Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-02-28
SPEECH OF
HON. +. M. QUARLES,
OF TENNESSEE,
In TIE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
february 1, 1861.
fcoNeLUDED.1

would ask gentlemen of the North il
Franklin and Adams and Jay could admit
in the very treaty of our Independence, that
the right Of property in slaves existed, in OF.
der to secure our liberties. il they, their de.
scendants, cannot now recognize the same
right in order 10 perpetuate them? Or have
you sunk to such an unfathomable depth be-
low the lofty and0 ardent patriotism of your
fathers that you are incapable of the sacrifice!
| If this be so, then indeed, sir, do despair OF
The Union. Sir, that Representative who
hears me on this floor to-day, and is not viii
| ling to yield up every partisan feeling which
he may have heretofore entertained ; who is
not willing to incur political annihilation to
| give peace to this distracted land, is unfit to
| represent the rights of freemen. For myself,
| sir am willing to do anything which will
not sacrifice the honor or material and vital
interests of those 1 represent, to settle these
| differences. As TO any poor opinions which
may entertain. will yield them without a
moments hesitation. Let us confer together,
not as members of this or that party, not as
representatives of this party platform or that
party platform, but as Americans-the rep
resentatives of the greatest, freest, most Gull
tivated, and intelligent people of the earth
-discarding all party ties and shackles, and
make fair and honorable adjustment of this
dispute between our respective sections.
ask permission, sir, to call the attention
of gentlemen to the concluding part OF ar
ticle first of the treaty at Client, signed by
John Q. Adams and others, where slaves are
again solemnly recognized as property. And
again appeal to the Representatives of New
England, can you not safely sanction what
both the Adamse s have done?
"Shall be restored without delay, and with
out causing any destruction, or carrying
away any Of the artillery, or other public
rioin 10 MT rpd ssfd fart
or places, and which shall remain therein
upon the exchange of the notifications of this
treaty, or any slaves or other private pro-
perty."
l would also call to the notice of the
House, in this connection, an opinion of Chief
Justice Parsons, of Massachusetts,, decided ia
4 Massachusetts, Reports, (p. 127 y in the case
of Wimbledon VS.. Hatfield, in which the
learned judge holds this language:
Slavery was introduced into this country
soon after its settlement. The slave was the
property of the master, subject to his orders
and to reasonable correction for misbeha-
vior."
And, as the last and browning authority
upon this point, give an extract from the
opinion of the Chief Justice of the United
States, Judge fancy. He says, in delivering
the opinion of the court in bred Scott's
case:
'.Now, as we have already said in an earlier
part of this opinion, upon a different point,
The right of property IN a Stare is distinctly and
expressly G6frmed in the Constitution. And no
word can be found in the Constitution which
gives Congress a greater power over slave
property, or which entities property of that
kind to less protection than property of any
other description. The only po,cer conferred is
the po,rer coupled ruth the duty Of guarding and
projecting the owner in his rights"
And upon these authorities l think we may
safely assume that this is not now an open
question; it has been settled in every posi-
bic way, by solemn treaty with foreign ma
tions. by the legislation of both the colonies
and the Congress, and by the adjudication of
cur courts. Then. sir, 1 ask why may we not
at once adopt this proposition as compro-
mise of our differences in regard to the Ter
ritories? If adopted, the territory of the
whole United States would be divided very
nearly in proportion to their respective popu-
lations between the North and the South. To
the North would be given I,795 ,965 square
miles for a population of nineteen million,
and to the South ,20S,711 square miles for
for population of twelve million; the par
tition being as follows: