Mallory's Benediction. He Clay's Adieu. sue-to withdraw from a Confederacy which | Christian communication, behad failed of its intent and great truths. cause it could not endure what said: "Many difficulties will arise-among it styles the leprosy of Slavery. them one which I am not ashamed to say I It refuses us permission to pass through the North dread, that is civil war. But whatever danger may come upon us, we are a united people. Yet I implore, I entreat, and pray you not to mistake the facts and force us into war. The South will never submit to the last degradation of a constrained existence under a violated Constitution. We do not seek to conquer you, and we know you could never conquer us. But if, in a moment of pride and infatuation, you should imbrue your hands in our blood, there will be such a contest as was never seen before. In thus with our property, in violation of the Constitution and the laws of Congress, designed to protect that property. It has refused us any share in the lands acquired mainly by our diplomacy, our blood, and our treasure. It has robbed us of our property, and refused restoration. It has refused to deliver up cri minals against our laws, who fled to the North with our property, or with blood upon their hands, and it threatened us with punishment, and murdered Southern men who attempted the recovery of their property. It invaded the borders of Southern States, burned the dwellings and murdered the families. Habitual violators of the rights of humanity, they have exhausted all that human ingenuity can devise, and all that diabolical malice can invent, to heap indignity upon us, and make us a by-word, a hissing, and a scorn throughout the civilized world. Yet we bore all this for many years, and might have borne it many years longer, under the oft-repeated assurance and fondly cherished hope that these things were not the action and feeling of a majority, but a minority party. But the failure of these promises and our hopes have conclusively proved to us that there is no hope. The platform of the Republican party we regard as a declaration of war against the lives and institutions of the Southern people. It not only reproaches us as unchristian and heathen leaving the Senate to return to my own State, there to serve her with unfaltering head and heart, I am very happy to acknowledge ten thousand acts of courtesy and kindness which I have received from Senators on the opposite side, and which I shall remember through life, and to whom I am indebted for much which I shall not only cherish, but recall with pleasure. And, Sir, in parting on this side from true and tried friends, the noble representatives of the free people of the North, who are true to themselves—the noble ish, and imputes to us a sin and crime, but adds champions of truth and justice-it is not strange that we should feel, that whatever the future may have in store for us, it will be brightened by the recollection of the loyalty and many acts of friendship which have characterized our intercourse, and which, in my judgment, will bind them to us by ties of kindness for ever." words insulting and hostile to our domestic tranquillity. In its declaration that our negroes are entitled to liberty and equality with white men, it is in spirit, if not in fact, a strong incitement to insurrection, arson, murder, and other crimes. And, to aggravate the insult, the same platform denies us equality with Northern white men or free negroes, and brands us as an inferior race. To cap the climax of insult to our feelings, and this menace to our Ciay, of Alabama, then extended his ad- rights, this party nominated for the Presidency a vice to the Hall in the following terms: Clay's Adieu. "I rise to announce, for my colleague and myself, that the people of Alabama have adopted an Ordinance of Separation, and that they are all in favor of withdrawing from the Union. I wish it to be understood that this is the act of the people of Alabama, in taking this momentous step. It is nearly forty-two years since Alabama came into this Union. She entered it amid violence and excitement, caused by the hostility of the North against the institution of Slavery at the South. It is this same spirit of hostility at the North which has effected the secession of Mississippi, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. It has denied man who not only indorsed the platform, and prom. ised to enforce its principles, but disregards the judgments of your Courts, the obligations of your Constitution, and the requirements of his oath, by approving any bill to prohibit Slavery in the Territories of the United States. A large ma jority of the Northern people have declared their approval of the platform, and candidates of that party in the late election. It is the solemn verdict of the people of the North that the Slaveholding communities of the South are to be outlawed, and branded with ignominy, and consigned to execration and ultimate destruction. Sir, are we looked upon as more or less than men? Is it expected that we will or can exercise that god-like JEFFERSON DAVIS' SPEECH. 259 Clay's Adieu. Clay's Adieu. has seemed to be proper that I Union. If, therefore, I had not believed there was justifiable cause-if I had thought the State was acting without sufficient provocation-still, under my theory of government, I should have felt bound by her action. I, however, may say I think she had justifiable cause, and I approve of her acts. I con virtue that beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things which tells us to love our enemies, and bless them that curse us? Are we expected to be denied the sensibilities, the sentiments, the passions, the reason, the instincts of men? Have not we pride and honor? Have we no sense of shame, no reverence for our ancestors, and care for our posterity? Have we no love of home, of family, of friends? Must we confess our baseness, discredit the fame of our sires, dishonor ourselves, and degradeereignty, the right of a State to secede from the our posterity, abandon our homes, flee our country-all, all for the sake of Union? Must we agree to live under the ban of our own Government? Must we acquiesce in the inauguration of a President chosen by confederate but hostile States, whose political faith constrains him to deny us our constitutional rights? Must we consent to live under a Gov-ferred with the people before that act was taken, ernment which we believe will henceforth be administered by those who not only deny us justice and equality, but brand us as inferiors?-whose avowed principles and policy must destroy our domestic tranquillity and imperil the lives of our wives and children, and ultimately destroy our States? Must we live by choice, or compulsion, under the rule of those who present us the alternative of an irrepressible conflict in defence of our altars and firesides, or the manumission of our slaves, and their admission to social equality? No, sir, never, never! The free men of Alabama have proclaimed to the world that they will not, and have proven their sincerity by seceding from the Union, and braving all the dangers of a separate and independent nation among the powers of the earth. As a true and loyal citizen of that State, approving of her action, acknowledging entire allegiance, and feeling that I am absolved by her act from all my obligations to support the Constitution of the United States, I withdraw from this body, intending to return to the bosom of my mother, and share her fate, and maintain her fortunes." and counselled them that if they could not remain that they should take the act. I hope none will confound this expression of opinion with the advocacy of the right of a State to remain in the Union, and disegard its constitutional obligations by nullification. Nullification and secession are indeed antagonistic principles. Nullification is the remedy which is to be sought and applied, within the Union, against an agent of the United States, when the agent has violated constitutional obligations, and the State assumes for itself, and appeals to other States to support it. But when the States themselves, and the people of the States, have so acted as to convince us that they will not regard our constitutional rights, then, and then for the first time, arises the question of secession, in its practical application. That great man who now reposes with his fathers, who has been so often arraigned for want of fealty to the Union, advocated the doctrine of nullification, because it preserved the Union. It was because of his deep-seated attachment to the Union that Mr. Calhoun advocated the doctrine of nullification, which he claimed would give peace within the limits of the Union, and not disturb it, and only be the means of bringing the agent before cession belongs to a different class of rights, and is the proper tribunal of the States for judgment. Seto be justified upon the basis that the States are sovereign. The time has been, and I hope the time will come again, when a better appreciation of our Union, will prevent any one denying that each State is a sovereign in its own right. Therefore, I say I concur in the act of my State, and feel bound by it. It is by this confounding of nullification and secession that the name of another great man has been invoked to justify the coercion of a Seceding State. The phrase to execute the law,' as used by General Jackson, was applied to a State refusing to obey Clay's Adieu. the laws and still remaining in the Union. I remember well when Massachusetts was arraigned before the Senate. The record of that occasion will show that I said, if Massachusetts, in pursuing the line of steps, takes the last step which separates her from the Union, the right is hers, and I will neither vote one dollar nor one man to coerce her; but I will say to her, " God speed! "Mr. Davis then proceeded to argue that the equality spoken of in the Declaration of Independence was the equality of a class in political rights, referring to a charge against George III. for inciting insurrection, as a proof that it had no reference to the slaves. But we have proclaimed our independence. This is done with no hostility or any desire to injure any section of the country, nor even for our pecuniary benefit, but from the high and solid foundation of defending and protecting the rights we inherited, and transmitting them unshorn to our posterity. I know I feel no hostility to you Senators here, and am sure there is not one of you, whatever may have been the sharp discussion between us, to whom I cannot now say, in the presence of my God, I wish you well. And such is the feeling, I am sure, the people I represent feel toward those whom you represent. I, therefore, feel I but express their desire when I say I hope, and they hope, for those peaceful relations with you, though we must part, that may be mutually beneficial to us in the future. There will be peace if you so will it, and you may bring disaster on every part of the country if you thus will have it. And if you will have it thus, we will invoke the God of our fathers, who delivered them from the paw of the lion, to protect us from the ravages of the bear; and thus, putting our trust in God, and our own firm hearts and strong arms, we will vindicate and defend the rights we claim. In the course of my long career, I have met with a great variety of men here, and there have been points of collision between us. Whatever of offense there has been to me, I leave here. I carry no hostile feel ings away. Whatever of offense I have given, which has not been redressed, I am willing to say to Senators, in this hour of parting, I offer you my apology for anything I may have done in the Senate, and I go thus released from obligations, remembering no injury I have received, and having discharged what I deem the duty of man, to offer the only reparation at this hour for every injury I have ever inflicted." The five Senators then rose to withdraw, when the Democratic members, and those from the still represented Slave States, arose to extend the hand of fellowship in parting. Messrs. Hale, of N. H., and Cameron, of Pa., were the only Republicans who volunteered their adieus. The Kansas bill Passed. The Kansas bill was called' up by Mr. Seward, and put upon its passage. After the adoption of the amendment of Fitch, (Dem.,) of Indiana, in regard to a Judicial District, the bill for the admission of Kansas as a Free State, passed by the following vote: "YEAS-Messrs. Anothony, Baker, Bingham, Big ler, Bright, Cameron, Chandler, Clark, Collamer, senden, Foot, Fitch, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Harlan, Crittenden, Dixon, Doolittle, Douglas, Durkee, FesJohnson (Tenn.), King, Latham, Morrill, Pugh, Rice, Seward, Simmons, Sumner, Ten Eyck, Thomson, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkinson, Wilson-36. "NAYS--Messrs. Bayard, Benjamin, Clingman, Green, Hemphill, Hunter, Iverson, Johnson (Ark.), Kennedy, Mason, Nicholson, Polk, Powell, Sebastian, Slidell, Wigfall-16. Bigler's Speech. The Crittenden (revised) resolutions were then called up by Mr. Bigler, who proceeded to address the Senate at length, urging their adoption as the only balm for the sore distemper of the times. He held that it was the right of the people to amend or alter the provisions of the Constitution. He forcibly adverted to the history of the country, which, from thirteen small States, by Union, had risen to its present proud position of greatness. He reviewed the danger in which it now stands of disruption and ruin, and to the events that have added exasperation to exasperation in both sections, and until the South has come to the belief that its only safety lies in eternal separation. He then referred to the compromise of 1820, which gave peace to the country till 1850, when another compromise was effected. Then the Anti-Slavery party sprung up and our troubles began. The raid of John Brown upon Virginia, the indorsement of the Helper book, the doctrine of the "irrepressible conflict," and abuse of the Southern people followed, until at last a President was elected who af firmed and proclaimed these doctrines. Now South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida have seceded from the Union. Such is the distracted condition of the country, and our mission now should be to restore peace-such a peace as would send the old spirit and vitality into all the channels of commerce and society. The gentleman earnestly argued the necessity, as well as great propriety of a Convention of the people to CAMERON CATECHISED. 261 consider amendments to the Constitution. He urged Senators on the other side to consider the necessity of passing these or similar resolutions. In reply to arguments against the resolutions he would say that these are extraordinary times, and demand extraordinary measures. He earnestly appealed to the Southern States to pause and consider if they could not obtain their rights in the Union. He claimed that the Territories ought to be opened to all the people of all the States. The country must maintain the Constitution, and accept the meaning of the tribunal who has the right to expound it. It was a fatal day for the country when a sectional party was formed. Disguise it as we may, the Republican party has for its basis hostility to Slavery. One of the great difficulties is the abuse and insult heaped on the Southern peo-peer and equal of the Senator from Virginia. ple. Wade) presented resolutions of his State, one of which was against the Personal Liberty bills, while the House of Representatives of Ohio refused to repeal one such law. He wanted to show to the people of his State and the country the difference between pro'fession and practice here. Mr. Cameron said the Senator from Virginia seemed to be anxious for the excuse to leave the Union. He (Cameron) had voted as he did, because he saw no disposition to compromise on the other side, unless he went on bended knees and asked forgiveness. He should ask no forgiveness, because he had done no wrong, but still he was willing to forgive the backslidings of the South, and do all he could to preserve the Union. But he was not to be dragooned or driven. He was the They declared war against secession, Mr. Mason said he was unconscious of and yet believed redress for the alleged griev- having said anything to arouse the wrath of ances should be sought at the hands of all the Senator from Pennsylvania. He (Mason) the people. He believed the laws should be did not want an excuse for leaving the Union. maintained on this point. He agreed with If he wanted any excuse it was to know how the Senator from Illinois (Douglas), yet how to remain in the Union. He had seen to-day could we coerce a State? It would be war six Senators taking formal leave of the Senate against fifteen States. Coercion was delusion, and he knew the Union was dissolved, absoHe referred to the troubles which fall mostly | lutely dissolved. Senators may not recogon the Border States, and closed by express-nize the dissolution, but that will not alter ing fidelity to his own State, whose sentiments the fact. States are gone, and the chairs of he claimed to represent. Cameron Catechised. Cameron, of Pennsylvania, followed in a few remarks, to say that it was the other side of the Senate which would not accept the olive branch held out to them. He would vote for the propositions--would do anything to save the Union. Being cate chised by Green, of Mo., and Iverson, of Geo., Mr. Cameron said he approved of the propositions so far as to be willing to vote for them, and asked the Southern members to do the same. His views of coercion were expressed by saying it was a bad remedythat he did not know if, indeed, he should ever resort to it-certainly it was the last remedy he should adopt. Mason, of Virginia, referred to the fact that the Senator had voted against the Crittenden resolutions, and for the amendment of the Senator from New Hampshire (Mr. Clark), and that the Senator from Ohio (Mr. their Senators are vacant. What is the remedy? Coercion! Would you use the discipline the pedagogue inflicts on an urchin at school? The Constitution was against coercion, and humanity and the civilized world were against it. We cannot make war unless we change the laws, and we cannot change the laws unless we violate the Constitution. But the question of peace or war was in the hands of the majority. The South deplored war because of the consequences, not from fear; and if it were forced on them it would be such a war as the world had never seen. The only excuse he wanted was to remain in the Union, and would to God the Senator from Pennsylvania would give him such excuse. Mr. Cameron said he had not heard of any threats of war, but if it must come Pernsylvania was ready to meet it. The people of his State were ready to do anything honorable to save the Union-were willing to yield their prejudices. The North has committed no aggression, no wrong, and you can't drive them by bullying them. If you want the Union preserved, let us know what wrong we have committed, and we will redress it. Mr. Saulsbury, of Del., looked at the remarks of the Senator from Pennsylvania as an omen of good. He believed the Senator was sincere; and though four or five States have gone, if his side will meet the, Senator in the same spirit the Union will still remain. He invoked the Senators to imitate the spirit of the Senator from Pennsylvania. Mr. Crittenden urged action. on this important measure, and spoke against any postponement. He expressed the hope that the Union might remain a long time yet, and the States be reunited. 66 "WASHINGTON CITY, Jan. 21, 1861. To the Hon. WM. PENNINGTON, Speaker of the House of Representaties: "SIR: Having received information that the State of Alabama, through a Convention representing her sovereignty, have adopted and ratified an ordinance by which she withdraws from the Union of the United States of America, and resumes the powers heretofore delegated to the Federal Government, it is proper that we should communicate the same to you, and through, you to the House of Representatives over which you preside, and announce our withdrawal from the further deliberations of that body. The causes which, in the judgment of our State, rendered such action necessary, we need not relate. It is sufficient to say that duty requires our obedience to her sovereign will, and that we shall return to our homes, sustain her action, and share the fortunes of our people. "We have the honor to be, very respectfully your obedient servants, (Signed) GEORGE S. HOUSTON, DAVID CLOPTON, JAMES S. PUGH, J. L. M. CURRY, JAMES A. STALLWORTH." Schuyler Colfax, (Rep.,) of Ind., introduced the following bill in regard to mail service in the revolutionary States: "Whereas, In several of the States of this Union the Judges, District Attorneys, and Marshals commissioned by the United States for said States have resigned their offices, and it appears impracticable in consequence of the revolutionary proceedings therein to fill the vacancies thus created; and, The Senate adjourned without a vote. In the House, Monday, (January 21,) was an eventful day. Lovejoy, of Ill., presented a memorial from certain Methodist clergymen, of Illinois. Burnett, of Ky., objected to its reception in a tone of great insolence, saying, "let the preachers attend to their own business." He thought Congress was capable of managing its legislation without their aid. Lovejoy remarked, with a tone of keen sarcasm, that the memorial only asked that clergymen should be protected in attending to their own business. One Methodist preacher had been hanged in Texas, simply for attending to his own business. It was to be permitted to attend to their own business that they had been constrained to memorialize this Congress which was so capable of managing its own business. The memorial, under the objection, was laid on the table. violations of the postal laws committed by robbeIts introduction served to illustrate the hate-ries of the mail or otherwise, or of enforcing the perful feelings which the Southern Secession formance of mail contracts: members entertained for all "Northern emissaries." The incident referred to by Mr. Lovejoy, of a Methodist minister having been hung, simply for declaring Slavery a sin in the sight of God, was only one of several executions which, ere long, followed, in Texas, Whereas, The Government of the United States is thus without any means of collecting or enforcing in such States the payment of the postal revenues from the offices collecting the same, or of punishing 66 Therefore, Be it enacted, ctc., That in all States which are, or may hereafter be situated as above, the Postmaster-General is hereby directed to discontinue the postal service for such period of time as in his judgment the public interests require, and shall report his action to Congress." This was, after some questioning by Branch, of N. C., referred to the Post-office Committee. Mr. English, (Dem.,) of Indiana, introduced a preamble setting forth, that in the alarming condition of the country, mere differences of opinion should be discarded, and all sectional |