The weekly Mississippian., 1860-04-11

The House being in the Committee Of tn,
, Whole on the state of the Union, and hayin,
under consideration the Presidents Annua
Message
) Mr.. lamar said
Mr.. Chairman | obtained the floor seyera
days ago for the purpose OF replying to SON,
arguments advanced in a very ingenious snc
, well-considered speech from the gentleman
from Connecticut, Mr.. Ferry1 / desire t,
begin my remarks to-day by quotation from
the philosopher poet, CoIeridge, which will
.s-.,;..sls.ass so fe.pl faF t.ia
An TmeTic4h q cuff-rrf4Ht1f; II e 10 wno md re-
ceived the highest honors which his grateful
country, through her assembled representa-.
tives, could bestOw upon him, once said tC
me, with a sigh In an evil hour for ms
county did the French -Ga.l- $ rarriaI.Lls aban.
don Louisiana to the United States We wcrT
not sufficiently country before; and should
we ever be mad enough 10 drive the English
from Canada and her other North American
Provinces, we shall soon cease to be country
at all. Without local attachment, without
national honor, we shall resemble swarm o.
!. insects that settle on the fruits Of the earth tC
corrupt and consume them, rather than men
who love and cleave to the land of their fore
fathers. After shapeless anarchy, and Sc
rieS of civil wars, we shall at last be formed
into many countries unless the vices engen-
dered in the process should demand further
punishment, and we should previously fall be-
meath the despotism Of some military adven-
turer, like a lion, consumed by an inward dis
ease, PROSTATE and helpless beneath the beak
and talons Of a vulture, or yet meaner bird OF
prey"
The distinguished commander there referred
to, Mr.. Chairman, was Decatur. No one can
read that declaration without feeling some
disposition TO inquire whether we are about to
realize its fultillment. The animosities that
exist between the two sections OF the Confede-
racy, the discord that reioned for seven long
weeks on this floor, are fearful tokens of a
deep-seated disorder IN our political system.
My object to-day is to inquire haY far my
constituents and the people with q BIN they
are associated are responsible for the exist
| ing condition of things. Mississippi, sir, has
grown up under this Federal Union. There
is not, within her limits, proprietor who
does not hold his home under a grant from
the Federal Government Her noble univer.
! sity, and her common schools, are all cstab-
! lished by donations from the public domain,
which she has received, ia common with all
| the new States. It IS true that in the spe-
ciaI ard sqp'eciabl9 advantages Of Federal
/ lo2islation-such as determinations in favor
/ Of industrial pursuits, and commercial enter
| prise and the returns Of taxation, in the form
! Of Government Spcndtures-she receives
! far less tlnn an average share She has no
| ships to participate in the monopoly granted
| to American vessels Of the coasting trade and
| the benefit of tonnage duties in their favor in
| the foreign trade Her population have no
! fishing or other bOuntes from the national
| Treasury and the tariff on imports does not
| operate to protect the productions of her in
dustry. She has no army Of contractors or
| Federal officers; nor are there any public
! buildings of imperial magnificence constructed
| by the Government within her limits. But
she is prosperous and the heart of her peo-
| pie beats truer to the Union than to their own
tran4aitX Nor will she as'sssfi fl.s SIS r. not
! created, ana py consequences for which size is
not responsible Mississippi has never de-
| clared herself in favor ofdsunon, per Sc. She
will not make that declaration until she be-
| comes convinced that her sister States north
are deliberately determined to endanger her
internal and social institutions, or to impair
her dignity and equality as a confederate
State.
Now, sir, should not be candid if did not
Stt tiidt lllGft
my State who do not speak with the same re-
serve and caution that | am doing on this oc-
casion. The obvious and unm'stakable to-
kens of design in the long-continued and crafty
agitation of this slavery question, have pro-
duced alienation and distrust 1t is a unani-
nous sentiment in the South that the exist
ence of this Republican organization is stand
ing menace to her peace and security and a
standing insult to her character. More es-
pecially have the recent events in VIRGINIA
the dscordant proceedings of this House, and
the angry discussion on the Helper book, crea-
ted a tone and tendency II: the public feeling
which must tell unhappily on the political
transactions of our country for long series
Of years.
was panied during that discussion, to
hear the distinguished gentleman from Ohio
Mr.. Corwin ask, in tone of levitv which
eyinccd how lightly he esteemed the temper
of our people Why, gentlemen can small
book like the Helper Compound endanger
your proud institutions ?2 Sir. million such
books could not, for an instant, affect the
South, but for the conviction that it represents
and embodes the sentiments Of large mass
Of the northern people You gentlemen. who
have diSclaimed and repudiated its practical
recommendations, do not deny, believe YOU
all admit, that the Fundamental doctrine of the
b0ok-that slavery is great moral. social
and political wrong, to be opposed by the Gov
ernment everywhere and under all circpfn
s.ances by all con stitutional means its ey
tension to be prohibited and the powers of
this Government to be applied to confne it
with view to extinction-is the predominant
opinion Of a large mass of the northern peo-,
pie; that it infectS their literature. peryades
their Jurisprudence, is inculcated in their the
ology, controls their local legislation, and con-
stitutes, this day, the sole creed Of political
party which commands majority of States,
and overwhelming majorities in States at the
North
Now, sir, this is portentous fact; for a
moral sentiment thus diffused among the ma
jority of great people will work itself out in
to practical action, and the law-fundamental
or statute-which obStructS its progress to de-
velopment must yield before it or be over
borne by it.
Sir, institutions and constitutions and laws
and Governments are at last but external
structures whose roots are in the moral and
intellectual life of the people for whom they
exist ; and any revolution in that moral and
mental life must have its corresponding effect
upon institutions subject to its influence.
!isious people, whose moral and religious con-
viction is that slavery is ga sin against God
and n crime against humanity" in the Ian
guage of the gentleman from Connecticut, Mr..
Ferry, | ask what countenance or support
will be given to Constitution which sanctions
that sin, OF to institutions which uphold and eS-
tablish that crime Let, sir, the party which
represents this sentiment get possession ofthis
Government, intrench itself in all its depart
ments, arm itself with its power and ask
if the barriers Of the Constitution. the forms
of law, the Obligations of humanity and the
sovereignty OF. the States will not all melt
down IN its fiery path I? Is it strange sir,
that our people should think Of withdrawing
their imperiled institutions from the sweep Of
this fitnatical revolution? And yet, sir, il
southern gentleman, from heart oppressed
with gloomy forebodings for his country, ex-
presses any such sentiment upon this floor,
forthwith these Republican gentlemen-ay,
sir, and grave Senators-Seize upon it, tear it
from its context, misrepresent the spirit which
prompted its utterance, and send it forth
grouped with other expressions similarly gar
hled to arouse passion, inflame prejudice, and
madden fanaticism.
Sir, the calamity Of the times is, that the
people of the North do not understand the
people OF the South ; and it is the interest Off
certain class of politicians to perpetuate the
misunderstanding. ~
The gentleman from Connecticut, sir, in his
speech a few days since, repeated the asser-
ton of the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Cor
win, that it was the policy of the founders of
our Republic to prevent the establishment Of
slavery in new communities. In my opinion,
a greater error was nevercommitted upon this
floor. My own State is standing refutation
of the proposition. Sir, slavery exists this
day in Mississippi by the encouragement
certainly with the consent--of this Federal
Government when it was in the hands Of the
founders of our Republic BY the act Of 1T9S
the President was authorized to extend over
the Mississippi Territory the same Govern
ment which existed northwest Of the Ohio,
excepting the last clause of the famous ordi-
nance prohibiting slavery; and that was re-
pealed. And upon the motion of Mr.. Thatch-