Newspaper Page Text
CHRONICLE AND SENTINEL.
A IJ ( ?JBTA.
FRIDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 21.
gjf» See first page.
$y No mail North of Washington last night.
Charleston Races— Third Day.
Hammond and Tuples’ ch. b. Giiow, 1 I
Col. Flud’s ch. f. Hsaaow*, 2 2
Mr. Simon’* hr. e. Gjotami, 3 dial.
Th« evening edition of the New York Journal
of Commerce of the I4lh inst., states that the
Philadelphia Banks bare agreed on the Ist day
of February, 1841, as their day of
and sent a deputation to Harrisburg, to endeavor
to persuade the Legislature that an earlier day
would be ruinous.
The Washington cunospondent of the Charles
ton Courier, under date of the 15th, says:—
Among the memorials presented, the other day,
was one from the Executor of the late Dr. Thom*
as Cooper, of Columbia, praying remuneration
on account of the fine imposed on the deceased,
under the alien and sedition law. The will of
Dr. Cooper accompanes the petition, and in that
instrument, it is enjoined on his Executor, to
prosecute his claim upon Congress, “until the
same be recovered.”
Maryland ;s seven millions in debt on account
of her great Canal. A direct taxation is recom
mended to meet the demands on the State Trea
sury.
From Florida.
By the arrival at Charleston, on the 19th, o f
the steamer Southerner, Irom St. Augustine, the
editors of the Courier have been favored with the
following slip:
Or .'i ck or the News, 7
Sr. AcocsT iNE, Sunday, Feb. 16. y
Mail Carriers Murdered.—The Northern
mail carrier, left yesterday, at 2 o’clock, with the
mail for Jacksonville. The mail which was due
the same evening at 6 o'clock, by the Pablo road,
not arriving, created some fears for its safety. A
wagon having been s< en by a gentleman on the
road, distant 7 miles from town, without horses,
and its contents strewed about the road, led him
to fear all was not right, and he left the public road
and came into town bv a private way. At 10 at
night the City Counc i despatched Sergeant Cer
eopoly, and nine men in quest of the wagon, and
to make all necessary observation. A small par
ty of active and determined young men followed,
in order to assist and ascertain the condition of
things. This morning, at 7 o’clock, the dead bo
dy of the Jacksonville mail carrier was brought
in—one ball had passed through the right breast.
The enemy stripped him of his coat and vest,
carried off the mail hair, his horses, and cut and
defaced the carriage. At 4 o’clock this afternoon,
the body oi Mr. Joseph Garcia was brought in
he had received two balls. He was found in the
Palmetto Scrub, entirely stripped, and but a small
portion of the Gr§at Northern Mail due last eve
ning, scattered about. The horses were carried
off. Both of these mnders occurred within the
distance of a few miles, the one 7 and the other
14, and much time could not have elapsed be
tween them.
A party of dragoons went out this morning in
pursuit, and are now on the trail, which is in a
south west direction. The corporation are en
titled to great credit, for their prompt investiga
tion of the rumor, as well as Sergt. Cereopoly,
for his immediate activity in pursuit, on receiv
ing orders.
St. ArocsTiirE, Feb. 14.
Fnox the Socth.—The steamer Wm. Gas
ton, L apt. Poinsett, arrived here on Sunday last
from Southern posts. We learn that the troops
are well at the various posts. Indians have
shown themselves at Indian River and Fort Lau
derdale, but escaped.
Lieut. M’Laughlin, m U. S. schr Flirt, has
gone to Havana for bloodhounds. He intends
operating by light canoes built in South Caroli
na, in the Pai-hai-okee; and the dogs will be
available in scenting among the Islands which
are said to be in the grass water.
Tea-Table Key will be the depot for opeiations
by Lieut. McLaughlin, and will be garrisoned by
Lieut. Sloan’s Compar y of Marines.
The U. S. Wave, Lieut. Rogers, which left
tuts port on the 21st ult., on a cruise South, had
her mainmast carried away close to the deck in a
•quail off Kev Biscayne. She ran down to In
dian Key, to be reflttet.
Indians.— The wap-on train, when within 7
miles ot Black Creek, was attacked by Indians,
a tew days since. 0 m teamster killed, with
•everal of the mules, ami the wagons plundered.
As eight volunteers, 12 miles west of Fort
Harlee, last week, wer; cooking their supoer, 7
Indians rushed in upon them, killed one man,
captured their arms, ammunition, and victuals,
and walked leisurely off. Four years we have
been learning wisdom-tit will be obtained by
and hy. 3
Public Lands.
During the year ending the 31st Dec. 1838
the quantity of public land sold, amounted to
3,414.907 acres, the purchase money of which
amounted to fc4.305.564, and the amount paid
into the Treasury $3.081 939.
During the first, second, and third quarters of
the year 1839. the quantity of public lands sold,
amounted to 3.771,994 acres, and the purchase
moneys $4,767,852; and the amount paid into
the Treasury, fc5,417,2-86. *
•‘j^ re ? ate P ub * ,c ‘and sold, and the amount
£.<l b, the purchaser, .hereof, in each Slate and
Termory. from 1833, tc 30,h September, 1839,
Ohio. WWM 73 4,958357 35
Indtana, 8,435,Hf, 87 10,644,251 i 9
Illinois, 8.554.160 32 10,639,838 83
a4*K° Url * I-*?!-** 7 79 5-860,665 60
Alabama, 5.646,893 81 7.171777 34
Mississippi. 7,680,63) 04 10.044
Louisiana, 2,258.909 94 2,874 692 80
Michigan, 6.776.755 89 8’.483.163 24
Arkansas. 3.547,738 58 4,464,155 66
Wis’sin Ter. 1,648.334 96 2AOC 864 50
lowa Ter. 436,5 :58 32 546,492 35
Florida Ter. 374,323 37 467*889 70
53,941.800 62 68.319,843 71
U appears then, that from 1833 to Sept. 1839,
of P ublic * and * old ’ amounted to
$95,319.843. aCre *’ purchase nione .V to
si oner'there * nnual r? P°rt of the Commis
“ there have Spared and forwarded
to their respective destination „ n »j c
hundred thousandipatenis for lands P sold/ °
It is stated in a , Kq , _ 4 ,
has been concluded be ween th? owners he
celebrated horses Wagirrand Boston and tie
match is to come off cu the Louisville
naxt foil the suks to **5,000 or $30,000
%,
From Tampico.— We learn from the New Or
leans Bee of the I3th, that the schooner Doric
aiTived at that port from Tampico, on Wednes
day week, bringing dates to the oth inst.
The Doric brought $200,000 in specie.
j . was reported at Tampico, that Gen. Arista
had been defeated by the Federalists; two hun,
di ed soldiers bad left Tampico to join him.
The schooner Eliza Ann was waiting the arri
of the Conducta which was soon expected. She
will probaly bring more specie than the Doric.
Speech of Mr. Colquitt,
OF GEORGIA.
In the H. of Representatives, Jan. 17, 1840—
Al-AINST THE RECEPTION OF ABOLITION PETITIONS.
Mr. Speaker: The little experience I have
, h»d in your national councils, has excited my
fears that a spirit stalks in our midst, calculated
1 tc destroy the purest Government that has ever
shed the sweets of social life upon the world.—
Every discussion tends to excite local prejudice;
every debate to slir up political strife; every’ ques
tion to call forth the energies of party discipline;
a id every motion serves but lo kindle the fires of
j individual animosity. Amid these conflicting,
warring elements, the voice of reason is too often
hushed, and the peace, the glory, and prosperity
of the country, neglected or forgotten. To me,
therefore, it has been gratifying to witness the
spirit that has been manifested by those who have
h itherto taken part in this debate; a debate so
well calculated to stir up the bitterest feeling of
excitement. I, too, will gladly follow the gener
ous example, by sacrificing upon the alter of my
country my strong sectional attachments, and
lend my aid to soothe the tempest that threatens
destruction to the fairest edifice that human
hands ever raised. I listened with delight to the
eloquent strains of patriotism that fell from the
lips of the gentleman from New York, [Mr.
M onroe.] He spoke the feelings of a heai t burn
irg with love for the institutions of his country,
and I can trust his sincerity. But, sir, while I
approbate and cheer his well told regard for
i rights secured by the Constitution, I must beg
leave to dissent from the mode he has recommen
ded, as the one most likely to quiet this agitating
question. We are invoked not to blend the
question of abolition with the right of petition!
We aretokflit is best to receive the petitions and
report upon them, and in this way sever the
questions! We are told by another gentleman
of New York, [Mr. Granger,] that by refusing to
receive the petitions, we shall drive into the
ranks of the abolitionists many a gallant spirit!
Sir, it is a mistake; honestly as the sentiment
may nave been uttered, it is a mistake. The
blending abolition with the right of petition is a
subterfuge to which the Representative has fled,
in order to compromise with abolition constitu
ents. He and they have made the feigned issue.
The Representative, too well informed, or too
much devoted to the Constitution of his coun
is unwilling to vindicate the .prayer of the peti
tioners; and yet, to win their friendship, and ob
tain their suffrage, he promises to advocate their
pretensions, which he bases on the right of peti
tion. Here he takes his stand, proudly claiming
a high constitutional prerogative; passes an eu
logy upon the motives and characters of the abo
litionists, while he confesses that the granting
their prayers would be the overthrow of the Re
public. He is opposed to trampling down the
Constitution, and of bringing ruin on the coun
try, while they are bent on carrying cut their
purpose, reckless of the consequence. The pe
titioners, yet too weak in most of the districts to
elect a Representative who is willing to vindicate
their project, must content themselves to yield
their support to him who, in some slight degree,
shall favor their cause. While they are too
weak to elect, they are strong enough to be
courted. The gallant spirits which it is said
would be driven into the ranks of the abolition
ists, by refusing to receive the petitions, are those
whose patriotism and integrity are too weak to
resist temptation to office. In those districts
where the abolition influence is strong enough,
they send abolitionists here, who stand prepared
to plead for the prayer of the petitioners, and will
vote to carry out their wishes. In those districts
wh ere they are not quite strong enough for this,
they support such delegates as answer their pre
sent purpose; who deny being abolitionists them
selves, and yet, to retain the friendship of this
class of their constituents, pronounce on this
floor high commendations upon them. You, sir,
[to Mr. Monroe,] with your worthy colleague,
coining from the proud cily of New York, can
speak a language much more bold than the gen
tleman who succeeded you in the debate. You
can denounce the threatened ills to your country,
and with a noble, generous spirit, throw yourself
in the breach, and proudly say in the midst of
Representatives of the that if the threat
ened work of slaughter shall proceed, if civil war
shall be the result of the maddened efforts of fa
naticism, that your sword will be drawn and your
blood be spilt on the soil of Virginia, the place ot
yonr birth, battling for her rights.
But can the gentleman who succeeded you
[Mr. Granger] use language as bold! Think
you he would dare, upon this floor, speak a lan
guage of rebuke to those misguided constituents
who gave him their support, and tell them if they
persevere in their madness, that his love of coun
try will make him their unflinching foe 1 No,
sir, true, he is no -Abolitionist, but he passes an
unwarrantable panegyric upon this favored class,
says they are intelligent, they are patriotic, they
are brave, and chivalrous ; they are such men,
it his eulogy be just as friendship would covet,
and the country need in the hour of her peril.—
VV by this difference between you and your col
league 1 It is the proof of the remarks I have
been making. Your constituency will sustain
i y° u > n proudest strains of patriotism ; they
send you, as you have declared, with the olive
branch, and bid you tender it the South ; and if
I may digress a moment, permit me to say, that
such a tender, from such hands, sent by such as
you represent, will meet the cheers of the South.
It is what I could have expected from the gener
ous citizens of the city from which you have
come. Her merchant* have mingled with our
people; have shared our friendship ; and have
witnessed, in the stillness of our Sabbath morns,
at tbe ringing of our church-bells, hundreds of
weli-clad little negroes, cheerfully assembling at
Sabbath schools to catch lessons of piety from
the fairest and best of our land. No shivering
starveling to arrest your thoughts of devotion, by
begging a pittance to satisfy his hunger. They
know that there is more comfort, happiness, and
religion, among the colored people of the South
than the North. They know that the servile
hireling of the North is a subject of deeper pity
than slaves at the South. But other gentlemen
cannot, dare not, speak a language so bold and
patriotic as you have for yourself and associates.
I hey represent a constituency who are ignorant
ot our people; who are deeply imbued with im
aginative pietism, and they must needs court
their tavor to obtain their suffrage. The eulogy
betowed upon this portion of your citizens is un
just they are pronounced intelligent, chivalrous,
anJ patriotic. Sir, if they are enlightened,
thej understand the Constitution of their conn
ry. it they know that the pillar, which support
ZT ar \ co “«>lence and X
he I . ht.’Th° P “ then ,heir •*»". contradte.
the dea that they are patriots, and prove them
reckless to the perpetuity of the Union He is
no patriot, no matter where he lives, no matter
whether he claim to be Whig or Democrat who
disturbs the peace and tranquility of the Govern
ment wars against tbe rights secured by it ß Con
stitution, and labors with zeal for its total subi
version. And he is scarcely less contemptible
for his folly, if he is a patriot , than criminal for
his conduct, if he he intelligent. Both he can
not be; it is a contradiction in terms. But wc
are charged with wishing to deny the right of pe
tition ! and that it is monstrous that an Ameri
can Congress shall now publish to the world her
denial of this constitutional right. Sir, it is a
false issue; no such rule or resolution is propos
ed. The Constitution inhibits Congress from
passing any law to prevent the citizens from
peacelully assembling to petition Government. ■“
In other words, no riot act shall be passed, as in
England, to be read by some officer of Govern
ment, compelling citizens to disperse, who may
have assembled in peace, smarting under their
wrongs, to petition for their redress. This is the
spirit of the Constitution, the object, plainly ex
pressed by th** article as amended. And yet we
are told that, by refusing to receive the petitions,
we voilate this wholesome article of the Consti
tution. Is there any injunction that their peti
tions, when made, shall be received ? If so, the
same construction compels you to act; and if
you act, comprls you to grant the prayer of the
pelitieners. The reason urged for the constitu
tional obligation to receive is claimed as a con
sequence upon the constitutional right of petition.
That the right of petition is in vain, unless we
receive 1 By the same process of reasoning, are
we not compelled to act upon them when receiv
ed, and to grant their prayers when we act ? If
it be useless to petition, unless the petitions are
received, will it not be equally useless unless the
prayers be granted 1 The Constitution is equal
ly as imperative upon us to grant the things for
which they ask, as it is in compelling us to re
ceive. Would not the advocates for constitu
tional right of petition feel fully at liberty to de
cline being the bearers of petitions, over which
they felt satisfied that this House had no juridic
tion ? Would they not feel it a duty to refuse
being made the instruments of producing delay
and vexation in our legislative council, by presen
ting petitions which they would not support, and
which they well knew would not and ought not
to be granted ? So might and so ought each
Representative on this floor to act, who regards
the institutions of his country. Before I would
be made the unhallowed instrument of introduc
ing the brand of discord and the fierce fires of dis
sension into this Hall, threatening dissolution
and ruin, this right arm should fall rotten from
its socket. If each member, in his individual
right, could refuse to receive these petitions, eith
er denying jurisdiction, or from a more laudible
impulse—the peace and safety of his country —
how does it happen that we are charged with in
fringing a sacred right, if we do the tame act, (or
the same reasons, in our congregated character.
Does it add to the dignity of an American Con
gress to say, that it must receive for consideration
every subject presented, no matter how fruitful of
discord, anarchy, and insult? Do gentlemen
flatter themselves that they are to be esteemed the
high spirited champions of national honor, by
forcing upon it scenes of outrage and confusion.
No, sir, it is the folly of childhood ; yea, more,
it is the madness of lunacy, to sport with the
peace, honor, and perpetuity of the nation, under
the specious pretext of establishing the right of
petition.
The people nowhere complain that they are in
terrupted in the free exercise ol this constitution
al right I They complain that the South does
not emancipate her slaves. The Representative
only insists upon the sacred right of petition.
They petition that Congress may force slavehold
ers to set their negroes free. The Representative
only insists on the right of petition. Sir, it is an
insult to the understanding of the House, that
gentlemen should urge us to receive and act up
on a subject, which they admit an unfit subject
for legislation. They make this false issue to se
cure their elections, and warn us that if they be
driven from this step-stone to elevation, many gal
lant spirits will be driven into the ranks of the
Abolitionists; that is in plain language, these gal
lant spirits will sooner join the maddened yells of
fanaticism, and raise a sublimated war cry against
the perpetuity and peace of their country, than
hazard the loss of their appointments. On their
account, you must receive these petitions, and
they will most cheerfully unite in a report set
ting forth their folly, and denying their require
ments. I will not indulge my thoughts of detes
tation and abhorrence for this mockery of patriot
ism, and hypocrisy of morals. I am truly re
minded of a few lines of doggeral verse, quoted,
I think, by Bulwer, in some degree descriptive of
our present position :
Hark ! in tl:e lobby, hear a lion roar:
Say, Mr. Speaker, shall we shut the door ?
Or say, Mr. Speaker, shall wc let him in,
To see how quick we’ll turn him out again ?
The Representative from Pennsylvania [Mr.
Biddle] asked my honorable colleague [Mr. Coop
er] to furnish him with argument to combat the
Abolitionists : that when he was laboring in the
political-harvest field, endeavoring to mow down
the noxious growth, that is, blasting the nation’s
prosperity, he was met by this declaration : if it
be wrong—if it be unconstitutional—why does
not Congress tell us so—why not declare by the
voice of her resolutions the impropriety of our
proceedings! which, he said, he could not an
swer ; and begged now to be furnished with one.
Sir, I listened with too much interest to the mel
lifluous accents of his winning oratory, to believe
he was serious. He is too well informed to need
the prompting of my colleague ; he can, if he
dare, base himself upon the pillars of constitution
al # rights, and with a voice, a manner, and utter
ance, that would still the turbulence of passion,
tell his constituents that the inquiry is answered!
He can, if he will, take in his hands the journal
of Congress of 1790, when Georg’a had a wor
thier and abler advocate of her rights, in the halls
of Congress, her illustrious Baldwin, and point
them to a report that tells them of theii folly. He
can, if he will, tell them, what his worthy parti
san from New York [Mr. Granger] has uttered,
that for twenty-fi-e years past, have our illustri
ous predecessors received and acted on such pe
titions, and politely denied them. He can, if he
wilt, tell them that an able and conciliatory re
port was made as late as 1836. with the vain hope
ofqu eling their exertions. He can, if he dare,
go larther, and speak in arguments not to be re
sisted, the wisdom of experience upon this sub
ject. He can tell them that many deluded en
thusiasls have ruined themselves and the objects
of their philanthropy, by uprooting the order of
society'. He can tell them that Lycurgus gave
laws that Epammondas and Scipio conquered,
that Demosthenes and Cicero poured forth their
strains of animated eloquence, in a land where
slavery was recognised He can tell them of the
desolations of Poland, where Kosciusko and So
bieski battled for the cause of liberty, and vet
slavery existed. He can tell them of the wars of
our Revolution; of the patriots who n ned our
Independence; of the soldiers who stood side bv
side in the ranks of war; of the final victory achie- I
ved; of the framing and ratification of our Con- !
stitution; and that the institution of slavery exis-*
ted, was acknowledged and guarded.
But, sir, he prefers to come here with his ar
gument, throwing a veil over the iniquity of the'
Abolitionists, and apologises for their mischief.— I
Twenty-five years ago, what Governor of a State
would have let down the dignity of his station
and have trampled upon the compact of union •
offering the veriest quibble as a reason, relvin*
alone for his support on the prejudices of the W
pie ? It is evidence that the spirit of fanaticism
is stronger, or man s moral virtue weaker, than it
used to be. The same arguments, as to forbear
ance and moderation, have induced Southern men
on many occasions, in the spirit of kindness and
friendship, to receive these petitions. And what
let me inquire, has been the result To-day hi s
quoted on us as an acknowledgment of the right
to legislate upon this subject. The gentleman '
from Pennsylvania [Mr. Biddle] now claims that j
the South has admitted its constitutionality, and
here bases an argument. Sir, the South has been
deluded by the insidious pretensions of their
Northern friends; that rejection would increase
the bitterness and accrimony of the Abolitionists ;
they have dared to make a peace-offering, by kind
ly compromising the claims of the Constitution,
which is not* seized on as an acknowledgment of
right. lam unable to answer for former Repre
sentatives from Georgia; the little party, of which
1 I am a member, has been doomed to defeat, bat
tling in the Thermopylae of politics, against Fed
eral encroachment, but has arisen again; and I
can now answer for my State, and answer for my
honorable colleagues, and say, in the face of the
nation’s Representatives, that we deny the right!
[So do we, so do we ! from many voices.] And
while I speak, all around me, the representatives
from Alabama, South and North Carolina, and
Mississippi, bid me, for them, deny the right.—
We are told the Abolition battle must bo fought
at the North ; that we must deal kindly here, to
afford a campus for their chivalry at home ? Sir,
these gallant men who now battle at the North
for the protection of our rights, will soon sink by
age, under the weight of their armor, or fall in the
battle field by the superior strength of the foe.—
Their places will be fil cd by men, whose growth
and strength were derived from the bosoms of fa
naticism ; whose dreams in childhood were bro
ken by the faithful legends of a mother’s super
stition. There needs no spirit of prophecy to
warn and direct us; no matter where the battle
be fought, here or at the North, we must meet the
foe upon the ( utposts of the Constitution. No
admitting the incendiary torch within the holy
citadel of our liberties. Every friend to his coun
try, from the North and from the South, must
stand firm upon the ramparts of the Constitution,
admit no insidious foe, but resolve to brave the
growing rage of that imaginative philanthrophy,
that is reckless of the peace, liberty, or union of
the Republic. Every conciliatory measure has
been adopted ; prayers and entreaties have been
offered, to prevent excitement and passion ; dis
cussion has been avoided; the voice of party
friends has been regarded ; still the tempest thick
ens and rages, and is beating with a success too
fatal against the rock of our freedom. It is not a
time to encourage the prospects of men infuriated
with a blind fanaticism ; no time to hold out the
meteor of hope, whose baleful light will lead to
the overthrow of our country. Nothing is claim
ed here but the right of petition, which has nev
er been denied. With this pretext, gentlemen la
bor with a zeal worthy of a better cause, to open
a fisure| in the Constitution, through which an
incendiary follower may thrust the firebrand, cal
culated to burn asunder the connecting cords of
the Confederacy. They are in fact, pioneers,
clearing up the way that others mav pass in tri
umph to build the tombstone of the Republic.—
They are fixing a powder train, that others may
blow up the temple of liberty, I can pity and
forgive the blind zealot and misguided religionist,
who are ignorant of the structure of the Govern
ment ; but the statesman, who knows that «ur free
institutions are based upon the confidence and af
fections of the people, who dare not violate rights
secured by the Constitution, deserve undying con
tempt, for he has not so much as the veil of opin
ion to cover the baldness of that desolation which
threatens the land. We are told not to be rash ;
make ourselves easy ; receive the petitions; treat
them with respect; and by it our friends from the
North will again be elected, and “ all’s well.”—
The very entreaties that are uttered, and the
strong appeals of party associates, which are made,
are convincing proofs that they are courting the
friendship of the abolitionists for their votes. I
am neither Whig or Democrat,and can be excus
ed, therefore, from compromising oor rights, to se
cure votes for their friends. I will speak with
boldness my thoughts, and deal out blows against
the foes ul constitutional right, no matter to which
party they may belong. I propose to show that
while these advocates for the reception of Aboli
tion petitions are speaking in accents of tenderness
and love, the Abolitionists themselves speak a
language totally different. I will not detain the
House, by reading from this anti-slavery pamph
let, the scurrilous abuse they heap upon the South;
I will not induce the angry passions of gentlemen
krom slave-holding States, by reading the opinions
here expressed of our morals, our religion, and
our intellects. They are of a sort, with the re
peated denunciation you have seen in their phi
lanthropic prints, with which your desks have
been weekly inundated since our meeting, nut
I will read a few extracts to show that our reliance
for safety is on ourselves. I read from the annual
report of the Anti-Slavery Society of Maine, thus;
“ The free States possess a clear majority in
Congress. Their several objects will therefore be
accomplished, whenever the public sentiment in
the tree States shall demand it, and that sentiment
properly represented in Congress. We are under
solemn obligations, therefore, not only to diffuse
through the community correct sentiments on the
subject of slavery, but also to make all proper
efforts to place in our National Legislature men
who will use the power committed to their hands
in accordance with our views.”
Does this extract, I ask, show that the petition
ers barely wish their representatives here to con
tend for the right of petition? But does it not
demonstrate that they carry their principles to the
pulls, and force aspirants to Congress to favor or
support their views? Sir, we are not to be deceived
by yielding our rights, in order to accommodate
gentlemen, in courting such votes to secure their
election. Again I read :
“The District; then, is the spot where the first
onset upon slavery is to be made—the battle
ground where this great contest between liberty
and slavery is to be decided. Not to employ our
political, as well as all other resources, in the con
flict would be not merely wrong, but the very
height of tolly. :
W here is the man, I inquire, so lost to sense
or feeling, whose heart throbs with one solitary
patriotic emotion, and who knows the South will
maintain her rights, or be buried under their ru
ins, that does not shudder for the approaching
downfall of the country? Who does not see
that the insidious attempts to encroach one inch
upon our rights, are the promptings of that influ
ence which has for its object the tearing away the
guarus of our property placed by the Coutitution*
They only wait for strength to place men in
power, who will not stop at the evasive argument
now used about the right of petition, but who
will labor to carry out their purpose. And while
we are arguing and granting the right of recen
lion, they are preparing heavier blows, inflaming
the passions of the ignorant, the idle, and the
young, to be poured forth like the lava of a vol
cano, to blacken and blight the peace and gov
eminent of the country. It is not a time for the
Representatives of the South to be quiet. It is
I not I tlme f° r -the lover of his corn-try from the
no \t* P u lt6r f ° r office, and vainly imagine “all’s
well. when the elements of dissolution are
gathering like a frost about the heart pulse of the
Republic. It is high time, if we expect to save
the Union, to rebuke the madness of such delud
ed fanatics, as expect to establish rel’gion bu their
S force phi.'anlkropy by th
~y h * ar * th: 'Hed at the spirited remarks
made by th. honorable mover of the amendmem
[Gen fhompson.j be spoke the language of the
patriot and the v„,ce of the South; and if
Whig and every Democrat felt the same sent?
ments, and would tear loose from the bonds of
any party no matter what their ties, , hat
dare cherish this spirit of discord, our instit.,*- d
civil and religious, would be safe. The!!™?" 8 ’
reformers must be taught that tho q f 6
her strong attachment Z uttin l,h *"
er see the country riven asunder by an S °? n '
and her fertile plains ioeting
t tempest-tossed ocean, lima be forced lo surrem e
a solitary right secured by the Constitution.
I have heard criminations and recriminations
j made in party bantlings upon this floor; but I am
| satisfied there are abolitionists of both paities; and
i that party which courts them most, is by the
; American people most to be blamed. In proof
j of which I will read again :
“ So far as the two great parties of the day are
concerned, we hold to no principles as abolition
ists, that both do not publicly profess. The ob-
I ject we desire to accomplish, does- not interfere
with any, at which either professedly aims. Let
it then be distinctly settled, that no man, under
any possible combination of circumstances, can
receive the votes of abolitionists, who will not go
the extent of his constitutional powers for the ab
olition of slavery; and both parties will soon, ei
ther from policy or necessity, present candidates
for public office for whom we may vote, in con
sistency with our party predilections, and in sub
serviency also to paramount duty to the slave.
Do we not find here sufficient cause to induce
candidates for Congress, representing such a peo
ple, to favor or adopt their views in a close party
contest ? But, sir, these fanatics will not long
l»e content with representatives here, who are the
mere advocates of petition, and their party poli
cy here must induce gentlemen not to press this
subject, for fear of injuring a partisan candidate
at home. I will again proceed with their declar
ations, and I ask Southern men to give ear, and
those from the North, who declare they are not
abolitionists, to listen, and then tell me if the con
test is not most safely met at the threshhold of
our rights. This is the language, they say :
“That vve shall not again present the monstrous
anomaly of petitioning Congress to use its ac
knowledged powers for the termination of sla
very, while by your votes you help to send men
there who we know beforehand will lefuse our
petitions.”
There is no complaint in the language of the
right of petition ; they admit they do petition,
and only complain that their petitions are not
granted. I make no charges against either of the
great parties, as to which is most committed in
order to secure the friendship of the abolitionists ;
and I would read a sentence more, but it might
savor of party preference. [Read, read! from
many voices.] With the avowal I have made, I
will read :
“ The day, we trust, has passed, that the slave
holder or the Northern apologist and defender of
slavery can be elevated to the high place of power
by the friends of the slave in Maine. Or, to il
lustrate our remarks by a paticular case: Mr. Van
Buren, we think, must abandon his “Southern
principles,” and Henry Clay, the eloquent advo
cate of South American and Grecian liberty, must
emancipate his slaves, before either can receive
the suffrages of intelligent Abolitionists in the
pole star State—”
[Here he was interrupted by Mr. Graves, who
inquired “ whether Mr. Colquitt had not read in
the Emancipator that they would not support Har
rison 1”]
I may have done so. but I have not made a
charge against General Harrison, and the vindi
cation of him or Van Buren, I shall leave to
those who wear their livery. Without regard to
party predilections myself, my purpose was to
prove that this body of men is sufficiently strong
lo be courted; that they have resolved to carry
their principles to the polls, and that seeking their
influence palsies our resistance here. And I con
fess that I have sought in vain for a reason, un
less this injluence be one, why Henry Clay, the
favorite of his party, justly distinguished at the
bar, in the Senate, and in the Cabinet, who has
served long, and still is in the service of his
country, should have been pushed aside at the
Harrisburg Convention, and an obsolete politi
cian put in his stead. No matter whether the
politician here acts from his convictions of duty
or is moved by prejudice or passion, we are satis
fied that our rights, yea, the Government itself is
endangered, by sacrifices for party success. The
statesman bow that would dare stand forth to
strengthen the bonds of union, and to exalt and
perpetuate the institutions of his country, finds
himself fettered by the policy of his party, and
is driven to abandon his purpose, or be branded
as a deserter. Disappointed ambition, in its as
pirations for power, grasps every instrumentality
within its reach; fans the flame of faction anil
discord, and smiles at success, in the midst of the
ruins of that Constitution which guaranties pro
tection to the person and property of the citizen.
Here lies the foundation of that paper built edi
i fi ce piety and philanthropy, which is destined
: at some future period to be the hall of legislation
i for a large proportion of the Republic. Here is
the nidus in which is nestled, and bred and born,
the corrupt vermin that feed and fatten upon the
vitals of the Republic. Designing politicians
strengthen their alliances, by bringing to their
support the misguided zeal of religion, and the
1 maddened feelings of philanthropy. The Chris
tian minister and his flock are made the uncon
scious adjuncts of artful and designing partisans.
Religion, forgetful of her high and heavenly call
ing, is made the polluted handmaid of intrigue
and corruption. The disciple of Christ, who
hitherto fostered a meek and quiet spirit, who
walked humbly in the fear of God, whose wor
■ ship breathed the elevation of the skies, and
spoke a sublimity that made us forget the imper
fections of earth, now mingles his cries with the
bowlings of the mob, and converts the temple of
! the living God to a busy mart for political mer
-1 chandise. The spirit engendered by this mixed
j and factious piety, is unfriendly to genuine reli-
I gion, as wed as to the State. It moves and
j prompts the same passions, which, in other
| times, have corroded, adulterated, and broken
down the church. Frail men make themselves
the standards of zeal, piety and benevolence;
pass judgment between themselves and their op’-
portents; roll the thunders of intolerance over
| the heads of those who repudiate their opinions
i and in the maddened wailings of annual
i virtually ask Congress to give them power to ar
| rest the liberty of private judgment, and substi
| tute in its stead their own faultless conceptions of
duty. To these misguided people permit me to
I say that Christianity never has, nor never will,
I neet i l " e support of craft or despotism, the pow
er of kings, or the arm of the law, to carry on its
benignant precepts. And every votary of the
cross, who seeks to enforce his notions of piety
by the power of legislation, shrouds in darkness
the bright banner of the gospel, and subjects in
its stead ths bloody standard of demonology
History and experience should admonish every
friend of the church, if she is to exert a more
general antT beneficial influence upon the earth
she must breathe with her own lungs, speak with
her own votce, and show the energy of a pulse
and a heart exclusively he;- own. Every fnter
mingling of her purity with secular interest, sul
lies her beauty and fetters her power. The mer
chant of Mecca, who professed to penetrate the
seventh heaven, and broughPdown a spark which
set the ambition of Arab«m bosoms in a blaze
SW ° rd ,' he oa] y instrument to be
el of r,. l r the world - B «t the proph
dies o? me„“ T"' h ‘ he SOuls > not “ ilh ‘h« 5»-
in contendin’ an . d Warß w dh weapons not carnal
places Mas WUh B P lnt ‘ ial wickedness in high
Moslem w r n^S and P hrenz ? m «ght mingle in
|- ar fore, making the question of salva-
‘? arnnat ‘ on he on the ground between
marshaled armies, to be fought for and carried by
the stronger arm. But with us Heaven is not
won by those who breathe out slaughter against
heir brethren, though in the midst of carnage
t hey should claim to be doing God’s service.
Lpon the subject of slavery, Christians of every
andTi in ?°rm nd ° f , CVery grade of character
and talent, differ in their opinions. Yet they
read the same bible, worship the same God, bow
around the same altars, hymn hosannahs in Z
same temples, and finally anticipate an entrance
into the »auie Heaven. With the.*- C orifli ct
opinions, who shall determine the orihal
creed? Shall the deluded enthusiast, whose si *
total of religion centres in one single act of f
ginary devotion? Shall a few parchment
pies upon this floor, whose political power
hanced by the creed they profess, shut them^p 1 ’
up in their little munition of spiritual t nd e * *
I city walled up to Heaven—and with form/"*
unchristianize those with whom they diff er ) J 5 v
they outshine their opponents in solid virt Ue ,
in amiable and heavenly dispositions? AretK° r
j more free from the common vices of Hf e
I pure in spirit—more devotee in friendship'"
; more liberal in their chanties, than those they i° f
nounce? No, sir: the South, theslavehoKjp"
the generous South, is the nursery for the n ’’
of all the States; and her friendship and libe i° f
fy are by-words in those very mouth« ihat
fain teach her lessons of philanthropy, j ~,
not descant upon this much abused term J i
anthropy; I have spoken of religion; phila'mh- '
py is but its beam, radiating from its centre g T
it is but a fold of that mighty mantle of | ov ’
with which Christianity would cover the nak T
ness of »he world. But sir, perhaps these P
ceiled defenders of the only true faith, hav '
apology sot looking out from home for objects *f
pity and commiseration! Perhaps they have °
poor in their midst—no widow’s tears io win n °
no orphan’s cries to quell—no child of
lo cheer—no wretchedness to alleviate— no
flictions to heal—no nakedness to clothe, but all'
all, through this mighty channel of philanthropy
—from this boiling fountain of benevolence—a'
have been made smiling, healthful and happy _
Having done so much at home, it is not so mud
wonder that the circle of their benevolence should
widen. Millions of money may now be expend
ed with profit, in compensating benevolent edi
tors to trumpet forth virtuous heroism, to canvas
the claims of candidates for office, and pour their
merciful cu-ses and phrenzied benedictions up.
on each and all who dare refuse to worship the
image they have piously set up in the plains of
Dura.
I am departing from my purpose I have not
designed to deal in panegyric or satire. I have
no right to make myself the keeper of other men’s
conscience, for if they think it religiously a duiv
to hobble the chickencock, to keep him from gaj.
lanting the hens on Sunday, and to yoke the
geese to keep them from goingin washing in vio
lation of the Sabbath ; and I should differ with
them, and think it no sin for the gallant cock to
flap his wings and crow upon his dunghill, and
the playful goose to wash and swim in the fish
pond, neither ought to complain; for we ate
entitled, in this country, to our religion
and our opinions. The most artful chain
of despotism that was ever forged, was supported
by false notions of duty, and enforced by those
who were to profit by the cheat. There are mul
titudes of honest men who are not qualified to
judge properly of their civil and political rights,
and are too often content to surrender their rea
soning powers to interested aspirants, supersti
tious fanatics, and pedantic knaves. I wage no
war against those who may believe slavery a sin;
but I pity their vanity and their folly, if they flat
ter themselves they alone are divinely illumina
ted ; that others are in darkness, and must have
their instruction. We read of one who was very
thankful to his Maker that he was not as other
men, but especially the poor publican, and yet his
opinion of himself was not confirmed by him who
knew all things. Yet I have no complaints to
utter against the high opinion men entertain of
themselves ; but as a friend of the church, and as
a friend lo the peace and happiness of the coun
try, I raise my hand and voice against enforcing
any religious dogmas at the point of the bayonet,
or by force of legisfation. The evidence we have
of the untiring efforts of the anti-slavery agents,
their reckless determination to distract and ruin
the country or carry out their purpose; the as
siduity with which they are courted by political
leaders, and the number of able eulogists they
have in the hall of Congress, all s-- ak, with un
erring tongue, the nation’s destiny. The fierv
vapors of war and dissolution are fast gathering
on the disc of our political horizon ; no cheering
rainbow foretells the abatement of the coming
storm ; but every moment the prospect darkens,
and every pa*riot and every Christian trembles
for the fate of the country and the temple of God.
The public mind is in fearful commotion, and
like the sea, tossed by a tornado, wave mounts
on wave, heightening and widening at every
breath of the tempest. It is the high prerogative
of a few master spirits here, if they dared to will
t, to bid these proud waves be still. To them I
appeal; and in the name of the country, the
whole country, invoke them to withhold their
fire-brands of discord and ruin. I appeal to the
venerable Representative from Massachusetts,
[Mr. Adams.] upon whose shoulders fell the
mantle of a Revolutionary father; who won anc
wore, in younger life, the civic wreath, the high
est honor a nation’s confidence could bestow;l
appeal to him to withhold the blow that is aimed
at the life-pulse of the Republic, and not permit
himself to be used as the unintentional instru
ment of his country’s ruin. We know his sen
timents ; we have read his letters, and heard his
speeches; but still, through his advocacy,this
discussion is kept alive, a tew more years of labor
in this cause, and the last leaf of the laurel will
wither from his brow; and should Heaven spare
him many years, he may yet outlive the glory of
his country. Your Abolition petitions will prove
.in the end, lo be the winding-sheet of the Con
stitution. No men, no body of men, couldp«r
suad • me to bring into your midst an unfit sub
ject for legislation, calculated to destroy the ha r
mony of your councils, to excite sectional feeling,
and th-eaten dissolution. Georgia, in whose
borders I have been reared, my own home and
the home of my friends,for whose honor and inter
est I would make an offering of my life, even
Georgia could not force me, humble as! am, to
trample upon my country’s Constitution, and
sow the seeds of discord and ruin through the
land.
My honorable colleague [Mr. Cooper] the other
day, when supposed to be departing from the sub
ject of debate, was illustrating the same feelings
I have expressed. He adverted to the contro
versy of our State with the State of Maine, in
which we should exemplify our s'rict adherence
to the Constitution; and that, although our Le
gislature spoke by her resolutions, the bumble
supplicatory language of dependence, she had no
representative here that would echo her voice; but
that we should rely with proud confidence on a
people that has never faltered, who know -^ ir
rights, and will dare maintain them. I am a,3r ‘
med for the Constitution and for the fate
Republic, but feei no alarm for the honor ofwj
State. The infatuated priest may change u
mitre for a helmet, and lay aside his Bible tor t»*
torch of the incendiary, place himself at the
of an army of crusaders, as bloody as those o
Languedoc, armed with all the authority C° n ( |
gress can give; and when he shall have comply I
the work of reformation, upon which his piety 15
set, nothing will be seen, to look out from 1j
landscape—he has traversed but smoking rUIII K
and a blood-trodden wilderness. I
With this prospect before us, can any ® aI J ■
say that this Government will stand unshaken *
that the alarm cry is counterfeit ? that this ,a §
lion is powerless, courted and caressed as it i* I
aspirants for power ? These deluded people- P
lured by imaginary good, look to no danger j
they beat up for recruits, the pulpit and the Jra
shop, the elite parlor and the dirty brothel em m
their quota for the mighty work of reform.
the Constitution is to be saved—if the bnio n
to be preserved, there must be no giving hac*
on the part of their friends. The silken cor "
affection, that binds the Confederacy, is
nd weakened by insult. We are upon to*
