Year: 1861

God, still for compromise at home to-day. Fortunate in longa well spent life ot public services and private worth, he Is un- fortunate only that he has survived union, and, l fear, constitution younger than himself

 The border State propositions also were projected by gentleman from Maryland not now member of this house, and pre- sented by gentleman from Tennessee, (Mr. Etheridge) now the clerk of this house. And yet all these propositions, coming thus from the South, were seyeraly and repeatedly rejected by the almost unit ed vote of the republican party in the Sen ate and House. The Crittenden proposi- tions, for which MT. Davis, now President of the Confederate States, and Mir. Toombs, his secretary of state, both declared in the Senate that they would be satisfied, and for which every southern Senator and Rep resentative voted, never, on any one occa- sion, received one solitary vote from the republican party in either house..

 The Adams or Corwin amendment, so- called, reported from the committe of thir- ty-three, and the only substantive amend ment proposed from the republican side, was but bare promise that Congress should never be authorized to do what no sane man ever believed Congress would undertake to do-abolish slavery in the States where it exists; and yet even this proposition, moderate as it was, and for which every southern member present vot- ed, except one, was carried through this house by but one majority, after long and tedious delay, and with the utmost difficult ty-sixty-fve republican members, with the resolute and determined gentleman from Pennsylvania { Mir. Hickman at their head, having voted against it and fought against it to the very last.

 And not this only, but, as part of the history of the last session, let me remind you that bills were introduced into this house proposing to abolish and close up certain southern ports entry; to authorze the President to blockade the southern coasts; and to call out the militia and ac- cept the services of volunteers, not for three months merely, but without any limit as to their numbers or time, for the very pur- pose of enforcing the laws, collecting the revenue, and protecting the public proper ty; and were pressed vehemently and earn estly in this house, prior to the arrival of the President in this city, and were then, though seven States had seeded and set up a government of their own, voted down, postponed, thrust aside, or in some other way disposed of sometimes by large ma jori ties in this house, till at last Congress ad- iourned without any action at all. Peace then seemed to be the policy of all parties

 Thus sir, the case stood at l2 o'clock on the 4th of March last, when, from the eastern portion of the capitol, and in the presence of twenty thousand of his country men, but enveloped in a crowd of soldiery which no other American President ever saw, Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office to support the constitution; and de- livered his inaugural-a message, regret to say, not written in the direct and straight forward language which becomes an Ame- rican President and an American states man, and which was expected from the plain, blunt, honest man of the northwest, but with the forked tongue and crooked counsel of the New York politician, leaving thirty million people in doubt whether it meant peace or war. But whatever may have been the secret purpose and meaning of the inaugural, practically for six weeks the policy of peace prevailed; and they were weeks of happiness to the patriot, and prosperity to the country. Business reviv- ed; trade returned; commerce hourishe d. Never was there fairer prospect before any people. Secession in the past lan- guished and was spiritless and harmless; secession in the future was arrested, and perished By overwhelming majorities, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ten nessee and Missouri, all declared for the old Union, and every heart beatihigh with hope that in due course of time, and through faith and patience and peace, and by ulti- mate and adequate compromise, every State would be restored to 1t. 1t is true, indeed, sir, that the republican party, with great unanimity and great earnestness and determination, had resolved against all compromise and conciliation. But, on the other hand, the whole democratic party, and the whole constitutional Union party, were equally resolved that there should be no civil war upon any pretext; and both sides prepared for an appeal to that great and final arbiter of all disputes in free country-the people.

 Sir, l do not propose to inquire now whether the President and his cabinet were sincere and in earnest, and meant really to persevere to the end in the policy of peace; or whether from the first they meant civil war, and only waited to gain time till they were fairly seated in power, and had dis posed, too, of that prodigious horde of spoilsmen and office seekers, which came down at first like an avalanche upon them? But I do know that the people believed them sincere, and cordially ratified and approved of the policy of peace; not as they subsequently, responded to the policy of war, in whirlwind of passion and mad ness, but calmly and soberly, and as the result of their deliberate and most solumn judgment; and believing that civil war was absolute and eternal disunion, while seces- sion was but partial and temporary, they cordially indorsed also the proposed evacua- tion of Sumpter and the other forts and other public property within the seeded States. Nor, sir, will 1 stop now to ex- plore the several causes which either led to a change in the apparent policy or an early development of the original and real pur- poses of the administration. But there are two which cannot pass by. And the first of these were party necessity, or the cla-