Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1858-03-20
DISCUSSION IN THE SENATE.

The United States Senate is still engaged in
discussing the Kansas question. Senator Seward
has made a great speech, which most of our read.
ers have probably seen elsewhere. He was
followed by Mr.. Hammond of South Carolina,
an extract Of whose speech we here present.
With him the slavery question was no abstrac-
ton, aud he should therefore pr oceed to discuss it
as a practical t~hing-as Il thing that is and must
be. Mr.. Seward had announced that tie battle
against the South was fought and won. What
may have seemed at first and to some an unguard-
ed utterance Of that Senator. had since been
repeated AMI Confirmed 10 an elaborate argument
before the Senate. It WAS assumed that the South
must hencefurth consent TO he treatad as a con-
qaered province. The Senator had announced
that the North would take the Government 10 it's
hands. would reconstruct the Supreme Court. and
control the whole foreign and domestic policy of
the country. lie was thankful for the statement,
as 1t concnrred with his own convictions of what
was i'm pending.
40 that event what guarantees had the South
that it would not he plundered by protective
tariffs. bounties on fish, banking acts, or even
that their slaves would not be emancipated ? The
peopls of the South would have only the faith of
the North upon which. to rely, and that had always
been broken. In view OF this contingency he
therefore wished 10 bring the two sections face to
face, for the purpose of attaining a final and con.
elusive settlement of the slavery question, now
and forever. or Of measuring The respective re
sources and capabilities of the two in the event of
q separation.
The South possessed eight hundred and fifty
thousand square miles Of terr'tory-an imperial
domain rich in varied and unrivalled productions.
Through IL ran the mighty artery of the Missis-
sippi, holding in afhiiarion with the South the
tributary region dependent upon that great outlet
Of the Northwest. 1t was idle to talk Of checking
the spread Of slavery throughout the valley of
the Mississippi and along the branches which feed
its current.
The population of the South was four times that
Of the Colonies which achieved our national indie
pendence. A million Of men were registered on
her muster rolls-men brave by nature and fami.
liar with the arts Of war. lie would not disparage
the population or the soil Of the North. The
former we're energetic and intelligent, but the
latter produced no great staple which was not
common to the South. while the South had n mo-
n0poly OF two or three Of the great staples which
control the commerce Of the world. IL is the
surplus production OF a community which consti.
tutes its wealth, and enables il to essay great
enter prises of peace or war. How stood the two
sections of the country in this regard The sta
tisties OF our foreign commerce showed that the
South possess and enjoy a surplus production of
two hundred aud twenty millions of dollars-be
Ing at the rate of sixteen DOLLARS per capita
throughout tue whole population. while that of
the North reaches the sum Of only twelve dollars
per capita.
Organized separately, the South would gather
q revenue of forty millions under The present
tariff schedule. which might be reduced to one
fourth for NIL the purposes Of a Southern Confed.
eraoy. Secured from war by her natural defenees,
and by The indispensability Of her productions,
the South would need no armies and no navie..
Cotton can bring the world TO it's knees. Cut off
the cotton supplies for three years, and Great
Britain would topple he ,dlong from her seat of
power. IL was cotton which had saved the eoun.
Try from the prolongntion of the late monetary
s~svelsion caused by Northern speculation and
ossftrading. "coton is King"
Bot the greatest strength Of the South ~tcontin-