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SATURDAY, May 8, 1790.]
THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE
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AND
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GAZE TTE of the STATE.
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FREED OM of the PRESS, and TRIALby JUR Y, (hall remain inviolate. Cnfiintin ./ Cw-ia.
AUGUSTA: Printed by JOHN.E. BMI T H. ...Printer to' .State, aAlftfa?
Aduertijements, &c, i*ll be gratefully received, and every bnd of Printing performed.
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SPEECH of Mr. Bald'iviny in the House of
Representatives of the United States, on
the 18th of March last.
TV /I R* Beqfon moved, that the commit#*
ly I of the vvhole, on the memorial of the
people called Quakers, for the abolition of
slavery, be difeharged from further consider
ing the report, that the report might be re
committed. V f r ... ,
Mr. Baldwin t{)e motion; and
obfetved, that he waa.originaily against takiug
any notiee of the memorial* and that he now
seconded the motion to difeharge the com
mittee of the whole, in hopes that, the ex
perience of the House had convinced them of
ths impropriety, of their entering at,.all on
the business ; that it was a trackless wander
ing without their old guide, the CouftjHfcipn,
and the longer it *aa continued, the more
inextricable would be the perplexities. rhe
fame memorial, he was info lined, had been
presented to the Senate, but they had takeu
no notice of it. A motion was made that it
Should be ordered to lie on the table; even
that wa. negatived, and they would not blot
their paper at all ott thefubjert. . He hoped
Houfe would imitate their wisdom, and
pursue the fubjeft no farther..* A refolut.on
cannot be offered but what is objedionable •
if it contains what is not contained m the
Constitution it is inadmidible ; »f contaiu#
tee was appointed they were obliged to re
port; it appears that they endeavoured to
make their report as little fignific/ut as pof
fihle, but (fill it was worse than to have had
uo iepo.t. The whole report is, what Con
gress cannot do, and wha Con/refs can do;
N«. language tan exprel's this so properly as
the ConftitutiQn itfelf. The House has been
agitated fora whole week on the occasion, as
if the fate of our country was at Bake.; -The
most important business of the Union has
been arretted in the m<dS of its progtefs, and
jnade to give way to this : The plan for. the
of public credit—the ucceffary ar
rangements for the formation of the date of
iiorth-Carolina into diftrift*, to secure the
eolls&oti o( the public revenue—the Poft
office Ad, which we are told will produce
100,000 dollars—and the additional Revenue
on which nearly half the refour.ces of
the resT depend—which"arecnow preffmg tor
eaiUft attention of this House, are all laid
a side as of no account.. any. indifferent
fpeflator afiign for our eonduft l • It
is not alledged .by, thife, pious. taemorialifts
that any new or fpe r ial cause has occurred to
call forth the exertions of government at this
time*, no bill is brought forward to he cnafi
•fctl into iTaw, but barely a filing of propo
rtions, declarative of our creed on different
articles of the Constitution, which in«#afi
concluded to nothing, apd n thing was pro
posed to be done at this. time. He obletved,
chat, with great deference to thy Houle, he
mud declare, that he Haft .rarely feet* the at
tention of a public AiTembly, ,for so »ong
time, called off from business of fiich yaft
importance, where he was so much at a
to aflign • reason for tbeir coudud.. » The
principal reason that had been yet aligned,
was, that the memorialifta came forward as
delegates from the yearly meeting of the So
ciety of Quakeiii hut he bel.eved tbeir
warmed advocarea muff acknowledge tb*i
tfriir pUo»ii ia piliucU » »wi M
GEORG IA:
I - V*. • 4 >'■ ■* ‘ ' • V
they ate fata $o defart you in jl storm. A* ’
to their being plaafed qr difpleaied, it could
be of but frnaU consequence to the govern
ment; their highest approbation of your mea
fureq will not prevail- on them to give you
their strength foj yow support, *uji their prin
ciples fecut e you again# any efforts from their
difpleaiure. So far at they ate induftricus,
their labour is of use to. society; but /.heit
importance is of the fame nature as teachings
or engines, from which ire derived the effects
of productive labour; The fatisfartion of the
citizen, qn whose strength and exertion the
government depend* for its support.. is surely
of vast importance; but as this teligmusfert
exclude themfelvjc* from that kind of coufe-r
quence,.it is realonable they ffmuld be
excluded from the efferts of it* v It muff, be
allowed they are quite in the loweitgrade ot
importance to miliums of them are no
efficient pofitiv* ffitsngth to the government;
were thgre no,cuher.».citi/.enß, this new and
happy Cqnffitution, of which they fay fomuch,
would be prostrated before the‘firft intruder..
It muff be acknowledged that this.arguraent
is so far from urging for a particular attention
to their business, that it is .a found reason
why the business of othefs ffiould be prefer
red* ; <* *— _ . • •
. But as these observations have been called
u;», Jthey will nor flop here; the interference
of this people, in the .affairs of government,
is, in fart, dangerous; it is, in truth, a di
sease, anti may prove fatal to government; it
is like the ptlfy to the human constitution—-in
proportion as its influence is iurtuuated, your
governmenus enervated. -He^was,aihmidied
tQ find, and nothing but. deradnftration could -
h<*veconvinced him that this people had fucb
weight and influence in the councils of this
country it was af^. legible as though Iculp
tuied iu the broadfff characters j he conferred
h mf«lf,alarmed at 'he coufequences. Whe
ther the peculiarity of .their religious .opini
onsis ilj or well fouqded-r*whether their set
ting themfclves up in opposition to the teff of
the civilized world, in the common civilities
of decency and good .manners, adds to their
teputation for wifeiom and refpertubility—are
matters, of small moment to government:
Let them., enjoy, all the delight
of oddity; but, when they are found, as on
this occafi.on, crowding themselves into the
affairs of your government— individuals di
flinguifhing themfclv $ from all the other in
dividuals who have made application to you,
by their perfevermg and perfecutiug endea
vours to worm in their individual-opinions
into the public councils of the country—thcy
deceive censure. If the lame measures are
pursued oa all fubjerts to wjiich they .have an
equal right, and they are equally fticeeltful,
what would be the eoufequcnce I If -the go
’ vernmeut ot: this country, was totally under
Quaker injiqence*. wpn}d it not-be totally
nerveJefs, and the rich bounties of this happy
land lie a* die jmepey of every rude invader ) .
• . Mr* Baldwin
** proper jo putfue |hi* business any furtiifi,
from the influence it man./eitly bad 04 the
' temper ol the House;. « conuius the nmlt.
combufiible infterieli; has always he*»
ainoug the muff contea'iaus fubjerts m t»»f
government of tbie countiy., , Ha* riot 1
Houle for fevers! dsy* be« io e euuUnt
dorm on .he otcafb n bre«> fj |
1 itu| b (liftiuiTion, tbii .4& 'Wjil rm'wt*
[Vo*. IV. No. CLXXXVII.J'
seem almost to persuade themselves that they
have a right to intermeddle with it; Ob
ftrvatioos have been frequently made ‘o this
effert : How tan we look on and fee thel*
abominable prart ces, aid not interpose f Iho
refpert he had for the individual of cn fup
prelled the proper reply, which was, that ho
intermeddled with what was not bis buiine s.
He confcflcd the ill efferts such obfeivationo
had on his mind, and believed there weic
those who would not temper them woh ha
much to flection* If gentlemen ca* not nc
willing to.g.ve up that unconfcionab-e delit®
of having their own wills iu all cases cont.ol
the wills of others, and*content themfetvea
to ad in in iff et this gqvernment under- the wile
tinctures piefcribcd l»y the Cunttiyition. we
ca. uot be a happy people. It is wed km#wti
thaMheie was a rialhing of feelings, unu of
inte.eft, in the different parts ot this country,
on that fi bjert ; it w s lohg a doubt wl rhec
it was rot an infupeiable bar to then oe ng
united as one people upder one government ;
but it was happily fonnoemted in the CVnfti*.
tuiiou, and, to far as he harf been informed,
almoff io uhivei-fal fitistatt/on. fr was not
unknown on whuh fid* was the maj«»n:ye
The ffreugth and vmleuce of majmity was ix«
peeled ou this.Tubjert, and therefore lecurity
againff it was fettied down deep amoiigll u.e
pillars of your government, and, he would
add, not one wa»* more strongly fortified;
wheu this was jollied, ihe rett could hot he
ft rung. »
for thefc reafon*, Mr. Baldwin fail, he
had not felt in the leaff degree alanued, f'otn
an apprehension that the right# a' hi* conffitti
ents could be disturbed This House, tram.
its Cvnffitution, will be in foine meifure a
minor to tefiert all the 'he people:
It is, no doubt, wife that the feelings of the •
people iljotild have air opporrnn ty to hear a
part in legifiatioo, though it s f ine ti nes
inconvenient; and the cxc.fs f t*eir pas-.
lions, and of their majority, though ever so
violent, is not dangerous : There is ano her
branch to this ILegillature, whose -concur- •
lence is necelfary in our meafu.es. Fr''ra
the manner in which they are conftnuted, and *
from he experience we have already had, he
did uot doubt they would give that wifdnn%
and finnuefs to our. government which ie
would uot otherwile poffels : He added, that
it had been.conspicuous ons fhis occafiou, at
he bad before onferved. They muff also
have\.the approbation of -the man whom the
people of the temo eff extremes of our coun
try.led to be their parent ' iAnd after all,
fljould there be any doubt of the conftittrtion
aliiy of our meafores, they cannot be carr ed
into execution without the approbation of
the Supieme*Court of the United Stale?, coin
pufed of fix of our-luoff veuerabie fa-'es, who,
from -the independence of'their fituati rn, and
from the' iong experience «*e have ha<l of
their wifiloii), p«llvf«* our rfigheft eonfi.'ence,
and is psobiblf«ne of the most refpertabfe
Courts on earth, btmub the House tbiuk pro
per further to purlue thete tncafutes, and to
pur lit e them with inciealiug vioieure, the,
evils would piobably bt tugcudsrsd and <x*
handed iu themlclvc*.
• lie obl’rrveil, that if all the flavts in that
pan of the Union wets hie own ptupenv- *»•
thould feel psiUrtly H.d ilVrwut i»« this snfi '»•!
sll fiwlar v aud Ihvubf fee ih« ttl#*
llrts of 'Jiij-Jiiv eii'i oa tA«t
