The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-12-11

ginia which abolition madness and wickedness
selected as the weakest point of attack along the
entire slaveholding borders of this confederacy.-
pass by also the cumbrOus construction of this
committee, with this single remark, that council
of war never fights, and a committee of thirty
three never will agree upon anything-at least
upon anything not so weak, so difused, so diluted
to be utterly inadequate to the solution of the
greatest and gravest and most material question
which has ever been presented in modern history.
| will not so much as suggest the possibility that
the labors OF this committee will all end in nothing,
and In worse than nothing, nor will even remar k
upon the peculiar composition of this committee in
having men placed upon it who represent nobody,
not even themselves, or who peculiarly odious
to ma OTity, or a very large minority of the sec
tions from which they come and thus are calcu-
lated much more to embarrass and defeat than to
advance the avowed purpose for which the COM
mittee was ordered. There is not one solitary
representative of the Democratic party upon the
committee from the sixteen free States of this
Union east of the Rocky Mountains. The Pacific,
indeed, is represented no thanks-it was Hobson' s
choice. There is no Republican from California
here, although Lincoln, by the infinite sub
division OF his opponents, has managed to the
electoral vote of the State. The excellent and
intelligent gentlemen from Oregon (Mr. Stout1 is
indeed upon it, because he is fortunate in having
no colleague. Although, to tell the truth, |
should not have been surprised, remem bering the
representation OF Oregon in recent political
conventions, to have seen the gentleman support
ed by Horace Greeley, possibly the member
from Massachusetts, (Mr. Thayer). though perhaps
that member is little too strongly tinctured with
the doctrine Unpopular sovereignty to suit the
times. In speaking of the power and geographical
advantages of the great West, he said we have an
empire equal in area to the whole of Russia, and
we mean neither to-be dependency nor province
of the East nor of the South, nor yet an in
ferior or second-rate power upon this
continent. And, if we cannot have mari
time boundary secured upon other terms,
we will cleave way to the seacoast
with the sword nation of warriors we may be,
but a tribe of shepherds never And yet, nearly
one half of the people of this vast empire which is
very soon to play so important part in the affairs
OF this continent, are utterly ignored and excluded
from this committee. More than six hundred
thousand voters, represented here by sixteen
members upon this floor, silenced and dsfran-
chised In its arrangement. What do you propose
to do without their votes at home and our votes
here? Or, are we both blindiy to take whatever
your committee may choose graeiously to report,
and be thankful for it {? We have one State
(lllinois) with a Democratic majority upon
this floor, and she at least had a right
to be represented upon your committee.
The time is short-the danger is lmminent-the
malady deep-seated and of long standingl What