Columbia telescope. (Columbia, S.C.) 1828-1839, February 11, 1837, Image 2
HT of Bomhastes Furioso, these magical words, 1
?^WTilY AMD ALONE, AMID THE TAUNT8
imiMilll Of JY OPPONENTS i HAVE SET
x THIS BALL III MOTION.!
??There, sir," he conwnaed, 'a few words
only but place them at the bottom of y our pic
ture, and you will sell thousands and ten thou
% wads in the western country !"
"The artist was dissolved in gratitude ? he
poured out hi* thanks in the cordial and glows
mjf expressions of his country. They swelled
the vanity of the great projector of the ex
punging fare#* ? and nothing would do but he
must split the ears of the polite foreigner with
paragraph *fter paragraph cf his prosy and
pointless twiddle, Certes, lie did read more
than a column and a half of the Globe, pointing
otit the beauties that lay couched in the Ian
guage or ideas, and commenting as he went
along thus ; ?a fine idea that, sir !' 4an admir
able image that, sir!* And after a paragraph
or two of inimitable absurdity, he would cry,
*aht8ir, there are seme noble plunges !' (not
plights, but plunges ! Good that, is is not
and most appropriate S Let us hereafter dig
nify those efforts of oiur young orators by calU
ing them true Bentonian plunges !) 'Ah, sir,
there are some noble plunges, and the whole
speech is in the same style. Many of my
speeches are argumentative and demonstrative
hut this is a sort of wiading op ? more embel*
lishment bore ? it is a peroration ? it is pen>
ration, sir l91 #
"The enthesiatic artist's eyes kindled as
he spoke. As the -Colonel found out his mag
niloquence, he would egccl&im, fah ! very fine!
grand!* &c. Slc. He evidently considered his
lonane made, ft was a lucky stroke of the
pencil that made the likeness of a man who
?solitary and alone.' has set a ball in motion !
? whose 'great expunging speech will be read
every where in Europe and America ! !' ?
whose mottoed image will be sold by tens of
thousands in the Western country ! ! ! ? and
whoso Senatorial efforts are all flung es and
PKK0KATI05 ! ! \n D.
Extract from the Speech of Mr. PICKENS ,
(</ S. C 0 cm ike resolution proposing an
enquiry into the condition of the Executive
Departments. In the House of Representa
tives .
Tuesday, Jan. 3.
Mr. P. continued, Mr. Speaker! it is with
gieat pain and reluctance that 1 am compelled
to spea^ of these transactions as 1 feel that 1
ought* Nothing could induce me to do so at
present but the solemn conviction that I be
lieve that they are deeply identified with the
liberties of this country. I speak of the Pre
sident as officially connected with the institu
tions of freedom. 1 scorn to excuse him, and
to bold up his minions and understrappers for
ressonsihility and denunciation. No, sir ! I
disdain to use modeiate language. 1 shall
take his own epithets. I here then charge
that the President has wilfully and openly in
terfered to appoint his successor, and that he
has endeavored to accomplish his object by
shameless "bargain and corruption." He has
succeeded9 and now, standing on the defaced
and spurned Constitution, waves aloft the un
restrained sceptre of empire over a deceived
and betrayed country. Let us be rich and
prosperous ; let us be happy and free from
persona? restraint ; let us retain all the forms
of a Republic, yet are we slaves, and history
wiH hold np our infamy and degradation, if
wo acquiesce and submit to this lawless dicta*
tion. Rome still retained the forms of a
republic, long after her conquering generals
from devastated provinces brought in the
plunder of sacked cities, to be divided amongst
those who were styled "Roman citizens."
Her people still nominally elccted their tri
60s es, long after the very sources of power
had been corrupted and polluted by the bribery
and proflgacy of captivating chiefs and aban
doned ..demagogues. These tribunes, who
were at first elected to defend, as tliey nobly
did, popular rights, afterwards became prosti
tuted, and, although ostensibly appointed still
'by the People, yet they knew the hand of
tkeir master, and prostrated the liberties of
- their country before his will. They were
afftnged and appointed beforehand by those
who held the power of the Republic. We,
< too, may still boast the forms of a free Peo
ple, and long preserve them. We have seen
. the nomination and appointment of a succes
sor to the chief Executive ; we have witnessed
the success of that appointment. All the
popularity and influence of the President, with
hie hundred thousand dependants; alt the
weight, and power, aad influence of the Gov*
eminent, in all its vast and extensive ramifi
cations, have been brought to bear upon the
appointment of a successor. And I ask, sir,
if we confirm, by re-election, this fraudulent
appointment, will not posterity say we, too, are
free ooly in nir.ne ! Our country has been
fouiif deceived ; we have been basely deluded
by ail the arts of ''intrigue, bargain, and cor
ruptiea." Let it not be said that these things
aie of no importance ; that they have no
effect upon practical liberty. Look to their
consequences in the future. In physics, in
mera^ and in politics, those causes are at
first small which produce the most tremendous
effects upon the destiny of man. The collec
tion of a few shillings of ship-money brought
tho head of a monarch to the block, and
changed for a time the Government of Great
Britain. Go into the far West, and trace out,
if ??ucan, the origin of the vast Mississippi
Itatifi yo? will find a bubble at the foot of
perhaps some nameless hill, from which runs
a stream, at the ripple of whose waters, not a
living creature turns aside ^ bit follow it to
the valley below, en d it swells , and it deepens,
and it widens, until the wealth of a nation
floats on its surface, ui?d at the angry voice of
whose stormy wave the harcly marine r trem
bles. I need notrsay that this is a full illus
tration of the history and progress of political
affairs; that from apparently a small begining
the mo6t tremendous results are produced ;
that one step over the great landmarks of the
Constitution will lead to the overthrow of all
law, to the prostration of liberty, and the
abandoned reigH of arbitrary power. A drop
of watec, oo??ng through the dykes of Hol
land, if unnoticed, woeki desolate the fairest
regions, and spread terror through a ruined
country. If m>w, m the infancy of -our Gov
ernment, the President has it in his power
to nominate and appoint his successor, the
day is not far distant when we ^hali live under
a power more odious than licreditary monar
chy, because it will be exercised under the
deceitful name and habiliments of a Repub.ic.
We are told that the South is to be "recon
ciled by the successor falling into Southern
principles," and that it is policy to acquiesce
in the appointment. Sir, there may be at
heat t traitors in the South, but it will be irea
on to the Constitution and to the country to
submit to the dictation. No ! ner-er, never, j
We have been foully betrayed, and against
the principles of the succession we declare
uncompromising , unextinQu , r j
ta the knife.". It may be ihat we shall be
but fejy in numbers; it may be that our flag
staff shall be shattered and broken, but ice
will aad the flag A? the gunwale, and conquer
prfta* under jt,
Let not goatismen suppose that the present
jgtate of things is to last fereyer let them no..
suppose that the dominant party of to day is
to bo* the dominant party 6f to-morrow ? let
them not, in the arrogance of power* forever
forget right. These things they may Act per
haps feel in their day and generation, but
their children may Jive to see the day When
they shall curse, in the bitterness and deep
anguish of their hearts, the memory of theif
fathers, for having brought down upon them
deg^dation and ruio. Even Robespierre
would have paused in his bloody career of
I ambition if he could have foreseen that the
same guillotine which he raised over the neck
of Danton, was so soon to be brought down
with a just vengeance upon his own. And
the Duke of Orleans, unprincipled as he was,
when he sat in that unprincipled assembly
which voted the death of Louis XVI. would
have trembled with horror as he gave his
vote for the death of his own blood cousin, if
he could have known that, under the despo
tism be was aiding to raise, his property was
to be so so 3ii confiscated and his dripping head
held up by the executioner to the vengeance
of a lawless mob.
How can the South acquiesce under an
Administration, the head of which has admit
ted that this Government has the constitutional
power to abolish slavery in the District of
Columbia ? ] tell gentlemen they will yet be
brought to quail and tremble under the tre
mendous power of this doctrine. We will
yet see the lightning flash, and feel the earth
quake's heave. The issue wili be made , and
we must be prepared to meet it like men, or
to crave mercy from one who is against us in
sentiment and in feeling.
The coming Administration has elements
of weakness which it will be difficult to re
cover from. The opposition can never be
satisfied with the corrupt and profligate prin
ciples under which it has been dictated. Look
around and see the strength that is to be put
forth. Where is old Massachusetts? There
she is firm as her granite and everlasting hills,
ready for another contest. Look to those
People on both sides* of the Ohio, who have
raised their flag over their country's ramparts,
and have so nobly defended themselves against
the mercenary bands of power ; look to those
intrepid People, through whose bosom run the
waters of the Tennessee and the Cumberland
? where are they all ? Ready and eager to
step forward in the breach that has been made
over the barriers thrown around the freedom
of the elective franchise. Look to those Peo
ple on both sides of the Savannah, where are
they 1 United in feeling and in sentiment,
with one banner streaming aloft in the breeze ?
that banner under which the Constitution was
made ? the banner under which Jefferson
fought his way to victory and to fam? ? the
only banner under which this government can
be reformed ? the noble banner of free trade
and Slats rights , under which defeat is no
disgrace, and victory is redemption and liberty.
We may be defeated, but not conquered ;
we have yet the undying spirit of freemen.
Then let us come to the rally, and the Repub
lic may yet be safe.
Mr. Pickens then concluded by moving the
adoption of the original resolution.
SPEECH OF Mr. PRESTON, (of S. C.)
On the resolution to expunge a part of the j our.
nal for the session of 1833 1834.
DELIVERED JANUARY 13, 1837.
sMr. PRESTON addressed the Senate as
follows.
Nothing, Mr. President, (said he) wjs
farther from my intention, than to have said a
single word on this subject. Nor do I now
propose to discuss it. That has been done so
fully and elaborately on both sides, that I shall
not enter upon the argument. I tnought 1
should not have said a word, but I feel a sort
of impossibility of withholding. If we had not
arrived at the very issue ; if the question were
not ready to be taken, I should have retained
my seat, for 1 have long been endeavoring to
school and to subdue my heart down to this
submission. During the entire course of
events which has gradually brought my mind
to the conclusion that this resolution would at
some time pass, I have endeavored to disci*
pline my feelings, to curb and restrain them,
and bring down my mind to the event, so that
when at last the sad moment should arrive, I
might meet it with a becoming resignation ;
and I did suppose that I had succeeded. I had
long seen the growing popularity of this mea
sure. I was no stranger to the arts and the
industry by which the progress of that popu
larity had been stimulated and urged on from
day to day. I well knew the power and the
popularity of the Chief Magistrate. I had
beard of his own personal exertions to promote
this object. 1 saw that it was resolved upon
as a party measure, and I saw the party which
had resolved upon it, rapidly and triumphantly
succeeding throughout a large part of the Uni
on. These things certainly are sufficient to
have forewarned me, and I had hoped, and til)
this moment believed, and they had forearmed
me also. But there was added to all these the
still less equivocal evidence arising from the
proceedings of several of the State Legislature
es. Sir, when first I heard that a State Leg
islature had instructed her Senators on this
floor to vote in favor of this thing, it struck
ma with inexpressible sorrow and dismay.? ?
But when I from time to time beheld Various
other State Legislutures acting under the same
dictation, or at least misled into the same mis
take, sorrow assumed in my bosom the com
plexion of despair. But there was still one
ingredient to be added to this cup, to render
i the odious draught more intolerably bitter. 1
could, 1 will confess it, with some comparative
degree of philosophy, have seen certain States
of this Confederacy one afler another giving
way and bringing their successive sacrifices
to this altar of executive power. 1 could have
* borne to see this and that and the other State
prostrating herself and aiding in the general
conspiracy to prostrate the Senate. But when
at length it came to pass that the ancient and
powerful commonwealth of Virginia was
brought to bow her venerable locks before the
footstool of poweT, forgot her rast history, for
got who and what she *s and what she has been,'
and associated herself in a combinetion like
this, how shall I describe to Vou my feelings.
As a politiraiti, I might have been mortified
at such a spectacle ; as a statesman, belonging
to the United States, 1 turned from it with
shame ; but as a natfve of Virginia, 1 deplore,
I lament, from tha bottom of my heart, that she,
t -o, has joined the funeral procession of the
Constitution. Sir, I was proud to remember her
in her proud day ; to consider her as she once
was, and perhaps still is ? the great mother of
men ; to look back to that bright, that iinmor? ,
tal period in our histoiy when she recalled her i
children from these halls of national legislation
into her own legislature, there to vindicate
I the rights and independence ofthe State, and
to re-assert the violated Constitution agAinst
the usurpations of this Government. Then,
indeed, Virginia preserved that illustrious char
acter which had descended with her from the
Revolution. Then she put herself on her State
rights, and on the popular doctrines of a free
Government; and all who witnessed the ani
mating sight must have concluded that*
throughout her existence, she would ever
cqn^ntie tg vindicate and to perpetuate the
doctrine and the spirit of1 liberty. Sir, t
could have wished that the honorable gen
tleman who now represents that distinguished
State could have found in his own mind
reasons for taking a different course from that
which he has pursued in this matter. With the
the powers which he unquestionably possesses,
with his liberal education and large experi
ence, and especially with the good fortune of
growing up amidst the rery men wh?leid the
foundations of our Republic* 1 had hoped that
lie would have invoked the ancient spirit of
his State, and would have added the suffrage
of his voice to save the trembling Constitution
about to be iinmolited at the footstool of Exec -
cutive power. But it was my lot to be disap
pointed ; and I mourn, from the bottom of my
heart, the instruction under which he feels
himself contrained to vote for this very extra.,
ordinary resolution. Where are the sedateness
the gravity, the calm and cautious wisdom of
Madison 1 Where the philosophic spirit, the
enlarged views, and popular predilections of
Jefferson? Where the sturdy republicanism
of John Taylor 1 Thoy are gone ? gone, and
others conlrol her destiny. Sir, I lament, I
mourn that my native State should have lent
herself and the remnant of her glory to pro
mote and gloss over this proceeding. I take
consolation, however, Mr. President, that there
is one State, one free and fearless State which
has kept herself aloof from this conbination ;
whose pride and honor demand of me, her
-representative, to make, as 1 now do, on behalf
of South Carolina, her public and solemn pro
test against this open and flagrant violation of
me ^onsuiution.
But, sir: I have done. The argumentls ex
hausted ; the vcrdict has been rendered ; the
judgement given ; execution is demanded ? ay,
sir, and let me add, the executioners are here
with ready hands. Exercise your function,
gentlemen. You have been called on to do 1
execution ? do it. The axe is in your hand ;
perform that which is so loudly called for. ?
Execution, sir 1 Of what ? Of whom ? Is
the axe aimed at me, and at those of us who
voted for the resolution you are about to ex
punge ! Is it us you strike at ? If so, I would
fay, and with comparative satisfaction, in God's
name let the blow come, and while the fatal
edge fell upon my neck, I would declare, with
honest sincerity, that I had rather be the crim
inal of 1834 than the executioner of 1836. ?
Proceed, gentlemen, do your holy work. ?
Grant judgenr.en\ Do execution ? execution
upon your own records ? execution upon the
Constitution of your country. 1 do not envy
your office. Personally, however, it docs not
touch us. No, sir, 1 am glad, I rejoice that, on
that record, my narfie is found as one against
whom this act is aimed. I would appeal from
the present time to posterity, and ask whether
the names of myself and my associates or the
names of our executioners are then mos! likely
to be venerated as guardians of the Constitu
tion. But can you suppose that your work is
to be done on that body of representatives of
the States who voted for the obnoxious record?
That you will execute us? Our reputation,
our character, and standing ? No, sir ; it is
not in the power of your black lines to touch
us. I, indeed, was but a common soldier, and
served in the ranks under greater men. But
would gentlemen strike out of the record of
this Government the names of those who offer
ed that resolution? No, no. They are ftr
beyond your reach, and the only result of your
impotent attack will be the more firmly to es
tablish their fame. Wrong they may have
been, but their business and their aim was to
sustain the Constitution. An act had been
done of equivocal import, and attended with
tremendous consequences.' Those consequen
ces swept over the Union like an inundation,
and jn that dark hour, and in the face of a
popularity before which nothing could stand,
they dared to raise their voice in this Mali,
and so far as an expression of opinion could
go, to record their censure of that act. And
will gentleman pretend to tell me that these
men will not receive the gratitude of posteri
ty? This expunging process may for a
season promote the reputation of those who
perform it ; but this deed will bring fresh
into remembrance the names of those who
passed that lesolution which they cannot
suffer to stand on the records af the Senate.
Some of these individual are present, and I
must forbear. TJut long after we shall have
passed away, when tbe history of our country
is written, and fondly and proudly dwelt upon
by our posterity, their names will be mention
ed. They will be familiar as household words,
and will be taught to children as the names of
Washington, and Adams, and Hancock, and
Lee, and Lafayette are now taught to our chil
dren. If the hope, if the design is to efface
those names from the leaves of our national
memorials, it will fail. Every effort to extin
guish will but increase the splendor which sur
rounds them. An attack upon the Constitu
tion may, indeed, confer on these who perpe
trate it a sort of immortality, but it is not such
as will belong to its defenders. We remember,
indeed, but we execrate, t ho name of the
miscreant who, for a sort of fame, destroyed
a venerable temple of antiquity. And whom,
I again usk, will you do execution upon ? Up*>
on the records? Is it the object of offence ?
Will you make your war on the paper? Will
you wreak your spite upon so much rags and
cotton? Who or what is it that is to be pros
trated and broken down? It is the Senate of
tho United States. It is one of the co-ordi
nate branches of the General Government*
Proceed then to the sacrifice. Do execution
on the Senate. Consummate your solemn
farce, and then rise and congratulate yoursel
ves that you are yourselves members of the
very body that you have bowed to the footstool
of power. Offer your glad hosanoas ? ay,
triumph and boast that you have brought that
Senate, of which you form a part, to this pass.
But while you are making the welkin ring, I
will mourn at your jubilee. I shall be present
at the scene, but not of it, and my only con
solation will be that I can reply to my country,
j "Thou canst not say 1 did it." The People,
j it seems, have decided against the Senate.
The People order the Senate to take the
j Constitutiun in their hand ? to bring it into
the presence of the " miraculous man," as an
! honorable Senator (Mr. Dana) has just termed
him, and, as an offering fjr his great services,
for his unequalled popularity, for the unsur
passed confidence which lie enjoys, sing hos
annas in his ears, and, while the sky re-echoes
to your shouts of exultation, buin the ConstiU
utioti as incense under his nostrils. This, and
nothing- Jess than this, will satisfy the idolatro
us devdtion ot'his admirers. Do execution on
the records of your land. Obliterate your
own jouhial. Do not introduce the report of
a committee. Do not revoke your former act
by recording a resolution ; but perform a phy
sical act of execution. Why, sir, does the
Senate of to-day differ from the Senate of yes
terday? Has the Senate of 183? different
views from the Senete of 1834 J Does the
Senate now think that the Senate then grossly
transcended its power? And is not language
capable of expressing this t Are there no
words to expres a difference of opinion 1 Can
not you state the strength of your con victiori
in all the compass of yotir mother Jongiiel No.
You mu?t do a physical act. You must put
nothing ort rfecord. You must perform a deed.
You mu-t do something that has no precedent. [
Your Clerk is to be cxliioited* not redding* not
writing, not enunciating your decisions, but
performing mechanical execution on a bit of
paper. He is not to be occupied in his ordi
nary and legal functions. No, sir. He is to
perform the duty of a common hangman. ?
Might it not be as well to order in a tile of
soldiers with their bayonets ? Or would it not
be better still to purify the journal by fire 7
Fire is the ancient ordeal. Give the victim
to the flames ; and then, like a company of the
native Sagamores, sit round and inhale the
agreeable fragrance as the smoke of the guilty
lines shall darkly ascend to heaven. When
the act is performed you will have set a memo
rable precedent. And do you think there will
be no improvement on this patent mode of
conciliating the Executive ? May it not be
profitably * applied to some other purposes ?
Why not expunge those who made the record?
I f the proceeding had a guilt so momtrous as
to render necesary this novel and extraordina
ry course, the men themselves who perpetrat
ed the deed ? it is they who should be expung
ed. Men who entered so foul a page upon
your journals cannot be worthy of a seat here.
Remove us. Turn us out. Expel us from the
Sen ite. Would to God you could. Call in
the Prcetorian guard. Take us ? apprehend
us ? march us off.
But the honorable Senator who has just
resumed his seat takes the ground that this
expunging resolution is merely a strong mode
of expressing an opinion. Iputittothe can
dor of that honorable gentleman wether this is
a mere expression? The resolution which
is to be expunged, asserted, on behalf of the
Senate, a difference of opinion from the Presi
dent of the United States. It expressed that
difference fairly and openly. The whole ex
tent of its offence is the expression of a
difference of opinion from the President on
a constitutional question. It never once en
tered the minds o the authors of that resolu
tion to stain your record by an official act of
hatred. I admit, indeed, that the bosoms of
some of them may not have been who'ly free
from some feelings of that description, and
that some of the speeches on this floor man
ifested at times a strong sentiment of hostili
ty towards the President. But did it ever
enter their thoughts to make the journal of
this body a record of personal sp te ? They
expressed a difference of sentiment, and this
surely may be done in the very k ndest spirit.
But sir, is that the temper of the present pro
ceeding] la it to express a difference of
opinion that we are now invited ? Is it to ex
press an opinion at all? What is it the egres
sion of? Vengeance. That is what is to be
expressed. The compass of the English lan
guage is not able to bring forth a tone sutficent
for the purpose. Vengeance ! vengeance !
must be taken on the records. They are to
be put in mourning. They are to be hung
with black. In ihis there may be a double
purpose. The Senate may intend that their
journals shall bear imperishable evidence of
their deep mourning that the feelings of the
President should have bee? wounded. The
record is to be carried into his presence that
we may show the Chief Magistrate that we
have put ourselves permanently m mourning
for the offence we have committed, and to
express our humble hope that this may go some
I little way toward healing the wounds which
have been inflicted on his sensibility. Possi
bly the President may deign to listen to us ;
nay, he may even give a gracious smile of
approbation, a glance of complacency, on those
who humbly present to him this most grateful
oblation. Yea sir; the preceding is intended
to inscribe upon our records more than lan
guage can impart, more than we are willing
or able to put into words ; a deed, an overt act
will, it is humbly hoped, prove more graceful
than any words could have been rendered to
the august, the 44 miraculous " being who is to
be propitiated. Attend, sir, to the pallmode
which has just been sung to the honor and
glory of the President of the Uhited States.
The attenuated period both of political and
physical existence,ofthe President, makes me
very reluctant indeed to offer any remarks on
the very extravagant language in which he
has been praised; nor should 1 advert to the
gentleman's speech at all but to notice the
ground on which this measure is advocated.
44 Expunge, expunge," cries the gentleman ;
44 expunge a resolution which is an attack on
the good, the glorious, the popular, the power
ful, the miraculous. President of the United
States." This, sir, was the lone, and this the
argument in three-fourths, nay, in four^fifths
of the venerable gentleman's discourse. He
puts this resolution on the ground of his eu%
logy of the President. That is the sole argu
ment. Because President Jackson is praise
worthy and glorions, expunge, expunge. ?
Why, sir. what is the connexion ? The Sen
ator has certainly not given us a very logical
I conclusion. General Jackson is to be praised ;
that forms the premises of his argument. Tute
record is to be expunged ; that is the conclu
sion. We are to obliterate our records, and
bpng them m the habiliments of mourning, to
?iis feet, because President Jackson is gra
cious, glorious, popular, powerful, miraculous.
And all these properties, and all this glory, is
to be transferred bodily to another gentleman
who is just like himself. Alter et idem. We
are to abolish our journal, because General
Jackson is thus and thus, and his successor
will be thus and thus. That is the argu
ment. I say nothing now of the truth of the
premises, because this is not a convenient
opportunity for the investigation of that sub
ject. Those who are in ecstacies, who are
in exaltations ofadmiratiou, who are shouting,
clapping hands, and singing hallelujahs, arc
i not exactly in a condition of mind to listen or
be argued with. They may be within the
extreme pale of reason, but they are, to say
the least, on the confines of enthusiasm. But
admitting that the President is that axalted,
that immaculate, that unequalled, that mira
culous person which he is represented ; allow
ing that he leaves out of sight all that history
has left us of ancient Rome, and all we have
read of modern worth and virtue, admitting
that all this is transferable, and has been trans?
ferred, for the glory and blessedness of our
country, to one worthy to be his successor, let
me ask, how does this bring us to the conclu
sion that the record of our proceedings is to
be expunged ;
Let the gentleman introduce a resolution
embodying the substance of his speech, to wit,
that General Jackson is the greatest and best
man that now lives, has lived, or will ever
live again J th -t he is worthy of all honor and
glory ; that the Constitution is to be sacrificed
and the records of one branch of the Govern
ment defaced and mutiliated for his gratifica
tion. Let him lay that resolution before the
People, to whose verdict he has appealed, and
see how it will be received.
The honorable gentleman, however, stated
one fact in reference to the President, which is
more novel, at least, than many of the remarks
with which he favored the Senate. It is, if I
mistake not* something entireley novel on this
floor. He told us that the President was mi
raculous. But the miracle, it seems, lies in
the fact thit he was born a foreigner, and is
President of the United States. Sir, Gene
ral Jacksdn. I admit, has dvercome great dif
ficulties. He has fought the battle of life;
he has fought it every where for success, and
with sliccess. Cut 1 never knew until 1 Was I
now officially ioformed, that he was born in
Ireland. [A laugh.] To prevent his future
historians from falling into a difficulty like
tbat which happened in the case of a more
obscure individual in Greece, for whose birth*
place seven cities are said to have contended,
the gentleman from New Hampshire has
kindly fixed the spot ; and when that cloud
of future historians of whom we have been
told, and who are themselves to become im-?
mortal bv writing General Jackson's life, shall
be searching for panegyric to adorn their rival
oagea on that deathless theme, they will at
least be releived from the pains of uncertain
conjecture as to the nativity of the hero of their
story.
It is said, from high authority, that men
make to themselves idols and worship them,
and I shall not now pause to censure this pro
pensity of our nature; and 1 know when the
idol is fashioned it is difficult to restrict its
worshippers as to the mode of worship, or the
extent of the sacrifice. To the idols in the
East men sacrifice themselves, and sometimes
their wives and children. But these gentle^
men are far sviser. They do not sacrifice
themselves ? nothing is father from their
thoughts. Such a thing does not enter into
? -
their purposes. But still the sacrifice must
be conspicuous, impressive, such as will pro
duce effect. They look round for a victim.
But will they, like Eastern devotees, cast them
selies beneath the onward crushing car of Exh
ecutive power ? Oh, no, sir. Nothing like
it. They stapd cautiously out of the way of
its career, and cast down the Constitution of
their country. That is the victim ? crush it.
There is the official record of the Senate ?
crush it. There is the very body itself, the
collected Senate of the United States ? crush
it. And do you crush it, gentlemen ? Do
you expunge the Senate for daring to speak a
word in its last expiring hours, to indicate that
it is still a co-ordinate branch of the Govern
ment, and in favor of the dying liberty of the
land ? I ask, again, whom it is that you thus
offer to stigmatize ? On whom is this resolu
tion to act 1 Against what body is your b'ow
directed ? What body will you brand with in
famy as the aristocratic branch of the Gov
ernment ? It is the Senate of the United
States, your own Senate. That is the victim
dragged out4for immolation to the powers that
be.
But this expunging process is defended by
the gentleman from Virginia, on the ground
that it is a great engine to maintain the cause
of human liberty. And how do<s he attempt
to maintain his position ? Why, truly, because
it was resorted to in England in support of the
right of popular election. Ay? And will gen
tlemen seek to wrest out of the hands of the
British Whigs a weapon so powerfully wield
ed by them but in a cause so different ? For
whom did they employ it ? and agaiost whom?
Was it not used to protect popular rights 1
to guard the rights of popular bodies ? the
righrs of the People and the rights of Parlia<*
ment against the abitrary power of the King
and of the royal party in the House of Com^
mons 1 Was it wielded for the Whigs against
the Tories ? or for the Tories against the
Whigs? Let the gentlemen answer. Yes;
when the beams of liberty struggle out to day,
and gild the British history once in two hun
dred years, you find this process of expunging
resorted to by our sturdy ancestors in their
struggles with the Crown, and as an extreme
measure, to resist the encroachments of law^
less power; . not, as here, to wipe out and
obliterate forever the last effort for freedom. ?
If the resolution of Parliament in the great
Westminster election had been in favor of
Wilkes and against Mr. Luttrel, would it have
been expungeSl ? No, sir., it wa? because
it was entered at the instance of I-u'trel
against J. Wilkes, the Pat roclus over whose
bw this fight for freedom was maintained;
that was the reason of itsexpunction from the
journals. And it forms one of the most omin?
ous signs of the times we live in, that here,
the most powerful engines weilded in the land
of our ancestors in favor of popular rights are
all seized upon and employed for the increase
and advancement of Executive power. Ail
that belongs to the People is invoked only to
betray them. The People, the People, the
voice of the People, gentlemen claim as their
own. They cite every popular argument, and
all for what ? To hold up the causc of the
many against the few ? of the millions against
the grasping power of the one ? No, sir; no,
no. All these mighty motive powers are call
ed tip to exalt the Executive, and to put down
the legislative power ; to increase the power
of the one against the rights of the many. ?
They are brought forward to silence, for all
future time, the voice of the Senate, whenever
it shall be raised against the encroachments o|*
power. Yes, sir, they ?erk to hang up in
lorrortm over your head, and in full view of
I every Senator, a scourge, to be applied with
out mercy to any who shall dare to use aught
but the language of eulogy.
"irorribili sedere flagello."
that is the fate which awaits him. It is to be
set up by way of memento, to muzzle this body
for ail future time. No, sir, our voice must
never be heard save in strains of adulation,
and in chanting palinodes like that which has
recently been furnished as a pattern to this
body.
A' gentleman, whose talent and intelligence
I highly honor, has asked us to atrip this mat
ter of all the humbuggery which has been
thrown around it. Well, sir, let us do so.?
And what is it, when thus denuded, but a bit
in the mouth of this Senate, to bring it down
when it becomes too restive for the taste or
safety of those in power; so that the Chief
Magistrate may, undisturbed by its curveting?,
proceed to seize upon the national treasure,
and repeal the decisions ofthe Supreme Court,
& if an) adventurous mouth shall dare to whis
per he is acting against the Constitution, such
rashness may instantly be checked by the
warning "hush ! take care ! remember the
expunging resolution ! ? do you wish to bring
us again under the discipline ofthe black lines*"
I suppose the fac sinr' of that blotted and de
faced page of our records will be fixed up in
some conspicuous position above the seat of
our presiding officer, so that, when we would
dare to think, to feel, and to speak, as free men
and American legislators, we may look up,
and beholding the awful monitor, may put our
hands on our mouths, and our mouths in the
dust, and repent, while it is yet time, all such
presumptuous aspirations.
In other days, it has often happened that
successive Senates have differed from each
other in opinions and policy, and have in like
manner differed from the Executive, and each
Senate has freely expressed its own senti
ments. In regard to the United States Bank,
for example, the opinions of {his body have
varied at different periods. The Senate* at
one time, thought that bank constitutional; at
another time, they thought it unconstitutional;
a majority now consider it as a monster. Why
not, then, expunge? Why not draw your
black lines round that part of your journal
which records the act by which that bank was
chartered ? The resolution against which
your magnanimou-? wrath is now directed has
done no harm. It has led to no action. It
has brought nokmg train of evils on the coun
try. But the charter of the Bank of the United
States ? what did not that effect! That was no
empty declaration of opinion. It was a tub*
stantial act. And to what a long black cat*'
logve of national calamities did it net in youf
opinion lead ? if any thing i? to be expunged#
why not expunge that ! It seems not to hare
entered the imagination of gentlemen on the
other side to draw their lines round thtt reto? ?*
lution. Yet the honorable Senator from Vir. ,
ginia believes most sincerely, that the act warf
unconstitutional . He' holdB that it led to
consequences greatly detrimental to the na
tional good, and tells us that the President
deserves the everlasting grttfitode bfthe coun
try for having abolished and destroyed 41m
bank. Well, sir, if it is not fit in that case*
how and why is fit in this ? Because this vio
lates the rights of the People 1 Sbdidthat*
Is this unconstitutional ? So was the other.
Is this derogatory to the feelings and wishe*
of the President 1 So was that. Is the Sen
ate bound in duty to express its disapprobation
of this act? Why not ofthe other! But fr
it really so great an offence to differ from the
President on a constitutional questioo, . in**
much that all traces of such a thing must, be
obliterated from our records f that it nuaft be
effaced ? expunged ? purged off! Why; t!f,
the President differs from us constantly oo
constitutional points ; and both he and thi#
Senate differ widely from President Waahilif-'
ton on a constitutional point, viz. on the con*
stitutionality ofthe Bauk of the United States.
Why is not the opinion of Washington to be
expunged ! Why not go back, tod bold hioi
up m a sacrifice ! lt Ims, indeed, in siwse
sort, been already done. You have not beokes
into the sepulchre of Mount Vernon, and! dug
up his bones, and burnt them, like
but you have immolated his name ; his virtue#,
his glory, have been taken from him* and
transferred to anothe-. Why not make) your
sacrifice complete? If the principle on which
you act in jealousy for the honor and ipower
of the Executive, why not, when formed Pi*e
idents have sent us messages containing on^
constitutional notions, expunge their message*
from your archives? The President sent us
a message in the panic session uf 1834. How
would gentlemen have taken it, had those who
constituted the majority at that day proposed
to expunge it from the records?
Both Houses of Congress have differed
from other Presidents. Dojs any gentleman
here dream of a leading member in either
House under the Jefferson administration pro*
posing to expunge any Presidential opinion
which did not correspond with his own ? Of
would any supporter of the wise, the sedate,
the grave, the temperate, the forbearing Madi
son, ever conceive the notion that he was to
be propitiated by effacing the public records?
Did he ever require his friends to depart from
their public duties, neglect the exigencies of
the public business, and address themselves to
this most extraordinary method of silencing
the indignation of a President? There wa*
a great struggle in *98, and after a long course;
of most bitter and acrimonious party wariarer
the republican party eventually triumphed*
and came in?o power* but in the very heal at
conquest, and still covered, as it were, with*
the sweat and the dust of battle, did it once
enter into their heads to expunge from, (he
public journaU the acta of their predecessors- T
Or could it now occur to the minds of inteUU
gent and honorable men tnst they are (tailed1
upon to vindicate the ashes of the illustrious
dead by removing frjm the nationai archievcs
all traces of difference of opinion oo. the part
of cither House of Congress, from the departed
saviours of our country ? Daro the honorable
Senator from Pennsylvania rise in his places
and with a reverend regard bo- yonder image
of Washington, introduce tu resolution to
expunge whatever on ou? journal intimates:
a difference of opinion from, that great man T
Will he venture to look into thai venerable
and venerated coonieflanoe,*- and* mafce such,
a mot on in this chamber ?* No sir. His own
heart tells him that the image would frown
upon him from its. frame, and, could it speaks
would. cry, Forbear, Destroy not your Con^
stitution. Dishonor not your own archieves.
Draw no Mack lines upon your journal on my
account. Write no history for me. My his
tory is written in a nation^ eyes, t desm
you to play off mouctebaajfc ffcroe for my
glory ; it is safe in thifc keeping of my coun*>
try men. Yes, sir, such weoU be the language
of Washington; and I well knew that the hon^
orable Senator from PeeasrlvaMei has it*
response in his heart. And, grr, if we are
not called to do this for the illustrious great &
good, who nave departed, shall we do it for til*
living because he is powerful ? Because he is
the dispenser of office, who is to propagate
his own system of policy through another
generation, and to transfuse his cam fM
spirit into a living branch of the aame stem T
If this sacrifice was to ' be offered to the
illustrious dead, whom history has already
fixed in ninches of imperisha&e hoc or, we
endure it with greater patience. But to a lfo?
ing man, and a roan who can reward the
deed, sir, I cannot look the thing steadily in
the face. I protest to you that toy inmost
heart is bowed doWft at the thought with s of
row and shame.
But the deed is to be done. States, have
spoken. Whether the People of the Uriiied
States have spoken might betir a question^
Certainly many States have uttered their
voice, whose right td speak 1 should be the
last to question. That tllfcy navfe acted under
mistaken views, I have not a doubt. The
act is fraught w tth most dingerdua conse
quences. it inflicts deep wobnds cfli ihe dig
nity an J the potency of this body ; for f ?dt*
in the countenances of many honorable gen
tlemen that they would ghtdly avoid this
thing, and would, if they cod! d,- avoid the deed.
I do believe that in the vefy moment of inflict
ing the blow, their hearts will be haunted bf
the same emotious which fill and oppress- mjF
own. And while, Under the pressure ef dl m
necessity, they raise the axe, they feel pre
pared, like Otliel* dxecutioner?, first to ask
pardon of the victim. Ay, sir, I bettese
that when it comes to the actual, perfor
mance of the tragedy, there will be a secret
whisper in their ear that will say to (bem,
perhaps our party feelings have pressed \t?
a little too far. And when, after asofersa
and mournful pauses the Secretary has per
formed his detested office, and has mangl
ed the record of the Senate, will any hem
rise in his place to cry aloud? thus perish
nil traitors? Or will they not rather hang
their heads, and, smiting on their breast#,
heave mournful sighs over so hard a necessity f
1 shall witness it, and whatever i may feel, 1
shall feel nothing personally. Solar as I am
personally concerned, I can fold iny arms in
perfect coolness and witness t Ue deed without
shrinking. All 1 feel now rs for the Senate
is for the Constitution? is for tbe country. I
may cry, wo wo to England, but not to roe.
In a moment I shall recover my self-possession,
shall rise, shall rejoice, that it was ray good
fortuue to have my name entered on the saiee
page where the rights of this body were
recorded, and that there, in company with the
Senate's honor, it shall safely ab?de forever, in
spite of your black ia ?ks.
? Mr. Buchanan sat opposite th* prciure of Wash
ington.