The eastern clarion. [volume] (Paulding, Miss.) 1837-1863, 1859-04-27
Letter From Senator Brown.
TERRY, HINDs COUNTY, Miss,
April 18th, 1859.
AIlTH I1III' I"V''
GEN. WV. II. MCCARDLE:
y.

Letter From Senator Brown.
TERRY, HINps CoUNTY, Mss,
April 18th, 1883.
GEN. WM II. McCARDLE:
Editor True .S0uthroH:
In your daily issue Of the 18th, OBJ
serve an article headed Tile Do1glos Pam
phEr," embracing an extract from the
Cincinnati Enquirer, in which such mus
tice is done me as to make it proper that
should ask the,courtesv OF being allowed |
very briefly to reply. OF course do not /
mean to intimate that you have done me
any Intentional injustice.
The pamphlet referred to was cour--
teously sent to me by Senator Douglas, ana
is now before me. 1t issued from the |
press after the adjournment of the Senate. |
and was not seen by me until within the /
last week. 1t is entitled Speech of Hon. |
S. A. Douglas i'm the Senate of the Uni |
red States February Odd, 1859. in reply |
TO Hon. A. G.. Brown, of Mississippi, &c. |
&c" Before proceeding to notice the |
points on which feel that injustice has |
been done me. beg to remark that the |
appendix to this pamphlet was never |
read or otherwise exhibited in the Senate, |
but seems to have been attached by Sena- !
tor Douglas to his speech with view to
strengthen the positions taken 10y him.
So far as it has a tendency to accomplish
that object. | admit the business and legi-
timacV Of his course. II, however, / had
been advised of his purpose to publish
such an appendix. I should have saved
myself and YOU the trouble OF this eX-
PLANTATION by a timely correction to Mr..
Douglas himself of 50 much thereof as
refers to me.
On page p of the pamphlet he intro
duces an extract of speech of the Hon.
4. &. Brown. Of Mississippi, delivered in
the L. :. Senate. July >, 1856 On re-
ferring to the appendix to the Congress
ional Globe. Bath Congress, LIST session,
page sol. find the quotation TO be from
a few brief remarks of mine, in reply to
Mr.. Toucy, then a Senator from Con
necticut, and now Secretary of the Navy,
and to Gen. Cass. then Senator from
Michigan, and now Secretary of State, on
the general question of admitting Kansas
as a State, but more particularly and es-
pecially on the point of rejecting certain
Dro-Slaery and other, to them, obnoxious
laws, passed short time before by the
Territorial Legislature of Kansas. They
insisting on their rejection, and | oppos-
ing. on the ground that it would be an
infraction Of their favorite theory of mon
Intervention and popular sovereignty"
Al that day, Mr.. Douglas, Mr. Cass,
| Mr.. Toucy, and | believe, every other
! Northern Democrat, some Southern men.
and Of course. all the Republicans, pro-
posed to '.interYene" and blot out the
laws of the popular s0UGrstg1tS in Kansas
| They said the laws were odiOus, but OBJ
| served that most of them were pro-slavery
! laws. and half suspected that good deal
| OF their 'odium' came out of that cir
| cumstance. At all events, called loudly
| on the friends of .n0a-iateTTcntoa and squat
| Ter sorereigntl," to stand by their doctrines,
! but they refused to do it-Mr Douglas.
| Gen. Cass and Mr. Toucy taking the lead
! And now, forsooth. paragraph is snatch
/ ed from an off-hand speech of mine in a
general skirmish, and held up as evidence
! that was at that day the advocate of
| these heresies. | never for a single mo-
ment faltered in my opposition to these
odious doctrines. But as they had been
to some extent incorporated into the orig
inal Kansas bill, and had just then, con-
trarv to the expectations of their friends,
began to work in our favor, | did not
think it the most appropriate time in the
world to abandon them. To charge me,
under such circumstances, with having
abandoned sentiments expressed on al
!
cannot be regarded otherwise than as
| grossly unjust.
And then again. III. the very extract
which the Senator from Illinois introduces
in his pamphlet. | said: The Senator
from Michigan Mr. Cass) and myself diff
fer very wildly, as to what are the powers
of a territorial legislature, he believing
that they can exercise sovereign rights, and
| believing no such thing; he contending
that Hey haze tie riqkt 10 erc',3cSlarcTy, and
l not admitting the propoSition,' &c, &c, and
vet the Cincinnati Enquirer, from which
YOU quote. says Senator Douglas makes
extracts from various speeches, those of
Senator Brown, of Mississippi" includ-
ed, to prove that all had givenin their adj
hesion to the idea that ''thc people Of q ter
rit0ry may erch,dc Siarerg from their limits.
can only say. if that was his object in
quoting from my speeches, the Senator
was singularly unfortunate in his selec-
ton of a paragraph.
Itmav seem to YOU that | am a little
sensitive: seeing that ! am included with
so many eminent men in this criticism on
past speeches. | know not how Others
may stand, but for myself, ! have persis
tently and consistently. from first to last
in season and out of season. opposed the
whole doctrine OF 'squatter sovereignty
as being fraught with incalculable mis-
chief and now that its enormity is be
coming apparent, | am unwilling to be de
MED the credit that is due to my consis
tency. The attempt is unfair Its sue
cess would be nagrant perversion of the
truth of history.
1t is true that IN voting for the Kansas
bill of 1854, l agreed to non-intervention
to the extent expressed in the bill-that il
that Congress was neither to legislatt
slavery into the territories nor exclude il
therefrOm, but leave the people thereo
perfectly free to regulate it in their owr
way. subject only to the constitution o.
the United States" and in the same bill
| agreed that the Supreme Court of the
United States was the rightful arbiter il
: any matter of controversy between a citi
zen of the south, and the territory o
Kansas on the subject of her Kansas
constitutional right 10 exclude slavery
What | contend for now, is that the con
troversy did arise-that we did submit
the point, and that the Supreme Court il
the Dred Scott case, did decide it in oul
favor, and that therefore the law has beer
fulfilled. Non-ntervention has beer
worked out to its conclusion. 1t was
FGreek gift, but ii turned out for us a Shi
boleth of strength. What ! deny is. tina
our opponents at the North. whether Re
publicans, Americans, or National" Dem
ocrats, or all combined. can rightfull,
take from us the benefit of this decision
by ''non-aCtion' or "unfriendly legisla
ton, " or in any other mode known to the
constitution, comfy among the States. ol
to honesty and fair dealing. But that OF
the contrary. they are bound by every
consideration which a combination of nj
these can impose, to carry out this decis
ion to its full and legitimate conclusion
and thus give fair and adequate protec
'tiOn to our slave property in the terrific
ries. On this platform the South ought
to stand in 1860. The constitution give,
it, and the Supreme Court has awarded
it. If any party at the North can be raj
lied to this standard, the South should
stand with that party. If none can be
if no party at the North can be found tC
stand up for the equality of the States
, and the equal rights of the South then il
{ best becomes the dignity and independ
ence of the South, to fold her arms in 81
lence, look composedly on the conflict,
between the spOilsmen of the North. and
mwardly calculate
Fight dog, fight bear,
! There is no dog of mine there"
Very truly your obedient sev't.
! A G. BROWN.
n. b. Since writing the above, my
attention has been attracted to note at
tached to Mr.. Douglas speech, in which
he says the appendix was compiled by q
friend on whom herelied This acquitE
him of all intentional wrong. even if hi
high character did not forbid the suposi
4 ton.
: And having introduced the names O
t | Gen. Cass and Secretary Toucev. it is bu