Year: 1861

Il
speech.


We copy tho following in regard 10 tho
recent speech Of Henry Winter Davis, from
the special correspondence of the Cincinnati
Commercial, of Saturday. We omit the
first part Of the abstract as being nearly
identical With the regular dispatch. Speak
ing of the President, the correspondents ab-
stract proceeds:


He sits idle at the Capitol, merely max
ing prayers for peace, until he can be re-
leved from the responsibility. He stood in
the midst Of his Cabinet muttering "not in
my tme," "after me the deluge" To rec
ognize this rebellion would be TO abandon
the position of the Government as first
class power, TO abandon the Gulf Of Mexico,
strike down the guarantees of tho Constitu-
ton from all our fellow citizens, create
thousand miles of foreign frontier, organize
vast standing army TO meet aggression,
create firm toothold for foreign powers on
our own soil, give up the forts built for our
common defense Of the United States
sever that which we have spent millions and
gone through generations to establish
abandon our front rank in the march Of free
dom-pull down the flag of the United
States and take lower stand among the
nations. That is recognition! But We must
not coerce State engaged in the peaceful
practice of firing into our national flag or
robbng the treasury Of the United States
l say the Constitution Of the United States
and the laws made in pursuance thereof
must be enforced, and they who stand across
the path Of that enforcement must be des-
troyed or they must destroy it. The Gov
ernment Of the nation should vindicate its
authority and restore its power. As to
slavery, the slavery question represents no
interest which now requires to be touched
by any department of tho government
The mischief that bad been done was done
at home or South The great chief cause
of the excitement was the mode in which
the recent political canvass had been con-
Quoted in the South. 1t had been by black
cning and misrcpresentiug the true charac-
ter and designs Of the great mass of North
ern people.


The Southern people thus taken sudden
ly and precipitated into revolutionary crisis,
! prepared before hand without any change
in fundamental law If Southern gentle
men would 60 home and tell the truth about
the North as they know it TO be, there would
be peace in all the country, in very short
time. But he had small hopes of that short
and simple remedy being applied. He
therefore &erored the Adams proposition,
not as a Compromise, Jut as ending the
controversy efectually. He said to the
South: Take your own platform of former
years. Let us have silence about the slave
ry question, and since you ask the Southern
territory of New Mexico to bc set apart as
your patrimoney, take it and be at peace.
If this platform didn't satisfy them, he knew
it would their constituents, and they would
know it before two months were gone."-
He hailed Virginia and Maryland as un-
moved by the tempest of fanaticism which
ragged around, and if any Secession Convcn-
tion were called in his State, by whatever
authority, it would be met by armed resist
ance If the issue were joined he would
} traverse the State from the Aleghenies to
the St. Marys, and beat them before the
people.


The excitement and applause during the
delivery of Davis eloquent speech, were
quite irrcpressible. He was interrupted
and eontradicted by his colleague, who
charged that ne did not present the truo
sentiment of Maryland. Davis retorted with
effect, and carried the House and galleries
along with him, though there were loud
Kisses from some. The speech excites unu-
sual commcut 1t is greatly admired for
e!oquencc and boldness, but it is thousand
pitics it was not made long ago.