Year: 1860

constitutional doctrine, was based upon the
fact that large series Of independent resolu-
tions had been put before the Senate, and that
some concerted action Of the party in relation
to those resolutions was just as necessary as
the concerted action Of the parties who sup
ported the Kansas Nebraska bill in 1854
| when the honorable Senator from Illinois
| called them into council every morning almost
of his life during that controversy. When
that bill was pending; when amendments were
offered around the Chamber, for the purpose
of concentrating action and preventing that
division Of the party which might be taken
advantage Of by the opponents upon the floor
of the Senate, the honorable Senator from H.
lnois called together those who supported the
bill every morning, and asked their opinions
and changed or modified the phraseology to
suit / and to obtain the assent of all That
was the purpose Of the Democratic Senators
who met to consider resolutions that Senators
all around the Chamber had offered. That
they did; and that is what has been pervert-
ed into an attempt 20 dictate party platform
10 convention.
Nay, more, sir; IN order that there rniglit
be no possibility Of misrepresenting those res
olutions into the dictatiln of party platform,
the Senate postponed the consideration of the
resolutions until after the party had met and
made what the Senator from Illinois SAYS was
its platform; and that very fact is brought up
here as an arraignment of the intentions Of
Senators, who are now speaking on these res
olutions after the platform has been made, as
he says. 1t was with the view, as he now
says to affect his Presidential chances |
leave that accusation for what it is worth. |
have stated the accusation, and stated the de-
fense.


Next, sir, | say that the honorable Senator
from Illinois, not satisfied with discussing the
constitutional questions now before the Senate
upon their merits has thought proper to ar
raign seventeen Democratic States of this
Union as dsunionist. Like the old prayer,
Father, forgive them fer they know not v hat
they do" he accompanies it with the sugges-
ton that he forgyes us, because we know not
what we do. | say, sir, the TACT that the
Senator from Illinois. arragns seventeen Dem
ocratic States, and nearly all his Democratic
brethren, a. disunionists, | will also show, by
an extract from his speech the other day, of
few lines. He te' Is US that these resolutions
are Yancey platform; and that these resou-
tiOns reported to the Charleston Convention
by a majority of the States of this Union, by
the almost unanimous assent of the Demo-
cratic States of this Union, was Yancey
platform also; and that Yancey made the plat
form for the party, made the caucus platform.
and made the platform for the majority of the
Democratic States Of the Union; and that all,
together with 1ancey we are disuniJnists.-
Here is his language, sir:


"The Yancey platform at Charleston, known
as the majority report from the Committee on
Resolutions, in substance and spirit and legal
effect, was the same as the Senate caucus res
olutions; the same as the resolutions now un-
der discussion, and upon which the Senate is
called upon to vote.


81 do not suppose that any gentleman advo-
eating this platform in the Senate means or
desires disunion. acquit each and every
man of such purpose; but | believe, in my
conscience, that such platform of principles,
insisted upon, will lead directly and inevita-
bly, to dissolution of the Union This plat
form demands Congressional Intervention for
slavery in the Territories in certain events
What are these events In the event that
the people Of a Territory do not want slave
ry, and will not provide by law for its intro
duction and protection, and that fact shall be
ascertained iudically, then Congress is to
pledge itself to pass laws to force the Terrific
ries to have it."


So, sir, these resolutions are ."Yancev
PLATFORM" caucus platform, dsunion plat
forIn; and the purpose is, of all VINO support
them and vote for them, after the people of a
Territory shall have decided that they do
not want slavery, and that fact has been as
certained judicially, to get Congress to force
slavery on them" That is the deliberate
statement prepared and put forth to the world,
ravjSad and corrAot tod bv ba ho,,raIIo
tor from Illinois. Mr.. President, nv State
voted for that platform. l shall vote for this
caucus Yancey platform, if that helps the
Senator from Illinois. If it helps him to give
nicknames and he thinks that an appeal to
the people of the country will be helped by
accusing Democratic States and Democratic
Senators Of being led by gentleman whom
he Supposes to be unpopular and calls them
supporters of Yancey platform and of dis
union platform, let him have the benefit Of an
appeal to the people of the country. |, for
my part, accept the responsibility, and stand
by the resolutions and the platform But, sir,
It the same time | deny that there is the
slightest approach to truth or correctness in
the lineaments aSeribed by the honorable
Senator from Illinois to the platform adopted
by he majority of the Democratic States at
Charleston, or to the principles which are
here advocated by the almost unanimous vote
of the Democratic Senator's. denv that
there is the least approach to truth in his pic
ture. No man here has called upon Congress
to force slavery upon an unwilling people -
No man here has called upon Congress TO in
teryene and force slavery into the Territories.
No man has asked Congress to do what the
gentleman speaks of in another part of his
speech as making slave code for the Terrific
ries-that being another of the slang phrases
which the honorable Senator from Illinois
adopts from the Republican gentleman at the
North, and parades to the American people as
proof that he is sound on this subject Of the
Democracy, and that we are unsound. No
man has asked for such thing, or ANYTHING
approaching to such thing, as shall proceed
hereafter to show.


Now, Mr.. President, having shown to yon
the charges made by the honorable Senator
from Illinois against the Democratic States Of
this Contederacy and the Democratic Senators
in this Hall-which charges repel and mean
to disproye to-day desire to read few
words which find at the close Of his speech,
for the purpose Of showing how nearly and
how closely his conclusions and his speech ac-
cord with what have just stated:


II am sorry to have been forced to occupy
so much Of the time Of the Senate; but the
Senate will bear me witness that | have not
spoken in the last two years on any one of
these topics, except when assailed and then
in self.defense. You will never find the dis
cussion renewed here again by me, except in
selfdefense. have asSudiou>ly avoided at
tacking any man, because | did not mean to
give a prctext for renewing the assault on me;


l.IA IL Il -.
name is brought into this debate again, it will
be done aggressvely, as an assault on me
and if occupy any more time, it will be only
in self-defense."


Mr.. President, this mode Of discussing pub
lie subjects is very convenient one-arraign-
ing every gentlemen sitting here on this side
of the. Chamber ; attacking them in the most
offensive OF all manners spreading that at
tack. revised and corrected, in the official col
umns OF the Globe, issuing it out to the world;
and then saying that if any man should raise
his voice here to repel it, it will be an assault
on him, and the world shall know that he
does not speak except in self-defense,
and no man can answer that without attack
ing him, and it is only when he is thus at
tackled by defense against his own assaults
that he will speak again | am afraid, Mr.
President, Lnat Slall ue 0DuoAOdS 10 the
charge ofaSsailing the honorable Senator from
Illinois, if it be indeed an assault to repel
most wanton and unprovoked attack.


More than one half the speech of the hon.
orabe Senator from Illinois was devoted as
said before, to the purpose of proving his own
consistency, from some period which do not
care to 60 back to, down to 1854, and 1856,
and the present time. He says he is now
consistent with the principles that he then
professed do not deny it | do not know
that any body denies it On the contrary,
that is the precise charge brought against him,
| as I shall proceed to show. The precise
charge is that, having agreed with us that ne
wou!d abandon those principles, il they were
| proved to be false, he now ties from his bar
gain he now denies what he agreed to; he


now refuses to be bound by that to which he


had previously given his consent and de-


lends himself, because, as he says, he is now


II accordance with what he was then, do


not propose to go back beyond the year 1851 I;
because every one here knows that, up to the
| o Io57 the honorable Senator from IlH-