Des Moines courier. ([Ottumwa] Iowa) 1848-1854, 1850-03-08


IS South-now, for the first time, whe.
Y three territories are attempted to be in
l. troduced without the institutions of sla
: very, put it to the hearts of nv coun
r trymen OF the South, lift is right to pres:
0 matters to the disastrous consequences
e which have been indicated no longer agn
t than this very morning on the occasion OF
t the presentation of certain resolutions
: even extending to dissolution of the
: Union. Mr.. President, | cannot be.
lieve it.
} Mr.. UNDERWOOD. Will the Senator
? give way for an adjournment. .aa#
Mr.. CLAY. Oh, no: if do not weary
the patience of the Senate, prefer to go
, ON. think can begin to see land.
r shall soon come to the conclusion of what
| have to say. Such is the Union and
such are the glorious fruits which! are
, now Threatened with subpersion and d.s-
Traction. Well, sir, the first question
which naturally arises is, supposing the
Union to be dissolved for any of the
causes or grievances which are COM
planned of, how far will dissolution fnr-
nlsh remedy for those grievances! II
the Union is to he dissolved for any ex-
isllng cause, il will be because slavery is
lnterdicted or allowed TO be introduced
into the ceded territories; or because sla-
very is threatened to be abolished i'm the
! Distrlst of Columbia; or because fuyitiv e
slaves are not restored, as in my opinion
they ought to be, to their masters. These
| hal nt,lI r., al A.
any causes which can lead to the dread
lul event 10 which have referred Let
us suppose the Union dissolyed; what
remedy does 1t, in a severed state, furnish
Tor the grlerancies complained of in its
united condition. Will you be able at
the South to push slavery into the ceded
territory! How are you to do it, sup
posing the North, or all the States norlh
OF the Potomac, in possession of The na-
Wy and army of the United States! Can
you expect, | say, under these crcum-
stances, that if there is a dissolution of
the Union, you can carry slavery into
California and New Mexico! Sir, vou
cannot dream of such an occurance. Ii
1t were abolished in the District of Co
lumbia and the Union were dissolved,
would the dissolution OF the Union re-
store sla,ery in the District of Columbia!
Is your chance for the recovery of your
fugitive slaves safer in state of dissolu-
ton or OF severance of the Union than
when in the Union itself. Why, sir,
what is the state of the fact! In the
Union you lose some slaves and recover
others: but here let me revert to fact
which ought to have noticed before,
because il is highly credlable TO the
courts and juries of the free States. In
every instance, as far as my information
extends, in which an appeal has been
made 10 the courts of justice to recover
penalties from those who have assisted
in decoying slaves from their masters
In every instance, as far as | have heard,
the court has asserted the rights OF the
owner, and the jury has promptly re-
turned an adequate verdict on his behalf.
Well, sir, there is then some remedy
whilst you are part of the Union for
the recovery of your slaves, and some
indemniicason for their loss. What
would you have it the Union was sever
ed! Why, then the severed parts would
be independent of each other-foreign
countries-and slaves escaping from one
to the other would be like slaves escaping
from the United States TO Canada-
There would be no right OF extraction.
no right 10 demand your slaves, no right
to appeal to the courts OF jusiic to In
demnify you for the loss Of your slaves.
Where one slave escapes now by running
away from his master, hundreds and
thousands would escape if the Union
were dissolsed-l care not how nor
where you run the line, Or whether inde-
pendent sovereignties be established
WE'LL sir, finally, will you, in case of
dissolution of the Union, be safer with
your slaves within the separated portions
OF the States than you are now! Mr..
President, that they will escape much
more frequently from the border States,
no one will deny.
I And. sir, must take occasion here to
say that, in my opinion, there is no right
on the part of any one or more of the
States to secede from the Union. War
and dissolution of the Union are identi-
cal and inevitable, in my opinion. There
can be a dissolution of the Union only
by consent or by war. Gonsen, no one
can anticipate, from any existing state of
things, is likely to be given, and war is
The only alternative by which dissolu-
ton could he accomplished. If consent
+ were given--if il were possible that we
were 10 be separated by one great line
, in less than sixty days after such consent
was given, war would break oul between
, the slaveholding and non-slaveholding
portion of this union--between the two
independent parts into which it would
, be erected in virtue OF the act OF separa-
lion. In less than sixty days. | believe,
our slaves from Kentucky, focking over
J in numbers to the other side of the river,
would be pursued by their owners. Our
2 hot and ardent spirits would be restrained
1 by no sense of the right which apper-
a talns to the independence of The other
Q side of the river, should that be the line
of separation. They would pursue their