The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1859-12-20
PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRTY.SIyTH CONGRESS.
WASHINGTON, December 10, 1859.
SENATE

Senate had been to proceed to ballot.
The Senate then balloted, and Mr.. Fitzpatrick
was elected, receiving 33 votes Mr. Foster received
10 votes and Mr.. Hamlin l vote
MIR. FITZPATRICK took the chair, returning his
thanks to the Senate for this renewed mark of
their confidence
The CIAIR presented the report of the Trcasu-
rer of the United States, with copies of his ac-
counts for the third and fourth quarters of .ae
year 1859.
Mr. MASON asked that his investigating COM
mttee be authorized to employ a clerk, which was
- Mr. PUGH called up his resolution submitted last
Thursday.
Mr.; HALE said it was not in order to proceed to
Legislative business prior to the organization of the
House.
Mr.. PUGH stated that he desired to reply to the
remarks of Mr.. lverson the other day. and he cared
not whether he spoke on the resolution or on the
point OF order. He desired to defend the Northern
| Democracy from the charge of unsoundness, which
did not come with good grace from those in the
! South who had not done so much for the party as
| Northerners. He spoke of the difficulty in the
North of battling against sectonalism and defend
ing the rights of the South; and he said they never
| elected Senator in Georgia to be Judge of the
| soundness of the Democracy.
lie repudlated the sentiment that the position of
| Mr. Douglas on Territorial rights was akin to the
| Wlmot proyiso, or antDemocratic reading from
speech In the Congressional Globe, showing that
Mr.. Cass sustained the same position
| Mr.. L. quoted from a speech delivered in the
House OF Representatives, eleven years ago by Mr.
lverSon himself, which as strong in support of
non-lntervention views Gen. CaSs's famous
| Nicholson letter Judge Douglass Freeport
speech. He also referred to instructions sent by
the Georgia Legislature to her Senators when the
Kansas ebraska bill up in favor of nnn-inter
vention, and said he stood on the Georgia plat
! form. lie proceeded to reply to the remark of Mr.
Gwin, that had he understood the Kansas bill when
he voted for it as eXpOunded by Judge Douglas he
! would never have given that vote, and said that
Mr.. Gwin did not vote Of his own motion, but was
! instructed by the California Legislature to give
that vote, and that Legislature wrote down for him
| IN that Instruction what she thought the Kansas
| Nebraska bill meant.
Mr.. Gwl&.-I voted before the instructions got
! here.
Mr.. PCGH.-T do not suppose the Senator pre-
tchds that he Is better exponent Of the views of
his state than her Legislature is. He then read the
'squatter-sovGreignty platform of California re
| marking that this odous cpithct, which has been
| used to frighten people from their pronarty was
invented for the benefit of California and was first
applied to her in the formation of her State Consti
| tuition. He did not see any safe ground on which
/ the advocates of the Lecompton Constitution could
! stahl Tor one moment, ii the doctrine announced
| By th" Senator from Georgia was t9 be the doc
! trinc of the Democratic party.
Mr.. p. tl.n read from the Democratic platform
adopted III California since the last session of Con-
/ grrSs, and said it was almost literally copied from
! the Ohio pla form, which drawn up bv Mr. p
himself. He stated what he understood the Kansas
| Nebraska bill to mean, adopting for that purpose
! Ihe language OF the President who Spned the bill
giving his own Interpretation of it, as found in his
message of January "a, 1856 He also quoted the
resolutions adopted bv the Florida Legislature in
December, lo47, in support of his position stating
that his object was to show that an attempt is now
Legisla afnHttFary to opiniQPs i9rmaT 6FttaE fir6
the principles of the compromise of 1880 and break
! through the covenant of the Kansas bill and on
| that text to preach sermons on the soundness or
| unsoundness OF the Democracy of the Northern
States. He proceeded to allude TO a speech of Mr.
| Gwin, delivered in Grass Valley California in
which it was stated that Mr.. Douglas was dppOsed
from the craftsmanship of the Committee on Terri
| tories en- account of his views the kansas-Ne-
braska bill. lie would not stand up here to defend
the Senator from Illinois, who was abundantv able
to speak for himself; but if he was expelled from
that position for that cause, they would thereby
expel 99-l00ths of the Democracy in every non
slave holding State.
This was no longer question of individuals. but
OF principle; and instead of assaulting in his
absence, it would be more manly to do as the Sena-
tor from Georgia has done, and arraign the entire
party. He never saw anything in the LecomptOn
case that ought to divide parties make it neccs-
sary to make any changes in committees. He
thought, however, that Judge Douglas not re-
moved for that. After he had made his speech in
the Senate, denOunClng the LecOmptOn COnstitu-
ton, and taking issue with almost the entire body
of Democratic Senators, North and South, and
after he had taken issue with the Administration,
the Senate proceeded to put him again at the head OF
the Committee Territories, and he STAYED there
till the Lecompton controversy was dead and
buried. He wanted to know whether Democrat
Senators from the Northern States recognized this
as a test of Democratic fellowship?
Mr.. RICE said he party to the act of re-
moving Judge Douglas from the Territorial Com
mittee.
Mr.. PUGH went on to declare that the Senatorial
usage, in regard to appointing committees, was in
tOlerably bad and had operated give Senators from
slavehoding States the chair of every single com
mittee controlling the public business in this body.
The Senator fran Illinois was the only exception
and he had been decapitated.
Mr.. lvERSON said he would reply to these re.
marks some future occasion.
long coloquy took place between Messrs. Gwn
Davis, Lane and Brown who expressed their views
in regard to the power of Congress to exclude or
establish slavery in the Territories. After they
bad concluded, the Senate adjourned.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Mr.. GILMER caused to be read a newspaper article
commenting on an extract from the Boston Trac
journal, assOcating his name Extensively with Hell
per's book, and saying, among other things, that
the South should look about to see whether or not
there were traitors her own soil. He said 50
far this article applied to him. it was an infa
nous and malicious fabrication and alschOod from
beginning to end. If he has ever received Helpers
book, as charged, 1t must have been through the
mail, but he had no knowledge that the book ever
came into his possession. Certainly he never read
solitary word Of it. Ever since he had refused to
act with the Democrats on the Lecompton Consti
tuition, which he believed to be infamous fraud
and swinde, he had been pursued with the terOcitV
of tiger and the the malignity of Il devil. He re-
peated that the whole publication, far it was
intended to affect him, is lie from beginning to
end
Mr.. SINGLETON, replying to Mr.. Hickman, EN-.
phatically denied the ater's charge that the South
had violated all compacts and compromises Where
and when, he asked, had the South demanded any
thing more than she was entitled to unde. the Con.
stitution? Whenever aggressions were made they
were by the stronger on the weaker section, and the
South obliged to take her present stand with a
| a
He said that any man who had signed recon
mendatOn of Helpers Book for circulation, with
a knowledge Of its contents was guilty of moral
treason, and ought to be dealt with accordingly;
and any man who signed it. with a knowledge oi
the contents of the book, was unfit to be Speaker
of the House.
Mr. CURTIS, during the debate in reply to a
question, said that the Republicans are opposed to
the extension of slavery, and would by Congress,
sional action endeavor to prevent its extension.
But they did not propose to circumvent slavery
in the South by any system of policy. 1t was not
his purpose, directly or indirectly, to iniure the
people at the South holding slaves.
Mr.. SINGLETON, replying, said that intended
to lull the suspicion of the South, so as to make
further aggression upon it, which was to be bound
hand and foot, and delivered over to the tormentor
He understood Mr.. Curtis remark to be this That
the South is never to have another foot of slave
territory-to which
Mr.. CURTIS replied, That is the idea.
Mr.. SINGLETON said-If you thus act YOU will
will have expansion for slavery in the Union or if
we must, outside of it. If you want to know nv
advice to Mississippi it is the we get out of
the Union the better. He reviewed the doctrine of
squatter sovereignty-sayingt that Douglas should
be nominated by the Charleston Convention he
would not vote for him-never.
Mr.. LOGAN replied, that he was from Illinois,
which claimed to be Democratic, and as a friend OF
Douglas, he would vote for the nominee of that
Convention, whoever he might be, with view of
putting down the Republican party. Applause.
Mr.. SINGLETON said that the South could expand
to Mexico; that country now in a state of dis
ruption, without government, and the South had
right to administer the estate. Whenever it
shall be undertaken to place Black Republican.
like Seward Hale, to preside over the destinies
of the South, then you may expect to see an undi-
vded front in the South, and all parties uniting to
resist aggression. The only way to preserve the
Union, is to reopen the Territories to the South,
to execute the fugitive slave law, permit slave
States to come into the Union (when formed \
and give the South assurances Of protection in ali
its constitutional rights In conclusion he argued
that State has the right to peaceablv 90 ont nj
the Union, and that it for her to Judge of tbe
mode and manner of redress.
The House was then called preliminary to q vota
for Speaker. " . '0'e
Three votes were had for the election of a Sneaker
Alter the first, Mr. Bocock withdrew his name as a
candidate He said he had permitted the use of his
name as point round which the conservative and