Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1860-02-24

of Mr. Gurley, of Scott, last evening, in Com,
mittee of the Whole, upon the Governor
Inaugural. l will only say that it was a
complete success and annihilator of the
Locofoco party. ZENI.
SRNATE CHAMBER, Desmoines,
February 18th, 1860.
FRIEND JouRNAL:-I cannot do better, in
commencing this communication, than to
resume where left off, to-wit: Mr.. Gurley's
eloquent and convincing speech upon the
Governors Inaugural Having vindicated in
an able manner the motives and conduct OF
the Governor from the unfair and untrue
charges Of the minority, he proceeded to take
up the political history as read by Mr. Clagget
condemned in strong language the course of
the minority in testing the principles of the
Republican party by speeches of men who
had no sympathy or affinity with that party !;
called upon the Democracy to attack the Re-
publican Platform he was frank to say that
he had no fears of such an attack-neither
did he fear to attack the Democratic Platform.
His party, he said, took the position Of the
fathers that slavery was wrong-a curse to
the country-a social moral and political evil !;
and, believing thus, they were opposed to its
extension into any Territory belonging to the
Government. He then reviewed the effects of
the institution; asked where the bulk Of our
population was, but north Of Mason & Dixon's
line ?-where the commerce ?-where the
manufactures from whence come our most
useful inventions? Slavery paralyzes all our
energies as nation, and yet we are told that
we have no constitutional right to retard the
progress of this institution. We believe we
have that right under and by virtue of the
Constitution. His expose Of the fallacy Of the
doctrine of Popular Sovereignty was complete
and convincing. Maintaining the position
that it was absurd to say that a Territory was
a sovereignty when its fundamental lao was
not the expression of its own will, but the
organic act imposed by Congress that none
but State or the United States could be called
sovereign-he left his Locofoco listeners in a
world of wonder and amazement When he
told them of the a6surdity Of calling people
sovereign who had no power to choose their
own Executive, their own Judiciary, and no
absolute power to legislate, the minority could
not but admit the force of the argument, and
the weakness of their own pet doctrine. But,
said he, 81 propose to test the minority upon
this floor by the same rule by which they
tested us. will be more just, however. l
will read the sentiments expressed by promi
nent Democrats-not those expressed by a
man here and man there. l will read the
sentiments of prominent Democrats who
represent Democratic States on the floors of
Congress-" Mr.. G.. then read from the
recent speeches of members of Congress,
avowing their purpose to resist the will of
constitutional majority of the Union, and
asked: "Gentlemen of the minority, are those
your sentiments? Why have you no word
of condemnation for these sentiments, uttered
by members of your own party, while you are
so profuse in your epthets against the friends
of the Union? Why do you not pronounce
them disunionists, agitators? Aye! gentle
men, you know too well that, when you read
the utterers of such sentiments out of your
party, its death-knell is sounded. Repudate
and drive them out, and you drive out the
rank and file of your party. You are in
hopeless minority in the Northern States
you have no strength save in the South, and
you dare not repudiate these men," But his
closing caused a like stiffness, while a
thrill of enthusiasm coursed through the veins
and arteries of every listener. Said he: "We
are called agitators. So we are-peacefal
agitators. Gentlemen, in days that are gone,
men weak in the knees and wanting in back
bone quaked and trembled at your opprobrious
epithets. But we have grown strong under
the aid of a conviction that no great good was
ever accomplished save by agitation. Jesus
Christ and his band of apostles (and utter
their names with the most profound reverence)
were agitators, and the proud and noble temple
of Christianity has risen and continues to rise,
and to ascend unto perfectibility, through the
instrumentality ofagitation. We are agitators,
and we intend to agtate, until this unmitigated
evil is restrained Make the most of it! We
are also charged with being advocates of the
doctrine of an irrepressible conflict. So we
are. We do advocate that conflict which
alaoays has, is nop, and that ever aoil, con-
tinue to 60 on while right and wrong exist,
until the right shall triumph over the wrong
Yes, gentlemen of the minority, an irrepressi-
BILE conflict between freedom and slavery, and
which shall not cease until good triumphs
over evil"
Mr.. Gurley spoke for two hours and half,
and I pronounce it second to no speech
delivered during the session. Mr.. G. was not
as rapid in his speech as Rush Clark or
Caldwell, but more logical. His speech,
written would make an excellent electionecr-
ing document for wide distribution. have
only given very imperfect sketch of a few of
his most prominent points. l know they do
him great injustice.
This morning, our old friend and citizen,
z. Washburne, was appointed Superintendent
of the Committee Rooms of the two Houses.
A very large majority of the members have
pe.itioned the Governor to appoint Mr.. W.
State Librarian. hope he will hear their
prayer. ZENl.
| Thad. Stevens, the Lancaster (Pa.)
member of Congress, who only week before
had declared his determination to stick to
Sherman until the "crack of DOOM" explains
that, on the morning of his change to Penn
ington, he read in the papers about an earth
quake in South Carolina, and, esteeming that