Weekly national intelligencer., 1850-10-19
ADDRESS OF HON. Mr.. TOOMBs,
OF GEORGIA.

OF GEORGIA.
To the People ofthe Eighth Congressional District.
The position in which State has been placed toward
the General Government by the late proclamation Of Gov
Towns, makes my duty address you in relation to th
recent legislation Of Congress- which resistance proposes
and advocated opposed to such resistance, and nvt
your attention TO my for that opposition. My
action upon that Legislation has been recklesy and vuen
assaed and systematically msepresented by Of thos
who opposed to it, must, therefore, ask your indul
gence for brief exposition of that action before proceeding
the statement Of the referred to- the principles upor
which they based and my to the objections
against them.
The policy Of the last Legislature upon the subject Of
Federal relations has deeply endangered the honor and per-
haps the safety Of the State The late proclamation of the
Governor protesting be in accordance with that policy ha.
placed State in defe where neither the
right hand the left where is impossible advance
with safety and difficult to retreat with honor.
In the present emergency, policy is to select
Of must either epudats the action of the
Legislature and Governor Towns people for re-
sance the laws Of the land and dissolution Of the Union
am in favor of the first and against the last aenave be-
believe there nothing in those laws which demands
or would justify that resistance.
As am not unfequeny quoted authority in favor Of
such resistance, will here restae my position When
Congress met last December, found there strong and
nearly unanimous disposition the part Of the Northern
Wing members to interpolae hesold Wing creed with Free
Soil opinions. The disposition strongly manifested it.
Four years experience in Congress had taught
the importance Of the organization Of the House to the
defeat of public After free FULL and
unsatisfactory conference IN with the N0rhern Whgs
determined to cooperate with them in the election of
Speaker without security upon the slavery question.
found them, with but few exceptions, pledged and deter
mined to engrat the Wmot provso upon Territorial bills
for the of New Mexico and Utah and to abolish
slavery in the District of Columbia therefore submitted to
the caucus the following resolution, to wit
esoed That Congress ought to pass no law aboishng
slavery in the District of Columbia any law prohibiting
in the Territories of the United States"
The resolution promptly rejected and together with
those who acted with me, promptly withdrew from the
caucus and resisted, by all in power the election
Of its nominee, Mr.. WINTHROP. The struggle for the
Speakershp resulted in the election of Of your Re-
presentaives Mr. CoBB whose able and efficient admins
aon Of its duties has been highly honorable himself and
beneficial to you.
The contest for the organization Of the House was marked
by strong sectional feelings and angry and excited Debates
In Of those Debates which attracted good deal Of public
attention, declared myself in favor Of dissolution of the
Union Congress applied the proviso 10 the Territories,
abolished slavery in the District of Columbia refused eff
cent Legislation for the recovery fugitive slaves In March
received through Gov. Towns heresoutons passed by the
Legislature Of Georgia, declaring it to be the duty of the
people to resist the Federal Government upon the three
grounds just mentioned and also for the additional Of the
admission Of California into the Union State. mme
dately replied to these resolutions, adhered my
grounds Of resistance and refused sanction the additional
ground assumed the Legislature and declared my determ
nation oppose any resistance by the State account Of
the admission of California. On the 9th Of February
delivered speech in the House of Representatives in which
the relation Of the Federal Government slavery and espe
ciay slavery in the Territories carefully and elaborate
y examined, and in that speech distinctly laid down the
principle that The first act of Legislative hostility is the
O
to stand by the constitution and the laws, observe in
good faith all Of their requirements, until the wrong is
summated until the act of eresso is put upon the statute
books" held that while non-nterventon not the
sure of rights sshosle legislation the point Of
ssance and maintained that whenever this principle
violated it not only the right, but the duty Of the slave
holding States the powers which they have con-
eed upon this Government and to seek new safeguards for
their future security"
These are the principles upon which acted throughout the
session GabIed from speeches made in sup
port of hem distorted ntepoated inaccurate, extracts from
Others have been audulenty applied to bolster up
for resistance which open epudated and to convict me
of inconsistency The past safe there stands the record
In the Whg caucus at the opening of Congress- in speech
in December in my speech in February, in my letter to
Governor Towns in March, affirmed my own grounds of
resistance the Government of dsunon to be these three
lst The abolition Of slavery in the District OF Columbia
3D. The prohibition Of slavery by Congress in the Territories;
Sd. The refusal of fair for the delivery Of fugitive
slaves took other advocated no other grounds of re-
sisance did not abandon compromise ot title Of
them did enlarge them include the and folies
Of Southern men, or diminish them to concae the hostility
Of Northern stood by them and they not violated
by the legislation which am about TO review The fugitive
slave BILL which demanded granted was satisfactory
to the whole South and received the votes of every of
the members in both Houses Of Congress The abolition of
slavery in the District and the prohibition Of in the Terri
tories the other which stood pledged to resist
defeated crushed ard abandoned series Of
ures for the pac6cson of territorial difficulties adopt
ed the basis of which proposed early February, and
ready any time during the whole Congress to accepts
yet reprosched for not giving aid and comfort" to
facous foolish and unensbe resistance to the Government
for legislation which have uniformly held and publicly de-
cared be neither just sufficient for such esis
have refused first last and all the time 10 endorse
this Cafonis rebellion it has claims upon me am
and have been its enemy and shall give nothing but
the rights of
Congress passed four bills in relation to the territory
quired from Mexico bill admit California into the Union
bill settle the boundary between Texas and New Mexico
and bills establishing Territorial Governments both for New
Mexico and Utah. By them, in my opinion, the Govern
ment has performed its whole duty to us by them the
South may not have secured all Of her just rights but she
has firmly established great and important principles, and she
has compromised right surrendered principle, lost not
inch Of ground in this great contest She stands free
and untrammeled any Just right in relation TO the
common territories she did before the bills for the establish
ment Of Governments them passed-uiih the adj
vantage OF least Of having recovered the principle unwisey
rendered in 1920 The defeat of these bills would have lost
that advantage and would in respect have left right
of the South any better footing than that upon which it
now stands The memorable controversy between the North
and the South in 1919 and 1920 although resulted in the
exercise OF the power prohibit slavery in portion Of the
territories Of the United States did not originate in ques-
ton Of territorial government Missouri presented Con-
gress constitution sanctionng slavery The North asserted
49, N.Sz 81. ~. - ~