The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-06-01


members of Congress might be obtained and
an informal debate arose in the course of which
| Mr. Marshall, of Kentucky, remarked:
"Thai, at the commencement OF this session
of Congress, certain gentlemen had retired from
meeting of Wig representatives because that
meeting refused To lay on the table resolution
endorsing the position of the present admins
tration upon the series OF measures known as
the compromise measures that some Of the
same persons had, during the session. publicly
assailed the said resolution as an untrue express
sion of Wing sentiment in regard TO those
measuies--and that these persons were present
now to assist in determining the time and place
| for the Wing National convention. Consider.
| ing the position of the administration on this
class of questions, the condition Of political
parties, and the fact that by some the resolution
referred TO deemed cardinal as principle
it was thought by many to be the proper course
| to re-state, in the meeting of the Wing members
of the two houses, the position which the Wings
in Congress hold on The compromise measures,
before proceeding to the steps preparatory for a
convention of the Wing party. He then remark
ed, that before the time and place for holding
the National convention were determined, he
designed to submit resolution to the meeting
imbodying the principle proclaimed by the Wing
Congressional caucus of December last and he
hoped all present to participate in the proceed
ings would agree to the same"
No distinct proposition WAS submitted to the
meeting by Mr.. Marshall but before it adjourn
cd Mr.. Mangum made a response TO his sug-
gestion, which is reported in the official report
of Messrs. Chandler and Dockery AS follows:
"The chairman stated that the question was
not now before the meeting; but that he deemed
il due to the gentlemen present. and to his own
honor, to state explicitly that he should be called
on, by his understanding of the rules of the
Senate, which had been adopted for the govern
ment of this meeting, and the usages of the
Wing party, to rule out of order such resolu
tons and he took this early time Of stating the
matter, that the meeting, if they did not approve
of this decision, might call another gentleman
TO the chair"
The above extract is correct az far as it goes,
but does not state fully what the chairman said
on that occasion. He stated further that, in his
opinion, the powers and duties of that Wing
caucus were limited 10 The single subject of fring
the time and place for holding The National Wing
convention, and that such a resolution as that sug
gested by Mr.. Marshall q quote now from Mr.
Manguul's card) "lDas inadniissi6Ic on The ground
of assuming 10 construct ia part political plat
form, aohch The Chair deemed as in no ertent war-
| rantable by The usages Of the Wing party, BUT A
NAKED usURPATIoN OF POWER, property er(rcisa
Die only by the people, or Their representatives in
| National contention lie adhered 10 this declara
ton, and made his decisions accordingly through
ALL THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND CAUCUS"
Mr. Mangum having thus distinctly stated at
the first caucus what would be his course of
action at the next meeting, Mr. Marshall shaped
and phrased his resolution so as to make it APP
pHcabe only to the Wing members Of Con
gress thus seeking TO free it from the objection
Of Mr. Manguu, that it assumed to make plat
form for the Wing party and confidently en-
terrain the belief that the chairman would be
constrained to decide it to be in order; but
was disappointed. When the second caucus
assembled, so soon the brief journal of the
proceedings of the first meeting was read, Mr.
Stanly sprung from his seat and was recognised
by the Chair as being entitled to the floor. He
then offered the following resolution;
"Resolred That it be recommended to hold
the Wing National convention in the city of
| Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, on Wed
nesdny, the 18th day of June next, for the pur-
pose of nominating candidates for President and
| Vice President of the United States"
! Mr.. Marshall then obtained the floor and Of
| fered his resolution, not as an amendment to- but
as substitute for, Mr.. Stanly's resolution.
Mr.. MarshalPs resolution proposed TO fix the
time and place for holding the National conven-
ton, and I" to assert an affirmative endorsement
of the fnality of the compromise az basis of
union among The present Wing members of Con.
| greSs" 1t was ruled out of order by the Chair
an appeal was taken, and the ruling of the Chair
was sustained by a large majority of the meet
ing | then offered the following resolution,
as an amendment 10 be added to Mr.. StanIy's
resolution:
"Resolped, That the Wing members of Con-
gress, in thus recommending time and place
for the National Wing convention to assemble
are not to be understood as pledging themselves
| to support the nominees of said convention
except upon the condition that the persons then
and there nominated as candidates for President
and Vice President shall be publicly and un-
equivocally pledged to regard the series Of
measures known the compromise meas ures
as final settlement of the dangerous questions
which they embraced, and to maintain that set.
Element in iolate"
/ prefaced the presentation of this resolution
with some remarks, in which assumed that my
resolution was not obnoxious to the objections
taken by the Chair to that offered by Mr.. Mar
shall that it was strictly congruous with the
subject matter of Mr. Stanly's resolution, and
that it proposed to erect no political platform
for the Wing party; that it proposed nothing
more than an expression of the extent to which
the Wing members of Congress, then and there
assembled, were to be understood as committing
themselves, in fixing the time and place for
National convention, to the support of the
nominees of that conventions and, finally, thai
it impossible for the Chair to decide my
resolution out of order under any recognized
principle parliamentary law, or even under his
} own expressed view of the narrow and limited
powers of that Congressional caucus Itseemec
to me that the chairman (Nlr. Mangum) fell
that these suggestions had in them the force OF
ruth. He seemed to be embarrassed. | be-
lieve that he entertained kindly feelings towards
me personally. He was polite, courteous, and
kind in his bearing towards me. He looked anG
acted as if he desired to decide my resolution ir
order. But his former decisions stared him in
the face, and he could not consent to be incon
sistent with those former decisions He SAID
that my resolution was quite different in its
character from that offered by the gentleman
from Kentucky, Mr.. MARSHALL; but that his
opinion of the power and duties of that caucus