Daily Richmond times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1849-1850, 1849-07-21


been directed exclusively against me- The line of
conduct have prescribed to myself in reference to
him, is to have as little TO do with him as possible;
and, accordingly, never notice what comes from
him, even in his character as Senator, when can
avoid doing so consistently with my public duties.
regard him in light very different from what he
seems to regard me, if we may Judge from the fire.
quency and violence of his attacks on me- He
seems to think stand in his way, and that am ever
engaged in some scheme to put him down. l. on
the contrary, have never for moment thought of
raising him to the level of competitor or rival nor
considered it of any Importance to me whether he
should be put down or not. He must think he has
something to gain by assailing me- ON the contrary
feel have nothing TO gain by noticing him, and
when compelled to do so, am satisfied if escape
without some loss of sef-respect | have another
reason for not desiring to notice him on the present
occasion All his charges against me- with few and
trifing exceptions, are but the reeratons of those
often made heretofore by himself and others, and
which have met and successfully repealed in my
place in the Senate or community, there can be no
better proof than is afforded in the laborous and tire
some effort he made in his present speech to revive
and give them circulation.
Under the influence of these reasons would have
remained silent had alone been concerned But
such is not the case. His blow is aimed much more
| at you than me. He strikes at me for the double
striking at you and your cause through me, which
he thinks can be done more effectually Indirectly
than directly Thus regarding his attack, feel it
| TO be duty owe you and your cause to repe 1t.
| The effort of Col. Benton, from the beginning to
the end of his Speech is to make out that have
been unfaithfu to your cause and true to that of
the Free Sellers and Abolitionsts WHILE on the
trary you had in him unknown but faithful friend
on all occasions. He assumes that you and they
b1y nbnao hot mis- in To
| you in regarding me friend and supporter Of
your cause, and they in regarding me as hostile to
| theirs Judged by appearance, his object would
seem be to eXpel this deusion while in truth it is
| to give you and your cause, what he hopes will
prove, deadly blows This the Abolitonists and
Free Sellers well understand. The disguise was
| not assumed to deceive them, but to deceive you.-
They understand him, and have hailed with accla-
nation his speech, and published it and circulated
it far and near and glored it and its author to the
skies They rejoice in the belief that it has demo-
lished me- and this too when it holds me up as the
truest and best friend to their cause 1t remains to
be seen, whether you will understand him as perfect
| ly as they do, and will meet the speech, so lauded
by them with the reprobation due to efrontery and
desertion 1t is not the first time that deserter
has had the to address those he deserted
and while protesting regard for their cause de-
nounced those who remained faithful to it. The
history of our revolution furnishes notorious in
stance Of the kind. The deserer in that instance,
failed to deceive those whom he addressed, or to
shake their confidence in those who remained faith
full to them and in return for his effrontery and de-
serton, they sent his name down to posteritv with
reprobatlon. 1t remains to be seen, whether such
will be the fate of the deserter in this instance.
| lie commenced his speech with attacking the re-
solutions offered TO the Senate the 18th February,
| lo47, and charges that they introduced for the
purpose of disunion. That you may Judge for your
selves whether they liable to the charge or not,
| | insert them.
| "ReSolued That the territories of the United
States belong to the several States composing this
Union, and are held by them as their Joint and COM
mon property.
| "Resolred, That Congress, as the Joint agent and
| representative of the States of this Union has no
right to make any law, or do any act whatever that
SHALL directly or by its effects, make any dscrimina-
ton between the States of this Union, by which any
of them shall be deprived of its full and equal right
in any territory Of the United States, acquired to
| be acquired
"Resolted That the enactment of any law which
should, directly by its effects, deprive the citizens
of any OF the States of this Union from emgratna
with their property INTO any OF the territories OF the
| United States will make such discrimination, and
would therefore be a violation of the Constitution
and the rights of the States from which such cit
liens emigrated, and in derogaton of that perfect
equality which belongs to them members of the
Union, and would tend directly to subvert the Union
itself
"Resolued, That, as fundamental principle in oul
political creed, a people, in forming constitution
have the unconditional right to form and adopt the
government which they may think best calculated to
secure liberty prosperity and happiness; and that in
conformity thereto no other condition is imposed by
the Federal Constitution on a State, in order to her
admission into this Union, except that its Constitu-
ton be Republican, and that the imposition of any
other by Congress, would not only be in violation OF
the Constitution, but in direct conflict with the prin-
ciple on which our political system rests"
They are, as you see confined to asserting prnci-
pies appertanng to the nature and character Of our
system of government, and making differences clear
ly deducible from them and which are of vital i'm.
portance i'll the question between you and the North
in relation to the Wmot Proviso. If the facts be
as the resolutions stated, there is no denying the in.
ference, and if both be true, then your right to emf
crate with your slaves into the territories becomes
unquestonabe under the Constitution. This he felt
and hence his bitter denunciaton of them But he
has confined himself to denunciation without ma
king effort to refute the resolutions by showing
they contain error, either as to the facts asserted OF
differences deduced. He knew that to be beyond his
power, and prudently avoided it. But if the resolu
tons be true, he is compelled to admit they are by
his silence, how can they be frebrand, as he calls
them, or be justly chargeable with disunion? Col
Benton has his own way of proving things, which ap
pears to be very satisfactory to himself but to
who will take the pains to examine his assertions ant
reasons.
Despairing of finding anything like dsunion in
the resolutions, themselves, he seeks for it in the
motive which he gratuitously assigns to me for in
Producing them He first asserts, that they are the
prototype of those adopted by the Legislature OF
Missouri at their late session, and then asserts that
the only difference between them is, that mine aim
directly at dsunion, and theirs ultimately at the same
thing, for which he offers no reason except that
theirs pledge the State to cooperate with the other
slaveholdng States. He thus assumes, that your
aim as well as mine is disunion; and this, while he
is exerting himself to the utmost to dscredt me
with you as a dsunionist for it is apparent his
speech was intended TO have its effects generally,
as we'll as on his own constituents particularly. He
then drags in the Accomac resolutions to prove that
the object is Convention of the Southern States,
and that he assumes to be proof conclusive, that