Washington sentinel., 1855-03-14
i lMr. DOUGLAS. Yes, sir; they will.

Rla tell me Wnal they ulu resolve!
i, Mr.. DOUGLAS. That is a different ques.
ton. ] only said the statement Of the Senator
is without foundation, and is contradcted by
the records and the history of the country.
Mr.. WADE. / think cannot be mistaken
in this
Mr.. BUTLER. As my State has been alud.
ed to-though / did not intend to take part in
this discussionI suppose justice at least re.
quires me to interpose, and / hope the honor
able Senator will allow me to do SO.
Mr.. WADE. Certainly, sir.
Mr.. BUTLER. | venture to say that there
is nothing in any Of the Legislative resolutions
or anything connected with that fearful contro-
versy of lS49 and 1850, at all looking to the
fact that California was TO be excluded because
she was free State. / do not know how the
gentleman has got that idea into his head We
have always taken ground in South Carolina
and Georgia, land / think that every other
Southern State has taken the ground that the
people of each State have the right to do as
they think proper upon that subject. What we
did complain of was that California was brought
in by process unknown to the previous history
of the country, and that was all.
Mr.. WADE. understand it.
Mr.. BUTLER. Now, mind, Mr.. President,
what the honorable Senator has said on this
floor, and he has said it on the responsibility of
a Senator. repeat, that it may go forth to
the public, he said Georgia and South Caro-
lima passed resolutions that California should
not come into this Union otherwise except as o
slave State, or, in other words, that the door
would be shut against her IL she applied as
free State. Now, sir, is that the truth?
Mr.. WADE. Mr.. President of course we
are taken here by surprise. / have had to rely
upon my memory for all these transactions
which are past, and cannot now refer to the
documents. have no desire to do any inius-
tice to either of those States, or to misrepre-
sent single point Of that controversy. GER
tainly understood their position to be what
have stated. did not, of course, mean to say
that the objection was open, avowed, and man
itest, that the opposition was because Califor-
MIA applied as free State, but the opposition
was made TO her coming in when she Knocked
at your door for admission, and have said
that that was the real cause
Mr.. DAWSON. Did / not interrupt the
Senator to correct him 10 relation to the State
of Georgia, although ! might properly have
done SO. l abstained from it, because the i'm
preston was made on my mind by the course
of this discussion, that the great object Of the
Senator from Ohio was TO create prejudice in
one section of the country against the other,
and | had come to the conclusion that the
period was rapidly arriving when it would be
unnecessary for either section to try to correct
the errors of the other. / can see no good that
this discussion is to lead to can see nothing
to result from lkexcept tae creation of excite
ment in one slehon against the other / do
not intend to limit, by any act of mine, the ex-
| tent of any observations which any Senators
may desire to make. | will say however, that
(,aorrla hoe From, har fr,pIot,a,1 -, IL
present hour, assumed any other principle than
that each has the right to come into the Union
with such institutions as she pleases, with or
without slavery. No such issue as was stated
by the Senator from Ohio has ever been pre-.
sented in our public meetings or the Legisla-
ture Of the State. 1t is undoubtedly true that
there was some dissatisfaction with the manner
IN which California came into the Union, and
in which it was made State. The only OBJ
lection was to the mode.
Mr.. WADE. Well, sir, Of course ] stand
corrected by the remarks Of gentlemen from
those States, who ought to know the facts bet
ter than / do. ] was. barely relying on my
recollection. had not investigated the point
| never regarded that as SO fearful contro
versy as gentlemen magnify it to here. / was
far distant from this Hall at that time; and the
noise reached US, but we had no idea that the
controversy was so fearful as gentlemen now
represent 1t arrested my attention sufficiently
to look into the proceedings Of Congress, and
think that some southern States did pass
resolutions stating the grounds which would
justify them in going out of the Union. This
may be misrecollection on my part, but it is
certainly my memory. ! undertake to state it
only as matter Of recollection. But what
was the object of the compromise made in
lAEno Wao - L.. l..
10 save the Union from the disasters which
were threatened at the time? Threatened by
whom? Not by the North. For what pur.
pose did any of your eminent and distinguished
men go to Nashville? What did you proclaim
you would do there2 Was it to invite gem
eral convention Of all the people Of the States
to take into consideration any of the great in
terests Of the whole country, or did you meet
there TO devise ways and means whereby you
could break the bonds Of this Union, and
march out Of the Confederacy2 | will ask the
Senator from Georgia whether be has not fre
quently known southern conventions 10 meet
for the purpose Of celebrating upon subjects
not at all pertaining 10 the general administra-
tion OF the government conventions Of south
ern men meeting together TO consult how best
they could depreciate the interests Of the North
and build mp their own2 Has not the Senator
himself presided in such conventions? And
what would be think now Of convention as
sembling in the northern States TO take into
consideration matters pertaining to themselves,
TO build up their commerce, to build up inter-
ests in opposition and in derogation 10 those OF
the South2 Men standing obnoxious to the
charge ofgetting up such southern conventions,
continually come here and tell us that we, are
aggressos. This is strange doctrine. What
have we ever done except TO bear and forbear,
and when threats Of dissolution have been
thundered forth continually, not by U.s.
Mr. DAWSON. If the speech Of the Sena
tor from Ohio is to 90 out with these referen-
ces to myself it becomes necessary that the
country should understand this subject. do
not know the object Of the Senator, or what he
intends TO effect by his own statements
Mr.. WADE. am barely replying to the
Senator.
Mr.. DAWSON. But you appealed TO me,
and asked me If had not presided over south
earn conventions calculated in their character
to impair the rights of the North. ! answer,
never, sir, in my life; and it is the first time
in any place, or on any occasion, that / have