The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1850-09-12

| take away1 The answer is pain-we took none at
all. We now give TO her an army To defend her
borders and navy for her seaboard. In short, she
| costs the Government more than a million year,
and her gross income from customs would have been,
at most, not msrc than two hundred and nifty thou
sand dollars. Thus stands the amount in equity.
Now, sir, in the face OF these facts, let gentlemen
| vote 10 tax their constituents for the beneht OF
stock jobbers in Texas debts, il they will | will
| not.
| Though would be far, very far from maintaining
the doctrine of paying State debts in any case. but il
gentlemen are determined this Government shall pay
the debts of the States, let them begin with the
debts that have originated in public works beneficial
10 the country New York has debt of something
over twenty millions that arose almost entirely from
the construction of her public works, her Erie
canal and other magnificent works of internal i'm
provement--works that eneich every farmer in the
northwestern valley Of the Mississippi, that add TO
the price of every bushel of wheat raised in the old
northwest territory. Though, sir, | would oppose
the national assumption of this debt TO the utmost
If gentlemen so fppsnt with ten millions for
Texas, hope at least they will give some reason
why they should not pay all the debts OF the States
pay at least the debts Of higher merit than those
they propose to pay.
The nation owes a debt now of about seventy
millions. Our expenditures for the current year
VIII exceed our income, according to the estimate
OF the Secretary of the Treasury, by at least fifteen
millions. There has not been dollar laid out upon
tne hdrbors Of our lakes TO improve the navigation
Of our riVesSeor years, Our inland c"vNOsSse Is at
the mercy ofthe winds and the waves, Our vessels
are lost on shoals bars and snags TIE lives of our
..-;;-i,>-..-,,--- 49, - F. -: -
without the ordinary safeg9&Gs we ought TO afford
Not dollar is yet appropriated to all these wants,
ana sun some OF the members Of this House, even
| some OF the Northern members, ready 10
respond TO the first word of Texas, with offer to
incur further debt of ten millions TO appease her
dreadful anger, or rather TO choke off her bond
| holders from around the halls of legislation.
Sir, we are told the President has power to use
| The army and navy TO put down resistance to the
laws-to prevent Texas from invading one of the
| Territories of the United States. This doctrine
has been most sirenuousy urged by several South
| ern members The Constitution this subject
| is as follows:
The Executive power shall be vested In the President
1.-THE President shall be commander of te army
and navy OF the United States and Of the militia Of the
era States when called into the actual service of the Uni
ted States"
In l795 Congress passed law TO carry out the
Constitution, from which the following is an ex-
tract:
SEQ p And be IL further enacted. Ths, whenever the
laws OF the United States shall be OPPOSED, the execu
ton thereof obsructed, in any State BY combinations too
powerful TO be suppressed by the ordinary of judicial
Ss e cy e Vested in The maT S By
dent Of the TO call rththe militia of such
LAWS TO BE DULY EXECUTED"
In 1877 law was passed amending the act of
1885 so as ~ i0cluds the army aad uavy as. well
the militia of the States and SO as to bring Tie
Territories under its operation.
Under the Constitution and these laws the Pres
ident says:
THE grave and important question now arises whether
there be in the Territory of New Mexico any existing law
OF the United States opposition to which, the obstruction
of which, would constitute a calling for the inerpos
ton Of the authority vested in Il e President
The Constitution OF the United States declares that
This Constitution, and the laws OF the United States which
shall be made in pursuance thereof and all the treaties
made or which shall be made under the authority of the
United States shall be the supreme law of the land II,
therefore, New Mexico be Territory of the United States
and any treaty stipulation be in force therein, such treaty
stipulation is the supreme law OF the land and is TO be
maintained and upheld accordingly"
"These several now in full force so that
if the laws of the United States opposed obstruc
in any State Territory by combinations powerful
be suppressed by the judicial civil authorities becomes
in which is the duty Of the President either call
the militia or to employ the military and naval force Of
the United States, TO do both, IT, in his judgment the
exgency of the occasion shall 50 require for the purpose
ofsuppressng such combinations The constitutional duty
the President plain and peremptory and the authority
vested in him by law for its performance clear and ample
The obligations of the treaty with Mexico are now
in full force and the Executive is bound to see them
executed Still. in the face of all this il is ear
nestly commended the President has no right TO
| ecute the powers vested in him by those laws, the
Constitution, and the treaty.
| What was the object of the constitutional pro-
| vision, and what was the object of these laws :
Was it plainly to put into the hands of the Pres
dent the power TO restrain disorder prevent resist
ance and put stop to any armed opposition to the
| laws 2 Ii is his duty to suppress combinations TO
| OPPOSE as well combinations to PREVENT the
| execution of the laws. He has right to wait in
the due execution of his duty, till the laws are VIC
lated and arrested in their operations He is to sup
press combinations to oppose the laws. What is a
| combir alton to oppose the law? 1t is clearly any
combination having for its object resistance exist
| ing law Suppose ten thousand men, in the city
OF New York, should organize and arm them
atnGf fhn nft
nue. laws would the President be compelled to
| wait till they had torn down the custom house and
public stores, destroyed the public property, and
stopped the business of the port? | think there
| are few men in the country who would not say
such doctrine ts an absurdity. ------a-------
1t is plain therefore, the President has usurped
| no powers, but it is the plain line of his duty. 1t
would be gross neglect OF duty TO abandon the
people of of the Territories of this Union to the
| rapacity of invasion-to permit the laws to be
trampled under foot, their execution defeated and
our citizens seized and carried into captivity for
trial, by laws to which they have never been sub
ject. Sir there Is not man in the nation but should
honor the frmness, the fidelity, and the prompness
of the President in this matt r. The great body
of the American people will do so, without distinc-
ton of party. The responses of the public voice
! begin already TO be heard from every part of the
| Union, and they fully justify what have said.
With the details of this bill this, to me- most
unmany measure, l am done. OF its general pur-
pose and objects have few more words to say.
Ii is intended a measure OF strength and security
10 slavery One of its main objects is TO extend the
| Missouri compromise line and another object is 10
take away from New Mexico what .ightfully belongs
to her because she has declared in favor of the pro-
hibtior of slavery and to give II 10 Texas because
she is now and will continue TO be- one OF the great
| slave markets of the nation. Because ii is impor-
tant to the slave interest to strengthen slavery in
that section of the Union, with the view, long enter
tanned at the South, Of the ultimate conquest and
conversion of Mexico TO slavery.
| e Ak.A q ,hf
perpetuate the greatest evil under which we now
| sufier-the rule and dominion of the slave power
| in the counses of the nation With the Missouri
compromise broken up-with the doctrine firmly
| maintained mo more slave States, more slave
territory" and the fate of that fearful that revolving
| institution is sealed.
What then, is duty in crisis like this What
| are the Representatives OF more than fifteen mil
| lions of the freemen of this nation 10 do? Are they
10 abandon all that Is right, all that is dutyl Sha
| they take the chains forged TO bind generations of
men, women, and children, yet unborn in their own
hands, and encircle the land of freedom, and say to
the lords of slavery, here is our Offering here Is
sacrifice to appease your rapacity, TO satisfy the
baseless claim OF Texasl
| Sir we owe a duty TO our country, to the world,
to humanity. We are clothed with solemn respon-
sbilities and before God believe of all the duties
! devoyed upon US, our highest at this time is firm
ness-unshaken, unwavering firmness in the cause
| of freedom. The eyes of the world are upon u.s.
History will record our acts. Shall we I'LL that page
of history with the tears, the woes, the Crimes the
sins of savery?-o shallthe impartial page point
TO our fidelity the morning light that broke for.
ever that dark night of slavery that hangs over and
around us, as a threatening cloud The response
biliy is upon us; we cannot shake 1t OF II we
| would; | would not II | could.
Sir, Tor one, am resolved TO do my duty. I
shall maintain in all its strength, in al its
vigor the faith the doctrines, the principles, with
which Ibegan. ! am for mo more slave States,
| no slave territory J" for the WilmOt Proviso ;
for the absolute prohibition of slavery in every
part of our national territory; for the aboli-
lion OF slavery and the slave trade in the Dis
trict OF Columbia In short for putting a stop now