E455 i/;f/75 n^s/^K C^J.d. W\i^ repln -U rviR. : (/U^/r^y /(f^ IBRARY OF CONGRESS 011 897 832 8 :^ pH83 SOUTH CAROLINA AND MASSACHUSETTS. SPEECH ' Jr^ -■' HON. J. J. EVANS, OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1^ REPLY TO MR. SUMNER, OF M/ISSACHUSETTS. DELIVERED IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, JUNE 23, 1855. WASHINGTON: PRINTED AT THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE OFFICE, 1850. \ \ \ SOUTH CAROLINA AND MASSACHUSETTS. The Senate, as in Committee of the UTioIe, having under consideratinn the bill to enable the people ot' the Terri- tory of Kansas to form a constitution and State govern- ment, preparatory to their admission into the Union when they have the reqnisile population- Mr. EVANS said: Mr. President, the subjects which have grown out of this unhappy Kan-sas affair arc of very grave import. I would willingly, very willingly, avoid, if it were possible, mingling ill this controversy. 1 liave no taste for it. It is against the habits of the last thirty years of my life; for within that period, so far as I remember, I have on no occasion found it necessary to make anything Hlce a forensic effort. Rut, sir, the Senator from Massachusetts not now in his seat [Mr. Sumner] has not left me any choice. He has thought proper, in a most ruthless manner, to assail my State, and to assail my colleagtie. This requires at my hands something in reply. In making tliis reply, I do not purpose to indulge in any unkind language, much less to violate a)iy parliamentary law. Tlie subjects which I propose to discuss are the legitimate inferences growing outof that which he has introduced into his speech. So far as I am capable of understanding it — and I certainly have no desire to misrepresent either that Sena- tor or anybody else — the great object of the Sen- ator's speech seemed to bo threefold: First, to excite the people, the Free-Soil people — the " free people," as he called them — in Kansas, to rebel- lion and resistance to the law. That seemed to be his first ol)ject. His second object was, to ny respected colleagU(?, [Mr. Butler;] to heap all the oppro- assail and vituperate my respected friend and brium he could on the slave Slates generally, and the State of South Carolina in particular. To this, sir, was added the further object of mag- nifying, as far as in him lay, the present condi- tion, and former, and particularly the revolu- tionary, services of the State of Massachusetts. Now, sir, upon each of these subjects I have something to say — very little, indeed, in relation to Kansas. Sir, my heart bleeds at the uiihapjiy condition of that country. The efforts which have bet^n made, from the time of the passage of the Kansas bill, to defeat its operation by means which I believe originated in this Hall, have been incessant and without any remission. Mr. Pres- ident, I am an old man; and for the last thirty years of my life, the business of it has been to endeavor to arrive dispassionately at just conclu- sions. I am too old to be excilad no right to object, she gave nothing for this j)lighted faith of the South, as it is called. It was simply an act of Congress, subject to repeal whenever Congress tliought proper to repeal it. It", sir, there was any inducement on the part of the South to assent to this Missouri restriction, it was the belief, which they had a right to ex- pect, that the slavery agitation should cease. Tlu'v had surrendered a portion of their territory, that' to which they had as good a title as any other portion of this Union, and they had a right to expect that the slavery agitation Avould cease. If anybody has a right to complain of this breach of faith, it is the South. The slavery agitation has been continued from 1820 up to this time; there has been no remission in it. If it has par- tially died out on some occasions, the first oppor- tunity Avhieh presented itself has been seized to revive it with still greater virulence. Mr. President, I do not propose to go further on this subject. It has been so often discussed that it would be an unnecessary waste of the time of the Senate for me to attempt to discuss it again; but this agitation seems to have arisen out of the question of slavery; and on that I have something to say, though but very little. Sir, the South — the slave States — arc not propagand- ists; they arc content with their institutions as they are; they are content with that form of civ- ilization which exists amongst them; they desire not to extend it to New England or to any other portion of the United States, who do not choose to receive it. But, sir, whilst they are willing to do this, there is nothing in their nature, and there is nothing in their institutions, which inclines them to submit tjimely to any aggressions on their rights. If slavery be a sin, it is ours, and we are willing to bear it. Neither New England nor any other section of the country comes in for any participation of it. If, as has been said, it is an incubus on the advance of civilization — if it is an incubus on the energies of any people — that in- cubus rests on our piiople, and does not paralyze any other section. If we are willing to bear it, why should others desire to relieve us of that of which we do not complain? But it is said, "You arc not content to keep your institutions in your own section, but you desire to extend them to Kansas." Well, sir, if we desire to extend them to Kansas, have we not a right to do so .' Dots not Kansas belong in part to tlie Louisiana j)urchase .- Did we not pay equally — I do not say we paid more — but we raid our full share of the price of that country, fpenll'-men wish to know wliy we jjarllcUlarly desire to liave Kansas, I can tell them. If the sla- very agitation liad ciased, and if, after the Mi«- Bouri compromise, those who live in the free .fcslalts would have been coulcnt to allow things to remain as they were, there would never have been any movement to change that understanding between the two sections of the country. But, sir, no sooner had they succeeded in placing the Missouri restriction on our settlement of that northwestern country, than both Houses of Con- gress were flooded with petitions to abolish sla- very in the District of Columbia, to abolish what was called the slave trade between the States, and, more than that, to abolish it in the forts and gar- risons and every other place over which Congress had any jurisdiction. Did I not hear the Sen- ator from Massachusetts [Mr. Wilson] say, that it was the intention of his party to abolish sla- very in the Territoiies, in the District of Colum- bia, and everywhere elsewhere they had power? If they will abolish it wherever they have the power, they will get the power whenever they can. The same spirit which would exercise the power will get the power whenever it can. Let any man cast his eye on the map of this immense domain, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean ^ and he will see a space there, outside of the ex- isting States, abundantly large to make States enough to give the gentlemen what they desire. Whenever you have sixty State.? in this Union, three fourths of them can alter the Constitution, and abolish slavery everywhere. You have thirty-one now; you want only twenty-nine. Where are they to come from ? Kansas and Ne- braska can make six; New Mexico will make half as many; California may be well divided into three States; and there is no doubt of the fact, I venture to say, that within the next forty or fifty years it will be accomplished — that the Indians will be driven out, and those large territories, ex- tending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, will be divided into States of this Union. Was it strange, then, that the South should be alarmed at this state of things ? I did not hear it; but I have un- derstood that, in 1850, a Senator here from one of the free States said their object was to build a wall around slavery — a wall of freemen, to render slave property unproductive, and to force its emancipation. Mr. BUTLER. " Cordon," was the word. Mr. EVANS. Well, sir, Kansas, although it jl is but one State when added, will be good against three more. And was it strange, then, that the South should desire possession of Kansas merely as a guarantee.' There is no pretense that they j'can occupy any other portion of that immense region. Everybody knows that slavery will not ' do for a farming coiuitry merely. It is of no value jlin a graining country; it is of no value in the ! mechanic arts; it can only be used to advantage i in the cultivation of thp great staples. There is j no pretense that anyone of the great staples that i constitute the great material of our foreign com- ] merce, can be cultivated anywhere within the limits of these Territories outsidi' of the Territory ] of Kansas. I ought, Mr. President, to say, in [' this connection, that, although I have expressed our fears as to the future, yet, with such gentle- men as I see around me from the free States, I have nothing to fear. I know that the honorable j Senator from Connecticut [Mr. Foster] would do no such act of foul injustice as to interfere with slavery in the Stntes. And if the question was to-morrow, wlitthfi-llio Constilutioii sliould be altered, and this <;reat and crying wrong per- petrated, lie would not do it; nnd 1 ciin say the same of many others wliom 1 see iiere to-day; but can I forjjet, or can anybody forget, what is the progress of this thintj? Why, sir, was not Daniel Webster refused the use of Kaneuil Hall because it was suppo.sed he had expressed some deffrco of toleration for tlie institution of slavery? What guarantee have 1 — what ffuaranlee can any- body have, that, in twenty or thirty years from this time, those who are here now will not be elbowed out as they have been in some of the States by some more illiberal persons than them- selves ? These, Mr. President, nre the reasons why we desire Kansas; but it was not allowed. The very instant it was opened to the slave population, that instant there sprung up a contrivance — a machin- ery was set in operation of which I do not choose to speak — the object of which was to defeat this act of Congress, and, as was said by tlie Senator from jMassachuscitss, to devote this Territory to freedom. Well, sir, if they can devote it to free population in the ordinary way, without the use of this new scheme of immigration of which he spake— and which I suppose is that which has been in operation — if they can get possession o*" it without resort to this new scheme of immigia- tion, we cannot object; I, for one, would not object. Mr. President, I now propose to submit some remarks on this hated subject of slavery. Sir, I am not frightened by a name. A wise legislator looks to things as they are; and he who would legislate for this great Republic must look to it as it is. A state of things exist here which, per- haps, exists nowhere else; but it is here, and you must deal with it as a wise and honest man should. I do not mean in any remarks which f shall make to reproach Massachusetts, or any other State or sectionof the world, on the subject of the slave trade. It is true that, at least so far as South Carolina is concerned, we participated very little in it. Some few ships were fitted out in Charles- ton, but I doubt if a native of the State ever had any participation in it. But, sir, I reproach no- body for it. At that period in the history of the world, it was thought right. There was the con- current testimony of the civilized world that, to capture the wild savage of Africa, and reduce him to a state of sul ijection , to feed and clothe him , and civilize him, and Christianize him was no wrong ? I say, therefore, that I reproach no man for it. We followed only the popular sentiment which prevailed in the world. Hut, sir, I think we have a right to complain, and it is tiie only complaint on this subject I have to make, that, if others have gone before us, if we have been outstripped in finding out that this system was wrong, those persons who have been thus fortunate will let us alone until we ourselves become sufficiently en- lightened to concur in their opinion. This, we think, we have the right to ask; this is all we do ask. I propose to enter into no ethnological inquiry about the unity of the races. My own opinion, my own judgment is, that we arc all one — proba- bly de.scended from a common ancestor; but that is very inimateriiij. We find men diflen nt on the face of the earth — as difl'erent as they would be if they were not descended from a common ancestor ; but in relation to the African, no man in this House, and no man out of it, can say that there is any corner of this earth, upon which the African race nre as well ofl', aa well providi-d for, with more of the elements of happiness, than in the slave part of these Uniuil Slates. I assert it without the fear of contradiction. I know not from whence it has come ; but this I know, that the Africans were slaves in the days of the Pha- raohs ; that nine out often of them are slaves in their native land; and that in no country of which I am aware are they received upon an equality with the white race. In confirmation of the fact which I have just stated, that nine out of ten of them are slaves in their own country, I beg leave to refer to an incident in Park's travels in Africa. In the year, 1796, after having visited the interior, when he returned to the coast of Senegal, finding no ves.sel bound for Europe, he look passage in a slaveship, bound for Charleston. In that ship there were one hundred and sixty Africans. Hav- ing been a year in their country, he understood their language, and was able to converse with them. He found that, of the whole one hundred and sixty, only four had been born free. The rest were slaves. If any man desires to know what is the state of slavery in Africa, let him read Park, and Lander, and the recent book of Cap- tain Canot. Many of the negroes at t,he South are intelligent, although they have not much mental culture — certainly very little that is derived from books. They are an improving people — improving in in- telligence and in morals. 1 have no doubt that the time will come when God will work out his own problem in relation to Africa. Carlyle says, I think with some truth, that all the great events in the history of man have generally been produced by a single individual, or by but very few; that the great reformation in religion was produced by Luther; that Cromwell and his associates in Eng- land produced a wondrous change in the notions of mankind, in relation to civil and religious lib- erty; that a new impetus was given to this ball by the American Revolution, of which Washington was the chosen instrument of Providence to ac- complish. Sir, lor aught I know, it may be that, in the provideni'i'of God,in his own proper time, a deliverance will be worked out for this race. At present they are not fit for it, but they arc going on in improvement, both mentally nnd mor- ally. Of one thing 1 am sure — when that time arrives, some more fit instrument will be used than those who have now thrust themselves into this business, prematurely, and in a manner wholly uncalled for. I douljt very much whether Parson Beecher will be a chosen instrument in the hands of God fiir the purpose of etVecting this or any other great and beneficial change in theafl'airs of mankind. Sir, as 1 said before, I am not frightened by names. I am not alarmed by the fear that I shall be held up in some future fourth of July speech, 6 or some college orntion, or in the columns of Bome I filthy newspaper, ns the advocate of slavery, i That has no terrors for nie. 1 stand here to legis- 1 late for this country as ii is. If the institution' of slavery be an evil, to whom is it an evil? Is it to tlie master? What injurious effect does it produce upon him ? Is he not as much of a gen- tleman, is he not as moral a man, is he not as pious and riIi£:ious a man, is he not as distin- guished for all "the cardinal virtues as the people of nnv country on the face of the earth? If he is not, I have not found out the fact. If it be an evil to the African, where, I ask, is his condition better? Is it in Africa? Let Park and the travelers in that country answer the Juestion. Is his condition better in Hayti or amaica? Let those who desire correct informa- tion on that point go to some fountain of truth, and they will find it. I would recommend every man who embarks in this controversy with the hope of bettering the condition of the African, to read the letter of Governor Wood, of Ohio. On his way to his consulate in South America he stopped at Jamaica. Let any man read what he Bays, and compare it with what he may see at ' j the South— not what he has road in Mrs. Stowe's i| novel — and he will find the truth of what I assert, \ that the condition of the African is better in our j! southern States than in any of those countries I in which he has been emancipated. I ask, further, is his condition better in the East? Is a free negro in New England as well off as a slave who has a good master? and nine out of ten, I believe I might say ninety-nine out of i a hundred, are good masters. Let the facts speak j for themselves. Look at the census. Although emancipation has been going on, and fugitives! have been flying to the free States, the census I shows that, in the slave Slates, the slave popula-| tion has increased infinitely beyond the increase I of the free people of color, with all these append- ages, in the free States. If you go to the records of pauperism and poverty, what do you find?! You find that he is a being infinitely more de- graded than the white man. In 1850, in the State of Massachusetts, with a population of overi 900,000 white inhabitants, there were 389 con- victs in her penitentiaries, and 47 black convicts out of a negro population of 9,000. In Connecti- cut, there were 14G white and 30 black convicts in her penitentiary. In New York, you find the same disproportion. The result is, that in Massachusetts there is 1 white convict out of every 2, .522 whites, and 1 1 black convict for every 20:? negroes. In New York, there is 1 white convict in 2,056, and 1 black convict in 142. In Virginia, there is 1 white convict in 5,570, and 1 black convict in 11,600. 1 do not suppose that these figures present ex- actly a correct statement in relation to Virginia,' for I huppose the slaves there are not punished in Huch a way as to exhibit in prison returns the full , result of crime. I presume they are punished, as i in South Carolina, in tiome summary way of which no special n'cord is ke[)f, but, -so far as MaKKachuMitts and N'.w York are concerned, the queslion is Ketik'd beyond all conlrovcrsy. The rapid increase of population in the ordi- nary way is looked upon by all writers as one of the sirons^est evidences of the bodily comfort at least, of tne subjects of it. Crime and pauper- ism are the fruits, not of comfort and independ- ence, but of want and destitution. The fact, that in Massachusetts there is 1 white convict otU of 2,522, and 1 black convict out of 263, exhibits a state of things, showing beyond all question that in those regions of boasted freedom the black man is in a sad condition. I am sorry, sir, that necessity compels me to speak of the absent Senator from Massachu- setts. I do not intend to use his own language, or to be unmindful of what is due to myself, but I have to speak of his facts. What codld be the object of the wondrous tirade which we heard from him about freedom ? Does he mean that, in the state of things which exists in this coun- try, he thinks it desirable to turn loose three mil- lions of Africans? If he does, he means what few people besides himself— few considerate peo- ple — would suppose to be practicable. The Sen- ator from Massachusetts, [Mr. Wilson,] who is present, has defined his position. He disclaims any right to interfere with slavery in the States. It is a fair inference, as I have already remarked, that, though he is now restrained by the Consti- tion, he would do it if he had the power; but in that I may do him injustice. The other Senator from Massachusetts [Mr. Sumner] has never, I believe, defined his position on this point. He has never said — in fact the contrary is to be in- ferred — that the Constitution aifords us any guar- antee. 1 suppose, then, (to borrow a manufac- turer's term,) that he belongs to that stripe of the anti-slavery party who deny that the Constitu- tion has guarantied slavery, and who contend that Congress has the power to abolish it, and is in duty bound to exercise the power as soon as it can. Tliis is the doctrine of Garrison, and of some papers which are sent to me every day — among the rest, one called the Radical Abolition- ist. If such be the Senator's views, I can only say that they are utterly impracticable. 1 shall not waste the time of t'he Senate in discussing such a scheme. If it is to be done on payment of the value of the slaves, $1,000,000,000 will not pay for them. If they are to be emancipated and sent to Africa, that sum will not pay the ex- pense of their transportation and maintenance there until they are able to maintain themselves. If the object of that party be to emancipate them, and leave them in the States, it requn-es no sa- gacity to see what will be the result. Sir, between the white man, North and South, and the black man, there is a deep, an impassable gulf. It is as manifest at the North as at the South. In 1847, I traveled through New England and New York. I was ten days in Boston and three weeks in New York. During all that tin)e 1 never saw a negro at work. It is well known there that a white man will not work with him. This with some people is the objection to allow- ing slaves to go to Kansas. They say the white man will not work with the negro. If there be any man who in his senses believes that the negro's condition would be bettered by emanci- pation now, I have never met him, unless he l)C one of tliose wiiom I have seen luul iieard on this floor. 1 need not say, what is obvious to every- body who knows any thinj; about tlie matter, that his coiulition would be infiiiiiely worse. If these declamations about freedom, und these commiserations for the poor negro's condition, have any meaning — if they are to result in any- thing, I should suppose thev would result ui eomething to better his condition. Now, will his condition be bettered? No man, I think, will rise liere in his place and say that it will. But another fruitful subject of declamation — the Senator from Massachusetts spoke largely about it — is, that we send little children to ihe auction block — that we part husband and wife. I can inform him that this act which he thus justly denounces is ns much denuncialed in the State of South Carolina as in Massachusetts. Sir, I live in a slave country; I live in a district in which the slave pojiulation exceeds the wliite by two thirds; and yet I affirm licre, that I have never known an instance in which a separation has been made between husband and wife, or, as I have heard, mother and her children. If gentle- men will look at the census, they will see that by far the greater part of the slaveholders own from one to ten slaves. When you come, on the par- tition of estates, to divide that number between families, there must necessarily be some separa- tion; but as to putting them on the block, and selling them to anybody who may choose to buy, I never lieard of it; I never knew it; and I do not believe the popular sentiment in any part of South Carolina would tolerate it for a moment. In this connection I may say that the man Legree, who has been held up as the model of a slaveholder, is no more a representative of the slaveholders of South Carolina, than a Mas- sachusetts man, by the name of Knapp, is of the morals of Massachusetts. Knapp was the nephew of an aged and respectable old gentleman who had once been a member of the House of Representatives, who was eighty years of age, and in the ordinary course of nature could have lived but a few years. His nephew was so f reedy to put his hands on his property that lie ired an assassin to enter his chamber at mid- night and murder the old man in his sleep. I quote not that as a model of Massachusetts mo- rality, but it as fairly represents Massachusetts morality as this fellow Legree does the slave- holders of the South. 1 am sorry to say — but it is necessary that I should say, that whatever opinion a northern man may entertain at home upon the subject of sla- very, I have never known any qualms of con- science to disturb him when he came to the South, and succeeded to this kind of property, .either by purchase, inheritance, or marriage. I have never known any man who came among us, no matter where he came from, who, if he re- moved into a free State, did not put the value of his slaves in his pocket, and go oft' with a quiet and peaceable conscience. I do not blame any- body for this. If what I have stated of the con- dition of these people when free be true, he would have done them an injustice by emancipa- ting them. If he had carried them to New Eng- land or New York, the strong probability i.-j that llie penitentiary would have been their doom. It is very easy to be humane at other people's expense. I have known two or three fellows who went from South Carolina to free Stales, and turned Abolilionist.-s. I knew an exceedingly clever young man, as I supposed him to be, who removed to Mis3issipi)i, and there sold his ne- groes at ^1,000 round. He went to Ohio, and the next I heard of him he was figuring there in an abolition meeting, very denunciatory of the slaveholders. There was another man who went from my State, who was a Baptist preacher, who had a large number of negroes. He sold them, and carried off his money; and the next thing we heard of him was an entire mailbag full of abo- lition pamphlets, sent by him to his friend."? in South Carolina. But, sir, he had the money for his slaves in his pocket, and he never disgorged it. There is an extraordinary case connected with this subject which it is right that I should state. It has some peculiar significance. In the year 1839, a Mr. Ball, who was a rice planter on Cooper river, at the mouth of which the city of Charles- ton is built, look passage with his wife, who was a New England woman, and, as I have always understood, an exceedingly clever lady. It wa« the misfortune of this gentleman and his wife, that the steamboat in which they took pas.sage, the Pulaski , was lost off the coast of North Caro- lina; she broke in two on the high sea; and, with the exception of three or four per.sons, all per- ished who were on board, and among the rest this gentleman and his wife. Ho left a large es- tate. Who was to get it? Mr. Ball had made a will, in which he made a large provision for his wife. The question was, did she survive him : If she died first, it was a lapsed legacy; if ah<^ survived him but for a moment, the legacy was hers, and would go to her heirs. The case of which I am speaking is known ai the case of Pell vs. Ball. Mr. Pell, who I believe lived in New York, had married a lady who was perhaps the sister of Mrs. Ball, or, at any rate, one of the heirs. He and the other heirs of Mrs. Ball filed a bill in the court of equity for the pur- pose of having the benefit of this legacy. The chancellor decided, on the evidence of a Miss Lamar, of Georgia, a very extraordinary young woman of unusual fortitude and presence of mind, that Mrs. Ball survived, and therefore these claim- ants, as her heirs-at-law, were entitled to the leg- acy. That settled the right; and the property, consisting of over one hundred slaves, was or- dered by the chancellor to be sold by the master. Another gentleman, who was equally entitled with Mr. Pell, attended the sale; and, as I learn by some papers which I have here — for I was not there on the day of sale — among the negroes to be sold was a negro man named Frank, with his family, consisting of a wife and eight childrer.v It is the uniform order and direction of the court of equity, that negroes shall be sold in families. This negro man had been the favorite body servant of Mr. Ball. This other gentleman held some conversation with him on the day of" sale 8 la that coiiTersation it was understood that he , promised the negro that, if he would consent to ' be sold separate and apart from hia wife and chil- dren, he would provide for and take care of him. j The woman and the children were put up and bid j for by Mr. Lowndes, a brother-in-law of Gov- , crnor Aiken, of the flouso of Representatives. He bought them, not for himself, but for his j orrcrseer. Under the impression that this con- j iract was to bo carried out in fairness and in good | spirit, the negro man Frank was put up, and | bought ill by the agent of this other gentleman. | Everbody supposed that this was all right and ! fair; but, to the utter amazement of the people, within two or three days afterwards, this man j Frank was offered for sale to anybody who would | buy him. There was indignation expressed about it which this gentleman could not resist, i Ho then sold him to Mr. Lowndes, but still must ! have fifty dollars for his profit. He pocketed his \ fifty dollars and his share of the proceeds of that ; eale, and he returned home. Now, if any one I desires to know who that man was, the letter , which I send to the Secretary's desk, and ask to j have read, will disclose. j Mr. CLAY. Was he a northern or a southern man.' Mr. EVANS. You will learn tliat when you hear the letter read. The Secretary read, as follows: Charleston, June 10, lco6. My dear Sir: Yours of the 4lb instant, inclosing Mr. TiiBany's letter, has been received. The facts of the case of Mr. Albert Sumner are substantially correct as stated in ilr. Tiflany's note. In a conversation witli Mr. TitTany, wtien I had thu pleasure of seeing him here in February lost, alluding to tlie fanatical and political ravings of the Abolitionists at Washington, I expressed the opinion that Uiey were actuated by political and sectional jealousy, and not by motives of philanthropy, and I incidentally mun- uoncd Uiat tlie instances of the separation of families, so iiflen rhetorically described, was generally by the agency of foreigners, who were devoid of that sympathy which exists between the native-born slaveholder and the slave. In niu-itration of my position, I stated to Mr. Tifl'any tliat the most inhuman and revolting case of the separation of fami- lies (recently and uloijuently alluded to by the lion. Charles Hutnner, " to separate husband and wife, and to sell little <*ildrcii at the auction-bloek ") that had ever come under lay observation in the course of an experience of upwards of half a ccMlury, was one in which Mr. Albert Sumuer, the brotlier of the Hon. Charles Sumner, was chief agent. [Applause, and laughter in the galleries.] Mr. STUART. Mr. President, I insist that the Chair shall preserve order. If it is necessary to clear the galleries, I hope it will be effected for once, 80 that people may know what belongs to the proprieties of the Senate. If the Senate is to be turned into a theater, let us know it. 1 would be glad at this time if the Chair would exercise | the authority which belongs to him to clear that part of the galleries from whii-.h the noise ema- nated. Mr. WELLER. That would certainly be very unfair. There could not be more than two or three persona engaged in the disturbance, and I should liatc very much to si.e tin; whole gallery cleared because there happened to be two or three disor- derly persons in the Senate Chamber. It i.s rarely Jo<» will find so large an imsemblage as this that ocB not contain some persons who do not know kow to behave ihemsclvca. If liie apjiluusc had been a general thing, it would be proper to clear the galleries; but it was confined to two or three persons — not more than that — and I hope, there- fore, that no notice will be taken of the matter, and that there will be no further disturbance in the Senate. The PRESIDING OFFICER, (Mr. BicLERin the chair.) The Secretary will proceed with the reading of the letter. The Secretary continued, as follows: t Upon Mr. Tiffany's expressing much surprise, I told him that I was present on the occasion ; that if at any time he should think proper to mention the fact, he might give me as his authority. Being referred to, I will, in conformity with your request, furnish you with the details as far as ray memory serves me. In the winter of 1844, Mr. Albert Sumner became entitled by marriage to a distributive share of the estate of Mr. and Mrs. S. Ball, of this State, by a decree of the court of equity in the case of Pell and Ball. At a sale of the negroes, in pursuance of the order of the court, I was present, and remarked that Mr. Sumner was very active in the management and arrangement of the sale^ Among the negroes was a man servant remarkable for hia fidelity to his former master, who by the officer of the court was advertised to be sold, as is customary, with his family. Our friend, Mr. Charles T. Lowndes, proceeded to the sale with the intention of purchasing the aforesaid family, (for his overseer,) but to the surprise and indignation of Mr. Lowndes and the other bystander?, it was discovered that the father had been withdrawn and sold separately from his family, by the direction of Mr. Sumner, under promise, as was understood, of great indulgence in consideration of his past services. Under these circumstances he was purchased by Mr. Sumner or his agent at a moderate rate. But in a very short time afterwards he was offered for sale by Mr. Sumner to more than one gentleman at a price much beyond iliat at which Mr. Sumner had purchased him. But these gentlemen having refused to aid and abet a specula- tion so monstrous, and Mr. Sumner having ascertained that Mr. Lowndes iiad purchased the family, offered the servant at a price beyond that at which he had purchased him. Mr. Lowndes tinally acceded, having the satisfaction of restor- ing the father to lii^ family. It is a circumstance worthy of being nn'iitioni-rl tli:it, in replying to Mr. Sumner, Mr. Lowndes, ^ nh the li ( imiis which fill the bosom ofaslave- holder whii !• rl> limisi li to be the protector and benefactor of his slaves, luok tliw occasion of expressing, in a letter, fwliich he submitted to Colonel Ashe and myself,) his denunciation of the proceeding in terms that would have aroused a southern gentleman. The above, as far as my memory serves me is a true and unvarnished account of the case to which Mr. Tiffany al- luded. The circumstances are impressed upon my memory from the fact of my having been particularly acquainted with them at Uie time, having been in consultation with 31r. Lowndes, and as tvents which do violence to one's feelings arc culculatcil In make an impression. I will call upon Mr. Lowndes for a statemmit of the cir- cumstances, as far as he rccollecu them, and I may prol>- ably delay this to go simultaneously with his. I am, dear sir, with esteem and respect, yours truly, WILLIAM B. PUINGLE.* Hon. William Aiken, Ilouae of Rcprcscntaliucs. Mr. EVANS. On that letter I have no com- ment to make, and here I take my leave of the subject of slavery. Sir, I have been at the North. I have seen much, very much, there to admire; I have seen some things that 1 should be glad my country- men would avail themselves of. I doubt not, if northern gentlemen (I believe very few — none, but invalids and commercial men — ever visit our country) would come among us, and see our in- stitutions—if they were to see how practicallv this form of civilization operates there, very much of their prejudice would be removed. • There arc several other I'.ltcrs to Uiu name effect. There is nothinn^ that I look upon with so much horror as thf? scclioi>ai j'^aloiisy which is fanning; every day, and will siiortly l)c' fanned intoa hla/.e, I fear, between the two sections of the country. There is nothing that I could do, consistent with duty and consistent with honor, which I would not do to prevent it. I am no proplict; I would avoid, as far as I can, to look into the dark futun; which these things seem to indicate. I have often had occasion to say that I am a hopeful man; that I never look upon the dark side of things if I can possibly avoid it; but it i.s impossible that I should conceal from myself wiiat the poet says, that "Coming events cast their shadows before." Air. President, I come now to a part of tliis discussion which I would very willingly pass over. In the second section, as I divide it, of the Senator's [Mr. Sumner] speech, lie says that " The constitution of South Carolina is repub- i lican in name only," that were the whole history ' of South Carolina blotted from existence, from ' its very beginning down to the day of the last j election of my honored colleague on this floor — ' " civilization might lose, I will not say how little, but surely , less than it has already gained by the example of Kansas, ' in its valiant struggle ag;iinst oppression, and in tlie devel- I opment of a new scheme of emigration." | These are a few only of many similar sentences | in the Senator's speech. Sir, is the State of South , Carolina to be viliiied in tliis way — to be vituper- ated ? Is my honored colleague to be held up to 1 1 ridicule — compared to Don Gluixote .' and is it to 1 1 be said of him that i " tliere was no extravagance of the ancient parliamentary debate which he did not repeat ; iioj^vas there any possible ; deviation from truth which he did liWt make, with so much ' | of passion, I am glad tn add, .as to save him from the sus ; i picion of intentional aberration. Hut the Senator touches \ nothing which he does not (li.-fii;iirc — willi error, sometimes of principle, sometimes ni'Iaci. Ilr ~ho\\s aii incapacity of ,[ accuracy, whether in stating tin' Cniisijmtioii or in staling , tlie law, whether in the di'tails ofstatistics or llic diversions , \ of scholarship. He cannot ope his mouth, but out there j I flies a blunder."' |; And yet, sir, this is what the Senator says, on j | his oath before the committee of the other House, I was only a just reply to what my colleague had i said! If you examine my colleague's speech, I you will find that personally to Mr. Sumner he has said nothing, except about two years ago, when he was making a furious speech against the fugitive slave law, my colleague asked him that, \ suppose Congress were to repeal the fugitive slave | law, would Massachusetts, or he might have said you — meaning the people of Massachusetts — en- j force the Constitution under which we claim this right; and then issued forth that burst of elo- quence, " Is thy servant a dog, that he should j do this thing.'" j The only imputation I have been able to find i in his speech on the State of Massachusetts— the only thing said at which Massachusetts, or j any son of Massachusetts, could take ofl'ense, ' was a statement that, at the period when the [ emancipation of slavery took place in Massa- { chusetts, little negroes were given away like | puppies. That is to be found in her own histo- j rian; my colleague was quoting from him. The > only otlier thing which ho said was thiit New England had had ii fugitive hUvc law at some former period of hi r history. The other Sena- tor from MnHSiichusctts [Mr. Wilson] denies that. I have the evidence hero. It is true it might not apply to Afri.<'('Oi three fourths of which Imve fjone to Massachu- setts for the purpose of protecting one branch of her industry. From 1816 up to this time, nil her inannfnc- lures have liccn protected by heavy duties. How much benefit she has derived from them I do not know, but I suppose it has been very -ireHt, from the present condition of her manufactures. I heard a gentleman, who professed to know some- thing on that subject, siiy, during the last Con- gress, that the profits arising from manufactures was at least fifteen per cent. then. Whether it is so yet, I do not know. This is all 1 have to say on that subject. The next point to which I wish to direct atten- tion is, that it is imputed to South Carolina as a sin — and 1 hope she will never iuive any greater one to answer for — that she rerpiires a pecuniary qualification for her memliers of the Legislature. That is true, and I trust it will be many a day before that feature in her constitution be abol- ished. By the constitution of 1790, it was pro- vided: " Every free white nmn, of the nje of twenty-one ytars, bciii2:i eiii/eii cil tim Stni.-. :inil havinj resided tliorein two years |.. ^ .n n, n,, : n , ; , i.clioii, and who Iiath a Iree- liold ih ', i 1 .1 town lot, ofwliich he hatli ■been I - 1 l\ ■ , ,\ I. i ji -isscd, at least six months be- fore siirii i;l<(.ii..ii..T, II.. I liavinssiich freehold or town lot, Iiath been a resident in the election district in which he offers to vole six months before the said i-ltction, and hath paid a tax the preceding year of iliree shillings sterling to- wards the support of Ihis government, shall have a right to vote for a member, or member!', to serve in either branch of the Legislature for the election district in which he holds such property, or is so resident." About 1808 our people grew wiser, as some thought, and altered that part of the constitution, so that now every man in the State has a right to vote if he has been two years in the State and has resided six months in the election district. It is true, that, if he has property in another dis- trict tlian that in which he jives, he can vote where that property is situated, or where he resides, but not in both. Compare that with Massachusetts. " Every male person, (being twenty-one years of age, and residtint of any particular town in this Commonwealth for the space of one year next precedusg,) liavnig a free- hold estate within the same town, of the annual income of three pounds, or any estate of the value of sixty pounds, shall have a rislit to vote In the choice of a representative, or representatives, for the said town." That is the Massachusetts constitution of 1780. In 1820 it was altered; and no other qttalifii-ation for a voter is now required in Massachusetts except that he pay a tax. Aristocratic and anti- Democratic as the constitution of South Carolina is represented to be, we allow our people to vote without paying any tax, and a very large portion of those who vote upon residence alone are not tax payers at all. All the taxes of South Caro- lina are levied upon lands, negroes, stock in trade, bank stock, (and that not until recently,) professional income, and some other things of that sort. I am sure that if the Legislature of I South Carolina were to impoBe a poll-tax, loo, we Hhoiild have a rebellion in our State equ«l to I that of Capuiin Shay's at least, who ret"u8.ideiit III till' eir.ii .1, ,'li lip :, 'i'- -liall not be eligible to a seat in till' II.Mi r . i: , I'r. ■- unless he be Ir-ijally Melzcd anil pn~~. - I < .1 refill, oi a. settled freehold CsUtV of live linn. I: .|,ii.-.. i. mil, and ten negroes" — I suppose, when the Senator from Massachu- setts got to the ten negroes, he thought there must be somi'lhing terrible behind, and therefore lie did not look any further. Mr. BUI LEll. He did not quote that at all; he got to the word " land," and then the Senator from Massachusetts said " or" instead of" and," so that he did not quote it right. Mr. EVANS. The remaining part of llie sen- tence is: " or of a real estate of the value of £ 150 sterling, clear of debt." The obvious meaning is, that if ho has a free- hold of five hundred acres and ten negroes in pos- session, though he may owe as much ns he is worth, he is eligible; but if he lias a freehold estate of ^'150 clear of debt, that is all that is required. For the Senate there is a larger property qual- , ification; for the Governor a still larger one; and j that is the constitution of the State of South Car- olina now, and I have never heard even a dema- gogue in my country find any fault with it thus j far. Let us go back to Massachusetts. There, j for a Senator, there is this qualification: "5. Providcil, iicvcrlhclcis, That no piT.-on shall be eac pahle of being elected a Senator, who is not seized in his own right of a freehold within this Coinmoiiwoalth of the value of £300 at least, or possessed of personal e;.tate to the value of JEGOO at least, or of both to the amount of Uic same sum ; and who Ini'S not been an inhabitant of this Commonwealth for the space of five years immediately pre- ceding his election ; and, at the time of his election, he shall be an inhabitant in the dislricl for which he is chosen." The qualification for a member of the House of Representatives is: " Kvery member of the Ilou^e of Representatives shall be chosen by written votes ; and for one year at least next pre- ceding his election shall havi- been itn inhabitant of, and have been seized in Ins own rishtof a freeliold of the value of JEIOO witlfin, the town he shall b • elio>.-n to repres-nt. or any r.-uable estate, to the value of £000 ; and he shall cease to represent the said town immediately on his ce:isiiig to^be qualified as aforesaid." These extracts arc from a book called "The American Constitutions," belonging to the library of Congress, and dated in 1849. So far as appears from this book, or so far as 1 have been able to [get any information, this property qualification required by the constitution of Mas.sachusetts in 1780 exists to the present day. It is true that in 1820 tliey altered their coiistitution so far as n related to the qualification of voters; but if there has been any chansro in the pecuniary qualifica- tion of mimbcrs of thi; Legislature, it has been since Mnssachus'.'tts has had new light shining on hir — since 18:20. Mr. WILSON. The provisions of the consti- tution wliich the Senator from South Carolina quotes have been amended; and no property qual- ification whatever exists in Massachusetts in regard to Senators or Representatives. There is a property qualification, however, in regard to the Governor of the Commonwealth, but not in regard to members of the Legislature. Mr. EVANS. I do not doubt that it may be so. New lights have been dawning on the people of this country from time to time, but I doubt if they are any wiser now than they were in 1780. [Laughter.] So much, sir, for this aristocratic constitution of the State of South Carolina — a constitution which the Senator from Massachu- setts [Mr. SuM^fEu] said was only republican in form. Well, sir, 'if it is republican in form, it carries the substance along with it. It suits u.s, and I do not suppose any one else has a right to complain. I come now to a subject which I approach more unwillingly than any other. The Senator from ^L^.'^saclmsetts says that the State of Mas- sachusetts, in the war of the Revolution, fur- nished more men for the armies than the whole of the slave States put together. There is some- thing in the statistics which are to be found in the Senator's speech two years ago; and there is Bomeihing to be found in a book, the author of which is a man by the name of Sabine, who pro- fesses to give you an account of the Royalists in this country, from which that inference may be drawn, unless the matter be closely scrutin- ized. I have not looked into this subject with any view to this discussion; for, although these things had been uttered here in my hearing two years ago, and when I had the proof, and could at anytime have furnished it, that it was altogeilier a mistake; yet, as the time had passed by, 1 determined to say nothing about it. When the Senator from Massachusetts, [Mr. Sumner,] a month ago, reiterated it here, 1 then determinetl that I would reply; but after what occurred sub- sequently to that, I determined to say nothing about it. But when the Senator now present [Mr. Wilson] reiterated it, and when, as I understand, a member of the House of Represent- atives, witliin a day or two past, has thought proper to enter the same arena, and thinks honin- IS to be gained, not merely by praising Massa- chusetts, but by vilifying South Carolina, I have felt it my duly to put this thing rigjit. In the course of the investigation which 1 have been obliged to make, connected with my dutv as one of the Committee on R<-volutionary Claims, I have gathered a vast deal of information in rela- tion to this matter, and I now beg leave to pre- sent it. Up to May, 1775, although there was an Amer- ican Cori^'ress in session, that Congress had no army, and did not attempt to exercise any con- trol uvi r It. Afn-r the battle of Lexington, some fifu-en or i.viiny iliousand men from New Eng- land, acting under some resolution of the New England States, assembled. In May, as blood had been shed, and we were likely to enter into a contest which was to involve us all, and as the spirit of the times was to unite all our means and all our forces, Congress took this arimy of New England, three fourths of whom came from Mas- sachusetts, into their pay. On the 15th day of June, 1775, General Washington was appointed to the command of that army. Not many days afterwards, major generals in the armV) and brigadiers, were elected. General Washington arrived in Cambridge some time early in July. The first move which Congress made in reference to the army was in reference to this army before Boston, from which they determined that the commander-in-chief should select the necessary number of troops, not exceeding twenty-two thousand. They were under the control of Con- gress, as far as they could control them by a com- mander-in chief, but all their regiment and com- pany officers were appointed by the States. Things remained in this situation until Sep- tember, 1776, when Congress determined to raise an army unconnected with the States, and resolved that the army should consist of eighty-eight bat- talions. These battalions were divided among the States. Massachusetts had fifteen; Virginia had fifteen; Pennsylvania twelve; Maryland eight; North Carolina eight or ten — I do not recollect which; and South Carolina six. The eighty- eight battalions, estimating them at six hundred men to a battalion, would make an army of fifty- two thousand eight hundred men. That was by far the greatest army Congress ever attempted to raise, and that, according to the best testimony I can get, was never half raised. In March, 1779, being unable to raise all these troops, Congress determined upon a new organ- ization ofbattalions, to be reduced to eighty. This, at six hundred men for a battalion, would make an army of forty -eight thousand. Of these eighty, Massachusetts had fifteen, Virginia fifteen. South Carolina six, being exactly the same number as before, though there was a total reduction. Besides, there were some light troops. These were commanded mostly by foreign officers. A bounty of !^250 was given to each man who would enlist to serve during the war. I ought to have stated that, by the resolution of 1776, the eighty-eight battalions were to be raised to serve during the war, but they never were. The next organization was on Februarys, 1780. By a resolution, the army was to consist of tliirtj-^-five thousand two hundred and eleven, exclusive of commissioned officers. Massachu- setts had six thousand and seventy; Virginia six thousand and si-venty; South Carolina two thou- sand four hundred and thirty, in exactly the same ratio as the former. On the 4th of October, 1780, a new organization took place, to take effect on the Ist of January, 1781. The independent corps were abolished. The army was to consist of forty-eight regiments of infantry, four regiments of cavalry, four of artilkry.a German regiment commanded by Col- onel Ila/.en, and u regiment of artificers, making in all fifty-nine. Of these, Massachusetts h9.fi H ten of infantry, and one of nrlillcry, mnkinj plovrn. Virijinia had cijjlit of infnnlry, one of artillery, and two of cavalry, making; eleven. South Carolina had only two regiments of in- fantry. This, it will be remembered, was in October, 1780, after liie surrender of Chnrleaton, and the capture of her troops. Indeed, the whole State might be considered in tlie possession of Uie enemy. Now, sir, I come to ilie point. Of this army the Senator says, nearly sixty-eight thousand were furnished by Massachusetts. I think I might say, that is two thirds of all the ."^cildiers in the field from the beginning to the end of tlie Revolution, 'excluding that army before l}oston, of which I shall give some account liereafler; and yet that is the position. There ia no difficulty about this. New England began by enlistments of one year; the first troops which she enlisted were enlisted, I suppose, when they congregated atCambridge,aftertliebattle of Lexington, wliich was on the 19th of April, 1775. On looking into the "Washington letters, it will be perceived that the period of service of tliis whole body of troops ended on the 1st of January following; so that they could not have been enlisted for more than eight months. When that time expired, a very large portion of tliose men were enlisted again, and served for another year, to the beginning of the year 1777. So far as I can gather— and I have looked very diligently at authorities — the troops of Virginia, of Pennsylvania, of Maryland, of South Carolina, and, probably, of other States, were enlisted to serve either during the war or for three years. My impression is, that the Vir- ginia continental line was enlisted to serve during the war, and that her own State line, as it was called, which was five regiments, were enlisted for three years. Mr. HUNTER. The Virginia State line was composed of seven re?iments. Mr. EVANS. Now of New England, Mas- sachusetts included, unless towards the end of the war, when some extraordinary inducements were held out, all the enlistments were for one year. If Virginia had fifteen regiments, and Mas- sachusetts fifteen, and both of them filled their regiments, Vii'ginia for three years, and Massa- chusetts for one, then at the end of three years Massachusetts would have furnished nommally three times as many men as Virginia; that is, she recruited her regiments three times when Vir- ginia had recruited them but once. Without wasting the time of the Senate, it will bo foimd, on investigation, that it is that, and that alone, which has made this mighty difference. There is not a pretense — I affirm it on this occasion — there is not a pretense in liistory, there is noth- ing in the resolutions of Congress, which I have carefully looked over, to authorize the conclusion, tliat Massachusetts, from the time when Con- gress organized the army of 1776 up to the end of the war, furnished one man over and above her share. There is not a tittle of proof of it tliat I have ever seen. ' 1 mean no reflection of Massachusetts. I do not believe that General Knox, if he ever made the statement to which the Senator alluded, sent it into the world with any view either to oxall MaHsnrhunetls or to cant any suspicion that any other State Imd not done its duty. It whh made out, I have no doul)l, by some rlrrk in the office from thi' muster r ^Mtln' 'M-r wuuld iidniit. The difflcull) x\ u,, l:i -. !,!:-■; - 1- '.i, -,, :i|. niilr, ,|. iiicire sO, if posHllile, iji;ui Willi tlie .,Itie. IS. "'I'lii.y will not enlist until they know their coIoikI. Iieiitiiwuit, enloiiel, major, and eapl^iin. so ilial it was neer.-aa to fix tlie otlieeis the first Ihiiic which is, at last, in some manner done; and I have given out enUstiug orders." In a letter to the President of Congress, dated November 28, 1775 — when the year for which the men had enlisted was near its close — lie says: " The number enlisted since mv last is two thousand five hundred and forty men; and r aiii sorry to be necessit-tted to mention to you the egregious want ol' pnhlle >pirit which reignH liere. IiisK^ad of pressing to b(M:i.^':i;:i'iI m iliee;iuse ofiiieiriouiilry, whicli I vainly flatler.d iir»>. H w