The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-03-05

| proper 10 btceuo from LhlS UblOn-as she right
fully has the power to do--my duty and my al
legiance are due to her. Sir the traitors to this
government if any there be, are the consoda-
tionsts. They are traitors against the States
to whom alone they owe allegiance because
they deny their sovereignty. 1t is they who
would break down the whole fabric of the gov
ernment, and make it simply All Austrian des-
potism, in which their reserved rights would be
| taken away from the States. | do not say they
are traitors; but say, between the two classes
| of poiticans--the State rights men, who main
tain the rights of the sovereign States, affirming
that they are parties to the constitutional com
pact, and have u right TO -secede from it when
ever they please-between them, and those who
deny the right OF the States to sccede, who de-
ny that the States are sovereign, and contend
here for consolidated despotism-if there be
treason, it is on the part of the latter If any
are traitors, they are the tators-foul. usurp-
ing traitors to their States.
The Senator from Alabama further says, that
| brought here into the Senate private affair
the statement concerning him, which Judge Bu-
ford and Mr.. Mccall have put forth in Alabama
for more than month past When ! came to
the city found this statement here. The Sena-
tor says it is private matter. 1t was no pri-
vatc matter. 1t was "A matter affecting the rep.
resentative of sovereign State and the dignity
of this Senate. And while he talks of expul-
sion, and says that | wished to vote to expel
John Quincy Adams--an assertion entirely gra-
tuitous--l can tell him, that if the facts which
these gentlemen assert, and have published in
the public papers, be true, and they had been
brought forward before the Senate when he came
here to take his seat, he never would have been
received among his compeers in this ilIu,trious
BODY. No. A nd m n nj mr. IL ha
had taken his seat, and resolution had been
offered to expel him from the Senate, but that u
majority of this body would have passed the
resolution. On this point, will take nothing
for true but what the Senator himself admits
Mr.. President, you know Judge Buford
know you do; and q more honorable and upright
and truthful man does not live in this broad
land. know him Also do not know Mr.
Mccall. But now, admitting that there is a
mistake as to the fact that the Senator gave
written pledge to uphold the Wing party, which
these gentlemen assert was seen and read by
them signed by him, what is it that understand
the Senator to admit! | understand him to
admit that which | asserted, that at the caucus
of the Democratic party in Alabama, he and
Mr.. Fitzpatrick were the candidates for the Sen
ate, and he was defeated
Mr.. CLEMENS: No, sir; never admitted
any such thing.
Mr.. RHE1'r Were you not voted for in
the caucus of the Democratic party!
Mr.. CLEMENS. If you wish to know the
facts in relation to this matter, will tell them to
you
MIR. RllETT. IL wish to know. the truth
MIR. CLEMENS. Some fifteen or twenty
members of the Legislature got together for the
purpose of cOnsulLation-not to hold caucus
Mr.. Fitzpatrck's friends, finding they had ma
jority of those present in his favor, turned in
and nominated him. The very next day, that
same caucus met and rescnded their resolu-
tons. There never was any more of that; and
the Democrats who voted for me, represented
majority Of ten thousand of the voters Of the
State.
Mr.. R1ETT. ! wish to know the truth of
this matter. | understand the Senator now to
say that there was no caucus Of the Democratic
party.
Mr.. CLEMENS. There was no regular eau
Gus. A few members met for another purpose
and the friends of Mr. Fitzpatrick, being ma
jority of those present, nominated him but the
next day there was caucus, and the other
resolutions were rescnded
Mr.. RI1ETT. Well, Mr.. Fitzpatrick was the
nominee Of the Democratic party. Was not that
true?
Mr.. CLEMENS. He claimed to be so, but
denied it.
Mr.. RHETT. The Senator, then, denies that
a caucus was held, or that Mr. Fitzpatrick was
the nominee Of the Democratic party. lie GER
tainly was not its nominee. A Mr. Davis, a
Wing in the caucus, (who the Senator says is
man of honor, and was his friendly was author
lied by him to express his views and opinions
to the Wing party at Wing caucus Do un-
derstand that to be the case!
Mr.. CLEMENS, Gin his seat) shall an
swer no more questions now.
Mr.. RHETF. AS the gentleman has cor.
rected me in one respect, | take it for granted
he will correct me again if should fall into
error He goes to the Viii. caucus. He
authorizes friend, Wing in the Wing caucus
to state his opinions on public matters. say
nothing about the written pledge snid to have
been given; but what is the result? The
Wing party, as party, come out and vote for
him in the legislature, and he is elected Sena-
tor Of the United States and, further still, they
have been his supporters ever since. do not
wish at all to assert anything concerning the
Senator which is not true, but thus far under
stand him to admit is true; and they place the
Senator in a position very little different from
that which the assertions of Judge Duford and
Mr.. Mccall place him in. AS to the conflict of
veracity between the Senator and the writer of
these letters, leave that to the people of Ala
bama to determine. The facts asserted were
not private matters. They were public matters
public men acting on great public interests,
and affecting the well-being of whole State,
and the dignity of this illustrious body.
shall not notice all the points the Senator
has made this morning in his vindication, but
only few, rather on account of their public i'm
portance, that for his discussion of them. I
stated that the current of our legislation in ad
hitting new States was, that Congress passed
law previous to the State being admitted into
the Union for her to make a constitution and
become State; and that after thus being
State she was admitted into the Union. That
was my proposition. The Senator asserts that
Florida and other States came into the Union
without any such act. Sir, he is totally misin-
formed. Before those States came n there was
an act passed by Congress by which they were
authorized to form State aud to come into the
Union. 1t is very true, in the case of Flori.
da, that the people had, previous to the act Of
Congress, made constitution; but they did not
come in here until Congress passed the law by