St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1861-02-21
4oliitaI.
STATE OF THE UNION.
SPEECH OF
HON. JAS. HARLAN
OF IOWA,
In The Z. s. Senate, Jnnuary IL, 1861.
STATE OF THE UNION.

The Senate having under considcra
tion the resolution offered by Mr.. Hun
ter, on the Cd of January, for the re-
PROCESSION of the forts, arsenals, mag
azines, and dock yards of the United
States, to the States in which they lie
when those States, by a regular con
vcntion of the people, express de-
sire for them
Mr. Harlan said:
Mr.. PRESIDENT would most will
lingly do anything in my power, whicl
an honorable man could do, to allay
the commotion which surrounds US
The first pertinent inquiry presented
is, what is its cause? The Senator
from Alabama Mr. Clay furnishes a
laconic reply. In q recent letter, da.
ted at New Orleans, and addressed tc
friends in South Carolina, the Senator
remarks of the people Of the free
States of the Union
They are the most bitter, relentless, ant
viniictivc enemies we have on earth"
"Of course, we cannot live under the sam,
Government with these people, unless W,
Z tOuIu toiltTol IT,
We must control We must gov.
ern the North-the North must obey
The minority must govern the aiori
ty y! Is not this the key to the solu
tion of all our difficulties ? And we
have had this doctrine amply illustra
ted in the speech of the Senator who
has Just taken his seat, Mr.. Hunter.
After informing us that the Rcpubli.
can party had marched into power
over the fragments of broken Con
stitutiOn, he himself proposes radical
changes in that Constitution, which
according to his own statement, would
convert this Government into new
confederation Of States, securing tC
the minority the power to control it.
Whatever may be pretended to the
contrary, the real grievance inflicted
on the South by the North" is the
invitation extended to the southern
Democracy, on the 9th day of last No
vcmber to resign the rcins of Gov
crnment into the hands of their politi
cal opponents. This will become man
fest on an examination Of the alleged
causes of complaint. These are all
stated in general and ambiguous
terms, without specification. The
most usual allegation, which has been
reiterated today, is that the provis,
ions Of the Constitution have been
violated. The secession argumen,
which follows is, that when contract
has been violated by one party il may
be declared void by the other party tc
its provisions that the Constitution
of the United States is such con
tract between the several States thai
the Federal Government is merely
their agent, appointed to carry out its
provisions that this contract having
been broken by some of the States
the other States may voluntarily sc.
cede, and demand a division of labili
ties and assets
shall not now enter into an exam
ination of this constitutional question
but, believing it totally untenable,
shall for the present suppose it to be
the true theory of our Federal Union
because whether true or false it is no
material to the present inquiry. Fol
when you demand that all the provis
ions of the Constitution shall be car
ried out-including the provision OF
the subject Of fugitives from servic,
there is but one response. On thi:
proposition there is no division O
opinion between the great politica
parties. The party that has recent,
triumphcd at the polls admits, freel,
and uncquivocally, in the clearest an,
broadcast terms, that every part of th
Constitution must be obeyed accord
ing to its true intent and meaning
There is but one alternative with
law-abiding people the fundamenta
law must be obcycd, or lawful
changed and no one, anywhere, ha
proposed so to change the Constitu
ton as to erase this provision. 1t
; terms are ambiguous it provide
that
mo person held to service or labor in on
State, under the laws thereof, escaping int
, another, shall, in consequence of anv law {
regulation therein, be discharged from sue
service or labor, but shall be delivered up @
claim OF the party to whom such service ,
labor may DO due"
The Republican national conventio
, did not propose any amendment t
this part of the Constitution no II,
publican member of either branch {
Congress has ever proposed its abr,
cation no Republican governor, c
State Legislature, or State convention
: has ever demanded it. The assevers
t'on that the Republicans are oppose
. to this provision of the Constitution
;, a sheer fabrication, asserted in tn