The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1857-11-06


But what higher groundsf Was any prepared 20 sag
that the nahed porer n abolition did not e He spoke Of
the naked power and not Of s exercise but the abstract
question Of the existence Of the power Now, though II
did not exist IN relation 70 the States the ques
ton Of abstract HOpsr he thought the senator from south
Carolina would not declare that it tod b iseoaaaonal
for Congress 10 ABOLISH sarery ae Disrid o. 1uraor =
Page 70-'l.
Mr. Calhouns 10 this challenge must settle the
question as TO what were his opinions the point in
issue in 1888 Away with hnsy, unfair inierences and
deductions Hear him Hear him
Tho senator from Kentucky asserted that my mn
resolution abandoned the constitutional ground TO this
District and the 7src; and asks il there Is any one
who dss the right Of Congress 10 abolish slavery here on
in the Trrforesy YES, said Mr.. g., HE DENIED III,
aud also that his t resolution abandoned The Constitutional
ground asserted by the senator 50 lar from that 1t
placed the protection OF slave property here under pre-
cisely the constitutional guarantee that the a f
placed ii in the States In word it placed slavery here
and In the Territories under the shield of all the slehoid
ing States where alone can be safely placed and that
on principles which he believed imprcgnabe, Page
Mr. Calhoun then proceeds 10 say, that his fifth
luton Is not to be construed BY asf but in connection
with the four others which preceded III and to explain
the high constitutional ground he designed to occupy, in the
said fifth resolve by showing its dependency upon those
by which ii was immediately preceded. lie says
The first four resolutions, taken together asserted the
or their citizens with the domestic institutions OF oter
States and that this great principle OF interference
Is particularly applicable to the Institution OF domestic
slavery exists in the South These have been voted
by large maores and arc, therefore, fully established
as they can be- by vote Of this body The sena
tor from Kentucky will not deny this great constitutional
principle Of nonnterercncc which lies at the bottom of
political institutions.
Now, sir, what did my I'M resolution which has
been struck out to make room for the senator amend
nen assert 1t declares that theattempt of State
States their citizens any act of this government to
abolish slavery in this District the Territories lon the
ground that it is sinful, immoral, otherwise obnox
ious, is dangerous attack the institutions OF all the
slaveholdng States Win the senator deny this Win
he deny that the abolition of slavery here in the Ter
ritoes or All attempt to abolish it, with the avowed OBJ
ect of cccting its abolition in the States is dangerous
attack the domestic institution of slavery in all the
slaveholding States-a dangerous ntcrmeddling with
those institutions, un the meaning Of the first four resolutions
and consequently, in violation Of the fundamental principles
Of the constellation and subvcrsve Of the entire fabric Of our
political institutions
The next great constitutional principle which he
relied is that Of equality between the States and nond
cripinaion on the part of this government between the
States in reference to their domestic institutions, which
applies to legislation this District and the Territories
well to the States themselves To suppress the domcs-
tic institution Of slavery in this District or the Territories
where it may exist would be directly contrary to the
equality between the slaveholng and nonslaveholdng
States members of the Union, injurious and insulting
to the former, and paabe riolain Of one Of e goa fun
damatal principles Of our system These Two great
principles interference and nodiscimaa;on-
he had often said, the basis of his resolutions. They
comprehend District and Territories, as well as the
States themselves.
q They ,rre broad and dgiy serted IN me constitution No
member had ventured to deny them Our salvation de-
pended on preserving them nvioate These, he would
repeat were the high constitutional grounds assumed in his
i'm resolution, which had been surrendered for ePnf
ecy. ~. H.
Again, he says:
The first four resolutions well sustained, although
they took the highest constitutional grounds but on the
nm which involved the principles with the preceding
he regretted to saw there had been giving way The
constitutional ground is abandoned and that of mere ia-
pedfa'cy substituted. ID
Again, in reply to Mr.. Rives Mr. Calhoun said
.'The senator seemed to think he had not in his nm
resolution taken Constitutional ground He pir. e. thought
diferenay that he had taken the highest and strongest
aaiona ground in declaring that interference with slavery
In this District the Territories direct Eyes, he
would repeat epthct he had yielded to reconcile
the senator from Kentucky, Mr. Crittenden) and dam
gerous attack the domestic institutions of all the
States-as direct and dangerous as interference
with slavery in would be interference in all the
savchoding States thus placing slavery here and in the
Territories under the same constitutional protection in the
S1tes themselves p. ~.
These remarks Of Mr.. Calhoun, scattered through al
most every page Of the debate his fifth resolution de-
caring his opinion to be against the constitutional power
the Territories avowng his design to mbody doad Of
that power in his resolution and his belief that he had
dom, So and dcnouncing the ground Of ncxpediency
sumed by the substitute for which his resolution had been
abandoned ALL all escape your critical researches whilst
your historic eye fstens dsointed fragment Of few
lines which torn from their context and cmbamcd in
the immortality of your "yicw evidence to posteri
ty strong as Holy Writ of the inconsistency of Mr.
Calhoun gH ss4A stf1a&a sf
But not content with having fastened upon Mr. Cal
houn recognition OF the constitutional power under
consideration, by differences and deductions based upon
the abstract phrascology Of his fifth resolution, and
by verbal dissection Of the bleeding limb, Topped
from the body of the speech to which IL belonged,
you further seek TO burn your imagined stigma of
bald inconsistency upon his character by the dogmatc
emphasis and false cooring with which you dsor the
fact that Mr. Calhoun at length voted for the substitute
of Mr. Clay This substitute at first included both the
District and Territories II had been divided so to
embrace these subjects separate rcsovcs The following
is the language in which torture TO the support of
your charge the vote Of Mr. Calhoun in favor OF that sub
stitute You say ~
Mr. Calhoun voted for both, not in preference to his
own but as agreeing them after they had been preferred
by the Senate and gds has recorded os to the doc
r,es ttcy contained Both the constitutional power Of
Congress the existence of slavery both in the District
and the Territories View, p. 1871.
The above language is palpably designed to convey,
and does convey the impression that between his
fifth resolution and the substitute Of Mr. Clay which
avowedly omitted the constitutional ground, Mr. Cal
IL y.,J.-l a.