The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-02-07

array Of the passions or preiudces Of men The CON
mit'ee therefore world excuse him il he entered no
INTO the defence of those whom the history of IN
country sufficiently defended and eloquenuy Wind
Gated In the war OF The revolution, in the war
1912, in every emergency, In every public exigen
ey, when either the power Of arms or the power o.
statesmen were involved, the people Of South Car
ona and Of the South had been found FIRST and fore
most IN the public defence. Por these two reasons
then, he should not enter into a defence Of In
SCUM ana OF his own State from the attacks whicI
had been made upon them: lst, that TO the maj
who was ignorant Of the history Of the country hi
assertion In defence Of them would have no weight
and to the man who acquainted with il il woul,
be entirely unnecessary; I'd. that il was unstates
manllke, derosatory 10 the great dignity OF truth
the elevated character Of patriotism, and To the sur
passing importance OF the investigation into which
they had entered, to seek 10 embroil human
passions and human prejudiees upon this grea
subject OF national-be might say, Of inter
'nalional-conoeromenL lie had learned bette
examples from the semi-bArbarous power o
, mo@s. ere that mighty empire he'd yet reaches
historians, in the bold and grand dialect Of thai no
Ton, 'els Us that 'they rose 70 emnenee by ysnou,
acts OF eonciliauon among themselves. IL wa.
among the citizens that concord, unanimity zeal IN
the public service found emulation, and all bitter
ness ssperites and enmties OF feeling were reserved
Tor their enemies. Such, he spprehehded, were the
]
enlightened and Christian age. But he was sorry to
Ind that even an American Congress upon a great
hmeriean-a great international question-migbl
learn the dictates Of craftsmanship OF patriotism OF
humanity even from the semi-barbarians Of the
earlier Roman republic.
Mr.. y. then entered into a discussion rznninS
nearly through the remainder OF his hour, Of the
two prominent questions involved in this debate
I VIZ hrst, rs TO the constitutional power Of this
House to legisate on this subject and, second, az
10 the eSpedeney Of the measure was proposed "a
adopt, directing his remarks TO the following points
and assuming the following POSITIONS
He declined to exercise legislative power in alb
rogang our sacred treaty with Great Britain, lie.
cause such power he commended did not reside in the
legislative department OF the government except in
instances where a treaty Is already abrogated by
bad faith on the part Of the nation which is the
other party to the treaty, or except upon those
great and transact dsnt occasions where the public
interests require the elemental power OF The govern
ment to be brought into exercise to discharge our.
selves Of any kind any sort OF stipulaons which
are working our misery and destruction.
Bot, at the same time, he believed that Congress
had the right to advise the President on this sub
jet; that the honor the interests the veal Of the
country as well as the preservation OF Oregon IL
self all require that these treaty stpulations should
be abolished, and the whole difficulty promptly set
tied.
He held, moreover, that the effect Of this notice
could only be to produce peaceabe settlement OF
this question: that the whole subject ought 10
be compromised; that the 49th degree the true
parallel Of compromise; that il the President ac-
ceped that line the nation would sustain him in il:
and the great purposes Of civilization and Christian
Try would be sustained that no war would
come from the question, except il came through the
agency Of political blunderings or political shining:
that he had no fear that our Executive would be
guilty Of the one the other and we had hostages
from Great Britain that. she would not plunge us
into wnr---ihnse hostages being tre yasr interests
considered alike with reference 10 her foreign and
her domestic relations by which the civilized world
held her to the perpetuaton Of that peace TO which
for thirty years she had been bound and that IL a
war came upon the country, whoever was guilty
Of producing the result would deserve as they would
certainly receive--be it Great Britain or the United
Stntesthe whitening execration and scorn Of entire
Chrstendom.
Mr.. s. having concluded
Mr.. ATKINSON then obtained the floor In
some preliminary remarks, he expressed his inten-
ton to do justice, we'll to Great Britain as to
America. He did not regard the question as being
whether were about to take step for the pur-
pose Of obtaining foreign territory, nor whether
the star-spangled banner was to wave over the land
Of Great Britain; he regarded it not as question
whether we were TO extend our borders into Cana
da or Mexico-but purely as question whether we
should take quiet peaceful, uninterrupted pos
session Of a territory which, in his opinion, and in
the opinion of the American people, was ours.
In the discussion of the question, he intended to
enter into no ordinations or recriminatons he in
tended to charge upon no man. because he might
differ from him, that he was not n friend to the
country. He asked all, wings and democrats, to
march up to the consideration of this important
question with a conviction, fixed and unalterable, to
do that which, in their honest judgment, was right
to be done in the premises. He had lived too long
and had seen too much of the frailty of human ma
70 end fanIf with all L
might not happen to think as he (Mr. A. thought
And that man no Christian, and no patriot, who
thought that every man but himself was fool, and
that no man loved his country but himself.
| In reference to the wing party in this House,
whilst he maintained for its political principles no
sort Of respect, yet for the men he had high re-
spect and venera,ion. There were honorable men,
bers of the House, belonging to a party to which
God forbid that he should ever be attached, with
whom he was in habits Of association, and some of
whom did him the credit to say that he was so
dyed in the wool of democracy, that when they
found him giving vote, they knew their true
course was to vote in the adverse direction.
In the conclusions at which he had arrived, he
would have the misfortune to differ from all his col
leagues who had spoken. He should not attempt
here or elsewhere, to show that other gentlemen
from the Old Dominion, who had preceded him in
this discussion-those worthy colleagues of which
he was proud-were not as friendly to the
peace, the independence, and the glory of the
country as he was He knew the service they had
rendered,n the elevation of the present chief magis.
rate of the nation; and he did not believe that any
of them looked to other than what they believed to
be the best results to their country in the counsels
they had given. He hoped, however, that he might
ye, have the satisfaction to them recording their
votes with his. The pacific character of the recent
English news, the first elected the other day from
the chairman ofthe Committee on Foreign Affairs,
in reply to an inquiry by the gentleman from Ten
nesse, Mr.. GENrRY,l that correspondence had
lately taken place between the two governments and
various other considerations mot among the least of
which was the arguments that had been made on
this foor) ought, in his judgment, to convince his
colleagues that they should at least vote for some
notice, to break up this joint occupancy of the ter
ritory of Oregon.
The argument of one Of his colleagues Mr.
HuNrERl was so plausible, and was represented in
so beautiful and forcble manner, that il had made
impression, not only his (Mr. A 81 mind, but
on the minds Of other members Of the House. And
it was only when time had enabled him to set him.
self free from the influence Of the oratorcal and per-
suasive powers of that gentleman, that he (Mr. A.
had been able to come to the fair and candid con-
sderation Of the question.