The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1861-02-06
address 20 the People II Virginia
from their Representatives.


The following Is an address to the people
of Virginia, adopted BY the two SenstOrs
and eight Of the thirteen Representatives in
Congress. The paper was not handed to
Hon. Wm. Smith, he being detained in Vir.
einia BY illness. si
To tie people of Vir9iniG:-We deem 1t
our duty, as your Representatives at Wash.
ington, to lay before you such information
as we may possess 10 regard to the probable
action Of Congress4in the present alarming
condition OF our country.
At the beginning Of this session, now
more than half over, committees were ap.
pointed 10 both Houses of Congress 70 con.
slider the state of the Union. Neither com.
mittee has been able to agree upon any
mode Of settlement Of the pending Issues
between the North and the South.
The Republicaa members 10 both commit
I tees rejected propositions acknowledging
the right of property in slaves, or recon.
mending the division Of the territories be.
tween the slaveholding and non s!ayehold.
ing States by geographical line.
In the Senate the propositions commonly
|
gainst by every Republican Senator, and the
House, on vote by yeas anc nays, refused
to consider certain propositions moved by
Mr.. Etheridge, which were even less favor.
able to the South than Mr.. Crittenden's.
A resolution giving pledge to sustain the
President In the use of force against seceed-
ing States was adopted in the House Of Rep.
resentatives by large majority; and in the
Senate every Republican voted to substitute
for Mr.. Crittenden'S propositions res oIutions
offered by Mr.. Clark, oil New Hampshire,
declaring that no new concessions, guaran-
tees or amendments to the Constitution were
necessary; that the demands OF the South
were unreasonable, and that the remedy for
the present danger was simply to enforce
the laws-in other words, coercion Gnd DGr.
In this state of facts our duty is to warn
you that it is vain to hope for any measures
of conciliation or adjustment from Congress
which you could accept. We are also sat
isfied that the Republican party designs by
civil war alone, to coerce the Southern
States, under the pretext of enforcing the
laws, unless it shall become speedily appar.
ent that the seeding States are so numer-
GUS, determined and united as to make such
an attempt hopeless.
We are confirmed in these conclusions by
our general intercourse here, by the speech
es of the Republican leaders here and else
where, by the recent refusals of the Legs
latures OF Vermont, Ohio, and Pennsy ylvanid
to repeal their obnoxious personal liberty
laws, by the actioh.ot the Illinois Legisla
ture on the resolutions approving the Crit
tenden propositions, and by the adoption o
resolutions in the New York and Massachu
sets Legislatures, DOUBTLESS to be followed
by o,hers) Offering men and money for the
war of coercion.
We have thus placed before you the facts
and conclusions which have become mani
lest TO US from this post OF observation
where you have placed US. There is moth
ing to be hoped from Congress; the remedy
ia with you alone, when you assemble il
sovereign convention.
We conclude by expressing our solemI
conviction that prompt and decided actor
by the people OF Virginia n convention will
afford the surest means. under the provi
dence OF God, OF averring an impending
civil war, and preserving the hope of recon
struc'ing Union already dissolved.
J. M. Mason, E. s. Martin,
II. M. T. Hunter, H. A. Etmundson,
d. C. Dejarnette, Rodger A. Pryor,
Nj. r. ii. Garnett, Thomas s. BocoCk,
Shelton F. Leake, A. G. jenkins,
WASHINGTON CITY, Jan. %. 1861.