Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1862-05-21
the slst of January last used, the following

The Senator told rs that the adoption OF
the Clark amendment to the Crittenden reso- =
lutions defeated the settlement of the qut s.
tlons OF controversy and that, but for that
vote, all could have been peace and prosperity
now. We We're told that the Clark amend
mept defeated the Crittenden compromise, and
| prevented a settlement of the controversy.
On this point l will read a portion of the
speech OF my worthy and taanted friend from
California, Mr.. Latham and when | speak
OF MN thus, do ii in no unmeaning sense.
| L intend that he, not | shall answer the Sena-
tor from Delaware. | know that sometimes
when gentlemen are fixing up their pretty
rhetorical HourisheS, they do not take time to
| see all the sharp corners they may encounter.
| If they can make a readable sentence, and
boat on in smooth, easy stream, all goes we'll
and they are satisfied. As have said the
Senator from Delaware told MS that the Clark
amendment was the turning point in the whole
matter that from it had flowed rebellion,
| revolution, war, the shooting and imprison-
| ment of people in different States-perhaps he
! meant to include my own This was tho Pan
dora's box that has been opened out of which
| all the evils that affect the land have
| flowed. Thank God still have hope that all
will yet be saved. Ny worthy friend from
| California, Mr. Latham during the last ses-
| sion of Congress, made one of the best speech
| es he ever made. l bought five thousand
copies for distribution, but | had no constitu
1 : !
have been lying in your document room ever
| since, with the exception of few, which
| thought would do good in some quarters. In
| the course of that speech, upon this very point
! he made use of these remarks:
"Mr. President being last winter a careful
| eyewitness of all that occurred soon became
satisfied that ii deliberate, cilfpl design,
on the part Of some Representatives Of Southern
States, 10 seize upon the election Of Mr.. Lincoln
merely as an 10 precipitote this rerolnton
upon the country. One eridence, 10 n1p mind, is
the fact that South Carolina nerer sent Senator;
here
Then they certainly were not influenced by
the Clark amendment.
can additional evidence is, that when gen
tlemen on this floor, by their votes, could have
controlled legislation, they refused to cast
them from fear that the very proposition sub
mitted to this body might have an.infuence
| in changing the opinions of their constituent
cies. Why, sir, when the resolutions submit
ted by the Senator from New Hampshire. TMr.
Clark, were offered as an amendment to the
Crittenden propositions, for the manifest pur-
pose of embarrassin the latter, and the vote
taken on the 10th of January, 1861, | ask what
did we see There were fifty five Senators at
that time upon this floor in person. The Gto5e
of the second session, Thirty sixth Congress,
part l, page 4e9 shows that upon the call Of
the yeas and nays Immediately preceding the
vote on the substitute of Mr.. Cark's amend
read the vote from the Globe
"Yeas-Mcssrs. Anthony Baker, Bingham,
Cameron, Chandler, Clark, Collamer Dixon,
Doolttle, Durkee, Fessenden, Foot, Foster,
Grimes, Hale, Harlin, King, Seward, Sim
mons, Sumner. Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Wade, |
Wilkinson. and Wilson-25.
Nays-Messrs. Bayard, Benjamin, Bigler, |
Bragg, Bright, Ciingman, Crittenden, Dong
las, Fitch, Green, Gwin HemphiH Hunter |
Iobp of Arlya InbD
Tennessee, Kennedy, Lane, Latham. Mason, |
Nicholson, Pearce, Polk, Powell, Pugh, Rice. |
Salisbury Sebastian, Slidell, and Wigfail-30. |
''The vote being taken immediately after on
the Clark proposition, was as follows;
'sYeas-Messrs. Anthony, Baker, Bingham
Cameron, Chandler, Clark, Collamer, Dixon,
Doolittle, Durkee, Fessenden, Foot, Foster,
Grimes, Hale, Harlan, King, Seward Simmons,
Sumner, Ten Eyck, Trumbul, Wade, Wilkin- |
son, and Wilsou-25.
ssNays:-Messrs. Bayard, Bigler, Bragg, |
Bright, Clingman, Crittenden, Fitch, Green,
Gwin, Hunter, Johnson of Tennessee, kenne- |
dy. Lane, Latham, Mason, Nicholson, Pearce,
Polk, Powell, Pugh, Rice, Salisbury, and
Sebastian-23.
''Sx Senators retained their seats and re-
fused to vote, thus themselves allowing the |
Clark proposition to supp liant the Crittenden |
resolutions by vote of % to %. Mr.. Benja- |
min, of Louisiana, Mr.. Hemphill and Mr.. Wig |
fall, of Texas, Mr.. Iverson, of Georgia, Mr.. /
johnson, of Arkansas, and Mr.. Slidell. of |
Louisiana, were in their seats, but refused to /
cast their votes"
1 sat right behind Mr.. Benjamin, and am
not sure that my worthy friend was not close
by, when he refused to vote, and said TO him,
s'Mr. Benjamin, why do you not vote 2 Why
not save this proposition and see if we cannot
bring the country to it ?'' He gave me rather
an abrupt answer, and said he would control
q OF |
body else. Said l ssvote and show yourself
an honest man." As soon as the vote was
taken, he and others telegraphed South, ssWe
cannot get any compromise Here were six
Southern men refusing to vote, when the
amendment would have been rejected by four
majority if they had voted. Who, then, has
brought these evils on the country Was it
Mr. Clark He was acting out bis own policy;
but with the help we had from the other side
of the Chamber, if all those on this side had
been true to the Constitution and faithful to
their constituents, and had acted with fidelity
to the country, the amendment of the Senator
from New Hampshire could have been voted
down, the defeat of which the Senator from
Delaware says, would have saved the country.
Whose fault was it Who is responsible for
it-3 l think that is not only getting the nail
through, but cenchng it on the other side,
and the whole staple commodity is taken ont of
the speech. Who did it? Southern traitors,
as was said in the speech of the Senator from
California They did it. They wanted no
compromise. They accomplished their object
by withholding their votes; and hence the
country has been involved in the present diff
Guilty. Let me read another extract from this
speech of the Senator from California
81 recollect full we'll the joy that pervaded
the faces OF some of those gentlemen at the re-
suit, and the sorrow manifested by the vener-
able Senator from Kentucky. (Mr. Crittenden)