Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1850-02-25

room. l started back from the contact
with the. dead mar's bones and-awoke.-
Overworn by labor, I had fallen asleep
and been dreaming. Wasithosa singular
dream?" y ...s - sss..z-@ss ..z.~.z. -.
All the company answered in the afr.
native. Foombs muttered, singular. very
singolar!s at the same time looking rather
curiously at'the backaof his right hand
and Mr.. Calhoun, placing: hishead between
his hands, seemed buried in thought.
f. a Remarks of General Cass,
b IN THE SENATE, FEB. IL, 1850,
Upon the reception ola Memorial presented by
Senator Hale, from citizens of Delaware and
Pennsylvania, asking peaeeable dissolution
of the Union.
Mr.. President, no man who attends The
discussions in the Senate can fail TO per
ceive the predisposition which prevails here
to push principles to their extremes. |
we do not find a massive wall where they
must stop, we follow them Indefinitely
with as much metaphysical zeal as any oi
the disciples of the ancientschoofs of logic
The provision respecting the right of pc:
tition is contained in one ofSrhe arnended
articles Of the constitution, which provides
that Congress shah pass no lawste prevent
the people from assembling peaeeab'y and
petitioning for redress Of grievances Edd
mot deny that the right thus secured is an
important one, but do not rate it by any
means as high as the honorable Senator
from Ohio [Mr. Chase appears to do
Thanks to the wisdom of our fore. fathers,
and to the spirit of our Institutions, the peo.
pie Of this country have much more eff
cient remedy than the right Ct petition ior
any abuse of the government, whether ap-
pretended or existing the right OF ocli on;
The right to send you home and me home.
better men in our flaees, siset their wishes
may be accomplished. The government
is theirs, and the bailot.box is fafbetter
security for its faithful administration than
this humble rightof petition. Ia England,
whence the measure is derived, it is the
bestmeans the people have for redress OF
grievances; and poor one tits, TOO, there,
as the experience of every day demon
slra,es. With a hereditary Executive, a
House of Lords, and a Rousesol
Commons originally elected for the life of
the sovereign, the right tospetitIon is about
all.that is lelt-te thelreoplc. Why sir, if
we were utterly 10 refuse to receive petit
tions in this country, it would produce no
other effect than to rouse public indigna-
:ion and to hurl US from our places No
Legislature in this broad Hand will ever
place any improper limitation upon the
exercise Of this right. But, sir, the rare
Limitations which control.it tnecessarily y
arise out ofathe nature: of things. You
would not receive a petition couched in in
.solent, or obscene, or blasphemous Ian
guage. Would you receive .one asking
Congress to declare that there was no God,
and to pass a law prohibiting the people of
the United States from assembling for the
purposes Of religious worship? Would
you refer such "a petition, as the Senator
from New York Mr. Seward proposes
to refer this, with grave instructions to re-
port the proofs Of the existence of God,
andto add their feeble evidence to the tes'
timony upon that subject, which is found
equally in the Book OF Nature and in the
Book of Revelation, and which is with US
and around US, from the cradle to the
grave? Then, sir, ifthere nre Limitations
to the duty Of receiving, if not to the right
of presenting petitions, what are they!-
They should be decent in their language
and the action they ask for should be with
in the sphere of our constitutional power
This principle the Senatorfrom Massachu
setts, Mr. Davis in my opinion, laid dowr
the other day with equal truth and force
lfI understood his vote, however, it hap
pened TO him as, TO most Of as too often il
] life, that, his doctrine was. better than hi
practice. think, on q test vote on tha
occasion, he was among those in favor o
the introduction OF "a petition asking wha
we could not grant. The constitutions
object Of the right Of petition is declared /
be the redress of grievances. Instead of
valuable right, an application to Congress
Ito do what it cannot do, reduce it to fares
and is calculated 10 bring the right itself in
te contempt. If we have no powers
J, Egrant'the prayer of the petition, why shoul
J such petition be received? and our tim
thus .profitlessly spent might be devoted
useful and national purposes. 1 an, nj
. speaking, sir, Of a doubtful question:
3 petitions for measures of doubtful validit,
/ and about which reasonable men may di
fer and do differ. These should be lrespec
r fully received and considered. But 1speo
Q Of applications for the exercise Of powe
? which we have Clearly and undeniably !
? rightto assume-like this for the dissoi
ton Of the Union, Of for the humiliation
,f a State Of this great confederacy. .-a
k : 1t has been said, sir-and it. has be
!, said in reproach-that if we ought not
n receive petitions asking US to do an unce
/ stitutional act, We ought not to receive
y titions Or remonstrances against such
,ct +5s- -'-'r--