Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1861-01-24

colossal government that should be the way
mark OF the future and the glory of the past,
we would have a company OF little petty
Kingdoms continually warring upon each
others interests. Fixed as are our fraternal
feelings to our Southern brothers, we must ac-
knowledge as dangerous that principle which
would lead US to destruction anG | do not
think we can get out OF it by saying that the
great remedy is to compromise The Senator
from Huntingdon proposes to compromise /;
the committee Of thirty-three in Congress the
United States Senate committee on Resolu.
tions, are all bending over the seething vat
endeavoring to cook up something in the way
of compromise which will be satisfactory to
all parties. | want to be upright always, and
| ask the Senate to whom DO we propose to
compromise-to States TO rabbes TO
Governors who have taken possession of
our forts and arsenalS who have defed the
authority of the government, pulled down our
flag and stand to-day outside Of the pale of
government, planted upon the shores of rebel
lion. Aud we, the great North, with the ed
ucation and the wealth, the industry and the
free labor, the character, the bone, muscle and
sinew aud throbbing heart of the country
we are to come cringing like whipped spaniels
at the feet of a lion. We are to propose com
promises is that the idea? When robber
comes tc rob your houe and proceeds to bat
ter down your front door, ere you going to cry
compromise If any propositions Of com
promise are to be entertained they must come
from the oiher quarter. 1t is the rebel who
is to be forgiven.
Another question is, what do you propose
= bov .lo ho
right to free speech the South has filed a
demurrer, objected to that right, and avowed
that | shall speak in measured terms from the
rostrum or the pulpit everywhere Do you
propose to prevent the use of free speech, the
foster mother of science and the nurse of gen
ius the living river OF joy that gladdens the
homes Of men and bears upon its bosom the
rich treasures of thought. The traveller
standing on the dreary desert may behold in
the distance the loug-looked for stream. He
NAV not see the waters Of that stream, but he
may map down on his memorandum its course
which he is able to perceive by means of the
Iuxufiaut foliage growing upOA its banks
Wherever this stream OF free speech flows
there grows the beauty and thought and al!
that is green and beautiful in human existence
and are we TO concedc it or compromise it
away? You call npon me to compromise on
selt of resolutions which will put paddock
on my mouth ard prevent the expression Of
nv sentiments l say no, sir The great
God who gave me a throbbing heart and
crieviug brain, gave me tongue to utter the
puISations of the one and the throbbing of the
other No compromise
It is said in the account of 4 murder which
1 Al - l. ,lg
floor and never could be washed out; and Mr..
Speaker, the blood stains of that man who
was beaten to the earth in the United States
Senate will never be washed away No com.
promise here to please anybody We have
a certain way of interpreting scripture, Of con-
STRUNG the Constitution that way gives Of
fence to our Southern brethren, and they claim
that we shall change our opinion in reference
to those matters. In regard to these matters,
q 0 YOU propose TO change your firm cOnv;c-
tions, to strangie your moral sensibilities, in
obedience to the dIctGm OF your Southern di-
.rectors | cannot conStrue these matters in
any other way than that in which always
have aud | will tell you, further, the people
will say the same Ii is asked, further that
we shall amend our statute books | lately
took uD the message Of Governor Letcher, of
virginia, and, If | remember accurately, he
sets forth some eight or ten counts that we
must erase from our statute books, al! that is
offensive is one rount. And men here are
f0uGd to re-echo it in this chamber. My pO-
sition is this-whle am willing that men in
Mississippi and the Southern States should build
up slavery, if such is the wish of the people
there-they must bear all the damnatiOn Of it
themselves but ! shall throw my influence in
the scales for freedom. | suppose that we
have on our statutes nothing that is uncon.
stitutiOnal. We have sections there which
were all looked over and passed upon by this
body only a twelve-month ago. Certain Of
those sections are against kidnapping and
rotous apprehensions of fugitive slaves. Let
them stand where they are
1t is proposed to yield up portion of our
territory in order to quiet Or mitigate the wrath
of our southern brethern. 1t has been elo
quenty said here that the normal condition of
the land where the water flows untrammeled,
where the dewS are inhaled without restraint,
where Heavens skies are free and the sun
shine free-it has been eloquently said that
the normal state of Gods earth is free and in
favor of freedom When the proposition is
made to extend the dark line clear through to
the Pacific, and with a grudging look at the
North giving a small part of the territory to
the cause of freedom, and with feeling of
demouical satisfaction, all south of that line
to the unmtigated woes and terrorS Of slavery,
| hope, under Heaven, that we shall not have
many men in the North to approve of such a
proposal.
1t is proposed by the resolutions of the Sena-
tor from Huntingdon, to open the territories
to the introduction of slavery. In my simpi-
city, thought that the American people had
decided that point. | thonght that we went
to the American people with that proposition