, 1865-01-27


had already begun. When the slave holder.
found themselves beaten in the Kansas con
test, they made up their minds to destroy tht
| Union, because they were not allowed t.
dominate over It according to their unbridlea
will and pleasure, they resolved to smash II
! tc pieces, and on Its ruins erect IN empire
whose chief corner stone should he slaycry.
The winter Of 1850 was employed By the
Southern Democracy in Congress In break
| ing up the Democratic party: An Issue
| was forced with Douglas and his wing, on
| which there could DC no compromise. The
| Southern members Of the party took the
ground that slaveryswas not only u divine
but national institution, which must be pro
tecttd, fostcrcd and colonizcd by the strong
arm Of the Federal Government. It must be
protected in the Territories By slave codes
and bayoncts. Masters must have the right
Of t1ansit and temporary residence for theit
Gaping from se1vitude, ii not eanslt aud re.
/ TUNED to slavery, must be paid for by tue
people OF the country in which they sought
refuge. And, furthermore, the restrictions
against The African slave trade must be abo1.
ishsd in order that the chiva1ry might be able
10 increase their gangs Of slaves by importa-
tion. The tspoor white trash" were enlisted
IN behalf Of this scheme by the promise tllat
Africans would become SO cheap and plentiful
that the poorest white man could purchase
"niggcrs," and never have to work any more
hut belong to the privileged caste thereafter
This bait WIS very captivating, and enlisted
the minority Of the ''poor white trash''
warmly In behalf Of the measure. It infamed
| the cup:di1y and fired the ambition Of The
! Southern heart.
Douglas and his wing insisted on "popula.
sovereignty "-the right Of tue people Of the
territories to admit or exclude slaves and
STRAIGHTFORWARD Furthermore insisted that the
minority Of the Democratic party must sub,
nit t6 the verdict Of the majority in consen.
ton expressed. All Of which the tire-eatcrs
repudiated with scorn and contempt. 1n turn,
they lafd down the doctrine OF State SOW.
; crignty, and Federal subordination. The
Government, they held, was merely the crea
ture and agent OF the States, IN whom va,
vested the supreme power. The States being
sovereign, they had an fndubitable and con
. stitutional q right to sccedc from the Union,
which was nothing but contederncy or co.
partnership Of sovereign States, And each
State had perfect and lawful right to JUDGE
, OF the time. the necessity, and The manner 0l
seeding, and there was no constitutional
power in the Federal Government to resist
the Withdrawal Of any State, OF to cocrce 1t
back into The Onion. In short, the dogmas
Of Calhoun were fully adopted and hurled At
the head Of the Northern Representatives, as
tho true gospel Of Democracy.
Republican members into heated and violent
contact with the disciples Of Calhoun and
thus the triangular battle ragged In Congress.
At enc point Of the great controversy, the
Douglasites would join with those led by
JEFF. Davis against tho Republicans. At
another the Republicans and squatter soy-
e1eigus' would double-team on the fire eaters.
But the breach grew wider and the ditch
deeper each day. When spring came and
Congress adjourned, 1t was apparent to those
who looked below the surface that the lis1.
!; ments which held the Northern and Southern
! Democracy together for SO many years
! were nesriy severed.
and the party was ent in twain. The South
ctn wing seeded md set up for itself, as the
first great step towards seeding from the
Union.
The qualrennial election was held, and
| Abraham Lincoln was declared the constitu-
tionally elected President, and the Souther1,
Democracy commenced their predetermined
Soil candidate furnished the prctcxt, aud en-.
| abled the lenders to fire the Southern heart
| still hotter and work it up to the madness oi
striking parricidal blow at the Union.
The session OF 1SG0 will be ever mem orable
in the annals Of Congress. The winter Wal
| usually grave and dignided Senate was like
sea lashed by storm casting ut mire and
dirt, Toomts Toared and beloved like .
! mad bull, paving up the ground and gorine
| At every Northern Senator within reach
Wigfall, full Of the spirit of whisky and
satan. roatcd, and insulted, aud bid defiance
JET. Davis, sarcastic, naughty. and incisive
cut and stub betors he took his hat and strodt
out Of the chamber. And there WAS Juda
Benjamin, IS biz traitor rs he 7FAo be
| trayed his lord and master, fiji Of polished
sophistrics and spccioree lies. p1eadln. th,
right Of secession. and therc vas tina
, , ~ r-.~ro~-, lnso1ent, unssyory old arissttocrat
Mason, strutting about The chamber with -
the Mrs and consequence Of turkey gobolcr
and about as mnch brains. Hunter, Of tht
+; same State, looked orlisl and awful, and
said little, bnt departed after pouring one
sovereignty. Old slIden with his sill
! ~ bald pate, and brandy colored
| face was the sly fox of the secessinnlsts
lmpulent but not clustering; resolutc but
! not dcmonstratiye, he worked silently and
unseen, but left q slimy trail behind him.
Brown Of Mississippi simpered and blubbcred,
He wanted to scccde, and yet feared to take
the plunge. Old Joe. Lane Of Oregon, one
i Of The poor white trash,'' al ignorant, oh.
sequious slave worshippcr, raved and gabblcd
j, fer uisunion and GUinn of California, al
| most Us ignorant and equally as mean spirited
and sycophantic, basely 1nisrepresented his
state in the trcasonablc course he pursued
And SO might cnumcrate dozen more OF
! the tife-cate7s. But they were all pretty
much alike, deTotees Of slavery. haters OF
Democracy, dcspiscrs Of the lnboring people,
aristocrats in feeling and sentiment, who gave
ycnt to their views IN loud terms and unsen-
atorial gestures. heard them deliver their
As each Southern State passed ordinances OF
secession their Senators would move to have
them entered on the journals Of tho Senate,
and would follow the motion with secession
speech, generally long, bitter aud defiant,
when they would stride out Of The chamber
and take the next train or boat for Dixie.
Similar scenes Witnessed In the House,
ers were more yocitcrous, rampant, bluster-
ing and .dcmonstrativc. They woald gener-
ally embody In their u furcwells" an invita-
tion to ''Northcrn white liyered Yankees to
follow them to Dixie, where they would be
"welcomed with bloody hands to hosp!tablc
graves" Few Of these representatives OF
chivalry. left the Hall without first informing
proud, 1.ee souled chiyalrous South
c1ner could whip fire Northern mud.
sills on nny battle field, and If they
did not believe 1t just let them try tie exper-
fment." Such fnsolcnce was very trying on
Northern patience and forbearance; but the
last Ot the 6lAye-drlTeFs cracked his whip and
departed in eearch Of his "rights' without
an actual collision taking place or any mem
ber falling victim to boWie-knife orEeyoIyer.
Many time and oft have / expected to
witness general melee on the floor Of the
House, when scores Of lives might be lost, be-
cause each side was armed to the teeth. There
were few members who did not carry SIX
shooter and dirk. When a Northern mem
ber ike Thad. Stevens, John Hickman, John
a. Bingham, E. B. Washburne, Owen Lovejoy,
Potter, John Sherman, Burlingame, or
any fearless anti-slavery man Of that cast Of
mind would undertake to discuss pending
question, it would be the signal for an on.
slaught from the whole ire-eating pack. A
score Of them would jump to their feet and
shout interruptions, insults, and cr;es OF
s. ordcr,"' ORDER" to drown his voice and
prevent his speaking. Often these interrup-
tions would be accompanied with physical do
monst,a1ions. 4 rush would be made down
tlc aislcs to where the Northern man stood ::
fsts would be brandished, and . clamor Of
voices like that Of q drunken mob would u.s.
sail him with a. demand to sit down,
to div up, to stop speaking. OF course the
Northern members would speedily gather
about the speaker AID tell him to 20 on, to
stand lis ground, to maintain his rights.
| Mcaptiuo tic Speaker Of the House would
be pounding away with his gayel, frantically
calling members to order, and ordering them
to lake their seats. The Sergeant-at-arms
carrying the golden mace. would rush among
the helli gcfcnts, and with hie deputies, push
| The angry, almost fighting mob back to their
desks, when ssl}len "order" would once more
reign in Warsaw. ,.....
These violent and shameful scenes were ol
| frequent, almost daily occurrence, and ceased