Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1852-01-30


!. mittes Of the Whole, Jan. "a. 1852, on the
.Mericaa Indemnity Bill.
Mr.. Rantoul on obtaining the floor, said:-I do
not propose to enter at all into the general merits
of the question before the Committee; indeed, |
would not have troubled the Committees am
always very unwilling to do t-with any remarks
of mine, If there had not been cast upon my ma
tive State an imputation so serious to demand
an immediate notice from me. A majority Of the
people of Massachusetts are involved together in
an lmputallon which, 1t seems TO me, the honor of
the people of that great State, without distinction
of party, requires should not, when it is thus cast
upon her by representative of one of her Con.
gressional districts, on this floor, himself native
son of hers, be suffered to pass unrepeled The
lmputatlon is one of corruption--not, as under
stand 1t, upon few leaders OF single political
party, but upon vast majority ofthe voters of
the Commonwealth Of Massachusetts, State
which has stood so high in the history of this
country from the time when this country began to
have history, and which am proud 10 believe
has never forfeited her pristine rank in the glori-
Gus ssterhood of confederated States. That such
an imputation upon the people of such State
should be noticed upon ,ilis floor as soon as it is
made, seems 10 me plain that / should think
myself without excuse if kept my seat under
such call TO speak here. Sir, Massachusetts
bears name too respondent with the glories of
her colonial and revolutionary history to be ques-
toned by her children. She has maintained her
high standard of patriotism, and virtue, and hon
or, too long, too uniformly, too brilliantly, to have
it supposed for moment, that a true son of hers
would endure to see her fair fame sullied without
rushing to her defence.
Sir. the imputation Of corruption is made here,
Il Il Il
estimates TO contain iorty-thre thousand in. the
one party, and twenty weight thousand in the 9TH
era majority, according 10 his own calculation.
Of the voters who take sufficient interest in politi-
cal matters TO present themselves at the polls.
That Is the charge land it is to hat that address
myself And first, let me answer as 10 that portion
of those voters with whom am directly and DO
litlcaly identified nd have been for more than
score OF years, through series, scarcely paral-
leled, Of hard fought battles-I mean the Demo-
cratic party of Massachusetts.
To come now TO the precise question raised by
the charge nfmy colleague against Massachusetts.
is coalition between men who do not oppose the
compromise measures, and the fugitive slave law
particularly, with men who do oppose them, an
unhoy coalition?
lfit be, where, and since when was that dis
covery made? Was it by the Wing party in the
been denounced again and again upon this floor,
by Wing gentlemen, because the gentleman who
holds his seat in the other branch Of Of this Con-
gress, (Mr Geyer,) was elected bya coalition, as
understand it, of those who favored and those
who were opposed to The fugitive slave law, and
the compromise measures, in the State of Mis-
souri,! Is 1t in the State Of Wisconsin. where the
gentleman nominated by Free Soil Convention,
and known to concur in their views, was elected,
and the Wing papers, from one end of the coun.
try to the other, set up shout of triumph at the
Wing victory in the State of Wisconsin The
Free Soil candidate of the Free Soil party was
&lected, and hence it was, as one would suppose.
Free Soil victory. But is a Wing victory a Free
Soil yictory9 Are they one and the same thing?
The gentleman says they are not the same, but
very different things; but yet there is no outcry OF
Indignation against Missouri, or against Wscon-
sin, for these enormilies, but much applause, be-
cause coalition has given to Wings share in
the distribution Of Office and power. There is but
little to urge against Ohio or New York, or
Georgia, but great deal against Massachusetts,
And why? | do not know, unless it is because
her own sons contribute to heap mputatons of
dIshonor on Massachusetts, on this floor because
the stab from the parricdal hand ranlles most
sorely, and stimulates the malignancy of strangers
to follow up the blow, and add fresh venom TO the
wound.
And now, what does my friend from the sixth
district mean by charging upon the Democrats
breach of political honesty, in acting with those
who agree them upon certain particular points of
acton-in eIecting the Governor, Lieut.. Gov
ernor, and other officers of State administration
and in passing certain measures of reform, in
which the Democratic party has been engaged
for fifteen or twenty years past, in Massachusetts
but which they had not accomplished, and could
not have accomplished without the aid which he
thinks they ought not to have received, when it
was rendered? Does the gentleman from the
SIKH district believe that it is wrong for Free
Soiler to act with Wing, or Wing with Free
Soiler? To make my question more definite and
more pertinent to his own position, does he be-
lieve it wrong for an Abolitionist and Wing to
act together? He must have undergone trans
formation of heart and character as sudden. as
entire, and as far beyond the reach of natural
causes, as that Of Saul Of Tarsus, and that too
quite recently, if he does not believe such COM
mon action to be honorable and justi6able Then
why does he attack this coalition so furous!-
This is a new thing compared with the old stand
ing coalition of the State of Massachusetts, in yir
tue of which the Wing party las retained its
power for the last twenty or thirty years, by car
rying with it the votes of those whose feelings
towards the institution Of slavery, were not of a
very favorable kind. They are the gentlemen,
those influenced by their dislike of slavery, were
the gentlemen who kept the Wing party in power
in Massachusetts, from the time when il came in
by the amalgamation or coalition of 1925, till the
tine when it went out, by the coalition of No
vember, 1850, continued in January 1851. IT,
then, it be wrong for party opposed to the COM
promise to coalesce with party in favor of the
compromise, tell this committee that such CO.
alltion-such ia principle, for this coalition in
Massachusetts does not date only from the pas
sage of that law-I say such coalition has kept
the Wing party IN the State Of Massachusetts in
power down TO the time when they went out Of
power. And a pretty prominent actor in that