Juliet signal. [volume] (Juliet [i.e. Joliet], Ill.) 1844-1???, 1861-08-13
SPEECH
HON. C. L. VaLLaNDIGHAm, OF OHIO,
IN HE HousE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JULY 10, 1851,
Mr. VaIl.ndigh..r, sold

Hun Cs l.. fALLaNDlGHAM, OF OHiU,
IN iHE HousE OF ELPRlsESTAIres, July 10, 1851,
| Mr. Vaiiandigham said
! Mr. CHAIRMAN In the Constitution of
| the Uuiied States, which the other day we
swnre TO sut iori, and 10y the authority of
| which we are here assembled now, it is
| writ'er
can Legislative powers herein granted shall be vested
| In Congress of the United States"
| IL l. further written also that the Com
gress Ia which all Legislative power grant
ed are tuus committed
shall make law abridging the freedom of speech
1 or Of the press"
| Aud it Is yet further written, in protec-
tim of Senators aud Representatives IN
that freedom of debate here, without which
there can be no liberty, that
"For any speech or debate In either House they shall
| not be questioned in any other place"
| Holding up the shield of the CoHstitu-
tInn and standing here in the place and
with the manhood Of Representative of
the peuple, prapnse to myself. To- day. the
ftsa~ciput freedom of speech used within
| there watts; though with sumewhat more
| | trust, Of decency and discretion than
have sometimes been exhibited here. Sir,
| do not propose tu discuss the direct ques-
tion of thi- civil war in which we are en-
gagged Its present prosecution is a fnre>
gone CONCLUSION and a wise man never
wastes his strength an a fruitless enter-
prise My position shall at present. for
the must part, be indicated by my votes
AID by the resolutions and motions which
| may submit. But there are many guess
tinns incident tn the war and its prusecu-
tim, about which have something to say
now
Mr.. Chairman, the President, in the mes
sage before us. demands the extra rdiuary
! loan of S400 000, 000-an amount nearly
ten times greater than the entire public
debt, State and Federal, at the close of the
| Revolution in 1888. and four times as much
us the total exPer ditures during the three
| years war with G ea Britain, IN 1912.
Sir. that same Constitution which again
hold up, aud to which | give my whole
heart and my utmost LOYALTY, commits to
Congress atone the power tn borrow money
aud t" fix the purposes to which it shall be
applied, and expressly limits Army appru-
prIations to the term of two years Each
Senator and Representative, therefore, must
judge for himself, upon the conscience and
ms oath, and befnre G, d aud the country,
of the justice snd wisdom and policy of
the Presidents demand; and whenever this
Z
| wherein t. register the DEGREES Of the ExN
executive, it will he high time to abolish it
But have right, / believe, sir to say
that, however gentlemen uunn this side of
the Chamber may diff'r finally as to the
war, we are yet firmly and inexhorably
united i'll Que thing ut least, and that is III
the determiT alton that cur own rights and
digui,teS and privileges, as the Represents
ta,i e. of the people shall be ma n AIMED in
thsI= spirit aud t. the very letter. AND lie
| this Us it may, | do know that there are
some here present who are resolved to as
seTt and to exercise these rIghts, with be-
coming deceIcy and moderation certainly,
but at the same time fully, freely, aud at
every hazard.
Sir, it is a. ancient aud wise practice Of
| the E"glish Commons, to preccde all votes
of supplies by an inquiry into abuses and
| gri- aces, and especially iuto any irfrac-
tIuns "i the CONSTITUTION and the laws by
the Executive, Let us fellow this safe
rracire We ar NV IL Committee of the
| VIII lie on tie state Of tie UHiOn ;and III the
exercise # my r'gnI and my duty As q
Representative a. d a,aIiIng myself Of the
| | ,tiiudp OF debate allow Ell here, | propose
| t. nsIder THE PRESENT STATE OF THE
! UNION, and supply also some lev of the
many mmissI"us al the President III the
me,sagr before U.s. SIR, he has undertaken
e. give in oru att u "i the state uf the
! UnlOt, as tie C"IsrIGutIon requires him 10
! d. ; and it was his duty. as All honest Exe>
cutivP, t. make that information full, I'M
yar,iai, and conn lete. Instead IF spreading
FIRE u laboreG a, d lawyerly vIndica-
tIOn of his own urse Of po;cy-a policy
which has precipiiated us INTO terrible
AID bIuna revolution. He admits the fact;
he admits that, To day, we are in the midst
| OF general CIVIL WAR, rot now a mere
petty lnsurrectlnn, tn be suppressed in
twenty days by proc 'amatiOn and posse
| cOBtitdtuS Il three months militia.
Sir, it has been the misfortune IF the
| President from the beginning, that he has
totally and wholly uhderestimateI the
magnitude end charac'rr Of the Rev luiiun
with which he had to deal, or surely he
never would have vehtured upon the wick
ed and hazardous experiment If calling
thirty millions of people to arms am n
themselves without the authority of Cou-
| gress But when at last he found him e If
henmed IN by the revolution. and this city
III danger, as he declares, and walked Ut
thus, as the proclamation of the 18th OF
April proves him to have walked up, to the
/
why did he not forthwith assemble Con-
gress, and throw himself upon the wisdom
AID patriotism of the representatives of the
States and Of the people, instead of usurp-
ing powers which the Constitution has ex-
pressly conferred upon US? ay, sir, and
powers which Congress had but a little
while before, repeatedly and emphatically
refused to exercise, or to permit him t.
exercise? But shall recur to this point
again.
Sir the President, in his message, has
undertaken also to give us a summary Of
the causes which have led to the present
revolution. He has made out case-ht
might, In my Judgment, have made out
much stronger case-against the secession
lists and disuniopists OF the South. All
tins. sir, Is very we'll as far as it goes. Blu
the President does not gn back lar enough
nor in the right dilectinn. He furgets til,
still stranger case against the aboli.ionisti
aud disuniDnists of the North and West -
He nmits to tell Us that secession and dis
union had New England origin, and be-
gan in Massachusetts IN 1904 at rhe time q
tie Lou sIana purchase; were revived by
the Hartford convention in 1914, and cui
minated, during the war with Great Brit
! n n, in sending comm ssinners to Wa hing
r"n IT, settle the terms Cor peaceable sep
ararion of New England from the other
States of the Union. He fergets to REMIND
Us and the country, that the present revO'
luton began forty years ago. in the yehe-
ment, PERSISTENT, offensive, most Irritating
and unprovoked agitation Of the sLAvERl
QUESTION in the North and West, from thu
time Of the Missouri controversy, will
some short intervals, down to the presen
hour. Sir, il his statement of the case b,
the whole truth and wholly correct, ther
the Democratic party ard every member o
it. and the Wing party. TOO. and its prede-
eessors, have been guilty for sixty years o
an unjust, unconstitutional. and most wick
ed policy in administering the affairs of the
! Government