Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-06-18

Tho question was at length obtained upon the bill,
and ii was passed BY the following vote
ysosMcsrs Archer Barrow Bates l,ayard Bcrren, coae
Clay Ky Clayton pSnn Evans, Gaa s,. T
nrion, Kerr, Mansnm Merrsk Miller M"erad rn s au
;ramad.r, White Wondhridee-a9
%ans-Nrssrs Alien, BENTON, Calhoun, Clay Of Aa Fulton
Surgeon, Tapran, Walker, Williams Woodbury. ""s'h
And then the Senate adjourned.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,,
Thursday, June 10, ISL
ABOLITION PETITIONS.
The House resumed the consideration Of the motion
heretofore submitted by Mr. ngersoll, to reconsider
the vote by which the House had decided IN favor Of
emitting the 2lst rule Of the last Congress
Mr.. lNGERSOLL resumed his remarks, commenced
Yesterday BY reference TO the course OF Mr. ADAMS
on the subject of abolition petitions. The treaty
making power, under our Constitution, was competent
in certain contingency, as was argued oy the gen
,lemen from Massachusetts, (or was rather to be de-
| duced from his argumentD to remove ten or Twelve
States from this Union This the most extraor
binary doctrine announced by the honorable and most
experienced member from Massachusetts, (Alr. Adams
Il vas n doctrine entirely transcendlng all the po
c,l distractions Of the day. and notification among
the rest lie deprecated the habit which, he SAID
We had lately acquired, Of talking in the most light
and triing manner about an instruction OF The
slaves of the South II II not an event involving
The most horrid and dreadful consequences. We spoke
of an event of this character with the greatest COM
nosure as one not TO be dreaded, and adverted 10
without horror He must say that he had listened to
the honorable gentleman from Massachusetts,, on this
point not without feelings of the utmost horror, and
with his blood running cold. What, he asked, was
servile war: Nobody knew better than the gentleman
from Massachusetts who would recoect the fatal and
disastrous consequences Of the ten scrve wars that
were waged in the Roman Empire. Notwithstanding
all that had fallen from the gentleman IN reference to
The event Of serve war III the Southern portion OF
this Union, and whatever might be his constitutional
ideas and scruples in relation TO IT. he (alr ngersol
would venture say that he would lay them all aside
when tho time came, and be ready TO march with
Northern army 10 the aid and assistance of his South
ern brethren And suffer him (Mr. lngersoll) to say
that he would be glad to tender his services upon such
an expedition corporal or private. (Laugh-
ter3 There Mr.. |. read an extract from Saust in
ference to the servile wars of Rome This was bit a
feeble description Of the serve wars where the slaves
were of the same color as their masters MIR went
on to notice remarks OF Mr. Adams in allusion
to MIR. Van Buren, as the Northern man with Southern
principles and also 10 speak OF the question OF slavery
in connection with the annexation Of Texas, when
The SPEAKER reminded the gentleman that he was
taking very wide range and wandering from the i'm
mediate subject before the House.
Mr.. INGERSOLL said that, with ali due Difference
the opinion of the Chair he regarded The course Of
argument he pursuing necessary 10 show the ci
feet of interfering with the question Of the abolition OF
slavery.
Mr.. ADAMS entreated that the gentleman from
Pennsylvania might not be arrested in his speech.
Mr. INGERSOLL said he claimed The dnor y
matt, : OF privilege but OF right.
The SPEAKER then said that the question OF the
annexation of Texas not in order at this time
The gentleman, however, was al liberty 10 proceed with
his remarks III order.
Mr. lNGERSOLL continued by saying that he
would proceed to ask what American abolition, lie
did not know nor had he ever been able TO ascertain.
He understood from the gentleman from MHssachu-
sets that he dsclamed The title altogether The gen.
tleman had said that in The District Of Columbia
the time had not yet come, as he (Mr. understood
him, for the abolition of slavery. What then, was II
that gentlemen who felt strongly thus question
deslred' (And he directed his argument To the gen
teman from Vermont particularly, and others, and
wished them TO explain what they really meant For
he declared that he had never been able 10 discover
what it The moment the question was propound
ed 10 gentlemen who thought as they dad, one said
that Abolition was thing, md another that i,
was another thing. None Of them knew exactly wha
it was. He begged leave to read petition which bad
been sent TO ms by the Anti Slavery Society Of
the city and county of Philadelphia.
| Here Mr. ]. read the same which prayed for such
4 an alteration Of the Constitution Of the L. States a,
would restore to liberty those OF our fellow being:
now in slavery.
! Now, this the only practical abolition he knew
Of The Abotonists, II appeared to him, consisted
of three classes There the class enthusiastic
for whom he entertained the most sincere respect The
second class what he deemed 10 be the ratlona
but impracticabe Abolitionsta such lie supposed
had sent him the petition which he had Just read AnC
the third class those who made Of the tern
Abolitionsts for political purposes-to elect Mr.. a. OIL
| Mr. b., or any body else, 10 Congress- othe
public position He would endeavor 10 present the
matter rational point Of view. The first class
TO be treated with moderation and allowed to ride the
hobbies, for Inc believed many Of them were sincere
The second be controlled and the third to be
watched and guarded against And, with regard I,
what had been said az to servIle war, and the sepa
ration of ten or twelve Southern States from this
Union, he could never give his assent TO the adoption
of any such of policy would lead 10 that result
Indeed, it would be decidedly unwse and wrong Tia
thought that whether there servle war not
il would be greater misfortune for 10 separate from
them than for them to separate from us With regar,
TO the partzan Abolition agtators, he had hesita
ton in saying their treason was Of the very highes
grade.
Here Mr. l. read some passages from "Burkes Re
Elections the French Revolution, in order to show
cable to ha, is going on in the L. S in reference /,
Aboonism.
The gentleman from Georgia said, the other day tia
there less than 300 societies for this propa
gandism lie, (Nlr ~ however, nigh, say thai there
not less than 1000 of these societies lie would
ask chi bono? He would inquire Of the gentleman
from Massachusetts, Mr. Adams,) and the gentleman
from Vermont, who said he intended 10 preserve hs
| eqnanimty and temper on this question: what it was
they asked for, Was it merely that gentlemen should
stand up in this Hail. and that all Southern men are
|
the Almighty had set his seal of reprobaton OH slavery
and yet this had been repeated again and ugan here
There was no question, there doubt on the mind
OF any gentleman-every body conceded il, and the
gentleman from Massachusetts among the rest-,ha,
we have right 10 interfere with slavery in the
Southern States, whatever we might do in the District
Of Columbia.
Then, in the name of God, what did gentlemen
want The slave trade abroad was, by the Consti-
tuition of the IT, s., put an end TO- There were ma.
ny members of this House who were not aware that j,
had been decided by the opinions of three ourths OF
the Supreme Court that Congress docs not possess
the power to interfere with the slave trade among
the States. II was question with which Federal
authority had nothing to do. With respect 10 the
number Of slaves in the District of Columbia he had
been given TO understand that according the last CEN
sus it had been reduced at least S3 per cent from the
previous census Cui bono9 For what, he asked was
the Of interfering in this matter 1t appeared,
both BY the Message of the present Executive and that
of his predecessor that the foreign slave trade