The Shreveport weekly news., 1861-08-12
Hon. e. l.. VaIIandingham. o
Ohio.

This distinguished ccntlcrnat,, de-
livcred n powerful speech on the
10Th ul,. in the United States House
of Representative. We have before
us copy of this document, it is wor-
thy of perusai, and publication in
every paper, but its length prevents
oar giving publicity TO il, however
We make Il few extracts, as follow {:
Sir. the right of hlockadc-a,la
begin with its a hcllig~rcnt right
( incident to n state Of war, and it
cannot hc exercised until war has
been declared or recognized, and Con-
.,rcss alone can declare or rrcoguizu
war. Bu: Congress has not declared
I or recognized WAY. On III" contrary,
, it had In, little while hoiurc cN-
prcs-ly refused to dcclarc it. or t"
arn the President with the power
10 make it, And thus the i'r"si-
dent, in declaring a blockad" of Ger
! tain ports in the States of ,lic South,
and in applying TO il The rui"s go..-
erling hiuckadrs rs hrtw",n lnd.-
I pendent powers, violated the CON
siItutlun.
Hut if. on the other hand, itc meant
TO deal with these States a. still in
! ,it. tnion, and subject 10 Fedora!
authority, then he usurp.d power
which belongs 10 Congress alone
the power, too, which Congress had
also refused few WEEKS before TO
exercise And yet, without the re-
peal or abolition of ports of entry,
any attempt by either Congress or
che President TO blockade these ports
II violation of the spirit, if not of
the letter, "f that clause of the con-
stitution which declares that mo pre-
ference shall be given by any regu-
lation of commerce or revenue to the
ports of one State over those OF an
other.
Sir, upon this point l do not speak
without the highest authority. In
the very midst of the South Carolina
notification controversy, it was sug-
gested that in the recess OF Congress,
and without law to govern him,
the President, Andrew Jackson.
meant to send down feet to Char
lesion and blockade the port. But
the bare suggestion called forth the
indignan. protest of Daniel Web
stcr, himself the arch enemy of nul-
liiication, and whose brishtes. Ian
rels were won in the three years
conflict in the Senate Chamber with
its ablest champions. Imam address,
in October, 1882, at Worcester,
Mass. before national Republican
Couvcntion--it was before the birth,
or christening at least, of the Wing
party--the great expoun.ler of the
constitution said:
I'VE are told, sir. tha; the prcsi-
dent will immediately employ the
military force, and at once blockade
Charleston. A military remedy, a
remedy by direct beiligerent opera
tion, has thus been suggested, and
nothing else has been suggested, as
the intended means of preserving the
Union, Sir. there is no little reason
to think, that this suggestion is true
We cannot be altogether anappre-
hensive of the future. For one, sir
I raise my voice beforehand against
the unauthorized employment of mill
tary power, and against suPerseding
the authority of the laws, by an arm
ed force under pretense of pntting
down notification. TIE President
has no aathority 10 blockade Charles
koR."
Jackson! jackson, sir, the great
Jackson! did not dare to do it with
out authority of Congress but our
jackson of to-day, the little Jack
son at the other end of the avenue,
and the mimic Jacksons around him,
do blockade, not ~ Charleston
harbor, Jut;the whoI> l,,hern coast,
three thousand miles in extent, by a
single stroke Of the pen.
Th. President has No authority q,