question of admitted experience, a question
which according to all past history has met
with a solution in a particular way, you as-
sume the opposite and contradict all past his-
tory upon a question of expediency; and
then not for yourselves alone, but for those
who are to come after you, you act as if they
were unable to form a judgment, as if you
could have before you what they will have
before them, the then present condition of the
country, and refuse to them,—although they
may have the means to do so, although they
may have the will to do so, although they
may deem it perfectly proper to do so,—the
privilege which you give them upon every
other subject of expediency.
I do not intend to refer to individual in-
stances of outrage upon the rights of persons,
but I hold in my hand a letter from a lady
stating that herself, her mother, and her
aunt, an aged female, have been entirely de-
pendent upon the hire of certain slaves which
she received as her portion of the estate. She
loses these; yet not a dollar for emancipa-
tion, If there was a prospect of future pay-
ment, possibly people in this condition might
find some relief, from money lent to them on
speculation, and I should say it was not a
very forlorn speculation, if the power is left
at all to the legislature to perform that act of
justice, I think it would not be a very forlorn
speculation that the time would arrive when
a very different sentiment would prevail with
regard to this subject,
That brings roe to consider a question to
which I now ask the sober thought of this
body, when undertaking to decide a question
of expediency for those who are to come after
us. Let every gentleman on this floor, for
one instant, if only for one instant, reflect
seriously upon the fact whether he is now in
a condition to judge of this or any other
cognate question with as much calmness; as
much discretion, as much probability of ar-
riving at a just conclusion, as he would be
were the circumstances of the country entire-
ly different from what they are. Is there a
man among us who has attained the age of
maturity who is not sensible—I will not say
that he is not free from prejudice, tree from
excitement, free from all indulgence of pas-
sion and feeling, for I will not ask a question
so perfectly obvious to everybody—but that
these influences operate upon his mind? Is
there a man who is prepared to say that his
opinions and his acts are free from any
influence from surrounding circumstances?
When we see the whole country in the con-
dition it is, blood flowing by oceans, lives
thrown away as if they were worthless, fami-
lies distressed at every altar and at every fire-
side, mourning and grief to be found in the
countenance of every man, woman and child
in the country, the finances of the country
disturbed and every man feeling its depres-
sion; is there a human being so insensible,— |
is there living a man that God Almighty has
made to come into the world without some
defect in his intellectual formation, a sane
mail, who can deny the influence of these
causes upon him? It is impossible—impas-
sible.
You have had it here, right in our midst,
at our very door. Resolutions have been
offered here framed in that slate of excite-
ment. Look at your resolutions; look at
your proceedings; look at everything yon
have done or said; go out of doors and look
at everything done there. The effect upon
the feelings of every individual in the coun- .
try is just as manifest to every human being.
is this the temper and state of mind in which
gentlemen are qualified to act, not for them-
selves only, but for posterity in all time to
come ?
Will gentlemen say that those who live
after us, when, as they believe, we shall have
a country happy in all the elements which
can constitute peace, when comfort and joy
shall be carried to the heart and bieast of
every citizen, will not be more competent
than we to judge what ought to be done
hereafter upon a question of expediency ?
Now, to carry this argument to its ligiti-
mate conclusion; let me not be told that this
constitution is to go to the people for their
ratification or rejection. The people of all
parties in the State are just now as completely
governed by passion and feeling in respect to
this matter as we are. In my humble judg-
ment it is not a time when the people are as
competent to judge as they were before this
war, or as they will be after this war.
I do not wish to use harsh words. If I
were to describe or give character to this
proposition in words which I think would.
properly designate it, I should not conform
to the practice to which I wish to conform on
all occasions, a practice which would make
me refrain from expressing any unkind personal
feeling to those around me. I am per-
fectly prepared to believe, perfectly willing to
hope that every gentleman who will vote on
this proposition will beable with his hand on
his heart to appeal to his Maker for the purity
of his purpose, the integrity of his mind, and
the honesty of his opinions. But how that
thing can be, is to me perfectly extraordi-
nary. I am completely befogged as to that,
for I have not seen, I have not heard one
solitary word of argument which can justify
this proposition.
I have to say that I do hope some calm re-
flection at least will operate upon the minds
of some individuals. Let us lay over this
question for a time. Possibly the condition
of the State will be changed; nobody can
tell. I am happy to see that peace overtures
have been opened; very hopeless in their
terms, perhaps, regarding what has passed
upon either side. Still it is the first daylight
we have been able to see beyond the dark |
