East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1861-01-24

CURTIS EMERSON, Dem City Committee
East Saginaw, Jan. %, 1861.
REM AEssAS OF NEs. BEsOWNEGL.
The subioincd remarks of Mr. Brown
ELL, representative from Macomb in the
State Leaislyture on the subject Federal
Relations" cannot fail to commend them
selves to the attention of right thinking
men of all parties, Sound, conservative
and dispassionatc, they appeal only to the
reason and better Judgment; and while
the speaker is firm and earnest in his own
views, lie manifcsts that gentlcmanly
regard for the feelings and sentiments of
those to whom he is opposed, which ever
charactcrizcs the actions Of men Of ster-
ling ability and worth:
Mr.. BRowNELL, in behalf Of tho small
minority in the house, then proceeded to
explain the views by which they had been
governed in abstaining from any partici-
| patton in this discussion up to the present
time. lie for one had been exceedingly
anxious that some unanimous action
| would be arrived at that would result IN
good to the country. To this end he had
abstained, as had his colleagues, from
any interference, hoping that the gentle
men who represented the ma jority on the
/ floor of the House would introduce some
proposition on which not only they could
/ themselves unite bat to which the demo-
cratic members could give their support
/ lie did not ask any partisan resolutions
to effect this object. The present crisis
demands that we rise above party and
| become patriots. The democratic mem.
bcls, if he understood their views and
wishes, were prepared and anxious to
vote for any resolutions that should be
! brought forn ard that were free from any
party bias and that would meet the pres
ent issue. He was sorry to conclude,
from the indications about him, that no
such resolutions would be presented, but
that the House would be forced this al
tcrnoon to final vote on those already
pending. The main proposition now
pending he understood to be the majority
resolutions Of the Committee on Federal
Relations He could not consistently
Give his assent to these. They were not
sufficiently broad and comprehensive;
they did not reach the great principle
which is at stake. We desire by our
action here to send out to the country
an olive branch-to exert our influence
to restore peace and tranquility to the
country. He had no partisan purpose
to subserye in this action. The demo
cratic party ignore all party considcra-
tons at such time as this. They do
not here contend for any resolutions OF
their own framing. The minority re-
port, which they desire the committee in
structed to substitute, is the report of the
majority of the Senate's committee on
the same subject. That committee has
no democratic representative on it. 1t
is composed wholly of republicans, the
majority Of whom reported these reso-
lutous. They did not in his opinion
come fully up to the position this Legis-
ature ought to take, but they tend to
that point, and hence they are accepted
by the miority of this House and are
pressed as compromise measure. We
dsclam most cmphatically that they are
democratic resolutions, or that they eX.
press democratic sentiments but in part.
We urge them as no such thing. But
we do urge them as a republican platform
on which we are ready to meet you.-
They 90 little further than the pro
position that has been submitted in this
House, in that they promise a careful eX.
animation of our laws and the reformma
ton OF all unconstitutional and obnoxious
legislation Were he contcnding as q
partisan here he would go further and
/, demand the unconditional repeal of the
personal liberty laws, which have been
claimed to bo unconstitutional, and which
! are the most obnoxious of any on our
statute books. Still this was not urged
now, ms the opposition to such action was
: so determined that nothing harmonious
could be expected with that in the Issue
Whatever resolutions we adopt will be
devoid of the slightest influence unless
adopted with unanimity. VIII this
House accept, then, our compromised
That we should be justified in asking the
repeal of the laws that have been men.
toned, no man aotuatcd by patriotic I'M
pulses will deny. The South ask us to
repeal this class Of laws. Mind, they do
not demand it, as has been charged OH this
floor, but they simply ask it. The speak
or had had access to sundry letters writ.
ten by distinguished southern men,
though whom this request had come To
the North. He read from a letter writ.
ten by Gov. Letchcr, Of Virginia, in
which an earnest appeal is made to this
effect. 1t is no demand, said the speaker,
but a respectful, though urgent, request
that we will do this thing. lie read