The Placer herald., 1862-06-14

sir, and of nearly every other State in the Union
Before the Senator's from the State of .Missis
sippi let this Chamber, Iheard one of them ,Uhc
no,c assumes, at least, to be President Of the
Southern Confederaey. propose to accept it ana
to maintain the Union If that proposition could
,eceipe the vote it ought to receire from the other
side of this Chamber. Therefore. of all your
propositions, of all your amendments knowing as
do, and knowing that the historian will write il
down. at any time before the lst of January, a
two thirds vote for the Crittenden resolutions in
this Chamber would have saved every State in
the Union, but South Carolina Georgia would
be here by her representatives, and Louisiana
also--those two great States which,, at least
would have broken the whole column of seces-
sion." (p. 1890, Globe.)
And on the same day Mr.. Douglas bore testi-
mony to the same effect as follows:
The Senator (Mr. Pugh) has said that if the
Crittenden proposition could have been passed
early in the session, it would have saved all the
States. except South Carolina. | firmly believe
ii would. While the Crittenden proposition was
not in accordance with my cherished views. l
avowed my readiness and eagerness to accept it,
in order to save the Union. if we could unite
upon it. l can confirm the Senator's declaration
that Senator Davis himself, when on the commit
tee Of thirteen, was ready, at all times, to COM
promise on the Crittenden proposition. ,ciH
go further and sag that Mr. Ioombs ,cas also"
(p 1891, Globe.)
Thus ii is put beyond a doubt that the Crtten-
den compromise would have been acceptable to
the South; would have insured peace; preserved
the Union; prevented war; taxation; and pre-
served the harmony of the country; but Repub-
lcanism had the power in Congress to defeat it..
and did defeat it.
Here is the vote by which it was done--euery
Republican IN the Senate poting against it.
"YEAs--MessrS. Bavard. Bieler Bright. Critten-
dan Doi, ,rlo Cui,, Johnson nf Tonnes
see, Keun edy. Lane. Latham. Mason, Nicholson.
Polk. Pugh. Rice, Sebastian, Thomson, and Wig
fall--19.
"NAYs--Messrs. Anthony, Bingham. Chandler
Clark. Dixon. Doolttle. Durkee. Fessenden. Foot
Foster Grimes. Harlan. King. Morrill,. Sumner.
Ten Eyck, Trumbull. Wade. Wilkinson. and Will
son--20." (p l405 of Glo6e)
We have never heard of but one Republican
who ever ntimatcd an intention to vote for it.
1t is said Mr. Baker, Of Oregon. first gave in his
adhesion to IT. then said he would vote against it,
as appears in the debate or the Clark substitute;
but ultimately lodged the question. 1t is not
true that il secession Senat ors had all stlid, and
all voted for it, that the measure ever could have
ripened into a law. The thing was impossible
without Republicans voted for it-and they all
had declared their determination not to do so.
Let us see how the case stood.
There were thirty-three States represented by
sixty six Senators on the floor during the second
session of the thirty sixth Congress.
The Federal Constitution, article v. section +,
says it requires TwoTHIRDs of both Houses to
propose amendments to that instrument.
Now, passing by the utter impossibility of get
ting the Crittenden compro Mise resolutions thro'
the hopelessly Black Republican House OF Repre-
scntatives it required forty four votes to pass it
through the Senate. The Crittendcn compromise,
in full Senate. had but thirty seven or thiriy-eight
votes at most. OF these the fifteen Southern
States had thirty There were seven or eight
Democr is from the North who could be cacu-
lated upon to 90 for it. These were Bglcr. Of
Pu., Br eht, OF Ind. Douglas. of Ill.,. Gwin. and
Latham, OF Cal. Pugh, oil Ohio, Lane, OF Oregon,
and Rice, Of Minnesota.
BY any rules OF arithmetic it would be impos-
sible to stretch these tbiryeight votes to forty
four. Where were the other six votes to come
from to pass the Crittenden resolutions even
through the Senate?
The Southern Senators knew il could not be done,
hence many Of them left in despair. Others de-
clned to vote. What they wanted and what the
country wanted. was not the shadow OF a com
promise passing through Congress to be defeated
by the Republicans in their State Legislatures:
but an assurance that the slavery uetation should
cease They wanted un assurance that Rcpubli-
can demagosues would no longer use it to agitate
the country. This they were assured could not
bc unless the representatives of the Republican
party in Congress voted for the Crttenden com
promise. Ii Republicans refused to do so. of
course they would go before the country in oppo-
sition to its adoption: and as it required THREE
FoURTHs Of the State Legislatures 10 ratify and
make it part OF the Constitution, it would be
defeated. With Kansas in the Union the number
of States would be thirty four. requiring twe ty
six States to ratity. With Rcpublicansm on the
increase in the North where could reasonable
man look for a ratification of the Crttenden COM
promise by eleven free States of the North?
Did they find th t assurance in the fact that at
the very next session Of Congress the places oil
three Democrats then in the Senate would Le filed
by Republicans On the 4th OF March, 1861. the
place of Bioler of Pa, WAS to he filed by Edgar
Cowan; of Fitch Of Indiana. by Henry Lane; and
of Pugh OF Ohio, by Salmon Z. Chase Besides
Kansas certain to send two Republicans. This
would give sXtye ght Senator s, thirty-iour Dem
ocrats and thirty-tour Republicans, thus tieing
the Seaate and giving the casting vote to the
Vice President Hamin.
Was this prospect that would assure reason
able men that the Crittenden compromise could
be carried through twenty-six State Legislatures
without backdown on the part OF Republicans:
The man who could see any such prospect ahead
must certainly have faith like grain of mustard
seed. 1t WAS this stern determination on the part
OF Republicans to persevere in the slavery agita-
ton, that dsheartencd the friends OF the Crtten-
den proposition and let il go by default"
If any should still be in doubt as to the
fact of their being such final vote, directly on
Mr.. Crittenden's measure, we quote further from
the Globe, p. 1889.
Mr.. Wigfal. "1hen what is called the Crit
tenden amendment received nineteen uOtes in this
Senate, wich, in contemplation of law has sixty
eight Senators upon the hoor-I mean in contem-
plation of law according to the construction Of
the Constitution of the Senator from Illinois, not
mine. With sixty-eieht Senators and therefore
thirtyfour States, to raty or reject, the Critten
den proposition received nineteen votes"
Mr.. Douglas. Now sir, in regard to the state
ment that the Crittenden proposition received
only nineteen votes out of sixty eight which, in
contemplation of law compose the Senate it is