The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1847-03-09
CONGRESSIONAL.
REMARKS OF MIR. CHAPMAN,
OF MICHIGAN.

REMARKS OF MIR. CHAPMAN,
! MICHIGAN.
IN Me Rouse Of Representatives. February s, 1S47On
the wv imot proyiso' and the three million bill
Mr. CHiPMAN then rose and addressed the commit
tee lie should not have violated the resolution which
Ne had formed never to trouble the House with remarks
hTd hot peen Tor the great and momenous question
which iad been presented to them by me proposition
b,ousht forward BY the gentleman from Pennsylvania
vt WHMoT j and, let him premise that he had sought
s noor on his OCCASION not for the purpose of saying
anything which might be considered unpleasant or yit
pefatiye but simply with view of submitting few re-
marks for his personal qualification and for JUST
if,ation Of the vote which he should give when this
mighty question, which was shaking the Union to its
Foundation, might receive their final action. He should
as Nu American loving the constitution, and ready to
/ And, Lei him be permitted q say, that he
aa shs thai HOT nor for the purpose Of finding fault
with the opposition. When he resolved upon the course
which he should take in reference to that great question
which had been brought before them he was not aware
against the proposition; He regretted to hear gentlemen
avow upon that floor their readiness TO see the federal
Union shattered TO ten thousand atoms AS he heard the
curdled around his heart He trembled at the thought of
the dissolution of this fair confederacy He knew but one
ground on which to stand patriot in view of the cir
the ground OF compromise by which these States were
united and bound together In his humble opinion, the
preservation OF the Union worth million times
ded Africans lie repeated, when gentlemen pretending
to love their country would place the consideration of the
nominal liberation Of handful of degraded Africans in
the scale and this Union in the other and make the
latter kick the BEAM he would not give fig for their pa
trlosm Did all tins pretended negro PATRIOTISM then
spring from philanthropy Or love of country What
posing they should succeed in beratng that handful of
degraded Africans Would they benefit the slave by lib
Grating HIM without providing Tor his colonization
cold climate uncongenia to his constitution and force
him to state of degradation immensely lower than his
present sateyea, to starvation They must elevate the
| intellectually / thew i'm
prove his condition But how happened it that gentle
men would prohibit slavery from all newly acquired ter
| rtory? Whence originated this WnLMoT proviso' He
wanted that proposition TO be fathered where ii belonged
He did not want the distinguished representative from
Pennsylvania to have the honor Gf it be honor the
disgrace, ii it be disgrace) OF having concoced such
proposition, unless he entitled to it. He would d.
recty come down 10 the origin of it; but let him first
peat what he had said in the outset that he did not
either wing democrat He stood there seeking to ad-
dress the committee probably for the last time and he
thanked God was so because, God was his Judge
no human consideration could prevail upon him. under
any circumstances TO return to that positon-at all
events until he should discover among his associates
someS little more regard for the constitution. and some
little higher respect for the integrity of the Union Now
elected on certain principles What were they' In the
second, an opposition the United States Bank, and APP
pova Of the Independent treasury third the ground
that the American people would maintain right TO the
alton OF Texas He had alluded to these principles upon
which the canvass of 1914 was conducted for the pur-
pose of ascertainng if he could, how it happened that
segment OF the democracy of Pennsylvania upon that
foor-anoher wing of the democracy of New York up
on that foorIwere now at loggerheads and begerants
out how it happened that fragment Of the democracy
of Pennsylvania and portion of the democracy of New
York had drawn of and held secret concave
to concoct, and hatch, and bring into that House
proposition substantially at war with the constitution;
and at a me too, when every of the democracy
of the country strained to sustain war which wings
had denounced-although they voted for it-as unhoy
and unjust. True, there were those immortal fourteen
who had the independence to vote against the appropa
ton of men and money for the prosecution OF the war;
and those immortal fourteen stood upon high ground
compared with the balance of the opposition, who voted
for the war; and then at subsequent day around
and assai the Executive with all manner OF vile
ephets in order to give him the character which
they claim that he is entitled to. Now, he (Mr. c.
had had some. little experience with the democracy
Of the State of New York, and he begged TO- say that,
when he was associated with the democracy of the En-
pre State he acted independently and did not play dem
agoguism for the purpose OF obtaining seat In that
House Well, the democracy of New York united,
and the democracy of the country were united and they
met together at the OF the last session OF
Congress harmony having elected Presdentupon the
ally upon one other prncple-tha of Excepting the whole
OF Oregon Well, then, they were at the commencement
othe last session fifty forty men-a sink or swim
live or deready to fight Great Britain if they could not
be satisfied peacefully But 10! all at the admnistra
ton party dropped from 81 deg 40 min, and deserted ea
masse. What next Why, the democracy yielded TO
them Now the President fully justified in the course
which he pursued for he forced by the party, who
placed him in power. But when the discussion OF the
tariff question up then there was the first attempt
made by a party of the democracy OF that house to
Tyerze the Executveto discover and to scatter to the
four winds of Heaven the democracy which had placed
him in power, and TO leave him void of ascendency
in both branches of Congress- where he entitled by
every consideration of justice to overwhelming ma
iorv He would assert it fearlessly there proper
ground for hedemocratc party at that crisis but that which
was assumed by the distinguished Vice President of the
United Sates-the oc,o President of the Senate. But
did he act when the decisive moment camel Aye lie
stood noby up to the principles upon which he was
elected-he gave the casting vote, and though federal
demagogues for brief season. uttered their denunca-
prompted that decisive act his will be known and
remembered when those denuncations are hushed IN
lobIivon--his noble deeds will be cherished with IN
creasng gratitude by free people, long after those who
cried out against him have gone down to their lgnomn-
ious graves He spoke of the President OF the
Senate-he Vice President OF this Unon-the man who
while hundreds were deserving the ranks of the demo-
cratic party, and shrinking from the contest on some
miserable suberfuge-with conscious recttude, could
fearlessy and Independently stand up and act up
on principles, without regard to northern or south
ern men, Now, the tariff law OF 1912 was repealed IN
pursuance of the doctrine upon which they went into the
canvass in ls4l-in accordance with the recommends
ton of the Executive and he (Nr. c. was now seek
ing show that the Executive, every single act OF his
had sought most assiduousy, most persevenngly, and
most honorably to administer the government upon the
platform which was laid down in the Baltimore conven-
ton, which understood to be, at that tme the mouth
piece of the democratic partyprncples which were ad-
vocated upon the stump 1914 throughout the Union
Well what then Why the democracy of Pennsyl wanna
told them that they had been deceived IN this matter that
they voted they did, with the understanding that that