St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1861-02-21


the territory south of $50 so as a
State, and the territory north as a
State or States, with reserved right
to divide them, as in the case of Tex
as, whenever the population may he
sufficient to justify it, and the interest
Of the population may require it?
The population is sufficient and they
are pecuniarily able to dcfray the OK
pcnscs of their own governments.
This would require no surrender OF
principles by you or by us and would
diminish the expenses of this Govern
ment hundreds of thousands of dol
lars annually. 1t would forever re-
move the discussion of slavery from
the Halls of Congress ana the arena
of political strife. Or do you desire
to take revenge on the Republicans
first, that you may enjoy its sweets
before settlement can be agreed on !
i ask again. can you expect that
the masses of frccmcn from eighteen
States of This Confcderacy, having le-
gally elected their candidate for the
Presidency on distinct announce
ment Of principles, upon which issue
was joined, will submit to humiliating
terms as conditions precedent to the
transfer of the reins of government
to their hands? They would be un-
worthy of the rights of frecmen il
they would ceNscnt to such a disgrace
| announce to you here that, in my
solemn conviction, you cannot cXtort
surrender of one hairs breadth OF
principle from the Republican party
in advance of the Inauguration of Mr..
Lincoln. They have demanded at
your hands nothing that is wrong, and
they will submit to no wrong and no
humiliation.
Now, it is for you to say whether
you prefer q peaceablc adjustment
that does not involve a surrender Of
principle on your part nor on ours, OF
whether you prefer the arbitramcnt OF
arms. Nobody on this side of tho
Chamber has threatened, as was crro.
ncously charged today, such con
tlict. Several Senators have expressed
their great and abiding fear that that
would be the result of the secession
movements at the South at this crisis
in our public affairs. They have fears
l say, that You will plunge this coun'
try into civil war, and drench its plains
with fraternal blood, through tho
madness of your chagrin over pc
litical defeat at the polls.
Southern Senators have spoken o
the military resources which their sec
ton can command for the conflict, an,
their power of protractcd rcsistanc,
and aggression they have intimatcc
that such a war would be long anC
bloody, and mutually disastrous. 1
would be fearful and terrible, | doub
not but it would be very brief.
say it would be very brief and
challenge your attention to history fol
the truth Of the assertion. The time
has been, Mr.. President, when wal
merely involved a conflict between an,
imal forces. That time has passed.
Your struggle for independence in
volved you in a war of seven or eight
years. This world has changed since
then. Mind controls.
Senator's have said here that cotton
is king. No, sir ; in this kind of con
test science is king and warlike clc.
ments are his vassals. Why, sir
your war with Mexico lasted but ;
year. You subjugatcd her ten million
people in single year. The contes
between the Russians, powerful en-
pirc, on the one hand, and the Englisi
and French on the other at the CrimCa
lasted but two summers. \ conflict
between the French and Austrians
more recently, where half a million OF
combatants were marshalcd on the
plains against each other, was deter.
mined in three months. Since then,
we were told that the States of Italy
were about to be plunged into sea
of blood !; and the next steamer
brought the news that peace had beer
restored, and new empire founded
The English and French assail the &c
lestial Empire, with population o
three hundred million and UNTOLD
wealth and in a few weeks they die
tate peace in the palace Of the van
quished emperor.
1t has been said that there is clo-
quence in facts and perhaps it would
be we'll for statesmen to look to their
logic in an argument on question so
grave as this. A contest, repeat,
between these States--highly cultiva
ted, highly enlightened, with immense
power on either hand-would be ter
riblc and fearful conflict. 1t would
be soon over, and at a less expense Of
money than the merchants in the
great cities have suffered during the
last month by your sectional agitation
Nor will your threatened or actual
secession, as a stroke of diplomacy
terminate any more favorably. That
seems to be the policy of the Senator
from Virginia, as suggested to-day
break up this Government, dissolve it
into its original elements, and recon
struct it on such plan as will enable
the minority to govern. VIII the peo-
pie who have voted for the honorable
Senator from Illinois, and the candi-
date of the Republican party, acccde
20 terms like these? Do you hope for
it? As it seems to me, no proposition
could be more absurd. Should you
secede temporarily for the purpose of
reconstructing the Federal Govern
mcnt on amendments, as suggested
from any Senator on that side of the
Chamber, embracing as part of its
provisions the Breckingridge platform,
or the Senate resolutions of the last
session, (being almost a literal tran
scrip of the Calhoun resolutions of
1888, this new Confodcracy will new
er embrace one of the free States
not one. Perhaps You do not desire
New England. ] infer, from intima-
tions that have heard outside of this
Chamber, that you would be willing
to have her sloughed off, and form a
new Confederacy with the middle and
northwestern States, in which yon
would have fifteen slave States, and
VIC would have twelve free States !;