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SLAVERY IN THfc ' DlSTBICT Of CO
LUMBIA. :" -!a-' -
tgtnre or MJcbiftri; Before it
ftouWment last winter, adopted iW. fol
lowing jeint resolutions, aiibmitted by Ue
Jioo. J2r C. Berry, in the Senate, relative to
elevery 4ft the district of Colombia. - Let
th reflecting men of all parties read them,
and then ask themselves who. it u that are
agitating the, slavery question " Resolutions
Equally strong hair been passed by . other
.wpruiern Jstites; , i: : . u
1 Resolved, By the Senate" and House of
Representatives of tbe State of Michigan,
That the existence or Slavery and the Slave
trade at the Seat of our .National Govern
ment, "is ' an evil of serious magnitude
which greatly impairs the prosperity 'and
pappinets of the District, and casts the re
proach of inf bnslstency npon the . free in
stitutions established among us."
Resolved,' That our Senators in Congress
be instructed, and our Representatives re
quested to urge the passage- of a Jaw that
shall put an end to the Slave trade in the
District of Culubia without delay, and also
provide for ascertaining the vie ws of the
people of said District upon jhe question
of the entire abolition or Sla very therein.
Resolved, That the Governor be request
ed to forward copies of the foregoing reto
Jut ion j to each of onr Senators and Repre
sentatives in Congress. , ' , ". " ' ,J , . "
The vote on their adoption stood, in the
Senate, ayes 17, nays 6 in the House, ayes
37, nays 9. ..
COL BENTON'S SPEECH Continwd.
Some search hits been made in the ?de
ptrtmeat of State for the written opinions
of the cabinet, without finding them: but
that weighs nothing against the positive
testimony that they were there. . The won
der would be to find them after 7 years,
and so many changes of cleiks; and it is
to be remembered that no one of Mr. Mon
roe's cabinet has been Secretary of State
since that time but Mr. Calhoun. . m ,
The fact is established established: by
the rules of evidence which convince the
human mind, even the most unwilling that
Mr. Calhoun, as a cabinet minister under
Mr. Monroe, supported the constitutional
ty of the Missouri compromise act. This
fact being established, let us see what that
act was; and that will be shown by the
title to the act by the act itself and' by
the actnal condition of the territory in which
it was to operate. This is the title :
An Act to authorize the people of the
Missouri territory to form a constitution
end State Government, and for the admis
sion of such State into the Union on an equal
footing with the original States, and to pro
hibit ilat try in certain territories.' :
A very intelligible title this, especially in
the concluding clause, and enough to have
startled Mr. Calhoun if he had held the
same doctrines on the powers of Congress
then which he professes now. : The aot it
self was in these words :
Sec. 8, That in all that territory ceded
by France to the United States, under" the
name of Louisiana, which lies north of 36
degrees 30 minutes north latitude not in
eluded within the limits of the State con
templated by this act, slavery and involun
tary tervitude, otherwise than in the pun
ishment of the crimes whereof ' the parties
shall have been convicted, shall be, and.
hereby is forever prohibited'
Sach are the words of the act the very
words of the Wilmot Proviso, and if any
modern copyist is to supercede Mr. Jeffer
son io the paternity of that proviso it should
be John C. Calhoun, and not Davy Wilmot!
It should be called the Calhoun' Proviso!;
and that for many and .cogent reasons. In
the' first place 'he was nearly thirty years
ahead of Davy in the support of this proviso,
In the second places, bis position was high
er, being t Cabinet minister, and his voice
more potential.'ltting a southern man. 'In
the third plaice; he .was part , of . the! veto
power whee three votes were a majority;
Davy only a member of the legislative pow
er, where" H requires -a majority of both
houses to do anything.- In the fourth place',
Calhoun' was' successful, 'Davy is not." Fin-
aUjDvys proviso 1 a veals contrivance
U prevent' U?ery from being where it is
not, tad hthai- it never will be ; Calhoun's
proviso was a manly blew to kill slavery
when U then exited by law,'and where it
would now exist u point ot fact if that blow
had not been strack.yfl:Tbo proviio'of :MrJ
Calhoun aotoajly abolished slavery where
it existed by law in all the .upper half of
LouUieia from56 80 to 4$,and from the
i.XTll j .i ."-.jLLj sit ;r .jiii
.MifeiiW
ne gfeiiScA sa&aV
mik. tweatv :Rfia. 60 000 .ouare miles
. a m . r . a . i - . m
4- :.- -H r.mKfim
Mv Mexico and Oregon put together.
LOUISIANA,
Orer all this vast territory the proviso, sup-
l'.aJ ft '".'lir-' i;u 'a
lorea( oy vainoun, aoousned slavery-
abolished it, then existing bylaw and shut
it up from, the slave emigration of the south.
And now what becomes of the dogma, in
his mouth and that of his followers,' so re
cently invented, of no power in Congress to
legislate upJn the subject of slavery in ter-
ritortes ? whafbecomes, in their mouths, of
lie new fangled point of honor, just felt for
the first ' time in thirty years, of insult to
slave' States in their exclusion from settle
ment in the territories bought by the blood
and treasure of the whole Union ? . Louisi
ana was a territory, and Congress legislated
upon Slavery Hi-it, arid legislated 'slavery
out of a million of square miles of it. and
Mrl' Calhoun ' supported that legislation;
Louisiana was a teiritory acquired by the
treasure, if not by the blood, of the whole
Union i and the nroviso of 1820 suonorted
at",
by Mr. Calhoun,' shut up the one half of it
from slave emigration. , If that is insult, he
ar.dbis followers beve stood being insulted
most remarkably well for about thirty years;
and, perhaps, would oonsult their own self
respect, and lose nothing in, public opinion,
if they should continue standing it with like
fortitude for the remainder of their lives.
I do not quote this conduct of Mr. Cal
houn in giving the answers which he did to
Mr. Monroe's interrogatories, for the pur
pose of vindicating the right of Congress to
prohibit, or abolish slavery 4u territories.
When I feel it necessary to vindicate that
right I shall have recourse to very different
authority from that which can be quoted
on every side, ol every question it ever
touched. . I quote it for a very different
purpose for the purpose of shutting up the
months of his followers as completely as it
shut up his own from he day lie was con
fronted with it. ' From that day to the pres
ent he has never mentioned his resolutions!
nvr called for that vote upon them which
he declared himself determined to have
when he introduced them!
In giving his cabinet support, where his
voice was so potential, to the abolition of
slavery over a million of square miles in
Louisiana, Mr. Calhoun did more than any
man has . ever done towards
abolishing
slavery in the world. Holding, as he did,
the. one fifth' part of the veto power, and
commading as his position was, as a south
ern man end a cabinet minister a leading
cabinet minister the largest question ever'
started of free or slat e soil, was then in his
hmnAt ml ha decided it in favor of fiee.
It was an immense boon to the anti-s'avery
party, then so numerous and ardent ; but it
was aot the only service which he then
rendered them. Texas was then ours a
part of Louisiana to the lower Rio Grande;
large enough to form six great, or teu com
mon States. It was all slave territory, and
looked to as the natural outlet of the south
ern States, with their great increasing
slave population. It was given to the King
of Spain given away by treaty, and that
treaty the work of Mr. Monroe's cabinet-
Mr- Calhoun being a member. And here
there is no room for denial or non-recollection.
For a long time Mr. Adams bore the
blame of that , cession. A , friend of Mr.
Calhoun :, reproached him with it in the
House of Representatives. Mr. Adams was
then alive, and present, and soon vindicated
the truth of history. He showed that there
was'a division in the cabinet upon the point:
he was against it Mr. Calhoun for it and
Mr. Calhoun being a southern man, and the
majority of the cabinet southern, he car
ried the day and Texas was lost. 1 was
not then in public life, but I wrote against
that agt, blaming Mr. Adams when I should
have blamed Mr. Calhoun. By that ces
sion the expansion of slavery was stopped;
the growth of slave States in the south west
wis stopped : three hunred and nTty tbou
sand square" miles , subject to American
slavery was cut off from' American domin-
ion and presented to a loreign jung. ,
fii'i another' great ; gratification to the
ebblitioBist: but it was not all. There was
L .trio ett. land, about large enough for two
Ark.MM.Bd Red
Arkansas ana nea
is end the 86 deg.
a . a a t sua vi. mam
WMn V .
9U mm. oi norm ibuiuuw. u .r
tr. . :j A
I escaped the compromise una on one
' "Umitid Wx Stand Duidxd W F4u'
PIKE COUNTY, MISSOURI MONDAi3uNrli 1849. v . ." ,7!hNO
the Texas cession' on the. other, was. open
to the formation of two respectable slave
States. Mr. Calhoun was then still cabinet
minister Secretary' at war-had the In
dians under his care and' was riding the
hobby of ' their civilization. ! He required
this strip to be given np to the Indians for
their permanent abode and thus it,' also,
was lost to the slave States. ' 'All Louisiana
was then gone from them except thV frag
ment which was contained in the Slates of
Missouri, and Louisian, and in the territory
of Arkansas. Even this fragment appeared
to be too much to be left to the slave States,
and a slice fortv miles' wide, and three hun
dred miles long, was cut off from Arkansas
and given to the Indians; and the slave
holders with the slaves upon the slice, were
required to remove from the cut off pari,
and fall back within the contracted limits.
This was done by Indian treaty the treaty
negotiated by a protege of Mr. Calhoun's.
He was then Vice President of the United
States, and President of the Senate I was
a member of the Senate opposed the rati
fication of the treaty and came within one
or two votes of defeating it. - The slightest
help from Mr. Calhoun would have defeat
ed it, and saved the slave State of Arkansas
that territory, and those salt springs, the
loss which she now has to lament. Taken
all together the compromise the Texas
cession the Indian domain and the slice
from Arkansas, and Mr. Calhoun did more,
in 1 less time, to abolish slavery, diminish
its area, and increase that of free soil, than
any man that has ever appeared on the face
of the earth; and of this the anti-slave party
of the north were fully sensible, and duly
greatful. They gave proof of their gratitude.
Mr. Calhoun was then candidate for Vice
President of the United States: he became
the favorite of the north beating even Mr
Adams, himself, on the free soil track. He
beat him six votes in New York ran head
and neck with him through New Hampshire,
Vermont and Rhode Island was even
through Massachusetts and came out
nose ahead on the hothern track. He ac
tually beat Mr. Adams in abolition States
and with justice. He had done more
than him for free soil, and with more merit,
being himself an inhabitant of slave soil. I
told him all this in my first Calhouniac, in
the Senate of the United States, four days
after he put in his fire brand resolutions, in
my speech to show him to be the true author
of the Mexican .war. This is what I then
said to uim
This conduct of the - Senator, in giving
away Texas when we had her, and then
making war to get her back, is an enigma
which he has never yet condescended to
explain, and wbicb, until explained, leaves
him in a state of self-contradiction, winch,
whether it impairs his own confidence in
himself or not, must have the effect of de
stroying the confidence of others in him,
and wholly disqualifying him for the office
of champion of the slaveholding States. It
was the heaviest blow they had ever , re
ceived, and put an end, in conjunction with
the Missouri compromise, and the perman
ent location of the Indians west of the Mis
sissippi, to their future growth or extension,
as slave States beyond the Mississippi.
The compromise, which was then in full
progress, and established at the next ses
sion of Congress, cut off the -slave States
from all territory .north and west of Missouri,
and south of thirty-six and a half degrees of
north . latitude ; the treaty of 1819 ceded
nearly all south of thatdegree,omprehend
ing not only all Texas, but a large part on
the valley of the -Mississippi, 'on the Red
river and the Arkansas to a foreign Power,
and brought a non-slaveholding empire to
the confines of Louisiana and Arkansas ; the
permanent appropriation of the rest of the
territory for the abode of civilized Indians,
swept the little slaveholding territory west
of Arkansas, and lying , between me com
premise line and the cession line ; and left
V . " . - ... . I J
the slave States wiwoui one men oi grounu
for their future growth. Nothing was left.
Even the then territory of Arkansas was
encroached upon. 1 A breadth -oT forty miles
wide, and three hundred long, was cut off
from her, and giVen to the" Cherokee's;' and j
there was not as much slave territory left
wesfef Ahe Mississippi as, a dove Could have
rested W solo of her foot upon. It "was'
not merely1 a curtailment, but a total ex
tinction of ilaveholding territory J 'and done
at a time wheri;'the Missouri controversy
was ' ragingi'' and 'every 'effort made ' by
northern 'abolitionists "to stoji the growth pf
slave- States. . The Senator Xjoio South
Carolina, in bis support of thec.esaiiQnl ,of
Texas, and
ceding a part of the,vUy of
the Mississippi,. .was Jbenlha most effiCiwtLad that efGenHouatta tefeterMicimitf-
ally of the restrictionUtt at that time, and
deprives him of the rightbTeettiog up' as
the champion of. the slave States now.
denounced the sacrifice of Texas then, be
lieving Mr. -Adams to have been the author
of it ; I denounce it now, knowing the Sen
tor, from South Carolina to be its author;
and foe this his flagrant recreancy to the
slave interest in their hour of utmost peril
I hold him disqualified for the. office of
champion of the fourteen slave States, (for
Delaware cannot be counted) and shall
certainly require him' to keep out of Mis
soun, and to connne nimseit to nit own
bailiwick, when he comes to discuss his
string of resolutions.' ' ' '
In these terms I reproached him to, bis
face for his recreancy to the slave States
when he was catering for free soil votes.
He was forced to answer, and to admit the
vote in Mr. Monroe's cabinet in favor of
giving away Texas, and in conformity to
which vote the treaty was made ; but with
respect to the Missouri compromise, and
the abolition question be gave as answer
which appeared to be plausible then but
which turned out to be one of the most un
fortunate of his life. He said, in his reply
to me. . . ; , i . ; i'.
I have now met, and I trust, successful
ly renelled all the chareea made by . the
Senator from Missouri, except those re
lating to the Missouri cempromise,jknd the
abolition question at that period, for which
I am in no way responsible. I was not then
in Congress. I filled the office of Secre
tary of War at the time, and had no agency
or control' over It.'
This was his answer the whole that he
chose to give. I did not then know, of
the proof of the cabinet consultation, and of
his opinion at the council table in. answer
to Mr. Monroe's two questions. The proofs
had not then come to light, and he was safe
for the time, in disclaiming all responsibili
ty for the Missouri compromise, and the
consequent abolition of slavery by a law of
Congress, in upwards of one half of all
Louisiana ; he was safe in taking refuge un
der the declaration that he was Secretary
of War, and not a member of Congress, and,
consequently, had no agency in this act, or
any control over it. ' This was a plausible
answer at the time ; and he stood acquitted
for the moment. The discovery of the
proof the next year, (1848) reverses the ac
quital establishes his agency in the Mis
souri compromise act, his control over it,
and his responsibility for it- ..True, he was
not a member of Congress inl820, to give
a vote amounting to but little among two or
three hundred others, for or against the Mis
souri compromise, but he was a cabinet
minister to give a heavy vote, one innve,
for or against its approval.' ' He was not a
part of the legislative power, but lie was of.
the veto power ; and he gave his vote lor
the approval, and against the veto. This
shows that he had agency in the question,
and Control over it, and is responsible for
it. Considering his position as, a southern
man, and his weight in Mr. Monroe's ad
ministration, and he is the Responsible man
for that act. The maj inty of, the cabinet
were southern, and if he had made the, stand
then which he does now, he must, have
vetoed the act on the contrary he went
for it, and passed it passed the act of Con
gress legislating upon slavery in territories,
and abolishing it over a million; of , square
miles and now treats suob a law as a vio
lation of. the constitution, and an insult to
the slave States, for which, nullification,
disunion, and civil war are the proper.reme-
dies!.,.. . ' , !
I m mortified to ! dwell ..upon Mr. Cal
houn.' It is neither my habit, nor my pleas
ure to speak of men. In near thirty ' years
that I have been in Congress I have never,
(brought the name of any man before 1
e topirb
lie -I ass. gow4fTDa toca tat .jirJUai
houn's resolutions are those of the Missou
ri LeguUturdTaeyaitw indealloal. One
ttUODf-a;
to do it. 'Uli just and proper that Jebaujd
do so. He it thepime. oioftr- aiL.bsjd
eontriver. I' have, had no chance to'antwar'
him in he Senatei and it will oot do to allow
him to take a snap judgmentimponaBe in
Missouri, and carry disunion resolutions in
my own Statewaicbtie HitMva forced to
abandon iv tfco Senate. ;"DnTjr tolheeduV
try requires me to answefbrandpe'Ttoii
al reasons reiiifWee that'ytiBlio'My'H
has been instigating attacks, ipoa .roe,' fir
twenty -yeari ever sfncVIttoodby.ack
son and the Union In the first w'az of nullifi
cation: His, .JJfftPrvnr TeJr ftapb com
menced uDon mo at the same time it did.iip-
on Jackson," and foir the saine c.pse be
cause we Vtobd'fiy the Union! .Lasf sum
uer, iri bis own Stale' bf South Careens,
where I never we1, httggfedjp iiaiae
tuents nd denoasjeed ue bf ;dCsctisr'to
thaaanlbi-theJBterMetUe eptbat wa.
would not join bimi$HSttUi
ern convention, to array one htlfjftfilJr'
nion against the other, and form A southern
confederacy, f It was ad audacious, attack
upon two absent gentteineriitnd.' whoj .M .
Senators, were entitled to Senatorial court
esy from bim.-, Neither General HousWn
nor myself thought it right to suffer such an
attack to pass with, unpuaiiy: out we 'ia
not think the floor of the Senate tb proper
place for replying to an attack made out of
doors. The forum of our respective States
was deemed the proper.place. He had as- -sailed
us before" bis conslitueats, and. we
determined to answer him before ours.
Gen. Houston has replied. D He did so du
ring the past session of Congress, in a pub
lished address to his constituents It - was -published
wfiile Mr. Calhoun was in the city, -and
where he bight answer h if he pleafed.
He nid not so please. Me stood taute-ras
if the antagonist was not worthy bf otice
a privilege of dignity which did not be
long to him after he had began .the attack.
ne saia Doming, iu iiuriwi iiniHn
than when he denied his support pf the Mis
souri compromise act He did well to say
ing nothing. It was axase in wbicb publio
attention should not be raisea oy controver-
. t I 1 k . I l it .
sy. nousiin soonsnowea wnni n cnargs
ot "defection" meantj and then carried the
war into Africa. He charged hh with his
designs against the Union for twenty year.
past, and supported wnaine saia py an err
ray of facts whiclucouluLpeither be ex-
tlained away'nor denied. .. That address) of
loiiston's should be republished by the
papers friendly to the' Union? "It l full ot
truth and patriotism worthy of the disciple
of Jackson and killing ' to Calhoun.) 'H
did well not to fix public -attention upon.' it
by replying to it. I told Housto;that I
should reply in a speeck to my constituentsj.
and that I am now doing-' . .
- This it one of mv. personal reasons for dwell
ing on Mr. Calhoun: but I have another, which
1 will now state. In the year 1844, as it will be
rembered, when my fifth election, was,-.eming
round there was an organization against me in
the State, supported by every Calhoun man, and '
every Calhoun newspaper in the State,' and in
the United. States. There was a coincidence-
in their operations . which- showed 'that they
worked by a pattern. -1 knew at the time where
it all come from; and the source has . since been
authentically revealed to me. .There is a law in
the moral world by which "murder wiff out-
By virtue of that law oee ef. those who were e iv
Dloed to" do the work upon me, and .who was,
then a stranger to me, and afterwards repented,,
revealed the plot to me, and placed in 4ny bands
an original letter of instructions, of.' which HuaV
U an extract:.., , t -.-t:- 'r - In
With renrd to the course. of vour Paper.
you can take the tone of ihe Administration from.
t j think, however, and would re
commend that you would confine yourself tor ef-i
tacks upon Benton, showing that be has allied
himself with the Whigs, on the Texas question
Quote Jackson's letter on Texasv where he de-1
nounced all those as traders to the country 'who'
ooDOse the treaty. . Apply it. io Benton. Pro-i
'claim that Benton, by . attacking MrTyler and. -his
friends, and driving Uem front the party, i
aiding the election of Mr.' Clay) and charge mm
with doing this to deieat Mr. roier, ana inenr
himself the "succession in 1848nd: claiiav.lhat
fall justice be done to the. "acts ; and motives C.
John Tyler by the leadersi;l Harp, upon these"
strings. Do not propose the union; 'it is the busi
ness of the Democrats to do this, tend arrange ft
to our "perfect satisfaction.? I, quote here rem
our leading friend at the south. Such ' is thef
course which I recommend, and which you1 can'
pursue or not, according to your real- auaensaent'
to the Admimatration.,v. . ,-o3 iisff
"Look out for my leader, of tomorrow, a. an
indicator, and regard this letter as of The . faost
strict and inviolate oonfidenoe of ciarao1er.'!T:
I read thia extracrto Mr. Calhoun, in the Sel
ate of the United States, in February, 847
- . i F i 1 ,..;
lour aays alter Bis . nre-ormnu rewHuuima werv
introduced.- . He said he did not write it. I khoW
he did not. - Neither did he write the pipers of
the A B. plot against' MrCrawford Bats the'
resolutions of the last MistJh-i General Asaem
bly. ' He is no such bungler as that." When' a
paw is to go into the fire, he prefers that of any"
lat, or dog, to his own. But he waft SeeretaTy.i.
or Mate under Tyler at toe time aiM jpae,60- .
minion over three hundred newspapers, to esclv.
of which the sme instreehons" were issued.
is copied from the othenyvnen the( fiiig-.
inal is invaltdatedj the cW Is 'of t bikini.
f anTalrtwVrTnelis Msplut&nSjJnchcMO
They were intepdedrftr (hew guidance- ks tbe-I .
Presidential election, and in the State eleetieal of .
1844;. and especially ' for my ".own wbiob waa;
coming on." ; I only read the extract which s spe
cial to mvseTf.2 How well the testrte0T'letl9
'obeyed was seen in this State, and in othel -State, "
'.' Cbartttued on 4th fg f
w -
