnglanclg and yet, sir, New

I‘ England is charged with vchcmcnce as being i"’avc>rztl3le, or charged with

equal vehemence as being unfavorable, to the tariii’ policy, just as best

suits the time, place, and occasion for making some charge against her.

The crcclulity of the public has been put to its e:x:treme_capaeity of false
impression relative to her conduct in this particu1ar.“,'1‘lirough all the
south, during the late contest, it was New Iinglandt policy, and a New

, England ‘administration, that was atiiicting thecountry‘ with a tariff’ policy

beyond all endurance, while on the other side of the Allegheny, even

the act of 1828 itself ,—---~th”e very sublimatcd essence of‘ oppression,

according to southern opinions --—~ was pronounced to be one of those bless-it
ingsxforv.vwhich the west was indebted to the “generous south.”

With large investments in manufacturing establishments, and various

interests connected with and dependent on them, it is not to be expected
that New England,,any more than other portions of the country, will now.

’ consent to any measure destructive or highly dangerous. ‘ The duty of

the government, at the present moment, would seem to be to preserve,
not to destroy; to maintain the position which it has assumed; and for

‘ cute, I shall feel it an indispensable obligation to hold it steady, as far as

linrmy power, to that degree of protection which it has undertalgen to

tihfitiws j Nopmorre of the tariff‘. . i . “ i ,

Profeissiing to be provokeld by what he tchosje to consider a charge
made by as against South Carolina, the honorable "member, Mr. Presi-
dent, hasrtahten up a new crusade against ?New England. Leaving alto»
gether tlae subjeeti of the public lands, in which his success, perhaps, had
been neithler‘distinguished nor satisfactory, andletting go, also, of the topic

‘ of the tariff, the salliedgforth in a general assault on the opinions, politics,

and ,parties  New Englaud,l  theyhavie been exhibited in the last
thirty years. This isiratural.  “narrow policy ” of the public lands

. 62 l isrzenorr "on MR. wvnesrnn

had proved a legal settlement in South Carolina, and was not to be
removed. The “accursed policy ” of the tarifi', also, had establislied the
fact of its birth and parentage in the same state. N o wonder, therefore,
the gentleman wished to carry the var, as he e:x;pressed~ it, into the
enemy’s country. Prudently willing to quit these subjects, he VS'flSrd0l.lbt-.
less desirous of fastening others, which could not be transferred south of
Mason and Dixon’s line. The politics of New England ‘became his
theme; and it was in this part of his speech, I think, that he menaced
me with such sore cliscornfiture. , i ‘
Discornf'iture 1 why, sir, when he at-tacks any tliiiig which I maintain,
and ovcrtlirows it; when he turns the right or left of’ any position which
I take up; when he drives me froni any ground I choose to occupy, he
may then talk of discornfiture, but nottill that distant. day. i Wltat has he
done? , Has he maintained his own c.:l1a.1'ges '3 Has he proved what he
alleggecl? Has he sustained lriinself in his at,t.ack on the government, and
on the history of the north, in the matter of the public lands? I~las he
clisprovcd a fact, refuted a proposition, wea.1«tened an argument maintained
by me? "Has he come within beat of drum of any position of mine?
0, no ; but he has “carried the war into the enemy’s country” I Carried
the war into the enemy’s country! Yes, sir, and -what sort of a War has
he niaclc of it? Wl:1y, sir, he has stretched a d1'agnet over tl1elwli-o1=e
surface of perished pamphlets, indiscreet sermons, frothy pairag;raplis, and

i f't1r11in~,r,_g'1.)cpu1zt1~ addresses; ever whatever the pulpit in its moments of

alarni, the press in its heats, and parties in their extravagance, have
severally thrown off; in times of general excitement and violence. He
has thus swept together a mass of such things, as, but that they are now
old, the public health would have required him rather to leave in their
state of dispersion. ‘ i

F01‘ a good long hour or two, We had the unbroken pleasure of listen-i

ing to the h0n01'2tl:g1c 1nen1ber,wl1i1e he recited, with his usual grace and

spirit, and with evident liigh gusto, speeches,”pamphlets, acldr‘ess:‘es, and i

all the ct‘ cetems of the political press, sucli as warm heads produce in

r warm times, and such as it would he “ discornfiture ” indeed for any one,
’*Wl1OS(.*3iJt1E3iLG’: did not deliglit in that sort of reading, to be obliged “to peruse,

This is his war. This is to carry the War into‘ the enemy’s country, It

i is in an invasion of this sort that he flatters himself with the expectation

A  theses   A u up ' .    ‘
l contest in  isiche in  er  

  
 

ofge.ini1ig laurels fit to adorn a senator’s brow,

‘Mr. President, I shall not, it will, I trust, not be expected that I slioulchi
either now or at any time, separate this f'arrag'o into parts, ancl, aniswett ‘
and examine its components.‘ I shall hardly bestow upon it all ya 
remark or two. In the run of’ a forty years, sir, under this ~censtitu;tion*;5,i _

we have experienced sundry successive violent party contests: ;7,l?at'tt»;y

arose, indeed, with the constitution titsrelf, and in some ifo‘rteir-ether, has

attended" through the greater part of’. its history. ‘ r 
“ ‘Whether any other constitution than the olcluarticlies of ,iccnfeder«ation‘
was desirable Was, itselfia questions on which pflarties formed ;* if a new

eonstiltutioniwas framed, ’Wl1,&t.t,pOW'e1‘S.tS}1‘()ll1(1 be given to it was another i

question ; and when it had been for-med, What was,  fact, the just ezgtenti

sf 1 the   powers uactnally conferred, was a third, , Parties, as we knew;
existed, under   st adinistr, ~~tieu,;as‘ distinetilgy arked as tl1oseW{_.,*’* 

   

7"?

, L‘. r‘ 3.

 

   

     J 

(

   

  y
r r~      

on THE nnsonucrxon on MR. 1«*oo'r. , 63

_instances or party excitement, ‘of something more than usual streiigth

and intensity. In all these conflicts there was, no doubt, much “of vio-
lence on both andall sides. It would be impossible, if one had a fancy
for such. employment, to adjust the relative qucmmm of violence between
these two contending parties.  There was enough in each, as must alw. ys
be expected in popular gov»ernments. With a great deal of proper and

decorous discussion there was rtiiiiglecl a great deal, also, of declarnation, -

virulence, criznination, and abuse. , r

I In regarcl to any party,‘ probably, at one of the leading epochs in the”
history of parties, OI"l0llgl1 may be found to make out another equally
inflamed exhibition  that with wliich the honorable member has edified
us. For myself, sir, I shall not rake aniong the, rubbish of by-gone
times to see what I can find, or whether I cannot find SOIl1£ti.llllllg by which
I can fix a blot on the escutcheon of" any state, any party, or any part of
the country. Greneral "Wasl1ing;t.on’s, «‘:l.(lll.1Ll1ll:3ll1‘~‘&Ll.l()I1 was steadil.y and
zealously maintained, as we all know, by New El"l,gltlll£l. It was vio——
lently opposed elsewhere. Vile know in wlizit qu_arter he had the most

. earnest, constant, and pG1I'S€W(i31‘l'l1g support, in all his great and lcacling

measures. We know where his private and personal character were
held in tl‘1e,l1ligl1cst dcg1'ee of attachrnclit and .venorat;ion; and we know,
too, where his nueashres were opposed, his services sliglitecli, and his
character vilified. I ”

,VVeknow, or we Iniglrit know, if we turn to the journals, who ex~
pressed respect, gratitude. and regret, when he retired from the chief’
magistracy; and who infused to mspross either respect, gratnitucle, or

-re”gret.~ I sliall not open those journals. Pulilicatiozis more abusive or

scurrilous never saw the light than were sent fortli against , Washington,
and all his leading measures, from presses south of’ New England;

' but I shall not‘ look. them up. I employ no scavenge1~s--no one is in

attendance on me, tendering such means of retaliation; and it? there
were, with an ass’s load of them, with a bulls, as huge as that which the

gentleman himself has produced, I would not touch one of them; I see]
enough of the violence of our own times to be no way anxiiousyto rescue
‘ from fb1‘getfulness the extravaganoes of times past. gBesides, wliatp is all

this . to the ipresrwt purpose? It has nothing to do with the public lands,
in   to which the attack was begun ; and it has nothing to do with
ntiments and opinions,which I have thought tend to disunion, and

 

those so
all ofiwhioh the honorable mcrnber seems to liave adopted himself, and
undertaken to defend. N cw England has, at times, —-—- so l£3l.l"gl1(~3S‘l;l1e gen-
t1eman,—--sheld opinrions as dangerous as those which he now holds. Be,
it so. But why, therefore, does he abuse New Eng,-land? If he finds_
imself counteuanced by aetssof hers, show is it that, while he relies on

 Lose acts, he covers, or seeks tooover, their authors with reproach?

 

ilB‘Tli1ll,‘Sllft‘,,_l’l‘~, in the course~of tony, years, ther_e_ havebeen undue etfer-n-. It

nsfsii has of  in New England, has the samsefthing happened no» ,

whs1se,,..elss?. . Jflajsty a:nimosity~ and party. o~utrage;»no.t.  New England,J
bunI,°_ssw,Eerie, ideuounceydr President Washingtoni not only as a federalist,
but as was British agent, a man We, in this high. otiice, sanctioned,
Gorrupsfiiens.   does the honorable ember supposye that, if I had a

tender   putt sucli an ezfiiusion. of wickedness and folly in

  

 

ii my hand,,   ‘vtonlid stand, up and ,1-eacl it against the south? Parties
ran into I great heats,.‘ in 99 and 1800. iWha.tr was said, sir, or

  

 then what wasrrnot.said,..,i5m.siyears, iagainst John Adams, one of the

64 o I srnncn or Mn. WEBSTER

signers of the Declaration of Independence, and its admitted ablest
defender on the floor of Congress? If the gentleman wants to increase
his stores of party abuse and frothy violence, if he has a determined
proclivity to such pursuits, there are treasurei of that sort south of the
Potoinac, much to his taste, yet untouched. I shall not touch them.

The parties which divided the country, at the commencement of the

I late war, were violent. But, then, there was violence on both sides, and

violence in every state. Minorities and majorities were equally violent.
There was no more violence against the war in New England tlianin
other states ; nor any more appearanceof violence, except that,-owing to
a dense population, greater facility for assembling, and more presses,
there may have been more, in quantity, spoken and printed there than
in some other places. In the article of sermons, too, New England is

somewhat more abundant than South Carolina; and for that reason, the

chance of finding here and there an exceptioiiable one may be greater.
I hope, too,. there are more good ones. Opposition may have been more
formidable in New England, as it embraced a larger portion of the whole

population ; but it was no more unrestrained in its principle, or violent in .

manner. ' The minorities dealt quite as harshly with their own state
governments as the majorities dealt with the administration here. There
were presses on both sides, popular meetings on both sides, ay, and pul-
pits on both sides, also. I Tlie gentleman’s purveyors have only catered
for him aniong the productions of one side. I certainly shall not supply
the deficiency by furnishing samples of the other. I leave to him, and to
them, the whole concern. I

I ‘It is enough for me to sa , that if’, in any part of this, their grateful

occupation ---- if in all their researches ---— they find any thing in the his-
toryiof Massachusetts, or New England, or in the proceedings of any

legislative or other public body, disloyal to the Union, speaking slightly I

of its value, proposing to break it up, or recommending non-intercoIurse
with neighboring states, on account of difference of political opinion, then,
sir, I give them all up tothe honorable gentleman’s unrestrained rebuke;

I expecting, 11ow.e'vcr, that he will extend his buffetings, in like manner, to

all similar proceedings, wherever else found.

The gentleman, sir, has spoken at large of former parties, now no
longer in being, .bytheir received appellations, and has undertaken to
instruct us, not only in the knowledge of tltieir principles, but of their
respective pedigrees also. a He has ascended to their origin, and run out
their genealogies. I With most . exemplary modesty, he speaks of the
partyto which he professes to have belonged himself‘, as the true,pure,
the only honest, patriotic party, derived by regular descent, from ,father
to son, from the timeof the jvirtuous Romans! Spreading before us the
family tree of political parties, he takes especial care to show himself
snugly perched on a popular boughlx ,I-Ie is Wakeful to the;expediency
of adopting such rules of r descent, for politicial parties, as shall bring him

in, in exclusion of others, as an heir to the inheritance of all public vir-~

me, and all true political principles. I His deny is always orthodoxy.

, Heterodoxy is confined to his opponents. I;-‘rile spoke, sir,Ioi' the federalists, _

and I thought I saw some eyes begins to open’ and stare a little, when 

ventured onus: ground. I expected he would draw his sketches  I
lightly, when he lootked pn the circle rosund him, and ‘ especiallyppif

should cast his thoughts to the higlhplaces router‘ the Senate. 1 

I  he went back to Rhine,   rcofldidw,  found»feifathers

‘m.

ON THE RESOLUTION on MR. roor. » .65

of the ‘federalist in the primeval aristocrats of that renowned empire‘!

, He traced the flow of federal blood. down through successive ages

and centuries, till he got into the veins of the American tories, (of whom,

' by the way, there were twenty in the Carolinas” for one in Massachusetts.)

From the tories, he followed it to the ifederalists“; and as the federal
party was broken up, and there was no possibility of transmitting it
farther on this side of the Atlantic, he seems to have discovered that it
has gone off, collaterally, -though against all the canons of descent, into
-the ultras of France, and finally became extinguished, like exploded gas,
among the adherents of Don Miguel. W

This, sir, is an abstract of the gentlernan’s history of fe8.eralism.i I am
not about to controvert it. , It is not, at present, worth the nine of refuu
"tation, because, sir, if at this day one feels the sin of fetlbralism. lying
heavily on his conscience, he can easily obtain remission. He, may even
have an indulgence, if‘ he is desirous of repeating the transgression. It
‘is an affair of no difficulty to get into this same right line not‘ patriotic

descent. A man, nowadays, is at liberty to choosexliis political parent--- ‘

age. He may elect his own father. Federalist or not, he may, if he
.cheose, claim to belong to the favored stock, and his claim will be allowed.
‘He may carry back his pretensions just as far as the honorable gentleman
hinaself; nay, he may make liirnself out the honorable gcntlernan’s cousin,
and prove satisfactorily that he is descended from the same political great-
grandt'at.her. All this is allowable. VVe7 all know a process, sir, by which
the whole Essex J unto could, in one hour, be all washed white from their
ancient federalism, and come out, every one of them, an original derno-
c,1,;at, dyed in the wool! Some of them have actually undergone the oper-

ation, and they say it is quite easy. Tlrie only inconvenience it occasions, i

as they tell us, is a slight tendency of the blood to the ‘face, a soft suffusion,

i iwhich», however, is very transient, since nothing is said calculated to deepen

the red on the check, but a prticlent silence observed in regardto all

the past. Indeed, sir, some smiles of apptrobatiion havebeen bestowed, ‘

and some crums of comfort have fallen, not a thousand miles from the
door of the Itlartford Convention itself. And if the author of the ordi-

‘nance of 1787 possessed the other requisite qualifications, there is no

knowing, notwithstanding his federalism, to what heights of favor‘ height
nojyyet attain. a F t i t t i

see, the honorable gentleman all along proafesstes to be acting on the
defensive. He desires to consider me as having assailed South Carolina,
and insists that he comes forth only as her champion, and in herdefence.

Sir, I dolnot admit that I made any attack iwhatever on South Carolina.

Nothing like it. i The honorable meiznber, F in his i first. speech, expressed

, ‘opinions, in regard. to revenue, and some other topics, whizchl heard both
:  pain‘ and surprise. _I told the gentleman that  was aware that such
  sientieptsttwere entertained OUT of the govern:ent,.‘htItlha,not errpected

 
 
 
   
 
 

“[11, ‘ls  to say nothing of   that the honorable mom-
‘was sure,‘ could never  these; and I regretted the

eitpres  t »opinions as he "had a7vow‘ed,.‘.because I thought their
obviou   to :~tencourage3 feelings of disrespect to the Union,
t F , it  F This,  is to psurn and substance» of, all

 

   Pres ‘dent, in carrying his ‘warfare, such as itwas, into New Eng» .

 advanced in hit; that I knew  persons in tjheseouthr
  Tsiii also oi‘ t our Union with?indift'erenee,  t  taking pains to at; ~

 s  "constitutes to" attack 3'whi«ch, called one

66 » . .sr1«:noI~I, on MR. wnesrnn.

the chivalry of the gentleman, in his opinion, to harry us with such a for-
age amongtheparty pamphlets and party _procee<l.ings of Massacliusetts.
If he means that I spoke with d1ssat1sfact1on or dxsrespect of the ebulli-

tions of individuals in South Carolina, it is true. But, if he means that»

Iliad assailed the character of the state, her honor, or patriotism, that I
had reflected on her history or her conduct,,he had not the slightest
ground for any such assumption. I did not even refer, I think, in my
observations, to anycollection of individuals. I said nothing of the recent
conventions. I spoke in the most“ guarded and careful manner, and only
expressed my regret for the publication of opinions which I presumed
the honorable member disapproved as much as myself. In this, it seems,
I was mistaken. , p

I do not reinember that the gentleman has disclaimed any sentiment, or
any opinion, of a supposed anti—Union tendency, which on all or any of the
recent occasions has been expressed. ’.lI.‘he whole drift of his speech has
been rat.11er to prove, that, in divers tirncs and manners, sentiments
equally ‘liable to objection have been prornulgatcd in New Exigland.
And. one would suppose that his object, in this reference to Massacluisctts,
was to find a precedent to justify prorncedings in the south, were it not
for the reproach and contumcly with which he labors, all along, to load
his precedents. o

By way of defending South Carolina from what he chooses to think and

attack on her, he first quotes the example of Massacliusctts, and then
denounces that example, in good set terms. This twofold purpose, not
very lconsistent with itself, one would think,.was cxhib'ite<l more than once
in the course of his speech. tIIe referred, for instance, to the Ilartforcl
Convention. Did he do this for authority, or fora topic of reproach?
Apparently for both; for he told, us that he should find no fault with the
mere fact of holding such a convention, and considering and discuIssing
~such,q_uestionsg, as he supposes were then and there discussed; but what
rreniderecl it obnoxious was the time it was holdcn, and the circumstances
of the country then existing. , We were in a war, he said,an<l the country

needed all our aid ; the hand of government required to be strengtliened, ‘

not. weakened; and patriotism should have postponed such proceedings to
another day. The thing itself, then, is a precedent-, the timeand manner
of it, only, subject of censure. ~
New, sir, I go» much farther, on this point, than the honorable member.
Supposing, as the gentlernan seems to, that the Hartford Convention as-
sembled for any. such purpose as breaking up the ,Union,”bccause they
thought unconstitutional laws had been passed, or to concerton that sub-
ject, or to calculate the value of the Union; supposini. this to be their
purpose, or any part of it, then I say the meeting Iitsel. was disloyal, and
,obnoxious to censure, whether held , in time of peace, or time of war, or
under whatever circumstdnces. Tlie material matter is theohject. Is
dissolution the object? Ifit. be, external circumsitances may make it a
lmoreor less aggravat,ed, case, buticannotp affect the principle. I do not
, hold, therefore, that the Iilartfordr Convention was -pardonable, even to the
‘ extent of.tlie,g,entleman’s, admission, if its objects wereren.l1y such as have
been iimpute to it. Sir, there never was a time, under any degree of
eszcitement, in which the Hartford . Convocation, or any other convention,

Q

it   maintain  .,en.el;.,,m.cment in  clfingland, if assembled fortany

r       
   t ,



   

  
 

   says rwetuld,  , been , an , allowable 
I   I * I I II I I

,..
m

 

on me RESOLUTION or run. room. 67

to try the binding validity of statutes, by. votes in a convention 1 Sir,“ the

Hartford ‘Convention, I presume, wouldnot desire that the honorable

I gentleman should be their defender or advocate, if he puts their case. upon

such untenable and extravagant grounds.

Then, sir, the gentleman has no fault to find with these recently-pro- 

mulgated South Carolina opinions. And, certainly, l1e need have none;
for his own sentiments, as now advanced, and advanced on reflection, as
far as I have been able to comprehend them, go the full length of all
these opinions. I propose, sir, to say something on these, and to consider

‘ how far they are just and constitutional. Bef'ore doing that, however, let

me observe, that. the eulogium pronounced on the character of the state

A of South Carolina, by the honorable gentleman, for her revolutionary and

other -merits, meets my hearty concurrence. I shall not acknowledge that
the honorable member goes before me in regard for whatever of dis-
tinguished talent or distinguished character South Carolina has produced.
I claim part of the honor, I partake in the pride, of her great names. I
claim them for countrymen, one and all. y The Laurenses, the Rutledges,
the Pinclmeys, the Sumpters, the Marions ———--Americans ’ all---— whose
fame is no more to be hemrned in by state lines than their talents and
patriotism were capable of being circurnscribccl within the same narrow
limits. In their day and generation, they served and honored the country,
and the whole country; and their renown is of the treasures of the whole
country. I-~Iim~ whose hoiiored name the gcntlenian himself’ bears-does
be suppose me less capable oi‘ gratitude for his patriotis1'n., or sym athy

for his sufferings, than if his eyes had first opened upon the light in I {[as--. '

sachusetts instead of South Carolina? Sir, doeshe suppose it is inihis
power to exhibit aiCarolina name so bright as to produce envy in my
bosom? No, sir, increased gratification and delight, rather. , I
Sir, I thank God that it’ I am gifted vvitlxxlittle of the spirit which is
said to be able to raise mortals to the skies, I have yet none, as I trust,
of that other spirit, which would drag angels down. WheniI= shall be
found, sir, in my place here in the Senate, . or ielsewlrere, to sneer at
public merit, because it happened to spring up beyond thelittle 1imits,of

I my own state, or neigltborlioodg when I rethse, for any s-uch icause, or
for any cause, the homage due to American talent, to elevated patriotism,
to sincere devotion to libertypand the country ;-a or if I see an uncommon

endiowment of Heaven, if I see extraordinary capacity and virtue in
any sonof the south, and it’, moved by local prejudice, or gangrened by

state jealousy, I get up here to ‘abate the tithe of ahairi from his just

character and just i'ame,~:--may my tongue cleave to the root" of my
mouth! Sir, let me recurto pleasing recollections; let me indulge in

refreshing remembrance of ~ the past; let me remind you that in early '

times no states cherished greater harrnony, both of principle and feeling,

.;th’ani Massachusettsl and ‘South Carolina, Would t“O~Gi'id that harmony
 again return. ~ Shoulder to slioulder theywent thriongltirtlie revo-—
 ;.  in hand they stood round t.lr;.i aadrninistration of’ Washington,

aridlieltl his own great arm lean on  r zsnport. Unkind feeling, if

 

laliengtion, and distrust ane thle%1,g%r1owth,t un’natur,a1.to such soils,

I  lei

princifoles since . sovvrr.» They weeds,~thi:e=seeds of whicli that

ss*me“’ arm never sicattered. ‘

‘W  t:ves.iden,t,~ I shall enter -on no wenofoium upon Massachusettse-

she ne«ed;*s; none’; j Therel she iiis-++bleh»bltliihre1', and judge‘ for yourselves.
There “is I  history ~Frrta}‘1!.‘5,i,iWi'I«'liT(li; knows titlby  ‘The past,at least,

 68 srnnozez or Mn. wnnsrnn

is secure. There is Boston, and Concord, and Lexington, and Bunker

- Hill; and there they will remain forever. The bones of her sons, fallen
-inthe great struggle for independence, now he mingled with the soil of

every state from New England to Georgia; and there theywill lie for»-
ever. And, sir, where American liberty raised its first voice, and where

its youth was nurtured and sustained, there it still lives, in the strength

of its manhood, and full of its original spirit.‘ It’ discord and disunion
shall wound it; if party strife and _blind ambition shall liawk at and tear

it; if folly and madness, if .uneasiness under salutary and necessary

restraint, shall succeed to separate it from that Union by which alone its
existence is made sure,---it will stand, in the end, by the side of that
cradle in which its infancy was rocked; it will stretch fortli its arm, with
‘urlrateV*er vigor it may still retain, over the friends who gather round it ;
and it will fall at last, if fall it must, amidst the proudest monuments of
its own glory, and on the very spot of’ its origin. . I
Tliereyet remains to he perfhrined, Mr. iI:’1i‘esidc11t, by far the most
grave and important dutywhich I feel to be devolved on me by thzis
occasion. It is to state, and to defend, what I conceive to he the true

principles of the constitution under which we are here assembled. I
rnight well have desired that so weighty a task should have fallen into

other and abler hands. I could have wished that it should have been
executed by-those whose character and experience give weight and influ-
ence to their opinions, such as cannot pnssilmly belong to mine. But, sir,
I ligve met the occasion, not sougluit; and I shall proceed to state my
own sentiments, without challenging for them any” particular regard, with
studied plainness and as much precision as possible. v
I understand the honorable gentleman from South Carolina to maintain
that it is a right or the state legislatures to interfere, whenever, in their
judgment, this government transcends its constitutional limits, and to
arrest the operation of its laws. . .~.
I understand him to maintain this right as at right existing grader the
constitution, not as a right to overthrow it, on the ground of extreme
necessity, such as would justify violent revolution; I I i t
I understand him to maintain an authority, on the part of the states i
thus to intert'ere,for the purpose of correcting the ezszercise ot'powerb.y
the general government, of checking it, and of compelling it to conform
to their opinion of the extent of its power. .  t
I understand him to maintain that the ultimate power of judging of the
constitutional extent of its own authoritylis not lodged exclusively in the

_ general government or any hrartch of" it; but that, on the contrary, the

 Oarrelirra; oie, imnly? he

states may lawfully decide for themselves, and each. state for ,itself,‘
whether, in a given case, the act of the general government transscends

its power. . .
I undo-rst.and him toinsist that, if the exigency of the case, in the opin-

ion of any stateslgovernment, require it, suclistate governztnentmay,  its _,
own sovereign authority, ann%l an act of the general goverine‘nt which

itdeems plainly and palpahly nconstitutional. ,  I
This is the sunset what I understand from him to be tfl South Caro»-
iina doctrine. I propose to consider it, and to ~compare it with the consti-

tution. Allowme , to say, as a preliminary remark, tliat I call this  I

   

    

  .cause the tgefnrtiexnanp himself a has, s.
  I do'fnot  . .  ‘ ‘ T I 
       

      
 

      

I which, for the sake of { st; 

“ e
on THE RESOLUTION on MR. roor. 69

neverinay; That a great majority of her people are opposed to the
tariff’ laws is doubtless true. That a majority, somewhat less than _t1-13,1;

just mentioned, conscientiously believe these laws unconstitutional, may"

probably also be true. But that any majority holds to the right of" direct

. state-interference, at state discretion, the right of nullifying acts of Con-‘

gress by acts of state legislation, is" more than I know, and what I shall
be slow to believe.

That there are intlivicluals, besides the honorable gentleman, who do,

maintain these opinions, is quite certain. I recollect the recent expres-
sion of a sentiment Wl'11Cl1 circumstances attending its utterance and pub-

‘ lication justify us in supposing  not unprelmeditated ——-.“ The sovereign-
ty of the state: never to be controlled, construed, or decided on, but by 7

her own feelings of‘ honorable justice.”

. [Mn IIAYNE here rose, and said, that, for the purpose of being clearly

understood, he would state ,that his proposition was in the words of the
Virginia resolution, as follows : -—-
‘I‘ That ‘this Assexnbly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it

views the powers of the federal government, as ‘resulting from the com-—.

pact, to which the states are parties, as limited by the plain sense and

E

.,-_

intention of the instrument constituting that compact, as no further valid ‘

than they are autliorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; and
that, in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other

_ powers not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties there-

to have the riglzt, and are in duty bound, to interpose for ai'1*esti1ig the
progress of the evil, and for maintaining, within their respective limits,
the authorities, rights, and liberties pertaining to them.”]
'. Mr. Wltnsrnn resuniecl : ——-- . I p

I am quite aware, Mr. President, of the existence of the resolution
which the gentleman read, and has now repeated, and that he relies on it

as his autliorirty. I know the source, too, f'romwhich it is understood to

have proceeded. . I need not say, tl*1atlI have ‘much respect for the con»-
stitutional opinions of Mr. Madison: they would weigliigreatlyt with me,
a1'ways. But, before the atithority of his opinion be V‘OL1(3l1QCl.,f'0I”the

., gentlemarfs proposition, it will be proper to consider what is the fair

intedrprwetation of that resolution, to which Mr. ‘Madison is understood to
hane,~.given his sanction. As the gentlemen construes it, it is any autl1or-

pity for him. Possibly he may not haxfe adopted, the right const1~uction.
Th]ati1'cesolntion declares, that in the case of the dangerous emercdseiqf
, powers not granted by the go .

Z yovemment, the , states may inter-A
pose to arrest the progress of the evil. But how interpose ? and whatdoes
this declaration ‘purport? Does it mean no more than that there may be’
extreme cases in which the people, in any mode of assembling, may resist
usurpation, and relieve as themselves from at tyrannical government? No

%

eel will denythis. Such resistance is not only eeknlow1edge~d to‘ be just in

  but in England also; Blackstonemsdnzits as much, in the
theory and practice, too, of the Englisli pcnstitution. We, sir, who oppose

 

3_"IC3lli*0liHa‘da do<ctri_.ne, do not deny. that the people may, if they ciholose,

it-Maw o my government, when it,.I,ibeeom;es oppressive “and intolerable,
  a. better in its stead. We all know that civil in*stitutions are
esltahlielmeld  the public benefit, and .tlaat, whenthey cease to answer the
ends of.  tenisttenee, theypmay be changed.

But I do not nntderstandi the doctrine now contended for to be that
etess, we ay call the right of revolution._

 

if

 70

at

SPEECH OF MR. WEBSTER

I, understand the gentleman to maintain, that without revolution, without
civilcominotion, without rebellion, a remedy for supposed abuse and
transgression of the powers of the general government lies in a direct
appeal to the intertierence of the state governments. [Mn I'IAYNE~ here
rose : I--Ie didnot contend, he said, for the more right of revolution, but
for the right of constitutional resistance. NVl1ztt he maintained was, that,
in case, of a plain, palpable violation of the constitution by the gexieral
government, a state may interpose; and that this interposition is con»
stitutiona1.] Mr. VVEBSTER resumed:--~ ,

t So, eir, I understood the gentleman, and am happy to find that I did
not misunderstand him.
to interrupt the administration of the constitution itself, in the hands of
those who are chosen and sworn to administer it, by the direct interf'er-
ence, in form of law, of’. the state-rs, in virtue of their sovereign capacity.
The inherent riglit in the people to reform their ,g*ove1-mnent I do not
deny; and they have another right, and that is, to reeiett txxieomztaitutional
laws, without overturning the government. It is no doctrine of mine, that
uncons-:tit.11ti°ona.l laws bind the people. The great question is, T/V/tore pm-
rogattzve is 2't,_to decide on the c0nstz't~utt'onoZ-zitgy or ‘Z692007ZSl“iZ"ttZi7:01'Z(td5t;?/“Of. the
laws? On that the main debate liingee. The proposition that, in caee of r
a supposed violation of the constitution by Coripweae, the states have a
constitutional riglit to i.nterl’ere, and annul the law oi‘ CtT)Il,g”i'(tSS, is the
proposition of the gentlexnang I do not admit it. If‘ the gentlenian had
intended no more'than to assert the right OfI‘0VrOll1l3lOI1fOr;1.‘ juetiiiable cause,
he would have said only what all agreeto. But I c:an11ot‘conee:ive that
there can be a middle course between submission to the laws, when regu-
larly pronounced constitutional, on the one hand, and open reeietanee,
which is revolution or rebellion, on the other. I say the riglit of a state
to annul a law of Congress cannot be maintained but on the ground of

the unalienable right of man to resist oppreeeioxig that is to say, upon the»

ground of revolution. I admit that there is an ultimate violent reme.dy,f=
,above the constitution, and in defiance of” the conetitution, which may be
resorted to, when a revolution lit to be justified. lint I do not admit that,
under the constitution, and in conformity with it, there is any mode in
which a ‘state, government, as a member of the Union, can interfere and
stop the progress of the general government, by force of her own laws,

' under any circuxnstanecs whatever. ’ .

‘’.[‘I'1is leads us to inquire into the origin of thin government, and the
source of its power.
legislatures, or the creature of’ the people? If the governnzent of the
United States he the agent of‘ the state governments, then they may

\ control it, provided they can agree in the manneriof controlling it; I if it is

the agent of the people, then, the people alone” can control it, restrain tit,
modify or reform it. It is observable enough, that the doctrine for which

the honorable gentlem.an-contender‘ leads him to the nooeeeityl of main-

taining, notionly that this general government is the creature of; the
states, but that it is, the creature of each of‘, the states severally; so ‘that

i each may assert the power, for itself’, of dietcrmining whethcnr itaaeter

within the limits of its authority. It in the servant tot“,t'our and twenty.

masteregof different  and iditierenta purpreeee ;%and yet bound toaoheiy ,
 ‘ This absurdity. (for [it teeeteritnor, {lees} arieee frxm a.m.ieco.noe1o>tintf‘.
he  or thie glove  its‘  ‘  is,   

 

 

   
  

       
. ‘ ‘ "t ' i " ‘ ’ i i

p ‘Q

What he contends for ie, that it is conet.itut.ional ..

Whose agent is  Is it the creature of the state ,

 
 
 

ON THE -RESOLUTION t OF MR. FOO'Ll‘. i 

made. by the people; and answerable to the people. The people of the
United States have declared that this constitution shall be the supreme
law. We must either admit the proposition, or disputetheir ai1tl1oi'ity.
The states are unquestionably sovereign, so far as their sovereignty is not
aflected by this supreme law. The state legislatures, as political bodies,
however sovereign, are yet not sovereign over the people. So-far as the
people have given power to the general gove1*nrn”‘ent,, so far the grant is
unquestionably good, and the government holds of the people, and not of
the state governments. lVe are all agents of the same “supreme power,
the people. The general government. and the state governinents derive
their authority from the same source. Neither can, in relation to the
other, he called primary; though one is definite and restricted, and the
other general and residuary.

The national government possesses those powers which it can be

-shown the people liave corifhrrecl on‘ it, and no more. All the rest be-

longs to the state governments, or to the people ,the1ns'elves. So far as
the people have restrained: state sovereignty by the expression of their
will, in the constitution, of the United States, so far, it must be admitted,

state sovereignty is effecttially controlled. I do not contend that it is, or‘
. ought to be, controlled ihrther. The sentiment to which I have referred

propounds that state sovereignty is only to be controlled by its own “feel-i
ing of justice; ” that is to say, it is not to be controlled at all; for one who
is to follow his feelings, is under no legal control. Now, however men
may think this ought to be, the fact is, that the people of’ the United States
have chosen to rirnpose «control on state sovereignties. The constitution

has- ordered the matter clitlereritly from what this opinion announces.‘ To p

make war, for instance, is an exercise of sovereignty; but the constitu-
tion declares it that no state shall make war. To coin money is another
exercise of sovereign power; but no state is at liberty to coin money.
Again: the constitution says, that no sovereign state shall be so sovereign
as to make a ‘treaty; These prohibitions, it must be conf'essed, are acon-i
trol on the state sovereignty of South Carolina, as Well as of the other states,
which does not arise “ from herown feelings of honorable j”nstice.,”, Such

an opinion, therefore, is in defiance of the plainest provisions of the con-V

stitntion. , u H t ‘  ‘ , i »

 are other proceedings of public bodies which have already bee
alluded to, and to which I refer again for the purpose of .ascser,taini,,s 
rnore fullywhat is the length and breadth of that dOi£5t3i2l1l€3,,,,deIl011;1iImglix3Jd
the Carolina doctrine, which the honorable member has 1:loW,,,,.?'Sl:0:0»Cli,ioI1

  

this floor to maintain. r V

y In one of’ them I find it resolved that i“theiaits‘o£, tanidiievery
other tariff‘ designed to promote one lhranch;,«of2iiinclustry at the expense
ot'»others,i is c~ontrary to the 1nee,aning,and iinteiitiaoni  federal com-

,‘pa:e’t ;‘ and  such, a dangerous, palpale,.anlsl~l.t.,»deLihrera+te, 1ISu1‘pati0n of

T V a deterniined majority, wieldini.:; »
‘ilimits of its delegated powers,as‘:<,1i 

‘ Which», » soverevignis, necessarilysaiei;

power,   r   

 

teisnlssalisoveirnment beyond

 

Qs  the! stats which compose
the-i siufiielriingrf» minority, in their 30Vi®i,.,'é,.'13i%i‘§n-  L3 to exercise the powers
  it  i when their compact

    

iS“Vl~O]iWllGd;;r”iii  A» t c i "  \   ,    it i i _ ,
0bser=‘ve,  om this    mrifi" of 1828: and every
-0rl.l1£.‘Pfil2"  3, to panache  ft industry at the expense of
an:o"t,l1e1i,ri  ‘be such a;r”iags¢erQu15,~‘,l§it1 iahles, id \ delihetiate iuzsurpation of
   s:verein‘>»caipacity, to interfere by

 
      

72? season, or‘ Ms. WEBSTER

their own power. This-denunciation, Mr. President, you will please to-

observe, includesour old tariff of 1816, as Well as all others; because that

I» was established to promote the interest of the manufactures of cotton, to

the manifest and admitted injury of the Calcutta cotton trade. Observe,
again,that all the qualifications are here rehearsed, and charged upon the
tarift’, which are necessary to bring the case within the gentleman’s~ ~prop-
osition. The tariif‘ is ‘it’ usurpation; it is a dangerous usurpation,- it is a
palpable usurpation; it is a deliberate usurpation. It is such a usurpa-~
tion as calls upon. the states to exercise their right of interference. Ialere
is a case, then, within the ge11tle1nan’s principles, and all his qualifications
of his principles. , It is a case for action. The constitution is plainly, dan-
gerously, palpably, and deliberately‘ violated; and the states must zinter-—

I pose their own authority to arrest the law. Let us suppose the state of

S_outIh Caroliiia to express this same opinion, by the voice of her legisla-
ture. That would be very imposing; but what then? Is the voice of one
state conclusive? It so happens that, at the very moment when South
Carolina resolves that the tarifi'I laws are unconstitutional, Pennsylvania
and Kentucky resolve exactly the reverse. T/my hold those laws to be
both liighly proper and strictlyconstitutional. And now, sir, how does
the honorable member propose to deal with this case? How does he get

out of this diiiiculty, upon any principle of his ? His construction gets us I

into it; how does he propose to get usout? , o t

t In Carolina, the tariff‘ is a palpable, deliberate usurpation; Caroolina,
therefore, may azullzjfy it, and refuse to pay the duties. In I’e11ns.ylvania,_
it is both clearly constitutional and highly, expedient; and thercthe duties
are to be paid, Andtyet we live under argbvernmentlof iuniform laws,
and under a constitution, too, whichcontains an express provision, as it
happens, that all duties shall be equal in all the states! iDoes not this

approach absurdity? M i i I r _ a l p ; .
i If there beno power to settle. such questions, independent of -eit.heriiof7, i

the states, is not the whole Union a rope of sand? Are We not thrown
back again precisely, upon the old confederation? i ' i it
 It is too plain to be argued. Four and twenty interpreters of co,nstitu-
Iitionalrlaw, each with _a power to decide for itself‘, and none with authority to
bind any body else, and this constitutional law the only bond of their union 1
‘What is such a state of things but a mere connection during pleasure,
or, to use the phraseology of the times, ~dum'n_qfeeZz'ng? And that feeling,
too, not the feeling of the people who established the constitutiornbut the
feeling of tliestate governments. r ‘ i p i 7
‘In another of the South Carolina addresses, having promised that
crisis requires ‘F all -the concentrated penergyrof passion,” an attitude ~ of
openoresistanicerto the lla'r1.V\”$»tOf the Union is advised. Open resistance; t
the laws, then, is the conistituitioiiali  the conservative powesr f the

I state, i which the South Carolina doctrines teachior, the _redress:o£po1;itieal
evils, real orimaginary. And .its authors lefurerisay that, appealingvwith» i
confidence to i the constitutions, titsellt"   to justify their opinions, they can-I-p
ot consent to try their accuracy by the eountsiof jtustiee.  one sense; I

I  in   , I I
 

,iadeed,l sir,  is assuming an , attitude  open resistance a in .favor 

 

liberty. But what sort, of liberty 2’ The liberty of =establishing”their opwg.

   

  
   
  

   

i « ~ ii  in  oth

C
3‘:
pl

lug!   p  ‘l _ p

   

  

          

531$? ; the lib»erty «oi 

  

-—-elthey have been 1innte7dl~it‘1tl‘y¢i‘

i loees    

N

on me nnsonlnrxon or Me. noon F

the constitution. t This is their liberty, and this is the fair result of the
proposition contended for by the horioinble gentleman. Or it may be more
properly said, it is identical with it, rather than a result from it. In the

'73"

same publication we find the f0ll0“«V“ll"lg2 “Previously to our revolution,»

when the arm of’ oppression was stretched over New England,wl1ere*did

our northern brethren meet with a braver symp_athy than tlmt which

sprung from the bosom of Carolinians ?
sion, no coZZ2.'.9t'on with the 7c'2In_r/’s rzmzmers,
ring to), 2'72, envious rivalry of ]!7ngZcmd.” _
‘This seems extra.orclino.ry languzige. South Carolina no collision with
the king’s ministers in 1775! no extortion! nd oppression! But, sir, it
is also most significant language. l)o'es any man doubt the purpose for
which it was penned? Can any one fail to__see that it was dcetigiied to
raise in the reader’s mind the question, whether, at this 2fz'me,—-—t11:;Lt is to
say, in 1828,»--——Soutli Carolina has any collision with the king’s ministers,
any oppression, or extortion, to fear froan Englancl? whet.hcr, in short,
England is not as naturally the iiriend oi'y&iont.11 Carolina as New England,
with her navig;at‘io1i l1‘t'iL€t1‘(3Sl3.‘3_S1i)l"lI7lgll'1g up in envious rivalry oi’ lilrigiland P
d Is it not stlrange, sir, that an ititelligtsziat IT1tZl.I'l in South Carolina, in I1828,
should thus labor to prove, that., in 17 733, there was nidiliostility, no cause
of war, between South Carolina and E _
sion, in ref'erenoo to her own interest, or iroxn a 1‘ega1'cl to her own wel
fare, to take up arms in the revolutionary contest? Can any one account
for the t.tX[-.)t‘(3Sei0‘I1 of such stra1‘1,<g;o ecntixtnente, and their circulation
tlirottgli the state, otlierwiee than by stippoeing the object to be, what I
have already intimatml, toraise the question, if they ltad no “ colZz’st‘c2n”
(mark tlio expression) with the ministers of lfing George the ’l“hird, in
17 75, what collision» have they, in 1828, with
the lionrth? Wliat ie there now, in the (existing
arate Caroline from on, more, or rather lees,
Resolutione, sir, have «been
Carolina.

We /ladjzo emtorttoiz, no oppress
no namgation iazterests sprz'ng—

Estate of tliirtge, to sop-
than frotrn New Ijilngilnntl ii’,
~1~eeent1y paeeecl by the legislature of’ South

myself‘, therefore, witli debating the matter with him.

,  now, sir, what I l1tl.V€;’: first to eay, on this eubject is, that at no
any state in New*
persons in New lilngiantl, or any
public man of standing in New Engtand, put forth sutehe tleettrine as

‘bi1ln!®Q""’{&n~id.‘ underno eircunie2tancees,il1a_s New lilnlglezid, or
England, ‘or any reshectable body ' of

this Caroline -doctrine.  r i ,  ~ ,
i The gentleman has found no case —----the ean find .nsonei»—;~toll.snp,port
his own opinions by N ew England authority. New li3nglantl*‘ has 
the constitution in other ‘schools, and under other” teeteh~ers;>l fihe looks
 it with other regards, and dieetns rntorfe  reverently, both

  

oil jtust autliorityi and ‘lite utility and e*xeel~liene*e:  history of her
Iegtsitativleirprooeeinge , army be traced     teiifneionts of‘ t temn

 

petgsarfiv beies, ealled together by the   -  occasions, may be
i A otiinion«sier1,d votes of her
publltie   out of ’fOieng:rese;%i  y 7 .  will all be in
it  r    do~o»trine   
110%?‘  strejaaeets it now: ee  did‘ reject it; and till she
   *  honorable, member has
nlieterred tog ienpnesrsionet»*~on   net lthe  law, made in this
pleeei by an hoaore: s

  r   HILLHOUSE)
10 A ‘ i

 
 
 

  

 

 

vi

 
   

I need not refer to tliem; they go no fnrtlie.r than the hoxior-l
able gentlexnan hinieelf hee genie--——-oand I hope not so far. I content

ng;lar1tli’ that the land no coca- ,

the rninii:ster‘s of" King George A

her neither countenance ,

74 , ~ srnncn on MR. ‘WEBSTER

now favoring us with his presence. He quotes that tlistingu'isl1ecl senator
as saying, that in his judgment the embargo law was unconstitutional,
and that, therefore, in his opinion, the people were not bound to obey it,

That, sir, is perfectly constitutional lan,g>;u21.ge. An tuneonstitutional
law is not binding; but Men it does not rest wit/2. ct resoltwion or a; law of
,a state l8g?:Sz(lQ£T6 to decide w/writer an act of Clongress be or be not con-
St’i$?tt'i07laZ. 128.11 unconstitutional act of Congress would not bind the
people of this District, although they have no legislature to interfere in
their behalf; and, on the other hand, a constitutional law of Congress does
bind the citizens of every state, although all their legislatures should
undertake to annul it. by’ act or resolution. The venerable Connecticut
senator is a const.itut.ional lawyer, of sound principles and enlangetl knowl-
edge; a statesman practised and experienced, bred in the company of

‘Washington, and holding just views upon the nature of our governments. b

He believed the ernbargo unconstitutional, and so did others; but what
then? W110 did he suppose was to decide that question? The state
legislatttres? Certainly not. No such sentiment ever escaped his lips.
Lotus follow up, sir, this New Iihiglzittcl opposition to the tgrnbnrgo laws ;
let us trace it, t.ill we discern the principle which controlled and gsroverned
New Etiglarid tl*t1'otWt.};l1out the whole course of that opposition. We shall

_ then see what similai-ity there is between the New England school of con-

stitutional opinions and this modern Carolina school. Tlie gentleman, I
think, read a petition from some single individual, adtlressed to the legis-
lature of Massachusetts, asserting the Carolina doctrine.-—-- that is, the
right of state interference to arrest the laws of the Union. The fate of
that petition shows the sentiment of the legislature. t It met no favor.
The opinions of Massachusetts were otherwiseo They had been ex-
pressed in 17 98, in answer to the resolutions of Virginia, and she did not
depart from them, nor bend them to the times. Misgoverned, wronged,

oppressed, as she felt herself to be, she still ‘held fast herintcgrity to the l

Union. The gentleman may find in heriproceedings muchievitdencepof

disshtisfact.ion with the measures of goverintnent, and great and deep dis-,

like to the embargo; all this makes the case sornuch; the stronger for
her; tbr, iiotwithstanding all this dissatisfaction and dislike, she claimed
no riglit still to sever asunder the bonds of the Union. There was heat.
and there was anger in her’ political feeling. Be it so. liler heat or her
anger did not, nevertléreless, betray her into infidelity to the government.

The gentleman labors totprove that she disliked the embargo as much as

South Carolina dis'lilg_es the tariff, and expressed her dislike as st.rongly.
Be it so_; 62.415 did she propose the Oarlolirza remedy/? Did size threaten" to

ivntetfiare, by state yautlzomfty, to anmtl the laws of ties Union ? That is the

question for the gentleman’s’ consideration. . t
No doubt, sir, a great majority of the people of New England con;-T

sciegntioutsly believed the embargo law of 1807 unc-onsti.tutiona1--—as con-
scientiously, certainly, as the people of South Carolina lholdtthat opinion”-

of the tariff. They reasoned thus: Congress has power to regulate acorn-

merce ; but ltewre is a lawythey said, stopping all commerce, and istoppingl i

 indefinitely. The law is perpetual; that is, it is not limited in p’Voi‘nttof:;,
time, and must of gcourse continue till it shall be repealed by some othe1:':lo“i
_ law.  Iisas  T T“

 

p  theereforte, as the law against treason or
,,olw,,.itsl,thislreigulatingticeree, or d~estroyin,g it? Is it lgui~dingf,.ll 

nag,  ing  lteowtnerere,...»as%« esuabsisting til:tintg, or is    
yy   ,  T

 
  

 

 

  
  
 

     so   l  

$
on Ten RESOLUTION on MR. room. ‘ 75%

New England deemed this law a violation of the constitution. The very
case required bythe, gentleman to Justify state interference had then

arisen. Massachusetts believed this law to be “ CZ deliberate, pelpaolc, had

clangerous exercise of ya pa-wcr not granted by t/ac constit2tt~z'on.” Deliber-
ate it was, for it was long continued; palpable she thouglit it, as no
words in the constitution gave the power, and only a construction, in her

opinion most violent, raised it; dangerous it was, since it threatenecl utter r

ruin to her most important interests. Here, then, was a Carolina case.
How did Massachusetts deal with it? It was, as she thought, a plain,
manifest, palpable violation of the constitution; and it brouglit ruin to her
doors. Thousands of families, and hundreds of thousands of individuals,
were beggared by it. ”While’she saw and felt all this, she saw and felt,
also, that as a measure of national policy, it wagperfectly futile ; that the
country was no way benefited by that which caused so much individual
distress ; that it was etlicient only for the production of evil, and all that

evil inflicted on ourselves. In such a case,1nirdcr such cireuinstances,_

how did Massachusetts dernean herself? Sir, she reinonstrated, she

memorialized, she acldressed herself to the ‘general ’gover1nnent, not

exactly “ with the concentrated energy of passion,” but with her strong
sense, and the energy of sober conviction. But she did’ notinterpose the
arm of her power to arrest the law, and break the cxnbnrgo. Far from
it. Her principles bound her to two things ;‘ and she followed her prin-
ciples, lead w‘here they might. First, to sulnnit to every constitutional
lawof Congress; and secondly, if the constitutional validity of the law
be doubted, to refer that question to the decision of the proper tribunals.
Tlieiirst principle is vain and ineffectual, without the second. A n1ajor-
ity. of us in New England believed the enibango law unconstitutional;
but the great question Was, and always will be, in such cases, Who is
to decide this? Who is to judge between the people and the govern-

‘ ment? And, sir, it is quite plain, that the constitution of the United
States confers on the government itself, to be exercised by its appro-l

priate department, this power of deciding, ultimately and conclusive-
ly, upon the just extent of its own authority. .,If this had not been

done, we should not have advanced a single step beyond the old con-

federation. l

. Beingifully of opinion that the embargo law xiras unconstitutional, the*°

peopleof New iEn,g1and were yet equally clear in the opinion-——-it was a
matter they did not doubt upon .---- that the question, after all, must be de-
cided by the judicial tribunals of the United States. Before those vltribuw

nals, therefore, they brought the question. Under theilprovisions of the .~

law, they had given bonds, to millions in amount, and which were alleged
to be forfeited. They suffered the bonds to be sued, anldtltuss raised the

question. In the old-«fashioned, way of settling dispnte»s,,they.went‘tolaw.

easve”c.aIIrre_ to hearing and solemn arlgumeent   he who espo«used

.  and stood cups‘ for them against. the  of l the act, was

none  than that great man, of whom  rgiientlieant has made honor—l~‘

able penition, SAMUEL DEXTER. I~I,e.vvae. the fullness of his .

 

knowliewge  the maturity of his streng»tl.‘,   retired from long
and distingtiishied public ‘ service» here, to thseltrenewed pursuit of pro-.

‘fessional  lloarryingiwith hirn~edltlithatsr«enlargement and expansion,
all thetnew   fore»,. w.h,iJohl~an,l acquaintances ..with the snore a
general subjeetsi discussed in  sensational eon~ei~ls' is capable of adding to ‘

pr£as»§i.ona1i astainmemq,    ‘ti-" greatnesls and comprehension.

A76

_ all ran in that direction.
all subjects, that one which was best suited to his talents and learning.

at

‘  palpably  oplprestsive, and dangerous; but 1"en;n

N i   at 

SPEECH 033‘ MR. WEBSTER

He was a lawyer, and he was also a statesman. He had studied the con-
stitution, when he filled public station, that he might defend it; he had
erxamined» its principles, that he might maintain them. More than all
men, or at least as much as any man, he was attached to the general
government, and to the union of the states. His feelings and opinions
A question of constitutional law, too, was, of

‘Aloof from technicality, and unfettered by artificial rule, such a question
gave opportunity for that deep and clear analysis, that mighty grasp of

N , principle, which so much distinguished his l1igl'1er efifbrts. His very
statement was argument; his inference seemed demonstration. ,
earnestness of his own conviction wrought convictlon in others. One‘

was convinced, and believed, and assented, because it was g.ratifyi11g,
delightful, to think, and feel, and believe, in unison with an intellect of
such evident superiority.

Mr. Dexter, sir, such as I have described him, argued the New Eng- 5

land cause. He put into his effort his whole heart, as well as all the
powers of his understanding; for he had avowed, in the most public
manner, his entire concurrence with his neighbors, on the point in dis-
pute. Iie argued the cause; it was lost, and New England submitted.
The established tribunals pronounced the law constitutional, and New

England acquiesced. Now, sir, is not this the exact opposite of the

doctrine of the gentleman from South Carolina? According; to him,
instead of referring to the judicial tribunals,”we should have broken up
the embargo, by laws of our own; we shoul have repealed it, quoacl
New England; for we had a strong, palpable, and oppressive case. Sir,
we believed the embargo unconstitutional; i but still, that was matter of

> opinion, and who was to decide it? We thoughtit a clear case; but,
neve1't1ieless, we did not take the laws into our hands, because we did not
swish, to bring ctbcmt ct revolutvfon, nor to break up the Uiriovz ,~l for I minim-,,

tain, that, between submission to the decision of the constituted tribute
nals, and revolution, or disunion, there is no middle ground———--— there is no
ainbiguous condition, half allegiance and half rebellion. vThere is no
treason, muclcosy. “ And, sir, how futile, how very futile it is, to admit the
right of state interference, and then to attempt to save itfroin the char-
acter of utlltlwful resistance, by adding terms of qualification to the
causes and occasions; leaving all the qualifications, like the case itself, in

the discretion of the state governrnents. It must be a clear case, it»is

said; a deliberate case; a palpable case; a dangerous case. But, then,

deliberate, what is palpable, what is dangerous. , p

‘ Do adjecttives and epithets avail. any thing? Sir, the human mind is
so eoxistituted, that the merits of both sides of a controversy appear very
clear,‘ and very palpable, to those who respectively espouse thenti, and;

both sides ~~ usually. grow clearer, as the fcontroversy advances. fSQuflll,"
Carolina sees uneoinstitutionality in the tariff----— she sees oppression there,
also, and shesees danger. Pennsylvania, with a vision not less .sllarpiI,f
looks at the sametaritf, and sees no such thing in it ----i she sees it  —

stitutional, all useful, all safe. The faith of South Carolina is streag
cited by oippo.s.i:tio,Kand.shre now not,on1y‘sees,, but resolves, that the 

 1 not to.-be  aeiglao«ra, ad   to  at    
         ~

   

'1

We 

The ,

....._

. the state is still leftat liberty to decide for herself what is clear, what is; N

 
   
  

on rnr. RESOLUTION ortmn. roor. I 77

warm afi"1rn1ative,tof South Caralina, a_ plain, downright Pennsylvania

negative. South Carolina, 150 5110“? like Strengtih and unity of her opin-

ions, brings her assembly to a‘ unanimity, within seven votes; Pe111i.syl-+

Vania, not to be outdone in this respect more than others, reduces her
I dissentient fraction to five votes. Now, sir, again I ask the gentleman,
" what is to be done? Are these states both right? Is be bound to

consider them both right? If not, which is in the wrong? or, rather,
V which has the best right to decide? V ,

And if he, and if I, are not to know what the constitution means, and
what it is, till those two state legislatures, and the twenty-two others, shall
agree in its construction, what have wesworn to, when we have sworn to
maintain it? " I was forcibly struck, sir, with one reflection, as the gentle-

man went on with his speech. He quoted Mr. Madison’s resolutions to I

prove that a state may intert'ere, in a case of deliberate, palpable, and
dangerous exercise‘ of a power not granted. The honorable member
supposes the tariff‘ law to be such an exercise of power, and that, conse--
quently, a case has arisen in winch the state may, it“ it see fit, interfere
by its ownlaiiv. Now, it so liappeiis, nevertlielcss, that Mr. Maclison
himself deems tltis same tariff" law quite constitutional. Instead of‘ a
clear and palpable violation, it is, in his judginent, no violation at all. So
that, while they use his authority for a hypotlictical case, they reject it
, in the very case before them. All this, sir, sliows the inlierent i’utilit.y~,--
  I had almost used ,awSl1I‘Ong('3I'tW01‘d---0l conceding this power of inter»-
ferencc to the states, and then~ attemptIing‘to secure it i*'ro_m abuse by
imposing qualifications of which the states tlierusclves are to Judge. One
of two things is true: either the laws of the Union arebeyond the control
of‘ the states, or else we have no constitution of general governrncnt, and
are thrust back again to the days of the confederacy. I I t

3

' Let me here say, sir, that it the gentlemanfis doctrine had been received

and acted upon in New I-England, in the times of the embargo and tInort‘-- ,

‘intercourse, we should probably not now have been? here. { The govern»
ment would very likely have gone to pieces and crumbled into dust. , No‘

"stron,ger case can ever arise than existednntdrer‘ those laws; no I states can ,, 

revert entertain a clearer conviction than the New England States then
cetertained ; and if they had, been under the influence of that heresy of
Lwopinion, as I must call ‘it, which the honorable member espouses, this
Union would, in all probability, have been scattered to the four winds. 
ask the plgentlernan, tlierefore, to apply his principles to that case; lIiesk
him to come forth and declare whether, in his opinion, the New Englantl

, States would have been justified inIinterf'ering tobreak up the_embargo I

I system, under the conscientious opinions which they helvdupn it, Had

they a right to annul that law? Does he admit, or deny? If that which n

is thought palpably unconstitutional in South Carolina justifies that state
in arresting the progress of the law, tell me whetthert that which was
thought Ipalpably uncovnstitutional also in  ‘ nassachlusretts would have justi-
Ifiedl her in doing, the se “thing,    whoEl»e d6Ictrin~e. It
has not a foot of ground in the consativtur  won. No public man
of I reputation ever advanced it  ‘   I the warmest times,
or could maintain himself,’ upon it there  times. I » "' I p
f I I wish snow, sir, to alte» a»reerrl:<t+i‘taont Virginia resolutions of _
1798. I cannot unclertalseIcete   tese resolutions were understood
by those who passed them. i'I‘he«i:~r 5

thei=ease of the  Ia ~=»auge1ius»wer, not granted

 

 
 

wge is not a little indefinite. I it

<1“;

‘i

78 srnncrx or me. weesrna

to them, the resolutions assert the right, on the part of the state, to inter- ‘
. fore, and arrest the progress of the evil. This 18 susceptible of more than

one interpretation. It may mean no more than that the states may inter-
fere by complaint and remonstrance, or by proposing to the people an
alteration of the federal constitution. This would all be quite unobjection-
able; or it may be that no more is meant, than to assert the general right
of revolution, as against all governments, in cases of intolerable oppres-
sion. This no one doubts; and this, in my opinion, is all that he who

framed these resolutions could have meant by it; for I shall not readily

believe that he was ever of opinion that a state, under the constitution,
and in conformity with it, could, upon the ground of her own opinion of
its unconstitutionality, however clear and palpable she might think the
case, annul C a law of Congress, so far as it should operate on herself',by
her own legislative power. , c

I must now beg to ask, sir, VVhence is this supposed right of the states
derived? "Where do they get the power to interfere with the laws of the
Union? Sir, the opinion which the honorable gentleman maintains is a

notion“ founded in a total misapprehension, in my judgment, of the origin

of this government, and of the foundation on which it rstands. I hold it
to be ajspopular government, erected by the people, thos_e who administer
it responsible -r to the people, and itself capable of being amended and

modified, just as the people may choose it should be. It is as popular,

just as truly emanating from the people, as the state governments. It is

e created for one purpose; the state governments for another. It has its

own powers; they have theirs. 'I‘here is no more authority with them

. toivarrest the operation of a law of Congress, thanwith Congress to arrest

the operation of their laws. We are here to administer a constitution
emanating ‘immediately from the people,’ and trusted by them to our
administration. It is not the creature of the state governments. -It is

i of no moment to the argument that certain acts of the state legislatures

are necessary to fill our seats in this body. Tlrat is not? one of rtheir
original state powers, at part of the sovereignty of the state. It is a duty
which the people;'‘ by the constitution itself, have imposed on the state

’ legislatures, and which they might have left to be performed elsewhere,

if they had seen fit. So they have left the choice of president with
electors; but all this does not affectrithe proposition that this whole gov-
ernment-----president, Senate, and Houseof Representatives--— is atpop-
ular government. It leaves it still all its popular ' character. The
governor of a state (in some of the states) is chosen not directly by the
people, but by those who are chosen by the people for the purpose of

performing, among other duties, that of electing a governor. ‘Is the.

government of the state on that account not a popular government?

a This government, sir, is the independent oflispringiof the popular will.

i It is notvthe creature of state legislatures; nay, more, if the wliolertruth

  
 

l * ;0’t',e1‘, itheiiyolitiomsf its      I‘ t it  

a must be told, the people brought it into existence, established it, and have

hitherto sapported it,_.for the very purpose, amongst others, of imposing

certain salutary restraints on state sovereignties. . The states cannot now,
i ‘make war; they cannot contract alliances; they cannot malrieueaclt for
‘ itself, separate regulations of, comtnerce; they cannot lay imposts; they
cannot cin..p,moI.1.e_y. . i If this constitution, lsitaybei the creati,1ire,ofi state,
. ‘egislatures,. its   a»d.,m.itt.e;  xthas . obtained a s,t1*a1.igteiqeatrl

ti
-1 .

        

A?


         «   

4 and prohibitions.

on rue nnsotnrxon on MR. room. it

tution, and in that constitu.tion,,_, they lutve enumerated the powerswhich
they hestowon it. They have made 1321. llllllilffiti. gowwutrixnent. They have

defined its authority. They have restrained it to the exercise of such

powers as are granted; and all others, they declare, are reserved to the
states or the people. But, sir, they l12tve’no't stopped here. If‘ t.hey had,
they would have accomplished but llftlf, their work. No definitiontcnn be
so clear as to avoid possibility of doubt; no limitation so precise as to
exclude all uncertainty. “Tho, then, shall construe this” grant of the
people? ‘VVho shall interpret their will, where it may be supposed they
liave left it doubtful? VVitl1 whom do they leave this n1t.irnnte riglmt-of

deciding on the powersiof the goyrc-:1*xir11e11t? Sir, they linve settled all

this in the fullest manner. They lnwe left it with the government itself,
in its e.ppropri:.tte hrnnches. Sir, the very chief end, the main tlesigri fox‘
which the whole constitution-was 'i’rz:tn1ed and adopted, was to cstsblisli
a government thet should not be ohligeti to not tl1roti,<,_2;lii state ngency,

-or depend on stste opinion and discretion, The people had haul quite

enongli of that kind of government under the confederncy.‘ Under that

system, the legal notion —- the nppliention of‘ law to individuals --— belonged

exclusively to the states. Congress could only reconnnencl.--—- their sets
were not of binding force till the states lnul ndopted and sanctioned them.
Are we in that condition still? ~ Are we yet st the mercy of state discre-
tion and state construction? Sir, if we nrc, then vein will be our attempt
to xnnintein the constitution under which we sit.

But, sir, the people here wisely provided, in the constitution itself, at
proper, suitable mode and tribunnl for set:ltli1':g questions of constitutional
law. There are, in the constitution, grnxits of powers to Congriess, and
restrictions on those powers. There "are also proliibitions on the states.
Some authority must tliercihre neccsszu-ily exist,'~l1uvingttl1e ulitirnntc juris-~
diction to fin: and ascertain the interpretation of these grants, 1'estrictions,
_ The constitution hns itself pointed out, ordzunctl, and
established that authority. How has it nccomplished this grentend essen-
tial end? By decleriiig, sir, tlint “tire constitution and the lows of Ttize

T Ziizifted States, made in _pm~sztnncc t/jaersofi .s72TaZl lac tits supreme slew of 1/23

vlttnd, any thing in the _oonstz'tut'2'o7z or laws of any state, to the contrary

.a

V fin

lissottntt/intending.” T o ‘ I T l ‘
T  'lFh._isT,l sir, was the first great step. By this, the-supremacy of T the con-

stitution end lews of the United St:-ties is declared. The people so will
it. No state law is to be valid which comes in conflict with the constitu-
tion or enyilewof‘ the United States. Butwho shall decide this question
of interference? Towhoni lies the last appeal? T This, sir,the constitu-
tion-ritself decides also, by declaring “ that the jzwlt'ct'al poiwervshall mctend

 ‘ate  cases arising uncZcr""”ths ,c07?«.S’t'itZ6lt'07’Z- and laws of. the Umlted *;S'tot‘es.” T
 finesse two pro”visions,T sir, cover the whole ground. T They are, in truth,
i 

 

“eystone of l the arch. With these it is e conTstiTtntio:n ; iwitholut them
Teonfederecy. In pursuance of these} clear T lerxpress provisions,

    
 

 

  into full efi“ect, end for Tell questions of consti-

 

~~ tutim  rim-T,to the final decision of the tST«Tnlreme~ Court; It then, “sir,
b~ecan.sé~i 1T “fl»ent.T It then had the ponies »ot"Tse1f-rote~ction ;, and but

 

for this,:T  T  in  probability, lhT:evaeT ween ‘now among things which
are pes.s'ed. _ T srenstituted  gvernextt, and declared its powers,

the people ” have  .sTaiTd, ~thet, since. so1'ne’body must decide on the

extent ‘ of these p?owTers;T  ‘ TagorIernmenTt shell‘ itself decide -1--~ subj set

79%

,,esTs~i5Aesteblished, at its very first «sieessin,» T" thT'"e~ judicial, act, a mode.

I 80 I i SPEECH or MR. wnzesrnn

i always, like other popular governrnents, to its responsibility to the people.

And now, sir, I repeat, how is it that a state legislature acquires any
right to interfere? Who, or what, gives them the right to say to the peo-
ple, “ We, who are your agents and servants for one purpose, will under-
take to decide, that your other‘ agents and servants, appointed by you for
anotlier purpose, have transcended the authority you gave them ”? The
reply would be, I think, not impertinent, “,Wl1o made you a judge over
another’s servants ? To their own masters they stand or fall.”

Sir, I deny this power of state , legislatures alogether. It cannot
stand the test of exainination. Grentleznen ma say, that, in an ezxtreme
case, a state government might protect the poop’ vi from intolerable oppres-
sion. Sir, in such a case the people miglit protect themselves, without
the aid of the state governments. Such a case warrants revolution. It
must make, when it comes, a law for itself. A nullifying act of a state
legislature cannot alter the case, nor make resistance any more lawful.
In maintaining these sentiments, sir, I am but asserting the riglits of
the people. I state what they have declared, and insist on their right to
declare it. They have chosen to repose this power in the general gov-
ernment, and I think it my duty to support it, like other constitutional

. powers. . -

For myself, sir, ‘I doubt the jurisdiction of South ~Carolina, or any

. other state, to prescribe my constitutional duty, or to settle, between me

and the people, the validity of laws of Congress for which I have voted;
I decline her umpirage. I have not sworn to support the constitution
according to her construction of’ its clauses. I have not stipulated, by
my oath of oiiice or otherwise, to come under any responsibility, except
. to the people and those whom they have appointed to pass upon the ques-
tion, whetlier tlie,,laws,,supported by my vows, conform to the constitution

of the country- And, sir, if? we look to the general ‘nature of the case, 

i could any thing have been more preposterous than to have made a gov-
. ermnent for the whole Union, and yet left its powers subject, not to one
interpretation, but to thirteen or twenty-four interpretations? , Insteadof
one tribunal, established by all, responsible to all, with power todecicle
for all, shall constitutional questions be left to four and twenty popular
bodies, each at liberty to decide for itself, and none boundto respect the
decisions of others; and each at liberty, too, to give anew constrnction,
on every new election of its own members? Would any thing, with
such a principle in it, or rather with such a destitution of all principle,

' be fit to be called a government? N o, sir. It should not be denominated

, their general gov  

‘ll  A

 ‘;:,d,;;;n.o~w.,   let, me  : the orable i goatiyc ij   .   v

aconstitution. It should be called, rather, a collection of topics for7ever-
lasting controversy; heads of‘ debate for a disputatious people. It would
not be a government. It would not be adequate to any practical good, nor
fit for any country to live under. To avoid all possibility of being misunder-
stood, allow me to repeat again, in the fullest manner, that I clairnino powers
for the government by forced or unfair construction.i I admit that it is ;a
government of i strictly limited powers”; of enumerated, specified, and par--
ticularizedpowers; and that whatsoever is notgranted is withheld. But,
.notwit11standinig~ all this, and however the «grant of powers may be ex-

pressed, its limits and extent may yet, in some cases, admit of doubt;  c

 

rnent would be’ good for notliing, it would be incapabtc
of longi,existenee,:r_,ifrso1ne mode had not been prorvided in which  ,
  they should rarisiennighttitibe peaceably,but authoritatively, i

        

r w dale
lialthleiea .1 ” o Is

on THE nnsonurron on MR. roor. 81'

trine a little into its practical application. Let us look at his probable
modas ope9~cmdz'.' If a thing can be done, an ingenious man can tell Itow
it is to be done. Now, I wish to be informed how this state interference
is to be put in practice. - We will take the existing case of the tariff
law. South Carolina is said to have made up her opinion upon it. If
we do not repeal it, (as we probably shall not,) she will then apply to
the case -the remedy of her doctrine. She will, we must suppose, pass
a law of her legislature, declaring the several acts of Congress, usually
called the tariff laws, null and void, so far as they respect South Caro-
lina, or the citizens thereof’. So far, all is a paper transaction, and easy
enough. But the collector at Charleston 1s collecting the duties imposed
by these tariff laws——:-he, therefore, must be stopped. The collector
will seize the goods if the tariff duties are not paid. " The state authori-

il ties will undertake their rescue: the marshal, with his posse, will come

to the collector’s aid; and here the contest begins. _The militia of the
state will be called out to sustain the nullifying act. They will march,
sir, under a very gallant leader; for I believe the honorable member
himself‘ commands the militia of that part of the state. 4 He will raise
the Nunnrnrrue ACT on his standard, and spread it out as his banner.
It will have a preamble, bearing that the tariff‘ laws are palpable, delib-

erate, and dangerous violations of the constitution’. He will proceed,

with his bannerflying, to the custom. house in Charleston,--
T A “all the while .
Sonorous metal blowing martial sounds.”

Arrived at the custom house, he will tell the collector that he must collect
nosmore duties ‘under any of the tariff laws. This he will be somewhat

-tpuzzled to say, by the way, with a grave countenance, considering what
hand South Carolina herself had in that of 1816. But, sir, the collector u

would, probably, not desist at his tbiddirtg. Here would ensue a pause;

-for they say, that a certain stillness pnecedescthel tempest.‘ Bcforleil this

military array should an on the custom house, collector, clerl:s,;ancl all,
 is very probable some of those composing it would , request of -their

lggallant cornmander-in-chief to be informed atlittle upon the point of law;
won tlieyihavet doubtless at-just respect for his opinions as a lawyer, aswell
as aforihis bravery as a soldier. They [know he has read Blackstone and the ,
1 oonstitution,,as well as Turenne and Vauban. They would ask him, there-
. t.?ore,,son:1ething con~ccrning their rights in this matter. They would in-

 ‘  whether it was not somewhat dangerous to resistta law of the United

 

:States.- What would be the nature of their otFence,,they would wish to
. «learn, if they, by military force and array, resisted the execution in Car-
i,_t’na_of a ‘law of theUnited States, and it should turn out, after all, that

 law was copastitational. He would answer, of course, treason. No ,
p rlawyer could give‘ any other answer. John Fries, he would tell tom,

 

 

rd,
l  that same ryearsrrago. How, then,.,thteywoultd fash,dO. you propose

 

 was   are» not afraid of baullets,, butt treason has away of
it  z;   oh‘ that we do not much ” How do gyu propose to

a air. g‘ M A p
i  at ‘i‘.Look*atlmy ifloatingrner,i’t.lae would reply; “ see there
'  your roping  ‘ coandefr, they would

   

l*eaa  I was slro»

it banner —   r  aloe ag good plea  bar? ;‘i South Carolina 
-v  sloyereigln 
   

 That is true;  wold the judge

     

117

Vvd re; itnadizcted»  treasion, . that same floating.

E ~  a ,tltfiWfi,.’l,?. he w  »  . repeat, F‘ are ,unconsti-

' 82 , ‘ ’srnncI—I on ‘MR. wnnsrnn

tutional, palpably, deliberately, dangerously,” That all -may be so; but
if the tribunals should not_ happen to be of that _opinion, shallwe swing
for it? VVe are ready to die for our country, but 1t 1S rather anawkward
business, this dying without touching the ground‘. After all, this is a sort

of /temps-tax, worse than any part of the tariff’.

Mr. President, the honorable gentleman’ would be in pa dileinma” like
that of anothergreat general. He would have -a knot before him which
he could’ not untie. He must cut it with his sword. . He must say to
his followers, Defend yourselves with your bayonets ; and this is warm-
civil war. " l

Direct collision, therefore, between force and force, is the unavoidable
result of that remedy" for the revisionof unconstitutional laws which the
gentleman contends for. It must happen in the very first case to which

it is applied. Is not this_ the plain result? To resist, by force, the
execution of a law, generally, is treason. Can the courts of the United
. States take notice of the indulgence of a state to commit treason? The
“common saying,“t,hat a state cannot commit treason herself, is nothing to

the purpose. Can it authorize others to do it? If John Fries had

produced an act of Pennsylvania, annulling the law of Congress, would it
have helped his case? Talk about it as we will, these doctrines go the

length of revolution. They are incompatible with any peaceable admin-
istration of the government. They lead directly to disunion and civil
commotion ;, and therefore it is, that at the commencement, when they are
first found to be maintained by respectable men, and in a tangible form,
that I enter my public protest against them all. 1

l The honorable gentleman argues, that if tl. "s government he the sole
judge of the extent of its own powers, whether that right of judging be
in Congress or the Supreme Court, it equally subverts state sovereignty.
This the gentleman sees, or thinks he sees, although he cannot. perceive
how the right of judging, in this matter, if left to the exercise of state
legislatures, has any tendency to‘ subvert the government of the Union.
The gentleman’s opinion may be that the right ouglatinot to have been
lodged with the general government; he may likegbetter such a consti-
tution as we should have under the right of state interference ;but I ask
him to meet me on the plain matter of fact----- I askhimtc meet”me on the

i constitution itself--— I ask him if the power is not found there -~—— clearly

in

and visibly found there. i  v r

But, sir, what is this danger, and what‘ the _ grounds of it? Let it-be
remembered, that the constitution of i theillnitedl States is not unaltengble.
It is to continue in its present form nd longer than the people who estab-

i lished it shall choose to continue it. v If they shall become convinced that

up they havegmade an injudicious or inenpeclientvpartition and rdistribution

of power between the state ‘governments and the general, government,

a they can alterthat distribution at will. i i i r

 If anybtliingd be found in the national. constitution, either by original
provision or subsequent interpretatiomwhich ought not to be in it, the
people know how to get, rid of it. If any construction be established,

‘unacceptable to them, so as to become, practically, a part of the constitu-i‘

it ticn, they will amend it at their own, sovereign pleasure. But while the

it peole choiosebtoip aintain it as it is, while they are satisfiecl, with it,,i,and i

refulse  iwh-o has given, or who can give, to the state lt * ts»

 at right tot  gleither by interference, construction, are
. wm’;%:\w V‘ AW‘  ‘, ,‘ ‘V  .

    

   
     
 

1%

  

          l 

on rm: RESOLUTION on MR. ‘room. I 83

power to do any thing for themselves; they imagine; there is no safety

for them any longer than they are under the close guardianship“ of the

state legislatures. Sir, the people have not trusted their safety, in regard
to" the general constitution, to these hands. They have required other

security, and taken other fbonds. They have chosen to trust themselves,
first, to the plain words of the instrument, and to such construction as the
government itself, in doubtful cases, should put on its own powers, under

their oaths of office, and subject to their responsibility to them; just as

the people of a state trust their own state governments with a similar
power. Secondly, they have reposed their trust in the efficacy of fre-
quent elections, and in their own power to remove their own servants
and agents, whenever they see cause. Thirdly, they have reposed trust
in the judicial power, which, in order that it might be trustworthy, they
have made as respectable, as disint.ereste<.l, and as independent as prac-
ticable. Fourthly, they have seen fit to rely, in case of necessity, or liigjh
expediency, on their knownancl aclntiitted power to alter or amend the
constitution, peaceably. and quietly, wl.1e.never experience shall point out
defects or imperfections. And finally, the people of the United States
have at no time, in noway, directly or ind_irectly, authorized any state
legislature to (‘construe or interpret their instrument of government; much
less to interfere, by their own power, to arrest its course and operation.
If, sir,the people, in these respects, had done otherwise than they have
done, their constitution could neither have been preserved, nor would it
have been worth preserving. And if its plain provision shall now be
disregarded, and these new doctrines interpolated in it, it"wi1l become as

feeble and helpless a being as enemies, whether early or more recent,v
. could possibly desire.  It will exist in every state, butyas a poor depend-
ant on state permission. It must borrow leave to be, and will be, no

longer than state pleasure, or state discretion, sees fit to grant the indul-
gence, and to prolong its poor existlence. , p I p I , go
But sir, although there are fears, there are he es also. The eo le
2 e P P P

have preserved this, their own chosen constitution, for qfortyryears, and

have seen their happiness, prosperity, and renown grow with its growth

 and strengthen with its strength.~7They are now, generally, strongly

attached to it- Overthrown by direct assault it cannot be; evaded,

I unt1e1~mi1ied, NULLIFIED, it will not be, if we, and those who shall suc-
oeed ruse here, as agents and representatives of the people, shall conscien-

“ ptiously and vigilantly discharge the two great branches of our public‘ .

ti-ust-—~faithful1y to preserve and wisely to administer it.

Mr. President, I, have thus stated the reasons of my dissentito~ the i '

doctrines which have beenadv, need and imaintained. I am conscious of -,
having detalined you, and the ‘ enate, much too long. I was drawn into
the debate, with no previous deliberation such as is suited to the discus»

 sion of, so grave and important a subject. But it a subject of which
E  heart is full, and I have not been willing to suppress the utterance of
spntaneous sentiments. of ” I I l I  l

I cannot, even now, persuade myself to relinquish it, without express-
ing, once more, my deep conviction, that sinoeit respects" nothing less
than the .un;ioln of the states, it is (if most vital’ and essential importance
to the public happiness. . I profess, sir, in my career hitherto, to have
kept steadilyllin view the prosperity and honor of the whole country, and

the preservation of our Feral Union.. It is to that Union We owe our

I

84 srnncn on MR. ‘WEBSTER.
safety at home, and our consideration and dignity abroad. It is to that
Union that we are chiefly indebted for Whatever makes _us most proud of
our country. That Union we reached only by the discipline of our virtues
in the severe school of adversity. It had its origin in the necessities‘ of
disordered finance, prostrate commerce, and ruined credit. Under its

benign influences, these great interests immediately awoke, as from the I

dead, and sprang forth with newness of life. Every year of its duration
has teemed with fresh proofs of its utility and its blessings ; and although
our territory has stretched out wider and Wider, and our population
spread farther and farther, they have not outrun its protection or its
benefits. It has been to us all a copious fountain of national, social, per-
sonal happiness. I have not allowed myself, sir, to look , beyond the
Union, to see what might lie hidden in the dark recesses behind. I have
not coolly Weighed the chances of preserving liberty, when the bonds that
unite us together shall be broken asunder. I have not accustomedmy-
self to hang over the precipice of disunion, to see whether, with my short
sight, I can fathom the depth of the abyss below; nor could I regard
him as a safe counsellor in the affairs of this government, whose thoughts
shouldbe mainly bent on considering, not how the Union should be best
preserved, but how tolerable might be -the condition of the people when
it shall be broken up anddestroyed. While the Union lasts, we have
high, exciting, gratifying prospects spread out before us, for us and our
children. Beyond that I seek not to penetrate the veil. God grant
that, in my day at least, that curtain may not rise. God grant that on
my visionnever may be opened what lies behind. Wlien my eyes shall
be turned to behold, for the last time, the sun in heaven, may I not see

I him. shining on “the” brokenl and ‘dishonored fragments of a once-glorious

Union; on states dissevered, discordant, belligerent; on a land;rent with

civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood! Let their last

feeble: and lingering glance, rather, behold the gorgeous ensign of the

republicfrnow known and honored throughout the earth, still full high

advanced,‘ its arms and trophies streaming in their original lustre, not

a stripe erased or. polluted, nor a single star, iobsicuredp---bearing for its

motto no such miserable interrogatory as, What is all this worth?

nor those other words of delusion and folly, dliherty first, tmd Union

afzferwa.m7s; but every Where, spread, all over in ‘characters of living

light, blazing one all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over,
the land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that other senti-

ment, dear to every true American heart ----‘ Liberty and Union, now and
forever, one and inseparable! ‘ I r . .

:5‘

6

I  Theselare the   I I eepesea to myself to discuss ;I these are
l o 1 l I I I I 85   I

I MR. WEBSTER’S SPEECH...

 

In the Senate of the United States, .Mcw-ch 7, 1850, on the
I . Slcwery Compromise. A

 

‘ THE Vroe PRESIDENT. The resolutions submitted by the senator
from ‘Kentucky were made the special order of the day at 12 o’cloek.
On this subject the senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Wellter) hes the floor.
Il\Ir.f'WALxtE.:e. Mr. President, this vast audience lies not assembled
to hear me; and there Wis but one man, in my opinion, who can assemble
such an audience. They expect to hear him, and I feel it to be my duty,
as well‘ as my pleasure, to give the floor therefore to 1Jl1GAS(%11£1tOI‘l“l1‘O1’I1
Masse.c1I1usetts. I ttnderstentl it is irnmeteriell to him u"pon whielx of

these questiohs he speaks, end therefore I will not move to postpone the '

special order. I I I

‘Mr. WEBSTItR; I beg toexpross my obligations to my friend from
Wiseoxisiti, (l\,’[r.. Wellter,) es well as to my friend from New York,
(Mr. SeyvIerd,) for their eourtesydn allowing me to address the Senate
this morning. ” I I I

Mr. President: I wish to speak to-dey,not as e ‘Massachusetts man, nor’

as a, northern men, but es en Ameriee.n, and 23, member of ,tliefSenete or
the United Sta.tes.V It I is forturrete that thereis  Senate of“ t1:1e«United
States; is body not yet moved from its p”ropriety,Ir1ot lost to‘ Is“. just stehIse

, off its own dignity, and its own liigh responsibilities, end at btoeyt to which

thecountry looks with confidence forwise, moderate, patriotic, ends heat-

% ing eounsels. % It is not to be denied that We live in the ‘ midst of strotng
eI‘“‘7o<'Itsttiens, and are surrcmnded by very considerable ‘dangers to tours in»;

stitotiohs ‘ot"‘l‘fgovernment.I The impristoiied winds are let loose. The east,
the west, the ;nort11, and the stotrmy south, ell ctotnhine  throw the
whole oceans into commotion, to 7toss its loillows to" theslcies, and to dis-I
close its iprofoundest depths. I do not efl'eot “to-A  myself’, Mr;
Eresident, as holding, or has fit to hold, the helm in this eombat of the
politicztl elements; but I 11£l.W“3 a duty to perform, enclllimean to perform
itwith fi~delity-»-——notI Without  sense of surrounding dangers, but not

I f  hope.  have a part to set, not for ‘my own security or s‘ef'ety,I,

  
  
 
  
 
 
  

 

 looltirrg out for the fragment upon Iwhieh to float away from the
«  there jmust be, but torI   lot’ the whole, and the pres-

é?egégle, ‘Whether   A “the stars shall appear, or shell
or  days. I today‘ for the preservation of the
  eehstefih  speak to-day, out of I‘ a Isolieitous
M A” r~‘th?eI restorhtioih to the Ieountryof that quiet and that
‘  this Unfironlso rich and so dear to us

 

,_..-

i I   whole; amid‘ there is  will keep me to my duty  

declared war agaitist Mexico.

I the time of peace, it nbeciametca very iportant subject for legisia

86 srnncn on MR. WEBSTER
the motives, and the sole motives, that influence me in the wish to com-
municate my opinions to the Senate and the country; and if I can do
any thing, however little, for the promotion of these ends, I shall have

= accomplished all that I desire. I

Mr. P1‘€§lCl6nt, it may not be amiss to recur very briefly to the events
which, equally sudden and extraordinary, have brought the political con»-
dition of the country to what it new is. “In May, 1846, the United States
Her armies, then on the frontie.rs, entered
the provinces of that republic ; met and defeated all her troops ; penetrated
her mountain passes, and occupied her capital. The marine force of the
United Statestook possession of her forts and her towns on the Atlantic
and on the Pacific. In less than two years a treaty was negotiated, by
which Mexico cededto the United States a vast territory, extending seven
or eiglit hundred miles along the shores of the Pacific; reaching back
over the mountains, and across the desert, and until it joined the frontier
of the state of Texas. It so happened that in -“the distracted and feeble
state of the l\Ie2cicangovernme11t, before the declaration of war by the ..
United States against Mexico had become known in California, the people
of California, under the lead of American oflicers, overthrew the existing
provincial government of California --- the l\i[e:a‘ican, authorities -~—— and
run up an independent flag. , Wlien the news arrived at San l3‘rancisco
that war had been declared by the United States against Mexico, this

-independent flag was pulled down, and the stars and stripes of this Union

hoisted in its stead. So, sir, before the war was over, the powers of the
United States, military and naval, had possessionlof San Francisco, and
Upper ~California, and a great rush of emigrants from various parts of

I the World took place into California in 1846 and 1847.. But now, behold “

I

another wonder. g  . I ‘ p A,
In January of 1848=,~tl_1e Mormons, it is said, or some of them, made a
discoveryof an extraordinary rich mine of ‘goldw or, rather, of a very
great quantity of gold, hardly lit to be called la mine, for it was isprea- is
near the tstarface-y---~on the lower part of‘, the South or American branch,
of‘ the Slacrarnento. They seem to have attempted to conceal théirtdis-Q
covery for some tim,ef_:, but soon another discovery, perhaps of greater
importance, was made of gold, in another part of the American branch of
the Sacramento,and near Sutter’s Fort, as it is called. The fame of these
discoveries spreadfar and wide. They excited more and more the spirit
ofeniigration towards California, which had already been excited; and t
persons crowded in hundreds, and flocked towards the Bay of San Fran 
cisco. This, as I have said, tool: place in the winter and spring of 1848.,’
The diggitig conimeneed in the spring of that year, and from that time 

 

-v 1 . n 
this the work of searching for gold has been prosecuted with a success not

heretofore known in the history of this globe. We all know, sir, how in-*
credulous the American public was at the accounts which reachedpus at
first of .tl1ese discoveries ; but we all know now, that these accounts re-
ceived, and continue to receive, daily confirmation ; and down to the present
moment I suppose the assurances are as strong, afterthe experience of
these several months, of mines of gold apparently inezrhaustibplef in the ,
regions near San Francisco, in California, as tliey were at any pcriodlyofilt
the earlier dates of s theaccounts.“ It so happened, sir, that although

1 ‘Z M

    
 
 

deration  legislative ‘rdeacision to provide a proper, , terry
 {g for Oalifornia,,lyetrdieret1ees clef,  vieng  the o 

    

l

ON,'.I.‘JEIE SLAVERY oonrnonzxsss. A ,8?

the °gOV8I‘l11]1611t prevented the establishment of enyiosuch territorial
governr.nenttbr”-iCnlitorn1n, at the last session of Congress. Under this

state of things, the inhe.bitants of San ]5‘ra.noisco and Ca.lifornis—e-—-tlien,
amounting to a. great number of people--in the suinmer of last year,

thought it to be theirduty to establish at local government. Under the
procla.1nntion of‘ General Riley, the people chose delegates toe. conven-
tion : tha.t,c.onve11tion met at Monterey. They formed 21. constitution for
thest.ate.of Celit‘ornie, and it was adopted by the people of California in

their primary esseniblages. Desirous of immediate connection with the,

United States, its senators were appointed and representatives chosen,
WhOg;l'111VG\ come hither, bringing with them the sutlientie*co11stitution of
the state of Cnliibrnie ; and they now present themselves, a.sls:ing,, in be»
helf of their state, that the state may be edmittqd into this,Uni.on as one
of the ‘United States." Tliis eonstitution, sir, contains an express prohibi-
tion agnirist sle.very or irivoluntery servitude in the state of'Cnliibr11ie.
It is said, and I suppose truly, tbnt of the members who icornposed that
oonvention, some sixteen were nutives, and had been residents of the slnve-e
holding stn.tes,e1)out twenty~two were from the non-slnveholding states,
and the reiiieining ten rneinbers were either nntive Cnlifo1~1iiniis or old
settlers in thz-it country. This proltibition against slnver , it is said, was
inserted with entire unanimity. , i

Mr. I'"IAL1<3. Will the senator give way until order is restored?

The View Pnssxnnnr. The so1~gen11t—et-nrms will see tlist order is
restored, end no more persons ndxnitted to the floor.

Mr. CASS. I trust the scene of the other day will not be repeated.
The sergeeiit-et-nrrns must‘ pdispley more energy in suppressing this
disorder. , y » .

Mr. Iinrln. The noise is outside of thd door. l o _

Mr. Wnrssrnn. Audit is this circumstance, sir, the prohibition of
slavery by tlint convention, which has contributed to raise --—-I do not say
it lies wholly rnised —-—- the dispute as to the propriety of the admission of’,
Qeliibrnia. into the Union under this eonstituttion. It is not to be denied,
Mr. President --—-nobody tliixiks of denying--- that, whatever reasons
were assigned at the comnienoement of the into war with Mexico, it was
prosecuted for the purpose of the ‘noqhuisition of territory, and under the
alleged erguinent tlietthe oession lot’ territory was the only ‘form in which
proper eotnpwensution could be made to the United States by Mexico for
the iverious claims and demands whieli the people of this cgu1it1~y had

against thetgovernment. At eny rote, it will be found that President

Po1k’s message, at the oommenceznent of the session of December, 1847,
avowed .that the war was to be prosecuted until some acquisition of terri-
tory, was made. And, as the acquisition was to be south l of the line

i of V. ,tl1e,~ United States, in warm. iclixnetes and countries, it was untu-

raily, I suppose, expected by the south, that whatever acquisitions were

~mwE:5 in that regioii would be, stdded , to the siluveholding portion of the.
Uited States. Events have turned outes iwesnot expected, and that ‘V

expeete;tio»n  not been realized; dnidtherefore some degree of disap-
pointment and surprise has resulteid, of course." - In other words, it is
obvious that the question which has so long harassed the country, and at
sometimes very, seriously elsrmed the minds ofwise and good men, has

, come upon us for,«a.,.;f'1:-esh, disoussiolnjy-5+ the i~q116Si3iO1‘).l of slevery in these

United States.   V, i.    _  p K . y _
_Now, sir, I propiose --y- perhaps at the expense of sornedeteil and con;

-.......—

” soul, and improve the lives oflindivirdual men,

it t  kindly afl‘eetion~ed; it doesinot i“ Slmk anotherfsi, and not its 

88, sensor: on ma. ‘WEBSTER ii‘
sequent detention of the Senate-— to review, historically, this question of
slavery, which, partly in consequence of its own merits, and partly, per-

haps mostly, in the manner it is discussed in one and the other portion of
the country,‘ has been at source of so much alienation and unkind feeling s

between the difierent portions of the\Union. We all know, sir, that sla-
very has e:r.isted‘in the World from time immemorial. There was slavery
in the earliest periods of history, in the Oriental nations. There was
slavery among the Jews ; the theocratic government of that people made
no injun'ction against it. There was slavery among the Greeks, and the
ingenious philosophy of the Greeks found, or sought to find, a justiiica-'
tion for it exactly upon the ,grouncls which have been assumed for such a
justification in this country ; that is, l a natural and original difference
among the races of mariktnd, the inferiority of the black or colored race
to the white. The Greeks justified their system ‘of slavery upon that
ground precisely. They held the African, and in some parts the Asiatic,
tribes to be inferior to the white race; but they did not show, I think, by
any close process of logic, that, if this were true, the more intelligent and
the sstronger had, therefore, a right to subjugate the weaker.

The more manlyphilosophy and jurisprudence of the Romans placed

the justification of slavery on entirely different grounds.

The Roman jurists, from the first,land down to the fall of the empire,
admitted that slavery was agaiiist the natural law, by which, as they main-
tained, all men, of“whatsoever clinic, color, or capacity, were i(;‘.(1ll1t';l.l; but
they justified slavery, first, upon the ground and authority of the lavvlof
nations —;-arguing, and arguing truly, that at that day the conventional
law of nations admitted that captives in. war, whose lives, according to the
notions of the times, were at“ the absolute disposal of the captors, miglit,
in exchange for exemption fro death, be made slaves for life, and that
such servitude might extend to their posterity. The jurists of Rome
also maintained that, by the civil law, there niiglit be servitude,-—~— slavery,

ll personal” and hereditary; first, by the voluntary act of an individual who;

might sell himself into slavery ; second, by his being received into a state
of slavery by his creditors in satisfaction of la, debt; and, thirdly, by
being placed in a state of servitude or slaveryithr crime. r.A.t— the\intro--
duction of Christianity into the world, the Roman World was full of slaves,
and I suppose there is to be found no injunction against that relation
between man and man in the teachings of the gospel bf Jesus Olirist, or
of anytof his apostles. The object of the instntiction imparted to man-
kind by thelliounder of Christianity was to touch the heart, purify the
That object went directly
to the first fountain of all political and all social relations of the human
race —--the individual heart and mind of man. i T

N ow, sir, upon the general nature, and character, and influence of slavery, ,

there exists a wide" diitferlence between the northern portion of i this conn-9

try and the southern. t It is said on the one isidfet that, if not the subject , p

of any injunction or direct prohibition in the New Testament,‘ slavery isa

wrong; that itisitbundedlmerely in’ the right of the strongest; and that .

it is an oppression, like alliunjustiwars, like all those aconflicts by which at

jiglity native subjects a weaker nationitotlieir will ; an that s1avery,Linr
its nature, Whatev»er may be said of it in tlie roditications vvhich W~»e..s T

takreln «palace, is nroit,  ,,aceerd&in,gl to,‘  .~eelt spirit of the gotspel  is

 

3        r    1 1

 
  

"or: ran snavnnr ctonrnomisn. 89*

, cherished, and recently with greatly augmented force, among the people of

the Northern States. It has taken hold of thereligious seiitinierit or
that part of the country, as itihas more or less taken hold of the religious
feelings of a considerable portion of mankind. The south, upon the other
side, having been accustomed to this relation between the two races all
their lives, from their birth——-—-having been taught in general to treat the
subjects of this bondage with care and kindness--———and I believe, inlgen-i
eral, feeling for them great care and kindness-~—have yet not taken this
view of‘ the subject which I liafve mentioned. There are. thousands of
religious men, with consciences as tender as any of their brethren at the
north, who do not see the unlawfhlnesss of slavery; andithere are more
thousands, perhaps, that, whatsoever they may think of it in its origin,
and as a matter depending upon natural right, yet take things as they
are, and, finding slavery to be anestablished relation of the society in
which they live,_can see no way injwhich-—--let their opinions on the
abstract question be what they may-—--it is in the power of the present
generation to relieve themselves from this relation. “And in this respect
candor obliges me to say, that I believe theyare just as conscientious,
many “of them, and of the religious people all of them, as they are in the
north in holding different opinions. , we

Wlny, sir, the honorable senator from South Carolina, the other day,
alluded to the separation of that great religious community, the Metho-I
dist Episcopal Church. Tliat separation was brought about by diii'er-
ences of opinion upon this peculiar subject of slavery. I felt great
concern, as that dispute went on, about the result, and I was in hopes that
the difference ofropiniou might be adjusted, because I looked upon that
religious denomination as one of the great props of religion and morals
throughout the whole couutr , from Maine to Georgia. The resulrwas
against my wishes and against my hopes. I have readflall their proceed-

ings, and all their arguments, but I have never yet been able to come to _
the conclusion that there was any real ground for that separation; in ‘

other words, that no good could be produced byrthatt separation. I must
say I think there was some want of ilcandor and charity. Sir, when a
question  this kind takes hold of the religious sentimentsof mankind,
and corn to be discussed in religiopgsassernblies oi‘ the clergy and laity,
there is always to bebeznpected, or al ays to be feared, a great degree of
excitement. It is in the inature of man, manifested by his whole history,
that religious disputes are apt to become warm, and men’s strengtli of
conviction is proportionate to their views of the magnitudelof the ques-
tions. In all such disputes therewill sometimes men be ‘found with whom
every thing is absolute l--—- absolutely wrong; or absolutely, right. They
see the right clearly; theyrthink others ought so to seeit, and they are dis-
posed to establish a broad line of distinction between what is right and what

i ‘wrong. And they are not seldoxnlwilling to establish that line upon their
‘ own teonvictionst of the truth and the justice of their own opinions ; and are I
. willingto mark and guard that line; by placing along it a series of dogmas,

asilines of boundary are marked bytrtpiostsrand stones. I There are ‘menwho,
with c*leariper*ceptions,ias theyithiuln of their own duty, do not see how too

hot aipu-rsuitr of one «duty may involv‘ertl1e;__rr1 in the violation of others, or how I

too warmran embracement of one truth may lead to a disregard of other

1 truths equally. important. 1 Abs I hrciard it stated strongly, notilmany days
‘ Iago, these personrs are idispolsedtor munt upon some particular duty as
r b 12 3 l I I

a—;s\:-».:s.~.~,~z... *'*r<x,.2'—';.7:,; ‘sravgzr.-.a:‘*-:—'~‘:~'-’L' —;-w - ---~»-~ 4-~—-~ A we 4 ~ -A -~ 4~ - Y-vi ~ -- -A ~W*~ «HA4 --/-WW“ <4  -'-H -- A < t 4 ~44 -~‘- -4“ ‘A  “Mu” -yr“  W“  *‘ A -* ' " “ A 4* * ‘

90 T . srnncrx on MR. wnnsrnn

upon a war horse, and to drive furiously, on, and upon, and over all other
duties that may stand in the way. There are men who, in times of that
sort, and disputes of that sort, are of opinion that human duties may be
ascertained with the exactness of mathematics. They deal with morals

" as with inathematics, and tlieythinlc what is right may bedistinguished

from what is wrong with the precision of an algebraic equation. They
have, therefore, none too much charity towards others, who differ from
them. They are apt, too, to think that nothing is good but what is per-—
feet, and that there are no compromises or modifications to be made in
submission to difference of opinion, or inrcleference to other men’s judg-
ment. If their perspicacious vision enables them to detect a spot on the
face of the sun, they think that a good reason why the sun should
be struck down from heaven. They prefer the chance of running

4 into utter darkness, to living in heavenly ligltit, if that heavenly light be

not absolutely without any imperfection. There are -impatient mcn---
too impatient always to give heed to the admonition of St. Paul, “ that we
are not to do evil that good may come ” -—-—t~ too impat.ient to wait for the
slow progress of moral causes, in the ixnprovement of mankincl. They
do not remember, that the doctrines and the miracles of Jesus Christ
have, in eighteen hundred years, converted only a small portion of the
human raoe.;t_and among the nations that are converted to Christianity,
they forget how many vices and eri1.nes,public and private, still prevail,
and that many of them-———-public e1'i1nes especially, which are o1‘i'ences
against the Christian religion—--- pass without excitiiig particular regret or ‘
indignation. tThus wars are waged, and unjust wars. I do not deny
that there may be just wars. There certainly are; but it was the re,marl~::
of an eminent person, not many years ago, on the other side of the At»
lantie, that it was one of the greatest reproaclics to human nature tliati
wars were sometimes necessary. The defence of ‘nations sometimes

causes a war against the injustice of other nations.,

Now, sir, in this state of sentiment upon the general nature of slavery,
lies the cause of a great portion of those unhappy divisions, exaspera-—
tions, and reproaches which find vent  support in different parts of the
Union. Slavery does exist in the United States. It did exist in the
states before the adoption of this co , titution, and at that time.

And now let us consider, sir, for 7 moment, what was the state of sen:-T A

timent, north and south, in regard to slavery, at the time this constitution,‘
was adopted. A remarkable cliange has taken place since; but what did,
the wise and great men ofall parts of the country think of slavery P -———-in .

i What estimation did they hold it then, when this constitution was, adopted?

Now, it will be found, sir, if we will carry ourselves by historical research
back to that day, and ascertain menfs opinions by authentic records still
existing among us, that there was no great diversity of opinion between
the north a d the south . upon the su.bject_of slavery.;, and it will be
found that both parts of the country held it equally an evil--+—a moral and
political evil. It will not be found that either at the north or at the

T south there was much, thonghlthere was». some, invmtive against slavery,

find, from all the eminent  the,  the clearest expression
T, f p  that silavery, evil. ,  

as inhuman and cruel. , The greatgroniid of objection to it wasjpolitiealj;
that it weakened the social fabric; that, taking the place of free labjoji,
society was less strong and labor was less productive ; and, tllerefore, wj9 

i I

  
   
 

   

’ its ~ 6..

on THE SLAVERY oorrrnonrsn. _ , 91

here, not withouttruth, and not without some acerhity of temper and
force of language, to the injurious ‘policy of the mother countr ,who, to

, favor the navigator, had entailed these evils upon the colonies. I. need

hardly refer, sir, to the publications of the day. They -are matters of
history on the record. The erninent men, the most eminent men, and
nearly all the conspicuous politicians of the south, held ‘the same senti-
nients ; .that slavery was an evil, a blight, a blast, a mildew, at scourge,
and a curse, There are no terms of reprohation of slavery so vehement

.in the north of that day as in the south. The north was'not so much

excitedagrainst it as the south, and the reason is, I suppose, because there
was much less at the north, and the people did not see, or think they saw,
the evils so prominently as they were seen, or thought to be seen, at the
south. ,

Then, sir, when this constitution was framed, this was the liglit in which
the convention viewed it. The convention reflected the judgment and
sentiments of the great men of’ the south. A member of the other house,
whom Iyhave not the honor to know, in a recent speech, has collected

extracts from these public documents. They prove the truth of’ what I

amsaying, and, the question then was, how to deal with it, and how to
deal with it as an evil. Well, they came to this general result. They
thought that slavery could not be continued in the country, it‘ the importa-
tion of i slaves were made to cease, and theret'ore they provided that after
a’ certain period the ixnportation miglllt be p1*ev¢311L(-gd by the act of 1-he

new government. Twenty years were proposed by some gentle1.nan,--. .

a. n—orthern.., gentleman, I think, -—~-—~ and many of the southern geiitleinen
opposed it as being too long. Mr. Madison especially was 'so‘1nvetl:iing
warm against it. He said it wouldibring too mucli of this mischief into
the country to allow the importation of slaves for such a period. Because
we must take along with us, in the whole of’ this discussion, when we are
considering the sentiments and opinions in which this constitutional pI'0-
vision originated, that the conviction of all men was, that, if the importa-
tion of’ slaves ceased, the white race would multiply faster than the black

,ra,ce,r and that slavery would tliercforex gradually wear out and expire.

both. If I mistake not, see

It inlay not_be improper here to allude to that, I had almost said, celes-
brated opinion of Mr. Madison. You observe, sir, that the term “ slave "’

 

 easy” is not used in the constitution. The eonstitutionttdotesi not

 

“fugitive slaves” shall be delivered up‘. It reequirerstthatt
“ ptersrls hund to service in one state, and escaping into i   
be delivered .up*.” Mr. Madison opposed the iintroducrtion  i  
F‘ slave” or “slavery” into the constitution; for he 
wish to see it recognized by the reconstitution of the   of
Aifnerica, that there could‘ he property in merit. s New, lsir,‘aalll “t‘;too‘i**
place at the ~lconvi‘entiot1 in 1787 ; but contnriecteil. ‘ with  »e'hc\u‘1*rent:
 contenipoiraneoius  is another importance r   ntotic~*s*ntiitctiently.
atntenetdtorx. “convention for frarniéng    '  I
 and sat until  

   

  

 
 

   
  
 

it 2

time the 5Cong"resst of’  United 
was and   of idesiiign, as we 
assemble‘  city whereililOonjgressie~ ~
most     of  I
eminence,    he   V
it happefled      

. , , .,i’iiriDuring” all that
in  at N *Yor1c.   It
“I  onventiaon.'Isi1ouldnot?

7. _¢,O .0 y  W“
a

  
   
         
  
  
 

.  e, of dist:  and
less  a‘tss.semblies'i ;  I thii:

      
 

 4 we  if  Rufus King, then a

  c it

c c  ‘memhvers of ii

92 SPEECH or Inn. WEBSTER

member of Congress from Massachusetts, and at the same time a member
U of the convention to frame the constitution from that state. Now, it was

in the summer of 1787, the very time when the convention in Philadelphia
was framing this constitution, that the. Congress in New York was framin

the ordinance of 1787. They passed that ordinance on the 13th of July, ‘

1787, at New York, the very month, perhaps the very day, on which
these questions about the importation of’ slaves and the character of
slavery‘ were debated in the convention at Philadelphia. And, so far
as we can now learn, there was a perfect concurrence of opinion between

these respective bodies; and it resulted in this ordinance of 1787, ex— U

cludinor slavery as applied to all the territory over which the Congress of
the United States had jurisdiction, and that was all the territory north-
west of the Ohio. Three years before, Virginia and other states had
made a cession of that great territory to the United States. And a1 most

1 magnificent act it was. I never reflect upon it without a disposition to do

honor and justice ---«and justice would be the highest honor-—-~to Virginia

'forthat act of cession of her north-western territory. I will say, sir, it

is one of her fairest claims to the respect and {gratitude of the United
States, and that perhaps it is only second to that other claim which

attaches to ..her-r--—-that, from her counsels, and from the ihtelligenoe and s

patriotism of her leading statesmen, proceeded the flrst idea put into

practice for ‘the formation of a general constitution of the United States.

Now, sir, the ordinance of 1787 applied thus to the whole territory over
fwhich the Congress of the United States had jurisdiction. It was adopted
nearly three years before the constitution of the United States went into

operation, because the ordinance took effect immediately on its passage ; _

while the constitution of the United States,_having been framed, was to
be sent to the states to be adopted by theirconventions, and then a gov-
ernment had to he orgaiiized under it.‘ This ordinance, then, was in

operatioii and‘ force when the constitution was adopted, and this ,gov1ern- ‘ '

ment put in motion, in April, 1789.

1 Mr. President, three thiiigs are quite clear as historical truths. One

is, that there was an expectation ‘that on the ceasingpf the importation
of slaves from Africa, slavery would begin to run out. 1 ‘That was hoped

and expect1ed. Another is, that, as far as there was anyrpower in Con-1

gress to prevent the spread of slavery in the United States, that power
was executed in the most absolute manner, and to the fullest extent. An

‘honorable member whose health does not allow him to be here to-day-- 1

,1 an. But, 1   1¢11or1dtnan;1i,e :.a;2;11:: “1i'S:hi»mg§‘a()1r . , pr0hib.i1_;ing7.,“g,g, 

A SENATOR. He is here. (Referring to*Mr. Calhoun.) ,

Mr. Wrsesrnn. I am very happy to hear that he is ; may he longib1e
in health and the enjoyment of it to serve hisico111nt1*y«—-.-said, theother.
day, that he considered this ordinance as the ifirst in the series of meals-1
ures calculated to enfeeble the south, and deprive. them of their just

participation in the benefits and privilege;s»o»t' this Igovernment.. U 1 He says .
very properly that it was dofhe under the c1ds“1_1eonfederation, and beefore ,

. . this constitution wentinto effect ; but<my1present1 purpose is only to lsays

Mr. President, that it was done with the entire ar1d11rnnanimous concurs:
r1en1ceio£,the,iwhole south.‘ Why, there it standjslj The vote of even 
1 state in  Union was unanimous iinljfavor’ of “5‘th1e1 o1?inan1ce,‘with,.1!thxa

 

exjceptiontfllf a*1sisagleiindividua1 v1ote,;an;d «<1t11at'in,1dividual was a 

 of       
     1   1    1  

   

  
 

on THE szcavenr oomrnonxsu. 93

convention meant to leave, slaver , in the states, as they found it, entirely
under the control of the states. a t

This was the state of things, sir, and this the state of opinion, under
which those very important matters were arranged, and those two i1npor-
tant things done; that is, the establishment of the constitution, with a
recognition of slavery as it existed in the states, and the establislnncnt
of the ordinance, prohibiting, to the full extent of all territory owned by
the United States, the introduction of slavery into those territories, and the
leaving to the states all power over slavery, in their own limits. And
here, sir, we may pause. We may reflect for a moment upon the entire
coincidence and concurrence of" sentiment between the north and the south
upon these questions at the period ofthe adoption of the constitution.
But opinions, sir, have changecl ----~ greatly changed --—-— changed’ north and
changed south. Slavery is not 1~cgarc.led in the south now as it was then.
I see an honorable nietnber of this body paying me the honor of listening
to my remarks ; he brings to me, sir, iireshly and vividly, the sonti-
ments of his great ancestor, so much distiiigtiisfied in his day and gener--
ation, so worthy to be siucceeded by so worthy a grandson, with all the
sentiments he expressed in the convention of I’l1i1adelphia.

I}Iere we may pause. There was, if not an entire unanimity, a general
concurrence of sentiment, running tlirougli the whole corntnunity, and

it especially entertained by the eminent men of all portions of the country.

But soon a change began at the north and the south, and a severance
of opinion showed itself —-—-- the north growing niuch more warm and
strong ztgainst slavery, andrthe south growing much more warm and

I strong in its support. Sir, there is no generation of niankind whose

opinions are not subject to be influenced by what appears to them to be
their present,ternergent, selfish, and exigerit interest. I impute to the
south no particularly seltishjview in the change which has come over her.

, I irnpute to her certainly no dishonest view. *.At11that has happened has ‘I

been natural. It has followed those ‘causes 'whieh~always influence the
human mind ahd operate upon it. What,. then, have been the caustes
which have created so new a feeling in favor of slavery in the I south»-
which lihve changed i31"1e,,,,'VV1”101B nomenclature of the south on theicsubjtect

I-g—andif‘1~om being thought of and described in the terms I have anon-‘
tioned and will not repeat, it has now become an institution, a clierislield

ins;titntin,ii in that quarter; no evil, no scourge, but a great religious,
social, and moral blessing, as I think I have heard pit? latterly described 
I suppose this, sir, is owing to the sudden uprisingand rapid growth of the
cotton plantations of thesouth. < So far as any motive of honor, justice, and
“general judgment could act, it was the interest thattigavei a new idea-
sire to promote slavery, to spree it, land to use its labor. I lagain say
   that was produced by thehoaurses whieh we must always expect. to

 

Hp‘IT’lt1%‘"@“L1ik.@ eects ; thyeir whole, interest rbieleatae tttoonaectetd with it. i If
the 1'hd‘$i10il.“y¢=O?f the ooeres ‘@£ this it .teo~antry,s, at the early

 
 
  

    jris titgofaerent, whet. weriet ouin.l..ein~erts<‘  stiletto W‘-‘e3 h=a1’d135»
 I very tlineitd extent,-knot.     fliddégfi will show that the

f,iei”m‘%V.: More than forty or fifty

 
 
 
  

     the     
    yeast 9 1t;.has~:ine-"ta

 

   seen     prices, amount to as
I             Lentioned thererwas

 
  

 

moss of lwaxsat»   i

i

p raise, ice of .al,;st everyarticle of
 *   ‘ 1   

  have heard it said, when

     

. 2 ‘ *{.1’u?%» i 0 ,'

   

 until it 

i 94..

, srzeacns on MR. WEBSTER
Mr. Jay negotiated the treaty of 1794 with England, he did not know
that cotton was exported at all from the United States ; and I have heard
it said that, after thetreaty which gave to the United States the right

to carry their own commodities to England, in their own ships, the
custom house in London refused to admit cotton, upon an allegation that

it could not be an American production, there being, as they suppose_d, no
cotton raised in America. They would hardly think so now I

“Tell, sir, we know what followed. . The age of cotton became a golden
age for our southern brethren. ' It gratified their desire for improvement
and accumulation at the same time that it excited it. The desire grew
by what it fed upon, and there soon came to be an eagerness for other
territory, a new area, or new areas, for the cultivation of the cotton crop,
and measures leading to this result were brought about, rapidly, one after
another, under the lead of‘ southern men at the head of the government,
they having a majority in both branches to accomplish their ends. The
honorable member from Carolina observed that there has been a majority
all along in favor of the iiiortli. If that be true, sir, the ‘north has acted
either very liberally and kindly, or very weakly; for they never exercised
that majority five times in the history of the government. Never. Whether
they were outgeneralled, or whether it was owing to other causes, I shall
notstop to consider; but no man acquainted with the history of the coun-

. try can deny, that the general lead in the politics of the country for three ‘

fourths of the period that has elapsed since the adoption of the constitution
has been a southern lead. In 1802, in pursuit of the idea of opening a
newcottonfiregion, the United States obtained a cession from Georgia'of
the whole of her western territory, now embracing thetrich and growing
state of Alabama. In 1803 Louisiana was purchased from ‘ France, out
of wliich the states ‘of Lfouisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri, have been
framed, as slaveholding states. 1 In 1819 thecession of Florida was made,

bringing ahother cession of . slaveholding ph-ope1~ty and territory Sir,

the honorable member from South Carolina thought he saw in certain rp-
erations of the government, such as the manner of collecting the revenue

and the tendency of those measuresto promote emigration into the coun-

 g?na1'antie~e upon.‘ ‘ .  s was  1 not, leave

I,‘ "
M?
Mr . . .  .
#9?

try, what accounts for the more rapid growth of _,tlie north than the south.
He thinks that more rapid growth, not the operation of 1 time, but of the
system of government established under this constitution. That is a
matter of opinion. To a certain extent it. may be so; but it does
seem to me that if any operation of the government izould be shown in
any degree to have promoted the population, and growth, and wealt of

the north, it is much. more sure that there are sundry important and
distinct operations of the government, about which no man can doubt,

tending to promote, and which absolutely have promoted, the increase of U

the slave interest and the slave territory of‘ the south. Allow mete say that
it was not time that brought in Louisiana; it was the act of s men. 1 It
was not time that brought in Florida 1;‘ it was the act of men. fAnd lastly,
sir, to complete those acts of men, which have contributed_so much to en-
large the area and the sphere of the institution of , slavery, Texas‘, g1*e»at,.

and vast, and illimitable Texas, was added to the Union, as a slave state, .,

    

in .1845‘; and that, sir, pretty much closed the whole chapter, and 
the-v wihole account. That closed the whole ehapter —- that settled the 
account, b-ease»  net? ifftin of Te2tas,. upon the conditions an 

 

A

z    

             

       

9

on TIIE snavnnr COMPROMISE. 95
the Rio Grrande or the Nueces, or whatever is the proper boundary of
Texas —— not an acre, not one. From that, moment, the whole country,
from this place to the western boundary of Texas, was fixed,fp1edged,
fastened, decided, to be slave territory forever, by the solemn gguairanties
of law. And I now say, sir, as the proposition upon which Istand this
day, and upon the truth and firmness of which I intend to act until it is
overthrown, that there is notat this moment within the United States, or
any territory of the United States, a single foot of land, the character of

- which, in regard to its being freesoil territory or slave territory, is not

fixed by some law, and some irrepealable law, beyond the power of the
action of this government. Now, is it not so with respect to Texas?
VVhy, it is most n1anit"est1y so. The honorable member from South Caro-
lina, at the time of the admission of Texas, held an important post in the
executive department of the government; he was secretary of state. Anv-
other eminent person of great activity and adroitness in affairs, I mean
the late secretary of the treasury, (Mr. Wallcer,) was a leading member
of‘ this body, and took the lead in the business of annexation; and I must
say they did their business faitltfully and tlioroug;l'11y ; there was no boteh

~let't in it. They rounded it off’, and made as close joiner work as ever
was put together. Resolutions of annexation were brotiglit into C3ot'1g1'ess
‘fltly joined to,getl1er«-e.orn1:>aot, firm, efficient, conclusive upon the great
object which they had in view; and those resolutions passed.

_ Allow me to read the resolution. It is the thircl clause of’ the second sec-
tion oflthe resolution of the 1st of March, 1845, for the admission of Texas, ,

which applies to this part of the case. That clause reads in these W01‘ClS:--—-~
“New states, of convenient size, not exceeding four in nutnber,in
addition to said state of Texas, and having" suflieient population, may
hereafter, by the consent of said state, be formed out of the territory
thereof‘, whieli shall be entitled to adrnission under the provisions.ot' the
federal constitution. And -such states as may beformed oiutof that por--
tion of i said territory, lying south of ‘36°t3=0i’ north latitude, eornrnonly
known as the Missouri I compromise line, shall be admitted into the Union
with or without slavery, as the people of each state aslting achnission sly

, desire; and in such state or states as shall‘rbe formed out of said territory

r north of said Missouri eonapromise 1ine,s1avery or involuntary servitude
, t(exeept for crime) shall be prohibited.” , I ‘

i , Now, whatis here stipulated, enacted, secured? It is, that al1.Te:x:as
,,southr of 36° 30’, which is nearlytthe Whole of it, shall be admitted into
the Union as a slave state. i It was aslave state, and therefore came in
as a slave state; and the gtuiranty is that new statesshall be madeout of
; it, and that such states as are~forneed out of that ‘portion of Texas . lying
[ south of 36° 30’ may eome in  slave states toxthe. number of four, in

addition to te state then in “$X‘ifSib(%nce‘, and admitted at that ttime by these
 tetiions.  know no form of rlegislfationtwhioht; .stre:n:gthen, that. I

 
   
  
 
 
 
 

   

  ode of tireeognition that spleen add,  weight to it... I
 to the rresolurtions t   fried from Ten-
th * well.) alleys ~pr!pos~e.  eeofl   that stipulation vriph
R‘:  .addi;tional~  woinld weaken the force of It,
  ~  on ~tthe   at thg 110116 ‘for 8-

V     ,Te:x:as, and designed
  * ,,:reee,itioa if'ounded notn? any eon-
Jilteiie so, s.ttton.g1  now stands on the
  it   confess, in which

  

I fiublic an empire-----—- and their policy was, and they persisted in it, to hr‘

i absolute ptedgvest  the slave interest, in the ease of Texas, and afterwar
I  lent, their aids  in these new, c?onqnests. My h,one:ti“I 

   

96 season on MR. WEBSTER

this government, acting in good faith, as I trust it always vvill, can relieve
itself’ from that stipulation and pledge, by any ‘honest courseof legislation

whatever. And, therefore, I say again that, so far as Texas is concerned
—-~— the whole of Texas south of 36° 30’, which I suppose embraces all the

I slave, territ.ory---there is no land, not an acre, the character of which is

not established by law, a law which cannot be repealed without the viola-
tion of a contract, and plain disregard of the public faith.

I hope, sir, it is now apparentnthat tmy proposition, so far as Texas is
concerned, has been maintained; and the provision in this article ———- and

‘it has been well suggested by my friend from Rhode Island that that part

of Texas which lies north of 34° of north latitude may be formed into free
states —-—-- is dependent, in like manner, upon the consent of Texas, herself
a slave state. V A , .

'Well, now, sir, how came this? How came it that within these walls,
where it is said by the honorable member from South Carolina, that the
free states have a majority, this resolution. of annexation, such as I have
described it, found a majority in both houses of Congress? "Why, sir, it
found that majority by the great addition" of northern votes added to the
entire, southern vote, or at least, nearly the whole of the southern votes.
That-majority was made upnof northern as well as of southern votes. In

admission of Texas. In the Senate the vote stood for the admissipn of
Texas, twenty-seven, and twenty-five, against it; and of those twenty-seven
votes, constituting a majority for the admission of Texas in this body, no
less than thirteen of them came from the free states -—-- four of them were
from New Eng1and.r , The whole of these thirteen senators from the free
states -———within a fraction, you see,.of one halt‘ , of all the votes in this body

a -the House of Representatives it stood, I think, about eighty‘ southern '
\ votes for the admissionof Texas, and about fifty northern votes for the

for the admission of Texas,Cwitl1 its immeasurable extent of slave territory ,

-—---were sent here by the votes of free states.

I

Sir, there is not so remarkable a chapter in our history of ‘ political
events, political parties, and’ political men, as iisiafliorded‘ by this measure
for the admission of Texas, with this immense territory, that a‘ bird cannot
fly over in a week. I [Laughton] Sir, New England,,With_some of her
votes, supported this measure. Three fourths of the votes of liberty-~lov-i
ing Connecticut Went for it in theother house, anh onelhalf here. There

was one vote for it in Maine,“ but I am happy tosay, not the vote of the

honorable member who_ addressed the Senate the day before yesterday,
(hlr. I-Iamlin,) and who was then a representative from Maine in_the ,other
house; but there was a vote or two from Maine --——— ay, and there was one

vote for it from Massachusetts, the gentleman then representing and now
i living in the district in which the prevalence of freesoil sentiment, for a
. couple of years or so, has defeated the choice of any member to represent

it in Congress. Sir, that body of northern and eastern men who gave

‘those votes at that time, are nowseen taking upon thiemselves, in the

nomenclature of politics, the appellation, of the Northern ,Democr,acy.
They undertook to wield the destinies of this empire -——j-if I may call a re-

    

They did it under pledge

into this country all the territory they could.
ds

 
  
 
 

div Ektrom Geora,,_ ,  1:8~t7, ,m@v@f£d‘  , Senate to de, I

e     "     

   

 

,,....l;*;.-_.. A

on THE snavnnr conraontsn. 97

dismernberment of Mexico. The same northern democracy’ entirely
voted against it. He did not get a vote from them. It suited the views,
, the patriotism, the elevated sentiments of the northern democracy to
bring in a world here, among the mountains -and valleys of California and
New Mexico, or any other part of Mexico, and then quarrel about it’; to»

- bringit.in, and then endeavor to put uponit the saving grace of the Wil-~

\ of 5

‘mot proviso. There were two eminent and highly-respectable gentlemen
from the north and east, then leading gentlemen in this Senate: I refer—--—-
and I do so with entire respect, for I entertain for both of those gentlemen
in general high regard—-—-to Mr. Dix, of New York, and Mr. Niles, of

Connecticut, who voted for the admission of TBXELS. They would not "

have that vote any other way than as it stood; and they would not have
it as it did stand. I speak. of the vote upon the annexation of Texas.
Those two gentlemen would have the resolution of annexation just as it is,
and they voted for it just as it is, and their eyes were all open to it. My
honorable friend, the member who addressed us thetother day from South
Carolina, was then secretary of state. His correspondence with Mr.
Murphy, the charge d’afi'aircs of the United States in Texas, had been
published. Tltat correspondence was all before those gentlemen, and the
secretary had the boldness and‘ candor to avow in that correspondence
that the great object sought by the annexation of Tezxzas was to strengthen
the slave interest of the south. Why, sir, he said, in so many words

Mr. CALHOUN. Will the honorable senator permit me to interrupt
him “for a moment? ‘
_i Mr. VV;E:esr1tn. Certainly. ‘ .

Mr. CALHOUN. I am very reluctant to interrupt the honorable gen-
tleman; but, upon a point of so much importance, I deem it right to put

myself rectus in czmfa. I did not put itupon the ground assumed by the
senator. I put itrupon this g,rou,nd ---.,that Great Britain had announced to
this country, in so many words,..,that her «,-object was to abolish slave:-yin
Texas, and ‘ilaonomplish ,thte_abo;1ishment‘o:f slavery in the
U11ited,Sta;tes  I  ygrpopndl Ipnt it on was, that it would

   
  
       

make an 3XPQ'3;etd 7    suceeled in her,
would be impossible thattt"fat f;I'*onti‘er could be s;ecared against th,elagf,res»-

 

sion of the abolitionistttsrt-.   overnment was b;»ou,nd,_ ‘thfe
guarantiesictiof the      promos us agaiinst such *1 state of Mega-

 , p   _ ,'I‘hat,comes, I suppose, sir, to exactly the same thi.
 » ..  must be obtained for the security of the slave interest

is e I sohith.  

    

)

      

th I
” Mr. CALHOUN. I Another view is very distinctly given. A, d
, Wnnsram l,'I‘hat was the object set forth in the correspondence
of a worthy gentleman, not now living, who preceded the honorable mem-
ber from South Carolina in that oiiice. There repose onthe files of the
 I vartment of state, as I have occasion to know, strong letters from Mr.

  

:e2v,f,a,e;..t tl:1;e is-arne minister from the honorable senator himself’, astsertinfg
 Ihi,e.,..6%ec{t  sentiments of this government, that Great Britain was

~se,x-p:eeted,..not to "interfere to take Texas out of the hands of its then exist-

”  ,,go:vernment, and. make. it a free, country. ' But my argument, my
...su}gestien,, is this —-——-- thatthose gentlemen who composed the northern de

:,,:ocracy when Texas was roughtpiinto the Union, saw, withall their eyes,
,;1;hat,i1;:was brgught in as ,slave,,,c:o.n%ntry, and brought in for the purpose ef
,eing maintained as slave territory to the; Greek kalends. I rather think

1
I

ssurgtol the United States minister in England, and I believejthere are

98 ,‘sr1'«:Eo1‘~I on MR. wnnsrnn
t , i 1

the honorable gentleman, who was then secretary of state, might, in some
of his correspondence with Mr. Murphy, have suggested that it was not
expedient to say too much about this object, that it might create some
‘alarm. At any rate, Mr. Murphy wrote to him, that England. was anx-
ious to get rid of the constitution of Texas, becauseit was a constitution
establishing slavery; and that what the United States had to do was, to
aid the people of Texas in upholding their constitution ; but that nothing
should be said that should-offend the fanatical men. But, sir, the honor-
able member did ayow this object, himself, openly, boldly, and manfully ;

. he did not disguise his conduct, or his motives.

Mr. CaLr'IoUN. Never, never.

Mr. ‘W:ensrI«:n. 'What he means he is very apt to say.

Mr. CALHOUN. T Always‘, always. a

Mr. WEBSTER. And I honor him for it. This admission of Texas
was in 1845. Then, in 1847, flctgmntexbello between the United States
and Mexico, the proposition*I have mentioned was brought forward by
my friend from Georgia, and the northern democracy voted straight ahead
against it. Their remedy was to apply to the acquisitions, afterr they

shouldcome in, the Wilmot proviso. ‘What follows? These two gentle-

men, worthy, and honorable, and influential men»----and if they had not
been they could not have carried the measurewthesc two gientleinen,
members of this body, brought in Texas, and by their votes they also

, prevented the passage of the resolution of the honorable member from

Georgia, and then they went home and took the lead in the freesoil
party. And there they stand, sir! They leave us here, bound in honor
and conscience bythe resolutions;oi' annexation--—--tliey leave us here to
takethe odium of fulfillingthe obligations. in favtoriof slavery which they
voted us into, or elsexthe greater sodium of violating thoseobligations,

while they are at home, making rousing and capital speeches for freesoil

and no slavery, [Laughton]   And, therefore, I say, sir, that there is

not a chapter in our history, respecting public measures and public izmen,

,more.full of what should create surprise, morefull of what does create, 
my mind, erztreme mortification, than thatof the conduct ‘of this northern
democracy. t i l  T t j r  i r

a Mr. President, sometimes, when a man is found in a new relation to
things around him and to other men, he says the world has changed, and

thathe has not changed. I believe, sir, that our self‘-respect leads us often ‘

to make this declaration in regard to ,ourselves, when it is not exactly
true._ An individual is more apt to change, perhaps, than all the world
around. him. But, under the present circumstances, and under the re-

sponsibility which I know I" incur by what I am now stating here, Itfeel ‘

at liberty to recur to the various expressions and statements, made at
various times, of my own opinions and resolutions respecting the admission

, of ‘Texas, and all that has followed. Sir, as early as 1836, or in the
earlier part of 1837, a matter of conversation and correspondencebetween

myself and some private friends was this project of annexing, Texas, to the
United States; and an honorable gentleman with whom I have had at

 acquaintance, afrieiid of mine, now perhaps in this chamber--T-I 
Gfieneral Hamilton, of South Carolina---pwas knowing to that correspond:

 ievecl it was  o3e4xli.sting fact, surprising ranfd astonisliing as it  t

   

en;ce., , I had voted for thegrecognitionof Texan intdependvenace, ~be«oansse 

        w
     i       

 

 
 
  

-to do any thing which shall extend the slavery of the African race on

I

' on rrm SLAVERY conrnomse. is 99

occasion, sir, in 183?’, to meet friends in New York, on some political occa-
sion, and I then stated my sentiments upon the subject. It was the first
time that I had occasion to advert to it; and I will ask a friend ‘near ' me
to do me the favor to read an extract from the speech, for the Senate may
find it rather tedious to listen to the whole I of it. It was delivered in
N iblo’s Garden in 1837. , . I ,
Mr. GREENE then read the following extract from the speech of the
honorable senator, to which he referred:—-—- ‘ -
“Gentlemen, we all see that, by whomsoener possessed, Texas is likely
to be a slaveliolding country ‘; and I frankly avow my entire unwillingness-

this continent, or add other slaveholding states to the Union. I .:
‘*' Wlien I say, that I regard slavery in itself as a greal moral, social, f
and political evil, I only use language which has been adopted by dis- ll
tin guishecl men, themselves citizens of slaveholding states.
I “ I shall do nothing, therefore, to favor or encourage its further eaten»

vision. We have slavery already among us. The constitution found it
hamong us ,-it it recognized 1t, and gave it solemn guaranties. I

‘of plain and imperative ditty. . ~ in 

I “ To the full extent of these guaranties we are allbound in honor, in
justice, and by the constitution. All the stipulations contained in the

3
1

constitution in favor of the slaveholding states, which are already in the .
,, Union, ought to be fulfilled, and, so far as depends on me," shall be ful-

filled in the fnlness of their spirit and to the exactness of‘ their letter.
Slavery, as it exists in the“ states, is beyond the reach of Congress. It is a
concern of the states themselves. Tliey have never submitted it to Con»-
gress, and Congress has no rightful power over it. p l
“ I shall concur, therefore, in no act, no measure, no menace, no indica-.
tion of purpose which shallinterfere or threaten to interfere with the
exclusive authority of the several states over the subject of slavery, as it
exists within their respective limits. ‘ All this appears to me to be matter

 states, . the subj»eot

 

i “ But when we come to “seal: ofpadmi»’ir'ig

-assumes an entirely. fclifl“ert.*;.;aseet.ti~  rigrrtsiad  seas are then

both, differen+t. p   . 
“ I see, th:ereforre,i;.,,ao‘» 

  
 

p p A, My  r  ~ntssastty for ~the annexation eof7iiTee:asu to
the Union -—-.— no  antagiieslirto be derived fro it; a objensr »

3‘

ea strong, and, of a decisive character.”

Mr. Wnesirala.   have notliing; sir, to add’ to, nor to take  from,

I those sentimenits.  'I3hat, the Senate will perceive, wasin; 1837. The

purpose of immediately annening Texas at that time owes abandoned_ or

cpostpo‘riedi; ‘id it was not revived with any vigor for some years. In the

 
 
 
   

mean time it had so happened that I had become a member of the ,exeou-, :

tive  and was for ashort period in the departrnent of state. V

 Vannexation of Texas was a subject of iconversation  not lconfidential
  in te presié:l~e»nt:and heads of departmenagas .w:ellas5with,.th[er pub-—_
 serionrs attempt was then made,l‘.however,. to bring it about.
I dartentf of state in May, 1843, and shortly. after I learned,
 “connected with official intfration, that at !design had been

  Texas, withvliter slave i jterritry and population,

    
 

       



into the  States. I was here in Washington at the time, and ‘per- -

I (ens are nowhere who will  we. had an arranged a meeting

,f';o1'f, eoniveprsationiii npon it.  It  ;§‘.’5‘7 tel *~ 
 the, existence of‘ that purpose 

 

p .- ehusettsi,  proclaimed
 ; no audience, and but little

 

100 I ~ srnrzon on MR. wnnsrnn '

attention. Some did not believe it, and some were too much engaged in ’
their own pursuits to give. it any heed. They had gone to their farms. or
to their merchandise, and it was impossible to arouse any sentiment in
New England or in Massachusetts that should combine the two great
political parties against this annexation ; and, indeed, there was no hope
of bringing the northern democracy into that view, for the leaning was all
the other way. But, sir, even with ‘whigs, and leading Whigs, I am
ashamed to say, there was a great indiflierence towards the admission of
Texas with slave territory into this -Union. It Went on. I was then out
of Congress. The annexation resolutionspassed the 1st of March, 1845.
The legislature of Texas complied with the conditions, and accepted the
guaranties; for the phraseology of the language of theresolution is, that
Texas is to come in “upon the conditions and under the guaranties
herein prescribed.” I happened to be returned to the Senate in March,
1845, and was here in,December, 184.5, when the acceptance by Texas
, of the conditions proposed by Congress was laid before us by the presi-
dent, and an act for the consummation of the connection was laid before
the two houses. The connection was not completed. A final law doing
the deed of annexation ultimately and finally had not been passed; and
when it was upon its final passage here, I expressed my opposition to it,
and recorded my vote in fthe negativerand there the "voter stands, with
the observations that I made upon that occasion. It has happened that
between 1837 andthis time, on various occasions and opportunities, I
have expressed my entire opposition to the admission of slave states, or
the acquisition of new slave. I territories, to be addedto the United States.
I ls‘;1’1OW, sir, no change in my own sentiments or my own purposes in that
respeen. I will new again ask my friend from Rhode Island to read
another extract from; at speechof mine,m*acle._at a whiglconvention in
Spring,field,.Massachusetts, in the month of September, 1847. I h I
 Mn -GvREENE1i1e1‘e rreadrrtllc, fo11ow.iz1g,extract=e-«pr.    Tl  

“ We hear much just now of la ppcmttcea for the dangers and evils iof

~ slavery and slave annexation, which they call the ‘ Wrllmot Proviso.’
That certainly is  just sentiment, but it isnot: a sentiment to found any
new party upon.» Ittis not a sentiment on_ which Massachusetts Whigs
I differ. There is not a man in this hall who holds‘ to it more firmly than I

do, nor one who adheres to it morethan another. . e I _

“ I feel some little interest in this matter, sir. Did not I commit my-
self in 1838 to the whole doctrine, fully, entirely? And I_ must be _per-
mitted to say that I cannot quite consent. that more recent discoveries
should claim the merit and take out a patent. ~r ” I p

“I deny the priority of their invention. Allow me to say, 'sir,it is not

1 '_.their thunder. I . 1. .

 “ We are to use the first and last, and every occasion which offers‘ to
, oppose the extension of slave power. ‘ . 1
 1“ But I speak of it here, as in Congress, as a political question, a ques-
.’tion for statesmen to act upon. Wet must soregard it... I certainly do
not mean to say that it is less important in a moral point of view, that it
is not more important fin many other points of .view ; l but,  legislatojr, h
 in anytoflieial capacity, I must look at it, consider; it, and decide it 

matter‘ of pov iaction.?’l »

  

   lcas.ions,»: in. debates h:'ere,. I have expre  it 

it“; ‘ ‘i

  
 

I is detcition    or ce~ssgion., ‘or ant

J     . p  

        

by--r-iv the law of the

on THE snavnnr oonrreomsn. 101
tory enough, and that we sliould follow the Spartan maxim, “Improve,
adorn what you have, seek no farther.” I think that it was in some
observations that I made here on the three million loan bill, that I-avowed
that sentiment. In short, sir, "the sentiment has been avowed quite as
often, in as many places, and before as many assemblies, as any humble
sentiments of mine ought to be avowed. l r i r i

But nowlthat, under certain conditions, Texas is in, with all her terri-
tories, as a slave state, vvitha solemn pledge that if she is divided into
many states, those states. may come in as slave states south of 36° 30’,
how are we to deal with this subject? _ I know no way of honorable legis-

I
I
n

lation, when the proper time comes for the enactment, but t.o carrycinto 

effect all that we have stipulated to do. I do ncitentii-ely agree with my

honorable friend from Tennessee, (Mr. Bell,) that, as soon as the time 
comes when she is entitled to anotherrepresentative, we should create a .’
The rule in regard to it I take to be this: that, when we have ,

new state.
created new states out of territories,we have generally gonempon the
idea that when there is population enough to form a state, sixty thousand,
or some such tliing, we would create a state; but it is quite a different
thing when a state is divided, and two or more states made out of it. It
does not follow, in such a case, that the same rule of apportionment should
be applied. That, however, is a matter for the considerationrof Coxigress,
whenthe proper time arrives. I may not then be here. I may have no
vote to give on the occasion ;, b.ut I wish it to be distinctly understood to-
day, that, according to my view of the matter, this government is solemnly
pledged by law to create new states out of Texas, with her consent, when
her population shall justify such a proceeding; and, so far as such states
areformed out of Texan territory lying south of 36° 30’, to let them come
in as slave states. That is their meaning of I the resoliitioii which our
friends, the northern delolccacy, have left us to fulfil; and I, for one,
mean to fulfil it,~beeause,‘“I3   notl'r*vi=o*l*atel ifaitli of the tgorvertiment.
’ N ow, as“'to U  ” if   , I ~ex*ic:o3  holléllelavery‘ to be liexcluded
from those heart‘ ‘»  V     atlmi'ts and
sanctions it         
p   ¢Tli?at law settles forr*=elver,: with
beyoznd’    .  slavery lteannolt exist
 or ow‘   i‘?=‘nde’rs*tand*me, sir ; I  slavery as
g  ' ‘V ,3 o    gross, of the col'ored'race, rtransferable bysale and
 rlilse «otf property. I shall not discuss this point, but I, leave
it to the learned gentlemen who have undertaken to discuss it; 'butI sup-
pose there is no slave of that description in California_*now., ‘I under-
stand that peoitism, a sort of penal servitude, exists there, orrather a sort
of voluntary sale of a man and his offspringrfor debt, as it is arranged
‘i‘e:i:ists- in some parts of California. and New Mexico. But what I,
an to say is, that~African slavery, as we see it among us, is as utterly
r  to find itself, or. to be if found, inoihdiexiclo, as any other natural
,  California and New Mexico are Asiatic zintheir formation
or   I They are'eompofsed of vast ridges of mountains of ‘enor-
 *’   with broken riidgesr and deep valleys. i The sides of these
mountains arebarren, entirely barren, their tops capped by perennial
snow.’ There maybe in California, now made free by its ] constitution,

     
     
 

 

:1.»

  
 

   
  

at 
 “

 

 
    
  

t and no doubt there are, some ,trlae*ts**of valuable land. But it is not so in
V N~ewpMe‘xiico.

Pray, what   tettidenice which every gentleman must

   

 -ve obtained on this spbjtecit, 

I

torn? information sought by himself or com--, ,

102

  for a prohibition of’ slavery,.I would not vote for it.

 .propse;_ a l

SPEECH OF ME. WEBSTER t

munieated by others? I have inquired and readall I could find in order
to obtain information. What is there in New Mexico that could by any
possibility induce any body to go there with slaves ? There are some.
narrow stripsof tillable land on the borders of the rivers; but the rivers
themselves dry up before midsummer is gone. i All that the people can do
is to raise some little articles, some little wheat for their tortillas, and all v
that by irrigation. And who expects to see a hundred black men culti-
vating tobacco, corn, cotton, rice, or any thing else, on lands in New
Mexico made fertile only by irrigation? I it look upon it, therefore, as as
fixedfact, —- to use an expression current at this day, —---that both California
and New Mexico are destined to be free, so far as they are settled at all,
which. I believe, especially in regard to New Mexico, will be very little
for a great length of time; free by the arrangexnent of thingsby the
Power above us, _I have, therefore, to say, in this respect also,’ that this
country is fixed for freedoxn, to as many persons as shall ever live there,
byes irrepealable and more irrepealable a law than the law that attaches
to the right of holding slaves in Texas ; and I will say further, that if a.
resolution or a law were now before us to provide a territorial government
for New Mexico, I would not vote to. put any prohibition into it whatever.
The use of such a prohibition would be idle, as it respects any effect it.
would have upon the territor ; and I would not take pains to reaiiirm an
ordinance of Nature, nor to reénact the will of God. And I would put in
no VVihnot proviso for the purpose of aitaunt or a,,reproach. I would put,
into it no evidence of the votes of superior power, to wound the pride,evenf
wliether a just pride, a rational pride, or andrrational pride ---— to wound the
pride of the gentlemen who belong to the Southern States. I have no such
object, no such’ purpose. They would ‘think it ai taunt, an~,1'i1dignity;,;they,

5 would think  to be an actitalsing away from them what they regard a proper

equality of privilege; and whether they expect to rrealizenny benefit front,
it or not, éthoyi would  it a theoretic, Wrong ; that’, something .1n.ore, ‘atom,
 pderogatory to their character and their rights had taken place. I
pose to indict no such wound upon any body, unless something essentiallyi
  that country, and efficient to the preservation of liberty and
fro6dom,is to be eflected. Therefore, I repeat, sir,rand I repeat it because
I wish it to be understood, that‘ I do not propose to acldress the Senate
ofteiir on this “'snbject. I desire to pour out all my heart in as plain a,

_, Inanxlicrias possible; and I say, again, that if a proposition were new hero.

fora government for N ew Mexico,. and it was moved to insert a p1*ovision,

Now, Mr. President, I have established, so far as I proposed to go 
any line of ‘observation to establish, the proposition with which I set out,

. “and upon which I propose to stand or fall; and that is, that the whole ter-_,,-pp,

ritory of the states in the United States,or in the newly-acquired territory,
of the United, States, has at fixed and settled character, now fixed and,
settled by law, which cannot be repealed in the case of Texas withou_t

violation of public faith, and cannot be repealed by any humanpower in; I

regard to California or New Mexico; that, under one or other of these,
laws, every foot of territory, in the states or in the territories has 
received a fixed  decided character. , At t r I by 1 I I
 ;S:ir,tifwe*w1:ereintw skiing at governm,ent.lfor,:.New,Meixico, antdany 1), g
‘so,  shlottld  it, ppexacitly  7

I i       
     ‘   I

, i;,»;':‘r 

 
  
 

    
 

P-r

 

   provision life A A

  

     

    

as , .« “’* l

ON THE SLAVERY COMPROMISE. . . 103

Felt the necessity of establishing a government for the territory of’ Oregon,
and though the proviso was there, he knew it would be entirely nugatory;
and, since it must be entirely 11ugapto1*y, since it took: away no right," no
describable, no estimable, no weighable or tangible riglit of the south, he
said he would sign the bill for the sake of leiiacting a law to form a govern-

ment in that territory, and let that entirely useless, and, in that connection, '

entirely senseless, proviso remain. For myself, I will say that we hear
much of the annexation of Canada; and if there be any man, any of the
northern democracy, or any one of thefrecsoil party, who supposestit ne-
cessary to insert a VVilmot proviso in a territorial government «for New

Mex.ico, that man will of course be of’ opinion that it is necessary to pro—»

toot the everlasting snows of Canada i‘ron1'the foot of slavery by the same
overpowering wing of an act of Congress. Sir, wherever there is a partic-
ular good’ to be done, wherever tliere is a foot of land to he stayed back
from becouiiug slave territory, I am ready to assert the .principle of the
exclusion of slavery. I am pledgecl to itt'ro1n the year 1837; I have
been pledged to it again and again; and I will perform those ple_cl,r_g;es;
but I. will not do a thing unnecessary, that wounds the feelings of others,
or that does disgrace to my own untle1‘staudi11g.

Mr. President, in the excited times in which we live, there is f‘ound'to
exist a state of eriznination and reeritnination between the north and
south. There are lists of grievances produced by each; and those
grievances, real or supposed, alienate the‘ minds of one portion of the
country from the other, exasperate the feelixigs, subdue the sense of f'ra-
ternal connection, and patriotic -love, and mutual 1'ega1'd. I shall bestow a
little attention, sir, upon these various grievances produced on the one
side and on the other. I begin with the complaints of the SOl1i‘.'l’1. I will
not answer, further than I have, the general staternents of the honorable

senator from South Carolina, that the nortli lias grown upon the south in
I , consequence of the manner of administering this gtoverntnent, in the 1 col-

lecting of its :revenues,,aud so forth. These are disputed topics, and I
have no inclination. to enteriinto them. But I. will state these eotnplaints,
iespectially one complaint of the south, whioh has, in mytopinion, jusfitlibunt-—
dationt; and that is, that there has been found at the nortlnamong inzdiu

‘ vidluels, and among the legislators of the north, a disinoliuation to performi,

I

fully, their constitutional duties in regard to the return of persons bound
to service,who have escaped into the free states. In that respect, it is
my judgment that l}l16_,S01.1tlC1 is right,  the northis, wroncr. iEvery
member s f every no~rt;,hern legislature,isbound,.1ike every other yoffieerin
the oo1m~y, by oath,‘to supportthe oonstitution of the United States;
andthis artiicle of th constitution, which says to these states, they shall
deliver up fugitives from serviee, is aspbindhig in honor and conscience as
other article. No man fulfils his duty in any legislature who sets
it to find expenses, evasions, escapes from this constitutional,ob1iga-

   

      

   always thought that the cionstitutionpp addressed itself to

  

 ot'iii,th~e states ‘or to the states tthemselves. It says
perstons= escaping to outlier tstateetslirall be delivered up, and I
 “always been of the i‘ epii.nin  it~iwas an injunction upon

_se.lve,s. 1‘  it is saizd that at person escaping into anoth-
I  tltvewffietre  tthe jaltiitisdietion of that state, shall

*   of the passage is, that the state
I '  shall some him to be delivered up.
 ~~J ‘J  a1w»ay»s.{:te:tertainefl that opinion, and I

  
    
  
    
    

 

 

  

 its   

fl

J-

104  ' srnncrr on MR. wnnsrnn

entertain it now. But when the subject, some years ago, was before the
Supreme Court of the United States, the majority of the judges held that
the power to cause fugitives from service to be delivered up was apower
to be exercised under the authority of this government. I do not know,
on the whole, that it may not have been a fortunate decision. My habit
I is to respect the result of judicial deliberations, and the solemnity of judi-
cial decisions.- But as it now stands, the business of‘ seeing that these
fugitives are delivered ‘up resides in the power of Congress and then,a-
tional judicatm-e,'and' my friend at the head of the judiciary committee
has a bill on the subject now before the Senate, with some amendments to ,.
it, which I propose to support, with all its provisions, to the fullest extent.

 And I desire to call the attention of all sober-minded men, of all conscien-—

tious men, in the north, of all men who are not carried away by any

' fanatical idea, or by any false idea whatever, to their constitutional obli-

gations. I put it to all the sober and sound minds at the north, as a ques-- .
1 tion of morals and a question of conscience, What right have they, in their
legislative capacity, or any other, to endeavor to get round this constitu-
tion, to embarrass the free exercise of’. the rights secured by -the constitu-
tion to the persons whose slaves escape from them? None at all; none
at all.‘ Neither in the forum of conscience, nor beforie the face of the
constitution, are they justified, in my opinion. Of course it is a matter
‘for their consideration. They probably, in the turmoil of the times, have
not stopped to consider of this '; they have followed what seems to be the
current of thought and of motives, as the occasion arose, and neglected to
investigate fully, thercal question, and to consider their constitutional obli-
gations; as I am sure, if they ididdconsider, theywould fulfil thern with
alacrity. j'Thereforc ‘ I, repeat, sir,that gthere is a ground of complaint,
against the north, well i'ounded,,r’which ought to b=e~ren1oved, which it is
now in the power of the .di:ff'erent. departments of this government to reap
move, which calls"for the enactment of prop»er”laws authorising the
cature of this igov~ernrnent, in“ the several states, to doall that is necessarfyg
lfor the recapture of fugitive slaves,’ and for the restoration of them to
those who claim them. Wherever ,Ii go, and wherever I speak on this
subject, i-—-—- andwhen I speak here I desire to speak’ to the Whole north,---«
I say that the south has been injured in this respect, and has a right to
complain; and the north has been too careless of what I think the icon-
stitution fperemptorily and emphatically enjoins upomit as a duty, dd
' a Complaint has been made against certain resolutions that emanate from
legislatures at the north, and"ai“'e sent here to us, not only on th subject
of slavery in this District, but sometimes recommending Congre , to con-

? sider the means of abolishing slavery in the states. I should. be very
sorry to be called upon to present any resolutions here which could not be
referable to any committee or any power in Congress ;, and tlierefhre I
should it be very unwilling to receive from Massachusetts instructions to
present resolutions expressing any opinion whatever upon slavery as it less:

I ists atthe present moment in the states, for two reasons: i because, first,,‘I 
do not consider that the legislature of Massachusetts has any thing torddzor
with it; and next, I do not consider that I, as her representativ_e~ 
have any thing to do with it, Sir, it has become, inmytopinion, quite, toe.
men;  if the legidlatures of the states: ‘ do not like that iogpi  

“Fey have a     it  V’ I have to;  t
 ” I b?e“te,-?  o’ ‘   ' it I  t «    or 

    

     

             
    

   

on THE sL_A.vEnr conrnonrsn. 105

here on all subjects. There is no public man that requires instruction

more than I do, or who requires inf'ormation more than I do, or desires it
more heartily ; but I do not like to have it come in too imperative a shape.
I tool: notice, with pleasure, of‘ some remarks upon this subject, made the
other day in the Senate of Massacliusetts, by a young man of talent and
character, from whom the best hopes may be entertained. I mean Mr.
Hillard. He told the Senate of Massachusetts that he would vote for no
instructions wliatcvelf to be 1°01‘Warcled to members of Congress, nor for
any resolutions to be offered expressive of’ the sense of Massacliusetts as
to what their mcnibers of Con,grcss ought to do. He said that he saw no
propriety in one set of’ public servants giving instructions and reading lec-
tures to another set of public servants. To their own master all of t.he"m
must stand or f’-.‘1l1,a.nd that master is their constituents. I wish these
sentiments could become more common, great deal more common. I
have never entered into the question, and never shall, about the binding
force of‘ instructions. I will, however, simply say this: if there be any
matter of‘ interest pentling in this body, while I am a member of it, in
which Massachusetts has an interest of her own not adverse to the gen-
eral interest of the country, I shall pursue her instructions with gladncss
of heart, and with all the eflicicncy which I can bring it. But it‘ the
question he one which aiiinzts her interest, and at the same time a.tI’ccts the
interests of” all other states, I shall no more 1'ega1'(ll her political wishes
or instructions tliatn I would 1‘cg:;1.1'tl the wislics of a man who ]1'1‘lgl‘1t ap-
point me an arbiter or 1'ei’e1'ie<3 to decide some question of important pri-
vate 1‘igl1t,a11(l\rl1o n?llg‘llt instruct me to decide in his f'::wor. If ever
there was a ,rg;ove1'm11e1.1t upon earth, it is this government; if ever there
was a body upon f3tll‘l£.1, it is this body, which should consider itself as
coxnposed by :igt'e<3inent of all, appointed- by some, but organized by the
sgeneral consent of all, sittixig here under the solemn obligations of oath
and conscience to do that which they think. is best for the good of the
whole. t

Then, sir, there are these abolition societies, of which I am unwilling
to speak, but in 1'cga1*d to whicli I liave very clear notions and opinions.
Ildo not think them use.f'ul. I think their ope ations for the last twenty
years lyiave produced t1otl;iin;g; ,g‘ood or valuable. At the same time, I know
thousands. of them are“honcst and gbocl men; perfectly well-ineztiiiiig
men. Tliey have czxcitccl 1"eelin<rs -- they think they must do soniething
for the cause oi" liberty, and in their sphere of action they do not see
what else they can do, than to contribute to an abolition press or an
abolition society, or to pay an abolition lecturer. I do not mean to impute
gross motives even to the leaders of these societies, but I am not blind to
the consequences. I cannot but see what miscliiefs their interference with
the south has produced. And is it not plain to every man? Let any
gentleman who doubts of that, recur to the debates in the Virginia House
of 'Dclcg:tt:cs in 1832, and he will see with what freedoms. proposition
made by Mr. Randolph for the gradual abolition of’ slavery was discussed

in that body. Every one spoke of 'slave.ry‘as he thought; vet-y.igno~

minions and disparaging names and epithets weresapplied to it. The
debates in the House of Delegates on that occasion, I believe, were all
published. They were read by every colored man who could read, and
if there were any who could not reacl,those debates wereyread to them:
by others. At that time Virginia was not unwilling nor afraid to discuss
this question, and toilet that part of her population know as much of it as

. 14 ' .,

.106 , sensor: or Mn. vvnnsrnn

they could learn. That was in 1832. As has been said by the honorable
member from Carolina, these abolition societies connnenced their course
of action in 1835. It is said ————-~I do not know how true it may be-—that
they sent incendiary publications into the slave states; at any event, they
attempted to arouse, and did arouse, a very strong feeling; in other
words, they created great agitation in the north ztgstiiist southern slavery.
Well, what was the result? The bonds of the slaves were bound more
firmly than before; their rivets were more st1'ong;ly fastened. Public

0. inion which in Virrrinia had beeun to be exhibited zwaixist slaver r and
P 9 2:2: -2:: 2:: ll 2 p

was opening out for the discussion of the question, drew baeli and shut
itself up in its castle. I wish to know whether any body in Virginia can,
now, talk as Mr. Ra.1'1c,lolpl’.1, Governor McDowell, and others talked tliere,
openly, and sent their remarks to the press, in 1832. "We allpknow the
fact, and we all know the cause; and every tl‘ii1';g that this ztgitatiitig
people have done has been, not to enla.rg;e, but to restrain ; not to set free,
but to bind faster the slave population of the south. That is xnyju-dgu
ment. Sir, as I have said, I know many abolitionists in my own ncigh-
borhood, very honest, good people, misled, as I think, by strange enthusi-
asm; but they Wish to do son1et.l“1i1"1g, and they are Ctllltitltoll t:o contribute,
and they do contribute; and i.t is my itirm opinion this day, that within

the last twenty years, as much money has been collected and paid to am;

abol.it.ion societies, abolition presses, and abolition lecturers, as would pnr—-
chase the freedom of‘ ever r slave man, woman, and child in the state of
l\i.a1*yland, and send t.1:1enn all to Libe:ria.. I have no doubt of it. But. I
have yet to learn that the benevolence of these abolition societies has at
any time taken that particular turn. l:IJi:Lll,gl‘ll:(l.iI'.]

 Again, sir, the violence of the press is cornplaincd of". The press
violent! 'Why, sir, the press  violent every where. There are out-~

ragcous 1'(3}_’)1‘0f;1.(3l‘it(i‘..‘El§1l11 the north ztgztixist the south, and there are reproaehes 

in not much better tests in the south against the north. t Sir, the ex-7

trernists in both parts of this country are violent; they Il’1lSl.’£tl{(3 loud‘ and ,

violent talk for eloquence and for 1-énsoxi. They thirik that he who talks"
loudest reasons the best. .And this we must erspeczt, when the press is
free—--— as it is here, and I trust always will be~—-—-i'or, with all its licen-
tiousness, and all its evil, the entire and absolute ti-eetlorn of the press is
essential to the preservation of governxncnt on -the basis of a free consti-~
tution. W’-herever it exists, there will be ‘foolish ]_T)tt1’ttg§l”t3.],f)l’1S and violent
par-ag1'aphs in the press, as there are, I am sorry to say, ibolish speeches
and violent speeches in both houses of Coligress. In truth, sir, I must
say that, in my opinion, the vernacular tongue of the country has become

greatly vitiated, depraved, and corrupted by the style of our congressional '

debates. [Laugl1tei'.] And if it were possible thr our debates in Con»
gress to vitiate the principles of the people as much as they liaveldepraved
their taste, I should cry out, “ God save the Republic!” .

Well, in all this I see no solid grievance; no grievance presented by
the south, within the redress of the .government, but the single, one to
which I have referred; and that is, the want of’ a proper regard to the
injunction of the constitution thr the delivery of fugitive slaves.

There are else complaintsof the north against the south. I need not
go over them particularly. The first and gravest is, that the north

, adopted the constitution, recognizing the existence of slavery in the states, i

and recognizing the right, to a certain extent, of representationrof ’ the

I slaves in Congress, undera state of sentiment and expectation which do

on ran snavnnr COMPROMISE. _, _107
not now exist; and that, by events, by circumstances, by the eagerness
of the south to acquire territory and extend their slave population, the
north finds itself ---- in regard to the influence-of the south and the north,
of the free states and the slave states-—--where it never did expect to find

itself when they entered the compact of the constitution. They com’-I-‘

plain, therefore, that, instead of slavery being regarded as an evil, as it
was then--an evil which all hoped would be ex.ti.nguished gradually --it

is now regarded by the south as an institution to be cherished, and pre-~ i

served, and extended; an institution which the south has already ex:-
tended to the utmost of her power by the acquisition ‘of new territory.
Well, then, p£tSSiD,,;._,,,f1‘O131 that, every body in the north reads; and every
body reads whatsoever the newspapers contain; and the newspapers --—-
some of them, especially those presses to which I have alluded-———are care-
ful to spread about among the people every reproachful sentiment uttered
by any southern man bearing at all against the north; every thing that is
calculated to exzasperate, to alienate ; and there are many such things, as
every body will admit, from the south or some portion of, it, which are
spread abroad among the reading people‘; and they do ezsiasperate, and
alienate, and produce a most mischievous effect upon the public mind at the
north. Sir, I would not notice -things of this sort, appearing in obscure
quarters; but one thing has occurred in this debate which struck me
very forcibly. An honorable member f'rom Louisiana addressed us the
other day on this subject. I suppose there is not a more amiable and
wortliygentleman in this cha1nbe1'-—*,nor a gentleman who would be more
slow to give ofiience to any body, and he did not mean in his remarks to
give offence.‘ But what did he say? Why, sir, he took pains to runia.
contrast between the slaves of the south and the laboring people of the
north, giving‘ the preference in all points of condition, and comfort, and

happiness, to the slaves of the south. T110 honorable member, doubtless,

did not suppose that he gave any offence, or did any injustice. He was
merelylcxpressirmg his opinion. But does he l{ll0W.l1OW~J."(ilI12Ll‘l{S,, of that
sort will be received by the laboring people of the north? lWhy, who

are ,t1:1e.1aboring««~ people of the north? *They.are the north. Theytare

the people who. cultivate their own. farms with their own “hands; f'ree-

holders, educated men, independent men. Let me say, sir, that five,
sixths of the whole property of the northis in the hands of the laborers

of thefir_iorth; they cultivate their farms, they edueatetlieir children, they
provide the means of independence; if tlieyare not freeholders, they

earn wages; these, wages accumulate, are turned into capital,3into‘new“

freeholds, and smallcapitalists are created. That is the case, and such.
the course of things with us, among the industrious and frugal. And
what can these people think, when so respectable and worthy a gentleman
 the member from Louisiana undertakes to prove» that the absolute igno-

rance and the abject slavery of r the south is more inconformity with the

high piurplosesi and destiny of immortal,‘ rational,. human beings, than the
educated, the independent free laborers of the north ?~ There is a more
tangible. and irritating cause of grievance at the “north.” Free‘ blacks are
constantly employed in the vessels of theinorth, generally as cooks or
stewards. t ~When the vesselarrives, these free colored men are taken on;
shore by the police or municipal authority, imprisoned, and kept in prison,

 thevessel is  readyxto sail. This is not only irritating, abuts ex-it

eeedingly llineonvenienvlt  .,praetice,~  seems altogether. , impracticable

 eppressive; ti~H.oar’s raises), ssomgei time ago, tci‘ South‘ Carolina,

&

108 SPEECH on MR. ‘WEBSTER

h

"was a well-intended effort to remove this cause of complaint. The north

thinks such imprisonments illegal and unconstitutional. As the cases
occur constantly and frequently, they think it a great grievance.

Now, sir, so far as any of these grievances have their foundation in
matters of law, they can be redressed, and ought to be redressed; and
so far as they have their foundation in matters of opinion, in sentiment,
in mutual crimination and recrimination, all that we can do is, to endeavor
to allay the agitation, and cultivate a better feeling and more fraternal
sentiments between the south and the north. »

Mr. President, I should much prefer to have heard from every member
on this floor declarations of opinion, that this Union should never be dis-
solved, than the declarations of opinion, that, in any case, under the
pressure of any circumstances, such a dissolution was possible. I bear
with pain, and anguish, and distress, the Word .S‘8C(:’S.S"L"07Z, especially when
it falls from the lips of those who are eminently patriotic, and known to
the country, and known all over the world,,for their political services.
Secession! Peaceable secession! Sir, your eyes and mine are never
destined to sch that miracle. The dismemberrnent of this vast country
without convulsion l The breaking up of the fountains of the great deep
without rufiling the surface! V-"Vho is so fo0lish‘———--I beg every body’s
pardon as to expect to see any such thing? Sir, he who sees these
states now revolving in harmony around a common centre, erspcctiiig to
see them quit their places, and fly off, without convulsion, may look, the
next hour, to see the heavenly bodies rush from their spheres, and jostle
against each other in the realms of space, without producing the crash
ot'the"unive1-se. There can be no such thing as a peaceable secession.
Pcaceable secession is an utter impossibility. Is the great constitution
under which we live here, covering this whole country--—-is it to be
thawed and melted. away by secession, as the snows on the mountain melt
under the influence of a vernal, sun——- disappear almost unobserved, and
die off? No, sir! No, sir! I will not state what might produce the
disruption of the states; but, sir, I see it as plainly as I see the sun" in
l1eaVen—-——I  that disruption must produce such a war as I will not
describe tin -its twojblal he/zazracter ! ‘ .

Peaceable secession I peaceable secession l The concurrent agreement
of all the members of this great republic to separate! A ,vo1untary
separation, with alimony on one side and on the other! Why, what
would be the result? ‘Where is the line to be drawn ? "What states are
to secede? ‘What is to remain American? What am I to be? An
American no longer? “There is the flag of the republic to remain?
"Where is the eagle, still to tower? or is he to cower, and shriek, and an
to the’ ground? .\Vhy, sir, our ancestors-—-~our fathers and our grand-
fathers, those of them that are yet living amongst us with prolonged lives
-——would rebuke and reproach us; and our children and our granclchil-l;
dren would cry out shame upon us," if we of’ this generation should dis-5
honor these ensigiis of the power of the government and the harmony of
the Union which is every day felt among uswith so much joy and ‘grat-
itude. "What is to become of the army? What is to become of the
navy? ‘What is to become of the public lands? Howie each ofthe
thirty states to defend itself? I know, although the idea has not been
stated distinctly.‘ There is to be a Southern Confederacy. I‘ do not

mean, when I allude to this statement, that any one seriously .contem-- ,

pllatieslsuch a state of things. I I doinot mean to say that it is true,pbut I

I

on true SLAVERY COMPROMISE. __ 109
have heard it suggested elsewhere, that that idea has originated in a
design to separate. I am sorry, sir, that it has ever been thought of,
talked of‘, or dreamed of, in the wildest flights of human imagination.
But the idea. must be of a separation including the slave‘ states upon one
side, and the free states on the other. Sir, there is not—-- I may express
myself‘ too strongly, perhaps, but some things, some moral tliings, are
lalniost as impossible as other natural or physical things; and I hold the
idea of" a separation of these states, those that are free, to form one gov-
ernment, and those that are-slaveholding to form another, as a moral
impossibility. life could not separate the states by any such line, if we
were to draw it. VVe could not sit down here to-day, and draw a line of
separation that would satisfy any five men in the country. There are
natural causes that would keep and tie us togetlie1'; and there are social
and domestic relations which we could not break if we would, and which
we should not ifvwe could. Sir, nobody can look over the face of’ this
country at the present moment—-—nobody can see where its population is
the most dense and g1'o\ving-witl"io1.1t being ready to admit, and coin-
pelled to admit, that ere long America will be in the valley of the Mis-
sissippi. . l V I ‘
"Well, now, sir, I beg to inquire what the wildest enthusiast has to say
on the possibility of cuttirig oil’ that river, and leaving free states at its
source and its branches; and slave states down near its 1l101.‘llLl1.. Pray,
sir, pray, sir, let me say to the people of this countr , that these thin,gs
are worthy of their pondering and of their consideration. Herc, sir, are
five millions of freenien in the free states north of the River Ohio ; can
any body suppose that this population can be severed by a line that
divides them from the territory of a foreign and an alien government,
down somewhere, the Lord knows where, upon the lower banks of the
Mississippi? Wl,1at would become of Missouri? ‘Will she join the erron-
dissemcnt of the slave states? Shall the man frorn the Yellow Stone and
the Platte River be connected, in the new republic, with the man who lives
on the southern e.x.trcmity of the Cape of’ Florida“? l Sir, I am ashamed
to pursue this line of remarl'~:. I tlislihe it; I have an utter disgust for it.
I would rather hear of natural blasts and mildews, war, pestilence, and
famine, than to hear gentlemen talk of secession. To break up---to
break up this great government-----to dismember this great Country----—-to
astonish Europe with an act of folly such as Europe for two centuries
has never beheld in any government! No, sir; no, sir! Therewill be
no secession. Gentlemen are not serious when they tell: of secession I
Sir, I hear there is to be a convention held at” Nashville. I am bound
to believe, that, if worthy gentlemen meet at Nashville in convention,
their object will be toadopt counsels conciliatory«——--to advise the south
to forbearance and moderation, and to advise the north to forbearance and
moderation, and to inculcate principles of brotherly love and affection,
and attaclnnent to theconstitution of the country as it now is. I believe,

. if the convention meet at all, it will be for this purpose ; for certainly, if

they meet for any purpose hostile to the Union, they have been sing;ula1'1y
inappropriate in their selection of a place. I remember, sir, that when
the treaty was concluded between France and England at the peace of
Amiens, a, stern old Englishmamanil an orator, who disliked the terms
of the peace as ignominious to England, said in the House of Commons,
that, if‘ King, "William could know the terms of that treaty, he would turn
in his coffin. Let me commend the saying of  Windham, in all its

ob_}ect.

110 srnnon on MR. WEBSTER
emphasis and in all its force, to any persons who shall meet at Nashville
for the purpose of concerting measures for the overthrow of the Union
of this country over the bones‘ of Andrew Jackson. I

Sir, I wish to make two remarks, and hasten to a conclusion I "wish
to say, in regard to Texas, that if it should be hereafter at any time the
pleasure of the government of Texas to cede to the United States a por—
tion, larger or smaller, of her territory which lies ad Jacent to New Mexii
co, and north of 34° of north latitude, to be formed into free states,

, for a fair equivalent in money, or in the payment of her debt, I think it

an object Well worthy the consideration of Congress, and I shall be happy
to concur in it myself, if I should be in the public councils of" the country
at the time. ‘ A

I have one other remarl: to make. In my observations upon slavery,
as it has existed in the country, and as it now exists, I have expressed no
opinion of the mode of its cxtinguishmcnt or amelioration.. I will say,
however, though I have nothing to propose on that subject, because I do
not deem myself competent as other gentlemen to consider it, that if any
gentlemati from the south shall propose a scheme of colonization, to be

*arried on by this government, upon a large scale, for the t.i'ausportation of ,

free colored people to any colony, or any place in the world, I should be
quite disposed to incur almost any degree of e:z;pense to accomplish that
Nay, sir, following an e':»:an:qf>le set here‘ more than twenty years
ago, by a great man, then a senzttor from New York, I would return to

Virginia ----a11d through her, f'or the benefit of the whole south--- the I

money received from the lands and territories ceded by her to this govern»-
ment, for any such purpose as to relieve, in Whole or in part, or in any
way to diminish or deal beneficially with the free colored population of
the Southern States. I have said that I honor Virginia for her cession of
this territor r. There have been received into the tr =~asury of the United
States eighty millions of dollars, the proceeds of the sales of public lands
ceded by Virginia. It‘ the residue should be sold at the same rate, the
Whole aggregate will exceed two hundred millions of dollars. If Virginia
and the south see fit to adopt any proposition to relieve themselves
from the free people of color among them, they have my free‘ consent that
the government shall pay them any sum of’ money out of its proceeds
which may be adequate to the purpose. '

And now, l\T.r.- President, I draw these observations to a close. I have
spoken freely, and .I meant to do so. I have sought to xnake no display;
I have sought to enliven the occasion by no animated discussion; nor
have I attempted any train of elaborate argument. I have sought only
to’ speak my sentiments, fully and at large, being desirous, once and for
all, to let the Senate know, and to let the country know, the opinions and]
sentiments which I eptertain on all these subjects. These opinions are not‘
likely to be suddenly changed. If there be any future service that I can
render to the countr *, consistently with these sentiinents and opinions, I

shall cheerfully render it. If there be not, I shall still be glad to have .

had an opportunity to disburden my conscience from the bottom of, my
heart, and to make known every political sentiment that therein exists.

a And now, Mr. President, instead of speaking of the possibility or utility
of secession, instead of dwelling in these caverns of darkness, instead of
groping with those ideas so full of all that is horrid and horrible, let us
come out into the lirrht'of day; let us enjoy the fresh airs of Liberty and
Union; let us cherish those hopes which belong torus 3 lotus devote outi-

on THE SLAVERY corrrnonrsn. ' 111

selves to those great objects that are fit for our consideration and our
action; let us raise our conceptions to the magniturle and the importance
of the duties that devolve upon us; let our comprehension be as bread as
the country for which we act, our aspirations as high as its certain
destiny; let us not be pyginies in a case that calls for men. Never did
there devolve‘ on any generation_of men higher. trusts than now devolve
upon us for the preservation of this constitution, and the harrnony and
peace of all who are destined to live under it. Let us make our genera-
tion one of the strongest and the brightest links in that golden chain
which is destined, I fondly believe, to grapple the people of all the states

to this constitution, for ages to come. It is a great popular constitutional ‘
, government, gi1a1'decl by legislation, by law, by judicature, and defended

by the whole afieetions of the people. No rnonarchical throne presses
these states together ;, no iron chain of despotic power encircles them 3‘
they live and stand upon, a government popular in its form, representa-
tive in its character, founded upon principles of equality, and calculated,
we hope, to last forever. In all its history it has been beneficent; it has
trodden down no 1nan’s liberty; it has crushed no state. Its daily respira-
tion is liberty and patriotisni, its yet youthihl veins all full of enterprise,
courage, and honorable love of glory and renown. Large hefhrc, the
country has now,”by recent events, become vastly la1'ge1~. This republic
now extends, with a vast brea<;lth, across the whole continent. The two
great seas of‘ the world wash the one and the other shore. VVe realize, on
a I11lgl’1i«y' scale, the beautiful description of the ornamental cdgiiig ‘of the
buclzler of Achilles :---~ v

“ Now the broad shield complete the artist crowned
VVith his last hand, and poured the ocean round ;
In living silver seemed the waves to roll,

And beat the buck1er’s verge, and bound the whole.”

Mr. OALIIOUN. I rise to correct what I conceive to be an error of‘ the
(llSl}lI1f.?§l1lSl’l(3(I sena,t.or from ‘Massachusetts, as to the motives ivliieli in-

duced the acquisition of Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Isle attributed,

it to the great growth of cotton, and the desire of the southern people to
get an exteiision of territory, with the view of cultivating it with mo e
profit than they could in  compact and crowded settlement. Now, h r.
President, the history of these acquisitions, I think, was not correctly
given. It is well known that the acquisition of Florida was the result of
an Indian war. The Seminole Indians residing along the line attacked
one of our fortresses; troops were ordered out; they were driven back;
and, under the connnand of General Jackson, Pensacola and St. Marks
were seized. It was these acts, and not the desire for the extended culti-
vation of cotton, which I‘ led to the acquisition of Florida. I admit that
there had been for a long time a desire on the part of the south, and of
the administration, I believe, to acquire Florida; but it was very different
from the reason assigned by the honorable senator. There were collected
together four tribes of Iiidians»-—tl1e Creeks, the Choctaws, the Chicka-
saws, and the Cherokees, about thirty thousand warriors -—-— who held con-
.neetion,aln1ost the whole of them, with the Spanish authorities in Florida,
and carried on a trade .perpetual_ly with them. It was well known that a.

most “pernicious influence was thus exercised over them; and it was the

desire of i preventing conflict between the Indians and ourselves in the

‘south, as I believe’, which incluced the acquisition of Florida. I come

112 srnnon on MR. wnnsrnn

now to Louisiana. We well know that the immediate cause for the
acquisition of Louisiana was the suspension of our right of deposit at
New Orleans. Under a treaty with Spain we had a right to the naviga.
tion of the river as far as New Orleans, and a-right to make deposits in
the port of New Orleans. The Spanish authorities interrupted that right,
and that interruption produced a great agitiation at the west, and I may
say, throughout the whole United States. The gentlemen then in oppo-
sition, a liiglily respectable party---- the old federal party, which I have
never said a word of disrespect in regard to ~—--if I mistake not, took the
lead in a desire to resort to arms to acquire that territory. Mr. Jefi"erson,
more prudent, desired to procure it by purchase. A purchase was made,
in order to remove the di‘liiculty, andtto give an outlet to the west to the
ocean. That was the immediate cause of the acquisition of’ Louisiana.
New, sir, we come to Texas. Perhaps no gentleman, had more to do
with the acquisition of Texas than myself; and I aver, Mr. President,
that I would have been among the very last individuals in the United

, States to have made any movement at that time for the acquisition of '

Texas; and I go further: if I know inyself, I was incapable of acquiring
any territory simply on the ground that it was to be an enlargemeiit of
slave territory. I would just as freely have acquired it if it had been on
the northern as on the southern side. No, sir; very? ditihwciit motives
actuated me. I knew at a very early period--—I will not go into the
history of it—-the British gevc1'nn1ent had given e11coi11'a.ge211ent to the
abolitionists of the United States, who wcre.reprcscnted at the W'orld’s
C,onvcntien. The question of"the abolitionof slavery was agitated in that

convention. One gentleman stated that Mr. Adams inf'or1ned him that if ,

the British govcrnnient wished to abolish slavery in the United States,
they must begin. with Texas. A commission was sent from this VVorld’s

Convention to the British secretary of state, Lord .Aberdeen; and it so"

happened that a gentleman was present when the interview took place‘
between Lord AhcrdceIi"‘and‘ the committee, who gave me a full account
of it shortly after it occurred.,,- Lord Aberdeen fell into the project, and
gaveitill encouragement to the abolitionists. Well, sir, it is well known

A that Lord Aberdeen;..,;.,,was a very direct, and in my opinion, a very honest

and worthy man ;' ,i€tWfi?,li‘Wl1§;11  Pakenham was sent to negotiate with
regard to Ore,go:n,f*and incidentally With respect to Texas, he was ‘ordered
to read a declaration’ to -this‘ government, statiiig that the British govern-
ment was anxious to put an end to slavery~a_ll over the world, com-
mencing at Texas. It is well known, further, that at that very time a
negotiation was going on between France and England to accomplish

i that object, and our government was thrown by stratagem out of the

negotiation; and that object was, first, to induce Mexico to acltxipwledge
the independence of" Texas upon the ground that she would abolish it.
All these are matters of history; and where is the man so blind-we I am

sure the senator fron1.Massachusetts is not so blind--~¢— as not to see that i

if the project of’ Great, Britain hadbeen successful, the whole frontier of
the states of Louisiana and Arkansas, and the adjacent states, would have

been exposed to the inroads of British emissaries. Sir, so far as I was

concerned, I. put it exclusively upon that ground. I, neverwould run

,into the folly of reannexation, which I alwjay£I.held to be absurd. Nor,

, might well have iputit -W.

sir, would I put it upon _the ground 
~ 0 ' U . i ‘:1 .“““” .  , i I.
of commercial andimanufacturmg COnS1(lIfG?rt1i}.1OI,1S,; because thcsegwere not

. my motive rtincirles. and 1,ch0Sstoisssisavhéitr So tfartaas com-

3

I  vote for the Vilniot.

‘on T1;-"IE tstavnar COl\11’iItOMIS}). 113

moms and manufactures were concerned, I would not have moved in the ‘

matter at that early period.

The senator objectslthat many northern gentlemen voted for annexe» 1

tion. Why, sir, it was natural that they should be desirous of fulfilling
the obligat.ions of the constitution; and besides, what man at that time
doubted that the Missouri compromise linewould be adopted, and that
the territory would fall entirely to tile south? All that northern men
asked for at that time was the erztensionof that’ line. Their course, in
myopinion, was eminently correct and patriotic. , I

Now, Mr. President, having made these corrections,‘ I must go back a

 little farther, and correct a statement which I think the senator has left

very c'let'ective, relative to the ordinance of 1787. He states, very cor-
rectly, t.hat it ooinnicnced under the "old confederation ; that it was after-
wards coi;1fi1-mccl by Congress; that Congress was sitting in New York at
the time, while the convention sat in I~"hiladelphia; and that there was
concert of action. I have not looked into the ordinance very recently,
but my niernory will serve me thus far, that Mr. Jetiicrsoii introduced his
first pro_posit.ion to exclude slavery in 17 84. There was a vote taken

upon it, and I think on that vote every southern senator voted against it; I

but I am not certain of it. Ilne thing I am certain of, that it was three
years before the ordinance could pass. It was sturdily resisted down to
1787 ; and when it was passed, as I have good reason to believe, it was
upon a principle of compromise: :first, that the ordinance should contain a
provision similar to the one put in the consttitultion with respect to t'ugi-
tive slaves; and next, that it should be inserted in the constitution; and
this was the compromise upon which the prohibition was inserted in the
ordinance of 1787. We thought we had an indemnity in that, but we
made a great mistake. Of what possible advantage has it been to us ?'

Violated faiyth has met us on every side, and the advantage has been

altogether in their favor. On the other side, it hasi“,be'en thrown open to
a northern ‘population, to the entire e:x::clusiortojf' the southern. This was
the leatliiig measure whiclidestroyed the cornpronnise or the constitution,
and then l"ollowed the Missouri cornprornise, which was carried mainly by
northern votes, altlioiigli now rlisavowietli and not rcspectedi by thorn.
’I‘hat was the next step, and
has been broken. .  y it  I
I'I€tVl11g made these re'rnarl<s,f*let nice say that I took great pleasure in
listening to the dec1tiratilons‘of thehonorable senator from Massachusetts‘
upon several points, ‘II-*Ie“puts., liimself’ upon the th-lfihnent of’ the contract
of OO1'1g1‘@SS yin?thel'~resoluitions'ot'«Texas annexation, for the admission‘ of
the four ,11c_vv,states’ provided for by those resolutions to be fornied out of
the te1'1*itb’ny 0f'«Texas.
to...dol‘;~good,l because just. He went further; he condemned, and rightfully

,.~t*'i.cond'etn1‘1ed, and in that the has shown great iirnzmess, the course of the

north relative to the stipulations ofthe constitution for the restoration of
fugitive slaves; but permit me to say, for Itdesire to be candid upon all

subjects, that__it‘ the senator, together with many friends on this side of the ’

chamber, puts his ~confiden*cei~in, thebill which has beenilrepported here,
further to extend the laws of Congressl»: upon this subject‘, it will prove

fallacious. It- is i1I1pOSS.ll)lG to execute any law of” Congress u’nt.il the

people of'”the states shall coiiperate.‘

~~I heard the gentleman with great pleasure say that he would not
proviso, for helll1‘ega”‘rded such an act.-unnecessary,
15 i I '

between these“two causes the equilibrinrn

All that was manly, statesmanlike, and calculated

114 srnnon or Ms. Wnnsrnn.

considering that nature had already excluded slavery. As far as the new
acquisitions are concerned, I am disposed to leave them to be disposed of
as the hand of nature shall determine. It is what I always have insisted
upon. Leave that portion of the country more natural to a non-slave-

holdingipopulation to be filled by that description of population; and i

leave that portion into which slavery would.natu1'ally go, to be filled by a
slaveholding population —— destroying‘artificial lines ; though perhaps they
may be better than none: Mr. J efierson spoke like a prophet of the elfect

' of the Missouri comproinise line. Itam willing to leave it for nature to

settle; and to organize governments for the territories, giving all free
scope to enter andprepare themselves to participate in their privileges.
We want, sir, nothing but justice. VVhen the gentleman says that he is
willing to leave it to nature, I understand he is willing to remove all im-
pediments, whether real or in1agina1'y. It is consuintnate folly to assert
that the Mexican law proliiibiting slavery in Calilbrnia and New Mexico
is in force; and I have always 1*eg2i1'dccl it so. I .

- No man would feel more happy than myself to believe that this ‘Union
formed by our ancestors should live forever. LOOl?.'.l1lf__*;‘ back to the long
course of forty years’ service here, I have the consolation to believe that
I have never done one act which would weaken it; that I have done full
justice to all sections. And  I have,.ever been exposed to the irnputa-
tion of a contrary motive, it is because I have been willing to defend my
section from unconstitutional encroachments. ,But I cannot agree with
the senator from Massachusetts that this Union cannot be dissolved. Am
I to understand him that no degree of oppression, no outrage, no broken
faith, can produce the destruction of this Union? ‘Why, sir, if that be-
comes a fixed fact, it will itself become the great instrument of‘ producing
oppression, outrage, and broken faith. No, sir, the U,/lion can be broken.
Great moral causes will break it if they go on, and it can only be pre-
served by justice, good faitli, and a 1'igid adherence to the constitution.

Mr. :VVnesrnn. M1-.iP1'esident, a single word in reply to the4hono1'-
able member from South Carolina. My distance from the honorable
member, and the crowded state of the room, prevented me from l1ea1'ing
the Whole of his remarl::s. I liave only one or two observations to make ;
and, to begin, I first notice the honorable member’s last remark. He asks
me if I hold the breaking -up of the Union by any such thing as the volun-
tary secession ot‘ states as an impossibility. I know, sir, this Union can
be broken up; every government can be; and I admit that there may be
such a degree of oppression as will warrant resistance and a forcible sev-
erance.‘ _ That is revolution! Of that ulthnate right , of revolution I
have not been speaking. I know that that”law of necessity does exist.
I forbear from going further, because I do not wish to run into a discus-

sion of the nature of thisvgovernrnent. The honorable member and -my-

self liaye broken lances sutiiciently often before on that subject.
IV.[1‘.'CALI-IOUN. I have no desire to do it now.” ' l -
M1‘. VVEBSTER. y I presume the gentleman has not, and I have quite as

little. The gentleman refers to theoccasions on which these grea.t acqui-pp

sitions were made to territory on the southern side. ‘Why, undoubtedly,
wise and slgilful public men, having an object to accomplish, may take

advantage oi’ occasions. Indian wars are an occasion; a fear of the occu-A

pation of Texas by the British was an occasion; but when the occasion
came, under the pressure of which, or under the justification of wliich the
thin could bedone, it was donetaud done skilfull . Let me so one
s 3 p ,‘ p p ‘ 37 p Y

onfrr-ns SLAVERY COMZPROMISE. 115

thing further; and that is, that if slavery were abolished, as it was supposed I

to have been, throughout all Mexico, before the revolution and the estab-
lishment of the Texan government, then, if it were desirable to have
possession of Texas by “purchase, as a means of preventing its becoming
a British possession, I suppose that object. couldghave been secured by

. making it a free territory of the United States, as well as a slave territory.

Sir, in my great desire notto prolong this debate, I have omitted what
I intended to say on a particular question under themotion of the honor-—
able senator from Missouri, proposing an annendment to the resolution of
the honorable rnernber from Illinois; and that is, upon the propriety and
expediency of admitting California, under all circumstances, just as she
is. The more ,general subjects involved in this question are now before
the Senate under the resolutions of the honorable member from Kentucky.
I will say that I feel under I great. obligations to that honorable member
‘for introducing the _subject,_and for -the very lucid speech which he made,
and which has been so much read throughout the whole country. I am
also under great obligations to the honorable inemher from Tennessee, for
the light which he has shed upon this subject; and, in some respects, it
will be seen that I differ very little from the leading subjects submitted by

‘ either of those honorable gentlemen.

N ow, sir, when the direct question of the adrnission of California shall
be before the Senate, I propose'——-— but not before every other gentleman
who has a wish to address the Senate shall have gratified that desire ---~
to say something upon the boundaries of California, upon the constitution.
of California, and upon the expedieiicy, under all the circumstances, of
admitting her with that constitution.

Mr. CALHOUN. One word, and I liare done; and that word is, that,
I10l3Wll1l1Sl3£l.I1(llI1,g‘ the acquisition of the vast territory of Texas represented
by the senator from Massacliusetits, it is the fact that all that addition to
our territory made it by no means equal to What the Northern States had

excluded us from before that acquisition. The territory lying west bee,

tween the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains is .three tiourths of the
whole of Louisiana; and that which lies between the Mississippi and the
Ohio, added to that, rnaltes a much greater extent of territory than Florida,
and Texas, and that portion of Louisiana that has fallen to our share.

Mr. Walker moved the postponement of the fur'tl1er consideration of
the ‘resolutions until to—morrow, which was agreed to.

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