Daily chronicle & sentinel. (Augusta, Ga.) 1837-1876, February 22, 1840, Image 2
CHRONICLE AND SENTINEL.
AUGUSTA.
SATURDAY MORNING. FEBRUARY 22.
Order ol Celebration oif the Twenty-Se
cond of Fchmary, 1840.
The Committee appointed to make arrange
ments for the celebration of Washington’s birth
day, have appointed Capt W T. Gould, Mar
tha! of the day.
At 10 o’clock A. M., the procession will be
formed in front of the United States Hotel, and
proceed to the Presbyterian Church, under the
command of the Marshal of the das', when, after
divine service, Washington’: Farewell Address
will be read by the Rev. C. Sources, and an Ora
tion will be delivered by Wra. R. McLaws, Esq.
ORDER or PROCESSION.
Ist. Augusta Artillery Guards.
2d. Clinch Riflemen.
3d. Major General and Staff.
4th. Brigadier General and Staff.
6lh. Colonel of 10th Regiment and Staff and
Officers of the 10th Regiment.
6th. Officers of Army and Navy.
7th. Orator and Reader.
Bth. The Reverend Clergy,
9th. The City Authoritic?
10th. Magistrates of the City and County,
1 Ith. Fire Companies of the City.
12th. Mechanics’ Society.
! 3th. Medical Faculty and Students.
14th. Citizens.
The pews on the right and left of the centre isle,
will be reserved for the procession.
The Authorities of the City and County, the
Reverend Clergy, the Members of the Fire De
partment, the Mechanics Society, and the citizens
generally, are respectfully invited to join the pro
cession, in the above order.
Salutes will be fired at tu' r «se and at noon, by
the Augusta. Artillery Guards.
Committee of Council.
G. F. Parish,
Chas. B. Hitt,
Wm. E. Jackson.
Augusta Artillery. Clinch Riflemen.
John N. Raifohd, Wm. M. Frazer.
O. E. Cashin, John A. Skvder.
Daniel W. Dill. Wm. McLean.
(Tj»No mail North of Richmond last night.
Law Decision.
Judge Shly decided a fey* days ago, in our Su
perior Court, that where a judgment had been
assigned and the defendant was subsequently ar
rested under ca. sa.—a bond given under the act
fur the relief of Honest Debtors, must be made
payable to the assignee— and in the case, in which
the exception wao taken that the bond was paya
ble to the plaintiffs—the defendant and his secu
rity were discharged.
It is taid that Judge Andrews of the Northern
Circuit has made a similar decision.
Charleston Races—Fourth Day.
Col. Colclough’s ch f Ze:.obia, 11
Col. Sinkler’a ch f Carver, 2 2
Col. McCrae’sch h Datton, 3 3
Col, Singleton’s ch h Lczsdro, distanced and
withdrawn.
Time Ist heat, 6m 20s; 2d heat, 6m 6s.
The Mississippi Senate have refused, by a de
cisive majority, to repeal the gallon law.
Prentice says, the Harris mi men were so nu
merous at Indianapolis during the late session of
the State Convention, that it was found utterly
in vain to attempt to count them numerically.— i
They were counted by the acre.
Election of Presidential Electors in
Perhstlvania.—The day on which the State of
Pennsylvania votes for the Presidential Electors
has been changed by the new election law. It
will take place on the first Wednesday of De
cember, 1840. Phis State will consequently be
the last in which the choice takes place.
A correspondent of the Madisonian, says it is
now supposed that the recent importation of
Spanish blood hounds, w'as not for the purpose of
using that respectable auxiliary force in carrying
on the Florda War, but for Scenting out and run
ning down the Legtreasurers.
Correspondence of the Charleston Courier.
Washington, February 16.
Some explanation, respecting the contradicto
ry statements of Col. Beaten, in the Senate, and
* Mr. Wise, in the House, inspecting the employ
ment o t bloodhounds, by the Government, have
been recently made. Mr. Wise avers that the
Secretary «f War has officially admitted to him
that the em ployment of the hounds was authoris
ed by the government. The fact appears this:
—that the Secretary, some two years ago, was
urged by Gen. Taylor, to authorise him to em
ploy these animals, muzzled, in following and
scenting out the Indians. The general represen
ted that it-would be a read} and proper means of
ascertaining their hiding places. The Secretary
gave his assent to the project, at that time, but it
was not put in execution. Subsequently. Gen.
Call, it aeems, without the authority' or the
knowledge of the Secretary of War, ordered the
importation of the hounds now in Florida. Ma
ny memorials have been received here remonstra
ling against the r employment, and more are on
the way, and much politic,l capital will be made
out of it, without doubt.
Affairs in Pennsylvania are still in an excited
and unsettled condition, noth in regard to politics
and the kindred subject of banking. The Legi s .
lature, it is now thought, mil fix upon the first
day of April, for the compulsory resumption of
the banks. The banks have had a meeting and
iassued their edict on the s übject, viz; that they
will resume on the Ist day >i February 1841, and
not before. From various sources, we learn that
the banks are determined not to resume, but to
surrender their charters in preference to resump
tion on the Ist day of April or the Ist of May.
They threaten to make im mediate arrangements
to wind up. Os course, tins will produce much
. thstress and pain, whereupon Harrisonism will
feed an fatten. It is not at all impossible just
now that the great democratic party of Pennsyl
vania will be rent in this contest be
tween the banks and the people. We shall soon
see.
The Cleveland (Ohio) Herald supposes that
the recent earthquake in the centre of New York
was caused by the Whig meeting held on t h
Uy.
FVonx the CharUston Courier of yesterday.
Latest from France.-Direct.
The .hip Olympia. C.pl. Gray, arrived ,! this j
port yea.erday, from Havre, wnence she Bailed on
the 29tb Dec. , e , , i
Our attentive eorrtapondenls have forwarded
ua our files of Pari, paper, to the 25th, inclusive,
extracts from which will hefe®nd below. j
Pj.ri!», Dec. 25.— Slock Exchange , Dec. 24, |
half vast four.— The maifeet has not been very
brisk to day, and the variations of prices have
been trif ing.' For cash. Fives have advanced 15c ;
Threes have declined sc; Neapolitan 19c; Roman
Belgian Fives have arisen Ditto Threes 10c;
Spanish are varied. For the end of the month,
Fives have improved 95c; Threes 6c; Neapolitan
are wnviiried.
On Monday, at three o’clock, the King held
a Council of Ministers. In the evening, their
Majesties received the T uscan Minister, the
politan Charge d'Affaires. Marshal Soult, Count
Mole, the Count de Bondy, and General Darrieule.
The adjourned meeting of the Deputies of the
Gauche took place yesterday morning at M. Odi
lon Bar-ot’s. About fifty members were present.
After a short discussion it was agreed that they
should support the same line ©{policy throughout
the session, and that they would vote for Messrs,
de Sade, Calmon, Gennerson, and Vivien, as
Vice R esidents of the Chamber.
The Outre Mer states that the planters in the
French colonics propose to have a consultation of
the French Bar, with a view to establishing their
claim loan indemnity, in the event of the abolition
of colonial slavery. .
The Ministerial Evening Journal, in reference
to the article which we gave yesterday from the
Temps, concerning the Captain of the Racehor:**
and some French colonists at Cayenne, says,
“Complaints on this subject have reached the
Minister of the Marine, who has at once acted up
on them in a suitable manner.”
We have seen a letter from a passenger in the
Phare, the last steamer that arrived at Toulon
from Algiers, staling that Abdel Kadir was at the
head of his be *t troops in the recent engagement
mentioned in Marshal Valce’s last telegraphic
dispatch, and that he lost several thousand men
in a regular pitched battle. The 3d Light Infan
try was marched off to the Plain as soon as it had
landed at Algiers.
A letter from Constantinople of the 28lh ult,
quoted by the Augsburg Gazette, says: “I he
arrival of Prince Woulkouski on the 18th, with
despatches for M. de Bountenieff, has produced a
great sensation amongst the diplomatists.
The English and Russian Ambassadors have
been unusually busy, and have had numerous
conferences with Reschid Pacha. Soon after
wards M. Cadelvene returned from Alexandria;it
appears that although holding a mission under
the Ottoman Porte at the Court of the Pacha, he
has acted rather in the interests of France. He
has brought the answer of Mehemet Ali to the
propositions of the Divan. The Count de Pontois j
imagined that the Porte would find it acceptable, j
but on .he contrary it has been repudiat d, and j
since then affairs have taken a different turn.
A Prussian soldier, who had been a courier of ;
Frederic the Great, died a short tune since in the
Military Hospital of Berlin, at the age of 107.
The American of Brest states that a transport
is now fitting out in that port to convey colonists
to New Zealand. The vessel is to bear the name
of the Comte de Paris.
The Debats, in its analysis of the different ac
counts from Algiers, observes that the Arabs have
not been able to penetrate the Massit in force,
and that, as soon as the moving columns were or
ganized, the Arabs were beaten on every point.—
Even before the arrival of the bulk of the re-in
forcenaenls, the French troops bad been able to
face the enemy on every point, and to keep him
at a considerable distance, so as to enable them to
preserve the property of the environs of Algiers
from alack, and limit the real losses to the farms
which were burnt by the Arabs in the Mitidja.—
The Debats adds that it may appear surprising
that the small re-inforcement which the army of
Algiers had received, should have enabled it to
assume toe offensive, when there were previous
ly 10,00 U effective men for the field, but that this
surprise will cease when it is known that, confi
ding in lhe good faith of Abdel-Kader no attack
was contemplated, and the army was not provided
with every thing necessary for immediate opera
tions. It required some days to organize the sup
plies.
Steam-Boat Accident. — We learn from the
Macon Telegraph of the 18th, that while the stea
mer J. Goddard was on her way down the river,
some considerable distance from that city, she met
the Steamer Davy Crockett, and in their attempt
to pass each other, a collision took place between
a low boat attached to the Crockett and the J.
Goddard, which broke into her hull, and caused
her to rink in 15 feet water. No persons inju
red.
Shiiwreck. —The schr. Financier, Butler, (of
Charleston,) from Matanzas, for Charleston, with
a cargo of Coffee, Sugar, and Fruit, was lost, on
Sambrero Key, 13th inst., at 3 a. m. Part of
the Cc ffee, sails, rigging, and crew saved, and
taken to Key West by wreckers. Vessel totally
lost. Vessel and cargo insured.
From the Cincinnati Republican.
“The Sponge Law.” —The Council of the
Territory of Wisconsin, which is of the “Simon
pure” loco-foco stamp, has, in compliance with
the lecommendations of their loco-foco Governor,
passed what is there called," /he Sponge Law,”
—that is to say, a law to wipe out all debts.
It is s fact worthy of notice, that wherever the
agrarian and loco-foco doctrines establish a foot- J
hold, they carry in their train outrages upon the
constitution, violations of the obligations of con
tracts. and almost every species of dishonor.
A Wisconsin Correspondent of the 6t. Louis
Republican thus notices the passage of the Sponge
Law:—“Our Legislature have decreed that ail
debts am to be blotted out; and in case a man
sue his neighbor for debt, under any circumstan
ces. the plaintiff shall pay the costs (the Dutch
practice, would have l>een better—the Constable
p»ay cost.) Our citizens are getting up pe'tions
to Congress, praying the disapproval of these ob- i
noxious laws ; but acts of our Legislature are
f inding', until disapproved by Congress ; there- i
fore, there are swarms of insolvents around the
proper officers, paying their debts as fast as oaths j
can be administered. No collection can be made I
after the oath, under any circumstances. Our
Legislature are all loco-focos—Governor and all.” !
Cabh age and Tailors—The Roman name
i brassu a came, as is supposed, from prceseco,
| because it was rut off from the stalk : it was also
called caulis in Latin, on account of the goodness
! its stalks, and from which the English name
| C° le - Colwort, or Colewort, is derived. The word
1 cabbage, by which all the varieties of this plant
are now improperly called, means the firm head
or ball that is formed by the leaves turning closely j
j over esitch other: from that circumstance we say
, the cole has cabbaged. From thence arose the
cant word applied to tailors, who formerly worked
at the private houses of their customers, where
they w ere often accused seriously or jocularly of
i cabbaging; which means the rolling up pieces of
cloth i istead of the list and shreds, which thev
claimed as their due. >
“It lakes me to lick lasses” as the Yankee
j chool master said whan baaowbided the gal.
Speech of Sir. J. C. Alford*
or CEOKOIA,
OK THE SUBJECT OF ABOLITIOK PETITIOSS*
House of Representatives, Jan. 22, 1840.
Mr. Speaker, lam pleased that I have at last
obtained the floor, and have an opportunity of
expressing ray views in this Halt on this most
important question—a question to my constitu
ents of the deepest interest; one that strikes at
| the existence of the Lnion.
I will not evade the question. If my friend from
i South Carolina (Mr. Thompson) does not intend
I bv his proposition to reject the reception, I will
i offer an amendment that shall bring the question
' directly before the House, and compel this body
to decide whether they will or will not receive
■ those petitions. The gentleman signifies his in
j tention is to refuse to receive these petitions;
such was my opinion of the object of the resolu
| tions, and under that vie.v of the question I sup*
j port the amendment.
I will meet this ques!ion at once on what its
i friends are pleased to call in this debate high con
stitutional grounds. Congress has no constitu
tional right or power to receive these abolition
petitions; and let me say to gentlemen, in all
truth and sincerity, that if they decide, in viola
tion of that sacred instrument, that they shall be
received, I will say to my constituents from my
heart and soul that they have no longer any use
for this Union. It will then be t> them an en
gine of the most diabolical oppression. I am
ready to say this to them whenever gentlemen are
ready to decide the question in favor of reception.
I place the issue on their reception, and will pro
ceed to demonstrate, on constitutional principles,
that Congress has nought to receive, to consider,
to repot t upon, or to grant the prayer of these
petitions.
What is the object of these petitions? What
do they pray for 1 Some of them go to abolish
slavery and the slave trade in the District of Co
lumbia ; some to abolish it in the Territories,
and some in the States; and some p-ay that no
new State shall be admitted into the Union if the
Constitution authorise the instiiution of slavery.
It is in this broad sense lam about to consider
the proposition. What says the Const.tution ?
| Let us look to that. I have not come here to ap-
I peal to the North, the East, or the West, as
i men. to protect our rights. I appeal to no men.
or set of men—to tio party, Whig or Democrat—
but I plant myself upon the Constitution of my
country, the only basis upon which I am willing
to stand. Were it not for this Constitution, I
would advise my constituents to go back to first
principles ; were it not for the protection guaran
tied to them by this Constitution to enjoy their
rights of property, as well as their private and po
litical rights, I should tell them to protect them
selves with their own strong arm. And if gen
tlemen doubt our ability to do so, let them look
at this right arm of mine. I3ut we have this Con-
I stitution, and gentlemen say they claim the right
j to present and consider these petitions under that
clause which provides that “Congress shall make
! no law respecting an establishment of religion,
| or prohibiting the free exenrse thereof; or abridg
ing the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievan
ces.” I will not say that one man cannot peti
tion as well as another, b it I do mean to say that
| every one must petition for his own grievance;
; and I contend that slavery is no grievance. And
i if it were, it is no grievance of these petitioners,
I living as they do in States where slavery is not
tolerated by law. Each State of the Union has
a Constitution of its own ; and in the Southern
States slavery is authorised by law. Each State
legislates for its own people; and the people of
one State have no interest in or right to control
the legislation of another State, in regard to this
question especially.
The right of property held by the master in
his servant in Georgia, according to the laws of
Georgia, can be no grievance to the citizens of
Maine; nor is there any thing repugnant to this
right of property in slaves in the Constitution of
the U. S.; but, on the contrary, the Constitution
of the U. S. fully recognises this right of proper
ty in slaves, by just and ample provisions for the
protection of our people in their domestic tran
quility. And, to insure the blessings of the rela
tive condition of master and servant to us and our
posterity, the framers of that intrument inserted
a clause which authorised the importation of
slaves into this country for many years after its
adoption. Let the Constitution speak for it
self:
“The migration or importation of such per
sons as any of the States now existing shall think
proper to admit shall not be prohibited by the
Congress prior to year eighteen hundred and
eight; but a tax or duty may be imposed on
such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for
each person.”
Thus it seems the Constitution contemplates
the existence of slavery in the Stales through all
time; and who now can say in truth that it was
ever contemplated by the framers of the Consti
tution that the people of any part of this Confed
eracy—the ladies of the North—would send to
Congress petitions to interfere with our domestic
tranquility—to interfere with our right of proper
ty, and claim that privilege of intermeddling in
other people’s business upon the ground that
our lawful and constitutional rights are a griev
ance to them ? The absurdity of receiving these
petitions is obvious to all. To me the proposi
tion seems to violate all the principles of consti
tutional law, as well as every sentiment of hu
manity and religion. This question can only be
the legitimate subject of discussion among the
slaveholding people themselves. The General
Government has no power, by the Constitution,
over the subject. To receive these petitions
would imply the power to grant their prayers.
Congress has no such power. Hence the absur
dity of their reception.
j Not only did our fathers provide for our do
mestic tranquility— not only did they authorize
the importation of slaves into the States but,
knowing as they did, and believing as they must
have believed, from the facts and circumstances
of the times in which they lived, that the happi
ness of our people, their security, and the perpe
tuity of the Union, depended upon the preserva
tion of the institutions of the South as they found
them when they formed the Constitution of the
United States, they, with that patriotism and wis
( dom which disting;'.! hed them above all other
• men who lived before them, or will live after them,
I incorporated into that Constitution a clause decla
j «ng that three-fifths of this property shall be rep
, resented in the Congress of the United States.
What would the honorable gentleman from
I New York - (Mr. Granger,) with all his know
i ledge of the Constitution and with his ability in
I argument in favor of the right of petition on this
question, think of a petition sent here from citi
zens of the South, praying that Congress would
abolish the right of representation in New York
the empire Slate, and, if the gentleman please, m
his own district ? Yes, sir, what would he sav
if the ladies of the South were to petition Con
gress to infringe the right of representation in
New York, to diminish the number of their Rep
resentatives, and disfranchise his constituents ?
j I cannot foretell the kind oi power of the resist
ance the distinguished gentleman would offer to
I such a palpable abuse of the right of oetition, and
I such a violent ir action of constitutional law.
■ Vet such is the course pursued towards the South
and the arguments of gentlemen on this floor jus
tify it. and amongst these champions of the right
of petition in this sense is to be found the honor
able gentleman himself.
As I sat out to defend the interests of my con
stituents on constitutional principles, and as I de
clared in the outset that I would risk every thing
t with the Constitution. let us read it again, and see
if it is not truly the ark of our political salvation : i
“ Representatives and direct taxes shall be ap
portioned among the several Stales which may be I
included within this Union, according to their i
respective members, which shall be determined by '
adding to the whnle number of free persons, in
cluding those bound to service for a term of years, i
and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of
all other persons
The abolition of slavery would, therefore, re
duce the number of Representatives from the
South to a very great extent, and would be a de- (
nial of the right of representation, a positive in
fraction of the right of representation authorized
by the Constitution of the United States, exactly
in proportion to the number of slaves represented
upon this floor.
Gentlemen complain that, by reason of this rep
resentation of slaves, the South has a preponder
ance in the political scale. Is this the reason that
thev favor abolition ? Is this the reason they
vote to vole to receive these petitions ? If so, they
seek to rob us of our constitutional rights by un
constitutional measures; and the only means left
us to escape the consequences of such a measure
would be to go over to Mr. Van Buren’s princi
ples, and advocate the right of free negro su iVage;
a measure which I detest, and one which my
constituents will never submit to.
I ask again, is it right to receive petitions here
which strike at the foundation of federal repre
sentation ? which go to dissolve the body politic
by an infringement of the high privileges express
ly secured to the South in the Constitution ?
This principle of representation has been held
sacred by the People of this country from the
adoption or the Constitution, and by none more
cherished than by the freemen of Georgia.
The history of Georgia politics p aces this right
of representation in a strong point of view. By
reference to the Journals of the House, there may
be found a bold and eloquent argument in the
case of Jackson against Wayne, made by James
Jackson of Georgia, a hereof the Revolution, and
the father of the Republican party in Georgia, in
favor of this sacred constitutional right of
sentation.
I cannot recur to a name so illustrious, to a man
who fought so long and so valorous for freedom,
to a Whig of the Revolution, without remember
ing one of the prominent causes of that Revolu
tion—a denial by the mother country of the right
of representation ; and shall we be less tenacious
of the right than our fathers? Shall we surren
der to a few fan tries, urged forward by an unholy
zeal, a principle which our fathers refused to sur
render to the arms of Europe, and maintained at
the cannon’s mouth ? Never, I hope. God for
bid it.
The member from Vermont 'Mr. Slade) made
one admission which is fatal to his abolition doc
trines—his tight of petition. He says there are
some things it would not be proper to petition for.
One of his cases is, that it would be improper to
petition this body to hang an abolitionist, I
doubt not the gentleman has some forebodings of
what his fate might be if he were to carry his
principles into practical operation ; in throwing
this shield around himself, he has conceded the
whole ground. And let me ask the gentleman if
it would be less lawful or religious to hang him
up to one of these pillars until he was dead, dead,
than it would be to arm an incendiary with a
torch in one hand, and a dagger in the other, to
burn my house and murder my family 1 Yet
such is the criminal denunciation of some of these
petitioners. They have had the madness to say
that if they cannot abolish slavery by law, they
will do it by the sword, or, what is worse, they
send incendiary pamphlets into our country to
excite our slaves to deeds of insurrectionary war
fare.
Mr. Speaker, three years ago about this time. I
met the honorable gentleman (Mr. Granger) on
this floor, and when I attempted to reply to his
defence of the gentleman from Massachusetts,
(Mr. Adams,) I was gagged down with the pre
vious question. The gentleman, if I remember
right, asked us to let them fight our battles at the
North.
[Mr. Granger denied he had ever claimed to
fight the battles of the South.]
Mr. Alford said, lam glad of it. I would not
trust him or any Northern man to fight our bat
tles with the abolitionists alone. Let those who
w ould fight for us there, fight with us here. But
I fear they are all Whigs, all Democrats on this
subject at home; all against slavery in the abstract.
The South has been gulled long enough with this
of petition so sacred to the honorable gen
tleman. Os one thing I am certain : he said
then, as he says now, that the North has rights
and dare maintain them. Theacccption of these
petitions under that clause of the Constitution
already alluded to, which secures the right of
petition for the redress of grievances, is not one
of those rights to which his declaration applied.
He should maintain no such a right. What are
we to understand by this threat, that the North
“has rights and dare maintain them” 1 We are
to be taught, I suppose, that under the authority
to petition Congress for a redress of their griev
ances, they will force upon us a reception of abo
lition, and trample under their feet our rights of
property and representation both.
They charge us with having mixed the right
of petition with the question of abolition, and i
say that they will dare maintain that right, al
though they admit that they cannot abolish slavery
at all, so long as the Constitution is in force.
If they have no right to abolish' slavery at all,
what right have they to trouble Congress with
these petitions l The argument is absurd on the
face ol it. W hat means this declaration—this
threat—that they dare to do such deeds ? Does
the gentleman intend to carrv this measure by
force of arms ? Are we to be swept away by
the power of the North as the besom of destruc
tion ? Is the South to fall by force without re
sistance ?
I cannot contemplate the possibility of Con
gress entertaining these doctrines without feelings
of horror. If ever this power is once carried out
effectually, it will raise a fire of discord, it will
light the torch of civil war, and the consuming
element will sweep over this nation as the t m
pest sweeps over the ocean, as the ocean sweeps
over the earth when driven by the fury of the
warring elements. Before the howling of the
tempest shall hush, and the fne of war blast out
the last son of the South shall perish a martyj
to our constitutional rights.
Mr. Speaker, I now have in my eye the hon
orable gentLmu , from New York who did say
three years ago (when. Democrat as he he
stood by his colleague. Whig as he is, in defence
of Mr. Adams) that the South should let the
battle be fought at the North.
[Mr. Vanderpocl inquired if Mr. Alford al
luded to him.]
Mr. Alford said, I allude to the leader of the
Administration forces in this House, to him who
ieads with a whip, to the gentleman who repre
sents Kinderhook—it is unparliamentary to call
members by name—l allude to hi.n who, when
New Jersey was stricken from the roll of States
stood upon this floor and thanked God that the
vaice of Democracy was triumphant in this
House ; that the voice of the Democratic party
in New Jersey had been heard in this Hall.—
Yes, Mr. Speaker, the voice of Democracy has
been heard, and the gentleman rejoices at the
fact, and speaks of regenerated States. That
voice of Democracy which hails from New J er .
sey is not the voice of her people, but it is the
voice of aliens carted about by Van Buren men
to raise the hue and cry of modern Democrat
of O'Connell democracy. Yes, sir, to raised
tumultuous shout of alien, O’Connell, democratic
triumph over the native citizens and legal voters
of a gallant Stale, speaking as they did in favor
of the Opposition cause by their own neonle
through the medium of a constitutional Govern
went. But sir, tbe voice of the sons of New j
Jersey cannot prevail; right yields to force, and t
the voice of law is drowned by a wild and dis- t
orderly shout of the mob, which is called here j
the voice ot democracy—a voice that comes from £
the land of O’Connell, that breaks upon the ,
shores of New Jersey, that rings through the
soell-bound regions of the “enchanted moun- (
tains,” that wakes up the drowsy inhabitants of ,
“Sleepy Hollow,” and they too hail the triumph
of this cause of regenerating democracy , and
join the shout of that democracy, echoed here by
the “leader” of “the party” in this Hall.
[Mr. Vanderpool asked Mr. Alford to yield for
an explanation.] , .
Mr Alford said, alter I- am done. I found it
too hard to get the floor to give it up. I cannot
let my grip until I have said what I have to
sa y” j C an tell the gentleman that, unless lam
mistaken in the signs of the tfmes, this modern
democracy will soon come to an end. J his \an
Buren-Calhoun-Bentonian -Buchanan democracy
will blow up at the end of Mr. Van Buren’s eight
years, if he is re-elected, I “ guess.
The Speaker interposed, and Mr. Alford said,
sit si 'll, Mr. Speaker, I will go back to argument.
I hold in my hand the most eloquent and con
clusive argument in favor of the constitutional
rights of the South on this question of slavery,
and against the course pursued by these fanatics,
I have seen or read; and, what is astonishing to
all lovers of truth and justice, it is the very speech
of William Henry Harrison from which garbled
extracts have been made to prove him an aboli
tionist, and for which he has been doomed to en
counter the united opposition of the whole South;
and this same speech is now published in the
Emancipator, under a long editorial denunciation
of General Harrison as an anti abolitionist, and
declaring that no abolitionist can support him for
the Presidency, because he goes with the South.
And I am happy, sir, that whilst I use his speech to
prove the truth of my position,! am but doing an
act of justice to a statesman and patriot, atriend
of the South, who has been misrepresented and
belied. Let not gentlemen suppose that I am
about to become the advocate of General Harri
son for the Presidency. Georgia stands on neu
tral ground. We have a man of our own—the
immortal Troup —who is better qualified to ad
minister the Government, in my opinion, than
Harrison and Van Burcn both put together. I
go for Troup, sir; but if ever he is out of the
question, I have a right to enjoy my own opinion,
as between the other two; and 1 am willing to
judge them by their own acts, and choose be
tween them upon their principles in regard to this
very question.
I will now give Gen. Harrisen’s views as au
thority on this question. Hear them :
“ Extract from remarks of General William
Henry Harrison at the Public Dinner given
to him by the citizens of Vincennes, Indiana,
on the 25 th May, 1835.
“ I have now, fellow citizens, a few w ords more
to sav to you on another subject; and which is,
in rny opinion, of more imoortance than any oth
er that is now in the course of discussion in any
part of the Union, i allude to the societies which
have been formed,, and the movements of certain
individuals in some of the Stales in relation to a
portion of the population in others. The con
duct of these persons is the more dangerous, be
cause the object is masked under the garb of dis
interestedness and benevolence, and their course
vindicated by arguments and propositions which
in the abstract no one can deny. But however
fascinating may be the dress with which their
schemes are presented to their fellow citizens;
with whatever purity of intention they may have
been formed and sustained, they will be found to
carry in their train mischief to the whole Union,
and horrors to a large portion of it, which it is
probable some of the projectors and many of their
supporters have never thought of; the latter,the
first in the series of evils, which are to spring
from this source, are such as you have read of
to have been perpetrated on the lair plains of Ita
ly and Gaul by the Scythian hordes of Attila and
Alaric, and such as most of you apprehended on
that memorable n : ght, when the tomahawks and
war clubs of the followers of Tecuniseh were rat
tling in yoilr suburbs. I regard not the disavow
als of any such intention upon the part of the
authors of these schemes, since, upon the exami
nation of- the publications which have been made,
they will be found to contain every fact and eve
ry argument which would have been used if such
had been their objects. I am certain that there
is not in this assembly one of these deluded men,
and that there are few within the hounds of the
State. If there are any, I would earnestly entreat
them to forbear, to pause in their career, and de
liberately consider the consequence of their con
duct to the whole Union, to the States more im
mediately interested, anc to those for whose ben
efit they profess to act. That the latter will be
the victims of the weak, injudicious, presumptu
ous, and unconstitutional efforts to secure them,
a thorough examination of the subject must con
vince them. The struggle (and struggle there
must be) may commence with horrors such as I
have described, but it will end with more firmly
riveting the chains, or in the utter extirpation of
those whose cause they advocate. Am I wrong,
fellow-citizens, in applying the terms weak, pre
sumptuous, and unconstitutional to the measure
of the emancipators 1 A slight examination will
I think, show that lam not. In a vindication of
the objects of a convention which was lately held
in one of the towns of Ohio, which I saw in a
newspaper, it was said that nothing more was
intended than to produce a state of public feeling
which would lead to an amendment of the Con
stitution, authorizing the abolition of slavery in
the United States. Now, can an amendment of
the Constitution be es. jcted without the consent
of the Southern States ? What then is the pro
position to be submitted to them ! It is this.
The present provisions of the Constitution se
cure to you the right (a right which you held be
iore it was made, and which you have never giv
en up) to manage your domestic concerns in your
own way, but as we are convinced that you do
not manage them properly, we want you to put in
the hands of the General Government; in the
councils of which we have the m ority, the con
trol over these matters, the effect ofwhich will he
virtually to transfer the power from yours into
other hands. Again, in some of the States, and
in sections of others, the black population far ex
cel ds; tof the white. Some of the emancipa
tors propose an immediate abolition. What is
the proposition then as it regards t.mse States and
parts of States, but the alternative of amalgama
tion with the blacks, or an exchange of situations
with them 1 Is there any man of common sense
who does not believe that the emancipated blacks,
being a majority, will not insist upon a lull parti
cipation of the political rights with the whites
and, when possessed of these, that they will not
contend for a full share of the social rights also *
What but the extremity of weakness and folly
could induce any one to think that such proposi
tions as these could be listen d to by a people so
intelligent as those of the Southern States l Fur
ther, the emancipators gen .ally declare that it is
their intention to effect their object (although their
acts contradict the assertu n) by „o other means
than by convincing the slave holders that the im
mediate emancipation of the slaves is called for
both by moral obligation and sound policy. An
unfledged youth at the moment of his leaving (in
deed, in many instances before he has left) his
1 neological Seminary, undertakes to give lectures
upon morals to the Wythe, Tuck
er, Pendleton, and Lowndes, and lessons of polit
ical wisdom to States whose affairs have so recent
ly been directed by Jefferson and Madison, Macon
and Crawford. Is it possible that instances of
greater vanity and presumption could be exhibit
ed ?
“ But th ® cours « pursued by the emancipator.
is unconstitutional. IdonM say that there ar e
any words ift the? Constitution which forbid *
discussions as they say they arc engaged i n . j
know that there are not. And there is cv en dn
article which secures to the citizens the right t 0
express and publish their opinions without re
striction. But in the construction of the Cotisii
tulion it is always necessary to refer to the cir
cumstances under which it was formed, and t 0
ascertain its meaning by a comparison of its p ro .
visions with each other, and with the previous sit.
nation of the several States who were pailies to
it. In a portion of these slavery was recognised
and they took care to have the right secured to
them to follow and reclaim such of them as were
fugitives to other States. The laws of Congrp Ss
passed under this power have provided punish
merit to any who shall oppose or interrupt the ex
ercise of this right. Now, can any one believe
that the instrument which contains a provision of
this kind, which authorizes a master to pursue
his slave into another State, take him back, and
promises a punishment for any citizen or citizens
of that State who should oppose him, should at
the same time authorize the latter to assemble t O .
gether, to pass resolutions and adopt addresses
not only to encourage the slaves to leave their
masters, but to cut their throats before they dosol
I insist that, if the citizen of the non-slavehob
ding States can avail them.-elves of the article of
the Constitution which prohibits the restriction
of speech or the press to publish any thing inju
rious to the rights of the slaveholding States, thev
can go the extreme that I have mentioned, and
effect any thing further which writing or speak
ing could effect. But, fellow-citizens, these are
not the principles of the Constitution. Such a
Constitution would defeat one of the great objects
of its formation, which was, that of securing the
peace and harmony of the Slates which were
parties to it. The liberty of speech and us th e
press were given as the most effectual mean* to
preserve to each and every citizen their own
rights, and to the States the rights which apper
tained to them at the time of its adoption.
“It could never have been expected tnat it
would be used by the citizens of one portion of
the States for the purpose of depriving those of
another portion of the rights which they had re
served at the adoption of the Constitution, and in
the exercise of which none but themselves have
any concern or interest. If slavery be an evil
(and no one more readily acknowledges it than
I do,) the evil is with them. If there is guilt in
it, the guilt is theirs, not ours, since neither the
States wnere it does not exist, nor the Govern
ment of the United States can, without usurpa
tion of power and a proper violation of a solemn
compact, do any thing to remove it, without the
consent of those who are immediately interested.
With that consent, there is not a man in the
whole world who would more willingly contri
bute his aid to accomplish it than I would. If
my vote could effect it, every surplus dollar in
the treasury should be appropriated to that ob
ject. But they will neither ask for aid nor con
sent to be aided, so long as the illegal, persecu
ting. and dangerous movements are in progress
of which I complain ; the interest of all concern
ed icquires that these should be immediately
stopped. This can only be done by the force of
public opinion, and that cannot too soon lie
brought into operation. Every movement which
is made by the abolitionists in the non-slavehold
ing States is viewed by our Southern brethren as
an attack upon their rights, and which, if per
sisted in, must in the end eradicate those feelings
of attachment and affections between the citizens
of all the ‘States which was produced by a com
munity of interests and dangers in the wars of
the Revolution, which was the foundation of our
happy Union, and by a continuance of which it
can alone be preserved. I entreat you then, fel
low-citizens, to frown upon the measures which
are to produce results so much to be deprecated.”
Without entering into a full detail of the mer
its of tbe gentleman at the head of this Govern
ment, I turn to the supporters of the Administra
tion, and ask them, if they please, to show me
wherein the present Chief Magistrate ot this
Union ever held such language as this 1 Has
he ever declared that the abolition of slavery
would be unconstitutional ? On the contrary,
has he not declared and admitted that, with the
lights before him, he could not say but that it
might be abolished 1 Has he ever said that the
“ efforts” of these petitioners were “ weak, inju
dicious, and unconstitutional?” Has he ever
“entreated them to pause in their career 1” No
men can answer in the affirmative to tnese ques
tions for Martin Van Buren, with truth and sin
cerity. What has he said—what has he done 1
“Let us render unto Caesar the things which are
Cae "ar’s. ’ In that great and truly alarming agi
tation of the question of slavery as regards the
State of Missouri, Mr. Van Buren proved, by his
vote that he was opposed to slavery ; and not
only that he was opposed, but that he would re
fuse to admit a State into the Union rather than
that her people should judge and act for them
selves in the question of slavery. He voted in
the Legislature of New \ ork to instruct an ultra
(Rufus King) to refuse the admission of Missouri
into this Union it her Constitution recognised
slavery. Ido not give the words of the resolu
tion, but the substance.
Where was old Tippecanoe at that-vastly im
portant crisis of our affairs 1 Side by side in I
this House with those that led the van in favor
of slavery—side by side with the republicans of
the he made a full and glorious sacrifice
of himself for the people of Missouri. He votoJ
to sustain her constitutional right of slavery, and
was beaten out of Congress for the part he took
in behalf of Southern interests and Southern in
stitutions. Is the gentlem in from Missouri in
the House 1 Oh, Missouri! (Oh, Misery!)— A
M hat has Mr. Van Buren done for you 1
If Mr. Van Buren had done as much for us as
Genera! Harrison,! would not hesitate to marshal
myself in his ranks at once, as he now pretends
to be so much of a Sta e rights man ; but still 1
fear his measures. His mes.-age r -commends
strict economy, (good,) but he intimates very
plainly that, after all the economy he recommends
has been used by us, there will still be a deficit of
revenue, and leaves us to infer, as I understand
him, that more will lie wanting. How we are lo
raise it under the plans in his message, without
an increase of tariff duties, is not for ms to say.
The South may look out. I pass over many of
his acts, and come down to his last public act
by which he proves himself to be now what he
was in early life—the constant, uncompromising
enemy of Southern institutions. I mean bis vote
in regard to slavery in Florida. On every occa
sion where he has voted on the que.slion of sla
very, he has voted against it.
Extract from the Senate Journal.
“ The Senate resumed, as in I ’omraittee of the
Whole, the consideration of the bill for the es
tablishment of a territorial government in Flori
da ; and, the bill having been amended, it was
reported to the House accordingly ; and,
“ On the question to concur in the amendment
to the 11th section, to strike out , after the word
‘freedom,’ in the 14th line thereof, the residue ot
said section, as follows :
No slave or slaves shall, directly or indirect
ly, be introduced into the said Territory, except
by a citizen of the United States removing i n!o
the said Territory for actual settlement, and be
ing, at the time of such removal, bona fide own?
of such slave or slaves; or any citizen of tbe f'
States travelling into the said Territory with » D - V
servant or servants, not exceeding two ; and c ve '
ry slave imported or brought into the said'^ 111 "
tory, contrary to the provisions of this act, shall* *.
thereupon, be entitled to and receive his or bet
freedom.’
“It was determined in the affirmative: caß
23, nays 20^
“ On motion bj Mr. Mills, tbe yeas and na>*