The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-04-25
WHOLE NO. 173.


sending out a jury with case, and leaving other
Senators here to argue IT,
| The Senator from Kentucky sir charges me
with occasioning all the delay in the admission Of
California And how do | occasion i'll Bvre-
sisting a motion TO send this question TO a com
mittee. Have not right to DO thatl III have
no right TO do it, it is question Of order which
the Chair may decide and If it is decided that
have no right, will sit down at once. But while
| have parliamentary right to proceed in a GER
tain way, all efforts to deter me from proceeding
| by throwing on me the blame OF obsructing bust
ness, viii be Of no avail. But this is no novelty
We have great examples for throwing the blame
Of being promoters of disturbances upon those
who are innocent. | believe, Mr.. President there
were never more professions made in favor of
! peace, there were never more encomiums delivered
upon peace nor ever greater sentiments of devotion
| to peace, uttered or professed by any being upon
the face Of the earth, than uttered by him who
was the greatest Of warriors--the great Emperor
| lie was always for peace how, then, came he to
be always in war Because, when his armies en-
tered a country, the people would resist and that
made war, and made him disturber OF the peace
he was so anxious to preserve. That is exactly
the way the great Emperor got the name of being
| disturber of the peace the people would resist
when his armies entered their country All that
he asked of them was 10 submit; all that he asked
was that they should be quiet, and let his armies
move over their country.
La the same identical manner, Mr. President,
with a psrallelism which has been drawn here
somewhat too close for parody, the Senator from
Kentucky charges me with delaying the admis
sion of California, because resist where have
a right TO resist, and, more than that, where |
hold II TO be my duty to resist, and where | am
sustained by sixty years of uninterrupted legisla
tion OF the two Houses of Congress Sir three times
Washington, the father of his country, sent in
messages for the admission Of new States precisely
under the same circumstances as those under
which President Taylor sent in message in this
case. Tennessee Kentucky and Vermont, were
all admitted precisely under these circumstances,
and upon the presentation Of messages precisely
ike this -fiSe JSs s,raaes ~tfe SShn1Ssuu s1ter-
wards under the same circumstances, and by mes
sages Of the Presidents of the times in which
those States were admitted making eight in the
whole, being half as eight can be Of seven
teen | am doing what has been done for sixty
years Every State that has been admitted for
sixty years has been admitted in o bill by itself,
except in one single case, and then two were put
together in the same bill. Two States applied for
admission at the same time, and had no more right
than California now has, for they made their Con-
stitions for themselves without the previous
authority of Congress The Senator from Ken
lucky undertakes to say that these things will 90
on and California will come in sooner, if she is
eign to her. certainly. Now, he certainly under
stands what he says | do not. The suppositon
is that the bill is to go faster when complicated
and loaded with all these subjects than it can 90
| alone. There is something In that which Is mex
plicable to me- ! know there is an idea which
mny he Gated vernacuar, prevalent IN some parts
OF the country, that horse can pull stronger if
he has weight upon his back and have often
seen large packs with two or three bushels Of
grain upon horses back while he was straining
every nerve in pulling load up hill. The argu-
ment was that IL kept the backbone straight, and
enabled him to draw directly against the centre of
every joint. Laughter. That WAS done in the
case Of drawing but this is a case Of running.
California has to run, and as it seems to me she
has to run the gauntlet and long line | never
heard il supposed that horse ran faster for hav-
ing a load upon his back but when we come to
look at what is proposed to California, we shall
find that phs has not only three hundred pounds
| upon her back, but shall have a hundred
pounds to tie to each leg and still pretty con-
siderable weight to tie to the tail. | should like
to see how California would run with three hun
dred pounds upon her back and hundred to
each leg, and fifty pounds TO the tail
| have been occupied, Mr.. President, wholly
with the preliminary question of laying this reso-
luton upon the table and postponing its consid-
Grafton for the purpose Of taking up the Cafor-
mia bill. The question is now as TO the delay the
almost indefinite delay with the chance Of eventu-
ally losing the admission between the two Houses.
We have now three full days remaining Of this
week, and think, If we proceed, We can in these
three days come to a decisive vote on the Calitor
MIA bill and in doing that, we shall have washed
our hands and done our duty and II will then be
for the House Of Representatives to do their duty
q thing with which we have nothing to do
Mr.. Douglas rose TO correct Misrepresentation
Of MIR Clay In respect TO the bill for the admis-
sion Of California - Mr. Clay having intimated
that 1t contained no provision for securing the
title of the United States to the public lands in
the new State. Mr.. Douglas was proceeding TO
show that this was a great error, when he was
called to order for discussing subject not perth
nent TO the question.
Mr.. Benton moved to lay the subject on the
table for the purpose Of taking up the California
bill. The yeas and nays were ordered, and the
vote stood
YEAS - Messrs Baldwin, Benton, Bradbury,
Chase, Clarke, Corwin, Davis Of Massachusetts,
Douglas, Felch, Greene, Hale, Hamlin, Jones,
Miller, Norris, Phelps, Seward, Shields Smith,
w alker and Webster-24.
NAYS Messrs. Atchison, Badger, Bell Bor-
land, Bright Butler, CasS, Clay, Clemens, Davis
Of Mississippi, Dickinson, Downs, Foote Hunter,
King Mangum, Mason, Morton, Pearce Rusk,
soule, spruanoe, Sturgeon, Turney,
re will be remembered that on the motion Of
Mr.. Douglas last Thursday, to lay the sub
ect upon the table, the vote IA test yote) stood
yeas 20, nays %. The vote above shows a fall
ing off Of two In the minority. Mr.. Upham,
who voted yea on Thursday, was absent to-day.
Mr. Sturgeon, who WAS absent Thursday, voted
nay to-day. Thursday, MIR. Webster voted nay,
IA, IN tha
Wales and Spruance Of Delaware voted yea;
o-day, Mr. Wales did not vote, and Mr. Spru-
,nce voted in the negative. Mr.. Cooper Of Penn
,yvania, who canvassed that State during the
contest for Taylor and Free Soil, de-
slavery In the btterest terms, knew
hat the subject of this Compromise Committee
was coming up Thursday, and left the city, to
attend the Clay festival In New York. He shun-
ned the responsibility Of voting then, and also
Today. Why Mr. Upham was absent on this
occasion, we do not know. Nothing but a sick
ness disabling Senator from being carried to the
Senate can excuse his absence at such time.
II will be perceived, then, that the minority
was reduced by the desertion Of Mr. Sprusnce Of
Delaware, the refusal Of Mr. Wales TO vote, and
the absence of Mr.. Upham, while IL gained Mr..
Webster. Had Messrs. Wales and Spruancs
their ground, and Mr.. Upham been
In his place, the vote would have been q tie; the
Vice President would probably have given 1t in
favor Of Freedom and the subject Of California
would have been taken upl
The question recurring on Mr.. Clay's amend
ment to Mr.. Benton's amendment, MIR Miller Of
New Jersey said that he thought this amendment
not In order. The amendment not only strikes