Year: 1861

same time FULLY, freely, and at every haz-
ard.


Sir, it is an ancient and wise practice of
the English Commons, to precede all votes
of supplies by an inquiry into abuses and
grievances, and especially into any infrac-
tions of the constitution and the laws by
the Executive. Let us follow this safe
! practice. We are now in Committe of the
Whole on the state Of the Union; and in
the exercise of my right and my duty as a
Representative, and availing myself of the
latitude of debate allowed here, propose
to consider THE PRESENT STATE OF THE
UNION, and supply also some few of the
many omissions of the President in the
message before us. Sir, he has underta.
ken to give us information of the state of
the Union, as the Constitution requires
him to do; and it was his duty ,as an hon.
est Executive, to make that information
full, impartial, and complete, instead of
spreading before us a labored and lawyer
ly vindication of his own course of policy
a policy which has precipitated us into
terrible and bloody revolution. He ad-
mits the fact; he admits that, to-day, VIC
/ are in the midst of general CIVIL WAR,
not now mere petty insurrection, to be
suppressed in twenty days by proclama.
ton and posse comi'otuS of three months
militia.


| Sir, it has been the misfortune of the
President from the beginning, that he has
totally and wholly underestimate the mag
nitude and character of the revolution with
which he had to deal or surely he never
would have ventured upon the wicked and
hazardous experiment of calling thirty
millions of people to arms among them.
selves, without the counsel and authority
Of Congress. But when at last he found
himself hemmed in by the revolution, and
this city in danger, as he declares, and
walked up thus as the proclamation of the
18th of April proves him to be walked up, to
the reality and significance of the move
mcnt, why did he not forthwith assemble
Congress, and throw himself upon the wis
dom and patriotism of the representatives
of the States and of the people, instead of
usurping powers which the Constitution
has expressly conferred upon us ! ay, sir
and powers which Congress had but lit
tie while before, repeatedly and emphati-
cally refused to exercise, or to permit him
to exercise! But l shall recur to this
point again.


Sir, the President, in this message, has
undertaken also to give us summary of
the causes which have led to the present
revolution. He has made out case-he
might, in my judgement, have made out a
much stronger case-against the secession
lists and disunionists of the South. All
this, sir, is very well as far it goes. But
the President does not 60 back far enough
nor in the right direction. He forgets the
still stronger case against the abolitionists
and disunionsts of the North and West.
He omits to tell us that secession and dis
union had New England origin, and be-
gan in Massachusetts in 1904 at the time
of the louisiana purchase; were revived
by the Hartford convention in 1914, and
eliminated, during the war with Great
Britain, in sending commissioners to
Washington to settle the terms for peace.
able separation of New England from the
other States of the Union. He forgets to
remind us and the country, that this pres.
ent revolution began forty years ago, in
the vehement, pcrsi stent, offensive, most
irritating and unprovoked agitation of the
SLAVERY QUESTION in the North and
West, from the time of the Missouri con-
troversy, with some short intervals, down
to the present hour. Sir, if his statement
of the case be the whole truth and wholly
correct, then the Democratic party and ev-
cry member of it, and the Wing party, too
and its predecessors, have been guilty for
sixty years of an unjust, unconstitutional,
and most wicked policy in administering
the affairs of the Government.


But, sir, the President ignores totally
the violent and loDg-continued denuncia-
ion of slavery and shareholders, and es-
pecially since 1851 appeal to Jackson's
message for the date and proof-untill at
last a political anti slavery organization
was formed in the North and West, which
continued to gain strength year after year
till at length it had destroyed and usurped
the place of the Wing party, and finally
obtained control of every free State in the
Union, and elected himself, through fire.