The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-03-14

| soon be strong enough TO cope with him and &c,
him down. | really did not expect such an exhi-
bliion Of Virginia chivalry. Do your bullies IN
Virginia wait all their adversares get old and fee
BILE, and then fall aboard Of them This Ia a "mas-
terly inactivity" indeed Wait ill John Bull is
old and decrepid, and then you can get him on hi.
back, and gouge him at pleasure This Is Vir-
sinia Rivalry This, then, is "masterly nactv-
fym
| But the gentleman explained himself He gave
us graphic sketch Of the American eagle, and
held him up example for our imitation, in OIL
course about Oregon. And what was this imperia
bird after alp A foolish fowl Gfit was eagle, !
must have been very young one,) that took hii
seat a tall rock at Harper's Ferry, because b,
was afraid OF a cloud that afterwards passed by
without drop Of rain. A laugh II this is th,
genteman's "masteriy inactivity" will have non'
Of il. The gentleman the other day said he Wa,
speaking without his glasses, and could not discern
| the gentleman from Ohio, on the other side of tn,
hall. would respectfully ask Of him whether he
was without his glasses when he saw that coward
ly bird ILuughter.l This Harper's Ferry eagle
OF his has been sitting that rock with his wings
folded in mastery inactivity" for nearly thirty
years. but would say to him, let US give this no
ice-let break the letters that have long par
alyZed every movement Of this noble bird, and then
unencumbered he spread his jestic pinions 70
| every breath Of heaven-his fight will be upward
the eye ofday, until his glorious form shall be lost
| in the dazzling empyrean.
We are told that there will be war. Perhaps you
may be able TO convince that there will be war;
but this should not deter us from asserting our
rights. The gentleman says we will get whipped in
the fight, and asks, What. do you not fear | do
fear but not the British lion-his paw has no ter
rors for me- fear TO refuse 10 speak lest should
offer insult TO the thousands of freemen who at the
ballot-box, said TO me- Go and give this notice to
Great Britain. Oregon is ours and il war grows
out Of II, we are ready for the contest" For my
self, | have no fears Of the conflict. True, il
has not been my lot TO mIrg in the strife Of actual
war, but have been familiar, since childhood with
the recital of the horrors Of Indian aTociesof the
terrific war-hoop; and have also witnessed the eE
feet Of the death-dealing rife Of the West. But
do fear II we do not give this notice, and follow II
up by additional measures, England, by our tardi-
ness will get possession Of fair and fertile Oregon.
Fear No; we were but IN our infancy as a nation
when we had but three millions Of people-and we
caught the British lion by his shaggy beard, and
made the DEVELOPS fall from his name thicker than
a summer shower. And are we 10 fear him now,
when have twenty millions, and means Of offence
and defence in proportion? What did we do in
| 1912 We repeated the rough embrace Of '76, and
sent him bowling TO his den. And now, for one,
say, If he will fight ia again, sooner than surrender
the prey he has got his claws upon, let the contest
come.
But It has been said here that Kentucky and
Tennessee far in the Interior and that even the
sound of the battle will not reach us. True, our
States are not on the frontier; but ask, if in the
hour Of peril and conflict their hardy sons have not
been found wherever danger pressed their country
arms Were they not at New Orleans and upon
what battlefield on our northern frontier do not
their bones whiten In the sun They were ever
ready for the warke strife, and never more than
at the present moment, should their country de-
mand their services. Fear No, before they would
,h,,,t hat han nd
which seeks to bow the entire globe to her sceptre,
they will cheerfully hazard all the dangers Of the
fight But we told we have no navy, no army,
no cannon, no muskets, no munitions, no gen.
erals. We have generals in Tennessee; and it we
had none, by the grace Of God, we would raise
Gen. Jacksons cooked hat upon a hickory pole, "
with the cpauletes he wore at New Orleans, and
Its effect would be moro magical than the standard
| Of the prophet OF Mecca. Fifty thousand brave
Tennesseeans would rally at the sight, and arm
liant gentleman from Alabama, [Gcn. Mcconnell, j
and the valiant gentleman from Missouri, [Mr.
SrMs,l would soon be upon the muster ground,
struggling for the pole. Much aughter.l
had much more to say, but perceive my time
which rejoice: | have seen throughout this entire
debate that there is fixed determination all sides
Of this committee not to make this party ques-
ton. 1t is truly national question. l cannot and
| will not, consent that 1t should be made party
u
al question, involving the rights, the interest," and
the honor Of the nation. True, have heard this
stouy denied, and il has been gravely asked, how
is our honor implicated Where have the British ever
insulted flag But are gentlemen not aware that
a nation may be insulted without having its flag
trampled upon' would say there is a question in
which our honor as a nation was compromised, and
it is burning, "murky" shame, that our govern
ment has rested tamely so long under it. alIude
to the burning Of the Caroline when an American
vessel was seized American soil, set fire. cast
off into the stream and prcciptaed over the Falls OF
Niagara, with American citizens enveloped in the
flames of the doomed vessel. This a in
which the national honor was deeply involved, and
which has never been atoned for. Did time per-
nit, | could point to other instances.
l am thoroughly convinced that the time must soon
arrive when a contest between US and the British
government will become inevitable. She has long
beheld with aundiced eyes the rapid strides Of our
glorious republic to strength and greatness. We
are her rival in the contest for dominion on the
oceans we are her rival in arts, civilization, and let.
ters and more than all, we are the representative
and champion of free government while she is the
ally of the WORKOUT despotisms Of the Old World
| She never will rest until she makes mighty effort
| to PROSTATE this republic and arrest its onward
! march to greatness, The mighty contest between
liberty and despotsm must soon be fought; and
| knowing this, l am for preparing our country Tor
| the conflict.
Ii is said we have no arms. But the official re-
turns show that there more than 100000 in the
country. and in Tennessee every boy has his own
rife by the time he is sixteen. Yes, but we have
no cannon. But gentleman from Pennsylvania
Mr TuoMrsoN] has told us that, in two years, that
State alone could cast enough to supply the wants
| of the entire world. We have men in abundance,
and (pointing to the galleries )-God bless them
we have the ladies' with us. With our brave men,
our noble hearted women, and God upon our side,
| [ am sure we shall triumph.
| This is not the time for us to show anything like
fear of Old England. confess, for one, thai II we
are to have fight, she is the very power, above al
others, with which would have a contest We
have been told that we are blood Of her blood, thai
we have common ancestry, common laws, and
common language. But that is powerless argu
ment. No enemies SO bitter as estranged friends
The union between the two countries was severed
by the tyrnnnical expressions Of our unnatural pa
rent il is sundered forever; and think Of her nov
I'll, with hatred for all the wrnnps Hhn haa done m,