The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-13
DANIEL WEBSTER'S VIEWS.
WRITTEN TO A SAvANNAHIAN CON-
CORNING SLAVES AND SLAVERY.

Webster Thought the south Should
Settle the Slavery ProbIem-HOw
Men of Genius Come to Get on
Their Brightest Sayings and Best
WOrk-Judge FaI1igant and the
"FiddIer On the Coast of Georgia"
story.
Stored away in an old iron box full Of
interesting things once the property of the
late DR.. Richard Arnold, but now in pos
session of Miss Margaret Cosens, of this
city, is a faded, yellow old letter bearing
the signature OF Daniel Webster, in which
the distinguished statesman Of Massachu-
sets expresses himself in no doubtful way
as believing that the question of slavery
was not for congress to settle but for the
legislatures Of the slave states.
The letter was written to the late John
Bolton, a prominent citizen Of Savannah
In the early years Of the present century,
and was in reply to a letter to Mr.. Web
ster asking for an expression of opinion
on this question. So interesting Is the
| letter In various senses, and particularly
because of 1t being so clearly candid
statement from Mr.. Webster long before
the excitement of civil strife had begun
to Are the minds Of citizens north and
south, the text of the letter is given In
full below. 1t bears the date of May II,
1888, and writing from New York Mr..
| Webster says:
my Dear Sir-I have received your
| letter of last evening, requesting me to
state my opinion of the powers Of con-
| gress on the subject of slaves and slavery,
and of the existence Of any wish or design
| on the part of northern men to interfere
| with the security or regulation Of that spe-
| cies of property.
my sentiments on this subject, my dear
sir, have been often publicly expressed;
but can have no objection to repeat thf
| declaration of them, IL it be thought by
| you that such declaration might, in the
| smallest degree, aid the friends of union
and the constitution in the south in dis
| polling prejudices which are so industri-
| ously fostered, and in quieting agitations
| so unnecessarily kept alive.
I'm my opinion, the domestic slavery Of
the southern states is a subject within the
! exclusive control of the states themselves
| and this l am sure, is the opinion of the
whole north. Congress has no authority
| to interfere in the emancipation of slaves,
| or in the treatment OF them in any of the
! states. This was so resolved by the House
of Representatives when congress sat in
this city in 1T90 on the report of a COM
| mlItee consisting almost enIlrely OF north
| ern members; and l do not know an in
stance of the expression of a different opin-
| ion in either house of congress since. 1
| cannot say that particular individ-
uals might not possibly be found
who suppose that congress may possess
some power over the subject, but l do
not know any such persons, and if there
be any am sure they must be few. The
servitude of so great a portion of the pop
| ulation of the south, is undoubtedly re-
garded at the north as a great evil, moral
and political; and the discussions upon it,
which have recently taken place in the leg
| islatures of several of the slave-holding
states have been read with very deep in
| terest. But it is regarded nevertheless,
as an evil, the remedy for which lies with
| those legislatures themselves, to be pro-
vided and applied according to their own
sense of policy and duty. The imputa-
tions which you say, and say, truly, are
| constantly made against the north, are,
in my opinion, entirely destitute of any
just foundation.
IT have endeavored to repel them, so
far as has been in my power, on all
proper occasions; and for a fuller express
sion Of my opinions both on the power
of congress and on the groundless charges
against northern men, beg leave to refer
you to my remarks in the debate on Mr..
| Foot's resolutions in 1880.
81 am. my dear sir, with much true re-
gard. your obedient servant,
Daniel Webster.
ITO John Bolton, Esq.
at is always interesting to hear men of
genius tell how celebrated productions of
their intellect came to have BIRTH" re-
marked a well-known lawyer OF Savannah
yesterday.
Edgar Allen Poe said, in explaining how
he came to write THE Raven" that he
was in restless mood, his nervous tenn
permanent being much disturbed and fell
to thinking in the strain of mysterious
shadowy thought that characterizes the
poem that gave him greatest fame. The
name Lenore, he said, was chosen because
It had a long rolling, ghostlike euphony
and rhymned so 'woozily' with 'nevermore
and that was how the main points of
the poem came to him. Du Msurier said
that the reason he adopted the spider
web as the trademark or ensign Of his
weird Trilby was because one morning he
entered his office and noticed that on his
penholder, which rested on the first few
pages Of his famed story which had been
left there the night before, that a spider
had spun a web completely threading
about the pen. He counted the little
strands of the spider web in idle fashion
while collecting his thoughts to begin
writing again, and the number of chap
tiers in the book correspond with the num-
Der Of these little threads. Who knows but
that the spider web with its treacherous
silken threads did not inspire the story and
bring out the fanciful character OF Sven
gali2
well, what 4 was going on to say Is
that 1t Is very interesting to hear our
Judge Robert Falligant tell how he came
to make that famous speech in which he
engaged the apt and happy phrase I'd
rather be a fiddler on tho coast Of Geor-
gia than a harpist In the kingdom Of
heaven.
Judge Falligant is famed for this origl-
nal bit OF phraseology. The story has gone
all over this country, having been copied
IN northern papers as well as the leading
journals of the south and west. and
! whenever the judge goes out of the city
he Is apt to be greeted on all sides as the
} fiddler from the coast of Georgia. In
pleasant Jest from his acquaintances.
How In the world could a man ever sit
down and think OF such a tumble Of words
Is beyond me. They are so out of the
usual line, so bright and original that they
|