Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1861-03-12


20. butt our friends SAY, "if you don't
unite in Cotton Government they will moi
buy our negroes" say they cannot get them
anywhere else have no fear Of their ever
re.opening the African slave trade. No, SIR, nj
slaveholding Republic will ever be permlttee
to do it. England will not nllowit, France VII
not allow it. Spain will not allow it, nor would
Northern Confederacy allow it. Even no."
great and powerful as we are, with large por
ton Of our territory dedicated-aS the biacH
Republicans call ito freedom; even not"
great MS we are, debating upon almost every
other subject, our treaties with other nations
upon our Own terms, we are compelled to keep
UP force, at an expenditure Of millions OF dol
lars, to prevent this African slave trade. They
are bound to buy our negroes. They could never
oo.rcc me into any act which my judgment
disspproVcd Of, by threatening that they woulc
not buy my negroes.
Sir, is not language like this, employed by
eseccssionists with the design ofinfluencng
the minds of the people Of Virginia, an insult
to the honor, and the intelligence, and tie pa
triotlsm of our people? "But, oh, our honor
| is ut stake, our rights are denied" We arc told
By some. Pray, gentlemen. wherein has your
honor suffered, or is likely to suffer? Tell me,
if you please. wherein any thing infringing
! upon Trginas honor has been attempted,
much less executeds What right has ever
been denied: llaven'tyou equal rights in the
! T~rritoriesf Has not this very Government,
that you are going 10 overthrow, declared that
you have: Haven't you equal rights. as States.
! in the Federal Government? Has not the little
| State Of Florida, with its forty-seven thousand
! white inhabitants, and It's t%cnty. three millions
! Of property, an equal share in this Government
with the great State Of New York, with lis
three millions Of white inhabitants, aud its
! thousands Of millions OF property Has no;
! the State of South Carolina with white pop
! ulation not half as large as the single city Of
! Philadelphia, an equal voice in the control o!
! this Government with the whole great State y.
! Pennsylvania, with her two million five hun
| rlred thousand Inhabitants? Then what has
! been denied you? Put your finger upon the
right that has been taken away from you
| What right has been denied in this Govern.
mcntv Wherein does this inequality consist .
/ Muy it not be, gentleuien-and | ask it with
all kindness-may it not be that you have mis-
! taken party platforms fer the Constitution Of
! the United States and the action Of individual
parties fur the aclon Of the Federal Govern
/ incntI
: Mr.. President, with our extended frontier,
with nlir de!cnCeess sen coast, tell ne the
Amount of money that would Le required so In
/ inrtfy the State, in case OF Il revolution, as to
afford the slightest protection not only 70 our
slave property. but against those John Brown
iDrays upon a larger scale? And, by the way,
. let me here call your attention 10 a single fact.
! namely that it was fourteen Of the marines Of
! this very Federal Government, which you want
! to destroy, that took John Brown and his men
! cut Of the engine house. II was not all this
army that you raised in Richmond and that
we sent down from the border. II vas four
: teen marines belonging to the Federal Govern
ncnt which took that inSurrectionary party
out of the engine house, delivered them over
tn your civil authorities, who justly tried and
=; hung them; and it was the Governor Of our
sister State Of Pcnnsylvania--for, dcnounce
me as submissieiist if you please apply what
ever epithets you WILL Pennsylvania is our Sis
tt4 Statc-and it was the Governor Of Pennsvl.
vania who delivered up TO lis llazlett and Cook,
and, in doing so, he behaved Us the Chief Ey-
ccutiYc Of sister State should behavc.
Sir, can any man believe that in case OF
dissolution Of the Union, we would enjoy any
Thing like the freedom and liberty and equal.
ty which We now enjoy under this General
Government Of oursS Could We maintain cur.
selves without strong military force kept up
az III ENORMOUS and exhsnStiug expense p
We arc now, under the Union, and in the
Union, the irecSt, the most independent and
tie happiest people on earth. Dissolve the
Union. and u military dcspotiSm, the licen-
IiousnrSs Of the camp and ragged poverty will
be substituted in its place
And now, hIr. President, 10 the Dame Of
our own liustruus dead, III the tame Of all the
living in the name Of millions yet unborn, ]
protest against this wicked effort TO destroy
the ia!rrst and the lrccSt government on the
earth. And dcnGuncc all attempts To involve
Virginia 10 commit her to self murder a. I'm
insult to AL reasonable living humanity, and Il
crime against God With the dissolution of
This Union, ! hesitate not to say, the sim Of
our liberty will have set for ever.
The following is the extract from the 5sth
number Of the "Federaist" referred to in the
course 0, the speech:
From the XxXiX number OF FIJI. "Fedsrsi, written
by jams, Madison.
But it. was not sufficient, say the adver.
saries OF the proposed Constitution, for The
Convention to adhere to the Republican form.
They ought, with equal care TO have preserved
the f:dsrai form, which regards the Union as
n Conftderacy Of sovereign States; instead Of
which they have framed notionai Govern.
mcnt which, regards the Union as consollda.
ton Of the States. and it is asked, BY what
authority this bold and radical innovation was
undertaken The handle which has been
made uf this objection requires that il should
he examined with some precision.
Without enquirIug into the accuracy OF the
distinction on witch the objection is founded,
it will be necessary TO just estimate Of its
fprcr, first, to ascertain the real character Of
the Government III question secondly, 10 en-
Qure how far the Convention we've authorized
- propose such Government: and thirdly,
how r.' the 'iuty they owed tn their country
could supply any Jctrct Of regular authority.
First. In orief to ascertain llic real charac-
ter Of the Government, il may he considered
IN relation To the foundation on which il is tn
he eSta bliSied to the sources from which its
ordinary powers are TO be drawn; 10 the ope.
ration Of those powers. to the extent Of them;
and to the authority by which future changes
in the Government are to DC introduced.
Or examining the FIRST relation, it appears,
on one hand. that lie Constitution is TO he
founded on the assent and ratification Of the
people Of America, given by deputies elected
for The special purpose; but on the other, That
this assent aud ratification IL 10 lie given by
the people, npt 81 individuals composing one
entire natiur,, but lis composing the distinct
and Independent States 70 which they respec.
lively heiong. |; is 10 lie tlc assent and rati-
tcaton of the several States. derived from the
supreme authority in each Statc--tle authnri
" Of the people themselves The act therefore
establishing the Constitution sill att be = nj.
tionai, bat .fe''eTal act.
That it will he Il federal. aud not \ national
act as these terms understood by The Oh.
jectorS, the act Of tie people, as forming So
ull,ry independent States, not as forming one
aggregate nation, is obvious from this single
consideration, that il is To result reither from
the decision Of u a";er;ty Of the eopie OF the
Union, nor lha, % q m4jDrity q: the State
Tt i1uSt result trrm the ubnuj,ch assent