The southern press., 1852-01-03
Hemafks 81 ur. uaraAAl, q keotu4ky, Ag
the koGsuth neooeu11on.


because it is said that the passage ,hereofis 10 du
as an act Of courtesy, simply. 10 Mr.. Louis Kos
suth. We are told that it is intended a. a wsey
personal courtesy; its introduction being accou,
panied by disclaimer of any idea If committing
the government to line Of bile policy Nj
Chairman, | cannot be deluded by this dis
claimer, nor by the want of pretensiou will
which this act is heralded. We are here, II /,
the simple capacity of private citizens, or N
body of American gentlemen, only: we are her
representatives of the American peope-s con
stituted Legislative body-a part of a constitu
tional government; and whatever resolution W,
| pass, is government act, SO far AS zoe can man
ufacture public act; whatever extent our ac
has. SO far we commit our government er nec~s
sltate. All! but it is only proposed to introduc,
kossuth 10 this House under the guidance Of .
committee appointed by the Spenker--no more
The gentleman from Ohio assures the House
that he is as much opposed TO "hearing har
angue' as any one can be, and that he cOntem
plates no such result to flow from the pas.ay,
OF his resolution. Let me assure that gentle
man, and this committee, that while his purpose.
are 30 praiseworthy, there are other gentlemen
here who do contemplate the delivery OF "a bor.
angue' by the Hungarian chief, and who supper,
the resolution because they expect to hear that
harangue whenever Mr. Kossuth comes within
this Hall. Let me assure the honorable member
that the evidence is strong and persuasive, that
kossuth himself expects to address the House
and that few days since he sought temporary
retirement from public observation, with the
view OF preparing the Grafton he expected to de-
liver to this Congress-
Now, Mr.. Chairman, ! have more than the
common stock of patience; but confess that il
has been exhausted by the manner in which this
distinguished stranger has been treated by the
people Of the Atlantic Cities and by his " ha
rangues" in New York, and thence to Baltimore.
in presence of the muItitudes, and in reply TO the
societies which have addressed him. Sir, he is
man OF genius, of talent, Of wonderful orator-
zeal facilities; but his sentiments are Quixotic,
and e'pecialy they are not American sentiments,
or calculated, by their Impress upon the Amer
lcan mind, to promote the harmony and the
happiness of this people, or the influence, and
glory, and permanency Of this government
When | have read his speeches to the bar, the
bench, the press, the people, and have remarked
the care he has taken to teach that the lessons
Cf our lorefathers were crude, and can have no
permanency as principles of national conduct,
every drop of American blood in my frame flows
faster with indignation at the estimate he must
place upon American intelligence, and at the
rapidity with which he uncoils himself under the
warmth of our honest. hearty, and wel.meant
sympathy for him while chilled by misfortune
Look there at our own Washington, as his great
image looks down upon this debate, and say
whether 1t becomes us, as Americans to hear
within this Hall, sacred to the business of the
people, an oraion from foreigner, the burden
OF which must necessarily be an attempt to un-
teach all that he taught; to loosen all the ties
which his wisdom provided in our infancy as the
guides of our manhood as u nation to leave
behind US forever the landmarks by which the
vessel of State has thus far been steered through
storms and tempest, and under this new pilotage
to go careering over the sea in crusade after
The rights Of humanity and the Utopia of uni
versal liberty? ] do not understand how.
among well-talanced minds, there can be diff
ference of opinion as to our public duty in re-
gard to this question.
MIR. Chairman, if this is an act of mere cour-
tesy to which we are invited, then it is extrava-
giant, under all the circumstances. Compliments,
to be appreciated at due value, should be gradu.
ated by some standard. Precedent has furnished
the standard by which the courtesy of an Ameri-
can Congress should, through all future time, be
measured There (pointing to the portrait of
Latavette) is the "tokeh" OF man, the compeer
ard compatriot of Washington, to whom in his
oiN uSc, VIC Oultcu ASlultS UeSISHcu TO OIIef Lne
very highest compliment they could bestow upon
mortality. He had abandoned prosperity, the
smiles of his sovereign, the adulation of a court,
fortune, family, and had embarked his all in the
struggle for American Independence. He had
expended cf is own means $4,000 to clothe
our naked soldiery, and had from his own stores
put shoes upon the bleeding feet of the Ameri-
can patriots who were fighting by his side
through the revolution. He was an adopted son
of the Union. He understood the principles of
our government, because he was of the glorious
band who laid the foundation of our freedom.
fie was the companion of Washington. He had
illustrated his principles by long career in Eu-
rope, ever devoted to the establishment of ra.
tional liberty. Congress, obedent to the national
affection, invited Lafayette to leave his own
homestead to revisit our shores that he might
contemplate our growth and look upon the re-
suits of his own glorious services in our national
development.
When he came, the undoubted guest of
America, Congress passed resolution directing
the Speaker to congratulate him upon his arrival,
and to assure him of the satisfaction of Con-
gress in being able to testify to him in person n
nations gratitude. He was introduced accord
ingly by a committee, and such honors paid as
you now propose to accord to Kossuth Are
the casses parallel! Have we so fallen in love
with Louis Kossuth thatewe are ready, without
having any further acquaintance with him than
is obtained through the mists of the Hungarian
war and his own speeches, to pay him the same
amount Of honor that we offered to Lafayette,
and more than we have accorded to Kosciusko,
to Father Mathew--to any man of foreign birth,
or to- any other hero of the our own free cline? ?
If you so cheaper what has been offered to La
fayette, abolish the grades of compliment and
avow that your courtesy means as little as that
of the Spanard, whose usual salutation is to
request his visitor to hold all his host pos
sesses at his own disposition" The universality
of your politeness will then render it alike value
less to all. Sir, it must not be forgotten that
the compliment bestowed upon Lafayette, of an
introduction to the American Senate and House
of Representatives, ohie those bodies uere in ses
sion, is the only instance of the kind to be
found in the history Of this government 1t is
the only instance to be found in the history of
any civilized government since the middle ages.
Roman consuls had ovations, and returned from
conquests attended by crowds of captives to
pass under triumphal arches amid the huzzas
of the multitude, These did no more. Even
these halted nt the steps Of the Senate house
a..