The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-03-07
AZ
lcoNrINuEp FROM FIRST pAGEl


taken the proper construction to be put upon the
gentlemsns language. But, as have given the
entire paragraph, let it speak for itself What
ever doubts there may be as to the proper con-
struoiiOn of that paragraph, there can be none,
none at all, as to the one which now quote from
the speech Of the gentleman from North Carolina,
Mr.. CLINeMAN, already referred to:
Bot ct ia advised says h certain portions of the
Northern press that the members from that section ought
70 expel such interrupt their proceedings Let them
the experiment tell gentlemen that this Is slave
holding Territory. We ID not intend TO leave It. IL they
think they u.s. Il Is proper for trial
the temper Of the public mind is probable that
collision the Kind here might elecrify country us did
the little skrmsh at Lexing the colonies their tn,
excited state Such struggle, whoever might prove the
vct0rs in it, would leave uorum here 20 do business
Gentlemen may call this treason high freasothe higbest
treason that the world Bat their words are idle
We shall defeat their movement against us"
II this does not sufficiently show where and how
the revolution is to commence, let US turn again
to the speech of the gentleman from Mississippi,
Mr. BRowN, and read another extract
My opinion this that should resist the intro
ducon Of California State, and resist SUCCESSFULLY
resist by votes first and lastly by other W.
can at least force dd0urHDleHf lctOut her aiSsO
This being done, safe The Southern States in
venton at Nashville, viii devise for indicating theil
rights do not know what these tuH be- but
what they may be- and with proprety safety They
may be to carry slaves into all Of Southern California
property Of sovereign States and there hold them
have right 70 do and If moested defend them is both
our right and duty
We you 70 give rights by
you refuse am for taking them by ARMED OCCUPATIONS
Resist the passage Of iag aJ1ni5;iSg 90
hrst by votes, and lastly by " Oiher mednSih Mr.
Chairman, does the Constitution which we are
sworn 10 support or the rules OF this Houao
point out TO us any " o'lsr DrGHS Of resisting the
enactment of law, except by means of votes
We can ADJOURN But how al iourn without r0,iag
an adjournment Force an adjournment says
the gentleman. And that force is the "other
means" by which the admission Of California is
TO be resisted, "dRd resisted SUcceSYHlig' And
what next? Why, the N1s5Uile ConUea,iOH is 10
meet. Then what? Garry slaves into all OF
Southern California, Os the property Of sovereign
States and there hold them, as We have tight
to do and if molested, defend them rs is both
our right and dutyp And thus is California to
be "tQkeno by armed occupation" Alas for
the 100000 men already there, or on their way
thither, from whom California is to be taken by
force and held by armed occupation, that slavery
may be introduced there against their will
do not doubt, Dir. Chairman, that by this time
you and this Committee are satisfied, as lam, that
unless the intentions Of the people Of the slave
holding States have been mistaken by some OF
their Representatives here n conflict OF arms De-
tween the Government of the United States and
portion Of the citizens thereof IS inevitable.
' Bnt. SIR. / nave nevtrTy mf,tc2myseR Is 3eaSt
the patriotism of the American people And |
shall be slow especially, TO distrust that quality
in the people of the generous South. ittothelr
own unpreiudiced Judgment and their own sound
reflections, shall have no fear. | dare hardly
answer however for the effect which the speeches,
especially that of the gentleman from Mississippi,
Mr.. BRowN, may have upon the minds OF
gallant people, naturally ardent and impulsive.
Indeed sir shudder at the thought Of the effect
which passages like that which shall now quote
may had almost slid mH.t, produce on the feel
ings of our Southern brethren Receiving IT in
.,oJ co IN ann wi
as faithful statement Of the crueltics and enorm
ties about to be visited upon them by the bands of
their Northern brethren, il would he strange in
deed, if they failed to be wrought up to the most
intense degree of excitement and evaporation;
Our country to te made desoate We be driven
from homes-Ihe homes haowed by all the sacred
socations Of isUy and friends We are to be sent like
people accnrsel Of God wander through the Ian home
less houselsss AMI trrndess what is ten Thousand
times than these, than ALL remain in country
prosperous and happy, and ourselves wives snd
children degraded social position with the black
These these are the rghtf terrible consequences you
wodld entail upon Picture 10 yourselves hungary
sistng the of Austria and Russia and H hungry
which had never tasted bery could make such stout re-
Fstance what may y0u not anticipate from eight millions
OF S0uthrons made desperate by your aggre3sionsP
DO you know, Mr. Chairman, of any acts COM
mitted or meditated by the North against the
people of the slaveholding States, that by any
possibility justify such declarations those have
quoted know of none and am s"ra tha gan
tleman from Mississippi will find it very difficult
To point them out to his constituents. 1t is easy,
indeed, to deal in general charges against the
North and when requested to specify those
charges to say rs the honorable gentleman from
Mississippi does, 81 will not recount the story Of
our wrongs But will such course satisfy a
people, patriotic intelligent, and inquiring? Flu
ture developments will show.
And what, sir, are the causes assigned to justify
the act of dssolving this Union? They arc al
nv ha SlaVphOIinp Stntpa
upon the rights Of the slaveholding in respect to
slavery All the charges put forth against the
non-saveholding States have reference to that
question solely and they are all comprised and
compendously set forth in single brief sentence
which here quote from the speech before refer
red to of the gentleman from North Carolina,
IMr CLINGMAN Aft,r referring at some length
to the benefits and advantages of slavery he says
ain spite however, Of these great facts which ought TO
strike all impartial minds The Of the North has been
constantly aggressive on this qucsti'n"
Now, sir on behalf Of the North, repel the
charge. And affirm that, for anything the North
has done to Justify the overthrow Of this Govern
ment any attempt TO do so is naked treason. What,
sir, the course of the free States been CONSTANT y
aggressive upon the South on the Slavery ques-
ton? Let US see. Since the adoption of the
Constitution, sevcnic States have been admitted
into the Union. or this number, nine are slave
holding States, and eigh nOn-slRyeholding Now,
sir it has so happened that nc every time when
any of these slaveholdiug States have applied for
admission the North has had complete ascendency
in both branches of Congress, consequently the
power to exclude any or all of them. They were
all admitted slaveholding as they were with just
such Constitutions rs they had chosen to adopt
for themselves Is this part Of that aggressive
course" on the slavery question which the North
has constantly pursued2
Again: OF the territory embraced within the
seventeen States thus admitted, the free States
comprise 1913 259 9quaremles; and the sllvc'tAtes
1876 square miles Thus we see thu. the ex-
tent of slave territory admitted into the u MON
since the adoption Of the Constitution is consider
ably more than twice as great M that of the free
territory. Does this look like disposition on the
part of the free States TO pursue course OF con-
slant aggression Edwards the South the subject
of slavery
Again The annexation Of Texas was pecu-
liarly Southern measure. The necessity of its
acquisition was distinctly placed by MIR CAL
HouN-himself the embodiment of ultra Southern
principles, and the master-spirt of the then Ad-
ministration-upon the wants of slavery. To the
North the measure was dlstasteoil. The North
never desired for its own sake, the acquisition of
Texas; nevertheless the South earnestly desiring
it. and Mr. CALnouN's great influence being
brought to bear in its favor for the reason chiefly
Just given, the North generously acquiesced in
the measure, though possessed of ample power to
defeat it, Texas was acquired-and, at the cost
Of a sanguinary and expensive war; we took into
the Union, at one swoop, an amount of slave ter
ritory equal in extent to the entire original thr-
teen States All this the non-slaveholding States
might have prevented, but did not. Is this
Northern aggression" upon the rights of the
South on the Slavery QUESTION: Is this one OF
the acts of aggression on that subject which is
to Justify gentlemen of the South in dissolving
the Union7 .
The power of Congress to abolish the slave