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J. w. & W. S. JONES. AUGUSTA, Ga. SATURDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 22, 1840 v ■ ’ ' VOL. JV. —i>o. 22. THE CHRONICLE AM) SEATIN'EE * IS PUBLISHED D .ILV TJII-WEEKLY, AND WEEKLY, At No. 20!) Broad-^lrect. terms: Diil / paper, Ten Dollars per annum, in advance. I'ri Weekly paper, at Six Dollars in advance or Sjven at the end of the year. I Vc:kly pap •)■,Three Dollars in advance,or Four at ij,ccnd of year. CHRONICLE AM) SENTINEL. \ iicusta. FRIDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 21. qJ’No mail North of Washington last.nighf. - Charleston Races—Third Day. Hammond and Tuggles’ ch. h, Geiiow, 1 I Col. Flud’s ch. f. Hermoine, 3 2 Mr. Simon’s br. c. Giovanni, 3 dist. The evening edition of the New York Journal of Commerce of the 14th inst., states that the Philadelphia Banks have agreed on the Ist day of February, 1841, as their day of resumption, and sent a deputation to Harrisburg, to endeavor to persuade the Legislature that an earlier day would be ruinous. From Tampico. —We learn from the New Or. leans Bee of the I3th, that the schooner Doric arrived St that port from Tampico, on Wednes day week, bringing dales to the sth inst. The Doric brought §300,000 in specie. It was reported at Tampico, that Gen. Arista had been defeated by the Federalists; two bun. ilred soldiers had 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. The Washington correspondent of the Charles ton Courier, under date of the 15th, says:— Among the memorials presented, (be 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 tho deceased, under tho alien and sedition law. The will of Dr. Cooper accompanies the petition, and in that instrument, it is enjoined on his Executor, to prosecute his claim upon Congress, “until the same he recovered.” Speech of Air. Colquitt, OF GEORGIA. lathe H. of Representatives, Jun. 17, 1840— AGAINST THE RECEPTION OF ABOLITION PETITIONS. Mr. Speaker: The little experience I have had in your national councils, has excited my fears that a spirit stalks in our midst, calculated to 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 stir up political strife; every ques tion to call forth tho energies of party discipline; and every motion serves but to kindle tho fires of individual animosity. Amid these conflicting, warring elements, the voice of reason is 100 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 hitherto taken part in this debate; a debate so . well calculated to stir up tho bitterest feeling of I 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. Monroe.] He spoke the feelings of a heartburn ing 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 rights secured by the Constitution, I must beg leave to dissent from tho mode he has recommen ded, as the one most likely to quiet this agitating question. Wo are invoked not to blend the question of abolition with the right of petition! We are toldht is best to receive tho 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 (led, 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 ts unwilling to vindicate tho 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 ek4 their prayers would he the overthrow of the Re- V ” public. He is opposed to trampling down the Constitution, and of bringing ruin on the coun \ try, while they are bent on carrying out their purpose, reckless of the consequence. The pc -0 tidoners, yet too weak iu most of the districts to ■ elect a Representative who is willing to vindicate 1 their project, must content themselves to yield I their support to him who, in some slight degree, I shall favor their cause. While they arc 100 I weak to elect, they are strong enough to ho I courted. The gallant spirits which it is said I would be dtiven into the ranks of the. abolition- I ists, by refusing to receive the petitions,are those I whose patriotism and integrity are too weak to I resist temptation to office. In those districts f where the abolition inllueuce is strong enough, they send abolitionists here, who stand prepared Jt to plead for the prayer of the petitioners, and will V vote to carry out their wishes. In those districts I where 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 lloor high commendations upon them. You, sir, [to Mr. Monroe,] with your worthy colleague, coming from the proud city of New York, can •peak a language much more bold than the gen- I ——“ -*en ■ii ■n T—m rvenr—j——ga*- 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 nation, that if the threat ened work of slaughter shall proccid, if civil war shall bo the result of tho maddened efforts of fa naticism, that your sword will be drawn and your blood he spilt on the soil of Virginia, the place ot your birth, battling for her rights. But can the gentleman who succeeded you [Mr. Granger] use language as bold! Think you ho would dare, upon tiffs lloor, 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 arc patriotic, they arc brave, and chivalrous ,■ they are such men, if his eulogy he just as friendship would covet, and t!ie country need in the hour of her peril.— Why this difference between you and your col league! It is the proof of the remarks I have been making. Your constituency will sustain you in ydur proudest strains of patriotism ; they send you, as you have declared, with the olive branch, and hid 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 merchants have mingled with our people; have shared our friendship ; and have witnessed, in the stillness of our Sabbath morns, at tho ringing of our church-hells, hundreds of well-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 tliat 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. They represent a constituency who are ignorant of our people; who are deeply imbued with im aginative pietisni, and they must needs court their favor to obtain their suffrage. Tho eulogy hetovved upon this portion of your citizens is un just, they are pronounced intelligent, chivalrous, and patriotic. Sir, if they are enlightened, if they understand the Constitution of their coun try, if they know that the pillars which support their Government, are the confidence and affec tions of the people—then their efforts contradict the idea that they arc patriots, and prove them reckless to the perpetuity of the Union. He is no patriot, no matter where ho lives, no matter whether he claim to be Whig or Democrat, who disturbs the peace and tranquility of the Govern ment, wars against the rights secured by its Con stitution, and labors with zeal for its total sub version. And hois 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 iu terms. But wo arc 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 peacefully assembling to petition Government.— In other words, no riot act shall he 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 the article as amended. And yet we are told that, by refusing to receive the petitions, we voilate this wholesome ar'iclc of the Consti tution. Is there any injunction that their peti tions, when made, shall ho received ? If so, the same construction compels you to act; and if you act, compels you to grant the prayer of the petitioners. 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'! By tho same process of reasoning, are we not compelled to act upon them when receiv ed, and to grant their prayers when we act 1 If it be useless to petition, unless the petitions are received, will it not he equally useless unless the prayers be granted ! 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 tiad no juridic tion! Wpuld they not feci 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 he granted ! Ho might and so ought each Representative on this floor to act, who regards the institutions of his country. Before I would he made (he unhallowed instrument of introduc ing the brand ofdiscord and the fierce fires of dis sension into this Hall, threatening dissolution and rain, this right arm should fall rotten from its socket. If eacli member, in his individual right, could refuse to receive these petitions, eith er denying jurisdiction, or from a more laudihlo 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 same net, for 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 arc 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 tho 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 oI this constitution al right ! 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 tiffs false issue to se cure their elections, and warn ns that if they ho 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 ions of their appoint merits. On their I """ ~ ~ ~ ■ account, you must receive these petitions, and they will most cheerfully unite in a report set ting forth their tolly, 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, 1 think, by Bulwcr, in some degree descriptive of our present position : Hark ! in the lobby, hear a lion roar: Say, Mr. Speaker, shall weshut the door > Or say, Mr. Speaker, shall wo let him in, 'lo see how quick we’ll turn him out again ? The Representative from Pennsylvania [Mr. , Biddle] asked my honorable colleague [Mr. Coop i er] to furnish him with argument to combat the , Abolitionists: that when ho was laboring in the political-harvest field, endeavoring to mow down , the noxious growth, that is, blasting tho nation’s , prosperity, he was met by this declaration : if it be v’i'ong —it it he unconstitutional—why docs . not Congress tell us so—why not declare by the . voice of her resolutions the impropriety of our i proceedings! which, ho said, he could not an swer ; and begged now to be furnished with one. ! sir, I listened with too much interest to tho mol r lifluous accents of his winning oratory, to believe ; he was serious. He is too well informed to need i the prompting of my colleague ; he can, if he , r/are.hase himself upon the pillars of constitution al rights, and with a voice, a manner, and utter i ance, that would still the turbulence of passion, ■ tell his constituents that the inquiry is answered.’ i He can, if he will, take in his hands the journal , of Congress of 1790, when Georgia had a wor [• thicr and abler advocate of her rights, in the halls ■ of Congress, her illustrious Baldwin, and point them to a report that tells them of their folly. He . can, if he will, tell them, what his worthy parti ’ san from New York [Mr. Granger] has uttered, that for twenty-h te years past, have our illustri -1 ous predecessors received and acted on such pe i titions, and politely denied them. He can, if he > will, tell them that an able and conciliatory re . port was made as late 1836. with the vain hope , of quieting their exertions. He cun, if he dare, | go farther, and speak in arguments not to be re , sisted, the wisdom of experience upon this sub t joet. He can tell them that many deluded en thusiasts have ruined themselves and the objects t of their philanthropy, by uprooting the order of societv. Ho can tell them that Lycurgus gave laws, that Epaminomlas and Scipio conquered, , that Demosthenes and Cicero poured forth their ■ strains of animated eloquence, in a land where , slavery was recognised. Hp can tell them of the desolations of Poland, whero Kosciusko and So hieski battled for tho cause of liberty, and yet slavery existed. He can tell them o! the wars of our Revolution; of the patriots who penned our ; Independence; of the soldiers who stood side by . side in the ranks of war; of the final victory aclffe i ved; of the framing and ratification of our Con stitution; and that the institution of slavery cxis . ted, was acknowledged and guarded. But, sir, he prefers to come hero with his ar gument, throwing a veil over the iniquity of tho Abolitionists, and apologises for their mischief.— ■ 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, relying ' alone for his support on the prejudices of the peo ple 1 It is evidence that the spirit of fanaticism is stronger, or man’s moral virtue weaker, than it used lo 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 mo inquire, has been the result. To-day it is quoted on us as an acknowledgment of the right to legislate upon this subject. Tho gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. lliddle] now claims that 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 tho bitterness and accrimony of the Abolitionists; they have dared to make a peace-offering, by kind ly compromising the claims of tho Constitution, which is now seized on as an acknowledgment of right. lam unable to answer for former Repre sentatives from Georgia; the little party,of which I am a member, has been doomed lo defeat, bat tling in the Thermopyla: of politics, against Fed eral encroachment, hut 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.— Wc arc told the Abolition battle must he fought at the North ; that wc must deal kindly here, to afford a campus for their chivalry at home 1 Sir, these gallant men who now battle at the Norlli for the protection of our rights, will soon sink by age, under tho weight of their armor, or fall in the battle field by tho superior strength of tho foe.— 'J’heir places will be fifed 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 he fought, here or at the North, wc must meet the foe upon the i utposts of the Constitution. No admitting tho incendiary torch within the holy citadel of our liberties. Every friend lo his coun try, from the North and from the South, must stand firm upon the ramparts of the Constitution, • admit no insidious foe, hut resolve to brave the growing rage of that imaginative plfflanthrophy, that is reckless of the peace, liberty, or union of the Republic. Every conciliatory measure lias 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 i with a blind fanaticism ; no lime 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 lias nev er been denied. With this pretext,gentlemen la bor with a zeal worthy of a better cause, to open a fisurej 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, dealing up the way that others mav pass in tri urnph 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 arc ignorant of the structure of the Govern ment; hut the statesman, who knows (hat »ur free institutions are based upon the confidence and af fections of the people, who dare not violate rights secured by the Constitution,deserve uridyingcon tempt, for he has not so much as the veil of opin i' ion to cover the baldness of that desolation which • threatens the land. Wc are told not to he rash ; i make ourselves easy ; receive the petitions; treat • i them with respe?!: and by it our friends from tho North will again bo elected, and “all’s well.”— The very entreaties that are uttered, and the strong appeals of party associates, which are made, mo convincing proofs that they are courting tho friendship of the abolitionists for their votes. 1 am neither Whig or Democrat,and can he excus ed, therefore, from compromising our rights, to se cure voles for their friends. I will speak with boldness my thoughts, and deal out blows against the foes ot constitutional right, no matter to which P urt y 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 (lie House, by reading from this anti-slavery pamph let, the scurrilous abuse they heap upon the South; 1 will not induce the angry passions of gentlemen “l oin slave-holding States, by reading the opinions here expressed ot our morals, our religion, and our intellects. They arc 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, But I will read a few extracts to show that our reliance lor safety is on ourselves. 1 read from tho annual report of the Anti-Slavery Society of Maine, thus: “ The free States possess a clear majority iq Congress. Their several objects will therefore he accomplished, whenever tho public sentiment in the free States shall demand it, and that sentiment properly represented in Congress. Wo are under solemn obligations, therefore, not only to diff use through the community correct sentiments on the subject of slavery, hut also to make all proper efforts to place in oar National Legislature men who will use the power committed to their hands iu accordance with our views.” Docs this extract, 1 ask, show that the petition ers barely wish their representatives here lo con tend for the right of petition! But does it not demonstrate that (hey carry their principles to the pills, and force aspirants to Congress lo favor or support their views! Sir, we are not to bo deceived by yielding our rights, in order lo 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, iu the con flict, would ho not merely wrong, hut tho very height of lolly,’’ Where is the man, I inquire, so lost to sense nr feeling, whose heart throbs with one solitary patriotic, emotion, and who knows the South will maintain her rights, or he buried under their ru ins, that docs not shudder for tho approaching downfall of the country ! Who does not sco that the insidious attempts to encroach one inch upon our rights, arc the promptings of that influ ence which has for its object the tearing away tho guards of our property placed by the Constitution! They only wait for strength to place men iu 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 ure arguing and granting tho right of recep tion, they arc preparing heavier blows, inflaming tho passions of tho ignorant, tho idle, and the young, to be poured forlh.likc the lava of a vol cano, lo blacken and blight tho peace and gov ernment of the country. It is not a time for the Representatives of tho South to he quiet. It is not a time for tho lover of his country from the north to palter for office, and vainly imagine “all’s well!” when tho elements of dissolution aro gathering like a frost about the heart pulse of the Republic. It is high time, if wc expect to save the Union, to rebuke the madness of such delud ed fanatics, as expect to establish religion by their crimes, and to enforce philanthropy by the sword. Sir, my heart thrilled at tho spirited remarks made by tho honorable mover of the amendment, [Gen. Thompson,] he spoke the language of tho patriot and the voice of the South; and if every Whig and every Democrat felt the same senti ments, and would toar loose from tho bonds of any party, no matter what their ties, that would dare cherish tiffs spirit ofdiscord, our institutions, civil and religious, would bo safe. These modern reformers must be taught, that the South, with all her strong attachments to the Union, would soon er see the country riven asunder by an earthquake, and her fertile plains floating on the bosom of a tempest-tossed ocean, than be forced to surrender a solitary right secured by the Constitution. 1 have heard criminations and recriminations made in party bantlings upon this floor; but I am satisfied there are abolitionists of both paities; and that party which courts them most, is by the American people most to be blamed. In proof of which I will read again : “ So far as the two groat parties of the day are concerned, we hold to no principles as abolition ists, that both do not publicly profess. The ob ject we desire to accomplish, does not interfere with any, at which cither professedly aims. Let it then lie 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 parlies will soon, ei ther from policy or necessity, present candidates for public otlicc for whom we may vote, iu 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 (br Congress, representing such a peo ple, to favor or adopt their views in a close party i contest! But, sir, these fanatics will not long be content with representatives here, who are the mere advocates of petition, and their party poli cy here must induce gentlemen not lo 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 car, 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 thrcslihold of our rights. Tiffs is the language, they say : “That we 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 wc know beforehand will refuse 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 r.o charges against either of the great parties, as to which is most committed in order lo secure tin: friendship of the abolitionists; and 1 would read a sentence more, but it might savor of party preference. [Read, read! from many voices.] With the avowal 1 have made, 1 will read: “ 'i he day, we trust, has passed, that the slave holder or the Northern apologist and defender of slavery can be elevated to tho 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 Slate—” . I [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 !”] 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 •hose who wear their livery. Without regard to party predilections myself, my purpose was to prove that this body of men is sufficiently strong to he courted; that they have resolved to carry their principles to the polls, and that seeking their influence palsies our resistance hero. And Icon less that 1 have sought in vain for a reason, un less this influence be one, why Henry Clay, the favorite of his party, justly distinguished at the bar, in the Senate, and in tho Cabinet, who lias 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 duly 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 now that would dare stand forth to strengthen the bonds of union, and to exalt and perpetuate tho institutions of his country, finds hinisell fettered by the policy of his parly, and is driven to abandon Ills purpose, or he branded as a deserter. Disappointed ambition, in its as pirations for power, grasps every instrumentality within its reach; fans the flame of faction and discord, and smiles at success, in the midst of tho 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 fice ot piety and philanthropy, which is destined at some future period lo bo the hull of legislation 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 llio vitals of the Republic. Designing politicians strengthen their alliances, by bringing to their support the misguided zeal of religion, and the maddened feelings of philanthropy. The Chris tian minister and Ills 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 tear 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 tho bowlings of the mob, and converts the temple of the living God to a busy mart for political mer chandise. The spirit engendered by this mixed and factious piety, is unfriendly to genuine reli gion, as weil us to (lie Stale. It moves and prompts the same passions, which, in other times, have corroded, adulterated, and broken Jown the church. Frail men make themselves I lie standards of zeal, piety and benevolence; pass judgment between themselves and their op ponents; roll the thunders of intolerance over the heads of those who repudiate their opinions; and in the maddened wailings of annual petitions, virtually ask Congress to give them power lo ar rest the liberty of private judgment, and substi tute in its steud their own fuullless conceptions of duty. To these misguided people permit me to say that Christianity never bus, nor never will, need the 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 the bloody standard of demonology.— History and experience should admonish every friend of the church, if she is to exert a more general and beneficial influence upon the earth, she must breathe with herown lungs, speak with her own voice, and show the energy of a pulse and a heart exclusively her own. Every inter 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 brought down a spark which set the ambition of Arabian bosoms in a blaze, might deem the sword tho only instrument to bo trusted for reforming the world. But the proph et of God deals with the souls, not with the bo dies, of men; and wars with weapons not carnal in contending with spiritual wickedness in high places. Madness and phrenzy might mingle in Moslem warfare, making the question of salva tion or damnation lie 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 their brethren, though in the midst of carnage they should claim lo be doing God’s service.— Upon the subject of slavery, Christians of every denomination, and of every 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 the same temples, and finally anticipate an entrance into the same Heaven. With these conflicting opinions, who shall determine the orthodox creed! Shall the deluded enthusiast, whose sum total of religion centres in one single act of ima ginary devotion! Shull a few parchment disci ples upon this floor, whose political power is en hanced by the creed they profess, shut themselves up in their little munition of spiritual pride—a city walled up to Heaven—and with formality unchristianize those with whom they differ! Do they outshine their opponents in solid virtues, or in amiable and heavenly dispositions! Are they more free from the common vices of life—mure pure in spirit—more devoted in friendship—or more liberal in their chanties, than those they de nounce! No, sir: the South, the slaveholding, the generous South, is the nursery for the poor ot all the States; and her friendship and liberali ty are by-words in those very mouths that would tain leach her lessons of philanthropy. I will not descant upon this much abused term, phil anthropy; I have spoken of religion; philanthro py is but its beam, radiating from its centre, God; it is but a fold ot that mighty mantle of love, with which Christianity would cover the naked ness of the world. But sir, perhaps these con ceited defenders of tile only (rue faith, have an apology for looking out from home for objects of pity and commiseration! I’erhaps they have no poor in their midst—no widow’s tears to wipe— no orphan’s cries to quell—no child of sorrows to cheer—no wretchedness to alleviate—no af flictions to heal—no nakedness to clothe, but all, all, through this mighty channel of philanthropy —from this boiling fountain of benevolence—all have been made smiling, healthful and happy.— Having done so much at home, it is not so much 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 canvass tlie claims of candidates for office, and pour their merciful curses 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. 1 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 duty to hobble the chickencock, to keep him from gal 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 are 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 Itnuvce. I wage no war against those who may believe slavery a sin; hut 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. Wo rend of one who was very thankful to his Maker that he was not os other nu n, hut especially the poor publican, and yet his • opinion of himself was not confirmed by him who know nil things. Yet I have no complaints to utter against the high opinion men entertain of themselves ; hut as a friend of the church, and as a friend t 6 the pence and happiness of the coun try, I raise rny bund and voice against enforcing any religions dogmas at the point of the bayonet, or by force of legislation. 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 lenders, and the number of able eulogists they have in the hall of Congress, all speak, with un erring longue, the nation’s destiny. The fiery 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 (ho 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 and wore, in younger life, the civic wreath, the high est honor a nation’s confidence could bestow ; I appeal to him to withhold the blow that is aimed at the life-pulse of the Republic, and not permit himsclfto he used ns the unintentional instru ment of his country’s ruin. We know his sen timents; wo have read his letters, and hoard his speeches; hut still, through his advocacy, this discussion is kept alive, a lew 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 (ho end, to he the winding-sheet of the Con stitution. No men, no body of men, could per suade me to bring into your midst an unfit sub ject fdfclegislation, calculated to destroy the har mony of your councils, to excite sectional feeling, and threaten dissolution. Georgia, in whoso borders 1 have been reared, my own home and the home of my friends,for whoso honor and inter est I would make an offering of my life, oven Georgia could not force mo, humble as I 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 ho departing from the sub ject of debate, was illustrating the same feelings I have expressed. He adverted to the contro versy of our Stale with the State of Maine, in which wo should exemplify our strict adherence to the Constitution; and that, although our Le gislature spoke by her resolutions, the humble supplicatory language of dependence, she had no representative here that would echo her voice; but that wc should rely with proud confidence on a people that has never faltered, who know their rights, and will dare maintain them. I am alar med for the Constitution and for the fate of the Republic, but feel no alarm for the honor of my State. The infatuated priest may change his mitre for a helmet, and lay aside his Bible for the torch of the incendiary, place himself at the head of an army of crusaders, as bloody as those of Languedoc, armed with all the authority Con gress can give; and when he shall have completed the work of reformation, upon which his piety is set, nothing will he seen, to look out from the landscape—he has traversed hut smoking ruins and a blood-trodden wilderness. With this prospect before us, can any man say that this Government will stand unshaken! that the alarm cry is counterfeit 1 that this fac tion is powerless, courted and caressed as it is by aspirants for power ? These deluded people, al lured by imaginary good, look to no danger— they beat up for recruits, the pulpit and thedram shop, the elite parlor and the dirty brothel—enlist their quota for the mighty work of reform. If the Constitution is to he saved—if the Union is to be preserved, there must be no giving back up on the part of their friends. The silken cord of affection, that hinds the Confederacy, is fretted and weakened by insult. We are upon the eve of a struggle, that will bury the Government, and the church of the living God, under a mountain of cinders. Let no Southern man bo deceived by the ciy of forbearance. Let no political alliance induce you to compromise your rights. Reject the petitions, and count him only true to the South, and to the Constitution, who sustains us by bis vote. Let none play false to his duty, false to the interest and honor of his State, rather than be obstacles to his associates in party. Ask me not what harm to receive and lay them on the table! It is an implied acknowledgment of the right of Jurisdiction; it is the evidence that the fire is not yet extinguished; its smouldering fumes arc an annoyance; and none can tell how soon the breath of the faction may fan it to the flame. It is like subterranean fire; the more to be dread ed, as it may burst forth by surprise. If the issue must be formed, let it be formed now; if the crisis must come, let us have it now. Let the South stand up as one man, denounced, ns we are, for the want of patriotism and religion. The soft silken banner of the Gospel, and the broad stripes and bright stars of the country, both float trium phant in a southern sky. Wc represent a gener ous and gallant people, who have never yet tram pled upon the rights of others, and will repel with indignation, and at every hazard, any unjust in terference with their own. Maryland is seven millions in debt on account of her great Cana). A direct taxation is recom mended to meet the demands on the State Trea sury.