Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1850-06-22
SPEECH OF Mr.. DAYTON,
OF NEW JERSEY.
ON THE COMPROMISE Bill l..
TuEspAY, JUNE IL, 1850.


The Senate having under consideration the special ode
being the bill to admit California State into the Union
to establish Territorial Governments for Utah and New Mex-
CO. and making proposals Texas for the establishment OF
her western and northern boundaries which bill Mr. BENTON
had moved to postpone till the 4h day Of March, 1851
Mr. DAYTON I avail myself'of the first opportunity
presented the report of the committee for the expression
Of my views upon the general subject before the senate
regret the delay that has occurred since the report and the
speech Of the Senator from Kentucky there would seem to
have been wanting proper promptude upon the part Of
Senators concung in the views Of the Executive In coming
up to its support and have sometimes felt sense OF per-
sona humiliation that have been slow in the expression
of our views the question. purpose examining not SO
much the recommendation Of the Executive as the plan OF
the committee In doing SO, shall make no antagonism
between them and shall place myself IN no point OF
antagonism with the committee with any member OF the
committee and least of all with it's distinguished chairman
Sir have followed him at distance too long to desire or
even consent to position Of personal anagonism now
When we the result of the action Of the committee,
sense Of general surprise and disappointment felt in
this chamber well in the country at large Here was
committee organized for harmony, got up with view to con-
clation and intended to reach united result was thus
that the mind of the country to be affected by the moral
force of grand compromise. But sr when this report
comes n find that instead Of being the result Of an har
monious compromise, it literally the offspring Of confusion
and the child Of dscod The report was born before
it was denounced by many Of its puatve fathers They
seized upon it, srangled it, and would have choked dead
in cradle but for the ndomabe energy Of one man. who
seized it with one hand and defended against all comes
with the other Although dissenting from his POSITIONS It
spectacle OF moral grandeur which coud not put
pect and ADMIRE
But sir when the resul. of this committees consultation
(wh almost many dssentens as concurrents) became
apparent it required much confidence in the committee to
still persist in its own plan and permit say with great
respect that required still more confidence on the part Of
the chairman under such disastrous circumstances to say
that he had with profound surprise and regret the
persistence" for he is compelled to regard the facts
around us) of the Chief Magistrate of the country in his
own peculiar plan" Mr.. President ecoect that during the
last Presidential clnvass, New York politician somewhat
distinguished for pquan sayings (whose father was at that
time an irregular Democratic FIeeso candidate express
ed his unbounded surprise that General Cass would persist
in running his just to distract the Democratic party
(Laugher Now, sir, with all proper respect, seems
to me that in view Of the action OF this comm.'ee ana
its utter Of harmony the surprise and regret referred
would naturally have been looked for In another quar-
ter, and from opposite direction. thmk-and my
belief that the great body Of the Wings OF the North az
least will agree with ne-hat the Cancellation and effort
at harmony referred to should have from this end
rather than from the other end of the avenue. Why sir
what have seen After weeks OF struggle, you have
organized your committee they have gone into session
thirteen learned doctors consulting over the body OF our poor
dying patients and yet the thirteen have not united upon the
mode Of treating solitary one Of the five gaping wounds Of
which the patient is said to be dying Seven is majority OF
that committee Why sir the President, with his six mem
bers Of the Cabinet would have formed the majority if they
had been part Of that committee yet under such cIrcum
stances considered matter of surprise that there was not
nmaon the part Executive thathe would aban-
don his own recommendation for that Of the committee The
suggestions the President when made certainly well
ceved by the country large In the beginning ne proposed
wha Understood the South had first
ton and then, sir when come In, and under the recon-
mendaon of Executive work to that pontno ntee-
ence in the Territories ALIVE find that the stake pulled
up and down further on, and are again required 70
work up and told further that unless we do So
nothing can be done-ha the question is the plan Of TINS
committee or nothing Sir if that be SO, regret il deeply
If it turn out shall ever believe that is the unfortunate
result this attempt accomplish than the state OF the
times and circumstances would permit
Mr. President desire to make some remarks upon the
plan Of the committee. do not compare this plan with
any other because although newspapers and speeches have
designated the plan Of the committee and the other as
the plan Of the Executive the Executive itself never as
sumed any such title for its recommendation did no more
than recommend single measure Il is indebted Tor Its
to speechmakers and Journalists was no pan
proesed 10 be grand scheme for settling all the MS
which might possibly aict the body polite; 1t was the
recommendation Of simple and single measure. The
Committee Thirteen have brought forward grand scheme
and insist calling the Presidents recommendation scheme
plan like their own, and ask comparison They are not
susceptible Of comparison. The Presidents recommenda-
ton and the plan Of the committee go together until the
recommendation Of the President stops They are identical
certain point and you take the remarks Of the dis
tnguished Senator from Kentucky, (Mr. CLAY you will
find it avowed by him. He says that the Executive re-
conmends the introduction of California State, and SO
does the committee The Executive recommends nom
Intervention to the subject Of slavery, and does the
committee They therefore IDENTICAL in the view OF
that Senator, far. From that point FORTH the plan o
the committee is plan Of its own, and it must stand OF
fall not by comparison with opposite pan but by ts
own single. merits
The Executive recommends the admission Of California
State; and the committee in II, with certain other
matters Now sir upon the point Of preference between
the two recommendations. The Executive recommends q
single act direct plan and straightforward He says,
California deserve upon her merits to be admitted, ad
init her if she do not reject her. That is the plain d.
rect and Straightforward method of legislation, dvesed of all
exraneous outside influences What does the committee
do They recommend the admission Of Cafonia-hereby
admitting the Executive to be gh-bu in addition, from
uves opocy political strategy, they recommend other mat
ter wholly extraseous to the main propositions other and
weaker measures to be carried along by this the stronger
submit in the beginning, that the recommendation of the
Executive thus far is the unexceponabe and proper
course OF legislation; that California alone is
than proposition which with and overrides il
by other matters Then, sir, the Territories. The
Executive recommends nonnteventon upon the subject
slavery, and the committee recommend noninervention
the subject Of slavery Both plans respects this exciting
topic, (which alone deeply the public mind are
thus far denca they do nothing ALL least the repor
of the committee processes to do nothing although som,
Senators suppose advantage gained the South by the
extension Of Territorial Government there. When tbs
plans therefore commence differ they differ not in relation
to savery-no in reference the matter which the
country deeply excited but to matter about which hs
country knows e and the great majority care less TO wit
the civil organization Of those Territories aside from slavery
The Of civil organization of the Territories is not
of the FIVE gaping wounds which have been graphically de-
scrbed. II said that il is duty-hat we are under
treaty obligations provide the inhabitants Of those Terrific
ries with Governments The ninth section Of the treaty OF
Guadslupe Hidalgo provides