The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-08-18

was an abundance, but OF legitimate argument
there was none, the violation of the law of March
g. 1857, being barefaced, that no defence of it,
in a legal point of view, was possible.
Mr. Humphrey Marshall of Kentucky put the
thing on frank ground, when he declared him
self in favor of the Southern Pacific railroad, and
/ opposed to disturbing the Butterfeld contract,
because the effect and design of that contract as
dictated by the President was to favor South
ern Pacific railroad.
Mr.. Marshall said
81 very 10 seeing any war made directly or
Indirectly, upon the Southern route for believe that road
and will be made, and is demonstrabe that is the
route railroad should take The object of the member from
81 Louis patent Every here and every intelligent
man m the country, will understand that his amendment
route VIII determine the line OF settlement for emgrang
The establishment of this post route with liberty the
contractor to preempt large body Of land at every stage
OF twelve miles, and Of course erect upon such lands
SHOPS Stables, houses &c and TO establish there the resi-
dehces OF MS employees would Offer OF ITSELF such secures
10 the engTant, such assurances Of shelter and assistance
along the whole line travel induce him 70 make this
post route the line Of his emigration TO the lar West Such
determination OF lac emgrant WILL at once, point out the
route as the tie Of pioneer settlements, afiording nuclei OF ~
tire populations. The amendment of the gentleman Ar
Bar proposes disturb this Law, by breaking IN upon the
route as at established by the contract between the
Post OSe Department and Mr. Buerfeld and his associates
do not wish this 20 take place. because am convinced the
Southern line is the BET line for Pacific railway The phys
the map gobe) in the city OF New York. and stretch
string 10 Guaymas the Gulf Of California and with this
New York, by hundreds of miles, than San
Francisco any point Upper California Stretch the line
shorter by far than point the Pacific coast ia high
latitude Transfer the centre TO Chicago and you will see
the Pacific from the Northern lakes Go further
TO St. Joseph in Mssour-and try from that point 1t is
nearer TO the Gulf OF California than 10 any point Of the Pa
cic ocean, the line of latitude which ST. Joseph
situated This feature the geography Of the country
significant Of the proper line Of Pacific railroad "
Mr.. Marshall had evidently come to the con-
/.
not attempt to evade the fact that the South had
coerced the Administration into this Butterfeld
contract with a view to a Southern Pacific, rail-
road, nor did he evade the fact that such rail-
road points to the Gulf of California, and not to
the Bay of San Francisco
At the conclusion of the discussion upon Mr..
Averys amendment Mr.. Gooch of Massachusetts,
moved to amend the amendment, by adding to it
the following proviso
and proriaed also That the said contractors shall have
the right to transport the mails by such route they may
select"
Mr.. GoOch's amendment was carried by vote
of 80 to 81.
As the record of the Committee of the Whole
was made up, the amendment of Mr.. Avery, as
thus amended, was rejected, although there was
subsequently a controversy in the House, whether
such was the fact, or not But it was rejected,
the record was made up, and so never reached
the House to be voted on there.
Votes in Committee of the Whole are not taken
oy yeas and nays, so that the of those
who voted for and against the amendments of
Messrs. Blair and Gooch, cannot be given.
On the oath of February, Mr.. Blairs amend
ment agreed to so decisvely in Committee of
the Whole, was brought to a vote in the House,
and was there rejected, the Southern drill SER
gednts having had time to take their accustomed
disciplinary measures with their Northern allies
The following was the vote in the House upon
Mr.. Blar's amendment:
YEAs-Messrs. Abbott, Andrews Bennett BIlmghurst,
Bingham, Blair Bliss, BraytOn Butinton, Burlngame Ca
ruhers Case Cavanagh Chanee Ezra Clark John b Clark
Cawson, Clark B. COchrane, Coiax, Comins CovOde era
g DAVIS OF Mary knd Davis Of Indiana Davis OF AassaChu
sets Davis of Iowa Dawes Dean Dodd Durfee Fdie
FarnSworth Fenton, Foley Poster GddnCs Gilman Gooch
Goodwin, Grow, Robert b. Hall, Harlan Hickman Hoard
Hodges Horton Howard Owen Jones Keim KELLOGG Kel.
sey, Kgore, Knapp, John Kunke Leach, Letter Love-
JOY Morris Freeman H. Morse Oliver a Morse Mott Muir
ray DIN, Palmer, Parker, Petit John Phelps William w
Phelps, Pike, Potter, lOe, Richie, Robbins Roberts,
Royce Aaron shaw, John sherman, Judson W. Sherman
Robert smith, spinner stanton, William Stewart Tappan
Walton Cadwader g Wasb6urn Fbu r. WsbnTnn T I'
Tael Washbum, Wilson, and Wood-99.
NAYs-Messrs. ADRIAN, Ali, Anderson, Atkins, Avery,
Barksdale Barr Bishop, Bocock, Bonham Boyce Branch
Bryan Burnett Burns, Caske, Chapman Clay, Cobb John
Cochrane Corning James Craig Burton CTage, Crawford,
Curry, bOwdc, hdmuEdson English, Ests Faulkner, Flor
cuCe, Garnet, Gartrc Gs, Gilmcr, GoOde, Greenwood
Gregss lHwronce ". Hail. Iiach HILL Hopkins, Houston,
Hughe. Huyer Jackson, Jewett, George W Jones' Jacob
NJ kunko lamar IAndy Leidy, Lecher, Macay Mcqueen
hciac, Humphrey Marshall Mason Maynard BIlsOn Mont
gorieTy, Moore Niback lendeton, Peyon Philips, Pow
ell lady. k.-gan Reilly, Rcaud Rufn, Russell SaDdidge
Scales, card Henry NJ. shaw, Singleton, Samuel A. Smith,
William smith, sallworth stephens, Stevenson, James A.
digham, Vance, Ward, Watkins, White Wheley, Wnsow,
Woodson Wouendykc, Augustus r. Wright John V. Wright
and Iolco1er-lO2.
All the Republicans who were present and vo-
ting, eighty-four in number, voted solid in the
affirmative.
Three Democratic members from Missouri
Messrs. Phelps, Clark and Caruthers, voted in
the affirmative, out of Difference, willing or con-
strained, to the interests and views of their con-
stituency. On the part of Mr.. Phelps, it appears
to have been a constrained Difference, and con-
trary to a stronger attraction which he felt
towards the Administration, az we find him, two
days afterwards, refusing Mr.. Blair second OPP
portunity to try his amendment on the ground
that it had been once voted upon, just if a de-
feat of it by majority of three, ought to have
precluded another trial of it,
The remaining twelve members who voted for
Mr.. Blairs amendment, were Messrs. Davis of
Maryland, Cavanaugh and Phelps of Minnesota
Davis and Foley Of Indiana, Keim, Hickman, and
Owen Jones of Pennsylvania, Hodges, Marshall
Shaw, and Smith OF Illinois. OF these, only
three, Messrs. Cavanaugh, Foley, and Owen
Jones, can be reckoned supporters of the Ad-
mnstration.
OF the negative votes, seventy five came from
the slave States, only four gentlemen from those
States, viz three from Missouri and Mr.. Davis
OF Maryland, venturing to run counter to what
was considered "a Southern policy Southern
men are habituated to vote together, and are
above all things, fearful of being put under the
ban Of a suspicion of fidelity to Southern inter-
ests They are the most unanimous people on
the face of the earth, never failing to illustrate
that virtue of firm concord" which the poet
ascribes to spirits who had other virtue left
Even the Americans of the South of the SINGER
ity of whose personal hostility to the Admins
tration there is no particle of doubt, were swept
in by the general current, with the solitary ex-
ceptiOn (outside Of MisSouri) of Mr. Davis of Bal
timore, to endorse one of the most indefensbe
acts of the President and his Cabinet And most
of them, in yielding to this gregarous impulse,
had no excuse in any special interests of their
immediate constituents. There is nothing in a
proposed line of railroad on the thirty-second
parallel of latitude, which should present such
attractions to gentlemen in Maryland and Ken
lucky or even in North Carolina and Tennessee
as to induce them to endorse gross violations of
law by their political opponents. There was no
reason, affecting their Immediate locality, which
required Mr.. Ricaud of Maryland, or Messrs Mar
shall and Underwood, to put themselves on the
record as accessories after the fact to an act of
egregOus criminality on the part of the Presi-
dent. But so it was, that all the South Ameri-
cans, Mr.. Davis alone excepted and including
the two from North Carolina Messrs Gilmer and
Vance, ranged themselves obediently, on this oc-
casiOn, under the banner of the Administration
lhe case OF some of them is even more humilia-
ting than that of the three Democrats from Mis-
sour, Messrs. Craig, Anderson, and Woodson
who voted against Mr.. Blair's amendment; for
those gentlemen could plead, as an inducement
II not as an adequate excuse, their party sympa-
thy with Mr. Buchanan and with Mr.. Buchanan's
Postmaster General