Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-12-20
SENATOR WADE's GREAT
SPEECH.

'esolRtiOR was taken up.
Mr.. WADE (Rep,, Ohio) said At time
IKE this, when there seems to be unusual 'ex7
Stement have very little faith In the
efficacy OF any argument But | must say,
when. in this very chamber, where we have
All raised our hands to Heaven and taken an
oath that we would sustain the Constitution |
of the United States, We hear il said by many |
Senators that We are upon the eve OF q dis
solution Of this Union, and that your Con-
Is 10 be trampled under foot silence |
under such circumstances seems TO be akin I
70 treason ITSELF We have hstened 10 com |
plants on the other side of this chamber par |
tiently. and with an ardent desire TO asoer-
tain what .hey were. But l confess am
unable to understand what it is of which
they complain. The party which has lately
elected the President and is prospecuvely
coming into power, have never held once
under this Government nor any individual oi
them. Therefore, it is manifest that that
party have as yet committed no act OF which
anybBiy can complain tfans' one has Tears
as TO what may hereafter ensue, they are
mere rehcnsiOns-nOthing else. A bare
suspicion-a fear-rising out Of unwauant-
able preiudfVes. wish 10 ascertain in the
ontset whether we are right for / tell gem
tlemen here if they can convince me that /
am holding,an political principle that IS not
warranted by the Constitution under which
We live. or trenches on their rights, they
need not ask me 20 -eOtnpromise, for Will
redress their rights myself when am wrong.
No man need approach me with threat that
the Government Is TO be destroyed, because
hope. that Fhave now and ever shall have
that sense OF Justice that when any man shows
me | am wrong, shall be ready to right 1t
without threat or compromise. Now, what
is it of which gentlemen complaint When
/ left NV home in the West to come to this
place ali was calm, cheerful, and eontented.-
/ heard Of no discomfort, and sPprehended
there was no cause to ipterrppttne harmon
ious course OF legislation. l did not learn
that there had been, since We adjourned, any
new fact intervening that could at all disturb
the public mind. did not know that there
had been any encroachment upon the rights
of any section or any individual. Therefore,
| I came here expecting we should have har-
monious session. 1t is very true that the
/ great RepublicsA party, which has oeen OF
gahiked ever since you repealed the Missouri
/ Compromise, which gave you four years ago
full warning that its strength would result
as it has resulted, and suppose any man
might have supposed things would have re
suited in the same way--it is true this party
has carried the election; but lido not suppose
ANYTHING growing cut Of the election IS the
cause ofthe presentexcitementi in the country
Now, who is it that is complainingt Is II
the minority that they have subjected to an
oppressive and aggressive Government. Nc
such thing as that, Sir We might suppose
that 81 years ago, when the leaders of that
oylorious Revolution met in Philadelphia, there
70 draw up sill OF indictment against
weak king and his ministers, they had been
at a loss what they would set forth as the
eause of their complaints. But they had nc
difficulty in setting them forth, and 50 ths
great article of impeachment will go down
to posterity. to justify them for all they DID
Let US. then, suppose the old patriots haC
been the Ministers of the Grown, or member
of the British Parliament of the dominan
partv that had ruled Great Britain for 81
wears previous. Instead Of dignifying Wha
they did as revolutionary, who would no
have hanged every man of them as traitors
They would ask what right have you, -Wh
} ! have had the Government in your own hands
. who have been Ministers doing everything
that has been done, to set up here that yo
have been oppressed and aggrieVed by IN
action of that very Government II Woui
have been an act Of treason, and nothing less
Now, they who sit here the leaders OF TIL
i modern revolution, are they in a position t
complain of the action OF this Goyernmen
than one quarter Of the free people of th
United States yet, you have prevailed fo
ten years past in the Cabinet of the President
and in the Supreme Court of the Unite
States, and nearly every department of th
Government Those who voted with yol
, have dictated the policy Of the Government
Is it not strange that those who o-cupy thi
position come here complaining that thei
rights have been stricken DOWN. But wha
is the cause of this great excitement whicI
undoubtedly prevails in portion Of on
country for, if the newspapers are 10 b
credited, there is a reign OF terror in the cite
and large towns of the South that looks verl
much like the reign of terror in Paris during
the French Revolution. We hear OF North
ern men being sent back, or scourged anC
tarred and feathered, and no inquiry madl
in regard to the cause. lido not suppose thC
regular Government, in times of excitement
Il like this, is really responsible for these out
breaks Of passion. If the States where thest
Outrages prevail were foreign government
and if they were really authorized by the con-
stituted authorities, everybody knows, if Il
were the strongest government in the world
Wewould declare war in one day. But what
has caused this great exeitement2 I viii
tell you what l suppose it is. / do not SO
much blame the people of the South, because
think they have been led to believe that we
to-day the dominant party, who are about to
take the reins of ofGovernment, are their NOR
tai foes, and stand ready to trample their IN
stitutions under foot. They have been told
so by our enemies at the North, and they
would not hear us at all. Now, l wish to in
quire candidly, honestly, and fairly, whether
the Southern gentlemen who complain so
much have any reasonable grounds for that
Complaint mean when they are really in
formed as to our position. The Northern
| Democrats have said we have Personal Lib
/ erty Bills in some few Of the Northern States,
which would somehow trench upon your
rights to recapture runway Slaves position
hat in more than two or three cases has not
/ the least foundation in fact But if these laws
are really repuguant to the Constitution they
/ eA9 Ass-AAt NgAlT anu lAg OuuAho WOAA1 w
/ clare them so at any moment. Therefore
am glad to hear Senators on the other side
/ say they do not complain Of those bills
Your men have given up this bone Of con
tentien, this matter of complaint, which
| Northern men have set forth as grievance
more than any one else. EKt
Mr.. MASON said that be said the repeal of
these laws would furnish no satisfaction to
/ the Southern States.
Mr.. WADE-I understood the gentleman
to say he did not know as they had been in
jured by them. These laws were not in
tended to excite the South, or to put them in
any position Of degradation, as the Senator
supposes. Those laws against kidnapping
are as old as the common law itself be-
lieve the State Of Virginia bas one to-day as
stringent in its provisions as any of those Of
which Won cOuDlain And here let me saV