The weekly Mississippian. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1859-1864, 1860-10-03
What the 0ppositionists thought in
1S49 Of Voting to Receive Abolition
Petitions.

In our reTiew of John Bells record, some
weeks ago, we showed that he had invariably
,o'ea with John Quincy Adams, j. R. Gid
uings' the inevitable Slade" and other aboli-
'n's.s ior the reception and consideration of
aoon'ion petitions. We also showed that n
- "l'en blade of Vermont was making
the most outrageous assault upon the sortS
e'ef inAue IN Congress, Mr.. Bell not onI,,
refused to retire with the oths, 60
earn delegates, but even when IL WAS e.. =.
adJouru any way, voted with the abol;t;on;s,,
against adjournment in order that sIade might
continue his infamous speech. He was H.
only Southern man who so voted. The South
ern delegates, who had retired. the next dav
presented a resolution that all abolition nett
tons should be laid on the table without fur.
ther action, and John Bell refused to co-ooe-
rate with the South in the passage Of that re-
solution. Then in 1888 he voted against that
part of the Atherton resolutions which said
these abolition petitions should be laid OH the
table without being debated printed or referred.
In all these struggles John Bell stood side by
side with Slade, Giddings, Adams and other
abolitionists
When these facts were first brought to
light in the South, the Oppositionists apoIo-
gzed for John Bell. But now they 90 fur
ther and justly his course We in the South
have held that Congress had no right to re-
ceive petitions to do an unconstitutional act
even If it was grievance to the petitoners.-
But when, as in this case, slavery is no grie-
vance to the abolitionists, and Congress has no
Constitutional power to abolish it anywhere.
how can they demand the reception Of these
petitions under that clause Of the Constitution
which gives "the people, the right peaceably
to assemble, and to petition the Government
for redress Of grievances ?" The Opposi.
tionists held in 1849 that Congress had
no right to receive these, petitions. The
Mississippi Convention of October 1849 issued
an address to the Southern States calling the
Nashville Convention. That Convention was
composed of men of all parties In that ad.
dress, which was signed by w. l.. Sharkey,
c. ?. Clifton, John |. 6uion, and several
other distinguished gentlemen, they say
For years, petitions have been addressed
to Congress by women, who claim social,
civil and political equality with men, and by
men who admit this equality, demanding the
abolition Of slavery, as great moral, social
and political evil. And although Congress
has no more powers over the subject, no more
right to receive such petitions than i they
were petitions to abolish the laws of marriage
as great moral, social and political evil, or
than the supreme court of Massachusetts,
would have, if such petitions were addressed
that respectable tribunal; yet refusal to
receive them has raised an outcry, that the
great right of petition has been violated. 1t
has also been yielded to by Congress, thereby
asserting power to abolish slavery"
In 1849, Judge Sharkey and the other
leading lights ofthe Wing party, thought that
to receive these petitions was great outrage
and insult to the South, but in 1860, for pol
itical considerations, and in order to justify
John Bell they say that to refuse to receive
them would be violation of the great right of
petition. 30 shame, where is thy blush Pa !