Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1862-03-05

ture but in the people when they should
come to form State Constitution
Now | ask taking the amendment to
the Constitution, and taking the three ter
ritorial bills embracing every square inch
of territory in the United States. how
much of the slavery question was left ,
What better compromise could have been
made Still we are told that matters
might have been compromised, and that
if we had agreed to compromise bloody
rebellion would not now be abroad in the
land. Sir, Southern Senators ale re
sponsible for it. They stood here with
power to accomplish the result, and vet
treacherously, and, | may say, tauntin@ly,
they left this Chamber, and announced
that they had dissolved their connection
with the Government Then, when We
were left III the hands Of those whom we
had been taught to believe would en-
croach upon our ri ghts. they gave us, in
the constitutional amendment and in the
three territorial bills, all that had ever
been asked; and yet gentlemen talk about
compromise Why was not this taken and
accepted No it was not compromise
that the leaders wanted; they wanted
power they wanted to destroy this Gov
ernment, so that they might have place
and emolument FIR themselves They had
lost confidence in the intelligence and vir-
tue and integrity of the people and their
capacity TO govern themsel yes and thew
intended to separate and form a govern
ment, the chief cornerstone of which
should be slavery lislranchising the great
mass of the people, of which we have seen
constant evidence, and merging the pow
ers Of government in the hands of the
few. | know what | say | know their
feelings and their sentiments. | served
In the Senate here with them | know
they were n close corporation, that had no
more confidence in or respect for the
people than has the dey Of Algiers. |
fought that close corporation here. /
knew that they were no friends Of the
people. | knew that Slidell and Mason
and Benjamin and Iverson and Toombs
were the enimies of free government, and
| know so now. | commenced the war
upon them before a State seeded; and
intend to keep on fighting this great bat
tie before the country for the perpetuity
of free government They seek to over
throw it, and establish despotism in its
place That is II great battle which IS
upon our hands. The great interests OF
civil liberty and free government call upon
every patriot and every lover Of popular
rights to come forward and discharse his
duty
TIE STRUGGLE FOR WHICH WE FIGHT.
We see this great struggle; we see that
the exercise Of the vital principle of COY
ernment itself is denied by those who de-
sire our institutions to be Overthrown and
dcspotism established on their ruins. If
we have not the physical and moral cour-
age TO exclude from our midst men whom
VIC believe to be unsafe depo-itors Of pub
lie power and public trust-men whose
associates were rolling off honcycd ac-
cents against coeI cion, and are now in
the traitors camp--if we have not the
courage to force these these men from our
midst, because we have known them and
have been personal friends with them for
years, we are not entitled to sit here as
Senators ourselves Can YOU expect your
brave men, YOUR officers and soldiers that
are now in the tented field, subject to all
the iardships and privatIons pertaining to
4 civil war like this, to have courage, and
to march on with patriotism to crush trca-
son on every battlefield, when YOU have
not the courage to cxpel it from. your
midst? Set those brave mon an example;
say TO them 10y Your acts and voice that
You evidence your intention to put down
traitors in tlo field, by cieeting them from
;
sooiatiuns
DO not say these things in unkind-
ness. | say them in obedience to duty, a
high constitutional duty that | owe to my
country yes, sir, that | owe to my wife
and children. BY your failure to cXer-
else the powers of this Government by
your failure to enforce the laws of the
Union, | am separated from those most
u,
sunal allusion. NV wife and children
have been turned into the street, and my
house has been turned into IA barracks ::
and for what? Because stand by the
Constitution and the institutions of the
country that have been raised to love,
respect and venerate This Is INV offence.
Where are my sons-in-laN1? One to-day
is living in prison; another is forced to fly
to the mountains TO evade the pursuit of
the hel!-born and hell-bound conspiracy
of disunion and secession; and when
their cries come up here to YOU for pro
lection. we are told. " No; | am against
the entire eoercive policy Of the Govern
ment.'
THE QUESTION N ITS PARTY ASPECT.
The speech of the Senator from Cali
fornia the other day had the effect in some
the question n party tinge. If | know
myself although. as | avowed before, |
am Democrat, and expect to live and die
one-I know no party in this great strug-
gle for the existence uf my country, The
argument presented by the Senator from
CalifCl MIA was that we need not be in
such hot pursuit of Mr.. Bright, or those
Senator'S who entertain his sentiments
who are still here, because we had been
little dilatory in expelling other traitor
Gus Senators heretofore. and he referred
Us to the resolution of the Senator from
Name Mr FesSenden.] which was in ro-
dueed at the special session in:March last
declaring that certain Senators having
Withdrawn. and their seats having thereby
become vacant. the Secretary should omit
their names from the roll Of the Senate.
| know there seemed 10 be a kind Of tim
iditv, a kind of fear, to make use Of the
word expel at that time; but the fact
that we declared the seats were vacant.
and stopped there id not prec' 'udc Us
from afterwards passing vote OF censure,
The resolution which was adopted in
March, merely stated the fact that Sena-
.arS b,9 ,-5tbt}rov-D and left their SaafS