imply a right of ownership ? And does not a
right
.of ownership imply something more?
Does' it not - follow that Pennsylvania is a slave
tate, ? The consequence is startling. We are
in nowise prepared to admit any such conse
quence, nor to do any legislative act which
would allow this State of affairs. Were such a
condition of things allowed it would in all pro
bability be but the entering wedge that might
make us in time a slave State. We know that
the institution of slavery is greedy ; it never
cries "enough !" When it has obtained one
concession it wants two ; when it has obtained
two it wants a dozen. Yon can never satisfy
it.
But one says that the South desires nothing
more than .the right to recapture its fugitive
Why / then raise snob a clamor becapse
we have laws which merely protect our own cit
izens and prevent kidnapping? : Various have
been the argunfents producedhere to Sliotv that
these sections are _unconstitutional: One of
them struck me as very novel.
One argument, which has been offered to
prove that these sections are unconstitutional,
is, that so large a number of citizens have - peti
tioned for their repeal, while some have'sent in
petitions against the repeal. Therefore, it is
argued, they must be unconstitutional. After
such logic as this, who dare say that h new era
of logic has not dawned upon us? Another
says, as an excuse, that the codifiers themselves
say that they never intended they should be re
pealed. Sir, this is a little too much. Great
offence has been taken because in the course of
this debate some have mentioned "dirt-eating."
I have only to say that, if tne codifiers have
got down to that, I entertain serious fears that
there will not be dirt enough left for certain
other gentlemen:
The same gdntlernan who has made this re
mark in regard to the codifiers, has said that he
did not wish the repeal of these sections to be
made a party vote—that he would be glad to
see them repealed by a unanimous vote. I
have not the least doubt that this is the truth.
No doubt, sir, he would he glad to see every
freeman in the State of Pennsylvania prostrate
himself low in the dust, crying out that cotton—
no , that the almighty nigger shall be king over us.
But, sir, this question must be met sooner of
later, and settled. Shall we settle it ? Shall
we meet our responsibilities like men ? Or shall
we, like cowards, shuffle them off upon our
children ? Sir, our duty to ourselves as men,
our duty to our State, our duty to the Union,
all require of us to actpromptly and decisively.
I will go farther : Our duty to the seceding
States requires of us that we deceive them not,
but that we meet the emergency boldly, tend
ering not only men but means to the President
of these United States, whenever they may be
necessary to sustain the Union or suppress re
bellion.
NIL HOFIUS. Mr. SPEAKER : I had intended
to sit, in silence during the consideration
of the resolutions now before the House, and
record my vote as to the expression of my views
on the great question that now agitates the
public mind.
Sir, the principles that are at stake are of no
ordinary character—a question, sir. that extends
to every locality of this great nation. Every
class of individuals—yea, more, sir, the inter
ests of generations yet unborn—are at stake.
The lives, liberties and fortunes of the Ame
rican people are now at stake. No more im
portant question ever entered the mind of man
1 4 from his creation down to the present time.
Why, sir, an attempt to take from us, at a
time like this, the only boon left us by-our fore
ii The world will scarcely believe that
this whole controversy, and all the desperate
measures its supporters have resorted to, have
no other foundation than the election of the
man of our choice in a Constitutional manner.
This difference of opinion between a small ma
jority in South Carolina and.one or two of the
Cotton States on one side, and a, vast majority
of the whole people of the United States on the
other. It will not - credit the fact—it will not
admit the possibility—that in an enlightened
age, in a free, popular republic, under a goy
: emment where the people govern, as they must
always do under such a system, by majorities ;
at 0. time of unprecedented happiness without
. 4, practical oppression ; without evils such as may
not only be pretended but felt and experienced;
qs, not slight or temporary, but deep, perma
-At and intolerable.
at a single State should rush into conflict
all the rest and attempt to crush the
• or the Union by her own laws—and to
rt those laws by her military power and
zeak clown and destroy the world's last
Well may the world be incredulous. We
'ear and see it can our selves hardly yet
'e it. Yet this ordinance of Dec. 20, 1860,
al an ordinance to dissolve the Union be
the State of South Carolina and oth-
Iles united with her, under the constitu
)f the United States of America, whereby
?dared that the said Union, is dissolved.
dinance struck the country with amaze
it was incredible and inconcieveable that
Carolina shoidd Ans. plunge lleadlang.
mistance to the laws on a matter of
and on a question in which the prepon
? of opinion, both of the present day
past time,was so overwhelmingly against
~ on the strength of that opinion, she
les the laws. Has the rest of the country
girt to its opinions, also? Is one State to be
arbitress? She maintains that she +has a
eign right to decide this matter, and that
ig so decided, she (S. C.) is authorized to
the execution of the laws by her own
;ign power, and declares that she win
though such resistance should shatter the
to atoms.
sir, I take the opinion of Hr. Webster,
ie Constitution of the United States is
3ague, confederacy or compact between
ple of the several States in their soyer
mcity ; it is but a governaihrit properly
on the adoption. of the people, and
direct relations between itself and in
; that no State authority has power
!e these relations ; that nothing - can
them but revolution, and that conse
there can be no such thing as secession
revolution.
there is a Supreme law consisting of the
tion of the United States, acts of Con
ned in pursuance of it, and treaties,
in cases not capable of assuming the
of a suit in law or equity, Congress
lge of, and finally interpret, this sli
m-, so often as it has occasion to pass
legislation ; and in cases capable of
and actually assuming the character of
Supreme Court of the United States is
nterpreter. That anattempt by a State
te, annul or nullify an act of Congress,
it its operations within her limits on
d that, in her opinion, such law is un
onal, is a direct usurpation of the
rs of the General Government and of
right of other States, a plain violation
istitution and a proceeding essentially
nary in its character and tendency.
g, as I do, these views as to the right
m, I look upon the conduct of South
together with her advisers and abet
tem come from whatever section of
ry they may, or from what politi
or creed they may, as common
our Constitution and to our country.
deal parties I have but little to say.
political principles are fairly set forth
icago platform ; the principles there
ire no, new principles, they are the
of a Washington and a Jefferson; and,
ly believe they are the only true prin
the American people.
ir, but a few days ago I was charged
wing a fire brand into this House, by
these resolutions, and that by a
' the Republican party, a conservative
istory of our country fully satislles
me upon the subject of the extension of slavery
and of the policy of covering up the real ques
tion at issue. In 1852, the old Whig party de
clared that the question of slavery should not
be agitated in Congress ; that party lived but
four years ; in the same •
year the Democratic
party declared thatthe subject of slavery should
not be agitated either in or out of Congress ;
that party has lived and staid by quirk and
dodges till 1860, and she has bid adieu to time
forever.
The minds of the great Americanpeople have
become agitated on this question, and political
parties may try to evade the issue; but, sir, it
CAD never be done till it is settled. There
is a spirit of freedom all over this land ;,
even in the Southern States the fire is kindled,
and South Carolina is fanning it into a blaze.
And that blaze is fast consuming the plots and
schemes of designing demagogues, both North
and South. One word to the unterrified of
1856. The hue and cry of the Democratie party
outside of their party platform, waS 'kn. the
Constitution and the Union, as their cry in
1860 was Black Republicans, traitors and tories.
These charges were hurled at us from every
quarter. To-day, where do you find the trai
tor and the tory—to what political party do
they belong—where are their names enrolled
I, Sir, rejoice to-day that I can say no mem
ber of the party to which I have the honor to
belong, is chargeable with disloyalty to his
country. Sir, I call to-day upon the Demo : .
erotic party to come forwartland redo:mu-herself
of the charge that may be brought against her;
for not Coming out and declaring for the Con
stitution and the Union, as she did in 1850. To
day you say to the world and to South Carolina
that you are in favor of : amending that same
Constitution that you were for as it was in ?-:fie.,
and in this you are, encouraging Indirectly.the
overthrow of this great government,: South
Carolina, nor no, other State, would dare raise
the puny arm of rebellion against this great
nation without some assurance from the North.
You are at least winking'at her course, although
she has dishonored our flag, dishonored our
country, taken possession Of ourproperty, taken
the lives of our citizens, and this tc the know
ledge of every member of your party. Yet, not
one word has been uttered by a single Demo
crat in condemnation of her course. It is true
no one has yet undertook to justify her. But,
Sir, if I stand by and see my fellow beings,mur
dered without rendering any assistance, when
by one word, or by giving my influenceagainst
the commission of the crime, and whOnirekrieit-:
ed to do so, repulsed, Sir, am I not chargeable;_
as an accessory, or at least am I not Morally :
chargeable with the offence ? • ;
Now, Sir, riissert, fearless of contradiction,
that the present state of feeling between the
Northern and Southern States was brought'
about by the false and slanderouscharges,
against the Republican party in the North, and
that those charges were proclaimed from the
stump and by the press of the Democratic party,
they knowing them to be false, sending them
broadcast over this land—thereby indueingthe
Southern States to believe that:the only.object.
of the-party was to destroy the entire South.
And they have succeeded in forcing a this ,
falsehood upon. them, and we now call upon
them to set their Southern brethren right - Pei this'
question, about which they have taken so-mueh.-.
pains to deceive them—go preach the 'true .
Re
publican doctrine-that we; although We
have slavery to be a great. moral as well psi
litical evil, never . proposed , to 'interfere with '
it in the slave -holding.. States -L--we
affirnithe Jeffersorikin - doctrine on the subject„
and certainly no Democrat can. find . fault With
that. This question•has been fairly settled-by
the peCiple—let us not reverse that decision, let.
us stand firm—no deluding concessions, nosUr'
render of principllet us have the question'of
questions-settled now and for all time. - If the
great principles' of libetty are - to be 'Pacrifieed; it'
may as well be done new mat any other time
if this Government was framed for no other
purpose than to'catch - tind 'earry - back
as would seem to be - the;vicws - of 'scene : of ; our.
citizens, from the. tenor of 'their' petitions' and' memorials, it is time the State of PermsylVardW.
knew somet i tiing of it. But formed for high,
er and nobler purposes, asset forth in the
pre
amble to the ConstitUtion..of, the United. States;
and as set forthin , the. Senate resolutions now
under conSideratiOk let up,. as - the-'repre'sent'
atives of the' ; Keystone „State, give ; , ouk,
hearty support to those. resolutions, show
to the world and to South Carolina that.
we believe the ConstitutierCresiramed as our
forefathers declare, in",drilleilacirin a more per...-.
feet Union, "establish justiee,if e dintiestth
tranquility, provide for the, , commcurdefence,
promote .the..general 'welfare and -secire, the
blessings of liberty torthemielves and their .
terity: If all the'benefitS intended to be conk
ferred by the Constitution are inadequate; re
dress can and ought to be provided for through-
Congreps, as set forth in the first resolution. -*
The second resolution sets forth that the.peo-:'
ple of Penrisylvian entertain and desire to
cherish the most fretinat.leptiments For their
brethren of other BMUS; alliiiiNtA b gady now,
428.11.127.11 ave ever been, to ,
triP
urea needfuliiiilrefi - i6lTare, security ifia
piness, under the Constitution ; yet we can.
not surrender our liberties handed down to us
by our forefathers, and sealed by tlleir blood. In
the second resolution I can see nothing of a
partizan nature, nothing that will prevent any
Union loving man from voting for it, although it
is not quite so strong andpithx . as I would prefer;.',
yet for the purpose of having the unanimous
vote of the House I will vete for them with all
my heart.
• The third resolution endorses fully the senti
ment and language of Andrew Jackson, expres
sed in his message to Congress, on the 16th day
of January, 1836, showing conclusively that
the course pursued by the secessionists is haz
arding the 'liberties and lives of millions of our
peaceable and orderly citizens, utterly repug
nant to all the principles and objects for which
this government was ordained. Now, sir, it
does seem to me that eve!) , Union loving man
is in all honor bound to give his undivided sup
port to these resolutions. " The 'fouillti resolu
tion pledges the faith• and the power of ,Penn
sylvania to the support of such measures, as
may be required of her:by the constituted au
thorities of the United States.
The 'fifth resolution declares that all, plots,
conspiracies and warlike demonstrations against
the United States in any section of the country,
are treasonable in their. character;and 'whatever
power of the government is necessary for their
suppression, should be applied to that purpose
without hesitation or delay. Now, = sir, the
principles set forth in these resolutions, I feel
confident will meet with the approbation: of
that part of this great commonwealth which I
have the honor to represent on this floor, with
out any respect to party. I will feel that I
have done my duty whenl have voted for them
without the dotting of an I or, the crossing of a
T. Now, Mr. Speaker, the only apology I
have to offer for occupying so much of the time
of this House is the deep interest I feel for the
welfare of the country that gave me birth.
America, the pride of the world ! A nation
sir, whose stars and stripes command the re
spect of every clime, kindred, and tongue,
(with sorrow and shame, I must except South.
Carolina,) the flag that has been hailed with
delight by 'every nation on God's green earth,
has been despised by bone of our bone and flesh
of our flesh. Sir, I feel that
,the honor of this
nation must be sustained, even if it should be
at the cost of our blood. , There were too many
noble hearts sacrificed to obtain our liberties,
for us to give thein up without an effort. May
Heaven grant that we may have the fortitude
of a Washington, the wisdom of a Clay and a
Webster, and the true courage of 'an Anderson.
Mr. WILLIAMS. When the witch of Endor
invoked the spirit of the- dead prophet, at the
bidding of the Hebrew King, his answer, as he
rose slowly from the ground, was in a solemn
and sepulchral voice, "Leave me, 0;" me
to irty repose!" - -
Pennopluania ;Daily etictirapli, actjursbap afternoon, January 24 1861.
'Why do gentlemen undertake to disturb me?
I had spoken what I thought germane to the oc
casion, and I intended to say no more. Is it their
purpose to flesh their virgin swords on me ? Do
they look to gather laurels here—to take the
scalp of the slain and exhibit it in the columns
of their presses, and at the head of their tri-:
umphal march on another, perha s the ensuing
Saturday, when they return to t 1 it homes?
' Well, Mr. Speaker, if gentlemen have any
desires of this kind, while I am not the man to
seek, they will find that I am not the man to
shun, controversy anywhere. lthink that when
it comes to that it will requir4 hot only all of
.the intellectual power of Philadelphia, inside
•of this House, but all that she can command
outside of it gather any tritmiphs here:
Sir,' 'I [endeavored to address Ws HOuseln a
tone entirely conciliatory. It 'became necessary
in the course of my remarks, adhering as I de
sired to do to the great question*hich was be
fore :as":4to refer to the action of a meeting of
the :peoPle of Philadelphia in; Independence"
Square, because the spirit of that meeting had:
come ..here in numerous petitions which were
loading down : your table. I felt that it was
my duty to rebuke that spirit. : I did it in lan
guage:at which I thought no gentleman could
take offence. I was' desirous /to propitiate the
party labiola is'antagonistical io myself,because
I desired that PennsylVaniashould speak out
- with a Amite(' voice when thateglorious Unionito
the construction of 'which she contributed so
'largely, was imperilled—whe,i our common in
heritance. and our common /safeguard was, in
danger. I endeavored to adMenish my Demo
cratie friends'of the rock upon which that - poiv- "
erful organization had been Wi..eckecl m the
States ; I; gave them Warning of the peril which..
they were encountering ; I indulged in the in
timation that the people wok ahead of them
throughout this State, and that perhaps they
might find themselves shelved high . and dry:
upon the sands. I made no imputations upon
the 'loyalty of Philadelphia. I had no occasion
to indulge in that way. I thought Hilly duty,
.in that conciliatory tone which I adopted,:and
to which I have already referred, to say •nOth
ing that would give offence or create displeas
ure anywhere. .
It seems, however, that I Imve throvin a
bomb amongst the representatives - of that 'city. ,
They have taken offence at that which ;has,
fallen froin me—whether worthily, whither
properly, is not for me to say,—the Rouge will
_judge. What I have said is said. It is before
the Philadelphia public—no sir, it is not, it
rill find no access to that public. There is an
instrument—a powerful one, stronger than the
sword itself, — in a nation like; ours—which
ought to diffuse light, but which sometiMes,
now-a-days, in our commercial cities, seems to
• convey the idea that its emission is to
shed forth' darkness. Nothing that I may
say will be reported in a Philadelphia .riews
paper, or else lam greatly mistaken. Nothing
which I'may say in defence of my own . people,
,or in regard to their relations to the so mil&
idolized Qiuit whic.V.:ll-arn supposed to 'IMVO"..
slandered, will; find, an audience, there. -
, Sir, gentlemen lave thought proper—and we
have a trio of them in stridulous recitative--
to hurl their puny arrows at the district ivhich
have the honor to represent, and that,
Tooking to my own peculiar relation to a ques
ition which, I think, they will understand here
after .I.h9gleave to say,.to r those'geptlerneri,
Without tfiing par geinens.
of their understandings, . that .ith v e,y, are but
"babes in knowledge`," so taras regaids that
greatest ' of questions, which constitutes my
mission here, and of which I shall endeavor to
speak`more fully hereafter. lam anticipated,
however, by the assault.. -It becomes' me, in
vindication of my own people, to make:the
answer which it suggests, and which it provokes'..-
The gentleman will find; perhapsi...whenlkhaye
done, that he has not Understood this question
quite so.well as he ought to understand it ; and
e-iwill_forui,•-:perhap4,--t-hair it
. 0 7 -3i.34. --other
safe; according, to the proverb; to deal with edge,
tools. "
Why, sir, how could he expect information ?
Could he look for it the'press? it shedi dark
ness and not light upon this question. It has
no initinet of liberty.; there is no pulse that
responds , to - a generous sentiment beating in itiP
bosom. I might'except some . perhaps ; my. as
sertion is a broad one ; but I take it that, as to
the general tone of the press, 'it haiehtirely :
and recklessly disparaged my constituents and
libelled me. *I am here to defend them and to
vindicate myself against all the power that this
'nighty engine can hurl; and all too; that the
great city, of Philadelphia can
,bring into the
field. They shall understand this question by
whht is the power uith am call
'id to contend ? The press, itself, is a great one,
but there is another behind it. There is - a pow
er - irtioi'd `seat s is — beyond the ocean ; it is the
power that moves the coniMerce of the world ;
it is the power that controls the press of the me
t owlitari cities. It is a new power that has
arisen within a century, dominating over every
other and casting its blackening shadow over
land. It is a Rower antagonistic to the
elcs now to lock ice.
free
deadly embrace and strangle * .ea e . -Here
are two great antagoniitie interests, as entirely
so as. hose of liberty and slavery, met in deadly
strife. I represent the' freeholder—the power
this side of the ocean, and I think I shall prove
Myself competent to defend him. But what is
that power—that money power—of which I
speak? What are its instincts? Are they - in the
direction of liberty I have already indicated,
in m y, previous remarks, that:they are not. I
think it is a power that responds to no high or'
generous impulse. - -Its idea i (that it mar buy
the freeholder by a mortgage at a heavy, dis
count, -and although seated in foreign lands,
lead him captive in its chains at the bidding, of
a Legislature and by the direction of a Court.
Sir, it is an abject. ower. It stoops, it looks
upon the carth—llite.that spirit it represents,
so well described by Milton, "the least erect
that fell''—the spirit that was always con
templating the fiches of Heaven's pavement—
because :it was make-cif gold.
.0 That is the power. I know that it is a for
'Addable one, I know that it commands potent
energies ; I know that lam 'feeble in its pre
sence—that by opposing it I subject myself to
misrepresentation, .to -Cabin:ay, to rillifiat
tion. •
I trust that the gentleman from Philadelphia
(Plr..Lsasnittio) will think better of this sub
lent when he comes to understand, the question
with which ho has been dealing. He will al
low Me to say to him now, that under these
malign influences to which I have referred, he.
nows nothing about it. He talks about the
obligations of our citizens.; he undertakes to
institute comparisons between tße:iity of Phil-
adelphla and the' county Allegheny. Other ,
gentlemen have referred. to higunections
that have prevailed in western Pennsyl
vania ; and he reminds you, as others:)
had done before - him, of like disturbances which'
are
are now threatened among the people of Alle
gheny county—looking strongly, as he sup.
poses, in the direction - of revolution. Be it so
Call it revolution or what you please. And this
is a right which no man can question. I say to
him that he may take up the volumes of the
.historians from the earliestiarinals of our race,
and he will find no case of higher piovocation to
rebellion than is now witnessed in the county of
Allegheny. Why, sir, what is it? It is a question
of confiscation. And what is the object of this
government? It is the protection of property.
Here is the assertion of a power to tax, without
the consent of the citizen—to take his whole
freehold—to deprive him of all the interest that
he has under this government—because, if his
property may be taken, by the same logic so
may also his life In such an aspect of affairs,
well might the people then say in the language
of the-Israelites, in -the-days. of Rehoboazn,
19 - hat part have we in David ? we have no
Inherftance i n-the son of Jesse. To your tents,
0 Israel! Now look to thine own house, David!"
This we might well say, if those doctrines which
have been promulgated by the very reverend
judicial authority which has its seat in Philadel
phia, are to be considered as law there or any
where—doctrines which are incendiary, revolu
tionary, immoral, atrocious and infamoustlec
trines which have been so substantially pro
nounced publicly by a Judge of the Supreme
Court of the United States on more than one
occasion.
The worthy gentleman speaks of a late deci
sion of that court, as being conclusive upon
this question, and having settled all the issues
that have been so long litigated.,l beg to say
to him without having seen that ecision, that
the ruling was of course upon the doctrine that
the decision of the State court upon a question
as to the construction of the State Constitution,
is hiroling upon the Federal tribunals ; and - I
can say, moreover, that bit for this reason the
judge to whom 'I have • referred--and that: is
Justice Grier, a resident of their own city—
would have declared all' these acts of Assembly
to be unconstitutional. I think I hold no
opinions upon this subject that are not held by
him. I hold none, I think, that are not held
by the ablest of the lawyers of Philadelphia,
the very patriarch of its bar, for whom every
professional man entertain the highest possible
respect, I think—l may say I know—that• his
opinions coincide with my own ; and I think
the whole professional mind of America--all its
ablest lawyers—will be found to agree in what
I shall hereafter proclaim as my opinions upon
this question.
The gentleman talks about debts. He sug
gests, by way of contrast; that Philadelphia has
always stood fast by her obligations, while the
county of Allegheny has Tepudiated hers ; that.
Philadelphia has always been loyal, always pa
triotic, always liberal—her purse open and her
hand five as that of charity itself, to the de
mands of her country in the hour of its peril.
Now, Mr. SPEAKER, I am not inclined to seek
any quarrel with Philadelphia. I hope to find
all her members voting with me upon these
questions, when they come to understand them;
but I think it would be well enough in the
meanwhile for "those who live in glass houses
not to throw stones."
The SPEAKER, (Mr. Aouira in the chair.)
The chair would suggest that the , question of
the, Allegifeny tamids is not :under Aiscus.sion.
Mr. WILLIAMS. It is not,; if the topic
was legitimate in the way of argument on the
part of gentlemen who have introduceed 'it, I
suppose it is equally legitimate in the way'of
reply.
Mr. RANDALL. I hope that the gentleman
may have the, opportunity to Troceed.
Mr, WILLIAMS:, Well, sii-; I ask nothing t
of grace or favor. If lam out of order, of
course .I stand subject to correction. •
Gentlemen have chosen to make comparisons._
There have been;references. to the Whiskey In,
surrection in Western , Pennsylvania. '`Such re
ferenees do not touch'Me and the men of my
- county so nearly 'as the men of Fayette,
nml Washington and Westmoreland—counties
which I believe -were the - seat of-rebellion.
I have no particular fault to find - in
regard to that insurrection; it, was an er
ror on their part, and it was corrected by the
military •of 'the general government There
was'no doubt then as to ,the right to "employ,
authority.of that land.there was some
--thing, at least, even in • that insurrection,
which may be referred to as excusing it in
some degree; there was in it a little of .the ring_
of the old metal ; there was something there
'that- awakened revolutionary memories in the
idea:of resistance to a tax—something very un
like the;position of the men who -Were takiiig sides .
againsttheir •country,-• when it was at war with a
pow'erwhose jnrisdiction itMulsolortinly abjured.
It is not for me to make references
of this sotte,,lint.it..-in,said.that •
has always bee - faithful. Ido noethink that
history speaks that 1-nturige. - .:' - 1 say nothing of
-the loyalty of the people now—although it,
seems, .tha,t, according to, the argument of t,.hp
gentleman from Philadelphia, (Mr.
the sins of the fathers are to be visited upon
the children. I think there is no equity in
that;buti do not insist that there is just
a disloyal man in Philadelphia. I -trust 'Mine
Suctiwill be found. But it was not -always so.
If there was a rebellion in• Western. Pennsylva
nia`littsfeVerfolirithem--twittriislayaltyrinealtt'
- ern Pennsylvania at another—and that not
very long ante6Rielifta the rebellion of which
gentlemen have spoken. I think history tells
ua that whemthe Americim- army- Evan- 1.3/1g at,
Valley Porge, - Buffering- for want Of 'prOVisions.'
without =clothing; . mithont blankets:2 almost
without,,,fir,Pnilattlelphia, being in the.possef
sion;af Wait:kit:l-my, antler the lead ofiGenz ,
eral Howe -.I think history tells us that at that
:period there were a good many men in that city
who were disloyal:to the country—such: men as-.
the Chaplain • Duche, who addressed a solemM
letter to General Washington, at the most dif
ficult crisis of our country's fortunes, requesting
him to abandon• a cause which was cursed of
God—which could never be favored by Him.
Nor do I think that Philadelpiia was quite so
viVit -
General Washington, if history does
me, was obliged to send Colonel Hamilton to
make a forced requisition upon her merchants
to obtain the necessary supplies of blankets,
,clothing, etc., Tor the army. This was her lib
lerality then. I'do not impute this same 'g-rud
ging spirit to her _peoplenow ; I say it in the
way of answer to the imputations made against
the people whom I have the honor to repro
sent here.
But it is said' Philadelphia stands by her ob
ligations.; she,pays her debts. What debts do
we 'owe and not pay ? Why, these obligations
are not debts at all. They were never ruled by
the court as . binding in_the character of debts.
They have not the smell: of contract abOut
them They were imposed by the votes of
Philadelphia members, against the consent of
our people at home—against my consent as one
of them. Our pleasure was never consulted in
reference to them. They were intended to con
struct improvements to benefit the trade of
Philadelphia. '.
.It was by the power exercised
through this Legislature that these burdens
were imposed ; and they were only sustained,
(as gentlemen will find if they look into the
case of Sharpless, the first and ,leading. case,
ruled only by three judges out of five,) the va
lidity of these obligations was only sustained
on the ground that they were an exercise of the
taxing power, that court turning out the plain
tiff Sharpless,who was a freeholder, on the ground
that it was none of his business, and that_ aT
though all Philadelphia had been protesting,
still the obligation might be laWfullyrimPosedi
even to the whole property of the citizen.—
What is the doctrine that was settled there—
nothing about it of contract—nothing resem
bling contract—not an element connected with
the matter at all. If every citizen of Allegheny
county had protested, still his voice would have
been of no avail under the ruling of the Su
preme Court of Pennsylvania. The . act was
•done without their agency, and.was intendedto
'be done in sucha way as would debar them from
privilege of dissenting.
How is it with our friends of Philadelphia ?
They impute to us "repudiation." That wordy
I know, has a commercial signification. In its
Original meaning, referring to its etymology,
there is no harm>m it ; but as used now-a-daYs,
it is supposed to convey imputation of fraud
of dishonesty ; it is supposed to involve a moral
delinquency. There is no moral question in
volved here. I beg to say that it is a'question
of politics, and a greater question by far than
that of the Revolution itself. That was, ques
tion merely of the right to take a part of the
property of the citizens for the support of .goi--
eniment.. This is a question of the right. to take
the whole for any purpose whatever.- the
presence of this great question, the qnestion of
the Revolution itself is dwarfed into- absolute
nothingness. This if; a
,questionthat has never'
I been made since the days of Magna Charts,
when the stout4fdarted Barons of England ex
' 'forted that instrument of liberty at the point
of their swords from the , tyrant King John.
But let us see how Philadelphia acted in
these cases herself. She hai obligations her
self. She has two millions and a quarter
in the Sunbury and Erie Railroad. It is a bad
investment. What does she do ? The Board
of Trade meet and pass resolutions, (I gleaned
the facts from the public newspapers, and may
not state them with entire accuracy, but I can
I give their substance,) declaring that the invest
ment will be lost unless they can obtain relief
from the State ; and the-meana devised was the
appropriation of one-half of your public works
to that purpose, after the other, half had been
given to the Pennsylvania Railroad company,
of which that city was the largest proprietor—
one-half of whose capital stock she herself own
ed.' Well sir she votes these public improve
meats into her Own., poqket. She commands
some seventeen votes in this House.; and I do
not undertake' to say how many in the &nide ;-
she has =de's: bad investment; she comes to'
the State for relief ; she plunges her hand into
the treasury and helps herself. . Now, when
my Philadelphia friends talk to me of " repu
diation," may I not well remind them of the
fact that they make good their own bad invest
ments, and pay their own debts, by plundering
the public treasury ? *ay I not say to them,
with regard to their votes, as Falstaff said to
Prince Henry:on a melorablebccasion, "when
you are , king, Hal, rob me the achequer."
With the same means and appliances we I.Wuld
pay our 'debts too. Have they a right, however,
to reproach us?
But, sir, I had no desire tozo into a disqui
sition of this sort. It is entirely irrelevant. Gen
tlemen have supposed; libwever,that they might
derive - Some' satisfaction from a fling at Alle
gheny county. They thought her to be vul
nerable. They will find that she is notquite so
vulnerable as they have imagined. She is cased
in armor—yes, such armor as cannot be trans
pierced, because it is the armor of justice—for,
as the poet says,
Mu ice i.he itru - ad who has his quarrel just
Aud he ha. bly, Pouglklucked up in steel,
Whose co, seio lee with ]nuigtiee is oppressed
I would suggest to my Philadelphia friends
not to be in any hurry over this question. I
shall ventilate it after awhile ; and I think it
will require all the ingenuity and all the learn
ing of themselves, and their friends outside, to
make a:good ease for the judges to whom they
Teter.
And now, sir, I lake leave of that question.
I regret that I have found occasion to refer to
it at all . ; but I.couild not sit here in silence,
-Withont rePellink, an unprovoked, as I think,
and certainly a very :irrelevant attack made
upon my constittients. - If gentlemen think
they can profit UT the repplitton'of such attacks,
IT opening anew, such, controversies, they may
try, it. I, B*M alWiys he realtyand quite' as
willing to meet them aithey who make the as
sault,
- *
And now one word in regard to these resolu
tions. I have already expressed the hope and
belief that. - the representatives of the city of
Philadelphia,. of both parties, 'when they should
unclerstruid the ilueition':tc; which I have re
ferred, Would think With me. I think there is
an argument upon that question that appeals to
I the instinct of every, mart—to the great instinct
of propriety to which every holiest heart must at
once respond. I equallytrust-that they will be
with us in this great national exigency *hi&
seems to have absorbed all other questions—
and rightly ,too—it is the great queStion of
the tiine. An. this question, I have trusted that
the Legislatire of Pennsylvania 'would be a
unit. I do not see why . they should not
be.`Gentlemen are 'placing themselves ; - upon
the record in a crisis of unexampled interests
and moment: Would they haVe their record
*right? r What is there in the resolutions adopt:
ed by.the . :Benate, (Whose plaraseelo2y I. do not
altogether approve and which do not go so far
as I would desire),:what is - there in thoseresolu,
tions, taking - thern as the enunciation of great
political titiths, .frem.which any: man can
-sent ? Domanybody dispute those principles'?
Whytkerare axioms , in politiSa Do Demo
crag distnite'the doetritlimpf General Jackson,
- which are eiribbffiedOcfpTortroie resolutions?
Then why mitilet.Tuporklie&ilj There: is a cri
siso the preamble of both sets of resolutions
&clues: 'Whs . :bib the duty of the:l-igishitiire
of Peraisylyarria? What do its meritWr` Pro
pose under "tIM circumstances? To intervene
for the relief of the GovernMent—to save the
Ihilon. I take that'to be the general purpose.
And how is the" Union to be saved. By
strengthening the bands of the'.Government in
'an obvious and effiCacious way?'or by going
off upon. a -wild gooqe chase" after the "eter
nal nigger?" My - friend 'froth Lehigh (Mr.
LicniarawArmara) has remarked that it is time
we should have done with discuasing questions
as to the slave ; and yet in the same speech
he was supporting a set of resolutions
which refers to nothing , else. If I have not
mis-read the reaolutions offered liy
the ' gehtlemite fib& 'Philadelphia, (10:" DizIT
FIELD,) they , contais one,yrord_which does
.tfiw...to that question.-Thereniedyproposed
15-y- thug Class from the Senate is to
strengthen the arn - rtil;•7-‘ 1 •0 3 ."P-N4.
—to give it power, if'it has it not of itself—to
tender all the resources of the Commonwealth
to assist it in this crisis. That the call of this
great government upon her 'children in thiS
State. Shall it, be answered or shall it not?
Gentlemen cannot affirm any of these pro
positions. What do they propose by way of reply?
The government is in danger ; how is it to be
saved? Why, by repealing, as they think,
some two or three Acts of - Assembly, passed, as
one gentleman '(111.r. DAVIS) - Ofis evening has
suggested, by the Democratic party themselves,
And acts admitted to be constitutional—acts
that are, at all events, according to the lan- '
guage of your Governor's Message, entirely
harmless. They look unfriendly, it is said;
but the question is, how are they in effect?
Are they unttienflly in point.of fact ? Do they
conflict with our Constitutional obligations ?
think nobody pretends it ; no lawyer can say
It I cannot imagine an argunient which the
ingenuity of the wisest and most learned of
the profession could construct to support' such a
hypothesis.
But what do gentlemen, grieve at ?. What is
to be the effect ? Is this the-medicine the sick
man wants? The general government is trem
bling upon a precipice. One gentleman who
has - Spoken to-night, I ' , think the gentleman
from Philadelphia, (Mr Ems: mum), has said
that "we are treMbling.": Tliat may be true as
to Philadelphia ; but I tell you that there is no
heart that trembles in the West • We are pre
pared to meet, the crisis like, men. -We deplore
the shedding of blood as much as any man, can
do, but if it becomes necessary, we know that
blood has flowed in torrents in those times that
"tried men's souls," and we feelthat we should
be unworthy descendants of noble stock, and
false to all the glorious memories of the Revo
lution, if we should fail to offer our own small
pittance of blood,uPon the same altar, and in
the way of a like sacrifice.
Does the South ask for the repeal of our en
actments? 10. Will such repeal satisfir, them?
We start on the hypothesis that thereis noth
ing wrong'in them ; it is merely that they seem
unfriendly. The South luni not asked any le
gislation of this sort. When it was proposed in
the Committee of •Thirteen, appointed by the
Senate of 'the United States, to. recommend to
the severallStates of this 'anon to pass laws to
secure the COnstitutional rights of the citizens in
all the States, or to repeal, in other words, all
laws contravening the Constitution of the
United States, What - Was the answer of the rep
resentatives from the slavehokling States ? They
declined the proposition. They would have no
objection,,perhaps,...ou ahardd. repeta,AA
uncOnstitfiticifill :law at the .but they
will not confetti thenaselves forePial-siky
not even the law which throws the negro sailor
into jail and sells him for his fees. They will
do nothing to protect the citizens of Peens).lva
nia from the indignities of tar and feathers and
the lash. We are denied our Constitutional rigkts;
and now the medicine, the grand panacea,
the nostrums which our friends on the other
side offer to us, is the repeal of an offensive
statute of Pennsylvania, where they utterly ig
nore the idea of a right on the part of the
north, or a duty on the part of the Southern
States in reference to us. How is this ? It seems
so unfilial. -As Pennsylvanians, I ask gentle
mento- recollect it; if we have a common inte
rest and I trust a common pride in onr great
stale. shonld we see faults and flaws :in
our statute books, exploring them with a
microscope, descending into these little
minutia Such cenduct can serve no effee-
trial purpose whateVer; and in pursuing it we
ale at the same time entirely overlooking,
„wilfully; neglecting. and ignoring, those very
matters of complaint with which the whole of
Pennsylvania is now filled. Why, our citizens
are suffering everyday. Have gentlemen not
bowels of compassion for them ? Do they not
think a Pennsylvania citizen is entitled to pro
tection in the South, and wherever else the tie°.
of our country waves? By the terms of the
COristitution of the United States it is his
eight. By that he is entitled as well to the
privilege of free thought and free speech. Why
this House will recollect that in the proudest
days of the Roman empire, the Apostle Paid, in
the remote province of Jerusalem, when he ap
pealed to his character as a Roman citizen,
stayed the scourge of the executioner, and was
remanded to Rome for trial. And shall we
stand by here and not assert, but absolutely ig
nore, the injury and the light on the' part of a
citizen of our own State, "bone of our bone
and flesh of ourflesh ?" - How unfilial, how un
natural, seems - to be the feeling that prompts
the action of gentlemen' here !
They. talk of the equality of the States.
their object were to look to the diffeiences
that exist between them,
why did they not
turn their attention in this direction ? Suppose
the like things had happened in Northern
States : suppose even that we had merely dis
sired free speech, without 'resorting . to the
Southern process of tar. and feathers, or the club
or the bludgeon ; how quiet would have been
the clamor of the whole South there ! Would
they have stood quiet -under such circumstances?
Would they have obliterated laws from their
statute books.? Would they have been guilty
(for, Imay say guilty) of, enactments reflecting
upon themselves, amounting to confession of
absolute quiet? and would 'they have
been entirely silent, dumb as the grave,
in reference to outrages upon themselves,
such as rio pen can describe or tongue utter'?
ask you, men of Pennsylvania, -- why should we
act:thug'? Have we' no local pride? We are
associated together as brothers. Here is a case
in arhieir*e cannot afford to differ.
I beg to remind gentlemen again that they
have a record to make ; and there will be a
question hereafter, who is right upon that re
cord. The flag of rebellionis unfurled, and'blood
is likely to be shed. If thejilood of our Southern
brethren or oh our own people; is to flow, in the
unnatural strife, that the men who now ignore
the wrongs of Pennsylvania," and can realize no
thing but the imaginary wrongs of the South,
will, when that day of reckoning comes, be glad
to call, upon the rocks and the mountains. to
cover theni. I subinit ifto' gentlethen
matter of discretion. I think they ought to
have learned by this time that it is this power
ful instinct (for it is an instinct) which attaches
us to the Union, and accompanies its flag and
surrounda everywhere,it is..this
toppled down into ruins the enormoug par
ty once wielded an irre*ustable „sway
throughout - the country tinder the - nanie
of the Democracy. That instinct has not
yet tied out ; it will not die ; it will out
live all of us, as I have no doubt will the Union
itself. But when the record comes to be made
up, I trust that gentlemen whose names are not
written in the right place will find &letter
reason for their course than is to•be discovered-,
either •in their speeches, or upon the face of
the amendment - which they are so zealously
supporting, (not by way of addition, but by way
of substitute oniy,) as the remedy for our pres
ent troubles. Is the Government to be allowed
to languish in its present inaction—without
fen*, without power—spurned, reviled, by its
1s revolter-provinces ls there to be no ac
tion, no utterance on-our part, except a, tefer
ene4 to imaginary wrongs. supposed to have
been suffered by the South'? •
Mr. Speaker, I must beg the pardon of the
House for having said so much. I . did not in
tend to*utter another word in this debate: -I
thought I had said nothing calculated to offend
any body ; I hope I have said nothing now that
may have that effect. But when gentlemen as
sail my constituents, of course I must reply. I
had not intended to impute any personal dis
loyalty to the people of Philadelphia ; but if
members are desirous to ransack the pages
' history, I shall be always ready to
accompany them in such researches and see
what story history tells. As to present loyalty,
I think the people of my district will compare
favorably with those of any other ; and so far
• re eras' their present attitude, in_regard to .
er teLtivou -I--
repeat to ' onee - 110,4, la
'oir
and fully istifled in the presence of this legis
lature. •
On motioa of Mr. SELTZER, the Flonse then
Adjourned.
.MITCHELL'S NSW GENERAL ATLAS. FOR ISi3l.
This is Mitchell's latest and best att tele p; 14,
furnish the Ametican people with a c, raileTe
Atlas, comprising a aeries of sevtitty,ix rape
and plans of different Pities in the Unit. d
States, with a full and accurate list of pest
aces, arranged in al phabetic,l order,uttlkiLuil: g
some twenty-live thousand, and c-rrt.c - ed cen
sus of the faiucipal towni and cities according
to the latest rettons,apd other statistical know
ledge so important. to 4 -1 7;_ly initn of 1.r,i0 SS.
Its maps are Char and distinct. The hounda -
ries of each county and St , e are plaint and dis
tiact, the .coloring .thandful, al. e mbit,ing to
make it one of the most at t raci ive desint
ble wmits for the drawing r center
•—a work every family ougit t ile
the low price at which it is flit nislie.l.l-h+ca it
withitahe'reach•of fareires: rakidC7ate'Mt'gu;s ,
The engMeings arc 4.lltitely nW, I ei , g i a
up expressly fur this work, aid g lye a eka nu.
to the lettering to:d lives cl dent ,1 tat on
the I.illercnt countries, seldom no r with
The vi uric is sold i:t,t3• by agc:•t• and rot. lig
procured of tlo, twent wit"
city.
Jan. 21-if.
LARGE ARRIVAL OF NtIV GOODS.— 111 E CHEAP.
EST GOODS OFFERED YET.-2,000 yards Cant n
flannel at 10 cents, w. , rth 12 ce4t& ' 2 000
yards bleached 4-4 muslin st 10 w.ii th l 2
cants. 100 Pe be tutilmi new et) p.iet at 10
cents, worth 12cents, 50 aut.:int ,i. t t 8
cents, worth 12 ants, wit. rattled fast .(4.1
1,500 yards of nnbleauhed thurlin nt 10 ier,'.•;„
the best ever made forl.le 1 !Mee 1 1 (1141
shirts ancl drawers .at 50, 62 and 75 cent,—
Sockti and and 'ladies Ancki,V. a. Lug. v tr.
Oar. whole stock of winter goods, rue'', as
Sbawlk, De Daines, Pant Stuff, Cloth. •11
kinds of Flannele l vdll sell off at cart. Now
is the titile to get. bargains. S. LE.WI: at
Mauls' old'oorner.
EN
Jos. F. JACGI:ItS