Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1860-12-20
Spirit of the Washington Let.

The Cincinnati Commercials telegraph
letter says:
WasHISeToS, Dec. IL.
The news that South Carolina will not
secede, or proceed to other ex~travagancies
involving the Union, until Buchanan re-
tires, and the fine weather, brings a mo-
mentary reaction. Many think the post
ponement of South Cardinals secession
will ultimately arrest disunion, but the con-
spirators laugh s~cornfully at the notion.
1.-THE scene and debate in Senate Cham
bers which in our regular dispatches Wash
ington, Dec. IL, we had account of, is Civ
en- as follows:l
The Powells resolution was debated sew
eral hours in the Senate. Bigler made a
whining, officiating speech, promising the
North would get down on her knees again
if the South would only forgive her this
time. Iverson got off more secession bile,
arrogantly declaiming that the South de-
mands Congressional protection for slave
~ in the territories, and will have it in or
out of the Union. He proclaimed disco
luton a fixed fact, and nothing under Hea-
ven IAN prevent it. He accepted the ire
pressible conflict in its greatest length and
widest extent, discarding all special pleas
for disuniun, and basing secession upon the
iueradicable hostility of free Institutions to
slavery. He threatened Virginia, Mary
land and other border States, if they did
not follow theCotton States, and he quick
about it, the slave trade would be opened.
"Where, then," said be, arrogantly, "will
be the slave marketg"
The people of Washington, he said, were
also denouncing secession. II might hap
pen Washington will remain the Capital
of the South, but it will depend upon their
own conduct. 'The marble walls may be-
come, too, the babitations, o fbats and owls.
The South is satisfied the North will nev-
er yield their territorial position, and the
South will have nothing else. The North
can make no concessions the South will
accept, and if she did, it would be from
fear and interest, and the South will have
no faith in the puncia fdes of the North"
He mouihed the whole anti-slavery doc
trine concerning the extinction of slavery
and adopted it as his belief-proposing to
defeat the process by expanding slave ter
ritory. He was opposed to divorcing sla-
very from the Government, 'because it
would accomplish precisely what Republi-
cans desire: namely, the final abolition of
slavery"
Mr.. Pugh, pale and agitated, spraug to
the floor, exclaiming: ''If these be the SEN
timents of the South, then l despair of the
Republic" He Indignantly ex~postulatcd
with the South for perverting and misre-
presenting facts against the North, charg-
ing Southerners with reasoning and acting
upon these ~prejudices. Before he got thro'
Mr.. Pugh actually discovered hat the bill
of charges from the South and the Demo
cratic party against the North was gener-
ally false, and expressed his belief that
ninety-nine of every hundred who voted
for Lincoln did so because they had a good,
hearty hatred of the Democratic party
He reviewed the history of the execution
of the Fugitive Slave law in North, and
showed that, except in the Burns case, the
military force of the Government had new
er been exercised, and that all fugitives
against whom true declarations had been
made were returned.
Mr.. Douglas yindicated Illinois, and
showed how beneficently his people had
executed the law, but he would observe,
that excitement upon this subject was in
tense precisely in proportion to the dis
lance of the inaamed parties from the point
of trouble. While the border States on
either side were much infamed on the sub
ject, the people of Vermont, who never
see fugitives, are Mortified at the idea of
returning them to bondage; while Geor-
gia, who never lost one, is convulsed because
there is a possibility that a slave may, per-
haps, run away, and not be returned. The
law has been as faithfully executed as any
other law, but not as faithfully as it might
be.
Altogether this was a good experience
meeting, in which from secession sources
and from Douglas and Pugh, the public
heard with astonishment that the Republi-
cans themselves are not half as bad as rep
to Southern people.
The New York Commercials telegram
says:
WASHINGTON, Dec. IA.
This being the anniversary of Washing
toms death, delegations of Freemasons from
different States have met to-day to honor
bis memory and pledge their influence in
the promotion of harmony and fraternal
feeling. The object is ~praiseworthy, as all
must feel.
The N. Y. Worlds telegraph letter says:
WASHINGTON, Dec. IA.
There were several meetings of the va
rious military companies of the city last
night. All resolved to stand by the Union
the last.
The New York Tribune's telegraph says:
WASHINGTON, Dec. IA.
Great efforts will be made before Mon
lay to prevent certain Republicans from
strong speeches, who are much
ncensed at the recent attacks upon the
The Philadelphia Press telegraph letter
'ays:
WASHINGTON, Dec. IA.
The separation between the President
md the resigned Secretary of the Treasu-
y was of the most affectionate character.
It is said that both were melted to tears.
Mr.. Cobb promised Mr. Buchanan that, in