Daily national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1854, 1854-06-28
Senate, Wednesday, June %, 1854.

adjourned.
Senate, Wednesday, June %, 1854.
A few petitions were presented
Mr.. Petit spoke for over half an hour, in
personal explanation. He said that on Monday
he had made some remarks on the extraordi-
nary avowal made by tho Senator from Massa
chusetts that he recognised no obligation to
obey the Constellation which he had sworn to
support In the report Of those remarks, as
published in the Globe of Tuesday morning,
there appeared in his remarks u statement
that Mr.. Sumner had said
~ said, recognise no obligation in the Con-
stitutiOn to bind me to help to reduce man to
slavery
These remarks, which the report as publish
cd in the Globe attributed to Mr.. Sumner, he
(Mr. P declared were never made in the SEN
ate, and, if they had been made, were false,
and would have been 30 branded ut the time.
Mr. Sumner call the Senator to order
The remarks in the report attributed to me-
were uttered by me, as reported.
Mr. Petit. | will prove, In the very teeth Of
his statement, that it is false.
Cries of Order order
Mr. Petit then proceeded to show that the
remarks could not have been made, because
Mr.. Sumner had not the floor to. make them;
that if uttered in his seat, they ought not to
have been reported, for he had not heard
them and could not have replied to them. He
commended that Mr.. s, after the adjournment
OF the Senate, visited the reporter for the Globe
and interpOlated these remarks, which he had
never uttered He had seen the remarks in
the proof sheets of his own speech, and had
stricken them out, because they appeared there
in Justification of the record Yet the publish
or Of the Globe had insisted upon putting them
in. He read letter from Mr. Sutton, of the
Globe, to the effect that the remarks complain
cd Of were not originally reported as publish
cd but MIR. Summer had revised them, and put
them in their present shape. He further con-
sidered the remarks Of Mr. Sumner, and con-
demned them in strong and dennnciatory Ian
guage.
Mr. Sumner said that he would repeat, that
the remarks as published were uttered substan-
tally as reported. He had made the remarks
in his seat, and did not expect it would have
reached the reporters ear. Upon revising his
own remarks, he WINS informed that there were
some sentences Of his which appeared in the
report OF the speech of the Senator from lndi-
ana They were shown to him. He told the
reporter that they had not been heard exactly
as they were spoken; no repeated them to the
reporter as he had actually uttered them, and
the reporter wrote them down He knew
nothing further of the matter. AS to all else
said by the Senator from Indiana, he had
nothing whatever to say. Tho matter then
dropped
On motion by Mr.. Stuart the Senate took
up the bill granting land to the Territory of
Minnesota to aid in the construction of q rail
road in that Territory.
And the same was read third time and
passed.
Al. 4. &C Al
motion to refer to the Committee ON the Judi
ciary the memorial from Boston, praying the
repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law.
MIR. Dixon addressed the Senate at length,
against the repeal tf the Fugitive Slave Law,
in defence of that law and IN declaring his
total disconnection with the Wing party of
the North which was becoming abolitionized
Mr.. Mallory and Mr. Clay followed, de-
nouncing, in strong terms, the language impu-
ted to Mr.. Sumner, Of denying any obligation
upon him to execute the Constitution ia return
ing fugitive to slavery.
Mr.. Sumner commenced Mt n little after two
in y most fervent and eloquent manner pow
erful reply to the abuse thrown upon him, and
in defence of hin position in opposition to the
Fugitive Slave Law. He placed himself on the
broad ground taken by General Jackson, that
each public officer who takes an oath to sup
port tho Constitution Of the United States,
swears to support it as he understands it, and
not az others understand it.
No Senator dissented from this doctrine He
could not be expected to understand the Con-
stitntion as the Senator from Sonth Carolina,
who understood it as including whole host of
bloodhounds, paving to get loose their hinder
parts.
He 10 still speaking.
H,use Of PsDrese,foj;pes T,.Dr % 1884