Georgia Historic Newspapers

    SO. 1.
thi: ti *ii:n
$ JA iJS’3
WII I, be publie'n'il one.' a week, in the Town of M lleilitr.
' 1 ,’ riIREIS DOLt.AItS per annum, if paid in advnice, or
Fillß DOLLARS, a. .ho e >,l of.hc voir.
,u ... \,lverlUeinems eisi-rtrd at it: seal rates: thus.
„„t'without .» specified numb, of u.si ru.,ns, will he pi.U-
V heil until 'rdorod out anil enured aoeordntnly. Sales of
I and, by Administrators. Kx'-ul ' -.rr Uttardi.ins, are r. -
• j t ; v i aw , to be hold on the first Tuesday in the month
between ihe hours of ten in She forenoon and three in the
a moon, , u t | lP court-house in the county in which the
uronertv is situate. Notice of those sales must he given in a
Duhlte iaaette sixty days >revious to the day of sale. Sales
of neirroes must he at public auction, on the first Tuesday
of thetU'iitlh, between the list'd hours of sale, at the plaee, of
linldte sales in the county where the letters Teatamentary. of
Administration or Guardianship, may have beeimranfnl. irst
vivimr sixty days notice thereof, in one <>! the |> thlic yrntettes
«f this State, and at the door of tint court-house, where such
"sales are to be held. N'otieefor the sale of Personal Pr
Dertv must he given in like manner, orty days previous to
he our .t'*;»!<’• N.'iiooi'ih lMr.ors an 1 Urrditnr* ..fan
nuisih* puUUsho \ for X mc< that nppli-
C ation will ho matlo to !h** 1 * *rt >f OrJimrv far lo tvo !*•
sell Land. mu*t ho »uh!isho I fimr N tiro for lo;i\v
i.jsell Neirroov* mu«t ho p»ih 1 t*»i \ - r months-, betore
any nrdf* absolute irill ho n. i.|.* »horo mhy the Court.
poi:tr¥.
“With a poet’s hand.and n prophet’s fire.
He struck the wild warbling of his lyre”
.\apuSoon a t rest*
CT J. riF.RPONT.
His falchion \vnv«>d . lon* the Nile,
His host he led through Alpine snows :
OYr Moscow's towers, that blaxM the while,
Hid caste iiag unrolled, and froze !
Here sleeps he now alone ! not one.
Os all the kings whose crowns he gave,
Bend o'er fiis dust: nor or son
Has ever seen or sought his grave.
Behind the sea-girt rock the star
That led him on from crown tit crown,
Has sunk, and nations from afar.
Gazed as it faded and went down.
High is histc’nb; the ocean Hood,
Tar, fur below, by storms is curled;
And round him hea.v, while high he stood,
A stormy and unstable world.
Alone he sleeps; tho mountain clquil
That night hangs round him, and the breath
Os morning scatters, is the shroud.
That wrapt the conqueror’s cluy in death.
Pause here ! Tho far off world at last
Breathes free: the hand that shook its thr nos
And to the earth its mitre* cast,
Lies powerless beneath those atones.
Hark ! omes there from ths pyramids,
And Iro'ni .Syberian wastes ofsnow,
And Europe's hills, :i voice that bids
Tho world bo awed to mourn him ? No !
The only, the perpetual dirge
That's hejrd here, is the sea-bird's cry—
Tho mournful murmur ol the surge.
The cloud's deep voice, tin? wind’s low sigh.
The J'aUZoFicld.
Til charge isgivet—trumpet« sounding,
Urge the warriors on their way-;
Forword their fiery coursers hounding
Eager for the battle fray.
They glitter an the sun’s bright beams.
Their standards roared in pride:
They como they come, as torrent streams
■Roll o’er tho mountain's side.
They moot, they meet —foes of ages
Sons of sires who met to die
mac’ll one as the battle rages,
Hoars their blood for vengeance cry.
V ith ervos as firm, and hearts as bravo,
Sons their fathers* weapons wield ;
They follow where the banners wave,
Welcome Death, but scorn to yield.
They fall, they fall, sire* arc childless—
Fondest wives are widow’d now ;
Death with Glory’s laurel’s wreathes
Cypress round the blood-staitiM brow.
The strife ie o’er—the sun Ims -set
On hands of fallen Iwrocs ;
V ho proudly rode in martial state,
When first its beams arose.
11 IX. TOW.W hFESX’?3,
On RytuTo It t»s© In lion in Seuni?.
•Mr. President :—I could hardly expect, under
the most favourable circumstances, to oiler any
thing interesting to the Senate; much less can I
hope, admonished as i am, from indisposition and a
restlessness on ihe part of the Senators to record
their votes, that my remarks will bo acceptable.
Without further apology, I will proceed to the dis
cussion of the question under consideration. To the
original resolutions sent from die other branch of
the Legislature, a substitute has been offered, and
the motion of the honorable Senator from Monroe,
is to receive that substitute in lien of tho original
Resolutions. Gentlemen who have preceded me
itithis argument, have admitted with much candor,
that the question under discussion involves princi
ples °f deep interest to the people of Georgia. .None
w,can feel more deeply th ur myself, tho impor
tance ot the present question. Nona Sir, can at
tach more importance to a wise dcteiminntion by
the Senate, upon the measures upon your table than
myself: l may be permitted to remark, that circum
stances have rendered it no longer practicable for
this legislature to remain inactive, however unwil
hag, ordinary gentlemen may be to assume the deep
responsibility imposed by an action upon measures |
fl ia character like those under consideration, yet the
crisis has arrived when rcsponsibilty, howevor-great,
should loose its terror, and every gentleman whetli-
? r a public functionary or private individual, should
look to the preservation of his country, and with a
rankness worthy ti e occasion, proclaim his senti
ments.
Mr. President—Before I proceed to review the
pr°' isions of the original resolutions introduced in
. •°| Representatives by Mr. R\*m. I trust 1 may be
indulged briefly to reply to some remarks of an ex
traordinary character, falling from the Honorable
‘ nator from Morgan. From the observations ot
at gentleman, to iiim was assigned the delicate
as , not only of denouncing the resolutions, hut de
ounemgthe pretended spurious manner in which the
•solutions found their way in the other branch of
l - '<*gislature. I will not, for a moment, attempt
Hi STATE* H RIGHT ARVGC'ATE.
l»l?I\ri;i> AM> I>| lil.lsni;]) I*Y .11 Vn.YADI Kit J. fiLADR, AT TIIUGK BODLAKN VKK AA\| tl.
' M r. vl-vkr nssr.viN <.r any tiii»3 ~Tu.ru iikinu oim r.nnii. ws shall sail i snsit mkk ai>h*ics».”— lloitACt.
to do tree, from the gentleman’s known ninth v in pe
netrating the mysteries of the past—l will nbtdenv
ih it la- knows less ol the true author ufi those reso
lutions than the individual who penned them,'l will
Sir. tortile sake ol this argument, suppose that the
honorable Senator himself was the author of these
r 'so.utions.and that by some strange tatn!i;\, inei
de t to o .r nature, he may have lost all relish for
Ins own, would it then have been criminal for Mr.
ivv ani to have adopted and ushered into existence
ii meiplos that might possibly through some untime
.l| i oi the gentleman, been doonied'to porpetu
al night. 1 hope not,Sir, the resolution, by whom
soever penned, i, an immaterial consideration, and
wnether this origin is to be traced to the pen of Air.
Iv_\ an, or tne most obscure, or exalted personage in
our State, are alike unimportant considerations for
the Senate.
It is the principles contained in the resolutions,
and not the author that is bclotv this Senate, and 1
siiaii now proceed to show that the strictures on
tne original resolutions, are notonlv unnn rile l hut
the result of malignant party spleen, in themselves
they embody the only plan that is sale for the people
o.the South, and especially tin- citizens of this Slate.
Mr. President—what is proposed by .Mr. Ryans
resolutions—what doctrine is embodied in them
that conflicts with the principles ol the government,
the interest ot the people, or the constitutional privi
leges ot this legislature— none has been pointed out,
none then can exist. But sir, we have been told by
•lie honorable .senators from Monroe, Morgan,
Libert and Putnam, that these resolutions reflect I
upon the majority of the late Convention hold in
tl is place. That is true sir I will not affect to
nisunderstand the opposition: these resolutions do
reflect upon that Convention. They do attach a
character to the proceedings of a majority of. that
Convention Irom which gentlemen would he happy
to extricate their friends; and sir, before 1 leave the
subject, 1 promise to shew to the satisfaction ot
every candid min I, grave and important as this
charge may he, it is nevertheless merited. The
next objection urged to the resolutions, is, that they
propose to leave to the people of Georgia, on the
first Monday m January next, the right of expres
sing by their votes, whether they desire a Southern
Convention or not, and thirdly they di uouuce .Nul
lification, and lastly the resolutions propose a plan
by which that Convention may he organized, if tho
people of Georgia should desire it.—ln answer to
the tirst objection to the resolutions, it becomes ne
ecssary to shew the ruin character of the late
Convention, held in this place, in order to justify
tho charge made in these resolutions upon the Con
vention—Sir, is it not known that shortly after the
adjournment ot the late Congress, that a gentleman
somewhat distinguished in this state, on his return
from Washington City, in a sister state, and at a
public dinner given him, as a distinguished .evidence
of their approbation of his course on the tarifl
quos.ton, did publicly advocate tho doctrine of Nul
lification as the rightful remedy in relieving the
South from her oppressive taxation—and, sir, was
not this distinguished individual, aided by the rest
less ambition of a disappointed man, who until of
late had the confidence of the Executive of the U.
States, known to have assembled, and by their in
lluenco to have passed certain resolutions in Ath
ens hiv! whjgh resolutions, i>y the combined influ
ence of these gentlemen and others of less distinc
tion, was regarded as tho authority for the organiza
tion of a State Convention—And, sir, allow mo to
ask the plain question, was not the late Convention
convoked under the authority of the Athens reso
lutions, which contains this most remarkable provi
sions, “That wo as free citizens of tho State ofGcor
gin, will no longer kvilmit to a system <>f legisla
tion, which is arbitrary, unequal, unconstitutional,
and therefore unjust; that it be recommended to
our fellow citizens in the several counties, to elect
deleo.ytes to a State Convention, to assemble at
Millodgevilla <ai the second Monday in November
next and to invest them with mu. towers in hk
ii.vu’of th? good people of Georgia to maintain,
preserve and defend the iuohts and privileges
of the. free citizens of this state —This, sir, is
the tirst resolution adopted by any portion of the
people of Georgia in a runuc rt.At e and einue
manner, so fur as I know and believe, calling upon
the people of Georgia and recommending to that
people to r.i. ei delegates to a State < Vnivenlion.
Was not this call. Sir, responded to, and what was
the character of the response,—Sir, is it not known
to you that public meetings were held in most of tho
counties of this slat", for the purpose of taking in
to consideration the very recommendation contain
ed in the Athens resolution—Whether they wonl I
or would not not elect Delegates to the Convention
contemplated under the recommendation of said re
solutions.
Sir, what was the result of tho variot i County
meetings held in pursuance of the Athens resolu
tions—is there an honorable Senator within this
Hall that will affect ignorance as to the determina
tion of the various county meetings in relercnco to
this subject—is it not known to every man in Geor
gia, that in many counties the people did in those!
primary meetings utterly refuse to send delegates.'
ami will it be contended on this floor, or by any i
respectable man in Georgia, that there v.nn not;
members, who rlaimod a scat, in the late Conven
tion. and who did actually enjoy that seat Iromcoun
ties, Sir, where a majority had in the most public
and solemn manner declined electing delegates. A
jrain Air. President, permit me,sir, to ask of gentle
men who ('enounce tho course of the minority
and advocate the proceedings of the majority
of the Convention, is it not notorious, is it not
known to them, that Delegates enjoyed the privi
lege of a seat in that Convention, when nothing like
an election in the counties had taken place which
tliev were representing —and will any man deny
I the’fact that many counties even under all th*
! modes reported to for enlisting fastiifi l uecrfits
j under the spurious character of Delegates—still on
the second Monday in November (llntt eventful day)
j vet remained unrepresented —with facts, Sir. such a
j j |, a vo detailed, brought home to tho conscience of
every Delegate the grave—the solemn - the ns
MII.I.HDGKVII.LK. GKOUGIA. JAM «L\ 1.1, IfGI.
ponsihlo question, naturally arises, what was
the course the members of the Couven
tion should have pursued—Sir, my life in it. my
judgment, nil that is snored to me as a man upon
s ueh an issi o \• r President,! need not sav to you
what was the course dictated hy patriotism and du
ty. The plan was suggested--* resolution was of
fered hy Mr. Forsyth proposing n scrutiny into the
right of each Delegat to Ids seat in the Convention
—tins proposition, so reasonable, so just, and indis*
pensible under all the circumstances, was reserved
tor oMe ot the most talented en ol the age, and
the brightest of my native Suite, to submit to an as
sembly, professedly emanating immediately from
the free Ov sovereign will ot the poo phi, and vet Sir
strange and unreasonable ns it may seem to bo, it
was met with the most deliberate opposition, an op
position that was as unnatural as it was unkind
an opposition springing from a quarter, and main
tained by doctrines, alike destructive to everv prin
ciple of a representative government—need I tell!
you Sir, or is the story yet familiar that this rvsolu 1
t on having for its object, a projei t that your cool
judgment must approve, was resisti and for days, un
til finally, hy consent and co-operatiwn it \rassoa
mended as to defeat its primary object, hy that ve
r v ma jority whose right to seats in that Convention
they damn >t invenigate—then, Sir, and not until
then, did the sccedcrs withdraw. It was not Sir, as
long ns a hope could be entertained that the projec
tors ot this Convention had for their object the re
lief of the people ofGcorgin, from this onerous t.n
rifl —that this last solemn act, nil not that they re
gretted, an net tiiui they endeavored t" svoid liv
every me ins consistent with duty, hut an n«t, which
when it bee turn the last resort, was tho hrighest of
their lives, was preserved.
And. Sir, it is for this that the Sccedcrs are to he
proscribed—Sir.it would be a happy proscription—
for what are they to be donouncodf because Sir. they
refused to act in the name and in behalf of the peo
ple, until they were satisfied that cadi Delegate
had been elected, or in some shape authorized by
his own constituents io exercise the right of spend
ing in their name. But Sir, there is another view
of the extraordinary pretensions of the late Conven
tion that is worthy of the deepest reflection.—
i'ho Athens resolution under which the Conven
tion was organized, required that the people should
elect Delegate!*, not to smuggle in Delegates—and
yet the same Convention did in substance refuse to
ascertain by any competent plan whether the Del
egates wore elected, drafted, or come by chance.
Sir, such palpable departures from the plan propos
ed by the originators is of itself enough to awaken in
the bosom of every man, feelings of mistrust. Inde
pendent to these considerations,Sir, the Convention
according to tho Athens resolution, was to be inves
ted with full powers in behalf of the good people of
Georgia,to man lain, preserve & defend the rights
and privileges of the cilitizens of this State. I know
that the ,‘Wends of the Convention disclaim nay in
tention on their part to act otherwise than advisato
ry that it was a mere meeting of gentlemen to
••maintain, preserve and defend ihe rights and prlvi j
leges" ot tho people ofGcorgin (as was happily re
marked) by. talking—will tiio people !>•• thus gulled
when they arc inform?-!, tll-it till.; talking and advi
'“tcry Convention have thought proper to perpetu
ate their o\Vn existence by an adjournment to July
next as winch time they again mi el, 1 presume- to
talk over the success of the registering committees
—Sir, is it not monstrous-,, that in afn e government,
gentlemen should meet, declare themselves the Del
egates of tlm people, many of w hom arc known not
to have been elected by a majority of their constitu
ents, hold a ft invention, pass a long string of lleso.
lotions, and übovo all perpetuate their own exis
tence. is an outrage ot this character to he submit
ted to. Oli, yes Sir, this conduct on the part of
the Convention has not only found odvdeates in this
Senate, but able advocates. Gentlemen threw
themselves in tho breach, and not only vindicate
principles and conduct on the part of Conven
tion, but wage an indiscriminate war upon the jn in
eiplos ot those who approve of tho conduct ol the
minority. The Senator from Morgan has in the
most unqualified manner inveighed against the mo
tives of the Seccd-; s (here Air, Nt shit explained
that it was their principles not their motives that lie
condemned.) Sir, the honorable. Senator shall in
all charity enjoy the full benefit of hi a explanation, j
It is the riti.NCii’LEs of the Seceueils that the Inn-!
orable Senator object; to,—.which of their princi-!
pics, Sir—The one that induced them to retire from 1
a body that was surreputi inly c instituted with the
very view of authoratativoly announcing the doc
trine.of nullification. CMi, no Sir, th i gentleman'
tells isheis no nullificr ! Was it Sir the principle
that induced them to propose a scrutiny into the
rights of each delegate to his seat—who pirsentod
himself, and claimed the exalted privilege of speak
ingin the name, and in behalf of tho free people of;
this state —it' so, then Sir, have I reason to rejoice,!
that the honort.tile Senator and mys'll’is opposed
—or Sir whs it the fhincum.r that induced, the mi
nority in the Convention sooner than submit to the
outrageous usurpation on the part of the pretend
ed majority, to retire from n deliberative body pre
tendingly emanating from tl e public will—whose
first act v. as a palpable contradiction of th ir pro
fessions. Believe me Sir, whatever alternative may
he adopted by the gentleman, the glory that may he
awarded him for his devotion whether to mpii or
measures, will not be envied by me. But says the
honorable Senator the minority has assumed a right
which they have denied to the majority—and char
ges them with having convicted tluricclves of
the most palpable inconsistency in their manifesto
to the public. I must bog pardon of the gentleman
for contesting the filet, and call on him for the evi
dence. No Sir, let me assure the h morahle Sena
tor w hen he attempts to fix th ; charge of inconsis
tency upoi* the s.redi rs, that he mistakes their con
dition for his own, and that it is the shadow of his
own situation that is at play with his imagination
and misleads his judgment. Having examined the
character of the late Convention, only so far as was
necessary to show, that the sccedcrs not only stand
i excused, but justified, by every man that entertains
tii«' *!i rlit' .-l veneration lor the great principles ujh
on which our tjiMS institutions is bnsoti—l might here
•‘oiitoiit mysi'lt- but lor the course that this debate
has l iken, 1 should be recreant to myself and my
constituents were Ito stop here. Tins same con
vention passed a resolution containing the doctrine
ot nullification, and in orderto fasten down this dan*
!'ero.,s doctrine upon the pood people of Georgia,
organi/cd n Central t’onnnittoo with power of tip
pointing committers in ettclt county, whose duty it
should I e to oj n a re-ijtry or htilloi box, to take
d"\\ti the names of those w hoapprovod of the course
ol st,id Convention ; was there ever a proposition
I emanating from a body processing to have the pub
lic good in view, so insulting to the feelings of a
It cental). V\ hy should there he a registry to re
eord names ' was such a project ever desired even
in the days of mu- highest party excitement. No
lyr, tin' ingenuity ot all party arrangement hereto*
lore known in our .State, has fallen far short of this
matchless invention. Do you not perceive Sir that
the grossest fraud upon the public, will would be
practised—would it not he the honorable
olj-ct of those recruiting committees, to of
fer tin' bounty to the young and the old, the
thoughtless, the native Georgian, and the adopted
Georgian, and sir, in the event of a doubtful result,
whu will pretend to say that the communion of fecl
ing between our recruiting committees and the
citizens of our sister stale Carolina, might not
swell the register w ith hundreds and thousands from
the I'.nst side of the Savannah ilivrr. These, sir
are tht' plans proposed hy that patriotic Convention,
tor the purpose of accomplishing a grand concert of
action, between this State and South Carolina.—
I hose are some of the insidious devices of arch
politicians to entrap a generous, and patriotic peo
ple under pretence of relieving them from oppres
sions, And y<*t Sir, when once their destiny is uni
ted with the principles contained in the Resolutions
passed hy the Convention, who will pretend to di
vine what will he the next step. Sir, I nerd not
say more in order to expose the danger likely to
arise from the course recommended by the majori
ty of the < ’onvention. I tri st that I have mfiHcmN
commented upon tiro m \tculkm assemblage, not
only to justify the course ot the Sin edehs, luit to
justify this Senate in retaining so much of Mr. Ry
an's Resolutions, as relates to this Convention, And
however painful it may ho for this Senate to 'cen
sure any j ortion of the people oT Georgia, it is nev
ertheless a duty they owe themselves and their con
stituents to speak with precision and candour upon
ali measur- 1 that, is likely to affect the peace, the
harmony and ttabilitv of onr Govern .lent. Sir, it
is not the Intention of'this Senate, nor dots the Res
olutions that I advocate reflect upon (lie good peo
ple of this State who were in fact, or pretendingly
represented in this Convention, but Sir, it is the
Delegates themselves that merited the reproof, and
it is them alone that IhavccndcavOured to show, have
received it. A fi.-w more remarks on.l I shall I ~vc
thisbrnnehof the subject, with the full conviction
that I have mantained the propriety, the justness
and absolute necessity of the passage of the li -st
proposition in the resolutions. It is this Sir, t’.at
there were honorable and patriotic gentlemen who
from a conviction of duty remained in Convention,
but resisted the views oi the majority. Against such
gentlemen ! have nothing to urge, their source was
the result of an honest conviction of duty, and far be
it from mo to impute to them a motive unworthy
their station, and characters. Though I may have
rejoiced ot their eo-oncration with the Sceeders,
(itill conscience, must be respected and though they
fought against fearful pdds, yet much is due them
for tlm firmness with which they mantained the coa
fi;i*t. The next •proposition in Mr. Ryan’s Resolu
tions is “That if a Southern Convention is desira
ble that the people so express themselves on the Ist
Monday in Jan. next.” Now Sir may I ask you or
the mo t violent of the opposition what objection can
he urged to this plain reference of the question to
the people. Is it because the people arc incapable
of judging for them selves. Is it because Gentlemen
have reason to apprehend that by this mode of ns
• rtitining the public will, they may be found in the
minority. Relieve me Sir, the people are virtuous,
patriotic,and intelligent,ami therefore competent to
the di-charge of any duty. They think, and think
correctly, when left alone and not distracted hy mis
representation. Sir, upon this question, the people,
the great body of the pt:ori,i:, and they alone, are j
competent to say whether a .Southern Convention j
should be culled or not; and let me n.-tk what place,
and wint plan'■ ei claim a preference of the one
proposed in the Resolutions; I need not waste the
time ol the Senate, in support of a proposition that
cu ries the most irresistible conviction to the mind
of all. Sir, it is not in my power to imagine an ob
jection t > tlii; feature in Mr. Ryans Resolutions, un
less it be found in the fact that it is the very re-!
ver.e of the inode adopted hy the Convention.—
The next objection urged against the Resolutions is
h-MUse they reflect on South Carolina. And how
Sir—the last Resolution denounces the doctrine es
nullification—admitted. But, Gentlemen tell us
they are not n illifiers. Why then, their concern on
this matter,'why should they then show so much
s mobility, and demand of us silence on the subject
of nullification. The truth is Sir, that it is impossi
ble for the friends of Mr. Ryan’s Resolutions to ac
commodate themselves to the fastidious taste of the
opp osition. If Sir, hy chance, nullification is men
tioned, Gentlemen startle as if some horrid monster
was about to be exposed, and if the slightest refer
ence is made to South Carolina, we arc admonished
that we are indeeorot;;; the noble, generous and ex
alted feelings of liberality is invoked, in behalf of
brave, patriotic and injured South Carolina. We
are told of our (-oloaial bondage, the free, the bloody,
hut glorious conflict of our gallant forefathers, all
this is arrayed before us, for the purpose of exciting
our sympathy, and misleading our judgement. Arc
gentlemen serious when they advert to the events
ofoar revolutionary struggle, cither for facts, or
princi,'-8 by which Carolina or those who think
with (k.rolina i;i Georgia, yes Sir, and in this Senate
100, are to stand justified before the American
No, Air. it i- 1 a>
•j hoover plausible, however ingenious, or eloquent
they may be in painting the events of our Ke’ole
lionary struggle, to point to the analogy that csfW
ted bet ween the oppression imposed hv tlic moth*
Jer country upon these colonies and the opp cssion
that the Southern Slates now endure from the reve
i tine svstem t * the Federal Government. Aecus
tomed. ns I have been to revere the laws of mV
| country, to vindicate the term of Government’
under which 1 live, to ward oft' die blow of
the assassin from whatever c,carter directed.
1 shall not on this occasion feel myself trammeled
down by arbitrary rules ol decorum, created by
gentlemen to answer particular views—hut 1 shail
on this, as on all other questions, speak with a free
dom becoming the occasion* But, Mr. President,
I need not travel beyond the borders of mv native
state to find an enemy to contend against--! need
not travel beyond the walls of this hall to combat a
doctrine, and a state of feeling that if not chocked
in its root, is firmly fixed in our soil, must result in
die overthrow of a system of government that has
er I mamled the universal admiration of the nhitan
i ihropist, the patriot and lover of civil and religious
liberty through the. inhabitable world. Sir, what
means this opposition to the resolution tlint denounces
the doctrine of nullification, is it because of the
generous sympathy, which we ns men, and southern
men and as Georgians should foci for a sister state
if so, the motive for the opposition, may find an elo
quent apologist in every true southerner. Hut, sir,
why speak of sympathy—why exhort us to be’
generous—has not the day passed for those tender
m..ti., n -, do you not ve S!r , that die very union of
these states, that all that is worth claiming, bv an
American citizen, is likely to be lost hv the lashness
ofnmbitious men.—And yet sir, w e arc required to
fold our arms, and seal our lips for fear of gjviii"
offence. Let me tell you Mr. President, this is not
Hie time for silence, South Carolina should be toll
that hot fi lends in this slate have deceived her 5 un*
j fortunate, hopeless state, who of right was destined
■to a proud and exhnltod stand in this confederacy
how shamefully you have been misled by your
< I corgi a adherents ; men who have had the cunning
| (<) urge you on, to promise you much, hut when the
requisition h made, offer you their prayres in pri
vate, and slu ink from the very name that decorates
your principles—sir, let it be my province to pursue
a different course and let time ' determine between
us. Before I proceed fuitlicr in the discussion, I
trust that < may he indulged in a compliment to the
honorable Senatorfrom the countv of Morgan, whoso
duty in the argument dial ho has delivered, seems
to me to have been of a delicate character, I know
not to what port he was originally bound, hut surely
sir, in his cruise lie touched at every point from nui
lificalion to submission; hut sir, his manner was so
gentle, his pathos so full of melody during the first
part of his voyage, and marked with such dtfsol?.-
tion in the balance, that I must say of him, that lie is
oiuytfthe tnos' eon.-ilinthitf oncmiuu that nullification
lias ever found in this state.
Mr. President, the gentleman from Monroe has
delivered an elaborate argument on the relative
j rights of the States, and the General Government.
If Sir I was so fortunate as to understand the gen
tleman, 1 am frank to acknowledge that in much
that he said, I readily concurred—l do not purpose
jat this time an examination into the rights of the
States, only so far a.; made nectssary by the obser
vations of th ' gentlemen who have preceded me. I
It is conceded by all that the rights of the f, and :nil
government are derivative, and that that g< rsm
: incut ran only rightfully exercise those aftribi te< of
■ sovereignty, >vhicli h.\vo been yielded on the part
! of the States, and embodied in a* written form cfgo
vernment known as the Constitiuon. or declaration
ofpowers which may he lawfully exercised on the
part of the General Government over the people of
j the United States. Whatever attributes of sovc
| rcipnty not contained in the constitution of the f< d*
' era! government t mist of necessity remain in the
1 Stales. The obvious inquiry then is, w hat’are the
j powers of the federal government—w here arc they
to he found—the answer is plain. They are to he
found in the Constitution of the United States ex
pressly set forth, leavingnothingfo construction with
the exception of a single principle, which front ne
cessity attaches to all fundamental laws, and there
fore becomes a part'd*the law itself. I mean Sir,
that when a power is expressly given to the Gen
eral Government under the constitution to do u
specific act, that the means necessary to the accom
plishment of the object necessarily attaches. And
Sir when 1 am asked what arc the powers of the
Slates,! refer at oneo to the federal constitution,
where I find that every attribute of sovereignty
which ot right could belong to the States anterior
to the formation ot the present constitution, and
which have not been yielded, is remitted to the
States. I would take this occasion to remark Sir,
that 1 have ever enteigifiled the doctrine, that a
-strict eonstruetion of our constitution eijufd alone
preserve the harmonious action oft.be General and
State Governments, that whenever a departure is
attempted either by ihc General er State Govern
ments from the (lowers vested on the one hand or re
tair.c.l on the other,that such a measure must of neces
sity. unless compromised, be settled by force. Nor
do 1 believe Sir, that •it is likely that our govern
ment can become oppressive—it rests Sir upon the
virtue of the people. It is founded upon their affec
tion. \\ hen an infraction of the constitution has
in the opinion ol any State been committed by an
usurpation of power, by either the Congress, the
Executive, or judicial departments of the General
Government—it is ain itter of grave import to that
State not only to consider weli the grounds of her
objection—but so to deport herself »3 not only to
command die respect of the dispassionate of her own
State-, and of her sister States, but the friends of
good order and civil liberty throughout the world.
In regard to the question now before us, that has
oftener than once occurred to me, that the fatal error
of viewing the Federal government as a compact
between sovereign and indc(*endent States, each
retaining its independent and sovereign character.
Ins led to much of the unhappy difference that now
(COXCICDED ON FOI RTII p\r.r.)
vor.. 1.