Gazette and sentinel., 1860-08-25
ADDRESS
Hon. THOMAS GREENE DAVIDSON.
TO THE PEOPLE OF. THE THIRD
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.

~ 10
sons which put it out Of my power to meet the
BODY of my constituents face to face in the
present contest, and address them as l could
wish in relation to the great question which
now occupies the attention of the country.
Perhaps l should offer no excuse for adopting
a more convenient course; for words which
are written are less liable to misconstruction,
and more certain TO express accurately the true
sentiments of the author, than TIC undigested
expressions of any mere extemporaneous ha-
ranguc, which are liable to be Influenced by mo-
mentary excitement or the accidental circum-
stances by which the speaker is surrounded.
If there we're no other reasons for reducing
nv views Of the present contest to the shape
of q formal address, the simple fact that 1t
will best attest my sincerity and the solemnity
of nv convictions, would be enough. What
ever advantages, on the other hand, might be
gained by varying the argument to suit diff
ferent interests, l shall waive; for L believe
there is but one question involved i'll the can
vass. and that one is of vital Importance, not
only to my fellow-citizens of this State, but to
the entire South. That question is simply,
whether the territories OF the United States
can be closed against us, either by the power
of Congress or by the action of the territories
themselves. / assume that if the owners of
slave property are prohibited from carrying it
with them to the country west of the Missis-
sippi, this alone amounts to their exclusion.
Slavery forms a part of our social system. 1t
is incorporated with the habits, the customs,
and the feelings of our people. To demand of
a Southern planter or farmer that he shall give
up the right of holding slaves, as the only con-
dition upon which he can be permitted to emf
crate to one of the territories and cultivate the
soil. is simply to shut the door in his face.
1t is to deprive him of the only means by
which be can gain a subsistence or invest his
capital TO advantage. 1t compels him either
10 remain where he is or sacrifice his property,
sell his slaves, and commence q new and un-
tried system of labor without knowledge and
without experience, in a country where the
natural obstacles are sufficiently formidable.
1t requires, moreover, that, as a preparatory
step TO his removal, he should sever those do
mestic ties which bind the members of one
household. whether bond or free, to each other
and allow his servants to be transferred to diff
ferent owners and to different places. 1t has
sometimes appeared to me to be not the least
of the absurdities of Northern fanaticism, that
the very features Of slavery upon which 1t
wakes most rabid, and upon which 1t pours
forth its most rancorous venom, such as the
separation of families and the transfer of SER
wants from one owner to another, are those
which it would demand as conditions of our
removal and settlement in the territories OF
the country. Upon this point it is unneces-
sary to say more. 1t is one which the com
mon sense of every man approves And !
NAV be therefore assumed at the outset, that
the prohibition of slavery in the territories Of
the United States, by whatever authority, ii
the virtual exclusion of the great body of the
Southern people from the possession and en-
ioynIent of the common birthright and thu
common purchase.
The practical question which you are called
upon to consider and determine for yourselve
is whether you are prepared to submit to Thu
monopoly, if l may so term it, of possession
in which you have an undivided interest. An
here let me remind you that, during NOR
than half a century, the people of the Soutl
have asserted repeatedly their claim to a shar
in the common property of all the States, an
that. whenever that claim has been Threatened
or denied, they have not yielded to any com
promise, nor consented to any compact whicl
did not recognize their equality in the gres
confederation of States. i assert, without fea
of contradiction, that from the foundation {
our Government until the present day, thong
the question Of slavery has often been agitateC
the claim of the South to this equality hs
never b~een.given up; but that, on the %contrar,
with every new abolition excitement 1t has az
ouired additional strength, and with every eI
counter its fairness and justice have been mad
more manifest, until now it stands secured
us anu " BONtcih. W tN
final arbiter in all questions of constitution
rights. =,
When / declare this, you will, OF cours
not understand me to mean that our right
all it, length and breadth, and with all j
present guarantees, has been, throughout tn
period. clearly and precisely defined. If
had been, it would not have been the sup]e
of controversy. This great principle ups
which our property SO much depends has be-
occasionally in the condition of q provin
claimed by rival nations. For a time its walt
and importance were little appreciated, and
one thought of drawing the boundaries WIN
should forbid encroachment on the one side
on the other. Again, as il began to attract
Greater share of attention, it became the su
iect of concessions and compromises sometim
Inconsistent with the title afterward esta
lished. But it was not until 1t doomed up
all its vast proportions as the great question
the age, after many years of ardent diseussl
by the leading minds of the nation, that
final settlement was found in an enlighten
Interpretation of the Constitution. But VIII
1 concede this, / wish distinctly to assert, u
the great principle of equality Of interest
the national domain has been claimed by
Southern people from the day when the fe'
raj Union was first formed, and that they ni
opposed its restriction in every form IN WIN
it has been attempted. And 1 mean also
saw. that whenever anti -slavery agitation
threatened the stability Of our i~nstitutio
the recognition of that principle, in some for
has been the only solution of the difficulty,
only basis of compromise, and the only b
binger Of peace.
We are often reminded by Opposition o
tors and writers, both in Congress and e.
where, that by the ordinance OF 1857, slay'
was prohibited in all territory northwest