The North-Carolina standard., 1850-05-15


of majority of this House the supreme law Of the
land. The history of the legislation of this country
furnishes presidents in abundance of the most dan
gerous heresies which could be introduced into the
government. We have precedents for alien and Sc
don laws, for national banks, for internal improve
ments by the general government, and for many 9TH
er heresies which the advocates of atitudinarian
construction endeavored to ingra upon constitu
ton. Power is always stealing from the many to
the few; and in a government with limited powers,
powers than by making legislative precedents the rule
for determining the extent of constitutional authority
1t the duty Of a-but emphatically the duty
of the democratic partyto repudiate all Legislative
precedens for the exercise of power not granted to
Congress by the constitution.
Entertaining these views, the oath which have
taken to support the constitution imposes upon me
the duty to vote against all attempts that may be
made to legisate slavery either in out of Ter
tories, north south of any degree of latitude
sir, can give my vote in favor of the Missouri
promise line, which would be virtually legisating
slavery into all territory south of that line. stand
upon the broad constitutional platform of NoNNTER-
vENTIoN-the only platform on which the rights, Sc
tained.
Bot Mr.. Chairman, will leave this constitutional
point and ask the attention of the committee to other
matters connected with the question under consdera-
ton. can no longer sir, be disguised, that this
slavery agitation has now assumed fearful aspect.
The danger with which We are threatened is not OF
recent origin; it has been gradually and steadily ap-
preaching for years past, though 1t has been greatly
accelerated by recent political events. The two an
tagonist elements which were combined In our con-
sttution have been warrng against each other ever
since its formation. The time has now come when
the danger must be met face to face; and upon this
body is devolved the high and solemn responsibility
Of meeting it. It must not be met by palliatves by
expedienss, or by any system Of political qoackery
known by the name Of compromises: No, sir; the
day for shifts or expedents Of any kind has passed.
We tried the Missouri compromise in 1920, and with
what success let the history Of the country, from that
time to the present, answer. Sir, since 1920, the
slavery agitation has progressed ih alarming strides
The Missouri compromise opened the door tor Its agl
tation. 1t certainly did not tend to suppress it. and
could have had no such effect; for whenever clear
constitutional right is surrendered by compromise.
still further surrender will inevitably be sooner or la
ter demanded. Such has been the effect OF the Mis-.
sour compromise, and such will be the effect of all
compromises of constitutional power. am opposed
cir, to all compromises of this question. am in ia
yor of Meeting it on broad constitutional grounds,
with the solemn declaration Of this House that Con-
gress has not the constitutional power to legslate IN
regard to it. If such resolution could be adopted
it would strike at the root Of the evil at once; and
would relieve the country from the agitation OF
question which is already surrounded with SO much
danger to the peace and stability of the Union. No
one can be insensible Of this danger. For my own
part believe that the peril is more imminent than 1t
has been at any former period of history Disso
luton may not this year or the next does
not require the gift of prophecy to forete that it will
come sooner, or later, these aggressions upon the
domestic institutions of the South are Persevered in
1t is lamentabe fact that the people of the North
and of the South. unmindul that they are children OF
the same revolutionary parent, begin already to look
upon each other enemies and it is an equally de-
pioable fact that those holy feelings Of love and yen-
Grafton which the people Of both sections of our com
country but few years ago entertained tor this
blessed Union are gradually dying out and in short
danger. know that the North is full of strength
and of vigor and may compel her weaker brother of
the South to submission. But the first blow that Is
struck, the first blood that is shed, will seal the doom
of that peaceful and glorious Union which our faith
ers bequeathed Sir, this Union is not an IRON
bound Union, which the hand of power and of vio-
lence may maintain. No, sir; the tie which unites
as is silken tie; it is the tie Of mutual love and
mutual sympathies, of common memories OF glori-
past, and of common hopes Of still more giorl-
GUS future. When this tie is broken the American
Union will exist longer. The written bond of the
conederacy may remain, but its vitality will be gone.
We will have the crushed and battered body. but the
soul-every-thing, indeed, which gave life, and spr-
it, and value to that body-will have fled forever.
Let no one be deceived in regard to this danger.
We are even now passing through the first process
of a dissolution Of the Union. This House has been
already told that the religious union of two of the
most numerous denominations of Christians has been
dissolved by this slavery agitation. The northern
member of those denominations will no longer wor-
ship his God the altar with his southern BROTH
er and we have been also told that the spirit
of dsunon has entered the sanctuary of other church.
es in the North. Sir, only is our religious union
being dissolved but the political union which, for
more than fifty years, united Ahe democrats Of the
North and Of the South into one great national DEM
ocratc party, exists but in name. Sectional jealousy
and sectional aggression has separated the democrat
Of the North FROM his political brother of the South,
in the manner that sectional anaticisn has
Ganged the Christian Of the North from his Christian
brother of the South. Sir, the proceedings of this
Congress, since the first day which assembled,
prove clearly that evil spirit is at work, which will
ultimately bring, not only upon our party, bot our
country, Inin and disunion. Why, ask, were we
four weeks endeayoging to elect Speaker of this
Housel Our candidate was democrat, regularly
nominated by caucus, unobjectionable to any men,
Der Of the party on political grounds and to his
personal ftness for the Office his political opponents
even conceded il. Why, then, was 1t that, with a
clear democratic majority in this House, his election
did not take place on the first vote And why was
it that the sosing wssppeonged for twenty days be-
fore we spcceeded in ihe Alection4 Simply bscanse
our candidate came from Asouthen State; and north
ern democrats, who boosted Of their democracy, re-
fused to support him, for sat reason, and that alone
This fact 10 sieni6csue snoagh of the progress which
sectional ieelinS had made In nosthern constituents
even before the meeting Of Congress. Il WAS the
first time in the history of the democratic party that
northern democrat sefused to support a southern
democrat because one lived north and the other south