Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1861-02-13


spirit of Cancellation. / intreat you. my Repub-
lcan friends, look to the lamp of liberty which
vet burns; intreat YOU 70 leave your party for
the good of a common country; / ask you in the
name of humanity at large, throughout the length
and breadth of the world, look upon this question
as patriots; look upon it as if it were the preser
walton of your own hearth-stOne Has this Gov
eminent got to crumbe to pieces because you
will not meet us in a spirit of compromise? Is it
TO 90 downl Must everything which Ameri-
can holds dear to his heart be lost. Must the
grave of Washington, the father Of his country,
be in another land and nation. Must the grave
of the immortal author of the Declaration of In
dependence be in another country Must this
all be- and worse than this, ten thousand times
worse, rather than to yield to compromise in
order TO save the countryl These, it seems to
me- are plain, practical questions. Are you pat
riotic enough to meet them? Are you seIfsacri-
icing enough to save your country, to save the
Constitution and the Union? / tear not.
You may talk about coercion. When the wo-
men of Charleston, as the mothers of the revolu
ton did, have been making lint to put upon the
wounds of their brothers, and fathers and sons
VIXEN the dread time comes: it is folly to talk |
about coercng people like that Conquer such |
a people, No, never And when you cause, as
you threaten, a servile Instruction, you cause
the most bloody and terrible that civilization
and Christianity ever looked upon | appeal to |
gentlemen on the other side of the House to let
party platforms go their way let political creeds,
and ideas and NOTIONS be buried. Bury the Ratchet
at the foot of the tree of liberty, that you may |
spare the tree itself. Cut it not down. Let its
broad branches cover your heads and mine: let it /
cover not only our heads but our brethren of the |
Southern States. Cut off not a single twig. Lay /
not the AK 10 the root to fell that noble tree. Let
it stand, and although the storm has passed over |
it many a time before and has broken of the rot |
ten boughs and loosenel up the earth, its branches
have spread further and further and to-day, in /
stead of thirteen, there appears thirty four stars
upon the flag Of our country. which floats from
its topmost limbs Sir, shall they remain therel
Will any lay his paricidal hand upon that
flag? All YOU tell me now ! am changing my
tactics tell you, as far as that is concerned,
am willing to meet my Southern brethren in the
spirit of amity. concord, concession and compro- |
mise, believing that if they are met in such
spirit they will respond to our call / am ready
to 90 to meet them, and | ask YOU why you are |
not willing to 90 with us. AT the same time,
standing upon the principles of the Declaration of
Independents shall one people have the right to
dissolve fse connection which binds them to
another! never can believe in allowing the |
strong to coerce the week. And were i a South |
erner and you undertook your war of aggression,
would, like one ofold when took my children
to the baptismal font make them to hate
you, to fight you, TO you until you left our
soil uncontaminaf i by your vile presence.
Mr. Gresham, tinteTuptingiy,)-Doy you hold
that under the Constitution any State can with
dra~srom the Confederacy?
Mr. Heffren.-PerhapS the gentleman did not
hear me. | believe the Constitution to be simply !
a compact between States, and while believe it
to be the duty of the General Government to pro
tect its rights do not believe in its right TO
say, with the strong arm OF power, that you shall
DO this or that.
owe my first allegiance to Indiana and when |
a party in power will not grant Indianans equal
rights and privileges which are guaranteed under
a common Constitution, but seek to trampe them
under foot and make Serfs and vasselS of power,
| would say draw the sword If necessary and throw
away the scabbard and wage war, long and
bloody though it might be, to protect rights.
All our Southern friends have asked was, that their
rights in common territory should be protected, |
and ifthey are but true to themselves they will
either have their rights guaranteed by amend
ments to the Constitution and in such plain
manner none can misunderstood, or else dissolve
their connection with people who will not and
do not recognize them as equals May the strong
arm Of power, never be welded over Indianians
and they be told you shall do as We bid because
we are stronger and more powerful. The spirit
of liberty revolts at it and each patriot heart would
throb with anguish at the spectacle, and YOU
would find that we, like the worm when it is
trodden upon, would enaeavor to strike the ag-
gressor and even if necessary give up all for lib
erty and justice. If we would do this why com
plain of our Southern brethren for doing the same
thing?
Such sir are my positions. am willing to take
the Crittenden or border State, or any other rea-
sOnable proposition to save my country. / want
the people TO vote upon them, in accordance with
the resolution of the minority. | want the con-
yention and commissioners, all as we say in that
report. Are gentlemen of the Republican party,
L. -.
Chicago platform go by for the present? Are
you willing to go with us and do all in your pow
er to save the Union? Are you willing to sac
rifice party upon the altar of your country? Are
YOU willing to concede, concilate aud compro
mise? Are you willing to aid in preserving the
greatest and best country and Government in
the world to keep it as a home for the oppressed
and down-trOdden of all nations? Will you do
these things, or will your persist in your infatu
ated course OF no compromise, no concession2
VIII YOU still hug to your bOsoms the partisan
d0gmas of old eflete platforms, rather than your
country's good? If you viii, then farewell to
freedom; farewell to greateness, happiness and
prosperity; farewell the Union, the Constitution;
farewell brotherly- love- peace and concord; fare
well all that makes US gre 1t and happy; Instead
Of happy smiling faces; instead of joy and mrth
and hilarity of happiness and content; instead of
loving brothers and sons, wives and daughters;
instead of plenty, and to spare, you will see woe
want and misery, wretchedness and poverty,
with its haggard mien. Where now is the happy
freside, the cheerful group, sadness and despair
will be pictured where now industry and en,rgy
repay the the man, negligence and Incidence,
will rule; where now is liberty, there will be
slavery. appeal to you to forget your party ties
let king caucus be banished, let reason and JUS
tice resume their sway once more and we neel
not fear. Pause in the name of liberty; pause in
the name ofhumanity; see whittier we are ten
Il
low US, around US, is heard the breakers, dasln z
mady at our feet; one fatal step and we plum
ged into the abyss of civil war; with all its atten
| dant train of evils. While should weep to see
| brother Stay brother in mortal combat; to see
homes deserted, and fieldsrayaged, towns burned,
and cities sacked; to see the blood of freemen
poured out like water yet it would be preferable,
than to being slaves of despotic, dominant party
that shows neither justice nor mercy. hope in
the kind Providence of God the terrible catastro-
phe may be avertel; hope you will act as patri
OTIS, and lovers OF your country, who 10 willing
do all in your power for civilization and liberty,
for Christianity and freedom Ponder well in
| your minds the part you are to act upon the
great question Pause long, pray you, before
you attempt by force and arms to coerce the
Southern people. You never can conquer them
if youtry. You may cause blood to flow like
water and enrchen the soil Of Your country, but
remember he''battleis not always to the strong
appeal to you by all the memories of the past
and the hopes of the future; by the natural sense
ofjustce in your hearts that throbs for utterlnce
to come to the rescue.
/ a Voice-We will after Lincoln is Inaugural.
ted.
Mr.. Heffern-It may be too late-put it not of
single day But ii nothing but war and blood
and strife, will settle the matter-ifyou deter
mined to force things, let me tell you now, yo,
will not have united North, and God forbid tina
you should. Upon every hillside, and in every
vale on the broad praires and in the wids of th'
wilderness, thousands and tens Of thousand
would rise up TO meet you and stay your onward
march, who would lay down their lives upon thu
battlefield ere you should, under the black ban
ner OF abolitionism. invade the Southern State
to lay waste their villages and cities, ineite thei
slaves to servile insurrecton, and carry devasta
ton and misery every hand and you wou
find foemen worthy OF your steel. Applause 5.
take leave Of the subject and let those VIII
come after me, answer the arguments as become
them, and not CRY treason and traitor at ever
breath, because you have no other way in whic
to vent your spleen at the Southern people an
the Democracy of this House.