The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-09-24
POLITICAL.
SPEECH OF THE HON VIII L. YAyCEY IN
WASHINGTON 6,JV,y

' made speech, from which we make the followip
extracts:
Mr.. 1ancey commenced by saying
I feiow-citizens: l am no party man, and d
not address you as such tonight. Strange as
may seem to you, after what you have heard frol
some quarters, | come before you this evening q
; the friend Of the Constitution, [good, and tn
Union under the Constitution, [gOod, and better
and as the enemy of any other Union, coming froI
what source it may. [Yociferous cheering; that
right During my brief political career, m
countrymen-
Just here the speaker was interrupted by som
drunken individual.
A vOce-Put him out
Mr.. 1ancey-Oh, no; let him alone. No harm
can be done to me by any men, or any party her
who listens to ne. A voice-That's so. ! hav
no sentiment to conceal from any man or an
party. | hope representatives of all parties arr
here with the exception of that party which is thu
common enemy of the Constitution-the Black
republican party. Loud and enthusiastic ap
pause.
Ny friends, there is but one issue before YOU; bu
that issue has two sides. The slavery question i
but one of the symbols of that issue, the Unior
question is the other but the only issue before h
country in this canvass is the integrity and safety
of the Constitution. Cries of "good;" and ap
plause.l He is true Union man who intends tc
stand by that Constitution with ali its checks anC
balances. He is disunion man who means tc
destroy one single letter of that sacred instrument
Good 1t has been said that the South seeks tc
aggrandize itself at the expense of other sections
that we want this government to carry slavery anC
force 1t upon people who do not desire it. Will
ance it is false. Good The South has aggressed
upon no section, nor does she propose aggression
| upon any section. She asks no section to WELD
anything that is hers for her safety or for her pro
lection. All that the South has ever asked of the
government is to keep its hands off of u.s. and let the
Constitution work its own way. Applause.
The South has been aggressed upon; her soil has
been trespassed upon fourffths of its territory in
which she has equal rights, has been torn from her;
and by the acts of government she has been exclu-
| ded from it. Revenues are raised at the rate of
three dollars in the South to one from any other
section for the support of this great government
| but the South makes no complaint of mere dollars
and cents. Touch not the honor of my section of
the country, and she will not complain of almost
| anything else you do. But touch her honor and
authority, and she will stand up in defence. if ne.
cessary, in arms. Applause.
All, then, that the South asks in this contest is,
that you shall observe the constitutional checks and
balances with reference to her. She is not willing
that her rights shall be submitted to the will of
mere numerical maorities. = i
Hence it is that my section of the South stands
by that Constitution. You do not hear so much
said there on such fippant tongues about the Union
as you do here at the North; but you hear much
said there about the Constitutions about its strict
construction; about the rigid enforcement of its
checks, and its balances in favor of these mnori-
ties, because TO them it is thing life and death
Within this government that Constitution must
| prevail, or the minority will be placed as a "amb
that is led to the slaughter to be shOrn" But let
that Constitution be observed the rights OF all sec
| tiOns under that Constitution observed, and the
South is content to abide its fate under the work
ings of that instrument. The North may well cry
out Unionl Union! !! Union!! at all hazards, and
to the last extremity. And the North, even now,
| understand, at midnight, is arming itself and
training its midnight bands for the purpose Of for
cling the Union OF a mere majority upon the South.
| | understand these are "Wide Awakes" as they
call therselves-that is they think themselves rery
I'wide awake" but they will find some men in the
| Southern States, gentlemen, sufficiently "wde
awake to meet them on the battle field. ["That's
So" Applause.l brave people and true peo.
pie, gentlemen, will fear no Wide Awakes
Now, desire simply to sa to you tonight, that
the South, standing nothing but the Canstitu-
tiOn fears no aggression fears section; and that
Constitution the South intends to stand by. IT, in
the progress of party division, party dissensi0ns
and party elections that Constitution shall be tram.
! pied under foot-if the Government at WASHINGTON
| is usurped-if this temple of liberty based upon
that Constitution, shall be subverted, and instead
of constitutional, a ''higher-laW" government
shall be established, you will find, gentlemen, that
the Constitution will have friends, even in that hour
and if driven from all other sections fhe country
and there is other spot where the ark of the COW
enant of our safety rest and be protected it will
| be on Southern SOIL where the friends of the Con
| stituton live. Loud applause.
We do not desire, at the South, disunion; | know
of but few advocates at the South of this measure
l can point to hundreds of distinguished Northern
|
South upon the question of disunion. | know in
the Northern States men who want 'higher law, -
who want different Constitution, who want
another Bibe-aye, and who, in religion, even call
for another Jesus Christ Laughter and applause I
Disunon. per s=, exists in that region. | know of
no disunion, per Sc at the South The humble in.
dyldual who addresses you tonight has been prob
| ably more denounced as a disunionist than almost
any other man in the Union. tell you, gentlemen
my disunionism consists in this: | stand bv the
Constitution. intend that the provisions of that
Constitution, which look upon as the shield of the
South in this Union, shall be carried out If that
Constitution is taken away from the South in this
| Union, and the South is then to remain in the
| Union, consider that we would then have no
rights for we would then be placed at the feet of
dominant sectional Abolition majority IApplause I
A Voice-We'l stand by you.
| Mr.. 1ancey.-l say, then that the South stands
| by the Constitution, as shield in this Union
| When that shield shall be taken from them by a
dominant sectional majority, who seeks to reduce
this Government to the will of mere majority for
| its own sectional purposes-who intend to make US
| hewers of wood and drawers of water-we intend
to take that Constitution with US; and, gentlemen
| following the mighty example of George Washing
ton, if there is other place where we can erect
and keep this Constitution, will take the banner
OF liberty and plant it on the mountains of Augusta
and there we will entrcnch ourselves as a body Of
| freemen. [Applause.
But, as | said to you, we hope that the davis far
distant from US, and that none Of NAV live to see
| its dawn. |, so help me God, will consider that to
be an evil hour, when this government shall be so
wrecked by factions that the charter of our hartias
shall be trodden under foot and the compact of our
fathers disregarded by our degenerate sons. II
would be indeed an evil hour, but we are com.
PEELED to look it in the face.
| A Feice.-What will the South do in the evant
of Lncoln's election?
Mr.. Yancey.-l don't know what she will do,
but this | will say to you'll put it to YOU. nv
friend Now if you live in slaveholding State
| The same VOICE. do, sir.
| Mr.. 1ancey.-Well, then, if John Brown COM
mits raid that State while in the peace of God
and while in the peace of the country under the
peace of the Constitution that supposed to protect
| it-it be comes with pike, with musket and bayo-
net and cannon; If he slaughter inofensive peo-
pie, ifhis myrmidOns scattered all over our
country, where it is supposed rests this institution
which is so intallible melting our slaves to mid
night arson, to midnight murder, and to mid
night lnsurrection against the sparsely scattered
white people, if the brotherhood of this nation
shall be broken up, and the common citizenship
shall be ignored, If the protection that is due from
every citizen to every other citizen shall be no
longer afforded, if in the place Of it a wild and
Dloodthlrsty spirit, not Of revenge, for we have
done no wrong to be revenged, but a bloodthirsty
spirit of assassination, of murder and of wrong
takes its place, and we find scattered throughoat
all other quarters these people, and we find the
midnight skies lighted up by the fires of our dwell
ings, and our very wells poisoned by strychnine
and our wives and children, when we arc
away at our business, are found murdered bv ouI
hearthstones, my answer, my friend, is in these
| words: What would you do? loud appause
A Voice. would stop him before he got tha
far.
Mr.. Yancey-I believe that the God of Liberty
to whom it is our duty at all times to prav He who
| holds in His hands the very destnies of nations
will so turn the hearts of people that such ar
event shall not happen.
| A Veice-Amen!
Mr. Yancey-The Union is much to the South;
we prefer to have it it is and we will deprecat
dissolution. But it is dissolved it shall not be by
the South. 1t shall be dissolved by those who ar,
warning on the South and seeking to dissolve thu
Constitution and the Union. Let Northern men SCI
to it that they preserve that Union if they want Il
preserve their commerce, if they wish to preserv,
their manufactures or power, and if they wish t
preserve the South the best mart for the sale O
their products the fruits of their industry and the
commerce. If we of the South are driven to sup
port ourselves we are Independent of the world W.
have the great peace maker, King Cotton, withir
our midst. [Vociferous applause. WeWill tell tn,
millions of the world that we feed ourselves anC
clothe the world. Unless these, therefore, want t.
be naked laughter, and show their nakedness IRE
newed laughter), they had better come and solic
the support of our cotton planters
Now then, tellow.citizens, | beg YOU to excuse
me from saying anything further, and for the de
sultory character of the remarks have at this time
submitted. | close them by telling you that the
South loves the Union, respects the Union, has al
respect for the Constitution and will stand by anC
preserve that instrument intact, and is deter
mined that every other section shall so preserve it.
against the attacks Of the Wide Awakes the sleepy
abolitionists, and everybody else.
| The speaker retired amid vociferous applause
Secretary Cobb then briefly addressed the assem-.
blage, after which the crowd repaired to the resi-
dence of Hon. jeff. Davis, and after serenading
that gentleman they retired.