Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1858-08-27

troll OF this same power. The supreme !
Court is under the control of thi same pow |
er. You all recolcct the case which excited |
the whole country two years ago, whcn a
Senator oftho United States was struck down |
and beaten nea ly to death in hi, scat in the |
Senate Chamber, for uttcring his honest SEN
timent in opposition to this slavery rropagan-
dism. But worse state OF things thai that
exists to-day. The gentleman who was thus
stricken down in the ygor Of manhood, and
has been suffering from that day to this, and
who, his best friends fear, may never recover,
suffering with anguish and pain and torture,
from blows inflicted upon him unuwarcs and
without notice-that gentleman, now Just
able to walk, has since made his Appearance
in the Senate Chamber, having been re-olcct-
ed by the people Of the state Of Mdssachu-
setts, and when lie comes thore and rises
with difficulty from tbs chair, two years after
the act was done, for which some may plead
the excuse that it was done under excitement
i say now, the very mon in the interest Of
this power affect to treat him with contempt
Cries of 'Shame, shqmc.'l Would You
believe it? Not a northern senator h.lona-
ing to this pro-slayery party dares even to
speak to him lest he offend his southern .s-
sociatcs? Yes, during the last session 0I tJu-
gress, when upon one occasion it wa, .tated
in the Senate that the senator from Mds.a-
chusetts had paired OFF with some other mom-
Der, who was also indisposed, a sncor Of con
tempt was observed through the chamber at
the idea of his indisposition, and the leaders
of the pro-slavery democracy affect t. believe
that it is q pretence on the part Of 4 man
who has been suffering these two years. In
my Judgment the world has never seen eX-
hibitcd such refined malignty and cruelty as
| this attempt to treat with scJrn that sui.r-
| ;,,rr II
the spirit which under excitement could
strike the blow, for this is meditltui and
continued malice. Loud upplause.l
A vOice-Three cheers for Sumner. The
cheers were given heartily
| mention this, my fellow citizens, u snow
tho condition of things ut Washington. Let
me tell you another fact. ! went as your
representative two years ago to Washington,
almost an entire stranger, never having met
moro than two or three members Of the sen
ate in my life. l remained there as one Of
the representatives Of this State through two
sessions Of Congress, sent there to consult
with the representatives Of other cD-cquu
states for the best good of a common country,
and for those two years was not placed on u
committee which ever met. Republican
senators were not consultcd-wc were ignJr.d
| by this prospective, intolerant party, That
|
the only test by which they allowed person
to take part in the proceedings VI govern
ment wherever they could prevent it.
little different state of things prevailed after
the Fremont election in 1856. Bat let me
tell you how it is now. The commit c
We're organized anew at tie commencement
of the last session Of Congress, and have with
me a list of them. On looking at it You Will
find that all the leading committees are not
only entirely in the interest OF this pro-slaya-
ry party, but are controlled by southern
men. The Committee on Foreign Relations
is one of the most important. 1t is presided
over by Mason, OF Virginia, and Il majority
OF that committee are from the southern
states. The Committee on the judiciary IS
presided over by Bayard Of Delaware, and Il
majority of that committee are from tic
southern states. The Committee on Naval
Affairs Is presided over by Mallory. Of
Florida, and II majority Of that committee Are
from the southern states. The Committee
on Military Affairs is presided over by Davis,
of Mississippi. On Postaic-s by lulyc, Of
Florida The Committee on Finance by
Hunter, of Virginia. Southern mcn are at
the head of all those committees That ~,
Commerce is presided over lay Clay. of Ar
kansas | believe there are one or two other
committees besides that on Territories, OF
which Mr.. Douglas Is the chlrmun. the chair
manship of which is given t. the \ ITtu pei
hirs the Committee on Enrolled Bills s.lGo-
thing of that kind. Now tine mort can ur IT,,
states constitute a ma ioritv and yua ~.' J. .y
powcrlcss they are in toe hustu Sc ul IT,,
Senate This is So, not only in r.-trt t..
the distribution Of the business e., Congress
! but in the appropriations. Vt tie last -,,-
sion OF Congress, more than three tourth' oi
all the money Appropriated for tortidcation-
, ON the Atlantic and the Gulf coast wus APP
proprated for l0rtiGcItiyus in suychJldwl wl
states. There are two bUillinSs in the Nyut'
. erected for custom-house rLrIus s--sua a'
New Orleans and the other ut Charl
t, not vet completed. and no estimates yet far
shed of what the cost Of completion Will Doe
= Already more than five millions of dollar
t have been appropriated to build these tWJ
houses alone There where the money goes
f The last Congress appropriated S450,oUo t.
o continue the work upon them; and when
/ inquired in the Senate, of the chairman %
6 the Committee on Finance, how much tn
n custom house at Charleston was to cost whei
completed, he replied that no estimate Ina,
:. been made; but the inquiry led TO the di,
:, closure of the fact that a marble palace wa
being built fronting ON fish market uu on
y, side, which had already cost, with the al
preparation then asked, some two millions .
,f dollars and it would cost some thre2 mil
= lions before it would be finished. How man
IS men do you suppose are to occupy this build
ing when finished Forty-eght was the mum
ber of employees in 1857, the last year report
v ed, and the amount Of revenue collected wa
n little over S50O,0G0 Laughter. Th
Tv so-called democracy want, fox the a'-'.'n.
5 dation Of these lorty-ei5ht pelsJr;, AM .
10 collect $500 600, 4 building 10 cost tlre
l.. -, .4fr <-..rt !.
there is a custom-hluse-many OF You HAY
. seen it--a fine building it Is, and 1t CO
N about eleven hundred thousand dollars. Ho
ID many persons do you suppose are employo
,d at the New York Custom-HOuse, and ho
n much revenue collected? The last year :,
N ported more than forty-two millions Of d.
as lars collected at New York, and there wei
lie more than a thousand persons employed !
ar its collection, and building costing a lit
Nv over a million was sufficient u do the bus
hy ness in. Do you suppose such an appr
M priation as that for the Custom llou
III at Charleston could be obtained to erect
cd public building in the northern states N
in no. The Custom House in the city OF Phll
of delphia only cost some four or ive hundr
yn thousand dollars, that in Boston about IN
w w lion. while that in New Orleans has cost mo
a than three millions. y voice -"And 81
W. king at that" Laughter. Yes, sinking
v" that, Like the treasury, my friends, it
based on sandy foundation [Renew
He laughter hilethreo-fourths Of the mon
~ appropriatod for fertilization at the last S
ros sion is to be expended in slave states, no
his his dollar was appropriated for the fortifeatii
srs at the northwestern frontier. While
% of party can appropriate five millions to bG
al, two houses-one at Charleston and the OF!
,cre at New Orleans--how much money do
of suppose it appropriated At the last session
,ote save the hundreds Of lives lost in sight OF y