Daily national Democrat., 1861-05-28
Senator Laiham's Speech.

the present Federal authorities, both in hi'
public capacity and as a citizen Of the United
States, in such measures as would tend to The
couquetiug Of peace in the Nation
lie commenced by soying that he should
Grmly support the Government Of the United
~tstc- and its constitutionally eIected Ircsi-
dent lie did not support the President as "
.parlizln, nor did he support the Republican
partv. He said he had always been Dem
ucrat Of the extreme school, aud they had
boa.ted Of their uniform obedience to the
/ laws and Of their respect for the conslltu-
liouply elected rulers lie said the great
| foundation Of Democracy was submission Ia
7 the coustitutuuaily expressed viii OF the
u4imitg. llca,krd how certain gentlemen
/ vino are now denoUncng him for supporting
/ The Government would have stood il bis and
( their cnudidde-John G. Hrcckiuridge had
/ l,,u chosen President instead of Abraham
+ Lincoln, hy the constitutional mode, and
/ hias'achusru-, instead OF South Carolina, had
declared hcr.of no longer n State in the
Union. They would have been the very
first to advocate "cocrcion," as they call it,
He asked " hat grievances the present reyolu'
ton was intended to redress? Wa- it the re
luctance Of the Northern people. TO permit
If so, said the speaker, the revolution should
have commenced duri z the administration
uf Franklin Pierce, or Of James Buchanan.
South Carolina should have eeceded t,u
yoars ago, if that had been good cause. When
the present attempt to break up the Goycu-
mcnt was commenced, and secedcrs were
having their seals in the Senate. he said that
Senators BigIcr Rice Douglas Fitch, Bright
and other Northern Democrats declared that
the Fugitive Slave Law was being as
thoroughly enforced in their States As was
any other Federal law Were the Personal
Liberty Laws the proyocation? Then, said
Mr.. Latham, the Union should have been dis
solved twenty years ago, for there were frl
-onal Liberty Laws ON Northern statute
looks that were so old as to have been for
gotten by pretty well informed men in til,
States where they had eNistcncc lie de-
claicd hat there was as much protection for
slave property now rs there had ever been in
| The Nations history Abiding to New Mex
| leo, he said that lhe legislature Of that terri
tory bad enacted laws protecting slavery, and
that Congress had given the sanction Of 81
ionce to that legislation and yet there were
but twelve slaves in that territory lie al
luded to the fact that all but three Demo.
cratic Senators refused, Il year ago. to vote
aye, when q resolution was offered declaring
that protection for slave property in the ter
Iitorics was then necessary, Those three
were Mallory, Brown and johnson, Of Ar.
kansas. When the Senators and fcpr, -cugp-
tiycs from the rehcllous states were all in
/ their seats, there was six Democratic mrioriDy
/ in the Senate, and twenty odd in The lower
House lie described the scenes he had Wit
| messed of some Senators from the Border
/ slave States imploing the Cotton state sen
ator7 to remain. Polk, Kennedy, Pcarrc, the
venerable Crittcuden and noble old Andy
johnson had exhausted their powers Of per
sursiou and euWealy in vain. The secclors
left and gave the Republican party a major
ity in Congress. This cou-piracy, said the
speaker, has been on foot for thirty years
There was no intention on the WrI
Of the di-eouteuts TO be satisfied viii
anything. lie then proceeded to lash til,
anti-cocrcioujsts, and the Vijhcring emphasi
which he pat upon The word "coercion mu,
have made the few Nay-jtes who were pres
emit, feel exceedingly shc,pi>h. lie said tha
the removal Of the Governments owl
troops lrom one Of her own forts (iioullrie
juto another (Sumts) was seized upon
by the rebels as one prctcNt they sal,
such a proceeding WAS declaration O
war lie asked if the surrender o
public property in TcNss, and the mecl
marching away from that State Of Fedora
troops. with the sacred banner of our country
trailing in the dust was "cocrciun - IL,
said chat the whole civilized world -tooo
agha,t a seeing cobb, Floyd and Ihompsot
members Of the Cabinet at Washington
plundelinE and con-priu% against the Gov
crnmcnt without being moics'cd; AMI Qur
! Government waiting patiently, ike great
man bound, while small assa.Iams were pre-
pairing to destroy. Never, he said, had such
a spoctaclc been seen before, as that Of great
Government submitting to long series Of
outrages, hoping that rebellion would eX-
haust itself, and that reason would return
But when Fort Sumter was surrruderod,-
when greatly superior force had sent shot
and shell into the midst Of faithful little
band, TO destroy them and their brave COM
mauder, then the whole country rose up and
| said that forbcarlnce had ceased to lie viz
| tue. He said that thc subsequent WcpaIa-
/ tious OF the Government for defense and self
preservation were denounced 10y the Davi.
| sympathiscrs as "cocrciou.' lie said thai
their outcry against "cociciou' was as tAougl
a murderer should enter mans house, seiz,
him by the throat, ride his pockets. draw liz
pistol and prepare to shoot, and then Wher
some effort was made to bauil, his murderou-
intent he should roll up his eyes Ike duel
in thunderstorm and cry out against "co-
crcion." The senator then went into a
lengthy expose Of the absurd pretense that Il
State had a right to seeede lie denouncc |
it and denied that it had any foundation il
common sense, or law. He said that if a Re
publican State had seeded because Of tht
election Of Democrat the very men who
now clamor for the right of secession, Woulo
prove that the Virginia and Kentucky rcso-
utions meant no such thing, and would loud
ly advocate coercion. He gave the history
Of our territorial acquisitions, and showed
that the purchase of the Missis-ilpi's mouth.
was great National measure. for the good
Of all. lie asked if Cuba should he purchas-
ed neXt year for 100000 COO and should he
admitted the next, as State, whether she
could aeccde the third year, and sell hcrscl
back TO Spain for the *2o0.O00,00o lie
stated the advantages derived 10y California
from the Federal Union, and said that he haC
in his place in the Senate, pledged this State
to stand firmly by the Government now aut
forever The eloquent gentleman in hi.
pcroration, cXhorted Calilornaus to see to i
that if our temple should fall, its thirty-fouI
pillars being no longer able to support it, on,
column should remain unbroken a mouu.
ment OF loyalty to the Union and that on it,
summit might he read, in letters of unlyins
brightness, the name of our own believe,
State. The language in which this wa.
clothed was Of ii fiery cloquencc, and s,
electrified the vast assemblage, that at it,
close they burst out in one prolonged shout
indicating their sympathy with the idea con
ycycd. It's effect was magical and not unit
the band had played the "Star Spangle,
Banner" did the listeners seem aware tha
the speech was ended or rise from their seat