SPEECH HON. JAMES H. BELL, OF THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT. DEL.1YERED AT TOE CAPITOL, 0.\ SATUROAY, I>EC. l§t, 1S60, CORRESPONDENCE. Austin, Pec, 6th, 1860. Hon. Jas. H. Bell: Dear Sir— The undersigned would respectfully request a copy of your speech, delivered in this city, on the 1st inst., for publication. Very Repectfully Yours, M. C. Hamilton, Joseph Walker, Jas. W. Thomas, of Collin; E. M. Pease, Francis M. White, F. T. Doffaii, S. M. Swenson, A. B. Norton, J. J. Dickson, of Collin; N. W. Townes, of Lamar; J. L. fiaynes, E.B.Turner, N. G.Shelley, Geo. Hancock, J. M. Hays, John T. Price, F. W. Chandler, M. A. Tavlor, W. 8. Rowland, Saml. Harris, W. P. de Normandie. Austin, Dec, 10th, 1860. Messtr. M. C. Hamilton, J. Walker, J. W. Thomas, E. M. Pease, Francis M. White, F. T. Duffau, S. M. Swen- son, a. B. Norton, J. J. Dickson, N. W. Townes, and others : Gentlemen: — Your favor requesting a copy of the speech delivered by me on the 1st inst., for publication, has been placed in my hands. I am en- abled to comply with your request by availing myself of very full notes of the speech, taken by Hon. E. W. Cave when it was delivered. In furnishing a copy of the speech for publication, I do so, not so much in the hope that it will exert an influence on the public mind, favorable to the opinions which are expressed in it,as from a desire to let Ihe people of Texas see for themselves what I have said, instead of leaving them to form their conclusione from the reports of others. I spoke on the 1st inst., with a full knowledge of the fact, that the expression of my opinions would subject me to te denounced as a free-soiler and an abolitionist, by those who think that the greatest political offence of which a man can be guilty, is to differ from them in opinion. I am perfectly willing to take my full share of abuse from those who wish to plunge hastily into revolution, and just as much more than my share as they may think proper to heap on me, if by this means, I can be instrumental in persuading the people to act with calmness and moderation in this great crisis of our affairs. My conviction is profound that very many of the politicians of the South are anxions to bring about imme- diate secession, not because they think we are without remedy for existing evils, but because they have long thought that the South made a bad bargain in forming the Union, and because they do not wish to see it preserved on any terms. These opinions are now boldly avowed, and they are avowed for the purpose of inducing the people to close their eyes to any indications from the North of a willingness to do us justice. My own opinion is that the Union is an inestimable blessing to all the people, so long as the Constitution can be pre- served ; and that it is the part of wisdom to endeavor to preserve both theConsti- tution and the Union. I believe too,that a sudden disruption of the Union will bring universal distress on the country. It may be that I am more timid than other men; but I remember the declara- tion of Edmund Burke, that " timidity, where the welfare of one's conntry is concerned, is heroic virtue." This kind of virtue may be out of fashion for ihe present, but the fashions are proverbi- ally changeable, and it may, at some future time, come into fashion again. Be that as it may, it is a fashion that I am willing to wear. I do not desire, however, to conceal that it gives nie great paiu to find my- self differing so much in opinion from a large number of my old friends. I al- lude to the people of Brazoria, and ihe surrounding counties. I am sure that the interests of the people of those counties are as dear to me as the in- terests of others can be to any man. — My attachments are in those counties. I can never iorget that I am indebted to the people of Brazoria, and of the First Judicial District, for that sup- port and endorsement which procured for me the suffrages of the people of Texas for the honorable office which I now hold. And I desire it to be known that whenever I have reason to believe that the people vrho knew me in m}' boy- hood, and^who have endorsed me as a man, have lost confidence either in my in- tegrity or my patriotism, I shall surren- der to the public the trust which I hold from them, with greater alacrity than I assumed it. I hope these observations will not be considered out of place here. I think the people will conclude from my speech that I am no Suhmissionist^ as the cant phrase is. All those who have any reason to suppose that they know anything about my political opin- ions, know that I have always been a States Plights man. My friends all know that I voted for Breckinridge and Lane, that I earnestly desired their election, and that I hold the political opinions enunciated in the platform upon which they run. It is true that I do not regard the question of the pro- tection of slave property in the terri- tories as a practical one, nor do I believe that the great mass of the supporters of Mr. Breckinridge so regarded it. I feel our present wrongs and greivances to say the least, very sensibly, and I desire to see a deliberate consultation of the Slave holding States, in which all feelings of party shall be hushed , and in which wise men, elected by the people, shall speak the will of the people. I have been informed that the Hon. W. S. Oldham, in a speech delivered in this city on Saturday last, stated that in the course of my speech on the 1st inst., I read a portion of a speech made by Senator Trumbull, in Spritg- field, Illinois, without reading oilier por- tions of it. I do not know whether Judge Oldham meant to say that I had practised a fraud on my audience or not. It is dne to myself to say that I read from the Weekly Picayune, of the •24th of November, every word of Senator Trumbull's speech which that paper con- tained, and every word of it which I had then seen. The Weekly Picayune of the 1st of December, (the day on which I spoke) contained further por- tions of Senator Trumbull's speech, which I did not see until my attention was called to them by a friend after Judge Oldham spoke on Saturday last. When in the course of my speeeh I read from Senator Trumbull's Spiing- field speech, I told my audience that I attached but little importance to such things — that it might mean something or it might mean nothing, and I did not incorporate Mr. Trumbull's remarks (those read by me) in the copy of my speech to be furnished for publication, which was already- written out before I heard of Judge Oldham's remarks. I am, gentlemen, Yery res'pectfully, Your obedient servant. JAMES H. BELL. c fww^^!: SPEECH OE JUDGE BELL. Fellow-Citizens : It may seem to you somewhat strangre that a member of the profession to which I belong, accustomed for some years to public speaking in the discharge of professional duties, should feel any embarrassment on an occasion like this. But I do in fact appear before you with much concern. I am not a politician. I have never, at any time, been much fn the habit of addressing my fellow-citizens on political sub- jects. I feel that my abilities are unequal to the discussion of the great questions now be- fore the country; and the official position which I occupy, makes me diffident about engaging in the public discussion of political questions. But I have been requested to address you, and I choose to comply with the request becauselthink the times are such, that every citizen, no mat- ter what may be his position, may with pro- priety express his opinions, whenever he is re- quested to do so, and whenever by doing so there is any reason to hope that any good may be aceomplished. These, fellow-citizens, are no ordinary times. Abraham Lincoln, a sec- tional candidate, has been elected to the Presi- dency of the United States, "We have arrived at a momentous crisis in our history as a na- tion. The cloud that appeared in the sky, not so big as a man's hand, when the Constitution was adopted, has spread, until to-day it almost shuts out the light of Heaven, from this fairest and once happiest land. The stoutest hearts are now concerned for the welfare of the Re- public, and tens of thousands of thoughtful and patriotic men are anxiously looking for some ground of hope that our Constitutional Union, and the peace of our firesides, may be preserved. We do not indeed behold those signs and wonders which agitated the super- stitious minds of the Roman populace. " a lit- tle ere the mightiest Julius fell," We do not see " Fierce, fiery varriors fighting on the cisuds, In ranks and squadrons and right form of war, Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol," But we do see signs of approaching convulsion, much more real. We see section arrayed against section. States against States. We see vast multitudes of men assembled under party banners. We hear their loud hosannas over the inflammatory appeals of reckless and ambitious leaders. We see processions of armed men. We hear the morning and the evening drum beat. We see friend arrayed against friend, brother against brother. All over the wide land, the voice of phssion drowns the voice of reason. " 'Tis like the strife which currents wage, Where Orinoco in his pride, Rolls to the main, no tribute tido. But 'gainst broad ocean urges far, A rival sea of roaring war : While, in ten thousand eddies driven. The billows dash their foam to Heaven, And the pale pilot seeks in vain. Where rolls the river, where the main." In the opening Canto of Shelley's Revolt of Islam, the poet represents, under a splendid fig- ure, the great struggle which is continually going on in the world between the principles of good and evil. He describes the sky as all overcast with clouds, save one bright spot ; and in the midst of " the whirlwind and the rack;,' he shows us an Eagle and a Serpent fighting in mid-air, with a yawning ocean be- neath them. It seems to me that the same figure might be aptly employed to represent the relation which the two great sections of this Union now sustain towards each other. The North and the South are like the Eagle and the Serpent in the fight, and anarchy, civil and servile war, is the angry ocean that tosses high its foam-capped billows to engulf them both. But is there a blight spot in our sky? For one, I believe there is. Like Juliet in the tomb of the Capulets.the country seems to be in the embrace of death; but in truth, " She is net conquered, beauty's ensign yet 1$ crimson in her cheek and in her lip, j^ And death's pale flag is not advanced there.'* ? But it is not for me to presume to answer so grave a question. Can our present happy Con- stitution of government be preserved ? This is the question. None more momentous was ever propounded. The answer must come from the people; and it is because the people must an- swer this question for themselves, that I have not yet despaired of the Republic. One of the great evils of the times, and one to which, in my judgment, we are much indebt- ed for the existing condition of things in the country, is, that the people have been willing to permit the politicians not only to make is- sues for them, but to pledge them beforehand to a particular line of action. The politicians have been continually asking questions, and answering them to each other; and I am sorry to say that the people have oftentimes, with too little reflection, adopted their conclusions. Now while I intend to be careful about mak- ing assertions, I shall nevertheless make one, and it is, that upon this question, whether our form of government shall be thrown away like a worn-out garment, or not, the people will claim the right to aaswer for themselves. Much has been said, as the fashion has of late years been to speak beforehand, about what the people of the Southern States \rould do, I ititution. I believe it to be right, in a moral in the event of the election of a Black Repub- point of view, to hold slaves; and I believe the lican President. The question is upon us. mainteaance of the institution of slavery, as it It is no longer in the distance, the theme of j now exists in the Southern States of this Un- speculation. It is upon us, and presses with I ion, to be of paramount necessity not only to tremendous force. Shall we preserve the Un- j the social welfare and material prosperity of ion of these States, and our high place amongst the States themselves, but also to the prosper- the nations of the earth, or shall national itv and happiness of the civilized world, greatness and individual prosperity, the glo- But from the time of the formation of .the pres- rious memories of the past, our fond hopes for | ent government, until now, this institution has the futnre, all that is dear to the American been the subject about which the people of the heart, iivA the* American name itself, be sacri- \ South have been the most sensitive and the ficed upor. the altar of sectional jealousy, and ' most easily inflamed. And in my humble ultimately buried in a common oblivion? These are the questions; and when I come to discuss them, the great truth so eloquently an- nounced by Mr. Webster, rushes upon my rec- opinion it has happened that a kind of ficti- tious public sentiment has been manufactured in the South, which m its turn, has give n rise to a morbid feeling on the subject of slavery. oUection, that " when public bodies are to be i What 1 mean is, that men of northern birch addressed on moraentous occasions, when great \ and education have continually come amongst interests are at stake, and strong passions ex- cited, nothing is valuable in speech farther than as it is connected with high intellectual and moral endowments ; " that " the graces us, who have feared that ihey might possibly be suspected of being less friendly to the insti- tution than those of us who are native here, and who, in order to ward off all such suspi- taught in the schools, the costly ernaments cion, have taken great pains to proclaim a most and studied contrivances of speech, shock and superlative admiration of the institution, and disgust men, when their own lives, and the the pleasure it would give them to hang up to fate of their wives, their children, and their j a limb those canting scoundrels in the Northern country, hang on the decision of the hour."- The present hour — thanks be to God, who I humbly trust has not yet wholly deserted us — the present hour calls for no such decision ; and I have not the vanity to suppose that much can depend on what I may say. Yet I feel that the question before me is of the great- est possible magnitude, and that it becomes me to speak, not for your applause, not to please the ears of this audience, but to speak with candor, with sincerity, the truth, and nothing but the truth, according to the honest convic- tions of my heart and judgment. And I shall speak freely and plainly too; for where the welfare of Texas is concerned, I feel that I have a right to speak with freedom. Her in- terests are as dear to my heart as to that of any man that lives. I was born on her bosom, and I love her with a son's devotion. And if the day shall ever come when I cannot stand np in my native State, and speak my opinions fully and freely, then I shall feel that it is time lor ns to hush the boast that we are the most free and favored people of the earth — then I shall quit the land of my love, and seet un- der some other sky, my grief. But, fellow-citizens, the questions before us are not only of the greatest possible magni- tude — they involve also considerations of the greatest possible delicacy ; and this is because the agitation which distracts the country has, ior its turning point, the institution of African slavery. I do not believe that the existence of this institution is the primary cause of the agi- tation. But before I pass on, I wish to say one word, not about the institution of slavery it- self, but about the tone of public feeling in the Southern States, growing out of the existence of the institution. And to prevent the possi- bility of being misunderstood, I wish to say that no man feels, more strongly than I do, habsolute necescity of main taining this in- states who do not like Slavery and wish to see it abolished. These things would be merely amusing, if Southern men themselves, who have inherited their slaves from their fath- ers, or purchased them with the accumulations of their own industry, were not so foolish as to think that they ought to eaj at least as much in behalf of slavery as men just arrived from Maine or Ma8sachu*etts. And so we wit- ness a continual laudation of slavery, which amounts almost to an agitation in our midst, resulting from the rivalry of these different classes ol persons in expressing the ardor of their attachment to it, and their desire to see its blessings extended. But in this kind of ri- valry, the Southern born man is always thrown into the shade by his Northern friend ; as John Randolph said that his old neighbor, who ad- ded seven buckshot to every cartridge at the Battle of Guildford, and drew a fine sight' on his man, would have to be content to be called a Tory, by the patriots who were then coming over from the jails of France and England. I mean nothing offensive to any one. There are _^ _^ a great many sensible men of Northern birth place where I can hide j who come amongst us, to whom these remarks have no application. But I hazard nothing in saying, that as a general rule, next to your street-corner politician, (for I always except him) the man who makes the most noise about slavery, is the man who has just emigrated from a non-siaveholding State; and the longer such a I man resides in the South, and the more he be- comes identified with the institution of slavery, the less he is heard to say about it, for when he has proved himself to be a friend to the in- stitution, he no longer feels it necessary to be continually proclaiming himself its friend. But I said that I do not regard the existence of the institution of Slavery as the primary cause of the agitation which threatens to des- troy the peace of the country. I think the cause lies further back, and is to be found it that spirit of party which prevails to a greater or less e"xtent in all free governments. This spirit of party has always manifested itself un- der every form of government, and has been found strong enough at times to shake them all. In despotic andmonarchcial governments this spirit does not so readily find opportunity to develope itself by uniting men in support of particular measures or a certain line of policy. In despotic governments its operations are generally concealed, until of a sudden, some terrible blow is struck. In governments less despotic, this spirit sometimes manifests itself in the wars which are maintained by titled leaders, such as were the long struggles be- tween the rival houses of York and Lancaster in England. Sometimes it displays itself in tumultuous and rebellious levies, such as those beaded by Jack Cade and Wat Tjler, in the same Kingdom. But under free governments the spirit of party is ever active and manifest, and is to some extent inseparable from every department and operation of government. And it is our misfortune that circumstances have inevitably conspired to the formation of parties in the Union, with reference to an interest which is confined to less than half the States, which is the greatest interest of those Spates ia which it exists, and which is in its nature, the most sensitive of all interests ; thus leading to the array of one section of the Union against the other, and giving to the conflicts of party, the greatest possible bitterness and passion. I propose to allude very briefly to the pro- gress of party spirit in the country, and to show how it has come at last to concentrate all its violence on the subject of slavery. ^ The facts to which I shall advert are familiar^ to most of you, but I desire to fix your attention on them for a moment. The discussions in the Federal Convention which preceded the adoption of the Constitu- tioa, necessarily developed the conflicting in- terests of the slaveholding and non-slavehold- iog States. Those discussions, however, were conducted with as little beat as possible, and led to no array of parties, aa such, in the Con- vention. In the debates on the basis of representation in the Federal Congress, which were much protracted, the slaveholding States acted to- gether, and claimed that their slaves should' be represented. This claim was allowed, be- cause it was expected by all, that the revenues for the sunport of the General Government would be raised partly by direct taxation, and as slaves formed a large proportion of the property of some of the States, and would have to be taxed, it was conceded that they should form an elfment in the basis of representation. When the government was launched under the present Constitution, the men of the revo- lution were in the public ofiices. They felt the greatest possible solicitude that their new experiment in government should not be a failure. They were men of wisdom and mod- eration. They had stood by one another in perilous times. They had inaugurated a mighty revolution and carried it on to a tri- umphant close. It was now to be seen whether or not they had labored in vain. They ac- cordingly strove, as much as possible, to soften the asperities of party strife, and to smother sectional jealousy. They set themselves to the task, by a wise policy, of reviviDgf the energies of the country, crippled by a protracted war, and of developing the national resources. The question of slavery came up during the first Congress, was fully debated, and was put to rest for a quarter of a century. In the meantime, however, jealousies had sprung up between the Northern and Southern States, and these jealousies received farther developement from the Embargo and Non-Im- portation Acts of Mr.JeflFerson's administration, which fell heavily on the commercial interests of the North, and were comparatively little felt by the agricultural communities of the South. The war of 1812 was then undertaken under the lead of Southern Statesmen, and was very unpopular with the people of the North. Dur- ing the continuance of the war, manufactures sprung up in the Northern States, and were greatly fostered by the Protective Tariff Sys- tem , which was adopted at the close of the war . Under the operation of the Protective System it soon became apparent that the agricultural interests of the South, and the commercial and manufacturing interests of the North could not be fostered by the same course of legislation. The Southern States had become large expor- ters. Their great interest was agriculture. The Northern States were now fully embarked in manufactures. Commerce and manufactures therefore constituted the great interests of the Northern States. This condition of things led quickly to the formation of parties with refer- ence to it. Immediately the question of slavery became involved, and the whole coun- try was startled by the portentous aspect which it assumed. And why? It was because the Northern and Southern States were at variance upon great questions of political economy, and it was felt that the admission of a slave State into the Union, would strengthen the Southern section in the halls of Congress. At this criti- cal moment Missouri applied for admission in- to the Union, bringing in her hand a slavery constitution. It was like the application of Ihe torch to a virgin prairie in midwinter. The whole country was iustantly in a blaze. In order to show that the controversy which attended the admission of Missouri into the Union, was a contest for political power between the North and the South, I beg leave to read a passage from the Speech of Rufus King, the distin- guished Senator from New York, who was the champion of the North in the Senate. Mr. King said : "If three-fifths of the slaves are virtually represented, or their owners obtain a dispro- portionate power in legislation, and in the ap- pointment of the President of the United States, why should not other property be virtually represented, and its owners obtain a like power in legislation, and in the choice of President? Property is not confined in slaves, but exists in houses, stores, ships, capital in trade and man- ufactures. To secure to the owners of proper- ty in slaves greater political power than ia al- 6,;. lowed to the owners of other and equivalent property, seems to be contrary to our theory of the equality of personal rights, inasmuch as the citizens of some States are thereby entitled to'other and greater political power, than the citizens of other States. The present House of Representatives consists of one hundred and eighty one members, which are apportioned among the States in the ratio of one representa< tive for every thirty-five thousand federal mem- bers, which are ascertained by adding to the whole number of free persons, three-fifths of the slaves. According to the last census the whole number of slaves within the United States was 1,181,364, which entitled the States possessing the same to twenty representatives, and twenty presidential electors more than they would be entitled to were the slaves ex- cluded. By the last census Virginia contained 582,10-i free persons, and 395,518 slaves. In any of the States where slavery is excluded, 582,104 free persons would be entitled to elect only sixteen representatives, while in Ya., 582,- 104 free persons, by the addition of three-fifths of her slaves, become entitled to elect, and do in fact elect twenty-three representrtives, being seven additional ones on account of her slaves. Thus while 35,000 free persons are requisite to elect one representative in a State where slavery is prohibited, 25,559 free persons in Virginia may, and do elect a representative, so that five free persons in Virginia have as much power in the choice of a representative to Congress, and in the appointment of Presi- dential electors, as seven free persons in any of the States in which slavery does not exist." Now fellow-citizens, in this statement thus made by Mr. King, will be found in my judg- ment, the foundation and substance of the opposition which a majority of the people of the North, have manifested to tne extension of slavery, and to the admission of slave States into the Union. It has not been so much an opposition to slavery as a system of servitude, or a form of labor, as it has been an opposi- tion to the political power and influ&nce of slavery in the operations of this governm e^t And it is in this point of view that the in'tita- tioD of slavery has been made the battle cry, so to speak of political parties in this country. I do not mean to say that there has not been, all the while, a body of men in the Northern States opposed to the institution of slavery itself, and who, regardless of the obligation of the Constitution, have assailed the institution in every manner pofsible. But while these men, the abolitionists, have possessed some local influence, and have controlled to some extent, the legislation of some of the States, they have never been strong enough to in- fluence the National elections. But I will allude more particularly to this abolition party after a while. I wish to call attention, fellow- citizens, to what has been the course of the South on this question of slavery, that we may properly understand how it has grown to be the con- trolling question in the politics of the country. In the year 1838, Mr. Calhoun presented Resolutions on the subject of slavery, in the Senate of the United States. I am not oce of those who mention the name of Mr. Calhoun with disrespect. I believe he was one of the great men of this country and of the world. I believe that he was a true patriot — that he ardently loved his country. I belive that he possessed as Mr. Webster said in the Senate, on the occasion of his death, '' the basis, the indispensable basis of all high character, un- spotted integrity and unimpeached honor."' But I believe that he had received from nature, " an intense and glowing mind,'' and that h© sometimes went too far in the pursuit of his objects. The only one of the Resolutions which Mr. Calhoun presented to the Senate in 1838, to which I wish now to allude, was the fifth one of the series. It was expressed in the follow- ing terms. " Resolved, That the intermeddlinc of any Statft or States, or tbeir citizens to abolish slavery in this Dis- trict, (meaninj the District of Columbia) or any of the Territories, on the grouad or under the pretext that it is immoral or sintul, or the passage* of any act or measure of Congress with that view, would be a direct and dmn^eroua attack on the institutions of all the slave holding- Sfates." It will be observed that in this Resolutio Mr. Calhoun did not deny the power in Con gress to legislate upon the subject of slavery in the District of Columbia, and in the Terri- tories. He deprecates the exercise of any sucb power by Congress on the ground that it would be a direct and dangerous attack on the institutions of all the slave holding States ; in other words, on the grounds of expediency. If Mr. Calhoun had believed, when he drafted the resolution, that Congress had no Con- stitutional power to legislate on the subject of slavery in the Territories, he would assuredly have said so, for he understood well how to express his ideas, and was not at any time the man to conceal his opinions. Mr. Clay offered a substitute for Mr. Calhoun's resolution, which substitute was as follows : " Resolved, That any attempt of Congress to abolish slavery in any Territory of the United States in which it exists, would create serious alarm and just apprehension in the States sustaining that domestic institution, and would bs a violation of good faith towards theiuhabi- tants of any such Territory, who have been permitted to settle with, aud bold slaves therein ; because the people of any such Terri^ tory have not asked for the abolition of slavery therein, and because when any such Territory shall be admitted into the Union as a State, the people thereof shall be entitled to decide that question exclusively for themselves.'" This substitute offered by Mr. Clay, did not deny the power in Congress to legislate on the subject of slavery in the Territories, but by implication admitted the power, and deprecated the exercise of it, on the double ground of expediency and good faith. Thirty-five Sena- tors voted for Mr. Clay's substitute, and nine against it. Mr. Calhoun himself voted for it. It is to be remarked in passing that many of the most distinguished men of the South differ- ed from Mr. Calhoun in his course on the slavery question in 1838. as they had diff'ered. from him in 1835 in the debates upon the question of receiving abolition petitions^ and in his course on the kindred subject of the trans- mission of incendiary publications by the abolitionists, through the mails. Many Sou- thern members of Congress believed that the abolition petitions should be dealt v^'ith in 1835, as they had been dealt ^ith by the first Congress, and that the designs of the abolition- ists would be advanced by giving the subject of the reception of their petitions and memori- als a prominent place in the delibertitiona of the Senate. Mr. Calhoun was told that he was fanning the flame of discord, but he did not think so, and persevered in his course. There Ys'ag comparatively little agitation on the subject of slavery from the year 1838, until the question of the annexation of Texas was brought before the country in 1844, Upon the death of Mr. Upshur of Virginia, Mr. Calhoun was called to the head of the Depart ment of State, and that great man was the principal actor on the part of the United States in accomplishing the annexation of Texas. His great aim was to bring strength to the South, strength to the institution of slavery, and to preserve the balance of power between the two great sections of the Union. These views were frankly declared by Mr. Calhoun, during the pendency of the question of annexation, and after the measure was con- summated. The opposition to the annexation of Texas came from the people of the North. They saw in the measure a vast prospective accession of strength to the institution of slavery as a political power in the country, and this was at a time when the Tariff qne3-< tioa |was again the subject of earnest debate between the North and the South. The annexa- tion resolutions provided that new States of convenient size, not exceeding four in number, besides the State of Texas might be formed oat of the Territory of Texas, and should be entitled to admission into the Union, tnose of them lying below the line of 36° 30° minutes North latitude, to be admitted with or without slavery as the people might desire, and those lying above the line of 3G degrees 30 minutes, to be admitted without the institution of slavery. It was the common opinion of the time tbat at least three of the fiveStates which it was agreed might be formed out of the territory of Texas, would be slave States. Tiie people of the North also believed that the annexation of Texas v/ould involve the country in a war •with Mexico, and this too at a time when the I Oregon question seemed about to involve us in a war with Eugland. Notwithstanding all this, votes enough were found in the North to carry the Presidential election upon the issue of the annexation of Texas, and Northern votes enough were found in Congress to carry the measure through. The War witb. Mexico followed as was ex- i pected. The people of the North were op- posed to the war; but they sustained the government in the prosecution of it. With the close of the war, came the great agitation which culminated in 1850, and was settled by the compromise measures of that year. And why another agitation, and a slavery agitation too? It was because we were acquiring a vast Territory from Mexico, and the question was again presented to the country, whether the institution of slavery should k(^, at a single bound, to the shore of the Pacific, and derive another vast accession of influence as an ele- ment of political power, or whether the Terri- tory, acquired from Mexico should become free Territory. But between the time of the annexation of Texas and the great events of the year 1850, the Southern mind had received a new im- pulse on the question of slavery. Early in the year 1847, Mr. Calhoun, farseeing, vigilant, and believing himself to be in the path of duty, presented to the Senate of the United States another series of Resolutions on the subject of slavery. In these resolutions he denied (that which he had before admitted by word and deed) the power in Congress to legislate on the subject of slavery in the Territories; and in his great speeeh of the ensuing year (1848) on the establishment of a Territorial govern- ment for Oregon, a speech made, not so much in view of ihe case of Oregon, as in view of the Territory then recently acquired from Mexico, Mr. Calhoun reviewed the whole slavery question, and took the ground that the whole legislation on the subject of slavery from the beginning had been forced upon the South by the North. I wish to call your at- tention for a moment to some of tl.o statements of Mr. Calhoun, and to a few historical facts. In his speech on the Oregon Bill, Mr. Calhoua said. " After an arduous struggle of more than a year, on the question whether Missouri should come into the Union with or without restric- tions prohibiting slavery, a compromise line was adopted between the North and South ; but it was done under circumstances which made it nowise obligatory on the latter. It is true it \vi\^ moved by one of her distinguished citij^ens (Mr. Clay,) but it is equally so that it was carried by the almost united vote of the North, against the almost united vote of the South: and was thus imposed on th',; latter by superior numbers, in opposition to her streneous eftbrts. The South has never given her sanc- tion to it, or assented to the power it asserted. She ivas voted down and has simply acquiesced in an arrangement which she has not had the power to reverse, and which she could not at- tempt to do without disturbing the peace and harmony of the Union." In the speech with which Mr. Calhoun pre- faced his Resolutions on the slave question, made in the /Senate of the United States on the 19th of February 18i7._ ho also alluded to the Missouri Compromise line as follows : " Here let me say a word as to the Compro- mise line. I have always considered it as a great error— highly injurious to the South, be- cause it surrendered, for mere temporary pur- poses, those high principles of the Constitution upon which I think we ought to stand." These were the declarations of the great Statesman of ^outh Carolina in the years ]847 and 1848. Now what were the facts? The fact in relation to the Missouri Compromise measure was that it was acceptable to to the South, and received a majority of the votes of the Southern members of Congress. I quote from Benton's Thirty Years View. He says : 8 " As the Constitutionality of this Compro- mise, and its binding force, have, in these lat- ter times begun to be disputed, it is well to give the list of the Senators voting for it, that it may be seen that they were men of judge- ment and weight, able to know what the Con- stitution was, and not apt t© violate it. They were Gov. Barboar and Gov. Pleasant, of Virginia ; Mr. James Brown and Governor Henry Johnson of Louisiana ; Governor Ed- wards and Judge Je?!=e B. Thomas, of Illinois; Mr. Elliott and Mr. Walker of Georgia ; Mr. Gaillard, President j^ro tern, of the Senate, and Judge William Smith, from Suuth Carolina ; Messrs. Horsey and YanDyke, of Delaware; Colonel Richard M. Johnson and Judge Logan, from Kentucky ; Mr. William R. King, sinco Vice President of the United States, and Judge John W. Walker, from Alabama; Messrs. Leake and Thomas H. Williams, from Missis- sippi ; Governor Edward Floyd, and the great jurist and orator, William Pinkney, from Mary- land ; Mr. Macon and Governor 5tokes, from North Carolina, Messrs. Walker Lowrie and Jonathan Roberts, from Pennsylvania; Mr. Noble and Judge Taylor from Indiana , Mr. Palmer, from Vermont ; Mr. Parrott, from New Hampshire. This was the vote of the Senate for the Compromise. In the House there was some division among the >S'outhcrn members ; but the whole vote in favor of it was one hun- dred and thirty four, to forty two in the nega- tive—the latter comprising some Northern members, as the former did a majority of the Southern— among them one whose opinion had a weight never exceeded by that of any other American Statesman, William Lowndes, of South Carolina." Here.fellow -citizens, is the attestation of His- tory, and no man can say in the face of it, that the /S'outh was voted down on the Missouri Com- promise, and never gave her assent to it. But what is the fact as to Mr. Caihoun's further declaration that he always considered the Com- promise as a great; error? At the time of the passage of the Compromise measures, Mr. Cal- houn was a member of Mr. Monroe's Cabinet. Mr. Monroe signed his approval of the Missouri act on the 6th day of March 18*20. Mr. John Quincy Adams says in his Diary, that on the 3rd of March, the President assumbled his Cab- inet and submitted to them the question of the constitutionality of the act. Mr. Monioe put the question in the directeat manner, '"Has Con- gress a right, under the powers vested in it by the Constitntioni to make a regulation prohibit- ing slavery in a territory ?'- Mr. Adams says the whole Cabinet answered unanimously and affirmatively. It is possible that Mr. Adams might have made a mistake; but it is not pos- sible that Mr, Calhoun himself could have made a mistake about his own opinion at that time. In his speech on the Slavery Resolutions which ha introduced into the Senate in 1838, Mr. Calhoun said, speaking of the Missouri Com- promise : " I was not a member of Congress when that Compromise vvas made, but it is due to candor to state that my impressions were in its favor ; but it is equally due to it to say, that with my present experience and knowledge of the spirit which (hen lor the first time began to disclose itself, my opinion has entirely changed. I dow believe that it was a dangerous measure, (he does not say, unconstitutional,) and that it has done much to rouse into action the present spirit. Had it then been met with uncompro- mising opposition, such as a then distinguished and sagacious member from Virginia (Mr. Ran- dolph) now no more, opposed to it, abolition might have been crushed forever in its birth. I then thought of Mr. Randolph, as I doubt not many think of him now who have not fully looked into the subject — that he was too un- yielding — too uncompromising— too impractic- able ; but 1 have been taught my error, and take pleasure in acknowledging it." These were Mr. Calhoun's declarations in 1838. That in 1848— his feelings had under gone such a change, that the idea of making war against the anti-slavery sentiment had come so completely to possess him — that his convictions of danger to the institutions of the /South, had become so strong as to have erased from his memory the fact that he acquiesced in the Missouri Compromise at the time it was made, there can be no doubt ; no more than there can be of his perfect integrity and hones- ty of purpose. I wish also, to call attention to a declaration made by Mr. Calhoun in relation to the ordi- nance of 1787, by which slavery was excluded from'theiterritory northwest of the Ohio. On the 20th of February 1847, Mr. Calhoun spoke in the Senate, in reply to Mr. Simmons, of Rhode Island. The subject under discussion was the slave Resolutions introduced by Mr. Calhoun a few days before. Referring to the norih-weat territory, Mr. Calhoun said : '' How did it happen that Virginia and other Southern States came to be excluded from that territory ? It was by an act of the old Congress in which the Senator very properly tviid us that the non-slaveholding /Stateshad a majority. Mr. Simmons— Every one of the slave hold- ing States voted for it. Mr. Calhoun— The non-slave holding States had a majority, and that Congress passed a law excluding slave owners from the territory. Virginia was thus deprived of all participation in that magnificent territory, without the slightest authority under the old articles of Confederation. I trust that the -South never will forget that an act of unlimited generosity, (the cession of the territory to the United States by Virginia) almost without precedent, was con- verted, through the force of a majority of the non-slave holding States in the old Congress, into a monopoly of this territory from which Virginia herselL was excluded, and all done with out authority of the old articles of Con- federation, but in violation of them." Now, whether the old Congress had authori- ty under the articles of Confederation to pass the ordinance of 1787 or not, need not now be discussed. One thing however, is as certain as any other fact recorded in history, and that is that the ordinance was not passed by a majority of non-slaveholding States in the old Congress. And another thing is equally certain, and that is that Virginia has no reason to complain of that portion of the ordinanse which excluded slavery from the territory ceded by her,, for she took the lead in what was done, and voted for the ordioanee whew it finally passed. Mr. Jef- ferson himself brought the measure into the old Congress on the 19th of April 1784. with the anti-slavery clause in it. Mr. Speight, of North Carolina moved to strike oat the anti- slavery clause, and it was struck out because the clause did not then contain the provision in favor of the recovery of fugitive slave?, which was afterwards engrafted on it. The ordinance, as it was finally passed, was reported by a com- mittee of five members. They were Mr. Car- rington, of Virginia, who was chairman of the committee, Mr. Dane, of Massachusetts ; Mr. R. H. Lee, ef Virginia; Mr. Kean, of South Carolina, and Mr. Smith bf New York, It will be seen that three of the five were fVom slave holding States. The ordinance receivod its first reading on the Uth day of July 1787— its second reading on the 12tb, and on tke 13lh it was passed by the votes of every State present. The States present were Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Geargia. The ordinance also received the vote of every mem- ber present, with one single exception, and that wag Mr. Yates, of New York. Now fellow- citizens, what ground do these facts afford for the declaration of Mr. Calhoun that the north- western territory was converted into a monop- oly from which Virginia was herself excluded, by a majority of the non-slaveholding States in the old Congress ? Was ever declaration more unfounded? Yet by such declarations as these coming from high quarters, have the minds of the Southern people been inflamed, and thousands have been taught that from the first organization of the government, and before, the people of the North have been making war on our institutions. As I said before, Mr. Calhoun was the chief actor on the part of the United States in the annexation of Texas. He claimed the credit of that great measure, and esteemed the part which he acted in it,as one of his strongest claims to the respect of the country. Did not the annexatiou Resolutions in effect recognize and re-enact the Missouri compromise? Look at the facts. The territory of Texas extended to the forty-second degree of north latitude — five degrees and a half north of the line of the Mis- souri compromise. All this was slave territory by the laws of the Republic of Texas. By the annexation Resolutions, and the application of the principle of the Missouri compromise to the territory of Texas, all that part cf her territory lying north of the line of thirty six degrees thirty minutes became free territory. Was not this a pretty strong recognition of the Mo. com- promise ? It certainly was on the part of Texas at least, for it made free territory out of what was before slave territory. And when the an- nexation Resolutions passed the Congress of the United States, Mr- Buchanan, then a Sena- tor declared his satisfaction with them because they respected the principle of the Missouri Compromise. Mr. Buchanan said : "Was it desirable to have the Missouri ques- tion again brought home to the people to goad them to fury ? That question between the two great interests in our country had been well discussed and well decided: and from that moment he (Mr. Buchanan) had set down his foot on the solid ground thus establishefl, and there he would let the question stand forever. Who could complain of the terms of that Com- promise ?" ' We all remember that General Houston, then our Senator, voted for the Oregon bill, and was denounced for it by the people of Texas. I perceive that the distinguished gen- tlemen to whom I allude, is present, but I speak with the freedom of history. When Gen. Houston returned home from the Senate, after his rote on the Oregon bill, he justified the vote on the ground that Texas had recog- nized the Missouri Compromise by the annexa- tion Resolutions. We accepted the explana- tion of the vote given by General Houston, and sent him again to represent us in the Senate. And not only this, but a Democratic Legisla- ture afterwards nominated him for the Presi- dency of the United States. Have not things changed ? and why ? The spirit of party has been at the bottom of it. It was not General Houston's Oregon vote that lost him bis seat in the Senate of the United States ; nor was it even his vote on the Kansas -Nebraska bill. It was because be quit for a while the ranks of the Democratic Party — because he joined the Know-nothings. If he had continued to serve under the old banner, or to carry it, as he had done so long, his Kansas-Nebraska vote would have been forgiven, and he might have died in the Senate of the United States, if had chosen to do so. Fellow-citizens, look back at the whole facts from the begining. Let us divest our minds of passion and predjudice, and reason on these subjects as we would^ about other things. When the Constitution was adopted there was little diversity of opinion on the subject of slavery. It was generally conceded to be an evil. It was regarded as a temporary institu- tion that was to pass away. In framing the Consiitution it was agreed that three-fifths of the slaves in the slave holding States should be represented in the House of Representatives. The Northern people consented to this be- cause they believed that slaves would be taxed for the support of the general government. It does not affect the argument, that the South would not have formed the Union on other terms, than that their slaves should be repre- sented in Congress. The people of the North nave been disappointed in their expectation that slaves would be taxed for the support of the general government. All the revenues are de- rived from duties ou imports, and from the public lands. The people of the North have been disappointed also in the expectation that slavery would prove to be a temporaey institu- tion in the country. The cultivation of cotton has given the institution strength and per- manency. It is also to be remarked that when the Constitution was adopted, the status of all the territory belonging to the United States was fixed, so far as slavery was concerned. The territory on the North-west was to be free, the territory on the South-west was to be slave territory. It was not contemplated that other territory would be acquired. N« pro- 10 ■vision was made in the Constituiion for the extension of the limits of the country beyond the original thirteen States, and their territo- ries. But what have we seen ? We have seen Louisiana brought in, within an immense ter- ritory. We haveseeo Florida brought in. We have seen Texas brought in. We have seen our territory extended, at the expenre of Mexi- co, to the Pacific. It is not in ■ the nature of things, it is not in the nature of man, that such vast changes as these, would not be attended by correspondingly great changes in public opinion upon the question of slavery, because as I have all along stated, slavery is an active principle in politics, in this country, as well as a form of labor ; it has political power ; h can defend and attack; and is in its very nature the closest bond of Union between all those inter- ested in it as an institution. Now, fellow-citizens, these things being so, and it being true as before stated, that the North and the South have been in antagonism upon great questions of political economy, is it Eot a natural and reasonable result, that the people of the North should be opposed to the extaasion of slavery, and the admission of slave States into the Union ? And if we had been in the place of the people of the North, during the last fifty years, and they in ours, do you believe that we would have been wil- ling to see slavery extended, and slave States brought into the Union ? Let us be just, let us look at things as they are. Let u? recog- nize the truth that the honest and intelligent people of the North (I am not speaking of the blind fanatics) look at the question of slavery, and at all the questions growing out of it, from one stand-point, and that we look at these questions from another. Let us recog- nize the truth that there is something peculiar in the institution of slavery as a form of labor, and as an element of political power in this country. Let us see how opposition to the ex- tension of slaveiy, because of its political in- fluence, has had the effect of concentrating the violence of party spirit upon the slavery question, and how this spirit of party, in a mad contest for political supremacy, has come to unite itself with a furious and blind fanati- cism, on the part of some, and thus to produce the distractions which threaten to everthrow the government under which we have been so prosperous, and grown so great. Time does not allow me to notice at any length the great agitation of 1850 : the corn- promise growing out of it, and the Kansas-Ne- braska act, and its consequences. The compromise measures of 1850, restored quiet to the country, and the Democratic par- j ty, the party of the people, and of the Consti- * tution, was never stronger than in 1852. Af- ' ter that, came the Kansas-Nebraska act. It was a move on the part of the South, and those acting with her, to undo all that had been done in the way of compromise on the slavery question, and to declare what were believed to be the true principle of the Constitution. — I shall not discuss the act, I believe it is now generally agreed that it was the fruitful parent of the present agitations. It's passage, and the events growing out of it's passage, lent additional fury to Northern fanaticism, and aroused the anti-slavery sentiment of the North for a great straggle with the pow- erful political party at whose hands they had sufiered so many defeats. Not only so, but the events growing out of the passage of that act, have divided and broken up the Democratic party, which has always fought the battles of the Constitution. Ana why are we divided ? What are we quarrelling with each other about, those of us who once with serried ranks, followed the Democratic flag ? We are quarrelling about questions of law, and abstractions, at that; and men's minds have become so much excited upon these subjects, that it is the fashion of the day for the majority to denounce all who do not think as they think. Has it come to this, that a man in this country cannot think for him- self without being denounced by those whose trade it is to make platforms, and to dictate to others what the shall believe ? I confess that my cheeks have burned with shaifie be- cause of the intolerance and the spirit of pro- scription for opinions sake which is abroad in the land. Why, fellow-citizens, the whole stupendous frame-work of this government re- poses upon the basis of public opinion ; and it is a solid basis too ; for however much opinions may change in respect to measures or questions of law, so long as every man is free to form and express his opinions, and so long as we love liberty and respect law, so long will the government stand on a solid foundation. What have we beheld? We have seen the Democratic party disrupted at Charleston and at Baltimore, upon an issue which everybody feels was not a practical is- sue. We have heard Mr. Douglas denounced as a traitor, as having taken a slitrrt cut to Black Republicanism, as being not a bit bet- ter than Lincoln : and yet as the conflict deep- ened, we have heard Democratic orators from all the stumps in the the country declare that the election of Mr. Douglas to the Presidency would be no ground for a dissolution of the Union. Nay, more, we have heard repeated laudations of the old Whig party, and of its famous leaders. Not long before the election, I heard Mr. Wharton, of Brazoria, standing in this place pay an eloquent tribute to the gal- lant old whig party. I am not here to criti- cise Mr. Wharton. He is my tnend, and I am proud that my native county can boast of such a son. But if I express my opinions at all, I think it proper to point to inconsistencies in public men and parties for the sake of cor- recting erroneous impressions that may be made on the minds of the people. — Mr. Wharton spoke of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. I remember some of his words, he called them "twins of genius, whose memories I honor and revere." Now, fellow-citizens, what opinions did Mr. Clay and Mr. Webster entertain upon the main question which di- vides the North and the South, the question or the extension of slavery ? Give me leave to show you what those great men thought on this question. Speaking on the compro- 11 mise measures of 1850, in reply to Mr. Da- yis, of Mississippi, Mr. Clay said : " I am extremely sorry to hear the Senator from Mississippi say that he requires, first, the ex- tension of the Missouri compromise line to the Pacific, and also that he is not satisfied ■with that, but requirss if I understood him correctly, a positive provision for the admis- sion of slavery south of that line. And now Sir, coming from a slave State, as T do, I owe it to mysell, I owe it to truth, I owe it io*the subject, to say that no earthly power could induce me to vote for a sppcific meas- sure for the introduction of slavery where it had not before existed either north or soutn of that line. Coming as I do from a slave State, it is my solemn, deliberate, and well matured determination that no power, no earthly power, shall compel me to vote for the positive introduction of slavery either South or North of that hue. These are my views, sir, and I choose to express them ; and I care not how extensively or universally they are known." Thus a noble and high spirited man expres- sed himself in a time of great excitement and confusion. In his speech on the exclusion of slavery from the territories, delivered in the Senate on the 12th of August, 1848, Mr. Webster said: " I have said that I shall consent to no ex- tension of the area of slavery upon this Conti- nent, nor to any increase of slave representa- tion in the other House of Congress. I have stated my reasons for my conduct and my vote. We of the North have already gone, in this re- spect, far beyond all that any Southern man could have expected, or did expect, at the time of the adoption of the Constitution. I repeat the statement of the fact'of the creation of five new slave-holding States out of newly acquir- ed territory. We have done that which if those who framed the Constitutien had foreseen, they never would have agreed to slave repre- sentation. We have yielded thus far; and we have now in the the House of Representatives twenty persons voting upon this very question, and upon all other questions, who are there only in virtue of the representation of slaves. — Looking, then, to tne operation of these new acquisitions, which have in this great degree had the effect ot strengthening that interest in the South by the addition of these five States, I feel that there is nothing unjust, nothing of "which any honest man can complain, if he is intelligent ; and I feel that there is nothing with which the civilized world, i*" they take no- tice of so humble a person as myself, will re- proach me, when I say, as I said tne other day, that I have made up my mind, for one, that under no circumstances will I consent to the further extension of the area of slavery in the United States, or to the further increase of slave representation in the House of Represen- tatives." Fellow-citizens, these were great and wise men, men who had a regard for their reputa- tions, men who knew that their names and their ©pinions would live in tha pages of his- tory. Who dares to say that they were not patriots ? The time was indeed, when the rage of party denied patriotism to Mr. Clay, and to Mr. Webster also. The time was when the voice of party denied wisdom and ability even to General Washington. The time was when the people of this country were told that Gen. Jackson was an ambitious military chief, and that if he was elected to the Presidency, he would trample on the Constitution and lib- erties of the country. But as to these great men the voice of party has been long since hushed, and the man cannot now be found who would insult an audience by denying patriotism to either of them. But who dares now to ex- press the opinions which were entertained by Mr. Clay and by Mr. Webster, on the question ef the extension of slavery ? To do so would subject a man to be denounced as an aboli- tionist and a traitor; and yet we live under the same Constitution now which we lived under then. But I find that I am consuming too much of your time, and I pass on to tne question more immediately before us. We all recog- nise the fact that we are in the midst of a great crisis. What course ought the people of Texas to pursue? I do not desire to see Texas fold her arms and quietly wait the cur- rent of events? I would have her counsel calmly and deliberately, with the other slave- holding States. I would not have her rush hastily into revolution. I would take the sense of the people, and abide by their decis- ion. I understand that the Governor has al- ready addressed the Governors of the other slave-holding States, and informed them of his willingness to order an election for seven delegates, as provided by the act of the 16th of February, 1858, to meet the delegates of the other Southern States in Convention, if the Governors of those States think such a Convention desirable. I am gratified to hear that the Governor has taken this step, and I hope it may lead to consultation between the Slave-holding States. Such a Conven- tion of the Southern States would give assu- rance of thoughtful and deliberate action. — But the cry of the majority is, at all events the cry of the politicians is, that we cannot wait — that we must sever our relations with the Federal Government at once, aod deliber- ate afterwards. I hold in my hand a. pronun- ciamefito signed by a very intelligent and re- spectable gentleman, Mr. Stewart of Gonzales; which gives notice that the Legislature will assemble in this place on the third Monday in December. This is in accordance witn a res- olution passed by the mass meeting of Gonza- les county, declaring that the Legislature can assemble as such, without the call of the Gov- ernor, Now fellow-citizens, I am not much of a lawyer, but I must say that this is the first time that I have ever heard that under a Con- stitution like ours, the Legislature after ad- journing without day, could assemble and leg- islate without the lead of the Executive au- thority. If I have read our Constitution aright it provides that the powers of Government, in this State shall be divided into three dis- 12 tioct departments, and each of theni committed to a separate bodj of magistracy: thoBe which are Legislative, to one ; those which are Executive to another, and those which are Judicial to another, and that no person or eol- lection of persons, being of one of those de- partments shall exercise any power properly at- tached to either of th« others. And I find in the Constitution a distinct provision to the effect that the Governor may on extraordinary occasions convene the Legislature. How then can the Legislature convene without the call of the Governor, when the Constitution in- vests him with the power to call them togeth- er on extraordinary occasions? Such doctrines are revolutionary— they partake of the spirit of the mob. I use strong language, but the times are such that those who speak should speak plainly, and so help me God, while I have my reason, I will never in times of high excitement give my countenance to mea- sures which teed directly to the subversion of the laws. And in Washington county, one of the oldest and most respectable counties in the State, I see a resolution passed by a public meeting calling upon the Judges of the Supreme Court, and other officers of the Gov- ernment, to order an election for delegates to a Convention, in the event of the Goverpor's refusal to call the Legislature together. I believe ihat was the substance of theWashington coun- y resolution. Why all this haste? Why this distrust of the Governor? Did not the people put him in office? Does any one,or do the people doubt his patriotism? He says that in his opinion the present agitation throughout th« country, calls for the calm deliberation of Statesmen. Those who wish to commit the State to a rev- olutionary movement, admit that every thing should be done with the greatest possible mod- eration. They say, "the legislature ought to be assembled immediately, but they must act with moderation; there ought to be a convention by the last of January, but (here ought be the ! greatest moderation ou all hands; and the state | ought to arm too, but nothing ought to be dene i that is not characterized by the greatest pos- j sible degree of moderation. By all means let j us have moderation." Some of these gentle- I men are sincere too, in their talk about moder- i ation, but who does not know that when a rev- \ olutiouary movement is once set on foot, and j men's minds are inflamed by passion, modera- | tion is always thrown to the winds ? I have I read in the history of a neighboring nation, that when Iturbide was meditating the assumption of supreme power, he conjured the army which was devoted to his purposes, to act with calm- ness and moderation. He refused the rank of Lieutenant General which they tendered him, and the next day went so far as to tear from his uniform the lace decorations which denoted his rank in the army, and declared that he wonld be content to serve bis country in the humblest capacity. Yet in a few mouths his brow was circled by an Imperial Diadem. But I recur to the question, what are we to do ? And first let me ask, for what do nations revolutionize? Only for great wrongs. And what are our grievances ? We are told that ihe Black Republican party has proclaimed a War of extermination upon our institutlong — that their object will be to abolish slavery la the State*— that they will burn our towng and villages, and incite our slaves to insurrection. The bare recital of these things inflames the minds of the Southern people, and makes them almost unwilling to look at the facts. Now I admit that there is much to deplore. No one looks with greater abhorance than I do, upon the designs of the abolitionists, and no one can be more disgusted than I am by the ceaseless belchings of their fury But the abolitionists have been proclaiming their designs and vomiting forth their rage for the last twenty-five years. Are the Black Re- publicans all abolitionists? What is the Black Republican party ? When did it come into existence and of what i? it composed 9 It had no existence in 1852. Then ths struggle was between the Democratic party and the Whig party. The Black Republican party has sprung into existence since. It is com- composed of all the elements of opposition to the Democracy to be found in the Northern States. Old Whigs, Native Americans, Know Nothings, all of every party, who have been so often overthrown by the Democracy have banded together for a struggle with their old adversary ; and the abolitionists have got in the van. and have made the most of the noise about which we are ?o enraged. The aboli- tionists six years ago were contemptible as a political party. They exerted no influence in the Presidential election. For the first time HDce their organization as a party, they felt so impotent that they were willing to bow their pride, to abate their high pretensions and to take service under another flag. Accordingly they joined the new party— the Black Republi- cans ; and they raised such a cry agaiu*?t the institution of slavery, that the voice of con- servatism in the party was for a time comple- tely hushed. But fellow- citizens, how much of this has been due to the excitement of a Presidential canvass ? For one, I declare that I do not gee the evidence that the Black Republicans, as a party, have proclaimed a war upon our institutions. What is the evi- dence of party faith and policy ? Are we not to look to their platform ? I remember that when some of us, in 1359, thought that the Plouston Convention had given us candidates who were dispo.=edjto commit the State to the policy of re-opening the African Slave trade, it was said that the policy of the party was to be found in the platform; and that it did not matter what opinions were entertained by individuals. If this is the rule where the DemocrBtic party is concerned, it is^but fair to apply it also to our enemies. Now what does the Black Republican platform announce to be the policy of that party ? The worst plank in it is the one which says that slavery shall not be extended. It distinctly acknowledges that it is the right of each State to regulate its domestic institutions for itself. Yes, but it is said that Mr. Lincoln has said so and so, and Mr. Seward has said this thing and that thing. Fellowxcitizens, when parties are struggling for power, and wheu individuals are using their utmost efforts to win votes, it is not the part of wisdom to take a sentence written on this occasion and a word spoken on that, and 13 deduce from it a man's opinions or tho line of policy which he will pureue. But euppose we ■were to test Mr. Lincoln even in this way, ho is not the great Apostle of ruin that gome would make him out. Let's hear him speak for himself. And let the worst come first. Mr: Lincoln is said to be the true father of the famous idea of the " irrepressible conflict.*' The honors of paternity were disputed awhile between him and Mr. ^Seward. But it is sup- posed to be settled that the iionor properly belongs to Mr. Lincoln. Here is the way, in which he announced the doctrine. "A house dirided against itself cannot stand." I believe this Government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved— I do not expect the house to fall— but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the oppo- nents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public miod shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction ; or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as South" Replying to iV/r. Douglas on the 10th of July 1858, Mr. Lincoln said : ■I am not, in the first place, unaware that this Government has endured eighty-two years, half slave and half free. I believe it has «nduied. because during all that time, until the introduction of the Nebraska bill, the public mind did rest in the belief that slavery was in course of ultimate extinction. That was what gave us the rest that we had through that period of eighty-two years, at leaet, so I believe. I have always hated slavery, I think a« much as any Abolitionist — I have been an Old Line Whig— I have always hated it. but I have always been quiet about it until this new era of the ' introduction of the Nebraska bill began. I always believed that everybody was against it, and that it was in course of ulti- mate extinction. The great mass of the na- tion have rested in this belief that slavery was in course of ultimate extinction. I have said a hundred time?;, and I have now DO inclination to take it back, that I believe tie e is no right, and ought to be no inclination in the people of the Free States to enter into the slave States, and interfere with the ques- tion of slavery at all ; and when it is said that I am in favor of interfering with slavery where it exists, I know it is unwarranted by anything I have ever intended, as I believe, by anything I have ever said. If, by any means, I have ever used language which could fairly be so construed (as, however, I believe I never have,) I now correct it. So much, then, for tho inference that Judge Douglas draws, that I am in favor of setting the sections at war with one another. I know that I never meant any such thing, and I be lieve that eg fair mind can infer any such thing from anything I have ever said." I will now read to you what Mr. Lincoln said, about the rights of the States. He was reply tng to Mr. Douglas on the 15th Sept. 1858. This is what he said : "There is very much in the principle that Judge Douglae h»B here enunciated thspt I most cordially approve, and over which I shall have no controversey with him. In so far as he has insisted that ftli the States have the right to do exactly as they please about all their domestic relation?, including that of slavery, I agree with him entirely. I hold myself under constitutional obligations to allow the people in all the States, without interference, direct or indirect, to do ex- actly aa they please, and I deny that I have any inclination to interfere with them, even if there were no such constitutional obligations.' Here is what ha has said about the Fugitive felave law : 'In regard to tho Fugitive slave law, I have never hesitated to say, and I do not now hesl- to say, that I think, under the Constitution of the United States, th« people of the United States ato entitled to a Congressional Fugitive slave law. Having said that, I have had nothing to say in regard to the existing Fugitive slave law, farther than that I think it should have been framed so as to be tree from some of the objections that pertain to it, without lessening its eflSciency. And inasmuch as we are not now in an agitation in regard to an alteration or modification of that law, I would not be the man to introduce it as a new subject of agitation upon the general question of slavery.' Here again is what he has said about the abolition of slavery in the District of Colum- bia : 'I should be exceedingly glad to see slavery abolished in the District of Columbia. I be- lieve that Congress possesses the constitutional power to laboliih it. Yet, as a member of CongresSjll should not, with my present viewsj be in fiivor of endeavoring to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, unless it would be upon these conditions. First, That the abeli- tion should be gradual. Second, That it should be on a vote of the majority of qualified voters in the District ; and Third, That com- pensation should be made to unwilling owners.' On the 18th of September 1S58, he said: 'I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races — I am not nor ever have been in fayor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold oflBce, nor to inter- marry with white people ; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical differ- ence between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. * * I will, to the very last, stand by the law of this State, which for- bids the marrying of white people with negroes.' But fellow-citizens, I attach bat very little consequence to such things as I have been reading to you. They will furnish Mr. Lin- coln an excuse, if he needs one, for doing what he will be compelled to do, if he had no excuse. He cannot, as President, trample on the liber- ties and rights of the people of the South. No President can do that. Nobody believes that it can be done. No portion of the American people will ever submit to oppressdon, not even to tho little finger of tyranny. Let insult and oppression come, and the peeple will not need 14 to be told of it by the politicians and orators, Bor will they need to be told what they ought to do. They will show that they are no degenerate descendants of a noble ancestry. The old spirit of Henry, and Hancock and Adams, the older spirit of Pym and Hampden and Vane will display itself, and tyranny , let it take what shape it may, will cower before il. What will be Mr. Lincoln's position when he assumes the oflBce of President, if he ever does ? He will first stand up in the presence of the people, and wtth his hand on the Holy Evan- gelists will swear to execute (he laws, not as he thinks they should be, but as they are. ^Vill he fling his conscience and his honor into the dust, to be trampled on by ihe miserable fanatics who have helped to elevate him to power? Will he not like every other man of intellect who is elevated to high position, desire to vindicate his fitness for such elevation by so acting as to have some claims to be res- pected by his fftUowmeu ? I believe that he will no sooner be President than you will see that "irrepressible cenflict" of which our Governor speaks in his letter to the citizens of Huntsville — not the irrepressible conflict of which so much has been said and written, but an irrepressible conflict between his oath, his duty and the overwhelming necessities of his position on the one hand, and the unconstitu- tional statutes of the Northern States on the ether. He will be brought in instant con- tact with the herd of fanatics who will nrsce upon him the violation of tho laws, and he will sweep them at once from his path, or he will sink beneath the scorn and con- tempt of mankind. But if he were so in- clined, what power has, he to injure the -South ? The Federal Judiciary is true to the Constitution. There is a majo'rity opposed to his administration in the House ofRepresen- tatives. The Senate, the great bulwark of the rights of the States, is true to its great trust, and will be an effectual check upom the President He cannot organize his administration, unless he permits all the incumbents to remain in office, without the consent of the. Senate. He cannot put -a man in your Post office — he cannot appoint a mar- shall of a District— he cannot fill a vacancy on the bench— he cannot put himself in official communication with foreign powers, without the consent of the Senate: Then why plunge into hasty revolution ? W'hat arc the real and pressing greivances ? There are imaginary and future ones without rumber, but what are the real ones, upon which a man can put his finger ? Upon my werd, Ikuowof no violation of the Constitution, except the refusal of the Northern States to permit the due execution of the fugitive slave law. This is a real and palpable violation; I admit it in its full force- where is the man that can point you to another? We are told of John Brown raids, of the forays of Montgomery, of tampering with slaves and the like. These evils belong to the present and to the past, and are not chargeable to Mr. Lin- coln. It Mr. Breckinridge had been elected. I presume these things would not have been urged as caus-s sufficient for a dissolution of the Union. But it is said that the election of Mr. Lincoln cuts off all hope that these griev- ances will have an end. It may be that mat- ters will not mend, but we cannot know that they will not. Why not wait and see. and deal with facts instead of acting in so grave a matter upon our fears. For myself, I believe that now for the first time, we may hope to settle this slavery ques- tion. It was the inevitable destiny of the ques- tion, from the moment that political parties seized upon it as the field upon which to fight the battle for power, that it should become sec- tional, and swallow up all other questions. Now the battle has been fought upon it, and the power and the patronage of the Govern- ment, as the fruits of victory, will pass into the hands of the North. Now, if the South pur- sues a wise policy, if the slave-holding States unite and deliberate, and calmly and resolutely declare upon what terms tney are willing to continue in the Union, the question may be settled. The people of the North will now be called upon to consider what they will do with their2victory. Let the Southern States tell them what they must do with it in order to preserve the Union. The battle must be fought in the North. There are thousands there true o the Constitution, and Mr. Lincoln's election will bring into conflict the opposing elements in the northernStates,and we will soon find out which is the strongest ; we will soon know» whether abolitionism is to triumph over the Constitu- tion or not. I said that I admitted in its full force, the violation of the Constitution by the enactment of " personal liberty bills " in the Northern States: by their refusal, in good faith and in accordance with their Constitutional obliga- tions, to permit the due execution of the Fugi- tive Slave law. But fellow-citizens, this is a grievance which has existed for years. Nei- ther Mr. Filmore, nor Mr. Pierce, Presidents true to the Constitution, were able fully to en- force that law. Mr. Buchanan has not been able to do it. I do not mean to arjue that the wrong is any the less because it is of long con- tinuance. But we have not heretofore consid- ered this grievance a ground for a dissolution of the Union. This is a wrong which Texas feels but lightly. We lose comparatively none of our slaves to the abolitionists. A few slip away now and then to our Mexican friends, but none of them take the underground rail-road route. What then would be the part of wisdom for Texas, so far as this question is concerned ? — Would it not be to consult with Virginia, Ken- tucky, Maryland, and Missouri, States which are suffering heavily from this wrong ? I would read to you portions of a letter of Gov- ernor McGoflSn of Kentucky, but there is not time. He makes a strong appeal to the cotton States to stand by the border slave States in this emergency. He eays that Kentucky will not abate a jot or tittle of her Constitutional rights, and he appeals to us " to stand by her, and not desert her, in her exposed perilous border position." Do you believe that Virgin- ia will succumb ? That she will sacrifice her rights and her honor? Never. Then what shall we do ? If we act hastily and indepen- dently of those States, either dragging them after us, or leaving them without support, will they not have reason to say, and will not His- 15 tory say tnat we deserted them in the day of their sorest need ? I say let's stand by them, consult with them, and if possible act with them. Let us not withdraw our delegations from Congress while the States are delibera- ting. Let U3 meet our foes on the constitutional battle-field, on the floor of Congress, and fight out the fight, even to the bitter end. Fellow-citizens, I hear it frequently said, that if we do not resist now, we never can resist. By this is meant that we must dissolve the Union now or never. It is said that Mr. Lin- coln will inaugurate a system by which the public mind of the South will be corrupted that abolition emissaries will be put into all our offices, and that abolition documents will be circulated and all that. I believe these dangers are imaginary. All men who take office in the South under Mr. Lincoln's administra- tion, will know that they are closely watched And whom will they contaminate ? They will have to contaminate yt)u and me. This argu- ment, fellow-citizens, amounts simply to a dec- laration that we cannot trust ourselves; that is the plain English of it. Now I venture the prediction that if this Union lasts, you will see fewer Yankees amongst us, fewer of the real genuine wooden-nutmeg fellows, than you ever saw before in your lives. They will have a greater dread of the climate of the Southern States for the next four years than they ever had before. They know very well that there is a higher law in the South as well as in the North. But I must conclude, and in doing so, I coun- sel moderation, — not that moderation which fixes the bayonet and unsheathes the sword,but that moderation which thinks,and thinking acts Fellow-citizens, all history attests that appeals to the passions are a thousand times more pow- erful than appeals to reason. Pardon me, while I give an instance. Many of you have read of the attempt made by the Stuart Prince in 1745 to regain the British Crown. He land- ed in Scotland, and summoned the Scottish chieftains to meet him. Amongst the first to obey the call was the celebrated Lochiel, of Cameron. While on his way to meet the Prince, he had an interview with his brother. He told his brother that he intended to dissu- ade the Prince from making the effort to regain his father's crown, and to advise him to re- turn to France. His brother told him to write to the Prince ; for said he *' I know you better than you know yourself, and if you meet the Prince, he will make you do whatever he pleases." But Lochiel said that his mind was made up, and that he would not join the re- bellion. He met the Prince and expressed to him his determination. He told him that it would be a hopelfss undertaking and would bring ruin on all who engaged in it , Charles used every argument, but the chieftain main- tained his resolution. Charles Ihea used the only argument that remained — the most pow- erful of all — an apppal to the feelings. He said, " My father has told me that you were the firmest of his friends ; but I do not find it so. I have however made up my mind. I will raise my standard and recover the crown of my ancestors, or perish in the attempt. Lo- chiel may stay at home, if he will, and learn from the news-papers the fate of his Prince." What was the effect? "Not so," exclaimed the gallant and loyal chieftain—'-' Not so,_ if you raise your banner, I will follow it with every man over whom birth or fortune has giv- en me influence." And he did follow it to the fatal catastrophe at Culloden, where Cumber- land rode over the Scottish array, his horses hoofs dripping with blood. All the historians of the period agre that the other Scottish chieftains had determined to follow the exam- ple of Lochiel, and if he had followed the con- victions ol his judgment,there would have been no rebellion ; and the story of the sufferings growing out of that celebrated campaign— the bloody slaughter of Culloden, and the atrocities which won for the Duke of Cum- berland the title of " The Butcher,'" would have had no place on the page of history. Such are the results of appeals to the feelings. Let us, in this hour of gloom, take counsel o^ reason. I beseech you not to accustom yourselves to thinking too lightly of the evils of Disunion. The greatest men this country could ever 1 boast were of the opinion that if the present ' Union shall ever be dissovled, it will be im- possible to form another. The men who form- ed the present Union, acting under the pressure of great necessity, and entertaining the greatest possible good feeling for each other and for the whole country, experienced so many difficul- ties, that they almost unanimously expressed the opinion that if this Union should ever be dissolved, another could not be formed. So thought General Washington — so thought General Jackson. It is possible, barely pos- sible that under the guidance of wise and tem- perate counsels, the States might separate without war. If a separation be brought about by hasty and inconsiderate action, war will be inevitable. It does not become us to close our eyes to the facts. We should look the future fully in the face, and realize the truth that the path which leads to hasty dis- union, terminates quickly in war and revolu- tion. I ask again, if we are suffering s^:ch wrongs and injuries as to justify us in encoun- tering the evils of war ? War under any cir- cumstances is bad enough, but civil war— war between the two great sections of this Union ! My mind staggers under the contemplation of its accumulated horrors. Nearly fifty years ago, when the country was on the eve ef a war with England, and when we were compara- tively an united neople, John Randolph said on the floor of Congress, that the night-bell never tolled for fire in Richmond, that the mother did not hug her infant closer to her bosom. Let war come now— civil war, bitter and merciless as civil strife always is, and it is impossible to forsee what atrocities may be enacted. There are thousands of men of Northern birth, now living in the Southern States, who in the event of a collision between the two sections, would stand by the South to the last drop of their blood. Shall we rashly and inconsiderately take a step that can never 16 be retraced, nnd which will involve this class of our citizens in fratricidal war? It is no great stretch of the imagination to conceive of Southern citizens of Northern birth, standing in battle array against citizens of the North. This is something which we may live to see. Let us suppose a man so situated. Think you not that he would in that dreadful hour, ques- tion with himself, whether or not the awful calamity might have been averted by modera- tion and forbearance, by calm nud deliberate counsel:^ ? Let us suppose such a man stricken do^v^ iu battle ! Would not his last moments be embittered by the recollections that would rush upon him ? Where would his thoughts be ? At first with his wife and children in his Southern home — but as the conflict swept by, and as the tide of life ebbed slowly away, memory would carry him back to the days of his childhood, when, with sister and brother, he played bj the banks of the Merrimac, the Connecticut or the Susquehanna. He would think perhaps of the day when his mother led him by the hand to hear the great orator speak at the laying of the corner-stone of the monu- ment which marks the spot where the first great battle of the Revolution was fought ; and of how his father held him up in the crowd to catch a sight of the illustrious foreigner, who, in the prime of life, left titled ease, and crossed the ocean, to fight by the aide of Washington, the battles of freedom. But I will not pursue these thoughtg. God in his good Providence forbid that such calamities should ever come upon the country, as would follow in the train of civil war. Let us be true to ourBelves, let us not be made to believe that it is timidity or cowardice to use all honorable means to ehun the fearful evils of Disunion. Let us not cast away our glorious inheritance of freedom, because our political sky is not always bright. Let us re- member that all nations that have attained to power and renown, have experienced vicissi- tudes of prosperous and adverse fortune. Let XLS reflect that our troubles must necessarily come from within, because we are so happily situated as to be proof against all troubles from without. Let us realize the truth that we have already exerted an immense influence for good in the world ; that our example has animated the nations of Europe to contend for their liberties. Let us not now put into the mouths of the friends of arbitrary government, an argument more {powerful than a hundred thousand bayonets. The asserters of the doc- trine of the divine right of Kings, appear to be preparing for a last struggle with the nations who are longing to be free. Despots were in conference but yesterday at Warsaw. Russia has withdrawn her minister from Turin, be- cause the King of Sardinia has interfered in the Italian Revolution. The people of Italy, long oppressed, have at last, with a spirit worthy of their ancestors, resolved to be free. Let UB not deprive them of the moral support of our example. I believe that the influence of our free institutions upon the European na- tions, has never been properly appreciated. We have beheld the efforts of oppressed nations to recover their liberties. We have seeu revo- lutions rage and pass away, and the people laft to wear their chains. But their chains have all the while become lighter, and are fast wearing out. We will probably soon behold another great great struggle. But if it comes, it ^ill be seen that the principles of liberty have gained strength since 1815. If another Holy Alliance seeks to rivet again the chains of Italy, it will receive no support from the ships and gold of England. And France, aided by ^consolidated Italy, under the lead of her soldier King, will renew at the expense of Aus- tria, Russia and Prussia, the glories of Marengo, and Austerlitz, and Ulm, and Jena, and Fried- land. Let us in the meantime seek, by wise and moderate cousels, to restore peace to our dis- tracted country. Pardon me for the repetition, but once more let me urge you to shun, if pos- sible, the thorny path of revolution. Ladies, you have evinced by coming here to-day, that you are not indifferent to the events which are transpiring. You cannot be indifferent. To those of you who are wives and mothers, life has become a great reality. Remember that war, unless undertaken to redress great wrongs or in the necessary detence of great rights, is opposed to all the best intere8ts;of humanity. It erects no asylums for the insane, the blind, the dumb and deaf. It does not spread the sail of commerce to the wind. It has no respect for seed time and harvest. It brings not plenty to tht) board, nor cheerfulness to the fireside. I con- jure you then to use the influence with which Heaven has so richly endowed you, to preser- ve peace and order in our land. And if per- chance there be some one very dear to you, who thinks that change and revolution may bring to him honors and renown, speak to him, speak to him in|the presence of your little ones, and tell him to put away such thoughts, and to be content to tread the humble path of duty. Men of Texas, let us prove that we appreci- ate the government under which we live. Let us make a sincere and noble effort to preserve it. Let us keep reason in the ascendant. Let us tread passion under foot. Let us so act, that the world and posterity will allow that in a great crisis we behaved like men. And if the evil day must come when we shall be com- pelled to give up this Union, or to meet the calamities of war, let us all be united like brothers. Let us hush all our differences, and without distinction of party or class, rally in defence of our rights and honor, as we read in the spirit-stiring poetry of Sir Walter Scott, that the stripling left the unburied corpse of his sire, and the bridegroom the side of his virgin bride, when the Fiery Cross summoned Clan Alpine to battle. Trintedat ih^InteUigmcer Book Office, Austin^ Texas.