St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1863-01-22

ing 81 their public life had come to pass
j 6as in Montgomery, the capital Q
Alabama, in the winter, more than yea
before Abraham Lincoln was elected. -
While there, the Legislature was in ses
sioa.. They passed : joint resolution 6
bst3 Houses inviting me to address tn
Legislature and the: citizens upon tn
grvat issues b*tweeu the North and tn,
th-quits an honor. you know-quit'
On honor, for both Houses to pass q join
ssDolution inviting any person to address
them. In those days I could speak ant
50 heard all over the city Of Montgomery
THaoespted their. invitation, and i .dit
spS1k. (Laughter.) / reared like ailion
(1Aughter.) l held forth for two morta
ko4rs. There was bill before the Legis
|kture appropr1ating $3.50, 900 for the pur
pdse Of afming the militia Of the State Il
carry on the war that would be brough,
about if the North should chance to cleo
j. President. I tod them that, BY you
action, am led to infer that you are pre-
pairing for sectional war-a war of fac
ions. While am southern man, ant
my father and grandfather before me wert
.senkhtr rn men ana shareholders, and mixed
up with the institution, I ought to define
my position in the capitalot Alabama
If you force upon the country the issue OIL
slavery before the Union, 1 am for the
Union, though it exterminates slavery
world without end. Great applause. +
They. never had any use for me after that
tEfaughter:
Al the same time Alabama passed q
law dppropriating $350,000 to arm the
troops, the State Of Mississippi appropria.
ted 81 SO, 900 tor the same purpose, Geor-
:gia and Florida passed laws: re organizing
the militia and they have been prepar.
ing for years for this very state of things.
!. Aud your Senators and Representatives
ia Congress will tell you that they have
controlled. the military committees Of the
House and Senate, and: they we're accus.
toned: to report to- Congress that SO c.any
arms were worthlnas ana.auss be replaced
by new and improved muskets and rifles,
and would have them sold to the lowest
bidder. The southern Senators would i'm
mediately send word home that so many
condemned arms were to be sold at GER
tain seaport. on certain day. Our gov
errors sen, their agents there, with the
money in their hands, and bought them
up at 81 or So for muskets that cost $l2
or sls ; and thus they have been prcpar.
ing. tell you, We have been preparing
for it for the last thirty years, and know
it.
When notification came up fought
it. was in the same county Of South
Carolina that John G. Calhoun lived in
where his friends lived and he died, and
I fought it from the pulpit, from the
stump, and issued large edition Of q
large pamphlet against notification. The
difference between the years 1882 and
l860-6l is that we then had President
in the person Of Andrew Jackson. Tic
was every inch = man, from the crown Of
his head to the soles of his feet; and if he
bad occupied the chair in place Of James
Bucha, al. he would have taken then by
the throat, raised himself up ten feet IL
his boots, laughter, and you might have
heard him swear q mile-"By the God
that made Moses, the thing has gone fa'
enough, it must stop?' And it would
have stopped.
But, upon the floor Of the American
Congress, Roger A. Pryor, Of the State Of
Virginia-Pryor who was going to slay
Potter, but didn't. He challenged Pot
ter on the ground that lie was cold:
blooded Yankee and could be scared
But your man, Potter, of the Northwest
sat down Immediately and wrote-"1 will
accept your challenge; and, as l have the
choice Of ground and weapons, name
bowie knives, and the place room with
closed DOORS" "Oh Lord - said Pryor,
*'tbe terms are out of the question, and in
violation of tie code of honor"
But little more than year ago, one
Of their editors challenged me to mortal
combat. He was as mean a specimen Of
a little man as you ever saw. He weigh
ed in his best days, ninety -four pounds
His name was Lewis Poats. l accepted,
contrary to bis expectation, and claimed
the privilege, being the challenged party,
Of naming place and weapons: / designa:
ted . hog zen, Immediately after the first
hard rain, Laughter; and designated a.
our weapons the large, four. pronged dung
forks, [ Laughter and I put down in tie
conditions that whoever shoveled the 9th
er out of the pen should be regarded ~
having killed his adversary. He, like Z
TOOL, published the correspondence, and
exposed himself: Laug hter.] He said
the terms were unusual, brutal, &C.
(Laughter.1 He knew1I would have
pitched him overheard. ~.'.
/: But leone back to Pryor. Pryor an:
;nounced on the floor of the House,. and
Wisfall on the floor Of the Senate, that,
If the North would isiiggn, 4 blank piece Of
paper, putting all your names to it, max.
ing string as long as from here to Lon.
don or. Paris, and let them fit up. the
blank With the terms and conditions upon
which they would nsmain in the Union,
they would not touch it-they were bound