The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-03-04

uoHs lhdscated CONTAMINATION 10 Tespast the
constitutional rights Of the South. There are
now two senators on this floor whose election
was consequence Of this happier state of feel
ing. | mean the Senator from New Jersey,
Mr.. STOCKTON, and the Senator from Rhode
Island. Mr.. JAMES know they will not take
it unkind in me for thus referring to them, and
adding, AS | gladly do, that there are no two
men i'll this body more firmly determined To
mete out equal aud exact justice to every section
OF the Union. Could |, with any regard TO
truth or decency, with the facts staring me-
IN the face, persist in course of denunciation
which could only have the effect IF exasprraling
those who were conscious Of doing all they
could to merit kinder treatment! Such u
course might, indeed. have been gratifying to
the Senator from South Carolina, and to those
who. like him, seek dissolution of the Union;
but 1t would neither have been creditabIe to me,
nor acceptable to the honest and patriotic peo
pie | represent. II the same state of things
existed now, which did exist at the date of that
speech, it is quite possible might employ Ian
grage as strong as any then used But that
state of things has passed away, and it il the
part of good citizen to bury with il all memo.
ry of the bitterness to which il gave rise.
The Senator has been exceedingly cautious
not to touch that part of my argument which
relates TO the territoril bills Even he felt that
was impregnable, and he chose rather to indulge
in complaints OF my laudations of the Union.
On that, AS on other points, he misunderstands
me- ! sing no hosannas to Union which is
one in name only, not in spirit do not wish
to see this people tied together by hateful
bond, while dscordant interests and ranking
jealousies gangrene its separate parts It was
not such a Union which Washington and Jack.
son meant when they urged us to preserve it.
They wished wish-all of US should wish
Union Of different kind-in which each MEM
Der cherishes an habtual respect for the rights
1T the others-in which all are taught to believe
that 1t Is impossible for any of its members to
deliberately intend to do wrong-tlnat some
charity is due to errors and mistakes-that in
justice must be temporary only--that common
interest, the recoections Of past glory and
the anticipation of future greatness cannot fail
IN the end to correct whatever evils pas ion or
prejudice may have spoken into being tits for
Union of this sort only that have been earn.
estly pleading with my countrymen. The Sena
tor has been as zealousy engaged in seeking to
destroyit. His mission is to inculcate iealouses
Of the North. Addressing himself TO those
who have not the time or the opportunity to in.
vestigate for themselves he says that the peoplr
of the Northern States are horde Of robbers,
whose chief occupation consists in deyising
schemes to rob the South--that there is among
them reckless disregard Of law. which prevents
the execution of Congressional enactmenis-
and that mu der has ceased to be a punishable of.
fence, IT committed upon citizen Of the South
in pursuit of his property. 1t is not snrprisrp
that he has thus succeeded, to some extent. in
estranging one portion of the country from the
other His co-laborers Of the North have also
met with some success 1t has thus become the
duty OF every patriot to address himself to the
task of removing these dscontents and to in
cucate the high duty Of loving one another.
Let the voice OF the demagogue everywhere be
answered by truth and reason, and we shall
soon witness a bet or and a brighter era
With his usual inaccurAcy the Senator from
South Carolina has ventured to assert that no
State has ever been admitted into the Union
without previous act Of Congress. authorizing
the adoption OF a constitution and form of State
government The senator might have learned,
even from my speeches if he had read them for
any purpose but to garble and distort, how ut
terly at variance this assertion was with tho
facts. had occasion once before to refer to all
the acts OF Congress upon the subject, and row
read from the tables then prepared, the accura.
cy of which cannot be questioned
In Vermont there was no act of Congress an
thorizng the people to form constitution and
State government; in Kentucky there was none;
In Tennessee there was none; in Maine there
was none; in Arkansas there was none i'm
Michigan there was none; in Florida there was
none, and in Iowa there was none. Here sir
are nine States which, according to the logic of
the Senator, are illegally and nnconstitutonaly
membe RS Of this confederacy Some of them
were admitted Immediately after the adoption
OF the Constitution, when the trainers of that
instrument themselves held seats in Congress,
but no one heard at that day of the miserable
bubble that States" only could he admitted.
The practice OF the government from its founda-
ton, has been to look TO the attending circum.
stances. In some cases they have passed acts
authorizing the establishment Of State govern
ments; in others they have not. They have a
ways claimed and exercised the power of 9i,-
pensing with formaities, and of being governed
by what seemed to be the public good
The Senator from South Carolina exnltinglv
informed us that he was performing the same
operation upon me that had performed upon MIR.
foote. think he has found ont by this time
that he had troublesome subject. The opera
tor himself has not escaped without suffering
But he may console himself by the reflection
that he is not alone. He is not the first man
who has undertaken the task and regretted it
before it was concluded did quote extracts
from some of Mr. Foote'S speeches but it
was ooie IN spirit OF Kindness and courtesy,
with none of that rancorous bitterness which
characterized the effort of the Senator from
South Carolina. 1t was sudden and unpre.
medtated-not brooded over for months
did not hug to my bosom cherished hatred,
and watch an opportunity to stab the repu-
tatiOn of another
The extract from my speech which has teen
selected by the Senator the theme of his dis
course, is not the part which ranked He has
chosen to dwell upon that but know well
where the sting was found did not express
any great admiration for his Abilities and that ia
the wound his vanity could not pardon. Sir, he
had no right to complain of my denouncng in
strong terms, his dsunion sentiments. I but
followed an example he had set me. When
John q Adams presented petition in the
House of Rel resentatives, praying dissolution
OF the Union, resolution was Immediately in
troduced to expel him. After much discussion,
Mr. Bolts of Virginia, moved to lay il on tho