Bellows Falls times. [volume], March 01, 1861, Image 2

About Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965

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Tlio Times.
BELLOWS FALLS. MAR. I. 1801
(SJ We hiire excluded most oilier inside
matter this week to mnkn itom for llie
oech cf Hon. J. S. Morrill, of this dis
trict, delivered, in the House of Represent
ative lust week. We should have occu
pied a purlieu of our outside apnea with it.
but it was not reci iv.d in tcason, and bciny
desirous of giving it to our readers as catly
possible, aud as Mr. Lincoln' Inaugural
dJres i!ba upon us next week, we be
lieve we have chosen tho best course.
With regard to Mr. Morrill" speech, it
needs no comment from us, even if we had
the space. While it is conciliatory in tone,
it is firm in Republican principles, and will
he received whh general satisfaction by
hit constituents at home.
Attempted Assassination.
Mr. Van Wyck, a republican member of
Congr. si from New York, was attacked by
three ruffians on Thursday night of lust
week. He was stubbed twice with a heavy
knife, first in the breast, but was sated from
harm by a memorandum book in his pocket.
The other blow he warded off with his hand
which was cut severely. Mr. Van Wyck
made a vigorous resistance during which be
knocked down one of the ruffians, and in
turn was himself knocked down with a
cudgel by the third rascal, but recovering,
Le drnw his pistol and shot at one of his as
sailants, and thinks the shot took effect, as
the party immediately retreated. He then
went to his hotel in a weak but not danger
ous condition. It is greatly to be regretted
that he could not have killed all three of
the assassins on the spot
Mr. Van Wyck spenks straight out on
the slavery question and secession, has re
ceived many letters threatening his life,
and there is no doubt that this was the oc
casion of the muiderous attack. What a
beautiful government we live under! We
wish most sincerely that the prospect was
more eocouraging that we would finally get
i id of tho entire slave holding part of this
Union.
Mr. Lincoln, in Wnshlneton riot
to Assassinate liiui.
The tour of the President elect was
suddenly brought to a close on Friday last,
by the timely discovery of a plot to kill
Mr. Lincoln. The deed was to have been
done either before he arrived at Baltimore,
or in that city according to circumstance.
We copy the following from the New-York
Timm
u Abraham Lincoln, the President elect
of the United States, is safe in the capital
of the nation. By the admirable arrange
ment of General Scott, the country has
been spared the lasting disgrace, which
would have been fastened indelibly upon it
bad Sir. Lincoln been murdered upon his
journey thither as he would have been had
he followed the program as announced in
the papers, and gone by the Northern cen
tral railroad to Baltimore.
"On Thursday night after he had retired,
Mr. Lincoln was aroused and informed
that a stranger desired to see him on a mat
ter of life and death. He declined to admit
him unless he gave his name, which he at
once. did. Such psestige did the name
carry that while Mr. Lincoln, was yet dis
robed be granted an itervicw to tho caller.
A prolonged conversation elided the fact
that an organized body of men had deter
mined that Mr. Lincoln should not be in
augurated, and that he should never leave
the city of Baltimore alive, if indeed, he
ever entered it. The list of names of the
conspirators presented a most astonishing
array of persons high in southern confidence,
and some whose fame is not to this country
alone. Statesmen laid the plan, bankers
endorsed it, and adventurers were to carry
it into effect. As they understood Mr.
Lincoln, was to leave Harrisburg at nine
o'clock this morning by special train, and
the idea was, if possible, to throw the cars
from the load at some point where they
could rush down a steep embankment and
destroy in a moment the lives of all on board.
In case of the failure of this project, their
plan was to surround the carriage on the
way from depot to depot in Baltimore and
assassinate him with dagger or pistol shot.
Co authentic was the source from w hich
the information was obtained, that Mr. Lin
coln, after counseling with his friends, was
compelled to make arrangements which
.nolili Mm til llht'oet thm ntina f
his enemies. Mr. Lincoln did not want to
yield, and Col. Sumner, actually cried with
indignation 5 but Mrs. Lincoln, seconded by
mi. V uovi auu jiii uiucutil B Ul Igllini ii Dorm
ant, insisted npon it, and at 9 o'clock Mr.
If. T..J.1 ..,.1 xt. T : :. r
Lincoln k-tt on a special train, lie wore a
Scotch plaid cap and a very long military
cloak, so that Vie was entirely unrecognizable
Accompanied by Superintendent Lewi ami
one fiieud, he started, while all the town,
una the exception of Mrs. Lincoln, Col.
Sumner, Mr. Judd, and two reporters, who
were sworn to secrecy, supposed him to be
asleep. The telegraph wires were put be
yond the reach of any one who might de
sire to use them. At I o'clock the fact was
whispered from one to another, aud it soon
became the theme of most excited conver
a;ion. No Peack. - The peace conference,
Tuesday, voted down Mr. Franklin's sub
stitate. Things are therefore in the same
position as a week ago. Some southern
commissioners are much discouraged, but a
little comforted by aenraces from those of
other wot ions, that they will endeavor, on
Wednesday, to reconcile the conlliciing
views in refpect to slavery.
The Plot to Kill Ma. Lincoln.
c . c-..I' ...., r. 1 i..
.it'iiiui kj-cwikm .ii-. ..... .iiiwjii 111
Hank-burg, on Friday, with a message
from Me-rs. Seward, Sco:, and Ho'.. J
! mi -Be announced thu formation of a con-
spiral y to luku the life of the president
elect, which wai conAnm-d by a Flii'ndi 1
pliia police detective, who had obtained
some knowledge of the fuels of the cae.
Tlu-y urged Mr. Lincoln to anticipate tlrs
conspiracy by a sudden and secret journey
to Washington, and after coiii-idurnble dis
illusion he reluctantly consented. He was
not di-guised with a cap and clonk as has
been n-.se: ted. In this respect the story is
untrue.
Thu Rutland Courier is out again to
have the republicans nominate Fred
erick Holbrook for governor. We will ask
the same question wo did before, viz : if Mr.
Holbrook is nominated, will tho Courier
support him?
Nty Hampshire. Benning W. Jen
ncss, the Breckinridge democratic candidate
for governor of New Hampshire, has w ith
drawn from the canvass, and so also has
Robert Morrison, w ho was nornina'ed for
Congress. The opposition are concentra
ting their forces for a desperate struggle.
Mn. Lincoln's Doings and PuRrosKs.
The president elect visited the Senate and
House on Monday aftlernoon, in company
with Mr. Seward. Considerable stir was
occasioned ; many members crowded around
to welcome him, especially in the House.
He remained but a few minutes, and after
wards visited the justices of the supreme
court in their constitution room.
Mr. Breckinridge called on Mr. Lincoln
Sunday evening. Gen. Cass culled Mon
day morning, in company with Mr. Seward,
and paid his respects to the president elect.
The veteran w ept when speaking of the con
dition of the country.
After Mr. Cass withdrew, Mr. Lincoln
was closeted with Mr. Seward. While they
were thus occupied, Horace Greeley called
to see the new president, and was answered
that he was engaged.
Mr. Lincoln moves freely about at Wil
lard's Hotel, aud was in the parlor for some
time Sunday night conversing freely with
all. iwo policemen arc stationed in the
hall near the door of his apartments, as is
always the case when distinguished visitors
are at the hotel. No guards are posted,
and no danger is apprehended.
Anotiikr Attempt troN Mr. Lin
coln's Life. The Syracuse Journal
makes this statement :
"We have been informed by gentlemen
connected with the party of Mr. Lincoln
since he left home lor Washington, that
there were several nttempts to take his life
made during the journey through Indiana
and Ohio. The one which threatened the
most 8 ii ions consequents took' place on the
presidential train leaving Cincinnati, when
a grenade of the most destructive character
was discovered in the car occupied by Mr.
Lincoln, his family and personal friends. It
was found in a small carpet bag, which had
been deposited in a seat of the car by some
unknown person. Attention was drawn to
it from the fact that no baggage was allow
ed in the ears. On examination the gre
nade concealed in the carpet bag was dis
covered to be ignited, and so arranged that
within fifteen minutes it would have explod
ed with a force sufficient to have demolish
ed the car and destroyed the lives of all
persons in it. Of course the 'infernal ma
chine' was speedily removed and properly
disposed of."
Gen. Scott is quietly receiving informa
tion from all the armv stations in the Unijn,
which will enable him to select the proper
officers and men for emergencies or impor
tant positions. The troops he has assem
bled at Washington, and the officers who
command them, had been privately tested,
unknown to themselves, before being sum
moned to the national capital ; and the fact
that not a single resignation or mutinous
act is recorded, shows with what accuarcy
the movements were managed.
A letter from Abbeville, Ala., states that
Mr. A. imiih agent of Scovil Sc Mead,
druggists in New Orleans, was hung by the
mob there on theaturday before.' He was
a native of New Hampshire, and his offense
consisted in calling Toombs a traitor and
the secessionists thieves and robbers, which
was too true to be submitted to. The vig
ilants took his horse and buggy and $306
in money.
The Albany Evening Journal gives re
turn of the New York town meetings,
showing that, in fourteen counties, 171 re
publican and C8 democratic supervisors
have been elected a gain of four to the
republicans over last year. New York is
not greatly frightened by secession.
Some dozen applications for patents have
been made by citizens of states which have
seceded, and in every instance they make
oato that they are citizens of ths United
States.
A Cbarlestouian writes to his friend in
Boston that he is really for the Union,
though obliged by fear of confiscation to
. , -, .1
countenance unu oia me secession move
ment. His closing paragraph is : "Mark
my word South Carolina will be back
the Union before Lincoln has been one
year president.'
A Minnesota justice of the peace, having
been newly appointed and rather verdam
in his duties; d,d not know how to perform
the marriage ceremony for a young and in
tercsting couple, so that he and they were
satisfied it would hold. The young man
said he was satisfied that it would hold un
til the morning, when, if there was anything
Licking, it CiKild be supplied by another jus-
1 tiee.
To this the lady demurred, and re-
If. 1 . 1 r , ... ,
j iuscii iu ichc ior uome uniu sue was sure
j that she w.i legal! mar. ied. The young
man pleaded, the justice "guessed they
would find it nil right," but she was firm,
and the husband hud to start off several
miles for another justice. An experieiied
lunctioiiary being at last procure I, the kiml
was legally tied no J no mistake, and tin:
happy couple departed w ith no misgivings.
STATE OF T1IK UNION.
Speech of Hon. J. S. Morrill,
OF VERMONT,
Is tub Hot st: or Rwukskntativks,
February, 18, 18U1.
Tlie lltmw lin.ltijc uihW comlilpr&tlon ttiff report from
the Milct touiiulln of Ihlrtj- tUrew
Mr. Morhii.l said :
Mr. Speaker: It is u?e1ea to disguise, and
traitorous lo increase the gravity of the oc
casion. Against the Government establish
ed by Washington, n rebellion, formidable
in its proportions and portentous in its re-
tults, is even now buckling on its arm jr,
and w ith vigorous diplomacy conning allies.
I am painfully aware how vain for me would
be the attempt to stay this downward revo
lution ; and, if I cannot arrest it. I will do
nothing to accelerate its execrable speed.
I do not underrate the martial spirit of the
South; and those who imagine there is
nothing to be dreaded by the tocsin that as
sembles tho Noilh in arms, know little of
the fire that now lies concealed in northern
ice. ' Let but a single gun be fired in this
capital," to use the words of one of my cor
respondents. " and there would not be men
enough left at home in the Nonh to milk
the cows." Jt is growing too evident that
in each section of our country the wa-dogs
onlv need to be let loose to cut the Gordian
knot we have so long unsuccessfully strug
gled to untie. Expectant heroes, the cav
aliers and the roundheads, already s'and on
tip-toe to vindicate their respective claims ;
on 0110 side the eagerness to commence, and
on the other the reluctance to leave off, a
fratricidal war. He that does not pause ere
he scars the pages of history with such a
contest, is a madman. It is not because I
doubt the mettle of my own people that I
pause, but becnuse I know their pluck.
I lierelore, not until all hope 01 the union
shall pass aw ay, will I whet the edge of an
imosities by imitating the bad example of
some "renth-men in sending forth the war-
whoop, instead of sober arguments and rea
sonable conclusions.
Recognizing the fact that there appeared
to be an organized plan to revolutionize
and bieak up llie Government, a conspira
cy to blot out the Declaration of Independ
ence and svbvert the Constitution, I voted
in favor of raising the committee of thirty-
three, when it was proposed, in order to
give those who represented that portion of
Our country loudest in their complaints an
opportunity to be heard to the utmost lati
tude; aud not because any real grievance
was visible to me. always expecting thai
some men were about to go out ot ollice,
and others were about lo come in. I would
consider the complaints of a single individ
ual ; and could not, theref .re, reject unheard
those of whole Suites. The Representa
tives from the disaffected section wi re each
our equals, and respectable in numbers, and
therefore, it they proposed it, entitled to the
right of being heard. I do not regret that
vole. This opportunity has been granted :
and yet, I confess, while there is a fertility
of apprehensions, no real grievance has
been made manifest. Our admirable and
complex form of Government in nil its op
erations has exhibited as little friction, as
little of local hardship, as any ever devised
by the wit of man.
It is undeniably true that, if the late
election had resulted in the. defeat of Mr.
Lincoln, no revolution would h ive been pre
cipitated, and no new guaranteees to slave
ry W'onld have been required at our hands.
But, while we have been victorious in the
campaign, we are invited to sutimit to what
would not even have been suggested had
we been defeated ; ay, and invited to sub
mit to what nearly two-thirds of the popu
lar vote of the Demooraiic party itself re
jected. For one million three hundred and
sixty-five thousand nine hundred and seventy-six
Democrats, in voting for Mr. Doug
las, voted against the protection ot slavery
in the Territories ; and only 847,953 for
Mr. Breckinridge, in favor of it. Under
these circumstances, thedemand made is
a humiliation lo which noparty can submit.
In 1820 the Missouri compromise was
established, and i t s repeal w as never
agitated by the North. In 1828 John
Quiney Adams was defeated on charges of
extiavagance, although the expenditure
was not one sixth of what we notv witness ;
but the North submitted. In 1832 Gene
ral Jackson was re-elected on the around
of hostility to the United States Bank ; and
when the bank went down, all acquiesced.
In 1814 Mr. Polk was elected because he
was in favor of " the re annexation of Tex
as, and " extending the area ol freedom ;
and when Texas came in, with four slave
States extended on its banner, even then
there was no rebellion. In 1848 the Wil-
mot proviso was defeated ; but no secession
followed. In 18;"i4 the Missouri compro
mise was repealed ; and yet the Union stood
firm, notwithstanding this combined blunder
and crime. In 1860 Mr. Lincoln was elect
ed, because he was opposed to the exten
sion of slavery into the Territories, and op
posed to the general maladministration of
the Government for the last eight years.
That verdict of the people cannot be le-
versed, exept by the people themselves, four
years hence. I trust it mav never be re-
versed. Meantime it must be accepted by
all order-loving. Constitution-obeying men.
If the South did not mean to abide by the
result only on the principle ot " heads I
win, tail you lose" they should not have
courted the issue, nor made the appeal to
llie ballot-tiox. Having pniticipated in ihe
election, it is too late to reject the verdict
They w iil find consolation in the best of
books, " The patient abiding of the right
eous 6hall be turned to clad-iess."
Whatever fate may betide our country.
tho Democratic party has much to do to te
dcem itself from the odium of the present
crisis, and I would urge it to that patriotic
end. A Democratic President haa not used
his high prerogative to estop the dismem
berment of of th'! Republic but only to li
cense anai chy. He has looked benignly on
secession. Like a clever old man with un
ruly sons, he has deprecated their conduct
by saying " Don't ; but if I were you I
would, and I can't I tip it if you do." It is
not a difficult feat for the officers and crew
to scuttle and fink the staunches! of ships;
and any government may go down when its
own officers betray their trust, or lapse into
corruption aud imbecility. The names of
those now or recently in command, will have
a page not to be envied in future history.
NorwilI.it be lost sight of that secession
was begotten and nursed by the wolves of
the Democratic prty. The true men of
this party must now take care of their cwn
reputation.
Mr. Speaker, not having been able to co
incide with, the honorable chairman, who
presented thu majority of the committee of
; ihirly-lhree, nor yet abogiher with the
! views of nuy of the minority repoils, 1 feel
1 :. . 1... . .i I tl.;.. ...ul.v I nf
I 11 1U wr llljf uuijr IV in., luia ,ii,..ii.... .
nlainii'2 what, in inv iudi'inunt. should be
i done, and w hut should not bo dune, wiih
! the various subjects upon which we shall
! soon lie called upon to act.
i And first h t me snv, that the course of
those occupying extreme positions in tho
South, before and especially since our as
seiiibling here, has niadu it embarrassing for
inn or nnv of us who would preserve the
Constitution in all its vigor, to listen even
to words of conciliation ; while anything like
compromise has never been possible for a
moment. Compromises are under the ban
of nil parties, an J to the advocates of se
cession, who mean revolution, more odious
than to uny other. If any State or States
may withdraw their Senators and Reprc-
sen'atives, seize forts, ships arsenals, mints.
hospuuls, and dock-yards, whenever an
election terminates adversely to their politi
cal opinions, and then demand terms fun
damental change of organic laws belore
they w ill return to their allegiance, what is
our Constitution, w ith all its historic splen
dor, worth ? Should such a course obtain
the sanction of serious concessions, the na
tional Government would be forever destroy
ed, and each member of the family, as they
acquired strength and mettle for disobedi
ence, might in turn defy the law and order
of the paternal roof unless some portion of
authority was abdicated, and some portion
of the estate was sit apart for exclusive en
joyment. I will do nothing to commit our
Republic to Ibis crumbling process of mu
tiny and decay ; I will do nothing to admii
the doctrine of secession as the extreme
medicine of the Constitution. No one who
desires the continuance of the Union should
consent to put it in a position of mere suf
ferance tenant at will of one State, nor
even a dozeu States. Self-preservation for
bids that our system should be inoculated
with any such virus. If the seceding Stales
desire to quit the Union, and to quit it for
ever, let them propose constitutional amend
ments for that purpose, and calmly submit
them to the people. This is the only mode
by which the end aimed at can be reached
w ithout civil war, and the utter demoraliz
ation of all the parties w ho choose to main
tain the present Constitution.
I know that the existence of a party, as
compared with the existence of the Union,
is a matter of utter insignificance. But, at
this time, there is but one party which
can be relied upon as an entirety, and in
all its integrity in favor of the Union and the
Constitution as it is. If this party fails in
its duty, or lacks the courage equal to its
mission, either the Union will be destroyed,
or the Constitution will be so changed ilial
it might cost less lo abandon our inheritance
thus incumbered than to support it. Union
men, in w hatever party now lo be found,
should acknowli-de il.e necessity and unite
with us in rescuing the Government from
its present dangers ; and w hen w? reach
calmer seas we shall have ample time to
fight about political differences as practical
issues arise. Whether Representatives
here show that patriotism or not, I feel sure
the people will rally under no other banner
than the "stars and stripes."
For one, I cannot make what appears to
me to ho concessions, nor consent to any
measure that shall lower the moral and
political standard of the great mnjorty in
the North. The South shall have all its
rights; but Iiim commissioned lo surrender
none. When the principles upon which I was
elected a member of ibis House shall become
dangerous to the co'intry I shall deem it my
duty to resign and go home ; but while I be
lieve llieni vital to its preservation, they will
continue to be asserted. Mea-ures intended
for humiliation, forcing the majority to ca
pitu'ale to the minority, will have no coun
tenance from me. lint, outside of this, be
ing victors, we can afford lo be frank and
magnanimous, and say what we mean.
Ratln r, we cannot afford anvthinj less. II
some future republican traveler from Nap
les or si. 1 etesburgh shall ever come here
to sketch the ruins of this temple of liberty,
let him have no data to note that it was
shattered by mere perversiiy of temper.
Let the rock upon which ne splii slavery
extension and no oilier, be marked on the
map. The assailants of the Union are now
in the wrong, and we must keep them so. I
will not shut my e) es to the fact that several
Stales, wiih apparent and sudden sanction
of their people, have started to leave us,
with the intent never lo return. Other fixed
stars of the Republic, with feai of change.
are perplexing Ihe world. What I can pro-
periy do 10 restore harmony, alt bough it
may prove fruitless, I shall try. I will deal
in truth, frankness, and conciliation ; and
shall favor such measures as will not com
promise, in my judgment, the great prin
cipies, 01 numan noerty upon winch our
Government was established if such shall
be accepted as an adjustment of present diffi
culties. Whatever 1 might do under ordi
nary circumstances, tieitLer more nor less, I
shall feel it incumbent upon me to do now
To the people of the South our party has
been most pertinaciously misrepresented ;
1 aud am willing lo tell them thai we intend
them no harm ; that, if Jefferson and Jackson
were not dangerous, their apprehensions are
unfounded as to Mr. Lincoln. I am, there
fore, willing lo give a congressional certifi
cate that we havebeen slandered; that the
Republican party of to-day is no blacker
than the Republican party which, for twenty
four years in succession, found in Virginia
successful candidates, for the Presidency ;
aim mat Mr. Hamlin is as immaculate!)
white as is the gentleman from Ohio. Gov
ernment CoRWiN.l I feel sure the southern
people, goaded by calumnious oiatory, have
made a suicidal plunge ; and I would give
time for sober truth to rise and reassert its
empire, Not standing on the soulless
punctilho, that they ought to have known
better than to have leaped into such tuibid
and bottomless waters, let us fling them at
least the drift wood that may float them to
ihe shore. If they can have a chanc to
return by their own volition, it will cost less
than to plunge in after them, aud they will
oe oetier associates in all time to come,
It is not to ihoae States now in armed
revolt that 1 would offer the calumet : for
they are no entitled even to an explanation
to save them from suicide. They bave not
asked it : they have appealed to no tribunal
save that of force. But the border States
have, as yet, done nothing to earn out hat
someimiig rainer 10 elicit praise; and to
them, made glorious by ancestral rmown,
ami ly a common lame, precious by hold
ing the ashes of heroes and statesmen whom
we have loved with that wonderful love,
"passing the love of women ;'' to than h t us
give assurances of a faithful redemption of
an the obligations imposed npon us by ihe
I Constitution we have sworn to support and
I that fraternal sympathy that sludl leave
tliera no excuse tor seeking a foreign home.
. Among the resolutions reported bv the
committee, not all r winch received my
assent, there was one
uTt. . . . , 1
That the several States be respectfully !
requested to cause their statute to be re
vised, with a view lo ascertain if any of
them are in conflict with, or tend to embar
rass or hinder the execution of llie laws of
llie United Stale-."
To w hich I did assent, because it is re-
. .T Cllud
sii..'f in 111 us lone, neriiiieui iu mm...-.
.South as well as Nnh ; and because my
own Stale had already ordered precisely
this thing to be done before we assembled
here. Moved by her ow n sense of propriety,
Vermont will, ill her own good time, do
whatesoever is right because it is right. I
have not given critical attention to what are
culled personal liberty bills, for none of
them, nor anything else, has prevented the
execution of tho fugitive slave law, though
repugnant to a large share of the legal and
moral sense of the country, which the
President says hut been executed in every
contested case. That cannot be said of the
neutrality laws to prevent fillibustorisin, nor
of the laws for ihe suppression of the Afri
can slave trade.
So far as the legislation of ermont is
concerned, I think it bus been intended to
maintain her reputation as the purest
democracy in the world, the very sanctuary
of liberty, and to throw around all her in
habitants, however humble, the saleguards
of the writ of hubes corpus and trial by jury,
as well as lo prevent ihe nefarious crime of
kidnapping from being commuted within
her borders.
Such laws as these are common, and
ought lo be, to all the States. They are
merely Iegi-lalive authority to enforce a bill
of rights, "dear to freemen and formidable
10 tyrants ot ly," and stand, as the flaming
swoid to defend the rights of men, as re
cognized in all our republican constitutions,
whenever they shall be assailed.
By the deci-ion of the Supreme Court in
the case of Prig.; vs. Pennsylvania, which
subsequent events have rendered historical,
it was decided that the master could seize
his slave as any other property, wherever
found, if there was no State law against it.
Much of tho leg'slation complained of was
therefore set in motion, to compel masters to
resort to United States authority, and pre
vent the possibility of lawless seizure of free
black men. In the same case, it was decid
ed that the legislation of Congress excludes
all State legislation o;i the subject. Free
State Legislatures, therefore, very general
ly prohibited their officers from aiding or
assisting in such business, if this shows a
lack of comity, it was in pursuance of this
h cision ot Ihe Supreme Court. It is true,
also, that the rigors of the fugitive slave act
of 18i0 multiplied and intensified such
statutes. If, however, in doing ibis, Slate
Legislatures have tian'cended the object
aimed at, and auv of their statutes of the
Constitution of the United States w hich de
clares, that '"no person hel 1 to servirje or
labor in one Stale, under the laws thereof,
escaping into another, shall, in consequence
of any law of regulation therein, be dis
charged from such service or lalior," they
should be repealed without debate. lti
never to be forgotten, and especially not
now, lbat iho "Constitution and the laws of
the United States, which shall be made in
pursuance thereof," is 'the supreme law of
the land," "anything in the constitution or
avvs of any btate the contrary notwith-
sranding."
One of the propositions of the committee,
as offered by the distinguished gentleman
Irom Massachusetts, is to provide an amend
ment lo the Constitution which shall Ibrbid
any passible future interference w till slavery
in the States w here it exists. Such, un
questionably, is the true meaning of the
Constitution now. I know of no party
having the remotest intention of giving it
any other construction. The Republican
party, of all others bound themselves 111 the
must solemn from by the fourth resolution
of the Chicago platform, thus :
" I bat the maintenance inviolate of the
rights ot the .Mates, and especially the
right of each State to order and control its
own domestic institutions according to its
ow n judgment exclusively, isesseuial to that
balance of power on which the perfection
and endurance of our poli'ical fabric de
pends ; and we denounce the lawless hives
ion by armed force of llie soil of any State
or Territory, no matter under what pretext,
as among the gravest ot crimes.
That is explicit, and among cool men
would be so regarded. Uufoituna'ely, all
men at this time are not cool. The reso
lution unanimously adopted by this House
011 the 1 1 tH of February last is even more
explicit. Every member. Republicans in
clusive, for once in harmony.
" liesolcea, I hat neither Congress nor the
people or government of any non-slavebold-ing
State has the constitutional right to
legislate upon, or interfere with, slavery in
uny slaveholding Slate in the Union."
Surely, after this, the possibility of decep
tion must be considered effectually throttled.
Only those who desire 10 be cheated can be
cheated.
I have been unwilling to consider any
amendment to the Constitution, lest a master
work should be botched by journeymen;
and I have tolerated the idea at this point
alone, not because I thought it necessary,
but that, if accepted as adjustment of pre
sent difficulties, it might, by perpetuating a
part of our present Constitution reelect
ing it, if you please perpetuate Ihe whole.
But I have, as yet, had no assurances that
this will he taken in any larger sense than
of -"good so far as it go--s." To secure my
support, it must be taken as a full and final
settlement. To that end, guarantees against
ihe heresies of secession would be indis
pensable. 1 know of no one who claims or desires
the constitutional power to interfere with
Ihe domestic institutions of any State.
benever the affirmative of that doctrine
shall be mail tained, it will be in some re
mote age, when all Stale rights shall hav
become extinct, and the spirit cf the people
so lanieu as 10 De ready to sutimit to im
perial despotism. Then the Federal Gov
ernment may as easily establish slavery in
a 11 ee iaie as to anoiisti it in a slave State,
nrt... . -1 1 ......
inc parueuior loira wnicu tins proposi
tion nas assumed appears lo in objectiona
ble, and unnecessarily complicated: and all
that part which makes a discrimination be
tween the States should be stricken out
but, if the substance of such a declarat ion
could serve the great purpose of conciliation
in the present exigencies of the coatrv
would go to the extreme verge of liberality
in order to give it rny asent. We are eith
er in favor of ultimate interferance with
slavery in ine Slates w here it exists, or
we are against it. Now, if against it
though we may consider it surplmige
why may we not put the subject beyond
even the power of willful misrepresents
tion ? As a mere mailer of taste, I would
not vote for it ; but I would be willing to sac
rifice taste for the Uuion. The proof is
abundant that southern men have ind iled.
and do ii dulge, in serious charges, if not
real apprehensions, on this point ; and if
the measures proved woull carry heal mo
' c- I ' 1 ' 4i a W 111 IT iu Oil
may be tendered without sacrifice. I
on its wings, it appears to me to be one that
pre
sume, however, it will fail to receive that
support from gentlemen of the South which
would indicate thut it is sufficient for the
evils complained of; and then it will be
useless to offer as a remedy what the pa
tient avows will be flung out of tho window,
and may properly ba abandoned. Should
thu seceding States stand tiloof, it wou'd
be vain to attempt to give efficacy to this
measure, as its only inducement general
cooperation would be wanting.
If it be said that this would be a surren
der of any principal, I ask how ? We
have already solemnly abjured it. It is
not, unless you intend to accomplish an un
constitutional end by constitutional means,
and the change of doing that even, can bs
computed by tracing out the process. As
it requries three-fourths of all the States to
carry any amendment tf the Constitution,
with fifteen slave States sure to vote against
it, no amendment authorising interference
with slavery in the States could succeed,
until tho w hole number of Stntes amounted
to sixty, and of these it would require the
entire concurance of forty five. It is un
necessary to spend more time in discussing
a measure that cannot pass, and which, if
it could pass, would not give the slave
States one whit more of security than they
now practically enjoy.
The present fugitive slave law, col lided
to magistrates uukown to the Constitution)
who is what assumed, would need five dol
lars more to be peisuaded to decide a case
in favor of slavery than for freedom, mer
ciless in its summary process, and with no
trial by jury, compulsory upon all citizens
to join in the hunt of any runaway, so ob
noxious in its features that it would almost
seem to have been made repulsive by de
sign, has yet been hell by the highest
judicial tribunals legally and technically
constitutional. Such being the decision,
nullification by inferior courts or Legisla
tures is no remedy for its faults, as their
action is itself a nullity. The amendment
proposed by the co nmittee, although they
mny not reach to the extent of amelioration
that they might have done without impair
ing the constitutional purposes of law, are
yet steps in Ihe right direction ; and though
they will not secure alacrity in the ordina
ry excution of law, so long as life and liber
ty are more precious than property, they
will remove the general excuse for mobs.
No proposition to amend the law of 18.J0
would be likely to fail of b-ing an improve
ment ; and these amendments ought not to
be refused by any just legislator, unh ss
other provisions of an objutnionale character
shall be ingrafted upon It em in their prog
ress though this House, calculated to defeat
substantial improvemnts here tendered.
Another prosit ion of the committee is an
enabling act for ihe admissijn of the Ter
ritory of New-Mexico as a State in the
course of the ensuing year. I am ready
to admit that this would practically dispose
of all the territory we now have which the
slaveholding Slates set up any claim in
their ultimatum of a restoration of the
Missouri line ; but it leaves open what they
bold lo be the paramount question of the
disposal of territory hereafter to be acquired,
and will therefore be satisfactory, even if
the question that it would become a slave
holding Slate was free of doubt.
The fatal objection to the mea-ure is that
the civilization of the territory is unequal
to the task of s ipporting a Stale government.
I trust that they are making progress in
wealth and educntiou; but there is no evi
dence present showing either their capacity
or desire to emhaik in the experiment.
To be entirely frank. I d i not think it can
ever practically become a slave State. Ii
must foiever remain a pastoral country.
Whatever its mines, real or fabulous, may
attract, its tillage land skirting the borders
of streams only, its arid waistes destitute of
water, can never support a population, much
beyond its present numbers ; nor can a
cheaper labor be substituted for that which
now prevails.
By the organic act passed ten years ago,
in addition to the rights obtained by treaty.
New-Mexico obtained the right of admission
into the Union with or without slavery;
and during eight years of that time, the
whole Federal patronage of the Govern
ment has succeeded in permanently forcing
into thai Territory eleven slaves onlv, ten
of whom are women. ith ibis state of
facts I cannot but think whenever sooner
or later, the subject shall be discussed, as
it would be at the formaton of a Constitution,
and all outside preasure on the people shall
be removed, they will decide the question
in favor of humam freedom. But any peo
ple willing to vote peon servitude upon them
selves, as they do in New-Mexico, are
hardly to be trusted with the destiny of a
State.
Under ordinary circumstances I should
vote against enable.ing Slew-Mexico to
come into the Union at the present time ;
and I cannot find any thing in the present
condition of affairs to release me from the
obligation of doing so now. It has not
been made apparent, if this measure could
receive the entire vote of this side of the
House, that it would be acceptable as a
measure of adjustment. But were it other
wise, I shouht not vole for it ; because it
wears Ihe appearance of an evasion of
principles heretofore mnde prominent, and
which I am unwilling to veil in a cloud. '
There is another proposition, founded
upon the same section in the Constitution
upon which the law for the return of per
sons held to service escaping into another
State is bused, in relation to fugitives from
justice, which, in my opion, would in prac
tice prove unsatisfactory, and instead of
curing present irritations, would multiply
them tenfold. Hnretofore, the requisition
has been made by the chief excutive officer
of one State upon the chief executive of
ficer of another State. It is now pio,io-ed
t make this requisition ' upon the district
judge of the United Stales of the district"
in w hich the criminal may be found, whose
duties are so defined and limited as neces
sarily to give the criminal laws of local
Legislatures a wid-r and even national ap
plications, and at the same time blots out
the sovereignty of a State altogether. If
it be solely a judicial question 10 be deter
mined, I answer that the Governors of
most States are apt to be as able jurists as
the Judges of these districts courts ; nor can
political predjudices be avoided by the
change, forjudges are now often appointed
as mucn in reference to their political affini
ties as to their legal knowledge. The de
mand must be made by a Governor, and it
is proper that it should be responded to by
an equal. Under the present practice,
Governors snrrender fugitives from justice
when the charge alleged would be a crime
in ihe State to which they have fled. That
would seem to be a rule lar less liable to
ab use than the one proposed, and as equal
and just as can be devised. I trust this most
exceptionable proj,-ct to change the old law
will receive ihe decided negative of all
sides of the House, and of State-rights men,
espeo ally.
Fading of success in the late election of
1 resident, though still maintaining supre
macy in both branches of Conri
southern States now demand as j( ;
malum, and as a condition prccd,.n"i
faithful adherence to present Con
a recognizance and pru;ection of ij""'
property in ail the territory we now f
or may hereafter acquire, south of af.,
north latitude. This is in part of .1 "'
tenden compromise. It is proposed to '
this a part of the Constitution. So I
it would bo a revival of the Missouri
promise, it would certainly 8ee.n 1
lo place it where it could not becom1 -perative
and void " through the ail '
the party now renewing the prowil!,'
well as safe from the reach of he s
Court, lest history tdiould repeat"' !
But what is the necsssity for tie m1 V
Slavery has already obtained a (,iC
all this Territory ; protected by the T
torial Legislature, and hedged" in
pending deeissions of the Supreme
Is it not enough that this is a fa,.
must the minority be forced to eat'
the fate of.an empire no yet id,j0 s
grasp. The conclusion is irresJ
that it is not, after all, a contest
the condition of what we now lyi
but whether we shall hereafter V:
territory now free, and force slavery it
without allowing the conqured p'eo,,
say even whether they will tolerate
not. This invasive purpose, too, in
announced in advance, and embla'zotv
the very forehead of our Constitution. -
The whole of this claim, as niuitt
been foreseen, will meet with an eoii,'
denial. There is no part of it wont1
the sanction of a great and hi.di-mi :'
people. If the desire was simply5 rooiT
the expansion of slavery inlo New MtI-'
that is practically enjoyed already. Jf
desire reaches beyond that ; if it'is j?
and Chihuahua that is hunted in tlie;
tance let those w ho mean it avow it 1
the question would be squarely prese-.
whether those Mexican provinces ma
obtained at the cost cf breaking up
Union or not ? whether secession or 1! "
co should be conquered whether f. '
Carolina or Cuba mu-t be bought? ,!
until after the present dangerous tit of r
g-st ion sha'l have passed away, car
American people be induced to in
more of the disjointed limbs of priesl-rii! i
Mexico; and I trust that their hunW
that direction is forever appeased. I
a man once who wax alwaisin litij-u
about the boundary line of his land. nr.
neighbor said of him, that be be),eved :
ihe cap'n owned all Paradise he wou'd qv
rel wiih the devil just for a little strip e
lor a hog pasture 1 " Have we not ei on: '
Then let us not quarrel about any nic '
tie strips. But come what may. llie X
will stand by the declaration of Henry IV;
and no earthly power can compel llim.
vote for the positive introduction of slam
either soulh or nonh of that line," (;i
30'.) I
I do not propose to marshal the reonrs
of the free Slules, nor to consider how:!
erable might be their condition when
alone, or after the withdrawal of the tk
Slates, and the accession of the Can
and other British provinces the failure "
the first being the only possible bindu:
to the last but I wish 10 make a
remark touching the threat of sending ct
tain States to '"Coventry." f
I know it is the fashion i some pari
lo sneer at New England, to talk of a
construction of a Union wiih this partt
out, " sloughed off but this imbecile sp
does not even excite pity. It will be foo thill
almost every free State has its X
England within its borders, and thus I? -.
ened, some for aught I know, are in
pance of the Puritan slock. It is eviiV.
the political Jonah would not be disposed 1
even if down east" were to be ihrcr
overboard. They remember the fable,-,
members rebelling against the head, It
will let others make the application. X"
England makes no apology for the past, hit
will indulge in no envy for the future; br
having no invincible sectional hatreds,
any can do better than herself, she willk ,
them God speed. It might be pertinent k'
remind those who flippantly talk of osnr
cis'.ng such a people, that when the t
Greek philosopher -was banished from S;;
ope, he r torted : And I condemn yoo
stay in Sinope. Cerlainly Vermont 1T(
for no concessions, asks no guarantees. IV
years and in her infancy she stood alow t
aud such a doom, now in her maturity, wer:
it possible to be enforced, would haver;
terrors for her, as almost each one of kf
inhabitants possesses within their on:)
homes the means industry and inconqurt f
able will of absolute indepenndence. Sht jf,
can both feed and clothe herself with tit;
plow, the loom, and the anvil, no mattfij
whether cotton or wool, flax or hemp,:'.
king.
These taunts do not arise from a positif?;
dislike to the thrift of New England cliar-1
aeter, nor o their eminence in all the higMv
ways of modern civilization, for among thf!
most seductive arguments addressed by se
cessionists to Geoigia, to North Carolina. '
to Virginia, and to Maryland, each in ton
w ill find this : that they will become the w
England of the cotton heptarchy ; hut tin f
disgust arises from the obstinate vote of
New England; and though I am for con-,
cilialion, I cannot honestly say that I fore-1
see any millennium at hand w hen they iS
have repented of the fanaticism they h 1
so long manifested in the persecution of the
prophets of modern democracy, as that par-1
ty will, I fear, continue to furnish abundant t
provocation.
There seems to be a tenacity of purpose.
by some amendment of ihe Constitution, t
foi-t the word slavery into that instrument, i
in order to secure to it, by a prolific brocJ
of logical inferences, a higher degree f ,
protection as properly. Not content who
the language of the Constitution, it is I10H
to make the rose, not more aromatic, M
still entitled to higher consideration under
another name. I have not time to disci"
thu length and breadth of ibis apparently
very innocent proposition, and will only sat
that the language of the framers of the Con
stitution was well chosen, expressed all 117
intended, and all we intend now and fore
er. Whether slaves are merely property
or persons, in the language of Sterne. "D" f
guise thyself as thou will, still, slavery, H'1 i
I, still tbou art a bitter draught" I
The idea of a reconstruction of the Con- '
stitution held out by the architects of ruin, j
who now bear despotic away in the Soutb, i
to those who hesitate to break away from
the ark of our covenint, is a fiaud in it
Southern aspect, as South Carolina andth
autocratic Yancey a have already imeriou9"
ly indicated, and wholly fallacious in i
northern aspect, as time wid surely J'"
claim. The leaders in the cotton State
mean something far different from a recon
struction, and nothing less than a revclulk
and its consequences have been invoked
from the outset. They may snatch sm
parts of our system of government ; but
like the fortresses they have seized, thej
will be converted to unwonted uses ; audi
stiff with the embroidery of cew devices.