Newspaper Page Text
POLITICAL.
Continued from our list.
Tcome now, Mr. Speaker, to the considcr
oratiou ofihat part of the bill, before you, which
provides for removing to the United Stales
courts, any suit or prosecution commenced in a
Sli r court, against a revenue officer, tor an act
done in the discharge of his duty, as prescribed
by law. That -some aurrondmenls of the ex
isting laws, in cases of this kind, are necessary,
1 candidly admit. Where an officer is sued in
a St.ite Court, lor an act required by a law of
the United States, it is a case ‘ aiising undei
the laws of die United States”—one of the very
cases to which the judicial power of the United
Slates, undei the constitution, extends. The
exeicisesof this jurisdiction, it seems to me, for
many reasons, ought to be provided for ; and
that provision is made in the bill reported to this
House, by the Committee on the Judiciary.
But when it is proposed to extend this provis
ion to criminal prosecutions, I cannot assent to
it. It is an attempt to give to the federal Ju
diciary, cognizance of criminal cases, where a
State is a party, for which there is no warrent
in the constitution. Having on two former oc
casions in this House, expressed my views on
this point, 1 shall not repeat them now—but
content myself with referring gentlemen to the
able argument of Mr. Madison, in the Virginia
. report of 98, and to the explicit exception to
the exercise of this power in the tatificalions of
the constitution by the conventions of New
Yoik and Rhode Island. 1 should indeed, ex- [
hibit a specimen of singular inconsistency, to
vote for this provision, after haying so repeat- I
odly denounced the exercise of the power by ;
the federal tribunals, as unauthorized —and I ;
should be recording, at the same time, a most ,
severe sentence against <he public authorities
•>, of the Slate of Georgia, who have not only ex
pressly denounced the power, but openly refus
ed submission to it. Sir, were I now to conclude
this jurisdiction to the federal courts, I should ,
expect the ghost of the ill-fated Tassels to haunt |
the dreams of the midnight hour —and to hear
his “blood crying from the ground’’ against the ;
people ol my State.
1 have much more to say on this important [
subject, Mr. Speaker, but at this late hour, after [
the polite and attentive hearing with which I
have been honored, I cannot so much abuse the
patients of the House, as to tresspass much long
er upon it. I was particularly desirous of ad
verting to those laws which my colleague Mr.
Wayne, referred to ns precedents for this bill ;
but a slight notice of the most prominent of them
must suffice. Sir, it is not the least of the a
larming considerations which attend the intro- j
duciion and advocacy of this bill, that the de- i
fence of its most objectionable parts is founded
on precedent. My colleague tells vs that the
provision for cloathing the President with the
whole land and naval power of the Union, is
borrowed from a law passed in the “democrat
ic administration of Mr. Jefferson. But does
jmv colleague see no difference between meas
ures for national defence against foreign powers,
and those for internal government! The law ,
to which he alludes, was passed for the purpose
vs enforcing the embargo, which, if not itself a
war measure, was of a defensive character, and
intended to operate upon England and I’ rance,
both of which had committed serious depreda- j
lions on our commerce. And is it not matter
of history that the discontents of the eastern j
people at those restrictive measures, were such
that Mr. Jefferson himself yielded to their re- j
peal 1 And yet this is the precedent which we
lire to adopt in confiding to the President pow
ers to be exerted in a controversy between the
Fed Tai Government and one ol the States of
the Union. Sir, I repeat that this is the very
circumstance which gives me the deepest con
cern, By this act you establish some most a- I
farming principles, and it is to be a standing
precedent upon your statute book. Some gen- j
llemen are the more willing to confer these t
powers, on account of their confidence in the
individual who is to exeicise them. Now, I
am quite sure that I have as much confidence
in General Jackson, as 1 shall have in any one
who may succeed him ; nor do I apprehend
any danger to the contrary from the exei cise of
these extraordinary powers by him ; I do not
believe there will be any necessity for his exe
cuting them at all ; but they are powers which
1 would vest in no man living. There is not
n worse rule in legislation, than that of framing
l.rws with an eye to the individual by whom
thev are to be executed. It were always better
to frame them under the idea that they were to
be administered by officers who would abuse
their powers if they could. Leave as little to
official discretion as possible. Who does hot
peireive the danger to which the country and
its liberties might be exposed under the admin
istration ol some daring and ambitious tyrant,
clothod with the authority conferred bj this bill?
And should such an one uniuiiuuatuty roach
tin- Executive chair, and desire this authority,
be will only have to recur to “the democratic
administration ot Mr. Jefferson, and “the dem
ocratic administration” ot General Jackson,
and there are precedents for as much power as
he can wish. Mr Speakvi, my earliest affec
tions were to the union of these States, and my
latest aspirations shall be for its coutinuence,
and for the preservation of our present form of
■Government, to be administered in the spirit
Hint on the principles which gave birth to both.
Ji is, therefore, that I look with watchful jeal
ous v on any measure calculated to change its
character. Such is the feeling with which I re
gard” the bill you are about to pass. Its tenden
cy is to a military despotism, and iinploiahle as
it miv seem to many, this may be its ultimate
termination. Should this be the melancliolly
result, I call this House to witness, that al the
fi m step on this downward march, I have not
fadvd to raise a warning voice against it.
SPEECH OF MR. BLAIR,
OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
On the Bill to provide for the collection of the
Revenue, delivered in the House of Repre
sentative, Feb. 27, ISS3.
I rise, Mi. Speaker, for the purpose of as
signing, briefly, the reason why 1 vote for this
i bill, and of explaining and reconciling the con- j
I duct 1 adopted at the commencement id the j
: session with that which i deem my imperative
! duty to pursue now.
Some explanation of this sort is the more ne-
I cessary, as 1 understand the gentleman from
North Carolina, Air. Carson, while 1 have
been out of the House, has expressed some as
tonishment that 1 should be in favor ol a coer
cive measme against my own Slate, or that 1
should ask the passage of this bill for the pro
tection ol the “Union Party,” of South Caroli
na. It I were disposed to retort upon the gen
ieman from North Carolina, I might ask him in
return how it happens that he is opposed to
this measure whilst his costituents are well
known to be almost unanimous againsi “nulli
fication?” I might with at least as much pro
priety, express my astonishment that he should
so far mistake the wishes and well ascertained
opinions of nine-tenths of the intelligent peaple
he represents, as to oppose the passage of this
bill.
I repeat now, what I have said again and a
gain, that 1 shall regard the rejection ol this
bill as a negative sanction of nullification,
and an indirect rebuke of the Union Party in
South Carolina. I have not asked this or any
other measure for the personal safety of the
Union Party. I have repeatedly disclaimed
it, enlirly and unconditionally. IVc ask not
personal protection. We would suffer annihi
lation before we would invoke aid in that res- I
pect. But we think there is something due to 1
our character and feelings.—And I submit to
; the candid consideration of the House whether
lit would be generous or politic to make a
i “scape goat,” to bear away the sins of nullilica
i lion to the wilderness, in order to conciliate
; the disorganizers in South Carolina. Suppose
j you should do so on this occasion, what en
i couragement would an orderly well disposed
i minority, in a refractory State, have to stand
up for the dignity of this government and the
excecution of its laws in a coming day?—Could ,
you expect such a minority in a rebellious I
[ State to hazard their personal liberty, their I
! lives and fortunes, to subject themselves to civil
[and political disfranchisement, to obloquy and
I reproach, and to peril their all as the Union
Party in South Carolina have done, in defence
! of the Union and institutions of the country?
! No, Sir, you could not expect it. They j
would remind you of the fate of the Union
Party in South Carolina. I can assure the
gentleman from North Carolina, and I assure
this House, that the duty now imposed on me, I
in relation to this bill, is far from being a pleas- >
ant one. It will be remembered that at the I
commencement of the session, I asked and ob- I
taiaed leave to withdraw from the military ;
committee, of which I was a member. I did
this under an impression that, possibly it might
become the duty of the Committee to recom
mend some conservative means to counteract
the rash measures of the ruling party in the
State from which 1 came. Hid I remained a 1
member of that committee, I could not oppose
any proposition that might be deemed necessa- |
ry for puling down nullification and its concom
itant measures without indirectly aiding and
abbetting what I consider a rebellious proceed- I
ing', or at least a proceeding of rebellious ten
dency—and it was repugnant to my feelings to
assist as a member of a committee, in recom
mending to this House any means of coercion
against South Carolina. 1 was unwilling to
subject myself to the appearance, or to the re
proaches, even of the nullifiers, of aiding to
inflict blows on the State which I in part re
present. The public interest and safety did
not require that I should make sacrifice of
feeling. My pl ire in the committee could be
easily, perhaps adv mtageously supplied, with
out detriment to the action of this House or in
jury to the public service. But now the case
[ : s different—l feel myself differently situated
I am called upon, not only as a representa- ,
five of South Carolina, but .is a representative
1 of the American People, to discharge a solemn
1 and conscientious duty which cannot be per- >
, formed by a substitute. Here is an unpleas
ant duly io be performed, which cannot be evad
ed by referring it to a committee of which 1
am not a member. The question presents it
self in this House, and is not to be blinked at j
by any member here, unless he prove recreant
to the trust reposed in Ibm, I have come to the
conclusion, some time since that is my duty to i
vote for this bill, and I shall not shrink from
the responsibility of doing so, be the conse
quences to myself what they may. Were Ito
vote against this bill, I consider myself as giv
ing sanction to nullification, secession and the
absurdities which accompany these political
heresies. It is impossible, therefore, that 1
should vote against this bill, and to withhold
my vote would be nearly equivalent to my ne
gation of the bill.
The gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Clayton,
has amused, or attempted to amuse, the House
with a wonderful t’«»»nao about witches ami ;
hobgoblins, signs and wonders in the llnuvcoa,
drumming and fifing, horsemen and banners,
music and battles in the air, at last he descend
ed from the Heavens, and condscendcd to no
tice the affairs of this lower world. He com
plained smely about the extravagance here,
and at the “ IFAtVe House:" seemed afflicted
at the profuse expenditure oflhe public money,
; and wound up his chapter of lamentations by a !
’ commentary on the tyrannical character of
i General Jackson and something like a “bill of
exception,” to his conduct during the late wars
with Great Britain and the Seminole Indians.
He seems alarmed at the recollection of the
unauthorised conduct and strong military oper
ations of General Jackson against the Spanish
posts in Florid t. His management of Calava,
and Dominick Hull, and has much to say, bv
way of reproof, if I understood him. about
Gen. Jacksou’s opinions relative to the “11 irt
ford Convention,” and the second section of
the Rules and Aarticles of War.
Now it is a pity the gentleman did no. tell us
something about his own vote during the last
session, appropriating one hundied and fifty
thousand dollars for the aqueduct of Alexandria;
in iking a canal along the side of a noble navi
' gable river.
I am sorry, too, that he forgot to tell us a
. i bout his votes ia favor of a stereotype edition
[of the laws. [Here Mr. Clayton rose and de
j nied that lie had given any such vote.] 1 will,
then, refer the gentleman, Mr. Speaker, to the
journals of the last session, page 1146, where
lie will find it recorded, that “Mr. Daniel, in
pursuance of instructions from the Committee
on the Judiciary, moved that the House do now
prooceed to the consideration ol the Bill from
the Senate,” No. 86, entitled “An act provid
ing for the publication of stereotype edition ol
the laws.”
“A motion was made by Mr. Foster that the
Report of the Commitlee and the motion to
proceed to the consideration of the said bill do
lie on the table.
“And the question being put that the House
do aggree to this motion.
“it was decided in the affirmative—yeas 74,'
nays 69.”
The name of “Augustus S. Clayton” is re
corded in the negative—against laying the bill
on the table, which is equivalent to a vote in
favor of the bill.
As to his complaints against the conduct of
General Jackson, I would ask the gentleman
•him Georgia if he was not aware of them be
fore lie first gave his aid in promoting the Gen
eral to the Presidential Chair? Did he not,
with a full knowledge of all the objections he
now urges against Gen. Jackson, assist a second !
i time in electing him to Hie office lie now fills? '
■ How are we to account for this sudden change |
lof his opinion in relation to the distinguished 1
personage of whom I now speak? [Here Mr. I
Clayton said, if he could be permitted, he would j
state his reasons.] Sir, it is not very material [
what they are. I shall leave him to answer
these question to himself and to bis constituents.
I presume he has recently seen some new light
in the Heavens. He has, probably heard
some drumming and filling, not in the air, but in
the other end of this budding. But, Mr.
Speaker, it is time to return to a more import
ant subject.
I shall vote for the bill now under considera- <
; (ion sir, not for the personal safety of the “Un- [
ion Party,” to which I belong, but because I [
think it necesary for the interest and safety of
the whole country—were 1 to consult only
■ the safety of the Union Party of South Caroli
na, I might wish this bill to be rejected. It
; may, possibly, increase the anger and hostility
of our opponents against us; but I am proud
to believe that the Union Party are, and ever
will be governed by far higher and nobler mo-
i lives than any grovelling considerations con
[ nected with their personal interests, or sell ag
grandizement.
Now, sir, I shall vote for this measure, be
cause I think the interest, the honor and the
safety of the United States demand it. I sup
port it, because I think it necessary to put
down and demolish those political heresies, and
rebellious proceeding, which strike at the vitals
of our Constitution; and which if tolerated,
will destroy the efficiency of our Federal Gov
ernment for all tune to come. I support this
bill, sir, because 1 wish to live and die a free
man ! I have not the presumption to trouble
this enlightened body with a dissertion upon
null fication. It is now, a subject well under
stood, pvpfi by back man and scavengers. It
has become “a by woid" of reproach." It
has lost all its terrors. It has become atopic
as stale and disgusting as it is absurd and ridi
culous. Its only fruit has been an impotent,
tyrannical attempt, to enslave, to disfranchise
and degrade the patriotic few who have resist
ed it within the limits of South Carolina, and ■
who "have not bowed the knee" to its wicked I
or deluded authors. But I think, sir, the do
minant party in South Charolina begin to find
that satneihing more than nullification is neces
sary to enable them to make “Helots” and
serfs of the Union Party. They therefore,,
begin to talk of seceding from the Union—of j
withdrawing our fealty from that government ■
established by the toils of our fathers, and ce
mented by their blood; and of be. towing it ex
clusively on the nation of South Carolina.
I use this language through no feeling of disro- |
sped or unkindness toward South Carolina.— '
1 have no motive to insult her. “It is my own, {
mv native land.” It contains all that is near .
and dear tome, both living and dead. Wiih-j
in its bosom the bones of my ancestors repose, i
Upon its soil my family reside. All my pro- j
perty is there: I have not removed one dollar’s j
worth of it from the State. There it is and
there it and myself will remain “for weal and
for woe,” until the storm passes oyer and the .
peril oflhe day is at an end ! Our opponents i
will find that even secession, should they madly
resort to it, will not enable them to enslave the ;
Union Party. Sir, they will find that, although
Union men may be annihilated, they never
can be conquered. Bui 1 must di/op this strain,
least 1 be legardedasa NulHfier myself. And !
our time is too limited to amplify on any topic. I
I will only make a few remarks about the pre -
tended, rich! of a State to secede from the Un
ion. I have been astonished fti.it some of my
worthy friends should eschew “Nullification”
as they would Satan himself, and yet tolerate
and sanction the pernicious doctrine of “seces
sion.” Tins is indeed, "straining nt a gnat
anil sicalloicing a camel." Why sir, secession !
goes ahead of Nullification: or rather, it su- 1
percedes, and swallows up that heresy, as
Aarons’s rod and serpent did those of the
Egyptian Magicians. A very little reflection I
must satisfy any unprejudiced mind that seres- i
sion is altogether incompatible wiih the exist- I
ence of this confederacy. It is incompatible
with that duty which the American people owe
to their own interest and safety; and it is utter
ly incompatable with the the welfare and hap
piness of the seceding State itself. Sir, the |
Government of the United States is not at h- I
beity to permit a State to withdraw from this
Union. If it were possible for such madness
to seize upon every man, woman, and child, as
io desire separation from the rest of the States,
you are under a constitutional obligation to
prevent it. But when the dominant party of
a state has gained its power by fraud and mis
representation—holding forth Nullification as I
a ‘constitutional, effl tent, PEACEABLE
Remedy”—md.wher. e very large and respecta
ble minority cf ’hat State protests against se- [
( cession, and reminds you to protect Republican [
In -.tiiiiiions, you have no sori of discretion on i
the subject. The Federal Government is tin- I
der an imperative constitutional obligation to [
guarantee io each and every State of this con- i
federacy a Republican form of Government, i
Every body knows that small and weak States, j
in an insulated condition, could not maintain a i
Republican form of Government. Should the ,
Federal Government permit a State to secede,
how could the Federal head answer lor the
kind of Government the seceding State might
adopt! We must presume, indeed we know,
that, from absolute necessity: the seceding
Slate would be compelled to adopt a more en
ergetic form of Government than a Republic.
She would be forced to adopt a m anarchy, or
a despotism of some kind, herliaps a Dictator
-1 ship, as Poland recently attempted to establish
against the formidable power of Russia.
It has been said elsewhere, and for aught I
know it may be said here, that this obligation
of the Federal Government existed no longer !
than a State chose to remain in the Union.— ,
Now, sir, if this be true, it was useless to re- 1
quire that guaranty from the Federal Govern- j
meat at all. What was the objec of the sages j
who framed the Constitution, in tequiring the
Federal Government to guarantee to each
State a republican form of Government? Was
i it for the security of the Federal Government |
■ itself, and the great body of the American [
, people ? No, sir, it would be absurd to re- ■
I quire of them a constitution il pledge or guar- ■
janty that they would take care ot their own ’
j liberty and welfare, and not commit political
tstiicide. But, sir, the object of this guaranty
was the security of a minority in each State.
It was - to prevent such tyranny as is practised
by the ruling party in South Carolina, it was
to prevent the dominant party in a State, who
might obtain their ascendancy by fiaud and
delusion, from changing the Republican Gov
ernment of that State into a despotism and
thereby tvranizing over a minority of their
i fellow citizens, as is now done in my unfortun
l ate State, and finally rolling the whole with a
i rod of iron. But il this noble object, I mean
’ the preservation of State Republics, can be de
feated by allowing the dominant party in a
State to secede, and burst the bonds of this
happy Union asunder, it was a folly for our
fathers to have incorporated that provision
in the Constitution. Sir, this right of a State
to secede at pleasure, is something like the
right of a seivant to obey his master until he
choose to rebel. The right of llio Federal
Government, to permit a State to secede,
would resemble the obligation of a father to
instruct and protect and govern his children
until the youngsters chose to throw off his au
thority and runaway from him. And, sir, as
has been said on another occasion, and in
another place, by a distinguished gentleman of
of this House [the Honorable John Q. Adams,]
“The right of a State, to secede from this Un
nion, would bo the right of an inhabitant of a
populous city to burn his own house.” Yes,
sir, the right of a State to secede, is your right,
or any man’s right, to burn his own bouse in
the midst of a populous city, and thereby de
stroy, perhaps a hundred thounsand of his
He it>hburs.
Sir, if this constructon of the Constitution is
to prevail, any State wishing to set up a monar
chy, or form a foreign alliance, has only to de
clare herself out of the Union to effect her ob
ject, or a foreign power has only to transport
about ten thousand of her scape-gallows ruf
| trins into one of our small states, where they
| can soon become naturalized, vote the State
out of the Union, involve the country in anar
chy and desolation, and away goes your Con
fedetacy and American liberty forever.
This would be a much easier and cheaper
way for a foreign nation to destroy united
i North America, than by sending fleets and ar-
I inies against us.
But if a State has right to secede in time of
peace, it may have an additional pretext, per
haps stronger reason, for doing so in time of
I war. And, a Stale which may be the key to
i the whole country, containing within her bo-
I som some of your most powerful fortifications
’ and richest arsenals, with a vast ptoportion ol
| your navy in her harbours, may at the most
j perilous moment, declare herself independent
|of the Confederacy, secede from the union,
make common cause with the common enemy,
turn your own batteries and your own ships of
war against you and commit, in the most aggra
; voted manner, what the Constitution absolutely
| defines to be 'l'reason. This is the inevitable
tendency of this heresy. Sir, if any man can
sanction such a hideous, suicidal doctrine as
this, and then stickle at Nullification' I envy
not his sagacity.
This bill, Mr. Speaker, has been likened u,
, the “ lioston Port Bill"— it has been called
! the “Bloody Bill”—and the vocabulary ol
billinsgate has been culled and ransacked for
abusive epithets to bestow upon it. Arc its
enenrres so iVn.ittH <rs to Im.igine they can have
this bill slain by giving it the name of “m./J
dogl"— Such a stratagem might possibly suc
ceed at a barbecue meeting in the country, but
I the artifice is rather too shallow to succeed
i here.
It is pretended that this bill will invest the
President of the United States with dangerous
[powers: that it will make him “« Uromwcll "
. “« Millitary Despot "—"an armed Dictator," ;
! and all that.
Now, sir, to all this, it is a sufficient answer I
to say, “the crisis demands it,” the circum- i
stances of the country require the passage of
this bill; and that similar powers, indeed great
er powers, have been vested in the predcces- '
1 sors of President Jackson, on more slight emer
eencies; and that too by the votes of Southern
men. (Jieater powers were vested in Gener
al Washington and Mr. Jefferson io stippiess
the whiskey insurrection in Pennsylvania, and
to enforce the Nonintercourse and embargo
laws in New England. I say greater powers
were vested in the predecessors of President
Jackson; because this bill makes the power of
the present Chief Magistrate contingent upon !
I the aggressive violence of the rolling party in
I South Carolina, li defines and limits those
powers of the Ch es Magistrate which, without
[this bill, would be lutitudious and without end.
! If the dominant ptrly in South Carolina do not
i use force against the federal officers and feder
j oral laws, the President will not feel himself
i authorised under the provisions of this bill, to
[ use force against any portion of the citizens of
i South Carolina. I need not turn to the case
ior descant upon the laws to which I allude.
We have heard them quoted and commenced
on, over again, by some of the ablest men in
the world, in the other House, whose speeches
have been published in the newspapers, and
are now familiar to almost every man in the
United States every body knows that those
powers were called for by Mr. Jeffer
son, and were vested in him by the acts of
1807, and 1809, to enforce the nonintercourse
and embargo laws, and prevent their evasion
bv the cunning Yankee. Yes, sir those laws
were called for by Thomas Jefferson, who is
now held forth as ilie champion of State rights,
and the apostle of Nullification itself.
I Southern men, I presume, could not see, or
j at least they could not feel the danger of exer
' cising such powers against Yankee. But when
, it proposed to empower, the President to co
■ erce Southern. Nullifiers, if they do not behavo
themselves, why then, indeed, it is quite anoth
er affair: then ibo Southern Bull gores the
Northern Ox.
j It is said, sir, if we pass the “Tariff bill,”
i there will be no need for this bill. Well now,
i should there be no need for the President to
' exorcise the poxvers granted by this bill, it will
’ be entirely harmless, and its passage can do na
injury, whatever. But what security have
1 you that there will not be need for the exer
cise of the powers granted by this bill? Any
j Tai iff bill now offered embraces, to the fullest
i extent, the “protecting principle.” And the
i rulling puny tn South Carolin have declared,
in their “address to the American People”
that they will be satisfied with nothing short of
;an entire abandonment of that principle. The
Representatives of that party here may, for
they cannot offer you a better guaranty than a
! hope, that their friends at home may be moder
i ate, if the “Tariff bill” passes—But they can-
• not pledge their parly—nor can they account
i for what their Nullifying Convention may do,
> when reassembled on the second Monday in
• March next. 1 say, therefore, this “enforcing
i bill,” as its enemies call it, ought to pass xvhetli
s i er the Tariff bill becomes a law or not—ls you
i pass “Mr. Clay’s bill,” or “Verplank’s bill,”'
> as they are called, what certainty have you
I that either of those bills would induce the reck
, I less rulers of South Carolina io pause in their
> mad career? Each of those bills recognize the
i ‘protecting policy.” and retains the “princi-
> ply of pi election” uninpaired—and when the
> Convention which passed the Ordinance of
i Nullification is reassambled, they may remind
l ' you of their “address to the American People**
—they may tell you that your “Tariff bill”
does not come up to their requisition; and that
it is not such a modification of the Tariff as
they, in the plentitude of their sovereignty had
demanded of you. General Hamilton himself,
the President of the Convention, if he was here,
could give you no positive assurance that tho
Convention would be satisfied with your modi
fication ot ibo Tariff. Those who raise a po
litical storm cannot long control it, and that
Convention may proceed to practical nullifica
tion, and secession. They may declare the
Union men traitors, forfeit their lives and con
fiscate their estates. But, sir, I say again we
do not ask the passage of this bill for the secu
rity of oui lives and property. If we cannot
defend ourselves against the personal violence
of our opponents, let us "go to the wall."—
But do not, by your legislation hero censure
your friends and sanction the rebellious con»
duct, of your enemies. No, sir, give us extermi
nation, if God wills it; but spare us from rc
proach and dishonor.
But to return once mere to the bill before
us; why not invest President Jackson with full
and undisputed powers to meet anv emergency
that may aiisc? Is it pretended that he is less
patriotic, less devoted to his his country or
more disposed to become a monarch than any
of his predecessors? I belive not. Is there
tiny thing in the whole history of his public life
to warrant the belief that love for himself
would predominate over love for his country?
Not at all; the very reverse is the tiuth. Has
he not, again and again staked his life, his
character anti his fortune on the successful issue
of his measures for the safety of his country?
Did lie not, in the late war xvith Great Britain,
and the more recent war with the Seminole In
dians, hazard his life, his fame, his character
•ind property on the success of his military
operations lor the defence of our frontier in
habitants and the safety of our country?
And has he not on two recent and memorable
nrnt ncto l>Ut 1,,s l K,!i '' Cill existence in emmi
plundering »«! tiro
OU the Othet? Sir J '/Vi'i* ~” l*r ,’v*'n»ent»*, ’ v *'n»ent»*
fiiends trembled t- \ 1 kno ‘'‘hat bis best
had ron.n i ' ,IG ’A :'PP re, '”n‘mn tliai tie
th»’i«i i«- * Ut>f political suicide. Perhaps
„ , ■ / n,n another man in the vvoild, who
ould have dared to do !IS much. No other
man in the United Slates could have done so
much for southern views and southern interests.
Ami yet he has been abaud.» lie d and reviled by
I some Southern men. Yes, by some Smitlrern
I men, who not long ago, bellowed forth his
\praise as loud as the praying of the jack, and
who swore “they w< nt for the old Hero, right
ior wrong.” V ide Senator Miller’s confession
i m 1,1 l,is speech for the rejection of
[Mt. \ an Buren, as Minister to the Courtof
Great Britain Well, m-w, 1 should like to
know what President Jucksoi, has done to
merit the desertion of such devoted, sin h thor
ough going, whole hog friends!— What un
known sin Ims lie committed. Whai saccri
ege has he perpetrated against the intents or
she poln„-al creed of the South? I know o£
not iing, except his presumption in offering for
tt-e ecnoii, “Ibis is the head and front of
b's oftendmg.” was ( | )on£ ,| jt hv!lisrcc j
p/cn7s.iud the real friends of the country', that
the re-election of the President Jackson at the
piesent crisis, was important to tfie preserva
tion of the I'edral Union, /t xvas doenwd ne
ccstary that he should yield his we!< knowll