Year: 1860

Il
which are at stake ours is the peace that to be de-


royed s the property that is to be destroyed
the honor at stakehe honor OF Children the honor of
families the lives perhaps Of aa of which rests upon
what your may ultimately make great heaving
volcano of passion and crime if you enabled to
mate your designs Bear with u.s. then If we stand stern
ly upon what is vet that dormant volcano and say Weld
no position here until we convinced wrong.
eLoud cheers We in position to ask you to yield
What night OF yours gentlemen o. the North have we Of
we ever assaed directly indirectly? What laws have
we ever passed that have invaded induced others to


wade the sanctty of your homes or to put lives in
jeopardy likely to destroy the fundamental ins
tutiens of your Statesf The wsest the most learned
and the best amongst you will remain SILENT because you
cannot say that have done this thing (Cheers If
their right and not strictly demanded by the
compact still the consequence in remote degree of your
proposition may bring this result upon and if you have
domestic municipal peace at stake and property
at stake and fundamental institutions of your liberties
at stake, asking any too much of you to-day when
ask you to yield to in this matter brothers, in
order to quiet doubtsfor in yielding you lose nothing
that essentially right? Cheers Do state the pro-
position gentlemen any stronger than your nteects
and your own Judgments wM thoroughly endorsel If
do, am unconscious of it.


Mr. YANCEY then briefly adyerted to the past history of
the slavery controversy referring t to the sectional
tention which mpeded the admission into the Union of the
State of Msseuri thea to the abolition petitions which at


later period flooded Congress; then to the Mexican
and the consequent acquisition of territory the greater
part of which given to the North then to the settle
ment and of admission of the State of California;
and, finally, to the difficulties which have recently
arisen the settlement of Kansas and the refusal to
admit that Territory State under the Lecompton
stituton.


When Kansas Che said) enacted State constitution and
about to the proportions the dignity the sp
nit and the power of sOveregnty-aer the people through


Convention regularly elected according to regular call
had framed their constitution and had thus framed their
institutions in their way"-what then? They for
warded their constitution to the Congress of the United
States and asked to be admitted into the Union with the
institution of slavery, which, in their way and at
their time, they had adopted and established How
this slave State in "embryO met 1t was met by
that distinguished statesman to whom the delegate from
Missouri has alluded worthy of his applause and OF
his approva met at the very threshold of Congress
by that distinguished statesman saying that Congress must


intervene" on this question that Kansas should not re-
guate her domestic Institutions in her way but that
her constitution at the mandate of Congress- must be sent
back to the people to be ratified [appause that the


way of Kansas must yield to the waya of Congress


Sir not this history That distinguished statesman
that powerful man. believe him to be, and have
than occasion publicly pronounced him to be-
utterly wrong, in my opinion, in his views upon this ques
ton but yielding to him cheeruly the loyalty
his convictions of duty that claim for mysef-he
himself the author of that b proposed Intervention by
Congress- against the highest sovereign act of the young
State of Kansas and through his influence Kansas made
to take back her constitution and now sleeps the sleep OF
death in the archives of history Loud cheers.


And what else Why, sir the ink in which is written
the history of that period this great question is hardly


dry that records the that that issue this Northwest
Democracy which has been inconsidertey Landed
here to-day by its representative always standing by the





its great leader voted that Congress should intervene
that matter and that Kansas should not have slave
stituon without letting the people revote upon it, Loud
cheers What else Why sir, the information has barely
reached us yet in official FORM but believe it is correct
that recently what called the Wyandotte constitution of
Kansas other words the antslave constitution has been
presented to Congress- and that the admission of Kansas
under that constitution into the Union, demanded
This has been asked directly the teeth and violation of
the compromise that made when the Lecompon con-
stuton re-subtted to the people, and that that
sha he her
certain number believe 10000 has not been
taken. No official communication of that fact has been
made to Congress, understand and yet the House of
Representatives passed bill to admit Kansas into the
Union under that constitution BY beieve sxty-one
majority.


And where oh where was that Democracy which al
ways have been ineonsderatey yet vauntngy
told here to-day stands by the South But threeaye but
three of that great host remained to tell that there
constitutional Democracy in the Northern States !
Great eheerng] Those three Scott of California,
English of Indiana the author of the Conference BILL and
Sickles, of New York. GApplause If / am wrong in
this ask to be corrected The pledge made by the whole
Democracy that Kansas should in with with
out slavery her people should determine. When she
formed slave constitution she rejected by the
pOwerng influence of the brilliant statesman who heads the
column of the Northwest and when she formed eesoi
constitution and into the House of Representatives
with it, there found but three votes from the whole
North to protest against this great political fraud What
| does all this Indicate


The Democratic party we here told truly, had
overpowerng ascendancy the Northern States and
have been taunted to-day that there
time when Democracy not prevalent at the South,
and when the Northern States could elect Democratic
President without the aid of the Southern vote.
| knowledge it. acknowledge that, long as mere
party issues before the country, not involving any
of its fundamental institutions, the South differed with
each other these issues OF policy The question of the
United States Bank of internal improvement by the Gene


raj Government and of the tariff caused great differences
of opinion at the South In the Northern States the De-
mocrac party overwhelmingly in the ascendant Why
are they not And why is the South united
lv atip1 ha
sentiment is dominant at the North the slavery sentiment
dominant at the South And, gentlemen, let me tell you
why, if it is not presumption in me to tell you that you
| have grown weaker and weaker 1t is my belief from
observation and reflection upon this subject that you
not in the ascendant because you have tampered
with the an-savery feeling of that section Idonot mean
that you have ampered with it yielded to it matter
of choice; do not that you wul traitors to
your convictions of duty but this is what do that
your own hearts, finding the overwhelming preponder-
of power that antsavery sentiment, believing it
to be the common will of your people, you hesitated you
trembled before its march, and you did not triumph
the young Hercules in his CRADLE because made d.
rect effort to do You acknowledged that slavery
wrong You gave the real ground of BATTLE the key
when you acknowledged what the foundation
of the an-savery sentiment that slavery was wrong.
You acknowledged that could not exist any where by
law of Nature by the law of God that could exist
where except by virtue of statutory enactment In that
yielded the whole question: in that you showed the
weakness of the soldier who doubts in the midst of the


ic the field of battle You simply said beseechngy to
your anti slavery countymen, slavery does exist but
not to blame for it. There the weakness of
position If you had taken the position that has been taken
by gallant Of the North who proclaimed under the
Kisses of thousands that slavery right that antsave
ry demon if not dead would long since have been in
chains at your feet But you have gone down under the
admission your part that your opponents placed their


feet upon the strong foundaonstone of natural and divine
right And tell you, gentlemen, that you will continue
go lower and lower unless you change front and change
tactics. The history of the country shows that right
in this matter They have advanced from small band of
aboltonsts, who, when schoolboy in of the
Northern States peted with rotten eggs whenever
they assembled in the State of Massachusetts That
small band say has grown and spread until divided into
the different classes under different naes such Abo-
tonss Freesoers, and Squatter Sovereignty men, [ap
plause all representing the common sentiment upon
which the abotonsts commenced their war; that slavery
wrong yet assuming different phases in their pro-
gress according to their localities according to their
| party affiliations. Het


beg you to believe that in thus designating what thus
call squatter sovereignty men, wing of that great